Turkey Kabobs w/Chimichurri + Cranberry Aioli: A Very Miami Thanksgiving with KOL Foods

I can’t remember the exact day, but some time right after our wedding, my new husband and I were driving around Ann Arbor, Michigan and I remember looking at him and saying, “I have everything I need.  I feel so complete; so thankful”.  It was an awesome feeling and I meant it.  I really did.   But shortly thereafter, maybe, I don’t know, like 48 hours later, the feeling vanished and was quickly replaced with the ever present feeling of , “want”.  What is it about being thankful and satisfied with what you have that is so difficult — at least for us “First World” folks?  It’s hard being thankful.  It’s really really hard.

I’ve been working on my ‘thankfulness’ ever since Oprah told me to start keeping a gratitude journal way back in 1996, when I had moved on from watching reruns of Saved by the Bell to watching Oprah when I came home from school.  That extremely wealthy and powerful sage of a woman had an episode, or several episodes, centered around the idea of creating gratitude in your life and dang it, I was 16 years-old and that sounded like a good idea.  I was on a path to existential goodness and Oprah was leading my journey.  Oprah told me (yes, JUST me) to start keeping a gratitude journal; leave it by my bedside table and every night I should write down 3 – 5 things that I’m thankful for.  Except, I didn’t actually write down anything I was grateful for as Oprah had suggested.  Instead, in my nightly prayers which I had been saying since I was 10, I started adding a mental list of 3 – 5 people or ideas or things that I was grateful for that day (i.e. Thank you Gd for the ability to work, have relationships, my best friend, my new car, etc., etc.).  I’ve been keeping my mental gratitude list for the past 17 years now.  I’m not sure my nightly list has necessarily changed my way of thinking or helped in maintaining a certain level of gratitude because, truly, I find it extremely difficult to fight that human urge to just want more. I do mental check lists sometimes and I say to myself, “Ok Whit, this is it. This is everything you’ve ever wanted.”  And then I drive into the parking lot at work that the faculty shares with our super privileged students, do a little car comparison and suddenly I start wishing I could afford to buy a new car. Or,  I visit a friend’s new apartment and think to myself, “Oh man, I’d LOVE a kitchen like this.”  Whatever that situation or circumstance, there are times when the whole “being thankful” thing is hard.  I know, I know, poor little privileged white girl.  But my point is this, I still try.  I acknowledge that it’s hard.  But, it’s like I tell my students, just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing.  But really, I’d still love a KitchenAid . . . or a new car . . . or a pair of Ray-Bans. Dang it, I’m doing it again.  🙂

Prep

OK team, brace yourselves because I am so excited for this post.  I’m excited not only because I’m somewhat obsessed with that picture of the turkey meat marinating in all that delicious goodness, but also because I was asked to participate in a ‘cook off’ of sorts where YOU, dear reader, could be a winner.  How is that possible?  Well, this post was brought you in partnership with KOL Foods.  KOL Foods selected eight kosher food bloggers to create eight Thanksgivukkah recipes and, lucky for me, I was chosen as one of those kosher food bloggers. Your job as the reader is to decide which one of us bloggers whipped up the most delicious creation by voting in this forum. A vote enters you to win a $200 KOL Foods gift certificate.   So go vote for my recipe, errr, I mean your favorite recipe, starting December 9th!  And while you’re voting for me, you should check out the rest of the turkey offerings that KOL Foods has for sale, including the most enormous turkey wings, turkey chops and smoked turkey sausage. I love KOL Foods for their customer service, convenience and the high quality of their grass-fed meats. In fact, KOL Foods is the only source for domestic, 100% grass-fed, kosher beef and organic, pastured, kosher chicken, turkey and duck.

