Happy 4th and Happy Canada Day!

What's better on a long summer weekend than curling up with a good book at a cabin or the beach or just a quiet shady corner in your backyard?

My summer reading favorite is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, written by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson.

This book is a thriller with non-stop action, intrigue and suspense.
The heroine, Lisbeth Salander, a diminutive and enigmatic social outcast, is one of the most unique and powerful female protagonists I have come across in a long time. Her remarkable skills as a hacker with a photographic memory and martial arts training propel her on a series of intricate and dangerous missions paired unconventionally with investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist on the trail of high crimes and corruption. This book hooks you early and keeps you biting your nails until the very end.

Find out more here:

Cod in Thai - inspired Coconut broth

This is an entree version of a soup from an earlier post.

What you need:

• One recipe of collard greens soup from "collard greens--wonder food" post
  
• 1 cup coconut milk
  
• 1/4 cup fresh Thai basil, minced
  
• 4 cod loin fillets
  
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  
• Salt
  
• Pepper
  
• Paprika
  

To prepare the broth:

Prepare collard greens soup adding coconut milk, and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in minced Thai basil.

To prepare cod:

Drizzle olive oil on cod loins. Season with salt, pepper and paprika.

Broil for about 10-12 min. until fish is opaque and flakes easily with fork.

Ladle broth into 4 bowls. Place a cod loin on top of broth. Garnish with cilantro.

Collard Greens--Wonder Food?

Collard greens are quickly becoming my favorite vegetable.

Perhaps best known as a staple in low country and southern cooking, collard greens are a versatile and inexpensive vegetable that deliver a massive boost of nutritional value.

Collard greens are a member of the brassicas family which are praised for their anti-inflammatory properties.

Collards are also an excellent source of fiber, calcium, omega-3, folate, potassium, manganese and magnesium. In addition, collards are loaded with vitamins A, C and K.

Here is an easy way to incorporate collard greens in a delicious Asian-style soup.

What you need:

• 4 cups low-sodium, fat- free chicken stock
  
• 1 small white onion, diced
  
• 2 carrots, finely minced
  
• 1 inch piece garlic, peeled and sliced
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 1 Thai pepper, minced
  
• 1 tsp garlic-chili sauce
  
• 1 tsp brown sugar
  
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
  
• 1/4 cup parsley, minced
  
• 3 medium-sized collard green leaves (remove center rib of each leaf), sliced into very thin ribbons
  
• 1/2 cup firm tofu, cut into half inch pieces (optional)
  
• 2 green onions, sliced thinly
  
• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
  

In a medium-sized pot, put chicken stock and all ingredients except green onions and cilantro.

Bring to a boil and simmer on low for 15 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro and green onions.

Yummy Tom Yum Gai Soup

Love Thai food? Here's a recipe for the traditional hot and sour soup, Tom Yum Gai.

Even in mid-summer, it's a refreshing and nourishing supper that's easy to prepare.

What you need:

• 5 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 4 inch stalk lemon grass, chopped
  
• 1 inch piece galangal or ginger (or both)
  
• 2 Tbsp tamari
  
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce (or vegetarian fish sauce)
  
• 1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek or other chilli paste
  
• 1 Thai pepper minced
  
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
  
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
  
• 4 oz chicken breast (cubed) or whole shrimp (or tofu if vegetarian)
  
• 8 oz shiitake (or portabella) mushrooms
  
• 1 cup fresh collard greens or Chinese greens such as bok choy, gai lohn, sliced in ribbons
  
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  
• 1/4 cup Thai basil, chopped
  

In large pot, place 1 cup water, garlic, galangal, ginger, and lemongrass. Bring to boil then simmer for 15 minutes. Strain out solids and reserve broth.

Place reserved broth in large pot and add chicken broth, tamari, fish sauce, chilli sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and lime leaves. Bring to boil, then reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer while adding chicken (or tofu) mushrooms and greens.

Simmer 3 to 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are lightly cooked. Ladle hot soup into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro and basil. Serves 4 to 6

What makes it nutritious?

First, the spices: galangal, ginger, thai chillis, and garlic. Excellent sources of anti-oxidants, anti-flammatory agents as well as minerals.

Secondly, the vegetables: greens and mushrooms are packed with minerals and vitamins, calcium and iron.

All this in an easy to make one-dish summer meal! Try it with Blue Moon beer.

Have a Souper Summer!

I'm talking a delicious cold soup to help you chill on those steamy summer evenings.

Avocado Soup. So refreshing and easy to prepare!

Forget what you may have heard about avocados being full of fat. It's healthy fat! Full of omega-3 and essential minerals like potassium and magnesium.

All you need is a blender! Here's what you need:

• 2 avocados, diced
  
• 1/2 cup white onion, diced
  
• 1/2 cup carrots, shredded
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper, diced
  
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  
• 1/2 cup low fat sour cream
  

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Chill in refrigerator for at least an hour to allow flavors to marry. Garnish with diced cucumber, tomato or cilantro. Ahhh...summer!

Spice up your Summer (part 2)

If you like curry, you'll love this spice. Turmeric, the Asian spice that gives curry its golden hue, has been used for thousands of years and praised for its medicinal and nutritional benefits.

Turmeric is a member of the ginger family, a root that is ground into powder and stirred into curries or now as a supplement in capsule form. In Ayurvedic medicine, a teaspoon of turmeric is stirred into a cup of warmed milk and used three times a day as a treatment for flu and colds.

Turmeric's active ingredient is curcumin, and has been studied in animals for its ability to fight infections, and its protective effects on the liver, as well as its anti-inflammatory and  anti-tumor properties.

You can find powdered turmeric in your food store, and curcumin in capsule form online or in health food stores.

Try it in golden curry chicken over jasmine-scented rice. It will spice up your summer and give your health
a boost.

Spice up your summer and lose weight?

Summer's here and it's time to turn up the heat. When Taiwanese researchers discovered that Capsaicin (the chemical compound found in hot peppers) inhibited the growth of fat cells in mice, people seeking to lose weight took notice.

What the scientists found out was that Capsaicin seemed to regulate the genes that produced proteins in such a way that the fat cells would not fill up with fat.

Maybe Capsaicin could be used as a tool for human weight loss.

Capsaicin may provide a second benefit-- decreasing appetite. Japanese scientists found that a group of women who had spicy foods at breakfast ate less at lunch.

Herbalists suggest a tsp of cayenne in a half cup of milk in the morning. Be aware that spices may irritate the stomach.

 Try adding some spice to your diet and see for yourself. Make your summer sizzle!