Left-over Rice - For Breakfast

Lately I have found myself throwing away left-over rice that has sat in the refrigerator for far too long. :( Once we are finished eating the left-over food that went with the rice I never know what to do with it. Then, it came to me the other day - BREAKFAST. I was cooking eggs for a typical fried eggs and toast meal, but I wasn't really in the mood for toast. Suddenly I had an urge to have my yolk a little runny (which is not normal for me at all - I like my fried eggs over HARD). Thinking of the left-over rice in the fridge, and an article that I had read about breakfast in other cultures not being so "set" as our American breakfast, but usually more like last night's dinner re-heated; I decided to try a scaled down version of Bibimbap for breakfast. Basically seasoned rice (soy sauce and hot sauce) with a runny egg over the top - and I LOVED IT!

I enjoyed my runny egg over rice breakfast so much, I decided to do it again, but this time I added sauteed carrots and spinach to it. Even better! Really this could be a meal for any time of day - Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner. Now I am looking forward to having left-over rice in my fridge and using it to add variety to my breakfast repertoire. In the recipe below I added some veggie ideas for the Breakfast Bibimbap, but I say whatever you have on hand would go great with your runny egg and seasoned rice. Oh and measurements for seasonings below are approximate, I didn't really measure, I drizzled the Tamari and Toasted Sesame Oil over the rice. Be Creative!


This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, These Chicks Cooked, Creative Juice, and Gluten-Free Wednesday.

Breakfast Bibimbap

Ingredients

• 1 cup Left-over Rice
• 1 teaspoon Tamari (Soy Sauce or Shoyu)
• 1 teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil
• Hot Sauce to taste
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1/2 Carrot, sliced in rectangles
• 1 Handful of Spinach
• 1 Handful of Mushrooms, sliced or chopped
• 1 Handful of Bean Sprouts
• 1 - 2 Eggs
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Re-heat left-over rice and add Tamari/Soy Sauce, Toasted Sesame Oil and Hot Sauce.
2. Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter in a pan over medium heat, add sliced carrots, mushrooms and bean sprouts (or veggies of choice). Season with salt and pepper.
3. Pour boiling water over spinach until wilted, and press out excess water.
4. Place cooked/wilted veggies over seasoned rice.
5. Add remaining Tablespoon of butter in hot pan and add egg(s), salt and pepper as desired. Cook egg sunny side up or over easy, so that yolk is still "runny" - which adds great flavor to this dish. Place egg on top of veggies and rice.
6. Dig in!

Prep Time: 5 min Cook Time: 10 min Ready in: 15 min

Breakfast Bibimbap courtesy of Jamie Del Balso.

Crockpot Indian

Chicken Tikka Masala and Mattar Paneer are my two favorite dishes to order at an Indian restaurant, although I am not sure how authentic the first is. When we were in India I was never able to find it on a menu and Americans living in Bangladesh and India had not heard of it. Anyway, this recipe is kind of a combination of both of my favorite dishes. I have made a more traditional Chicken Tikka Masala, but it is a bit of work with the marinade and skewers and grilling, so I much prefer this easier crockpot version. You can also do it with bone-in chicken pieces (layering the sauce, chicken, and cauliflower in your crockpot), but the paneer is just so much easier.

If you do not have access to an Indian grocery store and cannot find paneer in your area, you could always make your own using milk and lemon juice. I have not yet done this, but maybe I will someday, just to see what it is like. If you do have access to an Indian grocery store, pick up a can of pureed mango while you are there and use it to make Mango Lassi to go with your meal (plain yogurt, mango puree, water to thin, and sugar or honey to taste - blend until smooth). Oh and freeze the left-over mango puree for more Mango Lassi or Mango Margaritas:)

Due to my children eating this meal, we do not make it very spicy. If you want more spice, feel free to add a chopped jalapeno with the garlic and ginger.

It is definitely worth the time to make some Whole Wheat Chapatis (Roti) to go with the meal, and I recommend letting the flour mixture sit for 2 hours or more (when I remember to start early enough, I do this). And I've tried the dry skillet method, but it doesn't work well for me, so I use an oil sprayer to coat the pan before each Chapatis goes in. Here is another recipe from one of my favorite Food Network Hosts, for Indian Griddle Breads (aka Chapatis).

