Chicken tikka masala recipe

chicken tikka masala | pamela salzman

Did you know that Chicken Tikka Masala is the most popular dish in Indian restaurants in the US and it’s not even Indian?  Nope, you won’t find families in India sharing Tikka Masala recipes because as the story goes, this dish was created in a London curry house.  Interesting, no?  Did you know I had the most difficult time trying to make this dish look appetizing in these photographs?  Just needed to get that off my chest.

marinate the chicken in yogurt

Regardless of what it looks like, I love this recipe and so does my family.  It is so full of flavor and very easy to make.  Chunks of chicken are smothered in a rich sauce of tomatoes, spices and some coconut milk to balance it all out.  Normally heavy cream is used in tikka masala, but coconut milk is the perfect substitute and I actually like it here better than cream.  Yum.  For you do-aheaders, you can make the masala sauce the night before and then cook the chicken right before dinner, heat up the sauce and you’re done!  Prepping in advance like that is my ace in the hole, allowing me to pull together a delicious and healthful dinner on a busy weeknight with no stress.  It’s like having a jar of tikka masala sauce from Trader Joe’s in the pantry.  But before you think about doing that, as much as I like Trader Joe’s, this sauce blows theirs away.   Fact.

garam masala and jarred tomatoes

We eat this with my Indian Basmati Rice and Peas recipe and a green vegetable, either green beans, spinach or even a green salad.  You can go even simpler by making some plain steamed rice and that is perfect here too.  The only ingredient you’ll need for this recipe that you might not have is garam masala, which is a sweet and spicy (not hot-spicy) spice blend that contains coriander, green and black cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, nutmeg, ginger, pepper, and cumin.  All awesome anti-inflammatory and warming spices which are great for your health and perfect for this time of year as the weather starts to cool off a bit.  Of course you can make your own by toasting the whole spices and grinding them up and I am sure that would make a world of difference in your cooking, BUT…I kind of don’t have time for that so I think store-bought garam masala is perfectly fantastic.  All the markets in my area carry garam masala, but you can order it here if you can’t find it.

garlic and ginger

 

stir coconut milk into the tomato-spice mixture

I am also very excited that my Whole Foods started carrying organic tomatoes in a glass jar by Jovial Foods.   Very excited!  Remember, canned tomatoes contain tons of BPA which is toxic, especially in large doses for kids.  You already consume BPA in places you can’t control (water, eating in restaurants), so try and avoid it when you can.  Unfortunately, I have yet to find a company that doesn’t use BPA in their canned tomatoes.  Pomi is what I normally use since the tomatoes are boxed in BPA-free tetra-paks, but the tomatoes are not organic.  Not ideal, but Pomi says they don’t use pesticides.  Anyhow, now my tomato dreams have come true with Jovial Foods and you can also find them on amazon.  Is there anything you can’t find on amazon?  Just a random thought.

broil the chicken, turning after 6 minutes

While we’re talking about making our lives easier, the classic way to make the chicken in tikka masala is to marinate it in yogurt, which tenderizes it, and then broil or grill it.  I know some of you are not going to want to use yogurt on chicken and I know others will not want to grill.  No problem.  If you want this to be authentic, you’ll follow the recipe.  If you’ve never had this before and won’t know the difference, by all means grill or roast plain chicken seasoned with salt and pepper or roast a whole chicken and cube up the meat.  The tikka masala police are not going to get you in trouble.  Can you tell I am giving you every excuse to make this??  Let me know if you do!

chicken tikka masala | pamela salzmam

chicken tikka masala | pamela salzman

 

