Strawberry Salsa

Well, we are still slowly transitioning into the Paleo diet. Mr.Surly is following it stricter than I am. I'm finding it a bit stressful to think of various meals that fit the criteria. Mr.Surly has already lost some of his winter weight (a pant size) from the diet and exercise. I think I'm down about 5 lbs, I'm trying to gain that back; I can't lose any weight. I'm still trying to maintain my weight and even gain 5 lbs to be at a healthy weight for my height. Mr.Surly wants to lose weight and get back in shape. Mr.Surly noticed an immediate positive effect from the diet. He feels fuller, needs less snacks during the day, and no longer needs his usual afternoon coffee.

The diet is also supposed said to be good for autoimmune diseases . I can't vouch for how it affects my GI issues because I'm still using dairy and eating wheat.

Egg & Bacon Breakfast Muffins

Yes, you read the title correctly; these muffins have bacon in them. Well, turkey bacon to be exact. Which is still bacon, which means, to me, it's evil. I have always hated the taste and smell of bacon, even as a child. My sister would chase me, as she ate bacon slices, taunting me "Come on, I know you want a bite." I had to jump on the swing set and swing to avoid her and that awful bacon aroma.

These muffins were made, out of love, for Mr.Surly. These are my second attempt. The first time I tried making them I burnt the bacon (hey, I never make the stuff). So they were just egg muffins. They are incredibly easy to make and are a great grab & go breakfast. I made them in a muffin tins, and even with cooking spray it was hard to get them out. The second time I used silicon muffin cups and it was so much easier to remove the muffins. I wish I had a silicon muffin pan but unfortunately I do not; I only have individual silicon cups which I put on a baking sheet and it worked out fine.

Vegetarian Moroccan Stuffed Peppers

I have wanted to make stuffed peppers for a long time. I didn't want any greasy sausage or ground beef; my stomach is not tolerating fat at all right now. Instead, I wanted something healthy and filling for my peppers. I just made this up with different grains I needed to get rid of in my pantry and some of my favorite spices.

I started off with 1 cup of broth, kept an eye on the rice to make sure it was getting enough liquid. I ended up adding a little bit more, which eventually added up to 3/4 c more broth.

I made these in advance, around noon when my energy is at it's peak, then stuck them in the fridge til dinner time. It was really easy, which is really important for me. This whole week I have been incredibly sick, my symptoms have worsened, and I have to go back to the hospital for another colonoscopy. ugh.

Veggie Pot Pies

My fatigue has been really bad lately. I have been running around to the hospital for appointments and tests, picking up prescriptions, and trying to keep Mr.Surly fed. Recently, I have been brainstorming easy, heathfull, quick dinners.  This was just one of my ideas.

If I didn't feel so exhausted and worn out every minute of the day, I would have made my own pie crust. But I cheated and used a frozen pie crust, along with frozen veggies. These are so good and ridiculously quick to make. Dinner in 20-30 minutes; gotta love that.

 These are pretty filling. I only can only eat 1 10 oz ramekin, Mr.Surly can polish off two.
The possibility of veggies and spices are infinite. Use whatever you like.

2 Minute Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake

I have seen many recipes for the single serve 2 or 5 minute mug cake. I admit I was a bit leery of them; I didn’t think they could taste very good. Oh, how wrong I was.

A month or so ago I was craving some kind of chocolate dessert. One problem, I was out of eggs, a key ingredient. I look at numerous websites, looking at recipes, trying to find a non-egg version. No luck. No problem, I thought, I’ll just make up my own, which is what I proceeded to do. The first draft was pretty dry, but edible. So I spent a lot of time tweaking and changing ratios and ingredients, until I finally achieved what I was looking for, a dark, moist, chocolaty cake.

I have made it will all the add-ins I listed. Sometimes alone, others times I’d combine them.

Another thing I did was experiment with oats for flour, just to try to make it a bit more “healthy.”

The best thing about this recipe is that in under 5 minutes of a chocolate craving, you'll be digging into a delicious chocolaty delight.

Vegetable Lo Mein

I’m finally back with a post, yay! I have finished all my testing and dr/hospital appts until mid August. Hooray. My lip is healing nicely, and it looks like, as of now, I do not have sjogren’s syndrome (thank God). But since I’m borderline on the test results for sjogren’s, I have to go see the rheumatologist every 6 months for blood work to make sure I don’t develop it. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. There’s another autoimmune disease to check off on the list. I wonder what they’ll test for next.

After all of the tests and appointments, I’m slowly easing my way back into the kitchen, starting with simple, all-in-one meals. I have a whole list of delicious-sounding recipes that I want to make; hopefully I can get them knocked out soon.

