KKF Green Juice!

In one of my favorite movies, So I Married An Axe Murderer , the main character, Charlie, visits his parents to discover that his mom has purchased a Juice Tiger and “juices everything now” ala the Weekly World News Garth Brooks Juice Diet. While Charlie’s Mom did refer to a tabloid as “the paper” she may have been onto something with the juice…

Juice Fountain, Juice Tiger. Whatever you call it, it juices stuff at a prodigious rate.

Juicing fans believe that by juicing vegetables your body is better able to absorb the vitamins. They are not damaged by cooking, and you can consume a lot more vegetable nutrients in a glass of juice than you could eat in a sitting (or a day, or a week for some people!) Dr. Mercola has an excellent article on juicing here. If you want more reasons to juice, watch Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead or The Beautiful Truth: The World’s Simplest Cure for Cancer or Hungry For Change. (These are all great documentaries, by the way, regardless of if you want to start juicing or not!)

So I went out and bought myself a Juice Tiger. Ok, it’s actually a Breville BJE200XL 700-Watt Compact Juice Fountain . And let me tell you, I’ve been having more fun with this thing than should be permitted! Sticking stuff in and watching it tear it apart never fails to make me feel better. It generates so much lift that if you take your hand off the plunger when it’s running, it almost pushes it back out. Now that’s entertainment.

KKF Green Juice ingredients.

I made fresh orange juice this morning. 5 oranges for two people was perfect. And amazingly delicious. But more fruit (and the sugar therein) is not my primary goal for this new gadget. It’s veggies. I’ve discovered that for the most part, just throwing stuff in there (say, carrots, celery, parsley, ginger and a cucumber) and letting it rip results in a brownish juice that does not taste terrible. And that’s fine in a pinch, but I recommend going with some tried and true recipes. Generally, a bunch of veggies and a piece of fruit will do the trick. The little bit of sweet helps offset any bitterness in the veggies. Of course, some carrot juice is sweet all on its own…

Here’s a juice recipe I adapted from the cookbook that came with my copy of Hungry for Change.

KKF Green Juice

1 cucumber

1 small green apple

1 kiwi

2 inch piece of ginger, peeled

3 stalks of celery

bunch of parsley

bunch of cilantro

large handful of kale

1/4 head of fennel

Juice according to your juicer’s instructions. Makes one large serving.

You can't even taste the kale!

Pork Belly Euphoria

Pork belly. Also known as pork side or middlen. The most treasured part of any hog purchase because it is used to MAKE BACON.

But every now and then you have to try something new.

At a recent visit to Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta I had the fried pork belly appetizer with sorghum glaze. UH.MAZE.ING. I was initially going to share with the rest of my dinner companions but after I took a bite I told them to stick it. Restaurant Eugene is a fantastic farm-to-table restaurant and we can’t wait to go back once we get done paying the last installment for our last meal, if you get my drift…

So that got me thinking. Of course bacon is a thing of beauty, but what if I could make a similar pork belly recipe? Hello, Google…and I found Dan Barber’s Pork Belly. You do have to plan in advance for this recipe because it needs to cure for three days before being slow cooked for 7 hours, but honestly the overall time investment was minimal, making this an easy and delcious recipe.

I followed the recipe almost exactly. For the cure mix, I forgot to buy star anise so I subbed dried basil because I smell anise in basil sometimes. (Don’t ask me for rational explanations.) I used ground white pepper instead of whole white peppercorns. I subbed celery seed for fennel seed. Also, I scaled back the sugar a little bit. Since I had a 3 pound pork belly and the recipe called for a six pounder, I halved the cure mix.

After blending the cure mix I rubbed it all over my partially thawed belly, then packed the cure around it, wrapped it up in wax paper then aluminum foil. It sat in the fridge for a little over three days. When it came time to cook, I rinsed as directed. Since I had failed to cut off the skin before curing (duh to me, I’ll take it off first next time) I cut the belly in half and ran it through my Chef’s Choice Electric Food Slicer to cut off the tough skin. I put the two pieces fat side down in a ceramic dish, poured two full quarts of chicken stock over it and covered with foil.

In it went for 7 hours.

When time was up, I pulled the dish out and took a look. Not terribly impressive looking. Kind of like a huge chunk of lame, pasty bacon. Good thing I wasn’t done yet!

