Chicken Satay with Reduced Sugar Hot Pepper + Almond Butter Sauces

I had a vision to recreate a chicken satay that I had in a Thai restaurant. But without using a hibatchi, I didn't know if it would work.

If a photo is worth a thousand words, I hope you can see that a cast iron grill frying pan worked fine. The chicken was good on its own, but the sauces definitely added a flavor-packed boost.

Hope you enjoy this healthier version of the traditional sugar-filled Thai chicken satay, and "กินให้อร่อย!  (gin hâi a-ròi - Enjoy your food!)

My Paleo Marin Rating: 3 Persimmons*
 
Ingredients:

Chicken Marinade:

1 pound chicken tenders (about 12 bite-sized pieces)
1 -14 oz. can Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream, or full fat coconut milk
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin

For cooking: 12 wooden skewers, about 7" long, soaked in water 30 minutes prior to cooking and dried with towel before using

Hot Pepper Sauce:

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons pure cane sugar
1/2 English cucumber, chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 fresh Thai chili, minced (or jalapeño)
Kosher salt to taste

Almond Butter Sauce:

1/3 cup creamy almond butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
3 tablespoons coconut aminos
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (or to taste)
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon rice vinegar (or to taste)

Directions:

Chicken Marinade:

1. Mix together in a bowl:  coconut cream (or milk), garlic, cilantro, sugar, salt, turmeric, ginger, and cumin. Add the chicken tenders and coat thoroughly. Cover tightly and put in fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours.

Hot Pepper Sauce:

1. Mix together in a bowl: vinegar, sugar, cucumber, shallot, and chili. Add salt to taste. Cover and put in fridge until ready to serve.

Almond Butter Sauce:

1. Mix together in a bowl: almond butter, garlic, sugar, coconut aminos, Sriracha sauce, and rice vinegar. Cover and put in fridge unit ready to serve.

To Make the Dish:

1. Remove a chicken tender and shake off excess sauce. Insert a skewer through the piece and place on a plate. Repeat with each piece of chicken.

2. Heat the grill pan over medium high heat until very hot. Place half the chicken tenders in the pan. Let cook for about 2 - 3 minutes per side. Be sure the chicken is cooked through; thicker pieces may take another minute. Place on a plate. Repeat with the rest of the chicken pieces.

Serve the chicken satay with the sauces. Makes 12 pieces.

#paleo #chicken #satay #appetizer #Thai #Thaicooking #coconutcream #glutenfree #dairyfree

Recipe adapted from Chrissy Teigen's cookbook, "Cravings," available here. 

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.

Almond and Cherry Black Pepper Cake

After two years, I finally got a cake to rise!

It’s all science, I guess, but adding cornstarch to the gluten-free flour resulted in a cake that my taste tester said was better than the Rustic Bakery pastry she had just enjoyed.

Spice up your summer desserts with a black pepper cake. Somewhere between sweet and savory, enjoy before the cherry season disappears.

My Paleo Marin Rating: 5 Persimmons*


Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Cup4Cup gluten-free flour
1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup almonds, finely ground in food processor
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
1/2 cup coconut sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup Trader Joe’s coconut cream + 2 tablespoons water; or 1/4 cup Califia Farms Original Almond Milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups ripe cherries, pitted and chopped in quarters*

Powdered Sugar for dusting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 9” cake pan, add a round layer of parchment paper to cover the bottom, and butter the top of the parchment paper.

1. In a large bowl, add 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour; return 1 tablespoon and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the flour back to the package. Add 1 tablespoon and 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch to the gluten-free flour and mix with a whisk. 

2. Add the following in the bowl with the gluten-free flour: baking powder, baking soda, black pepper, and salt. Mix with a whisk. Sift into another bowl.

3. Measure the ground almonds out to 1 1/2 cups; sift into bowl with other dry ingredients. I had about 1/4 cup of almonds that wouldn't sift, so added them in for texture. Mix all with a wire whisk and set aside.

4. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, cream at medium-low speed for about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until incorporated in the batter. Batter will be wet and lumpy.

5. Add half the dry ingredients in bowl of the stand mixer and mix on medium-low speed. 

6. Add the coconut cream and water (or almond milk) and almond extract; mix at medium-low speed until everything is combined. 

7. Remove the bowl from the stand and fold in the remaining dry ingredients; add the cherries and distribute them throughout the batter.  Batter will be sticky. Pour immediately into the prepared cake pan.

