Curried Egg Salad with Mango Chutney

Getting ready for the week takes lots of planning.  I like to make lunches that I can easily put into to-go containers throughout the week.  Egg salad definitely fits into that category!  This is a new recipe I tried from Simple Recipes.  I cut down on the chutney and added some celery to reduce the sweetness.  Plus, the cilantro lover that I am, I can't resist adding it to dishes for an extra twist.  

The initial inspiration came from one of my favorite dishes that I periodically order at a local tea shop.  This recipe comes close, but not quite.  I will have to continue to tamper.  I hard boiled the eggs by bringing water to a boil then placing the egg in the boiling water.  After about 12 minutes I remover the eggs from the water and rinsed them in cool water to prevent them from cooking any further.

Curried Egg Salad with Mango Chutney

 

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled

1/3 cup mango chutney

1 1/2 tsp yellow curry powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbs mayonnaise
1 Tbs chives, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
cayenne for taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
lettuce or raw spinach
cilantro for garnish




1. Do the prep: chop celery, dice chives.

2. Place peeled, hard boiled eggs into a medium sized bowl and roughly chop by taking two table knives and slicing them accross the eggs. (To make a finer egg salad, you can use forks to press against the cooked egg pieces to break them into smaller pieces.)

 

3. Add the mango chutney, yellow curry powder, salt, mayonnaise, chives, celery, black pepper, and cayenne to the eggs. Mix until well combined.

4. Place lettuce or spinach on place and serve the curried egg salad on the bed of lettuce.  Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top. 

Note: If you're making appetizers, just get some gluten free crackers from the store and spread the curried egg salad on the crackers, then top with a touch of cilantro. 

Grillin' and Chillin'

Memorial Day weekend!  A perfect time to get out of town.  My roommate from college came for a visit so we went to the coast and spent the days hiking and eating.  Nature and food: two of my favorite things!  Plus sharing them with a good friend makes it all the more enjoyable!

Before leaving town, Kelsey and I walked to the farmers market to to peruse the seasonal produce.  Part of me wondered if we were going overboard when we left with a whole array of spring fruits and vegetables.  We had bags filled with cherries, zucchini, asparagus, apricots, peaches, snap peas, cilantro, cucumber, shallots, avocado, kale, and kiwi.  In all honesty though, I was showing great restraint by not getting the strawberries or almonds.

What's that you say? This haul is a lot of food for two people?  Well, we ate it all in our three day excursion.  The first night at our hostel by the beach, we grilled zucchini, asparagus, and peaches along with some polenta we picked up from the store.  We lacked some foresight with the seasoning so we were at the mercy of what spices past hostelers left behind! 

We were fortunate to find that there was just enough herbes de provence to lightly coat the zucchini and the asparagus with some vegan butter we found in the fridge.  For future grillers, I would def recommend the herbes de provence but would switch the oil to some nice extra virgin olive oil for nicer flavor.


This was the first time I was in charge of the grill so there are a few things I learned from this first experience.

+ Grill Longer. Generally, I prefer to cook my veg al dente.  Non-mushy vegetables are a definite plus.  So I ran into an issue with the grill: take the veg off the grill with the typical "cookedness" I enjoy or cook longer for the nice char-grilled taste.  I ended up choosing the first option and pulled them off too soon and found that I would have like to leave them on to have more of that smokey flavor I so love about cooking out. 

+ Spices and Marinade. The herbes de provence was an excellent addition to our cookout.  I would like to experiment more with fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme as well as vinegars and sauces.

+ Polenta. The polenta grilled fantastically!  It got a nice crispy exterior and did not leave a messy clean-up job later.  I have just found that I prefer the homemade, non-tube variety.

+ Peaches.  Peaches are sweet, tender, and juicy so I placed them further away from the fire thinking that they would not respond well to such high heat.  In the end, despite leaving them over the fire for a longer period of time, I wanted them warmer and more of that great grilled flavor.  They were so delicious!  It's like cobbler!  I would recommend it with chocolate and ice cream!

Despite all these modifications listed above, this was still a very delicious meal.  We had just finished eight miles of hiking in fantastic and sitting on a beautiful beach.  Being outside with the setting sun with marvelous company and a hungry belly only enhanced the enjoyment of the fresh produce we picked up that day.  I look forward to many more cook-outs this summer to perfect my skills as a master griller! 

Sautéed Beet Greens

Ahhhh, beets!  They're one of my favorite vegetables. (Admittedly though, one may hear me say that about each vegetable I come across!)  The sweet goodness that is in season all year round can hardly be matched!

You ever make a beet dish and then you're left with all these beautiful beet greens that you would just hate to throw away?  Well, this is a quick and simple recipe to have your greens and eat them too! 

