Coming backAs I sit here at my laptop, I think ... "How am I going to do this?" Where do I start? What am I going to talk about? HOW am I going to even begin writing about the journey that I have been on?
Countless times have I started typing and set aside a few words, a paragraph or two, or even a whole page. Though, I never did post. I didn't think I was ready. Thoughts, feelings, insights, etc... entries in my email or journal, in personal texts, on scraps of paper, or swimming in my mind. And I am finally deciding to bring it all together. To share my burdens, my joys, my strengths and weaknesses, my insights, ... my life; this blog is no longer just about food. And if there's an ear out there, I am blessed. And perhaps I can bring truth to your world, as God has brought it to mine. Truth. About our purpose here. Truth. About my struggles. Truth. About my joys. Truth. About health. Truth. About our world. There are so many lies we were born or taught into believing and their manifestations are far beyond UgLy. But when we learn the Truth, we can make the changes we need to be better for our Lord and Savior. The changes that perfect us and make us new. I am becoming new. It is no easy journey and I am certainly not through, but I will no longer let the waiting period dictate the postponement of sharing my story. And so let it begin. This is my story... |
"Food is an infinitely rich subject, and there's always something about it to understand better, something new to discover, a fresh source of interest, ideas, and delight." |
When deciding between different oils, you really have a lot of options to choose from: canola, corn, coconut, sunflower, avocado, olive, macadamia nut, vegetable, ghee… You just want to dress your salad, roast your beets, and sauté your fish! Is there an oil for that? Each oil has its own custom chemical properties and unique flavor profiles. The chemistry and even purity of the oil really makes a difference when you’re looking to buy. I will tell you right now that canola, corn, sunflower and vegetable oils (to name a few) are the cheapest that you can buy because they are just that: cheap and crappy. And just because the word is affiliated with what grows from the ground, does not make it healthy. These oils and very processed and cause a variety of problems. And even if you see “all natural” does not mean that it’s “all healthy”. The problem with the modern American diet is that we are constantly consuming processed foods. Think about it: any bread (pizza, sandwiches, pasta), snacks (chips, cookies, even nuts), drinks (Gatorade, energy drinks, “tea”), and even packaged fruit or fruit chips are processed (or have the potential to be). In effect, our omega 6: omega 3 fatty acid profile has been set off. We used to be at a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio, but now settle into (and above) a 6:1 ratio. We also see this in meat… Grains have a large part in this skewed ratio. And if our animals are eating grain, it skews their ratio. And guess who eats this meat? Yep. You, me, and the rest of the world. Cows should eat grass and chickens should eat free range (all the bugs!), but we’ve grown so much corn, we’ve had to figure out what to do with it all. Hence corn syrup, gasoline, and animal feed, to name a few. Our country is highly controlled by large farm corporations whose output of meat can feed a large percentage of the country. To do this, they need to fatten the animals faster, so to “bring them to market”. How do they do that? Corn. The length of time it takes to raise a cow fed grass or a chicken fed bugs and organic produce will not supply our growing population. So, we’ve solved the problem, right? Yes, we have enough food to supply our country. And now we have a health crisis. Again, think about all of the food you eat. Even look at ingredient labels and write down every ingredient that is in your meal and then think. Now, if, you have a very small list (and not because you’re eating just an apple for breakfast), then I applaud you. What we put into our body is, honestly, nature’s medicine. But only when done right. Much more on this later. For now, back to oils. And three specific oils that I like best: Avocado, coconut, and extra virgin olive oil. When looking for these oils, extra virgin or virgin, cold-pressed, unrefined, and organic are the best options. Pay close attention to an oil’s smoke point, because if your cooking temperatures exceed the smoke point, then the oil could become carcinogenic, due to a change in its chemical composition from too high of heat. Avocado oil is great for frying. It has a high smoke point (~500 F), which allows for great versatility in its use. It has a very light, mild flavor. There are a lot of monounsaturated fatty acids in avocado oil. I’ve found that when frying with this oil, my food gets a very nice brown and crispy texture. Coconut oil is also great for frying in. Though, this one is rather interesting. Its smoke point is 350 F and yet it is a saturated fatty acid oil. The reason that this is important is that saturated oils are much more stable than are unsaturated fatty acids. It is for this reason that I believe coconut oil to be a safe oil to fry in. Extra virgin olive oil has a deeper taste than avocado oil and a deeper color as well. It is best used for dipping sauces and salad dressings due to its low smoke point (~325 F). There are also a lot of monounsaturated fatty acids in extra virgin olive oil. It really is simply a finishing oil. Ghee is another fat that is great for frying in (smoke point around 485 F). It is best to purchase from a grass-fed, hormone and antibiotic free dairy farm, since toxins store best in the fat of the animal. Ghee is really just clarified butter, with the milk solids separated and the remaining fat left. Since the milk solids are removed, there are no proteins in the product (ghee). This makes ghee a great allergy-free option. There are many other oils that you can look into, but I find that these are the cheapest, yet high quality oils on the market. I’ve added a list of just a few uses for the aforementioned oils, if you are interested:
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Just when you think the paleo diet couldn’t be any more restrictive, something else pops up and it gets ‘worse’. Basically, for the past (almost) week, I’ve been on a no fruit/starch/any sugar diet as well. No mold-forming foods either. It certainly has made me lose some weight… not that I wanted to lose any.
Fortunately, my angst over the past year and a half (and even through my whole lifetime) now has an ending. Those visits to the many doctors who have stared at me and said either ‘nothing is wrong’ or ‘you’re just stressed’ or ‘I don’t know why this is happening’ or even ‘just go back on said medication’ are over. My countless hours stacked upon weeks of research have finally yielded me an answer. God has answered so many prayed requests. This problem no longer has a hold on me; it has lost its consuming power. Away with the anxiety, so long digestive issues, farewell hormone imbalances, adieu congested sinuses, and down with the other million negative things going on with my body. I’m sure you’re wondering how one thing could cause so many horrendous symptoms and what that one thing could be? It’s called Candida albicans. Actually, 70-80% of people have it in their bodies, but it remains mostly dormant. It affects your digestive, endocrine, and neurological systems and makes you look like a crazy person who just wants to feel normal. I believe I got it from my mom, on the day I was born into this world. You, too, likely got it, along with the other millions of bacteria to help you survive this world. A few years ago I had a flare up and had to go on a 6 week restricted diet with an anti-fungal. I thought that I had gotten rid of it, when in reality I only just abated the beast. Years later after some changes and actions that unknowingly stimulate yeast overgrowth, Candida has come back with a vengeance. But, it can no longer hide from me; it’s been discovered! And if it’s a battle it wants, it’s a battle it shall get. The Plan? Murder it. Every. Single. Cell. How? With a restricted diet, many natural anti-fungals /yeast killers, and being more conscientious about how I work my body. The Results? Initially? Candida die-off (fatigue, GI issues, headaches, pains, dizziness, etc). But, what would you expect when you’re trying to kill something that has lived inside of you for so long? And then a re-populating of that space with good bacteria. So, really, how am I doing this? I’ll take you step-by-step:
It certainly is not cheap, but with enough research, it can be done. I’ve already made lists of where to buy the cheapest items and how to make the more inexpensive products, without compromising quality. This encompasses Amazon, Jet.com, Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Wal-mart, and a few more. And, really, making my own body products and laundry detergent actually are cheaper than what I would buy in the store. If you’re trying to go all natural, do some research and make it yourself. Trust me. It may take some trial and error and even acclimation, but you’ll know everything ingredient inside that container. If you are even more curious about this or would like to give or receive pointers, please feel free to comment below or email me at [email protected]. I’ve done a lot of research on the gut and auto-immune diseases as well, so really, email me about anything you might like. I love to research. I was once told that you sometimes need to be your own advocate for your health, and she was right. And so it begins… Recipes and DIY links to come!! Note: The reason I'm sharing this is to bring awareness to other health issues that maybe even you or a friend are suffering from and how to combat them. Doctors tend to overlook the source of the issues, but instead throw medicine at us, to get us to feel better. Yeah, well it causes a number of other side effects. Problem not solved. Candida and the gut, in general, are topics that few doctors have knowledge of. Chris Kresser and Robb Wolf are two great men who talk lengths about diseases on their podcasts. If this is an area of research that interests you, I encourage you to take a look at their websites and tune in. There's so much to learn about our in world and with our bodies. And from what we learn, we profit. And when we share, others, too, profit. Research. It’s what I do. “Oh, I can’t eat A, B, C? Okay, then I’ll find a healthier, more flavorful alternative.” Hmm…Yucca, plantain, jicama ... Yes, a lot of these are better known roots internationally, but look at where I live (Orlando)! EVERYONE comes to live here or at least visit, which makes it a great market for great varieties of produce. And they’re super yummy anyway. I can’t tell you I’ve ever cooked with any of these, but that’s where the research, the fun, and the culinary experiments come into play. I’ve already played around with plantain. Ever heard of tostones? They are basically twice fried plantain. Though, there are two types of plantains: the green kind and the yellow. The green ones are purposed for tostones while the yellow ones are better served as plantanos maduros (or sweet plantains). So you get your pick: sweet or savory? For Tostones, here is what you need: Ingredients:
Directions:
Now if you’re like me, you LOVE saucy things. “Chicken with my alfredo please?” “Can I have an extra side of tomato sauce, just to drink?” “Where’s the ketchup and mustard?” Now for those health gurus out there, none of this is necessarily healthy. Alfredo = high fat milk and butter (with flour or a starch as a thickener), tomato sauce probably has sugar in it, and ketchup is a hot mess of corn syrup… Mustard is definitely my safest bet. ANYWAY. What does all of this have to do with tostones? SAUCE. A garlic and lemon mojo sauce. Mojo sauce Ingredients:
Directions:
*I roasted my garlic to get a better flavor profiled mojo sauce. If you choose that route, take a whole garlic head, remove the outer skin around the entire head (individual bulb skin is fine), pour over a tablespoon of olive oil and a dash of salt, wrap in aluminum foil, and roast for 30-45 minutes at 325 degrees. Blend and add to the ingredients above! I've been listening to more podcasts and the more I hear the more despaired I feel. The body is such a complex thing that it's hard to really hone in on one leading issue and its origin. Everything is so inter-related and what we eat may be affecting our health. Though only to a certain extent and sometimes you need other interventions. Travis and I have spent enough money trying to figure this out and, though we've gotten to a certain point, I am still not at all where I would like to be. It's really annoying sometimes and painful both physically, mentally, and spiritually. I wish I had the answers (don't we all?), but I do not. I hope that remaining on this diet will reveal something and many of which are good. ... Two days ago I had a hard day. I really wanted sugar and fruit and sweet potatoes were my only option. Yesterday morning I tried making a pancake, but did the "let's not follow a recipe" thing and ended up with sad mush. I tried to ameliorate it by adding spiced coconut milk and it worked, but only some. The problem is the lack of SUGAR. If I could add just a small amount of pure maple syrup or raw local honey, I would. Though, for a certain length of time, I am omitting any added sugars. Only fruits and cooked vegetables are my source of sugar. This helps curb that quick fix empty food ordeal: when you get a craving and you grab that 3 musketeers. It's just not an option. And that's what I keep telling myself: It's not an option. Think of someone who has a peanut allergy. Maybe they LOVE the taste of peanut butter, but it might put them into anaphylactic shock. Do they often entice their taste buds with the thought of eating it? No. Why would I do that to myself? It's just not an option and I move on. I have been venturing a little bit into the umami flavor category and right now a lot of it has to do with bone broth. I get sooo much out of this nice, big osso buco bone: broth, some meat/fat, and then fat that separates and is skimmed from the top (lard). And let’s not forget all of the nutrients that are cooked out of the bone, from the marrow. I use all but the lard for soups and when I want to fry something, I use the lard. There’s such a bad connotation with lard, but if it’s from the bone of a grass-fed, hormone free cow, there’s not much to be concerned about. Plus, it’s great for high heat cooking. With this homemade beef-based bouillon concoction, I’ve made many a soup. One was extra delicious and had organic carrots from the garden along with some herbs and spices. It was yummy yummy, delicious! I can’t wait to get more produce and another beef bone to whip up another several batches of soup. I do need to find more recipes, though. I really need to get creative. So here’s to looking forward to that in future posts! Oh yes. But not to lose weight, not because I'm crazy, and not because it's a thing to do (certainly not). But rather because I'm angry and I'm tired of feeling terrible. I need to feel better. Not so I can live a perfect life, but so that I can take care of others and serve them and love them well; I can’t do that very well when I am sick. I need to be great to my body, not even just good.
So this is the plan: go Paleo. For how long? Possibly forever. A few months ago I started researching this diet and autoimmune conditions and I felt compelled to pursue it. And so I did. I started to surround myself with people focused on good and natural living, podcasts related to health, and general information about natural living. Immersing myself in this type of environment has made it much easier to adapt to the paleo lifestyle. Why would I not want to eliminate added sugars, grains and legumes, and processed dairy? Why would I not want to eat more natural and organic produce, grass-fed meat and free range chicken, high protein seeds and nuts, etc? If I am good to my body, then I hope that it, too, will be good to me. Not only am I paying more attention to what I am putting inside my body, but also to what I am putting on my body. So my further life changes include going chemical free in my cleaning (thank you Mindy/Norwex!!) as well as chemical free and natural in my toiletries (yes, even toothpaste). Clean home, clean eating, clean body. I can't say any of this will make the changes that I so desperately need, but many doctors (natural and conventional), medications, and protocols later, I'm at my wits end. I have much information about allergies and blood levels (hormones, vitamins, minerals, etc) and have made some progress, so at least I’ve gained that. Though, what I really need to find is the right doctor and the money to proceed with even more testing and searching. What I sooo desire is to be normal again: to feel hungry before eating and then full after, but I do not. I want my lower GI to function properly, but it remains idle. I want this debilitating anxiety to go away, but it remains. I want my endocrine system to balance out (no hard breathing, no lethargy, no twitching, no pain, no dizziness, no, no, no!!). I want. I want. I want... I know that my desires may seem selfish and, in fact, they might be, but these are things I so desire… Isn’t there something that we all desire? After just six days of being on the Paleo diet, I’ve already learned so much. So much about food quality (grass-fed, organic, etc), paleo ‘cheats’ (paleo ranch dressing for example), autoimmune diseases, etc. A more personal thing that I have learned is that I have an idol. And that idol is food. I can't tell you how many hours I have spent on Pinterest thinking about “what I'm going to make for dinner tonight”. Or going to bed, thinking about what I'm going to eat the next breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and being excited for it. It's not a bad thing, but when one starts to spend countless hours thinking and researching food, it turns into an idol. I knew this to be true, I just choose not to believe it; but believing against something does not make it untrue. So far in this new, “crazy” adventure, I have made homemade toothpaste and body butter. I’ve learned that several toiletries can contain gluten (which has caused many issues for those allergic) as well as chemicals (duh). For instance, the glycerin in toothpaste can remain on your teeth for at least 30 days, inhibiting mineralization of your teeth. Whether or not this is true, I feel more comfort in creating my own product, knowing exactly what is in it as well as where each ingredient came from. Already I feel a difference in my teeth; much smoother post brushing. Does that mean fewer particles remain? Perhaps. The benefit of making your own natural products is that you actually save tons of money over purchasing natural products from the store (which sometimes are not as natural as advertized). You HAVE to do your research on this and there is sooo much interesting information. After all, it is relevant to your own body, so how can you not be interested? And with our health, we sometimes have to be our own advocate. I've learned this all too well by now. By the way, I am not here to push anyone toward this lifestyle, but I may recommend it to someone who may benefit from it (i.e. has an auto-immune disease, wants to lose weight, has bad heart health, etc). It can be costly, yes, but there are ways around that. These are some things that I do to cut costs:
#3 has been of great benefit to me in many ways, as working on a farm and in a garden has always been of my heart’s desire. And God has so richly blessed me in this way. It also really helps to have a support team and a supporting husband to walk with me along the way. If you ever DO think about “converting”, by the way, I can tell you that you don’t have to say farewell to crepes, bread, ranch dressing, mayo, ice-cream, etc. There are many recipes that utilize different, more wholesome and allergy-free ingredients. All of these can be found on Pinterest or you can even ask me for help! Below you’ll see some things that I’ve made (captions underneath). Please feel free to comment as you’d like! Ramen soup. The words that may remind you of college years: a time with little cash and cheap food. Fortunately, I never did go through that time of everyday mac n’ cheese and ramen soup, with the occasionally home-cooked meal upon visiting family (dining plan!). But in this post I am not talking about the pre-packaged fried noodles and pack of spices ramen. Rather, I am speaking about the authentic, Japanese bowl of hot ramen.
I had been talking this recipe up for months and just yesterday I spontaneously threw it all together and it was gooood (Travis can attest to this!) Months ago, I had purchased a pack of four squares of rice noodles and yesterday I finally dug into it and created something special. It was easy, really. I just could not go too traditional, with a pork bone or fish base broth. Just the same, I think mine with quite good. I started out boiling water on the stove. Waiting for this to boil, I started sautéing chopped mushrooms, water chestnuts, chopped (pre-cooked) ham, and green onions together. After about 7 minutes, I placed two sheets/squares of rice noodles inside the pot of boiling water and then through the vegetable mixture in as well. To taste, I added salt, pepper, garlic powder, a Kikkoman teriyaki sauce. Not much later had I divided the steamy pot of goodness into two white, porcelain bowls, atop which I added boiled and sliced egg, bean sprouts, and chopped green onions. The dish was spectacular. The creaminess from the egg in broth, the crunchiness from the water chestnuts, and the soupy noodles that dripped brothy goodness in transit to our palates… I will certainly be making more of this dish, yet a different version (with miso, seaweed, salmon, roe, and/or in a beef or fish-based broth… options are endless!) What will your toppings be? Long week of work, cooler day, enough time to cook a good meal. What should I make? Upon looking in my refrigerator I notice the large head of cauliflower that I bought just the other day. It shouldn't take too long to whip something up with that... Perfect! I'll cook that! It was actually during my lunch break this past Friday that I stumbled upon a recipe for cauliflower soup, posted from America's Test Kitchen. It is possibly the simplest cauliflower soup recipe that you may chance upon. What I like about ATK is that they bring science to the table, when it comes to cooking or baking or anything food, really. From this article I found, I learned that there is a science to cooking cauliflower! Cauliflower is part of the cabbage family (Cruciferae or Brassicaceae), and is known as a Cruciferous vegetable. In its raw form, cauliflower has several phytochemicals, which can make it difficult to consume for certain people. Cooking it, however, rids the plant of these compounds; this is where it gets fun. In preparing the cauliflower for soup, boiling it in water for 15 minutes causes carbon disulfide to dominate in flavor. This is the more sulfury flavor that we are all familiar with. After 30 minutes of boiling, this compound leaves, permitting other compounds to dominate, causing a more subtlely sweet flavor. After 60 minutes of boiling, these compounds also dissipate and the cauliflower is flavorless. You do not want to reach this step, otherwise you'll have to add several other ingredients to make the soup more palatable. The recipe below is gluten free and can easily be dairy free if you substitute oil, instead of using the butter. From the recipe that I received, here is what I did: (the one below includes my alterations) Ingredients - 1 head cauliflower, without leaves - 1 small onion (vidalia or spanish) - 4.5 cups water - 8 TBSP Butter - Sea salt - Freshly cracked pepper - 1/2 tsp Sherry or white wine vinegar Instructions 1. Sauté the sliced onion in 4 TBSP butter and 1 tsp salt until soft 2. Add half of the cauliflower and stem (both sliced) and 4.5 cups of water 3. Simmer for 15 minutes 4. Add the remaining cauliflower, while putting 1 cup raw small pieces to the side 5. Cook for another 15 minutes** **During this time, take the cup of raw cauliflower florets and sauté them in 4 TBSP butter, a pinch of salt, and the vinegar, until brown. 6. Place the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Salt to taste. 7. Serve the soup and garnish with freshly cracked pepper, some sautéed cauliflower, and some of the butter and sherry liquid. ENJOY! Note 1. You can add leeks to the soup, as was the original recipe, but this I did not have on hand. It may enhance the flavor. 2. I recommend serving with toasted multi-grain bread, but be sure to try the soup first with a clean palate, so you can catch its earthy flavors. For those of you who follow me only through my blog, yes, I am still alive and no, I have not given up on my blog. The past year has been very busy and many things have required much of my time and effort, thus preventing me from getting posts up. Though (and I hate to admit it) it's mostly been a health issue and resulting lack of inspiration and drive. Not too long ago Travis and I had friends over for dinner and I decided to go Hawaiian style on them, and it all stemmed from having ground turkey in the refrigerator. I initially wanted to make a tapas-style dinner, with several sharing plates, but then landed on this idea instead. Here was the spread: turkey meatballs in a sweet, Hawaiian sauce, pineapple coconut rice atop a bed of spinach, garnished with toasted coconut, cilantro & chives mix, and fresh squeezed lime juice, and homemade Hawaiian rolls. Our friends were clued in on the theme for dinner and enhanced the experience by bringing Hawaiian dessert: vanilla ice-cream, pineapple, banana, macadamia nuts, toasted coconut, (we added caramel too!), whipped cream, and a cute toothpick umbrella!! The meal was super fun and super delicious! We had leftovers so I ended up making... Hawaiian pancakes for breakfast! It was your typical pancake batter recipe with a very ripe banana mashed into it and coconut oil added. This really helped infuse the pancake with some good, natural flavors. Kind of like salting your pasta while boiling so it absorbs some of that salt and tastes better than just garnishing salt on top of it.... I decorated the pancakes with toasted coconut and macadamia nuts and encircled the pancake with sliced pineapple. Also very delicious and fun!