5.0 from 1 reviews
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Chicken Tikka Masala
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Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 Tablespoon sea salt, divided
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ cup plain whole yogurt
  • 2 Tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or unrefined coconut oil
  • 1 large onion, finely diced (you can do this in a food processor)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons garam masala
  • 2 pounds fresh, peeled and seeded tomatoes, diced (or the equivalent of boxed or jarred tomatoes, about 28 ounces)
  • 1 Tablespoon maple sugar, coconut sugar or natural cane sugar
  • 1 cup coconut milk, preferably full-fat (you can use the whole can if you want the sauce to be creamier)
Instructions
  1. Place chicken in a dish.  Mix 1 teaspoon salt, coriander and cumin together in a small bowl. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with spice mixture and pour the yogurt over the spiced chicken breasts.  Turn to coat well.  You can do this several hours in advance and refrigerate until ready to cook.
  2. Preheat broiler to high and set the oven rack on the second level.  Line a baking sheet with foil.
  3. Place a metal cooling rack on top of the foil-lined baking sheet and arrange the chicken on top of the rack. Broil for 5-7 minutes on each side until charred but not burned. Chicken should be cooked through.  Remove from oven and set aside.
  4. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the ghee. Add onions and cook until tender and slightly browned. Stir in garlic, ginger, 2 teaspoons salt and garam masala.
  5. Add diced tomatoes and continue cooking and while scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
  6. Add sugar, lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened.  Pour in coconut milk.
  7. Cut chicken into chunks (remember, it should be cooked through) and stir into sauce until heated through.  Taste for seasoning.  Serve with basmati rice.

 

 

 

Winter fruit salad recipe

Although I’m not 100% strict about it, I do try my best to eat seasonally as well as locally.  This helps to keep our bodies in harmony with nature, and is more healthful for us as well as the planet.  I know, easy for me since I live in Southern California.  It’s true we do have access to such a bounty of wonderful fresh produce all year.  But not even in sunny Southern California do I find locally grown melons and stone fruits in the dead of winter.  You might find a few vendors at local farmer’s markets who sell berries grown in hot houses all year long.  But I haven’t seen any farms with cantaloupes and watermelons in their fields in December.   

Yet people love a good fruit salad for brunch or after dinner and for some reason I don’t see too many fruit salads without watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe and strawberries even at this time of year.  Sure these fruits look lovely together and are easy to cut up, but when was the last time you tasted a fabulous piece of watermelon on Christmas?  It’s time to think outside the fruit salad box and try a combination that is a more natural complement to gingerbread and pumpkin and everything else you’re serving for your holiday brunches.  I’ve been making this delicious fruit salad for several years and I am still obsessed with it. I use pears, apples, pomegranate seeds and dried fruit, but it’s the spiced-infused steeping liquid that takes it over the top.  If you’ve never used star anise, it is amazing.  It imparts a beautiful, floral, licorice flavor to the syrup.  If you can’t find it, just sub a cinnamon stick.

Technically I think this would be considered a fruit compote, but we don’t worry about semantics here.   Whatever you call it it’s easy peasy, and the best part — you guessed it — do ahead!   Which is why this fruit salad is really SO perfect for Christmas morning or any of your holiday brunches.  I have also made it for a more healthful after-dinner dessert option which is always so welcome during a season of cookies and pies and cookies and chocolate and… cookies.  But actually my favorite way to eat it is with yogurt and some sliced almonds — what a scrumptious breakfast or snack that is!

Here’s hoping your Christmas is merry and bright and that you can spend it with the ones you love!

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Winter Fruit Salad
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Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup maple sugar or cane sugar (I used maple sugar in these photos.)
  • 3 star anise or 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 2-inch piece of ginger, cut into slices
  • ½ of a vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
  • 4 2-inch long pieces of lemon rind (use a vegetable peeler)
  • 8 dried unsulphured apricots, thinly sliced
  • 4 dried unsulphured figs, thinly sliced
  • Juice of the zested lemon
  • 3 firm Bosc pears or Asian pears
  • 1 firm tart apple
  • Seeds from half a pomegranate
Instructions
  1. Fill a medium saucepan with 4 cups water. Add the sugar, star anise, ginger, vanilla bean and lemon rind. Bring to a boil, and simmer until all the sugar is dissolved. Let it cool for just a few minutes, but still hot and then add the dried figs and apricots. Set aside to cool completely.
  2. Peel and core the pears and apple, if desired. Slice thinly crosswise (1/4-inch slices) and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and toss to coat.
  3. Once the syrup with dried fruit has cooled, pour it over the apples and pears. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.
  4. The next morning, remove the fruit with a slotted spoon and transfer it into a serving bowl. You can remove or leave the ginger, vanilla beans, star anise and lemon zest. Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and serve.
Notes
Syrup can be made up to two days in advance and kept refrigerated. Salad can be fully prepared and kept refrigerated up to two days. Other dried fruit that works well – dried cherries, raisins, peaches, persimmons

