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…

I know this isn’t much of a come-back after an almost three month hiatus, but seriously, don’t knock it till you try it.   I think this is the longest I’ve gone without blogging, and really it’s because things at work have been nutz-o. Having said that, the last thing I’ve felt like doing is cooking anything elaborate after a crazy workday.  Lately, I’ve been making things that are quick, easy, and don’t involve a lot of clean-up. I came up with the veggie delight sandwich- totally a knock-off of the subway sandwich, but so much yummier.  I finally had a little down-time over the weekend and decided it was time to get back to blogging with this recipe.

I’ve been busy with other things too besides work- In November I became the proud owner of my very first Ocarina and my life hasn’t been the same since then… here’s a you-tube video of my progress… not exactly Beethoven, but i’ve been teaching myself and I don’t read music so it’s been a slow process.. the audio is awful too since I used my cheap little webcam…

Then the other thing that has been going on is that we’ve started watching battlestar galactica… it is so good we don’t want to think that it will ever be over…

But back to the reason why I logged on anyway, the veggie delight… my new favorite sandwich.  It sounds simple and boring, but trust me when I tell you that you won’t believe how much taste is packed into this baby.  You should go try this, like right now.

Ingredients:

1 whole wheat baguette

2 tbsp. butter

1 garlic clove, grated

1 large tomato, cut into thin slices

1 red onion cut into thin slices

1 bunch scallions cut into thin rounds

1 1/2 cup broccoli cut into thin slices (with stalks)

1/2 cup sliced button mushrooms

2 tbsp sliced black olives (I usually add this, but was out of them today)

1 jar mild banana peppers (this is really the star of dish)

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

lots of freshly cracked pepper

Olive oil- to drizzle on top at the end

Salt to tase

First, slice the baguette lengthwise.  Grate the garlic into a small bowl or sauce and add the butter.  Melt the butter and let the garlic infuse it.  With a pastry brush, add a thin layer of melted butter to the bread and place on a baking sheet.  Toast in a 400 degree oven until the bread is slightly crunchy.   Remove from the oven.  While the bread is cooking, slice all of the veggies and begin layering on top of the bread, first the tomato, then the mushrooms, then the broccoli, then the onions, then the scallions, then the olives and lastly the banana peppers.  Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on top, and season with salt and pepper.  Lastly drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the top and eat immediately.

This recipe has a story behind it, one that I’d like to share as part of my entry in the Spreading Smucker’s® Traditions Recipe and Essay Contest.

When I was in my early twenties I moved to Ohio to be with my husband. That time in my life was exciting and filled with new changes. Thanksgiving came shortly after I arrived. I had just moved and couldn’t afford to go home to spend it with my family. Although I missed everyone, it was also one of the happiest moments of my time in Ohio. That year, I planned an elaborate meal for the two of us. We often drove by the Smucker’s plant in Orville, Ohio and that gave me the idea for the Thanksgiving turkey I prepared. I kept the same recipe that my grandmother had always used, but I added an apricot glaze. To some it may have been just a Thanksgiving turkey, but to me, it represented much more- the love I had for my family’s traditions, and my excitement for contributing to those traditions with my own personal touch. I made all of the Thanksgiving fixings and we had dinner in our quaint little kitchen. Although we were not able to spend that Thanksgiving with our family, we were comforted by the familiar flavors of home in our first Thanksgiving meal together.

Ingredients:

2 turkey breasts split in two (brined for 8-12 hours previously)

8 cloves of garlic

1 large grapefruit

2 limes

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup Smucker’s Apricot or  Peach Preserves

1 package turkey bacon (optional- I did one breast with the bacon and one breast without)

