15 Cheatsheets For Smoothies, Juices, Sauces & Snacks

What is happening on my Facebook page? A proliferation of charts! Of what, you may ask? Cheatsheets on how to grow vegetables, make smoothies, sauces, green drinks and more!

They are nifty charts you can put in a Google image search to see if you can link them back to their original sources. They seem to be passed around on social media. For our blog purposes, they are just a collection of practical information, all neatly on a single post that we do not claim ownership of and are free for all to read. Enlarge the ones of interest to you ...

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1. Romaine Lettuce  Similar to celery. Keep the base of your romaine lettuce in a bowl with 1/2 inch of warm water. Let it sit in direct sunlight, and in a week or two, your lettuce stem will produce fresh, new lettuce leaves for all your great salads. Transplant your lettuce to soil to continue growing. They should be fully grown in 3 to 4 weeks. This process works for Bok Choy as well. 2. Garlic Sprouts Are those tentacles?! Nope, those long green things growing out of your garlic are green shoots. You can put them in a little water, under a lot of sunlight, and grow a bunch of garlic sprouts. They are milder in taste than garlic cloves and are great in salads, pasta, and as a garnish. 3. Carrots Plant the end of the carrot, and when it begins to sprout, take those seeds and plant them. Pretty soon, they will begin to sprout delicious greens from the top that are a nice addition to meals. Using a deeper container and more water, use toothpicks to keep carrots halfway in the water and wait for them to root. Once they root, you can plant them in your garden for a continuous supply! 4. Turnip Like carrots, cut off turnip tops and leave them in a shallow container with water until they begin growing roots. This can take a couple of weeks. Once they’ve sprouted, plant them outside the same way you would your carrots! 5. Sweet potato Unlike most vegetables, sweet potatoes aren’t started by seed but by slips (or shoots). Clean and cut a sweet potato in half, then place it half in/half out of a jar full of water using toothpicks. Over a few days, your sweet potato will begin to sprout slips at which point you remove them and place them in water to grow roots. You should have rooted slips with the week. Next, plant them in loose, well-drained soil and water every day in the first week, and then every other day (or as needed) the following weeks.

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1. Asian Honey Marinade  Ingredients:  1/4 cup soy sauce  1/4 cup honey   2 tablespoons rice vinegar  2 cloves garlic, minced  1 teaspoon grated ginger  1 tablespoon sesame oil Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Marinate chicken for 1-4        hours for a sweet, savory, and umami flavor. 2. Jalapeno Garlic Marinade  Ingredients:  1/4 cup olive oil  2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped  4 cloves garlic, minced  Juice of 1 lime 1 tablespoon honey Salt and pepper, to taste Instructions:  Mix ingredients well. Marinate chicken for 2-4 hours for a spicy and garlicky kick. 3. Italian Marinade  Ingredients:  1/4 cup olive oil  1/4 cup red wine vinegar   1 tablespoon Italian seasoning   2 cloves garlic, minced   1 teaspoon dried oregano   Salt and pepper, to taste   Instructions:   Combine and marinate chicken for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Expect a classic, zesty Italian flavor. 4. Fajita Marinade   Ingredients:   1/4 cup olive oil   Juice of 2 limes   1 tablespoon chili powder   1 teaspoon cumin   1/2 teaspoon paprika   1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)   2 cloves garlic, minced   Instructions:   Whisk ingredients together. Marinate chicken for 1-3 hours to get the vibrant, tangy, and spiced fajita flavor. 5. Honey Mustard Marinade   Ingredients:   1/4 cup Dijon mustard   1/4 cup honey   2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar   1/4 cup olive oil   Salt and pepper, to taste   Instructions:   Mix all ingredients. Marinate chicken for 1-2 hours. The result is sweet, tangy, and creamy. 6. Nashville Hot Marinade   Ingredients:   1/2 cup buttermilk   1/4 cup hot sauce   1 tablespoon paprika   1 tablespoon brown sugar   1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)   1 teaspoon garlic powder   Instructions:   Combine ingredients, and marinate chicken for at least 1 hour. Expect spicy, smoky, and slightly sweet notes. 7. Teriyaki Marinade   Ingredients:   1/3 cup soy sauce   1/4 cup brown sugar   2 tablespoons mirin (optional)   1 teaspoon grated ginger   2 cloves garlic, minced   1/4 cup water   Instructions:   Mix until sugar dissolves. Marinate chicken for 1-4 hours for a traditional, sweet-savory glaze. 8. Cilantro Lime Marinade   Ingredients:   1/4 cup olive oil   Juice of 2 limes   1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped   2 cloves garlic, minced   1 teaspoon cumin   Salt and pepper, to taste   Instructions:   Blend all ingredients. Marinate chicken for 30 minutes to 2 hours for a bright, zesty, and herbaceous flavor.

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The next 4 charts are healthy snack choices. Ideally a snack should be 100 - 200 calories. Protein snacks, including a handful of nuts, stop hunger in-between meals. At work I always got hungry at 4 PM, so began eating turkey sticks or almonds because pretzels, a carb, made me hungrier!  Protein is the better choice.