(sorry, I couldn't resist!) 

It both adds diversity in nutrition to your plate as well as provides a great way to spice up a meal!   The challenge is that the tender, leafy greens seem to need attention before the more resilient, meaty beets.  So I also find this recipe useful for that time you open the fridge and realize that the leaves should be eaten soon before they wilt. 

As a side note to this recipe, I usually choose add in pepper flake or the lemon juice, but rarely both at the same time. 

Sautéed Beet Greens With Garlic and Olive Oil


1 beet greens from 2 large bunches of beets

Salt

1  Tbs of olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (optional)

Freshly ground pepper
lemon juice (optional)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  While you are waiting for the water to heat up, stem and wash the greens.  Beet greens tend to have a good amount of dirt on them, so wash well! Chop coarsely.

2. When the water comes to a boil, add salt and the greens. Blanch for 2 minutes, until tender. Transfer immediately to colander and rinse under cold water.  Drain and squeeze the water from the leaves.

3. To save dishes, you can use the same pan you used to blanch the greens; just dump the water out first.  Heat oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and hot red pepper flakes and let sizzle for a half a minute or so.  

4. Stir in the blanched greens. Stir for a until more of the water is cooked out and the greens are nicely seasoned with garlic and oil. Season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Remove from the heat and serve.

 

Beet Greens Served with Polenta

Inspiration from nytimes.


Spicy Corn with Lime and Cilantro

Ahh... summertime, the season of fresh corn and tomatoes.  Ok ok, it really isn't summer yet, but when your local market already has ears of corn at summer discounts and the tomatoes are looking so fresh and good, who can resist?   I get this recipe from Annie Somerville's Fields of Greens cookbook.  Her flavor combinations in this book are fabulous and has a wide variety of selection to fit your mood.  I like this dish because it is a fresh, tangy meal that can be eaten hot out of the pan or stored packed in lunches and eaten chilled throughout the week.


Spicy Corn with Lime and Cilantro

1 Tbs olive oil
4 ears of corn shaved, or approx. 4 cups of corn kernels
1-2 jalapeño, seeded and diced
salt
2 Tbs sherry vinegar
4 tsp lime juice
cayenne pepper
1 scallion, white and green parts, thinly sliced
2 Tbs chopped cilantro
1 cup chopped tomatoes (approx 1 large tomato or half pint of cherry tomatoes)
black pepper

1. If you use frozen corn, have it defrost in a colander at least an hour before you make this dish.  It helps to periodically rinse the corn in cold water to aid in the defrosting process.

2. Dice jalapeños and slice corn kernels off cob (if using fresh corn).

2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and tilt the pan from side to side to cover the bottom with the oil.  Toss the diced jalapeños in the pan with a pinch of salt.  Sauté at medium heat until they begin to turn brown.

3. Increase the temperature of the stove top to medium-high heat and add corn to the pan.  Stir until the jalapeños have been incorporated then let the corn stand in the pan for several minutes to allow it to toast. Once the kernels at the bottom of the pan begin to turn brown in color, stir and let stand again.  Repeat until corn is cooked to your liking (this should not take longer than 10 minutes!).

4. Remove from heat.  Stir in vinegar, lime juice, and cayenne pepper to your taste.  Let corn cool while you chop the scallion, cilantro and tomato then mix them in.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve warm or store in the fridge to eat chilled at a later time!

What is Gluten?

What is Gluten and Where is it Found?

Gluten is a compound of elastic proteins in the family known as prolamins found in certain members of the grass family.  Gluten is in wheat, barley, and rye.  It is composed of glutenin and gliadin (in wheat - including kamut and spelt), secalin (in rye) and hordein (in barley).  The word gluten comese from the Latin word glue and it gives elasticity to dough to help it to rise, keep its shape, and often giving the final product a chewy texture.  Gluten is also used as a source of protein in prepared foods and as an additive to foods otherwise low in protein or in the form of a flavoring, stabilizing or thickening agent.

Bread is typically made from grains such as wheat which contain gluten. Gluten-free bread is made with ground flours from a variety of materials such as rice, sorghum, corn, or legumes like beans, but since these flours lack the sticky gluten it can be difficult for them to retain their shape as they rise and they may be less "fluffy". Additives such as xanthum gum, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, corn starch, and eggs are used to compensate for the lack of gluten.  (see my Flours page for more details about different gluten free flours!)

This is important for vegetarians to note! Gluten is the basis for many imitation meats so be sure to check the label!

Oats are a bit of a question.  Originally, oats were cut out of the gluten free diet because they are all process in facilities that process wheat, so by default, oats had gluten in them.  Recently, there is now a place where oats can be process in a gluten free facility, so some celiacs have incorporated these oats back into their diet.  However, some research indicated that a protein naturally found in oats closely resembling wheat gluten and can cause a reaction in some celiacs.

