Diary Recipes: your

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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Plantains for Your Membranes – Fried Sweet Plantains for the Winter Blues

According to my sources deep inside the online health community, eating plantains can help fight Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.), or as its more commonly called, the "winter blues."

I dont really have issues with S.A.D., and when I do, I usually fight it with beer, but it is nice to have another option.

It may be the tryptophan, a natural mood enhancer, or the high levels of vitamins C, B6, B12, or maybe its just all that fiber, but whatever it is, I can report anecdotally that I felt pretty happy after eating these golden-browned beauties.

Above and beyond the purported health benefits, I have an even better reason to try plantains: meatless boredom. I like to mix in the occasional meatless meal, but tend to repeat the same old standbys. Plantains are perfect for breaking up that routine. Besides, I bet that some of your have never even tried them before, and thats just not right.

If you live near any kind of large city, especially one with a Latin-American community, you should find these fairly easily. As I mention in the video, youve probably looked at them many times at the store, but were unsure of exactly what they were, or what you should do with them.

I think when paired with a simple plate of black beans and rice, youre talking about a super simple, very frugal, and quite delicious dinner. I really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Fried sweet plantains ingredients for about 4 portions:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 ripe plantains (peel should be mostly black),

salt to taste

lime wedges, optional

View the complete recipe

Sunday, March 9, 2014

What Are Your Holiday Food Wishes

Im going to be filming a bunch of holiday-themed videos for a special feature on YouTube, and Id love to know what kinds of things youd like to see! Ive done some fairly standard turkey, gravy, and stuffing video recipes, as well as a bunch of side dishes that work nicely around the holidays, like glazed sweet potatoes, but maybe youd like to see something a little more exotic? Please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Your Eggsellency!

When I entered the draw over on Jam and Clotted Cream to win a Hotel Chocolat Easter Egg, I never expected to win! I was so pleased when I got an email from Beth to tell me that I had been successful, even better the egg arrived on Good Friday.

When you open the box there is this great image of a key to unlock the lovliness that is this chocolate egg.

There are two thick chocolate egg halves, one in 40% milk chocolate and the other in 70% dark chocolate. In the tissue paper parcels are some delicious little eggs.

So thank you to Beth at Jam and Clotted Cream and thank you to Hotel Chocolat.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Lamb Merguez Patties – If the Sausage is Moroccan Your Burger Will Be Rockin

After using Merguez sausage in this beautiful stuffed acorn squash recipe last year, I got a bunch of emails saying, “I can’t find that anywhere! Can you show us how to make it?!” I generally ignore those, since it’s usually just people not looking hard enough (I’m looking at you, Mr. “I can’t find Panko”).

However, in this case, I realized that Merguez is not commonly stocked at the grocery store, so I decided to come up with an easy home version. I didn’t bother with the casing, as these were originally going to be breakfast patties, but as I mention in the video, I was seduced by a brioche roll, and ended up going full burger. Happily, it made for a very memorable lunch.

If you do happen to give this Merguez recipe a try, I hope you make a double batch and not only experience the amazing burger it produces, but also use it in/on a number of things. It is wonderful in beans, frittatas, pastas, soups, and especially crumbled on pizza or flatbread. I really hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for Four (4 oz) Patties:

1 pound ground lamb (rec., 85% lean, 15% fat)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp turmeric

3 cloves garlic

2 tbsp Harissa (a spice red pepper paste), we did a version here. I didn’t add cayenne since my Harissa was very spicy, but feel free.

1 tbsp tomato paste

*Note: To check seasoning, fry a small piece and check for salt and heat.

View the complete recipe