Chomp Zone

Tsukune

Sun, 13 May 2012 06:57:47 -0400

After a long hiatus of not reading Bon Appetit, I’ve been frantically catching up (going to yoga = not going to the gym = not reading on the elliptical). Anyway, the latest issue is a travel issue. At first I was miffed. Food & Wine this month was also a travel issue, and having picked it up at the airport on my way home from a business meeting, I was all travel fooded out.

But tucked in the pages of Bon Appetit was something that F&W did not have - tsukune - or chicken meatballs. Oh, I don’t know why I waited so long to make these. The original recipe is here, and my version, which to be honest was based solely on what was available to me in grocery stores in Cambridge is below.

While the star of this show is the chicken, I’m going to start with the sauce because this is absolutely essential before you proceed. Here’s what you need -

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup sweet white wine (Riesling works well)
1/4 cup gluten free tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp sake
3/4 tsp packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 scallion chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed
1-1 inch piece of ginger, pealed and sliced

Combine all of the ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let reduce for about 20 minutes until you have a generous half cup. Place a sieve over a small bowl and strain the solids out. Reserve half of the sauce for dipping.

For the chicken meatballs, here’s what you need -

1 pound of ground turkey or chicken
1 tbsp miso paste (finding gluten free miso is hard. I was not picky about what kind in this instance)
4 scallions minced
1 tbsp sesame oil, plus more for hands and grill

Take 1/3 of the chicken and cook it until just cooked in a frying pan. Transfer to a plate and let cool. Mince your scallions and add to a bowl with the remaining raw chicken and sesame oil. Add the cooked chicken. Oil your hands and massage the mixture until a sticky mound forms, about five minutes.

Form eight equal balls and roll into 4-inch ovals. Flatten slightly. Heat a grill to medium-high heat.

Place on the grill and cook for about two minutes. Flip over and brush the top part with your sauce. After about two more minutes, flip again and brush the other side. Continue this process until cooked entirely through - about 10 minutes - and until the sauce is gone.

Serve with the dipping sauce and enjoy!

Radish Pea Pasta

Sun, 06 May 2012 20:07:27 -0400

I overheard someone raving about Heartland pasta recently (it’s gluten free). After eating burgers the last two nights, I decided to tone it down with something… non-meaty. I also forgot to buy chicken at the grocery store which foiled my plans of fried chicken. Here’s what you need -

2 cups dry pasta
1 tbsp butter
10 radishes, scrubbed and sliced
1 shallot, sliced
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup snap peas, broken into equal pieces
1/2 cup artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
1 lemon
1/4 cup loosely packed parsley leaves
Grated Romano, salt, pepper to taste

Boil water for the pasta. Meanwhile, chop the radishes, shallot and peas. In a cast iron skillet, melt the butter and add the shallots. Turn heat to low. Add the radishes and red pepper flakes and stir every few minutes. When the water is boiled, add the pasta.

Continue to cook the radishes. Grate the lemon over the radishes and set the lemon aside. Add the peas and continue to cook on low heat. Drain the pasta and add to the skillet, along with the artichoke heats. Juice the lemon over the pasta dish, add the parsley and cook on low for a few more minutes.

Serve with cheese, salt and pepper.

Homemade Oreos

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 08:19:00 -0400

First off, I have to apologize for the hiatus. It was unintentional but I do have a fairly decent reason - I was completing my first ever 30-day bikram yoga challenge. What’s this? Oh I just go to bikram yoga once a day, every day for 30 days. For those of you who don’t know, bikram is a hot torture chamber. The room is a minimum of 105 degrees (but we’re looking at usually 112 - 120) with at least 40% humidity. It’s hot.

As I’ve mentioned before, there are a few food items that I desperately miss. One is Joanne Chang’s homemade oreos. If you’ve never had the pleasure of going to Flour bakery, do so immediately. I decided to attempt a gluten free version, and I was not disappointed! Here’s is the original recipe and here’s what you need for mine:

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour (you may need additional flour if doing gluten free - I used about 2 cups)
1/2 tsp xantham gum (omit if you arent using gluten free flours)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

My first recommendation is to measure out ALL ingredients ahead of time. Then proceed.

Melt the butter (microwave works fine) and whisk in the sugar until combined. Melt the chocolate chips (again microwave works fine here, but I prefer to melt chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water). Add chocolate chips and vanilla extract to butter and stir to combine. Add in the egg and whisk until well incorporated.

