Summer. Yummy fruits, vegetables fresh from the garden, a tall glass of iced tea and life couldn’t get better. It’s the simple pleasures.So I’d like to share with you a few of my simple summertime menu ideas!
First let’s consider this amazing and often forgotten vegetable that you can find in almost any Latino Grocery. Light and sweet tasting, it’s sure to be a sensation at your next summer party. Jicama also has a long list of health benefits:
- Low on the glycemic index — contains oligofructose insulin; great for keeping blood sugars stable.
- High in soluble dietary fiber —.helps lower chances of colon cancer.
- High in Vitamin C — one serving has 44% of the recommended daily dose.
- High in minerals — copper, potassium, manganese, magnesium and iron.
- Low calorie and filling!
You can cook with it or eat it raw. My family normally eats it raw. Here’s one of our favorite ways to prepare it:
Sources:
http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/jicama.html
http://foodfacts.mercola.com/jicama.html
You can cook with this legume, or eat it raw. We normally eat it raw in the way listed below:
Voila! The the finished product. Now let’s get started!
You’ll need the following ingredients:
Jicama
Salt
Cayenne
Lime
Jicama has a thick skin that can be difficult to remove. My husband prefers to soak the whole vegetable first, before getting to work on the skin. I’m impatient and often skip this step, and although it still works, I can’t put my finger on it but the finished product just isn’t the same. So, I recommend soaking the jicama in the refrigerator for a couple of hours first, then removing the skin.
This is cut in half and it’s where I realized that it will need to be rehydrated. Rats. A woman just wants her jicama.
Use a knife that’s an appropriate size for the job. It makes it easier. Please make sure it’s sharp, that makes it easier, too.
Please be careful. You don’t want to cut a body part. Been there, done that. Moving on.
Dear Hubby is going to town on this thing!
See the crisp, white vegetable here that was all wrapped up in that fibrous skin? Oh, yes. Delicious.
Cut in half inch slices, then you can quarter them if you like.
This is where we had a brief discussion about soaking them. No, actually, I think it was when the first half cut was made and we noticed how dry it looked. This is me trying to make up for that dry factor. The starch from this veggie is leaking into the water, that’s why it looks cloudy.
Sprinkle with salt and chile you can use a prepared version made for vegetables and fruit, or just simple cayenne.
¡Hechale!
Squeeze that lime all over the plate. Enjoy!
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