Gluten-free "G"

Naturally Gluten-free

2018-03-16T11:11:00.004-07:00

I love “naturally” gluten-free foods: potato, rice, corn, teff (see Ian Finn Ethiopian cookbook!), cassava, and more. No wonder then that I love taco night at our house each week. What could be more delicious than naturally gluten-free crispy corn tortillas filled with refried beans, fresh guacamole (see The Gluten free Guide to Vegetarian Recipes by Ian Finn), tomatoes, shredded jack cheese, and salsa. We like to keep it extra healthy so that’s organic kale and criminology mushroom sauté on the side. Here’s my vegetarian refried beans recipe, increase amounts as needed to feed a larger group:

1 can organic pinto or black beans drained and rinsed in colander

1/4 cup clear vegetable oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon cumin seed whole or ground

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon paprika or dried ground chipotle pepper or dried red pepper flakes (if you like it hot)
1/4 diced tomatoes (optional) or 1/4 salsa (optional) - they add more flavor

Heat oil on medium in thick bottomed sauce pan - I use cast iron skillet. Then add spices and garlic and flash in pan for one minute (you don’t want to burn the garlic). Then add beans and mash into oil mixture with a potato masher or similar. Leave some texture. Then stir in: 1/3 cup filtered water mixing well and lower heat to simmer lightly for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool a bit. Then serve in tacos or over tostadas with all your favorite fixings.

Gluten-free Passover Goodies

2018-03-16T11:09:00.002-07:00

I love sweets. It was a sadness for me when I had to leave behind all “sinfully sweet” desserts when I went gluten free. The ones I make at home are good, even great (see "Intro to Vegan Baking" by Ian Finn), but they are healthful! No empty calories, artificial colorants, or refined sweeteners in my baking regimen. However, it's fun and nostalgic to enjoy those treats from time to time.
How fun then, when I discovered around Passover time (the annual Jewish holiday) due to restrictions on grain and flour for one week, special cakes are made with potato starch and other gluten free alternatives! Coconut macaroons (different than popular almond flour French macarons, which top my list of gluten free favorites) have long been a mainstay. But roll cake with Filbert fudge filling? Cookies and rainbow cake cookies (an Italian favorite) with apricot paste filling??! Who knew? If you’re lucky enough to have Jewish bakeries or community nearby keep your eye out for these lovely delights each Spring. And gluten-free Matzoh (the crisp cracker like flatbread that baked on the backs of fleeing slaves several thousand years ago and is eaten each year to commemorate and build solidarity with any who are enslaved wordwide)? Yup they are making that too. My baby loves it cooked up like a scramble after soaking French toast-style with milk and eggs.

I’m catching up on posting this past years Blog’s this week with fun pics and recipes from 2017-2018. More to come!

2016-11-12T17:08:00.003-08:00

Gluten-free Vegan Paleo Almond Zucchini Bread

gluten-free vegan paleo almond zuke bread

Made with whole blanched (skins removed) almond flour, whole plantain flour (check your Latin foods store), totally Vegan (sometimes its nice to eschew animal products completely), and whole shredded zucchini (I always believed the best desserts let you eat your veggies) you could call this Paleo with a post-modern, farmer's market twist....

1/2 cup corn flour (its a fine grind not coarse like for polenta)
1/3 cup plantain flour
1/3 cup rice flour
1/3 cup almond flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt (it must be from the sea or else the recipe will not work... no I'm kidding)
2 TABLESPOONS ground flax seed

1/2 cup clear vegetable oil (such as grapeseed or canola)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup organic granulated sweetener (such as pure cane sugar)
1/2 cup milk (any)
1/3 cup buttermilk (or regular, any, if you cannot find) or soy yogurt

1 large zucchini, shredded (on a box grater or with food processor) which is 2 cups packed once shredded
1/3 cup minced pecans (or walnuts or almonds)

Sift the dry together in a mixing bowl.
Beat the wet together with a wire whisk in another mixing bowl.
Stir the dry into the wet.
Then fold in the zucchini and nuts with a big mixing spoon.
Oil some baking containers (any sizes will do... muffin tins, mini loaf pans, cake pan)...
Bake at 350 until done 20-40 minutes depending if you use small or large baking vessels.

Enjoy! (and please, if you copy/ reproduce my work, give me a credit/ a link/ a mention).

GLUTEN-FREE GUIDE TO VEGETARIAN RECIPES my book with some more great recipes

I remember being a skinny little skateboarder back in the day, with skinned knees and elbows, falling hard as I strived to be better, believing *everybody* had something to say. My ideas were vast, but on the food level: Vegetarianism, veganism, natural foods, gluten-free, world cuisine, growing locally, eating seasonally, Macrobiotics, and other radical ideas piqued my interest. Some became mere fads for me (such as the short-lived year-long raw foods diet replete with raw broccoli stalk snacks and sprouted chickpea hummus... wonder I had time to do anything but prepare food those days, so time consuming meal prep had become...). I learned to grow.. gardening in backyard plots... to cook... tempeh stir frys galore in my salad years... health and nutrition became interests. I worked in a vegetarian restaurant.. making falafel burgers... mopping floors. I learned that hard work yielded a better product, whether it was making my own ketchup and mustard (actions which unwittingly foreshadowed the slow food movement to come)... growing my own food.. or simply taking the time to plan meals and menus....
Life is a creative process and we invent meaning constantly and refine our ideals and concepts. Yup. It's an independent collaboration. So you can't simply conform and adopt a list of bands and beliefs and outfits and fit in. You have to think for yourself. You have to adopt ideas that won't always be popular or well understood. You have to dare to be truly different and not simply tweet what all your friends and followers already agree on and believe in and pat each other on the back and tell each other how great you are. You could keep doing this... it's been a historic process for quite some time... but your life will lack the flavor and sustenance of Paleo Almond Zucchini sweet-bread.

