Mexican Chopped Salad Recipe and Whole Foods Shopping

Posted by Tami on 28 August 2010

Whole Foods is an amazing grocery store! I love to go there and look at everything. Everything is displayed so beautifully it is a food lovers paradise. Yes, I know that groceries there can be quite pricey. Therefore, I am selective about what I buy. I have found that their store brand 365 items are quite reasonable. Watch the ads and buy things when they have them on sale. Before we had a Whole Foods in our town I would drive about 22 miles to the nearest one once a month and take my cooler to stock up. Here is what I bought this week.

I bought the vanilla flavored So Delicious coconut creamer and it is very good. I wouldn’t use it everyday but for my decaf dessert coffee it is perfect! The coconut water I use in some of my fruit and kale smoothies. Hubby Tom wanted some flavored yogurts for snacks. Son David loves raspberries and they were on sale so I snagged him a couple containers. They have a garbage can next to the corn on the cob display so you can shuck the corn right there, I love that! The black beans, limes, jicama and radishes went into the salad recipe I am going to share with  you. The dates are for a recipe I want to try but at the moment I can’t remember what it was. Sometimes I have brain fade! The brown rice crisps are like rice krispies but healthier. I like to sprinkle them on yogurt or sometimes I make snack bars with them. The mushrooms and the whole grain wrap were turned into a pizza that TJ from TJ’s Test Kitchen inspired me to make. TJ posts a lot of healthy Weight Watcher friendly recipes, check out her blog. If you don’t already follower her you should! The sprouted buns are perfect for veggie, turkey or Boca burgers.

Have you ever purchased the canned corn from Trader Joe’? It is the best canned corn ever, this stuff tastes like fresh corn on the cob. Perfect for using in recipes, especially when fresh corn is not in season. Or if like me you want to save the fresh stuff to cook on the bar b que.

I print hard copies of recipes that I find on the internet and I have a huge stack of them in my “to try” pile. This Mexican Chopped Salad recipe has been on mind for a while now and with our triple digit weather this week I needed something cool and refreshing for dinner. Hubby Tom and I loved the flavor combination in this dressing. Fresh lime juice, olive oil, fresh cilantro, garlic, honey and my addition of ground cumin made for the perfect salad dressing.

The wonderful crunch provided by all the fresh chopped veggies, black beans and corn, made this salad satisfying and full of natural fiber.  This will be a salad that I will be making again. It would be perfect for a pot luck. Just wait to dress the salad right before serving.

It is such a pretty salad too.

I had some leftover chicken that hubby had cooked on the bar b que grill, so I chopped it up and sprinkled it on top. It took this from being a side salad to an entrée!

Cuisinart Coffee Maker Starbucks Coffee & Creamer Product Reviews

Posted by Tami on 26 August 2010

A Late Bloomer

I did not discover the joy of a cup of a coffee in the morning until I was about 31years old. My parents drank it as I was growing up and I sure thought it smelled good. They drank it black and I sure thought it tasted bad! I was having brunch at someones house and she served Lion’s brand coffee from Hawaii that had a hint of cinnamon and she offered me a cup with a little bit of sugar and cream and I was immediately hooked! I had no idea that coffee could taste so wonderful.  Hubby Tom was delighted when I joined him in his morning ritual of sipping coffee as he started his day. For us, it is a nice way to start our day together. We pour our morning cup and chat about the day ahead, planning out our week and catching up in general. It is my favorite part of the day.

I ordered that Lion coffee by the case from Hawaii until the company had the nerve to discontinue my favorite flavor. From there we found a store brand that was good for a while but we grew tired of it and went in search of more flavor. We tried Peets, Eight O’Clock, Seattle’s Best and Dunkin Donuts just to mention a few. We finally settled on Starbucks Colombia. At Winco Foods where we live it is sold for just under $8 per bag. Sometimes Target sells it for less. When I see it at a good price I stock up and put it in the freezer. Now that son David (no worries he is after-all almost 21) has started drinking it every day we are going through a lot more!

We use to have this Braun coffee maker that made the best coffee and although it was still working it looked terrible. What was once an all white coffee maker had started to yellow from age and it no longer looked great on my kitchen counter against my white tile back splash. It was also making a lot of sputtering noises during the brewing process! Hubby Tom did his research and discovered that Braun was no longer in the coffee maker business. We settled on a new Cuisinart coffee maker that was highly rated by Consumer Reports and various other on line resources.

