Quick & Simple Quinoa

It seems like every gluten-free blogger has some quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) recipe they adore, and I am no different. This grain is incredibly versatile: you can use it with any recipe that would normally call for couscous, it makes a great tabouleh and is even good in place of rice for "rice pudding." It is packed with protein (12%), so it's good for those who don't eat meat and it's one of the few grains with a high amount of the amino acid lysine (if you ever feel a cold-sore coming on, eat quinoa or take a lysine supplement, it works for me), making it a "complete" protein.

So, as you can tell, I think very highly of quinoa. My sister makes a mean middle-eastern inspired quinoa, but I have yet to get the recipe out of her, so I give you mine with a little cumin as an ode to dear sis:

Quick & Simple Quinoa (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan)

1 cup of quinoa, toasted
1 1/4 cup water, brought to a boil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1 cup purple grapes, halved

After rinsing and toasting the quinoa, add to the boiling water and turn down the heat to a simmer. After twelve minutes, take the quinoa off the stove and let sit for five minutes, then fluff with a fork and let cool. Meanwhile, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, cumin and garlic powder. Then, add the pine nuts and the grapes to the quinoa, then the dressing and taste for seasonings. Add salt and pepper (or any other spice) if you desire. A nice addition would be some fresh herbs: mint, parsley, basil...

I served mine over mustard greens (and took the obligatory Henry photo).

One of these days I'll make something he can actually eat....

The Young Coconut

Ah, the young coconut -- one of nature's super foods. I'm a big fan and have been using young coconuts in soups and smoothies for quite some time now. They're becoming more prevalent; I could only get them at my local Asian supermarket (for $1.89!), but now I'm finding them in the produce section of the regular grocery store (for a bit more). After researching the benefits of the young coconut, I've found that one whole coconut has only 140 calories and provides 17% of the recommended daily intake for calcium, which is good for someone who can't get her calcium from dairy. I know when I think of coconut, I usually associate a high saturated fat count, which is not the case with the young coconut: there are only three grams of saturated fat per coconut. There's no cholesterol, 50 mg sodium, 28 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber,15 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein packed into this little tee-pee shaped seed.

In the following photos, I will attempt to chronicle the way in which I open up a young coconut. As shown above, you'll want to start by cutting off the pointy tip of the husk. You will need a sharp and sturdy knife for this, so be careful. The trick here is to start cutting only an inch or two from the very tip of the husk, otherwise you will try and cut the seed which can't be done.

Next, it's best to use some blunt object, or the base of your knife and find the sweet spot on the top of the seed. Really, you're just trying to make a little crack here. After a few whacks, you should have found it (you might get a little bit of coconut water on you).

After that, it's best to start cutting a circle around the top of the seed. It should be a somewhat painless process as the crack you created should have helped get the process started.

And there you have it. A young coconut. You can drink the coconut water straight from the coconut (though I think it's best cold) and scoop out the flesh with a spoon (good in salads with mango and avocado). They are both very tasty.

Or make a smoothie out of it: place the coconut water and coconut meat in a blender. Add a banana, some almond milk and some ice and you have yourself a delicious smoothie.

Settling Back In

I arrived back in the U.S. on Tuesday morning and am slowly getting back into the swing of things. Luckily, sleepiness doesn't hit me until it gets dark out, so the jetlag hasn't been bad at all. I craved a few things when I got home, a turkey burger and a big old salad -- staples in my normal diet. But now that I've had my fix, I want to get back to the awesome food I enjoyed over in Taiwan. Here's a little sampling:

This almond milk was awesome. For some reason, it was better than the packaged variety you get in the states and it was served ice cold which was fantastic since it was a hot and humid 90+ degrees there.



Another icy cold treat: shaved ice with red beans and taro. It sounds a little strange, but the sweetness of the red beans and the texture of the taro root (very similar to a sweet potato, but light purple) went really well with the shaved ice.



This bean curd dish was spicy, but not too spicy. Served over white rice with black sesame seeds, it was delicious. It kind of reminded me of American Chop Suey, but spicier and with tofu-like bits.


And fresh fruit galore. Night markets are huge in Taiwan. You can't visit there without going to one. Around 5pm stands start setting up: fresh fruit, dumplings, seafood, mongolian bbq... anything you can think of, they have a stand for. And they have lots of amazing fresh fruit to choose from.

I'm going to attempt to replicate my favorite recipes from my time there. Mochi is a Japanese treat that is popular there (and that I adored), made of glutinious rice flour that I've found a few recipes for. Also, hot pot, also known as shabu shabu was a lot of fun and hopefully something I can replicate at home once I get myself an electric hot pot.

I'll be sure an post about my successes!

Helloooo from Taiwan!

As I sit here in my hotel room, looking back on my week so far, I have to admit -- I feel pretty darn lucky. I'm here in Taiwan on a media tour for work, which means that I get to spend one week with a personal tour guide filming all of my experiences: catching fish in Pengshu, interviewing a famous Taiwanese opera director, getting a personal tour of the Mu Jing museum, and eating delicious gluten-free food. I know this type of experience is a once-in-a-lifetime event, so I'm truly soaking in every moment.

But of course, I have to share the food I have eaten so far! Above -- a local meal of fish and rice on one of the Pengshu Islands.
A hot pot meal at the Ju Ming sculpture museum ( I stayed away from the soy sauce dipping sauce).
A chilled, sweet mushroom soup at he Ju Ming sculpture museum.
And, he's no Henry, but I sure do adore this guy. His owners feed him uncooked noodles and he seems to love them.

I'll be sure and write an extensive post when I get back!

Photo Phriday: Cast of Characters

I have spent the past week house and pet sitting at my parents. It's similar to living on a farm, once the animals wake you at 5:45AM, you must tend to them: feed them, walk them, love them. Here, I introduce to you the cast of characters that I have joyfully spent my week with:

You all know Henry, but did you know that he can tear apart a stuffed animal in less than twenty seconds? Notice the monkey leg in the bottom left hand corner -- the poor thing never had a chance.


Elsa -- a tank of a dog who is quite possibly the most affectionate pup I've ever met. Her nickname, because of her constantly licking tongue is Miss Lickey.

Annie. She looks sweet, doesn't she? She's only sweet when she wants food. Otherwise, she's a terror.

Buddy: one ear, loud purr and constantly by your side. Technically, Buddy is an outdoor cat because my parents felt that Annie would give him a hard time, however, I felt that four animals in one house wasn't enough and let him inside. He's my favorite.

And Darby. He looks like a Maine Coon Cat and is just beautiful. He pretty much sticks to himself, probably because Annie terrorizes him.

Other People's Recipes

I've come to realize that I'm more creative in the kitchen during the winter months. When it's cold out and I don't want to venture to the grocery store I'll turn to my cabinet and whip up something on a whim. But summertime, full of BBQ's and good weather makes me want to use my time in the kitchen efficiently, which means I turn to other people's tried and true recipes.

That Henry's a smart dog; there's bacon in that broccoli salad. And mayonnaise. The recipe is from the ever-popular site Simply Recipes and it really is tasty. I love broccoli already, but this will turn any broccoli hater into a lover. I was going to bring this to a BBQ I'm going to tonight, but I'm saving it all for myself (and telling myself it's because there will be vegetarian's at the party). Henry will be happy.

Potato salad -- another one from Elise at Simply Recipes. This is her Dad's recipe for potato salad and the secret ingredient is pickle juice. It's simply awesome. This is the dish that will make it to the party tonight. Henry likes anything covered in mayonaise.

And cake. Delicious, gluten-free coconut cake (the link goes to a gluten-free forum post where the recipe is listed) care of my favorite gluten-free cookbook, Annalise Robert's Baking Classics. If you ever need to make a cake for company, this is the one to try. The recipes calls for coconut milk in the batter so it is super moist. I made it for my mom's birthday cake and it was a hit.

Oh, and quinoa too! I didn't make this dish, my sister did. It's become quite the family favorite. I don't have the recipe for it, but posting this picture might get my sister to post her recipe (but I understand if that might take a few days -- she's in the process of moving to the mid-west... and breaking my heart....) . It is packed with flavor and overall, just delicious.

Clean Plate Club Approved: Flatbread Pizza

I thought this day would never come; surely I wouldn't ever be able to order a pizza again. No, not when you have a gluten and dairy intolerance. Those days are gonzo. You're stuck with being the pain-in-the-ass one who has to discuss everything on the menu with the waitress, send her to the kitchen and back and then modify whatever dish you do choose and make sure the chef doesn't cross contaminate. I hate that feeling. I used to be the girl who would order right off the menu. I used to be the one who would scoff at my friends who were picky eaters. I used to eat anything, really -- anything.

But things change and intolerance's catch up with you, leaving you with a stomach that looks three months pregnant and pain that I wouldn't wish on anyone. So almost a year and a half ago, I had a choice between being a pain-in-the-ass when going out to eat, or feeling eternally sick. I chose the former.

But at a select few restaurants I don't have to be that girl. I don't have to feel the anxiety I sometimes get when visiting new restaurants. Some places I can order off the menu and feel good and confident that my food will fill my belly happily and keep me healthy. New England and Hawaii gluten-free peeps, I introduce to you: Flatbread. With six locations in New England and one in Hawaii, this chain of restaurants doesn't have the chain feel; it feels local, and taken care of -- like this was once just a dream for the owners that has now come to fruition -- there's a lot of love here. Allie, over at "Sorry I can't eat that" is another local GF blogger, and Jenny, of Sugar and Spice and My Gluten Free Life, who happens to live in the same city as me, told me about Flatbread; an awesome restaurant that really thinks about their food. They put effort into making their foods organic, using free range and nitrate free meats, vegetables from local farmers and educating themselves on different food intolerance's. In other words, this is my type of restaurant. The photo above is from the page in their menu where they talk about their gluten-free pizza crust.

And the photo below is of my gluten-free, vegan pizza and it was goooooooooooooooooooood: slightly crispy crust, perfectly flavored sauce with just enough vegetables in each bite.

I visited the restaurant on a Friday night. They don't take reservations for less than ten people, so we did "call ahead" seating. About a half hour before we arrived, I called and put our name in and we waited less than five minutes for a table once we got there. The waitress was super pleasant and happily answered our questions even though it was a really busy night. We all shared salads and ordered our pizzas. The one unfortunate thing was that our pizzas all came out at different times, and my bro-in-law got his pizza after we all finished ours, but the waitress was extremely apologetic and gave us a coupon for a free pizza on our next visit.

It truly was a great experience. I really like to support restaurants like this one, their purpose and values are clearly stated on their website and clearly seen in their restaurants. Flatbread -- thanks for doing what you're doing.

Oh, P.S. They had gluten-free beer and gluten-free whoopie pies when I was there too.