Selective Palate

So I am not a huge fan of tuna from a can in fact I can remember a time when I refused to eat it or even be in the same room with it when it was being consumed because “The smell makes me sick”. Yes, you can say it, I was a snob about it, often referring to it as cat food. But today things are a bit different. I gave it a try (imagine that) and found that it is not so bad. Well the stuff in oil not so hot, but the albacore or chunch light in water not bad and the Italian stuff packed in pretty cans with quality olive oil well that stuff is just pretty darn good! I know I was as amazed as anyone that I would ever say that; but there you have I like tuna from a can!

Anyway that brings me to this great salad I made a few weeks back for M. I even enjoyed a little for myself. I didn’t want to fix the same old tuna fish salad with mayo , something healthier and dare I say it fresh? I had some of that good Italian tuna hanging around so I decided to create an Italian insprired tuna salad. It was one of those lets see what we have on hand kinda deals so I had to rummage through the fridge and pantry. I settled on white beans, olives, red onion, tomatoes, cucumber and fresh basils and oregano from the garden. If I had had capers on hand I would have thrown them in but I was out. Over all a very good salad. Good for you, different, and frankly plain old tasty!

Recipe:

1 can Tonno (tuna) in quality olive oil, flaked, oil reserved
1/2 can cannellini beans (white beans) drained and rinsed
6 chopped olives, such as Kalamata, Niciose, or Cerignolas ( I used all and mixed them together)
1/4  cup chopped red onion
1 small tomato seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
Fresh basil and oragano to taste
Dressing:
1 small clove garlic minced to a paste ( you should have about 1/2 teas. of garlic paste)
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon and the zest
The reserved olive oil from the tuna

Mix all the veggies and herbs together. In a separate bowl whisk the garlic paste, salt, pepper, lemon juice and zest with the olive oil. Dress the salad with as much dressing as you like.

I like this by itself or atop fresh greens. It makes a great lunch or even a nice light supper served with a bowl of soup, like maybe minestrone!

So my doctor put me on this diet she calls an anti-inflammatory diet or more accurately an elimination diet. In a nutshell (not peanut!) I am on a strick diet whereas I cannot have any wheat, corn, potato, diary, tomato, citrus, red meat, alcohol or peanuts. I am especially not to have anything processed or fried and should use only olive oil or extra virgin coconut oil. In addition, I should eat organic everything when possible. On a whole this is not too terribly hard but what is life without cheese and wine I ask?!

So that brings me to where I am now with experimentation with new foods, a few great recipes and several not so great recipes that I rather not make again. Also, somethings should not be made vegan – Tofutti Sour Cream I am talking to YOU! However, Veganaise you may stay.

Now lets get to the successes! Lately I have been making a lot of stews & soups; this has got M asking very politely for food he can actually, you know CHEW! So last night I made a friendly version of Chicken Marsala. I know the wine, but really 20% alcohol at the most here so I think I am ok.  This could be made without the wine I suppose but then it would not be Chicken Marsala now would it.

I love this dish and I didn’t think I would be able to pull it off with my restrictions to be  honest. I mean butter makes this sauce so velvety I didn’t think olive oil would be able to compete. Well it needed a little help but the dish came out perfect.

Recipe

2-4 boneless chicken breasts ( leave the skin on if you can)
2 cups sliced mushrooms (I love shitake, so I did 1/2 shitake and 1/2 crimini)
1 large shallot or 2 smaller chopped small
3-4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup and 1 T. Marsala wine
1 cup and 2 T. chicken broth
1 T. tapioca flour/starch (corn starch works fine here)
2 T. of flat leaf parsley
2 t. fresh sage
1 T. olive oil
2 t. Earth Balance buttery spread (or butter)
salt and pepper to taste

