Trinity Rice, A Reminder and An Update

Hello everyone, I hope your tummies are all healing nicely after your large Thanksgiving feasts. This month has been so hectic and busy for me (and all of you) that I just noticed I have not shared enough recipes and felt like I didn't have enough of a choice for my November YBR recipe. So I'm posting a new recipe to try to squeeze in right before the YBR roundup. See you're not the only ones who waits to make your final choices. So this brings me to the reminder.


The reminder: REMINDER if you want to Participate in this month's YBR round up please email me your photo and information by MONDAY NOVEMBER 29, (for people in Asian and Australia that would be early Monday morning for you.)


The update: My cookbook, An Epiphany of The Senses, has had a special holiday price reduction. The new price is only $21.99! I'm not sure how long the lower price will last so I hope you can take advantage of the lower price.

Now on to the recipe. Today I'm going to share my recipe invention called Trinity Rice. Nope not in a religious sense of name, and no it's not a dish named after Trinity from The Matrix trilogy, but rather a reference to "The Holy Trinity" of Cajun cuisine. For those of you not familiar with the word Cajun it is used to describe the French speaking immigrants that settled in the southern US state of Louisiana. Cajun cuisine is for lack of a better word AMAZING! There are so many dishes that I could tell you about (and drool all over my keyboard while I type) but it's best for you to just do a Google search on Cajun cuisine and you'll see what I'm talking about. OMG! Who's craving Crawfish Étouffée now? me me me! Back on subject, Cajuns were immigrants that were expelled by the British from the northern and eastern coastal areas of Canada. When these French speaking people settled in Louisiana their foods were influenced by all of the local mix of people. It is said that Cajun cuisine has elements of French, Spanish, African, Portuguese, Native American and even South Asian Indian cuisine.* So you can see that this exotic mix of culinary ingredients can only have spectacular results!

What is "The Holy Trinity" of Cajun cuisine? It is onion, bell pepper, and celery. These three ingredients, or the trinity, makes the foundation for Cajun cuisine. (You will find a trinity of sorts in many world cuisines but today I'm just going to tell you about this one.) I came up with this rice when I made Emeril's crab cakes and I had leftover onions, bell peppers and celery. I wanted to make a tangy rice to go on the side of the crab cakes. It's a very simple dish that is super easy and quite fast to prepare. But let me tell you the taste couldn't be further from simple. My husband liked it so much that after he took his first bite he asked if I had written down my recipe so I could make it again very soon. So with a request like I wasn't going to deny him and yes I wrote it down as I went along. (Sorry I didn't do the metric conversions for this recipe.)

Trinity Rice (serves 2)
Ingredients:
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium bell pepper, finely chopped ( I used a red bell pepper)
1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup long grain rice
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
pinch white pepper
1 3/4 cup vegetable broth, low sodium (I dissolved 1 cube in warm water)

Optional:
fresh Lime or Lemon juice

1. Finely chop the vegetables. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in large pan. Saute the vegetables until they are translucent and soft. Add the rice to the pan, stir and brown the rice for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning and the rice from sticking to the pan. Next sprinkle in all the spices, stir and cook for another 2 minutes.
2. Pour the vegetable broth into the pan and stir well. Turn the heat up to medium high and allow the rice to start to boil. Once the rice begins to boil turn heat down to a low setting cover and cook for another 15 minutes or until the rice is soft and cooked through. About halfway through the cooking time check the rice and make sure the water has not completely evaporated, if so stir in a little more. You can add a tablespoon at a time if needed to continue cooking the rice until it is soft.

If you would like to give the rice a little tangy taste add the juice of a small lime or lemon, or you can adjust to your taste. Serve as a side dish or double the recipe for a large main portion. You can also sprinkle some cayenne or chile powder over the dish to give it a little extra spiciness.

