Yarn-A-Go-Go

Recipe and Giveaway!

It's recipe day! What else is a blog for but to store the recipes you've cobbled together over the years to serve as an aid to your rapidly failing memory?

And this is a two-fer! At the end, I'm going to ask for your favorite way to cook either vegetables or meat, and if you comment, you get a chance to win Vickie Howell's new book: STEP IT UP KNITS, a cute look at accessories with an eye to gaining new knitting skillz. 

When I was a teenager, we lived on a teeny-tiny island called Saipan. Floating in the space between the Philippine Sea and the Pacific at the edge of the Marianas Trench, it had many Filipino residents, and my family fell in love with the food. Every Sunday, we'd go to church which had no walls and was open to the ocean breeze. We could see the waves breaking from our pews.

Saipan Community Church, Susupe

After holiday services, we'd step outside from the end of the pew and take our place at the groaning tables full of of glistening pancit, crunchy lumpia, and my favorite, chicken adobo. Our Ates would load our plates, and we'd eat sitting cross-legged on the sand. 

Lately, I'm all about easy meals. And lord, this one is easy. It's the perfect way to try cauliflower rice if you haven't yet (you do need a food processor for this). Now, I couldn't quite imagine adobo without rice. I'm not eating grains at the moment, and I didn't believe that cauliflower (a vegetable I've always hated) could substitute in ANY way for it. Guess what? It does. I actually like the cauliflower rice more than the real stuff. 

Bonus: This is anti-inflammation diet and Paleo diet friendly. (Psst - I started eating well to feel better, but I'm sitting here in a size 10 pair of Dickies for the first time in, um, memory? I don't think I've been this weight since I was twenty-one. So that's something.) 

Chicken Adobo

This recipe reminds me of my mother's, so I'm fond of it. There are approximately one thousand variations of this. Of course, I think mine is the best.

4-5 lbs chicken thighs, bone-in

1 c white vinegar

1 c soy sauce

A head (or more!) of garlic, peeled and crushed. 

1 tsp black peppercorns

Marinate the above for at least an hour. (The more time the better. I like about five hours if possible, but often only do an hour.) Then bring to boil, cover, reduce to simmer for about thirty minutes. Uncover and raise the heat a touch, cook for another twenty minutes or so, until chicken is done. (The meat should be almost falling off the bone at this point.) 

Cauliflower Rice

So easy! And fast! Make it at the very last minute. 

Two heads cauliflower

2 tbs olive oil

1 tsp red chile flakes (or more to taste)

1 tsp ginger powder

Salt to taste

Cut the cauliflower into florets, add to food processor. In approximately 10-15 one-second bursts, chop the cauliflower into pieces that resemble rice (no more, you don't want this going mushy). I usually have to stop the food processor, carefully pull out the bigger pieces that refuse to chop, dump out the rice bits, and toss the big pieces back in. Repeat till all the cauliflower is done. Over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Once it's hot, add the red chile flakes, ginger powder (or fresh! but that's not as quick), and salt. Add the cauliflower and fry it up for about four or five minutes.

Serve the chicken adobo over the rice, and add some of the marinade over the top. Then let your eyes roll back in your head in pleasure.  

Servings: Lots. (6-8ish, feel free to halve the recipe)

DRAWING

Now! Leave me your fave way to fix veggies or meat--you know, that easy recipe that you don't have to look up, the one that always tastes good. Simple is best here, since I'm avoiding sugar, dairy, grains,processed ingredients, potatoes, beans, and tomatoes. I know, a challenge, right? It's not as hard as I thought it would be.

(Example: I've recently discovered making sweet potato fries in the toaster oven! Slice fry-shaped, toss with olive oil and salt, bake for 50 minutes or so, till they start to blacken. Serve with mayo/chipotle powder/garlic dip.)

One lucky commenter will win a copy of Vickie Howell's new book! I'll draw on Monday. 

Nothing in The House Spicy Cabbage Soup

I just made the best soup, and as is my wont, I'm jotting it down here, because I guarantee if I don't, I'll never remember this. 

I'm still sick--this flu has beaten me to a sweaty, gibbering pulp (seriously, some people throw up every time they get the flu? I cry. I'm a crier. The more I cry, the more feverish I know I am, and the more pathetic I know I am. Luckily, I rarely get sick because no one wants to see me sitting in the bed WAILING over the fact that I'm out of Kleenex). 

Lala's out tonight and I could have had the chicken she made, but I wanted something garlicky to burn away my sore throat. And we have practically zero in the cupboards. But I pulled this together (almost magically!), and it is DELICIOUS. Seriously. Cabbage is rather a new thing to me--I thought it was stinky and bad. But it's not stinky, cooked like this: it's delectable, sweet and delicate. Mmmmm. 

Nothing in the House Spicy Cabbage Soup (to Cure What Ails You)

Heat 3tbs olive oil in a pot good for soup. Chop half an onion or a shallot and 3-6 cloves of garlic (I used the shallot and 6 cloves), cook and stir until the garlic starts to darken. Add 4 cups of water (or stock! I had none), a teaspon or so of salt, red chili flakes to taste, and pepper. Bring to boil. Add two handsful of chopped cabbage (I had the prechopped bag from TJ's), bring back to boil. Cook ten minutes at simmer. Add 1 tbs+ tomato paste and whatever else you like (I added a can of sweet peas which turned out to be a stunning addition), cook fifteen more minutes or so, till it tastes delicious. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream. 

Okay, now I'm exhausted from working so hard and rather than overdo it, I'm going to sit on the couch and maybe eat a little more of this stuff. Enjoy.