Pamela, Author at Pamela Salzman

Roasted smashed potatoes recipe

Everyone thinks it’s so funny when I whine that I don’t get invited much to peoples’ houses for dinner. There is an assumption that I’m an accomplished chef and I must have such high standards for eating therefore it’s too intimidating to have me over for dinner. Ha! Nothing could be farther from the truth. I’m a home cook who never went to culinary school and I don’t ever make recipes with three sauces. I could never work in a restaurant or hotel or be on one of those shows where you have to figure out what to do with octopus and cornflakes in 20 minutes. Just for the record, I love simple food. I don’t need anything fancy or chef-y. I am very easy to please as long as it’s fresh and natural. And I’ll bet that you are as good a cook, if not better than I am. Anyone can have a food blog, friends!

What I do love is sharing recipes that work for me, because I think we’re a lot alike. And it makes me happy if more people are cooking at home, even if I’m not invited. Wink, wink. These roasted smashed potatoes are my favorite kind of recipe — uncomplicated, tasty, easy and healthful. They go with whatever I’m serving and every single person in my family loves them. If you’ve never made smashed potatoes, you are totally missing out. They’re both fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside and if you add enough salt, damn delicious. I could just eat a half dozen of these and some scrambled eggs and call it a night. If you invited me over for dinner and made these potatoes with scrambled eggs, I would be in heaven. Yep, that’s all it takes.

The other night at our dinner table, there were several ways to eat these. My husband makes up for my dairy abstinence by melting cheese on everything, including these potatoes. Mr. Picky dipped his in mustard and Daughter #2 topped hers with guacamole, salsa and sour cream. Daughter #1 and I ate these plain and simple. I’m going to start teaching the little miss how to make easy recipes like this because she’ll be off to college before I know it. Sigh. Wait, what am I talking about? Yippee!

These are divine out of the oven, but I don’t love potatoes reheated. To do some of the work ahead of time, boil the potatoes and refrigerate them. Then, smash them and roast them to crispy perfection. What is great is that you’ll use the whole potato, since most of the nutrients are in the skin or just underneath the skin. And if you follow the Body Ecology Diet, red new potatoes are the only potatoes permitted since they have the fewest sugars of any potato. Just an FYI. Of course, most of you are not on the Body Ecology Diet, so use whatever baby potatoes you can get your hands on, like Yukon Golds.

When I taught in France last year, I did some roasted potatoes in duck fat, which I know doesn’t sound healthful, but to be honest, I think animal fats can be good to cook with at high temperatures, unless you’re a vegetarian. Unsaturated fats (vegetable oils) can oxidize at high temperatures (above 350 degrees) which create free radicals. Yuck! Those are pro-inflammatory compounds that will age you from the inside out. Saturated fats don’t do that. Listen, I use olive oil at higher temperatures sometimes if it’s the only fat that works, but you’re better off with coconut oil, ghee or duck fat, in this case. Do what you’re comfortable with because you’ll love these no matter what!

Roasted Smashed Potatoes

Pamela

4.50 from 2 votes

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Servings

Ingredients

2 pounds baby potatoes such as red-skinned or Yukon Gold (about 15-18)
1 Tablespoon kosher salt for boiling the potatoes
4 Tablespoons fat of choice divided (e.g. olive oil, duck fat, or ghee)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or rosemary
½ teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scrub the potatoes and place them in a large pot with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Fill the pot three-fourths with cold water. Place the pot on the stove over high heat. Bring the water to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20-25 minutes. You should be able to insert the tip of a paring knife easily into the center of a potato.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and shake to get off as much moisture as possible. Place the potatoes back into the pot and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil. Roll them around to coat with the oil.
Arrange the potatoes on the prepared baking sheet and evenly space them apart from each other. Take another large rimmed baking sheet and position it right on top of the potatoes and press down, smashing the potatoes to about a half inch thick. Remove the top baking sheet.
Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil on top of the potatoes and sprinkle with the chopped thyme and salt and pepper.
Bake until potatoes are golden and crisp. I took them out after 30 minutes, but you can go much longer if you want them really crispy. Serve hot or warm.

