Spice Trail Chicken

January 6, 2012 6:55 pmLeave a Comment

As I stood over the hot stove, I heard hubby behind me exclaim “what. is. that??” in a very surprised and hopeful tone.

“It’s dinner.”

“Oh, it smells soooo good!”

I just smiled. Of course it did. Dancing through the condo was a veritable marketplace of eastern spices, simmering and bubbling with a variety of vegetables and my new love, chicken thighs. Ahhh. The scent was intoxicating. Hunger inducing. Yummy.

spice trail chicken
I’ve been working on a post about spices for a few days and as I read different sites concerning the history of the spice trail and the value of spices throughout human history, I grew inspired. My mind began to wander through the recent bounty of spices that are scattered across my kitchen countertops and an idea began to form. Spice Trail Chicken. Chicken stewed with vegetables. Heavily spiced with a bit of everything.

spice trail chicken
I’ve been battling a terrible headache all day but hunger drove me from my bed into the kitchen where like a modern day crazed scientist, I grabbed a spoon and a small bowl and began to paw through the choices. A bit of this. Oh, definitely some of that. A scoop here and a scoop there.

Curry powder? of course.

Ground star anise? My new favorite!

Garlic powder, ground coriander, chinese 5 spice, ground ginger, cumin, salt… it was all going in. As I blended the final product, I was reminded of my favorite Indian restaurant. Indian cuisine always smells so good. Comforting. Makes me think of home. I had a good feeling about this meal I was preparing. How could it be anything but delicious?

I chose a few different vegetables from our paleo frig and cut them up. There is something soothing about slowly chopping, slicing, cutting vegetables and meat to prepare for a meal. Even with a killer headache, there is joy to be found with putting together the various components of what will eventually become a filling and satisfying meal.

This meal used up the remainder of the chicken thighs (oh, great sorrow, my new love. Dearest chicken thighs, I will seek you out again with my next foray into the grocery store.) and after cutting them into good-sized chunks, I dumped the entire bowl of spices on them and gently rubbed and caressed it into each piece of chicken. The smell was overwhelming – in the greatest possible way. My mouth began to water and my stomach rumbled. Soon. Very soon.

After quickly browning the chicken, the vegetables joined the fragrant pan and I set the temp to medium-low and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. It was at this point that my husband took notice. The tomatoes had cooked down and joined the juices from the vegetables and chicken and formed a stew of sorts. The squash was fork tender. The mushrooms silky and soft. Yes, it was time to eat.

But after dishing the final result into bowls, there was something missing. A fresh herb element. Cilantro. I grabbed a few leaves and placed on top of each bowl. Perfection.

spice trail chicken
One final look. The simple combination of chicken and vegetables was elevated to new heights tonight. A comfort food to beat all comfort foods. It was delicious. And we ate it all.

Spice Trail Chicken

5-6 chicken thighs (boneless)
2-3 zucchini, sliced into rounds
6-10 mushrooms, cut in half
2 cups butternut squash, cut into chunks
6-10 compari or small tomatoes, cut in half
2-3 Tbl olive oil
fresh cilantro for garnish
1 tbl curry powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp chinese 5 spice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp powdered star anise

Slice and chunk vegetables and set aside. Cut chicken into large chunks.

Heat oil in large frying pan or skillet. While oil is heating, mix spices together and rub thoroughly into chicken pieces.

Dump chicken into oil (along with leftover spice) and brown on both side. Add vegetables and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until chicken is cooked through.

Sprinkle with fresh cilantro and serve. This will be similar to a stew so you can strain out the veggies and meat or eat this in a bowl – the sauce is too good to be tossed out.

Posted in comfort food, dinner, spices, vegetablesTagged , , ,

Chicken Thigh Stir Fry

January 4, 2012 7:18 pmLeave a Comment

Let’s get something straight. I. Hate. Dark. Meat. Chicken, turkey – doesn’t matter. I’m a white meat gal. Always have been. Always will be. The thought of a chicken or turkey leg fills me with an overwhelming urge to gag. Possibly even vomit. It’s slimy. Stringy. Very tendon-y. Really, truly, definitely.. GROSS.

Hubby doesn’t like chicken breast. He claims it’s dry and flavorless. Poor delusional man. Chicken breast is divine. Takes on the flavor of anything you stick it in. Infinitely versatile. Super delicious. But in deference to him (this IS his first time doing such a radical and restricted diet after all) on a recent venture to the market, I purchased a package (gag) of chicken thighs. Their turn came up tonight and I decided to put them into a stir fry with my new coconut aminos.

