Jerk

Sometimes life throws a curve ball your way, causing you to lose a few steps backwards, to lose endless hours of sleep, and to take too many deep breaths to count.

Sometimes life is a jerk.

Lately, this is what life feels like: a series of extreme days, nights, and weeks, most of which seem to be countered by some strange and equally extreme blessings, but nonetheless, riding out a chunk of life on a roller coaster will most definitely earn you some grey hairs.

Although I'm not usually one to count my blessings, nor to dwell on my spites with life, getting dragged through the muck lately has lent cause for reminiscing on equally stressful but blessed times, like these same weeks last year, when I picked up life as I knew it, pulled out half my hair, and stumbled my way to a little Caribbean neighborhood in New York that instantly became second home.

Maybe it's because atop the list of life's latest stresses is the fact that I'm once again leaving the nest, but this jerk salmon dream bowl seemed like the perfect fit for a time like this.

It's not because I grew up eating jerk anything, it's because this is a small ode to what made Brooklyn taste as familiar as home - a plate full of flavor, texture, and freshness.

So soak some jalapeno in pineapple juice to kill it's kick, use whatever sauce spice level you can tolerate, let the jerky moments go, and absorb a little taste of what I call home.

Jerk Salmon With Green Rice and Pineapple Pico

Ingredients

For the pico:

• 1/2 c pineapple, diced, with extra juice from cutting board
• 1/2 jalapeno, minced
• 1 T shallot, minced
• salt, just a pinch

For the salmon:

• Salmon (2-4 portions), skin on or off
• Jerk marinade
• 2 T coconut oil
• a pinch of salt

For the rice:

• 3-5 T coconut oil
• 3 small cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T shallot, minced
• 1 c short-medium grain rice
• 1/2-1 t salt
• 1-2 lemons or limes, 1 juiced, 1 sliced (optional)
• Warm water as needed
• 1 c basil, finely chopped
• 2 c parsley, finely chopped
• 2 c spinach, finely chopped
• 1/4 c coconut milk, shaken well

Combine

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Combine the ingredients for the salsa in a small bowl and set aside for at least 20 minutes.
3. Stir the jerk, oil, and salt together in a separate bowl, then add the salmon to the dish and gently toss it so it is well covered in sauce, adding more if needed.  Let marinate while refrigerated for 30 minutes.
4. Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat until just shimmering.
5. Add the garlic and shallot and saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring semi-often to avoid burning.
6. Add the rice and salt and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring gently but well so the grains are well coated in oil.
7. Add the citrus juice, and citrus slices if using, cook until the juice is evaporated then turn the heat up to high and add 1 cup of water.
8. 
   
• Stir continuously as the water bubbles off, then add half a cup of water.  Continue this process for about 40 minutes.  Each time the water cooks off you'll notice that the water seems "thicker" as the starch from the rice meddles with it.  When the rice is ready it will be soft enough to eat but firm enough to not fall apart, and there should be enough "sauce" to hold the ingredients together.
• After you add two or three half-cups of water, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  This usually takes 10 minutes, after which you should place the salmon on the sheet and bake for 20 minutes - this is roughly how long it will take the rice to finish cooking.
9. Add 2 tablespoons of water, the coconut milk, and the greens, stirring as the water cooks off.
10. Add a large scoop of rice to a bowl, top with a piece of salmon, and a spoonful of salsa.
11. Enjoy!

Cost Worthy

In every foodie's chicken-or-the-egg style question, I've always wondered which came first: my love for food crafting or for food shopping?

They seem to have always held an equally special place in my heart, maybe because I knew the craft was on the other side of the task or that I'd have a small say it what was made by helping with the shopping, but in this case we'll say it was because I was hopeful that shopping would mean a treat.


  It's not as if Pavlov is in need of one more example to prove him right, but truly there was no better end to cruising up and down the cement floored aisles of a bulk-grocery mecca than being able to successfully convince my mom that Treat-Yourself-Sunday was a thing.

We always looked past the styrofoam pizza slices and greasy churros because this smoothie was our favorite Sunday share.  I doubt Costco's version includes any trace of greens but while throwing ingredients together I was hit with this spot on taste that brought me right back to those moments that I knew I needed to share!