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Tuna patties recipe

Everyone this week was asking about my Mother’s Day and I realized I completely forgot to recount the day for my dear readers! After all, it has been tradition the last couple of years that my husband and bother-in-law and sometimes my father-in-law too, plan and execute Mother’s Day lunch for the ladies. They even do the dishes! The whole day feels like such a treat since I can even workout in the morning AND wash AND blow dry my hair. Before noon! Now that doesn’t happen very often. But I also really look forward to trying some new eats, like the bulgur-feta burgers they made last year from Maria Speck’s cookbook. Yummers! Eating food that’s not for a class or my blog is a fun experience for me.

This year, the boys were a little behind on their planning and were deciding the menu on Sunday morning. On their way to the grocery store. I guess they figured the easiest place to go for recipes with which they were familiar was my website. Yep. More of my food. Whatever. It’s all fine. They did a great job even though it took them about 5 hours to make 2 salads and strawberry shortcakes. And my husband put his own (unintentional) spin on my avocado, jicama and mango salad when he substituted curry powder for cumin. The first two letters are the same — easy mistake! Nonetheless, it was a perfect Mother’s Day.

I was working at home the other day with my assistant and normally we throw together leftovers from a class for lunch or make a kale salad with quinoa and whatever is in the vegetable drawer, but yesterday I had a craving for NOT MY FOOD. I was feeling spontaneous and decided to look through my Foodily faves and Pinterest pins. I came upon these tuna patties and nothing could stop me. They reminded me of ones that my mom used to make, except I am fairly certain she used Ritz Crackers as the binder. Gotta love the 70’s.

I had all the ingredients handy and we threw these together in no time. They were so delicious and reminded me a little of crab cakes, but much easier on the wallet. Next time I make them, and there will be a next time, I’m going to make a sauce to go with them. I’m thinking something creamy with lemon and capers. I think these could also be great as a mini version for an hors d’oeuvre. We ate them with a mixed green salad and it was a really satisfying lunch.

By the way, I have a terrific source for very high quality tuna. I buy it from vitalchoice.com and although it might be one of the more expensive tunas, it’s also the absolute best and Vital Choice doesn’t use BPA in their can liners. Thank you, Vital Choice! This tuna has minimal mercury and is the freshest-tasting I’ve come across. If you have a canned tuna that you love, please share!

Let’s think ahead here. If you want to put the patties together before you leave for the day, or before you start driving everyone to sports practices and music lessons, you can do that and then just saute them right before dinner. You can add some oven fries and a salad or grilled vegetables for a very quick, easy and healthful dinner. Or next year’s Mother’s Day lunch. Hint, hint.

Tuna Patties

Author: Pamela, adapted from simplyrecipes.com

Pamela

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Ingredients

2 6- ounce cans tuna if you use 5-ounce cans of tuna, decrease lemon juice and water to 2 teaspoons
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ cup panko bread crumbs or crumbled crackers or mashed potatoes
1 teaspoon lemon zest lemon your lemon before juicing it
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon water or liquid from the cans of tuna - omit if your tuna is very wet like some chunk light varieties
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley measure after it’s chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh green onions shallots or chives
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste I used ½ tsp. salt and a few grinds of pepper
A couple dashes of hot sauce or tabasco
1 large egg I imagine you can substitute 1 Tablespoon ground flax meal mixed with 3 Tablespoons warm water. Just let it sit for 15 minutes before you add it to the tuna mixture.
3 Tablespoons unrefined olive oil or ghee
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter or ghee

Instructions

Drain the liquid from the tuna cans. If the tuna is packed in water, reserve a tablespoon of the tuna water and also add a teaspoon of olive oil to the tuna mixture in the next step. If your tuna is soggy and not dry, do not add water.
In a medium bowl, mix together the tuna, mustard, bread crumbs, lemon zest, lemon juice, water, parsley, onions, and hot sauce. Add salt and pepper and taste for seasoning before adding in the egg. Add egg to mixture and combine.
Line a baking sheet or a tray with parchment or waxed paper. To make a patty, shape some of the mixture into a ball and then flatten between your hands. Place all the patties on the prepared tray and refrigerate for an hour so they don’t fall apart when you cook them. If you’re in a hurry, you can stick them in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Heat the oil and butter or ghee in a large skillet over medium heat. Use less fat if you use a smaller skillet. You want the oil and butter to be warm enough so that the patties sizzle when they hit the pan, but you don’t want them to be smoking. Gently transfer the tuna patties to the pan and sauté until browned, about 3-4 minutes on each side.

