Week 2: Thursday

I’m going to try this dish with the kids tonight, so it’s a very mild and sweet Chili Verde version. I’m not a big fan of pork (I can’t remember the last time I cooked a pork dish) but my husband loves it. So, this one is specially for you B-.

Before I jump to the recipe I want to document something two things on this post:

Why do I love my pressure cooker?

I can cook with less fat  when using a pressure cooker. The dishes retain more nutrients than with traditional cooking methods and it cooks faster. Pressure cooking retains and intensifies flavors, melding them more quickly, while the pressure produced tenderizes tougher cuts of meat and softens beans, improving textures and flavors. Also, if you have a good quality pressure cooker you can save energy, saving precious resources. Therefore, it’s eco-friendly too! I come from a big “pressure cook” cooking culture. If you’re from Brazil you know what I’m talking about. It took me 13 years to get one and I couldn’t be happier. I have a 5 qt Kuhn Riko Duromatic and if you ever consider buying a pressure cook consider this one, it’s worth the bucks.

Why do I love adding Molasses to almost all my dishes?

I learned more about Molasses when my kid was sick and going through a lot of nutritional challenges. Molasses is a sweetener that is actually good for you. It contains significant amounts of iron, calcium, potassium and other essential minerals. I use any organic kind of blackstrap molasses and 1 a 16 oz. bottle could last almost 6 months in my pantry.

Green Chili Pork

2 to 3 pounds of Pork Sirloin Roast  (put the meat in a Ziplock and marinate it in the morning with 2 tbsp of salt and the juice of 2 lemons)

Start by pure the following ingredients with a blender, hand-mixer or food processor:

2 green bell peppers (organic if possible)

1 chili Passilla

2 green onions

2 large cloves of garlic

1 medium onion

1 handful of fresh cilantro

On a 5qt pressure cook OR regular pan add 1 tbsp olive oil. While heating it, cut the port in 4 inches cubes. Brown the meat and remove (I ended up with a lot of liquid, so I let it evaporate before removing the pork). On the same pan saute the pure for about 8 minutes or until it dries off (the goal here is to let some of the water evaporate and have a concentrated chunky paste). Add the following ingredients to the paste:

2 tsp of dry cumin

2 tsp of salt

1 tsp of chili powder (I used mild)

1 tbsp of blackstrap molasses

1 1/2 cups of chicken broth if you’re using a pressure cooker

OR

2 1/2 cups of chicken broth if you using a conventional pan

(you can use just water if you don’t have chicken broth available)

1 large potato cut in 4 inches cube (optional)

Let it simmer covered for 40-60 minutes if you’re using a conventional pan. If you’re using a pressure cooker let it cook for 15 minutes.

I just finished cooking it and it turned out really delicious and mild. I think the kids’ll enjoy it but I’ll keep the tortillas handy for some last minute quesadillas just in case. Pork sirloin is a very lean cut and it seems perfect for a hearty non-greasy chili. I can’t wait to serve it to my “familia” tonight.

Week 2

Not all of us can afford to go 100% organic every time we shop.  I always try to stay away from those foods that come with the heaviest burden of pesticides, additives and hormones.

EWG has been publishing guides to the “dirty dozen” of most pesticide contaminated foods since 1995, based on statistical analysis of testing conducted by the USDA and the FDA.  The dirty dozen list only reflects measurable pesticide residues on the parts of the foods normally consumed (i.e. after being washed and peeled).

Here is EWG “dirty dozen” list:

1.Celery  2.Peaches 3. Strawberries 4. Apples 5. Blueberries 6. Nectarines 7. Bell Peppers 8. Spinach 9. Kale 10. Cherries 11. Potatoes 12. Grapes

Here is the EWG “clean 15” list:

1.Onions 2.Avocado 3.Sweet Corn 4.Pineapple 5.Mango 6.Sweet Peas 7.Asparagus 8.Kiwi 9.Cabbage 10.Eggplant 11.Cantaloupe 12.Watermelon 13.Grapefruit 14.Sweet Potato 15.Honeydew Melon

I try to avoid conventional versions of the dirty dozen and shift from eating foods on the dirty dozen to clean 15. Conventional bell peppers, celery and grapes are a BIG NO NO. Broccoli doesn’t retain many pesticides because the crop faces fewer pest threats, which means less spraying. Because we eat a lot of broccoli I try to take turns between organic and conventional.  Same thing for blueberries. Costco has organic spinach year-round for under $4.00 lb. and Trader Joe’s has a good selection of organic produce for reasonable prices.

