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Crockpot Pernil

 

Years ago, I used to work in an office that was much more culturally diverse.  This one is rather “pale”.  ~sigh~

At any rate, back before The Food Network was showing people how to cook things that were not your basic American Staples, before there were cooking competitions on TV every 20 minutes and before the Chef became the New Rock Star, ethnic food in my neck of the woods was Chinese Take Out.

Unless, we had an office party.

Office parties were where I first tried “Sweet potato pie” and Arroz con gandules and the fantabulous garlicky tender pork dish that had a Puerto Rican name.

I had no idea what it was.  I even dated a guy who was of Puerto Rican descent.. and his mom made us gandules and pasteles (which I did *not* like.. and I felt so bad because she worked so hard at them).

But I hadn’t had that pork dish again .. until Knitting Knoobie said that she was making Pernil for dinner.  I was all “whut?” and she told me and I was like YAY!!! that’s it!!!

I did a little digging around the web and found a recipe by The Rican Chef.   Nothing against her method, but I was not about to tie up my oven all night when I had a crock pot that would do the job.  I made this a few times an tweaked it a bit here and there.
It’s really pretty easy.. you chop up some garlic with oregano, salt and pepper

Chopped garlic and spices

Prep your pork by stabbing it full of holes

Pork shoulder

Fill those holes with the garlic, sprinkle with adobo and shove in crock pot.

In the crock pot

Voila!

Pernil and Greens

ok.. it’s not the best picture…

Pernil with greens and black beans

Pernil with greens and black beans

Eh.. whatever.. it’s good.. trust me.

Crockpot Pernil
5.0 from 1 reviews
Print
Recipe type: Entree
Author: KicknKnit
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 6 hours
Total time: 6 hours 20 mins
Serves: 4-6
A slow cooker way to make a classic Puerto Rican dish
Ingredients
  • 5 lbs boneless pork shoulder (butt roast, picnic roast)
  • 12 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp mexican oregano
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp adobo (I used Penzey’s salt free)
Instructions
  1. Peel the garlic.
  2. Put the garlic, black pepper, oregano and olive oil in a small food processor and chop it all up to bits. (If you don’t have a food processor that will deal with the small amount, just mince the garlic and combine everything together.)
  3. Rinse the pork shoulder and pat dry. Remove the large layer of fat that sits on the top of the shoulder. There is plenty of fat marbled within the meat so you really don’t need this 1/2 inch thick layer.
  4. Take a paring knife and stab some holes throughout the pork. I usually make an X and then shove my finger in there to widen the hole.
  5. Shove the garlic mixture into these holes. Don’t worry if some ends upon the outside of the pork. It is not a big deal
  6. Sprinkle the adobo seasoning over the pork and put it into your crockpot.
  7. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-5 or until pork is tender.
  8. Remove the pork from the crockpot and either cut up and serve or cut up and put it back in the crockpot to sit in the juices for a bit. (this is my preferred option
Notes

I like to serve this with black beans and a braised green of some kind.

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe
KicknKnit May 31, 2011 Featured, Recipes , , , , , 2 Comments

Better Peanut Butter? No thanks

One of the things I’ve been working on while improving my health through diet, is to keep things simple. I know there are a lot of calorie counters out there but Low Calorie does not necessarily equate to  “healthy”.

The body is a machine as well as a temple and it requires the right kind of fuel to keep things running smoothly.

I’ve seen Hungry Girl before but I’ve never really poked around her website, and to be honest, I only poked a little this morning so this may not be a fair assessment. But, she posted a link to Better’n Peanut Butter with Bananas and how it’s so much better because it’s low calorie less fat!

I couldn’t find the nutritional information for the kind with bananas, but I did find their information on their Low Sodium variety.

Take a gander at this list of ingredients:

Ingredients: PEANUTS (AS DEFATTED PEANUT FLOUR AND NATURAL PEANUT BUTTER), TAPIOCA SYRUP, PURE WATER, DEHYDRATED CANE JUICE, RICE SYRUP, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN, SOY FLOUR, SALT, TAPIOCA STARCH, NATURAL FOOD FLAVORS, PAPRIKA & ANNATO, CALCIUM CARBONATE, LECITHIN, VITAMINS E & C (ANTIOXIDANTS).

Um.. this is better for me how? And could someone please tell me what the hell is “Natural Food Flavors”? 

The FDA says:

The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.

Shouldn’t food have it’s OWN flavor?

