Modified from Susana Conde’s Locro

• 1 Gallon Vegetable Stock
• 3 Cups Fresh corn kernels
• 2.25 Cups Carrots, chopped
• 2.25 Cups Whole-kernel hominy
• 4 Small leeks, chopped
• 4 Green onions, chopped
• 2.5 Lbs Butternut squash, chopped
• 2 Lb Sweet potato, chopped
• 2 Tbsp Sweet paprika (careful for now, watch out for ground paprika until the peanut contamination situation is resolved)
• 2 Tbsp Cumin seeds (careful for now, don’t buy ground cumin until the peanut contamination situation is resolved)

Directions:

Chop everything into bite-size pieces. Pour the stock into a big stockpot. Add vegetables and cook on low heat for 30-60 minutes until squash and sweet potato are soft. Meanwhile fry the cumin in a little oil. Add condiments last.

From Andrew Telesca

• 3 lbs Pieces of Chicken
• ½+ Cup Olive Oil
• A Handful of Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
• 40 Cloves of Garlic
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken.
Coat with a little olive oil and brown on both sides in pan suited for stove-top and oven use, such as a high-sided cast-iron pan. Add the full ½-cup olive oil, the thyme, and all the garlic. Mix it all together.
Cover and bake at 350°F for 1 ½ hours.

From Jason Gift Enevoldsen

• ~6-8 lbs green tomatoes, chopped in 1/4″-1/2″ cubes
• 2 medium shallots, chopped finely
• ~1 lb bacon (preferably smoked, dry-rubbed, thick-cut)
• Fresh cracked pepper
• Thyme
• Pasta of your choice-any shape, wheat-free, gluten-free or bean/rice noodles would all work.

Directions:

This recipe is a great way to consume large numbers of green tomatoes.  Most of the flavor comes from the tomatoes and the bacon, so flavorful bacon is a plus (e.g. heavily smoked, dry-rubbed bacon).  The idea is to cook the shallots and tomatoes hard enough that they start to carmelize a bit – that slight sweetness combined with the bacon fat balances the acidity of the green tomatoes.  Sometimes I’ll skip the thyme if the tomatoes are particularly fragrant varieties (e.g. black krim).  The amounts above are all my best guess – I never measure anything for this recipe since it’s always to use up leftover tomatoes that just won’t ripen.

1. Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry it in a large pan
2. Remove the bacon pieces, keep the fat in the pan (if it was very fatty bacon, you may want to drain off some of the fat)
3. Over medium heat, add shallots and fry them until lightly brown on the edges
4. Turn heat up to high, add tomatoes
5. Add a touch of pepper (maybe 1/4tsp at most), a sprinkle of thyme (again, not much – perhaps also 1/4tsp at most)
6. Stir nearly constantly to keep the tomatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan, keep frying until the liquid between the tomato pieces thickens up and some of the tomatoes start to turn light brown on the edges
7. Add the bacon pieces back in.
8. Serve over noodles.

To lower fat content (if not a fan of bacon fat), either cook the bacon and substitute olive oil for the bacon fat, or skip the bacon altogether and just use olive oil.

This and Green Tomato Bacon Sauce are similar but different.

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.