Toasted Cauli-Rice

A number of years ago we started eating Cauli-rice in lieu of regular rice, in an attempt to cut down on carbs and be a bit healthier.  Now whenever "rice" is served in our home, it's almost always a delicious version of a cauli-rice.  This Toasted Cauli-Rice is rich, mild and somewhat creamy, because of the ghee.  Toasting the cauliflower a bit adds just another flavor dimension.  In the picture above, the Toasted Cauli-Rice is served with our Malaysian Chicken Curry, which is quickly made in the Instant Pot.  This is a fast, healthy and delicious meal which we hope you'll try.

Toasted Cauli-Rice

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 1 TBS. ghee (or butter)
• 1 medium onion, small dice
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt & pepper to taste

Wash and dry the cauliflower completely.  Cut into workable size pieces and rice using either the shredding blade of a food processor or a box grater.  Heat a large skillet and add the ghee.  Once the ghee is melted, add the riced cauliflower, onion & garlic.  Cook over medium high heat, stirring once in a while.  Cook until the onions are tender and the cauliflower starts to toast in areas.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  

Enjoy!!

Gluten Free Cassava Flour French Crepes

Maisie's crepes filled with Nutella...Yumminess!

Maisie adores crepes, but as she's gluten free, they haven't in the past come always out as delicious or as close to regular crepes as we would have liked.  That was until we started using cassava flour in place of other flours.  Cassava crepes cook up beautifully and taste gorgeous! The only difference when making cassava crepes compared to those made with all-purpose flour is, they need to be cooked a bit longer, because cassava flour can tend to produce a gummier texture.  But, if the crepes are cooked just that little bit longer, they come out perfect with the right amount of elasticity, chew and with no gumminess.  The crepes hold together well and reheat beautifully.  We store them in the refrigerator, folded in quarters, stacked one upon another and wrapped tightly with plastic wrap to keep in the moisture. Reheat time in the microwave is 10-15 seconds.   

Gluten Free Cassava Flour French Crepes

• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 4TBS. melted ghee or butter
• 1 tsp. sugar, (optional to use, or can use any sweetener of your choice)
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• ¾ cup cassava flour
• 2 c. milk (I use whole milk)
• ½ tsp. vanilla bean paste  or vanilla extract (for sweet crepes only)
• ghee or butter for frying

Add the eggs to the jar of a blender and process on medium-high for about one minute.  Add the melted ghee, sugar & salt.  Blend until fully combined,  Add the milk and process on medium-high for one minute.  Stop and add the cassava flour.  Process on high for two minutes then reduce to low for an additional 2 minutes, so that most of the air bubbles are removed.  (This whole process can be done in a bowl with beaters but it doesn't blend quite as well so the batter would need to be strained through a fine sieve to remove any remaining lumps before frying.)

Heat a crepe or fry pan on medium and add enough ghee or butter to lightly coat the pan.  For a 7-inch pan I use 1/8 cup of the batter.  Once pan is heated add the batter and swirl pan to evenly spread the batter.  Allow the crepe to cook until the edges start to brown.  Use an offset spatula to release the edge of the crepe from the pan.  Once the edges start to curl, gently place offset spatual under the crepe and flip the crepe over.  Cook the second side for 15-20 seconds, until lightly browned.  To remove crepe from pan, Turn pan over and bang onto a foil lined baking sheet.  

Immediately add new batter to the pan and repeat the process.  If the batter does not spread well and sputters, your pan is too hot.  Also, because there is so much ghee/butter in the batter, I never find it necessary to re-grease my pan after the inital time.  Because the pan in the beginning will be "over greased," the first one or two crepes don't spread and come out well, but enjoy them as they are for the cook and though not perfect, definitely delicious.   

Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Soup ~ Instant Pot

It's a snowy day here in Georgia and nothing is better than a hot delicious bowl of soup.  Maisie put in her request for Creamy Tomato Soup.  As we had all the necessary ingredients in the house, her wish was granted.  This recipe was made in our 8-qt Instant Pot but could easily be made in any pressure cooker or even in just a pot on the stove.  We enjoy the soup with a bit of added heavy whipping cream, just for some extra creaminess, but even without the cream the soup is creamy delicious!

Creamy Tomato Soup ~ Instant Pot

• 4 Tbsp. ghee or butter
• 1 med. onion, large dice
• 2 small potatos, peeled and large dice
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper 
• 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes
• 1 - 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 - 14.5 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 -  6 oz. can tomato paste
• 4 cups water
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (optional)

Heat pressure cooker and add the ghee.  Once metled, add the diced onion and sautee until tender.  Add the potato, garlic & black pepper.  Mix well and saute until the garlic is fragrant.  Add the sundried tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, and salt.  Close the pressure cooker and steam release valve.  Set high pressure for 10 minutes.  When time is up, allow for 10 minutes of natural release and then release any remaining pressure with quick release.  Use an immersion blender to blend the soup smooth.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste.  If using the cream, stir in before serving.  

Enjoy

Doro Wat ~ Spicy Ethiopian Chicken Stew

We adore spicy food here in the Cook Lisa Cook house so when we spied this recipe for Doro Wat on Nom Nom Paleo’s site, we just knew it had to be made. 

