The Ex-Gluten Glutton

Zucchini Coffee Cake Recipe

2012-10-08T13:43:00.001-07:00

This is me ignoring the fact that I haven't posted in like, a year.

So, onto cake! Coffee cake. To merely say this cake is mighty would be doing it a disservice. This cake is mightier than anything you have tasted before...

The recipe came from the only gluten free blogger whose recipes I trust: Alyson over at Manifest Vegan. If you want tasty and gluten free and vegan all in one, she's got the right idea.

As you can see, though, the recipe is supposed to be for Cinnamon Rolls, not a delectable coffee cake. I tried that roll thing. It doesn't work with this batter. It does not work. Unless you're adding another whole cup of flour, these babies will just be a sticky, gooey disaster (trust me). Hence the cake.

But I'm telling you, if you have ever tried a coffee cake this awesome I will give you a million smackers (I say this because it is impossible, obviously. Nobody has a million bucks these days, pah!). Usually you think, eugh, coffee cake, it's too dry and there's never enough of the cinnamon/sugar topping and it feels like a ton of bricks in your belly, etc. It is time to banish these notions, my friends!

Feast your eyes, mortals!

This stuff is spongy. Spongy! And oh, so moist. The key? Vegetable puree. The oringinal calls for pumpkin and it tastes like heaven. But since the garden has been so generous with it's zucchini production this year, I went ahead and made some zucchini puree and used it in this cake.

I followed Alyson's recipe exactly and the only note I have for you is on flours. If you use the flours she's suggested (as I have in these pictures) the cake will be lighter and airier. What I've done before, however, is switch out the brown rice for teff and maybe 1/4c or so of the starch for either more sorghum or something else entirely, like buckwheat or millet. These small changes make a slightly denser cake, which I tend to prefer.

Enjoy!

Raw Chocolate Raspberry Cake Recipe

2012-01-17T16:58:00.001-08:00

Well, it was more like a pie in shape. But who cares, really.

I saw this glorious recipe on this blog right here and was quite in awe of the photos, first and foremost. Those currants look especially fantastic! (I can't say the same for my own photos, but you get the general idea at least. Click the link for more inspiring images :)) The simplicity of it was what moved me into action, though. Life with a food processor is basically a bed of roses.

    I went ahead and made this on New Year's Eve, which, by the way, was the most subdued affair ever. Everyone was playing Boggle. Complete and utter silence for 2 minute stretches for like 2 hours. You wouldn't think that's a fun way to spend your time, especially not when you're expected to be drunk and crazy, but it is! I've been playing obsessively since getting a Boggle app on my phone. Probably a mistake, but I comfort my conscience by reminding myself this will help me fend off Alzheimer's. Although that may already be a losing battle, considering how poor my memory is...

    Where was I?

    Oh, right. I made the recipe on New Year's Eve. It was simple and quick (putting aside chilling time) and just phenomenally good. The avocado gives the frosting the most creamy, decadent texture on the planet. The cake is rich and full of chocolatey flavor. The raspberries add that fresh little zing, that sweet tartness only nature can provide satisfactorily.

    This cake is seriously good.

    Below I will provide the same recipe from Just Love Cookin', in sane (there's a space there) English (Google translator is great and everything, but...).

Raw Chocolate Raspberry Cake (from Just Love Cookin')
makes 10 healthy slices from a circular 8 in" dia pan

Cake:
3 cups nuts (any - I used walnuts and almonds)
2/3 cup cocoa powder (preferably dutch-processed)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup pitted, dates (soaked for 15-30 mins first if desired)

Frosting:
1/3 cup pitted dates (soaked for 15-30 mins first if desired)
1/4 cup agave (or to taste)
1/2 medium avocado (or 1/2 cup chopped)
1/3 cup cocoa powder (preferably dutch-processed)

1 cup fresh or frozen berries (any - I used raspberries obviously)
additional berries for garnish

Cake:
1. Process nuts, cocoa and salt in a food processor until it forms a coarse meal. Add dates and blend until relatively smooth.

2. Get two pieces of plastic wrap. Turn out mixture onto one piece of wrap and divide it into two equal portions. Wrap each in a piece of the plastic wrap and store in the fridge as you prepare the frosting.

Frosting:
3. Process dates and agave until smooth. Add avocado and blend until well incorporated. Add cocoa and blend until evenly distributed throughout.

Assembly:
4. Line your pan or dish with parchment paper or plastic wrap (or wax paper or whatever the hey you want).

5. When your cake is sufficiently chilled, press one part into the pan or dish evenly to form the bottom layer.

6. Very lightly crush berries with a fork. Not until they're a mess of juice, just until they're a bit smooshed.

7. Spread berries over the top of your first cake layer.

8. Get the other half of your cake and press it over the berry layer, doing your best to make the top layer even. The berries might get a little juicier than desired, but that's okay.

9. Very carefully turn cake out onto serving dish. Frost cake, using all the frosting.

10. Garnish. You can further chill (I admit it's better this way) or eat it as is. Enjoy!

I think next time I'll use more than a cup for the berry filling. Those raspberries are just too good to be true in that impossibly rich chocolate setting.

Have fun!

Vegan, Organic, Good. Nu'tella Recipe

2011-12-15T09:18:00.000-08:00

Behold! Nutella, veganized.

This is the stuff of legend. I can say with confidence that this new 'tella is decadent and delicious. Slathered on bread or eaten from a spoon, the flavor is indistinguishable from the real thing. Yet its glossy sheen and spreadable-caramel consistency set it apart - It is its own 'tella. Can it get any better?

I think not.

