"Something hearty and warm."

Jalapeños are sliced thin and mixed with lime juice sweetened with agave. Ginger beer adds a nice warm spice, sparkling water evens everything out for a refreshing/spicy drink.



First we are going to boil water for the broccoli.
Choppin' broccoli. She's chopping! CHOPPING BROCCOLI.  Had to.

We get the broccoli water back up to a boil. Now we pour the polenta in a nice stream.
Lower the heat to medium. Stir. Stir stir. We cook it for 15-20 minutes.


Make sure your cheese is grated. I used a cup of each...but you know...the more the merrier.

Now we stir the butter and the milk into the polenta. This makes it extra rich and creamy.

After the polenta is nice and creamy, we stir in the pesto, broccoli and red pepper flakes.

Cook that down for a bit. We want to thicken it up again.
NOW CHEESE.  Stir it in. Let it cook for another few minutes while...

You poach an egg!

Spoon the broccoli pesto polenta into a bowl. Top with extra cheese and a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes.

Get that poached egg on top.
Poke it!!  Oh and drizzle with a little olive oil.

serves 4

• 1 cup polenta
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 lb. broccoli florets
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons pesto
• 1 cup grated pecorino
• 1 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• 4 poached eggs, for serving
• extra virgin olive oil, for serving

Boil 4 cups water withe salt in a medium sauce pan.  Gently place the broccoli florets in the boiling water, reduce heat to low and cook covered with the lid for 4 minutes, or until broccoli is cooked and just tender. Strain broccoli from the broccoli water and let it rest cutting board until cool enough to handle. Chop broccoli into small pieces and set aside.
Return the broccoli water to a boil and stir in the polenta in a slow steady stream. Reduce the heat to medium and cook polenta for 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly so the polenta doesn't stick to the bottom. You'll know when it's ready when the polenta starts to soften and thicken. Stir in the butter and milk and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Polenta should be smooth creamy. Stir in the pesto and chopped broccoli followed by the red pepper flakes and both the grated Pecorino and Parmesan. To serve, spoon polenta into four bowls and top with additional grated Parmesan, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Nestle a warm poached egg on top of each bowl of polenta a drizzle each egg with a little olive oil.





take a small head of butter lettuce and roughly tear small pieces.
Radishes are thinly sliced
Blood oranges are segmented.

Let's make the dressing
Most of the dressing goes on the radish/orange combo.


Let's put the avocados in.

serves 3-4
for the dressing

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons blood orange juice
• 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
• heavy pinch sea salt

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar. Cover jar with lid and give dressing a good shake. Adjust salt according to taste. Set aside.
for the salad

• 3 blood oranges, peeled & cut into small pieces (reserve 2 tablespoons juice)
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 head butter lettuce, roughly torn
• 2 avocados, chopped
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Place cut oranges and radishes in a large bowl. Add cilantro leaves and pour dressing on top, making sure to reserve a little for later. Give the mixture a good stir and add in the lettuce to coat. Transfer to serving platter and top salad with chopped avocados. Sprinkle the slivered almonds on top and drizzle the reserved dressing over the avocado. Season salt with additional salt to taste and serve immediately.

a cup of plain Greek Yogurt and mix it with a tablespoon of honey, the zest from one lime and a quick squeeze of lime juice


The potatoes are crispy perfection...spiced to the max with the smokey chorizo. The green pepper, onions and jalapeños have somehow added a nice sweetness to the hash while the eggs, cheese and cilantro are the fancy accessorizes needed to complete this dish.

First step is boiling the potatoes. We chop them up.

And boil them until just tender. Set aside.

Chopped onions, green pepper, and jalapeño.

Chorizo goes into the skillet.

After cooking for awhile we add in the onions, jalapeños, and green pepper.

Remove the chorizo from the skillet. Leave the fat in there. Add some olive oil and cook the potatoes.

To get them nicely browned stir them ever 5 minutes or so. Add a little bit of additional oil during this process.

Chorizo gets mixed in with crispy potatoes.

Make four wells.

Crack an egg in each. I cracked each one in a small mug and then placed them in.
You don't wanna crack a yolk by mistake...and if you do that will save you!

BAKED
serves 4

• 1/2 pound yellow potatoes, cut into 3/4- to 1/2-inch dice
• kosher salt
• 1lb.  ground pork chorizo
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more as needed
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 jalapeño roughly chopped (seeds & membrane removed)
• 1 green pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• freshly ground pepper
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• chopped tomatoes, for serving

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling water. Cook until potatoes are just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander and set aside.
Meanwhile, place chorizo in a cast iron skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Cook, stirring and breaking up meat until some parts start to crisp, about 5 minutes. Toss in onions, jalapeño, and green pepper and cook with the chorizo until onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove chorizo mixture, leaving fat in skillet and transfer to a bowl. Set chorizo aside.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally until potatoes are crispy browned on all sides, about 15-20 minutes. If you find any potatoes sticking add additional oil. Stir in the chorizo mixture, season with fresh ground pepper. Using a spoon make 4 wells in the chorizo hash. In a small bowl, crack each egg one at a time and transfer each to an empty well in the skillet. Place skillet in the oven and bake until whites are set, about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, sprinkle chopped cilantro on top. Serve with a a generous sprinkling of shredded cheddar, a healthy dollop of sour cream, chopped tomatoes and hot sauce. It's important to serve fast as the residual heat from the skillet will continue to cook the eggs.



For this snack, all you need is grated Parmesan and an oven (a toaster oven will work too!).  Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper and spoon a few tablespoons of the grated cheese on top. Turn the oven to 400F and cook until crispy and brown. About 4-6 minutes. Parmesan crisps are a great substitute for crackers and they're even better served on top of salads. Totally gluten free and low carb too!



Slice the garlic!
Slice the jalapeño. Take out some seeds if you want to go easy on the heat.

Jalapeño and garlic go into a pan with a little oil.
We cook it for 30 seconds...until fragrant.


make our little carrot slaw:make our little carrot slaw:

Ground beef gets cooked. Parts are nice and brown and crispy. The jalapeño softens and a few of the garlic slices get nice and crispy.
Now we add in the chicken stock.  This moistens up the beef and imparts flavor.

Hello BASIL. I wish I had Thai Basil but not this time.

It wilts/softens and adds a nice fragrance to the beef.
 combine soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar to make our soy dressing
Spoon out some rice.
made rice with rice cooker  and used a combination of coconut milk and some chicken stock instead of water.
It turned out great!


spoon some of the Thai Basil Beef over the coconut rice.

 pile on the carrot slaw and drizzle some of the soy sauce on top.
You could add a fried egg on top...or maybe some sriracha.


serves 4
recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced (take out the seeds if you want less heat)
• 1 lb. organic ground beef
• kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 3 cups fresh basil, decided
• 2 medium carrots, julienned & coarsely grated
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced (both white & green parts)
• 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• steamed coconut rice & lime wedges for serving

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a lark skillet over high heat. Add garlic and jalapeño and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beef, season with salt and pepper and cook, breaking up with a spoon and pressing down firmly to help brown, until cooked through and nicely crisped in spots, 8-10 minutes. Add broth and 2 cups basil leaves and cook, stirring until basil has wilted, about 2 minutes.
Toss carrots, scallions, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 cup basil leaves, and 1 tablespoon oil in a small bowl.
Mix soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and remaining 3 tablespoons lime juice in a small bowl until sugar dissolves.
Top rice with beef and slaw and drizzle with soy dressing. Serve with lime wedges.
pile on the carrot slaw and drizzle some of the soy sauce on top.

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all pics and texts from http://www.shutterbean.com/
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