Taco Tuesdays in California

 

Last month I went to California to attend class week with my fellow interns. Four days in sunny California, after a brutal winter in New York with record snowfalls was a welcome change! It was also fun to reconnect with the people I started the internship with back in October in New Hampshire. Before heading out to California, I celebrated my birthday. While in California a few friends coordinated a group to go out for Taco Tuesdays on – you got it – Tuesday night. Apparently it’s a California custom to go out for tacos, which cost around $1 each, on Tuesday. 

Adding to the festivities is the fact that the tacos are made right on the spot. Then you choose whether you want chicken, beef or pork and add an assortment of spicy salsas and guacamoles to your liking. It was a fun evening ending with a “Happy Birthday” Flan and a group of singing waiters for me, completely taking me by surprise! The warmer weather, the spicy flavors and the tacos reminded me of the fish tacos we make at home in the summer time. 

Our recipe, which can be an assortment of pre-purchased items or a combination of homemade recipes -- salsas, sauces and guacamoles is always fun to serve as “make your own.” You get to decide how complicated or uncomplicated you would like it to be. Here is how we like to make them:

Whole Wheat Tortillas 

Fish – baked or grilled (I usually use cod, but you can use Tilapia or any other mild white fish) 

Homemade salsa 

Homemade guacamole 

Shredded Green cabbage with homemade dressing 

Shredded Red cabbage with homemade dressing 

Black bean and jicama salsa (Optional, but nice if you have vegans in the group) 

Fish

Grill or bake 1/3 lb. fish per person

Homemade Salsa

3 chopped tomatoes seeded

1 clove garlic

1 small onion

1 jalapeno pepper

¼ cup cilantro

dash of olive oil

juice from one lime

Homemade Guacamole

2 ripe avocados

juice from one lime

¼ cup cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper chopped and diced

½ onion diced

salt and pepper to taste

Homemade Dressing for Cabbage 

Put the following ingredients into a blender or food processor:

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup  orange juice

1 peeled, pitted ripe mango

1 habanera pepper  (these are really HOT, so you might want to try ½ and add to spice it to your own taste)

¼ cup cilantro

Juice from one lime

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp brown sugar

Black Bean, Corn, Tomato and Jicama Salad

(May be made ahead of time and refrigerated)

½ onion sautéed in canola oil with 1 tsp cumin, add 1 cup corn

and heat for 1-2 minutes (cool to room temperature)

add:

1 cup black beans

1 cup diced jicama

1 cup diced tomato

1 tsp chopped garlic

Juice from 2 limes

¼ - ½ cup cilantro

1 chopped jalapeno pepper

Serve above in separate dishes, with a platter of fish and warm, whole grain tortillas for you and your friends to “make your own tacos.”

It's Not as Easy as it Looks!

Since I last posted, I have been consumed with completing my clinical and my food service rotation.  Food Service was such a contrast from my first rotation with a cyclic intensity to produce 120 meals in a given 75 minutes, while also getting ready to serve the staff a variety of grilled and hot entrees, salads and sandwiches.  Learning the process and participating in the tray assembling was humbling; I looked similar to Lucy and Ethel in the Chocolate Factory, desperately trying to keep up with the onslaught of chocolates…err…meal tickets.  In a hospital, there is no slow time, no down time, no holidays or snow days.  The staff was competent and patient with me and even thanked me for my time.   The work is hard, arduous and requires close attention; it’s not as easy as it looks!   I am glad I don’t have to do this everyday!

On the last day of my food service rotation, there was a song playing on the radio reminding me of my last job, and more importantly, the friends I had there.   The friends I worked with for almost eleven years gave me a great cookbook entitled, Nourish.  One of my family’s favorite snack foods is found in this book, Roasted Garbanzo Beans (adapted slightly).

Roasted Garbanzo Beans

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons garlic powder

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon cayenne

½ teaspoon black pepper

(2) 15 ounce cans Garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained)

Miix the above ingredients together and bake on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.  Every 15 minutes stir and rotate the beans to cook evenly.  Serve as a snack.  It will last in a tupperware dish for 5-7 days at room temperature.

Pantry Recipes are Like Good Friends

It has been awhile since I have posted.  December was busy with the holidays, my parents coming to visit, Brian and Kelly moving to North Carolina to begin their new lives as Physical Therapists, and Jen packing and planning her semester long trip to studying in Amsterdam.   Mick and I were in a bit of a daze as everyone came home, unpacked, re-packed and departed.  At times our house felt inadequately small.  Our emotions rolled like a roller coaster as we helped to pack U-Hauls, suitcases, duffels, and backpacks.  December and January also brought record snowfalls making Brian, Mom, Dad and Jen’s departures even more stressful.   Not to mention driving to work during the minor 8-12 inch storms;  our new hobby is shoveling snow.

