Stir Fry Salad

So, my husband I decided that we need to take a break from so many carbs.  I think this came about after a horrible gnocchi fail a few days ago.  I have made gnocchi many times in my life, and after I found a recipe online for roasted butternut squash gnocchi, I decided I had to make it again.  I was super confident that I could make some really awesome, soft, pillowy gnocchi like I had made so many times before.  But knowing me, I didn't follow a recipe....and I used whole wheat pastry flour.  BIG mistake.  Do not make gnocchi with whole wheat flour.  It will be hard, and tough, and deeply disappointing.  It is so frustrating to make lots of good food in the week, and then have a massive dinner failure that leaves you bloated and unhappy.  Then again, we've been eating lots of carbs recently with noodle salads and carrot cakes.  That is why I don't bake often because it's just the two of us trying to finish off muffins/cake/tarts that I make...and inevitably, it will be mostly me.  So, we're taking a healthier course this week.  Lightening the load, so to speak.  Thankfully, I've really been craving salads lately, so I decided to make salad the focus of the week.  I went and bought arugula, spinach, cabbage, bean sprouts, olives, pepperocinis, and made a batch of hummus...all things to make some great salads with.  
Just because you're going lighter doesn't mean you have to exclude flavor.  Last night I made a stir fry salad that was rich and spicy, but also crunchy and fresh.  It would have been really good with rice or noodles, but was actually very satisfying as is.  Plus, cabbage salad goes a long way, and keeps well in the fridge for about a week.  So, we'll be having cabbage salad for a couple days!

For breakfast this morning, I turned this whole meal into a frittata which was very good.  All of these recipes are extremely versatile.

Stir Fry Salad
Serves 2

Stir Fry:
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup mushrooms, slices
1 jalapeno, sliced or minced (exclude if you don't like it spicy...or use less)
2 cups chicken, roasted and cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup spicy Asian peanut sauce (recipe below)
1 TB sesame oil (optional. Just add in more coconut oil for frying)
1 TB coconut oil or canola oil 

Heat oil on high heat in a large skillet or wok.  When oil is hot, add in broccoli, mushrooms, and jalapeno and stir to coat.  Saute, while stirring, until broccoli is bright green and mushrooms are wilted, about 3-5 minutes.  Add in chicken and sauce, stir to combine, and cook about 1 minute.  Take off the heat and serve immediately.
NOTE: Do be afraid to add more veggies to this!  Carrots, onion, bell peppers, kale, or cauliflower would work great as well.


Spicy Asian Peanut Sauce:
 Makes about 1 cup

1/4 cup peanut butter
2 TB sriracha (Asian hot sauce)
3 TB Bragg's Liquid Aminos (a very good soy sauce alternative!) or soy sauce
2-3 TB rice vinegar (get the full sugar/sodium kind...since you don't use much anyway)
1 TB molasses
1 TB peeled fresh ginger, fine mince
1 TB garlic, fine mince

Whisk all ingredients together.  Will keep for at least a week in the refrigerator.

Asian Cabbage Salad:

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2-3 cups bean sprouts
3 cups  green cabbage, finely sliced
1/2 cup green onion, thin slice
broccoli stems, sliced thin

NOTE: Do not throw away your broccoli stems!  Although the outside is tough and not very edible, the inside of the stems are tender and delicious!  Just cut away or peel the outside tough skin and chop up the tender insides.  These work great in stir frys, salads, or cole slaw.  Plus, you get your money's worth out of all the broccoli!

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Will keep for several days in an airtight container in the fridge.

For the Salad, pile the salad on a place with a little bit of peanut sauce or a squeeze of lime.  Add hot veggies on top.  You can garnish with more cilantro or roasted peanuts.

Stir Fry Frittata:
This is great for breakfast if you have leftovers!  Or is could also be a quick dinner.  Serves 2-4

1 cup stir fry (fresh or leftover)
5 eggs
spicy peanut sauce and/or sriracha
salad (from above)
spray oil

1. Turn on oven broiler or set oven to 500F.
2. Crack eggs into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.  Chop stir fry into small pieces, and stir into eggs.  Add about 1-2 tsp of peanut sauce and stir to combine.  

3. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat.  Spray pan well with oil and pour in egg mixture.  Cook, without stirring, until the bottom starts to set and browns slightly.

4. Turn the heat off the skillet, and put it in the oven under the broiler, leaving the door open and handle out (unless you have oven safe pans/handles).  Broil frittata until it browns on top and middle is set.  You can jiggle it to see if the middle is wet or not.

