Crock Pot Vietnamese Beef Bone Broth and Pho Recipe!

I never thought I'd make it this far with bone broths.  I had tried for years (without a crock pot/slow cooker) to re-create that amazing Pho broth you can only find at restaurants, with no success.  Finally, I did a little research, and looked into making bone broths in a crock pot, which for busy and chronically ill people like myself, is the only way you are going to have TIME to make a bone broth (unless you do not have a job, and you can tend to bone broths all day, which is LIKE a full-time job, so I have just learned).

Before we get to composing the artwork-from-scratch that is Pho, we must make a mean Vietnamese-style Beef Bone Broth first.  It looks like a lot of work, but if you have your ingredients nearby, and pots and pans out, there is nothing too complex about this.  I would also advise multi-tasking.  I will explain...

Ingredients for Vietnamese Beef Bone Broth:

• Approx 2 lbs of beef bones (it is more common to see beef bones packaged for this very purpose, but if you don't see this in the meat section at the grocery, just speak to the butcher.  They likely have a buncha bones they can bring out for you by request).
• 1 yellow onion, cut in quarters/or sixths.
• 1 medium claw of ginger (approx 3" long), sliced
• 2 cinnamon sticks (*this is very important to getting this stock tasting excellent)
• 3 whole star anise (*this is very important to getting this stock tasting excellent)
• 3-4 whole cloves
• 1 cardamom pod (sadly, I did not find cardamom at the grocery the day prior, it is preferable to have this, but I made this broth without, and it still turned out awesome- if you have it, use it!)
• 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar (to get the most outta the bones, more on this later)
• 2 TSP whole coriander seeds (I could not get this either, so I used ground coriander instead)
• 1 1/2 TBSP fish sauce
• 1 TSP sugar
• Approx 8-9 cups of water (this was the maximum amount that would fit in my crock pot!)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING THE BROTH:

The reason I failed countless times making particularly beef bone broths in the past is because I never took care of getting the 'random stuffs' that boil from the bones out of the water before making the soup, and would end up with 'goopy bone soup' that would go to waste.  

Get out a medium to large stock pot.  Throw the bones in.  Fill the pot up with water until the bones are entirely submerged in the water, and start a rolling boil- boil the bones hard for at least 10 minutes, until you see all the weird fatty bubbly stuff come to the surface.  Only then can you turn off the stove, and dump out that messed up not-broth water, and rinse off the bones a few times, placing them in the crock pot once they are status post boiling and cleaned off.

(pictured above is the boiling of the bones, and the 'goop' boiling to the surface you will be dumping out!)

(pictured above are the cleaned/boiled bones!)

While you have been doing this whole boiling-of-the-bones thing, you should toast those spices:

Take the coriander, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and star anise- put them in a small frying pan on low to low-medium heat and toast them to really bring out the flavors (takes a few minutes).  Once done, add these toasted spices into the crock pot along with the cleaned/boiled bones.

Once you have thrown the toasted spices into the crock pot, put a dab of cooking oil into the frying pan and add the cut up onion and ginger, making sure to cook them on low to low-medium heat until browned, and again, once done doing this, throw the browned/cooked onion and ginger into the crock pot as well.

Once you've got your boiled/cleaned bones, toasted spices, and browned/cooked ginger/onion in the crock pot, it is time to add the apple cider vinegar, to get as much out of those bones as possible, as well as then adding 8-9 cups of water (depending on size of crock pot/slow cooker), and then adding a TBSP to 1 1/2 TBSP of fish sauce, and 1 tsp sugar.

(pictured above is what this all looks like in the crock pot at the start of your broth-making session)

Try to do this either in the morning before work, or even better, prepare this late in the evening, and let the broth make itself in the crock pot overnight! Set the crock pot on the Low setting, and cook for at least 8 hrs.  I personally let mine cook for anywhere from 10-12 hrs.

