Pollo Borracho and Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

Pollo borracho (Cuban style drunken chicken) is one of my favorite party dishes. It's easy to make a day ahead of time, and just re-heat on the stove or in the oven. And! It's great as leftovers days later. Oh, and it's pretty much impossible to mess up, so it turns out delicious every time.

Cilantro lime cauliflower rice has been making the rounds on food blogs and pinterest, so of course I decided to put my own spin on it and give you the recipe here. The flavors go perfectly with pollo borracho, and it's so easy and tasty that you won't even miss your white rice. If you change around the spices, you can serve it in place of white rice in any meal.
 

{browning the chicken}

{letting it simmer}

Pollo Borracho (Drunken Chicken, Cuban style)
Ingredients:
one 4- to 5-pound frying chicken, cut into serving pieces and skin removed (you can also buy pre-cut breasts or thighs, that's what I usually do)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
 1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, thickly sliced
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup large green Spanish olives (with the pimientos), drained and roughly chopped
Directions:
1.) Wash the chicken pieces, pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano.
2.) In a dutch oven (or large oven-proof skillet big enough to hold the chicken pieces without crowding), heat the olive oil over medium heat until fragrant, and brown the chicken pieces well on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic and onions, and cook, stirring, until tender, 6-8 minutes, adding more oil if necessary.
3.) Add the bay leaf, wines, and olives and stir to incorporate. Return the chicken to the pan, cover, and cook over low heat until tender, about 45-60 minutes. If you prefer, you can place the covered skillet in a 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes instead. Remove the bay leaf and serve with cauliflower rice.

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients:
1/2 large head of cauliflower
1/2 yellow/white onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
zest of one large lime
juice from 1/2 a lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
a dash of cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1.) Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor or grate it, so that it resembles grains of rice.
2.) Heat a large pan to medium heat and add olive oil, onion, and garlic. Cook until just translucent, then add riced cauliflower.
3.) Cover the pan and let steam for 6-7 minutes, or until cauliflower is softened and gently cooked through.
4.) Remove cover and cook off any excess liquid.
5.) Add in lime zest, cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix well, then transfer to a serving dish. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the rice and serve.

{you can also shred the chicken & mix it in with the rice: delish!}

Guava Swirl Cheesecake

Hey everyone, I'm still alive! I've just been letting work and life take precedence these days. But that also means that I've build up a good pile of recipes to share with you.

This dessert popped into my head one day when I was thinking about a way to combine the flavors of guava and cream cheese. My husband loves these super sweet Cuban pastries filled with guava and cream cheese, but trying to make a starch free version of the real pastry just wouldn't come close enough to the real thing. I had to get a little more creative with the flavor combination. And so the guava swirl cheesecake was born! (And depending on your flavor preferences, you can change the guava to any type of jam or jelly and this cheesecake would still be delicious. I think strawberry, blueberry and blackberry would all be amazing.)

The crust is the same recipe that we used in our Key Lime Mousse Pie and makes a good starch free substitute for any pie or dessert recipe requiring a crust.

Guava Swirl Cheesecake
makes one 10-inch cheesecake
for the crust:
3 cups almond meal/flour
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
(scant) 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
(scant) 1/8 cup water
for the cheesecake:
two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temp.
2/3 cup sugar (you can use a little less depending on how much jelly your adding in)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, at room temp.
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4-1/2 cup guava jelly, depending on your taste - I used Goya, in the international food section

for the crust:
--> Combine the almond meal with the baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the butter and some water, but don't add too much water! You just need enough to moisten the dough so that you can mix it. Knead to combine, and don't worry if some of the butter still shows through the dough. Form the dough into a flat disk, cover completely with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

--> Preheat oven to 300 degrees F and lightly butter or spray a 9 inch or 10 inch springform pan. Remove the dough  from the fridge and place between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Roll the dough out to a round disk a little larger than the springform pan. Remove the top sheet and invert the shell onto the pie dish. (Sometimes, if the dough feels a little bit on the sticky side, I just put the dough directly on my pan and press it in piece by piece with my fingers instead of rolling it out. When it's too sticky, it can just stick to the paper.) With your hands, mold the dough to fit your springform pan, making the edges a little thicker than the bottom.

