…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen![]() How you doin’? One of the most ordered entrée salads at my Fanny’s Fish Markets was our Healthy Taco Salad—it outsold the next most popular salad by 2 to 1. No one likes boring salads. What most guests are looking for is a lot of different ingredients far and away above just lettuce, tomato and shredded carrots. Nothing beats my Healthy Taco Salad recipe in the summertime or any time. Crisp veggies, creamy dressing and crunchy corn tortilla strips make it fresh and fun to eat. This easy taco salad recipe makes for a filling lunch or fun dinner. Prepare the components ahead of time and store them separately for quick assembly. Oh, by-the-way, this recipe is gluten-free and vegan—we were way ahead of our time. Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Yield: 2 to 3 servings Ingredients For the salad 2 corn tortillas, sliced into strips (read the ingredient declaration—no wheat flour) Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling 1 medium head chopped romaine lettuce 1 cup shredded red cabbage 1/2 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed (canned is okay) 2 red thinly sliced radishes 1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes (cut in half) and/or pico de gallo 1 avocado, sliced 1 red jalapeño, sliced very thin (optional) Vegan cheese shreds (optional) Cilantro-Lime Dressing (see recipe), the creamy avocado variation Sea salt, to taste 8 quartered lime wedges, for serving For the shiitake taco “meat” 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and diced 1 cup crushed walnuts 1 tablespoon tamari 1 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Directions
Easy Cilantro-Lime Dressing This is a great dressing to have on hand in the fridge for topping salads, tacos, or burrito bowls. Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 5 minutes Yield: About 1 cup Ingredients 2 cups fresh cilantro 1 garlic clove 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice 2 teaspoons maple syrup 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil Directions
Make it creamy (optional)--blend with 1 avocado or 1/2 cup vegan yogurt. Make it spicy (optional)— by adding a bit of jalapeño or a few pickled jalapeños. ChefSecret: Like all salad recipes, this one is great to play with. Swap in the veggies you have on hand or adjust the toppings to make something you really love. Quip of the Day: Q: How much do I love Taco Salads? A: From my head to-ma-toes! Do you have a question or comment? Send your favorite recipes, pictures or thoughts to [email protected]. Recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Entrees #Salads #HealthyTacoSalad #CilantroLimeDressing #VeganSalad #GlutenFree #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023
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The Cruising Cocktail Collection…from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour Bar![]() How you doin’? There’s nothing better than cruising on the Caribbean in one of Royal Caribbean’s luxury cruise ships except a day stop at their private island Coco Cay. Other cruise lines offer visits to their private islands as well offering tropical beach days on their not-secluded islands. And nothing evokes the tropics more than a drink made with coconut and rum. Shipwrecked Coco Loco found on RCL’s private island (and aboard ship as well) fits the bill with coconut cream and coconut rum, as well as orange, pineapple and papaya juices, grenadine and lot of mellow dark rum. Prep time: 5 minutes Yield: 1 cocktail Ingredients 1 ounce dark rum 1 ounce coconut rum (I prefer Bacardi brand) 1/2 ounce orange juice concentrate 1/2 ounce pineapple juice concentrate 1/2 ounce papaya juice concentrate 1/2 ounce coconut cream 1/4 ounce grenadine 3/4 cup crushed ice 1 pineapple spear or wedge, lime or kiwi wheel for garnish 1 cocktail umbrella Directions
ChefSecret: Give it your best shot. Aged dark rum makes a wonderfully mellow cocktail, but regular dark rum works as well. Quip of the Day: Q: What did the race car say to the bartender? A: Rum-rum! ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Cocktail #HappyHour #Coco Loco #Rum #Coconut #Pineapple #Papaya #Grenadine #Caribbean #RoyalCaribbean #Cheers #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 …from the Perspectives’ Kitchen ![]() How you doin’? Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding… every kid in the neighborhood used to perk up when they heard the Good Humor Man’s bells as he drove up and down Crescent Drive. Mom, can I have a dime for a Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich? That was my favorite. The Good Humor Man had a truck full of classics… Drumsticks, Sidewalk Sundaes and their version of a Sandwich—an Ice Cream Sandwich. Their history started in 1920 in Youngstown, Ohio, when confectioner Harry Burt created a chocolate coating compatible with ice cream. His daughter was the first to try it. Her verdict? It tasted great but was too messy to eat. Burt’s son suggested freezing the sticks used for their Jolly Boy Suckers (Burt’s earlier invention) into the ice cream to make a handle and things took off from there. The Good Humor name came from the belief that a person’s "humor", or temperament, was related to the humor of the palate. Soon after the Good Humor Bar was created, Burt outfitted a fleet of twelve street vending trucks with freezers and bells from which to sell his creation. The first set of bells came from his son’s bobsled. Good Humor bars have since been sold from everything from tricycles to push carts to trucks. After waiting three years for a patent, Burt took a trip to Washington, D.C., in 1923 with a five-gallon pail of Good Humor bars for the patent officials to sample. It worked – his patent was granted. This very simple ice cream sandwich (recipe) is exactly like the ones you’ll remember from childhood. It tastes just like the ones purchased from the Good Humor Man’s ice cream truck with a soft, sticky, chewy cookie around soft, plain vanilla ice cream. Prep time: 30 minutes Bake time: 10 minutes Additional time: 30 minutes Freeze time: 15 minutes + 3 hours Yield: 6 ice cream sandwiches Ingredients Non-stick vegetable cooking spray 1/2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/3 cup sifted Dutch-process cocoa powder 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1/4 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons light brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/3 cup whole milk, at room temperature 6 scoops vanilla ice cream Directions
