I’m in my final month of grad school.
Our capstone consists of writing a substantial research paper on a narrow, focused aspect of our discipline, like a narrative review. We also have the option to submit a case study, and that includes a shorter narrative review in addition to presenting the case study. I chose the latter, because I have a tendency to take on more work whenever possible, it seems!
Having spent many weeks deep in the literature, my creative juices have totally dried up. I had the opportunity to step away from the paper for a 3 day conference and found that the extra socializing has opened up a side of me long neglected; my Inner Kitchen Witch.

My inner kitchen witch throws random things together and creates some amazing grub. It’s total alchemy and highly intuitive and comes from having a long-standing relationship with food, flavor, and the kitchen stove.

This recipe came to me as I was assessing what veggies needed consuming after being neglected for a long weekend. I love roasting a chicken on top of vegetables; the chicken juices become a flavorful braising liquid for the vegetables to simmer in and the flavor is just a delight and perfect for cooler winter evenings. If you’ve not yet roasted veggies with your chicken I highly recommend it! Cabbage, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and many other firm vegetables work really well here. Tonight a leek, several lemons, a fennel bulb, and some potatoes were called to serve as a cushion for this soy-free, pastured chicken I found at the Farmer’s Market yesterday.

My intention was to use 5 uninterrupted hours to dive back into my paper and tighten up my arguments, research, and ensure the rough draft was ready for submission. However, my kitchen sang a siren song and the urge to put off that bit of drudgery was too compelling to resist. However, staying home studying all day allowed me to use a low, slow bake for this chicken, resulting in a crispy skin and moist interior. Even the wings retained moistness! The meat comes right off the bone easily, and the lemon adds a delightful brightness to the chicken and vegetables. If you have some time in the afternoon, I highly recommend getting a head start on dinner and going for a low, slow bake the next time you roast chicken. This is a great weekend meal that can be roasting away while you tackle laundry, bills, homework, or housecleaning. Leftovers are great for early-week chicken salads, tacos, or pasta.

Ingredients:

1 roasting chicken, 3 – 5 pounds
3 lemons
1 fennel bulb, sliced
6 small red potatoes, chopped in large chunks
1 large leek, sliced into rounds
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp thyme
5 bay leaves
salt, pepper and paprika to taste
oil as needed

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F
Pat chicken dry and remove giblets, if included.
Slice one lemon in half, lengthwise, and stuff it into chicken with 1 bay leaf.
Slice 1-2 lemons thinly and de-seed slices. Slip the lemon slices under the chicken skin on both sides and tuck them under the wings.
Slice fennel bulb, leek, and potatoes. Toss with olive oil, garlic, and remaining bay leaves.

Place vegetables in the bottom of a roasting pan.
Slice remaining lemon and set slices atop the vegetables.
Place chicken on top of the veggies and rub oil onto the skin. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, paprika, and a bit of the fennel fronds.

Bake, uncovered, in a 275 degree oven for 3-4 hours. Aim for 3 hours with a smaller chicken (3 pounds or less), 4 for a larger bird (up to 5 pounds).

Let chicken sit for 10-15 minutes before carving.

Serve with mashed celery root, cauliflower mash or rice.

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Oh, cauliflower! Is there anything you can’t do?

My first taste of Gobi Manchurian was a handful of years ago from Indian Food takeout in Portland. I was blown away by the complexity of taste and texture in these little nuggets of fried cauliflower and knew I had to make it myself. Upon exploration, I discovered it was breaded and fried, so I wanted to create a recipe that was more aligned with my eating style. I took to Pinterest, grabbed a couple recipes, and sat on the idea over the next four years but never forgot that dish.

Fast forward to last month, when I found myself overloaded with cauliflower due to a shopping snafu. I had already made Buffalo Cauliflower and Cauliflower rice, so decided this was going to be the moment that I put my procrastination abilities to fine use; I was going to avoid studying by trying to recreate Gobi Manchurian!

Gobi Manchurian is the result of the Chinese influence on Indian food (yeah, I didn’t know that happened either, although it is rumored to be in only one small area of India) and it is definitely the case of two great tastes tasting great together. Traditionally, cauliflower is dipped into a spiced batter and then deep fried, but I opted to bake it instead.

Here’s the recipe I came up with:

Paleo Gobi Manchurian

Cauliflower Nuggets

• 1 cup cassava flour (can sub GF flour blend if not paleo)
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp. powdered ginger
• 1/2 tsp. powdered garlic
• 1.5 cups water*
• 1 tbsp. coconut aminos
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized florets

Sauce:

• 2-3 tbsp. sesame oil (let your taste guide you)
• 1 tbsp. grated ginger
• 1 large clove garlic, crushed
• 1-2 tbsp. hot sauce (I used sriracha)
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp. coconut aminos
• 1 -2 tsp. honey
• 1 jalapeño or thai chile, diced
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 2 scallions
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

*less water may be needed if using an alternate flour

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/ 200 degrees C.

In a medium mixing bowl, add cassava flour, pepper, garlic and ginger. Mix to combine well. Drizzle coconut aminos and oil over mix, then add water slowly, mixing it in until the consistency is like thick pancake batter. Coat the cauliflower with the batter, and set the cauliflower on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a well-oiled baking sheet.