The cast of characters

Now, about this meat.  When I first received the delivery of turkey stew meat I thought to myself, “What the h*ll am I gonna do with turkey stew meat? It’s 1000 degrees outside in Miami right now. I’m not making no stew.”  But then I opened the package and realized that turkey stew meat is basically another version of my beloved pargiyot, which is essentially the Hebrew word for “young chicken meat”.  It’s dark meat that’s juicy and full of flavor.  And what do I love to do with pargiyot? Put that thing on the grill! So, while most of America is bundling up and drinking hot pumpkin lattes and roasting chestnuts on an open fire, I decided to fire up the grill.  This recipe is 100% inspired by the colors and flavors of Miami and is now one of my all time favorites and I’m so thankful to KOL Foods for allowing me this creative opportunity.  Plus, the good news is that it’s really 3 recipes in one—- you’ve got the kabobs, the chimichurri and the cranberry aioli.  So even if you’re not breaking out your grill any time soon but you’d like a little extra ‘something’ to add some flavor to a regular dish, the chimichurri and cranberry aioli could be just the thing you’re looking for.

Bread added for picture – I took the bread off for the first 10 minutes of grilling & added it at on for the last 3 – 5 minutes.

For the chimichurri

Well, good luck on winning your KOL Foods gift certificate. I also wanted to let you know that I included a few pictures from our very Miami Thanksgivukkah. And, if anyone’s got some suggestions on what works for them when it comes to keeping a thankful mind and soul, I’m all ears so leave your comment below.

My sweet man & me.

If not sleeping, I’m usually in the kitchen doing my thing.

Fun with menorah shadows.

Turkey Kabobs w/Cranberry Aioli & Chimichurri

Ingredients for Kabob:

1 package KOL Foods turkey stew meat
2 zucchinis, peeled and cubed
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 purple onion, cubed
1 loaf of challah or sourdough bread (can be regular or with add-ins – I used cranberry walnut sourdough)
Kabob sticks
Olive oil for brushing before grilling

Ingredients for Marinade:

Fresh thyme
Fresh sage
1/2 olive oil
Kosher salt
Pepper
Garlic powder

Ingredients for Chimichurri:

1 clove garlic
3/4 cup of lightly packed parsley, feel free to use stems (this is the base of the sauce so you will use more of this than any other herb)
1/4 cup of lightly packed cilantro, feel free to use stems
5 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
6 – 8 sage leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
Kosher salt
Pepper

Ingredients of Cranberry Aioli:

2 tbsp cranberry jelly
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2-3 tbsp hot water

Kabob + chimichurri

How – Marinade & Kabobs:

Wash and dry your turkey meat and set aside.  

Finely chop the sage so that it’s leaves are the size of the thyme leaves.  Using a medium sized bowl, combine the herbs and olive oil and whisk together until well-combined.  Add kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder and whisk again.  Dump the meat into the bowl of the marinade and stir so that meat is fully covered with marinade.  Cover with saran wrap or transfer into a Tupperware container and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Place cubed sweet potatoes into a small, microwavable bowl.  Microwave the sweet potato for roughly 2 – 3 minutes so that it is just soft enough to put on the kabob stick.  Once finished, set aside and let cool.

Once your meat has marinaded for an hour, take out of fridge and pour out the marinade so that no liquid remains.  Assemble your kabob in any way that you choose — I went purple onion, turkey, zucchini, sweet potato, and turkey.  As shown in the picture above, I did not put the bread on the stick until the last  3 – 5 minutes of grilling so as to keep the bread from burning.

Brush each assembled kabob stick with olive oil before putting on the grill.  We have a small hibatchi grill so we grilled each side for roughly 10 – 15 minutes, covered (which prevents it from burning).  Add the bread during the last 3 minutes of grilling and leave uncovered.

How – Chimichurri

In a food processor, pulse the garlic until finely chopped. Add the parsley, cilantro, thyme, sage and crushed red pepper and pulse until the herbs are finely chopped. Add the olive oil and pulse to blend. Add the vinegar and pulse to blend. Season with salt and pepper and transfer the chimichurri to a smaller bowl.

How – Cranberry aioli

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT for the water into a small bowl and whisk until combined.  Your mixture will be somewhat thick, which is where the water comes in.  For a more smooth, ‘sauce-like’ aioli, add water, one tablespoon at a time.  If you are looking for more of a dip, feel free to omit the water.

Sauce. I LOVE sauce.

