Of Dogs and Dinner

Today Louie and I went back to obedience training, where we haven't been since before Christmas. It was good to get back into the swing of things. I'm proud to report that Louie and I haven't forgotten anything, and even learned a few new tricks to practice at home. Working on tricks is good to keep him from getting bored, especially on days when it's too cold to spend a lot of time outside.

On the way home, Louie took a little snooze wedged between the back seats in the car, and I started feeling hungry, so, naturally, I began thinking about food. Lunch was coming up, dinner had to be planned and squeezed in between the dentist, choir and confirmation, I still had a few items in the fridge that needed to be eaten, so driving in the car seemed to be the perfect setting for planning the next meals.

I remembered four perfectly ripe avocados in the fridge and a pint of cherry tomatoes on the counter. The word "guacamole" took shape in my head. This led me to thinking about tacos. Voilà! I planned to stop at the grocer's to get a pound of ground meat, taco seasoning, tortillas, cilantro and parsley. Tacos for dinner would please everyone and make great use of the avocados.

Ready to start cooking, I opened the fridge and–how lucky can a person get in one day?–found two nice pieces of ahi (yellowfin) tuna that I had just bought the day before. How could I have forgotten?! Change of plans, then. Seared ahi tuna, served on a bed of baby greens with a side of Japanese rice, became the plan for dinner. Tacos will have to wait.

I often prepare seared ahi tuna quite simply with just a little salt and pepper rubbed onto the surface of the fish and seared in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat for just 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side. The inside will still be raw. Sliced thinly, about a 1/4 inch thick, it can be served with salad greens, mango-avocado salsa, or dipped into a little soy sauce with or without wasabi.

Today, however, I was looking for a recipe with an Asian-style marinade that I could prepare ahead of time and found one on Simply Recipes. I modified it a little and it was excellent. Here's my adaptation of Simply Recipes' seared ahi tuna:

Seared Ahi Tuna

Marinade 2 8-oz. tuna steaks for at least one hour in a mixture of

2 Tbsp. soy sauce (I like naturally brewed tamari, but shoyu is nice, too)

2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil

1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger

2 cloves pressed garlic

1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 minced scallion

Preheat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and sear the tuna steaks for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Slice thinly and serve. See above for suggestions.