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egg green onion mustard panko crumbs parsley tabasco tuna

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Smoothie Recipe

Most of the time we just call this the Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie. Mr. Picky says it’s his new favorite and he is usually the one to make it. You should see how many bananas I have to buy to keep up with the acai bowls, banana “ice cream” and the new favorite CPBBO Smoothie. Most cashiers at the grocery store either look at me funny or can’t resist asking me what I am going to do with 6 bunches of bananas.

I was going to wait a while before I posted another banana recipe, but Mr. Picky asked if I would put up this smoothie so his friends’ moms could have it, too. Cute. Smoothies and acai bowls are his favorite after-school snack. I taught him how to safely work the blender and the Vitamix and as long as I’m in close proximity, he’s welcome to give it a go. As opposed to his teenage sisters, who think making a smoothie is too much work. Yawn. I told my daughter who is a junior in high school that she needs to change her attitude that spending 5 minutes to make a snack is hard labor. What is she going to do when she’s (we hope) living away from home in college? And then I said those awful words that made me sound like my parents. C’mon, all together now, “when I was your age…” Yeah, anything that comes after that is going to get the big old eye roll. But really, wouldn’t you have DIED to have a Vitamix when you were a teenager?? Or frozen acai puree?? Or an iPad which pulled up thousands of recipes AND videos? Can we just talk about smart phones for a second? What about the fact that I went to college with a typewriter. A typewriter.

Yep, and that’s why it’s usually just Mr. Picky and myself in the kitchen making smoothies and acai bowls. Which is fine, because I’m soooooo annoying. OMG.

What’s cool about smoothies is that you really don’t need a recipe. We completely eyeball it every time. And Mr. Picky has no idea that I am so on to him that he uses chocolate syrup instead of cacao powder in this smoothie when he thinks I’m not looking. I’m annoying and flexible at the same time. I really don’t care if he squirts a little chocolate syrup in his smoothie if it’s for an after school snack, although we all know that the same antioxidants in raw chocolate don’t apply to Hershey bars or chocolate syrup. Just saying.

But if you did want this for breakfast, I think it’s a perfectly good way to start the day, provided that it’s not the middle of winter. I have a thing about not giving the kids or me really cold stuff first thing in the morning, especially if the weather is cold. It’s just too hard on the digestive system and kids have weaker digestion than adults. But back to nutrients, there’s great protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates in this smoothie so you could use this as a meal replacement. Feel free to adjust the flavors to your liking or add protein powder or spinach or ground flax seeds. This is just a guideline. Normally, Mr. Picky and I taste whatever is in the blender and then add a little extra peanut butter or sweetener or chocolate.

Also awesome if you like to plan ahead, make this smoothie the night before and you’ll be sitting pretty come morning!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

Pamela

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Ingredients

2 ripe bananas peeled, cut into large chunks and frozen (click here for how to freeze fruit)
½ cup almond milk or milk of choice*
3 Tablespoons creamy natural peanut butter (or raw almond butter for a more neutral flavor)
¼ cup old fashioned rolled oats use oats labeled “gluten-free” for a gluten-free smoothie
2 Tablespoons raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder or chocolate syrup
Sweetener: add your preferred sweetener to taste such as honey, dates or coconut palm sugar. With unsweetened almond milk and natural cacao powder, 3 pitted dates seems to be perfect for us.
1/2 cup - 1 cup ice depending on how icy you want it

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a blender with the ice on top. Blend until very smooth. Smoothie may be refrigerated overnight or frozen.