Mini Vegan Chocolate Chip Berry Pies + Coconut Milk Whipped Cream

I am so tired. Oy. Vey. It has been a week. I think it’s been like two weeks in one, no? You ever have that feeling? I don’t even really have the energy to write anything witty. I am, however, so excited about this recipe so I’ll spare you the usual exceptionally long post and share a few short things:

1. My first blog post for The Huffington Post was published on Friday. I am very proud of the work it took to get there, much less the post itself, and the amazing feedback I’ve gotten from friends and strangers. Thank you to all who posted it on various social media outlets and most especially, to those who actually read it! I am so grateful. Find the post here.

2. Buzzfeed stole my picture! So there I was coming back online from a restful (slept 10 hours Friday night and took two naps on Shabbat. HOLLER!) and quiet Shabbat when I notice that I’ve got 20 text messages waiting for me. And then I notice that I have an exceptional amount of notifications on Facebook too. Well, turns out Buzzfeed posted a hilarious round up of 50 Things Only 90s Girls Would Understand and they used a picture of me from my high school days (circa 1996) I had posted on a blog post I wrote way back in March. Yep. Just me and Drew Barrymore and all our choker-wearing glory. My friend, Ali, thinks I “won the Internet”. Well, if winning the Internet means having your non-professionally edited and enhanced Sophomore (?) yearbook picture splashed right next to an uber-vamped Drew Barrymore, well, I’d like to ‘lose’ the Internet next time. please. Oh, and to top it off, they dubbed me “WordPress”. No name. No permission asked for usage. Just a picture of me from almost 20 years ago with “WordPress” on it. Awesome.

3. Decisions have been made. The next step is upon us. More to come.

In the meantime, I had this recipe in my head for quite a while but knew it needed something. And then my girl, Samantha, from The Little Ferraro Kitchen posted her delicious sweet potato pie with coconut milk whipped cream and I thought, “That’s it!” Since we are exactly one month away from Thanksgiving and my kosher-eating self will need a parve (a.k.a vegan) dessert on hand (plus a grain-free dessert for my grain-free family members who I hope will be visiting us again for Thanksgiving this year), I wanted to adapt my versatile grain-free brownie recipe into a fresh and delicious pie. The recipe turned out to be so delicious and so easy. It has a little bit of sugar in it but other than that, it’s a pretty healthy dessert. I let my 14 month-old go nuts on some of the ‘crust’ mixture with minimal guilt and that’s saying something!

If you do decide to try this recipe, and I hope you do, the trick with the whipped cream is to chill EVERYTHING before whipping. EVERYTHING. Take that can of coconut milk and put it in the fridge for at least 6 hours. Grab your mixing bowl and your mixing attachments and put them in the refrigerator as well. It will be the difference between actual whipped cream and frothy coconut milk. There are further instructions where the recipe is listed so make sure you read through before starting.

I used regular-sized muffin tins + parchment paper to make pie ‘crusts’.

Tiny pie crust – No grain, all glory.

Bring on the color.

Add a dollop of coconut milk whipped cream.

It would be delicious even without whipped cream.

One last look at the yumminess.

Ingredients for Crust:

Adapted from my own recipe for Raw Brownie Bites (Make sure to omit the oats for a grain-free version. Keep them if you don’t mind a grain or two).

• 2 Cups of dates, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup oats (I used gluten free)
• 1 cup walnuts
• 2 1/2 Tbsp milled flaxseed
• 3 Heaping TBSP of vegan cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 – 2 Tbsp organic maple syrup (depending upon your taste—start with 1 and if you make it again, up to 2 if it wasn’t sweet enough for you)

**Extra cocoa for rolling the bites in afterwards if want an extra chocolate punch.

Coconut Milk Whipped Cream (Recipe straight from my girl, Samantha, at The Little Ferraro Kitchen)

• 1 can coconut milk, chilled
• 2 Tbsp powdered sugar

Mixed Berry Filling:

• 1/2 Cup Strawberries, hulled and chopped
• 1/4 Cup Blackberries, chopped
• 1/4 Cup Raspberries, chopped
• 1/2 Lemon, juiced
• 1/2 Tbsp Demerara Sugar

Crust How-To:

I used regular-sized muffin tins to shape the crusts but a ramekin will work just as well.

