Challengers: How’s it going now that we are in Week 4? You are already halfway through the challenge…Believe it! Leave a comment in the forum this week sharing how you feel, what challenges you are still facing, what successes have you seen — Let the group know they aren’t alone in this…
Let’s talk about the Kitchen and cooking! Before this challenge, you may have been a ninja in preparing foods. Notice I didn’t say creating or mastering the kitchen. I hope that this challenge will help you expand your culinary skills so that when it’s over we can call you a true Ninja in the Kitchen, earning your black belt.
You can’t earn a black belt without having Confidence! There is no greater tool that a chef has in the kitchen than knowing they know how. Not knowing how can stop you from doing a lot of things. Being comfortable with not knowing opens door after door after door.
More than having a stockpile of recipes, mastering the basics, being able to handle ingredients, knowing what tastes good with what, how long things take, what food should sound like, smell like and look like when it is cooking are the secrets to mastering the kitchen.
How do you get there? Practice. And getting comfortable with the not knowing. Innovate and Experiment! Use cookbooks to get started, practice recipes you like, get in the kitchen several times a week, even daily! You have to be willing to make mistakes.
Once you gain the confidence you will have your stockpile of recipes, but more than that, you will have the ability to open any refrigerator and turn what is inside into a masterpiece.
There are so many websites out there that offer ideas, videos and full on recipes to help you learn your way. Here are a few of my favorites – feel free to share yours!
Here’s a recipe to try this week: Paleo Butter Chicken
Reprinted from Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso
2 1/2# boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Chicken thighs (dark meat), more than breasts are suited for longer, slower cooking or braising. They retain their moisture as they become tender. Breasts (white meat) tend to dry out the longer you cook them
3 T coconut oil
Coconut oil is a good high heat oil. It has a high “smoke point.” That means it won’t burn at the temperatures that are required to brown meat. It is also used to add flavor while cooking. While butter is a tasty cooking medium at lower heats, the milk solids burn quickly. For a high heat butter, use clarified butter or ghee.
1 T red onion, diced
“Dicing” food is to cut it specifically into 1/4″ squares. The larger the pieces are, the longer they will take to cook.
2 cloves garlic, minced
“Mincing” is cutting your food into the smallest possible pieces, but short of pureeing. One thing to be careful about with garlic — the more you work it the “hotter” or spicier it gets. So be cautious about putting it into a food processor or Magic Bullet.
1/2 t cardamom powder
1/2 t coriander powder
Coriander is the dried fruit of the coriander plant. Fresh coriander, or the leaves of the plant, you know as cilantro. They are very different.
1 t fenugreek powder
1 t chili powder
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
If you don’t have it you can use 2-3x amount of tomato puree and either reduce it to the desired amount in a pan, or reduce the liquid in your recipe by the amount of puree you use.
1/2 can coconut milk
1 t sea salt
All salts are not created equal! They have different levels of “saltiness” by volume. Morton’s Kosher salt and Diamond Kosher salt are different (Morton’s is saltier by volume) and sea salt can be very salty. Be careful when subsituting one salt for another.
4 T ghee or organic butter
1# red chard, chopped, stems removed, steamed
1. Cut the chicken thighs into bite-size pieces and set aside [Bite-size is up to you]
2. In a large skillet or soup pot, heat the coconut oil over a medium heat. Add the diced onion and saute until translucent. [This is different than a recipe where you would want to brown the onions. Browning adds another level of flavor. In a lot of Indian food, onions aren't browned.]
3. Turn the heat down to low. To the onion, add the minced garlic, cardamom, coriander, fenugreek, and chili powder and stir well to make a paste. [Lower heat for garlic and spices are important, as they both burn easily. Once garlic burns it tastes very bitter. The larger the piece of garlic, though, the more freedom you have to get some color. Whole cloves can be sauteed until golden.]
4. Add the tomato paste to the onions and spices and stir — the mixture will be very thick.
5. Turn the heat back up to a medium heat and add the coconut milk and salt. Use a whisk to blend the tomato paste mixture and coconut milk together into a thick sauce.
6. Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the chicken. Stir well, turn down to a medium low, cover, and cook for approximately 15 minutes or until the chicken is done all the way through — stir occasionally during the cooking process. [This will help, especially with a thick sauce, to keep the mixture from burning on the bottom of the pot]
7. After the chicken is cooked, add the ghee or butter and mix into the sauce until melted. Serve the chicken over the steamed red chard.
