Tag: keto

Red Curry Miso Sauce

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This is one of those sauces that came about because I had expensive ingredients to burn before they went bad.

I’m glad I had the space to dick around in the kitchen – this Sauce is fantastic. I served it with roasted butternut squash and chicken breast for a quick & easy dinner. It would also be delicious with any sort of potato or pasta, toasted hazelnuts, and any roasted veg. I’m thinking: baked potatoes topped with toasted hazelnuts, fry dip, hash sauce, shrimp zoodle pasta with pistachios, swirled around roasted broccoli, or slathered on a nice juicy steak.

Gluten-free, vegetarian, keto

Red Curry Miso Sauce

2 tsp. Thai red curry paste
1 tsp. yellow miso
1 tsp. ginger garlic paste
1 Tbsp. minced shallot
2 Tbsp. Ghee

Mix all ingredients together. Spoon over or toss with something (see headnote) for a flavorful dinner.

Makes enough for 1 – maaaaaybe 2, depending on what you make and how strong you like your flavors. Doubles or triples nicely.

Thai Coconut Beef Curry

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This dish is quick to throw together, takes a minimal amount of effort, and makes enough to last a few days.

gluten-free, paleo, keto

Thai Coconut Beef Curry

2 – 3 Tbsp. your favorite oil
1 medium onion
1 lb. ground or sliced beef
5 – 7 cloves garlic
1 inch piece ginger
13 ounce can coconut milk (full fat is best)
10 ounces shredded cabbage
1 orange bell pepper
5 Tbsp. Thai red curry paste
1 c. frozen spinach
Juice 1 lime
Salt & pepper

Chop the onion. In a large steep-sided pan or pot, add the oil and heat to medium. Sautee the onion until softened.

Add the beef, hit with some salt and pepper, and cook through.

While the beef is working, chop the garlic and ginger and bell pepper and cabbage. Add the ginger and garlic to the beef mixture and cook 1 – 2 minutes or until fragrant.

Add the veggies, coconut milk, 1 can of water, curry paste, and another hit salt & pepper.

Bring to a boil, add the frozen spinach, knock the heat down and let simmer 10 – 15 minutes or until the coconut milk has reduced to the consistency you want.

Turn the heat off, add the lime, and taste for seasoning. Add more salt/pepper/acid if needed.

Serves 4

Southabic Summer Fridge Salad

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Southabic? What’s a Southabic?

I was craving Southern-style tomato/cucumber/onion/vinegar salad, had a bunch of local tomatoes and cucumbers, and have a lot of Arabic-style spices on hand (plus: I have a whole literal drink cup full of pomegranate arils I have to use up before they go bad) – so, this salad was born.

And it was so freaking delicious I ate it for two dinners in a row with ground beef mixed in as a protein.

gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, keto

Southabic Summer Fridge Salad

2 medium tomatoes
2 – 4 cucumbers (I used Arabic cucumbers, which are smaller than the American or English varieties, with less large seeds)
1/4 red onion
1 clove garlic
1 slack hand full dill
1 slack hand full parsley
Red chili pepper
1/4 c. sliced green olives
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Sprinkle (about 1 Tbsp.) apple cider vinegar
Salt & pepper
Madras curry (or your favorite curry, really, I just went for the most generic)
Cumin powder
Optional garnishes: chopped pistachios and pomegranate arils
Optional bulk proteins: ground beef or rotisserie chicken

To prepare the salad, chop the cucumber and tomato and add to a large bowl. Mince the onion, dill, parsley, chili and garlic and add to the bowl. Add the olives.

Drizzle the olive oil over top. Sprinkle the vinegar and spices (I’d say I used about a teaspoon of curry and half a teaspoon cumin all told), and hit with salt & pepper.

Toss to combine and stick in the fridge a couple hours to let the flavors marry.

Serves 2 for dinner when bulked up by a protein

Cauliflower Bowl with Lime Miso Sauce

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This recipe was inspired by a really timely blog post in my inbox from Simply Recipes derailing a hand full of sauces she makes when bulk cooking meals for the week. This sauce is a riff on one of those and takes a simple roasted veg & rotisserie chicken bowl and elevates it to something special.

gluten-free, keto, vegan and vegetarian with substitutions

Cauliflower Bowl with Lime Miso Sauce

Fresh or frozen cauliflower or broccoli florets
Fat of choice
Salt & pepper
Rotisserie chicken (optional)
Pomegranate arils (optional)
Pepitas (optional)

For the sauce

1/2 cup tahini
2 Tbsp white or yellow miso
1 Tbsp honey or a few drops stevia
2 tsp sriracha
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
2 Tbsp water (or more)

Roast the brassica by placing the frozen florets on a baking sheet, drizzling with fat, and sprinkling with salt and pepper. Bake 25 – 35 minutes or until as browned as you like.

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a blender and add water until you have a thick and creamy dressing.

