Okonomiyaki - Japanese Savory Pancakes with Nettles

I've been wanting to attempt Okonomiyaki for years, and finally decided to try a version from the Smitten Kitchen. I've never had Okonomiyaki before, and clearly this recipe is less traditional because they are small and less batter-y. She (the Smitten Kitchen blogger) calls them more latke-like. It was an easy recipe to make GF, and I found them quite tasty, especially with the tangy sauce and mayo. Yum. 

I gathered a bucket of nettles this week, so I added them along with the cabbage, carrot and scallions. I opted to steam them first because I wasn't sure if they would cook enough otherwise to eliminate the stinging edges. I also halved her recipe and that is what I list below. The first half of the batch I ate plain (with the sauce and mayo), and the next night I ate the leftovers with some bacon wrapped sardines. Yum! (They reheated really nicely on a baking sheet in the oven.)

Pancakes
1/4 small head cabbage, very thinly sliced (2-3 cups shreds) *I used a mandoline
2 medium carrots, peeled into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
1 c of loosely packed steamed nettles, chopped (after measuring, squeeze all the excess water out)
2 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 heaping cup gluten free flour (I used a gf blend, but oat flour or chickpea flour would work well)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Coconut oil or bacon grease for frying

Make the pancakes:
Toss cabbage, carrot, nettles, scallions and salt together in a large bowl. Toss mixture with flour so it coats all of the vegetables. (The nettles might clump a bit because they are wet and squished together from getting the water out. Separate them so they are mixed throughout the other veggies.) Stir in the eggs. Heat a large heavy skillet on medium-high heat. Coat the bottom with oil and heat that too.

I used my fingers to grab little piles of batter, depositing them on the skillet to form 3 to 4 pancakes. Press down gently with a spatula so they flatten slightly. Cook for 3 minutes, or until the edges brown. Flip the pancakes and cook them again until brown underneath. Keep them warm in a 250 degree oven until they are all cooked. (And again, these saved just fine in the fridge for me to reheat on a baking sheet later.)

Tangy Sauce
2 T ketchup
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (or sub fish sauce)
1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp tamari2 tsp honey
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until smooth and thick. (I think you can probably do this without cooking and it will be just fine! My ketchup was pretty thick, so I only simmered mine a couple of minutes, and it seemed unnecessary.)

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.

Blog return: GF Sunchoke latkes

I have made all kinds of interesting things lately, and decided to return to blog posting in order to have a recipe compilation location. And because it is fun!!

I harvested my sunchokes in May I think, and still have a drawer-full in my fridge that I am finally turning back to. There were so many other veggies there for awhile! Now, I am lamenting the end of my greens. I made these latkes this morning that were delicious: nutty from the sunchokes, with carrot and potato mixed in. I free-formed the recipe a bit, modeled after this one from an internet search. I am listing the amounts, but obviously vegetable sizes differ. It seems forgiving.

The addition of rosemary and onion are thanks to my friend, self-dubbed the "resident jew," who was here for breakfasting.

Sunchoke-Carrot Latkes - made 15

4 sunchokes
2 golden potatoes
3 carrots
1/3 c oat flour (ground oats)
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
2 eggs
Black pepper
1/2 small red onion, minced
1 T fresh rosemary* chopped
*or try tarragon or thyme
4-6 T Coconut oil for frying


1) Grate or shred carrots, sunchokes, and potatoes. Use a medium sized box grater, or if you have a special grater, use that. I have an old 1970s one like this in the middle right/lower left:

2) Mix all ingredients in a large bowl by hand.

3) Heat a large cast iron skillet on medium-high, and add some coconut oil. When pan is hot, form thin palm-sized pancakes. Fry for 4-5 minutes on each side until crispy. Keep warm in oven until all are made.

We had these with fried eggs and salad. I neglected to consider sriracha at the time, but that would be delicious (as noted in aforementioned recipe source, with poached eggs).

Grain-free Carrot Muffins

I don't eat a lot of paleo baked goods - but for whatever reason this one has made it into my repeat repertoire. This is a recipe from my neighbor that I adapted just slightly - these muffins are just plain delicious; they are moist and dense, and are perfect with some morning tea.




Grain-Free Carrot Muffins makes 12
2 eggs, separated
1 more egg
1/4 c softened butter or ghee
1/4 cup thick coconut milk/cream
1/4 c honey (or less, or sub stevia)
2 1/2 c almond meal
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 tsp lemon zest
1-2 c grated carrots
1/4 c raisins
1/4+ c walnuts
1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Beat egg whites until stiff. Add egg and yolks, ghee, honey, almond meal, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and lemon zest. Mix together. Add carrots, nuts, raisins and coconut.
3. Bake for 30-40 minutes. These are good warm out of the oven, or chilled. I kept the extras in the fridge in a covered container, and they easily last 1-2 weeks.

Carrot-Sweet Potato Cakes (and hollandaise)

All the rain this spring created some beautiful, large carrots. I've been sort of holding back on picking them since the zucchini and green beans are first in order, but I picked a few this weekend to make these. I've made these latke-like cakes a few times over the past several months - but this was my first time making them with garden carrots. Yum! I decided to go all out and make hollandaise sauce too for a proper paleo eggs benedict. It turns out hollandaise isn't as hard to make as I imagined. I also didn't really realize that hollandaise is really just like a butter or ghee mayo, but with egg yolks instead of egg.

The original recipe for these fritters is spiced more sweet than savory, with cinnamon and ginger and nutmeg. I go more savory and just use salt and pepper for flavor because I find they make really good burger buns, or as a platform for an egg - they are sort of bread-like with the sweetness from the carrot/sweet potato. These cakes are similar to the root veggie latkes I posted some while back, but these don't include onions and are a little egg-ier. I find these ones simpler, and the extra eggs lend to a more bun/bread-like experience.