The timing was perfect as we had a load of donations to take to charity so I put that Braun coffee maker in the back of my van and gave it away. The next morning we made coffee in our shiny new Cuisinart. It was the worse cup of coffee we had at home, ever! Hubby Tom threatened to go to the thrift shop and buy back our discarded Braun!

For weeks we tried many different ways to make our coffee with the hopes of getting a good cup. Mostly we turned out what would be considered hotel coffee,  you know the kind that you make in that little pot in your hotel room using that little packet they give you. ICK! By the way we no longer use that little coffee maker in hotel rooms, more about that later.

A Good Cup

We finally have our method down, we start with hot water even though we know you aren’t suppose to, we don’t think the coffee maker heats the water up enough to make a good brew. We use more coffee grounds than the instructions say and we pack it down firmly in the filter like you do for making espresso. Lastly we run it on the slower 1-4 cup setting even if we are making a pot full which is usually the case. It actually does taste like good coffee now, thank goodness!

Fat Free Creamers

We have tried a number of creamers. I use to use half and half but that is just too many calories and way to easy to go overboard with what appears to be a simple pour. Fat free milk makes the coffee a strange color and appearance is important you know, after all it is the first thing I drink in the morning! Almond milk was also a no, it made the coffee taste strange. Land O Lakes has a good fat free creamer but I sometimes have a hard time finding it in a larger container.

Trader Joe’s carries this Shamrock Farms fat free half and half that is one of our favorites. The flavor is good, it makes the coffee the right color and it clocks in at just 20 calories for 2 tablespoons. It does contain corn syrup but it does not say high fructose corn syrup so I am still uncertain if Dr Oz would approve! You know that HFCS is on his list of no-no’s.

I recently found So Delicious coconut milk creamer at Whole Foods and gave it a try. This product is soy free, fat free and dairy free.It is made with organic coconut milk and a few other ingredients to make it thicker. It has a great flavor and strangely it does not taste like coconut. It does not have a lot of weird ingredients in it either. I like it enough to buy another container the next time I am in Whole Foods which will most likely be today. So Delicious also makes this incredible frozen dessert bar that I reviewed earlier in the summer. Check out that post here. I like every product of theirs that I have tried so far.

Sometimes a good cup of coffee is hard to find when you are traveling. I found the Starbucks instant microground coffee packets at Costco. We took these on vacation with us and found them to be excellent. Now hubby Tom takes them with him when he travels for business. This is the best instant coffee around. If you don’t have a Costco look at Target or your regular grocery store for these.

I only drink 1 1/2 cups of coffee a day and only in the morning. Caffeine anytime past noon is a no – no  for me as it will surely keep me from sleeping at night! Some studies say coffee drinkers get some health benefits when it is consumed in moderation. Coffee in moderation works for me.

Enjoy A Hot Beverage Instead of Dessert

I sometimes like a cup of decaf coffee after dinner and if we are eating out I find that it can be a nice substitute if others are having dessert but I don’t want to have the extra calories. A cup of herbal tea also works well. It keeps my hands busy and there is something satisfying and filling about a warm beverage.

Which do you choose coffee or tea?

Black or with a little something extra?

What brand of Coffee maker do you use?

Fresh Peach – Date Chutney & Katy Update

Posted by Tami on 24 August 2010

I made it to the Farmer’s Market today and sadly I had to go with out Katy, my favorite shopping partner! We received an email from her this morning and she arrived in Spain safely and with all of her luggage! She was one of the last to board the plane and there was no over head storage room left so they made her check her carry on bag that contained all of her snacks and survival gear for the long flight! No worries one of her travel partners kindly shared her goodies. It all works out when we relax and go with the flow. She was tired but trying to stay awake and adjust to the time zone shift.

Karen asked yesterday how I was feeling about Katy being gone. Initially of course their is some worry as she gets adjusted and experiences culture shock, while having to find her own living situation in a foreign country. Hey Mom’s just have that built in desire to not see our children have any pain or anxiety!

I am thrilled that she had the courage to move to another country to attend school there. She has long been fascinated by Spanish culture and drawn to the language. It has been her desire to become fluent in Spanish so she can share her love of the language with her future high school students once she becomes a teacher. She decided to over come her fears, step out of her comfort zone and take a risk to realize her dream!

It is a grand lesson for the rest of her family. She is a great example of the BE DO HAVE school of thought. BE committed, DO what it takes and you will HAVE what you want. It has only been two days since she left and I am doing quite well right now. I know that the longer we go the more I shall miss her. She has studied out of state in the past so I know what it is like to have her gone for a few months at time. She was but a short flight away before so we saw her every few months. Ask me again in a month or so, I am sure the emotions will be a bit of a roller coaster ride!