Here is the peanut butter that we eat at our house

Teddie All Natural Unsalted Peanut Butter

Ingredients: ROASTED PEANUTS

That’s it.

I know I know.. peanuts have fat.. more fat means more calories.  But more fat also means a higher satiety.  And yanno what?

There is no added sugar in my peanut butter.  There are THREE different sugars in this “Better’n Peanut Butter”.  Dehydrated cane juice,  Tapioca Syrup and Rice Syrup are  sugars.   No thank you.  If I want sugar, I’ll eat some fruit. 

Peanuts are GOOD for you.  Sure I’m eating more calories, but I’m not going to be hungry.  A glob of peanut butter with  a banana will keep me happy for hours.. sometimes right past lunch time.  I’m going to bet that I’m consuming FEWER calories in the long run because I’m not looking for a snack in an hour. 

The stigma against fat from the 90′s is still around.  People got FATTER  and less healthy by cutting their fat because they were increasing their sugar intake.  And evidently, it did little or nothing for their heart health.

Listen, your body NEEDS fat. It keeps your immune system working. It helps build healthy cells. It helps your brain work.

And guess what? Eating nuts can help your heart.

Eating nuts as part of a healthy diet can be good for your heart. Nuts, which contain unsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients, are a great snack food, too. They’re inexpensive, easy to store and easy to take with you to work or school.

The type of nut you eat isn’t that important, although some nuts have more heart-healthy nutrients and fats than do others. Walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts — you name it — almost every type of nut has a lot of nutrition packed into a tiny package. If you have heart disease, eating nuts instead of a less healthy snack can help you more easily follow a heart-healthy diet..

So, I’m going to continue to eat a REAL peanut butter and skip all the crap that got shoved into and removed from that other stuffPeanut butter is fabulous exactly how it is.. no need to make it “better”.
PS: Teddie Peanut butter is a USA product. Peanuts are grown and processed right here in the Good Ol’ USA.

KicknKnit May 6, 2011 Eating Well, Featured 3 Comments

Quick and Dirty Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce

Last night I was unenthused about everything remotely related to food.

Even have those days where you are hungry but you just don’t feel like anything appeals?  The thought of actually consuming something brings on a bout of apathy?

You’d think, considering how often this happens to me, that I’d be thinner.  However, I suspect what happens is that I just scrounge around nibbling on little bits of this and that all night trying to find something that I want to eat.. and end up eating more than I realized.

LB cooked up something that was yummy.. but didn’t satisfy me.  There was absolutely nothing wrong with it.. and I ate enough to take the edge off my hunger… because being hungry is not a good thing..  messes up your day.. then I ate a giant tablespoon of cashew butter…  and that didn’t do it..

So I sat down in the living room and told myself  “do not go scrounging around for just anything to snack on”.

I turned to my yarn and to twitter and my TV. Distraction was my game.
I started working on the afghan I’m making for our house.  Last year, I convinced myself to pull the Stitch Sampler Afghan I made out of the box in the closet and actually use it. Acrylic yarn is tough stuff and this stood up to doggy abuse, so I figured a full sized one was in order.

After a few false starts, I finally figured out the stitch pattern.

Stitch Pattern for "Over the Rainbow" Afghan

Yes, I have Mario pants.. you got a problem with that?

So, I’m hooking along, trying to ignore that voice in my head that is encouraging me to start the futile search for whatever mystery food will satisfy that unnamed craving.

Then, something curious popped up on my twitter feed.

Eggs? Tomatoes? Whut?

*as an aside, I cannot tell you how much glee I get out of the email that said “Your Mom is now following you on Twitter”.

I was fascinated.  First of all, something internally yelled ‘EGGS! YES! That is what I want!” and then  the follow up.

Tomato Sauce? huh? bizzaro.. but.. intriguing.  I’ve tried eggs with salsa before and found them to be disgusting.

Well I wandered off to Google (do ya think I might have clicked the link in that tweet? of course not) and found the same Smitten Kitchen link that MuffPunch *snicker* linked to.

I thought, ah what the hell .. it might not suck.

Not suck? it was FANTASTIC!

I snapped a quick (and fuzzy) pic after two bites because I wanted to share the awesomeness with you but at the same time I wanted to gobble this up.

NOM!

That is my eggs poached in tomato sauce, on whole wheat toast and topped with a grated cheese.

