Crispy Glazed Salmon

Blouse- Uniqlo|Eyeshadow- Revlon

Photography & Styling by. Bernadette Mira

 

There are times that I forget how little I spend with my husband. I mean he’s my best friend and I feel like we never see each other sometimes. I spend most of my days working from home and taking care of the place while he works a 10-7 job. I know this is probably common for most couples, but at times I can’t help but feel “Are we the only ones that have to deal with this?”

 

The time we spend together, I try to cherish as much as possible. Obviously, that doesn’t happen ALL the time because, there are the late night fights, making dinner at a un godly hour like 10 pm after kickboxing. Then after all is said and done, we normally ‘try’ to get to bed by 11 p.m. So, the time we spend together during the week is usually about two hours. I should consider ourselves lucky because, there are probably couples out there that don’t even see each other at all. I suppose it reminds me too much of the past, when we had to be away from each other for about half a year, because of family issues I had to deal with. It wasn’t a good time in my life and I never want to experience it again.

Anyway, this past week we got to spend more time with each other and I must say it was literally the happiest I have been for in a while. We were able to go over to Brooklyn early in the morning, walk around, chat and eat a delicious breakfast at Peter Pan donuts.  Being able to just walk around Brooklyn without being pushed are having to stop because of a big crowd, was at the same time weird but extremely refreshing. Other than just doing fun things, we got to talk to each other about what has been bothering us. Communication is very important to me when it comes to being in a relationship and also the will to listen and to keep on trying for one another. I know that my husband and I forget about these things at times, but we always come back to what is important to us.  I’m not sure what I’m trying to get at here, but I guess what I’m trying to say is that I dearly love my husband because not only is he my partner/lover but he is my best friend. We keep on trying for one another and I will always value that.

Crispy Glazed Salmon

Serves 1-2

Ingredients

1/2 pound of salmon with skin

2 garlic cloves

2-4 tbsp of olive oil

sea salt to season

Glaze

(make before)

1 tbsp. of ponzu sauce

1 tsp. of honey

1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes

juice from half an orange (small)

1/4 tsp. of black pepper

Optional 

broiled oranges

Utensils 

sharp knife to cut slits into salmon

non stick skillet

fish spatula or regular 

 

Directions:

1. To prepare the Salmon: Gently cut 4-5 medium to long slits horizontally on the skin side of the salmon. Once the slits are present, gently rub sea salt or kosher salt in between the slits. Then let it rest.
2. Heat a non stick skillet (see notes) on medium heat add two garlic cloves along with 2 tbsp. of olive oil.
3. Once the skillet is heated, gently add the salmon skin side down and facing away from you so oil doesn’t splash.
4. Season the flesh side of the salmon with salt.
5. Do not flip the salmon until it has cooked at least half way. Once it is about half way cooked, glaze the top of the salmon with the ponzu/citrus glaze. (You may make this beforehand.)
6. Once it has been glazed, flip the salmon and cook for about 3-5 minutes.
7. Gently remove the salmon and set on prepared dish to serve. You may serve this with whatever you like. I made some broiled oranges to add extra citrus, but the salmon would be also delicious with a side salad or couscous.

 

Notes: Please, please, use a non stick skillet. It will make your life so much easier  working with the salmon. That is all.

Enjoy! and happy eating!

Much love,

                                     Bernadette 

 

 

My spaghetti

Satin Red Shirt- Pretty Little Thing| Bra- UnderArmour| Leggings- Uniqlo| Boxing Gloves- Twins|Tassel Earrings- H&M

Photography by. Bernadette Mira

Assisted by. Garrett Hagen

Spaghetti Bolognese

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 medium onion finely diced

4 large garlic cloves minced

2 tbsp. of olive oil

kosher salt and black pepper to season

1 to 1  1/2 pound of ‘good’ ground beef

1 tbsp. of tomato paste

1 can of puree tomatoes

1/2 cup of water (if needed for sauce)

1/2 tsp. of dried basil

2 tbsp. of dried oregano and fresh oregano to top

1 tsp. of dried thyme 

1 tsp. of red pepper flakes

(More kosher salt and black pepper to taste)

1/2 a packet of spaghetti 

Parmesan cheese 

Directions:

