ISLAND COCONUT CHICKEN AND RICE

Doctor Yum

serves 4 people, double

8ppl     4ppl

2          1 tablespoon olive oil

2          1 onion , diced

2          1 teaspoon ginger , grated (fresh)

8          4 cloves garlic , minced

2          1 tablespoon curry powder

2          1 teaspoon turmeric

4          2 pounds chicken thighs (bone-in)

1          ½ teaspoon salt

1/2       ¼ teaspoon black pepper

2cans   13.5 ounce can coconut milk (regular or light)

1           ½ cup water

2          1½ cups jasmine rice (brown rice, preferably)

4           2 tablespoons cilantro , chopped (save and chop stems)

2          1 lime , half juiced, the other half cut into wedges

METHOD

Place the Instant Pot on "Saute" mode and heat oil. Add onion, ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add spices, chicken, salt and pepper and cook on each side for a minute to lightly brown. Add coconut milk and water (1/4 cup for white rice and 1/2 cup for brown rice). Place lid on and cook on "Manual" high pressure for 13 minutes with a Quick Release. Transfer the chicken to a plate and leave liquid in the pot. Shred the chicken away from the bone and discard any bones and skin. Add rice, cilantro stems, and cook on "Manual" high pressure for 4 minutes for white rice (22 minutes for brown rice). Allow a Natural Release for 10 minutes then release the remainder of the pressure. Stir in lime juice and shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with lime wedges and chopped cilantro.

12/1/18 I made this is my stove top pressure cooker and the rice burned at the bottom, but it was still amazingly delicious
12/29/18 I made it again. I seasoned the chicken and browned both sides on the stove top first. Then added chicken to a greased 8x8 pan, milk, water, rice to a  to cook in the oven, still definitely delicious, 350 degrees 

3/18/19
350 degree oven
I seasoned the chicken and browned both sides on the stove top first. Spray 9x13 pan, arrange chicken and the rest of ingredients in pan and cook. I did  2 cups of rice b/c my 9x13 pan wouldnt be able to fit 3 c rice and chicken thighs.

4/7/20
did all things as 3/18/19 and used 2 c of sushi rice.  Cooked for 35 min, then 15 more min. Turned out perfect. So cook next time for 55 min in oven.

Feeding baby

A persons' and babys' skin is the first responder to a new food. The skin will tell you if the food is ok for the babys inside (stomach and intestines). As long as you dont see redness on the babys cheeks and face- from feeding the baby food,that will show that the food is assimilating well into the baby. If the baby has redness, stop feeding the food for the day. Then the next day start a smaller amount and see how the babys' skin does.

Breakfast- over easy egg
Lunch- brown rice cereal with any side below
Dinner- brown rice cereal with any side below

1.  Over easy egg                  4-5mo, in the morning one small taste from dipping my finger in the                                                     yolk from my egg. Then at 6-7 mo still over easy egg, but mix in the                                                     white part chop it up. Then around 8 months could make scrambled eggs
2.  Brown rice porridge        6 months, I cooked regular brown rice with water, then pureed it with                                                   breastmilk in blender to make it soupy and thin. Started feeding once a                                                   day, then increased it at 7 mo to twice a day
3. Avocado                           4- 6 months, one small taste once a day starting at 4 mo, then smash up                                                  more and slowly increase the amount
4. Banana                             4- 6 months, one small taste once a day starting at 4 mo, then smash up                                                  more and slowly increase the amount
5. Peanut Butter or almond butter
                                              7 months one small taste once a day, then slowly increase the amount
6. pumpkin and sweet potatoes- roast in oven or boil in water, season with salt and pepper
                                             6-7months one small taste once a day, then slowly increase the amount
7. beans and lentils


     I did try store bought white rice powdered fortified baby cereal, but he was pretty fussy within 2 hours and throughout the next day. I went back to the brown rice porridge and that seem to settle him right down.
    I also make a huge batch of the brown rice porridge. 4 c water, 2 c rice bring to boil, cook for 40 min. Then add rice and extra breastmilk to blender and puree till how thick or thin you want it. I freeze them in small portions in mini and regular sized muffin tins. Then after they freeze hard, then I pop them out and put in a ziplock bag. Then they are in individual portions when its time to feed the baby. I microwave for 30 seconds and its ready.

LENTILS WITH SPINACH OVER RICE

Doctor Yum

INGREDIENTS

2 cups brown rice, cooked according to packaging (I actually prefer it on a sweet potato, not rice)

1 tablespoon coconut oil (substitute olive oil)

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic

½ tomato, diced (large)

1 teaspoon curry powder

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon chili powder (less for baby food option) (I didn't add)

1 cup lentils (red), rinsed with cold water (I only had brown)

2 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped (finer chop for baby food) (I didn't add)

⅔ cup culinary coconut milk (not coconut milk beverage) (I didn't add, but I did add water)

½ teaspoon salt

dash black pepper

chicken 1/4-1/2t boullion

sweet potato

METHOD

I sauteed onions, then added lentils, tomatoes, turmeric, curry, 1/2c water, boullion, salt and pepper cooked for 10 mintutes.  I ate the lentil mixture on top of a sweet potato, it was so delicious!!!

Cook rice while preparing lentils. Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Cook onions until soft, about 3-4 minutes, add garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add tomato and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add curry powder, turmeric and chili powder and mix. Add lentils and enough water to cover lentils by ½ inch. Cook for 5-8 minutes until lentils are soft. Add spinach and coconut milk and simmer another 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper and add more to taste. Serve over brown rice.

BABYFOOD OPTION:

When I was a child, I spent many summers in my parents' native country of Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. I have watched my cousins and family friends feeding babies and noticed that people generally do not buy baby food in Sri Lanka. Instead, babies are offered an array foods like nutritious meat and vegetable curries, spiced mildly, with rice (which is usually started at about one year of life). One common early finger food is rice mixed with lentils or other meats and vegetables and shaped into small sticky balls. These little rice balls can be easily fed to babies by hand or given to babies to feed themselves. (see picture and recipe below for “Rice Balls with Lentils”). Take about a cup of cooked brown rice. Add a teaspoon of the lentil spinach mixture and mix with your hand. Add more lentils by the teaspoon and keep mashing until you can form the mixture into ¾ inch balls. This can make a great school lunch for slightly older kids, too!