The Yuca Diaries

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 is quick and great for a party appetizer.  Since sweet potatoes are in season, I had a few on hand and thought I’d use em up.  You could totally make this a vegetarian meal by omitting the turkey bacon.  I love how cute this little appetizer is lol.

For the sweet potato cakes:

2 cups mashed sweet potatoes

2 eggs

1 cups flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 tsp. baking powder

4 tbsp. butter

1 green onion stalk, sliced into thin rounds

1 pinch cumin

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. black pepper

salt to taste

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees/ Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Next add the mashed sweet potato to a deep mixing bowl.  Next add in the eggs, butter and green onions.  Combine all of the wet ingredients, before adding in the dry ingredients.  Once all of the ingredients are in the same bowl, combine well, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and place a dollop of the mix onto the surface of the cookie sheet- it should look like the size of a lemon (in diameter).  Flatten them down a little with your spatula and bake for 25-30 minutes.

For the salsa:

1 can black beans, drained

1 cup corn kernels, thawed

5 strips turkey bacon, diced

1/4 cup red onion finely diced

1 tomato cubed

1 stalk  green onion, plus more for garnish

3 garlic cloves, grated

1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/8 tsp. cumin

salt to taste

Add the corn, tomatoes, black beans, onions, garlic and green onions into a bowl. Cook the bacon in the oven at 400 degrees until it is crispy.  Slice the bacon into thin pieces and add to the bowl.  Next add in the lime juice, olive oil, black pepper, cumin and salt and combine every thing well.

For the garlicky sauce:

2 tbsp light mayo

2 tbsp. light sour cream

1 garlic clove grated

1 tsp. fresh lime juice

salt to taste
Combine all of the ingredients well.  Making sure to remove any lumps- you want a velvety smooth cream.

Assemble  by placing a sweet potato cake down on a serving dish. Next spoon a dollop of the sauce, followed by a scoop of the salsa.  Garnish with some sliced green onions.

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.

I am embarrassed to say that I have only posted one recipe using yuca, and the fact that this blog is called the YUCA Diaries means I need to start adding more yuca recipes pronto!  So this is a simple yuca appetizer or side dish that is probably the counterpart to American French fries. I rarely fry food, but this is one of those occasions where I made an exception. These were served with a garlicky dipping sauce. Without further ado… here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 package frozen yuca

6 cups water

2 tsp salt

oil for frying (I use canola)

Add the water , 1 tsp. of salt and frozen yuca to a pressure cooker and cook on medium high for about half an hour or until the yuca is really tender. Dump the yuca into a colander to drain. Set aside to cool a bit.  You’ll want to cut the yuca into strips similar to the size of steak fries.   Add oil to a non-stick pan and turn the heat up to medium high.  Once the oil is hot, add the yuca in and let it cook undisturbed until it’s golden brown.  Transfer to a cooling rack and season with a little salt.

For the dipping sauce:

1 cup light mayo

1 bunch finely chopped Italian parsley or cilantro (whichever you’re in the mood for.  I used parsley this time)

2 large garlic cloves, grated

2 tbsp. water

3 tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/8 tsp. soy sauce

salt to taste

First add the mayo to a mixing bowl. Next grate the garlic and chop the parsley and add it to the bow.  Mix well.  Finally add in the water, lime juice soy sauce, and salt and combine well. Enjoy!

I have said many a time here before how popcorn is my favorite snack.  Popcorn and frozen yogurt actually, I can’t quite pick between the two, it really just depends on whether I want something sweet or savory.  Popcorn is one of those things, that no matter how full I am, if I smell it, I want it.  It makes watching movies so much more enjoyable, but after reading an article that named movie-theater popcorn as one of the worst foods of all time, I no longer treat myself to the buttery, crunchy delight.  This inspired me to make  delicious popcorn at home.  Microwave popcorn doesn’t even count as far as I’m concerned.  But not all popcorn was created equal either.   There is a right way to enjoy popcorn in my opinion:  using only three ingredients and cooked on the stove.  Something else I’d like to point out is that there are all kinds of gourmet popcorn kernels available- the perfect gift for the popcorn lover in your family.  They range from the whitest of white all the way to  midnight black. Some yield fluffy large kernels and others yield crunchier smaller kernels.  Tastes also range from mild and crisp to nutty and buttery.  Today I’ll show two varieties, and my favorite way make home-made popcorn.

The first variety I made was the standard golden Orville Redenbacher popping corn.  The actual corn kernel is large and plump, and has a beautiful golden color.  The popped kernel yields a mild flavor, pops really fluffy and large and has a slight yellowish hue to it.