So, based on the original recipe and what I had on hand I give you my Recipe Hack for Smitten Kitchen’s Eggs in Tomato Sauce which was evidently hacked from Martha Stewart.

Quick and Dirty Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes

Total Time: 9 minutes

Yield: 1 serving

Serving Size: two eggs

Ingredients

  • 1/2 can Hunts plain tomato sauce (14 oz can)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flake
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 slices whole wheat sandwich bread, toasted
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • smidge olive oil

Directions

  1. Put the olive oil in a small skillet (I used a 5 inch aluminum that was my great grandmothers)
  2. Heat the oil and add the garlic. Cook until fragrant
  3. Turn down the heat to medium low, and carefully pour in the tomato sauce
  4. Stir in the red pepper flake and cook for 2-3 minutes
  5. Crack in the eggs, cover, turn down the heat to low and allow to cook for 5 minutes.
  6. Turn off the heat, uncover and let stand for 1-2 minutes
  7. Top toast with egg, smother in sauce and top with grated cheese.

KicknKnit April 28, 2011 Featured, Recipes , , , , , , No Comments

Gluten Free Falafel

LB and I have restarted Phase 1 of South Beach Diet and are in the middle of week one.  (We will be doing two weeks)  We were both feeling like we needed to get back on track again so Phase 1 should do that.

But.

I’ve been craving falafel.

The falafel mix that I usually use had potato starch in it and every recipe I could find used wheat flour to thicken and bind the chick peas together.  Also? I really wasn’t into pulling out the Fry Daddy.  It’s such a mess!

I figured I’d head on over to my favorite repository for all things South Beach.  Kalyn’s Kitchen.   Kalyn had a recipe for Baked Falafel (score!) but she also used wheat flour.  (boo..)    but! one of the comments mentioned chick pea flour (score!)

Turns out Kalyn modified a  recipe from Epicurious so even though this is super similar to Kalyn’s recipe, I think I’m ok to post my modifications as a recipe and not just a recipe hack.

I was going to double her recipe because I wanted to make use of an entire back of chickpeas, but a bag is more than twice the recipe so I ended up modifying a few other things as well.  Mostly my method is different because I couldn’t fit everything into my food processor at once and I also think I left the chickpeas a little chunkier than she did.

At any rate, here it is.

Falafel patties before baking

Falafel patties before baking

Gluten Free Falafel

Prep Time: 2 days

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 36 patties

Serving Size: 6 patties

Ingredients

  • 1 lb dried chickpeas
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 cup parsley leaves, loosely packed
  • 1 cup cilantro leaves, loosely packed
  • 7 - 8 cloves garlic
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup chickpea flour
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions

  1. Soak dried chickpeas overnight in cold water. Cover with at least 2 inches of water
  2. Pulse chickpeas in a food processor until ground but not pureed. You will need to do this in batches. Put ground chickpeas in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Put the parsley and cilantro in the food processor and pulse until finely minced. Add to the chickpeas.
  4. Cut the onion into large chunks and put it and the garlic in your food processor. Process until pureed and add to chickpea mixture.
  5. Add the cumin and baking powder and salt to the mix and combine.
  6. Add enough chickpea flour to the mix so that the mixture will hold together. I needed 1/2 cup, but you may need more or less.
  7. Refrigerate for at lease a few hours. I chilled mine for about 8 hours.
  8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  9. Spray a baking sheet with spray oil or line with parchment paper.
  10. Form a little more than a tablespoon of the mixture into balls and then flatten into patties about 1/2 inch thick.
  11. Drizzle with olive oil.
  12. Bake for 20 minutes, stopping 1/2 way through to flip the patties over.

Falafel Dinner

Gluten Free Falafel

KicknKnit April 17, 2011 Featured, Recipe Hacks, Recipes , , , 4 Comments

Every Morning Egg Scramble

One of the challenges that we’ve faced on the South Beach Diet is finding a way to each a healthy breakfast every day.   We like to sleep in as late as possible and we are NOT morning people.  At all.

The easiest thing for me to do is to do the same thing every day.  That way I don’t have to think about it.  If you’ve been following my March Personal Challenge (and I’m sure you haven’t because, well. … it’s boring reading)  you’ll see that during the week I post that I have an Egg Scramble for breakfast.  Nine times out of ten, it’s exactly the same.

I’ve tried to use different cheeses and different meats but what it comes down to is, I like it this way.  So that is what I have just about every morning.

If you are looking for something simple to make for breakfast, this might be for you. If you want something a little different, check out what Brie makes every morning.