Someone asked yesterday if hubby Tom and I plan to go see her. Yes indeed! We will be going next Spring while Katy has a nice long break and can be our travel guide. We intend to make good use of her Spanish skills!

I didn’t buy much this morning at the Organic Farmer’s Market as I still have lots of fresh produce on hand but I did have to get more of my favorite tomatoes and peaches. The little tomatoes are so sweet they can be eaten out of hand as is. My own tomato plant is loaded with little gems but I am waiting for them to ripen.

I made a delicious fresh peach -date chutney in the crock pot. We had it with our organic grilled pork chops and chicken breast. Pork tenderloin would be amazing with this. Peach chutney would also be a lovely topping for crostini (little toast appetizers), paired with some brie melted between whole wheat tortillas, a topping for turkey burgers, spread over a light bagel with a smear of Laughing Cow Light Cheese, mixed in Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or a topping for frozen vanilla yogurt!

This is a dump style recipe. Just dump all of the ingredients in the crock pot and let it cook for 2-3 hours. I like easy!

When it was done I did a taste test and although it was good I felt like it needed a little flavor boost. I split it into two bowls. In one bowl I added 1/4 teaspoon curry powder. In the other bowl I added 1/4 teaspoon Allspice and  about1/4 teaspoon freshly grated Nutmeg. Both versions were delicious! It would be hard to choose one over the other. Of course the curry version is a little hotter. The allspice, nutmeg version would lend itself better to desserts.

I used Medjool dates. If you don’t have dates on hand feel free to substitute a dried fruit like craisins, dried cherries or raisins. Next time I will cut back on the brown sugar as it seemed pretty sweet to me. The red pepper flakes add a little bit of heat to the chutney but you can leave them out if you would rather have an all sweet chutney. If you don’t have fresh peaches try subbing nectarines.

I got this recipe off the Internet and I think it was from the Cooking Light message board but I didn’t note the source. I hate it when I do that as I like to give credit where it is due.

Peach – Date Chutney

5 large peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped

1/2 cup chopped pitted dates 0r substitute raisins, craisins or dried cherries

2 tablespoons minced onion

1/2 cup packed brown sugar (or a little less)

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes ( optional)

Optional Curry powder, Allspice, Freshly ground nutmeg

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker. cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours. Remove the lid, let it cool. At this point I divided the chutney into two bowls. In one bowl I added 1/4 teaspoon curry powder. In the other bowl I added 1/4 teaspoon Allspice and  about1/4 teaspoon freshly grated Nutmeg.

Both versions were delicious! It would be hard to choose one over the other. Of course the curry version is a little hotter. The allspice, nutmeg one would lend itself better to desserts.

Makes about 3 1/2 cups chutney depending on the size of peaches. Tightly sealed in containers it should last 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Feeling Peachy!

Tami

Which is your favorite, peaches or nectarines?

Saying Adios Is Difficult

Posted by Tami on 23 August 2010

It’s official Katy is off to Spain today! The adventure of a lifetime has begun. She made me that purple folder and filled it with all the information she thought I might need about her study abroad program. She is very organized that way – great skills for the future teacher she desires to be! We took her to San Francisco yesterday and her and another study abroad student stayed over night in a hotel near the air port so they could catch their early morning flight today.

What is normally a 1 1/2 hours drive to San Francisco took us over 4 hours yesterday. It was mostly bumper to bumper traffic. We made the best of it by putting on some music and singing, snacking and having fun!

Katy’s best friend Esau accompanied us to San Francisco.

We went down to the Wharf and ate at one of Katy’s favorite spots, The Pier Market at Pier 39. We have been going to eat there since she was a little girl. They have the best salmon sandwich and Katy and her Grandma Jan have to have it when ever they go to San Francisco.

The sandwich is grilled salmon on fried Bannock bread, with tartar sauce. It made Katy happy!

Some people decided to go all out and have fish and chips. I won’t mention names!

I ordered my favorite, Teriyaki Salmon. The salmon is cooked to perfection and it practically melts in your mouth. This is my all time favorite salmon dish. Of course we had fresh sourdough bread as well. You can’t get better sourdough bread anywhere other than San Francisco’s own Boudin Bakery. Lucky for us they have opened a restaurant near where we live and now we can have good authentic San Francisco sourdough bread when ever we desire.

A visit to Pier 39 is never complete with out a walk out to the end of the pier to see the sea lions.

