Homemade Chicken Broth

I am not a big fan of canned chicken broth, even though it’s said low sodium, organic, 100% natural etc etc…canned food is still canned food..At least there’s a teeny bit of preservatives in there. Otherwise, how could the broth stay fresh for a long time?

As a soup person, I always make my own chicken broth from scratch.

Homemade Chicken broth
Ingredients:
1 whole stewing hen

The meat is not edible (too tough cause it’s an old age chicken- sorry for my bad English
1 jicama -sliced
1/2 inch – 1 inch ginger or more
3-5 cloves of garlic
Optional: 1 onion -chopped
Dash of salt

Directions:
1. Cut up the chicken, throw away the skins and cut out some excess fat

2. Meanwhile, boil about 1/4 pot of water

3. When the water boils, put in the cut up chicken for about 30 seconds to “wash away” the impurities. This will prevent some foams and build up in the soup later on

4. Take out the chicken and discard the water
5. Refill the pot with clean water and throw in the rest of the ingredients with the chicken to the pot. Fill it up until almost everything’s covered

6. I used my wonderful pressure cooker to cook the broth, which only took me 25 minutes


Kath, my mom said this pressure cooker is also from Germany!
Note: For those who don’t have pressure cooker, bring the water to boil then reduce the heat to medium low and boil about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Skim off any foams.
7. Done!

8. Discard the chicken. Use strainer to strain the rest of the ingredients.

9. The soup looks oily, despite throwing away most of the skins. Fear not, pop this into the fridge and after an hour or two later, skimming off the fat will be a breeze!

Nothing beats homemade chicken broth!

What’s your favorite way of making chicken broth?

 

Friday Ramblings and Chimichurri Sauce

TGIF everyone! I’m so glad the week is OVER and weekend is finally here!

Btw, remember the Chimichurri sauce I made last time? My salmon turned out GREAT!

Baked Salmon (or other fish) with Chimichurri Sauce (adapted from The Food Lovers’ Primal Palate)
Ingredients:
1-2 Tbsp Avocado Oil
3-4 garlic cloves
Handful of fresh Italian parsley
Dash of salt
Dash of ground black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)

Directions:
1. Mash garlic and parsley in your food processor (I used my mortar and pestle since the amount is not a lot and I didn’t feel like washing my food processor)
2. Mix everything and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake the fish.

3. Line the salmon steak on the baking dish (I pre-seasoned the salmon steak with some salt before)
4. Pour the Chimichurri sauce over the salmon

5. Bake in 350°F for about 25-30 minutes

Serve!

I had extra sauce so I used it to bake the Star Butter Fish as well. Delish!

Yesterday I had some stomach indigestion *ugh* after devoured the whole package of this:

Don’t get me wrong! Artisana Coconut Butter WAS SO YUMMY that I couldn’t stop myself. I was driving home and was kinda hungry and this thing popped in my head. So without hesitant, I just scarfed down the whole thing. One bite, two bites and I was like “to heck with it, I’ll just finish the whole thing!”

Since it was in a cooler temperature, the texture was kinda chalky. It might be better to melt it a bit so it’ll be more like a spread. But it melted once I put it in my mouth. I guess now I learn not to indulge it all at once or my stomach won’t be happy. No more indigestion. Good thing I didn’t barf.

Have a good weekend!

Btw there’s $50 iHerb shopping spree giveaway!

 

Can’t Miss the Freebies!

Happy Wednesday!! Before you know it weekend is around the corner!

Today was such a good day because: our department provided FREE LUNCH from Chipotle! As a typical thrift Asian, I wouldn’t want to miss this!

But I still keep everything as primal/paleo as possible – no rice, beans, tortilla and soybean oil.

After reading Nom Nom Paleo’s Chipotle post, I opted for Salad bowl with carnitas (the only meat that’s not cooked in soybean oil) with mild tomato salsa, sour cream on side (company didn’t cover guacamole..FAIL). So I got my veggies, protein and some fat.

Apparently they were super stingy on the sour cream!

Good thing I prepared my Coconut Milk Dressing. Got my healthy fat intake!

