Indian Creamed Spinach

I love the Indian dish, Saag Paneer, but can't do the cheese so I have sometimes made it substituting various things like little squares of tofu or potatoes to make it look authentic.  But to be perfectly honest, the thing I love most about this dish is the spinach itself - it's soft, creamy and unctuous with that little hint of Garam Masala that makes it exotic and the touch of Cayenne Pepper that gives it slight bite.  So, now I just make the spinach without anything else.  It's a wonderful side dish, especially served with a steak in place of the usual Creamed Spinach.  I make it with Lactaid Milk and if I want to make it really creamy, I will use real cream as it has a low lactose content too.  It's also lovely served over rice or folded into a flatbread or even made into a dip if you add more cream.  It's really such a wonderful way of eating spinach.  And, once you make this version, you may never go back to regular Creamed Spinach again!

Indian Creamed Spinach

2 heads of Spinach, washed and large stems removed

2 large cloves garlic, minced

½  inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon water

¼ teaspoon Garam Masala

1/8 teaspooon Cayenne Pepper

1/3 cup whole milk (or cream if you like it richer)

1 Tablespoon Ghee (or butter)

Chop spinach into small pieces and set aside.  Take the garlic and ginger and put into a Mortar with the salt and water and grind with the pestle until you have a smooth paste. 

Heat ghee (or butter) in a frying pan.  Add in garlic and ginger puree and cook for just a few minutes.  Add in the chopped spinach.  Cook until the spinach wilts.  Add in the milk (or cream), Garam Masala and Cayenne Pepper and cover for 10 minutes, stirring often.  Spinach should be soft and smooth. Season to taste and add more salt if necessary.

Five Element Analysis

Spinach is a Wood food so that element is covered.  The garlic, ginger, Garma Masala and the milk (or cream) add the Metal Element. The Cayenne Pepper brings in just a hint of Fire, but that element needs support. So, serve this dish mea with something fiery such as another spicy dish and you need to make sure you also add in a Water food and an Earth food to create a balanced meal. I served it with Peppercorn Crusted Steak, which is an Earth meat with a Fire Space and I served some eggplant too, which added in the Water Element. 

Seaweed and Carrot Salad

I've had a cold since coming back from Europe and besides all the chicken soup and hot tea with lemon and honey, I've decided that I need to build up my kidney energy. I've been too run down and yes, my low back hurts (from the long plane rides and heavy suitcases) but I also simply don't get enough sleep from all the jetlag.  And with all that coughing and sneezing I've been doing, I am very dehydrated. So it's time for seaweed to come to the rescue! In Chinese Medicine, it is one of the best foods for restoring optimum kidney function because it is full of minerals that help you retain the water your kidneys need to function. I actually love seaweed and I consider it one of my most healing foods for me. And, since I spent my early years in Japan, making a Japanese style Seaweed Salad makes it a comforting food as well. Plus the flavor of Sesame Oil is one of the few flavors I can taste besides salty and sweet. It's really simple to make: all it requires is rehydrating dried seaweed for about 20 minutes and then cutting carrot and green onion shreds. The dressing is made of Sesame Oil, just a little rice wine vinegar, a touch of honey and a hint of soy sauce. That's it except for the Sesame Seed garnish. It's delicious and healthy too!

Seaweed and Carrot Salad

1/2 cup dried Wakame Seaweed, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes and cut into 2" strips

2 carrots, trimmed, peeled and cut into 2" long thin shreds

2 green onions, trimmed and cut into 2" long thin shreds

2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil

1 Tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar

2 teaspoons Tamari

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 - 3 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds

Mix together the dressing ingredients except the salt. Taste and adjust for saltiness before adding salt, if necessary. Toss the dressing with the seaweed, carrot shreds and green onion shreds.  Sprinkle with Sesame Seeds and serve.

Five Element Analysis

Seaweed naturally belongs to the Water Element and so does the Sesame Oil, Tamari and Sesame Seeds.  So this is a very Watery dish. The Vinegar adds just a bit of Wood and the Green Onions add a  little of the Metal Element. The carrots and honey contribute the Earth Element. The only element that is really missing is Fire so be sure to serve this as part of a meal that has Fire in it and this dish will contribute lots of Water! 

