Tag: honey

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Cocktail

Fire Cider

one and a half slices immunity recipe healthy flu season gut health
one and a half slices local simple recipes food

Immunity Fire Cider

one and a half slices immunity recipe healthy flu season gut health

I would like to say Happy Holidays this year with a little immunity boost🎄Germs abound in flu season and you can have this simple witch’s brew on hand to combat viruses, bacteria, parasites, and inflammation 🌶️This tonic has got all the goods, so head to the store, grab your ingredients of choice, and whip this up 30 days before deep winter ❄️

In good health,

OneandahalfSlices

what you need

1-2 heads of fresh garlic

1 cup raw honey

2-3 fresh red chili peppers

1 large knob of fresh turmeric

2-3 knobs of fresh ginger

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

6-8 whole cloves

3-4 star anise

Several peppercorns worth of crushed black pepper

5-6 whole cardamom pods

1-2 lemons, washed, cut into quarters 

16oz raw apple cider vinegar

1 small red onion, peeled and cut into quarters 

(optional) 1 orange, washed, cut into quarters 

(optional) any fresh herbs (like rosemary) or flowers (like calendula or lemon balm)

how to make it

**note: fire cider takes about 30 days, so start your winter batch early!

Place all ingredients into an extra large mason jar. Pour in the cup of honey and then add the apple cider vinegar so the liquid covers the top of the ingredients in the jar.

Shake several times lightly and let sit on the counter at room temperature for 30-60 days. 

Give the jar a nice shake when you’re ready to prepare and then strain the liquid into a large jar. 

Take the fire cider 1-2 tablespoons at a time at the first signs of a cold or flu. Or you can take daily if you can stand the extra spicy, extra garlick-y flavor. 

*Note: both honey and apple cider vinegar are astringents. They work to pull the beneficial properties of all the jar’s contents (e.g., fresh turmeric root and ginger), into the liquid. So the remaining liquid basically functions as an anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic immunity shot for general holistic health and wellness. 

If you are looking for such a concoction in a tastier form, you can just make my immunity soup 🙂 

eat like this and you'll live forever
Categories
Omni

Chicken Tenders with Hot Honey

one and a half slices hot honey nashville chicken tenders recipe local chicken
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Hot Honey Chicken Tenders

one and a half slices hot honey nashville chicken tenders recipe local chicken

Announcement: I love fried chicken. Full stop. I also love cheeseburgers. 

🍗🍯🐔

Fried chicken and cheeseburgers, despite my devotion to them as cultural staples, are not things I eat frequently. Why? The quality and provenance of the meat. It is difficult to find local fried chicken in a restaurant or a cheeseburger made from ground beef you can trust (yes, Copperwood Tavern, I know your burger patties are sourced from local wagyu beef Ovoka Farms and I thank you for that).

Now you guys already know my opinion on cheeseburgers. But the fried chicken I have yet to address. I will do so now. And before you ask, yes, I bake my fried chicken. It’s a bit healthier but, more importantly, makes less of a mess in my kitchen. The only time I ever actually fry chicken is for my epic Katsu Ramen. Believe me when I tell you, though, that this will scratch the fried chicken itch. The almighty secret: breakfast cereal. And, of course, local honey. 

Also, we are going to do a quick Protein Trio thing here with three distinct, unique proteins.

Consider this Protein #1: Baked Fried Chicken.

Proteins #2 and #3 coming soon!

what you need

1 pound fresh chicken breast, cut into strips like tenders (note: this is for 1-2 people. Double everything and use 2 pounds of chicken for a family of four). 

3 cups of corn flakes

2 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons dried oregano

3 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup fresh honey

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

(optional) fresh parsley for garnish

**credit for sourcing local chicken tenders: Whiffletree Farm and their brilliant neighborhood delivery throughout Northern Virginia.

***leftovers make for a great friend chicken salad with honey mustard vinaigrette! 

how to make it

Preheat oven to 350.

Beat eggs and add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika.

