The Good Eatah

Party Dishes

2012-01-25T06:38:00.000-08:00

Welp, I had my first moms' night out (in) last week and it was great - a nice little break from changing diapers and doing the mom bounce. It was at a friends house and was an "apps and zerts (and wine)" party. I love the idea. As far as I'm concerned appetizers and desserts are the best part of any meal.

I made a Spinach Artichoke dip that's been my go-to for awhile now; I first saw it on the Today show and liked that it was a bit healthier than your average dip. Here's a link to the recipe so you can try it yourself. I serve mine with baby carrots and celery.

Another recipe I've been making a lot of is this healthy enchilada dish. I use ten corn tortillas instead of the four whole-wheat ones (make sure the corn tortillas are warm before you start working with them). The in-laws came to visit this past weekend and it was a simple, healthy and tasty meal to entertain with.

Do you have any go-to party recipes? This chili dog dip looks pretty tasty for a Superbowl party.

My version of Shepherd's Pie

2012-01-11T06:11:00.000-08:00

Simple seems to be my new mantra when it comes to cooking. I'm now a mom (Jack arrived on December 7, weighing 9.1 lbs via a natural, unmedicated labor and delivery) and we're slowly finding a schedule together. I'm now cooking and writing again, but I'm also at his beckon call. Simple food has become a necessity.

Add to that this whole trying-to-eat-healthy thing. My mid-section certainly isn't the same after carrying a 9 lb baby and I'd like to assist its shrinking in any way possible, so that's another goal: more veggies, less fat and high fiber. (It's not advised to go on a diet during the first few months of breastfeeding, which is why I'm not counting calories/limiting food, etc)

So, in an effort to keep simple and healthy, here's my take on gluten free and dairy free Shepherd's Pie:

Bison Shepherd's Pie

gluten-free, dairy-free, serves 4

For topping:

3 large sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons earth balance

1 tablespoon maple syrup

paprika for garnish

For bottom:

1 small onion, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

2 cloves garlic of 1 tsp garlic powder

1 cup button mushrooms (any type mushroom is fine)

1 lb ground bison

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper, about 1 teaspoon each

(I'm not much for exact measurements in recipes like these, all amounts except for the bison are approximate)

Poke holes in sweet potatoes and microwave at "potato" setting until cooked through (you could also boil or bake until tender). Preheat oven to 400 F. Meanwhile, in a large saute pan over medium-low heat saute onion, carrot and mushroom until slightly tender, then add garlic, bison, Worcestershire and salt and pepper and cook until pink is gone from bison. When sweet potatoes are done cooking, cool slightly, peel and mash with earth balance and maple syrup. Spoon bison mixture on bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish and top with sweet potato mixture. Sprinkle with paprika and bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

Fresh Cranberry and Apple Cake

2011-11-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

I use dried cranberries in a lot of different recipes: chicken salad, spinach salad, scones, trail mix, wild rice stuffing... they're easy to find and add a sweet and slightly tart flavor to a lot of dishes.

But for a few months a year I'm able to find cranberries in their original form - the fresh variety.

I had my first up-close experience (though I'm pretty sure I've gone as a kid at some point) with a cranberry bog this fall in Nantucket. We went there for our babymoon, and although I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to do this, I went ahead, reached down and popped a few fresh cranberries in my mouth. They were tart and bitter with tiny seeds, but they had great potential, and since I was craving the tart stuff I knew what I wanted to cook when I got home: anything fresh cranberry.

This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten's and has been a nice way to start the day, end the day, or enjoy with a cup of tea for a few months now:

Gluten-free Fresh Cranberry and Apple Cake

12 ounces fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over for stems
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (2 oranges)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (I used King Arthur - my new favorite)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the cranberries, apple, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon in a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. With the mixer on medium, add the 3/4 cup of granulated sugar, the butter, vanilla, and sour cream and beat just until combined. On low speed, slowly add the flour and salt.

Pour the fruit mixture evenly into a 10-inch pie plate. Pour the batter over the fruit, covering it completely.

Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle it over the batter. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean and the fruit is bubbling around the edges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pregnant & Gluten Free

2011-10-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

Whoa. Blog - it's been awhile. Too long in fact, but I have exciting news! News that'll likely change the scope and content of this blog immensely: I'm pregnant!

9 months pregnant actually, and I have to admit that while I didn't have morning sickness, my zest for cooking and creating in the kitchen kind of went away for awhile (I sure have been eating though). But during these last few weeks it's back in the form of food-based nesting.

I've been cooking and freezing and cleaning and shopping all in the hopes that when the little guy (yes guy! we're having a boy!) arrives the house will be in good shape and meals will be quick and simple re-heats from the freezer.

Here are a few of the things I've learned about being gluten free and pregnant during the last nine months:

More no-no's

It's bad enough that we already have a long, long list of foods we cannot eat as gluten free-ers, but when you're pregnant, it's advised you avoid a whole other list of food (sadly, food that is naturally gluten free), like sushi, deli meat and (unpasteurized) soft cheeses. They're all on the "do not eat" list for preggers.

Why do you ask? Well, the claim is that raw fish can carry parasites and deli meat and unpasteurized cheeses can carry listeria. A bacteria that can be very bad for mom and baby. However, if you've heard, cantaloupe was the culprit in the latest outbreak of listeria which can make a pregnant woman nuts. What can we eat?

Well, it's like anything in life: take into account the risks and live your life with that in mind.

That can be difficult to remember when you're craving something though...

Cravings

I definitely understand the pickles and ice cream pregnant-woman stereotype; never before have I enjoyed the sweet and sour flavors more than I do while pregnant. What has been most surprising though is my desire for all things naturally tart, specifically cranberries. I've had cranberry juice almost daily since I found out I was pregnant and once fresh cranberries hit the market I was in heaven.

It could have been my subconscious knowing that cranberries help combat UTI's (which are more common in pregnant women) but after a little research it's great to see that my main craving helps combat a lot of other bad stuff.

But, then there's the not-so-healthy stuff I crave: carbs (no worries here because there are now many gluten-free options) and dairy. Lots of dairy, in fact, and mostly in the form of ice cream and cheese.

But, as my yoga instructor once said, "if you're craving something it likely means your body needs a nutrient from that food." I keep that in mind when I can't stop thinking about ice cream - perhaps I need a calcium fix?

High Protein

The Bradley Method is a form of husband-coached labor; it's really interesting in theory (I haven't taken the class) and includes great information about diet and pregnancy. Namely, that a high protein diet is key to a healthy birth and baby - a good thing if you already eat pretty high protein because you're gluten free.

The idea is that you want your baby to grow in utero, but not from empty carbs and fat - you want him to grow with ample amounts of healthy protein. There are many ways to get your protein fix and eggs are a common suggestion, but sometimes it's just something I have no desire to go near...

Taste Buds Change

Food aversions were pretty strong in the first trimester of my pregnancy. Just thinking about pulled pork made me want to curl up in a ball and find my happy place.

Fortunately I never had to encounter it because I was very vocal about it to family (which is strange because I normally love pulled pork) and now that I'm three weeks away from my due date I'm able to tolerate it again.

That's the weird thing that I never really thought would happen, my taste buds have changed - unless food is fatty, or salty, or sweet or tart - I'm not interested.

I'll let you know if it stays that way during breastfeeding. I hear you can get pretty ravenous...

On my next post I'll share one of the cakes that I've been making that really helps keep my cranberry craving at bay:

Gluten Free Gnocchi with Salmon Cream Sauce

2011-04-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

My friend Lauren just got back from spending a year and a half in Italy and recently came to New York for a visit. Along with having an amazingly fun time with a friend I've had since I was five, I had a meal that was beyond amazing too.

Lauren shared with me some of the tips she picked up while living in the land of delicious food. Here's her recipe for Gnocci with Salmon Cream Sauce.

(we used packaged gluten-free gnocchi so this recipe is for the salmon cream sauce)

Salmon Cream Sauce (serves 4)

2 packages Conte's gluten-free potato gnocchi

1/2 onion, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

One package of smoked salmon (you can use fresh, but we had smoked) loosely diced

1 1/2 cup cream

salt and pepper

fresh parsley

fresh oregano for garnish

The sauce doesn't take long to make, so go ahead and follow the directions for cooking the gnocchi on the package and cook those up while you're making the sauce.

In a pan over medium heat add oil and then the onion. Saute until translucent.

Add the salmon and parsley and cook just a few minutes.

Next, add the cream, stirring while you add. Cook that at medium until the sauce comes together - about 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add to the cooked gnocchi.

We served it with a salad of arugula, spinach, goat cheese, cranberries and pecans (with a balsamic vinaigrette).

Gluten-Free! Local!

2011-01-31T14:11:00.000-08:00

Woohoo!

I was at my local Hannaford's recently and stumbled upon this in the meat section:

Bellinski's Chicken Meatloaf AND Chicken Chili - both just happen to be gluten free and both are from a local (Upstate NY) company. (If you're confused and thought I lived in Mass, or Virginia or Illinois, well, I did but now I'm all settled in New York.)

I say "just happen to be" gluten-free because it seems like most "gluten free" foods are banished to the natural foods or special diets sections. These guys - these meals that take four minutes to cook - were not. They were hanging out with the ham and chicken breast, like they should be. Only these had the fine print that I like to see:

On to the review: both were really flavorful and so simple to make, er, heat up.

Both come in a nifty plastic container that is meant for the microwave (leave the plastic-wrap-like cover on when you cook it). And they only take minutes.

The chili was great: it had a lot of flavor and was no frills: ground chicken, black beans, tomato, onion and lots of spices. I added some salsa on top of mine to up the veggie factor. Though, there was enough chili in the container for probably two dinner portions.

The meatloaf had good flavor as well. It had a tomato sauce on the top that was tasty. My only complaint was that the height of the meatloaf was, well, really short. Probably only 1/2 an inch. It's not that big of a deal, but the size of it made it seem less meatloaf-like.

Bottom-line: they're quite good and super convenient.

Trifle!

2011-01-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how the tradition began, but growing up my family would always eat trifle for dessert on New Year's Eve. This year - the first year in our own very house - my husband and I were celebrating with a few new friends and I wanted to keep the tradition going.

I called up my Mom, tweaked a few things from her recipe and here is mine: a dense, decadent New Year's treat. It's a layer of chocolate cake, infused with espresso, topped with butterscotch pudding, topped with chocolate ganache and finished with a whipped topping with a hefty sprinkle of Toblerone.

It may have a lot of components to it, but it sure is simple to put together.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Butterscotch Trifle

For the cake: 1 package gluten free chocolate cake mix (I used King Arthur's) and 1/3 cup strong coffee or espresso

Follow the directions on the package of the cake mix. Let cool and cut cake into squares so that it will fit in a round, clear bowl (you will have some leftover cake). Poke the cake with holes and pour the coffee over the cake (Kahlua can be used here too).

For the pudding: 1 package instant butterscotch pudding (I used Jello)

Follow the directions for the pudding and pour evenly over the cake/coffee mixture.

For the ganache: 1 1/2 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips & 1 cup light cream

Place the cream in a saucepan and warm until the milk is steaming. Pour the chocolate chips into a glass dish and pour the very warm cream over the chocolate. Mix until ganache-like (it should look like hot fudge). Pour that mixture over the pudding.

For the whipped topping: cool whip or freshly whipped cream

Spoon the whipped topping evenly over the ganache, making sure not to mix the topping into the ganache.

Finished with: chopped up Toblerone or toffee: sprinkle over the top - it's ready to serve.

Photo Friday: Henry's Aged

2010-12-03T13:01:00.000-08:00

During my 6 month blogging hiatus, I swear Henry has aged years. He looks so... mature here.

Living Gluten Free: the documentary

2010-12-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

Oh my. Has it really been 6 months since my last post?

A lot has happened during that time: my husband got out of the military and got a job in upstate New York. We bought a house there and I will move in one week to join him. It's an exciting time with a lot of changes (and a kitchen of my own which means I will be posting here a lot more - I promise)

But, none of that is gluten-free related, so here's the exciting news and why I haven't been posting: All of my energy on the topic has been going into my gluten-free documentary. For my master's program I have to have a final project, a "thesis" if you will that is a documentary. And my topic of choice? Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity.

I have around 15 interviews on tape ranging from newly diagnosed Celiacs' to the gluten sensitive, world renowned experts on the topic, dietitians, researchers, gluten free cafe owners, and many more. It's a one-woman project - I acted as researcher, videographer, interviewer and editor. It's a lot of work, and nothing is perfect, but I'm excited to get this story out.

It will be 30 minutes long. I am hoping to apply for some grants so that I can make it feature length and tell the full story, I also hope to get funding to travel to people with unique stories.

Below you can watch a very brief teaser:

Untitled from liz clancy lerner on Vimeo.

Planning a Gluten-Free Wedding

2010-06-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a year since our wedding. In honor of that special day, I wrote a piece on planning a gluten-free wedding for the Special Food Groups e-magazine. You'll also find it below.

Planning a Gluten-Free Wedding

As a lover of food and weddings, I enjoy receiving those little food cards that come in the mail with wedding invitations. The choices can let you in on the tastes of the couple: beef or chicken: traditional, pork or haddock: daring, pasta or vegetarian: alternative diet friendly. Well, maybe.

Four years ago I discovered my gluten intolerance and it has made replying to those cards a lot more complicated. Do I chose vegetarian and hope there are no breadcrumbs in my dish? Do I make a note on my card requesting a gluten-free dish and possibly confuse the couple? Or do I give up and bring my own food?

The answer was never easy. My responses have ranged from contacting the bride myself, to winging it and hoping something at the wedding was safe for me to eat.

I don't recommend either.

So, I vowed not to put my guests in that position for our wedding. A simple note was put in italics on our card: All food will be gluten-free. If you have a special food request, please make note on the bottom of this card.

It was simple really, and all of my guests happily ate what they requested. But, getting to that point took a lot of legword. We followed these steps to make our wedding gluten-free without a hitch:

Research, Research, Research

You will already be researching dresses, venues and bands, so make sure you take your time and pick out a caterer that knows proper protocol when cooking for those with food allergies and intolerances. Gluten-free message boards, wedding message boards and blogs are great for this. Review websites like Yelp and Chowhound are good resources too. Your local Celiac support group would help as well, I am sure. It's important to note that many venues require you to use "their" caterer. Speak with the caterer before you make a venue choice. The last thing you want is to be stuck with a caterer who thinks gluten is in potatoes.

Ask Lots of Questions

Don't be afraid to ask your caterer about the ingredients that go into each dish. For instance, Gorgonzola cheese was an ingredient in our beef dish and it can sometimes contain gluten. The chef was able to verify that the cheese they used was gluten free. When you ask your questions, be sure to stress how important it is to keep your allergen away from other food. And if your caterer offers one, do a tasting. This is a good way to spend time with the caterer and actually taste the food you will eat on your wedding day.

The Wedding Cake

This might be the scariest part of planning a gluten-free wedding: what to do for the cake. Luckily, I found a women who bakes only gluten-free specialty cakes, so that was an easy call for me. But I know finding someone that bakes gluten-free cakes in a dedicated gluten-free kitchen is difficult. If you have a family member that can bake, enlist her to help and stress the importance of keeping all sources of gluten away from the cake. There are great mixes out there and even one well-known gluten-free cake mix that has been used to wedding cakes. Or, if baking in a dedicated gluten-free facility is not a requirement for you, many independent bakers will take requests for specialty cakes. We had a small gluten-free cake for us, and cupcakes that were a gift from a family friend who was a baker, for the gluten-eating guests.

Hand Over the Reins

If you're a control freak, this can be difficult. But trust whoever is your day of coordinator and relax. If you did your research and communicated thoroughly with your caterer, all will be well.

And Lastly, Don't Forget to Eat!

This was advice given to my husband and I before our big day. You will feel obligated to spend time with each of your guests, but don't forget to eat. You put a lot of work into this day, be sure to enjoy it.

We sure did.

Not Dead...

2010-04-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

...just overwhelmed with end-of-the-semester projects, half-marathon training and roller derby stuff (we have our first bout in less than a month!)

Oh yeah, and my husband's home from deployment -- his LAST deployment. I am beyond relieved.

Updates and recipes will be up once I'm able (or want to procrastinate from school work).

And if you need some Henry in your life, here's some trouble he recently got himself into...

Photo Phriday: Cute Baby Butt

2010-04-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

Darn school is getting in the way of my blogging again. Here's a photo that makes me smile:

It's of my niece and was taken last week at a local playground.

Photo Phriday: Happy Birthday

2010-03-19T05:03:00.001-07:00

Two years ago today I watched my sister give birth to my niece. It was done without drugs (this is not a judgement to any other type of birth; I'm learning just how hard women can be on each other on this subject) and in a birth center. It was truly the most beautiful and emotional experience I have ever had. My sister is tough; really tough. And she brought to the world a little human that has changed mine.

Less than a year after witnessing my niece's birth, I witnessed the death of my grandmother. At 95 she lived a good life, but in no way was I ready to let her go. She was my rock and she made me feel like the most important and most loved thing in her life, and it was really difficult to watch her go.

I think as humans we have a lot of love to give, and I still have more, but the emptiness of my heart when my grandmother passed, I know, has been filled up with this beautiful, bright little girl. A little girl with her Grandmother's name as her middle name: Adelia.

So on my niece's birthday I reflect a bit. I have been lucky enough to live next door to my sister, bro-in-law and my niece for the last six months and have seen how she has grown. She is being raised in a very loving family with parents whose attention and patience with her is inspiring. It makes me want to treat her the way in which my grandmother did for me: regardless of what she decides to pursue in life, I will always strive to make her (and every young person in my life) feel like they are the most loved and important person in mine. It did wonders for me.

She is my muse, and an affirmation that the A-man and I do, indeed, want kids. Happy Birthday La Dudarina. I think you're quite special.

Paleo: How it's Going

2010-03-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

So. Basically, I eat paleo at home. And I'm fine with that.

I figured out that, on average, 17 of the 21 of the meals I eat in a week are cooked by me, and those are paleo. The other 4 meals are cooked for me by others, and when it is a friend cooking I figure they work hard enough to make gluten-free meals for me that asking for paleo would be too much. So I don't. Plus, I don't mind eating grains in 20% of my meals -- as an endurance athlete (endurance in the sense that most of my workouts are between 1 1/2 to 2 hours long), that's probably the safest way to go.

I've had some pretty boring meals, but some really great ones too. I made a meat-only chili (just tomatoes, onion, red pepper, ground bison, chili, cumin, and ground red pepper) this weekend and recently ate it over "cauliflower rice," which is minced cauliflower sauted with onion. It was great and filling. And surprisingly, I'm not as hungry as I used to be. I think carbohydrates make me crave more carbohydrates. I'm sure there's some science to it.

In case you're interested in learning more about eating this way, here are a few links I've found really helpful:

http://liveprimal.com/LPrecipes.pdf

http://cavewomanrunner.wordpress.com

http://pureprimal.com/

http://pureprimal.com/links/

http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com

http://liveprimal.com/LPrecipes.pdf

Going Paleo

2010-03-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

The paleo, or paleolithic way of eating has intrigued me for years. In a nutshell, it is a diet of meats, eggs, fish, vegetables, fruit and nuts -- that's it. *The theory is that humans have been eating this way -- this very simple way, for millions of years. If you compare that to how long we've been eating grains and processed foods (10,000 according to many anthropologists), it is literally a blink of the eye.

So, basically, we've had all of those millions of years to adapt to this way of eating, where we've only had a few thousand to adapt to eating grains.

Paleo-friendly stuffed mushrooms

Research in this field has shown that cutting out grains, legumes and sugars can slow the progression of autoimmune disorders, cure acne, and increase athletic performance. I have stake in all three of these: my mother has Multiple Sclerosis, I have skin problems, and as an athlete, I have always been interested in getting faster and stronger.

Paleo-friendly green smoothie

This re-interest in paleo comes from an experience that I had last week. I had a bit of a scare at
skate practice: during a time trial that I was leading my legs cramped up and I had to stand upright and glide for my last two laps. They cramped up in a way I hadn't ever experienced before. In fact, it seemed similar to the way my mother describes her MS-related leg pain. Because my mother has MS, there is a 30% chance I could get it too. That's not that high, but it's certainly an increased risk and that's awfully scary. If there's anything that I can do to possibly decrease my risk, I'll do it.

Paleo-friendly simple soup

I've told my mother about the diet before. I've bought her books on the subject and sent her

presentations about it in the past. But she's not budging. In fact, out of my sister, father and I -- she's the only one who is not gluten-free. That is her choice and I respect that. But I want my mother to be around to see my kids grow up.

A Paleo-friendly dinner

I know how difficult it can be. I've tried to following this diet before, but I failed when I was traveling and eating in social settings. I thought, "I can't eat gluten and that makes me enough of a misfit. Why make it more difficult?" I even once suggested a friend try it out to see if it helped an autoimmune disease she had -- it did and she lost a lot of weight. I saw her everyday at work, and I saw what a transformation she made, but I never made it more than a week for myself. The thing is, I was really strict about it when I tried it. And it seems like there are some people who are 100% paleo. However, it's not going to be all or nothing this time. I'll let myself eat grains on special occasions (in fact I'm sure I'll still make grain-based recipes). I'll have dessert if it's once-in-awhile. And I'm not planning on giving up coffee. There is also the idea that athletes who eat paleolithic should ingest some carbohydrates from grains, so I'll give myself that.

I'll end this with a few thoughts; I do not want to insult people who do not eat this way. Studies have shown that East-Asians are the healthiest people. I, in no way, discredit that. I also have a lot of respect for vegans and believe in that way of eating as well. However, with my own health issues and my family history, this seems to be the best choice for me.

In my next post I will be linking to some of my favorite paleo resources.

*I've only skimmed the surface of the history of, benefits from, and details of the paleo diet.

Enjoy Life Foods Crunchy Flax

2010-03-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

The super cool folks at Enjoy Life Food sent me a couple of boxes of their crunchy flax and crunchy rice cereal. I was a frequent buyer of it under it's previous name, Perky's Nutty Rice, but was excited to learn Enjoy Life Foods acquired the company. Which is good because I would hate to see this stuff go!

Crunchy is the first thing that comes to mind, and as my dad said once, "Americans love to crunch!" Really, we do. There's something very satisfying about biting down and crunching a food. Maybe it's primal. Maybe it's cultural. Who knows. (Any food anthropologists out there?)

So, I eat the cereal for breakfast often and have for years because it's a great, healthy go-to breakfast, but when my sister wanted me to bring over a dessert for dinner recently I whipped up a simple bar recipe. It came from memory of a recipe that was on the back of the old boxes of the cereal for dessert bars, and is really quite simple.

And still keeps that great "crunch."

Crunchy Flax Bars (er, triangles -- I didn't have the right size square pan for bars)

1 box of Crunchy Flax Cereal

1 1/4 cup almond butter

1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life also makes great chocolate chips)

1 pinch of salt

Combine the almond butter, rice syrup and salt in a small pot and cook over medium heat until it melts. In a large bowl put the cereal, then the almond butter/syrup mixture and chocolate chips and combine. Spread into a pie dish, or a 8x8 pan and let cool. Or speed up by putting into the refrigerator. Then, cut however you'd like.

Video Friday: Vita-Mix Review

2010-03-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

This was a review I wrote recently for a multimedia class. The quality of the video isn't great, but you get the idea. I might be doing more of these if I can work on the set-up on my home computer.

Tomato, Basil & Chicken Quinoa Salad

2010-03-04T05:52:00.001-08:00

Orgran's Falafel Mix w/hummus: so very tasty

I have been craving carbohydrates lately. Mostly because I've been working out more than what is normal for me. I'm half-marathon training and I skate 4 times a week with my roller derby team. My legs started cramping during a sprint at last night's practice, so I think I'm doing something wrong. A lack of potassium maybe? I'll try upping my banana intake and see how it goes.

In the meantime, I'll share a good pre-workout meal. It's hearty enough to make me feel nourished, but it's not terribly heavy so you don't feel sluggish after eating it. Quinoa is possibly my favorite grain; it's super high in protein and has a texture that reminds me of my beloved (in my non-gf days) cous-cous.

This recipe is simple and only takes a few minutes to put together. I served mine over a bed of baby spinach.
Tomato, Basil & Chicken Quinoa Salad (gluten-free, dairy-free)

serves 2 as a meal

The juice of one lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups of quinoa, cooked
2 baked chicken breasts, cubed
A handful of fresh basil, chopped
1 loose cup of cherry tomatoes, halfed
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil. Add the quinoa, chicken, basil and tomatoes and toss gently. Salt and Pepper to taste and add more oil if you'd like.

Photo Phriday: Maine Again

2010-02-26T21:15:00.000-08:00

Last winter: New Years Day. The A-man decides that a negative ten degree wind chill is the perfect temperature to fly a kite in.

Mini-Crustless Vegetable Quiche

2010-02-25T07:01:00.000-08:00

There are three questions I often ask myself before making a recipe: Will it be portable? Will it be healthy? And, will it be tasty? The answer for this recipe is yes, yes and yes.

Mostly spinach, with just enough egg to hold them together, I feel like I'm starting my day off on a good note when I eat these for breakfast.

This recipe is adapted from one in the South Beach Diet cookbook. I snagged it from my parents (sorry Mom and Dad -- I'll get it back to you!) when I first began eating gluten free -- thinking it would have lots of recipes for me. It does, in a sense, but it's very dairy-heavy so I end up adapting many of them. Including this one:

Mini-Crustless Vegetable Quiche (gluten-free, dairy-free)

makes 12 quiche

2 whole eggs plus 3 egg whites 1 ten ounce package of frozen spinach, thawed with liquid squeezed out
1/2 of a small onion, chopped
a handful of mushrooms, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of salt, pepper, garlic powder & red pepper

Mix the egg together until combined. Add all of the other ingredients and pour into muffin tins (I have re-usable silicone ones that I love) and bake at 350 for twenty minutes.

The recipe for this is very basic, so feel free to substitute ham for mushrooms, add some cheese or some bell pepper.

Henry looks MEAN in this photo, but he's not. I caught him mid-yawn.

Photo Phriday: Beavers!

2010-02-19T19:55:00.000-08:00

Taken last winter up in Maine. I wonder if it's still standing.

Coconut Flour Waffles

2010-02-17T07:57:00.000-08:00

It's rare that on a weekday I have time to cook a hearty breakfast, but fortunately, with half-marathon training in full swing, I have to take a few days off a week to recover. So, I forwent my usual quick breakfast and had a little time to cook up something nice before my first class of the day.

Low-carb, refined cane sugar free, and light and tasty. I had half of a grilled Al Fresco Sweet Apple chicken sausage with mine.

Coconut Flour Waffles

gluten-free, dairy-free

4 tablespoons melted butter (I use Earth Balance to keep it dairy-free)

6 eggs

1/3 cup agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup coconut flour

(When working with coconut flour I tend to use my blender to mix my batter because it can easily clump up)

In a blender, mix the butter and eggs until combined thoroughly. Then add the agave, salt and baking powder and mix to combine. Lastly, add the coconut flour and mix until completely combined without any lumps. Let the batter sit for at least five minutes (it will thicken) before adding to your waffle maker.

This recipe makes 4, large round waffles.

Photo Phriday (and a recipe!)

2010-02-12T08:08:00.000-08:00

So the clean eating kick isn't quite at full force anymore. I still try to eat healthy, whole foods as much as possible (and really always have) but dessert and wine have won out in quite a few instances.

Fortunately, there's a nut butter (though, is cashew technically not a nut?) that I've whipped up that tastes almost like dessert to me: maple cashew butter. My sister first introduced me to cashew butter back when she was in grad school -- five or so years ago and I was immediately smitten. And as of late, I've been really loving Justin's Maple Almond Butter, but it's a bit too expensive to buy on a regular basis. So, I was recently at Harry & David and purchased a few bags of roasted cashews that were on sale, popped them into my trusty Vita-mix, added a little oil and maple syrup and viola! Maple Cashew Butter.

Maple Cashew Butter

1 1/2 cups of roasted cashews

2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil

2 tablespoons of maple syrup

Put all ingredients in your blender or food-processor, and start on low, the increase speed to medium and blend until smooth. You might have to turn your blender off and scrape down the sides to make sure it's all getting blended smoothly, but it's not terribly labor intensive.

So far, it's been good on toast, in oatmeal and on bananas. Or, even by the spoonful when you need to feel like you're eating dessert.

Photo Phriday: Guess Who's A Derby Girl?

2010-01-29T19:59:00.000-08:00

Me! I'm all about trying new sports, and this one has been a challenge (let's just say I'm not a natural on skates). I'm part of a small group of women that's starting a league in my college-town. It's been a blast so far. I was even thinking about my derby name being The Good Eatah :)

Clean Eating 2

2010-01-25T11:13:00.001-08:00

In an effort to give my liver a break, I've been attempting to eat healthier: no sugars, no processed foods, and no alcohol.

And, so far, so good. However, I've taken my sister's approach on dessert and I'm allowing myself to indulge on the weekends. The jury's out on this: my dessert cravings are pretty severe right now, so I might have to go with no dessert for awhile. But for now during the week it's whole food, lots of veggies and lean protein.

I've been eating lots of citrus too. Oranges, grapefruits and lemon in my water. I honestly am not a big fruit person, but cutting out dessert has made me crave fruit more.

I thought my diet would be very boring since starting this, but really, you just have to get a little creative. Stuffed acorn squash was a simple and flavorful dish I threw together when I wanted something substantial.

Stuffed Acorn Squash (gluten-free, dairy-free)

1 acorn squash, cut in half, seeded and baked at 350F for 35 minutes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 loosely packed up of chopped kale

1 lb ground chicken

1 1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1 teaspoon red pepper

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon rosemary

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries

Add the oil to a saute pan over medium heat and add the onion and celery and cook for about five minutes. Add the chicken and cook until slightly brown. Add the rice, kale, spices and dried cranberries and cook for another five to ten minutes. Pile the mixture into the halved squash and put back in the oven at 350 for another ten minutes. They're good to eat after that!

Clean Eating

2010-01-19T07:38:00.000-08:00

Like many Americans, the weeks surrounding my Christmas were spent eating, drinking and socializing. And then I went away and ate and drank too much again. It could be the winter "blah's" and lack of vitamin D, but my body is telling me get back on track. So I am.

Starting yesterday I decided I'd cut out all refined sugars (cookies, cake, sugary cereal..) and processed carbohydrates (chips, traditional gf bread, french fries...). And dairy too. I've been eating dairy in small amounts in social situations for a few months now without any instant reactions, but I don't think it's necessarily meant for me in the long run. So that's out too. And then there's alcohol -- sigh. I do love wine. I'm not planning on restricting all of these foods completely from my diet, but just for a week or two to give my liver a bit of a break, and then they'll be incorporated back in small amounts.

So, I'm hoping to chronicle what I've been eating here -- on my food blog. Crazy, huh?

Breakfast Day 1: 1 cup oatmeal w/tablespoon almond butter, green tea & green smoothie (spinach, frozen blueberries, fresh ginger, cucumber)
Lunch Day 1: a whole lot of Mexican chicken soup (recipe below)
Dinner Day 1: a whole lot of sauted veggies (onion, carrot, kale seasoned with salt, red pepper and garlic powder) & a cup of cooked pinto beans

Breakfast Day 2: 1 cup oatmeal with 1 tablespoon sunbutter (tastes amazing on oatmeal), 1 grapefruit & small cup coffee

Before I get to the simplest. recipe. ever. I have to give a shout out to my two healthy eating inspirations: Ricki of Diet, Dessert & Dogs and Melissa of Gluten Free for Good. I have been reading both of their blogs for quite awhile now and their recipes and insight continue to inspire me to eat well and healthfully. Thank you ladies.

This recipe was given to me by my mom who was inspired by Mexican soup she had here at a local IL restaurant. It's good stuff - and perfect for a "blah" day.

Mexican Chicken Soup (gluten-free, dairy-free)

2 quarts of Organic, Low-Sodium Chicken Broth (homemade would be great)

Shredded meat of one small roasted Organic chicken

1 jar of salsa (or fresh salsa would be great here too)

1 bunch of fresh cilantro

Bring the broth to a boil, add the chicken and salsa and simmer for at least ten minutes. Serve in a bowl and garnish with fresh cilantro (this really adds freshness to the dish)

So simple. And so tasty.

Photo Phriday: Oh Henry

2010-01-15T09:52:00.000-08:00

Whipped cream. On his nose. Poor fella.

Sloppy Joe

2010-01-13T19:36:00.001-08:00

Like many people this time of year I've decided to start *eating healthy: no refined sugar, no processed foods, no alcohol. But not yet. Not before I get in some good, bad food. Like a gosh darn sloppy joe.

(*I'm not going on a diet really, I just feel like I need to detox a bit from the many alcoholic drinks, sugary treats and restaurant meals I've indulged in over the past month -- more on this on Monday, when it all starts)

Though, I guess you could say I've already begun my health kick -- I used bison meat after all. I've talked about the benefits of bison here before, but the take away is that there's less saturated fat than beef and I have yet to hear about a bison being injected with hormones. Then again, I think the ketchup in the recipe slaps the dish right back into the non-healthy category.

I adapted mine slightly from one I discovered on recipezaar.

Sloppy Joe's (gluten-free, dairy-free)

2 lb ground bison meat

1 onion, chopped

8 oz of crushed canned tomatoes

3 tbs worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tbs brown sugar

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 tbs chili powder

1 tsp dijon mustard

salt & pepper to taste

Brown the bison and onion together in a pan on medium high heat. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix. And simmer for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Serve on it's own or on a gluten-free roll. I used Gramma Mill's gluten-free roll mix (they were delicious fresh out of the oven)

I also served it with a side of my kale salad

Photo Phriday: Christmas Toys

2010-01-08T05:39:00.000-08:00

My niece and Henry playing (er, chewing in Henry's case) with their new Christmas toys.

On another note, a big shout out to the Boston gluten-free girls whom I had dinner with last night. We went to Burton's Grill ; they have a gluten-free menu and take it seriously. It would have been my photo Phriday picture, but I forgot my darn camera. We'll just have to do it again soon!

Gluten-free in the Swiss Alps

2010-01-05T04:47:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed that I left out the words "casein free" in the title of this post. I did eat dairy on this trip, and have been incorporating some dairy back into my diet as an experiment. Fortunately, I've had no reactions, which is a big change from a few years ago when I absolutely couldn't tolerate it. I'll probably continue to eat it when out, but when cooking for myself I'll leave it out. But enough with the explanations and on to the travel.

My husband is deployed right now and I had prepared myself not to see him for over six months. For reasons that can't be shared on the internet, we were able to meet up in Germany and Switzerland for a week of leave (vacation). I actually didn't believe I was going to see him until I got off the plane in Germany and saw his smiling face, but my goodness, this was exactly what we needed. After three months of him away, being able to spend a full week together in Interlaken, Switzerland -- quite possibly the most beautiful place I have ever been -- was close to heaven. And what I needed to recharge after a long semester and many moments of missing him.

We stayed in Hotel Rossli, a great hotel/B&B/hostel in Interlaken, Switzerland with an English speaking (and German and French...) owner/host. That was key since neither of us speak the two main languages of the country. This really wasn't a problem throughout the region either though, every service person we spoke with spoke English to us. We attempted to use the little French and German we know, starting a conversation with a "guten tag" or a "bonjour", and they'd reply in French or German which we didn't understand, so to keep things less confusing, we had to be the ignorant Americans who only spoke English. It didn't seem to be out of the norm because English seemed to be the most spoken language in the tourist areas. So a tip if you don't speak the languages fluently: use English and it seems to make everyone's life easier.

At Hotel Rossli a buffet breakfast was offered each morning that consisted of boiled eggs, cold cuts, hard cheese, yogurt, assorted cereals and rolls and croissants. I had to steer clear of all of the starches obviously, but because of the time change, I often wasn't ravenous in the morning. So, I ate some eggs, some cold cuts, a little cheese and I purchased some gluten-free muesli from a local health food store that I brought with me and ate with yogurt each morning.

That brings me what you can buy. I'd recommend on your first day to find a health food store (there were two in the town of Interlaken) or a regular grocery store ("coop" is the name of the store we frequented) and stock up. Schar is the big gluten-free brand there (and it's starting to become a big brand in the U.S. too) and they have a huge variety of foods: from ciabatta rolls to cookies, to bread to breadsticks to muesli -- they were all great. The health food store had more of a selection of gluten-free foods, while the grocery store had some of the staples. For hikes and skiing, we packed some meat (pepperoni-type meat and/or proscuitto) and some hard cheese. As well as a few gluten-free bars and some cookies.

But we were also able to get some vegetables in. Weight Watchers brand foods are surprisingly big there. They have lots of pre-made, packaged foods like marinated zucchini and cut up carrots with dips and lots of salads. Those were a great go-to food when we were out and about.

Eating out was always a pleasant experience in Switzerland. We got some great recommendations from the owner of our hotel and partook in fondue on more than one occasion. Bread is served with cheese fondue, but you can also order other foods to dip in the cheese. We got small, boiled potatoes, gherkin pickles and pickled onions. The potatoes were great, but the pickles and onions were surprisingly delicious. This was at a restaurant/cafe in Interlaken called De Alps. Laterne was the name of the traditional Swiss restaurant on the outskirts of town where we partook in meat fondue. Meat fondue or, chinois fondue is raw meat served with lots of condiments and a large pot of boiling broth or oil to cook the meat in. I really loved this meal, mostly because I love social foods, but it was quite tasty too: there were different dips to put on your meat, like curry, mayonnaise, tartar sauce and cocktail sauces and they all were good.

But perhaps the best meal we ate was on the mountain after a few ski runs. The A-man had an awesomley hearty meal of fried eggs, bacon and rosti (the delicious hash-brown like potato dish that I was obsessed with during the trip), while I had a "fitness" salad. Which, could have had more fat than my husband's dish. The salad, with it's mayonnaise-based dressing came with a chicken breast and little portions of potato salad, cucumber salad and carrot salad. It was awesome. And to get a little carbs, I ordered some pomme frittes (french fries) as a side. I didn't feel too horrible though -- with the not-so-great conditions skiing, I was working hard on the slopes skiing.

Just look at the color of those yolks!

I can't end this post without a huge shout out to British Airways. For my overnight flight to London, they upgraded me to business class (which was absolutely amazing -- they have seats that completely recline so they're flat like a bed) and I spent my five-hour layover in their fancy lounge. And their gluten-free meals are great: full with gluten-free rolls and sandwiches.

But I truly can't end this post without a dog photo: the friendly retriever we encountered on a hike through Bratenberg in Switzerland.

She was a bit of a shedder...

And the winner is...

2009-12-19T08:34:00.000-08:00

StipeyGirl75! Random.org chose number ten.

StipeyGirl75, email me at thegoodeatah at gmail dot com with your address and we'll get you that prize pack.

Congrats!

Snacks! A Giveaway!

2009-12-14T08:33:00.000-08:00

Boy, did these bring back memories.

I was the kid growing up that was sent to school with carrot sticks and whole wheat sandwiches. I would watch with envy as my pals would eat their packaged desserts. But! On occasion, I'd get a special treat: Gushers were a favorite. I'd eat them very slowly, making sure they would, well, gush into my mouth as I bit them. The cool kids at school would have their Fruit by the Foot, but they'd eat them in a hurry, unaware that what they were eating was, in my book, a treat to be savored.

Ahhh. Memories.

Betty Crocker, who, if you haven't heard recently came out with gluten-free baking mixes (try the brownies: they are the best brownie mix I've ever had) contacted me about a giveaway. Because I think this could be a lot of fun for a family, or anyone really, I'm partaking (and I really like supporting companies who make life easier for gluten-free folks). I'll randomly pick someone by 5pm on Friday, December 18th who comments on this blog post and Betty Crocker will send the gift pack your way (it includes a 2 packages of Betty Crocker fruit snacks, pick-up sticks, a yo yo and a frisbee).

Oh, and BTW: all treats in the package are gluten-free and dairy-free. And they're made with real fruit: a huuuuge plus.

New to Gluten-Free?

2009-12-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

That's a photo of one of Megan's adorable pup's, Dexter.

My good friend Megan has been thinking about going gluten-free for awhile and has recently decided that she's ready to give it a try. Her symptoms sound similar to many individuals who are gluten-intolerant: stomach troubles, and overall "blah" feeling and tiredness (chime in here Megan if you want to add anything). She inspired me to write up a brief email with my tips on going gluten-free, so here they are:

This is not a complete list, but it’ll be a good start. I will add to it as ideas pop into my head….

First off, a definition: Gluten is the protein found in wheat, barley and rye.

Where it can be hidden: soy sauce (most soy sauce is made with wheat but you can buy San Jay soy sauce that is gluten free and low sodium), in sauces (some are thickened with wheat flour), potato chips (read all labels, some flavors have gluten in them), even corn chips (made sure they’re made with 100% corn), deli meat (Boar’s Head is 100% GF I think, and Jennie O’s is too)

At the grocery store:

If you want to keep it really simple, eat whole foods, or in other words, nothing that is prepared, canned, jarred, etc. Only eating fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs and meat (you’re basically shopping on the “outside” aisles of the grocery store) means you will be free from any type of gluten. However, that gets boring quickly. So below you’ll find some foods at the regular grocery store that are gluten free…

Corn tortillas are your friend. I buy a huge pack of them (check the ingredients to make sure they are 100% corn) and use them for tons of things: “buns” for burgers, I’ll make pb and j roll ups out of them, quesadillas work well too. I throw them on my George Foreman-like grill for about 30 seconds and it makes them very pliable. Rice Chex are awesome (try the Cinnamon flavor) they are tasty for breakfast or as a dessert. Blue Diamond Nut Thins or Mary’s Gone Crackers I’ve found in regular grocery stores and both and tasty with hummus or cheese for snacks. Kettle Brand Potato Chips are delicious and most are gluten free. Rice is a good staple to have in the house and there are tons of varieties out there: brown rice and wild rice are the healthiest. KIND brand and LARA bars are at regular grocery stores and are good if you need portable GF food. Some of the varieties are better than others (Apricot Macadamia Nut KIND bars are really good)

At Trader Joes: They carry English Muffins that are quite good (but need to be heated) and lots of prepared food that happens to be good. Their one-hundred calorie brown rice bars (they taste like rice krispie treats) are really good and are a great portable food. They also have cocoa almonds that are awesome and gluten free. They have some frozen food that’s GF as well (like Taquitos) that are tasty, but the main thing to remember there is that they label everything really well and they will list allergens on each ingredient. In fact, when you get there if you ask an employee for their “gluten free list” they should be able to print you one (or there’s even one on their website I think)

In the next few paragraphs I reference many places near Boston, so if you don't live in the area it might not be terribly helpful.

At Health Food Store: It’s really easy to spend a lot of money at Health Food stores. The Good Health store has an awesome selection of gluten-free foods. I’d start with some pasta: Tinkyada brand is really good. Then, if you want to get into baking at all, pick up a “gluten-free flour mix.” There are tons out there and I’m not sure what GH is carrying right now, but Pamela’s and Bob’s Red Mill usually produces good baked goods. If you want to stay away from the cooking and baking, there are a lot of prepared foods in the freezer section (meals, soups, cookie dough for cookies, etc). They can get expensive fast, so beware. “Schar” brand bread is the best store-bought bread I’ve had so far and I’ve only seen it at Roche Bros actually. It’s best toasted. The Good Health store also has great packaged cookies, crackers and bars that are gluten-free. Let’s take a trip there together when I’m home.

While dining out: if you’re eating at a restaurant that doesn’t have a gluten-free menu, it’s sometimes best to tell the server that you have a wheat allergy so that they take it seriously. But a lot of servers now are knowledgeable about the whole gluten-free thing, so that’s good. You’re not shy, so you won’t have a problem asking servers what ingredients are used in food, so it’s best to do that if the menu isn’t clear. Ethic food is a good place to start if you’re GF: Thai, Indian, Japanese… all are not totally GF, but the noodles in Pad Thai for instance are made with rice (and genuine pad thai isn’t made with soy sauce), Indian food (except for naan) is mostly GF and Japanese (sushi) is a good option too – just make sure not to order rolls that have tempura or sauces on them. Some restaurants off the top of my head that have gluten free menus include: Legal Seafoods, Outback Steakhouse, Not Your Average Joes, Alice’s Mandarin Taste (really good Chinese food in Sharon, MA), PF Changs, Burton’s Grill near Fenway (they also carry Redbridge beer), Flatbread Pizza in Bedford has gluten-free pizza, Uno’s has GF pizza, Woodman’s of Essex (a fried clam place in Essex that has chicken fingers and horribly bad-for-you, but tasty food that are GF)…

This is a link to my “food review” section on my blog where I write about restaurants and food products, it might be helpful: http://thegoodeatah.blogspot.com/search/label/food%20review

Have any more tips? Comment away!

I'm On Twitter!

2009-12-03T11:03:00.000-08:00

I had more time when I had a full-time job; it's funny how I thought going back to school would give me more time. So, I've resorted to the instant-message-like format of Twitter to keep me informed and in touch recently.

This blog is still happening and will pick up a bit more (a good friend of mine would like to go gluten-free, so I'll be posting on my best tips on doing so) soon. And! NPR did a story recently on bacon in desserts and I'm really itching to try a chocolate bark and bacon recipe, so I'll be posting on that soon as well.

In the meantime, will you be my friend on Twitter? I'm new and friendless.... please!?

http://twitter.com/LizClancyLerner

And you may be wondering what the heck the photo up top has to do with this post... and it doesn't. That's my niece snacking on an apple she stole at a local Orchard recently: the kid is a good fruit and vegetable eater which is AWESOME.

Photo Phriday: A TJ's Package

2009-10-30T03:23:00.001-07:00

The closest Trader Joe's to here is a good 2 1/2 hour drive without traffic. My mother is well aware of this and my longing for Trader Joe's (how lucky I was in Boston with two within a half hour drive...) and sent me an amazingly awesome package full of Trader Joe's gluten-free goodies and a few other things not in the photo. She's pretty much the best mom ever.
Henry thinks so too.

What's Cookin'

2009-10-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

This is when I complain about how busy I've been and how I need to post more on my blog. And I know how annoying that must be to readers; there are plenty of you out there who are much busier than me. Those of you with kids. Or those of you working full-time and going to school full-time. Or those with sixty hour work weeks.
I've got graduate school. And I've got work. And I've got a dog. I also have a husband, but he's deployed right now. I'm lucky that I have my sister, brother-in-law and niece next door. So when I feel that urge to make for others -- they get fed. First up: Elana's Pantry zucchini muffins, only these are made with chocolate chips.
Then a kale salad that I whipped up.
Sweet potato and zucchini pancakes that I pan fried.
And stuffed peppers, in honor of my beloved Grandma.
And my niece eating the kale salad right out of the serving bowl. I see another "good eatah!"

Balsamic-Pomegranate Kale Salad (gluten-free, dairy-free)
serves 4

4 cups of loosely chopped fresh kale
1 carrot's worth of peels
1/2 cup cranberries
1 small bell pepper, julienned

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
salt and pepper to taste
(FYI -- these are "eyeball" measurements -- taste while your making for best results)

Add all of the vegetables together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients. Toss the dressing with the veggies and massage the dressing in to the kale if you don't mind getting your hands dirty.

FYI: Dairy Free Giveaway

2009-10-13T10:29:00.001-07:00

Head on over to Alisa's awesome dairy-free blog for a chance to win an awesome gift basket from the new online store: Dairy Free Market.

The drawing is Wednesday and it looks like there are some good gluten-free goodies in there too.

Photo Phriday: Anti-Rain Photo

2009-10-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

It's pouring here and has been since yesterday morning. So in order to cheer myself up (oh, and I use my HappyLite too!) I will share a photo taken recently on a nice day... one of the last one's of the year I'm afraid. That's my niece and of course, Henry. He almost looks angelic. Though, I'm pretty sure shortly after the photo was taken he decided to chase a squirrel up a tree and bark his head off.

Top Three: Best Dairy Free Beverages

2009-10-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

(Disclaimer: I do not get paid nor am I affiliated with any company or product. I do sometimes get products sent to me to sample, but I am honest in my opinion of them. Also, in terms of eating healthy: packaged products are not the way to go. However, I am like most Americans and I do buy my share of non-whole foods. These top three posts will be ranking those.)

It's been close to three years since I discovered my gluten and dairy sensitivity and I've probably spent over one thousand dollars since then on food that just didn't taste good. I was so overwhelmed by eating this new way that when I did see "Gluten Free" and "Dairy Free" on the label of a product, I often bought it.

Fortunately as the years have passed I've discovered some great products out there, both for the gluten free and dairy free. In an effort to save other people money, I'm creating a new feature here: Top Three. This is by no means a scientific taste test where I polled a variety of individuals on their reaction to different food products. It's merely my opinion.

So, for the first "Top Three" post, I will review my top three favorite gluten-free, dairy-free beverages.

1) In the top spot is Turtle Mountain's So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage

This milk-like product is so darn delicious that even when I don't feel like eating cereal for breakfast, I will. Just so I can eat it drenched in this milk. It's pretty new and I only discovered it about five or six months ago, but by far, it comes to closest to milk in terms of consistency (it's close to 2%) and taste, especially if you drink it cold. You can taste a hint of coconut however, so if you don't like coconut flavored things, this probably isn't your drink. I've made hot chocolate, ice cream and even soup with this stuff, all with good results. You can buy it in Original, Vanilla or Unsweetened. I tend to stick with the Unsweetened, but do indulge in the Vanilla quite often.

2) In second place is Living Harvest's Hemp Milk

My first hemp milk experience wasn't a good one. I don't even remember the brand name, but I remember the taste: it was chalky and well, gross. Living Harvest, on the other hand, knows what they're doing. You feel like you're doing something healthy (and you are -- you can find out all of the reasons why hemp is good for you here) when you're drinking it, but it also tastes good. It's slightly nutty and another nice addition to cereal. I've also used it when cooking with good results. You can get it in Original, Vanilla, Chocolate, Unsweetened Vanilla and Unsweetened Original. My favorite is the unsweetened vanilla (though the chocolate is a great indulgence too).

3) And in the number three spot is Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Milk

Almond Breeze seems to be the easiest dairy free beverage to find, whereas the top two I have only been able to find at health food and specialty stores. Almond Breeze was my go-to beverage for years and is great in coffee and tea (though be sure to shake it well first or else it looks like it curdles -- but doesn't -- it's still very drinkable). I have also had it in cereal, though it's not quite as "creamy" as the So Delicious product. The taste is good and slightly nutty like you'd expect. It's high in protein too, which makes it a great post-workout drink.

My next Top Three post will be on a related topic: Gluten-free, Dairy-Free Cereals.

Butternut Squash Polenta

2009-10-01T05:39:00.001-07:00

The Farmers Markets here in Illinois are quite awesome. Don't get me wrong, I love my New England ones, but the sheer amount of food you can purchase here is almost overwhelming. And everyone's so darn friendly!

This weekend I picked up a butternut squash, but I was looking for something to do with it other than roasting or pureeing. So after a little search on epicurious, I discovered this. It is a great, hearty side dish that's even good as a breakfast porridge! I adapted mine from theirs, making it dairy free and using fresh butternut squash, so here it is:

Butternut Squash Polenta

(gluten-free, dairy-free)

1 medium sized butternut squash, cut in half and roasted at 375 for about an hour, then pureed

1 medium sized onion, chopped

3 T Earth Balance (or butter)

2 1/2 cups water

2 cups dairy free beverage (I use So Delicious Coconut Milk)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup cornmeal

fresh sage to garnish

( 3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese is optional)

Saute the onion in the Earth Balance for at least five minutes. Add the squash and saute for another few minutes. Add both the "milk" and water in a large sauce pot and bring to a boil. Add the cornmeal slowly, salt and pepper and whisk as you go. Turn the heat to a simmer and cook about fifteen minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Then, add the squash mixture, nutmeg and cinnamon and combine. Cook another five to ten minutes and serve.

Photo Phriday: Sad Henry

2009-09-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

Not food-related at all. But this was Henry for the majority of the car-ride after we dropped off the A-man to leave for his deployment. I swear animals can sense feelings.

Quick Post: Gluten-free Goodness

2009-09-24T11:42:00.001-07:00

A photo taken with my camera of a meal from Escobar's in Champaign, IL: roasted duck, sweet potato and carrot puree with lightly sauteed vegetables and plaintains to garnish. The coolest thing about this place is that, if you ask, they will give you a gluten-free menu. Though, we had to convince (who I assumed was a new waitress) that there actually was one.

It's labeled Nuevo Latino Cuisine and the gucamole appetizer is amazing.

Photo Phriday: When the Light's Just Right

2009-09-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

A recent dinner of spaghetti squash sauteed in fresh garlic and olive oil with some tossed in fresh basil and a little salt and pepper.

Back at It: Pickled Peaches, Pork & Maple Balsamic Reduction

2009-08-31T05:13:00.000-07:00

Soooo. I don't have a dishwasher in my new place. That, and the fact that I'm still unpacking bit by bit has stifled my cooking for the past few weeks, but I'm back: on a schedule and finding my routine.

I'm a graduate student now. Instead of working forty hours a week I am now taking classes for fourteen hours a week, working as a graduate assistant for another ten and then working part-time for at least another five. I haven't decided which I prefer. So far, with my hours and hours of class work included, my free time is looking sparse.

But that won't stop me from cooking. It's therapeutic for me: mixing and tasting and measuring. Your mind must be in it and not thinking about the hundred other things that could be occupying your mind (like another pending deployment for the A-man). So on Saturday I decided I was going to use three peaches I had from the Farmer's Market, plus a pork tenderloin and use up that half-bottle of balsamic vinegar I toted from Boston. And after some research and recipes, this is what I came up with:

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pickled Peaches and Maple Balsamic Reduction
(gluten-free, dairy-free)

Maple Balsamic Reduction:

1 cup of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons earth balance (or butter)

Put balsamic vinegar in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a medium-low and let simmer for twenty minutes. Add the maple syrup and earth balance and whisk. Take off heat and let cool and thicken slightly, then it's ready to use.

Pickled Peaches:

The pickled peaches recipe that I used was taken from the Whole Foods website, which can be found here. The only substitution that I made was using agave instead of sugar.

Pork:

1 pork tenderloin
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Coat the pork in olive oil, then coat with the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least four hours. Then, grill over medium heat on a grill about twelve minutes, turning four times.

I served this dish with pureed sweet potatoes (the balsamic reduction goes really well with this) and kale chips. And, Henry really liked the pork.

Photo Phriday: Missing Boston

2009-08-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

I'm almost settled in my new city in the mid-west and almost back to regular blogging. It's a big change from my beloved Boston, but so far, so good. During my last week up in Beantown I went out to eat with Sally and Jenny at Burton's Grill near Fenway Park. It was great -- they have an extensive gluten-free menu and the manager came out to speak with us. Unfortunately, they didn't have any Redbridge at the time (which was suspicious because we saw a guy walking past us with a case of the stuff) so I had a potato blueberry vodka from Maine (I think this is the vodka - Cold River vodka) mixed with Sprite. It was delicious, and I usually don't say that about alcoholic drinks (the vodka was made with fresh blueberries). However, Sally had it mixed with tonic and it tasted like 'tussin, so I don't recommend that.

Food wise I had a great avocado salad with spiced shrimp on top. Sally had a burger with a gluten free bun and Jenny had a delicious looking chicken dish. But most important, I had great gluten-free company: miss you girls!

Honeymoon in Maui Part 2

2009-08-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

I need to get this up before fellow Bostonian and gluten-free blogger Allie gets married and leaves for her honeymoon to Maui (I'm so excited for you Allie)!

Along with our fantastic in-room chef-prepared dinner, we had quite a few great dining experiences on the island of Maui. My favorite was the dinner we had at Mama's Fish House. The hotel concierge booked us the reservation and let the restaurant know we had a gluten intolerance in the party so they knew ahead of time. The place is like a well oiled machine, with a staff that doesn't make you feel like just another customer. These people are true professionals. As you can see, our view during dinner was amazing:

And the food was just as good. The server checked with the chef and let me know which dishes were gluten-free. Even the drinks were gorgeous:

The A-man and I started with a delicious lobster guacamole served with sweet potato chips. It was so. darn. good.

And my main dish was a white fish prepared with deliciously seasoned vegetables and perfectly cooked white rice:

It was hard to top that dinner, but the Feast at Lele came very, very close. In fact, if you're gluten free and want to attend a luau (though it's technically a Polynesian dinner show) while in Maui -- this is a must. The Feast at Lele has four acts, each representing a different culture and four courses of food doing the same. It takes place in a gorgeous setting on the water. And not only did the server know exactly which dishes were okay for me to eat, but I didn't feel deprived in the least when there were dishes that had gluten in them: I either received double of the dishes I could eat, or an entirely new plate of food. It was a beautiful evening with dramatic and wonderful entertainment and a food experience that I will never forget. (how often is it that you actually feel special, and not in a bad way when dining out?)

While I could write an entirely separate post on how much fun we had at the Surfing Goat Dairy Farm, I'll spare you my obsession over how badly I want a goat of my own and will just say it's a blast. You can go on a tour, sample goat cheese (for those of you saying huh? I thought you were dairy free too? I eat goat products every now and then since they are much lower in casein than cow's milk), feed goats, and check out their giant pot bellied pig. I definitely recommend spending a few hours there.

Also somewhat food related was our horseback riding trip at Ironwood Ranch. This place is run by true animals lovers and our riding experience was a great one. The ride took place through an old pineapple farm. At the end of the ride you're welcome to pick fruit off of the trees on the property which we enjoyed and then we were able to hang out with the dogs at the ranch and spoke with a woman who works there and runs a catahoula/pit-bull rescue group. My heart went out to her and the dogs, since we're pretty sure Henry has some catahoula in him. If you love animals, a visit here is a must.

I can't forget the great experience we had one night at Flatbread Pizza. I have mentioned Flatbread before because there's one in Massachusetts, but there's also one in Maui! And they carry gluten-free pizza! However, they do charge quite a bit for it because it is imported, but our waitress was very upfront about that. And, she was just plain awesome: friendly, but not forced and truly knowledgeable about the restaurant and its ingredients. Oh Flatbread, how I love thee. (sorry no pictures from here, but it's in the cool town of Paia which has lots of neat shops, including a great health food store called Mana Foods with loads of gluten-free products)

Non-food related experiences I would recommend would be surf lessons with Goofy Foot surf school (our instructor was amazing), wind surfing (though I can't say I'd recommend the school we went with), riding down Haleakala Mountain on a bike and watching the sunrise, and taking a boat to Lanai to snorkel and visit the Four Seasons Hotel there.

Congratulations if you made it this far on this marathon-long post! I hope it enables those in the gluten free community to travel to this beautiful island.

And, if you're interested, below you will find a quick video of some very playful wild dolphins showing off for our boat in the waters off of the island of Lanai:

Little Nuggets of Joy

2009-07-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

So far this summer has been much busier than I thought it would be. I left my job right before I got married and thought I would be twiddling my thumbs most of the time before I start graduate school, but I've been traveling quite a bit, entertaining friends, and surprisingly, keeping pretty busy (and I've managed to get sick for about a week and a half as well). That's not to say I couldn't squeeze in more blog posts; I've certainly been cooking a lot and I have quite a few reviews to post, but I know once I settle into my new life as a graduate student come mid-August I will be more frequent in my posting. So I wanted to take this time to share with you all a neat pan the A-man and I received.

Getting married has meant my kitchen supply has grown immensely. I've received some pretty awesome tools, including this one: an ebelskever:

It's basically a pan that you can use to make filled pancakes. And on a lazy Sunday morning served with a side of bacon, it's pretty awesome. We filled ours with with a strawberry-rhubarb compote (strawberries and rhubarb cooked with a bit of agave) and a vanilla pudding (take 3 cups of almond milk, 1/2 cup agave, and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of corn starch, whisk together and bring to a boil. let simmer for five minutes stirring constantly until thick, take off heat and then add one teaspoon vanilla extract).

The recipe we used for the pancakes is one adapted from the recipe that came with the pan. We made it gluten free and dairy free of course. It makes a lot, and the process of making these takes some patience, but it's a lot of fun if you enjoy these types of things.

Filled Pancakes (gluten-free, dairy-free)
serves 4-6

2 cups gluten free flour mix (I used 1 cup superfine brown rice flour, 1 cup montina flour blend -- my new favorite)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs agave, or sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 3/4 cups non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
4 tbs earth balance buttery spread melted, plus more for pan

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the agave, egg yolks, milk and melted "butter." Add the wet ingredients into the dry until well combined. Then, using an electric mixer beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form (about two minutes) and fold into the batter.

In the pan, put small pats of butter in each well, add 1 tablespoon of batter, then 1 teaspoon of your filling, and cover with one more tablespoon of batter. Wait a minute or so and turn with chopsticks or wooden skewers.

A great video on the ebelskever technique can be found here.

Enjoy with maple syrup. They're even good cold the next day as I just discovered. And of course Henry's a big fan.

Photo Phriday: A Wedding Slideshow

2009-07-10T07:49:00.001-07:00

My completely awesome photographers Kjeld and Melissa Mahoney put together a slide show from the wedding day that can be found by pressing play below:

Liz & Allen - A Bradley Estate Wedding from kjeld mahoney on Vimeo.

It's got a great soundtrack and even some video in it: enjoy!

A total recap of the wedding will be done within a few weeks once I receive all the photos from the day.

Happy Weekend!

I'm Baaaaaack: Maui Post #1

2009-07-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Welp, it's been about a month since I last wrote a post on my dear blog. I've missed it -- a lot, and the blogging community. And I will be back to normal blogging shortly.

Married life has been great: it's hard to believe that this is the longest amount of time that the A-man and I have had together consecutively. I know I'm being spoiled because another deployment and separation is looming come September.

But let's focus on the positive: we had an amazing honeymoon in Maui. We stayed at one of the Westin resorts in Kaanapali and as a wedding gift my sister and brother-in-law hired a Westin chef to come into our suite and cook us dinner one evening!!! How darn cool is that? I'll give a little recap of the dinner:

While the chef was prepping the food, we lounged on our patio:

Then our highly talented and very friendly chef worked some magic:

First course was a tuna sashimi dish that was amazing and so fresh. Those are crispy fried potatoes on top. Mine was made sans soy sauce.

Next up were two perfectly cooked scallops and a great salad (lettuce wrapped in a thin piece of cucumber: very pretty):

The main course was a piece of white fish that was delicious with a side of lightly sauteed veggies:

And lastly we had the best. dessert. ever. Now I'm a big chocolate person, so that's where I usually go with dessert, but this was amazing: a pineapple sorbet with lavender served in a almond bowl (made with sliced almonds and corn syrup). It was gooooood:

Inspired by our dessert I recently made my own version of pineapple sorbet that I will share soon on the blog.

A big thank you to my dear sis and bro in law for arranging this great evening. It was easily one of the highlights of our honeymoon -- and gluten-free and dairy-free of course.

I have a few more posts from Maui that I want to write about : dinner at Mama's Fish House, The Feast at LeLe and a trip to a goat farm. So on that note, I'll leave you with a photo of the awesome goats we got to hang out with in Maui:

If you look closely the middle goat is biting the ear of the goat on her right. Silly goats.

I'm Married!

2009-06-09T14:27:00.001-07:00

This will be short as I'm blogging from my honeymoon, but what an amazingly touching and beautiful day it was. Everything went smoothly, there were a bunch of surprises, tons of dancing and the food was great. But most importantly, I married the love of my life.
P.S. Does my photographer not rock??? The photo above is of our wedding cake from Celia Cakes -- gluten-free of course.

Homemade Vanilla Almond Butter

2009-05-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

Talk about a cinch to make! I think this recipe took me about two minutes to put together, and that includes cleaning my Vitamix.

I'm a big fan of nut butter of any sort, so when I saw that Kath of Kath Eats Real Food was sampling some vanilla almond butter that a company had sent her, I knew it was something I had to try and make. And I did, and it was okay. So I tried again, and this time: score!

The last batch I made was too crumbly and you could taste the alcohol from the vanilla extract, so I had a quick fix: use vanilla powder and add a little oil. And voila! Homemade vanilla almond butter.

It's good on rice cakes, apples, in cereal, or by itself. I may even try roasting the almonds slightly and adding a bit of agave as well.

Vanilla Almond Butter (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

1 1/2 cups raw almonds
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
2 (+/-) tablespoons mild tasting oil (I used light olive oil)

Place all ingredients into a Vitamix, blender or food processor and process until smooth.

*To make an almond butter crunchy I will usually reserve a bit of the whole almond and add it in at the end until lightly chopped.

Photo Phriday: The End of a Chapter

2009-05-22T10:39:00.001-07:00

Big news in the life of Liz: not only am I getting married in two weeks, but I am leaving my job, moving to Virginia, and then moving to Illinois to begin a Master's program. Phew.

That's a lot of change.

It's incredibly bittersweet for me. I love my job and I love the community that I live and work in, but in order to live like a married couple, I had to move. My co-workers and members from the tv station I work for threw a party for me yesterday. I was overwhelmed with the support I received from everyone and never will I forget this place and these people.

My folks even attended and brought a giant, delicious cake from Celia Cakes -- it was absolutely amazing and no one could tell it was gluten-free.

And in honor of SNL's Weekend Update, I threw my pen at the tv camera during my very last show today. I'm going to miss this place.

Gluten Free Fried Calamari

2009-05-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

To make gf/cf fried calamari is soooo simple as I learned this past weekend. All you need is squid, cornstarch, salt and pepper and oil for frying. This is by no means a healthy meal, but it was a good way to celebrate Mother's Day this past weekend.

I don't have a "recipe" for this because nothing was measured (my dear Dad made it), but the technique will work for sure:

Cut squid into rounds, dredge in cornstarch and salt and pepper, fry until crispy. And voila, gluten free fried calamari!

Gluten-Free Handmade Dog (and cat) Treats

2009-05-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

How cool is this? Sugar Selections Gluten Free Dog Treats.

My sister passed this Etsy seller along to me with the heading "Henry's getting a wedding present!" so I have a feeling the little guy will be taste-testing these for you all soon. Here's what the baker has to say about her liver and flax seed biscuits:

Made with the folowing human grade ingredients:chicken livers and ground flax seed meal. Completely free of wheat, other grains containing gluten, corn, and dairy. Each biscuit is approximately 1.5" wide and each batch is made to order. Biscuits are very lightly baked and then popped into the dehydrator for 12 hours. The result is a fantastic treat for your dog with the taste (and stink!) of liver and all the health benefits of flax seed.

I'm sure you have all heard about the poisoned wheat gluten in dog food a few years back; that surely got people on the anti-gluten bandwagon, but there's another reason to stay away from it in my opinion: dogs aren't meant to eat wheat -- much like many humans. Sure, a lot of people do, and a lot of dogs do -- and they're just fine. But when you think about it, no dog would take down a stalk of wheat and nibble on it. It's just not edible in that form and they, of course, do not have the means to turn it into an appetizing cake or cookie (though that would be a funny sight -- cathcing Henry in the kitchen whipping up a pie).

I'm certainly not knocking people for feeding their dogs commercial dog food. I feed Henry the commercial stuff (though his is gluten-free) and in this economny when you have to decide between feeding your children healthily and feeding your dog healthily -- choose your kids. I'm simply saying that the less fillers (including gluten) that you feed your dog, the better.

And instead of leaving you with a photo of Henry enjoying these treats, I'll post one of the Etsy seller's adorable pooch enjoying one of her treats:

Red Sweet and Sour Cabbage

2009-05-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

Finally! A recipe! After tasting the delicious sweet and sour cabbage over mashed potatoes combination a few weeks ago, I've come up with a super simple and healthy way to make it myself.

The jarred variety that I recently had was good, but a bit too sweet for me and it was made with red cabbage (and corn syrup - yuck). I didn't have any on hand, and I knew that aesthetically speaking, regular cabbage simmered would be kind of ugly, so I threw in a shredded beet and it gave the dish a beautiful color. This recipe calls for only a handful of ingredients and only takes a few minutes to put together, but FYI, about an hour to simmer.

Red Sweet and Sour Cabbage (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

(serves 4 as a side dish)

1 medium sized cabbage, shredded
1 small onion, sliced
1 beet, peeled and shredded
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons agave (can use brown sugar instead)
freshly ground salt and pepper (about a teaspoon of each)
1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

In a saucepan on medium high heat, add all of the ingredients, mix and bring to a boil. Cover and turn down heat to a simmer over low-medium. Continue to simmer for 45 to 55 minutes and check occasionally and stir. Serve immediately warm, or chill in the refrigerator and serve cold over mashed potatoes.

Bad Blogger: Sweet and Sour Cabbage and Mashed Potatoes

2009-05-06T14:36:00.001-07:00

I really thought I could keep it up during wedding crunch time: coming up with new recipes and blogging a handful of times a week. I thought "The major stuff has been booked, so really, what else do I need to do?" SO MUCH, as I am learning.

It is a second job. But I'm not complaining. I like being busy, but unfortunately the time and energy that I usually spend on my blog is being used to pick out flowers, linens, and programs, coordinating with friends and family about the logistics of the day, going to dress fittings, picking out music for the ceremony, dinner and reception, going over the food options, figuring out what shoes I can wear for seven hours, writing the ceremony and keeping the people involved happy.

So, while I have no recipe (though I have been cooking) I want to share with you one of my new favorite things: sweet and sour cabbage over mashed potatoes.

Seriously. It's amazing.

Or in the photo above, sweet and sour cabbage over hash browns made from the same mashed potatoes.

The dear A-man was so proud when he presented this combination to me. He was in Germany recently for work and mentioned the combination in passing a few times, but just this past weekend we made it. And it was heaven. I'll make some homemade sweet and sour red cabbage soon I'm sure, and I'll post about that, but for my first cabbage/mashed potato experience, jarred was what he had.

Photo Phriday: Practice

2009-04-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

It's rare that I go a week without posting but the giant work project that I'm dealing with AND the wedding planning have taken a toll on my blogging and cooking. However! Henry is still being Henry and the A-man got a little taste at what it's like to deal with a tired pooch this past weekend:

Photo Phriday: So Proud.

2009-04-17T06:01:00.000-07:00

I've always said that running a marathon is a lifetime goal of mine, one that I'd like to achieve before I have children. On the other hand, my sister and brother-in-law had that same goal, but decided to do so just over one year after having their child.

As a person who has had a strained relationship with distance running (stemming from a horribly mean high school track coach)I understand the time, effort and perseverance it takes to train for and complete a marathon and could not be more proud of my sister and brother-in-law. It was difficult to keep my eyes dry as they ran past me, looking strong and on their way to completing one of their greatest challenges.

Here they are after running the 26.2 miles:

Here's Kate at mile 8 about to give her daughter a smooch:

And bro-in-law about to do the same:

And my niece, the recipient of the mile eight kisses who I gladly hung out with during the race, cheering on her accomplished parents.

Under Two Months

2009-04-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

Oh boy: the wedding. It's seven weeks away!

Two weekends ago the A-man and I had a tasting with our caterer, Crazy Chefs. We used them for my sister's wedding a few years back and they were great and now we'll be using them for mine and we're ecstatic. They have been more than accommodating in the food allergy department. We had our tasting in their restaurant location, Loco, in Easton, Massachusetts. I have eaten there before and really, really like the place. It's a tapas and wine bar and again, they were great in pointing out which foods were gluten-free and which weren't.

The tasting went really well. Our appetizers were fantastic: a balsamic reduction atop grilled vegetables was the star in my opinion and Allen loved the lamb chops. We'll also be having a raw bar served in their signature boat (literally, a row boat), and a variety of more passed appetizers and a peach and mesclun salad with a champagne vinaigrette to start. The main meal will be a choice between grilled, then roasted beef tenderloin and striped bass topped with peach salsa. Both dishes rocked. I think I will be choosing the bass for my dish on the day of. The A-man -- the red meat of course.

Here are a few photos from the day: the fish, salad and some of the appetizers. I'm going to make sure to ask my photographer to take photos of the food the day of the wedding so you can see the food in all its glory on the wedding day!

In other wedding related food news, this weekend we will have our cake tasting with Celia Cakes which is super exciting. I'll be sure and post about it.

And in other news, I was adopted! Thomas of The GFCF Experience made my caterpillar cake recipe for his beautiful daughter Olivia and it seemed to be a big hit.

And! My sister clued me in to a great giveaway where you could win a cooler full of Turtle Mountain's new Coconut Milk beverage. I'm a huge fan of their coconut milk yogurt and ice cream, so I'm sure their new coconut milk drink is delicious.

Gluten-free Flatbread

2009-04-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Also know as gluten-free naan or gluten-free wraps.

In a moment of desperation, I managed to come up with a substitute recipe for Chebe: the popular and versatile dough mix of the gluten-free world. Chebe, in my opinion, tastes great and has a chewy, doughy texture that is difficult to achieve with most gluten-free foods. However, it's two main ingredients are tapioca and manioc flour which don't offer much in the nutrition department. So, I attempted to make a brown rice flour based mix and in place of the oil and/or eggs typically used when mixing together Chebe, I simply used applesauce and I'm happy to say I'm pleased with the results.

And Henry is too.

Gluten-free Flatbread (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

1 cup superfine brown rice flour
1/2 cup white rice flour (plus more for dusting)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 tablespoon xantham gum
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup water (plus or minus one tablespoon)

In a large bowl, combine the flours, xantham gum and salt. Then add in half of the water and mix, then the applesauce, then the other half a cup of water. The consistency should be much like a typical gluten bread dough and it will be sticky. Next, liberally dust a few tablespoons of the white rice flour onto a flat surface and take about 1/4 cup of the dough and start flattening with a rolling pin, making sure to put extra flour between the dough. Then add the flattened dough onto a skillet over medium heat (I used cast iron, so I didn't need oil) and "fry" both sides for about 2-3 minutes each. The dough should make between 7-8 corn tortilla sized wraps, less for larger wraps. They are best if immediately eaten but also store well in the refrigerator if kept air tight. You can warm them slightly in the microwave or on a skillet again to make them more pliable.
I see myself making a gluten-free flatbread #2 soon. Look for the addition of rice bran and other fiber-rific flours. I may even attempt to make them without xantham gum...

Kebabs for a Group

2009-04-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

When I studied abroad in Australia there was one food that was heaven after a night out: kebabs. They're not like the kebabs we think of here: skewed on a stick and grilled. Kebabs in Australia are basically wraps filled with chicken, cheese and barbecue sauce that are then grilled and served in aluminum foil. In other words, they were pure heaven at 2AM after a few too many drinks. In Surfers Paradise in Queensland where I spent most of my time, kebab stands were as frequent as hot dog stands here. It's amazing to me that I didn't gain thirty pounds when studying abroad there. It probably had a lot to do with the fact I was eating a lot of food that I was intolerant to without even knowing it.

Flash forward six years to the kebabs I eat and serve today: no wrap, no cheese, no barbecue sauce. But still, they're good and my friends seemed to like them too. In an attempt to celebrate the one Spring-like day we've had this year I had some friends over and broke out the grill: chicken, steak and vegetable kebabs were on the menu.

Kebabs (gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo)

10 wooden skewers soaked in water overnight
6 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes
2-3 pounds steak, cut into cubes
1 red and 1 yellow pepper, cut into large squares
1 large yellow onion, cut into squares
about twenty small mushrooms, cleaned

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Greek style seasoning (like oregano, garlic powder, lemon salt, onion powder)

In bowl combine the marinade ingredients and pour into a large ziploc bag. Add the meat and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (and up to 6). Then, alternate the vegetables and meat and place on the skewers. Or, keep them separate to have them cook more evenly. When all of the meat and vegetables are on the skewers, place on a large plate and drizzle with olive oil and freshly cracked salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes per side.

Here's the gang after the feast:

A Gluten-Free Casein-Free Wedding Shower

2009-03-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

How cute is that centerpiece? It's three Corningware-type dishes stacked on top of one another and placed on a cake stand. Two white doves top the "cake"and navy and white ribbons surround it. My crafty mom made it for my wedding shower which took place two weekends ago.
I just got done writing my thank you notes to all of the wonderful women in attendance; I felt so lucky to be surrounded by such strong and wonderful women during the shower, but it got me thinking that I needed to thank the food vendors who made this happen as well.

I'll start off with the caterer - Terrie Stone Catering out of Easton, MA employs the nicest group of women I have ever encountered in the food business. My mother who planned the shower with my sister dealt with the menu planning and from what I understand, Terrie Stone, the owner, couldn't have been more accommodating when creating a gluten-free, dairy-free luncheon. I apologize that the pictures aren't great (I tried to take quick snapshots between spending time with the lovely ladies in attendance) but each dish was not only beautifully presented, but delicious and fresh to boot.

The veggie platter was crisp and served with a spicy black bean dip and the shrimp cocktail was fresh with a great cocktail sauce that everyone raved about (the caterer even gave me a copy of the cocktail sauce recipe which can be found here, via Gluten-Free Girl). The main dishes were tasty as well, and I ate them so quickly that I failed to take a photo, they included sweet and sour chicken with apricots and short grain brown rice (a new favorite) and tender steak tips with a great mesclun salad with beets. Terrie, thank you for being so accommodating and for feeding the flock some great tasting food!
Favors for the party were created by the locally owned Pinches and Pounds in Whitman, MA. Annette Harnett, the owner, researched and researched to find gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate that she could use to specially make chocolate dipped dried apricots, pineapple and marshmallows as favors. You can tell that each confection was made with great patience and they turned out beautifully, wrapped in a pretty navy blue ribbon. Pinches and Pounds is one of those great community stores, aiming to help the local community and do whatever they can for their customers. Annette, thank you so much for specially making these delicious treats! People are still talking about how great they were.

And how could I not leave out Cal. You've read what I have to say about Cal's Cupcakes before -- the Hingham, MA based company that makes gluten-free, dairy-free cupcakes that are to die for. Well, Cal is so awesome that she delivered five dozen of her chocolate and vanilla cupcakes to my mother's house for the shower. They tasted even better than I remember (and I didn't think that was possible). Along with the chocolate cake/vanilla frosting combo, she also made a vanilla cake/chocolate frosting combo that was delicious. I'd have more photos, but they were all eaten so quickly that I didn't have a chance to take any more! Thank you, thank you, thank you Cal!
So, fellow GFers, I know what a pain it is to find gluten-free vendors -- those that won't act like you're a complete pain or charge you more for special requests, so I end this post with the optimistic thought that they're out there and I was lucky enough to find three.

Photo Phriday: Get Me Out of Here!

2009-03-27T09:52:00.001-07:00

That's a photo of my niece at my wedding shower. She was trying to get the attention of some outside cats at my parents house (this moment was accompanied by some high-pitched screaming) so I got on the other side of the door to get her reaction on film (er, digitally).

And on that note, gluten-free vendor reviews from the wedding shower will be coming soon!

Kudos to Another GF Restaurant

2009-03-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

I am going to write every single combination of words that people might type into Google when searching for gluten-free Chinese food options in Massachusetts: gluten free Chinese food in MA, GF Chinese food, gluten free Chinese food menu, gluten free Chinese restaurant...

It could go on, but that would be annoying, so I'm hoping that those phrases will bring people to this post and in turn to Alice's Mandarin Taste in Sharon, Massachusetts. Sorry for the photo -- it was taken on my brother-in-law's camera phone. It doesn't really do the food justice, but it does portray the Chinese food staples that I grew up with that I miss so much: fried rice, General Tso's Chicken, spicy broccoli and chicken wings. It also turned me on to a few new dishes, like pineapple rice and chicken with honey glazed walnuts. Here, check out their gluten free menu and decide for yourself.

