![Spicy Thai Mango Noodles with Shrimp]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Oct 3, 2017 | Asian, Dinner, Halal-Certified Products, Recipes, Thai
Lately I’ve been craving Asian food, or at least Asian-inspired dishes. I think it happens when my body is really lacking in certain nutrients and it craves a ton of the same vitamins and minerals that you can get from loading up a dish with veggies that contain Vitamin C and iodine-rich seafood. Whatever it is, I made just the dish that satisfied that craving and leaves me wanting to make this again, very soon.
To start- and to make life a lot more convenient without sacrificing quality, nutrition or taste- I used the Saffron Road Thai Mango Simmer Sauce. It has a medium heat level, which is great because not everyone likes things spicy right out of the box. I love the way mango pairs with spicy food- it really cools down the heat of the spices that I add, but doesn’t exactly extinguish the fun of the heat that I love about that spicy homemade Korean hot sauce I like to put on top (recipe is in my cookbook). Instead of a homemade hot sauce you can also add chili pepper flakes, too.
I love the way this packet smells as soon as you open it, the aroma of the mango is noticeable- that means they’re using real food in their products! It’s also gluten-free, vegan, halal-certified and NonGMO project certified. What a fantastic combination!
First, I pre-cook the spaghetti, drain it and set aside in a bowl to cool with a neutral-flavored oil mixed into it.
Next, I cook the onions, garlic and red bell peppers, sautéed lightly in extra virgin coconut oil in a saute pan over medium heat.
Next, add thinly cut carrots and broccoli stems. Cook until the just start to lose their crunch a bit, about 5 minutes.
Add the shrimp, salt, pepper and packet of Saffron Road’s Thai Mango Simmer Sauce.
Cook the shrimp until it turns pink, turning it every so often. Add fresh basil, green onions, roasted peanuts and the cooked noodles. Let this cook until everything gets nice and hot but keep turning the noodles around so they don’t stick to the pan.
Remove from heat and dig right in- just have some extra peanuts on the side for guests to add on their own; plus extra chili sauce or chili pepper flakes.
Enjoy any night of the week! To pick up the Thai Mango Simmer Sauce or any of the other Saffron Road products, check out their store locator here.
Check back for our Saffron Road coupon giveaway in the next few days so you can try some products for FREE!
[yumprint-recipe id=’117′]
![Orzo Soup with Greens and Wholesome Chicken Broth]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Aug 5, 2016 | American, Greek, Halal-Certified Products, Italian, Mediterranean, Recipes, Soups
Over the early part of the summer when Ramadan was in full swing, I took advantage of the somewhat cooler weather and made soups for Iftar (meal that breaks the fast). The main reason for that was not only the fact that I love how soups really acclimate my stomach to food after fasting, but more motivation actually came from the beautiful fresh greens I began finding at a local farm stand run by Loyola University called the Loyola University Retreat Campus in Woodstock, IL. There’s a very nice farmer named Emily who runs the greenhouses, gardens and Friday farmsteads and I’ve come to familiarize myself with what’s there every week and try to plan my meals around what’s being sold, if I’m in town at the time. What has been constantly abundant and beautiful has been the Tuscan kale and the beets, which I actually buy more for the greens than the beet itself, although I do use both.
I use these greens the same or the next day, usually. To keep them fresh and crisp I wrap them in paper towels and put them in a brown paper bag and don’t wash them until just before cooking. Once I do wash them, it’s always in cool water, leaving them in the water for a few minutes which really freshens them up even more.
I love all the beautiful and bright colors, and the other thing about this soup is that you don’t have to strictly use the kale and the beet greens, but instead you can use just one. Also, you can add some fresh broccoli into it, too. It’s that versatile and so rather than just follow the recipe strictly use what you have or what is fresh and local and appealing and I’m sure it’ll come out tasting fabulous. Just take a look at this color- isn’t it simply inspiring?
