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Home , Agave syrup, Soup

Oxtail Soup

This soup is very simple to make, it is very hearty and comforting, especially in this cold weather. You find a complete in a bowl of this soup. I call it soup, but somewhat comes in between soup and due to its thickness. Because oxtail has high and high gelatin content, I usually like to cook this soup only during cold weather months. To speed up the time I used the pressure cooker because oxtail is very muscular. I like to cook this soup in two steps because oxtail needs a longer time to cook and I like to visualize the pieces of potatoes, and celery in my soup and not have them “pulverized”.

Ingredients:

1 ½ -2 lbs oxtail 1 medium cut 3-4 1 can stew tomatoes ½ tablespoon 1 tablespoon cooking wine and pepper to taste 4 medium potatoes cut in pieces 3 medium carrots cut in pieces 4 stalks of celery

Method:

In the pressure cooker, sauté the onion and garlic with the olive oil until slightly brown, add the oxtail and braise. Add the can of stewed tomatoes, the cooking wine and cover the oxtail with . Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook in high heat until the pressure has been built up. Once the pressure is on, turn the heat to low and let it cook for approximately 40 minutes or until the oxtail are tender. Add the , and celery to the soup and let it cook until the potato and carrot are soft, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot. I hope you enjoy this simple and hearty recipe for .

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Coconut Macaroons I am so excited to share with you the first that I made from “”, a published by Joanne Chang…she is amazing, after getting a degree in applied mathematics and economic from Harvard she decided to pursue culinary. You can find all the details about her on her book which I read with amazement. The cookbook is easy to read and most importantly, it is easy to follow.

Since I was not sure what was the proper way to post a recipe from a book, I contacted Joanne and she personally assured me that I could post her recipe.

These macaroons are delicious and as described in the book “chewy, sweet, soft, crispy…”, and they taste exactly as she described. The center of these macaroons are soft, creamy…yum! I do not have words to tell you how delightful these treats are and believe me they are so simple to make…really, the recipe is so simple that they can make you feel guilty. Anyway, enough talk and let’s move to the important part…the recipe!

Ingredients:

Pastry Cream

½ cup 3 tablespoons 2 tablespoons cake flour 1 pinch kosher salt 2 egg yolks ½ teaspoon extract

2-14 ounces bags of sweetened shredded coconut 6 egg whites ¾ cup 1 pinch kosher salt

Preparation:

Mix the cake flour with the sugar and the salt. Add this mixture to the egg yolks. Scald the milk until almost (do not boil). Add the scalded milk to the egg yolk mix a little at the time, whisking constantly. Return the milk and yolk mix to the stove over medium heat, whisking continuously and vigorously until the mixture thickens and boils. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract. Cover the cream with a plastic wrap, placing it on top of the cream and let it cool completely.

Preheat the oven at 350F and prepare the baking sheet, by placing a parchment paper (I used silicone mat).

In a large bowl, combine the coconut, egg white, sugar salt and the pastry cream. Stir all together until well combined. You can then refrigerate the dough at this stage if needed for up to 5 days. Scoop approximately 1 tablespoon of the dough into the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for approximately 20 minutes and then transfer to the wire rack to cool completely.

The macaroons can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, most likely will not last for 3 days.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Ham Frittata First of all, I hope all you mothers had a great Mother’s Day with your loved ones.

This is the kind of dish that can be served as , or . I love the versatility of it…you can add whatever you want and in no time you have a nutritious and healthy meal.

In this simple recipe for frittata I used ham, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, red bell pepper and mozzarella cheese and of eggs. You can add spinach, , olives, and the list of ingredients can go on and on, and you can even make a vegetarian version of it.

I need to confess that the ham that I used in this frittata is from Easter, which was left in the freezer since then…and I still have one more piece of ham

Ingredients: 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 seed removed and chopped 1 small red bell pepper chopped Cilantro to taste 1/3 cup ham chopped 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese (I used the sticks) 1 tablespoon olive oil 5 eggs, slightly beaten ¼ cup milk Salt and pepper to taste Method:

In the egg mixture add salt, pepper and the milk and set aside.

