Shrimp Scampi Pasta – A 15 Minute Meal

Another dish that is 15 minutes or less.

I had a bag of shrimps that’s been setting in my freezer for couple of weeks that I needed to get rid of.  And I wanted to use it for something easy and quick.  Not only easy but also flavorful.  So I decided on shrimp scampi.  Shrimps cooked in skillet with olive oil.  Or a combination of butter and olive oil.  For which only took less than 15 minutes to make.  Including the pasta.

For some, Shrimp Scampi is great during the summer time.  But who says you can’t eat it during winter…?  Food is food, right?  Especially if I’m hungry.

Anyway.

Here’s what you need to make this easy, simple and quick meal.

Shrimps. Generously seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Garlic. Peeled and minced.

Olive oil. I prefer to use extra light olive oil for sauteing and roasting.

White wine.  That is if you have any.

This was an after thought.  Because the ones I’m showing you here, I did not use wine.  And it tasted just as good.

Spinach.  Washed and ready to cook.

Again.  This is optional…

Pasta.  You only need one box…

And Parmesan Cheese.  Again Optional.  I didn’t use it for myself.  Not that I don’t want to.  Because I would have LOVED to… but I have to avoid dairy whenever possible.  Unless I want to physically punish myself… then I ate dairy.

Anyway.

Here’s how I put these ingredients into a delicious meal…

Get a large pot and fill it with water.  About 3/4 full.  And then add 3 teaspoons kosher salt.

Bring water to a boil and add 2 teaspoons olive oil.

Add pasta to boiling water and cook al dente.  About 7 minutes.

Strain water from pasta just seconds before adding it the shrimps.

*** While the pasta was boiling, I was also cooking the shrimps. ***

 

Heat a large skillet and add olive oil.

Saute garlic until light golden brown.

Add seasoned shrimps.

Cook shrimps until pink.  About 5 minutes.

*** If using white wine.  This is the time to remove the shrimp to a platter.  Then you pour 1/2 cup of white wine and allow it to boil.  You then add the shrimps back into the skillet.  Stir.***

Add the spinach, if using.

Stir until wilted.  about 1 – 2 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta.

Stir until pasta and shrimps are well combined.

Serve Shrimp  Scampi Pasta with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

~~~

Shrimp Scampi Pasta

(Serves 4 people)

1½ pound of peeled shrimps

1 tsp. coarse sea salt

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 – 4 TBSPs. light olive oil (or a combination of butter and olive oil)

½ cup white wine (optional)

4 cups (packed) spinach (optional)

16 ounces pasta – cooked separately

Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Season the shrimps with salt and black pepper.  Set aside.

Fill a large pot with water.  Add 3 tsps. Kosher salt and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, and 2 tsps. Olive oil.

Boil pasta for about 7 minutes – one minute before al dente.  Strain water from the pasta just right before adding it to the shrimp.

Heat a large skillet and add olive oil.  Add the garlic and sauté until light golden brown.  Add the seasoned shrimps and sauté until pink.  About 5 minutes.  Remove to a platter.

Pour white wine into the skillet and bring to a boil.  Add back the shrimps.  Stir.  And then add the spinach if using.  Stir until spinach is wilted.

Add the pasta and mix.  Taste for additional salt and or black pepper.

Top each serving with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  And a slice of lemon on the side.

Tess’ Kitchen Secrets

#1 – Buy raw and peeled shrimps to save time.

#2 – Cook pasta simultaneously with the shrimps.  So that when the pasta is cooked, I was ready to mix it with the shrimp.

#3 – Strain the water from the pasta just seconds before mixing it with the shrimp.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess Harris

A Decent Meal in 15 Minutes or Less!

I didn’t think it was possible to cook meals in 30 minutes.  Let alone 15.  I watched Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals’ cooking show on Food Network.  And with everything she’s cooking in that show.  I am simply skeptic to turn out meals in 30 minutes.  There’s no way!  Even if I am working extra fast in the kitchen.  Which I seldom do.  Because I don’t like being rushed.  And because by nature I am a slow person.  And even they admitted, in one of Rachel Ray’s documentaries, that it takes them about 8 hours to film each episode of her “30 minute meals.”

Is it really possible turn out a decent meal in 30 minutes? Or Less?

Well.  Two weeks ago, my son, Ramon gave me a list of food, a menu, he wanted to start eating.  Sort of similar of what he used to eat back when he was going to school in Tulsa.

In that list he had pan fried steaks: NY strips or rib-eye; wilted spinach and canned beans: kidney or black beans.  Drained and rinsed. Then warmed in a small pot.

And this combination of pan fried steaks, wilted spinach, and beans, literally takes me less than 15 minutes to cook.  I couldn’t believe it!  I guess it’s just a matter of choosing what I can actually turn out 15 minutes…

I kinda like this way of cooking.

Now I’m excited to experiment what other meals I can prepare in 15 minutes or less!

Here is an example of a 15 Minute Meal.  I have prepared this a number of times this past few weeks:  Pan Fried Steaks, Wilted Spinach, and Kidney Beans.

At least 15 minutes before you start cooking.  Take out the steaks you need to cook.

Season the steaks with ground sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Here in this pick… is a 3/4 of New York Strip steak.  And I cut them in three smaller strips.  Of course , you don’t have cut them like I did here.  I just did this because I like my steaks medium well.

Ramon likes his steaks medium rare.  Which is even faster to cook.  About Three minutes on each side.

Note: A slice of New York strip steak or Rib-eye is usually between 12 and 16 ounces.  And that is plenty of meat.  For me, a good serving is usually 7 – 10 ounces.  So what I do and even for Ramon, I cut a New York strip or a Rib-eye steak  in half.   And it serves two people. And Willie can have a whole slice of steak…

Not sure if you are familiar with the cuts or grades when it comes to steaks.  But there are 3 grades of steaks that available for consumption:

USDA Prime – is the highest grade.  Usually supplied to upscale restaurants and fine steak houses.

USDA Choice – is the second highest quality.

USDA Select – This type of steaks are lowest on the scale of quality.  These steaks are commonly available in supermarkets and used by most restaurants.

I usually buy a choice cut.  Which is available at Sam’s Club.

Get a can of kidney beans.  Or canned black beans.  Open the can and pour the contents into a strainer.  Drain the liquid from the beans and rinse under cold running water.

Allow half  a can of kidney beans per person.

Place beans in a small pot.  Add 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp. sea salt and 1/2 cup water.  Place the pot over medium heat until it boils.  Reduce heat to low and simmer the beans while you cook steaks.

Take out the spinach from the fridge.

I love buying this type of spinach.  Clean. Washed.  And ready to use. I get this at Sam’s Club too.

Allow 3 handfuls for each person.

OK… here goes:

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add extra light olive oil.   About 3 3 tablespoons.

Just right before the oil starts to smoke, add the steaks.

Cook steaks according to doneness preferred.

Ramon likes his steaks medium rare.  So I cook it 3 minutes on each side.

A medium steaks is about 4 minutes on each side.

And a medium well is 5 minutes on each side.  And 6 minutes for a well done steak.

Remove steaks to a platter.

Keep the oil and steak drippings in the pan.  Especially if you are cooking for 3 people.  Otherwise, if you’re only cooking for one person.  Remove but 1 tablespoon oil and steak drippings.

For one person.  Add 3 handfuls of spinach to the same skillet with the oil and steak drippings.

Toss the spinach, using a tong or spatula, until welted.  About two minutes.  Season with sea salt (1/4  tsp.) and freshly ground black pepper (1/8 tsp.)

Remove to a platter with the steak (s).

Serve Pan Fried Steaks with spinach and warmed kidney beans.

15 Minute Meals or Less!

Serve 3 people.

Pan Fried Steaks:

3 slices steaks – NY Strips or Rib-eye.  About 7 – 10 ounces each

1tsps. ground sea salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

3 TBSPs. extra light olive oil

Take out the steaks from the fridge at least 15 minutes before cooking.  Season each steaks, on both sides, with ground sea salt and ground black pepper.

Heat a large, nonstich skillet.  Add olive oil.  Just before oil starts to smoke, cook the steaks.  Three minutes on each side for medium rare. Four minutes on each side for Medium.  And 5 – 6 minutes on each side for medium well and well done.

Warmed Kidney Beans:

2 cans kidney beans – drained and rinsed

1 tsp. coarse sea salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

1 cup filtered water

Open the can and pour the beans into a strainer.  Rinse beans under cold running water.

Place beans in a small sauce pan.  Add salt and black pepper.  Pour water over the beans.

Heat beans over medium heat until it starts to boil.  Once boiling.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes.  Serve warm without the liquid.

Wilted Spinach:

6 cups – firmly packed, baby spinach (washed and ready to cook)

Oil and steak drippings – about two tablespoons

½ Ground sea salt

¼ ground black pepper

Over medium heat, and while the skillet and drippings are still hot.  Add the spinach.  Toss or stir spinach until wilted.  About 2 minutes.  Season with sea salt and ground black pepper.

Serve with the steaks.

Tess’ Kitchen Secrets:

#1 – Always season the steaks at least 10 minutes before cooking.  This will give the seasoning time to penetrate into the meat.

#2 – The oil and drippings from steaks make the spinach taste great.

#3 – Canned beans are great substitute for bread and rice.  Rich in fibers and complex carbohydrates.  And canned beans are much less gassy. Hsssshh. Don’t tell anybody that.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess Harris

Play “Catch Up” With Me

Thursday comes.  And am still not ready.  I have taken hundreds of photos of the dishes I cooked for the past four years.  And recipes I have created and tested.  In fact, it’s taking most of my computer space.  Still.  I don’t have enough.  Sometimes, none meet with what I’m looking for.  Or, that fit the occasion.

Step by step photos are what I need.  And I need them for the hundreds of recipes I have cooked up since 2006.  When I first started on this journey.

I remember when I first taught myself how to bake bread.  From scratch.  I learned it from a book with step by step instructions, with photos.

The photos and step by step instructions helped me tremendously.  And gave me the courage to keep going.

It wasn’t until over a year ago, that I’ve started taking step by step photos on the dishes or recipes I’m working on.  Before that, I only took photos of the finished product.  Which I later realized is not sufficient enough to help those who are beginners.  Just like I once was.  Not long ago.

For me a perfect food blog post has step by step photos.  With clear, concise, and easy to follow instructions.  And I’m hoping that, that is what I’m presenting here.

Though sometimes, you’ll just have to forgive me.