I’m planning to go to Ralphs or Vons only for some pantry items this week. I wasn’t very thrilled about their deal this week, but please let us know if you find something out there.

From Sprouts:

Fresh chicken basil sausage $2.99 lb. (no nitrates, no MSG, made at the store)

Boneless sirloin pork roast $1.99 lb. (no antibiotics, no hormones)

California grown cantaloupe 88c each (and they’re BIG, ours weight 4 1/2 lb.)

California grown broccoli 88c lb.

From Whole Foods:

Bulk brown organic lentils (not on sale, but always the best price)

Organic collard greens $1.99 each

It was hard to stay focus at Whole Foods and just get what I needed, but no splurging this week. Not yet anyways!

This week dinner menu plan:

WEDNESDAY: Tomato creamy pasta with Sprouts chicken basil sausage and left over steamed spinach (from Costco last week)

THURSDAY: Green chili pork with seasoned rice

FRIDAY: Gourmet Friday

SATURDAY: planning to go to Torrance “So Fresh Market”. We’ve never been there and they’ll be having a Hawaiian Festival.

SUNDAY: make lentils and collard greens

MONDAY: lentils and collard greens

TUESDAY: no idea yet

Until tomorrow

I took the kids for a treat at YogurtLand this afternoon at the Riviera Village and stoped by Petit Casino to buy a fresh baguette. I confess I’ve never bought or tried anything but their French baguettes which are always fresh.  It’s the best dang baguette in the SoBay.

I tried to gather some of the loose items in the fridge and came up with this for dinner:

ARUGULA SALAD W/ PAPAYA SESAME HONEY VINAIGRETTE  (I bought papayas at Costco last week and after eating papaya for breakfast almost everyday it was time for our last solitary super-ripe papaya to meet a different destiny. I started putting ingredients together and it worked. Here is the recipe in case you find yourself with one too many papayas in the fridge.)

PAPAYA VINAIGRETTE

1 ripe papaya, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp of  each one of these items: sesame oil, canola oil, apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, honey, orange juice and water. Blend it with a blender or hand mixer. Taste. Make it your own… add more honey if you prefer sweeter dressing, more soy sauce if you need more saltiness or cayenne pepper if you like it sweet and HOT!

KIDS DINNER

OUR DINNER  (Fresh made balsamic onion relish, Canadian Bacon, leftover steamed spinach and a fried egg on top to keep things warm. Why a fried egg? Why not?)

BALSAMIC ONION RELISH (Try it on toasted bread topped with goat cheese for a sweet and creamy appetizer)

1 sweet onion diced, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp of lemon if available. Saute onion in olive oil on low heat until transparent (approximately 12 min. Do not brown the onions. Use very low temperature). Add sugar and caramelize it (saute until brown). Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on medium heat until all the liquid evaporates and the onions take on a jelly-like consistency. The slower it cooks the better consistency you’ll achieve.

Food shopping tomorrow anyone? Come back for local deals. Share your weekly menu suggestions here.

Week 1: Monday

Keeping it very simple this Meatless Monday and hoping for left overs for tomorrow. I decided not to put the kids through the pain of hot spicy vegetables so I made something mild for them (pasta with broccoli and blended veggie soup).

QUICK VEGETABLES CURRY

2 eggplants  and 2 potatoes pealed and cut in 1 inch cubes

1 medium onion diced

1 tbsp Turmeric

1 cup of chicken stock/broth

1 tbsp salt

1 jar of Bombay Kadai sauce (or ready to use Indian sauce of your choice)

1 tbsp canola oil

On a deep pan, heat oil. Sauté onions until brown. Add eggplant, potatoes, salt, Turmeric and chicken broth. Cook until eggplant is soft. Add sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over Basmati rice.

Week 1: Thursday

I love “Arroz con Pollo” but it’s a lot of work. I cut some huge corners on this recipe and dinner was a breeze. I cooked the rice in the morning using a rice cooker and I started to cook and assembled the dish 40 minutes before dinner time. I hold the cayenne pepper so the kids would not be intimidated by the heat. They enjoyed the dish and they liked that their veggies were already mixed in the food.

