Black Bean Quesadillas with Salsa

Caloric Count: Low
Level of difficulty: Easy

Ah Mexican! The Joys! This is an absolute favorite of mine, easy to prepare, light and healthy and suitable for vegans. Quesadillas are usually prepared with flour tortillas and comparable to grilled cheese only with tortillas instead of bread and can be filled with a variety of different things, eg. chicken, pulled pork and spicy ground beef. My version which I swear by is meatless and with the black beans included, provide the protein that you get from some meats. It's light eating yet filling and I can easily consume 3 of these babies. Let's get started!

• 1 package of flour tortillas
• 1 can (435 g) black beans or refried beans
• bunch cilantro (corriander)
• 1 bunch sping onions (scallions)
• 1 jar jalapeno peppers or 4 frsh jalapeno peppers
• 400 g. montery jack cheese or med. cheddar
• ground cumin
• 1 tbls cooking oil

You'll need a large skillet. Chop cilantro, spring onions and finely chop peppers (if using fresh
peppers de-seed first), grate cheese. Lay a tortilla on clean surface and generously spinkle a handful of cheese, covering the whole tortilla, drain black beans and sprinkle a handful on top of
cheese. (If using re-fried beans spread generously on tortilla) scatter chopped cilantro, onions and peppers on top of beans and sprinkle cumin (1/2 tsp) on top. Place another tortilla on top to make a sandwhich. In skillet under med. heat put in the oil making sure it's evenly distributed
and GENTLY pick up tortilla with spatulla and place in skillet. The tortillas brown very quickly
so make sure you're cookin on low heat and cover with lid (to insure melty cheese) cook for 1 or2 min. and carefully flip it over to cook on other side, don't walk away and do anything that will take you attention away from cooking these as they only take a few minutes to cook. When done
remove carefully and place on cutting board and cut into triangles. (You can put your hearts desire between two tortillas, use your imagination)!

Salsa

This is so lovely to have anytime with Dorritos and Margaritas or for that matter with anything Mexican or otherwise. I do cheat a bit with this recipe by using Old El Paso hot salsa in the jar.

• 3 bell peppers (red)
• 4 scallion stalks
• 1/2 jar grn jalapeno peppers or 4 fresh jalapeno peppers
• 2 med vine ripen tomatoes
• a few hot pickled peppers (in jar)
• juice 1 fresh lime
• 1 jar Old El Paso salsa (mild or hot)
• half bunch frsh cilantro
• dash of salt
• 1 tbls ground cumin
  

Chop bell peppers and cook in 1 cup of water until tender,drain and cool (a few ice cubes in the peppers does the trick) roughly chop vegetables, peppers and cilantro. Mix all together and add lime juice, jar of salsa and cumin mix again. Ready!

With quesadillas serve with salsa and a dollop of plain yougurt or sour cream. DELISH. ENJOY!

any ?s
hit me up
love and good eating
Taka

Black Eyed Peas caloric level;med. level of difficulty; easy peasy

Real crowd pleaser here folks! Easy to make, delisious to eat! Serve with whole grain basmati rice
and my recipe for cornbread, might be a bit heavy for summer, gonna post anyway cause it's soooo good! For a vegan alternative use veg stock instead of meat.

1 bag black eyed peas
2 bell peppers red and green
1 large onion
3 cloves fresh garlic
2 med smoked ham hocks or 6 slices smoked bacon, or 1/2 smoked turkey or chicken
2 bay leaves
2 chicken or vegtable stock cubes
1 sprig fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste


In large pot boil meat for and hour (if using bacon, no need to pre cook,just add with the rest of ingredients, cut into squares) dice peppers, onions, garlic and add to to pot put in bay leaves, salt,pepper and thyme, add stock cubes. Rinse beans and add to pot.
cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours or until beans are tender. serve over rice. Lord have mercy!

Enjoy and share
any ?s
hit me up

love and good eating
Taka

Broccoli and Stilton Soup

Caloric count: Low
Level of difficulty: Easy
Serves 8

This is and old stand by of mine, delicious,nutritious and so easy to prepare. Eaten as a side dish or meal it is outrageous with some croutons or hot crusty bread. A blender or food processor will be needed. Such a great way to get a dose of beautiful and seasonal veg in you. So easy to prepare, Stilton which is a strong cheese in the blue cheese family gives it a delightful twist, be warned it's quite strong so use just a bit. Add more if it suits you.... shall we begin.......

