Chicken Stir Fry

I've never been a fan of homemade stir fry.  It just didn't taste quite right.  This evening after combining elements from several recipes I finally hit on a balanced taste combo that I love.  It can be made Paleo by using the arrowroot powder and coconut aminos.  Fish sauce can be Paleo but you have to read the ingredient list.  Regular sauce is just fermented fish and salt.  However, there is wide variations between brands.  Red Boat is very popular but I haven't tried that one yet.  I have a Thai brand that I need to use up first.  

If the veg chopping is too much work buy them prechopped at the supermarket.  I just used a veg stir fry mix and picked out all the bell peppers and kept the onions, green onions, cabbage, snow peas, then added carrot, extra onion and portabello mushrooms.  The veg mix is really your own preference.  The only thing to remember is to cook thick/heavy veg first and the delicate stuff last.

I prefer sesame oil to peanut oil but the whole thing has to be cooked at a lower temp since sesame is a lower temp oil.

Also, I always make extra rice.  I let the extra cool off and then bag up in individual servings and freeze for later use.

Ingredients:

serves 2

Marinade

1 scant teaspoon of honey

1t fish sauce (Nam Pla)

2t organic tamari (GF) or coconut aminos (gluten and soy free)

1T corn starch or arrowroot powder

1T sesame oil

1T water

1T garlic pushed through a press or smooshed

1T grated fresh ginger

Stir fry

1/2c dry rice per person (makes one cup cooked)

~1 lb chicken

1 portabello mushroom or criminis or others

1 carrot

1/2 white onion

2 stalks celery

several handfulls of snowpeas

small napa cabbage or bok choy or leeks or combo

sesame oil or peanut oil

Sauce

~1/4c cooking sherry

1T tamari or aminos

1T rice vinegar

1T corn starch or arrowroot

Garnish

1-2T toasted sesame seeds

1) Mix one to one ratio of rice to water.  Cook with method of choice. 

2) Make marinade and mix thoroughly.  Slice chicken into bite size pieces and mix into marinade.  Put aside.

3) Chop, slice and dice vegetable so that they are all about the same size.  Sort into piles for cooking first and last.  First: white onions, leeks, carrots, celery, mushrooms, bok choy stems.  Last: snow peas, green onions, cabbage, bok choy leaves. 

4) Mix together sauce ingredients leaving out the sherry.  Put aside.

5) Line everything up along the stove since this cooks fast. 

6) Heat large fry pan and add sesame or peanut oil.  When oil is shimmering add first vegetables.  Stir fry until onion wilts and becomes soft.  Add chicken and fry until browned on the outside but still pink in the middle.  

7) Deglaze the pan with the sherry only using enough so that a small amount of liquid is left.

8) Throw in last veg but don't stir.  Put lid on veg and let steam for about five minutes until chicken is cooked through and the cabbage wilts.

9) Stir in sauce and let it coat everything.  It will thicken up almost instantly.  Remove from heat and serve over rice.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Baked Eggs #2

This is a slightly more complicated version of baked eggs since it has to be cooked in two stages.  Still fairly simple but it will take more of your energy to make.

Baked Eggs #2
serves one or two

vegetable saute
pastured butter
2-4 asparagus spears
1 leek leaf washed and dried
4-6 criminis (baby bella mushrooms)
1-2 kale leaves washed and dried

1. Break off course ends of asparagus.  Just grab and snap the end off.  It will break in the right place on its own.  Finely slice asparagus on the diagonal.  Discard the ends.
2. Peel and cut criminis into small bite size pieces.
3. Trim kale leaf off stem, discard stem, slice or tear into small bite size pieces.
4. Slice leek into 1/4" strips.
5. Saute vegetables in butter.  Set aside when everything is cooked through and mushrooms are starting to release liquid.

eggs

pastured butter

1T heavy cream

2 pastured eggs

vegetable saute from above

2T Parmesan cheese

2 strips of bacon (optional)

pinches of dried herbs: marjoram, dill, basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary (in any combo)

pepper

sea salt if not using bacon

1. Place single serving au gratin dish in cold oven and preheat to 350F.
2. If using, cook bacon and crumble it and set it aside.
3. Mix cheese, herbs, salt and pepper together and set aside.
4. Once oven and dish are hot, very carefully remove dish and put on heatproof surface.
5. Melt butter in dish and swirl so it coats the bottom.
6. Add cream to dish.
7. Place sauteed vegetables down center of dish along the short axis.  This will divide the dish in half.
8. Crack an egg into each side of dish being careful not to break the yolk.  If you're not brave enough to do this, you can crack the egg into a cup and then pour it into the hot dish.
9. Sprinkle bacon on top.
10. Sprinkle cheese mixture on top.
11. Bake at 350F for 10-15mins until eggs are set the way you like.  If you want runny yolks undercook the eggs since they will continue to cook once they come out of the oven.

