Pine Nut and Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Pine Nut and Parmesean Crusted Tilapia Coda Pic 4_5

For the Crust: 

1/4 c. Italian bread crumbs

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, finely grated

1/4 c. ground pine nuts. I used a mortar and pestle

1 tbsp. dried Italian herb mix. Mine had rosemary, marjoram, oregano and sage in it

1 egg

4 Tilapia filets

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Grind the pine nuts with a mortar and pestle till mostly ground. There will be big pieces of pine nuts and it will form somewhat of a paste.

Mix the first 4 ingredients together on a plate

Beat the egg and pour onto a plate

Dredge the the tilapia filets into the egg, then into the dry mixture (read more)

MelindaPine Nut and Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Pork Loin Chops with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

[jwplayer player=”1″ mediaid=”383″]

This luscious smokey sweet raspberry sauce was a spontaneous invention. Tom and I decided to make dinner an event with video instruction. Lights! Camera! Action! Check out our video and let me know what you think.

Ingredients for the marinade:

Juice and zest of half a lemon

1 tbsp. garlic paste (or finely minced garlic)

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 fresh rosemary sprigs

Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the sauce: (read more)

MelindaPork Loin Chops with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

Signature Bug

Sig bugI am going to show you how to make a signature bug. A signature bug is your name in cursive. When you are done it looks like a bug. Now lets get started! The things you will need is some construction paper , a black oil pastel and a pencil.

Sig bug 3

The first thing that you do is fold the paper in half . Then you draw your name in cursive. Go over it a couple times.  Fold it in the same crease you made  before. That is when the pencil comes in.

Sig bug 2

Lay the pencil down on the paper and smooth it over with firm  pressure like shown. (read more)

MelindaSignature Bug

Kale with Celery, Apple and Carrot

Celery Kale Carrot Apple

With the same bunch of kale I used in the angel hair pasta dish the other night, I was able to make this side dish for our pork chops. With the addition of green apples, it added an unexpected tart sweetness to the dish. The trick is to time when you put the different ingredients into the skillet. Experiment with different combinations of veggies with this. I used what we had on hand, enjoying the crunchiness of this combination.

1 Granny Smith apple, diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced (read more)

MelindaKale with Celery, Apple and Carrot

Painted Ceiling

One of the ongoing projects in our cottage is the transformation of our living room. I have begun a classic sky mural on the ceiling. The girls helped me to paint the walls. I was inspired by a painting in our living room for the color palate. It is a muted sea palate that I think helps to bring a calming feeling into our space. I am a big fan of color, but did not want overwhelming color in the living room since I often times have the feeling of being overwhelmed as it is. With a bohemian flair and taking what we already have and incorporating some new paint and soon window coverings, I think we will have a place that might be at once Mediterranean sea with that bohemian flair that is at the heart of my aesthetic. Here are some photos of our on going project and some of the inspiration I met along the way. (read more)

MelindaPainted Ceiling