How I make lunch

This is not really a recipe, but I find myself telling a lot of folks about my lunch-building process lately, so I thought it might be useful.  This is how I make my work lunches. They're no masterpiece, and I know some people are not entirely cool with eating 5-day-old chicken, but it works for me.

Every Sunday I get home from grocery shopping, and prepare...


(1) Enough chicken breast of a week of lunch, seasoned with whatever I'm in the mood for. (Italian, greek, tex-mex...)

(2) Week's worth of salad.  I avoid delicate greens and veggies that get mushy, so usually use: parsley, napa cabbage, spinach, parsley, watercress, bell peppers, carrots, celery, seedless cucumber and avoid: tomatoes, regular cukes, run-of the mill lettuce, baby spinach.

(3) A bottle of home made salad dressing, again, the recipe varies at whim.

Then, in 5 1-gallon zip-lock bags, I layer up...

(1) The chicken, cooled and chopped up.  This goes at the bottom so it doesn't mess up your veggies.

(2) The salad stuff.

(3) A handful of nuts - almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, whatever.  Sure, these are a *little* soggy by friday, but I'm lazy enough not to care.  Sometimes I'll do half an avocado sliced in Monday and Tuesday's lunch instead of nuts, but they won't make it till Friday.

I leave my salad dressing and a big bowl at work, and grab a bag every morning on the way out the door.  At lunch time, I dress my salad in the bag, shake it up, dump it in my bowl, and make my co-workers jealous.

Snacks!

No, not rose petals:  beet chips and nori chips

While I try not to give myself too many attractive options for mindless eating, I'm working on a few reasonable "emergency" munchies that keep me out of my roommate's leftover pizza.

There are some good ideas here, but my quest continues to find a few good options that will work on the fly. For now I am figuring out how many different vegetables I can turn into "chips" in the oven. The beets and sweet potatoes would also be good PWO with a protein. Here's what I know so far...

For all veggies:
Set the oven to 250, and turn on the convection or "speed bake" if you have it.  Slice veggies to a very thin 1/8 inch as evenly as possible.  I get better results if I slice most veggies in half lengthwise first so they don't roll around while I'm trying to precision-cut. Grease your baking sheets with coconut oil, and spread one layer think.  Keep and eye on them while cooking, turning once they start curling up, and moving them to towels or plates to cool once they curl up and just start to brown.

Beets:
Peel, sprinkle with a little red wine vinegar.  Up to 2 hours in the oven depending on thickness.  Red beets seem to fare better than golden beets.

Sweet Potatoes:
Leave skins on. Try seasoning with cinnamon and chipotle powder.  Up to 2 hours depending on thickness.

Kale:

(Don't slice!) Tear out thick center stem, toss with good oil to just barely coat (I used almond oil), scatter on a try and sprinkle with a little good salt (I like smoked salt or truffle salt). About 15 minutes or when they turn dark green.  These are really brittle, and while tasty, do not travel well.

Radishes:
People make them, but I tried was not impressed.  Don't bother.

Nori:
You have to like seaweed to enjoy these.  See instructions here.

I tend to micro-manage this process, picking chips off one at a time as they get done, but they should finish up evenly if you slice them very evenly to begin with.  They crisp up a little once they're cool, so its ok if they're a little bendy so long as they've curled up and toasted a little.

Coconut Lime Chipotle Sauce

I made this to go over salmon, but I think it would work for shrimp or cold chicken salad as well:

Soak in hot water for 5 minutes:
3 dried ancho chiles

Remove chile stems and cores, and toss in food processor or blender with:
juice of 1 lime
1 can of coconut milk
5 cloves of garlic (unless its date night)
Chipotle powder to taste (its spicy!)
A little salt if you're so inclined

Blend smooth, enjoy!

Hummus!

While I'm in the thick of the end-of-semester chaos, I'll try to post some good links.  I just found this one for paleo hummus.  Not sure if this violates the Whole30 no paleo-fying rule, but its got to be better than pizza, right?

Whatchagot Seafood Stew

This is a mash-up of several recipes I've read online.  Google "paleo fish stew" for more ideas.  My bread-eating dinner guest demanded that I write this one down immediately, so I think its a winner. Its very pretty (really, its my photography that's bad) and would make really good party food. It's a pretty heavily seasoned dish, so serve it with something fresh and green, like baby spinach or blanched asparagus tossed with lemon juice, olive oil and mustard salad dressing. Add crusty bread if you want to accommodate your non-paleo guests.

This was made with run-of-the-mill frozen seafood, so better fish would only make it better.  The veggies are chopped into very big pieces because they'll cook a while.

Coarsely chop (1 or 2 inch pieces):
3 medium shallots (or other sweet onion)
1 leek, white and light green parts 
2 bell peppers (red or orange if possible)
1 bunch red kale (or plain-old kale, tuscan kale, collards...)


