Delish!

Looking for a simple, delicious summer dinner? Have I got a recipe for you!

I did a run to Trader Joe's recently. It's 50 miles one way, but keeps me satisfied in the small-town world of grocery shopping. I love Indian food, and like some of their frozen meals. Not even close to India Cafe in Iowa City, but good enough to help me through these lean times. I got some good advice on cheeses from a friendly shopper, and couldn't resist the olive tapenade... but, I digress.

Fresh seafood is very expensive here, so I took a chance and bought some small, frozen Albacore steaks and prepared them using this simple recipe I found at http://www.whfoods.com/ :

15 minute Seared Tuna with Sage
Ingredients:
1 lb tuna cut into 4 pieces
2 medium cloves garlic, pressed
2 TBS finely grated or minced lemon rind
1 - 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
2 TBS finely minced fresh sage,
1 TBS finely minced fresh parsley
¼ cup chicken or vegetable broth
pinch red pepper flakes
salt and black pepper to taste
Prepare all the ingredients and have ready to use.
Rub tuna with 1 TBS fresh lemon juice and season with salt and black pepper.
Preheat a stainless steel 10-12 inch skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Cook tuna on each side for about 1½ minutes. This is our (Stove top Searing) cooking method. Remove from pan, and place on a plate.
Add rest of ingredients to pan in order given, and cook for about 1 minute. Pour over tuna and serve.

I added a generous splash of 2-buck Chuck Chardonnay (It's $3, here, but still a steal for wine that I like, and tho I'm no expert, it seems to please those with more refined tastes too) to the chicken broth, but otherwise, I prepared it exactly as the recipe says (I'm a compulsive recipe doctorer). It was incredibly easy and absolutely yummy.

While I'm at it, I'll mention that I served it with greens dressed with this easy recipe given to me by my friend Susan. It's a goodie:

Put 2 Tbs. sugar in a small bowl (I've also used Splenda and it works fine)
Drown the sugar with balsamic vinegar
Add a generous squeeze of Dijon mustard and stir
Add olive oil (about a quarter cup or so?)
Shake or stir it all together; add more of any ingredient to suit your taste
Toss it with greens

I've also used this to dress cabbage with some sunflower seeds thrown in for crunch for a light slaw- way yummy!

A hint regarding the tuna dish- if you're serving this to someone you want to impress, check your teeth before smiling adoringly; that parsley sticks-ha!