Crush cornflakes in a ziplock bag until very fine, like the consistency of Panko. Add the remaining salt, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, and remaining smoked paprika, and mix thoroughly. 

Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Taking the chicken tenders one at a time, dip them well in the egg mixture, then transfer them to the cornflake mixture and coat them completely. If you like a thicker crust, you can run them through a second time, but I just do mine once. 

Place on parchment and bake until crispy and golden brown, ~15 minutes, taking care not to overcook your chicken. (the internal temp of chicken should reach 165 in your thickest chicken tender). 

While the chicken bakes, place the honey and cayenne pepper over low heat on the stove. You don’t want to boil the honey – just warm it enough so it becomes more pourable. When the chicken comes out of the oven, stack it on a serving plate, drizzle with hot honey, and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with large amounts of dill pickles. 

Never Enough Chicken
Categories
Sweet

Plate Parfaits

one and a half slices greek yogurt parfait recipe cacao nibs
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

The OneandahalfSlices Plate Parfait

There are several OneandahalfSlices signatures: The Signature Salad, The Signature Cocktail, Skillet Cornbread (and how OneandahalfSlices got its name). This indispensable Plate Parfait is definitely a signature for the list.

For whomever has rushed into OneandahalfSlices headquarters (aka my house) mid-afternoon after eight hours at the office and claimed to be starving (you know who you are)… For whomever has woken up at HQ in the morning with only 10 minutes to spare… You have probably been served a OneandahalfSlices Plate Parfait. What is a Plate Parfait? Well… it’s a Greek Yogurt Parfait… on a plate.

It is high in protein, low in fat, great for gut health, and deliciously satisfying at almost any time of day. The go-to breakfast. The I’m Starving snack. The dessert when you really want ice cream but don’t need the sugar.

#equalpartsdisciplineandindulgence 

what you need to know

There is really no incorrect way to make a plate parfait.

Below are the ingredients I use and an example of the assembly.

one and a half slices greek yogurt parfait recipe cacao nibs
  1. berries. strawbs, blackberries, pomegranate seeds, or finely diced peaches and apples are my fruits-of-choice.
  2. nut butter. almond, walnut, sunflower, peanut, thin enough to drizzle.
  3. greek yogurt. no fat or full fat; loving my Skyr recently from Iceland.
  4. granola. homemade granola or my gluten-free amaranth granola.
  5. honey. make sure it is local. did you know that eating local unpasteurized honey can help you build tolerance to local pollens which makes allergy season less dramatic?
  6. flax seeds. for fiber and digestion.
  7. chia seeds. for antioxidants.
  8. cacao nibs. for antioxidants, mood, and immunity.

Now that you’ve got all your favs, go ahead and use a spoon to spread that thick greek yogurt onto a plate using a circular motion. Drizzle with honey and a little cinnamon if you’re feeling fancy. Then pile your fruit high in the center, drizzling the whole ordeal with your nut butter. Now it’s time to sprinkle: granola (no more than 2-3 tablespoons), chia, flax, and cacao. A little toasted fresh coconut can go a long way here as well. Ooh, and toasted chopped hazelnuts (life changing)! But you get the picture. Improv is the main game here with the Plate Parfait. 

🍓🌰🍎

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Cocktail

The Merigold

merigold analytics oneandahalfslices cocktail recipe
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

The Merigold

#yellow2023
merigold analytics oneandahalfslices cocktail recipe

Okay. Man. Wow. Had to get this one ready. Because big things are in motion. Big things, friends.

Invitations are (mostly) launched for #yellow2023

You all know Merigold Analytics needed a signature cocktail

At Slices HQ we are shoulder deep in #openflamecooking and cocktail experimentation (head nod to a very good friend taking the lead)

#morecreativethancorporate

And lots of SALT

Also, surprise! And you’re welcome. All my playlists are newly on Spotify.

