Add some “zing” to your popcorn

Now I love nice traditional little butter, little salt popcorn as much as the next person but sometimes it is really nice to just take it up a notch!!

Here’s one of my favorite things to do.   In a small sauce pan add:

• a good knob of real butter
• 1 tbsp smokie paprika
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• a few dashes of Chipolte Tabasco Sauce
• 1 tsp salt

Melt that stuff down into the butter till it is all completely liquid.

Meanwhile use your favorite method of making fresh popped popcorn.  I just LOVE my whirly pop popcorn popper!!

Dump the popcorn in a bowl and then immediately pour over the melted butter mixture and then toss like a salad, as fast as you can and try to get as much corn coated as you can.

Serve immediately!

Kale Chips

I know, I know!  Everybody and their brother are making these right now…..but I was talking to a friend about them who happened to NOT have actually seen them before …. so this is for HER!

These things are great.  So easy, so tasty and SUCH a great way to hide kale!

Here is what you will need:

• kale
• olive oil
• nutritional yeast
• salt

Start with your kale, however much you want to make.  Start with one bunch to try, in case for some crazy reason you don’t like them.

Wash the kale really well and dry it even better.

Cut, rip, tear however you like, reasonably large bits of kale from the thick stem.  They shrink a lot so what might seem too big probably isn’t.  And if they are too small they might shrivel up.

So with your torn kale all set, drizzle with a good shot of olive or other quality oil.   Toss very well to make sure the leaves are well coated.

Then sprinkle with nutritional yeast.   And mix well again.

You don’t HAVE to use the yeast, but not only does it add extra nutrients, but it gives the kale a wonderful  almost “cheesey” additional taste to them that is quite delightful.

Spread them evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment and then sprinkle with sea salt.    But don’t go crazy with the salt, just enough to make them “chip like”.

Put them in a 300 degree oven.   Keep a close eye on them.  There are so many variables as to how long they will take.   Basically you want them to be dried “chip like” things but to catch them before they blacken in any way.   If you go too far, it makes them bitter.

So watch carefully!  But let’s say it is a 10 – 20 minute operation.

Unless of course you are making them in a dehydrator which in that case, follow manufacturer’s instructions.

Then enjoy as a wonderful snack.   Or, as we did the other day, used them as a sort of “crouton” on top of a salad!

And feel free to jazz them up with other stuff too.  I have often added a few dashes of my favorite chipolte Tabassco sauce or a few sprinkles of dried garlic…….the combos are endless!

And the BEST thing?  All the money you will save!  I have seen “kale chips” going for like $10.00 for a small little bag at the health food store!

Take that!

Tuesday night soup

Tuesday night.   Dinner blahs, don’t really feel like cooking……but you gotta eat…..right?

Well let’s see what I can come up with.

I am picturing some potato salad.   I got some nice sized new potatoes on the weekend that have been calling my name.   I cut them into 8th and popped them in a pot of salted water to boil.

But then what?  Just potato salad?  What am I supposed to do with that?

Hmmmm…….

Well, I have already committed to the boiling potatoes.  So in a large bowl I made up a dressing.  I had some left over chopped red and green onion from the nachos, so I tossed that in the bowl with 1 clove of minced garlic.   Then a spoonful or two of Dijon mustard, a shot of soy sauce, about two tbsp of red wine vinegar and about 4 tbsp of olive oil and some fresh ground pepper.   Stirred it up with the whisk.

When the potatoes were done, instead of draining them, I fished them out with a slotted spoon and put them directly into the bowl and tossed them with the dressing.   Doing this while they are hot, helps the dressing stick and soak in.   Then I put the bowl aside till I decided what I was going to do.

Now I had this perfectly good potato water and I had left a few of the potato bits behind.   Hate to waste it, why not make a nice Tuesday night soup with it??

For those of you who read my blog regularly, you know I am a big fan of “cleaning out the fridge” from time to time and seeing what I can come up with!  So here is what went into the soup:

• a handful of red lentils
• two handfuls of shaved cooked turkey
• 1/2 of a big carrot in a small dice
• 2 tbsp of left over chopped red and green onion
• 2 cloves fresh minced garlic
• 1 tbsp Bragg ( or soy sauce )
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp poultry seasoning
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• a shot or two of olive oil

Added all those together and brought it to a boil, cooking long enough for the red lentils to disintegrate and thicken the soup.

Then I added about 2 cups chopped kale and cooked for a few more minutes till the kale was good and wilted.

Just before serving, I hit it with a few shots of my favorite chipolte Tabasco sauce!!

Kale and turkey soup

So that was all good…..but I still had this potato salad.

And to be honest, the Chef gets panicky if he only gets soup for his dinner, so why not toss together a nice salad to go with it?

I lined a plate with some nice bib ( or also known as Boston) lettuce that I had.   Then in one corner a good helping of that potato salad.   In the other corner more of that shaved cooked turkey.  Then I added  some carrot curls and cucumber slices.

Then topped it with some  “craisins” , pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of a simple oil and balsamic dressing.

Tuesday night salad

Voila.   Tuesday night dinner!    AND I had some left over for my lunch the next day!

Oscar nachos

We didn’t have an Oscar party, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have some sort of party like food while you watch…….does it?

I whipped up a batch of nachos!  What better and easier, to stuff your face with while you yell at the TV?