(pictured above is what all of this looks like after 10-12 hrs of cooking on low setting in the crock pot)

Get out a large container in which to store the broth, and put a strainer over it.  Once the crock pot has cooled down enough for transfer, pour the crock pot broth mixture over the strainer to strain out all the stock bones/large whole spices/onion/ginger.   You will be left with the very fragrant Vietnamese Beef Bone Broth:

If you haven't run away yet, here is the easy add-on recipe for Pho.  The most important thing is making the broth right.  The second most important thing is merely having the ingredients you need/that can work to make this soup.

Ingredients For Making Pho:

• The stock you just made 
• Rice noodles (my personal favorite are Annie Chun's Brown Rice Maifun Noodles!)
• Meat/chicken or fish of some kind.  My biggest cheat here (since I rarely have time for anything) is to use Brat-Hans Spicy Cilantro Chicken Sausage, sliced up in place of flank steak- since all you need to do is heat it up in the broth and it does not require freezing flank steak and meticulously thinly slicing it.
• A plate of stuff for the Pho-plate including: A bunch of fresh cilantro, a bunch of preferably Thai Basil (or 'Holy Basil') though regular Basil will work here if that is all you have, fresh mung bean sprouts, hot green peppers/hot peppers, and some lime wedges.  On the side, feel free to also have Sriracha sauce, Hoisin sauce, and gluten-free Soy Sauce/Tamari if you want, as well as adding fish sauce to broth for taste as needed.

To Make Pho Out Of the Broth:

Take however much broth you need from the big batch (if not using it all at once), heat it up in a medium to large pot, and throw in the approximate amount of rice noodles you will need for the amount of servings you are cooking for (eye it, it is fine).  Bring the stock + noodles to a soft boil for approx 2-4 mins max, then just keep the heat at low; heat up the already-cooked/refrigerated spicy cilantro chicken sausage (or equivalent easy-to-add-to-soup meat source) by throwing it into the hot broth and noodles in the pot.  Meanwhile, prepare/arrange your Pho-stuff-plate:

And just like that, you have some home-made Pho from scratch!!  Enjoy!! :D

Ginger Syrup & Ginger Dairy-Free Latte Recipe

Ever since I went dairy-free, I've been missing out on ordering chai tea lattes in the mornings because most places do not have almond milk (only soy, which I also do not do).  I finally gave in and decided to make my own syrup using ginger, for its anti-inflammatory properties, but primarily to make a ginger latte with almond milk, to fill the hole in my heart where all the easily-ordered chai tea lattes used to be!

Ingredients for Ginger Syrup Recipe:

• 1-2 claws of fresh ginger (chopped, should equal 1 to 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 cup of organic turbinado raw cane sugar
• 1 1/2 cup of water

Instructions:

In a small to medium sauce pan, bring the water, chopped ginger and sugar to a soft boil, stir with a whisk to dissolve the sugar, and reduce that heat to a low simmer for anywhere from 40-50 minutes.

Once this is done, pour the mixture through a strainer with your syrup-container-of-choice underneath to catch only the syrup itself as you strain out the ginger pieces (I typically use a glass jar with a tight fitting lid/clasp-lid for storing this in the fridge, where it will last approximately a month).

Recipe for Ginger Dairy-Free Latte:

Warm up a cup of almond milk or any other milk alternative of choice, throw in a spoonful or two of the ginger syrup you just made, whisk together, and top with your favorite hot drink seasoning (cinnamon, a dash of turmeric, pumpkin spice seasoning, etc).

Traditional Chicken Bone Broth for the Crock Pot!

