Garbanzo Bean Salad with Lime Herb Vinaigrette

Garbanzo Bean Salad with Lime Herb Vinaigrette

 

Salads are the perfect lazy meal. Add a little of this and a little of that and you have a great meal that didn't involve 1 minute of cooking. It's no wonder I love them so much.  When I'm in the mood for a hearty and filling salad, I always use legumes as base and build out from there. This salad makes the perfect lunch, or lazy dinner.

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Ingredients:

10 ounce can of organic garbanzo beans--drained and rinsed

1/2 cup of  organic persian cucumbers, diced

1/2 cup of organic radish, diced

1/2 cup of organic bell pepper, diced

3-4 oz of Feta cheese--crumbled

Sea salt to taste

Lime Herb Vinaigrette

1/4 cup of fresh organic lime juice

3 tablespoons of olive oil

3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh mint

1 medium clove of garlic, grated

1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin

Sea salt to taste

Directions:  Add all of the ingredients for the Lime herb vinaigrette to a bowl,  whisk together and set aside.  To a large bowl add the ingredients for the salad, season with sea salt and toss gently.

 

 

 

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad, toss once more and enjoy!

 

Pan Seared Sous Vide Rib-eye Steak

Sous Vide Rib-eye Steak

 

I have really been enjoying my Anova Precision Cooker's. I expected my cooking to improve, but I never expected how much sous vide would change the way I cook.  This past Sunday I went to my local farmer's market and Whole Foods and as I was plotting out what I would cook for the week, it struck me: I could cook everything that I needed to make for the week with my sous vide cooker in one day--that day--Sunday--in less than 2 hours--1.5 hours to be exact, of non active cook time!  Que the bells people, this thing is LIFE CHANGING!!!!! I don't think I can cook any other way now.  Cooking sous vide is a lazy girls best friend! I'm 4 meals in and there is no turning back for me! Every meal is fresh, restaurant quality and quick to make.  If you're in the market for a Christmas gift you might want to put an immersion circulator on your wish list--two words--LIFE CHANGING!!!  Now to this steak.  It was delish, the best steak I've eaten in some time!  It's actually the first time that I've cooked a rib-eye inside on a stove top.  I always have my husband grill them.  As great as the steak was I would have liked it a bit more rare than it was.  But my husband likes them medium well, so if you happen to like it the way I do, then set the temperature on your circulator lower than 140F,  138F would probably work better.

 

 

 

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 1 and 22 minutes hours

Ingredients:

1 pound rib-eye steak

4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 teaspoon butter

1 clove of garlic smashed

sea salt and black pepper

For pan searing

2 Tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of a high temperature oil like grape seed or safflower.

3-4 sprigs of thyme

Directions:  Fill a pot with enough water to come to cover the minimum level line on your circulator. Set your circulator to 140F and wait for it to bring the water to temperature.  Meanwhile season both sides of your steak with sea salt and black pepper.  Add the steak to a vacuum bag, top with butter, thyme and garlic.  Seal bag shut using your vacuum sealer or water displacement method.

Once the water has come to temperature add the sealed steak to the pot and cook for 1 hour and 22 minutes.

Once the steak has cooked for 1 and 22 minutes remove it from the water if you are ready to cook it right away, remove it from the bag and pat it dry and let it rest while you heat the oil in a skillet.  If you plan on cooking it later even if it's only a few hours later place into an ice bath (1 cup of salt dissolved in 4 cups of  warm water, then add 2lbs of ice).  Let the steak sit for 1 hour in the ice bath before refrigerating.

When you're ready to cook the steak.  Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a cast iron skillet. Remove it from the bag, discard the thyme leaves and garlic.  Season the steak with a little more sea salt.

Once the oil is hot add the steak, brown it on both sides making sure to flip it constantly.  Add the 2 tablespoons of butter and allow it to melt.  Add in 3 sprigs of thyme and baste the steak with the oil in the pan. Making sure to focus on the areas of steak that have fat--you want to brown those parts.

Once the steak is nice and golden brown--about 5-6 minutes remove it from the pan, serve and enjoy--no need to rest a sous vide steak.

Indian and Herb Spiced Grilled Lamb Chops

Indian and Herb Spiced Grilled Lamb Chops

Lamb is one of my favorite meats.  Personally I like it more than beef, if given the choice between lamb and steak, I'd choose the lamb every time.  My husband on the other hand prefers steak.  He is 100% a meat and potato's kind of guy.  After having these lamb chops he said that he's a convert..Lol..I doubt it!   However, I'm glad that he thought that these lamb chops were delicious. I came up with the idea of marinating these with the fillings that I use for my Lamb Patties.  I added a little bit of curry powder and cumin to give the chops a little punch of flavor.  I'm so glad I did these are super flavorful, and grilling them made them more amazing than they already were.  If you only try one of my lamb recipes try this one! You will not be disappointed!!!

