Fun with Tuna

Ok, so shoot me, I don't have a picture to show you. This is mainly because my digital camera is sitting in my electronics basket...uncharged....where it has been for the last month. One day I will get around to doing the incredibly simple task of plugging in the battery charger but today it was just too much, OK???? As a consolation prize you get Charlie, the Starkist tuna. Riveting.

Moving on...

I think I am addicted to tuna cakes. Tuna cakes? you ask yourself. Yes, tuna cakes. I love crab cakes. Adore salmon cakes. Am addicted to tuna cakes. Why? Well, first off they take about 4 minutes to prep and make from start to finish. Secondly, there are not bones or shells to contend with. Third, you can get away with a lot of different flavor combinations. The one I'd like to present for consideration today is a Jerk Tuna Cake w/ Peach Ginger Sauce.

Ingredients:

1 can of tuna (doesn't have to be Starkist...sorry Charlie...but it does need to be packed in water)

1/8 c. textured vegetable protein (go ahead...ask...what's that? Click here before moving on...)

1 tablespoon light mayo (yes, I know mayo is s'posed to be the debbil but it really does have some functions and this is one of them...don't use Greek yogurt...use mayo!)

1 shake each of the following: salt, ground black pepper, onion powder, red pepper flakes

1 large egg white

1/2 tsp prepared jerk seasoning (pssst...it's in the international aisle)

1 tbsp whole wheat bread crumbs (NOT ground Fiber One...yeesh...you people are health FANATICS!)

for the peach ginger sauce

1 tbsp sugar free peach preserves (I use Smucker's)

a dash of Splenda

a dash of cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 dollop sugar free breakfast syrup (I use Smucker's)

Directions:

1. Drain tuna but reserve the water you drained. Set tuna aside.

2. Mix 1/8 c. reserved tuna liquid with your TVP and mix well. Set aside.

3. Dump tuna into the same bowl as the TVP and mix well

4. In the tuna can, mix together mayo, spices, and jerk seasoning (cuts down on dishes...don'tcha just love me????)

5. Add egg white to tuna/tvp mixture and mix well. Then add mayo mixture.

6. Add bread crumbs and mix well.

7. Spray a skillet with nonspray and let it get hot. While it is getting hot form patties out of your tuna mixture (how many depends on your appetite...for some this makes 4, for some 3, for me...2). Pan fry for about 3 minutes on each side. Cool on a rack if you're going to pack it for lunch. Serve hot off the skillet if you are eating it then and there.

8. Wait! No! Don't eat it yet! The peach ginger sauce! So easy: nuke the peach preserves for about 15-20 seconds. Until it's all bubbly and gooey. Add remaining ingredients and stir, stir, stir! Dump it over your tuna cakes. There...now you can eat (really...you can eat it...SERIOUSLY)

This is so good. Just the right level of spicy and sweet. The peach-ginger sauce seems like it would be good over a corn cake but I don't roll with corn cakes anymore so I may never know. If any of you dear readers are less neurotic than I, please try it and let me know how it tastes, k?

In summary...YUM! Oh one other thing...if you're liking what I'm posting...if you try any of the recipes. If you have a thought about how blue the sky is...post comments! I need comments! I love comments! Comments are awesome!

That is all.

Champagne wishes and curry dreams...

I don't know why I originally named this post what I did. I do have champagne wishes though in that I wish I had the amount of money a good champagne cost. Cuz a sista is BROKE! Which means we use what we have in our fridge. Tonight the fridge gods were good to me and gave me the ingredients for this: curried chicken and "rice."

For most post-op RNY'ers rice is a precarious thing. It weighs heavily on the pouch and is hard to eat a lot of. But there are things...many things...that go on rice that are not quite right by themselves. It's a dilemma. Well there are several things that can replace rice. TVP for example. But I don't like that as a rice replacement. It's heavy and despite the fact that it is mild, it does have its own flavor going on. My replacement of choice? Good ol' fashioned cauliflower. Yes, the cruciferous veggie is damn near tasteless and mashes up to look kinda sorta like rice for the first four seconds you look at it.

