Blackened Tuna (or Salmon) with Roasted Ginger-Orange Green Beans

In yesterday's post, I mentioned the recipe I made that incorporated the flavors of the soaps (click here if you need to refresh your memory or enter the giveaway). I chose citrus and ginger since that is the soap I'm currently using, and because I like cooking with both those ingredients.

I started by tossing fresh green beans with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Fresh ginger gets grated on top and mixed in, then slices of orange are placed on top of the green beans while it roasts. The ginger isn't overwhelming and the flavors taste pretty good. I was nibbling on them while the fish cooked.

As for the fish, I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to prepare it. It wasn't until I was getting a coffee at Victorian Pantry that I got an idea. I've mentioned before that Steve, the owner, has started selling specialty blended teas, which I once used in cupcakes. I saw a Tangerine Rooibos this time and figured it would taste pretty good as a seasoning for the fish, and keeping with the citrus theme. Rooibos tea leaves aren't as strong as black tea, so I didn't have to worry about the tea overpowering the taste of the tuna and salmon. Eventually, I settled on blackened fish, a dish I haven't made before.

Both tuna and salmon were on sale at the local store. I got some of each since I knew some of my eaters wouldn't feel comfortable eating seared tuna. The salmon was wild, and the tuna was sushi grade yellowfin.

So blackened fish. What is it? I looked up some recipes online and I found that it's just a paprika-based seasoning that completely coats both sides of the fish. The fish is then seared in a hot skillet, long enough for each side to develop a crispy coating that looks almost blackened, but isn't. You either finish cooking it in the oven, under the broiler, or in the case of tuna, you don't keep cooking it.

My seasoning mix consisted of the tangerine rooibos tea, paprika, oregano, onion and garlic powder, coarse salt, pepper, and a bit of sugar.

To prepare the fish, I melted butter in a skillet on low heat. Both sides of the salmon and tuna were dipped into the butter, then into the tea seasoning until completely coated. I seared the salmon on both sides for two minutes, then finished baking it in the oven for about seven minutes.

The tuna was given a two minute sear on either side, after which I sliced them up and plated it. Is there a proper way to slice tuna, like cutting steak against the grain? When I sliced the tuna, it either began to fall apart or looked flaky. Perhaps my knife wasn't sharp enough.

And that's how it went down. This was my first time eating tuna (aside from sushi), and I decided I liked it. It has a very meaty, rich taste different from other fishes. I like it, I want some more of it, but it's too expensive.

The tangerine rooibos coating was incredible. It was faintly floral and citrusy and was a good compliment to the light taste of both the fish. I didn't taste any of the salmon, but I think they liked it. (I hope?) If you made this, you could use any citrus rooibos tea available to you or any citrus-flavored herbal tea you enjoy drinking.

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Citrus Rooibos-Blackened Tuna
Recipe by Christina Provo

Serves 4

Ingredients -
2 tablespoons tangerine rooibos tea leaves, or another type of herbal tea
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 3-4 ounce sushi-grade yellowfin tuna pieces
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
A starchy side dish

Directions -

1. In a pie dish, mix together the tea, paprika, oregano, garlic and onion powders, salt, sugar, and pepper. In a large skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Working with one piece of tuna at a time, dip both sides in butter, then in the coating, making sure each side is completely coated. Place on a platter while you prepare the rest of the tuna.


2. Raise the heat to medium high. Add the tuna and sear for 2 minutes. Don't move the pieces or else you won't get a good coating. Using a spatula, flip the tuna over and sear for another 2 minutes. The tuna should still be pink in the middle. Remove to a cutting board.


3. Slice a piece of tuna and fan it out on the plate.

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Roasted Ginger-Garlic Green Beans
Recipe by Christina Provo

Serves 4

Ingredients -

1 1/2 pounds green beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt
black pepper
1/2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 an orange, thinly sliced

Directions -

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a 12x9-inch baking dish or a rimmed baking sheet, toss the green beans with olive oil, salt, pepper, and grated ginger. Place the orange slices on top and bake until green beans are tender, about 25 minutes.

