Getting the D!

You gotta get you some vitamin D! What?.. What did you think I was talking about?

Every once and awhile I will also post some health/nutrition related posts because it can be food/cooking adjacent and it’s also important to me. Many of us are in a stay at home situation either because it’s been ordered by your local leaders, or you are just doing the right thing. They keep needing to remind people that they CAN go outside to get some fresh air, walk, exercise, etc, as long as it’s a solitary activity, and we continue to practice social distancing. For many obvious reasons everyone should get outside if they can, but first and foremost, to get some Vitamin D.

You can get the D from many sources, but the best source is from regular exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D is essential for many bodily functions and one important thing that it is known, is that a vitamin D deficiency can take a huge hit on your immune response. However, one thing many people don’t know about is how Vitamin D or a lack thereof affects your mood and just your general state of mind.

From this article:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-breakthrough-depression-solution/201111/psychological-consequences-vitamin-d-deficiency

“In addition to its well-known role in calcium absorption, vitamin D activates genes that regulate the immune system and release neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine, serotonin) that affect brain function and development. Researchers have found vitamin D receptors on a handful of cells located in regions in the brain-the same regions that are linked with depression. 

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a mood disorder featuring depressive symptoms, occurs during the dark times of the year when there is relatively little sunshine, coinciding with the sudden drop in vitamin D levels in the body. Several studies have suggested that the symptoms of SAD may be due to changing levels of vitamin D3, which may affect serotonin levels in the brain.”

I recommend reading the article if you want to learn more.

We are going to be spending a lot of time indoors for a bit, and aren’t getting whatever dose of sunlight we normally get. The deficiency will add up. Right now many of us are in a headspace we are not usually in, and/or are used to being there for such a prolonged period. We need anything we can get that will help us keep our spirits up, and to keep us from going to very dark places. So that we can better take care of ourselves and each other. Let mother nature help you out a little, and get your ass outside. Legend of Zelda BOTW will still be there when you get back in.

-Patrick

Instant Pot Shredded Chicken for Tacos, Burritos, Enchiladas, Sandwiches, or Anything. You're an Adult, You Can Do Whatever You Want!

As I admitted here, I am a huge fan of Mexican and Mexican, Southwest, Tex-Mex, etc, inspired food. I’ve spent hours at a time in the kitchen making moles or even my chili, but I also like to put together quick and easy tasty Mexican dishes using pre-packaged ingredients when I am crunched for time (or feeling lazy). In particular, using jarred salsa to build from. More particularly, the Frontera brand of products. No they aren’t giving me any money to say that (I wouldn’t hate that though. Hey Rick!). I like to use them because they are pretty damn close to the flavors I would use if doing these recipes from scratch. In some cases I use them as is, and others I will use them as a base to tweak for whatever I am trying to make.

This recipe is going to be one of the easiest to put together if you have an Instant Pot. If you don’t I will also give directions on how to do it in a slow cooker and in the oven. This shredded chicken can be used in tacos, burritos, enchiladas, tortas, or making kinda like pulled chicken sandwiches. All kinds of things. Use your imagination. Down the road I will also post more recipes you can make with this chicken. Ok. Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup or half of a 16oz jar of tomato based salsa. (I like to use Frontera’s chipotle, guajillo, or double roasted salsa for this particular recipe.)
• About 1.5 lbs of boneless, skinless, chicken thighs. (Usually the amount in the packs you find in most grocery stores.)
• ½ of a medium white onion. Sliced ¼ inch thick lengthwise. 

Directions:

1. Spread the sliced onions over the bottom of the pot. (I like to also splash in about an ⅛ cup of water here to prevent a burn error at the beginning. The chicken is going to release a lot of liquid, so you don’t really need to add much.)
2. Place the chicken thighs on top of the onions. 
3. Add 1 cup salsa. 
4. Place the lid and set to sealing. Cook on high pressure for 13 mins. Do a natural release for at least 15 mins. 
5. Remove the lid and if there seems to be a lot of fat, skim some of it off. 
6. Turn on the saute function using the middle setting to cook down the liquid. 
7. Break up the chicken with a wooden spoon, heat resistant spatula, or I like to use a potato masher. Break up till it’s “shredded” to the way you like it. I like mine super fine . 
8. Keep stirring until all the liquid has cooked down and as soon as you hear it start to fry, turn off the heat and remove the chicken. 

The finished product.