~~~

As for this Roasted Chicken Club Salad Sandwiches recipe.  I think I have sufficient step by step photos to help us along…

Split chicken breasts are what we need to roast…

Rinse chicken breast under cold running water.  Place them in a large  baking sheet and pat them dry with paper towel.  Then pour some oil on the breasts and rub them all over…

And season them generously, on both sides, with salt and ground black pepper.

And roast them in preheated oven at 400°F for 50 minutes.

Remove the skins and shred the meat off the bones.

Next…

And with these ingredients. Make the salad dressing.

The salad dressing should look somewhat like this…

Add the chopped celery and onions to the shredded chicken.  Toss it to combine.

Then pour the salad dressing over the chicken, celery and onion mixture. Mix until chicken and salad dressing are combined well.

And wallah. That’s our Roasted Chicken Salad.

Get your Ciabata Rolls ready. And split them in half.

You could also just other breads such as rye, white or wheat.  Though I prefer Italian breads.  Especially the fresh ones…

First line the Ciabata roll with lettuce or spring mix greens.

Then top it with the Roasted Chicken Salad.

Top bacon over the chicken salad. (I usually allow one slice of bacon per sandwich. I break one slice in half.)

And there you are.  Our Roasted Chicken Salad Club Sandwich.

Serve with your choice of soup or your favorite potato chips or pretzels.

Roasted Chicken Club Salad Sandwiches

Yield:  8 Ciabata Rolls Sandwiches

Shredded Roasted Chicken Breasts – see recipe below

2 celery stalks – chopped

½ medium size red onion – chopped

Salad Dressing – see recipe below

8 thick slices bacon – cooked and crispy

8 green lettuce leaves – washed and patted dry or Spring Mix

8 Ciabata Rolls

In a large mixing bowl.  Combine shredded chicken, chopped celery and onions.  Add salad dressing.  Mix until salad dressing is combined well with the chicken, celery and onions.

Using a sharp knife.  Split Ciabata rolls

Line each roll with a lettuce leaf.

Scoop about ½ cup of Roasted Chicken salad mixture over the lettuce leaf

Break one crispy slice of bacon in half and top it over the chicken salad.  Place the half of Ciabata rolls over the filled sandwich.

Serve with your choice of soup or with your favorite potato chips.

Roasted Split Chicken Breasts:

3 – 4 split chicken breasts (about 4 pounds) – bone in and skin on

3 TBSPs. olive oil or cooking oil

4 tsps. coarse sea salt or 2 tsps. kosher salt

2 tsps. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Remove chicken from the package and rinse under cold running water.  Pat dry with paper towels.  And place chicken in a heavy-duty baking sheet.  Line with aluminum foil.

Drizzle olive oil over the chicken breasts and rub the oil all over the chicken.

Generously season the chicken breasts, on both sides, with coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

And roast them, skin sides up, in a preheated oven at 400°F for 50 minutes.  Cool the chicken to safely handle.

Remove the skins.

(By the way.  The skins are really crunchy.  And I usually eat them while they’re still warm.  Though they are a bit salty.  But don’t worry.  All that salt is only on the skins.  Only a negligible penetrated to the meat.)