Gluten free Skillet Cornbread

2016-10-11T11:02:00.004-07:00

There's a time and a skillet for everyone. I like mine half past the hour, cast iron, and well seasoned. Many a cornbread have been baked in mine. I like my cornbread rustic, not refined; dense, hearty, the stuff of sopping up soups and stews. Many add sugar, white flour, and more, while down here at the ranch we keep it simple: cornmeal (always use corn "flour" or an extra-fine grind, or else it will come out tasting like grits), egg, milk/water/buttermilk, and that's it. It's best when served fresh on day one, although a quick trip in the toaster oven or microwave will revive it the next day.

Available in my cookbook

Ingredients:
2 cups corn flour (finely ground cornmeal)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup filtered water
1 cup buttermilk (or milk, any)
2 eggs

Have you cooked with me before? If so, then you know the routine:
Mix up the dry in one bowl
Beat up the wet in another
Stir the dry into the wet
Add to a well-oiled pre-heated cast-iron skillet (ok, fine, you can use glass or a baking tin if that's all you have)
Bake at 400 about 30 mins. (check center with thin knife and is ready when comes out dry; center should have "springy" mattress consistency)

whisking batter

fully baked

2016-08-19T12:10:00.002-07:00

Gluten Free Carrot Cake (and philosophies)

Lots to say and as a native New Yorker, not a lot of time to say it... thoughts stacking/ interlocking/ vying for attention. Here's one...
- Now fast approaching being "an elder" of the art, I recall being 19, full of zest, and on fire to work in kitchens, connect with farmers, and push "my/our" way of doing food: a little bit of the 1970's "back to the land" movement meets Alice Water's "farm to table" meets peace-punk rock ideals of less consumption and local reliance (as well as international respect)... so I started washing working the counter and mopping floors and then ended up running an all vegetarian, internationally themed, highly vegan/ local produce/ gluten-free café for 10 years... a decade before it came to the attention of the widespread public (and thank goodness it did, with estimates of 1 in 120 people with Celiac, many undiagnosed), we were going gluten-free on menus starting way back in the days. But here we are, 2016, and the world has woken up.... food is fresher, localer, and more vegetably than it was 20 years ago. Gluten-free options abound.

But the game has changed.... there's deception (many advertise they use local goods untruthfully... or promote themselves as "green" or "small" when in fact they are YUGE as we like to say in NY)... what purports to be "healthful" often is not (you have to be a true food and health detective to sort it all out)... and "local" now means EXPENSIVE in many cases. When I started at this game (life/food), 20 years ago, Farmer's Market was where you went to get cheap, fresh, local food. Locals shopped there. Country folk. We're talking North Central Florida and it was a down-home get-down. There was a guy playing fiddle. No, really, there was a guy (often a few, seated in a circle), playing fiddle. Heck, it was a FARMER'S market. I was friendly, made connections, and soon Farmers were driving the truck up to the Café before/after market and selling us bushels of this and that. Sometimes we even went to the fields and helped them pick. That's part of my life and I'm getting older now and have seen it evolve and lived to tell about it....

NOW... last weekend, I went to a local Farmer's Market here in the city. It was more expensive than Whole Foods. A lot more expensive. Prohibitively expensive. So what happened? I suspect with the advent of WIC and other government-issued food vouchers, vendors raised prices rightly guessing that people would pay it (can't use those slips for much else). It's tough. What begins as a well-intentioned move: providing low income folks with food voucher slips that Market vendors can redeem for cash, has the un-intended effect of pushing out middle class buyers who can't afford to pay $15 a lb (yes they were $15 a lb) for baby eggplants. So mid-road folks get pushed out of the Farmer's Market and back to the Super-Market... now again buying lemons shipped from Kalamazoo. Our food revolution backfired a bit?

RECIPES.... oh yeah.... Here's a step by step from this mornings baking adventure. Gluten free (vegan) Carrot Cake.... one of my favorites...

The steps are pretty basic: Dry mix, Wet mix, Stir together... add carrots/raisins/nuts... Bake... Glaze
Good times....

Recipe? ... yes... I should post one... For now, just enjoy the pictures, recipe to follow.

From The Gluten-free Guide to Vegetarian Recipes http://amzn.to/2btoT56

dry mix with whole nutmeg (grate it with microplane grater and prepare to have your mind blown)

stirring the dry into the wet

grating carrot on box grater, one of greatest inventions of humankind

mixed up... I added a little TEFF flour... hence the dark color

stirring in nuts and carrot

see how the cake pulled away from the sides of the pan? That's a good look

"Don't you wish your carrot cake was hot like me?"

Paleo Plantain Flour Chocolate Cake

2016-07-30T10:01:00.004-07:00

Paleo unrefined gluten-free Plantain Flour Chocolate Cake

gluten-free paleo plantain flour chocolate cake by Ian Finn

Welcome back folks. This summer has seen a lot of exciting activity for SLP. Our cookbooks layout/design got a double-makeover (same awesome content): new covers, and also new interior layouts/ designs, 2nd and 3rd editions updated. Full color spreads for a number of the books: Ethiopian-inspired, Intro to Vegan Baking, Gluten-free Guide, in PRINT (yes, color in PRINT), as well as updated Kindle ebook versions and more affordable updated black and white print editions. Something for everybody.

www.snowlionz.com

I've been off the blog for a minute... the website/ cookbook overhaul. But I haven't stopped cooking. I'm back (with a bang, as you'll see in today's recipes), and my goal is to produce a recipe post a week and not fall to the wayside again.

