Teriyaki Barbeque Sauce

Storytime with the Chronically Ill Chef will be at the end of the recipe posts from now on. I know that when I want to find a recipe, I don’t particularly enjoy having to scroll through a story that may or may not have anything to do with the recipe. So, this is the last recipe post where I have something above the ingredients and directions, but you can just scroll down if you really want to read the story.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 4 garlic cloves chopped
  • 2 small onions chopped or finely sliced
  • 3 cups ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 3 tablespoons mustard
  • 6 tablespoons gluten-free teriyaki or soy sauce
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar

Directions

  1. Melt butter in medium size kettle
  2. Saute garlic and onions until tender
  3. Remove from heat.
  4. Add ketchup, chili pepper, mustard, and teriyaki or soy sauce.
  5. Stir until well mixed
  6. Add brown sugar.
  7. Stir until well mixed.

Story Time with The Chronically ill Chef

In 2009, I was introduced to teriyaki sauce and was absolutely enthralled with the flavor and taste of it. But just two months later, they temporarily diagnosed me with Celiac disease, so I had to go gluten free until they undiagnosed me with Celiac disease one year later. This was at a point where there weren’t many soy sauce or teriyaki sauce products available.

My mom and I had gone to the Garvey Commons, the food place at Saint Cloud State University, to see if they could do gluten free. Their kitchen manager said, “Well, you can have eggs and I think you can probably have the bread.” The manager was pointing at regular wheat bread. So, we decided that I would learn how to cook that year.

I was living off campus in a room in a house with a kitchen, so that definitely helped with living gluten-free. But I craved teriyaki and I didn’t even know where to start. But then I found a recipe and made it and it was amazing. It had a teriyaki combined with a barbeque sauce flavor and it was heavenly. Over the years, I have changed it in order to make it even better.

I made the sauce for my mom and she said, “Get me this recipe, this is amazing.” So, that’s the story.

Tips to remember to turn off stove and oven: MiniTip XV

TL;DR

Some ways of remembering to turn off the stove and oven:

  • Set an alarm on your phone that is double the cooking time.
  • Make it a habit of taking a picture of the stove after you turn everything is off.
  • Turning on “Cooking Time,” if your oven has it for double the time that you need to cook.
  • Ask your roommate or family member to check on it or ask you if you turned it off.

This week, find a recipe that you think you can do. Share your technique of remembering to turn off the oven/stove with me on Facebook or Twitter at @ill_chef

Tip Expanded

Since I have been able to cook in the last few months, I have forgotten over and over again to turn off the stove and/or oven. I always feel so much shame and fear about it because leaving my stove on could kill Nikki, my dog, and possibly everyone else if the flames go out and carbon monoxide builds up.

So, here’s a list of ideas that I have tried. Generally, I try to use a mix of them to make sure that I remember to turn off the stove/oven.

  • Set an alarm on your phone that is double the cooking time.
  • Make it a habit of taking a picture of the stove after you turn everything is off.
  • Turning on “Cooking Time,” if your oven has it for double the time that you need to cook.
  • Ask your roommate or family member to check on it or ask you if you turned it off.

Call to Action

This week, find a recipe that you think you can do. Share your technique of remembering to turn off the oven/stove with me on Facebook or Twitter at @ill_chef

Don’t substitute when baking: MiniTip XIV

TL;DR

If you are just starting out baking or don’t know quite what is happening scientifically during baking, be wary of substituting when you bake.

Tip Expanded

Chronically ill people have a limited amount of energy, and busy people who work during the day have a finite amount of time, so it’s important to get the most proverbial bang for your buck for the energy and time you spend. I haven’t found anything more disheartening than consuming the little energy I have to bake something and it doesn’t come out.

Around Christmastime last year, I made microwave fudge. I didn’t have sweetened-condensed milk, so I used evaporated milk and added some sugar in. It smelled amazing. But it didn’t set, so we had to use a spoon to eat it, but then someone put it in the freezer at an angle and half of it ended up all over our freezer.

Then, that night, I made peanut butter cookies, but used soft-tub margarine instead of a stick of margarine. They were more like a sticky mess than a cookie dough. But they worked to some extent, they just didn’t turn out the way they always had before.

So, I tell you those two things because I replaced things during the baking process. Evaporated milk + sugar for sweetened condensed milk, and soft-tub margarine for a stick of margarine. I replaced them and they didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to.

So, unless you are okay with things not turning out the way you want them to, I caution you against substituting. However, if you know what you are doing regarding baking and have the energy, go ahead.