Tear the chicken meat off the bones.  Shred into chunks and place in a large mixing bowl.  Discard the bones.  And the skins.

Salad Dressing:

1 cup real mayonnaise

2 tsps. Dijon mustard

½ tsp. dried tarragon leaves

½ tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. kosher salt

Combine salad dressing ingredients in a bowl.  Set aside.

Tess’ Kitchen Secrets:

#1 – Coarse Celtic sea salt.  I love to roast chicken breasts with coarse sea salt.  This salt gives the chicken a better taste as compared to regular or kosher salt.

#2 – Roasted chicken used for chicken salad has more texture and taste as compared to the ones that’s been boiled.

#3 – The celery and onions gives the chicken salad a good crunch.

#4 – Also.  I prefer to use Spring Mix greens over lettuce leaves.  I think the Spring Mix Greens has more nutrients than the lettuce leaves.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess Harris

Apple Crumble with Browned Butter

This recipe was inspired by my friend Theresa.  She made this for Thanksgiving and posted an inviting photo on her Multiply page.  She was kind enough to share her recipe.  And gave me permission to share it with you here.  Thank you Tess!

I altered her recipe just a little bit.  Instead of using margarine.  I used browned butter.  I LOVE the smell and taste of browned butter.  And I thought it would be perfect for this recipe.

Also, while I was at the grocery store.  I spotted Ultra fine or superfine sugar that Baker’s used.  So of course I got one and use it for this Apple Crumble recipe.  Instead of granulated sugar.

Here’s Theresa’s Original recipe if you would like to print it as well.

For this Apple Crumble, you will need the following:

When making crumbles or pies, I always like to mix different varieties.  Here I have Granny Smith, Gala and Braeburn.

Peel, core and slice apples.

Freshly squeezed lemon juice.

You really do not need two lemons.  One large lemon usually yield 2 – 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.  And you only need 1 – 1/2 TBSPs.

Superfine sugar.

Ground cinnamon and cloves.

Flour (superfine sugar, and kosher salt).

Browned butter.

~~~

How to assemble all the ingredients…

Pour lemon juice over the sliced apples.  Toss to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and cloves.

Pour sugar, cinnamon and clove mixture over the apples.

Mix them up.

Brush a 13 x 9 x 2″ baking pan with browned butter or melted butter.

Empty the bowl of apples into the buttered pan.

In another bowl, combine flour, sugar and kosher salt.  Mix them up.

Pour browned butter over the flour mixture.

And mix them up or crumble them with your hands.  Until mixture resembles a sand texture.

Pour crumbly mixture over the apples.  Making sure to evenly spread the it over the apples.

And that’s how it should look…

Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F degrees for 45 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350°F and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Since this is a crumble.  I like my apples tender.  Not crispy.

And that’s how it should look.

And it should taste as good as it looks.

Here’s the recipe.

Apple Crumble with Browned Butter

10 – 12 Apples medium size apples (granny smith, gala and braeburn)

1/4 superfine or Baker’s sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

1 ½ TBSPs. lemon juice

TOPPING:
¾ cup superfine or Baker’s sugar
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon kosher or maldon salt
1/3 cup browned butter

Preheat oven at 375°F.

Butter a 13″ X 9″ pan.

Peel and core and slice apples.

In a mixing bowl, pour lemon juice over sliced apples.

In another bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and cloves.  Pour over sliced apples and mix .  Then pour apples into buttered baking pan.

In yet another bowl, combine together sugar, flour, salt.  Pour browned butter.  Mix until crumbly and sand in texture.

Top apples with the crumbled mixture.

Bake at 375°F degrees for 45 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350°F and bake an additional 10 minutes.  Or until apples are tender and topping is light golden brown.

Best served warm and fresh from the oven.  May be served with whipped topping or vanilla ice cream on top.

How to Make Browned Butter:

Place butter in small pot with heavy bottom.  Melt butter over medium heat.  Butter will boil and sputter before it turns golden brown.  This whole process takes about 20 minutes.  Please watch carefully.  As soon as the butter turns starts to smell nice, aromatic and nutty and turns golden brown.  Remove pot from the heat and cool before using.  Refrigerate for future use.

Note: 1 cup of butter will yield about ¾ cup of browned butter.

Tess’ Kitchen Secrets:

#1 – Browned butter elevates the taste of this apple crumble to another level.

#2 – Mixed apple varieties give this apple crumble a mixed texture, sweetness and tartness.

#3 – You can also make this dairy free.  Since I’ve tested this recipe.  I have also have made a dairy free version, using coconut oil, instead of browned butter.  Slightly different taste.  But it was still good.  Perfect for people who are allergic to dairy products.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess

Biggest Chili Pot In the World

We’ve been here six years.  And every year, on labor day weekend, people at Dyess talk about the chili and barbecue cook-off at Buffalo Gap. We’ve been wanting to go, but always overslept on the days of the event.  So we always say… “Oh well.  We’ll just go next year.” And then next year comes and the same thing happens.  And then finally, after hearing about it for the past five years, Willie said “OK… we’re going to that chili and barbecue event on Saturday.  Jason said he is going to cook chicken and ribs for the contest.”  Jason is Willie’s colleague at work, a manager for another contracting company.

So, Saturday we went.

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve tasted a really good barbecue from a  restaurant around here, so I was hoping to sample all types of barbecue.  Good barbecue.

My expectations were a bit too high.  I had imagined the place was going to compose of all these booths competing for the cook-off.  And we are going to sample plenty of barbecued chicken, ribs, and brisket.  Or at least I was hoping for all these things.

Two dollars per person, to get in.  That’s all we knew.  But then when we got there, all bets were off.  We also had to pay for tickets to taste the food from the participating booths.  That’s the key word “participating.”  There may have been 90 contestants for the cook-off.  But I did not see 90 booths or tents there. There were only a handful of booths who had the “People’s Choice” signs.  Which are the ones that gave away samples. At the gate, we were told these people had cooked extra food for people to sample.  Where are these people?  Where’s the food?

The samples were  tiny morsels of food.  Leftovers or extras from what they submitted for the contest. WTF.  Can I at least get one rib? A chicken wing?  Something!

OK… I was the fool that expected too much.  Food is not cheap.  And these people – the contestants paid $60 or more to enter the contest, plus the cost of the meat and woods or charcoal to cook it. I thought of this the night before we went.   But I ignored my feeling.  I hoped for something exciting.  Something that’s going to blow my mind.  In Abilene Texas?  I have been living in my head too long!

Unless you are a business, or owns a restaurant to participate in this cook-off, all the cost is a personal expense.  And if you don’t win the $4,000 top price? Better luck next time.

As far as getting food for nothing… No such thing.  There were commercial booths inside the camp ground that literally priced and sold their foods.  I don’t think they were among the contenders for the cook-off.  I think they were there to cash in on people who thought they were going to get food for cheap.  Instead the got hungry.

We were among the attendees who were highly uninformed.  We weren’t told much at the gate as they took our money.  After stamping our arms with the word SAT.  Which means our entry was for Saturday only.  We were waved through with no additional information.  It felt like we have been lured into this place.  And now that we are in, the harvesting begins.  They even forgot to tell us about the truck they were giving away.  The raffle ticket was $20 and you had to come back the next day for it. Nah.  That’s OK.  I’ll take the zero.

We did ate a few ribs.  The best ones we had there, and even the best compared to the ones we’ve had in a restaurant here.  That was Jason’s ribs.  They were amazingly tender and juicy.  Willie thought they were perfect.  I though they were awesome too.  But it needed a bit more seasoning.  Just a tiny adjustment.  And yes.  They would have been perfect.  Still.  Even with the tiny adjustments needed, they were still the best ribs we’ve had in a long time.  Even his chicken was moist.  Cold chicken that is.  Left over from what he submitted for the contest.

For Sunday, they also plan to submit an entry for the brisket and desert.  Bill, Jason’s friend was excited about his dessert.  “Yeah.  I’m going to make my pineapple upside down cake in my dutch oven.  They are gooood.  One thing I can brag about.”

Ironically, Jason’s entries did not place.  Not even his ribs.  We found out Tuesday when Willie saw him at work.

Willie sent him the pictures I took at the cook-off.  Which he was glad to have.  And even offered to tell me how he cooked his ribs if I wanted to know.  And he said, “Yeah.  For next year.  I’d like you guys to be my official tester.  You’ll be a priority and you’ll get more food next time.”

Alright.  We earned a position for next year’s events!

Oh… as we were living, I found out that the judges were picked from the crowd.  If you are near, or around the judging pavilion, at the time of “judging.”  They could pull you to become one of the judges.  I think I will hang around the judging pavilion next year.  It would be fun to judge!

This is where the event was held: Old Settlers Reunion Grounds in Buffalo Gap, Texas.

Abilene Fire Fighters Association was responsible for cooking a 500 gallon pot of chili – the World’s Largest Chili Pot.   The cooking began on Thursday night, September 2nd, with 1,750 pounds of ground beef and 200 pounds of chopped onions.

Helping the cause.  Willie and Ramon got two small bowls of their famous chili – $4 each bowl.

The chili was OK. Willie ate his.  Ramon didn’t.  The chili was all meat.  A typical of Texas chili.  I had a tablespoon off Willie’s bowl.  It was too meaty and a bit gamy for me.   We like our chili with kidney beans.

That’s Jason in green and his friend and cooking partner, Bill.  That’s their station.  They slept in small tents the three nights during the event.

The ribs smoking in Bill’s 50 gallon drum.  The ribs were seasoned 30 minutes before it hits the smoker.  And then they are smoked for one hour before transferring them to a a grill.  They are slow cooked for three to four hours.

The ribs after four hours of slow cooking.  Once cooked, they are placed in aluminum foil, apple juice is poured over it and wrapped.  Kept over the grill until time of submission. I think the apple juice is what made the ribs very moist.

Jason.  Carefully slicing the ribs for the contest.

They boys.  Just hanging out.

Many contestants had custom made propane tank smoker.