I do it because I love it. This is how I cook and eat at home and I'm good at it. I like to share what I'm good at it, and I truly appreciate it when others share their talents and skills with me. I started this way back in the days.... after years of home-cooking and restaurant working...

In 2007 I published an Ethiopian cookbook, a style of food I'd been cooking for 10 years. A few years later I published a gluten-free cookbook. At that time, Amazon, and Kindle, were relatively new. There weren't a lot of titles and mine was a truly homegrown operation: I was binding the books at home on the weekend while watching movies!

Now, the market abounds. Home cooks, major corporations... everyone's gotten in on it! There's aspects to that I like. It's great being able to do an internet search for "plantain flour" and turn up a dozen interesting recipes and commentaries. Couldn't do that in 1998!

There's conflicts in the movements (which can be good, produces new solutions, new results, and ever new questions). Paleos want raw, unrefined, acknowledging gluten-free. Gluten-free products abound (but many of them mass-produced and nutritionally devoid, don't meet unrefined standards). Vegans fight corporate cruelty (but Paleos want raw meat). And on... (I think these debates are healthy, actually).

Aspects of my cookbook journey are bittersweet, as well. My Gluten-free book shows up on page 20 of Amazon gluten-free vegan books if you do a simple search... page 20, not item 20... it's a loonggggg way down lol.... but I was the first! (literally, truly, to publish a Gluten-free vegetarian cookbook on Amazon). And my recipes remain largely untried and undiscovered as I sit a needle in a haystack (without an advertising budget and the time or interest to market aggressively as the newer products have)... break out the world's smallest violin and start playing a "sad song"!! (lol)

My Ethiopian-inspired cookbook, widely available in the US on Amazon for 10 years in both print and digital formats, featuring affordable Vegetarian recipes (it first sold for $5!), crafted from a weekly dinner I used to host at my Café for ten years, is still available.

I'm still here. Still doing it. And I'm pleased to note that Paleo... which I've been avoiding (I didn't want to get caught up in another food fad hype), may be truer to my heart than I first realized. It's essentially the "back-to-the-land" 1970s style, with whole, unrefined ingredients. I like that.

So I woke up and made this recipe, feeling inspired, hopeful, and hungry. Enjoy.

Dry:

1.5 cups plantain flour (look in Latin foods section)
2/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 TABLESPOONS ground flaxseed

Wet:

1 cup agave syrup or maple syrup
2 eggs
1/2 cup clear vegetable oil or virgin coconut oil (melted to warm room temp)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk or similar (soy, almond, coconut, rice milk or plain water)

Glaze:

2 teaspoon cocoa powder
2 TABLESPOONS coconut oil (x-virgin, softened)
1/4 cup agave syrup or maple syrup

Sift the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk all the wet ingredients together.
Then stir in the dry to the wet in one bowl.
Grease a cake-sized baking pan, pour mix in, and bake 40 minutes in 350 degree oven (preheated).
Toothpick or sharp knife inserted to middle should come out clean, else bake 10 more minutes.
Cool to room temp, the top with glaze (whisk well or beat until glaze is homogenous texture/ emulsified/ not separated).
Enjoy. (it's fantastic)

gluten-free flours abound in my local Latin neighborhood

the dry and wet mixes

batter consistency

glazed

Fried Plantains- Cuban style- fried Platanos, or Tostones

2016-02-20T21:30:00.000-08:00

I've been busy...

Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

among other things.... I've been cooking and eating.... which has me to thinking: although I haven't "broken into" the mainstream (and maybe never will?), despite writing about wildly popular topics (gluten-free, vegan/ vegetarian, Ethiopian) *before* they were popular... I will always cook. I will always write. Why? That's what cookers (cooks?) and writers do. They cook and they write. I also love to eat. I live to eat and I eat to live. So as long as I live, as long as I eat, I will cook, and I will (with varying frequency) write about it. That's my story. What's yours?

Cuban-style Fried Plantains: Tostones:

A delectable dish made with "unripe" green plantains (cooking bananas). The sweet ones are good too (maduros), and that's another recipe for another time. The secret to making the true Cuban style (I'm not Cuban but I'm from South Florida and worked with Cuban chefs/ friends over the years), is to "twice fry" the plantains: First fry, then remove from cooking oil and crush into disks (circular rounds) using the bottom of a coffee cup or metal can (of beans, for example) or glass jar (they all work) and then fry a second time! So follow the pictures below for instructions:

- Use unripe green skinned "plantains" or platanos (Spanish) Cooking Bananas (not the sweet variety which you can eat raw when they ripen, these are thicker/ bigger, found in Latin/ Spanish/ African/ Asian stores/ produce section)

- peel Plantains (this is the most work; be careful with the knife: make an incision/ or slit in the thick green skin down the length of the banana; cut off each end; using your fingers, dig into the "slit" and then the skin should come off fairly evenly in one or two pieces as you dig/ peel around the banana removing the skin in its entirety