Call to Action

This week, find a recipe that you think you can do. Take a picture and share it with me on Facebook or twitter at @ill_chef

Cream Cheese Wonton Enchisagna

My mom had the idea for this recipe and actually made it because I was sleeping before supper. She used my cream cheese wonton filling that was left over from making the cream cheese wontons. It was sort of inspired by the enchisagna recipe.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Grease the bottom of a 9×13″ cake pan with pam or butter.
  2. Cut the tortillas into half, cut the remaining pieces in half again (It should be in four pieces).
  3. Putting the square edges on the square sides of the pan, lay down the first layer of tortillas in the pan. The bottom of the pan should be covered with tortillas.
  4. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture onto the tortillas.
  5. Place another layer of tortillas on top of the filling and cheese.
  6. Spread the remaining half of the cream cheese mixture onto the tortillas.
  7. Place one final layer of tortillas on top of the cheese.
  8. Pour on the amount of sweet and sour sauce looks good to you (if you like a lot, put a lot, if you like a little, put a little).
  9. Bake in the oven 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

State of the Kitchen 6: Will I Ever have Energy Again?

There is a growing terror in me as this period of no energy continues. In August of 2018, I had a period where I had enough energy to do a few things. But it only lasted 2 and a half months before I was right back to where I started energy-wise. Then, my body went back into severe brain fog and fatigue until November 2019.

I’m definitely scared that I’m going back into that cycle of no energy. But I’m trying to just accept it if it does happen.

Last week, I sliced a corner of my thumb off while cutting cabbage, so it could be that the energy drain that I’ve been experiencing is just my body trying to heal from that. But it sucks if I am going to have to deal with a complete lack of energy and ability to comprehend my environment every time I get injured.

I hope it comes back sooner rather than later. But I’m not holding my breath based on my experience with whatever I have.

What I cooked this week.

I haven’t been able to cook a full meal. On Sunday, I tried to make Korean Ground Beef stir-fry, a recipe I made, but I couldn’t do it because of all the steps. I could only make the sauce. But the sauce, which generally takes about 5 minutes to make, took me almost an entire hour because my brain was fogged so bad.

I would look at my phone and it would take a minute to comprehend the ingredient that I was supposed to put in, then another minute to comprehend how much, then look for the spoon, then forget what ingredient and take another minute.

My biggest challenge was the recipe I made calls for 3 tablespoons of fresh ginger, but we didn’t have any of that, but we had dried ginger. The package said that 1/4 teaspoon of dried ginger equals 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger. But it wasn’t 3 teaspoons, it was 3 tablespoons. That took me about 20 minutes, and I still couldn’t figure it out with confidence.

I hadn’t even started browning the meat, frying the eggs, or cooking the rice, and I knew that I couldn’t do it all. So I asked my mom for help in doing that while I tried to figure the sauce out. My head felt like it was swimming in a dense sea of fog, it was a wobbly dizzy.

She followed the recipe, which is actually really simple but a bunch of things going on around the same time: make sauce, cook rice, fry eggs, brown meat, mix everything together, done. I’ll be posting that recipe next Thursday.

So, week two of no energy. Hopefully it gets better, but I’m not holding my breath that it will.

Gluten Free Cream Cheese Wonton Filling

One thing that my mom used to love before going gluten free was cream cheese wontons. Every time we went to a Chinese place, we would get a bunch of cream cheese wontons. I don’t think I ever actually had any, but I know that my mom really wanted some, so I came up with a recipe for the filling. For the next two recipes, I am going to use this recipe.

You can use this as a cream cheese spread or in a cream cheese wonton. The best part of this is that there is a hint of a kick of spiciness from the gochujang, but it doesn’t overwhelm the senses because there is so much cream in the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese
  • 1 tablespoon gluten free teriyaki sauce
  • 1/4 cup onions, crushed into oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon gochujang paste
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic

Directions

  1. Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix them together.

Don’t Push Through It: MiniTip XIII

TL;DR

When you feel like you may not be able to do something or have the energy or brain ability to do something, don’t push yourself to do it. If it is something that you really want to do, think about whether it will actually be worth it.

There isn’t an engagement picture this week, but if you want to share a picture of something you cooked, take a picture and share it with me on Facebook or twitter at @ill_chef

Tip Expanded

I have mentioned before and I will probably mention it every single post that when you are chronically ill, you need to learn what your body is telling you. I’m going to do a future MiniTip on different ways of doing that, but essentially, it comes down to being aware of every sensation in your body. This takes a lot of time to practice and get right.

Once you are able to do this, you will know whether you are in any shape to cook, clean, or whatever task you are wanting/needing to do. If you find that you are on the edge of energy pool and you don’t have enough left to cook or clean, don’t push through it.

If you push through it, you may end up in a worse state than if you hadn”t done it in the first place. So, this might mean that you can only cook once a week or once a month. That’s okay, listen and respect what you body is trying to tell you. Because if you push through it, your symptoms may worsen. They may not, but they may, and you need to decide for yourself whether it is worth it.

