This tasty little treat is the perfect little salad to pop in your ice cold cooler and take to the pool! 
The longer it marinades the more flavorful it is!

I found this awesome little recipe over at The Paleo Mom. 
I'm diggin' her site.

2.5 pounds cooked shrimp
3 avocados cut up into bite size pieces
4 TBL fresh lime juice
3 TBL olive oil
1/2 a bunch of cilantro
fresh crushed black pepper

Put all ingredients in a gallon size ziplock bag & shake it up!

Green leaf or Romaine lettuce - (whole leaves)
Wrap shrimp salad in leaves...and munch away! 
You will be the envy of all at the pool.  :o)
(Especially if you have a bottle of Pinot Grigio to go along with it - sorry, that part is not paleo or Whole 30.)

                                     It is no secret that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Noryangjin Fish Market.
When I was in Hawaii I ate sushi EVER.SINGLE.DAY.  When I returned home I was still craving fishie goodness and knew there is no better place to help curb that craving than Noryangjin Fish Market. So with no time to waste I threw on my rain boots headed out for a little bit of Korean love - fish market style:

              I have posted this recipe before, but I have adapted it just a bit since then and made it even better.

1 TBL olive oil
1 medium red pepper, finely chopped
1 medium onion (red or yellow - I used 1/2 of each because that is all I had in my house), finely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic chopped
1 TBL Oregano
A few shakes of crushed red pepper (if you like more spice add more – I did)
1 cup of good dry white wine
2 cans 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
Salt to taste
2 pounds halibut cut into bite size pieces
1 pound mussels (scrubbed and beards removed)
1 pound shrimp
½ pound oysters (shucked)
1 pound clams (shucked or not, whichever way makes you happy - I like unshucked)
¼ cup fresh chopped basil

In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until very hot. 
Add chopped peppers and onion and cook 6-8 minutes or till tender, stirring occasionally. 
Add garlic, crushed red pepper & oregano, cook 1 more minute stirring. 
Add wine and heat to boiling, boil for 2 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes, salt and ½ cup water; heat to boiling over medium-high heat. 
Add mussels and clams reduce heat to medium-low and simmer covered 8-9 minutes or until shells are open. 
Add shrimp and halibut, cook for another 4-5 minutes or until shrimp are nice and pink & fish is cooked through. 
Remove from heat, sprinkle with fresh basil and serve immediately. 

I don't know why I don't have Caesar dressing made and ready to go at all times.  This salad is a favorite of all 4 children.  Yes, I said ALL FOUR CHILDREN.  From ages 7-16.  They all love it and they all had more than one serving last night.  Boy 2 had at least 3 servings - I'm thinking possibly 4.  True story.   If that isn't enough to sell you on this salad, then there is no help for you.

What you will need to make this happen:

First of all you need a food processor.  If you don't have one you could try a blender.  It won't be as good as a food processor, but it will probably work.  Let me know if you try it this way. 

For the Caesar Dressing you will need:
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese - it is so totally worth it to grate your own.
1/2 cup of fresh grated pecorino romano cheese - it is so totally worth it to grate your own.
1 2 oz package of anchovy filets (in oil)
3 TBL FRESH lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
4 garlic cloves
2 TBL Dijon mustard
3/4  cup + 2 TBL of good olive oil
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Put all ingredients EXCEPT olive oil and salt and pepper in food processor.

Once all ingredients are in the food processor put the lid on and turn on - slowly add the olive oil while the food processor is running.

Add salt and LOTS of fresh ground pepper to taste.

Homemade Croutons:

Of course you buy croutons as there are some really good ones on the market, but if you want an over the top Caesar Salad you really need to bite the bullet and make your own.  Plus they are super easy and don't take much time at all.

Preheat oven to 325 F

3 cups of sourdough bread cut into crouton size bites  (really you can use almost any bread you like, I like a sourdough for my croutons)
4 TBL olive oil
4 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

Heat olive oil in a 12 inch skillet - add garlic, thyme, oregano and rosemary till fragrant.

Add bread cubes to the mixture - toss around to coat.
Put bread crumbs on cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until bread cubes are nice and golden.

