Balanced Fork, Healthy Life

I do love a good steak.  It’s why I could never be a true vegetarian or vegan full time.  Tonight, I decided to make a flank steak with chimichurri sauce.  I have never made chimichurri sauce before, but found a recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks.  Let’s face it… its name invites exploration.  I adapted its flavors a bit, and was pleasantly surprised by my first time result.

To make the chimichurri sauce in my mini chop food processor, I combined:

• one bunch of parsley, leaves picked from the stems
• 2 tbsp. of chopped garlic
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 5 tbsp. raspberry vinegar
• the juice of one half of a lemon
• 3 shakes of italian seasoning
• 1 tsp. lemon pepper
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes

I pulsed the combination on high, and ta-da!  Perfect chimichurri sauce… perfect consistency, perfect flavor, the perfect companion for steak.

I marinated the steak all day in olive oil, red wine, chopped garlic, worchestire sauce, fresh rosemary, salt, and pepper.  Then, I broiled the steak for just about 10 minutes for a medium rare taste.  Spread the chimichurri sauce on top and serve!

Happy Allergy Free Eating!

I love making my own recipes.  The creative process, seeing the final product, and finding enjoyment in the effort.  I do also have a small collection of cookbooks to which I look for inspiration and ideas.  I wanted to share with you my top 3 favorite cookbooks and why the authors are some of my favorite foodies.

“How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman.  This guy is the definition of foodie.  He has amazingly delicious recipes for everything.  Seriously, everything.  This cookbook is over 900 pages… and yet he still has hundreds of other pages in other cookbooks!  This cookbook is amazing because it can take any cook from the basics to chef mastery.  He not only includes recipes, but talks about how to actually handle and cook food.  Don’t know where to begin in making a pie crust?  Page 684.  Want to know how to make your own pasta?  Page 126.  The guy can even make ketchup.  Page 779.

My favorite ideas in here include all the variations of pesto, salsas, and pasta sauces.  From an allergy perspective, I appreciate all the advice on how to cut, cook, and eat every vegetable you can imagine.

“Weeknight Fresh and Fast” by Kristine Kidd.  I found this goodie at Williams-Sonoma with my favorite foodie of all, Mom.  Although not intentionally, this book is very allergy friendly.  Most of the recipes include fresh meat and vegetables, which is convenient for my cavewoman diet.  And it certainly lives up to its name… all the recipes are not only fresh, but doable for any weeknight.

Some of my favorites include chopped salad with lemon chipotle dressing, chicken saute with sugar snap peas and asparagus, and smoky black bean soup.

“Seriously Simple” by Diane Rossen Worthington.  Seriously, it’s simple.  I am amazed at how this foodie can take seemingly complicated dishes and break them down so that anyone can make them.  Osso bucco, lamb chops, chimicurri sauce… all in roughly 10 ingredients and 4 steps.

Happy Allergy Free Eating… and Cooking!

Any other cookbook favorites out there?

Tonight, I was craving big summertime flavors.  Seafood, herbs, corn on the cob… bring on the flip flops!  So, I thought shrimp would be a nice change from chicken and steak.  A little seafood go a long way to bringing on warm thoughts of the beach and summertime…

There were two parts to dinner tonight.  First, I sauteed shrimp with snap peas.  In a large skillet, I added a couple tablespoons of oil and one pound of shelled shrimp.  I turned the heat on to medium, and squeezed a few tablespoons of lemon juice, one tablespoon chopped garlic, one tablespoon of chopped shallot, a few shakes of dill, a few shakes of thyme, one fresh sprig of rosemary, one tablespoon honey dijon mustard, and a dash of white wine vinegar.  After the shrimp cooked a little bit, I added the snap peas and covered to cook. (It cooks fast, so keep an eye out.)

To further bring on the signs of summer, I bought corn on the cob.  Even though I am partial to grilled corn, I don’t have a grill.  Instead, I use the microwave!  Crazy, but it is so much better than boiling it because it keeps the the corn crisp and sweet.  In a large glass bowl filled with water, I put the corn and let it “hydrate” for about 10-15 minutes.  Then, put the covered bowl into the microwave, 3 minutes for each ear.

I do love a good shake of salt and a good shmear of butter on my corn, but I wanted a bigger flavor.  So, to one tablespoon of whipped butter (I use Vegan Earth Balance butter, which is organic and dairy free 🙂 ), I add the juice of one half of a lime, a pinch of salt, a pinch of smoked paprika, and a pinch of chili powder.  There is some zing for your corn!  Shmear it on, and get ready for summer!

Happy Allergy Free Eating!

Chicken.  It is usually what I find myself cooking for either lunch or dinner… or both.  It’s so easy and so versatile.  The other night, I came home late from school and wanted to cook some chicken breasts I had in the fridge, but wanted something quick.  So I opted for citrus juice and herbs.  A light and healthy combination, as well as quick because all the ingredients were right on hand.

I put two chicken breasts on a cookie sheet with some cooking spray, and preheated the oven to 375 degrees.  I then squeezed some lemon juice over the breasts, and sprinkled salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and ginger.  I am a big fan of ginger flavoring and thought it would complement the lemon juice.  I put some lemon slices on top of the chicken to cook, but you could also stuff them inside for extra flavor.  As you can see, the Citrus Herb Chicken turned out great!

