Here's the beef!

So we all know peanuts and chicken have been pals for ages. They go waaay back in Asian-inspired cuisine. Beef and peanuts don't have quite the history. I mean, sure, they've met a time or two, but they aren't close...until now. Instead of mad cow, think of this as a delightfully nutty cow. :-) This dish brings a heat wave with 3 distinct types of heat. You have a warm heat from the ground ginger, classic heat from the black pepper and a sharp heat from the chili flakes. If you're looking for something different, this dish is it!

Peanutty Beef Stir-Fry

1 to 1 1/2 lbs flank steak cut into ultra thin ribbons
1/2 red onion, sliced into very thin half moons
2 red bell peppers, halved then sliced
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 cup roasted peanuts
2 T sesame seeds
5 T peanut oil, divided
2 1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/2 t course ground black pepper
3 T dark brown sugar
1/4 cup organic, low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup orange juice

1.) Heat pan on med-high heat. Add 2 T oil and move the pan around until the bottom is mostly covered. Add the beef and keep it moving until it is well browned. Remove the beef from the pan into a bowl (but keep it close).

2.)Add 1 T of oil to the pan if needed, then add the peppers, onions and garlic. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Keep everything moving until the vegetables are crisp-tender (I always try a piece of the peppers to check for this). Add the veggies to the bowl with the beef.

3.)Add the remaining oil to the pan, then quickly add the peanuts and sesame seeds. Keep them moving, then after 30 seconds, add the spices (ginger, red pepper flakes, and black pepper), continue stirring.

4.)When you can smell the spices (after about 45 seconds), add the sugar. As it starts to melt, deglaze the pan with the soy sauce and the orange juice. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the lovely bits from the bottom. You will notice the sauce begins to thicken quickly, so keep an eye on it.

You will know it's thick enough when it is nearly molasses thick (coats the back of a spoon well). Pour the sauce over the beef and veggies, mixing well. Transfer the food back into the hot pan, and cook a 2-3 minutes to seal in the flavor and help marry the stir fried foods to their new saucy, companion. You can eat it as is if you're watching your carbs, or serve this with lo mein noodles.

Stir up some veggie eaters!

Growing up, I never had an issue eating vegetables. I guess it's because there were always plenty of fresh, locally grown vegetables available, and they tasted amazing. Our next door neighbor always grew tomatoes, collard greens, spinach, and sometimes peas (usually purple hull). Every once in a while, he would drop off bags and/or pillow cases full of each because he had too much. Sometimes, during the summer, my mother and I would walk to his house and he would let us pick it ourselves. My paternal grandparents had peach, plum and fig trees, as well as chickens, and squash. Occasionally, they grew strawberries or other veggies. Every summer, I would be in the kitchen with my step-grandmother, making jams, jellies and preserves. Boy, I wish I'd paid more attention...it would certainly make my canning go a lot smoother! Several other people we knew had extremely prolific and large home gardens, so we would get pounds and pounds of fresh produce straight from the source. It was a fabulous way for a young foodie to grow up, let me tell ya!

At any rate, I love vegetables, and summer makes me love eating them even more. Not every child falls in love with the oh-so-good-for-you fruits of the earth, so parents now-a-days are having to find all kinds of tricks to get their child to eat their veggies. I have found that stir-fry is a great way to get children to eat their veggies. For some reason, when they are hidden in plain sight, children are more interested in eating them. Granted, you can go the route of hiding vegetables by juicing and pureeing them and adding them to "normal" recipes, but understand this will not really develop a healthy love or enjoyment of vegetables...just the foods they are hidden in. I believe ultimately, you want a child to see a vegetable, know what it is and still chose to consume it. It makes life less stressful for everyone involved.

Thursday, I went about planning my meals for the weekend, and decided a stir-fry was in order. After the curried chicken, I was in the mood for more international cuisine. I was craving the tender-crisp texture of veggies with a hint of magic, which is what I feel like I get with stir-fry. Going low carb and G2F (gluten/grain free) meant eliminating soy sauce (it contains wheat) and limiting sugar exposure, since so many American-style stir-fry sauces contain tons of sugar. What I came up with, is a very light, summery Lemon Ginger stir-fry in which the main stars are the veggies. It has chicken, which is totally optional, so this would be quick and easy meatless meal, if you were so inclined. I paired it with Sauteed Bok Choy which also picked up some of the ginger notes and added a little more spice of it's own. You could serve this with fake rice, or not...totally up to you. I don't think its necessary. Okay, I shall keep you in suspence no longer, on to the recipes!

