Mama's Tostones (Plantains)

The holidays conjure up all sorts of memories of family meals. I write a lot about my Granny's recipes. But today, my mom and I had the pleasure of making one of her mother's specialties, Mama's Tostones.

Mama was from the Dominican Republic, so in addition to Granny's amazing Italian food, I had the luxury of experiencing "Island Food" as I grew up.

Many of you have probably enjoyed traditional Fried Plantains, which are sweet. Tostones are a salty version of plantains. Plantains are high in Fiber, Potassium and Vitamin A and C. And they're delicious. To make Tostones:

1. Slice into the skin without hitting the meat with your knife. Slice it lengthwise in a few spots so you can peel the skin off.

2. Cut the plantains into 1 inch chunks.

3. Heat Canola oil in a frying pan.

4. Lightly brown both sides of the plantain chunks.

5. Put the browned chunks on a paper bag. (I know that sounds weird. Just go with it.)

6. When the plantains cool, put another paper bag over the pieces and press down hard on each slice until it's as flat as you can make it.


NOTE: It's important to use paper bags because paper towels shred.

7. Put the flattened Tostones back in the frying pan. Brown them again.

8. Place the Tostones on a plate covered with a paper towel (so the oil drains). Salt them immediately.
NOTE: By salting immediately, the salt sticks to the oil on the plantains.

9. Enjoy the Tostones by themselves or dip them in guacamole for an extra treat!

What family foods do you love?

Suzie

Pasta with Asparagus and Cherry Tomatoes

Pasta doesn't have to be a heavy meal. There are lots of quick easy ways to make yummy light pasta dishes. Like this:

1. Boil water and add salt. Cook pasta according to the directions on the package. Use a whole grain pasta and enjoy less carbs, some protein and whole grains that are good for your heart.

2. Add olive oil to a pan and heat over medium high on the stove.

3. Snap woody ends off asparagus and discard them. Cuts stalks into bite sized pieces. Drop them in the pan.

4. Chop a garlic clove and halve a bunch of cherry tomatoes.

5. After about three minutes, drop the garlic and cherry tomatoes in the pan. Add salt and pepper.

6. Meanwhile, drain the pasta. But reserve about a cup of pasta water.

7. Add about a half cup of pasta water to the veggie pan, along with the pasta. Mix it up. Add some grated Parmesan cheese and cracked fresh pepper.

8. Enjoy!

You can use any combination of veggies in pasta. What are some of your favorites?

Suzie

Huevos y Frijoles

My lust for black beans is making me do crazy things with them. This morning I made a black bean omelet that made me salsa dance all over the kitchen. Try it:

1. Defrost a pack of your single serving vacuum sealed black beans. Add a little chopped jalapeno to your beans. Warm them in a little pot over medium heat.

2. Beat two eggs in a bowl with a splash of milk.

3. Chop up a little fresh cilantro.

4. Drop some butter in an omelet pan on medium heat. When it melts, pour in the egg mixture.

5. Cover the pan.

6. When the egg mass is no longer runny, spoon beans onto one half of omelet.

7. Sprinkle with cilantro and jack cheese.

8. Flip the other half of the omelet over the delicious bean mixture.

9. Wait for the cheese to melt.

10. Eat the heavenly omelet.

Can you think of a more delicious omelet? What's your favorite type of omelet?

Suzie

Black Beans

Psst...I have a secret. A secret crush - on black beans.

A great source of protein, antioxidant rich black beans are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, as are most other legumes. In addition to lowering cholesterol, black beans' high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.

They're also super filling and ridiculously delicious. They're my new BFF. Well, maybe even BF.

I have not taken any pictures while cooking them. I'm sorry. You're going to have to envision these black beauties on your own.

1. Soak a bag of black beans over night per directions on the bag.

2. Chop one onion, one jalapeno and three garlic cloves.

NOTE: This veggie trio is also known as a sofrito. It's a great base for all kinds of soups, stews, etc. Often, the jalapeno is replaced with a bell pepper, depending on what you're going for.

3. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

4. When the oil is hot, add your sofrito, salt and pepper.

5. When veggies are soft, after about five minutes or so, add the beans stir them around and heat them for about two or three minutes.