Getting a really bad case of mono (EBV) as a young adult taught me two things: (a) I am not invincible (this was an affliction for me during my final semester of undergraduate nursing school, and I barely scraped through) and (b) bone broths saved my life and helped me survive the acute viral infection.  Lets face it.  Autoimmune processes & viral infections particularly suck hard since there is such limited actual treatment for them.  Having suffered through a bunch of this, and now stuck with acute bronchitis atop an already taxed and hyper-vigilant self-destroying immune system, I have decided it is time to bring back my famous Chicken Bone Broth.  This is some traditional-level old-timey broth that will save you during viral times of woe.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 Cooked rotisserie chickens (I only used one, and got it ready-to-go for two reasons: a. chicken scraped off the bone is then ready to throw in the finished broth and b. I was sick and tired, and was looking to make a real broth in the most low-key way possible.)  One large rotisserie chicken has just under approx 1 lb. of chicken bones
• 1/2 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar (to get the most out of the bones, I use 1/2 TBSP for 1 lb. of chicken bones, and 1 TBSP for 2 lbs. of chicken bones, and so forth)
• 1 small turnip cut in half - optional, if you have it around, unpeeled!
• 1 small to medium parsnip cut in half- optional, if you have it around, unpeeled!
• 2 medium yellow onions cut in half or quarters with skin on- unpeeled!
• 1 Bay leaf
• A bunch of Dill
• A bunch of Parsley
• A bunch of Thyme
• 1-2 medium to large carrots cut in half- unpeeled!
• 1-2 medium to large celery stalks cut in half- may keep leaves on!
• 8-10 cups of water given size of your crock pot (I only had room for 1 rotisserie chicken-worth and 8-9 cups of water!)

Instructions:

First, pick off the cooked meat from the rotisserie chicken and put in a container to save for using for the soup later.  Pick off as much actual meat as you can, only leaving the carcass/skeleton/bones with some cartilage and fat/some skin on what was a whole rotisserie chicken.  Throw the carcass and non-chicken-meat bits n' bones into your crock pot.  Now, put the Apple cider vinegar over the bones to assure getting as much nutrition you can out of them.  Prepare the broth veggies/herbs as listed above (leave skins of the vegetables on- it is more nutritious, and makes this process 5,000 easier).  Put said veggies, herbs, and bay leaf into crock pot.  Pour in those 8-10 cups of water, based on what your crock pot can handle (I would also use more cups of water, 10-12 per se, for 2 lbs of chicken bones in a bigger crock pot, for instance).  Turn the crock pot on low, and cook on low for at least 12 hrs (this is particularly convenient for preparing in the evening before it cooks overnight, and you deal with it in the morning).

The chicken meat you picked off the carcass, to be put in the broth when ready:

The ingredients all together in the crock pot prior to cooking:

Once done cooking, use a large strainer over the collection container to strain the large veggies/carcass out as you collect your home made bone broth:

*If there is a lot of fat on top of the broth even after straining, refrigerate it for an hour or so, and take a spoon to lift/skim the obvious accumulated fat off of the broth*

Add that chicken meat back in, and any other cooked veggies (ie carrots/parsnips/herbs/etc) to the actual soup, or simply save the broth as it is- this will remain good in the fridge for a few days to a week, and will last longer in the freezer for up to several months!

*I add my salt and pepper in at the very last step to avoid over-salting the broth, and only adding what is necessary for one's particular taste!*

YAY! Now you have what it takes to stay healthy and/or get better!

Have fun and stay well! :D

Simple Onion-Ginger-Clove n' Honey Cough Syrup + Bourbon-based Cough Syrup Recipe!

I loathe over-the-counter cough syrups.  They remind me of acid rain, bad childhood memories of being ill, and what it might taste like to drink melted plastic merged blended with deconstructed magic markers.  That being said, I'm sick again, and went to the kitchen to try to solve my illness woes....

This simple cough syrup is ridiculously easy to make, and makes a great cough-syrup hot toddy when mixed with a good Bourbon and some lemon juice (for adults and at bedtime only- recipe below!).  

Ingredients for the Syrup Itself:

• 1 yellow onion 
• 1 red onion
• 2-3 "knob-fingers" of fresh ginger
• 2-3 TBSP of whole cloves
• Raw organic honey (you need enough to cover all of the ingredients in the pan so they are somewhat submerged in it, for me I used approx. 3/4ths of a 16 oz. container to make a big batch!)

Instructions:

Peel the onions, cut them into 4ths (chunks), cut 2-3 "knob-fingers" (I seriously don't know what else to call this, I'm sorry) off a big piece of ginger, and put these ingredients into a medium pan.

