May 7 2014

Paleo Candied Bacon

Posted on May 7, 2014 by aHeapingCup

Oh mama.

These are seriously good. The perfect sweet, salty and spicy combo.

They’re like spiced mixed nuts, but bacon. Which is so much better, because bacon.

Totally Paleo too, so totally guilt-free. Ok, maybe not totally guilt-free. But definitely a yummy snack made out of paleo-friendly ingredients. If you’re not paleo-ing then use just brown sugar instead of coconut sugar.

This is what you need:

The red chili flakes are optional.

I love the spicy kick but if you don’t like too much heat, the cinnamon alone will be enough.

Begin by preheating the oven to 350F.

Then place a wire rack on a lined baking sheet.

Lay the bacon on the rack.

Sprinkle on enough coconut sugar to coat the bacon. I used about 1/4 – 1/3 cup.

Drizzle on as much maple syrup as your heart desires.

Remember to use pure maple syrup if you want to keep it Paleo.

Smear or brush the syrup and sugar over the bacon to create a glaze.

Finally, sprinkle on some cinnamon and red chili flakes, if you’re using them.

Bake for about 20 minutes and then check on the bacon.

I felt like mine needed some more sugar to help create a thicker candy coating.

I then baked them for an additional 15 minutes until they were a deep brown, but not burnt!

I have no words.

*Walks backwards while making intense awkward eye contact*

*Starts walking forward again, still maintaining eye contact, asks you to subscribe to my blog while waving a piece of candied bacon in your face*

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May 6 2014

Beet & Goat Cheese Salad w/ Orange Thyme Vinaigrette

Posted on May 6, 2014 by aHeapingCup

Time for a salad recipe!

After Cinco de Mayo, I may have had one Gluten-Free Baked Tortilla Chip too many and this salad is such a tasty way to get back on track. The dressing is a new favorite. I’m gonna try it on other salads and maybe even as a marinade. Hmmm…

If you’ve never tried this combo, you don’t know what your missing. Sweet roasted beets, tangy goat cheese and a little crunch from the pecans. Balance of flavors and textures all day er’day. The orange thyme vinaigrette sets this apart from other beet and goat cheese salads. So fresh and herb-y.

You need beets:

Golden beets are so pretty. They’re so bright and colorful.

It’s like they’re constantly batting their eyelashes at me and making me blush and giggle. I love the mix of the two types of beets, but you can go for any kind.

You also need a small amount of goat cheese, so I got the tiniest size available.

Begin by preheating the oven to 400F.

Cut the tops and bottoms off of the beets. You can save the beet greens for another time and cook them like you would any dark leafy green.

Separate the golden and red beets on separate sheets of foil (to prevent the red beets from bleeding and staining the golden beets), drizzle with oil and a liberal and democratic sprinkling of S&P.

Then wrap them up into little bundles of beet joy.

Bake for about 50 minutes or until they are fork tender.

I usually bake until I catch a whiff of them, then I stick a fork in them and they are usually perfectly tender.

While the beets roast, make the Orange Thyme Vinaigrette.

You need orange and thyme, and time. And lame.

You need extra virgin olive oil as well.

Remove the thyme leaves from their stem and place them in a small jar or bowl.

Add the juice of an orange, an equal amount of olive oil and a dash of S&P.

Whisk or shake until emulsified and set aside or chill in the refrigerator.

Once the beets have cooked through, remove from the oven and allow to cool enough to handle.

The skins should peel off easily. A paper towel helps rub red beet skins off without staining your fingers.

Slice the beets into rounds and set aside.

Throw some spring greens into a bowl, drizzle some of the vinaigrette on and toss.

Place on a platter and top with the sliced beets.

Sprinkle on some goat cheese and pecans.

Sprinkle on a final dusting of S&P and a tiny drizzle of dressing.

Eat!

The perfect bite.

Sweet, tangy, healthy and a little indulgent.

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May 4 2014

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Posted on May 4, 2014 by aHeapingCup

Salsa verde. I’ve always had a special place in my belly, I mean heart, for it.

A good salsa verde has the perfect balance of smokey and fresh and yummy.

I really recommend the extra step of roasting the ingredients. Some people boil them, or blend them raw, but I find that roasting them gives the salsa a flavor you cannot achieve otherwise.

So, this is what you need:

Tomatillos:

They’re like green tomatoes but with cuter outfits.

And then you undress them:

Rinse them well to remove the stickiness.