The second batch I made is known as “black jewel” popcorn.  The description on the site says ” black jewel kernels are smaller with a tender hull that shatters when it pops. This means you get fewer hulls in your teeth and gums. Fewer hulls mean black jewel popcorn is also easier to digest than yellow kernel popcorn. Black Jewel is a very flavorful, crunchy textured popcorn that pops snow white with black centers.  I found this description to be very accurate.  I will add that this variety has a much more noticeable “corn” flavor.  After trying them back to back, you realize how mild the standard variety is.  I personally like the black jewel variety better.  Also worth noting, the black jewel produces less volume than the standard yellow.  I had to use twice the amount of kernels to yield the same amount of popped corn that the yellow variety produced.  This is because the black kernel is smaller in size and not as fluffy.

Here is a picture of  the black jewel  kernels when they’re un-popped and popped.

Now look at the difference side by-side:

Recipe for perfect home-made popcorn:

Ingredients:

3  tbsp.  popping corn kernels (double this amount if you’re making the black jewel variety)

2 tbsp. canola oil

2 tsp. popcorn salt

Add the kernels and oil into a pot with a lid and turn the heat up to medium high.  Leave the lid off until you start to hear a slight sizzle.  Place the lid over the pot and when you hear the first few kernels pop, turn the heat down to medium.  Turn off the heat once you hear the popping slow down a bit- about 1-2 minutes.  Let the pot rest for about one minute before removing the lid.  Transfer the popcorn into a large bowl and sprinkle the popcorn salt over the first few ladle fulls of popcorn.  Continue to add the popcorn to the bowl and season the top with a little more popcorn salt before serving.

Side note: it is very important that you use popcorn salt.  Popcorn salt is just salt that is very fine, but because it is so fine, it sticks to the popcorn.  Regular salt won’t stick to the kernel and you’ll have bland popcorn. Also. good to know, this popcorn keeps well in a zip lock bag for about a week.  I usually make a big batch and then put them in individual bags to take to work.  I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe as much as we do, all in all it is a healthy snack that is full of fiber, whole grains, and gluten free. Plus, your house will smell like the movies for a little while which makes it great for those cozy blockbuster nights with your honey.

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.

Have you ever been to a restaurant and ordered something you loved and thought to yourself, ‘”I bet I can make this at home”?  One of the dishes I’ve been meaning to try my hand at is the Sweet Corn Tamale Cake from Cheesecake Factory.  I finally got around to making these this weekend and thought they came out EXACTLY like the real thing.  This was probably the closest i’ve ever come to recreating a restaurant dish at home.  I looked online for a few recipes and modified one that I thought sounded like it would turn out well, and I was not let down.  All in all, it was a pretty simple dish, but a little tedious since you have to make three separate sauces.  Totally worth the effort in my opinion.

Recipe adapted from Food.com

For the Tomatillo Salsa

4 tomatillos, diced

2 tbsp. green bell pepper, minced

2 green onion stalks, minced

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced

1  tsp. granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

Chop up the tomatillo, pepper, green onion and cilantro.   Dump all of the ingredients into a food processor and gently pulse to get a smoother consistency.  Place the contents into a bowl and begin adding cumin, sugar and salt.   Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and place the bowl in the fridge to chill until you’re ready to assemble the cakes.

For the Pico de Gallo

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 tbsp. minced Spanish onions

1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, minced

1 tsp. fresh lime juice

1 tbsp. green bell pepper or mild chili like pasilla, seeds removed and minced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. grapeseed oil

Dice up the tomatoes and add to a small bowl.  Mince the onions and peppers and add to the bowl.  Next, finely chop the cilantro and add to the bowl along with the rest of the ingredients.  Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool until you’re ready to assemble the dish.

For Southwestern Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used light)

2 tbsp. ketchup

1 tsp. white vinegar

1 tsp.water

1 tsp.  granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 garlic clove, grated

1/2 tsp.  salt

Add the mayo, ketchup, water and vinegar to a bowl.  Whisk well to combine the sauces and remove any lumps.  Next add in the paprika, cayenne powder, chili powder, salt and garlic clove and whisk to combine all of the ingredients. Cover and put in the fridge to chill.

For  the Cakes:

3 cups frozen sweet corn

1 1/2 sticks butter, melted

2 tbsp. water

6 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 cup corn flour (masa harina)

1/4 cup regular flour

Start out by pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees.  Thaw out  the corn kernels.  They don’t have to be completely thawed, just tender enough to where they’ll blend in the food processor.  Add the corn and the water to a food processor and pulse until you have a coarse chop.  Transfer the corn to a large mixing bowl and add in the butter.  Blend well with a spatula.  Next add in the corn flour and the regular flour, the salt and sugar and blend well.  You should have a sticky consistency.  If it feels too dry, add a little water.  Spray a non-stick cookie sheet with cooking spray and begin forming the cakes.  You should have a  shape similar to a crab cake.  Place the cakes down on the cookie sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes and remove the tray from the oven to flip the cakes.  Bake for another 10-15 minutes.

