I once wrote on instagram that bread and water with people is better than a feast alone. People feed our soul just as much as food feeds our body.

At that time I invited a new couple from church to dinner to start the new year and to make a genuine connection. The man now comes to my husband’s men’s group and it’s been a very important relationship of support for both of them.

The New Testament reminds us that the second commandment is to love others as ourselves. If we live on-line, if we never have people into our home, if we never serve people, we aren’t doing that.

It’s funny, because on another New Year’s day, I went to a new church and met a lady named Chris, who invited me to the church’s faith sharing group for women before I even entered as we met at the door.

It’s a book club for Catholic women and that first book on the cardinal virtues was life changing. I had forgotten how important a focus on these virtues is, prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice.

A Great Book to Embrace in the New Year

The Art of Living: Cardinal Virtues and the Freedom to Love by Edward Sri is a fantastic manual for connecting and living righteously and I highly recommend it.

That was in 2023 and several books later, I’m still part of the group. A handful of us go to lunch afterward and that’s where the relationships really take place. I often wonder about the ladies that have never joined us for lunch, because it’s at those lunches that I’ve learned their stories and truly have felt their love.

Maybe a goal for 2025 is fostering friendships. Start with some new year’s traditions.

New Year’s Food Traditions

• There are many food traditions for the new year all around the world. Here are a few:
• Pork: eaten as pigs root forward. 
• Black Eyed Peas: peas for pennies (prosperity). 
• Greens for Prosperity
• Cornbread for Gold 

Growing up in Pennsylvania, we always had pork and sauerkraut, as cabbage is considered one of the good luck foods. Here in the south, it’s all about the black eyed peas, greens and cornbread. 

 I decided to make carnitas (pork) with corn tortillas and our guests brought a delicious cabbage slaw.  Black eyed peas cowboy caviar was the perfect starter. We were covered with all the good luck foods in a non-traditional way. 

This dinner was so good that I think it will be our new year’s tradition from now on. 

What is Cowboy Caviar?

Typically cowboy caviar, also known as Texas caviar (sometimes Tennessee caviar) is a mixture of beans (maybe corn) onion, jalapeño, cilantro, oil, vinegar and meant to be eaten with tortilla chips as a dip. 

There are a hundred ways to make it and I chose to use black eyed peas and black beans. I skipped the corn because it’s winter and the only time I want to add corn is when I can grill it and cut it off the cob. Honestly, it’s not necessary, as we all thought this version cowboy caviar was just right. The four of us ate almost the entire bowl. 

Ingredients for Black Eyed Peas Cowboy Caviar

The main ingredients are black beans, black eyed peas, pickled red onion,  cilantro, lime juice. I added in a mixture of brightly colored bell peppers, because I just happened to have them left over from this pizza recipe. Avocado is an option and should be added right before serving. Salt is a must and you will need to taste for seasoning before serving. 

The secret to the brightness and flavor in the dip the pickled red onion and jalapenos. I am not a raw onion fan, but I do like pickled onion and thought that acid will give these beans what they need. I was right.

Pickled Red Onion in 30 minutes. 

I found a recipe from the Kitchn that was pretty easy to use.

• Slice red onion in half moons. Place in colander. 
• Pour two cups of boiling water over the onions. 
• Pour a cup of vinegar into jar. I used half cider vinegar, half balsamic.
• Add peppercorns, seasonings and a teaspoon of sugar. 
• Add onion. 
• Ready in 30 minutes. 

Make the pickled onion the night before so the flavors meld. The beans will not get mushy and will be absolutely delicious. I didn’t add any seasonings to the vinegar.

Tips for Black Eyed Peas Cowboy Caviar

• Make sure to rinse the beans in cold water to remove the sodium. 
• Make a day ahead for full flavor profile. 
• If you don’t use pickled onion, you will need to add vinegar to bring acid to the dish.
• Salt liberally. 
• Add avocado right before serving.

Playing around, in the summer, add some chopped tomato and grilled corn (off the cob). 

