I have this habit of refusing to remember that the concept of marination is involved in cooking.  I read recipes ahead of time, comprehend the words "marinate over night" then selectively erase that phrase from my memory.  Then when the night comes that I want to make that recipe its as if evil elves have come in and rearranged the world since the last time I looked at the recipe and malevolently invented the word "marinate" just to torture me.  Well at least thats how it feels when Im looking forward to something for dinner and see that horrible world and realize that not only do I have to make new plans for dinner I also have to prep a part of tomorrows dinner.  And darn it at that point I just want to eat.

I mean Ill follow some pretty crazy cooking instructions with no problem but marinating things just irks me every time, I never learn.  Twice last week this happened to me as if I was trying to subliminally teach myself a lesson by planning to eat two recipes with one of my least favorite words in it.  This recipe for cumin crusted lamb was totally worth eating dinner late while waiting for the meat to get all sticky and soft in the egg white and saki.  The meal was amazing and the chemistry of the marinade really did something wonderful to the texture of the lamb so that I would be more than happy to eat this again.  The slightly spicy cashew cauliflower only made the meal better.

However the spicy chicken thighs I had planned for tricked me two nights in a row.  So I added "marinating" to the list of things Im leaving to the fella from now on since Im apparently unable to grasp the concept.  He was more than happy to prep the chicken and really loved the end result.  I dont know if it was because I was still holding a grudge against that recipe for making me have to re-plan dinner or if the recipe wasnt just for me but I wasnt a fan.

So there you have it of all of the things I can do Im stymied by the idea of putting meat in tasty liquid over night to make it even more tasty.  How sad is that?  I maintain that all recipes that have a marination step should start out with "warning marination ahead" in big bold letter before the ingredient list just to prevent these sort of cooking failures from happening.  Who is with  me?

Cumin Crusted Lamb

1 egg white

1 tablespoon rice wine or saki

2 teaspoons rice flour

1 teaspoon salt, more to taste

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 pound boneless leg of lamb or lamb shoulder, cut into strips about 1/2 inch by 2 inches

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons cumin seeds, lightly cracked in a mortar or grinder

2 tablespoons whole dried red chili peppers

4 scallions, white and green parts only, cut on diagonal into 1-inch lengths

Sesame oil, for seasoning.

In a deep medium sized bowl combine egg white, wine, rice flour, salt and pepper. Add lamb and set aside to MARINATE 1 HOUR. 

Heat a large skillet (non stick works best) over high heat until a drop of water sizzle on contact. Swirl half the oil into pan and carefully add lamb, spreading it in a single layer. Let sear a moment, then stir-fry briskly just until lamb is no longer pink on the outside. Transfer to a plate. 

Swirl remaining oil into empty pan, add cumin seeds and chilies and stir-fry a few seconds until cumin seeds start to pop. 

Add scallions and stir-fry 1 minute. Then return lamb to pan and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes more until lamb is cooked through. Turn off heat, sprinkle with salt and drops of sesame oil, and serve immediately.

Original recipe in New York Times food section.

Cashew Cauliflower

2 tablespoons oil

1 shallot, diced

1 medium head cauliflower, cut in florets

1 star anise

2 dried red chilies

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup cashews

Place oil in large frying pan over medium low heat.  Cook shallot in oil until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.  Add cauliflower and raise heat to medium high to brown the cauliflower.  When the cauliflower has some color to it and is just starting to get tender, add the star anise, chilies, and salt and pepper.  Stir fry ingredients for another minute.  

Add water to the pan, turn heat back to medium low and cover.  Cook for about 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.

Remove cover from cauliflower and add cashews to pan until theyre toasted, raising heat if necessary.  Remove star anise and chilies to serve.

Modified from a recipe in Padma Lakshmis Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet.

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Since coming down with the plague early on last week and still having not fully shaken it, the fella and I have been falling back on a lot of old favorites for cooking. That means a lot of African, Indian, and Chinese food modified to fit the diet. This usually works out pretty well but requires the fella to take on the cooking since I dont have the stamina for food that requires constant attention or the brain power to understand the multi step directions. And he has actually been thrilled to be off dish washing duty and back to cooking up a storm.

Our other fall back recipes are simple but interesting meat dishes from Ms. love her or hate her Rachel Ray. This pistachio crust is out of this world and requires the level of cooking skills Im up to in my weakened state. The hardest part is shelling a million pistachios without eating all of them, I just cant bring myself to pay $3 more for pre-shelled nuts so its a necessary evil. The fella and I actually had fun with this chore on this particular day, he shelled nuts and pitted olives while I did the intricate vegetable chopping for the side dish and we had a nice assembly line going on. Both dishes got finished at the same time and we had a nice relaxing Sunday dinner.