Benefit of free lunch?

I could have my packed lunch as my breakfast instead!

The beauty of eating Primal= There’s almost no difference between lunch/dinner/breakfast anymore!

Except when I made this Almond Pancake

Slathered with cheese spread

Not paleo/primal standard but hey gotta loosen up a bit sometimes!

I love this Président brand! It’s from France and cheaper than Laughing Cow. It’s not that salty and very mild taste. My wallet and I surely love it!

I admit, I do miss this ever since I’ve gone Primal – no bread, crackers etc. But my Almond Pancake surely could satisfy my cravings of any gluten/grain stuff.

Anyway, remember the chicken dish I made on Sunday?

I “re-purposed” it to become “quiche” = b-fast food!

Super easy, just add one beaten egg and bake for 20 mins in oven 350°F.

So no need to get sick of eating same thing over and over. Vary it a bit!

Also in this b-fast I had today – topped with the sauce from the Indonesian Beef Stew – YUM! Plus the last drop of Unsweetened Almond Breeze.

Freebies from iHerb!!

Artisana Raw Coconut Butter and Artisana Raw Cacao Bliss.

I’ve heard sooo much raves about coconut butter and when I saw iHerb provided these samples (just need to pay shipping) I instantly ordered them!

Btw, for first time shopper, use my promo code SUT585 to save $5.00! Now go and get your free sample of Coconut butter from iHerb.

Or if you want to get a big jar of it, Katie is having Coconut butter giveaway!

iHerb also included Madre-C sample.

mix it in warm water

stir and enjoy!

Perfect timing! So many people sick at work now and I have to boost up my Vit C! Figuratively speaking, I was breathing germs in and out at the office for 8 hours- 5 working days!! Ugh, bless my immune system! I know Leashieloo and Jessica catch a cold. Hang in there, girls!

Do you differentiate your food for breakfast/lunch/dinner?
I used to, but not anymore

Favorite cheese spread?

Have you received any freebies?
Compared to other food bloggers, I don’t think I’ve received as many freebies as them. But I don’t sweat it though it feels nice to receive free stuff.hehe..especially food related.

 

Homemade Almond Butter with Flaxseeds

When I saw my local grocery store sold their dry roasted raw almonds for $3.99/lbs, I know I just had to grab some! Most places I’ve seen are selling at much higher price! Besides they sell it in a bulk bin so we can scoop as many as we want. I got total 3lbs of almonds.

I bought a bag of Roasted Golden Flaxseeds from TJ a while back and it had been sitting in my freezer forever. An idea popped in my head: Why don’t I make Almond Butter with Flaxseeds instead?

Super Easy Homemade Almond Butter Flaxseeds
Ingredients:
1 cup of dry roasted raw almonds
About 3/4 cup Roasted golden flaxseeds – I’d reduce it to 1/2 cup next time

Directions:
1. Blend flaxseeds in your food processor until mostly grounded

2. Next pour in the almonds

3. Blend at high speed for about a minute – occasionally stop and scrub the sides. – at this point you got almond meal

4. Keep blending until it becomes nut butter

Like this!

VOILA!

Hmm…the smell of the roasted flaxseeds sure heavenly!

Store in a glass jar and refrigerate.

Use it for dippings, make raw almond cookies etc.

Super easy!

 

Prepping Food in Advance- the Primal Way

Wow can’t believe it’s almost the end of January. Time surely flies! Didn’t we just celebrate New Year?

I’ve been cooking and prepping lots stuff over the weekend so I won’t be stuck for hours after work in the kitchen making dinner.

K is not a big fan of batch cooking so we had a little argument about this. “It’s not good to have left over food that lasted more than 3 days! It’s much better to have fresh cooked meals every single time. Small portions are better.”

Yea, I know that but at the same time it TAKES A LOT of time to prep all the stuff and I try to minimize the time as much as possible.