Creamy Celeriac Soup

Long time no see.  After some much needed sunshine  I seem to be on the upswing.  Gotta love vitamin D.  For me it seems to be my wonder drug.

Carrying on a tradition I started last year, I picked up one vegetable that I have never eaten while shopping at Whole Foods this week.  I seem to gravitate towards the weird looking ones.  I've been meaning to try celeriac (celery root) for a long time now.  I keep hearing about it on the Paleo blogs as it can be eaten pureed as a substitute for mashed potatoes.

Source

I fell in love with it the moment I cut it open.  It smells like the garden just after a spring rain.  The inside is riddled with holes near the roots but the flesh becomes solid as it approaches the top.

This recipe is easy and the amounts are rough.  If you boil it too long (as I did) and it gets too thick just add some more liquid such as stock, milk and/or cream to thin it out to the desired consistency.

Ingredients
serves 2

1 small celeriac
2c Basic Chicken Stock
large pat pastured butter (Kerrigold is the most readily available)
1/4-1/2c heavy cream (pastured or raw)
Celtic sea salt
fresh ground pepper

1. Use a paring knife to peel the celeriac.  Dice into 1/2" cubes.  Rinse with water and drain.
2. Put in pot and cover with chicken stock.  Bring to boil.  Turn down and simmer for at least 20mins until the cubes are soft.
3. Remove from heat.  Either add to blender in batches being very careful with the hot liquid or use an immersion blender and puree it right in the pan.
4. Add pat of butter, pinch salt, pepper and cream.  Stir to mix thoroughly.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Add more cream and/or milk to thin to desired consistency. Serve.

I've seen nutmeg and/or cinnamon used in some recipes.  I left it out here but I might use some nutmeg in the future when I'm feeling adventurous.

BTW, it tastes like celery and parsley combined.  Very good and a big hit with everyone in my family.

Garlic Cauliflower

This is a simple but really good side dish.  If you are on the fence about cauliflower but love garlic, this might turn you into a cauliflower lover.

If you can't find Boursin cheese in your area, any soft cheese with garlic and herbs will do.

Ingredients
serves 1-2

1/4 large head or 1/2 small head cauliflower
1T Boursin garlic and herb cheese

1. Cut flowers off head of cauliflower.  Discard core.
2. Cut into bite sized pieces and put in pan.
3. Add about 1" of water to pan.
4. Cover and bring water to boil.  Shut off.  Do NOT remove cover.
5. Let sit for 10 mins until steam is no longer escaping from pan.
6. Florets should be easy to pierce with a knife.
7. Drain off water.
8. Stir in cheese until melted.
9. Serve.

Braised Cipollinis

This recipe came about for two very disparate reasons.  Several years ago someone fed me these amazing onions at their BBQ.  They had been cooked for hours with olive oil and spices.  They were divine!  I've been trying to replicate them since with only mild success.

Then while reading up for the GAPS diet I found out that onions heal the gut and they are one of the allowed vegetables at the very beginning of the intro diet.  A light bulb went off.  Let me combine the best of both of these and come up with an onion dish that tastes great and helps the gut heal.  While it is best to use fresh herbs, dried will also work.  Butter isn't allowed during the first few days of intro but dairy is introduced fairly early into the GAPS diet.  At that point, if diary is tolerated, the sauce can be used.

Cipollinis are small sweet onions and totally worth it to try and find them.  They are Italian so you might have more success in a store with Italian foods.  I find them in Whole Foods and they are showing up in farmer's markets as well.  While this recipe isn't quite as good as what I had at the BBQ, it is still a great side dish and it heals your gut!!

Ingredients
serves 2

6-8 cipollini onions
~1/4c Basic Beef Stock
thyme
oregano
sea salt and pepper
1T pastured butter (for optional sauce)

Onions

1. Trim the bottoms off the onions and peel.  Leave a little of the stalk intact for decoration.  Leave the onion basically intact.
2. Place bottom side down in a shallow pan.  All onions should touch the pan bottom.
3. Add the beef stock which should be gelatinous at this point.  When it melts you should have about a 1/4" - 1/2" of liquid in the bottom of the pan.
4. Sprinkle herbs over onions.  Be generous.
5. Sprinkle salt and pepper over onions.
6. Cover and simmer on low heat for about a half hour until onions are very soft.  Check during cooking to make sure the liquid hasn't boiled off.  You don't want burned onions.
7. Serve as is or make sauce to cover them.