Costco Berry Smoothie


Ingredients

• 3 cups frozen fruit blend (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, raspberries)
• 2 handfuls kale or spinach
• 2 bananas
• 1 T chia seeds or flax
• 1/4 c grapefruit juice
• 1/4 c orange juice

Combine

1. Add the ingredients to a blender
2. Blend on high speed for 1-2 minutes
3. Enjoy!

If you offer a foodie farm fresh produce...

If you offer me farm fresh produce, chances are I'll hardly be able to turn it down.  Which is why, despite the fact that I had a fridge full of food at home, when I walked by my local greenmarket and heard the beautiful skinny green stalks of asparagus calling my name from their bin I knew I was going to end up taking them home.

It was a purchase that I almost felt guilty about, as I thought about my week and realized there was a large chance that they would go to waste before I could use them, but luckily everyone loves fresh produce.


So I decided to make something I could share, and since everyone also loves breakfast I knew the two would go hand in hand.

I envisioned crossing a frittata and quiche to make a batch of farmer's market egg cups by lining a muffin tin with little circles of dough, twirling little pieces of asparagus around each cup in the shape of little green roses, and filling the gaps with freshly whisked egg and feta.

The feat turned out easier dreamed than done.

As someone who's never made a frittata or a quiche or egg cups I ran into several unforeseeable issues.  First off, muffin tins are much smaller than you think, so the crust took up so much room and the asparagus did not exactly form into rings as I thought.  Additionally, I knew the asparagus and onions and garlic would have to be cooked slightly before putting them in the egg but the oil used to saute them robbed the dish of freshness.

I was filled with disappointment as I popped the pan into the oven, and as I cleaned up the mess I had made I started thinking of all the things I could've done differently.

In the five minutes it took me to wash the dishes I had thought of so many delicious changes, like how it would be easier to circle the asparagus if I used a pie pan instead of a muffin tin, how the crust would be better if it could be butterless, and herbed, and maybe even gluten free, and how the dish would feel fresher if the onions were soaked and asparagus flash steamed instead of sauteed, that I knew I had to make it again.

So back to the farmer's market for more asparagus I went!

Farmer's Market Frittata

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2 T cornstarch
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1 T dried herbs of choice (I used basil)
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 c Greek yogurt
• 2 T coconut oil

For the filling:

• 1 bunch of skinny asparagus
• 1/2 Vidalia onion, very thinly sliced
• Balsamic vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• White vinegar
• Feta, thinly sliced and crumbled
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika if desired
• 6 eggs

Combine:

1. Slice the onion as thinly as possible, place in a bowl, and cover with balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
2. Place the garlic in a second dish and cover with white vinegar and a pinch of salt.  Set aside.
3. Use a food processor to mix the dry ingredients for the crust, add the oil and pulse until crumbly, then add the Greek yogurt and pulse again.  Pulse a few more times until the crumbs come together in a large chunks or one ball.
4. Take the dough out of the processor, roll it into a ball, wrap in plastic, and set in the freezer.
5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and line a pie pan with parchment paper.
6. Cut the hard ends off the asparagus, cut the stalks in half, and rinse very well. Place a steamer in a large pot, add an inch or two of water, bring to a boil, then add the asparagus and steam for 1-2 minutes until bright green and just barely softened.
7. Take the dough out of the freezer, place the ball between 2 sheets of Saran Wrap, roll into a disc the same size as the bottom of the pie pan, and roughly 1/4 of an inch thick, yes I used a wine bottle for this.
8. Place asparagus spears around the pan in a circle, fill the gaps loosely with onion slices, then top with another layer of asparagus. Note: I tried to use more ends for the bottom layer and more tips for the top layer so you can see the pretty tips of the asparagus.
9. Strain the vinegar off of the garlic and whisk the garlic into the eggs with a pinch of salt, pepper, and paprika, then slowly and evenly pour the egg over the asparagus.
10. Sprinkle with crumbled feta and freshly cracked pepper.
11. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the center is just set but still moist looking.
12. Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing and enjoy!