 

Gingerbread cookies recipe

Mr. Picky asked me the other day if I would make cookies with him and I was this close to saying “Not today, sweetie.  I’m too busy.”  That would have been absolutely true.  We’re all so busy.  I don’t know anyone whom I have asked lately “How are you?” that hasn’t responded, “Really busy!  How are you?”  It’s not just this time of year either.  I feel like we’re running around at 90 miles an hour all year long.

In my classes and on my blog, I try to emphasize balance and moderation, yet I’m not so sure I practice what I preach with respect to finding downtime.  And as I had that thought, my daughters came home from school.  That is to say, they pulled into the garage in a car driven by Daughter #1 who turned 16 two months ago.  They walked in and all I could see was a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old.  I used to hate it when people told me kids grow up so fast, but the cliché couldn’t be more true.  It goes by in a nanosecond.  I can’t say my daughters have asked me recently to bake cookies with them, instead they invite their girlfriends over to stay up late and eat the cookie dough I keep in the freezer.  Believe me, I’m thrilled they even hang out at our house!  So last week I skipped writing a post that I thought would get published last Friday and instead baked cookies with my favorite little dude.  Totally worth it.

Mr Picky is a funny kid.  Some people joke with me that a boy who eats lentils and beans cannot be labeled “picky.”  And every year he adds more and more foods to the still narrow “approved” list.  But he doesn’t seem to like what most kids do such as buttered pasta, macaroni and cheese, pizza or sandwiches, not that I’m complaining.  His favorite cookies don’t contain candy or sprinkles, but instead are gingerbread.  And that’s what we decided to make last week.

Gingerbread cut-out cookies are a commitment.  It’s not like make a batter and spooning drops of it onto a baking sheet.  There’s chilling the dough, rolling it out, cutting it into shapes, decorating the cookies.  It’s a fairly simple dough to make and I don’t hold back on the spices.  But these cookies aren’t spicy, they’re just really flavorful.  Whole wheat pastry flour can be substituted with a gluten-free flour blend such as the King Arthur Multi-purpose GF Flour plus the addition of 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum per cup of flour.  Mr. Picky’s favorite part is decorating which I always keep pretty simple with raw sugar, currants or mini-chocolate chips.

We had the best afternoon.  It was so nice to have one-on-one time with him and chat about school, football and his favorite new book.  We also talked about the mystery of Santa and that this was definitely going to be the year that he stayed awake to watch him leave gifts under my parents’ tree.  Sweet.  Spending time in the kitchen with my son was such a gift and a reminder to me that the biggest joys in life don’t come from checking off my to-do list.

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Gingerbread Cookies
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Serves: makes 24-28 4-inch cookies
 
Ingredients
  • 4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or your favorite gluten-free flour blend +1 tsp. xanthan gum)
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 4 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon allspice
  • a few grinds finely ground black pepper (optional)
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ⅔ cup dark natural cane sugar (i.e. muscavado), or dark brown sugar, packed
  • 2 large eggs
  • ⅔ cup unsulphured molasses (not blackstrap unless you like that bitterness)
  • large grain sugar for decorating or mini-chocolate chips or currants
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
  2. In a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or by hand), cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar and mix again until light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Blend in the eggs one at a time and then the molasses. Add the flour mixture in two additions either by hand or on low speed. Divide the dough in two pieces, wrap each in plastic and chill for at least an hour.*
  3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper or Silpats.
  4. Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop to about ⅛-inch thick and cut with cookie cutters of your choice. ** Reroll the scraps and continue to cut additional cookies. Decorate with sugar crystals, dried fruit or chocolate chips before baking. For softer cookies, roll out a little thicker. Transfer to baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes for 3-4-inch cookies (less for smaller cookies, more for larger.) I like to see a little tinge of golden color around the edges of the cookies. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
*Dough can be prepared up to 2 days in advance.

