Meaty Monday: Whole Cauliflower with Brown Butter, Sage & Capers

What was left of the cauliflower after the photo shoot...

A lot of things changed last spring when Chuck died, and I simply lost my cooking mojo. It is coming back, bit by bit, and I think some of it has been rekindled by the lovely vegetables and meat I've found in my CSA shares. Life has a habit of going on. Luckily. On Friday afternoon, I had just finished shooting this cauliflower dish when my pal John wanders into the kitchen and says, "What's THAT???! It smells wonderful." Those pictures didn't turn out as well as I'd have liked, but this shot of it after the two of us had a go at the cauliflower right on the platter says it all. The cauliflower is tender, but just holds together until you collapse with a fork it into the rich, toasty brown butter sauce.

Even though today is usually Meaty Monday around here, you need a few good, fast side dishes to go along with the meat. More than a few.  Especially if you eat Primal / Paleo as I do. The uninformed think it is a meat-centric diet; actually it isn't, it's mostly vegetables with moderate portions of high quality animal protein a time or two a day. I generally aim for two cups of cooked vegetables (or the equivalent raw) at each meal, including breakfast.  Just no grain, legumes or processed sugar, although I avoid any kind sugar most of the time.

There has been an absolutely beautiful cauliflower recipe circulating the 'net for the last few years with a whole roasted cauliflower and sauce. The cauliflower roasts for about 1-1/2 hours. Gorgeous, but who, on a work night, really has time to roast anything for that long? I don't.  Can't speak for you, though.  In my  CSA box this week from Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative is a lovely, locally grown cauliflower, and it deserves to be shown off. This is the way to do it. The absolutely fastest way to cook a whole, intact, cauliflower is in a pressure cooker. It cooks in 6 minutes flat, and brown butter, one of those delicious but fussy sauces can be making itself in 5 minutes in your microwave with no watching on your part. And you pop the butter in the micro while the cauliflower cooks. Instant dish. Spectacular. Lick the plate good.

This really isn't a recipe. More of a technique following a list of ingredients. If you are Primal / Paleo, use pastured butter.  Set out all your ingredients, and have the sage cut and the lemon squeezed before you so much as touch the pot. This is vegetarian, Paleo, Primal, gluten free, and utterly delicious.

Please use a pressure cooker of 5 quarts or larger with a rack or basket in it and always, always, follow the manufacturers instructions to the letter.

Evidently I can still cook, but the photo skills are rusty.

Whole Cauliflower with Brown Butter, Sage & Capers 

From start to finish, this takes perhaps 15 minutes , and most of that time is hands-off, so you can multitask and make some sautéed salmon or pan-grill some steak while it is all cooking.

1  2 lb. whole cauliflower, leaves removed and stem trimmed flush
2 oz. unsalted butter
Juice from 1/2 lemon
6-8 fresh sage leaves, slivered
2T capers, drained
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Place 1-1/2 to 2 cups of water in the pressure cooker. Set the rack or basket inside, and set the cauliflower on the rack. Close the lid and seal according to the manufacturer's instructions. Bring to high pressure over high heat. While it heats, place the butter in a deep microwave safe bowl ( I use a 2-cup heatproof glass measuring cup), and cover with waxed paper or parchment, large enough to tuck under the bowl to contain any splatters.

2. When the pressure cooker reaches high pressure, reduce the heat to maintain high pressure for 6 minutes, and cook the butter in the microwave for 4 minutes on high. If the butter isn't brown enough, give it another minute. Remove the bowl carefully from the microwave and set aside.

3. When the cauliflower has cooked for 6 minutes, release the pressure quickly, using the vent carefully (see your manufacturer's instructions for details). When the pressure is down, open the unit away from your face to keep the steam away and carefully lift the whole cauliflower out using two big cooking spoons, or a big cooking spider. Place it on a an attractive platter.

4. Stir the sage into the hot brown butter, followed by the lemon juice and capers. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and then pour over the cauliflower and serve.

Serves 2 to 4 depending on how greedy you are about brown butter.

Shockingly Delicious: Mango Banana Curry Ice Cream

Creamy, sweet, spicy, each flavor pops on your palate in harmony. Shockingly delicious, Mango Banana Curry Ice Cream. Must. Have. More. 


I know there are plenty of unusual ice creams out there. Sweet corn. Beet. But this is different. It's strangely addicting. Seriously addicting. Like you want to grab the tub and lock yourself away with it so you don't have to share. I served this to my roommate John and his unsuspecting sister Susan, along with some homemade vanilla ice cream, and we all wanted seconds on the Mango, Banana Curry ice cream. And then thirds. Poor vanilla.


I'm a sucker for the Ataulfo mangoes when they come into season in the spring. I eat too many, really. After the first couple of weeks, though, I usually have more of them parked in the fridge, dead ripe, than I can eat. So sometimes I freeze them. As I put a bag of the peeled and pitted mangoes into the freezer, I saw a couple of forlorn-looking frozen bananas on my frozen fruit shelf (yes, I have a frozen fruit shelf in my big freezer). They wound up there when they were too soft to eat, and were destined for banana muffins that I never  made.  A lightbulb moment: Cold- Mango- Banana. Hmmm...ho-hum....wait...Indian seasonings work in sweet mango  chutneys...Eureka.

Rich, creamy golden goodness,  Mango Banana Curry ice cream

This Mango Banana Curry ice cream is absolutely ravishing, both to the eye, in it's bright yellow hue, and on the palate. Be brave, make it today. I promise it'll be the best thing you've eaten this year so far.

Shockingly Delicious: Mango Banana Curry Ice Cream

Note: The vodka (alcohol) is simply to keep the ice cream from getting icy and and rock hard while it ripens in the freezer after churning. If you can't or won't use it, leave it out, but you'll have to take the ice cream out of the freezer to let it thaw a bit before serving. And use a sweet or mild curry powder here, you don't want to pack heat here, though it probably wouldn't be a bad thing if your family and guests are into it.

Mango Banana Curry Ice Cream

1 lb. peeled and diced mango, (preferably Ataulfo Mango in season) though thawed frozen mango works

2 very ripe medium-small bananas, peeled and mashed
1/4 cup water

3/4 cup cane sugar

2 tsp. sweet curry powder (I use Penzeys)

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup creme fraiche or natural sour cream
2T vodka (or a light colored rum would work, too, yum)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Juice from 1/2 lime

In a medium saucepan, place the mango, the bananas and the water. Add the sugar and the curry powder, stir and cook over low heat until the mango softens, and becomes sauce-like. Place the mango mixture in a food processor, or blender container. Add the cream, creme fraiche, the vodka, the vanilla and the lime juice. Puree until smooth. Place in a metal bowl and chill for at least 2 hours or until the mixture is below 40ºF. Or put the mixture into a zip-top bag, and place into an ice and water bath until fully cold.

Place into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. After churning, freeze the mixture in a freezer container for three hours or more to ripen and harden. Makes about 1 .5 pints.

Baked Layered Ricotta with Feta & Roasted Vegetables

I know. I USUALLY do Meaty Mondays. This isn't a Meaty Monday because I have a vegetarian housemate. SO shoot me. You COULD always add crumbled bacon or ham or other smoked meat to the vegetable layer. It's already delicious as it is.  I have trouble stopping at one serving, and you probably will too. Actually is good at room temp for lunch, and reheats in a snap in the microwave. It's also grain free and gluten free.