And the key ingredient, the key to making any soup nice and rich and healthy- is the broth. If you can, don’t just use water. Water is great and all, but in order to give your body the minerals and vitamins it may be craving to be healthy and strong, real beef, chicken or lamb broth is a wonderful ingredient to include. My go-to convenient, halal and healthy option if I haven’t had time to make my own is the Saffron Road variety. It’s spoiled me a lot (in a good way) to be able to grab a box at the store, know and trust that it’s completely halal, and wholesome.
I used the Artisan Roasted Chicken broth variety but you could also use their Culinary Classic Chicken Broth variety.
Now that Ramadan is way over, I’m still making soups over the summer, but I’ve also got a taste for trying new things- have you seen the new Fish Bowls from Saffron Road? How cool do those look? I have yet to try them, so let’s do it together!
I’m giving away one week’s worth of Saffron Road coupons so that you can try something new every day of the week– they have so many cool, convenient halal, gluten-free and Non-GMO products like frozen entrees, lentil crackers, lamb broth (trying finding another brand that makes that), and even desserts!
Here’s how this fun giveaway works:
- U.S. participants only. I know, bummer. Sorry, guys and gals, but products are only available in the U.S., but anyone in the world can watch our Instagram feed once the giveaway is over and food pics are shared :)
- Entrants must have an Instagram account that they will use to share pics with the Saffron Road products they buy from the coupons received.
- To enter, go to the PRODUCTS section of Saffron Road and see the types of items they have.
- Leave a comment about which one(s) you’d love to be able to try with your FREE coupons for FREE Saffron Road products.
- Check back here and on my Instagram account for the winner, which will be announced on August 12, 2016. No more entries will be accepted after August 8, 2016. As a winner, you agree to post pics of the products (i.e. shopping, packages, your dish, etc.) using the hashtag #mhksaffronroadfoodpics and tagging both @saffronroadfood and @myhalalkitchen on Instagram. Once that’s happening, anyone can follow the food pics using the hashtag #mhksaffronroadfoodpics!
Have fun exploring some of those really great halal global cuisine products and share this with all the foodies you know!
[yumprint-recipe id=’99’]
![Crunchy Party Mix]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Sep 27, 2014 | American, Appetizers & Snacks, Gluten-Free, Halal-Certified Products, Recipes
I’m working with IFANCA (Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America) on their upcoming Halal and Healthy workshops around the Chicagoland area where I’ll be conducting food demos on four different recipes, all super simple and all using halal-certified products.
This snack mix, which is great for parties, is just one of four I’ll be making and our audience tasting at each workshop. It’s simply a mix of cashews, pistachios, gluten-free pretzels, Bombay Spiced Chickpeas, and Falafel Spice Chickpeas. Literally takes less than 30 seconds to combine.
If you can’t be at any particular workshop, you can still enjoy the flavors, the simplicity of the process and see which halal-certified products can be used to make it.
[yumprint-recipe id=’48’] ![Crunchy Party Mix]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Sep 27, 2014 | American, Appetizers & Snacks, Gluten-Free, Halal-Certified Products, Recipes
I’m working with IFANCA (Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America) on their upcoming Halal and Healthy workshops around the Chicagoland area where I’ll be conducting food demos on four different recipes, all super simple and all using halal-certified products.
This snack mix, which is great for parties, is just one of four I’ll be making and our audience tasting at each workshop. It’s simply a mix of cashews, pistachios, gluten-free pretzels, Bombay Spiced Chickpeas, and Falafel Spice Chickpeas. Literally takes less than 30 seconds to combine.
If you can’t be at any particular workshop, you can still enjoy the flavors, the simplicity of the process and see which halal-certified products can be used to make it.
[yumprint-recipe id=’48’] ![Quick and Easy Chicken Wings]()
by Yvonne Maffei | May 28, 2014 | American, Appetizers & Snacks, By Meal Type, Halal-Certified Products, Poultry Dishes, Recipes
My love of eating chicken wings began in college when I really got a taste of how wonderful they were- mild, hot and spicy and always with some sort of creamy dip and a side of fries. It’s the college kid ting to do, right? Well, the saucy wings weren’t the first kind I was exposed to, but the first kind I actually liked. My mom used to order the southern style fried wings that came with fries and gravy smothered on top, a sort of specialty in our small town’s tiny but popular mom and pop restaurant called Rainbow Kitchen. But as a kid, I couldn’t appreciate anything but the fries…
Looking back, it’s the stuff people crave now- totally homemade meals like mom used to make, reminiscent of the olden days when things really were farm to fork on a daily basis. It was also a time when people weren’t so wigged out by cooking with the raw product.
