Comfort food

Listening to Unlocking Us on the concept of strong backs and soft fronts.

Sipping on some green tea spiked with Fireside Honey Tonic

Read The stunning The Shape of Collapse

Cooking is therapy for me. I woke up way to early this morning with just about everything on my mind. Reading, writing, a dash of worrying lead me to the garden, to plant 100 cloves of garlic. Then to the kitchen where I cooked up all sorts of goodies to enjoy over the next couple days. Cook once eat many times is what I opt for. Below is a recipe for roasted chicken, healing green soup, chicken & cabbage enchiladas and a basic broth recipe.

FIRST I roasted a chicken. THIS RECIPE is the only one I’ll use from now on.

Next up was the Healing Green Soup, adapted from Autoimmune Wellness’s recipe. This is a client favorite, I make it all year round. Today I made it with a can of coconut milk, fresh turmeric and doubled the amount of ginger and black pepper.

Finely sliced cabbage to braise for enchi filling

Next up were the enchis. Once the chicken was roasted and cooled I scored some delicious juicy meat from it and sauted it up in the cast iron I roasted it in, along with half of a small cabbage. Once the cabbage was cooked, about 10 minutes. I rolled the filling up in gently warmed almond flour tortillas, smothered them with enchi sauce, and cheddar Daiya and baked on 375 for 25 minutes. My suggestion is to get on a first name based with enchis. They really are the best.

Enchis

Once everything was blended and baked. The rest of the roasted chicken parts went into a big pot with water, tons of garlic , turmeric, a chili and a big pinch of pepper corns and a glug of vinegar. I brought that to a slow boil and it will simmer for hours. The longer you simmer it the more minerals and amino acid builders will infuse into the broth. The addition of vinegar softens the bones up a bit so more goodies come out.

Enchiladas for the win!

Enchiladas are classic yet so versatile and a great choice for week night dinners. Their fillings can use up must-go veggies & meats. Or you can plan ahead for your favorite combinations. Some of our favorites are chipotle chicken & cabbage, or vegetarian style black beans, kale & bell peppers. Recently, I made these because, it is what I had in the fridge and they were amazing!

General recipe:

Preheat oven to 350

1 onion, cut into half moons

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

4-6 oz shiitakes mushrooms, coarsely chopped

1/2 head of cabbage, thinly sliced

Choice seasoning: for these ones I used oregano, red pepper flakes, thyme, salt and pepper

In a medium sized skillet, warm 1 T choice cooking oil (I've been using sunflower a lot lately) over medium heat, toss in onions & garlic and saute for about 5 minutes until onions are tender. Next add seasoning, stir and coat the onions & garlic. Next, add the cabbage and mushrooms and ~1/4 cup of water or broth and cover. This speeds up the cooking process. Cook until veggies are tender about 10 minutes. 

Cashew cream sauce:

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for ~15 minutes

Rinse and strain cashews, add to a blender along with:

1/4 cup water or broth

 2 T nutritional yeast, juice of half a lemon

 1/2 or whole avocado and blend on high until creamy.

You may need to add a bit more liquid for it to pour, it all depends on how long you soaked the cashews.

I've been using these wraps, as I can't do corn anymore :(

Quickly preheating wraps, either in the microwave or preheating oven makes them easier to work with. My trick is, heat them in the pre-heating oven for about 7 minutes, take them out, wrap them in a dish towel to further steam them and then take one out at a time and fill and gently roll them.

Once filling is cooked and sauce is made, spread a layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan and fill & roll the tortillas. Pack them into your baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. ENJOY!

I'm a HUGE fan of this pre-made enchilada sauce.