1.  For Sauce: In a dutch oven or large skillet, saute onion and garlic on medium heat with 2 tbsp. of olive oil until soft. Season with kosher salt.
2. Then add 1-1 1/2 pound of ground beef and cook until brown on medium-high heat with the onions and garlic. Season with black pepper and kosher salt.
3. Once brown, add 1 tbsp. of tomato paste and stir into the meat until combined.
4. Then add one can of puree tomatoes (if there isn’t enough sauce add 1/2 cup of water to the mix and boil off till the mixture has reduced, for about 15-20 minutes)
5. While the sauce is boiling off  add the seasonings. Basil, oregano, thyme, red pepper, kosher salt and pepper for taste.
6. While the sauce is cooking on medium-high heat periodically stir so it doesn’t stick to the pan and or dutch oven.
7. For Spaghetti: For my spaghetti, I add enough water until it fills the pot half way. I then add a dash of kosher salt and about 1-2 tsp. of olive oil. I then bring the water to a boil and add the spaghetti. I like to cook my pasta till al dente, about 15-18 minutes.
8. Once draining the spaghetti and the sauce has reduced/seasoned to your liking, grab yourself a big plate and dig in. Be sure to add some fresh oregano and parmesan cheese to top it off! Enjoy!

Overnight Oats and learning French…slowly

 

Blouse- &Other Stories (similar)| Shorts- Thrifted (similar)

The Penguin French Phrase Book

Photography by. Bernadette Mira

I have been trying to learn French about a year and half now…on and off. I know, that isn’t the way to actually progress, but I get bored easily. All jokes aside, I do, sincerely want to learn how to speak French fluently. My question is though, how does anyone successfully learn a new language?

I want to convince my husband by saying, “Hey honey, I think we need to take a lonnnng trip to Paris so I can finally learn French.” We all know that isn’t going to go over well. WHO even has the funds to do something like that? Maybe, some rich white, eat pray love, woman who during her down time, just lays in the pile of money that she has. I digress, I guess I just have to whip myself back into gear. I need to be putting 100% effort in everyday…when I can, whether that be slapping sticky notes on food or appliances to remember the word pomme for apple.

Speaking of food, this is making me hungry and I need to start preparing breakfast for tomorrow. I try to make meal prep as easy, and painless as possible. So, today I am sharing my recipe for overnight oats. It makes getting up in the morning a breeze and actually enjoyable. You can sit back and eat your oats while you try to learn some french…which hopefully, I’ll be doing.

 

Pear Overnight Oats

Serves 1

Ingredients

1 cup of Irish style oats

1 cup of almond milk

1/2 tsp. of honey

1/8 tsp. of turmeric

1/4 tsp. of cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

half of a pear finely diced 

 

Directions:

1. Add 1 cup of oats and seasonings to a medium size bowl or cup.
2. Then add the honey, almond milk and diced pear.
3. With a spoon stir up the oat mixture until fully incorporated.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight and enjoy the next morning!

 

 

Spicy Lamb Curry with Jourdan

Photography by: Zee Nunes (Left) and Bernadette Mira (Right)

Here it is everyone! Like I said, I aim to please. Today’s recipe is representing those spicy dishes. The type of dishes where your tongue starts to tingle and you feel a tear roll down your cheek. This is also the type of dish that I hope Jourdan Dunn herself would approve of. It’s Italian meets Indian meets Thai meets Jamaican and probably a bunch of different cultures mixed together!

The photo taken by the ever so great Zee Nunes blew me away. I didn’t think  Jourdan Dunn could get any cooler, but she’s rocking a kick ass afro! She’s representing the curly girls and natural girls. I love it! Jourdan’s outfit and her personal tastes inspired me to create a dish featuring homemade pasta and a spicy curry dish, that I’m sure she would enjoy eating.

Enough with the talk, here’s…

Spicy Lamb Curry

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Marinade for lamb-

1 pound of cubed lamb

1/2 cup of whole milk yogurt or greek yogurt

1 tsp. of turmeric powder

1 tbsp. of yellow curry powder

1/2 tsp. of crushed mustard seeds

1/2 tsp. of red chili flakes

1/2 tsp. of garlic powder

1/4 tsp. of ginger powder

sea salt to sprinkle

Sauce-

1 can of Thai Kitchen coconut milk 

half of a finely diced onion

3 finely minced garlic cloves

2 tbsp. of fresh ginger grated

2-3  diced Jamaican hot peppers (more if you want more spicy-ness)

1/2 tsp. of black peppercorn or black pepper

3 tbsp. of yellow curry powder

1-2 tbsp. of turmeric powder

1/4 tsp. of onion powder

1/4 tsp. of garlic powder

1/4 tsp. of coriander

1 tsp. of ground mustard seeds

1 tsp. of red chili flakes

Topping-

Fresh chopped basil or Thai basil

splash of lime juice

Extra-

Olive oil

Homemade pasta (The recipe I used wasn’t great, so I suggest using packaged pasta or rice. If you feel up to the challenge, try making homemade pasta. I hope you find a good recipe.)

Dutch oven or big pot to store curry

Ziplock bag

Plastic gloves (to cut hot peppers if you want to be extra cautious)

Cook’s notes: Here is the correct way to chop hot peppers.

