Any Kitchen Will Do

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Archive for the month “March, 2013”

31 Mar 2013

Don’t Have To Choose Salad

donthavetochoosesalad

My food hankering today was conflicting. Do I want egg salad, tuna salad or guacamole? To take full advantage of my indecisiveness I decided to combine them all. I have never combined the three dishes before, so why not now? I wanted the flavor of all three to be present and also work together. I think I did a pretty good job, and it was a great way to use up the last avocado sitting on the counter – not enough for guacamole, or for topping a batch of chicken, but such a delicious thing shouldn’t go to waste. Tuna is a great way to add protein to a dish, even if there is already protein eking out of the avocado and egg. This salad was delicious sitting atop toasted Julian’s paleo bread. Reminded me of egg salad sandwiches on Lenten Fridays when I was a kid. We would have macaroni and cheese, salmon patties, tuna or egg salad. I understand the symbolism of no meat on Fridays, but feeling less lust or anger in the absence of meat on my part was not actually achieved. Feeling an excess of either was not an issue when I was a child, but one day a week is not what I consider an actual test. To get away from the nostalgic and dogmatic reasons for making the salad, it met my hankering and indecisive needs.

Don’t Have To Choose Salad

1 large ripe avocado
8 – 10 hard boiled eggs
1 5-ounce can tuna packed in water, drained
½ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp stone ground mustard
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp chili powder
Sprinkle of ground black pepper

In a large bowl mix yogurt, juice, mustard, salt, cumin, chili powder and pepper. Roughly chop eggs and avocado into pieces about the same size. Gently mix the tuna, avocado and eggs with the dressing, trying not to smash much of it. Chill for about an hour before serving.

 

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28 Mar 2013

Rootless Pot Roast

rootless pot roast_edited-1

Pot roast without carrots and potatoes? Well, yeah. I wanted to make a pot roast but without the added carbohydrates from carrots and potatoes. I could cook it all together then not eat the root vegetables, but they would be so sad, and so would I. Instead I added cabbage and onion to soak up the zesty flavors and compliment the meat. Of course, after so much cooking time the roast was falling apart and the vegetables were almost dissolved. It made for a rich, smooth sauce with a hint of veggies. Some gently steamed lime infused broccoli on the side worked wonders and loved the sauce. As my grade school companions would say, KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid. Always a good, yet slightly crude and blunt piece of advice.

Rootless Pot Roast

3-4 pound beef chuck roast
1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
½ large head green cabbage, roughly chopped
6-8 ounces tomato paste
2 cups water
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
2 Tbsp dried parsley leaves
1 Tbsp dried thyme leaves
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp paprika

In a medium bowl combine tomato paste and water. Stir until paste is dissolved. Add all the spices and continue stirring until combined. It will actually thicken. In a crock pot add a layer of vegetables using half the onion and cabbage. Add the roast and pour the sauce on top. Sprinkle the rest of the vegetables over the roast. Cover and cook on high for 5-7 hours or on low for about 10 hours.

Posted in baked, onion, parsley, Silver Spring Kitchen, tomato, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
24 Mar 2013

Crunchy Cinnamon Chickpeas

crunchy chickpeas

Spring is coming and the increase of daylight highlights in our home the pack rat tendencies we had over the winter. This time of year, especially when it begins to get warmer, I want to throw open the windows and refresh my surroundings. The refresh includes finding new ways to feed Little B. She is often open to trying new things, except when she isn’t. I thought some crunchy chickpeas would be right up her alley, and since I found a can of them in the pantry during spring cleaning, I decided to try and copy some chickpeas I found in a convenience store a while back. They were bought during a road trip when I was desperately trying to avoid potato chips – a traditional road trip food that is also traditionally not very good for a body. The chickpeas were crunchy and spicy, I suspect from cayenne or chili powder, and very satisfying. There was probably also mono sodium glutamate and other chemicals, but I don’t recall. I make a simple, less spicy version here for Little B, but the crunchy is definitely the same.

Crunchy Cinnamon Chickpeas

1 can chickpeas
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
Tiny pinch of pure stevia

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rinse and drain chickpeas. In a medium bowl add chickpeas and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle in the salt, stevia and cinnamon. Toss until chickpeas are coated. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, then spread out the chickpeas in one layer. Bake in preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes until they begin to brown, then shake them around so they change positions, but are still spread out in one layer. Bake for 15 more minutes – if there is extra coating dropped on the foil it may make it smell like it is burning, but the chickpeas themselves should be fine. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. If there is any left after snacking on them, store at room temperature in an air tight container.