*Insert undressing/stickiness innuendo*

Slice open a jalapeño.

I kept the seeds in and the spice level was pretty low to me. So, I would leave the seeds in, unless you’re really sensitive to heat. Or you’re a little bitch. Whichever feels accurate for you.

Place all the ingredients on a baking sheet. Make sure to leave the skins on the onion and especially the garlic cloves, or they will burn.

Arrange the veggies like this:

Broil until charred like this:

Once cool enough to handle, peel the jalapeño, onion and garlic:

Place everything into a blender and add the cilantro and juice of a lime.

Blend until it reaches the consistency you like.

This is how I like my salsa verde:

Enjoy in all kinds of yummy Mexican dishes.

Or try them with my Gluten-Free Baked Tortilla Chips:

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May 4 2014

Cherry Tomato Salsa

Posted on May 4, 2014 by aHeapingCup

I love this idea. Using cherry tomatoes gives this salsa so much more of an intense flavor.

Sometimes tomatoes can be a little bland, but I got some orange and red cherry tomatoes bursting with sweetness and it just takes this salsa to the next level.

It couldn’t be easier to make.

This is all you need:

If you’re really OCD you can cut the tops of the tomatoes that have stems:

If you’re only partially OCD, like me, then cut off the stems of 3 tomatoes before deciding life’s too short for this shit and that this is why you spent all that money on a food processor. Then toss all the tomatoes in the processor, stems and all. More fiber and minerals, you tell yourself.

Then roughly chop an onion because that’s the least you can do. Sheesh.

We stopped saying sheesh in the 90’s right?

Ok.

Place everything in the food processor and add the juice of a lime and some S&P.

Do NOT blend it continuously.

Just pulse until desired consistency is reached. If you blend it continuously, you run the risk of over blending.

Enjoy with my Gluten-Free Baked Tortilla Chips.

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May 3 2014

Gluten-Free Baked Tortilla Chips

Posted on May 3, 2014 by aHeapingCup

Brace yourselves, this is the first of a few more recipes I will be posting for Cinco de Mayo.

I love Mexican food, and a Mexican holiday is the perfect excuse to have some. Although, I never need an excuse to eat Mexican food. Or any other food. Forget what I just said.

Oh, look! Tortillas!

Make sure you get gluten-free tortillas. I know that the Guerrero brand white corn tortillas are gluten-free. Just check the ingredients and make sure there isn’t any gluten/wheat.

Alright, let us begin.

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Cut the tortillas into sixths, by slicing them in half horizontally and then cutting them in a “X” shape.

Observe:

Also, you can brush the tortillas with oil on both sides before cutting them, or you can do what I did: arrange them on a lined and oiled baking sheet and then brush them with oil on top.

By now the oven should be preheated. I made two batches at a time.

After about 10-15 mins they should be crisp and golden brown. I found that the ones on the bottom rack were done quicker, that’s why I have a range of 5 mins. Check on your tortilla chips after 10 mins.

Once they are done they should look something like this:

Drain them on a paper towel and season with S&P, or maybe cumin too, immediately.

I will be posting some yummy salsa recipes too. You gotta dip these tortilla chips in something!

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Pretty please, with S&P and a pinch of red chili flakes on top.

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Apr 25 2014

Quinoa Salad w/ Cucumbers & Feta

Posted on April 25, 2014 by aHeapingCup

This salad is so easy and simple to make and it has the perfect contrast of flavors. The fresh cucumber offers relief from the saltiness of the feta which cuts through the quinoa. Then a little green onion for that mild onion flavor and some ripped basil to freshen it all up. And lastly, some Chia seeds to give a little crunch and make me feel better about myself.

This salad is a great base for other ingredients. I thought about adding some of the shredded chicken I had left over from my Moroccan Roast Chicken, then I said let me make it vegan and then I added chicken when the cameras weren’t watching. Shhhhhh.

Also, you could make this full on Greek by using red onion instead of green onion and adding some diced tomato and olives. Or I could’ve added loads of spices to the quinoa. Many ways to modify this and make it your own. Quinoa goes with any flavor you mix it up with. She’s a skank like that. Yes, quinoa is a she.

I was inspired to make this salad when I made a ton of East Meets West Chicken Stock from my Moroccan roast.

So, this is what I used for my version:

I liked the simplicity of all green ingredients with a pop of white when I was making the dish. But, truth be told, I LOVE colorful things. Next time I make a quinoa salad it’s going to be so colorful and full of different ingredients. I’ll call it ….. my Rainbow Quinoa Salad!