Notes

*If you use sweetened almond milk, you may not need additional sweetener.

If it's not too obvious, omit the chocolate for a Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie. Omit the peanut butter or substitute raw almond butter for a Chocolate Banana Smoothie. Omit the banana for a Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie.

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almond milk banana dates peanut butter raw cacao

Savory Muffins with Spinach, Roasted Peppers and Feta Recipe

If you read my last post, you know that we haven’t gone out for Mother’s Day in several years and this Sunday will be no different. Truth be told, I couldn’t be happier for several already mentioned reasons. I am, however, definitely not cooking on Sunday, but instead leaving that to the men for this one and only day. But if I were cooking, I would make these fabulous savory muffins and serve them with a very veggie frittata. Can you tell I am pushing a low-glycemic agenda this week?

Have you ever had too much sugar and carbs at brunch that the entire rest of the day you just felt “off?” Done it, hate it. I always have a hard time bouncing back after starting the day with chocolate chip French toast, a blueberry crumb muffin, fruit salad and a mimosa. No, friends, that is not a balanced meal. Instead, I make a concerted effort to balance out the token coffee cake with plenty of protein and hearty, savory fare.

If my husband brings in bagels, I make sure there’s wild smoked salmon and sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Yogurt gets placed next to the homemade granola and there’s always a savory egg dish of some sort. Even if I’m serving a crowd, I’ll double frittata recipes and bake them in large rimmed sheet pans. Yes, you can do that!

Muffins and quick breads are very popular for brunch, and I have several recipes on this site, but I think these with spinach and roasted peppers are so delicious and a fresh change of pace from the ones you would normally expect. They’re also fairly easy to put together. In fact, you can combine your dry ingredients the day before and have your spinach, feta and peppers prepped and ready to go, so that all you really need to do is stir everything together and bake the morning of Mother’s Day. Like most muffins, these are much better fresh out of the oven, but if you have leftovers, just store them in the fridge and warm them in the oven for a few minutes. These are also the perfect match with any egg dish, whether simply scrambled or baked in a fritatta. My most favorite frittata is this one with Swiss chard, but the one I just posted the other day with asparagus and artichokes is a close second. Certainly, these muffins aren’t just for brunch, but make a great little extra something with a bowl of soup or in the next day’s lunchbox.

In the same way I love looking at what’s in people’s grocery carts (is that creepy?), I love hearing about your menus for holidays and special occasions. Do share with me what you’re planning or what you would love someone to make for you!! Happy Mother’s Day to all you beautiful mamas!

Savory Muffins with Spinach, Roasted Peppers and Feta

Pamela, adapted from Bon Appetit

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Ingredients

2 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour or a combo*
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon paprika
¾ teaspoon sea salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
¾ cup whole milk or unsweetened plain hemp milk
½ cup unrefined olive oil
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 cup thinly sliced spinach leaves
¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup chopped roasted red peppers or drained mild Peppadew peppers

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 standard muffin cups with unbleached parchment paper liners (or cut parchment paper squares to fit.)
Whisk flour, baking powder, paprika, salt and cayenne in a medium bowl.
Whisk milk, oil, maple syrup and eggs in a large bowl and combine well.
Add dry mixture to wet and stir until just combined. Fold in spinach, feta and peppers.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. I use a large ice cream scoop to do this.
Bake muffins until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack or eat warm. Best eaten the same day that they’re made.

Notes

*To make these gluten-free, substitute wheat flour with 2 ¾ cups King Arthur Multi-purpose Gluten-free Flour + 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum.

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eggs feta milk olive oil paprika roasted peppers spinach whole wheat pastry flour

Asparagus and Artichoke Frittata Recipe

I was talking to some ladies in one of my classes last week about their plans for Mother’s Day. It turned out to be a really funny conversation and rather interesting to hear how everyone spends the “holiday.” I assumed that everyone spends the day, or at least most of the day, with their children and families. Not so! More than one mother in the group takes the day off and goes for a hike with friends or spends the morning at a spa, basically taking mommy time off! I thought that was really cute, although I don’t think I would have the courage to propose that in my house. One woman did confess that her mother-in-law was completely insulted that she didn’t want to spend the day with her!

Of course, going out to eat seems to be a very popular way to give mothers the day off from cooking and to show them how much they are appreciated. Even though I love to cook, it’s always nice to have a break and eat someone else’s food. But I can’t say that going to a restaurant on one of the busiest restaurant days of the year with a large group, including multiple toddlers, is my idea of relaxing. I also don’t love buffets for several reasons — I always eat too much; I don’t like getting up multiple times during my meal; everyone seems to get up at different times and we lose any chance at meaningful togetherness and conversation; the thought of lots of germy children’s fingers contaminating the chocolate fountain makes me skittish. Ewwww.

A couple of years ago, I had enough of that and suggested to my husband and his family that we do what my friend Melissa’s family does — all the guys cook lunch at home for the ladies. How brilliant is that? Seriously, best idea ever. I don’t even care what they make, as long as I don’t have to do any dishes. Although last year they made some delicious bulgur burgers from Maria Speck’s “Ancient Grains” cookbook, as well as some beautiful salads and a peach and blueberry claufouti. So amazing!

Mother’s Day brunch seems to be very popular and I thought it would be a good idea to share a really delicious and easy frittata recipe. When planning a brunch, I always try to incorporate some protein and vegetables to balance out all the ubiquitous carbs and sweets. This one is so perfect because it uses seasonal asparagus and leeks — really spring-y! When I make frittatas for us at home, I will cook it in the same skillet I use to saute the vegetables and serve from the skillet. But if you’d like to serve this as part of a buffet, I would pour everything into a pie plate or tart pan. Looks prettier that way. I don’t have a non-stick skillet, but if you choose to use one, you can also slide it out onto a serving plate from your skillet. You can also make this into little “muffins.” Take a look at the images from my Kale and Brown Rice Bake and you’ll see what I mean — super cute!

What’s so nice about frittatas is that you can serve them hot or room temperature and any leftovers are fantastic as a sandwich. Like later that evening, so you can really have the whole day off!

Asparagus and Artichoke Frittata

Pamela, inspired by epicurious.com

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Servings

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons unrefined olive oil ghee or unsalted butter
1 large leek washed well, white and pale green parts sliced
1 12- ounce medium bunch asparagus woody ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup quartered artichoke hearts I like frozen, defrosted
¾ teaspoon sea salt divided
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
8 large eggs
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup shredded cheese such as fontina, gruyere or white cheddar ( I think crumbled goat cheese would also be a nice choice.)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil or butter in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and sauté until tender, about 4 minutes.
Add asparagus and artichokes, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and sauté until asparagus is tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in parsley and turn off the heat.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, mustard, cheese, ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste. Add vegetables to egg mixture and combine.
At this point you can pour the mixture back into the skillet or you can use a similar-sized baking dish, such as a pie plate or tart dish. Just be sure to grease it first with oil or butter.
Bake in preheated oven until set, about 45 minutes. If you’re in a hurry, you can cook it at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes.

Notes

I have also added a little ricotta to this recipe which makes the frittata nice and light. If you have any in the fridge, whether a few tablespoons or up to a cup, feel free to whisk it into the egg mixture.

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Cilantro-Lime Rice and an Unexpected Rice and Bean Burrito Bowl

We all love to cook, right? Ok, maybe some us just like to cook. And I know that I’m the biggest cheerleader of planning your meals ahead so that dinnertime is stress free and a walk in the park. Yeah. Well, gotta tell you that this week did not go as planned. One day especially was just a doozy. There was a lot of traffic on the way home from work. AND I forgot to defrost the chicken I wanted to make for dinner. AND I had to pick up one daughter who I thought had a ride home. AND my other daughter wanted “to go study at the library, can I please have dinner right now?” AND I had a headache. Can you see my grumpy face?

I had this whole orange chicken thing planned with spicy sweet potatoes and sautéed spinach. Sounds nice, right? Well, the chicken was frozen solid and I had no time to roast sweet potatoes. You know what cooks really fast? White rice. I know, it has nothing going for it. A totally devoid food, nutritionally-speaking. However, white rice is a bit easier to digest than brown and as the well-respected nutritionist Linda Prout claims, you can close the nutritional gap with white rice by eating a few extra forkfuls of spinach. And did I mention my headache? Sold! White rice it is! And with some doctored up black beans out of a (BPA-free can), I would figure something else out so that I wouldn’t need to get take-out.

It’s not that I am completely opposed to take-out once in a while. But where I live, there really aren’t too many good take-out options and what is decent is so expensive. Even with a headache, it doesn’t make me happy to spend $80 on dinner for the five of us when I know I can make something good for under $20. And the meal I put together on this particular night probably cost me under $10. For the five us. And I didn’t have the guilt of throwing away a hundred plastic to-go boxes and bags.

One fast-food restaurant that my family likes is Chipotle, which we never get here at the beach, but I always google when I am traveling for a soccer tournament with Mr. Picky and I’m in the middle of who-knows-where. We all love rice and beans, especially the kids and Chipotle has a yummy cilantro rice that I thought would be perfect with beans and some quick veggies. It ended up being a really satisfying, nutritious and easy meal that the kids asked me to make again. I’ve noticed that anytime the kids get to “assemble” their own dinner, they are very pleased. I put out the cilantro-lime rice, black beans, two fresh salsas that I purchased at the farmer’s market, my cheater guacamole, leftover grilled asparagus and some quick-roasted carrots. Everyone except Mr. Picky made deconstructed burrito bowls which were DELICIOUS. He, of course, can’t have have different food groups touch each other, so 4 bowls and 1 plate, please.

I know a few of you will frown at my white rice, but I also believe in keeping it real. The internet and social media allow people to show the side of themselves that they want to be shown, which is usually only what is positive and perfect and sometimes unrealistic. It can be a bit daunting to think that the grass is always greener on the other side or that every food blogger can seamlessly put together a visually perfect, well-balanced, delicious meal every night. That is certainly not me and I can’t say that I aspire to that level of competence. But rather I hope that whatever curveball life throws me whether it’s in the kitchen or out, I will find a way to roll with it and not worry about the fiber content.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

Pamela, adapted from Skinnytaste.com

3 from 2 votes

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Servings -6

Ingredients

1 cup long-grain rice or basmati rice brown or white
2 cups water
2 teaspoons unrefined olive oil coconut oil or unsalted butter
1 clove garlic crushed
1 teaspoon sea salt
juice of ½ lime
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro chop, then measure
2 teaspoons unrefined olive oil

Instructions

If you have time, soak the rice in a bowl with lots of water to cover. Allow to sit at room temperature for 1-8 hours. Drain. If you're not sure why you should soak your rice, read this post on arsenic and rice.
In a small saucepan, add drained rice, 2 cups water, 2 teaspoons oil or butter, garlic and salt. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook covered for 15 minutes for white rice or 45 minutes for brown rice. (If you didn’t have a chance to soak your rice, cook another few minutes.) Turn off the heat and allow to sit covered for an additional 5 minutes.
In your serving bowl, combine lime juice, cilantro, remaining 2 teaspoons oil and cooked rice. Toss to combine.

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cilantro garlic lime oil rice

Tex-Mex Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins Recipe

I know time flies when you’re having fun, but these days I think it flies because everything moves at warp speed, whether you’re having fun or not. And sometimes I think it’s not very fun when life happens so quickly, especially when you’re eating good food! Eating is one of my greatest pleasures in life. Thankfully I get to do it several times a day, every day. But very few things annoy me more than having to rush through a very delicious meal.

That’s what I was thinking the other day when I made these stuffed sweet potato skins. I enjoyed them so much that I didn’t want them to end. Need help with your math homework? No problem! Come back in 20 minutes. Ooops. Forgot to call my mom back. She can wait. I have a sweet potato party on my plate and I’m not ready to leave.