Seventh Generation Dish Soaps & Le Creuset Baking Dish Review + Giveaway

***Giveaway Closed***

Through MyBlogSpark and Seventh Generation, I was given the opportunity to review their natural, plant-derived dish soaps. Included in the package were some plant-derived cleaning tools and a Le Creuset stoneware baking dish. I was asked to create a recipe based on the scents of the dish soaps in the baking dish and to clean it using the soaps. I'll talk about what I made in a moment, but first I'm going to review the benefits and potential drawbacks if the soaps.

(If you would like to skip to the giveaway information, scroll down to the bottom.)

So you want to help the environment in any way you can, right? You might spend a little more, but you walk away knowing that you aren't using petroleum-based dish soap. Everyone's happy and daisies bloom under the sunshine in lush fields of green grass where children happily trot barefoot.

But how well do these products really work when compared to their generic, oil-based counterpart? Throughout the week of washing dishes where I replaced my usual soap with 7th Gen, I fully expected the need to use more soap, but I surprisingly found that the suds lasted longer and the soap effectively cut through grease, especially on plastics. When I have a lot of greasy dishes to wash, I usually have to rewash a few dishes where grease remained, or refill the sink with more hot water and soap. I haven't had to do that yet. It also cuts through the stains on the stove vent hood, toaster oven, and other surfaces where grease stains tend to gather, so it's good for more than just dishes. As for it being cost-effective, starting at $3 and going up, a generic dish soap will probably save you more money in the long run, even if you have to use more of it. But given the envoronmental benefits, you might not mind.

The scent is great. I've been using the Fresh Citrus & Ginger, and it has the intoxicating effect of making you excited to wash dishes, so unless you're Anne of Green Gables, no one in their right mind looks forward to it, so the scent is another plus. The label says that their scents are derived from whole essential oils and botanical extracts. Seventh Generation is hosting a Nature Makes Perfect Sweepstakes, where you can enter for a chance to win a trip to visit France, Italy, or Vermont where they produce the ingredients for their scents.

Which made me think... Seventh Generation is made in the USA and manufactured in Vermont, but a few of their ingredients come from Italy and France? Are Sicilian lemons really better than Californian lemons? If, as they say on their bottles, "every household in the U.S. replaced just one 25 ounce bottle of petroleum-based dish liquid with a 25 ounce bottle of plant-derived dish liquid, we could save 127,000 barrels of oil", are we really just offsetting how much oil it takes to transport out-of-country ingredients to the manufacturing plant?

I then analyzed a few of the ingredients on their label more closely, which led my brother to point out that the two final ingredients, benzisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone, are both synthetic preservatives commonly used in body care products, washing agents, and varnishes. Both are known to be irritants to skin, eyes, and possibly lungs, as well as being potentially toxic to the human immune system with continued exposure. I've also looked at a few other standard dish soap brands where these ingredients are not used. I'm not saying their synthetic ingredient lists are better over the long run, but they don't claim to be hypo-allergenic and toxic-free. I'm surprised that a company with that platform would use two synthetic preservatives that could be harmful to consumers, even if they use lower percentages of the preservatives.

As for the accompanying Twist dish tools, some are plant-derived and free from oil, others use 100% organic cotton and loofah material. So far, I've only used one of the cotton towels and the white scour pads. The scour pad doesn't seem like it's going to hold up as long as other scour pads I use. I like the cotton towel because it's bright, cheery, and works well on dishes that need a simple wipe off, or on hard surfaces.

Overall, I enjoyed the soaps and might buy them on my own, but had a few concerns about their claimed environmental benefits.

Click through for recipe info and giveaway details.

Now, on to dinner. I'm sure you're hungry by now if you've made it this far! Since I really enjoyed the fresh citrus and ginger scent, I incorporated those ingredients into dinner. Fresh green beans are roasted with fresh ginger and orange slices and served with blackened and seared tuna. The full recipe post will be up tomorrow since this post is wordy enough as it is. I'm excited about it because I used a tangerine rooibos tea from a local bistro in the tuna rub. Citrus and ginger are two ingredients that really liven up a meal, thanks to their vibrant flavor and aroma.

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Giveaway Details

So, how can you cook up a meal in a 12x9-inch Le Creuset stoneware baking dish and clean up after dinner with Seventh Generation Dish Liquid and Twist dish tools? Here's how!

• Leave a comment on this post telling me which scent of dish soap you like the most


• "Like" Seventh Generation on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall with a link to this giveaway. Comment here to let me know you did it.


