People can't believe I'm allergic to rice. Even my allergist was shocked when the skin test came up positive. Rice allergies are incredibly rare, and this situation is only made worse by my inability to eat soy or wheat. Most gluten-free and wheat-free products are produced in facilities that eliminate soy and other common allergies in order to serve both celiacs and food allergic people with their products. But what about us rice people?!? Well, we're out of luck. Almost every wheat- and soy-free packaged product uses rice flour. Crackers, pastas, breads, cereals...you name it. And I have to admit, the biggest blow...the worst part of this entire situation...is that I can't eat Asian food. Or so I thought.
Sushi and Indian food are pretty much my favorite things in the entire world. And while I have yet to really tackle substitution in Indian food, I have made successful allergen-free sushi. I know that there probably aren't many people who can't eat rice like me, but there are plenty of people who want alternatives to bleached white rice. White rice is devoid of nutrition and is a simple carbohydrate, meaning that your body converts it into sugar quickly, leaving you hungrier faster. Quinoa is a whole grain, forcing your body to work harder to get the nutrients, which leaves you feeling fuller for longer AND not causing such drastic spikes/dips in blood sugar. Also, quinoa is high in protein, which is excellent for vegans. Anyway, give it a shot if you're looking for a culinary adventure!
QUINOA SUSHI
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/8 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
Place the quinoa and the water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce heat, simmering for approx. 10 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water. Quinoa is cooked when the little round casings separate from the grain.
In a separate bowl or saucepan, heat the vinegar and then add the sugar and salt. Stir until all the sugar and salt dissolve, then pour the vinegar mixture into the quinoa in small batches, making sure to coat it evenly.
Once the quinoa is ready, you can assemble your sushi. I usually julienne carrots, cucumber, and avocado to put inside, but have also put cooked sweet potato in them. I hear jicama is yummy in sushi, and I'm sure there are other fun things you can use. Anyway, look at some sushi websites or on YouTube for instructions on how to roll sushi if you've never done it. It's tons of fun and makes for an excellent dinner party or home-date.
The traditional condiments served with sushi are soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger. I highly recommend you get the wasabi and ginger in addition to your sushi nori (the seaweed wrapper) since they are flavorful and GF/AF/vegan...that is, if your taste buds can handle them. Soy sauce is another story. The last time I made this quinoa sushi, I found a recipe for a mock soy sauce. It was...okay. I'm in the process of perfecting the recipe and will post a successful recipe when I've figured it out. But in my opinion, the best sushi condiment is spicy mayo* (2 tbsp veganaise/allowed mayonnaise with 1 tsp Sriracha sauce). You can either dip your rolled sushi into it or use it inside the roll, as sushi chefs do in spicy shrimp rolls and such.
Ok, it's too late for me to be salivating this much. I'm gonna go to bed now :D
*See my post of AF/GF/vegan burgers for more info.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Maple Memories
I am incredibly lucky to have grown up in a household where we used only real maple syrup, and not pancake syrup with lady-shaped bottles. My brother and I were extra fortunate because my mother made us breakfast every day before school. And whenever my mom made pancakes, waffles, or french toast, they were always served with fresh maple syrup.
While I was enjoying homemade Bisquick pancakes in the suburbs of Rochester during the week, I would spend time with my father in the farm country nestled between the Finger Lakes a couple of weekends a month. He rarely cooked, but he had an appreciation for good food that he fostered in me from a young age. Each February, he and I made a pilgrimage from Livingston County into the dreaded boonies of Southwestern New York State. In the small town of Angelica, NY, is a restaurant called The Maple Tree Inn. This tiny diner sits on a working maple farm and is open only for 6-8 weeks a year. In the dead of NY winter, people stand in line for hours outside the door waiting to get in to eat. The menu is incredibly simple...they only serve breakfast food and their claim-to-fame is their buckwheat pancakes. I swear they are the most delicious pancakes I've ever had in my entire life, and they were always paired with combos of farm-fresh eggs, bacon, sausage, and of course, their very own maple syrup made in the basement of the restaurant. It's an incredible operation.
But the last time I made it to the Maple Tree Inn was well before high school, and I had pretty much forgotten about buckwheat pancakes until about a year ago when all this food allergy diagnosis stuff was finally getting settled. I've been searching around for a while to find a good buckwheat pancake recipe that emulates the amazingness of the Maple Tree Inn, and I've at least got a good start here:
BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES
*note that buckwheat is NOT derived from wheat and is safe for people who can't have wheat and/or gluten products*
(serves 2 people)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup barley flour or oat flour (see note below)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp canola oil or melted Earth Balance
1 1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 2 tbsp. organic almond milk/AF milk
1 cup organic almond milk/AF milk (you can use rice, oat, soy, hemp, or cow's if you'd like...I'm not allergic to hemp, almond, or oat so those are the milks I use)
2-3 tbsp agave syrup (start with one and add another if the batter isn't sweet enough for you)
Real grade-A maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup). Whether drizzling on a light layer or drowning your pancakes in it, real maple syrup makes the dish so make sure you get the good stuff. You can also enjoy these pancakes with Earth Balance if you like buttery hot cakes.