I just had an “Aha!” moment. I feel like sometimes Oprah goes a little too overboard with the “Aha!” moment shit. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Oprah, I watched her OWN network from day one and Iyanla: Fix My Life is one of my favorites shows. Especially when Iyanla calls people out. Like when she called out that one chick who was in the middle of her sob story. Iyanla was like, “Hold, on. Let me cut through this. YOU WAS HOEIN’!”

Fucking classic. Check it out here. I lined it up at the exact spot, so that you don’t have to watch but a few seconds of pure television gold.

Oh ya, quinoa salad.

Start out by rinsing a cup of quinoa for a minute or two. This removes any bitterness on the outside of the quinoa called saponin. Google told me.

After rinsing, take the extra step of lightly sautéing the quinoa in some oil with little pepper first, to enhance it’s yummy nutty flavor and give it some depth.

After sautéing for a few minutes, add 2 cups of the chicken stock.

Cook according to your package’s instructions. I brought it to a boil, stirred it, covered it, then reduced it to simmer and cooked it for 15 mins that way. Then I turned off the heat, left the cover on and let it sit like that for 5 more mins. Then I fluffed it with a fork and tried not to dive in head first. The smell from the fragrant stock I made was intoxicating.

Once the quinoa was cooled, I added all the other ingredients.

I love all the green.

I used about half a block of feta, but you use how much you like based on how intense your feta is.

Finally, add some chia seeds and a drizzle of champagne (or white wine, or red wine) vinegar and some oil. I used grapseed but olive oil is fine too.

Toss the salad 😉

Enjoy!

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Apr 22 2014

Green Chile Hummus

Posted on April 22, 2014 by aHeapingCup

Why haven’t I thought of this before? Nowadays they have every flavor of hummus imaginable. Roasted red pepper, roasted garlic, artichoke, you name it. I have never seen green chile hummus. Maybe they have some in New Mexico, but I didn’t see any when I was there.

This stuff is soooo easy to make and it can be used so many different ways.

I like it straight up with some pita bread. I need to find a way to make a paleo pita bread, that actually tastes good.

Anyway, this is what you need:

I used hot chiles, but I found that the hummus wasn’t spicy at all. Keep that in mind when you choose the heat level of your chiles.

Also, I used grape seed oil because it doesn’t have much flavor and I didn’t want the olive oil to overshadow the green chiles. If you have any another vegetable oil use that, otherwise olive oil is just fine if it’s all you have.

Begin by rinsing off the chickpeas/garbanzo beans.

Add them to a blender or food processor.

Add a 1/4 cup of tahini.

Then add a small can of diced green chiles, juice and all.

Add the juice of a lime.

I’m so glad I was able to include this vital photograph of a lime cut in half.

Add S&P, to taste.

While the hummus is blending, pour the oil in until it reaches the desired consistency.

Once smooth, taste and adjust seasonings.

I added a bit more salt and touch more oil. It was perfecto!

Oh and that dark red stuff is sumac (google it). It’s a Middle Eastern spice that has a tart flavor. It’s a traditional garnish for hummus and it goes well with the green chiles, but it’s also totally optional.

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Apr 19 2014

Spiced Shrimp Cocktail w/ Avocado Dip

Posted on April 19, 2014 by aHeapingCup

Shrimp cocktail. It’s classic. I love it, but sometimes cold bland shrimp just doesn’t cut it. Sometimes you want to eat something that warms the belly and soothes the soul. Or maybe you just want some tasty shrimp and dip. Either way, you came to the right place. Kick back, relax and let’s get started.

For the shrimp you need the holy trinity of seafood:

The holy trinity would be garlic salt, lemon pepper and Old Faithful, I mean Old Bay. Also I used coconut oil for this recipe because I love coconut and shrimp together and because it’s supposed to be healthy or whatever.

For the Avocado Dip, you need the following ingredients:

Plus some spices: garlic and onion powder, cumin, and of course, S&P.

Roughly chop all the ingredients and place them in a blender or food processor.

Juice all of the limes.

Then add the spices.

Puree until smooth.

Place in a cute glass.

Chill while you make the shrimp. Chill the avocado dip I mean. You should also chill emotionally, not physically though, because you still need to make the shrimp.

About the shrimp, get them deveined but with the tails still on. Or you can peel and devein them yourself.

Season with the Holy Trinity of Seafood.