Print

Cowboy Caviar with Black Eyed Peas

A perfect starter for tacos, made with black beans, black eyed peas, pickled onion

Course Appetizer

Cuisine tex mex

Keyword black beans, black eyed peas, cowbow caviar

Prep Time 4 minutes minutes

Resting Time for Pickled Onion 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans
• 1 can black eyed peas
• 1 red bell pepper (or a mix of colors) small dice
• 3 tablespoons pickled onion small dice
• 1 jalapeno pepper or serrano
• 1 handful cilantro chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar, if needed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 avocado diced (optional)

Pickled Red Onion

• 1/2 red onion sliced into half moons
• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar optional
• 1 tablespoon peppercorns or some black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic cut in half

Instructions

• Rinse beans in colander in cold water. Set aside.
• Dice peppers, onions in very small dice.
• Mix beans, peppers, onions.
• Toss with olive oil.
• The pickled onions may be enough vinegar. If not add a teaspoon or two.
• Add cilantro.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add avocado right before serving.

Pickled Onion

• Slice into thin half moons and place in colander.
• Pour boiling water over onion.
• Put vinegar in jar with sugar and peppercorns.
• Put onion in jar. Will be ready in 30 minutes. Dice fine for the bean dip.

The post Cowboy Caviar Recipe with Pickled Onion – New Year Tradition appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

If you’ve never tried roasted sable fish also known as black cod or butter fish, you are missing out on a real treat.

I have partnered with Sitka Salmon Shares with my instagram account to share the good news about wild alaskan fish. Delivered frozen to my door at the peak of freshness, I have ever been disappointed with my bo.

I’ve shared a few of their dishes before. This baked black bass is one of my favorites made with summer vegetables, olives and capers.

This time I’m making a sable fish recipe with a peach salsa. The sable fish was part of Sitka Shares (Alaskan Wild Seafood) box.

What is Sable Fish?

Sable Fish is a delicate deep sea fish that is high in fat and very buttery.  It’s sometimes called butter fish and sometimes called black cod, although it’s not a member of the cod family.

Sable fish has a mild, buttery taste and is adaptable to many recipes. The fish we received had a bottom skin, easily removed and no bones.

How to Prepare Sable fish

Sable fish is easy to prepare, due to it high fat content. I did a quick pan fry with skin side down and then stuck it in the oven for another five minutes. Topped with savory peach salsa, which also cuts through the richness of this fish.

Peach Salsa 

Peach salsa is easy to make. I used fresh Peach Truck peaches, red onion, jalapeno pepper, tomato. You can make this to your own taste.

Peach salsa is a great topper for any seafood. It could also be used for seafood tacos.

How to Defrost Frozen Fish

The fish comes packed in plastic. I simply submerge in cold water for about 15 to 20 minutes. You could place from freezer to refrigerator in the morning,  and it will be ready for you at dinner time.

Roasted Fish Tacos

Sable Fish makes the best roasted fish tacos because the fish is mild and tender and adapts well to any kind of salsa.

Here are the reasons Sitka Salmon Shares is worth joining.

Wild: Wild-caught from the pristine waters of Southeast Alaska

Community-based: Sourced from traditional fishing communities. Supported by a Midwest community of conscious consumers.

Premium: Harvested and hand-processed individually, flash-frozen at the peak of freshness to ensure the highest quality, guaranteed.

Sustainable: Harvested using hook-and-line methods to minimize negative ecological impact.

Traceable: The only fully-integrated Midwest CSF. 100% traceability from boat to doorstep.

Just: Owned by a collective of carefully selected small-scale family fishermen, all of whom

retain 20-30% more of the retail value or their harvest.

Convenient: Home delivered direct to your door, with recipes, newsletters, and more.

Conscious: Carbon offsets purchased and 1% of revenue donated back to the wild.