Weve done this yummy pistachio thing with both chicken and pork and both are equally yummy. Even if youre not on a crazy French diet I would suggest leaving out the breadcrumbs in the original recipe however. The pistachio crust by itself is subtle and well rounded, giving the meat a crunch and a nice flavor. With the breadcrumbs the garlic and lemon disappears and it tastes like homemade Shake n Bake. No thanks. If thats your thing feel free to bread crumb it up.

This goes surprisingly well with Bouluds fussy Tapenade Salad. I can only imagine what would happen with overly perky Rachel Ray and snobby Daniel Boulud actually at the same table. Its a rather amusing mental image but Im not sure which one would walk away alive in the end. Hmm. Their food together however made the best meal Ive had in a while.

Pistachio Crusted Chicken or Pork

1/2 cup pistachios, shelled
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
(original recipe also calls for 1/4 cup breadcrumbs which help nuts stick to meat but dulls the flavor of the dish and adds an odd texture when baked)

4 chicken breasts or boneless pork chop, 1-inch thick
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup oil (I only use enough to keep meat from sticking to pan)


Preheat the oven to 400°. Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.

Using a food processor, finely grind the nuts, garlic, lemon peel and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Transfer to a shallow bowl (whisk in breadcrumbs if youre going to use them.)

Season the chicken or pork with salt and pepper. Dip each piece of meat into the egg, then coat with the nut mixture.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the meat and cook until golden, about 2 minutes on each side then place on the baking sheet. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 140° for pork or 170° for chicken, about 20 minutes.

Original recipe from Everyday With Rachel Ray.

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Lets talk carbs. Specifically pasta.

Yes the whole point of this diet is to cut out a lot of carbs and all sugar but you can still have carbs there are just a lot of rules. First you can only have carbs one meal out of the day, preferably for lunch when your metabolism is working harder. That means one carb/low fat meal and one protein meal a day. Secondly only whole grain carbs are allowed, brown rice and whole wheat pasta for example. Lastly the carbs have to be eaten with as little fat as possible so that your body doesnt absorb a load of fat along with the carbs.

So what does this leave for you to eat for low fat/carb meals? Plenty you just have to get creative, give up the idea of ever having cheese on your pasta, and look really hard for the couple grocery story products that you can eat. Lucky for you Ive already done the last step, the intensely annoying and soul draining part for you. Seriously I was torn between breaking into tears or throwing sauces on the floor the first couple times I tried to shop and found how little there was to eat that was sugar free and diet friendly.

The other rule with pasta is that it has to be very thin angel hair pasta made with hard wheat. Montignac claims the pasta dough being forced through the thin metal pasta extruder during production causes a reaction in the wheat that makes it harder to break down into bad carbs while being digested. A lot of his quasi science leaves me scratching my head so I just take his word for it and any of my scientist readers can let me know if this is total crap.

There are three pasta brands Ive found in stores in Madison that fit all these quantifiers. Bella Terra Organic Capellini Angel Hair, Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Angel Hair, and Ezekiel 4:9 Organic Sprouted Grain Angel Hair. In regular grocery stores these brands hide in the organic section rather than in with the regular pasta.

Pasta sauces get a little more complicated depending on how strict you want to take the low fat rule. Ive found some good sauces with less than 2 grams of fat per serving from Barilla and Classico. The roasted red pepper and tomato basil in both brands were especially tasty. I was very surprised that the least expensive brands more consistently were sugar free.

In the past Ive been posting pasta recipes with penne and lasagna noodles going off the French version of the diet that didnt specify the angel hair only rule. Apparently the American diet needed more rules to keep us fat lazy poor eaters under control. Substituting angel hair in for my earlier recipes will make them perfectly legal for the diet however.

For now Ill post a very tasty and very easy recipe that will work for the weight maintenance stage of the diet when you can add a little more fat into carb meals without any dire consequence. This is when you arent losing weight but are following most of the same rules to keep your weight steady. It works, I havent lost or gained a single pound while eating this way. Next week the fella and I are going hard core on the weight loss phase again to see how much more weight we can get rid of, though the vacation from counting GI levels has been nice. I highly recommend taking a month off from the strict eating after a couple months just so the low GI doesnt break your will to live too much.

This recipe just involves tossing some marinated veggies into store bought pasta sauce to make it a little more special and give it a home made feel. It was delicious. We had pan roasted cauliflower with thyme and lemon juice as a side and El Coto Rioja which I believe I may have already raved about once before. It really is a wonderful spicy Spanish wine in the under $10 price range. With wine this good for that price I see no reason to spend more. Plus Im a sucker for quirky labels.

Antipasto Pasta

1 16-ounce package whole wheat angel hair pasta
1 28-ounce jar sugar free pasta sauce
1 4-ounce jar marinated artichokes, drained, halved
1 10 to 12-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers, drained, cut into strips
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves, sliced or chopped

Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, following package directions, until tender. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.

Meanwhile, place the marinara sauce, artichokes, peppers, and olives in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Add sauce to pasta. Stir to combine. If desired, add some of the cooking water if too thick. Top with basil. Serve.

Original recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs Enlightened Cooking.

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