Asian Grilled Bok Choy

• INGREDIENTS
• 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Tamari
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• pinch hot pepper flakes
• 4 bok choy (about 500 g), halved lengthwise

METHOD

In large bowl, whisk together vinegar, tamari, oil, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and hot pepper flakes. Add bok choy and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate, tossing once, for 1 hour. 

Place on greased grill over medium heat; close lid and grill, turning once, until tender-crisp, about 4 minutes.

Turkey Soup

INGREDIENTS

For the stock:

• 1 turkey carcass, leftover from carving a whole turkey, including any leftover drippings or giblets (not the liver) if you have them
• Cold water
• 1 medium to large yellow onion, quartered or cut into thick wedges
• 1 to 2 carrots, roughly chopped (can include tops)
• Several sprigs of fresh parsley
• 1 to 2 sprigs of thyme, or a teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 celery rib (roughly chopped) and some celery tops
• 5 to 10 peppercorns
• Salt
• Pepper

For the soup:

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups each, chopped carrots, onion, and celery
• A few sprigs of fresh parsley, leaves chopped (about 2 to 4 Tbsp)
• A couple cloves garlic, minced
• Seasoning  - a couple teaspoons or more of poultry seasoning (to taste) or a combination of ground sage, thyme, marjoram, and/or a bouillon cube
• 2 cups or more of leftover chopped or shredded cooked turkey meat
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Egg noodles or rice (optional, skip egg noodles for gluten-free version)

METHOD

Making Stock

1 Remove all the usable turkey meat from the turkey carcass to save for making sandwiches later or for adding to the soup once the stock is made.

2 If you are working with a large turkey carcass, you may want to break up the bones a bit so they fit better in the pot. Place the turkey carcass, neck (if you haven't cooked it with the turkey), leftover skin and bones from dinner, into a large stock pot (at least 8 quart or 12 quart depending on the size of the turkey), and cover with COLD water by an inch.

Add any drippings that weren't used to make gravy, and any giblets (not the liver) that haven't been used already. Add thickly sliced onion, some chopped carrots, celery and celery tops, parsley, thyme, a bay leaf, and some peppercorns to the pot.

3 Bring to a boil on high heat and then lower the heat to keep the stock to a bare simmer. Skim off any foamy crud that may float to the surface of the stock. (Note in the photo that even though the stock is at a bare simmer, it looks like it is boiling because of the foam that is beginning to come to the surface.)

4 Add salt and pepper to the pot, about 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper. It sort of depends on how big your turkey is. You can always add salt to the soup later.

5 Cook for at least 4 hours, partially uncovered, occasionally skimming off any foam that comes to the surface.

6 After 4 hours of a low simmer, use tongs or a large slotted spoon to remove the bones and vegetables from the pot. Then strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve or strainer. If you have a strainer but it isn't a fine mesh strainer, you can line it with cheesecloth or with several layers of dampened paper towels and strain the stock through that.

7 If making stock for future use in soup you may want to reduce the stock by cooking it longer, uncovered, to make it more concentrated and easier to store. (We usually do this step at a rolling boil, and reduce the stock by at least half. When you boil stock it will make it cloudy, but the taste is great so we don't care. If you want to reduce stock and keep it relatively clear, you'll need to do that slowly and a bare simmer, and it will take much longer.)

Makes 3 to 4 quarts or more of stock, depending on the size of the turkey carcass, and how much water you added to cover it.

Making the Turkey Soup

Prepare the turkey soup much as you would a chicken soup.

1 In a large soup pot, heat some butter or olive oil (or turkey fat rendered from the stock) on medium high heat. Add chopped carrots, onions, and celery in equal parts. Cook until the onions are softened, about 10 minutes. Add a couple cloves of garlic, chopped, and cook for a minute more, until the garlic is fragrant. Then add the stock to the pot. Add some parsley and seasoning—salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, marjoram, and/or a bouillon cube.

2 Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are just cooked through. Add rice, noodles*, or even leftover mashed potatoes (skip all of these if you are cooking low-carb).  Take some of the remaining turkey meat you reserved earlier, shred it into bite sized pieces and add it to the soup. You may also want to add some chopped tomatoes, either fresh or canned. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes a dash or two of Tabasco gives the soup a nice little kick.