NOTE: If you have celiacs and cannot have barley or oat flour, substitute with your favorite alternative flour. If you're not allergic to tree nuts, try out almond flour. Otherwise, bean flour or rice flour would be appropriate, but add 1/4 tsp xanthan gum if you're using a gluten-free flour.
While I was enjoying homemade Bisquick pancakes in the suburbs of Rochester during the week, I would spend time with my father in the farm country nestled between the Finger Lakes a couple of weekends a month. He rarely cooked, but he had an appreciation for good food that he fostered in me from a young age. Each February, he and I made a pilgrimage from Livingston County into the dreaded boonies of Southwestern New York State. In the small town of Angelica, NY, is a restaurant called The Maple Tree Inn. This tiny diner sits on a working maple farm and is open only for 6-8 weeks a year. In the dead of NY winter, people stand in line for hours outside the door waiting to get in to eat. The menu is incredibly simple...they only serve breakfast food and their claim-to-fame is their buckwheat pancakes. I swear they are the most delicious pancakes I've ever had in my entire life, and they were always paired with combos of farm-fresh eggs, bacon, sausage, and of course, their very own maple syrup made in the basement of the restaurant. It's an incredible operation.
But the last time I made it to the Maple Tree Inn was well before high school, and I had pretty much forgotten about buckwheat pancakes until about a year ago when all this food allergy diagnosis stuff was finally getting settled. I've been searching around for a while to find a good buckwheat pancake recipe that emulates the amazingness of the Maple Tree Inn, and I've at least got a good start here:
BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES
*note that buckwheat is NOT derived from wheat and is safe for people who can't have wheat and/or gluten products*
(serves 2 people)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup barley flour or oat flour (see note below)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp canola oil or melted Earth Balance
1 1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 2 tbsp. organic almond milk/AF milk
1 cup organic almond milk/AF milk (you can use rice, oat, soy, hemp, or cow's if you'd like...I'm not allergic to hemp, almond, or oat so those are the milks I use)
2-3 tbsp agave syrup (start with one and add another if the batter isn't sweet enough for you)
Real grade-A maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup). Whether drizzling on a light layer or drowning your pancakes in it, real maple syrup makes the dish so make sure you get the good stuff. You can also enjoy these pancakes with Earth Balance if you like buttery hot cakes.
NOTE: If you have celiacs and cannot have barley or oat flour, substitute with your favorite alternative flour. If you're not allergic to tree nuts, try out almond flour. Otherwise, bean flour or rice flour would be appropriate, but add 1/4 tsp xanthan gum if you're using a gluten-free flour.
Monday, May 10, 2010
the elusive allergen-free, gluten-free, AND vegan burger
I thought veggie/vegan burgers were out of the question for me. I soooo wanted to be able to enjoy eating burgers and sandwiches with my friends and girlfriend (who would eat a cheeseburger everyday if I'd let her). I had pretty much forgotten about them, resigning myself to eating portobella mushroom caps instead of burgery things, but a vegan friend of mine shared this recipe with me, which I then adapted for my own needs.
ORIGINAL:
1 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup veggie broth
2 cloves garlic
zest of 1 lemon (optional)
1/8 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp paprika
(1/2 cup vital wheat gluten) - can't have
(1/2 cup bread crumbs) - can't have
MY VERSION OF AF, GF, Vegan BURGERS:
1 cup drained and rinsed canned chickpeas (these are already cooked...if you want to use dried chickpeas, soak them in water over night)
1/4 to 1/3 cup water with 1/2 a vegan bouillon cube (I do this simply because most prepackaged veggie broth has additives I don't like and tastes like ASS. The "Rapunzel" brand vegan bouillon cubes are really excellent...look for them at Whole Foods).
