Seared Tuna Salad with Wasabi Vinaigrette

Dressing

1 Tbsp wasabi powder + 1 Tbsp and a bit water or 2 Tbsp prepared wasabi paste
1/4 cup olive oil

1-2 tsp rice vinegar

1 T honey

1/2 tsp garlic powder

pinch powdered ginger

pinch salt

Mix wasabi powder and water to form a paste. Slowly whisk in olive oil. When thoroughly combined, add vinegar, adjusting amount to taste. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Allow to sit at room temp for at least 1 hour for flavors to blend. Taste, adjust sweetness with additional honey and spiciness with a pinch of cayenne pepper if desired.

Salad

1 8 oz bag lettuce or greens, your choice.

1 dozen calamata olives

1 dozen grape tomatoes, halved

1 avocado, cubed

4 oz feta cheese, crumbled (optional: substitute 2 oz bleu cheese for half the feta)

handful sliced almonds

Toss together lettuce, olives, tomatoes, avocado, cheese. Sprinkle with almonds.

Tuna

1-12 oz or 2-6 oz tuna steaks

2 T toasted sesame oil

1 T chili oil (“Mongolian Fire Oil” is good)

corn or canola oil

sesame seeds

Buy only tuna steaks that are still cryo-sealed and frozen hard. Do NOT accept partially thawed steaks from the display case. Thaw in the refrigerator for 36 hours.

In a bowl whisk together the sesame and chili oils. Open the tuna and roll around the bowl to coat well; cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Get a cast-iron or nonstick skillet burning hot over highest heat. Put a little corn or canola oil in the pan. Sprinkle the tuna with sesame seeds, place seed-side down in the pan and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds. Cook for 90 seconds only - DO NOT MOVE the steaks until it’s time to flip them. Flip, sprinkle cooked side with sesame seeds, and cook for 60-90 more seconds. The sides should be just completely grey. Remove from pan and allow to cool.

Slice tuna thinly (about 1/8 inch) along the grain. It should be nicely pink in the center. Arrange atop the salad. Drizzle the dressing over. Serve.

Kebab-stuffed artichoke bottoms

1/2 c short-grain brown rice
1/2 c wild rice medley
1 T dark miso
1-2 t schwarma seasoning or cumin
2-4 dashes chile oil

1/4 pound kebab meat (or spiced ground beef or lamb)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1 t garlic powder
kosher salt
1 T light oil

1 can artichoke bottoms
crumbled feta cheese

Put the rice, miso, schwarma seasoning and chile oil in a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until the water is absorbed.

Heat oil in a skillet. Break up the meat into small pieces and brown. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic powder, and a pinch of kosher salt and saute, tossing occasionally, until the onion is translucent.

When the rice is ready, add the meat mixture.

Arrange the artichoke bottoms in a skillet and spoon over the rice mixture. Sprinkle with crumbled feta. Place under a hot broiler for 1-2 minutes until the cheese starts to brown.

A quick lunch salad

This poorly-presented bowl of yumminess contains grape tomatoes, scallions, cucumber, olives, avocado, some white rice cooked with golden raisins, and goat's milk feta, all dressed with a couple tablespoons of gently-warmed ginger-scallion oil.

It was quite nice. The green olives were a bit too vinegary, they kind of clashed with the ginger flavor, but the mild black olives were fine. And the occasional raisin was a burst of contrasting sweetness that really highlighted the onions and the saltiness of the feta.

You could make it a much less intense (and much less expensive) experience if the proportions were altered to be more rice and less of everything else: a rice salad with some vegetables instead of a vegetable salad with a little rice.

It was accompanied by a small glass from a bottle of 4-dollar sake from the local whole food market. I think the stuff is intended to be cooking-quality vile, but chill it down and it's really quite tolerable.