First, remove the turkey from the brine and place the breasts in a roasting pan.  Grate the garlic into a paste and divide in half.  Use half of the garlic and spread it evenly on both breasts.  Season the turkey well with salt and pepper and squeeze the juice from one lime and one grapefruit over the turkey.  In a separate mixing bowl, add the apricot preserves, the remaining garlic, salt, pepper and the juice of the other lime and the other grapefruit and whisk well.  Using a basting brush, brush on half of the glaze over the each of the turkey breasts.  Cover with foil and place inside a 325 degree oven.  Cook for 45 minutes and remove the pan from the oven.  Remove the foil and at this point if you’d like to use the bacon, drape it over the turkey breast. Baste the breasts with some of the drippings. Next, brush the remainder of the glaze over the turkey breasts and place back in the oven to cook for another 25 minutes.  Right before serving, place the roasting pan under the broiler to crisp up the skin/bacon.  Remove from the oven and let the turkey breast rest for 8 minutes before slicing.

Please visit www.smuckers.com to enter an essay of your own.  Good luck to all!

I have been sort of lazy in my blogging as of late. It might be caused by the extreme heat we’ve been feeling in Texas this summer.  If you don’t live in the Midwest, it’s hard to really describe unless you’re experiencing it.  It feels like the sun is shooting lasers at your skin if you’re outside for more than 5 minutes.  There is no cloud coverage at all.  We had a slight reprieve when the temperatures dropped dramatically to 90 degrees during the day! Needless to say, this heat just zaps any energy you have.  It reminds me of the twilight zone episode called Midnight Sun where people are suffering extreme heat exhaustion because the sun is burning constant all day and night.  So what does this have to do with my blogging you might ask? Well the truth is that I just don’t feel like cooking things that are hot, or cooking at all for that matter.  There have been days where I’ll have cereal for dinner or crackers and deli meat.  The days that I do cook, I try to make stuff that isn’t too heavy, and the last thing I feel like doing is messing with camera equipment, staging the shoot etc.  I am beyond ready for fall.  I have been trying my best to get into the spirit of the fall season but it’s really hard to do that when it’s still 108 degrees in the late afternoon.  I did manage to make a light roasted salmon which I served with a fresh green salad.  This is fast, easy and not too heavy if you’re feeling the heat too.  Plus it doesn’t take that long to cook so your oven won’t emit heat for that long.  We all know how high the electricity bills are coming in trying to cool off our homes in Texas!

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs. fresh salmon fillets

1 bunch green onions

1 small onion cut into thin rounds

3 garlic cloves

2 tbsp. butter

1-2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

freshly cracked pepper

salt to taste

First, pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees.  Place the salmon in a baking dish and season with salt and pepper.  Cut thin pats of butter and place them on top of the salmon and underneath. Place the onion rounds under the salmon.  If you want to spray your baking sheet with non-stick spray that is probably a good idea to prevent the salmon from sticking.   Place in the oven for about 6 minutes.  Remove from the oven and flip the salmon over.  Season with salt and pepper.  Slice the green onions and grate the garlic.  Rub the grated garlic over the salmon and sprinkle the green onions on top.  Squeeze the lemon juice over the top and cook for another 4 minutes.  Remove from the oven and serve with a nice crisp salad.

I made this soup for the first time about a month ago, when I saw that corn on the cob was on sale for 20 cents a piece.  This soup is light yet filling. Paired with a fresh green salad, it makes a lovely weeknight meal. My only gripe is that I made this after dark and the pictures didn’t come out that great, but I intend on swapping out the pictures the next time I make this.

Ingredients:

6 cobs of corn (you could use three cups of frozen corn kernels if you’re in a hurry)

1 quart chicken stock

1 tbsp. flour

1 small onion

2 tbsp. butter

4 tbsp. cream

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

First wrap the corn in foil and bake them in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let them cool enough for you to handle without burning your hands.  Next remove the kernels of corn from the cob and set aside.  Chop the onion and set aside.  Add the butter to a pot and let it simmer on medium heat until the butter turns slightly brown and nutty.   At this point add in the onions and let them cook until they become tender.  Add the flour to the pot and then add in the chicken stock, corn nutmeg, cayenne pepper and salt. Make sure you taste the soup before adding the salt because the chicken stock also has salt in it.  Whisk vigorously to break up  any clumps of flour that may have formed. It’s not a whole lot of flour so it should be fairly easy to incorporate.  Let everything simmer for about 5 minutes before transferring all of the contents of the pot into a blender.  Blend on high speed for about 4 minutes.  It seems like a long time, but blending it well will give you a gloriously velvety soup.  Add all of the contents back to the pot and add in the cream. Stir the soup to combine the cream well and serve hot.