In another bowl, combine the flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill), xantham gum, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Incorporate into the butter/chocolate mixture and beat with a wooden spoon. The dough should begin to resemble play-dough. If your dough is still very sticky (like mine was with only 1 1/2 cups of flour), continue to add a few tbsp of flour at a time until you get the desired consistency. Let the dough sit at room temperature to firm up.

Transfer the dough to the fridge and let chill for an hour. Preheat the oven for 325 F and line cooking sheets with parchment paper. Roll approximately 1/2 tbsp of dough in the palms of your hand and flatten. Arrange cookies 1 1/2 inches away from each other. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly on the cookie sheets, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack. If you are using gluten free flours, these cookies are super fragile until they cool entirely.

While cooling, prepare the filling. You need -

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1 2/3 cup of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp milk
pinch of salt

Beat the butter on medium speed using a hand mixer or a KitchenAid mixer. Add in the powdered sugar and continue to beat until combined. Meanwhile, add in the vanilla, milk and salt. Transfer into a large piping bag, or if you prefer, you can use a butter knife to spread.

Once the cookies are completely cooled, frost the bottom of one, and place another on top.

Cory made dinner tonight - maple pork tenderloin, rice and...

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:26:45 -0400

Cory made dinner tonight - maple pork tenderloin, rice and broccoli!

Deep Dish Pizza

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 08:03:33 -0400

One of the things I miss most being gluten free is PIZZA. Luckily, we no longer live in close vicinity to good pizza, but this doesn’t change the fact that I crave cheesey goodness. Yes you can order a GF pie, but first you have to find a restaurant that actually does this. And since that is no where near my residence, I either have to eat it there or bring it back and risk it getting cold.

As I mentioned, I have found a wealth of recipes on Pinterest. Recipes that I could certainly Google but sometimes I don’t even know they exist. Like a gluten free deep dish pizza. This recipe was adapted by Gluten Free on a Shoestring (which is an amazing blog! The blogger gives you a recipe to make GF cinnamon toast crunch!!) from a recipe from Uno’s pizza. So my gluten friends, click here to learn more about the crust making process.

Here’s what you need for the crust:

2 cups of Bob’s Red Mill all purpose GF flour
1 1/2 tsp Xantham gum
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tbsp instant yeast (I only had 1/2 tbsp and it worked out fine)
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
4 tbsp canola oil
3/4 cup warm water (100 F)
1 - 2 tbsp olive oil for drizzling
8 or 9” cake pan

In a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients. Measure out your warm water and add the canola oil. In a steady stream, slowly add to the dry ingredients while the food processor is on. NOTE - you may not need all of the oil/water mixture. I used about 3/4 of it. The dough will form into a ball. If it’s too sticky, add more flour.

Place dough ball into another bowl and drizzle olive oil on it. Place somewhere warm and let rise for 60 minutes. It should double its size (mine did not - and it was fine!).

Preheat your oven to 425. Place dough on a piece of waxed paper and flatten a bit. Cover with another piece of waxed paper and pop in the freezer for 5 - 10 minutes until firm. Roll out into a circle to fit your cake pan. Grease cake pan with canola oil and gently flip the dough into it. Press down into the bottom and work your way up the sides. You may need to tear pieces to repair holes or build up the crust. This is okay - the crust is pretty sturdy.

To actually assemble the pizza, you can use any array of toppings. I bought fresh mozzarella which I cut into 1/4” slabs, fresh basil, homemade meat sauce and frozen peppers.

Start by laying down the cheese, then layer in your “toppings” (in my case the basil and peppers). Finish by spreading sauce over the top. I then grated some Asiago cheese on top. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the tip foil and bake for another 10. Let cool for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Gluten Free Gnocchi

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 09:03:37 -0400

It’s been three months since I cracked down hardcore on my gluten consumption. First of all, my knees feel amazing. The swelling went away, and whether this is a direct result of my diet or a milder winter, I’ll take it. Secondly, I FEEL better. I have to be more creative, really think about what I want to eat, and my friends have been really great in supporting my crazy food finding habits (who knew that Not Your Average Joe’s has a GF menu! So does Meyers & Chang, and a slew of other restaurants).

Of course, the one thing I miss terribly is homemade pasta. I just bought a pasta machine and hadn’t truly broken it in. Furthermore, I love, love, love making homemade ravioli. I recently joined Pinterest to see what all the hub-bub was about and let me tell you, if you’re a recipe hoarder, it’s the most amazing tool ever. Of course, please, please, please if you post someone’s recipe give them credit! Link back to their blog! I would hope that the same would be done for me.