In a fry pan with cover sauteé the onion in olive oil until slightly soft. Add to the pan the ham, tomatoes, red bell pepper and cilantro. Mix gently, until all the ingredients are blended together. Pour the egg mixture over the and layer the cheese. Cover the pan and lower the temperature to low and let it cook until the egg is settled. Remove the pan from the heat and flip to a dish. Serve hot..

If you like this simple recipe for ham frittata, you might want to check on Spinach and Canadian Frittata.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Brussels Sprouts with Chicken

Yes, more Brussels sprouts, and this time with chicken. This dish is a kind of an adaptation of Asian dish…instead of let’s say “Chinese vegetables”, I substituted for Brussels sprouts. It is simple and really fast to fix, perfect for a weekday dinner and great for next day lunch. The great thing about this dish is that you can make this dish and at the end of it you will have only one pan to wash. I like to serve this dish with .

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast, cut into small chunks 3-4 cloves of garlic 1 tablespoon soy sauce ½ tablespoon corn Salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 small onion, chopped ½ lb Brussel sprouts cut in half Method:

Marinate the chicken with garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside. In the meantime blanch the sprouts. Make sure that you just blanch, otherwise it will be mushy. Just before sautéing the chicken add the by coating slightly the chicken pieces with the corn starch.

In a , sauté the chicken in olive oil. Set aside once the chicken is fully cooked. In the same wok brown the onion, add the blanched Brussel sprouts. Mix gently and add the chicken back to the wok. Stir gently and serve hot with rice.

I hope you enjoyed this Asian inspired simple recipe for Brussels sprouts with chicken. You might want to check a simpler version of Brussels sprouts, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon.

Did you know that Brussels sprouts contain high ? Moreover, Brussels sprouts have more C than oranges, so four to six sprouts contain the adult daily requirement for .

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Mango Frozen with

Now that the warm weather is here, I keep the ice cream bucket in the freezer all the time, so I am ready for a quick and fast frozen dessert. This is a very simple and refreshing yogurt dessert. I love the color and the of this frozen yogurt, nothing like the combination of fragrant stirred together with the tartness of yogurt…

Ingredients:

2 large mangoes 2 tablespoon vanilla vodka 2 tablespoon ¼ cup 1 cup Greek yogurt

Fresh strawberry and mint leaves for

Method:

Cut the mango in small pieces and blend together with vodka, lemon juice and agave syrup. Add the yogurt to the mango mix and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Place the mango/yogurt mix into the ice cream maker and follow the instructions of your ice cream maker.

Garnish with strawberry and mint leaves.

If you enjoy this simple recipe for mango frozen yogurt you might want to check on strawberry frozen yogurt as well.

Did you know that there are more than 1000 different varieties of ? Mangoes are rich in , minerals and anti-oxidants. Mangoes contain that are good tenderizing agent, therefore often used for marinade.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Lentil Sprouts Soup

I hope you all had a great Easter weekend…we had a wonderful family time at my mom’s home, where we did a lot of egg coloring and shared precious time together. Not to mention that there was a lot of …

This week, I am so excited to share something that I learned from Norma at Garden to Wok…sprouting . So far I had sprouted and lentils…and both of them turned out great. I made a stew with the sprouts using tomato and eggplant and with the lentil sprouts, I made a soup.

I enjoyed watching the chickpeas and lentils sprout…it is so much fun seeing them first turning big and plump, then the little sprouts were coming out and getting longer and longer by the day, and finally, from the pot to the table.

Briefly, wash the chickpeas or lentils and soak in water overnight. Remove them from the water and drain. Place them in a colander and cover with a wet paper towel. Place the colander in an airy area of the kitchen counter and rinse 3 times a day. Make sure to keep the paper towel moist. You will start to see the sprouts after 18 to 24 hours, depending on the room temperature. Since the weather hasn’t been too warm and I did not want other things to grow with the sprouts, I decided to cook them after 3 days.

