Dairy Free – Page 3 – Alice the Cook

February 25, 2013February 25, 2013

Asian Meatballs with Pea Pods

I try to find time to cook healthy meals. Mixing my sense of historical cooking, my love of ethnic foods, and the need and want to eat healthier, I challenge myself to create new recipes. Some will have a historical slant and others will have more international flair; this particular recipe is Asian influenced. It is low carb and low-fat and has plenty of protein, fruit and vegetable servings. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Ingredients:
1 lb of ground chicken
1/2 cup of pineapple, minced
2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 egg
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
2 tbsp of soy sauce

Combine all off the ingredients in a non-metal bowl and blend well.

Grab a heaping tablespoon of mixture and place on a greased cookie sheet. Continue until mixture is gone. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the meatballs are cooking gather the rest
of the ingredients:

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 cups snap pea pods
Optional: 1 cup red peppers, sliced thin or more pineapple in 1/2 inch cubes

Once the meatballs are done, heat up a skillet and add the oil. Once hot, add the meatballs and vegetables together and continue cooking until the vegetables are el dente (bright green, not overcooked).

Enjoy!

February 4, 2013February 5, 2013

Japanese Ramen

Ramen ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 tbsp water
oil for frying

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a hole in the mound of dry ingredients.

Mix the eggs and water together in a small, separate bowl and pour the wet mixture into the well of the dry ingredients and combine with a large spoon until the mixture forms a dough.

Knead the dough with your hands for 10 – 15 minutes until it begins to feel elastic.

Cover the bowl of dough with a towel or cling wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough on the floured board until it is very thin (1 mm). Use as much flour as you need to keep the dough from sticking. If the dough keeps pulling back and getting thicker, let it rest for about 5 more minutes and then try again.

Cut the rolled dough into small strips—about 6” long by 1/8” wide. A pasta machine will make this easier.

Twirl the strips together into little bundles of noodles. Lay the bundles out on the counter for 2 hours to dry somewhat.

Coat the bottom of a frying pan with oil. Fry the bundles of noodles quickly so they don’t get too greasy. The noodles should puff up and be a white to light gold color. Place the noodle bundles on a paper towel to cool.

Dish ingredients:
Water
1 lb. Shelled and deveined shrimp (skinned and boneless chicken works well instead of shrimp)
1 and a ½ cups of snow pea pods, tips trimmed
½ cup green beans, tips trimmed
6 green onions, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1” of fresh ginger, minced
Japanese Rice seasoning

Begin by boiling the water. Add the green onions, garlic and ginger to the water and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp, green veggies and fresh ramen together. Stir occasionally, but do not overdo it or the ramen will break up. The shrimp and ramen should cook pretty quickly and the vegetables should be el dente.

Remove the ingredients from the broth and place into a bowl. Pour about a ¼ cup of the broth into the bowl and sprinkle the Japanese rice seasoning on top and may be served with some soy or hoisin sauce for color and flavor.

January 9, 2013January 9, 2013

Lobster with Brussel Sprouts

On a whim, I cooked this dish up. It is very reminiscent of a French dish I’ve enjoyed on the coast of France. I hope you enjoy it.

Lobster with Caramelized Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:
2 raw lobster tails, shells removed and cut into 1” cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
8-10 fresh Brussel sprouts, cored and quartered (do not use frozen)
2 shallots, sliced
1 clove of garlic minced
1 pinch of dried red pepper
1 tsp of dried thyme
½ tsp of fresh lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste

Begin by heating up a large fry pan to medium to medium – high heat and then add the oil. Begin by Brussel sprouts and keep stirring and shaking the pan, so that the oil completely covers the sprouts and they begin to cook evenly. The goal is to have them cook quickly at a hot temperature as we do not want to overcook them, but to caramelize them.

After about 2 minutes, add the shallots, garlic, and dried red pepper. Continue to stir or toss the ingredients and add the thyme, salt and pepper. After about 4 minutes, the vegetables are starting to caramelize (the edges are browning). Add the cut up lobster tail to the dish.

The lobster tail will cook very quickly (2 minutes). Once the lobster is done, remove the pan from the heat and serve, garnishing with the fresh lemon zest.

January 8, 2013

Caramelized Shallots

Ingredients

2.25 lbs of shallots, peeled and cut into half and large ones in quarters
6 cloves of garlic
3 sprigs or fresh rosemary
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 tbsp of raw sugar
6 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
Salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl toss together the shallots, garlic, rosemary, thyme, raw sugar, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Season with the salt and pepper and toss (mix well).

Place items in an oven proof dish with cover. Cover the items and bake for 20 minutes. Pull it out, stir well and place back in the oven uncovered for another 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, most of the liquids should have reduced to a nice glaze.

Transfer the items into a serving dish. When served hot, it makes an excellent relish for steak or chicken. When served cold, it complements cheese and crackers.

I’ve also added it to scrambled eggs and fried potatoes as well. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

December 25, 2012December 25, 2012

Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes

1/2 lb of red potatoes (baby ones work best), cubed with skins on

4 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, minced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
5 green onions, diced
1 sprig rosemary
sea salt
black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Heat up a sauté pan on medium heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the shallots, garlic and half of the rosemary. After a minute, add the cut up potatoes. Sauté, stirring occasionally to avoid burning and to make sure the potatoes have been thoroughly covered in oil, shallot, garlic and rosemary. Sauté for about 5 minutes and transfer to an oven safe bake pan.

I usually recommend putting down tin foil to minimize the sticking. Once in the pan, add the green onions and cover it up and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Pull out of the oven, flip potatoes over and add salt and pepper. Turn up the oven to 400°F and continue cooking the potatoes uncovered until browned.

Pull out of the oven and serve.