You may have noticed all the different winter squash at the markets–acorn, butternut, spaghetti, kabocha, just to name a few. I absolutely love butternut squash, which is what I tend to use most often. I suppose we all tend to stick with what we know and like but lately I’ve had quite a few inquiries for what to do with a spaghetti squash, which is great because I really dig this squash too. Actually I’m really into pasta (gluten free) but I’m off heavy carbs in the evening so this squash, believe it or not, makes a brilliant substitute for pasta! Thought all you who are sticking to any sort of get-in-shape resolutions would love this idea, too.

RECIPE:
Serves 2 with leftovers

1 medium spaghetti squash (preferably organic)
1 lb medium wild, locally caught shrimp (21-30’s) P&D’s (peeled & de-veined)
1 cup pasta tomato sauce (whatever you fancy)
1 tbsp capers
1/2 lemon- zested
chili flakes (as much as you can handle)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

When choosing a spaghetti squash look for the yellow-est ones as those will be the ripest and best to eat. I also prefer the larger ones as they make better “noodles”. When it comes to choosing a jarred pasta sauce, be sure to read the labels for added sugars, which is crap. I’m really fond of The Silver Palate’s Fra Diavolo sauce. This all natural, gluten free sauce has great flavour and a nice spicy kick. “Fra Diavolo” generally describes spicy tomato-based sauces used for pasta or seafood.

To Roast Squash:

Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds from the interior. Drizzle the flesh with olive oil and season with S&P. Lay each squash half flesh side down on a foiled oven tray and pop in the oven until a knife pierces the flesh easily. Smaller ones will take less time to cook than larger ones so check them about 45 mins to an hour in. My small ones took about an hour to roast and my large ones took about 1 1/2 hours. (We’re talking SQUASH people!)

Once ready, remove from oven, let cool enough to handle and using a fork gently scrape out the ’spaghetti’. Place on a plate until ready to use.

Place tomato sauce, capers and zest in a saute pan and gently simmer shrimp until pink and firm to touch about 10-12 minutes, approx. When ready to serve add spaghetti squash to sauce and toss to coat. Of course you can eliminate the shrimp and eat on its own OR you can add grilled chicken. Deliciousness either way!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

Here we are at the end of the first month in this new year, which begs the big question, How’re you doing on your resolutions? Did you know the #1 new year resolution that people made was to eat healthier? I read that somewhere so don’t quote me on it but I’m not surprised. I think we all want to get healthier don’t we? One trick to get there is to know what you eat and that means reading labels. A pain in the ass maybe, but worth it in the end (especially for your ass!)

Here’s a really simple example of why reading labels are important.

Here we have two jams, one regular and one sugar free. Right off the bat which one do you think is the best choice?

Bet you chose the sugar free one, right? I think those advertisers do a great job convincing us anything with the word “Free” in it is the way to go. But here’s why this is bogus:

1. Colour
If it’s possible to look at the products, compare them with your eyes right off the bat. You can see the difference in the colour. The sugar free one is nearly neon in color! I don’t think that’s natural, is it?

2. Labels
Comparing the two labels on the front, the 365 brand (Whole Foods’ line) claims 100% natural, 100% fruit and the Smucker’s brand claims sugar free, sweetened with Splenda and has 80% fewer calories than regular preserves.

Comparing the back labels, well take a look for yourselves:

Though the 365 brand does has more calories, it seems to be more natural with only 3 ingredients, white grape juice concentrate, strawberries and fruit pectin, and it contains no preservatives, artificial colours or flavours. Smucker’s has a whopping twelve ingredients including preservatives and Red 40 (added for colour?), which is apparently not found in regular preserves according to the label. Hmmm….I’d gladly eat a few more cals for natural ingredients vs. all that fake stuff.

3. Taste
I guess you’ll just have to trust me on this one unless you want to do your own taste test but the sugar free tastes like it’s colour–bland with a bit of the sweetener’s aftertaste.

