As usual, I had some things in the fridge that needed to be used up.  The items I started with were red snapper filets, cooked red and yellow quinoa, 1/2 a small onion and some mushrooms.  A few more ingredients and I ended up with a very nice Sunday lunch.

Red snapper with cajun spices isn’t exactly unique, but it sure is tasty!  Cajun spice mixes are inexpensive, but contain mostly salt and sugar, which is even cheaper.  I make my own:

Cajun spice mix

• 1T paprika
• 1T garlic powder
• 1t salt
• 1t cayenne pepper
• 1t dried thyme
• 1t black pepper

Because I use less salt that regular cajun seasoning you can lay it on thick for more flavor.  You might need to play withe ratios to get something just right for you.  This would also be great on chicken or mixed into flour for fried chicken.

I mixed this with some whole wheat flour and then dredged and fried the snapper filets in olive oil for about 5 min on each side.

The quinoa side was really the fusion part.  Quinoa is a common staple in South America- especially Peru.  I then combined some flavors of Spain like olives and smoked paprika.  The result was very unique, tasty AND healthy!

Spanish/Peruvian Quinoa

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 5 mushrooms, sliced
• 8 olives, mixed green and black, chopped
• 1-2t olive oil
• 2t Spanish smoked paprika
• salt and pepper

I sauteed the onion in the olive oil until starting to soften, about 5 min then added the mushrooms and cooked for another 5 min.  I then added the olives, quinoa and paprika until everything was hot, about another 5 min.  This made about two servings.  I think some fresh cilantro would have made a tasty garnish.  I need to write that on my shopping list!

You could go in all sorts of directions with this.  I love to pull in Asian flavors like ginger and miso.  You could marinate the snapper in miso and soy sauce and then flavor the quinoa with ginger, garlic and sesame oil- heck, you could change the quinoa to couscous or rice!

I’d love to hear any combinations you come up with or ideas to make this better.

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Rule #1: Don’t trust any recipe that tells you how long to cook something!  There are very few things you can cook for a fixed time that come out perfectly, except maybe boiled eggs.

There are two main types of meat: the kind you just barely cook and the kind you cook to death.  Steaks and more tender cuts of meat should be cooked until just barely done.  “Barely done” depends on the type of meat and your personal preference.  Here are my guidelines:

• Beef roasts and steaks – Rare to medium
• Pork roasts and chops – Medium
• Chicken and Turkey- Medium well
• Fish – Medium
• Shellfish – Medium to medium well

The only way to figure out when meat is done is to either check the internal temperature with a quick-read thermometer or poke it.  I opt to use the poke method (since my mom stole my thermometer).  It’s hard to describe when something is done based on a poke- and by poke I mean, literally, using your finger to poke the meat.  Experience will tell you how done “feels”.  In general, rare meat feels pretty soft and spongy.  Medium feels firmer but still soft.  As meat gets near well done it firms up until it doesn’t give at all.  What you’re usually looking for is a place where the meat starts firming up but before it gets as firm as it’s going to get.  Poke everything you cook and you’ll get the hang of gauging doneness by poke.  For example, I cook chicken until it’s not quite as firm as it’s going to get.  I know this from experience.

Tough cuts of meat, like pork shoulder and beef chuck need to be cooked for a long time until they are tender.  These cuts can be timed because the cooking time is so long.  They go long past the “well done” phase to where the connective tissue start breaking down.  This is key to these fatty but flavorful cuts.  For these, you need to test them with a fork, hence the phrase, “stick a fork in it, it’s DONE!.  Stick a fork in the meat and twist.  The meat should give easily.  If the whole piece rotates, put it back in the pot and keep going.  Most of these cuts take 2-4 hours to get tender.

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