• 2 huge bunches of FRESH broccoli
• 4 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth for vegans)
• dash of nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup of salted butter
• 6 grams of stilton or blue cheese
  

What I use to make the broth are the store bought bouillon cubes, in a huge pot, boil water add 8 cubes to the boiling water until dissolved, trim the small leaves and give the broccoli a good rinse. Cut in quarters and gently place in boiling stock, make sure the water completely covers the broccoli. When the broccoli is done, (tender) remove from the stock and place into blender push the broccoli down into the blender with a spoon. (I usually do this in 2 turns because it can be too much broccoli in one go) so put half of the broccoli first and scoop some of the stock for the pot into a cup and blend adding butter and bits of stock at a time until the consistency is to your liking, pour into soup bowl or pot and crumble cheese in ,stir until melted, than add the remaining broccoli and repeat process, TASTE AS YOU GO! add dash of nutmeg and stir. BAM all ready! Served with some black cracked pepper croutons on top or hot bread....gorgeous! Just to let you know you can substitute the broccoli for cauliflower.

Enjoy
any ?s
hit me up

EGGPLANT PARMESAN: Cal Count Med - Serves 4 to 6

A hearty and warming, savory, Italian inspired dish. Perfect for vegetarians. Serve as a main or side dish. Easy to prepare and deliciously rewarding. It is also currently in season which is a bonus!

A perfect Eggplant (Aubergine) is shiny, silky to the touch and gives slightly when squeezed. The green cap is fresh and just a bit loose. It is common practice to slice the eggplant diagonally lay out on paper towel, sprinkle with sat and let sit for 2-3 hrs. This is to get rid of any bitterness it may have, but in my experiences, I've yet to run into a bitter eggplant. Oh....and by the way...purple food is so good for you! Here we go!

Preheat oven 200 C (400 F) Gas Mark 6

You will need;

• 3 med. eggplants or 1 lb. (450 g)



• 1/4 pt (150ml) oil



• 2 oz butter



• 1 med size onion



• 5 tomatoes



• 2 garlic cloves (crushed)



• 1 tsp fresh basil



• 1 tsp oregano fresh( if possible)



• salt and pepper to taste



• 5 tbsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese



• 100 g mozzarella freshly grated



• 550 g jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce



• 1 red bell pepper



• 1 grn or yellow bell pepper



• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Prepare the tomatoes by skinning them. Boil a saucepan water,take off the heat,lightly slice the skin of tomato all the way around and submerge tomatoes for 1 minute or so. Take out of water and peeling should be a breeze. When tomatoes are peeled dice them as well as the remaining veg, bell peppers.Dice eggplant (chunky) and onions, garlic finely chop fresh herbs and garlic.

Saute eggplant in oil until tender and golden, drain an set aside. Rinse pan and saute onions,peppers and garlic in butter until onions are transparent. Take off the heat add tomatoes and fresh herbs. Give a good stir, add spaghetti sauce to onion, tomato, pepper, garlic and herb mix well.

In oven proof baking dish (preferably oblong), coat with a light olive oil and spread layer of eggplant, lavish the chunky sauce over it, and a handful each of the two grated cheeses. Layer your dish in this fashion and top with generous layer of the tomato sauce/veg mixture sprinkle lightly the bread crumbs and top with more cheese.

Place in hot oven and bake for about 20 minutes until juices are bubbling and cheese is golden brown. Let rest for 20 min. Perhaps you can prepare a fresh mixed green salad and some scrumptous garlic and parsley bread. Garnish you dish with fresh chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

ENJOY IT WITH SOME FRIENDS AND GOOD RED WINE!

Any ?'s hit me up
TAKA

Chinese Chicken Salad

Carolic Count: Low
Serves 6 to 8

This dish is an all time favorite of mine, as it light,healthy and low in fat and calories and so easy to prepare. Fresh ingredients ring through with each mouthful. Perfect for lunch, dinner or just a snack. The most difficult aspect of this dish is finding and preparing the Chinese noodles, known as rice noodles or glass noodles. They resemble a very thin transparent spaghetti and can be found in the oriental section of your grocers. In China they are known as Bun Gao Kho. Good Luck!

Ingredients for salad

• 2 med. filleted chicken breasts (skinless)
• 1 large bunch of romaine or cos lettuce
• 1 bunch fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup fresh ginger (peeled and shredded)
• 2 bunches spring onions (scallions)
• 1 bunch coriander (cilantro)
• 2 tsp roasted sesame seeds
• 8 to 10 oz of rice noodles
• 1/2 liter ground nut oil or veg oil

Ingredients for salad dressing

• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup water

Rinse lettuce and spinach well and set aside to drain. Prep chicken with seasoning; garlic powder, seasoning salt, a little cayenne pepper, and grill or pan fry until done. (pierce chicken with fork if juices run clear, it's done). set aside.

