Archive | 2008

Goat Cheese Toast

28 Jun

When my friend Magda told me about 8-9 years ago that her favorite cheese was goat cheese, I felt kind of lost…  Goat Cheese?  How does that taste like?  Is it soft or hard? Tell me more, tell me more…

So I immediately went to the specialty cheese case in my grocery store to see what this goat cheese was all about.  I was instantly HOOKED!!  I could not believe I had been ignoring the specialty cheese section for so long…  Magda opened up my eyes to the delicious variety of cheeses there are and that there’s more to cream cheese than the Philly kind I love so much… to this day.

One of my guilty pleasures on the weekends (and some weekdays too…) is to make myself a Goat Cheese Toast…  crispy, creamy, tangy – One of my perfect snack foods.

 

 

GOAT CHEESE TOASTS

1 whole-wheat baguette
3 oz of soft goat cheese, make sure it’s without animal rennet
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher Salt
Freshly-cracked black pepper

 

  1. Slice the baguette into 2 halves.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  2. Toast the baguette halves in a 350° F oven for about 5 minutes or just use the toaster setting on your toaster oven.
  3. Take the toasts out (careful, they’re hotter because of the oil) and spread the goat cheese on the bread.  Sprinkle a bit more pepper and drizzle a bit more olive oil for the nice cool finished look.

 

Enjoy alone, with a nice chilled glass of pomegranate juice… or fill the two halves with a few slices of fresh tomato, baby spinach and roasted peppers for an awesome sandwich.

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Cracked Potatoes

27 Jun

Going to my French classes every day this Summer, has made me crave some French-inspired food…  such is the case with these Cracked Potatoes.  I had seen them in magazines, as part of the Gourmet Next Door show and even in several websites…  so I decided they were easy enough for me to give them a try for lunch.

The cool thing is that these look spectacular for company, but with the addition of fresh lemon or lime juice, they tasted fancier than just your regular boiled and “sort of” fried potato… 

 

 

CRACKED POTATOES

10-12 baby red potatoes, scrubbed well and left whole
2-3 garlic cloves, smashed open
2-3 tbs olive oil
Kosher salt – generous for the boiling water and more for seasoning later
2 tbs fresh parsley for finishing
The juice of 1 lemon or lime

 

  1. In a medium sauce pan, boil the potatoes in salted water for about 10-15 minutes.  I try to make them until they’re almost done when pricked with a fork.
  2. When the potatoes are almost done, drain them and let them cool off a little.
  3. Using something flat, like a plate or the underside of a glass bowl (so you can see what’s happening underneath), press each potato slightly until it cracks, exposing some of its flesh.  Be gentle as to not smash the potato completely… you only need a crack.
  4. In a skillet or even in the same pan you used to boil them – just remember that when the potatoes are smashed, they’ll take up more space than previously.   Heat of about 2 tbs of olive oil. Add the garlic cloves that you have just cracked open with the side of your knife.  This will impart a garlic taste to the oil and eventually roast them making them very sweet indeed.   Place the potatoes in the pan and “fry” the potatoes on both sides until the skins look crisp and golden around the edges. 
  5. Try not to add any potato that was over smashed, because this would just fry the insides of that potato and create a nice little mess on the bottom of your pan.  Can you tell I speak from experience????
  6. Right before the potatoes are done, sprinkle with the fresh parsley and toss to combine.
  7. Remove from pan and allow to cool of a little bit.  Sprinkle with a light dusting of kosher salt… and I guess if you have some sea salt or even fleur de sel would make it super French indeed.

 

When you serve them, allow a lemon half for each guest to squirt some lemon juice on top of the potatoes.   This recipe serves 2 or one hungry Madelyn… Mmmmm.

 

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Stealth Shake

26 Jun

I’ve been reading a lot about Green Shakes on the media lately… shakes that include a special, very nutritious ingredient to boost the nutritional value of the shake you’re drinking.

I was intrigued to know how this concoction would taste and I decided to give it a try…  I added all the ingredients I saw in a TV segment, but I was hesitant.  So before I turned on the blender, I added some berries to make sure the taste would be appealing to me.

