Jerk Chicken on Sunday

Sweet Potatoes, Spinach and Jerk Chicken

Cornbread

DeLicious Black Bean Burger

My eldest is visiting from college so I wanted to make her a nice lunch and dinner before she goes back today. So I made her a black bean burger for lunch before dinner. And for dinner, I will make Jerk chicken with sweet potatoes and greens on the side. I think that will put a smile on her face before she gets back to the grind.  Oh yeah, I forgot cornbread on the side too. :)

Ingredients:
Black bean burger (Makes 4 thick burgers)
2 cups black bean (Already cooked beans, however can can be used but rinse the beans first)
1 large carrots peeled and shredded.
1 small green pepper shredded
1 small red pepper shredded
1 tsp salt
Black pepper
Cumin
Corriander
2 tsp ketchup
1 tb flour
1 cup cooked brown rice or leftover rice which I had

Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender except for flour 

The mixture should be a paste, then add flour little at a time not in clumps.

Heat a frying pan and drizzle with olive oil.  The oil should be really hot before frying.

Then fry until it gets a nice black crust on top.  Serve right away. 

Now let me get started on dinner.  I will post pictures later to make you all drool!!!

BeSpice: Totally Mixed-Up Beans Soup

BeSpice: Totally Mixed-Up Beans Soup: I really could go for a good "cow foot soup" today, with yam, dumplings and green bananas but hold on the cow's foot please.  But since I...

Totally Mixed-Up Beans Soup

I really could go for a good "cow foot soup" today, with yam, dumplings and green bananas but hold on the cow's foot please.  But since I don't have any of those items in my pantry, I will settle for a mixed bean soup instead, with any leftovers I can find in my  refrigerator.  Fortunately I found a 17 bean & barley mix that I recently brought from Trader's Joe's and thought to improvise as I went along.  Of course if you don't have this at home, you can create your own mixed beans by adding 1/2 cup to 1 cup each of pinto beans, white beans, split peas, green peas, kidney beans, garbanzo beans or pretty much any beans you have.  You may want to throw in 1/2 cup of barley or even brown rice.  I have actually made this mixture of  bean on many occasions, but each time I make it, it comes out differently depending on my mood or what vegetables I have in the house at the time.  So here is my recipe today and you tell me what kind of mood I'm in.

Make sure to soak beans overnight.

Ingredients:
3 cups of  Water
1 pack of mixed beans
1 can stewed tomatoes (no salt)
2 large Red/Orange bell peppers (chopped in small pieces)
2 Carrots (I used frozen because I forgot I had fresh ones)
1 bulb fennel (That's what I had - but cauliflower, spinach etc can be used)
Pinch of Salt (Add to your taste- I am always accused of not adding enough salt to my food)
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
Black pepper
1 tsp Coconut Oil
1/3 cup Coconut Milk

After soaking the beans overnight for at least eight hours, be sure to rinse it a few times before cooking.  Add the water and the beans and boil for a good one hour on medium heat.  Stir often so that the beans don't stick to the bottom.  Check to see if the beans are soft by squeezing it. If they are still hard, then continue boiling until soft.

Once the beans are soft, then add the can of stewed tomato sauce, salt, black & cayenne pepper,  Let everything stew for about 30 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken.  If it is too thick then add a little water and stir.

Now add in the coconut oil, coconut milk, carrots, red & green bell peppers, and any left over you have.  I actually threw in a few strands of spaghetti that I had for dinner a few days ago.  In the past I have added rice, quinoa and baked sweet potatoes etc.. But improvise and you will see that the soup will take on a life of its own. 


Well, well, well, talk about filling and delicious.  While some of the beans melted and others didn't, the flavors really came together nicely.  To top it off, I sprinkled avocado on top and that was an absolutely  perfect filling meal for the entire family.

HAVE YOU FIGURED OUT WHAT TYPE OF MOOD I AM IN YET?

Papa Juice, Mama Juice and Baby Juice

Juicing has really become a lot of fun for me as I experiment with the wonderful mixtures of greens, fruits and vegetables. I am also learning that some of the flavors mixed together taste absolutely delightful, where others are more of an acquired taste.  The two subjects in my household have become my lab rats as I push them to try all my concoctions.  My hubby distorts his face and politely says, "it's too grassy" which means it is loaded with chlorophyll and it is rich with lots of vitamins and nutrients, however most times he says, "B, it's good".  My little one says, "eww, it's green", again and again, which means it is filled with good stuff, but she drinks it anyways.   Hmmm!!  Throughout this whole process I am realizing that each person has their own sense of taste, likes and dislikes..  My husband clearly likes his juices sweet with a subtle taste of the chlorophyll and my daughter hates green juices, just because.....


Here are some of my family favorites. but I guarantee you that when you begin you will find your own favorites too.   