~~~

Since I can’t grill outside.  Let me just leave you a recipe for a Lime Balsamic Marinated Roasted Chicken on a bed of Chipotle Teriyaki Tomatillo Dressing.  A very tasty combination.

Lime – Balsamic Marinated Split Roasted Chicken

1 – 4 ½ to 5 pounds whole chicken – split in half

Lime – Balsamic Marinade:

2 TBSPs. fresh rosemary – finely chopped

Zest of 1 ½ large limes

Juice of 2 large limes

5 garlic cloves – peeled and grated or smashed

1 ½ tsps. dried thyme

20 black pepper corns – whole

2 bay leaves – torn into pieces

1 TBSP. kosher salt

½ cup balsamic vinegar

½ cup teriyaki sauce

¾ cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Set aside.

Wash the whole chicken… and remove the chicken wings.  Split the whole chicken using a cleaver knife from the back down.  Also… it’s easier to split the breasts from the inside and work towards the front. (Please note that I removed the wings on purpose.  I like to remove the wings because they obstruct heat that should be directed to parts of the chicken breasts.)

Place the split chicken and the wings in a gallon freezer bag (I prefer Ziploc) and pour the marinade in the bag with the chicken.  Marinade the chicken for at least an hour at room temperature over overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Line a large – heavy duty cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Place a stainless cooling steel rack over the lined cookie sheet and arrange the chicken halves – skin sides up.  Remember to include the wings. Place them on the side, next to the chicken breast.

Roast the split chicken for 15 minutes at 450°F… then baste.  Roast another 10 minutes… then baste.  Reduce the oven to 350°F and roast for another 25 minutes… then baste.  Turn off the oven and let the roasted chicken rest for 10 minutes in the hot oven.  Serve 3 – 4 people.

You can serve this roasted chicken anyway you want.  For me I decided to serve this with Avocado slices on a bed of Chipotle – Teriyaki Tomatillo Dressing.

Chipotle Teriyaki Tomatillo Dressing

2 to 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce – depending on how spicy you want

¼ cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup teriyaki sauce

1 TBSP. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

½ cup olive oil

½ cup chopped cilantro leaves

8 tomatillos – washed, husk removed and chopped coarsely

Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce come in a 7ounce can.

To maximize the taste from the chipotle peppers and its sauce, spoon 2 to 4 peppers into a mixing bowl.  Add red wine vinegar and teriyaki sauce.  Carefully rinse the peppers with the vinegar and teriyaki sauce and remove the peppers unto a chopping board.  Split the peppers, remove the seeds and chop finely.  Add chopped chipotle peppers back into the mixing bowl with the vinegar and teriyaki sauce.

Add balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, salt, dried basil leaves.  Whisk all ingredients to combine.  Gradually add the olive oil… whisking until lightly creamy.   Add chopped tomatillos and cilantro leaves and stir until well combined.

Line slices of avocados around the plate and scoop about ½ cup of Chipotle Teriyaki Tomatillo Dressing into the plate.  Top with one or two pieces of roasted chicken.  Serve with warm, crusty garlic or sesame bread.

In case you are not familiar with tomatillos.  These are already cleaned.  But they usually come in with husk around it.  The husk feels like corn husk.

Yours should be thicker than this.  I’ve already scooped most of this into a plate and served.  So this picture was taken a little too late.

Lime Balsamic Marinated Roasted Chicken served over Chipotle Teriyaki Tomatillo Dressing and Avocado slices.

