Beango Salad (black bean and mango)

Beango Salad

Drain and rinse a 15 oz can of black beans.

Zest and juice one lime. Put this in the bottom of a shallow bowl. Drizzle in a little quality olive oil. Stir in a tablespoon of orange blossom honey, a little cumin and minced fresh cilantro.

Finely chop a small red onion, a small red sweet pepper and 3 serrano peppers.

Add to the lime juice mixture and stir in your drained beans. Add chunks of fresh mango, tossing till all is mixed through. Let sit about 30 minutes before serving.

Makes a great afternoon protein snack!!

Ginger Syrup and Candied Ginger

I have been having tummy issues thanks in part to taking steroids and nsaids for most of my life.
So for queasiness I have been resorting to natural remedies, and one I love is ginger.

Today I was feeling particularly queasy when I had to stop by Walmart for some cat food.
So I headed right to the produce section and found the ginger root.
I figured I could make some ginger syrup to pour in my tea to soothe my tummy. It is so simple to make; just 1C sugar and 1C water, sliced ginger and simmer away for about 30 min. Personally I use about 3/4C sugar since I don't like it as sweet.

Now that I was done, I thought, isn't it a shame to throw all this good ginger away? And I had been toying with the idea of making my own candied ginger, again to soothe a queasy tum tum. So here it is, ready made for me. All I had to do was spread it out, sprinkle with a little more sugar and let it dry. I wanted to put it on a rack, but the pieces were too little, so I just spread it out on parchment. It's taking a little longer to dry, but it will be perfect.

Here it is drying with my syrup cooling behind it. I look forward to having homemade ginger without all the preservatives and such.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce

My new favorite sauce for pasta is a roasted red pepper sauce. It is so versatile that you can make different flavors and intensities, depending on what you like.

Start with your roasted peppers. You'll need 3-4 medium size peppers. If you'd like to add some heat, or sweetness, try roasting jalapenos or banana peppers along side. You can also roast your garlic and onion too if you want to get really creative.  Roast them in your oven at 450 for 20 minutes or so. Turning them occasionally to get them evenly charred on all sides. Put them in a paper bag to cool and let the steam loosen the skins.

After they are cool, remove the skins and puree them in a blender. If you roasted all your other items, you can just blend them all here. You'll need some liquid to help, so choose a nice dry white wine, the zest and juice of one lemon. Bring to a sauce consistency that you prefer. I like mine thick. This goes great with shrimp or veggie pasta. If you are serving with red meat, use a nice dry red to bring to consistency.

Once you have the basics down, you can add other flavors.
Make a creamy sauce with milk or cheese. Add ground fennel to compliment sausage.
Throw in some nice chopped basil for a dip. Add pine nuts for a red pesto.

Feel free to share your favorite version here.

Feb 5 2018

Creamy Lemon Tortellini Primavera

There are really nice fresh tortellini in the stores now, so splurge and purchase a 10 package of cheese and a 10 oz package of mushroom.

Cook according to directions.

Julianne 1/2 each of a red and yellow pepper and 1 small jar of sun dried tomatoes. Thinly slice 1 large shallot. Mince 2-3 cloves of garlic. Toss with some spearmint, salt, pepper, zest of 1 lemon, oregano, basil and marjoram. Saute till veggies have softened. Juice 2 lemons and add to pan. Stir in 1 c good white wine and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan.

Add 16 oz of mascarpone cheese. If you can't find it, you can use ricotta, but mascarpone will be creamier. Stir till incorporated. Add 10 oz fresh spinach. Fresh spinach is important here.

If it does not have a creamy sauce, add a little pasta water till it's the consistency you want.
Mix with the tortellini.

Serve with some fresh grated parm and a glass of white! An unoaked Chardonnay or a Pinot Grigio would be best.

For those who'd like to, add some chicken or shrimp to the dish. Season separatley with spices listed above.

Spicy Moraccan Chickpea Soup

Fall is settling in, in MD and in my bones. My schedule has been crazy busy and I have not been eating well. My body is screaming at me to feed it what it needs. What a day for soup!

This soup can be made ahead in a crock, or quickly on the stove top, take your pick.

First, chop up a couple of large carrots, large celery stalks, small onions (any flavor) and large garlic cloves. Saute them in a flavorful extra virgin olive oil until almost done, then add your spice. Coriander, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon and tumeric are warm spices full of healthy goodness, so be generous. Add a large can of crushed tomatoes and a couple cans of chickpeas. You may want to
mash some up to thicken up your soup, if you like a substantial soup meal. Add a little stock or water and simmer away.

I made mine thick and hearty so only added some crusty bread and a big leafy salad. My tummy was full and my body was full of antioxidant & anti-inflammatory goodness.

Enjoy!

4 Cheese Ravioli with Spinach and Sausage in Creamy Tomato Sauce

I love all the fresh pasta you can get in the stores now. Even though I am not in NY
or LA and can't go to the corner Italian Market for super fresh, made that day pasta;
I can still find some decent packaged fresh pasta. I opted for a 4 cheese, but they
also had 3 and 5 cheese blends.

Since fresh pasta takes only 5 minutes to cook, I started on my sauce first.
I found some great chicken sausage with roasted red pepper and asiago
(there is my 5th cheese). I sliced it on the diagonal so it would have plenty
of surface area to brown and get slightly crispy.

I started my sauce with diced onion and minced garlic.
Lots of garlic.
It was just one of those days.
I added some sliced white mushrooms and oregano, sauteing it all
off till soft. Then I added my sliced chicken sausage to brown.

Meanwhile, I had my pot of water boiling for the pasta and
added the fresh ravioli about now.

I finished my sauce by stirring in a small can of tomato paste, a 15oz can of
diced tomato, and wilted in the fresh spinach.  I turned off the heat and stirred
in about 6oz of ricotta (my 6th cheese) and about 1/4c of heavy cream.

Drain your pasta and serve it up with a healthy ladle of sauce.
Have some nice crusty bread and healthy olives.
Pick a nice crisp white to drink and you're in heaven!

Tuscan Bean Spread

1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained       

1-2 cloves of roasted garlic
1 big handful of fresh basil
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Red pepper flakes to taste

Smash the beans and mix all together. Or run it through a blender or food processor. Get a nice think paste them add good quality extra virgin olive oil to thin down to a consistency you like.

This is great on veggies, crostini, bruschetta, pita chips, etc. Top with diced tomato, roasted red pepper, sundried tomato and anchovy, etc....

You can use other flavor profiles to make any bean spread you desire.