Baby Bok Choy Slaw

I got the idea for this from this recipe: http://thecozyapron.com/cozy-cameo-pass-the-bok-choy-greens-and-my-skinny-jeans-please/.

It looked really tasty, but a little too much oil for my taste.  Besides, I can't help deviating from a recipe even when it sounds delicious to start.  So here is my version.  It was a lovely side for this Asian-flavored pork tenderloin and eggplant dish I made.

What you need:

2-3 heads baby bok choy, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
small handful of mild peppers, thinly sliced
1 inch cube fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
zest of one orange, plus the juice from half of it
pinch of salt
2-3 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce
1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (you can buy the seeds already toasted, but I really recommend doing it yourself to really bring out the flavor

Mix everything but the sesame seeds together and refrigerate for at least an hour, but longer is better.  Add the sesame seeds just before serving.  Enjoy!

Fish Tacos with Guacamole, Mango Hot Sauce, and Cabbage Slaw

Quick, tasty, and healthy.  What more can you ask for?

To make the fish tacos, layer the following on your base (the tortillas or the lettuce):

Tortillas (I used these really healthy ones for Rob- La Tortilla Factory, Healthy and Delicious 100 Calorie Tortillas-, but use whatever kind you like.  (Or serve everything on a bed a lettuce, Paige-style)

Cheese, Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, whatever you fancy (I had fat-free cream cheese with mine and served Rob's with some mild gouda because it was that we had.  Queso fresco might be a better choice if possible). Melt this onto the tortilla or just sprinkle on top.

Cooked Tilapia, Swai or other mild white fish*

Guacamole- use your favorite recipe or see below for a bit more guidance

Cabbage Slaw (recipe below)

Mango Hot Sauce (recipe below)

Wrap it up or grab your fork and enjoy!

*To cook the fish: you can either pan-fry, grill on foil, or broil it.  I find that broiling it is the simplest and still quite tasty.  Just spray a cooking sheet or broiler pan if you have one, place your fish on it, spray with oil, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Cook in the oven with the broiler on high until it is browned on top and flakes all the way through.  Probably about 6-10 minutes, depending on if your oven was heated beforehand and the size of your fish.

Cabbage Slaw:

3-4 cups shredded cabbage

2 stalks celery

1 small/ medium onion

handful of mild small peppers

2-3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar 

1-2 teaspoons sesame oil

1-2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons or more garlic powder

pepper (and possibly salt) to taste

1-2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce

Mix everything in a bowl.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.  This lets it wilt and gives the flavors time to meld.

Mango Hot Sauce: 

1 stalk celery, sliced

1/4-1/3 cup diced onion

1-2 tablespoons fresh ginger

small handful mild hot peppers, roughly chopped

1-2 tablespoon soy sauce

1+ cup tropical fruit juice ( I used Trop 50 reduced calorie mango-pineapple juice because that's what I had)

1 tablespoon (more or less depending on how hot you want it) Calypso sauce

2-3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

3/4 cup very ripe mango

1 small semi-ripe papaya, cut into chunks (I threw this in because I had picked one too early and it never became that sweet when it ripened.  You could also just use more mango or fully-ripened papaya- your sauce will just be sweeter.  Or try substituting something else as a thickener.. maybe even cooked sweet potato?)

Other seasonings (I can't remember exactly what I put it or if I even put any of these in, but if you feel like the sauce needs something when it's done, try adding: garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, Ketjap Manis- I think any of these could be nice additions)

Start sauteing the celery, onion, ginger, and peppers in a lightly greased saucepan.  Add the soy sauce in bits to keep them from sticking while allowing a bit of browning.  Once softened and lightly browned, add the remaining ingredients, reduce burner to medium-low, and let simmer for 10-20 minutes.  Let cool a bit and puree in the blender.  Enjoy! 

Guacamole:

I just mash the following together:

2 ripe avocados
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1-2 jalapenos, finely chopped
2-3 teaspoons garlic powder
dash of salt
1-2 teaspoons black pepper
couple teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cumin
1-2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

Then I throw a chopped tomato in at the end.  Serve with the tacos, or just use as a dip with chips or veggies.