The max safe level of gluten in a finished product is less than 0.02% . To put that into perspective, wheat flour has about 12% gluten, so even a tiny amount of wheat flour can effect a gluten-free diet so it is important to take care that there is no cross-contamination in food preparation.

Two Egg Omelet

Omelets are a great weekend treat!  What a great opportunity to walk to the farmers market to pick up fresh produce for the week and then put it in your breakfast!  Or, if you're so hungry when you wake up in the morning, you can roll out of bed and make a well composed breakfast out of the leftovers in your fridge.  In the past couple of weeks I have made several different variations.  The one pictured here is spinach, tomato, and basil, but other variations I enjoy are listed below as well.


Omelet
1/4 to 1/3 cup filling
butter
2 eggs
2 Tbs of your choice of milk product
salt
pepper
herbs


Variation 1: basil, tomato, spinach with mozzarella
Variation 2: rosemary, summer squash, lemon juice (also great with goat cheese)
Variation 3: mushrooms and onions (pre-sautéed) and fontina cheese
Variation 4: a mix of 2-3 chopped herbs like chives, majoram, parsley, basil, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, etc.

1. Prep your filling: dice the spices, chop the veg, slice the cheese, and sauté any filling that needs to be cooked ahead of time.  Onions, mushrooms, and pepper are all best when cooked first with some butter. 

2. Prep your eggs: Crack two eggs into a small mixing bowl and whip in herbs, milk, salt, and pepper until well-beaten. 

3. Add butter to a 6- to 8-inch frying pan and set over high heat until very hot. While the butter is bubbling, move it around the pan to make sure the bottom is coated.  


4. Once the butter stops sizzling, pour in the egg mixture into the pan and tilt the pan to spread the egg mixture evenly. Let eggs firm up a little.  Don't try to lift the egg or move it around, keep your spatula down until the very end! 

5.  While the middle is still runny, add the filling. Put cheese in first to melt, then add your veg that you want to soften (like spinach) and finally, add in the sautéed vegetables. 

6. After a while, you will notice the egg firming up.  When the egg is only slightly liquidy in the center, begin working the edges of the omelet away from the pan.  Fold the omelet in half.  Continue to cook for a couple more minutes so everything melds together.  

7. Serve with coffee, oj, and fresh fruit.  A filling and delicious start to the day!

Mothers Know Best: Chocolate Chunk Cookies

You ever have those days where you are just craving something chocolaty and sweet.  Today is one of those days and I have had chocolate chip cookies on the mind for at least a week now.  Currently, my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe comes from E's mom.  She brought them over for a birthday celebration and I ended up eating most of them!  So below is my first attempt at making this recipe gluten free.

Growing up, there were not many gluten free baking books in the house, my mom just kept her homemade gluten free flour mix on hand.  I definitely recommend this recipe since it does not have a strange grit or funny after taste that many gluten free flour mixes have.  It seems to work almost as well as regular flour and can be a substitute at a one to one ratio. That easy.

My mom's all purpose gluten free flour mix and E's mom's chocolate chip cookie recipe.  How is it that mothers know best?

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

6 ounces of your favorite chocolate chips (I like chopping mine off a dark chocolate block for chunkier pieces!)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup unsifted all purpose gluten free flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum, (only if your gluten free flour does not already have an emulsifier)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional >> I'm a chocolate purist so I rarely go for the nuts)


- Pre-heat oven to 375ºF.
- In a small-ish bowl, stir gluten free flour with baking soda and salt; set aside.

- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with both brown and white sugars until creamy and lightened in color.

- Add egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated.

- Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture then stir in nuts and chocolate chips.

- Drop tablespoon sized balls of dough onto an un-greased cookie sheet.  Make sure they're spread out enough so that there's room for them to expand!

- Bake until golden brown (approx. 9 to 11 minutes)
- Try to let them cool without bouncing them around in your hand in attempt to gobble them down immediately after coming out of the oven...though I have to admit, a couple of taste buds are usually sacrificed in the name of a fresh hot cookie!

Mom's Gluten Free Flour Mix

While I was growing up, my mom would make BIG batches of this gluten free all purpose flour mix.  She would toss this recipe into a big tupperware container and store in the freezer.  So whenever one of her four children got the hankering for some freshly baked treats, it was easy to grab any ol' cookbook (gluten free or not) and follow a recipe to delicious ends. 

To make life simple, when there some down time, I make a batch of this mix so that next time I have a craving for some freshly baked treats, I can toss together any recipe I want!  If you are not close to a store that provides these ingredients, online outlets like Authentic Foods and Bob's Red Mill will be able to fill the bulk of your order for this recipe, the rest should be easily found in your standard grocery store.

As the title of this recipe infers, this is great for making breads, but it is also excellent as an all purpose flour mix.

Bette’s Four Flour Bread Mix*

	24 cups	12 cups
	(12 single loaves)	(6 single loaves)
Garfava bean flour	6 cups	3 cups
Sorghum flour (1/3 part)	2 cups	1 cups
Tapioca flour	8 cups	4 cups
Cornstarch  (1 part)	8 cups	4 cups
Tapioca flour (1 part)	6 cups	3 cups
Xanthum gum	3 tablespoons	3 tablespoons
Salt	3 tablespoons	3 tablespoons
Egg replacer	3 tablespoons	3 tablespoons
Unflavored gelatin (optional)	6 (7-gram) envelopes	3 (7-gram) envelopes
Sugar	1 1/2 cups	¾ cup

*Resource: The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread: More Than 200 Wheat-Free Recipes by Bette Hagman

Rice Flour Mix

Rice Flour Mix
Makes 18 cups, 16 cups, and 9 cups respectively 

Rice flour (2 parts)	12 cups	8 cups	6 cups
Potato starch (2/3 part)	4 cups	2-2/3cups	2 cups
Tapioca flour (1/3 part)	2 cups	1-1/3 cup	1cup

*Resource: The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread: More Than 200 Wheat-Free Recipes by Bette Hagman

Light Bean Flour Mix

Light Bean Flour Mix
Makes 18 cups, 16 cups, and 9 cups respectively

Garfava bean flour (1 part)	6 cups	4 cups	3 cups
Tapioca flour (1 part)	6 cups	4 cups	3 cups
Cornstarch  (1 part)	6 cups	4 cups	3 cups

*Resource: The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread: More Than 200 Wheat-Free Recipes by Bette Hagman

Featherlight Rice Flour Mix

Featherlight Rice Flour Mix
Makes approx. 18 cups, 16 cups, and 9 cups respectively 

Rice flour (1 part)	6 cups	4 cups	3 cups
Tapioca flour (1 part)	6 cups	4 cups	3 cups
Cornstarch  (1 part)	6 cups	4 cups	3 cups
Potato flour (1 teaspoon per cup)	¼ c + 2 T	¼ cup	3 T

*Resource: The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread: More Than 200 Wheat-Free Recipes by Bette Hagman

Four Bean Flour Mix

Four Bean Flour Mix
Makes 18 cups, 16 cups, and 9 cups respectively
  

Garfava bean flour (2/3 part)	4 cups	2-2/3 cups	2 cups
Sorghum flour (1/3 part)	2 cups	1-1/3 cup	1 cup
Cornstarch  (1 part)	6 cups	4 cups	3 cups
Tapioca flour (1 part)	6 cups	4 cups	3 cups

*Resource: The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread: More Than 200 Wheat-Free Recipes by Bette Hagman

Oh My Sweet Pea!



Mint Pea Soup



Peas are in Season!

This minty pea soup is a great introduction to Spring with its fresh and tangy lightness that still leaves you with the feeling of home comfort.  It can be made in under an hour for a quick evening meal and can also be served chilled so this recipe is fantastic to make ahead of time if you plan to have guests over.  One thing to note is that frozen peas make this dish more budgetable and does not detract for the nutrition value of the meal.  I found this recipe on Chow and have modified it by adding white balsamic vinegar for a more crisp taste, but the essence is still there.

Mint Pea Soup

1/2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 medium leek, trimmed to white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced and rinsed
1 cup gluten free vegetable broth
1-1/2 cups water
3 cups shelled fresh peas (about 2 1/2 lbs of peas in their pods or 16oz frozen peas)
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
freshly squeezed lemon juice
white balsamic vinegar
freshly ground black pepper
salt
Crème fraîche, extra virgin olive oil optional for the table

1) Heat butter in heavy bottomed sauce pan. Saute leek until it has softened.

I like to get the leeks a little brown to add flavor.

2) Add broth and water and bring to boil.  Add green peas.  Return to boil, reduce heat, and simmer until peas are tender (about 5 minutes).

So Green!

3) Remove from heat.  Stir in mint and allow flavors to meld for 10 minutes or so.

Lovely Mint!

4) If you have a submersible blender, this is the easiest way to purée the soup, otherwise, transfer soup to a blender or food processor and purée in batches until smooth. Add lemon juice, white balsamic, salt and pepper to taste.

mmmm...frothy-ness!

5) Serve hot or cold with a dollop of crème fraîche, a sprinkle of olive oil and/or finely chopped mint.

Pea Soup with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Bon Appetit!