West Seattle Living, Traveling, and the Arts!

2024-06-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

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Jamison A Johnson

JamisonAJohnson.com

Make An Easy Cheesesteak style sandwich with strip steak leftovers!

2023-11-14T12:15:00.000-08:00

FIRST START OFF WITH SOME LEFTOVERS

I USED THIS TYPE OF GLUTEN FREE BAGUETTE, BUT ANY GFDF BREAD/ROLL CAN WORK. I JUST LIKE THE LONG ONES IN MY TOASTER OVEN.

HERE'S PROGRESS ON THE MEAT. HOT AND SOME CHAR! CAST IRON IS BEST!!

MELT DF CHEESE ON PAN THEN ADD BEFORE IT STICKS.

YOU CAN SAUTEE ONIONS AND PEPPERS

EAT AND ENJOY!

I used Violife cheese and Mojitos marinated strip Steak, but any would do!

It's a great way to bring new life and character to a reheated dish from leftovers.

Mojito is located in Lake City, WA and is a must for cuban food. They have GFDF food and even stuff for non meat eaters.

Easy Egg omlet

2023-08-07T11:12:00.004-07:00

This easy egg omelet recipe is simple. It is gfdf (I consider eggs diff than milk/butter) An egg substitute could work!

Ingredients 2 eggs

Df cheese thin slice or shreds- my go tos are Violife, Chao, Follow Your Heart, and Miokos.

Optional:

Salsa for topper at end

Hot sauce for topper at end

Herbs- I have a gigantic Italian seasoning

Garlic with eggs mixed in

Bacon with eggs either mixed in or with cheese layer

Green onions

Etc...Make it your own!

Start by tossing in a smidgen of oil or df butter. I use Earth Balance.

Use a really good omelet pan. Yes it makes a difference. "All Clad" is my go to!

Heat up medium low or lower heat. Know your stove and kitchen. Watch the pan always. Too hot and it will cook too fast.

You can use a nice flipper spatula that's silicone so it won't melt in the pan.

When the sides are cooked on the edges and it looks like towards an egg pancakes, add your cheese, bacon bits, green onions, whatever the filling is. Just not too much. You can cover it to melt with a tiny bit of water, you can flip it till it melts after folding it over. Whatever you want, but fold it over at this point to max the melt!

Serve with salsa, Pico, hotsauce, garlic salt, pepper, nice sea salt, whatever your jam! Garnish with cilantro or parsley if ya got it!

Boom!! Easy omelet.

Let pan cool down before adding water or it can warp the pan allegedly. Cooking too hot can do that as well.

Enjoy!!

Backpacking Luxuries!

2023-08-01T08:56:00.001-07:00

When I go backpacking, I like to keep it simple. If space and weight is an issue, you can have your first meal be the more rewarding meal. However, there's an abundance of food you just add hot water to like Zora meals, dehydrated or freeze dried veggies, chicken stock sealed with vinegar, etc. I chose a Zora meal quinoa and beef with epic Bison bar cut up and extra yellow rice with uncle Ben's seasonings added in for meal #3 for dinner. Check the ingredients always! Many have dairy or gluten!! My first meal was some local smoked salmon. GfDf of course! My #2 meal or breakfast was the chicken stock (no fridgeration needed), dehydrated veggie mix, Chicken Sriracha Epic bar cut up, and 2 packages of sea weed Lotus foods Ramen with their white gfdf miso seasoning.

A quick note is to double check the ingredients on the seasoning packets. There's an instant pho I bought at Costco in Seattle I presumed was also GF when I visited my mom in Colorado Springs. It was not!! So read the labels carefully. You can also smash the noodles to fit more in your bear bin. Don't forget to put any scented items inside and seal so the animals and bugs don't get them. Even the trash! Pack it in, pack it out!!

Pro tip! You can skip the washing by pouring in fresh water and cooking with your next meal. The water can help make stock for the next meal when heated to a boil. One less trip to the creek or whatever. Our water source was a ways away, so water was precious. If you need water, try to find running water, avoid stuff in with it, and boil it real well for 30 seconds to sanitize.

You can use the creek to help cool down the water for drinking. It can take a bit to refill a camelback. Don't add the water into the bladder until it is lukewarm.