First I started with making some fixins to go with them.   The beauty of nachos is that there are really no rules, so you can put anything you like on them!

 

Nacho fixins

I chopped up some red onion, green onion, tomato.   Then I grated some cheese and squished up some avocados into guacamole.   And then I added a few drops of my favorite Chipolte tabasco sauce to some sour cream.

I took a baking sheet and put down a layer of nacho chips ( use your favorite kind, I used white corn) then I added some left over chili I had kickin around in the fridge.  But make sure you heat it up first to make sure it is properly brought back up to temperature.

 

I spread that and some pickled hot peppers and then sprinkled some grated cheese.   Then added a few more chips and did the same again.   That way you don’t get that big melted mess in the middle.

 

Toss them in the oven under the broiler for…..as long as it takes……..just long enough to melt the cheese and the outside chips start to get slightly brown…..or to your taste…..but KEEP AND EYE ON THEM!!

 

 

Oscar nachos with all the fixins

 

Add some fixings and serve immediately.

Fish tacos

Two things that I really don’t like the smell of in the house are fried and fish.  So you can only imagine how much I would dislike “fried fish”!    ψ

We’ve been watching a lot of the Food Network’s ” Eat Street“.  A show about various food carts or street food all over the place.  They really come up with some great ideas and I would love to eat at least 95% of everything they have on there.  The other 5% usually involves shell fish of some kind which I am allergic to and therefore must avoid.

But something I’ve been dying to try is Fish Tacos!

I tried looking up some recipes but most of them call for frying the fish.  Which I’m sure tastes great, but brings me back to the problem of smelly stuff in the house, but I found a way around it!  I BAKED the fish instead!  Worked great.

You will need some firm white fish.  Although I imagine you could use salmon too but that is a much stronger flavour.  On this occasion I used haddock and it worked great.

I chopped it into bite size chunks, put it in the dish and drizzled it with a bit of olive oil.  Then sprinkled it with cumin, chili powder and some pre-packaged “Cajun spice” that I had.

Then I put it into a 400 degree oven for about 12 – 15 minutes or until it is nice and opaque.

Baked haddock

Meanwhile, I got my toppings ready.

First I took sour cream and mixed it with chopped fresh cilantro, Chipolte Tabasco sauce and S&P.  Put that aside and let it get acquainted.

Then I chopped up:

• 1 ripe tomato
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• 1/2 small red onion
• handful of fresh cilantro leaves

While all of this was going on, I wrapped a few tortillas in some tin foil and popped them into the toaster oven.  Make sure you cover them up or they will get very dry and nasty.

So, when the fish is cooked, the tortillas warmed, the garnish chopped, it is time to assemble.

First lay down the tortilla.

Then a dollop of the chipolte cilantro sour cream

Then a few pieces of fish

Then top with tomato, red onion, avocado and a few leaves of cilantro!

There you have it, a beautiful, non fried, fish taco!!

Fresh fish taco

Roll it up and eat it!

Oh and for a little extra zing and some vitamin C, add a splash of fresh lime juice over top!

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Raw Soup

One of my favorite things to eat in summer time whether I am trying to be “RAW” or not is a nice cold soup of some kind.

My favorite is one I found last summer, a raw corn and avocado soup.  Here’s what you will need:

• 4 or 5 ears of fresh corn on the cob, corn taken off for about 4 cups of kernels 
• 1 large ripe avocado
• 1/4 small red onion or two green onions ( white and green parts) coarsely chopped
• 1 good size handful of fresh cilantro leaves and stems okay too
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chipotle tabasco ( click here to see what I mean ) but DON’T use this if being “RAW”
• 1 pinch sea salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups of almond milk ( raw only if you are being “RAW”)

Toss all this stuff into the blender and whiz it up until it is a nice think creamy soup and then put in the fridge for at least 1/2 hour to chill it down.

Portion it up into bowls and garnish with a few kernels of saved corn, or some finely chopped  red pepper, or a few leaves of cilantro, or a combo of all of them.  I also find that it is helpful to chill the bowls before serving too.

Corn and avocado soup

Delish!!  And surprisingly filling.

Another nice “RAW” soup that I’ve tried is this Gazpacho( click here for recipe ).  This was really nice, however, if you are trying to follow the rules of “RAW” you can not toast the walnuts, they too must be raw and the vinegar is questionable, substitute with 2 tbsp of fresh squeezed lemon juice instead.  Pumpkin seeds would work well as a topping too.

But both of these make wonderful summer soups, “RAW” or not so give them a try!

Not your Grandpa’s Tabasco

This is my new favorite thing.

No, sorry, my new favorite obsession.  I just LOVE this stuff! And put it in anything I can!

The good people at Tabasco have come out with a whole range of spicy sauces but my favorite is the Chipotle sauce.

Chipotle Tabasco sauce

Other than the obvious “Chipotle” written on it, you can distinguish this one from the other Tabasco sauces by the “smokie” tip on the label.

Unlike the original Tabasco, this chipolte version is smooth and like a warm hug, not that burn your mouth, vinegary taste of it’s predecessor.

I use it everywhere!  On eggs, in eggs, omelets, soup, stew, on rice & beans, on meats……you get the picture….anywhere that needs a little umph!

Whether you are a fan of hot sauce or not, this one adds a welcoming warmth to anything.

Yay.

Chipolte Tabasco sauce