ChefSecret: You don’t need to use an expensive ice cream, just use a basic, cheap, grocery-store vanilla ice cream which has a lot of air whipped into it. This will make it easier to handle. Quip of the Day: Q. Why does the ice cream man go so slow? A. Because he’s a sundae driver. ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Snacks #Treats #IceCreamSandwich #GoodHumorBar #SummertimeTreat #2023Recipes #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 …from the Perspectives’ Kitchen ![]() How you doin’? A dump cake is an American dessert similar to a cobbler but with a cake-like topping. It’s so named because it is prepared by "dumping" ingredients (typically canned fruit or pie filling, followed by a boxed cake mix) into a cake pan without mixing. What could be easier? The origins of the dump cake are somewhat unclear. It has been suggested that the name originated with a recipe published by Duncan Hines in 1980, although the name is sited in a number of American community cookbooks and periodicals from the 1970s, 60s and the even the 1950s following the emergence of prepared cake mixes after World War II. It has been compared to the wacky cake, another 20th century American cake that does not use eggs and has a simple method of preparation. A typical dump cake recipe begins with adding one or more cans of fruit or pie filling to a shallow baking dish. A boxed cake mix is then spread on top. This is then topped with butter (in pieces or melted) and baked in the oven. Some recipes call for the addition of further toppings such as nuts or shredded coconut. I know home bakers who replace the cake mix with a homemade combination of dry ingredients, and the canned fruit may be replaced or augmented with fresh or frozen fruit. This easy dump cake is the perfect balance of tart, creamy and sweet. The texture is soft with just the right amount of crispiness on the top after baking. Prep time: 15 minutes Bake time: 45 minutes Yield: 12 servings Ingredients nonstick cooking spray (I prefer Pam non-stick spray) 1 (22 ounce) can lemon pie filling 1 (15.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cubed 1/2 cup salted butter, cut into small pieces whipped cream for topping Directions
ChefSecret: You can easily change the flavor of the cake by changing the pie filling and/or cake mix. For instance… substitute chocolate pie filling and chocolate cake, add some chocolate chips to the topping and, VOILA! you have a deep chocolate cake dessert. You can also substitute fruit filling and yellow cake for added flavor thrills. Quip of the Day: I'm not saying it's really hot this week but my neighbor’s wife was sweating so much she hydroplaned off the toilet seat and landed in my bath tub. ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. The Cruising Cocktail Collection…from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour Bar ![]() How you doin’? After a long, dreary period of Covid doom, it’s apparently cruising time again! At Perspectives we worked with Princess Cruises for several years on their food, bar and sanitation programs. It was fun and gratifying. There were years where my team and I went on as many as 18 cruises in a single year. I know what you’re thinking, “Tough duty, tough life!” But to tell you the truth it was more fun than a barrel full of monkeys or orcas, as the case may be. The most interesting aspect was seeing how the multinational ships’ crews all worked together to create interesting foods, great entertainment and fantastic cocktails catering to all the passengers on board. When we started with Princess the ships were smaller and more intimate allowing everyone to get to know everyone on board. And then the old, retired France was converted into the new Norway with over 1,800 passengers and 2,000 crew. That was the start of a new trend—mega cruising. Due in 2024, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas will carry up to 5,610 passengers and 2,350 crew members. Yikes! The shipboard drinks became part of a new genre—they weren’t Tiki-style or with speak-easy charm or even old-fashion in nature. They became Cruising Cocktails. So, for the next several weeks enjoy The Cruising Collection Happy Hour. Cocktails have been elevated from a fruity frou-frou pool drink into an art form, with an extensive menu of colorful concoctions. It's hard to miss the bright orange Kiss on the Lips made with peach schnapps, mango mix and grenadine. This cocktail is one of the most popular on many liners and for good reason. Prep time: 5 minutes Yield: 2 cocktails Ingredients 3 ounces of chilled peach schnapps 1 ounce frozen mango mix 4 cups crushed ice 2 tablespoons grenadine pineapple cube (garnish) maraschino cherry (garnish) Directions
ChefSecret: Use crushed ice, it makes the drink slushier and is easier on the blender. Quip of the Day: I just found out that when I drink, I'm colorblind. The diagnosis came completely out of the purple. ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Cocktail #HappyHour #KissOnTheLips #CruisingCocktailsCollection #Mango #PeachSchnapps #Grenadine #IconOfTheSeas #PrincessCruises #Cheers #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 |
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