Try these other Fish Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Mediterranean Sea Bass

Baked Snapper with Pistachio Pesto

Salmon Tacos with Mango Salsa

Print

Roasted Sable Fish with Peach Salsa

Roasted Fish with Savory Peach Salsa (Peaches, Tomatoes, Onion, Peppers)

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Keyword fish, peaches, sable fish, salsa

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

Sable Fish

• 2 pounds Alaskan Sable fish
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 peaches

Peach Salsa

• 4 tablespoon tomatoes diced
• 1 tablespoon red onion finely diced
• 1/2 jalapeno finely diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
• 1 teaspoon white balsamic vinaigrette or champagne vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• salt, pepper to taste
• lime slices optional

Instructions

Sable Fish

• Generously season fish with salt and pepper.
• Place in oven in oven-proof roasting pan at 400 degrees F, 200 C.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Peach Salsa

• Chop peaches with skin on.
• Mix peaches, onion, jalapeno, tomato together and toss with olive oil and vinegar.
• Add Cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

Fish with Salsa

• Once fish is cooked, you will notice some of the edges pull away. That's normal for sable fish. Top with salsa and serve immediatey.
• Garnish with lime slices if desired.

The post Roasted Fish with Fresh Peach Salsa appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

What is Carnitas?

Carnitas means little meats. This carnitas is pork braised in broth for at least 3 hours, then pulled apart, crisped up and caramelized in the juices under the broiler or in the oven. I usually double this recipe and braise the meat in this 7 quart cast iron dutch oven.

You can only imagine how exciting the last part of the cooking is.

One of my favorite ways to eat pork tacos is with this red cabbage slaw.

I also love to have my carnitas with salsa verde, recipe found here.

We did this dinner for a recent birthday, because it’s a great crowd pleaser and doesn’t take a lot of time to put together. You can braise in a cast iron dutch oven, which is what I did, or make it in a slow cooker.

Pork Carnitas, Braised in Slow Cooker or Dutch Oven then Baked to Crispy

You will need to use the oven for the final twenty minutes, when the shredded pork cooks away in its juices and gets crispy on the ends. I was lucky enough to find a orange chipotle salt at Whole Foods, a new addition to their spices. It added that extra kick, but I didn’t include it in the recipe, because not everyone would have access to it.

My husband’s famous guacamole or sliced avocados are a must.

Perfect for a Cinco de Maya party, serve carnitas, which can be made ahead, even frozen.

Pair with Homemade Fresh Citrus Margaritas or strawberry lime basil sangria.

Sauces for Carnitas

Roasted Salsa Verde

Make a Corn Tomato Salad as a Side.

Grain Free, Gluten Free Tortillas

Enjoy these easy Carnitas and let me know how the recipe works out. It’s one of my  “go to” crowd pleasers.

Print

Easy Carnitas, Slow Cooker or Dutch Oven

Easy Carnitas with tortillas.

Course Entree

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword braised pork steak, carnitas, tacos

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder see notes
• sea salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion coarsely chopped
• 2 jalapeno seeded and ribs removed, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
• 1 orange cut in half
• 4 limes divided
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon chile powder
• 2-4 cups beef broth or water
• tortillas
• 2 red onions diced to serve with carnitas
• handful cilantro
• guacamole or sliced avocado

Instructions

• Trim excess fat from pork shoulder. Cut into 4 separate pieces.
• Salt liberally.
• Heat tablespoon of olive oil in dutch oven and brown pork pieces on all sides. Remove, set aside.
• Add onions, pepper to pan. Cook for two minutes. Add garlic. Cook for one minute.
• Add in juice of orange and orange pieces, juice of limes. I refrain from adding in lime pieces, as the lime can add bitterness.
• Add pork back in.
• Add in just enough water or broth to cover 2/3 of the meat. Add cinnamon Stick and chile powder.
• Cover and braise for 3 1/2 hours.
• Place in slow cooker on high for 4 hours, or low for 10 hours. (You may need to add in a little more water. Check hourly if you are using dutch oven.
• Remove from oven. Strain pork from broth., making sure to save broth. Pull pork into pieces. Strain the broth.
• Pull pork in pieces and place on large baking sheet. Pour about 1 cup of broth over pork. You want the crisp up the ends a little, but still keep pork tender.
• Bake in oven at 375 degrees F. for approximately twenty minutes until most of the broth is gone and the meat has crispy crackling edges.
• Serve with tortillas, chopped red onion, cilantro, sliced avocado, lime slices.
• You can freeze for up to three months.

