silk Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Ok, so I haven't had dreams about eating a whole wedding cake in sixty second or anything like that (though I did the first time I went off wheat, dairy and sugar some years ago), but I did dream about sex with my pants on, and I'm not talking euphemistically. It had that sweet feeling of early experimentation with the essential beauty of life. So, the term swypo has semantically changed for me, from a no-no to a yes-yes of a different sort. Yesterday, I had a bit of leftover chicken soup in the fridge and no more homemade bone broth in the freezer, so I thought I'd buy some more chicken and tat soi and water down the broth and stretch out the soup that way. When I got home from shopping, it occurred to me to brown the meat in some ghee and ras al hanout and make it in my tagine pot. I got pretty excited about that -- and what's that in the back of the fridge? Preserved lemons I made months ago and forgot about! Hey, I've got some olives too -- let's throw those in. I'm thinking, this is going to be so yum it'll be a swmpo (my pants, not your pants) experience! While I'm waiting -- I've got some kombucha in the fridge. Those guys on the forum who talk about their kombucha tasting like vinegar better not come to my house -- that's a hard core batch in there. There's some ginger-tumeric tea I made a few days ago in the fridge, so I mix up the tea and the kombucha and some hot water. Yum! Who needs double fermentation? I'm feeling like a wild and crazy alchemist! I tend to not like to cook. It often feels chore-ish. I'm definitely not someone who puts 'inspired' and 'cooking' in the same sentence. But yesterday, I'm thinking, I don't have to wait to taste my chicken soup to have swmpo. This is swmpo. This state of dynamic creativity with what's on hand. So, sorry, guys. I keep taking what you offer and tweaking it silk-style. But I'm feeling the magic and loving you guys for it. viva! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJam Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I love your mad scientist approach in the kitchen. I have mentioned before that I hate recipes bossing me around and I am physically incapable of following one. I love just trying stuff and seeing what happens...9.5 times outta 10 it's a win! I NEED to know more about fermented lemons, because I can barely stand cabbage and 'kraut but I am eating because I know I needed fermenteds in my diet...I adore lemons! Don't hoard the fermented lemon love!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny M Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I just made these and I'm so excited. They'll be ready for new years! http://cleaneatssf.com/pickled-lemons/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJam Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 What the heck are "black seeds"? It kind of looks like I will need to go to the Middle Eastern market to find them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny M Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 They're nigella sativa and that's all i know about them. I found them at a local natural food store. They can probably be omitted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silk Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 I'm glad I brought up the topic because I've never used saffron in mine! yum. my recipe goes like this -- I use Meyer lemons. whatever kind you use, make them as ripe as possible. scrub lemons under warm water. soak 4 days in cold water, changing water once a day. cut lemons lengthwise as though to quarter them, but not cutting all the way through, leaving quarters joined at the center and at each end (I just have them joined at the end, but my recipe says at the center too). Insert two pinches kosher salt into each cut, close up the lemons and pack them as tightly as possible into sterilized, dry jars. Add one tablespoon kosher (or some other high quality) salt. close jars and let pickle for three days. If the lemons aren't submerged in their own juices at the end of three days, fill the jars to the top with boiling water. Close and let pickle set for one month in a dark place. Refrigerate. Forget about them and then be amazed by what your past self created for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silk Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Mjam -- if you have a basic cultured vegetable recipe that you use, I yummy up basic cabbage with carrots, granny smith apples, (the culture eats the sugar and they're not high on sugar to begin with) fennel seeds, caraway seeds, dill seeds, and chopped up dill. Also have you ever tried beet kvass or pickled beets? My pickled beets recipe has sugar, and I haven't experimented with other ways of doing it yet, so I can't give you that recipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny M Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 so why just 3 days? Mine are in a dark closet for 30... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silk Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 hey Johnny, 3 days and then check if they're covered. If not, add water, and then yes, in the sweet darkness for 30 days / one month. And now that I think about it, I added lemon juice instead of water. There's small variations in the various recipes, but cool dark place for a month is essential as far as I can tell. I looked again at the recipe you posted -- it's not saffron, it's saffron leaves. Where do you get those? I've never had saffron leaves. And as long as I'm asking you questions, I've been wanting to ask you -- have you ever tried the marrow butter from Prather Ranch meat co. ? I've never had marrow butter before and butter is off my list until after whole30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny M Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Good question about the saffron. I googled a bunch and couldn't find much on saffron leaf. Just regular old saffron was coming up. And my local natural food store (Rainbow) just had regular old saffron so that's what I used. And no I haven't! Marrow is something that I know people love but I've never really been adventurous enough to taste it...which...is silly considering i love bone broth and meat organs and various random things so why not this? Would you cook with it or eat it on something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silk Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Well, darn, Johnny, that's what I was hoping you'd tell me! I'll probably start with slathering it on some steamed vegetables to give it the taste test. They make it with marrow, butter, thyme and another herb, if I recall correctly. And I'll ask for advice when I buy it. I'm on day 22 now, so it'll be a little while yet before butter's back on the menu, but I know it's a fine food for me. Is it for you? Shall I report back to you ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan W Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I love roasting marrow bones and eating the marrow with these cool little spoons that I have. I think marrow butter sounds fabulous. I wonder if you can cook with it or if it's more of a slather thing. Off to Google. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerfrizzell Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Marrow is delicious - I make them following this Fergus Henderson recipe (no bread, of course). http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/06/roast-bone-marrow-with-parsley-salad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silk Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 slw600 and homerfrizzel, you guys make me think of my mom, who used to sit around at the table sucking the marrow out of bones. I thought she was extreme then, and I'm still not up to copying her, though now I admire her old world ways. slw600, are those cool little spoons special marrow bone eating spoons ? I love cool little spoons...tell me more. homerfrizzel - can I call you homer? -- thanks for the recipe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan W Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I think the spoons are caviar spoons. I call them marrow spoons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silk Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 oooh. I feel classy just contemplating it. And with the roast marrow bone recipe above, I'm set. A whole new world for me. Thanks, guys! (Am I going into competition with my dog? I went to the meat market one day and asked for dog meat. The guy said they were out, but he had some liver I could feed my dog. I said, 'Liver? let me see what you got. I eat liver more than my dog does." and then we had a wonderful conversation on how underappreciated liver is as a food, generally speaking. So now is it going to be some marrow bones for my dog and some for me?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homerfrizzell Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 homerfrizzel - can I call you homer? -- thanks for the recipe! Of course - on both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny M Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 when i first reintroduced dairy after my whole 30s it made my skin itchy and made me phlegmy. I now use regular butter and occasional will add some cream to a sauce or eat a cube of cheese. I don't react to it anymore but am debating removing it again to see if I feel any differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon Simpson Thumann Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 The only dairy I haven't had issue with is sour cream, kerry gold butter and parmesan cheese. Everything else made me phlegmy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenderbender Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Back to the lemons.... FWIW, I always have a gallon or two going for my Morocan dishes( generations old authentic recipes) ... I never use the Nigella Sativa in them, but I do let them cure for at least 30 days.... Now I do make a spice blend to use in some tangines that has toasted ground Nigella seeds.... .... Just a hint, when ever using cumin,coriander,anise,etc seeds... Slowly toast then in a thick sauté pan to bring out their oils and develop flavor before grinding or adding to a dish... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silk Posted December 14, 2012 Author Share Posted December 14, 2012 I'm following you, Fenderbender! I happen to have a special pan that I use only for toasting spices, and spices hold a tres special place in my heart. And I happen to love Moroccan spices best, so would you be willing to tell me a bit more about your spice blend? I assure you I would properly honor it. And... generations old authentic recipes? From Morocco? I'd offer you my first born son for them, but he's troublesome... it wouldn't be a fair exchange. What can I offer you for those recipes? My heart and soul is salivating. Seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenderbender Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 What I have is more technique... Rather than written recipes.... I did a wedding many years back and the brides family was from Morocco, all the grand mothers/ great aunts/ 3rd cousins....blah blah, came in a week early and " test"cooked with me because they wanted real Moroccan, not Americanized versions..... Well, ever been in a hen house when a fox was in the pen?... A whole lot of clucking going on... Not a one of them had a recipe, and no two could agree on the " right way" to do anything.... So I just let them all do there thing and argue...I absorbed it all like a sponge.... I never wrote anything down but remember the basics. " like toasting the spices slowly" A great all purpose seasoning is : 2 parts cumin seed, 1 part coriander, 1/2 brown mustard seed,1/4 nigella saliva,1 part fennel,1/2 part cinnamon, a few bay leaves, 1 part guajillo chile with stems and seed, 1 part smoked Hungarian cherry peppers with stems and seeds... Toast all in a pan except for the cinnamon and grind when cooled For chicken with preserved olives: cut chicken into 8-12 pieces and rub with a bit of seasoning... Let marinate a few hours or overnight... In a large Dutch oven sauté chicken in what ever oil you prefer on W30. Dice one large yellow onion and add when all chicken pieces are browned, sauté with chicken til translucent. Add 6-8 cloves of sliced garlic. Add a tsp dry oregano, add 1/2 pound xtra lg cured pitted olives, add 1 packed cup of preserved lemons, add one quart chicken stock, juice of three lemons, add 3-4 tbs of the Moroccan spice blend, salt to taste and 1/2 cup fine chopped cilantro..... Cover and place Dutch oven in 375 oven for 45-60 min .... Usually thicken with arrow root or corn starch...but that's up to you.... Lemons take 30 days to fully cure but you can do it after only a few days..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJam Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Fender...I think you are such an invaluable resource here and I never ever want you to stop giving up these little nuggets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silk Posted December 15, 2012 Author Share Posted December 15, 2012 Yum, Fenderbender. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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