Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Apple

January 9, 2011

Yinh Side dishes Leave a comment

Day 7 of the paleo challenge! I love cauliflower rice and have used it as a side dish multiple times in the past week. For Week 2, I think I’ll be eating a lot of this dish. I love brussels sprouts and find it incredibly versatile. I love it with pine nuts, with bacon, with cheese, and even a combination of all the above. When I’m in a rush, this is the recipe I go to for a quick and tasty vegetable side to my meals. The apples add a nice sweet balance to the brussels sprouts. Enjoy!

Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
16oz brussels sprouts
1 fuji apple (or any type of apple you want)
olive oil
salt & pepper

Directions
Cut off the ends of the  brussels sprouts and take off any wilted outer leaves. Halve the brussels sprouts (you can leave whole if you like).  Take your apple and chop into small pieces (I like mine roughly around the size you would find in a fruit cup).

Add some olive oil in a heated pan and add the brussels sprouts. Stir frequently for 5 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste.  Add the chopped apple and stir for an additional 5 minutes.

That’s it! Serve and enjoy! Best served immediately.

Egg and Seaweed Roll

January 5, 2011

Yinh Appetizers, Breakfast, Side dishes, Snacks 6 Comments

Day 3 of paleo challenge. 

Hard boiled eggs. Gotta love ‘em! During the paleo challenge – I keep a fair amount in the fridge when I need a great, quick snack. It’s perfect for those mornings when I have no time to make an omelette or anything fancy. Here’s a nice way to sprucen up hard boiled eggs (hat tip BJ).  I used the whole seaweed paper this time but that’s just because I accidently bought the wrong seaweed. I prefer these little seaweed snacks from Sea’s Gift.  Great little snack and wraps a bite sized portion perfectly.

Ingredients
Makes 2 servings
4 hard boiled eggs
0.2 ounce Kim Nori Seaweed

Directions
In a small bowl, mash up your hard boiled eggs with a fork to a desired consistency.  Then simply take your bite sized kim nori (seaweed snack paper) and wrap around the mashed eggs. My breakfast this morning was served with a turnip latke. Delicious breakfast! Next time – I’ll try to add a nice creamy avocado to the eggs. Maybe even some bacon to make it crazy. YUMBO!

Turnip Latke

January 4, 2011

Yinh Breakfast, Side dishes, Snacks 4 Comments

Day 2 of our food challenge and I already need variety. As much as I love eggs in the morning, I get a bit tired of having them every morning for breakfast. So I had leftovers and made this as a side dish. It turned out great! Turnips are low in calories, high in Vitamin C and fiber.  Try it for a potato alternative!

Ingredients
Makes 2 latkes
1 turnip bulb
1 egg
salt & pepper

Directions
With a knife – simply cut/peel off the turnip skin. Then using a large grater, take the turnip and grate it.

Once you have the grated turnip, take a paper towel and squeeze out the excess liquid.  In a medium bowl, mix the grated turnip, egg and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

In a heated pan, add some olive oil and fry the latkes for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown on each side. This recipe makes 2 latkes so spoon out half the bowl and it makes one nice sized latke.  I loved how simple and easy this recipe is.  You can serve with some apple butter and cinnamon or chives and sour cream (if you’re lacto-paleo like me). Best served immediately.  Enjoy!

Cauliflower Rice

January 3, 2011

Yinh Side dishes 2 Comments

Happy New Year! I love fresh starts -  everyone seems more refreshed, recharged and ready to take on new things.

My husband and I were so positively impacted by the paleo diet when our CrossFit initiated a food challenge last year. We jokingly said we should do one with our friends/family who weren’t into CrossFit because everyone wants to eat better but needs more motivation. Even though many thought we were crazy while we were doing the paleo challenge for 7 weeks, when we mentioned the idea of a friends/family version – people were so excited to try it themselves!! All they needed was a simple boost.

We ended up getting 35 friends and family to do a food challenge with us. So for the next 45 days, I’ll be even more focused on creative paleo recipes as we do the challenge with them. Coming up with tasty recipes was the hardest part about paleo, at least for me. Here’s one simple dish I cooked for my family last week. Growing up in an Asian household – rice is a staple. My mom still thinks we’re crazy to give up grains but she did agree that plain cauliflower was a ‘decent’ alternative to rice. Not necessarily a compliment but I’ll take that from her!

Ingredients
1 head cauliflower

Directions
Trim and chop cauliflower to a rice-like consistency (I just used a large kitchen knife – you can also use a blender to finely chop it as well).

Once you have coarsely chopped the cauliflower, you can microwave for 5 minutes. You don’t need water because there’s enough moisture in the cauliflower. If you are anti-microwave you can steam it for about 10 minutes (or until desired texture).

