Perfectly Poached Eggs

If the thought of eating a runny yolk disturbs you, then you will have to ignore this post - but please come back!

Eggs are one of my favorite foods.  They are low in calories, high in protein and inexpensive.  Dr. Oz explained on his show that even the American Heart Association recommends eating an egg a day.

On most mornings, my husband and I eat poached eggs on toast (grain free toast, of course).  It's our favorite.  If it was doused in Hollandaise sauce, it would be even MORE my favorite.

Here's my attempt at a step-by-step explanation of how to make a perfectly poached egg - which, in my definition, means ALL of the white part is cooked and the yolk is runny. 

Perfectly Poached Eggs 

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

about a tablespoon or two of white vinegar (trust me on this) 

Instructions:

Break eggs into separate small bowls.  Next, fill a small saucepan with water.  

Add white vinegar to saucepan.  This will cause the egg to hold its shape.   Bring water to a gentle, rolling boil.  Turn heat to medium when you get to this stage so it doesn't boil too hard.

Gently lower the edge of one bowl into the water, releasing the egg.  Do the same with the second egg.

Immediately start the timer.  My husband likes his eggs around 4 minutes.  I prefer mine right around 4 1/2 to 5 minutes. (This is also based on the fact that the eggs we used to get at our local health food store were HUGE.  I've been buying the most wonderful eggs from a local farmer and have lowered my cooking times slightly to adjust to a smaller egg.)

Once timer is up, remove poached eggs with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels to remove extra moisture.   

Serve on toasted, buttered grain free bread and enjoy!

Delicious Chicken Stock

I'd like to do a few soup recipes in the upcoming weeks, but wanted to begin by going back to the foundation of soup - the stock.

There was a time in my life when I thought chicken stock meant being armed with a sturdy can opener and a large quantity of cans labeled "chicken broth" neatly stacked in my pantry.  I had no idea people actually made their own "broth" or "stock" for chicken soup.  Well, I have seen the light!  

If you've never made your own chicken stock, and the thought of it makes you roll your eyes, please, PLEASE - try it.  Once you do, you will not be able to go back to the dark side.  Yes, I said it.  

Now listen, I'm not trying to be self righteous here.  I realize we're busy as moms.  But truly (would I lie to you?) chicken stock is so easy, requires little to no oversight as it cooks, and tastes delicious.  It's at least worth a try.  I usually make a batch or two of chicken stock and then freeze it so it's on hand any time I want to throw a quick soup together.

There IS a difference in the taste of things made from scratch and things poured out of a can.  It's true.  The last time I made chicken no-noodle soup, my son kept slurping up the broth and saying, "This broth tastes soooo good.  I just want to drink it."  Who needs more proof than that?

Delicious Chicken Stock 

Ingredients:

1 whole organic chicken (skin removed - at least most of it)

1-2 leeks, green and white parts

1 onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges

4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

4 carrots, peeled and cut in thirds or fourths

3-4 cloves garlic

5 bay leaves

small handful of fresh thyme, rinsed and left whole

5 whole peppercorns (optional)

Instructions:

Wash the leeks:  slice down the middle of the leeks lengthwise and cut into chunks.  Toss leeks in a clean bowl or sink of water and wash off the dirt.  

Smash garlic:  Take garlic cloves and smash with the flat side of a large knife.  This should break the skin off and make it easy to peel.  Leave whole.

In the largest stock pot you have, throw in the chicken, leeks, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and peppercorns.  Fill pot with water to about an inch or two above the chicken.

Turn the heat on medium high.  You want to see about one or two bubbles breaking the surface and then turn the heat down to low.  You don't want to over boil this stock -   slow and steady is the way to a flavorful stock.  Turn the timer on for one hour.

Once the timer is up, carefully lift out the chicken and place in a bowl.  Keep pot on stove.  When cool enough to handle (I never let it cool) cut or pull the breast meat and big chunks of the dark meat off the bone and reserve to use in soup or another recipe.  Leave some of the meat on the bones.

Place the chicken bones back into the stock pot and continue cooking on low to medium low heat for another two to three hours.