Paneer Mattar Masala

Ingredients

• 1 Package of Paneer
• 3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 1 Large Onion, chopped
• 3 Cloves Garlic, pressed
• 1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Ginger
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Coriander
• 1 Teaspoon Turmeric
• 2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
• 2 Teaspoons Paprika
• 1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 28 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes
• 1/2 Juice of, Lemon
• 1/2 Head of Cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 1 Cup Frozen Peas (thawed or frozen)
• 1 Salt to Taste
• 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

Directions

1. Cut the paneer into bite sized pieces and set aside. (I typically only use half of a block and freeze the other half for another time or another recipe.)

2. In a skillet, heat 3 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and add the chopped onion.
3. While onion is softening, mix together the dry spices in a small bowl.
4. Add the paneer to the onions and brown slightly then add the garlic and ginger. Once this is fragrant add the dry spices and mix thoroughly to coat.
5. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and lemon juice. (The original recipe calls for using an immersion blender or blending about half of the sauce, but I just keep it thick - do what you like. If you do want to blend it, then don't brown the paneer with the onions; add it after the sauce is blended.)
6. In your crockpot combine the sauce, (paneer if blending sauce), and cauliflower.

7. Because the original recipe called for chicken, the instructions were to cook on high for one hour and then low for 4 - 4 1/2 hours, but with paneer that is not necessary. If you want to cook this all day, while you are at work - then I would put it on low and cook for the entire day. If you have much less time or want to start it in the middle of the day (say during nap time) then cook on high for an hour or so and turn to low until cauliflower is at desired tenderness.
8. Add the peas during the last half hour of cooking.
9. Before serving, stir in the Heavy Cream, use as much as desired. If you don't have cream, half and half or whole milk will also work, but my preference is the creaminess of the heavy cream.
10. Serve over rice and with Whole Wheat Roti/Chapatis.

Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 5 h 30 min Ready in: 6 h

Paneer Mattar Masala courtesy of Jamie Del Balso.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays and Simple Lives Thursday.

A Little Help From A Friend

When my first child was born we had moved across the country only months before our daughter was born. We had met only a handful of people, many of them kind enough to offer to bring us a meal, which we were so thankful for. One of these kind folks was a Korean friend who offered to bring spaghetti. I was surprised and had hoped for something more um, Korean. So, I asked. Apparently their family loves spaghetti, so she thought I would enjoy it too. Instead she brought Bulgogi, a Korean style lettuce wrap. It was DELICIOUS! Our friendship grew and she often made this meal (and others) for our family while we lived in Colorado. One day I asked for the recipe, so she gave me the long list of ingredients and told me to marinate the meat for about 12 hours! I was shocked and suddenly overwhelmed by her generosity. Since I had young children she would not let me repay the favor, although she often called us to help her understand some English phrase or words that she didn't know the meaning of. Ryan and I always enjoyed her calls, the questions she asked were always so random. Finally I convinced her and her family to come over for dinner on Christmas Eve for a homemade pasta meal - Ryan's family pasta, Cavatelli. That was most definitely a labor of love, but so worth it to say thank you to this very special friend and her family.

I'm tearing up (mostly with joy) just thinking about my friends in Colorado and the special couple of years we had in Family Housing. Just walking around Smiley Court at dinner time was like traveling to several countries at once. The food from others' kitchens always smelled better than whatever I was making that night for dinner. Alas, I digress...

Lettuce wraps sound kind of "summery," but actually many of the ingredients are in season right now! This recipe makes a lot, but my friend often marinated extra meat and froze it for future use. I have frozen the marinade ready to use at a later date. Feel free to cut it in half, thirds, even fourths, or make up some batches for the freezer. But you really may as well make all of the marinade as I am sure you and your family will love this meal! In fact, I served Venison Bulgogi to our Bible Study and no one knew that it wasn't beef. I told them after the meal, they all loved it. My friend always served this with a spicy bean paste, but when I stopped by a local Korean grocery store to pick some up, the owner did not know what I was requesting (nor did I really). So we sometimes add an Asian garlic hot sauce to add some kick to ours.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays over at Kelly the Kitchen Kop's site. Check it out for more great recipes. This post is also part of Simple Lives Thursday. Check out more great posts for living simply, HERE.

