pierogies

if you know me, you know that i love anything that can be made into a dumpling. so even though hungarian cuisine doesn't have something like the pierogie, because it is a dumpling i am in love with this beautiful polish food. going gluten free made this a sad thing for me. but i found a great pierogie recipe--so great, i made them twice in the same week! mine are with a bit of a hungarian twist :) served covered in saurkraut and sweet paprika! best thing, this recipe is soooo simple to make. thanks to daring cooks!


gluten free pierogies (makes about 15)

1/3 c tapioca starch
1/3 c sweet rice flour (called mochiko)
2 tbsp potato starch
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp xanthan gum
2 eggs
1 tbsp olive oil

1. combine flours, salt and xanthan gum in a bowl.
2. whisk eggs in a separate small bowl. then whisk in oil.
3. pour wet ingredients into dry. mix together, then you'll be able to knead this dough.
4. grab small portions of the dough and roll out on parchment paper. roll out to about 1/8" thick and cut into rounds.

FULL DISCLOSURE: i rolled out all the dough at once and i do not use a biscuit cutter or anything fancy. i just cut into squares. then i thought about it--next time, i will use my ravioli maker! roll out, place on top of ravioli maker (which is kind of like a little ice cube tray), fill, cut. voila!

5. fill. moisten edges of dough with wet fingers and press edges together. then use a fork to completely stick together and make fluted edges.
6. boil until the dumpling floats to the surface and stops looking "doughy."
7. drain pierogies and place in a hot, non-stick frying pan with butter. coat with butter and fry until lightly browned.
8. eat hot!

i filled mine with a mixture of potato, sage and mild cheddar. so i mashed a boiled potato with a bit of butter and salt and pepper. then added some dried sage to taste. i put about a teaspoon of filling into each dumpling and a pinch of cheese. then sealed. they were divine!

the best vegetarian loaf ever

i'm going to say it... i hate those nasty nut and lentil loaves that people think vegetarians like to eat. really? i mean, they're gross and they have strange textures. who wants to eat that? and when i was a kid, i hated meatloaf, too. my mom's was dry and bland. she just put plain tomato paste on top after she baked it! ew... but my mom is not a very good cook--she knows this.

i was flipping through my joy of cooking looking for some home-style dinner inspiration. it was a rough week last week, and i just wanted comfort food. i found it! it's phenomenal! and it's a loaf. i changed the recipe a bit, as usual. it called for store bought baked, smoked tofu and i could not find this. other options were not gluten free. so we made our own smoked tofu out on our grill with our grill smoker. it was great :) i wish i had a better picture. but this thing was so delicious we had eaten half of it before i remembered to take a picture!


smokey tofu vegetable loaf (inspired by the joy of cooking's smoked tofu burgers)

7 oz. smoked tofu
5 oz. sliced button mushrooms
1 c chopped broccoli
1/3 c chopped orange bell pepper
1/4 c sliced scallions
2 tsp peeled and minced ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 c cooked rice (you can use any kind on hand. we happened to have leftover sushi rice, so that's what i used. i might use brown rice next time if i plan ahead.)
2/3 c bread crumbs (i made crumbs from 2 slices of pamela's bread mix bread)
2 eggs, whisked
1 tbsp soy sauce
plenty of the following spices: black pepper, salt, paprika
pinch of chipotle

1. we had to grill and smoke our tofu.
2. preheat oven to 375 and oil a loaf pan.
3. saute mushrooms in olive oil. when they start to release their liquid, add broccoli, bell pepper and scallions. cook until slightly soft, then add ginger, garlic and spices. add rice, stir around and remove from heat.
4. put veggies and rice into food processor. our food processor is small, so we had to do all this in a couple batches.
5. run smoked tofu through the food processor. mix together the rice/veggie mixture, tofu, breadcrumbs, eggs and soy sauce.
6. the mixture should be pretty uniform, but you should be able to see little veggie pieces and whatnot. it should not look like a "custard."
7. press into loaf pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until nice and browned on top.

we had this with dilled mashed potatoes and gravy and buttered carrots. it was comfort on a plate. and the loaf makes fantastic leftovers. i kept imagining tofu loaf sandwiches this winter. i can't wait to eat this again.

general tso's tofu

has anyone out there read the fortune cookie chronicles by jennifer 8. lee? well, in it, along with trying to find the origin of the fortune cookie, she seeks out general tso's chicken all over the world in an effort to understand chinese cuisine in the diaspora. it has nothing to do with this recipe, but making it made me think of the book--which i read a while ago and thoroughly enjoyed. i would recommend it to anyone who is interested in food history/culture books :)

anyway, this was SO delicious--and the leftovers were fantastic the next day (just not as crispy). and then i even wanted it again. oh, and i notoriously hate chinese food. but i was looking for a new tofu recipe and this struck my fancy. below is a conglomeration of several recipes i looked up.


