Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts

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Inspired by Chinese Cantonese Cuisine, this light and refreshing dish is so easy to prepare. Make sure  that you use fresh bean sprouts, rather than the canned variety, for a crunchy texture. The beauty of this dish is that it can served hot or cold and is perfect for a light lunch or an evening meal.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 2/3 cups fresh bean sprouts
3 scallions
1 medium red bell pepper
3 Tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
A dash of sesame seed oil

Directions:
Using a colander, rinse the bean sprouts in cold water, discarding any husks or small pieces that float to the top. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels and set aside.

Slice the scallions on the diagonal in short sections. Core the red bell pepper, removing the seeds and cut the red bell pepper into thin strips.

Heat the oil in a preheated wok or large saute pan. Add the bean sprouts, scallions and red bell pepper. Stir fry for about 2 minutes

Add the sugar, salt, soy sauce and sesame seed oil to the vegetables. Stir well to blend. Serve hot or cold.

Cook’s Notes:
As a variation, you can use thinly sliced red chili peppers with the seeds removed, to give will give this dish a spicy bite. You can also leave the seeds in for an even more hotter taste.

Plantain Chips

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Photo Credit: Culinary Colleen, 2011

Plantains – not to be confused with the regular yellow “dessert” bananas – are a staple in Latin America, Central Africa, India, Asia, and Caribbean cuisine. When green plantains are cooked, they taste amazingly like a regular white potato. That’s because the starch inside a green-skinned plantain has not turned to sugar yet.

Nutritionally speaking, plantains are a rich source of vitamins, minerals and fiber – in fact, they contain more vitamin A, C and potassium than regular bananas. And while green plantains are starchy, they are also very low on the glycemic index – pretty much on par with a sweet potato.

For this recipe, you will want to use GREEN PLANTAINS, not the yellow- and black-skinned plantains, which tend to be much more riper and best used for sweetness in main dishes and desserts.

These plantains can be the perfect  potato-like crispy foil  for guacamole or salsa.

I hope that you will enjoy them as much as we did!

Ingredients:
2 green plantains, peeled
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
Sea salt, to taste

Directions:
Cut  the plantains diagonally into  very thin slices.
Heat a shallow layer of coconut oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.Carefully place the slices in the hot oil . Be sure that you do not overcrowd the skillet. Too many slices of plantain will not allow for even cooking and prevent browning, to achieve a crisp chip. Fry the slices 2 minutes, until golden brown in color.

Remove chips, using a spatula, a slotted spoon, or a wire spider. and place on paper towels to drain. SALT IMMEDIATELY after removal from the oil,  to assure the salt sticks to the chips.

Serve immediately.

Cook’s Notes:
In addition to using salt as a seasoning, also add another seasoning of your choice, such as chipotle powder or paprika, for a change of pace.

You can also slice the plantains lengthwise for a variation in presentation.

Cucumber Noodle Salad with Mint

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This is a great salad and just perfect for to serve as a light lunch or dinner during summer.

So often, we find ourselves just putting cucumbers in a smoothie or making refreshing cocktails, because they are made of more than 95% water and provide much needed hydration. They are also very low in calories which means you can eat as many cucumbers as you would like to have and not worry about counting calories.Did you know that a half cup of sliced cucumbers has only 8 calories and provides more than 10% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin K? Imagine that!

This recipe is very adaptable. You can easily double the ingredients to share with a friend.

Serves 1

Ingredients:
For the dressing:
2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4-5 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon tamari
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste

For the noodles:
1/2 large cucumber
handful of tightly packed fresh mint
1 green scallion (only the green part), finely sliced
1/2  teaspoon black  caraway seeds
1/2  teaspoon white sesame seeds

Directions:
To make the dressing, combine the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

To make the salad, remove smaller leaves from the stem. Tear the larger leaves into smaller pieces.

Make the noodles by using a spiralizer or  a veggie peeler. Add the noodles, mint and scallion to a bowl and pour the dressing on top.Gently toss the noodles to cover them in the dressing.

Top with caraway and sesame seeds and serve fresh.