I’ve done this same label review for ice cream, too. Which one do you think hit the spot?

Right now I have gorgeous poblano peppers growing in my garden so I decided to play around with them since they’re a relatively new ingredient to me. You’ll be most familiar with these peppers in Mexican food so what I came up with here was channeled through my inner “Irecan.” That’s Irish-Mexican, sort of like Rick Bayless affectionately known as Richie MacBayless. Unlike some other chillies these do not require a fire extinguisher (thank f*%k for that!)

RECIPE:
Serves 4

4 lbs organic / grass fed beef ribs
6 shallots – peeled
5 cloves garlic – peeled
4 poblano peppers
1 cup red wine (whatever’s open will do)
2 whole carrots – washed & halved
1 x 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes (I prefer to use the Italian San Marzano’s, which are tad more expensive but the quality is better = tons of flavour)
6 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 bouquet garni – marjoram & oregano
10 black peppercorns

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Begin by searing the peppers directly on a gas flame, medium heat, of your stove. You want to char the skin not burn the flesh so as soon as one side of the skin is black and charred turn it until all sides are done. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. By doing this the steam created by the heat from the peppers will loosen the skins. After 30 minutes remove the skins from the peppers and clean out seeds. Slice the peppers into 1/4″ strips.

NOTE: Do Not rinse the charred peppers under the tap to remove the skins. This is a no no. All you’re doing is washing away all the lovely charred flavour.

Next seasoning & searing the ribs either in a hot pan with olive oil or, as I did, on the grill. Sear to a nice golden brown colour.

Place ribs in a large oven proof casserole dish when seared and let be until needed. Meanwhile saute the shallots & garlic in a medium hot saute pan in 2 tbsp olive oil. Saute for 4 minutes or until onions begin to brown. Add sliced poblanos and saute for another minute. Add wine and simmer for 2 minutes.

Next add tomatoes, carrots, peppercorns & herbs. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add sauce to ribs and enough broth to cover. Cover dish with foil and pop in oven for up to 3 hours or until ribs are fork tender and falling off the bone. Not only are the ribs fantastic but those San Marzano tomatoes will knock your socks off!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

I see a lot of crazy & strange food while surfing the web but these were too brilliant to keep to myself.

I imagine these would make good camping or picnic foods don’t you tink? Here’s how my menu would look (it’s pretty romantic if I do say so myself).

Let’s start with some traditional brown bread

(my granny is turning in her grave right now)

then work our way into a delicious protein-rich appetizer (love the curry flavour!)

Or maybe a little roadkill will get us going.

Next I think I’d fire up the grill to bbq some delicious chicken

or NOT.

Me tinks a burger sounds better.

Burger in a can…I’m going to have to disguise this as best I can and everyone says bacon makes everything better, so…

Of course we’ll need some crisps to go with our burger — I found a lovely array of chips to choose from.

(Actually I think I’ve tried the prawn cocktail crisps and either they were tasty…or I was drunk.)

The flavours below were in a contest to determine which one would be the next introduced to the Walkers line of crisps.
Too bad we didn’t get to taste them here in the States–I’ve always wondered what squirrel tasted like. Would’ve made a great addition to our picnic.

(The Builders Breakfast won the contest. I guess building a tasty gut is all the rage!)

Now if burgers in a can with strange bacon-like stuff on top with a side of crisps isn’t your thing, I’ve got a backup:
HAGGIS. Even Vegetarian Haggis for all of you veg-heads. (Bet you think I’m making this stuff up, don’t you?)

(In case you didn’t know, Haggis is a dish containing sheep’s ‘pluck’ (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal’s stomach for approximately three hours. It somewhat resembles stuffed intestines (pig intestines otherwise known as chitterlings), sausages and savoury puddings of which it is among the largest types.) Wonder what the Vegetarian version is made with….

We need something refreshing to drink don’t we?