--> Put into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the crust has very lightly browned and is firm. Remove from the oven and cool completely while you make your filling.
 
for the cheesecake:
--> Increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese at medium speed until very soft and smooth, about 4 minutes. Add sugar and salt, and continue to beat at medium speed for another 4 minutes or so, until cream cheese is light. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition so that your batter will be well aerated. Reduce to low speed and mix in heavy cream.

--> Stir bowl with rubber spatula, scraping the sides, and pour into your cooled crust. In a small bowl, stir your guava jelly until softened and uniform in texture. Pour jelly onto cheesecake mixture by the spoonful and marble gently into the cheesecake with a knife. 

--> Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until slightly browned and puffed a little. A thermometer should read 150 degrees F when inserted into the center of the cheesecake. Let cool, then place into the fridge. If you'd like, serve with whipped cream on top. But it's amazingly delicious either way.

Simple Flourless Chocolate Mousse Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a variation on the Chocolate Mousse Cake I posted earlier this year, and you'll be happy to know that this is the quicker and easier version to make! I decided that I wanted to post about a simple cake that you can make even if there's no special occasion, or if the occasion is just that you feel like eating cake. This recipe makes one 8x8 or 9x9 single layer square cake and is only 4-5 servings.

The cake recipe is the same that I used in my earlier post, and you can go check it out if you're wanting more pictures about the cake process; I just halved the recipe for this version. The Honey Cream Cheese Frosting is from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook. It's this recipe, without the butter. But if you'd like a fluffier frosting, add in the butter and tell me what you think!

I added a thin layer of high quality strawberry preserves under the layer of frosting, to add a little depth of flavor. And since I had strawberries on hand, I added those on top of the cake. It would be just as good without the fruit though, I'm just partial to fruit flavors in my cakes. Or you could substitute other flavors as well. Raspberries would be delicious with this cake.

{Cake batter and softening cream cheese. Isn't our cafetera family cute?}

Chocolate Mousse Cake
serves 4-5
5 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 eggs, separated --  (make sure the whites are completely free of yolks or oil, or they won't fluff up correctly -- also make sure that the whites are at room temperature before you mix them, they'll form stiffer peaks that way)
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
makes 1 1/4 cups - enough to cover one single layer cake
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup honey

 For the cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter 1 8x8 or 9x9 inch glass or metal baking pan and line the bases with buttered parchment paper.
2.  In a saucepan, melt the chocolate and butter (I put the butter in the pan first to protect the chocolate from direct heat) over low heat until smooth, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and whisk in the egg yolks until completely blended. Beat in the vanilla extract and pour into a large bowl. Set aside, stirring occasionally.
3. In a clean, grease-free bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites slowly until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and increase the speed and continue beating until they form soft peaks, then stiffer peaks that just flop over a little at the top. Have patience, this will take 5-10 minutes.
4. Stir a large spoonful of white into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining white until they're just combined. Don't overmix, or the whites will fall. It's okay if there's still some streaks in the batter.
5. Pour batter between cake pans, smoothing the top evenly and tapping the sides gently to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 30-35 minutes until puffed. The cake will fall slightly when you take it out of the oven. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then use a knife to loosen the sides and invert the cake onto the rack and remove the paper.

For the frosting:
If your cream cheese isn't room temperature, just zap it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds so that it softens a little, but not so much that it's melty. In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the honey and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate until needed. 

To assemble:
Stir about 1/4 cup strawberry or other preserves in a small bowl so that it's easy to spread. Spread a thin layer over the cake and add the cream cheese frosting on top. Spread over the cake until you have a even and smooth layer. If you'd like, add sliced strawberries or raspberries on top. Buen provecho!

Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad)

Panzanella is a classic Italian tomato-bread salad, and I gave a starch-free twist. I'm sure the Italian bread elitists out there won't like my spin on this salad, but for people who can only eat starch-less bread, it's not too bad. Actually, I'm really happy with out this salad turned out; I wasn't completely sure how the thick almond meal bread would work in this recipe. The original recipe had cucumbers, but I left them out, not really feeling the crunchiness that cucumber would add to this salad. This is adapted from a recipe I found in the July/August 2011 edition of Cook's Illustrated.

{toasting the bread}



{a dinner of salads}

Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad)

serves 4

6 cups "pumpernickel" almond meal bread, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

1 1/2 lbs. tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 shallot, sliced thin

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the bread pieces with 2 tablespoons oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Arrange bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast bread pieces until just starting to brown, 8-10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

2. Gently toss tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Transfer to colander and set over bowl, then set aside to drain for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally. Whisk remaining 6 tablespoons oil, vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper into reserved tomato juices. Add bread pieces, toss to coat, and let stand for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally. Add tomatoes, shallot, and basil to bowl with bread pieces and toss to coat. Season to salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.



Flourless Brownie Cake



This is seriously the simplest chocolate cake ever. It's definitely a household staple around here because it doesn't take any time to make and it's amazing when you eat it warm, paired with vanilla ice cream. As far as ice cream goes, Breyer's Natural Vanilla Ice Cream is a good starch free choice, because it only has a few ingredients and they're the right ones. (Or with some fresh strawberries and whipped cream. Have you noticed a trend here?) We call it brownie cake because it falls right between a thick, fudgey brownie and a rich chocolate cake.

Flourless Brownie Cake

makes 1 8x8 or 9x9 round/square cake

4 ounces semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it with the butter. Heat it up in small increments (15-20 seconds at a time), stirring in between each time, until the chocolate is melted. Stir until smooth. Allow to cool slightly, then mix in the vanilla extract.

{weighing the chocolate}

2. Sift the dry ingredients together, then mix in everything else. Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is cooked through and the top starts cracking. Serve warm!



{getting ready to mix everything together}



{finished baking}



Flourless Brownie Cake

makes 1 8x8 or 9x9 round/square cake

4 ounces semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it with the butter. Heat it up in small increments (15-20 seconds at a time), stirring in between each time, until the chocolate is melted. Stir until smooth.

2. Sift the dry ingredients together, then mix in everything else. Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is cooked through and the top starts cracking.



French Onion Soup

Okay, I know what you're thinking. Summer just hit and soup is the last thing you want to make, that all it will do is heat up your kitchen and make you feel miserable. Maybe. But French onion soup isn't just any soup, and this isn't just any recipe for onion soup. I've made at least 4 different versions of French onion soup so far in my life, and this one is by far the best. (You get a little obsessed with finding the perfect recipe for French onion soup when you've been to France and had the perfect French onion soup.) And once you make it, you'll want to eat 3 bowls in a row, it's that flavorful.

French Onion Soup (Soupe à l’Oignon)
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, in turn adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking
1 1/2 pounds (24 ounces or about 5 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon table salt, plus additional to taste
3 tablespoons almond meal
2 quarts (8 cups) chicken or beef broth (make sure when buying broth that it doesn't have pureed carrots or tomato paste in it, because those are both starchy, making your own is the best way to go)
1/2 cup dry white wine
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Melt the butter and oil together in the bottom of a 4-5 quart saucepan or Dutch oven over moderately low heat. Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to real low and let them slowly steep for 15 minutes. They don’t need your attention for this part.

2. After 15 minutes, uncover the pot, raise the heat slightly and stir in the salt. Cook onions, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes until they have turned an even, deep golden brown. You want them to be browned, but not super caramelized, because caramelizing them makes the onions starchy. This step will build the complex and intense flavor base that will carry the rest of the soup, so don't cut it too short.


{browning the onions}

3. After the onions are browned, sprinkle them with almond meal and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the wine in full, then stock, a little at a time, stirring between additions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 more minutes, skimming if needed. Correct seasonings if needed.