Bulgogi

Ingredients

• 5 lbs Beef (or venison) cut pepper thin (you can use a cheaper cut here as the marinade makes it super tender)
• 1 cup Soy Sauce (fermented), Tamari, etc
• 1/2 cup Sugar (you could try less or use honey)
• 1/4 cup Sesame Oil
• 1/2 cup Chopped Green Onion (I've used regular onions)
• 1/4 cup Sesame Seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 3 Tablespoons Garlic, crushed
• 1 Pear, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1/2 Apple, seeded and roughly chopped
• 6 oz Pineapple Juice (no sugar added)
• 1 Head of Lettuce - Romaine, Bibb, anything large enough to use as a wrap
• Cooked Rice, preferably brown or a mix of whole grain rice
• Stirfry Veggies - broccoli, onion, carrots, water chestnuts, mushrooms, cabbage - whatever you like, cut small
• Spicy Bean Paste, or other asian hot sauce

Directions

1. Ask your butcher to cut the meat pepper thin, or do it yourself when the meat is slightly frozen (you can throw it in the freezer for about an hour or so, while you make the marinade and this should do the trick).
2. In a blender, combine the Soy Sauce through Pineapple Juice and blend until thoroughly combined.
3. In a non-reactive container, combine meat and marinade. If you plan on freezing some, go ahead and separate that now and place in the freezer. Marinate the meat for at least 12 hours.
4. When you are ready to prepare the meal, heat a skillet over medium to medium high heat. Add the meat and whatever stirfry veggies you would like to use. Cook until the meat is cooked through and the veggies remain somewhat crisp. You may need to work in batches depending on how big of a skillet you have.
5. Serve with lettuce, rice, and your choice of spicy sauce. Our friends always put less meat and rice in their lettuce than we did, thus eating a lot more lettuce than us.

Prep Time: 12 h Cook Time: 20 min Ready in: 12 h 20 min

Bulgogi courtesy of Jamie Del Balso.

Sourdough Crepes

This fall I attempted to start my own "Wild Yeast" Sourdough starter. My first attempt I thought failed, but if I had given it more time I bet it would have been fine. My second attempt seemed to be working, so I went with it. Because my husband is not a fan of sourdough (I thought if I made my own starter I could keep it from getting sour by feeding it at regular 12 hour intervals) and I am horrible at making bread, we have found this lovely way to use our sourdough starter. We have replaced our "Swedish Pancakes" with this and use the same or similar toppings. But these crepes can be used in so many wonderful ways.

Yesterday for Shrove Tuesday I made up a batch using watered down yogurt since I was out of milk; thankfully it worked just fine. We made some savory crepes with bacon and avocado, ham and swiss béchamel sauce, and sweet crepes with homemade jam and almond butter. We still had some chocolate fig spread in the fridge that we also tried, but I bet this fig spread would work well on crepes too.

If you are wondering why sourdough, here is a post that tells you the wonderful benefits of sourdough. Basically breads/grain products that have been made using sourdough are easier for your body to digest and you gain more nutrients from the grains themselves.

FYI - when I find sugar or a sweetener in a pancake recipe I typically eliminate it (since we do add maple syrup to our pancakes), however, I have found that without the honey in this recipe the crepes are too sour for my family to enjoy. The sweetener enables us to enjoy the benefits of this sourdough meal. If you prefer the taste of sourdough by itself, feel free to eliminate it.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays over at Kelly the Kitchen Kop's site. Check out all the other wonderful recipes and articles, or add your own!

Sourdough Crepes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Sourdough Starter (at room temperature)
• 1 cup Warm Milk/Water/watered down yogurt (about 100 degrees = luke warm)
• 1 1/4 cup Flour (I use whole grain)
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon Honey (or preferred sweetener)
• 2 Eggs (at room temperature)
• 3 Tablespoons Butter or Coconut Oil (plus more for oiling skillet)
• 1 More milk as needed to thin batter

Directions

1. Combine first three ingredients in a glass bowl and mix well. Cover with a towel and let stand at room temperature for 8+ hours.
2. Sprinkle salt, baking soda and honey over sourdough mixture, stir to combine. Add eggs and butter, stir thoroughly. Let stand while heating cast iron skillet.
3. If you happen to have a cast iron crepe pan, this will be easier, if not, try not to get the batter all the way to the edges for easier flipping.
4. Be sure your batter is very thin, about the consistency of heavy cream. If it is too thick, add more milk to reach desired consistency. Hold your oiled skillet in one hand at an angle and gently pour a stream of batter onto the pan, rotating as you pour so that a thin layer covers most of the skillet.
5. When surface is dry and bubbly (about a minute), flip and wait about another minute for other side to brown.
6. Remove crepe to plate and continue to stack crepes until all the batter is finished. If you have leftover crepes, they freeze well between wax paper or parchment paper.
7. Add desired toppings (sweet or savory) and enjoy! We like sweetened blended cottage cheese or sour cream or almond butter with fruit jams for our sweet crepes. And sausage and cheese, avocado and bacon with a sour cream sauce, or ham and swiss béchamel sauce for savory.

Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 30 min Ready in: 1 h

Sourdough Crepes courtesy of Jamie Del Balso.

Don't have a cast iron crepe pan, try this one out. It looks just like the one I have and I LOVE mine!
 

Honey Drizzled Lasagna

Pasticcio Bianco alla Rezdora

A few weeks ago my menu plan included some recipes from my new "Italian" Cookbook and this was one of them. I actually ended up pushing it off for more than a week due to illness in the family and finding time to make the mascarpone. You might find this odd, but I am not a huge fan of cookbooks. Rarely do I find a cookbook that I enjoy perusing. This book, however, was of the style that I enjoy - it has traditional recipes that you are not likely to find in too many other places and it is speckled with wonderful stories from the author who visited the various regions in Italy where the recipes have come from.

The Italian is translated as, Baked Pasta in the Manner of the Lady of the House. What a fun name! It kind of makes me think that I could invent or create my own pasta dish that becomes "my signature dish" to be served to guests when they visit. And although I briefly thought about making my own pasta (as called for in the recipe) I also picked up a box of "No Boil Lasagna Noodles" - I believe they were Barilla brand, the flat thin ones that most resemble homemade pasta. As I do not have a pasta maker, I opted for the store bought version this time, but when I have a bit more time on my hands I will likely try to make my own. We have made cavatelli by hand, it's Ryan's family's pasta from the region of Italy that his grandfather's family originated from and it is quite the undertaking. My mother-in-law called it a "labor of love," she has a cavatelli maker. Anyway, back to this recipe. When I served the lasagna I vaguely remembered reading something about serving it with a drizzle of honey. I thought it odd, but why not give it a try. Boy am I glad I did, it was a spectacular finish to this unique dish.

With all the different cheeses in this recipe, it can get a bit expensive. However, I found that making the mascarpone was not difficult at all. It did take a bit more time than I anticipated for my cream to reach the proper temperature, but other than that a bit of prep (say 45 minutes) can save you some money. Although the recipe calls for 2 cups of mascarpone and making it yourself will yield 12 oz, this was plenty. You could also make the ricotta, but it won't save you as much money as making the mascarpone.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays over at Kelly the Kitchen Kop's site. Check it out for more great Real Food recipes.

Creamy Honey Drizzled Walnut Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 pound Freshly Rolled Pasta (or 1 box flat no boil lasagna noodles)
• 1 Tablespoon Sweet Butter
• 1 1/3 cup Heavy Cream
• 2 cups Mascarpone (or 2 cups heavy cream + 1 T lemon juice)
• 2 cups Ricotta
• 2 1/2 cups just-grated Parmigiano
• 1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
• 1 Freshly cracked pepper
• 1 Generous scrapings of fresh nutmeg
• 3 Eggs, beaten
• 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• 3 cups Walnuts, soaked and toasted/dried, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs, made from stale bread
• 1 Tablespoon Honey

Directions

1. For fresh pasta, cook in salted boiling water for about a minute. Remove the pasta with a slotted spoon and place on a clean towel, do not place on top of each other (or they will stick together). For no boil pasta, if your cheese mixture is quite runny and you plan on letting it sit in the fridge for awhile, the bottom noodles could be used as is. However, I would recommend boiling some (or all if using immediately) of the noodles until pliable.
2. Butter your baking dish(es). I used two 9x7x2.5 inch casserole dishes, making one for our family and one for a friend. Or you could use one large 10x13 baking dish. Pour about 1/3 cup of heavy cream onto the bottom of the baking dish.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine mascarpone, ricotta, 1 cup of heavy cream, 2 cups of Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, eggs and vinegar. Mix well and set aside.
4. Place pasta rectangles on top of the thin layer of heavy cream to cover the pan, but do not overlap. On top of the pasta, spread a layer of the cheese mixture. Next add a layer of chopped walnuts. Cover the nuts with pasta and repeat with cheese mixture and walnuts. Continue this layering process until you have used up all the cheese and nuts. Finish with a layer of pasta.
5. The lasagna can be covered with plastic wrap and left to rest in a cool place for an hour or two or in the refrigerator for longer.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Tear the bread into small pieces and process in a food processor until fine crumbs appear. Mix half a cup of crumbs with the remaining half a cup of grated Parmesan and sprinkle over the lasagna. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden. Allow lasagna to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Drizzle individual pieces with a bit of honey.

