Red Curry Chicken with Butternut Squash Noodles

You sometimes have to be really adaptable when you cook. Cooking, like life, sometimes just doesn't go as planned. Ingredients mysteriously disappear, or spoil seemingly overnight. Plans change at the last minute and the meal you thought you had an hour to prepare needs to be on the table in 30 minutes flat, or you find a key ingredient that you planned to pick up after work is suddenly not available. Take tonight's dinner for instance. I had some skinless boneless thighs from a new poultry supplier at work called Blue Goose, (amazing company by the way, worth checking out, the chicken was awesome!) I was intending to use these lovely chicken thighs in a green chicken curry, to top some zucchini noodles made with my spiral slicer. But, there were no lovely little zucchinis gracing the shelves at work today in our produce department. I ran thru a bunch of alternatives, but had no inspiration until I walked by the display of beautiful organic butternut squash. If you can spiral slice a green summer squash, why not an orange winter one?? The texture seemed like it would go, but it added a new dilemma. The green curry that I had originally planned just didn't seem to match this squash, flavour wise, so my whole entire recipe had to change on the fly. The green curry became red, and the creamy coconut sauce with fresh basil suddenly became a wonderfully spicy and fresh coconut and tomato sauce. I threw in some baby organic spinach on a last minute whim, and this amazing dish was born. It is guaranteed to be a repeat, it was absolutely delicious. 

I guess the moral of the story is, don't stress it, and go with the flow. Like life, cooking is much better when you can relax and enjoy it. Be prepared for a little bit of improv, and you just might be pleasantly surprised!

Butternut squash noodles are the perfect base for a recipe like this. They added just a touch of sweetness and held up incredibly well, as well as being seriously easy to prepare. I can’t wait to see what else I can do with them!  I apologize for the lack of pictures with this post, but I promise to come back and add a picture the next time I spiral a butternut squash.

Red Curry Chicken with Butternut Squash Noodles

12 Skinless Boneless Organic Chicken Thighs (try Blue Goose)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp butter (or sub another tbsp coconut oil)

½ of a 400 ml can full fat coconut milk (shake to mix)

1 large red onion, cut in a fairly large dice.

2-4 tsp red curry paste (I use Thai Kitchen)

½ cup water

1 796 ml can diced organic tomatoes

4 cups baby spinach, lightly packed

Salt and pepper to taste

Squash Noodles:

1 medium organic butternut squash

1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

Salt to taste.

To prepare the squash noodles:

Cut the bulb end off the squash (the end that contains the seeds) and reserve for another use if desired. Cut the stem end off, and with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler remove all of the skin. Slice in half lengthwise, and cut into noodles on the spiral slicer, or with a mandolin.

Spread cut noodles out on a large pan with sides, like a jelly roll pan.  Drizzle with the melted coconut oil, sprinkle with salt and toss lightly to coat.

Preheat oven to 400F and set noodles aside. (do not cook yet!!)

To prepare the chicken:

In a large cast iron pan, heat the butter and coconut oil till bubbly over medium high heat. Add the chicken, Season with salt and pepper, and cook, in batches if necessary, until just nicely starting to brown, turning pieces as they cook. (They do not need to be cooked right thru at this point, almost-done is fine because they will finish cooking in the sauce at the end, and will only hang around for a wee bit before going back in.) Turn the pan down to low and leave it on the burner.  Remove the chicken pieces to a cutting board when nicely browned, and carefully but quickly cut into bite sized chunks. Place in a bowl to catch any juices, and set aside for a minute.

Your oven should be preheated by now, so throw in the squash noodles, and put a timer on for 9 minutes. If they finish before the next step is complete, just turn off the oven and leave them in, they should be done around close to the same time.

Turn your pan back up to medium high, add the diced onion, and the red curry paste. Sauté until the onion is starting to soften and brown slightly, 3-4 minutes. Add the can of diced tomatoes and the water, and stir in, scraping all the browned bits off the bottom of the pan as you go. Add the coconut milk, stir well, and add in the chunks of chicken and any accumulated juices. Stir well, bring to a boil and simmer until the chicken is cooked thru and the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly, 5-6 minutes.  Add the spinach and stir in until it is wilty. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.

Remove the noodles from the oven, place in individual bowls and top with chicken curry mixture. It should serve 5 or 6 hungry people!

Garden Vegetable and Quinoa Salad

I love summer. More to the point, I love my garden in the summer. Picking fresh veggies and using them right away for lunch, or dinner, or a salad, is definitely a highlight of the season for me. There is always the makings of a meal or a side dish just outside my back door, as fresh as fresh can be. I highly recommend gardening of some kind to everyone, even if it is just growing some herbs in pots on a sunny windowsill.

 The green and yellow beans, the spinach, the zucchini, and  the herbs in this salad all came from my garden. I created this salad  

for my last GBG gathering, (my grade school girlfriends group), the same one that I took the chocolate cake with this raspberry sauce to. I somehow neglected to take a picture of the salad though, and had to make another batch, just for the pictures, of course! (I missed taking pictures of the cake too…that one will have to be repeated soon too, just for pictures again, really!

Garden Vegetable and Quinoa Salad

3 cups chopped green and or yellow wax beans( 2 inch pieces ish)

1 ¾ cup cooked quinoa

1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into thin half moons

¼ cup fresh chopped basil

Zucchini in the garden

¼ cup fresh chopped parsley

1/3 cup chives, regular or garlic (garlic are my favourite!)

3 cups packed baby spinach

1 cup thinly sliced red onion (to remove the bite, after slicing, soak the onion in ice cold water for 10-15 minutes, drain well before using)

Dressing:

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lemon

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp grainy mustard

1 tbsp maple syrup

Salt and pepper to taste

Green Beans :)

Bring 6 cups of water to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium, and drop in the chopped beans and cook for 4 minutes. Plunge into a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking process and chill the beans. Change the water if necessary to get them cold.

