In the Kitchen :: Favorite

I just love finding a new favorite recipe because, first and foremost, I get to enjoy a fresh new (and now favorite) dish but also because it justifies my huge “recipes to try” collection. I recently reorganized my “recipes to try” collection which began in elementary school as a few slips of paper in an old school folder  but it has grown and morphed into a bulging 13 pocket accordion folder monstrosity . But I really do try these recipes and, as I go, they either end up in my “keeping” binder or in the garbage; and lately I’ve been hearing a lot of “That’s my favorite!” and “That’s the best ever!” so I think I’m on to something.

Here’s a few things we keep coming back to as of late:

Cheesy popcorn- aka homemade smart food. I love cheesy popcorn and it’s as simple as sprinkling Parmesan cheese on your (buttered) popcorn. Who knew?!

Roasted Cumin Lime  Carrots – I found these through pinterest (imagine that!) I didn’t have the mint/green onion garnish so I left it out and I used maple syrup for the sweetener. I also used my preserved limes instead of fresh- worked great!

Quinoa- I know I’m like the last person to try it- can’t believe I’ve been missing out. It cooks so fast, it’s gluten free and reminds me of couscous.What’s not to love?!

Roasted Rabbit- from over at Real Food Freaks. This is my new favorite way to have rabbit! I used less oil and preserved lemons instead of white wine. Oh my did it smell good while baking and tasting it didn’t disappoint.

This was one of our meat rabbits. It was fresh; I soaked it in cold salted water for a few hours before baking.I recommend the salt water soak as it tastes better and the color is better too. And speaking of game we’ve been eating a lot of

Venison too. We got lucky with the tenderest deer ever. I’ve been coating venison tenderloins and butterfly chops with seasoned cornstarch and frying them in butter in my cast iron skillet. Then I transfer them to the oven till they’re done on the inside and they’re crispy and brown on the outside. I can’t keep up with demand!

And then there’s the

Rose hip Tart – I made this one up as I had several jars of rose hip jam I made from rose hips and apples I gathered at the beach. I hadn’t cooked the pectin quite down enough so it was more saucy than jammy. Somehow tarts came to mind as a way to use them up. I used pecan flour for the crust, blind baked it; and I threw in a piece of preserved meyer lemon into the rose hip filling. Oh so good, the lemon goes so well with the slightly herbal rose hips. I wish I had more jars of saucy jam!

And we made our favorite soap

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Probiotics:: Chips and Dip

When I hear “probiotics” the first food I think of is yogurt. While it’s probably the most widely available it’s in no way the only probiotic food out there. Indeed, with the right ingredients the sky is the limit.

My favorite way(s) to add probiotics to my diet is through cultured dairy (yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream,butter, cheese, kefir….) and probiotic laced condiments (salsa, guacamole,mayo…). How convenient then that by saving the whey from the cultured dairy- or using some preserved lemon juice- you can make you own cultured condiments. For instance take guacamole- simply mash the avocado with a small amount of whey or preserved lemon juice (adding whatever other flavorings you’d like) and eat -or let sit at room temp for a few hours to let the cultures have time to multiply. That’s it.

Recently I experimented with making my own corn tortillas from masa harina. They were tasty- but not very pretty. I took the left over tortillas, ripped them into “chips” and fried them in leftover bacon drippings- oh so good!

For a snack I put together some guacamole (using the preserved lemon juice method above), a little sour cream, and salsa. To culture the salsa I drained a little juice off and replaced it with some whey.

Delicious, filling and full of probiotics!

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Cooking from Nourishing Traditions :: Chicken with Cream Sauce

As you might know, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon is more than just a cookbook. All too often I open up my copy of NT with the intent of perusing the recipes; instead I find myself reading the articles. I’ve learned a lot but I’ve found that I haven’t made that many of the recipes from Nourishing Traditions. So, starting with this post, I will (try to) regularly make a recipe from NT and post my results. Today’s  post will be from the poultry section (page 281): Chicken with Cream Sauce, a variation on Basic Baked Chicken.

Now the original recipe calls for one chicken cut in pieces, brushed with

• 2 Tlb Dijon mustard
• 2 Tlb melted butter (or oil)              – mix these three together
• 1 Tlb dried tarragon

and baked. However, in an effort to speed things along and lessen the number of pans to wash I opted to use boneless chicken breasts, sliced then brushed and sauteed. This time around I also added in some chopped mushrooms to saute. Once the chicken is cooked either put it aside while making the sauce or cook the chicken a bit less and finish cooking it while the sauce reduces.

The sauce:

• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup piima cream or creme fraiche or sour cream
• 1 Tlb gelatin (optional)
• salt and pepper

Mix the above together, stirring to incorporate any drippings. Cook till the sauce has thickened. If you put the chicken aside add it back in and make sure it’s hot then serve. I think it goes well with egg noodles or over rice.

I’ve made this 2 or 3 times now. This last time I didn’t have any dry white wine on hand so I used the juice from the preserved lemons to taste and left out the additional salt.

I like this recipe more than I thought I would. It’s a delicate lightly creamy sauce, a touch sweet from the tarragon yet balanced just enough by the mustard. I love the sauce over rice. So creamy -almost risotto-y. I liked the addition of mushrooms as well. My 4 and 2 year olds like it but the husband not so much- he’s not really a light slightly sweet creamy sauce kind of guy.

I really recommend going stove top on this recipe. NT calls for a 2 hour baking time for the chicken before making the sauce, using sliced boneless breasts (and my pressure cooker to make the rice in 10 mins) this meal is an easy 30 min meal.

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Using Preserved Lemons

Ummm..opening a jar of preserved lemons….

I’ve been loving having these on hand! And, as soon as I can, I’m preserving some limes.  The fruit and the juice is so versatile and -added bonus-, as long as you don’t heat it, they are an easy way to incorporate  fermented goodness into your diet.

I’ve experimented a little since making the preserved lemons in this post. Most frequently I use some of the juice instead of fresh or bottled lemon juice- adjusting for salt. Some examples are salad dressing, dips, aioli, guacamole, really anytime the recipe calls for a little lemon juice. When preparing a dish where everything is getting blended smooth anyways- like hummus or baba ghanoush a small piece of lemon (peel and all) can be blended right in.

The peel is really just bursting with flavor. I used it several times in place of zest including twice while making muffins-once in the muffins; it worked out great. And I also tried it out in the sugar and zest topping. To replace the zest I minced up the peel very fine then mixed it in the sugar. This was baked on to form a crunchy lemony sweet top. It worked, however there was a slight hint saltiness occasionally. I’d say preserved lemons work great for baking but stick to using them where the recipe also calls for salt.

Use the peel, the juice or a paste (blend some preserved lemons smooth-watch out for seeds) to flavor veggies (potatoes, summer squash, spinach..), sauces, seafood (i.e. scallops sauteed with bits of lemon or baked with lemon juice, garlic etc ) or chicken- like in this marinade:

It’s a simple marinade: chopped preserved lemons in olive oil with a bit of garlic, a sprig of rosemary (chopped), a bit of black pepper.

Let sit for at least several hours, turning occasionally.

Then bake or grill till done.

5 minutes out of the oven and this is the only one left for a photo.

So there are some ways to use preserved lemons. I’m planning on using the limes similarly and especially with Mexican and Thai flavored meals.

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