Scoop out a tablespoon of coconut oil, sniff it and imagine yourself on a tropical island sunbathing and sipping on a refreshing drink served in a coconut. Then open your eyes and feel depressed. Only for a second. Then feel better because you’re making this amazing shrimp cocktail and you’re doing the best you can and that’s gotta count for something right?

Then melt the oil in a pan.

Add the shrimp and cook for a few minutes on each side.

Once the shrimp are cooked, arrange them around the rim of the glass with the avocado dip in it.

This recipe is so simple and easy, yet it’s so elegant and tasty. Sounds corny but it’s true.

Make this the next time you have some shrimp!

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Apr 2 2014

How to Make Homemade Labneh (Kefir Cheese)

Posted on April 2, 2014 by aHeapingCup

Labneh. Pronounced Leb-Na. It’s the Middle Eastern version of cream cheese. Except it’s way less fattening and it has all the beneficial probiotics of kefir cheese or yogurt. It’s basically yogurt without the whey (the liquid separated from yogurt). Ok whew. Now that that’s out of the way let’s get to it!

This is what you need:

Oh, and these too:

Ok. Now you’re good to go. You’re about to make cheese! This is so easy you won’t even believe it.

First stir some salt into your yogurt. You can add other spices you like too. This is the basic traditional recipe that can be altered to be sweeter or more flavorful. I’m already thinking of different labneh flavors to make…

Line your strainer with cheesecloth.

Pour in the yogurt.

Tie up the yogurt in the cheesecloth.

You should immediately see the whey dripping down into the bowl. If you don’t then you probably have too many layers of cheesecloth, I used four.

Place this whole contraption above ^ into the fridge and let it sit for at least 18 hours. The longer it sits, the firmer it gets 😉 . I took mine out after one day.

This is how much whey I strained out:

It was about two cups of whey.

This is the yogurt before straining:

This is after straining:

Stir the labneh and get it all swirly.

Yum. If you like greek yogurt you will love this. Plus, it’s really good for you.

Traditionally, it is prepared with a drizzle of olive oil:

Then add Za’atar (a mixture of dried thyme and sesame seeds found in Middle Eastern markets or online)

Scoop this dip up with warm pita bread, or anything else you might like. Enjoy!

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Mar 26 2014

Honey Roasted Pistachios

Posted on March 26, 2014 by aHeapingCup

Sorry for not posting yesterday 🙁 I had a major errand day that was long overdue and was out of the house (and therefore kitchen) as a result. I had nothing to post and I felt horrible and I cried all day. Ok, no I didn’t. But I still felt bad.

Moving on.

So, my friends Joseph and Lara came to visit the other day. (Yay Joseph and Lara!) During our little adventure, Joseph (who has recently gone paleo) gave me (who has recently gone gluten-free) the idea to make the cauliflower recipe I made for my last post. It turned out great! Thanks for the idea Joseph!

So after they left, I began thinking about this whole paleo thing. Now, for those of you who don’t know I suffer from PCOS (google it). Isn’t it funny when people say suffer from? No? Because they really are suffering and that’s not funny? Ok.

Well apparently, according to the internet, an effective natural remedy for PCOS (and the nasty cystic acne that comes along with it) is going paleo. So, this recipe is an ode to me going paleo and my friends for supporting and inspiring me. Awww. I know.

Let’s. Get. Into. It.

Preheat your oven to 3-fitty

The ingredients are super simple. Pistachios and honey. I used manuka honey because I’m trying to better myself and my community.

I have a weird OCD thing about food sticking, so I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprayed it with some nonstick spray. This part is optional.

Next, spread the pistachios on the baking sheet and coat with honey.

Bake for about 5 minutes or until you can just start to smell the honey and nuts. Don’t let it burn!

The picture above on the right is the color you want.

As soon as it comes out of the oven sprinkle a little kosher salt on top, if you like that salty/sweet thing.

Mmmmmm.

Serve in a bowl and enjoy as a snack alone or with drinks!

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A Heaping Spoonful…

…abundance in all the right places.

Category Archives: Appetizers

Paleo Candied Bacon

Beet & Goat Cheese Salad w/ Orange Thyme Vinaigrette

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Cherry Tomato Salsa

Gluten-Free Baked Tortilla Chips

Quinoa Salad w/ Cucumbers & Feta

Green Chile Hummus

Spiced Shrimp Cocktail w/ Avocado Dip

How to Make Homemade Labneh (Kefir Cheese)

Honey Roasted Pistachios