The photo you see above this text show the Trinity rice with a fish fillet. The fish is Pangasius in Chili Lemon Sauce and the recipe can be found in my book on page 22. I think this rice is another great way to enjoy that fish recipe as it gives the fish more depth but all of the spices and the ingredients really compliment each other. Plus both the Trinity Rice and the Fish recipes are really healthy and have only a small amount of healthy fats. See eating healthy food does not by any means equate to bad flavorless foods, just take a look.

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The Mystery Canned Meat and Corn Beef Hash

I would first like to warn you that this is not going to be a pretty post and there will be plenty of canned corn beef bashing. Don't take it personal if you like this stuff, this is just my very opinionated opinion. Oh and vegetarians be warned you may want to look away.

This mysterious tin can has been in our kitchen cupboard for about 6 months (or maybe longer than I would like to admit to). We purchased it from a local English food specialty shop to use in ..... well I honestly can't remember. I have always had a biased opinion against canned foods like pastas or anything that contains meat "products". The exceptions to this would be most canned vegetables, some fruits, and tuna or other fish preserved in water or oil like tuna. Honestly it's not an issue of me thinking I'm above eating canned foods, it's more along the lines that I really do not like the taste.

So last week we finally decided to use it in something. I have eaten American deli style corn beef, you know those thin strips of delicious meat. But never have I tried this canned stuff, so I didn't know what in the world to cook with or in. But the first step was getting this annoying can opened. I nearly cut my fingers off because the little key thingamajig fell out of place and I couldn't keep turning it. Well finally got it opened and eewww! it looked so disgusting, it looked like dog food. As a matter of fact my dog used to eat food that looked like that, used to being the key word. I kept telling myself well I'm at least going to try it and not judge it by its looks, it was quite expensive after all. I gave my dog a little piece that he then quickly spit out, I mean the chunk went flying out of his mouth. Well this isn't a good sign I thought to myself, my dog is not a picky eater but he also wont eat just anything. So I began examining and removing this mystery meat out of its can, and the more I looked the more I didn't like it. Look what the heck is this? No wait I really don't want to know or talk about it.

Still trying to keep a brave face and strong stomach, I was still in the mindset that I would cook it and it would taste decent. As I consulted my friend Mr. Google it quickly became apparent that the safest and most common recipe would be Corned Beef Hash. In the photos I saw and looking at the typical ingredients I thought that sounds like something I'm going to like. So here is a pretty standard corned beef hash recipe.

1 can of corned beef
1 large green bell pepper,finely chopped
1 medium onion,finely chopped
1 large potato, cut into small pieces
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbs. vegetable oil or butter

fried egg to add on top of hash

1. Heat the oil in a large pan, fry the onion until translucent. Add the potatoes and fry for 5 minutes then add the bell peppers. Cook the vegetables until soft and stir often to prevent from sticking. While the vegetables are cooking try to cut the corn beef into small pieces. Once vegetables are cooked through add the corned beef pieces and stir to well combine. Sprinkle in the salt and pepper, stir well then cover and allow the corned beef to warm up. This should take about 8 minutes. Serve with a fried egg on top and toast on the side.

As I was cooking the hash I thought it didn't smell so bad, then I lifted the lid and got a big whiff of the hash and still thought it's not so disgusting. Then I tasted it - ran to the garbage and spit it out. OK, OK put on a brave face what kind of foodie are you if you won't even give it a chance. One more try, nope! definitely can't eat this, it's going in the garbage and Now! OK one last chance, I take a small sample to my husband asking if it was palatable to him. He laughed at my question then said , "Uhm its good" my jaw dropped to the floor in amazement of hearing those words, "Are you serious?!" OK! So I served it to him for dinner and I ate left over soup. He actually went up for seconds! WTH !

I had the nerve to actually complain (more like ranted) to our English friend about this disturbing and disgusting meat. Since it came from an English store and the brand comes up in many English sites, I figured everyone there eats up this stuff like it's their favorite thing in the world. So I would now like to apologize to English people for my ignorance and for blaming you guys for putting this stuff out in the world. That said I will never ever buy or allow a can, oh sorry a tin, of corned beef in my house!