Side note: if you want to make this a vegetarian soup, just swap out the chicken stock with vegetable stock.

Last summer my assistant went on a fishing trip and caught a ton of stripped bass.  I had never had stripped bass, but coincidentally, had researched the possibility of going out on fishing excursion for just that.  I grew up in Miami, and my dad was a fisherman for some time.  He did it for sport and was really good at it.  His love for for fishing was passed on to my brothers and I.  But alas, I moved to north Texas where there is nary an ocean in sight.  The closest one is probably Galveston, but that’s still a ways away.  I had never done freshwater fishing, but there are several lakes in the area where you can fish for stripped bass, largemouth bass, sunfish, and several varieties of catfish.  I never went on that fishing trip because it was super expensive to hire a guide for half a day, and you could only catch 2 fish per person.  I figured I’d just go and spend the money on a nice piece of fish from whole foods since that was a sure thing.  My assistant went on a fishing trip again this summer, and she brought me back a nice fillet of stripped bass. I had never had it, but it was really good.  The texture was really firm and the fish was mild.  I was so thankful to her for bringing me a piece- I am now reconsidering that fishing trip since I liked it so much!

Ingredients:

1 lb. bass fillet (or any firm white fish)

2 tbsp. Cajun seasoning (I use this one)

2 tbsp. butter

2 garlic cloves, grated

2 tsbp. lemon juice

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 tsp. salt

First pre-heat your oven to broil on the medium setting.  Place the fish in a baking dish.  Grate the garlic and with a butter knife, spread a thin layer of the garlic over each piece of fish.  Next sprinkle the Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper over the fish.  I normally don’t use seasoning blends as I find that I like to make them myself, but this is the exception- this is a great spice blend and is very versatile. Cut the butter into thin little slices and place the pats on top of the fish.  Squeeze the lemon juice over the fish and broil for about 9 minutes on the middle rack of your oven.  Garnish with the green onions and add more lemon if desired before serving.

Last weekend I made a southern inspired meal which consisted of  sweet tea, buttermilk oven-fried chicken, cornbread, coleslaw, mashed potatoes and home-made pound cake with a citrus cream.  Fried chicken is something we rarely eat, but about once a year we’ll get a hankering for it.   I attempted to make fried chicken for the first time during the memorial day weekend, but it was a complete train wreck.  The recipe I followed looked great in the pictures, but the chicken itself was gross, the breading was not crunchy, in fact it was soggy in parts, and didn’t have much taste.  I decided to create my own recipe this time and I think it was MUCH better. Letting the chicken marinate in buttermilk really yields a super moist texture that is only complemented by the crunchy exterior.

Ingredients:

1  chicken (2-3 lbs but no bigger)

4 cups buttermilk

3 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. paprika

2 tbsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pepper

canola or peanut oil for frying

Begin by cutting the chicken into pieces.  Make sure you wash each piece really really well.   Get in there and remove all of the gross bits like the veins and excess fat along with that clear goop that the chicken tends to have. Rinse each piece with vinegar and set aside.  In a large gallon ziplock bag, add the buttermilk and then begin adding the chicken.  Store the chicken in the fridge overnight to marinate.

The next day set up your breading station.  In a shallow bowl add the flour and all of the seasonings and combine well.  Begin taking each piece of the chicken and dredging it in the flour.  Set aside until you’re ready to begin frying.