Sauce

1. Remove onions from broth, set aside and cover them to keep them warm.
2. Bring broth to a boil and reduce broth by half.
3. Remove from heat and whisk in butter.  Pour over onions.

Cauliflower and Swiss Soup

This is amazingly good.  This is based on my new method of making soup.  Take some beef or chicken stock, boil vegetables in the stock, then puree with an immersion blender.  Since I froze my Basic Chicken Stock in one cup portions, this makes soup creation really easy and super fast.   It has been so much fun making different combinations of vegetables and flavors.  This one is a big winner.

Ingredients
serves 1-2 (depending upon how hungry you are)

1c Basic Chicken Stock
2-3c cauliflower (fresh or frozen)
~1T of diced onion (I threw in a couple of frozen pearl onions)
pinch Celtic sea salt
grind of fresh pepper
1/2c raw milk Swiss cheese

1. If using fresh cauliflower discard leaves, remove core and cut up florets.
2. Using a 1qt pan put in the chicken stock and fill with as much cauliflower as will fit.
3. Add onion, salt and pepper.
4. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until cauliflower is soft when pricked with a knife.
5. Remove from heat.
6. While soup is simmering, coarsely grate cheese so that you have about a half cup of loosely packed shavings.  Adjust amount to your own taste.
7. Using an immersion blender blend until smooth being very careful not to splash hot liquid on yourself.
8. Stir in cheese and let melt.
9. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Butternut Squash Soup

This is a wicked easy meal.  Other vegetables can easily substituted.  In fact, I'm going to do this one with sweet potato next.  And BTW, this is an excellent way to get the broth into your system that WAP recommends.

Ingredients
serves one

1/2c Basic Chicken Stock
1-2c diced squash
1T butter
salt and pepper

1. Peel and dice squash
2. Simmer in chicken broth until fork tender
3. Puree until smooth
4. Add salt and pepper and stir in butter

This has a nice mild flavor.  You can really taste the squash and I like the simplicity of it.  If you want to add a bit more depth of flavor you can add onion, garlic or ginger in to cook with the squash.  All of which would complement this nicely.  You could also go traditional and add some nutmeg or cinnamon.  If you like spicy a little chili powder would be good also.  Another option is to roast the squash first and then proceed with the recipe.  Have fun!

Sauteed Pea Tendrils

I've actually managed to make it to the local farmer's market each Saturday for the last month.  Husband has been not so grudgingly pushing me around in my wheelchair and I've managed to find local sources for free range eggs, grass fed beef, stone fruits, raw cheeses and exquisitely delicious salad vegetables.  I'm still not used to being able to eat a piece of fruit without hunting for the sticky label first.  I catch myself looking for it and smile when I realize that this luscious piece of fruit was just picked from a farm a few miles from my house rather than being purchased at the local big box supermarket.

One of the booths at my farmer's market specializes in Asian vegetables and one of the items that caught my attention was pea tendrils.  My friend had recommended them and I wanted something new for my evening salad so I decided to give them a whirl.  Four weeks and many many salads later I still have half of the bag left (it was a huge quantity for $4).  What to do with an excess of pea tendrils?  Try a saute!  This is now my new favorite side dish.  I loved it first try.  This is one of those loose and fast recipes so feel free to wing it on the quantities.

Ingredients
serves 1-2  they do shrink as they cook not as much as spinach but quite a bit

1-2 handfuls of pea tendrils
small wedge of lemon
1-2T good olive oil
1 small clove garlic or generous pinch of minced garlic from a jar
pinch sea salt
pinch fresh ground pepper

1. Tear the tendrils into bite size pieces.  The lovely curly ends, leaves and stems are all edible.
2. Heat oil in pan and add minced garlic and saute lightly.
3. Add pea tendrils and saute until just wilted.
4. Add a squeeze of  lemon and the salt and pepper.  Stir to incorporate ingredients.
5. Serve hot.  YUM!!

A few useful links:

Wakefield Farmer's Market : my local market

Local Harvest: easy way to find farmer's markets, farm stands and crop shares in your area

Flats Mentor Farm: the Asian specialty farm; look for the free downloadable recipe book

Grilled Asparagus

This is an excellent side dish to the turkey burgers. All you need is asparagus and Newman's Own Dressing or Marinade. I've used a variety of these all with excellent results. I think my favorites are Roasted Parmesan and Garlic and Balsamic Vinegar which comes in organic.

The directions are simple. Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. Drench in dressing. Grill over low or no heat until slightly charred. Beware which way you place them on the grill they are easy to loose between the grate. Tongs are best for handling them without too many getting dropped.