This chicken is great for quick impromptu tacos. I threw the one together in the pic at the top after recently making this chicken. I topped it with the leftover salsa, a slice of avocado, some parmesan cheese (in place of queso anejo) and some cilantro. Super tasty.

Shredded chicken in the oven or slow cooker:

1. If using the oven, preheat to 325 degrees.
2. In an dutch oven or slow cooker, follow steps 1 - 3 above. Add 1 additional cup of water or chicken broth. 
3. Cook for 2 hours in the oven and about 4 hours on low in the slow cooker. 
4. If cooking in the oven. Remove the pan from the oven and skim off any fat if you like. Pull out the chicken to let cool a bit. If cooking in the slow cooker, pull out the chicken to cool and move the sauce to a pot or pan to finish cooking over the stovetop. 
5. Coarsely shred the chicken with your hands or forks. Or if you have those BBQ “Wolverine” claws, have at it, bub! 
6. Place the pan over medium-high heat and cook down the sauce by half.
7. Add the chicken back in, stirring regularly (and breaking up the chicken more if you like), until the liquid is absorbed and reduced.

Variations:

• You can add in some cooked cubed potatoes to the chicken at the end to make a sort of chicken tinga type of thing. Especially if you use a chipotle salsa.
• You can also replace the salsa with any sauce you think would make for tasty chicken. Like an enchilada or any red chile sauce.
• You can also use a tomatillo green chile salsa for something with a much different flavor but just as tasty.

-Patrick

An Admission

Ok. I’m just going to come right out with it. Most of the recipes I post about will be Mexican or Mexican, Southwest, Tex-Mex, etc, inspired. I love those flavors and I am a huge fan of Rick Bayless. His TV show and cookbooks are what got me into cooking. A lot of what I do comes from what I learned from his recipes and TV show.

I will be posting non Mex inspired recipes for sure, but to start off I am going to do a few that are. I think they are particularly good for the situation we are all in right now. The great thing about Mexican food is it can be extremely complex or super simple. So if you’re bored and want to tackle something that can keep you busy in the kitchen for a while (sometimes for many hours/days, like if you are making a mole), or if you just need to throw something together quickly... There’s something for you. In many cases too, you can use pantry, frozen, or long storing foodstuffs to throw something together. It also can be very healthy, which is also a good thing right now.

So with that, here is my recipe for Instant Pot shredded chicken for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, sandwiches, or anything. You're an adult, you can do whatever you want!

-Patrick

On the Twitters

I am sharing links on Twitter to food and cooking related things I find that could be useful for everyone during this time. 

Please follow The Social Distant Kitchen @distantkitchen.

-Patrick

Simple, Easy to Remember One Pot Rice & Beans Dinner w/ Variations for 2 (or 1 with Leftovers)

The first recipe is going to be one I think will be super useful to most of you. Rice and beans are going to be a staple over the next few weeks. This is the rice I like to make as a side or I'll add beans to make it a dinner. I adapted this from a Rick Bayless recipe for pilaf style rice. Mine is based off only using one cup of broth or stock at a time. You can double this recipe, however you would need about 1 ⅔ cups of stock. I know! Cooking rice is weird isn't it?

Ingredients:

• 1/2 small white or red onion. Roughly diced. No need for your best knife skills here.
  Keep it rustic. (you can use yellow but it will be sweeter.)
• 1 clove garlic, minced (2 if you really like garlic)
• 1/2 cup white rice. I use long grain because I always have it on hand.
• 1 cup chicken or veggie broth/stock. (if you are using a strong stock, dilute it a little) If I don’t have my own stock. I like to buy the 'Pacific' brand organic low sodium chicken broth that comes in the 1 cup containers 4 packs.
• 1 can beans, (pinto, black, kidney, or there are "chili beans" cans with all 3) rinsed. 
• Olive or vegetable oil. 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp
• Salt

Optional:

• Frozen veggies like peas, carrots and corn. 1 to 1 1/2 cups. Whatever amount looks good. 
• Hot sauce
• Salsa 
• Fresh parsley and/or cilantro. Chopped. About 2 to 3 Tbsp. Again, whatever amount looks good to you. 