In my house, this is a vehicle for leftovers. I had made a big batch of ricotta last week, and after we had lasagna from it, there was still a great deal of ricotta leftover. Plus, whenever I have too many vegetables lingering in the crisper, I just roast them so they can be added to omelets, or grain salads so they don't get all sad looking and end up in the compost bin. I roasted a baking sheet full of mushrooms, zucchini, red onions, garlic cloves, grape tomatoes and bell pepper, just doused them in evoo, salted and peppered and roasted them for about 35 minutes at 425ºF. Gives me about 2 cups of cooked vegetables. Two cups of pretty much any cooked vegetable works here.

Baked Layered Ricotta with Feta & Roasted Vegetables

Baked Layered Ricotta with Feta & Roasted Vegetables

Note: Please select organic / home or locally grown products for your table... and this can be made without eggs. Drain your ricotta for an hour or so in a fine mesh colander and don't expect the baked product to hold together .

2 lb. whole milk ricotta
2 large eggs
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1T dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 cups roasted or cooked vegetables
Grape tomatoes or roasted red pepper for garnish (olives would work, too)
Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle or spray

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Oil an oven-to-table 9" square baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, the eggs, the feta, and the herbs and spices through the black pepper. Mix well. Spread half the ricotta mixture evenly over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer the cooked vegetables over the ricotta mixture. Top with the remaining ricotta mixture. This is easiest to do if you put little dollops all over the top, and then gently  even it out. Decorate the top with halved grape tomatoes, cut side up, or bits of roasted pepper. Drizzle or spray the whole top with a light coating of oil (Love my EVO oil sprayer for this) and place in the oven. Bake about 35 minutes until the top is browned and the cheese is puffy. Serve warm or at room temp. Serves 6. Maybe. It should, but not likely.

Fat Boy's Easy Alfredo Sauce

Many, many years ago, a good friend of mine told me that my Alfredo sauce is what turned him into a fat boy. Luckily, he didn't hate me for it. And now, even though he tells me he still makes it, he's no longer a fat boy. Now he's a svelte boy. It is, however, part of his low carb diet repertoire. While he likes to drizzle its cheesy goodness it over roasted cauliflower, it's a wonderful thing over pasta, gnocchi, vegetables and is dandy with some seafood like shrimp or scallops added at the last moment, or some spinach. My Alfredo sauce is low carb, gluten free and lacto vegetarian, and will make just about everyone at the table happy.

This is so easy to make that even a non-cook can do it and ditch the glop in the jar. The only stipulation is that you choose top notch ingredients. If all you have on hand is parmesan cheese in the familiar green can, please don't even consider making this until you can pick up some real Parmesan Reggiano. And grate it yourself. There aren't a lot of ingredients in this sauce, so each one has to speak well for itself.

Fat Boy's Easy Alfredo Sauce

Fat Boy's Easy Alfredo Sauce

Makes a scant cup, about 4 servings

1 garlic clove, minced
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
big pinch of salt
2T unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream, not ultra pasteurized
1/4 cup dry white wine or white vermouth
1 scant cup freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
(handful of peeled raw shrimp, optional)
extra Parmesan to pass at the table

1. In a medium to large, broad saucepan, add the garlic, cayenne, nutmeg, salt, butter, heavy cream and wine, and bring to a low boil, whisking, to keep it from boiling over. Use a saucepan bigger than you think you need. Cook the cream mixture until it is reduced to roughly half.

2. Gradually add the the Parmesan, about 1/3 at a time, whisking the sauce smooth before adding the next portion. Keep the mixture at a low simmer. If you are adding shrimp, add it now, and stir until they become pink and opaque. Stir in the parsley and serve.

Note: This Alfredo Sauce will thicken as it stands and cools, but heating and / or a splash of white wine will bring it back to sauce consistency.

Creamy Sweet Potato, Kale and Smoked Turkey Soup

I have been gone from around here for nearly two months, and I'm sorry if you all came looking and I wasn't here. My husband was diagnosed with cancer beck in November and it has changed everything. Everything. More time spent in hospitals, and OR waiting rooms. I miss you. I've missed writing this blog, and especially, I've missed cooking. But since his ability to eat much is limited right now, cooking has taken a back seat to simple snacks like stewed fruit, grilled cheese and the occasional bowl of cereal. Not particularly interesting for a food blog.

A few weeks ago I had a lot of meals in the hospital cafeteria; while there are plenty of restaurants around Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, the weather was mostly in the single digits during the daytime, and only a crazy woman would venture out. I'm crazy, but not that kind of crazy. One day, after some sad and disappointing news from the surgeon, I went down to the cafeteria to drown my sorrows in soup.

They have pretty good food at Jeff; if you don't think so, you should try the dismal stuff they have at our local community hospital cafeteria, if you can ever find it open. Did I mention I've spent an awful amount of time hanging around hospitals? Anyway, the soup of the day was billed as Sweet Potato and Smoked Turkey Soup. Smelled wonderful and the color was gorgeous. The sweet potatoes were pureed into a creamy soup, and there were enough bits of smoky turkey and vegetables to keep it interesting. Soothing, satisfying and warming.  Good enough to know I could make a still better version. So here it is.

Please try to use organic vegetables in this if possible. More love in them. Fewer carcinogens, hopefully.  The easiest way to puree this soup is with an immersion blender. I use a Bamix. I've blown out practically every other brand until I got this Bamix. They invented the immersion blender, and they're made in Switzerland. Mine has lasted 8 years so far...Oh, and if you don't eat that piece of bread I have on the side of my bowl there, this soup is Paleo, dairy free, grain free, and gluten free, as long as your curry powder is gluten free. If you do dairy, a dollop of Greek yogurt, or sour cream on top would be nice.

Soothing creamy sweet potato, kale and smoked turkey soup.

Beautiful Creamy Sweet Potato, Kale and Smoked Turkey Soup

Two smoked turkey drumsticks (naturally smoked, free range if possible)
1 peeled large onion, studded with a single whole clove
1 bay leaf
1 large peeled carrot, sliced thick
1 large celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled
water
2 lb. sweet potatoes or orange yams, peeled and sliced into rounds
1 Tbsp curry powder, sweet or hot as desired
1 small bunch of Lacinato (Dinosaur) kale, sliced into ribbons (about 4 cups, packed)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the turkey drumsticks, the onion studded with the clove,  bay leaf, carrot, onion garlic and celery into a deep soup pot and fill with water until everything is covered by about 2" to3". Will probably be about 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, turn down to medium heat, partially cover and let simmer until the turkey is about to fall off the bone, about 45 minutes.

2. Remove the turkey, and set aside to cool. Remove the bay leaf, and the onion from the smoky stock. Remove the clove from the onion and discard the clove. Toss the onion back into the stock, along with the sweet potatoes, and the curry powder. Bring back to a boil, uncovered, and cook about 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are falling apart tender.

