Three common problems solved

I haven’t blogged for a while because I’ve been real busy and I’ve also been creating some new dishes.  Variety is the spice of life.  So I decided to take on some food items that I really thought needed some fine-tuning.  

Singapore noodles with some crispy tofu

Tofu

Issue

Solution

Non genetically  modified  (GMO) tofu is very healthy (soy in its natural form, not processed). I’ve only eaten tofu in one restaurant where I like the tofu’s consistency (5 spice tofu at P.F. Chang’s).  In other places it tends to be mushy.  Some people like to bake tofu to get the watery consistency out (after it’s drained)-I’ve done this and it works well.  But I’ve been looking for another flavor. Last night I finally got it to the consistency and flavor I want. I got it to have the texture of Indian paneer (without dairy) .  It was the first time that Jordan cleared out all the tofu in his Chinese dish.

First, it needs to be drained well.  I buy the extra firm, non genetically modified Nasoya brand.  I’ve struggled to find the best draining technique (without having things topple over).  I’ve finally found an effective way to drain it too. I’ll write up the technique (simple) soon. I also pan fry it with a little corn starch sprinkled and some turmeric-this gives it that crispy texture.  It also gives it the perfect consistency and flavor.  And it’s a lot like pan fried Indian paneer (which I used to make from scratch before my non dairy days)

Bratwurst

Issue

Solution

Can taste great, but it’s unhealthy.  I don’t want to feed my child nitrites, fillers, fat and all kinds of food like ingredients that really aren’t food.  Yes,  an occasional bratwurst won’t kill you.  But why not eliminate the bad ingredients completely?

I recently found a new brand of sausages at Whole Foods (see photo).  They make knockwurst, bratwurst, etc.  There is no dairy (more commonly lactic acid starter derived from dairy) and no nitrites, fillers, etc.  My son loves meat, so I have to consciously feed him the best meat I can find prepared in a tasty way.  There are two methods I use to make this bratwurst.        During the winter months, I make it indoors.  I parboil it (more for flavor) in New Glarus Bock beer. Then grill it inside.        During the summer months, I grill it outside I serve it with Hungarian style cabbage.

Home made pizza with no dairy

Pizza

Issue

Solution

Commercial pizza tends to be high in sodium and fat.  Of course for us, no dairy, so that leaves out all pizzas from restaurants (at least around my area….I’m sure there are vegan pizzas in some unique restaurants but not in my neighborhood).  Schools often have pizza parties so I always have to send a pizza for my son so he doesn’t feel bad when he smells the pizza.

If I have no time to make a fresh one, the quick solution is a Tofurky pizza (they are really good).  But these pizzas tend to serve just one. The other alternative, especially for travel (cold pizza is good too) is a homemade pizza.....completely homemade.  Given economies of scale, we make two and save some.  These pizzas can be customized.  I use generous portions of Daiya cheese (that melts like cheese), sauce, Applegate (no nitrite) pepperoni (or not), garlic,  basil, etc.  If I don’t have time, I use organic pasta sauce. The pizzas are baked in special pizza pans with the small holes on the bottom for maximum crispiness.

I'll be posting more.


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Looks and smells like a real creamy strawberry smoothie….

It tastes at least as good as it looks

ingredients

...and it is.

I’ve been seeing all kinds of great photos of smoothies recently, including the ones from some famous fast foods.  The photos do look good.  But we all know that the fast food smoothie is most likely artificial.

Since I am staying away from dairy for health reasons…and my son has to, I’ve tried to find a good blend of alternatives to dairy.

In my case, I found the best mix to be a blend of Silk Soy and So Delicious coconut milk.  These two alternatives are very creamy.  I also used a cup of So Delicious non flavored yogurt.

To boost nutrients, I also added wheat germ.  While wheat germ may not sound appealing, it is a good way to pack nutrients into the drink.  I also added 1 tsp. of Acacia honey.  This is so simple and can be customized to your taste and available fruits.  The amazing color is real….not artificial.

Recipe

1.25 cups blend of silk soy/so delicious coconut milk

2 heaping tsp. wheat germ (optional)

1 tsp. honey
1 container of So Delicious plain yogurt (coconut based)

one container of strawberries (or mix with other fruits) trimmed and quartered

 9 ice cubes

Even my son liked it and he is very hard to please. To me this tastes so much better than its dairy counterpart.  And of course if you are allergic to dairy (as my son), there is no sacrifice in the texture or flavor.



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A Birthday Cake …made for me

A cake baked for me for my birthday...delicious and allergen free

As most of my blog entries, this one is about food.  And as most food, it’s not just caloric intake to satisfy some basic hunger. 

For various reasons, my birthday celebration with my daughter was a few days early.  Instead of getting some dessert that was store bought (which a tough find because I really don’t consume dairy) and would exclude Jordan (due to his food allergies), she made a birthday cake for me.  Because it’s allergen free, Jordan could also eat this cake.  She couldn’t buy commercial decorator icing (never know if they are cross contaminated).  Instead, I got unique candles. 

I haven’t had a birthday cake baked for me since I was a teen (baked by my mother).  After that I got cakes from bakeries (some real good ones).  Then once my son’s food allergies kicked in, that also ended.  I wouldn’t celebrate with a cake he couldn’t eat and I wouldn’t bake a cake for myself (pathetic). 

Cherrybrook Kitchen is a family owned business (inspired by their daughter with multiple food allergies).  The mixes are made in a dedicated facility that is free of dairy, nuts, tree nuts and eggs (so no worries about cross contamination).  So if you are not big on baking, this is a great substitute for making a cake from scratch.  Or if you hope that a family member or friend will bake you a cake for a change, drop a hint about Cherrybrook Kitchen.

After being surprised by this homemade cake, I realized that I do prefer a homemade cake to a store bought one.  There is a lot more thought and effort that goes into it.

Cherrybrook Kitchen cake and frosting for people who are not expert bakers but do want to make someone feel good

(note:  the frosting mix was made with Spectrum)

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Sunday Smell of Someone Frying Chicken*

Oven Fried Chicken

My 'substitute for buttermilk

basic ingredients (the stock is for the balsamic red cabbage dish)

the buttermilk substitute

One of the many sidedishes you can add...European style red cabbage with wine and caraway seeds

Final product

Nothing goes to waste....great easy to make chicken stock with the rest

I have not blogged for a while because I’ve been so busy.  Yet, I have all these photos we’ve been taking while I cook, but just haven’t had time to update the words to go with it (the recipe and a list of ingredients).

I’ve recently read “Food Rules” by Michael Pollan.  This is an excellent book that reemphasizes to the reader that we should just stick to real food, not ‘food like’ edible things (processed food).  It’s an easy read with some great rules.  The book also reminds us that ‘nutritional science’ is new and not much is known.  So instead of getting overly technical, the book lists some basic time proven food rules.

So, it’s Sunday.  Isn’t Sunday Fried Chicken American tradition?  I know it was sort of Hungarian tradition (at least back in Budapest in my home….unfortunately when we came here, my parents discovered Popeye’s, KFC and Church’s….not good).

Real fried chicken isn’t really all that bad for you when it’s real.  I haven’t met one person (who eats meat) that doesn’t love fried chicken.  But because it’s deep-fried it’s somewhat fattening. 

So how can one still have fried chicken without clogging their arteries and all that bad stuff?  Basic food rule: eat real food.  Fried chicken from a franchise is very unhealthy.  For example, they reuse the oil that lends carcinogen qualities to the oil.  They use over processed ingredients and horrible factory farmed chicken that due to its diet doesn’t even have nutrients that chicken has (grass fed is always better).

So here are some simple ways to get your friend chicken without the carcinogens and artery clogging qualities of franchise fried chicken.

Use real chicken-I buy organic free range chicken-the nutrients in this chicken differ from mass processed chicken.  Yes, it costs more.  But I wait for sales on such chicken.  And as Michael Pollan discusses in his book-eat less!  So ultimately it will not cost more.  Balance out the chicken meal with vegetables and other things.

Oven fry-you can still get that oil-fried flavor if you oven fry.  With just a few tricks, it will taste a lot like deep-fried.  Plus with the flavor of real chicken (yes it does taste different)-your taste buds won’t rely so much on that oil flavor.  Instead, you will actually enjoy the flavor of the chicken too.

Use parts of the chicken for making great chicken stock (this again will help you reduce the cost of the meal).

Customize the breading to your tastes/preferences.

Don’t eat the whole chicken by yourself – instead, balance it out with exciting vegetable side dishes.

Some friends tell me “I can’t afford organic chicken,” yet they can afford premium beers and drinks.  It’s just not a priority.  This is most likely because they cannot see the benefit of eating real wholesome meat vs. the cheaper mass-produced ones.  Another way to look at it is that eating out is not cheap.  If you add up the cost of wholesome friend chicken at home (made with real chicken), it is around the price of eating out, but it’s real food.   I like to eat out, but I usually have less ‘unexplained’ stomach upsets when I eat at home.  I know the ingredients, I control what to use and how much.  And of course home cooking is so much cleaner…..

Oven Fried Chicken Recipe

One real chicken (free range, no antibiotics, no hormones)

Some coconut milk (this is my substitute for buttermilk)

A few cloves of garlic

Paprika

Cut up chicken – I leave the skin on for most pieces except the breast.  Since I tend to eat the breast, I debone it and take the skin off.  Jordan, who is a growing kid, can handle the fat from the skin.

Soak the chicken in some coconut milk with paprika, pepper and garlic (and any other flavor you might like).

Bread the chicken

This too is variable.  I like to bread in organic whole wheat flour, real eggs and a mix of corn meal/matzo meal with oregano.  Sometimes I use bread crumbs (finally found some without dairy cross contamination warning) or panko.  Putting some Dijon mustard in the eggs can provide for a slight hint of Dijon mustard flavor. 

My breading technique is the traditional European breading for schnitzel, etc.

Dip in: Flour-->eggs (beaten) -->breading

After breading it, I put the breaded pieces  on a foiled broiler rack (see photo).  I cut little slits where the broiler slits are so that the chicken drains while baking.  Then I take some oil (by hand) and work it into the coating of the chicken (pat it into it).  This will give it that nice fried flavor.

Bake on 420 for about 45 minutes.  The high heat gives it a crispy texture (if you oiled it well).  If it’s going too rapidly, reduce the heat (after 15 minutes) and prolong the baking time (I use a convection oven-and all ovens differ….so the heat/duration will have to be fine tuned).  It is important to initially put it in at high heat though.  This will ensure that you get the crispy quality.  If you start baking at 350 it will not be crispy.

I also made chicken stock from the bottom part…so nothing goes to waste.

And like Johnny Cash, you too can catch that Sunday smell of someone frying chicken* (you).

*Sunday Morning Coming Down, Johnny Cash

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Heavenly Homemade Hummus

run food processor and drop garlic cloves in

One lemon is usually enough...also use a very high quality olive oil (you do get what you pay for)

Fine tune as you process

Add fresh lemon juice 
(DO NOT USE 'realemon' bottled lemon juice)

The whipped/creamy consistency that we like

My 11 year old recipe from Bon Appetit magazine that I've fine tuned

drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle
with some authentic paprika

serve (again, drizzle with EVOO and paprika sprinkle)
with some hot pita bread
(don't serve with cold pita bread)

Hummus is one of the healthiest (and even cheap) foods – yet it’s so good and there is nothing to feel guilty about. 

I don’t like store bought ones-they taste dry and not very flavorful.  Fresh (no more than two days old) homemade hummus is the best.  Many Middle Eastern restaurants make their own hummus and the fresh taste is just like homemade.  I prefer a fairly whipped/creamy consistency for hummus-this allows the subtle flavors to be showcased and not be overcome by a dry texture.

Many people like to make variations of this.  I like the old fashioned, traditional hummus.  Some cultures make it with fava beans  also.

Hummus Recipe

2 15 ½ ounce cans of garbanzo beans drained (save a little water for part of the water for mixing (or one 29 ounce can)

½ cup water (mixed with garbanzo bean can liquid)-will add more later (to taste)

½ cup tahini  (it helps to bring tahini to room temperature so you add a consistent mix of this as it tends to separate when refrigerated)

½ cup (but will add more) Extra Virgin Olive Oil (you really get what you pay for with olive oil-the cheap extra virgin olive oils aren’t even real-caveat emptor)

1 heaping teaspoon of ground cumin

3 cloves of garlic

1 lemon

Run garlic through food processor (have the food processor running and throw in garlic cloves-turn off when all crushed).

Put garbanzo beans along with all other ingredients, pulse first and then run food processor for a few minutes.  At this point you will need to fine tune this recipe. As I mentioned,  I like hummus that has a slightly whipped consistency (many restaurants and store bought ones are too dense and the flavor beyond the garbanzo beans doesn’t come through).  I add extra virgin olive oil as the food processor runs and a little more water.  Then I add the lemon juice (roll the lemons before squeezing – this makes it easier to squeeze the juice out).  If after adding the lemon juice it’s still too dense, add a little more extra virgin olive oil and a bit water (again the consistency is a matter of preference).

Transfer to serving plates/bowl-drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle a bit of real Hungarian paprika on it (this is how most middle eastern restaurants serve it).  Serve with some warmed up pita bread (the fresher the better).

Hummus is an extremely healthy dish. Another side benefit of homemade hummus for us is that Jordan can eat it! It's not cross contaminated with dairy, nuts, etc.

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Don’t feel like cooking – make some convenient homemade food

Lo Mein Noodles with pan fried tofu and vegetables

The quality of the ingredients does make a difference

It was an “I don’t feel like cooking night.”  A long week (still not done) combined with some other things led me to not really wanting to cook. I don’t have the option to carry out because of Jordan’s food allergies, but even without food allergies we all know the carry out food is processed food with bad ingredients and we should refrain as much as we can from breaking down and giving into it.

Initially, I was going to try to make a really fast dinner but had no idea what to cook (because nothing made from scratch is that fast).  Half the battle was walking into the kitchen.  Once in the kitchen I thought maybe some sort of Chinese style noodle for Jordan would work (I’m not even that hungry and there were leftovers).   So I created this fairly quick, on the fly, dinner.  I wasn’t in the mood for meat (plus nothing was thawed out). 

Get the bland out

I don’t like mushy and bland tofu.  There are two ways to eliminate the bland mushiness.  First, after squeezing the liquid out (there are many techniques for this-I put a plate with some weight over it), marinate the tofu.  Second, pan-fry the tofu on high heat.  During the last 5 minutes of the pan-frying, drizzle cornstarch on the different sides and this will give a little brown crust.

 

Another ingredient that is useful for this style of cooking is 365 Organic Expeller Pressed Canola Oil.  This oil has a much higher frying temperature than extra virgin olive oil and it doesn’t have a strong domineering taste either.  Instead, this oil will let the flavors of the ingredients dominate.  Expeller pressed oils retain most of their nutrients including valuable Omega 3 (alpha linolenic acid) and 6 (linoleic acid) essential fatty acids. Canola oil is a rich source of vitamin E, an important dietary antioxidant. Canola oil also contains the lowest amount of total saturated fat of commonly consumed vegetable oils.  You can do more research on this, but regular vegetable oil is highly processed.  The Kadoya sesame oil is not a cooking oil and is used for flavoring the dish.

RECIPE

Tofu Mushroom Lo Mein Noodles

 Grab about  2" around Lo mein noodles (this is approximate)

1.5 cups thinly sliced  shitake mushrooms

1 large can of straw mushroom (optional)

5-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

small can of sliced water chestnuts

¼ cup. organic soy sauce (I used 365 brand – I don’t use genetically modified soy)

2-3 tspb. cornstarch

3+ tbs.  vegan oyster sauce (vegetarian stir fry sauce)

     (if not allergic to shellfish or not vegan you can use oyster sauce-oyster sauce is very salty)
about 1 cup of chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

1 tsp. unprocessed cane sugar

extra firm Nasoya tofu with water pressed out

1/3 cup (approximate) 365 Expeller pressed canola oil

drizzle of Kadoaya Sesame Oil

Dice tofu and marinate in about ¼ cup of soy sauce in a zip lock bag for about ½ hour.

make a small slurry of 1.5 tbs. corn starch and water

boil lo mein noodles in salted water for about 10 minutes, drain and set aside.

chop all vegetables

Pan fry tofu in oil on high heat; be careful not to break the tofu.  As the tofu browns (after about 5 minutes) sprinkle cornstarch on it and turn over so that the corn starch roasts.  Drizzle more cornstarch on the tofu and turn.  This will make the outside of the tofu a little crispy.   Take tofu out and put on a plate.

Stir fry vegetables (can add other vegetables like water chestnuts or baby corn etc.) for about 5 minutes over medium high heat.

Add chopped garlic and fry for one minute

Add stir soy sauce and stir, add stir fry sauce and add chicken stock until it gets to the right flavor (about 1 cup-without stock it will be too salty).
Pour cornstarch slurry into the liquid part (in a wok you can move the vegetables to the side) as the liquid burns.  The corn starch will thicken the boiling liquid.    Once thickened, add the noodles and toss thoroughly.    Mix thoroughly on high heat and noodles will steam. 

Add tofu back
add sesame oil (this is at the end for flavor and heat on high heat).

Drizzle chopped green onion on top

Serve

(note:  This can also be made with chicken or other meat also.  I prefer to marinate the meat Asian style)

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Bodylicious Bacon Brunch

365 Organic uncured bacon from whole foods

This is how it looks when you take it out
of the oven
-looks 'not done,' but it is

Pat dry and let it sit for a few minutes, now it is done

 ....bacon that won't kill you

I don’t like bacon, I never did.  But my 12 year old son LOVES bacon.  So I have to make bacon for him.  He’s not alone, a lot of people seem to love bacon…they love bacon flavor. 

I can’t make the typical bacon for him for two reasons:  1.  I know bacon is not healthy between the fat and nitrites; I can’t feed this to my child with a clear conscience.  2.  Most bacon has lactic acid derived from dairy.  So that’s out for us.

So here is another situation where the EE and food allergies led me to a healthier option.  Get the flavor without carcinogens.

I found organic bacon at Whole Foods (365 brand) that is uncured with no nitrites that tastes as good as any bacon, or even better (I do taste tests and the bacon lovers at home tell me that this is the best bacon they’ve had).  Yes, from a monetary standpoint it is more expensive than your run of the mill bacon, but you will not be paying for this bacon with your body (cancer, etc.). 

This is a very simple recipe, smells great and tastes great.  There is no dairy derivate in it and I don’t have to feel bad about knowingly feeding my child garbage.  So even if he didn’t have dairy allergies, I would continue with this version of bacon.

The recipe is fairly simple, and smells great too.    You could vary the recipe by brushing a little maple (real) syrup on top for the last 5 minutes.  I’ve read and tried a lot of bacon recipes.  Some put the bacon on a rack….this is a mess and also  results in a really long dishwashing project.  I find parchment paper works the best.

Recipe:

1 12 oz. pack 365 Organic brand Uncured Smokehouse bacon (see photo)

Wilton parchment paper

Roasting pan (I love the Food Network one-great for roasting potatoes)

Preheat oven to 400

Line out roasting pan with parchment paper

Line up bacon-don’t overlap

Bake for about 20-25 minutes (keep checking, ovens vary)

Take out of oven, use tongs to place bacon on a paper towel lined plate and pat dry with paper towels.

Let it rest for a few minutes so it can harden.

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