What do you guys think? Do any of you like this stuff or am I the only ignorant one here?

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Classic Egg Salad and Another IIP

Today's recipe is for classic or old fashion egg salad, it may not be a very fancy salad or recipe but it's definitely one of our favorite lunches. I've been wanting to do a post for the egg salad for a while but it has just kept being pushed back and I never took photos of it until a couple of days ago. I have Penny to thank for the final push because the theme this month for her IIP (international incident party) is eggs. Well I actually had several ideas of different egg dishes I could make for the IIP, but quite honestly I took the easier way this time. I have been extremely busy working a big project that I will share with you guys in the coming weeks, so please make sure you come back to hear the news.

Obviously in order to make egg salad you need to have hard boiled eggs prepared. I have already shared my way of cooking perfect hard boiled eggs every time. You can find the instructions in my archives here.


I also want to add a little note to the technique, I have learned from so many websites that if you add a teaspoon of baking soda (soda bicarbonate) to the water it will make removing the shells much easier. Which honestly can be such a hassle because the shells can sometimes stick to the egg white. This last time I decided to add the baking soda and I peeled the egg shells under running water. If you have a special technique or trick share with the rest of us in the comments section below.

Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs
3-4 tbsp. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. salt, adjust to taste
pinch ground black pepper, adjust to taste

large bowl
fork or potato masher
spoon

1. Remove the shells from the boiled eggs. Place the eggs in a large bowl, using either the back of the fork or a potato masher push down to break up the eggs. Continue until you have coarse pieces or to the desired consistency.

2. Add the mayonnaise to the bowl and mix until well incorporated. Sprinkle the salt and ground black pepper over the egg salad and mix until well incorporated. Taste and adjust salt and/or pepper if needed.

Serve on bread of your choice.

Don't forget to stop by Penny's site for her Egg recipe as well as visiting all of the other participants submissions. Oh I can't wait to see all the wonderful recipes everyone has shared.


This last photo I'm just throwing into the mix because I loved the way the sunlight was hitting our healthy lunch. See you can make it extra healthy and nutritious by adding your favorite fresh fruit and some tea or coffee with milk and you're set :)

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Steak and Roasted Pepper Sandwich

So I finally have the recipe what you will be using the roasted peppers from the previous recipe. I have been playing catchup since the hard drive incident and I hate to admit it but I fed my husband frozen pizza because I was so swamped with trying to finish the last of my to do list. But I finally made the sandwiches and prepared the recipe and photos. The recipe is our special steak sandwich served with roasted peppers and sauteed mushrooms. It it's a great meal that if you plan ahead for will take virtually no time to prepare and one that is still healthy and delicious. I like to call this a perfect hungry man sandwich, but honestly it's a meal I too enjoy very much.

Ingredients:
3 large bell peppers. roasted
1 lb. or 500 grams of sirloin steak
1 can of mushrooms ( actual mushrooms used 8 oz./230 grams)
1 medium onion
2 Tb. olive oil
salt
black pepper
2 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. Paprika
cheese slices of your choice
Sandwich rolls

1. Roast and peel the pepper, this can take anywhere to 40 minutes, (please see previous post). Tenderize the steak and slice into thin bite size pieces, set aside. Drain the mushrooms and thinly slice the onions. Heat 1 Tbs. of olive oil and once it's hot saute the mushrooms until they begin to brown a bit. Then add the onions to the pan and saute until the onions are soft and transparent. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste as well as 1tsp. of the garlic , stir and saute for another 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and onions from the pan and set aside.

2. Add the remaining 1 Tbs. of the olive oil to the same pan and saute the steak sprinkle salt, pepper and remaining 1 tsp. of garlic over the steak and cook until it is cooked through. Lastly add the mushrooms and onions to the pan then sprinkle the paprika over the ingredients and stir well. Turn the heat down to low cover the pan and allow the mixture to cook for another 10 minutes.