The next steps are crucial if you want to get a nice crispy texture on the outside.  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line the bottom of a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking. In a large non-stick shallow  pan, add enough oil to come up about one inch from the bottom.   Turn the heat on to medium high, and let the temperature come up to 360 degrees.  Once the oil is hot, begin adding the chicken in.  Do not crowd the pan because you’ll cause the temperature to drop and this will give you an oil texture instead of a nice light crunchy texture.  Allow the chicken to cook until it has a very light golden color on all sides.  Make sure you use tongs to turn the chicken and to remove it from the pan- using a fork will pierce the meat and cause the juices to flow out yielding a dry texture- NOT what you want in fried chicken.  Transfer each piece of chicken to the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 35-40 minutes, making sure to turn the chicken once through the baking process.   To keep the chicken crispy, place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and then place the chicken pieces on the cooling rack to drain any excess oil.  Season with a light sprinkling of salt all over and serve hot.

If it weren’t for the story attached to this post, I may not have considered this “blog worthy”. You see, pollo a la plancha, or grilled chicken, is a very simple, almost no-brainer of a dish. It’s basically a boneless, skinless chicken breast that is grilled with some onions, and is available in every Cuban restaurant in Miami. It’s healthy and perfect for a weeknight meal. But this dish will forever hold a special place in my heart because of the following story.

When I was very young and growing up, I had a very very dear friend named Dana. Dana and I were inseparable, truly joined at the hip. Dana was, and still is one of the quirkiest people i’ve ever known. She is extremely funny, but the kind of funny that is so without trying to be. One of the best kinds of “funnies” in my opinion. Dana and I were together a lot, and it was not uncommon for her to come to dinner with my family and vice-versa. One day, we went to this very popular restaurant establishment called “Islas Canarias (Canary Islands) for dinner. The waiter comes around and introduces himself, brings the menus and says he’ll be back to take the order shortly. So we’re all looking at the menu and when the waiter comes around everyone starts placing their order. Finally the gentleman gets to Dana and asks, “and what can I get for you, young lady?” Without batting an eyelash, she blurts out “I’d like the “pajaro planchado please”. Needless to say, this started a wave of hysterical laughter in the restaurant that only got louder and louder. I almost choked on my drink, my brothers were cracking up and the poor waiter (whom was an older, serious fellow) had to hold back tears of laughter. Dana was dying of embarrassment which made it all the funnier and the more we tried to stop laughing the harder it was. It was so funny- the kind of funny where your stomach hurts, you can’t breathe, and you’re wiping tears from your eyes. For those who don’t speak Spanish, she had just referred to the grilled chicken breast as an “ironed bird” instead of “chicken on the grill”-and although it doesn’t translate well into English, was one of the funniest things I’d ever heard. It was one of those “you had to be there moments” but suffice it to say that every time I have this dish it is “parajo planchado” and not “pollo a la plancha”.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 lime

1 tsp. salt

1 small onion, cut into thin rounds

2 tsp. olive oil

The trick to making this dish really flavorful and juicy is to butterfly the breast, and then pound it out so that it’s nice and thin. You also don’t want to cook the chicken any longer than you have to, otherwise it can be as dry as the sole of your shoe. Since the chicken is very thin, it wont take long at all.  About 2-3 minutes on each side. Begin by seasoning the chicken breasts on both sides and setting aside.  In a large non-stick skillet or grill pan, add the olive oil and turn up to high heat.  When the pan get really really hot, add the chicken breasts and let them cook until they get nice and slightly golden.  Flip them over, squeeze a generous amount of lime juice over the chicken and finish cooking on the other side.  Transfer the chicken to a plate.   Next add the onions to the pan, season them with a little salt, and saute them for a few minutes, until they’re nice and translucent and have sweetened.  Place a bed of onions on your serving plate and then place the chicken on top of the onions.  Serve with white rice and black beans, or a large green salad for a healthier option.

I started the gym again and after the pain I put myself through on that elliptical, I didn’t want to just blow it on something super fattening.  I was in the mood for a nice satisfying dinner that was also healthy.  I saw this recipe on foodgawker,  last year and added it to my favorites.  I have been meaning to make it for some time now, and was glad I thought of it last night.   The recipe was easy to make, high in protein, low in carbs and full of fresh veggies.  I think this is going to make a comeback again real soon in my kitchen.