At the beginning of the week, I cut up an onion and a red pepper into a medium dice and store in the fridge.  LB cooks some turkey bacon in the microwave because she is the Turkey Bacon Queen. I burn it. Every time.  A bag of frozen cut leaf spinach is allowed to thaw in the fridge.


Egg Scramble

Every Morning Egg Scramble

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp to 1/4 cup pre chopped red onion and green pepper mixture
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed
  • 4 whole eggs (or 1 cup liquid egg substitute)
  • 2 slices turkey bacon, precooked
  • 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

  1. Heat a smidge of oil in a nonstick skillet and cook the onions and peppers.
  2. Add spinach and cook until most of the water is cooked out.
  3. Beat the eggs (add a dab of water if you need to.. or use egg substitute)
  4. Crumble in turkey bacon
  5. Top with Feta cheese
  6. Scramble to desired doneness

KicknKnit March 25, 2011 Recipes , , , , 2 Comments

Whole Wheat Pizza

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, we are doing the South Beach Diet here in this house.  Which means more veggies, lean protiens and complex carbs.  The white stuff is out.  No white flour, white rice etc.

You may not know that I took some culinary classes about 6 years back, which ended up serving me very well when I got laid off.  I was drawn to baking and pastry and after the job loss, I did a stint at a local artisan bakery.  So, essentially, I know bread.

Making bread isn’t complicated, but I personally think that you gotta get a “feel” for it.  Flour can hold more moisture on any given day, which will affect your final dough.  Yeast ferementation changes based on temperature and other factors.  Bread is simple… but bread making can be complex.

Take away my white flour and now you’ve got a whole ‘nuther bag of hammers.

Whole grains can be bitter.  If you’ve ever had a slice of whole wheat bread that made your mouth pucker, you know what I mean.  I do think it’s the reason most people don’t like whole grain bread.

It’s also the reason that most commercial whole wheat breads have a ton of dough conditioners as well as added sugars like High Fructose Corn Syrup.  It’s an attempt to cut the bitterness and to give the dough some elasticitiy.

Most commercial breads are made quickly.  You know why Wonderbread is so freakishly white and flavorless while an artisan bread has a lovely cream color?  Because the flour in the Wonderbread isn’t given any time to go through enzymatic changes that develop the flavor and color.

During my culinary classes, I discovered Peter Reinhart and promptly went out and bought his book The Bread Baker’s Apprentice which I  recommend very hightly for someone just getting into bread baking.  He has all the chemistry..  the “why” of things.  And he talks a lot about using preferments to coax out flavor and texture.  The foccacia recipe is amazing and I used it when I worked a local farmers market for a while.  It sold like mad.  LB says there is heroin in it, it’s so good.

Alas, bread making has been off the list since starting the South Beach Diet.. at least until I discovered that Peter had a new book out called Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads.

But wait, there’s more!

KicknKnit March 9, 2011 Book reviews, Food, Recipe Reviews , , 1 Comment

Kibbeh-inspired Pot Roast

I love kibbeh.  If you’ve never had it, it’s a Middle Eastern dish of spiced ground meat  with bulghur wheat.  Much like hummus and falafel, how it’s spiced is regional.  In some areas it’s even served raw.   By the way, if you are local, the best kibbeh that I’ve found in the area is at Phoenicians, which I cannot recommend highly enough.  (They are closed on Monday’s even though the website says “open daily”)

I also happen to love pot roast.   Not only is it cheap but it’s easy.  But I wanted something a smidge different than the every day Yankee pot roast.

So, I combined my love of Middle Eastern Spices with the traditional pot roast recipe to come up with something mildly spiced but very flavorful. I’ve also substituted white potatoes for sweet potatoes for a little different flavor (and to be more South Beach Diet friendly- sweet potatoes are phase 2 only and are considered a “starch” because of the amount of natural sugar in them)

This is done in the crock pot. I usually just load it up and move on.. But, you can always sear your pot roast first to add that bit of flavor that come from browning your meat.

