My choice this month and I chose Winter Squash. That would include butternut, pumpkin, acorn, delicata, hubbard, and spaghetti squash (to name a few). I love butternut so that is what I worked with.
IF you have read my blog in the past you know I love ethnic cuisine – Indian, Asian, Latin American – and I love to cook it. Using the butternut I made Thai butternut and chicken curry.
My cookbook collection includes everyday asian which is where I found the recipe but it is also available on The Williams Sonoma website. The recipe is here. It calls for pumpkin or butternut.
It was OKAY. I liked it but I didn’t LOVE it. I think the butternut was too sweet for a curry. But that’s just my humble opinion. I don’t think I’ll make it again.
This week Good Food Good Friendsis using zucchini. Zucchini is one veggie that is available year round here in the deep south. We grew some this summer in the garden but they didn’t do well because it was so HOT!!! Luckily can find it in all the stores. And this week I was fortunate enough to get two nice sized zucchini in my Misfits Market box. They were just the right size for spirilizing.
I knew immediately how I was going to use the zucchini – PHO GA!
For those of you who aren’t familiar with PHO (pronounced phu) it is an Vietnamese broth soup with beef (PHO TAI) and sometimes chicken and lots of veggies and spices. It is comforting and warming on a cold day.
Ingredients
1/2 large onion, diced
1 bunch green onions white and green chopped and separated.
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
1/2 cup bean sprouts
2 Tbl fresh ginger, sliced thin
1 cup (or more) fresh mushrooms, sliced thin
1.5 baby bok choy
2 Tbl soy sauce ( I used Tamari for KETO)
1 chicken breast, cooked an shredded
2 tsp 5 spice (or to taste)
8 cups chicken broth
2 Tbl fish sauce (I added a little more)
2 tbl sesame oil
1 large zucchini, spiralized (or if not KETO use about 6 oz rice noodles) or if on KETO you could also use the yakatori noodles.
Add oil to hot Instapot (if you don’t have one a medium stockpot will do). When oil is hot add in the diced onions and sautee until onions are translucent (about 4-5 minutes on medium heat).
Add the white of the green onions, minced garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring periodically until the ginger and garlic is aromatic.
Add in the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add the soy sauce(or Tamarin) and 5 spice. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes.
Add the sliced ‘shrooms and bok choy to the pot. Cook for 5-8 minutes until bok choy is tender. If using the rice noodles or yakatori add them now.
Add in the cooked shredded chicken and simmer to give all the ingredients time to enjoy each other.
Place raw zucchini spirals in the bowls and cover with the broth. The hot broth will cook the zucchini until it is just tender.
Garnish with green onion tops.
Recipe makes 4 nice servings.
NOTES:
I used a mixture of cremini and mixed mushrooms which came in the Misfits Market Box. You can use any you choose.
This recipe is completely KETO friendly if you don’t use the rice noodles.
This is my own recipe. Mostly because I had to use what I had in my pantry as far as spices went. It is definitely a keeper.
Want more Zucchini recipes? Visit the other Good Friends:
This week we are visiting the Orient. At least their cuisine. The Orient includes many different countries with many different cuisines. We had our choice of The Middle East, India, China,Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam just to name a few. So our choices were wide open. I went with a Thai dish.
Shrimp with Thai Coconut Curry Sauce
Lots of flavor in this dish. Red/yellow/orange bell peppers, Onions, Green Thai Curry paste, coconut milk all coming together for a delicious spicy dish.
I just started cooking with coconut oil and I love it It has kind of a nutty fragrance with a clean fresh taste in your dishes. I may never go back to canola oil again.
Since this is from Ellie’s You Have it Made this is a dish where the sauce can be made ahead of time and either freeze the sauce or chill it for up to two days. That’s a good thing because I am the only one who will eat it and didn’t want it to go to waste. I made the whole recipe but only used about a fourth of the sauce for lunch. The rest I will p0rtion out and freeze. Nice to have a meal almost made in the freezer.
Ellie suggests serving over jasmine rice but since I started Whole 30 I cannot do that. I just used a little of the sauce with some shrimp. And if you don’t want the rice use a spoon to eat this because you won’t want to waste a drop of the sauce!
And if you would like to cook along with us just visit Eating with Ellie and join in the fun. Themes are on the right. We don’t include the recipes because we want you to enjoy lots of Ellie Krieger by purchasing her cookbooks.
What do you eat when you aren’t feeling good? What tends to boost your immunity when you have a cold or Flu?
Chicken noodle soup! Besides being good, it is also good for you. There is something about it that helps fight through that cold. Runny nose. Inflammation. Cough. Yep! Helps all of them. Why? Even Science doesn’t know. But they do know, and report, that there is something about the combo of chicken and veggies that does the job.
Let’s see if it helps my cold. Even tho’ mine doesn’t have a lot of veggies in it it does have three Chinese spices that are helpful during cold season – anis, cinnamon, ginger – which are antibacterial, boost immunity, and/or fight coughs.
This was really good. The combination of the spices with the soy sauce and onions was spot on. Definitely a keeper.
The recipe is from Donna’s off the shelf page 58
More Soup? Visit Wednesdays with Donna Hay. And if you want to join in the themes are on the right. The recipe is up to you. Just blog and leave us a comment. We’d love to have you.
We don’t publish the recipes. We’d rather you buy a cookbook of Donna’s.
This week we are enjoying Marvelous Meat for Wednesdays with Donna Hay. Meat can be anything that doesn’t swim so lamb, beef, pork, and chicken were all possibilities.
We don’t eat a lot of beef so fixing a small amount for a lunch with a friend was the perfect way to go. With an Asian Flair.
Stir-fried beef, ginger, and greens
A short list of simple ingredients: beef, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, Asian Greens, oyster sauce and Chinese cooking wine was all we needed. But I have one question – WHAT are Asian Greens? Chinese Cabbage? Bok Choy? Lemon Grass? We settled on the cabbage because the Bok Choy didn’t look so hot.
It was really easy to put together but we didn’t care for it very much. It seemed rather bland even with the Oyster sauce and Sesame oil. I served it with Rice Noodles. Not a repeat.
The recipe is on page 60 of Donna’s new food fast.
Wednesdays with Donna Hay is BACK!! At least with two of us. We just couldn’t go any longer with out cooking with Donna Hay! Since I had already planned to make one of Donna’s Asian style dishes we decided to start with that! A good way to get back into the swing of things.
Unlike many of Donna’s dishes this one is not very colorful. It is her Coconut Chicken Curry and while quite tasty it is not a repeat.
Chicken breasts are simmered in a sauce of coconut milk, green curry paste, Kaffier lime leaves, onions, lemon grass, and shredded ginger. Fresh basil and coriander are added in at the end.
The sauce is really good. The chicken…not so much. I think it would have been much tastier if the chicken had been seasoned and browned before it went into the sauce. So, if I make it again, that is what i will do.
The recipe is from Donna’s the new cook (page 120)
What else is coming from the WWDH kitchens this week? Check out the WWDH blog.
The new themes will be up soon if you want to join us. We post every Wednesday.
Lunch for me, when I am home, just about every day is a chicken dish. It is quick to cook and soaks up the flavors of any sauce/spice/herb you cook it with. It’s not a surprise that this week’s Eating with Ellie theme is chicken since it was my week to pick.
AND when I cook just for me it is often something with an Asian flair if it’s for lunch. This dish from Ellie’s Comfort Food Fix was perfect.
Small chunks of chicken breast that have been marinated in reduced-sodium soy sauce, sesame oil, and honey then quickly browned. Then covered with a sauce made with garlic, ginger, chili paste, soy sauce, sesame oil and honey. The crisp steamed broccoli is a nice contrast
It made for a quick (less than 30 minutes) and tasty lunch.
The recipe is on page 172 of Comfort Food Fix but I also found it online.
“Ribbons of colorful vegetables and fresh herbs intertwine with tender noodles in this delicately flavored salad.”
That is how Ellie described this tasty salad. And she was RIGHT!! Of course!!
Soba noodles mixed with fresh bell pepper, carrot, basil from my garden and some cilantro. Mix that with a fantastic sauce will all the Asian flavors – rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic fish sauce – and you have a healthy alternative to the usual heavy noodle salads. Delicious!! The sauce alone will make you swoon!!
I loved the bite of the cilantro mixed with the sweet bell pepper and carrot. Make this one! SOON!!
You can find Ellie’s recipe on FOODTV or on page 139 of The Food You Crave.
The theme this week for I Heart Cooking Clubs was Oodles of Noodles. I know there will be other delicious noodle dishes posted there.
I have a good friend, Tanya, who teaches me how to cook different Asian dishes. Sometimes we cook together. Sometimes she cooks and then explains how it’s made. Sometimes she just gives me a recipe and suggests I try it. This was one of those recipes. It is from her brother who submitted it to his local cookbook. And it is delicious.
5 – 6 Tbl salt
5 – 6 Asian Eggplants peeled and cubed
5 Tbl oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
4 – 5 Tbl Basil leaves, chopped
2 Tbl sugar {I would use less next time – very sweet!}
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 – 5 Tbl cilantro, chopped
Soak the eggplant in water with the 5-6 Tbl salt for about 15 minutes. Strain and rinse.
Heat the oil. Add the eggplant and fry for about 5 minutes. Flip them over and continue to fry until crispy with soft centers.
Add the sugar, garlic, and basil. Stir fry about 2 minutes.
Add the sugar and soy sauce. Stir fry an additional 3 minutes or so.
Serve over rice.
I’m always looking for new ways to cook eggplant especially when the garden gives us a great bounty – or someone else’s garden. And frying is not always an option.
Summer is usually the season for lots and lots of salads. There is plenty of fresh veggies to add to that bowl of lettuce or greens. So, when the IHCC theme came up SALADS {and Vinegrettes} I knew there would be some good dishes to be had. As it turns out, my salad is NOT made with bunches of fresh veggies but bunches of spicy flavors and only two veggies – Savoy Cabbage and Carrots.Savoy cabbage is NOT easy to find in Podunk, USA. I thought I would have to use regular but at the FOURTH (and last) store….
1/2 pound tender savoy cabbage leaves, with tough lower part of central ribs removed and discarded, leaves finely shredded (about 6 cups, lightly packed)
1/2 cup julienned carrot strips
Combine the dressing ingredients in a plastic bag large enough to hold the cabbage.
Add the cabbage, toss it with the dressing, and allow the mixture to marinate for about 2 hours.
Transfer the salad and dressing to a serving bowl, sprinkle with the carrot.Recipe is from Jacques Pepin’s Table page 296
This was spicy. I think I liked it, but I’m not quite sure yet. It would be a great side with a sweet chicken dish. The heat and the sour from the salad would balance out the sweet. I made the full dressing recipe but only used about 1/4 of the cabbage. Good thing because the cabbage really soaked up the dressing.
Tea and Scones 