**If you are not comfortable rolling on your countertop, roll the cookies out on a piece of parchment cut to fit the baking sheet. Remove scraps. Then transfer the parchment and cookies to the sheet and bake.

Pumpkin oatmeal recipe

I always thought the strategy stopped once I served Thanksgiving dinner, but I actually think it’s just as challenging figuring out how to work efficiently with all the leftovers.  I really detest throwing away food, so I try to give away care packages to my guests before they leave on Thanksgiving lest I end up with more stuffing than we can consume in two days.  But instead of searching the internet for creative ways to use up our turkey and vegetables, my 14-year-old daughter had the answer all along — invite a bunch of teenagers over for dinner.  Brilliant!  Ten of her friends came over the day after Thanksgiving for a “pot luck.”  Each kid was supposed to bring a dish for everyone to share, but I think only one boy brought a tupperware of mashed potatoes and gravy.  Fine by me!  I don’t think there was a shred of turkey left in the fridge.

The only thing the kids didn’t consume were a few raw egg whites and some pumpkin puree leftover from roasting pumpkin for a couple pies.  The egg whites could easily find their way into a frittata, but I wanted to do something different with the pumpkin.  I love making oatmeal on Monday mornings.  It’s easy and starts the week off on a healthful note.  After the oats were finished, I stirred in the pumpkin puree along with the typical spices that I would use in a pie — cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.  Everyone added his or her own twist to this new oatmeal.  My husband added granola; Mr. Picky sprinkled on cinnamon-sugar; the girls ate theirs with pomegranates and walnuts.  But I think mine was the best of all — fresh diced pear, chopped pecans and this crazy delicious new maple syrup my husband discovered called Noble.  It was heaven — warm and comforting and nourishing at the same time.

I was really winging it with the measurements for pumpkin and the spices, so you can too.  I had a heaping 1/2 cup of puree, but because pumpkin doesn’t have a strong flavor, I think you can add up to a cup and not feel like you’re eating a bowl of squash with some oats mixed in.  As far as the spices go, cinnamon and ginger in particular are favorites of mine and they happen to be anti-inflammatory and high in antioxidants, so I was fairly liberal.  But again, this is an easy “recipe” to adjust to suit your tastes.   Do you dare me to go roast another pumpkin so I can eat this again?  I just might….

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Pumpkin Oatmeal
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Serves: 4-5
 
Ingredients
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 cup steel cut oats (you can also make this with rolled oats -- just follow package directions for cooking)
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • optional: additional drizzle of milk such as almond milk or raw milk
  • ½ - 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • toppings can include: fresh pear or pomegranate seeds, sautéed apples, granola, maple syrup, maple sugar, pecans, sliced almonds or walnuts, bananas, mini-chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. For overnight oats: Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add oats and salt. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and cover. Let stand overnight. The next morning, reheat over medium heat, stirring in some milk (I usually use about ¼ -1/3 cup) if desired for extra creaminess.
  2. If making in the morning, cook oats in water with salt until tender, usually about 35 minutes. Add enough milk to achieve desired creaminess.
  3. Add pumpkin puree and spices to oatmeal and heat through. Serve with optional toppings.
Notes
To make 6 servings, increase water to 6 cups and oats to 1 ½ cups.

 

Red lentil dal recipe

I think Indian food is very misunderstood in this country.  Many people have the impression it’s overly spicy, heavy and greasy.  Perhaps it’s because there aren’t a plethora of great Indian restaurants here and very often the not-so-great ones do serve oily, creamy dishes.  Who knows, but that’s not what Indian food is all about.  I started experimenting with Indian-inspired recipes about a year ago and fell in love.