Bringing it all together:
Put 1 or 2 heads of Romaine lettuce cut into bite size pieces (my family goes through 3!) in a large bowl. 
Toss with dressing, start with 3 or 4 tablespoons (you can always add more, but you can't take away!)  When you have salad properly dressed, toss in croutons.  Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.  Grate fresh parmesan over the top.  And you will have this: 

Options:
To make it a meal add grilled chicken or shrimp!
YUM-O!

Traditions. 
Funny thing, I don't even remember how we started this tradition or how long we have been doing it. 

The thing with traditions:
As you all know we are a military family. 
We move on average every two years. 
Things rarely stay the same for us.
New house.
New friends.
New schools.
New jobs.
New playgrounds.
New  pets.
New restaurants.
New grocery stores.
And that just scratches the surface.

This, my friends, is one of reasons behind my madness. 
So many things in our lives change so often that I need and want stability for our kids, my husband and myself.  
Even with all the change in our lives there are so many things that stay the same and there are many areas where I can help create that stability: 
The 'guts' of our house - even when we can't take all of our worldly things with us we take as many things as possible to help create that "we are home" feeling.
Our true friends. We may make new friends everywhere we go, but we also keep in contact with those we have met over the years.  Thank goodness for Skype, Facebook and Kakao!  :o)
And traditions. Traditions are a huge part of that stability.  Even though I may not remember when, where or why we created a tradition, it is something that doesn't change in this crazy life we live.

                                                                             New Year's Eve Fondue!
As we were sitting around the fondue pot this New Years eve the kids mentioned how every year we invite someone to join us for fondue.  We reminisced about Austin....Austin was Boy 1's BFF in elementary school/Junior high and how he spent a couple of years around our fondue pot ringing in the new year with us.  Girl's friend Lauren, who now lives in Spain is now bugging her mom about start this tradition in their own home.  Connor, Boy 1's BFF from the past 2 years in Texas hung out doing fondue with us last year.  This year was Boy 1's girlfriend.  How awesome is that? 
Tradition.

Reminder:  Cheese coming out of the fondue pot is HOT. 
Don't burn your mouth.

One of the cool things about living in Seoul is that on NYE morning you can run to the fish market to pick up fresh shrimp for fondue.  The uncool thing is that I have to remove the heads. 

Fill fondue pot about 1/2 full of peanut oil.  Heat on high until peanut oil reaches a temperature 350 - 375.  To cook food stab with fondue fork and put in oil.  Cooking time depends on what you are cooking.  Shrimp takes the least amount of time depending on the size of the shrimp.  This is where you will need to experiment.  Chicken & pork need to be cooked all the way through - steak can be cooked rare - well done depending on your preference. 

You can dip shrimp and chicken in Tempura if you so choose.
Feel free to marinate your meats or leave them as is before cooking.
I marinate our steak in Soy Sauce and Montreal Steak Seasoning.
I add salt and pepper to the chicken. 

                              This is actually my FAVORITE thing to eat during the entire fondue experience:

Stuffed mushrooms:
What you will need for stuffed mushrooms:
Large mushroom caps
1 brick of cream cheese
1/4 cup of chives
Tempura Batter.

Mix cream cheese and chives together in a bowl.
Fill mushroom cap with mixture.  Stick fondue fork through the cap in the meaty part of the mushroom.
Dip in tempura, covering ALL AREAS.  Make sure everything is covered in tempura batter or your oil will pop!
Put in oil and cook until golden brown.

My mouth is watering just looking at this picture.

Something new we tried this year was stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon.  That's right, I said bacon.  Mmmmm.

Stuffed Jalapenos:
Large jalapenos
bacon
cream cheese and chive mixture (use the same as the mushrooms)
shrimp
tempura batter

Cut the top off the jalapeno
Slice one side of the jalapeno, keeping it attached
Deseed
Put some of the cream cheese/chive mixture on once side of the jalapeno
Put a shrimp on the other size
Squeeze the jalapeno back together and wrap with a piece of bacon
Stab with fondue fork & dip in tempura batter, again making sure to cover EVERY AREA!!  Put in fondue pot and cook until a deep golden brown. 

