The Best Mango Salad Ever.

Tags

easy salads, mango, Mango salad, summer salads, thai food

The traditional Thai mango salad is sweet and spicy, filled with fried onions, crunchy peanuts and tons of herbs.  

 If I am going to be honest, I didn’t really use much of a recipe for this, the one thing to remember is you need balance. Sweet, salty, sour and spice all needs to be balanced I n Asian cuisine.

This salad comes together really quickly and it is delicious to eat over the course of a few days. Today for lunch I paired it will a banh mi (probably the most delicious sandwich ever made). I promise to blog about that one soon!

Thai mango salad

• 2 large ripe mangos (peeled and sliced thin)
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 pepper red or yellow thinly sliced
• 1/2 grated carrot 
• 1/2 cup of cilantro chopped
• 1/4 cup of Thai basil leaves
• 1 Thai bird red chili – sliced super finely. (Don’t touch your eyes after doing this, or any body part for that matter)
• 2 tbls chopped salted peanuts
• 2 tbls of fried onions
• 3 tbls rice vinegar
• 1 tbls granulated white sugar
• 1/2 tbls fish sauce
• Pinch of salt

You can use a food processor to cut of veggies but I just slice them with a knife. 

Cut up all the fruit and veggies and put them in a bowl. Add the vinegar, sugar, fish sauce and salt. Toss. Add the herbs and toss again. Just before serving sprinkle in the peanuts and fried onions and Thai bird chili. Use caution! These babies are very very hot! 

Devour. It is the perfect dish to serve along with grilled BBQ meats, shrimp, classic Thai or Vietnamse foods. 

  
Enjoy! 

Craving sweet and salty? You need an Everything bar!

Tags

bar cookies, bars, cookies, dessert, easy desserts, sweet and salty

You know those days when you crave something sweet and something salty and you just don’t know what to eat? The answer is here. Everything Bars.  

 Are they healthy? No.. Are they tasty? Hell yes!

They take all of 5 minutes to assemble.  

 First of all line a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350. 

In a large bowl add 2 cups of crushed salted potato chips, 2 cups of salted peanuts, 1 cup of raisins, 1 cup of shredded coconut, 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips. Toss it well together. 

  Gently press into the prepared pan and top with 1 can of condensed milk. Bake until bubbling around the edges ~ 30 minutes. Let cool, then chill until set. 

   

 Cut into bars, and try to eat just one. 

www.monicaskitchen.com

Eat. Here. Soon.

Tags

fancy dining, ottawa, ottawa restaurants, seafood, steak house, the shore club, Westin

Ottawa peeps, The Shore Club is located in the Westin downtown. It is gorgeous, the food is delish, the wine list is crazy and the view outside of the canal is lovely. 

We love seafood and this restaurant has it. During the week they have buck a shuck oysters and 2$ jumbo shrimps…and I mean jumbo. 

For the most part the menu is pricey but it was worth it and I would go back again soon. A typical steak is between 35-50$ and the fish courses around 36$. We loved the seafood platter, lobster, king crab, oyster, smoked salmon and calamari. 

If you can’t swing a dinner, go for happy hour from 4-7 during the week for a glass of wine and some snacks, you won’t be disappointed. 

   
    
    
   

Get In Ma Belly – Salted Caramels …. Psst they’re vegan

Tags

dates, desserts, no bake dessers, salted caramels, tahini, vegan, vegan dessert

OMG. Not sure where to begin here. I love meat. All kinds of meat actually, so when I started eating vegan foods a few years ago I was really surprised how much I liked it.

So a few months ago I was getting my hair done by my very talented stylist and she said, “would you like to try one my vegan treats?” Well anyone who knows me knows I would not turn down a treat, vegan or not. 

She gave me one of these vegan salted caramels and I came to realize 2 things. 

#1 – I love being blond, completely unrelated to food, but I do.

#2 – I could eat the entire container of these vegan babies. 

They are super simple to make but you do need a food processor to make them, so if you don’t have one borrow one from your neighbor. 

• 2 cups of pitted dates
• 1 cup of tahini ( seseme paste)
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 3 tbs coconut oil
• Sea salt ( Maldon salt) 

Throw everything into your food processer except the salt. Process it until it is smooth, takes a minute or two.

Once smooth spread into a parchment paper lined 9 by 9 metal pan. Sprinkle with sea salt. This is KEY! You need salt to get the right balance. Then put it in the freezer for 90 mins. Remove. Cut into cubes ( I got approx 50). Keep them in the freezer in an air tight container. They won’t last long though…

Devour and smile. Until next time, eat and be happy!

   
    
    

Fennel – Try it today!

Tags

easy dinner, fennel, quick dinner, salad, simple salad, summer meals

Fennel is a bulbous vegetable with a tall, wispy, fronded top that looks rather like dill. The fronds can be used in salads, but the main attraction of fennel is the bulb itself. 

It’s very firm and crunchy, and it tastes a bit like licorice and anise. It has a fresh, bright taste and it’s one of our favorite vegetables for salads and slaws. It can also be grilled or braised until tender. For those who say they don’t like licorice… Just try it. 
The bulb is made of overlapping layers of vegetable, almost like a cabbage — but very firm and hard. To be used in salads, fennel should be sliced very thin, and it’s easiest to do this with a mandoline.

I love fennel in a fresh summer salad topped with Parmesan, fresh garden tomatoes and a white balsamic dressing. 

Recipe is easy: 

• You need a whole head of lettuce, romaine, arugula, butter, leaf
• A blub of fennel sliced super fine, fronds saved
• Fresh tomatoes sliced
• Parmesan cheese
• Lemon Olive oil and white balsamic
• Pinch of salt and pepper

To assemble arrange the torn lettuce on a serving tray. Top with tomatoes and fennel and real Parmesan cheese shavings. For dressing mix 2 tbs of lemon olive oil and 2 tbs of white balsamic with a pinch of salt. 

Pour on the salad and serve! I have also topped with diced mango and pear before for a nice twist. 

Happy Eating! Www.monicaskitchen.com

   
 

Light and simple turkey chili

Tags

chili, fresh, fresh meals, light dinners, summer, turkey chili

This is absolutely delicious, takes minutes to prepare and you can make it in the crockpot. 

Perfect for spring, summer, fall and winter! Chili at times can be very heavy and filling, this version is light and fresh. 

Here is what you need:

• 1 lb of ground turkey (usually I prefer to use beef but for this chili, turkey gave a much lighter taste)
• 1 package of chili seasoning mix 
• 1 tbls of tomato paste
• 1 can of diced tomatoes 28 oz
• 1 can of corn or 2 ears of fresh corn sliced off the cob
• 1 19 oz can of black beans, or you can use kidney, pinto etc
• 1 onion diced finely
• 2 garlic cloves
• Pinch of salt 
• Toppings, sour cream or greek yogurt, cubed avocado, cilantro, grated cheese etc

Brown the turkey in a frying pan with 1 tbs of oil. After a few minutes add the onion and garlic. Once browned 2-3 minutes, add the mixture to a crock pot. Add in tomatoes, corn, chili seasoning mix, tomato paste and beans. Let simmer for 3 hours on high or 5 on low. 

To serve, top chili with whatever topping you would like. Enjoy!