{finished soup--I know it's not much to look at, but it tastes amazing}


4. Preheat oven to 325. Arrange six ovenproof soup bowls or crocks on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Bring the soup back to a boil and divide among six bowls. To each bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon grated raw onion and a tablespoon of grated cheese. Stir to combine. Dab your bread with a tiny bit of butter and float a few on top of your soup bowls, attempting to cover it. Mound grated cheese on top of it; how much you use will be up to you,but if you love cheese, you could use as much as 1/4 cup per bowl.

{in the oven}


5. Bake soups on tray for 10 minutes, then preheat broiler. Finish for a minute or two under the broiler to brown the top lightly. Make sure that you use pot holders (because those bowls are going to be scalding) and serve immediately

{finished!}


French Onion Soup (Soupe à l’Oignon)
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, in turn adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking
1 1/2 pounds (24 ounces or about 5 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon table salt, plus additional to taste
3 tablespoons almond meal
2 quarts (8 cups) chicken or beef broth (make sure when buying broth that it doesn't have pureed carrots or tomato paste in it, because those are both starchy, making your own is the best way to go)
1/2 cup dry white wine
Freshly ground black pepper
Gratinée (Optional)
1 tablespoon grated raw onion/raw green onion
1 to 2 cups (to taste) grated Swiss, or a mixture of Swiss and Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted
12 to 16 1-inch thick slices of starch free pumpernickel bread (see this post), toasted

1. Melt the butter and oil together in the bottom of a 4-5 quart saucepan or Dutch oven over moderately low heat. Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to real low and let them slowly steep for 15 minutes. They don’t need your attention for this part.
2. After 15 minutes, uncover the pot, raise the heat slightly and stir in the salt. Cook onions, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes until they have turned an even, deep golden brown. You want them to be browned, but not super caramelized, because caramelizing them makes the onions starchy. This step will build the complex and intense flavor base that will carry the rest of the soup, so don't cut it too short.
3. After the onions are browned, sprinkle them with almond meal and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the wine in full, then stock, a little at a time, stirring between additions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 more minutes, skimming if needed. Correct seasonings if needed. 

The soup is so good on it's own , it's not necessary to do the graitinéed top. But sometimes it's nice to be fancy.
4. Preheat oven to 325. Arrange six ovenproof soup bowls or crocks on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Bring the soup back to a boil and divide among six bowls. To each bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon grated raw onion and a tablespoon of grated cheese. Stir to combine. Dab your bread with a tiny bit of butter and float a few on top of your soup bowls, attempting to cover it. Mound grated cheese on top of it; how much you use will be up to you,but if you love cheese, you could use as much as 1/4 cup per bowl.
5. Bake soups on tray for 10 minutes, then preheat broiler. Finish for a minute or two under the broiler to brown the top lightly. Make sure that you use pot holders (because those bowls are going to be scalding) and serve immediately

Double Chocolate Ice Cream

If you ask Roi what his favorite dessert is that I make for us at home, he'll always say chocolate ice cream. I think he could probably eat a quart a day.  And I love this recipe because it doesn't require an ice cream maker to yield amazingly creamy, rich and delicious ice cream, which is lucky, because we don't yet own an ice cream maker. 

This ice cream takes less than 10 minutes to make (if you don't count freeze time), but it's super rich, so some people might like to cut it with vanilla ice cream. Roi says you can have half of this chocolate ice cream and half vanilla ice cream and it'll be the same chocolatey-ness as store-bought chocolate ice cream. I found this recipe in Cook's Country magazine. [Also, please excuse the instagram phone photos, with my computer broken, my photo options are a little more limited and I like to play around with photo apps on my phone.]

Double Chocolate Ice Cream

makes 1 quart

1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder

1 tablespoon hot water

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine (I usually just make it with semisweet chocolate chips, though)

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch salt

1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream

{measuring out my chocolate}

{post-melting}

1. Combine coffee/espresso powder and hot water in a small bowl. Let stand until coffee dissolves, about 5 minutes. Microwave chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and coffee mixture in bowl, stirring every 15 seconds, until the chocolate is melted, about 1 minute. Stir in vanilla and salt, then let cool.

