Recipe: Sweet Chili Spam Wraps

Take your taste buds on a trip to Mexico... wait, no Hawaii... actually, maybe it's Vietnam? I took some of my favorite flavors from these three places and combined them to make a delicious little wrap. Crispy, salty Spam is balanced with cool cucumber & avocado, and a sweet & spicy chili sauce. Layered on a simple cabbage slaw and a corn tortilla, this recipe is satisfying and gluten free!

Ingredients:

For the sauce

 ½ cup vinegar

  ½ cup water

 ½ cup sugar

 ½ - 1 Tbsp red chili flakes

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp corn starch

For the slaw

 ½ a small cabbage, sliced thinly

 ¼ cup chopped cilantro

1 tsp black pepper

Juice of half a lime

1 can lite Spam

1 small avocado, sliced

 ½ cucumber, julienned

Small corn tortillas

Cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Make your slaw first so it has time to marinate. Slice up your cabbage, season generously with lime and pepper, then mix in the cilantro.

2. Heat broiler on high

3. In a small saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil. Add all dry ingredients to ½ cup of water and stir well. Add to vinegar. Boil, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat.

4. Slice spam into 8 pieces. Line a baking sheet with foil and arrange Spam. Place under broiler, watching carefully. When the slices are brown and crispy, carefully flip and brown other side.

5. While the Spam is cooking, heat a small frying pan over medium. Heat tortillas, one at a time.

6. To assemble, place a few spoonfuls of slaw on a warm tortilla. Arrange the julienned cucumber and cilantro, then top with sliced Spam. Top the Spam with avocado slices and spoon chili sauce over everything.

Enjoy!

♠

Recipe: Goat Cheese Crackers

Ingredients:

½ cup corn flour

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp sage

4 oz. soft goat cheese

½  to 1 cup ice water

⅓ cup olive oil

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350ºF

1. Combine corn flour, salt and sage in a medium mixing bowl. 

2. Add goat cheese. Use a fork to break it up.

3. The next part is easier with your hands: as you mix in the goat cheese, sprinkle a couple teaspoons of ice water on the mix. 

4. Now, drizzle some olive oil on everything. Alternate between ice water and oil till the dough stops falling apart when you try to press it flat.

5. Roll the dough into a ball and place to one side of a large piece of wax paper. Fold the other half of the wax paper over the ball of dough and gently press to flatten a bit.

6. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a little more than a ¼ inch thick. (Your dough will have a few cracks around the edges, but if it cracks a lot or falls apart, put it back in the bowl and mix in a little more water or oil.)

7. Use a cookie cutter to cut your crackers. Line them neatly on a cookie sheet and use a fork to make divots in the centers.

8. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the edges turn a nice golden brown.

♠

Dinner Tonight: Power Salad

Grapefruit, kale, and avocados are all very affordable in April, since they're in season, so why not load up on all three! I've created this warm salad, which is loosely based on a delicious salad my BFF Katherine made for Thanksgiving. It features nutrient- and fiber-rich foods, is low-fat, vegan, and incredibly delicious!

Ingredients (2 salads):

1 bunch of kale

1 grapefruit

1 medium to large avocado

1 Tbsp olive oil

Juice of 1 lime, plus any leftover grapefruit juice

Red pepper flakes

1/4+ cup pistachios

salt & pepper to taste

1. Cut the avocado into slices or chunks; set aside. Cut the grapefruit in half and use a small knife to go around the edges. This will make it easier to scoop the sections out. Use a spoon to scoop the sections out and set aside with the avocado. Squeeze leftover juice from the grapefruit rinds over the avocado.

2. Heat a saute pan over low-medium heat. Chop kale and add to pan. Add lime juice, olive oil and pepper flakes and toss. If the kale starts to sizzle, the pan is too hot, so turn it down. Heat for 5 minutes, or just until the kale starts to turn bright green.

2. Divide the kale between two plates, making sure to top each with any leftover liquid from the saute pan. Now put half the avocado-grapefruit mix on each salad and sprinkle with pistachios. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

Serve with Grapefruit Whiskey Sour :)