Togarashi Braised Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients:
1 T cooking oil
6 chicken thighs or drumsticks

1/2 red onion, julienned
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled and thickly sliced
1 bunch rainbow card, ribs and stems removed and leaves cut bite-sized

1/2 grapefruit, juiced
2 t togarashi shichimi powder (Japanese 7-spice), or to taste
1 t soy sauce, or to taste

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the oil when the pan is hot, then add the chicken and brown well. Remove to a small baking dish.
3. Heat the same pan again over medium-high heat, then add the onions. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and chard. Cook for 7 minutes more, then mix in with the chicken.
4. Cover the baking dish and braise the chicken and veggies for one hour. Pull the meat off the bones when they're cool enough to handle, then add the remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning. Make some sandwiches with this filling and some shredded carrots. Delicious!

Tomato & Fennel Braised Chicken Sandwich

Eat them before they eat our babies!!!


Cooking skills focus: Sauteeing, braising, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
2 T cooking oil
8 chicken thighs, scored
salt and pepper TT

1 # roma tomatoes, cored & diced large (3/4" on a side)
1 bulb fennel, cored, outside peeled and sliced thinly

2 T cooking oil
1 onion, diced medium (1/2" on a side)
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled and sliced
salt and pepper TT
1 T Berbere spice blend, ground

2 carrots, sliced thinly into coins
1/2 bu parsley, chopped finely

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the chicken thighs in batches and brown well. Remove to a baking dish and set aside. Keep the saute pan out.
3. Heat the saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes and fennel and saute for 5 minutes. Add to the baking dish with the chicken.
4. Heat the saute pan over high heat and add the next 2 T cooking oil. Add the onion and saute 3 minutes, then add the garlic and saute 5 minutes more. Add to the baking dish and mix everything together with the Berbere spice blend.
5. Braise covered for 45 minutes. Carefully pull out all the chicken bones and cartilage when done.
6. Stir in the carrots and parsley, and stuff into bread for sandwiches.

Red Cabbage & Cashew Slaw, Stuffed Collard Greens and Red Quinoa with Caramelized Fennel

To me, delicious vegan food means lots of vegetables. This recipe is a combination of three small dishes to create an entrée that's got a lot of variety but still hangs together as a whole.

Ingredients:
Red Cabbage & Cashew Slaw:

5 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 jalapeños, minced
1 grapefruit, juiced
1/2 t salt
2 t Chimichurri powder
1 t sugar (preferably raw sugar)
2/3 C olive oil
1/2 head red cabbage, sliced very thinly
2 red bell peppers, sliced thinly
4 Persian cucumbers (or 1 English cucumber), cut bite-sized
1/3 bu cilantro, sliced thinly (use the stems too)
2/3 C cashews

Stuffed Collard Greens:
1 T cooking oil
1/2 head red cabbage, sliced thinly
6 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced
salt & pepper TT
1/2 lemon, juiced (you use the other half below)
1 zucchini, julienned (cut into thin planks 2" long, and then cut along the planks into little batons)
1 bu collard greens, washed, cut in half & ribs removed

Red Quinoa w/ Caramelized Fennel:
1 T cooking oil
1 yellow onion, sliced thinly
1 bulb fennel, washed, outer layer peeled (vegetable peeler) and sliced thinly (remove the tough, cone-shaped core at the bottom of the bulb)
salt & pepper TT
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 C red quinoa

Instructions:
0. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Red Cabbage & Cashew Slaw:
1. Whisk together the first seven ingredients in a big bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix around.

Stuffed Collard Greens:
1. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat and add the cooking oil. Add the cabbage and garlic, season with salt & pepper and cook about 6-7 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice and zucchini.
2. Allow the filling to cool and stuff the collard greens with it like little burritos. Line them up in a baking dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and bake for 20 minutes.


Red Quinoa w/ Caramelized Fennel:
1. Heat the same large sauté pan over high heat and add the cooking oil. Add the onion and fennel and brown for 3-4 minutes, then season with salt and pepper, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 15 minutes or until all soft and deliciously caramelized. Add the lemon juice and set aside.
2. While the onion and fennel is cooking, cook the quinoa according to package directions. Combine everything together.

Braised Brussels Sprouts & Leeks

(conforms to the elimination diet)
Serves 2

Ingredients:
6-8 Brussels sprouts
½ leek
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 T olive oil
½ t salt and black pepper
¼ C almond butter
½ lemon, juiced

Method:
Slice the Brussels sprouts thinly, about ¼ inch thick. Wash and slice the leek to the same thickness. Slice the garlic.
Heat a sauté pan over high heat and add the olive oil.
Add all the vegetables to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan.
Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the sprouts are tender. Meanwhile, mix the almond butter and lemon juice together with a fork.
When the sprouts are done, add in the almond/lemon mixture, combine and serve.

This side dish and the Sautéed Asparagus one can be matched to either of the Sautéed Duck Breast or the Scallops & Veggies in Acorn Squash entrees, for four possible meal combinations.

Braised Leg of Lamb with Olives

(conforms to the elimination diet)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

¾ lb leg of lamb

1 tsp olive oil

salt and black pepper

1/3 C olives (any)

6 cloves garlic, peeled

Method:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Heat a heavy sauté pan over high heat. Add the olive oil and let it heat up.

Season the lamb with a light coating of salt and plenty of black pepper, and brown well in the pan. Be patient.

Move to a deep, oven-safe dish that is not much bigger than the meat. Toss in the garlic (whole cloves) and olives, and cover almost all the way (use foil or leave the lid slightly askew). Braise for 2 hours. Serve with a vegetable side dish.

Braised Chicken & Greens over Rice

Ingredients:

6 chicken hindquarters, drumsticks cut from thighs and scored with a knife (for faster cooking)

1 T & 1 t salt

2 t pepper

½ head garlic, cloves peeled & rough chopped

1 yellow onion, sliced

2 tomatoes, diced

2 T oil

1½ pounds mushrooms, sliced

1 T salt

1 t pepper

2-3 bunches assorted greens, chopped

1 yellow onion, sliced

1 head garlic, peeled and sliced

3 tomatoes, diced

2 C rice

Water (to cover rice, see instruction #7)

2 T salt or TT

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper.

3. Heat a sauté pan over high heat, add 2 T oil and heat up. Add chicken and brown well.

4. Add 2 tomatoes, then transfer to a baking dish and cover partially. Put in the oven and cook 45 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, heat another sauté pan over high heat, add 2 T oil and add mushrooms when oil is hot, brown well.

6. Add greens, onion, garlic and 3 tomatoes. Cook 15-20 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

7. To cook rice, rinse under running water in strainer, the put in saucepan and cover until water is up to your first knuckle when fingertip is touching the rice. Add salt until water tastes salty as rice should taste. Bring to a high simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low, cook 20 minutes.

8. Assemble and serve.