Prep Time: 45 min Cook Time: 30 min Ready in: 1 h 15 min

Creamy Honey Drizzled Walnut Lasagna courtesy of Jamie Del Balso.

Did you like this recipe? Find more authentic Italian recipes in this wonderful cookbook.

The Neverending Bean Pot

You may have noticed from our meal plans that we eat a lot of beans around here. Growing up the only beans I remember eating were baked beans - from a can. Always with meatloaf and kielbasa (or ring bologna). Our family eats a variety of beans (that's one of the things I love about beans - there are tons of different varieties of beans), but I think my favorite are probably black beans. Every week my crockpot doubles as a bean pot for soaking dry beans and then cooking them.

Beans/legumes - what's so amazing about them? They are chock full of nutrients and they have the most healthful mix of protein plus fiber among all other foods. They are great for your digestive tract, blood sugar regulation, heart, blood pressure and more. And when combined with wheat, corn, brown rice or nuts they make a complete protein. Not to mention they are super cheap! I can get a pound of beans for just a little over $1. Beans happen to be one of those things that I don't buy organic and I don't buy them in a can. There are about four cans of beans in one 1# bag of dried beans. The other reason I no longer buy canned beans is that cans are lined with BPA (Bisphenol A) remember that chemical that we worked so hard to get out of our plastic drinking bottles and baby bottles, the one that is linked to breast cancer and premature development in girls - yep, that's the one. It is in the lining of most canned goods. To my knowledge Eden is the only company that makes a BPA-free can lining.

So, not only are dry beans cheap and better for you than canned beans, but you can also control their flavor and increase the nutrient value by soaking them and cooking them in bone broth in your own home. With a little forethought you will have delicious and nutritious beans in no time. I've come across articles about pressure cooking beans and then canning them yourself in glass jars so that you have beans ready to use when you need/want them or you can make up a big pot and freeze them in smaller portions for future use.

Having traveled to South America a few times I have had the opportunity to eat incredibly flavorful beans and rice. When I was working as a HeadStart Preschool teacher many of my co-workers were Latino. I asked them why my beans and rice never tasted as good as what I had in South America. They told me the secret was "sofrito" that you could buy in the freezer section of some grocery stores and a seasoning packet that contained MSG. I tried that for awhile with mixed results. I have since found a recipe that doesn't use frozen sofrito from the store or seasoning packets containing things I can't pronounce. My recipe is one that I adapted from Cook's Illustrated to get the flavor and texture that I remember. The recipe calls for black beans, I have used pinto beans and pink beans, but my favorite is the black beans. Oh and they make really great refried beans too. Just throw some in the food processor until smooth and cook them up in an oiled pan (you can use bacon grease or lard if you prefer).

The Best Black Beans
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients

Beans
• 1 pound black beans, picked over and rinsed
• 2 water to cover by, inches
• 1 bone broth, stock or water to cover beans by an inch or so
• 1 green pepper, stemmed, seeded and quartered (optional)
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 2 Tblsp)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon sea salt   

Sofrito
• 3 Tablespoons light olive oil (or coconut oil)
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 14 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 5 Tblsp)
• 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 5 teaspoons lime juice
• 3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Soak beans overnight (12-24 hours) in very warm water (about 140 degrees). Drain the water before you are ready to cook your beans. If I'm making the beans for dinner I typically start cooking them after lunch in my crockpot with the bone broth, stock or water, quartered bell pepper, minced onion, garlic, bay leaves and salt. If using a Dutch oven on the stove top, bring the ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered for about two hours. Add more water/broth if the liquid reduces to the level of the beans. Check the beans to confirm tenderness.
2. To make the Sofrito, heat the oil in a large skillet (don't use a non-stick pan) over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, oregano and salt - cooking until the vegetables are nearly soft (about 5 minutes). Add the chopped tomatoes and garlic allowing the juices from the tomatoes to cook off. Then add the cumin and cook for about another minute.
3. To finish the beans, scoop out about 1 cup of beans and 2 cups cooking liquid adding to the pan with the sofrito. Use a potato masher (or fork) to mash the beans until smooth. Simmer over medium heat until liquid is reduced and thickened (about 10 minutes). Return the sofrito mixture to the pot of beans and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes. The beans will have a creamy sauce-like consistency. Add lime juice and simmer for another minute then stir in cilantro.
4. Serving Suggestion = over brown rice with sauteed kale and a fried egg. ENJOY!