Vegan, Organic, Good. Nu'tella
Makes about 1/3 cup*

1c hazelnuts
2 T cocoa powder
1 T coconut oil, melted (or oil of choice)
sweetener, to taste* (agave, corn syrup, powdered sugar, maple syrup, etc)
pinch salt (optional)*

1. Shell and roast hazelnuts in single layer in baking pan at 375 F until skins are dark brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Remove the skins while hazelnuts are still warm by putting them in a kitchen towel and rubbing them together. If there's still some skins left on them don't fret - anywhere from about 60% of skins removed will suffice.
3. In a sturdy blender or food processor, blend completely cooled hazelnuts until you create nut butter, usually about 5 mins.* You will get chopped nuts first, then a gradually finer crumb. Soon the meal will begin to stick together, due to the oils released by the heat and friction. Scrape sides down with a spatula. Continue to process until it reaches a fairly smooth consistency.
4. To this nut butter, add cocoa powder, oil, salt and sweetener. Blend until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Taste test and add more sweetener if desired. Blend until smooth.
5. Store in the fridge for 1-2 months. If more spreadable texture is desired when serving, heat in the microwave for 10-20 seconds.

    *This is me suggesting you make double the recipe (or quadruple...Life is short, right?)
    *I say "to taste" for the sweetener because I'm not sure what the devil I did. I meant to sample different sweeteners and see what was best, but I ended up just not measuring anything and throwing honey (this makes the title "vegan" debatable, but what the hey, you do what you gotta do) and agave nectar in pell-mell. The stuff is meant to be quite sweet, but of course it's up to you.
    *I plumb forgot the salt and it was glorious without it, so obviously an optional ingredient. I think maybe it would make it a little better, but to such an almost-imperceptible degree that it really doesn't matter.
    *I don't want to be responsible for any destroyed blenders or food processor motors out there. Allow your machine to rest a little bit, blend in pulses, whatever. Just don't murder the thing.

    Enjoy!

Baby Churros Recipe

2011-12-09T13:17:00.000-08:00

    When I was about, oh... 10 or 11? my brother and I went with our good friends and stayed at Disneyland for a whole week. This was soon after the addition of California Adventures to the park and they had this massive, grand hotel that I can't remember the name of that we stayed in. We'd lather up with sunscreen every morning and head into the park, stand in line all day for a cumulative few minutes' time on rides, then watch Fantasmic and call it a night. We ate at all those ridiculously expensive Disneyland restaurants (my favorite being the one inside Pirates of the Caribbean, despite the fact that they served a very sorry excuse for clam chowder).

    This trip must have cost a fortune, in addition to being pure monotony for our friends' parents, but BY JOVE I had the best time ever! I hate to pull out the Harry Potter references again (I don't), but it was totally like Harry living at the Leaky Cauldron and spending his days in Diagon Alley. We knew the park very well by the end of it and scoffed at the "tourists" and their park maps. We lounged around by the pool of the hotel, stood about chatting with foreigners and punk kids (basically the same thing to us at the time and equally thrilling) in line for Indian Jones, ate tons of ice cream and churros, and lived rather richly in general.

    Oh, you see I've gotten to the point finally? Yes, those crispy, fried delights... Glorious churros! I'm sure I ate at least 3 churros a day while there, and this gross over-indulgence only fueled my passion for more of them. It was always an inevitable tragedy to lose any of that divine cinnamon and sugar coating to the ground. They really need to work on how to handle those things better so none of it goes to waste... (Rereading this I realize that it is a very small wonder indeed that I was such a fat little kid.)

    Anyway, the point is I was frankly devastated the day I realized I couldn't have churros if I ever went to Disneyland again. That land of pure decadence had been marred for me, despite my continued adoration of Splash Mountain, and for a long time I didn't know if it could ever been restored to its former glory. However, when I managed these successful and highly delicious gluten free and vegan churros, I saw a definite glimmer of hope.

    In fact, it was more like a torrent of hope. And after eating about ten of them, I knew for certain... Churros really are the happiest food on Earth.

    I may not be able to say that with a straight face, but boy, I mean it!

Churros

1c water
1/2c (1 stick) butter
1/2 t salt
2-4 T sugar
1c flour (I used 1/4c teff, 1/4c sorghum, 1/4c tapioca, 1/4c millet, scant 1/2 t xanthan gum)
2 eggs (I replaced these with 2 Ener-G eggs)
1/2 t vanilla
oil for deep frying
cinnamon and
sugar for coating

1. In a small saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar and salt. Allow butter to melt and stir to mix.
2. Sift in flour and stir until a ball forms.
3. Transfer to mixer and allow to cool for about 5 mins. While it cools begin to heat oil to 350-375 degrees F.
4. Start beating the dough, adding one egg at a time. Beat well after each addition.
5. Place batter in piping bag fitted w/ large star tip.
6. When oil is ready, pipe batter into it and fry until golden brown.
7. Drain on paper towels then toss in cinnamon/sugar mixture and serve.

    *I'm not entirely sure why, but the melted butter and my flour mixture didn't blend all that well together, so that when piping some butter separated and was squeezed out the top. Annoying, but it didn't effect the finished product.
    *I don't actually own a large star tip, hence the "baby" churros. I highly recommend the larger size tip for a finished product most like what's traditionally and commercially available.
    *Sadly I don't know the cinnamon to sugar ratio that I used, but my advice to you would be to USE MORE CINNAMON. If you don't use enough cinnamon they start to taste remarkably similar to Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which, while delightful, isn't quite how churros ought to taste.
    *I didn't include a chocolate sauce since I wanted to recreate my Disneyland memories, but that is, I believe, how they're eaten in Spain. Churros and chocolate sauce sounds like a definite winning combination...
    *Churros freeze well! If you intend to freeze them, try not to fry them quite as long to avoid hard churros later. However, they work fine either way. Lay uncoated churros on a baking sheet, freeze for about 1 hr, then place in a plastic bag. To reheat them, heat your oven to 375 F and bake for 5-10 minutes, until done/heated all the way through. Toss to coat in cinnamon/sugar and enjoy!

    It would be difficult for life to get any better than this.

Works in Progress

2011-10-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a post of some of the things I'm "working" on currently. With just a bit of tweaking on most of these, soon I'll be able to give you the recipes for them!

Gluten free and vegan chocolate chip cookies:

These are aaalmost perfect. They just have a little bit of graininess to them, though I'm not entirely sure a gluten free, vegan cookie can be free of that. I need to experiment a little bit more!

Gluten free and vegan sugar cookies:

Cute, right?! Unfortunately, these cookies are only decent. They're a bit too sweet for my liking, and too crispy. They do taste great with rosewater lemonade, though :)

Gluten free and vegan sugar "biscuits":

I say biscuits, but they were really supposed to be donuts... These tasted fine, but texturally they really need some help. Instead of being soft and pliable like any good donut should be, they were very dry and crumbly. Work in progress for sure!

Gluten free and vegan sticky Greek honey cake:

Ooooh man, this cake is GOOD. The only help it needs is to reduce gumminess in the center. Flax seed gel tends to be tough to use with cakes. Maybe I should make them into cupcakes?

Gluten free and vegan banana muffins:

These have the same unfortunate gummy nature as the honey cake, so maybe the cupcake idea wouldn't work there either. If these are still warm when the papers get pulled back, the majority of the muffin comes away with it, as you can see. When I allow them to cool completely in the fridge, though, they come away very nicely.

Gluten free and vegan rosewater cupcakes:

Ah, sweet, sweet cupcakes... These things went unbelievably wrong! The funny thing is this was the only recipe I didn't convert anything on, it was already vegan and gluten free to begin with. It definitely turned out for the worse! On the four outside cupcakes, I followed the recipe exactly. I knew there was too much liquid, but I just WENT WITH IT, considering my limited experience. The two in the middle I experimented on, simply adding more flour.

As they were baking I looked into the oven and saw those monstrosities! They bubbled up like crazy and spilled over (so annoying to clean, by the way). When I removed them from the oven, they completely collapsed in on themselves and all that remained was a gooey film coating the cupcake liners. As for the normal looking ones, they tasted okay but were too dry and crumbly.

So, lots of fun stuff! I just made Japanese curry last night, perhaps I'll post pictures of that later!

Tofu Salad with a Bacon Garlic Dressing

2011-10-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

    Cookingwithdog. Chef knows what's UP. I love her so much. Literally every recipe I've made from them has been seriously soooo good. And this Tofu Salad is OFF THE CHARTS. Rave reviews! AHHH!

    Just had to get that out.

Tofu Salad with Bacon Garlic Dressing
serves 2

salad fixings
   -lettuce
   -broccoli
    -string beans
   -cucumber
   -tomato
   -etc
1/2-1 block tofu*
2 T olive oil
1 T garlic, minced
1 T bacon, minced
1 T soy sauce
1 t sugar*
2 T young onion*
1-1 1/2 T lemon juice
1 green onion, chopped, for garnish (optional)

For Salad:
   1. Wrap tofu in paper towel and chill in fridge as you prepare the dressing.
   2. Boil string beans and broccoli lightly (1-3 mins). Shock them in cold water to stop cooking process, or cool by fanning them.
   3. Prepare salad fixings. Arrange lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, etc. in a bowl and chill. When ready, scoop spoonfuls of tofu onto salad and garnish w/ green onions.

For Dressing:
   1. Put olive oil and minced garlic into small pan, stirfry at low heat until aromatic.
   2. Add bacon and continue to fry.
   3. When bacon is colored, add soy sauce and sugar. Stir to combine, then remove from heat.
   4. Grate sweet onion into dressing, then add lemon juice and stir.
   5. Spoon dressing over salad and serve. Enjoy!

    *I deviate from Chef's method with the tofu. I cube it and lightly pan fry in about a tablespoon of olive oil. Squishy, cold, raw tofu? Um, no thanks!
    *Considering I live in a very small town that chews and spits at the very thought of sweet onions, I subbed out the grated one for a wee bit of regular ol' yeller, or sometimes just forgo it entirely (Edit: I just found out this isn't true--they are available here, but I'LL STAND BY MY STATEMENT because it's funny).
    *I just put in the teensiest pinch of sugar; we are very particular about mixing sweet and savory here. Of course, you can do whatever the heck you want.

Now isn't this a sweet little bento?

Maybe the way I devoured it wasn't quite as pretty,

but who cares!

The Garden Edition - Goodbye Sweet Summer!

2011-10-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

Picture overload! I'm just putting these up before this rain completely washes away all thought of summer...

Check out that blue, blue California sky...

This basil made a mean pesto!

Wooo Chard!

Our cantaloupes were quite literally divine.

Hide and seek...

Lovely lettuce assortment!

We have mint and weeds and spiders and random flowers all mixed together!

The beeeessssttttt.

Haha! Those socks drying there is so perfect...

Can you see the beans?!

Kitty spent all summer lounging here under the grapes.

and a little while later...

I have mixed feelings about the colder months... On the one hand, HELLO COMFORT FOOD, but then on the other, I practically freeze to death and don't thaw out again until June. Yet summertime! There's really nothing better than being out in the sunshine with everything so full of life :)

I Love Granola!

2011-09-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

I love granola so much, it's one of those things that I want everyone on the planet to love as well. Doesn't matter if I despise them, who cares if they're horrible people - everybody needs to adore granola! (I feel the same way about Harry Potter, actually... Needless to say, every day is fraught with disappointments.)

I am of the humble opinion that this recipe makes the best granola ever. Make it. Try it. PLEASE. It's so good! and so very customizable and easy.

Granola
makes about 5-6 cups

4 c oats (puffed cereals like rice and quinoa are great additions)
1/2 c almonds (or any nut)
1/2 c sunflower seeds (or any seed)
1/2 c sesame seeds
1/2 c dried, shredded coconut (or any dried/dehydrated fruit)
1/3 c vegetable oil (or any sweet oil, such as coconut)
1/3-1/2 c honey*

    1. Preheat oven to 325F.

    2. Combine all ingredients in a large cake pan and mix.

    3. Place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Stir the mixture at this point, and then continue to give it a good stir every 15 minutes for 40 minutes to 1 hour*. This is to ensure uniform browning. When done, granola should have an even golden color.

    4. The mixture will still be slightly wet. Allow to cool in pan before transferring to a storage container; it will dry.

    *1/2 c honey is really quite sweet, so do the 1/3 c first and taste to see if you want more. Measure out the oil first and then use the same cup for the honey - the sticky liquid slides right out.

    *For the mathematically impaired, 3 stirring sessions comes up with 55 minutes of bake time. This is what I did. The coconut was very nearly burned, so be aware!

    *Pay special attention to the corners when mixing in the oven; they tend to brown more quickly.

    I love mine full of seeds and looking like birdie food! I also had one last rice cake in the cupboard so I crumbled that up and tossed it in. The recipe is easy to double and I would suggest doing so if you like it... It gets eaten up at an insanely fast rate!

Have fun!

Onion Bhajji Recipe

2011-09-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

Onion bhajjis have kind of been a long-standing joke with this group I know. I can't really remember how it started, but every time we talk now they're wormed into the conversation somehow. I neither knew nor cared much what they were until this conversation... (I'll just say now that reverse psychology would work great on me. If you say I can't, I probably will.)

V: Happy birthday all the way from the third world :) Have some Onion Bhajji's to celebrate...

Me: Thanks! I still don't have any idea what onion bhajjis are. I'm ashamed.

V: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhajji And now you know.

Me: I feel so informed now. I was thinking it'd be something more... complex?

V: Bhajji is complex! Try making it once... the consistency is painful to achieve...

Me: These onion bhajjis look easy... I'M GONNA MAKE THEM. That'll learn you who's boss.

V: I urge you to try them. when your bhajji's reach their inevitable and fiery end you shall bow in awe of me :)

Me: YOUR MIND CANNOT COMPREHEND MY CULINARY EXPERTISE. WHO'S THE KING NOW?

    That last part didn't really happen, but I may or may not have been thinking it. It is rather undeserved in this instance though, because you know, onion bhajji is insanely simple to make!

    Notes at the end.

Onion Bhajji
serves 4-6

1 large onion
1 1/2 c chickpea flour (roughly)
2 tbsp rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste
100+ ml water
oil for frying

    1. Slice onion into thin strips (not superfine, not thick).

    2. Preheat oil to roughly 350 F (medium-high).

    3. While oil is heating, prepare the batter. In a bowl combine flours, spices and water* and mix until smooth. Add onion strips and toss to coat evenly.

    4. Carefully drop spoonfuls of battered onion into oil, being sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry 1-2 minutes, or until batter becomes golden brown.

    5. Remove with a slotted spoon (or whatever!) and drain on paper towels.

    6. Serve with some salt sprinkled on top. These go well with basically any Indian fare (I like adding extra chili powder and then eating with cucumber raita) but if you haven't got any on hand, they also taste really great dipped in mustard!

    *Remember you want it to be runny, but still thick enough to stick to the onions. I ended up needing a lot more water that I have listed here, but climate and elevation and all that is going to change things for you. You want gloop!

    *I have not tried this, but consider lightly tossing the onion strips in flour before battering. Onions are slick, so it's difficult for the batter to adhere to it properly. Not needed at all to make them, but it's a thought.

    *You definitely do want to use the chickpea flour. It loses that beany weirdo flavor that I know so many of us dislike, so no worries there.

    *You don't just have to make onions with this batter! You can coat any vegetable with it and it's going to taste yum-o. I've done potatoes and squash along with the onions so far.

Enjoy!

A Watermelon Hedgehog? Or a Hedgehogged Watermelon?

2011-08-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

    Ahem...

    Oh! Hi! I am an exceptionally lazy person apparently. I've taken pictures of most of what I've made lately but I just haven't found it in me to write about it. I'll try to put them up and keep the posts brief. It's better late than never, right?

    Maybe not.

    But who cares? I made a watermelon sculpture!

At the beginning of the month we had a friend from Japan staying for the week (she's the best!) and she helped me out with making several things , this hedgehog being the first of them. I was sorely tempted by the shark and T-Rex carvings on Watermelon.org, but the hedgehog was too cute to pass up!

There were some, uh, issues, as usual (scooping the watermelon out was totally a bad idea - it took forever and the pieces were so not pretty) but overall it was majorly fun! It wasn't a huge project and it made the watermelon eating a little more enjoyable :) I'm definitely going to make that shark next!

A Simple Method for Chicken Nuggets

2011-07-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

    Here's my method for making tasty chicken nuggets. You don't really need instructions for something so simple, but it's always nice for the reminder, anyway.

Chicken Nuggets

-boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    Cut them up into strips, cubes or whatever shape you want your nuggets in.
-flour
    I used a 1/3 measuring cup for sorghum, rice, a little tapioca and teff. It was hardly exact, and any flours you like the taste of works fine. They're fried, after all! Can't go wrong.
-eggs
    Flax seed gel for me. Again, do whatever you want. 1 or 2 would work perfectly.
-water
    You want the batter to have a soupy consistency (think pancake batter, or even a bit thinner) so it leaves a nice coat on the chicken that isn't too thick.
-spices
    I added Lawry's Seasoned Salt, cayenne pepper, basil and a little garlic powder. I tasted it several times and adjusted the seasoning to my preference.

1. In a mixing bowl, measure out your flour. Add eggs and combine loosely. Add water gradually until the desired consistency is reached, stirring to combine. Add spices. Mix.

2. Heat about 1 1/2 inch frying oil in a pan to 350F.

3. Put chicken pieces in batter and turn to coat. Allow chicken to rest in the batter for a few minutes to give them time to adhere to each other.

4. Drop a few pieces of chicken into the hot oil at a time and fry until they are golden brown and done all the way through. Drain on paper towels.

    I didn't actually fry mine all the way since I have a tendency to burn the dickens out of meat trying to make sure it's completely done. I fried them briefly, drained, then baked the rest of the way. I think I prefer them that way!

Enjoy!

A Tasty Treat for Harry Potter

2011-07-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

I won't admit to anything, but...

I might be a huge Harry Potter nerd. Maybe this doesn't accurately represent the Gryffindor lion (someone thought it was a flower from Alice in Wonderland) but they say it's the thought that counts, right?

Top: Salad of lettuce, tomato, broccoli, carrot, pepperoncini. Lion made of yellow squash skin, carrot, nori, black sesame seeds. Dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, spices.
Bottom: Chicken nuggets, brown rice, black sesame seeds, more chicken nuggets.

Those chicken nuggets were especially good! I'll give you the method for making them soon.

It's so Ice to See You! Vegan Ice Cream Recipe

2011-06-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

    Yes! It is officially summer! I completely love the warmer months. We have no air conditioning here, but maaaan - I'd much rather be too hot than too cold! Wintertime has it's perks (comfort food!) but I would not sneer at a chance of perpetual summer. Once it began to warm up at last the plants in the garden immediately started to grow in earnest. I planted some sweet basil expressly for mucho pesto this year. I can't wait for the cherries!

   And what better way to compliment summer than fresh, delicious ice cream? I am a total ice cream fiend (pretty sure it runs in the family) but because of this diet and before that just a general trying-to-avoid-cow-stuffs thing, I really haven't been able to indulge in the greatest treat on the planet recently.

   Well, all that's changed now... :) For those of you avoiding The Moo, or those with some spare fruit, or time, or really just anybody who loves sunshine and happiness (aka ice cream), this is for you! (I noticed my diet has been very slow deteriorating - I don't have the discipline to say no to sugar for this long. Maybe I should be upset, but I'm not!)

   Notes at the end.

Vegan Blueberry Ice Cream
If I knew how much it made... Enough to serve 4 people comfortably - including seconds!

2-4 c fruit (2 c blueberries for me*)
1-3 c milk (1 c soy, 1/2 c coconut cream*)
1/2-3/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
(other extracts or flavoring like rum, lemon, etc. would be great!*)

   1. In a saucepan, heat fruit, sugar and milk until sugar dissolves (should take less than 5 minutes).

   2. With a hand- or regular blender, blend together until mostly smooth. Mix in the vanilla and other flavorings. If you wish to have distinguishable pieces of fruit, mix them in at this point.

   3. Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours, or until the mixture is cool.

   4. Use your ice cream maker as per manufacturer's instructions. Or if you don't have one, try this dude's method.

   5. Homemade ice cream is best eaten that same day. After the ice cream maker produces a soft serve consistency, you can allow the ice cream to solidify a bit more in the freezer for about 30 minutes, then it's a good idea to eat it up*.

   *You can sieve out the skins, but I would suggest leaving them babies in; the skins have all the good stuff.

   *Hemp milk is very creamy stuff and makes great ice cream if you have it. Mine had a bit of a smoothie-like texture, which was good but not the consistency I wanted. Next time I'll use more milk.

   *I slightly curdled my milk on accident by adding lemon juice to the hot liquid... Consequently, the exact same way I make paneer. My head is full of air. I don't know how to add the lemon juice to the mixture without curdling it, but uh... Don't do what I did! Still tasted good, but I was a little concerned how things would turn out.

   *These pictures were taken the second day. My ice cream (I guess partially due to its not-very-creamy nature) did not scoop very well, as you can see. Needs more milk! I think.

   This ice cream was very simple to make and utterly delightful. It was extremely well received around here!

   Enjoy!

Going Eggless

2011-06-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

    Finally, it's starting to feel like summer! I whipped up some delectable blueberry ice cream to celebrate, which I will gladly share with you soon. But first! we have other matters to discuss.

    My posts have been rather thin on the ground this month. I've hardly been eating foods worth mentioning (salad with black beans for like a week, anyone?) and then I was feeling preeetty bad... Though I know it's only temporary, doing this diet has been really difficult! I think I've rarely been so distressed. Take away my food and I'm an emotional wreck (not to say that this isn't normal even with the food)! I'm liable to break down and cry at the mere thought of tomato sauce.

    At any rate, I've added corn and soy back in without incident. I used to dislike soy milk in my cereal; I never thought I would be so happy to taste it again! I find more and more that with food, I need to stop expecting it to taste like something else and just enjoy what it is! Lamb, and gluten free bread, and non-dairy milks are so much better when I do.

    I've been feeling much better since adding those two things, though. In fact, I've been feeling almost good - not a word I'm accustomed to applying to myself these days. I say almost since things still aren't peachy-keen, but I haven't had a really bad night in over a week! However, I do believe I'm in for another decline. Trouble is a-brewin'...

    I added eggs back in at the beginning of this week. When I add a food I try to eat it 3 times that day and then I wait a week for any symptoms to occur. That's the amount of time it takes for gluten to kick in and destroy my guts, but when I eat the gluten I know immediately. My stomach starts gurgling and churning - it isn't wholly uncomfortable, but it's definitely weird.

    At the first bite of egg in my pineapple fried rice (which, by the way, was made with the correct spices this time and tasted completely divine) I knew that there was going to be a few hiccups at Central Control. Everything got all unsettled and antsy and if you INSIST on a space station analogy, I imagine the gurgling was my stomach saying, "Uh, Huston...? We have a problem." And it's been repeating that phrase over and over and over, for about 5 days now.

    Curses! My delicious eggs! It's always the stuff I love the most... Why you gotta hurt me, Eggy? I'm actually not fussed about getting rid of them in baking since there's plenty of great substitutes, but I am totally devastated about no boiled eggs. NOOOO, no more adorable hard boiled egg faces! No more tamagoyaki. No more sunny-side up's with hash browns!

    Well, I'll survive, probably.

    IT'S EASIER TO JUST ACCEPT THESE THINGS.

I guess this is our last goodbye
And you don't care so I won't cry
But you'll be sorry when I'm dead
And all this guilt will be on your head...

Boring Talking

2011-06-05T05:39:00.000-07:00

    I'm starting to notice a trend for this blog... I feel I post up more failures than successes, or at least the failures are a lot more memorable. But what can I say? Most of what I do is poorly planned!

    At any rate, here's some more news of something that hasn't worked: my diet. After 3 weeks, when I was wanting to begin adding foods back in, I noticed that nothing had made any improvement whatsoever. Quite the opposite, in fact; I've felt really bad. Not to mention that I've been outrageously unhappy for about 2 weeks, which is unusual. I can't understand this, seeing as I've been eating far better, with more fruits and vegetables, than I ever have in my whole life. There's only two explanations I can come up with: either I'm having difficulties with one of the few foods I'm still eating, or my troubles are not food related.

    I both hope and dread that the latter is true. If it isn't food related I can eat whatever I want! But then again, if it isn't food related, what the deuce is it? Food related is (highly) regrettable but manageable. Non-food related has the potential to be quite serious, and mysterious (HEH) since no doctor to date has had the faintest idea about what's going on with my insides. It's a real bummer.

    I decided to start adding foods back in despite the fact that I still feel terrible. Removing things didn't help, so I'd rather eat tasties and be miserable than miserable and without tasties. I reintroduced corn and I don't think I had any negative reactions to it. It's so hard to tell, though. Pretty sure I didn't. However, I did eat a little Mexican food and my body strongly protested that! I've eaten at this same place many times - sometimes I feel perfect afterwards, sometimes I feel a little bad... This was in a category of its own. I suppose I shouldn't eat there... Oh well.

    On Monday I'll try soy. Oh, and others have been cooking for me more than I have for myself lately, so no pictures. The few things I've made have been nothing to write home about.

Dirt in a Lovely Lemon and Oil Marinade (Oy Vey)

2011-05-27T23:12:00.000-07:00

Unrivaled artistic ability, right here.

    Is it normal for fish to taste... dirt-like?

    As should be apparent from my having to ask that question, I don't usually eat fish; I don't actually like it. Not much, anyway, unless it's fried or from a can. Yes, I am a classy girl.

    Since I'm on this diet and everything, I've been trying to diversify the foods I consume to find some things I'll want to have after this is all over. It won't do to give myself intolerances to things I can still eat, and anyway, Variety is the spice of life! as my sister always tells me. I've found a few that I'll want to keep around... Dates, for instance. Ohhh my goodness. The appearance they have of mushy honeyed beetles has put me off them for years, but no more! And sweet potatoes, too. I never liked them much, nor yams, but I'm growing to appreciate more now.

    However, after this last experience I've had, I don't really want to venture into fishy cuisine ever again. Was it a bad fish? Does being farm raised make it bad? I know it's not desirable, but farmed raised doesn't mean it has to taste like dirt, does it? I marinated it in lemon juice and ginger and olive oil, and it smelled good while cooking, and a little piece off the edge tasted nice, but when I ate some from the middle it really just... tasted like dirt, with some lemon juice on it. Lemony dirt. It was a tilapia fillet, and it was very cheap. CAN I REALLY BE BLAMED WHEN THEY'RE ON SALE?

    I also made some coconut brown rice to go with it. Yeah... that didn't work out either. It had the loveliest, creamy flavor, but I cooked it for like, over an hour and it was still hard. This one I must attempt again though, because the flavor was just divine. I crunched my way through two servings of it, which just goes to show.

    I made a salad, too. Just some random stuff and salt. At least that was good!

Roasted Veggies and Chicken Breasts

2011-05-19T21:11:00.000-07:00

There's nothing special about this dish, but it just turned out to be the most flavorful and lovely meal I've had since starting my diet. It was very simple to prepare, just chopping the vegetables and chicken and throwing them into a baking pan.

You can see most of what I had in there... Chicken, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, onions, cabbage (turned into burnt cabbage paper - surprisingly good!), carrots, celery and a few radishes (are you even supposed to cook those?). I mixed the juice from a lemon with olive oil and rosemary and sprinkled them all with basil and salt.

Things got a little burnt in the process but I kind of like that, anyway. Just great flavor overall!

My Elimination Diet

2011-05-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

    Well! A lot of experimentation has been going on in the kitchen recently. On Monday last week I began an Elimination Diet. I've been rather struggling to find things to eat, since I somewhat made the diet up myself (sound familiar?) and have had difficulty finding meal plans that suit my fabricated regime. While I think I already know the cause of all my troubles (dairy, once you count out gluten) I nevertheless felt I ought to do the thing right and start back at the basics.

I'm removing:
refined sugars
dairy
soy
eggs
peanuts
grains (sans brown rice)
corn
citrus (save lemons, for seasoning purposes)
apples
nightshades (tomato, potato, peppers, paprika, etc)
yeast
vinegar
mushrooms
caffeine
garlic

    ...When I say doing the thing RIGHT I really mean doing it kind of, in a manner of speaking, correctly. Without heaping spoonfuls of sugar to tide me over I've resorted to other means... I've eaten more honey in the past week than I have in my whole life, probably. And with spices and the like I haven't been willing to check what family they come from, in case I'll have to get rid of them, too. I may only be harming myself, but if I can't add a tablespoon of cumin seeds to some vegetables, what's the point!

    I think I'm missing garlic the most, though. They don't generally say to cut it out, but advise that you scratch anything you eat regularly. Maybe it's not something to boast about, but I will anyway - 7 or 8 large cloves of garlic in one dish is completely acceptable in my book! As we say here, you can never really have too much garlic; it's a myth.

    After about 3-4 weeks I hope I'll be feeling better so I can start adding things back into the mix. I've been trying to decide between corn, soy and, um, potatoes. Corn and soy would both make my meals far easier and more diverse, but I just love potatoes! I've already planned on making some up, all herbed and mashed and delicious...

    Well anyway! If anything turns out properly, I'll take some pictures to share :)

A Mother's Day Meal: Butter Chicken & Saag Paneer

2011-05-13T15:32:00.000-07:00

    Well, so much for my plans of special magnificence! I intended this Mother's Day meal to be a whole lot more spectacular than it actually turned out to be... I got a little less than 3 hours of sleep and felt completely terrible in my gut region. But hey, it's an important day. My mom has toughed out a lot worse for me, so it was worth it!

    In the end the results were not very pretty (nor the pictures; I was too tired to do the thing right) but the food was actually really good. Considering this was my first time making Indian food, I'm rather pleased with the outcome. Also considering I made up the recipes to begin with... and then further altered them to the point that I can't really tell you what happened in the kitchen that day... I'm amazed the finished product came out edible.

    My mom loves it when other people cook for her and she loves Indian food, so I thought this would be the perfect way to show some appreciation. All for you momma :)

Well, first, I'll tell you what I had all planned out. It would be another pseudo 3-course meal, opening on salad with Indian-spiced dressing (I titled it "Indian-Inspired Salad" which greatly amuses me for some reason). The main course would be Saag Paneer and Butter Chicken, with homemade gluten free naan and basmati rice. And then for dessert we would have lovely yogurt parfaits (my mom avoids sugar).

    The first thing I noticed when I began cooking was that the container of yogurt that had been full Saturday evening miraculously had less than a cup left Sunday afternoon. The parfaits of my dreams went sailing gloomily out the kitchen window. I cut up the fruit a little dejectedly and made some whipped cream, but we were all too full to eat any by the end anyway (I had some later with a piece of naan and it was actually quite delicious).

    The salad ended up being a bit of a humdrum little bitty, but tasted good enough. It had everyday salad fixings in there with garbanzo beans and a dressing of oil and lemon juice with some cayenne, cinnamon (this made it in my opinion), coriander powder I think?, a little turmeric, some salt, etc. I didn't take pictures of it since it did look somewhat lackluster.

    The main course really saved the day fortunately. Unfortunately, though, I'm really not sure what I did in there. I wish I could give you recipes because they're definitely worth making but... Oh well! With both the Saag and the Butter Chicken I realized too late that there just wasn't enough for 4 people. I kind of had to basically make them twice. Oops. That was when things started getting a teensy bit discombobulated, as might be expected. I went throwing things into the pot at random and figured we had plenty of canned soup if things went awry. More experienced cooks would of course never have had this problem. And they also wouldn't scape out the seeds of a spicy pepper with just-cut-very-short fingernails. But uh... You live and learn! Hopefully! (My poor fingers are mending up nicely now, though.)

Oh, and I also had some "fun" with food coloring! Butter Chicken in restaurants uses additional coloring apparently, since the natural result is a pale orange. While mine was simmering away and the kitchen had calmed down some (what do they say about idle minds?), I did begin to notice that it had a sliiightly unsavory tinge about it. We had some cheap food coloring in the cupboard so I said to myself, WHY NOT, MAN? in my typical too-rash fashion. I added a few drops of red. It, um... If you think pale grey-orange is unsavory looking, you should try pale grey-orangey-pink. I hastily dropped in some yellow and was monetarily horrified at how unyellow it looked. Happily, things did even out and it produced the color that you see, which is remarkably similar to the original. From this I will take one simple lesson to the grave: Don't fiddle with foods that look perfectly fine naturally. Or just get better food coloring. Either one.

    Maybe it was all a little too adventurous on 3 hours of sleep, but at least it was informative. I really wish I would have taken a picture of the kitchen afterwards. It was like a tornado had gone through and ravaged the place!

    Mom, I hope you enjoyed it!

    PS - Here's a link (and video) to one of the many recipes I used for inspiration. I followed his method fairly closely.

Pineapple Fried Rice (Thai Style)

2011-05-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

    Mmmm... Thai Pineapple Fried Rice. It doesn't get much better than this! Fried rice has been one of my favorite dishes since I was a wee ankle biter, along with mashed potatoes and gravy. There's a Thai place here that makes THE BEST Pineapple Fried Rice, but it's a bit pricey. I wanted to try to replicate it myself since that's always the cheaper option. The results were delish even with a... minor goof when I first made it...

    Okay, so. I couldn't find the curry powder in the cupboard so I asked where it was. Some was given to me and I threw it right in, never stopping to consider that the smell was a bit off for Thai cooking. I went about my merry business. Upon serving, I thought something tasted a little weird but I couldn't figure out what the heck it was... It took a lot of dinner table speculation, but we finally nailed it. Obviously the Indian spices didn't quite belong and got a liiitle bit ornery when the other flavors started poking fun. They could hardly be detected in the end, but just make sure you're using Thai curry powder :)

    As with any fried rice recipe, all vegetable options are, of course, optional, as well as the cashews and raisins (I didn't have them, so I didn't add them). And naturally all of the quantities can be altered, too.

Pineapple Fried Rice
makes 2 servings

heaping plate of cooled, cooked rice
1c pineapple chunks (fresh is less sweet and more fragrant)
handful cashews
handful raisins
1-2? chicken breast
2 green onions, thinnly sliced
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
handful spinach, torn
1 carrot, thinnly sliced
1 sticks celery, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
small wedge ginger, minced
1-2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp chicken stock
2 tbsp fish or soy sauce
2 tsp curry powder (make sure it's Thai!)

    1. Heat oil* in a pan over high heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, veggies and chicken to pan and sautee.
    2. Add rice and mix together.
    3. Either make a well in the center of the rice and pour egg in, stirring it until lightly cooked, or simply pour the egg over the rice and stir to incorporate.
    4. Mix together stock, soy/fish sauce and curry powder, then pour over rice and stir until rice is evenly coated.
    5. Fold in pineapple and cashews. Continue mixing until they are heated, and then remove from stove.

    *I used chili oil. You can use any type.
    *I tend to prefer adding just a bit of soy/fish sauce while cooking so that each person can customize their own serving. To each his/her own, though.
    *Some lime or lemon juice would be a great addition!

    Have fun!

Spanish Flan Recipe

2011-05-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

    Okay, for real, I LOVE flan. I love all custard and flan is the best variation there is, in my humble (and correct) opinion. This recipe was surprisingly easy and fun to make. I've never tried making caramel before so felt a bit nervous about it all, but there was no need to fret. Notes at the end.

Spanish Flan (original recipe here)

1c white sugar*
5 eggs*
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk*
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
    2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt sugar until liquefied and golden in color*. This should take quite some time, 30-40 minutes. Do not stir until it is mostly liquid. Be very careful towards the end, because it can go from perfectly fine to burned in a few seconds.
    3. Carefully pour hot syrup into a 9 inch round glass baking dish*, turning the dish to evenly coat the bottom and sides. Set aside.
    4. In a large bowl*, beat eggs. Beat in condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour egg mixture into baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil.
    5. Bake in preheated oven 60 minutes. Let cool completely*.
    6. To serve, carefully invert cooled dish onto a serving plate with edges.

    *I used 1 1/3c because I... love sugar.
    *Original calls for 3 eggs. If you want the texture to be more firm, use more eggs. I thought 5 was perfect, but some people use far more (like 8).
    *I don't know if any subsitutions would work for custard, but I would try doing 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk and use plain yogurt for the rest to tone it down juuuust a bit.
    *I added a few drops of lemon juice (don't ask me why; I just read that you should and I was cutting a lemon while this was liqufiying, so what the heck).
    *Mine was the wrong size and this totally complicated matters. Try to use the correct dimentions on this one!
    *I mixed everything up in the blender.
    *Best results if left in the fridge overnight.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Dinner!

2011-04-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

We had a birthday here recently! We're not so much about the present-giving on birthdays anymore in my family, and more about the good food and company. While I personally do love presents, I can do without if family is involved :) It was pretty casual, with 4 (out of 8) of us there, but it was nice.

I did the meal planning this time around. I went with something fairly simple due to picky eaters around here. Here's the pictures!

apples, watercress, ginger, lemon juice, raisins

I made it into a psuedo 3-course meal (mostly just to sound fancy). The first course was an apple dealio. I totally stole this idea from a flickr photo I saw, but I don't know who did it. Either way, it was so tasty! I'd add honey next time, since it was a bit tart. I cut both stacks down the center and served it like a salad.

The second and main course was just sandwiches, with a nice presentation. Sadly I only took pictures of the fixings...

Tri-tip steak sandwiches with swiss cheese melted in the broiler.

There was also lemon-cucumber water with the meal. Sooo good.

Haha! I tried a new bread recipe...
Tasted good, but didn't hold up at all. I'll keep looking.

...and the horrendous aftermath, so you'll just have to take my word on it that it actually was nice before!

Bad pictures, but just trust me! It tasted great.

The dessert course was flan. The recipe was easy (I'll post it up later!) but I didn't use the correct size dish to bake it in and thus had some problems. Mainly, I had to cook this thing for FOREVER and it was still slightly runny in the center while being a bit overcooked on the outside. It was extremely rich and creamy and delicious, though!

Overall, it was a success. I highly recommend that lemon-cucumber water, too. It's the perfect drink for summer!

Who Doesn't Like Bento?

2011-04-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

On a very rare occasion I'll make a pretty bento. I don't do these as an every day, pack-your-lunch-to-be-healthy type thing. I don't have the stamina for that! I just think they're totally adorable and I'm somewhat (completely) obsessed with them. I have two bento boxes that I rarely use but love to death. Food looks so good in them. So! When I actually do happen to get one together, I'll post it here because they are lovely :)

Top: rice with salt/black sesame seeds, a Polish salad of tomatoes, onions, dill, vinegar, olive oil, etc.
Bottom: Kebabs with teriyaki-marinated beef, yellow squash, zucchini, yellow grape tomatoes and onions, fruit cup of peaches and bananas.

Spaghetti Napolitan from Cooking With Dog (Yum!)

2011-04-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

If y'all don't watch cookingwithdog for tasty inspiration, you REALLY need to start. Most of the recipes are Japanese (for, uh... obvious reasons) but she has great technique and ideas. I've made quite a few of her recipes and they have been pretty much great every time. Plus Francis the poodle is so cute :)

I love spaghetti of any variety, but this Spaghetti Napolitan is one of the best variations I've ever had! You can put whatever the heck you want into it (I added yellow squash. Broccoli and zucchini would have been yummy as well). It's a good way to sneak in lots of veggies!

A few notes:
    -I only put just a tiny squirt of ketchup (and got complaints about even that!) and the rest was just tomato puree, home-canned tomatoes and a dash of vinegar. Personally I liked the ketchup (you could barely taste it, of course) but people in this house didn't like the sweetness it gave. If you like ketchup, go for it!
    -I used canned ham since I had it on hand. Leftover ham would work perfectly, too.
    -The noodles are Ancient Harvest Quinoa Spaghetti Noodles. They're my favorite!

    I highly recommend this one!

Super Simple Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-04-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

Ah... Flourless. That's a beautiful word these days; full of promise. And what I love most is when I hear of flourless desserts that are usually supposed to have flour. For instance, flourless chocolate cake, or flourless cookies. Whenever I see these recipes I feel as though my eyes open up wider than humanly possible and sparkle with wonder. Wait... these are flourless?! You just made my day!

This peanut butter cookie recipe is the easiest thing ever to make. I don't even know where I got it from - I've just had the recipe in my head for ages. Super simple and super good. It's worth using good quality peanut butter in these cookies, but whatever ya got is going to work great (these particular ones were made from the cheapest of cheap ingredients, but they turned out spectacularly!).

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
makes about two dozen

1c peanut butter
1c sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
handful chocolate chips (optional)

    1. Preheat oven to 350F.
    2. Mix all ingredients together thoroughly.
    3. Form into balls and place onto lightly greased cookie sheet.
    4. Press the top of each ball with the tines of a fork into a crisscross pattern.
    5. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.
    6. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before attempting to move from pan. They're very delicate while warm, but they firm up and get crispy when they've cooled.
    7. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

    Next time I'm thinking less sugar, for these are really rather rich (good for portion control, I suppose). And maybe replace the sugar with honey instead. After all, peanut butter and honey sandwiches have always been tasty!

Yum :)