How many different meals can I cram into the oven in one go?

in #recipes6 years ago (edited)

It’s hot. Too hot to want to turn the oven on. So I want to make it count and cook four things at once. Will they fit?

First a quick word about coming off my water fast. I’ve reintroduced quite a few foods now, and am eating animal proteins, cooked veges (as soup), salads and some good fats including macadamias, coconut, olive oil and lard. I’m only eating a tiny bit of fruit so far, and I do mean tiny, like one cape gooseberry or a thin slice of apple. It looks like I’m going to need to avoid eggs, dairy and almonds for a while.

Those of you who’ve been following me for a while know that I do best on a fairly high protein Paleo style diet. @sift666 is also close to Paleo as he doesn’t do well on grains, but he can tolerate some dairy (preferably fermented), and some legumes. He needs a lot more vegetables than I do, and in the summer needs lighter proteins. So we often eat different meals.

Today I wanted to make five dishes to feed us for most of the week:

• Chicken and veges in the crockpot for me
• A huge frittata filled with roast veges to do 3 to 4 dinners for @sift666
• And to go in his salads: Spicy roasted nuts / Marinated tempeh / Baked kumera (sweet potato)

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So first to get on the go is my chicken and veges. I sliced 3 red onions and lay them in the bottom of the crockpot. Then chopped 8 button mushrooms in half and mixed them in. I lay 10 chicken drumsticks on top, and set it onto Low for 6 hours. Usually I sauté the chicken drums in spices before putting them in, but I haven’t introduced spices yet, so today they are plain. The juices from the chicken fall down into the vege layer, and often I blend it all up to make soup. I usually use just onions, so the mushrooms are a bit of an experiment.

Then I set the tempeh marinating. The recipe for that is a bit further down.

In the evening, the first thing I did was get a big container of veges roasting. I did this a bit back to front, compared to a regular frittata recipe. Rather than know how many veges I needed for a specific recipe, I just looked around the supermarket for a variety of things that looked like they’d work. What went in to the roasting dish was: a piece of pumpkin, a parsnip, 3 zucchini (courgettes), 12 button mushrooms and a red onion. I tossed them in some lard (which I use because it’s a very stable, safe fat) and sea salt and into the oven for about an hour.

frittata1.jpg

The tray of marinated tempeh went onto a lower shelf, and I managed to squeeze two kumera in next to the roasting pan.

Once the veges were cooked, @sift666 had a look and we decided that was the right amount of veges for 4 meals. I split them between two large glass baking dishes that I’d lined with baking paper (easier than greasing it).

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I would have then used 12 eggs, but I wanted an egg white for the spicy nuts, so went with 11 eggs and an egg yolk. We didn’t have any cream, so I beat the eggs up about quarter of a cup of raw milk and some salt and pepper. This was poured over the veges, then topped with a generous amount of grated cheese. Back into the oven at 175C for 40-45 minutes.

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Meanwhile, I started on the nuts. I whisked together the egg white with a teaspoon of water till frothy, using an electric whisk.

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Then added a teaspoon of coconut aminos (or use tamari), a teaspoon of coconut syrup (most people use maple) and two teaspoons of a Moroccan spice mix and whisked again.

nuts2.jpg

I stirred in 3 cups of nuts (macadamias, walnuts and cashews) till well coated, then onto a baking tray and into the oven on the lower shelf for 20-25 minutes, stirring a couple of times along the way.

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So now we have dinners for four nights, and goodies for @sift666’s salads.

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Marinated tempeh recipe

When it’s hot, @sift666 doesn’t go too well on heavy meats, so we usually go for fish, eggs, dairy (homemade yoghurt and cheese) and some vegetarian proteins. For example, some chickpeas in the form of hummus go down well. He also uses soy some times, but only forms that have been fermented – like natto and tempeh. The tempeh we use is organic and non-GMO.

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Here’s what it looks like out of the packet.

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I cut it in half, then slice each half through the middle to make thin slices.

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Then each quarter gets cut into 8 pieces.

The marinade I used today was:

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons coconut aminos (or use tamari)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• And a knob of ginger.

This all gets whizzed up in a mini food processor and mixed in with the tempeh. It needs to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably 2 or more.

tempeh5.jpg

Then it gets baked at 180C for 40 minutes, getting turned halfway through.

tempeh6.jpg

Gratitude journal

Since I’m catching up on 3 days worth, I’ll just pick one thing from each day to share.

On Saturday, I was grateful for my nephews. What with one thing and another, our garden got a bit out of control last year and was more of a wilderness. Two of my nephews came over and spent 4 hours in the heat weeding and weed eating. They’re planning to come over again in a couple of weeks and finish the job.