Start with Boulder French Kiss

Follow. Enjoy. Dance.  

what you need

2 oz honey syrup (2 oz water + 4 tablespoons honey + 2 dashes cardamom bitters + microwave)

2 oz bourbon of choice

1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice

Strongwater Golden Bitters

1 egg white

You want to talk cocktail bitters? Stay tuned. Coming soon.

how to make it

Make the honey syrup by combining the water, honey, and cardamom bitters (just a dash or two… cardamom is strong!) and microwaving for 20 seconds. Stir, let cool, and ensure it tastes sweet ✨

In a cocktail shaker, combine honey syrup, bourbon, lemon juice,  golden bitters, and egg white. NO ICE!  Yes, I realize Strongwater’s golden bitters may be a bit of a special ingredient, but they are worth it – bitters with turmeric, cardamom, and allspice. Give the mixture a good, solid dry shake. ~90 seconds.

Open the cocktail shaker, add a few ice cubes, and shake delicately a second time just to cool the mixture. Serve in a coupe glass and top with something interesting – a twist, a dehydrated hibiscus flower, an ultra thin strawberry slice 🍓 

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Veggie

Muesli

local homemade healthy oneandahalfslices
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Almond Muesli with Strawberries and Cacao

also known as "Overnight Oats"
local homemade healthy oneandahalfslices

Porridge, oatmeal, overnight oats, granola – there are many oat-based breakfast options but this one is really special. It can be made at the beginning of a week or weekend to have for several days and is my favorite thing to munch in the morning before a heavy lift (just enough energy and no weirdness in the stomach). The flavors are so fresh and delicate, though, I definitely would not couch it as exclusively a pre-workout food. This is perfect for a weekend morning, quiet with lots of stretching and dance, or videogaming and photography. It is simple and quick. To make it really, really shine, you should make your own Almond Milk for it (and before you object like crazy, it’s not as difficult as it sounds). But you can just as easily use any store-bought milk you prefer like oat, cashew, or macadamia. 

What makes this muesli so special?

The freshness, the richness, the simplicity.

The delicacy of the flavors.

The lightness of the dish itself while still making you feel satisfied. 

#equalpartsdisciplineandindulgence

what you need

1 1/4 cups nut milk of choice (I vote that you try making your own Almond Milk if you never have)

1/2 cup rolled oats

2 tablespoons flax or golden flax seeds

1/4 cup strawberries, diced (or berry of choice)

4 tablespoons fresh honey or maple syrup

2 tablespoons cacao nibs (that’s “cacao” not “cocoa”)

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Cinnamon

how to make it

Prepare your Almond Milk as indicated in this post. Or get your store-bought nut milk ready. 

Place rolled oats, flax seeds, and lemon zest in a small container and top with Almond Milk. Drizzle on some honey and place in the fridge overnight. 

In the morning, give it a stir. Top with additional flax, berries of choice, cinnamon, cacao nibs, and more honey. Enjoy hearty, cool, and satisfying. 

out of fridge
after a good stir
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Cocktail

The Cranberry’s Gold

one and a half slices holiday cranberry bourbon cocktail
one and a half slices local simple recipes food

The Cranberry's Gold

one and a half slices holiday cranberry bourbon cocktail

Happy Holidays (or Merry Chrismahannusolstikwanzadan) from OneandahalfSlices!

❄️🥂❄️

Consider this your early Holiday present. It’s a good one. If Aperol Spritz set the tone for the summer and Paper Plane became the vibe of the fall, this drink says Holiday in my house. It is quite a bit smoother and more balanced than a Paper Plane. If you’re not a cranberry fan, not to worry – it is not over-cranberry-y. It is tart and smooth and very festive. Truth in advertising, I stole this one from a new food blog friend, The Yankee Cowboy.

☃️

what you need

**1 batch of cranberry simple syrup, ~2 hrs prep time

For syrup:

1 cup honey

1 cup filtered water

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries

 

For cocktail:

2 oz bourbon of choice

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz cranberry simple syrup

how to make it

To make the cranberry simple: combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of honey in a saucepan over high heat. Heat until it comes to a rolling boil. Add the cranberries then remove from heat, cover, and let stand for two hours. After two hours, strain the liquid into a jar for storage and keep the cranberries for later. Note that the consistency will not be syrup-y but it will be thicker than water. 