6. Add water according to the directions on the bean package. Usually about 8 cups per lb.

7. Let beans simmer over medium heat with the lid open a tad for two hours. Longer if beans are still hard or there's two much liquid left.

Now, you're probably wondering what the heck you're going to do with all these beans. That's where your food saver comes in. Cut single serving sized bags, and vacuum seal and freeze single servings. Then heat them up as a small meal or side dish at any time.

Enjoy!

Suzie Black Bean Lover

Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato Spread

On Easter, I realized that I didn't have enough appetizers for the friends who were coming over for dinner. So I dug into my freezer and pulled out a hunk of goat cheese left over from a party and waited for it to soften.

When it did, I rummaged through the pantry to see what I could add to it. I found sundried tomatoes and a sleeve of crackers.

Then I went out to the garden and cut some parsley.

I chopped the sundried tomatoes and parsley, mixed them in with the goat cheese, added some cracked black pepper and set it out on the table with the crackers.

I figured you can't go wrong with sundried tomatoes and parsley, can you?

The empty bowl was proof. Try it for an easy and different kind of cheese and crackers!

Suzie

Carrie's Favorite Cauliflower

This weekend, I catered a birthday for my friend Carrie. When planning the menu she said, "Ooo....can you make some of that awesome cauliflower?"

Why yes, yes I can.

Cauliflower is a totally underated vegetable. Like broccoli, it's a cruciferous vegetable, full of cancer fighting abilities, vitamin C and fiber. We should eat it by the pound.

I know what some of you are thinking. Cauliflower can be bland and watery if you steam it. Fear not. Carrie's Favorite Cauliflower bursts with flavor and crunch.

1. Mix olive oil, a couple chopped garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, some dried Italian seasonings and salt in a bowl.

2. Cut the cauliflower head in half. Cut the core out of each half and break the head into florets.

3. In a gallon sized ziplock bag, mix the cauliflower with the olive oil, garlic and spices.

4. Put the bag in the fridge and let it marinate for at least a half hour.

5. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then roast the cauliflower for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

By the time I got the camera, the cauliflower was half eaten.

6. Enjoy!

Suzie

Tasty Tomato Sauce

My Granny was an amazing cook. And I had the pleasure of spending lots of time in the kitchen with her. She taught me how to mix and match flavors and confidently toss ingredients in a pot, as if measuring tools didn't exist.

Today I'm making tomato sauce. She, like a lot of Italians, called it "gravy." I'm not making her recipe. It's more like a combo of both of ours. The savory scents from my kitchen are bringing back great memories, so I thought I'd share:

1. Finely chop a large onion, four garlic cloves and two carrots.

2. Heat olive oil in a big heavy bottomed pot on the stove on medium heat.

3. When the oil is hot, toss in the carrots and onion. Let them soften about five minutes. Make sure they don't brown.

NOTE: Some people put sugar in their "gravy." I don't. It's bad for you and those extra calories are a serious waste. Carrots do a great job of naturally sweetening the sauce and balancing the acidity of the tomatoes.

4. Add the garlic. Let it soften a few minutes. Be sure it doesn't brown. (It will taste awful.)

5. Salt and pepper your veggies. Then add dried Italian seasonings and some red pepper flakes.

6. Add four 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes. Or you can use whole tomatoes and smoosh them up with your hands.

7. Stir it up. Season to taste.

8. Simmer on low heat with the lid cracked for about an hour. Stir occasionally.

9. Pour over pasta.

10. Top with a chopped fresh herb like parsley or basil. (This gives it such a fresh zing!)

Enjoy!

Suzie

Holy Guacamole!

All right, maybe it's not holy, but it's the best guacamole I've ever had. Hands down.

1. Halve, peel and pit four avocaodos. Put them in a bowl.

NOTE: The easist way to peel avocados is to halve them and then scoop the fruit out with a spoon.

