Selective Palate

Wow it has been a while. I know nothing is worse than a blogger who goes away for long stretches and then writes about how long it has been! Well I have been up to a lot. Besides work which has gotten slightly out of control in the last few months I have been cooking, creating and of course eating!

Like most people this time of year both M and I are trying to be a bit healthier. Now don’t go crazy or anything we still like to eat we are just choosing a tad bit better these days. Little changes like smaller portions and healthier starches. Don’t worry this is not a post about proper diet it is about food, good food, tasty food! I still believe that no matter how good for you it is, if it tastes like $h** I’m not eating it!

That brings me to tacos! We love us some tacos around here! All kinds, beef, chicken, even bean but our favorite has to be pork! What’s not to love about pork right, especially when it is wrapped up with cheese, guacamole, and fresh pico de gallo! A while back I made an awesome (if I do say so myself) pork roast.  But being that it is only the 2 of us we of course had left overs. That is always welcomed in my house. So I decided to make what else tacos. But since we are being “healthy” and because I realized after the fact that we had no tortillas we had to get a little creative. Ok not that creative, people have been wrapping things in lettuce for centuries but I for one had never wrapped up a taco in butter lettuce before and I LOVED IT!!! It was fresh and light and cut through the richness of the fatty pork perfectly. I tell you I am changed woman. Now I am not saying I am giving up my tortillas  but I am adding taco lettuce cups to my repertoire.

Recipe:

This is an easy one! Take your left over roast pork (or really whatever meat or non-meat you have on hand) and after warming up place a small amount inside a lettuce cup. Top with your favorite topping! How easy it that! I know too easy so here is my personal recipe for a very tasty Pico de Gallo:

1 Large Ripe Tomato, diced or small cubes
1/2 Red Onion, diced small
1/2 An English cucumber, Diced small
1 Habanero or Jalapeno minced (more or less to taste)
The zest of 1 lime and its juice
A splash of either rice wine or cider vinegar
1-2 T. of chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix everything in a bowl and let sit until ready to use. Can sit over night in the refrigerator but it is best used the same day. Great as a fresh salsa as well.  Enjoy!

So I know that January is nearing completion and though a little late I have finally jumped on the News Years Resolution bandwagon for the ?&^% year in a row. Only this time I have an accomplice! M has decided that he too needs to be more healthy and lose some weight. We have been pretty go so far, going to the gym, doing workout videos, eating better, and generally taking better care of our selves. My only fear is of getting bored! I have been making M’s lunch every day, I know I am such a good girlfriend! Here is an example of his daily lunch, so far he is liking it.

I have also been making healthier dinners, even using measuring spoons and all that fancy stuff. A few days ago I was watching A Lyon in the Kitchen. I guess he was a contestant on Next Food Network Star and got the boot and now he is on FitTV. I like watching his show, it gives me healthier ideas and his food doesn’t seem like boring diet food. However, I have never really tried one of his recipes, that is until last night. He had made a pork lion stuffed with a date chutney with a braised red cabbage that looked pretty good, definitely not boring, so I decided to try it out. Well, I was not that impressed. I will say that his cooking time on the meat was spot on (yes I followed the recipe to a tee!) but over all everything was too sweet! The chutney was made with dates, apricots, lots of red onion and graham masala. It was sweet but a nice filling used in moderation, none on the side was needed, at least not for us. But it was paired with a braised red cabbage that was made with more red onions and balsamic vinegar which when cooked down got very sweet. So the whole dish was…. yes I will say it again SWEET! on SWEET! I paired it with the fennel salad that he made and that was really the star as far as I was concerned. It was simple and refreshing and so not sweet compaired the everything else. Here is the link for those interested… Recipe

And here is what it looked like in the end, I hope my pic does it justice it was pretty.