HUMMUS SANDWICH

Fine Dining Lovers ©

Hummus Sandwich a vegan thing. Healthy, zero saturated fats, lots of fiber and protein. If you are tired of eating meat, chicken or fish, vegan meals can be tasty. I want to thank Fine Dining Lovers for the picture you see up above because currently I have no pics of my own on file. Though hummus sandwiches were a staple in the grab-n-go chiller at Down to Earth Natural Foods back in the early 2000s in Lahaina where I used to cook.

Here's a simple recipe for hummus sandwiches, and if you've been visiting the blog in the past, I've probably written a post on hummus. But here's another variation of the recipe.

Ingredients

1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and mashed with a potato masher.

1/2 tsp. white pepper

pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp. minced onions

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 tsp. Spike seasonings

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tbsp. olive oil

6-8 tbsp. of Venegaise TM Vegan Mayonnaise (or more if needed)

* Mix all of these ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside, or cover with plastic wrap until ready to be used.

Make your sandwich.

Use an all grain bread like an Ezekiel brand, spread yellow mustard on each side, Vegenaise, spread the hummus on and top with your favorite veggies. Tomato slices soaked in garlic and olive oil makes a nice touch, spinach leaves, and sprouts are always workable.

Until next time

Ron Sambrano- Blogger

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© 2016

Hon Hon Grindz Food Truck (Lahaina, Maui)

Friday's from about 5:30pm to 9pm on the corner of Wainee St. and Lahainaluna Rd. in Lahaina, and if you love pork (lechon style) over 8 oz., rice (lots of it), fresh sliced tomatoes and onions, and another plate of just ham and pineapples stop by Hon Hon Grindz food truck.

I had the sample plate of rice, lechon, tomatoes and onions as well as the delicious (ono) ham withe pineapples. As soon as the sun set, people started to line up. My brother Wilmont called me on the phone, just so happened he was a block away and decided to stop by and grab himself a lechon plate, it was so huge he couldn't finish it. 

© 2016 Sambrano 

This plate is has over 8 oz. of pork with (lots) of rice.

The pork is seasoned nicely with alae (sea salt) so it's perfect.

Some Filipino stores will serve up a ramekin of patis (fish sauce) or vinegar garlic dips, however the pork was seasoned just right, it was a good concert of simple flavors.

Click the link below for the Youtube Video clip

Hon Hon Grindz Food Truck

Until next time- Ron Sambrano, Blogger

              

© 2016

DIABETIC COOKING #5 Curry Cod

This is a safe recipe if you have diabetes, just remember to use the 1/4-1/4-1/2 plating method. That's 1/4 of your plate with some safe carbs or starches, 1/4 of your plate for the protein, and 1/2 of your plate dedicated towards healthy vegetables or even fruit.

Curry Cod is simple to prepare and will not have any high glycemic ingredients, this recipe will serve 4.

INGREDIENTS

4- 5 oz. cod steaks, seasoned with salt and pepper.
1 1/2 cups of flour
Dredge all 4 cod steaks with flour and set aside.
Vegetable oil for frying.

Curry

3 tbsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. coriander powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 stick unsalted butter

2 cups of low sodium chicken stock

Directions
1. Make the curry first, in a small sauce pan, heat up the stick of unsalted butter over medium heat, melt the butter. Then add in all of the powdered spices, heat them up well.

2. Then add in the chicken stock, and simmer well for about 12 minutes, off heat and keep warm.

3. Heat up a 12" fry pan with enough oil to fry 4- 5oz. cod steaks over medium high heat.

4. When oil is hot enough, gently add cod steaks to hot oil, and fry each side about 4-5 minutes, maybe less or more use your judgment.

5. When steaks are all cooked. Place a cod steak onto a plate, and spoon curry over each pieces.

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Ron Sambrano
Food Blogger

BLUE RIBBON FRIED CHICKEN, LAS VEGAS, NV.

Got another run in with a visitor from Vegas today, and where should I get fried chicken if I'm in Sin City? Miguel says, "Hey man Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken is awesome, lots of good sauces man."

Miguel is a cool dude, just chilling in Lahaina with his lady who is buying what else on Front Street? Tee shirts. He was stoked that he went to his first luau last week, "Man you got it made here on Maui bro." He says. "Yeah try to live here with the high cost of food, we spend like $15.00 for a gallon of milk, and don't get me started with electricity." "NO shit?" "Nah it's just expensive here man."