Throw in the whole cloves.  Cover all the ingredients with the raw organic honey, making sure the ingredients are mostly covered by the honey.  See pic below.

Turn on the stove, and simmer this pan of goodness for 20 minutes on low heat.  After that, once cooled a bit, pour the mixture into a mason jar/glass jar that seals tightly to maintain freshness, and store in the refrigerator, where it will last a few weeks, though it probably will not last that long since you and the household will consume it way faster than that!

(I threw in some extra cloves once it was all done, just because)

****SECRET ADDED BONUS RECIPE!!!!****

*THE BEST HOME-MADE COUGH SYRUP FOR COUGH SUPPRESSION AT BEDTIME*

Advice: Only use this if you are of drinking age/an adult (because you know, alcohol) and only use for bedtime (because if you are coughing up phlegm, you wanna get that stuff out, but only while you are awake.  If you do not suppress a bad cough, you will never get good sleep at a time you really need to rest and recuperate- so save the majority of your cough suppression meds/this concoction right before you are going to bed, and focus on expectorants (thinning the phlegm and getting it the heck out of you) for during the daytime.

Ingredients:

• 1 shot-worth of good high-quality Bourbon (Barenjager will also work, if you dig the flavor)
• 1-2 TBSP of the Onion-Ginger-Clove n' Honey Cough Syrup you just made (use less if you are using Barenjager, as that is actually honey-liquor itself)
• A squirt or two of lemon juice (fresh, or from the container- whatever you have around, whatever is easy- give yourself a break, you are sick making your own cough medicine!)

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients in a heat-safe mug/cup and warm in the microwave for 45 seconds or so.  Drink before bed.

Enjoy and stay well, everyone!!!  

Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Lemon-Blueberry Muffins!

So... I ended up with way too many fresh fruits/veggies recently, forgetting that Dom was going to be out of town for just about a week, and realizing that cooking-for-one is difficult!  I looked at the counter, saw a TON of lemons, and a bunch of blueberries, and realized that something had to be done before all this goes to waste.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 ground flaxseed meal
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 1 cup good quality cane sugar (I used just cane sugar, you can also do 1/2 cane sugar, 1/2 light brown sugar)
• lemon zest (from 1 to 1 1/2 lemons-worth)
• fresh lemon juice (I used the juice from 3 whole lemons for this recipe, you could probably get away with either a little more or a little less, or experiment with lemon extract if you have it laying around)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries (frozen can work too)
• A splash of vanilla extract (ie 1 tsp-ish of vanilla extract...again, you could experiment with extracts here: almond, lemon, orange, vanilla, etc)
• 3 large eggs
• non-stick baking spray for the muffin tin

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray muffin baking tin with non-stick baking spray of choice.  If you have muffin wrappers, awesome (I keep forgetting to pick them up at the store, so the wrapper-less method works too!).  Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, and mix the wet ingredients in another bowl, whisk the eggs well into the wet ingredient bowl; pour the wet mix into the dry mix, and mix together until you get a uniform consistency.  Carefully pour equal amounts of the mixture into each muffin-holder of the baking pan, approx 3/4ths of the way up in each one.  Bake for 22-25 mins; per my oven, 23 minutes was the perfect time.

Have fun and hope you enjoy this one! :D

I ATE CRICKET FLOUR TODAY!: A REVIEW OF EXO BARS!

Lets take a step back for a minute, and go back to my childhood.  I was scared of most insects and bugs since probably birth, and would have never considered consuming this completely-ground-up-n-powdered Fear in Flour Form (which on a side note, should be the name of my Vaudeville Beatles cover band).  The idea of consuming a cricket or grasshopper-type creature never came back to torment the 'science vs psyche' aspect of my mind until Dom (my boyfriend) and I went to San Francisco 2 years ago, and the ONE NIGHT we could have had a cool date at the California Academy of Science, the NightLife Event promoted at that time was basically all about eating fancy cuisine for the insectivore in all of us.  At that time, the description made me cry, and it sounded like the worst date idea ever.  Needless to say, Dom and I did not attend, and if I recall correctly, I think I almost threw up mid-sentence while describing the webpage description to Dom.  Looking back, I felt bad for not being able to get past the automatic stigma ingrained hardcore in my brain, and for not having the balls to go to this thing and be adventurous.

