Smothered pork chops with mushrooms
dinner, food, gluten free, pork, tasty tuesdays
27th Oct 2009
No Comments »
Smothered pork chops
I made these amazing smothered pork chops for dinner on Sunday – they turned out great. The recipe comes from the final issue of Gourmet Magazine (rest in peace). The sad thing about this magazine’s departure is that it always delivered such great recipes and beautiful food photography right to my mailbox. And even though it’s not environmentally friendly, and it’s certainly easy to look up thousands of recipes all over the internet, there’s something so nice about the tangible nature of having printed material in bold, beautiful colors in front of you.
This recipe was in the quick kitchen section – the prep was pretty fast, the full cooking time took a little while, but you could easily do other things in the kitchen while they finished cooking.
Also, this recipe calls for flour, so of course I had to substitute – I used chickpea flour and it worked just fine.
Smothered pork chops with mushrooms
serves 4
active time: 15 minutes, start to finish: 55 min
2 lb bone-in pork shoulder chops
1/3 cup all-purpose flour – for gluten free, try chickpea flour
3 Tbsp oil, divided
1/2 lb fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced (I used button mushrooms)
1 tsp chopped rosemary
1 cup water
Smothered pork chops in the pan
Pat chops dry and season with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper, then dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a 12-inch skillet (preferably deep) over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown chops in 2 batches, turning once, 3 to 4 minutes total per batch. Transfer to a plate.
Add remaining 2 Tbsp oil to skillet and cook onion and mushrooms with rosemary and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 7 minutes. Return chops and any meat juices from plate to skillet. Add water and simmer, covered, until chops are tender, about 30 minutes.
Pumpkin with balsamic and rosemary
food, gluten free, recipes, side dishes, tasty tuesdays
20th Oct 2009
No Comments »
Kabocha pumpkin with rosemary and balsamic
I made this dish a couple of nights ago, and it turned out deliciously good. For pumpkin, I recommend using a Kabocha pumpkin – you should be able to find one in the farmer’s market pretty easily since this is definitely the season for them. If you have fresh rosemary growing in your window box, definitely use it – I didn’t, but substituted dry rosemary. I think I would have soaked it first so that the rosemary leaves weren’t so hard and pine-needly. (Photo coming soon)
Ingredients:
1 lb pumpkin, peeled, seeded and sliced into wedges
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
A few sprigs of rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute the pumpkin slices in olive oil for 5-10 minutes until tender. If it’s not tender after this amount of time, add water, cover and steam for 5 minutes.
Remove pumpkin from pan, reserving water. Add in balsamic vinegar and rosemary and let simmer and reduce to 2-3 Tbsp.
Plate the pumpkin and pour balsamic rosemary sauce over it. Salt and pepper to taste.
Miso Soup
food, soups and stews, tasty tuesdays
13th Oct 2009
No Comments »
Miso soup is a simple, warming dish, perfect for fall. Adding sea vegetables (kelp) gives you extra minerals and can support healthy thyroid functioning. I found this recipe on the Girly Girl Army site. Warning: Never boil miso soup – it ruins some of its healthy properties and changes the flavor of the soup!
Ingredients:
1 block tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 scallion (green onion), chopped
3 cups dashi (dried kelp is best) soup stock (available at any health food/ Japanese food store)
3-4 tablespoons miso paste (available at any health food/ Japanese food store)
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil (optional)
Instructions:
Pour the dashi soup into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Toss in tofu cubes, then lower to low heat and let the tofu simmer for a few minutes. Take dashi stock and combine with miso paste in separate bowl. Stir until Miso is dissolved entirely then bring whole mixture into the saucepan. Turn off the heat now and add in the scallion. Add sesame oil.
Braised cabbage
gluten free, tasty tuesdays
6th Oct 2009
No Comments »
Cabbage is a wonderful cold-weather vegetable. High in antioxidants and fiber, it is know to be cleansing and great for the digestive system. Cabbage is great for the digestive system; raw cabbage juice is known to help heal ulcers.
This simple dish is nice during the cooler days in fall and spring. The heat and moistness of it will help keep you warm:
Ingredients:
- 4-5 cups cabbage, cut into thin slices
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup onion, sliced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- Spices of your choice – I recommend turmeric, mustard seeds, caraway, curry
- ½ cup vegetable or chicken broth
Heat oil in a pan. Add in spices and heat for a few minutes. When spices become fragrant, add onion and garlic. Saute until warm and softer, making sure not to burn the vegetables. Add cabbage and sauté for a few minutes. Add broth and cover tightly with a lid. On medium heat, let simmer for about 5 minutes. Lift the lid and check – if the cabbage is soft, remove the lid and allow some of the liquid to evaporate. Salt and pepper to taste and serve
Healthy stir-fried chicken
chicken, dinner, gluten free, tasty tuesdays, Uncategorized
29th Sep 2009
No Comments »
Stir fried chicken
If you plan ahead, weeknight dinners can be simple and delicious. We cooked the brown rice a couple of days ahead of time so we didn’t have to worry about preparing it – just reheat and eat. Stir-fried chicken is a simple, healthy dish. What takes the longest is cutting up all of the vegetables. split that with someone and prep of this dish will be 30 minutes or less.
Ingredients:
4-5 cups chopped vegetables – we used cabbage, onions, peppers, celery (but use whatever you want)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, chopped fine
Sauce
4 tablespoons tamari (it’s wheat free)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 heaping teaspoon corn starch (get a high-quality brand)
Mix and set aside
Heat a little oil in a wok on very high heat. Make sure the pan is super hot before you start cooking anything – the oil should look like it’s going to burn. Add the chicken and saute until it’s mostly cooked. Remove from the pan. Add in the vegetables and saute until cooked. Add the sauce and stir frequently. Near the end, add in the chicken to finish cooking. Serve immediately with brown rice.