We unfortunately live in a society that is obsessed with productivity, and this negatively affects people with chronic illnesses because sometimes we can’t push past or through something. If I am stumbling around and not able to understand what I am seeing ahead of me, I am not safe in the kitchen. I don’t push past it because it isn’t something that can be pushed past.

Here’s an example of this tip; tonight, I thought I had enough energy to cook fish balls. And I did, but I may have overdone it because in addition to the fish balls, I had to make the breading that goes into the fish balls and the tartar sauce. I couldn’t do the tartar sauce because the world was beginning to spin and I was starting to stumble all over the kitchen. So, I told my mom that she needed to make the tartar sauce because I don’t have enough energy.

I may have had enough energy if I hadn’t made the breading mix as well, but I might have run out anyways. But ultimately, I didn’t try to push past that wall of fatigue. I got the help I needed.

Looking back, I think I should make a big batch of breading and store it in the freezer so I don’t have to make it the day that I also make the fish balls. In addition, make a big batch of tartar sauce when I am not cooking anything else. That way, the only step is to make the balls. Hindsight is 10/10 (because 10/10 is better than 20/20, I think).

Call to Action

This week, if you feel like you are right on the border or on the precipice of fatigue or brain fog, whatever you are dealing with, I encourage you to make a decision for yourself whether it is worth actually pushing past whatever you are dealing with.

There isn’t an engagement picture this week, but if you want to share a picture of something you cooked, take a picture and share it with me on Facebook or twitter at @ill_chef

My Baking (Mis)Adventures: The Future of My Baking (Mis)Adventures

So, I am often not able to bake something every week due to my chronic illness and often am not able to bake things for several weeks in a row. So, I think I am going to dial back on these posts to either once a month or whenever I actually bake something.

The worry I have is that experimenting and having (mis)adventures takes a lot of energy because I have to understand the recipe and have the ingredients on hand, which is a pretty difficult thing. Some days, though, I am not able to understand a recipe even though he next day I might be able to.

I would like to make this a weekly series, but because finances are limited, I have to cook with the ingredients I have, which are things like cabbage or cauliflower that probably have dessert recipes out there.

I guess I could shift what I am thinking about this and just do all baked things, but again, I often end up baking the same things over and over again and I don’t think people probably want to see the same thing baked over and over again.

But let me know what you think about anything about this blog on Facebook or twitter at @ill_chef

Repeat Statements until your Brain Processes: MiniTip XII

TL;DR

If you need to, don’t be afraid or ashamed of repeating out loud what you have to do when cooking.

This week, be patient with yourself and repeat phrases when you have a difficult time with getting started with something. And also self-assess, show your body some care and listen to what it is trying to tell you. Take a video of what the care looks like to you and share it with me on Facebook or twitter at @ill_chef

Tip Expanded

When my brain fog or fatigue is really bad, there seems to be a disconnect between my body and my mind. And there seems to be a disconnect between my mind and the words I see on the page and speak aloud. This disconnect intermittently passes along the message and then spurs me into action, but sometimes I have to repeat what I have to do many times.

For a long time, I was ashamed of having to repeat something that I had to do. I was ashamed and angry at my body for not being able to do what I am trying to tell it to do. “Get out of bed,” but nothing happens. I still have that. People who aren’t chronically ill have this as well, but for them it isn’t as often.

If you are having something like this happen to you, don’t be ashamed of it. Assess yourself and determine whether you can manage doing something, whether that’s cooking or taking a shower/bath. And be honest with yourself, if you don’t think you can or if you think the consequences will not be worth it, then don’t do it today. Try again tomorrow.

Call to Action

This week, be patient with yourself and repeat phrases when you have a difficult time with getting started with something. And also self-assess, show your body some care and listen to what it is trying to tell you. Take a video of what the care looks like to you and share it with me on Facebook or twitter at @ill_chef

Flourless Gluten-Free Bean Brownies

It might sound gross, but it is actually quite delicious. The purpose of the beans is 1) to act as the fat and 2) prevents the brownies from being dry (also known as moist, but most people don’t like that word, so I didn’t use it…wait, whoops, looks like i used it).

I was having a big sweet tooth the other day, and we had a can of black beans sitting around, so I decided to try and make these. They are delicious! They have a very rich chocolate taste, and were so good that we didn’t even put frosting on them, and we put frosting on everything.

One thing that I am planning on trying with this recipe is other types of beans. I will let you know the results.

Ingredients

  • 1 can (15 ounces) black beans
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips of your preference, divided in half.
  • 3 tablespoons canola oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. Spray a 9″ square with Pam or butter the bottom and sides.
  3. Drain the beans in a strainer and rinse in cold water. Let sit for a minute.
  4. Place the beans, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, and oil in a food processor. Process until blended.
  5. Add eggs, brown sugar, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder, and salt, process until everything is smooth.
  6. Transfer to the 9″ square pan.
  7. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top of the batter
  8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean.
  9. Cool and enjoy if you want to.
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