Start by heating your pan and 1 t. fake butter with the olive oil. Pat your chicken breasts dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides. When pan is hot place the breasts skin side down in the hot pan. There will be loud hissing but DO NOT TOUCH THEM! Let them cook for about 5 minutes. Test with your tongs; if the chicken releases from the pan without a fight then you can flip them, if not leave them cook another minute or so. Sear the other side for another 5 minutes or so then remove from pan and cover with foil. In the hot pan add your shallot and stir to coat evenly in the fat. (If you used boneless/skinless chicken you may have to add another T. of oil.) Cook shallots till fragrent about 1 minute and then add the mushrooms. Coat the mushroom with the fat in the pan and let cook for about 2-3 minutes; you want to see a nice color on the veggies. At this point salt and pepper and add the garlic. Cook for about another 30 seconds to a minute and deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of the wine. Scrape up all the leftover chicken bits from the bottom of the pan, bring to boil and let reduce for a few minutes; this gets all that flavor into each mushroom! Now add 1 cup of  your chicken broth or stock and bring to a boil. While you wait for that mix the starch with the remainder of the broth and stir into the pan. You may not need all of this mixture so do it a little at a time, each time wait for the sauce to come back to a boil to reach full thickness. When you have the desired consistency (should coat the back of a spoon) place the chicken back into the pan (skin side up) to finish cooking. When you are ready to plate add the rest of the (fake) butter, 1 T. of Marsala wine and the fresh herbs to the pan and give a good stir to incorporate everything.

Serve over pasta or rice and ladle the sauce, generously over the chicken. I used quinao pasta which I am quite a fan of. I swear I don’t notice the difference, you just have to be more diligent when cooking it and make sure you keep stirring the pasta while it cooks or it will stick together.

Enjoy!

This post has been a long time coming. A while back a new kind of restaurant opened in our little town. A restaurant that preaches sustainability and eating locally. The Farmers Diner opened back in June and has slowly been becoming a regular haunt. What makes them so special is that they have relationships with several area farmers and get 85% of their food supplies locally. You can actually find the owner or one of the chefs roaming around the local farmers market looking for ingredients to use. I think this concept is great. I think more restaurants and people could use a little of this attitude. Mind you I am not saying this because I am some green hippie or something (not that there is anything wrong with that!), I say it because the food just plain tastes better! Not to mention it helps to fortify the local economy and the environment; which as they say are just perks.

Now on to the food. Their menu is typical diner fare. Stick to your ribs goodness with a few unexpected twists. There is something for everyone from vegan and vegetarian dishes to hardy meat and potatoes. Breakfast is always available and you can pick which local farm your eggs come from. Now I know that doesn’t sound like too much but I am a poached egg fan and there is nothing better than a farm fresh yolk! And that brings me to the poached eggs. I am not going to lie, early on I ordered poached eggs and they came out awful! I mean they were hard boiled! I sent them back and they came back RAW! I was going to let it go and just not order them here but then the owner came over to my table. I told him my issues and he made it a point to make sure that I got what I wanted, and that I got it consistently! And guess what I have not had that issue since! The attention to detail and costumer service here is bar none but then again Tod Murphy (the owner) is no stranger to this concept, he opened the first diner on the same principles some years back and he is constantly growing and improving. I have eaten here several times so I have had more than just poached eggs, I have enjoyed a huge Farmers Breakfast that includes eggs, homefries, meat and the best blueberry pancakes; except for mine of course!

And I cannot forget my biggest guilty pleasure of a dish called Hog Heaven. This is just pure unadulterated pig on pig action! They take a hot dog, wrap it in thick cut bacon deep fry it then stuff it in a bun along side fresh creamy coleslaw! Yes I know its devilish, but man is it good. By the way their burgers are pretty tasty too.

So, yes you may have guessed that the food it not exactly diet fare, though you can get salads and soups – the portions are huge! (with a price that is reasonable for the amount on your plate) Though the food is all diner, the prices do tend to be a little more than your typical diner, but there is good reason for that; they don’t haggle the prices with the farmers. I know in these tough times its hard to justify a $8 burger and fresh cut fries, but I really believe you get what you pay for. I rather eat that burger less often and know where my meat comes from, not to mention knowing it is fresh and actually can go bad if you left it in your pocket for a month!

So, over all, I really enjoy this place. I may not get to visit every day or even every week, but when I want some good comfort food it is definitely worth it.