pomegranate seeds

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 71 – “AVOCADO KNÄCKEBRÖD”

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This dish once again proofs that you don´t have to be a professional chef in order to serve a wonderful, beautiful, delicious and healthy dish 🙂
Just throw together a bit of love and a few good quality ingredients, make sure that the different flavors don´t “bite” each other and there is an interesting contrast of textures and colors, and – voilà, great food in a minute, without fuss or deep pockets. And there you have it 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more Breakfast Of Champions on ChefsOpinion
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BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 71 – “AVOCADO KNÄCKEBRÖD”

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: avocado

: avocado

: pomegranade

: pomegranade seeds

: whole black pepper

: tomato

: maille whole grain mustard

: knäckebröd

: add a good amount of mustard to ea slice of bread

: add sliced tomatoes, sprinkle with kosher salt to taste

: add sliced avocado, drizzle with EVO, grind black pepper on top, then sprinkle with plenty of pomegranate seeds

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 71 – “AVOCADO KNÄCKEBRÖD”

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 71 – “AVOCADO KNÄCKEBRÖD”

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 71 – “AVOCADO KNÄCKEBRÖD”

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 71 – “AVOCADO KNÄCKEBRÖD”

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Seafood Salad….(Worthy Of The Holidays)

Romaine Lettuce With Shrimp, Mussels, Crab Claws, And Fruits, Dressed In Avocado Salsa

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Before I went to get some last-minute shopping done this morning, I contemplated my probable food-intake for the next two days. It downed on me that if I don’t want to gain at least 10 lbs over the holidays, I must offset the gluttony with sensible breakfasts and luncheons, so I started today with this simple and light salad;
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“Romaine Lettuce With Shrimp, Mussels, Crab Claws, And Fruits, Dressed In Avocado Salsa”
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P.S.
For seafood salads, I always like to “refresh” refrigerated seafood in a mixture of room temperature-water, lemon juice, garlic paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper. (Keep in liquid for ten minutes)
For all hot dishes, I like to “refresh” refrigerated seafood in a mixture of room temperature-whole butter, lemon juice, garlic paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper. (Keep in butter for ten minutes)
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Mix romaine lettuce, cucumbers and rainbow grape tomatoes with a simple honey/mustard vinaigrette, plate on serving platter.
Top with pomegranate seeds, blueberries and mango, refresh seafood according to instruction on this page.
Top with seafood.
Drizzle with avocado dressing/salsa.
Serves – well, that depends entirely on you. 🙂 (This one was just the perfect sized meal for Bella and me)
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Avocado Salsa/Dressing Recipe:
In a food processor, blend 1 cup honey/mustard vinaigrette and juice from 1 lime with meat from 1 to 2 ea Hass(Haas) Avocado (depending on size) until smooth, stir-in 1 tblsp finely chopped cilantro.
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Click here for more Salad on ChefsOpinion
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Click here for more Seafood on ChefsOpinion
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Romaine Lettuce With Shrimp, Mussels, Crab Claws, And Fruits, Dressed In Avocado Salsa

I could eat just the salad on its own……….

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: bring liquid to a boil, cool to room temperature

: add the seafood for 10 minutes, drain

: dress romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers with honey/mustard vinaigrette

: plate the salad

: top with fruits, top with seafood, drizzle generously with avocado salsa

: Romaine Lettuce With Shrimp, Mussels, Crab Claws, And Fruits, Dressed In Avocado Salsa

: Romaine Lettuce With Shrimp, Mussels, Crab Claws, And Fruits, Dressed In Avocado Salsa

: Romaine Lettuce With Shrimp, Mussels, Crab Claws, And Fruits, Dressed In Avocado Salsa

: Romaine Lettuce With Shrimp, Mussels, Crab Claws, And Fruits, Dressed In Avocado Salsa

: Romaine Lettuce With Shrimp, Mussels, Crab Claws, And Fruits, Dressed In Avocado Salsa

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P.S.
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This dish is part of my upcoming meal plan # 2 –
“HANS’ LIGHTER, HEALTHIER COMFORT FOOD” – MONTH TWO
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Click here for
“HANS’ LIGHTER, HEALTHIER COMFORT FOOD” – MONTH ONE
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Goan Tandoori Pork Ribs With Aloo Palak

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Goan food is much influenced by the Portuguese, so the ingredients and seasoning often differ a bit from the usual Indian suspects. In the 70’s I spend a few months in Goa, living in cheap housing right on the beach. If one was able to forego typical western luxuries such as A/C, running water and fork and knife, living on $ 3.00 a day was possible most of the time.
Those were the days of free love, cheap booze and even cheaper “tobacco”, so life was a constant, carefree blast. And to top it all off, the food, even as it was dirt-cheap, was always great, tasty, in abundance and available around the clock. (Important because of the “tobacco”) 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more Goan Food on ChefsOpinion
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Click here for more Indian Food on ChefsOpinion
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Click here for Garam Masala Recipe on ChefsOpinion

Click here to read all about Goa

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Goan Tandoori Pork Ribs With Aloo Palak

