On this over the top very hot Memorial Weekend, the idea of standing next to a BBQ adding to the already Florida heat was totally unappealing!

So I decided to make something that can be prepared inside under the wonderful air conditioning, and then transported pool side, that was tasty, light and refreshing…..

Original chicken wraps are usually done with minced chicken, but for the lack for such ingredient I replaced it with cubed chicken breasts and it turned out as good!

For this particular recipe I used the following:

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into tiny small cubes (or you can use a lb of minced chicken of course)
• 1 large onion cubed
• 4 sliced scallions
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup of hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 12 tbsp Sriracha sauce (if you prefer it non spicy use just 1 tbsp)
• 2 heads of Romaine lettuce

As stated above I didn’t have any minced chicken so I started by slicing and cubing my chicken.

 

 

Once that is done quickly sauté in a tbsp of olive oil until nicely cooked, drain fat and add the chopped onions, chopped garlic, scallions, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, minced ginger and sriracha sauce.

Cook for another 5 minutes and its ready!

Now its time to grab that lovely crispy Romaine Lettuce, top up with a nicely loaded tablespoon, squeeze some lemon juice and add some fresh scallions and enjoy!

I served them pool side with of course a refreshing cocktail in hand ❤

PS: You might wonder why there is no salt and pepper in the recipe but the seasoning in the Hoisin, Soy and Sriracha sauce are all you need :-).

I have been seeing this cheesy cauliflower garlic bread recipe around Facebook for a while, and today, a cold rainy day in south florida is the perfect day to put this recipe to a test!

As usual I changed a few ingredients and happy to say that the result was great! One very important part of this recipe which is omitted in the original is the size of the baking pan you decide to use as it will determine the thickness of your so called “bread sticks”.

I started by using 15 x 11″ pan but had to change to a 13 x 9″ in order to nicely cover the entire bottom of the pan and still have some height in it!

Below is the recipe I used (the one from Facebook) with my changes in parenthesis.

• 1 large head cauliflower
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 3 c. shredded mozzarella, divided ( I replaced with 1 cup of shredded cheddar for the topping)
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan
• kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp. Freshly Chopped Parsley (I am a cilantro lover so used cilantro instead)
• Marinara, for dipping (didn’t do this part, not a fan of marinara sauce 🙂 )

I decided to be practical and place everything in my food processor – first I processed the cauliflower until it became a nice paste, then added the garlic cloves, eggs, oregano, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. I also sprinkled some cilantro and red pepper flakes onto the dough before I put it in the oven.

Placed the above concoction onto my baking tray lined with parchment paper and placed in the over at 425 °F for 25 – 30 minutes, until nice and golden.

Then topped it off with the rest of the shredded cheese, cilantro and red pepper flakes and baked for another 10 minutes.

If you are looking for an alternate non carb garlic bread, I must say this perfectly fits the bill!

Hope you enjoy it as much as my daughter and I did, of course the hubby (a bread lover) was not too sold on it.

 

Mushrooms are the type of veggies that I really like, they easily absorb any flavour you infuse them with and are a great alternative to meat!

I found a recipe for Stuffed Caprese Garlic Butter Portabella Mushrooms and decided to give it my usual twist.

Started by mixing some melted butter, parsley and minced garlic, placing the mushroom caps on a baking sheet lined with foil, and then gave the mushrooms a good brushing with it on both sides.

 

I seasoned both sides with some salt and pepper, nothing worse than eating a bland mushroom, lol and left them upside down.

I topped them with sliced  vine ripened tomatoes and then grabbed some goats cheese, which I lovingly sprinkled all over the tomatoes (you can leave this out but I ❤ goats cheese).

Then I thinly sliced some creamy mozzarella and broke into pieces and sparingly covered the tomatoes on each mushroom.

I don’t particularly like raw mushrooms and the recipe said to just place under broiler for 8 minutes. Instead I placed them in a 350 °F for about 10-15 minutes and then placed them under the broiler for about 6 minutes. They turned out just perfect!

Whilst the mushrooms were baking, I placed about 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp of brown sugar in a casserole and reduced it till it was nice and thick.

As soon as the mushrooms came out of the oven, I covered them in chopped basil and gave them a nice drizzle of the balsamic reduction!

They were sooooo good, that my daughter Phoebe ended up going back for seconds, which is always a good sign ❤

 

 

I couple of days ago I came across a recipe on Facebook for “Roasted Eggplant Fan” – I have a special ❤ for eggplant, being that it’s my favourite vegetable. It’s so versatile and in my books, a vegetable that makes a statement!

Of course, right from the beginning I had to twist the recipe around. It starts by slicing the eggplant lengthwise so that you can fan it out, I decided to slice it the other way and ended up with this long accordion looking eggplant. Make sure not to cut all the way through as you want the slices to still be attached.

I then followed the recipe that called for sliced tomatoes and sliced mozzarella wedged into each slice. By now I already knew that I would have to alter the roasting time for this baby. Little side note, add a tad of salt to each slice of eggplant before you stuff it!

After stuffing each slice, I added crumbled mediterranean seasoned feta cheese instead of the plain one, I gave it a good salt and pepper dusting and then added lots of oregano instead of thyme. A drizzle of olive oil and a nice squeeze of 2 lemons and its now ready to go into the oven.

Recipe called for it to roast in the oven at 220 ° C which is aprox 425 ° F for 15 minutes. I ended up roasting mine for 45 minutes.

Unfortunately only my daughter and I got to enjoy it because the “men” in the house do not get along with the purple looking vegetable 🙂

And with my love for lemons – I added another extra squeeze of lemon right before eating it, it was just heavenly!

Oh and don’t forget to check out my first cookbook on Amazon – “For the Love of Lemons” available on paperback and kindle edition!

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Lemons-First-upcoming/dp/153910592X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482862062&sr=1-1&keywords=for+the+love+of+lemons