Orange Beef Stir Fry

Looking for an Asian recipe low in sugar turned out to be more of a challenge than planned. It seems the basis of stir fry sauces are equal parts soy to sugar to heat. And while plenty of the new recipes tried are not extremely sweet, others were candied meat and veggies. I find it difficult that native Asian dishes have so much sugar in their recipes. Only Americans need sugar in their eggs in order to consume them. After searching and searching, I finally did find a recipe low in sugar and was very excited to try Orange Beef Stir Fry

Modifications Made:

With exception to the lack of sesame seeds, the recipe was too simple to make any modifications. In fact the only thing I was unsure was the sizes of the oranges and the omission of green onions as there was none to be had at the local store.

The recipe did not state a quantity of orange slices, just a quantity of whole oranges themselves. There is a difference between navel oranges (size of softballs) and a mandarin oranges and lets not even discuss clementines or all the native small oranges not sold in grocery stores. Going with the season and based upon selection available, cara cara oranges where used in the dish. Cara Cara oranges are between a tangerine and a large navel orange. They are sweeter than navel oranges and easy to peel like mandarin oranges.

Scaled for Likability: Good

Look at the color vibrancy of this dish! Don't you wish all dishes were this beautiful to look at when eating? But as in the saying, don't judge a book by the cover. Yes, it was not sweet as in typical Asian American meals but it was still sweet. Sweet like pineapple on kabobs or pizza sweet. The issue with the dish was the texture of the oranges. They were so ripe they fell apart in the cooking process.

If this meal were to be cooked again, a simple orange based sauce would be used with canned mandarin oranges added directly before serving. Not having access to sesame seeds locally, if they were available they should be toasted before adding into the dish. Toasting would add a nice nutty taste to the sweetness of the oranges.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Cold Corn Bean Salsa

Nothing says junk food like chips and salsa, chips and cheese dip, chips and guacamole. Over the years I have perfected my salsa. It's good on tacos, on nachos, on enchiladas, and of course on chips. Just because I have the best salsa doesn't mean I don't like to try new salsa's like this Best Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Modifications Made: Shoepeg corn was replaced with one can of standard yellow corn with no salt added. Petite diced tomatoes were reduced by half. Italian dressing was swapped for half teaspoon comino, half teaspoon of chili powder, and two tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Salsa was made and let rest for two hours before eating. Scaled for Likability: Good Salsa this was not. Good it was however. It was too much for chips by themselves but was great served over a soft beef taco.

Eating Waffles

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