This recipe originally comes from a Cook’s Illustrated cookbook from a recipe for pork lo mein. Mr. Surly and I love veggie lo mein noodles, but the local Chinese take out lo mein makes us both horribly sick. So for the past year I have been trying in vain to find a decent recipe for lo mein noodles. Some recipes call for oyster sauce or fish sauce. I don’t know why, but just the sound of those sauces grosses me out. Perhaps it’s because I’m not a big fan of sea food that tastes fishy. Yuk. It goes back to my childhood and a mini shark fish named Sharky, that my dad loved and us kids hated, who came back from the dead . *shiver* But that’s another story, perhaps for another day.

Salsa

This post marks Mr. Surly’s cooking debut. Are you as excited as I am? I'm always happy when he makes food. And this time I was able to photo document it, though I don't think he was too happy to have me hovering around with a camera, even though I tried to stay out of the way.

This salsa is so good and so simple; it's his family's recipe.

Honey-Roasted Almonds

These are some delicious, honey-roasted almonds my sister made for us over Christmas. I didn't eat any, since I'm trying to be better about eating low oxalate, but Mr.Surly gobbled them up. They looked and smelled wonderful.

Dark Chocolate Espresso Cake

I should call this cake death by chocolate it's so rich. The first time I had this recipe was 2 years ago, when I was gluten free (for my elimination diet). It was love at first bite. I like that this flourless cake doesn't have a lot of butter in it. A lot of flourless chocolate cake recipes call for 2 sticks of butter--no thank you, my stomach would be in knots for days.

This recipe is perfect. The cake is so dense,moist, and delicious. It's wonderful served with whipped cream and raspberries. A note about the cake; it rises when it bakes and falls when it cools, resulting in a crackled top. But don't worry, the cake will be gone before anyone notices a cracked top.

Guest Post: Chicken Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette

Alright, here's week two's guest post. Haley has graciously agreed to share this amazing chicken salad recipe with all of you while I'm away, this time in the city of brotherly love. Haley and I have been blogging friends for a long time. She amazes me. She was in college, and now nursing school, and she still finds the time to post more often than I do. Amidst all this, she is training to run a 10K. I wish I had her energy. A bonus of her part time job allowed her to be an assistant instructor at a kid's culinary camp. I loved seeing the creative desserts the students came up with. They were much prettier than any cupcake I've ever made. I urge you to check out her blog if you haven't had the opportunity. You'll find a lot of delicious recipes. And now for Haley and her best chicken salad ever...

Hello!

I'm Haley from The Girly Girl Cooks and I was so honored when I was asked to write a guest post for the fantastic blog, Surly Kitchen!

Summer is all about picnics, weddings and BBQ's, so I thought this recipe for Chicken Salad would be perfect for any three of these occasions. Besides being absolutely delicious, this chicken salad is great for all of us watching what we eat because it's made with a delicious vinaigrette and not loaded with guilty mayonnaise! I have the fantastic job of assisting chef's teach culinary classes at work, and this chicken salad sandwich was a total crowd favorite.The bright flavors, colors and freshness of this salad are unbelievable and the dressing is so light and delicious! I know for a fact that you are going to love it!

Guest Post: Fresh Corn and Chicken Sausage Skillet

I'm delighted to have my first guest contributor, Megan of Wanna Be a Country Cleaver, while I'm away on vacation. Have you seen her blog? It's amazing; you must check it out. I don't remember how I discovered it, but I'm glad I did. She has the sweetest finace, cutest dog, and killer recipes. And she can make amazing cakes. I love her blog and she is the friendliest person. She graciously agreed to do this guest post for me while I'm away on vacation. When I saw this recipe for Fresh Corn and Chicken Sausage Skillet I wanted it, and I'm not even a big fan of sausage. But this, this I could handle. Her pictures of the food prep are as amazing as the picture of the finished dish; I wish I had the gumption to take prep pictures; I'm just too lazy to do it. I have one word for this recipe: Stunning. And now, here's Megan.....


Quite possibly the best thing about the blogging community is the warmth and friendliness that emanates from every direction. These inviting groups of people share their zest and passion for any topic that speaks to them – in our particular realm of the digital world, it’s food. When Amy approached me to write a guest post for her, I jumped at the chance (perhaps a little overenthusiastically) to introduce myself to her loyal fan-base and share my love of simple food, and a somewhat country-esque lifestyle while residing in what I call “the big bad city”.