(Most of the times I don't measure when making the juices, but just for your sake, I will make  suggestions, so play around and add or subtract)

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5 Carrots
2 leafs Kale
1 Apple
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2 bunches arugula lettuce (Tried this last night, absolutely papa's favorite.  It was too sweet for me)
1/2 cucumber
1 ripe pear
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1 orange
2 leafs of kale
1 cup of broccoli
1/2 grapefruit
1 apple
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1 orange                                   
2 bunches of broccoli with stalk      
1 lime

 (My little one admitted she liked this the best, while I substituted lime  with kiwi, she didn't like it. I also tried using cabbage instead of  broccoli and she noticed and didn't like it.  So I'll stick with her favorite  for now.  Every so often I sneak in a  few other leafs, but shhhhh!!!

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2 leafs of Swiss Chard
1 leaf Kale
handful of Spinach
handful of dandelion (bitter so use a little)
1/2 grapefruit
1 green apple
3 celery stalks

This is my power drink which keeps me balance for my hectic day.  I have tried mustard greens, different types of chard's, turnip greens, string beans, I have also used sweet potatoes, which is very starchy but good in beta carotene.  I haven't tried brussel sprouts yet  which I may just try tonight. But I am sure there are so many more that I haven't tried yet, which I am very excited about.  Please enjoy and make it fun.
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Don't knock it till you try it. 

Wow Your Salmon with Pineapple Salsa

Pineapple Salsa

Chill for an hour or more and see the flavors

come alive.

Salmon is the kind of fish that really doesn't need much of anything for it to taste delicious..  But since it is Sunday and mommy taught us to wear our Sunday best, I wanted to give a little extra care to my Sunday meal and dress it up with a little extra pizazz.  So I decided to try it out with a tangy sweet and sour pineapple salsa mix.  I actually didn't have fresh pineapple but I found a can of pineapple hiding at the back of my cupboard which was just perfect.  So here is a recipe that will go very well with the catch of the day.


Ingredients for Pineapple Salsa:

1 cup of finely fresh pineapple (I used a can and poured out the juice, which I shredded in a blender)
2 tablespoon of finely chopped red onions
2 tablespoon of finely chopped green onions(I used leek instead)
1 teaspoon cilantro - finely chopped
1 teaspoon red bell peppers - finely chopped
2 tablespoon lime
Dash of red pepper, cayenne (for more heat add jalapeno pepper, this is optional- I didn't have any but really wanted to add this to the menu)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and chill for an hour or more for great flavor. 


The extra sweet tangy taste on the salmon was very good, and it made a big change from just an ordinary salmon to one with a little extra flavor.  This was just the right touch for our Sunday Meal. 

Mouth Watering Berry Waffles

I don't know what happened to me this morning but I woke up craving waffles. And no I am not pregnant, I just got up and wanted waffles that's all. So that's exactly what I ventured into the kitchen to make. Last week my niece and cousin stopped by and I quickly whipped that up for them so it's quick and easy, most of all it's delicious and nutritious. The good thing about waffles is that you can mix different types of flours, add flax seeds, nuts, berries, fresh fruits, peanut butter, almond butter, ahh, yes and the kids would be happy to see chocolate  in there to. Another good thing is that it can be used as a dessert as well with ice cream or as breakfast, without the bacon and eggs.  It really is a filling meal alone.  So you can never be bored eating these monsters. Today I wanted it simple and delicious so I opted to have an oat and wheat flour mix with frozen berries.

Ingredients:

Almond Milk from Trader Joe's

3/4 whole wheat flour
1/4 cup oat flour
1 teaspoon flax seed (wheat germ can be used as well)
2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
berries( I used frozen blackberries & raspberries )
1 cup Almond milk (soy, coconut milk would be delicious too)
1/2 cup of applesauce
1/3 water


Mix all dry ingredients together,

Batter with the extra water

Thick batter without water

wheat flour, oat flour, flax seed, baking powder, cinnamon and salt
In a separate bowl add wet ingredients,
apple sauce, milk and frozen berries (the berries were dipped in warm water to soften)

DON'T ADD THE WATER YET!!

Mix ingredients together.  I noticed that the combination of these two flours were heavy and the batter was a little thick and that's why I held back on the water.  Now if you add different ingredients with fruits, nuts, etc, the consistency of the batter will change so you may need to add the extra water.  So you should use your judgment on this.

Now add the extra water, slowly, stirring the batter so that it smooth.

Preheat Waffle maker until it is  hot and spray with a little oil.  

Pour in the waffle mixture, close and wait a minute or so  then magic, you get golden brown waffles waiting to be eaten.  (Follow instructions of your waffle maker).

This is really very simple and can be done in even less time if the flour mixture was already prepared.  Basically mix all the dry ingredients in a Ziploc bag and store away for another time, which will cut down on the time if you had to make it before going to work or school in the morning. 

Okay, I don't know about you but I am starving. 
Please let me know if you have any special recipes with waffles, my family and I love it.  ENJOY!!