{whipping the cream}

{folding it all together}

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream to soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Whisk 1/3 of whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture until incorporated. Freeze in airtight container until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 2 weeks.

{my cooking helper! Peppy was sitting next to me while I was making the ice cream}

Double Chocolate Ice Cream

makes 1 quart

1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder

1 tablespoon hot water

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine (I usually just make it with semisweet chocolate chips, though)

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch salt

1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream

1. Combine coffee/espresso powder and hot water in a small bowl. Let stand until coffee dissolves, about 5 minutes. Microwave chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and coffee mixture in bowl, stirring every 15 seconds, until the chocolate is melted, about 1 minute. Stir in vanilla and salt, then let cool.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream to soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Whisk 1/3 of whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture until incorporated. Freeze in airtight container until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 2 weeks.

Lemon Curd/Lemon Custard Icing

Lemon curd has actually been a very large bone of contention in our household. Roi had never heard of lemon curd before I made it and flat out refused to try it because in his book, anything called "curd" sounded disgusting. So I had to come up with a different name to call it (even though fruit curds are not a new thing--we use lemon curd and passion fruit curd at the bakery where I work on a regular basis) before he'd even consider tasting it. So now at home lemon curd is now lemon custard icing.

Anyway, lemon curd is delicious and definitely something you should try if you haven't before. And making it from scratch is way better than buying it pre-made from the store. You can use it as filling in a layer cake, as an ice cream topper, on pancakes, with muffins, etc. After I made it, I kept trying to think of more things to eat it with, because I just wanted more. I followed this recipe.

 {all the supplies, sans salt}

Lemon Curd
makes ~2 1/2 cups
3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
4 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice
pinch salt

{lemon & sugar}

1. Peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler. Add the zest to the bowl of the food processor or blender. Blend until the sugar is very finely minced. The oils from the lemons will come out and flavor the sugar. Add the butter to the food processor. Then add the cream until it comes together. Add the eggs one at a time, with the machine running. Add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until the mixture is pale yellow.

{starting to cook}

{the spoon test}

2. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan. Cook over low heat on the stove until it thickens. You will  need to stir the whole time, and it'll take about 10 minutes. You will know that it's ready when you dip a wooden spoon (I used a metal spoon, it worked just fine) into the lemon curd, drag your finger across, and if the line stays, it is thick enough. Then proceed to eat it on everything!

{vanilla ice cream with lemon curd & fresh strawberries}

Lemon Curd
makes ~2 1/2 cups
3 lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
4 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice
pinch salt

1. Peel the lemons with a vegetable peeler. Add the zest to the bowl of the food processor or blender. Blend until the sugar is very finely minced. The oils from the lemons will come out and flavor the sugar. Add the butter to the food processor. Then add the cream until it comes together. Add the eggs one at a time, with the machine running. Add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until the mixture is pale yellow.
2. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan. Cook over low heat on the stove until it thickens. You will  need to stir the whole time, and it'll take about 10 minutes. You will know that it's ready when you dip a wooden spoon (I used a metal spoon, it worked just fine) into the lemon curd, drag your finger across, and if the line stays, it is thick enough. Then proceed to eat it on everything!

Green Tea & Mint Poppies

Anyone who knows me well knows that popsicles are one of my favorite foods, definitely my overall favorite food group. When I was younger, I would forgo any kind of cake, cookie or pie for a bomb pop (you know -- the iconic red, white and blue kind of popsicle). Even in the middle of winter I would choose a poppy over another kind of dessert; that's how deep my love of poppies goes.
Anyway, this is my way of introducing an ongoing series that I'll be doing throughout spring and summer -- homemade poppies (and of course they'll be starch free). And don't worry if you don't own a mold for making your own popsicles. If you do have a mold, that makes it easier, but you can make poppies using espresso cups, ice cube trays, disposable cups, shot glasses, etc. (+ popsicle sticks) for your molds.

The first kind of poppy in the series is a simple and tasty green tea & mint flavor. I got the recipe from this book.