Here’s a great snack idea for later when we’ve got the munchies

Now all we need is dessert!

Is that dessert or lunch meat? I can’t tell but I found it at Tesco’s.

This is more like it for dessert

True Spotted Dick isn’t abnormal for those across the pond, but it’s a little off-putting coming a can don’t you agree?

So who’s ready to go camping with me?

DISCLAIMER: I did not make this stuff up, all of it really exists though I’m not sure who’s eating it! If it’s you, do share (not the food, just what it tastes like).

I don’t think anyone is exempt from the winter weather that’s hitting us all at the moment. Between the snow, the cold and the days upon days of rain we’re having here in LA at the minute, I thought a quick n easy soup would hit the spot. I made chicken for dinner last night and had some left over so I thought the obvious choice was to bust out a soup for lunch today and hey presto here it is. If you don’t have any leftover chicken like I did, buy a roast chicken and just use that. You’ll get a great flavour as well as having the carcass to make your stock. Perfecto! This is one of the simplest ways to make a soup as you basically just put everything in the same pot and simmer it.

Did I mention it’s flu season? A bit of homemade chicken soup and vitamin C are sure to help!

RECIPE:
Serves 4

1 organic roast chicken or 4 cups leftover chicken – shredded
6 oz shredded carrot (about 2 carrots)
1 cup celery – thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup thin egg noodles (like spaghetti cut into 2″ pieces. I bought a packet in the supermarket)
S&P
freshly chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS:
Add the broth to a soup pot and place on a medium-flamed burner. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Add shredded chicken, bay leaves, carrot and celery and cook for 20 minutes, partially covered.
NOTE: This can all be done ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to eat. When you are ready bring the soup to a boil and add noodles. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add noodles and stir soup. The noodles are small and thin like spaghetti so they’ll cook in about 10 minutes. Once noodles are done taste and season with S&P. Remove bay leaves, top with parsley and freshly ground and serve. Easy!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible

Following on my Vegetarianism post yesterday I thought I’d go all the way and go with a good ol’ fashioned meat recipe today. Pork tenderloin is the King Don Juan of pork cuts in terms of leanness and protein. It’s also one of the easiest meats to cook but unfortunately it’s also easy to over-cook. My method of adding broth to the meat whilst cooking is a technique I use a lot for the leaner proteins like poultry and pork. It just helps in not having to serve boot leather!

RECIPE:
Serves 4

1 1/2 lb organic/grass-fed pork tenderloin

2 tsp cumin seeds
1 lemon – zested
1 tbsp rosemary
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

Put everything (except the pork, funnily enough) in a food processor and blend. Coat all sides of pork in the marinade, place in a covered dish along with the remaining marinade and refrigerate from 4 to 24 hours.

Remove pork from fridge 1 hour before cooking to let return to room temperature.
Preheat oven 420°F.

Preheat skillet on high heat for 1 minute. Take the pork from the marinade and season both sides with 1/2 tsp salt, rub in. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil in hot pan and sear pork on all sides for 2 minutes, until golden brown.

Once browned remove to a foiled oven tray. Place in oven for 15-20 minutes until internal temp 125°F. You want to cook the meat medium rare and as with any other meat, let it rest for 10 minutes.

TIP: After cooking for 10 minutes add chicken broth to the tray so it surrounds the loins. This will help create moisture in the pork and will help eliminate being over-cooked.

Eating healthy charges on in 2010.

