Chef Boy oh Boy

Bless the hearts of every parent who goes out of their way to feed their children wholesome foods in a world full of packaged, processed deliciousness.

Most of my early years were filled with real cheese, whole grains, wheat bread, very little meat, and the kind of peanut butter that has to be vigorously stirred.  I daydreamed of “junkie” products whose labels were decorated with the celebrities of my childhood, cartoon characters. Donald Duck would not appear on any old orange juice! Peter Pan would only endorse the best peanut butter on the market, I was sure of it! Alas, my mom did not agree, and I could only try these superior products at the houses of friends.
Just down the street from my house was a family with a unique culinary genius. I was good friends with the youngest son from this family. I will call him Sammy Smith. Sammy’s family was not from Arizona and their cooking style was always of great interest to me. It was as if they came from a distant land. They possessed a knowlege of cooking styles and products that were completely foreign to me. Fry Bologna (what is Bologna)? You have cheese in a can, and you put that in a potato!? My favorite time to stay for dinner was spaghetti night. I never had spaghetti like this. Mrs. Smith would cook 1 onion in butter, add a tube of ground chuck, and a healthy serving of ketchup. That’s it! In retrospect I am sure that this recipe suggestion may have insulted my mother, a woman who actually incorporated non-liquid vegetables in her meals. I just loved it because it was different and I sensed it was totally unhealthy, or as my mother called it, “junk”.
Please know I am not making fun of this family. I know now that this diet was a symptom of poverty and bad habits, but at the time I imagined they were master NASA chefs. These were all dishes I imagined astronauts dining on.

     Though I eat meat, I do not eat beef and I wanted to try my hand at a vegan version of ragu. Ragu is typically a meat based sauce but today we go VEGAN!

• 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 T balsamic vinegar.
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• (optional) 1/3 cup red or white wine for flavor.
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
• ¼ C. Chopped sun dried tomatoes
• 1 carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 package or crumbled package of Tempeh
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed, Italian seasoned tomatoes 
• 1 small can of tomato paste (4 oz)
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped 
• 8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

        
      In a 6 quart pot add extra-virgin olive oil. When the pan is nice and hot (almost smoking), add onion, and the garlic. Stir for about 8 minutes until the onions become soft. Add the carrots, and celery. Stir for 5 minutes. Raise the heat slightly to the medium-high and add the tempeh. Saute, stirring frequently and breaking uo any large clumps, and cook 8 minutes. Add tomatoes, parsley, basil and cook over medium heat until sauce thickens. This can take about 30 minutes. For old times sake I added 3 tablespoons of ketchup.

I atop tofu shirataki noodles, or quinoa pasta with this sauce.

                                                                        I hope you enjoy!

If You Make This Spring Will Come

I grew up in the “Valley of The Sun”, and never truly knew cold until I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Until I was 21 I lived in Phoenix, and it was warm if not hot 9 ½ months out of the year. A hot dinner was not always the best way to end a day. Salad was a huge part of my dinners year-round. In talking to my friends I realized that most family do not eat salads with every meal. There are few children in this world that eat side salads every night except the nights salads were the main course, but I did. As I got older I went through more unhealthier phases, but deep down I loved salads. I was able to rekindle this love when I found that I could no longer eat gluten. I am now that girl that everyone sneers at as she orders a salad at the pizzeria, and on those oh, so rare things people call dates. Salads can make a meal whether it is a hot summer night, or a chilly, wet Spring evening. Those hot Arizona days are distant, and with the raining pouring outside I pour through the recipes that remind me of sunnier, warmer times. I trust that Spring is barreling towards us and I relish the idea of warmer temperatures, and all the foods that accompany it. When I make salads at home they are filling and satisfying, and they lack that pizza parlor iceberg lettuce. This is one of my favorite salads. It is flavorful, sweet and savory. Each bite allows you to pair tender buttery fish with sweet mango, fresh greens, creamy avocado, and a hint of wasabi dressing. Here is my take on a seared ahi salad. First things first, you will need a nice, sear, sashimi, or sushi grade piece of ahi. The piece should be ruby red, firm, and it should not smell super fishy. Here is the rest:

• Light or fat free mayo (I prefer Best Foods)
• Rice wine vinegar

• 4 Persian cucumber

• 2 Sliced Mango

• Wasabi Powder (this can be found at any Asian market, or in the ethnic aisle of your local market)

• Micro Greens

• Mache (aka lambs lettuce), or butter lettuce.

• 2 Avocado

• A squeeze of fresh lemon or lime

Slice cucumbers thin and combined with rice wine vinegar while you prepare the rest of the meal. Lightly dust ahi with sea salt and pepper. Place ½ tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Let the pan get nice and hot. Don’t let the oil burn! Lay the fish in the pan and let each side sear for 1 to 2 minutes. I prefer it super rare so I cook only 1 minute on each side. Serving someone who is terrified of delicious, rare or raw fish? Cook a little long for the faint of heart.

In a small bowl wisk 1 to 2 tablespoons of wasabi powder, a teaspoon of 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, and 4 tablespoons of mayo. The consistency should not be too watery. Make sure you taste a little. Add more wasabi if you like the heat!


Arrange a small bed of lettuce, lay the tuna on top, and drizzle the wasabi dressing on top, lay out the mango, cucumber, and micro greens.

Looking to make an appetizer? Try dressing a plate with the seared ahi, the marinated cucumbers, and the wasabi dressing. Place a bowl in the center with ponzi sauce. Here is the recipe for ponzu:


1/3 cup GF tamari sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
A pinch of fresh, grated ginger.

Enjoy!