From Alice Enevoldsen

Chicken Nuggets
Image © 2011 Jason Gift Enevoldsen

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 egg substitutes (to make the breading stick)
• 1 Tablespoon water (in addition to any water you used making your egg substitute)
• ½ cup bread crumbs (run 2-3 slices of your favorite safe bread through a blender or food processor)
• ½ cup wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped fine
• ½ teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Tablepoon canola oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F, and prep a (nonstick) cookie sheet. Cut chicken into nugget-sized pieces.

Mix fake eggs with water, and add the chicken. Let it sit.

Chop up the spices, mix with bread crumbs and wheat germ. Mix in the oil well.  Dip each chicken piece in the seasoning and coat well.  Spread out on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn and bake for 5 more minutes.

I have also made the seasoning ahead of time and refrigerated it or frozen it so all I have to do is chop the chicken and coat it. If you do this I would add the oil at the time of coating, not before you freeze or fridge the topping.

I always thought chicken nuggets were an insanely processed, always cross-contaminated product of the fast-food industry. The above recipe is for whole pieces of chicken, baked, and a super-yummy mode of transport for your favorite dipping sauces. So I suppose they’re just as healthy as your dipping sauces.

Earth's Best Kidz Baked Chicken Nuggets

 

I have also just found that (as of April 2011) Earth’s Best Kidz Baked Chicken Nuggets are safe for us, though they contain wheat and soy. And they’re not as healthy as the above home-baked ones which you have complete control over the ingredients for. But they’re frozen, cook up quick, and are a healthier vehicle for dipping sauces than french fries.

From Jenn Purnell

• 1.5 Cup Warm Tap Water
• 1 Package Yeast
• 4 ½ – 5 Cups Flour
• ½ Cup Olive Oil
• 1/8 Cup Sugar
• 1 Tsp Salt

Directions:

Proof the yeast in the water.

Add 2 cups of flour, the sugar, oil, and salt. Mix well. Add 1 cup of flour, mix. It should start coming away from the sides of the bowl.

With the 4th cup of flour flour your hands and the kneading surface. Knead in a little at a time, adding enough to keep the flour from sticking to your hands. Knead very well – develop the glutens – the dough should be elastic,

When the dough is no longer sticky hold the heel of your hand in the dough for 10 seconds. If you can pull it away without sticking it’s right. This whole process should take 5-10 minutes.

Oil a 2-quart bowl, and roll the dough around in the bowl till it’s coated all over. Let the dough rise 30-45 minutes – until doubled in size. Punch it down. (Let it rise again if you want – Jenn thinks it should rise for 2 hours.).

Shape it and let it rise again for 5-10 minutes in shape. Fold the edges over to make the pizza crust

Pre-bake the crust on top rack for 10 minutes, then bake with the toppings for 5-10 minutes.

From Jason Gift Enevoldsen

• 2 boxes beef broth
• ¼ lb salmon (fresh or smoked, not lox)
• 2 lbs steak
• ginger (cut in thin coins)
• 5 pearl onions
• 2 Tbsp Maggi* (or soy sauce, or wheat-free soy sauce)

Bits to add

• rice stick noodles
• cilantro, shredded
• red basil or thai basil – leaves picked off stems
• scallions, small pieces
• lime wedges
• broccoli stems, cut thin (like for a slaw, we buy them precut)
• Sriracha* (red hot sauce)

Directions:

Add onions, ginger, steak, salmon (whole), Maggi, and beef broth. Bring to a boil, simmer 1 ½-2 hours until steak is tender and cooked through. KEEP COVERED, you’re not boiling it down. (Salmon will have disintegrated completely, but that doesn’t matter).

Soak rice noodles in hot water 10-15 minutes. Boil noodles for 1 minute, strain and rinse in cool water immediately.

After broth is done, cut steak in very thin strips – crossgrain if possible.

(*Listed Sriracha ingredients: Chili, Sugar, Salt, Garlic, Distilled Vinegar, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Bisulfate As Preservatives, and Xanthan Gum.)

(**Listed Maggi ingredients: Water, salt, wheat gluten, wheat, and less than 2% of wheat bran, sugar, acetic acid, artificial flavor, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, dextrose, caramel color)

Related posts: my standard Asian-food cooking substitutes.

From Jenn Purnell

Photo by Jenn Purnell

Salad

• 4 lbs chicken
• lots of fresh tarragon
• lots of fresh thyme
• 1 head fresh elephant garlic
• 2 red onions
• 2 cups cooked wild rice
• 4 cups cooked mixed rice (we like Rice Select Royal Blend Texmati White Brown and Red which also has wild rice.)
• 1 head fresh celery
• 4 medium steamed zucchinis
• 2 steamed parsnips

Dressing

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• ¼ tsp xanthan gum (sometimes corn-derived)
• Pinch ground black pepper
• ⅓ cup lemon juice – fresh squeezed

Serving

• Edible flowers (pansies)
• Fresh baby spinach

Directions:

Cook rice. Dice zucchini, parsnips, celery, onions, and finely chop the garlic. Clean and chop the spices. Dice the chicken.

Steam the zucchini and parsnips. Sauté garlic and onions in oil until soft. (Leave the celery aside)

Add chicken to garlic and onions along with tarragon and thyme. Sauté on high until outside of the chicken is white all over, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Stir every 5 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Whisk dressing ingredients together. Serve on side.

Mix rice, veggies, chicken. Serve over spinach, top with flowers. Add dressing to taste.

