Crispy Baked Parmesan Garlic Wings

Here in the Cook Lisa Cook home, we adore wings. Some of the wings we've blogged about were our Baked Buffalo Wings, Baked Teriyaki Wings, Baked Tandoori Wings, and Baked Chinese Five-Spice Wings.  One thing you'll notice about all the wings which we make is, every-single-one is baked.  We bake them hot and fast so they remain juicy and moist inside and even without frying, they have a wonderful golden & crispy skin.  We each have our favorite but honestly, lately, I feel like we've been in a wing rut and in need of a new flavor.  Enter, Crispy Baked Parmesan Garlic Wings.  What made me think to make these was, I was making for Maisie, the gluten-free version of one of my favorite childhood dishes, noodles with butter, parmesan & garlic and thought, wouldn't that be wonderful on some wings.  Seeing as we had just purchased wings and we were going to do the same-old-same-old, we just went with the new idea and winged it...get it? Winged it... ;)  The new wing recipe was a hit!  Buttery, garlicy and cheesy all on a perfectly cooked and crispy skinned wing. Perfection and delighted to have a new flavor in our wing line-up!

Crispy Baked Parmesan Garlic Wings

• 4 lbs. wing pieces, flaps and drumettes
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 cup Ghee (or butter,) melted
• 1 TBS. garlic powder
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 TBS. fresh parsley, minced
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
• 1/8 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Line a baking sheet with foil and place a baking rack on top. Using a paper towel, dry the wings off as well as possible. Place the wings in a large bowl and sprinkle with the baking powder, salt, pepper and 1 tsp of the garlic powder. Using your hands, toss to coat well. Place the wings, skin side up, so that they are close but not touching one another, on the rack. Allow the wings to dry with the mixture on them for about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 500F. Bake wings for 20 minutes, until golden brown. If at the 15 minute mark, you notice that they are not browning nicely, place the wings under the broiler for the remaining 5 minutes. (I have a convection oven and use the roast setting so our wings are cooked from top and bottom.) During the last 5 minutes of cook time, melt the ghee or butter and add to a large bowl. Stir in the 1 TBS. garlic powder & 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan. Once the wings are fully baked, using tongs, add them to the bowl of buttery garlic cheese and toss to coat. Add the parsley and give a final toss. Place wings on serving plate and sprinkle with the shredded Parmesan and remaining 1/8 cup grated Parmesan.  Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup ~ Instant Pot

For over two years, we have been enjoying our adaptation of Melissa Joulwan’s Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup.  You'd think that by now we'd be tired of it and would have moved on to a different favorite soup, but truth be told, I can still eat this soup every.single.day, especially for breakfast.  It's a great way to get in some healthy bone both and it's always warm and satisifying.  It's perfectly labled by Melissa as “a healthy hug in a bowl.”  Though a simple recipe to make on the stove, it's now even easier and quicker using our Instant Pot.  Though we have the 8-qt. Instant Pot, it still holds less than our big stock pot, so I've adjusted the amounts from the stovetop recipe.  This recipe will work in either a 6-qt. or 8-qt. Instant Pot. Remember, if you do freeze the soup, you’ll need to puree it again once thawed, either by placing it in the blender or using an immersion blender.  So, if you have an abundance of zucchini or need a warm hug, make this soup!!

Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup ~ Instant Pot (adapted from here)

• 1 TBS. beef tallow or coconut oil
• 1 med. onion, diced
• 5 large fresh garlic cloves
• 1 TBS. ground ginger
• 1 TBS. ground coriander
• 1 1/2 tsp. Himalayan salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 3 lbs. zucchini, cut in 1/2 moons or leftover pieces
• 6 cups beef bone broth, (can also use chicken bone broth or Cheaters Chicken Soup,vegetable stock, or any mix of broth you choose)

Turn on saute mode and heat the beef tallow or coconut oil in the liner of the Instant Pot.  Add the onions and sauté until caramelized.  Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, salt & pepper.  Cook stirring continuously until toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add the bone broth and zucchini. Press Keep warm/Cancel button to stop the sauté.  Secure the lid and move the vent to closed.  Press Manuel and using the -/+ buttons, adjust the time to 10 minutes.  Once the 10 minutes are finished, allow for NPR (natural pressure release).  Once the pressure has dropped and the pin falls, remove the lid.   Use an immersion blender to puree the soup, or use a blender to carefully puree (use a towel to hold the lid on the blender on whilst pureeing.) Adjust salt and pepper seasoning. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Dry Fried Eggplant