1 clove minced garlic (it's too garlicky with 2 cloves in my opinion)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup corn crumbs (these are surprisingly easy to find in any grocery that has a gluten free section...they're an excellent substitute for bread crumbs in all sorts of recipes)
1/8 cup tapioca flour (If the batter still seems too wet, keep adding flour by the tbsp until it can be clumped into a ball or patty shape...you shouldn't be able to pour this burger batter into a pan like pancakes)
salt and pepper to taste
First, mash the chickpeas either by hand with a potato masher or in a food processor. A few chunks are okay...the consistency isn't going to be exactly like a burger, so resign yourself to that before you start. Then just mix everything else together. It's going to be sticky, like bread dough that is too wet to knead. That's okay...just make sure ALL the tapioca flour is incorporated. Form a burger-sized patty and fry it in a hot pan with a thin layer of olive oil. It takes about 7 minutes to cook (3.5 mins on each side). If you're grilling outside, I'd recommend frying them enough so they're no longer sticky/they have a thin crusty layer and then throw them on the grill for a few minutes (I have yet to grill them, so you might want to play it safe and put tin foil under them so they don't crumble into the coals or something).
These burgers are tasty and dense...this recipe makes 2-3 medium sized patties. Stick them between your favorite GF/AF bun, two slices of allowed bread, or just eat them with a fork and knife sans bready products. I LOVE to eat these with a few slices of fresh tomato, bean sprouts, spinach, and spicy mayo. Sometimes I cheat and eat the vegan mayo that has soybean oil in it, but if this is no good, google a recipe for cashew mayo and make it yourself (or, if you aren't vegan and can eat eggs, just eat the regular stuff). All I do to make spicy mayo is mix about 2 tbsp of veganaise/cashew mayo with about 1 tsp of Sriracha sauce (otherwise known as Spicy Rooster sauce). This stuff is bright red and hella spicy, but it's soooo delicious. I love spicy foods, so keep that in mind when you're adding the chili powder to the burger batter.
Enjoy!
ORIGINAL:
1 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup veggie broth
2 cloves garlic
zest of 1 lemon (optional)
1/8 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp paprika
(1/2 cup vital wheat gluten) - can't have
(1/2 cup bread crumbs) - can't have
MY VERSION OF AF, GF, Vegan BURGERS:
1 cup drained and rinsed canned chickpeas (these are already cooked...if you want to use dried chickpeas, soak them in water over night)
1/4 to 1/3 cup water with 1/2 a vegan bouillon cube (I do this simply because most prepackaged veggie broth has additives I don't like and tastes like ASS. The "Rapunzel" brand vegan bouillon cubes are really excellent...look for them at Whole Foods).
1 clove minced garlic (it's too garlicky with 2 cloves in my opinion)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup corn crumbs (these are surprisingly easy to find in any grocery that has a gluten free section...they're an excellent substitute for bread crumbs in all sorts of recipes)
1/8 cup tapioca flour (If the batter still seems too wet, keep adding flour by the tbsp until it can be clumped into a ball or patty shape...you shouldn't be able to pour this burger batter into a pan like pancakes)
salt and pepper to taste
First, mash the chickpeas either by hand with a potato masher or in a food processor. A few chunks are okay...the consistency isn't going to be exactly like a burger, so resign yourself to that before you start. Then just mix everything else together. It's going to be sticky, like bread dough that is too wet to knead. That's okay...just make sure ALL the tapioca flour is incorporated. Form a burger-sized patty and fry it in a hot pan with a thin layer of olive oil. It takes about 7 minutes to cook (3.5 mins on each side). If you're grilling outside, I'd recommend frying them enough so they're no longer sticky/they have a thin crusty layer and then throw them on the grill for a few minutes (I have yet to grill them, so you might want to play it safe and put tin foil under them so they don't crumble into the coals or something).
These burgers are tasty and dense...this recipe makes 2-3 medium sized patties. Stick them between your favorite GF/AF bun, two slices of allowed bread, or just eat them with a fork and knife sans bready products. I LOVE to eat these with a few slices of fresh tomato, bean sprouts, spinach, and spicy mayo. Sometimes I cheat and eat the vegan mayo that has soybean oil in it, but if this is no good, google a recipe for cashew mayo and make it yourself (or, if you aren't vegan and can eat eggs, just eat the regular stuff). All I do to make spicy mayo is mix about 2 tbsp of veganaise/cashew mayo with about 1 tsp of Sriracha sauce (otherwise known as Spicy Rooster sauce). This stuff is bright red and hella spicy, but it's soooo delicious. I love spicy foods, so keep that in mind when you're adding the chili powder to the burger batter.
Enjoy!
The day my creativity paid off
Both regular allergen-laden AND delicious GF pizza (recipe courtesy of my goddess, Cybele Pascal)
homemade strawberry margaritas (when I say homemade, I mean homemade vegan cane sugar simple syrup, hand-squeezed organic lemons and limes, 1800 Tequila, triple sec, and blended organic strawberries)
strawberry rhubarb cobbler crumble - a recipe I made myself! Huzzah!
