THE NIBBLE BLOG: Products, Recipes & Trends In Specialty Foods


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RECIPE: Breakfast Salad & Dip With Tortilla Chips

April 9, 2015 at 7:45 am · Filed under Breakfast & Brunch, Tip Of The Day, Vegetables-Salads-Herbs

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[1] For breakfast, bacon and egg top a salad (recipe and photography © of Amanda Paa | Heartbeet Kitchen).		  

The world over, what people eat for breakfast varies widely.

  • In eastern China it can include dumplings and vegetable soup with rice.
  • In Guyana it’s whitefish preserved in salt, served with fried bread dough.
  • A traditional breakfast in Japan has rice, fish, miso soup, sticky soy beans and nori (dried seaweed).
  • In South India it’s vegetable stew, served with steamed lentil-and-rice bread.
  • In Columbia it could be leftovers from the night before.

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    So what’s wrong with a breakfast salad? Why not tortilla chips instead of bread?

    This recipe, from Amanda Paa of HeartbeetKitchen.com, is a salad with bacon and eggs. Food Should Taste Good’s “The Works” tortilla chips standn in for a bagel.

    If you don’t want a salad, there’s a breakfast sausage and cheese dip to enjoy with tortilla chips, below.

     
     
    RECIPE #1: BREAKFAST BACON & EGG SALAD WITH “BAGEL CROUTONS”

    Ingredients For 2 Servings

  • 4 cups mixed salad greens
  • 4 slices cooked bacon (crumble 2 slices and keep 2 whole)
  • 1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons chopped kalamata olives
  • 2 eggs
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1/4 cup of your favorite salad dressing
  • 1 handful Food Should Taste Good “The Works” tortilla chips (or substitute, including bagel chips)

    •  
    Preparation

    1. EQUALLY DIVIDE the salad greens, bacon (1 slice crumbled and 1 slice whole per plate) tomatoes and olives between two plates.

    2. POACH the eggs: Fill a medium saucepan 2 inches deep with water and set over medium-high heat. When the water boils, turn the heat down so that the water is just simmering. Crack one egg into a small dish and slide it into the water. Quickly do the same with the second egg. Set the timer for 3-1/2 minutes (if you like a firmer yolk, cook for 4-1/2 minutes). Make sure the water stays at a simmer. When the timer goes off…

    3. USE a slotted spoon to scoop one egg out of the water. Tilt the spoon so the liquid drains completely, then place the egg on top of one of the salads. Repeat with the second egg.

    4. TOP the eggs with a sprinkle of salt and a few grinds of black pepper, then drizzle each salad with dressing (we made a balsamic vinaigrette but some people may prefer a creamy dressing).
     

     

    RECIPE #2: ROSEMARY & CHEDDAR BREAKFAST SAUSAGE DIP

    Ingredients For 6 Servings

  • 8 ounces breakfast sausage
  • 1/4 cup minced onion
  • 1-1/2 cups milk
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 3 cups (9 ounces) grated cheddar cheese
  • 2-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Chips (or substitute dipper)

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    Preparation

    1. COOK the sausage in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently and breaking it up into crumbles. When sausage has just a little pink remaining, add the onion and continue cooking until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are translucent. Using a colander, drain the meat and set it aside.

    		   Breakfast_Sausage_Dip_heartbeetkitchen-FSTG-230
    [2] Recipe and photography © of Amanda Paa | Heartbeet Kitchen).
     
    2. POUR the milk and maple syrup into a medium-sized saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Let the mixture warm until steaming, but not boiling.

    3. TOSS together the cheese, cornstarch, and rosemary in a bowl. Add this to warm milk and turn the heat up slightly, constantly stirring to melt the cheese evenly.

    4. COOK for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and smooth. Stir in the salt and garlic powder, then add the sausage. Mix well and serve immediately.
     
     

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Fava Beans (& A Nice Chianti)

    April 8, 2015 at 7:36 am · Filed under Tip Of The Day, Vegetables-Salads-Herbs

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    Fresh fava beans. Photo courtesy
    TheDeliciousLife.com. Check out their
    recipe for a charming appetizer or hors
    d’oeuvre, Fava Bean Purée with Feta and
    Garlic Toasts.

    		   For those of you who recall Hannibal Lechter’s upcoming dinner at the end of The Silence Of The Lambs, you can make your own version of it 9we suggest calf’s liver). Fava beans are in season, here for their brief annual visit.