(The following is a suggested way of assembling the sandwich, you can choose to arrange as you like.) Slice the sandwich rolls and spread some steak and mushroom/onion mixture onto the roll. Then add some roasted pepper slices and cheese. You may choose to melt the cheese a little more by wrapping the sandwich in paper towels and microwaving for a few seconds or placing the sandwich under the broiler for a crispy bread and melted cheese.

Serve with potato salad, french fries, roasted potatoes, baked potato, chips or any other side dish you like.

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Sloppy Joes and Our History

♫Sloppy joe slop, sloppy joe uh-hu, sloppy joe slop, sloppy joe. ♫ Remember that Adam Sandler song the Lunch Lady? OK the song is a bit annoying but I still like it and think it's funny. ( I have a goofy sense of humor. ) I've had such a strong craving for Sloppy Joes and I really don't know why. Perhaps it's because the song popped in my head and it was a subliminal message. Or maybe it was the fact that I kept singing it over and over , out loud and in my head, for like a week. I think if my poor husband has to hear me singing this song again he will lock himself in a room far away where he wont be able to hear me. But I made it up to him with a few Sloppy Joes!

First if I may tell you my "history" with the Sloppy Joe, it started out very badly. You see the first time I had to eat a Sloppy Joe was in a school cafeteria, yuck!, a bad starting point. At the time I was not very familiar with American foods, other than the famous fast food restaurants. I hardly spoke a word of English and didn't have many friends either. Then I get in line at the cafeteria and I'm served this messy, soggy bun, with some reddish sauce and "meat" at which I just stared at with disgust. Back at the lunch table my American classmates quickly and happily ate their Sloppy Joes. I just sat there staring at them (chowing down their Sloppy Joes), and at my plate wondering if I was brave enough to take a bite. I've never been a picky eater and I've always enjoyed trying new foods. Maybe back then I wasn't as open minded as I am now, but it was really more about my dislike of ground beef (it's never been a favorite of mine.) I'll admit that I thought to myself "well this may be a rough school year". OK I actually did take a few bites and it wasn't as unappetizing as it looked. Over the years I grew to like Sloppy Joes and other "strange", well at least to me, and new American foods. But those are stories for another time. Don't get me wrong I'm not giving American food a bad name , there are a lot of delicious American dishes that are just not replaced by any other cuisine.

For those of you who have children I don't have to tell you they usually love Sloppy Joes. Here is my simple yet Sloppy Joe crave satisfying recipe.


Ingredients:

1 LB. ground beef /500 grams
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp. Brown sugar
1 tsp. mustard, yellow
1 TB. garlic powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1-2 tsp. cayenne (adjust to your taste)
splash Worcester sauce
2 cans tomato paste ( 230 grams total or 8 oz)
4 TB. tomato puree
Olive oil or sunflower oil
Hamburger buns
Water or broth* see step 3

1. Chop the onion and bell pepper. In a large pan heat the oil , add both the onion and green pepper and cook until both are soft. Next add the crumbled ground beef and fry until the meat has cooked through. Once the beef is done drain all the fat from the pan.
2. Add all of the spices and mix thoroughly, lastly add the tomato paste and puree. Once again stir to combine all of the ingredients thoroughly.
3. If you want to you can serve the Sloppy Joes right away . Otherwise cover and simmer for 20 minutes or longer. Cooking longer will allow the flavors to really come together. Check on the mixture often to prevent burning. If the sauce begins to dry out too much add a little bit of water or broth at a time to prevent burning.



Once ready to serve, you can either toast the buns or leave as is. Spoon the meat mixture onto the buns and you have your Sloppy Joes, serve right away. Either Potato chips or potato salad make a great side dish.

Messy, yet satisfying!! Now if you'll excuse me I have someone to go serenade or I mean annoy. Sloppy Joe.....slop......♫

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