Hot Garlic Sauce | Mojo criollo para viandas y carnes

Most sauces, marinades, and dressings are naturally low-carb as long as they are sugarless and grainless. Of course, cooking from scratch gives us complete control over carbs. Think of sauces, marinades, and dressings as wardrobe and accessories. (That is, after all, the real reason I enjoyed my childhood Barbie.) Any dish can undergo a dramatic quick-change with little fuss.

Chef George Geary wrote a cookbook called 500 Best Sauces, Salad Dressings, Marinades & More. Seriously! We could eat chicken breasts for 16 months straight and never duplicate a flavor profile!

Here is a versatile Cuban sauce. It is borrowed from In a Cuban Kitchen by Alex Garcia, published in September of 2004. Although carbs are central in Cuban cuisine, I have not met a carb that cannot be tweaked. Garcia's dishes are irresistible and use the freshest ingredients!

HOT GARLIC SAUCE | MOJO CRIOLLO PARA VIANDAS Y CARNES

From: In a Cuban Kitchen

By: Alex Garcia

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, chopped fine
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, stems removed and chopped fine
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, stems removed and chopped fine
• Juice of 3 limes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until fragrant.
2. Remove from the heat and let sit for 2 minutes. Add the parsley, cilantro, lime juice and salt.
3. Serve hot over vegetables or meat dishes.

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Curry Cauli-Rice Salad

A well-stocked fridge, freezer, and pantry can spark some amazing dishes! Since I hate to be wasteful, I frequently improvise with what I have. This can sometimes sacrifice color, but never flavor. 

Hint: Do not hesitate to tweak leftovers if you feel that the original can still be enhanced. Some of our favorite meals were toyed with before I was satisfied.

CURRY CAULI-RICE SALAD

• 2 packages of Trader Joe's frozen Organic Riced Cauliflower (yields 6 cups)
• 2 heaping tablespoons of Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Mayo
• 1 tablespoon of natural stone ground mustard
• 2 nitrite/nitrate free hot dog weiners, sliced
• ½ of a large onion, diced
• 1½ cups of mixed small red and yellow tomatoes, sliced in halves or quarters depending on size
• 1 heaping tablespoon of curry (I used Muchi curry)
• Italian seasoning to taste and a little for garnish
• Maldon salt to taste (I rub it between my fingers while sprinkling)

1. Follow the directions on the riced cauliflower to defrost in the microwave.
2. Allow the riced cauliflower to cool. 
3. Add the remainder of the ingredients. Stir well and refrigerate to allow flavors to marry.

Again, I used what I had. I plan on adding red and green bell peppers along with some fresh herbs next time. The mayo and mustard dressing makes a wonderful base, not to mention the healthful benefits of avocado oil.

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6 Tips for Meaningful Meals

MEANINGLESS

I have been guilty of fast-food frenzies and driving-while-eating. Anticipation was far more exciting than the food ever was! I finally hit the brakes when I recognized that mealtime had become meaningless and rushed.

I then pursued more natural, organic choices that included whole grains and my unwillingness to dismiss sugar. It was a start, but not the remedy.

LOW-CARB TO THE RESCUE!

While low-carbing is restoring my health, energy, and common sense, I still have a challenge with timing. My family is too busy to coordinate a set dinnertime. Since eating later slows down my weight loss, I dine alone . . . a lot!

Solo meals, however, do not have to be mundane. Replace the "M" with an "F" and you have FUN-dane! Every meal should be celebrated and here are 6 ways to accomplish that.

SATISFY THE SENSES

Keep it visual...

Add personal touches such as favorite linens, place settings, or a small floral centerpiece. Use herbs for garnish. Employ simple food styling. Example: I used a tonal camera filter on this photo to emphasize the crosshatch slice on the sausage.

Relish aroma...

Make sure your spices are fresh and potent. Taste-testing is essential, but aroma should be a discernible precursor to the meal.

Flirt with flavor...

Allow the 5 basic tastes (umami, sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness) to throw a tastebud party! Do not forget FAT—the low-carber's best friend. Fat adds flavor.

Remove distraction...

A meal is a short journey. Turn off the TV. Put the book, project, and smart phone aside. Have a prepared and relaxing playlist ready to listen to. Avoid anything causing stress—like politics!

Focus on the food...

When is the last time you chewed slowly and thoughtfully? Try putting the fork down between bites (not as easy as it sounds). Pretend you are a food critic and identify all that you are tasting. 

Understand satiety...

Okinawans practice hara hachi bu which means “eat until you are eight parts (out of ten) full” (Wikipedia) or 80% full. This requires stopping the meal before the stomach has stretched to make room for it. Satiety does not occur because your stomach is full. It has more to do with the brain reacting to the chemicals in your food, which takes about 20 minutes to kick in. The chemicals then rise and stay elevated for 3 to 5 hours before hunger is experienced again. 

The beauty of a low-carb lifestyle is that satiety is easily achieved when meals find a balance between low-carb vegetables, moderate meat, and plenty of high quality fats.

NOTES

1. The Smoked Andouille Chicken Sausage is precooked and nitrate/nitrite free. After slicing it, I microwaved it for 45 seconds. (It will naturally open up when heated.) I nested the sausage in a salad comprised of cucumber, tomato, and feta cheese—with Pomegranate Vinegar drizzled on top. 
2. The sausage and the vinegar were purchased from Trader Joe's. I also find sausage deals (Aidelle's) at Grocery Outlet. Of course those are hit and miss.
3. Check out Still Tasty for spice shelf-life information.

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Kebab-bab-babbing along...

Here in Idaho, the weather is windy, dry, and hot. Besides wishing that I could return to sunsuits, I am on a serious, and I mean SERIOUS, kebab kick! I cannot get enough! I even daydream about my next set of skewered sumptuousness! Even though our old barbecue is falling apart, Barry is not deterred! He creates something new and then babies those kebabs over just the right amount of heat.

We have had strip steak, chicken breasts, and shrimp thus far. (Pork sirloin is on the menu for this weekend.) The vegetables vary, but we never seem to omit the cherry tomatoes because they pop with flavor. I love the way juicy, crispy, savory, and sweet marry over the flames. And we must not forget the freshly chopped herbs sprinkled on top.

As I go kebab-bab-babbing along, please take a moment to share your favorite kebab combinations. 

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