So the recipe I am posting below is the "Rachel Ray" version of this dish (meaning it takes about 30 minutes to make...not that Rachel had anything to do with it). It's good when you want something exotic and comforting but don't want to be in the kitchen all day. This would pair well with my Thai Iced Tea recipe but that would necessitate eating/drinking at the same time which is an express ticket to RNY damnation, right?!?!?!? Ah well...drink your thai iced tea, 30 minutes after eating this dish. There...

Curried chicken and "rice"

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 lb. whatever chicken parts you deem worthy (the above were boneless, skinless thighs, fat trimmed)
• Either 12 oz. mixed veggies from the can OR 2 c. uncooked 'random veggies' (read: whatever is in your fridge), chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 tbsp curry powder, salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: a dash of cayenne pepper, about 1/2 tsp. garam masala (an Indian spice blend...gives it a nice touch, but totally not necessary)
• 2 tbsp cornstarch or flour + same amount of COLD water (for thickening)
• 1 batch of cauliflower rice

Directions:

1. Spray a skillet down with nonstick cooking spray and set it over medium heat and let it get good and HOT. Add onions and drop the heat down to medium-low and allow them to caramelize (become golden brown in color)
2. Add chicken and cook until browned on both sides.
3. Add veggies, garlic, spices and water and cover. Cook about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. When chicken is done through and fork tender, use two forks to shred all the chicken meat up and stir to make sure veggies are fully incorporated. Taste the broth and adjust seasonings as desired (sometimes I have to add more curry or salt).
5. In a cup, combine starch or flour with water and stir with a fork or a mini-whisk to form a smooth paste. Make sure that water is cold! Put an ice cube in it if your kitchen is particularly warm.
6. Increase the heat of the chicken mixture until its liquids are boiling. Add starchy mixture and stir through. Sauce should begin to immediately thicken.
7. Allow it to simmer an additional five minutes or so then serve atop hot cauliflower rice.

This is one of my all-time favorite post-op meals! I know what some of you will ask. About the flour (or the "rue" used to thicken the sauce). The previous iteration of this recipe called for a can of coconut milk but any way you slice it that adds a bunch of calories and fat (which you are welcome to do if you love coconut curries).

This version requires 2 tablespoons of starch in a fairly big batch of food so if you divide it out the carbs aren't terrible. But you are welcome to skip that step. You'll just have a thin broth instead of a sauce to serve atop your cauliflower rice.

But any way you make it, it's still good!

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Spice up your life!

Remember Zatarain’s? Yeah…back in the day I used to jazz it UP!!! My favorite was the jambalaya, although they had several “meals in a box” that I loved to fix. I am a spicy food fanatic so anything I can put red pepper flakes in is a done deal.

Funny thing is, though, that I did not intend for this to come out as a Zatarain’s knock off. I had a head of cauliflower and I didn’t feel like making faux mac ‘n cheese, which is what I usually do. Truth be told, I wanted sausage and when a girl wants sausage there is nothing to be done but to give that girl her sausage (ok, it’s been too long since I’ve had a boyfriend cuz there was innuendo all UP in that statement…). So I started playing around and tasting, playing around and tasting (which technically is a violation of the “no grazing rule” but ask me if I care…) and I’m adding stuff and adding stuff until I was like “hot diggity dang! I think I’m on to something here!”

And so this was born. Tentative name: jambalaya casserole.

Yes, yes I know traditionally jambalaya has shrimp and okra and a bunch of other stuff that’s not in here. But notice that I based my comparison on Zatarain’s. It’s kinda like putting a recipe out there for something that was made from Taco Bell and comparing it to authentic Mexican food. It just don’t work. Apples and oranges. But this is good in its own respect and I kinda loved it. It got the divas seal of approval too which was cool.

