...Yucca Chips!

You can't eat just one.

That's a slogan for Pringles, and that's so true when it comes to chips, pretzels, and even cookies - the smaller they are, the harder it is to eat "just one".  This is also a problem when you're trying to watch what you eat, because the "mindless eating" craze tends to set in, and before you know it - you've eaten half (or all) of a bag of the chips.

Pampered Chef recently came out with a Microwaveable Potato Chip Maker, where you slice potatoes (with their Ultimate Mandoline or Simple Slicer, of course) to make even chips, then microwave them without oil to make "healthier" potato chips.

Brilliant, right?

Given my obsession with Chicken Latino's Yucca Fries, I wanted to see if this would work with yucca root.  After reading the directions to the Potato Chip Maker, I noticed that they explicitly said that it works with yucca, too.

This is going to happen.

On a trip to the Strip District one day, I stopped at Stan's Market to check out the yucca - and it was only $0.99/lb.!  WHOA!  Usually there it's $1.19/lb., and I've already ranted about Giant Eagle's $3.99/lb. rate for both it and jicama (what a rip-off!).  I bought some immediately, fearing for a sudden price increase or noticeable discrepancy.

The worst part about yucca is peeling it.  I had recently purchased a new Vegetable Peeler from Pampered Chef (as I have no idea what happened to my old one - how do you lose a vegetable peeler, really?).  It got easier once I got some of the initial bark off, but it was the most time-consuming and exhausting part of the process.

No, I didn't use that Santoku knife.  I still have all of my fingers.

 Then, the Ultimate Mandoline - I was fearful of breaking the blade, as I feared that with the Vegetable Peeler as well, but I was shocked at how well it sliced the yucca into "chips".  I have no idea how Shelbin at Chicken Latino slices yucca into "fries", let alone PEELS all of that yucca on a regular basis (it wore me out!), but slicing them into chips was a breeze.

Ultimate Mandoline and yucca

Chips came out even and pretty!

I know that the point of the chip maker is to not use oil, but I thought - these will need some flavor.  I had purchased some Persian Lime Oil from Olio Fresca in the Pittsburgh Public Market, and lime is a great Latino flavor - it would go really well with yucca, along with some cumin.  Also, in a previous food experiment, I learned - the hard way - that you don't need a lot of this oil for the flavor, just like peanut oil.  So really, I wasn't adding that much fat to the chips - maybe a teaspoon's worth, at most:

Olio Fresca's Persian Lime Oil - available at the Pittsburgh Public Market

After mixing the yucca, lime oil, and cumin together in a Ziploc bag (the most efficient method of evenly coating the chips), I spread them out in a single layer on the Microwaveable Potato Chip Maker:

Coating the chips with lime oil and cumin

After microwaving them for 2 minutes - yes TWO MINUTES - they were done.  YUCCA CHIPS!

Yucca chips!  Done!

I had more to make, but didn't want to eat an entire yucca root in one sitting - so I put that Ziploc bag in the refrigerator, and made one tray's worth when I wanted to.  I got about 3 more servings out of that root, and they turned out great each time. 

In addition to the flavors in the chips, I needed to dip - I like dipping - and my new obsession is Heinz Balsamic Ketchup.  I swear this endorsement is completely unsolicited - I am obsessed with this stuff.  I hope that this "Limited Edition" thing is just a marketing ploy, because when I can't find this anymore, I may cry.  James insists that he can teach me how to make balsamic ketchup, but I refuse, fearing that it just won't be this good.  I think I'm just going to buy two bottles on every shopping trip I make to stock up...and make sales soar...and make Heinz realize it would be a huge loss to take this off of store shelves...

Heinz Balsamic Ketchup.  Even better than the original.  No joke.

Yucca chips are a delicious, at-home potato chip alternative, and I thank Shebin at Chicken Latino for the inspiration (although, I will say that nothing compares to her Yucca Fries with Green Sauce and Mayo!)  Thanks to the Pampered Chef products, making them myself (and yourself) is quite simple!

To order the Microwaveable Potato Chip Maker, Ultimate Mandoline, Simple Slicer, Vegetable Peeler, or any other Pampered Chef products, please visit: http://www.pamperedchef.biz/mariemcdonald

Stan's Market

1811 Penn Ave.

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stans-Market/247614901924765

Olio Fresca Olive Oil Company (inside Pittsburgh Public Market)

Website: http://www.oliofresca.com/shop/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OlioFrescaOliveOilCompany

Pittsburgh Public Market

Produce Terminal Building

Smithfield Street near 17th Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Website: http://pittsburghpublicmarket.org/

Facebook: http://pittsburghpublicmarket.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/PghPubMarket

...CONTEST: Farm to Table Pittsburgh

Buying from a local farmer > Buying from a supermarket.

There's more ownership, more confidence, more of a connection in buying from a local farm.  I feel better knowing not only that my produce hasn't traveled too far, but also that I am helping to stimulate the local economy.

Not to mention that the pricing is more reasonable than the local supermarket.  $3.99/lb. for jicama at Giant Eagle vs. $0.89/lb. at Stan's Market in the Strip District?  Big difference when those suckers weigh between 3-4 pounds!

