"Tannenbaum" (Rosemary-lime) Dressing/Sauce

Apparently we can't have a Christmas tree of any kind (even plastic), as Dave's feelings of pines is tainted from his roommate experience of a bug-infested tree a few years ago. They smell so nice though, see how happy it made us girls!

I don't know about you but I could use more time this month (still two more people to shop for and haven't gotten the cards written yet). So during the busy-holiday (and other crunch times) I think the most useful recipes are sauces, because you can just try them on anything after their original recipe.  Like this dressing recipe from Food.com I tried at my folk's place after I saw they had a giant bag of limes from Costco with the green beans as originally meant.

Side-tangent, but speaking of Costco, on trip last week, at the Mission Valley location, I noticed they started carrying Rudi's gluten free bread in the fridge/freezer section. I don't think it is dairy free, and like Udi's, they use sunflower/safflower oil which won't work when I start the detox. But gf bread that you can eat without toasting is like a Christmas miracle. Also in the fridge section I spied some gluten-free, dairy free pre-made cookie dough! (it did have soy).

 A week after coming back from my visit with mom and pop, my co-worker had filled the basket near her cube with limes.  Recipe re-cycle time! Instead of basil, I ended up using about 1/4 cup of the rinsed leaves from fresh Christmas-tree like rosemary (did you know you can take an unused sprig and stick it in a pot of dirt to grow your own herb? Thank you old roomie, Jeff.) I guess that is a close as I can get to having a tree this year.

 

2 tablespoons lime juice  (about 1-2 limes, roll them on counter before cutting for easier juicing)
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed 
1/4 cup (or to taste) of fresh rosemary leaves
1 dash salt and pepper

Put all ingredients in a blender. Spoon over anything that needs some zip! See my examples of use below.

• Try it as a taco sauce. Worked great on a white fish.
• Make a bean (I tested chickpea) and roasted celery salad.
• Tossed with chickpeas, quinoa and steamed escarole (looks like lettuce but bitter when raw, pictured above)
• Works fine as a salad dressing too! Complemented the smoked salmon, dried cranberries, beans and toasted squash seeds (yes, sometimes I save my winter squash seeds for consuming)

 Have you ever tried fruit cake and is it as bad as it seems to be?

Holiday Crunch time-Quick Macaroons, Ethiopian Cabbage & Tomato Paste Fish

Sorry for a delay in posting. After getting sick AGAIN after just 3-ish months,  I'm just trying to catch up with holiday and day to day activities...the annual card making, gift brainstorming, decorating the living room/cubicle, shopping for Toys for Tots drive,  practicing for the holiday concert, whipping up food for holiday parties (if you like coconut,  you must try this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie! A nice soft, chewy, quick vegan macaroon cookie recipe). Cooking for myself I used cabbage from the CSA box in an Ethiopian veggie/dairy-free and gluten free way-just two spices and a few cheap chopped veggies thrown in a pot with water or broth. Excellent busy-times meal.

I was well enough on Friday to go to December Nights at Balboa Park with Danny, Vietca and Dave.We had never seen the San Diego History Center (huge murals from the government sponsored art time and other items from gold mining days, and I learned San Diego had fishing camps for Japanese...had no idea) and the stellar hand bell ensemble was playing there. Dave and I looked at each other both thinking the same thing, Winston on New Girl. It's hard to find gluten-free, vegetarian eats at the event, but I settled with a big cheese papusa with the pickled cabbage and snagged some of Dave's kettle korn. I would have been hungry if I was on my detox.

I wanted to use up some of the tomato paste I had opened for the Ginger Beer baked bean recipe I tried out (he rest I stuck in the freezer and made a note in my Out of Milk App with the date-I reduce what gets forgotten this way and it helps with meal planning. Check out freezer food storage times and defrosting tips from Oprah's interview. ) My go to tomato paste user-upper is an enchilada sauce, but I wasn't in the mood for Mexican last week.

CREAMY TOMATO-COCONUT SAUCE for BAKED FISH
Adapted to be dairy-free from Yummly's database.

2 cups plain, unsweetened Coconut milk (found in refrigerated section, sold in half-gallon cartons or in alternative milk section quart cartons)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 small onion, grate/finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
salt to taste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 lb fish fillets (used a firm cod)

Pre-heat the oven to 425F.

Heat all ingredients except fish on stove in a saucepan over low until yeast flakes melt and use a whisk to break up the tomato paste.

Put into an oven-safe casserole dish with fish.

Bake at 425F for 15-20 minutes until fish flakes.

Notes for improvement: I might add one more tablespoon of tomato paste and also pre cook the onions since they were still crunchy. Though...I did not have the will power to get teary over grating, so I only chopped them.I guess not finely enough.

Notes for serving: I ate mine in a bowl and mixed in some squash-potato gratin for extra texture. This saucy dish seems like it would go nicely over quinoa or another grain. Or pasta as I think Yummly uses.

Are you bringing an old favorite or a new dish for any holiday parties? Have you found any wonderful gift ideas you're willing to share?

Potatoes Revenge and mystery squash

Potatoes from the work potluck still sit waiting to be used...and then came Ginormica the Squash at Thanksgiving. One of the aunties who grew her, cut  up pieces for many of the families. Dave's sis, Sarah, said her entire-cake sized slice was going to be more than they could handle. So how could I refuse giving a veggie a loving home?

Upon investigation at home, my plans for making squash bread went piff. The meat of  squash was almost transparent like a cucumber but did not have the cucumber flavor and not quiet as juicy. I have no idea what kind of squash this is-it reminded me a little of the texture of chayote squash ("muppet") which you can eat raw like cucumber or microwave and eat like a baked potato!

I added 1/2" by 1/4" chunks of it to my onion, egg and beet greens fried rice--not soy-free, unfortunately I have not made it a priority to try making a soy-free soy sauce.

The second recipe I went back to trusty Heidi's 101 Cookbooks after Googling watery squash recipes or was it just squash gratin? Anyway this recipe is killer. #1 It heats up your cold house because you use the oven. #2 You use up 1.5 lbs of squash (her's calls for summer squash...which I have learned is more a name for texture/cooking uses rather than when squash are available...I still see zucchini in November at the farmer's markets-anyway it worked great with Ginormica) #3 The citrus zest is adds some special zazzle  #4 the recipe seems easy to make dairy and gluten free. As I move away from dairy, I would love to try this with coconut oil. I tweaked the recipe ingredients just slightly with what I had on hand:

Preheat oven to 400F.

PREPARATION A-put zest in lightly oiled gratin dish or glass baking pan about 7x11, then salt the squash slices in a colander for 15 minutes.
zest of two small limes
1.5 lbs of squash cut into 1/6" slices
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt

PREPARATION B HERB SAUCE to make while squash sweats; stick everything in blender or food processor.
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup another herb (today used 3 self-made ice cube tray dill cubes)
1 large garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt
pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup water


 PREPARATION C:  melt butter over medium in saucepan until it browns, let sit 2 minutes and add crushed chips; Toss Prep A, 2/3 of Prep B and Prep C (leave one cup butter chips to sprinkle on top) together in a large mixing bowl. Put into the baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining chips and bake 40-50 minutes until potatoes are cooked through. Then add the rest 1/3 of Herb sauce on top.
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups crushed tortilla chips (one 101 Cookbooks suggestion was to use crushed nuts as a gluten-free option.)
1/2 pound of potatoes cut transparently thin

I split up the preparation one night and baking another night. I called my roomie to let the dish sit on the counter for 2 hours to avoid putting very cold glass into a hot oven and then baked an extra 15 minutes.

What is your favorite new food that you tried this year?

Boil 'em, Mash 'em, put 'em in a stew-Potato Recipes

As much as I love shopping at farmer's markets, I didn't plan far enough ahead to hit one before a mid-week potluck. So, I bought a 10 pound, $3 sack of carb-a-licious-ness at the local grocers and only ended up using half of that for the mashed potatoes and half of what was made had to be brought back home due to the overwhelming amount of food at the party. I got spuds coming out my ears! Luckily potatoes are a blank canvas of endless possibilities. For this past week and into next week I did these 3 recipes: Aloo Gobi (changed to use broccoli and peas), mashed potato patties & baked bean soup.

RECIPE #1

 Vivid little gems! The yellow tomato is a low acid variety I got from one of the vendors at the La Jolla Farmer's market on Sundays.

 I really just eyeballed the amounts, this is all the broccoli I got after splitting the box with my CSA partner. Hence, adding peas for additional vegetable power!

 The finished product. One of my favorite Indian food recipes because the spice list is not overwhelming.

Sort of Aloo Gobi (using broccoli and peas instead of cauliflower) adapted from Indobase.com
makes about 5 side servings

3 small broccoli florets and stems, rinsed and chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup frozen peas
4 potatoes (chopped into 1/2" pieces, about 2.5 cups)
2 small tomato (about 1.5" diameter), 1 large tomato; coarsely chopped
1 tsp tumeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp ground coriander
salt to taste
2 tsp olive oil

Heat oil in large sauce pan on medium heat. Add broccoli and potatoes to cook for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. 

Add all other ingredients except frozen peas. Cook 5 more minutes or until potatoes can be easily pierced by a fork. Add frozen peas and cook a couple minutes until heated through.

I ate this as my starch and veggies with turkey loaf patties this week from the Runner's Feed website.

RECIPE #2

 
Leftover Mashed Potato Salmon Patties (can leave out salmon for vegetarian)
 Makes 4 patties

Start by heating up a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Put 2 tsp of oil of your choice in.

In a medium microwavable bowl, I started with 2 cups of my leftover mashed potatoes (dairy-free, made with plain unsweetened carton coconut milk from Costco and seasoned with olive oil blended up with chopped cilantro leaves and garlic) and after I reheated them slightly, added an egg to hold it together. You may be able to use a "flax egg" for this but I haven't tested it yet. Mixed in about 1/2 cup of Daiya brand cheese to add a buttery taste, and if you eat fish, add 1/2 a cup of flaked salmon too for extra flavor. I used canned, but I imagine smoked would be extra dreamy. I made the patties from 1/2 cups of the mix.

Brown your patties for about 3 minutes per side and serve hot.

I ate this for lunch with Jayne's egg drop and fish ball dumpling (gluten free ones at Ranch 99!) soup and then for breakfast the rest of the week.


RECIPE #3

Ginger Beer (the store was all out of bottled rootbeer!) instead of typical brown sugar for a vegetarian protein at the Thanksgiving table. 

 Not surprisingly, I had a lot of beans leftover from Thanksgiving. That crowd isn't too adventurous, though I think the one other vegetarian was pleased to have another option to munch on...or maybe every one was afraid of the bumbling around the family in this case. So I planned to make this soup inspired by my mom's cooking and sister telling me she made a version of it the other week. I planned ahead pulling some frozen home-made stock from the freezer before. Not a photogenic soup, but hearty and comforting for the season.



Ginger Beer Baked Bean Soup 
about 4 servings

3 cups baked beans, I used Baked Bean recipe from Epicurious (slightly modified below)
Homemade or store-bought Veggie stock: 3 cups
333 grams raw potatoes (about 2 med-small potatoes) chopped into 1/2" pieces
163 grams (about 4 stalks/leaves) of celery *

Put 1/2 cup broth in a large saucepan to simmer on medium-high. Separate celery stems and leaves. Chop celery stalk into small 1/4" pieces. Add to simmering broth to cook. Cook 5 minutes.

Chop potatoes and add to pot. Simmer 8 more minutes. Add additional broth if needed. You can pierce the potatoes with a fork but they are still firm.

In a blender add the rest of the broth , celery leaves and 2 cups of baked beans. Blend to desired consistency
.
Add blender ingredients to the pot of potatoes and celery. Bring to a boil and then simmer on med for 25 minutes until celery and potatoes are desired softness.

*Next time I would use less celery or a different root/stalk veggie since I am not a big celery fan. Celery overpowers the sweet bbq flavor.


Ginger Beer Baked Beans from Bon Appetit
Makes 8 servings
 

3 1/2 cups chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained

1 1/2 cups root beer (preferably artisanal)

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/07/root_beer_baked_beans#ixzz2DIEj9K17

 2 cups chopped onion (2.5 small onions)
2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
4 15 oz cans cannellini beans (white kidney), drained and rinsed
1.5 cups of Ginger Beer (cane sugar preferred)
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cups root beer (preferably artisanal)

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/07/root_beer_baked_beans#ixzz2DIFRUmkc

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/07/root_beer_baked_beans#ixzz2DIEj9K17

Pre-heat oven to 400F.

In large (oven proof if you have) saucepan heat the oil on medium-high. Add the chopped onions. Stir, cooking until browned. About 8 minutes.

Add garlic and stir, allowing to cook 1 minute.

Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to boil.

Place saucepan into the oven if oven-safe or transfer into a large glass pan (I used 9x 13) and cook for 30 minutes.

Enjoy with BBQ food or use it to make the baked bean soup.

What is your favorite Thanksgiving leftover recipe? Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions?

On a random note, Shades showed me this musical video last night and I can't stop thinking about it. The characters look like bean and vegetable shapes (butternut squash on the right?), adorable! Love the kidney creature's dance..but seroiusly, BE SAFE FOR THE HOLIDAYS! 

3 1/2 cups chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained

1 1/2 cups root beer (preferably artisanal)

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/07/root_beer_baked_beans#ixzz2DIEj9K17

CSA Planning, how I minimize waste

Steps to saving $$$, a typical food planning week.

I have a good variety of friends, some who eat out very often (for various reasons) and others who are quite seasoned in the kitchen. This entry is dedicated to the folks who tell me they wouldn't be able to do a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box because they don't feel creative enough OR do have CSA but are bothered when they have to throw some of it away. My box helps me eat out less, not let the cookbooks be dust collectors and stumble upon others' fun, beautiful blogs, and certainly eat more veggies.

1. Make list of what is received in the box:
Lettuce
Beets
Kale
Tomatoes
Escarole
Sunflower Greens
Carrots
Cilantro
Watermelon cucumbers
Broccoli

2. Make notes for ideas next to each item and find a recipe on your CSA's  website, your favorite book or magazine, blog or website or make one up...

• consider what ingredients you already have
•  if you feel daring to make any substitutions so you don't need to buy as much and
•  what you need to pick up at a store

 If you have no idea on recipes just try typing in two or three of your ingredients in Google and see what comes up. You may be surprised at what others have already tried!

Lettuce-salads, tacos, Vietnamese spring rolls (use w/cilantro)
Beets-root for salad, tops for fish soup recipe from Mario or veggie curry?
Kale-steam w/lemon juice and sesame seeds
Tomatoes-salads, tacos, simple bean soup from Oh She Glows
Escarole-Saute with pre-made black bean sauce(not soy free, need to try making one up) and fish
Sunflower greens-salads
Carrots-tops I will try to put in curry; root use in simple bean soup and curry
Cilantro-make sauce for salad or tacos (Woot! New cute blog found called Healthy Blender Recipes -OINK! I cut the oil in half and opted no egg in the Cilantro Mayo recipe); add to mashed potatoes for potluck at work
Watermelon cucumbers-add to salad and/or escarole for black bean sauce fish
Broccoli-steam to have with assumed leftover mashed potatoes with smoked salmon patties OR make aloo gobi substitute for cauliflower OR add to salad

3. Consider which days this week are slow paced or busy, check recipes for prep and baking time. Settle on your meals that fit your schedule and estimate number of servings for each if not known, this gets easier once you have some cooking hours under your belt and determine how much your serving size is (and the other people you may be feeding).

Salad (quick)-4
Tacos (quick, have pre-mixed spice mix)-2
Bean Soup (soak dried beans overnight, boil 45 mins) -4
Curry-4 (soaking dried mushrooms overnight)
Black Bean Fish (quick) -2

4. I use a whiteboard to write the step 3 info down  and then insert into an app on my phone to write out which days I plan to make, then eat or freeze things on before they would go bad. I note if I have made lunch or dinner plans with anyone. If they contain an ALCAT mildly sensitive item that I put on rotation, I try to space things out the recommended four days or plan to freeze it if possible.

5. Enjoy your efforts-fatten your wallet and trim down on sodium, fat, sugar or whatever you need/want to pay attention to.

During rehearsal tonight, a passer-by-er let us know that someone had left their dome light on in their car. What was the last random act of kindness you witnessed or participated in?

Here fishy, fishy! (45 minute-baked whole trout with herbs with 3 sides ideas)

I tend to purchase my fish so that it does not resemble the animal. But the seasonal Idaho trout (fresh, not frozen), already gutted and cleaned from the farmer's market said "take me home" through its bitty pointed teeth. If you can get past the eyeballs and all, this makes a nice low maintenance weekday meal. The vendor suggested that some lemon slices and fresh herbs tucked into the fish would be an easy, healthy meal. Just place in a baking pan, wrapped up in parchment paper at 350 F for 30-35 minutes until the fish flakes easily.

Fresh dill and lime slices flavored my fish. After it was done baking, it got seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. Be careful of the bones...especially trout, such delicate little things.

So, I am not aware of how to serve a whole fish elegantly. (too lazy and hungry to find an instructional video) Some day soon I should make myself an artful dish.

First serving I ate with green beans with a bragg's amino, honey, garlic and olive oil marinade leftover from my london broil earlier in the week.

Second and third serving were eaten with some diced tomatoes that were cooked about 10 minutes with onions, fresh herbs, a bit of salt and sugar to taste and some pan steamed lemon-juice sesame seed chopped frisee.


The last serving, I ate with shredded butternut squash pancakes from Food Wishes' blog  and carrot top pesto (a dairy free concoction in a blender: carrot greens saving stems for another recipe as they are too woody to blend, 1/2 cup toasted pinenuts done at low 300F for 3 minutes in the toaster oven-easy to burn so watch them nuts!, 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup olive oil and enough water to make pesto to desired thickness, add salt if desired to taste)

s

With the bones, head and tail, I threw in a pot with some onion, carrot and kale stems and herbs to simmer for an hour in a small pot and made 3 cups worth of stock. I should have bundled it all in cheesecloth (which can be really hard to find if it's not near Thanksgiving. I better go stock up now since the only store very convenient to me that I could find it in closed down [Ralph's]) but I just used a mesh strainer for now. Later in the week, I made a corn-beet greens chowder with the trout broth with nutritional yeast and topped with cut up scallops. Added 1 tsp of cumin and 1/2 tsp of tumeric for flavor and cheery color.

The joys/challenges of cooking for 1...trying to keep something interesting when it makes 4 or more servings. Different sauces and the freezer are allies in these efforts.

Speaking of things that swim, my co-worker R recalled the days when Sea World had trainers in the shows in the water, being tossed up by the animals. He said but now the "big ol' fish" can't do anything like that. To which R squared replied, that is a  "lactating fish, brotha!" Gotta love biologists. What live entertainment show has changed/gone away that you miss?

October 2012 Discoveries

October's Discoveries

1. GF/Dairy free Zucchini bread Betty Crocker Adapted (less sugar, no eggs use flax) worked! I could pick up a piece without it crumbling and it baked all the way through (sometimes flax "eggs" don't seem to set). I think summer squash season is still happening in SD-lots of varieties still at farmer's market last Sunday.

2. Zucchini dip is very refreshing- http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2011/08/04/when-food-bites-back/

3. I heard from an online article that you can do microwave popcorn in a brown sack without adding oil-my experiment lead to only 50% yield and cannot repop in same bag (burnt, sorry co-workers! maybe if popping in a new bag?). Will stick to making it at home on the stove in oil. Although I have been messing that up lately too-poor yield and burnt. I used to make it so great. Need to keep a notebook of what temp to use on my stove...3 was no good! Maybe a little hotter?

4. H mart Korean Market is coming to Mira Mesa (sometime, not listed on their website yet as a location)

5. Potluck with Abby in celebration of her being here for an optometry rotation. People were kind and brought lots that I could eat. Goat cheese stuffed mushrooms from Jayne.  Dave cooked up the crowd-pleaser Fresh and Easy happy meat ground beef tacos. Allie picked up a wonderful macadamia nut crust lemony coconut pie from Jimbo's, Fresh and Easy carries Glutino bagel chips, great with their hummus platter which another customer promptly told Shellyn "yes they are!" after the grocery staff said they would have to find out if they were g-free. They also carry no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies that are g-free (yay, Don! And he even brought my requested Vietnamese tofu spring roll. What a pal!) [Abby: "What's a no bake cookie?" Aw, hump day exhaustion.]

6. Lemon grass tofu with noodles better than with rice at Pho Bahn Mi in Mira Mesa.

7.Not food related but handy to know... Southwest lets you turn a "Wanna Get Away" fare into a voucher good for a year if you cancel before your flight boards. My family visits this month were dashed.

8. Jayne gives the Japanese Garden cafe at Balboa Park 2 thumbs up for an udon noodle bowl on a cool drizzly afternoon before we saw Allegiance at Old Globe. 

9. Marukai puts their deli food at 20% near closing...$6 tuna-avocado roll and $1 something for little fried sesame balls. I get there around 8:30pm sometimes after volunteering. 

10.  Thai curry mussels at Takrhai Thai in Poway still taste good. Glad we went on a weekend for lunch so Peter could try them. The M-F lunch menu doesn't have them.

Indian Culture & Vegan Snack-Lighter Pakora's

Ate at Bawarchi Dosas in Miramar area with Kristina this month. I just love Southern Indian for offering Chinese dishes on the menu as well as having some bread-like items that are often made from lentil, chickpea or rice flour (I will always miss naan but this makes up for it).

 Kristina kept getting distracted by the odd dance videos playing on the TV screen behind me. The man mainly gave Zoo-lander-esque looks as he pauses from his Ricky Martin type dancing the in rain routine at a club. The woman sadly stares at him from across the room and a glistening tear rolls down her cheek. Her hair whips around in the wind.   He steps down and walks ever so slowly towards her while putting on his sunglasses (in the club). The other thing that we noticed is that the man and woman in each video never actually kissed. Cultural value? I did a little reading on BBC.

 Aside from having bouts of laughter, we were adventurous and tried Masala Papad (note: order yummy yogurt based mango lassi drink to go with this mouth numbing crispy lentil-based appetizer.)  I have seen papads at Fresh and Easy (or am sure the Indian market near this restaurant carries them) that you can just fry up at home, or apparently you can microwave them if you are trying to be healthier.

Speaking of trying to be healthier, I tested out a baked pakora recipe I found on Irreverent Vegan's blog over the weekend. I wish I hadn't run out of parchment paper-trying to butter up foil did not cut it...but at least stuck on there is better than having to soak and scrub the cookie sheets.  I chopped up beet greens to use instead of spinach and also just add grated zuchini as that is what I had on hand. Personally, I was a bit put off by the chutney that went with the recipe. I think I am used to/prefer the more vinegar-based chutneys and it was a bit much on the ginger for my liking (and I do like ginger-pickled with sushi, in candy form, for upset tummy as a tea). I've copied the pakora recipe below with my modifications. I think next time I might try decreasing the salt. I would make this again-very tasty even without a sauce. Just be ready to heat up your home-500 F bake temp! Nice winter recipe, no? Save on your heating bill! We're just starting to have drizzly, light jacket weather here.

Baked Pakora (chickpea battered veggies)

• three handfuls of chopped leafy greens (beet greens today)
• one zucchini grated-this one was probably about 1" diameter and 7" long
• 2 cups chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour-I got Bob's Redmill brand, starting to see this available at even regular chain grocery stores now, but again go for Indian market if you want it cheaper. I liked the taste of the Redmill flour though.
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp red pepper (optional)
• 1 1/2 tsp dried coriander (cilantro)
• 1 1/2 cups water

Tools needed: spatula safe for oven flipping, cookie sheets, parchment paper, 1 large bowl

Pre-heat the oven to 500 F.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add water a bit at a time, until you make it a bit thicker-than-muffin batter type consistency. Add your rinsed, chopped/grated veggies (you can be creative here use what you have on hand) and mix until covered with batter.

 Spoon batter onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. The lumps should hold their form (not keep spreading) The size lumps I  made yielded about 12 pakora. Make bigger or smaller-just adjust the cooking time (also depends on your oven, I had to take mine out early). 

The original recipe has you bake on one side 8 minutes and then flip the pakora on the other side for 10 to get the crunchy crust. Mine only needed 8 minutes on the second side, luckily I stayed in the kitchen because they brown fast!

 

What recipe have you health-ified and loved? (or hated?)  What's your take on PDA's in public?

Half an index finger-high bread made with a machine: gluten and egg-free

Baking used to be an easy thing for me, always making cakes and cookies to share with friends and co-workers while I was in school. I even hosted a cookie swap with fellow APO brothers-still have the recipes in my notebook. But then came being an adult, and replacing worry-free dining hall meals with home-cooked food which requires planning, shopping, making and clean-up. There is also less time for baking when working with a 45 minute commute each way and nine hour work days.

 Then add in finding out being allergic to wheat. Often times I am asked to have a rainbow of gluten free flours available for some recipes-and sometimes I just can't get out to the right store to get them or decide to be brave and try to use what I have on hand. It's a lot of about experimentation and not being afraid to fail (or being willing to turn your turn-to-dust chocolate shortbread rice-flour cookies into an ice cream topping). I think if I want to have better success rates I need to try try again and keep a notebook like this baker Alice (thanks, Karen for sharing this with me a year ago!) I'm not ready to get that serious about baking. I tried weighing the flours to be equivalent to the white/wheat flour for the recipe book that came with the bread  machine but had big flops.

My friend, Yanny, shared with me some gems from a book by glutenfreegirl : "gluten-free baking usually requires a mix of 3 GF flours. One should be a whole-grain (sorghum, brown rice, garfav). Second a starch to lighten up the mix (potato starch, tapioca starch/flour, cornstarch, arrow root). Last should have a personality you want to add. Amaranth has soft texture, slight malt flavor (cookies, cinnamon rolls). Almond for protein and a bit of fat. Coconut flour, but it sucks up moisture. Millet for crumb. Quinoa is savory (quiches). Teff is the finest texture so it almost melts during baking and helps bind muffins and quick breads." For pancakes and cookies I find using a gluten free blend  (2:1 parts of whole-grain to starch and xantham gum, for this blend 3 cups of flour needs 1 tsp xantham gum) and then to add some nutrition no more than 25%-33% of personality flour. I really wish I could do almond flour-darn allergy! Elena's Pantry blog uses it for many of the baked goods.

So, I'm still in search of a magical bread machine recipe that comes out great every time-and still puzzling over what I can swap in for powdered milk to get in line with trying to reduce soy in my diet. I haven't seen powdered oat milk or anything at the stores yet. Mayhaps I just need to swap in the warmed liquid milk substitute and use less water...but one thing to change up at a time. I made two loaves these past two weeks, experimenting with making it eggless and the amount of yeast.

Loaf #1 I was warned by Gluten-free Goddess that eggless loaves don't rise as high. Visit her site and site some of her bread machine tips-like using a spatula to do extra mixing.

Loaf #1 is from Food.com.
I left out the egg and used 2 tbsp ground flax seed as suggested by people who tried the recipe on food.com. I used powdered soy milk and 1 packet of rapid rise yeast as that is what I had on-hand. It was very dense, not fluffy like people who followed the recipe raved, but they probably used eggs. The loaf had a slightly sweet flavor though enough that I ate it plain. I selected the quick loaf setting (2 hrs) as suggested and decided to add extra water when I saw it wasn't mixing well.

Loaf #2 was the same recipe but I doubled the yeast that I used. Let me say, it was so ugly I don't want to post a picture. The it ended up almost being a crescent moon shape (fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight...uh,what, no, I never used to watch silly Japanese animes!) But it tasted good-such a good breakfast with avocado slices or nut butter and honey.

Perhaps I'll try with the recipe specified amount of yeast next time. And make sure the dough is more like banana bread batter consistency so it fills the pan evenly like Loaf #1 during mixing phase.

What dish are you trying/would like to master at present? And what was your guilty pleasure cartoon after school?

My lovely little bumps: 3 fresh black eyed peas recipes

As a kid, dinner was a much simpler affair. It consisted with helping with dinner by setting the table-I might have done cups and plates, and my sister had to place the napkins and utensils. Occasionally we might be asked to shuck some corn in the summer. We would sit out on the porch and strip those babies clean, making a naked cob pyramid on the cute-sy melamine plates with sis/my artwork on them. Then after dinner it was a matter of helping to load the dishwasher or dry the pots and pans.

Once I had my driver's license, I offered to start cooking a couple times a week for Mom since I could go pick up the groceries myself. I started with Betty Crocker and 30 Minute Desperation Dinners cookbooks (favorite pesto recipe in the latter). When she arrived home on those nights, she gave me a big squeeze with a "thank you, hon" with a look of relief in her eyes. I began to see how much thought, time and love had to go into making a meal--even if using short cuts like pre-made spaghetti sauce or canned beans!  No shame in taking a little help when you need it. So thanks, Mom, Dad and anyone who has cooked a meal with or especially for me.

This week I got fresh black eyed peas in my box, so shelling those bumps out made me think of the summer days of corn shucking. Takes a fair amount of time, but the taste of fresh compared to canned or dried is a suitable reward (I cannot say the same for fava beans though with two layers to peel off, at least not the one time I tried them fresh-can anyone vouch for them?) Apparently if you pick black eyed peas before they are dried, yellowed and spotted (which is said to be the right condition for drying and storing longer term), you can eat them cooked in their pods 6" long, slightly thicker than matchstick wide also...but with CSA, there is no choice and I wanted to try eating them fresh.

1 gallon sized Ziplock bag 3/4 full probably took me 30-40 minutes total (I did half one day and half another) and yielded about 3 cups of raw beans. I cooked all of them in boiling water for 10 minutes before draining and rinsing them. They had a little snap to them-not mushy. I made three dishes with them, with the prep times on all three, I would do planning ahead and make in stages or wait until you have a non-time constraint day.

First, I portioned out 1/2 cup of cooked beans and ate them with a dollop of the roasted lemon chutney tested by 101 Cookbook (stumbled upon the recipe in Sept 2012).

Second, I decided to try out another 101 Cookbook's tested recipe, New Year Noodle Soup using 2 cups of these beans instead of borlotti beans. I used 2/3 cup dried chickpeas instead of canned as I sometimes try to keep sodium lower, which required an overnight soak. I overestimated a tad had a 1/3 cup of cooked beans left over since they expand with cooking. I left out the noodles...if I was a runner and carbing up I would add them in a heartbeat. But I am only doing 2 miles, twice a week if that.

Last, I fried up half cup of onion with olive oil and Emeril's essence to mix with the remaining cup of black-eye peas to make Vegan Lunch Box's Tamales (recipe ingredients modifed slightly below), I found the recipe listed on Chow.com. I have added a note as I steamed them differently, swapped out refried beans and made them vegetarian instead.

Ingredients for Tamales

Yields 8 Tamales

• 4 ounces dried corn husks*
• 2 cups instant masa harina**
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• About 1 1/8 cups warm vegetable broth, plus more as needed
• Bean Filling (recipes below)
• Salsa

 * Try a Mexican food market, Albertson's or, if you live by a Filipino market get the frozen banana leaves.
** This is corn flour, different from cornmeal, it's very fine. Store securely in real snap shut containers, we have a moth problem in San Diego and my last bag got invaded :( 

Tools you need
1 steamer basket  or 2 layer bamboo steamer .
1 medium bowl for mixing
1 small bowl for dry ingredients
1 large pan for soaking husks (or use sink as author suggests, I was too lazy to clean my sink)
Electric mixer

 

Instructions for Tamales

1. Start the dried corn husks soaking in a sink full of warm water about 15 minutes before you begin so they can soften (put a lid or plate over the husks to keep them submerged).
2. In a small bowl, mix together the masa harina, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a handheld beater or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the shortening until it is light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the masa to the shortening, alternating with the broth, until a light, nonsticky dough is formed. Use only as much broth as needed. Continue beating for 1 minute more.
4. Divide dough into 8 balls. To shape the tamales, pat a large corn husk dry and lay it out with the tapered end facing you. Spread each ball into a 4-inch square in the middle of the husk about 3/4 of an inch down from the top of the husk.
5. Spread 1 1/2 tablespoons of  beans down the center of the masa dough. Pick up the sides of the corn husk and fold them in, closing up the beans in masa. Fold up the tapered section of the husk to form the sealed bottom of the tamale (the top remains open). Tie up the tamale loosely using kitchen twine or a strip of corn husk.
6. Set all the tamales upright on their folded bottoms in a large steamer basket with a bit of room between them for the steam to circulate. Steam over boiling water for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tamale dough pulls away easily from the corn husk. (Sara's note: tamales will be set on their sides if you use a bamboo steamer. In either case, be sure to check your water level every 10 minutes or so and add more if needed.)
7. Serve tamales with salsa.
8. Tamales refrigerate and freeze well. Reheat by steaming them for a few minutes or popping them in the microwave.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Bean Filling

1 cup cooked black eyed peas
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 regular spoonfuls of Emeril's essence
about 2 tsp Olive oil

Heat olive oil over medium high. Add a bit of onion and when it sizzles, add the rest. Cook 2-3 minutes so the onions begin to soften and become translucent. Add the Emeril's essence. Take off heat and mix in the black eyed peas.
 
When/why did you first start cooking?

Bored of Oatmeal-Cornmeal Pancakes

Oatmeal will always have a place to nestle in my heart, ever since on those early-school day mornings Dad showed me to mix half the flavored-packet with plain quick oats so it wasn't sickly-sweet. You can have it warm or cold (Overnight Oats were what Yanny told me about via this fabulous lady's blog, Fit foodie Finds). You can add in lots of different toppings that may even make it taste like a dessert. But lately I've craved other textures-pancakes and blintzes (the latter to come later as I need to test out dairy-free ricotta cheese recipes)!

Going out for breakfast and brunch isn't as fun anymore being gluten-free since I am limited to eggs or oatmeal (trying to get away from the lovable mush, plus I feel oatmeal has too little clean up and is too easy to order out). Most places don't have gluten free toast, english muffins or batters. I know Original Pancake House has a gluten-free batter for pancakes that is enjoyable but it seems to leave a residue on my teeth. Snooze in Hillcrest also has gluten-free pancake batter but I have not been able to try that restaurant (very long waits). Nashville, TN had an all you can eat/cook it yourself pancake restaurant Pfunky Griddle, but I didn't get to go there either.  But not to be discouraged, I will settle for making my own and having to deal with doing dishes.

I found and made some modifications to a recipe found on  Go Dairy Free’s website called Pillowy-Whole Grain Pancakes-Vegan and Gluten Free. My modifications for a different GF flour blend, adding cornmeal and a substitute for oil, are found below and I've pretty much just copied their directions for preparation and cooking. It takes some time to do all the measurements, which is why I think this is a non-workday recipe. 

 Fluffy Cinnamon-Cornmeal Pancakes

• 1-3/4 Cups Plain Milk Alternative of Choice
• 1/4 Cup Applesauce or blended veggie/fruit pulp + water for apple sauce consistency
• 2 Tablespoons Ground Flaxseed
• 2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar or Honey 
• 2 Teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon Juice
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup Land O’ Lakes pumpkin whoopee pie flour mix* (see recipe below)
• ½ cup more nutritious gluten-free flour (I’ve been using sorghum flour)
• ½ cup corn meal
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Measure the milk alternative in a glass measuring cup. Stir In the 1/4 cup of apple sauce or veggie/fruit pulp mixture, flaxseed, agave or honey, vinegar or lemon juice, and vanilla. Set aside for moment. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the milk alternative mixture and mix well. Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Using roughly 1/4 cup per pancake, pour the batter into the pan. Cook the pancakes until the outside edge begins to look dry, and bubbles break on the surface of the batter, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the other sides for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until light golden brown. Serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, or your favorite whipped “cream” topping.

*Land O' Lakes GF flour blend: 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup white rice flour, 2/3 cup corn or potato starch, 1/3 cup tapioca flour, 1 tsp xantham gum

Hint #1 I found cheaper tapioca flour at the local Chinese market than compared to a health food store and cheaper potato starch (katakuriko) at the Japanese market...kind of like chickpea flour, my sister says its a better deal at Indian markets. It's wonderful how much other cultures use such a variety of flours made from grains other than wheat! 

Hint #2 Fruit and vegetable leftover pulp was from juicing .I had kept it in the freezer in baggies and defrosted small 1/2 cup portions for baked or bread-like recipes calling for oil, butter or apple sauce. I felt bad throwing all of it away since I don't yet have a red-worm or compost system.

Is your favorite breakfast food sweet or savory?