“Teriyaki Inspired” Basil Chicken (Primal)
Ingredients:
2lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts -cubed
1/2 white onions -minced
1 shallot -minced
1-2 garlic cloves-minced
3 Tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 apple – diced
1/4 cup pineapple chunks
salt to taste
1-2 Tbsp avocado oil or any high temperature cooking oil of your choice
1-2 green onions -minced – separate the white and green parts
1 inch of ginger -julienne
Fresh basil leaves

Directions:
1. Marinate the chicken meat with 1-2 Tbsp tamari soy sauce for about 1 hour or overnight
2. Pan fry the chicken meat until golden brown – set aside
3. Heat up the cooking pan with avocado oil, saute ginger, onions, garlic, shallot, white part of the green onions
4. Pour in the apple cuts and pineapple – add a bit of water until everything’s covered
5. Reduce heat to medium and cover for about 5 minutes. The goal here is to soften the apples so it resembles applesauce texture

6. Mash them with your wooden spatula if necessary
7. When everything looked mashed enough, add in the fresh basil

8. Taste and add salt, tamari soy sauce accordingly
9. Lastly pour in the chicken meat – stir until combined
10. Pour in the green parts of the green onion

Serve!

I think this should last us for about 2 days (both K and I pack our lunch to work) plus for the next day dinner.

I also made “Beef Rendang“ (Indonesian Beef Stew)” for an additional meal.

Next in my fridge, I already prepared Chimichurri Sauce adapted from The Primal Palate recipe for my salmon steaks.

I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Lastly, I also marinated Star Butter Fish with some salt, curry powder, avocado oil and black pepper. I plan to either bake or pan fry these fellas.

So there you go, batch food prepping the primal way.

Batch cooking/prepping, are you a fan? Or do you prefer to cook small portions so each time you’ll always enjoy a fresh cooked meals instead reheating?

 

The L Word

It’s the L word today.

Pretty much I ate same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner LOL

Breakfast – left over veggies from dinner. (no pic)

Lunch
Salmon in Mushroom Sauce

Butter Garlic Shrimp

Dinner
Veggie soup in homemade chicken broth

And bits parts from lunch.

I had two of choco balls that I made last night. Those things were yummy but didn’t make me finish the whole box at once. One bite at one time was enough to satisfy my cravings.

Seriously today I felt super duper lazy. I really didn’t feel like doing anything. Just wanted to sit in front of my computer, surfing around mindlessly. But no matter how lazy I am, there was no excuse to not complete my morning workout.

How did you spend your Saturday today?

FYI the L word of the day is LAZY.

 

“Piña Colada” Baked Tilapia and Choco Balls

I had such an amazing dinner and couldn’t wait to share the recipe with all of you. Seriously, this recipe was spontaneously done. I wasn’t even measure everything precisely. But it turned out good!

“Piña Colada” Baked Tilapia (Primal)
Ingredients:
1 medium whole fresh tilapia
1 brown onions – minced
About 1/4 cup fresh pineapple chunks
1/2 big ass tomato (or 2 medium tomatoes)- sliced lengthwise
1 big carrot (or 2 medium carrots) – diced
salt and pepper
1-2 tsp curry powder
1/4 cup coconut milk
1-3 Tbsp avocado oil (or other high smoke point cooking oil of your choice)
1/4 head of cauliflower

Directions:
1. Line the baking dish with tomato slices, carrot slices, pineapple chunks, half of minced brown onion and cauliflower
2. Pour in 1 Tbsp avocado oil, seasoned generously with salt, pepper and some curry powder
3. Place the whole tilapia on top of the veggie bed
4. Preheat oven to 400°F
5. Heat a non stick pan to medium heat
6. Saute the remaining minced brown onion in avocado oil with curry powder
7. When the onions start to look translucent, pour in the coconut milk
8. Remove onion mixture from the pan, pour on top of the fish

It should look something like this

9. Bake in 400°F for about 25 minutes – turn it over and bake for another 20 minutes (total 45 minutes of baking)

Serve!

Super easy and very yummy! It’s savory, sweet, a bit tangy with a hint of coconut scent brings up your dinner appetite.