Carrot-Sweet Potato Cakes (makes 8 cakes)
1 cup sweet potato, shredded
2 cup carrots, shredded
4 teaspoons coconut flour
4 eggs
coconut oil for cooking
salt to taste at end

1. Mix shredded carrots and sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Add coconut flour and stir to coat the shreds evenly.
2. Beat eggs together and pour over carrot/sweet potatoes. Mix thoroughly. The mixture will be quite wet and shrink a bit.
3. Heat coconut oil in cast iron skillet or griddle on medium heat. When the oil is hot, spoon out (or use your fingers like I do), a heaping 1/4 cup's worth of "batter." Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned and a bit crispy. As the cakes are cooking, sprinkle some salt on each one. (You could add salt to the mix too, but I find this causes the cakes to get more wet - better to salt at the end.)
4. These are ready to eat right off the griddle, or you can keep them in a warm oven if you are using them for burger buns or eggs benedict. I've had them at room temp too and they are still good.

For paleo eggs benedict top these cakes with some bacon, egg, and hollandaise sauce (see below). Yum.

Hollandaise (makes about 1 1/2 cups)
*This is how I made mine and it was delicious. There are lots of recipes out there with varying amounts of butter and egg yolk, but this one worked for me. It helps to have a cooking companion to help pour while you whisk.
2 sticks butter (lightly salted or unsalted)
3 T water
3 egg yolks
2 T fresh lemon juice
Warm water

1. Melt butter (or ghee) in a small saucepan. Simmer on low heat.
2. Create a double boiler using a small pot with water in it, and a larger metal mixing bowl on top. You want rounded edges in the metal mixing bowl since you are going to be whisking and you don't want egg caught somewhere. Heat water in the pot to boiling. When it is near boiling, put your egg yolks and water in the large mixing bowl (off of the steaming pot) and whisk together for 30 seconds until frothy.
3. When water in pot is boiling, put mixing bowl on top (this is your double boiler) and continue whisking. It will take a minute or two for the bowl to heat, and what you are going for is a very subtle cooking of the egg and water. This will take another minute or two (so 3-4 minutes total), and you are looking for the egg yolks to become pale and creamy. They will leave a trail, or tracks, behind them that hold for a few seconds. As soon as this happens, remove the eggs from the double boiler and turn the heat off under the pot. Whisk the eggs another 30 seconds or so to cool them a bit.
4. Slowly pour in the warm butter as you continue whisking (still off the double boiler). This will take several minutes - you are adding the butter slowly because you don't want to "break" the emulsification. Once the butter is added, add your lemon juice. I like a lemony hollandaise, so kept adding it until it tasted right to me. 1-3 T should be good. Also add salt to taste if you used unsalted butter.
5. You can rest your sauce on the double boiler pot until you are ready to serve - don't turn the heat on, it will be warm enough there to hold it. Mine sat at least 15 minutes - I'm sure it can sit longer if you whisk it occasionally.
6. If your hollandaise is too thick: I like a slightly thinner sauce. If yours is thicker than you like, whisk in warm water (again a little at a time) before serving (I just used the warm water from the double boiler pot). I added 2-3 T worth until it was the consistency I like.

This recipe makes plenty to serve 4 (8 carrot-sweet potato cakes and 8 eggs); I had extra left over. And I have been eating it up! It was delicious spread on left over chicken breast and to dip my carrot sticks in. You can also gently reheat this - again in a double boiler - to bring back to the warm, pourable texture. Cold it is more like a thick mayo, or a very soft and creamy butter.

Carrot-Sweet Potato cake as a burger "bun" with mayo.

Roasted root breakfast veggies

This post has some music and food. Food and music. I've been listening to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros lately - it's like some kind of spiritual nourishment or something. You know how sometimes songs do that? I don't generally seek out music much, but My Charming Companion sends me "music transfers" over the email. One was the duo of songs below.

I spent much of yesterday listening to youtube music and cleaning the house, starting the day off with this really good breakfast (that filled me up and kept me going for hours!) I still am on the pork belly train and get them regularly, so breakfast included a couple slices of pork belly and some eggs. I love meals where you just put them in the oven and do some other stuff and then it is all done. Plus you can still get local carrots and beets right now, and maybe parsnips too. You could make this an entirely local meal except for the tahini sauce.

Roasted veggies with Tahini sauce
*makes several servings
1-2 large Carrots
1-2 med Beets
1 small Sweet Potato or Parsnip
1-2 T lard, ghee, olive oil

1. Chop everything in a small dice (if using sweet potatoes, chop them a bit larger than the other items since they cook faster). Coat everything in your fat of choice - I have plenty of excess pork fat and I use that and toss in a baking pan. Cook at 375 for 30-40 minutes, stirring once or twice.
2. While they are cooking, mix up a little tahini sauce: lemon juice, salt, water, and tahini. I like a lot of lemon juice, but just taste as you go, and add enough liquid so that it is a "drizzle-able" consistency.
3. Serve veggies with tahini sauce. I usually have plenty extra to just reheat the next morning or two.

Carrot Soup with Dukkah Spice

It is light out until 6pm! I think the longer days, plus the occasions of snow melting (before more falls again) is giving me some excitement for spring. I really notice the increase in daylight - and even though I still go to bed around 9:30, I feel a little more ambitious in the evenings. You know, I work on my rug braiding or cook rather than just getting into bed shortly after I get home! Which, btw, I've been listening to lots of This American Life lately, and I have several faves, including one about relationships and Gottman's research about successful couples. It references how gay couples outshine their heterosexual counterparts in communication and positive relational skills. In his limited study, he says that the best straight couples are almost as good as the worst gay couples. What!? More research I say!