Lemon Ginger (7-veggie) Stir-Fry

1/2 cup sliced carrots (try to use organic)
1 red bell pepper sliced in semi circles
2 ribs of celery sliced on the bias
1/2 of medium sized red onion, sliced in semi circles
1-2 large portabella mushrooms, gills removed, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 cup green beans or sugar snap peas cut in 1-inch sections
1 broccoli crown cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb chicken breast or tenders, thinly sliced into 2-inch pieces, patted dry
3 large cloves of garlic sliced/crushed
1/2 t red pepper flakes
Olive oil
1 T minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup lemon juice
1-2 t agave nectar or honey* optional
Salt

Directions:
1. Pour enough oil to coat the bottom of a large (10 or 12 inch) skillet by a good 1/8th of an inch. Turn heat onto medium, close to med-high. Add garlic and pepper flakes.
2. As the oil heats, stir the glaric around to make sure it doesn't burn. You are using to to flavor the oil.
3. When the garlic is light brown (NOT BURNED), remove it quickly from the oil.
4. Turn the heat to med-high. Add the chicken, stiring quickly to coat it in oil. Cook for 2 minutes. (this is when thinly slicing/shaving it is a bit better than cutting it into 1-in cubes as many recipes ask, you get more caramelization and flavor)
5. Add broccoli, mushrooms, celery and onions and a couple of pinches of salt. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring a few times.
6. Add all other veggies with another couple of pinches of salt. At this point you may want to make sure there is still enough oil to coat everything. It not, add a good 1/4 cup to the pan. This is what will help make the light sauce. Toss everything to coat well. Cook 1-2 minutes.
7. Add ginger and continue cooking until you smell it (if your heat is high enough, this should take about a minute). Pour in lemon juice and cook until everything is coated. Remove from the heat and serve!

NOTES: This dish is lightly sauced, so it should not be swimming in juices. If there is a lot of juice (adding the salt, makes the veggies release their natural juices), keep cooking and stirring until some of the liquid has evaporated. Lastly, if you want to make this a bit more appetizing to children, or if you'd enjoy a slightly sweeter flavor, add the agave nectar or honey. Add a very small amount to control sugar exposure. Remember, we're not going for a sticky, gooey stir-fry. We are looking for everything to have a nice coating, and that's it.

Sauteed Bok Choy

1 Head of Bok Choy, sliced (wash it well)
1-2 t minced fresh ginger (depending on how spicey you like it)
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/3 cup olive oil
1 t butter
salt

Directions
Heat pan to med-high.
Add oil, butter, ginger and nutmeg. heat until you smell them (shouldn't take more than a few seconds). Stir well.
Add bok choy and a coule of pinches of salt. Stir, cooking about 5 minutes. You are looking for the stalks to have a tender-crisp texture and the leaves will be wilted. Enjoy!

G2F

Definition time! G2F is my way of saying gluten & grain free. I've decided to experiment with this lifestyle and see how it goes. It has certainly been a fun and interesting challenge culinarily. Definitely makes you think outside of the box and question everything that goes into your body. Though I am not going to be as strict as the Wheat Belly or Paleo diets, would have you go. I am eliminating/severely limiting wheat/gluten, rice and corn products from my diet. Bean and starch consumption will be limited as well. Honestly, it all boils down to a low carb diet, so it's not super complicated. My focus is mostly have tons of veggies and plenty of proteins. Since it's a bit difficult to find premade foods that meet my requirements, I cannot rely on traditional GF foods. They also tend to be full of junk. I must make everything from scratch. Most baked goods end up tasting like cornbread, which isn't completely bad, but certainly a change from what I am used to. I did end up making some pretty good Chocolate Chip cookies, though. Usually, when someone mentions going on a very restrictive diet, the first question is, "Well what DO you eat?". I will be sharing a few recipes and pics of the meals I've had. Here goes nothing...

Rainbow Meatloaf

So I've been experimenting again. This time, meatloaf was my victim. Everyone knows you normally put finely minced onion and green bell pepper in meatloaf, but why not add more veggies? Meatloaf can actually be quite healthy with a little extra effort.

The team:

1/2-3/4 cup pureed (or finely minced) carrots.
1/3 cup pureed zucchini
1/4 cup pureed roasted red peppers
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground turkey
salt & pepper
Italian bread crumbs 1/2 cup...maybe more, enough to make everything stick together
Milk, 1/3ish of a cup
Worshire Sauce, 2 tbs at most
1/2 cup plain, all natural, yogurt
1/4 cup wheat bran
tomato sauce (small can)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix everything but the tomato sauce. Dump into slightly oiled pan (I use EVOO). Bake about 25-35 mins or until done. top with sauce and bake another 5 mins. Enjoy.