Colcannon For A Hot Day

 No one feels like cooking when it's hot outside. Yet the idea of take out or sandwiches  is not that appealing. A better alternative would be quick meals that can be cooked up without any fuss.The Irish classic colcannon works well for this

Colcannon is one of my favorite dishes to make and to eat .It's  is a quick mix of mashed potatoes and spinach or cabbage with scallions and garlic for flavoring.

It;s taking any leftover potatoes frying them with a mix of butter or olive oil (or cream if you want the authentic Gaelic version) . I added fresh baby spinach leaves  but you can add steamed frozen spinach of you want. Shredded cabbage can be added too. Bacon or ham bits are always a tasty extra if you want to give it more oomph. As for garlic the powdered form works just as well.

I may try to make it with vegan bacon the next time.Still it's a simple dish. It can be made any time of the year and can go well with ham or corned beef. Again it's a great way of using up leftover mashed potatoes too.ANother plus is that it cooks up quickly and that's means less time in front of a hot stove ,especially on a hot day.

If you want an easy hot meal on a hot day then try colcannon.It's also a great way of repurposing leftover mashed potatoes and adding spinach or other greens to the meal. Try it for a tasty yet simple dish.

A Tasty Alternative Protein Powder.

 Sometimes you need a boost.It comes from the purely vegan protein powder Vega.THis is perfect for those on the go and only want to be powered by plant protein.Making a strawberry "malt" is an easy fix.

It takes about six to seven strawberries and an immersion blender.

Unfortunately my accompanying mixing  cup so I had to use a big plastic glass.

Pureed strawberries have a kind of jammy look but without the jam's sweetness.

        A scoop of Vega protein gives the drink a malty thickness This was bought at Walgreen's but you can buy it on line and in different flavors like caramel , mocha and chocolate too.

I added half a cup of Lidl's Unsweettened Almond milk. This is a rich creamy milk that gives the drink a smooth ness that usually comes from dairy milk.

Blended together, it came off a rich strawberry malted. I did order a malted cup from Amazon to make a better version. I plan on using other fruits of the season like peaches and blueberries to create all sorts of protein shakes.

Using Vega vegan protein powder is a great alternative to a meal.Pack it with fresh fruit for flavor and fiber.It'll be a tasty sip that will last you through the day.

Your Favorite Barbecue Food

 It is the beginning of the grilling season  and everyone is rushing to out their favorites over  hot coals or in a cool salad. Here's the question  - what is your favorite barbecue or picnic food?

The New York Times reported today that Americans love shrimp. while it's my favorite food t eat at Moby's down in the Atlantic Highlands. I don't really cotton to it on my grill. I;m more of a hot dog kind of girl .It has to be a good beef one on a potato bun - nothing added.As far as salads - I like three bean or my brother's invention potato salad with a chopped apple added for crunch and sweetness. The dogs and the salad are the perfect barbecue fare - although I usually eat mine inside. 

What is your faves? Are you a grilled burger kind of eater.Do you like to have a fixings bar as part of your outdoor set up.Do you like your dogs vegan with a vegan chili sauce. Do wings and turkey legs sign to you or do you prefer good old fashioned steaks grilled to pink perfection or a rack of chewy , tangy barbecued ribs. Many people love corn on the cob.Is that your side go to> Do you have it drizzled with melted butter or plant based butter or slathered in cotijillo and spices for Mexican street corn.what about Italian grilled veggies like egg plant and tomatoes? Or are you a sweets lover ? Is your perfect barbecue food pineapple rings brushed in melted butter and brown sugar and grilled to golden perfection? Or do you go with the more traditional s'mores? And do you like the adult ones of chocolate graham crackers and ninety percent dark chocolate? Or the kids one made with Hershey bars and traditional graham crackers?

Let us know here. What you;'re favorite outdoor fare? Rib's or s'mores ?Bean salad or chicken wings. Let's here what America and the world  has to say (and include recipes!!!)

Easy Summer Fare

 Summer and easy cooking are right around the corner. This means tasty eating that only has a few steps to make.It's quick fixings with a delicious outcomes.

Regular contributor Margeaux Laskey wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section. There are different recipes to make and bake.Another grilled dish is tajin grilled chicken redolent with adobo sauce and Chiles and sweetened with agave syrup and honey . Another griller favorite is the harissa shrimp. It's fiery with the addition of that great spice mix harissa blended with honey.They're alternated on skewers with grape tomatoes for more sweetness. but you could add green pepper or onion chunks too. Another easy dish that takes advantage of the bounty of the season is a spicy corn and shishito salad.It has a Mexican feel to it thanks tot he addition of cotijillo cheese and jalapeno peppers.A sweeter cousin of a jalapeno the shishito variety gives it some sweetness as does a cup of fresh corn. What would any summer be without a sheet pan dinner and a dip?  Again Ms Laskey gives an easy sheet pan baked feta with broccolini and lemon.Red onion and grape tomatoes are added for color while cumin and red pepper flakes give it spice and a fiery zing.It is roasted in a 400 degree Farehneit oven but this can be made occasionally during the summer. A cooler alternative is a white bean hummus with tahini and coriander.It's just s quick whirl in the food processor with olive oil and lemon juice.It's perfect as a quick Sunday lunch on French bread or with pita chips at an outdoor barbecue.

