Fish Heads & Rice

One of our favorite lunches at home is what we call fish heads and rice.  We aren't actually eating fish heads.  It's just what we call sardines.  We try to eat them at least once a week.  Are you aware of how good they are nutritionally?

Sardines are so good for you!  

They promote heart and bone health, are packed with protein, and are one of the highest concentrated sources of omega 3 fatty acids.  I know several people who eat them straight out of the can for lunch on the go, but that's not for everyone.  It took me quite a bit of time to create the perfect recipe for a nice lunch when we're at home.

John loves rice.  He finds a way to incorporate it into several of our meals; even requesting I replace a different starch in my recipes with rice.  I used to be able to find an Asian Sesame Dressing in the local market, but like many of our favorite things to buy there, they stopped carrying it.  So then I had to research sesame dressings to be able to formulate my own recipe.  This dressing is the heart of the meal.  Without it, the rest is pretty bland and lackluster.

But lets really stop to think about rice for minute.  Most of the people I know are making instant rice or short grained white rice cooked in water.  This has got to be the fastest way to make a dish of rice that I do not want to eat unless you're serving it for breakfast with cinnamon, sugar, raisins, and almond milk!  Rice is very much like fresh mushrooms in the fact that they are ready to soak up so much flavor if you only give them a chance.  And unless you're making a large quantity of rice to make sushi - you shouldn't be using a rice cooker, in my opinion.  Rice is too easy to make to use a non multipurpose gadget.  And there is a plethora of rice types to choose from, that there has to be at least one you love.  Long grain, brown, wild, etc.  Try several types so you can get a feel for them and how the different ones would be better in particular recipes over another.  We usually stick to the sushi rice, it's pretty versatile.  However, there are occasions where a wild rice blend is preferable.

For two people, I use 3/4 cup of rice.  Figuring out how much fluid you need to properly cook the amount of grains you decide upon is super easy.  Simply double the measurement of your grains.  I fill up my 3/4 cup twice with my chosen fluid.  Depending on what I am serving with my rice will change what fluid I decide to use to cook the rice.  For this meal, I use vegetable broth.  Sometimes I use chicken broth or beef broth or turkey broth.  You get the idea.  But I pretty much never use water.  Sometimes, I will add a small pat of butter.  Again, it all depends on the rest of the meal.

Fish Heads & Rice

Serves 2

Total Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Rice

1 1/2 Cups Vegetable Broth, measured out 3/4 cup at time

1 tea Sesame Oil

2 Cans Sardines

1 1/2 Tbl Rice Vinegar

1 Tbl Soy Sauce

1 tea Raw Sugar

2 tea Sesame Oil

1 Tbl Peanut Oil

1 Tbl Sesame Seeds

Set a dry pot over the burner and turn the heat to high.  Dump in the rice and toast the it for a couple minutes, gently swirling the rice in the pot a couple times.  Then, drizzle in a small amount of sesame oil and stir to coat the rice.  You only need enough oil to just barely coat the rice.  At this point, add 3/4 cup of vegetable broth.  It should come to a boil quickly.  Let it boil for a minute and then add the last 3/4 cup of broth.  Once it comes to a full boil, turn the heat to low.  Wait a minute and then cover the rice and set your timer to 15 minutes.

Now, start the dressing.  Combine the vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce in a small bowl.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the oils.  

Open the sardines.  Depending on what brand you buy, you may need to remove the spines.  If you don't, they will be super hard and crunchy, and I'm not a fan of that texture in this dish.  Any other small bones are fine, you won't even notice that you've eaten them and they won't hurt you.  One can of sardines gets flaked into the bottom of a serving bowl.  Repeat the process into the second serving bowl.  When purchasing your sardines, go for the cans that have a smaller amount of fish in them as this will mean larger fish.  We typically buy the lightly smoked flavor, but packed in spring water or oil will also work.

Your timer should be about ready to beep at this point, and when it does you're going to turn off the burner the rice is on and remove the cover on the pot.  Give the rice a good stir and keep the pot over your hot burner even though you turned it off.

Take another small pot or skillet and put it over medium high heat.  Dump in your sesame seeds once the cooking vessel is hot.  Gently swirl the pot once in a while over the span of two or three minutes.  This is going to lightly toast the sesame seeds and add an element of depth to the dressing.  