Okay, so I can't share the GF pizza recipe entirely without prolly getting shut down due to copyright stuff, but seriously, just go buy some cookbooks (again, I recommend The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook). The internet, while somewhat helpful, seriously let me down almost every time I tried to find GF/AF recipes. But for the pizza, I made the dough from scratch and let it rise. I use a pizza stone to make my own pizza...it's a smart investment. It makes the crust nice and crispy :) I topped it with fried yellow peppers and onions, tomato, and a delicious homemade pizza sauce.
PIZZA SAUCE RECIPE
1 large can organic crushed tomatoes
1/2 a medium onion
2 tbsp minced red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
a few dashes of both red wine and red wine vinegar
enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a small sauce pan
salt and pepper to taste
a few dashes of red pepper flakes if you like heat
if you have fresh herbs, throw some rosemary or basil in at the end
Heat the oil, add the onions then the garlic. Try not to burn them, but no biggie if you do. Then add the bell pepper and let it get tender. Then add the red wine, red wine vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Let them cook for a while, basically till the smell makes your mouth water, and then add the crushed tomato. Let it simmer and cook down for 20-ish minutes on low heat. Only add fresh herbs at the end of cooking, as they can get bitter if they get over cooked.
I used this sauce (I didn't make it this particular time...the girlfriend did, but she did a bangin' job) both on my pizza AND to dip my crust in. It was delicious.
Okay, wanna know how to make these margaritas???
The girlfriend says that she uses Bobby Flay's recipe, and it is this:
2 parts tequila
1 part orange liqueur (grand marnier, cointreau, triple sec, etc)
1 part simple syrup
1 part citrus juice
OUR STRAWBERRY MARGARITAS:
1 1/2 cups 1800 tequila
3/4 cup triple sec
3/4 cup homemade simple syrup (1 part water, 1 part vegan cane sugar)
3/4 cup lime and lemon juice (do NOT use pre-packaged or bottled juice...it's nasty. Put some elbow grease into it and hand squeeze ripe limes. We used a couple lemons cause we ran out of limes)
Strain the citrus juice before placing it in the blender, because if you got any seeds in there they'll make the juice taste bitter when blended. But put everything in the blender pitcher, including 1 pint of fresh strawberries (hulled). Once it's blended, you'll have a decision to make. You see, I don't mind pulp in my homemade margaritas, but my girlfriend does. After a large argument about the wasted alcohol and strawberry pulp resulting from straining the whole pitcher, I agreed to let her strain them with the condition that I could eat the pulp afterwards. There was seriously like a half a cup of alcoholic strawberry mush left in the strainer. I ate it with a spoon. She had to drive to our friends'. Either way, pulpy margaritas or not, don't let that pulp go to waste.
STRAWBERRY RHUBARB COBBLER CRUMBLE
OMG you guys...this is my BIGGEST homemade AF win so far. I made this recipe up completely as I went along and it was unbelievably delicious. I made it for four people in cup-sized oven safe ramekins, and it was this perfectly sized little dessert. I'm sure you could adapt this recipe for a larger group of people and place it in a large pan, but you'll probably have to bake it for over twice as long.
preheat oven to 325 degrees
grease whatever pan(s) you'll be using with AF spectrum shortening
fruit interior:
1 cup chopped rhubarb
1 cup chopped strawberries
2 tbsp cane sugar
1/2 tsp corn starch
1 tsp agave syrup
juice of 1/2 lemon
dash of balsamic vinegar
a few shakes of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and a pinch of salt
crumble topping:
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup GF flour (again, I use Cybele Pascal's bread flour mix)
1/3 cup light brown sugar plus 1 tsp cane sugar
1/8 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
spectrum AF shortening...see below for how much (approx. 1/4 cup)
Okay, so combine your interior ingredients into a bowl and let them marinate for a while. Put all your topping ingredients into a separate bowl and mix them together EXCEPT the shortening. When everything is well combined, start adding shortening at about a tsp at a time. Incorporate it into the flour and oats as best you can. Keep adding shortening and mixing with your hands until you can squeeze the mixture and it will stick to itself. The trick is that it must be dry enough to crumble onto the top of your fruit but wet enough with shortening that it will brown and the sugar will crystallize. Just look for it to become like the topping on coffee cake, and you'll be good :)
Anyway, put the fruit mixture into your greased dish(es) and then crumble the topping over the fruit, making sure to have a good 1/2 inch to a whole inch of topping on top. Then throw those bad boys into the oven for 15-20 mins, or until the fruit bubbles around the sides of the dish. Then take em out of the oven, and don't forget to LET IT COOL, FOOL! Burned tongue = fewer tastebuds to enjoy the tangy deliciousness!
Okay, so that's all I've got recipe-wise for now. Hope you enjoy! These recipes are awesome for this springy-summery May time. Using fresh ingredients while they're locally available is totally the way to go :D
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