The Yuca Diaries

I made this for the first time last mother’s day but never blogged it.  I have been thinking of what meals I’ve made recently that would be Paleo friendly and this was one I thought of.   This dish is traditionally eaten on crepes, but since we’re not eating flour I just used lettuce and made a sort of lettuce wrap.  I could have also made a coconut flour crepe, but I was really hungry and didn’t want to mess with it this time.  Anywhoozle, here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups cabbage thinly sliced (Napa cabbage or regular cabbage will work in this recipe)

1 onion thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups shitake mushrooms, sliced (woodear mushrooms would work too)

5 eggs, scrambled

1 bunch scallions,  sliced into long slices

1 cup bean sprouts

2 tbsp. coconut oil

Salt to taste

First slice the chicken breast into thin long strips. Season with salt.    Add 1 tbsp. of coconut oil to a non-stick pan and turn the heat up to high.  Saute the chicken in batches until it is cooked through and browned.  Set aside.  While the chicken is cooking, slice your onion.  The thing I really like about this dish is the charred flavor you get from all of the veggies.  The trick to achieving this flavor is to place your wok over your burner and turn to high.  Add the onions without any oil and let them cook undisturbed for a few minutes.  Take a spatula and stir to saute them evenly, but do not over cook.  Transfer to a holding plate.  Next slice your cabbage and do the same thing with the cabbage that you did with the onions, again remembering not to overcook.  The veggies in this dish should be nice and crunchy.  Transfer the cabbage to your holding plate.  Next add a little coconut oil to your wok and add in the sliced shitake mushrooms.  Cook over high heat until the mushrooms brown.  As your chicken cooks, transfer it to your holding plate.  Next beat the eggs and cook them in a non-stick pan (I used the one I cooked the chicken in).  Once the chicken and eggs are cooked, add all of the contents of your holding plate to the wok.  In addition to this add the eggs, bean sprouts and scallions.  Toss evenly.  Serve immediately.   I served this with some sambal, and typically some hoisin would go well with this, but that isn’t paleo so I opted out.

Here are a few other pictures…

Hi everyone! Sorry i’ve been missing in action for a little while.  I’ve been cooking, but lately I haven’t really made anything quite blog worthy.  Not until this cheesecake at least.  For the sake of ‘keeping it real’ I am not going to lie.  This thing was such a mission to make.  It wasn’t hard at all, but there are a lot of steps and you’ll have lots of dirty bowls by the time you’re done. But please don’t let that deter you. Once you take the first bite,  you’ll realize it was totally worth the trouble.  This cheesecake is much lighter than it’s American cousin,  creamy and subtly sweet. The texture is almost like a souffle. When you pair it with fresh mango, it’s a masterpiece. I made this for mother’s day, and although I had a traumatic experience that day,(sliced my finger with a really sharp knife as I was cutting a bell pepper, bled like crazy, and fainted twice- I know what a sissy!) it had the same effect as when you get a lollipop at the Dr.’s office after a shot.  The good news is you won’t slice your finger since you don’t need any knives to make this!

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese

4 tbsp. butter (2 oz.)

3 eggs (separated)

1 tbsp. sugar

1 ½ tbsp. cornstarch

½ cup milk

¼ cup sugar

Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. Next begin separating the egg yolks from the whites and putting them into separate bowls. Put the bowl of egg whites into the freezer until the edges being to freeze. In a large mixing bowl, blend the cream cheese on high speed, until you have a nice creamy, soft texture, scraping the sides of the bowl to break up any lumps. Add the butter to a small saucepan to soften and slightly melt and add the butter to the cream cheese. Blend again for about 3 minutes on high speed. You want to have a fluffy airy mixture. Set this bowl aside.

Next add ¼ cup of sugar to the egg whites and beat until you have a soft meringue. Set aside.

Add the cornstarch, milk, and 1 tbsp. of sugar to the bowl with the egg yolks. Whisk everything well and place the bowl over a double boiler, stirring consistently until the mixture becomes very thick. Add this mixture to the cream cheese and combine well. You’ll want to scrape the sides of the bowl and the bottom to make sure you’ve incorporated everything well.

Now we’ll begin gently folding in the egg whites, about 1/3 of the mixture at a time.

Line your pan with parchment paper. You’ll want to make sure the parchment comes up about 1” above the pan. Pour the batter into your pan and place in a water bath. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 320°F and bake for another 25 minutes. Turn off the heat, but leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 40 minutes before removing. Cool the cheesecake and cover the pan with foil. Refrigerate overnight or at least for 4 hours. Slice and serve with some fresh mango.

