Tandoori Chicken

I wanted to make the Easy Tandoori Chicken from Nom Nom Paleo.  I didn't have Penzeys tandoori seasoning, but I looked up the ingredients online, and guessed at what to put in.

So:
A couple lbs. of chicken thighs (boneless, skinless), sprinkle some salt and pepper on them.

In a bowl:

1 can coconut milk
lemon juice from one small lemon

Unmeasured amounts of:
garlic powder
paprika
turmeric
cumin
coriander
cardamom
cinnamon
ginger


Pour over the chicken and let marinate for up to a day.

Bake in the oven, on a racked pan, at 375 for 45 ish minutes.  The instructions said to flip them half way through, but I neglected that part.

Scoot

Chili - Smoky and Deep

I wanted to make a deeper, spicier, and smokier chili than I normally make.

I had several different kinds of dried chiles - Guajillo, ancho, new mexico, morita, unknown small red ones.

I dry toasted these on medium high heat.  After they cooled a bit, I added some water and let them soak for 30+ minutes. 

Brew a cup of the smoky caravan tea, with a few things of cardamom in the tea strainer as well.

I seared some round steak on one side, cubed it, and put it into the crockpot.

I browned up some mild pork sausage with a poblano pepper, and put it in the crockpot.

In the same pan, I sauteed up some onions with turkish cumin, smoked paprika, smoked pepper, and some "southwest" seasoning.  Put those in the crockpot.

Cut up some butternut squash, put that in the crockpot.

Cut up a green bell pepper, a red bell pepper, and an anaheim pepper.

Cut up some jarred fire-roasted red peppers.

Put the soaking chiles into the food processor, added a few chipotles in adobo sauce, and whirred until pasty and smooth.  Put this all over the stuff in the crockpot.

Add the tea to the crockpot, a few shakes of fish sauce, some garlic powder, a little bit of coconut aminos, and a can of fire-roasted tomatoes.

Put on low to cook overnight.  In the morning, I may add:

zucchini

chocolate

whiskey

We'll see if this is any good!

Scoot

Oxtail Stew in the Crockpot

Saute some onions in butter.  After a while, add the oxtail and some stew meat, and brown the meat on all sides for a few minutes.

Put into the crockpot with:
Carrots
Celery
Potatoes
6 oz. of tomato paste
broth
thyme
salt
pepper

Let the crockpot rip for 8 hours on low!

First time cooking with oxtail, it was delicious!

Scooter

Beef Jerky Recipes

Currently marinating:

1) Teriyaki sauce out of a bottle
2) Pineapple juice from a can + ginger + tamari (or maybe it was Bragg's Liquid Aminos)
3) Whiskey + smoked salt + smoked pepper + tamari
4) Horseradish mustard + tamari

Will dry tomorrow night and update!

Update: they're good!  I really liked the teriyaki.  And, of course, the whiskey.

Now in the dehydrator:
1) Coffee Rub
2) Cinnamon-Cardamom Rub
3) Hickory smoked salt and pepper Rub
4) Pepper and Alder smoked salt Rub

Scooter

Barbecue Sauce

Decided to try to make some of my own BBQ sauce again today.  I didn't follow any specific recipe, but looked at a bunch and meshed into my own ideas.  I tried to find all the "smoky" things I had.

Pre-pre-prep:
Pull out a package of caramelized onions from the freezer.

Pre-prep:
brew a cup of Stash "Caravan" loose-leaf tea.  It's a tea that is "a dark, robust tea with a distinct smoky flavor."  I really wanted the smoky flavor.  I also add a few cardamom seeds, a few crushed coffee beans, whole cloves, and a sprig of fresh rosemary to the cup.  Let it brew while I made and ate breakfast.

Prep:
In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine:
1 28 oz. carton San Marzano tomatoes
finely diced caramelized onions
the pre-prep cup of tea, with all solids removed
Couple drops of Red Boat fish sauce
Couple Tablespoons of Dijon-Horesradish mustard
A little bit of pomegranate balsamic vinegar.  (I wanted to use espresso, but I was out.)  Maybe 2 teaspoons
A bit of apple cider vinegar.  Maybe 1 T.
A  bit of coconut aminos.  Maybe a little less than 1 T.
Couple pinches of hickory-smoked salt

Couple shakes of:
Penzey's BBQ 3000
Cumin
Chili Powder
Garlic
Black Pepper
Smoked Paprika

Smaller shakes of:
ginger
cinnamon

Let it simmer until desired thickness.  (on Medium for me, low was too low.)  Stir occasionally.  Mine will be simmering for at least 30 minutes.

Scooter

Spring Rolls!

Ingredients: 

Rice wrappers from the Asian food store

The fillings:

Rice noodles (the "glass" kind)

Cilantro

Basil

Mint

Arugula or butter lettuce

cabbage or cabbage slaw

bean sprouts

shredded carrots, etc.

Method:

Soak rice paper in water for 10 ish seconds, put in the fillings, wrap it up!

Delicious served with peanut sauce.

Scooter

Salmon burgers - oven baked

This was based off a combo of recipes between Melissa and Dallas Hartwig's It starts with food and Melissa Joulwan's Well Fed 2.

In a bowl, mix together:
Big can of salmon, drained  (14 ish oz?)
Half a can of sweet potato (1/2 cup ish)
1/2 ish almond flour
2 eggs
Spices! Like:
Big shake of parsley
small shake paprika
garlic
salt
pepper

Let sit in the fridge for 10 minutes.  (Or, 2 if you're impatient like me.)

On a large cookie sheet, put some parchment paper and brush it with melted ghee.
Use a 1/3 cup scoop, scoop out mixture and form into patties.
I formed about 8.  It filled up the entire sheet, I made them around 3 in. across.

Brush the tops with ghee, bake in an pre-heated oven at 425 F for 20 minutes.  Pull them out, flip the burgers over, and brush again with ghee.  Cook for another 15 minutes.

Scooter