I am especially crazy about the many versions of Dal, which simply means “lentils.”  (By now you’ve figured out the name of this recipe is somewhat redundant, “Red Lentil Lentil.”)  The lentils used in Dal are not the brown or French lentils commonly eaten here, but a split lentil which almost looks like a lentil flake.  What is so fantastic about these lentils is that they cook up quickety-quick so they are perfect for a last minute meal.

What’s lucky for me is that Mr. Picky loves lentils.  Yeah, yeah, how can I call him picky if he eats lentils?  Because he won’t eat a hundred other things that most kids do eat!  Regardless, his palate has been developing slowly and I was thrilled when he tried brown lentils for the first time.  From that moment on, all lentils were fair game.  Sure enough, after I told him this dal was “lentils,” he shrugged his shoulders and said “OK, I’ll have some.”  Happy dance!

Dal is very nutritious (loaded with fiber, protein and iron) and easy to digest.  Since the lentils are split, they don’t hold their shape the way common lentils do.  In fact, they become kind of mushy which I find to be so comforting.  Mmmmmmm!  But like I mentioned, split lentils can be made so many different ways — from thin and watery to stick-a-fork-in-it-thick.  The lentils themselves have a very subtle flavor and benefit from some flavorful (and very anti-inflammatory) spices.  That doesn’t mean dal has to be hot spicy.  This version here is soupy, but not brothy, flavorful, but not overpowering — for me, it’s just right.  But the beauty of dal is that you can make this to suit your taste. Since the kids started school, I have been working quite a bit more and lately I have been feeling a little out of balance.  You know when you just need a comfy blanket and a little R&R?  Dal to the rescue!  

5.0 from 1 reviews
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Red Lentil Dal
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Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons ghee
  • 1 ½ teaspoons mustard seeds
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons fresh grated ginger
  • 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and diced
  • 2-3 teaspoons sea salt (based on saltiness of stock)
  • 1 ½ cups red lentils (or any other split lentils)
  • 4 cups water or vegetable stock
  • Accompaniments: whole, plain yogurt, cucumber raita and/or naan
Instructions
  1. Melt ghee in a soup pot over medium heat.
  2. Add the mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop, about 1 minute.
  3. Add the garlic, ginger and remaining spices. Sauté for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
  4. Stir in the onion, carrot and tomato. Sprinkle with salt and cook until just tender.
  5. Add lentils and stir to coat with the vegetables and spices. Pour in the water or stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until lentils are broken up, about 20 minutes. Taste for seasonings. Serve on its own or with a dollop of yogurt or raita.

Ginger and honey-glazed carrots

This is always the time of year that I appreciate living in California.  Whereas the ground in my parents’ New York garden is still frozen, I am pulling carrots out of mine.  Joy!  I planted a new variety this year called Purple Dragon and they are really something special.  Purple skins with an orange interior — what kid wouldn’t think that’s cool?  I always ask Mr. Picky to help me in the garden since that is supposed to be a strategy to help encourage your little ones to try new foods.  Not sure it’s working on my son, but my daughters both eventually became excellent eaters, so we’ll keep planting.

I have always felt that carrots are underrated.  They are quite nutrient-dense, especially in beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant and anti-cancer compound which the body converts to Vitamin A.  Carrots are known for building healthy eyes and skin.  In fact, the beta-carotene in carrots can help protect your skin against sun damage.  But don’t forget to eat your carrots with a little high-quality fat to help you absorb all that valuable (and fat-soluble) beta-carotene.  So if you’re going to eat raw carrots as a snack, dip them into some hummus or a homemade vinaigrette.  Yum!

I’ve mentioned before that grated carrot salad is my absolute favorite way to eat carrots, but Ginger and Honey-Glazed Carrots is a close second.  Braising the carrots with honey, ginger, butter (or coconut oil) and a touch of water brings out this amazing caramel-y sweetness that you never knew existed.  I know how much we all love to roast vegetables with olive oil, but heating olive oil over 350 degrees for such a lengthy period of time oxidizes the oil and creates free radicals.  Not a big deal every now and then, but it’s nice to have some other tried and true methods to prep your vegetables that won’t damage your oil.