The rice dish was prepared by boiling wild rice and brown rice (separately because of different cooking times) in pineapple juice, coconut milk, and water. Toward the end of the cooking time, I added powdered garlic, onion, and ginger, crushed pineapple, and salt and pepper. Serving this dish with cilantro, chives, fresh lime juice, and toasted coconut added great flavor to the dish. The meatballs were made with garlic powder, onion powder, breadcrumbs, milk, and salt and were then baked until thoroughly cooked. The sauce was made with pineapple juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, and water. The recipe was found on pinterest, but the website has a bug in it, so I am not going to offer that to you. Apologies!! The Hawaiian rolls were super yummy to eat. They turned out looking like normal rolls, but tasted ohhhh sooo much better. This recipe was also from Pinterest and is called Aloha Bread. The recipe can be found atlovefoodies.com/aloha-bread.html. The dough was made first by activating yeast and adding eggs, pineapple juice, white sugar, vanilla extract, butter, flour, and salt. The vanilla and pineapple juice (in addition to the sugar, of course) made the bread stand out from any other breads I've ever eaten. Super soft and moist and freshly hot out from the oven. Even chilled and almost a week later these rolls were still very delicious. I highly recommend you to try this recipe!! I will admit during the process of making this I had a bit of trial and error as well as some testing. For instance, since I very seldom use yeast, I measured out enough yeast for the recipe twice and added each to their own individual bowl. I then added warm water to both, stirred one, and left the other 'stirred' by the water I had added. You want to stir the yeast delicately, but enough so that it does not have huge clumps, inside of which the water is not reaching; this is what my 'stirred by water' bowl looked like = garbage. My other bowl of lightly stirred yeast was blooming with activated yeast! So, naturally, I used this bowl. So that was my trial and error/success. My one-chance-better-work experiment was adding some wheat and white flour rather than just white flour, because I of my health nuttiness. I think this is what made them a bit more dense and just a tad bit crumbly. My mishap, on the other hand, had to do with the pineapple juice. I had one can of crushed pineapple (for the rice) and a can of pineapple in juice. I used up all of the juice in my rice dish and meatball recipe, but completely forgot to save some for the aloha bread! *DOY* I had no intentions of running out to the store and so improvised (in a sense)! I grabbed the pineapple that was leftover from the can, blitzed it, and strained it to try to extract a half cup of pineapple juice. Fortunately, there was enough run off of pineapple juice, that I was still able to make the bread! If you are ever hosting a dinner (or even if you're not!), place a theme on the meal and go have fun with it! If ingredients are expensive, look for a local international store where their items are cheaper than the typical grocery store. I've done that before and have made out pretty well. Go! Have an adventure :). What do Russia and Italy have in common? Well there are some political similarities and I'm sure some cultural similarities, but I'm here to talk about food. Specifically the kind that I've whipped up lately. Three dishes: Oladi, Pizza, and Chicken con Carciofo. Oladi are Russian kefir pancakes. Many of you may know about kefir (cultured sour milk) and some of you may not have access to this drink. If not, simply purchase buttermilk, as that is also cultured and sour. Oladi have a fluffier texture and tarter flavor than your typical pancake. I find that they are best made small and served with syrup, jam/preserves, or honey. There's no real secret or great complexity to the recipe:
My next dish is pizza! Now this is where you can get really creative and make unlimited combinations! I decided to make a half white, half wheat pizza dough with instant yeast. The yeast I had sit in warm water with honey (yeast feasts off of sugar) for at least 10 minutes and then added it to a white and wheat flour mixture (with salt and garlic powder to infuse the dough) until I thought the texture was dry enough; there was no recipe. The dough ended up chewy with a crusty exterior, so I'm going to give it an A!
