The Cherry Tomato and Red Drum recipe (or most recipes) can be made with any grain you want. Millet, quinoa, and buckwheat are whole grains that would work for this. Use the following portions for each.
- Millet: (similar size to quinoa or couscous, chewy, slightly nutty flavor) 1 cup grains to 2.5 cups water. Simmer covered for 25-30 minutes until chewy but soft. This tastes best fresh but you can reheat it the next day and add a tablespoon of water to help it freshen up.
- Quinoa: (sweetest flavor, similar size to couscous, a whole complete protein) 1 cup grains to 2 cups water. Simmer covered for 15 minutes or until chewy but soft. Quinoa, like buckwheat, is great cold in salads or added to soups. You can make large batches and throw it into recipes for a hidden boost of protein to save money and reduce your animal proteins.
- Buckwheat: (similar size to couscous, nutty flavor) 1 cup grains to 2 cups water. Simmer for 12-15 minutes. You can cook this like pasta and strain if you don’t want to worry about the accurate amount of water. For every additional cup of grain, add 1.5 cups of water. This can be eaten cold in salads and tastes great in grain bowls. Ground buckwheat is often used as a hot breakfast cereal or in pancakes
If you’re not able to find red drum when recreating the Cherry Tomato and Red Drum recipe, look for a white, flaky fish such as cod, haddock or whitefish. These have a similar density and work well seared and baked. Lighter varieties such as orange roughy work well, but keep in mind that they may cook faster.
Tomatoes can be expensive once summer is over. During the summer, tomatoes are less expensive and easy to find at the farmers market. Place extra cherry tomatoes in a plastic freezer bag and use a straw to suck out the extra air before fully closing. Remember the bag will stay the shape you put it in your freezer, so make sure the bag is as flat as possible to avoid the tomatoes freezing together. Use these during the winter when cherry tomatoes are more expensive to buy at the store.
Looking to recreate the recipe and need toasted rice powder? This ingredient can be found at most Asian grocery stores (like Payne Oriental Market at 1048 Payne Ave or Hoa Mei Market and Deli at 860 Maryland Ave E). Or you can make your own! Toasted rice powder is simply dry toasted sticky rice or jasmine rice, that is then ground into a powder. Add plain rice to a hot pan and dry toast until light brown and smells like popcorn. Grind into a coarse powder using a food processor or blender and use within 1-2 weeks.
You don’t always need a garden to grow vegetables. Green onions can be regrown inside just from the root. Save 1 inch of the root end and place in a dish of water in a sunny place. Replace the water every few days and cut the green portion with a scissors once it grows more than 6”. It should grow several times before you will need to throw it away.
Using less meat is a great way to make this recipe less expensive and more heart healthy. Swap half the ground beef for cooked brown lentils! Simply cook ½ cup brown lentils in 1 ½ cups water. Be sure to use a large enough saucepan as the lentils will double or triple in size. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, reduce heat and simmer until they are tender. For whole lentils, cook time is typically 15-20 minutes. Lentils are an easy way to increase fiber in ground meat recipes, soups, or taco filling.
If you don’t have or don’t like mustard greens, feel free to swap for your favorite leafy green vegetable. Kale, spinach, or chard would work great. Feeling adventurous? Try turnip, radish, or beet greens.
Save your parsley stems in a freezer bag with your garlic clove skins, onion skins and ends, carrot tops/bottoms/peels, celery leaves and ends, and other scraps for making your own no-cost vegetable or meat stocks.
Want to add more vegetables to this recipe? We recommend sweet peppers, yellow or summer squash, carrots, radishes, or spring turnips. Aim for having 2 cups of chopped vegetables total. Double your marinade portion for each additional cup of vegetables.
The North African Spiced Chicken can easily be made vegetarian by substituting tofu for chicken. Tofu is less expensive and better for your heart health. Choose extra firm tofu and always drain it and press between two plates to squeeze out the extra liquid.
