Teriyaki Marinade

I often use homemade marinades to infuse meat, seafood or tofu with flavor before baking or grilling them. Teriyaki is a favorite at my house and it seems I make this marinade every other week.

You can either use soy sauce or tamari for the base. Tamari may be harder to find but because it has a higher concentration of soy beans and no grain (making it virtually gluten-free), it is thicker, smoother richer, and less salty than the more common soy sauce. Once you try it, you won't go back.

The recipe below makes just under 1 cup, enough to marinade 2 lbs of chicken wings, or 4 salmon fillets, or 1 lb of shrimp, or 1 package of extra firm tofu. I like to make it a day ahead so the flavors have time to develop before throwing in the protein to marinade for another 4-8 hours.

Makes 1 batch

• ½ cup tamari or low-sodium soy sauce = 120 ml de sauce soja ou de tamari
• ¼ cup mirin or white rice vinegar = 60 ml de mirin
• ¼ cup brown sugar = 50 g de cassonade
• 3 cloves garlic, minced = 3 gousses d'ail, émincées
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger = 2 cuillères à soupe de gingembre frais râpé
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil = 1 cuillère à soupe d'huile de sésame
• pinch red pepper flakes = pincée de flocons de piment rouge

Put all the ingredients in a jar, screw lid on and shake well . Use right away or refrigerate for up to 10 days.

Grilled Chicken in Lime-Cilantro Marinade

Yes. Another marinade... I told you I was a fan! This exotic one goes well with any poultry or fish. Marinate, then grill with whatever method is convenient to you: grilling pan on the stove, indoor or outdoor grill. For a light lunch or dinner, slice and serve on top of mixed greens. If you are craving carbs, it's a great companion to my Southwestern rice casserole.

Makes 4 servings

• 4 boneless chicken breasts = 4 blancs de poulet
• A bunch of fresh cilantro = une botte de coriandre fraiche (feuilles)
• 2 crushed garlic cloves = 2 gousses d'ail, écrasées
• ½ cup olive oil = 120 ml d'huile d'olive
• Juice from 2 limes = jus de 2 citrons verts
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin = 2 cuillères à café de cumin
• 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder = 1 cuillère à café de ancho chile (en poudre)
• salt and black pepper = sel et poivre

Place chicken breasts in a large ziplock bag. Combine marinade ingredients together in a food processor or blender and pour over chicken. Marinate in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours.

Remove chicken from bag, season with additional salt and pepper, and grill about seven minutes per side. Enjoy!

Beef & Veggie Stir-Fry

My son and I just got back from my hometown of Lyon, a city known as the gastronomy capital of France. Need I say more? Well. Yes. We fully enjoyed all the amazing bread, cheese, charcuterie and pastries there! I'm not sure I want to step on the scale right now... Anyway, after this incredible French feast, I was craving Asian flavors this week. But let's face it, I was jet-lagged and not highly motivated to spend hours in my kitchen. I love how stir-fries come together quickly and are loaded with healthy veggies. You can use whichever you have on hand but I always go for a mix of at least 3 colors: green (green beans, broccoli, snow peas, zucchini), yellow (baby corn, bell pepper, squash), red or orange (bell peppers, carrots), purple (eggplant, “red” cabbage). We seldom eat red meat (and when we do, it is organic, grass-fed beef only) and I have made this stir-fry with shrimp and chicken but it is just not the same. While flank steak is a great (and cheap) option for stir-frying, I prefer the more tender New York strip cut. Serve over jasmine or brown rice, or even rice noodles. Yum!

Makes 4 servings

Marinade

• ¼ reduced-sodium soy sauce = 60 ml de sauce soja
• 4 teaspoons Mirin (or Japanese rice vinegar) = 4 cuillères à café de Mirin
• 2 tablespoons water = 2 cuillères à soupe d'eau
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil = 2 cuillères à café d'huile de sésame
• 1 teaspoon canola oil = 1 cuillère à café d'huile de colza
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar = 1 cuillère à café de sucre roux
• ½ teaspoon black pepper = ½ cuillère à café de poivre

Stir-Fry

• 1 lb organic New York strip steak, cut into thin slices = 450 g de boeuf, filet ou faux-filet, coupé en fines tranches
• 3 cloves garlic, minced = 3 gousses d'ail, émincées
• 1 tablespoon finely minced or grated fresh ginger = 1 cuillère à soupe de gingembre frais émincé
• 1 small onion, chopped = 1 petit oignon, coupé en morceaux
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced = 1 poivron jaune, coupé en lamelles
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced = 1 poivron rouge, coupé en lamelles
• 1 orange bell pepper, sliced = 1 poivron orange, coupé en lamelles
• 8 oz. green beans, trimmed and briefly boiled= 225 g de haricots verts,
  

   équeutés et brièvement cuits à l'eau
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch = 2 cuillères à café de maïzena

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag. Add steak slices, stir to coat and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, or up to 2 hours.

Coat a large skillet with a little canola oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add steak, reserving the marinade in a separate bowl. Stir-fry meat for about 3 minutes. Transfer to a clean plate.

Return skillet to heat, add onion and bell peppers. Sauté for 4 minutes. Add green beans and continue stir-frying for another 2 minutes or so.

Stir cornstarch into reserved marinate. Add to the skillet and stir to coat the vegetables. Return steak to skillet and stir to combine. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Grilled Tilapia in Ginger-Soy Marinade

I must confess: at my house, most weekday nights, dinner consists of a grilled lean protein, a starch and a veggie (preferably green). I know what you're thinking, bo-ring! But actually... NOT! I rely heavily on marinades to add healthy flavor. The options are limitless: wine (red or white), herbs, mustard, spices, citrus juice, etc... This Asian-inspired marinade is my absolute favorite for tilapia or mahi-mahi, or really any mild white fish.

To cook the fish, use a grilling pan on the stove or a George Foreman-type grill (mine sits on my countertop and is always ready to go!). In the summer, an outdoor grill is a great alternative, of course.

This goes especially well with basmati brown rice and steamed broccoli. So there you have it: an easy, wholesome, tasty dinner!

Makes 4 servings

• 4 tilapia fillets = 4 filets de tilapia (ou autre poisson à chair blanche et ferme)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil = 2 cuillères à soupe d'huile d'olive
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced = 2 cuillères à soupe de gingembre frais, émincé
• 2 cloves garlic, minced = 2 gousses d'ail, émincées
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice = 1 cuillère à soupe de jus de citron vert
• ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce = 4 cuillères à soupe de sauce soja (allégée en sodium)
• 1 tablespoon honey = 1 cuillère à soupe de miel
• 1 tablespoon water = 1 cuillère à soupe d'eau
• pinch cayenne pepper = une pincée de piment de cayenne

Place all ingredients, except fish, in a ziplock bag. Squish to combine.

Add fish, seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Remove from fridge and let sit on the countertop for 15 minutes. Reserve marinade.

Preheat grill or heat a grilling pan on the stove, cook fish for a couple minutes on each side. Just before serving, brush a little more marinade on top of each fillet. Enjoy!