Anyway. I made a big pot of chicken bone broth over the last 30 hours or so (in the crock pot), only to realize when I got home that I am totally out of containers to freeze the stock in. I used to use cream containers, but now I don't drink cream, and my supply of old yogurt containers is also maxed out. I need to find a new stock container system. After ransacking the cupboards, I found a couple of things to use, and then just decided to make a batch of soup with the last quart. I also drank a mug full because I was sick last week and the healing properties of bone broth seemed like they would be helpful. Gut health, anti-inflammatory and tons of nutrients! I have some stockpiles of both chicken and venison broth in the freezer and I want to start being more intentional about eating it more often. Plus it is so delicious.

So I decided to make a carrot soup, except I actually made it with a combo of carrots, sweet potatoes and squash. This is the 2nd time I've made this soup and the first version of straight up carrots was equally good. Really, the best part of the soup is the dukkah spice. I've never heard of it before, but the original recipe comes from Bon Appetit, and an internet search finds that dukkah is an Egyptian spice blend of nuts and seeds. In this case pistachios, sesame seeds, fennel, cumin, and coriander. Yum. I actually did not have cumin or coriander seeds, so had to use powder, which turned out fine but I think the seeds would be even better. It makes a delicious topping for the otherwise very simple soup - giving it a flavor punch and also a nice crunchy texture. I loved the dukkah and it would also be great on chicken or fish or cauliflower mashed potatoes. Mmmm.

Carrot Soup with Dukkah Spice
2 pounds carrots, chopped into 1-2" pieces*
1 onion 
2 T ghee/lard/etc
1/2 cup unsalted, shelled raw natural pistachios 
2 T sesame seeds 
2 tsps coriander seeds 
2 tsps cumin seeds 
1/2 tsp fennel seeds 
1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns 
1 tsp kosher salt plus more
Freshly ground black pepper 
1 quart chicken bone broth
*Or substitute sweet potatoes or winter squash for some of the carrots.

1. Toast pistachios in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a small plate and let cool. Add sesame seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and peppercorns to same skillet. Toast, stirring often, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Transfer spices to plate with nuts and let cool. Transfer nut and spice mixture and 1 teaspoon salt to a food processor or a mortar and pestle and coarsely grind. *I ground mine up in a coffee mill, and it ground everything up pretty small. I think a rougher grind would be nice, but the coffee grinder seemed easiest. (This can be done ahead and stored in a container for a week or so.)
2. Preheat oven to 425°. Place the carrots and onion on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with melted ghee/fat or olive oil, season to taste with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast until the carrots are tender and just beginning to brown, about 25-30 minutes. Let the carrots cool slightly. 
3. Transfer the carrot mixture to a blender or food processor. Add the vegetable broth. Blend mixture until soup is very smooth, 1-2 minutes. (I had to do this in a few batches.) Pour the soup into a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add water by 1/4-cupfuls to soup for a thinner consistency, if desired. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. 
4. Divide hot soup among bowls. Spoon a dollop of coconut cream/milk into center of each. Sprinkle with dukkah. (I think sprinkle is an understatement, I sort of doused it!)

Chicken with Olives and Lemon (+ Carrot Salad)

After making paleo bastila last month, I got inspired to get some Moroccan cookbooks from the library. One of them is my favorite so far, with stunning photos and lots of great recipes: The Food of Morocco. Yesterday I made a couple of recipes - one of the chicken/olive/preserved lemon ones (there are at least 6 or 8 different recipes focused on these three ingredients), and a traditional carrot salad. I LOVED the carrot salad - it was spicy and fresh tasting, and the chicken was good too.

It was the first time I tried cooking a chicken on a can - it was super easy and cooked faster than roasting and got a nice crispy skin. Plus it was very comical to see the chicken all standing upright on a can! Why is that so funny and bizarre? I will totally cook chickens this way form now on - though probably I'll go even simpler and not even do the sauce. The sauce was good, and had nice preserved lemon flavor - but also not totally necessary for me. My adaptation below does not include garlic or saffron, but put both in if you have them!

I served the whole feast with some cauliflower couscous and ate a stuffed date for dessert. Yum.

Carrot Salad with Cumin, Cinnamon, and Sweet Paprika
1 pound (6-8) carrots, trimmed
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp ground ceylon cinnamon
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp sugar (or 1 drop stevia)
fine sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish

1. Early in the day, or the day before: Steam carrots over boiling water until just tender, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Dice the carrots and put in a bowl. Mix with the spices, lemon juice, sugar, and pinch of salt. Cool, then cover and chill until ready to serve.
3. Just before serving, correct the seasoning with salt. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parsley.

Roast Chicken on a Faux Spit with Lemon and Olives 
One 3 1/2 pound chicken
1 preserved lemon
Coarse salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
3 T chopped flat leaf parsley
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T ghee
1 c chicken stock
2 med onions, grated, rinsed, and squeezed dry
12 green-ripe or red olives, pitted*

1. About 4 hours before serving, rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry. Slide your fingers under the skin to loosen the flesh.

After cooking the wings tucked themselves in!