Cut pieces of parchment paper into squares about 8 in. by 8 in. or large enough that when placed into the muffin tins there is an excess of paper sticking out.

Place all ingredients in a food processor. Process until well combined—to about the count of 30 or until the ingredients have a dough-like consistency. If you feel like it’s a bit dry due to too many walnuts or oats, just add a bit of water, about 1 tbsp at a time, until you get that doughy consistency. Once you’ve attained your desired consistency, scoop out enough ‘dough’ to form a ball about the size of a tennis ball. Gently press the dough ball into the parchment paper-lined muffin tin and shape to the entirety of the tin so that a ‘crust’ forms. Your crust should be thick enough to hold the filling but thin enough so that it doesn’t take over the pie flavor. Do this until you run out of ‘dough’. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 30 minutes.

Coconut Milk Whipped Cream:

If you haven’t already, open the coconut milk can and pour out the water in a separate bowl (Save it and use for smoothies, soups, etc). If you’ve been chilling your coconut milk in the refrigerator for several hours in prep for this recipe, the watery part of the coconut milk will be at the bottom of the can so pour slowly and make sure to omit the watery part at the end.

Pour the thicker coconut milk in your chilled mixer and begin to whip starting on low and gradually moving to medium-high setting. As soon as it begins to thicken, add powdered sugar and continue to beat. Check every so often for desired consistency.

Fruit Filling:

Place all your chopped fruit into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice and sugar and mix until well combined.

Assembly:

Once your crusts have refrigerated, scoop fruit filling into each pie; enough so that the is a ‘mound’ of fruit filling. Top with a dollop or two (or three) of whipped cream. Enjoy!

Loosing My Hair + A Raw Banana Split Smoothie (together that’s just yum)

One day, in 2006, I was at my desk at work in Chicago, loving life and having fun when I got a phone call from my Dad. It’s rare that my dad calls me in the middle of the work day so I picked up to say “hi”. As soon as he said ‘hi’ back I knew something was up. He had that thing in his voice that lets me know that what he’s about to say is no joke. And, what he said was, unfortunately, no joke. He had called to tell me that his father, my Caw Caw, had died. It was sudden. He was dancing when it happened as he had gotten into ballroom dancing late in life. (He was also an avid cake-maker and took mile long walks every morning. He was amazing). Regardless, it was shocking and I wasn’t prepared. It just so happened to be the week of Thanksgiving and I had plans to drive to Louisville, KY with my cousins that week anyway, but unfortunately, the trip wouldn’t be as lighthearted as expected.

The thing is, I don’t have horrid memories of that week. In fact, I have some really lovely ones. I remember driving with my cousin, Mike, and his wonderful girlfriend (now wife), Dana and my dog, Ted, through a blizzard in order to get to Kentucky. I remember pulling into a Burger King in the midst of that snow storm to get something to eat (this is B. K. — Before Kosher). I remember asking if I could bring Ted in there so he could stay warm and I also remember feeding him chicken fries (sorry Ted) under the table. I remember joking with my step-mother about something that we thought was so funny it’s possible I may have tinkled my pants a little (I’m known to do this from time to time. I own it. What can I say? I’m a hardcore giggler). However, apparently, the stress of that week was more intense than I realized because several weeks later, while at the salon, my stylist noticed something. I had a few bald spots; spots that weren’t there 6 weeks before. This led me to make an appointment with a dermatologist, who subsequently diagnosed me with Alopecia Areata. Alopecia Areata is a common immune disorder that results in the loss of hair in various parts of the body, not just the head. However, for me, it’s the head. My mom, being the incredibly supportive mom that she is, found out everything she could about Alopecia. She also invested in all sorts of hair-growth products to help me get back on track.