To make the cocktail: Combine 1 oz lemon juice, 1 oz cranberry syrup, and 2 oz bourbon of choice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain over a large ice cube. 

To garnish: Roll the cranberries in cane sugar so they become little sweet gems. Stick them on a toothpick and use them as garnish!
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Categories
Sweet

Sweet Potato Biscuits

one and a half slices sweet potato biscuit recipe
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Sweet Potato Biscuits

one and a half slices sweet potato biscuit recipe

As if the OneandahalfSlices flaky biscuits weren’t delicious enough, this variation on the theme is the perfect spring, summer, or fall use for that extra large, earthy sweet potato you ‘ll get all season long. Just like the one I got in my first CSA pick-up of the season from Potomac Vegetable Farm last week! The sweetness in these beauties comes from the sweet potato itself which means that there is no sugar in this recipe. Surprisingly the pulp doesn’t make the biscuit dense at all. You may have to play with sweet potato-to-dough ratio a bit (I believe I ended up adding more flour as I folded the biscuits over on themselves), but in the end this recipe comes together pretty nicely. The flavor profile is unique but subtle – perfect for brunch or as a side dish to a roasted chicken or turkey dinner. 

what you need

2 cups of flour

puree from 1 extra large sweet potato (about one heaping cup)

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

8 tablespoons cold butter cut into tiny pieces

a little more than 1/3 cup whole milk

how to make it

Preheat oven to 400 and bake the sweet potato for 60-90 minutes or until soft. Use a fork to poke holes in the top of the sweet potato and place on foil as it will leak. 

Sift dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse a couple times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until only small, pea-sized pieces of butter remain. 

Squeeze the sweet potato puree out of the sweet potato skin into a bowl. Add the milk to the sweet potato and combine until very, VERY smooth. Mix the sweet potato mixture into the dry mixture using a spatula to massage until the dough becomes less crumbly and begins to come together.

This might take a moment but DO NOT OVERMIX. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, pat it out until it is about an inch thick, and fold it over on itself several times to create layers, careful not to mash the dough too much. 

Use a glass to cut the biscuits into rounds. Do not twist the glass. Transfer the cut biscuits into a cast iron skillet. brush with melted butter, and bake ~25 minutes in the oven (still at 400). 

You can easily freeze these biscuits and bake them as needed. Enjoy with butter, honey, or a deep berry jam. 
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Sweet

WFD Bars

chocolate recipe on one and a half slices
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Whipplescrumptious Fundgemallow Delight Bars

one and a half slices best chocolate bar

Okay, what?! What are those words? What is this chocolat-y gooeyness? And why?? I mean, yes!, but why?!

When I was a kid, I was a huge sugar fiend. My mother had a sort of unwritten rule in the house about no processed sugar anywhere – no soda, breakfast cereal, candies, gummies, or Hostess cakes. If we were to have dessert, we were to make it from scratch – banana bread (recipe coming soon), lemon cake, peach melba, chocolate chip cookies. While I agree 100% with this philosophy, it may have exacerbated my particular problem as I would go to friends’ houses and pour Coca Cola into Cocoa Pebbles and eat Oatmeal Cream Pies and Fruit Rollups by the box, taking advantage of my friends’ parents lack of attentiveness to our sugar intake. 

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was never my favorite movie but I was fascinated by the sugar-laced fantasy world the film brought to life. I can still picture Gene Wilder dancing through a field of sugary grass and daisies around a stream of milk chocolate, plucking a yellow tulip from its stem, using it as a teacup, then crunching into the cup itself like brittle, lemon hard candy. 🍋🌷 To me, the best part of any movie – especially a fantasy movie – is the scene setting. The Great Hall scenes in Harry Potter where the feast is served or the candy selection on the train. The Medieval fare (turkey legs, whole roasted pigs, red grapes, unleavened bread loaves, hard cheese wheels) scattered around Viking halls. The same is true for videogames. It is these little details that bring a world to life. In the case of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the world was a saccharine, glazed, and sprinkled childhood wonder – like an Old Fashioned Soda Shoppe spilled out into the world for the taking. Brown cows and milkshakes, licorice laces and hard candies. Taffy.