Which brings me to something startling and quite unexpected. A very surprising and out-of-the-blue love for the delicious, juicy, flavorful chicken thigh. Yeah, I didn’t expect that at all. I’ll never hear the end of it, but I’m going to admit something here. The chicken thigh in stir fry (I just love how that flows so poetically – I’ve said it multiple times since dinner)… well… it IS better than chicken breast. There, I’ve said it. Hubby will never let me live this down. Sigh.

chicken fry stir fry
This meal is incredibly easy to make and since it involves just a cutting board, a knife, and 1 pan – cleanup is a cinch. It is also very flexible. Switch up the veggies, the oil, the spices, even the meat for an entirely different and yet still fulfilling meal that hits every comfort food button.

Chicken Thigh Stir Fry

3-4 chicken thighs (organic, free-range chicken is definitely the best)
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
6 mushrooms
15 or so sugar snap peas
1 green pepper (substitute yellow or red if desired)
few cherry or grape tomatoes
oil for frying (avocado – yum!)
salt
curry powder
chinese 5 spice
ground star anise (oh, so delicious)
3 Tbl coconut aminos

On clean cutting board, slice the zucchini and squash into rounds approx 1/8″ thick. Cut mushrooms in half. Cut pepper into decent size chunks. Place all these into a bowl with sugar snap peas and set aside. Cut tomatoes in half (or leave whole if they’re really small) and set them aside in a small, separate bowl.

Now cut the chicken (don’t cut this before the veggies unless you want to spend time scrubbing off your cutting board/mat and knife. It’s a waste of time). Slice it into strips or chunks of desired size. Totally up to you. I cut mine into a size similar to the other veggies. Place cut chicken into a bowl and set aside.

Heat up your frying pan or wok with 2-3 tablespoons of oil. For dinner tonight I chose the avocado oil. No pressing reason why – when I opened the cupboard it started dancing and singing a little ditty so I figured it would be great. You don’t want this smoking hot – over medium heat should do. Once oil is hot, add chicken and stir to prevent it from burning or getting super crispy. Unless you’d like it crispy. Again, totally up to you.

While this is cooking, sprinkle a teaspoon or so of salt over the chicken. You can add more if you need it so start out with less than you think you might need.

Once chicken is cooked through (this should only take a few minutes – 5 at the most) dump in the veggies (except the tomatoes). Stir into chicken and cook until just barely tender. A bit of crunch is delicious, no, essential to a good stir fry. Dump in tomatoes and cook just until heated through, just a minute or so.

While the veggies are cooking, mix your spices and coconut aminos. I did approx 1 tsp curry, 1 tsp chinese 5 spice, and 1/4 tsp ground star anise. Tweak this as desired.

Add this to the pan and cook an additional 30 seconds. That’s it. All done!

Serves 2-4, depending on appetite. This served just the 2 of us. We were quite hungry.

Posted in comfort food, dinner, vegetablesTagged , , , ,

Healthy eating at Outback Steakhouse

January 3, 2012 9:25 pmLeave a Comment

paleo meal at Outback Steakhouse
Around 4pm today, the hubby and I went out to run some errands. Little did we know it would be nearly 2 hours later before that would happen. Our van had an issue and as soon as we left our condo, it was off to the mechanic. Thankfully they were able to fix the problem right then but by the time we left, I was faint with hunger. Starved. Ready-to-eat-the-wall-in-the-waiting-room ravenous. The kind of hunger that only comes the first few days of a new diet where your body is detoxing and learning to live without things it thinks are necessary. Sugar, dairy, and other delicious off-limit foods. I wanted a steak and I wanted it BAD. Sitting there for 90 minutes will do that to ya!

Hubby wasn’t faring much better. The two of us looked like we’d been up for days without sleep. Pale, shaky, lethargic.

So it was off to Outback Steakhouse. I knew I could eat gluten-free there and that they have a pretty good selection of sides that are quite healthy and delicious. Typically I get a caesar salad but since it contains cheese (oh, evil dairy, how you taunt me) that was out. The other dressings would surely contain sugar, franken oils, or something else forbidden. The helpful waitress said I could swap my salad/soup option for an additional side so I chose a double portion of veggies. No seasoning on those, the steak or the side of shrimp I added. Just a side of lemon wedges which I squeezed over everything.

Oh. My. Word. So freaking amazing. I polished off that 10 ounce steak, the 4 shrimp (ok, I shared one with hubby), and the massive pile of veggies in a matter of minutes. Hubby also ordered a steak and mixed veggies with a side of asparagus. It was gone in the blink of an eye.