On Sunday, I was grateful for our new swing chair out on the deck. In the cool of the late afternoon / early evening, it was lovely to lie out with a book, and feel cool and comfortable.

Today, I won @trevor.george’s snakes and ladders game. Choice! Thanks very much, Trevor.

EDIT - I've just changed one of the tags to #makeithealthy - check out @woman-onthe-wing's Make It Healthy project here.

Thanks for reading.

Images by myself, @sift666 or from Pixabay, unless otherwise stated.

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I have no idea how you managed to write that entire post literally as you were making it all - that would have taken me all day (I would have done trippy things with the photos though!)

It was all very delicious.

For my next post I might do cleaning up the kitchen after @kiwideb, a step by step how to load a dishwasher post

No, no, I don't want anybody to see the trail of destruction I leave behind me, for you to clean up!

Hahaha! Trev is always amazed at the destruction I leave behind too :)

Thank heaven for dishwashers!

Dishwashers and kitchen cleaners...

Are you a dishwasher Nazi....I am. Nobody but me can pack it right!

The subtext was loud and clear. 😛

"step by step" probably gave it away...

Exactly that!

Maybe just a little..

No wonder I don't cook much. I got tired going through this post. Boy @sift666 is lucky.

I got tired eating it all :)

Your silly pictures are looking like art work.

What do you mean?

Andy Warhol of the South Pacific.

My aim, by cooking so much yesterday, is to not have to cook anything much for several days. So worth it in the end. But don't think he gets off lightly. I cook. He cleans up after me. Though, of course, he is still lucky ;-)

A lot of work Deb, but you have the time to rest afterwards. Thank God you don't have to clean up.

For me, the question is more like "How many different meals can I cram into my mouth in one go" 😜

Ha ha ha! Buffet for you every time then?

If only we could mix your NZ hot with my Ireland cold and get a nice balance for us both! It's bloomin freeeeeezing here and I'm just looking at your oven hoping to feel some of that heat! Brrrrrrrr!

Wonderful food there, and what a great idea to cook as much as you can at the same time! And thanks very much for mentioning my new project! :-)

And we could do with a little of your cold. But no matter. The difference in the seasons makes us appreciate each change all over again. I never know what I'm going to post next, but hopefully will contribute lots of your project.

I've always enjoyed more pragmatic cuisine. Once I earn enough STEEM to buy an oven, I'm looking forward to cramming as much as I can into it in one go. I have to say, lots of different nationalities there! Indonesian, Morrocan, etc. That's quite the worldly spread, my friend! I didn't know it was called "tempeh". Around these parts we call it "tokwa", and I had some smothered in gravy just last night! That vege omelette looks so delicious!

I had to look tokwa up. To me that looks more like what we call tofu, a white smooth textured curd, that looks more like cheese. I don't know how each of them is made, but tempeh is made differently and you can still see the individual beans in it. It tastes different too.

Oh tokwa's definitely tofu! I thought you called it tempeh there and that it's the same thing! My bad haha

I don't think I have tried tempeh. I am all intrigued now!

It has a slightly nutty sort of flavour, so it's quite nice. But the choice of marinade improves it even more. Or you put it into a stew, so it absorbs some of the other flavours. Not sure what else people do with it.

If I do like those ones that absorb flavours well!

Good post! I eat tempeh often, but never thought about to put it in the oven. Thanks for sharing, I should try that soon :)

How do you usually serve it?

I slice it thin and bake a little bit on olive oil. Sometimes I slice it on small cubes, and put soy sauce after is baked. Sometimes, I first bake onion, paprika, and then add tempeh and tomato... Basically I prepare it with whatever I have in the fridge, whatever cross my mind in given moment.

I'll have to try some of those. Thanks.

Hi kiwi.. Nice delecious recipes i ll try them specially nuts recipe.. I like these nuts but they are very costly here and middle class families cant afford them we called them kaju.. What is this tempeh.. I first time saw it.. Is it made of pulses?

Tempeh is fermented soy beans. A lot of forms of soy are not good, as they are high in plant forms of estrogen, and disrupt our hormone systems. But small amounts of fermented soy are fine. You have to be sure it's non GMO though.

Nuts are quite expensive here too, but it's great to have some for salads or snacks.

Thanx dear.. I ll search here as i nevervsaw them here..

The food looks delicious as always. I cook for many, but sometimes I also try to put 2 meals in the oven, especially as it saves on electricity cost, which are high in SA.

Our costs are quite high, since we work from home. Others in the family are sometimes shocked to hear what our monthly bill is. So yes, that's another excellent reason to cram as much in as possible!

the whole of 2018 will be of mouthwatering stuff

That is indeed my aim :-)

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