Sweet Potato Salad

This was soooo good. Full of flavor. I had planned to save some out for mom and Erin but I ate it all. That's how good it was. My additions were I roasted the sweet potato (that is key i think) add a little curry and some blue cheese crumbles! Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Salad

serves 4

2.5 cups peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1.5 tablespoons finely diced home-canned bread and butter pickles
1/2 cup or less mayonnaise, preferably homemade
.5 tsp prepared yellow mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Place the cubed, peeled sweet potatoes in a large pot of cool water; bring to a boil and cook for 3 – 5 minutes, or just until fork tender. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water until they have cooled enough to handle. At this point, I drain them well and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the salt and pepper and mix well. Gently stir in the potatoes, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately (can be refrigerated before serving if desired).

                                     

Tuna Burgers with Asian Kale Slaw and Pineapple Fried Rice

I bought Tuna burgers at the Co-op and served it on grilled Red Hen ciabatta with a little mayo. Made this asian kale slaw and pineapple fried rice. Great together. All very easy. I kind of did my own rendition on the rice using what I had and making a few substitution as usual.

Asian Raw Kale Salad

Ingredients

• 5 big stalks of kale
• Sea salt
• Raw red pepper and ginger salad dressing (see recipe above)
• 1/2 avocado, cubed
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced into strips with a vegetable peeler
• 3 tablespoons purple cabbage, chopped
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Pull the kale leaves off from the tough stem, and break into small, bite sized pieces. Sprinkle with sea salt and massage the leaves for a couple of minutes, meaning that you should scrunch handfulls of kale in your palms, release, repeat. The kale will become darker in color and more fragrant. This step improves the taste of raw kale.
2. Throw the kale into a bowl, drizzle in the salad dressing (don’t skimp), and toss thoroughly.
3. Add the avocado, carrots and cabbage.
4. Top with cilantro and a big sprinkle of sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Raw Red Pepper and Ginger Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped into big pieces
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 3/4 inch piece of ginger (approximate)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• totally optional: 1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, which isn’t raw, but tastes good!

Instructions:
Blend all ingredients thoroughly in a food processor or blender. Done!

Pineapple Fried Rice

• 1 cup pineapple tidbits (fresh is better, but canned works too)
• 4 cups cooked rice, preferably at least 1 day old
• 4 Tbsp oil for stir-frying
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red or green chili (de-seeded if milder rice is desired)
• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted cashews
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 egg, beaten (omit if vegan)
• 1/4 cup currants (or raisins)
• 3 Tbsp. chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce (or substitute 3+ 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce if vegetarian)
• 2 tsp. curry powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1/3 cup fresh coriander
• Optional: 8-12 fresh shrimp/prawns

Swirl 3 Tbsp. oil around a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, garlic, and chili, stir-frying for one minute, or until fragrant. If using shrimp, add them now as well. 

Push aside the shallots, garlic, and chili to make room for the egg (if using). Add the beaten egg to the wok/pan, and stir fry quickly to cook (like making scrambled eggs). Mix together the chicken or vegetable stock, fish sauce (or soy sauce), curry powder, and sugar. Stir well, then add to wok/pan.

Add the cashews and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Now add the prepared rice to the wok/pan. Stir-fry until all the rice has mixed with the sauce and is a uniform color. Break up any lumps with your utensil or a fork. Add the frozen peas, currents (or raisins), and pineapple. Stir-fry to mix in.

Continue stir frying until everything is integrated (1-2 more minutes). To serve, sprinkle with spring onion and coriander. Serve on a platter, or, as they do in Thailand, in a pineapple, as shown.

Dinner with Mare

When Mare was home last weekend she came for dinner. We had steak rubbed with brown sugar, steak seasoning, S & P, and chili powder. Grilled it outside and topped it with blue cheese. Also on the grill we did, potatoes (with the home fry seasoning from the union sq market), zucchini, and artichokes. I prepped the artichokes, drizzled with EVOO, grilled, and served with a lemon butter. We also had Kale chips and french fries! It was a feast!!

Coconut Curry Chicken

  My rendition to a Rachael Ray recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups white rice or Uncle Bean Microwave bag
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 13 1/2 ounce can  coconut milk
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds), cut into strips
• 2 teaspoons five-spice powder
• veggies of your choice, I did: red and green bell peppers, cabbage, and carrots

Directions

• In a medium saucepan, bring 3 1/4 cups salted water to a boil. Add the rice, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Or Microwave your rice bag. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat, cook onions and garlic, stir in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and cook until reduced by half, about 7 minutes. Toss together the chicken, five-spice powder and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Increase the heat to high and stir-fry the chicken until just cooked through, about 6 minutes. Add veggies to curry sauce, cook for a few minutes, then add chicken to the sauce and stir to coat. Serve over the rice.