Mutter Paneer is my favorite Indian Dish. It is from North India and its also vegetarian.  B. and I had it for the first time a few years ago at this great Indian restaurant in Panama City.  It’s the best Indian food we’ve had to date.  Paneer is an Indian farmer’s cheese, and in this dish, it is cooked in a beautifully spiced sauce with peas.  Simmered to perfection and great for dunking Naan into.   I’ve seen this dish also made with cottage cheese, but I prefer it with the solid cheese.  It was my first attempt at making this dish and it was really really good.  All I needed was the Mango Lassi to complete the meal.

Ingredients:

2 cups cubed paneer (or solid frying cheese)

1 tbsp.  canola oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 tsp. freshly grated ginger

4 garlic cloves, minced or grated

1 tsp. ground turmeric

1 tbsp.  yellow curry powder

1/2 tsp. garam masala

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1 small red chili (minced, for a milder version, remove the seeds before chopping)

1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes

1 cup plain yogurt

3 tbsp. cream (light)

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

salt to taste

First begin by cubing the paneer.  In a non-stick skillet, place a little canola oil into the pan and turn the heat up to medium.  Next add in the paneer and begin browning. Turning over once the bottom side is golden brown.  Once all of the cheese is browned, transfer to a holding plate.  Next begin making the paste by adding the grated garlic, ginger, curry powder, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, and  cayenne pepper  into the skillet with a little canola oil.  Let the paste simmer on low heat, while you chop up the onion.  Add in the onion to the skillet and pour in the can of crushed tomatoes to the pan.  Next, add the yogurt, cream,chopped chili and salt and whisk everything to remove any lumps from the yogurt.  Let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes on low heat.  Add in the lemon juice, frozen peas and the paneer and stir well. Let everything simmer for another 5 minutes and serve.  Garnish with some freshly chopped cilantro.

Side note: In case you’re wondering what is in the bowl next to the paneer, it’s coleslaw.  I know you may think it is weird, but we picked up this custom from Brandon’s stem-mom who’s from the Bahamas where this combination is very popular.  Ever since she turned us on to this, we cannot have curry without the coleslaw.  The sweetness and crunchiness of the coleslaw is so refreshing against the spiciness and creaminess of the  curry.   All I’m sayin’ is don’t knock it till you try it.

A  few weeks ago, I asked you what veggie you would like to see more of through the Yuca Diaries’ facebook page.  There was an overwhelming response for eggplant.  Secretly I was so happy about this, because eggplant happens to be one of my favorite vegetables.  Did you know that in Italy it is known as the “poor man’s cutlet”? It is such a versatile veggie. So I embarked on my mission to cook up a tasty eggplant dish, but to my dismay, I went to four different grocery stores only to find out from the produce manager that the crop had been ruined because of bad weather.  I was overjoyed when I found my beloved eggplant about three weeks later.  So without further ado, here is what I made when I finally got my hands on it.

Ingredients:

4 Chinese eggplants

1/4 cup sliced green onions

4 garlic cloves, minced

1″ knob of ginger, minced or grated

1/3 cup canola oil

For the sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup vegetable stock

2 tbsp. duck sauce

2 tbsp. rice vinegar

1 tbsp. chili paste or Asian hot sauce like Sriracha

First slice the eggplant into planks, about 2-1/2 inches long. Add the canola oil to a wok and turn the heat up to high. Add the eggplant in batches. You may have to add a little more oil for the second batch. Saute the eggplant on high heat, stirring occasionally.

Let the eggplant get golden brown on all sides. In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the sauce and whisk until you have an even mixture. Mince or grate the garlic and ginger and transfer to the wok with all of the eggplant.

Make sure the heat is set to high and then add in the sauce, tossing everything around really well. Add in half of the green onions and mix well. Reserve the rest of the green onions for the garnish.

Serve with steamed rice.

Satay is one of my favorite Thai appetizers.  When we lived in Miami, our favorite Thai restaurant was called Tani Thai, and had the best chicken satay.  They brought the skewers on these mini hibachi grills where you’d place the skewers to keep them warm while you ate. Fast froward a few years later and we still haven’t had satay as good as that one.  I tried making satay last night for dinner with a spicy peanut sauce.  This dish was easy and a great way to use up boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Serve with some refreshing cucumber salad and some Thai fried rice and you’ll have a great meal.