Garlicky Hummus

A tasty hummus recipe that's easy to whip up in your blender or food processor. Bonus: WAY cheaper than store bought and yummier too!

What you need:

2 heads of garlic, roasted (you can reduce this if you aren't a huge garlic lover, but roasting makes the flavor much more mild, so it isn't quite as excessive as it seems)

         NOTE: To roast, simply snip off the very top of the heads to slightly reveal the cloves within.  Drizzle or spray with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes, or until completely softened.

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2-3 tablespoons tahini

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Small handful sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1/2-1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons garlic powder 

Water (or more oil)

Add chickpeas, garlic, tahini, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, jalapeno, salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic powder to blender or food processor.  Drizzle in the water (or olive oil, for a more traditional, but fattier recipe) until it blends smoothly but is still thick.

I served it with a big dollop of chile garlic hot pepper sauce in the center.  Try the same yourself or enjoy how it it is with some chips, bread, or baby carrots and cucumber if you're like me!

Goat Curry

Goat curry is a traditional Saban dish and ever since I came here, I've been wanting to give it a try.  I finally got a hold of some local goat- here's what I came up with!  It was delicious.  And the bones really make you have to work for your food.  This will make a lot, so you may want to cut it in half.  I just wanted to go ahead and use all of the meat I bought since I already defrosted it.

What you need:

5-6 pounds bone-in goat meat, chopped into pieces
Vinegar
Jamaican curry powder- a lot of it, probably 1/4-1/3 cup in all

3 cups EACH chopped pumpkin and carrots
1 large onion, chopped
2/3 cup chopped hot peppers (find something with about the same heat as jalapenos, or maybe a little milder)
2 tablespoons red curry paste
2 tablespoons Sambal Badjak (an Indonesian chilli paste)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Ketjap Manis
1 cup coconut milk
4 + cups water
32 ounces stewed or diced tomatoes

Start by washing the goat meat and rinsing with vinegar.  Season with curry powder until you lightly covered all of the meat.  Place in the refrigerator and let sit for a while- a did 8 or so hours.

Grease one HUGE pot or two fairly large pots and heat on high.  From now on out, if you are using the two pots (which is what I did, because I don't have one that is big enough on its own), just throw half of the ingredients listed into one pot and the other half into the other).

Add goat to the pans and sear, tossing every few minutes to make sure all sides are seared.  If everything is sticking too much after a few minutes of this, add a splash of water to the pan and scrape up the browned bits. Then add the carrots, pumpkin, onion, and peppers, curry paste, Sambal Badjak, garlic, and Ketjap Manis. Brown this a bit, stirring every minute or so.  Add the cup of coconut milk,4 cups water, and canned tomatoes.  Turn heat to low, cover partially, and simmer for a couple of hours.  Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and add water as necessary.  Season with additional curry powder, garlic, or Ketjap Manis if it still needs a little something at the end.  If you're looking for an extra kick, add some Matouk's hot pepper sauce or calypso sauce.

I served it with naan bread for my boyfriend and just with a salad for myself.  Yum!  Rice would also be a good accompaniment.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Coconut (and lots of veggies) Chicken Curry

I just finished eating this, and am trying to do this post as soon as possible to try to get things accurate.  Even so, this post is going to be a lot of estimation and open to a lot of personal interpretation.  Also, I'm still sweating from eating it, so if you don't like spicy, you'll want to cut the heat.