The original recipe called for a tablespoon of the spice berbere but Michelle said that they used 1½ tablespoons because they’re masochists, so we figured what the heck, if they can do it, we’ll be masochists too, so we went for the larger amount.

The berbere gave the dish a wonderful flavor and it was hot…but not spitting fire hot so it was perfect for us…well not Maisie.

The chicken was absolutely delicious, the flavors were just amazing.  The eggs in the dish were…well…interesting but we felt they just weren’t quite needed.  Maybe if the eggs had been simmered in the sauce, I don’t know.  I know that we’ll make and enjoy this dish again but probably sans eggs. 

Doro Wat ~ Spicy Ethiopian Chicken Stew (adapted from here) 

• 3 pounds chicken drumsticks (about 10 drumsticks), skin on or off
• Kosher salt
• ¼ cup ghee
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (about 1 TBS.)
• 1 1/2 TBS. berbere seasoning (more or less to taste)
• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom 
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper   
• 2 cups chicken stock  
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered into wedges
• Juice from 1 lime (optional)

Thoroughly season the drumsticks with salt, and set aside. Heat the ghee in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sliced onions, and let them cook undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes. Season liberally with salt, and gently turn over the pile of onions every 3 to 4 minutes to ensure even cooking. Once the onions have softened and significantly reduced in volume, about 15 minutes, turn the heat to medium-low.  Continue cooking, turning over the onion pile every 10 minutes or so, for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and nicely caramelized, tender and sweet.

Stir the garlic and ginger into the caramelized onions, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add the berbere, cardamom, and black pepper. Next, pour in the chicken stock and stir to mix well. Nestle the drumsticks into the liquid, and bring the contents of the pot to a low simmer. Cover and cook, turning the drumsticks occasionally, about 45 minutes or until the meat is tender and cooked through.

Once the chicken’s done, remove the lid of the Dutch oven and turn the heat up to medium-high.  Cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the liquid is reduced by approximately one-third.  Add lime juice, do it now. The citrusy zing adds a nice, zesty brightness to this long-simmered dish. Transfer the chicken drumsticks to a serving platter, garnish with the egg wedges, and ladle the spicy sauce on top.

Enjoy!

Beef Keema

This month for Secret Recipe Club I was assigned Ilona’s blog Ilonaskitchen.  Ilona’s blog is chockfull of wonderfully delicious sounding recipes but when Indian food lovers like us happened upon not one, not two, but three keema recipes, well we knew what would be making an appearance in our home this month.  Out of the three recipes that Ilona had posted, we decided on this version as she made it once without the addition of coconut milk and then revisited the recipe making it a second time with the coconut milk, so we figured if she loved it the first time and went back to add in an ingredient as delicious as coconut milk, well it just had to be really, really good.  And good it was, totally delicious in fact and the creaminess of the coconut milk with the spiciness of the meat…pure perfection!

Of course there were a few changes we made to the original recipe.  We really love intense flavors so we cut the amount of meat back but kept the original amount of spice.  Also, we haven’t been eating white potatoes or peas so we swapped out the white potato with sweet potato and just nixed the peas.  We enjoyed the Beef Keema with Plantain Wraps, which kept our meal gluten and grain free but totally flavorful and satisfying.  Enjoy this version or Ilona’s version, either way you won’t be disappointed.

Beef Keema (adapted from here)

• 1 tablespoon Ghee
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 TBS. minced fresh ginger
• 2 TBS. Madras curry powder
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled & cut into 1/4-inch chunks
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• One 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
• One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

In a large skillet, over medium high heat, heat the ghee. Add the ground beef, seasoning with salt and pepper.  Cook, breaking the meat apart into small pieces, until there is no pink left.  Add the onion, garlic, ginger & curry powder. Stir and cook until the onion has softened, about 5-7 minutes.  Stir in the sweet potato, making sure to coat it with all the flavors in the pan. Add the broth, coconut milk and canned tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened, about 15-20 minutes.  Using a wooden spoon, crush about half of the sweet potatoes into the broth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve sprinkled with chopped cilantro, accompanied by plantain wraps, naan or chapati.

Enjoy!!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Roasted Grape Tomato, Garlic & Poblano Ragu
Mexican Feast: Cream of Ancho Chile Soup, Roasted Poblano Burger with Chile de Arbol Guacamole & Pork Crusted Baked Poblano Fries 
Zesty Zucchini Skillet 
Garlic Seafood in Coconut Milk 
Lamb & Eggplant with Chiles
Fijian Ceviche
Carrot & Sweet Potato Pancakes   
Chicken Burgers with Spinach & Mushrooms 
Paradise Mango Curried Shrimp 
Laura Goodenough’s Apple Coffee Cake 
Loaded Potato Soup
Lemon Almond Biscotti 
Creamy Mints 
Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken 
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Fried Green Tomatoes 
Chicken Satay Noodle Salad 
Double Chocolate Mousse Cake 
Candied Popcorn
Fruit, Nut & Poppy Seed Chicken Salad 
Broiled Sushi 
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle 
Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites 
Texas Chicken with Lime Butter 
Pork Belly Soup with Collard Greens 
Thin Mint Irish Coffee 
Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies 
Welsh Cakes 
Nutella Crêpes 
Cilantro Lime Chicken 
Holy Guacamole 
and
Home Style Chicken Curry

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