Goodbye Detox… and My Detox Essentials

Girl Cooks World

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April 23, 2019

Although I’ve done a cleanse or two in my day, I definitely don’t claim to be an expert. But for anybody who is interested, these are the things that I consider my detox essentials.

Detox Essentials:

1. Coconut Oil is one of my favorite discoveries over the past couple years, I use coconut oil in everything. Cooking, moisturizing, smoothies, etc., etc. I even use it as a substitute for cream of coconut in Pina Coladas. Anything that makes (virgin) Pina Coladas kosher for a cleanse definitely gets my seal of approval.

2. Stevia has become my new best friend. It’s an absolute must for those with a sweet tooth (like me!).

3. Probiotics will help keep your tummy happy and healthy.

4. There are plenty of detox books out there, but Clean is one of my favorites.

5. Natalia Rose has written several excellent books, but I like Detox for Women best. She’s a great cheerleader and her green lemonade is my new favorite drink.

6. A natural bristle brush for skin brushing, which helps circulate your lymph.

7. Since I don’t own a juicer, my Vitamix got even more of a workout than normal the past couple weeks (update: I recently bought this Breville Juicer and really like it).

8. Most nutritionists and naturopaths recommend rebounding (jumping on a trampoline) as the best, detoxifying exercise out there. Plus it’s super fun! I’ve got this one, which is well made and quiet.

9. It’s not in the nifty little photoshop document above, but I’m definitely of the opinion that a good vacation is super detoxifying. We all need to get out of the office and away from the computer every once in awhile.

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I took a quick break this past month and it was looooooong overdue. My vacation was too short, but I still tried to cram in as much as I could. I got to hit the beach and eat yummy tacos.

I saw all sorts of creatures great and small (and just plain weird in the last case).

And most importantly, I got to spend some quality time with family. This little cutie is eating plain old corn on the cob but in a couple years I bet she’ll be chomping down on some Roasted Corn with Mexican Sour Cream, Chile and Cheese 🙂

Thanks again for sticking out cleanse month with me… back tomorrow with my next culinary destination!

Chicken Souvlaki

Girl Cooks World

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April 23, 2019

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Want to know one of the best things about living in Hawaii? You know, besides the great beaches, amazing surf and perfect weather? Grilling is a year round affair. Although, I suppose that’s true for the most dedicated grillers out there regardless of where they live. I definitely remember my father grilling steak in the middle of winter when I was growing up. When you have to brush snow off the grill to use it, you know you’re hard core.

Considering how often I grill, you’d think I’d have all sorts of standby marinade recipes… nope. Ninety-nine percent of the time I use the same garlic, ginger, shoyu, vinegar and brown sugar marinade. Good but boring. So this simple Greek marinade was a nice change of pace. Great with a side of fava and some homemade tzaziki.

Chicken Souvlaki

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
* 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* salt and pepper
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano, or 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
* 3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
* 2 green peppers, cut into large chunks
* 1 red onion, cut into large chunks
* 8 ounces fresh button mushrooms
* 12 wooden skewers

Directions:

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, minced garlic and oregano in a large bowl and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours. While the chicken is marinating, soak the wooden skewers in water.

Arrange the marinated chicken, peppers, onions and mushrooms on the soaked skewers. Brush with marinade and cook on the grill for approximately 5 minutes each side, or until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables get a nice char. Remove to a serving tray and serve immediately.

Cambodian Ground Pork with Charred Eggplant and Shrimp

Seafood

Girl Cooks World

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April 23, 2019

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Cambodian Ground Pork with Charred Eggplant and Shrimp

The hardest part about this recipe? Naming it. There are variations of this recipe in just about every Cambodian cookbook that I’ve looked at but they don’t seem to capture what’s going on here. The names I’ve come across are things like Eggplant and Pork or something equally lacking and non-inspirational. First of all, eggplant and pork doesn’t mention anything about shrimp, which constitutes half of the protein here. And it doesn’t convey the smokiness of the charred eggplant and makes no mention of all the wonderful freshness you get from the addition of scallions, cilantro and lime.