For people who love all sorts of food, we dine out very, very infrequently.  When we do go to a restaurant it’s generally to the local Szechuan restaurant where the food reminds us of our time in China. 
One of our favorite dishes, which we always order, is Dry Fried Eggplant.  This is our attempt to recreate the dish and honestly we are pretty darn close.  Though this dish is almost spot on, I will say that it’s often easier to just go out and enjoy someone else’s cooking and having them do the cleaning up too! 
Dry Fried Eggplant

• Coconut oil for frying
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• Himalayan salt, to taste
• 1 tsp. ground Szechuan peppercorns (dried prickly ash)
• 1 tsp. hot paprika 
• 1 1/2 lbs. Chinese eggplant, stem removed and cut lengthwise into 2-3 inch-long “steak” fries
• 1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1 tsp. Szechuan peppercorns, flakes

Heat oil (deep enough to come halfway up the thickness of the eggplant fries) in a heavy bottomed cast iron pan and heat to approximately 350F.  Place a wire rack over several layers of paper towels for draining after frying.  Mix together the tapioca flour, salt, ground Szechuan peppercorns and paprika and place on a large rimmed baking sheet.  Lightly moisten the eggplant fries with water and then lightly coat the fries with the tapioca flour mixture, shaking off and discarding any excess.  Working in batches, carefully fry the eggplant, turning when necessary, until lightly golden brown and tender in the center.  Remove the fries to the prepared cooling rack.  Plate and sprinkle on the cilantro and Szechuan peppercorn flakes.
Enjoy!

Sweet & Sour Un-Stuffed Cabbage Soup

We adore stuffed cabbage but making it can be awfully time consuming. Enter Un-Stuffed Cabbage Soup, tastes just as delicious and takes just a fraction of the work and time to make.  We make this for a quick hearty meal in the pressure cooker which cuts the time even more, but it’s just as easily made in a pot on the stovetop.
Sweet & Sour Un-Stuffed Cabbage Soup 

• olive oil
• 1/2 lb chuck steak, 1/2-inch dice, seasoned with salt & pepper
• 1 lg onion, diced
• 8-10 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 2 medjool dates, chopped
• 1/4 cup raisins
• juice of one lemon
• 1 tsp. sour salt
• 28 oz. can whole plum tomatoes
• 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 4 c. chicken or beef stock
• 1 small head green cabbage, roughly chopped
• salt & pepper to taste

(I make this in a pressure cooker but you can use a soup pot.)
Heat the olive oil and then sear the chuck steak cubes on all sides until browned. Remove the steak from the pot and set aside.  To the same pot add the onions and sauté until they begin to caramelize.  Add the garlic and ground beef and cook until the beef is browned.  Return the steak to the pot and add all the remaining ingredients.  Cook until the cabbage is tender. (I use a pressure cooker, 15 minutes at high pressure and then I let it cool to reduce the pressure instead of just releasing the valve)  Salt and pepper to to taste.  This is good the first day but gets better after it sits a day or two.
Enjoy!

Baked Teriyaki Chicken Wings

We adore chicken wings!  Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings, Tandoori Chicken Wings, Chinese Five-Spice Wings and now, Baked Teriyaki Wings.  This month for Secret Recipe Club we were assigned Sarah’s blog, Things I Make for Dinner.  We immediately spied her recipe for Teriyaki wings and knowing that we had wings in the freezer which were purchased during a fabu sale, (wink, wink Sarah) it was a done deal!  These wings fit in perfectly with our ongoing theme this summer of foods to eat whilst relaxing on our dock sipping adult beverages.  In fact, next time we make these wings we’ll most likely also be making Sarah’s Pineapple Sangria to enjoy as well. 

We adapted Sarah’s recipe to make it Paleo & Whole30 by swapping out the soy sauce and using Coconut Aminos and in place of the honey, we used some Medjool dates.  The wings were a wonderful treat and Sarah’s recipe or ours, you won’t be disappointed.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken Wings (adapted from here)

• 12 whole chicken wings cut into drumettes & flats, tips discarded or saved for stock
• 3 TBS. seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 3 TBS. Coconut Aminos 
• 2 Medjool dates, pitted