Equipment:

A 4 to 6 qt pot that can go in the oven at 350 degrees.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 with the rack in the middle.
2. Rinse and dry the rice in a colander as much as you can.
3. Heat the oil over a medium heat (I usually do a touch higher than medium here) add the onion and cook just a bit to give it a head start. 30 secs to a min. I usually add a pinch of salt here.
4. Add in the rice and cook, stirring frequently until it goes from translucent to milky white. Make sure nothing browns.
5. Add the garlic and stir just a bit till fragrant.
6. Add in the broth, and bring to a hard simmer.
7. Add optional items if you want them (Excluding the fresh herbs)*, and salt to taste**. (see note about add ins and seasoning below)
8. Cover pot and place on the center rack of the oven and bake for 25mins.
9. Remove the pot from the oven with oven mitts (careful, HOT PAN!) and if you decided to add the beans now instead of earlier, add them to the top of the rice to steam. Re-cover the pot and let it finish cooking in it's own steam for 5 to 10 mins.
   (you could probably add some cooked chicken or shrimp here as well if you have it) 
10. Add chopped parsley, cilantro, or both if using.
11. Fluff and serve. 

*Now here’s where your variations can start. You can leave it as is and go to the next
step or you can do up some add-ins for more flavor.  You can add in a few dabs of hot
sauce. By a few, I mean a lot…  if you like the spicy. You could also add in a few
spoonfuls of your favorite salsa to taste. Or, both hot sauce and salsa. You know I do. Sometimes I add in a bit of the bean canning liquid for more bean-tastic flavor.

For the beans, you can do two things. You can add them in now. They will be a bit more blown out, but there will be a nice melding of flavors in the final dish. Or you can add them later to have a more intact beans that stand out a bit more. This would also be when you add in the frozen veggies. Bring everything back to a simmer before covering the pot and putting it in the oven.

**So, for seasoning everything. This is where you have to taste and use your better judgement. Let's say you picked a normal sodium broth. Then you also put in a few dabs of hot sauce and/or some salsa. Then your canned beans are also higher in sodium (rinsing helps)... that's already a good amount of salt in the whole dish. I find I don't have to add much at all even with low sodium products. If you are watching your sodium intake, then really pay attention to the salt content of your broth and beans when you purchase them and keep that all in mind. There are low sodium broths out there and if you look at the labels for the canned beans, the sodium content can be all over the place. There are a few brands that don't add salt. Worst case and you under season. You can always salt later. You can't really fix it if you over season.

-Patrick

Flavor Un-distancing.

Hello, My name is Patrick. I'm just a guy living in Denver that loves to cook, and loves to cook for other people. For a bit now, I have been wanting to make some sort of blog to share some of the recipes and things that I have been coming up with over the past few years. I've realized a number of them are relatively quick recipes that you can throw together on a weeknight. Many that can use mostly non-perishable pantry or frozen foodstuffs if need be. With the possibility of everyone needing to hunker down at home for some time with this dang ol' coroner-virus, I figured there’s no better time than now. So, I decided to start my project off by doing something that can help us all get through this. Hey! I've got the time.

For some of the recipes, they will be kind of a... "just throw some things together" type of deal that I feel are worth sharing. For those, I’m going to keep things kinda loose, so you can add your own tweaks. I will suggest variations, substitute items, or I might even keep things vague so you can find your own way (Or, maybe I'm too lazy to figure out the exact amounts.). The goal with these recipes will be so you can easily memorize them, add your own special touches, and hopefully have them be one of your go to recipes.

Down the road, I will also post some of my more involved dishes that I’ve come up with. They would be the meals you would want put together when you have extra time to cook and mess around in the kitchen. These recipes would be for all of you out there that like to experiment, or don't mind standing over a pot for more than a few mins as something cooks. Or, in possibly many cases, if you're really bored and want to try something new.

I’m not sure how regularly I will be posting, as I just got a wild hair up my arse this morning to do put this blog together. I'm hoping to keep it going after we get through this virus situation. This blog will morph and change as I do it. Hopefully it will become something that will last even after all this crazy is a tiny speck in our rearview mirror. I will also try to add cooking photos when I can. But for now I’m going to keep it simple so I can post more often.

Feel free to leave comments or questions. If you don't have all the ingredients on hand for a recipe, maybe you might have something else to pull off something just as tasty. Hit me up in the comments and I'll give you my suggestions.

Please subscribe and share this with anyone you think would get some use out of it. Please also follow me on Twitter (@distantkitchen) and Instagram (@socialdistantkitchen) for updates on posts, photos, and anything else I find worth sharing.

The first recipe is going to be one I think will be super useful to most of you. Rice and Beans are going to be a staple over the next few weeks. So I present to you my simple, easy to remember, one pot rice & beans dinner w/ variations for 2 (or 1 with leftovers)

-Patrick