Kibbeh Inspired Pot Roast

Ingredients

  • 3-4 pound pot roast.
  • 1 medium onion
  • 3-4 medium sweet potatoes
  • 1 cup beef stock/broth
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flake (can bump up to 1/2 if you like a bit more heat)

Directions

  1. Trim the fat from your pot roast. This can be difficult since it’s usually marbled throughout.  I just get the hard fat off the edges.  If desired, sear all sides in a hot pan.  Put the pot roast in the bottom of your slow cooker.
  2. Slice the onion and spread over the top of the roast
  3. Peel the sweet potatoes and place them whole on top of the onions.
  4. Stir the cinnamon, allspice and red pepper flake into the beef broth and pour over everything in the slow cooker.
  5. Cook on high for about 5 hours.  I don’t know how long on low (sorry.. I’m always shoving this in the crock pot around 11AM on Sunday mornings).  Turn the sweet potatoes over about 1/2 way through.

Once everything is cooked through, remove sweet potatoes and cut up for serving.  Remove the pot roast and cut up in chunks, I usually remove as much fat as I can at this point. You can take some of the broth from the crock pot and thicken it with cornstarch for a gravy or you can just pour a smidge over your plate as is.   I usually nuke some broccoli for a side dish.

KicknKnit March 7, 2011 Recipes , , 2 Comments

Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie

I have been wanting to have smoothies again, but the ones I like are super heavy on the fruit sugars.  If I have that I’m going to want to go on a sugar rampage that would make Godzilla look like a mild breeze through Tokyo.  I stumbled upon a Banana Split Smoothie recipe (and I posted it on my facebook page).  We gave it a shot because I was hoping the peanut butter would add enough protein so that it doesn’t spike my sugar cravings.

The verdict?  Meh.  It was missing something. So after a little experimentation, I came up with this version which makes two servings

No Jelly Required

Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie

Ingredients for 2 servings

  • 1 1/4 cup 2% milk
  • 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt: I like Chobani 0%
  • 1/3 cup natural unsalted peanut butter
  • 2 medium very ripe bananas, sliced and frozen
  • 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
  • 1 teaspoon honey- optional

Directions

  1. Put milk, yogurt and peanut butter in a blender and blend until incorporated
  2. Add frozen banana slice, raspberries and honey (optional) and blend until combined
KicknKnit February 25, 2011 Food, Recipes 2 Comments

What do you have in your mouth?

Srsly dood.. what the hell?

I remember reading a Get Fuzzy comic strip where Bucky and Satchel play “Food or Not Food”.  Bucky the cat feeds something to Satchel (the dog) and Satchel tells him if it’s “food or not food”.  Bucky feeds him all manner of weird things from the trash can. Moldy things, crunchy things.. things that are not identified.

We play a version of this game with our dogs, but with things we would actually feed them. Tomatoes, carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes etc.  Qor has some things she considers food that Qay turns her nose up at and vice versa.

They are amazingly discerning.

But, I realized that, perhaps, I’m not.

It’s no surprise that I like food.  I like food a lot.  And this past year, I’ve worked really hard at finding new ways to eat things that I didn’t like before.  (Like beans.  I used to hate beans. Now I eat them and enjoy them  at least 3 times a week)

My excitement for finding new foods lately has started to wane.  I’m all “eh whatever” about food.  I’d rather go for things that “I know I like”.  You know, things like Chinese take out and burgers with sweet potato fries and corned beef sandwiches.

porklomein

Photo by: Il Primo Uomo

Recently, LB took a day to visit NYC and I took the day off of work to just hang out at home by myself.  (sometimes you need a little alone time, dontcha think?)

I took the opportunity to order Chinese takeout.  Pork LoMein actually. I was soooo looking forward to it!  Noodles and grease and pork, oh my!

Sexy Stana

As I was shoving this bucket of debauchery in my face with wanton abandon, eyeballing Stana Katic on TV, a little voice in the back of my head piped up.

Are you enjoying this?

Are you even TASTING it?

I put the chopsticks down and thought about what was in my mouth.

The adjectives that came to mind were not things that you would find appetizing.

Mushy, salty, mouth-coatingly greasy noodles.

Chewy pork

Undercooked carrots

Why was I eating this?

I think that I have this *idea* of what I like because I’ve eaten it so  many times before.  Chinese food was comfort food.   I didn’t bother to taste it, really.

I also realized that hours after I ate that Chinese food, I really didn’t feel that great. Double winner! It didn’t really taste good and I didn’t feel good after I ate it.

This is not food that is good for me. I was only eating it because it was in my head that it was yummy.  It really wasn’t.

I need to get back to my recipes and paying attention to what I put in my mouth.  Take a minute to taste it.  To internalize what I was experiencing.  Is that Twix bar really what I want?  Imagining the taste and feel of a Twix bar right now, I can feel the oily chocolate.  If I want chocolate, a small piece of the Sharffen Berger I have stashed in the pantry would be more enjoyable.