To serve, toss the cauliflower with a hand full of shredded rotisserie chicken per person in a large pan over medium-high heat with a teaspoon of oil. Cool until heated through and beginning to caramelize. Add a couple Tablespoons sauce and toss.

To serve, top with a hand full of pomegranate arils + a slack hand pepitas.

The sauce makes enough for 2 servings

Curried Cabbage with Eggs

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I was not sure this dish was going to turn out how I’d planned it to. I’m still on a Sri Lankan / curry kick, wanted to make some noodly cabbage, and thought I remembered seeing eggs with cabbage somewhere on the Internets or on a menu. Maybe. I’m glad I took a chance. This turned out fabulous.

Gluten-free, paleo, keto, vegetarian

Curried Cabbage with Eggs

1/2 small head cabbage (about 3 cups when cut into thin ribbons)
1 Tbsp. ginger garlic paste
1/2 red onion (about 1/2 cup diced)
1 Tbsp. madras curry
Pinch turmeric
1/2 tsp. chili flakes
2 – 3 Tbsp. fat of choice (I used ghee)
Juice of 1/2 lime

Cut your cabbage into ribbons and dice the onion.

Heat 2 Tbsp. fat in a large pan over medium. Add the cabbage, salt, and sautee until slightly browned – about 5 – 7 minutes.

When the cabbage is browned, push to the side and add the remaining Tablespoon fat, onion, curry powder, ginger garlic paste, turmeric and a bit more salt. Stir together and let go 1 – 2 minutes.

Stir into the cabbage and cook an additional 4 or 5 minutes or until the onions are soft and the cabbage is to your liking.

Take off the heat, sprinkle with the chili and stir. Toss with a couple cranks salt and the lime juice.

Place in a bowl and set aside while you make your eggs.

For The Eggs

2 eggs
1 Tbsp. fat of choice (I used ghee)
1 tsp. ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. madras curry

Put the pan over medium-low heat. Add the fat, ginger garlic paste, mustard seeds, turmeric and curry and cook 1 – 2 minutes or until bloomed (fragrant).

Break the eggs into the pan and softly scramble until almost dry. Cut the heat.

Add on top of the cabbage and serve.

Makes 1 dinner sized serving or can stretch for 2 for lunch

Sri Lankan Style Curried Eggplant

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Mmmmm. I don’t know that this turned out *quite* right, but it was freaking delicious nonetheless. To make a well-rounded meal, add some rotisserie chicken to your bowl and top with this goodness.

gluten-free, keto, paleo, vegetarian, vegan

Sri Lankan Style Curried Eggplant

1 lb. eggplant
1/2 c. oil (I used coconut because that is what I had)
1 Tbsp. ginger garlic paste
1 red chili
1 small red onion
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. madras curry powder
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. honey or sugar-free sweetener
1 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
Salt

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high. While the oil is heating, cut the eggplant into 1-inch strips; dice the chili and onion. When the oil is hot, add the eggplant in a single layer with plenty of room (you may need to do this in 2 – 3 batches) and fry until browned on all sides. Remove from the oil to a plate covered with paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

When all the eggplant is browned to your liking, drain all but a Tablespoon of oil from the pan. Add the onion and chili and cook until softened.

While the onion and chili is working, make a paste out of the ginger garlic paste, mustard seeds, turmeric, chili powder, curry powder, vinegar, and honey. Add to the pan when the onion and chili are soft. Cook 3 – 4 minutes, stirring continually, to mix.

Add the eggplant and let cook an additional 2 – 3 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.

Serves 2 – 3 as a side 

Low Carb Sushi Bowl

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Sushi is something I really miss when I’m cracking down on my carbs – a bowl like this helps in times like that. You can dress this up a million different ways: sub cauli rice tossed with a splash rice vinegar for the cucumber noodles, switch out the proteins, add your favorite ingredients … the sky’s the limit, really.

Gluten-free, paleo, keto

Low Carb Sushi Bowl

Bowl

Shrimp – I had 19kg or 18 medium
1.5 tsp. ginger garlic paste
1 Tbsp. your favorite oil
1/2 avocado
2 sheets nori
1 cucumber

Sauce

2 Tbsp. mayo
1 tsp. coconut aminos or soy sauce
1 tsp. sriracha or to taste
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. ginger garlic paste

Topper

2 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. sesame seeds
1 tsp. furikake

First, make your base by noodling the cucumber however it is that you prepare zucchini noodles. Cucumber noodles will be a bit wetter, so you will want to put them in a colander to drain. Salt if you want and let sit to drain while you prep everything else.

In a large pan over medium heat, add the neutral oil and large portion of ginger garlic paste. let cook until fragrant. Add the shrimp and sautee until pink and cooked through – about 4 minutes total for both sides. Cut the heat and move the pan aside.

While the shrimp is cooking, make the sauce by combining all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stirring.

To assemble, split the cucumber between two bowls. Cut the nori into thin strips and divide between the bowls. Cut the avocado into bite-sized pieces and divide. Divide the shrimp and add.

