A New Take on Sloppy Joes

Foods from my childhood are comfort foods to me - Mac & Cheese, Tomato Soup,  Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.  But they're not the healthiest things on the planet, so I tend to "mix it up" a little bit.  When I was a little kid, I loved Sloppy Joe's.  My mom was a "from scratch" mom, so we're not talking about a can of Manwich thrown on a bun.  She probably made a tomato sauce, sautéed onions and any other veggie could try to sneak in there, and fresh ground beef.  And it went on something cool like a Dutch crunch roll.

So in honor of my mom's efforts, I put my own spin on Sloppy Joes: Thai Style!

I started out by sautéing some diced onion in coconut oil.  You can use olive oil if you don't have coconut oil, but I HIGHLY recommend coconut oil; adds a really nice background of flavor (and the scent reminds me of sun-filled vacations).  When they're nice and soft, create a little space in the middle of the skillet and add garlic, ginger and Serrano pepper.  I like to let those sit on the heat by themselves for a minute and then incorporate them into the onions.  Then add red curry paste (green or yellow works, too, but the red paste makes me happy and looks good), and stir that in well.

Now comes the turkey.  I like to use a half-and-half mixture of breast and thigh; it makes for a moister (Is that a word?  It looks weird.) burger, meatloaf or....sloppy Joes.  Break it up with a wooden spoon into little pieces and cook until no longer pink.
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How about some more Thai flavors?  I'm all in with coconut milk, fish sauce (just do it!) and tamari.  Tamari, if you're not familiar, is a wheat-free soy sauce.  Traditional soy sauce is about 60% wheat, so when you remove the wheat, you get a really rich, deep flavor. 

Let that simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed... depending on your particular "sloppy" factor.

Add scallions, cilantro and fresh lime sauce, and you're good to go.

 

 

I made a little slaw salad to go on top with purple cabbage, carrots, scallions, lime juice, a tiny pinch of sugar and a little cilantro.  Make this early on and let it sit to soften and develop .

 

 

I like to serve this on naam (I know it's Indian, and this is Thai, but it works!), but you can use traditional buns...I won't come to your house and check.

 

This is fast and flavorful, perfect for a quick weeknight fix.....

Thai Turkey Sloppy Joes

Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons coconut oil

½ cup diced onion

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

2 teaspoons minced serrano pepper

¼ cup Thai Kitchen red curry paste

½ lb ground turkey breast

½ lb ground turkey thighClick to see savings

Click to see savingsClick to see1 cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon tamarik to see savings

½ teaspoons fish sauce

4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal, divided

½ cup lime juice, divided, plus extra lime wedges for garnish

2 cups shredded purple cabbage

Click to see savi1 small carrot, cut into thin matchsticks or shredded

Click to see savings1/2 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped, divided

Pinch coconut palm sugar

Salt & pepper to taste

1 package Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan

·         Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3-5 minutes.

·         Create a well in the middle of skillet and add garlic, ginger and serrano pepper.  Let stand 1 minute and then stir to combine.

·         Add curry paste and cook an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

·          Add turkey, breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 5-8 minutes.

·         Add coconut milk, tamari and fish sauce and half of the scallions. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

·         Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine cabbage, carrot, remaining half of the scallions, ¼ cup lime juice, ¼ cup of cilantro and sugar. Toss to coat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let stand (the longer the better).

·         Add remaining lime juice and cilantro to turkey mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste.

·         Cut naan in half across the middle and place turkey mixture on each half.  Top with cabbage slaw and serve with lime wedges.

Cook Happy!

 

 

Scallop Challenge

I haven't had a "DANG!" moment in the kitchen like this for a while.  A "DANG!" moment is when I make something that is soooo tasty that I literally say "DANG!" when I take that first bite.  It's usually followed by what one class of former students at Bauman College called "the growl"...... I think it's more like a purr, but who am I to say.

This particular Dang Moment came from a recipe I developed for a book that a nutritionist I work for has coming out later this year.  I was tasked with developing 25 recipes, in specific categories, with specific considerations: no gluten, dairy, soy for one (or three, I guess).

One request was for a seafood recipe, preferably shrimp or scallops.  I'm allergic to shrimp, so if I can't taste it, I don't want to put it in a book.  So I went, lovingly, with scallops.  I DIG scallops, but I usually like to cook them in some kind of a cream sauce.  But I can't use cream for this assignment.  So.....let's use coconut milk.  Oh how I love a challenge!