Green Tea & Mint Poppies
makes six 8-ounce pops or eight 6-ounce pops 
(or any variety of smaller pops)
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 loose green tea or 5 tea bags
12 sprigs fresh mint
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup honey, or to taste
opt: 1/4 cup edible flowers or 1/4 cup blanched almonds (I opted out of these two)

1. Bring 4 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Pour into a heat-resistant pitcher (or mixing bowl with spout) with the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the tea, 10 sprigs of the mint and the lemon juice. Cover and let steep for 1 hour.

2. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in honey to taste. Add a few fresh mint leaves (and flowers and almonds if you'd like) to each poppy mold. Pour in the tea and insert the sticks. Freeze for at least 6 hours. (If you're using actual popsicle sticks and not molds, you'll have to freeze it for awhile and then put in the sticks, or they won't stay in straight.)

3. Remove from the freezer; let stand at room temperature for a few minutes or put the poppy under hot tap water before removing it from the mold. Then go and feel amazingly refreshed!

Zucchini Lasagna

Have you had enough zucchini pasta yet? Zucchini lasagna has become one of our household staples. It tastes great as leftovers and since it makes at least 6 large servings, that means I don't have to cook dinner every single night. Zucchini makes an awesome substitute for pasta in general, not just for lasagna noodles. (See here for zucchini spaghetti & meatballs.)
 
In an effort to eat less red meat and no pink slime, I don't usually use beef in this recipe (the lasagna in the photo was made using ground turkey). If I can get it, I'll use free-range bison (they sell it at our local farmer's market) or turkey and it tastes great. Bison and turkey are leaner than ground beef too. This lasagna won't be as tomato-y as you're used to because you have to use fresh tomatoes, but it still tastes amazing. And I use a lot of mozzarella cheese. 

Zucchini Lasagna
serves 6-8
olive oil
1 cup onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey or bison
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon ground oregano
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
5-6 fresh tomatoes (for the tomato puree, you'll need about 1 cup)
1/2 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 medium zucchinis
6 ounces mozzarella cheese (I use mozz. that comes in a whole block and cut in into thin slices that will spread as they melt in the oven)
2 ounces parmesan cheese (I use the fancier parmesan that comes in blocks that I can shred myself, because parm. that comes pre-grated has anti-sticking starches in it)

1. For the tomato puree: Core and roughly chop 5-6 medium tomatoes. Put them in a food processor/blender and mix until completely processed. Place a mesh sieve over a medium sized bowl. Pour the tomato puree over the sieve, so that the juice drains into the bowl. You'll use the tomatoes that remain in the sieve for your sauce. I usually end up pouring in about 1/2 cup of the juice into the sauce, but not all of it. (If you just chop up the tomatoes and add them to the meat, your sauce will be too watery.)

{making the sauce}

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender.  Add the meat and sauté until browned all over. Add all of the spices, salt and pepper. Stir and pour in the tomato puree and chopped tomatoes. Simmer on medium heat about 30 minutes -- until the sauce has thickened.

{zucchini strips}

3. Slice the zucchinis lengthwise into thin slices. Pour a small amount of the sauce to cover the bottom of the baking dish. Add a layer of zucchini slices, pour half the sauce onto the zucchini layer, and top with half of the mozzarella slices. Add another layer of zucchini and top with the last of the meat sauce, the rest of the mozzarella and all of the parmesan.

4. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. And you will want more.

Zucchini Spaghetti with Homemade Tomato Sauce & Meatballs

This is a pretty time consuming meal (compared to pasta out of a box and tomato sauce out of a jar) mostly because of all of the parts that you have to make. But let me assure you, it's well worth the work and the wait.

The sauce you can make ahead of time and use for multiple dishes and you can cut the zucchini spaghetti strips ahead of time as well. I like to bake our meatballs, rather than cooking them on the stove; when you're cooking the sauce and the zucchini, you don't have much stove space leftover anyway. Zucchini makes an awesome substitute for other kinds of pasta dishes, too. I'll have a zucchini lasagna recipe post coming up soon.