Add the following to the bowl:

• Half a small chopped onion


• 3 cloves minced garlic


• 1 chopped jalapeno


• 1/2 a lime's worth of juice


• Salt


• Chopped cilantro

2. Cut it all up into chunks. Mix it all together. Then mash with a potato masher.

3. Taste it. If you want it hotter, add more jalapeno. Saltier? Toss in some more salt. Need a little more zing? Squeeze in the other half of that lime. You get the idea..

4. Enjoy the heavenly guac with chips, or have it as a side dish with chicken or fish.

Let me know how it goes!

Suzie

Salsa Worth Salivating Over

This salsa is crazy easy, deliciously spicy, low in calories, high in licopene and vitamin C and super cheap to make.

1. In a blender, combine:

• One 16 oz can diced tomatoes (preferably organic)


• Half a jalapeno pepper
  
• Quarter of an onion
  
• Two garlic cloves
  
• A handful of cilantro
  
• Half a squeezed lime

2. Blend it up!

And there you go! Salsa worth salivating over.

By the way, if you enjoy more of a kick, drop in some more jalapenos. How do you like your salsa? Mild? Spicy? En fuego?

Suzie

Perfect Hash Browns

Sunday morning breakfast is a luxury. Bacon, eggs, and hash browns. That's what's on my menu. And as I cooked it all up this Sunday, I thought about how most people probably have the egg thing down. And taking bacon out of a package and putting it in a pan is definitely not rocket science.

But the perfect hash browns? Well, they're a little tricky. So here goes:

1. Peel your potatoes. One large russet potato should cover one medium skillet and feed two people.

2. Shred them using the large holes on a box grater.

3. Heat vegetable oil on medium high heat in a pan on the stove.

NOTE: Vegetable oil can be heated it at higher temperatures than olive oil. Since you're frying the potatoes, you don't want to use olive oil. It may burn, and frankly, it's a little too olivey for hashbrowns.

4. Add a pat of butter to the oil. The butter gives them a buttery taste and the oil prevents the butter from burning.

5. Squeeze all of the liquid out of your potatoes using paper towels. The secret is to get them as dry as possible. Wet potatoes = soggy hash browns.

6. Salt and pepper potatoes.

7. Drop the hash browns in the pan. Spread them out so they look like a pancake.

8. Brown the first side. Then flip them.

9. When they're done, slide them out of the pan and enjoy!

What's your favorite Sunday morning breakfast treat?

Suzie

Mmm...Delicious Smoothie

1 cup frozen organic mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)

1 cup organic apple juice

1/4 cup raw organic wheat germ

2 tbsp organic ground flax meal

Blend it up!

Five reasons why you should have a smoothie for breakfast:

1. Two servings of fruit. It's not easy to get five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. But it's really important. A smoothie is a great way to knock out two.

2. Fiber. You've heard it's important to eat fiber. But do you know why? It helps maintain a healthy digestive system and colon, but fiber is also extremely important for heart health. And ground flax and raw wheat germ go a long way when it comes to proper pumping. They act as cleansers in your arteries, reducing plaque. So your good cholesterol goes up and your bad cholesterol goes down.

A woman my age needs about 25 grams of fiber a day. This smoothie provides about 13. (4 - wheat germ, 4 - ground flax, 5 - berries) That's half of what I need before I even get in the shower. But 25 grams is a lot. And if you think you're going to hit that by simply having a salad for lunch, you're wrong. So start early and track your grams during the day.

3. It's filling. It seems like they wouldn't be, but smoothies will fill you up. The added grains really help to fight hunger.

4. It's a great way to kickstart your day. If you don't eat breakfast, start. Your body needs nutrients to get going. Plus, berries are brainfood. Start feeding your brain and your body early and you'll feel more energetic throughout the day. In addition, a healthy breakfast revs up your metabolism so you keep burning more calories throughout the day.

5. Smoothies are cheap. Bags of blueberries and mixed berries are about $3.00 each. Two will get me through a week of smoothies. Raw Wheat Germ runs about $2.00 and Organic ground flax meal is about $4.00. A bag of each will last about a month.

I'm no mathematician, but based on berry cost alone, you can eat breakfast for less than a $1 a day and also feel good about eating something healthy.

So, what do you think? Will you give smoothies a try?

Suzie