Category Archives: Recipes

Jill’s Bacon

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  • 3 pounds pork belly, skin removed
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 3 tbsp. coarse sea salt
  • 2 tbsp. brown sugar or maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp. dried rosemary
  • 1 tbsp. whole black peppercorns

Rinse pork belly under water and pat dry.

Combine ingredients in a bowl and rub over pork belly. Seal in freezer bag and place in fridge for 5-7 days, rotating often. Discard liquid as it cures.

After curing period, remove bacon and rinse. Place on a rack and refrigerate uncovered for 12 hours to air dry.

Preheat oven to 200. Set bacon, still on rack, on rimmed baking sheet for 1.5-2 hours, or until internal temp reaches 150.

Cool bacon in fridge for 6 hours before slicing. Divide slices and freeze.

Tzatziki

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  • 2 cups grated cucumber (from about 1 medium 10-ounce cucumber, no need to peel or seed the cucumber first, grate on the large holes of your box grater)
  • 1 ½ cups plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint and/or dill
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 medium clove garlic, pressed or minced
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Working with one big handful at a time, lightly squeeze the grated cucumber between your palms over the sink to remove excess moisture. Transfer the squeezed cucumber to a serving bowl, and repeat with the remaining cucumber. Add the yogurt, olive oil, herbs, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to the bowl, and stir to blend. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Taste and add additional chopped fresh herbs, lemon juice, and/or salt, if necessary.

Sourdough Crackers

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  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup sourdough starter
  • 1/4 cup EVOO

Place baking stone in oven and preheat to 350.

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir in starter and oil.

Divide dough into four parts. On parchment paper, roll each part out thinly, and then cut into crackers with pizza cutter.

Sprinkle salt on top. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove to rack to cool.

Chicken Pot Pie with Sourdough Biscuits

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  • 3 potatoes – chopped (I use red so you don’t have to peel them)
  • 4 carrots – diced
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 medium onion
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 3 cups of bone broth
  • 4 tbsp flour
  • 1 tbsp dried parsley – you could use fresh as well.
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • fresh cracked black pepper
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 3 tsp of salt. This may sound like a lot of salt, but I’m using homemade bone broth that doesn’t have salt. So if you are using broth that already has sodium, or if you’re using a rotisserie chicken, then you will have to cut back on the salt.
  • 1 cup peas – fresh or frozen
  • 4 cups of cooked chicken
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1.5 cups of flour – I used freshly milled, whole wheat, white flour
  • 1 cup of fed sourdough starter*
  • 8 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

Step 1: The Night Before, Prepare The Sourdough Biscuits

  1. If you are wanting to make this sourdough chicken pot pie, start the sourdough the night before, allowing it to ferment for 8-24 hours.
  2. Chop up cold butter into chunks and add to a large bowl.
  3. Add flour to the butter and mix; I usually just use my hands to massage the flour and butter together.
  4. Add 1 cup of fed sourdough starter and honey. Stir until nicely incorporated.
  5. Place a clean tea towel over bowl and allow to sit at room temperature at least 8-24 hours. The longer you allow it to ferment, the more sour and more digestible the grains will be.

Step 2: Make The Chicken Pot Pie Filling

  1. The next day, add the veggies and butter to a cast iron skillet and sauté on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until they start to soften.
  2. Add bone broth and flour, dried parsley, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix and cover with lid. Allow to cook for 10 minutes.
  3. To the skillet, add peas, cooked chicken, and heavy cream.

Step 3: Finish Making The Biscuits

  1. While veggies are sautéing, finish making the biscuits by adding baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the fermented dough.
  2. Mix everything together well. I like to use my fingers.
  3. Roll out biscuits onto a lightly floured surface and cut with biscuit cutter.

Step 4: Top With Biscuits And Bake

  1. Top the filling with sourdough biscuits and place in a 400-degree oven for about 10-15 minutes. Bake until the biscuits start turning golden brown.
  2. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Hangover Noodles

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  • egg noodles
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
  • 1 small thumb ginger, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
  • 2 carrots, peeled and shredded
  • 6 spring onions,trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 100g celeriac, peeled and julienned

For the sauce
1½ tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp sesame oil
½ tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar

To garnish
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
Chilli oil, to serve

Cook the noodles according to packet instructions, then rinse and leave to air-dry in a colander.

In a large frying pan or wok, heat a tablespoon of the oil and stir-fry the garlic and ginger over a medium-high heat. The moment they start colouring, add the vegetables except for the beansprouts and cook, stirring constantly, for a few minutes until just wilted. Empty into a bowl and keep to one side. Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

Wipe the pan clean, turn the heat up to medium-high and add the remaining two tablespoons oil. Once sizzling hot, add the noodles and spread them out across the pan. Fry for a few minutes a side, until they are looking delicious and golden. Now return the vegetables to the pan along with the beansprouts and pour in the sauce. Stir briefly to combine, then turn the heat to low to keep warm while you cook the eggs.

In a small frying pan, heat the vegetable oil over a medium heat and, once sizzling, crack in the eggs. Cook for one to two minutes, spooning the hot oil over the whites, until the edges are golden and crisp, then use a slotted spoon to scoop on to kitchen paper to drain.

Serve the eggs over the noodles sprinkled with sesame seeds and the chilli oil.

Elderberry Syrup

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  • 3 1/2 cups water
  • 2/3 cup dried elderberries
  • 2 tbsp. ginger
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 cup raw honey

Put all but honey in instant pot for 9 minutes. Natural release. Add honey after it’s done.

Sweet and Sour Cabbage

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  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 2 tbsp. sesame seed oil
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 green cabbage
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp. corn starch
  • 1 tbsp. soy sauce
  • Optional: sriracha, to taste (1-2 teaspoons is a good start)
  • Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil or sesame oil in a large skillet with high sides. Add the ground pork and let it cook for 2 minutes over high heat undisturbed, so that the bottom browns. Season with salt. Break up the meat with a spatula and continue to cook over high heat stirring frequently for about 5 minutes, or until the pork is fully cooked. Transfer the cooked pork to a large plate or bowl while you work on the rest of the recipe. 
  • Add a tablespoon of oil to the same skillet and add the chopped onion. Allow to cook over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes to let the onion caramelize slightly (but don’t let it burn), then stir. Add the chopped cabbage and stir. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Remove the cover, stir, and continue to cook uncovered for another 3-5 minutes stirring frequently. 

Make the Sweet and Sour sauce while the cabbage is cooking:

  • Combine all the ingredients directly in a small saucepan. Stir with a whisk or a fork and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring every few minutes, or until the sauce thickens, turns translucent, and takes on a shiny reddish brown color. Remove from heat.

Add the ground pork and the sweet and most of the sour sauce to the cabbage skillet – reserve 2-4 tablespoons of sauce for garnish! Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes, until everything is heated through.  Transfer the sweet and sour cabbage to a serving dish or directly to your plates. Add a drizzle of the remaining sweet and sour sauce. Garnish however you like – with chopped scallions, toasted sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, or a drizzle of sriracha.

Sticky Pineapple Chicken

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  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice
  • 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup low sodium chicken stock
  • 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 cup diced pineapple

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the pineapple juice, soy sauce, chicken stock, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, garlic and cornstarch. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the mixture has reduced to about 1 cup and is the consistency of thick syrup. Set the sauce aside.

Add the olive oil to a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and season it with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken, stirring, until it is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain off any liquids then add the sauce to the pan and stir until combined. Add the pineapple and cashews and cook, stirring, for an additional 1 minute.