I must confess I got the idea for the sauce from my friend Francesca when we made a roasted red pepper coconut and pea sauce for a chicken dish we made at The Ceres Community Project. I played around with it a smidge, and made a sauce perfect for delicate scallops.

Let's start with roasting a couple yellow bell peppers....

 

You can do this a few ways.  My favorite is to place them on my gas flame and keep turning them until fully (or as best you can get) blackened.  You can also place them under the broiler, if you don't have a gas stove, and also keep turning until blackened, or you can roast them at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes, turning occasionally until blackened.  Do you get the goal here...."blackened."

Once your peppers are sufficiently roasted, place them in a  bowl and cover with a plate to "sweat" them, or place them in a paper bag and fold the bag down tight to  capture the heat.  Let it sit for at least 20 minutes, and the skin will slide right off.  Take out the seeds , stem and membrane and chop them up.

While the peppers are roasting, cook diced onion in oil until soft and lightly browned.  Then put the onion, chopped peppers and coconut milk in a blender and puree.  Add a little lime juice and salt and you're all set with the sauce.

You want to wait til that's ready before you start cooking your scallops, because scallops cook so quickly....

Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel and season with sea salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a large skillet (cast iron gives you the best sear - crispy edges) and wait til oil is good and hot - I wet my hand and spritz a little water in the skillet; if it sizzles, you're good to go.  Place the scallops in skillet, careful not to overcrowd the pan - work in batches or use 2 skillets.  Sear for about 3 minutes, flip and cook an additional 3-5 minutes until crispy outside and soft inside.

Remove scallops to plate and tent with foil to keep warm.  Pour coconut-pepper mixture in the skillet  and along with some basil leaves and cook a few minutes until warm.

Peel one zucchini per person and mound into individual bowls.  Add three scallops and pour some sauce (to your liking) over the whole dish.

I made this the other night when a friend came over who "hates" coconut.  Sorry, but this is what I'm testing.  I offered to make something else for him, but he didn't want me to go to the trouble (got to love that!), so he tried it...... he asked for seconds!!  I think that says it all..... well, plus a "DANG!"

Seared Scallops in Sweet Pepper-Coconut Sauce

Serves 4 

2 yellow bell peppers

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 can coconut milk

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 dozen large sea scallops

Sea salt &freshly cracked pepper

¼ cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves

4 zucchini

·         Preheat broiler with a rack in the upper third position (not directly under the broiler, but the next rung down) 

·         Line a baking sheet with foil and broil peppers, turning occasionally, until blackened on all sides, about 20 minutes. (Alternately, if you have a gas stove, you can roast each pepper over the flames, turning occasionally, until blackened on all sides, about 10-12 minutes.

·         Remove peppers and place in a large bowl and cover with a plate to sweat the peppers for 15-20 minutes, or place in a paper bag and fold & tighten the bag to sweat them.

·         Meanwhile heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet – preferable cast iron – over medium meat.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and lightly browned, about 4- 5 minutes.  

·         Remove onions from skillet and place in a bowl.  Wipe out skillet, removing all onion pieces.  Set aside.

·         Remove skin, stem and seeds from peppers, chop roughly and add to bowl with onions.

·         Transfer onions and peppers to blender and add coconut milk, lime juice and a pinch of salt.  Blend for about 30-45 seconds or until smooth.   Set aside

·         Pat scallops dry with a paper towel and season one side with salt and pepper.

·         Heat remaining tablespoon oil in skillet over medium high heat.  When hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle, add half the scallops, seasoned side down, and season the remaining side with salt and pepper.  Cook 3-4 minutes per side, until a crisp, brown crust forms.

·         Transfer cooked scallops to a pate and tent with foil to keep warm

·        Add remaining 6 scallops, adding more oil if necessary.  Remove to tented plate.

·       Add coconut-pepper mixture and basil leaves to skillet to warm, just 2-3 minutes.  Meanwhile peel the zucchini into thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler and place in on individual plates or bowls.

·         Place 3 scallops on each of the zucchini “noodles” and top with sauce.

 

 

Cook Happy!

Ginger-Coconut Chicken

Last week was so dang hot here in Northern California that I just didn't feel much like cooking. I ate a lot of watermelon and salads....no ovens or stovetops were going to run in this house!   It was a bummer because I got the idea for a ginger-coconut chicken dish that I was really dying to make (and eat!), but had neither the desire or inclination to get near a hot stove.  When things cooled off this weekend though, I jumped at the chance.