I owe it to myself to know and acknowledge what I have in my mouth.

KicknKnit January 29, 2011 Eating Well 3 Comments

Screw the Draft, Man

No seriously.. I have about 6 draft posts started and by the time I get back to them I forget what my point was.

Crazy man.. crazy.

So here is a summary of what’s up lately, because evidently I can’t finish a thought.

  • I’m not training enough. AGAIN. What the heck is up with me? Went to class on Tuesday.  Rusty.. big time. I need to figure out why I go on these “I don’t wanna” jags of non-training.
  • Last year, almost to the day, I posted about starting the South Beach Diet and I’m happy to report that after a year, I’ve lost about 25 lbs.  It was 30 at one point but the holidays got the best of me.
  • I posted more kick ass recipes than blog posts in that time.
  • I made my very first sweater.. ya, for real
  • I also managed to knit one sock substantially larger than the other .. and I’m not talking just in length.. you would think I used an entirely different needle size (and I didn’t. I checked)
  • I found some really fun local blogs that I’ve been reading pretty consistantly.. mostly. .. you know, while I’ve been ignoring my own.
  • I fell off the diet wagon around November and just kicked myself back into gear
  • 2010 didn’t suck too bad.  One of my dogs was sick with some mysterious illness from April until November and it totally stressed us all out.  Oh, yah and the credit card is screaming from the vet bills. Our plumbing backed up twice (ew) and I got in a car accident that totalled my car, but the beast is well again, the plumbing damn well better be  is fixed and although I hate the car payment, I have a car I’d never have been able to afford if not for that settlement from the insurance company
  • oh.. so re: above.  Silver lining and all that.
  • I discovered Roller Derby.  It looks like fun.  If I had time or any ability to stick with anything, I’d consider becoming a roller girl (never mind I’ve not been on roller skates in 20 years and I was never that good in the first place)
  • Also, kettlebells rock. I love them. I need to use them more.

I think that’s it for now.

KicknKnit January 13, 2011 Fiber Arts, Food, Fun, Karate , , , 3 Comments

Five Food Finds Under $50

I have half a post all typed up about how Roto Rooter tried to ream me instead of my main sewer line.. but .. 

I don’t wanna finish it.. it’s all about negativity and bleh and the lack of integrity etc etc… let’s just leave it at I hope to hell that all the tree roots are finally taken care of and I don’t have to deal with crap (literally) in my basement ever again. 

Instead, in the spirit of the Holiday Season, I give you my favorite 5 Things under $50.00.. (Many are much much less than $50.00) 

You know, in case you need a last minute something. They are all something to ingest… because that is the kind of gal that I am. The are in order from highest price to lowest. 

Number Five for $35.95
Oscar’s Variety Pack of Smokehouse Awesomeness:
We ordered this for our holiday meal. It includes: 

Oscar's Variety Pack

5-6 lb. hickory smoked 1/2 boneless ham
1 lb. of lean tender maple bacon
1 bacon cheese spread 7 oz.
1 smoked cheddar cheese bar 8 oz. 

So far, we’ve saved everything but the bacon. Yes, we had bacon.. How can you resist bacon? (Just ask Kristi… bacon is meant to be eaten with gusto.)
I tossed some bacon into a frying pan and the fantastic smell that drifted up almost knocked my socks off. It reminded me of cooking bacon over a campfire, something we did often as kids while camping. And this bacon hardly shrunk at all. Sweet, salty and meaty. I’ll never by bacon from the grocery store again. 

Number Four: 8 for $22.00 (or 4 for $11.00)
Bouboulettes from Un Petit Morceau are the most intriguing little morsels I’ve ever had. I’m exceptionally fussy about baked goods.. ok, I’m a baked good snob. I fancy myself a bit of an amateur pastry chef since I tucked a few classes under my belt. You would just die if you had my chocolate espresso cake. Seriously. I’ve killed people with that thing. (ok not for real, but people have said they have died and gone to heaven.. it’s that good) 

Bouboulettes

Un Petit Morceau was founded by Nana Vistor (yes, the Star Trek one) and the original four come in the following flavors: 

Chocolate Cherry Chipotle– A shortbread-like cookie combined with the subtle flavors of dried cherries and chipotle pepper. It is filled with a moist cherry merlot center, then dipped in fine Belgian chocolate.
Ginger Rosemary – Laced with a hint of rosemary, then filled with a moist, sweet ginger center and finished with course sugar crystals.
Lavender Plum – A delicate blend of lavender and earl grey tea filled with a rich plum center, then glazed with white chocolate.
Lemon Basil – Introduces the touch of fresh basil filled with a moist, very lemon center, then finished with a flourish of green 

They have some yummy flavors for the holidays too. We haven’t cracked into that box yet. We have ordered so many of these that they cut us off … really. They said we needed to “take a break”. Evidently we are a smidge clingy. 