I cut the two halves into 8 chunks each and fired up the cast iron skillet. Frying first on the fat side for 3-4 minutes until it got nice and dark and carmely and crunchy, then on each side for a minute or so until the entire small chunk was crunchy and brown.

CAUTION. DO NOT FRY THESE CHUNKS UNLESS YOU HAVE A SPLATTER SCREEN BIG ENOUGH TO COVER YOUR WHOLE SKILLET. It WILL splatter all over God’s green earth and burn you and your loved ones if you don’t cover it up.

Safety first!

While the pork belly goodness was frying I was also frying up some cubed red potatoes in butter with a few tablespoons of Mill Creek Spice’s Steak Seasoning. Man, is that some good stuff.

Anyway, so once you have your well-crisped chunks of pork belly, drain as you please and enjoy. This made me do a dance in the kitchen, just ask Test Subject Bill. Good luck eating more than two. They are SUPER rich but unbelievably tasty. I think it might be better than bacon.

But a word to the wise – make this for a crowd! This is way too much for two people and good enough to share with your best friends! Also, consider serving with something pickled or maybe a salad with vinaigrette just to cut the richness of the fat. It is a thing of beauty. Ah, pork belly euphoria!!

Pork belly and seasoned spuds!

KKF Fast Food: Salmon Patties with Lemon-Thyme Cream

Salmon Patties with Lemon-Thyme Cream on Wilted Swiss Chard

I recently got in on a bulk wild salmon purchase from Lummi Island which included some ground salmon. (You even got a free hat with purchase. Gotta love the freebies.)

On nights that I have classes at the gym I need something quick AND I’m a sucker for anything fried in butter, so tonight I tried my hand at some salmon burgers – turned out delicious!

KKF Salmon Patties with Lemon-Thyme Cream

1 lb. ground salmon

2 eggs

1 T Old Bay seasoning

2-3 T butter

For the cream:

1/2 c sour cream

1/2 T lemon juice

1/2 t lemon zest

6-7 sprigs of fresh thyme

Mix together the ingredients for the cream and set aside. Mix up the ground salmon, Old Bay, and eggs. Melt butter in a cast iron frying pan. Shape salmon into balls (as many or few as you’d like, I made 6). They will be loose and not really hold their shape at this point. When the butter is melted and hot, place the salmon balls in the pan and press down lightly to form patties. Flip after a few minutes of frying. When patties feel firm, they are done. Serve hot with lemon thyme cream.

Hint: if you used unsalted butter, you may want to add 1/4 tsp or so of salt to your salmon mix, or try adding it to the cream.

This was VERY fast. I got home from yoga, made this and wilted some swiss chard in bacon fat (heck yeah) and was done eating within an hour. Easy and delish, as a KKF fast food should be!

Sweet n’ Sour Pork Balls

Test subject Bill loves pork, so I’m always looking for new ways to make pork. He also has a tough time swallowing ground beef because of the gristle/connective tissue that’s often a part of beef…but not so much with pork! So ground pork is the convenience food of choice in our house.

I was inspired by this recipe over at AllRecipes. White sugar is something I avoid so every time I see it in a recipe I’m always tweaking to see how to get out of it. This turned out fantastic. I don’t even have a picture because they are GONE.

KKF Sweet n Sour Pork Balls

1 1/2 lbs ground pork

16 oz. tomato sauce

1 cup water

1/4 c maple syrup

1 T sucanat (you could use white sugar if you want, or increase the maple syrup)

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 t Italian seasoning

1 t chili powder

1 t apple cider vinegar

1/2 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degress. Form the ground pork into balls and place in a glass baking dish. Stir together all the other ingredients in a saucepan and heat lightly. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference. Pour the sauce over the balls and bake for 45-60 minutes, depending on how big you made your pork balls.

We had this over rice with broccoli on the side. It was fantastic, used waaaay less sweetener than the original recipe, and was still pleasantly sweet.

When I make this again I’ll try to remember to take a picture so I can come back and post it!

Creamy Winter Squash Soup

We just got back from vacation. As usual, I am starving for nourishing foods when I got home. Vacation food is delicious, but not always nutritious! I looked around the kitchen and this is what I came up with. Apparently it was good because Test Subject Bill devoured it!