general tso's tofu

1 lb. extra firm tofu
~ 1/2c cornstarch
vegetable oil for frying
3 chopped green onions
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 cloves garlic
2/3c vegetable broth
2 tbsp wheat-free tamari
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp gluten free hoisin sauce
1/2-3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
sesame seeds

1. press and drain tofu. pat dry and cut into 1/2" chunks. toss tofu in a bowl with the cornstarch (reserve some cornstarch to thicken the sauce at the end--just set aside in a separate bowl about 1 1/2 tbsps).
2. heat oil in a non-stick skillet and shallow fry. i really sauteed until nice and crispy on about four sides. that seemed to cook all the cornstarch and make it nice and crunchy. it may take 2 batches--then remove and drain on paper towels
3. heat a small amount of oil in the pan. add green onions, ginger, and garlic. cook until fragrant--DO NOT BURN GARLIC.
4. in a separate bowl, whisk together broth, tamari, sugar, vinegar, hoisin and red pepper. remove a couple of tbsps and mix with reserved cornstarch. add liquid mix to pan--do not add cornstarch mixture until the rest is warm.
5. mix cornstarch mixture into pan, stirring constantly until thickened.
6. add tofu and coat evenly.
7. serve with broccoli over brown rice. garnish with sesame seeds.

asparagus mushroom crepes with dijon wine sauce

mmm... french food...

asparagus mushroom crepes

filling:
1 bunch thin asparagus
1 10-oz. box of sliced portobello mushrooms
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
thyme, to taste

crepes:
3 eggs
1 c soy milk
1/2 c potato starch
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons canola oil

1. cut off tough ends of asparagus. then chop stalks into quarters. melt some butter in a pan and saute mushrooms and asparagus, with spices and herbs, until mushrooms release their liquid.
2. put eggs and milk into a blender. blend.
3. add potato starch and salt and blend again. refrigerate for 20 minutes.
4. take crepe batter out of the fridge. pulse briefly, then pour into hot crepe pan (we use a pre-seasoned cast iron pan. it makes wonderful crepes that don't stick!). swirl the mixture around to coat the bottom of the crepe pan evenly.
5. cook over medium heat until the surface of the crepe looks dry, about 1-2 minutes. flip and cook the other side for about 30 seconds.
6. slide crepe onto a plate and fill 1/4 of it with the asparagus mushroom mixture. then fold in quarters over the mixture. top with dijon wine sauce (below) and paprika :)

dijon wine sauce:
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp namaste perfect flour blend
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 c white wine (i used a white wine from the cotes du rhone region)
1/2 c grated cheese (i used a mix of swiss and meunster)
black pepper, to taste

1. melt butter in a heavy bottom sauce pan. whisk in flour and stir to thicken.
2. add dijon.
3. pour wine over roux and stir constantly to ensure nothing will stick in the pan.
4. bring to a boil. remove from heat and stir in cheese until fully melted. add pepper.
5. pour over crepes!


warning: sauce is bitey! i actually would use less dijon for my tastes, but lee loves dijon. you could easily cut it down to a half tbsp of dijon and still have a great tasting sauce, in my opinion.

tofu 3 ways

i love tofu. sometimes, i even crave it. here are some pictures of beautiful, tasty, tofu-featuring dinners i've had recently:

lemon asparagus risotto with tofu balls on the side. the lemon asparagus risotto was made with lemon juice instead of wine, a touch of lemon zest, and chopped asparagus. the tofu balls were made with the changes i suggested before--no flour on the outside, hands covered in oil and used to coat the balls. then i baked them in the oven until brown and a little crispy on the outside. i have also since found that not putting shallots in them helps them hold together much better. and they are delish! i love making a batch of these on the weekend to have with several meals throughout the week :)


mango ginger tofu, from my favorite ppk ladies! we put ours on skewers with pineapple and yellow bell pepper and then grilled. served with black rice.


cornmeal encrusted tofu with an olive and sundried tomato "gremolata." basically, a traditional gremolata with the olives and sundried tomatoes added to my taste. served with mashed potatoes and miso gravy and sweet green peas. this made me swoon!