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy cleanup and lightly grease foil with oil.  Preheat oven to 450F.  Place the vinegar, Coconut Aminos & dates in a blender and process until smooth.  Place the wings pieces in a large bowl and cover with the sauce from the blender.  Toss to coat the wings thoroughly.  Spread the wings in a single layer on foil, skin side up and bake for 20 minutes, until light golden in color.  Baste with pan juices before serving.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Baked Jalapeno Popper Dip 
Chipotle Stuffed Mushrooms 
Sriracha Deviled Eggs
Grilled Pizza Sandwich
Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Mascarpone Soup 
Hearty Bacon, Turkey & Vegetable Frittata
Chicken Satay with Sunbutter “Peanut” Sauce
Asian Pork Chops
Mango Salsa 
Pomegranate Molasses Salad Dressing
Beef Keema  
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

Check out the new SRC blog for more exciting recipes from past reveals

An InLinkz Link-up

Baked Eggplant with Cumin

Delicious, spicy eggplant, ready to enjoy!  We adore eggplant and this recipe is super simple and just a bit different, one of our favorites.
Steamed eggplant dusted with spice, ready for the oven.
Baked Eggplant with Cumin

• 2 lbs. medium eggplants
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1 heaping tsp. ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• salt
• fresh ground pepper
• lemon juice

Preheat oven to 450F.  Wash and dry the eggplant.  Slit the skin in several places to prevent bursting then steam in a steamer until tender, about 35 minutes.  Allow the eggplant to cool and then cut lengthwise in quarters.  Add the oil to an oven proof baking pan and lay the eggplant slices skin side down.  Sprinkle the eggplant with the paprika, cumin, cayenne,salt, pepper and garlic.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until the eggplant is soft and slightly toasted.
Enjoy!

Chipotle Stuffed Mushrooms

Summer is here and there’s nothing better than sitting out on our dock on a warm evening, enjoying an adult beverage and a few appetizers.  Honestly we sometimes make appetizers our meal during the summer as it’s laid back, easy and seriously, who wants to spend time in the kitchen over the stove or have the oven running for hours.  Fun-finger-food followed by marshmallow kabobs (roasted marshmallows) for dessert sure sounds perfect in our minds.  Yes, just call me Mrs. Flax.

So with summer here, our search this month for our Secret Recipe Club had us looking for appetizers.  Our blog assignment this month was Andrea’s Adventures in all Things Food.  A few of her recipes caught our attention, including her Lamb Stew 'en Papillote', also delicious looking was her Thai inspired Chicken Patties with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce, and her Fast and Flavorful Pineapple Mango salsa, which probably will be making an appearance on our table this summer, but as I said, we really wanted an appetizer.  In the end it was her Chipotle stuffed mushrooms we chose to make and enjoy.

Andrea’s blog shows her life with her children, there are lots of home and craft ideas and books, as she really seems to love reading.  Of course there are lots of recipes too and along with those recipes she does a lot of product reviews, endorsements and giveaways.  In this recipe she used Chipotle flavored Tabasco sauce.  We didn’t have the sauce and chose not to purchase it just for this recipe, so instead we used chipotle powder to get that nice spicy, smoky kick which was a wonderful contrast to the creaminess of the cream cheese.  The other change we made to the recipe was we chose to leave out the panko, to make the recipe lower in carbs and we also left out the egg yolk because in truth, we just forgot to put it in…oops!  All-in-all, the mushrooms were wonderful and they held together well and will be made again and again as we enjoy our summer appetizer meals. 

Chipotle Stuffed Mushrooms (Adapted from here)

• 1 TBS. olive oil 
• 1 yellow onion, diced finely
• 48 oz. of button mushrooms, stems removed and chopped finely 
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 16 oz. natural pork sausage
• 3/4 tsp. Chipotle powder
• 16 oz. cream cheese, softened  
• 3/4 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded (NOT the powdered dry grated)
• extra shredded Parmesan for topping

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
Heat 1 TBS. olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté the onion until golden, add the chopped mushroom stems and sauté until soft.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up until no pink remains..  Add the chipotle powder and stir to combine, cook for a bout 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cream cheese and stir to combine.  Add the Parmesan and stir to combine.   Cool slightly.  Fill each mushroom cap with filling and top with a little more Parmesan cheese.  Place the filled mushroom caps on a baking sheet.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the mushrooms are softened and the filling has turned golden brown. 
Plate and serve immediately.
Enjoy!
My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Sriracha Deviled Eggs
Grilled Pizza Sandwich
Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Mascarpone Soup 
Hearty Bacon, Turkey & Vegetable Frittata
Chicken Satay with Sunbutter “Peanut” Sauce
Asian Pork Chops
Mango Salsa 
Pomegranate Molasses Salad Dressing
Beef Keema  
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
Check out the new SRC blog for more exciting recipes from past reveals

An InLinkz Link-up

No-Bake Energy Bites

It seems like forever ago, a friend, Alison, posted a recipe on Facebook for these No-Bake Energy Bites and we thought they would be a hit with Maisie.  That thought was immediately confirmed when Alison shared some of the ones she made with Maisie and she begged to make them that very night!  We have made these bites numerous times and they’re still a requested favorite.  They are simple to make and hold up well in her lunch and gym snack bags. 