I always liked the concept of a chocolate bar more than the chocolate bar itself. Something about the tinfoil waiting to be torn off. Something about the pristine molding. It was art. I almost didn’t want to eat it. 🍫🍫🍫 So when Charlie Bucket tore the tinfoil from a Willy Wonka chocolate bar, I was captivated. Then Johnny Depp got involved and I was even more captivated. That golden ticket Whipplescrumptious Fundgemallow Delight Bar became a symbol of the impossible – the intoxicating world where sugar was everywhere for the taking. Where it formed the very structure of the world from mountains to streams. Where it did not make one sick but cured all ills, like chocolate frogs in Harry Potter. 

🚗🚙🚛

Fast forward to 2021. The Piemaker and I are on a road trip. An exceptionally long road trip. 13 hours in the car with anyone will leave you wanting for conversation topics especially when the journey begins between the witching hours of midnight and 3am. The final stint between Fredericksburg and Northern Virginia found us arguing full tilt over the identity of Willy Wonka’s Whipplescrumptious Fudegmallow Delight Bar. What was it? What did “whipplescrumptious” mean? “Fudgemallow” was simple enough to unpack but what innovation, what variation on the theme of a Milky Way or a chocolate-covered graham, did “whipplescrumptious” imply? I had my thoughts as did the Piemaker. So silicone molds were purchased en route (on Amazon) and plans were made for a Whipplescrumptious competition. But then we got home, got busy, and forgot about the punchdrunk roadtrip rivalry until this weekend when I found the molds in the bottom of a kitchen drawer and decided to make good on the planned experimentation. After two failed batches of Sponge Candy – a candy with which I am intimately familiar given my two year residence in Erie, Pennsylvania – I arrived at a decent interpretation of the Whipplescrumptious Fudgemallow Delight Bar. Another variation may yet await us but the Piemaker is strongly in favor of this version. He did comment that the sponge candy is too sticky and slightly burnt on its own but integrates into the bar beautifully. For my part, I was just excited to revisit a childhood fantasy. And of course, I wrapped the bars in foil. 

what you need

2 packages (20 oz) milk, semisweet, or dark chocolate baking chips or wafers. I prefer Ghirardelli Milk Baking Chips for chocolate bars

2 trays of silicone chocolate bar molds with ~1/2″ depth (I used these)

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1/2 tablespoon salted butter

1 cup crumbled honeycomb candy (or graham crackers in a pinch)

For honeycomb candy:

1 1/8 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup honey

Dash of cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon baking soda

how to make it

1. Chocolate. Melt 1 package of the chocolate in a double boiler (for me, this is a metal mixing bowl floating in a small saucepan filled with water. Elegant, I know). Once melted, spoon the chocolate evenly into each chocolate bar in the molds (~1 generous tablespoon per bar). Toss and catch the chocolate molds lightly in your hands so the chocolate settles to the bottom, then place in refrigerator to chill.

chocolate bar molds for one and a half slices

2. Honeycomb Candy. Place sugar, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon in saucepan over high heat and stir continuously as it begins to melt. Heat the mixture to 300 degrees (I used my meat thermometer as I do not own a candy thermometer. Make sure it gets hot enough or it won’t set!). Over high heat, this should take approximately 3-5 minutes. The mixture will smell fantastic and become a deep amber color. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the baking soda, noting that the mixture will froth, foam, and triple in size as you do so. Quickly pour the mixture onto a cutting board covered in wax paper and let it cool. It should be hard, crunchy, and ready for you to hit with something to break apart in 5-10 minutes. 