Tamari Roast Chicken

I've been traveling, which I am sure you must have figured out since I haven't been posting any recipes. I've been desperate to get back to the kitchen and when I return from a lecture tour, I like to make things that I consider comfort foods and one of my favorites is roast chicken.  Now, I often make roast chicken with lots of potatoes, onions, carrots and celery seasoned with thyme, but I was in the mood for one of my childhood favorites that I used to call "Soy Sauce Chicken."  It is basted with a combination of soy sauce and rice wine and is served drizzled with the pan sauce that forms. My grandfather used to make it as a braised dish, but I discovered that I liked it better from the oven.   It's really easy to make and only requires that you turn the chicken once.  You start off by cooking it breast side down and then turn it over breast side up and that is when you start basting.  But, since I am gluten sensitive and one of my good friends is Celiac, I use Tamari instead of soy sauce.  The good news is that it is not as salty and still tastes wonderful - it's just missing the wheat in the processing. I served it with some stir fried cabbage, some chili sauce and rice and my friend was happy and I was comforted. This is also an easy dish to make for Chinese New Year when you want to serve chicken as a lucky food.

Tamari Roast Chicken

1 3 - 4 pound chicken

1/2 cup Tamari

1/3 cup Shaoshing Rice Wine

1/4 cup Hot Water

1 - 2  Tablespoons Honey

2 green onions, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces

2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced in half

3 - 4 slices of fresh ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Stuff chicken cavity with green onions, garlic cloves and ginger slices.  Use an 8 inch square Pyrex dish or baking dish and put in hot water and honey.  Mix to blend and then add in the Tamari and Rice Wine.

Put chicken breast-side down into the Tamari mixture and put into the oven to bake for 40 minutes.  Take out of the oven and turn carefully, using two sets of tongs.  Put back in oven and baste frequently cooking for another 45 minutes.  Test for doneness - thermometer should read 165 degrees.

Remove from oven and put chicken on a serving plate to cool slightly for about 10 minutes.  Strain Tamari liquid and put into a serving bowl.  Cut up chicken and drizzle with sauce.

Five Element Analysis

Chicken belongs to the Wood Element so that one is already covered.  The Tamari adds the Water Element and the Rice Wine brings in the Fire Element.  The green onions, ginger and garlic add the Metal Element, but the Earth Element only has that little bit of honey to represent it.  Therefore, it would be good to serve some other Earthy foods like cabbage or cucumbers with the chicken or some Earthy fruit for dessert.  The Metal Element also needs some support, so serve it with rice and the Fire element can be added with some chili sauce on the side or by serving with a green salad.  

Thai Lemongrass Seafood Salad

We had a lovely sunny day yesterday and that always puts me in the mood for salad.  I had some leftover Steelhead Salmon and some octopus that I needed to use and I didn't feel like making Sunomono (see previous post). I also had some Lemongrass languishing in the vegetable drawer so I decided to make a Thai Salad, but alas I didn't have any limes.  But, I did have lemons.  So I tweaked my traditional Thai salad dressing and came up with this one instead. Of course, the Lemongrass and lemon juice went so well with the seafood. You can use almost any seafood and it would be just as good. This salad has a lovely bright taste and the salad was wonderfully light. Although this dish may not be completely authentic Thai food, it was delicious. In fact, I loved it so much that I had to share it with you!  

Thai Lemongrass Seafood Salad

For Dressing:

½ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup Asian Fish Sauce

¼ cup or more sugar

1 Tablespoon Lemongrass (tender front part) finely minced

1 small shallot, cut into small pieces

2 garlic cloves minced

1 small Serrano chili, deseeded and minced finely

2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil

For Salad:

3 - 4 cups of washed lettuce broken into small pieces

1 cucumber with seeds scooped out, cut in half, again and sliced into small chunks

1/2 cup mint leaves

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

3 green onions cut in small pieces

1 small red pepper - cut into small pieces

8 oz cooked fish (I used Steelhead), cut into small pieces

4 ounces of squid (cut into rings), cooked cut up octopus or cooked small shrimp

Precooked rice noodles (boiled 4 - 5 minutes, drained and rinsed in cold water) - about 1 cup

In a small bowl, mix together the lemon juice, sugar, fish sauce, lemongrass, shallot, garlic, oil and Serrano chili.  Stir to blend and taste.  Adjust for sweetness

Place noodles on the bottom of the bowl.  Add lettuce, cucumber and red pepper on top.  Place seafood on top of that and then sprinkle with mint and cilantro leaves. Pour dressing over the salad when ready to serve and toss to coat thoroughly and with each serving.  

Five Element Analysis

Seafood always belongs to the Water Element so that element is covered by any variety of fish and shellfish and the Fish Sauce adds even more Water.  The lemon brings in the Wood Element and the Serrano Chili and Red Pepper contribute the Fire Element.  The Metal Element is represented by the Rice Noodles, the garlic, shallot, mint, cilantro and lemongrass.  And, that makes this a completely balanced dish!