Archive for the ‘Cookbooks’ Category
Happy Sunday, Dear Readers!
If you’re in Houston, or in the New Orleans area, you’ve probably got your air conditioner back on. I had jeans on earlier and put shorts on when I got home from Kroger. DUH. It’s our OCD weather. Here in Houston, we’ll have chances of rain and another cooling front next week. Will it freeze? Not according to what I saw, but who knows? Sometimes, not even the National Weather Service does, so we just wait and see. They do their best, but you know the old saying, “Man plans, God laughs.” Mother Nature’s like that, too.
If you’re in an area where it’s still freezin’ cold, I’ve got a recipe for you today. Takes a little while, but worth it. Keep reading. VERY delicious, and perfect for cold days.
So, did you OD on chocolate for Valentine’s Day? Did you get your honey a little something nice, or make a great meal? (You didn’t get a “payday loan” to get it, did you?) I had some hot chocolate, and yesterday, I finally made some yeast-free brownies . I just wanted some, that’s all. I went to Kroger today and didn’t even bother with my usual Sunday treat, a dark chocolate Mounds candy bar–the coconut pieces drenched in chocolate.
Oh, and SOOOOO much red stuff on sale today–candy, stuffed animals, cutesy things, you name it. I saw floral arrangements of every kind with markdown stickers on them. However, I’m not sure why they were trying to sell arrangements with dead flowers in them. Maybe they were just too busy to get rid of them. Unless there’s a market for dead flowers I’m not aware of.
There’s a whole lot of this modern world I’m not aware of. I started to realize this point many years ago when I went out with a guy to a downtown club one night and he asked me point blank after a glass of wine and his second beer if I had any tattoos anywhere. EEEWWWWW!!! I thought he was thoroughly nuts to ask me that, but later I realized young women started getting tattoos, usually hidden at that time. Not me!! (And yes, he is thoroughly nuts.) I was told a couple of years later that I should “get over” my aversion to tattoos. Yeah. No, I still don’t have any. Just a number of scars from different injuries (oops!)
Anyway. . . .
Hey, get a load of this weird lime I cut today:
How did they do that?
Wonder if I can capitalize on it. Nevermind, I already squeezed into a glass of water.
So a couple of weeks ago, neighbor K gave me a pack of chicken tenders, that, quite frankly, don’t fit in the freezer. This was my main motivation for wanting to make Chicken Chili from Barefoot Contessa Parties, but also since I hadn’t had it in a long time. And through a series of events, I finally got the stuff made.
Last time I made this dish I ended up fobbing some off to both neighbor K and neighbor R, because it made SUCH a huge amount. This time, by default, I halved it. I wrote down TWO of each color of the bell peppers, not four, but bought four cans of the tomatoes. Oh, and the tomatoes had basil already in it, but of course I didn’t realize this point and bought basil anyway. More on that later.
K’s packet of chicken tenders yielded 11 pieces, and the recipe calls for 4 chicken breasts. I guess it’s about the same. Rubbed them with some olive oil and sprinkled on some salt/pepper/garlic powder seasoning and roasted them in about 20 minutes or so. While that cooled, I was workin’ the stove.
The recipe starts out with a LOT of chopped onion. If anyone I had called while I was doing this, they would have thought I was crying. I used up some golf-ball sized onions from the fridge that another neighbor gave me from his brother’s garden. Then I went to the soft-ball sized onions. That big food processor got USED today.
So you cook the onions for about 15 minutes, then add the minced garlic. Then the huge pile of chopped bell peppers.
You could eat these whole, couldn’t you?
You know how when you are in your own kitchen alone, you can lick the beaters? Well, this is the same principle–when I work with big peppers like this one, I slice the tops off first to get the center and seeds out (like the one on the far left) and that sliced off top is MINE. Do NOT touch my tops. I have to make sure that the pepper tastes right, and darnit, it’s the cook;s privilege. So don’t mess with it. . .or else.
Incidentally, that green cutting board with the hole in it is a new thing, and I got one right after Christmas when I was in The Woodlands. I think the pictures from that day have been lost (don’t ask) but I sure did enjoy using this cutting board and have tossed out a couple that were long overdue to be discarded.
The Zeal Non-Slip Board To Pan Cutting Board is big, a little heavy, has some rubber along the bottom, and a hole in one corner. An unusual design from Britain, it allows you to cut to your heart’s content and then dump everything into a bowl, pot, or whatever. I thought it was a bit odd when I saw it, but it was on sale (of course) and I got one. I love this cutting board! Just don’t tip stuff the wrong way, and you’ll be fine, right?
Anyway. . .
Then the two cans of tomatoes, buzzed through a food processor once or twice, and added to the pan to cook.
These were ten cents more than the regular canned tomatoes.