Cinco de Mayo, one of my favorite food holidays, is just around the corner. I know. It’s MAY in like 5 days! I had no plans to include this recipe on the blog but I made it on a whim last week and I knew I had to share it with you. Although I can say with 99% confidence that you will never find this recipe on the menu of any Mexican restaurant, so maybe it’s not Cinco de Mayo fiesta fare if you are having people over. BUT, the flavors here are totally South of the border and it’s such a healthful and satisfying meatless meal, you should make it no matter what day it is.

If you are not a sweet potato fan (stop it! really?), then maybe substitute a baked potato. But sweet potatoes are sooooooo nutritious and I never feel like I need dessert afterwards. They’re the perfect natural antidote to my sweet tooth. The best part of this recipe is the contrast between the creamy sweet potato and the smoky corn and a hint of spice. I made these about as spicy as my family would like them, but you can go as hot as you want. Serve with a green salad or some grilled asparagus and you’re all set. My girls and I loved them, and Mr. Picky ate half of one and said they were “okay.” I think if I had let him eat it with corn tortilla chips, he would have finished the whole thing.

For those of you like me, who very much like to either prep some or all of your meals in advance, it’s your lucky day. You can make this entire thing ahead and bake it just before dinner until it’s nice and hot. Or assemble different parts of this ahead, like baking the sweet potatoes or sauteing the onions. The cheese on top is very optional. I had mine without, as did Mr. Picky, and still loved it. My daughters added extra on top of theirs and asked me to tell you that they don’t think the cheese is optional and that if they were writing the recipe, they would double the cheese. Okay, girls. Have it however way you want. Just don’t rush me.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins

Pamela, adapted from Pinch of Yum

5 from 1 vote

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Servings

Ingredients

3 medium sweet potatoes scrubbed clean
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen corn kernels defrosted
1 ½ cups cooked black beans or 1 15-ounce can drained and rinsed
1 Tablespoon unrefined olive oil coconut oil or unsalted butter
½ of an onion chopped
1 jalapeno seeds removed and diced
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon chipotle powder more if you like it spicy
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
½ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems chopped
½ ripe avocado flesh scooped out
6 Tablespoons shredded cheese such as Cheddar or Monterey Jack or dairy-free Daiya (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, bake sweet potatoes until tender, about 45-60 minutes.
While sweet potatoes are baking, place corn in a medium heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Do not add anything else to the pan and do not stir so that the corn gets a little charred. Then toss a little and cook corn until browned and toasted on the outside. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add the black beans to the corn.
You can use the same skillet to sauté the onion and jalapeno. Warm the oil in the skillet and sauté the onion and jalapeno until tender and translucent. Stir in the spices and salt and cook for 1 minute more. Add the cilantro to the pan and turn off the heat. Toss to combine the mixture and transfer to the bowl with the corn and beans.
Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven. Allow to cool slightly so you can cut them easily or use rubber gloves if you’re in a rush and you don’t want to burn your fingers. Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop most of the flesh out and leave the skins intact. I like to leave a thin layer of sweet potato to help these stay together better. Transfer the scooped out sweet potato to a large bowl and leave the skins on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
Add avocado to the sweet potato in the bowl and coarsely mash together, but don’t make a puree. Add the corn, bean and onion mixture to the mashed sweet potatoes and stir gently to combine.
Preheat the broiler in your oven and arrange the oven rack to the second level from the top. Scoop the filling into the skins. It might seem like you have too much, but you should use it all and make them nice and full. Sprinkle each with cheese if desired and broil for a couple minutes or until cheese is melted.

Notes

*If making this in advance, remove prepared sweet potato skins from the refrigerator and bake in a 350 degree oven until heated through, about 15-20 minutes.

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avocado black beans cheese chili powder cilantro corn garlic onion smoked chipotle powder sweet potatoes

Banana “ice cream” sundaes recipe

Although I recently became dairy-free, I haven’t been able to eat ice cream for quite some time. It’s a pretty hard-to-digest food even if you make it from scratch, and not one that has agreed with me in many years. But when I got married, I used to eat ice cream every day and for several years afterwards. At any given time, I think we had at least a dozen different pints in our freezer into which we would dip every night after we put the babies to sleep. My mother-in-law thinks I can’t digest ice cream anymore because I OD’d on it all those years. Perhaps.