3. Puree your soup smooth in the pot with your immersion blender (or carefully in a regular blender); you should have about 1-1/2 quarts of pureed soup. Shred the turkey meat into bite sized bits, and add it, plus the kale to the pureed soup. Simmer about 15 minutes until the kale is tender and the flavors meld. Taste for salt and pepper, then serve.

Makes about 6 hearty servings.

Meaty Monday: Cashew Chicken with Leeks & Broccoli

There is a popular slow cooker recipe for Cashew Chicken that is floating on the web these days. I tried it. It's OK, a bit bland, and it has been around for years. I DO have a problem with it, though. All the cooking instructions have you cook it in the slow cooker for 3 to 4 hours. Really? Who the hell is going to dirty a big, ole crock to cook something for 3 hours?  For 3 hours, I'll use a covered fry pan and the stove or oven.  Easier to clean a fry pan than a crock. If I'm making something in my slow cooker, it better be able to stay in there all day, while I go do other things. Like work, shop, or play with the kids at the park. All day. Which isn't just 3 hours.

Another thing, why would you WANT to cook chicken parts in a slow cooker that long? Do your want dinner, or mush? Small chicken cuts cook so fast, I can't imagine why you wouldn't do something like this wonderful Cashew Chicken we have often at our house.

This cashew chicken dish takes about 30 minutes to make and easy to fix, even after a miserable Monday full of ringing phones, whining co-workers and traffic delays. It's juicy, saucy,. toothsome and comforting at the end of a loooong day. There's also no clunky crock to clean.

Note: You may be able to make this from what's hanging around on your fridge door --I've got hoisin, ketchup, and minced ginger there all the time. Even easier, substitute an onion for the leek, and get the ready-to-heat cooked rice for a good, fast weeknight meal. This dish is gluten free if your Asian condiments are all gluten free.

Cashew Chicken with Leeks & Broccoli
all pretty on my favorite platter from Sophie Conran.

Cashew Chicken with Leeks & Broccoli

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts halves, about 4-5 ounces each, in 1" chunks
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons organic canola or peanut oil

1 large carrot, cut in ribbons with a vegetable peeler

1 large leek, white part only, in wafer thin slices

1 broccoli crown, broken in florets

3 garlic cloves, minced or 1 tsp. jarred garlic
1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger, or jarred crushed ginger
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2  Tablespoons  organic ketchup

1 Tablespoon wheat free tamari soy
1 Tablespoon honey
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper or a few dashes of hot sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock or water

1 cup roasted cashew halves
thin sliced scallion for garnish, optional but nice

Cooked rice

Instructions:

1. In a zip top bag, shake the chicken and the cornstarch together until the chicken is coated.  In a small bowl, mix the garlic, the ginger, the vinegar, ketchup, tamari, honey and the  hot pepper sauce if using. Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan on medium-high heat, and brown the chicken on at least two sides, about 2-3 minutes a side. Add the leeks and carrots, stir, and reduce the heat to low, stirring occasionally.

2. Cook the broccoli, by steaming or microwaving, set aside. Add the ketchup mixture to the chicken, along with the stock or water, bring to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 5 -7 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the cashews, and serve with rice, garnished with a ring of broccoli and a sprinkling of scallion.

Easy Pickling: Delicious, Fermented Pickles for Idiots

Little pickled tomatoes on the left, and Anahiem peppers on the right.

First off, I am not going to tell you that you'll be healthier, your gut will function better, and your immune system will flex its muscles all winter if you eat fermented foods. I will tell you that they are one of the best things you'll ever eat, and that you can probably get a big jar of pickled carrots or green tomatoes, or baby cukes going in about 5 to 10 minutes.

You don't need any fancy crocks, special jars with airlocks or any thing other than kosher salt, a clean quart canning jar, water, some spices and garlic you probably already have, and enough clean, firm smallish or sliced vegetables to fill a jar. It's been done for centuries, and trust me, our grannies didn't buy pickling tools off a fancy website. They used what they had, and so should you. They used fermentation for two reasons: it preserved the harvest, and it tastes good. This easy method I'm showing you is lactic fermentation in its simplest form. Idiot proof.

Right before our first frost, I picked of a lot of too small green tomatoes, and Anaheim peppers. Not good to eat or cook with as is, but waste not, want not… They are now becoming wonderful, easy, fermented pickles and I just use whatever I have in my kitchen: kosher salt, water, jars, coriander seed, garlic…don't let the food gurus scare you off. Pickling is pretty much idiot proof. Carrot sticks, baby cukes or sliced cukes, whatever you have can become something entirely new. If you can stir salt into water, you can do this. I'm sure, once you make your first batch, you'll be hooked. Just remember you can double, or even triple your batches, using the proportion of 1/4 cup of kosher salt  to 4 cups of water.

Here's how:

Into a bowl, measure 4 cups of water. Dump in 1/4 cup of kosher salt, and stir furiously until it dissolves. You just made a brine.

 Into a clean quart canning jar, pack your sliced carrots, or baby green tomatoes, hot peppers or whatever you want, tossing in the occasional peeled garlic clove, and a few pinches of your favorite spices, like coriander seed, dill seed or cumin seed and even a few cloves or bay leaves between the layers of veg. You can layer in a few small, hot peppers if you like spicy. The veggie pieces should be bite size.  Pack it full, right up to the shoulder of the jar. If you put the smaller pieces in the bottom, and the bigger at the top, fewer of the small pieces will float up out of the brine. Go find a smaller jar, or a bowl or a ramekin that will fit into the mouth of the jar and give it a good scrub.

Place the jar in a coolish spot, and set it in a pan or a tray to catch any overflow. Now, pour in the salt - water mixture-- your brine, right to the tippy top, and set the little container you scrubbed into the top to keep your vegetables submerged. If you have extra brine left, keep it in a jar to use to top up your pickle if it evaporates too much.

Check your pickle jar every day, and it should be sour enough to eat in a couple of weeks…or wait longer. remember that the colors of things will change a bit, green vegetables will dull a bit. Remember those wonderful sour pickles in the barrel in your favorite deli? Make sure the vegetables are always submerged. A little mold  floating on top is OK,  you can skim it off and top up the jar with the leftover brine. If it really smells awful, or goes moldy down in the jar, toss it all and chalk it up to experience. Use common sense; if it looks or smells bad, toss it. I like to label my jars with the start date, nothing elaborate, just a piece of masking tape and a waterproof marker.

I generally go about 3 weeks before I screw the lid on the jar and pop it in the fridge. I like my pickles cold, and it's all I can do to wait to taste the results. So freaking good!

Meaty Monday: Quick Pork Chops with Cabbage, Apples & Hard Cider

Is there anything as comforting sounding as the words "We're having pork chops for dinner"? I don't think so.  If there are pork chops on the menu, I actually look forward to dinner all day. Weird but true.  Cheered me right up at work today knowing there were going to be nice, juicy chops tonight. A Meatless Monday night dinner would NEVER have that effect on me unless it was mac and cheese. And meatloaf. But I digress.

This combination is wonderful--it isn't exactly sweet, but it has the perfect rich pork and crisp apple fall flavor. Obviously, its good washed down with more hard cider. Or a fruity white wine. Or in my case, diet Coke. Let's not go there, either.

This'll take about 45 minutes from fridge to plate and that'll leave you enough time to make a side dish, have a glass of wine and look at your email while the chops simmer. You'll need either a shallow braiser, or a deepish frying pan that has a cover. Feel free to substitute 12 oz. of apple juice for the hard cider if you don't have any on hand.

Some green beans or carrots, and either some nice bread, rice or noodles will round out this recipe quite well.

Quick Pork Chops with Cabbage, Apples & Hard Cider

Quick Pork Chops with Cabbage, Apples & Hard Cider

Serves 4

4 center-cut boneless pork chops, 1" thick (about 6 oz. each, 1.5 lb. total)
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
1 large sweet onion,  cut in crescents
1 apple, shredded on a large hole grated
1 lb. package of cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrot)
1 scant cup apple juice (a juice box is perfect)
1 bottle of hard cider (12 oz.)
2T Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning


1. Salt and pepper the chops on both sides. Heat the oil heat in the frying pan over medium high until it shimmers. Add the chops and brown on one side for about 5 minutes until well browned.  Turn and brown the second side for about 3 - 4 minutes. Remove the chops from the pan to a plate and set aside.

2. Add the onion, the shredded apple and the cabbage mix to the pan and toss well. Season with salt and let wilt for a minute or two. Add the apple juice, the hard cider and the Dijon mustard, stir well and bring to a simmer, loosening any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

3. Stir in the thyme and the poultry seasoning, and then return the pork chops and any accumulated juices to the pan. Bring to a simmer, cover and let cook about 35 minutes until the chops are cooked through and tender. Taste for seasoning and add salt and / or pepper as needed. Enjoy!

Meaty Monday: Braised Pork Chops with Fennel, Tomatoes & Potatoes

It was 80º here two weeks ago, and we'll likely have our first light frost at the end of the week. Doesn't seem fair. I haven't even brought in all my houseplants yet. The ONLY thing I like about the coming winter is the hearty, comforting food. I'll just console myself with dishes like this lovely one-pot dinner  of pork chops and fennel until spring comes. Or the seed catalogs arrive...

Last year I made a slightly different version of this dish, but I think it was  too herbal, so bear with me. This is a meal that's quick to prepare, reheats well, and is so, so satisfying on a cold night with a glass of beer. Contrary to popular belief, the flavor of anise is even better in savory dishes than it is in sweet things. It's actually not as intense here as it would seem; it melds beautifully into the herbal background and lets the flavor of the pork shine.

This is a wonderful, aromatic one-pot meal, and a green vegetable or a salad will round it out nicely.  The dish gluten free, so if you want to serve bread on the side, choose accordingly to the needs of those at your table. Depending on how you feel about potatoes, you may want to modify this for a paleo dinner, and again, if you omit the potatoes, it would be a good low carb or Atkins-type meal.

We'll just serve ourselves from the pan tonight because I'm L-A-Z-Y.

Braised Pork Chops with Fennel,  Tomatoes & Potatoes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
4 boneless center-cut pork chops (heritage if possible), 1" thick, salted and peppered
1 large onion, diced
1 large fennel bulb, cored, sliced, both white and green parts
Fennel fronds reserved for garnish
3 cups small, yellow potatoes, halved or quartered
2 cups of chopped fresh tomatoes , OR 1 15oz. can diced tomatoes, no salt added
1 cup chicken stock
pinch hot red pepper flakes
2T Italian seasoning
2T Anisette liqueur or Pernod
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil on medium heat in a large, deep covered sauté pan until is begins to shimmer and smoke and add the pork chops. Brown the chops, about 4 minutes per side, adjusting the heat as needed.

2. Remove the chops to a plate and set aside, leaving any fat in the pan. Add the onions, fennel bulb, and potatoes. Salt lightly, and cook until the onions and fennel begin to soften. Add the tomatoes,  stir up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, then add the stock, the red pepper, the Italian seasoning, and the Anisette liqueur.  Bring to a simmer and stir well.

3. Add the chops and any accumulated juices from the plate, return the mixture to a simmer, cover and cook about an hour, until the pork is very tender. Place the chops on a serving platte, and spoon the vegetables and juices over it all. Garnish with the fennel fronds.

Quick, Fabulous Mushroom Soup for the 5:2 / Fast Diet

Well, having been under the weather for the last month hasn't exactly helped my waistline any. I haven't really gained, but having had shingles has greatly reduced my ability to exercise. Feeling flabby. What it has done, though, is given me a little time to think up ways to make my fast days tastier. Since I am a firm believer in the Fast Diet (aka 5:2) which allows me the eat nicely on the 5 days I don't fast for my health, I'm always looking for tasty and filling foods to have on the 2 days I eat less. Usually this is Meaty Monday, but since it is a Fast Day for me, you're getting what I'm having today...

I love this mushroom soup. I love mushrooms, actually. I wouldn't make this with plain white button mushrooms as they are a little too bland. If they're all you can find, I recommend making it much more highly seasoned to make up for it. It's delicious, nutritious and quick. You need a pot, and a blender.  And a microwave if you want to garnish with a few mushroom slices...You can use a regular or immersion blender, although I prefer the totally smooth consistency you'll get with a regular container blender. Makes 4 good servings at less than 50 calories each.

Quick, Easy, Fabulous Mushroom Soup for the 5:2 / Fast Diet

Note: for a vegetarian version of this soup, replace the chicken bouillon with vegetable or mushroom bouillon, and the Worcestershire with either vegetarian Worcestershire or Pickapeppa sauce. All of the products I used are gluten free, but please read the labels if you are eating gluten free.

Creamy Mushroom Soup for the 5:2 Diet

Serves 4

1 lb. cremini mushrooms, 2 sliced, the rest chopped coarsely
4 cups water
1 packet chicken bouillon (I like Trader Joe's)
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley or basil for garnish (optional)

1. Place the sliced mushroom in a small microwaveable dish, with a teaspoon of water, cover and microwave for 1 minute at high. Set aside. (you can omit this entirely if you don't want to pretty-up your bowl of soup.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine all the remaining ingredients through the Worcestershire, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook , covered until the mushrooms are softened, about 10 minutes.

3. Carefully puree the cooked soup in batches, or with an immersion blender. Taste for seasoning, and  add salt and pepper as desired. Serve garnished with the microwaved mushroom slices on top and a sprinkle of fresh herbs.

Braised Beef Roast with Coffee, Orange & Roasted Garlic Onion Jam

Well, here another Meaty Monday has rolled around and I haven't been cooking. I've been nursing a nasty case of shingles. Actually, as far as shingles are concerned, there are nothing BUT nasty cases. It is slowly clearing up, and I have just started back really cooking, and promise some new recipes after I get done testing some new dishes. 

Meanwhile, here's a post I wrote last year, and I am actually planning to make it this coming weekend when I have time to run out for a nice, little beef roast. Enjoy!

Looks like a good dinner already, doesn't it?

Now that it's officially Fall, I feel some justification in making the first pot roast of the season. "Pot roast" is the un-fancy name for braised beef.   The fact that it's also gone from the mid 80º's to the mid 60º's in the space of a day doesn't hurt, either. Not that pot roast isn't a good thing to make when the weather is warm since it makes a wonderful cold sliced meat or a sandwich, but somehow, the scent of a pot roast helps take the chill off the house, even if it's not cold enough to turn on the heat yet.

This braised beef recipe evolved from a half-jar of Stonewall Kitchen's totally delicious Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam, that was leftover from the weekend. Rather than give myself the chance to eat the rest of it with a spoon (or a chunk of oozy brie) when no one was watching, this is a truly tasty was to force myself to share it. And no, I don't work for Stonewall Kitchen, and they don't pay me in any way to say nice things about their products. I just like them and want to share. So there, lol. It's a wonderful cool weather dish, garlicky, sweet, orangey, and very beefy.

Savory jams can add so much to your cooking repertoire, or hors d'oeuvre table.
Keep and eye out for good ones, and keep a few in the pantry.

That little pot roast from last spring  you may remember, uses root vegetables that add a lot of rich flavor to the dish. My favorites are turnips, carrots and celeriac, aka celery root. If you would like potatoes, in addition to what's here, feel free to add a few firm, waxy potatoes like  Yukon Golds to the other roots under the roast.  This will make 6 servings, but your mileage may differ depending on how big your roast is, and how lean it is. Or how piggy your eaters are. My favorite is chuck for this, but a bottom round roast or a rump roast will work well, too. Chuck makes for a messy, falling apart roast, but  very juicy, the rump and round will be neater looking but a bit less juicy. Be sure to ask the butcher to tie the roast if it's unevenly shaped, so it will cook evenly, or tie it yourself with butcher's twine. Don't worry if your "roping" job doesn't look great, you'll take the string off the roast before serving.

Notes: I know the anchovy paste seems odd, but don't leave it out. It adds a certain depth (umami) to the juices that you can't get with anything else. If you must, you can substitute a teaspoon of mushroom base, or 1/2 teaspoon of Asian fish sauce. This can be made in the oven, or in a slow cooker. If you choose the slow cooker, after browning the meat, place the vegetables in the bottom of the crock, and set the browned meat on top, then add the seasonings and liquid, pouring it all evenly over everything. Cook on Low for 7-8 hours. Remove the orange zest, and thyme bundle if using, before serving. Do not even consider not browning the meat for this pot roast. Don't make me come after you. I'll know.

Braised Beef pot roast with Coffee, Orange & Roasted Garlic Onion Jam.
 Grab a plate and eat!

Braised Beef Roast with Coffee, Orange & Roasted Garlic Onion Jam

Ingredients:

3 to 4 lb. Chuck or bottom round  beef roast
salt & freshly ground pepper
2T bacon fat or safflower oil
3/4 cup Stonewall Kitchen Roasted Garlic Onion Jam
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee, hot
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
4 medium turnips, peeled and quartered
6 medium carrots, peeled and cut in thirds
1 small celeriac (celery root) peeled and cubed
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and sliced 1/4"
1 tsp. anchovy paste
zest from 1/2 orange in 1-2 strips( use a vegetable peeler)
3 bay leaves
1 tsp of dried thyme leaves, or 1 small bunch of fresh thyme, bundled with string

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Season the roast on all sides liberally with salt and pepper. Heat the bacon fat in a deep dutch oven and brown the meat on all sides, allowing about 5 minutes a side. Remove the roast to a plate.

2. Stir the hot coffee, the roasted garlic onion jam, the balsamic vinegar and the anchovy paste together in a small bowl and set aside. Add the cut vegetables to the bottom of the pan, along with coffee mixture, and stir up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

3. Add the zest strips, the bay leaves and the thyme, stir, then add the roast atop the vegetable mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Cover the dutch oven, and place in the oven, and cook 3- 4 hours until the meat is fork tender (depending on the size of the roast), turning the roast over halfway through the cooking time.

5. Remove the roast from the pan carefully and cut into slices or chunks.  Remove the zest strips from the pot, along with the thyme bundle and discard. Serve with the vegetables and the pan juices. A green vegetable like steamed spinach (soaks up the yummy juices) or broccoli is a great side, especially if you are grain or gluten free, otherwise some mopping up bread is suggested.

Meaty Monday, Again: Quick Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Balsamic Glaze

This is a command performance. It's required by unnamed members of my household that we have this instead of the leftover chicken, so you all will have to have it again, too.


Some Mondays, its about all I can do to get myself out the door, fully dressed and caffeinated.  Not always, but on some of them, I am impressively organized and have dinner prepped and even some laundry done before I jump in the car to commute. Unfortunately,  my zombie-like Monday mornings probably outnumber the organized Mondays three to one. You too?

Those frazzled days are also the ones I'm most likely to need a good fast dinner that's both totally delicious and totally idiot proof. This succulent pork tenderloin is one of those meals. While I'm on the subject of pork tenderloin I want to complain about how they come packed from most supermarkets. Why the heck, when  they almost always pack unflavored pork tenderloins in pairs, are they so different in size and weight? Most of us will usually cook them both, and one is usually at least double the size of the other, thus letting most of us, drastically over or undercook at least one of the tenderloins? Remember, this cut is comparatively the same as a beef tenderloin. A pork tenderloin is not the same thing as a pork loin. It makes me livid when I see slow cooker recipes for pork tenderloin --after all, you wouldn't toss a filet mignon into the crock, would you?

Anyway, this couldn't be a simpler, more toothsome dish to make quickly at the end of a busy day.
This grilling technique called "7-6-5" is featured in Fine Cooking Magazine; it really is pretty much idiot proof, and I suggest you take a look at the original. It really does prevent overcooking this lovely, tender cut of pork.  We prefer ours a little less done, more of a pinkish medium rare, at just over 140ºF so we cook ours 6-5-5. The original timing should bring it to above 145º after the cooking is completed. Oh, and pork is safe to eat and juicy at 140º, even if your Mom, like mine, tended to cook it to death.

The balsamic glaze is wonderful, and you need very little per serving --just a tablespoon or two, but if you are eating paleo or primal, or counting carbs, you may want to limit how much sauce you use, or choose something else like a bit of mayonnaise mixed with a bit of Dijon mustard.

Quick Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Balsamic Glaze

Quick Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Balsamic Glaze

Serves 2-3

A 1-1/4 to 1-1/3 lb. pork tenderloin (NOT pork loin)
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper

For the Sweet Balsamic Glaze:

1/2 cup all-fruit apricot or seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of salt

1. Preheat your grill to high. Unwrap tenderloin, and liberally coat with pepper and salt.

2. Place all the balsamic glaze ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, stirring. As soon as the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, in about a minute, set it aside and keep warm.

3. Oil the grill, and then place the tenderloin on the grill and close the cover. Cook on one side for 7 minutes for medium cooked pork, just 6 minutes for medium rare. Open the lid and turn the meat over, and recover the grill. Cook on the second side for 6 minutes for medium meat, and 5 for medium rare. next, shut off the heat and do NOT open the grill for 5 minutes. If you really like well-done (and dry!) pork, leave  the tenderloin in the closed grill for 7 minutes after turning off the heat. Test with an instant read thermometer for doneness if desired.

4. Place the meat on a cutting board and let stand for 5 minutes before slicoing. Serve with the balsamic glaze drizzled over each serving.

Meaty Monday: Far East Five Spice Pork in the Crock

All of a sudden, its gone from too hot and humid to strangely cool and Fall-like in a matter of hours. I actually had to wear a robe and slippers this morning, instead of a pair of disreputable-looking shorts and flip flops. Too cool in the house. Which is good news for this delicious into-the-slow-cooker dinner.

I went foraging in my freezer yesterday and thawed a pair of small, 2 pound each pork sirloin tip roasts that would be perfect in an all day hot bath of soy, five-spice powder and other tasty Asian ingredients. Would also work well with 4 pounds of boneless pork shoulder. Took exactly 5 minutes to cut the meat and put all the ingredients into the slow cooker this morning. All the ingredient come out of jars. I highly recommend keeping things like minced garlic, ginger and asian chili paste in jars on your fridge door for morning when you need to prep and don't have time to chop, chop, chop.

This would have been nice with some quick rice to sop up the juice, along with the spinach I served with it. But since we rarely eat grains, it was a no rice night. The famous low-carb cauliflower rice would work well too. It was still a wonderful thing, tender, falling apart pork full of anise-y, sweet spice, and ginger tang, with the juices drizzled over steamed spinach. The sliced scallion garnish is a nice pop of fresh onion on top, too.

Far East Five Spice Pork in the Crock is ready when you walk in the door.

Note: Pork shoulder is rather fatty, so trim any big bits of fat off when you slice the meat before placing in the pot. Sirloin or loin is leaner and won't need a trim. Leftovers reheat beautifully in the juices.

Pork sirloin tip roast; the front roast has been cut into 4 pieces.

Far East Five Spice Pork in the Crock

Serves 6 to 8

1/4 cup gluten free tamari soy sauce
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
2 tablespoons of honey or equivalent liquid stevia
1 tablespoon minced garlic (jarred)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (jarred)
1 teaspoon Chinese chili garlic paste (jarred)
4 lb. pork sirloin tip, or lean pork shoulder cut in 8 thick 3" by 6" slices
finely sliced scallion for garnish

1. Place up to the pork into a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker crock. Mix well. Add the pork and turn to coat with the soy mixture.

2. Cover and set the crock to LOW and cook for 9 hours. Shred the meat to serve with a healthy drizzle of the cooking juice and a sprinkle of finely sliced scallion.

Dinner is served...on a waiting white plate...

Meaty Monday: Speedy Simple Soy Garlic London Broil & Leftovers

You know those stories about how you can cook once and eat twice? You know what word they never use? Leftovers. Leftovers sound so unglamorous, like a week old tuna sandwich deserted in the office fridge. Truly, there are two kinds of meals, the kind that produce leftovers that really should be forgotten in the office icebox, and then there are the kind that are so good you HOPE there will really be enough for another great meal. This is the kind of grilled meat that will  make you fervently hope there will be leftovers, if you just stop chowing it down at the first meal.

You all know my preference for flank steak over top round for grilled London Broil. That said, you can use whatever steak your budget and your tastebuds prefer. Flank used to be a cheap cut, but, at least around here, its pretty pricey. This marinade is very simple to whip up. I do it in the morning while the coffee is brewing, and let the steak loll in its tasty bath all day. It will help to flip the meat in its bag during the day; but if the meat is mostly submerged, don't worry about it too much. If you can, try to remember to turn it over just before you run out the door. This amount of marinade will cover a flank steak,  however, if you are using top round, and your meat is more than 1-1/2" thick, just double the ingredients, so the meat is covered in the flavorful liquid.

     Speedy Simple Soy Garlic London Broil

Speedy Simple Soy Garlic London Broil

Serves 4 or 2 with great leftovers


1-1/2 to 1-3/4 lb. beef flank steak or top round cut for London broil (approx 1-1/2" thick)

Marinade ingredients:

1/2  cup gluten-free tamari soy ( I prefer lower sodium)
1/4 cup gluten free  Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons crushed garlic (jarred is fine)
2 tablespoons honey or 3 tablespoons granular erythritol
1/2 cup dry red wine

Score the meat, about 1/4" deep with parallel cuts about 1" apart on both sides of the meat. Place the meat in a zip top plastic bag or a container just large enough to hold the meat flat.

Mix all the marinade ingredients and pour over the meat in the bag or container. Turn the meat to coat it well on both sides, although the meat should be just about submerged in the marinade. Chill for at least 6 hours and up to 12 hours.

Heat your grill to high heat, about 550º, remove the meat from the marinade, and discard the marinade. Grill a flank steak for about 3 to 4 minutes a side for rare to medium rare, a round steak about 4 to 5 minutes a side. Cook longer to your own liking as desired.

Meaty Monday: Five Spice Brined Chicken with Honey Lime Soy Glaze

I have eaten too much this weekend. BBQ food, desserts, and some grazing, since its just been too hot to eat. Monday, for me, is the day I have to rein it all in, but by the time I get home, starvation is nearly setting in and I need to have something in the works that will be good and satisfying. Without turning dinner into an eating free-for-all. By tossing some chicken parts into this Asian-flavored brine before you head off to work, you can have a good chicken dinner on the table in well less than an hour. Your ace in the hole is a Chinese 5-spice powder. It packs a flavor punch with just about no work on your part. You can even make the brine before you've had your morning coffee. It's that simple. The light honey glaze amps up the flavor, but isn't thick or gloppy.  It'll be delicious, nutritious, and  your tastebuds will think you're blowing your diet. But you haven't. Yet. As long as you can skip dessert... Oh, and as per usual, these leftovers are divine!

Note: I highly recommend bone-in, skin on chicken parts for this dish, and then just removing the skin before glazing the chicken at the end. Keeping the skin on while baking will help keep the meat moist and juicy. If you can afford the extra calories, then just leave the skin in place; it add a lot of flavor to the finished dish. Also, if the only chicken breasts you can find with the skin and bone, are large, just cut them in half, straight across the middle with a poultry shears, a sturdy chef's knife or kitchen scissors.

 Five Spice Brined Chicken with Honey Lime Soy Glaze,
but the half lime went in my tea...oops!

Five Spice Brined Chicken with Honey Lime Soy Glaze
4 servings

For the brine:
8 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs or small chicken breasts
5 cups water
4 Tablespoons Morton's Kosher Salt
2 Tablespoons Chinese Five Spice Powder
2 Tablespoons sugar

For the glaze:
1/3 cup mild honey
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
juice of 1/2 small lime
4 Tablespoons gluten free Tamari soy sauce
1 teaspoon powdered ginger

Garnish:
The other half of the lime in small wedges

1. Place the chicken in a large zip top bag. Mix the brine ingredients, stirring until the salt is dissolved, and then pour it over the chicken in the bag. Place the bag in a dish in case it leaks, and then into the fridge for 8 to 12 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Remove the chicken from the brine and place, skin side up in a shallow metal roasting pan, and bake about 40 to 45 minutes until the temperature of the thigh meat is 160ºF. Mix the glaze ingredients and set aside.

3. Remove the pan from the oven, turn each chicken piece bottom up, and brush with about half of the glaze. Turn the oven to broil and broil the chicken for a minute or two until the glaze begins to bubble. Carefully turn the chicken, and remove the skin if you wish, or leave in place and then brush with the remaining glaze. Broil until browned and bubbly, about 2-3 minutes longer.  Serve garnished with Lime if desired.

Speedy Natural Microwave Ketchup No Added Sugar

Sometimes I'm just being so good about what I'm eating I can't stand myself; and then I find the cookies. Last night I had a nice grass-fed burger on one of my Funky Flax buns, with some smoked bacon on top and it was delicious. I also had this wonderful sweet, spicy ketchup and a pickle on it. Would have had red onion, but had none. I really do try to avoid grains,  sugar and its evil cousin, HFCS. Problem is even the organic ketchups, while they don't have HFCS in them, or even GMOs, they are full of sugar, and  not for me because I am not a modest ketchup user.  One serving? Hell, I just slather it on. I love the tangy flavor of homemade far more than the ubiquitous commercial stuff, although if that's what's available...

Now, last year I gave you a stove-cooked version of no sugar added ketchup, but when you are going to eat in an hour or so, it just won't be ready to eat in time. Hence this high speed version that you microwave for just 3 minutes. It's actually delicious still warm, but even better after it stands about an hour or longer.  Will keep about 2 weeks, covered in the fridge.

Oh, and I was so good about dinner last night, and then I DID find the cookies.

Speedy Natural Microwave Ketchup with No Added Sugar

Speedy Natural Microwave Ketchup with No Added Sugar

Note: if you can buy tomato products in glass containers, I highly recommend you do so as the linings of many cans still contain BPA. Read the label, it will usually tell you if the lining is BPA-free.

Makes about a cup.

6 oz. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2T rice wine or cider vinegar
1teaspoon Cholula or other hot sauce
Liquid or powdered Stevia  (two servings worth depending on brand)
black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt

1. Mix all the ingredients in a 2-cup or larger microwave safe container.

2. Cove and microwave for 3 minutes. Remove and stir. Serve warm or chilled.

Meaty Monday: Quick Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Balsamic Glaze

Some Mondays, its about all I can do to get myself out the door, fully dressed and caffeinated.  Not always, but on some of them, I am impressively organized and have dinner prepped and even some laundry done before I jump in the car to commute. Unfortunately,  my zombie-like Monday mornings probably outnumber the organized Mondays three to one. You too?

Those frazzled days are also the ones I'm most likely to need a good fast dinner that's both totally delicious and totally idiot proof. This succulent pork tenderloin is one of those meals. While I'm on the subject of pork tenderloin I want to complain about how they come packed from most supermarkets. Why the heck, when  they almost always pack unflavored pork tenderloins in pairs, are they so different in size and weight? Most of us will usually cook them both, and one is usually at least double the size of the other, thus letting most of us, drastically over or undercook at least one of the tenderloins? Remember, this cut is comparatively the same as a beef tenderloin. A pork tenderloin is not the same thing as a pork loin. It makes me livid when I see slow cooker recipes for pork tenderloin --after all, you wouldn't toss a filet mignon into the crock, would you?

Anyway, this couldn't be a simpler, more toothsome dish to make quickly at the end of a busy day.
This grilling technique called "7-6-5" is featured in Fine Cooking Magazine; it really is pretty much idiot proof, and I suggest you take a look at the original. It really does prevent overcooking this lovely, tender cut of pork.  We prefer ours a little less done, more of a pinkish medium rare, at just over 140ºF so we cook ours 6-5-5. The original timing should bring it to above 145º after the cooking is completed. Oh, and pork is safe to eat and juicy at 140º, even if your Mom, like mine, tended to cook it to death.

The balsamic glaze is wonderful, and you need very little per serving --just a tablespoon or two, but if you are eating paleo or primal, or counting carbs, you may want to limit how much sauce you use, or choose something else like a bit of mayonnaise mixed with a bit of Dijon mustard.

Quick Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Balsamic Glaze

Quick Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Balsamic Glaze

Serves 2-3

A 1-1/4 to 1-1/3 lb. pork tenderloin (NOT pork loin)
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper

For the Sweet Balsamic Glaze:

1/2 cup all-fruit apricot or seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of salt

1. Preheat your grill to high. Unwrap tenderloin, and liberally coat with pepper and salt.

2. Place all the balsamic glaze ingredients in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, stirring. As soon as the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, in about a minute, set it aside and keep warm.

3. Oil the grill, and then place the tenderloin on the grill and close the cover. Cook on one side for 7 minutes for medium cooked pork, just 6 minutes for medium rare. Open the lid and turn the meat over, and recover the grill. Cook on the second side for 6 minutes for medium meat, and 5 for medium rare. next, shut off the heat and do NOT open the grill for 5 minutes. If you really like well-done (and dry!) pork, leave  the tenderloin in the closed grill for 7 minutes after turning off the heat. Test with an instant read thermometer for doneness if desired.

4. Place the meat on a cutting board and let stand for 5 minutes before slicoing. Serve with the balsamic glaze drizzled over each serving.

Another No-Grainer: Funky Flax Microwave Sandwich Buns

 Funky Flax Microwave Sandwich Buns
Delicious, no grain, no sugar, and speedy!

Probably the thing I miss the most are burger buns and sandwiches. And it's not that I never eat wheat or grains, (like I can really ever turn down a great piece of cake...) it's just that I generally try to limit my intake to keep my symptoms at bay. Even gluten free items usually have rice in them, and some of the other store-bought alternatives taste awful. Shockingly bad. When I do choose to eat grain, or a wheat product, it has to be worth it; consequently, many of my lunches and dinners are breadless.  Even when on busy days, a sandwich would be the most convenient thing to take to work to eat on the go, I end up going without, and tuna salad wrapped in a lettuce leaf gets old fast.

If I'm going to indulge in grain, it's going to be a piece of really good, fresh artisan bread or a roll, a great cookie or cake, or a homemade biscuit. Not that grain-free highly processed yuk from the supermarket. In the meantime, I've been fooling around with a recipe my friend Betty sent me that her husband calls "Funky Flax Muffins". These are fast, easy and you can literally make them while you are packing lunches or chatting on the phone. Bonus: they're damn tasty.

These really are very good -- kind of nutty tasting, and hold up to a good juicy burger, or a mayo based salad. Good buttered and toasted, too. There are quite a few kinds of microwave  flax-based breads floating around the web, but this one uses ingredients you can actually find easily in any supermarket. Nothing odd or spendy. Betty's version makes one big muffin, but its over 200 calories, and nearly a meal and a half if you are watching calories, especially if you add a sandwich filling or butter. My recipe makes two, at just over 100 calories each. ( Ran the recipe through Livestrong; your calculation may differ). I like them split and toasted, but, if toasting isn't an option, make them early in the day, or the night before, split each in half and leave it out for a while to dry out a bit.

Slice carefully when completely cool.

Funky Flax Microwave Sandwich Buns

Makes 2

Note: you'll need a couple of burger-bun sized ramekins or one of those Nordicware Eggs n Muffin Microwave breakfast sandwich makers to actually get these to the right size. Alternatively, just place 2 equal sized mounds on a piece of parchment paper and spread them out to bun size. If you are strict with a Primal / Paleo eating, plan, you may want to omit the cheese and add a seasoning salt, if you are not eating dairy products.

1/4 cup flax meal
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2-3 grinds of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

1. Mix the flax meal, the garlic powder, the pepper, the baking powder, the  cheese if using, and the salt in a small bowl with a fork. Beat in the egg and the water. Let the mixture stand for 3-4 minutes until it thickens.

2. Place even portions in each of two microwave safe ramekins, or a microwave-sandwich maker, opened up, or, just make two round blobs, slightly smaller than the diameter of a burger on a piece of parchment paper. Microwave on high for about 60 to 90 seconds until the rolls are dry and puffed.

I knew I could find more than one use for my microwave egg pan!
Especially since I don't really like microwaved eggs...

3. Let cool for a couple of minutes, and then remove from the pans or paper. Slice each one in half after it has completely cooled. Toasting lightly before serving is recommended.

Meaty Monday: Quick Maple Bourbon London Broil

Mondays. The day of the week when you know the weekend is over and nothing is missing from your To-Do list yet. Ugh. That's how it is for me, and when I get home from work I'm starving and about the last thing I really want to do is fuss with a meal. This is a really quick meal to cook --I actually start my gas grill on the way from the driveway to the house so the grill will be ready to use as soon as I toss my purse onto a chair and get the marinated meat out of the fridge.

I like to make London Broil, and although I'm a cranky girl and really prefer to use flank steak for London Broil over top round, either one will do fine for this recipe. The maple makes it sweet, the soy makes it a little salty and beefier and the bourbon makes it, for some reason a little more succulent. Don't leave out the anchovy paste, it's your secret umami ingredient and I promise your food will not taste fishy, just great. What would be better for dinner after a beastly day than this? Not much.

You can throw this marinade together the night before, or in the morning of the day you plan to soak the meat in it. Or even a couple of hours before, although its better for the meat to have at least 4 hours, and up to 24 hours in the marinade for the most flavor. Other than that there is no work on your part other than to heat the grill to high, and cook the beef to your desired doneness. We like ours nearly rare, and that's about 3 minutes per side on a really hot grill. For medium rare, leave the meat on the grill about 4 -5 minutes a side, for a beef steak that's about 1 " to 1-1/2" thick. Remember if you are cooking Primal or Paleo, to skip the tamari and substitute coconut aminoes, and preferably choose grass fed beef.

Now. To crank this up to a whole other level of deliciousness, you can steal an idea from Chef Adam Perry Lang like I did, and make a "board sauce" for this steak. Essentially, what you'll do is place some minced or finely chopped aromatics, and some olive oil on the cutting board or plate on which you're planning to drop the hot cooked meat for it's standing period before you carve it. The heat releases all sorts of goodness, and as you slice the meat you just mix all the flavorful ingredients into the meat like a sauce.  If you are short on time or too pooped to do the board sauce, the London broil is wonderful without it, but use a little judicious sea salt, pepper and a thin drizzle of high quality extra virgin olive oil after you slice it.

Quick Maple Bourbon London Broil

Quick Maple Bourbon London Broil
Serves 4-6 or (2 with good leftovers)

Be sure to slice either the cooked flank steak or top round thinly (1/2" or thinner) against the grain of the steak for the tenderest bite.

2 lb. beef flank steak or top round steak, about 1 to 1-1/2" thick
1/4 cup bourbon whiskey
1/4 cup plus 2  tablespoons dark maple syrup
1/4 cup wheat free tamari soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground dried ginger
4 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
1 teaspoon of coarse black pepper
1 teaspoon of anchovy paste

1. With the tip of a sharp knife, score the steak diagonally about 1/4" deep in parallel cuts about 1/8" to 1/4" deep. Repeat on the other side. This will help let the marinade get into the meat.

2. Mix all of the remaining ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl. Place the meat into a zip top bag and pour the marinade over the meat.  Zip top and place in a shallow pan in case it leaks. Chill for at least 4 hours and up to 24. Turn the bag occasionally to redistribute the marinade.

3. Heat your grill to about 550ºF, oil the grill and cook the meat to your desired doneness. Remove the meat to a cutting board or platter and let it stand 5 minutes before slicing. Drizzle with oil and season as desired.

If you want to make a board sauce:
While the grill is heating,  grate  about a tablespoon of fresh ginger, two cloves of garlic, and mince a scallion and a small handful of cilantro. Feel free to add or leave out whatever you'd like here. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Place it all on the  cutting board or platter you have ready for the cooked meat. When the beef is cooked, lay it right on top of the bed of aromatics and let it rest for 5 minutes to the juices can settle. The heat will also release an enormous amount of flavor from the ginger, garlic and herbs. After you slice the meat, mix the herb mixture through the hot meat, and season as needed. Drizzle with more olive oil if you like it.

Baked Ricotta with Asparagus & Chives

Baked Ricotta with Asparagus & Chives

I love ricotta, no, wait, I adore ricotta.  Used to drive my Mom crazy when we'd have lasagna for dinner as I'd eat all the ricotta filling and leave the lasagna noodles piled on my plate. I thought the filling was the best part, and I still do.When I have time, I like to make ricotta, not with acids like lemon juice or vinegar, but with cheese making enzymes. Much sweeter and better. There's nearly always some sort of ricotta in my fridge. This week though, I have store-bought ricotta to use.

Well, I started messing around, and having homegrown asparagus, and LOTS of chives, I thought  a savory cheesecake would be the way to go. Firm enough to cut, but still creamy. These are perfect. The flavor of both the asparagus and chives, and the Romano, too, come through beautifully, but you can still also taste the creamy goodness of the ricotta.

These are really delicious, little individual ricotta cheesecakes. It's a nice lunch or dinner with a salad and a glass of wine. These little cheesecakes are vegetarian, and gluten free, and great when you have omnivores and vegetarians at the table. Nobody will complain.

Note: To drain ricotta, line a colander or sieve  with paper towels or paper coffee filters and dump in the ricotta. Let drain for an hour or so before starting the recipe. My friend John, when he was packing to move, gifted me with some really nice little 4" spring form pans, he wasn't going to use anymore. Thank you, John! You can use similar pans from here, they're just a bit bigger, or just bake them in ramekins and don't bother unmolding.

Baked Ricotta with Asparagus & Chives
Serves 4

2 large eggs
2  large egg yolks
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
Black pepper, fresh ground
3-4 T minced fresh chives
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

2 lb. whole milk ricotta, drained for at least 1 hour
1-1/2 cups  asparagus, blanched and sliced into 1/2" pieces, and 20 tips set aside


1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray four 4" springform pans or ramekins with cooking oil spray. Set the prepared pans on a baking sheet.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs and yolks together, then whisk in the Romano cheese, the nutmeg, a few grinds of black pepper, the chives (more is better) and the garlic powder. When its well-blended, fold in the ricotta, and the cut asparagus.

Ready for the oven.

3. Divide the ricotta mixture evenly among the four pans, and press 5 asparagus tips in a circle on top of each pan. Bake for about 1 hour until browned and puffy, and a toothpick comes out clean.

Minutes away from....lunch!

4. Cool about 15 minutes in the pan, then run a thin knife blade around the sides and remove the springform rim.  If using ramekins, just serve in the dish. Serve warm.