Although I’m not a sweet tooth person nor dessert type, I have been wanting to try making Katie’s Fudge Babies. She’s also not a big fan of sweet stuff and a big fan of dark chocolate too, which kinda similar to me. So after dinner, I decided to give it a try. I have all the ingredients anyway.

Choco Balls (from Katie’s Fudge Babies) – (Vegan)
Ingredients:
120 gram walnuts
230 gram pitted dates (I used jumbo medjool dates)
Dash of vanilla powder
4 Tbsp cocoa powder

Directions:
1. Put all ingredients in a high speed blender/food processor

2. Blend until everything incorporates together.

3. Shape into anything you want. I stick to simple balls.

Refrigerate until the time you want to consume them.

Although the Choco Balls are not quite primal/paleo standard, at least they do not contain processed sugar. Dates are still high in sugar but these Choco Balls should be able to fulfill my dark chocolate craving when it strikes me once in a blue moon.
Thanks Katie for sharing this recipe!

 

Fasted for the Bloody Day

Happy Friday everyone!! Bloody day for me today -without the bloody orange.

Even though I was off from work today, it didn’t feel like it! I was OUT for most of the day and STARVED fasted until noon!

First trip to the doctor’s office at 9:30am

Not too many people, but believe it or not I spent almost 1.5 hour here and most it just WAITING AND WAITING AND WAITING.
After the PA talked to me for a mere 5-10 minutes, they told me to go to the lab for the blood test. That was quite a surprised because in the past, they used to draw the blood right there. Anyway, they mentioned they already sent the lab order electronically so I just need to give the lab my info.

Good thing is the lab is located on my way to my next appointment so I dropped by. After I got there, the lab said the doctor’s office HASN’T SENT the order. I was like BLAH! It was almost the time for my next appointment so I figured maybe I just came back later. Called the doc’s office and assured they sent the order.

Second appointment.

Can you believe this is the doctor’s waiting room? So cozy huh? Didn’t spend too much time waiting here but it still took at least an hour.
And got another blood work order.

On the bright side, there’s the lab NEARBY this place and it was only walking distance. Two stuff done!

They took 8 tubes of my blood (6 bigger tubes, 2 small ones).

And a urine sample. Gah, I hate taking urine sample! Gross! Enough said.

Finally I could have my first meal of the day!
Lunch at the hospital cafeteria.

digged into this right away.

Funny thing is I wasn’t actually super hungry and cranky, despite being in empty stomach for about 16 hours (last meal I had was last night at 7:30pm).

Last appointment of the day.

I was the first person!

Finally got home around 4pm and started up dinner and working out!

Phew, a workout always makes me feel refreshed afterward, despite drenched in sweats. After having my lunch, I was actually more sleepy and tired than being on an empty stomach. Weird. Have you felt that way before?

Stay tuned for a yummy recipe! I’m too tired to type more now.

Nite nite!~

 

Packing lunch to the doctor’s office

I don’t have to go to work tomorrow but I still have to pack lunch.

Tomorrow is my 3 doctor’s appointments.
First will be at 9:30am, second at 11:15 am and last one will be at 2:00pm.

Since I”ll be having a blood test at 9:30am, I can’t eat any breakfast before nor exercise. Oh well, I guess I can get extra sleep.

Anyway today I finally made Roasted Chicken with Caramelized Shallots ever Nom Nom Paleo posted the recipe a while back. Since I didn’t have all the ingredients, I had to modify it a bit, but still Primal/Paleo approved.

Roasted Chicken with Caramelized Shallots (modified from Nom Nom Paleo)
Ingredients:
8 pieces of chicken thighs (bone in and skin on)
4 large shallots – minced
Couple pinches of salt and pepper
4 Tbsp coconut aminos
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Dash of dried thyme
Dash of ground coriander
3-4 stalks of green onions-minced

Directions:
1. Mix all the seasonings on the baking pan (I had to divide the chicken thighs into 2 baking dishes since my convection oven is small)
2. Rub the chicken thighs with the seasoning until everything coated evenly.