Amy is a kindred spirit with a heart of gold and I am monumentally excited and honored at her guest post proposal. For this little share session, I wanted to bring my A-game with a quick and incredibly healthy (in my eyes, because there is No butter involved) dish that’s a one-skillet supper ready in under 25 minutes. Prepping to plate in under 25 – this is what week night meals were made of.

So, I hope that you enjoy this little dish and thank you so much for indulging me with your time.

Corn straight off the cob is one of the most luxurious experiences of summer. It screams afternoon barbecue surrounded by your closest friends and cheery children tuckering themselves out at the local swimming hole. Bursting those kernels full of sweet nectar between your teeth is what a picnic is all about. When it's so readily available you have to jump on it and gobble up all you can.



For this latest Fresh Food Challenge hosted by America's Test Kitchen the secret ingredient was - corn. Brilliant!

When I got to making this recipe I wanted to ensure that it maintained as fresh of an appearance and taste as possible. And it needed to be quick. After a long weekend or busy day at work, slaving over a hot stove isn't the first thing on your to-do list.

My one requirement - its prepping to plate in 25 minutes or less. And this one achieved all of those pesky parameters.

No Bake Cookies

I haven't had a no bake cookie in a long time; I almost forgot about them. I remember when they were popular back when I was growing up; we used to make them often. I love chocolate and peanut butter, separately, together. Recently, I came across this recipe from my aunt for them and thought they would be perfect to make during these hot, summer temperatures. As an added bonus, they are quick to make, which is necessary for me, since recently I have been feeling more sick than usual.

I was a bit worried about making them with natural peanut butter and, as feared, they turned out to be runny. No problem, the next time I made them (the first batch didn't last long) I added more oats and it took care of the problem. I ended up with beautiful, delicious no bake cookies.

White Chocolate Macadamia Biscotti

I’m finally getting around to posting some recipes. I have just been so exhausted and lethargic the past week or two, all I felt like doing was sleep. But this week I’m trying to get caught up in posting. I wish I had an assistant to help me take and edit the photos, as well as type out the recipes and posts.

I love to have some kind of treat with my morning cappuccino. Biscotti is a favorite, so are cookies, date bars, etc. I had some macadamias, and decided to make a biscotti version of the best cookie ever. It took me a few attempts to get the right ratio of dry to wet ingredients, but all the disasters were still delicious, even if they were too crumbly.

These went fast, I had them with my morning coffee and again in the afternoon with some chai tea. Next time I’m going to make two loaves, as even Mr.Surly was a fan.

Cilantro-Jalapeno Hummus

This hummus is Mr.Surly’s favorite. I was waiting until my cilantro grew big enough to make this dip for him. He likes things hot and spicy, so I use serrano peppers instead of jalapeno peppers. Whenever I make this, it’s lucky to last 2 days. We prefer our hummus without tahini, so I substitute almond butter or cashew butter. I don’t really notice much taste difference between almond vs cashew butter. I've also used a lime instead of lemon, it makes it equally delicious. This time I used a lemon because I was all out of limes.

This is ridiculously easy to make; you just put everything in the food processor and puree. It only takes about 10 minutes to make, if even that. Gotta love easy, delicious dishes when the temps are in the upper 90’s/low 100’s.

Black Bean Lasagna

This lasagna is something I just threw together the other day when I didn’t feel like making much for dinner. I’ve seen lasagna rolls on various blogs and, one day, wanted to take a stab at making my own. I don’t like ground beef and I knew if there was no protein in this dish there was a chance Mr. Surly would find this dinner neither filling nor satiating. In order to curb and avoid possible post-dinner kitchen foraging, I added black beans for protein.

Now, black beans are on my “avoid” list for the low oxalate diet, but I haven’t been following the diet too strictly recently. My GI doctor ordered more tests, and wants me to eat as I normally would to get accurate results. I have been eating all the chocolately treats I can in the meantime. This accounts for my recent scrumptious Chocolate Stout Cupcakes post.

This meal was easy to prepare, while my noodles boiled I mixed up the filling, and seasoned the tomato sauce. The rolls aren’t too hard to assemble. If you roll too tightly the filling pops out but that’s not a big deal; you just pinch it back in.

Both Mr.Surly and I enjoyed this, though he did comment it could use more spices. I thought it tasted great, but with my GI issues I have acquired a very bland palate, much safer for my GI tract that way.


thanks for the new dish MIL :)

No Cook Pasta Sauce

This is an accidental recipe I made up the other night simply because I wasn’t feeling well. I had been in pain all day and just couldn’t bring myself to make dinner. As the time drew closer for Mr.Surly to come home, I had to think of something. I decided on pasta because it’s easy to make. We don’t eat jarred marinara sauce, I like to make my own. Usually tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, spices, etc simmered together. But this particular evening I didn’t feel like cooking the sauce. I just wanted to throw it together and let it sit on the counter so I could get back to the couch and my heating pad. The following is the result, and it was really good. Light and easy, I’m definitely making this again. I think I allowed it to sit for about 2 hours.