Top with a drizzle of the sauce and add sprinkle with the toppers.

Serves 2 for a light dinner

Sri Lankan Style Okra Curry

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Sri Lanka. Man, was that place full of good food. Home to many cultures, religions and ethnicities including: Sinhalese, Tamils, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Moors, Burghers, Malays, Chinese and Vedda; this tiny nation off the southern coast of India has a mix of flavors and influences when it comes to food (and everything, really – it’s also a former British colony, so there’s that as well).

Most of what we ended up eating (and craving) was curry, and most of those tasted like a combination of Indian (luckily only a little British-Indian) and Chinese flavors. Yuuuuuuuuuum.

Pics, btw, of the trip coming shortly-ish – DH took some great landscape HDRs and I’m waiting on him to process those. Of course, he has some Photoshop-free travel coming up — so it might be awhile. Hold, please.

Back to the food. DROOL. And there’s more Sri Lanka-inspired goodness coming in the next few weeks. CUISINE, I WILL LEARN YOUR SECRETS.

gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, keto

Sri Lankan Style Okra Curry
inspired by Sri Lankan Lady’s Fingers (aka Okra, Bandakka) by Island Smile

1 lb. or so okra (3-4 cups when cut)
4 Tbsp. fat of choice (I used half neutral oil and half ghee)
1 medium tomato
1 medium onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. ground turmeric
1/2 – 1 tsp. cayenne powder
Juice 1/2 lime
Salt

First, prep your ingredients by slicing your okra on the diagonal, and chopping the tomato, onion, and garlic.

Put your okra in a large bowl, salt liberally, and sprinkle with turmeric. Toss to combine.

Heat your largest pan over medium heat. Cover the bottom of the pan with okra (you may have to do multiple batches) and dry fry 5-7 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Set aside. (note: my okra did not kick off much of the dreaded horrorslime. If yours is, and I’ve only really gotten okra to kick slime the first time I ever tried cooking it, cook until it’s is gone. Nobody wants that – slime wins no hearts and minds).

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the fat, onion, garlic, tomato and another hit of salt. Sautee until the onions are soft and start to brown.

Add the okra back to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, another 4-5 minutes. Taste for salt. Sprinkle the cayenne over top, stir to combine, and cook an additional minute or so.

Turn the heat off and hit with some lime and more spice if desired.

Serves 2 for dinner as a main course – great combined with leftover rotisserie chicken – or 4 as a side

Quick Keto Tuna Bowl

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This meal came about because I was too lazy to go grocery shopping after coming home from vacation, and had zero fresh food (but a lemon) in the house. I think I did pretty well for myself and was super sad that I didn’t have leftovers for lunch the next day.

gluten-free, keto

Quick Keto Tuna Bowl

2 ounces tuna in oil
1 tsp. white miso paste
1 tsp. soy sauce or coconut aminos
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. sriracha
1 Tbsp. shallot, minced
Squeeze lemon
1 cup roasted broccoli

In a small bowl, combine everything but the broccoli and mix well. Add the broccoli (or whatever vegetables you want) for a rounded meal.

Serves 1

Roasted Cauliflower with Shallot Oil

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This isn’t the least fussy thing I’ve ever made, but it’s ready in under an hour and is freaking delicious.

Inspired by this Instagram post by Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks. I’d forgotten just how inspiring I find her take on flavors. /swoon

gluten-free, paleo, keto, vegetarian, vegan

Roasted Cauliflower with Shallot Oil

1 small head cauliflower
Fat of choice
1/2 head garlic split into cloves
1/2 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
1/4 tsp. black cumin seeds
1 Tbsp. minced garlic & ginger
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1-2 large shallots
Salt & pepper
Optional: pulled rotisserie chicken

Preheat your oven to 400F/200C.

First, peel and finely slice the shallots. Add to a small pot with enough fat to cover the bottom. Place over med-high heat until simmering, lower to med-low, and let go until the shallots are crisped up.

Break your cauliflower up into florets and spread in 1 layer on a baking sheet. Add the garlic cloves on one end – it’s ok if they are still in the paper skins. Drizzle everything with a generous hit of the fat you’re using and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake 20 minutes or so or until the shallots are done and the cauliflower is to your desired brownness.

While those two are working, make some curry-ish paste by frying the mustard and cumin seeds in 2 Tbsp. fat over medium-high heat in a small pan. When the seeds start to pop, add the garlic & ginger and turmeric. Stir quickly until the mixture is very fragrant. Set aside.

To serve, scoop out some cauliflower and top with pulled chicken if desired, a couple garlic cloves (take out of the skin), a Tablespoon or so of the shallot oil, some fried shallots, and a Tablespoon of the spice mixture.

Serves 2 – 3, depending on the size of your cauliflower and whether you’re including meat – would also be delicious with golden raisins and/or toasted nuts (I’m thinking sliced almonds, pine nuts or pistachios)