The result…  The Stealth Shake.  All the nutrition of the green ingredient and all the fruity taste.  A very successful experiment indeed.

 

 

STEALTH SHAKE

1 banana, peeled and sliced
1 handful of fresh baby spinach
1 handful of blueberries, washed
2 strawberries, hulled and quartered
1 cup of pineapple juice
A squirt of agave nectar
2-3 ice cubes

 

  1. Mix everything in a blender for a few minutes and enjoy!!!

 

Can you see the spinach??  And believe me – you’ll not be able to taste it either!!!!  It tasted super fruity and delicious.  A shake filled with antioxidants, this is a great way to include spinach into someone’s diet without them even know it… 

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Stewed Peas

23 Jun

Beans and peas are an acquired taste to me…  and it’s kind of weird because now that I am vegetarian I’ve had to learn to eat these to integrate some variety into my diet.  I would eat some petit pois as part of a paella or an arroz con pollo in my former non-vegetarian life, but I would never eat peas or beans over rice, for example, something that is sooooooo Latin. 

One of the best surprises is sweet peas.  I really like them now.  They are super sweet and delicious.   So the other day I was looking to repurpose a Mexican Salsa I had made which tasted me too much like a sofrito.  And I found that stewing some sweet peas in it was a great way to reuse the salsa and gave the peas the right amount of sauce to moisten the brown rice.  Add some sweet baked plantains (plátanos maduros) and you’re all set.

 

 

 

STEWED PEAS

1/2 cup Mexican Salsa – try this recipe, because I am not sure how this would turn out if you use Salsa from a jar
3/4 cup frozen sweet peas
1 tbs olive oil
Kosher salt, to re-season if necessary

 

  1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add the salsa.  Cook until you start seeing the tomatoes and onions start of get soft and translucent.
  2. Add the frozen peas.  No need to thaw them at all.  The heat from the pan will do it for you.
  3. Cook for about 10 minutes until the peas get a really pretty bright green color and the sauce looks cooked.

 

Serve over rice or use as a filling for a pastelón or lasagna…  I also have added some toasted almonds for the added protein and it tasted awesome.  Trust me…

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2008 Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities

20 Jun

The 2008 sexiest vegetarian celebrities were announced today – new British singing sensation Leona Lewis and Anthony Kiedis, lead singer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Leona Lewis apparently has been a vegetarian for a long time now… and she evens goes to the extent of not wearing any clothing, shoes or handbags made from leather or suede.  For Anthony, being vegetarian is a more recent lifestyle change.  He decided to try a vegan diet after a doctor recommended it for his son.  And after learning additional information about the depleting ocean ecosystems and the horrible meat industry practices… he says he’s sure he’ll never go back to eating how he used to.

PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, conducts each year an online voting to determine who the sexiest vegetarian celebrities are.  The lists for both male and female are looooong.  Here are some of my favorites:

Bryan Adams  – he used to be my “boyfriend” when I was in High School

Michael Bolton – I just love him and his music…

Noah Wyle – from ER fame

Joaquin Phoenix – He’s so sexy…

Ruben Studdard – from American Idol Season 2 fame… goes to show you that not all vegetarians are skinny (or maybe it’s a new thing for him…

Paul McCartney – my mom’s favorite Beatle

Rupert Everett – from the movie My Best Friend’s Wedding

Shania Twain – I think she’s awesome…

Carrie Underwood – from American Idol Season 4

Kristi Brinkley – my favorite Cover Girl

Vanessa Williams – she’s so wicked in Ugly Betty

Pink – love her music…

 

 

Check them out…

If you want to be as sexy as these celebrities… maybe you would like to try being a vegetarian for a while.  PETA encourages people to Pledge to go Veg for 30 days.   And PETA will forward you with information, snack info, where to eat out and more…  hey, you already have me as a resource too.

And stay tuned for next year’s event.  Maybe you’ll be partly responsible for the sexiest vegetarian celebrity for 2009.

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