Raw carrot salad
food, salads, snacks, tasty tuesdays
22nd Sep 2009
No Comments »
If you’ve ever gone to a Korean restaurant, you’ll know that before they serve the meal, the server usually brings an assortment of little tastes called banchan. These tastes are served with rice and usually consist of things like pickled vegetables, dried tiny fish, braised tofu, and of course, kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage). I’ve gone to places in New York City where they serve some weird ones – I got a potato salad once.
I made this raw carrot salad with banchan in mind. I imagined it as a condiment to sit next to a bunch of other dishes. I used a grater to shred it, which helps change the texture from hard and crunchy to crispy. This salad took me about 5 minutes to prepare – it’s raw, light and delicious.
- 2 carrots
- 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- Pinch of sesame seeds
- Sprinkle of seaweed granules or sea salt
Shred your carrots and place in a jar. Add rest of ingredients. Cover tightly with a lid and shake. Serve and enjoy!
Want to try more raw goodies? Come to my in-person Raw Food Class!
Date for the class is now October 6 – and there *will* be raw chocolate too – sign up here
How to cook with intuition
food, tasty tuesdays
15th Sep 2009
No Comments »
Food does not have to be complicated to be delicious. Some of the best dishes I have ever made I invented on the spot without a recipe.
Have you ever cooked a dish on a feeling instead of a recipe? This works best if you can drop your fears of making a bad dish and be willing to experiment.
First, get still. Breathe deeply for a couple of minutes and find your center.
Then ask – What do I want to eat? You may come up with a particular food or a flavor. Think about this for a little while. Imagine the flavors of the dish – what spices and ingredients do you think make it taste so good?
Pick out the flavors that go together – for example:
Italian food: choose oregano, basil, parsley, garlic
Indian food: cumin, coriander, mustard seed, turmeric
Caribbean food: all spice, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, hot pepper
Mexican: Mexican oregano, chilis, cilantro, lime, epazote
Chinese: soy, ginger, garlic
Find whatever ingredients you have on hand that you think will go great with your dish. Don’t be afraid to go “fusion” – i.e., use non-traditional ingredients in your dish. I made a “pasta” dish a while ago with rice noodles instead of durum wheat – it turned out great.
Have fun! See what you can create.
Delicious dill pickles
tasty tuesdays
8th Sep 2009
No Comments »
Cucumbers getting ready for pickling
I love pickles, but I never knew how great they could be until we started making them at home. Here’s a recipe that we made over the holiday weekend. I’ll have to let you know how they turned out in a couple of weeks – they’re still sitting on the counter curing and getting ready to become part of our delicious life.
This recipe is from Nourishing Traditions
4-5 Pickling cucumbers or 15-20 gherkins
1 Tablespoon mustard seed
2 Tablespoons fresh dill, snipped
1 Tablespoon sea salt
4 Tablespoons whey (if not available, use an additional 1 tablespoon salt)
1 Cup filtered water
Dill Pickles
Wash cucumbers well and place in a quart-sized, wide mouth mason jar. Combine remaning ingredients and pour over cucumbers. The top of the liquid should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.
About these pickles:
Lacto-fermented cucumbers and cornichons (small cucumbers) are very refreshing and far less acid than pickles conserved in vinegar – one never grows tired of them. A 1999 study published in The Lancet found that consumption of lacto-fermented vegetables was positively associated with low rates of asthma, skin problems, and autoimmune disorders in Swedish children attending a Waldorf school.
Summer tomato salad
salads, tasty tuesdays
1st Sep 2009
No Comments »
homegrown summer tomato salad
I made this salad last night from the tomatoes and basil that we grew in our patio garden this summer. While we didn’t have a huge yield in tomatoes, it was nice to have a few – many other places in our region lost their tomatoes to the blight.
This salad has two varieties in it – an heirloom yellow and patio red – a plant that is a smaller variety that grows well in small spaces. Make sure to use oil with this salad so that you will get the maximum value of nutrients from the tomatoes – see this article on Dr. Mercola’s website.
This is a simple salad that is little more than washing and chopping, but it is very flavorful. Enjoy it!
5-6 small tomatoes
handful of fresh basil leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt
grind of pepper
Wash and slice the tomatoes into wedges. Wash and dry the basil and tear into smaller pieces. Combine with minced garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Serve immediately and enjoy.
Peach and blueberry glace pie
desserts, food, gluten free, tasty tuesdays
25th Aug 2009
No Comments »
I made this very delicious pie the other day, but unfortunately I didn’t get to take a photo – guess I will have to make it again.
Peach and blueberry pie with nut crust
Crust:
2 cups walnuts, almonds or pecans
1 1/2 Tbsp agave nectar
2 slightly beaten egg whites
Place nuts in a blender container or food processor bowl. Cover and blend or process till nuts are finely ground. Stir together nuts, agave, and egg whites. Using a spatula, press mixture onto bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until crust appears dry. Cool on a wire rack before filling.
Filling:
4 cups peaches, sliced
1 cup wild blueberries
1/3 cup agave syrup
2 Tbsp corn starch
In a blender container or food processor bowl, combine 1 cup of fruit and 1/3 cup water. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Add enough additional water to the mixture to equal 1 1/2 cups. In a medium saucepan, combine agave and cornstarch and stir in blended fruit mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat til mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Then cool for 10 minutes without stirring.
Spread about 1/4 cup of the glaze over the bottom and sides of the crust. Arrange half of the fruit in the crust.
Carefully spoon 1/2 of the remaining glaze over fruit, thoroughly covering each piece of fruit. Arrange remaining fruit over layer and spoon remaining glaze over second layer of fruit. Chill for 1 to 2 hours. Serves 8
Designed by 