Move Over Hash Browns - Kale Is Here

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MOVE OVER HASHBROWNS!


I love my potatoes, that's for sure. But I have been on a real health kick lately, not so much by choice this time as of necessity, and the name of the game is chelation. Long story, but I can say briefly that one of the VIP's in this game is brain-healthy glutathione, and this dish is packed with it. Kale, garlic, onions, walnuts, and over-easy eggs.

I started out by sauteeing the garlic. I usually do this in two stages, adding more garlic when the first little bit is just about done, so that I end up with some of it a little bit crispy, which gives it a totally different flavor. Yum.

Then I add the finely chopped red onion. Of course, white onion would do as well. And then, lots of finely chopped fresh kale. It's important to start with more than you think you need because it will shrink as it wilts. Right towards the end, I add some finely chopped walnuts and stir those in, with a sprinkling of chopped walnuts on top as well.

I then top with two perfectly cooked over easy eggs, with the yolks nice and soft while the whites are cooked through. Yes, this is attainable. Just fry your eggs on a lower temperature and be patient. If you see and here the edges of the whites crackling as you put the egg in the pan, you have the pan too hot and the outside of the whites will be done long before the insides.

Well, I had my doubts about this, but it was indeed amazing, and I have eaten it every day for the past three days. Mmmm.

Caramel Rolls, Hot from the Oven

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I don't know if there is any treat that tastes as good on a snowy Nebraska day as a nice, hot caramel roll, right from the oven! Loaded with cinnamon sugar and butter on the inside and gooey, made-from-scratch caramel on the outside - Mmmm!

 



The rolls are just a basic, sweet roll recipe (I use unbleached flour, organic unbleached sugar, yeast, sea salt, butter, and eggs), and the caramel sauce is made by slow-cooking corn syrup (or maybe some organic brown rice syrup - it's a bit healthier and adds a unique taste), sugar, sea salt, butter, and cream (milk or half and half will do) in a very particular manner.

Want to spice things up a bit? Try adding canned pumpkin and extra cinnamon and sugar to your rolls to make pumpkin caramel rolls. If you don't have the time to make a nice, slow-cooked caramel sauce, here's a trick my daughter uses that makes a really tasty caramel sauce, especially on the pumpkin rolls: Just mix melted vanilla ice cream equal parts with brown sugar and put your sliced, unbaked rolls on top. Bake as usual. Different taste and texture, but still very yummy!

Strudel . . . Ahhh...

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Strudel . . . strudel is amazing. Light, buttery, flaky . . . mmmmm... However, I rarely make a whole batch of strudel. I mostly just use the ends of the long, tubelike roll to make 4 strudels when I make a big batch of cinnamon rolls. For strudel, I allow for a longer rising time, then roll out, and fold, roll out and fold - incorporating plenty of softened butter into the dough. It makes for a very delicate pastry.

After getting just the right amount of butter folded in, the dough is rolled out into a long rectangle and spread with filling down the middle. Then the sides are folded over brochure style and slits cut in the top.

Once baked, a glaze or icing can be spread or drizzled over the top, and nuts if desired. Yum!

Underneath It All

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I'm always showing my rolls from the top with all the gooey goodness, but just so ya know, they look pretty tasty from bottom view as well!






Pictured on top are caramel apple rolls and on the bottom are chocolate chip Nutella rolls.both were a big hit!

These would also be very tasty with a powdered sugar icing or glaze.

Caramel Rolls Galore

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Caramel Apple Caramel Rolls

My regular roll base with cinnamon apple filling spread liberally on the dough before rolling, then topped with gooey, made-from-scratch caramel.

Banana Wheat Caramel Rolls

My dough base was changed a bit for this yummy roll, which features banana, honey, and whole wheat flour made into a caramel-topped cinnamon roll. Mmmm...








Chocolate Chip Caramel Rolls

This gooey roll was made with chocolate chips added to the dough, which was then spread with a Nutella filling. I wanted to add hazelnuts to the caramel sauce, since Nutella is a hazelnut spread, but not having any, I settled on toasted almonds instead.



The Nutella melted down right into the caramel and made a rich, fudgy goo. Very tasty!


More to come . . .

Yummy Homemade Cinna-Buns

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Made these cinnamon rolls this morning. Actually, they are more like cinnamon biscuits, as they are made with baking powder. I still like yeast rolls better, but these made for a quick and yummy breakfast, especially good right out of the oven.

A Kale Salad

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Kale is a powerfully beneficial food nutrient - full of vitamins A and C, with plenty of calcium and iron as well. But most people don't care to just eat a bunch of kale - I know I don't! I often add kale to fresh vegetable juices or salads.





I make this salad from napa cabbage, baby kale, red and yellow peppers, a little onion, a little garlic, and some apricot kernels. Just run the veggies through the food processor until choppy, and the garlic until fine. Normally, I would top with some dried cherries or cranberries (they're not raw, but add a nice sweetness), but I didn't have any on hand when I made this.

I used to put a little oil and vinegar on my chopped up salads, but I have found that if I just toss them with enough sea salt to give a good flavor and stick the covered bowl in the fridge, the natural juices of the veggies will permeate the salad and give it just the right amount of moisture.

Next, believe it or not, I used some of my kale salad to top a pizza! I made a little sauce of blended young coconut, sea salt, and garlic, spread it all over my crust and just threw on some of the kale salad. (Had I thought this out in advance, I would have topped the pizza before adding the apricot kernels, but it was all okay.) Added some grated parmesan and shredded mozarella, and it was really good! I think it would have been even better with a little Swiss cheese, but, anyway, it really hit the spot.

Thai Curry with Vegetables

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I'm finally getting around to posting my first experience with making my own Thai curry. It was delish!!! I can't give you an actual recipe, because, as usual, I just glanced over a recipe online to see what goes into it and then threw it all together according to taste. I did a combination of the red and yellow curry.

However, instead of using canned coconut water as the recipe called for, I used fresh coconut water with some young coconut flesh, as well. Also, I did not cook it, as directed in the recipe, but just blended it all up in my Vitamix and then added cooked veggies, which warmed it up a bit. So, the curry paste is actually a raw food (yay!).

I'm sure I used more ginger, garlic, and spices than the following recipe calls for. 

Curry Paste

1/2 to 1 stalk lemongrass, minced
1-2 yellow chilis
1-2 red chilis
2 shallots or small onion, sliced
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. turmeric
1/3 tsp. white pepper
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
Water and meat from one young coconut

Pasta Primavera

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A while back, I made this pasta primavera dish to take to a family dinner, mostly because I was trying to think of something yummy for my daughter-in-law who is vegetarian (it's not vegan, but could easily be converted by using a nut milk instead of the cream).

I've made this before, but never use a recipe. I just throw it together. It is really just your basic white sauce made with real butter and cream, with sauteed garlic and onions added. I also blanch the vegetables very briefly (just throw vegetables into boiling water) and take them back out about 30 seconds later.

HOWEVER, do add a teaspoon or so of baking soda to your boil water - This will make your vegetables come out with bright colors. Otherwise, your greens will fade to a very non-appetizing greenish-gray color.

The veggies and the cream sauce are added to pasta cooked "al dente," (not too done). Then add some cheese ( I added some parmesan and some grated farmer cheese ) and top with cheese ( I used mozarella and farmer cheese ).

Then bake about 25 minutes or until bubbly with the cheese nicely melted.

Chicken and Dumplings

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This is made almost just like chicken noodle soup, except for a few changes. I usually make it several nights after making a roasted chicken, so that I can make the broth up from the leftover chicken. I can use the extra chicken that comes off the bones, or use a cooked chicken breast for the chicken.

For the chicken broth - Throw the leftover cooked chicken ( or raw chicken pieces ), bones and all, in a big pot with water and salt, enough to cover all the chicken. Let it cook at a slow boil until the chicken is falling off the bones. Then strain the broth off the chicken, return to heat and let it reduce until it has the "strength" of chicken flavor that you like.  ( At this point, you can save the chicken broth to use at a later date. Freeze it if it will be more than a few days. )

For the dumplings:

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1 cup unbleached flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp sea salt

Put flour, sea salt, and baking powder in a bowl, then add beaten egg, milk, and oil. Mix with a fork and let the dough sit for at least 15-20 minutes, covered.
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Okay, once your dumpling dough is resting, start peeling and slicing carrots, slice celery, and dice onions; mince a little parsley, too, if you like, or maybe some peas. You can cook the veggies in the broth, or cook them separately in some salted water.

Bone some of the chicken, which should have cooled by now. If you prefer nice chunks of chicken instead of little pieces of leftovers, you can use a leftover cooked chicken breast or, maybe you can just use your roast chicken entirely for the soup, cutting off some of the best of the chicken before it goes to making broth. The boiled bits of chicken are good for chicken tacos.

Now, pat out your dumpling dough lightly on a lightly floured surface. Turn over once so they get flour on both sides. Cut with a biscuit cutter ( or inverted small glass ).

Make sure the veggies haven't overcooked. You can now steam your dumplings in a large pot of water that has been brought to a boil. You can steam them in the chicken broth, but I prefer to do it in a different pan of salted water that has been brought to a boil. ( This way your broth stays nice for the gravy. ) Reduce the heat to low (water should not be bubbling, but should still be very hot) and place dumplings in the hot water. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and let steam ever-so-slightly for about 7 minutes. You just want them to steam, not boil. After about 7 minutes, turn the dumplings over and cover again for about 5 minutes more.

Now turn you attention to the broth. Turn the heat up under the broth. In a cup, mix about 1/3 cup cornstarch in about a half to 3/4 cup of water.  Stir until it has no lumps, then pour into hot broth while stirring all with a whisk. Add the cornstarch only about a third at a time, letting it get thick and adding more as you need it. When you have a nice gravy, add the chicken, veggies, and dumplings.


Enjoy!!!

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

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A while back I made a BBQ chicken pizza. I'd been wanting to make one for a long time, though I'm not much of a BBQ fan. It was really good :)

I used my basic crust recipe. While it was rising, I made a sauce with a simple roux and some KC Masterpiece that Jamie keeps around. ( I only needed a little sauce, so the roux was just two teaspoons oil, two teaspoons flour, about 3/4 cup water and some BBQ sauce and red chili paste to taste. )

I took a leftover cooked chicken breast and cut it into pieces, then took a little water, a little sugar, and some more BBQ sauce and chili paste, and let the chicken simmer in there until it was glossy and starting to thicken.

I cut up some green onions, white onions, and then carmelized some of the white onion. I shredded some mozarella and swiss, mixed them together with some dried red chili flakes. I put the crust in the oven (400*) for about five minutes just to get the crust dried out a bit before adding the toppings. Then I spread a little of the sauce, then added a little bit of the cheese, then the chicken, then the raw onions, then the carmelized onions, and then the cheese. I do think it would have been better with some bleu cheese crumbles, but I didn't have any.

Anyway, it was good :)

Stuffed Crust Pizza

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This pizza was really good! The only way I had ever had "stuffed crust" pizza before was with the cheese in the outside edge of the crust. But I had heard about making stuffed crust pizza by making a mixture of ricotta, eggs, and cheeses ( I used only mozzarella, as that's all I had on hand) and putting it between two layers of crust.

For two pizzas, I used my basic pizza crust recipe  and divided the dough into four sections to rise. I made the sauce by simmering diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, sea salt and a little fresh basil.

I spread out my pizza crust on a greased pizza pan, dotted it with fork holes all over, and then spread an egg and cheese mixture on the crust. Then I rolled out the second crust and placed it over the top, also dotting it with fork holes all around. I put this much in the oven (425*) for about 7 minutes, and then went to work on my toppings, which included the sauce, a few small leaves of basil, browned hot sausage, and mozzarella. I did the same for another pizza, then put both in the oven to bake. I switched racks every now and then so they would get done evenly.

It was SO yummy . . . I can't wait to do this one again : )

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

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Chicken noodle soup is much better when made with homemade broth and homemade noodles.

 

I like to make chicken broth after having a roast chicken - Throw the leftover chicken, bones and all, in a big pot with water and salt, enough to cover all the chicken. Let it cook at a slow boil until the chicken is falling off the bones. Then strain the broth off the chicken, return to heat and let it reduce until it has the "strength" of chicken flavor that you like. 

 

 

While it's boiling down, you have things you can be doing. First off, mix up the noodle dough. Here is a small recipe. It can easily be doubled.

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 1.5 cup unbleached flour

2 eggs

1.5 tsp olive oil

1 Tbsp water

1/2 tsp sea salt

Put flour and sea salt in a bowl, then add beaten eggs, water, and oil. Mix with a fork and let the dough sit for at least 15-20 minutes, covered. 

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Okay, once your noodle dough is resting, start peeling and slicing carrots, slice celery, and dice onions; mince a little parsley, too, if you like.  When your broth is reduced to about the strength you like, add the chopped vegetables. While the veggies are cooking in the broth, bone some of the chicken, which should have cooled by now. If you prefer nice chunks of chicken instead of little pieces of leftovers, you can use a leftover cooked chicken breast or, maybe you can just use your roast chicken entirely for the soup, cutting off some of the best of the chicken before it goes to making broth. The boiled bits of chicken are good for chicken tacos.

Now, roll out your noodles on a lightly floured surface. Turn them over every so often, dusting lightly with flour. Once they are quite thin, cut them in strips with a pizza cutter or knife. 

Once your  veggies are just right (not too mushy), add the chicken. Then, carefully add the noodles, a few at a time. (You may not want to use all of them, depending on how much broth you made. Just play it by ear.) Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Let the noodles cook for about ten minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a bit.

Enjoy!!!

Twice-baked Acorn Squash

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Another squash side dish I made recently was this twice-baked acorn squash. I halved the squash and cooked it, open-side down. Then I removed the seeds. I scraped the cooked squash into a bowl, leaving about a 1/4 inch cushion. 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I mixed beaten eggs, parmesan cheese, thawed and drained chopped spinach, chopped onion, and sea salt, and then piled it all back into the shells. Then I topped with some grated farmer cheese and put back in the oven until the cheese was nicely melted. This was really good and really filling! Nice way to get veggies.

 

Twice-Baked Acorn Squash

 

1 acorn squash

2 beaten eggs

6 oz spinach, thawed and drained (or fresh, chopped)

chopped onion to taste

parmesan to taste

sea salt to taste

about 3 oz shredded farmer cheese

Maple Glazed Acorn Squash

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Recently, I made a few side dishes from acorn squash. Actually, I just ate this for lunch all by itself, which is good, too! For this one, I just halved the squash, put the halves open-side down on a baking sheet, baked until tender, removed the seeds. 

 

 

 

 

While the squash was baking, I combined butter, pure maple syrup, sea salt, and chili powder, and let them boil down until they were syrupy and fairly thick. When the squash was done cooking, I drizzled the syrup all over the squash, then put it back in the oven for a while. You can put it under the broiler a few minutes if you are determined to keep a close eye on it.

 

I garnished with blended raw coconut ( you can use a good sour cream ) and chives. It was very yummy!

 

Maple Glazed Acorn Squash

 

1 acorn squash

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

dash of chili powder

dash of sea salt

Dairy-Free Vegan Chocolate Pudding

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This is very good! I've been making it for a few years now. It tastes very, very much like regular chocolate pudding. However, there is no milk or dairy, and the recipe, as is, is totally raw except for the cocoa powder, which has probably been heat-treated. If you want it to be 100% raw, use ground raw cacao instead of cocoa powder.

2 cups raw coconut meat from young coconuts

1/2 cup raw honey

1/2 cup ground cocoa powder 

1/2 to 3/4 cup water

2 tsps vanilla

1/2 teaspoons sea salt

Put all in a heavy-duty blender or Vitamix and blend until smooth. Refrigerate for a day or so, if you can wait that long! It generally thickens a bit after a day or so. Very nice!

Italian Buttercream Frosting

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Yummy, yum, yum!!!  Have you ever made authentic Italian buttercream frosting? Once you have it, you will never want that premade canned stuff again.

 

Now, it's not as easy as a plain old buttercream frosting made by beating butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together. It requires cooking a sugar syrup and then slowly adding it to beaten egg whites, making a lovely meringue, and then adding softened butter. 

 

You start by separating 5 eggs - you will be using only the whites, which you should place in a large bowl. Now, taking 1 1/4 cup extra fine sugar ( you can just run regular sugar through the coffee grinder for a few seconds ) and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan, cook these together until the syrup reaches a temperature of 238* on a candy thermometer or the soft-ball stage when a tiny bit is dropped into a glass of cool water. Remove from heat. 

 

While the sugar syrup is slowly cooking, beat the 5 egg whites until stiff. Once the egg whites are stiff and the sugar syrup is at the soft-ball stage, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the egg whites, beating all the while, until you have a nice meringue. Now, gently beat in 3/4 cup of softened butter. NOT TOO SOFT or your frosting will be wimpy. NOT TOO COLD or your frosting will be lumpy. Soft enough that you can begin to squish the butter with your fingers.

 

You can now place your buttercream in the fridge for a while, if you like. I think this makes it a bit easier to pipe.

 

The icing I have pictured here was a little too soft, but still tasted wonderful. Don't worry if you don't get it right the first time. It takes a bit of practice, but it's well worth the effort. I finally had to quit practicing, though, 'cause it was really ruining my diet!

Italian Buttercream Icing

5 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cup superfine sugar
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Hello, Cupcake!

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This book, "Hello, Cupcake!" by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson is chocked full of cute ideas for cupcake making. You've got your penguins, popcorn, and panda bears, you've got spaghetti and meatballs, you've got various kinds of dogs, some dolphins, alligators - all kinds of critter. Also, princesses, little tykes, bowling balls and pins, billiard balls, several kinds of flowers,


including sunflowers, garden vegetables, wedding cake cupcakes, and much more. Whew! That's a lot!

Oriental Stir Fry Dishes

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Recently, I have been haunting a couple of Oriental food markets and making a lot of  Asian dishes completely from scratch. No more canned bean sprouts and water chestnuts. What a difference "fresh" makes!


For this dish, which I just threw together (kind of resembles chow mein, I guess), I cooked some chicken breast in a little oil while making a sauce of soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, organic, unbleached sugar, a little red chili paste and a little sea salt.  Then I put the chicken bits in the sauce and let it simmer on low for a while. I didn't measure any of this; just went by taste.

In another pan, I put some oil, threw in some sliced carrots and sliced celery, let that cook for a few minutes while chopping some onion, bok choy, and peeling and slicing some water chestnuts. I threw those things into the mixture, holding back the tops of the bok choy for a little bit more since they cook much more quickly than the bottoms. I also added the fresh bean sprouts at this point and stir-fried for a bit. Then I threw in the bok choy tops and some cut green onions.

Then I put a little cornstarch and water into my sauce to thicken it up and added it to the vegetable mixture. We could have had it with rice or noodles, but I thought it was really good just like this.

Homemade Pizza Crust

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I love, love, love making pizza! It took me a while to get it down to where I would actually rather have a homemade pizza than to get it from a good pizza place, but it was worth all the years of trial and error.

I usually make one large (18") and two mediums (12") with this recipe. You can cut it in half, or put half the dough in the freezer for later use.

I usually put no oil or fat in my pizza crust. I often brush the crust with butter after baking is finished. You can put a tablespoon or so in the dough, if you wish, or you can drizzle the crust with olive oil before topping. Whatever you like.

2 cups warm water

1 slightly heaping tablespoon (TBSP) of good yeast

2 cups unbleached flour

Whisk these together to allow the sponge to form. After it is bubbly and about doubled in size, add:

1 teaspoon (tsp) sea salt

1 or 2 teaspoons (tsp) sugar ( or you can leave it out completely )

1 1/2 to 2 more cups unbleached flour ( I usually reserve some of this for the kneading process. Feel free to add more while kneading until it seems right.)

Knead for about 15 minutes, until smooth and elastic. ( If you don't want to knead it the whole time, it will have about the same effect if you just let it set for about 15 minutes and then come back and knead it for 5 minutes or so. )

Divide the dough as needed for your pizzas.

Place each ball of dough on a greased pizza pan and cover with a cloth. Allow it to rise until about doubled in size.  With greased hands, spread your dough out over the pan, working from the middle out. Poke holes all over with a fork. Let rise again for ten to fifteen minutes, more if needed.

You can put your crust in the oven for a few minutes before topping, or just begin topping as it.

Bake at about 425* til done.

Enjoy!