You definitely don’t have to use purple carrots in this recipe.   I’ve been making and loving Ginger and Honey-Glazed Carrots for years with the more familiar orange variety, as shown in most of the photos here.  Sometimes I buy thin carrots (see the 1st, 3rd and 5th photos) and cook them whole, which I think is so pretty.  But otherwise the larger carrots do just fine if I slice them thickly on the diagonal.  Heirloom carrots come in several fun colors besides purple.  I’ve seen yellow and white, as well.  But don’t peel the purple ones since the inside is orange (snore.)

Several of you have asked me for menu ideas when I post a recipe.  I’ll try to remember to offer a few suggestions going forward.  I’ve made these carrots twice in the past two weeks and everyone devoured them.  Once I served them with Spice-Rubbed Salmon and Coconut Basmati Rice (recipe coming soon), and the next time with Roasted Chicken, Potatoes and Fennel.  These carrots are really versatile and can go with many different entrees and side dishes, but I don’t normally serve them with another sweet dish.  Or you can just stand over the stove like I did with my daughter and eat them straight out of the pan with sweet honey carrot deliciousness dripping down our chins.

 

4.0 from 1 reviews
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Ginger and Honey-Glazed Carrots
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Serves: 5-6
 
Ingredients
  • 1 ½ pounds carrots, tops removed and peeled if necessary (or 1 ¼ lbs. without tops)
  • 1-2 Tablespoons unsalted butter or unrefined coconut oil (or more if you like it very glazy like I do)
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 ¼-inch slices of ginger
  • 1 Tablespoon raw honey (vegans can use Grade A maple syrup)
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
  1. If the carrots are very small and thin, leave them whole. Otherwise, cut the carrots on the diagonal into approximately 1 ½-inch slices.
  2. In a 10-inch skillet with a lid, such as a straight-sided skillet or braising pan, add the butter, water, ginger, honey and salt. Turn the heat to high and stir to combine. When the mixture comes to a boil, add the carrots and turn heat to low. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes (5 minutes for thin carrots, 10 minutes for thick wedges)
  3. Remove the lid and simmer until all the liquid has reduced to a glaze and carrots are tender, approximately 10 more minutes. Remove ginger and serve warm or at room temperature.

 

 

Stir-fried Grass-fed Beef and Broccoli

Happy Chinese New Year! Mr. Picky is very excited to celebrate the holiday at his school today and the girls are happy that I’ll be making a Chinese meal for dinner tonight. I’m fun that way! My whole family loves Chinese food, especially stir-fries which are surprisingly easy to make at home and so versatile. One of their favorite dishes is Beef and Broccoli which I serve with sesame spinach salad, mixed greens with miso-ginger dressing or steamed brown rice.

Typically I make beef more in the winter than in the summer since it is such a warming food, but we have really cut back on our beef consumption in general, mostly due to animal welfare and environmental reasons. When we do eat beef, it’s always grass-fed, which is just so much more nutritious than corn/grain-fed. I am fortunate to have many local farmer’s markets where I can buy excellent quality grass-fed meat. If you don’t have a good resource for grass-fed meat, check the Eat Wild website to locate a source close to you. Grass-fed beef can be a bit trickier to cook since it has a lower fat content than grain-fed beef and it can get dried out. But with this marinade and the quick-cooking of a stir-fry, it’s terrific!

I love loading up stir-fries with lots of fresh vegetables, especially from the cruciferous family. I try not to rant and rave about all the health benefits of plant foods since they are all basically good for you. But there are some vegetables that do deserve special mention here and more regular place in your diet. The cruciferous vegetables contain loads of nutrients, including some very powerful cancer-fighting compounds. Besides broccoli, other members of this group include cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, bok choy, kale and a few others.

Don’t let the list of ingredients in this recipe discourage you. This dish is really not complicated and there are many substitutions that can be made. If you’re vegetarian, you can use extra-firm tofu in place of the beef and substitute additional shoyu in place of the oyster sauce. Gluten-free folks can use GF tamari instead of shoyu.