For more detail in how to sprout lentils and chickpeas, please visit Norma’s site at Garden to Wok. You will be amazed at what Norma shares.

This is a very simple recipe for a delicious and nutritious lentil sprouts soup. Now that I know how to sprout, I will definitely try and share more recipes in the future.

This is what I did with my first lentil sprouts…You can substitute the chicken with broth if you want to have a vegetarian dish.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of dry lentils, sprouted 1 carrot cut in small pieces 1 small onion chopped 2-3 cups of chicken broth (water for vegetarian version) 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon tarragon 1 teaspoon 1 teaspoon Salt and pepper to taste Method:

Sauteé onion in the olive oil until slightly brown, then add the lentil sprouts, stir gently and add the carrots. Cook for a minute or two and add the chicken broth and the spices as well as salt and pepper. Lower the heat and cook until the lentil sprouts are soft. Serve hot.

I hope you enjoy this lentil sprouts soup. If you like soup, you might like the navy soup as well.

Did you know that unsprouted lentils lack 2 essential amino acids? Once the lentils are sprouted it contain all the 22 essential amino acids like the ones found in . Now, what are essential amino acids? They are the ones that our body does not synthesize, therefore must be supplied in the diet.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Kumquat Preserve Some of you must be thinking kum…what? Yes, kumquat. They are little olive shape oranges with rind that is sweet and juice in the center that is sour, therefore many people just eat the rind.

I have a dwarf kumquat tree that only gave me 5 little ones, but a friend of mine has a big kumquat tree. So I have been getting lots of them while I wait for mine to give more . I like them raw, but I just can eat so much, therefore decided to make a preserve.

Since I grew up with it, I love it and like the whole , I mean almost, except the seeds. My husband did not acquire the taste for it, either raw or preserved…so I was like, if you do not like it, do not force yourself so I have more for myself…am I being selfish?

Anyway, I made a couple of versions by using turbinado sugar and coconut sugar. Today I am sharing the one made with turbinado sugar.

I can eat the preserved kumquat like candy…and the syrup is great when diluted in water, either hot or cold. It is so tasty with a touch of tartness.

If you have a chance, please give this a try. If you find out that you do not like them raw, try this simple recipe for kumquat preserve.

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb fresh kumquats 1 ½ cup turbinado sugar 8 whole cloves

Method:

Wash the kumquats well by soaking in lots of water. Drain the kumquats and place them in a pot with hot water and let them boil in high heat for a minute.

Drain well and place the kumquat back into the pan. Add sugar and cloves, turn the heat to low and let if cook for approximately 1 ½ hour or until the water has been reduced and kumquats are in a thick syrup.

Remove from the heat and let it cool. Store in glass jar and refrigerate. Serve cold over ice cream, , cake or anyway you like. And some vacation pictures from the resorts and Tulum…

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for kumquat preserve and the pictures

Did you know that kumquat has its origins in Asia? Kumquat was introduced into Florida from Japan in 1885.

Thank you for visiting Simple Recipes…have a colorful week! Zucchini Spaghetti

We are back and had a great time in Cancun…again? Yes, we love the beaches and the people there…I love to be pampered, lots of massages, fresh food and sun I will post some pictures later once I have the chance to organize them. Now I am back to reality…

In regards to this dish…you must be thinking ”what”? Zucchini spaghetti? Well, this dish is kind of an impostor…since spaghetti squash is commonly used to mimic spaghetti, this dish uses zucchini to do the trick. In this simple recipe, you will need to shred the zucchini into thin and long threads. Top with your favorite sauce, with or without meat and you have a tasty and healthy meal in front of you in a blink.

This is a very colorful dish, and great to welcome Spring… Ingredients:

2-3 zucchini 1-2 teaspoon salt Your favorite sauce Method:

Shred the zucchini and set aside. Boil water and add salt. Add the shredded zucchini to the boiling water and boil for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the zucchini well and top it with your favorite sauce.

