Moroccan Stew

A few years ago, I spent months trying to figure out what was causing digestive issues in my middle daughter, and finally I determined it was onions.  I was so frustrated when my youngest started down the same path of symptoms, even though she had never really HAD onions to begin with!  What was it about onions, anyway?? After much googling and experimentation, I discovered that Clara is probably unable to properly digest fructose, which is a sugar that naturally occurs in onions, apples, and tomatoes (some of the worst offenders!!) and also appears in wheat (gluten) as fructans.  So, our household is largely gluten- and fructose-free these days.  It's a lot of work but it's worth it, knowing she's actually digesting her food, gaining the nutrition from it the way she should be.. and for the ease of handling the output! And it's likely only a short-term thing, since her gut will probably mature as she grows, the way her sister has.

I adapted the following recipe from a really good stew that I had at my mom's house this spring, by eliminating the tomatoes and onions (and picking out the raisins for Clara, since they're fructose-full, too!), and serving over rice instead of couscous.  And I changed the spice rub to suit what I had on hand, because the dish was initially vegetarian and I wanted to use the boneless pork ribs.  It was easy and delicious and suited our dietary needs perfectly!  Next time I'll top with cilantro, and someday I'll add in the onions and tomatoes.

Moroccan Stew

1 ½ lbs. boneless pork ribs

¼ tsp. ginger

¼ tsp. paprika

¼ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

1 T. olive oil

4 large carrots, peeled and chunked

1 medium zucchini, chunked

½ large onion, chunked

¼ C. raisins

1 ½ C. water, OR  1 can diced tomatoes + ½ C. water

Mix together spices and seasoning, and rub onto the pork ribs.  Brown off in the olive oil in a high-sided skillet.  When the last side of the pork is browning, add the vegetables and raisins, and then the water.  Cover and let simmer for about an hour.  Shred the meat before serving over couscous or rice, and topped with fresh cilantro.

Chocolate Popsicles

I went on a bender earlier this summer and stocked my freezer full of homemade popsicles.  I bought a mold for 3" popsicles, and a bunch of sticks, and went to town!!  I blended up strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and yogurt, or bananas, pineapple, frozen mangos, or straight-up strawberries and yogurt.  The girls really enjoyed having them as summer treats, and I felt good that they were getting real food in their treat.  I found enough sweet fruit that I never added any sugar!

The ultimate, though, was when I figured out how to sneak a vegetable into these popsicles.  When I had been pureeing sweet potatoes for baby Clara, I was amazed at how sweet they actually could get after roasting them in the oven, and how luxuriously smooth the texture would get.  I experimented with adding chocolate chips, and a little milk, and it was like pudding.  Seriously, I had everybody fooled - my sister, my neighbor, and his daughter who LOVES chocolate.  There's a tiny bit of aftertaste when sampling it as pudding, but almost none of that when it's frozen.  You will love these!! Although, keep in mind that the amounts are approximate, because of course I didn't write it down immediately after I made them. :)

Chocolate Popsicles

1 large sweet potato

½ C. chocolate chips

½ C. milk

Roast the sweet potato in the oven for at least an hour at 400°, until it's very soft and there’s golden-brown syrup coming out from under the peel.  Peel the sweet potato and put it into the blender.  Add the chocolate chips to the hot sweet potato, and stir it a little bit so the chocolate chips melt.  Add the milk, and then thoroughly blend it until it’s very smooth.  Pour the mixture into 3-oz popsicle molds and allow to freeze.  They may be difficult to remove, so refreeze immediately after removing from the mold.

Beef Stew

I've been married for nearly 9 years now, and the entire time Travis has insisted that he doesn't like beef stew.  I made this tonight, almost apologetically, because I had a hunk of beef to use up out of our freezer, and I couldn't really think of any other way to use it.  It had a big hunk of bone in it, so I knew I wanted to simmer it forever... anyway, this is what came of it, and Travis inhaled it.  I think Clara ate so much that I was concerned her little tummy would ache!  When I asked Travis why he said he didn't like beef stew but liked this, he claimed that this wasn't like the beef stew he had ever had.  So I wrote it down!  I figure if I try to make beef stew again, I want it to turn out like this. It was an all-day-in-the-crockpot thing, and then about another 20 min stovetop.

It wasn't the simplest thing to make, but I think the effort was worth it.  You end up with carrots that aren't overcooked and a non-greasy sauce that's easy to make just the right consistency.  I was going to serve the potatoes just boiled, but my family requested that I mash them, so I did and it was yummy.

Beef Stew

2-lb beef roast

Seasoning mix: 1 T. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, ½ tsp. garlic powder, ¼ tsp. ground thyme

1 onion

4 stalks celery

4 carrots

4 C. water

1 T. olive oil

1 onion

2 T. flour

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

¼ tsp. red pepper flake (opt.)

Chop onion, celery, and carrots into chunks and add to bottom of crockpot. Coat the roast in seasoning mix, saving remainder, and place on top of veg in crockpot.  Add the water, and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on medium.  Take the meat out and cut into chunks.  Save the broth and carrots; discard the onion and celery (unless you like that).

 

In a large pot, brown the onions in the olive oil until soft and starting to caramelize.  Add the flour and cook 1 min, then add tomatoes, meat, Worcestershire sauce, remaining seasoning, and red pepper flake.  Add 1 – 2 cups of the saved broth, until it’s the thickness you like.  Add the carrots back in,and when they're cooked the way you like, serve it up with potatoes – boiled or mashed.

A most amazing sandwich

This one was picture-worthy, although I should've gotten a picture before I took several bites of it.  I couldn't help myself, though - it was SO good!!

Yes, it's just a sandwich, but it's a particularly yummy and unexpected combination. You will need:

cucumber, peeled
tomatoes (i used cherry, cut in half)
sweet peppers, red/orange/yellow
hummus
feta cheese

I made mine on whole-grain toast, spreading hummus on both slices of bread and piling everything else up in between, but I can see other possibilities with this combination - dice all the veggies and toss together with the feta cheese, then place on top of crackers that have a base of hummus.  Or cram it all into a pita.  If you like olives I think they'd go well in this sandwich, but I'm not a big olive fan.  It's extra good with spicy hummus, too.

Irish Soda Bread

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Cuz I'm so Irish :p

One of the things about having a common last name is that my email address is a very close variation to a gazillion other people with my initials and last name.  Yesterday, I received yet another email from someone looking for a Kevin or Kelly or Karl Sullivan, except this time the subject was Irish Soda Bread and the recipe inside it was being passed around because it was far superior to anything anyone else had tried, apparently.  And wow, is it good!!  I have no idea where it originated or if this isn't something that you'd just find as highly recommended on All Recipes or something, but it's a funny story so I'm posting it.  Enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread

4 C. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

3 tsp. baking powder

½ C. sugar

¼ C. butter, melted

1 egg

1 3/4 C. buttermilk

1 1/2 C. raisins (soaked in hot water for 5 min and drained, opt).

Mix first 6 ingredients (flour thru butter).  Combine the egg and buttermilk, and add to dry ingredients and butter.  Then stir in raisins.  Knead for 2 or 3 minutes on a floured board, divide in half, make rounded loaves, place on an oiled sheet pan.  Score the top with a sharp wet knife in the form of a cross and bake for 35-40 minutes in a 375 oven.