So what gem did I find? Oh yes, a gluten free pasta recipe (a few in fact!) and something I could make more immediately - gnocchi. Those pillowy, yummy pieces of pasta and potato. Best day ever. If you want to make a gluten version, just replace the flour. Recipe was adapted from The Whole Gang.

Here’s what you need:

4 medium potatoes
1/2 cup of gluten free flour mix (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill but I’ve had much success with King Arthur as well)
1 tbsp of xantham gum (omit if you’re making these with regular gluten flour)
2 eggs
1 tsp salt

If you have the time, feel free to bake the potatoes in the oven (see Whole Gang recipe for instructions). I however, lack time after work, and popped those bad boys in the microwave. Follow instructions of your microwave. Once baked, remove and let cool so that you can handle. Scoop the innards into a large mixing bowl. I lack a potato ricer, so I used a hand mixer to fluff them up a bit. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix BY HAND gently until incorporated.

Make sure you have a clear work space and sprinkle some gluten free flour down to prevent sticking. I also put a piece of parchment paper down to help. Divide the dough in four and roll each into a long tube. It should measure about 1 1/2 feet when all said and done. Possibly longer if you grabbed more dough. Using a sharp knife, cut 1-inch sections off. Repeat with all the dough. If you wish to get real fancy, you can use a fork to indent the dough. But, I found this to be unnecessary since it doesn’t add to the flavor.

Boil a large pot of water and add in the gnocchi. Cook for approximately 5 minutes. Strain and serve.

Funfetti fudge

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 08:50:08 -0400

It was recently James’ birthday and his favorite dessert of all time is funfetti cake. Given the gluten free diet, and the fact that we have always had trouble finishing a box of the cake in years previous, I decided to make it with a twist - in fudge form!

I found an awesome recipe on Pursuit of Hippieness, which I catered to my own needs. Here’s what you need:

1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
3 1/2 cups of white chocolate chips
3 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup of rainbow sprinkles

Prepare a 9 x 13 pan by lining it with tin foil. Spray lightly with canoli oil/Pam.

Melt the white chocolate and milk together either in the microwave or over a pan of boiling water on the stove. The microwave, which is the easier route, is suspectible to burnage, so be careful! You don’t want thick and unusable fudge batter. All microwaves are different, so my recommendation is to put it at half power for two minutes, stopping every thirty seconds to stir. Then go from there.

Once all ingredients are melted, add the vanilla and almond and stir until incorporated. Add the sprinkles and quickly mix in as you don’t want them to melt.

Pour into prepared pan and smooth over. Let set for a few hours (the fridge will speed this process up) before cutting in.

Lemon Basil Risotto

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 08:42:09 -0400

Fresh basil. There is nothing that even compares. After pining over the recipe for more than a year, I decided to finally embark on a lemon basil risotto. Here’s what you need -

1 lemon rind, grated
1 cup of basil, shredded by hand
1 1/2 cups of risotto rice
5 cups of chicken broth
2 chicken breasts, baked and cubed
1/2 onion, minced
1/3 cup white wine
1 tbsp of olive oil

In a medium to large saucepan, heat your chicken broth until its simmering. Reduce the heat. Meanwhile, chop your onion, grate your lemon rind and tear you basil. Add olive oil to a large saucepan and heat for a minute. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the risotto rice and stir until well coated.

Adding a cup of broth at a time, stir the risotto until all of the broth has been absorbed. You can tell by dragging the spoon or spatula across the bottom and the line it makes won’t be filled in as soon as you move your spoon. Do so until all of the broth has been absorbed. Add the wine and cook for another minute or so.

Add in the lemon rind and basil. Stir to incorporate. If you’re adding chicken, now is the time to do so (recommend that you make the chicken breast in advance).

Serve with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and pepper.

Gluten Free Donut Holes

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:49:31 -0500

I can’t take credit for this one - check out the recipe here - thanks Baby Cakes!

Twice baked sweet potatoes

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 11:57:41 -0500

Ugh. I know. I’m a horrible blogger at the moment. But I promise, I have recipes.

Recently I decided to make twice baked sweet potatoes. The original recipe I came across was Asian inspired with miso paste and sesame seeds. But I love baked potatoes for butter and sour cream and bacon. And I would not do it any injustice.

Here’s what you need -

3 -4 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp of rosemary, crushed fine
1 egg
salt & pepper to taste
4 strips of bacon, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400. Place tin foil on a baking sheet and arrange potatoes on it. Pop in and cook for 40 - 50 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325. Cut potatoes in half. With four halves, scoop the baked potato out leaving about 1/4 - 1/2 inch of potato against the skin. Remove all of the potato from the other halves. Beat with a mixer until smooth. Add the butter, rosemary and egg and beat.

If you want to be fancy, you can put the potato mix into a piping bag. I had difficulty with this and ended up just plopping it into the skins. Place back into the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

When there’s 5 minutes left of cooking time, cook your chopped bacon in a frying pan according to package instructions. Sprinkle bacon on top of finished potatoes and serve.

Pulled Pork

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:48:39 -0500

Shout out to my little bro who pulled this together (no pun intended!). His recipe? A lot of brown sugar, Frank’s hot sauce, 3 lbs of boneless pork something and a dutch oven. Oh, and lots of time.

One Pot Beef Stew

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:46:14 -0500

Although I assume, that many beef stews are one pots. Unless you are making Julia Child’s boeuf bourguignon. Which I have a done. And it took five hours. Maybe longer. I cant remember. It was good, but five hours good? I don’t know…

Anyway, we had some leftover steak in the fridge. Not enough to warrant a meal on its own though. So I decided to make beef stew. This recipe is pretty forgivable and you could add or subtract any variety of items.

Here’s what you need -

1 - 2 pounds boneless chuck/steak/stew beef, cut into 1 inch cubed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 medium potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and cubed
3 medium carrots, scrubbed, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
2 stalks of celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tbsp of tapioca flour
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup red wine

Preheat the oven to 325F. Combine all of the ingredients together in a 3.5 quart (or larger) dutch oven minus the wine. Toss the tapioca and spices to evenly coat the meat and vegetables. Pop into the oven, stirring every hour for three hours. Pour the red wine in at the second stirring (two hours in) and stir to combine.

Steak & Rosemary Potatoes

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:59:01 -0500

This is more about the potatoes. I didn’t do anything interesting to the steak. I didn’t need to (we splurged on a nice cut). Nice cuts of steak mean salt, pepper, a little olive oil or butter and a hot pan.

Rosemary potatoes on the other hand - need a bit more attention. Here’s what you need -

1 lb of potatoes, peeled, and cut into 1/2” pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried rosemary (but fresh would taste better, so if you have that, use it)
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a medium skillet on high and add olive oil. Heat for a moment, then add your peeled and chopped potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until the potatoes start to soften. Add rosemary, and stir to incorporate. Cook for another 5 - 6 minutes until potatoes are soft and you can pierce them with a fork. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Carrot Cake

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:33:13 -0500

My mom’s favorite cake in the whole wide world (or one of them at least) is Alton Brown’s carrot cake (recipe here). So I know you aren’t supposed to alter Alton’s recipes. They are perfected. They are science. But we’ve changed things out due to allergies and diets. Spelt flour for wheat flour. Egg replacers for eggs. You get the picture. Given my new experiment, I needed a lower gluten flour then spelt, and I will be honest, I was a bit nervous.

But this cake is hands down, one of the best things I have ever made - with or without gluten. Again, recipe below will tell you how to make both versions, and I encourage you to try one of them out!

I also apologize, but I didn’t take a picture before we hacked into the cake. That said, please enjoy a view of what it looked like after four adults and a child were set upon it after dinner.

Here’s what you need -

12 ounces of grated carrots
2 1/2 cups of flour (I used King Arthur’s gluten free all purpose flour + 1 tsp of xantham gum)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
6 ounces vanilla or plain yogurt
6 ounces of canola oil

If you have a food processor, this cake is a breeze. If not, take into consideration that grating carrots can take a long time. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Using the grater attachment for the food processor, finely grate your carrots. Toss the carrots in the bowl with flour and mix to coat.

Add the sugar, eggs and yogurt into the food processor and blend until smooth. With the food processor still running, slowly drizzle in the oil. Combine the sugar mixture with the flour mixture. Pour into a greased 9” inch round cake pan. I cut out a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom given that gluten free baking can be fickle, but this might save you from stress with a gluten cake as well.

Pop your cake into the oven for 45 minutes on 350. Lower the temperature to 325 and bake for an additional 20 - 25 minutes. (Mine took 30)

Let the cake sit in the pan for 10 minutes then flip out onto a wire rack and cool the rest of the way (approximately 90 minutes).

Top with cream cheese frosting. (Oh you want to know how I made that to? Sorry Alton, but this version is mine).

4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
4 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extra

Beat the cream cheese and butter for a few minutes on medium speed with an electric mixer / stand mixer. Add the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar in four batches and continue to beat until fluffy.

Happy birthday, Mom!

Bahn Mi

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:07:58 -0500

I love bahn mi’s. The pickled carrot. The pork. The cilantro. The spicy mayo. Inspired by a bunch of cilantro I bought yesterday (and already starting to wilt!), I decided to try the bahn mi route. Here’s what you’ll need -

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 sugar
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/3 cup grated radishes
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp cilantro
1/3 cup julienne cucumber
2 tbsp mayo
1/2 tsp Srichacha sauce
2 flaky buns (or gluten free, unflaky buns for me)

In a small pan, combine the water, vinegar, sugar. Heat on medium until the sugar dissolves and the liquid boils. Remove from the heat and pour into a glass jar. Let cool, then add the grated carrots and radishes. Store in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes. Can be made overnight.

In a bowl, combine the pork, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

In a medium fry pan, heat the olive oil. Add the pork mixture and chop up to ensure that all of the pieces brown. Meanwhile, combine the mayo and Srichacha sauce. Continue to stir the pork until cooked all the way through (about 10 minutes).

Spread the mayo on a bun. Add cucumbers, carrots and radishes on top. Add pork on top. Sprinkle with cilantro.

(Doesn’t James’ look good?! Mmm.)

Cardamom Crescents

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:18:00 -0500

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Bon Appetit’s December issue was filled with recipes for delicious holiday cookies. One recipe in particular, the cardamom crescents, had been calling my name. A cookie that could be perfectly paired with tea. Dusted lightly with powdered sugar. Oh, divine!

Original recipe is located here. I halved mine and made gluten free, but the instructions below are adaptable to both methods.

Here’s what you’ll need -

1 1/4 cup flour (if using a gluten free blend, add 1 tsp of xantham gum)
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar + additional for dusting
1/2 cup pecans
1 stick of butter, room temp
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the first four (five including xantham gum if gluten free) in a medium bowl and set aside. In the food processor, combine the pecans and powdered sugar until a coarse meal forms.

In a separate bowl, beat butter and vanilla together. Add the pecan mixture, then the dry ingredients. Dough may be a little crumbly. Dump out and knead lightly four times.

Form 1 1/2 inch balls and then roll into a log about 1 1/2 inches long. Bend into a crescent and taper the ends. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, turning the tray once. The bottoms should be golden brown.

Let cool slightly. Meanwhile, sift 1/2 cup of powdered sugar into a bowl. Drop cookies and cover. Set on a wire rack to cool completely. If you’re going the gluten free route, simply sift powdered sugar over the cookies on the tray. They’re very fragile and will explode otherwise (I may have lost a few while experimenting). Dust with additional powdered sugar before serving.

Peanut Sauce Stir Fry

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:13:00 -0500

Day one of being back to gluten free and I would say it’s been a success thus far. I had a burst of creative energy in the kitchen (something that vanished over the holiday season) and spent hours concocting recipes - gluten free crescent cookies (yum), gluten free bread, gluten free ice cream. You name it.

Tonight we went back to the basics - stir fry. I made a lot of stir fries back in the day, although most were bland tasting because I had not discovered spices yet. Unable to nosh on soy sauce, I couldn’t rely on my go to Szechuan sauce. It could have been tragic. But thanks to many gluten free bloggers and Epicurious I was inspired to make a peanut based sauce. Here’s what you’ll need -

6 - 8 tbsp dry roasted peanuts
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 cup Knorr vegetable bouillon
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp lime juice (or one whole lime, juiced)
1 clove of garlic

In a food processor, blend peanuts until a coarse meal forms. Add the sesame oil and pulse until smooth. It should look something like this:

Add the remaining ingredients and continue to pulse until smooth. If you prefer more spice, add more red pepper flakes. If the sauce isn’t thick enough for you, add more peanuts (you can do this after the fact, just make sure to blend well). Makes about 2 cups.

For the stir fry you will need -

3/4 lb of shrimp, deveined and shelled
1/2 cup Knorr vegetable bouillon
1 tsp sesame oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium orange pepper, sliced
1 small zucchini, chopped into 1/4 - 1/2” pieces
handful of sugar snap peas

In a large pan, boil the vegetable broth and sesame oil. Add the shrimp and cook until pink (about 3 - 4 minutes). Turn in the middle of cooking. Add the vegetables and cover. Stir occasionally and cook for another 5 - 6 minutes until vegetables are soft and heated through. Remove from heat and strain any liquid left in the pan. Add 1 cup of the peanut sauce as prepared above. Heat for an additional minute.