What you're looking for:  The bones after the first hour will probably all still be intact.  Between the second and third hour of cooking, the bones should break apart.  This is what you want.  There's flavor in them bones!

Once the stock is finished cooking, over a large strainer or sieve placed into another pot or large bowl, strain the stock.  Press down on veggies to get as much of the goodness and flavor out of them as possible.  Discard veggies and bones.

Allow stock to cool and freeze, refrigerate, or use immediately in soup.

NOTE:  I use this same recipe for Turkey Soup the weekend after Thanksgiving.  We're having it for dinner tonight, in fact...

White Navy Beans

White navy beans are easy for my daughter and me to digest if soaked and prepared according to the SCD diet.  I throw them into soups, top them with carnitas, and use them in salad and hummus.

Share some of your favorite ways to use white beans by posting in the comments below. 

White Navy Beans

Ingredients:

3 cups dried white navy beans (rinsed, picked over and soaked 24 hours or overnight)

2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 (1/2 inch) slice of pancetta, diced
1 onion, diced

Instructions:

Drain beans.  In large pot, saute diced pancetta until crispy and fat is rendering.  Add onion.  Saute until soft.

Add beans, smashed garlic and enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil.  Turn heat down, but make sure it's simmering. 

Cook for about two hours, adding water if necessary.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Roasted Tomatoes

I Say Tomato.... 

I absolutely LOVE these roasted tomatoes and though I primarily use them IN recipes, I have been known to eat at least one on a piece of grain free bread every time I make them.  (It's YUMMY.)

I basically use these beauties in recipes that call for canned diced tomatoes, or any time I want to have a nice concentrated tomato flavor.  

You can chop them up and throw them in soup or toss them in with sauteed veggies like kale or Swiss chard. (recipe to come) I make them in large batches and keep them in the fridge or freeze them.  I'd like to experiment and try them in a BBQ sauce recipe - I wonder if I have time for that today...

I'd love you to share a favorite recipe you might use these roasted tomatoes in.  If you have one - post in the comments and let me know!  I'd love to try it! 

Roasted Tomatoes 

Ingredients:

several ripe tomatoes (Roma, Beefsteak and Ugly varieties work well but I usually use Roma)
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt 

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325F.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Wash tomatoes and cut them in half horizontally.

Place tomatoes, cut sides up, on the parchment.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Roast in oven about 2-3 hours.  You're looking for the juices to concentrate and the tomatoes to have a caramelized or roasted look about them.

Allow tomatoes to cool and then store (either whole or diced) in the fridge in a container or zip top bag.  They freeze well too - Enjoy!

Miss Jen's Spice Rub (gluten free)

Spice, Spice Baby!  

In an effort to remain true to my original Facebook post stating that I'd be posting "staples" this week, I wanted to post this gluten free spice rub recipe.

I use this rub primarily on fish, but I think it would be great on chicken too.  (Post in the comments and let me know if you use it on chicken or something else.  I'd love to know and try it myself!) 

The recipe makes a LOT.  I make a large batch and store it in a mason jar in the pantry.  I presume it would keep about 6 months to a year.  I've also given it as gifts in pint-sized jars.

I will be posting a recipe in the near future for Grilled Mahi with Apple Mango Salsa for which I specifically use this rub.  I've also crusted salmon filets in the rub and then pan fried in olive oil.  Delish....which reminds me... I need to do that again.

Hope you enjoy! 

Miss Jen's Spice Rub (gluten free) 

Ingredients:
1 cup smoked paprika (usually found in ethnic spice area at grocery stores)
1/2 cup garlic powder
1/2 cup onion powder
1/4 cup sea salt
1-1/2 cup coconut sugar (** see note below)

Instructions:
Mix everything together in a large bowl with a whisk.  If the coconut sugar is lumpy, press it with the back of a spoon and mix well.

Store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. 

** Note:  Coconut sugar, also known as coconut palm sugar and palm sugar, can be found at health foods stores or online.  It has a low Glycemic index and a subtle sweetness.  It reminds me of brown sugar, but doesn't contain any molasses.  Though it's not SCD legal, (the SCD diet only allows honey as a sweetener) we find it doesn't bother our tummies in the least, especially since we use it in such small amounts.

