Chicken Saag

This is my variation of the Indian dish, Chicken Saag. I added carrots just to up the veggie content, I used cubed chicken breast, and I didn't bother putting the spinach into a food processor.

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 large onions, minced
4-6 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 large tomatoes, crushed (I used a can of diced tomatoes)
1-inch piece of ginger, minced
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 large cardamom pods (I used a dash of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg to replace)
2 cloves
Vegetable Oil
4 TBSP milk (I used unsweetened Almond Milk)
4 bunches spinach, I used half a bag frozen spinach
1 tsp garam masala
2 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp salt

1. Salt and pepper chicken to taste. Fry the chicken lightly in 4 tablespoons oil for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned and set aside.

2. Heat another 3 tablespoons oil and add ginger, garlic, and onions, carrots and saute until onions are lightly brown. Add tomatoes, salt, cayenne, coriander powder, tumeric, cloves, and cardamom.
3. Sprinkle with one tablespoon water. Cook for then minutes over low heat. Add chicken and milk. Simmer until the chicken is tender.
4. Add spinach and garam masala. Simmer for another 10-20 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter to chicken saag and cover until ready to serve.

Akoho Sy Voanio

This is a dish one of my students gave me the recipe for. It is actually a Chicken with Coconut and Rice dish originally eaten in Madagascar. I found it absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:
1 Chicken (I just used three chicken breasts)
1 Can unsweetened coconut milk
2 Tomatoes
2 Onions
2-4 cloves garlic
20 grams ginger
Oil, salt and pepper

1. Cut chicken into small pieces and sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper to taste
2. Slice the tomatoes into small cubes and slice the onions
3. Mince the garlic and ginger
4. Add a small amount of oil to a frying pan. Saute the chicken over medium heat, until done.
5. Add the onions to the pan. Continue stirring over medium heat until the onions are brown.
6. Add the ginger, tomatoes, and garlic to the pan. Saute briefly over medium heat.
7. Add the coconut milk and mix well. Simmer over a low heat for thirty minutes

Serve with rice, I prefer brown rice. I also used a method of molding my rice on my plate. Simply take a bowl that holds one cup. Fill it with water then pour out the water. Pack the rice into the bowl. Invert the bowl of rice onto your plate then slowly lift the bowl. Your rice will form a perfect dome on your plate! It's fancy and appetizing!

Petite Chocolate Pochettes

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or butter substitute at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese or tofu cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups flour or gluten free flour
Nutella or a chocolate nut butter spread
Confectioner's sugar

1. In medium bowl, using a hand mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese together until light and creamy. Add the flour slowly until the dough forms. Do not over-mix! Let dough rest in refrigerator for an hour or until firm.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Using a 3 inch fluted biscuit cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. Form the scraps into a ball and reroll to make more circles.

3. Fill each dough circle with a small spoonful of the chocolate hazelnut spread. Dip your finger in tap water and spread on the edge of half the circle to help create a seal. Fold the dough over to create a crescent. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool, then sift the confectioner's sugar on top and serve.

**Adapted from Food Network's Melissa d'Arabian

Grilled Steak and Vegetables

Ingredients:
T-Bone Steak
Worcestershire
Siracha Chili Sauce
Salt and Pepper
Cumin
Canola Oil

Assorted Chopped Vegetables

Preheat grill.

Salt and pepper the steaks, sprinkle with cumin. Pour about two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce and then a few dashes of chili sauce. Repeat on the flip sides. Rub with canola oil.

Chop vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Place vegetables in grill basket. I used brusselsprouts, zucchini and yellow squash today.

Grill steaks about 4-5 minutes on each side. Grill vegetables about 6-7 minutes on each side.

Enjoy the meal outside on a beautiful day with a good friend or spouse!

Baked Thyme Crusted Tofu

Ingredients:

vinaigrette (recipe follows)
12 oz extra firm tofu
1 cup gluten free corn breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp thyme

For the vinaigrette marinade, you can use any vinaigrette that you enjoy, this is just the one I made up and really like the flavors of. I used about 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar, 2 pressed cloves of garlic, zest of one lime, juice of one lemon, about a third to a half cup of olive oil and salt and pepper. I mixed this in the dish I was using to marinate the tofu, and added the tofu in. Let your tofu marinade for at least a few hours.

To prepare the tofu, slice it into about half-inch thick slices. Line a two-inch deep pan with a clean dish towel and set the tofu in one layer on the towel. Wrap the towel over the tofu. Place two canned goods on top of the towel-wrapped tofu and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight to get rid of all the extra water. In the morning, the tofu should be quite dry.

Prepare the marinade in that same dish, remove the tofu from the towel, and place it into the marinade and back into the refrigerator for at least a few hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet.

Combine 2 tablespoons thyme and gluten free breadcrumbs in a small dish.

Coat each slice of tofu with the thyme breadcrumb mixture then place on the baking sheet with cooling rack.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until breadcrumbs are golden brown, but not burnt.

Serve with a salad or roasted vegetables and brown rice or baked yams.

Recipe adapted from Hana Abdulaziz Feeney, RD
http://nourishingresults.com/

Guinataan - Sweet Filipino Dessert

Ingredients:
* I find all of my Asian ingredients at the local Oriental Market (Lee Lee's on Orange Grove and LaCholla for those of you Tucson followers).
1 sweet potato (I used a Japanese sweet potato)
2 bananas
1/2 taro (this is a root vegetable that is white with purple strings running through it)
1 jar tapioca pearls (in this recipe, mine are green; they don't have to be the green ones)
Jackfruit, canned, drained, sliced
2 cans coconut milks plus one can water
1/3 cup sugar (or less, to taste)
I also added one capfull of coconut extract at the end to really emphasize the coconut flavor. You could also try vanilla extract, or no extract.

Directions:
1. Cube sweet potato, bananas, and taro.
2. Boil sweet potato and taro in two cans coconut milk and water for twenty minutes on medium heat.
3. Add tapioca pearls, banana, and jackfruit and cook another 7 minutes low heat.

4. Allow to cool and serve chilled.