3. Marshmallow. Melt the two cups of marshmallows with 1/2 tablespoon of salted butter in a saucepan until just a few small lumps remain. Turn off heat.

4. Chocolate Bar. Remove chilled chocolate bars from the fridge. Carefully. use a butter knife or small silicone spatula (and your finger) to smear a small swath of marshmallow over the chocolate. Don’t swirl it around too much as the hot marshmallow will melt the chocolate. Do this for all bars in the molds. Sprinkle small, cracked pieces of honeycomb candy over the marshmallow for each bar. Chill molds. This step is messy. There was marshmallow in my hair. There was marshmallow on Aspen. There was marshmallow in the coffee maker the next morning.

marshmallow chocolate bars on one and a half slices

5. Finish. Melt the remaining batch of chocolate just like before. Remove molds from the fridge and spoon chocolate over each bar, spreading out to cover the majority of the filling, and repeating the toss-and-catch technique to settle the chocolate in the mold before chilling. Chill until set, ~30-60 minutes, wrap individually in tinfoil, and serve/gift! 🍫🍫🍫
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one and a half slices banana bread recipe mom

Banana Bread

This delicious and simple banana bread is the timeless treat you want with your morning coffee, your afternoon tea, or just after dinner. It has a rightful place on my food blog because my mother made this recipe nearly every other Sunday growing up. There would always be a fresh loaf of banana bread in the house – her version has the golden raisins which is how I make it to this day. And it even freezes well! That’s right, throw a fresh (cooled) loaf in some plastic wrap and put it in the freezer to enjoy a few weeks later. That is, assuming there is any left. 😉

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August 15, 2024 2 Comments

Crispy Waffles

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I like crispy waffles. The fluffy, puffy, overly-leavened Belgian waffle never did it for me. As it turns out, there are many different kinds of waffles: Brussels waffles (puffy), American waffles (think Holiday Inn breakfast), Liege waffles (half-formed super sweet waffle-cookies), Galette or Stroop Waffles (the thin, crispy, sometimes caramel-filled cookies). Until the X French Toast experience, adventures in waffling was my favorite morningtime breakfast activity. Oddly enough, my preferred waffle is a crispy version of a Norwegian or Scandinavian waffle.

A Norwegian waffle is typically made in a heart-shaped iron and is thinner than most waffles. Upon discovering my preference, I was overjoyed to poshly note my predilection for a Scandavian culinary experience. Until the Piemaker informed me that my waffle preference mapped to the all-American Waffle House waffle. I’ve still never been to a Waffle House (don’t want to get mugged), but Googling has confirmed that, indeed, I like Waffle House waffles. Without further ado, I give you my recipe for perfectly crispy, Norwegian, Scandinavian, or Waffle House waffles (made in a heart-shaped, diamond-laden waffle iron from the 1970s, courtesy of the parents).

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January 10, 2025 4 Comments
chocolate recipe on one and a half slices

WFD Bars

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was never my favorite movie but the final stint of an exceptionally long road trip left the Piemaker and I arguing full tilt over the identity of Willy Wonka’s Whipplescrumptious Fudegmallow Delight Bar. What was it? What did “whipplescrumptious” mean? “Fudgemallow” was simple enough to unpack but what innovation, what variation on the theme of a Milky Way or a chocolate-covered graham, did “whipplescrumptious” imply? After two failed batches of Sponge Candy – a candy with which I am intimately familiar given my two year residence in Erie, Pennsylvania – I arrived at a decent interpretation of the Whipplescrumptious Fudgemallow Delight Bar. You don’t have to have experience with candies to make this work (I didn’t!).

