A to Z

Happy Friday, everyone! I took this meme from my friend Jen of A Life of Sugar and Spice.

A is for age: 29

B is for breakfast today: 2 eggs, a piece of center cut bacon and gluten-free toast.

C is for what you’re currently craving: Salty and sweet anything.

D is for dinner tonight: Not sure yet. There are chicken thighs in the fridge. We'll probably BBQ them because it's nice out.

E is for favorite type of exercise: Normally any type of group fitness class. Or, I turn on music in our gym and do a very random lifting routine for about 45 minutes.

F is for an irrational fear: My car going over a bridge into water. This story only worsened that fear.

G is for gross food: Fried clam bellies.

H is for hometown: Brockton, Mass - City of Champions

I is for something important: Family.

J is for current favorite jam: Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye

K is for kids: My life, my (almost five month old) son Jack.

L is for current location: The island in our kitchen

M is for the most recent way you spent money: I need to get a g-darn new tire for my jogging stroller because one of the wheels has a hole in it. (And it's brand-new. GRR)

N is for something you need: A babysitter for Jack every once in a while. (Though family has been great for this when visiting)

O is for occupation: SAHM and journalist/filmmaker

P is for pet peeve: Not using your directional when changing lanes/turning.

Q is for a quote: "The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention" AND "Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress. Don't strive to make your presence noticed, but your absence felt."

R is for random fact about you: I was voted nicest in my 7th grade class.

S is for favorite healthy snack: Carrots and hummus.

T is for favorite treat: Ice cream of any variety.

U is for something that makes you unique: I have A LOT of freckles.

V is for favorite vegetable: Carrots

W is for today’s workout: Probably a jog when the huz gets home from work so he can watch our little guy.

X is for X-rays you’ve had: Teeth.

Y is for yesterday’s highlight: Yoga with the babe.

Z is for your time zone: Eastern.

Simple, Zesty, Dairy-free Caesar Salad Dressing

I love Caesar salad.

In fact, I get on kicks where I make it multiple times a week; especially when it's warm out. And today it hit 90 here in Upstate New York.

It's something about the zest and tang of the dressing and that crisp Romaine lettuce.

And for me, it's one of those foods that will cause a craving the instant I hear the words caesar salad or see a photo of the stuff.

(You can imagine writing this post is a little difficult for me.)

But! Caesar dressing can be downright fattening. And if you can't eat dairy, out of the question. I came up with this dressing a while back - when I couldn't tolerate dairy. Now, even though I can eat dairy, I usually choose to do without. In my eyes, the kick of the garlic and dijon make up for the lack of cheese.

Here's my five ingredient (not counting the salt and pepper) gluten-free, dairy-free Caesar dressing recipe:

2 tablespoons mayonaise

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

the juice of half a lemon

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

2 zest-ed cloves of garlic ("zest-ed" - to zest or microplane your food)

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl whisk all the ingredients together. Taste and adjust to your liking.

*Warning: the fresh garlic gives the dressing quite a kick. I've omitted the fresh garlic and used garlic powder (about 1 teaspoon) and more mayo to make it less kick-y.

Whether you like your Caesar salad on its own with gluten-free croutons, or with shrimp on top, don't forget about the importance of tossing your salad! Oh, and Henry says Hi!

One last thing: Did you know Caesar salad was not invented in Italy, but Mexico?

Corned Beef Cabbage Rolls

Salty, fatty, tender corned beef. It's good by itself.

But add some potatoes, cabbage and mustard and the combination is plain delectable.

Wrap it in a cabbage roll and it's plain awesome.

I never thought that a St. Patrick's Day feast was one that I could eat with my hands, but by the end of dinner on Saturday night my fork and knife remained untouched.

The Lerner clan ate our corned beef and cabbage a week early and in an entirely new, delicious and portable way with corned beef, mashed potato and cabbage rolls.

I got the idea after watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives last week. They were in Annapolis, Maryland and visited a place called Galway Bay. The restaurant specializes in Irish food with a unique spin, like, turning a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner into something that resembles a sushi roll.

