My wife invented this one to get my oldest away from chicken nuggets. It turns out we like it too. It’s sweet and just a little bit spicy.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup honey
1-1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp homemade garlic powder or one clove fresh, finely diced (see this video for easy peeling)
3/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (important note)

Preparation:
1. Cut chicken into thin strips.
2. Measure out spices.

Directions:
1. Heat honey in large frying pan on medium heat about four minutes or until it turns a carmel brown. See this image.
2. Add ginger, garlic and salt and mix.
3. Add chicken and mix.
4. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until chicken if fully cooked, stirring occasionally.

Notes:
Kick up the flavor a bit more by adding 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes.

Like orange chicken even better? Add the zest of one orange in the last minute or so. Be sure to get just the orange off the orange as the white part underneath is very bitter.

This dish demands your close attention. You need to do the preparation before you start heating the honey as you won’t have time once that begins. Honey can go from fine to burned in a few seconds. Once the chicken is mixed into the pan however, you can breath easier.

You can get a nasty burn from hot honey as it sticks instead of just running off like water. Be careful!

The carrots add mellowness and color while the raisins are a nice blast of sweetness in an otherwise spicy dish.

Ingredients:
2 TB unsalted butter
about 2lbs beef, cubed about 1 inch
1/2 lb finely grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp homemade garlic powder OR 4 fresh cloves, finely diced or pressed (see this video for easy peeling)
2 tsp ginger powder OR 2 Tbsp fresh root, finely minced
2 tsp black cumin seed (kala jeera)
3 tsp homemade garam masala
1 tsp homemade chili powder
1 cup rich yoghurt
1/2 cup water

Directions:
1. Melt butter in large pan over medium high heat.
2. Sautee beef cubes till browned, remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add all spices to pan and cook for 2 minutes to release flavors.
4. Add a little water to pan to de-glaze and scrape up pan brownings well.
5. Return beef to pan and add remaining ingredients.
6. Allow to come back to a simmer and reduce heat.
7. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until beef is cooked through.
8. Adjust salt to taste.

Note: Like all Indian dishes, this one will improve over time. The flavors will develop in your fridge over night and be even better the next day.

This sauce was created especially for Beck Beck Chicken, but tastes great on other things as well. Try it on different meats and definitely try it on sauteed baby spinach.

Ingredients:
1 cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter
5 Tbsp honey (1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp)
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/8 tsp homemade garlic powder or 1 clove fresh, minced (see this video for easy peeling)
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
salt (if your peanut butter doesn’t already have salt)

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients except for salt.
2. Taste and add salt if necessary.

This gem was brought to me by my lovely wife. It’s fresh. It’s zingy. It sings a little song in your mouth. It’s a great cool meal for those hot summer days.

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs chicken breast, with bone and skin (important note)
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed (see this video for easy peeling)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 carrots, shredded (or shaved if your feeling fancy)
2 medium cucumbers, peeled and seeded
1 small bunch fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:
1. Rinse chicken and place, bones up, in large pot with garlic, salt and pepper. Add water until it’s one or two inches above chicken.
2. Cover pot and bring to a medium simmer for about 60 minutes or until meat easily falls from bone.
3. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool 20 minutes.
4. Using two forks, remove the meat from the bones and skin and shred it.
5. Assemble your plate thusly: shredded chicken topped with peanut sauce, then cucumber and carrot. Lastly a generous capping of fresh cilantro leaves. Click on the image above for an example.

Peanut Sauce Ingredients:
1 cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter
5 Tbsp honey (1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp)
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/8 tsp garlic powder (important note)
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
salt (if your peanut butter doesn’t already have salt)

Directions for Peanut Sauce:
1. Combine all ingredients except for salt.
2. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Notes:
The peanut sauce is great on other things too. Try it on different meats and definitely try it on sauteed baby spinach.

Video:
How to remove the seeds from a cucumber.

For more of my videos, including higher quality versions, visit my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/eatingSCD

Ingredients:
mixed baby greens
asiago cheese, large shavings
strawberries, sliced

Family Favorite Dressing:
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 T water
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp black pepper, fresh ground
1 clove garlic, smashed (see this video for easy peeling)
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder

Directions:
1. Combine all dressing ingredients in a shakable container.
2. Shake well, dress greens and toss to coat.
3. Top salad with strawberries and cheese.
4. Sit back and rake in the compliments.

