Today I made eggs and bacon for breakfast. Tom is not always so big on eggs, so I made him a coconut-strawberry smoothie.
(you know, one of these days I'll take photos of all the food we eat, just for the heck of it)
Amy stayed home from school since she was running a 106.0 fever yesterday. She is my one child who spikes really high fevers. Thankfully, we got it down quickly, had the dr check her out, and found out it's just a virus. As usual. Anyway... she stayed home with me today, so we tried to make mayonnaise for the third time.
Someone (or maybe a few people) suggested making mayo in a jar. Here's the method we tried. We tried this method since it sounded fast and easy. I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil for the first batch, and it was awful. Did not emulsify or taste good. At all. So I went to Google and the consensus seems to be that EVOO is not a great oil to use. Darn. I'm out of avocado oil, and I don't have any other oils (other than coconut which is too solid). Many people suggested using Light Olive Oil. Now, for some reason I thought Light Olive Oil is bad for you and you shouldn't use it-- (Though, I happen to have a bottle of it since I bought it six months ago without realizing it's [possibly] bad for you)--I looked on MDA boards and it seemed to be mixed reviews, so I decided just to try it.
The mayo worked immediately and tasted really good. I was really exited it worked, but there was a slight cloud since I wasn't sure if I was killing myself by eating the Light OO. Anybody know the deal with the light oil?
So after making the mayonnaise, we made ham and lettuce wraps. It was pretty awesome.
So for dinner we had fried chicken. Last night I put drumsticks into a Ziplock bag, and covered the chicken in a pint of buttermilk. I don't know why. That's just what the recipe said to do, so I did it. About 40 minutes before I wanted to cook it, I took it out of the fridge and let it come closer to room temperature before cooking (to help it warm up enough to cook evenly.) Then I coated the chicken in coconut flour, salt and pepper--knocked off the excess flour, and placed the drumstick in a skillet of hot coconut oil. Cook for about four minutes per side, then place in a pyrex dish, and bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.
So the coconut flour gives it a very light hint of sweetness. The color browned up nicely. The skin was not crispy like I thought it would be, so that was a bummer. The inside was fairly juicy though. A little bland, but I think that can be fixed if we just play around with the spices a few times.
Tom and the kids (except Amy) loved the chicken, which was surprising because Tom does not generally care for dark meat, and I didn't particularly like this batch, so I didn't expect everyone to enjoy it so much. Tom says to put it in the "Family cookbook" which means I can safely make this once a week and everyone would be happy.
I sauteed the asparagus in a little olive oil and added some salt. Butter is better to use for this, but I was lazy and didn't use butter this time. Cook for about 3-5 minutes (do not cook it to death, people!) and serve almost immediately. It tends to get cold quickly.
Then I made a hollandaise sauce. Add three egg yolks, 1/4 tsp dijon mustard, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and a dash of Tabasco to a blender, blend on high until you see it all incorporate. Melt one stick of butter and then add to the (running) blender. It should emulsify immediately. Poor into a dish and serve warm. This goes extremely well with green vegetables. The kids loooove it. All good fats too!
Veronica thought the dinner deserved a "terrific" sticker.
Once again, thanks to my readers for their help! This time I needed help with sauces, and your comments were very helpful! Easy, yet sound great.
I ended up make a "Blender Hollandaise" sauce today. I used it as a mayonnaise for my ham and lettuce wrap. Then I dipped a bunch of bell peppers into the remainder of the sauce. Boy, was it delicious!
I've always stayed away from hollandaise sauce since it was full of eggs and ::gasp:: butter! Also, it takes four hours for it to cook... or so I'm told. Today I found the 3 minute version, and since I'm neither French or a sauce snob (yet, anyway), I thought it was quite ingenious and delicious.
Take a blender or a food processor (with a paddle attachment):
3 egg yolks
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 dash Tabasco
Blend for about five-ten seconds.
Then add 8 tblsp melted, hot butter. (I put the butter in a pyrex measuring cup, and microwaved it)
Add the butter in a slow, thin stream as the blender/food processor is running. It should thicken immediately, and be ready as soon as the last drop of butter is incorporated.
Best eaten warm. I think you can keep it out at room temperature for an hour, and in the fridge (loosely covered) for 1-2 days.
I think I will introduce the kids to the sauce (except Regina who cannot eat egg yolk) by serving it with asparagus, which is something the whole family loves.
Being that today is Mardi Gras (the day before Lent begins) and we are about to embark of 40 days of even stricter food observances, Tom and I decided to take the girls out to dinner, and that they could even pick where to go.
They choose Famous Dave's for ribs. They asked if they could get anything they wanted. I said "Yes, but keep in mind that if you choose to eat something we don't normally eat, you will not feel good tonight or tomorrow."
Amy, my five year old, says "Oh. Well, if I'm going to feel bad, then I choose milk and ribs. I wanted chocolate milk, but I don't want to feel icky."
Veronica had a huge smile and asked for Sierra Mist, Ribs, and a corn muffin.
Regina also had Sierra Mist, chipped pork sandwich, and a corn muffin. Originally, Regina had said she was going to discard the bun, but she ended up eating it.
Tom had ribs and his cheat side was mac 'n' cheese.
I kept it Primal, because I'm awesome that way.
She had issues with her stomach before we even left the restaurant. The bright side is, they are learning how to choose for themselves if they want to feel good or bad. And while I'm not ready to allow them to make these choices on their own every day, they are at least getting a feel for the pros and cons.
After dinner we took them to get a frozen yogurt. We used to do this semi-often, but haven't done it in months, so we thought it was a good celebratory thing to do. It was fun. We had about 1/3 of the amount (each) that we would normally get, added a few toppings, and ate it. They loved it. The baby didn't want hers, but she hasn't been eating much these last few days.
Once we arrived home and got settled, Regina repeatedly said "well, I just don't know if I will sleep tonight. My stomach feels really weird. I wish I didn't eat all that bad stuff."
We'll see what the fallout is with Veronica tomorrow. I hope it's minimal!
So Lent begins tomorrow, and we're not entirely sure about how to incorporate the rules of fasting (some voluntary and some required) into eating Primally, since we're pretty sparse as it is, but we'll definitely cut out baking treats until Easter.
Wish us luck!