Mediterranean Chicken and Peppers

This is one of my favorite meals for 2 reasons: 1) it's delicious and 2) it's easy. I love bell peppers and this dish is chock full of them. Plus, it has my beloved balsamic vinegar in it. And who doesn't love a dish that you just throw together, pop into the oven, and forget about it. The longest part is chopping all the peppers and that only takes a few minutes.

If you like olives, some Kalamata olives would be a tasty addition to this. I don't like olives, I find them too salty, but Mr. Surly loves them.

I have served this over quinoa, millet, couscous, and rice. Sometimes I add cubed potatoes to the dish. This dish makes a regular appearance in our menu rotation.

Tea Scented Glazed Sponge Cake

While searching for low oxalate desserts I came across this Emeril recipe. Sponge cake is on either my good list or limit list; I can’t remember. I just know it’s low oxalate. As usual, I halved the recipe and made a few minor changes. I have never made a sponge cake before so I wasn’t sure how much it would rise while baking. Therefore, I poured it into two 4 ½“ springform pans. Turns out I probably could have gotten away with pouring it all it into one small pan; the cakes were pretty thin. But with two cakes, I decided to make two kinds of glazes. The honey cinnamon glaze was definitely our favorite. When Mr. Surly was eating it he said it “tasted like Christmas.” The other glaze I made was just a lemon, vanilla, milk and powdered sugar glaze. Not bad, but nothing to get excited about. I served it with powdered sugar and a dollop of homemade whipped cream. Yum. I can’t wait to make this again and experiment with different herbal teas.

Berries would be a great accompaniment to this. Unfortunately for me, berries are high oxalate, so I can't have them. But you should serve it with berries and think of me as you savor each berry, and I can eat vicariously through you.

Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken

This week has gone by so fast for me! I'm finally getting around to editing photos and getting some posts up. I feel like I'm so far behind! I have missed reading my favorite blogs, and I plan to catch up on that this weekend.

I've been going through a lot of my recipes to see if I can deem them low oxalate. I have made this chicken many times; we really like it. I’m not sure if this is an ideal dish for a low oxalate diet. The soy sauce is on my list of foods to avoid, but I figured using just low sodium would be fine.Besides, I dilute it with pineapple juice, which is on my “good” list. ;)

I've made this with fresh pineapple and canned. Canned is obviously less work and tastes just as good. I really love sweet and spicy combinations. Don’t substitute cooking sherry for the dry sherry, they are different and cooking sherry is loaded with sodium (which is bad for a low oxalate diet). I have grilled it, cooked it in a skillet, and one time I even just tossed everything in an 8x8" glass dish and baked it at 375F. Just depends on my mood, and how tired/lazy I'm feeling.

You can serve this with rice, couscous, millet, almost any grain. I chose orzo since it's a pasta, which is on my "good" oxalate list.

Lemon Glazed Brown Sugar Shortbread

I have to admit, this low oxalate diet is one of the hardest elimination diets I have ever done. Mostly because all my favorite foods are on the “foods to avoid” list. But, this forces me to become more creative in planning out my meals. I’m thinking of ingredient combinations I never would have considered otherwise. I wanted to tap into my creative side via this blog, and now I’m really being forced into it.

One thing I’m really struggling with is dessert. Ever since losing too much weight, my doctor keeps encouraging me to eat sugary, fatty desserts. And now I’ve developed a sweet tooth. I can’t help it; you try eating cakes and browines, cookies and ice cream everyday for a year, then all of a sudden being cut off. My biggest challenge right now is finding low oxalate desserts. Is there anything that tastes like chocolate, but isn’t chocolate nor cocoa, and would be low oxalate? If someone knows of something please let me know. It’s only been about a week and I’m craving and missing my good friend chocolate terribly.

Since I haven’t been feeling well lately, I wanted to make an easy dessert. I decided to make a simple shortbread and add a lemon glaze to sweeten it. I made a small batch because this was an experiment, and now I wish I had made more. I’ve already eaten almost half the batch I made. Luckily, these are so easy to make I can make a bigger batch tomorrow. The lemon glaze adds that perfect extra 'something'.

I’d like to experiment more with this by adding different spices and glazes. I’d like to try some kind of orange blossom water glaze. This is a great basic, recipe to play around with.