Tess’ Kitchen Secrets:

#1 – Roasting a split chicken cooks so much faster than the whole chicken.

#2 – Marinade always makes a roasted chicken tasty, flavorful and moist.  Here the lime and balsamic vinegar are an awesome combination which rendered the chicken its mouth watering flavors.

#3 – The dressing has that smoky and spicy flavor from the chipotle; sweetness from the teriyaki sauce and brown sugar, tartness from red wine vinegar, and the tomatillos.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess Harris

Going Bananas

“On a traffic light green means go and yellow means yield, but on a banana it’s just the opposite. Green means hold on, yellow means go ahead, and red means where the hell did you get that banana at … ” – Mitch Hedberg

I started this blog six months ago with the intention of re-posting all of my recipes from my Yahoo360 Blog.

Easy enough.  The plan was for me to post a recipe once a week.

That I have done.  I have been posting every Thursday.  Except in April and May when I was too busy shuttling between four cities and two states.

My problem started when I decided to write more.  And with me writing more – about my past and experiences, I feel that this blog is taking a different turn. It’s no longer just about food.  This past few months, I have been doing a lot of soul searching and have been writing quite a lot about myself and where I come from.  In fact, I think I have been a little too honest.  Which I sometimes couldn’t believe what I have been posting and it makes me cringe.  I must admit that in most of my previous posts, it took a bit of courage to put my life story for public viewing.  And to think that I’m only scratching the surface.  There’s a lot more to be told which I may never have the courage to do so.  I shall see.

So what’s the point in all this?

I feel my blog is losing direction.  And it’s all over the place.

I think the name – AmerAsian Home Cooking fall short of describing what this blog is really all about.  It doesn’t represent wholly the contents of this blog.  And over the past few weeks, I have been thinking about changing it.  I just haven’t come up with the perfect name yet.  I’ll have to keep thinking.

So for now, I am simply putting my thoughts out here and let everyone know what to expect in the near future.

All previous posts will remain untouched.  And I will keep posting stories and recipes every Thursday.