After all the heightened emotions, it is comforting to have good friends over.  But, when the week’s itinerary includes:

Monday night – Drop your daughter off at JFK to depart for Amsterdam for four months

Tuesday morning – Receive credit call from your daughter her luggage has been lost and her cell phone doesn’t work (despite assurances from Verizon it would).

Wednesday – work at hospital and facilitate class Wednesday night

Thursday – work at hospital

Friday – work at hospital, arrive home at 6:30 for friends arriving at 7:30

Would I be ready?

Entertaining good friends means you don’t have to worry about every detail being perfect.  My friend Michele has great advice, “dim the lights and light a few scented candles.”  Good friends know when your schedule is packed and they bring extra food (and wine).  The food to me is always personal – an expression to people you love to show how much you care about them.   Having tasty pantry recipes is like having good friends over; it’s both comforting and reassuring.  Here is one of my pantry items I served with great friends last night...and what a great time we had!

Asian Salmon Patties

6 oz can of wild caught salmon (I prefer skinless and boneless)

1 egg

1 clove chopped garlic

1 tbsp fish sauce

3 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp chopped ginger

2-3 tsp Hoison sauce

¼ cup breadcrumbs

2-3 tbsp canola or olive oil for browning

Mix all ingredients (except oil) together and form patties.  Heat oil until ready to sizzle and put patties in hot oil and brown on both sides.  Serve with stir fried vegetables and brown rice or pot stickers.

Breakfast..hold the eggs, please!

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!"  That was the mantra in my house growing up, second only to, "Finish your plate because there are people starving in China."  Growing up, breakfast was a challenge because I didn't like eggs, cereal or pancakes for that matter.  My father was the son of two Irish immigrants and anyone who has ever been to Ireland has more than likely has experienced a big Irish breakfast.  He felt it was his duty to ensure a proper start to the day for both my brother and I. 


As a child I would sit in front of my breakfast until it turned cold.  I usually smothered it in ketchup, because ketchup made everything more palatable. But I think my parents were a bit overzealous in the portion sizes they would serve me.  So there I sat, waiting for them to leave the room so I could feed my uneaten breakfast to my beagle, Tippy.  She was so good at catching my food; it rarely ever made it to the floor. Whatever did land on the floor was cleaned up instantly and voraciously...Tippy never ratted me out. 


Years later, research showed that too many eggs were not healthy and resulted in high cholesterol, a fate my father (and my dog) suffered from.  My dad humbly apologized and admitted he may have been a bit too "gung-ho" on the eggs and he changed his breakfast to become a healthy bowl of raisin bran.


When I went to New Hampshire for Orientation, one of the meals I had to prepare for 23 other people was breakfast.  Half of our group were vegetarians, so eggs were an important protein for this group.  To make matters even more challenging, my breakfast assignment was on the last day of class and the internship directors understandably, asked if we might "use up" the leftovers so we didn't throw away a lot of food.  I was actually a bit encouraged by this concept because there seemed to be an abundance of healthy cereals, bananas, peanut butter, raisins and some chocolate which brought to mind a recipe for frozen granola bars my son Brian shared with me.  However, when we got to the last day, the bananas had mysteriously disappeared, the chocolate and most of the cereal had been eaten.  That meant breakfast would have to include eggs... One of my classmates, Roda, pitched in to help me by using egg whites, spinach and feta cheese to make a Frittata.  Alexia made the scrambled and hard boiled eggs, leaving me to make the breakfast sausage (turkey sausage of course).  It all worked out, but when I came home I decided to make those frozen granola bars.  With a little finesse and a handful of napkins, you can actually eat them in the car, on the way to work.  Here's the recipe:


Frozen Granola Bars
1 banana (peeled and mashed)
1/4 light peanut butter
1 cup low fat granola or Kashi cereal
1/4 cup raisins (or other dried fruit, if you prefer)
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Mash the above ingredients together and spoon into bar shapes in wax paper.  (I make about six with the above ingredients, but you could make four if you like a bigger breakfast.)  Freeze and grab in the morning with a piece of fruit and coffee.

Orientation in New Hampshire

And so it began, the start of my dietetic internship…ORIENTATION…a week in a lodge, situated on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire with 19 other interns with our three directors, our mentors. Twenty four of us together…eating together, cooking together, sharing bathrooms and enjoying the lake view together. There was excitement, there was homesickness, there were differences of opinion, diverse backgrounds and ages, there was skepticism, but most of all there was a lot of fun and camaraderie. Within our group we had Californians, someone born in Nigeria, people of Asian descent (Korea, China, Philippines), two women from Mumbai, India, a group from the midwest, the southeast, a few Bostonians, and a couple of native New Yorkers. We took turns cooking together and preparing meals for the rest of the group -- dinner, lunch and breakfast and dessert. A unique experience for me was to be involved in eating and preparing some traditional Indian recipes. At the end of orientation I asked my new friends, Sweta and Mital for their recipes. And they accommodated me. The first recipe was delicately spicy, the second had a bit more of a kick and benefited from being served with Raita, a yogurt, cucumber and cilantro sauce served as a side. Thanks to Sweta for sharing.  