    Located at 

Address: 1770 Festival Plaza Dr #200, Las Vegas, NV 89135
Phone:(702) 329-9300
Hours: 

Open today · 11AM–9PM

Presidents' Day might affect these hours

Of course it was time for me to Google and Yelp this so-called dive I gotta check out for fried chicken. And look what I found online? Pics of delicious looking fried chicken.

from their website

from their website

from their website

Looks very crispy on the outside, and juicy on the inside, I got a link for you to check out. However I like the sauce combinations. Wildflower Honey, Chipotle Honey, Wasabi Honey, Habanero Hot Sauce & the BRBQ sauce. 

Check this huge ass monster fried chicken sandwich!

Food nuff for 2 or one hungry MO FO!

CLICK THIS LINK TO CHECK OUT MORE INFO 

BLUE RIBBON FRIED CHICKEN LAS VEGAS, NV

Until next time

Ron Sambrano- Food Blogger

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© 2016

DIABETIC COOKING #4 Shrimp Chow Mein

Photo from dailyunadventuresincooking.com

I had to borrow this pic, but you'll get the idea. Now in that pic you see here, that's at least a pound of food maybe a tad more. If you're a diabetic, you can eat this regular chow mein noodles, but you will limit it to about 5 oz. And the shrimp should be safe for you to consume, it's the noodles we need to worry about.

WARNING: CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR OR DIETICIAN BEFORE CONSUMING THIS RECIPE

RECIPE

Vegetable oil for stir frying
1 tsp. minced ginger
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
8 oz. of medium shrimp cleaned and set aside
1 cup of broccoli tops sliced in half and set aside
2 cups of bok choi, chopped and set aside

10 oz. of chow mein noodles, pre-cooked if dried, and strained, if it is fresh, just blanch it in hot water quickly and remove.

Sauce

1 1/2 cups of low sodium chicken stock
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. oyster sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Cornstarch slurry to thicken
1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
3 tbsp. water mix well.


DIRECTIONS

1. Heat up a few tbsp. of vegetable oil in hot wok over medium high heat.
2. Add the garlic and ginger, stir for about 10 seconds, add in shrimp and cook until slightly pink and remove from heat onto a side dish temporarily. Then stir fry the broccoli tops and bok choi until slightly soft, but not too soft. And remove.
3. Add in the sauce mixture and bring to a boil, then add in the shrimp again, as well as the vegetables. Cook for about 2 minutes on high heat, then add in the slurry to thicken. As soon as the sauce begins to thicken Remove from heat, and pour over noodles.

Another variations would be to add the noodles into the thickening sauce to combine.

Serve combined total of about 6-7 oz. of Shrimp Chow Mein, about 4 oz. noodles and 3 oz. of shrimp + veggies and gravy.

Make sure the other half of your plate is filled with fresh vegetables, using a low fat, low glycemic dressing.

Ron Sambrano
Food Blogger
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DIABETIC COOKING #3 Fried Chicken

Fried chicken? I got Type 2 Diabetes and you want me to eat fried chicken? YES if you don't mind fried chicken. I mean, if you aren't a vegan then you probably love fried chicken.

Here's the deal, by eating fried chicken in moderation, and having more greens on your plate then it's ok. Of course you got to check your blood sugar level daily, and follow whatever your doctor tells you, you should be ok with fried chicken.

WARNING! CHECK WITH YOUR MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL OR DIETICIAN BEFORE CONSUMING THIS RECIPE.

On your plate, you will have cooked brown rice for you starch, that's safer than white rice that will jack up your glycemic level quickly. You'll put about 2-4 oz. of brown rice on one fourth of your plate, and one half will have your favorite veggies. 

Now here's how I'll make your fried chicken healthy, and low fat.

INGREDIENTS
6 chicken thighs, skin removed. (Sprinkle some salt and pepper on both sides of each thigh) set aside.

2 cups of flour

2 cups of low fat milk mixed with 2 teaspoons of vinegar let sit for about 10 minutes at room temperature.
* Before frying, you'll need to soak the chicken into the milk and vinegar mixture for about 2 hours. After two hours, dredge the chicken into the flour. Now you're ready to fry it.


Cooking oil to fill a pan just deep enough to fry chicken pieces, (Do not crowd your pan or fryer it will rob heat from the oil, and leave your chicken soggy) Using an instant read thermometer, the oil should be around 350 degrees to 375 F. Use a vegetable oil.