My goal is simple:  To have a cohesive blog – with short stories and recipes at the end of each blog.   And a blog name that would entirely describe its contents.

~~~

I made these pancakes last week when I had way too many bananas and they were starting to get over ripe, and I don’t like eating over ripened bananas.  So I decided to make pancakes since I love pancakes anyway.

Very easy and delicious.  And I especially love 100% maple syrup drizzled over them.  Next time… I think I am going to spread creamy peanut butter and then drizzle them with maple syrup.

Anyway…

Here’s the recipe.

Dairy Free Banana Pancakes

1 cup all purpose unbleached flour

1 TBSP. granulated sugar

2 tsps. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 large egg – beaten

¾ cup almond or rice milk – of course you can use regular milk

1 TBSP. coconut oil or extra light olive oil + more for brushing the pan

1 TBSP. apple sauce

2 large ripe bananas – mashed

½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a medium size mixing bowl.  Set aside.

In another mixing bowl, beat egg and then whisk in milk, coconut oil, and apple sauce.  Add mashed bananas and vanilla extract.  Whisk until mixture is combined.  Pour this mixture over the flour mixture.  Again, whisk until flour is well incorporated and moistened.  Batter will be slightly lumpy because of the bananas.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and lightly brush with coconut oil.  (Do this as necessary or for each new batch of pancakes.   Scope about ½ cup of the batter into the skillet or griddle for each pancake.

Cook one side for 4 – 5 minutes.  Flip and cook the other side for 2 – 3 minutes.  (On your second or third batch, pancakes will cook even much faster then.  So carefully watch them.)

Serve hot with maple syrup or with your favorite pancake syrup.

NOTE:  You could use melted butter in place of coconut oil.

The lumps that you see on the batter are small pieces of bananas.

Tess’ Kitchen Secrets:

#1 – I use a non-stick skillet with cover.  The pancakes cooks faster this way.

#2 – I place the bananas in quart size ziploc bag and mash the bananas by squeezing them inside the bag.  Cut a hole on the bag and squeeze onto the pancake mixture.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess Harris

The Road to Healing is Uncovering the Scars from Years Past…

“You were an abused child just like me!” Willie would tell me in one of our discussions.

“No, I was not! My parents did not constantly beat me.  I remember getting beat only twice and that was my fault so I deserved it…” I’d reply.

I never considered myself being abused as a child.  To me, abuse is being physically beaten whenever you make a mistake, do something wrong or say something bad.  I was disciplined and controlled simply by looks… My father was master at this.   Whenever I did something he did not approve, he would tilt his head and shot me a dark, fierce look – as dark as the heavy storm waiting to unleash its fury.  I wouldn’t dare cross those stares.  I wasn’t so sure whether I would come out alive if I dared to.  There were two occasions where I blindly crossed these boundaries.  I said blindly… because I sincerely did not  know what the repercussions were.

I was about 8 years old, left alone to care for my two younger sisters: Elsa, three years old and Ale two.  My parents and my two younger brothers were at the farm, 10 miles away… they left at sunrise that morning and are not expected to be home until early that evening.  At around 11 o’clock in the morning, an old lady acquaintance, I should call her Mrs. Teofilo came…

“Helllooo… ? Anybody home…? A cracking voice outside.

I ran to the door…and stared at the lady… eying her from head to toe.  I saw her before.  She’s from the barrio.

“Is your mom and dad home?” said the old lady, while looking at me.

“No.  They’re away.  They’re at the farm.” I replied.

“What time are they going to be home?” asking me as if she has something urgent to discuss with my father and mother.

“I don’t know.  They usually come home before dark… but, I’d go get them if you watch my little sisters….” I told the old lady.

She sat down by the door, on the bamboo floor and look me straight in the eye… her dark eyes fixed on mine.  She looked around the room and fixed her eyes on my sisters, who were both on the floor playing… she said…

“OK… I’ll watch your sisters while you go get your mom and dad” the old lady assured me.

“OK.” I answered without hesitation and much thought.

I left with much gusto.  I ran across the shallow river… Walked up the hill… hopped and skipped along the way… kicked a few rocks ‘till I reached the farm…

My mom was cooking something for lunch when I announced my presence…

“Nanay! whew… I’m tired. What ya cookin’…? Looking to see what’s in the pot…

Nanay shot me a quizzical and confused look.  “Where are your sisters?” she asked worriedly.

“Ummm… there’s Mrs. Teofilo at the house and she wants to talk to you and dad…” I managed to say while catching my breath.

“You mean, you left Elsa and Ale with a stranger!!!?” My dad came out of nowhere, yelling.

“Well… we know her, Mrs. Teofilo… she’s from the barrio. And she wants to talk to you and mom…” I answered nervously.  By the sound of my dad’s voice I know I was in BIG trouble.

“Stop what you’re doing Vicenta! Jojo! Artem! Get your stop and carry a few bunches of firewood.  We need to go right now!…  Let’s go…!!!”

My dad lead the way… He walked real fast and so were almost running just to keep up with him.  He did not say another word.

My mom was behind me and she kept talking:

“Tessie… why did you leave your little sisters?  What if that old lady takes them away…? What if she gives them to the people that drive the windowless white van… and dump ‘em under the San Juanico Bridge? Why did you left them?”

“But mom… Mrs. Teofilo said she’ll watch them.  She said it’s OK…” I tried to reassure her.

“You know… your dad is very angry right now.  I don’t know what he’s going to do…”

I didn’t say another word.  I kept walking and thinking what’s going to happen to me.  I was trying to guess what my dad is going to do to me.  Is he going to chop me into pieces with his long knife…? Is he going to kill me…?  Or is he just going to spank me… ? I don’t remember getting physically punished before.  I got yelled at.  And I’ve been scared and would shiver in fear whenever he got drunk…

I admitted to myself that what I had done was bad.  My mom was right.  I shouldn’t have left my sisters with that old lady.  But I really wanted to go to the farm.  I always hated being left alone at the house with my little sisters.  We had no neighbors.  The closest barrio is 20 miles away.  I was very scared whenever I was left home.  I’d start crying along with my little sisters when darkness starts to creep in and my parents are still nowhere in sight.  I sometimes wonder if they’re ever going to come back.  What if they don’t come back?  What’s going to happen to me and my little sisters?  It’s already night time… What if there’s a witch out there…? Whoa-hoo-hoo-hoo. We’d cried in chorus.  We’d huddled in the corner and cried… until our parents came home that evening…

Finally we arrived home.

Thank god that old lady did not take my little sisters.  She, the old lady was still sitting in the same spot – by the door, when we got back.

My dad went over to talk to her.  I don’t remember what they talked about.  But she left half and hour later.  And right when she left, my dad pulled a ten foot rattan stick and started peeling the shiny outer skin off it and told told me to go fetch some water.

I did.  The stream was about half a mile away.  I took two plastic gallons and filled them with water.  When I got back, my dad was braiding a five foot whip out of the rattan he had pulled.  I knew what the whip was for.  So I asked my mom what should I do…?

“You do nothing.  You sit there until you father talks to you…” mom advised.

When my dad finished with the rattan whip… he motioned for me to come to him. “On the floor!  Lay down on your stomach… arms on the side!”

I nervously obliged.  I was wearing a short cotton dress that day and my bare legs were exposed… perfect for the rattan whip –  half inch thick and five foot long with a solid five inch handle.

I did something very bad – leaving my little sisters with that old lady and my dad wanted to teach me a lesson – to never ever do it again…

“YOU DON’T… EVER… leave your little sisters…” Weeepppoww!  As he delivered the hardest blow unto my legs with the whip.

“NEVER… EVER… leave your little sisters…” Weeepppoww!  Another blow…

He whipped my legs five more times, while I kept my face down on the  floor.  When he landed his 7th lashing… I took a quick glimpsed at my legs and saw tiny lines of blood dripping from each lashes.  There was not a drop of tear in my eyes when I looked up at my father.  He looked at me with dark, turbulent eyes… piercing through mine…

Because I did not cry… to him… this was a sign of defiance.  NO… NO… NO… He can’t have a defiant daughter!  I must break… I must submit.

He took a step towards his very sharp, well tended long knife… but before he could pull it out of its wooden case, my mom jumped him…

“Please… Felix… DON’T!”

“She is just a little girl… PLEASE… PLEASE…” My mom was crying and begging for my life…

This was my first and worst physical punishment that I can vividly remember.

The second time I was physically punished was when I accidentally dropped and broke a glass bottle that held one of the stones that was part of a series of his “medicine water bottles.”  In a swift response, he delivered a forceful fist unto the back of my head… in front of several  people.  This time I was 10.  I was ashamed and humiliated… which was more painful than the pain I felt in my head…

My half older brother got it far worst that I did…

My mom had two sons with her first husband.  The youngest one died and so she had an eight year old boy when she met my dad.  His name is Benny.  Mano Benny (older brother), I called him.  I remembered when he was 13 years old and started to get beat… a lot.

My dad would order him to take the water buffalo down the water hole so it could drink some water.  But he wouldn’t do it right away.  He gets sidetracked with his friends playing with elastic rubber bands called “pinetek.”  A game where two or three boys agree to bundle equal amounts of elastic rubber bands.  And then each one would take turn in flicking the bundled rubber bands with their index finger, until one by one a rubber band would come loose.  Mano Benny was so enamored with this game that he’d completely forget what dad had told him to do… or maybe he just decided to have fun first and then work later…

Two hours would pass by and my dad would come looking for him, wondering why he hasn’t come home… And the he’d catch him… Not only he hadn’t done what he was told to do… but he’d be occupied with other boys playing games.

So… my dad would drag him home.   He’d tie his feet together with a 10foot rope; tie the rope up on the tree in front of our house, leaving Mano Benny’s body hanging upside down.   While hanging upside down… my dad would punch him several times in the stomach… He’d cry and beg.  “Please dad… I’m sorry.  I won’t do it again… Please… I’ll do what you want me to
do…”

Mano Benny would be good for a whole week.  Before he repeats the same infraction again… and again… and again.  And he’d get beaten the same way, again… and again… and again…

As a little girl… I never understood why he never learned a lesson.  I’d watch him get hanged upside down and beaten… and I’d felt sorry for him.  But what could I do?  Besides… I thought, he was being hard headed.  He did not do what he was told to do, that is why my daddy beat him.  I didn’t know how my mom felt about this… about her first born son getting severely beaten by her husband.  But I did not see her stop my dad.  And I think I know why.  She believed that it was my dad’s duty to discipline Mano Benny and her role is to support her husband and not contradict him.

We weren’t allowed to play when we were growing up, and that’s because there was plenty of things to do in the farm.  On weekends we went to the farm to sow corn, plant sweet potatoes, cassava, and other root crops.  During summer, we’d go up the mountain and make ‘copra’ or worked as hired “rice worker.” We had once planted rice in a muddy rice field, with mud rising up to our waistline.  We were all very young.  I was 11 while my younger brother was 10, and my cousins were 13 and and 11 whom my dad adopted.  Here in America… you call this child labor.  In the Philippines and in other third world countries, this is called survival.  We were obligated to work and bring some much-needed money for the family.

If you read the last three blogs I posted.  You learned how abusive my childhood was though I didn’t think it was… I loved my parents.  My dad is dead but my mom is still alive.  She’ll turn 71 years old in next month.  I don’t hold much resentments for my parents.   My true feelings are pity and sorrow.  I felt sorry for them.  I always say: it’s not their fault.  They didn’t know.  They tried their best in raising all of us… My dad was illiterate.  My mom only finished fifth grade, the most educated in her family.   They were both raised in the same ignorance and abusive environment…

For almost 40 years… I was in denial.  I will never admit to being abused as a child.  I didn’t think I was abused.  At least not regularly, physically.  That’s just how life was.  We were poor and poor people do all sorts of damn, stupid things.  But abuse, I later find out, not only comes in the form of physical but also psychological and emotional and this type of abuse far worst than the physical… It permeates into the far reaches of our minds and soul…