Fruit makes an excellent snack as well because fiber fills you up and takes time to digest. I consider fruit "free" food since it's packed with vitamins and doesn't add up to many calories. If I have a day I'm always hungry, I eat an apple, move onto a orange and if still hungry, follow up with a banana, or a pear, a handful of blueberries until my appetite stops bothering me!


Hope you learn a tip or two from these cheatsheets.

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6 Canned Produce I Like

Most of us would agree there's no comparison of taste between farm fresh fruits and vegetables and canned or even frozen produce. Living in a city, I buy plenty of frozen vegetables because food experts tell us they are frozen soon after picking and retain their nutrients. It's a compromise I make since frozen is more convenient though less scrumptious than farm fresh.

But guess what? There are canned foods I don't mind or like better than their fresh, or refrigerated, or frozen versions. I'll list 6 of them below.

6 Canned Produce I Like:

1) Sauerkraut - Canned sauerkraut isn't as raw as it is bagged and refrigerated at the supermarket. Still sufficiently sour yet not as intensely sour or crunchy as unblanched bagged sauerkraut.

2) Refried beans - I see little difference in taste or texture between canned beans and dried beans you soak and tenderize yourself. With refried beans, I like the convenience, and unless you cooked a huge amount, the extra cost of buying them canned is minor. For soups or sometimes chili, I will use either canned or dried beans depending on how much I'm making.

3) Pumpkin, puree - Who in their right mind would unseed, clean, cook, and scrape the flesh out of a fresh pumpkin to use in a dish? Oh, the many steps and mess!😳

4) Tomatoes, whole plum, diced, or crushed for cooking - Cheap and you have the same consistency every time when making sauces.

5) Pineapple, diced - Since pineapples don't grow outside of Hawaii or South America, it is doubtful I have ever eaten a fresh one, so I opt for the convenience of canned pineapple. I don't detect enough of a difference after cleaning and cutting up a whole pineapple that may (or may not) be fresh after it arrives at the supermarket.

6) Spinach - This one is debatable. I do prefer fresh spinach and buy it to use as a dip, pizza topping, part of a salad, or to add to soup, but since a 10-ounce bag of fresh spinach cooks down to nothing in seconds, I also buy canned spinach to eat as a side dish. The taste and texture of canned spinach is fine, plus there seems to be more of it in a can than in a bag. In Manhattan you can't buy a bushel of fresh spinach, or grow it sans a plot of soil, so it's another compromise I make.

So there you are, my list of 6 foods I buy and like canned. Often our sense of taste is subjective. Is there any produce you would add or subtract from my list as unedible? Let's discuss... it's all in fun.🌴

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Pimenton Roasted Chicken And Potatoes, A One Pan Meal

Photo by Tim Mazurek/Lottie and Doof 

On New Year's Day I made a dinner created by David Tanis in Bon Appetit.  The original recipe is here, and of course, I tweaked it a little bit.  Why not start a New Year by roasting chicken a new way?  It is a healthy meal using a few fresh ingredients without a lot of fuss ... or pans.  I love one pan, crispy, spicy food. The chicken is moist on the inside, crispy on the outside, and the roasted potatoes collect all the deliciousness that drips off the chicken.  It's perfect for a holiday, or any day.

Chicken

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves, finely grated

1 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoons smoked paprika

½ tablespoon hot smoked Spanish paprika

One 4 pound whole chicken

1 large bunch fresh thyme or marjoram

Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 pounds potatoes, unpeeled (Eyeball it: a potato per person)

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup chopped parsley

¼ cup thinly sliced scallions

Smoked paprika (for dusting)

Optional: Roast carrots, onions, broccoli, or brussel sprouts at the same time as the potatoes.

Directions:

1. Make a paste by mixing the garlic, salt, olive oil and both paprikas in a bowl.

2. Using your hands, coat the entire outside of the chicken skin with the mixture.

3. Place the thyme bunch inside the bird.

4. Chill for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

5. Remove from the refrigerator and let the chicken stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Meanwhile:

6. Cut the potatoes (and other vegetables) lengthwise into thick wedges.

7. Drop into a mixing bowl.  Drizzle the potato wedges (and vegetables) with olive oil and salt and pepper, then spread them out on a baking tray, or on the bottom of a roasting pan.

8. Place the chicken on top of the potatoes.

9. Roast in a 500 degree F oven for 30 minutes.

10. Reduce the oven heat to 425 degrees F and roast for 20 minutes more.  Let rest for 15 minutes.

11. Transfer to a serving platter if you wish (or don't and use the baking tray, rustic-style).  Sprinkle the potatoes with scallions and parsley, and sprinkle the roasted chicken (lightly) with smoked paprika.

I add a green salad with a vinaigrette dressing.  Thank you, David Tanis and Bon Appettit!  This new dish is a keeper.

On New Year's Day some cultures eat black-eye peas and sauerkraut for good luck.  Click on the words of each to find a tasty receipe.
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Happy New Year! 

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