Here are a couple of tips to making a good stir-fry:

  • Have all your ingredients prepped and ready since stir-frying goes very quickly.
  • Cut all your vegetables the same size so that they cook evenly.
  • Don’t double recipes for stir-fries and try to cook it all in one wok/skillet. It’s important for all the food to come into contact with the surface of the pan. If you need to double, cook the recipe in two batches or in two separate pans.
  • You don’t need a wok to stir-fry. A large skillet will be just fine.
  • If you want to vary the vegetables in your stir-fry, keep in mind whether they can be stir-fried raw or if they need to be blanched first. Examples of vegetables you can throw into the pan raw are cabbage, mushrooms, thinly sliced carrots, celery, bean sprouts and snow peas. Broccoli, cauliflower, shelled edamame and big chunks of carrots should all be blanched before adding to the wok.

Although it’s tempting to celebrate Chinese New Year by ordering take-out, it’s so much better for you and your family if you can cook at home. In fact, with this recipe, they might not even know the difference.

For a few more of our favorite Chinese dishes, check out recipes for Vegetable Fried Rice, Asian Noodle Salad and Sesame Spinach Salad (perhaps only Chinese-inspired.)

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Stir-fried Grass-fed Beef and Broccoli
Author: 
Serves: 4-6, depending on what else you're serving
 
Ingredients
  • 1 ½ pounds grass-fed top sirloin or flank steak, trimmed of excess fat and cut against the grain into ⅛-inch thick slices*
  • Marinade:
  • 1 Tablespoon arrowroot or non-GMO cornstarch
  • 3 Tablespoons shoyu or gluten-free tamari
  • 3 Tablespoons water
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons dry sherry or Chinese rice wine such as Shao Hsing
  • 1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
  • Sauce:
  • 2 Tablespoons oyster sauce (or substitute extra shoyu, but oyster sauce makes it taste like it's from a restaurant)
  • 1 Tablespoon shoyu or gluten-free tamari
  • 1 Tablespoons dry sherry or Chinese rice wine such as Shao Hsing (I always use sherry)
  • 3 Tablespoons water
  • 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (optional-for sweetness)
  • 1 Tablespoon arrowroot or non-GMO cornstarch
  • 1 bunch broccoli, cut into small florets, stems peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 Tablespoons unrefined peanut oil
  • 2 quarter-size pieces of fresh, peeled ginger
  • 1 scallion, thinly sliced (optional)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all marinade ingredients until arrowroot is dissolved. Transfer beef to marinade and stir to coat. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
  2. Make the sauce: place all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until arrowroot is dissolved. Set aside.
  3. Bring an inch or two of salted water to a boil in the wok and add the broccoli. Cover and steam until crisp tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and reserve.
  4. Heat the wok over medium-high heat. Drain the beef in a colander. Add peanut oil and tilt to coat sides of wok. Add ½ of beef to wok, spreading it in one layer on the surface of the wok and allow to cook undisturbed for 1 minute or until brown. Turn beef over and cook for another 30 seconds. Transfer meat to a medium bowl. Cook remaining beef in the same manner, adding more oil if necessary. When the last batch of beef is almost finished cooking, add the ginger, scallion and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  5. Add the sauce and reserved meat back to the wok. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Toss in the broccoli and stir to coat with the sauce.
Notes
*Freezing the meat for about an hour can make this job easier.

 

Creamy miso-ginger dressing

When I was at Whole Foods the other day, at I was amazed by the dozens of people cradling ingredients for the big Cleanse.  I can’t imagine choosing to drink lemon juice and maple syrup mixed with cayenne pepper even once, let alone for several days straight in order to detoxify my body.  Sorry peeps, no cleanse recipes here!  I hate to disappoint you if you were expecting instructions on how to starve yourself cranky, but why not just eat clean, real food?  I know, it’s not a fad and we are obsessed with fads, especially diet-related.  If a cleanse is the only way for some people to break some bad habits, then ok.  But I haven’t seen any research-based evidence that our bodies need such a crazy drink to get rid of toxins.  In fact, I actually think it’s pretty cool how efficient our bodies can be at eliminating toxins, provided we don’t overload our systems non-stop.  Just a thought.

