I do love raspberries but it never occurred to me to use them in savory dishes. This one takes some time to make the sauce but it’s so succulent and rich, the time is worth it. The sauce can be made ahead and frozen. In fact, with the chicken I used, I had an extra 2 cups of sauce when I was finished so I put it in the freezer for another time. The recipe may not be a fast one to complete, but it is fairly easy to make. And very easy to enjoy! I used a little vinegar and honey but if you can have white wine, feel free to substitute one cup of white wine for the vinegar and honey. Makes 4-6 servings.
In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil:
32 ounces of chicken stock
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Boil for about 15-20 minutes until the stock is reduced by half. Add:
1 cup cranberry juice
3 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
2 tablespoons seasoned vinegar (this is a vinegar which has a small amount of sugar and seasonings added)
2 tablespoons honey
Boil until reduced by half, about 30-45 minutes. Strain the sauce to remove most of the raspberry seeds.Return to saucepan and return to heat, low heat. Make a slurry with:
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch, tapioca starch, or arrowroot
Add the slurry to the sauce, increasing the heat to medium, and stir until the sauce thickens, about 2 or 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low, simmer.While the sauce is reducing, cut into chunks:
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs and/or breasts
In a ziplock gallon storage bag combine:
1/2 cup all purpose gluten free flour
1/4 cup tapioca or casaba flour
1/2 teaspoon herbamare (or sea salt)
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
When the sauce is ready, add the chicken to the mixed flour and shake to coat all the chicken chunks. Heat in a large skillet:
1/2 cup olive oil
When the oil is hot (shimmering in the pan), add the chicken chunks individually, shaking off any excess flour, and cook, turning once, for 2-5 minutes depending on the size of the chunks or until cooked. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from the oil and add to the sauce.
Serve over brown rice or mashed potatoes. Garnish with fresh raspberries and scallions.
What’s better than a bowl of pasta with a rich, unctuous, makes you go ummmmmm sauce? That’s exactly what you get with a Bolognese sauce. The centerpiece of this sauce is the meat, lots of meat with a few vegetables thrown in for good measure and not much tomato sauce. I think in large measure the rich unctuousness of the sauce comes from starting off with a quarter cup of olive oil. That builds the flavors as each is added. This will serve 6-8 people easily. Serve over whatever kind of pasta your family prefers but a larger pasta, i.e., spaghetti rather than linguini, will hold the sauce better.
In a large stew pot, heat:
1/4 cup olive oil
Over medium high heat. Add:
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large or 2 medium celery stalks, chopped
1 large or 3/4 cup of carrot, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Reduce heat to medium and cook about 5 minutes until vegetables begin to soften. Remove from heat. In a large skillet with high sides, heat over medium high heat:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Add:
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground pork
Salt and pepper to taste
Sauté stirring frequently to break up the ground meat until there’s no pink left and any juices have steamed away.Add to the vegetables along with:
28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
If you choose, like I did, to use dried herbs add them now with the tomato. If you choose to use fresh herbs, add them about 15 minutes before the sauce is ready.
Stir to combine all ingredients, reduce heat to low simmer, partially cover (in other words leave the lid at an angle so that steam escapes), and cook for at least one hour. I actually left my sauce to cook for almost 2 hours which helps the vegetables break down and integrate into the sauce.
Before serving, stir in 1/4 cup grated cheese*
TIP: I did add 6 ounces of shitake mushrooms, just because I had them on hand and they needed to be used.
*Follow Your Heart makes a parmesan cheese that contains no coconut or nuts of any kind and tastes just like parmesan cheese, at least to me! The traditional recipe calls for grated pecorino Romano cheese.
3 tablespoons soy substitute (or soy sauce if you can use it)
2 tablespoons date sugar
Salt and pepper to taste (approximately 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a dash of ground pepper)
If preparing 4 chops, double the above. In a medium to large sauce pan heat:
1 tablespoon olive oil
When the oil is shimmering add:
2 thick cut pork chops
Sear on all sides before adding to the prepared baking dish. Spread with the prepared sauce and bake approximately 40-50 minutes depending on the size of the pork chops.