Ghee

I love butter and if you knew how much butter we used to go through in any given week, you'd think I was related to Paula Deen.  When our pediatrician, Dr. Julie Buckley, said that casein (a milk protein) was one of the most irritating things to the gut lining - thus the need to eliminate it from our diets - I thought, "OK - We can do that".  

When I realized that butter contained casein, I thought, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" and, in horror, asked out loud, "What about BUTTER?"

Dr. Buckley suggested we use ghee in place of butter. I have to admit, the thought of making such (another) huge change to our diets saddened me - even scared me a little.  

But ghee is nothing to be scared of.  It's actually clarified butter and is made by heating butter in a pot so that the moisture evaporates, milk solids settle on the bottom and a white froth rises to the top. Ghee is used primarily in Indian cuisine, and is praised, among other things, for being easy to digest.

NOW - I've come to love ghee.  It has a high smoking point which makes it easy to saute with.  I use it to make eggs, pancakes, saute veggies and in the topping for my grain free peach crisp (post to come). 

Ghee can be expensive to buy, but is easy-peasy to make.  If you give it a try, post in the comments section and let me know what you think of it.

Ghee

What you need:

1 pound unsalted butter (good to use organic, but I admit I don't)

1 pound salted butter (traditional recipes use unsalted, but I like a mixture of each)

1 large pot

fine sieve

cheesecloth

glass or stainless steel container with pour spout

small container with lid to store ghee (I bought two from Walmart)

cooking thermometer

What to do:

Put salted and unsalted butter in large pot.  Place pot on burner, turning heat to medium-low.  The butter will melt and a white froth will rise to the top.  Skim it off.

It will go through a stage of large bubbles and popping (keep kids out of the kitchen when making it) and then, the bubbles will get really small.  This is when you know you're almost done.  

Bring the butter up to 225F. Once up to temperature, take the pot off heat.  Allow to rest 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the sieve into the container with a pour spout.  Line the sieve with a double thickness of cheesecloth.

When 20 minutes is up, carefully pour ghee through sieve, allowing froth to be caught in cheesecloth but leaving solids that settled in bottom of pot.  Discard solids.

Allow ghee to cool further, then pour in container with lid.  Do not place lid on container until ghee is fully cooled or you will add moisture.

Ghee will keep for a long time in a closed container at room temperature as long as utensils used to remove ghee are always clean, and no drops of water get into the container (which could introduce bacteria).

Cashew Milk

Cashew milk is a staple in our home.  I make it every week and use it in smoothies, sauces, quiche, ICED COFFEE (come to Mama!), really any place that milk or half-and-half is called for.

Cashew cream has a thicker consistency - more like heavy whipping cream.  I use it in place of cream for sauces like Alfredo (I'll be posting a delicious Chicken and Veggie Alfredo recipe soon.) and popsicles (another future post).

You will find a video tutorial on the Spunky Coconut site for making cashew milk, as well as a great post by Elana of Elana's Pantry.

Cashew Milk

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups raw whole cashews or cashew pieces, soaked several hours or overnight

3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups fresh water (This seemed more like heavy cream or half and half to me)

4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups purified water

Instructions:

After soaking, drain cashews and throw in blender.  Add fresh purified water starting at 4 1/2 cups.  Blend on low then increase to high and blend for several minutes.  

The milk starts at a grainy stage, then soon transforms into a silky, milk-like texture.  If you like your milk a little thinner, add up to another cup of water and blend again.

I store my cashew milk in a glass container with a pour spout and lid in the fridge for about a week.

Cashew Cream

Ingredients:

1 1/2 raw whole cashews or cashew pieces, soaked in water several hours or overnight

1 1/2 cups fresh water

Instructions:

After soaking, drain cashews and throw in blender.  Add 1 1/2 cups fresh water.  Blend on low then increase speed to high.  Blend several minutes.

Cashew cream freezes well (making it great for popsicles).  I usually freeze it in one-cup containers to use later in sauces.  It will defrost overnight in fridge.