If you like larb, I’m guessing you’ll really like this as well. But like larb, it’s not the prettiest of dishes. Thankfully the taste more than compensates for its lack of good looks. The shrimp and eggplant really help lighten up the heaviness from the ground pork. It was great as a rice bowl, though I imagine it would also work well as a lettuce wrap, a la P.F. Chang’s, for those of you who might be low carbing it. Cooking the eggplant is the most time consuming and difficult part. The rest? Easy peasy.

Cambodian Ground Pork with Charred Eggplant and Shrimp

3-4 large Japanese eggplants
1-2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, smashed and then minced
1 red chili pepper, minced (I used a jalapeno)
3/4 pound ground pork
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
One Tablespoon oyster sauce
1 Tablespoon palm sugar (can substitute regular brown or white sugar)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and roughly chopped
the leaves of 2 scallions bulbs, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4 lime wedges

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Prick the eggplant with a fork (this will prevent eggplant from exploding). Place on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 40 minutes, turning the eggplant halfway through cooking time. The eggplant should be soft and the skin should have turned to a medium to dark brown. Let cool slightly and then peel away the flesh and chop into bite size pieces. Discard the skin.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Cook the garlic until browned. Add the pork, fish sauce, oyster sauce, palm sugar, black pepper and cook until the pork is no longer pink. Next, add the shrimp and cook until cooked through. Add the eggplant chunks and continue to cook until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in the scallions and the cilantro.

Place in individual bowls and garnish with a lime wedge.

Serves four.

Baked Shrimp with Feta

Main Dishes

Girl Cooks World

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April 23, 2019

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I can’t think of a better recipe to wrap up my first week of Greek cooking than this baked shrimp with feta. Apparently it’s a very popular dish in the fish tavernas around Athens. It’s relatively quick and easy to prepare and I think it would be a great rustic-meets-elegant meal for a dinner party. I love the idea of everybody having their own individual serving of this pretty and colorful main course.

I also want to note that while it’s great hot out of the oven, it makes a killer cold salad as well. I packed some of this for a North Shore picnic last holiday weekend along with the Greek Lentil Salad, and a garbanzo bean salad (recipe to come next week!). So while I was eating this…

I was watching this…

It’s hard to see, but there’s a kite surfer getting some pretty major air in the photo. Sorry for the bad image quality; I used my cheapo point and shoot. The water close to shore was impossibly blue and clear and it was fun to get some water time in… I’ve been working too much lately. Anyways, I don’t know if it was the views or the food, but it was probably the best beach picnic I’ve ever had. I’m sort of thinking the shrimp had something to do with it…

Baked Shrimp with Feta

Ingredients:

* 1-1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
* 1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 2 onions, quartered and thinly sliced
* 1 large clove garlic, minced
* 4 medium ripe tomatoes, diced
* 1/2 teaspoon honey
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano, roughly chopped
* 1/3 cup parsley
* 1 cup white wine
* salt and pepper
* 1 cup crumbled sheep’s milk feta
* lemon wedges

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat 1/3 cup of the olive oil in a large skillet or saute pan and cook the onion over medium-low heat until very soft. Add the garlic, half of the tomatoes, honey, cayenne pepper, and cumin and raise the heat to medium and simmer until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Add the oregano, about 2/3 of the parsley, and the white wine and season with some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for about five minutes.

Divide the sauce between four individual baking dishes. Arrange the raw shrimp on top of the juice and then sprinkle with the remaining tomatoes and feta cheese. Drizzle on the remaining 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and bake until the shrimp are pink and all of the ingredients are heated through.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining parsley. Serve hot, at room temperature, or even chilled, with lemon wedges.

