To Cook Is To Heal

is not what you would expect to find on a normal menu.   I was watching one of my favorite foodie shows and low a behold they were making roasted crisp chicken skins. Can you say heaven? My first test was acceptable, though it needs a few adjustments for the final  menu. Sometimes you just have to take a step back and say, Damn that sounds good ... The recipe is actually simple, I made a few tweaks and have formed the basis for my new tasty endeavor.  The basic recipe is as follows; marinate your skin on, bone in, chicken thighs or breasts as you ordinarily would. Cook them as you normally would, till about half way through the cooking time. This will allow the meat to absorb the chicken fat and flavor from the skins. Remove the skins from the chicken parts, apply your favorite fat (duck fat for me) to the skinned meat and continue with your chicken recipe.  Next put the skins on a half baking sheet pan that has been greased, add spray duck fat to the top of the skin...

are one seafood delight that I usually shy away from. Reason being the cost is usually out of our food budget. When they are on sale at the local grocery store, the 4 ounce size, we usually splurge and buy 3 or 4 and I cook a nice dinner. Okay, so when you can get a locally caught, fresh 1 pound spiney lobster tail for free, you just can't pass it up, right? Our fishmonger has a club that when you purchase fish and other products from his store, you earn points. We have been " goin' fishing " here for a couple of years and earned enough points for a free 1 pound fresh, local lobster tail. Our fishmonger picked us out their first choice and off we went.  ain't it pretty Already I was scared that I would not cook it properly, even with all of the fishmongers suggestions. I've only cooked a tail this big twice, I get shaky just thinking about it. This time I did not have them prep the tail, I did it at home. Meaning, splitting the shell, lifting the meat out, clo...

was to replenish my chicken stock reserves. Generally I make chicken stock one or two times a year. Freeze the results and live off of it for 6 months up to a year. Today's efforts got a little carried away, as I ended up with about 9 quarts of this amazingly rich stock. I even called one of my foodie friend neighbors and asked if she would take a couple of pints off my hands since I did not have the freezer space for all that I had made. She was happy to oblige my offer ... An all day project, and the results are an amazing stock that is so rich and flavorful that its uses are unlimited. The color of the stock shows how rich it is, kind of  looks  like mud ? Chicken stock The fat content appears to be about 2 (+/-) % with no added salt, and the additional ingredients list is long and tasty... Yummy, yummy good for my medium sized tummy. W 

Okay, they are basically lettuce wraps, but really , don't they look like a canoe ? This is a completely gluten free meal that has been researched and tested. There are also no ingredients that have high fructose corn syrup in them (IBS sufferers). Shallots can be removed if you what a totally low FODMAP rating. I find that I am not bothered by the small amount of shallots in the meal, your choice. The empty canoes This is a somewhat laborious meal in the big picture. The prep for the chicken and the Nuro'c Cham sauce is time consuming. The actual cooking times are short and together all of your efforts will produce an amazing meal. For the meal we will be having the Asian chicken lettuce canoes with various sauce options. On the side will be Asian style rice with Oyster mushrooms and sauteed Daylily Buds ( see previous post ). Empty canoes, Oyster mushroom rice and sauteed Daylily Buds A full canoe w/sauce Ingredients: (2 servings) For the chicken canoes 1/2 lbs. (+/-) finely...

Yes you heard me right.  I never know what I'll come across that leads me to another cooking adventure. Today's new journey started at our local farmers market this morning. We have been fortunate to become friends with various vendors. One of these is Caleb C. owner of Sasquatch Farms, a local grower of fine produce. Last year he invited us out to tour his farm and see/sample what he grows. That then lead to squash blossoms ( see earlier post ), and now this morning he presented me with a new surprise. "Daylily Buds". At first I was like; " what am I going to do with these ". I'd never heard of them before, let alone think you could cook and eat them. Well guess what? they turned out amazing and were very easy to prepare. Thanks Caleb!  Daylily Buds When I got home the first thing to do was research these interesting looking "Buds" (picked the day before they open into the flower). Doing a basic web search for Daylily Bud recipes, I found a si...

  Everyday I'm aware that I might stumble upon yet another cookbook to add to my collection while thinking ; "do you really need another one" ? Yes, okay so there are millions of them out there, but just one more . Finding ones that have a true connection and or a bond with me, will make it a welcome edition into my ever growing collection.  If it is a"newly published" cookbook, I first check it out from my local library, sometimes having to use the "interlibrary loan" service. Once the cookbook arrives I will scan, read, try recipes and decide if it will be a worthy addition to my collection. Thus buying a copy when I'm able to fit it into my lowly cookbook acquisition budget. The wish list is long, the dollars short... Todays unexpected find, at my local library, on a shelf labeled "new books" beside the checkout counter sat a copy of "The Meateater" Outdoor Cookbook. No Way ! I have watched all of Steven Rinella's series ...