Gourmet Meals: Looking Forward

[Guest guest]

For those of you just starting out, or for those who struggle to

advance on foods, there is hope. Really. Just to give you something to

look forward to, here is a meal I served to my parents. The Gourmet Meals

were done 2-3 times a month for most of a year before Hurricane

Katrina.

Dinner

on

3 May 2004

Curry Powder (LSCDL Recipe)

Just as there is no one, true chili powder, Creole or Cajun seasoning,

there is no one, true, and only curry powder. This one was concocted

after a lot of research through cookbooks and on the Net, and works

reasonably well. It has in common with south Louisiana dishes the

penchant for a laundry list of seasonings, all blended together.

tsp ground cinnamon

tsp ground cardamom

tsp ground cloves

tsp ground coriander seed

tsp ground cumin seed

tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground chili pepper

¼ tsp homemade garlic powder

¼ tsp ground pepper

pinch turmeric (optional)

In a blender or food processor, mix all spices together until the color

is even. This will add a zing to scrambled eggs, baked chicken,

vegetables, and just about anything you care to put it on.

Curried Honey Chicken (LSCDL Recipe)

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 3-4 pound chicken or chicken pieces

Remove excess fat and giblets from the chicken.[1]

Wing tips may also be trimmed and frozen in a bag until you have enough

to make stock.

Combine honey, lemon juice, and olive oil and rub inside the cavity and

all over the chicken, or brush both sides of the pieces.

Use one tablespoon curry powder to rub inside the cavity, and one to rub

on the outside of the bird, or dust both sides of the chicken with the

curry powder.

Tie drumsticks together with a piece of string. Pin wings close to the

body, or bind with string. Place bird in a roasting pan and cover loosely

with foil. Roast in a 375°F oven for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Mock Rice Pilaf (LSCDL Recipe)

This recipe was inspired by the wonderful rice pilaf I used to get

with the Gyros platter from a small mom and pop Greek restaurant called

Mother’s in old Gretna, Louisiana.

1 large cauliflower

1 medium red bell pepper, peeled, seeded, and chopped (optional)

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest -or- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed

lemon juice if zest is not yet tolerated

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

6 fingers garlic, pressed

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, -or- 1 pound

fresh spinach leaves, roots and stems removed, torn into pieces

(optional)

2 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cut into wedges

½ cup Sue’s Goat Cheese, optional or Tzasiki

Remove leaves and core cauliflower. Steam until very tender, then cool

enough to handle. Chop finely into “rice grain” size bits.

Heat olive oil in a pan, and sauté garlic for a few minutes, then add

bell pepper and cook until tender. Add the spinach leaves and the spices

and cover tightly. Cook about ten minutes, or until spinach is well

wilted. Add the cauliflower and stir well to mix and heat. Serve, topped

with Sue’s Goat Cheese or Tzasiki. Goes well with a pile of sliced Greek

Gyros alongside.

Herb Bread (LSCDL Recipe)

3 cups almond flour

½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped -or- ¼ cup dry

¼ cup fresh chives, finely chopped -or- 2 tablespoons freeze dried

½ teaspoon dry oregano -or- 2 teaspoons fresh finely chopped

½ teaspoon dry thyme -or- 2 teaspoons fresh

½ teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

3 extra large eggs

3 Tablespoons melted butter

¾ cup dry curd cottage cheese

8 cloves of garlic pressed

Combine almond flour, herbs and baking soda and salt in a bowl.

Blend the eggs, butter, dry curd cottage cheese (or dripped yogurt) and

pressed garlic in a processor or blender until very, very smooth.

Add to the seasoned almond flour and mix together.

You should have a fairly stiff dough. If you do not, add almond flour, a

quarter cup at a time, until you do.

Turn dough into a parchment or wax paper lined 2 x 4 x ? bread pan. Bake

at 325°F

Variation: Add 2¼ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces

weight or 110 grams) to the almond flour before adding the wet

ingredients.

This recipe is based on the Lois Lang Bread in Breaking the Vicious

Cycle, and on the herb-parmesan cracker recipe by Sue Krivel. It came

about because I was planning to see what would happen if I baked the

dough as a loaf, not as crackers. A telephone call interrupted me, and I

continued putting things together, then realized (naturally, after the

loaf had been in the oven for half an hour!) that the cheese was still

sitting in its bag on the counter! Reciting the SCD cook’s mantra (With

these ingredients, how bad can it be?) I finished baking the loaf. It was

delicious.

Tzasiki (LSCDL

Recipe)

Tzasiki is another of those dressings for which there are as many

variations as there are people to make and eat them. This Greek dressing

is already made with yogurt, so there is hardly any work to adapt

existing recipes. This one happens to be the one Harry and I enjoy with

tossed salads or gyro slices. We have also omitted the cucumber and

simply doubled the yogurt.

1 cup whole milk yogurt cheese

1 finely shredded peeled and seeded cucumber

2 cloves garlic, minced or ½ teaspoon homemade garlic powder

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon minced fresh dill or ¼ teaspoon dry

¼ - ½ teaspoon white pepper

½ - 1 teaspoon salt (optional)

Press the shredded cucumber between two paper towels to remove some of

the moisture. Blend all ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate at

least two hours to allow the flavors to blend.

Variations:

· Omit dill and use

mint.

· Add ¼ teaspoon thyme

· Use white or red wine vinegar

instead of lemon juice

· Omit cucumber and double

yogurt

Peanut Butter Brownies[2] (LSCDL Recipe)

1 16 oz jar legal peanut butter

¾ cup honey

1 stick butter

2 jumbo eggs or 3 large eggs

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking soda

Dash salt (optional)

Blend eggs, peanut butter, butter, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Blend

in honey.

This will be a very thick, very smooth mixture which will probably try to

climb out of the bowl by way of your mixer’s beaters. I usually have to

stop, and push it back into the bowl several times.

Drag into buttered, parchment-lined 9” square pan. Bake in preheated oven

55 minutes at 300°F.

Note: this mixture burn/browns very easily, so the lower temperature

works better.

[1] Livers can be frozen until you have enough to

make pâté. Hearts and gizzards may be cooked, then ground to add to

giblet gravy.

[2] This recipe is adapted from a very popular one

circulated on the SCD list serve. Because we did not use peanut butter

for anything except making brownies or peanut butter bread, I tinkered

with the ingredients so that it worked with the whole jar of legal peanut

butter that I could get at my grocery. And the cinnamon adds a nice

splash of extra flavor.

—

Marilyn

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

Recipe

from Louisiana SCD

Lagniappe (forthcoming)