Can you see the crime scene starting in my kitchen?
Halfway done.
Don’t worry, I wiped it up right after I took the picture.
So you cook this tomato-laden pot for about 30 minutes, and the peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic and basil melt together and get sweet. The chicken should be cool enough to handle by now (even if you used bone-in breast pieces), so it’s chopped into 3/4 inch pieces.
This is what the tenders looked like after I chopped them. 4 breast pieces might yield a little more.
The chopped chicken is then dumped into the pot, and cooked for 20 more minutes.
The original recipe makes 12 servings, but the one I linked to halves that recipe to 6 servings. But, go figure, it made seven servings, and now I can enjoy this delicious recipe until next Saturday.
This recipe made seven big servings. Packed up the rest for the week.
Yum!
Now, I didn’t realize I didn’t need the basil, and it’s a too much trouble to bring it back to Kroger, so I did the next best thing.
Fresh basil. Two for something, I think.
Think I’ve got enough for pesto?
Well, I made some. Had everything on hand, whizzed it up in the blender, and it’s packed and stashed in the freezer.
If the cops ever investigate my freezer, they’ll be asking about all that pesto. But–what could be wrong with pesto? I’m not losing any sleep over it. Long as I have peas in the freezer, I’ll be having Pea & Pesto Soup. A lot.
The dishwasher is finished, the trash has been taken out, and I need to wrap it up soon.
If you’re cold, stay warm. If you’re warm, stay cool. And have something good to eat.
Happy Sunday!
Good evening, Dear Readers:
My apologies for being so long in between posts.
Well, I’m not sick anymore, thank heavens, but I’m cold. Not cold like some folks, but our OCD weather had me wearing a t-shirt and shorts this weekend. Sunday morning, warm, about 75F. Sunday afternoon about 12:30, 55; later on it became low 40’s.
Don’t worry, there’s a big nasty storm coming back, and they’ve named this one Mergatroid or something. WhatEVER. Geeks with time on their hands decide they want to name winter storms like we name hurricanes down here on the gulf coast.
Knock yourselves out, boys. If you want to name your storms, have at it. We’ve got more important things to concern ourselves with in the South.
If you’re in Australia, you’re roasting. I know this because a) I have studied Aussie trivia and b) I have friends in Melbourne, and it’s summer. I am not someone who asks, “if it’s December here, what month is it in Sydney?” (Someone actually called the Australian Embassy in LA and asked that question many years ago. DUH.)
It’s not secret that after losing about 65 painful pounds, some of it came back, about 20 of them, after things went haywire after I was laid off 18 months ago; I was, at the time, within 20 pounds of my goal weight (and stopping traffic again, darnit.) It still hurts, but since I’ve been laid off again, one of the things I want to focus on is dropping weight again. I’m not sure I’m going to do the hCG diet yet, although I have the pellets this time instead of the drops. Right now I’m concentrating on sleeping more, not eating as much, and a little less chocolate now and again.
I had an obstacle on the way yesterday.
Speaking of chocolate, if you are cold, here’s the simple recipe for Yeast-Free Hot Chocolate:
- 1.5 cups unsweetened chocolate almond milk
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 drop mint extract
- 4 packets Sweet N’ Low (or natural sweetener of your choice, i.e., Stevia, etc.)
Mix ingredients in a 2 cup measure (or similar vessel) and microwave for 3 minutes or until warm enough for you. (I like to heat the cup first with hot water.) Stir (or whisk) and pour into 2 cups.
Note: In my house this is a single serving. MINE. In your kitchen it can be two. I love this stuff. I don’t share–but then again, I don’t have to, either.
So last week neighbor K, the supermodel (she hates it when I say that) decided to bake a cake to take to work for a birthday. However, she doesn’t bake. Who does she ask for help? ME!!! (I’m certainly not going to tell her no. K is one of those people whose calls I *always* answer.) She has a few old cookbooks that belonged to her late father, and for a friend at work, she decided on the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. The friend doesn’t care for frosting, and really likes this cake, so that was that.
Sweet. Tropical. Ubiquitous. And oh, so much hot, sticky, melted sugar!!
I made some biscotti for Christmas and ended up giving her some when the intended recipient took off early. After polishing off the first batch, K asked for more–she loved them that much. Of course, I gave them to her. Inspired by this and other things, she decided to bake something herself.
Saturday, she brought over the brown-paged book, called “Louisiana Creole Cooking,” published in 1943. I seem to recall this cake being a big thing in the 1960’s, but since I was a little bitty kitty back in those days, well, maybe that’s just me. This book had no pictures, unlike the glossy, heavily researched books I have from Martha Stewart and Ina Garten (aka The Barefoot Contessa.) It was a fairly simple recipe, and I figured if she followed the directions, one of two things would happen: it would come out great, or it would flop. I managed to learn that much taking Probablilty and Statistics at Tulane. (Twice.)
This book came out during WWII, and for that period, it uses a fair amount of butter and sugar, including brown sugar, considering that rationing was going on at this point in the US. Remember, you had to have a coupon book for certain things (i.e., butter, sugar and canned goods) so this would definitely have been a rare treat in those days.
So the recipe called for “cake flour,” and lo and behold, I had a box! Yes, there is a difference. Swan Cake flour comes in a red box the size of a cake mix, and the flour is sealed in a plastic pouch in the same fashion. I can’t tell you how long it’s been there, but it had never been opened, and I was glad to give it to her to USE UP.
Oh, and if you’re wondering, no, it was NOT gluten free.
Really, I just told her to follow the directions exactly, and if it worked, great, if not, we could find another recipe. Take a look, its pretty simple:
The recipe, from a 71 year old cookbook.
Oh, and the “moderate oven” we estimated to be 350F, and that worked. Whew! That could have been embarrassing. . . .
So, she asked a few questions and borrowed a few things, like vanilla extract. I have two bottles: one, Mexican vanilla from the grocery, and two, a huge bottle filled with vodka and a dozen vanilla pods. Oh, yes. . .you could float on that smell, but I only use it for stuff where the alcohol is cooked or baked out. Honest–I’m not using it for boozy desserts and cocktails. She only needed a quarter teaspoon, so why buy it if you’re not going to use much?
My biggest suggestion was to make it once, follow the directions exactly, and see how it comes out. If it doesn’t work, you know not to try again. If it does, see how you like it. If you don’t like it, try another recipe. It’s what I did at Christmas when I made the rain bonnets–made mine first to see how it was supposed to come out. Then, I knew what to do for K’s and R’s rain hat. Both loved them, made with clear vinyl trimmed with their favorite colors.
Conveniently, this technique works for cakes, too.
If you’ve never made one of these, it goes like this: you make a glazey, syrupy stuff with the brown sugar and butter in a skillet. Pour that brown stuff in the bottom of the baking pan, then line it with sliced pineapple (this one calls for canned, but one in Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook calls for fresh.) Alternately, you can bake the whole thing in the same large cast-iron skillet you made the brown sugar mixture with. When it’s baked, you turn it over on a platter or plate, and the glaze oozes over the top and down the sides. But let’s get back to K’s first attempt at baking a cake for a co-worker’s birthday.
K used a 9″ x 12″ nonstick square baking pan, one with a cover so that she could transport it easily. This cake doesn’t really rise much, either. So when you put the pineapple down on top of the syrup, you pour it carefully so it doesn’t mix with the syrup, bake it, and find your stairway to heaven.
If you think I’m exaggerating, keep reading.
Now, I was certainly happy to offer advice and assistance, but really, K did just fine on her own. How do I know? Well. . .she knocked on my door and asked for a critique. It was freshly out of the oven, on a rack to cool. In other words, it was still hot. . .sticky. . .sweet. . .melty. . .moist. “Take a taste and tell me what you think,” she says.
Holy Shish Kebab.
You know what happened next. One taste lead to another. And another. And before too long we’d eaten half this cake. I kid you not. We could not stop eating it, and finally, we’d eaten so much we both had to stop. It really was half the cake. I couldn’t so much as drink a cup of tea after that–good thing, too, I didn’t get hungry all night.
I asked her if she’d like me to bring a couple of pieces to R and T, two neighbors to my left (T is upstairs, R is downstairs.) She cut huge chunks, put them on paper plates and said “take it!” So I did. Neighbor T said it was her favorite cake, and R ate it a little later, after it had cooled–and couldn’t stop until she finished it. Remember, it’s not a thick cake, and it doesn’t rise much, only about 3/4 inch when baked. It looks good, and even thought it’s flat, one taste and you’ll see that size, in this case, does not matter.
I texted her later and told her NEVER to make that cake again as long as I live here. No can do–K made a second one, this one to take to work, which she said came out even better than the first:
The Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, circa 1943
This is the cake that went to work today, and everyone had some and loved it. I’m guessing there isn’t any left. That would be good, because then none would come home.
And there may be a third one next weekend. GAWD, I hope not!
That cake, eaten hot out of the oven, is the closest to heaven you’ll ever be. If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself–with a bunch of good friends, so you can’t eat the whole thing alone. But you must have it HOT to find the stairway to heaven.
I fell off the gluten-free wagon again. I’m back on it.
In the end, K got the confidence to bake, and will be doing more in the future, maybe for Christmas. K also found a new favorite, one her father used to make when she was younger, and also made it as a salute to him, wherever he is. And it worked! (This one’s for you, Papa P.)
I didn’t really do anything except. . .help her eat half of the first one, and answered some questions. But, I’m glad I could help. Cooking is an art, but baking is a science–if you don’t get the wet/dry ratio right, or don’t have leavening (baking soda/powder) you won’t get what you thought you would. That’s enough to kill anyone’s confidence, especially the first time out.
Then again, when I have a flop, I write blog posts about them. Either way, I win even when I lose.
Thankfully, K succeeded, and this time, she did great. And I went way, WAAYYYY off the gluten-free wagon. Again. Better luck tomorrow.
Got an activity coming up? Look to the past and make this amazing confection for your next activity. You will not be disappointed.
Happy Dining!
Hello, Dear Readers:
Here’s hoping all of you are recovered from not only Thanksgiving but the god-awful day known as “Black Friday.” I had to work, and at least it was cold.
Yesterday I worked in the garden for the winter growing season, and it looks a lot better. Yes, I still have that huge pineapple plant (top left), and I’m gonna pass it along to SOMEBODY who has room for it
Looks pretty good! Cross your fingers. . . .
I’ve planted three pots of garlic, two of a lettuce mix, and parsley, which was nearly gone and has come back to life with some water and a bigger pot. Let’s hope the mint plant resurrects too, as it normally does. I forgot to take closeups, but there are three little green tomatoes on my scraggly tomato plants (top right.) There is a freeze planned this weekend, so they may not happen unless I bring them in.
Now onto what you’ve been waiting for. Yes, I still have two posts sitting in draft, but I thought you’d enjoy reading about how a food blogger does Thanksgiving for a friend–and messes it up royally.
BTW, the duck dinner was scotched, but that’s another story I don’t want to discuss here.
Last year I decided that I would go straight to one of my favorite Thanksgiving things, Leftover Turkey Chowder, or “The Soup of Enlightenment.” I invited the ex-boyfriend who is now “very good friend” for Turkey Day and promised him a dinner he’d never forget.
Trust me, he hasn’t yet. But it is partially his own fault.
When he told me that he was likely going to have hot dogs from the gas station, I couldn’t see that happening, and I insisted on making him something delish. This dinner guest is the son of Big Joel, who passed away in September, and has been busy taking care of his late father’s affairs and recently cleared out his father’s house. He is well aware that I’m a very good cook (usually) and accepted my invitation.
I had to do something nice for him, you know? Unfortunately, that’s not exactly what happened.
As it has happened before, I ended up buying a full sized turkey of 8 pounds the night before. Darnit. Well, it was one of those HEB Naturals, you know, the kind fed a vegetarian diet and no hormones or antibiotics. It was the smallest one I could find, and even a turkey breast “roast” was more expensive.
I got it all thawed, and on the hook for dealing with it. While looking up the Cranberry Ginger Relish recipe, I saw on Martha Stewart’s website about a trick called “spatchcocking.” I’ve heard the term for many years but never bothered to learn what it was. I clicked and decided that’s what I would do.
I will also tell you that I made six batches of that cranberry ginger relish, two of them with SomerSweet for me and my dinner companion, and handed off four batches for the duck roaster folks. They were given two containers full of Cranberry Ginger Relish, and I have not heard a word from them since. We’ll not discuss that here.
I also baked a loaf of Rosemary Bread (with rosemary from the HeatCageKitchen Garden) from The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Baking. Turned some of that into little squares and made something of a stuffing with it for the Enlightenment dumplings. I like it, but. . .let’s get back on track.
The 8-pound spatchcocked turkey took about 90 minutes to cook, simply by cutting out the backbone and letting it lie flat in the roasting pan over a bed of onions using the method I used last year for The Tuscan Turkey, with some of Suzanne Somers’ now-discontinued Tuscan Sea Salt Rub and a stick of butter. Although the pop-up timer worked well, I stuck and instant-read thermometer into the thigh to make sure. When it went past 200F, I knew we were good. This is what it looked like when it came out of the oven:
Looks a bit strange, being flat, but it cooks a lot faster
Then I got to work on some other things when I heard a knock on the door.
Before he arrived, I tidied up a little too, including mopping floors and making the bathroom look extra nice. Mostly everything was done–I made Yeast Free Brownies for dessert, too. However, when it came to the soup. . .
See, I’ve known this guy for more than 10 years, and one thing he does have is manners. And he brought a nice bottle of Red Guitar Sangria, an import from Spain that was darn good. From the first glass until I finally stopped, with about one fifth of the bottle left. Seriously.
Close friends know I don’t drink much, or often. At least this time, I didn’t have a hangover.
I tossed in four tablespoons of gluten-free flour, the yellowish kind from Bob’s Red Mill. The same stuff I use for Babycakes’ Waffles. Yeah, and I did a Rachel Ray–I “eyeballed” four tablespoons, using my fingers. So by the time it was done, and I was quite. . .juiced, I didn’t realize it tasted, well, not the way I intended. I should have put more half-and-half in it, or less of the flour. Oh, boy. . . .
He didn’t care for it, but I did give him half of the roast turkey, which he later told me was “delectable.” When I had the second bowl of the gluten free stuff, I realized it was a) kinda coagulated and b) tasted not quite right. He did mention that he did not like the soup, but was very polite about it. I gave him four slices of the rosemary bread to make sandwiches with, as well as some of the brownies to take home.
I emailed him later and told him that he was right, that the soup wasn’t good at all. He wrote back and said although I made some great food for him previously, including dinner about a month ago. . .this was the worst food he’d ever had! He didn’t like that rosemary bread, either, calling it “inedible.”
Darnit.
He also offered me a cookbook from the 1950’s; um, probably not, but I do have lots of other good books to cook from. He’s a bit afraid I went overboard with the “bizarre ingredients,” but I guess it was too much gluten free. He also said he told a friend that he should have brought over a loaf of whole wheat bread and a jar of Duke Mayo! They had a laugh at my expense, and I promised not to do that to him again.
Amazingly, he did remember a cake I made for him ten years ago. My Aussie friends had sent me a copy of Donna Hay magazine, a well-known chef Down Under who does simple and delicious food. Her cookbooks are widely available here in the US (with American measurements), and one of these days I’m going to get around to getting them, darnit! The magazine is also available here in the US in bookstores, although out of sync with the calendar in order to keep in sync with the seasons. (It’s currently summer Down Under.) Big and glossy, you’ll see some interesting ideas, like the one he mentioned–a pistachio raspberry cake I made for him one time, and I will have to make him again to make up for the bungled Soup of Enlightenment.
Maybe if I can pull it off, I’ll make it correctly this time, with <gulp> real flour, just for him. Cake too. See, he hasn’t gotten the wind of why gluten-free is a good thing. Not my mission to “convert” him, but I do my best with it.
Remember, a holiday is not a good day for experimenting on your friends! Even the good ones.
Happy Dining!
Good evening, Dear Readers:
I have a few updates on what’s going on in the HeatCageKitchen. Busy week already, but there is lots to share.
The lettuce experiment is now a full-fledged production. I can’t tell you how good it is to come home to nearly ready-made salad that’s fresh and crisp. YUM. Two heads of lettuce last a whole week, sometimes longer. Highly recommended for salad lovers.
This gluten free thing can be hard. I guess it’s because I’m following a doctor’s suggestion that I leave the wheat alone, and I don’t actually get sick from it like a few folks I know do. Someone brought some homemade oatmeal-raisin cookies to the office yesterday. Oh, boy—was that a temptation. But, it’s wheat! I made it, walking right past them all day, and one by one, they disappeared and I wasn’t responsible.
Read Wheat Belly if you don’t believe me. I can, occasionally, be a hypocrite when it comes to the healthy eating, and I’ll admit that. But after reading that book I’m inclined to leave it alone.
I’m also back on my feet after not walking for a few days and feeling better. Every time I pass that lovely cupcake shop New Addictions, I look over to see how they’re doing. They always have at least a few needy souls lining up for a soul-soothing, handmade cupcake. I’m glad, since it makes the customers happy as well as the owners and employees.
So I’ve eaten my first two home-grown tomatoes, and of course it was nirvana. Well, what did you expect? I let them ripen a bit too much, so they were slightly soft, but incredibly tasty. If you’ve never had a home grown tomato, make friends with someone who grows tomatoes, and maybe they’ll give you an extra or two. If you haven’t tried to grow your own, well, give it a try, if you have the room and the means.
The remaining third of the three tomatoes is still green, but should be ripening pretty soon. We’ve had some rain this weekend, (and about to get some as I write this) so I expect to pick it in the next week or two. I have five little strawberries in various stages of growth, none of them red. The basil is growing back steadily, as are the green onions and parsley. The pepper plant is doing fine, although I thought I had five peppers, not four; I’m wondering if a hungry bird or possum got it. Nothing from the Meyer lemon tree yet. Maybe I’ll get a couple more paint buckets and try growing something else.
Last week’s pesto operation sort of didn’t end well. This weekend I discovered that somehow, I’d cracked the blender mechanism that sits in the bottom with the sharp blades. I ordered a new one online; should be here in a few days. I discovered it when I actually made some Pea Pesto Soup and not only did the blending sound funny, but some leaked onto the top of the machine. What the heck? I thought I didn’t have the bottom on tightly enough, but upon further examination, it was actual damage to the part. Oh, well. Meantime, no Pea Pesto Soup or anything else until the new part arrives. Unless one of my neighbors has a blender I can borrow. If I need it. Not sure how it happened, but I’m going to be careful using that batch of pesto.
Thank heavens for online ordering. From Cuisinart. Spare parts are easy!
I have a new cookbook, y’all. Yeah, I know–like I needed one, right?
This weekend during my cooking spree, I ended up making two of my favorite Nigella Express recipes, Pollo alla Caccitora and Rib-Sticking stir fry, using beef. I just wanted to use up a couple of things and make some one-pot recipes to make it easy for a week’s worth of lunch. During my weekend errands, I decided to finally get Nigella Lawson’s latest, Nigellissima. (If I keep this up, I’ll need a new bookshelf.) I’ve been wanting to get it for a while, and I saw it in Target and got it, finally. This Italian-inspired book comes from her love of Italian food developed while living in Florence when she was a teenager. It’s like the thing I have for strawberries, except with a passport.
Nigella calls these recipes “Italian inspired,” because they are not authentic Italian recipes like the ones that Giada de Laurentiis’ grandfather brought over to California. (Giada herself admits to adding a “California flair” to her Italian recipes, much to the chagrin of her beloved straight-from-Italy Aunt Raffy.) Living in Italy, Nigella was able to not only speak Italian but learn to cook real Italian food, and has loved it ever since, so she cooks from experience.
Well, c’mon–who doesn’t like lasagne? OK, gluten free folks noted. . . but you get the idea, and there are a number of interpretations of lasagne that can accommodate the wheat-intolerant among us. (Dairy too, if you like that fake-me-out non-dairy vegan cheese stuff.) Antipasto is a great low-carb restaurant meal if you order it as such instead of an appetizer as most folks do.
So what’s good in Nigellissima? Well, there is, of course, a chapter on pasta, but there are also other delish things to eat, like a one-pot meal of Sausages with Beans & Roasted Red Peppers, which uses something new, red vermouth, discussed at length in the introduction. (I hope Spec’s has some.) In the Vegetables & Sides chapter, there is Cannellini Beans with Rosemary, which I plan to try soon, since I have rosemary growing out back, and Gnocchi au Gratin, taking packaged gnocchi and turning it into something kind of French.
That’s Nigella. She nails it.
Also interesting is the Sicilian Cauliflower Salad. Say what? Yeah, I’ll be all over that one too this weekend. Soon as I get that red vermouth stuff. . . .
The biggest surprise is a delicioso thing in the Sweet Things chapter: the Chocolate Olive Oil Cake on page 186. No kidding. I’ve wanted to try it since I saw it some months ago, and I’ll try to make one this week. Nigella created the cake for a friend who was coming to dinner and absolutely could not have dairy or flour. Almond flour, olive oil, 3 eggs, and a few other everyday ingredients. I plan to use SomerSweet so I can literally have my cake and eat it too. Woo hoo!
On page 260 is something called Eggs in Purgatory, or what to eat when you’re feeling like hell. Wish I’d had this recipe a year or so ago! Makes me want to stop at Kitchen Collection and get some of those smaller cast-iron pans I saw a while back. And make a loaf of Stout Bread just so I can try this recipe. If I do, maybe I’ll freeze some. Eggs, canned tomatoes, Parm cheese, and a couple of other things come together in a pan for soothing succor. I generally have all the ingredients on hand, except gluten-free (or any other) bread. I’ll let you know.
No, Nigella is not the only celebrity cookbook author in the world. I just happened to get her newest beautiful cookbook this weekend. And make more of her recipes.
Oh, and the only picture of Nigella herself is on the cover. The rest of the pictures are all of the food.
What I do appreciate about celebrity chefs now is that there is a variety of cooking styles to chose from, and much more to cooking that there used to be. Then again, the best things about the Food Network is that a) it’s one of the few clean channels on TV and b) the celebrities in food are known for their talent and skill, not because they are proud of their unsavory behavior.
Anyway. . . .
It’s a week night, and I’m tired. I’ll let you know what happens with the cake, as well as other adventures in the HeatCageKitchen. Especially if there’s an injury involved.
Bueno appetitto!
Evening, Dear Readers:
We’ve had yet another cold front, and while we don’t have snow like Denver has, I’m keeping my winter boots out a little longer. We’re enjoying winter’s last gasp. . .again. Count your blessings. Winter doesn’t know it’s spring.
Anyway. . .
I’m going back on the yeast-free diet soon out of necessity. When I was sick last month, I took antibiotics. I was sick, I couldn’t help it. I went to a “regular” clinic, and that’s what I got. So now I’m feeling occasional heartburn where I didn’t have it before. I’m going to use an OTC product I’ve used before rather than prescriptions, primarily because of the expense–but also because I’ll be embarrassed if I request those prescriptions again. Gotta nip it in the butt, quick–or I’ll have that hot, burning throat-grabbing pain that only sometimes goes away with antacids.
I did this last year when I found myself with chronic gastro problems that I originally put down to nibbling the sample bins at Whole Foods, but eventually discovered that it was because I’d not cleaned the tea pot as regularly as I needed to and, well, it got a bit slimy. That’s a mold, and if it gets in your system it sets off a chain of events that causes gastro symptoms I won’t detail here, heartburn being one of them.
There’s a fungus among us, folks. Seriously.
DISCLAIMER (again): I’m not a doctor/nurse/scientist/medical professional/genius. Just a patient who reads and pays attention. Passing along info that I think will benefit my readers (and a little griping on my part anyway.)
What I will say is this–if you find yourself with some of these chronic issues, take a look at doing the yeast free diet for yourself and see if they don’t resolve:
bloating
belching
excessive gas
cramps
pain
indigestion
constipation
heartburn
diarrhea
You could also have:
headaches
fatigue
skin rashes
immune suppression
chemical sensitivity
vaginal yeast infections
depression
anxiety
joint pain
inability to concentrate
muscle aches
hives
fungal infections under fingernails and toenails
athlete’s foot
thrush, a white coating on the tongue
I will admit up front that these symptoms came from Dr. Steven Hotze’s website (click the link to find out more.) If it weren’t for his radio show that I’ve been able to listen to all these years as well as his book on the subject, I would have no idea what yeast overgrowth is and be suffering with it for a long time, taking endless prescriptions that only make things worse.
Dr. Hotze is The Hormone God. He probably would NOT like me to call him “god of the hormones,” but he is (and a very nice Christian man.) Dr. Hotze has taught other physicians, including mine, how to use bioidentical hormones and how they are better than the norm, as well as general health and wellness. I greatly appreciate him and the work he does for not only his guests but the public. Many of us who have listened to his words are healthier for it and know what to look for and look out for. I guess you could call it “worship,” but he’d probably not like me to say that either.
Enough of the drooling fan stuff.
I’ve done this diet a few times, but the first was about five or six years ago, after mold exposure in a water bottle I didn’t see until it was too late–yuck! I had uncontrollable, painful heartburn and a few other impolite symptoms, and couldn’t figure out why (until I discovered the mold contamination.) I had to just about beg the “regular” doctor I was seeing to give me some Nystatin and fluconazole, and then he wouldn’t give me enough for 90 days. Of course, he was quick to prescribe something for the heartburn, obviously not making the connection.(Today he operates a “health practice” in the south part of Houston, and I drive north to The Woodlands to see a nice lady doctor who knows what she’s doing.) I managed to get rid of the heartburn, but I always suspected it was like not taking all the antibiotics and I still had yeast. I’ve done this since then, so I’m sure I got rid of it all. Til now.
Antibiotics kill the bug that’s got ahold of you, and the tipping point is 24 to 48 hours if taken consistently. Most antibiotics, like the Amoxicillin I had, are called “broad-spectrum” antibiotics, meaning they kill everything, not just the “bad bugs.” This can be good, but the eventual imbalance allows something called Candida alicans to overgrow in the system. From there, well, you read the symptoms earlier.
I did NOT want to take antibiotics! I had not had a pharmaceutical drug in my system in nearly 3 years. But I got better, so now I have to get rid of the other problem.
If you believe you have intestinal yeast, please read these two articles first, and this one from The Green Willow Tree. I highly recommend Dr. Hotze’s Optimal Eating Cookbook, which is available from Physician’s Preference, the vitamin shop at the Hotze Health & Wellness Center. Dr. Carolyn Dean, another fantastic health doctor, writes on yeast and other ills on her blog, and has been on Dr. Hotze’s show several times.
I can’t stand to see anyone suffer needlessly, especially if I know something that can help.
Now for the nuts and bolts: what does it mean to be yeast free? Well. . .being gluten free helps, but it goes farther than that–bear with me, there are reasons for such measures, and I will explain.
Yeast, as you may recall from microbiology, thrives in a warm, moist environment when fed sugar. Basically, your gut, just like when you proof it for bread. Ordinarily, the regular bacterial flora keep all that in balance, but antibiotics and other catalysts mess that up, causing Candida to overgrow and giving symptoms.
Consuming anything that converts to sugar will feed the yeast and make it worse. That means carbohydrates, simple and refined. In Dr. Hotze’s words–pizza, pasta, potatoes, rice, bread, as well as any kind of starchy stuff, including the evil wheat products of any kind. Oh, and add to that any kind of dairy products, including butter–lactose is a sugar, and will feed the yeast too.
Since most Americans eat a lot of that kind of stuff, you understand why they’re feeding yeast with a shovel. All that converted sugar is like gasoline on a wildfire–and funnyman Larry the Cable Guy is now a spokesman for Prilosec OTC. Does that tell you anything?
The diet itself starts out with meat and veg for the first month–no dairy, no fruit, no starchy carbs of any kind. The next month you can add butter and some fruit. To be effective the diet must be done for 90 days with one of two sets of tools to get the yeast out of your system completely. Dr. Hotze’s cookbook explains everything in great detail, including the prescription method.
Method #1: prescriptions for 90 days of Hypo Nystatin-A, and Diflucan (fluconazole), taken for three weeks, about two or three weeks after the first prescription is started. Again, exact details are in the book, so get that if you’re interested in trying it. Both are free of side effects like making you talk funny and walking backwards, so you don’t have to worry about that.
Method #2: if you can’t get a doctor to prescribe the aforementioned items (and at one point, I couldn’t), there is an OTC preparation available from The Green Willow Tree. Formerly known as Syclovir, it’s now called Yeast Control. This is what I’ve ordered for this go-round of yeast-free. Relatively inexpensive, and despite the god-awful taste, it does work well.
Whichever method you choose, you will also need to get some Alka Seltzer Gold. Why? Nausea. Roll with it. This kills the nausea in its tracks. The nausea comes when the yeast cells burst, and they send their mycotoxins flooding into your system. This is normal, so don’t panic (like I did.) It sometimes happens fast, so be ready for it. If you can’t find it, try your local CVS, or you can order it via Amazon. Dr. Hotze also sells something called Neutra Tabs; I’ve never tried them, but I think they’re pretty much the same thing. Your choice.
How long does the nausea last? Depends on how bad the yeast is. Me, I’ve only had that happen for a few days and that was it. I completed the 90 days and was done with it. But there was that one day at work when I thought I wasn’t going to make it to the water fountain with the nausea cure quick enough.
WARNING: I once told a co-worker about yeast and the cure and he asked his son, a physician, more about it. The son told him that if they find yeast in the system, they automatically test for HIV. I’ve never been told I need that test, and since I’m not in that risk group, I didn’t face that issue. However, if you are told this, decline the HIV test and ask for just the candida test. If you are refused, find another doctor. I was told many years ago at Tulane by a social worker that if you are tested for HIV by your PCP, your insurance company will drop you faster than a hot rock–even if the test is negative. The belief is that if you are being tested, you are engaging in risky behaviors and need to be tested. Furthermore, while yeast can be an indicator of HIV, it more often exists on its own. DO NOT be led to believe that you “might have HIV if you have yeast.” They are two separate conditions, and one does NOT indicate the other. If you want to be tested, go elsewhere than your PCP.
You can always ask another doctor to do a test for candida. There are some places that do any medical test you want without a doctor’s order. I haven’t tried it, but that may also be an option if you want to investigate it and can’t get your doctor to help you.
That was your caveat.
I never really went back to dairy after I did yeast-free a few years ago. Once I discovered shelf-stable boxed almond milk and coconut oil, I just kept using them. Never had to worry about milk going bad, because it lasted a longer time. Only recently after reading Wheat Belly and seeing the dairy included did I start buying it again.
You see. . .I can haz cheezburger. Just no wheat. And no more of those delicious gluten-free cupcakes I had last week at Frost Bake Shoppe. Darnit. Well, I’m not going back to The Woodlands for a while, so I guess I’ll be OK.
Now, after enjoying my favorite dairy stuff again, I gotta give it up for a while. Oh, well, it was tasty while it lasted.
And if that’s not enough to freeze your peas, I read yesterday’s Wall Street Journal and see an ad for watches. Now, I’ve got a Seiko watch that I’ve had since 1992; I’ve replaced the watch band and countless batteries in it (until I got smart and bought a “forever battery” at Jared’s a few years ago) and it has served me well all these years. (This Pulsar model looks exactly like it!)
OK, Amy, why does a watch have to be in a food blog?
The watch in question is called a Parmigiani. Yes, like the cheese. It’s a Swiss company that makes this lovely watch, and darnit, their website is Parmigiana.ch! No .com? What does the .ch stand for–CHEESE?? They also have a Bugatti model, named after the sports car. I can deal with not having a Bugatti. But the Parmigiani name reminds that I can’t have cheese, darnit!
Some days, it’s all you can do to keep it together.
The Syclovir should be here in a few days, and once I get situated in my new work life, I’ll get on the yeast-free track again. It’s only for a little while, and once it’s gone, let’s see if we can keep it that way.
I have written about this before, and I bring it up in case someone else is suffering. And, because I can gripe a little about getting back this irritating problem.
Dunno what I did to my shoulder, but it hurts like the dickens. Don’t think even Dr. Hotze can help with this one, so I guess I gotta wait for it to heal.
GRRRRRR. . .but I never feel bad about having yeast free hot chocolate. Even in the summertime.
To your good health!