Directions:

1. Prepare the lamb to marinate over night or for at least 6 hours.

2. If lamb doesn’t come prepared into cubes, cut into even sliced cubes.

3. In a small bowl combine the spices to the yogurt. Stir until well combined.

4. Add the diced lamb into the marinade sauce. Coat until completely covered.

5. In a ziplock bag, store the marinade lamb in the fridge over night or for at least six hours.

6. Next day or day of, bring olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven to a simmer. Then add the marinade lamb to the pot.

7. Next we will start the ‘browning’ process. (Well, that’s what I like to call it.) The lamb will need to be cooked on both sides to get a nice, caramelized brown on each side. Periodically check each side to get the desired brown you want.

8.Once brown, with a heat thermometer, check the lamb’s temperature making sure it reaches to 145 or above. (I allowed mine to get to 160)

9. Once it reaches a safe temperature, remove the meat and set aside in a small bowl.

10. On medium heat add more olive oil to the pot. Then add diced onion, garlic, ginger and hot peppers. Stir every now and then until the onions become translucent. Once translucent add the ground spices and stir well until combined.

11. Next, add the lamb back into the pot along with the coconut milk. Stir and cover on low-medium heat for 20-30 minutes. Or until your pasta or rice is done cooking.

Enjoy on top of rice, store-bought pasta or homemade pasta!! Add basil to top and a splash of lime to brighten the dish. Be sure to keep a glass of milk near by or bread if you can’t handle the spice!

Photo by. Bernadette Mira

Coconut Spice Bars with Jourdan

Photography by: Cuneyt Akeroglu (Left) and Bernadette Mira (Right)

Hello my fellow fashion lovers and foodies!  This week I am doing a double recipe, because the very talented, model and mother Jourdan Dunn has inspired me to do two dishes. (HOPEFULLY the second one works out just as much as this one…fingers crossed everyone.)

I have spent this past weekend and part of this week being engrossed in Jourdan’s world. I found myself laughing and enjoying her channel on YouTube WELL DUNN that features her talents in cooking. With special appearances by fashion models and artists such as Karlie Kloss. Jourdan Dunn, is also an inspiration to me personally. Being a black woman has its difficulties, especially when I was a little girl. Growing up, there weren’t many black women for me to look up to. I would go to a store and buy a magazine and hardly ever saw someone who represented what I look like. Now, its refreshing to see black women such as Jourdan on the cover of Vogue. She is one of the many black women to open doors for those black girls wanting to be models or anything for that matter. Thank you Jourdan for being a strong, black woman and opening those doors.

Other than being an unstoppable model who was voted “Model of the Year” in 2008, I found  out that Jourdan Dunn has a deep love for spicy food. Thai food in particular. You can watch her adventures to Thailand in this video. The recipe that I will share with you guys today, is not on the spicy side, BUT if Jourdan is reading this, I am up for the challenge Jourdan. I will give you a spicy dish for the next recipe you inspired!

For now, everyone enjoy this sweet, crunchy and delicious recipe…

Coconut Spice Bars

Adapted from Green Kitchen Stories Quinoa Chocolate Bars

Makes 5-6 bars

Ingredients

1/2 cup of puffed rice cereal (honey)

1/2 cup of finely chopped candied ginger

1/2 cup of sunflower seeds

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

1/4 cup of shredded coconut

1-2 tbsp of melted coconut oil

1/2 cup of peanut butter or any nut butter

Topping-

1/2- 1 cup of melted dark chocolate (lindt dark chocolate)

1/2 tsp. of red chili pepper flakes

pinch of sea salt

more shredded coconut nut to cover on top

Extra-

Parchment paper

Saucepan

Heat proof bowl to melt chocolate

Small loaf pan or medium size pan to pat down bar ingredients

Cooks notes: I keep my bars frozen so they don’t completely melt.

Directions:

1. In a medium size bowl, combined the first seven ingredients with a spoon. You might need to get dirty and use your hands, but that is the fun part.

2. After combined, pat the bar ingredients down in a parchment lined pan. I made the bars pretty big while using a 9 by 11 loaf pan, but you can use any type of pan. Just make sure it fits in your freezer and that all the ingredients are patted together.

3. Freeze for 1-2 hours.

4. While the bars are freezing, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Here is a video showing how to melt chocolate. Video.

5. Once the chocolate has melted, set aside for a second and take the bars out of the freezer.

6. Pour the melted chocolate over top the bars, while spreading it evenly with a spatula. Quickly add the red pepper flakes, sea salt and extra shredded coconut to fully cover the bars.

7. Freeze bars again for another hour to 2 hours.

Enjoy frozen!

Photo by. Bernadette Mira