{my tomatoes, ready to go}

{tomato sauce, cooking}

For the Tomato Sauce:
adapted from the Smitten Kitchen recipe and serves 4
10 medium-large ripe fresh tomatoes
5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

1. Bring a big pot of water to a boil (it should have enough water to cover all of the tomatoes). Once boiling, immerse the the tomatoes in the water for 1 minute, then pour the water and tomatoes in a strainer and rinse the tomatoes with cold water. You should be able to slip the peels off of the tomatoes easily. Peel and core the tomatoes.

2. Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

For the Meatballs:
serves 5-6
1 lb. ground turkey or ground bison (ground beef = pink slime)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (from a block--not pre-grated, that's starchy!)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine meat, garlic, almond meal, cheese, basil, eggs, 2 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in a bowl. Mix together with your hands (I suppose you could use a pastry cutter, I just find this to be the easiest way) until completely mixed. Roll into 1-inch balls, and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.

2. Bake for 16-20 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through, but juicy.

For the Zucchini Spaghetti: 
1 medium zucchini per person (I used 3 so there would be extra)

1. Cut the zucchini into thin slices, then slice into thin strips (unless you have a magical machine that will do this for you, which I don't).

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, put in the zucchini and cook for 30 seconds, then pour into a strainer. It's important not to overcook these, or they won't have the right pasta-like consistency.

3. Put everything together, sprinkle some basil and shredded parmesan and have a delicious meal!

Mashed Cauliflower

Mashed cauliflower makes an excellent substitute for mashed potatoes even if you can eat starch. Not only is it healthier than mashed potatoes but it takes less time to make.

Mashed Cauliflower
serves 3-4
1/2 of a large head of cauliflower
1-2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste
dash of milk &/or cream
opt: minced garlic

1. Roughly chop the cauliflower and discard any leaves. Put a pot of water on the stove on high heat and add all of the cauliflower to the pot; put the lid on. Once it starts boiling, let it boil for 5 minutes.

2. Remove pot from heat and put the cauliflower and water in a strainer to drain out the water. Add some of the butter back to the pot and put it back on the stove on medium heat. If using garlic, add this to the pot now. Add the drained cauliflower back to the pot and sauté for a few minutes until some of the water has evaporated.

3. Then put the cauliflower (I use a ladle for this part) into a blender in parts, adding the rest of the butter and the milk or cream while you blend it. Add the milk/cream only a little at a time so that you can stop when it's the right level of creaminess for you. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You can add cheese, gravy, and sauces to season your mashed cauliflower. Really, just season it how you would season mashed potatoes. It'll be creamy and delicious!

-- Kara

Camarones en Crema con Cilantro (shrimp in a creamy cilantro sauce)

Despite the fact that at least half of the meals I cook at home are Cuban in origin, I haven't shared many of those meals on the blog yet. Maybe it's because we tend to eat those meals so quickly I don't get a descent photo of them before they're gone. Needless to say, there will be many starch-free versions of Cuban recipes in the future.

This is a really simple and delicious recipe to make, and can be a quick dinner if you don't have much time to spend cooking. I used a version adapted from this book.

Camarones en Crema con Cilantro
6-8 servings
3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 large, ripe tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves (I usually put in a lot, because we love cilantro)
1/4 cup dry sherry
2 1/2 lbs large raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

for the sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup fish stock, chicken stock or clam juice (I used chicken stock, because I had that on hand)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
few dashes of Tabasco sauce, optional

1. In a large skillet over low heat, melt the first amount of butter. When it begins to foam, add the garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, sherry, and shrimp, and cook, stirring, 4-5 minutes.

2. To prepare the sauce, in a saucepan over low heat, melt the second amount of butter. When it begins to foam, raise the heat to medium and whisk in the stock, milk and cream and cook, whisking, until the mixture comes to a boil. Add the salt, pepper, Tabasco and Worcestershire.

3. Add the sauce to the shrimp, stir to blend, and cook over low heat 3-4 minutes. I like to serve this with either cauliflower "rice" or mashed cauliflower (as in the photo).