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September 25, 2021 2 Comments
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Omni

Cashew Chicken Noodle

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Spicy Cashew Chicken Noodles

This is a sweet, interesting, one-pot weeknight meal that can be made quickly with fresh mango, pineapple, peach, or preserves. Throw in some Thai basil or spinach for a little hint of green and choose your favorite rice vermicelli noodle! If you’re a fan of cashews, this one is a winner. 🍜

what you need

1 1/2 cups pureed mango, pineapple, or peach

OR

1/2 cup mango, pineapple, or peach preserves

1/4 cup soy sauce or Tamari

1 tablespoon honey (you can skip this if using preserves)

1 squeeze fresh lemon juice

1 small knob of fresh ginger, minced

//

2 medium chicken breasts, diced

1 handful Thai basil or spinach, cut into ribbons

1 cup cashews, lightly toasted in the oven

1 package vermicelli rice noodles or noodle of choice 

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup red onion or shallot, sliced thinly

1 tablespoon red chili flakes

sesame seeds, for garnish

4 tablespoons coconut milk or cream

how to make it

Toast the cashews. In the oven until lightly browned.

Marinate the chicken. Mix together pureed fruit, soy sauce, honey, lemon juice, and ginger. Pour 1/3 of mixture over diced chicken and allow to marinate for at least one hour. 

Cook the noodles. Heat one small pot of water to boiling, remove from heat, and insert noodles. Stir and let stand for ~5 minutes. Strain and toss with salt and coconut milk. Set aside. 

Make the sauté. Heat the sesame oil over med-high heat. Add garlic, red onion, and chili flakes, stirring about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add marinated chicken chunks and cook almost through, about 7 minutes. (The longer you leave the chicken undisturbed in the pan, the more likely it is to caramelize). Once almost cooked through, add the remaining marinade and stir for an additional 3-5 minutes.

When ready (when chicken is cooked through and/or caramelized), add the toasted cashews and spinach, and stir until spinach begins to wilt.

Presentation. Using a spoon, push all the chicken to the sides of the pan leaving a hole in the middle. Twist the vermicelli noodles into four bouquets to fill this hole and then arrange the chicken back around it so that all the food is in the center of the pan. Sprinkle with additional Thai basil and sesame seeds. 

Watch a live video of this one-pot meal being made on the @oneandahalfslices Insta!

 
noodle-soup-bowl-with-chopsticks-icon-bowl-of-ramen-noodle-icon-vector
Other Rice Noodle Ideas

Fried Rice

July 24, 2025 4 Comments

A quintessential fried rice recipe. AKA what to do with leftover rice, weeknight style. This hits. Make it spicy. 🌶️ Get some sake. Fuck it, go to Japan.

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one and a half slices cucumber healthy summer sesame side dish salad

Cucumber Sesame Salad

July 22, 2023 1 Comment

There is nothing not to like about this salad side dish: crunchy, cool, tangy, imminently refreshing, conveniently hydrating. Picnic ready and good in the fridge for a couple days.

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one and a half slices authentic katsu chicken ramen recipe

Katsu Ramen

March 19, 2022 1 Comment

You all know that 2021 was the year of the Ramen for me… I discovered it in the summer of 202 (thanks Christian and Hadlee 💜) and set to work recreating less sodium-intense, more veggie-friendly versions at home. Taking the extra step to make the chicken katsu isn’t as straightforward as the veggie ramen but it does add another dimension which is very much appreciated on cold winter nights or crisp spring evenings.

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Miso Ramen

April 17, 2021 2 Comments

This is a hearty, complex take on Ramen with about 1/3 of the sodium and no fatty meat. Using eggs as protein, this dish is bolstered with thick-cut Portobello mushrooms and crunchy veggies like broccoli and bok choy. 

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Thai Curried Noodles

March 11, 2021 2 Comments

This is a unique, Thai-style curry with the poignant flavors of shallot, turmeric, coconut, and ginger over noodle. It is somehow hearty enough for winter but light enough for summer at the same time, and it is likely my new favorite Thai-style curry. So throw in a Thai chili, spice it up, and get to marinating!