When I lived in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, there was a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant that introduced me to all kinds of new flavors. One of our favorites were their spring rolls! What a delicious concoction; meat, rice noodles and vegetables wrapped in a rice paper shell and deep fried. Oh so good. Generally a spring roll contains pork or shrimp and a summer roll (the unfried version of a spring roll) contains shrimp and no noodles but bean sprouts instead. Here I’ve substituted chicken but any meat (or meat substitute) would work. And they aren’t difficult to make as long as the steps are followed.
First cook whatever part of the filling needs cooking.
To a large pot of boiling, salted water add:
8 ounces pad Thai noodles (or linguini, gluten free of course!) [Optional but traditional]
Cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes, drain, rinse with cold water and set aside to add to the cooked vegetables later. In a medium 10″ skillet over medium heat, heat:
1 tablespoon olive oil
Add:
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1 cup of thinly sliced Chinese (or Napa) cabbage
Reduce heat to medium low and cook for several minutes until the onion and cabbage wilt. In a small bowl whisk:
1 tablespoon soy substitute
1 tablespoon date sugar (or syrup)
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Add to the skillet and stir to combine with the onion and cabbage. Add the pad Thai noodles if used. Remove the vegetables from the skillet. Either clean that skillet or using another, heat:
1 tablespoon olive oil
Add over medium heat:
16 ounces of chicken breast, julienned (thinly sliced)
Cook, turning frequently, for several minutes, 3-5, until chicken is cooked. Remove from heat.
Let the vegetables and chicken cool thoroughly. If the fillings aren’t cool enough, they will melt the rice paper wrapper. In the meantime, prepare the uncooked fillings, any or all of the following:
1 medium carrot, any color, julienned
1 English cucumber, peeled and julienned
1 cup zucchini noodles cut into 4 inch sections
1/2 cup pea pods
2-3 green scallions (green parts only), cut into 4 inch sections
1/2 cup Daikon radish (julienned)
Avocado (julienned)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (white or black)
Fresh herbs can also be added such as mint or basil leaves
As you can see, pretty much any vegetable could work, even string beans! You’ll also need:
10-12 rice paper wrappers (found in most oriental or specialty stores (or Whole Foods)
When the fillings are all prepared and cooled, using a 12″ container (I used a large pie plate), fill with about 1″ of warm water, not hot, just lukewarm works best. One at a time, place a rice paper wrapper , into the warm water, making sure the wrapper is covered by the water. You don’t want to soak it, just wet it completely. You’ll notice when it’s wet enough because the marks on the wrapper will disappear. Place the wrapper on a clean tea towel (cotton rather than a synthetic or fleece towel) and dry. I picked up the wrapper at this point, carefully, so it didn’t stick as much to the towel after filling.
As you see from the photo, I broke one but it was still useable. Once dried, place some of the fillings in the middle of the wrapper, horizontally, then fold the bottom of the wrapper over the filling being sure it is tight at the top. Then fold in the sides of the wrapper and roll it up from the bottom to the top. The top should stick to the rest of the roll. If it doesn’t, rub a tiny amount of water on it with your finger.
Now comes the choice – spring or summer rolls? The only difference is the frying. If spring rolls are chosen, cook all of them. I cooked half and left the others for the next day’s lunch and they totally disintegrated in the oil the next day, the rice paper didn’t hold up to being refrigerated.
If spring rolls are the choice, heat in a large, high sided skillet:
3 inches of olive and avocado oils
Heat to 350 degrees. Olive oil has a low smoke point so mixing it with the avocado (which has a higher smoke point) keeps the olive oil from burning during this process. Once the oil is to temperature, add the spring rolls being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Fry, turning once (tongs are best for this), until golden brown. Unlike most fried foods, do not place these on a paper towel as the rice wrapper will stick to it even after fried. Instead blot lightly with the paper towel after frying.
If, like me, several of your wrappers formed holes when wrapping them in the vegetables, DON’T FRY THEM! The oil will get into the roll and it will be very greasy. Use it as a summer roll instead.
Dipping sauce (or dressing) if desired. Traditionally spring rolls are served with a peanut sauce but the restaurant always served them with a spicy soy/ginger/garlic sauce. Here are several recipes for dipping sauces.
