Mango Chicken or Pork (SCD, GFCF)

My favorite restaurant in Atlanta is Penang, which serves Malaysian cuisine. I haven't been back to Atlanta in almost three years but I can still remember the Mango Chicken. I was thrilled to be able to make a close copy.

1/2 to 3/4 pound Boneless Chicken Breast or Pork Loin
1 Red Bell Pepper, julienned
1 cup Carrots, julienned
1 large or 2 small Mangoes
2 TBSP Water
3 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar
2 TBSP Honey
2 TBSP Ketchup
Oil for frying
Minced Cilantro and Green Onions for Garnish

Slice meat across the grain into thin bite sized strips. Peel mango, but save the peels. Dice what you can off of the mangoes and set aside, also save the big pit. Roll up your sleeves and wash your hands. Over a big cup squeeze the mango juice and pulp off of the mango pits and skins. Then discard the skins and pits. Add the water, vinegar, honey and ketchup to the pulp and combine with a fork or small whisk.

In a wok or large skillet heat, heat oil over medium high heat. When the oil gets hot, add carrots and bell pepper. Heat for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken or pork. Heat until cooked through. Add mango pulp sauce and heat until bubbly, then let it bubble a about two minutes to thicken, but stir often. Remove from heat and stir in diced mango. Serve with garnish.

For homemade SCD legal Ketchup: SCD Girl and SCD Recipes

Creamy Curried Zucchini Soup (SCD)

Soup is the ultimate comfort food when the weather is chilly. I've adapted this recipe from a great little book called "Recipes from the Night Kitchen" by Sally Nirenberg. It's a great addition to any soup lovers library. I have found many of the recipes to be easily adapted to SCD and gluten free diets.

2 TBSP. Butter
1/4 cup Onion, finely chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, pressed
1 TBSP Curry Powder (Madras style)
1 teas. Ginger, finely minced or grated
2 Zucchini, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 cup Celery, chopped fine
1/4 to 1/2 cup Carrots chopped fine
4 cups Chicken Stock
1 cup Yogurt Cream
Minced Green Onions and Cilantro for Garnish

Melt butter in a saucepan or stockpot. Saute onions, garlic, curry powder, ginger, zucchini, celery and carrots until tender. Add chicken stock and cook to a slight boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in yogurt and heat through. Serve with garnish.

Here's a link for a Madras Curry Powder recipe.

Spinach Cheese Bake (SCD)

I'm still mourning my broken camera and this blog is in need of the color green! So pretend there's a lovely spinach quichey/cakey thing floating above this recipe... This was one of my favorite homey dishes in my gluten eating days. Luckily the SCD version tastes identical. For those of you not on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, you can use one cup of baking mix in place of the almond flour and baking soda.

1 (10 oz.) Box frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed
1 cup Almond Flour
1/2 teas. Baking Soda
1/2 teas. Sea Salt
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup Yogurt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) Butter, melted
1/4 cup Onion, finely minced (optional)
1 cup Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded
2 TBSP Parmesan Cheese, shredded

Oven 350 Degrees. Butter a 2 quart, 11" x 7" casserole dish.

Put spinach in a strainer and squeeze as much liquid out of it as possible. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, eggs, yogurt and butter. Mix in onion and spinach. Blend in cheeses. Pour into casserole dish and bake for 30-40 minutes. It will be slightly browned.

Asparagus Dip (SCD, GFCF)

This is my fathers recipe. We just spent the last few days in Albuquerque visiting my parents and he served this. A few months ago there was an email touting the benefits of asparagus, which inspired his mission to develop some creative recipes with it. To make a gfcf version, omit the yogurt. For the SCD use fresh or frozen asparagus instead of canned. While I was on this trip I dropped and broke my camera, so my blog may be a bit blah until it's fixed.

1 (12 or 14 oz) can Asparagus, drained or
1 1/2 cups Asparagus, cooked until soft
1 TBSP. Olive Oil
1/4 cup Yogurt
2 fresh Sage leaves
1- 1 1/2 teas. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 clove Garlic

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. No need to cook the canned Asparagus. Serve with crackers.

"Mac" and Cheese (SCD)

George Stella is a very creative Low Carb chef. This recipe was adapted from his cookbook "Eating Stella Style". I like my dishes very creamy so I use yogurt made from half and half, but regular yogurt would probably work just fine. His version calls for a little mustard and garlic, so you may want to try some.

1 head Cauliflower, cut into small pieces
3 TBSP Butter
1 cup Yogurt Cream
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups Cheddar Cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a casserole dish.

Steam cauliflower for a few minutes, just until barely tender. Drain well and pour into the casserole dish.

In a saucepan melt butter. Add yogurt and heat through. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until blended. Add cheddar and seasonings. Stir until melted and blended. Pour over cauliflower and bake about 15 minutes until bubbly and slightly browned.