The original recipe came from Maggie’s blog, Smashed Peas & Carrots, where she states “You can substitute almost anything for any of the ingredients to work around food allergies, special diets, etc. Soybutter, almond butter, cashew butter, sun butter, etc all works in place of peanut butter. You can use creamed or liquid honey, or agave nectar or even maltitol syrup in place of the honey. If you do not like or cannot eat coconut try some type of crushed cereal, wheat germ, whole wheat flour, granola, cocoa powder...the possibilities are really endless. If you cannot find ground flaxseed you can buy it whole and grind it yourself in a coffee grinder or magic bullet or you can substitute any other dry ingredient in it's place. Yes, the mini chocolate chips can be regular sized or carob or you can use raisins, cranberries, goji berries, or crushed nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, whatev) of some kind.”  We have stuck to the recipe below because it’s a winner in Maisie’s book but if you try other options, let us know what you did and how they turned out!

No-Bake Energy Bites  (from here)

• 1 cup oatmeal 
• 1/2 cup peanut butter  (or other nut butter)
• 1/3 cup honey  
• 1 cup coconut flakes  
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed   
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate bits  
• 1 tsp vanilla 

In a medium bowl, mix everything above together until thoroughly incorporated. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Enjoy!

Grilled Pizza Sandwich

It’s crazy that it’s already April, I swear that time is passing at breakneck speed.  Flowers in the garden are popping up and blooming, Maisie’s level 7 gymnastics season is over and as crazy as it sounds, she has only twenty days left in fifth grade and in her current school.  It feels like we just celebrated Christmas yet here we are planning for summer and some time off!!  And here it is again, Secret Recipe Club time.  This month our assignment was Nicole’s blog, Daily Dish Recipes.  We all had fun perusing Nicole’s blog and drooled over many of her recipes, including her garlic herb spiralizer fries, chicken scampi appetizer bites and her asparagus dip, but when Maisie saw Nicole’s grilled pizza sandwich she was all over it and the decision was done and made. 

The sandwich was super simple to make and as it uses everyday ingredients, we had everything in the house.  We of course adapted Nicole’s recipe to fit Maisie’s allergies and her tastes.  The wonderful thing about this sandwich is that it can be adapted any way you’d like.

The sandwich was a huge hit with Maisie, who ate the entire thing in record time, because in her words, “it’s delicious and I’m starving after practice.”

Grilled Pizza Sandwich (adapted from here)

• for each sandwich, 2 slices of A-Maisie-ingly Wonderful Gluten Free Bread or bread of your choice
• butter, softened
• Whole milk mozzarella cheese, freshly grated
• mini pepperoni slices
• garlic powder
• pizza or spaghetti sauce of your choice

Lightly butter one side of each slice of bread.  Lay one buttered side down in a cold pan and turn the pan on to medium low.  Immediately start building the sandwich with a layer of mozzarella, then add the pepperoni, a dash of garlic powder and top with the remaining slice of buttered bead, buttered side facing the ceiling.  Cover the pan and allow the sandwich to cook until the bottom is golden brown then flip the sandwich over, cover again and cook until the bottom is again golden.  Remove from pan, slice and serve with pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce.

Enjoy!

My previous Secret Recipe Club Recipe Posts: 

Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Mascarpone Soup 
Hearty Bacon, Turkey & Vegetable Frittata 
Chicken Satay with Sunbutter “Peanut” Sauce 
Asian Pork Chops 
Mango Salsa 
Pomegranate Molasses Salad Dressing 
Beef Keema  
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

Check out the new SRC blog for more exciting recipes from past reveals

An InLinkz Link-up

Rendered Goose, Chicken, Duck or Turkey Fat & Crackling

We recently purchased a few Schiltz young American free-range geese and we went on a cooking spree!  We began by breaking down two of the geese, taking off the leg & thigh sections which we would confit.  We boned the breasts and those were set aside to make in different preparations.  The bones, wings and miscellaneous parts were roasted and then put in a stockpot for soup.  All the excess fat and skin was put into a pot so that the fat could be rendered and the skin made into delicious crackling.  Seriously, if you’re a fan of bacon fat and pork rinds, you ain't seen nothin’ till you’ve had goose fat and crackling…off the charts crazy delicious!

Making crackling and rendering the “liquid gold” fat is such a simple process.  It’s going to be wonderful having the fat in the freezer to use in making so many dishes.  Seriously, potatoes & vegetables roasted or sautéed in goose fat are the bomb!!  The cracking we enjoy snacking on and also using as a crunchy topping on salads and soup.  Any way that you’d enjoy pork rinds you can enjoy crackling.  This post shows us using goose, but the same process is used for chicken, duck and turkey fat.  All are wonderful and worth making.

Rendered Goose, Chicken, Duck or Turkey Fat & Crackling

• Fat and skin, cut into approximately 1-inch pieces, we used the excess skin & fat from 2 geese but you can use as much or as little as desired
• 1 cup water
• Himalayan sea salt 

Add the fat, skin & water to a heavy pot that is twice the depth of the amount of skin & fat.  The addition of the water will help the fat begin to render and more is not needed with the addition of more birds, but if using the skin and fat from 1 bird or less, reduce the amount to 1/4-1/2 cup.   Turn the heat to high, cover the pot and bring to a boil.  Once it reaches a full boil, remove the lid and reduce the temperature to bring the pot to a light boil.  As the fat renders and the water evaporates, the mixture may hiss or spatter.  Let the fat render out on the stove for about 2-3 hours depending on how low you have your flame. Be sure to give the fat a good stir with some tongs about every 1/2 hour  The fat will start out yellow and milky butt will turn clear and the skin and fat pieces with be golden brown. Now you’re ready.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the cracklings from the pot and drain on a paper towel lined plate, salt immediately.  Allow the liquid fat to cool slightly, then strain into clean, sealable containers using a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth. Store the duck fat covered in the refrigerator for up to 6 months or in the freezer for a year or more.

Enjoy!!

Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup

We could eat this soup every.single.day and sometimes we go for weeks at a time doing just that!  Such a simple, healthy soup and it’s beyond delicious!  We found the recipe originally on Melissa Joulwan’s blog, The Clothes Make the Girl and in her cookbook, Well Fed 2.  Melissa labels this soup as “a healthy hug in a bowl” which is such a fitting description for this soup.  We make this soup when we gather up enough leftover pieces of zucchini after spiralizing it when making another of Melissa’s recipes, Zucchini Noodles Aglio et Olio (freeze the extra pieces until you have enough.)  We also make this soup when we have an abundance of fresh zucchini.  When we have an abundance of zucchini, we make a huge pot and freeze the soup in 4-6 cup containers.  If you do freeze the soup, you’ll need to puree it again once thawed, either by placing it in the blender or using an immersion blender.  So, if you have an abundance of zucchini or need a warm hug, make this soup!!

Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup (adapted from here)

• 2 TBS. coconut oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 10 large fresh garlic cloves
• 2 TBS. ground ginger
• 2 TBS. ground coriander
• 1 TBS. Himalayan salt
• 1 TBS. fresh ground pepper
• 6 lbs. zucchini, cut in 1/2 moons or leftover pieces
• 12 cups chicken bone broth or Cheaters Chicken Soup (can also use beef,vegetable or any mix of broth you choose)

Heat the coconut oil in a large soup pot.  Add the onions and sauté low and slow, until caramelized.  Add the garlic, ginger, coriander, salt & pepper.  Cook stirring continuously until toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and zucchini.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Allow the soup to cook for 45-60 minutes, until the zucchini is very soft.  Once the zucchini is soft, use an immersion blender to puree the soup, or use a blender to carefully puree (use a towel to hold the lid on the blender on whilst pureeing.)  Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Crack Slaw

So a friend of ours (hi Heather!! Big wave!) posted a picture and recipe for a dish called Crack Slaw. It looked like a simple and delicious dish so we decided to give it a try.  Heather said that it’s one of those dishes that you adjust the amounts to make it your own and that’s just what we did.  Here is our delicious version of Crack Slaw.  Crack Slaw

• 1 lb. ground beef 
• 2 tsp. Red Boat Fish Sauce
• fresh ground pepper
• 2 TBS. toasted sesame oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 scallions (green onions,)  white and green parts sliced in rings
• 1 TBS. minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, more or less to your desired heat
• 1 lb coleslaw mix with carrots
• 2 TBS. coconut aminos
• 1 tsp. kombucha vinegar, or white vinegar

In a large skillet brown the ground beef and season with the fish sauce and ground pepper.  Remove from pan and set aside.  In the same pan, heat the sesame oil and sauté the garlic, green onions, ginger & red pepper flakes until fragrant.  Add the coleslaw mix and cook until desired tenderness. (I like it so that it still had a bit of crunch.)  Stir in the coconut aminos and the vinegar and add back in the reserved beef and any accumulated juices.  Serve hot or cold, great either way!.

Enjoy!

Kombucha

First batch of kombucha with original “mother” Scoby.

Something new for us, brewing our own kombucha.  What the heck is kombucha?  Well, kombucha is a slightly effervescent fermented drink made with a combination of sweetened black and/or green tea.  It is produced by fermenting the tea using a SCOBY, Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria Yeast.  Kombucha is not only delicious but it is used as a functional food as it contains b-vitamins, enzymes, probiotics and a high concentration of acetic, gluconic, and lactic acids, which all have numerous health benefits.

After two weeks a beautiful new baby SCOBY has formed on the surface, almost ready to drink or to go for a second ferment with fruit flavorings.

Many people know, that other than from whole, unprocessed fruits, we have removed all sugar and sweeteners, real and artificial, from our diet.  So, you may be wondering how we can make a drink which begins with sweetened tea.  When making kombucha, the sugar is used to feed the SCOBY and once fully fermented, the sugar is used up.

Delicious kombucha after second ferment, (l to r) plain, cherry almond, and mango.

To add some sweetness and extra effervescence to the drink, a second fermentation is done using whole fruit, which then also helps to add wonderful new flavors to the kombucha.

Kombucha

Initial fermentation:

• 4 tea bags each of black tea and green tea (for loose leaf, 1 tsp = 1 bag of tea)
• 1 cup white cane sugar
• One healthy SCOBY
• 1 cup starter liquid (kombucha from bottle or previous batch)
• purified, spring, or ionized water

Boil 2 cups of water and add the tea.  Allow the tea to steep for 20 minutes.  Remove the tea bags and stir in the sugar until it’s dissolved.  Add approximately 4 cups of room temperature water to the tea to cool it to room temperature.  In a glass, one gallon vessel (which has been cleaned with vinegar, not soap) add the tea and then fill the vessel with water, leaving 1-2 inches at the top.  Add the mother SCOBY and the 1 cup of starter liquid.  Cover with a cloth and secure the cloth with a rubber band.  Set the container in a warm, darker place where it will get plenty of air flow and can stay undisturbed.  For the next 7-10 days give your brew lots of encouragement and love but don’t move or disturb.  At the 2 week mark there should be a nice thick baby SCOBY on the surface.  Taste your brew by carefully removing the cloth and using a straw, slide the straw down the side of the vessel and gather some liquid by placing your finger over the end of the straw to hold some liquid in there and remove the straw and taste.  If the brew is still sweet, cover and let is continue fermenting for a few more days, tasting each day until it has the flavor desired.  Follow directions below.

Second fermentation, if desired:

• fresh, dried or frozen fruit
• 100% fruit juice
• flavorings of your choice, extracts, fresh ginger, herbal fruit teas, etc.

Once the kombucha has reached your desired flavor, remove the baby and mother SCOBY to a glass plate or container and cover to keep clean and insect free.  Strain the kombucha through coffee filters or multiple layers of cheese cloth to remove any particles floating in the liquid.  Place the desired flavorings in glass bottles which have air-tight lids and then fill to 1/2 to 1-inch from the top.  Do not leave too much headspace otherwise it will not carbonate properly.  Seal the bottles and place in a warm dark place.  As there is a chance the bottles could pop or explode, a cooler or box is a good choice to prevent a possible mess. At least once, if not twice a day, burp the bottles to release the accumulated gas.  Allow the bottles to ferment for 3 – 7 days tasting after the third day, until it reaches desired flavor.  Place the bottles in the refrigerator to stop the fermentation process.  I choose to keep the fruit in the bottles but if desired, the fruit can be strained out. 

Important info:

• Sanitize all equipment with hot water and vinegar, not soap.
• Air flow is important.
• Keep kombucha out of direct sunlight.
• If you see mold, throw the SCOBY and all liquid away.
• Other than when steeping your tea, do not use metal around the kombucha or SCOBY.
• Give your kombucha lots of love, it’s a living organism and like plants, feels the energy in the room.

Enjoy!