Vitamin dinner for a winter day

A colourful dinner that contains several power foods

1 chicken breast, diced (use 1.5-2 for 2 persons)
a handful each of broccoli and cauliflower florets
1 yuzu (or half a lemon or some other aromatic citrus fruit)
3-5 dried chili peppers, seeds removed
6 shishitou peppers (or fresh peperoni or some such)
fresh parsley
cresson
3 Japanese salt plums
3 radishes
3 inches of celery stick, sliced
sesame oil
olive oil
honey
salt
blueberry vinegar or balsamico or apple vinegar

Sautee diced chicken breast with shishitou peppers and broccoli florets in a wok, using sesame oil. Rip dried chili peppers into 2-3 sections and add, stir. Slice yuzu, add, stir. Add salt, small amount of olive oil, sprinkle with honey, stir, cook slowly for a little longer, til a bit of sauce forms from honey, yuzu, oil and juices. Put cresson on top.

Prepare a bowl of salad from cauliflower florets, sliced radish, celery, chopped salt plum, parsley bits and cresson. Add dressing from olive oil, salt and vinegar.

Add slices of baguette to the meal, serve. Enjoy! Very light, warming and refreshing.

Canela’s Chicken Esperanto

a spicy dish that has a little bit of everything

a new invention, created from exuberance, irreverence and love for many different countries:

for 1 person (multiply for a group dish)

1 chicken breast, 250g, without skin
salt
curry powder
lemon juice
rosemary
thyme
sage
4 tbl spoons macrobiotic unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 onion
4 kinkan (kumquats?)
1 banana
1/2 red bell pepper
4 tbl spoons of canned chick peas
1 dried red chili pepper
olive oil
walnut oil
2 tbl spoons honey
1 shot glass of French watermelon liqueur
1 shot glass of Canada’s Whistler glacial spring water
2 tbl spoons of dried parsley

Coat chicken breast (cut in 4 pieces) with salt, spices and herbs, pour on lemon juice, cover chicken with 1mm layer of cocoa, repeat on other side. Sprinkle walnut oil all over, set aside to marinate. Peel and cut onion. Heat olive in large deep frypan, add onion and kinkan, sautee until onion starts to get soft and kinkan starts to change colour from orange to yellow. Carefully lay chicken breast into pan without spilling the coating. Sautee chicken on both sides on medium to high flame for a few minutes, then cut and add banana and bell pepper, turn flame to small and cover pan with lid, cook slowly for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally and turning the chicken a couple times. Towards the end add chick peas, later pour on honey all around the pan in spirals, pour in the shot of watermelon liqueur, add spring water, crumble on chili pepper, stir, cover and let stock for a few minutes. Check whether chicken is done yet, sprinkle on plenty of parsley, stir. Serve with rice. and a glass of spring water, as the dish is quite spicy. But also slightly sweet.

Sun, January 10, 2010 –

Asian beef and veggie stir fry

As I have known for a long time, a busy woman’s best friend in the kitchen is the wok- a bowl shaped thin Chinese iron pan. You can chop everything up, throw everything into the wok after adding a bit of oil, stir fry and your dinner will be ready in a matter of minutes. The idea was to save firewood in the Chinese kitchen, the wok is a healthy, tasty fast-cooking utensil, and so simple!

Now, as to today’s quick and easy dinner:

serves 1-2

1/2 onion, cut into eighths
1/2-1 thick carrot, cut into 5mm slices at a diagonal angle
small handful of broccoli florets
salt
2 eringhi mushrooms, sliced crosswise
ca. 150 g of shredded beef (very thinly sliced)
2-4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced and cut small
2 dried chili peppers, crumbled with your fingers
freshly ground black pepper
a dash of cinnamon
olive oil
mirin (Japanese sweet sake for cooking)
oyster sauce and sweet chili sauce from Thailand
sprinkles of sesame dressing or a teaspoon of tahini
one bunch of green pea sprouts (toumyou) or cresson

Heat ca. 3 tbl spoons of olive oil in a wok, add onion, stir fry slightly, add carrots and eringhi, add salt, stir fry a few minutes, add broccoli. Fill up with 2cm depth of mirin, cook slowly, cover. When veggies have become crispy-soft, add meat and garlic. If meat was frozen, wait to thaw, while stirring frequently. When meat is ready, crumble in the chili peppers, grind black pepper over it, add a dash of cinnamon, stir, add 2 tbl spoons each of oyster sauce and sweet chili sauce, and sprinkle on sesame sauce, stir. Turn off fire, throw sprouts over food.
Serve with brown rice.

Follow with a nice cuppa of lavazza made in your espresso contraption, with milk, honey and cinnamon and a squirt of rose water (I use the natural rose water from the Moroccan cosmetics line of my hair dresser ; ) )

Sat, March 20, 2010 –

a light spicy dinner with a Japanese touch