Number Three: for $19.99
Sweet Riot Cocoa Nibs Happy Happy Merry Merry Three pack
I discovered these little gems at the NYC Chocolate Show this past year.. where I (gasp!) spoke to François Payard (ok.. he handed me my change and said “here you go”. But it counts!) 

Errr.. ok.. back to Sweet Riot. 

Sweet Riot Cocoa Nibs

I brought home Flavor 70, which is 70% cacao chocolate and espresso coated cocoa nibs. Major chocolate flavor.. itty bitty calorie count. The three pack includes a tin of Flavor 50 (50% cacao), Flavor 65 (65% cacao.. are you sensing a theme?) and Flavor 70.
Very nom for the chocolate lover counting calories.  Easy to toss in a bag for mobile chocolate craving smashing. 

Number Two: for $15.00
A six pack of Betties Cupcakes

Dee Dee

Readers, you need to be local for these. Sorry. We got hooked on Bettie’s Cupcakes when her double decker pink cupcake bus when it was parked in our neighborhood. Bettie has standard flavors like chocolate with vanilla icing etc but also, every week has three limited run flavors. My favorite, so far was the Key Lime Pie.

Bettie has the cupcakery cafe in Saratoga Springs, NY and a temporary location in Colonie Center, in Albany, NY. If you want to know where Dee Dee (the pink bus) and Cee Cee (the white truck) are you need to follow Bettie on Twitter  

Number one: for $15.00
YIKES! Awesome Seasoning Blend 

I found Yikes at the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival. You get a GIANT tub (ok, it’s a pint) for $15.00 and this stuff truly is awesome. I have no idea what is in it, but it provides heat without sacrificing flavor.

Yikes! It's Awesome

Our favorite way to use this is on steak.. sprinkle both sides and grill to perfection. It’s also very very good on chicken. You could even make a dip out of this stuff. Anywhere you need a spicy seasoning blend. I’ve made roasted chickpeas with it too.  Lasts forever…  makes Awesome Food

So there you have it folks, My Five Food Finds under $50.00

Eat, Snack and Be Merry. Happy Holidays!

KicknKnit December 17, 2010 Food, Reviews , 1 Comment

Sausage, Escarole and White Beans

Sausage, Escarole and White Beans

Sausage Escarole and White Beans

I love to make this on a cold night. It’s warm and satisfying and disgustingly easy to make. Too substantial to be called a “soup” but not quite a stew.

If spice isn’t your thing, use sweet Italian sausage. But make sure whichever sausage you buy, it’s packed with flavor. It’s the main seasoning in the recipe.

Sausage, Escarole and White Beans

Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 medium white or sweet onion
  • 1 pound Hot Italian Sausage
  • 2 large heads of escarole
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 cans white beans (14 oz each)

Directions

  1. Mince the garlic and slice the onion
  2. In a large stock pot, saute onion and garlic in a smidge of oil. Cook until the onions are translucent.  I go with medium to high heat here.  Play it by ear.
  3. Meanwhile, clean the escarole and give it a rough chop. I like to leave it in big pieces. There will be a LOT.  Never fear, it’ll cook down.
  4. Add sausage to the stock pot.  If you bought links, remove it from the casings.. if you bought loose, well, just crumble it up. We’re looking for chunks.  Cook until sausage is done.
  5. Add about 1/2 of the escarole (because chances are, that’s all that’s gonna fit) and pour one cup of the chicken stock on top.
  6. Cook, stirring occasionally on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the first batch of escarole is kind of wilted.
  7. Add the second batch of escarole, the last cup of stock and the beans (strain and rinse first) on top. The beans will help weigh the greens down.
  8. Cook for another 5 minutes or so.. give it a stir once in a while to help the escarole wilt evenly.

Serve with parmesan cheese.

