Ginger scallion dipping sauce for chicken

Used to accompany steam chicken or chicken noodle soup (Asian style)

• 2 green onions, sliced
• 2 inch knob of ginger, finely minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt to taste

In a small frying pan, add the ginger and garlic. Add oil to the cold pan and turn heat to low. Heat until ginger and garlic are cooked but not browned. Add a pinch of salt and green onions. Cook until onions are softened.

Whole 30 Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Seventeen days ago, I joined my friends at work on the Whole 30 challenge.  It’s going back to basics with eating:  no processed food, no grains, no dairy, no soy or other legumes, no nitrates or sweeteners.  Just meat, eggs veggies, fruit and nuts.  It hasn’t been too bad since I’m able to cook at home.  Breakfast consists of eggs and fruit with tea.  I snack on a mix of roasted unsalted nuts and dried fruit.  Lunch is usually a salad.  And for dinner,  I just make what I normally do, but cut other the starchy side. Surprisingly, breakfast is the most difficult meal to deal with since my usual breakfast is oatmeal with milk.

For many people potatoes are their saving grace.  For me, it is fish sauce!  Yes, potatoes are allowed!  I bought a bag of red potatoes when I first started this challenge thinking that I would be craving some sort of carb.  Instead, I found myself forcing myself to use the potatoes before they start sprouting.

This is a quick and flavorful way to prepare potatoes with out butter or dairy.  Boiling the potatoes first cuts down on the cooking time.

• 1 dozen small red potatoes
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a pot and cover with cold salted water.  Bring to a boil and let cook until the potatoes have give, but aren’t completely cooked and tender.

Meanwhile, mix the oil, garlic, oregano in a small bowl.

Place the potatoes on a greased cookie sheet and smash each one with a masher but keep the potatoes intact.

Spoon some of the oil mixture over the top of the potatoes.  Salt and pepper to taste

Bake in the over at 350 until they are crisp on the outside

Three Cup Chicken

Named after the three main ingredients in the sauce:  1.  Soy Sauce  2.  Alcohol (Sake in my recipe)  3.  Sesame Oil

Definitely not a traditional recipe, but I like it!  Some would argue that there isn’t enough sesame flavor since I am using so little sesame oil.  But it’s more economical to cook with regular cooking oil then drizzle the sesame oil at the last minute.

Ingredients:

• 3 boneless chicken thighs, cut into small bite-sized pieces
• 4 slices fresh ginger
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 2-3 tablespoons (a small pour around the pan) sake
• small spoon of sugar (optional)
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• large handful of fresh basil, torn in to large pieces

1. Heat your pan with cooking oil, then add ginger and garlic.  Cook until fragrant.
2. Add chicken and cook for about a minute
3. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce and stir still coated
4. Add the sake, stir, then allow the sauce to thicken and chicken to cook through
5. Add sugar, then stir in the basil.  Cook until the basil is cooked through
6. Take off the heat and drizzle sesame oil. Stir to combine
7. Serve with lots of white rice

Pizza Dough and Topping Ideas

B has been working on making pizza dough from scratch. He has come a long way from wet sticky globs of goo to tight little balls of dough. In the past month we’ve also tried different toppings, primarily inspired by left over ingredients. We’ve made some very standard pizzas like spinach, basil, mozzarella, pepperoni and mushroom which we had tonight. Some more memorable pizzas include:

Sausage, mushroom, provolone, pecorino and caramelized onion – our favorite thus far. Can’t go wrong with pork!

Mashed potato, roasted garlic, roasted cauliflower, sautéed spinach, ricotta, pecorino – this one was screaming for some bacon, and my original plan was to add it, but I chickened out last minute. Still not accustomed to using it as an ingredient in my cooking yet. I know I’m crazy!

I would love to play around with figs and more roasted vegetables. Next pizza will be sausage, roasted bell pepper, basil for tomorrow night.

As for the dough, we tried a mix of white whole wheat flour and all purpose flour which actually produced a more flavorful crust in my opinion. To make the dough:

Mix 3 3/4 cup of flour (try using half whole wheat and half all purpose flour)
1 1/2 cup water (room temperature)
1 packet of dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt

Stir and combine a sticky ball is formed. Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set at room temperature overnight.

Divide into 3 equal portions and form them into balls using generous amounts of flour to prevent sticking and for improved manageability.

Wrap 2 of the balls in plastic wrap and keep in fridge got later use. May be kept in the fridge for 3 days or frozen.

Form the remaining dough into a flat surface approximately 8-10 inches in diameter. If the dough starts to recoil, let dough rest for a bit to allow the gluten to relax.

Coat bottom with cornmeal

Transfer dough to pizza pan (ours is cast iron) and add toppings

Season with salt and pepper along with s good drizzle of olive oil if desired

Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes in middle rack until crust is golden brown and cheese melts

Let pizza rest in pan at room temperature for about 10 minutes to allow the cheese go set

Slice and enjoy!