Simple For Recipe: August 2019

Tuesday 27 August 2019

Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters with Cherry Radishes and Mushrooms

These budget friendly roasted chicken quarters are easy to make, juicy and delicious. Use your favourite seasonings, though sea salt and freshly-cracked pepper are enough to bring out their natural aromas and flavours. You can store these in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days and reheat them in the oven to recrisp the skin. You can make this with a different cut of meat, but you will want to stick with a bone-in, skin-on cut because skin and bone add so much flavour to the dish.

4 / 1.2 kg Chicken leg quarters
1 tsp Black salt (or sea salt)
1 tsp Freshly milled peppers
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tbsp Fresh rosemary, finely chopped
3 tbsp Avocado oil (or olive oil)
250 g Brown button mushrooms, sliced
250 g White button mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch Cherry radishes
2 tbsp Chopped fresh parsley and chives for garnishing
Zucchini noodles for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Dry the chicken leg quarters with paper towels and rub with 2 tablespoons of avocado oil. Evenly sprinkle black salt, peppers, garlic powder and chopped rosemary on both sides of each quarter and gently pat to make the seasonings stick. Arrange the chicken leg quarters in a baking tray lined with a piece of aluminum foil.
Toss the mushrooms and cherry radishes with the remaining tablespoon of avocado oil. Season with salt and peppers. Add them to the chicken quarters in the baking tray.
Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the chicken skin is crispy and golden brown. Different ovens bake differently so the exact time may vary. Remove the chicken from the oven, let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Labels: Keto, Poultry, Vegetables

Wednesday 21 August 2019

Classic Zucchini Muffins

I am loving these muffins. They are an easy and delicious classic muffin. Simple ingredients, one bowl and sweet cinnamon flavor. I have already made them twice in the past week. They quickly became a new favorite recipe. I love how simple they are and I love that they use 2 whole cups of zucchini and the batch only makes 12 muffins. That is a bunch of zucchini packed into these muffins.

They are soft and tender and have just the right amount of sweetness and cinnamon flavor. They stay fresh for several days. They taste great plain and they are incredible smothered with jam. I picked up some Tayberry Jam at a local Farmer's Market the other day, which apparently is a mix of a Blackberry and Raspberry and it is incredible. It goes great with these muffins.

You might also like:

Cinnamon Roll Zucchini Bread

Pistachio Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Cake Sandwich Cookies

Cream Cheese Swirled Zucchini Muffins

Lion House Zucchini Bread

Classic Zucchini Muffins
(Printable Recipe)

2 large eggs
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla or 1 Tbl. vanilla bean paste
1/2 c. canola or vegetable oil
2 c. shredded zucchini, peeled or unpeeled
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or brush each muffin cup with melted butter; set aside. Whisk together eggs and sugar in a large bowl until thick and lemon-colored. Mix in the vanilla and oil until combined. Stir in the shredded zucchini. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and stir together until just combined.

Divide batter between muffin cups, filling each cup almost full. Bake in preheated oven for 20-21 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins.

adapted from: Taste and Tell

Labels: bread, Quick Bread, zucchini

Tuesday 20 August 2019

Red Rice Salad with Green Beans, Mushrooms and Sardines

Chewy, nutty, nutritious, this delicious red rice salad is perfect for outdoor eating on those hot summer days. It is great served with grilled beef, chicken or fish and pack up any leftovers for lunch the next day. It actually tastes much better the next day. The nutty, earthy flavour and crunchy, firm texture of red rice elevate the dish instantly, but you can use any brown rice in its place.

250 g Red rice, boiled in salted water for 25 minutes, drained
300 g Green beans, trimmed
300 g Button mushrooms, sliced
4 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
1/2 Lemon, juiced
1 Garlic clove, minced
Black salt and freshly ground peppers
1 stalk Celery, thinly sliced
2 tbsp Chives, chopped
Red oak leaf lettuce
Sardines in olive oil, drained

Boil the rice in plenty of salted water until just cooked, about 25 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, prepare the roasted vegetables. Toss trimmed green beans and button mushrooms with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with black salt and freshly ground peppers. Roast for 25 minutes or until tender.
Place apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, the remaining olive oil and the minced garlic in a glass jar with a fitted lid. Season with salt and peppers and shake well.
Tip the drained red rice into a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the warm rice and mix well. Let it soak in a little, then toss in the roasted vegetables together with roasting juice, sliced celery and chopped chives.
To serve, place them over some salad greens and top with sardines.