Put half the rice in each bowl on top of the flaked sardines.  Then vigorously whisk the dressing to emulsify it.  Stir in the sesame seeds.  Drizzle half over each bowl of rice.  Stir it all up and enjoy!  We like this meal with a properly brewed cup of green tea, but that's a topic for another day.

If you make this recipe, snap a photo with #savoryeye!  I love seeing photos of food.

Yearning for a Childhood Staple

As we meandered through the market about a month ago, it was brought to my attention that John had never had a sloppy joe sandwich!  As a child of the 80's, the sloppy joe sandwich was a pretty regular occurrence on the home menu.  It was one of my most favorite meals.  So it was baffling to hear John say that he had no idea what a sloppy joe actually was.  I knew I had to resolve this issue immediately.  And to me, John never having enjoyed a sloppy joe sandwich was, indeed, an issue!

We ended up buying a can of sloppy joe sauce that day.  I'm not sure how it happened, because when I went to make the sandwiches I read the back of the can and saw a multitude of ingredients I didn't want to ingest.  Alright, I admit, multitude may be overkill.  But the high fructose corn syrup was pretty high up on the ingredient list and I hate that ingredient.  However, that topic is for another day.  Todays' topic is the sloppy joe recipe that I created so I could indulge in a childhood favorite meal and share it with my family without having to sacrifice our healthy lifestyle and diet.

This is definitely a recipe I will make over and over again now that I have found a way to create the flavor I want with good ingredients.  I hope you enjoy this healthy twist on an old favorite!

Sloppy Joes

Makes 6-8 sandwiches; Total Time is roughly 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1lb Ground Beef or Ground Turkey

1 Can Diced Tomatoes, Seasoned with Basil, Oregano, and Garlic

1Tbl Apple Cider Vinegar

2Tbl Worcestershire Sauce

1 1/2Tbl Brown Sugar

2Tbl Tomato Paste

2Tbl Grapeseed Oil

1/2Tbl Butter

1tsp Brown Mustard

1 Small Onion, Chopped

1 Red Bell Pepper, Chopped

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium high and add the onion once the butter has melted.  Turn heat down to medium and sauté, covered,  until the onion starts to caramelize (about 8-10 minutes).  Add ground meat and brown.  Once the meat has browned, add the bell pepper.  Sauté, covered, stirring occasionally for five minutes.  Then add the can of diced tomatoes and stir until thoroughly mixed in.  Add the vinegar, worcestershire, sugar, mustard, and tomato paste.  Mix thoroughly and simmer, uncovered, about five minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve on lightly toasted burger buns.

Marinate Me

As I've stated before, we eat a lot of chicken here but I loath preparing it the same way all the time.  So I threw together this new marinade the other night, and it was tasty!

2-3 Tablespoons Grape Seed Oil
1-2 teaspoons each:

• Turmeric
• Tarragon
• Dill

Salt and Pepper to taste.

It's simple and healthy.  Once in a while I try to remember that less is more.
My recipes are standard for feeding two people.  If you're feeding more people, or making enough to have leftovers, please adjust accordingly!

We grilled the chicken after letting it marinate for about thirty minutes.


Do you have a marinade for grilling chicken that you love?  Share it with me!

A Crock of Chicken

We eat a LOT of chicken here.  I believe that most Americans do.  It's very healthy and certain cuts are inexpensive.  Luckily for us, those inexpensive cuts are thighs and drums.  I love chicken thighs and not too long ago it was reported that they are just as good for you as breast meat.  Drumsticks are a great alternative to wings at a fraction of the price and more meaty to boot!

However, I do tire of eating the same meal all the time, or even just the same preparation of one dish.

My new recipe is a crockpot recipe.  What I love about utilizing a crockpot/slow-cooker is, I can prepare everything as early as I have time for and then let it cook all day without having to stand over it in the kitchen.  It saves so much time and meats always fall apart in tenderness from cooking at a low temperature.  It's a win/win and I find myself wondering why I don't cook this way more often.

