Category: Healthy

Quick and Easy Soft Corn Tortilla Beef Tacos in less than 20 minutes

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Summer time means less time in the kitchen for many people.This is just a quick recipe recipe I threw together with what I had on hand. Bear in my mind I don’t claim to be the voice of authenticity, but rather the voice of improvising and using whats on hand.That being said what does one do with frozen thin sliced Shabu Shabu style beef(from the butcher in Chinatown), onions, tomatillo sauce, and cheese? Make a taco! But if you have a few mouths to feed or even feed just one and have little time, this is a quick one for you.

Components:
Corn Tortillas
Sour Cream
Tomatillo Salsa
Cilantro
Beef or Chicken ( ground versions work well to0)
Onions
Queso Fresco
Spices( salt or salt free seasoning, pepper, chipotle,Chili powder, garlic,etc)
Pickled Jalapenos and Carrots
Brown your meat and onions in a lightly oiled skillet. Season to taste with salt, pepper, chipotle, etc. Set aside. Heat corn tortillas on each side in an ungreased skillet. Dress each tortilla with meat, cheese, sour cream, tomatillo, and cilantro. Garnish with lime.
* I made mine salt free with salt free seasonings blend. The lime and tomatillo add flavor as well).

Green Hummus From Fresh Garbanzo Beans…MLLA11

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While looking on at clearance fruit and vegetable racks at Pete’s the other day, I came across a huge bag of fresh Garbanzo beans.
I had to ask the clerk what they were exactly. See, I’m used to the dried yellow variety or the ones in cans. The lovely Caron Golden, an expert on the many uses of fava and Garbanzos sent me her link to some great recipes. She advised to savor the garbanzos alone as snack to ‘taste the green’, and boy was she right!Be warned the shelling and popping takes a while, but the result is worth the effort. I decided to do a simple ‘hummus’ variation, served with quartered baked tortillas. I’m submitting this to Lori Lynn for My Legume Love Affair Eleventh Helping, created by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook.
Fresh Green Hummus
2 cups shelled Garbanzo Beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Spike salt free( I am restricting my salt intake)
or sea salt to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
chili oil to drizzle
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Tortillas baked and cut into quarters.
Shell Garbanzo beans. Lightly steam until just tender. Remove from heat. In a glass bowl with an immersion blender, puree beans, spices, cilantro, olive oil, and lemon juice. Place in serving dish. Drizzle hot chili oil on top. Serve with baked tortillas that have been quartered.
Please vote for me in Ile De France Recipe Contest.

Garafalo Pasta… Roasted Balsamic Vegetables and Penne

Garafalo contacted me last month and offered me some samples to try. Who am I to say no? What I didn’t realize upon delivery was that I have been using this product for the past few years. Their packaging is distinct, but the small script label never registered with me. Certain Someone and I always stock up on Garafalo while shopping at Costco. In these lean times it can stretch a meal and provide me lunch at work. So I guess this cant be called a review because the product has been in repertoire for some some time. Not only did they send me Penne, but Spaghettini as well. Garafalo has 21 Signature Neapolitan pasta offerings . Costco normally mixes up a few in their multi packs.
I have made some changes to my diet on doctors orders. I’m pre hypertensive and need to control my salt intake. As a result I am using balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, Non salt blends in my cooking. In less than 2 weeks my taste buds have become accustomed to the natural flavors of food. Tricks like roasting really coax out the goodness of vegetable and more than make up for the lack of salt. When tasting processed or prepared food now, I can taste the excessive salt. So its good that I’m adjusting.
One of my favorite ways with pasta is a simple toss of pasta and my roasted balsamic vegetables. Certain Someone is more of a meat and heavy cream man. But I like it on the light side.

Penne with Roasted Balsamic Vegetables
1 head Cauliflower
1 zucchini
1 pint mushrooms
Green or Red Peppers
1 large Onion
1 carrot
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
Dried herbs of your choice ( oregano, thyme,basil)
Garlic minced
Cracked Black Pepper
1 package Garafalo Penne

Clean , seed,and chop, or slice vegetables into pieces. In a large glass bowl toss vegetables, herbs, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.Let rest for at least 1/2 hour.
Preheat oven to 375F. Boil water for pasta. Add pasta and cook until al dente.
In a roasting pan or cast iron skillet place the vegetables. Roast for 40 minutes or until caramelized and soft .
Toss the pasta in the pan with the vegetables until well Incorporated and coated . At this pint you can add your salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a shaving of Parmesan cheese.