Last week I needed a little comfort food and I craved a quick, sweet pick-me-up while I watched the television in total disbelief of all that chaos. I was really close to snagging the remains of Mr. Picky’s favorite Three Twins vanilla ice cream, but I know that I would have felt even worse afterwards, for many reasons. Because we make so many acai bowls and smoothies around here, I always have frozen bananas on hand. One thing I’ve never posted is banana “ice cream.” I’ve always figured by now most people have seen this on Foodily or Pinterest. If you haven’t, it’s just frozen pieces of banana, blended in a Vitamix or a food processor with a touch of almond milk or regular milk and maybe a little sweetener to taste. It comes out the consistency of soft serve ice cream and really hits the spot if you’re in the mood for a frozen treat. But it’s really just bananas, so it’s a million times better for you than regular ice cream or (blech) popsicles made with food coloring. I told my mother-in-law about banana ‘ice cream” and she offered to buy me a Yonana machine which basically does the exact same thing. She’s so thoughtful, but you can really do this no problem in your food processor or high powered blender.

So why am I posting this “recipe” when I assume everyone has heard of banana “ice cream?” Because apparently, not everyone has! At least Gwyenth Paltrow doesn’t think so. I am a huge Gwyneth fan and I just received her new book, It’s All Good, which looks fantastic. Low and behold, there’s a recipe in there for banana “ice cream” with roasted almonds. If Gwyneth can put it out there, so can I.

I do want to emphasize that you can’t really follow a recipe here since there are a few variables which can affect the outcome of your ice cream. First of all, you must start with ripe, well-speckled bananas. Ripe bananas are much, much sweeter than pale yellow-skinned ones and will allow you to make this with a minimum amount of added sweetener. That said, the amount of sweetener will vary according to the sweetness of your bananas. I’ve made this many times without any sweetener at all, but sometimes a smidge of raw honey adds just the right amount. So it’s best not to follow a recipe and just “sweeten to taste.” Keep in mind however, that this recipe uses 4 bananas. So don’t eat the whole thing unless eating 4 bananas is a normal thing for you. I always add stuff to it like chopped nuts, raw cacao nibs or granola to make it a little more substantial and keep it healthy. But you can have fun and put out a “sundae” bar with toppings like chocolate sauce, mini-chocolate chips, toasted coconut or honey-roasted peanuts. This is a truly guilt-free treat!

Banana "Ice Cream" Sundae

Pamela

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Servings -4

Ingredients

4 ripe bananas peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces, about 2 ½ cups (if you’re using a Vitamix or another high-powered blender, you can cut bananas into larger pieces)
¼ - ½ cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice you can use the smaller quantity if you’re using a Vitamix
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
sweeten to taste with a few teaspoons more or less of raw honey, Grade A maple syrup or a couple drops of stevia
Toppings: granola raw cacao nibs, mini-chocolate chips, toasted coconut, chopped walnuts, chopped toasted and salted cashews, chopped honey-roasted peanuts, chocolate sauce

Instructions

Arrange the banana pieces on a baking sheet or a plate and freeze until frozen. Click here for a step-by-step on how to freeze fruit. Place individual bowls for the ice cream in the freezer.
When the bananas are frozen, store in a container for later use or place in the bowl of a food processor or Vitamix or other high-powered blender. Add almond milk, vanilla and sweetener to taste. Process until smooth and creamy. I find that the food processor needs a little more liquid and a few more seconds to achieve the desired consistency, which is like soft serve ice cream.
Transfer the ice cream to the frozen bowls and serve immediately with toppings, if desired. You can also store the ice cream in the freezer for another time, but you’ll need to allow it to sit on the countertop to soften up for a few minutes before eating so that it’s scoopable.

Notes

Sweeten to taste with raw honey, Grade A maple syrup or stevia according to how ripe your bananas are. You may not need to add any sweetener at all!

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almond milk bananas honey vanilla

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