Vermont Acupuncture

Category: Recipes

  • Coconut Curry with Chicken Tofu and Vegetables

    Through the years many people have asked me for this recipe. I like to spruce up the basic curry with lots of veggies to make it super delicious, but keeping it simple works well. Curry is very flexible, so see what’s in your fridge and use any protein and veggies that you have available. If you have a can of coconut milk, curry paste, chicken or tofu and a few vegetables you’ve got enough to make a curry.

    Foundational Ingredients:

    • 1 can full fat unsweetened coconut milk
    • 2-3 Tablespoon curry paste (red or panang)
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • Chicken and/or tofu – about a pound – chopped into 1 inch cubes
    • 1 teaspoon salt

    Optional ingredients:

    • 1 red pepper, chopped
    • 1 carrot, sliced thinly on the diagonal
    • 1-2 cups mushrooms – white, shiitake or any variety, sliced or quartered
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1-2 Tablespoon lemongrass, minced
    • 1 kaffir lime leaf, julienned
    • 1 Tablespoon curry powder
    • 1 Tablespoon coconut or palm sugar
    • 1-2 cups green beans or broccoli, pre-steamed
    • 1-2 cups kale, cabbage or spinach, chopped
    • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
    • 1-2 cups of broth

    Optional Garnishes:

    • Lime
    • Thai basil
    • Cilantro
    • Toasted peanuts or other nuts, chopped
    1. Start steaming any veggies that need it and get some rice going.
    2. Heat 2 Tablespoon of the thick cream from the top of the canned coconut milk and/or 2 Tablespoon coconut oil and curry paste.
    3. Sauté onions in coconut cream until translucent, then add pepper, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf. Mix and let cook a few minutes then add half a can of coconut milk.
    4. Spread chicken and/or tofu evenly over the top of the veg mix, sprinkle with curry powder if desired, sugar, and salt right on the chicken. Let cook for 5 or more minutes, then turn over.
    5. Add the rest the of coconut milk, the rest of the vegetables, fish sauce if using and/or salt to taste. Add water or broth if you want to make it soupier. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are cooked.
    6. Serve over rice or have as a soup. Garnish with lime, fresh herbs or nuts.

  • Okra and Onions sauteed with Spices and Tomato

    Masala Bhindi

    I cannot think of anything I would rather do with okra than make this. If I get eggplant from my CSA, look out! Kelly is making Indian food all weekend. I posted this receipt over 10 years ago and it’s still true.

    Get the spices measured out and ready, then

    Heat:

    2 T ghee or coconut oil

    Saute:

    1 large onion, finely chopped

    1 pound okra, trimmed & sliced length-wise on a slight diagonal

    After 5-8 minutes, add:

    2 T garlic, minced (more…)

  • Turkey Liver Pate with Cranberries

    Liver is a super-food. Liver contains significantly more vitamin A, all the Bs, iron and other minerals than any other food. Pate is my preferred way to eat liver. It’s so good – and you don’t need to eat a lot to get the nutritional value. If you’ve got a turkey liver – you’ve got to try this recipe.

    Thanksgiving 2023 we are roasting a wild turkey. It’s a bit smaller than a farmed turkey and the liver was a quarter pound, so I halved the recipe.

    Ingredients:

    1 turkey liver (about a half pound)

    1/3 stick of good quality butter or ghee

    1 medium onion, minced (or 2-3 shallots)

    1 clove garlic, minced

    1 T each: rosemary, sage, parsley, thyme

    ¼ t allspice

    ¾ t sea salt

    ¼ t pepper

    1-2 T cream or half and half

    1-2 T sherry or cognac (optional)

    Small handful of cranberries (not too much or the pate will be tart – alternatively try a spoonful of cranberry sauce)

    Equipment: non-cast iron pan, food processor

    1. Trim away any membranes on the liver, slice or chop, and soak in salted water – at least 30 minutes but ideally for a few hours or even overnight.
    2. In a stainless steel (or any non-cast iron) heat butter on medium and add onion and sauté for 10 minutes until lightly caramelized.
    3. Chop garlic and herbs and add to pan with onions. Add allspice, salt and pepper. Once you can smell the aromatics (about 2-3 minutes)…
    4. Add liver and cook until browned on outside but still pink inside (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat.
    5. Once the onion and liver mixture has cooled a bit, add to food processor along with cream, cranberries and sherry or cognac (if using). Blend until smooth.
    6. Spoon pate into small jars or other container and refrigerate to cool – later you can put some in the freezer for longer storage. Refrigerated pate lasts about 7-10 days.

  • Japanese Beef and White Sweet Potato Stew

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    Simple and delicious. The base is bone broth, tamari, ginger with sweet Japanese cooking wine – slow cooked stew beef with Japanese white sweet potatoes. Yum. A hit with the kids.

    Ingredients

    2 pounds local stew beef (boneless chuck 1 – 1 ½ in chunks)

    3 cups bone stock or broth (chicken, turkey, beef)

    ¼ cup tamari or soy sauce

    10 slices of ginger, peeled

    Black pepper

    Sea salt

    1 lemon (Zest goes in with the potatoes. Juice at the end)E95E380D-ABC0-4796-BCD6-DBC75E5FBD30_1_105_c

    2 pounds Japanese white sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-1 ½ in chunks. Alternatively use regular sweet potatoes or butternut squash.