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

Vegetarianism. What exactly is a vegetarian? You talk to any old school chefs and they’ll balk at the idea of someone not eating meat. My Missus is a veggie but she eats seafood and…..bacon. I know. I gave up trying to figure that one out ages ago. I still pull the piss though. Believe it or not she’s not alone, we know a couple of these types. (The bacon eating variety). Even though she labels herself a ‘fishetarian’ I still find it funny. Back when I was a yut, being a vegetarian meant you didn’t eat any meat, dairy or eggs. Seems the definition has had several rounds of changes since then and the term Vegan started the rounds as the more strict version of vegetarianism.. I found this great article about the meaning of vegetarianism. To quote:

Vegetarian

This is a general term. About 5 percent of the current U.S. population considers themselves to be vegetarian, although a number of varying dietary habits fall into this category. Usually this term refers to someone who doesn’t eat any kind of meat, including beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and seafood. However, there are many people who don’t quite match this description, but still use this label.
These include …

Pollo-Vegetarian
Pesco-Vegetarian
Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian
Lacto-Vegetarians
Ovo-Vegetarians
Vegan
Macrobiotic
Fruitarian
Raw or Living Food Diet

Fruitarian? The first time I heard this term was in the film Notting Hill when Hugh Grant’s prospective girlfriend said picking an apple from a tree was murder. Have we lost the plot? I’ve heard of  Lacto/Ovo….can you just imagine being at a cocktail party and someone asks you why you’re not eating and you say, “I’m lacto-ovo-vegetarian”? Now, that wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility here in La La land but anywhere else, you might get a slap.
While I’m certainly not any of these, I do appreciate delicious food, even ‘vegetarian’ food. I’m a meat eater who loves veg and while having a penchant for stuffing meat, (Mr. Keyes!) I also have a penchant for soy proteins especially seitan. Strange? Not if it tastes good!

Los Angeles, being “The mecca of health and fitness” (according to Gold’s Gym), has a lot of delicious vegetarian/vegan/macrobiotic restaurants around town. I like eating at said restaurants not just because they’re healthy but more often than not, they’re using organic, sustainable & seasonable ingredients, which is a major plus in my book. While I’ve only eaten at a few of these restaurants I thought it worthy to write about them, especially since I hit up two this past weekend.

I mentioned recently about the Real Food Daily restaurant here in LA, which is my #1 go-to healthy place, which I frequent about once or twice a month. I’ve been going there for years and overall I just really like their food even though it’s totally vegan. If only I could learn to cook these soy proteins as well as they do! Tacos, meatloaf, burritos, soups and desserts—everything is meat, dairy and egg free using foods grown exclusively with organic farming methods. The owner, Ann Gentry must be doing something right ’cause the place I go to in Santa Monica is always jointed.

Last weekend we also ate at M Cafe de Chaya in Culver City, which serves macrobiotic food without any refined sugars, eggs, dairy, red meat or poultry. They have everything from sushi to salads & sandwiches to soups and of course healthy desserts. Being a macro eatery they serve fish but I’ll let you read up on that yourself. This was my second time going there and I really liked it, especially their Seitan Katsu Bowl. I don’t know what katsu sauce is but it was tasty!

Another macrobiotic restaurant we’ve tried, which came recommended to me by Meg, a fellow blogger, is actually in my Venice hood. Seed is both vegan and macro and serves delicious curries, tempeh burgers, salads and of course, amazing desserts. Now that I’m thinking about it we’ll have to pop in to try their seitan. I’m telling you, this protein is tasty. Don’t believe me–try it with my jerk recipe and you’ll be sold!

I love having the option of going to a restaurant like these and getting the type of food I want at the drop on a hat. Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a drive thru with these healthy, vegetarian & sustainable options?

On a recent visit to Austin my brother-in-law gave me a packet of dried morels and asked me to create a dish for them. Though this is a dish I’ve made many many times I thought it would be the perfect recipe for the morels plus it’s fairly fool proof. (Let’s see if Ron will try his hand at cooking this!) Luckily, braising meats is dead easy, eliminates the risk of drying out meat and always adds great flavour. The key with slow cooking, as I’ve mentioned before, is layering flavours. Searing the chicken, sauteing the mushrooms, adding garlic, well you get it. The more flavours you add the more intense and tasty the end result will be. Stands to reason, right?

