Posts Tagged ‘Gluten Free’
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!
Afternoon, Dear Readers:
Here in Houston, the weather has warmed up, the clouds are gone and it’s a lovely day. I say that not to make anyone jealous, but to remind you that winter always turns to spring. Eventually.
Y’all, it just dawned on me that I didn’t recommend anything for Valentine’s Day dinner. DUH.
Sure, you could go out to dinner. Have you ever tried to get a reservation for Valentine’s Day? No, I don’t mean Golden Corral. . . Jack In The Box is usually open. So is Carl’s Jr., if you have one in your area–they have sweet potato fries!
Or just go out and find a place to eat. You’ll be elbow-to-elbow with all the other star-crossed lovers. Forget that! Make dinner for your sweetie–but don’t go overboard. You need something easy that won’t take long. So here you go.
One of my newest favorite foods is cannellini beans. You know, the white kidney beans, usually from Italy. They are SOOOO good. I have a number of recipes calling for them, but my absolute favorite is, once again, from Nigella Lawson. It’s a simple white bean mash that can take the place of mashed potatoes and tastes so much better.
Thing is, you have to do it exactly as the recipe states. However, I’ve fiddled with it a bit to make it just for lunch. I’ll explain that in a minute.
Tonight, if you can get some nice little steaks and three cans of cannellini beans, (don’t forget olive oil, lemon and garlic) you’re all set–just make sure dessert is delicious, too. (It does not have to be chocolate, OK?) You make the beans first, then cook up the steaks and squeeze the lemon into the hot pan to deglaze it. The most time it takes is for making the bean mash. You can find the entire recipe here.
A steak dinner on Valentine’s Day? Of course!
Now, I have, on a couple of occasions, accidentally bought those little great white beans, or whatever they are called, because I simply grabbed the wrong can. This is easy when you buy Goya, because the cans all look alike. Darnit. They work, but are not as tasty as the cannellini.
Since my job ended on January 31, I’ve been eating white bean mash nearly every day. Why? I love it! With turkey, meatloaf, or whatever I feel like cooking up, it’s simple. And I also figured out how to make it in the microwave.
Rinse one can of beans and dump it in a microwave safe bowl; preferably one like a Grab-It with rounded sides and wide. Add to it a goodly amount of olive oil (maybe 1/8 cup, just eyeball it), and grate in a clove of garlic and some lemon zest (one small or half a large.) Microwave it until it’s hot. Take it out (put it on something heat-safe) and get a wide, flat spoon (a round wooden one works great) and mash to your heart’s content. Taste, and dd a bit of salt if you think you need it (mine always do) and mash until you get the same nubbly consistency, or it’s good enough for one person to devour.
I took that to work many times. Now that I’m not working, I just need to make sure I keep cannellini beans in the pantry.
That’s all for now.
Happy Valentine’s Day, and Enjoy!
Dear Readers:
Here’s a re-blog from GF And Me, a blog dedicated to gluten-free foods with some gorgeous chocolate treats for Valentine’s Day, and probably better than mine.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Good evening, Dear Readers!
Winter hasn’t gotten the memo to knock it off. Atlanta is getting blasted again. It’s cold nearly everywhere.
I am so cold, I put on my one and only pair of long johns to go walk my neighbor’s pug today. I might wear them to bed. As I write this, it’s 36F, and we’ll have a high of 53 tomorrow, if we’re lucky. BRRRRRRRrrrrrrr. . .at least the rain will end.
First, an update from the garden: in addition to the ping-pong sized tomato growing in incredibly cold and wet weather:
Guess I’m getting another one. It won’t get much bigger than that before it starts turning red. And, finally, the radishes are coming!
I read in one of my magazines that radishes are very easy to grow. I found a packet of seeds in the deck box and dug up some dirt. They mature very quickly, although this seems to be taking longer than the 30 days stated in the magazine. That’s OK. I hope neighbors K, R and T like radishes if they really take off. Next time I’d like to try those cute French Breakfast radishes, which are red on top and white on the bottom (root end.)
Now, the mint has come back strong, since we’ve had rain and I’ve watered a few times. One of the main reasons I grow it is so I can make Nigella Lawson’s Corsican Omelette. I thawed out the Goat Cheese from a recent Trader Joe’s trip and beat some eggs. What the recipe says is to fold it in thirds. This time, I finally got it folded!
Then I took it OUT of the pan:
Better luck next time. Hey–it’s EDIBLE, OK? Note: this wouldn’t be a bad thing to split with your honey when you have breakfast in bed, or just breakfast together.
So, onto the news. . . .
This week is Valentine’s Day, and so I thought I would send a few things your way to make your V-D special. No, I can’t help you find the love of your life, or make him/her love you, or bring romance into your life, I can only help with the chocolate part.
Me? No, there isn’t a “someone special.” There isn’t anyone even close to that description. HPD told me to stop dating ’cause they can’t keep coming over to take them away. Restraining orders get expensive, too. My friends have specific instructions if I ever say those words, “I’m getting married.” Let’s see who’s brave enough to carry out a rescue mission.
Yes, I’m exaggerating. A little. But enough about me. . . .
I got an email a little while ago that Starbucks is offering a buy-one-get-one on latte drinks this Friday (February 14th) from 2-5 pm at participating stores. If you don’t know what that means, check out their online primer for lattes. Me, I’d go for the Skinny Flavored Latte with sugar-free hazelnut syrup in it. YUM. A lot less calories than the Hazelnut Macchiato.
Or I could just make myself a cappuccino/latte at home and toss in the hazelnut stuff. My choice, right?
So last year I wrote a post with several chocolate recipes for Valentine’s Day, and it’s still there if you want some. But the one thing that people equate with the day is chocolate covered strawberries. These babies are not in season this time of year, but thanks to expanded agriculture, they are available year round. Sure, they’re expensive, and in many cases very decorated (labor!) That’s all well and good, but if you want to do them yourself, it’s not too difficult. But let me tell you, there’s a trick to it.
Years ago I was talking to my Mom. They’d gone to Ponchatoula, LA to get some strawberries during the season (the best, BTW) and she was attempting to chocolate-cover them. Mom was melting the chocolate and pouring in cold heavy whipping cream. Guess what? The chocolate seized up! I explained that next time, try heating the cream and pouring it into the chocolate, melting it that way. I guess it worked, she never mentioned it again.
If you want to try your hand at it, here are some suggestions from Food Network’s website. Having done this a time or two, you must work fast, since the chocolate will firm up quickly. Don’t burn the chocolate, use parchment or wax paper, and don’t make a mess, please.
Now, last year I told you about the ex-boyfriend who, when we lived together, got sick with me for Valentine’s Day. A couple of weeks ago I was on the phone with him, and just for fun, I said, “Hey, what are we doing for Valentine’s Day?” I was joking of course, but he sort of took it differently. Next thing I know, I’m cooking dinner for him again! Well, he can’t make it this week, and I wouldn’t have done what I did for Christmas, but I would certainly make him something tasty, complete with dessert.
Tonight on Facebook, Joey Jones posted a short “survival guide” for us singles on Valentine’s Day. Pretty good, and if you’re sad about being single. . .don’t be.
Now, about 5 years ago, I think, I went to a “single girl Valentines dinner party,” and I brought dessert. Not just any dessert–a Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova that went over VERY well. As I’ve mentioned before, chocolate and raspberry are my favorite combination, and I’d knock over Shaquille O’Neill to get to it. But in this case, I was good, and they wouldn’t let me take home what was left. I baked it in a heart shape, which is easy to do since it’s meringue. While I don’t have a picture of it anymore, it came out perfect, and looked like this (but heart shaped.)
Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova from Forever Summer. VERY good choice for many occasions
That will amaze friends and family alike. And–guess what? Bonus–it’s gluten free! No kidding–no flour or anything like it, although there is sugar, so you’d have to take that into consideration if your honey is diabetic. (There’s always Somersweet.)
If the chocolate-raspberry route isn’t for you, there’s also Nigella’s Cappuccino Pavlova, but that has corn flour in it, which I think is what we call corn starch, so it’s got a bit of a flour-like substance in it.
You know, I didn’t mean to turn this into the Nigella column, but I guess I did.
Whether you hang with friends or camp in with a significant other, or like me, hang out with the cat, just enjoy what there is to enjoy, and it’ll be great.
Happy Chocolate, I mean, Valentine’s Day!
Good evening, Dear Readers:
My sincerest apologies for taking so long. One thing leads to another, then it’s the holidays, and the blog just gets postponed. I’ll try to keep up on this during the new year.
BRRRRRR!!!!! Seems like the whole world is frozen, at least north of the equator! Australia, however, is having record heat, so they’re sort of learning what Texas is like in the summer. Nevertheless, if you are in need of something warm and tasty, please have some Yeast Free Hot Chocolate and remember to bring your pets and critters INSIDE, or somehow keep them from freezing. Not safe for man or beast anywhere!
If you’re wondering how Christmas went, well, it went much better. Hang on, I have a few other things to tell you about first.
Remember the new cupcake shop down in the tunnel, New Addictions? Bad news—they’ve closed for good. I get to my office via an entry that passes right by that place, and I figured, like a lot of places, they would be closed during the week of Thanksgiving. While several eateries in the tunnel were open, most were closed and I just thought they were going to do the same thing.
And when we returned after the Black Friday weekend, the gate was down, and all the fixtures were gone. All that’s left is the name painted on the wall. What a shame—they nearly always had at least one person in there contemplating a cupcake. A click on their website says that they have closed both locations. I sent them an email expressing my condolences, but I haven’t heard back—and there’s a good chance I won’t.
What happened? Who knows. But I’m sure the Fraziers are up to something else, and it’s likely very tasty, too. I hope they do well in whatever they do next; they’re really nice people.
Also, the HeatCageKitchen garden is doing great–I have harvested three tomatoes before the freeze came, and the little orbs are ripening on the breakfast bar. Garlic is shooting up, and while the Meyer lemon plant just grows green leaves, the sage is coming up, the rosemary is enjoying all this, green onions are growing up straight, the strawberry plant is nice and green (no berries), the aloe vera is fine, and I’ve got flat-leaf parsley shoots popping through the soil. No lettuce yet, but I might try radishes soon. I’ve been inundated with seed catalogs after ONE order from Territorial Seed a month or so ago, where I got the garlic.
If you’re someone who watched the cartoon The Jetsons many years ago, or have seen it in reruns, you were likely treated to visions of a 21st century kitchen. Well, it’s what they thought would be “the kitchen of the future,” with lots of buttons everywhere. We have that, with touchpads on everything from microwaves to iPhones, but I don’t think we’re at the point of taking protein pills instead of having food for dinner. The Wall Street Journal did an article recently on the futuristic kitchen we were promised. And while it’s great that we can invent such things, well, the comments indicate that simple is better.
Do you really need a circuit board and touch panel on your refrigerator or built into your dishwasher? Me either. Turn on and run, OK?
Speaking of fun in the kitchen, another WSJ article told me about something I’ve never heard of, called the Bimby. There is also a video, but you have to sign in to see it. Also, this magic machine is NOT, repeat, NOT currently available in the US, and apparently not anytime soon, either. It is available in Canada under the name Thermomix, and one of the commenters says that their power is the same as ours, 110v.
Spinach and cod? Oh, that’s right up there with eggplant lasagna. You have it, OK?
Well, it’s interesting, but not as much fun as the YouTube videos of cats riding the Roomba. More robots at work in our homes, while the cat just sees it as catering to his natural superiority. But seriously, you can kind of do the same thing with a food processor and a toaster oven, or maybe a Vitamix (which I don’t have.)
Now back to Christmas.
As I mentioned last time, Thanksgiving dinner was a gluten-free disaster, thanks in part to my enthusiasm and my guest’s gift of some pretty potent Sangria. However, because the guest knows I’m a good cook, he agreed to give me another chance at Christmas; he was not disappointed this time. He did bring wine, and I had some, but there was no intoxication before dinner, nor after. I did bake the raspberry pistachio cake he hinted at, and he took the whole thing home in a disposable pan.
About a week before, I got an email from The Barefoot Contessa Blog, and one recipe she mentioned was Green Beans Gremolata, so I decided to include that.
I did turkey again, but of course was unable to obtain a turkey breast on the Sunday before Christmas. There was no way I was going to mess with another whole turkey, let alone a 22 pound beast, so I got turkey thighs, which I prefer anyway. They’re kind of down-market for a holiday dinner, but again, no huge beasts for me this time. I went to Ina’s last book, How Easy Is That? and made Herb Roasted Turkey on page 128, just with turkey thighs. Oh, yeah. . . .
Herb Roasted Turkey Thighs
Also in How Easy Is That? I came across Celery and Parmesan Salad on page 62. Pretty darn good!
Celery Parmesan Salad. Must be tasted to be believed.
I also made some more of the Tuscan Chickpea Mash from Foolproof, (page 42) a second cousin to hummus (but with no sesame paste in it.) I made that as an appetizer, and it’s one I really like, but he said, “Meh.” He did try it and said it was good, but just wasn’t interested.
Tuscan Chickpea Mash with cut celery, a nice appetizer.
Because I was baking him a cake the night before, I also decided to use up the rest of the buttermilk and made him some cornbread. It’s an old Martha Stewart recipe from her big green compendium on page 107, and I’ve never had anyone turn it down. Yes, the cake and the cornbread both were NOT, repeat, NOT, gluten free, and no, I didn’t eat it, just made it. (Oh, and Miss Gluten Free was in the grocery buying white flour right before Christmas.)
He doesn’t care, like a lot of folks, so I made him what he likes, which is everything you see here.
No, it’s not gluten free, except for the pie. I emailed this pic to him the night before so he would know I was serious about doing dinner right this time.
I wanted to also make Nigella Lawson’s addictive white bean mash with lemon and garlic, but I just didn’t have the time, even though it doesn’t take too long. Next time, maybe. That steamed chocolate pudding was untouched, and it’s in the pantry for another day.
Dessert was something I wasn’t going to mess with: pecan pie. I was in Erma’s Nutrition Center the Saturday before and decided to go the bought route. I called him to ask what he’d like: pecan, key lime, or pumpkin, which is what they had that day. He said pecan, so I got one.
The Gluten Free Pecan Pie even a manly man could enjoy!
Gluten Free Nation (formerly known as Gluten Free Houston) makes these cute little 5-inch pies that are great. I’ve had blueberry, apple and a few others. This was my first time with pecan, and the pie did not disappoint. A little whipped cream and we had a perfect gluten free dessert. One day I’m gonna visit their store on a Saturday, and maybe I’ll write a whole blog post, too. I’ve met the owner, Randi Markowitz, who herself has celiac disease and created the company to help out folks everywhere who just want to avoid gluten.
After he chowed down on a slice, I told him it was gluten free. He was surprised, and he really liked the pie; but I guess the clue was that I ate a piece, too. No complaints on anything, and he went home happy with a bag full of glutinous munchies, which he later said he enjoyed.
He also claims there are still stains on his kitchen ceiling from when I was cooking in his kitchen. No true. Nothing I made ever exploded in his kitchen.
Mission accomplished. He spent some time with his kitty cat, we caught up on some stuff, and for a little while, all was right with the world. He promised that next time he’d bring some free-range eggs from his bud’s chicken coop to see what I could do with that. Oh, I’ve got just the thing from Giada de Laurentiis–a frittata!
Next up. . .getting over the holidays.
Happy Dining!