I bounded out of that restaurant like a recharged battery. It is so nice to leave a meal and not feeling gross full. Fat. Stuffed beyond comfort level.

While I like to make most meals myself, it sure is nice to have a go-to place if I’m just not feeling up to cooking. Or when life steps in and throws a pipe wrench into carefully laid plans. A place that not only gets my gluten-free needs but also fills our healthy dining requirements. Yay for Outback Steakhouse!

Posted in dinner, healthy dining outTagged ,

Hollandaise Sauce with Coconut Oil

January 2, 2012 9:07 pm1 Comment


What a day. I spent hours. Countless hours working on this blog as I transitioned it from a gluten-free site to a whole-foods/paleo site. Midway through, I began to lose the will the live and I swear I felt hives forming on my feet and hands as the tediousness of this thankless job set in. The only thing that kept me going was dinner. The very thought of what I would shortly be cooking had me salivating in anticipation.

Being someone who is lacking in patience, earlier today I decided to go ahead and waste an egg and other ingredients so I could know RIGHT THEN whether or not a hollandaise sauce made with coconut oil instead of butter would work. Oh yeah, baby. It did. But also being a thrifty person, I then placed my successful and quite delicious sauce into the frig to see if it would be usable come dinnertime. It was. Score!

The coconut oil adds a unique flavor to the sauce – personally, I think it’s better than the version made with butter. Hubby said it was almost like a coconut cream lemon sauce and he was practically licking his plate to get the last bits of it off. This is high praise coming from the Hollandaise King – the man loves his hollandaise sauce.

Hollandaise sauce is very easy to make. Forget whisking like a mad person over a hot burner only to end up with congealed slop or a sauce that breaks down almost immediately. No, all you need for a perfect sauce is a blender. Yep, like what you make smoothies in. Combine that with an egg, lemon juice, salt, coconut oil and voila! You have a rich and tangy sauce that is delicious on an infinite number of dishes. Tonight I served it over a pan fried halibut paired with sauteed veggies. Nom. Nom.

That photo at the top? Those are veggies that have been sauteed in a generous splash of extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with a few cranks of the salt and pepper grinders. Just before serving, a bit of balsamic vinegar was tossed in and then allowed to simmer for a few moments. Sheer delight. Seriously. I could eat 10 pounds of that. It was *almost* better than the pan-fried (in extra virgin olive oil as well) halibut. Almost, but not quite.

halibut with coconut hollandaise sauce
I’m quite excited to share my first ever paleo-friendly recipe. Especially in light of the fact that I spent a very long time googling this exact recipe and wasn’t really able to find anything out. Next time someone attempts that, here’s hoping that my recipe lands in their lap so they can experience the yumminess that a well-made hollandaise sauce can bring to so many dishes.

You ready? Let’s go.

Hollandaise Sauce made with Coconut Oil

3 egg yolks
1-2 tbl lemon juice *
1/2 – 3/4 tsp salt *
1/2 cup coconut oil, unrefined, virgin

Break your egg yolks into the blender and add lemon juice and salt. Blend on high for 20 seconds.

In a small glass bowl, melt the coconut oil in the microwave. You want it piping hot so it’ll help cook the yolks.

With blender on low/med speed, slowly pour the melted (HOT) coconut oil into the yolk mixture. Continue blending for a few seconds after all oil is incorporated. Taste – add more lemon juice or salt as needed.

This sauce will keep in the frig and can easily be reheated by placing the container it is in into a bowl of piping hot water. DO NOT MICROWAVE the finished sauce. Unless you want scrambled eggs.

Serve warm over protein, eggs, vegetables, or whatever else might strike your fancy. You could also eat by the spoonful (I won’t tell anyone).

Serves 2 – 4, depending on appetites and how much is actually left once the meal is ready.

* add the smaller amount of lemon juice and salt first – you can always increase but once it’s in there, you can’t take it out.

Posted in dinner, sauces, vegetablesTagged , , ,

new direction, new blog!

January 2, 2012 4:45 pmLeave a Comment

Whoa! If you’ve been here before you’ll notice this blog has undergone a MAJOR transformation. I’m moving from just gluten-free to a whole-food lifestyle and therefore, blog.

Please bear with me as I move all old posts to my other gluten-free blog, She Loves Cake and make sure all posts remaining here are whole-food, diabetic & allergy friendly.

In the meantime, here are a few great resources on whole food living. Enjoy!
Whole9 Life
Mark’s Daily Apple
Primal Toad

Posted in chit chat