I recently made this for a drop-off menu (did you know I can make dinner for you and drop it off?) and they said their 2 year old loved the mushrooms (if you’re a parent, this got the tot’s seal of approval) and they said it was even better the next day. Gotta love delicious leftovers!

RECIPE:
Serves 4

1 whole organic or grass fed chicken – portioned (2 breasts, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings)
6 shallots – peeled
8 oz baby bella mushrooms
1 ounce dried morel mushrooms or 1/2 lb fresh
1 x 8 oz jar baby artichokes
1 bunch fresh tarragon – wrapped like a bouquet garni
2 large bay leaves
4 cloves garlic – minced
1/2 white wine (whatever’s in your fridge)
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
5 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 380°F.

Begin by seasoning & searing each chicken piece in 2 tbsp olive oil, either on a grill on in a large saute pan (high heat, 3 minutes each side) until browned on all sides. Place in a large over proof casserole dish.

In the same saute pan (if using, otherwise grab one) add 3 tbsp olive oil and saute the fresh bella mushrooms for 3 minutes (3 tbsp might look like a lot of oil but the mushrooms soak it up). Add shallots & garlic and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Add white wine and cook for another minute. After cooking wine add everything to the chicken along with the tarragon, bay leaves, morel mushrooms, artichokes and broth.

Cover with foil and place in the oven for 1 1/2 hours or until the chicken is fork tender. Pretty straightforward, right?

NOTE: You’ll notice in my photo above the skin looks crispy and dark. It was a little experiment that paid off. Here’s what I did:
As soon as the chicken was cooked in the oven, I removed all the pieces, placed them on a foiled oven tray and put them under the broiler. With the chicken having been braised it’s full of moisture so putting it under the broiler won’t dry it out. It simply makes the skin lovely and crispy while keeping the inside moist. Now I’m not advocating eating the skin because it’s just fat but if you just simply can’t say no to it or even if you’re entertaining guests this method looks and tastes great. This, of course is an optional step.

Ron, here’s your chance to show off some skills my man!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients.

Those of you who happen to live here in LA may know of the Real Food Daily organic vegan restaurant. Although I’m not a vegetarian I do try to incorporate a lot more of the veggie dishes in my everyday food. My missus being a veggie and me being the overly healthy Irish guy, we’re always on the lookout for good quality vegetarian places such as this. I’ve been going to RFD for the past 5 years or so and I really like their food. Some of our friends are nervous to try such healthy vegan food but there’s an abundance of soy meat dishes, or what I call fake meat, on the menu so I get my fix when we go. (I gotta be a good hubby and throw the girl a bone now and then, though having said that, I probably request going here more than she does…hmmm…) One of the things they do really well there are their soups, except their bowls kinda blow but that’s another post.

Ann Gentry, RFD’s owner, came out with a cookbook a couple of years back so this is one of her recipes that I slightly adapted. The use of quinoa here is brilliant. Quinoa is all over the shop these days and for good reason, esp. for vegetarians since it contains high quality protein. It’s the bomb diggity.

NOTE: I made this soup last night for dinner but I played around with it a little mainly due to not having all the ingredients in my house. So for my version I marked them in red below on the recipe. An for my own little touch I added some fresh kale that I had in my fridge. I removed the stalks and chopped those in place of the celery. I added the chopped leaves at the end a few minutes before serving.