Clarion River organics

Clarion River Organics

My fondest memories of visiting farms are mostly tied to Halloween and pumpkin picking at either Trax Farms or Triple "B" Farms - hay rides, pumpkin picking, and most recently, apple picking.  However, James has made me many meals lately with meat, cheese, and vegetables from Clarion River Organics in the Pittsburgh Public Market, and the quality of their foodstuffs is unlike that of any supermarket's.  

Just yesterday, James made a tagine for dinner with some of the most amazing ingredients from the Pittsburgh Public Market: Clarion Farms Beef flank steak, marinated in East End Brewing Chocolate Cherry Stout; fingerling potatoes and carrots from Clarion River Organics; (and an Asian pear leftover from Costco - sorry, not from a farm).

Our tagine meal, after being pressure-cooked. Soooo tasty!

 Look at this beef.  I wish you could have tasted it!  It.  Was.  Fabulous:

Photo courtesy of James. Beef courtesy of Clarion Farms. Marinade mostly courtesy of East End Brewing.

Olio Fresca Display at Pittsburgh Public Market

 I was also excited to purchase my first oil and balsamic vinegar from Olio Fresca, another participating vendor at the conference.  Lime-infused oil and wild cherry balsamic vinegar will be a great combination on salads, avocado dishes, chicken...

I can't wait to experiment - and tell you all about it!

The Pittsburgh Public Market does a great job of bringing local merchants, farmers, dairies, etc. to one central location for even the biggest city-goers to enjoy.   Don't get me wrong - I have no problem going to the actual farm, etc. to purchase their products, but the public market makes it that much more convenient, especially in the winter months, when farmer's markets are scarce.

If you want to learn more about buying local, fresh, farm-produced goods, or even if you'd just like to sample local foods, this next opportunity is for you:

The 6th Annual Farm to Table Pittsburgh Conference will be held on Friday, March 23rd and Saturday, March 24th at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.  This event will feature speakers, demonstrations, and kids' activities, as well as a food tasting on Friday night (23rd) from 5:00-8:00 PM.

I'm going.  AND YOU COULD GO, TOO - FOR FREE!

I am giving away two tickets to the food tasting (a $50 value!), thanks to the Revive Marketing Group, a conference sponsor.  Here is how to enter:

*Leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite local farm or dairy experience - whether it be purchasing the ingredients there for an incredible meal you made, or milking a cow yourself for the first time, or your preschool field trip to the farm that you remember more vividly than your 5th grade field trip to...wherever that was.  The possibilities are endless! 

*Please include the name of the farm/dairy that you visited in your comment.

*All comments must be submitted by FRIDAY, MARCH 16TH at 11:59 PM.  The winner will be announced and contacted on Sunday, March 18th.  (NOTE: If you post anonymously, I cannot contact you!).  The winner will be chosen at random via http://www.random.org and their random number picker.  Odds of winning based on the number of entries.

*Any inappropriate or irrelevant comments will not be posted publicly and will not be considered as entries.

For a list of participating exhibitors and more details on the food tasting event, click here. 

For more information on the Farm to Table Pittsburgh Conference, see their website: http://farmtotablepa.com/conference.  I can't wait to hear about your farm/dairy experiences, so comment away!

…My Strip District Visit, 10/15/11 Parte Tres: Ropa Vieja

I can cook – from a recipe.

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t go out to eat every day – in fact, I try NOT to go out and eat more than once a week because of my diet.  Lately, though, that hasn’t been so easy, but I figure it’s ok since the weather is turning colder, and I probably won’t get out as much soon.

I’ve been trying to add to my recipe collection, since I cook a lot more in the winter months (being stuck inside in the cold, snowy, icy Pittsburgh climate causes me to be bored – when I’m bored, I cook).  Twitter has definitely been super helpful in helping me to find recipes to try, and some of them have been too irresistible for me to wait until winter to test out for myself.

One of my favorite followees has been Flaming Tortillas (@ftortillas) and their collection of Latin American recipes.  Every time they tweet a recipe, I look at it and think, “I could totally make that,” and one caught my eye immediately.

Ropa vieja.

I know how much you love to run to your Spanish-English dictionaries to help with translation (no facetious tone at ALL there), so I will just tell you that “ropa vieja” translates literally to mean, “old clothes”.

Ew.

It’s not called “old clothes” because it TASTES like old clothes – I mean, no matter how hungry I may be, I will NOT eat anything that I have ever worn as clothing (sorry, Lady Gaga – no meat dress for me).  When this recipe is made correctly, the shredded flank steak in a flavorful, tomato-based sauce resembles old clothes or rags.

The best part?  I could make it in the crockpot.  I heart my crockpot.

I made sure to write down the ingredients that I needed on my shopping list for the Strip District, knowing that the prices there tend to be much better than those at my local supermarket (*cough* Giant Eagle).  I intended on getting my veggies from Stan’s Market, and my meat from Wholey’s – and it worked out.