• Tweet about this giveaway using the following comment: I entered the Seventh Generation dish soaps and Le Creuset baking dish giveaway from @RunningFoodie!
  http://bit.ly/szwtDM.
  Comment again to let me know.

Three chances to win! Please include your email address in the first comment if I won't be able to contact you myself. Giveaway is open to US residents only. Winner will be chosen on Friday.

Good luck!

Cupcake Fail = Cake Ball Win

It wasn't my intention to make cake balls. I made them once before for New Year's Eve, mixed in too much frosting with the cake, and ended up with something that disgusted me. Initially, I planned on making cupcakes flavored with Celestial Seasonings' Sugar Plum Spice tea.

Every year, mid-November, their holiday teas reach the shelves of the grocery store. I really like all their flavorings, like Gingerbread Spice, Nutcracker Sweet, and Candy Cane Lane, a peppermint green tea. I haven't tried Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride yet, so I can't say what it's like. But my favorite of them all is Sugar Plum Spice. It's spicy with a floral note and perfect to sip when the weather outside is frightful. While drinking a cup, I thought back to previous cakes I made with tea and figured Sugar Plum Spice would make for a delicious cupcake flavor.

I have my favorite go-to cupcake recipes, though today I mixed it up and used the Amy Sedaris Vanilla Cupcake recipe,, but halved the original recipe (the link I gave shows the original cupcake recipe scaled in half). I figured that although I hadn't tried it before, I'm sure it would work out well. It looked like a basic recipe.

To begin, I scalded milk and steeped two tea bags in it. After five minutes, I removed the bags and let the milk cool to room temperature.

I also cut open a tea bag and added the leaves to the butter and sugar. I found this adds even more flavor to the cake and you don't notice the tea leaves when you eat it.

When you make a pot of Sugar Plum Spice tea, the tea has a reddish plum color. That wasn't going to work with the cupcake batter because the steeped milk was a little gray, so I added a tiny bit of Wilton food gel coloring to the butter and sugar.

After those two little additions, the recipe proceeds like standard cake recipes. The eggs and vanilla are added to the creamed butter and sugar followed by the flour, in three additions, and the milk in between the flour. I always give cake batters one final stir with the spatula.

I noticed that there didn't seem to be much batter and I was worried the cupcakes weren't going to look very impressive. I like tall, domed cupcakes, not small squatty cakes. There wasn't enough batter to fill the cups up 2/3rds of the way, which technically is what you want. Personally, I always fill them up a little higher when I make cupcakes but there wasn't anywhere near enough to do that this time.

As I expected, the cupcakes didn't really rise much higher than the top of the tin. I also failed to grease the tin properly and almost all of the cupcakes tore as I prodded them out with a butter knife. Failure. Fortunately, they at least tasted flavorful and buttery, with a delicate crumb that melted in your mouth.

I didn't really know what to do with the cupcakes until I decided to turn them into cake balls.

U-G-H.

Thinking back on my last cake ball venture didn't leave me with fond memories. Because I didn't want to waste perfectly good tasting cake, so I proceeded with the idea, making a quick batch of buttercream. I may have made a bit too much because the mixture was kind of tacky after combining the buttercream with the crumbled cake. I stuck it in the fridge overnight and hoped it would be edible.

The next day, I melted two cups of white chocolate chips over a double boiler with shortening. Shortening helps create a smooth consistency that makes it much easier to coat the balls. I don't know how much I used, but it was probably close to 1/3 of a cup until I got the consistency I wanted. It easily flowed from a spoon and wouldn't result in a gloppy mess. I would use Wilton Candy Melts or bar chocolate next time since they melt more easily than chips, which are made to keep their shape. Chips can be used and I often use them because that's what I usually have in the pantry, but it takes longer.

The process went quickly and the cake balls were firm enough to be rolled in the chocolate without melting. I think I was a little sloppy when I transferred them to the wax paper-lined baking sheet, though, because mini disks of chocolate spread out underneath. The tops of the balls were sprinkled with coarse sanding sugar mixed with raspberry jello powder to make a subtle pink sugar. They looked pretty and festive.

They tasted really good, too. The spiciness was dulled a little by the frosting (which I didn't flavor with more tea for whatever reason), though they still were good and the tea flavor did come through. The white chocolate coating wasn't overpowering, either. All in all, success!