*If cooking gluten-free use gluten-free noodles.

from Simply Recipes ~ http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moms_turkey_soup/

Zucchini Fritters

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Yield 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

• Place grated zucchini in a colander over the sink. Add salt and gently toss to combine; let sit for 10 minutes. Using a clean dish towel or cheese cloth, drain zucchini completely.
• In a large bowl, combine zucchini, flour, Parmesan, garlic and egg; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Scoop tablespoons of batter for each fritter, flattening with a spatula, and cook until the underside is nicely golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, about 1-2 minutes longer.
• Serve immediately.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa (I used Hersheys)
• 1 teaspoon Baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup vegetable oil (or 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup applesauce or 1 cup applesauce)
• 2 cups packed grated zucchini, I left the skin on
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl, just till blended. Set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl beat eggs and sugar until fluffy. Add in oil and vanilla, beat again till well combined and oil doesn't separate after sitting for a few minutes.
3. Blend egg mixture to flour mixture. Beat till blended but don't over beat. It'll be the consistency of thick brownie batter.
4. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter into 2 greased or sprayed loaf pans.
6. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees over for 50-60 minutes. Test for doneness using a toothpick.
7. Let cool for 20 minutes in pan before removing to rack to cool completely.
8. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, slice and serve.

Lentil, sweet potato and coconut curry

Author: Detoxinista.com

Serves: 4

 

An easy and filing vegetarian curry dish, featuring lentils and sweet potato.

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup dried red lentils (<--i also="" green="" lentils="" li="" used="" which="" worked="">
• 1 medium sweet potato, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 large carrot, sliced lengthwise and chopped
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon mild curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3½ cups vegetable broth or water
• ½ cup coconut milk

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onion until it's turning a little golden. Add the lentils, potato, carrot, and spices/seasonings, and stir to combine everything.
2. Add the water or broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes, or until the lentils and sweet potato are tender. Stir in the ½ cup of coconut milk. Serve.
3. Curry will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge. Leftovers can be frozen.

Creamy polenta with garlic and basil butter

1 bulb of garlic

olive oil

200 ml milk

200 g polenta

1 large bunch of fresh basil

125 g butter

1 whole nutmeg , for grating

75 g Parmesan cheese , plus extra to serve

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
2. Peel away all but one of the papery layers from the garlic bulb, then slice off the top centimeter, revealing a cross-section of the cloves.
3. Place the garlic on a sheet of tinfoil, drizzle with oil and rub it into the bulb. Wrap it up, pop it on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, removing the foil after 20 minutes, until it’s soft. Leave it to one side to cool a little.
4. Pour the milk into a large, heavy pan along with 800ml of water and 1 teaspoon of sea salt and bring it to the boil.
5. Pour in the polenta in a thin stream, whisking all the time so it thickens as you go. Keep whisking for 2 to 3 minutes over a high heat.
6. Turn down the heat to the lowest setting and cook it for about 40 minutes, or until the polenta starts to come away from the pan, stirring every 5 minutes to stop it sticking.
7. Melt the butter, then pop half of it into a blender with the basil. Squeeze all of the garlic cloves out of their skins (discarding these) and add them to the basil, along with a good grating of nutmeg.
8. Blitz to a vibrant green butter, then pour it into a small pan. Warm it through gently over a low heat, then set aside.
9. When the polenta is ready, finely grate in the Parmesan and stir in the remaining butter. Serve immediately with the basil butter drizzled over the top, finished with an extra grating of Parmesan.

Read more at http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/cheese-recipes/creamy-polenta-with-garlic-and-basil-butter/#8ja1eZpkBt6zYqEv.99

Panang Curry

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (10 oz, 300 grams) beef, pork fillet or tenderloin, thinly sliced
• 2 cups (16 floz, 500ml) thick coconut milk - reserve 2 tablespoons (30 mls) to use as a garnish
• 4 tablespoons (100 grams) homemade panang curry paste or ready-made
• 2 tablespoons (40grams) palm sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) Thai fish sauce
• 7 kaffir lime leaves - 3 torn into pieces, discarding the stem and 4 finely shredded
• 1/2 cup (1/2 oz, 30-45 ml) fresh sweet basil leaves
• 1 big red chilli, sliced
• 4 tablespoons roasted ground peanuts (optional)

Preparation

1. Put half of the thick coconut milk into a wok and fry for 3-5 minutes, stirring continuously, until the coconut oil begins to separate out. Then add the panang curry paste and fry for 1-2 minutes. Once the paste is cooked add the meat and cook until the outside of the meat is cooked. Then add the rest of the thick coconut milk and bring to the boil. Simmer and add the palm sugar along the side of the wok until it melts and then and add the fish sauce and kaffir lime leaf pieces. Stir to combine and then add half the basil leaves. Turn off the heat and serve garnished with the shredded kaffir lime leaves, red chillies, remaining basil leaves and remaining coconut milk.

Serves 4.