2. Remove the pulp from the preserved lemon, chopping and saving the peel for the sauce. Add the lemon pulp (4 cloves garlic and saffron water if using), 1 tsp salt, ginger, pepper, turmeric, herbs, oil, and ghee to a blender and grind to a paste. Insert some of the paste under the chicken skin, and "massage" onto the flesh. Put some of the paste in the cavity, and rub the rest all over the skin. Put the chicken in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
3. About 2 hours before you plan to serve the chicken, remove it from the fridge. Position a rack on the lowest shelf of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4. Set a beer/soda can in a shallow baking dish, and stand the chicken on it. Add one cup of water to the pan, and roast for 45 minutes to an hour, until a thermometer set deep into the inner thigh reaches 165 degrees.
5. Meanwhile, add the chicken stock to the marinade bowl, then scrape all the liquid and marinade into a 9" skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until the onions turn golden brown (10-15 minutes). Add the olives and reserved lemon peel and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
6. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 5-10 minutes before carving.
7. Meanwhile, skim the fat from the juices in the baking dish (I actually just added all the juices, fat included), add the juices to the skillet, and boil down to a thick, unctuous sauce.
8. Carve the chicken and serve with the sauce.

*I had a hard time finding unflavored olives, so used some of the kalamata type ones. Because they are brined with vinegar and other spices, I did several cold water rinses to get ride of it so that the olives would not taste strange in this dish.

Root Veggie Latkes

I've been tinkering with this recipe to find the right combo, and I think I finally got it. The recipe for "Root Veggie Cakes" comes from the Paleo Comfort Foods blog, but I found it not quite right - at least using the coconut flour I had. So I've changed it up a bit to be less cakey and more latke-y, which seems especially fitting as we approach the end of Hanuukah. These are pretty with all the bright colors, and would be great as a platform for eggs benedict. I found them tasty with a sauce of mayo mixed with horseradish. AND these are my garden beets and carrots!?! 

Root Veggie Latkes (makes 4-5 latkes)
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded parsnips
1/2 cup shredded beets
1 small onion
1 T prepared horseradish (opt)
1 egg
2 T coconut flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
coconut oil/lard/fat

1. Combine shredded carrots, parsnips and beets in a bowl and set aside.
2. In a food processor, pulse chopped onion until minced. Add egg, horseradish and salt and pulse again to combine. Add coconut flour and pulse to mix until mixture becomes a thick batter. Add batter to shredded root veggies and mix together. The mixture should be slightly wet and able to stick together. Because brands of coconut flour vary so widely, if your mixture is really wet (or soupy) add another Tablespoon of coconut flour.
3. Heat 1-2 T of fat in a skillet. Form about 1/4 c of mixture into a ball, and place in hot oil for each latke. Press flat with your hands or spatula and cook on medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side. You want the veggies to cook and the outside to become crisp.
4. Serve immediately (or keep warm in the oven).

Whole30 Update and Carrot Beet Salad

I am at the three week mark of my Whole30, and am feeling pretty good. I'm eating some occasional fruit, but my biggest splurge was when I ate a date last weekend. This is the most sweetener-free I have ever been, and I notice I am very aware of a sober sort of feeling. I have certainly had some days/emotions come up where I've wanted to eat chocolate or something, and I've eaten a good share of frozen coconut macadamia nut bars instead, but its not like I can eat a lot of them - they are just too filling. And really, even if I ate lot of them, I don't know that I would have any negative side effects.

One feature of the Whole30 that I hadn't really expected was how easy it helps me be with my food boundaries. I've had a long road of that - initially feeling like I was being rude for turning down food that was made/brought for me, and sometimes eating stuff because it was gluten free and looked delicious even if it maybe wasn't what I felt good about eating (some really mediocre wedding cake for example). Maybe it's because the Whole30 is so clear, I just have not had a problem or felt tempted. 

Yesterday I happened to look at The Heavy Table for something or other, and also saw a link to a new bakery that is opening up near my house this month. It's a cupcake place, and for whatever reason I thought I'd peruse their cupcakes. Honestly, it's kind of crazy to see that much sugar. I was fascinated to watch myself not feel pulled in/interested in eating them (the gluten free ones). I don't know if that will last since I don't plan to keep up with the rigid boundaries, but I'm curious about the craving landscape and how it changes.

I've been eating lots of cooked veggies of late: squash and kale, cauliflower and carrots. Frozen peas were on sale so I made pea puree and ate almost all that I made (a whole bag of frozen peas! it was so good). This salad was nice for lunch one afternoon though - fresh and raw, and with veggies and mint from the garden. Soon I'll need to pull all the carrots and beets, so I need to start eating them all up! The original recipe contains honey, but I omitted that, and added olive oil.

2 c grated carrots (about 3 carrots)
1 c grated fresh beets (about 1 medium beet)
1/2 c golden raisins or dried cherries
1/2 tsp paprika (sweet, not hot)
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
Small pinch of cayenne
2+ Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp (sliced) fresh mint leaves

1. Combine carrots, beets, and raisins in a bowl.
2. Mix remaining ingredients (except mint) together in a jar or small bowl. Whisk until smooth.
3. Drizzle dressing over salad. This salad will taste best after it sits for an hour or two so the dressing can permeate the veggies. Toss in the mint just before serving. (I love mint, so used the leaves whole. You can also slice them for a more subtle taste!)

Roasted Chicken w/ Preserved Lemon and Root Veggies

Parks' "American Gothic"

I recently read the "One Read One Minneapolis" book, A Choice of Weapons, a memoir by Gordon Parks. Do you know Gordon Parks? I didn't. He is most famous for his photography, specifically American Gothic (at right), and he grew up in St. Paul. He grew up in the 30s and it is a really interesting read about race at that time in the Twin Cities (and elsewhere), and about all the crazy ways Parks survived, found ways to use his numerous talents, and create social critiques. His book actually has a forward by Wing Young Huie, the photographer who did the exhibitions of Frogtown, Lake Street, and University Ave. I thought the book was excellent. There is going to be an exhibit of Parks' work at the Mill City Museum, alongside photographs by Minneapolis high school students, in connection with the book. The exhibit opens tomorrow and will be there until spring.