When you have a beautiful and clean product to work with, there should be nothing to get squirmy about, although wings should probably be cut in half (which I did not do in this recipe and wish I had) for ease of eating, having more bites available for more people and for the pure aesthetics of it, as wings look better cut in half.
I simply got carried away with this recipe and went full force preparing and photographing before even thinking about all that because it’s so easy to make, and so quick, that it’s just delightful to get right into the cooking and eating part.
All you need are a few things:
About 1 and 3/4 pounds chicken wings (that’s often how the packs come), one tablespoon of date vinegar (but you can use just about any other type of vinegar you like), one teaspoon of sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, and one packet of Saffron Road’s Tikka Masala Simmer Sauce (although it’s delicious with the Moroccan Tagine Simmer Sauce, too).
Make sure to use a good sea salt (coarse or fine) and a pungent black pepper. I know the Simmer Sauce has spice in it already and if you like your wings mild, my recipe will keep it that way with the addition of a tiny kick. If you like things hotter, add some chili flakes or chili powder.
Check out that gorgeous color of the Tikka Masala Simmer Sauce, which has no artificial color, additives or preservatives. It’s also gluten-free, low in carbs (only 3 grams) and calories (only 20). To top it off, it’s ingredients are non-GMO, which is not easy for food companies to do anymore.
Next, pour on the vinegar. I like to use either apple cider vinegar or date vinegar in this recipe, but you can liven it up with other types of vinegar you have on hand, preferably something dark. The Simmer Sauce already has some vinegar in it, but since we’re either oven-roasting or grilling these wings, the additional vinegar helps give the sauce a little more cooking liquid without liquefying the dish-basically so it doesn’t become one big mess that doesn’t stick to the chicken.
Add the salt and pepper.
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Mix it all together to coat the chicken well.
Alternatively you can do this in a bag instead of a bowl: simply place everything in a bag instead of ever using a bowl and shake it up. It’s easy to marinate for a bit this way, too, although there is no need for marinating the chicken in this recipe unless you want to do that.
Now here’s another alternative: You can either opt to grill or oven-roast these wings. You can also do a little bit of both stove-top grilling then oven roasting or use the oven the whole time. I’m giving you the recipe for all three at the end of this post, but in the rest of the post I’m going to show you how to oven roast them only. If you were to use the stove top or outdoor grill, be sure to crank up the heat nice and high before adding the chicken.
Otherwise, prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can thank me later about how much less the cleanup is.
Add the wings. Be sure to spread them apart nicely so they can roast evenly. The oven should be preheated to 375°.
Let them roast on one side, without turning, for 20 minutes. Crank up the heat to 425° for 15 minutes, then turn each one over. Continue roasting for another 15 minutes, or until nicely browned and fully cooked on the inside. Remember, chicken should read at least 165° F on a meat thermometer, away from the bone.
Looks like they’ve been grilled outdoors, don’t they? You can also do a bit of stovetop grilling first and then move to the oven to get this effect, but oven-only grilling will do the same if you crank the heat up to broil for the last five minutes of cooking. Not necessary, but it’s a nice effect.
Plate the finished chicken however you like. In this case, I added chopped cilantro, cut radishes and lime to the top because I planned to make tasty tacos out of the wings.
I’ve sort of adopted that, too. Just add tortillas, sour cream and salsa and you’ve got it together. In this case, though, the wings are great all on their own.
Can you believe a Simmer Sauce can help you do this so easily? What other Simmer Sauces by Saffron Road would you try that you think would be great on wings?
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, however, all opinions and recipes are my own and not that of the sponsoring company.
[yumprint-recipe id=’17’]