Marinated Zucchini Salad

Girl Cooks World

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April 23, 2019

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You can’t read food blogs in August without getting bombarded by zucchini recipes. Well, here’s another one to add to the pile… and I should warn you that I have another zucchini recipe or two on the back burner that you’ll be seeing in the next week or two.

If it’s too hot to cook and you’re feeling a little bit lazy, this is the recipe for you. Actually, I can barely even call it a recipe. Raw, paper-thin zucchini slices get marinated in a lemon and garlic-infused olive oil and are finished with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and some freshly chopped basil. That’s it. Easy.

Easy, but delicious. Gotta love simple and elegant Southern European fare.

Marinated Zucchini Salad

Yield: 4 side servings

Ingredients:

* 1 pound zucchini, cut as thinly as possible
* 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
* 3 Tablespoons olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, smashed
* salt and pepper
* 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions:

Place the zucchini, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic in a medium to large bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Just before serving, taste and adjust the salt and pepper and garnish with fresh basil.

Garlicky Kale with Toasted Coconut

Girl Cooks World

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April 23, 2019

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I’ve always loved kale but have struggled to find ways to incorporate more of it into my diet. My two go-to recipes are green smoothies and Acquacotta, or Tuscan peasant soup (Marcella Hazan has a killer recipe for this in her Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking).

Now I can happily add this one to the list. The recipe is based off of Heidi Swanson’s kale salad recipe in her gorgeous new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day.

I fiddled with the proportions a bit, upping the greens and decreasing the coconut. I also added a hefty dose of garlic, since I love me some garlicky greens. The kale get nice and crispy, the coconut nice and toasty with a bit of chew. And it’s all bathed in a flavorful soy-sesame dressing atop a bed of millet, or other grain of your choosing.

Garlicky Kale with Toasted Coconut

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 1 teaspoon sesame oil
* 2 Tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos or gluten-free tamari
* 1 large bunch kale, stems and large ribs removed, and roughly chopped (about 6-8 cups unpacked)
* 1-1/4 cups unsweetened large-flake coconut
* 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
* 2 cups cooked millet (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and set the rack on the top third of the oven.

In a small bowl combine the olive oil, sesame oil and Bragg’s or tamari. Place the kale, the coconut and the garlic in a large bowl and toss with about 2/3 of the oil mixture.

Spread the kale across a large, rimmed baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes (tossing the mixture halfway through baking) or until some of the kale has turned crispy and the coconut is a light golden brown.

Place the millet on a large serving platter, if using, and top with the kale mixture. Drizzle the remaining oil mixture over the top. Serve immediately.

Note: This salad tastes best immediately after making it. You can refrigerate some for later, but the kale and coconut will lose some of their crunch.

Date with Fate Chai Chia Pudding

Girl Cooks World

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April 23, 2019

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Ever used chia seeds for something other than a Chia Pet? In the book Born to Run, Christopher McDougall profiles the world’s original ultra marathoners, the Tarahumara Indians. Supposedly they used a chia seeds in a drink to sustain themselves for long runs. Even though I’m a sporty girl, the only time you’ll catch me running is to avoid getting hit by a car. But that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in adding some of these nutritional powerhouses into my diet (they’re a great source of Omega-3).

It was my raw vegan friends who inspired me to use the seeds to make a pudding. The most basic chia pudding recipes just mix the seeds with some non-dairy milk and some stevia, I was hoping for something a bit less gloopy (chia seeds absorb the liquid and gelatinize, making it something like a tapioca pudding) and a bit more interesting. I set my mind on a pudding version of my favorite Date with Fate Smoothie with a little extra chai spice for good measure. Healthy pudding with no dairy and no added sugar? Sign me up.

Date with Fate Chai Chia Pudding

Yield: 1-2 servings

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup almonds
* 2 Tablespoons chia seeds
* 3/4 cup water
* 8 dates, pitted
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* pinch nutmeg
* 1 banana, peeled and cut into chunks
* chopped almonds for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and process until very smooth and fluffy. Sprinkle with chopped almonds, if desired.