Slow Cooked Chicken Marsala

• 3 Bone-in Chicken Thighs
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Sundried Tomatoes
• 1 Pint Halved Grape Tomatoes
• 8 Oz Sliced Bella Mushrooms
• 2 Tablespoons Artichoke Antipasto
• 1/4 Cup Sliced Kalamata Olives
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1/2 Cup Marsala (Wine)
• 2 Cups Vegetable Broth/Stock
• Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper to Taste

Combine all ingredients in your crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 hours.

About 40 minutes before you want to eat, remove chicken and set on a large plate or in a bowl and let cool until you can handle it to pull it apart.  I know some people use two forks to pull/shred chicken for meals, however, I like to hand pull the meat so I can leave it a bit chunkier.  It's up to you!  Then mix the chicken back into the crockpot and enjoy.

What to Eat When You Don't Want to Heat Up the Kitchen

Gazpacho!

I'm sorry, that wasn't a sneeze.  Gazpacho is an appetizer attributed to Spain.  It's a soup you serve cold, and you don't need to cook any of the ingredients to make it.  This makes it a perfect dish to serve when we're in the middle of a heat wave and the thought of turning on your stove or oven is enough to send you into a heat stroke.

Earlier this week, I made a gazpacho and served it with sandwiches.  It was the perfect fare for this 93+ week here in PA.

The recipe I followed was this Blender Gazpacho from Martha Stewart.  I used two large beefsteak tomatoes, 1 cup roasted red peppers, 3 slices of Udi's gluten free bread that I toasted, 1/2 of a small regular cucumber.  The rest of the ingredients were as instructed in the recipe.  My John was weary about trying a cold soup, stating the idea of chilled soup was off-putting, but he loved this!

The sandwiches I made were bacon and avocado.  Toast four slices of bread, I used Udi's gluten free multigrain.  As far as cooking bacon goes, I cut the package in half with scissors so all the bacon slices are half slices.  Crisp up enough for 5 half slices each sandwich (10 for two).  I buy uncured as I hear those pesky added nitrates are no good for you, plus it's not as salty.  Regular bacon is way too salty for us.  Cut a ripe avocado in half lengthwise, twist and pull apart.  Take the back end of your knife and hit the pit with the blade, twist, and the pit should pop right out.  Thinly slice the avocado.  Slather on some classic hummus, add the avocado and bacon.  It's wonderful with this tomato based gazpacho.

We also eat of lot of meals that are sliced fruits and veggies with hummus, prosciutto or dry sausage, olives, cheese, nuts.  It's mostly because it's quick and easy, but in the summer it's also light and refreshing without heating up my kitchen.

What is your favorite summer cuisine at home?  Please let me know how you like the gazpacho!

As Close As It Gets

Recently, I have started to get as close to natural as I can.  As a Kitchen Witch, it is almost embarrassing that I haven't done this sooner!

Sometime in the last year, I went through my kitchen and dumped anything containing high fructose corn syrup.  I cried as I found that included my tonic water.  For those of you following along and just getting to know me, I am a huge fan of gin & tonic and gimlets.  I immediately started researching tonics and looking for a brand I could drink.  Enter Fever Tree!  Fever Tree sources the highest quality ingredients and doesn't add in anything artificial.  There are no preservatives, no colors, no corn syrup of any kind!  They offer several varieties, and just looking at their website now so I could link it up for your convenience, I see they have a new tonic that I have not yet tried.  You can taste the difference very easily, no matter what you are mixing it with.  I can never drink a hum drum tonic brand again now that I have tasted the awesomeness of Fever Tree Tonic.  I can purchase a limited variety at my local Giant and Wegmans.  It is over a full dollar cheaper at Wegmans.  If you can't find any Fever Tree at your local market, you can order from Amazon.  I am also going to take a moment and let you know that Bluecoat Gin is also amazing with its clean and crisp profile and comes in a beautiful blue bottle.  Bluecoat is made and bottled right here in Philadelphia, PA.  No matter which variety of Fever Tree Tonic you chose to indulge, mixing it with Bluecoat Gin is a perfect combination.  Hendrick's Gin is another of my favorites, however, with its rose petal and cucumber infusion, it can be a little too sweet with some varieties of Fever Tree Tonic, like the Elderflower Tonic.  I have yet to again purchase Magellan Gin, as it is difficult to find in PA.  But that is really the only other gin I drink.  Magellan Gin is a lovely hue of blue as it is infused with iris, so again, it may only work well with the regular Indian Tonic by Fever Tree.