curry powder

i ran out of curry powder, but wanted to make this great pea and potato curry dish that lee and i like. so i made my own. this made 2 tsp of curry powder, so of course you could make a bigger batch. however, don't make a bunch to store because it won't taste as good. make and use as needed:

ann's curry powder

1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp paprika
pinch each ground black pepper, kosher salt and nutmeg

it was waaay better than store bought curry powder (surprise, surprise). i won't buy it anymore now. i'll just make this.

country fried tofu

'nuff said :)


ann's country fried tofu

1 lb extra firm tofu
1 egg
1/2 c plain soymilk
3/4 c white rice flour
1/2 c gluten free bread crumbs
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
paprika, to taste (optional)

1. drain tofu well and pat dry with paper towels.
2. slice into 8 slices, by cutting the block in half, then the halves in half, etc...
3. mix white rice flour with plenty of salt and pepper in a small bowl. i love to add paprika here as well. mix egg and milk together in another small bowl. put bread crumbs in a third small bowl.
4. dredge tofu in white rice flour, followed by milk/egg mixture, then bread crumbs.
5. fry. i shallow fried mine, because deep fried foods gross me out. but you don't need to deep fry with this tasty recipe :)

serve with vinegar slaw and biscuits for a down home kinda meal.

mmm...mmm...mexican!

i'm known for these here asparagus enchiladas. my sister calls me once a year to ask, again, how to make them. the people that we knew in boulder couldn't wait until asparagus season for me to make these. they made appearances at dinners and get-togethers and have come in several varieties. i haven't been able to eat them for a while. before i knew i was gluten-intolerant, their slight spiciness made me so sick to my stomach that i thought i'd never have them again.

but my gluten free diet has changed all this :) i feel great, and i ate asparagus enchiladas twice this week to prove it! here is my most recent variation on an old household favorite:


asparagus-tofu enchiladas

1 bunch of thin stalked asparagus
1/2 lb tofu
1 sm can diced green chiles (i like hatch, if you have that brand)
10 corn tortillas
1 15-oz can mild red enchilada sauce
1 c shredded mixed mexican cheeses

1. wash the asparagus and trim the tough ends off the stalks. cut stalks in half. place in a shallow sauce pan with approximately 1/2 inch of lightly salted water. steam asparagus for 2-3 minutes, or until bright green.
2. drain and press tofu. dry with clean paper towels. slice into slabs, then slice into strips the short way.
3. coat the bottom of a 9 x 13 and 8 x 8 pan with enchilada sauce.
4. steam corn tortillas. put a couple pieces of asparagus and 2 strips of tofu into each tortilla. then top with green chiles to taste. roll tortilla and place into pan. do this for all 10 tortillas. i can usually get 6 into the larger pan, and then the final four into the 8 x 8 square pan.
5. top lightly with enchilada sauce until ends are nicely covered but the enchiladas are not soupy. top with shredded cheese.
6. bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until hot and bubbly.

this time, i served my enchiladas with mexican white rice. i adapted this recipe from rick bayless's mexican kitchen. i have two of his cookbooks, and i am rarely disappointed when i get an idea from him.

ann's mexican rice

1 lg onion, diced
1 sm can corn niblets, drained
2 tbsp olive oil
2 c long grain white rice
2 1/2 c vegetable broth

1. saute the onion with the raw rice with the oil in a non-stick pan for about 5 minutes. it's okay if the some of the rice gets brown. add the corn kernals and give a quick stir. add the broth.
2. pour into a casserole dish. cover with foil and a lid (if you have a lid for the pan. if there's no lid, that's fine).
3. bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until almost all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
4. remove from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

and here you will have a lovely mexican meal! put a little salsa and sour cream on the side and you won't be disappointed. yum :)

my kind of easter eggs

we don't do easter, but this year after visiting ohio, i remembered a little something from my childhood that i couldn't wait to make for easter: beet pickled eggs. i haven't downloaded the pictures of my eggs from my camera yet, but here's what they look like (from a site called aeri's kitchen):


they are so pretty and pink-y red that they fit the season perfectly. these are an amish food, and really popular where i grew up because ohio has the largest amish population in the world. i think these eggs are so popular there because northeast ohio is also very eastern european (mainly hungarian, romanian and austrian, with some polish) and these people love them some pickled foods. my grandparents always had these beautiful pickled eggs in a jar in the house. YUM!

i adapted a recipe that i found online at allrecipes.com, and it turned out deliciously. i'll be making them again--even lee thinks they are great! imagine, hard-boiled eggs with a little sweet and sour-ness to them. if you like eggs and you like beets, you'll probably like these. this is a quick pickled version. the one true pickle recipe i found made a gallon of eggs and beets. i just don't think we're there yet... that's a lot of pickled eggs to eat, my friend!

