March Recipes 2010
.............. Ghee........... .Sweet & Sour Chicken ..
Sweet & Sour Chicken from Becky MacDicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
¼ c corn starch
2 TBS oil
½ c vinegar
½ c brown sugar (Or more to taste)
2 TBS Nature’s Promise or other GFCF ketchup
2 shakes of Tamari or other GFCF wheat-free soy sauce
1 can Dole or other GF pineapple tidbits or chunks, drained but save juice
1 green pepper, diced
1 TBS corn starch mixed into ¼ cup water
Dice the chicken breasts into chunks. Beat the egg and mix into diced chicken. Add corn starch to coat chicken. (You can skip the egg & corn starch and just use plain chicken breast if you prefer.) Heat oil in a large pot. Drop chicken into hot oil and fry to a light golden brown. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Add a ˝ cup of water to deglaze the pan. Add vinegar, pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup and soy sauce to water. Bring to a bubble. Add in pineapple tidbits. Add corn starch mixed with water. Allow to thicken (you can add more corn starch if you like your sauce thicker.) Add in chicken. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Add diced green pepper (or other colors if you prefer) for the last 2 minutes. You can add any other veggies you like as well…grape tomatoes, carrots, onions…or fruit like cherries or mandarin oranges.) Serve with rice.
Ghee - from Priya
Ghee is clarified butter that has been cooked longer to remove all the moisture,
and the milk solids are browned (caramelized) in the fat and then strained out.
This gives a rich nutty taste. Ghee has a longer shelf life, both refrigerated
and at room temperature.
How To Make Butter Ghee (from http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/ButterGhee.htm)
Place one (1) pound of unsalted butter in your pan. Over low heat, melt the
butter. When the butter has completely melted, continue to heat it over low
heat. When the melted butter starts boiling, it will begin to foam and sputter
a lot at first as the water boils off. Continue boiling the butter, uncovered.
As the butter melts, it will slowly separate into three (3) layers:
• The top layer is a thin layer of foam (this is the butter's water content
boiling off.
• The middle layer contains the liquid.
• The bottom layer is where most of the milk solids are.
Slowly the liquid on top becomes more and more transparent. When the clarified
butter has a golden transparent color, there is very little foam left on the
surface, and the solids have settled on the bottom, the clarified butter is
ready. The cooking time is approximately 30 minutes, depending on the heat source
and the kind of pot that you use. Continue to slowly cook over low heat, watching
carefully and stirring occasionally, until solids on the bottom of the pan turn
light brown and the liquid deepens to golden and turns translucent and fragrant.
Also a rich aroma (aroma smells like popcorn) arises in the air. Immediately
remove from the heat. ** Important **
- If you leave it on the heat too long, you will burn the residue and all of
the ghee will have a burnt taste.
Ways to remove the foam and solids:
• Skim off the foam after removing from heat. Let the butter cool awhile
to let more of the solids settle, and then pour or spoon out the clarified butter,
leaving the remain milk solids in the pan.
• Pour the hot melted cutter through cheesecloth, fine-mesh skimmer, or
tea strainer to filter out the foam and solids that have settled, letting the
clarified butter flow into a jar.
• My favorite way - Pour the hot melted butter into a container and allow
it to separate on its own while cooling, and then refrigerate. After it has
solidified, you can easily scrape off the hardened foam on top.
• Use a gravy or fat separator to make the skimming easier.
• Strain the melted butter through a typical coffee filter.
Another link: http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2007/05/14/how-to-make-ghee/
Ghee can also be purchased at:
Hampden Groceries
4704 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Phone: (717) 737-9312?