Breakfast rice bowl with Fancy Eggs

I guess I am posting more frequently now because, well, coronavirus. I feel entertained to chronicle these times via some meals. Also, it seems a mostly enjoyable quirk of my personality to menu plan, ration a bit, and see how to eat up everything with the least amount of shopping trips - is at peak utility* in these times! 😂 And since I am reaching the end of some fresh (less long-lived) produce, forthcoming recipes will primarily be composed of cabbage, carrots, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and any remaining stuff in the freezer.

*The time where this skill was was less fun, but also of peak use, was when I was co-caretaking a rustic hideaway (with a few guests) on a remote island in Norway for two weeks and the previous caretaker paid no heed to food going bad or using things up. MANY nights I labored over what needed to be eaten before it went bad without needing to order more food, and thought up new recipes to make with things like a surplus of cod, red peppers, cucumbers and sour cream. It's like I went into survival mode of the pantry (even though it wasn't even my money I was spending!!)

So. Today's breakfast was rice, Japanese-inspired scrambled eggs, avocado, kimchi, and nori. It was SO good, partly because rice is delicious and I don't eat it that often and it felt novel. Also, I hadn't had nori in a long time, but remembered a package that has been in my cupboard for months. Or a year? Nori on these eggs - yum.

This is less a recipe and more a guide or inspiration. Even just rice and these eggs would be good (I saw a recipe for something similar recently in Bon Appetit or Saveur, but now I cannot seem to find it) which is what made me think of making this today.

Fancy Eggs
2-3 eggs
2 tsp rice vinegar
1-2 tsp tamari
pinch of stevia (or 1 tsp sugar or sweet something)
1 T butter for skillet
1 sheet Nori, cut up into strips

1. Mix your ingredients other than butter in a bowl.
2. Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet. When it is melted and hot, pour in your eggs. Allow the eggs to fry in the butter around the edges, and stir gently. I think these are best eaten when they are still soft, and not overly cooked. Salt as needed.
3. Sprinkle nori strips over the top.

Serve atop freshly cooked rice and any sides - I had avocado and kimchi with mine. I also added some spinach to my eggs (I sliced a handful and added it right after pouring in the eggs).

Curry Sardine (or tuna) Salad

It was 60 degrees out today! When I was out on my walk I laid on the golf course and felt like I was getting a hug from the new green grasses that are coming up in that weird-golf-course-grass kind of way. Oh sweet spring! The nice weather inspired me to make a "warm weather dinner," aka: cold dinner.

I made this up and it was delicious. It is a convenient meal with stuff you might have around. Don't sweat it if you don't have red pepper or parsley; it will still be good. I don't buy tuna anymore because I feel better about eating smaller fish. Tuna are over-fished, and smaller fish have less mercury and other heavy metals in them. I most often buy sardines that have skins and bones in them (that is all good for you!), but I had a few tins without, which I used this time for a smoother/less crunchy salad. You can pick your preference.

Curry Sardine Salad
1 tin sardines in olive oil
1/4 c (homemade) mayo (or a little more)
squirt of dijon mustard
2 T minced red onion
1 celery rib, diced small
2-3 T red pepper, diced small
2 T chopped fresh parsley
1+ tsp curry powder (to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
handful of almonds, chopped
*raisins or currents would also be good in here if you like that kind of thing
**I also put in some sauerkraut and a squeeze of lemon

Mix all ingredients together. Serve with salad greens, toast, crackers, etc. Yum.
(To get fancy, which I did, toast your almonds prior to chopping over med heat in a heavy skillet.)

GF blueberry corn pancakes

The inspiration for pancakes this morning was two aging bananas that I wanted to use up. I was going to use all almond flour, but then decided to swap in corn flour for half of it. They turned out well, especially fluffy and thick from whipping up the egg whites. (I think they would also be fine to skip the whipping of the egg whites.) They were delicious with butter, maple syrup, and some tahini on top. (I mean, what isn't really?) And with bacon. Yum. I made a full batch and froze half for them for another day.

Today, in honor of Minnesota's shelter in place mandate:

Blueberry Corn Pancakes (serves 2)
4 large Eggs (separated)
2 medium ripe Bananas
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
3/4 cup corn/masa flour
1 tsp baking powder
(opt) blueberries

1. Whisk egg yolks, bananas, almond and corn flour, and baking powder together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl using a hand or standing mixer, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form, 2-4 minutes.

2. Gently fold whipped egg whites into batter until evenly combined.

3. Melt coconut oil or butter in a cast iron skillet on medium-low heat. Pour about 1/4-cup pancake batter onto the pan, spreading it out evenly. Add your blueberries; cook until both sides are lightly golden.

Update: I made a blend of tahini, coconut milk, and a bit of maple syrup to make a pancake topping, which I combined with some shredded apples for my (leftover) pancakes. It was like a less-sweet halva, with fresh, tart apple bits in there. Yum!

 

Shepherd's Pie (paleo)

I have made shepherd's pie before - I just checked, and I posted a recipe in 2012. Maybe this one is similar?! Global pandemics call for comfort food, which for me today is mashed cauliflower baked on top of meat and veggies. Is this a casserole? I think so. I made it while sipping on a whiskey ginger and listening to Mehdi Hasan and Jeremy Scahill, who feel like people of great sanity amidst some perplexing (at best) and horrifying (at worst?) responses to the changing world, capitalism, and coronavirus. I also listened to my friend's most recent recording (just released last week) of traditional choral world music, for a respite from politics. Which was very satisfying.

The highlight of this shepherd's pie recipe is the inclusion of mustard in the topping. Yum!!! This is an excellent addition that I will now implement in my mashed cauliflower going forward.

Cauliflower topping
1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tbsp ghee or butter
1 tsp spicy mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley, to garnish

Meat/Veggie mix
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup chicken or beef broth
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Place a couple inches of water in a large pot. Once the water is boiling, place steamer insert and then cauliflower florets into the pot and cover. Steam for 12-14 minutes, until tender. Drain and return cauliflower to the pot.
2. Add the ghee/butter, mustard, salt, and pepper to the cauliflower. Using an immersion blender or food processor, combine the ingredients until smooth.
3. Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Add in the ground beef and cook until browned.
4. Stir the tomato paste, chicken broth, and remaining spices into the meat mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Spread the pureed cauliflower on top of the meat/veggie mix. Place under the broiler for 5-7 minutes until the top turns golden. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.
(You could also, as the original recipe suggests, transfer everything to ramekins. I did not do this b/c it seemed fussy.)

Peruvian Heart Kebabs

Well, the world has changed since I last posted - so much is different in the space of a week. I went grocery shopping for the first time in a week and a half on Tuesday, and was able to get much of what I was looking for. I was hoping to get chicken liver because I really like liver, and because it is so nutritionally great, and cheap, but there was none to be had. Most of the meat was cleared out, but there was some beef heart, which I decided to get in lieu of the liver. Some posts online seemed to suggest that beef heart has a gamey flavor; I did not find that at all. I thought it was mild, not dissimilar from beef, but a different texture. This recipe from Odd Bits was quite good, and required things I had (unlike the Moroccan style Braised Heart recipe that looked delicious and included ingredients I did not). Well, mostly things I had. I improvised the recipe some, though am typing it below in it's original form.

I did not have any kebab skewers, and after checking all of my kitchen drawers and the garage for metal objects I might use instead, I decided to put all of the heart pieces on a metal rack. I felt excited to use my wood stove as a grill, something I used to do regularly at the Northside homestead, but have not tried yet in my own stove. It worked great - the metal rack was just right, if a little fussy to turn all of the meat pieces over. This would have been delicious with chimichurri sauce, which I thought I had in the freezer from last summer, but I must have eaten. Alas. It was still good without.

Peruvian Heart Kebabs
1 lb trimmed beef heart
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
2 serrano chiles, stems removed
1 clove garlic, germ removed
3 T red wine vinegar
1 T olive oil

1) Cut the hearts into 3/4" cubes and place in a bowl.
2) Toast the cumin seed in a small frying pan until fragrant, about 1 min. Place in a grinder with the sea salt and peppercorns, and grind. Add the chiles and garlic and grind again, then transfer the mixture to a small bowl and whisk in the vinegar and olive oil.
3) Pour the mixture over the heart pieces in the bowl and toss to coat, then cover and refrigerate 24 hours.
4) Preheat the grill to high. Thread the heart pieces onto 8-10 wooden or metal skewers and grill over high heat for about 4 minutes total, turning once.

Teff sourdough pizza

I experimented with my teff sourdough bread recipe to make a pizza crust, and it turned out great. I went for thinner crust, but left a little extra around the edge so that it was still chewy. It held together easily and got crispy, all while keeping a subtle teff flavor. My only adjustment to the bread recipe is that I added more oil and made it drier/more-stiff (ie: added more flour).

I made this pizza to have with friends, though information I understand now clarifies that meals with friends (indeed friends visiting each other's homes) is not enough social distance, so this was the last in-person social time I suspect I will have in awhile. We ate pizza and also did a reading of Jen Silverman's The Moors, and though we read this in the same room, play readings would make an excellent activity to conduct via zoom or your video-chat option of choice; you just need to scan/disseminate scripts ahead of time!

Teff sourdough pizza crust: makes 1 thin 10" pizza crust
1 cup gluten-free sourdough starter
2 Tbsp warm water
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp maple syrup, honey, or coconut sugar
1 Tbsp ground chia seeds
1 Tbsp whole psyllium husks
1/2 - 1 cup teff flour (or any combination of whole grain gluten-free flours)
1 Tbsp arrowroot powder (or tapioca flour)

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place starter in large mixing bowl. Whisk in the liquids and salt (warm water, salt, olive oil, maple syrup/honey).
2) Next, whisk in the ground chia and psyllium husks.
3) Add the flours (Avoid letting the mixture sit more than a minute or two, as the chia and psyllium start bulking the dough up quickly!)
4) Mix them all together with a strong large spoon until dough is thick and dough like/ Unlike the bread recipe, it will not drip off your spoon. 
5) Spread the dough into a circle on a parchment covered cookie sheet. I wet my hands with water and smoothed the "dough" out, pressing gently. The chia seeds make the dough almost gelatinous, it's a different texture, and sticks together pretty well even when pressing quite thin.
6) Pre-bake for about 20-25 minutes. The crust will get nice and firm, and is also pretty flexible. I baked the crusts at different times and for different times - it is quite flexible.
7) Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack if you have one. I had time and so made these crusts early, but you could also just pile on your toppings and then bake right away. I suspect these would be easy to freeze at this stage, but I have not tried that yet.

