Monday, July 13, 2009

Now for Something Completely Different

Recipes! On a cooking blog!
Looking back on my recent posts it is apparent that:
1: I am learning enough about food to be dangerous, but not enough to feel authorized to really write a food blog
2: Not everyone reads cookbooks for fun.
3: I like baking and making dessert more than making dinner (I'm not sure that's apparent from my posts, but it's true)
4: I still make dinner, and enjoy it, and I would like to share more recipes here. I think that's the most helpful thing I can do.
5: This is helpful especially when I have so many recipes that are naturally gluten-free.

Without further ado:

Recipes. Randomly selected and highly enjoyable.

Random Recipe 1:
Chicken Fajita-Tostadas, from Everyday Food
Summer is the best time for Mexican food--tomatoes are at their best, avocados are ripe, and something about all the sun makes me think salsa.

* 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
* 2 bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced
* 1 box (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
* 1 cup prepared fresh salsa
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
* 4 corn tortillas (6-inch)
* 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
* Cilantro-Lime Rice, for serving (optional, see recipe below)
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. On foil, combine onions, bell peppers, corn, 1/4 cup salsa, and 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper.
2. Roast, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Add chicken, stir to combine, and continue to roast until warmed through, 5 minutes more. Transfer chicken and vegetable mixture to a serving bowl, discarding foil (reserve sheet).
3. Arrange tortillas on sheet. Dividing evenly, brush with remaining tablespoon oil; top with cheese. Bake until edges are golden and cheese is melted, 5 to 8 minutes.
4. Dividing evenly, top tortillas with chicken-vegetable mixture and remaining 3/4 cup salsa. Serve with cilantro-lime rice, if desired.

Cilantro-Lime Rice, if desired
a la Everyday Food

* 1 cup long-grain white rice
* Coarse salt
* 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 garlic clove
1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until water is absorbed and rice is just tender, 16 to 18 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a blender, combine cilantro, lime juice, oil, garlic, and 2 tablespoons water; blend until smooth. Stir into cooked rice, and fluff with a fork.

When I made this, it was too strong on its own. It went well with other food, especially Refried Beans.
Have you ever made your own refried beans? You should.
You can be super fancy and cook the beans yourself. The recipe is also a great use for leftover cooked beans.
Or you can open a can of black or pinto (any kind, really) and start the refrying there.
Why are they called refried? I don't know. Even Rick Bayless doesn't really know--their name has been improperly translated from their native tongue. But refried we call them.
Refried beans are tasty with everything, and are especially good on tostadas. Mmmm.

Refried Beans, the Lazy Version*
*meaning I don't want to get up to look up the recipe in the Joy of Cooking, so here's a riff)

1-14.5 ounce makes approx. 4 servings.
Cook over medium-low heat:
olive oil (about 1 Tablespoon--enough to coat the pot, more if you like)
diced onion, to taste
1-2 cloves minced garlic, to taste
jalapeno or up to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, if spiciness is desired

Keeping beans in their liquid (if using canned), add a bit at a time, crushing with the back of a spoon or a potato masher. Keep stiring and mashing and cooking until the beans are a little wetter than you want--they will get thicker as they cool.
The strong, garlicky beans are great with the fresh, zesty rice.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

How to Eat

We have spent the past two months on vacation and seeing family. I finally saw my where my husband grew up. It's a little town in the Eastern Sierra. We stayed at the home of a childhood friend (they were off on their own adventure in Europe). It was lovely. One of my favorite parts of the trip: eating at the local bakery. I ate almost an entire loaf of sheepherder's bread by myself, sliced thick and spread with Nutella. We wanted to spend our time outside or touring the sights, so our meals were simple. Boiled corn on the cob and fresh burgers. Boiled artichokes and pain au chocolat. Fruit with yogurt or cheese. It was delicious and simple.
The trip coupled with all the food planning that precedes and follows any big vacation, coupled with reading a book about French culture and their approach to food, has sent me deep into thought about the way we eat. The depths continued as we enjoyed a visit from B's sister and her dear family. She is a fellow celiac and foodie who has traveled a lot. Together we tried a gelato place in Fremont; ate the best ice cream of our lives on Bainbridge Island (they even have gluten-free cones); and made ensalada caprese. Walking through Pike Place and the return of our own Farmer's Market have added to my new goals and resolve.
When it comes down to it, I sound like a broken record. My goals haven't changed--eat lots of fruits and vegetables, eat fresh, have leftovers, bake something, enjoy food. But as I've learned more my approach to these goals is changing. As I've sought these goals, I have seen changes in myself. It's a slow process. Right now I'm just enjoying that I'm in a moment of clarity where I can see how far I've come--and feel excited about the road ahead.
To that question--How to eat? The part I want to focus on at the moment is how to prepare to eat. Too many times I find myself scrounging up food, hurrying to prepare dinner when everone in our house is already too hungry. For that, a few solutions:

*Decide early in the day what's for dinner. Decide by lunchtime, and note how long it will take to make.
*Start with a clean kitchen
. For me, this means at least one counter space and an emptied dishwasher so I can load as I go. Your kitchen does not have to be perfectly clean.
*Try mise en place. this professional approach means you prepare all your ingredients before you begin cooking. I love doing this with any dish that requires a lot of spices or many chopped ingredients. Setting up this way also means you read through the recipe several times and get a better sense of it.
*Set the table. With two adults and two kids we tend to do buffet style, serving ourselves in the kitchen. Now that we have a bigger table we have room to put our food on the table. I cannot say enough about eating at least dinner at the table together--sans media, of course. Whatever your family situation taking your time to eat a meal at your table helps to set it apart from the rest of your day. Meals are nourishing and can nourish us beyond our caloric needs.
*Serve meals in courses and stick to small portions. This is tres French, but it is also a suggestion from Jessica Seinfeld in Deceptively Delicous. Starting with a vegetable can get the hard part out of the way. Next the main course--grain and protein, then finishing with dessert, maybe some nice fruit. A more French approach: bread is set on the table throughout the meal and the meal might finish with a rich dessert or simply some fruit with a bit of cheese or dark chocolate.
Serving small portions--sometimes even smaller than normal--gives children the satisfaction of finishing and asking for more.
*Bring everyone in on the dinner prep. J is becoming quite adept at mixing and stirring. Dinner doesn't usually offer as many opportunies for helping as baking does, but she is very keen on setting the table for everyone.
*Try new fruits and vegetables. This is especially important for children, but also for celiacs. Trying new fruits and vegetables is the best way to expand the palette. Not up for trying a whole new fruit? Try organic or locally grown berries or nectarines and see what you think. For some things, it's worth the extra money.
*Find a bread recipe and make it regularly. Bread or muffins, even simply pancakes or waffles. There are tasty options out in the gluten-free world, but there is something magical about homemade bread. It can be time consuming--all in all the bread below takes 1.5 to 2 hours--but most of that is hands-free, just being home to make sure it doesn't burn. Muffins can be done in about 30 minutes total. Nothing rounds out a meal better than a nice slice of bread or a muffin with some fresh fruit, nutella, or fruit preserves. Recipes for bread and muffins follow.
We have to figure out what works in our own families. For me, a major goal in raising my children is introducing them to every fruit and vegetable that I can. I want eating fresh produce to be an innate part of their lives. My other major goal: find and develop good gluten-free meals. Because eating shouldn't feel like a chore for anyone, no matter their dietary restrictions.
What would you add to the list above? What makes your eating experiences more nourishing spiritually as well as physically?


Homemade Gluten-free Bread
developed by Susan Singley
You prepare this bread like a quick bread, but it includes yeast so it rises. It works just as well with all rice flour--using sorghum gives it a little more nutty flavor and umph.

3 cups rice flour OR 1½ cups rice flour, 1½ cups sorghum flour
¼ cup sugar
1 package or 1 Tablespoon dry active yeast
3½ teaspoons xanthan gum
1½ teaspoons salt
2 cups lukewarm water
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs

1. Combine flour(s), sugar, yeast, xanthan gum, and salt in mixing bowl. Blend well.
2. Add the lukewarm water (water that is too warm will kill the yeast) and the vegetable oil. Blend well.
3. Add the eggs. Mix at highest speed of mixer for 2 minutes.
4. Bread dough should be wetter than cookie dough and stiffer than cake dough.
5. Add water till correct consistency. Usually only needs ¼ more at the most.
6. Pour dough into greased bread pan. Let rise until slightly above pans.
7. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.

Makes one loaf.

Betty Hagman's Easy Gluten-free muffins*
This basic lends itself to all kinds of variety--a few ideas are listed below.

1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons shortening or butter
2 eggs
1 cup rice flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup milk or nondairy liquid (orange juice comes out crispier--mmm.)
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Grease 8 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin cups.
In a mixing bowl, cream together sugar and shortening.
Beat in the eggs.
Sift together the flour, salt, xanthan gum, and baking powder and add to the egg mixture alternately with the milk. Don’t overbeat. Stir in the vanilla.
Pour into muffin cups. Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Variations
Blueberry Muffins: add 1 to 1½ Tablespoons fresh or frozen blueberries
Cranberry Muffins: add 1 to 1½ Tablespoons fresh or frozen cranberries
Raspberry Muffins: add 1 to 1½ Tablespoons fresh or frozen raspberries
Lemon Poppy seed Muffins: 1 Tablespoon lemon zest and 1½ Tablespoons poppy seeds