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

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Toss the tortilla strips together with a tiny bit of olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Spread onto the sheet and bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until crispy.
3. Make the Shiitake Taco “Meat”: In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring only occasionally, until they begin to brown and soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Stir in the walnuts and lightly toast for 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Stir in the tamari, the chili powder and cumin.
6. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir again. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Assemble the salad with the romaine lettuce, cabbage, black beans, taco “meat,” radishes, tomatoes, avocado, jalapeños, if using, and generous dollops of cilantro-lime avocado dressing.
8. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.
9. Serve with lime wedges and extra dressing on the side.

 
                                                           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

1. In a food processor, place the cilantro, garlic, lime juice, maple syrup, coriander and salt and pulse to combine.
2. With the blade running, pour in the olive oil slowly and process until smooth.

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 ed@perspectives-la.com. 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

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

1. Add both rums, juice concentrates, coconut cream and grenadine over ice into a blender.
2. Blend until smooth; about 1 minute.
3. Pour the beverage into a tall cocktail glass.
4. Garnish with pineapple spear or wedge, and a little umbrella.

 
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 ed@perspectives-la.com. 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

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

1. Preheat an oven to 350⁰.
2. Make room in your freezer for a sheet pan (later in the process).
3. Line a sheet pan with a Silpat silicone liner.
4. Spray the liner with cooking spray and rub it in to be sure it's completely covered.
5. Dry whisk the flour, salt, baking soda and cocoa together in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Sift mixture if the cocoa seems clumpy or chunky.
6. Mix butter, both sugars and vanilla in another bowl with a spatula until you have a smooth paste.
7. Add flour mixture along with milk and stir until batter is smooth and stiff. Clean off the spatula with a cookie scoop and drop 12 scoops batter onto the prepared baking sheet.
8. Roll out and score with a spatula so you have 12 even rectangles.
9. Dock the cookies with a fork to prevent them from bubbling when baking.
10. Bake in the center of the preheated oven until the tops of the cookies no longer look wet and shiny, 9 to 10 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and tap and shake the pan on the counter 5 times to settle and compress the cookies.
12. Transfer baking sheet into the freezer until cookies are firm, about 15 minutes.
13. Remove from the freezer and remove cookies from the pan by lifting the silicone liner carefully under each one.
14. Poke 10 or 12 holes in the surface of each cookie with the sharp edge of a chopstick. Return to the freezer until ready to assemble.
15. When ready to assemble, remove the cookies from the freezer. Turn one cookie upside down, place 1 scoop ice cream on top and add another cookie on top to create the sandwich.
16. Serve immediately or wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for 3 hours before serving. Repeat to make the remaining ice cream sandwiches.
17. You can eat these right away or freeze them for a few hours. The cookies will absorb moisture from the ice cream and get even softer.

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 ed@perspectives-la.com. 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

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

1. Preheat the oven to 350⁰ F.
2. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Using a spatula, spread the lemon pie filling onto the bottom of the prepared baking dish in an even layer.
4. Sprinkle half of the cake mix in an even layer over the lemon pie filling.
5. Add the pieces of the cream cheese evenly over the cake mix, then top with the remaining cake mix in an even layer.
6. Add the butter pieces, spaced out evenly over the top of final layer of cake mix.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until the topping is browned and the cake mix powder has all been absorbed.
8. When ready to serve, scoop a portion of the cake onto a plate and top with whipped cream.

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 ed@perspectives-la.com.  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.

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

1. Add the peach schnapps, frozen mango mix and crushed ice into a blender.
2. Swirl the mixture until smooth.
3. Pour blended mixture into cocktail glass.
4. Drizzle in the grenadine and swirl with a straw of swizzle stick.
5. Garnish with pineapple cube and stem on maraschino cherry.

 
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 ed@perspectives-la.com. 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