Note: I used my Vitamix for this pudding. I’m not sure whether a regular blender will work, since the Vitamix pulverizes the seeds, allowing the pudding to thicken very quickly and get a very smooth texture. One option for those without a high speed blender would be to use 3/4 almond milk in lieu of the almonds and water, and blend this with the dates, banana and spices. Mix this with the chia seeds and let sit for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pudding is thick. This will give it a texture closer to tapioca pudding rather than the smooth pudding shown here.

Colorful Asian Slaw with Sweet Miso Dressing

Girl Cooks World

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April 23, 2019

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Colorful Asian Slaw with Sweet Miso Dressing

In this non-traditional recipe, coleslaw’s nutritional value gets a major upgrade. A colorful blend of red and green cabbage, orange carrots and green cilantro gets marinated in a simple lemon, miso, ginger and tamari dressing. Stevia, which has become my best friend over the past couple weeks, is added to achieve your desired level of sweetness.

Give it a shot at your next picnic, barbecue, or Asian-themed meal. You might never go back to the mayonnaise-doused version ever again.

Asian Slaw with Miso Dressing

Ingredients:

* 1/2 head of a large cabbage, finely shredded (green, red, or a combination of the two)
* 1 cup grated carrots
* 1/4 cup water
* 2 Tablespoons white miso
* 1 Tablespoon grated ginger
* 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 1/2 Tablespoons gluten-free tamari, or Braggs liquid aminos
* 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
* 8-10 drops stevia or to taste (or substitute sugar to taste)
* 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the water, miso, ginger, lemon juice, tamari, apple cider vinegar, and stevia. Stir in the cabbage, carrots and cilantro and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Sauteed Zucchini with Corn and Roasted Green Peppers

Vegetarian

Girl Cooks World

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April 23, 2019

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Sauteed Zucchini with Corn and Roasted Green Peppers

When I was a little girl, one of my cousins was vegetarian. The whole concept was very foreign to me… meat and potatoes were pretty standard fare in our household. Once, we were all eating dinner at my grandmother’s house. Most of use were eating, you guessed it, meat and potatoes, but my grandmother had prepared a special vegetarian dish for my cousin. It was a zucchini pie made with a Crescent roll crust brushed with just a hint of mustard.*

Twenty-some years later, it’s like I can still taste it. Suddenly, being a vegetarian didn’t seem so bad or weird. And that’s coming from a girl who didn’t really like vegetables until well into her tween or teen years.

Well, I can’t eat Crescent Rolls anymore and my cousin is no longer vegetarian. But I’m pretty sure that this dish of sauteed zucchini, corn and roasted green peppers could similarly convince somebody that vegetarian food can still rock the house.

* If anybody is interested in the recipe for the zucchini pie that changed my life, the closest thing I found online was on Allrecipes.

Sauteed Zucchini with Corn and Roasted Peppers

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

about 1 pound zucchini, cut into small, 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil, plus extra if needed
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen corn, defrosted
1 poblano or green bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and cut into thin strips*
2/3 cup Mexican-style sour cream**
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place the zucchini in a colander and mix with the salt. Let stand over a plate or the sink for about 1/2 hour to draw out any bitter liquid. Rinse and pat dry or drain for several minutes in the colander.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring often, until the zucchini has browned and is just tender. Remove the zucchini to a bowl with tongs or a slotted spoon, attempting to keep as much of the butter and oil mixture in the pan as possible.

Add the onions and cook, stirring until translucent. Add the corn and the pepper strips and continue to cook until the onion begins to brown. Stir in the sour cream and zucchini and cook until the sour cream has reduced to a thick glaze. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

* Need pepper roasting instructions? I use this technique.

** If you cannot find Mexican-style sour cream, you can substitute heavy cream or regular sour cream.