Serve on top of rice. Sprinkle with crushed peanuts, toasted sesame seeds and cilantro.

Gluten Free

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:26:55 -0500

We are approaching the end of the year, which to many means making a resolution or compiling a list of activities to complete by the year’s end. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - I can’t stand resolutions. I am not against them. I don’t despise them. But I am not very good at following through on them. Too much pressure. However, this year, I am using the new year as a launch point to start something. It’s not a resolution. It may not happen for the entire year, but we’re going to give it a go.

For almost a decade, I lived a fairly gluten free life. College happened, moving into an apartment, and well, it was easier (and cheaper) to “cheat.” Flash forward and my knees started to hurt. Then my teeth rebelled on me. Things were not right. So January 1, 2012, we are cracking down again. Why? To see if the swelling in my knees stops (yes, gluten can cause this) and to see if the pH in my mouth balances out (because this is also a side effect of gluten).

I am sharing this because this is a blog about food. If you look through my recipes, most are gluten free anyway. But I don’t have any intentions of making things that you can’t mimic in your own kitchen with regular good old flour.

Here’s to a new project starting in 2012.

Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:33:54 -0500

Our CSA has finally come to an end, but each week we received more spinach than humanly possible to consume. For example.

This isn’t spinach you can just wash and be done with. No. It’s covered in dirt. And the stems need to be snipped off. One bag took us two hours to wash, snip, cook and package to freeze. But regardless, we still needed to use it up.

Another item we had in abundance were potatoes - both sweet and white. Epicurious saved the day. Inspiration did the rest.

Here’s what you need -

3 tbsp olive oil, divided
10 ounces fully cooked chorizo sausage, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 - 2 pounds of sweet potato, peeled, and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 - 2 pounds white potato, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices (you should have 3 pounds of potatoes total, so accommodate accordingly)
6 cups chicken broth
9 ounces of spinach

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan. Cook sausage until browned, about 8 minutes. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon and place on a plate covered in paper towel to drain. Add onions and garlic to the pan and cook until translucent. Add all of the potatoes and cook until starting to soften, about 12 minutes.

Add broth. Scrape up bits of browned stuff on the bottom. Simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes are entirely cooked through. Add the sausage back in, and the spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted. Stir in remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Homemade Nougat

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:13:09 -0500

The holiday season pretty much prevented me from finding time to blog. Too much wrapping and shopping and cleaning to do. But rest assure, I continued to cook as much as I could (though I’ll admit, we ate a rotisserie chicken all last week). The December issue of Bon Appetit was filled with wonderful cookie recipes, including one for homemade nougat.

As a child, we use to eat nougat from the North End. It was absolutely divine. Little did I know, it was entirely possible to duplicate this in my own kitchen.

Original recipe here.

Here’s what you need -

Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup of unsalted, shelled pistachios
1 1/3 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of honey
1 egg white, room temperature
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup of dried bing cherries, roughly chopped
Parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 325F. Arrange the pistachios evenly on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 10 minutes, stirring once. Let cool and roughly chop.

Meanwhile, cut pieces of parchment paper to fit an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 inch glass baking dish. Line the dish with saranwrap so that you have 3 inches overhanging on each side. Spray the dish with cooking spray. Place one piece of parchment paper in the bottom. Spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large heavy bottomed sauce pan, combine 2 Tbsp water and the sugar and honey. Heat on medium-high and stir until sugar has dissolved. Fashion a candy thermometer to the side and boil until it reached 253 (mine was at 255 and it still worked). Remove from the heat.

In a standing mixer, whip the egg white and salt together until soft peaks form. With the mixer still running, slowly pour in the honey sugar syrup and continue to beat for 10 minutes until the mixture has tripled in volume and cooled off slightly.

Using a rubber spatula, fold in pistachios and cherries. Pour contents into the prepared baking dish. I found it to be incredibly stiff, and it was easier to spread with my fingers than with a spatula (hello, stickage). Spray the final piece of parchment paper and place spray side down on the nougat. Use an offset spatula to smooth.

Let nougat set for at least two hours. Use the saranwrap to pull the nougat up. Cut in 1/2 - 1 inch pieces.

Store in an airtight container for one week.