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Veggie

Cornbread

cornbread recipe authentic one and a half slices
one and a half slices recipes local delicious food

Basic Skillet Cornbread

cornbread recipe authentic one and a half slices

If you are from the south, you know that the only way to make cornbread is in a skillet. It should be drier than it is wet, breadier than it is cakey, and not overly sweet (but lightly sweetened with fresh honey). It should also be free from whole corn kernels. In my opinion. If you’re looking for that spongy corn cake served in Barbeque restaurants, this is not it. But this is what you need if the black eyed peas are soaking.

what you need

1 1/2 cup fresh ground corn meal

1/2 cup plain flour

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 eggs

2 tablespoons oil (vegetable, safflower, olive)

1 1/4 cup whole milk

how to make it

Utensils: cast iron skillet

Preheat oven to 425 and oil the cast iron skillet. Put it in the oven to heat up a bit.

Mix dry ingredients together. Separately, beat the wet ingredients together. Then mix all ingredients and pour into the warm cast iron skillet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. If the top does not brown enough for your liking, feel free to broil for a minute or two.

Note on Local Grains, Meal, & Rice

Check out the Grain, Meal, & Rice post.

Wade's Mill, Virginia
Anson Mills, South Carolina

The Story Behind One(andahalf)Slices

One(andahalf)Slices was originally conceived as a non-fiction book, the subject of which was to posit the First Principles of healthy, holistic living.

(Interlude: First Principles and Fermi Questions are cognitive heuristics that allow us to simplify complex concepts and seemingly intractable problems)

There were going to be four sections in the book corresponding to my four first principles for health: Movement, Hydration, Nutrition, and Rest. The sections were to contain chapters on how to pursue these things in daily life, recipes, thoughts, funny stories, and other things. Fundamentally, I wanted the text to underscore the two things that, in my opinion, are hardest for humans: 1) balance and 2) consistency. 

To treat oneself with indulgence and discipline in equal measure. And to do so consistently.

Nothing earth shattering, right?

Anyway, I kept a running list of chapter ideas in my little black work notebook for a year or two. Even wrote a couple. The idea for the title OneandahalfSlices came to me one day while eating pie with a friend.

After finishing my first slice of pie, the usual debate began in my head: ‘Man, I want another piece. No, you don’t need one. But you’re literally going to finish this entire pie later anyway so might as well. Seriously, a little self control never killed anyone.’ until I settled on the obvious answer… to have another HALF slice of pie.

“I’m going to have half a slice more,” I announced.

“Who has a HALF a slice of pie?” my friend scoffed from the couch, without looking up from her second piece.

And that got me to thinking… who DOES only have half a slice of pie. Or pizza. Or cake. Or cornbread. Well… I do. All the time. In fact, I frequently eat one and a half slices of many things. Because two slices is just too much but one slice is never quite enough. To treat oneself with indulgence and discipline in equal measure and to do so consistently. 

OneandahalfSlices became, in a way, a philosophy. Go to the gym every day and do something without needing to set a personal record, even if that something is just to stretch. Drink plenty of water without denying yourself bourbon, red wine, and coffee. Eat well and cook most of your own food, but every so often, mix corn flakes into Haagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream because there is just no need to take life all that seriously. Sleep in every so often without becoming chronically lazy. 

OneandahalfSlices is more than a title. And this blog is more than a collection of recipes. It’s a continued exploration… with stories unfinished and questions unanswered. Which is why the title is much more suited to something that will evolve as opposed to something that would be forever codified between a cover page and a conclusion.

I’ve tried vegan and vegetarian diets. People have told me repeatedly that the moniker ascribed to my approach to eating is called paleo. But there is a lot I haven’t tried as well. Like hunt my own food and learn how to process meat. Like meet the local farmers and purveyors of Virginia grain and groceries. Those questions will all be asked here and the stories told here as well.

Experiences will be curated, people will be invited, and many different perspectives will be welcomed.

But for those not in need of a philosophy, what you’ll find here are just recipes. Delicious, simple, tried and true, healthy (most of the time) recipes. Because food is much more than what we put in our mouths for energy. It is culture, sustenance, and identity all in one, with history as rich as the flavors that we taste.

#oneandahalfslices

#equalpartsdisciplineandindulgence

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