Hello beautiful.

A few important thing you need to know about the meat course.
- Have separate plates for uncooked and cooked meats.
- NEVER let the uncooked meat touch your cooked meat plate.
-Do NOT touch uncooked meat with your hands.
- Do NOT eat off fondue fork.  You are sure to burn yourself.
- Place cooked meat on your 'cooked meat plate' and eat with a fork.


                                                                             Fondue Rule:
The only rule in fondue is that if you lose something in the fondue pan during ANY course you must kiss someone of the opposite sex at the table. 

Dessert Fondue.
The last course.
Can you guess what Boy 1 said before this course?

Melt both types of fondue in fondue pot on low heat stir until smooth.

Things for dipping:
Strawberries
Bananas
Pound Cake
Cheese Cake
Blueberries
Raspberries
Marshmallows
Pretzels
Really anything that taste good dipped in chocolate.

Vote on which flavor you like better.
In this house we are 3 for dark, 4 for white.

Fondue starts in our house anytime after noon on New Years Eve.
In between courses we play games, watch movies and just hang out.
5 minutes before the new year we open the sparkling cider!
This year we had sparkling grape and cherry.
As a reminder to myself: Don't ever buy cherry again.

Ringing in the New Year!
Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!

HOLY SMOKES.  I totally outdid myself on dinner tonight.  It was A M A Z I N G ! ! !  I had to come straight to my computer to tell you all about it.  My kitchen isn't even clean. True story. 

I know this meal needs a better name, but I can't think of one and it doesn't really matter.  Just make it and eat it and drink the wine that goes with it.  You will be happy you did.

So, we need to start at the beginning.  This morning I went to the fish market at 8:30AM (after 5:30AM swim team and 7:30AM swim lessons - I just HAD to throw that in ;o).  It was a quick trip.  I knew what I was going for.  Mussels, 1 kilogram = 2,000 won.  I bought 2 kilograms which is 4.4 pounds.  I bought 4.4 pounds of 'FRESHIE' (you must live here to understand) mussels for $3.55!!!!  I'm not kidding!  After the fish market I ran home, stuck the bag in the fridge and opened it so the mussels could breath and headed out to the fabric market (that blog is coming soon). 

Anyway, fast forward to tonight.

MUSSELS IN SPICY WHITE WINE SAUCE...
Here we go. 
As with all fresh mussels you want to do a little maintenance. 
First, put them in fresh water so they can spit out any dirt they may have eaten.  Soak them for at least 20 minutes. 
While they are hanging out in the water you want to remove the 'beards' and toss out any that are dead. 
To tell if a mussel is dead - easy, it is open and will not close when you tap on it or mess with it.  Toss this guy.  Also if his shell is broken or cracked, toss him.
Next - debearding.   The beard is the funky junk hanging out of the mussel.  Grab the beard and pull down towards the bottom of the shell.  The beard should come right out.  If it doesn't, just cut it off.  No biggie. The beard will not harm you if you eat a little of it. 
Now, on to the recipe:

1 box of fettuccine
4 TBL butter
1 small onion, diced
8-10 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup of dry white wine. (I only cook with wine that I am willing to drink.)
2 medium size tomatoes, chopped
2/3 cups of bottled clam juice
4.4 pounds of fresh mussels
1-2 TBL crushed red pepper (depending on how spicy you like)
3 sprigs of rosemary
Asiago cheese - I found some with rosemary and olive oil - YUM!

- Cook pasta in boiling water until almost al dente; (about 8-9 minutes) drain. Put past in a large bowl.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic to pan and cook about 5 minutes or until onions are tender. 

Add wine to pan.  Let it cook down for about 4-5 minutes stirring occasionally.  (This wine was VERY YUMMY in the recipe and in the glass.)

Add the clam juice, tomatoes, fresh rosemary and crushed red pepper.  Cook for about 2 minutes - bring to a boil. 