I also started making things from scratch, such as household cleaners, laundry soap, etc.  I am getting ready to make my own toothpaste and soaps.  One of the blogs I found for recipes that I like is Wellness Mamma.  She links the ingredients to where you can order them online, if you can't find somewhere local to purchase from.  I enjoy this blog for the recipes and what's behind the recipes.  She's done a lot of homework and links resources, so I don't have to do the initial hard research.  Of course, there are some things I still look into further before trying, we all have to think for ourselves.

Let me know what you think about Fever Tree!  Have you tried it before?  Are you going to try it after reading this post?  

Do you make anything from scratch?  What is your favorite item to make from scratch for your home?

Don't forget to check the other pages - post updates don't work when I update them!

Pizza!

John and I both LOVE pizza.  John and I both MISS pizza.  Being gluten free and mostly dairy free does have an adjustment period.  Overall, we feel 100 times better now that we have cut gluten from our diet and just about all dairy, as well.

Backstory:  When I came home from Italy, I started to suffer from chronic sinusitis.  I was just about always feeling miserable from sinus migraines, post nasal drip, and all the sinus pressure that wouldn't be alleviated by anything.  Waking up in the mornings was a ritual of hate and loathing since my light sensitivity was severe and the start of my all day sinus migraine.  I was an ENT guinea pig for medications that cost a fortune.  All of my allergy testing came back negative, even when they tested my blood.  I was barely able to breathe.  

I finally found an ENT that suggested surgery for my deviated septum and a procedure to open my sinus cavities in an attempt to alleviate my sinus pressure and help my breathing.  I had the surgery about three years ago.  I could breathe!  However, I still suffer from sinus pressure that no one can attribute to a specific cause.  It's not as insufferable as it was before, and I'm relatively happy with the results and how long they have lasted.  

Since dairy is a MAJOR mucus producer, we cut it out of our diets in order to help my sinus issues.  IT WORKS.  Every now and then, I cheat and have some dairy.  I suffer for it.  During this period of total dairy-free eating, and then slowly reintroducing some really good cheeses into our diets, we discovered that John is lactose intolerant.  So we continue to be (for the most part) dairy-free.  I have found non dairy substitutes for everything, except cheese.  We're just not a fan of the non dairy cheeses.

John continued to suffer from foods and digestion.  Several people recommended trying a gluten-free diet.  Gluten is also a MAJOR mucus producer.  It took over a year to try it, but we finally did last year.  John and I both feel so much better than we did before we went gluten-free.  We both have more energy and feel younger.  My sinus issues are less.  John also lost unwanted weight after being gluten free for a couple months.  

We will never go back to eating glutenous foods!  The benefits outweigh any drawbacks we have found.

Back to pizza: This is one food that we are still testing crusts for.  Last night, I made Bob's Red Mill brand gluten free pizza crust.  I was excited because I have really liked this brands' products so far, and the package makes two 12" crusts where most brands only makes one.  I prepared it according to the package instructions.

This crust was only okay.  For a gluten free product not containing corn of any kind, it sure tasted like it would be really good to make Mexican food with.  The pizza was edible, but mostly due to my toppings.  The edges got nice and crisp, but the center stayed slightly doughy even though I ended up baking for an extra minute than the longest recommended time on the package.  If you have a gluten free pizza crust recipe or mix you really enjoy, feel free to share it with us in the comments below!  We have tried Nuts.com and Pampered Chef brands so far.  I have another brand in the cabinet to try, just don't recall off the top of my head.

Here is how I topped the pizza last night:

 -Spread hummus as the sauce.  I used classic last night, but garlic or roasted red pepper would also be yummy!  We've been using hummus as a pizza sauce for two years, and it's always fabulous.
-Crumble mushrooms over the sauce.  I generally use white or bella.
-3 teaspoons Trader Joe's Artichoke Antipasto.
-Prosciutto.  I tore it into chunks.  I used two slices of Danielle's Prosciutto from the deli counter.  It was $9.49/lb and tastes just as good as the stuff you buy pre-packaged at $6/3oz.
-Typically I would use fresh garlic and herbs from the garden, but I didn't.  I sprinkled Garlic Powder, Fresh Ground Black Pepper, Oregano, and Basil.
-When you have about 5 minutes left of baking, throw on the Smoked Sun-Dried Tomatoes.

The AB Method

I found an amazing recipe for making buffalo wings on Alton Browns' website and tweaked it to our preference over a couple of times making chicken.  Yes, I said making chicken, as I apply this method to a few different cuts of chicken, not just wings.  You see, we like our chicken buffalo style but don't always have wings on hand.  Also, wings are more expensive than drumsticks or thighs.

(You can also roast your chicken this way and sauce them however you want, I'm doing a little bit of BBQ sauce too.)

With this method, you can render most of the fat from your meat which
1) is more healthy
2) allows the skin to get crisp and
3) means less smoke in your kitchen when you open the oven

What You'll Need:

FOOD

-Enough chicken to feed two people

-3oz Butter

-1 Large Clove Garlic (or 2 Medium Cloves)

-1/8 Cup Hot Sauce

-1/8 Cup Wing Sauce

-Sriracha (to taste)

HARDWARE

-Large Pot

-Steamer Basket

-Small Saucepan

-Medium Bowl

-Cutting Board

-2 Cookie Sheets

-2 Cooling Racks

-Paper Towels

-Parchment Paper

-Knife

-Tongs 

We start by steaming the chicken drumsticks for 20 minutes.  Just take a large pot and put an inch or two of water in it, then set a steamer basket in the pot.  Add chicken, cover, turn burner to medium low.  Once you see water start to collect in the lid, set timer for 20 minutes.  Bigger cuts of chicken will require longer steaming.

While the chicken steams: 

-Set aside 3oz of butter, a large clove of garlic, and a small saucepan.

-Set out a cookie sheet and line it with paper towel, then place a cooling rack on the paper towel.

-Make space in your refrigerator on the bottom for the cookie sheet to fit in.

Once the chicken is finished steaming, transfer to the cooling rack on the cookie sheet lined with paper towels and place in fridge for at least 20 minutes.

During this chill time, preheat the oven to 425˚F.  Chop the garlic, and slice the butter so it melts better.  Put both ingredients into the small saucepan and turn to lowest heat setting on your stove top.

 

Prepare a secondary cookie sheet, this time lined with parchment paper, and topped with a cooling rack.  Check on your butter once in a while to make sure it is melting, and not getting to the point of burning.  We want to keep it melty and warm until we need it, and we want to let that garlic flavor meld into the butter as long as possible.

Now, according to AB (who is, by the way, my most favorite culinary genius of all time), Frank's Red Hot is the original sauce brand used when buffalo wings were invented.  So, needless to say, that is the brand of hot sauce and wing sauce we use.  Feel free to substitute your favorite, but know that results will vary.

You can combine the following ingredients into your bowl at this time, or wait until the chicken is in the oven:
1/8 cup hot sauce, 1/8 cup wing sauce, and drizzle in the sriracha sauce.  Mine looks like the following image

Once the oven is heated to the correct temperature and the chicken has completed its chill time, transfer to your secondary cookie sheet and cooling rack, placing the chicken skin side down.  Pop into the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes.  Once the timer goes off, turn the chicken over and set your timer for an additional 20 minutes.  The chicken should now be roasting skin side up.

When the timer is a few minutes from going off, you'll want to mix your garlic butter into your sauce bowl.  If you're like me (and in this case you really should be like me), I wash my tongs between uses so I'm not touching cooked chicken or anything else with tongs that have touched raw chicken.  I use my clean tongs to mix it up thoroughly, and it does take a few minutes to fully combine the sauces with the butter.

As the timer sounds, take the chicken out and individually toss in the sauce and place back on the rack.  Stick the chicken back in the oven for 5 minutes.  You can go ahead and turn the oven off, the residual heat will bake the sauce onto your chicken.

Pour the extra sauce into a ramekin or other small dish for dipping and serve alongside the buffalo chicken.  Enjoy!

If you try this method the next time you're in the mood for buffalo wings, let me know how it turns out!  Also, feel free to get creative with sauces and share those ideas in the comments.

You can see ABs' original recipe here: http://altonbrown.com/buffalo-wings/