Now, some might call this blasphemous - and I was a little hesitant to stray from the Irish-American dinner I know so well (my maiden name is Clancy and my freckles number in the thousands) - but I think a new tradition has begun.

Meet the most hearty, dense and delicious way to get your St. Patty's Day feast in your belly...

Corned Beef Cabbage Rolls

3 lbs corned beef

3 lbs potatoes (any kind will do)

1/2 cup spicy mustard (or yellow if you prefer)

1 large head of cabbage

Boil your corned beef in pickling spices for three to four hours. Boil your potatoes until tender and mash with milk, butter, salt and pepper. Peel the leaves off of a head of cabbage gently and boil each leaf (a few at a time) for two to three minutes or until tender.

Make an assembly line.

Have the cabbage leaves ready.

And the cubed corned beef.

And have the mashed potatoes nearby.

And some mustard too.

In a large bowl combine about 1/4 cup of the mashed potatoes, about the same of the corned beef and about a tablespoon of the mustard. (I like to combine the mixture in small batches for each cabbage roll instead of making one large bowl of mashed potato and corned beef)

Place in the center of a cabbage leaf and roll.

Steam over boiling water for another five to seven minutes.

Serve with more mustard for dipping and a tasty beer. And Happy St. Patty's Day!

(You'll likely have some left-over corned beef which is delicious the next day in hash...)

Chop Suey & Jennie-O Giveaway

If I were to write a post about the top five foods that I eat, Jennie-O turkey burgers would top that list. I always have them in my freezer because they're healthy, tasty, and gluten-free. Also, they cook up in minutes.

So, I was pretty excited when the company contacted me and offered to give away $15 in Jennie-O coupons (read: $15 to spend on Jennie O foods) to one lucky reader.

I already had a package of their ground turkey in my fridge and a quick browse on their site for a recipe had me whipping up some Chop Suey in no time. I've never made it before because I was intimidated by what I thought you would need, but it turns out chop suey - at least Jennie O's version, is quite simple. I adapted it to be gluten free and left out the water chestnuts. (See original recipe here)

Jennie-O Ground Turkey Gluten Free Chop Suey

(serves 4)

4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps sliced, or 2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic

1 package JENNIE-O TURKEY STORE® Extra Lean Ground Turkey

3 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce

4 green onions, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 package (about a cup, cooked) of thin rice noodles soaked in hot water for ten minutes and loosely chopped

Coat a large deep skillet or wok with cooking spray. Crumble 1 package JENNIE-O TURKEY STORE® Extra Lean Ground Turkey and cook as specified on the package. Always cook to well-done, 165˚F as measured by a meat thermometer. Add 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps sliced, or 2 cups sliced and 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic; stir-fry 2 minutes add 3 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 4 green onions, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices.Then add the chopped rice noodles and stir. Combine 1 cup chicken broth and 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixing until smooth. Add to skillet; simmer uncovered 5 minutes or until thickened.

To enter to win, comment on this post by 11:59pm on Tuesday, March 20th.

A winner will be notified by email (please leave a valid email address) by 12pm on Wednesday, March 21st.

Must-Go Night & A Quick Dinner

There was this thing called "Must Go" night in my house growing up.

For a long time I thought my parents were calling it "Muskgo Night" - like Muskgo was the name of some Slavic country whose food we were going to sample that night. But the food always turned out to be a weird mixture of things. Like, a meal of potato pancakes, teriyaki chicken and tomato salad.

That's when I figured out my parents were saying "Must Go," as in, we're eating all of the things in the fridge that must go before they go bad.

Ohhhhhh.

We had a "Must Go" night of our own the other evening. Left to use up were roasted split chicken breast, spaghetti squash, goat cheese and spinach. And I have to say, when cooked together with a little love the results are delicious.

Roasted Chicken and Spaghetti Squash with Spinach and Goat Cheese

(serves one for dinner)

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

the meat of one roasted chicken breast

one half of a cooked spaghetti squash, squash removed from shell

two large handfuls of baby spinach

1 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

about 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

1 tomato, quartered

1 tablespoon of crumbled goat cheese

Saute the onion in the olive over medium heat in a large pan until tender. Add the chicken and cook until warm. Then add the spaghetti squash and baby spinach, then the salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add the tomatoes and toss gently while cooking. Then add the balsamic vinegar. Cook another few minutes and serve with crumbled goat cheese on top.

Coconut Curry Beef Stew

Dinner time has really changed since the babe came along. My cooking, and honestly everything that I do can't get my full attention anymore because a chubby little beautiful being is at my beckon call. This is not a complaint, but merely a confession that my garlic sometimes burns and my chicken has come out under-done because I can't be as attentive as I used to be.

It's an adjustment. I end up wearing the babe a lot (we have an Ergo Baby and we love it), but sometimes he just doesn't want to be in there so I put him on his gym mat and he bats at his toys and cries for me after about five minutes, so I pick him up and make the rest of dinner one-handed. I know this is a stage and soon he'll be able to play independently (and yesterday I quartered a tomato with one-hand, so I'm learning new skills!) but again, simple meals are key here.

As is frugality. I'm a working/stay-at-home mom. I'm keeping my hands in a few projects in my field because I love what I do, but by no means is it full-time work. So we're on one income, which means I buy food on sale: stew beef was the special this week at our Hannafords.

My first thought was beef stew and my mom makes the most delicious recipe but I was craving something with a kick, so, a little internet search and a few alterations to a recipe and I've got a spicy, hearty (dairy-free, gluten-free) curry that'll warm you right up.

The recipe below is adapted from this one found on epicurious.

Coconut Curry Beef Stew

(serves 2)

1 lb stew beef cut into bite size pieces

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, sliced

1/2 teaspoon dried clove

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 cinnamon stick (or 1/2 teaspoon dried cinnamon)

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 1/2 cups light coconut milk (if you only have regular coconut milk use 3/4 cup coconut milk and 3/4 cup water)

2 tomatoes quartered

2 tablespoons mango chutney (I used Trader Joe's)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

cilantro to garnish

Brown the stew beef in one tablespoon of the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Place the beef aside. Add the other tablespoon of oil in the pot and saute the onion for about five minutes. Add the beef back and add all the spices; cook for another minute or two. Then, add the coconut milk, tomatoes, chutney, lemon juice, ginger, curry powder, salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for an hour and a half (the longer, the more tender the beef). Garnish with cilantro and serve over rice.

When I make anything with curry, roasted cauliflower is usually my go to side. I'll take a head of cauliflower and break into small pieces, toss in oil and spice with salt, pepper and curry powder to taste, roast on a oiled cookie sheet at 400F for about 25 minutes (tossing once in the middle of the cooking process) and toss in a bowl with raisins, cilantro and a drizzle of agave.

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Muesli

*Enter tonight (Tuesday, 2/21) by 11:59pm by commenting on this post to win a gluten-free/dairy-free cookbook*

Muesli soaked in milk was one of my favorite breakfasts when I lived in Australia. (That was in 2003 when I did eat gluten - and drink beer and eat meat pies and douse crumpets in butter...)

It's hearty, filling and tasty, but it usually contains wheat germ and wheat bran. So, I hadn't eaten it in quite a long time.

Until 2010 when I get the chance to go to Switzerland with the huz. We discover a great little health food store in Interlaken that carries Schar brand gluten-free muesli. I have it for breakfast and my love for muesli is rekindled.

I have yet to find it in the states so I've been making my own. It's a super versatile recipe. You can adjust the amount of nuts/seeds and dried fruit to your liking:

Gluten-free, dairy-free muesli

2 cups rolled oats (certified gluten free)

1/2 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

5 dried apricots, diced

1 scant teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and store in an airtight container.

I prefer to eat my muesli soaked overnight in So Delicious coconut milk but many people eat it soaked or topped on yogurt. There's also a whole movement to eat your muesli soaked in juice. (I've tried it soaked in cranberry juice and it's good, I just prefer the creaminess that the milk produces)