Now for the noodles; The noodles are to be fried, and veg or ground nut oil is great for frying as it can be heated to high temperatures without smoking. Break noodles into 1 inch strands and gently place into hot oil, they should almost immediately puff up to twice their size, fry for 1 or 2 minutes until they are just starting to brown and remove quickly and drain, fry small amounts at a time to ensure even cooking. Drain in colander and toss and set aside. Now let's go to easy street! The rest of the salad is a breeze.

Chop lettuce and spinach(spinach is optional) into small pieces, chop coriander and spring onions. Peel ginger and grate, and toss all together. chop chicken breasts and add, toss again.

Dressing

Combine Rice wine vinegar,soy sauce and honey and water, the flavor should be tart with a hint of sweetness. In a hot frying pan or skillet, dry roast sesame seeds until golden brown and remove.

Serve up salad on plate or in bowl, sprinkle dressing on top then add a handful of fried noodles
and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

ALL DONE, this dish brings you bags of flavor and it's so good for you. As usual, if any questions
at all hit me up.

ENJOY!
Ms. Boom

Pepper Steak

Level of Difficulty: EASY
Caloric count: LOW
Serves 6 to 8
..........Hello my darlings! Got something for you here. I remember as a child growing up and out on the south side of Chicago. My parents use to order from this local Chinese restaurant (the name escapes me) and on offer was pepper steak...Lord have mercy it was delish! My mom being the mom she is, decided she would make it herself, and needless to say it was the BOMB! So at the risk of cheating a bit, I feel compelled to share this baby with you with a few of my personal embellishments. It's perfect for those chilly nights and very easy to make. This recipe obviously needs steak,my preference is fillet or rump,sirloin works just fine. The better the cut of meat the better the results. before we proceed, props go out to my mother for her culinary wisdom. Healthy stuff here. It's consistency is that of a hearty stew which can be lavished generously over brown rice (or even cous cous or quinoa a gluten free alternative)

HERE GOES!

• 600 to 700 kg of steak (of your choice) fresh! trim the fat
• 400 ml of lager or beer (I use Becks)
• 125 mil Kikkoman soy sauce (the best)
• 4 cloves large fresh garlic
• 6 assorted peppers 2 green 2 yellow two or 3 red (bell peppers)
• 4 small green chillies
• 4 med yellow onions
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• a splash of red wine (I like Shiraz 2008, it was a good year) any dry red will suffice
• 3 large vine ripened tomatoes

In a sauce pan(no aluminum) prepare brown rice. ! part rice added to 2 parts salted boiling water,bring to a boil,simmer,covered until done, approx 30min.

• On cutting board for meat only! Thinly slice steak in 2 inch strips and put aside in bowl,
  add half soy sauce to steak,mince garlic, add beer and finely dice chillies (with rubber gloves on)
• add to meat mixture and lastly sesame seeds, give a good stir and let marinate.(beer breaks down the enzymes in steak adding flavor and making it more tender (if that's possible)
• On your veg cutting board roughly quarter onions, cut peppers in chunky 1/2 inch pieces have fun with it! Leave tomatoes for later! put aside for the moment.
• I large bowl add 2 cups of water and half cup of plain flour, remaining soy sauce and whip until blended
• add to pot, add peppers, onions and splash of wine (no worries, any alcohol you cook with evaporates during cooking process leaving behind the flavor)
• cook until tender checking on the thickness, if too thick gradually add water. TASTE as you go along now!
• add the steak now and stir well, i add more soy sauce as i go along i rather like the salty, earthy deep favors the beer and soy add to it, flavor it with soy sauce till it suits you let cook on low heat for 10 minutes or so.
  
  The tomatoes need to be skinned or the skin will eventually come off in the dish, not nice.
  To remedy this, we need to blanch the tomatoes, submerge them in boiling water for a min or so, remove and the skin will come easily away. Cut tomatoes into segments and incorporate into pot. Stir gently ....taste.. and cook on low heat for 5 minutes or more. Done
  if a little to tart...1/2 tsp sugar should cut it. Ladle over brown fluffy basmati rice......
  Masterpiece! Serve with hot crusty bread and the rest of the Shiraz.
  
  any ?????s
  i'm here
  Enjoy