DIRECTIONS
- When oil is at the correct frying temperature, place one or two chicken thighs face down where the skin used to be before you removed it. Fry first side for about 3 minutes.
- Flip the chicken and continue to cook for about 3-4 minutes, when in doubt, use an instant read thermometer sticking it in to the center of each thigh, if it reaches 165 deg F, it will be safe to eat. 

Enjoy
Ron Sambrano
Food Blogger
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DIABETIC COOKING #2 Sweet Sour Beef

Ok my friends, like I said in my last post, this is going to be times of posting healthy recipes for diabetics. I take this part of my blogging seriously. I had many friends get really sick because of this deadly disease. Last year a friend of the family died, his organs shut down because of diabetes.

In this post I'll give you a Sweet Sour Beef dish, that's really easy to make, and the whole family can enjoy that meal. Once again remember it's all about how you plate your dishes. And it depends on how active you are, if you're sedentary you shouldn't eat a lot, if you do work out then you can basically have a little more food for obvious reasons. Now for this dish, for the sweet in the cooking sauce I'm going to use the Japanese mirin which is made from rice and common in Japanese cooking. If your blood glucose is high, I suggest you do not eat this because the sauce is sweet, and of course sour. 

WARNING: PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL BEFORE TRYING ANY OF THESE DISHES THAT I POST. I DO MY BEST TO GET THE RIGHT NUTRITIONAL COUNTS FOR YOU. 

Have cooked brown rice ready & some raw vegetables.

1/2 of your plate will have the raw vegetables, 1/4 of the plate will have about 2 oz. of brown rice, and the last 1/4 will have about 4-5 oz. of the sweet sour beef.



Sweet Sour Beef.
1 lb. of chuck, cut into bite size cubes
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. minced ginger
1 medium russet potato cubed 1/2 inch
1/2 cup water + sauce.

8 oz. of shiitake mushrooms (soaked and sliced thin)
1 medium tomatoes sliced into 8 wedges
1 stalk celery sliced thin
1/4 cup chopped green onion

Sauce (mix together)
1 cup low sodium tamarin soy sauce
3/4 cups mirin
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar

Directions
1. In a large skillet with lid, heat up the canola oil over medium high heat, sauté the ginger for about 15 seconds, add in cubed beef, brown well then add in water + sauce, bring to boil, then lower to simmer, add in potatoes cover lid. Cook for about 30 minutes

2.  Add in the shiitake mushrooms, tomatoes, celery and simmer for about 5 minutes, then place in a large enough service bowl. Garnish with green onions.

3. Place about 4-5 oz. of sweet sour beef in 1/4 of the plate. Serve with your favorite raw veggies, and brown rice.

The glycemic load jacks up to 40 for the whole pan, so 1/4 of that is 10. check your blood level before eating. 

Drink lots of water, go for a nice stroll around the block after eating, remember it's not just the food but your change in lifestyle.

             

© 2016

DIABETIC COOKING #1 Chicken Teri

Aloha from Maui, from now until the rest of the year, I'll be posting a simple recipe that will be safe if you have diabetes. Keeping the glycemic level from shooting up and killing you, we'll use common sense cooking.

The recipe today is a Chicken Teri that should be safe for you, for sweetening the marinade I'll use raw brown sugar. Don't quote me, but I am not using agave nectar anymore, I'm going to use raw brown sugar that's not processed into white. And I will not use more than needed. And, it's all about your portions that matter.

Here's how I'll plate your food.

Imagine you have a plate, on 1/2 of that plate will be a plant based entree, maybe steamed vegetables, or a raw salad, maybe a stir fried veggie dish. On the other 1/4 of the plate I'll have 4 oz. of all grain bread, or brown rice for you. And the other 1/4 your protein, 4 oz. of it. Of course if you are a bigger person, you can have a little more.

WARNING! Consult with your medical professional before trying my meals. I am not responsible for any other physical issues that may arise from me posting this recipe and anyone consuming this recipe. This is only to give my viewers an idea of 
how to eat healthy.

Serves 4-6

Teri Chicken
1 tray of six chicken thighs, skin removed, and bone removed, set aside.
1 cup of low sodium tamarin soy sauce
1/2 cup filtered water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 inch ginger smashed
2 garlic cloves smashed
1/4 cup chopped green onion

Directions:
- Mix all the liquid, sugar, ginger, garlic, green onions in a bowl. Add in the 6 pieces of chicken, and let sit for about 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

3 cups of Brown Rice.

Directions:
- Put the brown rice in a fine strainer, and rinse the rice for a minute, then put it in a rice cooker, add in enough water so that the water rises over the rice by the joint of your index finger. Follow your cooker's instructions.
*You all have left over brown rice, just store the extras in the refrigerator in a zip bag.

Poached Water Cress 
1 bunch of watercress, tops only
10 oz. of cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1 medium sweet round onion sliced thin
1 medium carrot shredded


3/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. hot sauce
1 tsp. minced ginger
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper

Directions
- In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients and stir well and set aside.

Cooking Teri Chicken
1. Remove chicken from refrigerator, and bring to room temperature for about 20-30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
3. Place a rack sprayed with non stick into a small roasting pan.
4. Place chicken on to rack with skinless side up.
5. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or check to see if it's not burning for every stove reacts differently. A good indicator is to see if juices are oozing out from the chicken, then you'll know it's cooked. Remove and let rest.

Check the rice, if it's done cooking, remove the cover to release the steam.

Poaching the Watercress
This could be done first, if not no worries this is very fast to make.

Directions
In a large pot, bring about 2 quarts of water to a high boil, once it's boiling add in the water cress, but do not leave it in the boiling water for more than 10 seconds. Remove it quickly and strain the hot water out by running cold tap water over it. Continue to drain.

Add the poached watercress to another mixing bowl, adding in the rest of the vegetables, then add in the apple cider vinegar mixture and toss well.

To serve, plate half of each plate with the poached watercress, 1/4 of the plate with 1 chicken thigh, or 4 oz., and 4 oz. of brown rice.

There you have a common sense meal.

             

© 2016

VEGAN DINNER EGGPLANT

Vegan meals is delicious, one might think that this type of cooking will resemble eating cardboard, which is far from the truth. In this post the recipe will be very simple, and shopping at a natural food store will allow you to purchase organic or all natural ready made items.

What is vegan? 
Vegan cooking means no animal products will be used, everything will be plant based. In this recipe organic eggplant will be the star ingredient.

Ingredients

2 large organic round eggplants, peeled and sliced about 1/4" thick. Sprinkle some salt over all of the pieces on both sides and let it sit. This draws out some moisture.

2 cups of cooked organic brown rice.
2 medium organic roma tomatoes diced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp. organic olive oil
1/2 medium organic round onion rough chopped
1/2 cup organic Tamari soy sauce
1 tbsp. organic sesame oil

Garnish
1/4 cup chopped organic parsley

Directions

1. Using a nonstick skillet, add in about 1/2 cup of safflower oil over medium high heat, and fry each eggplant slice, and set aside each slice on paper towels to drain oil. You may need to add more oil as eggplant soaks up oil quickly.

2. In the same skillet, remove oil, and put in the olive oil, and heat up the garlic, tomatoes, onion for a couple minutes, then add in the cooked brown rice, cook through, add in the tamari soy sauce and sesame oil, and toss to coat. 

3. Remove rice from skillet on to a large platter, garnish with parsley, add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve with cooked sliced eggplant, have extra tamari soy sauce for eggplant as the primary condiment.

Until Next Time

Ron Sambrano

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MAKING A BATCH OF SEAFOOD CHILI

Everyone loves a bowl of spicy chili, it could be any season, winter, spring, summer or fall, chili can hit the spot. Most people make chili by using beef as its primary protein. Some people who are vegans or vegetarians will simply use just veggies, or maybe tempeh, or tofu, or seitan. But what if you are a seafood lover, can you make chili with seafood? Of course you can. I'll share with you a simple recipe, and the seafood you purchase doesn't have to be totally fresh because you're going to cook it up anyway.

Okay if we look at our royalty free clipart picture on the top, you can use any of these seafood creatures for your seafood chili. Lobster meat is good, octopus is nice, prawns or shrimp all the time, crab, salmon, squid, oysters, clams all good. I'd say if you were to make a seafood chili, have at least four different kinds in your pot.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. shrimp cleaned
2 lb. lobster whole, cooked with meat removed
2 lbs. salmon meat chopped
1 lb. shelled scallops

* Chop the lobster meat and set aside. 
In a sauté pan, add some garlic and olive oil, and cook the shrimp until pink and set aside. Add more olive oil and garlic to the pan and cook the salmon meat and set aside. Do the same with the scallops and set aside.