4 skinless chicken thighs

4-6 skinless chicken legs

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion diced

1 red bell pepper diced

2 cups of diced tomato

3 garlic cloves minced

1 cup of diced carrots

1 cup of frozen green peas

2 cups of cooked long grain rice

1 chicken bouillon cube (I use Better Bouillon)

1 tbsp of salt

1 cup of water

1 tsp of cumin

1 tsp of turmeric

1 tsp of dry thyme

1 tsp of dry achiote (Sprouts and Ralphs carry it or you can substitute with paprika)

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Juice of one lemon

Start by cooking the rice on a rice cook or stove top. Add 1 tbsp of salt to the water. Salt the chicken lightly. On a large casserole or fry pan brown the chicken (approximately 6 minutes each side) on high heat. Remove chicken and reserve. Reduce heat and in the same pan saute the onions until transparent. Add the bell pepper and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Add carrot, tomato, peas and water. Increase heat, add chicken bouillon cube and cook it until dissolved. Add all dry spices. Dissolve. Add chicken bone side up. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add more water if necessary. Turn chicken and simmer for 10 more minutes. Remove chicken and reserve. Add more water if gravy is too dry. Add cooked rice mixing it well. Let it cook for 3 minutes in low heat until the rice has soaked all the gravy. Add chicken. Dress it with the lemon juice before serving it.

Week 1: Wednesday

I chose Atlantic farm raised salmon (Ralphs $7.99 lb.) over wild caught Sockeye Salmon (Sprouts $7.99 lb.) this week. Atlantic salmon has a milder flavor and I really wanted the kids to try it. They ate the “pink fish”  with little drama and lots of quinoa.

The white corn from Sprouts was super sweet and juicy. I boiled the 2 cobs with 1 tbsp of salt for 15 minutes, sliced the kernels in chunks of the cob, tossed all the ingredients together and made this ‘dealicious’ salad (all ingredients except for the lime were on sale) to go with the salmon.

CORN, TOMATO, AVOCADO, GRAPE LIME SALAD

1 org avocado diced

1 cup org red grapes cut in halves

2 green onions thin sliced

2 med tomatoes diced

Corn kernel chunks from 2 cooked corn cobs

1 tbs of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (you can hold it if you don’t like it spicy)

juice of 1 lime

(It can be kept refrigerated overnight. The lime juice keeps the avocado from browning).

HONEY MUSTARD BAKED SALMON

1 pound of salmon

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp of honey

1 tbs of honey mustard

1 tsp of Vegenaise (or your fav Mayo)

1/4 tsp of granulated onion

Place salmon skin down on a nonstick bake pan. Salt it. Mix all the remaining ingredients and spread it over the fish. Bake it at 380 covered with foil for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake it for 5 more minutes at 400. The mustard-mayo spread locks in the moisture and adds to the unique creamy texture of the salmon.

Week 1

I’m so excited to start this blog. It has been a year in the making and I finally have taken on the challenge to keep up with it. I hope you enjoy these weekly menu suggestions and that you keep coming back for seconds.

That being said, let’s get cooking!

Sprouts and Ralphs (both on PCH in the 90505) are the closest markets to us. It can be a little challenging to shop there on Wednesday mornings, but that’s when I find the best picks and biggest variety.

I looked through the ads last night and went shopping this morning. Here is my list and recipes for this week:

From Ralphs:

Organic red grapes $2.50 lb (not bad for California organic)

Organic avocados 99c each

Foster Farms fresh chicken legs and thighs combo pack 97 c lb.

Fresh Atlantic Salmon $7.99 lb.

White or red potatoes 99c lb.

From Sprouts:

Eggplant 99c each

Broccoli 88c lb.

White corn 15c each

This week’s dinner menu plan:

Wednesday: Lime honey salmon served with tomato/grape/corn salad and Quinoa

Thursday: Quick and easy “Arroz con Pollo” (Rice with chicken)

Friday: Gourmet Friday

Saturday: eat out

Sunday: Vegetable curry with rice

Monday: Leftover curry

Tuesday: Collect all loose items in the fridge and come up with something “dealicious”.

What’s on your plate this week?