~~~

Chicken Soup For the Wounded Soul

Cooked Chicken and Stock:

2 large chicken breasts – with skin and bones

3 medium size carrots – cut into 2 inch chunks

3 ribs celery – cut into 2 inch chunks

3 large jalapeno peppers – stems removed and cut in half – crosswise

1 medium onion – outer skin peeled and cut into quarters

Half a garlic head – cut in half, crosswise

3 stems fresh parsley

1 teaspoon whole black pepper corns

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon coarse Celtic sea salt

6 cups filtered water

Wash chicken breast under cold running water and place in a large pot.

Wash all vegetables and cut as directed above and add to the pot.  Add black pepper corns, bay leaf and sea salt.  Add six cups filtered water or enough to cover the chicken and vegetables.  Bring the chicken to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce and simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove chicken and cool.  Removed the skin and tear chicken meat off the bones.  Discard the bones.  Tear chicken into bite chunks.  Set aside.

Strain the broth and discard the vegetables.  Place the broth in a large clean pot and make the soup below.

The Soup:

Chicken Broth (from above) – six cups or more

Cooked chicken chunks – to be added last

1½ cups small macaroni noodles

3 medium size carrots – peeled and sliced into thin rounds

3 celery ribs – sliced into thin round

1½ cups fresh or frozen cut green beans

¼ – 1/2  tsp. freshly ground black pepper

¼ – 1/2 ground hot pepper – optional

½ – 1 tsp. Celtic sea salt or to taste

Bring the chicken broth to a boil.  Add the macaroni noodles, carrots, celery and green vegetables.  Reduce and simmer until noodles and vegetables are cooked and tender, about 12 – 15 minutes.  Add ground black and hot pepper.  Taste if additional sea salt is needed.

Divide chicken chunks into four to six portions and place them in individual soup bowls.  Scope the soup over the chicken.  Serve hot.

NOTE: I do not like overcooked chicken in my soup and that is why I do not boil it in the pot along with the noodles and vegetables.  Instead I place enough chicken chunks in a soup bowl and add the soup and then serve.  This soup has a clean, refreshing taste to it.  Perfect to eat for lunch or dinner.  I even eat it for breakfast.

SHORT CUT: If you are short on time, you could just buy a canned or boxed chicken broth or stock instead of making your own as I have shown above.  And you could also buy a whole roasted chicken at the grocery store.  And then make the soup as directed on the recipe.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess

Life Of A Welding Student … and the Food He Eats

As an 18 year old welding student, Ramon lives a well regimented and disciplined life.  He lives by himself in his own apartment.  He learned how to cook, clean and shops for himself.  And of course he drives himself to school. All of which he’s never done while home with us.

He wakes up at 4:15 in the morning. Fixes himself breakfast, usually a bowl of Kashi cereal mixed with homemade granola , topped with frozen blueberries and raspberries, and doused with soymilk.

For lunch, when he comes home at around 12:45 in the afternoon, after drinking a quart of spring water while reading his emails, he cooks himself chicken breast, breaded and pan fried, with roasted Vegetable Medley.  On some days, he’d cook himself New York steaks or shrimp, but always with a side of roasted vegetables.  He prefers to cooks something that’s easy, and with minimal preparation.  Simple but good and nutritious.

He goes to bed every night at 7:15p.m.  And then he gets up the next day and does this same routine all over again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before Ramon moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, he researched, and we experimented with several recipes, especially when it comes to vegetables.  Like other teens, he did not like vegetables. Steamed and stir fried vegetables were simply not appetizing to him.  But he knows that he’s gonna have to change the way he eats if he is going to sustain his body with proper nourishment, especially now that he is away from home. And with welding, being physically and mentally taxing, all the more that he needs proper nourishment.  So he started exploring the internet for alternative ways to cook vegetables.  And in his search he found vegetable recipes posted by other young adults like him.  These kids are new converts.  They all concluded, and we agree, that the secret to cooking vegetables, vegetable that kids will eat is roasting them.  Honestly, I was skeptical at the beginning.  But my son insisted on having me try them.  So I sat down and look through the recipes he compiled.  Read and decided which ones made sense.  In our experiments, he found that he liked and ate several of these vegetables as long as their roasted.  And the best tasting ones we’ve tried are broccoli, roasted cauliflower, roasted green beans, vegetable medley, Brussels sprouts, egg plant, and kale which I was highly skeptical at the beginning but equally surprised on how great it tasted!  I would roast two pans of kale and we just sat there and ate them by themselves.

All of the vegetables I’ve roasted were frozen, (I buy them in big bags at Sams Club), with the exception of the eggplant and kale.  So it requires very little preparation, which my son loves. No peeling and no chopping required. Just simply place enough amount of the vegetables in the baking sheet, drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle the seasoning, and wallah, it’s ready for the oven.

I also found that the perfect oven temperature for roasting these vegetables is at 425ºF, preheated oven, and the time varies between 35 minutes to 50 minutes, depending on how hot is your oven.  So you may have to watch them closely until you get the perfect timing. (Kale cooks a lot faster – about 15 minutes, and at a lower heat – 4ooºF.)

As for the seasoning, I use basic seasoning such as kosher salt and or sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper. My husband likes to add garlic powder, chili powder and paprika.  We’ve also tried roasting these vegetables, with peeled garlic cloves.

NOTE: If you don’t have one already, I suggest you buy a professional grade or heavy duty baking sheet with sides, also called jelly roll pan.  I bought mine at a restaurant supplies store.  I think I paid $12 for each and I have four.   These pans are great for roasting vegetables.

Roasted Vegetable Medley

(Allow at least ½ pound per serving)

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Ingredients:

2 pounds frozen vegetable medley (mixture of sliced carrots, broccoli and cauliflower florettes)

3 TBSPs. extra light olive oil

1 tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. black pepper

¼ – ½ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Place vegetable medley in the baking sheet.  Drizzle the olive oil and add the seasoning.  Toss to combine.

Roast in vegetable in a preheated oven at 425° for 45 – 50 minutes or until broccoli and cauliflower are caramelized in color, but not burned.  (The broccoli should be slightly brown and crispy.)

