Cooking For One

DC has been freezing cold over the last few days so for dinner, I was craving something warm and healthy. (Have I mentioned I’m trying to drop a few pounds? My normal winter weight never dropped off last year, and so this years winter weight has put me above my happy place, so I’m trying to get back in prime dating shape.) Anyway, tuna medallions were on sale at Harris Teeter for $4.99/lb this week, so I picked up a half pound to have for dinner tonight.

Mustard Marinated Tuna Steaks

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb Tuna Medallions
• 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 3 Tbsp Cooking Oil (divided)
• Salt and pepper
• Baby Spinach
• Frozen Pepper Strips

Directions

1. Whisk together mustard, lemon juice and 1 tbsp of olive oil in a small dish. Season tuna on both sides with salt and pepper and add to dish. Marinate for 15 minutes turning once.
2. Heat 1 tbsp cooking oil in pan on medium-high. In a second pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and heat to medium-high.
3. Add tuna to the first pan and pepper strips to the second. Cook tuna 3-5 minutes per side depending on desired doneness.
4. Remove peppers and tuna from pan. Add olive oil and spinach to tuna pan. Saute 2 minutes.

I thought that at 30, I’d be a lot of things. A successful career-driven woman. A home owner. A wife. Maybe a mom. Now, with 30 less than 90 very short days away, I realize that what I pictured for myself at 30 probably won’t be what my life is. Now, don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of things that I WILL be doing at 30 that I NEVER thought I would be. I am a business owner. I am a home owner (albeit a very tiny little home). I am debt-free. I am an entrepreneur. I am SINGLE. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to find that other half, I certainly have tried to find him, but over the years, I’ve never found that “click” that makes a relationship last.

What I have found is a love of food and cooking, and that dating in Washington DC is about as awkward and hilarious as it gets. So, this little blog is where I will chronicle those dating stories and those cooking for one recipes.

I discovered this recipe in The Bon Appetit Cookbook a few years ago and it quickly became one of my favorite dishes. The combination of hearty shrimp and tomatoes with the salty kalmata olives and feta cheese hits my taste buds just right. Leftovers are delicious on pasta, or reheated for lunch.

Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta

Ingredients

• Yellow Onion, chopped
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb of Shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 Can of diced tomatoes
• Handful of kalmata olives, halved
• 1/3 cup of feta cheese
• Oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Heat oil in a cast iron pan. Add garlic and onion to pan, and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add diced tomatoes to pan, and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Season shrimp with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook through.
5. Add kalmata olives and toss. Continue cooking until juice is reduced.
6. Add feta cheese. Place pan in oven and cook for 10 minutes.

I was craving something quick, simple and healthy this evening, and knowing that the eggplant I purchased last weekend at the grocery store was probably on its last days of life, I decided to go vegetarian for the evening. This quick dish was tasty, though next time I would probably try it with pasta to make the dish slightly more filling.

Eggplant with Tomatoes Sauté

• 1 Onion, Diced
• 2-3 Cloves of Garlic, Chopped
• 1 Small Eggplant, diced
• 1 Can of Diced Tomatoes
• Kalmata Olives, pitted, roughly chopped
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• Ground Pepper
• Oil for Pan
• Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat generous amount of oil (trust me, you need a healthy amount to flavor the eggplant) in sauté pan over medium heat. Add garlic and onions, saute for 8 minutes, until onion is transparent.
2. Add diced eggplant and toss to coat. Saute for 10 minutes until softened.
3. Add in can of diced tomatoes (juice and all), and season with pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook until tomatoes are heated through.
4. Add kalmata olives and continue cooking for 3 more minutes.
5. Serve topped with kalmata olives.