- slice (maybe 1/2 inch thick) into rounds

- fry in a neutral cooking oil (medium to medium-high heat, it should never smoke) that does well at a high heat (doesn't smoke/ burn) for 2-4 minutes (will depend on how hot your oil/ how thick your slices): canola, safflower, corn, peanut, sunflower work best; use organic, if I told you the hells that they put non-organic oils through (chemical processes), you would not be happy; later, when you're done cooking, after the oil has cooled, you can strain it, remove debris, and re-use (store in cold storage in the refrigerator)

- it's best to use a pot with high sides like a saucepan NOT the cast iron skillet I used in my pictures... because then the slices will submerge completely in the oil and cook evenly without having to be turned or moved around... however you can use less oil as I did in my photos and get by, just be *very* careful as you are working with hot oil which is quite dangerous

- remove plantains from oil with metal slatted spoon (has holes in it) or metal tongs, place on plate lined with paper towel or cotton cloth, let cool for a few minutes, then on flat surface such as cutting board, smash with mug/ can/ glass (you choose), let mug/can/ cup rest on top of each plantain "round", then press downward and twist "smashing device" as you press in spiral motion to create flat/ round/ spiral sun shape

- re-fry for several minutes until they are crisp (not burnt), drain on plate lined with paper towels or cotton cloth to soak up excess oil, and serve with a great dipping sauce

- Dipping sauce ideas: equal parts "nayo" (vegan mayonnaise) or mayo/ ketchup/ dash of hot sauce, or cilantro/ garlic/ green hot pepper (such as jalapeno)/ yogurt/ sour cream puree

Gluten free Holiday Honey-Cake

2013-12-29T15:28:00.000-08:00


Gluten-free Holiday Honey Cake Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

GLUTEN-FREE HOLIDAY HONEY-CAKE HONEY!

Wow! The best holiday honey-cake recipe yet. And perhaps the BEST gluten-free cake recipe to date: Moist, flavorful, with a perfect crumb... this 100% gluten-free recipe is not just delicious- it's HEALTHFUL too! Loaded with fiber, nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and low in refined white sugar, this cake is a phenomenal way to enjoy family time over coffee or tea during these cooler winter months. What's that??? Yes.... it's EASY TO MAKE as well.

So start sifting, stirring, and mixing.... then ENOY!

Happy Holidays :)

Ian Finn's Best Gluten-free recipes and Books here (digital and print)

Ingredients:

Liquid:

2 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar or evaporated cane juice/ turbinado/ demerara

1/4 cup milk (any) or water

2 TABLESPOONS clear vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey

4 TABLESPOONS apple sauce

1/4 cup brewed strong dark coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry:

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour (note: buckwheat flour is NOT wheat flour, it is gluten-free)

1/4 cup finely ground cornmeal/ corn flour (NOT cornstarch)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger (or nutmeg for a different flavor)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda (make sure it is fresh, so it works)

1 TABLESPOON cornstarch

1 and 1/2 TABLESPOON ground flax seed

Glaze:

1/4 cup honey

1 TABLESPOON maple syrup (optional)

juice of 2 limes or 1 lemon

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1/2 teaspoon "zest" from limes or lemon (grated peel, colored part, but not bitter white pith beneath color, use microplane grater) (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees while preparing cake.
Mix the Dry together well in a mixing bowl.
Whisk the Wet together well in a separate mixing bowl.
Combine the two in a large mixing bowl.
Oil a 8x8 inch square baking dish (metal, disposable aluminum, glass, or porcelain) or a 9 inch diameter cake round (seen below).
Pour mixture in and bake for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees (check, may need 10 more minutes).
Center should be firm like mattress bed when done (you can also test by inserting knife or toothpick and see if it comes out clean).
You can prepare Glaze while cake cooks, by whisking glaze ingredients together in small bowl.
Cool to room temp on baking trivet, pour glaze on top and down sides, then slice and serve.


preparing Glaze for finished cake Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

NYC Gluten Free Pizza reviews site

2013-12-20T20:59:00.000-08:00

Gluten-free pizza? New York City? Heck yeah.

Jap Chae Korean style sweet potato noodles

2013-12-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

Japchae sweet potato starch noodles (also known as Dangmyun) taste delicious. And they're good for you too! Suprisingly, this Korean-inspired dish is easy to prepare: Boil your noodles (about 7 minutes, until soft but still has "bite"), drain them, then rinse in cool water. Meanwhile, while waiting for your water to boil and noodles to cook, prepare your vegetable, sauce and meat. The sauce is simple: 3 parts soy sauce to 1 part sugar, 1 part dark toasted sesame oil, 1/2 part minced garlic. For one small pack noodles (follow directions on bag- and yes, you can get Japchae noodles at any Asian market- just ask for Japchae or sweet potato noodles), start with about 6 TABLESPOONS soy sauce and adjust the other ingredients to follow (2 TABLESPOONS each except the garlic which would be 1 TABLESPOON). Veggie Prep is as follows:

1 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced

1 pound beef brisket (or tempeh), finely sliced (you can buy pre-cut very fine at Asian market)

1 cup thinly sliced onion

1 cup carrots, sliced into matchstick style pieces

1 bunch green onions, scallions, cut into 2 inch long halved segments

1 bunch spinach (washed, boiled for 3 minutes, then drained and coarsely chopped)

Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

Marinate: the beef and mushrooms in 1/2 the sauce

Meanwhile: Stir fry the onions first in a little vegetable oil (a few TABLESPOONS canola or corn) in a wok on medium-high heat until just soft, then add the carrots and cook for 5-7 minutes until soft (add a little oil if the pan starts to dry out). Remove from pan. Then do the same for the green onions: 5-7 minutes should be enough time for each. Set both the cooked carrots and green onions aside.