Roasted Vegetable Medley with Johnsonville Bratwurst

Pan Fried Chicken Breasts

(Allow 2 medium chicken breasts per person)

4 medium size chicken breasts – boneless and skinless

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

¼ tsp. cayenne

Seasoned flour – see recipe below

½ – ¾ cup extra light olive oil for frying

Season chicken breasts on both sides.  Allow to sit for about 10 minutes so the seasoning will have time to penetrate the meat.

Heat the skillet and add the olive oil.

Place 1 cup of seasoned flour in a large Ziploc bag.  Place all the chicken and shake to coat.

Fry chicken breasts in hot olive oil, over medium heat, about 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.  Removed and place fried chicken breasts over paper towels.

Serve with Roasted Vegetable Medley or other vegetables.

Seasoned Flour:

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. black pepper

½ tsp. cayenne (optional or use less)

Combine all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag.

Note: I use this seasoned flour for all my pan frying.  I’ve used this with chicken breasts, pork chops, and shrimp.  So, what I do is mix a big batch of this, 6 – 8 cups at a time, in large Ziploc bag, and store in the refrigerator.  Whenever I need a breading, I just scope out a cup or two into another Ziploc bag. I do this for Ramon, whenever we visit him, so it’s one less thing he has to do.

Ramon eats this for snacks:  Mango – Raspberry Smoothy with frozen blueberries and raspberries.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess

Beautiful Morning Muffins

I love muffins!

My husband thinks I’m weird because whatever food I eat in the morning, I can also eat them any other time during the day. I love eating breakfast items for dinner, snacks or dessert. I eat pancakes for dinner, or granola with rice milk for a midnight snack.  Who says I can’t?

Ramon is the same way.  We’ve never given him any restrictions when it comes to food and drinks (except alcoholic beverages, of course), ever since he was a little boy.  He can eat whatever he wants, and whenever he wants.

I’ve been around parents who imposed so many restrictions on their children, especially when it comes to food and drink. “Mom, I’m thirsty! Can I have a drink?” “No, it’s already 9 o’clock (at night) and it’s time for you to go to bed! You know the rule: no more drinking before bedtime! Now, go to bed!”

Now… I grew up in a nipa hut, if we’re thirsty, we drink.  In fact, if that’s all we want – something to drink (water) my poor parents was more than happy to oblige.  “Water is free. You can drink all you want!” What is so bad about drinking before bedtime? She’s thirsty for chrissake!

Or… “Mom can I have some cookies?” “Fine, you can only have one and that’s it!”

One…? Who eats only one cookie? If my son wants to eat 5 cookies, he can.  If he doesn’t feel well after overeating cookies, then he won’t do it next time… and if he doesn’t learn the first time, he is guaranteed to learn sooner or later.

For me, I think that’s wrong. I think the more you restrict your children, the more that they are going to rebel.  They might pretend to do what you want them to do while you are in sight, but once you’re not around, they are going to let loose, and do everything you did not want them to do.

My husband, Willie, is really the person that needs to be credited with this type of thinking on how we raised our son.  He believes that the more you forbid your child, the more they want to do the forbidden. It’s just human nature.  It makes us highly curious when something is forbidden.

And, you’re probably wondering what’s this got to do with the muffins?

Well… probably nothing.  But with these muffins, you don’t have to worry about any restrictions or an ounce of guilt for eating one or more. You can eat them anytime, other than in the morning.  They are good for you, or at least good for me, in my opinion…

And, they’re easy to make, and every time I hear the word “easy” I get excited.

Here’s what you need to make these muffins:

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamom

½ tsp. kosher salt

Wet Ingredients:

2 eggs

¾ cup extra light olive oil or coconut oil

¼ cup rice milk

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Other Ingredients:

1½ cups shredded carrots (3 medium sizes)

1 cup shredded apple (peeled and cored – pink lady, braeborn, etc.)

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (available at health food stores)

½ cup raisins

¾ cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line 18 regular size muffin cups with paper baking cups.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients, by whisking them. Set aside.

In another mixing bowl, beat eggs, olive or coconut oil, rice milk and vanilla with a wire whisk.  Pour this mixture over the flour mixture.  Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Add shredded carrots, apple, and coconut; raisins and sliced almonds.

Fill each muffin cup with the batter, about ¾ full.

Bake in a preheated oven for 26 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean, when inserted.

Remove from the oven.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess

Highly Addictive Granola

My son is 18 years old, and he eats this every single day for breakfast, and he tops his fruit sorbet with this too!

This recipe can be a granola bar, but I prefer to crumble, and add it  to a breakfast cereal.  I don’t limit myself. I eat this for breakfast, snacks, and dessert and not feel guilty about it.  This granola is loaded with dried fruits, and sliced almonds, which are high in fiber.

I started making this sometime in August on a search for something good and healthy, and I have been making this since, every two weeks for my son.

I was at a large supermarket several months ago, buying dried fruits and sliced almonds.  And next to the dried fruits were plastic containers of granola.  By the look of those, I was almost shocked to see how dried they were.  I think they were mostly oatmeal and less fruits and nuts.  I don’t know… let’s just say that they did not look appealing.  Even if I am feeling too lazy, I don’t think I can make myself buy them, let alone eat them.

Anyway…

If you’re like me, you might want to try this granola recipe, that we are crazy about.

Ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned oatmeal

1 ½ cups sliced almonds

1 cup finely grated coconut, unsweetened (available in health food stores)

¾ cup honey

½ cup Brown sugar

3 TBSPs. Coconut oil

2 TBSPs. Coconut milk or water

2 tsps. pure vanilla extract

¼ tsp. kosher salt

1 cup whole pitted dates – chopped

¾ cup dried cranberries (Ocean’s Spray – original flavor, sweetened)

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a 9” x 13” x 2” baking pan with coconut oil. (It’s best to nonstick baking pan, like Baker’s Secret, because it tends to make the granola crunchier.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine oatmeal, almonds and grated coconut.  Pour mixture into a thick or heavy duty baking sheet (available in restaurant supply stores).  Bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from the oven and toss.  Bake for another 5 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from the oven and cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, combine honey, brown sugar, coconut oil, coconut milk, vanilla extract and kosher salt.  Stir and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Let mixture boil for about 1 minute.  Turn off heat.

In a large mixing bowl, add dates and cranberries.  Add the toasted oatmeal, almonds and coconut mixture.  Pour over the sweet liquid mixture.  Stir until well combined and the granola are coated with the sweet liquid.  Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan.  Wet your hands and lightly press granola, evenly into the pan.  Bake for 28 minutes.

Cool for at least 3 hours before cutting into bars, and or crumbling them.  Store in a tightly covered plastic container.  Will last about 4 – 5 days at room temperature, longer if stored in the refrigerator.  If refrigerated, just be sure take the out and allow them to come to room temperature before serving.

Note: You can substitute coconut oil with 5 tablespoons butter, and omit the coconut milk.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess