Good Without Gluten

Ode to Rice Krispies Treats

2011-07-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

The following is a guest post by my wife, Lynley SanGeorge.

There are a lot of times when I am brought back to childhood….like right before a storm when I catch the scent of rain in the summer air before the downpour ensues, or the laughter of neighborhood children carried by the refreshing breeze. The five senses are powerful memory evokers and the smell of chlorine does it for me time after time. Growing up in Florida, my two brothers, sister and I, LIVED in the water, especially in the hot, humid summers of Miami. The smell of hotdogs and hamburgers makes me nostalgic too, although, much to the chagrin of my parents, I was probably one of the pickiest eaters, or at least that is what they would tell you. While everyone else was munching on a deliciously juicy burger, I would say “just cheese, ketchup and a napkin please.” But, really the smell of the meat cooking on the grill reminds me of family, security and being together.

Hands down the most powerful memory evoker is the smell of my mother’s homemade chocolate chip cookies wafting like angels in the air. Way before the threat of salmonella was even thought about in our house, we would pile huge clumps of raw dough on top of a warm cookie and eat them one after another. My mom often let us help her with baking, (as much as four children running around you in circles, saying “my turn, my turn” is helpful).

One of my favorite things to make with my mom besides her famous cookies was Rice Krispies treats. The feeling of being grown up and the independence I was granted by making something “all by myself” cannot be underestimated. As a shy child it helped build my confidence. With my mother standing close by I was able to pour the Rice Krispies into the hot pan and stir the marshmallows. I would watch as the butter turned the fluffy clouds into a gooey goodness, and then we would spread the sticky concoction into a buttered casserole dish. I would inevitably lick my fingers when she was not looking. The worst part was waiting until the treats cooled in the refrigerator and of course the best part was devouring them. Rice Krispies Treats always required a tall, cold glass of whole milk to go with them.

It’s the little things that bring me joy, and every time a familiar product becomes gluten free, I get excited. Not just because of the price and availability, but really because it means companies are listening and becoming more aware, people are taking notice and change is happening.

This week, my girls and I will put on our matching aprons and make Rice Krispies Treats for daddy. I will tell them to be careful and watch them closely as they stir the mixture and I will pretend not to notice (just this once) while they lick their fingers. Afterwards they will ask me, just as they always do when we bake together, “can daddy have one? Are they gluten free?” I will happily answer “yes!” Their daddy will be able to eat actual Rice Krispies Treats, of course along with a tall glass of cold milk. Probably skim; after all, we are adults now.

**The gluten free version of Rice Krispies cereal should be available in stores today, July 1st 2011! Be sure to look for the words "gluten free" on the cover to be certain .

Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger

2011-02-19T13:30:00.000-08:00

When I was young the word squash was a "bad" word to me. If my mother were to say "come on, we're having squash for dinner", my first inclination would be to run and hide!
First off the word itself conjures something that isn't whole, but that has either been stepped on, or dropped. When you squash food it becomes indistinct and unrecognizable. To top this off my early memory of squash was frozen zucchini, over-boiled, served in water with a medley of other "Italian vegetables". Then there was the winter squash that sat in a bowl on the kitchen counter like a decoration; I never wanted any part of it either.

But then one cold winter day when I was a teenager my mother offered me half of an acorn squash she had baked. After an initial refusal she told me she would put brown sugar, cinnamon and butter on it. This sounded adequately tempting and the fact that it was steamy hot on a cold Buffalo, NY winter day didn't hurt either. I remembered tasting it and being delightfully surprised! The deep earthy tones of the squash mixed with the exotic cinnamon and sweet brown sugar took me to a new place. All these years later I can still go to that place, and this recipe is one way to get there! Butternut squash in many ways has even more of the qualities that endeared me to squash that day. And a Butternut squash soup, if done right,also has a silky smooth texture that is unbeatable. Not to mention its beautiful orange color.

This recipe is one I came up with when I was trying to get the most out of butternut squash. The fresh ginger adds a nice, faintly spicy element, the nutmeg adds a bit of exotic warmth. On a whim I threw a potato in,to make the soup a bit more hearty and really like what if did for the texture.

Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small sweet onion, chopped fine
3 cloves of garlic, diced
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated, or diced.
1 tsp nutmeg
salt/pepper to taste
1 large Butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1' cubes
1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1' cubes
8 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 tsp brown sugar

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• Heat the olive oil in a soup pot on medium heat
• Add the onions and garlic, cook for 30 seconds, or until the onions are translucent
• Stir in the carrot, celery and ginger, butternut squash, potato, salt, pepper (to taste) and nutmeg, mix well and cook for two to four minutes, cover everything evenly on the spices and oil.
• Add the Chicken Stock and the brown sugar, mix everything together well and bring the heat to high until the pot boils
• Once the pot comes to a steady boil turn it down to simmer for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so
• After 45 minutes remove the pot from the heat and blend the soup in a food processor until smooth, but be careful it's very hot! if you don't have a blender large enough to hold the entire contents of the pot blend the soup in batches.
• Serve hot and enjoy!

End of Summer Rustic Tomato Sauce

2010-08-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

Lets face it, summer is winding down. Even if I didn't want to admit it, just looking at my garden gave me a not so subtle clue that Fall is approaching. My tomatoes, which came in abundance earlier this year, now look as though they are ready to give up. All that is left, are several over-ripe ones. Our generous neighbor stopped by and gave us lots of vegetables including several more over-ripe tomatoes.

This has been a great season for tomatoes, which are one of my favorite vegetables, technically a fruit, (but that just doesn't seem right). This summer I've cooked tomatoes in all kinds of ways, and made one of my seasonal favorites, a simple tomato sandwich, just bread, mayo and a few huge slices of tomatoes! Delicious!

So what did I do with the stack of juicy, dripping, and some-what rotting stack of tomatoes? What else... make sauce! After carving away the bad parts, I diced them, skins, seeds and all (This IS a rustic sauce after all).

For some extra flavor, I reached into my freezer and found two frozen delicious Italian sausage from Giacomo's Italian Market, the best Italian sausage I've found so far in my town of Greensboro, NC, (It's not easy finding good, authentic Italian food here)!

The sauce was rich, acidic and bursting with the fresh flavor of fresh tomatoes. As a matter of fact I would have been perfectly content to eat it as a a soup!

End of Summer Rustic Tomato Sauce

4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
2 Italian Sausage links (2 pork chops can be substituted)
1/2 onion- minced
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar
6 large ripe tomatoes
Tbsp Fresh basil and oregano, chopped

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• Heat a medium saucepan at medium heat, add 2 Tbsp Olive oil.
• Add the Italian sausage, cook it on all sides, turning every few minutes. Cook until fully browned, around 8-10 minutes.
• Remove the sausage and cut it into bite-sized rounds, set aside.
• In the same (still hot) pan, add the other 2 Tbsp's of Olive Oil
• Stir in the Onion and garlic along with the Salt, pepper and Crushed red pepper
• Once the onions turn translucent (about a minute) add all of the chopped tomatoes
• Stir in the cut-up Italian sausage and sugar
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
• Once boiling reduce to simmer, and cook uncovered for 20 minutes. Stirring occasionally

Serve over (gluten free rice) pasta, sprinkle with chopped Fresh basil and oregano, and Parmesan cheese. Personally I recommend a glass of a good red wine as well.
Salute'!

Sunday Sauce

2010-01-30T21:43:00.000-08:00

This morning I carried on a ritual that has been passed down in my family for (at least) three generations. Before I ate breakfast, or even made coffee I smashed some garlic and opened several cans of tomato paste. This is the SanGeorge Sunday tomato sauce ritual. According to my dad, his father made a big pot of sauce every Sunday and he learned how to make it by watching his father make it. I assume that this tradition was carried over from Italy when my great-grandfather came to the United States one hundred years ago.

This may be the last time I make sauce this winter. Sauce season coincides almost directly with football season, the two are linked in my mind, as is the phrase, "somebody stir the sauce!", repeated every 20 minutes throughout the 6-8 hour duration of cooking time. I remember when I was little my dad would start the sauce and the meatballs around 8am. He would bring the sauce to a simmer and let it cook while we went to church. When we returned home the house would be full of the rich aroma of tomatoes, tantalizing us. But, we would have to wait another three or four hours until the sauce "turned", or matured to have the full rich flavor that makes it so good. My dad would have two spoons on the stove next to the pot; one for stirring and one for tasting. When my father was engrossed in the Buffalo Bills game on the TV, I would often use the latter spoon to sneak a meatball, sometimes having to shove the whole (and very hot) thing in my mouth to avoid detection.

Sadly now my father can no longer eat the sauce that he loved to make. Being a survivor of throat cancer, with radiation and multiple surgeries, he hasn't been able to eat solid food for some time. Recently the doctors have told him that he is to have "nothing by mouth". All of his nutrition is fed through a tube in his stomach, mostly while he sleeps. So when I sometimes get frustrated about not being able to eat things because of gluten, I contrast it to my father who can't eat anything at all. So what if I can't eat semolina pasta, rice pasta isn't that bad. So what if I can't eat doughnuts or pizza, there are hundreds (or thousands) of foods and flavors that I can eat. It's times like this that I remember that life really is good without gluten!
This meatball's for you dad.

Oh, what? You want the recipe for the sauce? Sorry, but there are some things that even I have to keep secret! I will suggest a great Italian dish for a cold day; try my Chicken Cacciatore recipe, I made this last week and it's hard to go wrong with it.

Tangy Thai Cucumber Relish

2009-07-20T07:13:00.001-07:00

For the last 5 years we've lived in condos and apartments, so when we moved into a house this past year I was excited to finally have a yard where we can have a garden again. We went to the farmers market early in the season to buy herbs and vegetables to plant. One of the vegetables I was excited to grow was zucchini, I grew it a few years back and was rewarded with more zucchini than I could handle.

As the plants began to grow my anticipation also grew. Finally one day I saw a baby zucchini growing. A few days later it was ready to pick! I brought it in the house put it in on the cutting board and...wait a minute, what the... this is a cucumber! So instead of six zucchini plants I have six cucumber plants, they must have been mislabeled at the farmer's market. Don't get me wrong, I like cucumbers, but just not as much as I like the versatile zucchini. An when is the last time you cooked a cucumber?

So now I have 6 cucumber vines producing an average of 6-10 cucumbers a week, I needed recipes! I was thinking about making gazpacho, which would be great, but how much gazpacho could one family eat before revolting? Thankfully my friend Robin came through with a great recipe for Tangy Thai Cucumber Relish. This sweet and sour tasting relish is a great compliment for most Thai dishes. I served it with red curry chicken, the cool sweetness provided a great contrast for the hot spiciness of the curry dish. This recipe also makes a great cool side dish for just about any summer meal.

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Tangy Thai Cucumber Relish

1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp. salt
2-4 (depending on the size ) cucumbers -about 1 lb.
3 Tbsp. thinly sliced shallots
1 carrot, sliced into thin rounds
2 tsp. thinly sliced fresh hot red or green chilies, seeds removed
3 tsp chopped Thai basil

• In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt, Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar and salt dissolve, 3-4 minutes
• Remove from heat and let the dressing cool to room temperature.

• Peel cucumbers (optional)and cut them lengthwise into 4 long strips. Slice each strip crosswise into small triangles; you should have about 3 cups
• Place in a bowl, toss with chopped shallots, carrots and chilies and pour the cooled dressing over the mixture
• Cover and refrigerate, serve cold, best after 24 hours

Micro blogging?

2009-07-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting to this blog as often as I would like lately. As a matter of fact I've taken pictures of some delicious food I've made but never gotten around to writing down the recipe!

I have to blame some of my absence here on micro blogging. What is micro blogging you ask? In short its Twitter.com (and similar tools). One reason that I think I've taken to this medium so well is that my brain seems to be wired for short, concise thoughts and descriptions. In school I was the one who wrote a 4 page essay when the assignment was for 5-10 pages. Typically most thoughts I write down fit neatly into the 140 characters allotted on Twitter, and I love the level of interaction you can have there.

I have several more posts and recipes planned for this blog, but in the meantime I'd like to invite you to connect with me on twitter: www.twitter.com/goodwithout

Whats for breakfast?

2009-03-25T08:25:00.000-07:00

One issues those of us who follow gluten free diets have is what to eat for breakfast. If you think about it almost all traditional breakfasts are based on gluten ingredients. The obvious one that doesn't is eggs. Don't get me wrong, I like (maybe even love) eggs, but I can not eat them every single day, although I did try for a while! And who has time to cook them every morning? I sometimes eat gluten-free frozen waffles, but not every day. I love to cook gluten-free pancakes, but once again it's time consuming. Fruit? Yes, but it doesn't fill me up.

Lets face it, there isn't anything as quick and easy and satisfying for breakfast as cereal. A stroll down a typical cereal isle will reveal about 50 to 100 types of cereals. Until recently 2 or three of those may have been gluten free, depending on the store. Several stores had no gluten-free options. The problem with most gluten free cereals that are out there is that they are very expensive. A 12 ounce box could easily cost $6 or more. This is not to say that these aren't good values. Typically these cereals are made form high quality ingredients in dedicated gluten free facilities. Also they are produced in small runs, so the pricing is appropriate, but in this day and age I just can't afford to pay that much for breakfast.

So finally one of the big manufacturers with wide distribution has payed attention to the emerging gluten free market. General Mills simply changed one of the ingredients (containing barley) in Rice Chex and it became gluten free. Just like that a tasty, widly available and resonably priced (under $3 for 12.8 oz.) gluten free cereal was available!

Evidentially Rice Chex has been received so well that General Mills has announced that is introducing 5 new gluten free cereals. Corn Chex, Corn Chex, Honey Nut Chex, Strawberry Chex, Chocolate Chex, Cinnamon Chex are not currently gluten free but are in production.
According to Cecile M Davidson, General Mills Consumer Services, "All 5 products should be widely available across the U.S. by June 1, 2009." Make sure that the box says "Gluten Free" before you buy it.

Lets hope that other manufacturers will take notice and start producing more gluten free cereals. There are many products out there, Rice Crispys for example, that have barley as a inconsequential ingredient.

Preventing Cross-Contamination in Kitchens

2009-03-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

By now, anyone who has celiac disease knows that gluten can be hard to avoid at times; not only is it a part of common wheat products, but its also prevalent in a lot of processed foods that you would otherwise think wouldn’t contain gluten. But the threat of cross-contamination is something that not as many people are aware of, especially the folks out there who don’t have celiac disease, making this a big issue when celiac and non-celiac people are using the same kitchen. As someone who lives with five people who eat "normal" gluten-containing food I am very aware of what it take to prevent gluten exposure. So I’d like to pass along a few simple ways that will hopefully keep everyone healthy and happy when there’s gluten in the kitchen.

You Can Never Keep Things Too Clean
Cleaning your kitchen early and often, especially countertops, utensils and other forms of dinnerware, is the best way of making sure that no crumbs or other glutinous food fragments are left lying around. It goes without saying the longer that excess crumbs build in your kitchen, the greater the risk of cross-contamination. Using products such as a crumb-catching cutting board can greatly reduce the risk of this occurring but the most fail proof method is the most basic one- cleaning frequently!

Gotta Keep ‘em Separated
The best way to ensure that no cross-contamination occurs during the cooking process is to use separate kitchen utensils for gluten and gluten-free foods. This is especially practical for some items, such as toasters, pans, and cutting boards, that frequently come into contact with any type of baked good, since this is the most obvious source of cross-contamination. Buying two of each of these items can be costlier, but it is the only way to make sure that all gluten-free dishes aren’t at risk of exposure.
It might also be a good idea to purchase separate containers for condiments such as butter, mayonnaise, jam, and peanut butter that are prone to contamination through bread crumbs.

Labeling and Separating
Someone with gluten intolerance will certainly be eating some foods that are different, and if you follow the last point, they will also be using or eating from different utensils and using different types of cookware. This makes labeling and separating very important, as you want to make sure that none of the gluten-free products are used accidentally. This is especially true if you happen to live with a child.

These tips should hopefully help in keeping a celiac household safe and well-fed. The best form of cross-contamination prevention is education. Keeping non-gluten intolerant housemates educated about celiac disease and how to live with people who have it is the best way to maintain a healthy kitchen

A Meal To Remember

2009-02-28T12:02:00.000-08:00

I really don't like to complain about being on a gluten-free diet. There are things that I can't eat, but most of these things aren't very healthy, and I do my best to ignore them. A few weeks ago I had an experience that is worth sharing because it illustrates the type of frustrations people on a gluten-free diet face, and highlights the need for people on this diet to be knowledgeable about food and the importance of educating others about the gluten-free diet.

A few weeks ago I attended a dinner networking event at a highly regarded local hotel. I RSVP'd on line and was impressed when I saw a field labeled Special Dietary Requirements, and a field to type a brief description. So I wrote that I was on a gluten-free diet, no foods containing wheat, rye, barley and oats, nor any food that come into contact with them. I had never seen a special online form for dietary requirements before and thought it was a great way to easily communicate my special needs. Between this and the fact that this was a luxury hotel, whose sister hotel I had eaten at successfully several times, I was sufficiently assured that I was going to be able to have a good dinner.

After arriving at the event I registered and the hostess handed me a little table tent labeled "gluten-free" and told me to set it on the table next to my place setting. I was further assured that this hotel knew about special diets and had it all under control. I relaxed, had a glass of red wine and talked with the people around me. We were served salad and I submitted my normal request of "no croutons and oil and vinegar" no problem. The fresh bread was passed and I did my best (as always) to ignore it.

When the main course came out everyone was served a roasted leg and thigh quarter of chicken over stuffing, covered with gravy. This was served with a side of green beans. I waited in anticipation to see what I would be served. I thought perhaps they would serve me the same chicken over mashed potatoes with green beans. Then my plate came out and I was pleasantly surprised to see a great presentation of three large swiss chard leaves stuffed with something, but what? After seeing everyone enjoying the chicken I imagined some sort of pulled chicken or ground beef. I took my knife and fork and hungry cut in to the unknown. Little kernels spilled out onto my plate, was this ground beef? Wait, it looks like... But it couldn't be... barley!? The leaves were entirely stuffed with what looked like barley, which by the way, is laden with gluten.

I walked over to the manager and said"I have the gluten-free meal and it looks like I was served barley. I can't eat barley." She apologized and went back to the kitchen to check. She came back to the table a few minutes later and apologized again and said that they were making up a plate for me. In the meantime people were beginning to finish their plates and I was getting hungrier by the second. I couldn't get over the fact that they had served me barley. I imagined that somehow they confused me for a vegetarian. After five minutes a server came out with a replacement plate for me. At this point I was so hungry that I would have eaten just about anything they served me. But my excitement quickly waned when I saw what they had for me: a plate of sauteed mushrooms, green beans and spinach? I didn't want to make a scene, by now I had to explain to all of the people at my table about why I didn't have my dinner yet. So I ate the meal, feeling disappointed but trying not to dwell on it.

I met some good people and made some connections and after dinner coffee was served. I always enjoy a good cup of coffee so this put me in a better mood. Dessert was served. I watched as everyone was handed a near brick-sized piece of scrumptious piece of apple strudel. Then the server put one in front of me. I said "oh, I have the gluten-free meal." the server looked puzzled, and looked at the manager who was standing close by. I picked up the plate and brought it over to her and told her that I couldn't eat it. She said, "let me check whether it is gluten-free". I said "I'm looking at it and I'm telling you that it is most assuredly not gluten-free.", and put the plate in her hand. This was going from disappointing to down-right annoying.

Five minutes later, again as everyone finished their plates, I was given a cup of raspberry sorbet. The sorbet was rich and flavorful, but hard to compare to the mountainous piece of strudel that was in front of me minutes before. Normally I can deal with seeing delicious looking food that I can't eat, but there is something about holding a plate of that same delicious looking food in your hands and smelling it, that makes it much more difficult to bare.

After dinner I found the manager and pulled her aside. She apologized again for the dinner. I told her that because I eat gluten-free does not make me a vegetarian. I went on to tell her that I was served gluten twice tonight and if I didn't have sufficient knowledge of food I would have trusted in what I was served, eaten it and become ill. After all, how many people would recognize barley when they see it? And how many would question that their meal was gluten-free from such a prestigious hotel and after taking advance measures to make sure it was? I explained to her that it wasn't her fault, but that someone in the kitchen really needs to be educated as to what "gluten-free means, and how to accommodate the diet. Hopefully they did and the next time someone asks for a gluten-free meal they will give them a meal to remember, but for all the right reasons!

Roasted Root Vegetables with Fennel

2008-12-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

I am very affected by the weather and the seasons when I prepare food. Certain summer foods I wouldn't dream of eating in the winter months and vice versa.
The word "roasted" conjures up all kinds of warm images, fired in a toasty hearth. These are the hot and hearty foods that I crave on cold days. There is something especially appealing to me about roasting a food that grew snugly in the earth, amidst all of the minerals and nutrients that they absorb.

The first thing that typically comes to mind when people think of root vegetables are carrots and potatoes, but they are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these nutritious tubers and bulbs. When I went to the market yesterday to find some good examples of root vegetables, I was happy to find a good variety of them. I bought: parsnips, rutabaga, turnips, sweet potato, onion and carrots. I decided to add a little flavor, aroma and texture by adding a chopped bulb of fennel, also known as Florence fennel. I simply peeled and chopped everything, tossed them with olive oil, and a bit of seasoning, and roasted them uncovered for 40 minutes. The result was not only delicious, hearty and bone warming, but it also looked and smelled incredible. I always keep in mind the way a dish will present, so I included the sweet potato and carrots primarily for extra color. I was surprised that the rutabaga turned a nice golden color. This made for an excellent side dish, but was hearty enough to eat as a meal.

Roasted Root Vegetables with Fennel
(you can use a combination of whichever root vegetables are on hand)

1 medium rutabaga, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large turnip. peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
2 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 sweet potato(or yam), peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 small sweet onion, peeled and chopped into strips
1 fennel bulb, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
3 Tbsp Olive oil
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 Tbsp ground Sage
1 Tbsp ground coriander
Sea Salt and cracked pepper to taste

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• Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees
• Toss everything together in a mixing bowl
• Pour ingredients in a roasting pan, place in oven
• Roast in oven- uncovered, for 40 minutes, tossing everything around every 15 minutes
• Serve hot and enjoy!

Grilled, Marinated Zucchini and Eggplant

2008-09-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

When I'm grilling I like to have as much of the meal on the grill as I can, I can't stand having to run back and forth between the grill and the stove 10 or 20 times. One easy side dish I like to grill is marinated zucchini and eggplant. Often I'll include portabella mushrooms caps with these two.

Last night I was grilling some chicken thighs and this dish, along with baked potatoes, was the perfect accompaniment. The flavor of the grilled eggplant is absolutely explosive, and even the often neutral tasting zucchini will make you take notice. The flavors of the dressing are really accentuated by the grilling process.

I mixed together a simple Italian dressing as a marinade, but you can use your favorite bottled Italian style dressing if you like.

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Italian Dressing/
Marinade

2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
2 tsb white sugar
2 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar

• Whisk all together in a bowl,
• Let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to mingle

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Grilled, Marinated Zucchini and Eggplant

1 Whole eggplant
2 Medium sized zucchini

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• Wash the eggplant and the zucchini, removing the ends and any visible bad spots
• Cut the eggplant into 1" thick rounds, salt the eggplant on both sides and lay it in a colander to drain for 20 minutes (this removes bitterness and excess moisture)
• Slice the zucchini lengthwise in 1/2" thick slices
• Pat off excess moisture and salt for the eggplant with a paper towel
• Shake the Italian dressing well and pour it over the eggplant and eggplant (together or separately)
• Using a brush, make sure all surfaces are coated with the dressing, cover and let sit refrigerated or an hour or more
• Place pieces on a hot grill, cook for about five minutes
• Keep brushing on the marinade while you are grilling to keep the vegetables from drying out
• Flip over, grill for about five more minutes, or until cooked through
• Sprinkle fresh chopped basil over top (optional), serve and enjoy!

Japanese Steak House Blues

2008-09-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

After over four years of living with Celiac Disease, I've found that eating out still isn't easy, and often it isn't very satisfying. Tonight I went to a Japanese steak house, Kabuto Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar in Greensboro, NC. I used to enjoy going to Japanese restaurants, but this is the first time I've been to a Japanese steak house since being on the gluten-free diet, because everything cooked in front of you on the table gets a good dousing of soy sauce (which is brewed with wheat and is not gluten-free). I made all of the usual preparations before leaving the house; including calling ahead to ask if they could accommodate a gluten-free diet, coming up with a cursory plan of what to eat based on their menu, snacking heavily before going to avoid feeling starved while watching everyone else eat, and bringing my own wheat-free soy sauce. You would think that after all of this preparation, and carefully ordering sushi and steamed rice I would have a nice meal with no issues, but unfortunately that wasn't what happened.

The chef at out table was entertaining with his flashing knives, onion volcano and spinning a raw egg on his spatula for an impossibly long time, but it was frustrating for me to watch as heaps of delicious looking food was tossed (literally) on to everyone's plate. On my plate was a heap on steamed white rice. I used my soy sauce to flavor the rice, along with a dash of Chinese style hot sauce.

My sushi arrived when the main course was served. I ordered a tray of sashimi tuna wrapped in rice and seaweed, and I ate it with the wasabi sauce, pickled ginger and my soy sauce. The tuna was fresh, but the sushi wasn't rolled to well. Nonetheless, I was content with my simple meal, that is until about 45 minutes after leaving the restaurant. Some times I have stomach irritations that I can't precisely attribute to a gluten reaction, but this wasn't one of those times. I had acute sharp pains in my gut that lasted for about a half hour, pretty much the typical good dosing of gluten reaction for me. Once again I don't know exactly where the gluten came from, it had to be either the wasabi, pickled ginger, Chinese hot sauce, (all of which I've had before) or the raw tuna (unlikely due to my type of reaction) or was it some unknown and unseen culprit?

All in all my advice would be: if your on a gluten-free diet, pass on the Japanese Steak house experience. Dining out shouldn't be this hard!

Corn with Roasted Red Peppers

2008-06-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

The weather was beautiful last weekend here in North Carolina, that is until just after the guests arrived for my daughter's fourth birthday party. As the last people were coming in I looked up to see ominous black clouds blowing in from the West. That's when I thought "I better get the food on the grill!" It began to rain just as I put the first of the marinated chicken breast and pork chops on the grill. Within minutes the wind was whipping up and the TV was broadcasting tornado warnings for our area! I thought briefly of cooking everything in the oven, but with over 35 pieces of meat to cook and a cold oven I knew that this option would take way too long. Luckily my brother handed me an umbrella after I came in the house, because when I went back out to flip everything it began to hail. There I was holding the umbrella in one hand a spatula in the other while nickel sized hail clanged off of the grill hood and bounced three feet off of the deck to pelt me in my uncovered legs. With18 hungry people waiting for dinner I didn't even consider letting the meat burn, so I ended up being outside during the worst of the 20 minute storm scanning the horizon for a funnel cloud (luckily I didn't see one). I may have gotten wet and a bit bruised, but hey, I spent too much time and effort planning this dinner to let a little weather get in the way! I'm happy to report that once everything was served dinner went off without a hitch and was enjoyed by all.
(photo: me grilling in the hail storm)

The corn with roasted red pepper recipe is one I created for this party. Ever since staying for a summer in New Mexico when I was 20 years old, I have loved the combination of corn, cumin and chili peppers. In this recipe the spicy chili pepper is replaced with the sweet and rich, (but still peppery) flavor of the roasted red pepper. Like many of the dishes I make these days I've eliminated the spicy element, but didn't compromise flavor.

(photo: the back deck littered with hail after the storm)

I would normally add a bit of cilantro to this dish, but this time I left it out because I realized that my brother (who somehow blames an incident involving me and toothpaste for his dislike of cilantro!?) would be eating with us and many of the other dishes were already infused with the tasty herb. Evidently my brother is not the only one who does not like cilantro, it seems like many people have strong feelings about this strong tasting herb, I found a interesting poll and discussion on the subject at veggieboards.com, It seems that there are many more people who like it, but the few who don't really hate it! I'll leave it up to you whether you add it or not, either way this recipe makes a quick and delicious side dish!

Corn with Roasted Red Pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb. package of frozen yellow corn
1 roasted red pepper- skin and seeds removed and chopped
1/4 sweet onion (or red onion) - chopped
juice of one lime
1 tsp ground cumin
Sea salt and fresh crushed pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro- optional

• Heat a pot with the oilve oil to medium heat , add the corn
• Cook the corn for 3 or 4 minutes until thawed, stirring occasionally
• Stir in the the chopped red pepper, onion, cumin, salt and pepper
• Stir well can cook for another minute or two then remove from heat
• Squeeze the lime over the mixture and add the cilantro, stir, serve and enjoy!

Mojo pork chops with Mango salsa

2008-05-26T10:31:00.001-07:00

I've been into making a lot of Latin American inspired dishes lately and I was looking for a more authentic Cuban flavor to add to meat so I asked a friend who was born in Cuba and grew up in Miami for a recommendation. She told me to get Mojo marinade,the name rang a bell and when I found it at the store I actually remembered having used it years ago. It has a great garlic-citrus flavor that is good with chicken, pork or beef. I've been hooked on the Goya brand Mojo Criollo (which is gluten-free, and can be found at most grocery stores) and have been using it almost every other day for the past few weeks.
Tonight I marinated some boneless pork chops in the Mojo and then pan fried them. It was the first time I used the Mojo with pork and it was awesome. The pork came out tender, juicy and bursting with citrisy flavor. My first choice would have been to grill the chops, but with no grill available I chose the stove.
I served the pork chops with a mango salsa. This salsa is a great blend of sweet, spicy and sour. It added a bright summery look and taste to the dish and was a great compliment to the pork. Just add a little rice and and this makes an excellent Cuban inspired dinner for a warm summer night.

Mojo Marinated Pork chops

Pork chops
Mojo Criollo Marinate
2 Tbsp olive oil
Fresh Cracked pepper

• To marinate: place the pork chops in a bowl, Shake the Mojo well, and pour over enough to just cover the pork, cover and let it marinade for at least 45 minutes, (preferably several hours)

• Heat a frying pan to medium high with the olive oil, add the the marinated pork chops, sprinkle with pepper
• cook on one side for about 7-10 minutes.
• Flip the pork chops over and add a splash of the Mojo to the pan, and continue cooking the pork chops until cooked through, about another 5-8 minutes
• Serve and enjoy!

Mango Salsa

1 ripe mango- chopped into 1/4" pieces- skin and pit removed
1/2 medium sweet onion (or red onion) - chopped
one poblano chili pepper- (or 2 jalepeno peppers) chopped and seeds removed
@ 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro - chopped
Juice of 1/2 lime
sea salt to taste
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• Mix all ingredients together in a bowl
• cover and let the flavors mingle for about 30 minutes, serve, enjoy!

Roasted Garlic Salsa

2008-05-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

The season for salsa is here! We got together with our neighbors for a Cinco de Mayo dinner last week. The following salsa along with an avocado salad, my black bean salsa, and roasted chicken over arroz amarillo (yellow rice), washed down by Jose Cuervo Margaritas was a great way to welcome the warm weather. Although our cuisine was more Cuban that Mexican, our little get together, which we held outside, inspired me to want to make this an annual event.
I've tried making salsa with raw garlic before, and it tastes great while it's fresh, but once it sits for about thirty minutes, the garlic slowly starts dominating the flavors. I wouldn't recommend any close conversations with anyone after eating raw garlic, it gives you just about the worst breath possible. Not to worry though, you can have a deliciously fresh salsa with garlic, without the dominating flavor by roasting it. There are a few different methods to roasting garlic, but the way that has been easiest for me is to simply put it in the broiler of my toaster oven, turning it over once. The result is a sweeter and milder garlic.

When I made this salsa the other day I knew that I couldn't make it as spicy as I normally would. I knew that my daughters, ages 3 and 18 months would be eating it, as well as my neighbors, who have stated several times that they can't eat spicy food. So instead of using a jalapeño pepper I choose to use a hungarian wax pepper. It was just a little hot, but after I removed the seeds and roasted the peppers (using the same method as the garlic) they were perfectly harmless. In the past I have made similar salsa recipes and blended them in the food processor, which works great, but since I had more time and wanted this salsa to present well I took the time to chop everything by hand using my chef's knife.

Roasted Garlic Salsa
4 cloves of roasted garlic- minced
2 hungarian wax peppers (or jalapeño) - roasted, skin and seeds removed and chopped
4 Roma tomatoes- chopped
2 small tomatillos- peeled and chopped
1/2 sweet Vidalia or red onion- chopped
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro- chopped
Juice of one lime
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• Peel the garlic cloves and cut the peppers on half length-wise removing the stem and seeds
• Turn on the broiler of your oven or toaster oven, place the garlic and peppers (skin side up) on a pan and place under the broiler
• Flip the garlic over after about a minute, careful not to let it burn, let it cook another minute or so on the other side, ideally it will be golden brown on both sides when done
• Broil the peppers until the skin starts to turn brown and bubbly, let the peppers cool a minute and remove the skin
• You can either chop all of the ingredients by hand, or simply cut them small enough to put them in the food processor. The resulting textures will be different, but the taste will be about the same. If chopping the ingredients everything should be between 1/8 and 1/4 inch in size, except for the garlic which should be minced
• Squeeze the lime juice over the ingredients, careful not to get the seeds in the salsa (I like to squeeze it over a fork or sieve)
• Stir (or mix in the processor for about 15 seconds) everything together, place in a covered bowl and set aside for about 20 minutes to let the flavors mingle
• Serve with corn tortillas. ¡Comerse y disfrutar! (eat and enjoy!)

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Sugar

2008-05-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

When my children were babies they both used to love sweet potatoes. I would cook huge batches, puree them and freeze in ice cube trays (perfect one ounce portions) to feed them over a few weeks. But lately neither of them will eat, or even try sweet potatoes. Knowing how good sweet potatoes can taste, and especially how good they are for you, I was determined to give it another shot tonight. I remembered how well they were complimented by cinnamon. I baked some sweet potatoes, then chopped them into cubes, tossed them with a bit of butter and cinnamon sugar and they kids loved them. My 3 year old even surprised me by saying "thank you for making this best dinner ever daddy" and then ran into the kitchen to give me a hug! Now that' a good review if I ever heard one. Of course you could get kids to eat just about anything by pouring sugar on it, but the sugar in this was minimum, there is enough natural sweetness in the potatoes that is brought out by the cinnamon and sugar. And lately I'm thrilled to see them eat anything besides cheese, cereal and pasta.

The cinnamon thing was good for the kids, but when it came to dinner for me and my wife we don't need cinnamon sugar to make our potatoes taste good, do we? You bet we did! I just couldn't look at the kids eating it that way and have some, and it really was delicious! I served our sweet potatoes with chicken breast with Jamaican spices, and sauteed spinach and onions (with a splash of sherry) and all of the flavors meshed extremely well.

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Sugar

sweet potatoes
1 pat of butter per potato
aluminum foil
cinnamon sugar (mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon)
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• Pre-heat the oven to 350º
• Wash sweet potatoes, wrap each potato individually in allunimum foil
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until potato becomes soft
• Remove potatoes from the oven, remove foil and cut in half to let cool for a few minutes
• For kids, cut into bite-sized cubes by making cuts horizontally and vertically (see picture to the right), or cut potato in half, lightly butter the halves and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, or any other toppings you may like.
• If making cubes toss with a bit of butter (to taste) and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, enjoy!

Where I've been lately...

2008-05-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been hectic for me so I haven't been able to cook much or update this blog. My family and I just arrived back from a 11 day excursion up to my home town of Buffalo, NY. Besides visiting friends and relatives the main purpose of our trip was to help my parents get their house (which they've lived in for 37 years) in good enough condition to sell it this summer, no small task to be sure.

(photos:left: Me taking a break from breaking up concrete!, right, the yard before, yikes!)

My main project was to landscape the backyard. Once the small yard was mostly covered by a basketball court a large garage and carport. A few years back both were torn down leaving the yard a mess of broken and crumbled concrete. I decided on using a combination of river rocks and grass to create and define different areas. I had to break up a lot of the concrete by hand with a pick-axe and sledge hammer in order to make the ground suitable to grow grass. After 7 days of hitting, pounding, shoveling, raking, hoeing, and planting the yard finally took shape. It's hard for me to believe, but it actually turned out just like I planned it!

(photos: the finished yard!)

I know this post doesn't have anything to do with food, but I thought I'd account for my recent absence on this blog! I did get to eat some great Buffalo wings at the Anchor Bar, http://www.anchorbar.com/, the home of the original buffalo wing. We were able to eat wings there since they have a dedicated wing fryer, untainted by breaded foods like most restaurants. My mother and I (she's also gluten-free) split a bucket of 50 wings, and only left 13, not too bad...
If you want to try and make authentic Buffalo Wings at home, see my Buffalo Wings recipe posting here.

In addition to this trip I have been busy looking for career opportunities in Marketing, Advertising and Graphic Design in the Raleigh, NC area, My Marketing job at a real estate company was recently eliminated due to market conditions. But, don't worry I'm sure I'll find something soon, and I'll be back to post some more great gluten-free recipes in the next few days...

Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato

2008-04-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

This past week has been a tough one so consequently, I haven’t had much time, or energy to work on this blog. Last week I was given the news that due to market conditions, my position was being eliminated at the real estate company for which I was a marketing coordinator. You would think that this would give me much more time to work on my blog, (which it still may). But in the meantime I’m finding myself scrambling to re-write my resume and get my graphic design portfolio (www.jeffsangeorge.com) up and running. And I have to say that in the wake of this news I find myself less than inspired in the cooking category. That’s not to say that I haven’t been cooking, but just cooking simply. The other night I fried up some bacon, (something that always makes me feel better!) and made BLT’s. I don’t eat too many sandwiches on bread, but the BLT is one occasion which calls for it, so I used some Food for Life rice bread. I always like cheese on mine so instead of calling it a BLT my wife calls it a B with TLC! (Bacon with Tomato, Lettuce and Cheese) and right now I could use all the TLC I can get…

B with TLC (A.K.A. BLT with Cheese)
Serves 2

4 slices of bacon, cut in half- cooked
1 Tomato- sliced
Few pieces lettuce, rinsed
Sharp Cheddar Cheese- sliced
GF mayonnaise (I use Hellman's.)
4 slices Lightly GF bread

Lightly toast the GF bread slices
Spread mayo on both pieces of toast
Lay down bacon, tomato, cheese, and then the lettuce
Slice sandwich in half (optional)
Serve with carrot sticks,potato or tortilla chips, Enjoy!

Caribbean Roasted Chicken with Bacon

2008-04-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

I like to cook healthy food and the problem with bacon is that it just not healthy! One of the good thing about bacon is that it's so packed with flavor that a little goes a long way. So when I say that I baked this chicken breast covered in bacon all I really did was to cover each chicken breast with one piece of bacon. That's not so bad, is it? The Caribbean spice rub I made for this recipe is a great spice mixture to have on hand through the warm months. It not only works well with chicken, but also with fish and pork. The black bean salsa pictured is a quick easy recipe I like to make often. Here is the link to the black bean salsa recipe I posted a few months ago, the only difference is that I've added one cup of cooked corn to the salsa seen above.

Caribbean Roasted Chicken with Bacon
serves 2

2 boneless, skinless half chicken breasts
2 slices of uncooked bacon
1 lime, or lime juice

Caribbean Spice Rub

3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper
3 Tbsp sea salt

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• For the spice rub, mix all of the ingredients together well and store in an air-tight container. Will keep well in a dark cupboard for up to 3 months

• Pound out the breast to tenderize it and thin it out a bit
• "Rub" the chicken breasts liberally with the Caribbean spice rub, place in a covered bowl and refrigerate. Let it marinade for at least a half hour, or up to 24 hours
• Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees
• Place the chicken in a baking dish and cover each piece of chicken with one slice of bacon, folding it over or slicing it in half to cover the entire top of the breast.
• Cut the lime in half and sprinkle it liberally over the bacon and chicken
• Cover the dish and bake for 35 minutes, remove cover and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through
• Let cool a few minutes and serve over rice with black bean salsa.
Goes well with a white wine such as a Viognier or Pinot Grigio, enjoy!

Sauteed Polenta with Roasted Tomatoes

2008-04-09T08:28:00.001-07:00

It is somewhat frustrating for me to live in a condo where there is no grills allowed. No charcoal, no propane, not to mention that we have an electric stove, in short, no fire! For the past five years I've had access to a gas stove and a charcoal grill, which I used year round, so I'm having a hard time adjusting to a fireless kitchen. Tonight I had a strong urge to roast tomatoes. I really can't say why, but I started having visions of roasting big pans of tomatoes along with zucchini and peppers and whatever other vegetables I could get my hands on. I reminded myself that I still have a a broiler, even if it's electric.
One thing lead to another tonight, the kids were sick, the house had to be picked up, etc, so by the time I had a few minutes to get into the kitchen my visions of roasting huge pans of food just wasn't going to work out. So I scaled down my visions, way down. I ended up roasting two tomatoes in my toaster oven. And the good news is they still tasted great! I cooked a bit of polenta with olive oil garlic and some zucchini and put the tomato over top and had a light , but satisfying meal. This dish would make a great light lunch. I used the quick and easy pre-cooked polenta from Trader Joe's.

Sauteed Polenta with Roasted Tomatoes
serves 1-2

2 roma tomatoes
3 Tbsp olive oil
9 oz pre-cooked Polenta- sliced in 1/2 inch thick pieces
4 cloves garlic-minced
1 tbsp dried sage
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 zucchini- chopped

parmesan cheese
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• Heat a frying pan to medium high with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil
• saute the garlic in the pan for about one minute then add the polenta slices
• Sprinkle the polenta with half of the dried sage and oregano, salt and pepper
• cook for three to four minutes, using a spatula to keep the polenta from sticking to the pan
• Flip the polenta over, add the zucchini to the pan and sprinkle the other half of the sage and oregano, salt and pepper over everything
• Keep stirring the zucchini and polenta, for about 3-4 more minutes, add a bit more olive oil if the pan gets too dry, once cooked through. Cover and set-aside
• Cut the tomatoes in half legnth-wise, place in a pan, sprinkle with oilve oil salt and pepper
• Place the tomatoes in the broiler for about 5 minutes, then flip over and broil on the other side for another 5 minutes
• Serve the polenta on a plate and cover with the sauteed garlic, zucchini and roasted tomatoes, splash a little oilve oil over top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese, enjoy!

Chicken and Sausage Cacciatore

2008-04-04T12:44:00.001-07:00

It's April here in North Carolina, the Cherry trees are in full blossom, The dog wood trees and Azalea bushes are just beginning to bloom, but it's still cold! We've definitely had some warm, and even hot days, but today it's just 40 degrees. One good thing about the lingering cool weather, it gives me an excuse to continue cooking winter soups and stews, and my all-time favorite stew is Chicken Cacciatore! Translated from Italian cacciatore means "hunter's stew", or "the catch of the day". I can just picture cacciatore stew being slow cooked in an Italian country villa with rabbit and Guinea fowl (like a pheasant).

Back here in the U.S, I went hunting at our local grocery store and stirred-up some chicken breast and Italian sausage, and I didn't even have to kill them! I've also made this recipe with boneless chicken thighs and legs and with pork, it's pretty versatile so you can add whatever type of meat you choose, or no meat at all.

The combination of fennel seed, rosemary and oregano, along with the mushrooms, give this dish a rich savory flavor that is really satisfying, especially on a cold day.

This recipe also adapts well to a slow cooker or crock-pot. Just brown the meat, saute the onions, garlic, celery along with the herbs in a pan, then add everything else and let cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Cacciatore with Chicken and Italian Sausage

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb. Italian Sausage (sweet or hot)
1 Lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 medium onion
1 stalk of celery, cut up
4 cloves garlic
1 large bell pepper, cut up to bite sized
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp dried Oregano
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tsp fennel seed
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, or 1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp crushed red pepper(optional)
1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup red wine
6-8 crimini mushrooms (or white button mushrooms), sliced

Fresh basil for garnish (optional)
Grated parmesan cheese

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• Heat a large stock pot to medium high heat with the olive oil
• Place the chicken breast and the Italian Sausage into the pot, cook each for about 1 minute on each side, browning them, working in batches if you need to. Set aside.
• Using the same heated pot, stir in the onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper, let them cook about a minute or so, using a fork to scrape off and stir in the browned pieces on the bottom of the pot
• Mix in the Oregano, basil, fennel seed, rosemary, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper
• Next stir in the tomatoes, chicken stock, red wine and mushrooms, mix all together well and bring to a slight boil
• Add the meat and return to boiling, once it boils again reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes, loosely covered
• Remove the bayleaf and romsemary sprig. Serve over GF pasta or rice, garnish with fresh basil (optional) and grated parmesan cheese, Mangia!

Rosemary Fried Potatoes

2008-04-01T13:22:00.001-07:00

This is a nice and easy breakfast recipe. I like to cook eggs in the morning and now that bread is mostly out of the picture for me I'll often serve these potatoes with my eggs as a source of carbs to make breakfast the filling meal it should be. A few times I made runny over easy eggs and broke the yoke over these fried potatoes. Last weekend we had company I served them with ham and spinach frittatas and sliced cantaloupe. Now that's a good breakfast!

Rosemary Fried potatoes
Serves 4

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion - chopped
6-8 medium red potatoes- washed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 stalks of fresh rosemary or 2 Tbsp dried rosemary
Sea Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
sprig (or two) of fresh parsley chopped (optional)

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• Cover chopped potato with water in a pot, add salt to the water and bring to a boil
• Boil until potatoes slide easily off of a sharp knive, about 10-15 minutes
• Heat a large frying pan to medium with the olive oil, once hot add the onion, salt and pepper
• Strain potatoes in a colander and stir them into the frying pan with the onion
• Mix in the rosemary, continue cooking stiring frequently with a spatula so potatoes don't stick to the bottom of the pan. Add more olive oil if the pan gets too dry
• Cook until potatoes start turning brown and crispy on the outside, stir in fresh parsley (optional) serve hot, enjoy!

Spicy Indian Lentil Soup

2008-03-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

For our family Easter dinner this year I cooked a big ham. I have been really excited about the possibility of cooking lamb for weeks. It's been a while since I've eaten lamb and Easter has always been a great time to indulge on a whole leg of lamb roast. But after going back and forth we all decided ham would work better for our Easter meal.

Well, I quickly got over the disappointment of a lamb-less Easter once I realized that, "hey, we're going to have a big ol' ham-bone left over"! That can only mean one thing for me: soup's on! You can laugh at me, but I really do get excited about this stuff! So now I just had to decide what kind of soup to make with the ham bone. After going back between cannellini bean soup, pasta fazoli, and cuban black bean soup I finally decided on lentil soup. Now some of you may be thinking "what's so exciting about lentil soup?". Well after just eating a bowl, I'm here to tell you, forget the lamb, forget the cannellini, this soup is the bomb!
Maybe it's that I haven't tasted the rich aromatic and savory flavors of Indian food in some time, but my taste buds had a wakeup call tonight and I remember what I love about food. I love food that makes you stand up and take notice. A good meal is "eventful" and leaves you buzzing about it after it's done. This soup did just that for me and the best thing is that it took me off guard.
Now I've got to warn you, this soup is not for everyone, it's got a lot of strong flavors from the ginger, gram marsala, cardamom, and it's on the spicy side, but hey, your mouth deserves a wake up call today!

Spicy Indian Lentil Soup
Serves 6-8

2 Tbsp vegatable oil
1 medium onion- chopped
3 cloves garlic- minced
2" piece of ginger root, peeled and minced
2 hot peppers(anaheim, jalepeno, etc..), seeded and chopped
sea salt and crushed black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Garam Masala (note: you can make this spice mixture, or buy it pre-mixed, but the fresher the better)
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cumin
1 bayleaf
1-15 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 cup frozen spinach- thawed
1 lb. dried lentils (dahl-red lentils or mung dahl-yellow lentils preferred) -washed and picked over
1 Tbsp sugar
8 cups filtered water
1 hambone with(or without) meat

plain yogurt (optional)
mint leaves (optional)

_
• Heat a large pot to medium high with the vegatable oil
• Saute the onions for about a minute, until translucent
• Stir in the garlic, ginger and hot peppers, sprinkle with salt and pepper
• Next mix in the garam masala, cardamom, cumin, and bay leaf
• Add the tomatoes, carrots, and spinach and sugar, and lentils, and the hambone stir together well, cook for about 5 minutes
• Stir in the water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally
• Once it comes to a boil reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 1 hour, loosely covered, stirring occasionally
• Discard the bay leaf and hambone- If your ham bone has meat on it, cut the meat off into bitesized pieces and return the pieces to the pot.
• Serve in a bowl with a dollop of plain yogurt and garnish with fresh mint leaves, or parsley (optional), Enjoy, (mandatory :-)

Ginger Lemon Chicken

2008-03-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

I've been playing with variations of this recipe on and off and finally found the right combination of flavors. This dish is Thai inspired, except that instead of using lemon grass, (which I can't find locally) I've used lemon, which isn't as subtle, but merges well with the ginger to give this dish a light citrisy taste which is characteristic of Southeast Asian cuisine.
This recipe calls for a peeled and julienned broccoli stalk, which some may find unusual. When I first started cooking I would cut off the florets and throw out the rest, but then I learned that the stem not only has nutritional value, but also provides a great taste and texture when prepared correctly. I recommend cutting off off the florets and save them for another dish, then peeling off the tough exterior of the stalk and slicing the rest into thin julienned (also called a matchstick) slices.
I've served this dish as a light lunch over a bed of lettuce and some fresh vegetables, and over basmati rice for dinner.

Ginger Lemon Chicken
serves 2-4

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast half's
Salt and pepper to taste
@2 tsp powdered ginger
1 lemon, cut into quarters

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion - chopped
@2 inch piece of fresh ginger root, julienned
3 cloves garlic- minced
1 Thai chile pepper or jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp fish sauce
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
1 broccoli stalk, peeled and julienned
sprig of fresh basil, or parsley (optional)

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• Place the chicken breast in a bowl, sprinkle it on all sides with salt pepper and the ginger powder, then squeeze the juice from one quarter of the lemon over it, place in a bowl, cover and refrigrate for at least 30 minutes (an hour or more of marinade time is preferable)
• Heat a large frying pan to medium high heat with the vegatable oil
• Saute the chicken breast in the hot frying pan, for about two minutes on each side, remove the chicken to a plate or cutting board and cut the chicken into bite sized pieces, set aside
• Using the same hot frying pan, drop in the onions and saute until translucent
• Next stir in the ginger, garlic and chile pepper
• Squeeze in one half of the lemon, taking care not to get any seeds in the pan (try squeezing over a fork)
• Next mix in the chicken broth, sugar and fish sauce (warning: the fish sauce may smell a bit strong at first, but don't worry it won't taste nearly that strong once it cooks a bit blends with the other flavors)
• Let this mixture heat up for a few minutes to almost boiling, then add the chicken (that we set a side earlier), broccoli and carrots, mixing all together well
• Continue cooking on medium high heat until the chicken is cooked through, stirring frequently
• Serve over rice or a bed of lettuce, squeeze the remaining lemon over top, garnish with chopped fresh basil, or parsley (optional), enjoy!

Swedish Apple Cake

2008-03-20T12:30:00.001-07:00

This breakfast cake can be considered a close relative to a pancake, Not only for its somewhat similar ingredients, but also for the fact that you pour the batter into a hot frying pan. I was immediately drawn to it as an alternative to the Saturday morning pancakes I make for my family every week. All three of my girls loved it, and asked for more. I found this recipe on Jill's Hey that Tastes Good blog last month and knew I had to make it! Here is Jill's original Swedish Apple Cake post I've changed mine slightly.
The other thing that I really liked about this recipe is that it reminds me of a baked pancake and apple dish my mother made back when I was a teenager, and there's nothing so compelling in taste as memory!

Swedish Apple Cake
serves 3-4

1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Salt to taste
1 tsp vanilla (or vanilla extract)
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour mix
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
3/4 stick of butter, melted
3 Tbsp applesauce
1/2 apple, cut into thin slices
Sliced almonds (optional)

Frying pan that can be placed in the oven (no rubber or plastic handles)

• Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and place it in the oven pre-heated to 350 degrees
• Mix eggs with the sugar in a mixing bowl
• Stir in the salt, vanilla and almond extract and melted butter
• Next mix in the flour mix, cinnamon, allspice, xanthan gum, then add the applesauce.
• Once the pan is nice and hot quickly remove it from oven and pour the batter into it, place the apples on the top and sprinkle with cinnamon, and put it right back in the oven for 30 minutes until puffy and brown.
• Let it cool for for five minutes, enjoy!

Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary and Feta Cheese

2008-03-18T07:46:00.001-07:00

I can't remember exactly where I got the idea to make this recipe, but it has been a favorite of mine and my brothers for years. I have made it for dinner parties countless times and it always comes out great. Pork and rosemary are a great pair, and the saltiness of feta cheese makes this an awesome dish. I'll often cook with dried rosemary, but this is one of those times where you'll need to pay a visit to your friend with the rosemary bush in the front year and snip a few good looking branches, (when they're not looking) Just Kidding! Or you can always suck it up and pay $3 for a few sprigs of it at the grocery store.

Although this may also go well over rice, I have always served it with roasted red potatoes tossed with rosemary and olive oil, and then covered them both with the delicious gravy that this recipe yields. One variation of this recipe worth mentioning is to include pieces of thin sliced Prosciutto ham with the Feta Cheese in the stuffing, talk about bursting with flavor!

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Rosemary and Feta Cheese
Serves 4

4 cloves of garlic- minced
2-3 branches of fresh Rosemary, chopped-up and stalks removed
4 Tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
2 lb. pork tenderloin
3 oz Feta cheese
tooth picks, or butchers twine

1 Tbsp cornstarch
water

Frying pan
roasting pan
meat thermometer

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• Mix together 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the the minced garlic, rosemary, and a liberal amount of salt and pepper on a small bowl
• Rinse off and dry the pork, and cut off any extra fat
• Butterfly cut the pork, creating a pocket (cut the pork 3/4 of the way though lengthwise so it can be stuffed) see picture
Take all of the garlic / rosemary mixture and rub it on both sides of the pork
• place the Feta cheese in the middle of the loin,roll up the pork using either toothpicks or twine to bind it - see picture
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees
• Heat a frying pan to medium high heat with the remaining olive oil
• Brown the pork on all sides in the pan (cook for about 1 minute on each side), keep the pan and the drippings to use for making gravy
• Place the tenderloin in a roasting pan (on a roasting rack if you have one) pour 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pan- (we will use this to make gravy later)
• Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the temperature in the center of the pork reaches 160 degrees. Important: Make sure the meat is cooked to at least 160 degrees!
• Once fully cooked let the roast cool for 5 minutes before serving and remove toothpicks (or twine)
• To serve, slice the roast in 1/2 inch pieces and drizzle with the gravy

Above: the roast is sealed with toothpicks.
Below: feta cheese is "stuffed" in the pocket

For the Gravy:
•Re-heat the pan you used to brown the pork, with the drippings, ad the drippings from the roast, and 1 cup of water, heat to medium high using a fork to remove the pieces stuck to the bottom on the pan
• Whisk together 1 Tbsp of corn starch with 1/2 cup of COLD water in a small bowl, slowly stir this mixture into the pan
• Bring to a boil while stirring constantly
• Once the mixture boils reduce the heat ,simmer for a few minutes and serve

Chicken and Rice Soup

2008-03-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

I woke up this Saturday morning feeling not quite right. I wasn't hung-over and I didn't feel any flu symptoms so I guess it is just a cold. I believe in the old adage, "feed a cold, starve a fever" so the first thing that came to mind was to feed this cold some chicken soup!

Over the past months I have been collecting all of the unused parts from the whole chickens that I buy in my freezer. So I brought them all out along with a whole chicken breast and made a big pot of chicken stock which I let simmer for 3 hours. I strained the stock two times and put in the fridge. Once cooled a layer of solid fat formed on the top, which was easily removed. I discarded all of the chicken pieces except for the breast. I removed the bones from it and "pulled" the meat from it, in other words, I tore off bite sized pieces to use in the soup.

I used to like to make chicken noodle soup with egg noodles, but of course egg noodles aren't just egg, they're made with wheat flour. I'd be interested to see if there is a gluten-free noodle that is similar, but I haven't seen any. I've used gluten free pasta as a substitute in chicken noodle soup before and was less than thrilled with the result, the pasta either falls apart completely or is too rubbery, either way it wasn't the texture I was looking for in a noodle. I've also made chicken soup with potatoes which I always enjoy. This time I've chosen to use basmati rice as the grain in my soup and the result was great.

Chicken and Rice Soup
Serves 4

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion- diced
2 stalks celery- diced
2 carrots- peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic- minced
Sea Salt and crushed black pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cup of cooking sherry (or other dry white wine)
8-10 crimini mushrooms- sliced
1 cup of broccoli- cut to bite sized
9 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of uncooked basmati rice
one whole chicken breast- cooked, skin and bones removed and pulled (or cut-up)
1/2 cup heavy cream

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• Heat a large stock pot with the olive oil to medium heat
• Stir in the onion, celery, carrots and garlic saute for a few minutes until the onion becomes translucent
• Add the Salt and pepper, thyme, parsley, bay leaves and the sherry
• Next mix in the Mushrooms and broccoli, cook for another minute or two
•Add the Chicken broth and turn op the heat to medium high, bring to a boil
• Once boiling add the rice, reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes loosely covered, stirring occasionally
• After 20 minutes stir in the chicken and cream, bring it back to a boil and then reduce to simmer for another 5 minutes
• Serve and enjoy!

Fun with Apple Pancakes

2008-03-10T09:24:00.001-07:00

Last week we got the latest edition of "Relish" magazine, inserted in our local newspaper. I usually browse through it to see what type of recipes they have and this week I was surprised to see gluten-free pancakes right on the cover in an article named "Going without the Grain". They have recipes for gluten-free buttermilk pancakes and chocolate chip cookies listed.

Saturday is pancake day at our house. Our pancake breakfast together is one of the few relaxing meals we eat as a family all week. I like making pancakes but I'm not much for making the same meal every week. So each week I look for ways to make them fun and different. Usually I ask my 3 year old daughter to guess what the "secret ingredient" is, she's a remarkably good guesser! Some of the "secret ingredients" I've used are: bananas, pumpkin, chocolate, strawberries, blueberries, nuts, and apples. I've also made several different types of flavored syrups and even heart shapes pancakes. This week I choose to make apple pancakes, but with a fun twist, I made pancakes in the shape of the first letter of everybody's name, and it was actually pretty easy. I have a great mixing bowl that has a spout for easy pouring that made it much easier to control pouring the batter. I used a spoon dipped lightly in batter to actually trace out each letter before I poured it. Once the batter was poured I was able to use a fork to shape and form the letters. I made the letters nice and big. The only difficult part was flipping the the pancakes without breaking them. I used two spatulas which worked pretty well. I had a few mishaps but was able to get one good letter for everyone, (five of us ate) and the mistakes tasted just as good! I used a recipe I came up with for apple pancakes and added a 1/2 tsp of xanthum gum to give them a bit more binding to hold the letter shapes better. Here is my apple pancake recipe...

Apple Pancakes
Serves 4

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free flour mix
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp arrowroot powder
1/2 tsp GF baking soda
2 tsp GF baking powder
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
salt to taste

3 large eggs- beaten
1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 of an apple- peeled, skinned and minced
1 cup milk

my 3 year old daughter was thrilled about her "M" pancake!

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• Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl
• pre-heat a skillet or pan (with a non-stick surface if you have it) to medium heat
• Mix in the eggs, melted butter (or vegetable oil) applesauce, and apple
• Next stir in the milk, mixing by hand until all of the ingredients are well blended
• Make sure the pan is fully heated, then coat lightly with cooking spray (or butter)
• Pour out each pancake to the desired size, flip pancakes when bubbles start to appear
• Once flipped cook for about two more minutes each
• Serve hot. (I like to keep my pancakes warm in a 200 degree oven covered with aluminum foil so they stay warm, and we can all eat together)
• Serve with butter, or syrup, or cinnamon sugar, or honey or however you prefer, enjoy!

Baked Polenta with Spinach and Feta Cheese

2008-03-05T14:39:00.000-08:00

I love to cook with spinach and use it quite often, occasionally it is necessary to only use fresh spinach, but I find more often frozen spinach makes a good and practical substitute. It's one of those ingredients that's full of vitamins and versatile enough that I can use for a variety of purposes, I always keep some stocked in my freezer.

I bought a few packages of feta cheese the other day and have been going a bit crazy with it. Feta is one of my favorite cheeses. It reminds me of all of the great Greek restaurants that I used to eat at when I lived in Buffalo, NY. It was this Greek cuisine that I had in mind when I created this quick and delicious Mediterranean dish can be served as a vegetarian main course or as a savory side dish.

Baked Polenta with Spinach and Feta Cheese
Serves 2 (as a main course)

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic- minced
1 cup of frozen spinach- thawed and drained (or @ 1 lb. of fresh spinach)
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
Salt and fresh grated black pepper to taste
8 oz of ready to use Polenta , (pre-cooked)
3 oz of feta cheese-crumbled
2 stalks of green onion- chopped
few sprinkles of grated parmesan cheese

6" x 9" baking dish
Aluminum foil
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• Heat a frying pan to medium high heat with the olive oil
• Saute the garlic for about a minute, then mix in the spinach
• Add the tarragon, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper, mix together and cook for 2 minutes, then put aside
• Pre-heat the oven to 350º
• coat the bottom of a 6" x 9" baking dish with butter or with cooking spray
• Place a 1/2 inch (2.5 cm) thick layer of the polenta on the bottom of the dish
• Spread on a layer of the spinach mixture over top of the polenta
• Sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese over top of the spinach mixture
• Sprinkle the chopped green onion over top of the feta, then finish off with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese and a bit more fresh grated black pepper
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes at 350º
• After 20 minutes remove the foil and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes (30 minutes total baking time)
• Let cool 10 minutes before serving, enjoy!

Curry Chicken Salad with Feta Cheese

2008-03-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

If it was up to my wife we would have chicken salad 4 nights a week, it's the one thing she seems not to get tired of eating. It order to keep it from getting old fast, I have tried several different chicken salad recipes. My favorite of these variations is curry chicken salad. I've enjoyed experimenting with chicken salads and have treated it less like a substitute for lunch meat and more like a hearty salad that you eat like a sandwich. I often like to serve slices of fresh apples on chicken salad, in this recipe I went ahead and mixed the apple right in with the other ingredients, providing for a sweet crunch.

One of the great by-products to making this recipe is a great chicken broth/stock (depending how long you boil it). Here is the link to my basic chicken stock recipe. After cooking this chicken breast I was left with four cups of flavorful chicken broth. I used most of it right away to make some basmati rice and I froze the rest in an ice cube tray to use later.

Curry Chicken Salad with Feta Cheese
Serves 2

1 half of boneless, skinless chicken breast- cooked
(if boiling the chicken, let it boil for a minimum of 25 minutes)
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 stalk celery, diced
1/ 4 cup onion- chopped
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/3 cup mayonnaise
dash of cayenne pepper
1/4 of a apple, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro- chopped
sea salt and black pepper to taste

@2 oz of feta cheese
4 - 6" corn tortilla shells (gluten-free)

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• Shred the cooked chicken breast into bite-sized pieces
• Mix the carrot, celery, onion, curry powder, mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, apple, cilantro, salt and pepper together well in a mixing bowl
• Toast the corn tortillas in a pan, oven, or toaster oven for about two minutes on each side until cooked
• Spoon the chicken salad onto the corn tortilla shells, (or onto bread slices) sprinkle with feta cheese, roll up the tortilla like a wrap, and serve!

Tomato Sauce with Eggplant and Spinach

2008-02-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite weeknight meals to make, it's quick, healthy, filling and delicious! I've made this dish with just spinach as well as just eggplant (it's also great with zucchini, or broccoli) but there's something Mediterraneanly pleasing to me about the taste and color of eggplant and spinach.

For those of you who are (or cook for) spinach haters, this is a dish that offers the healthy benefits of the green without an obtrusive, or bitter taste. I've served this dish to a spinach-phobic friend who told me that he, "actually didn't mind the spinach", a big step for him!

Like all pasta dishes, adding fresh basil at the end takes it to a new level, but if you don't have fresh basil on hand, (and just how many of us do on a weeknight in winter time?) just substitute 1 tablespoon of dried basil added with the other spices.

Tomato Sauce with Eggplant and Spinach
Serves 2-3

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion- chopped
4 cloves of Garlic-minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tsp sugar
Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1/2 of a medium to large eggplant (@ two cups)
1 cup of frozen spinach- thawed and drained
1/2 cup red wine
1-15 oz can of diced tomatoes
@ 3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
grated parmesan cheese to taste

Cooked Pasta (gluten-free)
__________________
• Wash the eggplant, discard the top and bottom. Lay it on it's side and slice it in about 1/2 inch round pieces
• Sprinkle all of the pieces liberally with salt on both sides, and drain for about 1/2 hour standing up, leaning against the sides of a colander
• Using a paper towel, dab away the moisture and salt from the eggplant slices
• Chop the eggplant into bite-sized (@1/2") cubes
• Heat a frying pan with the olive oil to medium high
• Add the onion, saute until translucent, then add the garlic, cook for another minute or two
• Next add the oregano, salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes (optional), mixing all together well
• Add in the chopped eggplant, stirring frequently to coat the pieces with the spices and olive oil
• Next add the spinach, mixing it in well
• Add the red wine, tomatoes and sugar, stir and bring to a boil
• Once boiling reduce heat to simmer and cook, uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Serve over cooked pasta, sprinkle with the fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese, and enjoy!

Crab Cakes

2008-02-23T19:49:00.001-08:00

There are several foods that I have missed eating since going gluten-free four years ago, but I've got to admit crab cakes just wasn't one of them. I've been in restaurants with friends who've ordered great looking crab cakes and never even felt a twinge of jealousy, unlike (for example) when someone orders a oven-roasted pizza!

Then the other day I was looking through a seemingly bare pantry and came across a can of lump crap meat sitting next to my new package of Orgran All Purpose Crumbs and suddenly I realized that I hadn't had crab cakes in over 4 years. The GF bread (actually rice) crumbs were a gift from my mother who bought them in Buffalo, NY, and sent them to me after reading my E ggplant Parmesan posting about not being able to find any. (thanks Mom!)

After verifying that Old Bay seasoning is gluten-free I was off and had the crab cakes ready to fry in under ten minutes. I was a bit worried about them falling apart during cooking, but had no problems whatsoever. I guess between the mayonnaise, eggs and gf bread crumbs they had more than enough binding power to hold them through frying and then some. I'm happy to report that the crab cakes came out great, after eating these I can honestly say that the next time I'm out at a restaurant and see an order of crab cakes pass by I WILL be jealous!

Crab Cakes
Serves 2

Olive oil- enough to make a shallow coating on the bottom of your frying pan
4 oz lump crab meat
1/4 cup onion-chopped fine
1 stalk of celery- chopped fine
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 large eggs- beaten
1/2 cup GF bread crumbs
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
__________________

• Heat a frying pan to medium high, coat the bottom of the pan with about 1/4 (or less) of olive oil
• Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl
• Using your hands, roll the mixture in your hands and then press flat, making patties (makes 3 or 4 patties, depending the size)
• Fry the patties in the oil for 4-6 minutes on each side, or until golden brown
• Serve hot and enjoy!

Sicilian Style Fava Beans

2008-02-20T10:06:00.000-08:00

When I began my gluten free diet, I started exploring food sources I hadn't used before, one of those was beans. There was a time when the only beans I cooked were in a pot of chili. Now I use them for soups, stews, salsas, salads, dips, and more! I like beans for several reasons; they are high in fiber and minerals, a great substitute for meat in a dish, provide great texture in dishes, they are really versatile and work well with many different flavor palates, not to mention that they are inexpensive!

I've got to admit that fava beans are one of the beans that I've had the least experience cooking with. While researching about them the other day I ran across a year old article on NPR.com: Fava Beans: A little Spring on your Plate the article talks about how fava beans (also called broad beans) are perhaps the oldest cultivated bean but is just beginning to become popular in the U.S. One reason that they haven't really caught on here may be the time-intensiveness of preparing them. For this reason I suggest buying shelled and split fava beans. There is nothing quite so tedious as shelling beans. The one exception to this would be if you can procure some fresh beans, then the shelling will be worth the effort.

The very first time I cooked fava beans was when I found them at the incredible International Farmer's Market in Decatur, GA. I brought them home and wasn't sure what to do with them. I thought of making falafel, but it seemed too involved at the time. Thinking of this bean being used in Sicilian kitchens inspired this recipe, which is basically cooking them in a tomato sauce until they become so soft, that they absorb all of the rich tomato flavors.

Sicilian Style Fava Beans

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion- diced
4 cloves if garlic- minced
1 stalk of celery- diced
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried basil
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
1 bay leaf
2 cups (before soaking) split and shelled dried fava beans, pre-soaked
1-15 oz can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
1 tsp sugar
2 cups beef stock (or chicken stock)
2 cups water
Salt to taste
_______________

• Heat a large sauce pan to medium-high, add the olive oil
• Saute the onion for a minute or two until it becomes translucent
• Stir in the garlic and celery, cook for another minute
• Add the basil, fennel seed, bay leaf, black pepper and crushed red pepper (optional), stir all together
• Mix in the pre-soaked beans, stir all together well
• Stir in the diced tomatoes red wine and sugar
• Add the beef stock and water, stir and bring to a boil-uncovered
• Once boiling reduce to simmer and cook uncovered for @ 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• If all of the water evaporates add a bit more until done cooking
• The beans are done once they are no longer crunchy, but soft.
• Serve over rice or pasta and a main course, or as a side dish. Enjoy!

Ground Chicken with Basil

2008-02-17T12:14:00.001-08:00

I Love Thai Food! After my first few times experiencing the fresh, spicy and intense flavors of Thai cuisine I couldn't understand why anyone would want to settle for typical Chinese food. If I remember correctly ground chicken with basil is the very first Thai dish I ever tasted. Back in the mid-nineties a co-worker was raving about a little Thai restaurant in Greensboro, NC. She would go every Wednesday to get the ground chicken basil lunch special. Finally I went and tried it and I was instantly hooked.

Cooking Thai food at home is not very difficult, but you have to have the right ingredients. Fortunately, Thai cuisine is one of those traditions that doesn't use wheat, except for in the soy sauce that is used occasionally. One of the reasons that Thai food tastes so fresh is because of an emphasis on fresh ingredients. Another characteristic of Thai food is that it is often cooked quickly at high heat. Typically it is not something you can walk away from while your cooking.

This recipe calls for ground chicken, I actually used whole chicken breast and chopped it into tiny pieces. Thai holy basil (bai gka-prow), is also called for in this recipe, but it is somewhat obscure and especially hard to find in winter time, so feel free to use whatever fresh basil you can find and this dish will still come out tasting fabulous.

Ground Chicken with Basil
Serves 2

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken- ground (or chopped small)
1/2 cup chopped Thai chili peppers-seeds and stem removed (other hot peppers can be substituted)
2 cloves garlic- minced
@ 1 cup of loosely packed fresh Thai holy basil, chopped (or fresh sweet basil)
3 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tsp palm sugar, (or 1 Tbsp granulated white sugar)

___________________

• Heat a frying pan to medium-high heat, add vegetable oil
• Stir the garlic and peppers together in the hot pan, cook until garlic begins to brown.
• Mix in the chicken and continue to stir non-stop for about 3-5 minutes, until all of the moisture from the chicken is evaporated.
• Stir in the Fish sauce and sugar, and basil.
• Mix all together well and remove from heat.
• Serve over rice, enjoy!

Heart-shaped pancakes

2008-02-12T12:39:00.000-08:00

In order to celebrate Valentine's Day early, I thought it would be fun to make heart shaped pancakes for the three girls (and woman) in my family. I used to have a great pancake sized heart cutout, but it got misplaced during our last move. I did manage to find two mini-sized heart cookie cutters. It made for some tiny pancakes, reminiscent of the "silver-dollar" pancakes I used to eat when I was little. In making these pancakes, I used my pumpkin pancake recipe and sprinkled them with chocolate chips, chocolate syrup and powdered sugar, which I told my 3 year old daughter was "magical valentine's sugar". Not that she needed to be enticed, she ate 3 mini-hearts and 3 full-sized pancakes and then asked for more, and this from a picky eater! I've gotten out-of the habit of always serving my pancakes with maple syrup. Lately I've been serving them with butter, a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, a combination that blends really well with the pumpkin. The trick to making pancakes with a cookie-cutter, is to fill it to just under half way up, so that when it rises it just about meets the top of the mold, also I sprayed the inside of the mold with Pam so it releases easily.

Happy Valentines day!

I've been Tagged!

2008-02-11T12:29:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged by Lea of leaisglutenfree.com.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here is my random information:

1. My first memory of food is eating canned sardines with saltines and black olives in my grandma's kitchen, I was around 3 years old, talk about salty!
2. I've more or less had a job continually since I was 11 years old when I quit a baseball team to get a paper route, within days of turning 16 (legal working age in NY) I had a job washing dishes and doing prep work at a restaurant.
3. I like to play basketball, volleyball, and street hockey whenever I get the chance.
4. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease when I was 34 years old. In that previous 34 years I drank more than enough beer and ate enough pizza to last a a lifetime!
5 I like gardening, but I only really love plants that I can eat (or cook with)!
6. I've never lived in a place where it was more than a short walk to either a convenient store or grocery store.
7.I didn't become a father until I was 34 years old and its the best thing that ever happened to me, (besides meeting my wife)! I am definitely still a kid at heart.

In return I'm tagging:

Steve from glutenfreesteve
Jill from heythattastesgood.com
Melanie & Liz from kill.the.gluten
Jeena from jeenaskitchen
Catherine from glutenguide
Ellen from iamglutenfree
Karina from glutenfreegoddess
Dianne from glutenfree-journey

Basil Pesto Sauce

2008-02-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

Fresh basil is absolutely my favorite herb! I always grow it during the warm months to have a few pinches of it to grace all of my pasta and Thai dishes. But whenever I get a hold of a big bunch of it I just think of one thing: Pesto! I think of pesto sauce as an inspired mixture of explosive flavors all designed to showcase the incredible basil. Usually I like to find bunches of basil at the local farmers market, but in the winter I'm stuck buying it at the local supermarket, where it's often wilted and expensive.

The other day my wife informed me that lately everything I've been cooking is "heavy". And she's right, I'm guilty as charged! I guess I've kind of been embracing the whole winter cooking feeling with soups, stews and casseroles, dark sauces and root vegetables. To combat this, she went shopping the other day she came back with a full container of good looking basil, and I knew what she had in mind, a little pesto to lighten up our kitchen (and just on time to correspond with 70 degree weather that's blown in to the Carolina's this week).
Pesto sauce can be used for a multitude of purposes, but my favorite an the simplest is just to toss it with some pasta. The best gluten-free pasta that I've found is Tinkyada rice pasta. It has a good, unobtrusive flavor and won't (like most GF pastas) break apart, even if overcooked.

Basil Pesto Sauce

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 whole cloves garlic
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

_______________________

• Spread the pine nuts on a baking pan and toast in a pre-heated oven at 325º (or toasted oven)for about 3 minutes or until slightly browned, shaking the pan occasionally. Careful not to let them burn.
• Pack the basil leaves into the food processor.
• Put the parmesan cheese, garlic cloves, toasted pine nuts and olive oil and crushed red pepper (optional) into the food processor.
• Blend all together in the food processor until well mixed, about 1-2 minutes.
• Use about two tablespoons pesto per serving of pasta, toss together,sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper and a little fresh grated parmesan cheese. Mangia!

Black Bean Salsa

2008-02-04T12:41:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make a good dip to eat while watching The Big Football Game this weekend. I first thought of the always delicious fresh salsa, or guacamole, but then I settled on black bean salsa, which is more hearty and seems to be a better match for the Buffalo Chicken Wings that I was also making. I've made several different variations on this salsa, including cooking it, but this simple recipe proved to be a winner. As with most salsas the most important thing is to use good fresh ingredients for a clean fresh flavor.

Black Bean Salsa
Serves 2-4

2 cups cooked black beans, or one-15 oz can cooked black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 Jalapeño pepper- seeds removed and chopped small
1 medium tomato- chopped small
1/4 cup fresh cilantro- chopped fine
juice of one lime
Salt and pepper to taste

____________________

• Mix the beans, onion, pepper, tomato and cilantro together in a bowl
• Cut the lime on half through the center and squeeze each half in to the mixture
(tip: squeeze over a fork or through a small sieve to keep and seeds from dropping into the salsa.)
• salt and pepper to taste
• (optional) if jalapeño peppers are too spicy for you use 1/ 2 of a bell pepper (de-seeded) instead
• Serve with corn tortillas, enjoy

Ginger Carrot Soup

2008-01-30T13:06:00.001-08:00

This is a soup that begins underground. Down there in the soil the ginger and carrot, (as well as the onion, garlic and potatoes) slowly absorb vitamins and minerals that make this soup so good for you. Amoung other things, ginger is great for the digestive system,a great benefit for those of us with Celiac Disease. Carrots also have numerous benefits, the most notable being that they help your eyes. I can remember as a kid eating carrots and then focusing on an object and actually believing I can see it clearer. Look mom it really works!
Packed with nutrition and flavor, ginger and carrots are one of those pairs that just naturally want to be together, each bringing out the best in the other. I hate to dispute the wisdom of the venerable Forest Gump, but peas and carrots ain't got nothin' on ginger and carrots!

In the making of this soup all of the ingredients are cooked and then they are run through the food processor. My advice here is to pay full attention when doing this to avoid hot blended carrot soup over every surface in your kitchen, something I did in the final stages of making this soup! It was remarkable how many places I found flecks of orange throughout the kitchen. I got myself so worked up cleaning up the kitchen that the only thing that finally relaxed me was a cup of this delicious soup!

Ginger Carrot Soup
Serves 4-6

2 lbs of carrots- peeled and chopped up
3"-4" inch piece of ginger root- peeled and chopped fine
1 large or 2 small potatoes - peeled and chopped
1 medium onion- peeled and chopped fine
2 cloves garlic- minced
2 stalks of celery- chopped
8 cups chicken OR vegetable stock
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cardamom (or 3-4 cardamom pods)
sea salt and coarse black pepper to taste

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• Heat a large pot to medium-high, add the olive oil
• Saute the chopped onion for about one minute, add the garlic, celery and cook for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring.
• Stir in the sherry, ground coriander, ground cardamom (or cardamom pods), bay leaf, Salt and pepper.
• Mix in the carrots and potatoes, stir all together well, cook 3 or 4 minutes.
• Add the chicken (or vegetable) stock stir well, bring all to a slight boil,
• Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 40 minutes.
• Strain the soup, reserving the liquid and solids separately. Discard the bay leaf (and cardamom pods if you used them)
• Put the solids in a food processor and mix until smooth, pour back in the same bowl with the liquid, mix together.
• Serve hot, enjoy!

Optional: Stir in 3/4 cup of heavy cream 35 minutes into simmering to make this a creamy soup.

Baked Layered Polenta

2008-01-24T14:17:00.000-08:00

Last week I took a trip to Trader Joe's to pick up some gluten-free products. I love their gluten-free rice pasta and their gluten free banana waffles which are inexpensive, and great for a quick breakfast. Among other things, I found a package of organic cooked polenta with a gluten-free label so I brought it home to check it out. Here is a link to a video review of the polenta. I have also used San Gennaro Foods organic polenta in the past. I decided rather than saute it like I normally would, I would bake it with Italian style vegetables. The result was reminiscent of a baked pasta dish, but with a more rich complex texture. Years ago I worked at an Italian restaurant, they sometimes served a very good polenta and sage appetizer. So I used this pair as a starting point. The sage got me thinking about other savory herbs, so I added fennel seeds, rosemary and oregano to give this dish the deep rich flavors I like so much in Italian casseroles and stews. I added some dried red pepper flakes which made this too spicy for the kids and my sister in-law (sorry!). If you (or someone your serving) is sensitive to spicy foods I suggest you leave out the pepper flakes. I will definitely make this one again!

Baked Layered Polenta
Serves 3-4

@12 oz pre-cooked Polenta (Trader Joe's comes in a 16oz tube)
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/3 of a medium sized eggplant
1 cup of frozen spinach- thawed or two cups fresh spinach
2 ripe plum tomatoes, or 1 large ripe tomato
4 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 onion - chopped fine
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp dried sage
1/4 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 Tsp dried red pepper flakes (optional)
sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

6" x 9" casserole dish
Aluminum foil

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• Cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch thick round slices. Sprinkle with salt, place in a colander and let sit for 40 minutes (to draw out moisture and bitterness)
• Heat half of the olive oil in a pan to medium heat.
• Add the onion to the pan, saute for a minute until soft.
• Add the garlic, sage, fennel seed, rosemary, oregano, basil, salt and pepper and the dried red pepper flakes(optional). Mix all together.
• Add the spinach to the pan, cook for 2 or three minutes. Remove the mixture from the pan, set aside.
• In the same pan, add the other half of the olive oil, heat to medium and saute the eggplant slices, for 2-3 minutes on each side. Set aside.
• Cut the tomatoes in to thin slices, set aside.

• Cut the polenta tube into 1/2 inch round slices, set aside.
• Pre-heat the oven to 350º
• Place a layer of the polenta slices(using half) covering the bottom of a 6" x 9" casserole dish.
• Take half of the spinach mixture and spread it evenly over the polenta layer.
• Using half of the sliced tomatoes, lay down a layer over the spinach.(see picture)
• Lay down a layer of the sauteed eggplant on top of the tomatoes.
• Lay down a layer of Mozzarella cheese (using half) over top of the eggplant.
• Using the remaining polenta, place another layer on top of the cheese.
• Spread the remaining spinach mixture in a layer over the polenta.
• Beat the egg in a bowl with 1/4 cup of milk, spread the mixture evenly over the top layer. • Lay down an even layer of the remaining Mozzarella cheese.
• Place a layer of the remaining sliced tomatoes over top of the cheese.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes, remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes (45 minutes total).
• Let cool 10 minutes before serving, enjoy!

Mexican Hot Cocoa

2008-01-21T08:24:00.000-08:00

We got some long awaited snow this weekend in North Carolina. It was the very first snow my daughters had ever seen and the first my wife and I had seen for at least 5 years, we were all very excited. My brother Scott came to visit and was right on-time bearing gifts of his newest chocolaty concoction; Mexican Hot chocolate. Sipping hot chocolate and watching the snow fall brought me back to my childhood, only now the hot chocolate is MUCH better! Here is his recipe:

Mexican Hot Cocoa

2 cups Powdered milk
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup GF baking cocoa
3/4 cups Nestle Coffee-mate powder creamer
1 tsp Chili powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
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• Sift all ingredients for easier mixing.
• Fill a mug 1/4 full with powder, mix well with hot water.
• Stir and serve with a cinnamon stick, or with whipped cream (optional)

Black-eyed Pea Soup with Wild Mushrooms

2008-01-18T11:49:00.001-08:00

This is one recipe that I would have never dreamed of cooking before I moved to the South. I honestly never had black-eyed peas or turnip greens (or any other kind of greens) until I was 25 years old. Black-eyed peas are supposed to bring good luck for the New Year. I've heard, and read several different versions of this, however, the one that sticks with me the most, is that black-eyed peas represent copper coins and turnip greens represent paper money; thereby bringing prosperity for the coming year. Some even say that you need to eat 365 black-eyed peas on New Years to guarantee good luck for every day! I really can't imagine eating 365 beans but I know that the result would be much less desirable than good luck!
Several years back I celebrated News Years with some friends at the beach, someone cooked up an awesome soup with black-eyed peas, collard greens and a ham hock. It was this soup that I had in mind when I bought some frozen black eyed peas and frozen turnip greens just before Christmas, intending to make this recipe for News Years Day. With the holidays being so hectic this year I never got around to actually making the soup until this past weekend. It proved to be a perfect soup to warm you up on a cold January day, with or with the superstitions! The earthiness of the black-eyed peas are complimented by the very earthy wild mushrooms, and the ham hock gives it a rich smoky flavor.

Black-eyed Pea Soup with Wild Mushrooms
Serves 4-6

2 cups of pre-soaked black-eyed peas (frozen or canned can be substituted)
2 cups of frozen Turnip Greens (16 oz package)
1 ham hock
@1/2 cup dried wild mushrooms
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium Onion- chopped fine
4 cloves of garlic- chopped fine
2 stalks of celery- diced
2 carrots- peeled and chopped to bite sized
1/2 cup cooking Sherry
4 cups chicken broth (or stock)
3 cups filtered water
1 dried chili pepper (optional)
2 bay leaves
1 Tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
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• Place the wild mushrooms in a bowl and cover them with warm water. Let them soak for @ 40 minutes, save the water.
• Heat a large pot to medium-high with the olive oil, Stir in the onions, cook for about one minute.
• Mix in the garlic, celery and carrots cook for a few minutes, then add the dried chili pepper, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix all together well.
• Next add the ham hock, sherry, black-eyed peas, turnip greens, and wild mushrooms along with the liquid they were soaking in. Mix together and let cook for two or three minutes.
• Now add the chicken broth and water, bring to a boil on high heat. Stirring occasionally.
• Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to low, keeping it at a low boil. Cook it like this, uncovered, for about 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Once done remove the bay leaves, chili pepper and the ham hock.
• Cut the meat off of the ham hock. Discard the fat and bone, cut the good meat into bite-sized pieces and return them to the soup. (optional)
• Serve and enjoy!

Real Buffalo Chicken Wings

2008-01-14T11:42:00.001-08:00

It's amazing the way that memory and food are connected. I remember the very first time I had chicken wings, it was around 1977. At that time their popularity was still growing and were the the talk of the town in Buffalo. While my grandmother was baby-sitting me and my brothers, she ordered take-out wings. I remember that they were "medium." Believe it or not I can still remember the initial sensation of tasting that wing. I even remember exactly where I was standing in my Grandma's apartment! (the thought of it is making my mouth water now!). The hot, savory spiciness of that wing was by far the strongest flavor that had touched my seven year old mouth. Within seconds I was breathing heavily, sticking out my tongue, and asking for water, only to eat another wing just minutes later. I can remember my brothers and me repeating this process, and running around pouring water on our burning tongues until the box of wings was nothing but bones. That same year the city of Buffalo declared July 29, 1977 the first official Chicken Wing Day.

Growing up we had "wings" often and when my brothers and I became old enough we all worked in restaurants where we cooked them nightly. We experimented with different ingredients and made our own versions of "suicidal" wing sauce, something you ask for in a Buffalo restaurant if you want to dare the cook to cause you possible permanent intestinal damage. At one point we all became such wing snobs that we wouldn't just go to a specific restaurant for wings, but we would go when we knew a certain cook would be on wing duty!

There aren't actually any gluten-containing ingredients in Buffalo wings, or wing sauce. The problem with ordering wings at a restaurant is that the deep-fryer being used for the wings is almost certainly being used for numerous breaded fried foods (chicken-fingers, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, etc...) as well, making cross-contamination to gluten almost certain. So now if I want to have chicken wings I have to find a clean deep fryer. Luckily my brother Scott has one, but he lives in a different city than I do, which means I don't get to have wings very often. So this past weekend when I stayed at Scott's house for the night I told him that I couldn't remember the last time I had wings, and since I have to leave in the morning why don't we have wings for breakfast? Being the gracious host, and wing-lover that he is, he immediately consented. The wings were great, but we opted for just plain hot, not our normal suicidal version, after all it was breakfast!

A few things about real Buffalo wings; they are always deep-fried in oil until crispy, never (ever!) baked. The ingredients may vary a bit but the main ingredients are Frank's Red Hot sauce (original), and butter, and never (ever) are they breaded. The wings should be served with celery, and/or carrots. The other component of this meal is blue cheese dressing, which for the most part is NOT gluten-free. I did a search and found that Lighthouse Foods Bleu Cheese dressing is labeled gluten-free, but I'm not sure where it's available. One more thing, I normally try to cook (and post) recipes that not only taste great but that are also good for you, this one hardly qualifies as healthy, but we've all got to indulge ourselves sometimes, and If I had a list of favorite food indulgences, this would make my top five!

Real Buffalo Chicken Wings
serves 2 or 3
This recipe makes medium wings, to make them mild or hot adjust the ratio of butter to hot sauce.

Needed: Gluten-free deep fryer with vegetable oil. I suggest cooking these outside for reasons of safety, cleanliness, and so your house won't smell like oil for five to seven days!

@ 20 chicken wings (actually half of a wing, with the tip discarded)
3/4 cup Frank's red hot sauce-original
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt to taste (optional)

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• Fill you deep fryer with enough oil to cover all of the wings, but leave enough room so it won't boil-over
(if your deep fryer isn't large enough make two batches with half of the wings)
• Heat vegetable oil to 360 degrees, if you don't have temperature gauge, heat to medium-high.
• Combine the hot sauce, butter, peppers and salt in a bowl or pan with a tight fitting lid, set aside.
• Carefully submerse the wings in the hot oil, stir them around so they don't stick to the sides, or to to each other.
• Cook for a total of about 15 minutes stirring occasionally, once they start to float to the top, let them cook for about 5 minutes more, until crispy and golden-brown
• "Shake" the wings of excess oil, or let them drain briefly.
• Put the wings into the bowl with the other ingredients, seal the top tightly, and shake well. Serve hot with celery, and carrots.

Good Old Baked Potato

2008-01-11T12:14:00.000-08:00

Before I had celiac disease I never thought too much about baked potatoes. They were just something you ate with steak. Then when I started my gluten-free diet, and for a time afterwards they became an island of safe fulfilling nourishment in restaurants overrun with gluten! When adding a baked potato to the cursory salad with bland meat it would actually make eating out somewhat tolerable. I'm a pretty big guy, and a big eater, and I've never really been satisfied with a meal unless there is some kind of starch to fill me up. Now I have more confidence in what to order in restaurants, and most restaurants are more aware of gluten-free diets so it is easier, but I still have a soft place for the good old baked potato.
I always keep a few baking potatoes in the pantry for when I get home hungry from a long day and I don't have the energy to muster up my usual culinary delights. Then I just reach for the potatoes and use them like a blank canvas, similar to the way I used to pick up two pieces of bread and look for something to fill them with. Last year I was watching the food network and was delighted by the showcase of a restaurant (I can't remember where) which served everything (or anything) on a bed of mashed potatoes. Dessert was a bed of mashed sweet potatoes covered in anything sweet. Since seeing that I now think of the baked potato in much the same way, with an invitation to fill it with whatever strikes your fancy. One of my favorite toppings has been leftover taco meat with cheese (of course). Some other things toppings I've enjoyed are, peppers and onions, corn, breaded fried chicken, black bean (or any other) salsa, cooked broccoli, grilled salmon, chili, ham, bacon, spinach, sauteed mushrooms, green onion, grilled eggplant, (almost any kind of) cheese, tomato sauce with parmesan cheese, butter and sour cream (of course) and any combination of the above. Don't for get the salt and fresh cracked pepper! Last night I had peppers and onions with corn, bacon and cheese (see above photo) and it was entirely satisfying! I really don't have a recipe to post here, but it you want one you can try BigSpud.com a data base of every type of potato recipe you could ever want.

Chocolate Waffles

2008-01-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I was preparing to make my regular Saturday morning pancakes, when I had a thought, Why don't I make waffles instead? It had been a really long time since I'd made waffles, and there was a good reason for that. The last time I attempted waffles I decided it would be OK to use the awesome waffle iron we got for our wedding, despite being used for "normal" waffles countless times. I carefully washed all of the cooking area and went through every crevice with a paper towel, wiping away any build-up. Despite all of this effort I still got sick after eating the waffles. Lesson Learned! Some things like pots and pans, dishes and utensils have never given me a problem, a waffle iron is just one of those items, like a toaster, that need to be "dedicated" gluten-free.
So now that I have my gluten-free waffle iron, I'm up and running again! Once I decided on making waffles I needed to figure what to put in it to "jazz it up". I rarely like to cook food that is normal or plain, I like to look for an ingredient that will make it special or distinctive, in this case chocolate did it for me! I remember a coworker recently talking about making chocolate waffles for dessert with powdered sugar and chocolate sauce. sounds great, but maybe not for breakfast! My recipe below is not too sweet or too chocolaty, but would make a fun weekend breakfast or brunch.

Chocolate Waffles
serves 4

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free flour mix
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp arrowroot powder
1/2 tsp GF baking soda
2 tsp GF baking powder
1/3 cup GF cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
salt to taste
1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 cup milk

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• Mix the GF flour, flax seed, rice flour arrowroot. baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, sugar and salt together well in a mixing bowl.
• Beat the eggs together in a separate bowl.
• Stir the eggs milk, and butter (or vegetable oil) into the dry mixture, mix all together well. If it's too dry you can add a bit more milk.
• pour the batter into your pre-heated waffle iron, according to the waffle iron directions.
• Serve with butter and syrup (or honey), or hot fruit, or chocolate and powdered sugar! Depending on how decadent your feeling! Enjoy!

Companies That Clearly label Gluten-Free Food

2008-01-03T10:39:00.000-08:00

One of the most intimidating things that I had to do when beginning my gluten-free diet years ago was to walk into a grocery store and try and figure out what to buy. I've spent up to a half hour reading and re-reading labels from every single brand for a particular item like tuna fish. I used to carry two or more up-to-date Gluten-free product lists, looking everything up. Over time I got to know which products are reliable, and which ingredients to look out for. I still look up products, but usually on the internet before I leave the house. I also take some chances with products I'm not certain about (something that drives my wife crazy).
The other thing that is hard to get a handle on is that the ingredients for products are always changing. For example I used to enjoy eating Stonyfield organic yogurt. We would always have it in the house since my wife and kids ate it as well. Then I heard from my mother that the ingredients changed and it may not be gluten-free anymore (although you can't tell from the label). Being naturally stubborn, I went on eating it and finally after a few unknown gluten bouts with my stomach I discovered the culprit, the yogurt (duh). Anyways, that's what makes the following list so beneficial to me, even if I don't remember most of the names it is helpful to have the names of dependable food manufacturers whom I can trust in my head, this is the type of thing that gives me piece of mind!

I got this list from my mother who got it from Mike of Gluten Free in WNY.

These companies will label gluten as wheat, rye, barley or oats. For example: modified
food starch (from wheat) or natural flavoring (contains barley).

• Aunt Nelly's • Libby's • Balance • Lipton • Baskin Robbins • McCormick • Ben & Jerry • Nabisco • Betty Crocker • Nestle • Blue Bunny • Old El Paso • Breyers • Ortega • Campbells • Pillsbury • Cascadian Farms • Popsicle • Celestial Seasonings • Post • Country Crock • Progresso • Edy's • Russell Stover • General Mills • Seneca Foods • Good Humor • Smucker • Green Giant • Stokely's • Haagen Daz • Sunny Delight • Hellman's • T Marzetti • Hershey • Tyson • Hormel • Unilever • Hungry Jack • Wishbone • Jiffy • Yoplait • Knorr • Zatarain's • Kozy Shack • Kraft- makes Oscar Mayer, Jello, Breyers and many other brands.

Layered Vegetable Baked Pasta (gluten-free Vegetarian Lasagna)

2007-12-28T11:05:00.001-08:00

Now that it's officially winter I'm thinking more and more about baked and roasted dishes. And one of my all-time favorite baked dishes is lasagna. I could eat lasagna three times a day and not get tired of it, (and have!). The only trouble is getting a hold of gluten-free lasagna noodles. I've seen and used them before, but most stores only carry gluten-free- penne, spaghetti, and sometimes rotini. Not a big deal, I simply substitute a layer of penne pasta for the lasagna noodles. It still tastes great, the only downside it that you can't officially call it lasagna.

Last night I got home from visiting the in-laws for Christmas. I was tired and was planning to heat up some left overs, but while taking inventory of my fridge I found an eggplant that would soon be on it's way out if I didn't use it soon. That got me thinking. Next I found some ricotta and mozzarella cheese, and that was all the inspiration I needed to cook up a tray of baked goodness!

First I made a simple tomato sauce, here is a link to my recipe. link to my recipe. If you don't have time you can used a good jar of sauce. I recently used Classico sweet basil sauce and it wasn't too bad. I made this dish with eggplant, green peppers and spinach, but you could also use zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, or just about any other vegetable that strikes your fancy. Or you can substitute 1 lb. of ground beef seasoned with garlic and onions for the vegetables to make it a meat lasagna.

Layered Vegetable Baked Pasta (Gluten-Free Vegetarian Lasagna)
Serves 3-4

8 oz GF Penne pasta
2 cups tomato sauce
olive oil
12 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 small eggplant (or 1/2 large eggplant)
1/2 large green pepper, cut into bite sized strips
1 cup frozen spinach OR 3 cups fresh spinach
1 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp fennel seed
Salt and pepper

5" x 9" x 2.75"(deep) baking pan

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Preparation:
• Wash the eggplant and cut it into @ 1/4 inch round slices. Salt each side of the eggplant and lean each piece against the side of a colander to drain for 40 minutes.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the GF pasta until not quite done, strain and set aside.
• Using paper towels wipe away the moisture and salt from each side of the eggplant, sprinkle the eggplant with pepper, dried basil, and oregano. (about 1 Tsp of each)
• Heat a frying pan with @ 2 Tbsp olive oil to medium, saute the eggplant, cooking for about 5 minutes on each side add more olive oil of the pan gets too dry.
Put the cooked eggplant aside, in the same hot pan heat another Tbsp of olive oil. Add the green pepper strips, and sprinkle with the remaining, dried basil, oregano, parsley and fennel seed as well as salt and pepper to taste. cook for 2 or 3 minutes.
• Stir the frozen spinach in with the pepper and spices, mix all together and cook until the spinach is fully thawed (if using fresh spinach cook until all is wilted). set aside.
• Mix the egg in a bowl, add the ricotta cheese and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, mix all together well.

Assembly:
• Preheat oven to 350º
• Using a 5" x 9" x 2.75"baking pan assemble the layers in the following order.
•1/3 of the tomato sauce
• 1/2 of the pasta
• 1/2 of the spinach/pepper mixture
• 1/ 2 of the cheese mixture
• 1/2 of the eggplant laid flat
• 1/3 of the tomato sauce
• Remainder of the pasta
• Remainder of the spinach/pepper mixture
• Remainder of the cheese mixture
• Remainder of the eggplant laid flat
• Remainder of the Sauce
• top with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

• Cook covered at 350º for 30 minutes covered, cook an additional 15 minutes uncovered.
• Let it cool about ten minutes before serving. Mangia!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-23T16:16:00.001-08:00

Christmas picture of our girls! My talented wife, Lynley came up with this concept and took the pictures and I did the photoshop work. It took four separate photos to make this picture work.

Almond-Apricot Stuffing

2007-12-21T10:25:00.001-08:00

The holidays are a difficult time to be Gluten-free! Everywhere I go there seems to be piles of cookies, cakes, pies, candy, and more cookies. A few years ago I would have simply had two or three of everything! Now I glance over to see what I'm missing and see if, by chance someone has left some fruit out! Sounds really lame, I know. The one consolation is that I now weigh 30 lb. less than what I did before I went on the gluten-free diet. 30 lb. of weight that I didn't need, all from to cookies, cakes, pizza and beer!

As someone with is greatly restricted as to what I can put in my mouth during the holidays it is a consolation that there are some things that I can eat and will taste just as they should, thankfully stuffing is one of those things. I made this recipe for thanksgiving this year and no one suspected it was gluten-free. I've always liked fruit in stuffing, in the past I've used apples, pears, or dried cranberries, but there is something special about dried apricots, they are intensely sweet and bursting with flavor. These days we are told not to stuff our turkeys because of the risk of bacteria, but there's nothing like stuffing cooked right in the bird. If you choose to stuff the turkey just make sure to use a thermometer to insure that the temperature in the center of the bird is at least 170 degrees F.

Almond-Apricot Stuffing
Serves 6-8

1 loaf Gluten-free bread
8-10 dried apricots
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup chicken (or Turkey) stock
1/2 cup white wine
2 stalks celery- chopped fine
1 medium onion- chopped fine
3 cloves garlic- minced
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp white pepper (or black)
2 Tbsp fresh parsley (or 1 Tbsp dried parsley)
1 Tsp dried tarragon
1 Tbsp chopped Fresh Sage (or 1Tsp dried sage)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
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• Separate the slices of bread, place them on a pan uncovered and leave them out overnight, or few a few hours.
• Cut the dried bread into about 1/2 inch cubes, set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350º
• Heat a large pan to medium heat, melt the butter, but don't let it burn.
• Stir in the onion, garlic and celery, saute for about one minute.
• Mix in the apricots, sage, parsley, tarragon, salt and pepper. Mix together well.
• Add the chicken stock and white wine, bring to a slight boil.
• Mix the bread cubes and almonds, stirring and coating them with the liquid and seasoning.
• Transfer all to a roasting pan, cover and bake in the oven at 350º for 45 minutes, serve and enjoy!

Happy Holidays!!!!

Split Pea Soup

2007-12-18T06:25:00.001-08:00

We've been enjoying some unseasonably warm weather lately. Last week we broke several high temperature records here in Raleigh, NC with a high of eighty degrees! Well that all changed this weekend when the cold and wet weather set in. That's all the reason I needed to cook up a nice hot pot of soup, split pea to be exact. It's hot, hearty and bursting with flavor. You can find split peas in the grocery isle with the dried beans, but unlike the other dried beans, these don't have to soak before cooking, making this much less time-consuming than other bean soups. This recipe may also be a good use of the post-holiday ham bone that sits unused in most peoples refrigerators. I've added potatoes to this to make it even more hearty and filling, this is definitely a "soup that eats like a meal".

Split Pea Soup
serves 4-6

1Lb. dried split peas- rinsed and picked through for debris
2 Tbsp olive Oil
3 cloves garlic- smashed and chopped fine
1 medium onion- chopped fine
2 stalks celery- chopped fine
2 carrots- skinned and cut to bite-size
1 medium potatoes- skinned and cut to bite-sized
1 bay leaf
1 Tsp sea salt- or to taste
2 Tsp Pepper
1 Tsp dried Thyme
4 whole Cloves
1 Tsp Jamaican Allspice
1 Ham hock - or ham bone with meat
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups filtered water
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• Heat olive oil in a large pot to medium, stir in onions, cook about a minute until soft.
• Stir in garlic and celery, cook for another minute, add the salt, pepper thyme, cloves, bay leaf, allspice and ham hock.
• Add the rinsed split-peas, and carrots. Heat and mix all together well
• Pour in the chicken stock, water and potatoes, bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
• Once boiling reduce heat to to a simmer, cook uncovered for 1 hour stirring occasionally.
• Remove Bay leaves, 4 cloves and ham hock. Remove the meat from the ham-hock, cut to bite size and return it to the pot (optional)
• Take about 1/4 of the total soup and run it in a food processor or blender until smooth, return it to the pot and stir all together, serve.

Simple Tomato Sauce

2007-12-13T10:34:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things to eat is good old tomato sauce over pasta. This past Sunday I made my dad's sauce. The recipe was passed down from his grandfather to his father, my dad continued the tradition. I always make this sauce on Sunday's when it's cold out while watching football in the background, that's exactly how my dad made it. Growing up we ate his tomato sauce every Sunday during the cold months (most of the year in Buffalo, NY!), and the leftovers on Tuesdays. This is a sauce that needs to cook for a minimum of 6 hours. When it's done it is worth every minute, but who has time to cook a 6-8 hour sauce? Having said all that I'm NOT going to post the recipe here, (I've got to reserve some secrets!) But I will post a delicious, simple and quick homemade tomato sauce with fresh clean flavors that is much better than the sauces you can get in a jar.

Simple Tomato Sauce

15 oz can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic- chopped fine
1/ 2 cup onion- chopped fine
1/3 cup red wine OR cooking sherry
1 Tsp sugar
1/2 Tsp pepper
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp fresh basil- chopped OR 1 Tsp dried basil

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• Heat a pan to medium-high, add olive oil.
• Add onion, saute for a about 1 minute. stir in garlic, salt and pepper, and dried basil, cook for another minute (if using fresh basil it doesn't go in until the very end)
• Mix in tomatoes, wine, and sugar, bring to a boil.
• Once boiling reduce heat to low, simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Serve over rice or corn pasta, sprinkle with fresh basil, and parmesan cheese, enjoy!

Asian Style Ginger Vegetables

2007-12-10T09:29:00.001-08:00

There is no comparing fresh ginger to the powdered ginger you can get in the spice isle. Powdered ginger definitely has its place in cooking and baking, but the young fresh root (actually a rhizome) is indispensable in Asian cooking. When using fresh ginger I use a vegetable peeler to just barely remove the tough exterior skin because the most tender part lies just beneath. When choosing ginger at the store look for one that is crisp with smooth, unblemished skin.

Using authentic ingredients makes a real difference when cooking Asian food, and making gluten-free Asian food requires even more specific products. Using normal soy sauce is out! Many people don't know that soy sauce is brewed with wheat, it is far-from gluten free. I once got into a argument with the elderly owner of a Thai restaurant over whether or not there was wheat in soy sauce, he kept telling me "there is only soy in it", finally I said, "OK, whatever you say, just please don't put any in my food!" I've used a few different products as a soy sauce substitute, but by far my favorite is San-J's Organic Wheat Free Tamari. It is very similar to soy sauce, just a bit thicker and darker.

I love to "play" with different Asian flavors, spices and vegetables. I've made this recipe several times with sight variations, but the following seems to work the best. I'm recommending using green cabbage but, red cabbage is great as well but it can turn the entire dish purple.

Asian Style Ginger Vegetables
Serves 2

@1- 1/2" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp Tamari, or GF Soy Sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
1 tsp white (or black) pepper
1 Tsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp peanut oil
1 cup of green peas (thaw if using frozen peas)
1 cup fresh carrot, julienned
1 medium piece of zucchini, julienned
1/2 cup fresh green cabbage, julienned

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• Heat a frying pan to medium-high, pour in peanut oil
• add the onion, cook until soft (about 60 seconds), stir in the garlic and ginger and pepper, cook for another minute or so.
• Mix in the Tamari, chicken broth, and brown sugar, bring to a slight boil.
• Add the peas, carrots and zucchini, reduce the heat to medium low, cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the cabbage, cook for another 90 seconds.
• Serve hot over rice (I recommend basmati) as a main course, enjoy!

Roasted Eggplant Hummus

2007-12-05T10:54:00.001-08:00

I hate to post two recipes with the same ingredient back to back, but I feel compelled to by my sheer love for the eggplant! Known as Melanzane in Italian, a word derived from the Latin mala insana, or "mad apple" because it was originally thought to be poisonous, being a member of the nightshade family which includes the deadly belladonna and jimson weed.Technically the eggplant is a Fruit, due to the fact that it has seeds. if you want to learn more about eggplant check out this link to vegparadise.com, for more information than you will ever need.

In the process of looking up more information about eggplant I found out that in some middle eastern cultures eggplant is so prominent that it can be served in every course. In one story a foreign visitor in a Middle Eastern country, after eating a large meal asked for, "just plain water, if you please, without eggplant." Which brings me to my recipe for today, a marriage of two middle eastern staples; eggplant and chickpeas: roasted eggplant hummus.

Hummus makes a great appetizer or snack, it's inexpensive, quick and easy to make. Hummus has large amounts of iron and vitamin C, It also is a good source of protein and dietary fiber. I've got to admit that not everyone loves hummus, it seems to be one of those "love it or hate it" things. Some people are crazy about it there is even a blog only about hummus! The first time I heard of it was when I was 17 years old and I was working at a health food stand called The Juicery in the middle of Delaware park in Buffalo. It was part of my job to mix huge batches of Hummus. We served it on pita bread with feta cheese and an awesome Miso dressing (which I would kill to get my hands on!) I worked at the Juicery for two years and never liked the hummus at all, and frankly didn't understand it, or why anyone would like it. Well luckily my experience with food and my palate has grown since then, and I've come to appreciate it for the rich and tasty food that it is.

Roasted Eggplant Hummus

1 15 oz can chickpeas- rinsed and drained OR 2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled, and chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley OR 1tsp dried parsley
fresh eggplant

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• Wash Eggplant, lay sideways on the cutting board, remove the stem and cut 5 or 6 thin round slices (1/8")
• Sprinkle salt and pepper and rub olive oil on each side of the pieces, place on a baking rack and place under the broiler for about 3-4 minutes on each side, remove before it burns. Set aside.
• Combine all of the ingredients, including the eggplant in a food processor.
• Run the food processor, until all of the ingredients mix together, if it's too dry to turn add a little water until it processes.
• Serve with corn chips or potato chips or fresh veggies, enjoy!

Eggplant Parmesan

2007-12-03T09:19:00.001-08:00

One ingredient that is hard to cook without is bread-crumbs. I have only had gluten-free bread-crumbs one time, I haven't been able to find any since. I have tried to make them from dried-out gluten-free bread, but it never worked well. I wasn't about to let a lack of bread crumbs keep me from having breaded fried dishes like chicken parmesan and one of my favorites, eggplant parmesan! In place of the bread-crumbs I used a combination of dried herbs, fine-graded parmesan cheese and my secret ingredient, potato chips! Last night when I made eggplant parmesan I went to the deli section and bought three, one ounce bags of plain Lays potato chips, I crushed them up right in the bag before mixing them with the herbs, spices and cheese. We had company for the meal, and they never suspected that they had anything besides normal bread-crumbs until I told them after the meal. I would be curious to find out if anyone out there has used other bread-crumb substitutes successfully? Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, but it needs to be prepared correctly or it can be bitter and mushy. After washing and cutting the eggplant (into 1/2" thick circular discs) I always sprinkle salt over both sides, and stand them on end, leaning against the side of a bowl to drain for at least 30 minutes. Doing this pulls out the bitterness of the eggplant and drains off excess moisture, preventing it from becoming mushy.
I like to serve my eggplant parmesan over a bed of pasta with a homemade tomato sauce, with fresh grated parmesan cheese and fresh basil. However it's good without the pasta and with sauce from a jar (if you must) as well.

Eggplant Parmesan
Serves 4

2 medium Eggplants
1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
3 eggs
Olive oil

2 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp granulated garlic (or garlic powder)
2 Tbsp Dried parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
@ 3 oz plain potato chips- crushed fine
1 Tbsp black pepper
salt to taste

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• Wash the eggplant, discard the top and bottom. Lay it on it's side and slice it in about 1/2 inch round pieces.
• Sprinkle all of the pieces liberally with salt on both sides, and drain for about 1/2 hour standing up, leaning against the sides of a colander, or leaning against the outside of a bowl on the cutting board.
• While the eggplant is draining, mix together the basil, oregano, garlic, parsley, parmesan cheese, crushed potato chips, salt and pepper in a large bowl, set aside.
• Pour the 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour into a dish, set aside.
• Beat together the eggs in a bowl, set aside.
• Using a paper towel, dab away the moisture and salt from the eggplant slices, set pieces on paper towel.
• Now we'll set up a "breading station" line up the flour plate, eggs, and bread-crumbs in that order, Dip each piece of eggplant in the flour, covering it, then in the eggs, covering it again, and then place in the bread-crumb bowl, sprinkling the bread-crumbs over each side, set each piece aside on a plate. Repeat the same process for all of the pieces.
• Heat about 1/2 inch of olive oil in a pan on medium until its hot. carefully place 3 or four pieces of breaded eggplant (depending on the size of the pan) in the hot oil. Cook on one side until the bottom becomes golden brown (about 3-5 minutes). carefully flip the pieces over and cook for a few more minutes until the other side becomes golden brown. Once done place on a plate with a paper towel to drain the excess oil.
• Repeat process with the remaining pieces of eggplant, replenish and reheat the olive oil between batches as it will absorb into the eggplant while cooking.
• Serve with tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, and/ or over Gluten-free pasta and MANGIA! (Eat! - in Italian)

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

2007-11-28T10:09:00.000-08:00

This recipe is easy to make and it is a good one for kids, there is something about kids and french fries! We often make these fries for lunch for our children. They taste really great and are actually good for you. I used to fry the sweet potatoes in oil, they taste awesome this way, but they aren't as healthy, and frying anything in my kitchen makes the whole house smell like a fast food restaurant for days! At our house fries are always served with ketchup (my wife and kids wouldn't have it any other way), but another serving suggestion would be to melt a little butter and stir in some honey and dip the fries in the mixture. I've had it this way in restaurants and it tastes great.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries Serves 2
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise (like steak fries) -see picture
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp white pepper (or black pepper)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tsp basil
1/4 Tsp oregano

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• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil in a large bowl.
• Mix the rest of the ingredients together, coating the sweet potatoes with the olive oil and spices.
• Lay out the fries in a baking pan in a single layer. Place in the oven uncovered.
• Bake the fries flipping them over every ten minutes for 40 minutes or until potatoes turn golden.
• Sprinkle with a little extra salt and serve with ketchup, or according to your taste.
Note: the fries won't really get crispy, but they will be delicious!

Delicious Brussels Sprouts?

2007-11-26T09:41:00.001-08:00

I cooked for a dinner party Saturday night and we had a great time. My father-in-law said the blessing before the meal, Here is an excerpt, "...bless this food we are about to receive, even though brussels sprouts are a part of it!"

I think that most people share his sentiment about brussels sprouts. My brother told me that they are so good for you that they have to taste bad. When I was growing up we had them once a week because they were my father's favorite vegetable. My brothers and I never liked them because they were always taken right out of the freezer, cooked hard and put on a plate with some margarine (ugh!). I think one of the worst things that has been done to brussels sprouts is to have them available frozen, or canned (yuck)! The absolute best way to get this vegetable is right off of the stalk. Be careful not to over-cook them which tends to cause the sulphur-like taste that many people find undesirable.When cooked correctly they should have more of a nutty flavor.

The recipe that I made Saturday night was given to me in passing by a co-worker, and it turned out excellent. After serving it I got some great compliments, including "these are the best brussels sprouts I've ever had" and "I never knew brussels sprouts could taste like this." Even my father-in-law had a second serving, and that's saying something!

Balsamic-glazed Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta
serves 4

Ingredients:
1/4 Lb. sliced Pancetta (Italian Bacon)
1 Lb. whole Fresh Brussels Sprouts
1-1/2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup chopped Green Onions
Salt and pepper to taste
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• Cut the bottom off of the brussels sprouts and remove the tough outer leaves
• Bring a pot of salted hot water to a boil. Once boiling drop the brussels sprouts in for 4 or 5 minutes. Strain and put aside.
• Cook pancetta on both sides in a pan on medium-high, cook until until crispy.
• take pancetta out and place over a paper towel to drain. Once cool, crumble, or chop it up and set it aside. Save the remaining liquid/fat, leaving it in the pan.
• Bring the same pan back up to a temperature of medium-high, and toss on the brussels sprouts. Cook for a few minutes, coating the brussels sprouts with the liquid, add salt and pepper to your taste.
• Mix the balsamic vinegar into the brussels sprouts, cook for about 4 more minutes.
• Transfer the brussels sprouts into a serving bowl, toss with the crumbled pancetta, and green onion. Serve!

White Wine Apricot Sauce over Sauteed Beef

2007-11-23T09:08:00.003-08:00

The other day we went to stay with a friend out of town and arrived late. Being thoughtful she knew we would be hungry when we arrived so she left a huge strip steak to thaw on the counter for us. It looked great but I wasn't sure how to cook it. My first choice would have been to grill it, but no grill was available. I also could have broiled it, but instead I trepidatiously choose to fry it in a pan, using the juices from the pan to make a sauce to cover it with. I looked around the kitchen for the makings for a sauce and found a big bag of dried apricots. I remembered I once worked at an Italian restaurant that made a chicken dish with an awesome apricot sauce, so I decided this was the way to go. I don't know if its the deep orange color or the sweet-tangy flavor, but here is something about the apricot that just seems to capture the harvest season for me.

I think I first had dried apricots when I was just a toddler, its one of the foods that remind me of my grandmother who first taught me to cook. I vaguely remember her making something like an apricot glaze or frosting for a cake with them, but most fondly I remember eating them right out of the bag. A few months ago I brought a bag of dried apricots for the purpose of making a sauce with them, but ended up eating them as they were. Next time I buy dried apricots I'll be sure to buy plenty for cooking and for eating plain!

This is a simple sauce with a rich and fruity flavor that's not too sweet, it would be a great compliment for chicken or pork as well. I served this over a bed of fresh spinach for a low-carb late dinner, but it would go very well over rice, or with sweet potato.

White Wine Apricot Sauce over Sauteed Beef
Serves 2

@1 Lb tender cut of boneless steak (pork or chicken can be substituted)
6-8 dried apricots- chopped small
8 oz white wine
2 cloves garlic- chopped fine
1/2 onion - chopped fine
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tsp corn starch
few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
sprinkles of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
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• Sprinkle the meat on both sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a dash of GF Worcestershire sauce, let sit for about 20 minutes before cooking.
• Heat a skillet to medium heat, add olive oil
• Saute meat until roughly cooked half way through, about 10 minutes depending on thickness, flip over in the pan.
• Add the onion and garlic to the pan, saute for two minutes. Add the chopped apricots, about 6 oz of the wine and salt and pepper to taste, mix around, incorporating the scrapings from the bottom on the pan.
• Cook the meat until done, for beef you can cook to how done you like (I prefer medium-rare), for chicken or pork be sure to cook all the way through. Remove to a cutting board.
• Whisk the remaining wine in a bowl with the corn starch, stir until there are no lumps. Stir into the pan. Bring to a slight boil, and reduce to simmer. Stir occasionally for a few more minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. remove from heat.
• Cut the meat into 1/3" long slices, drizzle the sauce over top and serve.

Eggs in a Basket

2007-11-21T10:17:00.001-08:00

This fun and quick little breakfast is a variation on over easy eggs, this is definitely comfort food! I like eggs over easy but don't really enjoy them without bread to dip in the runny yokes (the best part!). This morning I remembered that I made Gluten-free pancakes the other day and had a few left over so I decided to try them with with the eggs. I cut a hole in pancakes and fried the eggs snug in the hole. Along with a strong cup of Sumatran coffee this made for a tasty and satisfying breakfast!. This would also be great with syrup.

Eggs in a Basket
serves 1

2 gluten free pancakes (GF waffles or bread can also be used)
Butter
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
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• Heat frying pan to medium, butter the pan.
• Cut a hole about 2" (5 cm) in diameter in the middle of each of the pancakes
• Place the pancakes on the pan, break an egg into each hole, salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook for about 2 minutes, them flip the pancakes using a spatula.
• Cook for about 2 more minutes, or until done, serve hot and enjoy!

Baked Acorn Squash stuffed with Bean Salsa

2007-11-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

After reading Gluten-free goddess' blog about acorn squash I got inspired to finally cook the acorn squash that was starting to gather dust on my counter. Her recipe looked awesome, but somewhat complicated, and as usual I didn't have a lot of time with two little ones running around my legs.
I sometimes make bean salsas to go over my baked sweet potatoes, so I thought why not over an acorn squash? Also this seemed like a good paring since beans go well with with brown sugar, and brown sugar is a natural with acorn squash. I made this last night and brought it to work to eat for lunch. As I was heating it up I was getting eager to see if it would be a success or a failure. Well I'm eating it now (on my lunch hour) and I'm pleased to announce that it's as good as I hoped! I just wish I had taken a picture of it before I ate it because it was so colorful, but I really didn't know it would turn out so good!

Baked Acorn Squash stuffed with Bean Salsa
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 Acorn Squash
Butter

1 Jalapeno pepper- de-seeded and chopped fine
1/2 sweet onion - chopped fine
1 tomato - chopped small
1- 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans (or one can of beans - rinsed and drained)
1-1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
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Directions:
• Preheat oven to 350º
• Cut the Squash in half in so that the top and bottom are on separate half's.
• Scoop out and discard the seeds using a spoon.
• Place the squash open side down, on a baking dish in 1/2 inch of water.
• Bake uncovered for 35 minutes.
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•Mix the jalapeno pepper, onion, tomato, beans, cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl, set aside.
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•After the squash is cooked drain the liquid,
•Turn the squash open side up and put a few pats of butter (or to taste) on each piece.
•Scoop the salsa over the squash, return to the oven for 15 minutes and serve.

Chipolte Tacos

2007-11-15T11:08:00.000-08:00

Tacos have become a staple of the American diet. What once was purely a Mexican food has practically become an institution. In many homes "taco night" is a once a week tradition. Kids love them, they are easy to make, and they are fun to eat!
I first came across the chipotle pepper (pronounced Chee POTE lay) at the international farmers market in Atlanta. I was looking for a pepper that would give me lots of flavor with out too much heat. Chipotle have definitely got the flavor! These are actually jalapeño peppers that have been smoked. They have a rich smoky flavor that infuses into the foods they are cooked with. A word of warning though these peppers are hot (considered medium on on the Scoville scale). I love spicy food, but my children don't. Therefore, for cooking tacos, I remove the seeds and then only use half of the pepper. I've had some trouble finding these peppers in North Carolina, the only place I've found them so far is World Market.

Chipolte Tacos

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground Beef or Turkey
1/2 onion-chopped fine
2 cloves garlic- minced
1 Chipotle pepper cut-up fine- (remove seeds or use 1/2 pepper to reduce spiciness)
1 tsp lime juice
3/4 cup water
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Optional ingredients:
1 cup of cut corn
Several sprigs of chopped fresh cilantro
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Serve with:
Corn Tortillas, either soft or crunchy
Chopped Lettuce
Diced tomato or Salsa
Shredded cheese
Sour cream
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Directions:
• Put ground meat in to a medium sized, pre-heated pan(medium heat), cook the ground meat until brown on both sides.
• Transfer the meat to a colander and rinse it with warm water (to rinse away all of the fat)
• Return the rinsed meat to the pan and add the water, onion, lime juice, garlic and chipotle. stir and cook for a few minutes until the onion is translucent.
• Add the ground cumin, oregano, cinnamon, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir all and bring to a boil.
• Add cut corn (optional)
• Reduce heat to simmer and cook @ 10 minutes. let cool a few minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro (optional).

•Serve in corn tortillas with the lettuce, cheese, sour cream, tomato and/or salsa or however you enjoy your tacos!

Interesting Information...

2007-11-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

I recently met a woman at my local grocery store who was stocking up on Gluten-free cereal. She shared some really interesting information with me. She said that her daughter was diagnosed with Celiac disease. After that she went ahead and had her whole family tested including all three of her kids, her husband, and herself. They all tested positive for Celiac! No one in her family had known anything about Gluten intolerance previously.

She went on to say that her sister works at the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center. They have some recent results from studies in Europe that indicate that as many as 30% of the population of some countries may be affected by Celiac Disease!!! Can you imagine that! Now, I don't know how accurate this information is, but just think of the implications of these numbers. Ten to fifteen years ago it was thought 1 in 10,000 people were affected, then about five years ago they determined that 1 in 133 people had Gluten intolerance, but to think of 30% of the population is mind-shattering, it makes me want to go out and open a gluten-free restaurant chain! These type of numbers would also vindicate my mother who thinks anyone who has an illness that lasts more than a few days should get tested for Celiac disease (love you mom!).

The other piece of information that the woman from the grocery store shared with me is that the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center will send out a free Gluten-free care package to anyone recently diagnosed, including food samples and information about how to start a gluten-free diet. Here is the link to apply.

Corn Tortillas with Peanut Butter and Banana

2007-11-10T12:31:00.000-08:00

I've stopped keeping Gluten-free bread on hand. I use to stock up on it, but I would never use it. In the back of my mind I was probably thinking that there would be some kind of mass shortage! The cost of a loaf of gluten free bread has also made it less desirable for me. My attempts at baking bread haven't gone so well, and I don't have a bread machine. The whole experience has led me to re-think bread and what its purpose is. The purpose I seemed to miss the most was to hold together ingredients that I wanted to eat in my hand and be portable, in other words a sandwich! Gluten free breads seems to lack the consistency to do this well. So I decided to use soft corn tortillas. You can buy them at most stores and they are a great alternative for holding my sandwiches together, converting them into delicious wraps. I do recommend that you look into the brand you use. I currently am using Tam-X-ico's! White Corn Tortillas, by La Bonita Ole' (in the refrigerated section) which are good and inexpensive. Before that I tried Ole' Corn Tortillas, by Ole' Mexican Foods (in the non-refrigerated section) and they made me sick.

If I need to eat something "on the go" or for a quick snack I reach for the bag of corn tortillas I keep in my fridge. With these "wraps", I've made just about every kind of sandwich one can think of. However my favorite is peanut butter and banana. It is rumored that Elvis flew from Memphis to Denver in the middle of the night once to get a good peanut butter and banana sandwich! Although I can't say I would do the same I can understand stand his passion for this tasty treat. Unlike Elvis I don't fry mine in bacon fat, therefore it is actually good for you, and kids love them. I eat these in the afternoons at work to give me a boost of energy and fight off cravings for the bowl of candy bars calling to me. I usually make two of wraps, the recipe below yields one wrap.

Peanut Butter and Banana on a Corn Tortilla Wrap

1 round soft corn tortilla
1 Tbsp peanut butter
1/4 of a banana
@ 1/2 tsp of honey
@ 1/4 tsp cinnamon

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Toast the corn tortilla in a toaster oven for @90 seconds, or on a hot pan for @60 seconds on each side. Place the peanut butter in the center of the tortilla. Cut the banana in half and then cut in half again lengthwise. Place a quarter of the banana in top of the peanut butter. sprinkle with cinnamon an drizzle with honey. Tuck in the two sides of the tortilla and roll it up loosely (see picture above). Serve and enjoy!

GF Peanut Butter Cookies

2007-11-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

This recipe is probably the easiest gluten-free cookie you could make, and arguably the best! In my book you just can't beat peanut butter and chocolate! Remember the old Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial from the 70's "your peanut butter got into my chocolate! You got chocolate in my peanut butter!, Mmm, delicious! (que announcer) Two great tastes that taste great together!" -haha I love it!

I think I first got this recipe from the G.I.G. (Gluten Intolerance Group) I was a part of when I lived in Atlanta. It's not intimidating for my non-celiac relatives to make these for me when I visit because there's no messing with Gluten-free flours, (a daunting prospect for even the most accommodating friend or relative!)

I prefer to use less chocolate chips and two eggs, but I'll post the recipe as I originally received it. As you can see from the picture, my 3 year old is a huge fan of these!

GF Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup Peanut Butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)
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Pre-heat oven to 350º. Mix all together in a mixing bowl. Stir well. place teaspoon sized "dollops" on a baking pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool and serve.

Pumpkin Pancakes

2007-11-05T11:58:00.000-08:00

I usually like to make pancakes for the family to sit down and enjoy together on Saturdays. I always add some type of fruit to the pancakes. This weekend (after finding out that pumpkins are fruit!), I was inspired to make pumpkin pancakes after reading this posting
on gluten-free-blog.blogspot.com

Being a bit tired (before my first cup of coffee) I pulled out a bag of trusty Bob's Red Mill GF pancake mix. I followed the recipe and added the following:

• 1 cup pumpkin (baked 30 min at 350º and chopped fine), or 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour

The pancakes were quick to make and came out awesome.