1 small Jalapeño pepper, sliced lengthwise
6 cloves garlic sliced thick

Thaw or buy fresh about 3 lbs of seafood, a mix of white fish and shellfish, I used:
1 lb small scallops
1 lb small peeled deveined shrimp
1 lb tilapia fillets, cut in half


In a gallon soup pot, over medium, heat
1 T olive oil

Sauté shallots, leek, and bell pepper with lid on, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes.  Add garlic, saute three more minutes. Add chopped kale and:
2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes (including liquid)
1 bottle clam juice
2 sprigs rosemary
1 T dried thyme
1 T basil
1/2 t cracked black pepper


Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, breaking up tomatoes as you go. Add seafood and simmer for about 8 minutes or until just cooked through. Add
1 T dried thyme 
1/2 14 oz can unsweetened coconut milk

Stir to incorporate, turn off heat and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Cheat Night Pizza

WARNING:  this post may not be appropriate for some audiences.  Contains bread, cheese, beer, and offensive protein : fat : carb ratios


5 - 4 - 3 Pizza

Its nearly a religious practice that I cheat like a rockstar on Friday nights. This always includes pizza and beer at home.  Tonight's pizza features 5 veggies, 4 cheeses, and 3 meats:

Prep:

Thaw overnight:
1 ball frozen pizza dough
Allow to rise for an hour or more in a warm place.

Separate and peel:
2 heads of garlic
drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and toss in oven for 45 minutes at 350F.  Chop loosely

In small skillet on medium heat, cook until liquid evaporates:
1/2 small can stewed tomatoes
1 small fresh tomato chopped
generous splash balsamic vinegar
basil

Slice:
1 large red onion
Saute with a little butter on high to char a little, and then reduce heat to medium low until tender and sweet.

Brown:
1/2 lb Sage sausage
broken up, on medium-high.  Set aside on paper towels to drain

Chop:
1 cup (or so) leftover chicken
1 two-inch section chorizo

Slice thinly:
1 small granny smith apple
I use the mother of all graters for this.

Microwave:
1 big handful of spinach
for 45 seconds

Shred:
1/3 lb gouda cheese
1/3 lb ricotta salata
1/3 lb mozzarella
Grate:
1/2 c pecorino romano

Roll out pizza dough, allow to rest 15 minutes, transfer to pan, rest another 15 minutes.  Bake for 2 minutes at 350F.

Dress pizza:  spread chopped garlic and tomato, sprinkle a thin layer of cheese, layer up toppings as you like, sprinkling layers of cheeses in between.  Keep the apples on top so they'll cook a little.  We fold over the excess pizza dough to make a cute little pie.

Bake on bottom rack for 15+ minutes at 350 F or until crust is golden and cheese is melted.

Knowledge is Power

Fats & Acids Edition


I've been lucky enough to participate in the Crossfit South Bend community in the last few months.  And I'm really impressed by how thoughtful many people are about food.  In honor of the diversity of food values I've come across, I thought I'd share my approach to salad dressing. I think that some fundamental principles might help you cater your dressing to your own ethical, nutritional, and epicurean values.  While people who cook a lot already know this concept well, I've realized that it is not so obvious to everyone.  This is based on how my mother taught me to make salad dressing, and what I passed on to my roommate who is not a cook by any stretch of the imagination.

In general: fat + emulsifier + acid = salad dressing.  Most of the diversity you see has to do with the types of fats & acids used, and the ratio of fat to acid, along with additional herbs, seasoning or sugar.  Even mayonnaise operates on a similar principle.

Fats are things like oil, avocado, or even bacon grease.  Acids are things like citrus juice & vinegar.  Emulsifiers are things that help the fat and acid blend together well and keep them from separating, mustard and creme fraiche, honey, and tahini are examples.


Traditionally, dressing is about one part acid to three parts fat with a small amount of emulsifier.  My 1975 copy of the Joy of Cooking offers a basic recipe of:

1/2 teaspoon salt,
1/8 teaspoon pepper,
1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice,
1/4 teaspoon mustard
3/4 cup walnut or olive oil.

About the time fat became diet enemy #1 people started making dressing with more acid and less oil.  Problem is, they  also started adding more sugar or weird fillers to counter the acid. Like a lot of folks now, I see good quality fats as a beneficial part of my diet, and prefer dressing that looks a little more like my grandmom's than something off of a weight-watcher's menu.  Of course, its easy to tweak recipes back and forth to your liking.

The last thing you need to know is good blending procedure.  I either do this with a whisk in the bottom of my salad bowl before adding greens or shaken in a bottle with a good lid to use throughout the week.  Simply put, combine your acid, emulsifier, and and any herbs well, then add your fat slowly, fully incorporating a little bit at a time.  This video from the Food Network does a better job explaining than I ever could.  Also check out this Food Network article for more good combos.

Here are some combinations I like (in Fat + Acid + Emulsifier + Seasoning order):

Avocado + Lime Juice + (no emulsifier needed) + garlic and cumin (in the food processor) on top of spicy south of the border style chicken or beef.

Walnut oil + Lemon Juice + Mustard + pepper & poppy seeds on spinach or peppery greens like arugula.

Olive oil + Balsamic Vinegar + Mustard + basil & rosemary on mescaline mix and tomatoes.

Olive oil with a splash of Sesame oil + Rice Vinegar + Tahini + ginger & garlic as marinade for chicken breast or as dressing for cabbage slaw.