Summer is fun and there are fun foods too. Try Ms. Laskey's crispy cheddar chicken tacos, The cheese tacos are similar to the Italian frica but without the potatoes. Cheddar, Montery Jack or queso Chihuahua is baked on a parchment sheet in a 375 degree Farenheit oven.The chicken that's put on top can be the rotisserie one from your local grocery. That's mixed with adobo sauce,pepper,s orange juice and spices. Another tasty ddish is the pizza salad - a must try for any family.Its frying up pepperoni strips then roasting  panko breadcrumbs in the fat. Add these to a salad of romaine lettuce, pepperocini flakes, black olives and red onion.The  dressing is  grated tomatoes mixed with more pepperocini and olive oil. The whole salad is topped off with shredded mozzarella. WHat ends a fun summer meal.Caramel cookies can be too sweet. why not try adding complete fire with gochujang, the Korean red chili paste.These fiery gems would make an interesting base for vanilla ice cream sandwiches. Of course there is a summer cobbler, this from Chez Panisse. It's perfect for the upcoming blueberry season because it does require four and half cup of the berries.The dough is a buttery pastry one that's baked on top of the fruit.

Easy recipes mean easy eating. Try these ones for a summer of simple cooking without all the stress and mess. They're perfect for the warm days ahead.

Staff Dining

 Every restaurant is more or less like a big family. There are times when there's fighting and tenseness and times when there's sitting down to eat like a proper clan. Nowadays many eateries are making sure that their employees eat together as opposed to feud,

Regular contributor Julia Moskin wrote about this perk in today's New York Times Food section,Many restaurants are featuring this however it;s not new. The great and legendary French chef Auguste Escoffier implemented this in  restaurant kitchens during the NIneteenth Century. There eateries served the three meals, from breakfast to dinner..Cooks ate while they sweated above their stove top. The communard, an employee who ranked only slightly below  the "kitchen boy" was tasked with keeping them with food and drink over the long hours. The low status of the meal was in place until only very recently. Long before food waste became a public and  chef's concern, cooks were preoccupied with how to use up every scrap of an ingredients. Scraps and trimmings were used in making some kind of dinner for waitstaff and sous chefs.it was usually bulked out wit some kind of pasta or rice.However this was not the case in fast food joints and casual restaurants. Employees usually had to pay  - at a discount for their food.

It all changed with the farm to table movement.in 1999 even The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller included recipes for "staff lasagna" and salad dressing. In 2000 David Wattuck co founder and chef of Chanterelle in TriBeCa dedicated a cookbook to the subject "Staff meals from Chanterelle." Dinners can also be a testing ground for chefs trying out new recipes. Sometimes it provides restaurants with signature dishes.,At LA's Budonowskl , chef Dan rabiwongse created charred sweet potato  with miso butter and chives for his staff along with fried chicken wings tossed in a SOuth Asian style sauce similar to Disney's Bengal Barbecue Stand.Some chefs even encourage their employees to bring in their cooking styles to the staff meals.Lala Bazahm, chef at Austen Texas's El Ravale wants to try  her staff's family recipes and to see how they're cooked Her'staff's international background from Vietnam to Senegal to Thailand influenced many dishes on her menu.

Restaurants are not just for outsiders eating in.They're also for staff to get to know each other and their recipes. It'sa great way to experience restaurant life.

Lighten Up For Summer

 Memorial Day means one thing - it's time to eat light to fit into last year's shorts and bathing suits.After a winter and part of Spring eating heavy it's important to eat light especially in hot weather. it could be changing up your diet or even some recipes.

As much as we all like to snack, it's time to really look over what we've been snacking on. Most of us go for potato chips, After all they're fun to eat and that mix of oil ,salt and potato is too much to resist. Yet it's time to look into lighter fare. You may then want to reach for those tortilla chips and fresh salsa.Don't !!!! These have ten times the transfat as potato chips. A better choice is a place of already cut veggies. even grocery stores such as Acme and Stop &Shop have trays of broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and grape tomatoes. Some throw in celery too. These are the best nibble to eat if you're craving a crunchy snack. You can ignore the dip that comes with it and make your own light olive oil and red wine vinegar vinaigrette. A classic and always tasty low calorie snack is popcorn. Buy yourself a Colonel Popper.This is a silicon microwave popper that lets you make a big bowl of corn in in only a minute or two. Add olive oil, rosemary and sea salt for more flavor. what to drink with it? Diet soda works but a better choice is flavored seltzer .It's just as refreshing and full of bubbles as any cola.

Meals can also be lightened up too. You can still have pasta and pizza but don't add high calorie ingredients. Spaghetti sauce doesn't;t have to have sugar added. Use a tiny drizzle of honey to sweeten.Also try to use fresh veggies like grape or cherry tomatoes for a tasty burst tomato sauce or add some cauliflower and chopped bell peppers for a delicious spin on primavera sauce.even the rich Alfredo sauce can be turned into a light dish. It's just subbing in Greek yogurt for the heavy cream and using skim milk and broth as well to emulate the cream's consistency. What about a low calorie pizza? Yes it can be made!use baking soda flour and salt mixed with Greek yogurt for a thin crust.. As for the cheese sub in the vegan version .Vegan mozzarella has less fat and protein. Another must is having all vegan toppings. Think broccoli, and spinach fro a nice green spin or sliced baby Bella's and vegan pepperoni for something a bit heartier. As  for the sauce use a homemade one made with crush tomatoes, olive oil garlic and crushed basil. Again keep the sugar out of it As for fried foods, its time to use the air fryer, Try to eat air fried Impossible Burgers with air fried caulilfower instead of fries.

It's shorts and bathing suit season! It's time to fit into them!You can do this by eating right and healthy.

Memorial Day All Year Round

 We honor our veterans today but we should be honoring them all year round. Make sure that the older veterans are cared for and having a good meal. Shop for them if they can't do their food shopping. Invite them over for a barbecue or holiday dinner. Let them tell their stories to this new generation.

As for the younger vets - again a dinner out or a party to celebrate their service is always appreciated. Offer to babysit the kids when they want a romantic dinner out. Present them with a gift certificate from their favorite restaurant.

Always remember to honor these brave men women not just in May but every month. They fought for us and this country . It's our turn now to thank them.