Labels: Pasta Rice and Dumplings, Salads, Seafood, Vegetables

Tuesday 13 August 2019

Blackberry Chia Crumble Bars

The base and topping are made with butter, spelt flour, almond, baking powder, a little coconut sugar, zero-calorie sweetener and lemon zest. The cookie dough is then enriched with an egg and perfectly firm to support the thick layer of berries, that are coated in coconut sugar, freshly squeezed lemon juice and chia seeds. You can easily make this all year round with seasonal fruit. The chia seeds helps to thicken the mixture and add another layer of nutrition. You can use 2 tablespoons of cornstarch instead.

Crust	Black Berry Chia Filling
50 g Coconut sugar 120 g Erythritol sweetener 60 g Almond meal 300 g White spelt flour 1 tsp Baking powder 1/4 tsp Salt Zest of 1 organic lemon 200 Cold unsalted butter, diced 1 Medium egg	80 g Coconut sugar 20 ml Freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 tbsp Chia seeds 400 g Blackberries plus more for garnish 200 g Blueberries

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 26-cm / 10-inch springform pan or a 5cmx30x25cm cake pan. Line base and sides with baking paper.
In a mixing bowl, add in coconut sugar, erythritol sweetener, almond meal, spelt flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Whisk all the ingredients to combine. Use a for to blend in diced butter and egg. Dough would be crumbly. Pat two thirds of the mixture into the prepared pan.
In a large bowl, combine coconut sugar, lemon juice and chia seeds. Add in berries and gently fold to combine.
Spread the berry mixture onto the crust and crumble the remaining dough over the berry layer. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before slicing.

Labels: cakes, Fruit, Nuts and Seeds, Spelt

Tuesday 6 August 2019

Baked Zucchini with Parmesan

This easy delicious baked zucchini dish is the BEST way to use up summer zucchini when the season is in full force, esp. if your garden has blessed you with an abundance of this summer squash! Enjoy it with some salad leaves with a simple vinaigrette or with grilled chicken.

250 g Yellow zucchini, thinly sliced
250 g Green zucchini, thinly sliced
2 Small potato, thinly sliced
3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
Black salt and freshly ground black pepper
50 g Parmesan, grated
Fresh parsley leaves, chopped, to serve

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 22cm round ovenproof dish with olive oil.
Place sliced zucchini and potato in a large bowl. Add half of olive oil and toss to coat. Season with black salt pepper. Arrange the vegetable slices in a single layer in prepared dish, alternating between the green, yellow zucchini and potato slices, for a colour effect.
Drizzle with remaining oil. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and tender. Sprinkle with chopped parsley leaves to serve.

Labels: Cheese, Gluten Free, Potato, Vegetables

Sunday 4 August 2019

Poppy Seed Cake

Poppy Seed Cake (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 27). Also in Maida Heatter's New Book of Great Desserts (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982, pg. 118).

I have made poppy seed cakes in the past but for some reason, I had never tried Maida's recipe. It is good but tasted a bit bland so I added a lemon frosting to give it a bit of oomph. Actually, a lemon glaze might have worked best, but this was good and got some raves from the folks at my workplace.

This recipe was given to Maida by the chef of Chocolat bakery in San Francisco.

2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

8 oz unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

5 large eggs, separated, plus 1 additional white

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup poppy seeds

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350. Use a plain tube pan (the kind that comes in two pieces) - do not butter or line the pan.

Sift together the first three ingredients and set aside.

Cream the butter. Add 1 1/4 cups of the sugar (reserving 1/4 cup) and beat several minutes until light and creamy. Add the egg yolks and beat for 2 or 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as necessary.

In a small bowl, stir the sour cream, poppy seeds and vanilla together.

Beat about 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter. Add the sour cream mixture, beating only until incorporated. Add the remaining flour mixture.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the 1/4 sugar.

Fold 1/4 of the whites into the batter but do not mix it thoroughly. Fold in another 1/4. Add the batter to the remaining whites and fold together until blended.

Turn into the pan, rotate it briskly to level the batter and bake for 50-55 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

After removing it from the oven, turn it upside down on a wire rack to cool completely. After cooling, it is best to freeze the cake before removing it from the pan. After freezing, use a sharp knife to score around the sides of the pan and the center tube. Carefully remove it from the pan.

Labels: cakes

Simple For Recipe