beet pickled eggs

8 eggs
2 15-oz. cans of sliced beets, with liquid (i used the no salt added kind)
1/2 c cider vinegar
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c water
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper corns

1. put eggs in a pot of water on the stove to boil. once the water boils, TURN OFF the burner and set the timer to 9-12 minutes (this time depends upon how firm you like your yolks. if you like firmer, use 12 minutes. i like my yolk normally a little soft--about 8 minutes--but for these eggs 10 minutes was a perfect time).
2. after the eggs are done, drain hot water and soak in cold water for about 10 minutes. then peel the eggs and set aside in a GLASS OR PLASTIC BOWL*.
3. in a saucepan, combine beets and liquid with the rest of the ingredients. stir until sugar dissolves and bring to a boil. pour this over the eggs.
4. cover and chill for at least 4 hours or set overnight.

*a metal bowl will make the eggs slimy--it's the metal vinegar reaction thing. the liquid will turn plastics red. i like to use a glass bowl for this.

the end of my challenge

so, for those of you who have been following, i had a 90-day challenge to eat only homemade. this began on january 1 and ended march 31. some notes on my challenge:

1. it was a lot harder than i thought. mostly because my husband did not really support this challenge. so on friday nights, instead of being creative about going out and doing something, he just complained that we "didn't go out anymore," by which he meant we didn't go out to eat anymore. basically, he was a pain in the ass. but the other reason why it was more challenging than i thought was because i love to cook complicated things, and sometimes when i came home from work, i didn't want to cook complicated things. we were often eating at 8pm due to my challenge.

2. i couldn't really do it. by this, i mean that there were a couple of times when i actually had to eat out. i will explain them here--a) i did a lunch time talk for lee's company for an academic group that some people are trying to get off the ground. they wanted someone to come in and talk about university and/or research libraries and their needs and trends. the crux of this presentation was that they took me out for a nice lunch. i couldn't exactly avoid that. b) i went to maine for a day to see lee's parents. when we do this we meet in portland, not at their house because their house is too far for a day-trip. they took us out to lunch and dinner during that day. again, no choice unless i wanted to carry a cooler around. there is only so much food that you can pack and it's not really suitable to do so for full meals. c) at the end of march, i went to visit my family in ohio and again went out once for a nice dinner with my sisters. my parents also don't cook much, so i did all of the cooking for family meals except on our last day when they ordered us pizza, from an awesome place that had gluten free pizza, gluten free fried chicken, and gluten free jojos! i love jojos! (the entry says that the term originated in ohio--but is also used elsewhere in the united states for those potato wedges that are fried together with the chicken. interesting....) and the pizza was AMAZING! it's hands down the best gluten free pizza i've had. thank you, altieri's! anyway, i didn't want to be too difficult, so i couldn't complain there either. to them, i am already enough of a problem because i am vegetarian and now gluten free...

in any case, my parents were pretty happy (and so was the rest of the family) when we went to the west side market in cleveland and went to the handmade hungarian sausage place. here we are, buying something like 6 pounds of spicy hungarian meats :) no, i didn't eat them, but smelled, smiled, and remembered, and had a lovely conversation, partly in hungarian. the guy's family came to cleveland in 1956, right after the failed hungarian anti-communist revolution. my family came before his, between the two world wars.


3. i learned a lot. i remembered how much i love cooking as much as i can homemade and i will continue to do this. i already did before, but had been used to buying more convenience food than i used to--part of this was leftover from my georgia days when i was only cooking for myself. so maybe lee will still complain that we don't go out anymore, but i just think he needs to get over it and find something other than eating to do!

crepes and a booked vacation

one of the things that made me most upset when i learned i had to live gluten free was the loss of crepes. i love crepes, and they are something special to me. sometimes, on a sunday, my husband will get up before me and make a beautiful crepe batter. we slowly make and eat crepes and just have a lovely morning--doing nothing! i particularly like cinnamon sugar crepes, or ones with honey and almonds, or cheese and jam, or... never mind, i like crepes with anything!

an interesting crepe anecdote is that when we were in japan almost 2 years ago on vacation, we learned that the japanese also love crepes. in fact, in japan, they like almost anything french but then they give them a distinctly japanese twist. so the crepe i had (which was quite large, i might add) was as follows: a piece of lettuce covered with cream cheese, then a scoop of tuna salad, covered in pizza sauce.

i know, your gagging right now. but honestly you can't knock strange japanese food combinations until you try them. we learned while traveling there that they really are food geniuses! truly! look how good it looked!

but i digress...

recently, i found out that a friend of mine is allergic to wheat. this is also a new thing to her. now this is slightly different because she is not gluten intolerant. but in many cases, we eat the same things :) she loaned me a cookbook her sister got for her upon her diagnosis called nearly normal cooking for gluten-free eating by jules e. d. shepard. it has some not so great recipes, but it also has some fantastic recipes--like GLUTEN FREE CREPES! i had experimented with making crepes again with lackluster results. but i tried this recipe and it has the taste and texture of real crepes! i'm in heaven :)


crepes

2 tbsp flour (again, i use namaste perfect flour blend)
3 eggs
3 tbsp plain soymilk
1/2 tsp salt

1. combine in a small food processor. cook in a crepe pan or small non-stick skillet until beautiful and lightly browned on both sides.

i filled mine with crumbled tofu "sausages" (again, my tofu balls), sweet potatoes and cheese. lee's had his filled with spiced chicken and apples. then we had dessert, of course! mine is the subdued, yet beautiful crepe with pink sprinkles. those of you who know lee are not surprised by his crazy dessert crepe!


and to the other part of my story today: thinking of crepes made me think of japan. japan made me think of vacations. lee and i just booked our summer vacation :) at the end of june, we will be headed to virginia where we will hike approximately 40 miles of the appalachian trail lodge-to-lodge, in shenandoah national park. i am so looking forward to it. from there, we will slowly make our way to some beach, while sipping wine and taking in some historic spots. i already feel relaxed. i can't wait for june 23rd!

"healthy" hashbrown casserole

a friend and i were reminiscing about hashbrown casserole not too long ago. i thought, "mmm... i want me some of that..." but i recalled it being just hashbrown potatoes and cream of mushroom soup. not too nutritious! so here i've come up with a healthier, but still satisfyingly yummy, hashbrown casserole.


ann's healthy hashbrown casserole

1 lb potatoes, peeled and shredded
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp + 1 tsp flour
1 c plain soy milk
1/3 c low fat sour cream
1/2-3/4 c shredded cheese (i used a mix of cheddar and mozzarella)
1/2 tsp salt
paprika, to taste
pepper, to taste
dill, to taste
pinch turmeric
1/4 c gluten free breadcrumbs

1. squeeze excess liquid out of shredded potatoes. place in an oiled non-stick skillet. pat down and fry evenly in a large pancake. this is to get some brown-ness on the potatoes, a la hashbrowns. do this until all your potatoes are lightly browned but not cooked. put in a large mixing bowl and break up gently. add shredded and uncooked carrot. stir in sour cream thoroughly and then mix in cheeses.
2. saute onions and pepper 3-5 minutes, until beginning to brown and soften. add mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid. add herbs and spices. stir until incorporated. sprinkle with flour (i use namaste's gluten free perfect flour blend). stir and add soymilk.
3. cook until soymilk starts to bubble and thicken. pour over veggie and sour cream/cheese mixture. stir until well combined.
4. put in a buttered casserole. top with breadcrumbs and a small amount of shredded cheese.
5. bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. it will be brown and bubbly, and the potatoes should be cooked through by this time.

mmm...mmm...mmm!


i ate this with my tofu balls, but i shaped them more like sausages. i also used less breadcrumbs (about half as much) and did not coat with flour--like i said i would do the last time. instead, i oiled my hands and coated the tofu "sausages". then i placed them on a baking sheet on parchment paper and baked for 20 minutes until they were beautiful and brown. this is the PERFECT way to make these tofu beauties, and the next time i make balls i will do the same :)

low country boil

hey y'all!

well, there are many things i disliked about living in georgia, but low country boil ain't one of 'em. here's a good description of what low country boil is. basically, it's a big pot of shrimp (sometimes crab, as well), new potatoes, corn on the cob, and sausage boiled together with old bay. mine is a little bit of a fancier version :)


ann's low country boil--courtesy of my 9 month stay in savannah, georgia

serves 2
1 lb shrimp, heads off and deveined, but shells on
1 lb yukon gold potatoes
1 buffalo or andouille flavored chicken sausage
2 tbsp old bay seasoning
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp dill
1/4 tsp paprika
3 tbsp butter

1. cut potatoes into about 1 inch pieces. throw in a pot with cold water and plenty of salt. bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, until potatoes are starting to get soft.
2. throw shrimp into the pot and sausage. cook until done. if using frozen shrimp, which we do up here in the frozen north, it will take about 6 minutes. then your potatoes will be perfectly done!
3. drain. put shrimp and potatoes back into pot with the butter. keep the heat on low. melt butter and add nutmeg, dill and paprika as well. coat everything real well.
4. serve hot, with a nice bit of corn bread on the side :)

at my house, the sausage is not boiled in the pot. lee cooks it on the side. i am not sausage friendly, so i don't want it touching my food. so i take out my portion of shrimp and potatoes, and then lee throws his sausage into the pot and coats it nicely with everything else. he also drastically prefers the buffalo sausage to andouille. the church's page above says they use polish sausage, but i'm pretty sure the places i saw it on the menu it was usually andouille. you can use whatever sausage you want to! (oh, and a note here, low country boil does not work with sweet potatoes. we tried that when we were out of potatoes, but it was unsuccessful...)

drink with plenty of beer!


ann's gluten free cornbread

1 c cornmeal
1 c white rice flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 c sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 egg
3/4 c plain soymilk
1/4 c canola oil
1 tbsp honey

1. mix together dry ingredients. add wet ingredients and stir to combine.
2. pour into muffin cups or 8 x 8 baking pan. put into 400 degree oven.
3. muffins will take about 20-25 minutes to bake. bread will take closer to 45 minutes.

sometimes, i add chili spices to the muffins if i'm having them with something like low country boil. either way, be sure to serve with plenty of butter :) or they make a nice breakfast, too, with plenty of jam!

is there anything that beats bananas?

i love a classy chocolate banana cream pie. here it is, folks--gluten free and mostly vegan too!


chocolate banana cream pie

crust:
1 c arrowroot cookies
2 tbsp butter

ganache:
3 oz. chocolate chips
1/4 c vanilla soy milk

filling:
2 sliced bananas
1/2 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups vanilla soy milk
1 tbsp butter (use 2 tbsp if you want a richer flavor)
1 tsp vanilla

1. process arrowroot cookies into nice crumbs. melt butter and add to crumbs. press into a 9 inch pie plate.
2. melt chocolate chips into soymilk in a pan over a VERY low flame. spread ganache evenly over pie crust. place into refrigerator to firm up (about 5 minutes).
3. layer sliced bananas over the bottom of the crust, right on top of the chocolate. reserve any unused banana slices.
4. for filling, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a small bowl. pour soy milk into a sauce pan. pour sugar combination into soy milk. whisk thoroughly. turn on the burner to medium. whisk soy milk combination constantly until it begins to thicken and bubble. once it starts to bubble, cook over low heat for 1 minute. turn heat off. whisk in butter and vanilla. pour over crust.
5. use rest of the banana slices and put on top of the pie in a decorative pattern. use plastic wrap and cover pie. put the plastic wrap directly on top of the pie--when the plastic wrap touches the surface of the pie, this prevents a skin from forming!
6. when completely cooled and set (at least 2 hours), serve with whipped cream or drizzled chocolate on top :)

and here's a classy side-view of the pie so you can see the layers. divine!

fresh jam!

i made jam for the first time ever last friday. and i made it in my bread maker. but before i tell you how i did it, i want to first give a brief statement on gelatin...

gelatin is NOT what you use to make jam. you use pectin.

i used gelatin...

before i was gluten free, i was strictly gelatin free as well. things have changed, my friends. and one of the main reasons is because i have found that marshmallow fruit and cereal bars are a great snack for me during the day. you see, i can no longer eat many cereals, or pretzels, or crackers, or sundry other items that i would normally snack on. so i have found that these marshmallow fruit and cereal bars are generally healthy and a good tasting snack.

now back to jam and gelatin. i was at a different store than i normally go to. i could not, for the life of me, find pectin. i know what pectin looks like--i have purchased it before. i looked in the baking aisle, i looked with the jell-o, i looked with canning supplies. i did not find pectin. so i changed a normal jam recipe for the bread maker. AND I MADE DELICIOUS JAM!!! now, i will find pectin for future jam-making ventures, but for now, i am delightfully happy :)

here it is folks:


mango bread maker jam

2 pkgs unflavored gelatin
1 cup water
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 bag frozen mango from trader joe's (24 oz.)