“Fake Me Out” Jambalaya Casserole
Ingredients:

1 pkg lowfat turkey smoked sausage, sliced1

small onion, diced

1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 c. skim milk

1 c. cut okra, rinsed (I didn't use this...I used a can of drained green beans cuz the divas have attitude about okra)

2 egg whites

2 heaping tbsp "I can't believe it's not butter" light

salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

1/2 c. either medium or hot salsa1 tsp minced garlic

1 c. whole wheat bread crumbs (this is a rare instance where I seriously think Fiber One would be a disservice)

1/2 c. grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Sautee onions and smoked sausage together until sausage gets crispy on the outside. Add red pepper flakes and okra (or green beans) once everything is done cooking and mix through Set aside

2. Boil cauliflower florets until tender. When done drain and then return to pot. Add "butter" salt and pepper along with milk and mash then put back on low heat.

3. Add cheese to cauliflower mixture and mix well, letting it continue to simmer (milk will bubble but it's ok).

4. Add onion/sausage/veggie mixture to cauliflower mixture and stir well. Add egg whites and mix well.

5. Pour into casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and bake on 350 for 30 minutes.

The above pic is what's left of it after the divas and I had our fill. I had 2.5 (me-sized) portions of it (prolly about 1.5 c total), le petite diva (my youngest daughter) had 3 helpings and le grande diva had 2. So I'd say it was a success...yes?

Food for thought...and action!

See that do-hickey to your right...the one with the picture of the GORGEOUS woman on it?

Yeah...that thing.

That's my charity badge. I got a goal people...to raise $500 to feed hungry people around the world.

Why is this important to me? (And more importantly why should you care?)

Well I had RNY to save my life because I ate WAY too much food. There are people in the world who are living on $1 a day or less. Women who forego food so that they can scrape together one meal a day for their children. Families who don't have welfare, or food stamps, or any other help to get food. And so they simply do not eat.

It boggles my mind that in America we have an obesity problem when in the world so many are starving. So I want to help. For many reasons, but mainly because:

1. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy - ok, that's really selfish
2. Because no matter how poor I think I am...my poor doesn't even TOUCH the poverty of people in places like Burkina Faso and El Salvador
3. Because I have children and I can't imagine not being able to feed them
4. Because if I was hungry I would want someone to feed me

So anyway, I am appealing to all of you. Lutheran World Relief, my chosen charity, doesn't just hand out food. They help farmers grow crops and earn income to support their families. They help poor communities dig wells so they can have clean water. Basically they help people to help themselves.

Check out their website if you'd like and if your heart is moved to give, I give you thanks. If not, I thank you for reading this. My goal is to raise $500 this summer and I'm trying to hit up my richie aunt to match my donation. I'll keep you posted on that!

The Love Boat...

I call these little babies "Fiesta tuna boats" cuz...well they are Mexican inspired (which always makes me want to throw a fiesta), they have tuna in them and the lettuce is like little boats sailing all that yummy flavor into my mouth! Ok, that was cheesy...but then again so are these! So here's the rundown:

Fiesta tuna boats
3 Iceberg lettuce leaves
1 can tuna in water, drained
1 tsp light mayo
1/2 tsp taco seasoning
about 2 tbsp Mexican blend shredded cheese
2 tbsp fat free sour cream (I use Daisy!)
2 tbsp salsa (I use generic hot flavored)
2 tbsp (or 1 oz.) chopped onion
1-2 strips (depending on your fat thresshold/willingness) pre-cooked bacon
salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine drained tuna, mayo, taco seasoning, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix
2. Lay out your lettuce leaves and place equal portions of tuna on each leaf
3. Microwave pre-cooked bacon one minute until crumbly then sprinkle it on top of the tuna
4. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the bacon
5. Top each with sour cream and salsa
6. NOSH, NOSH, NOSH!!!

Depending on your distance from surgery this could be 1 serving or it could be 3. For me it was 1 serving because I have Hercules pouch. This is SOOOOOO yummy! All the flavor of a taco (sorta), the protein of tuna, cheese, bacon, and hardly any carbs!!! What's not to love?
I'm labeling this Mexican food ONLY because of the seasoning and salsa. Very loose interpretation, yes?