Prep Time: 24 h Cook Time: 4 h Ready in: 28 h

The Best Black Beans courtesy of Jamie Del Balso.

A trip to Northern Africa

I think it was June last year when we received an unexpected package in the mail containing a beautiful North African cookbook! I was seriously so excited about it I wanted to make something from it that very night. It came from a friend who currently lives in North Africa and shares my love for cooking. Just reading through the book made me want to hop on a plane and visit a few friends of ours that are in that area. Over the next week or two I made a couple of the recipes and absolutely loved them. I found a lamb and prune tagine recipe in the book, but had chicken and not lamb on hand so I looked in another Mediterranean cookbook of mine and happen to find a chicken and prune tajine recipe, so I took a bit from each book and made a wonderful dish that I shared with Ryan's cousin who had recently had her first child. She loved it and had asked for the recipe, but I am just now getting around to writing down what I had done to the recipe to make it taste even better.

I actually made the recipe two nights in a row because I wasn't quite comfortable serving a dish to someone that I had not yet made for my family. Although I have done this in the past, this one was a bit unique, so I wanted to check it out first, besides I really wanted to try it myself. In making it the first night I realized that the cooking time for the chicken needed to be adjusted - it got a bit too dry and although the meal was incredibly flavorful, the chicken hadn't taken on as much of the flavor as I had hoped. So, I tried brining the chicken and that helped a ton. But I also was low on saffron and prunes after making it the first time so I added some turmeric and dates - very tasty!

Although I do not own a tagine/tajine - a domed clay pot, I was able to make this aromatic dish in a large saucepan on my stovetop. You'll want to start the brine in the morning if you plan to have this for dinner. Or sometimes I brine my chicken when I get it and then wrap it in smaller portions and freeze it. The recipe primarily comes from my Reader's Digest Mediterranean Cooking cookbook with a few ideas from my Medina Kitchen cookbook (the unexpected gift in the mail).


Chicken Tajine with Prunes
Tajine de poulet aux pruneaux
Brine:
1/2 cup sea salt
1/4 molasses
1 cup boiling water + more cold water and ice
1 whole cut-up chicken (bone-in)

Mix 1/2 cup of sea salt and 1/4 cup of molasses into 1 cup of boiling water until salt is completely dissolved. Add ice and 1 more cup of cold water, when brine is cool to the touch add chicken and fill with water until chicken is fully covered. Store in refrigerator for a 4-5 hours.

Ingredients:
Brined chicken (from above)
1-3 large onions, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons of butter
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads or 1/2 teaspoon turmeric*
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger*
freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup pitted prunes
1/4 cup whole dates, chopped
2 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Lightly cover the bottom of a large saucepan with olive oil and add butter, onions, garlic, and spices. Add chicken and cover with 1 1/2 cups water. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 20-30 minutes, turning chicken halfway through. At 20 minutes you may want to remove smaller pieces of chicken to a plate, but continue cooking thicker breast pieces. After 30 minutes check chicken to make sure juices run clear and it is no longer pink. Remove chicken to plate and cover. Add the prunes and dates to the cooking liquid, cooking until softened - about 10-15 minutes. Add honey and lemon juice, reducing liquid by half. You can turn up the heat to medium to speed up the process or continue to cook on low. Return the chicken to the sauce and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Couscous:
1 cup water
3/4 cup whole wheat couscous
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed*

For couscous, boil 1 cup of water and add 3/4 cup of whole wheat couscous and 1 Tablespoon ground flax seed. Remove from heat, cover and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Serve over whole wheat couscous and sprinkle with sesame seeds and toasted almonds.

Side notes: If you choose not to brine your chicken, you will want to add salt at some point to the recipe. If, however, you do brine the chicken you should not need to add any additional salt. Both saffron and turmeric happen to be in my spice cupboard due to my love for cooking international dishes. Saffron is the more pricey of the two and the one called for in the original recipe. Turmeric can be used in it's place and will likely be cheaper. I have a huge package of turmeric that I found at an Indian grocery store and I keep it in my freezer. This

recipe calls for dry ground ginger, but if you have fresh, I bet it would be delicious! Grate about a teaspoon into the pan along with the onion and garlic and spices. The flax seed is totally optional, but I once bought a box of whole wheat couscous that contained flax, so I thought why not add it - you can never have too much fiber (well maybe some people can).


As always, enjoy!  And please forgive the look of the last few posts as they have added a an updated edit option, but it is not working as well as I had hoped:(