Ingredients for the Satay:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 shallots

5 garlic cloves

3 tbsp. palm sugar (you can use dark brown sugar as a substitute)

2 tsp.ground coriander seed

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cumin powder

2 tbsp. canola oil

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp. freshly grated ginger

2 kaffir lime leaves (If you can’t find this, use some lime zest- about 1 tsp. You can also use lemongrass.  Just the tender stalk, minced)

1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 bird chilies (if you can’t find this, you can substitute with your favorite red chili, just use about 1 tsp and remove the seeds.  You can also use chili paste)

2 tsp. salt

Add the shallots, ginger, garlic, chilies, kaffir lime leaves, and lemon juice to a mini food processor.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and then add in the turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, lime juice and sugar.  Whisk well and then add the oil and salt.  You should have a thick paste at this point.  Slice the chicken breasts horizontally to think out the slices.  You could also pound out the breast to make it thinner.  Begin cutting the chicken into long strips and adding it to a zip-lock bag with the marinade.  Refrigerate for one hour.  Skewer the chicken onto bamboo sticks.  Spray your grill with a little non-stick spray and turn the heat up to medium high.  Place the skewers down on the grill and let it cook undisturbed for about 5 minutes on each side, baste the chicken with any remaining marinade about halfway through the cooking process.

For the peanut sauce:

5 shallots

3 garlic cloves

2 bird chilies (red chilies)

1 tbsp. canola oil

2 tsp. freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tsp. ground coriander

3 tbsp. palm sugar (or brown sugar)

1/4 cup boiling water

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/4 cup coconut milk

First roughly chop the garlic, shallots and chilies and saute them in a non-stick pan on medium heat with the canola oil.  Add in the grated ginger and cook for about 2 minutes before adding in the peanut butter.  Using a spatula, begin stirring the peanut butter as it melts into the sauce. Next add in the coriander, lime juice, soy sauce , coconut milk and sugar.  Cook everything until the sugar dissolves. Transfer this sauce into a blender or food processor and add in the water.  Blend until you have a smooth and creamy consistency.  Serve with the satay.

Braising is a great way to cook tough cuts of  meat in a way that will yield a melt- in- your- mouth, cut -with- a- spoon, consistency.  I used brisket for this dish, which was braised in velvety coconut milk  along with a few other ingredients for a few hours on low heat until it was super tender. The old adage is true… good things come to those who wait, and this is a great example.

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs. brisket, trimmed of visible fat

2 tbsp. canola oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

8 garlic cloves

2 tbsp. fresh grated ginger

1 can coconut milk

3 cups chicken stock

2 tbsp. tomato paste

2 tbsp. dark brown sugar

1 tbsp. fish sauce

1 or 2 limes (zested and juiced, adjust to your liking, but I liked mine with the juice of 2)

2 tbsp. red curry paste (I used a Thai curry paste for this)

1 tsp. cayenne pepper or siracha hot sauce

salt to taste

green onion and red onion for garnishing at the end (you don’t have to do this, but I thought it added a little extra vibrancy at the end)

The first thing to to is add the canola oil to a large dutch oven and turn the heat up to high.  Cut the brisket into large chunks and pat dry with a few paper towels.  Season with a little salt and add in batches to the dutch oven to begin browning. Make sure to turn the meat around using tongs to brown on all sides.  Transfer to a holding plate when the meat is browned.  Repeat until all of the brisked it browned.  If too much oil is rendered from the meat, make sure to remove it from the dutch oven.  Begin dicing your onions and peppers and grating your garlic and ginger.  Add this to the dutch oven and begin cooking cooking the veggies until they’re tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the curry paste to the dutch oven and with a spoon or spatula begin combining it with the onions, peppers and the rest of what’s in the pot.  Next add in the coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce, brown sugar and the juice and zest of one lime.  Combine everything really well and then transfer the meat and all of the juices that may have accumulated on the plate into the dutch oven.  Give everything a good stir, taste for salt, and then place the lid on the pot.  Cook undisturbed for about 1 1/2 hours.   Check on it at this point.  Add in the cayenne pepper or hot sauce and stir.  The sauce should still be quite liquid at this point but don’t worry, it will thicken later with your help and a little time.  Continue to cook the beef for another half hour.  At this point,  begin slicing your green onions and anything you’d like to add to garnish.   Remove the lid and add in the tomato paste and a little more lime juice.  Make sure to dissolve the tomato paste well into the sauce.  Allow the beef to simmer with the lid off to reduce the liquid a bit for another 20 minutes.  Serve with jasmine rice and top with your sliced onions.