1. dissolve gelatin in water in a bowl. add sugar and lemon juice.
2. dump into bread maker pan. add mango. snap into bread maker. find the JAM course and press START.
3. done, in 1 hour and 20 minutes :)

i put mine in a pretty jar that i had received fresh jam in not too long ago and put into the refrigerator. i heard that fresh bread maker jam needs to be consumed in 4 weeks or frozen. it made such a large amount that the rest is in the freezer. you should make some too! you'll love it!

a new type of meatball (and sid relaxes...)

now that i can't eat gluten, i can no longer partake of any fake meat products. this is not really a problem for me as i rarely ate them in the past. if you don't eat meat, why would you want a fake meat product? however, i did enjoy veggie meatballs and bacon on occassion. meatballs, because tofu is just not satisfying with pasta and bacon when i wanted something smoky--because i'm not a fan of fake smoke flavoring either. bacon alternatives will have to be explored another day. but today, i can tell you about the tofu ball!

i modified this recipe from one on the post-punk kitchen site, again, my favorite vegan ladies. they were really good! i used peanut butter and co's the heat is on peanut butter and shallots rather than onion. AMAZING! but next time, i will not bother to coat in flour and pan fry. it's too labor-intensive. instead, i will coat my hands in oil and rub the balls down (yikes!!!) and bake them until they are browned and crispy-ish on the outside.

tofu balls

1 lb. extra firm tofu
1 shallot, fine diced and sauteed
3 tbsp peanut butter
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (i used a gluten free brand)
black pepper, to taste
dried basil, to taste
dried oregano, to taste

1. combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. squish together with your hands really well!
2. roll into 1 1/2 inch balls.
if frying:
3. coat in flour of your choice--i used white rice flour. pan fry in a non-stick skillet with hot oil until browned on all sides.
or bake as i mentioned above.

and the next morning, this is what my cat sid looked like. these are too cute not to post. he was tuckered out from something! perhaps he was still digesting delicious tofu balls :) (just kidding, he did not eat them, but he would because MAN does he love peanut butter!) in any case, he has never sat like this on the couch before, so i couldn't resist taking pictures.

full sun in the face.

and with his head down.

awwww...

challenges and the blahs

so i haven't been really good with my 90-day challenge recently. no, i haven't eaten any pre-packaged food or in a restaurant, but i've wanted to.

trouble is, lee and i have been super busy recently. so we've been having dinner very late at night, sometimes at 9pm. we've been really run down. so sometimes i come home from work and i throw some pasta on to boil and i have pasta and tofu and cheese. then i eat that for dinner, lunch the next day, and dinner again because i'm too tired to make anything else. that's not exactly what i imagined when i set this challenge for myself. i was really trying to make great, wholesome food everyday.

the other interesting thing is that i've realized i may not be able to keep my "no restaurant food" vow. mostly because lee's office has invited me to come in and talk about library design to them. there will be a corporate lunch out thing afterward, and i can't really not do that. sigh...

i've been a little in the "blahs" because of all this, but tonight's dinner was a sure way to cure that! i encourage you to make this and eat it yourself. we almost ate the whole pot :)


tofu beer stew

1 lb. tofu
1 onion, diced
1 celery rib, sliced
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 tsp thyme (dried)
1/2 tsp oregano (dried)
1 tsp parsley (fresh, chopped)
black pepper, to taste
10 oz. vegetable broth
1 bottle brown beer of your choice (if your bottle is a big bottle, use only 350 ml)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp cornstarch

1. preheat oven to 350. slice tofu into about 1 inch cubes. heat a pot on the stove top with olive oil. brown tofu.
2. put in veggies and herbs. saute until onions are translucent.
3. add all other ingredients, EXCEPT cornstarch. stir well and place into preheated oven.
4. bake for about an hour. dilute cornstarch with some of the cooking liquid. add to pan and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
5. serve immediately.

we ate it over mashed potatoes and nearly drooled on ourselves. plus, it smells up the house so nicely. it's perfect for a chilly day! oh, and share with friends--they'll thank you :)

mmm...mmm...morning...

anyone who knows me knows that i'm not a morning person. i sleep until 9 or later when left to my own devices, and even for work it is almost impossible for me to get up before 7am. but i do like my breakfast!

my 90-day challenge to eat only homemade foods is most difficult in the morning. it's hard to cook a breakfast from scratch each morning and make it to work on time. so last week, i finished a box of cereal that was opened before the challenge began, and then had toast made from my first bread machine loaf for the rest of the week. but toast is not filling, so i was trying to think of other solutions without eating baked goods every morning. because though baked goods are homemade, and i make mighty fine breakfast baked goods if i do say so myself, they are not always so healthy for you!

so i made rice pudding instead :) i love this rice pudding recipe because you can throw whatever you have on hand in it. i sometimes make it when we have people over for brunch and it's always a hit. i made a big batch and can then just quickly reheat on the stove top (we don't own a microwave, and i never will!) with a smidge of milk. mmm...