Toss into a large bowl with the quinoa and the rest of the chopped veggies, and herbs . Set aside.

Measure the dressing ingredients in a 2 cup mason jar. Put lid on and shake well. Combine with salad ingredients and mix well to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate till needed. Keeps well in refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms With Spinach And Goat Cheese

Portobello mushrooms done on the grill are very tasty. Add a tangy peppery marinade and combine them with a quick sauté of greens and a nice creamy goat cheese and they become a perfect light meal or side dish that comes together in a flash.  Grilling the mushrooms on the BBQ adds a nice smokiness that balances the flavour of the goat cheese perfectly.

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms With Spinach And Goat Cheese

2 large Portobello mushrooms, stems removed and brushed clean

1 small log of goat cheese (ours was Chevrai with fine herbs, you will only use about half of it)

Marinade:

3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

3 Tbsp Organic Olive oil

1 tsp coarsely cracked fresh ground black pepper

½ tsp sea salt

1 tsp fresh thyme, woody stems removed, roughly chopped (or ½ tsp dried)

Vegetable Saute:

1 Tbsp coconut oil (or butter)

1 onion, sliced in ½ inch slices

3 cups baby spinach

Salt to taste.

Preheat your BBQ or indoor grill to medium high.

Cut 4  round slices from your log of goat cheese, about ½ inch thick, and set aside

Melt the coconut oil in a medium sized cast iron pan over medium high heat and sauté the onion slices  until they just start to color a bit. Turn heat to low, and stir occasionally.

Baste mushrooms with the marinade and BBQ or grill for approx 3-4 minutes per side, basting once more per side as they grill. Reserve a bit of the marinade to drizzle on your mushrooms after they are plated.

When mushrooms are flipped to their second side, turn the heat back up on your onions to medium high and add the spinach. Season lightly with salt and sauté until the spinach is just wilted, 2-3 minutes.

Place the BBQ’d mushrooms on your plates. Top with your sautéed spinach and onions.  Place 2 rounds of goat cheese per mushroom on top of the spinach, and drizzle the remaining marinade on top of the cheese. Serve while hot!

Grain Free Quinoa Salmon Cakes

These are a great meal when you forget to take something out of the freezer to thaw, or you are trying to stretch the food budget a wee bit until pay day. They go together quickly if you have some quinoa set aside, and bake in just enough time to set the table and toss a salad to serve on the side.  Be sure to choose a wild caught salmon with no extra added ingredients.

Grain Free Quinoa Salmon Cakes

2 cans wild caught salmon, drained

1 cup pre-cooked organic quinoa

2 eggs, preferably pastured

½ cup Best Baa Raw Sheep’s Milk Feta Cheese, crumbled (or feta of choice)

2 cups organic baby spinach, (chop after measuring)

2 Tbsp chopped fresh organic basil (or 2 tsp dried)

1/3 cup organic sun dried tomatoes, finely diced (drained if in oil, soaked in hot water and drained if dry)

1/8 tsp organic cayenne

½ tsp Herbamare or sea salt of choice

Preheat oven to 375F

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until very well combined. Using hands shape into patties, and place on a greased baking pan.(Mine made 10 patties, about 1 inch thick and 3 inches across)

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked thru. Serve warm or chilled.

Ready to go in the oven to bake!

Beef And Spinach Soup With Thyme

I am always looking for ways to use up leftovers, and they often end up in a soup of some kind.  With a leftover protein and some veggies, plus a freezer full of bone broth, a nourishing soup is easy to throw together quickly.

Beef And Spinach Soup With Thyme

1 small- ish red onion, diced, mine yielded about ¾ cup

1 ½ cups chopped mushrooms

3 stalks celery

2 cloves garlic

1 1/2 cups leftover cooked grass-fed beef, shredded or sliced in thin bite sized pieces

4 cups beef bone broth 

Bundle of thyme **(see below for pictures) or 1 tsp dried

3 cups baby spinach

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onion, mushrooms, celery and garlic over medium high heat, stirring often until the veggies start to brown and the bottom of the pot looks like this: 

Add broth, thyme bundle and beef. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the veggies are all tender.

Turn off heat, remove the thyme bundle, add the spinach and stir until it wilts. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Bundle the thyme with butchers twine

if you cover your thyme in the garden
 you can pick it fresh all winter :)

Zucchini Spinach Salad

I made this salad for my brothers birthday dinner on the weekend. There was an awesome picture of a similar salad on Pinterest, but when searching for the actual recipe, there were only links to the picture. So, me being me, I invented my own. I think it turned out pretty well. I had the leftovers for lunch the following day and it holds up well. I almost liked it better after it sat, so don’t be afraid to make it in advance!  Feel free to use any feta you like, but I highly recommend using the Raw Sheep's Milk Feta from Best Baa, it is my favourite feta EVER!!

Zucchini Spinach Salad

Salad:

6 cups organic baby spinach, lightly packed

1 medium organic zucchini, sliced thin

1/3 cup chopped fresh organic basil

½ cup toasted organic pumpkin seeds

½ cup dried organic, juice sweetened cranberries

2/3 cup Best Baa Raw Sheep Milk Feta, crumbled (or feta of choice)

Dressing:

1/3 cup organic olive oil

Juice of ½ an organic lemon

3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (or white balsamic)

½ tsp Herbamare or sea salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

I used my spirulizer to get
the zucchini nice and thin, you
could also use a mandolin or
a vegetable peeler to get
nice thin slices!

Toss the salad ingredients together in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients, and toss well with combined salad ingredients.

Serve right away, or refrigerate till needed, up to 8 hrs.