5.  Take skillet out and turn the frittata over onto a flat plate.  Cut into triangles.  Serve warm with sriracha, peanut sauce, and salad garnish.

Enjoy! :)

Mediterranean Braised Chicken

I had a very interesting experience today.  I was asked in the parking lot of the Fred Meyers (where I had come to buy dog food and toothpaste) if I would buy groceries for a woman and her daughter.  She said she had been to all the food banks, but they didn't have any food.  She told me straight off that she didn't want cash, she just needed some food.  So, I bought her groceries.  It was both fascinating and humbling watching her pick out the food she needed.  She got a lot of frozen food, cereal, and even chicken that she said she could freeze for later.  I was amazed to watch her be both anxious about buying too much, and delighted as she found things she knew her daughter would eat.  She ended up with four large grocery bags full of food that will, hopefully, get her through the next week or so.  
I have to relate this, not to praise myself for doing a good deed, but because it made me think really, really hard about food in general.  I am amazingly blessed with the money and knowledge needed to buy and make great food.  I am grateful for it everyday.  I also have a family that supports me all the time, and also highly values a good meal.  But today reminded me that there are so many people teetering on the edge of hunger, or worse.  This blog seems selfish in many ways because it glorifies what many people can't achieve on a daily basis.  It is a hard reminder that while you're enjoying something delicious, someone else is barely scraping by.
It is a good reminder....at least for me.  I try to do what I can for people when they ask.  There are so many homeless in Portland, and I try, when I can, to give them some cash.  But it is even better to be able to buy them food.  It's really the least that I can do.  And after today, I'm even more committed to finding better ways of helping those who are hungry.
It is a good reminder, too, because it helps me to be even more grateful for the things that I have.  I'm thrilled that I can cook a great meal for my husband and family.  I'm blessed to have the skills and knowledge to make food delicious.  I'm so excited that I get to share it on this blog.  Once I realize that I'm happy with the things that I have, life seems pretty darn great.

I know that I recommend most of what I put on this blog, but this dish really got to me.  It is richly flavored, but so comforting.  I adapted it from a recipe we made in European Cuisine.  I really didn't need to adapt it because most of what we made in that class was delicious.  Europeans really got things right.  But I can't resist putting my own flair into my food!  

My favorite addition to this dish was olives.  What is Mediterranean food without olives, after all?  In this case, I used about 1/4 cup of kalamata olives, but I would have put more in...about 1/2 to 1 cup. I also added in mushrooms and zucchini which turned out well.  Also, this recipe concentrated on braising the chicken in a thinner sauce that contained a lot of chicken stock, but I replaced most of the stock with tomatoes because I like a thicker, richer sauce.  The first recipe is the one we used in class, and it is very good, too.  The second is my version.

Mediterranean Braised Chicken
Recipe inspired by Chef Suzanne Goin of Lucques in LA
Serves 2-4

4 chicken pieces, legs and thighs with skin on
2 TB coriander seeds
1 TB plus 1 tsp cumin seeds
3 cloves garlic
1 TB thyme leaves
2 TB flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp dried red chile flake or crushed whole chile
2 tsp paprika
olive oil
1 cup julienne onion
1 cup julienne fennel
1/4 cup tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish
salt and pepper to taste 

Use steps from my version.  This version was served over chickpeas/garbanzo beans and couscous.

The Experimental Alchemist's Version of Mediterranean Braised Chicken
serves 2

Marinade:

2 chicken legs with thighs and skin on
1 TB coriander seed
2 tsp cumin seed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flat-leaf (or Italian) parsley leaves, chopped
2 tsp red chile flakes
1 tsp paprika
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt

1. In a small skillet on high heat, add coriander and cumin seeds.  While stirring or shaking the pan constantly, toast seeds until they are fragrant and slightly browned.  Pour immediately into a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind until smooth.
2. Place all ingredients in a gallon plastic bag and rub chicken with marinade thoroughly.
3. Place in refrigerator and marinate at least 4 hours or overnight.

NOTE: Is marinating the chicken really necessary in this recipe?  I was wondering that after I made this dish because the braising sauce was so fully flavored.  It does, of course, lend a lot of flavor to the chicken, which may be why it came out so well.  However, I don't feel that this dish would be any less delicious if you just used the marinade mixture as seasoning in the sauce instead of just on the chicken.  If you decide not to marinate the chicken, just sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and saute it as described below.