Me with My Dad, Grandma Viv and Caw Caw circa 1988

The irony of an autoimmune disorder is that it gets exacerbated by stress. My dermatologist suspected that the stress of my grandfather’s death kicked my Alopecia into high gear. She told me I would need to be vigilante about my stress levels for the rest of my life while also keeping a close eye on my scalp to make sure I don’t have any bald spots. There’s really nothing I can do if there is one. It’s more like an indication to take a deep breath and slow down. Here’s the thing though, that’s like, really really really hard. I’ve been noticing a lot of hair loss lately and the even greater irony is, of course, that this stresses me out. It’s been really bad lately so I took this week off and have plans to get out of town for two days with a very dear friend. I’m so blessed with a wonderful family, fulfilling job, a creative outlet in my cooking and this blog, but it’s been hard to balance it all and I’m not sure I’ve been good at destressing lately. Part of that de-stressing also involves eating healthy and exercising. I’m also trying to be conscious of eating foods that supposedly help build healthy skin and hair. A lot of research shows that omegas and all those good fats are great for building healthy skin and hair and since it’s summer time and I’ve recently fallen back in love with my Vitamix again (shalom lover), I’m been getting those happy omegas through delicious smoothies. I’m also trying to balance sugar intake while still giving a little, ‘What’s up’ to my sweet tooth so there have been a lot of trial and errors with the sweet smoothie. Below is my ultimate, most favorite recipe so far. You don’t have to have a Vitamix to make — any blender will do. Enjoy!

Sweet Decadence

Raw Banana Split Smoothie

Ingredients

1 Ripe Banana
1/2 Cup, Frozen Strawberries
3 Tbsp, Raw Cocoa Nibs
1/4 Cup, Raw Walnuts*
1 Cup, Almond Milk
1 Tsp, Vanilla Extract
Chia Seeds

Getting Started

This is Getting Good

How?

Combine all ingredients into your blender and blend away! I was a naughty girl and topped mine off with some whipped cream but come on guys, it was organic! And I topped it with chia seeds! And raw cocoa nibs! That’s super healthy, right?!

*If you are someone who does not like texture in your smoothies, feel free to omit the walnuts.

Bring It On

Feeling Raw – Raw, vegan brownie bites

The Women (photo courtesy of Alex Berger)

This past week has been a rollercoaster. It started out wonderfully. The whole family on my mom’s side met in Louisville, Ky for a mini family reunion to honor my grandmother on her 90th birthday. We are a crazy lot. I don’t know how we did it, but the four of us; my brother, myself, my cousin, Ayelet and my cousin, Mike, managed to marry people who are just as nutty and just as entertaining as we are. Aside from nutty, ours is also a small lot. I’m not sure if it’s the many potential cousins and auntie and uncles who might have been but who never were because of the Holocaust or because my grandmother, who is British and met my grandfather in England during the war, came over to settle in the States and, as a result, we weren’t able to be as involved with my British family as we would have liked to have been. Whatever the reasons, as far as cousins go, I only have 2 first cousins but luckily, they are the bee’s knees! They are like siblings and I truly hope our children continue to have a similar close relationship. And as for grandma, well, she is sassy, tiny, hilarious and awesome. My grandmother has twin sisters, Doreen and June, who look exactly like the Gabor sisters and don’t you think for one second that they don’t know it either. As the story goes, my grandfather met one of my grandmother’s sisters first and asked her out on a date. As was their habit, one would make a date and then if she decided she didn’t really want to go out on that date, the other would step in (they are that identical). In the case of my grandfather, neither wanted to keep the date (I’m not sure why but it all worked out in the end) so my grandmother stepped in. And the rest, as they say, is history. It was often the case, in terms of marriages between American soldiers and a local girl abroad, that marriages happened quickly and without much planning. My grandpa submitted a request for a weekend leave so he could finally marry my grandmother. But the Army wasn’t so in to giving a person advanced noticed so Thursday or Friday, while my grandfather was stationed in France, he received the news that he was granted his leave for that very weekend and that very weekend only, so he hopped a train, made his way to England and they were married to very minimal fanfare that very weekend. Ahhhh . . . romance.

This is me and Dana, my cousin Mike’s wife. We both lucked out when he found this one.

Picture courtesy of my cousin shown here, helping Grandma blow out her candles.