Roast cauliflower for 20 minutes, turning once to brown on all sides.

While roasting, make sauce.

Mix sesame oil, ginger, garlic, hot sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, honey, and coconut aminos in a blender and blend to combine thoroughly and more finely dice the garlic and ginger. Saute the onion and chili over medium high heat with a dash of oil and about 2-4 tbsp. water to ‘steam saute’ until the onion is translucent. Add the sauce and remove from heat.

When browned, remove cauliflower nuggets from oven and let cool slightly. Toss in the sauce until well coated, and then fold in diced scallions and cilantro.
Serves 4.

IP Curry Chicken – adapted from a recipe by Metabolic Effect

This is a great recipe on days when it is too hot to cook but you want something warm and hearty for dinner! Serve with brown rice or riced cauliflower (now available at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and even select Costcos).

Ingredients:

o 1.5-2 lbs. chicken breasts

o ¾ cup canned coconut milk

o 1 cup chicken broth

o 2 tablespoons tomato paste

o 2 garlic cloves, minced

o 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (dried just doesn’t cut it here)

o 4-6 tablespoons yellow curry powder

o 2 red bell peppers, chopped into 1 cubes

o 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

o 4 yukon gold potatoes, cubed into bite-sized chunks

o Salt and pepper, to taste

o Dash of red pepper flakes

Directions:

Place chicken in the Instant Pot or a slow cooker. Mix the coconut milk, tomato paste, garlic, ginger, curry powder, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes in a bowl and mix well. Add in peppers, potatoes and onions. Mix all ingredients together to completely cover the chicken in the curry mixture. Cover and cook at low for 6-8 hours or use the poultry setting on the IP. Quick release pressure if using the Poultry setting. 

Spring is my favorite season! I love the lift in energy and mood that comes after a dark, brooding winter and the blush of cherry blossoms, birdsong and peppering of flowers throughout the city never fails to make me smile. This spring I noticed rhubarb at the local market. Rhubarb has such a short season but is a quintessential flavor of spring sweets. I pulled this strawberry rhubarb crumble together off a mash-up of various internet recipes coupled with what I had in my kitchen. The result is sweet, tart, and delightfully crunchy. Enjoy!

For the filling:

• 2 cups diced rhubarb
• 2 cups diced strawberries
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp wildflower honey (this has a floral note that pairs very well with fruit)
• pinch of salt
• 1.5 tbsp arrowroot powder

For the crumble:

• 1/2 cup chopped raw hazelnuts
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 2 tbsp. coconut flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp. wildflower honey
• 4 tbsp. coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Grease a 9″ by 9″ square casserole dish or pie plate.

Mix all filling ingredients together and pour into the casserole dish. Mix all crumble ingredients together (ideally with your fingers) until all is well incorporated and has a crumbly texture to it. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the fruit and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 25 minutes or until filling is bubbly and crust is browning nicely.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or keep it paleo with a whipped coconut cream (by chilling a can of coconut cream overnight and whipping it in a blender with 1/2 tsp vanilla before serving) or cashew cream.

Cashew Nut Cream (recipe from Cynthia Lair’s book, Feeding the Whole Family)

½ cup raw, unsalted cashews
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
Water

Grind nuts to a fine meal in a small coffee grinder or food processor (no lumps or there will be lumps in your nut cream). Put ground cashews, maple syrup, and vanilla in the blender.  With blender running, add water a little at a time until you have a thick creamy consistency.

Sweet Potato Hash Browns are a lovely alternative to traditional hashbrowns with eggs at breakfast or can be pulled out for the evening and paired with a vegetable and poultry, as shown here. They play well with yolks and are delicious in the evening as well. These would also taste fabulous with a cream fraiche if you tolerate dairy!
A thank you to My Sequined Life for the backbone of this recipe, which I played with because I have a hard time following any recipe precisely!

• 1 large sweet potato (or 2 small/medium), peeled and grated
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dried onion flakes (or use onion powder)
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 1 extra large chicken or duck egg *optional*
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, to grease the cookie sheet

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Peel and grate sweet potato(es) using a box grater. Add the grated sweet potato to a colander and thoroughly rinse to get rid of the excess starch. The water will be cloudy and slightly orange at first; rinse until the water is clear.
3. Dry the shreds at much as possible. The quickest way is to add the shredded sweet potato to a salad spinner. Alternatively (or additionally), place the shreds between two layers of paper towels and squeezed out any excess moisture.
4. Add shreds to a bowl and sprinkle salt, onion flakes, black pepper, paprika, and curry powder. Add egg, which will help bind the patties you’ll form. Mix well to combine.
5. Generously grease a baking sheet with coconut oil. Form rough “patties” with the potato shreds and place them evenly spaced on the baking sheet.
6. Cook in the 450 degree oven for about  7-10 minutes, and then remove. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
7. Flip sweet potato patties over, pressing gently down on each to flatten.
8. Place patties back in the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the hash browns have browned nicely around the edges. Let cool on the baking sheet.