Seared Scallops with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

I love seafood.  Sushi is by far my favorite food ever.  I'm not talking about a deep fried cali roll but actual fresh fish made into an amazing piece of sashimi, nigiri, or an inventive roll.

I also love cooked seafood.  Crab.  Shrimp.  Lobster.  Salmon. Trout.  Anchovies.  I love it all.

Growing up so close to the ocean, and into a family that loves to fish, I have had the privilege of eating such a wide variety of seafood.  I've had fresh abalone hours after it's been pulled from the ocean.  I've eaten fresh lake trout pan fried the same day it was caught.  I eat seafood every chance I get.  I've eaten at fine dining restaurants overlooking the Ocean, and fish tacos in my car from a local fast food place.

When I eat something amazing at a restaurant, I am always determined to recreate it at home.  I can't afford to go out and eat sushi, or salmon, or lobster.  But I can afford to make that stuff at home on a fairly regular basis.

Last week, I made some amazing Grilled Pineapple Salsa.  It was sweet and spicy.  It reminded me of being back in Hawaii.  Hawaii also has such wonderful, fresh seafood. Instantly I knew that this had to be paired up with an amazing seafood dish.

I had a bag of scallops from Costco in the freezer.  These are the big scallops, about 8 count per pound!  I grabbed out 8, placed them in the colander, and ran cold water over them to thaw them quickly.

When they were thawed, I dried them off on a paper towel.  Seasoned them lightly with salt and pepper and quickly cooked them in a hot skillet with a little bit of coconut oil.  You have to be so careful when cooking scallops.  A few seconds too little and they are mushy in the center.  A few seconds to long, and they end up rubbery and taste like a tire.

As soon as they were done, I placed them on top of a bed of lettuce and crisp cucumber slices.  Topped them with the chilled pineapple salsa, and sprinkled a tiny bit of raw goat feta cheese on top.  I wanted to add some avocado slices, but I was all out.

It.was.delectable.  Hubby said it was light and refreshing, yet filling.

This is one of those dishes that makes you genuinely sad when you finish your plate.  I could eat this every day, all summer long.  

Seared Scallops with Grilled Pineapple Salsa Salad

1 lb fresh/thawed large sea scallops

salt and pepper

1-2 tsp coconut oil

Grilled Pineapple Salsa

4-6 cups mixed baby greens

1 cucumber, sliced thinly (peel and seed if desired)

2 ounces raw goat feta cheese, crumbled

Pat scallops dry.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat a large skillet or grill pain over medium high heat. Add coconut oil.  When oil is hot, add scallops gently to the pan.  Cook 2-3 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown and just barely cooked all the way through.

Divide lettuce among plates or salad bowls. Add several cucumber slices.  Top with hot scallops and pineapple salsa.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Serve immediately!

Grain-Free Summer Fruit Crisp

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." ~Erma Bombeck

Ah, the 4th of July.  A day for celebrating our country with BBQ's, alcohol, and explosives.  A day off of work to spend with your friends and family surrounded by piles of food.  A day spent hopefully near a body of water - a lake, a swimming pool, a slip-n-slide - to help you manage the summer heat.  

When you have food allergies, and you are going to a BBQ, instant panic sets in.  What will I be able to eat?  What if I eat something that makes me sick?  Should I just pack all my own food?  Will I offend the host if I don't eat any of their food?

As I get further along my journey, I have become more pro-active about making sure I will be able to eat when I go somewhere.  I am learning to speak up at a restaurant to ensure I don't accidentally eat something I shouldn't.  I am carrying snacks in my purse in case we are out later than anticipated and I need a quick bite to eat.  I am bringing my own food to BBQs so I can guarantee that there is something I will be able to eat.  

A couple days before the 4th, I asked my in-laws what was on the menu:  cheese burgers, chili dogs, spinach dip, broccoli salad, potato salad, cake, peach cobbler.  All the family 4th favorites.  Nothing I can eat.  

I had to get creative.  Nothing is worse than feeling like the odd man out.  I'm watching you eat your cake while I eat an apple.  Sure, it's a million times better for me, and it's not going to make me sick, but I really miss having cake with everyone else.  

I searched and searched.  I came up with a menu for the day that will be 100% things that I can eat, but will also be foods like everyone else is eating, and yummy enough to share.  

Roasted corn and jalapeño salsa

Late July Organic Chips, Summertime Blues and Sea Salt by the Sea Shore

Grass-fed hamburger patties

Applegate Organic All beef hot dogs

Quinoa "pasta" salad

Grain-Free Fruit crisp

It was going to be a yummy 4th of July for me.  There would be no surviving on a lara bar for me today!  And best of all, there would be no stomach aches and no food hangovers!  

I have a dear friend that has started eating a "Paleo" based diet.  She eats nothing processed, no grains, no dairy, no soy, no legumes, no sugar.  Nothing but lean meats, fish, nuts, fruits, and veggies.  Eating just like someone in the "Paleo" era, or a Caveman, would eat.  She has lost tons of weight, has become super active, and feels amazing.  She is so inspirational to me!

Lately, I get much of my cooking inspiration from paleo style recipes.  With the exception of eggs and a few other minor things, I can eat many paleo recipes, unaltered.  Even though I don't eat this way exclusively, I try to focus most of my meals around this food lifestyle.  I feel so much better during the day if I skip the carbs and fill up on proteins that will fuel my body hours after the carbs have burned off.  

Paleo desserts?   

Who knew there was such a thing?!?!?!  

I love peach cobbler so much, but can't eat that soft, buttery, sweet, cake-like biscuit on top.  Crisps and crumbles are also my favorite, but they are full of oats, flours, and butters.  More stuff I can't eat.  

Enter the grain free crisp.  

I found this amazing sounding grain-free apple crisp at Stacy's Paleo Kitchen.  I read the recipe, and my mouth was already watering.  

A quick call to mom.

"Can you make apple crisp with other fruits, like peaches and berries?  Can they be fresh? Frozen?"

"Yes." 

"Yes." 

"Yes."  

And a bit of advise. 

"Make sure to add some extra thickener to the fruit if you don't use other fruits besides apples or else it may get too runny." 

I went in the kitchen, grabbed out all my favorite fruits, fresh and frozen, and went to work.  I'm a really bad baker because I don't usually measure anything.  I just dump, sprinkle, and pour 'till it looks and tastes right.  Which is probably why I'm so bad at baking where measurements really matter.  This recipe is really forgiving because it will work even if you just use a big spoonful instead of exactly 2tbl of coconut oil! 

Grain Free Fruit Crisp 

4-6 cups mixed fruit, washed, peeled, seeded, cored, etc(apples, plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines, blueberries, raspberries, etc)
1-2 tbl cornstarch  or arrowroot powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbl raw honey
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 - 3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 - 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbl coconut oil
1/3  cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350*.

Place fruit in a medium sized glass baking dish.  An 8x8 square, large pie pan, or a casserole dish. I never measure the fruit, just keep adding until the dish is full.

Sprinkle fruit with arrowroot powder, cinnamon, and honey and stir gently to combine.

In a medium bowl, mix together, almond flour, coconut, pecans, cinnamon, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt.

Top the fruit with the crumble mixture and bake until the top is browned and the fruit starts to bubble, approximately 45 minutes.  Serve warm.

This post was shared on whole food fridays.