This is another no-recipe recipe, but you can do it; I promise.  I was just in such an excited runsh to make it and get it in my belly as soon as possible, that I didn't take the usual time to write it all down as I went along.  I need to get better about that!

First, let's get my peeling ginger trick out of the way....

Best way to get the skin off your ginger root (please don't buy the bottled stuff; fresh is so much better) is to use the side of a spoon.  You give up less real estate this way and you start to smoosh the ginger (techincal culinary term) and bring out that beautiful ginger juice and flavor.

Next, slice a medium onion, chop a couple tablespoons of ginger and a serrano pepper (leave some of the seeds in if you like a little heat), and get a lime ready to juice in at the end.  Saute the onion, ginger and serrano in a couple teaspoons of coconut oil until softened.  Add about a pound of chicken breast or thighs (for 4 servings), cut into bite-sized pieces (I used thighs this time; they're cheaper and just as tasty as boneless breasts) and cook until lightly browned on all sides.  They don't need to be cooked all the way through because now you add a can of coconut milk.  Use the real deal, not the "lite" version.  You know the deal - when they take the fat out of a product, they usually add other things, like sugar, to make up for the flavor, and sugar is far worse for us that fat.  Stir well, cover and let it simmer until the chicken is cooked through and all the flavores are snuggled in.

At the end, I throw in a handful of basil leaves, a pinch of salt to taste and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.  Serve over brown basmati rice and send me a thank you note!!

Yummy and fast....what more can you ask for????


Yum it up!!

Stuffed Zucchini.... Thai Style

I grew this little beauty! Yes, ME!  It's an 8 ball zucchini.  Not sure how big you're supposed to grow them (I'm a squash virgin); this guy is a little over 4 inches in diameter.  I was so impressed with myself and so enamoured with it that I just left him sitting on the counter for the past week, just so I could look at it and well with pride every time I walked into the kitchen.  It's like the time I fixed the GFCI outlet thingy in the kitchen (all by myself!).  I used to walk into the kitchen at night just to see the little glow of the green light.....it's the little things.

Today it was time to let the 8 ball do what it was destined to do.....feed me in a super yummy way.  I didn't want to just chop it up and put it into something...too boring.  It needs to be stuffed and baked.  First I cooked up a little brown basmati rice in coconut milk (do it!)  While that was going I sauteed onions, carrots, ginger, and a banana pepper that grew right next to the zucchini (together again).

When it was beautifully cooked, I tossed in some basil (yes, from my yard....look at me go!) and chopped tomato (not from my yard, sore subject).  I added the cooked coconut rice, a little salt and red pepper flakes (you know I like it spicy!).  Took a taste and..... yeah, the happy dance!!  So simple, so few ingredients, but such a fantastic blend of flavors.  And it makes your house smell delicious, too!!

I cut off the top third of the zucchini, and scooped out the seedy, fleshy center, then stuffed my rice mixture into it and baked it for 25 minutes.

Fortunately there was a little extra filling left over, because my mouth was watering and 25 minutes was going to be toooo long.  But 25 minutes is the perfect amount of time to cook the squash, so it's tender, but with a little bit of bite to it still, and the rice on top gets a little crispy. But cut it in half and you see all that soft, creamy filling....great textures going on here, my friends!  To make this a vegetarian entree instead of a side dish, I'll add some garbanzo beans to the filling next time (oh yes, there will be a next time!); the beans and rice combo will give you a complete protein.

What's left to say????  Dig IN!!!

Stuffed Zucchini

Serves 2 (unless you're me!)

1 8 ball zucchini, about 4-5" in diameter (or hollow out regular zucchini; filling will probably fill 4)

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 cup brown basmati rice

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, remove seeds and chop

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 carrot, shredded

1 small roma tomato, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon chopped basil

Salt & pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cut off the top third of the zucchini and scoop out the seeds and flesh from center to create a bowl. Reserve top.
• Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan and toast rice for 2-3 minutes.  Add coconut milk, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until cooked (Trader Joe's brown basmati takes about 25 minutes).
• While rice cooks, heat remaining tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
• Add onion, pepper and ginger and cook until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add carrot, tomato and basil and remove from heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper (maybe a little red pepper flakes??)
• Stir in the rice and fill cavity of zucchini.
• Bake 25 minutes until zucchini is softened.

Hey, look.....no cheese!

I gotta go eat that other half now....