A couple of weeks ago we went to this great Vietnamese restaurant by our house.  I ordered the chicken fried rice, expecting the traditional fried rice you always get at a Chinese take out place.  To my surprise, it was quite different, and very delicious. I have no idea if this is traditional Vietnamese fare, but since I ate it at a Vietnamese restaurant, I assumed it was.   I tried re-creating this dish and I must say it came out really close to the real thing.  Try making this instead of your go-to recipe next time, it was really tasty.

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups cooked (day old ) Jasmine Rice

1 large onion, diced

2 garlic cloves

3 eggs

1/2 cup peas

1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro

2 tsp. yellow curry powder

1 tsp. white pepper

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. rice vinegar

1  tsp. sugar

1 tsp. fish sauce

2 tbsp. canola or peanut oil

1 bunch scallions

First chop up the onion and garlic and saute with a little canola oil on high heat  until they become tender, using a wok or deep non-stick skillet.  Once cooked, transfer to a holding plate.  Next rinse the chicken breasts and pat them dry.  Slice the chicken into thin slivers and transfer to the wok with a little more canola oil, tossing around to cook though. Add the chicken to your holding plate.  Scramble the eggs into the hot pan and cook through, making sure to leave them sort of runny because they will continue to cook once you mix them in later.  Add the eggs to your holding plate.   Next add a little more oil to the pan and add the rice in, stirring up.  I used day old rice, and it was cold from the fridge, so I used my hands to break it up.  Once the rice gets hot evenly throughout the pan, add in the chicken, eggs, onions, garlic and peas.  Make sure to stir everything really well.  In a separate bowl, create a seasoning liquid by mixing the curry powder, white pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar and add to the wok.   While everything  is cooking, chop up the cilantro and scallions and add them to the rice.  Taste the rice to make sure it’s seasoned well, and add more soy sauce if necessary.  Reserve a little bit of the cilantro for the garnish and serve.

I’ve mentioned here before how there are a few restaurants I really miss from back home. One of these is The Beverly Hills Cafe in Miami. Actually not in Miami, because it closed, much to our dismay on our last trip to Miami. B. and I used to go there often; we just couldn’t get enough of their hot rolls, great salads, dressings and for me, the healthy bowl. A rice bowl with lots of veggies and your choice of protein from steak, chicken, shrimp or salmon. Beverly Hills cafe specialized in casual American cuisine- so this is an Americanized take on an Asian dish. Not any dish in particular, just Asian elements like Teriyaki sauce, and bean sprouts etc… So here’s my attempt below.

Please note, you can make this dish vegetarian by omitting the steak and using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock for the rice.

For the Yellow rice:

2 cups parboiled rice

2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 onion finely diced

1 red pepper finely diced

2 tbsp annatto oil or 1/2 tsp. saffron threads

1 tsp salt

First dice up the onions and red pepper. Add the annatto oil to a pan (with a lid for steaming later). Or if you’re using saffron instead, add 2 tbsp. of olive or canola oil to the pan and then transfer the onions and peppers and sauté. Wash the rice well in a sieve and remove all of the excess water. Transfer the rice to the pan and sauté on high heat, mixing in the peppers and onions. Next add the stock, the saffron threads and salt, and stir well. Let the rice cook on high heat until about half of the liquid has absorbed, then cover with a lid and turn the heat to low.

For the Teriyaki sauce:

1 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar (I used z sweet and a dash of honey since we’re trying to cut the amount of sugar we’re eating)

2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, grated

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1 tsp. cornstarch

1/4 cup water

Add all of the ingredients to a small sauce pan (except the cornstarch and water which you’ll add at the very end to thicken up the sauce a bit) and let it simmer until you have the consistency of a glaze or the sauce coats a spoon well. Mix the water and cornstarch and add to the sauce to thicken it a little. Use half of the sauce for the flank steak and reserve the rest for drizzling on top later.

For the steak:

Trim the steak of any visible fat, rinse and pat it dry. Transfer it to a meat cutting board and place a piece of plastic wrap over the top, large enough to cover the whole piece. Use a meat mallet to pound out the steak and really tenderize it. Flip the steak over and pound on the other side. Brush one side of the steak with the Teriyaki sauce and place face down on the grill. I used my outdoor grill for this dish as the flame-grilled flavor reallyis closer to the original dish. Let the steak cook undisturbed for about 6 minutes. Flip it over and brush the Teriyaki sauce on the other side. Let the flank steak cook for another 4-5 minutes on this side. Let it rest for about 8 minutes before slicing on the bias.