Disclaimer: I am not endorsed by any of the brands I bought, but I'm all for sponsorship. 😉

Stir Fry on the Balcony

2023-07-20T19:42:00.002-07:00

I will be sure we get you the recipe how we make it, but it's essentially veggies, cooking shrimp on cast iron, and adding rice and spices to make a gf/df delicious meal. We of course use GF Tamari or Braggs for our soy sauce base. There is also some Gluten Free Hoisin.

Get out there and make your space a sanctuary! Sometimes just having a special dinner on the porch is what you need to get that special staycation vibe happening.

And...There's many ways and things to stir fry!!

Welcome to my new Cooking, Dining, Travel, and Event blog Featuring Kahlua Pork

2023-07-10T11:59:00.002-07:00

Introduction:

I will talk a lot about gluten-free dairy free meals, cooking, dining. Where, what, and how to live the lifestyle. I'll share my wins so you can accommodate this for a friend or for yourself!

Today is all about Kahlua Pork! It's a Hawaiian favorite, and after a fun visit and engagement trip 2021, I'm in love!

Slow Cooker Kahlua Pork:

(GF/DF)

Ingredients-

-One Pork Shoulder or Butt

-Banana Leaf (easy to find at an Asian food store in Seattle). Freezes easy to use the rest later. Enough to wrap it for cooking!

-Hawaiian sea salt I use the red stuff-Alaea

-Liquid Smoke w/hickory or mesquite -2 Tablespoons- Note: set aside about half teaspoon so to finished product

-Garlic optional but tasty! I just put some pre-made from a jar minced.

-Soup Stock or Water I chose Chicken Stock for the flavor. A lot of cooks use this one because it is versatile and it doesn't compete with your flavor, but adds a bit of some.

NOTE: I borrowed this Recipe from about 2 I discovered googling the recipes. Feel free to make it your own, but know when you are making a change it could shift the recipe. Don't do it unless you are an advanced cook.

Steps:

1. Take the Pork (I often just take it from the freezer with roasts, fresh means you may need to follow another recipe) and sear the pork both sides. I used a cast iron flat, but there is no wrong way to do this! They recommend poking holes in the pork with a fork to soak in the goodness. Be careful so you don't hurt yourself poking at frozen meat. I rinse with water first to soften a bit before starting and then poke. once you sear it decent on all sides to get it started, rub on that sea salt and cover the pork. Take about a Teaspoon and a half or whatever is needed to cover the pork with liquid smoke. Save a half a teaspoon for later to put in the finished product! I recommend about 2 Teaspoons for this recipe. It may seem like a lot, but honestly, burying the pig in the ground in Banana leaves makes it really smokey, but is too much work for the busy professional. This is a cheat to give it that authentic flavor!

2. Wrap in a banana leaves until it is wrapped good. You could use string or part of the leaf string, but I just wrap it good enough to have it covered to cook. If you want to be a purist, make sure it is a tight wrap, but it won't kill it if it isn't perfection.

3. Put the 2 cups of broth or water in. It is almost always recommended to have water in a crockpot to steam and prevent burning. Broth is the most popular. Chicken is almost always a winner for most dishes.

4. I like to crank the heat to jump start my crock pot. I noticed it takes forever to heat up. Once it is warm, I often dial it to low for the slow cooking, but if you notice it is taking forever, sometimes 2-5 hours on high will help the dish along quicker. I suppose it depends on how early you get up, whether you start it the night before, or whatever. It depends on your crockpot, Instapot, whatever you use. It is good to monitor this and adjust based on your cooking method. I would say a good 7-10 hours should get the job done. Some recipes say 16 hours. It depends on many factors, but the ideal is pulling apart on it's own and moist. Don't pop up the lid a bunch, or the heat will require to build back up again.

Note: Oven cooking is an option. The lady I learned a more traditional but modern Hawaiian method from uses the oven and fresh pork cut up. Totally up to you, but I am lazy.

Add ons: Macaroni Salad (Not for me, but popular for many), Cabbage cooked and sliced and fried in soy sauce, served with rice (I like nice brown rice and such. White is quite popular. I prefer non-sticky rice).

Easy to reheat, make a Hawaiian fried rice with Spam, can be frozen for later, but honestly eat it while it is fresh and make tacos and whatever like a boss!!

DID I MENTION IT IS GLUTEN AND DAIRY FREE AND QUITE DELICIOUS!!!!

#GlutenFree #DairyFree #GlutenfreeDairyfree #kahluaporkrecipe #professionalphotographerWestSeattle