Recipe Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats, serves 6

For the burger:

2.5 lbs. lean ground turkey

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 garlic cloves, grated

1/2 red onion, grated

1 tsp. olive oil

6 tbsp. shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Begin by placing the ground turkey into a mixing bowl.  Add the Parmesan cheese, the basil, oregano, salt, and pepper to the bowl.  Next add in the grated garlic, onion and olive oil and combine well.   Form a thin patty and then place one tbsp. of the mozzarella cheese on top of the patty leaving a rim around the edge with no cheese.  Place some more of the burger mixture on top of the patty, covering the cheese and pinching the edges to lock in the cheese.  Place a non-stick skillet (one with a lid) on medium high heat and let the pan get hot.  Place the burgers in the pan and brown well.  Flip the burgers over and allow them to brown on the other side.  These burgers are sort of thick, but you’ll have to cook them all the way through since you’re using poultry.  An easy way to do this is to place the lid on the pan and bring the heat down to low.  Allow the burgers to cook undisturbed for 10 minutes.

For the brushetta topping:

8 Roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup diced red onion

2 garlic cloves, grated

2 tbsp. freshly chopped basil

1 tbsp. freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste ( I used lots of freshly grated pepper for this)

While the burgers cook, begin making the topping and balsamic glaze (recipe to follow).  Begin by dicing the tomatoes and adding them to a mixing bowl.  Finely dice the onions and add them to the bowl, along with the grated garlic clove.  Chop the parsley and basil and toss into the bowl.  Next add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and combine everything well.

For the Balsamic Glaze:

1  1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. dark brown sugar

1/2 of a  small garlic clove, grated

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Add all of the ingredients to a small saucepan and let it simmer on medium heat until it reduces to the consistency of maple syrup.  Assemble the burgers by placing the brushetta topping on top of each burger and then drizzling with the balsamic glaze.  I served this with a garlicky pea puree.

I made this soup recently when it was stormy and rainy outside.  Something about rainy weather just makes you reach for something warm and comforting and this fit the bill.  It goes really well with a nice piece of crusty garlic bread.  Also, good to know, this soup freezes really well.  If you’re going to freeze it, just chop the parsley and spinach and add it to the soup when re-heating.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces

2 quarts chicken stock

1 large onion

1 bay leaf

1 sprig thyme

5 cloves garlic (grated)

2 carrots

1 tsp. olive oil

2 cups sliced mushrooms

5 cups fresh chopped baby spinach

1 cup fresh chopped parsley

2 tbsp. cream

1/8 tsp. cumin

2 whole lemons

1 cup dried orzo (you could sub this with white beans if you’re trying to watch the carbs or want to make this gluten free)

lots of freshly cracked pepper

salt to taste

First wash the chicken well and cut it into pieces.  Place the chicken into a stock pot along with the chicken stock, bay leaf and thyme.  Allow the chicken to cook on medium high for 25 minutes.  Remove the chicken and place on a cutting board. Strain the stock and put it back into the stock pot.  While the chicken cools, dice the onion, slice the mushrooms and grate the garlic.  Transfer to a non-stick skillet and saute with a tiny little bit of olive oil ( 1 tsp.). Allow the veggies to cook on medium high heat.  Remove the skin off the chicken and begin shredding into large strips.  Add the spinach to the skillet and saute until it slightly wilts.  Transfer the chicken back into the stockpot along with the ingredients in the skillet.  Stir everything well and begin peeling your carrot.  Cut the carrot into cubes and add to the pot.  Bring the soup up to strong simmer and let it cook for 10 minutes before adding the orzo.   Add in the cumin and pepper. Squeeze the juice of the lemons and stir well. Cook until the orzo is al dente.  Finish off by adding the cream and the chopped parsley.  Remove the bay leaf and the thyme stalk before serving and add a little extra lemon to your bowl if desired.  Serve with crusty garlic bread.