One last photo of the four of us together. We won’t see Katy again for many months!

We said a tearful good bye after enjoying a long day together. I talked to Katy briefly this morning after they got checked in at the airport and through security. She is flying with a big group of International Study students from CA and she was meeting lots of new people at the airport who are in her program. She will try to text or call from D.C. before they take off for the final leg of the flight to Spain. After that we may not hear from her for a couple of days. It will actually be Tuesday when they land in Spain as they are 9 hours ahead of us. Once they arrive in Spain there will be two days of orientation and many things to acquire like cell phone plans and a piso (apartment)!

Thank you to all of the family and friends who sent us emails, text messages, and comments here on the blog expressing their well wishes as we navigated successfully through a day of saying good bye. We appreciate the thoughts and prayers that were shared, we felt the love!

Please continue those prayers for Katy as the next few weeks will be filled with culture shock, nerves and fear as she sets about getting established in a foreign country.

Feeling grateful for the love and caring of family and friends.

Tami

Caramelized Plantains For Dessert

Posted by Tami on 21 August 2010

Happy Saturday. We are having a unseasonably cool day here and it is prefect in my opinion. I actually got cold on my morning walk! Katy is mostly packed and she did decided on paying extra and taking two suitcases. It is hard to pack for 10 months in just one suitcase! We take her to San Francisco tomorrow afternoon. Sigh. After talking about her going to Spain for the past year the time has finally arrived. I am so excited for her and can’t wait to hear about the adventure as it plays out for her. I will be fixing a big dinner for her tonight filled with many of her favorite foods. She has already said she is going to miss my cooking but she is going to enjoy trying all the new foods that Spain has to offer.

If you have followed my blog you might remember how much I loved the plantains I ordered when we went out for my birthday dinner. They came with black beans and sour cream and I was instantly in love with a new food! I thought they tasted sweet and more like dessert than a savory dish. I was in Whole Foods and spotted the plantains so I bought two.

Plantains look a lot like a banana but tend to be firmer and lower in sugar content than bananas. Bananas are most often eaten raw, while plantains usually require cooking. Plantains are used either when green or under-ripe when they are more starchy and less sweet or overripe at the peak of sweetness. Plantains are a regular food item in the tropical ares of the world. They are treated much like we treat potatoes and with a similar neutral flavour and texture when the unripe fruit is cooked by steaming, boiling, baking or frying. They are rich in vitamin A and C.

Nutritional Information for 1 medium plantain; 220 calories, 4g fiber, 10g sugar, 2 g protein

The plantains I purchased were green and my research showed that if you want them to be sweeter then let them ripen and become more black. Plantains are larger than most bananas. It took several days for them to get ripe sitting on my kitchen counter.

After a little Internet research I decided to go with a dessert type recipe for preparing the plantains. I found several recipes where a smaller amount of butter or oil was used instead of deep fat frying them. The plantain on the left was the one I started with and it was actually very ripe so much so that I thought it might not hold together once sliced so instead of cutting longer pieces on a diagonal I went with small slices. It would look much prettier sliced on the diagonal so I won’t let it get so ripe next time.

Just a tablespoon of butter melted and a light spray of canola oil spray in a nonstick skillet is all that is needed to cook these discs of sweet goodness. The slices on the left were from the very ripe plantain, the ones on the right were firmer but still sweet enough.

Brown the plantains on one side and turn over to brown on the other side. Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar and let them caramelize into warm little bites of sweetness. Beautiful! Slightly sweet, with a caramelized crunch to the outside and then you bite into the inside to find a warm center with the consistency of a sweet potato but a flavor similar to a banana. Pure delight!

We ate them just like this but they would also be wonderful served with a dollop of Greek Yogurt or over vanilla ice cream or frozen vanilla yogurt. The leftovers were just as good at room temperature the next day. Did I mention that they are very filling, you can only eat a few. I will definitely be making these again and again.

Caramelized Sweet Ripe Plantains

2 Ripe Plantains, mostly black on the outside

1/2 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Canola Oil Spray

Peel the plantains and cut into circles or on the diagonal into 1/2 ” slices or a little thinner.

Spray a non stick pan with the canola oil and melt the butter in the pan over a medium heat. Add the plantains to the bubbly melted butter. When lightly browned turn over and brown on the other side. Sprinkle with the sugar and let them caramelize slightly. Remove from pan and serve warm. Serves: 4

Inspired by food fit.com & African Vegan Recipes ivu.org

Enjoying family time and good food!

Tami

What new food have you tried lately?

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