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures

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: Simmer 6 lbs of pork ribs until tender, about 2 hours, shock in ice water, drain; mix 2 cup Greek yoghurt with 1/4 cup Rajah Tandoori Masala (buy at Indian market), 1 tblsp lemon juice, 1 tblsp onion powder, 1 tblsp galic powder, 1 tblsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp ginger powder, kosher salt to taste

: coat the ribs with the marinade, cover airtight, leave in fridge overnight

: Next day, put the ribs on a rack over a baking sheet

: roast in a 375 oven for 20 minutes

: turn over, roast another 20 minutes, remove from oven, cover loosely and keep warm

: while the ribs are roasting, cook 2 lbs small potatoes until tender, drain, cut in halves

: saute 1 tblsp garlic paste, 1/2 tsp ginger paste, 1/2 tsp chili flakes, 1 tblsp Garam Masala, 1 tblsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp grd cumin and 1/2 tsp grd coriander in 3 tblsp ghee until fragrant

: add 1 lb fresh spinach

: add the potatoes and 1/4 cup water, saute until spinach has wilted and the potatoes have heated through

: Aloo Palak (Indian Potatoes & Spinach)

: Goan Tandoori Pork Ribs With Aloo Palak

: Goan Tandoori Pork Ribs With Aloo Palak

: Goan Tandoori Pork Ribs With Aloo Palak

: Goan Tandoori Pork Ribs With Aloo Palak

: Goan Tandoori Pork Ribs With Aloo Palak

: Goan Tandoori Pork Ribs With Aloo Palak

: Goan Tandoori Pork Ribs With Aloo Palak

: Goan Tandoori Pork Ribs With Aloo Palak

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Ricotta Cheese Cake With Apples And Cashews, Served With Greek Yogurt And Pomegranate Seeds

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Looks like the devil is trying hard to get me off my sensible eating habits again.
Since I decided (once again) not to eat anymore sweets, (or at least just the tiniest amounts), the cravings to do so are getting stronger and stronger 😦
The only way for me to fight this is to actually prepare a sweet dish, set a tiny piece aside for Bella and I and get the rest of it off to the neighbor as quick as possible.
So far this works, hopefully for some time to come.
Yesterday, I had to fight the demons again………
I had some apples, ricotta and cashews at hand and in the back of my mind I was playing with different dessert-options, until they finally crystallized into this delicious pie/cake. And, to appease my conscience, I added some “healthy” elements by serving it with a bit of tart Greek yogurt and crunchy pomegranate seeds.
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Final Score – Myself: Happy; Bella: Happy; Neighbor: Happiest !
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !

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Ricotta Cheese Cake With Apples And Cashews, Served With Greek Yogurt And Pomegranate Seeds

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: core, peel and finely slice 3 lbs of apples

: to the apples add 1/4 cup cashew nuts, 1 cup cottage cheese, 4 whole eggs, 3 tbls sugar, 1 tblsp grd cinnamon, 2 tblsp lemon juice, 1/2 tblsp vanilla extract

: mix all ingredients

: line a baking dish or cast iron pan with a thin sheet of pie dough

: bake at 375F for 15 minutes

: as you can see, the dough shrunk more than I anticipated, so I added a few strips of additional pie dough between the side of the pan and the crust (if you want to use less filling, you can omit this step)

: add the filling, overlap the edges with the dough

: sprinkle generously with sugar, bake at 350F until an inserted needle comes out dry and clean

: let cool to room temperature, dust with castor sugar

: to transfer to a serving dish, turn the cake/pie upside down on a plate, then turn upside down again onto a serving dish; serve with Greek yogurt and pomegranate seeds (optional)

: Ricotta Cheese Cake With Apples And Cashews, Served With Greek Yogurt And Pomegranate Seeds

: Ricotta Cheese Cake With Apples And Cashews, Served With Greek Yogurt And Pomegranate Seeds

: Ricotta Cheese Cake With Apples And Cashews, Served With Greek Yogurt And Pomegranate Seeds

: Ricotta Cheese Cake With Apples And Cashews, Served With Greek Yogurt And Pomegranate Seeds

: Ricotta Cheese Cake With Apples And Cashews, Served With Greek Yogurt And Pomegranate Seeds

: Ricotta Cheese Cake With Apples And Cashews, Served With Greek Yogurt And Pomegranate Seeds

: Ricotta Cheese Cake With Apples And Cashews, Served With Greek Yogurt And Pomegranate Seeds

: Ricotta Cheese Cake With Apples And Cashews, Served With Greek Yogurt And Pomegranate Seeds

: lest you think Bella eats only steaks 🙂

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$ 90 Salad Splurge …………….

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How do you justify an $90 salad for one?
I do by arguing that if I go to a restaurant and spend the same amount or even more, especially here in South Florida, my food will most likely not be as good and most certainly not as ample and luxurious. Three lbs of stone crab claws ($75) is a generous portion but not excessive. Add the shrimp, avocado and the other ingredients and you reach an eye-watering $90 bucks- definitely not something you want to do often, but once in a while for a special occasion …………. so today I was celebrating my upcoming birthday (December 2nd !) 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Live a Little ! 🙂
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