    Also known as the broad bean, faba bean, field bean and other names, Vicia faba is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae) that is native to North Africa, possibly Egypt.

    Fava is the Italian word for broad bean, and is the term most commonly used in the U.S. In the U.K. and Australia, broad bean is the common term.

    According to Wikipedia, fava beans are “among the most ancient plants in cultivation and also among the easiest to grow.” As such, they are cultivated extensively worldwide.

    Along with lentils, peas and chickpeas, they are believed to have become part of the eastern Mediterranean diet around 6000 B.C.E. or earlier. They were popular with the ancient Greeks and Romans.

     
    When very young, the pods can be eaten whole. But the beans are typically removed from the pod and then parboiled and peeled to remove the skin, which can be bitter. The young leaves can also be eaten either raw or cooked, like spinach.

    The beans, which resemble edamame and lima beans, are green with a buttery texture and an earthy flavor.

     

    WAYS TO ENJOY FAVA BEANS

    Fava beans are a wonderful addition to any meal, hot or cold. If you search online for “fava bean recipes,” you’ll find lots from which to choose. Here are some ideas for starters:

  • Appetizer: In a dip for crudités or on bruschetta with olive oil and shaved asiago or pecorino romano cheese.
  • Main: Atop linguine or angel hair pasta, with garlic and fresh herbs in a sauce of butter or olive oil (for Easter we served crab ravioli with fava beans and morels).
  • Salad: With cucumber, red onion, fresh herbs (basil, mint or tarragon) and feta cheese, in a vinaigrette.
  • Side: Sautéed in butter or olive oil; grilled in the pod, then eaten from the pod like edamame.
  • Soup: In a creamy, vivid green fava bean soup (garnish with some whole cooked fava bean).

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    Another idea: Egypt’s national dish, ful medames, is a stew of fava beans with olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, usually eaten for breakfast (but you can serve it with any meal). It is a staple throughout the Middle East.

    		  fava-bean-soup-marthastewart-230
    Fava bean soup. Photo courtesy MarthaStewart.com. Here’s the recipe.
     
    If you miss the fleeting fava bean season, dried fava beans are available. But don’t let the fresh favas escape you. After all, would Hannibal Lechter eat dried fava beans?
      

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    PRODUCT: Starkist Gourmet Selects Tuna Pouches

    April 7, 2015 at 8:43 am · Filed under Fish-Seafood-Caviar

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    We keep tuna pouches at the office as better-for-you options for lunch and snacking. Photo courtesy Starkist.

    		  

    We’ve been enjoying tuna pouches since they first appeared. Especially at the office, they provide a convenient, better-for-you option for lunch or snacking.

    We especially like the flavored tuna pouches, which are tasty enough to require no mayonnaise. We just add the contents to a piece of toast, or onto leafy greens.

    StarKist has expanded the flavored tuna options with a new product line, StarKist Gourmet Selects Pouches, that includes real veggies in each pouch. We received samples of the three internationally-inspired flavors:

  • Mexican had a nice touch of sundried tomato.
  • Mexican has a very mild amount of heat. We’re not fans of major heat, but we’d like a bit more jalapeño.
  • Thai is tasty, although it didn’t have a particular Thai distinctiveness—just a bit of sweetness and some heat, which sizzled in our mouth long after the dish was consumed.

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    There are recipes for cooked dishes using the tuna on the back of each pouch.

     
    Last fall we wrote about Starkist Tuna Creation’s flavored pouches in Lemon Pepper and Sweet & Spicy, with proceeds benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project. They were 4.5 ounces apiece—just right for lunch.

    The new Gourmet Selects pouches are in a much smaller size: 2.6 ounces, good for kids but not enough for this not-so-delicate eater. Still, we’d be happy to have a carton of them delivered to the office to take the place of our often less-good-for-you snacks.
     
    NEWS FOR EXPECTANT & NEW MOMS

    Some pregnant women have limited their fish and seafood intake, due to past studies concerned about the amount of mercury in some fish.

    A new report from the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee encourages women who are pregnant, may become pregnant or are breastfeeding to eat at least 8 to 12 ounces (2 to 3 servings) of fish each week.

    According to 2014 FDA research, women can safely consume up to 67 ounces—33 servings—of canned albacore tuna each week.

    The advice, expected to be adopted and included in the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, comes at a time when seafood consumption in the U.S. is at an all-time low, especially among moms and moms-to-be.

    Thanks to Bumble Bee for spreading the word about the new recommendations.

      

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