3. Marinate about overnight or 1 hour if you’re in a pinch (make sure to take the chicken out from the fridge an hour before start cooking so they’ll come up to room temperature)
4. Pre heat oven 450°F
5. Bake the chicken skin side up (reduce the heat to 425°F)
6. After 25 minutes, turn over the chicken – make sure to spoon some of the shallots over it.
7. After another 20 minutes, turn the chicken back (skin side up), topped with chopped green onions – bake for an extra 5 minutes.

Serve!

The aroma of caramelized shallots are HEAVENLY! The chicken was so moist, a bit tangy, salty and a bit sweet. Perfect!
Thanks Nom Nom Paleo for sharing this wonderful Paleo recipe!

While the chicken baking, I also modify the typical Chinese Steamed Fish to meet Primal/Paleo standard. It’s actually super easy!

Primal Style Steamed Fish
Ingredients:
1 medium fresh tilapia (make sure it’s fresh, not frozen! It’s very important! When buying a fresh fish, always check the gill’s color. If it’s bright red then it’s still fresh. If it looks dull, brownish, or pale then the fish is not fresh anymore)
1 inch of ginger – julienne
1-2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp coconut amino
1 Tbsp avocado oil
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1-2 green onion stalks – julienne

Directions:
1. Rub the fish with salt – set aside for 20 minutes or longer
2. Pour in coconut amino, apple cider vinegar and avocado oil.
3. Topped with julienne ginger and green onions (white part only)
4. Line a pair of disposable chopsticks underneath the fish (so the fish is elevated a bit from the plate) – This to speed up the cooking time.
5. Steam at high heat about 15 minutes
6. Turn off the heat, uncover the fish and topped with the green part of the green onions

Serve!

A fresh fish will taste good with very minimal ingredients and sauces. Usually people use oyster sauce, sugar and commercial fish sauce like Lee Kum Kee which is loaded with MSG and other chemical stuff.

Lee Kum Kee Oyster sauce

Lee Kum Kee Seafood Sauce

Images are taken from here and here.

 

My breakfast however has been pretty boring lately (mainly romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes with tea eggs and dressed with Fage Greek yogurt or coconut milk dressing) and a glass of almond milk.

banana wasn't consumed in the end

But I got to eat this Bloody Orange from Fresh and Easy as my b-fast today!

woooo bloody!

Taste just like regular orange, a little sweet and tangy.

I love my Avocado Oil which I got yesterday and finally I can have a healthy high smoke point cooking oil in my pantry! No more canola, vegetable, soybean, peanut oil!

Yes indeed they’re pricey (I got these for $20 at Amazon.com) but for my health, it’s worth it.

Have you had Bloody Orange before?

Weekend is almost here!!

 

Dragon Fruit

How’s everyone’s Monday? For those who got a day off today, nice and I’m envious of you…hehe.

Southern California is pretty warm today (78-80°F) – Spring in January?

Not much happened today except I had to leave extra early from home to get in the line in front of the lab for blood draw. They opened at 7:30am but when I got there around 7:15, I was the fifth person already. But at least I only waited around 20 minutes and I was done! Good thing the lab is located close to my workplace.

This blood test will be for one of my doctor’s appointment this coming Friday (one of those three that I made 2 weeks ago).

And I’ll have another blood test on Friday, with another doctor. That one will require me to fast 8 hour before. Woohoo…another needles! *pun intended*

But not this morning.

Full of fiber, healthy fats and protein – kept me full until lunch time.

Not much going on today.

We got a new person transferred from another department at work into ours. Apparently we need to train her…*sigh* Seriously, if she was brought to help our workload, why they had to get someone that DOESN’T KNOW how to do the basics?

It’s pretty annoying how it works. A new hire, you train them and in the end that person become your manager. What kind of work ethic is that?

Sadly, that’s how it is in the work reality. “It’s NOT what YOU KNOW, but it’s WHO YOU KNOW”.

Anyway, I got to devour the dragon fruit that I got couple days ago.


I was expecting it to taste like kiwi but for some reason it was kinda bland. Just has a little hint of sweetness and refreshing. No sour taste either. Maybe I didn’t pick the good one?