This dressing naturally separates and will need shaking right before using.

Note that the large shred of asiago cheese is preferable to the small. The large pieces assert their character in a way that a small simply cannot and are vital to the experience.

If possible make this dressing a day ahead to give the garlic time to suffuse as the flavor will improve with time.

In my opinion, there is no need to refrigerate this dressing. However, an alert reader told me that garlic can cause botulism so I investigated. Read about it below.

Notes:
Smashing the garlic is important. Mincing the garlic will not give the same effect. Smashing will allow more of the essence of the garlic to infuse the dressing.

To add a little extra sparkle to this salad try topping with some chopped candied pecans.

Regarding garlic and botulism:
First it should be made clear that botulism is a very serious illness. If left untreated, it can quickly kill.

The first thing I discovered in my research is that while botulism is dangerous it is also rare, particularly the food-borne variety. The Center for Disease Control in the United States reports that the average number of cases reported each year is 145. Of that 145, approximately 15% are food-borne. So 145 times 15% equals about 22 cases of food-borne botulism per year in the U.S. The population of the U.S. in 2011 was about 311 million. Let’s eliminate persons under 5 years old just to lower that number a little. That would be 311 million minus 6.5% of 311 million (~20,000,000) for a total of 291 million. To calculate the percentage of that 291 million who get food-borne botulism we take 22 (average annual food-borne cases in the U.S.) and divide it by 291 million (adjusted population) which results in a very small number of approximately 0.00000008. To convert that to a percentage value we multiply 0.00000008 by 100 to get a grand total of a 0.000008% chance of getting botulism – pretty low. For a little context, the number of traffic fatalities in the U.S. in 2009 was 11 per 100,000 residents or approximately 0.01%.

The USDA fact sheet on botulism explicitly states that botulism has been linked to, among other foods, garlic in oil. The reason for this is that the botulism bacteria thrives in low acid, anaerobic (airless) conditions.

I’ve been eating this dressing and feeding it to friends and family on a regular basis for about eight years as of this writing. I do not refrigerate it and sometimes have it on my counter for a month at a time. So what can I conclude from this research and my experience? I think it’s one of two things either: 1) I’ve been lucky or 2) the red wine vinegar makes the dressing sufficiently acidic to dissuade botulism. Since the statistical risk is so low, I have no way to tell, but I’m glad the vinegar is in there.

Fortunately the extension office at Colorado State University has published specific guidelines for safe garlic-infused oils:

• Wash all soil-contaminated produce before adding it to an oil infusion,
• Add an acidifying agent such as lemon juice or vinegar to the recipe at the rate of one tablespoon per cup of oil,
• Keep oil infusions refrigerated in order to retard the growth of any microbes,
• Discard infusions after one week, or sooner if apparent cloudiness, gas bubbles, or foul odor develop and,
• When in doubt, throw it out.

Videos:
How to smash garlic:

How to shave cheese and why you’d bother to do it:

For more of my videos, including higher quality versions, visit my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/eatingSCD

Ingredients:
2 lbs. flank steak, cut into thin strips, about 1/8 inch thick. (see note below)
Marinade
2 tsp liquid smoke (see note below)

Marinade:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup pineapple juice (see notes below)
2 tsp toasted sesame oil (dark color)
2 Tbsp honey
6 cloves garlic, flattened (see this video for easy peeling)
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp salt
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cinnamon, ground
1 tsp ginger, ground
1/8 tsp cloves, ground

Directions:
1. Combine marinade ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Remove from heat, add 2-1/2 cups of cold water and liquid smoke.
3. Cool marinade completely before adding to meat in a 1 gallon freezer zip bag.
4. Remove as much air as possible from bag before sealing.
5. Refrigerate for 2-3 days before drying, kneading the bag once or twice a day.
6. Drain the meat in a colander for about 5 minutes.
7. Dry for 6-8 hours in your dehydrator on the meat setting.
8. Let cool completely then store in airtight container.

Will keep at room temperature for weeks.

Notes:
It is important to use the leanest meat possible as fat can lead to spoilage. Trim as much fat from your meat as possible before cutting into strips.