Notes

I  have also used 5 pound carnitas with bone. 

The post Easy Carnitas, Slow Cooker or Dutch Oven appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

What makes a Bloody Mary best? They need to taste like food and jump a little. I got this recipe from a very sharp bartender who knew how to balance the briny,  salty, spicy elements with just enough citrus  to pull it all together.

Bloody Mary’s are most often enjoyed in the day time, maybe even the early morning.   Some years ago, Jason, the bartender at the lobby bar at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel helped  me to pass some rainy day time, while I was waiting for Mr. ST to return from his conference. We both just happen to have events that took us from Nashville to San Francisco on the exact same weekend, and I sat at the lobby bar waiting for him on a Sunday afternoon. I was intrigued that he wasn’t using a Bloody Mary mix. I watched him muddle together the tomato and jalapeno, add in real tomato juice, and horseradish, Tabasco and lemon, and I knew I had to have one. He was nice enough to make me second one, slowly showing me his step by step method. Then he wrote it all down for me.

Somehow I’ve managed to hold onto that paper for the past three years, and I’m finally sharing it today.

I don’t can food, and I rarely make anything pickled, but in recent years I’m discovering that pickling is a hot new trend and you don’t have to can the old fashioned way if you are going to eat the pickled food in the next few weeks.

I tend to like pickles a lot, especially if they are spicy, so I threw a good dash of cayenne pepper in the mix. I think this garnish is especially nice for a Bloody Mary and not everyone likes the typical celery.

The asparagus in this recipe makes a great appetizer, as well as a drink garnish. I used an interesting pickling spice that has cinnamon, mustard seed, dill seed and tumeric among other things, but any pickling spice will do.

The result is a very flavorful Bloody Mary. I was so excited to make this, I went and bought a muddler, which is used to muddle the  jalapenos and tomatoes.

Tell me, have you ever asked a bartender or a server for a  special recipe? Do you feel awkward doing that?

Print

Sir Francis Drake Hotel Bar Bloody Mary by Jason

Lucky enough to snatch the recipe for the best Bloody Mary from San Franciso's Sir Francis Drake Hotel Lobby Bar, starting with a key ingredient, olive juice.

Course Cocktails

Cuisine American

Servings 1

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 3-4 grape tomatoes
• 3-4 slices jalapeno
• 1/2 teaspoon horseradish
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 dashes of Tabasco sauce
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 oz. vodka
• 2 oz. tomato juice
• FOR GARNISH
• 1 olive
• 1 grape tomato
• squeeze lime
• celery stick
• pickled asparagus optional

Pickled Asparagus

• 10 asparagus spears or as many as fit into the jar
• 2 pint mason jar
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons pickling spice
• 1 teaspoon dill seed or fresh dill
• 2 teaspoons pepper corns
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cloves garlic

Instructions

• Muddle the grape tomatoes and jalapeno and add ice.
• Add horseradish, pepper, salt, Tabasco sauce, lemon juice, vodka, tomato juice.
• Shake.
• Pour in pint glass, garnish as desired with garnishes

Pickled Asparagus

• Trim woody bottoms of asparagus and make sure it will fit into the height of the jar.
• Blanch asparagus in boiling water for one minute.
• Remove to ice bath
• Bring vinegar and water, pickling spice to a boil. Boil for two minutes
• Put asparagus into jar and pour pickling liquid over asparagus.Add remaining ingredients. Give a good shake.
• Cool. Put on lid tightly and refrigerate for a few days before serving.
• Pickled asparagus will keep in refrigerator for a few weeks.

The post Best Bloody Mary with Pickled Asparagus, Recipe from a Bartender appeared first on Spinach Tiger.