The best pizza of the evening, I thought, was a pesto, sausage, green pepper, spinach, roasted tomato, olive pizza. Really, it got all of the toppings! When you do your final pizza bake, have high heat (450 degrees) and bake just until your toppings are melty and cooked, 5-10 minutes.

Thai Beef Bowl

It's spring! At least for the day. I made a dish that is very similar to my fave end-of-summer dish, Hmong Larb Salad, except this one has (thai) basil rather than cilantro and mint. I loaded my bowl with rice and carrots (using a peeler) and cucumbers (julienne cut), along with the beef mix. It was easy to make, and also perfect on this sunny, 60 degree, late afternoon. I'm getting to the end of my garden carrots, and these cukes are local, hydroponic ones from the co-op.

The original recipe is linked in the title - I changed it only slightly.

Thai Beef Bowl
1 tablespoon coconut oil/ghee
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
2 fresh Thai red chiles, seeds removed and finely chopped
1 pound grass-fed ground beef
2 T tamari
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons lime juice
red pepper flakes, to taste
sea salt, to taste
¼ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced or roughly chopped (Thai basil, preferred)
*carrots/cucumbers/scallions/rice/cauliflower rice/zucchini noodles for serving

1) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots to the hot pan, stir constantly and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the garlic, ginger and red chiles, cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2) Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks.
3) Add the coconut aminos, fish sauce, lime juice and pepper flakes and stir until well combined, allowing to simmer until it reduces slightly, about 3 minutes.
4) Turn off the heat and stir in the chopped fresh basil.
5) Serve immediately over rice, cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles, fresh carrot, cucumber, and scallions.

Ethiopian spiced liver

I wanted to make liver for dinner, and decided to prepare it like I would Ethiopian tibs (my version, taught me by my friend, apparently they vary), which involves small, diced pieces of beef that are cooked well in spiced butter, with onions and jalapenos and spices. The beef pieces get all nice and charred and chewy. There is a common Ethiopian liver dish called dulet, which I have had once before, served mixed with (raw or cooked) beef in spiced butter and with mitmita spice, and (sometimes? always?) with tripe. This is not that. This is just regular cooked chicken liver, with Ethiopian spices.

It turned out amazing! I made it with some charred onions and peppers, and had Tikel Gomen, my go-to cabbage dish, along-side. Yum. I didn't actually measure out the spices, so this is my estimate. I like my chicken liver cooked sort of medium: browned on the outside, but soft and pinkish in the middle. That is what I did here, and all the spices fried up in the butter and made great little flavor bits.

Ethiopian Spiced Liver
glug of ghee/butter/olive oil
1 red onion, roughly chopped in wedges
1 green pepper, roughly chopped
1 lb chicken livers
1 T Ethiopian cardamom*
1/4 tsp mitmita spice (or less as preferred; it's spicy)
2 T niter kibbeh (spiced ghee)
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 small jalepeno, diced small
*Ethiopian cardamom is more coarsely ground, and is also called "false cardamom" or "Korarima." It is a black cardamom from the ginger family, not the smaller green pods of Indian cardamom. I have a supply of the stuff from Ethiopia, but you can also buy it at Shega Foods, along with mitmita spice mix, which is spicy! So use it mindfully. (One site I found says if you do not have Ethiopian false cardamom, use regular cardamom and add a touch of nutmeg, cloves, and black pepper.)

1) Heat regular butter/ghee or olive oil in a small/med cast iron pan on med-high heat. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes to soften and separate the wedges into pieces. Add green peppers and saute another couple of minutes. *I then put the pan under the broiler, stirring every so often to turn the veggies over and get an even better char. You could also continue on the stove.
2) Heat a medium-large cast iron pan on medium heat, and add the niter kibbeh. When it is melted, add the liver pieces in one layer. Brown on one side for 3-4 minutes, and then flip. They will likely spatter some, so I used a mesh grease guard thing. (Or you could do what I did not, which is to dry the liver pieces a bit so they are less wet.)
3) Sprinkle spices over all of the pieces of liver so each piece gets a bit of everything. Especially make sure to distribute the cardamom evenly. Add the jalapeno and fry it along with the liver.
4) Continue stirring several more minutes. You are cooking the liver so it gets browned and coated in spices and butter, flipping or stirring as needed until it is to your liking. Mine probably cook for a total of 7-8 minutes.

Serve the liver with the now charred onions and peppers, and any scraped up bits from the pan (primarily cardamom and spiced butter). This would all be tasty with injera too, if you have some on hand!