Braising Sauce: 

1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, thinly sliced 
1 cup fennel, thinly sliced
1 cup mushrooms, rough chop
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TB marinade mixture
28 oz can organic tomatoes
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped, with brine (about 1/4 cup)
2 cups chick stock
1 cup zucchini, medium dice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Take out chicken and bring to room temperature (I just left it out while I prepped the other ingredients)

Fennel

I used my mandolin to get a very thin slice on the onions and fennel.

This is the safety guard for my mandolin.  Very necessary!

2.  In a large skillet or soup pot, heat olive oil on medium high heat until shimmery and almost smoking.  Wipe off most of the marinade from the chicken (or it will burn), and place them skin side down in the oil.  Fry until golden brown, then flip over and repeat on the other side.  Take chicken out and set aside.

3. Pour off about 1/2 the fat from the pan (you can add it back in as needed), place it back on the heat, and add in onions, fennel, and mushrooms with a sprinkle of salt. Saute until onions and fennel are slightly caramelized (about 5-8 minutes).  Add in garlic and marinade mixture and saute 1 minute or until fragrant.

4.  Add in tomatoes, olives with brine, chicken stock, and about 1/2 tsp salt.  Stir to combine.  Nestle chicken legs in sauce.  Liquid should just cover chicken.  

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer uncovered, and simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and tender and sauce is reduced.  Taste and season as necessary.  Turn off heat and add in zucchini.  Let rest for about 10 minutes (residual heat will cook zucchini...if you put it in too early, it will overcook and fall apart.  It should be soft, but firm).

5. Serve chicken and sauce over rice, bulgar, or couscous.

Enjoy! :)

Good Morning! Apple Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Raspberry Compote

Good Morning everyone!  It is a great morning after a very long weekend of being away from my sweet husband.  He was involved in a Global Game Jam with a group of indie game developers over the weekend.  A game jam is where people get together and try to make a game in 48 hours.  There were some bumps along the road, but they were actually able to make a game in that time!  I'm super proud of him for doing something so exciting, but it was a long weekend alone for me.  Yes, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself, and because of that, I ate really badly over the past few days.  Lots of noodles with peanut sauce, biscotti, and wine.  Ha!  It was terrible not to have anyone to cook for.  But enough of that!  My hubby is back, and we're back on track!
I wanted to make something special this morning, so I found a yummy apple pancake recipe in my other favorite cookbook Food to Live By.  I don't ever buy syrup, so our pancakes are usually topped with some sort of fruit compote.  I try to keep some frozen berries in the freezer for just this type of occasion.  The only fruit I had left was raspberries, so that's what I used today, and I have to say, they were a really nice complement to the pancakes.
Although this recipe is a good one and the pancakes were delicious, my only complaint was that they came out pretty doughy.  The recipe called for only a small amount of baking powder, but I think the addition of the apples made the dough a little too wet and dense.  I would have added in a pinch of baking powder to offset this.  And maybe not add quite so many apples. Or maybe shredding the apples caused it to be thicker.  Thinly slicing the apples might not have added in so much of their juice into the batter.  Other than that, though, I would highly recommend these for a good morning!
Also, the raspberry compote is super easy to make and would be a great topping for pancakes, french toast, desserts, or even morning oatmeal!  I make my compote a little on the tart side because I think it balances the rich, doughy sweetness of the pancakes.  I also like keeping the natural taste of the fruit.  If you want something sweeter, you are welcome to add more honey to this recipe, though I would recommend tasting the compote before you sweeten it further.

Apple Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Adapted from Food to Live By by Myra Goodman
Makes 6 small pancakes or 3 large

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
(1/4 tsp baking soda...optional, though it might help lighten the pancake)
1 TB brown sugar
pinch of salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup shredded or thinly sliced apple (1 medium apple)
1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1 large egg
1/2 cup almond milk (or other milk)
2 TB coconut oil, melted (or melted butter, or canola oil)
spray oil or butter 
confectioner's sugar for dusting

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Whisk to combine. 

2. In a separate bowl whisk together oil, milk, and egg.  

Whisk liquid ingredients into dry ingredients.  Fold in apple, nuts, and chocolate chips.