Posted in baked, chickpeas, cinnamon, Silver Spring Kitchen, snack, wheat free | Leave a Comment
21 Mar 2013

Chocolate Strawberry Bacon Cake

chocolate strawberry bacon cake

This cake is ninety percent harmless. The remaining ten percent is included to fulfill the wishes of a birthday girl. A young friend of ours came for a week long visit, which included her birthday! I wanted to make a cake for her, and asked what she wanted. Chocolate and strawberries, and boy does she love frosting made with cream cheese and cool whip! The combination does not bother her tummy like milkier versions of frosting. Hmmm….cool whip…..high fructose corn syrup, chemicals of fifteen plus letters per word…not typically ingredient in things I make. It worked really well, though, and the birthday girl loved her cake. She also wanted a bacon rosette….okay! I can do that, too! This may sound like an odd combination, but the lightness of the frosting and the bacon worked pretty well together, and for bacon lovers, like the birthday girl, this oddness is such a non-issue. The cake was light and airy and went well after a meal of steaks and greens. I will definitely be making it again. The chocolate cake idea came from here.chocolate strawberry cake piece

Bacon Rosettes
8 slices bacon
Muffin pan

Cake
2 cups almond flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
¼ cup whey protein powder, vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp sea salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup equivalent liquid stevia
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup almond milk

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup salted butter, room temperature
16 ounces cool whip
4 Tbsp sugar free strawberry syrup
8 – 10 large strawberries

First, make the bacon rosettes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a muffin pan curl two pieces of bacon around themselves, starting on the outer edge and curling to the middle. Make a few buds by rolling a single piece tightly and securing it with two perpendicular toothpicks. Bake until the top edges are crispy, about 30-40 minutes. When done remove from the oven and set roses on paper towels to soak up any extra grease. Set aside until it is time to decorate.

Second, make the cake. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and butter/grease a 9×13 pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, cocoa powder, whey protein powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and liquid stevia until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract, followed by the almond milk. Add half of the almond flour mixture, stir, then add the remaining almond flour mixture and mix batter until combined. Spread batter in prepared pan (it will be thick, so spreading is a necessity) and bake about 20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.

While the cake cools, make the frosting. In a stand mixer combine cream cheese, butter and strawberry syrup. When smooth and combined, add the cool whip. Mix until combined and again smooth. Let chill until time to frost the cake. Prepare the strawberries by hulling and slicing them in thin layers.

When the cake is cool, cut two equally sized layers out of the 9×13 pan. Carefully remove the layers. Place the bottom layer on a serving plate. Spread a thin layer of frosting on the layer, then add a layer of strawberry slices, overlapping the slices so there are no gaps. Add more frosting to level out the surface, then add the top layer of cake. Trim the edges until the sides are even, then clean the cuttings off the plate. Cover the cake with a thin layer of frosting to set the shape and catch crumbs. Follow the crumb layer with a thicker, final layer. Decorate the sides with more strawberry slices and arrange the bacon rosettes on top. Store in the refrigerator until serving, and keep leftovers chilled.

 

 

Posted in baked, chocolate, fruit, Silver Spring Kitchen, wheat free | Leave a Comment
17 Mar 2013

Shepherd’s Pie with Cauliflower

shepherds pie whole

Last year for St. Patrick’s Day I made the traditional American St. Patrick’s Day meal with corned beef. That is all well and good, but not the only Americanized Irish food available. The Shepherd’s Pie is another dish that actually has Irish roots much closer than the corned beef. Here is a version that is very Americanized, or more accurately low carb-ized, for it has not a speck of potato, but as with other manipulations that can be done with cauliflower, you might not miss the ‘taters. This dish is usually called cottage pie when beef is used, and Shepherd’s Pie when lamb is used. I used ground lamb, so I at least kept to some traditional aspects, even if the top is from a cauliflower patch! If I did not tell you, you would never have known. I got the idea for the topping here. I hope for you fun and festivities on this St. Patrick’s Day, and eat cauliflower!shepherds pie piece

Shepherd’s Pie

For the Stew

2 Tbsp butter
1 pound stew beef or lamb, ground or cut into small bite-sized pieces
½ – 1 cup red wine
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup chopped carrots
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn

For the Topping
1 medium head of cauliflower
2 Tbsp heavy cream
2 Tbsp butter
½ cup plus 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 egg whites
Salt & pepper to taste

Clean and trim cauliflower, adding florets to a microwave safe bowl with ¼ cup water. Cover with cling wrap or a vented cover and microwave for 5 – 8 minutes until soft. Drain water. Add the cream and butter to the bowl and toss until butter is melted. Add the cauliflower and ½ cup of cheese to a food processor or use a hand blender to process until the mixture is a smooth consistency. It should look like thick mashed potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a skillet over medium high heat melt the butter, then add the meat. Saute until browned, about five minutes. If an overwhelming amount of liquid is in the meat, partially drain and continue cooking. Add red wine and cook until sauce bubbles. Add tomato paste, garlic and Worcestershire sauce, stirring until blended. Add onion, corn and peas. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes over low heat. Turn off heat and set aside while you finish the topping.

Right before putting the cauliflower on top of the meat filling, whip the egg whites to a stiff peak. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the cauliflower mixture to lighten it up. Then fold the remaining egg whites into the cauliflower mixture and gently mix until combined. In a 9×13 baking dish add the stew and spread until even. Gently top with cauliflower topping, spreading it evenly and not pressing down too far. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese over the top. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until topping is puffed and cheese is browning slightly. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Sprinkle more Worcestershire Sauce on individual servings if needed.

Posted in baked, casserole, cauliflower, cheese, eggs, garlic, onion, Silver Spring Kitchen, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
14 Mar 2013

Dad’s Spaghetti Sauce

dads spaghetti sauceYou may not have noticed, but earlier this month I began a greenish/Irish theme, which will lead us up to St Patrick’s Day and beyond. Last year I covered traditional stuff like corned beef and cabbage, colcannon and the less traditional but politically symbolic white chocolate frito popcorn. This year I started with coleslaw, which has green cabbage, followed by some chicken with the green of spinach, then the Dublin Coddle, with a slightly more Irish leaning. I really enjoy St Patrick’s Day. Not only because I am about 87% Irish, or that I have a dual citizenship, or that it is another excuse to drink a little too much, but also because when I was growing up we laughingly called everything my dad made ‘Irish’. Irish popcorn, Irish fajitas, Irish potato salad, Irish steak…you get the idea. The dishes did not necessarily have a historically Irish origin, but because a big Irishman with blue eyes put effort into making it for his loved ones. My dad’s specialties were typically products from the outside charcoal grill. He cooked meat exceptionally well. Whether it was fajitas, steak, chicken or a whole passel of meats in his tower smoker – ribs, ham, turkey, roast – if it used to walk he could cook it, and it tasted great. He was the reason I rarely ever ordered steak in a restaurant until I moved out of the house. Restaurant steak always tasted salty, but not flavorful. I know most of his secrets, and I may share them one day, but today is not the day. Today I share with you his spaghetti sauce. One of his two significant non-grill, non-smoker dishes. In case you were wondering, his other dish was potato salad. Now on with the spaghetti sauce. I have done other tomato-based sauces, but this one is consistent with what he always made. Huge batches filled a big old aluminum pot that simmered on the stove top all day. It smelled heavenly, especially walking into a warm house on a cold, wet Texas day. It smelled like comfort, which is what I often sought on a wet Saturday after playing soccer or doing yard work. When I got older I helped him make it, discovering his penchant for perfectly sized chopped veggies and just the right combination of herbs. Another thing about his sauce – he rarely used fresh ingredients. I don’t consider it a good or bad thing. The sauce was always full of flavor and satisfying. He grew up during the Great Depression, which I think established for him certain habits, including the stockpile of canned and dried goods. You should have seen our pantry when I was growing up – we never failed to have fresh meat, fruit or veggies, but if we didn’t there were always canned. I still love the taste of canned spinach and pineapple – separately, of course. I recognize the canned and dried elements in this recipe. I don’t think you can beat the finished product very easily. I have made a version of this from scratch – fresh tomatoes, fresh herbs…it was good, but you know, after cooking it for so long, I could hardly tell the difference. Maybe it was because I tweaked it until it tasted like Dad’s version, or maybe because after enough cooking the fresh version tastes like the Hunt’s canned version. On top of everything else, I found a great new base to hold the sauce – broccoli slaw. In the past I have used traditional spaghetti pasta, gluten free pasta, spaghetti squash and just chopped sauteed squash. This time I saw some broccoli slaw on sale at the store – it is basically broccoli stems cut julienne and packaged with a bit of carrot and red cabbage. I microwaved it straight from the freezer for five minutes to soften, salted it then set it on a plate and topped it with sauce. The texture worked great – not pasta-y, but definitely a strong texture that worked with the sauce. It is my new favorite to pour things over. I can imagine a decadent cheesiness next time, or maybe some kind of lasagna concoction…

Dad’s Spaghetti Sauce

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pound ground beef, 15% fat or less
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery with leaves, chopped
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp dried parsley leaves
1 ½ Tbsp dried oregano leaves
1 Tbsp dried basil leaves
42-56 ounces Hunt’s brand canned diced or plum tomatoes
6 – 8 ounces tomato paste
1 tsp truvia, or one small pinch of pure stevia
More salt to taste

In a deep stock pot heat to medium high and add olive oil. When oil is hot add onions and garlic, saute until the onion sweats (gets shiny and releases liquid). Add ground beef. Break meat up with a wooden spoon and saute until browning begins, but not until it is completely cooked. Add bell pepper, celery, salt, pepper, parsley, oregano and basil. Stir and cook until vegetables begin to soften. Add tomatoes and stir some more. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours (or more). Sprinkle in sweetener, to bring out the tomato flavor, and stir well. For an additional 30 minutes to an hour simmer with the top tipped so steam escapes. The sauce should thicken noticeably. Turn off heat and cover. Let sit until ready to serve, or cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight. If you double or triple the recipe there will be plenty to freeze in reasonable portions. Reheat slowly on the stove top. Serve over your preferred base – either al dente pasta, spaghetti squash, or my new favorite, cooked broccoli slaw.

Posted in beef, garlic, onion, parsley, sauces, Silver Spring Kitchen, tomato, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
10 Mar 2013

Dublin Coddle

dublin coddleI adore the name of this dish. And oh my flippin’ floopie, it is rich and delish! It reminds me of a chilly, rainy day I spent in Dublin many years ago, popping into a pub to warm up a bit with some food and drink. I did not have a coddle, but the feeling was the same. It totally has a comfort food vibe, and is considered such in Ireland. I thought of it with St. Patrick’s Day coming up and my Irish-ness starting to raise it’s head here in my blog. It is called a coddle because of the slow simmering manner of cooking the dish. Dublin, of course, comes from the popularity of the dish in the Dublin area. I read one place once that the convenience of slow cooking the one-dish meal and the ease of keeping it warm in the oven has a logical basis – it allowed for a warm meal to be ready for the man of the house when he came home late from the pub, after the rest of the family was already in bed. Heh. From my experience there are almost as many variations of this dish as there are mothers and grandmothers. Just like in the US there are delicious recipe variations for meatloaf, chicken soup and apple pie, each cook makes it their own way. I probably committed some form of blasphemy by excluding potatoes from my version of this dish, but we are stubborn about our use of cauliflower as a potato substitute in our diet, so I happily blasphemed. The results were like a beef stew. I know, I know, there is no beef in the recipe. It is just a bunch of pig. That is what I thought! I think the beer mixes with all the other juices and just makes a darned rich broth that is reminiscent of beef broth. Sooooo good! A layer of thinly sliced potatoes as the top layer is the more traditional route, so I included it as an option in the recipe. I thought the quantities would serve four, but we did not have any sides, just a big bowl of coddle. Since there were so many veggies and protein in the coddle it ended up being healthy servings for two very hungry people. If you are not serving sides with the coddle I would recommend doubling the recipe for a party of more than three.

Dublin Coddle

8 slices thick bacon
6 thick pork sausages (mild Italian or ideally some Irish bangers)
1 Tbsp butter
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 cup water
1 head cauliflower or 3 medium potatoes
1 large carrot
1 12-ounce beer or hard cider
1 Tbsp dried parsley leaves
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut bacon into 1-inch pieces. In a large frying pan cook the bacon over medium heat until browned. Transfer cooked bacon to Dutch oven. In bacon grease over medium high heat add sausages and cook until browned, but stop before they are completely cooked through. Cut the sausages into one-inch pieces and transfer them to the Dutch oven. In what is left of the bacon grease add the butter. When the butter is melted add the onion and garlic. Saute until onions are softened but not browned. Transfer onion and garlic to Dutch oven. You are now done with the frying pan. Salt and pepper the stuff in the Dutch oven to your liking, then pour in the water. Slice the carrot into coins, no more than ¼ inch thick. Chop cauliflower into bite-sized floret pieces, or peel and slice potatoes, no more than ¼ inch thick. Add to the Dutch oven a layer of carrot, followed by a layer of cauliflower. You may not need the whole head of cauliflower, but there should be an even layer of it over the top of everything else. If using potatoes make an even layer of slices on top, overlapping them so the other ingredients are substantially covered. Sprinkle the parsley and thyme on top of the cauliflower/potatoes, followed by salt and pepper to your liking. Add the beer or cider. The liquid in the Dutch oven should come up to about the middle of the pot and not totally submerge all the ingredients. Cover the Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid or two layers of foil. Place in 400 degree preheated oven and cook for 45 minutes, then turn heat down to 325 degrees and cook for another 1 to 1 ½ hours, until the cauliflower/potato layer is soft and ready to eat. Turn off the oven and leave the coddle inside it until time to serve. It will stay hot for quite a while.

 

Posted in baked, cauliflower, garlic, onion, parsley, pork, sausage, Silver Spring Kitchen, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
06 Mar 2013

Baked Chicken with Cheese and Spinach

chickenspinachcheese1

I noticed that it’s been a while since I posted a chicken recipe. I can’t go too long without doing chicken. We eat it often and I try to vary the preparation. It is always easy to roast a bird, but a nice sauce on top of baked pieces is comfort food extraordinaire. I did a slightly similar recipe a while back, but this dish is much more rich and thick, with a completely different result. This stuff is pretty rich, and I spooned up every bit of the sauce when the chicken was long gone. Our young charge Lanky P, who is living with us now, is not a vegetable eater, which makes for a lot of scrambled eggs in his belly. I was nice and did a few thighs without the sauce for him. I think he seriously missed out, but whenever someone dislikes vegetables I respect it, but think it is a little sad. There are so many wonderful flavors you can get from vegetables. Maybe I will do some recipes and sneak in veggies – I did it the other day with spaghetti sauce and he cleaned his plate. I never have to sneak with Little B – she eats frozen broccoli florets straight from the freezer as a snack, for goodness sake – so I can hone my veggie sneaking skills with Lanky P. Heh. Heh. Heh. That is an evil laugh if you don’t recognize it.

Baked Chicken with Cheese and Spinach

6 – 8 chicken thighs, skin on but edges trimmed
3 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped (or 13.5 ounce can spinach, with liquid squeezed out)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (if using fresh spinach)
6 cloves garlic, crushed
8 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces goat cheese
6 ounces sour cream
½ tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp lime juice
3 roasted red peppers, jarred or fresh roasted with skin removed
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly salt and pepper chicken thighs after trimming off excess fat and skin – leave enough skin on to cover the top of the chicken thigh meat. Place one layer of chicken in 9×13 baking dish. Slice red peppers into thin strips, no more than ¼ inch width and set aside. In a medium pot over medium high heat add garlic and spinach (if using fresh, add oil first until heated, then garlic and spinach). When spinach is hot add cream cheese, goat cheese, sour cream, salt and juice. Stir until cheeses are melted and combined with spinach and garlic. Spread cheese and spinach mixture over chicken. Lay slices of red pepper over cheese mixture so they are evenly distributed. Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and cook for 20 – 25 more minutes until peppers are dried out a bit, cheese is bubbly and chicken is cooked through. Let sit for about five minutes before serving.

 

Posted in baked, cheese, chicken, garlic, lime, Silver Spring Kitchen, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
02 Mar 2013

Coleslaw Perfection

coleslaw_edited-2

Big D and I have issues. I like tart coleslaw and he likes slightly sweet coleslaw. It makes for a challenge when making, well, coleslaw. I could make two batches, but that seems silly, so I just kept experimenting until I figured out a just right combination of sweet and tart in one bowl of slaw. I previously tried to use sweetener and wine vinegar to get a balance, but then had a revelation and tried – duh – a different kind of vinegar. The apple cider vinegar has just enough sweet and tart to get to the balance we like. Viola! The perfect coleslaw.

Coleslaw

4 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
½ cup shredded carrot
½ cup finely chopped red onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground black pepper

In a medium bowl combine garlic, mayonnaise, vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined. Add green cabbage, purple cabbage, carrot and onion. Toss vegetables until coated with dressing. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

Posted in cabbage, garlic, onion, side dish, Silver Spring Kitchen, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment

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