If you don’t drain your meat before putting it in the dehydrator, you will end up with a mess under your dehydrator as it drys.

Regarding pineapple juice: Commercial pineapple juice used to be legal, but is no longer so. See this post. Either make your own pineapple juice, substitute fresh orange juice or eliminate all together.

Regarding liquid smoke: I covered this somewhat controversial topic in my Barbecue Sauce #2 recipe notes. Be sure to review.

This is my favorite candy. Your family and friends will love it too and won’t believe it’s from a “diet”. When you roughly chop these, they make for an excellent addition to a fresh salad.

Ingredients:
1 lb raw shelled pecan halves
3 large egg whites, preferably at room temperature
1 cup honey
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp additional unsalted butter, melted
salt

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 300° F.
2. Roast pecans in a large pan in a single layer for 10 minutes.
3. Cool pecans completely before continuing recipe.

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 300° F.
2. Beat egg whites and a pinch of salt until it reaches the stiff peak stage.
3. Add ginger, cinnamon and vanilla extract, mixing just to combine.
4. Slowly add honey.
5. Continue mixing just until combined.
6. Fold in cooled pecans.
7. Pour 1/4 cup melted butter on large, lipped sheet pan and cover entire bottom.
8. Pour pecan mixture onto sheet pan and spread out evenly.
9. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned (see image).
10. Stir and return to over for 15 minutes.
11. Stir again and return to oven for 10 minutes, making sure nuts do not burn.
12. Place wax paper on a cooling rack and coat wax paper with 2 Tbsps melted butter.
13. Pour pecans onto buttered waxed paper and spread into one layer.
14. Lightly salt the pecans while they are still warm.
15. Let the pecans cool for about 10 minutes then transfer to storage.
16. When they are completely cool, cover and store.

Note that this treat will expand as it first cooks. That is why your pan needs to have a lip. If you try this with an unlipped pan, you will make a big nasty mess in your oven. The pan pictures above is 13 x 18 x 1 inches.

Keeps at least 3 weeks if you don’t eat them first.

Ingredients:
2 -3 lbs chicken cut into chunks (important note)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
2/3 cup water

Sauce:
2 Tbsp fresh ginger root, finely chopped
2 Tbsp garlic, pressed or finely chopped (see this video for easy peeling)
4 tsp homemade garam masala
1-1/2 tsp homemade chili powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black cumin seeds
1 tsp cardamom, crushed
2 tsp ground coriander
1-1/3 cup rich yoghurt

Directions:
1. Melt butter in large saucepan and sauté onions until golden brown.
2. Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl, mixing till well combined.
3. Add chicken to onions and sauté for another 5 minutes.
4. Add water and sauce to pan and stir well.
5. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is done and sauce is thick enough for your tastes.

Serve alone, or over steamed broccoli.
Serves 4-6.

Notes:

Cooking yoghurt will kill the bacteria so don’t consider the yoghurt in this recipe as a probiotic.

This Indian staple comes in countless formulas. It’s warm, complex and compliments many foods. My favorite use is in chicken khorma, but it also goes great on many vegetables. Also used in Bombay Beef.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsps coriander seeds
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
3/4 Tbsp black peppercorn
1-1/2 tsps black cumin seeds (cala jeera)
3/4 tsp black cardamom seed
3/4 tsp whole cloves
3/4 tsp crushed bay leaves
(1) 1 inch piece cinnamon stick or 3/8 tsp ground
1-1/2 tsps ground ginger

Instructions:

If using stick cinnamon:
1. Place all spices except for ginger in a large frying pan.
2. Roast over medium heat, stirring occasionally until spices begin to release their smells. Be careful not to burn spices as that will ruin them. Be patient.
3. Cool completely.
4. Grind to a fine powder with a coffee grinder, adding the ground ginger.
5. Store in an airtight container.

If using cinnamon powder:
1. Place all spices except for ginger and cinnamon in a large frying pan.
2. Roast over medium heat, stirring occasionally until spices begin to release their smells. Be careful not to burn spices as that will ruin them. Be patient.
3. Cool completely.
4. Grind to a fine powder with a coffee grinder, adding the powdered ginger and cinnnamon.
5. Store in an airtight container.

Yields 1/2 cup.