The two cheese toppings were mozzarella and cheddar and the vegetable toppings were kalamata olives, black olives, and green peppers in a garlic tomato paste. The sauces were a bit more fun to create: garlic alfredo and creamy tomato with a splash of vodka. With both sauces, you start with a roux: a starch and a fat. In my case, I used flour (gluten as the binding agent) mixed into melted 1/2 oil, 1/2 butter. For the cream sauce, I added 2% milk, sauteed garlic, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and allowed to boil, then simmer, then sit off the heat to thicken. With the vodka sauce, I added vodka first to the roux to better cook off the alcohol and then added a few Tbsps of tomato paste, followed by 1/2 cup of cream and a bit of 2% milk. I treated it with some chili pepper, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and then boiled, simmered, and let it sit. They were both DELIZIOSO, as the Italians say it. And for my final piece... Something I like to call Chicken con Carciofo (Chicken with artichokes). This was literally something I just through together by shopping in my pantry and getting creative. The dish is simple: lay a few chicken breasts in a baking sheet, spread tomato paste on top of each, spread artichoke bruschetta over that, cover with a few garlic cloves, and spice it up with chili, garlic powder, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. And if you so dare (which you really should), add an Italian cheese blend with sharp Parmesan and Reggiano. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes. The chicken will sweat out some liquid and the cheese and tomato paste will brown (the BEST part)! Serve with whatever you'd like! The chicken should turn out juicy and mouth-watering delicious (see below) There you have it! And now I'm hungry ... off to make another creation! Actually, there's nothing floral about this soup... Flour? No, there's no flour in it either. And not only is it gluten free, but it is also dairy free. What kind of soup is it then? Creamy coco-nutty cauliflower soup. I cannot truly tell you how to make this to the teaspoon, but I can guide you along in assembling this creation... It all starts with roasting cauliflower in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper, at 425 for 30 or so minutes. You want it to get really soft and even a little dark brown, to add extra depth of flavor. While that is cooking away, you will also need to saute half of a medium onion and 4 cloves of garlic, all chopped finely. I sauteed these two allium vegetables (the family in which they reside) in coconut oil and then added my ingredients. And this is where it gets tricky... I added cumin, freshly ground coriander, roasted coriander, tumeric, 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar, a tad bit of ground red pepper, salt, and pepper to the garlic and onions to be sauteed together. I then removed this concoction from the heat and blitzed it in my food processor. It's okay if you still have small pieces; too smooth and it won't give you the texture that this dish so deserves. In the same pan (don't worry about washing it). add coconut milk, your cauliflower (once also processed in the food processor), beef stock, a bay leaf, and the garlic and onion spice mixture. Cook this on a medium heat and taste after 10 minutes to see if you need to add anymore spice. I personally added a small bit of cinnamon and a smaller bit of nutmeg to sweeten the dish and then a bit of lemon juice and pulp to add freshness. The bits of pulp are a nice surprise throughout the soup, so I encourage you to try it. Allow this mixture to simmer for 15-20 minutes while you roast chickpeas in coriander, salt, and olive oil. Allow them to brown a bit so that the exterior is harder and the interior is softer to the tooth. And now you are ready to assemble! Simply ladle the soup into a bowl and drop some chickpeas on the surface. Grab a spoon and eat up! But make sure to savor each bite and realize that a little goes a long way! |
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February 2017
"Food is an infinitely rich subject, and there's always something about it to understand better, something new to discover, a fresh source of interest, ideas, and delight."
From Pennsylvania to France to Washington DC to Florida, I've had myself many an adventure. Now it's time to indulge in the life of a Floridian. With great food, great friends, and great experiences, I offer you stories and pictures to take you away, into my world at Disney. Categories |