The folks working there were SO nice. The woman who I am assuming is Alice had a smile on her face the entire time and I thanked her for having a gluten-free menu. I recommend you do so too by taking a visit.

A Family Tradition: Caterpillar Cake

2009-03-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

I have a lot to post about: this past weekend was my bridal shower and I have some awesome gluten-free vendors to write about. Also, on Friday night my family and I went to a local Chinese food restaurant that has a large and extensive gluten-free menu with food that was quite tasty. But first, I have to get to a family tradition: the caterpillar cake we made for my niece's first birthday, made gluten-free of course.

I'm now going to share with you all an embarassing photo, but one that proves the legitimacy of the caterpillar cake:

That's me on the left, looking like a complete punk. Notice the popped collar under my awesome sweatsuit? The pursed lips? The "yeah, I made this cake -- so what" look that I'm giving? Of course you do, but don't let it distract you from the cake that my sister and I are holding. Many, many years ago, in the mid nineteen eighties a tradition was born in my family: the caterpillar cake. I have no idea where my mother got the idea, but basically you bake a cake in a bunt pan and cut it in half to make a "S" shape, then you decorate it to look like a caterpillar. It was a fun, simple baking project that my sister and I loved to partake in, until we became bratty teenagers and were too cool for it. But now, with a new generation in our family, we decided to bring it back, gluten-free, dairy-free style. And so I present you the caterpillar cake of 2009:

We attempted to replicate the photo: me looking like a punk, Kate looking like the older sister that was forced to hang out with her younger sister, except this time Kate's smiling and has a baby snuggled up to her (notice the legs hanging near her hips). The caterpillar legs are made from swedish fish and the cake is decorated in M&M's (which contain dairy, so I just didn't eat them). And my niece, the Birthday girl, had a field day with the frosting:

Caterpillar Cake (gluten-free, dairy-free)

serves 6 for dessert

for the cake (adapted from Annelise Roberts Cookbook: Gluten Free Baking Classics):

1/2 cup Earth Balance
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 cups brown rice flour mix (1 cup brown rice flour/1/2 cup tapioca starch/1/2 potato starch)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup rice milk

Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour a bundt pan. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Then, add the flour, salt, vanilla, rice milk and baking powder and mix until combined. Pour evenly in bundt pan and cook for 25-30 minutes until a knife comes out clean when piercing the cake. Let cool and take out of pan and cut in half. Place the two pieces of cake on a platter to create and "S."

for the frosting:

1 cup of shortening
1 box of confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
3 tablespoons rice milk (or more if needed)

In a stand mixer, beat the shortening until creamy and slowly add in half of the confectioners sugar. Then add the vanilla and rice milk until combined. Add the rest of the sugar until the mixture has a frosting like texture, adjust with more rice milk if too dry.

to frost the cake:

24 swedish fish
M&M's
other colorful candies of your choice

Take one tablespoon of the frosting and frost the cut halves of the cake, sticking the cake together. Then frost the entire cake and decorate as you please: giving the "caterpillar" eyes, legs and spots.

Next time I think I'll try making avocado frosting (you simply use avocado in place of the shortening in the frosting recipe) to make the caterpillar green.

Happy St. Patrick's Day & A Red Lentil Butternut Squash Curry

2009-03-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

Orange and green: how's that for a St. Patrick's Day lunch? If you haven't met me, you might not know I'm Irish, but after one look: freckles, pale skin, and a last name that screams it, it's pretty clear that I've got some Irish blood. Though, I've never been to the place -- only dreamt of it and attempted to live my Irish fantasy through friends that have been there. One friend -- my dear friend (and bridesmaid) Sheila, studied abroad in Gallway, Ireland and had wonderful tales of friendly locals, packed pubs and curry to share. Seems strange, right? Curry? In Ireland? Sure, it's not Irish food, but Ireland has really become quite multi-cultural: with ethnic sections of major cities, much like the Little Italy's and Chinatowns in the U.S. So, in honor of St. Patrick's Day I give you a curry dish: red lentil and butternut squash curry to be exact.

I've been hearing a lot about red lentils lately. They're cheap, tasty, high in fiber and folate and when mixed with rice become a complete protein. I chose to skip the rice this time and go with some kale under my lentils, making for hearty "Erin Go Bragh" lunch.

I adapted this recipe from one found on epicurious for Coconut Red-Lentil Curry with Zucchini

Red Lentil & Butternut Squash Curry (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

serves 4 for dinner

1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1 1/2 teaspoon curry
dash nutmeg
dash cayenne pepper
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup coconut milk (if you want it creamier, use more coconut milk, less water)
1 1/2 cups dried red lentil
2 cups butternut squash, diced into cubes
fresh cilantro to garnish
coconut milk yogurt to garnish

In a deep skillet, add the oil and onion and saute for at least five minutes until fragrant. Then add the ginger and garlic and saute for one minute. Then add all of the spices and saute for another minute. Next add the water, coconut milk and lentils and bring to a boil. Immediately, turn down to a simmer and cook for another five minutes. Then add the squash and cover and simmer for another fifteen minutes until the lentils and squash are tender. Serve and garnish with fresh cilantro and coconut milk yogurt.

Photo Phriday: Reader Edition

2009-03-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

My friend and co-worker (and reader of this blog) Carol recently made some fish stew from a recipe I posted about a year ago. She made my day when she took a photo of her soup with her lovable pooch Lydia in the background. She is quite possibly the best behaved dog in the world (Henry could learn a few things)

And the soup turned out great! She added a bit of kale to it to up the veggies and used fresh tomatoes which I highly recommend.

Food for Friends

2009-03-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

I had a ridiculously busy week last week work-wise, with jobs that trickled into my real life, so that's reason number one for not posting much. The second reason is that I realized I am three months away from getting married: there's no problem in the man department, he's one-in-a-billion, but the planning stuff -- the invitations, the color schemes, the centerpieces, well I'm not too good at figuring everything out. So once I realized that my "to do" list was significantly longer than my "done" list I got a wee-bit stressed. So, this weekend I still had work to do, but I also made time to do some yoga, take a bootcamp workout class (I'm still sore) and have some friends over. Nothing relieves stress for me more than cooking and friends, so I'm feeling back to my old self. On the menu for my pals was marinated flank steak (I was able to grill is because it was actually warm out!), bacon and spinach salad, grilled asparagus and roasted red potatoes. Oh, and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. The flank steak and salad require actual recipes, but the grilled asparagus was simply that (grilled on a panini press for about three minutes with fresh lemon squeezed on top) and the roasted potatoes were red potatoes, cut into small wedges, drizzled with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and roasted at 375 for thirty minutes, turning once mid-way. The photos taken are of the leftovers; I failed to take photos during the actual meal.

Marinated Flank Steak (gluten-free, dairy-free)

(serves four)

1 large flank steak
1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce (Lea and Perrins is gluten-free)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

Place the worcestershire sauce, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper in a large zip-loc bag, add the flank steak and marinate for one and a half hours (the longer, the better). Grill the steak, about five minutes on each side over medium heat. Let rest before serving and cut against the grain into slices.

Warm Bacon and Spinach Salad (gluten-free, dairy-free)

(serves four)

1 bag of baby spinach
1/3 of a red onion
6 pieces of bacon, fried with bacon fat reserved
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon agave nectar (or sugar)
freshly cracked salt and pepper

Place the bacon fat in a small saucepan on low heat, whisk in the vinegar, mustard, and agave. Toss in a large bowl with the spinach, onion and crumbled bacon and add freshly ground salt and pepper.

This is a rare moment: Henry is not at all interested in the steak near him. I'm guessing there was a squirrel outside.

Kath Eats Good Food

2009-03-03T09:38:00.000-08:00

I'm guessing that the majority of food bloggers have come across Kath Eats Real Food, a great inspirational, informative and entertaining look at what blogger and student of nutrition, Kath eats each meal. She has an affinity for kale much like mine, so I was excited to see her recently post a soup recipe that involved the all-mighty leafy green and quite a few other ingredients that I happen to love: sweet potato, coconut and peanuts. She said the soup was good -- that it was the best soup she's made, and while I can't attest to that; it's certainly become the best soup I've ever made. Kath, you are a genius of soup!

To make mine vegan and to use what I had on hand, I had to change things up slightly. To read Kath's original recipe, click here.

But here's what I did:

Kath's Nutty Vanilla Sweet Potato Soup (gluten-free, dairy-free)

serves 4 for dinner

2 lbs of sweet potato peeled and cooked in the microwave until tender (about 7 minutes)
1 tbs olive oil
1 can of coconut milk
2 cups of water
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 cups of kale, trimmed and chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup raisins
salted peanuts (I used the delicious BBQ ones pictured below) for garnish (optional)
unsweetened shredded coconut for garnish (optional)

After microwaving the potatoes, place a large saucepan over medium heat and coat bottom lightly with olive oil. Add potatoes and cook until lightly browned. Add the coconut milk, water, curry, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Then, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for thirty minutes. Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture to desired consistency (be careful because the soup will be hot and can splatter). Then add the kale, raisins, and vanilla and let simmer another ten minutes before serving. Garnish with coconut and peanuts and you'll find yourself in soup heaven.

That furry, blurry thing to the right of the peanuts is Henry's snoopy nose.

Video Friday

2009-02-27T04:01:00.000-08:00

This video was recorded right after Christmas at my future in-laws house in Maine. Henry wasn't completely comfortable with his new boots...

Cinnamon Chicken?

2009-02-24T09:24:00.001-08:00

Yup. You read that right: cinnamon chicken. I was a little weary to combine the two ingredients, but really, it turned out quite well.

After reading in various periodicals that cinnamon is both an appetite suppressant and quite good for you, I was ready to try it on chicken. Here's what an article in Women's Health magazine had to say: "Research has linked the copper-colored stuff with reduced blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in people with type 2 diabetes, and a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that adding a little more than a teaspoon to rice pudding even helped tame blood sugar in people without diabetes." Even more of a reason to add more cinnamon to my diet.

Cat Cora, of Food Network fame had this recipe published in the latest issue of Health magazine. I modified it slightly (mainly just by using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, omitting the wine and by halving the recipe) and then served it over some delicious tinkyada brown rice pasta. Here's a play by play of what I did.

Cinnamon Chicken (gluten-free, dairy-free)

serves two for dinner

1 tsp cinnamon, salt & pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 tbs tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano

First, mix the cinnamon, salt and pepper in a bowl and rub chicken with cinnamon seasoning. Then heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat. Brown chicken for 4-5 minutes. Lower heat to medium high, add onions and garlic and cook for about three minutes. Then add 1/4 cup of broth to pan and scrape down chicken and onion bits. When the stock has evaporated, add the water, rest of broth, tomato paste, oregano and more garlic. Cover and simmer for one hour. You should be left with two perfectly cooked chicken breasts and lots of tasty sauce.

Henry couldn't keep his eyes off of it.

Broccoli Soup

2009-02-23T10:48:00.000-08:00

I remember in college that I would sometimes indulge in the Velveeta-yellow, broccoli and cheese soup that my cafeteria offered. It was good and filling and on a cold New England day it was downright perfection.

On a chilly day last week I had a craving for that soup, so when I saw two packages of frozen chopped broccoli on sale for $1 at the grocery store, I knew I had to attempt it. And I'm sure glad I did.

This soup, with no cheese, no dairy, no nutritional yeast flakes (often found in vegan dishes to mimic "cheesiness") is somehow creamy and almost cheesy. I attribute it to the rice flour roux, blending of the soup and long simmer time of the recipe. I ate it right out of the pot. Then I had it warm for dinner. And the next day I had it cold for breakfast. I've gotta make these cheap dishes more often.

"Creamy"Broccoli Soup (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

serves 4

1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons rice flour
2 packages of 10 oz frozen, chopped broccoli slightly thawed
2 cups water plus one vegetarian bouillon cube (or vegetable stock)
freshly cracked salt and pepper (about 1 teaspoon each)
1 teaspoon ground garlic (or 2 cloves of fresh garlic)

In a saucepan on medium heat, add the olive oil. Then add the onion and saute for at least five minutes. Next, add the rice flour to create a roux. With a whisk keep mixing the flour/olive oil/onion mixture until it gets light brown (about five minutes). Then one and a half boxes of the broccoli, salt, pepper and garlic and saute a bit more. Then add the water or stock. Bring to a boil and turn the heat down and continue to simmer. Next, I used my immersion blender and blended the soup until creamy, then I added the rest of the broccoli to make it more of a hearty soup. If you like it creamier, then blend all the broccoli. Simmer for another twenty minutes, adjust seasonings and serve.

Photo Phriday: Baby Skype

2009-02-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

While skyping with my sister, bro-in-law and niece this past weekend my sister pointed out that the meal she was eating was made up of two of my recipes: kale and pulled pork. Which of course meant that I had to take a picture of it with my adorable niece in the background.

Hooray for skype for keeping families connected!

Sweet and Sour Pork

2009-02-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Going out to eat for Chinese food is often tricky in the gluten-free world. Many foods are made with soy sauce, which in most cases, is made from wheat. Fortunately, restaurants like P.F. Changs have gluten-free menus and do a great job at making their food available to all. But it's still nice to have a few Chinese (well, Americanized Chinese) dishes in your repertoire. Here's one of my favorites -- made just a bit healthier.

This is a typical sweet and sour pork recipe. It doesn't call for anything particularly fancy, except for agave which is my preferred sweetener (but you can certainly use sugar). Also, my sister recently made the recipe with tofu instead of pork -- making it easy to convert vegan as well. Also, instead of being served over rice, the A-man and I opted to serve it over lightly sauteed shredded cabbage; a now favorite option of mine.

Sweet and Sour Pork (gluten-free, dairy-free)

Serves 2 for dinner

About 2 pounds of pork tenderloin (or drained, extra firm tofu), cubed
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup canola or grapeseed oil
1 cup cubed fresh or canned pineapple
1/2 chopped yellow onion/pepper/carrot (optional)

for the sauce:
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup agave
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons gluten-free soy sauce

In a wok or skillet over medium heat, add the oil -- make sure it doesn't smoke. Meanwhile, add the cornstarch to a large ziploc bag then the pork and shake until evenly coated. Fry the pork until crispy in small batches and drain on paper towels. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan add all of the sauce ingredients and whisk together. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for a few minutes. Adjust agave and vinegar if desired. Add the pork back into the wok, then add the pineapple and vegetables, then the sauce. Stir to combine and serve over rice or lightly sauteed shredded cabbage.

You Know You Have a Chocolate Addiction When...

2009-02-17T13:34:00.001-08:00

1. You require a square of dark chocolate after breakfast.

2. You immediately go to the grocery store to buy more chocolate when you see that you only have one bar left.

3. You always have chocolate in your carry on luggage during trips in case you can't find any vegan dark chocolate during your layover.

My name is Liz. And I have a chocolate addiction.

Fortunately for me, the one holiday that condones this addiction just passed. So, in order to get this out of my system, I must purge my Valentine's Day recipes.

This is the first time in six years that the A-man and I have spent Valentine's Day together and we celebrated with cooking, eating, talking about our future together and... doing yard work (he's going to give me hard time for pointing that last one out). But truly, I felt grateful that we were able to spend the day, and the weekend together and that we were both able to bask in the glory that is chocolate goodness.

We had a wonderful chocolate souffle:

The recipe for the souffle was downright easy. While I was attempting to put together an eggplant tartine, I asked the A-man to prep the egg-whites and yolks for the souffle. He did that, and because the eggplant dish took so darn long to make, he finished the souffle for me. We used Sara Moulton's recipe verbatim and what do you know -- it's naturally gluten-free and if you use vegan chocolate, dairy free as well. It was light, yet decadent. Just sweet enough. And the perfect ending to our hours-long to make meal. We topped ours with fresh raspberries.

The next night we enjoyed delicious chocolate covered strawberries:

This is the simplest dessert out there. Because of my addiction, I dip a lot of things in chocolate, so I've become pretty in tune with what works and what doesn't, and strawberries -- they're at the top of the list. I usually take the easy route and place my chocolate (in this case 3/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips) in a glass bowl and add about a teaspoon of shortening. Then I microwave for one minute and stir and continue to microwave at thirty second increments. Be careful because once it burns, it's gonzo. The shortening seems to give the chocolate a better gloss and makes it less likely to turn chalky once it hardens. Then I dip the strawberries (make sure they are super dry or else the chocolate won't stay) in the chocolate and place on parchment paper and place in the refrigerator for at least twenty minutes.

And then I eat them all.

I'm working on that last part.

Banana Nut (Coconut Flour) Muffins

2009-02-11T06:41:00.000-08:00

I've spoken about the health benefits of coconut flour here before: it's high in fiber, low in carbs and just plain delicious. And I've certainly made it known that I adore banana bread: my mother's banana bread is something I dream about. But I had yet to combine the two -- I didn't know what I was missing.
I made these last night and based the recipe from the Tiana Organic Coconut Flour website. I added more banana (a tip my mother always told me when making banana bread), reduced the egg by one, used agave instead of sugar, omitted the almond extract and doubled the vanilla. Well, and made them muffins instead of bread.

The result is a tasty breakfast or dessert muffin that's both moist and sweet.

Banana Nut Muffins (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian)

makes 12 regular sized muffins

2 ripe bananas, mashed
7 eggs
1/2 hemp milk (or cow's, almond, coconut...)
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 coconut flour, sifted (this is a must -- coconut flour clumps easily)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Combine the bananas, eggs, milk, agave, vanilla and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the sifted coconut flour and baking powder. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until all lumps are gone. Then, fold in the nuts. Pour evenly in muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a rack.

This is a picture of a photo shoot gone wrong. Normally taking photos of food gives me an opportunity to work with Henry on his ability to "sit" and "stay." Today, Henry could not deal with having the muffins at eye level and stole a half while I was attempting to photograph it.

Oh Henry.

Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms

2009-02-09T10:38:00.001-08:00

I really didn't know how these were going to go over. I like mushrooms, but I know they're one of those foods: the kind that people hate, avoid and dig out of dishes. I grew up with one of those people. My sister hates mushrooms (she dislikes bananas too in case you ever wanted to bake her something), so I was a little worried when I decided to make them for a party on Saturday night.

Fortunately, they were gobbled up. Even after explaining that they were vegan and gluten-free stuffed mushrooms. Phew.

These mushrooms are naturally vegan (no fake cheese used) and naturally gluten-free (no breadcrumbs of any sort are used -- I found they're just not necessary), so no strange ingredients to buy: just vegetables and spices (and a little fruit and nut).

Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms (gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo)

20 ounces (or about 18 total) stuffing mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 small yellow onion
1/2 red onion
1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)
1/4 cup pecans (optional)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or fresh garlic)
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop. Then roughly chop the peppers and onions. Add the olive oil to a skillet over medium heat and add the mushroom stems, peppers and onions. Add the garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper and saute for at least thirty minutes until carmelized slightly. Meanwhile, chop to pecans. During the last five minutes of cooking, add the pecans and cranberries. Then, add the mixture to a food processor and pulse until the mixture has combined into a paste. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and stuff the mushrooms with the filling and place on a oiled cookie sheet. Bake for twenty minutes, or until the tops are slightly browned.

These are best served at room temperature.

Photo Phriday: Devil Horns

2009-02-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

If you bottle up the energy that Henry and my parents dog Elsa have when they are together, I think you could fuel a car for a cross country trip. This picture, taken about a month ago, catches them during their chasing game. I think Elsa's ears look strangely like devil horns in this shot.

Cha Cha Cha Chia... Seeds!

2009-02-04T06:35:00.000-08:00

I first heard about the wonders of the chia seed from my favorite food/dog blogger Ricki of Diet, Desserts and Dogs who grinds them and often uses them as a replacement for eggs and to thicken smoothies. Then, Elana of Elana's Pantry wrote about a chia pudding she made that tasted similar to tapioca pudding. I was so intrigued by these little seeds that decided to do some research.

Apparently, the chia seed can hold 12 times it's weight in water, making it a great food to ingest both before and after any tough workouts. Also, it's incredibly high in soluble fiber, making it a food that actually slows down the conversion of carbohydrates to sugars in your stomach, making it an optimal food to keep your energy high. And, in 2 tablespoons of chia seeds there are 7 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, 205 milligrams of calcium, and 5 grams of omega-3.

I think I found a new superfood. In fact, on days I practice Bikram Yoga, I eat some of this chia pudding beforehand. Originally, I used to get ridiculous headaches and become easily dehydrated when I did difficult workouts (i.e. those that make me sweat buckets). Now, and (mind you, I've only been doing this for over a week) after sweating A TON, I haven't had the headache/dehydration problem when I have eaten chia beforehand.

My recipe for chia pudding is basically Elana's recipe, slightly modified. So really, all credit goes to her. But here's how I do it:

Pre-Workout Chia Pudding (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian)

makes four servings

2 cups hemp milk (or almond, rice, etc.)
3 tablespoons chia seed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 tablespoon agave nectar (only use if your milk is unsweetened)
1 dash of salt

Place all of the ingredients into a large container with a tight fitting lid (I have a half-gallon tupperware-type container that works well for this) and shake vigorously for about one minute. Place in the refrigerator and let sit for at least a half hour, or overnight.

A Fresh Start: Green Drink

2009-02-02T05:34:00.001-08:00

It's a sunny day outside, the birds are chirping and the temperature is above thirty -- a good reason to celebrate around here during the winter. January was a big mess: between traveling, my Grandmother's passing and a major project coming to an end, my fitness and eating healthy routine has been on the back burner. I still got workouts in and I still ate decently, but the sporadic nature of it all has worn down my immune system. I wake up each morning with a sore throat and have been taking sudafed for three days straight. What I need is to get back to my routine and eat a load of vegetables, and I have.

I offer you: the Green Drink.

Don't let the, er, greenness, of it deter you. I was a bit weary myself as I was putting it together, but as soon as I tasted it the only word that came to mind was: fresh. Okay. And yum too. Talk about a drink that makes you feel good: it certainly has a lot of fiber, a few servings of vegetables and a whole load of vitamins in it. And really, it tastes good. And really, I drank it for breakfast along with a scrambeled egg and I'm not hungry at all right now (at 12:20pm). Fiber mixed with protein is an amazing thing.

Super Simple Green Drink (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan, paleo)

Serves one.

1 green apple, cored (and peeled: this is not needed if you are normal and can eat apple skins without having an allergic reaction like lucky me)
2 handfuls spinach
1 small cucumber
1 stalk of celery
6 ice cubes
1/2 cup of water

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend the heck out of it until it forms a liquid. I didn't have to chop any of my ingredients beforehand because I use a blender that sounds like a vacuum cleaner (vitamix), but for regular blenders, I would recommend doing so. Drink right away. If left alone the drink separates a bit, but just mix it again briefly before drinking.

Per your comments, and in attempt to feel my best on my wedding day (and really don't you want to feel your best at all times), I started to get back into yoga -- Bikram Yoga -- that hot kind of yoga. I took a ninety minute class on Sunday morning and I think I have a favorite new form of exercise. I was sweating buckets by the end of class and my muscles were sore this morning; I never get that from normal yoga and I think I like it.

Superbowl Grub

2009-01-30T09:21:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that I'm not that into football, which is weird because I love sports in general. There's something about the constant start and stop of the game, the giant men crushing each other, and the fanfare that goes along with the sport that I just don't like. I'm a social watcher, if there's a get together revolving around a game, or if I ever get tickets to go, I'm all about it, but going for the love of the sport, I can't say I have.

What I do love is cooking for the big event. It's a great excuse to eat appetizers in place of a meal, because really, aren't appetizers the best part anyway?

Here are some of my past superbowl-friendly foods:

Super Simple Kale Dip

Fresh Spring Rolls

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Healthy Potato Skins

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

Doctored Up: Baked Beans

2009-01-28T10:55:00.000-08:00

Born in 1913, my Grandma's formidable years took place during the Great Depression, and you could tell. She was always one to cut coupons and take sugar packets from restaurants (don't all Grandma's do this?), taking home leftovers in a doggy bag, even if there was only one bite left. Her frugality showed in the kitchen as well, she was able to "doctor up" something that cost two dollars and make it taste like a million dollars. My mother does this too; I'm beginning to think it's something ingrained in mother's minds, the ability to stretch a buck. I'm attempting to learn it as well.

My favorite meal as a kid, the one I requested often for my Birthday was hot dogs and beans. Though it's not the healthiest option (I did find gluten-free, casein free, uncured turkey hot dogs from Applegate Farms that are only 45 calories each recently!), I still enjoy it. Whether it was my Mom or my Grandma making it, it was the best. This isn't really a recipe, but the way in which the matriarchs in the family make a can of two dollar beans into a tasty treat.

Grandma's Doctored Up Baked Beans (gluten-free, dairy-free)

1 28 oz can of baked beans, I used Bush's Original Recipe
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard (yellow works too)
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon molasses
2 strips of bacon, cut in half (I use this kind)

Preheat oven to 375. Place the beans, onion, mustard, ketchup and mollasses in a dutch oven or casserole dish and carefully mix until combined. Taste if you'd like and adjust ingredients. Add the strips of bacon on top and cook for 25-30 minutes until the bacon is cooked through.

Poor Henry can smell bacon from a mile away.

In Honor of Grandma

2009-01-27T17:02:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry for the lack of posts lately. My ninety-five year old Grandma, the one who I speak about often on this blog, passed away last Wednesday night. Fortunately, my Dad (who she absolutely idolized) and I were there with her when it happened. I was talking about it today and it hit me how cyclical life is: less than a year ago I was witnessing the sheer beauty that is birth with the arrival of my niece. Now, just a few days ago, I witnessed the death of my dear Grandmother; two experiences you cannot describe without experiencing them yourself. When it comes down to it, when my Grandmother died it was horrific, but there was a moment, right before my Grandmother went, that we locked eyes -- it's a moment I will be forever grateful for.

My apologies for the depressing thoughts on a food blog, but the title of this blog came from her. My Grandmother is the one who called me "the good eatah." Along with my father, sister and mother, I spoke at my Grandmother's funeral service and I'd like to share what I said:

A lot of my heartache feels selfish. No one will ever love me quite like her. No one will call me "My Lizza." No on will dote over me like she did, calling me in the middle of the week, leaving a voicemail and saying "Hi Kwepie Doll. Call me when you get a chance. I love you." No one will send me notes in the mail with a ten dollar bill enclosed that read "I hope you're being a good eatah" signing them, "Love" - always in quotations, like it was her supposed name, "Grandma."

No one will refer to my dog, whose name is Henry, as Peter, or Oscar, or that little devil. Not because she couldn't remember his name, she was sharp as a tack up until the very end, but because she thought it was funny, and I did too.

We had a special relationship; we were "buddies" as she called us. We had little secrets, like the time last summer when she could barely walk after breaking her hip, she had one of her nurses drive her to my condo to surprise me, just because she wanted to see it. No one ever knew about that.

Growing up I couldn't have asked for a better Grandma. While getting sick was no fun as a kid, it meant a day with Grandma, being pampered, watching the Price is Right with her and Grandpa, eating hamburgers and having her rub my back, singing her signature song: Ah, ah, baby. No one took care of me quite like her.

She had two single beds in her room, one being hers and the other was mine, always ready for a sleepover. I remember the last time we had a sleepover, a little over a year ago on Christmas Eve; to give the visiting nurses a night off, I offered to stay overnight with her, to keep an eye on her after breaking her hip. This wasn't at all noble of me, I wanted her company more than ever at that moment, for it was a Christmas when the A-man was serving in Iraq and I knew her love would make me forget that.

Right after Grandma passed away, I was holding her hand, sobbing and the first thing that came to mind was, "you almost made it." This was another secret we had, once I got engaged to the A-man, Grandma told me that she could go now, that she could die and that it was okay because I was going to be taken care of. I obviously didn't like that statement, and told her that she better make it to my wedding day. Four and a half months shy of the date, I know it's okay for she more than approves of the man I'll be marrying.

It's uncanny that it was exactly twelve years ago on this day, January 24th that my Grandpa, her husband Sam, passed away. There's no doubt in my mind that they're both together now, looking at the family they created, content on the love they gave and on the impact they made in their lives.

Life sure won't be the same without her.

In honor of Grandma and the way she impacted my life through food, I share with you recipes of her own creation, or those inspired by her:

Grandma's Stuffed Cabbage

Mom's Stuffed Pumpkin

Lithuanian Kugeli

American Chop Suey

Photo Phriday: Dog Sled

2009-01-16T12:15:00.000-08:00

We learned this past vacation that Henry and Elsa (my parents dog) probably don't have any Husky in their genes. The A-man decided to MacGyver up some rope and attach it to the dog's harnesses and see if they could bring me around on a sled. It didn't quite work, but it sure was fun trying. I have first-person video of the ordeal; perhaps that will make it for next week's Video Phriday.

Simple Soup

2009-01-15T09:48:00.000-08:00

I unfortunately don't have a lot of time to write about this soup, so I will keep it simple: it's mighty good. For the time it makes to put it together and for simplicity of the ingredients, it's stellar. I used my Vitamix to "chop" the vegetables, but you can do it by hand, or with a food processor. It's quite good cold as well and taste very similar to gazpacho.

Simple Chunky Vegetable Soup (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, paleo)
serves 2 as a meal

1 8 oz can of diced tomatoes (or one large tomato if it's in season)
3 stalks of celery, leaves included
1/2 yellow onion
4 smallish carrots
1 heaping cup of fresh spinach
salt and pepper if needed

Place all of the ingredients in your vitamix or food processor and blend (on level 3 for about 30 seconds) or pulse (until food is chopped, but not pureed). Eat now cold. Or, place in a saucepan, add about a cup of water, bring to a boil and simmer for about ten minutes.

Wedding Musings

2009-01-14T11:54:00.001-08:00

In case anyone's curious, this is a quick snapshot of part of the grounds where the wedding will be. It's an estate on 90 acres of land with sheep and llama and lots of natural beauty.

The wedding is now under five months away and it has me thinking:

I'm trying not to be one of those brides. You know the kind: obsessing over whether the tablecloths will clash with the color of grass that time of year, the kind who goes on extreme diets so that she looks emaciated on her wedding day, or the kind that freaks out that her bridesmaids have tattoos. Thankfully, I could really care less about those sorts of details. The goal for the A-man and I on our wedding day is to profess our love to one another in front of the people that mean most to us in the world, and for our guests to have a whole lot of fun.

However, I am a bit neurotic about one thing: I have a deep desire to feel at my best on my wedding day(and really, what bride doesn't?); the keyword there is feel. Sure I want to look good too, but I believe they go hand in hand: if you feel good, you will look good.

Here's my goal: I want to be in the state of mind to fully enjoy the day, to jump-out-of-bed feeling energetic yet calm, muscles feeling tight but not sore, totally aware, not feeling hungry and not feeling full, skin hydrated, with my heart beating at a calm rhythm. In order to achieve this goal I know my life has to be in perfect balance. It's a balance that I would like to achieve daily, but if I can do it for a few months before the wedding, it's a good start.

1. I have to be eating right, which in my case, along with being gluten and casein free, also means no sugar, very little caffeine and eating loads of vegetables. I'm attempting to figure out if carbs are the best thing for me too.

2. I have to be physically well and in an attempt to be that way I will try to keep up on taking my vitamins daily and staying away from alochol which I know knocks my immune system down a bit.

3. I want to be in the best shape I've ever been in. Not the skinniest, but the most fit. I have fond memories of the way my body felt when I was deep in college tennis season: running and playing tennis for at least three hours a day. I don't have time for such things now, but I will outline my exercise plan come February (meanwhile, I've been chronicling my workouts on the sidebar of this blog)

4. Stress has to be at a minimum. This will be difficult to achieve due to the stress involved in planning such an event, but relying on family and friends to help out and dealing with my stress through yoga, deep breathing and venting to friends will help. Massage is only something I've received a few times, but surely makes a difference for me. Accupuncture is also something I'm interested in.

Anyone out there with stress-free suggestions? Tips on feeling good? Exercises they love? I'm all ears.

Photo Phriday: Sleepy Henry

2009-01-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

Henry's really great in the car; when we travel short distances he tends to curl up next to me in the passenger seat with his head resting on my hand, falling asleep peacefully. Well, he had his first significant road trip (5+ hours) after Christmas. The A-man and I drove up to Maine to visit his family for a few days and we had to get a barrier to keep Henry from coming to the front seat and distracting us. He didn't mind being in the back too much, except for this one time when he was so lonely back there that he rested his head on the barrier and fell asleep standing up.

Oh yeah, and there was that other time during the trip when he just stared at us for twenty minutes straight:

Paleo Friendly: Spaghetti Squash with Spinach Walnut Pesto

2009-01-08T17:14:00.001-08:00

My friend and co-worker Carol has been following the elimination aka caveman aka paleo(lithic) diet for close to a month now. Her original intentions were to see if she had any trigger foods, or allergies, that were affecting an ailment of hers, but ended up losing weight and feeling significantly better as well. I've been interested in the paleo diet for quite some time too (please note, this isn't a diet in the sense that people go on it to lose weight), as I was the one that suggested it to her. After being on the diet for two days she approached me and said "how did you do this!?" to which my reply was "well, I haven't actually done it. I just heard about it." But after a few days of getting over cravings, she's stated it's actually really simple to stick to. So, I think someday I may dabble in it and see how it makes me feel. I agree with the research and theory behind it.

In fact, I'm really interested in the topic, but don't have time to write a lengthy post on it now, so I will just post a paleo-friendly recipe that I whipped up the other day. I'm kind of obsessed with it actually, as it mimics a linguine with pesto without the refined carbs and dairy. And inspired by Carol's journey, I plan on going through my recipes and labeling those appropriate with a "paleo" tag.

Spaghetti Squash with Spinach Walnut Pesto (gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo)

1 cup of "meat" from spaghetti squash (to bake, cut in half, scrape out seeds and place on cookie sheet at 375 for 35 minutes rind side up and scrape out meat after squash has cooled)
1 loosely packed cup of spinach
1/4 cup walnuts
2 small, or one large clove of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix the spinach, walnuts and garlic in a mini food processor until blended and add olive oil until a pesto forms (you may need more of less olive oil). In a skillet over medium heat, add the spaghetti squash and the pesto and cook for five minutes or so until the flavors are incorporated. Serve as a meal, or as a side dish.

I ate a completely paleo meal and didn't realize it until now! The meat is a turkey tenderloin with almond meal, cranberry and pecan stuffing (with some thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper -- though I don't know if that's paleo). I simply placed the "stuffing" on the flattened out tenderloin, wrapped, closed with toothpicks and baked for 25 minutes at 350. I think Henry's more interested in the turkey over the spaghetti squash.

7 Randoms

2009-01-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

My sister of a k8, a cat, a mission fame recently tagged me to do a "7 Random Things" meme and I'm currently procrastinating, so here it goes:

1. Throughout the years I have been diagnosed with a long list of ailments: scoliosis, asthma, raynauds disease, a heart murmur, a short eustachian tube, a hyperactive thyroid and borderline high blood pressure.

Luckily, my scoliosis doesn't really bother me anymore (I was diagnosed with it in junior high). My lung capacity isn't great, but my asthma (diagnosed as a child) has pretty much gone away. The raynauds disease is basically just a nuisance. The heart murmur was only discovered three years ago during an annual physical and (hopefully) has no serious repercussions. My short eustachian tube makes flying painful and annoying and caused me to perforate my eardrum when scuba diving (I could get surgery for it, but I don't miss scuba diving that much). My hyperactive thyroid was discovered by a GI doctor a few years ago, but was never treated (it's not terribly overactive, just slightly) and my blood pressure hasn't been checked since cutting coffee out of my diet three weeks ago, so hopefully that made a difference.

Medically, I'm just strange. But I count my lucky stars that all of these ailments are easily lived with.

2. I'm the runt of my family at 5'5 1/2. My sister is 5'8. My mother is 5'8. And my father is 6'0.

3. My wedding is exactly five months away today. I've already had nightmares regarding the ceremony and forgetting my vows. I'm worried about it raining (it's supposed to be outside) and I haven't even sent the save-the-dates out yet. But! I know how lucky I am to be marrying the love of my life; if there's a hurricane, if I completely flub up my vows, if the save the dates get lost in the mail, it won't really matter as long as we're standing there together, saying "I do."

4. I get really pissy if a few days pass and I haven't worked out.

5. Henry and I went for a walk today that was only supposed to be 45 minutes. It ended up being 1 1/2 hours long because I forgot my keys, got locked out of my place, and my mother had to drive from 15 miles away to open up the place with her extra set of keys (reminder: my parents are saints).

6. My sister is acting as the celebrant (ie she's marrying the A-man and I) at the wedding. Massachusetts has a great law that let's individuals get one day liscenses to marry people. I did the same for her wedding.

7. I own close to fifty sweaters. I think it's time to donate some.

I tag everyone that reads this, and especially my favorite twenty-something, female, gluten-free bloggers: Jenny of Sugar and Spice and My Gluten Free Life, Ali of Sorry I Can't Eat That, Marlow of Gluten Hates Me But I'm Surviving, and Jill Elise of Hey! That Tastes Good.

Tastes Like Chicken: Dry Style Mushrooms

2009-01-05T06:44:00.000-08:00

A new year, a new set of goals; just one of mine is to eat more vegetables.

I'd like to think that I'm in a constant state of evaluation, looking at my life and seeing what needs change, but I'm also just like the majority of people this time of year and the new year has motivated me to reevaluate and resolve, again, to do things differently, to live a better life, to reach my goals throughout 2009. I have a mental list (though I should write these things down, and plan on doing so for my next post) of the things I'd like to achieve, but this small goal -- eating more vegetables (and in this case, fungi) -- got a kick start this morning with some hearty mushrooms.

I already eat more vegetables than your average American, but I'd like veggies to play more of the leading role on my plate, and act less like just a side dish. I'm not turning vegetarian or vegan, I'd just like to eat less meat: for health and environmental reasons. So making mushrooms with this technique, mimicking the texture of chicken is a great recipe to get that goal started.

The first photo on this post if of a mixture of raw mushrooms, the second photo was taken after they were cooked and just above, a mushroom scramble or sorts. Mushrooms have a lot of water in them, and when cooked with this technique (adapted by Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian) become, in a good way, more chewy.

Mushrooms Dry Style (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

4 oz mixed mushrooms (mine were mini potabella, porchini and button)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

In a pan with a tight-fitting lid on medium-high heat, add the oil, the mushrooms, and the salt and pepper. Mix slightly, turn to medium low heat and cover with the lid and let cook for 6-7 minutes. Then, take off the lid, stir again and put back to medium high heat and cook for another 3 minutes undisturbed until the water has evaporated. Cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally until they get crispy brown.

Serve on their own, in a salad, in an omelet, or whichever way you please.

Doesn't Henry look like he's wincing in this photo?

A Belated Happy Holidays!

2008-12-26T06:47:00.000-08:00

From Henry, the A-man and me. If we were going to send out Christmas cards, we would surely use this photo taken on Thanksgiving. Though, it's difficult to get Henry to stand still when ten sheep are to the right of him.

I'm traveling quite a bit for the holidays, making my posts sparse, but I'm still cooking up a storm! Happy Holidays Everyone!

A Few of my Favorite Things... (3)

2008-12-18T19:51:00.000-08:00

I received a great gift for my Birthday this year from my soon-to-be mother-in-law: a cast iron skillet, a corn tortilla press and some masa harina flour (corn flour with lime in it). I've been having lots of fun with all three, but I have really come to enjoy the cast iron skillet, especially since I threw out my worn and slightly scratched teflon pans not too long ago. There are varying reports on the danger of teflon, but I'd rather err on the side of caution then ingest harmful toxins. Also, the well-respected Environmental Working Group has some really interesting (according to a study, teflon toxicity is linked to hundreds of pet bird deaths) articles on the subject; it really makes you wonder.

There are many other options out there for cookware like stainless steel and calphalon, but cast iron, along with being incredibly inexpensive, has some other perks: it lasts a lifetime, it evenly distributes heat and if seasoned properly, it requires no oil or fat when cooking.

Cookware.com has some great tips on buying cast iron (and they also have good ideas for other kitchenware and Christmas Dinnerware if you're still in search of gifts). Lodge also has great tips on cleaning your cast iron and maintaining it.

For those gluten-intolerant folks out there, it should be noted that because of the nature of cast iron and the fact that you don't really "wash" it, there's a big chance that any cast iron passed down from generation to generation most likely could be contaminated with gluten.

A Few of my Favorite Things... (2)

2008-12-16T12:37:00.001-08:00

You know what I absolutely love? Drinking coffee brewed with just a dash of cinnamon and a splash of almond milk. It makes me feel good, it warms my body and it wakes me up. However, I am addicted to coffee: I rely on it too much to make me feel awake, I crave it first thing in the morning and I often get headaches if I don't have my daily cup of joe. And while I love my coffee, I don't like relying on it to get me through my day. Oh yeah, and I have "borderline" high blood pressure -- I blame it on the fact that my dear A-man is constantly in harms way, but I have a feeling drinking coffee isn't helping things out. So, in order to stear clear of heart-attack land (I also have a heart murmur -- yipee!) I think I should cut back a bit, and I'm starting to and it's all thanks to some wonderful, gluten-free, kosher, and thoughtful tea.

I have never described a food or brand as thoughtful before, but The Republic of Tea really fits the bill. Browsing their catalog makes me smile and feel good about purchasing tea from them: their tea bags are unbleached and have no strings, tags or staples in support of the environment, they offer tons of information on every type of tea they sell and I really dig their variety (buy it loose, in bags or as concentrate). Just recently I went on a bit of a shopping spree for Christmas gifts from them. You see, every tea of theirs is certified gluten-free and kosher. Every single one is gluten-free! And they are the first tea company with permission to include the Gluten-Free Certification Organization's certification mark on its packaging.

My goodness; I haven't even spoken about taste yet. Well, you know that cinnamon scented, almond milk splashed coffee that I adore so much? All of the teas that I have tried so far could rival (and surpass) my morning cup of joe in terms of taste (the chai concentrate is gosh-darn amazing). They even have a line of tea called Be Well Red Teas, all with roobois in them mixed with other teas and herbs. The Red Tea line has teas called: Hello Gorgeous which is good for your skin, Get Clean for detoxing and a whole bunch more for those of us wanting to work on ourselves from within.

I consider The Republic of Tea my nicorette, but way tastier and way better for you.

Tomorrow's favorite thing: not your Grandma's cookware?

A Few of My Favorite Things... (1)

2008-12-15T09:33:00.000-08:00

I wish I could make like Oprah and give away all of my new, fancy, favorite things to each of you readers, making you cry and scream with excitement like her audience does on her yearly "Favorite Things" show. But alas, I cannot -- not in this economy. In fact, even Oprah had a scaled-down version this year.

So you get a list -- a list of my most favorite gluten-free (okay, and a few that have nothing to do with being gluten-free) gifts for those GFers and health conscious people in your life.

First, I present to you the blender of all blenders; a kitchen tool that Chuck Norris would be if Chuck Norris had to be a kitchen tool: The Vitamix Super 5200

I got an early Christmas present this year from the A-man. He knows we are going to be traveling for much of our Christmas vacation, so he knew I wouldn't be able to "play" with my Christmas present, so he wanted me to open it early. So I did. Last night. And I almost fainted with excitement.

The Vitamix blender is especially good for people with gluten-intolerance because it comes with a "dry blade" which lets you make your own flour! From whole grains! So, I put some raw, whole brown rice into the blender and blended on high for awhile, and out comes flour! I can't wait to try it with millet and sorghrum and tapioca and...

You get the idea. This is also great for people who don't do dairy -- this thing will whip up almost anything you put in it to a creamy-like consistencty. And, if you're a nut-butter lover like me -- you can make your own peanut butter (and cashew, macadamia nut, hazlenut...)! I've only scratched the surface of what this thing can do (after all, I got it last night) but I can't wait to play with it even more. The A-man wants me to keep a tally on my blog of each time I use it and how much money he thinks we'll save over the years grinding our own flour (this is so he can feel okay about spending the amount of money he did on it; let's just say it's an investement). And I can't forget smoothies; the A-man's big on his protein and I have a feeling this thing could turn a steak into a drink. So I'm on to you A-man; it's one of those gifts you give to someone so that you can use it too -- steak smoothies -- I knew it!

On tomorrow's favorite things post: tea for all.

*Muffins!

2008-12-08T11:12:00.001-08:00

Mini-jam-filled almond muffins to be exact.

In an effort to make a morning treat as healthy and satisfying as possible, I did a little experimenting. First, I tried to make a pumpkin almond (regular sized) muffin and they were, well, absolutely disgusting: the outside was burnt and the inside was a gooey mess with a mealy texture. So, those got tossed. But, being the girl that I am, I didn't give up. I still wanted a high-protein, low-sugar muffin, but my key -- as it is in a lot of my gluten-free baking, was to make it miniature.

And here you have my miniature jam-filled almond muffins. And they're quite satisfying -- just two of these with your morning tea or coffee can fill you up plenty. Also, I made them two different ways: one with egg, and one with ground flax seed heated up with some water (a basic egg replacer recipe) and they both came out well -- the egg-based muffin looked more, well, muffiney -- the other a tad bit grainier, lighter in color and they didn't rise as high -- but still tasty (in photo above, the flax recipe is the muffin on the left, and egg recipe is on the right -- it's the opposite in the photo below).

Mini-Jam-Filled Almond Muffins (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan if you want)

makes nine mini-muffins

1 3/4 cup blanched almond flour (aka almond meal)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg (or 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds mixed with 6 tablespoons water, microwaved for one minute, or until gel-like)
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/4 cup jam of choice

Preheat oven to 325 F and grease a mini muffin pan with shortening or oil of choice.
In a bowl, mix the almond flour, salt, and baking soda until combined. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, vinegar and agave nectar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine. Fill each muffin tin with a scant tablespoon of the batter, then add about a 1/2 teaspoon of the jam, making a small indent in each muffin. Add about a teaspoon of batter on top of each jam-filled muffin and bake for 10-15 minutes in the oven.

*Said in reference to hilarious youtube muffin sensation found here.

Photo Phriday: A Rare Moment

2008-12-05T09:28:00.001-08:00

This photo captures perhaps the only moment that Henry got within five feet of my niece this past week. For some reason (well, perhaps the reason is that my bro-in-law decided to chase Henry around the house with the baby in his arms) Henry was scared, and I mean tail-between-the-legs-go-hide-under-the-couch-scared of my niece. It's the strangest thing! This photo was taken within the first few hours that they met, but for the remainder of the visit he stayed far, far away from her.

Oh Henry.

Eating Local: Cal's Cupcakes

2008-12-03T11:17:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay. So I know when people refer to eating locally, they usually mean buying produce from close-by farms and eating cheese from local goats, but, can a cupcake count? I know the gluten-free flour and sugar in the cupcake probably doesn't come from Massachusetts, but the cupcakes themselves were made just mere miles away from me! So, while not technically correct, in my mind I'm eating locally...

When shopping at my nearby health food store the other night I was browsing the refrigerated section and noticed a box of four chocolate cupcakes calling my name. Usually I ignore this siren's song because most often they are cupcakes made from gluten, but this time I decided to look a little closer and in bold print the words: gluten and casein free were right there on the label. And remember in my last post how I stated I have a difficult time not buying new gluten-free products? Well, this was the perfect example, but surely not a mistake on my part: these things are good.

Cal's Baking Company, a Hingham, Masshusetts based company is the maker of these gems. Deep chocolate with just the right amount of frosting, they could replace any gluten-filled cupcake you've tasted. Cal's also sells a variety of mixes which I have yet to try, and you can special order sheet cakes and cupcakes (something I will surely look into for the upcoming wedding). I felt a special connection to Cal and her family; the story of her son and husband discovering their gluten intolerance is very similar to mine. Perhaps it is to yours too.