“Peanut” Dipping Sauce:
Combine in a small bowl:
1/2 cup tahini or other seed or nut butter
1 tablespoon soy substitute
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1-3 tablespoons hot water depending on the thickness desired
One of my favorite lunches used to be tomato soup with Cheezits. That cheese cracker with the tomato soup tasted so good. This cracker isn’t a cheezit but they taste very good and have a cheese taste from the nutritional yeast. And they are very easy to make in the food processor.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the food processor add:
1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
Pulse to combine before adding:
1 tablespoon vegan butter or margarine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pulse until mixture is crumbly then add, 1 at a time:
5-6 tablespoons water (I needed to add all 6)
Pulse after each addition. Mixture should come together but not be sticky. This may require removing from the processor and working manually (with your hands) until combined. Place onto a sheet of parchment paper. Put a second sheet of parchment paper on top and flatten the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/8″ thickness or as thin as you can get it, the thinner the better! Mine was thicker in the middle than around the outside which meant I had to remove the outer pieces and continue baking the thicker middle so try to get the dough the same thickness.
Remove the top parchment paper and place the dough, lifting carefully by the bottom paper, onto a large cookie sheet. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the dough into small 1″ squares. The outside pieces can be removed and rerolled and recut to form squares.
If you prefer a saltier cracker, sprinkle some fine sea salt on top sparsely before baking. Make some holes with a fork in each square and bake for 16-18 minutes. As I previous mentioned, if necessary remove outer pieces that are thinner and continue baking the thicker squares for another 5-7 minutes. Cool on sheet before moving to a cooling rack. When completely cooled, store in airtight container.
I do love zucchini noodles. I remember when I first discovered Whole Foods in western Massachusetts, they had grated zucchini on their salad bar and I used to love adding it to a salad. Like many recipes I blog, this one is totally adjustable for your family’s taste. Here’s the vegetables I used.
I’ve been making rice with meat for years. It’s a convenient, easy way to stretch meat when you don’t have much of it and lots of people to feed. And a great way to use up extra vegetables because it’s an adaptable recipe where any combination of meat and vegetables works fine. The recipe feeds 6 or 4 generously.
This will be my last blog post for several weeks as I now need to concentrate on finishing my screenplay which was due today but I’m not happy with it yet so have to concentrate on that for the next few weeks.
In a Dutch oven, heat over medium high heat:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Add:
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder (if using breasts cut into large cubes
The object is to brown the meat and build flavor as well as sear the meat to keep all the juices in it. This should take about 5 minutes, 2 1/2 minutes per side. When browned, remove the chicken pieces to a plate and add to the pot:
1 medium onion diced
6-8 stalks of celery diced
1/2 cup chopped carrots (or grated)
1 cup diced mushrooms
Sauté for several minutes until onion starts to brown. Add:
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons to 2 tablespoons sweet or spicy paprika depending on your taste
2-3 bay leaves
1 cup frozen or fresh peas (if using fresh, add with the rice)
2 cups chicken stock (or, if possible, 1 cup of white wine and 1 cup of stock)*
1 tablespoon date syrup or date sugar
Stir to mix and add the chicken back into the pot along with any juices that are on the plate. Cover and simmer on low heat for approximately a half hour until chicken is cooked. Stir in:
1 cup rice (I used a wild rice blend but feel free to use whatever rice you prefer)
Simmer covered until rice is cooked, stirring frequently to be sure rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. This should cook out all the liquid but if not, cook uncovered until most of the liquid is gone. If the rice isn’t cooked but the liquid is all absorbed, add 1/4 cup stock and continue cooking covered until rice is done. Remove the bay leaves, taste and add additional salt if needed. Serve garnished with chives.
*If using wine, deglaze the pan with the wine before adding the stock. This will cook off the alcohol.
This marinade smells wonderful! And what’s not to smell great with fresh orange juice and maple syrup along with some fresh grated ginger. Be sure to have your butcher scale the fish so that you can cut the skin into triangle cuts before cooking without serving scales, not very edible. Makes 2 servings.