I personally have never done a “cleanse.”  I really don’t do well when I’m told there are entire food groups that are off limits.  So I indulge a little more than normal during the holidays, but then I make a commitment to start eating normally again.  I especially like to pay particular attention to vegetables which never seem to be controversial in any diet, new or old.  I think it’s pretty unanimous advice that we should be consuming loads of vegetables.  In the winter I eat fewer raw vegetables since they tend to be more cooling to the body, but I do love my salads.  So to “warm” them up a bit, I like to make this delicious cream-less dressing which is based on fresh gingerroot and miso.  Ginger is perfect for winter since it’s warming to the body, and did you know it’s incredibly anti-inflammatory?  Fresh ginger has a real hot and spicy kick to it, so a little goes a long way.  I found that out the hard way when I juiced a big piece of ginger once with some kale and celery and I thought my eyes would pop out of my head.  Peel it like I did here with a vegetable peeler and then get into the hard-to-reach spots by scraping the peel with a small spoon.

Although most of you are likely familiar with ginger, I don’t meet a lot of people who know what miso is or how to use it.  It’s your lucky day!!  Miso is a fermented soybean paste made by combining cooked soybeans, mold (called koji), salt and various grains.  Then it’s fermented for 6 months to several years.  There are dozens of varieties of miso, as well as different colors from pale beige.  As you would imagine, each type has its own distinctive flavor ranging from meaty and savory to sweet and delicate.  In general, the darker and deeper the color, the longer the miso has been fermented and the richer the flavor.  The first time I tasted miso straight out of the tub, it reminded me of parmesan cheese, which is how I came to use miso to make a vegan/dairy-free pesto.

I usually buy the white miso to make soup and use in sauces and dressings, like this one.  It seems to be the most versatile, although a word of caution — not all miso pastes are gluten-free.  Miso is a live food with many microorganisms that are beneficial to your digestion.  That said, you must only buy unpasteurized, refrigerated miso and you must avoid boiling it otherwise you will kill the good bacteria.  Since most soy in this country is genetically modified, also look for miso labeled “organic” or at least “non-GMO.”  I prefer to buy miso sold in glass jars, like South River Miso, but I can’t always find it, so Miso Master packaged in this plastic tub is the next best thing.  My family has eaten at enough Japanese restaurants and Benihanas to know what miso soup and miso salad dressings are, so that’s how I introduced miso at home.  It’s always easier for me to present a “health food” to the kids if it looks reasonably familiar, and most importantly, if it’s delicious.  Because for this girl, deprivation ain’t no way to welcome a brand new year.

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Mixed Greens with Creamy Miso-Ginger Dressing
Author: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • Vinaigrette:
  • 2 Tablespoons unpasteurized organic white miso
  • 2 Tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons raw honey
  • 2 Tablespoons water
  • 1 Tablespoon chopped, peeled fresh ginger (use less for a more subtle ginger flavor)
  • 1 small clove garlic, peeled
  • ¼ cup unrefined, cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 ounces mixed baby greens
  • Optional vegetables: thinly sliced radishes, julienned carrots or sweet bell peppers, sliced avocado, thinly sliced unpeeled Japanese cucumber
Instructions
  1. Puree all vinaigrette ingredients in a blender until smooth. Taste for salt.
  2. Place greens and any vegetables you are using in a serving bowl. Add enough vinaigrette to coat lightly and gently toss.
Notes
You can also use this dressing on top of poached or roasted fish, lightly cooked broccoli or greens with brown rice, and quinoa salads.

Fresh ginger freezes really well. Peel it first, then tightly wrap it before storing it in the freezer. Allow it sit on your countertop a few minutes before cutting it. It is not a good idea to use a ceramic knife to cut frozen ginger (ask me how I know this.)