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Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

 

Ingredients:

1 pound of lamb chops

1/4 cup  fresh cilantro

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup fresh mint

1 large shallot (can sub with onion, use half of a small onion)

1/4 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon of cumin powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Sea salt to taste

 

Directions: To a blender add cilantro, parsley, mint, curry powder, cumin powder, shallot and olive oil, blend into a paste.  Season the lamb chops with sea salt, then rub with the marinade.

 

Once your grill is nice and hot, place the lamb chops on the grill and cook for 7-8 minutes on each side or until the chops reach you're desired level of doneness.  Remove from heat, serve and enjoy!

 

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan, Lemon and Red Pepper Flakes

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan, Lemon and Red Pepper Flakes

I was at the farmers market this past Sunday, doing my usual weekly shopping.  One of my favorite vendor's had these beautiful stalks of brussels sprouts.  I got so excited about them that a woman, who was also shopping, pulled me aside and whispered : "How do you cook those?" This isn't the first time this has happened to me,  believe it or not, people stop me all the time, either at the farmers market, or at Whole Foods, to ask how to cook a variety of vegetables. The funny thing about people asking me cooking questions is that they almost always whisper the question?  I don't understand why they whisper the question! I want to tell them, "you know you're not the only person on the planet who has no idea what to do with ((insert name of vegetable here))."   I shared this recipe for roasted brussels sprouts with the  the lady at the farmer's market. It's simple, easy and so delicious.  It's one of my absolute favorite ways to cook and eat brussels sprouts.

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Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound of brussels sprouts halved

2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

3 tablespoons of olive oil ( or ghee or coconut oil)

Sea salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions: Pre-heat the oven to 425F. Add the lemon juice and red pepper flakes to a medium sized bowl and set aside.  In a medium bowl add the brussels sprouts, oil and sea salt, toss well making sure that all the brussels sprouts are evenly covered with oil.

Place on a foil lined baking sheet and put in the oven.  

Cook  for 10-15 minute, or until the brussels sprouts take on a significant amount of color and they become crisp and tender. Sprinkle the sprouts with  half the cheese and cook for another minute or two, just until cheese melts and becomes crisp, remove the sprouts from the oven, transfer them to the bowl with the lemon juice and the red pepper flakes, toss well to coat the brussels sprouts with the lemon juice, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, serve immediately and enjoy! These are crispy, tangy with a little kick! They are the perfect side dish for almost any meal!

Grilled Pork Chops with Spicy Mustard Salsa

Grilled Pork Chops with Spicy Brown Mustard Salsa

One of my favorite restaurants to eat at, when we are in Los Angeles, is Cafe Brazil. It's a small restaurant, with seating for less than 50 people but the food is fantastic. If you've ever watched any dating show, then you've probably seen this restaurant several times, dating show's love to film dates there. It holds a special place in my heart because it was one of the first restaurant's  that my husband I would frequent when we were dating.  His mom lived in LA so we'd go up for a visit, and then grab lunch or dinner before heading back, sometimes with mom in tow.  The food there is pretty straightforward as far as food goes, meat, beans and rice, fresh tropical juices.  Simple as can be, but the food doesn't have to be fancy to taste good.  One of my favorite entree's there is grilled pork chops with beans and rice, and a simple tomato and onion salsa, to which they add fresh parsley and a spicy brown mustard vinaigrette! So what's a girl to do when a craving for Cafe Brazil strikes? Get in the car and drive there, or make it herself! I obviously chose the latter!

 

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Prep time: 5-7 minutes

Cook time: 10-15 minutes

Total time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients:

Salsa:

1/2 cup tomatoes chopped

2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons of parsley

sea salt to taste

Vinaigrette
1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
3teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Sea salt to taste

Pork chops
2 thick pork chops

1 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon onion

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1/8 teaspoon chili powder

sea salt to taste

Directions: 

Combine the ingredients for the mustard vinaigrette and set aside.

Combine the ingredients for the salsa, top with the vinaigrette and set aside. 

Combine the seasoning for the pork chops, then rub generously into pork chops

grill chops for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through--do not over cook, pork chops dry out quickly.  Once chops are done, top with spicy salsa and enjoy!