The recipe can be found here:

http://www.flamingtortillas.com/recipes/meats_misc/ropa_vieja

I’ll let the pictures tell the buying and cooking story…see below the pictures for the tasting results:

Lots of spices in this recipe.  I only had to buy lemon pepper from Penzey's in the Strip District - I had everything else, except for coriander, so I used Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning instead (probably not the best substitute, but the recipe didn't call for much, anyway).  Crushed tomatoes and tomato paste make for the red, tomato-y sauce.

1.97 lbs. of flank steak @$7.99/lb. at Wholey's

White onion and serrano pepper from Stan's Market; Worcestershire sauce from my fridge.

Orange peppers from Giant Eagle & roasted hatch chilis from Reyna's (my uncle told me he had plenty of green peppers, but I didn't want to bother him when I wanted to make this recipe - so I substituted)

Pre-cooked ropa vieja in the crockpot

About halfway done and making my house smell A-MAZ-ING!

8 hours later.  Done.  Looking like "old clothes".  Smelling like a cocina latina.

Makes a good taco filling (although I would strain off some of the sauce - very drippy if you don't!), especially on corn tortillas from Reyna Foods.

It.  Was.  Delicious. 

My house smelled like ropa vieja all night and into the next morning – no complaints.  The taste was spicy, but not overly spicy.  I was concerned about the amount of spices that were in this recipe, but everything worked together nicely to make a flavorful, but not overpowering sauce.

Authentic.  Easy.  Me gusta.

Flaming Tortillas

Website: http://www.flamingtortillas.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flaming-Tortillas/170204376367118

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/FTortillas

Wholey’s

1711 Penn Ave.

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Website: http://www.wholey.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wholeysfish

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/wholeys

Stan’s Market

1811 Penn Ave.

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stans-Market/247614901924765

The Strip District Website: http://www.neighborsinthestrip.com/

Neighbors in the Strip on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=699253613466&id=47505581&ref=notif&notif_t=feed_comment_reply#!/StripDistrict

Strip District Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/StripDistrict

 

…My Strip District Visit, 10/15/11 Parte Dos – Ingredients and Other Items Purchased

I like saving money.

I was never a coupon clipper until about a year after owning my own house and realizing that saving money as often as possible is essential when you want to spend money on things other than essentials. 

This is also why I work two jobs – one (teaching) pays the bills, the other (Kennywood) allows me to spend money on things other than bills.

My last trip to the Strip District taught me that because I like to buy a lot of fruits and vegetables, since they are “diet-friendly”, buying them there is more cost-efficient than buying them somewhere convenient, like Giant Eagle. 

In addition to necessities, the Strip District also has unique shops for gifts, household items, and otherwise “fun” things.

Here is a rundown of my purchases on this day (not including the taco and Chicken Latino meal)  I marked the ingredients for future recipe posts with an asterisk (*):

Pittsburgh Public Market: Pumpkin butter*, Very Berry jelly, and mango habanero jelly from The Berry Patch; Honeycrisp apples from Morning Dew Orchards

Jelly and Butter from The Berry Patch

Honeycrisp Apples from Morning Dew Orchards

 Firehouse Farmer’s Market: horseradish root

Reyna Foods: mild and spicy chile peppers, roasted outside on the sidewalk as part of their 2^nd Annual Hatch Green Chile Roast; corn tortillas

Chiles Roasting

Chiles, bagged and purchased

 Random table on Penn Ave.: La Toalla Terrible!

Native Inka’s Shop: Handmade hats – one for me, and one for my brother (I’m the best sister EVER)

My awesome new hat - this is my best attempt at trying to look awake at 1:30 AM, when I decided to take this pic

You can tell that my brother loves his new hat!  You're welcome!

 Stan’s Market: bananas, serrano peppers*, jalapeno peppers*, white onions*, yucca root* (THEY HAD IT!  Not moldy!  $.80/lb. cheaper than Giant Eagle!), jicama* (still $0.89/lb., not $3.99 lb.), Granny Smith Apples*, acorn squash, garlic*, tomatillos*

Acorn squash, bananas, jicama

(clockwise, from top) Serrano peppers, jalapeno peppers, tomatillos

Yucca root on display at Stan's Market

Penzey’s Spices: Lemon pepper*, Mexican vanilla extract*, cream of tartar*

 Prestogeorge Fine Foods: Cookies ‘N Cream-flavored coffee (I’m busy, I need caffeine to keep me going)

Wholey’s: Flank steak*, The Laughing Cow Queso Fresco & Chipotle, Nutella, unsalted butter*

Flank steak - $7.99/lb. at Wholey's

The one flavor of Laughing Cow Cheese that they don't carry at Giant Eagle

Besides buying some items in these same stores, my mom also bought items in S & D Polish Deli, Art of Steel, Costume World, and Mancini’s Bakery.  In addition, we visited Collage, Yinzer’s, Penn Avenue Pottery, and the Artisan Market.

I’m exhausted!  4+ hours of shopping is killer before working 5 PM – 1 AM!

Now I can’t wait to share what I’m making with the ingredients that I bought…