Vegetables:

1 carrots

2 cups broccoli florets

2 cups sliced red cabbage

1 red pepper

1 green onion bunch

1 cup bean sprouts

Peel and cut the carrot into small pieces. Slice the cabbage into thin shreds and cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces. Steam gently until the veggies are cooked, but still have a little bite. Slice the green onions and red peppers and set aside.

To assemble:

Scoop a bed of rice on a serving platter. Next place a layer of vegetables in the middle. Next add the steak and drizzle with a little Teriyaki sauce. Lastly top with crunchy Asian noodles and serve.

So I know this has nothing to do with Thanksgiving but I couldn’t help myself.  I have been craving Asian food lately like it’s going out of style.  Pad Thai was always so intimidating to me.  Like it would be so difficult or unattainable at home, but alas, I was surprisingly mistaken.  Like the broccoli beef, this was quite easy.  The most tedious part was chopping all of the veggies, but I personally find chopping vegetables therapeutic- weird I know…

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 package flat medium width rice noodles (I got mine at the Asian market)

1 carrot

1/2 red pepper

1 bunch scallions

1 tbsp. minced ginger

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

4 eggs beaten and cooked

1/2 cup bean sprouts

3 tbsp hoisin sauce

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp. fish sauce

1 tsp. siracha (asian hot sauce with the rooster on the front)

1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts

canola or peanut oil for stir frying

4 lime wedges

Begin by thinly slicing the chicken breasts into slivers.  Season with a little salt and set aside.  Add 2 tbsp. of canola or peanut oil to a wok and turn the heat up to high.  Once the pan is hot, add the chicken and saute until the chicken is cooked through.  Transfer to a holding plate. In a separate pot, add some water and bring to a boil.  Peel the carrot and slice into thin matchstick pieces.  Slice the red pepper into thin strands and add to the wok with a little more oil and the carrot.  Saute on high heat for a few minutes, until the veggies still retain a bit of bite, but don’t get soft.  Transfer to the holding plate.  The water should be boiling by now.  Drop in your rice noodles and cook them for about 4-5 minutes.  Making sure that they’re al dente since you’ll continue to cook them a bit in the wok later.  Transfer the noodles to a colander and rinse with cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking together.   Add a little more oil to the wok, and scramble the eggs.  Cook them until they’re a soft scramble- you want them slightly on the wet side.  Put them on the holding plate once cooked. Slice the scallions on the bias and roughly chop your cilantro and set aside. Now it’s time to  create the sauce for the pad Thai.  In a separate bowl, add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, siracha, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar and rice wine vinegar.  Combine well with a whisk and set aside. Add a little more oil to the pot and transfer the noodles to the wok.  Gently stirring around.  Dump all of the cooked ingredients on your holding plate and the eggs and begin gently tossing everything around.  Next add the sauce and continue to toss.  Add the scallions, cilantro and bean sprouts- reserving some cilantro and scallions for the garnish.  Once everything is combined well, transfer to a plate.  Garnish with the cilantro and scallions in the middle and top with the crushed roasted peanuts.  Serve with lime wedges.  Enjoy!

This was an easy meal with lots of crunchy broccoli and tender flank steak.  It only took me about 30 minutes to make- perfect for a weeknight meal.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs. flank steak

1 onion

1 tsp. fresh grated ginger

3 garlic cloves grated

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup water

2 tbsp. hoisin sauce

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

2 cups fresh broccoli florets

canola oil for stir-frying

First thing to do is add a little canola oil to a wok.  Slice the flank steak against the grain and lightly dredge in cornstarch.  Once the wok is hot, add the beef and quickly sear the meat.  Do this in batches to avoid over crowding the wok and creating a braising effect. In a separate pot, add 1/4″ of water and ever so lightly steam the broccoli.  Remember, you’ll add it back in later so it should be a little firmer than you’d like at this point.  Once all of the beef is cooked, remove from the wok and set aside. Finely slice your onion, and grate the ginger and garlic.  Next add a little more canola oil to the wok and transfer the onions, garlic and ginger.  Cook on high heat stirring frequently. Next transfer the broccoli and steak.  In a separate bowl, combine the water, soy sauce, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil. Stir well and dump this sauce into the wok, tossing around all of the ingredients.  The cornstarch on the beef will add as a thickener.  Cook for about 2 minutes before removing from the heat.  Serve with steamed white rice.  Enjoy!