Look what DH brought me back from Raleigh:
Local artist Ron Beauchemin did a phenomenal job capturing our bites’ likeness – got a little misty.
Turkilada Bake
This is not the keto enchilada I set out to make – this right here is a teachable expat moment.
I swear I saw enchilada sauce – at least a case worth – in my local grocery last week. It was right there in a whole section of (American) Mexican foods.
Well, serves me right for not grabbing it there and then – it’s no longer in stock and there is zero evidence that it ever existed in the first place. Neither is salsa. Or green chilis. Or Choula. Plenty of queso, though.
So … we improvise.
Instead of Philadelphia cream cheese (which they have, but I don’t trust my stomach to not revolt at), I grabbed a spreadable cheese from Turkey (basically the same thing). Instead of the enchilada sauce I was craving, I grabbed something called Biber Domates (also from Turkey) – a pepper/tomato paste that comes in a variety of spice levels. Instead of the green chiles I was hoping for, I used frozen spinach (mostly because I needed a green vegetable to make this a meal and was in a snit because of the tiny size of all bags of frozen broccoli on offer here).
This meal wasn’t Mexican, but it was good and still goes great with my hoard of Choula. Seriously, I shipped myself two magnums of the stuff knowing DH would go through at least a quarter of one before I arrived.
Gluten-free, primal, keto
Turkilada Bake
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 bag frozen spinach
Onion powder (or granulated onion)
Garlic powder
Cumin powder
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup some form of cream cheese
1/4 cup Biber Domates (tomato/pepper paste)
Preheat your oven to roughly 375 F.
In a baking dish, spread a layer of frozen spinach. Top with the chicken thighs. Note: My spinach was frozen and chicken was mostly frozen). Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Sprinkle really liberally with garlic and onion. Sprinkle less liberally with cumin.
In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese and paste together.
Spread on the dusty chicken. Top with the rest of the spinach.
Bake 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Serves 4 as a light main – you may want to grab a heartier side if you’re not keto
November 17, 2017
Hi, ma – Celebrated what is now *International* you day by:
Attempting to book a haircut
Going out for a disappointing lunch at an Asian place
Taking a water taxi to Katara
Wandering a Dhow festival and getting to see really cool Qatari cultural heritage, the old Emir, a friend, and a craft fair
And ending the day by taking myself out to a much better seafood dinner right on the water on the way home
I think you’d approve.
November 16, 2017
Watching the lights come out to play.
November 15, 2017
Textiling the 💩 out of this place.
November 14, 2017
Panoramic of downtown Doha from the mall I was at today – this mall is made to look like a European Town, sports a mini Louvre-style pyramid, and features multiple 250-600 year old imported olive trees.
Let me reiterate that there is no topsoil here – trees and grass are not native.
November 13, 2017
Whoo, boy – this is exciting. The day got away from me and the only pic I shot that wasn’t if things I didn’t end up buying is this entryway solution I half-built.
Good old reliable ikea.
November 12, 2017
We have a West Elm 😍
Nesting this go ’round is taking the form of textiles.
November 11, 2017
Today’s pic was set to be textured things on my couch since I hadn’t left it all day, buuuuuut I decided to force myself onto a (windy) balcony for a beverage in incorrect glassware. My first, actually, since the move.
Dairy-free Low Carb Beef Stroganoff
For those of you that have been reading for awhile, I bet you can take a wild guess who is out of town. 🙂
We are a split household on the subject of mushrooms – they are one of my absolute favorite foods; something I can happily eat a pound or so of by myself on the regular. DH? Not so much. He likes the taste, but the texture weirds his mouth out.
I’m also too lazy to make a good pot of butter garlic mushrooms very often, so mushrooms are a sometimes treat food — mostly the second DH goes out of town. Mushrooms, shrimp (which I had for dinner yesterday) and asparagus (which I have not yet seen in stores here).
This version has been mostly caged from a good Nerd friend (shoutout to Fonzico) on her fourth? fifth? Whole30 who raves about this recipe. I’m starting a second pass at keto, so thought it was the perfect time to try.
gluten-free, paleo, Whole30, keto
Dairy-free Low Carb Beef Stroganoff
1 lb. stew beef
1/2 head green cabbage
1 lb. sliced button mushrooms
8 ounces crimini mushrooms
1 can full-fat coconut milk
2 Tbsp. ghee
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. fish sauce (check labels)
1 Tbsp. coconut aminos or worcestershire sauce (check labels)
2 c. bone broth or stock
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme + a few extra sprigs
Salt & pepper to taste (I used Himalayan pink salt)
Extra butter or ghee if you need more fat for serving
First, get your aromatics going. Mince the onion and garlic, de-stem about 2 Tbsp. thyme and chop. Add to a large pot with 2 Tbsp. ghee. Sautee on medium-low while you prep the rest of the ingredients, stirring occasionally so you don’t burn the mixture.
While your aromatics are going, cut your cabbage into ribbons, wash your mushrooms, and gather the rest of your ingredients.
When your ingredients are ready to go, add the aminos/worcestershire, tomato paste, and fish sauce to the pot. Stir to combine.
Add the whole mushrooms. Stir.
Add the beef, sliced mushrooms, coconut milk, stock or broth, cabbage and a few thyme sprigs. Stir. Kick the heat up to medium-ish, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.
Uncover and simmer 45 minutes or until the liquid is halved.
Serve up, salt as needed, and add more fat if your macros call for it.
Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch
