Gluten Free Goodness

Just a tidbit of news, since it’s making my day: Karina, the GF Goddess is posting low glycemic (low carb) recipes. As a nutritionist who is very into low glycemic foods, and someone who loves to eat, I’m delighted.  Wait, you’re not gluten free?  No worries, good food has no boundaries!  So check out her luscious blog, you’ll be glad you did.

Now on to other tasty topics: ground cherries.  I was reading a seed catalog, which isn’t as boring as it sounds. Hey, I was on a plane and didn’t have much else to do! The description was intriguing: they “have a flavor reminiscent of pineapple”.  How could I resist?  I’d never heard of them before, but hey, that’s never stopped me in the past!

Lo and behold, they’re totally delicious, and probably the happiest member of my garden.  They’re a relative of tomato, but are much sweeter, like a typical fruit.  Like tomatillos, they have a papery peel, which you remove to get the fruit.   Unlike tomatoes,  they grow close to the ground, and they are super low maintenece (i.e. all I do is pick ‘em and they’re happy)

As far as preparation, usually I don’t really do much with them aside from peeling and popping them into my mouth.  I’ve used them in salsa, and in salads as a colorful addition.  I found recipes to make a jam with them, but adding sugar to them seems totally unnecessary.  Besides, I end up eating them so quickly I’d have a hard time getting enough!

I wanted to make sure I was following the WHB rules and give a recipe, so I tried dehydrating a few with a tray of apricots I was drying.  They’re interesting and not as sweet as I expected.  They’re a bit like raisins, but don’t have as full of a flavor.  However, if by some quirk of fate, you’re allergic to grapes (like me), they might make a decent substitute.

As a totally unexpected bonus, they also make an excellent cat toy.  I co-habitate with a large, lazy feline, and he went nuts for one that I dropped on the floor.  Apparently, it makes a great puck.  But the next morning I discovered they’d somehow maneuvered a bunch out of the bowl they were in so the guys would have more toys.  Gotta love it.

This is my entry into Weekend Herb Blogging, as originated by Kalyn’s Kitchen.  This week’s happy hostess is Marija from Palachinka, a fellow Daring Baker who has some seriously drool-worthy pictures on her site.

I made sorrel soup for the first time last year, and told my husband. He started laughing, and said, squirrel soup? Um…not even close!.

Sorrel has a nice tart taste to it, and is supposed to be lovely with fish. Next time! It can be hard to come by, and I was happy to find it at the market.

I know I saw a recipe last year, but don’t remember where, so I decided to just wing it. I left some of the lettuce and veggies un-pureed because I like the texture and hint of crunch, but that’s a a matter of personal preference.

Last time, I thickened with a potato, but those are off limits, so I used a little coconut flour. I’m sure more walnuts or another root veggie like parsnips would work, too.

2 Tablespoons oil
1 cup diced onions
2 big romaine hearts, chopped (divided)
3 cups veg or chicken broth
4 cups or so sorrel
2 Tablespoons coconut flour, or potato flour (NOT starch)
1/2 cup walnuts, soaked overnight if you think of it!
sea salt
fresh mint
white pepper

Saute the onions for 5-6 min until soft with a pinch of salt. Add in 1 1/2 of the romaine hearts and saute a few minutes more. Add broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add sorrel and simmer 5 minutes more. Reserve 1 cup or so of cooked veggies and puree the rest with the (drained) walnuts. Add back reserved veggies and add in the last 1/2 chopped romaine heart. Add salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle with fresh chopped mint.

Enjoy!

This is my weekly offering for Weekend Herb Blogging, the brainchild of Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s kind host is Sounding my Barbaric Gulp

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008. Please do not replicate without crediting/permission.

I’m sneaking under the wire here to share one of my simple cooking favorites. Weekend Herb Blogging rules are changing so that we use exotic veggies and expand our horizons…and cauliflower doesn’t fit the bill!

Cauliflower has a bum rap, no way around it. Some people don’t like it raw or boiled, and so they assume that they don’t like it at all. But roasting gives a totally different dimension to the flavor, and there are so many great spices you can add. I thought I first read about roasted cauliflower with paprika in Joy of Cooking, but I looked back and it’s not there, so I have no idea where I first got the thought, but there are so many other flavors that work as well (or better, I think). I didn’t even offer it to my DH for a while, and then I got him to eat a piece. And gradually over months, he’s stealing all my cauliflower! I’ve had more success getting him to be a cauli-convert than I have with any other veggie.

So you can’t really go wrong as long as you roast. You can do high heat for a shorter time and stir more often, or lower heat, and get busy doing other things. I’ve tried it as low as 350, which takes a long time, and I’ve seen recipes as high as 450. However, the higher temperature you use, the bigger issue of development of acrylamide, a chemical which is cancer causing in high doses. I usually opt for lower and slower because I always have a ton to do and hey, I’m a nutritionist. What do you expect??

You can really get creative for spices, from cumin seeds, to panch phoron, to rosemary, to chili powder, to lemon and dill. Just use sea salt, the texture does matter here.

It’s hard to give an exact recipe, as caulis come in all sizes, and it depends on how much of the stems you use and all of that.

1 cauliflower, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1-3 Tablespoons of oil
1-2 teaspoons sea salt
1 bulb (not clove) of garlic
pepper, to taste

Cumin: add 1.5 teaspoons whole seeds
Panch phoron add 1.5 teaspoons whole seeds and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
Rosemary: add 3 Tablespoons or so fresh rosemary needles or 1 Tablespoon dried
Chili:Add 1 T chili powder
Lemon dill: squeeze juice of one lemon and add 3 Tablespoons fresh dill or 1 T dried. Omit garlic.

Preheat oven to 375-400*. Remove the biggest garlic bulbs from the garlic ‘paper’ but leave the small ones. Chop cauliflower and toss with salt and seasonings. Spread out on a cookie sheet LINED with parchment (you’ll be glad you did.)

Roast until nicely browned around the edges, stirring every 15-20 minutes.

Rediscover cauliflower…isn’t it good?!

*see discussion above

This is my entry to Weekend Herb Blogging, a fabulous way to celebrate the herbs and produce of teh season, and our hostess is Simona from Briciole.

I’m a pretty free spirited gardener. So when I plant things, (like onions for example) I don’t label them because I can tell the difference between carrots and onions, right? I also (apparently) tend to forget what I planted from season to season. So when these big plants came up, I thought, great! Garlic. I’ve never seen them so big. Awesome!

Then I went groping around, and realized there was no bulb. I know, where are my manners. And then I thought, oh no! A bed of leeks. I don’t even like leeks that much! And then when I pulled them up, there was a bulb, and they looked just like spring onions at the Farmer’s Market. Here’s a pic.

It’s important to me to find something exciting to do with everything from my garden. And so I tried them creamed, and the results were a little boring. Then I figured, I really can’t go wrong roasting, I think the only veggie I haven’t ever roasted is rhubarb.

And so I did. The results were good, not great. Yet when I cut them open, bulbs looked strangely like garlic…because they were. Hard and soft neck garlic really don’t look much alike, and that really threw me All I have to say is that vampires ran at my approach for a few days.

But I did have spring onions, too, and I roasted them on the second round. They are absolutely, plate-lickingly, sugary sweet and delicious when roasted. Next year, I think I’ll only be planting spring onions.

So the moral of the story is that spring onions are, indeed, yummy when roasted, and time spent labeling is probably a good idea. I figured I’d share these pearls of knowledge with Weekend Herb Blogging, the brainchild of Kalyn’s Kitchen. Our kind host this week is
Joanna, of Joanna’s Food.

Oh…and if you’re a garden lover, please check out my “Cute Fruit” round-up. for what’s growing this week.
Roasted Spring Onions

6-8 spring onions
2-3 tablespoons oil
sea salt and pepper, to taste

Line a rimmed cookie sheet or 9X13 pan with parchment paper. Trim the spring onions, leaving 4 or 5 inches of the green parts if desired. Coat onions with oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 350, turning every 15 minutes or so, until well browned and oozing yummy juices.

Very simple, but very yum.
Enjoy!

It was one of those moments. We were already hungry, and I was hoping to toss some sauce with veggies or pasta and call it dinner…then, the moment of panic creativity.  What do you mean we’re out of tomato sauce?  So it was about getting a full flavored sauce in a short amount of time.

I have more oregano that I know what to do with, and it’s taking over my herb bed, as you can see. Oregano is something I tend to use as one of the supporting players rather than a main flavor. Generally my sauces are heavy on basil, so this was a deviation from standard operating procedure.

I’d like to use oregano more, because it’s quite good for you! It’s antinflammatory, antibacterial, a good source of antioxidants, and has a lot of fiber, too.

And the result? A bold, chunky, satisfying sauce that came together in maybe 20 minutes. DH had the sauce on pasta, we had turkey cutlets poached in the sauce, I had some with steamed broccoli and handful of pine nuts, which was a perfect lunch.  Not bad for minimal effort.

I love Eden brand tomatoes because the ingredients are…organic tomatoes. I didn’t even miss the citric acid, additives and other fillers. Works for me! I used crushed and diced because I wanted a hearty, chunky sauce. If you don’t, adjust accordingly!

You could also use any mild onion or shallots in place of the spring onions, but I currently have an overabundance of spring onions and need ways to use them up.

2 spring onions, (green parts discarded) chopped
1 small garlic bulb, minced (or 3/4 a big bulb)
1 sprig rosemary
1/2 cup of broth or white wine
28 oz of crushed tomatoes
14 oz of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of loosely packed oregano
1/2 cup of Kalamata* olives, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1-2 Tablespoons agave nectar or sugar, or a pinch of stevia
Basil to sprinkle on top
Salt and pepper to taste
Parm cheese and/or pinenuts, optional but tasty

* for my vinegar avoiding comrades, Trader Joe’s sells vinegar free Kalamatas, or use a brine cured olive for a different, but yummy, flavor.

Brown the spring onions with a pinch of salt and a little oil over med-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic, stirring for a minute until golden. Add rosemary leaves from stem. Add broth and deglaze. Allow to reduce for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and allow to simmer for 10 minutes to let flavors meld.

Enjoy!

This is my entry to this week’s edition of Weekend Herb Blogging. WHB is brainchild of Kalyn’s Kitchen. Our kind host this week is Maninas of Maninas: Food Matters. This is my first time visiting her site, and she has some lovely looking East Indian dishes.

This is just squeaking in under the wire. I was on Wheat Free, Meat Free’s site, and saw her entry for Food Blogga’s “Beautiful Bones” Osteoporosis Food event, featuring calcium rich recipes. Since finding out in my twenties that I have osteopenia, this has become much more important to me personally, and it meant a lot to me to participate. Osteoporosis and osteopenia are incredibly common among Celiacs especially, and it’s very important to get a DEXA scan. Nag your doctor if you need to, it’s better to know because then you can support your health!

So…I had a big container of shredded veggies leftover from spring rolls that I needed to use up, and I decided on brazil nut butter because it’s high in calcium. It’s a simple curry sauce that takes just a few minutes to whip up. If, like me, you have to avoid soy, sesame and vinegar, most commercially prepared dipping sauces are off limits, so this is a quick and easy substitute. If you wanted, you could add a splash of rice vinegar or soy sauce, or sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Pretty much anything would work for the veggie mix. I would definitely recommend adding the mint, cilantro and basil because it gives a nice dimension to the dish. The sauce also works well over steamed broccoli.

I have directions for making brazil nut butter here, although almond butter or peanut butter will work just as well.

Brazil nut sauce:
3 Tablespoon ground fennel seeds
1 Tablespoon ground coriander seeds
1 Tablespoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne, to taste
1/2 cup brazil nut butter
pinch of salt
2 Tablespoon oil
1 cup water
2 apricots, blended, or 1 small jar of pureed apricots

Veg mix
1.5 cups shredded carrots
about 1/4 napa cabbage, sliced very thinly
1/2 yellow, red or orange pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/4 cup mint leaves
1/4 cup cilantro or basil

Toast ground spices in a dry pan over medium heat until aromatic, 2-3 minutes. Add oil and make a paste. Add nut butter and mix well to combine. Add warm water and apricot, heat and stir until everything is well combined. Simmer a little for a thicker sauce. Serve over a bed of shredded veggies and enjoy!

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008. Please do not replicate without crediting/permission.

Rhubarb is one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss it foods. It’s really only in season the tail end of April through middle May, although I occasionally see it at the Farmer’s Markets in the fall. And I’m so jazzed that I saw it so many places at the market this weekend, because last year I couldn’t find it anywhere!

So here’s my ode to rhubarb. In my humble opinion, there’s nothing quite like it. I love the tart tanginess, the crimson color, and how it often cooks down to an unreal looking pink. It’s a fruit, but unlike most fruits, it’s very low glycemic (i.e. doesn’t affect blood sugars much).

You know when you think about lemons and your lips start to pucker? I could feel the same thing happening when I was cooking the rhubarb–you can almost smell the sour. This bunch cooked up more a yellowy-green color, as you can see in the picture. It must be another variety of rhubarb that is pink. And I’ll have to get my hands on some more, because I gobbled it all down and didn’t share with my husband.

You can, of course, add gobs of sugar to rhubarb and put it in a pie, or mix some into a strawberry pie. But I like making it simple and cooking the rhubarb down to a compote.

4-5 big stalks rhubarb
1/2 cup pineapple or chopped apple
sweetener, to taste

optional add ins: crystalized ginger, powdered ginger, cinnamon, etc.

Trim edges and leaves, discard. Slice rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces (the smaller the pieces, the quicker it goes).

Combine 1/2 cup of frozen pineapple pieces or chopped apple. Add rhubarb and cook over medium heat. Cover partway, and stir every 2-3 minutes until the rhubarb dissolves.

Sweeten with a pinch of stevia, agave, or sugar.

This freezes very well, because it’s mush! Freezing is not going to change that any.

This tribute to rhubarb will be submitted to Weekend Herb Blogging, which was started by Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s host is Gay at A Scientist in the Kitchen

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008. Please do not replicate without crediting/permission.

A last hurrah for the season…
These are my lovely collards, which overwintered in my garden. They started to bolt with the heat, and so it was clear it was (past) time for them to go. I’m totally partial to everything I grow, foods just taste better when you grow them yourself. There’s something very rewarding about nurturing something from a seed and then enjoying the harvest. I just needed a to create recipe worthy of my collards. I think I did! It was a very filling and satisfying meal. It will definitely be in the rotation for the colder months.

I first had a peanut-chicken stew with tomato and basil years ago from an co-worker from Guinea where it’s a traditional dish, and I was hooked. Though PB isn’t an option for me anymore, but the idea stuck in my head, and I wanted something along the same lines, but with a different twist. Nut butters add an indulgent richness, creamy smoothness and a great depth of flavor. Try it! One bite and you’ll be a convert.

Collards are in the mustard family, related to cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and other yummy veggies. I never tasted collards until I moved to VA, and now I am making up for lost time. Collards are a fabulous source of fiber and a variety of vitamins and minerals, including calcium. Actually, there are several foods high in calcium here: collards, almond butter and teff. Maybe I should call this calcium stew instead!

1 large onion
2 Tablespoons oil
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
A knob of fresh ginger, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup chopped)
1 bunch of collards–2/3 lbs after de-ribbing, so maybe 1 lb?
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1-14 oz can of diced tomatoes (I like Eden Foods)
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/3 cup frozen or canned pineapple
1/4-1/2 cup teff grain (optional)
A generous 1/3 cup of almond butter
1/4 cup toasted almonds for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions in a big pot/dutch oven with a pinch of sea salt over medium heat for 7-8 min, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, chop your garlic and ginger. Add garlic and ginger and cook for a minute, add curry powder and cook a minute more. Add in undrained tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil. Remove thick ribs from collards and add coarsely chopped collards, in 2 bunches (don’t overwhelm the pot!). Once boiling, add cayenne, pineapple and teff. Cook at a healthy boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add almond butter and mix, simmer an additional 10-15 minutes to allow flavors to meld. If you’d like a ’soupier’ stew, go for 1/4 cup of teff. If your collards are big or tough, you may want to cover the pot after adding the collards and uncover after the almond butter.

Adjust seasonings, if it’s not as thick as you’d like, just boil longer. It does thicken as it sits, though. If you don’t have teff, a) I’m sorry! b)no worries, it’ll just be moister or c) add in a few tablespoons of flour as a thickener
Sprinkle with almonds, serve with brown rice, teff, or GF ingera.

Enjoy!

I’m serving up this soup for this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging, the brainchild of Kalyn’s Kitchen. I’m so delighted to have a venue to share recipes and my love of gardening, too! The host this week is Coffee and Vanilla. Here’s the roundup; there are a bunch of gorgeous looking dishes!

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008