    Scallions (optional)

     

    Salt and pepper the meat. Turn oven on to 350 F.

    In large Dutch oven heat 1 T bacon fat, ghee, butter, coconut oil or olive oil.

    Sear half of the meat, turning once about 5 minutes per side. Put aside. Sear the other half and put aside.

    (more…)

  • Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce – Nuoc Mam

    Here’s how to make fish sauce dipping sauce, Nuoc Mam:

    1-2 t honey or palm sugar

    1 T hot or warm water – mix the honey or sugar until mostly dissolved

    Add 2 T good quality fish sauce

    1 clove of garlic, smashed or minced

    and the juice of 1-2 limes.

    Add crushed or sliced serrano or Thai chili to the sauce or serve on the side.

    (or replace the chilies and garlic with Sriracha chili garlic sauce if you want a short cut)

    You can water it down with another 1-2 T of water if you prefer, or want to stretch it out.

    Let the dressing sit while you finish other things – it is better if it has some time.

    Give each person a tiny dipping bowl and distribute.

    Great for dipping Summer Rolls or Spring rolls. Also great as a sauce for eggs or grilled pork, as is popular in Vietnam. This is also the base dressing for Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad.

  • Blueberry Crumb Cake

    If you have an extra pint of blueberries in your fridge, here’s one of my favorite ever cake recipes. IMG_0554

    I made the recipe from Smitten Kitchen’s Blueberry Crumb Cake but increased the chopped walnuts to 3/4 cup and used an 8 inch pan, which increased the cooking time to over an hour.

    It gets better as it sits for a couple days, if it lasts long enough.

    I’m bringing half on our camping trip, and the other half is going to my friend Rebecca, as a belated birthday treat.  Here’s her half:

    IMG_0563

     

  • Spicy Quick Pickled Cucumbers

    2 pounds fresh cucumbers, cut lengthwise into spears (if the cucumbers are big and has big seeds, you can IMG_0425cut out some of the seeds)

    ¼ cup white wine vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar

    1 t sugar

    ¾ t crushed red pepper flakes

    2 t sea salt, plus more

    2 T chopped dill or other herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil – whatever you have/like)

    2 T fresh lemon juice

    Toss cucumbers in a large bowl with vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes and 2 t salt. Chill at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours. Rotate once or twice during that time.

    Just before serving, add herbs and lemon juice and toss to combine. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

    Note: This recipe is not very spicy. It is so quick and easy, and it is nice to be able to make it a couple hours in advance. If you want, use a big mason jar, lay it on its side and rotate.

    Thanks to Jeanette Moy for this recipe!

  • Trifecta Meatballs (Whole30 compliant)

    IMG_7729

     

    These meatballs are sooo much better than the turkey meatballs I made last week, which I over-cooked because I was following a recipe that said to use a meat thermometer to check the inside temperature, but it didn’t work and I cooked them too long. I suggest when you think they might be done, take one out and cut it in half to see if it is done on the inside.

    I created this recipe because I wanted a meatball recipe that would be Whole 30 compliant and super tasty, and it is! It’s also super easy. (more…)

  • Soup Basics: How to Make Soup in 6 Easy Steps

    chicken soupIf you know the basics of soup making, you don’t need to follow the recipe word for word, but instead can glean inspiration from recipes and use what you have on hand. With a nice sharp chef knife, a cutting board and a Dutch oven there are endless possibilities. See equipment below.

    Step 1: Soup base –  Mirepoix

    The base of the soup usually starts with sautéing some vegetables, which flavors the oil or fat. Choose a fat that can handle the temperature. Read more about FATS here.

    • Ghee, clarified butter
    • Coconut Oil
    • Lard
    • Bacon Fat
    • Tallow (beef fat)
    • Butter – keep heat fairly low
    • Olive oil – also not recommended to sautéed at high heat

    Warm the oil/fat on medium heat in a thick-bottomed deep soup pan, such as a Dutch oven, and sauté:

    1-2 finely chopped onion, shallot or leek

    then 1-2 carrots, and if I have it, celery, both chopped finely, or medium-fine, about a half inch chunks.

    Sprinkle with sea salt (maybe a ½ teaspoon or so, I dunno exactly, I don’t measure, I add a little as I go along and usually end up needing to add more at the end.)

    Chefs call the classic mixture “mirepoix”, otherwise known as the “holy trinity” in the cooking world.

    Step 2: More vegetables

    If you want to add more vegetables, you can add them to the mirepoix about 5-10 minutes after the carrots and onions.

    What do you have in the fridge? Here are some vegetable ideas:

    • Sweet potatoes, parsnips, celerac, butternut squash
    • Mushrooms – crimini, shiitake
    • Bell peppers – green, red, yellow
    • Kale, any variety (more…)

  • Swiss Pears

    A super simple and refreshing appetizer.IMG_8447

    Sliced ripe pear with slices of Emmentaler or Jarlsberg or other Swiss cheese.