Un-fried chicken, better than KFC.

So, someone on my friends list had posted to Facebook that she was craving fried chicken, and that started me wanting some.  I have not had fried chicken in years and years and years... and this is GOOD.  And will not give you a tummyache.

So to start:

Chicken legs (or a cut-up chicken, if that is how you roll)
Buttermilk.

Soak the chicken pieces in buttermilk (in the fridge, please!) at least overnight.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together equal amounts of:
Corn flour (not meal, flour..this is the stuff from Bob's Red Mill, its fine)
Millet flour

add a small amount of amaranth flour (about half the amount you used of the corn)

Parmesan.  (I grated it fresh on a microplane, you don't need much, but it helps the crust adhere)

Paprika, pepper, salt, thyme, (any other spices you want..I used some buttermilk ranch mix, and some dried shallot powder)

mix mix mix.  Put into shallow dish/pan.

Put about a tablespoon of melted butter in the bottom of whatever baking dish you are using, make sure the bottom of the dish is covered.

Dredge the chicken in the mixture of flours, place in baking pan.

Spritz the top with a squirt of baking spray.

Place in oven.   About halfway through the cooking time you'll want to flip the chicken...   I found it took about 45 minutes total  for about 6 legs.

I served it with a lovely fennel and apple salad.  Very simple, sliced fennel, sliced apple, raisins and a simple vinaigrette made with orange juice.

Kale-a-palooza!

Why, Hi there!   Yes, I am still alive.   And eating kale.

My first tip..kale smoothies? No, just say no.   Just like a milkshake?  no, just like that green slime I used to play with as a child.   That is EXACTLY what my attempt at a kale smoothie looked like.   If you have to add ten different fruits to disguise the taste of the kale, then guess what?  Not healthy.

*ugh*

Ok, deep breath.  Now, delicious things to do with kale:

Yeah, you all know about kale chips.   Oil, salt, kale, maybe some herbs/spices (I used zaatar).   I would have added a little parm, but I'm out.  And bugs got into the nutritional yeast, or I would have used that too, for some umami. Onto cookie sheet an into a low oven.

I made some quinoa bites, inspired by the pizza quinoa bites floating around the internet.  These were pretty simple and good.   Cooked up quinoa (used red, because that is what is in the pantry).  chopped up some mushrooms, cooked those down, tossed those into the quinoa, added a squeeze of tomato paste.   Rough chop of some kale, toss that in.
An egg as a binder, and a smidge of feta.

Plop into muffin tins and into the oven. (350)

I wish I'd sauteed the kale just a little, but it did come out well...  It would also be grand with swiss cheese and a little bit of ham or bacon.

You could also put whole leaves of kale in the bottom of the muffin tin, then plomp the quinoa mixture on top.  The kale leaves act as a kind of "cup".  (I used baby kale, so you would cut out cup-size pieces of kale if you wanted to go this route)

Lastly, creamed kale.   Kale, pureed and steamed on the stove, with a dollop of ricotta and some salt, and then baked in the oven.  You could, if you wanted to be fancy, put some gluten-free cracker or breadcrumbs on top to add a little crunch.

Pics to come later....