By now (if you are multitasking), your water has boiled and noodles are cooked/ drained/ rinsed/ cooled. So set them aside as well. Use kitchen scissors to cut through the noodle batch in different sections so that they are not too long to mix. Now on to the last few steps!

Prepare the spinach as instructed in ingredient list (rinse/ boil/ drain/ chop), then set aside.

So you're ready for the last step: Stir-fry the meat and mushrooms (or tempeh and mushrooms) in the wok in some vegetable oil (again a few TABLESPOONS will suffice). Never smoke your oil (if the temp is too hot, it will smoke- if this happens, turn the temp down a little). Cook the mushrooms and meat together (remember, they were marinated in 1/2 the sauce, so pour in the marinade as well) for 7-9 minutes on a medium-high heat, until the meat is cooked through and the mushrooms are soft. Remove and set aside.

At this point, you are ready to MIX. Get a large vessel- a pot, a pan, a serving tray, it really doesn't matter. You just need something big enough to comfortably mix all of the above ingredients PLUS the remaining 1/2 sauce. Once it's all mixed, sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top and you are ready to serve and eat!

If you like, you can serve room at room temp, or if you prefer, place in a foil or oven-safe glass or ceramic serving dish and briefly reheat in the oven (10-15 minutes on medium heat should suffice).

Summer Quinoa Tabouli Salad

2013-07-05T09:01:00.001-07:00

It feels good to sweat. Perhaps not the loveliest way to begin a food blog but it is true. I had gone too long without vigorous exercise staying in for the cold winter months. Summer is here and the appetite I feel after my workouts is a healthy and vigorous one. I feel refreshed as my endocrine system does the work of cleansing my lymphatic system, purifying my blood, organs, and tissues. What better way to eat guilt free, after such healthy activity, than a protein and calcium powerhouse like quinoa? Virtually fat free and loaded with vitamins and fiber, this super-food happens to taste great too.
   Quinoa has a fascinating history, originating from the regions near modern day Peru, in South America, and it currently is enjoying a "discovery" in the North American United States and more.
   Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

   I enjoy quinoa salad because in these warmer months, especially after a workout, I enjoy a cooler dish- one seasoned with fresh raw veggies, olive oil and a splash of lime.

How to:

Cook the quinoa first, 2 parts water to 1 part quinoa with a pinch of salt. Boil then lower to summer with lid on. Takes about 20 minutes. Fluff the quinoa and cool in fridge for an hour. One cup of quinoa works well for this recipe.

Chop veggies: something like one green bell pepper, 1 tomato, maybe a small carrot or a few radishes. Be creative and use what's in season. You could add a few olives if you like.

Whisk sauce: equal parts olive oil and lemon, lime, or freshly squeezed orange juice. Or perhaps vinegar if you lack fresh citrus. Add a pinch of sauce freshly minced or dried herbs: basil, oregano, parsley, cilantro and the like. Pick two and go with it is my advice. Fresh herbs really "make" this dish, but dried will work as well. Mince a clove of fresh garlic or add one teaspoon dried garlic powder.

Mix the quinoa, sauce, and veggies together. Work out. Then enjoy.

Cotija Anejo Quinoa and Black Beans

2013-07-03T21:38:00.001-07:00

Do you love trying new foods? Well unless you are Mexican or from Mexico, you may not now about this cheese. Available in the dairy section of many markets that cater to Latin cuisine, Cotija Anejo is a salty crumbly flavorful white cheese similar to feta, but at a much more affordable price. It lacks some of the subtle complexities of other cheeses used to season foods, such as Parmesan or Romano, perhaps because it is a fresher cheese, with a clean sweet milk flavor with a noted salty bite. Try it sprinkled on cold salads composed of beans, veggies, or in this case quinoa and black beans.
Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

In this case, I crumbled some of the Cotija atop a quinoa pilaf made with fresh sweet corn and topped with black beans and tomatoes. All I needed was a squeeze of lime to make this a very happy dish!

Homemade Cucumber Pickles

2013-06-06T13:25:00.001-07:00

I grew up in the DIY generation. Borne out of the 1970s "back to the land movement" (which itself came from the 1960s peace and love movements), youth in the 1990s began "doing it yourself" (DIY or die) and carried it through to 2000s. We made our own movies, magazines, t shirts and even computers. When we grew up and got "real jobs" some of them looked and felt different than those of the generations before us, in part because we helped design them. "Don't hate the media... become the media," was a popular quote from musician and activist Jello Biafra, and many of us took that advice to heart.

Gen X kids had parents busy at work, the theory goes, so we became super smart and self reliant. Hence we gave the world cellphones, YouTube, Google, Facebook, and the chance to work remotely from home via the laptop. I write this blog on my phone much of the time, in the most random places!

Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

But I digress. DIY encompassed many things, including food. As a young restauranteur, I experimented with making my own ketchup and mustards long before the trendy chic "local" movement went mainstream. Canning, and pickling, were no exception, for years I canned thousands of quarts of pickles (mostly okra, with some mango chutney thrown in for good luck) in a gigantic industrial kitchen facility I helped operate out in the country. One day I shall write of these things.

Do not attempt to store at room temp, however, as this "easy" version must remain refrigerated to stay good.

How do you do it?

Simple:

Wash and air dry your jars well.

Wash your "Kirby" cubes, unwaxed (farm fresh), and slice longways into spears.

Stuff your jars with the cuke slices, adding one clove of garlic and perhaps a few peppercorns or whole coriander seeds or whole dill seeds. You can add one whole hot pepper if you like them spicy. Add one teaspoon kosher salt as well and one teaspoon dried ground dill.

Once your jars are filled, top them off 3/4 full with white vinegar and filtered water for the remaining 1/4. Make sure the liquid covers the top of the cucumbers.

Tighten the lids, invert a few times to season, and then store in your refrigerator.

Your pickles will be ready in 2-4 weeks!

Authentic Vegetarian black beans (vegan)

2013-05-10T18:31:00.001-07:00

black beans and rice, Ian Finn style

If you know me, you know I love food. And that is no joke. So when I take on a task like cooking dried black beans from scratch I do so con mucho gusto. Sure, I could simply boil them up. But that would be no fun at all. Instead, I did some research, spoke w my peeps, and dig through my memory banks. The result? A million miles of flavor coming at you full speed.

SO what do I do?

1) soak your beans overnight in plenty of water
2) the next day pour the water off, and refill before cooking
3) prep your epazote, rinsing and washing if you can find fresh- otherwise, use dry, 1 TABLESPOON dry epazote for each 3/4 cup of dried beans; use twice that if you use fresh.
EPAZOTE- if you don't know what it is, look it up! Great stuff for cooking Mexican-style Black Beans!
SEE MY COOKBOOKS AND OTHER BLOG ENTRIES (E.G. CUBAN BLACK BEANS!) FOR MORE RECIPES STILL!
Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE
4) Boil your beans with the epazote in plenty of water; leave lid of for first 10 minutes, then put lid on and lower heat to lowest possible heat while still simmering the beans
5) SLOW AND LOW! let cook for 1-3 hrs.... beans should be soft to a spoon pressing on them
6) For last 30 minutes of cook, 1st: Remove much of the water with a ladle (be careful! it's hot), there should be enough cooking liquid for the beans to "swim in," but not inches on top.... essentially, make it the consistency you would like to serve the beans at, at this point, because once you add the seasoning, you don't want to "pour off the water,"... Kapeesh?
THEN.....

Add: 1/2 chipotle pepper for 3/4 cup dried beans (all amts will be for 3/4 cup dried beans and adjust accordingly, please), 4 cloves of garlic (about 2 TABLESPOONS minced), 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 TABLESPOON red wine vinegar, 1 TABLESPOON paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin seed (whole is best, but ground is ok), 1 TABLESPOON salt or adobo, 2 teaspoons dried oregano (or twice that amount fresh), 1/2 cup diced fresh tomato or red bell pepper or both
DON'T KNOW WHAT A CHIPOTLE PEPPER IS? LOOK IT UP! It is a smoked jalapeno... full of crazy "bacony" flavor, but 100% vegetarian... you can but them dried, but in a can is great; just freeze in ziploc baggies what is left in several portions (a lil' bit goes a LONG way... they are SPICY), OR clean an olive jar or some other glass container with a tight fitting lid (such as a mason jar) and store the rest, refrigerated, in there. If you absolutely refuse to use chipotle (or live where you cannot get it, thought most latin foods sections of stores now carry it), go ahead and use fresh jalapeno instead, same amount (leave the seeds out if you don't like it hot, and be careful when preparing as the oil in the seeds can burn you; don't touch eyes, skin, etc. after chopping them and wash up well).
7) After adding previous seasoning ingredients and simmering well for another 30 minutes, remove beans from heat, allow to cool somewhat, and serve over brown rice, with tortillas, etc.

black beans after soaking

some of my favorite latin ingredients: olives, tomates!, garlic, lime, HABANEROS, olive oil, pepper vinegar, adobo

EPAZOTE!

black beans cooking with epazote

black beans and rice! (brown rice:)

Spring Tempeh Salad

2013-04-26T20:22:00.001-07:00

     Spring is here. I enjoyed my first winter here in NY. I'm originally one of those "good old Florida boys," and we enjoy 365 days of sunshine a year down south. So people were shocked at how much I loved the grey and white winter of BK (that's Brooklyn for those of you not in the know). I even went walking in a blizzard. It was calm, cold, and knee-high thick with white snow. There is something peaceful and quiet and refreshing in these Northern winters. And as long as you dress for it, you will be fine; you may even enjoy the relative calm, so rare to find in a City as crowded as NYC.
      But I digress. Spring is here, the Sun is back and it's time we started eating light again and celebrating fresh vegetables.
     To wit: I find myself eating more great gluten free high protein options like tempeh and tofu. They cost less per pound than meat and have none of the saturated fat that makes meat so deadly for the cardiovascular system. If you haven't learned about tempeh, you should; it's got a thick, "meaty" texture, a delightful "nutty" flavor, and it's quick and easy to prepare. It's very different than tofu, and so the preparation, and dishes it stars in, are quite different as well.
Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE
     So here is a simple, refreshing salad made with romaine lettuce, tempeh strips, and European potato salad. It's great with hard cooked egg, green beans (I used steamed carrots this time) or asparagus, and olives. The potato salad recipe is in my book; it is oil, vinegar and mustard based, with a dash of fresh or dry dill, but really any potato salad will do. Scroll down a few posts, and you will find a great recipe I shared a few months ago for Spanish Potato Salad... a real winner!
     The idea is to have a "meal"-like salad... with protein, carbs, and lots of fresh raw lettuce as the base. So you walk away feeling light.... but full.
     The tempeh strips I simply sautéed on medium heat in some vegetable oil for five minutes each side until they were crisp. The carrots I steamed, then dressed my romaine in a light vinaigrette. Voila. You put it all together then dig in and enjoy!