3. Heat a large skillet on medium to medium high heat.  Butter or spray oil the pan (make sure oil doesn't burn or will make your pancakes taste bad...if it does start to burn, take the pan off the heat and wipe oil out with a paper towel.  Let the pan cool, then spray it again and add in batter.  Then put back on the heat).  Add in about 1/2 cup of batter for each pancake, or more if you want large pancakes.  Cook on one side until that side is golden brown and there are little bubbles on top of the pancake.  Flip over and repeat on the other side.  

Serve pancakes warm with powdered sugar and raspberry compote (or syrup).
NOTE: If you are not going to serve pancakes immediately, you can keep them warm in the oven on a baking sheet. 

Raspberry Compote
Makes about 1 cup...might need to double it for more people!

1 cup raspberries, frozen or fresh
1 tsp lemon juice
1-2 tsp honey
water as needed

Place all ingredients in a small sauce pan with enough water to cover the bottom.  Place pan (with a lid) on medium high heat and boil until berries start to fall apart (about 3-5 minutes).  Turn down heat, uncover, and simmer until most of the water has evaporated.  Turn off heat and let cool.  Serve warm.

NOTE: You can use other fruit in a similar manner.  Blackberries, peaches, blueberries, apples (if you don't put them in the pancakes!), plums, and cherries all cook down well.  Any fruit that can be made into a jam will work great.  Or try combinations!
Actually, putting jam on pancakes would also work great, though it will be much sweeter.  The great thing about making fresh compote is that you can control the sugar/acid content, and how far down you cook the fruit.  

I hope these help you to have a good morning, too!  They are great with coffee, a little breakfast tea and milk, homemade chai, or yerba mate.  Enjoy!

Cookbook Recommendation: The World's Best Street Food

I mentioned this cookbook in a recent post about Thai noodle soup, Kuaytiaw, but it is one of the major cookbooks from which I draw inspiration.  As you may have noticed already, I am deeply interested in world cuisines, especially Indian and Mediterranean.  What is great about The World's Best Street Food is it covers the entire world and has chosen some ideal dishes to represent each culture. I found this little gem when I was back home in Colorado over the summer.  Our little town has a fabulous locally-owned bookstore, and it is the perfect place to avoid the summer heat.  I, of course, parked myself right in front of their cookbook section.  I had been trying to find some new baking cookbooks since, at the time, I was obsessed with pastries.  And while I did find a perfect fit for that in Pie in the Sky: Successful Baking at High Altitudes by Susan G. Purdy, I also found this book of street food tucked away in the midst of more grand looking cookbooks.  It is small, but dense.  Not only does it have great recipes that are clearly explained (especially for the American cook, who might not be familiar with all the ingredients), but it is in another sense, a travel book that can transport you to the streets of India, South America, or Japan.  Each recipe gets two full pages, one for the recipe description, and the other for a low-down on what the food is, where it came from, and how it tastes (or is supposed to taste).  It is a great introduction to world cuisines because it shows what people eat on a daily basis, what is quick or easy or cheap....much like hot dogs represent a fundamental American experience. 
I love cookbooks that are as fun to read as cooking the recipes in them.  This one, in particular, I read cover to cover before I even tried any of the food.  I am fascinated by the wide variety of food in the world and how people make it, eat it, and sell it. This book is a good introduction to all of these aspects.
The main reason that I wanted to review this cookbook was not to make you want to run out a get it immediately (although it is a good one).  I am very interested in what makes a good cookbook. There are so many out there that I become overwhelmed.  I always take a careful look at the recipes and make sure they are clear and concise, but more than that, I like a cookbook to inspire and teach me.  I always feel more connected to the food when I have some background or information about its origins.  For example, my mother-in-law found a cookbook that specifically focused on food for cancer patients.  The recipes were stringently tested for their nutrient content, but also for their flavor because chemo can change a person's sense of taste and appetite.  All the food was simple, but beautiful and delicious.  I loved that cookbook because it was made with knowlege, successful experimentation, and a lot of love.  
So, when you find a good cookbook, it is important to share it! I have several more that I want to share, since you can never have enough good cookbooks! :)

The World's Best Street Food: Where to Find it and How to Make it
By Lonely Planet
http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/world/worlds-best-street-food/

A little Twist on Lasagna....