Whisk in a small bowl:
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (or you can use 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger)
Salt and pepper, about 1/4 teaspoon sea salt and just a shake of ground pepper
Pour the marinade into a gallon food storage bag and add the fish. Let the fish sit in the marinade for at least a half hour in the refrigerator. Remove from the marinade and dry the skin side lightly on a paper towel while heating, on medium high heat, a grill pan:
1 tablespoon oil wiped into the pan
Place the salmon in the pan, skin side down. Cook on medium high for 3-6 minutes depending on how thick the salmon filets are before turning them over (the salmon will release easily from the pan when its ready to turn over) to cook on the other side over medium heat for an additional 3-6 minutes (I usually cover the pan at this point for several minutes). And because I covered the pan to make sure the fish cooks inside, I usually turn it over onto the skin side again for a minute on high to crisp up the skin again. Ready to serve.
This recipe takes some time since the pork loin is marinated but worth the effort and wait. The gravy is lick the plate good! Now I’m thinking I should add fruit puree to all my gravies. Yum, yum. Braising cooks food slowly so be sure that the loin is well seared (browned) before cooking so that it doesn’t lose all its juices. And since I love figs and pears, and I know they go well together, I thought how about braising them with the loin. This recipe would also work with a turkey breast or apples instead of pears.
At least 4 hours before the cooking starts, put in a gallon food storage bag:
1/4 cup seasoned vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt (or herbamare)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried thyme
6-8 dried figs
Add:
1 1/2-2 1/2 pound pork loin
Seal and let sit in the refrigerator at least 4 hours. If you are using a chicken, duck, or turkey breast, you can put this directly into the cooking vessel – either a roasting/baking dish with a cover, or the bowl of a slow cooker.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees if the loin is going in the oven. I cooked mine on the stove top in a medium size Dutch oven. Remove the pork loin (or turkey breast) from the marinade. Dry thoroughly and rub with:
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
In a 10″ skillet or one large enough to hold the loin, heat:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Turn the oil down to medium heat and add the loin (or turkey breast). Sear (brown) on all sides. Remove the meat and add to the skillet:
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 bag of baby carrots, cut into bite size pieces
1 large or 2 small (I used one small sweet and one small white) potatoes
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Sauté the vegetables for about 5 minutes. Add:
figs from the marinade (or 6-8 other fresh or dried figs)
Add the meat back into the cooking vessel along with:
1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken or turkey stock
Cover the pot or dish and cook over low heat (simmer) until the meat reaches 145 degrees for pork or 165-170 for poultry. On the stovetop in the Dutch oven, my just under 2 pound pork loin took just over an hour. When the meat is cooked, remove the meat and vegetables and add to the stock:
1 diced medium pear (peeled or not doesn’t matter)
If the meat was cooked in the oven, pour the stock into a small saucepot before adding the pear. Turn up the heat to medium and cook, covered, until the pear is soft. Add:
A slurry made with 1/2 cup turkey or chicken stock whisked with 2 tablespoons all purpose gluten free flour
Stir until the gravy thickens and the pear pieces are integrated into the gravy, this should only take a couple of minutes. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes so that the flour cooks completely. Slice the pork loin (or other meat) and place on a platter surrounded by the vegetables and figs. Pour some of the gravy over the pork and serve.
I’m always looking for new chicken recipes and here’s one that has some sweetness from a touch of honey, agave, maple or date syrup, some spice from the cumin and ground pepper, and a touch of citrus from orange. I was pleasantly surprised at that hint of orange in the flavor, very umami! And quite an easy recipe to make. Any chicken parts can be used however, I would recommend not mixing them so either thighs, drumsticks, or breasts. Serves 2-4.
In a 1 gallon food storage bag (or small mixing bowl, mix together:
1/2 cup sugar free ketchup (such as Organicville)
1/4 cup agave, honey, maple or date syrup
1 teaspoon orange zest (zest from 1 medium orange)
1/3 cup orange juice (from one orange)
1 teaspoon Herbamare (don’t have it? Use 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite herb mix)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Dash of hot sauce (optional)*
Swish around in the bag (please zip-lock it first!) until combined.
Add:
6-8 chicken parts
Again swish around to be sure the chicken is thoroughly immersed in the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes but I left mine for about 2 hours. [If you’re unsure about using the marinade that the chicken sat in, instead of mixing it in the bag, use a small bowl and when you add the chicken to the bag, only add half the marinade and reserve the other half to pour over the chicken for baking.]
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and dump the entire contents of the bag into it, making sure the chicken is in a single layer in the dish. Bake 30-40 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165-170 degrees.
cookingwithoutallergens 