I then started thinking about other Citrus/Fruit, Spice, and Herb combinations for chicken:

• lime juice/slices and cumin
• orange juice/slices and paprika
• crushed raspberries and thyme, with a drizzle of raspberry vinegar
• lemon juice/slices and mustard powder or regular dijon mustard
• lemon and orange juice/slices with parsley and oregano

Here are some cooking combinations:

• Place the chicken breasts on a cookie sheet and smother with fruit and spice combos, bake for 375
• Marinate the chicken in the combos for a few hours and then bake at 375
• Saute the chicken in a large skillet with the fruit and spice combos until cooked through, then remove chicken and make a sauce with the pan drippings.  To do this, after you remove the cooked chicken, add about a quarter cup more of juice or vinegar and spices.  Cook for another 5-7 minutes until the liquid is reduced and then pour over chicken to serve.

BA (before allergies), I was a BIG fan of dessert.  Give me chocolate anything to round out a meal.  But without wheat or dairy in your diet, dessert is hard to come by.  I have found my favorite new ice creams and know that some cookies can be made allergy friendly.  But what I have really missed is Key Lime Pie.  There is something about the tartness that is just downright mouthwatering.  So I of course was determined to make a dairy free Key Lime Pie… and did!

It took some trial and error.  The crust was pretty easy.  I bought some gluten and dairy free cookies (vanilla or graham cracker) and chopped them finely in the food processor.  I then added a few tablespoons of melted vegan butter, mixed it all together, and put the mixture into a pie pan to bake at 375 degrees for a half hour.  That was the easy part.

I had to try a few different ways to make the filling.  In the first batch, I combined a can of lite coconut milk, lime juice, and egg whites.  I put it in the pie crust and baked it.  The flavor was pretty good, but the consistency was a little sloppy.

In the second batch of filling, I first heated a can of lite coconut milk and a half cup of sugar on the stove and boiled it to evaporate some of the water, whisking frequently.  I then brought it down to a very low temperature and added a half cup of egg beaters egg substitute.  (You don’t want the heat too high or the egg will cook!)  I then added about a cup of lime juice (either fresh or bottled) and kept whisking.  Whisk, whisk, whisk.  After about 10-15 minutes of whisking, I took the filling off of the heat.  In the microwave, I combined one packet of gelatin (the secret ingredient!) and a quarter cup of water.  Microwave for 30 seconds.  Add the gelatin to the filling and whisk a few times to combine.  Now put the filling in the crust and refrigerate overnight.  Ta da!  Great texture and flavor!  Success!  Now I can make my dessert and eat it too!

I wish you could see the gelatin wiggle of the pie in this photo!

In the future, I will probably add a few teaspoons of lime zest to give it some color and zing.  A work in progress…

I recently read an article on the different types of rice.  Personally, I didn’t know that there were many more types of rice other than white or brown.  The article mentioned that white rice is not an ideal grain because its outside layer has been stripped to give it its white color… but there are nutrients in that outer layer.  So, different colored rices actually have more nutrients and fiber than plain old white rice.

This weekend, I found black rice at Whole Foods.  Black rice?!  Yeah, that is what I thought, too.  It was right there with all the other rice varieties, but I never noticed it before.  I, of course, had to buy it as well as learn more about it.  Apparently, black rice has a lot of fiber as well as antioxidants.  These antioxidants help prevent heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.  All great reasons to switch out the white rice and start cooking with black rice.  Although, black rice is not as soft as white rice when cooked.

So I decided to make scallops and put them over the black rice, with some chickpeas and arugula for extra protein and fiber:

Cook black rice according to package directions.

In a stir fry pan, add some olive oil and put on heat to medium.

Add scallops (about 3-4 per person) to pan, and sprinkle some salt, pepper, thyme, and lemon juice.

Cook the scallops about 3-4 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Remove the scallops, and make a sauce in the scallop pan by adding some white wine vinegar, more lemon juice, and dijon mustard.  Keep on low heat and simmer a few minutes to thicken sauce.

When sauce is a little syrupy, turn off heat.

On a plate, add one serving of black rice, a few scallops, some drained chick peas, and a handful of arugula.  Pour sauce over the scallops and enjoy!

Happy Allergy Free Eating!

As someone who eats mostly meat and vegetables, certain ethnic cuisines are perfect for my diet.  I love Asian food, and can always count on finding a few options at an Asian restaurant (minus the soy sauce!).  So, tonight I made my own Coconut Curry Chicken… and with a new kitchen tool I got!  Although it needs to be used very carefully, a mandolin is a necessary kitchen tool for someone who eats a lot of veggies.  It can slice veggies into very slim slivers, and my new mandolin also cuts veggies into small matchstick slices.  Oooooo!

Coconut Curry Chicken

In a deep pan, saute 3 tsp. minced shallots with some olive oil for a few minutes.

Add three chicken breasts (or tenders) and sear the chicken on both sides.

Add one can of lite coconut milk, a sprinkle of salt, several shakes of curry powder, a few shakes of ginger, and one tsp. of chili garlic sauce.  The chili garlic sauce is very spicy (and I have a thick tongue for spice), so use according to your spice level.

While the chicken is cooking a little, chop one green pepper and two yellow peppers lengthwise.  Or whatever your favorite colored peppers are.

After a few minute of the chicken simmering, add the chopped peppers, one box of cherry tomatoes, and one can of drained bamboo shoots.

Cover and let simmer over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through.

When serving, sprinkle more curry powder on top of chicken, for added flavor.

For garnish, cut some green pepper into matchsticks using the mandolin!  Sprinkle on top of chicken for extra crunch.

You can also serve this dish over rice, which will sop up all the extra saucy flavors.

Happy Allergy Free Eating!