rice pudding breakfast cereal

2 cups cooked basmati rice
2 cups soy milk
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup toasted almond slices
pinch ginger
pinch nutmeg
1 cap-full rose water

1. mix all ingredients together in a bowl--use spices to taste. transfer to oven-proof dish. bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, or until all the milk is absorbed.

this recipe is wonderful because you can make it with any kind of rice--i've successfully made it with everything from uncle ben's to sushi rice. you can use any kind of milk. and you can use any fruit, nuts, whatever in it. a family favorite for us is to put apples or pears in it, with plenty of cinnamon. i've never put rosewater in it before, but i thought the ingredients this time would go well with it (and they did!). i do love tasty rosewater applications :)

i'm looking forward to breakfast all week now!

french onion soup

yum!

because i don't eat beef broth, i cook my onions down, then add marsala wine (or red wine if i don't have marsala on hand). this time i added about 1/3 cup, and boy does it taste fabulous! on top you see a tasty piece of garlic and basil millet bread and some lovely low fat provolone cheese. i'm mopping drool up off of my keyboard!

and for those who might be interested, i bought this stalk of brussels sprouts. i had no idea that this is how they grew. trader joe's had these, and they said that 1 stalk had approximately 5 servings on it. note: it's been a few days since this picture was taken, but we've eaten about 6 servings and are still going!

challenges to the new 90-day challenge!

okay, it's day 3 of the 90-day "make everything homemade" challenge that i set up for myself. here is what i've noticed will be challenging so far:

1. there are still a couple of pre-made things in the house. so i guess i've resolved to finish them before i make the same thing homemade. example: bread mix--i just bought a bread maker (to assist in the making of gluten-free bread, and also handy for this challenge). but about 3 weeks ago i bought a bread mix from whole foods, expecting that i would make it before my challenge kicked in. i never had time to make it, but decided that i would use it as the inauguration batch for my bread maker, rather than letting it sit for 90 days and buying the ingredients to make bread from scratch.

2. i don't have complete buy-in. my husband is apparently bent on thwarting me when he can. we went grocery shopping and he bought yoghurt and sorbet--both are things on the list that should be made homemade. next week, i won't let him go off on his own at the store!

3. my friend trinity asked me about quickie meals. my solution: on sunday, i am cooking up a big batch of something and eating it for the whole week for lunch. so this week i am making sweet and sour tofu. i will package the veggies, tofu and sauce in one tupperware and the rice in another and just scoop out lunch portions every morning until it's done. for quickie dinners, we often make big stuff at the beginning of the week and then eat the leftovers later in the week. we will continue to do the same. so eating only homemade stuff doesn't dis-clude leftovers. (THANK GOODNESS!)

4. snacks are proving to be a problem. still thinking about this one... i bought some blue corn tortilla chips for lunches and snacks this week--i wouldn't be able to make these homemade anyway, but i struggled to think of other things for snacks that aren't pre-packaged junk food. i can make fruit-nut mixes, of course, but does anyone have other suggestions?

otherwise, we're off to a good start. on new year's day, we went to our neighbor's house for dinner and they made a beautiful home-cooked meal of roasted tomato and mushroom soup, white beans and chard, and a fennel and radicchio salad. for dessert, we had chocolate tofu mousse with jellied fruit on top. yesterday, lee and i had the leftover cinnamon rolls for breakfast, along with picking at some leftovers for lunch. then for dinner, we had a wonderful baked pasta dish. here is the amended recipe (how i'll make it next time, because the sauce was a little too runny):

smoked salmon baked fusilli

6 oz. brown rice fusilli
4 oz. wild smoked salmon
1 tbsp butter
2 celery stalks, diced
4 scallions, sliced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 cup plain, unsweetened rice milk
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp dried dill
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp gluten free breadcrumbs or cornflake crumbs

1. preheat oven to 425.
2. cook pasta according to package directions, leaving a little under done. drain, rinse and toss into bowl with chopped up smoked salmon.
3. saute onions, scallions, and celery in butter. season with pepper and dill. add rice milk, broth, and frozen peas. bring to a boil. scoop some of the liquid back into a measuring cup. add cornstarch and mix well. pour back into pan. bring to a boil to thicken.
4. once thickened as desired (add more cornstarch if you like it thicker), pour over pasta and salmon in the bowl. toss well.
5. place in buttered 8x8 baking dish. mix together parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. coat top of dish evenly. bake for 20 minutes or until brown on top and bubbly.

it was very delicious and smelled divine baking. if you don't like fish, smoked tofu or tempeh would do the trick just as nicely. i can't wait for the leftovers!