This is a very plain dish but a great way to get a vegetable in and substitute for a rice texture.  You can get really creative with this dish by adding onions, garlic, seasonings, etc. I’ll make sure to post more flavorful recipes of this as I cook with it. For now, I end up making this with anything full of sauces since cauliflower ends up soaking it up. In this picture I ate it with my beef and eggplant lasagna and sauteed brussel sprouts. My 10 month old niece loved to eat the plain cauliflower – surprisingly!

Let me know what other flavors you try adding to the cauliflower rice!

Sauteed Escarole with Chestnuts

November 24, 2010

Yinh Side dishes 3 Comments

I had a group dinner awhile back that included sauteed escarole with white beans that I thought was delicious.  To make a paleo version for my husband, I decided to substitute the white beans with roasted chestnuts and the results were terrific. The chestnuts neutralized the slight bitterness of the escarole with a sweetness of it’s own.  The picture didn’t turn out too well but I promise it’s tasty!

Ingredients
1 large head escarole 
5 oz roasted chestnuts
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions
Clean your escarole and chop into 2-3 inch pieces.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add garlic and sautee for a couple of minutes. Stir in escarole and stir frequently. You will see the leaves wilt down quickly. After a few minutes, add in the roasted chestnuts (I like to buy the pre-roasted chestnuts from Gefen) .  Add in salt and pepper to taste, stir frequently for another 5 minutes until tender. Best served immediately and hot. Enjoy!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash

November 24, 2010

Yinh Side dishes 4 Comments

I made some sides for a faux-Thanksgiving dinner party last week and my guests really liked it (or so they said – you never know when you’re a host). This recipe is as easy as it gets and quite tasty – I love brussel sprouts!

Ingredients
16oz brussels sprouts
16oz cubed butternut squash
4 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt
pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut off the ends of the  brussels sprouts and take off any wilted outer leaves. Halve the brussels sprouts (you can leave whole if you like). In a large mixing bowl, mix the sprouts and squash with the olive oil, salt and pepper.

Pour them on an baking pan and roast for 35-40 minutes.  Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Leeks

November 21, 2010

Yinh Side dishes Leave a comment

It’s beginning to look a lot like…winter.  On chilly days – I’ve been craving a nice warm soup get me through the cold nights. This is a really simple but tasty recipe that I think everyone will enjoy – and it’s really good for you!! One thing to note – I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a lacto-paleo (paleo diet that includes dairy). Feel free to take out the butter and cream – I’ve just realized that I can’t give up dairy!

Ingredients
2 heads of cauliflower
1 medium leek
1.5 cups heavy cream
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the white and light green park of your leek and set aside (discard the green stalk). Then cut your cauliflower into smaller pieces (about 1-2 inch flowerets). In a baking pan – toss the cauliflower, garlic and leeks with your olive oil to coat and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.

Once the cauliflower is done roasting, combine the veggies in a pot with your chicken stock and water. Stir frequently for a minute.  Transfer the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Using a handheld mixer – puree the soup until smooth (mine came out to be like the texture of grits). Return the soup contents to your pot and add the butter and cream (optional for non-lacto paleos). Add some salt and pepper to taste.  Serve and enjoy!

Warm Arugula and Bacon Salad

September 1, 2010

Yinh Side dishes Leave a comment

My friend Luki made this dish at a party a few months ago and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. So I thought to share it in case you guys needed ideas to bring to a paleo party. It was a huge hit at a family bbq I went to last weekend. Who doesn’t like bacon!? Crazy people I say…

Ingredients
Makes 6-8 servings
20 oz arugula
7 strips Berkshire bacon (my FAVORITE brand of bacon – no preservatives or nitrates)
5 shallots (finely chopped)
1/3 cup olive oil 
freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts

Directions
Chop your bacon into penny-sized bits. In a large pan, add the bacon and chopped shallots. Stir frequently until the bacon is fully cooked and slightly crispy.  Add the arugula and olive oil to the pan and stir to help the arugula wilt.  After 3-5 minutes of stirring, your arugula should be completely wilted. Add in some fresh ground pepper and a handful of pine nuts for added texture. Best served immediately (this goes great with the onion tart and makes a fantastic brunch).  Enjoy!

Onion Tart

September 1, 2010

Yinh Appetizers, Side dishes, Snacks Leave a comment

I’m a big fan of onions. Big. HUGE. Though I can’t bite into them like George Costanza can, I put eat them with nearly everything – in my omelettes, in my salads, in my soups… I would eat them for dessert but I’m not that crazy.  One thing I do love is carmelized onions for that really sweet and natural taste. This recipe was inspired by a post I recently saw where I just loved the pictures.  So I tried to make it more paleo friendly. I think you’ll enjoy the chestnut flour crust because it adds a slightly sweet flavor to it. Hope you like!

Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
For the crust:
1 cup chestnut flour
1/3 almond flour
1 egg

For the filling:
2 red onions
1 medium sweet onion
2 shallots
3 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
grated Gruyere cheese (optional)
salt and pepper

Directions
For the filling: Peel and slice your onions. I sliced mine very thin because I wanted the mix of onions to blend well together. Feel free to use any type of onion – I’m a sucker for red onions so I put more of that in than anything.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil on high heat.  Once the pan is hot, add the onions and stir for 5-10 minutes until all of the onions have softened up. Reduce heat to medium and cook the onions for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions have softened dramatically and are well browned.  Then add the balsamic vinegar and cook for another 10 minutes, until all of the onions are completely caramelized. Remove from heat.

Before you make the crust, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust: in a medium sized bowl, add your flours and egg together. Hand mix until you have a dough-like consistency.  (It will be a bit tougher/harder than your typical dough but that’s expected – you’re using nut flours!). Place the dough on a large piece of parchment paper. Get your rolling pin out and roll the dough until the crust is about 1/8″ thick. Then place your sauteed onions in the center of the dough - leaving enough room on the sides so you can roll up the tart. Grate some gruyere cheese on top of the onions.

With the parchment paper, fold up the edges of the crust leaving some of the onions exposed in the center (see picture). I find that the parchment paper allows me to create the hexagon shape of the tart much easier than if I use my hands. And the flour is much harder to work with and less malleable than typical dough. So use that parchment paper!

After you’re done folding the tart sides over, grate more of the gruyere cheese on top if you want. Pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes and voila! You have a paleo onion tart. Perfect for brunch or a decadent snack.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings

August 30, 2010

Yinh Appetizers, Side dishes, Snacks 1 Comment

As Summer winds down and Fall approaches, I’m getting a liiiiittle excited. Ok fine – I’m getting majorly excited.  I’m not thinking of the beautiful change in seasons coming up or the autumnal colors that are about to surround me.  I’m thinking about Peyton Manning and his awesome commercials. I’m thinking of Tom Brady and wondering if he’ll be affected by being Gisele’s baby daddy.  That’s right folks – FOOTBALL SEASON!!!

I was watching Hard Knocks a few days ago and thinking this is the best show on television. This is what makes reality tv amazing.  The show pulls at your heart strings. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you feel glad that you’re sitting comfortably on the couch watching these guys while they work their butt off only to tear their achilles tendon (Ropati Pitoitua – you are my hero. I touch my healthy earlobe and it feels tender. You tear your achilles and it looks like you’re about to take a nap).  You don’t even have to be an avid football fan to watch – so hop to it and get on board the Hard Knocks Train.

When I think of football season, I also think of food and lots of it. This will be my first football season eating paleo so I was trying to think of snack-attizers to keep my non-paleo friends happy during kickoff. This recipe is inspired by my Mom who often makes a version of these wings. They’re sweet, spicy, delicious and easy to make.

Ingredients
Makes 4-6 servings
3 pounds of chicken wings
1 cup of chestnut flour
1/2 cup of walnut oil (or your favorite oil for frying)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar (I put on my paleo approved list in very small doses)
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (optional if you don’t want the heat).
salt and pepper
1 green onion (thinly sliced)

Directions
Rinse chicken wings under cool water and pat dry.  In a large frying pan, pour in your walnut oil and put on high heat.

In a large bowl, mix your chicken wings and 3/4 cup of your chestnut flour.  Coat all of the wings with the flour so that they can fry up evenly.  (Chef’s Note – this is the first time I tried chestnut flour.  It’s slightly sweeter than other nut flours and used commonly in desserts as an alternative to all-purpose flour.  I absolutely loved the flavor that came out of it and will use again for other crusts that need a slightly sweet kick.)  Once your wings are evenly coated with the flour, add them to the hot frying pan.  Fry on each side for about 7-10 minutes until cooked through or until golden brown and crispy.

For the sweet and spicy sauce, in a small sauce pan combine the orange juice, fish sauce, vinegar, water, Sriracha sauce, minced garlic and water.  Stir evenly and add a little salt and pepper. Stir on medium/high heat and add your remaining bit of chestnut flour. This will thicken the sauce a little bit (and is a great substitute for corn starch as a thickening agent). Stir frequently.

Once your wings are done frying on both sides and are crispy, golden brown – add your sauce and reduce heat to low. The sauce will look a bit watery once you pour it in but will thicken up nicely with the heat. Mix the wings so that all of them are coated with the sauce and stir for 2-3 minutes.  Place wings in a serving dish and top with sliced green onions. Best served immediately. Enjoy!

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