8. Bake for about 1 hour, checking at 45 minutes. The cake is done when a skewer comes out of the middle of the cake clean and the top of cake looks baked through.

Note: 

Using the coconut cream + water, my cake took about 1 hour + 15 minutes to bake all the way through. The finished cake was very moist. I used the extra coconut cream in another recipe.

When I made the cake again with almond milk, it took about 1 hour to bake through; I let it sit in the oven with the temperature turned off for another 10 minutes. The finished cake was a bit drier, but still good. 

9. Leave the baked cake in the pan and let cool on a rack on a tabletop for about 10 minutes. Remove the cake from pan and let it cool thoroughly on a wire rack. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar when the cake has cooled, and you are ready to serve it.


#paleo #desserts #cake #cherries #glutenfree #coconut #almond #pepper

Recipe adapted for Paleo from popular food blogger, Nik Sharma, and his “A Brown Table” website.

*If fresh cherries are unavailable, fresh apricots may work as a substitute.

*MPM Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.

Buzzfeed's Berry Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette & Cayenne-Candied Walnuts

I don't know about you, but if a cooking video starts running on my Facebook feed, I'm pretty much stuck there for the duration.

That's what happened with this salad from Buzzfeed. It looked easy to prepare - and, as it turned out, was bursting with flavor, too. I can see why it has received over 28,000,000 views.

The key is to pick the best ingredients: Pink Lady apples, farm fresh blueberries and strawberries, French sheep's feta cheese, and prewashed organic baby spinach.

Make the dressing and the walnuts the night before, and the salad can be ready to enjoy in less than half an hour!

My Paleo Marin Rating: 4 Persimmons

See Buzzfeed's recipe and video here.

For the toasted walnuts:

1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon butter
1 - 2  tablespoons coconut sugar
Pinch of salt and pepper
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a frying pan over medium low heat, melt the butter and sugar together. Add the walnuts, salt and pepper, and stir to coat. Stir the walnuts about 3-4 minutes until slightly browned. Watch carefully so they do not burn. Add the cayenne pepper and stir; set aside on a plate to cool.

#paleo #salad #walnuts #strawberries #blueberries #spinach #vegetarian #glutenfree #cleaneating #buzzfeed #glutenfree


*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.

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Thai Cucumber and Radish Salad w/ Cilantro and Mint

In India, a chaiwalla delivers tea, a dabbawalla delivers box lunches - and in the cookbook Flavorwalla, Floyd Cardoz delivers flavor!

His trademark is a balance of spice, salt, acid-sour, bitter, sweet and heat as he blends Indian, Asian and European ingredients. 

This salad has lots of crunch and a light dressing - perfect for a fresh summer salad. 

My Paleo Marin Rating: 3 Persimmons*

Ingredients and Directions:

Read a description of the cookbook and the recipe here
(scroll down to recipe for "Romaine-Cucumber Salad with Lime and Thai Chile").

I substituted grape seed oil for the canola (Paleo), and added 1 cup of mint instead of 1/2 cup. 

#paleo #Thai #salads #radish #cucumber #cilantro #mint #flavorwalla #floydcardoz #organic #veggies #healthyeating #cleaneats

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.

Padma Lakshmi's Tamarind Date Chutney

Chutney can add a welcome sparkle to most vegetables and meat, but the label on store-bought jars usually lists sugar as the first ingredient.

This recipe from Padma Lakshmi's new best seller, Love, Loss, and What We Ate, sweetens with just the fruit - no added sugar - and is a delicious way to add fiber to your diet.

How was it? All my taste testers asked for seconds!


My Paleo Marin Rating: 4.5 Persimmons*

Ingredients:

4 cups water
20 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup tamarind paste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 - 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, personal preference

Directions:
1. Boil 4 cups of water in a 2 quart sauce pan.

2. Add the chopped dates, tamarind paste and spices. Start with 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and add more if desired; I added 1 1/2 teaspoons, pretty spicy for me, but the taste testers agreed it was just right at "medium."

3. Simmer for about 30 minutes (uncovered). Stir frequently and cook until until the mixture becomes a thick sauce, similar to bar-b-que sauce.

4. Place in sterile jars and store in fridge for about a month.

Makes about 3 cups of chutney.

#paleo #chutney #tamarind #dates #padmalaxmi #topchef #India #Indanfood #Nepal #Nepalifood #fiber

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.

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