Thanks for all the entries for the Military Wives Cookbook. I drew a name out of a hat…and the winner is Junie Moon! Congrats!

I.O Organic Sicilian Blood Orange Juice, A Chicken Dish,and a Cocktail

I stuck up a Twitter correspondence with the owner of I.O Organics ,Organic Blood Orange Juice. He kindly sent me two bottles for review. I love Blood oranges and to see a product like this naturally intrigued me. Produced on his families farm in Mineo, Sicily, the juice provides 40% more than the FDA recommended amounts of vitamin C. That’s more than the average orange. Potassium, fiber, iron,calcium, and Vitamin A round out the health benefits.

I was worried this would be a sugary drink. Absolutely not! The flavor was crisp and tart, while naturally sweet. One can drink this alone, or make a wonderful cocktail.
Of course my unoriginal self immediately used some of the juice for a healthy orange chicken.This chicken is not fried and cooks slow to produce a slow reduction of Blood Orange Juice , molasses, and brown sugar, Toss in some fresh Broccoli to roast and you have a healthy version of Orange Chicken.
Glamah’s Not Your Food Court Orange Chicken
1 cup I.O ORGANICS Blood Orange Juice
4 chicken thighs ( bone in)
1 head of fresh broccoli
1.3 cup molasses
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
sea salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp ground Ginger
In a heavy duty enameled cast iron pan toss all ingredients and add chicken. It will be liquidy. Slowly roast uncovered at 350 degrees F until liquid starts to reduce and thicken. It will take approx 45 depending on your oven. At the 30 minute stage you can add Fresh Broccoli to the pan to roast in the liquids and with the chicken. When the chicken looks about done, you can turn up the oven temp to 475 to help the juices/liquid caramelize and glaze the chicken. Remove from oven and enjoy. Serve with rice.
I also made a cocktail. Its sub zero here in Chicago and the Blood Orange Juice evoked feelings of sunshine for me.
Banana Blood Orangetini
2 parts I.O Blood Orange Juice
1 part vodka
1 part Banana Rum
Combine all ingredients in a martin shaker with ice and serve in a frosted glass.
You can find more information of I.O Organics Blood Orange Juice here.

Rethinking Salmon…Crusted & Seared In Onion Seeds and Spicy Salmon Cannellini Cakes

I’m sure most posts you are reading this week are about healthy foods, and mine is no exception. I have a rare negative opportunity with Certain Someone away for a while, to turn it into a positive.While my love is away, I can indulge in some healthier foods that aren’t necessarily to his liking and experiment more. Certain Someone is not a fish person, but I love it. However Salmon is one of those fishes I can tire of easily. I purchased a pound and salmon and cut three fillets for this week. Here are two dishes I came up this week: I loved this piece of salmon I dipped in Onion seeds, otherwise known as Nigella seeds or Black Cumin. You can can find these in an Indian market. Lightly heated or toasted a nice light flavor emanates. I was more interested in visual contrast.

Heat a pan than can go into into oven with a bit of vegetable oil on the stove top. Place your salmon (Skin on and side down) dipped with onion seeds on top, in the pan.Lightly season with sea salt.Broil in oven for a few minutes until desired doneness.Turn salmon over carefully once and broil for an additional moment to cook the top. The underside of the skin should be nice and crispy. Serve atop a bed of greens dressed with lemon and olive oil.
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I was craving something else a bit more substantial but light. I toyed with a can of Cannellini Beans which go excellent with salmon and came up with this spicy cakes.Not fried but still crispy, they are lighter , exotic version of salmon croquettes. You can omit the spice but that adds the punch:

Spicy Salmon Cannellini Cakes
makes 6 patties
15 oz can of Cannelini Beans rinsed and drained
6-7 ounce fillet of salmon poached (skin off)
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup Rice Flour
1 small ear fresh corn( kernels scrapped off) or 1/2 cup can. Fresh works best.
1-2 red chilies
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
vegetable oil for greasing the baking sheet
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In a bowl add the can of cannelini beans. and chopped red chili’s. Take an immersion blender and mash. Add egg, rice flour, garlic, flaked salmon,corn,salt, and mix. Mixture will be goopy( for lack of better word). In a separate dish pour in your Panko Bread Crumbs. Grease baking sheet.
With well oiled hands take a scoop of mixture and drop in Panko. Turn over. Its not a firm mixture so you will need to shape it carefully. Drop well coated patties onto baking sheet. Bake for approx 10 minutes and then turn. Bake for another 10 minutes. Patties should be firm and slightly golden.
I served these atop wilted rainbow chard wilted in olive oil and lime wedges.