The greatest thing about lasagna, besides that it's comfort food, is that it can so easily be made to fit the tastes and style of the cook making it.  As I said before, I found a whole stack of lasagna recipes in my cabinet that were all unique in their combinations of ingredients.  One focuses on roasted veggies, another added in goat cheese, and another made it spicy with black beans.  All lasagna is composed of is sauce, noodles, and cheese, so it is easy to see how those simple ingredients have huge potential for modification, or pure innovation.  For me, the major change for lasagna had to be a different way to get the same great flavor without the dairy components.  What I learned quickly was that this is very hard to do.  I thought if I changed  the taste completely (such as using salsa and black beans), that I could make a different, but no less satisfying dish.  However, I found that I didn't like the texture of beans and noodles without the smooth fat from cheese.  For years, I just stopped making lasagna and I was immersed in so many different foods in school, that it didn't matter that lasagna was missing from our lives.  However, in the past year or so, I discovered vegan cheese, which is not exactly like cheese in texture, but tastes enough like cheese to be an OK substitute.  I also have a lot of practice in building sauces.  This, I have found, is the essential ingredient in every good lasagna.  Cheese is, of course, delicious in itself, but without a great sauce, a lasagna can fall flat.  And I especially require great sauce since my "fake cheese" is not quite as satisfying.  I have also learned that making a great sauce is so very, very easy, though the art of making a good sauce does require some practice!  Before culinary school, I would throw things together without much knowledge of taste/texture/balance/salt content, etc, and while my dishes were edible, most were far from perfect.  I have now learned to not over-complicate things.  Sometimes the most delicious food is the most simple.  I make lasagna a lot now, and although it never turns out quite the same as the last batch, it is usually a satisfactory meal.
Besides a good sauce, I also have come to use oven-ready lasagna noodles.  They are easier and quicker than noodles that you have to boil...and they don't fall apart on you.  The only set back with these noodles is they need to be completely covered with sauce in order to soften.  Otherwise, there will be many crunchy bits in the lasagna.  What usually helps this is covering the lasagna with aluminum foil in the beginning to let the noodles soak up all the liquid.

One Version of the Experimental Alchemist's Dairy Free Lasagna:

2 TB olive oil
1/2 to 1 pound ground beef
1 cup yellow onion, small dice
1 cup mushrooms, med dice
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups fresh spinach, washed well
1 28 oz can tomatoes, pureed
salt and pepper to taste
1 package oven-ready brown rice noodles
2-3 cups zucchini ribbons (about 3 small zucchini) or diced zucchini....(See below for ribbon making!)
1 package vegan cheese, frozen and shredded or shredded mozzarella

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or soup pot on medium heat.  Add beef and a sprinkle of salt and saute until browned.  Take out beef and set aside, leaving fat in the pan.  Add in onions and mushrooms with a sprinkle of salt.  Saute, stirring occasionally, until soft (about 8 minutes).  Add in garlic and cook 1 minute or until fragrant.  Add in all of spinach, stirring occasionally until wilted.  

Add in beef and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for about 20 minutes (it will continue to reduce in the oven).
2. Preheat oven to 400F. In a large casserole dish, add in 1 cup of sauce or enough to coat the bottom of the dish.  Add 1 layer of noodles on top of the sauce.  Then, add a layer of zucchini ribbons (or diced is OK, too).  On top of that, sprinkle cheese.  Repeat layering steps until casserole dish is full.  
3.  Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake 25-30 minutes.  Remove from oven, take off foil, and bake another 15 minutes.  Let cool a few minutes, then enjoy!

NOTE: If you are going to use vegan cheese, it is good to harden it by freezing.  This makes it easier to shred without it just falling apart.

This is a great addition to my food processor.  It shreds cheese or carrots in a matter of seconds.  Though, a handheld cheese grater is good too!

NOTE #2: Washing greens: Immerse greens in a large bowl filled with very cold water.  Swish greens to get off any sand or dirt.  Then, gently lift greens out of the bowl and transfer to another container to drain.  This leaves all the silt in the bottom of the bowl!  DO NOT pour the dirty water back over the greens...this will re-contaminate them.  This technique might need to be repeated to clean greens completely.

Zucchini Ribbons:

I use my mandolin to make long "ribbons" of zucchini.  This makes a great layer in lasagna, or they can be  noodle substitutes!  And as always, SAFETY FIRST!! That is my safety glove so I don't cut off my fingers! :)

  

What you could change:

1. You can use any lasagna noodles you like.  I just went with an easy option.
2.  Actually, speaking of noodles, you could use the zucchini "ribbons" as noodles and make a completely gluten free lasagna!
3.  Add different/more veggies or cheese.

Now is the time to be creative!  I would love to hear any of your successful lasagna recipes!