Add mussels, one layer at a time.  (I had to do this in 3 separate cooking sessions.)  Cook the mussels covered in the tomato/butter mixture for 4 minutes or until the mussels open.  Remove the mussels and repeat until all mussels are cooked.  If mussels a few mussels do not open, toss them. 

Pour mussels and sauce over pasta.
Sprinkle with Asiago cheese.
Pour yourself and your loved one a glass of vino.
Enjoy.
 

Cheesy Garlic Bread

You will need garlic bread to sop up the amazing sauce you just created.

1 loaf of your favorite bread. 
1/2 cup of butter - melted
4-6 cloves of fresh minced garlic
Fresh mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, or my new favorite Asiago with rosemary and olive oil

Cut bread in half lengthwise.
Melt butter, add fresh minced garlic cloves to melted butter
Spread 1/2 the garlic butter on each side of the bread

Add your favorite cheese to the bread.  As much or as litte as you would like. 

Bake at 400 degrees F for 8-12 minutes or until all cheese is melted.  (I made one half with Asiago and one half with fresh mozzarella.)

When you are finished with your meal, sop the juices up with your bread.
Ahhh...heaven.

HOLY GOODNESS.  This recipe is a little bit of heaven.  Fresh clams are the way to go!   I was a little nervous about making this recipe as I have never made clam chowder before.  Boy 1 is a HUGE fan of clam chowder and is a huge critic of food in general  (his poor future wife. She probably won't cook.)  I was a little afraid this would not be up to par, but in the end it was!  He said this was the best clam chowder he has ever eaten (in his 16 years of life..  :o)  And I must admit this was pretty darn good!  It could have been a little thicker and next time I will mash a few more potatoes in it and let it cook a tad bit longer.  I take no credit for the recipe Epicurious didn't fail me - for the original recipe click here.
I only made a few minor changes.

This recipe takes a little advanced planning but it is TOTALLY worth it! 

Now go out and buy some clams!!

5 pounds small clams
3 cups water
4 oz salt pork - diced
2 TBL butter
1 large onion - diced
2 celery stalks - diced
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme - leaves removed and chopped (about 1 tsp)
2 bay leaves
1.5 pounds potatoes - diced (I used mini Yukon Gold)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Fresh ground black pepper
Kosher salt

Fill two large pots (or two sinks) with cold water. Place the clams in one pot of water, discarding any dead ones or clams with cracked shells. Gently move them around in the water and let them soak for a few minutes, then lift them out and place them in the other pot of cold water. Rinse the first pot and fill it again. Move the clams around again, then transfer them back to the clean pot. Continue to switch the clams back and forth, letting them soak for a few minutes each time, and then lifting them out of the pot, until the water remains crystal clear. The process should take four or five soakings.  

**Note if you buy your clams fresh in water this process doesn't take as long as if you plucked them from the ground yourself.

.
Put the 3 cups water in an 8-quart pot, cover, and bring to a rolling boil. Quickly but gently place the clams in the pot and cover again. After 4 minutes,remove the lid and quickly stir the clams with a wooden spoon, trying to lift some of the clams from the bottom to the top so they will cook evenly. Cover and continue to steam for another 4 to 5 minutes. (The broth will most likely overflow just as the clams have finished cooking.) All the clams should be open; if not, steam
them a minute or two longer. Remove the clams and strain the broth; you should have 4 cups. 

When the clams are cool, remove them from the shells - if you choose.  I like to leave some of them in the shells.  Cover and refrigerate until later. 

Heat a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the diced salt pork. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until  the pork is crisp and golden brown.

Add the butter, onion, celery, thyme, and bay leaves to the pot and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned.


Add the potatoes and the reserved clam broth. The broth should just barely cover the potatoes; if it doesn't, add enough water to cover them. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, cover, and cook the potatoes vigorously for about 10 minutes, or until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center. If the broth hasn't thickened lightly, smash a few potatoes against the side of the pot and cook a minute or two longer to release the starch. 

Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the clams and the cream and season to taste with black pepper and possibly a pinch of salt (the saltiness of steamers varies). If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely.  Otherwise, let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour, allowing the flavors to meld.