Lets return to right now.  I have become gluten-free, dairy-free, and for the most part, a lot of the recipes I make can be modified to a paleo-type diet, and focus on sources of protein.  This is where my fascination with cricket flour began.  I read about EXO bars (http://exoprotein.com/) and was immediately intrigued by the idea of eating a healthy protein/fiber/good-fat packed product that would make a great post-work-out treat and/or meal-bar.  I literally talked to myself out loud like a conversation of 1 but sounding like 2 complete strangers (the fight of a brain as a scientist vs. brain with an irrational fear) until I convinced myself to at least try the Peanut butter & Jelly flavored EXO bars.  I bought 2.  Earlier today I had to run 3.5K, workup my appetite for any food and water, and continue to talk myself into actually trying it.

I DID IT!!!!!

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!!!!

EXO Bars- at least the Peanut Butter & Jelly flavor- I found to be exceptionally good!  I did not see any component of insectoid matter, since although each bar is made with 25 crickets, it is made from cricket FLOUR.  I got so excited, I saved some for Dom to try later.  I really am impressed with the use of crickets in this recipe, and the fact that it is in no way gross, and tastes great- even better than some very famous protein bars that have been around forever, and have much less to offer.  The bad part: for now, the idea of insect agriculture is promising, but pricey, given it is a very new/controversial-due-to-stigma idea, with very few actual buyers to revolutionize the process.  Hopefully one day, this idea will be developed in a cost-effective manner, that on a larger scale, will be cleaner, greener agriculture, and a great way to fight hunger.  The other warning is that it is known those who have allergies to Shellfish should avoid any insectivore cuisine, as there is known cross-reactivity.  

I recommend EXO Bars for anyone that wants to try a bug-based flour for the first time, and is like me: Terrified of the idea itself.  I still cannot consume an insect-in-its-true-form knowingly (yet).  You must grind it up, and hide all characteristics in the form of a flour.  I still am proud of myself for overcoming a HUGE psychological wall today!  

I hope to find the strength within myself to delve into using high-quality cricket flour into creative and delicious baking recipes in the future!

Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Pumpkin Spice Muffins!

After experimenting with a few different gluten-free flours, I got a combination that works out great for these!

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup brown rice flour (Bob's Red Mill makes excellent alternatives to traditional flours!)
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch (arrowroot starch would work here instead)
• 1/2 cup almond flour 
• approx. 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cup of pureed pumpkin (if you have fresh, go for it! I ended up using a whole 15 oz. can of Libby's Brand Canned Pumpkin)
• 2 eggs (or 2 TBSP Ground Flaxseed + 6 TBSP hot water, or vegan egg replacer)
• 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie seasoning (or 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg respectively- for a more intense flavor, add a tiny bit of cardamom!)
• up to 1/2 cup of melted non-dairy butter (my personal favorite is Earth Balance 'Butter' that is both soy and dairy-free)
• approx. 3/4 cup raw organic honey 
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• approx 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• non-stick cooking spray
• halved or chopped walnuts, for garnish (optional)

Instructions: 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees; spray 12-count muffin baking tin with the non-stick cooking spray.  

Mix together your flours, pureed pumpkin, eggs or egg replacer(s), spices, salt, baking soda, baking powder, honey, melted butter, and water together in a big mixing bowl- make sure you mix this well until you have uniform consistency throughout.  Pour into each muffin cup of the baking tin to assure each muffin cup is filled approx 3/4ths the way.  Put a few walnut pieces on top of each muffin-to-be.

Once oven preheated to 325 degrees, bake for approx. 40-45; the perfect time for me was 42 minutes.

From the baking batter into muffins 42 minutes later.......

These are delicious, and will go fast!  Next time I will be making a double-batch! :D Enjoy!!