KKF Creamy Winter Squash Soup

2 medium sized winter squashes, peeled and chopped into cubes

1 large onion, diced

3 T butter

6 cups chicken stock

1 can coconut milk

1 T garlic powder

1 T dried marjoram

1 1/2 T ground sage

salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions in butter until soft. Add cubed squash and stock. Simmer, partially covered, for about 20 minutes. Stir in seasonings and simmer covered for another 10 minutes. Cool for a bit, then puree in food processor, blender or using a stick blender. Return to heat, stir in coconut milk and adjust seasonings. I like lots of pepper. Enjoy!

Independence Day Egg Bash Part II

Grilled grass fed blade steak resting

In my opinion, grilling comes down to a) quality meats and b) proper technique. Although I still consider myself a real beginner at grilling, I am noticing that when I do the least I’m getting the best results. For example, the burgers I grilled today. Ground beef and a homemade rub. That’s it. Granted, the meat was super high quality, but preparation was quick and almost effortless. If you do it right, grilling should be easy.

Skewered chicken satay off the grill

Earlier this weekend I made steak and chicken satay on the grill. For the steak, it couldn’t have been easier. I took a dry aged blade steak from my local grass-based farmer and marinated it for 8-9 hours in plain old olive oil. Right before grilling, I salted and peppered. Then I threw it on my Egg at about a 450 degrees and closed the lid. A few minutes later, I opened and flipped it, and gave it another two minutes. I let it rest while I grilled my satay.

Steak, chicken satay with peanut sauce (even though it looks like ketchup in this pic...gross) and Italian green beans from the farmer's market

The chicken satay is a recipe I got from my Viking Cooking School Thai cooking class. Chicken breast strips are marinated in a coconut milk/garlic/cilantro mixture, then threaded onto skewers. I had them on a 450 degree egg for about 2-3 minutes per side and they came out soooo juicy, a real feat for chicken breast. The peanut sauce is a combination of coconut milk, red curry paste (use Mae Ploy brand), fish sauce, tamarind paste (make a visit to your local ethnic grocery store), garlic, a sweetner (I used sucanat), and of course, a few tablespoons of creamy peanut butter. So clearly, far more effort went into the sauce than the meat itself! It was worth it though…quite delicious.

The steak’s flavor was incredible for as little as I did to it. I’ve noticed that with quality meats. Portions of it were chewy and other portions were very tender. Lucky for me I like to pick up meat and gnaw on it so I got every part, chewy or tender I think next time I may marinade it even longer and see how that works out.

Hope everyone had a blessed and safe 4th of July holiday!

Independence Day Egg Bash

Grilling out is a sign of independence. Humans. Fire. Meat. Electricity optional. Maybe that’s why it’s so popular to have a cookout on the 4th of July. Maybe it’s because this style of cooking was very popular during the early years of the USA, as it’s easy to feed a large crowd. Whatever the reason, it’s a great idea. And since I’m still in the honeymoon period with my Big Green Egg, I’ve been giving it a workout this holiday weekend.

Today’s meal was the epitome of simplicity and was heavenly delicious. I formed burger patties (no filling or binder) out of some dry aged beef I picked up from my local farmer last month and used the rub from Sarah Fragoso’s Everyday Paleo
(a great cookbook and her website is also great, btw). I cut some red onions, rubbed them with olive oil and salt and pepper and skewered them on metal skewers (no more charred wooden skewers for me). Finally, I made a simple tomato salad (recipe below).

Everyday Paleo burger, KKF tomato salad, grilled red onions and a few of Bubbie's pickles for good measure!

The burgers were unbelievably delicious and moist. I’m going to do them this way from now on, whether it’s with Sarah’s rub or with another seasoning. I always thought hamburger mix had to have egg and/or breadcrumbs…forget about it. Oil your gril (I used spray coconut oil), rub on your rub and slap them on the grill. I cranked up the Egg to about 650, put on the burgers and closed the lid. After two minutes, I opened, flipped, closed and left it another two minutes. Burgers were perfect. Oh, and I was doing all this in a FRIGGIN RAIN STORM. Yes, about three minutes before my grill got to temperature it started pouring.

Luckily the Egg works just fine in the rain. Test subject Bill was an excellent umbrella holder as I brought out meat and flipped and swapped. I think the struggle made my rain burgers taste even better.

KKF Too Easy Tomato Salad

1 pint farmer’s market fresh cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 small red onion, chopped

small bunch fresh basil, cut into thin strips

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Mix everything together and let it marinate at room temperature while you’re preparing the rest of your meal. Deee-licious.