Food is Life - Cooking is Fun

05/26/2024

I've been on a things zone-friendly diet lately (low density carbs with balanced protein and fat). I was craving one of my favorite foods (salmon croquettes), but I haven't made cornbread from scratch in a while. Now some people make these with crackers (who hurt you), or even yellow cornmeal. I found a delicious healthier alternative (corn tortillas). I decided to go full seafood on these, so without further ado:

SEAFOOD CROQUETTES

1 16-oz can of pink salmon, drained (reserve) bones removed and coarsely flaked.
8 oz of cooked salad shrimp (or larger, chopped ) thawed and rinsed
12 6 inch yellow corn tortillas
2 medium eggs
1 tablespoon of your favorite seafood seasoning
6 roasted garlic cloves
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 tablespoons of paprika
1/4 cup of finely chopped green onions
1 tbsp of broth (I have a garlic broth I made with my cloves in it)
Spray olive oil

Preheat your air fryer, or convection oven to 450 F.

In your processor, coarsely process tortillas to crumb size, transfer to 2 qt. mixing bowl. Add in onions, flaked salmon and shrimp. Combine lightly.

Process eggs, oil, broth and garlic until almost smooth but chopped garlic is visible. Pour over mixture and fold until coated.

Line an oven friendly sheet with baking paper or parchment paper. Spray olive oil on sheet and set aside.

Divide mixture into 8 equal portions. Form each portion into a ball and arrange on sheet - evenly spaced. Press down on each ball until it flattens. Spray lightly with olive oil and garnish with a light dusting of paprika.

Cook for 8-10 minutes until golden crispy. Serve garnished with remoulade and green onions.

01/11/2024

The price of water is high enough that desalination is economically viable. 👀

11/26/2023

DID YOU KNOW?

For what we spend subsidizing upkeep of gas pipelines to residences, we could literally house the homeless?

Green Policy is about CHOOSING to be economical and earth friendly. Because we don't charge a high enough premium for being wasteful, the lavish lifestyle has no incentive to be kind to our earth.

Want to balance the budget and deliver equity in public services? Add a surcharge for non-ecologically friendly behavior.

We know it works.

10/05/2020

Reduce your food waste with pickled, candied, pureed and sauteed recipes.

09/14/2020

For a delicious plant based snack, brush a mushroom "burger" patty with equal parts sweet thai chili sauce and red curry paste. Broil and serve on thin sliced potato or rice buns with shredded lettuce and tomato, cucumber slivers and a dash of siriacha.

09/04/2020

While you're thinking about your next delicious recipe, chip in $2 to help reduce heart disease, the No.1 killer of Americans.

The Heart Walk is the American Heart Association's premiere event for raising funds to save lives from USA's #1 and #5 killers - heart disease and stroke.

08/10/2020

HOLY 🤬🤬🤬🤬! That's Hot!

Did you make one of your signature dishes and forget your friends are well - bland? Well never fear. Here are my tried and true plating techniques.

Pasta dishes serve well cold. Plate lettuce, slice vegetables and arrange a refrigerated scoop on top. Drizzle a oil and vinegar dressing and voila! It's a pasta salad style entree.

Smaller portions plated with buttery breads. Cornbread, Sweet Hawaiian Rolls. All do the trick. Split the warm bread and serve with unsalted butter on the halves for a touch of personal love.

Nothing cools heat like dairy. Time to master your mixology skills. Coconut milk, a complementary digestive spice and a ice. Shaken, poured into chilled shooters for sipping at the dinner table.

06/17/2020

FUSION LEFTOVERS

Have you ever had leftovers you were going to throw out because well - let's face it some things just aren't good the next day?

Take french fries. I really can't stand potatoes to begin with, but plain cold and soggy? PASS

Now let's talk onions. Caramelized? YUM! Raw, or half cooked - Nope.

I had the bed of onions left over from some Tandoori Chicken and some french fries from takeout.

HERE COMES TANDOORI FRIES!!!!!!!!

2 SERVINGS OF LEFT OVER FRENCH FRIES
1 cup of semi-cooked onions in tandoori drippings
1 tbsp of butter
1/4 cup of your favorite cheese

Preheat oven to 400F
In an oven proof skillet, melt butter, add onions and cook until browned. Remove onions and add fries in even layer. Place onions on top, cover with cheese. bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.

Serve hot and enjoy.

05/25/2020

Time to go Night Night Cold Brew Tea

6 herbal tea bags assorted
12 oz can of CBD soda 625 mg
4 oz of your favorite fruit juice beverage
1oz of a CBD tincture 500 mg per dose

In a CLEAN gallon glass container with a tight lid, pour 2-liters of warm water. Snip tags and strings off tea bags. Add to container and stir to wet tea bags. Cover and place in COLDEST part of refrigerator for 24 hours. Add tincture, fruit juice and soda. Stir fill remainder with coldest water available (melt crushed ice in water for best results) stir again. Cover and return to refrigerator for another 24 hours.

Sip as evening wind down 2-3 hours before bedtime.

04/18/2020

Kitchen Assist is Live! Have a cooking question you don't want to have answered publicly. Send us a message.

04/18/2020

Five Alarm Chili

15 oz crushed tomatoes
15 oz diced tomatoes and jalapenos
1 pound of ground beef, lean
1 pound of ground pork sausage, hot
2 bell peppers, 1 green, 1 yellow
2 anaheim chilies, whole
4 yellow scotch bonnet peppers, whole
4 fresh jalapenos peppers, whole
2 dried cayenne peppers, whole
2 tablespoon of dried cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of whole black peppercorn
4 tablespoons of agave syrup divided in half
1 tablespoon of prepared yellow mustard
1 large, yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of sage
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
2 tbsp of butter
Two tablespoons of masa flour (or 1 tablespoon of arrowroot)
1 can of dark stout

Grind peppercorn coarsely. Cut stems off of anaheim, cayenne, scotch bonnet and jalapeno peppers. In a food processor, combine peppers with peppercorn powder, dried cayenne, half of agave and prepared mustard. Pulse and puree until seeds are completely obliterated. If mixture is too thick add a drops of apple cider vinegar until it blend and pours freely (white will do too). Set aside to chill in refrigerator.

wash, core and slice bell peppers in to thick slivers.

in a large sauce pan or dutch oven, melt butter, combine butter, onion, garlic, thyme, cumin and sage over medium heat. cook until onions are translucent. Add bell peppers and agave. Cook for five minutes more. Add ground beef and ground beef. Cook until meat is browned ( I go for a bit of sizzle). Sprinkle masa flour or arrowroot, stir and cook for 2 minutes more.

Transfer entire mixture to a 5qt or larger slow cooker. add tomatoes and tomato jalapenos, stout and reserved agave. Set to cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. STIR. in the last 30-45 minutes of cooking. Stir pepper puree into chili.

Serve with sour cream, dices tomatoes and shredded cheese for garnish, and sweet tea, whole kernel cornbread or crackling cornbread.