Anyway, all that is to say that it was a lovely weekend and was especially lovely to get away from the stress of work. I came back from the reunion feeling refreshed (not so much energized) but more prepared to get back into things at work. However, on Wednesday night, just as I was beginning to celebrate the fact that there have about 8 days left of the school year, I received word of the devastating loss of one of our students who had just graduated the week before. The circumstances surrounding the death are a bit hazy and quite frankly, I don’t need to know them. All I needed to know was that I was needed on campus in a way I hadn’t been needed before. The following day was the hardest of my professional career. I’m not trained in grief counseling. I’m not even trained in counseling. I’m a social worker with a concentration in community organizing so my on-the-job skills were tested every second of this past Thursday and Friday. I came home on Thursday completed gutted. So much so that at 9 o’clock at night I made the decision to go get some comfort in the form of frozen yogurt. I went to one of those places that measures by the weight, you know, with all the topping options. I mean yes, I may have chosen the healthier flavor in that plain yogurt with all the active, live cultures, but I killed those cultures something fierce when I topped them with Reese’s peanut butter cups and chocolate sauce. And let me tell you, as a personal chef to people with an eye on health (I added to my client list—got me a vegan!), I’m sure I should tell you, heck, you might want me to tell you, that after eating that gargantuan cup of frozen yogurt topped with Reese’s cups and chocolate sauce that I didn’t feel comforted or better but worse because of all that sugar, but I can’t. I can’t tell you that, dear reader, because I would be lying to you and I don’t condone lying. Not one bit. That froyo was absolutely delicious and I felt completely fine afterwards.

The hubby capturing some wildflowers on the side of the road in Kentucky

I did however, decide the next day that I needed a healthier pick me up and I wanted to make a treat for my new client for this week’s delivery so I decided on raw brownie bites. Guys, seriously, if you’ve skimmed this entire post up until this point, PAY ATTENTION NOW. The following is a recipe for what is, up to this point, one of my most favorite recipe developments yet. I started out following a recipe from the Simple Veganista and then abandoned it completely to go with my gut and apparently my gut was still hungry for the taste of comfort food but this time around, that comfort food would be healthy. So, grab your food processor and bookmark this page. I feel very strongly that you’ll be glad that you did. (P.S. this is so easy and would be great as a healthy snack for kids. I’m excited to let Siona try it once we clear that 1 year mark).

Chopped dates and walnuts

All the ingredients in the processor

Raw Brownie Bites:

Ingredients:

10 – 12 dates, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup oats (I used gluten free)
1/4 – 1/2 cup walnuts
2 tbsp milled flaxseed
3 tbsp vegan cocoa powder
3/4 tbsp vanilla extract
1 – 2 tbsp organic maple syrup (depending upon your taste—start with 1 and if you make it again, up to 2 if it wasn’t sweet enough for you)
**Extra cocoa for rolling the bites in afterwards if want an extra chocolate punch.

The grind

Goodness

The final product

The How:

Place all ingredients in a food processor. Process until well combined—to about the count of 30 or until the ingredients have a dough-like consistency. If you feel like it’s a bit dry due to too many walnuts or oats, just add a bit of water, about 1 tbsp at a time, until you get that doughy consistency. Once you’ve attained your desired consistency, roll into 1 inch balls. You can add fun little powder extras after rolling, like more cocoa or a combo of cocoa and cinnamon, if you want a little extra flavor. Keep refrigerated.

Close up to the goodies

Win a Whole Organic, Kosher Chicken – a KOL Foods Giveaway!

Special Delivery

It wasn’t long ago that the majority of the food that I ate consisted of some kind of direction that involved, “add water, 1 TBSP of butter and stir”. Yep, if it was freeze-dried or loaded with preservatives, I was on it. It’s not like I didn’t always love food, I just was incredibly intimidated by cooking. I also never loved the idea of the cleaning up after the cooking. That part just seemed like a giant time suckage. Ugh. I was also single for the majority of my 20s and definitely had the whole, my-oven-is-used-for-storage-not-cooking thing down. It’s hard to cook for just one person. You end up throwing away leftovers and no one’s there to give you feedback so it was ready made meals and tofu hotdogs aplenty in my kitchen during those non-cooking years. One of my classic ‘dishes’ during this time in my life was the ‘just add frozen vegetables to Pasta-roni’ pasta. Again, and I know I’ve said this before, I have no idea how I’m not 500 pounds.

