…from the Perspectives’ KitchenHow you doin’? My weekly personal grocery bill has gone up nearly $75/week in the last year. That’s a big hit due to the continual rise in inflation. One of our restaurants opened under similar circumstance many years ago—higher prices are restaurant killers. The success of Fanny’s Fish Market wasn’t about whole pieces of fish filets, jumbo shrimp and lobster tails. Fanny’s Fish Market was all about seafood infused sauces and meals. Our seafood sauce over a variety of pastas or salads mixed with bits and pieces gave plenty of rich seafood flavor at far lower costs. Seafood enhanced soups and chowders served in extra-large bowls with large slices of hot, cheesy garlic bread offered full meals at bargain prices. Fanny’s opened on the pier at Foster City Estuary. It was an immediate success—profitable the first month it opened. With the restaurants’ healthy variety and reasonable prices you could (and many did) come in 3 or 4 times a week. Here’s my home version of Fanny’s famous Sea Creature House Salad. The secret to our soups, salads and pasta dishes is a great thick piece of cheesy-buttered, toasted, crusty garlic bread. Prep time: 15 minutes Rest time: 5 mins Yield: 4 personal salads / 1/2 cup dressing Ingredients For the dressing 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (see recipe below) 1 tablespoon crushed garlic 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese For the salad 2 (5 ounce) packages American salad mix (lettuce blend with other seasonal ingredients) 3/4 cup sliced pitted black olives 3/4 cup thinly sliced red pickled pepperoncini 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion or pickled red onion 2 plum tomatoes, sliced 1/4 cup sliced and quartered cucumber 1/2 cup warm garlic seasoned croutons 1/3 cup “baby” cooked shrimp—71-count (tiny sea creatures) Directions
ChefSecret: You don’t have to buy a special spice mix to make it Italian. You probably have all the ingredients in your own spice cabinet. Feel free to adjust the ratio of spices and the yield to make whatever size of batch you would like to your taste. You’ll find this spice mix works with hundreds of other recipes from soups to pasta, grilled meat and marinades. Ed’s Special Italian Seasoning Blend 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon dried marjoram 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary 1/2 teaspoon dried sage Whisk all seasonings together in a bowl until combined. Better yet process through a spice grinder for a few seconds. Use immediately or store in a sealed container. Quip of the Day: My doctor recently asked if anyone in my family suffered from mental illness and I said, "No, we all seem to enjoy it." ------------------------------------------- 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. #Entree #Salad #ShrimpSalad #FannysFishMarket #SeaCreatureSalad #BayShrimp #BabyShrimp #Lunch #Dinner #2023Recipes #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023
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…from the Perspectives’ KitchenHow you doin’? Cold soup is a very tricky thing, and it is the rare chef that can carry it off well. More often than not, the dinner guests are left with the impression that had they only arrived a little earlier they could have enjoyed it while it was still hot. You’ve heard the old saying, “never wear white after Labor Day and never serve soup in the summer (or something like that). Not true! We whirled up fresh, green batches of gazpacho over the years and even included them on my restaurant menus. I make the green one at home when I have more overly ripe avocado than I know what to do with. I’ve been told that my green gazpacho converted many summer cold-soup skeptics into full-blown fanatics of the stuff. So, what do you do when you have more out-of-the-garden tomatoes and summer harvest, garden grown vegetables than you can use? We go to the other side of the color wheel and see red. My Summer’s End Chilled Gazpacho is made with a lightly acidified broth, made with puréed tomatoes and a wheel barrel of fresh harvest diced vegetables—Vidalia onions, punchy garlic, sweet red bell pepper, spicy red jalapeño and crunchy cucumber. If you’ve got some extra summer corn toss it in. All those veggies make this gazpacho a bit heartier than a straight purée, but it’s still wonderfully refreshing. You’ll love the combination of the cool, delicate broth with the fresh, crisp, vegetable textures. Serve with warm crusty sourdough bread and a bottle of Mondavi Fume Blanc. Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 30 seconds Chill time: 2 hours Yield: 6 servings Ingredients 6 to 8 large ripe red tomatoes, cored 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup diced Vidalia onion 2 tablespoon minced cloves 1-1/2 cups diced red or orange bell pepper 1 diced jalapeño pepper, seeds and seams removed 1 diced English cucumber, seeds removed 1/2 cup fresh corn off the cob (optional) 1-1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro leaves with stems Directions 1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. 2. Fill a large bowl of water with half ice and half water to shock the cooked tomatoes. 3. Cut an “x” on the bottom of each cored tomato (this makes it easier to peel) and, using a slotted spoon, gently place them into the boiling water for about 30 seconds. 4. Remove the tomatoes with the slotted spoon and transfer them immediately to the bowl of ice water. 5. Once the tomatoes have cooled, peel off the skin and cut them into quarters. Using a strainer over an empty bowl, squeeze out the seeds and reserve 1 cup of the tomato juice. Discard the seeds. 6. Transfer the squeezed, seeded tomatoes to a blender. Add the reserved 1 cup tomato juice and the extra virgin olive oil, and pulse until the tomatoes are completely puréed. 7. Pour the purée into a large bowl and add the diced Vidalia onions, garlic, bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, English cucumbers, corn (if you’re using it), rice and balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, and black pepper; stir to incorporate all ingredients well. Note: Reserve some of the chopped vegetables to garnish the soup. 8. Refrigerate the soup for at least 2 hours, allowing the flavors to blossom. 