RECIPE:
Makes a big o’ pot

3/4 cup quinoa (I used Inca Red)
1 tbsp canola oil (olive oil)
2 onions, finely chopped (1 1/2 onions)
3 carrots, peeled & finely diced (omitted)
3 celery stalks, finely diced (omitted, used 6 Kale stalks instead)
2 zucchini, diced
1/2 cup yellow corn kernels (1 ear of fresh corn) (1 can low-sodium since it’s not corn season)
1 red pepper, finely diced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 tsp sea salt
12 cups (3 quarts) vegetable broth (I used about 10 cups of 1/2 stock, 1/2 water)
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Black pepper
6 Kale leaves – washed, stalks removed & chopped, leaves rolled & chopped
1 jalapeno – seeded, fine dice

DIRECTIONS:

Rinse the quinoa well in cold water then drain. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add the quinoa and stir constantly for 10 minutes or until all the moisture evaporates and the quinoa crackles and becomes golden. You’ll be able to smell them toasting. Transfer quinoa to a bowl and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large heavy stockpot over medium high heat. Add onions, carrots and celery. Saute for 12 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add zucchini, corn, bell pepper, jalapeno, garlic and salt. Saute for 3 minutes longer or until vegetables begin to release their juices. Add stock, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the toasted quinoa and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the quinoa is tender. Squeeze the tomatoes into the soup and add the juices from the can, then stir in the cumin and coriander.
Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the quinoa is tender. Stir in the cilantro and kale leaves and season to taste with pepper and more salt if needed.

Recipe Courtesy: The Real Food Daily Cookbook

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

OFFAL. Animal innerds such as lungs, hearts, livers, kidneys and intestines.
EXTREMITIES. Animal parts you most likely don’t eat such as heads, tongues, brains, tails & feet.

Hence the question: Offal Good or Awful Bad?

The other day while perusing my local “ghetto Ralph’s” grocery store (if you live in Venice you know where I’m talking about) I saw something I hadn’t noticed before. Jarred pigs trotters. I’ve seen the regular trotters in the meat section before but not this pickled variety. I wonder how long these jars keep for? Does anyone really eat this stuff? Then I had a flashback to my yout.

Growing up in Ireland in the 70’s times were tough as our economy wasn’t the may west. If there was ever one thing the Irish learned to do well it was cooking hearty meals on the cheap, after all that’s where Irish stew came from. Surviving on the Island meant utilizing every bit of what you had. This meant utilizing our national animal to its fullest (that part I just made up). Not surprising then that I’ve eaten a variety of animal innerds, such as livers and kidneys. Even had my crack at ox-tail and cow’s tongue. These were cheap parts of meat that brought tons of flavour to stews, pies and puddings. Ever heard of beef and kidney pie? Haggis? (Scottish I know but you get the point). That recipe has it all–sheep’s paunch, or stomach bag, and sheep’s pluck, the heart, liver and lights. (Lights?) In other words, not the stuff you’d be buying generally or….ever. Taking a gander at my Mum’s Mum’s cookbooks dating from the 20-50’s there are several recipes using offal: Calf’s brain fritters, sweetbreads, liver and bacon, stewed ox-tail, Fricassee of tripe, cow heel jelly, and those are just a few of ‘em. Seems the Irish were way ahead of their time in sustainable eating. Who knew?!

Now I don’t know what it was like in the States back then, if offal was as abundant as it was across the pond, but according to my Missus the only thing she was raised around was Menudo, a Mexican soup made with tripe and/or cow’s feet. I’m actually quite curious about what type of offal Americans ate growing up, if any. I know that my clients are not requesting offal, though my specialty is healthy food so my proteins don’t consist of major excitement I’m afraid, apart from the way I cook them of course. Perhaps eating offal is saved for a night out at a new restaurant where bone marrow and mason jarred pates run aplenty. They seem to be all over the shop these days. Sweetbreads have always been around in the posh expensive restaurants but now they seem to be more accessible than ever. Have you noticed the offal comeback? Just yesterday I received an email about Offal Good @ Palate in Glendale, a local restaurant offering offal every Wednesday night and truth be told I did have a tasteen of bone marrow not too long ago at Cache. Nearly everyone at the table had a crack at it and we were all in hog heaven. Perhaps America does like something offal.

Let’s just hope the prices don’t skyrocket now because it’s trendy. After all, these are the cheapest parts of the animal. Anywho the question I have for you is simply this,

Offal good or bloody offal bad?