What you need:

1 pound of chicken cutlets of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil spray
Splash of white wine
1 large onion
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2- 2/3 cup roughly chopped Fresno peppers or jalapeno peppers (reduce this or use milder peppers to cut back on the heat)
1-2 teaspoons soy sauce or Ketjap Manis
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
3/4 cup to 1 cup cooked pumpkin (I used canned because that's what I had)
1/2-1 cup coconut milk
1 can chicken broth (or equivalent water and chicken bouillon)
1 can diced or stewed tomatoes


Start by cutting the chicken into 1 and a half inch chunks.  Toss in a bowl with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (I used about a teaspoon of salt, a couple teaspoons of pepper, and a couple teaspoons garlic powder).  Heat a large pot greased with the olive oil spray on high.  Throw chicken in the pan and sear, stirring every couple of minutes to make sure all sides are browned.  Toss a splash of wine in the pan to loosen up the browned stuff at the bottom of the pot.  Dump chicken into a bowl (it does not need to be cooked through at this point, just browned).  Place pot back on stove, grease again, and add the onion, ginger, garlic, hot peppers, eggplant, soy sauce, and curry paste.  Saute until slightly browned and slightly softened, then add the bell pepper and the chicken.  After a couple minutes, add the coconut milk, pumpkin, chicken broth, and tomatoes.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

After tasting, if you think it needs something more, try fish sauce, more soy sauce or Ketjap Manis, or some Sambal Badjak (type of chili-based sauce used in Indonesian cooking).

I served it over a bed of lettuce for me and rice for my boyfriend.  Topped it off with a cilantro-mint sauce I made.  Yum!

*Mildly* Hot Pepper Sauce

I bought some bags of small peppers because they were fresh and a good price- perfect excuse to try out some "hot" pepper sauce.  I put the hot in quotations because these little peppers are really only mildly hot.  They definitely have a bit more zip to them than bell peppers, but are not as hot as jalepenos.  I think they may be fresno peppers, but not sure.  Anyway, you could try using jalepenos, anaheim chiles, or banana peppers, or a mix to create a nice level of heat.

What you need:

A couple cups of small mildly hot peppers, stems removed
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
1 large tomato, quartered
Olive oil spray
Salt, pepper
Cider vinegar
Soy sauce or Ketjap Manis (I had never heard of this until I was on Saba, but it is similar to soy sauce, it is just a bit sweeter and more complexly flavored)

Heat oven to 450 or broil setting on HIGH.  Grease a cookie sheet or 13 x 9 pan with the olive oil spray.  Place half of the peppers, the onion, garlic, celery, and tomato on the pan, spreading everything out evenly.  Spray with oil again and season with salt and pepper.  Bake or broil for about 15 minutes, stirring once.  The vegetables should be blackened in areas, but not completely burnt or at all dried out.  Remove from oven and let cool a bit.

Chop the remaining peppers until rough chunks and place in blender.  Add the roasted vegetables plus a few tablespoons of cider vinegar and 2-3 teaspoons soy sauce or ketjap manis.  Blend on pulse setting, adding either more vinegar (if you think it can take extra vinegar flavor) or water until a smooth but thick sauce results.  Add more pepper if you think it needs it, or try adding some other spices too.  Enjoy!

Pan-Seared Filet Minion with Onions and Portabella Mushroom in Red Wine Sauce

The other half of our Valentine's meal (the tuna I just posted was the first half).  Steak is pricey on Saba, but definitely a nice treat every once and a while- and still much cheaper than going out!  We also had a blue cheese dressed salad to accompany this.

What you need:

1 6-ounce Filet Minion
Salt and Pepper, Olive Oil Spray
1 large Portabella mushroom, sliced
1 small Onion, sliced thinly
Garlic Powder, to taste (I probably use 2-3 teaspoons)
1/2 cup dry Red Wine
Fresh Rosemary, chopped

Pat the steak dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Heat a skillet on high and spray with olive oil, or drizzle a small amount into the pan.  Let heat up, and then add the steak.  Sear on each side for about a minute and half.  Add the mushroom, onion, garlic powder, wine, and rosemary to the pan.  Stir everything around and lower heat.  After a couple (if you want a rare steak) or a 4-5 minutes (if you want it more well done), take the steak out of the pan and let it rest while the vegetables finish cooking in the wine.  Remove from heat when they are tender.  Add more salt and pepper if needed.  Slice steak and serve with vegetables and sauce on top.  Enjoy!