KicknKnit December 10, 2010 Recipes No Comments

Middle Eastern Shrimp

This recipe is adapted from a random recipe I found in the newspaper.  It used frozen onions and jarred garlic. I say nay.. that’s just silly. I’m all good for convenience foods, but onions and garlic?  Nah.

The original recipe also did not have chickpeas or spinach. It was served over couscous but since I don’t like whole wheat couscous, we just got rid of it all together

Middle Eastern Shrimp

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 (14 oz) cans stewed tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 (14 oz) can chickpeas, drained
  • salt to taste
  • 1 pound fresh or frozen spinach

Directions

  1. Heat the olive oil in your giant skillet, wok like thingy or saucepan
  2. Add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until translucent
  3. Stir in the cumin, allspice, black pepper, salt and cayenne and cook for about 20 seconds. (you are going to want to step back a bit.. seriously)
  4. Add the cans of stewed tomatoes with their juices and the balsamic vinegar.  Stir together and heat to boiling. Give is a stir once in a while and break up some of those tomato chunks with your spoon.
  5. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until slightly thickened.
  6. Stir in the chick peas and shrimp. Bring heat up to medium, cover and cook for about 5 minutes (shrimp might still be a bit raw)
  7. Add the spinach and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until shrimp are cooked and the spinach is wilted (or heated through if you are using frozen spinach)
KicknKnit September 3, 2010 Recipes No Comments

Spicy Green Beans with Shrimp

We discovered Huy Fong, Chili Garlic Sauce while doing the South Beach Diet. It was the only one we could find that didn’t have added sugar. This one contains

Chili, Garlic, Salt, Distilled Vinegar, Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Bisulfite As Preservatives.

I know I could probably make this myself, but this is so handy to have on hand (that sounds weird)

Anyway, since we’ve purchased a farm share we have a ton of veggies to use up. This recipe was a great way to use up all those green beans we have been overloaded with! I also figured out how to do this in one pan.. mostly.

Two Servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound green beans
  • 1 pound raw shrimp, cleaned, tails off
  • 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons olive or canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
  • 4 clove garlic (yes more garlic)

Directions

  1. Clean the green beans, cut off the tips and cut into 2 inch-ish segments (sometimes I skip this part and just leave them whole)
  2. Place a metal steamer basket inside your wok (ok.. we have a wok shaped non-stick pan.. but we call it a wok.  Deal) and add about 1/2 cup of water.  Put the green beans in the basket and steam for about 5 minutes or until beans are tender but still “toothsome”.
  3. Meanwhile, chop the garlic.
  4. Remove the beans from the steamer and set aside. Dump all the water out of the pan and put back on the burner.
  5. Heat the canola or olive oil in the pan. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
  6. Add the shrimp to the pan, drizzle over the sesame oil and soy sauce.  Cover and let cook for about 3-5 minutes or until shrimp are almost done.
  7. Add the green beans and the chili garlic sauce. Stir.
  8. Heat through.

Spicy Green Beans with Shrimp

Serve as is or over brown rice.  Optional add ins (that we didn’t have on hand or I would have added them in) include bamboo shoots, water chestnuts or mung bean sprouts.

 

KicknKnit August 16, 2010 Recipes , No Comments

Time to get crackin and snackin

Yesterday we took my little darlings to their doggy chiropractic visit. A very good friend of ours is a Chiropractic veterinarian. Since we are all trying to eat better, instead of bringing the usual goodies, we brought something healthy.

I have been wanting to make Texas Caviar, a recipe that was shared by Brie in the South Beach Diet group on Ravelry. Since not everyone can get on Ravelry, I posted the recipe here with Brie’s permission.

This turned out way tasty… seriously. I will admit to making it with canned beans… oh well.. time was short!

So anywho, Qay has been very very very sore lately.. her back right hock has some arthritis in it. It was described to us as feeling like “a bag of gravel”.. shudder..

Qay has not been eating for weeks.. for weeks we’ve been trying to find what it is she wants..

Turns out, she wants red pepper flakes.

Red Pepper has been used to treat pain since the capsaicin interferes with substance P which transmit pain to the brain. So the pain may still be happening but the brain doesn’t register it.

Because her knee was so out of whack, she threw her back out. Our local chiro vet couldn’t get her to adjust. She was so sore her muscles wouldn’t release. So our friend used an activator and that seems to have done the trick.

So, I leave you now with one of my favorite comedians.

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KicknKnit July 18, 2010 Food 6 Comments
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