Gluten free Gratin, Almond encrusted Tofu, White bean Stew. A winter tribute meal.

2013-03-10T11:44:00.001-07:00

Close-up Almond tofu with wild mushroom cream sauce

We prepare to say good bye to winter.

So why not enjoy one last winter tribute meal filled with grounding hearty seasonal ingredients

from the farmer's market?

Golden Turnips. Purple potatoes. Earthy white Parsnips. Bright orange carrots. Wild mushrooms. Such good stuff!

So simplicity speaks best with subtle earth tones and big luscious flavor.
How-to rolls easily off the tongue and into ones mouth:

Almond encrusted tofu:
1 1/2 cup almonds, purée to crumbs in food processor along with 1/2 cup gluten free crackers (rice or other variety) if you have them. Otherwise no worries, just almonds.
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning
Mix on plate.
Then cut two packages tofu into slabs.
Dust both sides tofu slabs in mix then place on greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Remove, plate, and top with sauce on plate.
Sauce:
Chop wild mushrooms. About 8 ounces. Sauté on medium heat in splash olive oil (I use homemade thyme infused, you could use regular and add a pinch of fresh or dry thyme) and hit with dash of white wine after a few minutes. Stir well to soak up winey goodness. Switch to Medium low heat at this point. Add a splash of cream (or any variety unflavored milk) and 1/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan. Grate in a tiny bit pepper and nutmeg. Let it all thicken up for a few minutes; use cream/ milk to thicken/ then as needed; then top on tofu slices. Crazy Delish!

Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

More recipes from this meal to follow in subsequent posts....

Finished plate with Gratin (top), Almond encrusted Tofu (bottom), and White bean Stew (far right)

Ready to bake!

Dusting tofu slices

Finished baking!

thickened, seasoned, wild mushroom sauce

Close-up Almond tofu with wild mushroom cream sauce

Wakame Seaweed Salad

2013-02-17T18:44:00.001-08:00

Sushi lovers unite. Do you love the Wakame salad as much as I do? It is tasty, if a bit expensive. Here is an easy to prepare, affordable version you can make at home. It is also vegetarian, making it accessible to those who choose not to eat meat. You can purchase Wakame very inexpensively at any Asian grocer or market. Health food stores carry it as well, but it costs a pretty penny. Dark sesame oil is also available at any Asian store or in the Asian section of most major grocers. Restaurant and prepack store versions usually contain ingredients besides seaweed to give it a little crunch such as a sea cucumber or regular cucumber; this recipe uses carrots.

1 ounce dried Wakame (sold in 2 oz packages usually)
2 TABLESPOONS sesame seeds
2 TABLESPOONS vinegar (any, rice or white is best, but no need to be fussy)
3 TABLESPOONS gluten free tamari sauce
2 TABLESPOONS dark toasted sesame oil (perhaps 1.5 TABLESPOONS if you like a bit less)
3 carrots

Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

Place the dry seaweed in a large metal bowl.
Boil a medium sized pot of water (enough to cover) and then pour it over the dried seaweed. Let stand 15 minutes.
Drain in colander and rinse with cold water. Drain again.
Place seaweed on cutting board and use a large chefs knife or cleaver to cut the seaweed into fine ribbon strips, or chiffonade.
Return seaweed to bowl.
Shred 1 cup carrots. Add to bowl.
Mix sauce ingredients in small bowl whisking well. Then add sauce and sesame seeds to seaweed bowl and mix well. Let stand 10 minutes, re-mix, then serve.

seaweed steaming under the hot water

rehydrated Wakame, draining in colander

I've mentioned I love color, correct? Freshly grated carrot...

whisked sauce to the left, wakame strips and sesame seeds on the right

Mix and let stand in bowl for flavors to marinate

Gluten free Peanut Butter Cookies

2013-02-17T17:05:00.001-08:00

This recipe was gifted to me by my friend and neighbor Rita. To my taste, it is phenomenal. Simple. Rich. Delicious w a glass of almond, soy, rice or cow's milk. Which truly is the test of an old fashioned dessert classic.

1 cup natural peanut butter, softened to room temp
1 cup natural sugar or brown sugar
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon baking soda

Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

Using a handheld electric beater, whip the egg and sugar together for a few minutes. Then beat in the peanut butter and baking soda. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Shape small balls and criss cross pattern on top with tines of fork pressing down slightly. If you like, make a small well at the top and drop a few chocolate chips in.
Bake for 10 minutes on a thin cookie sheet. The cookies should "drop" to a flat height when done. Allow to cool then remove and enjoy.

Spanish Potato Salad, gluten free wonder

2013-01-01T19:07:00.001-08:00

Spanish potato salad. Light. Tangy. Essentially Delish. NO MAYO. Read my lips: No Mayo. Quintessentially European, these potatoes are dressed with olive oil, red wine vinegar and herbs. Below is the recipe. This recipe is from my new book MOSTLY VEGETARIAN , designed for folks who like to eat (regardless of whether they are strict vegetarian or not). It's a great book full of hearty delicious recipes. Enjoy.
Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

Peel and boil 5 cups potatoes
Drain and cool under cool water in a colander
Whisk Sauce:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
a few slices of red onion, thin
1 teaspoon ground dill (or two teaspoons freshly minced dill)
1/2 TABLESPOON dijon or any wet mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
Toss the potatoes in a large bowl with the sauce
Crazy easy.
Crazy good.