The book has nothing to do with the recipe, but I do love reading while something is roasting in the oven, and I have been reading like a fiend lately. My curriculum seems to be "recent books by African American Authors." Other titles I highly recommend are Buck by MK Asante, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, and Long Division by Kiese Laymon.

I love roasting chickens in this cold weather. It's nice to have the oven on, and it tastes so much more delicious than the rotisserie chickens at the co-op. This chicken was a bit of an experiment. I wanted to use the preserved lemons I made last spring, and I had some random root veggies I wanted to cook in the chicken juices. The preserved lemon on the chicken and veggies was Ah-Mazing - it added such a nice lemony/savory touch, and the drippings/sauce was incredible. The photo here is not mine (I am in denial about the loss of my camera), but is from Martha Stewart's recipe for roast chicken with preserved lemon. She does not pre-make the preserved lemon, but makes them in the brine for the chicken. I'm sure it's good - just more fussy.

Chicken (mine was 3.8 lbs)
1 preserved lemon (or a bit more)
salt
pepper
fresh thyme sprigs
root veggies - I used carrots, turnips, and sweet potatoes
onions
ghee/butter (room temp)
olive oil

I rubbed some salt all over my chicken the night before I was going to cook it - it was my replacement for brining. No need to be sparing, I did a nice Tablespoon or two and rubbed it on all sides, and put on a good few cranks from the pepper grinder too. I then left the chicken uncovered in the fridge overnight (or a couple of hours would be fine, or not at all).

I was making my bird in the morning before work, so I took the chicken out of the fridge first thing to bring it up to room temp. I am not sure why this helps, but many of the good recipes suggest it, so I followed suit. While it was acclimating, I chopped up the root veggies and an onion into coarse, larger pieces. (I cut the carrots lengthwise down the middle and then chopped them into 2" long pieces, and cut the onion into 6ths. The sweet potato cooks fastest, whereas the turnip was the slowest cooker, so cut the turnips smaller than the carrot, and the sweet potato bigger!) Throw the veggies in the bottom of a roasting pan and toss with some olive oil and several sprigs of thyme. I only lightly salted the veggies since they'll get the drippings from the salted bird.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and prep the chicken. My preserved lemons still had rind and innards intact, so I cut the rinds off (that is the really tasty part), reserving the rinds in one pile and the (somewhat slimy) lemon innards in another. I sliced the rinds so that I could tuck them in the chicken skin. Using my fingers, I separated the skin from the meat of the chicken - it pulls away and becomes like a pocket. Tuck in the sliced lemon rinds here. Next, rub some ghee all over the chicken. I rubbed the lemon innards all over the outside of the chicken too. I stuffed the cavity of the chicken with 1/2 an onion, some big sprigs of thyme, and the rest of the lemon innards. Tie the legs together and set the chicken (breast side up) on top of your veggies. If you have one of those fancy racks that suspends your chicken over the roasting pan and veggies underneath, great.

Tie those legs together; this is breast up!

Stick the roasting pan full of veggies and chicken into the oven. I cooked it for 20 minutes at 425 (the higher heat browns the skin and makes it crispy), and then turned the heat down to 350 and cooked for another 60 minutes or so. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your chicken, but you want the temp of the thick part of a thigh to come out to at least 160. (I was rushing and accidentally temp checked the drumstick, which was at the right temp, so I took out the chicken. Later I realized that the inner thigh was definitely not done and had to put the whole thing back in the oven - so be sure you check the right spot!!) Once the thigh is hot enough, remove the roasting pan from the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes before you dig in. It will finish cooking all the way through and all the juices will set and it will get really tasty. During the 20 minute rest, I took the opportunity to stir the veggies around in all the juices, and also added some minced preserved lemon. Parsley would be great stirred in there too - though I did not have any.

Finally - SERVE! The meat is delicious, and I loved getting bites of preserved lemon rind in there. The veggies were soft and sweet and also great with the preserved lemon. All in all the preserved lemon was the star of the meal because it made everything else so extra special.

*If you are without preserved lemon, just slice up a regular lemon and stick the slices in the chicken cavity with the thyme (no onion is needed in that case). I'd also rub a little lemon juice on the outer skin too, and squeeze a bit onto the veggies.

Garden Veggie Salad with Sardines

This week has been fairly uneventful on the food front - my daily routine is to get home from work, eat dinner, go for a walk, and watch some Lynx basketball before getting into bed and reading a bit. Except sometimes eating dinner and watching basketball overlap a little, which I don't actually like doing but is tempting anyway - it's a slippery slope if I am waiting for something to cook and just want to see the start of a game or something. I've become a super Lynx fan lately - I watch all of our games of course (mostly at home via "Live Access" where you can watch every WNBA game for $15 a year or some such), but I also started watching some of the other teams - especially the good ones who "we" will likely play in the coming weeks in the play offs. I'm finding it all very exciting.

The Lynx really have nothing to do with today's salad - which has everything to do with the current garden haul. It is a new time of bounty because the beets and carrots are finally sweet and ready to eat. And they are gorgeous! The carrots especially with the multi-color variety.

Each weekend I spend a day at the northside homestead watering and harvesting and maybe pickling or freezing or pesto-ing. And then I pack up a big haul of veggies to bring home and eat throughout the week. Most all of them made an appearance in today's salad: beets, carrots, green beans, cukes, arugula, and tomatoes, plus some dill and parsley. 

Garden Veggie Salad with Sardines: Assemble whatever veggies you've got!

Handful arugula
1/2 carrot, sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced
Cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Sliced boiled beet*
Blanched green beans**
Fresh herbs: dill, parsley
Tin sardines
Dressing: olive oil from sardines, sherry vinegar, mustard, mayo (opt), salt, pepper.

*Beets: I've been boiling my beets in one batch each week so that I can have sliced beets whenever I want. They are great in so many ways, or plain with a little vinegar, olive oil, and salt.Bring pot of water to a boil. Put in beets (skin on) and boil for 30-45 minutes, depending on size, until tender. Remove and chill in cold water; remove beet skin with thumb.
**Green Beans: Add green beans to boiling water for 1-2 minutes; remove and cool in cold water.

Dandelion Green Salad (with Beets and Carrots)

I tried some dandelion greens straight from the garden and yard last weekend, and they were so good! Now is a good time to eat them because they are still young, tender, and not overly bitter. Plus they are plentiful. I was walking in the park last night, enjoying the 80 degrees, and noticed tons of baby dandelion plants that could be picked.

You want to look for dandelions that have not flowered yet, and then look for ones with smooth (as opposed to furry) leaves. If you look around at a few, you can compare leaves to better understand smooth versus furry. The smooth ones are the ones you are looking for to eat in a salad, and they will be a variety of sizes. Use a dandelion picker to pick the whole root and get all the leaves (and rid your garden of the dandelion), or just pick the leaves off and deposit them right into your colander. They are pretty fragile, so it is best to pick them soon before consuming them. You can rinse and wash them, and spin them dry in a salad spinner - they will get bruised, but that is not a problem for this salad.

This salad of beets, dandelion greens and carrots perfectly complement each other: the bitter greens match the sweeter raw veggies in a really delicious combo. Fresh spring green onions are also nice for the mild flavor, the smaller ones you can find the better. My Charming Companion made this salad up, and there was not any measuring going on. Below are some close estimates, but feel free to take some liberties.

This is about 2 big handfuls of the washed greens

Dandelion, beet, carrot salad
1-2 c dandelion greens, chopped
1/2 raw beet, grated
1 carrot, grated
7-8 small green onions, chopped*
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1 T mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c toasted almonds
*the smaller green onions are more mild. If you only have large ones, chop the white part very fine and use a few less.

Combine all of the ingredients but the almonds in a bowl, stir to coat all the veggies with the oil and lemon. Sprinkle almonds on top and serve!

Breakfast Veggies & Eggs with Tahini

I started doing kettle bells this month. I am not sure what got me inspired to do it, except I had a little extra time and a desire for some more msucle. And I found a nice kettle bell place right by my house. I tried lifting weights one time last year (ha!) - the way where you do very few reps with as much weight as you can do and still actually lift it. I burst into tears each time. Not because it was impossible, but it was like my mind thought I couldn't do it and my mental state just collapsed. So. Kettle bells seemed like a nice way to build up some muscle without the tears. I've gone to 4 classes and already I feel stronger and could do way more than the first couple of times. Holy cow!

My breakfast this morning is based on Modern Times' "Good Morning Healing Earth" breakfast, which is a lovely medly of lots of sauteed veggies topped with scrambled eggs and drizzled with tahini. It seems like an excellent pre-kettle bell breakfast. It's really good, and the version I made at home turned out equally as tasty, if a little simpler. The original dish at Modern Times actually uses onions, beets, carrots, green peppers, mushrooms, kale, zucchini and broccoli. So go for it all if you happen to have all those veggies - but I thought the ones I selected were a good combo that still gave a similar taste. Sub any veggies in for something else, though I do think the kale, beets, and carrots are key. Modern Times uses roasted beets instead of my pan sauteed ones, so if you happen to make a big batch of roasted beets, keep a few out to use in this for breakfast!

Good Morning Breakfast (serves 1 large serving)
1-2 T butter, ghee, coconut oil, bacon fat, etc
1/4 small beet, diced small
1 small carrot, diced small
3 kale leaves, de-stemmed and chopped
1/2 small onion, diced
handful of broccoli florets, trimmed small
salt
1 T. parsley, chopped
2 eggs
tahini (mixed with water - and lemon juice if you have it - to thin it out, plus a pinch of salt)

1. Put a cast iron pan on medium heat. Add fat, and then beets. Cook covered for 3-5 minutes. Add onions and remove lid. After another few minutes, add broccoli and carrots. Cover the pan again for 3-5 minutes. Add kale. Cook a final 5 minutes, until greens are wilted but still bright, and beets are just tender. Stir often to keep things from sticking and add a little more fat if needed.
2. Meanwhile, scramble eggs in another pan so that they finish about the time of the veggies. Mix up some tahini with water to make it drizzle-able (a little less water than tahini ratio).
3. To serve: dish out veggies in a pile on a plate and top with scrambled eggs. Sprinkle parsley and drizzle tahini over everything. Serve!

Sunday Roast Chicken with Carrots (and Kale)

I have had a chicken in my freezer from Hilltop Pastures farm since late last summer - I have not had one of their chickens before, and it was tucked away for some treat later on. This weekend was the day! And oh my, it was delicious - so juicy and tender. Their chickens are pasture raised, and are comparable to Callister farms' chickens that are sold at the co-ops. These ones are cheaper (I can't remember how much now, but I know they were less than Callister) - though of course you have to get them at the market or via their delivery locations. I highly recommend all of their meat - it is all pastured, the beef is grass fed and finished, and the family is great. You will see them all at the Midtown Farmer's Market, including the kids. (I am already waiting for the spring market and their pork chops on a stick!)

Anyhow. Sunday chicken. I never had the "sunday roast" tradition in my family, but while cooking the chicken and a bunch of veggies, I sort of had a longing for something like it. There is something satisfying about making a big roast of some kind, with lots of side dishes, to eat earlier on Sunday for a nice long meal. I don't know, maybe it is also the hint of spring, and the longer days that make me want to linger over early dinner, followed by tea and a whole evening ahead. I mean, I can do things after dinner now! Not just go to bed?!

I decided to make the chicken with a simple compound butter of salt and cinnamon (garlic would be good too). I also made roasted carrots, and kale salad (with just a tablespoon or two of golden raisins instead of craisins). I had just a wee bit of left-over cauliflower mashed potatoes, so they got reheated and spooned onto the plate too. All in all, it was a pretty low maintenance dinner. I love things that roast in the oven requiring nothing from me.

My upside down chicken! It's so fat!

Roasted Chicken
1 3-4 pound chicken
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 t salt
3 T butter

1. Get your butter to room temp, and then use a spoon to mix it with the cinnamon to create a light brown butter mix. I put the compound butter under the skin and in the cavity of the bird. I also rubbed some on the outside, but the chicken was coola nd really the butter was not sticking to it. Later I thought I could have melted the compound butter and poured it on top. Anyway, however you do it, it will be good. Let the chicken sit out at room temp for about an hour or two before cooking.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Put bird in the smallest pan that it fits in, and set it in the middle of the oven. I just left mine be for 90 minutes. You certainly could flip the bird, but I didn't. I did go in during the last 20 minutes or so and spoon the buttery liquid from the bottom of the pan back over the chicken. (For some reason I put the bird in breast side down. I am not sure if this contributed to the really juicy chicken meat or not!)

Roasted Carrots
8 Carrots, sliced lengthwise (go for thinner carrots than the big fat ones if you can)
1 1/2 T Butter (or coconut oil)
Salt
Fresh rosemary (opt)

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Lay carrots in a single layer in a baking sheet or pan that has a rim. Pour butter over the carrots, sprinkle with rosemary and salt. Bake in the 350 degree oven under the chicken for 35-45 minutes. I flipped my carrots once or twice during the cooking, but this does not seem necessary. (If you are making these separately and not with the chicken, you can do them in a 400 degree oven.) They turned out SO delicious.

Meatballs and Cumin Roasted Carrots

This post is a double whammy from the Clothes Makes the Girl blog. I was intrigued about meatballs after making a meatball version of the Kubideh that I posted a couple of weeks ago. They turned out super good that way, served with fresh parsley, all covered in the lime butter. Yum. I could eat them again, but decided to be adventurous and try some other meatball recipes.

I decided on these Merguez meatballs - though she has several other varieties that are also on my "to make" list - because the spice combo sounded really delicious. And indeed when I put the spice mix together, the aroma was amazing with fennel, cumin, paprika, and cinnamon. According to the blog, Merguez is a North African fresh sausage, typically made with lamb, or lamb and beef. I had 1 lb of lamb defrosted and 1/2 lb of venison, so I used that, along with an egg, fresh parsley, and some onion in lieu of the garlic.

This was my first time baking meatballs in the oven (cleaner and easier than pan searing them for sure) and they turned out great - still moist, and to my surprise, still seared seaming on the outside?! (is it the use of an egg in there that does that?) I think they look pretty good too, and the taste was spicy and mild at the same time. I just made a half batch of the spice mix and used the whole thing in my 1 1/2 lbs of meat, which maybe meant my meatballs were a bit more flavored than intended, but I thought it was great. I ate the meatballs with some lemony ghee drizzled on top, which was delish.

I had my meatballs with Cumin Roasted Carrots (just carrots, coconut oil, cumin, salt and pepper) and made double use of the 400 degree oven. They take just a few minutes longer than the meatballs, so put them in the oven first. I was not very uniform in my slicing, and it turns out I liked the thinner ones best. I had overflow from the baking sheet pictured here, and so put some more in a small cake pan. The cake pan is not insulated like my cookie sheet, and the carrots from the pan were my fave, super crispy and a little charred (some were entirely charred and not so good, so watch things closely). They were extra delicious with a little lemon juice splashed on top.

Thank you Clothes Makes the Girl for some more delicious recipes! (plus I just like her attitude - it's very ease-full)

Roasted Carrot "porridge"

There are some really amazing carrots in the co-ops right now from Featherstone Farms. These carrots are local, big and fat, and really sweet and flavorful. I have not done a blind taste test comparison - but the flavor to other carrots is profound. It's like the difference between garden carrots and ones from the (generic) store. They are also $9 for 5 pounds - more than for the California carrots - but oh so worth it. While looking at the farm's website, I perused their farm blog. I found it interesting - particularly the recent entry about the ongoing MN drought and what local farmer's are seeing in their fields with the lack of snow and moisture.

My current favorite way to eat these carrots (other than as is, right out of the bag) is to roast them and make a breakfast porridge of sorts. I've made similar renditions of this recipe before, but this is the most simple. All you need are carrots, ghee or butter, and some toppings - including cinnamon. Which, did you know that there are a couple of kinds of cinnamon? The one with increased health benefits is called Ceylon. Most likely in the US, any cinnamon you buy is Cassia cinnamon. The Seward carries the Ceylon in bulk (it is more expensive) - and the taste (to me) is richer and sweeter than the other stuff.

Roasted Carrots (serves 2)
4 LARGE carrots
2 T ghee or butter
salt
cinnamon
almonds
coconut flakes

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Chop your carrots up into a small dice. These will shrink in the oven, so prepare a bit more than you think - 4 of the largest Featherstone carrots would easily serve two. (This also makes a nice leftover snack - so I hedge on the extra side.)
2. Melt 1-2 Tablespoons ghee in a baking pan - I just stick the pan in the preheating oven for a few minutes. Once the ghee is melted, add the carrots and stir/toss to coat.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring once or twice int he middle. Some of the carrots will get a nice glaze from the pan - but each piece should be soft and tender.
4. While carrots are cooking, heat a case iron pan and roast a handful of almonds. Stir frequently - when they are partway done, add in a handful of coconut flakes to brown just a bit too. The coconut flakes take only a minute, so keep your eye on them. Set nuts and coconut aside.
5. When carrots are done, top with nuts and coconut. Sprinkle on a pinch or two of salt, and a good dose of cinnamon. Serve with coconut milk or cream.

Roasted Veggies

The local veggies that seem to be brimming over at the co-op right now include about 8-10 squash varieties (I am really all about the kabocha right now), lots of mushrooms, and tons of root veggies - particularly parsnips, carrots, and beets. So I made up a big batch that I mostly have been eating for breakfast with some eggs - with fresh parsley over everything. I definitely did not follow this recipe exactly (also pasted below), but it had basically all the root veggies I happened to have in my fridge plus some brussel sprouts. The whole thing is creamy and delicious and carmelized tasting. And so easy!

Ingredients - feel free to swap or change amounts:
3 parsnips
6 carrots
1 onion
1 large sweet potato
1 lb brussel sprouts
olive oil
salt and pepper
fresh chopped parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub carrots and parsnips (cut into 2-inch pieces if large). Slice onion in wedged slices.  Peel and slice sweet potato into wedges. Trim Brussels sprouts and cut in half. Toss all vegetables in generous amount of olive oil. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Spread onto a large baking sheet and roast, turning occasionally until cooked and browned, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

Thanksgiving Day Turkey and Veggies

I made my very first turkey!  It was definitely a proud moment when I pulled that beautiful golden brown turkey out of the oven.  I asked around to get advice from others about how to make the best turkey.  Many people mentioned a roasting bag.  Normally I would be against using a plastic bag in cooking; I'm frankly worried about ingesting toxins from the plastic.  But, people told me it was the best turkey they ever made when they used the roasting bag, so I figured I would give it a try.  It was brilliant.  I put herbs and garlic inside the turkey and covered it with coconut oil (might use butter next time), then put it in the bag inside a roasting pan and away it went.  The end result was beautiful, flavorful and perfectly done.  I even have lots of wonderful leftovers, and extra pan drippings, to heat up all week.

I also made a few sides to go with my turkey.  I am doing a pretty strict version of paleo, so I couldn't get very fancy with anything.  I did do an extra twist on butternut squash that I found on theclothesmakethegirl.com.  Instead of just roasting the squash I also pureed it in the food processor with coconut oil, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and one egg.  Then, I put it into a casserole dish and baked it at 350 for 30 minutes.  I think I was suppose to have the oven hotter than that, but it turned out really well.  The recipe called for pecans, which I would've loved to have added, but I can't eat nuts.  I highly recommend adding them if you make this version.  It was very good, but the pecans would really add a lot to the dish.  The butternut squash was so sweet, rich and creamy.  I really felt like I was having a dessert instead of a vegetable. Yum!

My other veggie was carrots.  I got the most beautiful and delicious carrots at the Midtown Winter Farmer's Market a couple weekends ago.  They are literally the best carrots I have ever had.  I pretty much couldn't screw up cooking them.  I decided to do them two ways.  I roasted some of the carrots with a little coconut oil, salt, and pepper in the oven for an hour.  I selected the most delicate of the carrots to cook on the stovetop in a little water and butter.  The recipe calls for honey, which of course I can't have, but these carrots were so sweet and tender, the honey would've been too much sweetness I think.  They were spectacular.  What a way to celebrate the harvest.

I was so proud of my turkey and all of the food I was able to make today.  It was a small gathering, just me and my parents, but we had a nice time sharing a meal and spending time together.

I have loved exploring different foods and recipes this fall.  Thank you Megan for inviting me to this blog and for sharing all of your food adventures.  You continue to inspire me.  Everything you post I want to try.  Pressing apple cider sounds pretty exciting.  I've got that on my list for next fall.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sweet Potato, Carrot, Fruit Casserole

I finally got around to making this casserole recipe that is similar to my fave camping breakfast (dried sweet potato and carrots with cream and cinnamon). It tasted so good and oatmeal like! It does not seem to have been originally conceived as a breakfast dish, I just highly recommend it that way.

I edited the original recipe a bit, primarily to include less sugar/fruit, and it still was plenty sweet and delicious. You could still remove the prunes and it would be good too. I ate it this morning with some cream and coconut flakes on top. Mmm. Though the original recipe calls for peeling everything and cutting it small, I went the less fussy way and just cut everything up. Still good! I could see the high maintenance way being nice if you were hosting a fancy party or something. I mean, the photo is quite lovely with hose perfectly diced and peeled things. This makes a lot - I halved it and had enough for several meals. The recipe here serves 8.

2+ tablespoon butter 
6 medium carrots (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut in 3/4-inch dice
3 medium sweet potatoes (about 2 1/4 pounds), cut in 3/4-inch dice
2 Granny Smith (or other tart) apples, cored and cut in medium dice
1/4 cup pitted prunes, quartered
2 tablespoons mild honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)
2/3 cup water
lemon (or orange) zest (of half a fruit or so)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a 3-quart baking dish in the oven while it preheats.
2. Place the carrots and sweet potatoes in a steamer set above 1 inch of boiling water, and steam for five to 10 minutes, until just tender. Drain and toss with the remaining ingredients in the buttery baking dish. Place in the oven, and bake 40 to 50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the sweet potatoes and carrots are thoroughly tender. Dot the top with a little more butter, and bake another 10 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Remove from the heat, and serve hot or warm.
Advance preparation: You can assemble this dish several hours before baking. You can bake it a day or two ahead of serving; reheat it in a medium oven.