moo goo gai pan, with children

Stir fries are fun.  Is that right?  Stir fries?  As in french fries?  Hm.  That seems really strange to me for some reason.....  Anyway, those things with a meat and veg and some sort of sauce cooked at a high temp in a huge sled of a pan, are fun.  I found this recipe here and made some changes.  Replace sesame oil with expressed peanut oil.  Include coconut oil because I am rather addicted to the stuff these days.  Maple syrup instead of sugar.  I don't know why, it just seemed like a good idea.  And it was, by the way.

This was the first of two unsuccessfully successful food items of the evening.  (The other was pudding with really old marshmallows, but that's for next time)..

Everything was moving along quite swimmingly.  All of a sudden... One baby calls, and then the other, one needs her shoes, the other needs a shirt, oh and right now please, why aren't they sleeping they are supposed to be sleeping, the sauce gets darker, the mini corn starts to get crispy, no not those shoes the other ones, no I don't want pants YES I want pants, the food desperately needs a stir but doesn't get one, everything starts to get sticky, oh no the rice I forgot about the rice, forget about the pants we have no time for pants, get your own shoes, the sauce starts to resemble tar, mama mama mama hold me, mama mama I need a hug,  run downstairs holding 60 pounds of children- correction- 60 pounds of screaming children, laughing children, squealing children, who knew running downstairs in mama's arms would be so much fun, drop one child (gently of course), grab the spoon, give the pan a stir, oh...

And so it is, cooking with children.

The sauce is dark, the sauce is sticky, and the bottom of the pan is getting pretty thick.  But it smells sweet, and tangy, and fresh, and fantastic.  Everything is carmelized, the chicken has such a lovely golden color.  The rice is a bit dry, so I add a drop of water to the pan and replace the lid.

I would have preferred that the sauce wasn't so sticky, or have that hint of a char to it, but no one else seemed to notice.  Every last bit was devoured.  Unsuccessfully successful.


















moo goo gai pan

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
2 tbs canola oil
1 tbs coconut oil
1 carrot, chopped
handful of snow peas/sugar snap peas (I really don't know the difference- the fat ones)
about 1/4-1/3 cup of baby corn, roughly chopped
1 cup button mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 scallions, chopped

marinade:
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs mirin
1 tbs cornstarch

sauce:
1/4 c. chicken broth
1 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp expressed peanut oil
1/2 tbs maple syrup
1/2 tsp (roughly) ground white pepper
1 tbs mirin
1 tsp cornstarch

In a bowl, combine the marinade ingredients until fully incorporated.  Pour over the chicken, give it all a good mix, and set aside.

Heat pan over medium to medium high heat (you don't want the heat as high as a normal stir fry because the coconut oil has a lower smoke point than other oils).  Add the oils and let get hot. When it is nice and hot, add the chicken, and let cook, stirring occasionally, for a couple of minutes.  If the sides of the pan start to darken, use the chicken to kind of wipe it clean.  That adds a nice carmel-ly flavor.  Remove the chicken when it is no longer pink.

Add the carrots, peas, and corn, give it a good stir, and cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the mushrooms and scallions and cook for a couple of minutes longer.

Return the chicken to the pan, mix well, and pour in the sauce.  Give it a good stir, reduce the heat to medium-medium low, and cover the pan.  Cook for a few more minutes (or several more minutes, depending on the distraction levels at the time), until the sauce has thickened.  Goes extremely well with slightly overcooked, dry rice.

sesame free hummus

The top 8 food allergens:  dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, eggs, wheat, and soy.  You may notice that sesame is not on there (I have a feeling though, that it might be #9).  Two of my favorite people in the world suffer from a sesame allergy, which is why I have decided to use this recipe to recognize Food Allergy Awareness Week.


This recipe was given to me as a gift by my dear friend and one of my favorite people in the world (as mentioned above), Lina; a fabulous cook who makes me look like a hack.

I have never made hummus before, and it has been almost a year since I've eaten it.  The last time we had it, I had given some to my son, who devoured 3 tablespoons before his blood pressure dropped; he became instantly clammy, ghostly white, as cold as if he had an ice pack on his face, and listless.  That was definitely an epipen situation, but since I had never used one before, I hesitated.  I was terrified.  A drop in blood pressure like that can send your body into shock.  But the definition of anaphylaxis is having more than one body system react at the same time.  Blood pressure drop and vomiting, for example.  Hives and a swollen tongue.  Rash and difficulty breathing.  Because he only had one system at play, I gave him benadryl instead, which fortunately did the trick.

But with allergies, there are two reactions that can cause death even on their own.  Blood pressure drop and respiratory distress.  The doctor will tell you, "if in doubt, give the epipen."  And you will answer, "well, of COURSE I will give him the epipen, that's a no brainer!"  But when looking face down at a possible anaphylactic reaction, a funny thing happens.  You panic.  And you resist.  And deny.  And doubt.  And fear.  And bargain...  But when it happens again, you know what to do.  And you don't hesitate.

Wow, I didn't mean to overshadow this fabulous hummus with a big, dark cloud!  Let's get back to the food, shall we....

Cooking and baking dairy free isn't actually difficult at all.  There are many different substitutions and they are so varied, I don't miss dairy even slightly.  But sesame?  It is such a specialized food.  If you can't eat it, you just don't add it.  But sesame oil is one of my favorite things of all time.  Mixed with soy sauce, I could drink it straight.  Alas, I still haven't found an equal substitution for sesame oil.  (All suggestions are welcome!)

But tahini?  No problem!  

Sesame free hummus

1 can chick peas, drain and set aside the liquid

1 lemon squeezed (can adjust to taste)

2 cloves of garlic (can adjust to taste)

1/4 cup high quality extra virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish

2 tbs creamy, all natural almond butter

pinch of salt and pepper

Put all ingredients except for olive oil in a food processor and blend until smooth.  If mixture is lumpy or thick, gradually add the reserved liquid 1tbs at a time until you get a smooth and thick puree.

With the motor running, open the vegetable shoot at the top of the food processor and slowly add in the olive oil.  Let the food processor run for another 3-4 minutes.

Plate and garnish with a little olive oil and some chopped parsley.