For the Garnish:

1 hass avocado

6 tbsp. sour cream

3 tbsp. finely chopped cilantro

To Assemble:

Spoon the tomatillo salsa along the bottom of your serving platter.  Place the cakes over the tomatillo salsa and then top with the pico de gallo.  Next drizzle a little of the southwestern sauce over the top of the cake.  Cut the avocado into small chunks and place on top of the cakes.  Dollop one tbsp. over each of the cakes and sprinkle the top with some fresh chopped cilantro.

You know what I love about this dish? The texture of the super ultra thin zucchini and onions and the tang of the lemon juice.  I love how simple this dish is too. Not too much going on and the vegetable is the star of the show here.  The next time you want to make an elegant appetizer that is also healthy, this is an excellent option.

Ingredients:

1 large zucchini

1/4  of a small onion

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. capers

juice of about half a lemon

lots of fresh cracked pepper and a little sea salt

Wash the zucchini well and dry it.  Using a mandolin, begin thinly slicing the zucchini.  Assemble the zucchini on a platter gently laying one slice over the other, overlapping the zucchini in a pretty pattern.  Slice the onion into really really thin slices and sprinkle over the zucchini.  Next sprinkle the capers over the platter.  Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, squeeze a little lemon juice over the top and season everything with some fresh cracked pepper and sea salt. Voila… there you have a beautifully appetizing dish that took about 10 minutes to make.

Also, I noticed when I was looking at the shots, that in the picture below, it looks like there is a sad zucchini face. LOL

This past Friday, B. had a pretty traumatic experience at the dentists’ office.  They were working on a tooth, and discovered that a simple filling wouldn’t do, but that he needed a root canal.  5 pricks to the gums, and three hours of prodding with metal picks and drills later, he was in a fragile state to say the least.  The worst part is that they couldn’t finish in one swoop.  He’s scheduled back for round two next Friday. Any who, he needs to eat soft meals because he has some soreness and pain.  I pureed this dish for him and he was able to eat it without a problem.  Plus it has a ton of sustenance- the lentils are packed with protein and fiber, the sweet potatoes are filled with beta carotene and a great source of vitamin c.  Also, the turmeric in some curry powders is also an anti-inflammatory- perfect for his current condition. Oh yeah, this is also a vegetarian dish too that’s loaded with tons of veggies.  Hurray for veggies in our diet!

Ingredients:

1 bag brown lentils

6 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 large onion

6 garlic cloves

1/2 a small red pepper

2 celery stalks

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp. curry powder

1 tbsp. sweet smoked paprika

1 lemon (juiced)

4 tbsp. olive oil (plus more for drizzling over at the end)

1 bunch green onions

2 cups fresh chopped spinach

2 large sweet potatoes

1 tbsp. honey

salt to taste

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.  Peel the sweet potatoes and cube them into large chunks.  Place the pieces on a non-stick baking sheet and  drizzle them with two of the tablespoons of olive oil.  Coat the sweet potato chunks with the oil and bake in the oven until they’re tender and begin browning a bit.  While the sweet potatoes are baking, begin making the lentils.  Wash the lentils well under running water and drain.  Transfer them to a pressure cooker with the vegetable or chicken stock and sprigs of thyme.  Let the lentils cook on medium-heat high heat until they’re tender, about 25 minutes.   While the they cook, begin finely chopping the onion, celery, red pepper, and the garlic, reserving two garlic cloves for later.  Add two tbsp. of olive oil to a non-stick pot, turn up the heat to medium-high and transfer the the onions, garlic, celery and bay leaf to the pot.  Saute until the veggies become tender.  Add the curry powder and paprika to the vegetables and blend well.  The lentils should be getting close to done by now.  Once they’re tender transfer them into the pot with the onions, garlic, celery and spices.  Add salt and taste to make sure they’re seasoned to your liking.  Now would be a good time to gauge if you’d like more curry flavor to the dish too.  Blend everything well.   Chop the spinach and green onions and transfer into the lentils.  Squeeze the lemon juice, and add the honey and grate the remaining garlic cloves into the lentils and combine really well.  Check on the sweet potatoes and remove once they’re nice and golden brown on the outside and soft and tender on the inside.  Serve the lentils into a bowl, top with some roasted sweet potatoes and drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil.