cook(ed)book

Quick and Easy Bacon-Burgers

Adapted from the original, use this recipe as a base and then add tweaks and tastes as you see fit.  Bonus: the resulting burger patty is gluten free and paleo friendly.

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 egg
• 2 thick slices of uncooked bacon, chopped into small pieces
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Using your hands, mix all the ingredients well in a medium-size bowl. 
2. Form four round balls and press them patties between your hands. (Also, I recommend pressing a small divot in the center of the patties to help prevent them from seizing up into balls again once they go on the grill.)
3. Grill on each side for 5 to 7 minutes for medium-rare.

Potential tweaks and suggestions:

• Any dry spice added into the mixture would be good.
• Adding a few drops of adobo or any other spicy smokey sauce into the mixture is pretty nice.  A bit of diced chipotle can be good.  BBQ sauce or bourbon also works.  It’s important not to add too much wet ingredient to the mixture because the pattys will become soft and separate/crumble.
• Serve pea shoots instead of lettuce.  Pea shoots will offer the crisp bite found in lettuce, but will have a more mustard-y bite.  Plus, they look hella-fancy.
• A hot Pepper Jack cheese is pretty tasty.
• Serve with a nice brioche bun (available at better bakeries or Sunterra). A great bun makes a dope burger.

To do: Easy Slow-Cooker Pork Tacos with Red Cabbage Crunch and Avocado

Moroccan Carrot and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1/3 cup / 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

10 ounces carrots, shredded on a box grater or sliced whisper thin on a mandolin

2 cups cooked chickpeas (or one 15- ounce can, drained and rinsed)

2/3 cup / 100 g dried pluots, plums, or dates cut into chickpea-sized pieces

1/3 cup / 30 g fresh mint, torn

For serving: lots of toasted almond slices, dried or fresh rose petals - all optional (but great additions!)

Method:

To make the dressing, first toast the cumin seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant and lightly browned, a minute or two. Let cool, and grind to a powder with a mortar and pestle.

In a bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, ground cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the carrots, chickpeas, dried pluots, mint, and almonds, and rose petals (if you’re including those as well.) Gently toss until everything is evenly coated. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (You can toss this salad, minus the almonds, hours in advance. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.)

Serves 6.

Cauliflower, Carrot, and Parsnip Puree (aka Faux-tatoes)

Ingredients (for 6 servings):

• 3 tablespoons butter or ghee, plus 1 tablespoon of butter or ghee
• 3/4 lb parsnips (or about 5 medium parsnips), coarsely chopped
• 2/3 lb carrots (or about 2 large carrots), coarsely chopped (slightly smaller than parsnips)
• 1 1/2 lb cauliflower florets (or about 1 small head of cauliflower), coarsely chopped
• 4 green garlic stalks, thinly sliced or 4 whole garlic cloves
• 1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup organic chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

• Melt three tablespoons of butter in a large stock pot over medium heat
• Add chopped veggies, broth, into pot, toss in butter for a second and then add water into the pot.  Wait until it comes to a boil.
• Lower the heat and simmered the covered pot for 25-30 minutes until the vegetables are mushy.
• Add salt, pepper, and the last tablespoon of butter.  Puree everything with an immersion blender.

Mexican Braised Beef

Ingredients:

2½ pounds boneless beef short ribs, beef brisket, or beef stew meat, cut into 1½-inch cubes
1 tablespoon chili powder
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon coconut oil or fat of choice
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
½ cup Salsa Roja Asada or roasted salsa of choice
½ cup chicken stock
½ teaspoon Paleo-friendly fish sauce
½ cup minced cilantro (optional)
2 radishes, thinly sliced (optional)

Preparation Steps:

Preheat oven to 300°F with the rack placed in the lower middle position.
Cut the meat into 1½-inch cubes. In a large bowl, combine the cubed beef, chili powder, and salt.[2½ lb boneless beef short ribs 1 T chili powder 1½ t kosher salt]

Melt the fat over medium heat in a large Dutch oven or other oven-safe pot. Thinly slice the onion, and sauté it until translucent.[1 T coconut oil]
Stir in the tomato paste and allow it to cook for about 30 seconds.[1 T tomato paste]

Then, toss in the peeled and smashed garlic.[6 garlic cloves]
Add the seasoned beef, Salsa Roja Asada, stock, and fish sauce. Bring the ingredients up to a boil.[½ cup salsa ½ cup chicken stock ½ t fish sauce]

Cover the pot and place it in the oven for 3 hours or until the beef is tender.

Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. If you’re not eating right away, you can keep the beef in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days — just reheat on the stove before serving.

Spoon the beef onto a serving platter and top with minced cilantro and/or thin slices of radish if you’ve got ‘em.

Cold War Soup

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 quarts water
4 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1/2 head cabbage, cored and coarsely
chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed
tomatoes, drained and diced

Directions:

1. In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic; cook until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in water, bouillon, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then stir in cabbage. Simmer until cabbage wilts, about 10 minutes.

3.Stir in tomatoes. Return to a boil, then simmer 15 to 30 minutes, stirring often.

Potential tweaks:

Add carrots and cellery

Add browned ground meat of choice, brown in a separate pan first

Jack up the spices, yo! Oregano, basil, cumin, etc.

“Flash in the pan” Mediterranean chicken

This one is still a work in process.  The recipe is good, but has room for improvement.  An easy add would be to add fresh herbs instead of dried.  Maybe some basil? Also, a *little* bit of heat (hot pepper flakes?), might be nice. To be continued…

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large onion, chopped into large pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups red wine
• 1 pint (500 millilitres) cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 1⁄2 cup capers, drained
• Freshly ground pepper

Method

• Set a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Swirl in enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot, add the chicken. Sear the first side until golden brown and crusty, 4 to 5 minutes or so. Adjust the pan’s heat as needed, keeping it sizzling, but not so hot that the oil smokes.
• Flip the chicken breasts over, cooking the other sides until they’re equally golden brown. Add a splash more oil if you think the pan needs it. The goal here is not to fully cook the meat but just to add flavour while the pan temperature is high.
• Reduce heat to medium and remove the chicken breasts, placing them on a plate. Add the onion, garlic, oregano and salt to the pan. Sauté for a minute or two. Add the red wine, tomatoes, olives and capers. Turn the heat much lower, just enough to maintain a slow, steady simmer. Return the chicken to the pan, nestling the breasts into the stew. Cover tightly and simmer until the meat is cooked through (10 to 15 minutes). Turn the breasts once, allowing the flavour to fully permeate the chicken from all sides. Pepper to taste.

Tk’s “Oriental Rug” Slaw

Note: for best results use a good mandolin to create uniform whispy veggie strips.

Ingredients:

Slaw

• 1/3rd of a cabbage
• 3 radishes
• 2 green onions
• 2 inches of cucumber
• 2 carrots
• 1/4 of a red pepper

Dressing

• 2 tbsp plain yogourt (mayo would work in a pinch)
• 1 tbsp water
• 1.5 tbsp of sriracha hot sauce (feel free to increase or decrease based on heat preference)
• 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish

• 4 - 5 tbsp cilantro
• Peanuts, chopped (used as garnish)

Method:

• Mandolin or very finely chop all the “slaw” ingredients. Put into salad bowl.
• In a separate small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Pour combined dressing into salad bowl.  Toss and let rest for little bit.
• Serve into individual bowls, garnish each with chopped peanuts and cilantro.

Pumpkin and Rice Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large shallot, chopped
• 1/2 serrano chile, seeds and all, chopped
• Sea salt
• 1 1/2 pounds pumpkin/squash flesh, seeded, peeled, and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• 1 - 2 teaspoon fresh ginger juice, pressed from grated ginger
• Cooked brown rice, warm
• Plain yogurt
• 1 lemon (zest)
• 1 twig of rosemary
• 1/4 cup butter

Method - Butter

• Melt 1/4 cup / 2 oz unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, long enough to let the butter start to brown a bit.
• Remove from heat and immediately stir in leaves from a 4-inch sprig of rosemary, zest of one lemon, I teaspoon grated ginger, and a good pinch of salt. Stir well and let sit for 5 minutes or so.

Method - Soup

• In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, shallot, and serrano and a couple big pinches of salt. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes
• Then add the pumpkin and 6 cups of water (or less if you like a thicker soup). Bring just to a simmer and cook until squash is completely tender throughout, about 15 minutes. Note that the time it takes will differ between different squash/pumpkin varietals.
• Remove from heat and puree with a hand blender until smooth, and add the ginger juice. If you like an even thinner soup, add a bit more water at this point, then stir in more salt to taste, about 2 teaspoons.
• Serve over a big scoop of brown rice with a dollop of yogurt and a drizzle of lemon ginger rosemary butter (and pulp).