In this recipe, I topped it with , tomato sauce and added some shredded cheese, sun dried tomatoes and fresh .

I hope you enjoy this simple and easy recipe using zucchini. If you like this recipe, you might want to check on the spaghetti squash spaghetti as well. Both this recipes are simple, nutritious and low carb.

Did you know that zucchini is a fruit? Zucchini is very low in calorie, therefore suitable for weight loss diet and contains vitamin C, beta-carotene , magnesium, phosphorus, , potassium and fibers.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Sauce I love all kinds of stuffed bell peppers. I usually use , bulgur…but today I decided to use some left-over rice that I had in the fridge. But feel free to substitute the rice for any of your preference. Instead of serving or cooking the bell peppers in tomato sauce or broth, I decided to top them with crimini mushroom sauce. It came out delicious…and since we could not finish it all, I got to take it for lunch the next day.

This is the kind of meal that you have all your need in one simple plate…the carbs, the and the veggies. These stuffed bell peppers are very simple to make and yet delicious.

Ingredients:

Stuffed Bell Peppers

1lb ground beef 2 roma tomatoes, seed removed and diced 1 small onion finely chopped Fresh parsley 1 cup cold cooked long grain rice ½ teaspoon all-spice Salt and pepper to taste 3 bell peppers 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 ½ cup water

Mushroom Sauce

8oz sliced crimini mushroom 1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/3 red wine 1 ¼ cup beef broth 1 ½ tablespoon all-purpose flour Fresh parsley to taste/garnish

Method:

Stuffed Bell Peppers

In a big bowl mix the ground beef, tomato, onion, parsley, salt, pepper and all-spice. Add to the beef mix the cooked rice and mix gently until the ingredients are all even distributed.

Cut the bell peppers in half and remove the stem and the seed. Stuff each bell pepper with the beef mix.

In a wide frying pan, add the olive oil and place the stuffed peppers with the meat side towards the pan, let the meat brown for approximately 2-3 minute. Once the beef are brown and settled, flip the peppers and add the water. Cover and let the water boil in high heat. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat to medium/low and continue to cook for approximately 25 minutes, until the meat is cooked thoroughly. In the meantime prepare the mushroom sauce.

Mushroom Sauce

In a pan, sauteé the mushroom with the butter and olive oil until the mushrooms are slightly soft. Add the wine and let it simmer for approximately 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of the beef broth. Combine the ¼ cup of beef broth with the flour until smooth. Add the flour mix to the mushrooms until well blended by stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper and simmer for about 1-2 minutes. Add the parsley and serve over the stuffed bell peppers.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for stuffed bell peppers with mushroom sauce.

If you like this recipe, you might want to check others simple recipes of stuffed bell peppers such as the one with turkey and bulgur or beef with quinoa out.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Chicken with Garlic

I am sharing this recipe of “frango à passarinho” which is very popular in Brazil at Chandani’s site…

I have been following Chandani via her Travel Through Food for a while, so when she asked me post as a guest on her site, I was very honored and thought that this was a great opportunity to introduce myself to her readers and share this simple recipe which somehow illustrates the aspiration of my site…simple and with a touch of my mixed background.

Chandani is from Nepal, which means moonlight in Nepali. She is a very fun and lively girl. She started to realize the beauty and art of cooking after leaving her mom’s cooking to pursue her studies. Throughout her travels, she learned to appreciate food and also incorporate them into her mom’s recipes to make them unique. In spite of reading a lot of recipes, she does not like to follow them, she just follows her heart when it comes to creating dishes. She loves to cook for her friends and family and her greatest motivations are the smiles that she gets from them after tasting her food.

Now that I am done with introducing Chandani, please take a moment to visit her site, Travel Through Food, and finish reading the remaining of my post. I hope you all enjoy Chandani’s site as much as I do. I hope you enjoy this healthier version of this very popular dish from Brazilian and Chandani’s site.

Did you know that “frango à passarinho” in Portuguese means chicken like little birds? It is because this dish is usually done by deep frying small pieces of chicken.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!