From Corinne Cooley

• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• Jason’s “Old Bay” seasoning
• 1 bottle Duchesse De Bourgogne
• 1.5 lbs salmon, cut into fish & chips-sized pieces
• Cornstarch

Directions:

Heat oil to 350°F

Mix the dry ingredients. Mix in the beer until smooth. Chill for at least 15 minutes but up to an hour or so.

Cover a plate with cornstarch. Drag fish strips through cornstarch, lightly coating them. Dip each strip in the batter, coating and drop into the oil. Once the batter is firm enough, flip them and cook 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Drain and serve with Corinne’s fries.

From Jessie Branom-Zwick

• Salmon for the appropriate number of people
• Soy sauce substitute (Maggi’s?), some for glaze (not sure how much — maybe 1/4 cup per pound?)
• Brown sugar, some for glaze (not sure how much — maybe 1/8 cup per pound?)
• Fresh ginger, quantity not quite known but two inches per pound should be plenty
• Butter substitute. The desired qualities of butter are solidity and mild but tasty flavor.

Directions:

Essentially, make an Asian-style frosting to put on the salmon, coat the salmon, lay in a baking sheet and bake at 450F for about 10 minutes (until done)

From Alice Enevoldsen

• 1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• about 2/3 cup of water

Directions:

Mix the ingredients.

Knead for 10 minutes. (Add flour to keep it from sticking. You should end up with a smooth, stretchy dough)

Let sit for 10 minutes, covered.

Divide into eight parts. Roll each part as thin as you can, add flour to keep it from sticking.

Slice into appropriate sized strips. Let dry for 2-3 minutes, then add to boiling water and boil until cooked (~5 minutes, or until they float).

You can also dry them out and keep them for a few days.

I also used this to try making ravioli for the first time. My ravioli fell apart though.

From Jason Enevoldsen

• 6-8 cloves garlic
• 2-3 cubic inches ginger
• Enough canola oil to layer the bottom of your pan
• A few Tbsp Maggi (soy-free, wheat-full “soy” sauce)
• ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp sake
• White pepper (optional)
• 3 pounds stir-fry cut beef (Uwajimaya’s “stir-fry cut” is the best – it is a more Asian-style cut, slightly more fat/marbling, and the physical cut is a different shape: a different angle contributing to the tenderness)
• 4 total pounds vegetables, pick at least two: (1-2 bulbs) kohlrabi, (2 large) red bell peppers, (2-3 heads) broccoli, (1 head) celery, (4 large) carrots, (7-8 heads) baby bok choi. Use other veggies if they look like they’d taste good.
• 2-3 Tbsp starch (corn or potato)

Directions:

Garlic, ginger, canola oil – simmer in a pan, until the garlic starts to turn translucent. Add scallions or Japanese chives and finely ground white pepper (optional). Simmer 5+ minutes (the closer you can get this to singeing without singeing the better, but if you do burn it, throw it out and start over). Add Maggi, turn to low. Let it heat while prepping other stuff.

Raise the heat to 8 (out of 10) and let it get really hot. Add the meat, brown quickly, stirring for 2-3 minutes. Turn back to 5-6, add ¼ cup sake. Stir occasionally. Once it is browned all over, start adding the first vegetable. If it is broccoli, add 2 tablespoons Maggi after it starts to turn softer. Once it is added, start chopping the second vegetable, then add that one – etc till you’ve added all the veggies.  Keep the heat fairly high but don’t burn it – this means you may be changing the heat level often: turn it up to boil off the water, then down so it doesn’t burn.

Vegetable order: Kohlrabi, bell peppers, broccoli, celery, carrots, bok choi (always right at the very end),

In a separate cup mix corn starch (sweeter) or potato starch (less flavor added), 2 tablespoons Maggi, 2 tablespoons sake, 2 tablespoons water. Mix it well – till the starch is dissolved and there are no lumps. Drizzle it into the stir fry while stirring. When it is all added, keep stirring until the juices are the thickness that you want and the liquid has turned clearer and darker (meaning the starch is cooked). You probably want the juices dripping off the spatula somewhat slowly. Turn off the heat as soon as you get to the right consistency, and remove from heat immediately, but stir once a minute for a little while longer to keep the starch from burning.

Some Variations:

Add thai basil (half at the beginning, half with the veggies)

Add 5-10 fresh curry leaves (add at the beginning)

Add 5 thai peppers (leave whole, but bruise and add first)

From Jenn Purnell

• 3 Tbsp tomato sauce
• 7 Tbsp canola oil
• 2 Tbsp oat milk
• 4 chopped cloves of garlic
• 1 inch cube of ginger, chopped
• 2 ¼ lbs chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 whole cardamom pods
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• ½ green bell pepper, chopped

Directions:

Mix  tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon canola oil, oat milk, and 1 cup of water. Blend the garlic and ginger with water into a paste.

Heat the oil over medium heat, brown the chicken on all sides, but don’t do it all at once, do it in batches, setting the partly cooked chicken aside. Add all the whole spices to the oil and stir. Add the ginger/garlic paste and the turmeric. Cook, stirring, for a short time. Add the chicken, tomato mixture, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and chopped green pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, and turn down the heat to simmer. Cook for 20+ minutes. Turn up the heat, and cook down to half.

From Andrew Telesca

• 1/4 cup Canola Oil
• 1/4 cup Lime Juice
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp cumin
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 tsp paprika
• Cilantro
• Dash of your hotness of choice
• Salsa

Directions:

Mix. Use as a marinade.