9. Serve in chilled bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro and reserved veggies, if applicable. ChefSecret: This soup can be made a day or two in advance and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Planning ahead, makes life a little easier by preparing this gazpacho a day or so in advance. The flavors only get more intense the longer you let the soup’s ingredients blossom in the refrigerator. Quip of the Day: “Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day and awakens and refines the appetite." — Auguste Escoffier ------------------------------------------- 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. #Entree #Soup #SummerSoup #Gazpacho #ChilledGazpacho #MondaviFumeBlanc #Vegan #Vegetarian #2023Recipes #Covid19 #QuarantineKitchen #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 …from the Perspectives’ Kitchen How you doin’? If someone offered you dehydrated water, you’d think they were scammin’ you, right? So if someone offered you dehydrated watermelon you’d probably think the same thing. But here’s a snacking recipe that is healthier than a Jolly Rancher, more portable than a watermelon, easier to make than a fruit roll-up and safer to eat than watermelon shots. The world’s best dried fruit is dehydrated watermelon! Watermelon Chews are sweet and chewy with a pleasant vegetal taste that you don’t get from the fresh stuff. Best of all, you don’t even need a dehydrator to make it. But you will need an oven and a little patience. Just slice the watermelon triangles super thin, drizzle the triangles with lime juice to give it some zip, and then let it dry out in a hot oven for about five hours. The edges get a bit crispy, which is a good thing as a great contrast in texture to the fruit-leathery texture in the middle. Dehydrated watermelon is great for all manner of summer snacking. Put some in a backpack for post-hike and bike nibbles. Toss some in your kid’s lunch bag before sending them off to day camp or school. Bring some on your next road trip or camp outs and leave the Cheetos and trail mix at home. I keep a container in the test kitchen for sugar- and calorie-free treats Prep time: 20 minutes Bake time: 5 to 5-1/2 hours Yield: 8 servings Ingredients 1 mini seedless watermelon 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice Non-stick cooking spray (I prefer Pam Original) Directions
Quip of the Day: Q. A watermelon proposes to its sweetheart: “Honeydew want to get married?” A: “Oh yes”, she replies, “but we cantaloupe!” ------------------------------------------- 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 #Watermelon #DriedWatermelon #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 …from the Perspectives’ KitchenHow 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 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 …from the Perspectives’ KitchenHow you doin’? Lawry’s California Center was the Southern California home office for Lawry’s Foods and Restaurants. It was 26 acres of curated gardens, just moments from downtown LA. This urban oasis was the creative spark for the company. La Cocina was the center’s original south-of-the-border-style restaurant where menu offerings were all made with Lawry’s retail products. Everything except salsa… that was not a Lawry’s retail product which was a shame because salsa soon surpassed ketchup in sales as the leading condiment of choice. You’ll know what I mean if you’re a regular salsa-snacker… chances are, you have an open jar in your refrigerator right now. Some like it hot. Some like it mild. Whichever way you like it, salsa is undeniably one of those food items you'll never regret having on hand. Snack on it with chips, use it as a taco Tuesday accoutrement, or spoon some over eggs to add a zesty touch to your daily breakfast or weekend brunch. A great tasting salsa offers the flavors of fresh tomato, onions and garlic, lime juice and a bit of cilantro. And with so many options for conveniently jarred or fresh-packed salsa on the market, you're likely to find the perfect one to suit your taste. There’s a difference between homemade and jarred salsa. Recipes for a homemade salsa commonly call for ripe tomatoes, yellow and green onions, an acid such as lime or lemon juice, garlic, and fresh cilantro. Jalapeño peppers are optional for adding a kick of heat to the ingredients to your own taste. Seasonings include seasoned salt and maybe an earthy touch of cumin or chipotle. A salsa made in your own kitchen is made with fresh ingredients and will last for about 1-3 days when properly covered and refrigerated. A store-bought salsa with relatively the same ingredients will contain preserving agents. An airtight unopened jar of a commercially-produced salsa can stay fresh for up to a year, even without any refrigeration. Jarred salsas are specifically made to be stored on shelves and in pantries for extended periods of time—12-18 months in a cool and dark kitchen cabinet or pantry. You should always check the expiration date printed on the jar before opening a container and serving. Unlike salsa, which can take on a lot of different variations, the ingredients in pico de gallo don't really vary from recipe to recipe and are always fresh. While traditional salsa has a thinner consistency with more liquid, pico de gallo is chunkier, with each chopped ingredient distinctly visible. That said, pico de gallo is still technically a type of salsa. If you’re like me and don’t like to fuss too much to make a homemade salsa and like it kind of on the chunky side here’s a no-fail recipe that will please every time. Pico de gallo is a great condiment enhancer to any party appetizer with tortilla chips or use it as a topping for tacos, hamburgers or even hotdogs fresh and hot off the outdoor grill. For more intense flavor, chill for up to 3 hours before serving. Prep time: 20 minutes Chill time: 1 to 3 hours Ingredients 6 roma (plum) diced tomatoes 3/4 cup minced red onion 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1 tablespoon minced jalapeño pepper, seeded, seam removed 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin salt and ground black pepper to taste Directions
ChefSecret: Jalapeños can be found red or green. The only difference is that reds are left on the vine a little longer. Red jalapeño peppers are a little milder in heat with a lot fuller jalapeño flavor. Quip of the Day: What did the Mexican hangman serve his victims as a last meal? Pico de Gallows! ------------------------------------------- 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 #Sauces #PicoDeGallo #Salsa #Tomatoes #Jalapenos #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 |
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