Note: Unlike beef, chicken or pork, if you over cook seafood, it can be tough. So this is different from cooking meat chili.

OTHER INGREDIENTS

Olive oil 1/4 cup
2 tbsp. crushed garlic
6 large Roma tomatoes, peeled and seeded and diced
2 round onions roughly chopped
2 large green bell peppers, diced
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 cup chili powder
2 tbsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. turmeric
2 cans of kidney beans (15 oz each)
2 cans tomato sauce (15 oz. each)
1 can of warm beer

* your favorite hot sauce to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large enough pot, heat up olive oil, cook the garlic for about 30 seconds, add in the tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and cook it down over medium heat for about 15 minutes.

2. Add in the dried oregano, onion powder, celery salt, chili powder, cayenne, cumin, curry powder and turmeric. Cook stirring for about 5 minutes.

3. Add in the kidney beans, tomato sauce and cook for about 10 minutes stirring, then add in the beer, and cook for about 5 minutes.

4. Taste the base of the chili, if you want to jack up the heat, add in your favorite hot sauce to taste. Then add in the precooked seafood, cook for about 5 minutes on low heat. Adjust the flavors with adding salt and pepper if needed.

Off the heat, serve with your favorite breads or starches.

Garnish with cheese and sour cream.

Until next time Ron
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GOBO or BURDOCK ROOT

When I was a kid growing up in the plantation camps until I was about 8 years old, my mom cooked a lot of Japanese foods. One may wonder why since we are Filipino. Well one reason is we had several neighbors in the camp that were from Japan, hence my mom learned how to cook what they served up in their homes. And my mom reciprocated.

One of the dishes she used to make was pork with vegetables, the standard carrots, bean sprouts, maybe some green beans or any greens. But there was this one vegetable that just stood out, it tasted kind of earthy, it was a contrasting vegetable I've never tasted. Carrots can be sweet, onions just the same. Some beans are bland. This vegetable wasn't bland, it's really hard to explain. All I can say was when she finally cooked the dish, I made sure I was there watching her.

So she comes back from the supermarket with all of the ingredients, and then she takes out Gobo. Or Burdock root. It's a root, not like a potato, but more slim. I remember her washing it, and then soaking it in water to soften it up more. Then she'd slice it into strips, and then cook it. She was a very simple cook, sautéing the pork with ginger and garlic, then adding in a concoction of soy sauce, sugar, water, and then the other vegetables including the Gobo. And in about a half an our we had a meal. The Burdock root, or Gobo would be seasoned with the sauce, but it still had a unique flavor. All I can say is you to to try it.

health today.com

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THE COMBINATION PLATE L&L DRIVE INN

In Hawaii we take our food seriously...No, I mean seriously...what was that? Let me explain. The Koch brothers took making billions seriously, we locals here take our food seriously. No skimping please! All righty then, let's carry on. It's been a while since I blogged on local plates, I been straying away from my culture, oh well sue my ass then! Pictured above is a combination plate from L&L Drive Inn, one of Hawaii's premier plate lunch chains. The creation of local boy done good Eddie Flores, this brand is seen all over the place from Hawaii, Vegas, California and beyond. Anyhow, the plate in the photo is what is called a Chicken Katsu & Hamburger Steak plate. A good hefty portion of panko crusted chicken deep fried, with a hamburger patty or steak, two scoops of white rice and mac salad.

Every restaurant or chef will make their katsu or hamburger steaks taste differently, however the basics apply. For the chicken the thighs is the best, salted and peppered, coated in flour, then egg wash, then into the panko flakes. And then into the bloody HOT OIL!!!!! A good katsu will be crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside not dried out. 

The hamburger steaks on the other hand is a different animal, I can have my steaks soft, mixed with bread and eggs, almost like a meatloaf and seared over the flat top. Or just straight up 100% choice ground chuck, seasoned and then grilled over the fire medium well. Now foodies have their own specifications. Some like it like a meatloaf so that a plastic fork can cut right through it. Some like it meaty and will use a fork and knife to cut it. Some like sautéed onions and mushrooms with the brown gravy. And here's the thing, I've said it before, but it may have been a while, if you order your hamburger steaks "sloppy" that means the chef will pour gravy all over the dish, over the meat, the rice, the salad. Winner!

So there you have the low down on the combo plate. Have a nice day, and oh yeah, eat well, eat a lot and be thankful you can. 

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© 2016