Fresh Turkey

Things changed for me when I moved to Israel in 2008, lived close to the shuk and started seriously dating someone who was not only willing to eat my culinary experiments but also very patient with me as well. It’s no coincidence that during this same time in my life I decided to eat healthier. When you have so much fresh produce available to you why on Earth would you eat instant anything? I started reading about the benefits of whole grains, what the big fuss is over sugar and most importantly, what the big fuss is about organic.

Now listen, I am a school counselor. The hubby is a PhD student. We do not have an expendable income, however, in our house there are some nonnegotiables. At this point, I almost primarily cook with coconut oil. I only buy non-GMO, organic cheese. We never have sodas and if we’re eating anything with sugar or bake anything requiring sugar, we generally use maple syrup or pure sugar. I also almost always purchase organic meats. Thankfully, several years ago, a dear friend of mine and fellow foodie, Annie (heck, she’s been my cooking inspiration for years! I wonder if she knows that? hmmm . . .), purchased a KOL Foods turkey for Thanksgiving. With this one purchase she opened my eyes to a whole world of conscious kosher. If you haven’t heard of KOL Foods before, then sit back, relax and let me drop some knowledge on ya.

Founded in 2008 by Devora Kimelman-Block, KOL Foods is the only kosher meat company that exclusively sources 100% grass-fed meat in the United States. Before this time, if you were kosher and wanted to eat sustainable, ethically-raised meat you basically had to become vegetarian. KOL Foods allowed the kosher consumer with conscience a way to bridge their beliefs with their wallet—but purchasing from KOL Foods you’re not only supporting a more ethical kosher, you’re also supporting local, small business. Today, KOL Foods offers glatt-kosher, organic-raised, grass-fed beef, lamb and no-nitrate deli; pastured chicken, turkey and duck; wild caught Alaskan salmon and other specialty goods. They ship frozen via FedEx nationwide or via buying clubs in select cities.

We Love Lime in Miami

Coconut Oil is My New Life Source

As a self-taught cook who now has a client with a requirement for Paleo-diet menu items, a diet that only allows for grass-fed meat, I was excited when KOL Foods reached out for a potential partnership. I believe in their product and in their mission and I wanted a chance to delve into some of their products. And delve I did! I was sent some delicious turkey legs that my hubby wanted to simply roast up and eat Medieval like but I wanted to get a bit more creative and play the flavors that are coming in season in Miami. I also didn’t want to work with the same ol’ expected turkey flavors—-sage, marjoram, thyme, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE all those flavors but again, I wanted to experiment.  The following is my experiment and it.was.delicious! The flavors of the salsa are strong but mix well with the natural light flavors of the turkey and I’m ALWAYS a suckers for turkey drippings mixed with honey marinade.

After the Marinating Time

Once you tempt yourself with the following recipe, make sure to click on “A Rafflecopter Giveaway”, high-lighted below, to be entered to win a KOL Foods 3 lb. roaster chicken! You can enter every day for the next 2 weeks via multiple avenues (such as liking Jewhungry on Facebook or Tweeting about the giveaway–all done through the rafflecopter link) but make sure you click on the link to be entered and connected.  And don’t forget to share this post with friends so they can get in on the action too! Enjoy and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can also enter via our Facebook page. Click here.

The Colors of Miami

Turkey Ready for the Taking

Roast Organic Turkey Legs with Mango Salsa

For Marinade:

3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon of Honey
Juice of half a lime
Sea Salt
Pepper
Dash of Cayenne

For Salsa:

1/2 Mango, diced
1 Small Purple Onion, diced
1 Jalapeno, diced
1 Bunch of Cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1/2 of lime (add more if you need)
Dash of Sea Salt
Dash of Garlic Powder

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl.  Place turkey legs in a roasting dish. Using a basting brush, slather marinade on turkey legs, cover dish and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  At this point, the coconut oil in the marinade with harden a bit but this is typical.  Once the turkey legs have marinated for at least 30 minutes, uncover and place in the oven.  Make sure you baste constantly.  In my mind, you can not over baste.  Turkey legs will take about an hour to cook, maybe more, depending on how often you baste.

While turkey is cooking, combine salsa ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Once turkey is complete, top turkey with salsa.