{"id":2252,"date":"2015-02-01T05:38:40","date_gmt":"2015-02-01T05:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/?p=2252"},"modified":"2017-02-12T16:18:46","modified_gmt":"2017-02-12T16:18:46","slug":"chicken-liver-pate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/02\/chicken-liver-pate\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicken Liver Pate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Surprise, surprise: I am still alive. Alive and kicking and cooking. It’s been a while since the last post, about three months. Let me explain.<\/p>\n

You may have noticed that my recipe posts got less frequent recently. I can’t even remember when I last posted on a weekly basis. Fact is, that I came up with something new on a weekly basis for 5 years or so. This blog was intended to be my public journal of a journey with foods and dishes that would make me healthier and more energetic.<\/p>\n

It started off by eliminating processed sugar and processed flour. That was my breakthrough. I experimented with gluten-free dishes which didn’t do so much for me. I then ventured into the realms of a grain-free diet, which was a lower-carb diet in disguise. Now that was the true revelation for me. There were raw, vegan\u00a0 and paleo side paths which I appreciate for what they are. However, they never made it to be the main form of my diet as I find them too restrictive and\/or time-consuming to follow.<\/p>\n

What’s my diet now? I still eat everything apart from processed sugar. Grains only occasionally. After phases of spending lots of time in the kitchen to cook up sophisticated healthy meals, I am going back to even less processed foods: raw salads, boiled eggs, grilled salmon or steaks. Raw nuts and pieces of raw fruit for snacks. Seed crackers and grilled vegetables I make in big batches that will last us through a few days.<\/p>\n

My food journey has come to a standstill. I feel like I have reached my destination. I am happy with my diet. I figured out what’s good for me. As a result, I read less other food blogs (honestly, almost none). I don’t research the latest nutrition discoveries anymore, and I am less excited when the next “super food” is being announced.<\/p>\n

My motto has always been to “eat to live” rather than “live to eat”. I cannot help but keep myself busy with new challenges. This has increasingly been running and running coaching with my running club. I have started to accept web design assignments, I am doing freelance picture researching for a local publishing house. And I take on the occasional photography assignment. I am also obsessed with the idea of being able to do a pull-up before I turn 40. Which is in about two months time. I never managed one in my whole life. My upper body strength is close to zero, and even though I have been doing strength training for quite some time, I don’t seem to respond to the training. I’ll try anyway!<\/p>\n

Despite all those new directions that keep me busy, I feel hesitant to stop food blogging completely. I still pride myself of throwing BBQ parties where every single food is made from scratch. Even the vanilla ice cream that comes with the dessert (a recipe that I owe you).<\/p>\n

I still cook and eat, but I don’t feel the need to try out something new every week. Therefore, I will change the format and style of my blog. So it doesn’t look as embarrassing when I don’t post for three months. It should rather be an online recipe book that gets updates on a regular or irregular basis. I don’t know when this will be completed. Until then, everything stays as it is.
\nI have never come across as the chattiest person through my blog. But rest assured: I am here, and any feedback, questions and suggestions are welcome at any time.<\/p>\n

I’ll leave you today with a recipe of chicken liver pate. As a German, liver pate used to be part of my staple diet. While the store-bought ones are full with preservatives and chemicals, this recipe is the easiest and quickest to cook. You cannot mess it up, I promise. Just a warning: It’s so more-ish, that it comes with the risk of overdosing after a few weeks. Bon appetit!<\/p>\n

————————————————————– <\/b>
\nCHICKEN LIVER PATE<\/b><\/p>\n

(Print Recipe)<\/a><\/p>\n

1 cup milk
\n1 pound\/500g fresh chicken livers<\/p>\n

6 tablespoons butter, divided
\n1 medium onion, finely chopped
\n4 cloves garlic, minced<\/p>\n

2 bay leaves
\n1\/2 teaspoon mixed dried herbs
\n1\/2 teaspoon sea salt
\n1\/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper<\/p>\n

1\/4 cup brandy or whiskey<\/p>\n

1\/2 cup butter, melted<\/p>\n

Serves 6-8
\n————————————————————-<\/p>\n

\n

Place livers and milk in a bowl and soak for 2 hours. Drain well.<\/p>\n

In a large saute pan or skillet, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Cook chopped onions until softened, around 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Add drained chicken livers, bay leaves, herbs, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir until livers are browned on the outside but pink inside, about 5 minutes. Add brandy\/whiskey and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated and the livers are cooked through but still tender.<\/p>\n

Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Discard bay leaves.<\/p>\n

In a food processor, puree the liver mixture. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in pieces and pulse to blend. Adjust seasoning to taste.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Fill liver pate into ramekins. Top with melted butter until completely covered. Refrigerate until firm, around 2 hours.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Serve with crackers or veggie sticks.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Surprise, surprise: I am still alive. Alive and kicking and cooking. It’s been a while since the last post, about three months. Let me explain. You may have noticed that my recipe postsRead More<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","author-Anja","post-2252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dips-and-spreads","category-non-vegetarian"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8TjFz-Ak","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":183,"url":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/10\/orange-date-nut-clusters-aka-paleo-granola\/","url_meta":{"origin":2252,"position":0},"title":"Orange Date Nut Clusters aka Paleo Granola","author":"Anja","date":"October 4, 2011","format":"image","excerpt":"\u00a0In my About section I am trying to explain what made me change my diet from a white flour, sugary diet to a more wholesome one. Ever since I figured out, that these two foods were doing more damage than good to me, I have been on journey towards better\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "breakfast"","block_context":{"text":"breakfast","link":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/category\/breakfast\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/PaleoGranola2.jpg?fit=629%2C629&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/PaleoGranola2.jpg?fit=629%2C629&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/PaleoGranola2.jpg?fit=629%2C629&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52,"url":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/05\/vegan-cheezy-rosemary-roasted-chickpeas\/","url_meta":{"origin":2252,"position":1},"title":"Vegan Cheezy Rosemary Roasted Chickpeas","author":"Anja","date":"May 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently read an interesting article about the paleo diet hype. 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These days, you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "gluten-free"","block_context":{"text":"gluten-free","link":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/category\/gluten-free\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/RosemaryRoastedChickpeas2-s.jpg?fit=658%2C1005&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/RosemaryRoastedChickpeas2-s.jpg?fit=658%2C1005&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/RosemaryRoastedChickpeas2-s.jpg?fit=658%2C1005&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":141,"url":"https:\/\/anjaschwerin.com\/food\/02\/results-of-the-anjas-food-4-thought-survey\/","url_meta":{"origin":2252,"position":2},"title":"Results of the Anja’s Food 4 Thought Survey","author":"Anja","date":"February 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been a while since I asked you to answer a few questions of my questionnaire. 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This was after I realized that my consumption of refined sugars (especially in the evenings... in the form of chocolates etc) made me feel wobbly, lethargic and tired the next day. 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