Chole Recipe:
Ingredients:
• 2 cans of chickpeas (400 gm each)
• 2 tbsps cooking oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 5-6 cloves
• 3-4 green cardamoms
• 5-6 peppercorns
• 3 large onions sliced
• 2 large tomatoes chopped
• 1 tbsps ginger paste
• 2 tsps coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsps garam masala
• 2 tbsps fresh coriander leaves chopped fine
• 1 cup half and half
Preparation:
Heat oil in a pan with onion, bay leaves,cloves,cardamoms,pepper corns.
Then grind the sauté mix into a smooth paste.
Add the tomatoes, fry masala and some ketchup till the oil separated from the paste.
Add the dry spices - cumin, coriander, red chilli, tumeric and garam masala powders. Fry for 5 minutes.
Add half and half and cook till about 10 mins.
Drain the water in the can from the chickpeas and rinse them well under running water. Add the chickpeas to the masala. Mix well.
Add salt to taste and water to make gravy (about 1 1/2 cups).
Simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes.
Use a flat spoon to mash some of the chickpeas coarsely. Mix well.
Garnish with juliennes of ginger and finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.


Biryani (Rice with vegetables)
Ingredients:
• For rice
o 1 cup basmati or long grain rice
o 2 cups water
o 2 tablespoons oil
o 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
o 2 bay leaves
o 1 teaspoon salt
• For vegetables
o 3 tablespoons oil
o 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
o 1 medium sized potato, chopped into 1/2″ cubes
o 1 carrot, chopped
o 1 cup cauliflower, cut into small pieces
o 1 cup frozen green peas
o 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
o 2 long sliced green peppers
o 1 teaspoon grated ginger
o 1 teaspoon salt
o 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
o 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• For garnish:
o 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
Preparing the rice:
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the oil by adding one cumin seed; if seed cracks right away oil is ready.
2. Add cumin seeds after cumin seeds crack add bay leaves and stir for few seconds.
3. Next add the rice. Stir-fry for 2 minutes.
4. Add water and salt, bring to a boil and turn the heat to low. Cover the pan.
5. Cook about 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the water has evaporated. Turn off the heat and fluff the rice with a fork.
Preparing the vegetables:
1. Use a frying pan to cook the vegetables. Add the vegetables in steps, the vegetables that need the most time to cook are added first and the vegetables that need the least time will be added last.
2. Heat the oil in frying pan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if it cracks right away oil is ready.
3. Add cumin seeds after cumin seeds crack, add potatoes, stir-fry them for about 2 minutes.
4. Add cauliflower and carrots. Let them cook for about another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Next add green peas, bell pepper, ginger and green chilies. Let the vegetables cook for a few minutes till vegetables are tender. Turn off the heat.
6. Add garam masala and lemon juice.
7. Next gently fold the rice into the vegetables. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish the rice dish with cilantro.
Serves 2 to4. (http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/01/20/vegetable-rice-pulav/)

It's Apple Picking Time

When my kids were small we used to love to take them apple picking.  We always thought the apples tasted better because we hand selected them ourselves.  We are visiting my daughter soon and I thought I would bring her apples from the orchard nearby.  (Although I suppose if she's reading this, she won't be surprised anymore.)
One of my favorite things about going to the orchard is the smell of the apple pies baking and the scent of the cider with cinnamon.  I love apple crisp, but, peeling the apples loses the benefits of the fiber in the apple.  I usually add oats to my apple crisp, but recently found an easier way to make baked stuffed apples.


Use an apple corer to remove the core.  Heat one teaspoon of light butter and add the following:
1 Tbsp Oats
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp raisins
1 tsp chopped almonds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
After mixing the ingredients together, gently fill the middle of the apple with the mixture and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes (bake longer if you prefer the apple to be a bit softer).


Apples, oats, raisins and nuts are rich in fiber and have the ability to make us feel full and help to "keep things moving."  Fiber helps protects our digestive tract from diverticulosis and colon cancer.  But these ingredients also have a lot of soluble fiber which helps to lower LDL or bad cholesterol.  So as the saying goes, "..an apple a day keeps the doctor away."

Frozen Tomatoes

One of the best ways to get the most out of your food is to eat foods in season whenever possible. Now, in the middle of September the tomatoes are so abundant. Who doesn't love a home grown tomato? Aside from eating it like an apple, in a salad, on a homemade pizza, making bruschetta or with basil and fresh mozzarella, what else can you do with tomatoes? Since I grew so many this year, I am going to try freezing them whole. This way when it gets cold in late fall or early winter, I can use the frozen tomatoes in lieu of canned tomatoes, for homemade soups. Granted, they won't be usable in a salad, but the advantage of using frozen tomatoes rather than canned is much less sodium. I'll let you know how it tastes!