Spanish potato salad served as a side with gluten-free Eggplant Parmesan

mixed salad

whisked sauce

mixing sauce ingredients

draining and cooling boiled potatoes

cubing and measuring potatoes

Gluten free Gourmet Sandwiches

2012-12-24T17:32:00.001-08:00

Sometimes there's nothing I crave more than a good old fashioned gluten free sandwich. Thanks to brands like Udis, Rudis, and Food for Life, I can make my feel good favorites and even spice it up with some gourmet magic. For instance how about some miso spread on sprouts and cheddar grilled? Or if you're doing straight turkey and cheese, go ahead and add pesto! It brings the flavor. Here are some classic Gfree sandwich shots from the last few months. Looks Good enough to eat, right?

Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

Gluten free Gourmet Mac n Cheese

2012-11-14T14:17:00.001-08:00

People.... this is not a Joke... I am not Playing.... I have said this once and I will say it again... Food is SERIOUS BUSINESS. This is no Joke.

SO when you go to make Gluten-free Gourmet Mac n Cheese, DO NOT PLAY.

Ok?

Carrots? Yes. Why not? They taste good and they're great FOR you... Are you eating too many veggies any way?

Beets? Organic Golden Beets from the Farmer's Market?

Yes. See above.

Brie? Brie?

Yes. Why not? This is GOURMET... right?

Again... See Above.

Blue cheese? Yes....

Okay... you get the BIG PICTURE. Go big. Go hard. Make it count. Food is serious business.

DIG DEEP.

Check out Ian Finn's Amazon Author Page and Books (digital and print) HERE

Boil Gluten Free Pasta.

Add to the boiling water a cup or two of diced fresh veggies.

Let it all simmer about ten minutes.

Drain in colander.

Then stir in a minimum! of 2 cheeses.

Cheddar.... Jack..... Maybe some Brie or Blue... Parm.... Swiss... whatever you like most.

You may want to add 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil so everything can turn easily when you mix it.

Then stir it all together. The still-warm pasta should melt all the cheeses.

People.... Don't Play....

cooked gluten-free pasta with veggies and many cheeses

beginning to chop the cheese

the veggies are in and now adding the gluten-free pasta to cook for 10 minutes

gluten-free pasta.... It's a "G" thang....

American Comfort Food at it's finest

Gluten free Eggplant Parm

2012-11-09T10:45:00.001-08:00

     Gluten free Live Large. What do I mean? Eat big. Give nothing up. Full fun. Full flavor. Eggplant parm? Yes you can.
     Get some nice fresh eggplants. Use a serrated edge knife and slice them into medium-thin rounds. Prepare a bowl w a few beaten eggs. Farm fresh is nice if you have a local farmer's market. This is your egg wash.
     Prepare a separate bowl with 2 cups rice flour mixed with 1 cup grated parmesan cheese, 2 TBS garlic powder, 1 TBS paprika, 1 TBS oregano, 1 TBS salt. Dip each eggplant slice in egg wash, then coat with the rice flour mixture by tossing around in the bowl with the seasoned rice flour mix. Lightly fry each slice on both sides in oil on medium-low heat. Place the lightly cooked breaded slices on a clean plate.

CHECK OUT ALL OF IAN FINN'S COOKBOOKS HERE :)

Oil a baking dish. Pour in some red marinara sauce. Layer w eggplants, sauce, eggplant. You get the idea. Top with eggplants and cheese or mushrooms if you feel like it. You can also roast a pan with some other veggies lightly tossed in vegetable oil, and then layer those in as well. Top w sauce and bake at 350 in the oven for 40 mins. Then add a final topping of grated or sliced Mozzarella and bake another 10 minutes. Sprinkle some more parmesan cheese on the top at the end if you like.

finished pan of Eggplant Parm w melted Mozarella on the right, and roasted veggies on the left

eggplant parm slices frying

Layer the pan with the cooked slices like this...

beginning to layer the pan

a layer of mushrooms and sliced mozarella cheese is added

the final finished product

Fun Fusion food Ideas

2012-11-04T12:19:00.001-08:00

I like sharing fun Fusion food ideas. Here are a few: nachos w seasoned tofu. Can you taste the color! Roasted red peppers, aged cheddar cheese and seasoned crumbled tofu lay atop a bed of crisp white corn tortilla chips. Gluten free vegetarian at its simplest and best.
What else? Well how about these curried lentil tostadas? What what!!? Yes you heard right. Tostada shells (corn) topped with curried split mung Dahl purchased at the Indian grocer. The Dahl is a type of split lentil that cooks quickly and is a thick consistency if you don't add too much water (about 1 cup Dahl to 4 cups water simmered on lowest heat). I seasoned it with turmeric, fenugreek, cumin, onion and garlic. Then topped the tostadas and proceeded with traditional Mexican toppings: lettuce, cheese and hot sauce!
Lastly please observe the simmering pan of farmer's market veggies. Corn, squash, cabbage= pure color. And flavor.

CHECK OUT ALL OF IAN FINN'S COOKBOOKS HERE :)

Simmering Fresh Farmer's Market Veggies

Nachos w Seasoned Tofu!

Fusion Tostadas w Curried Lentils and traditional Mexican toppings

Gluten Free Casabe Bread..... hey whaaaaaaat?

2012-10-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

     Cassava root. Aka yucca. Aka manioc. Aka the tropical tuber that we get tapioca pearls from. CASABE BREAD. Dominican delight found in Latin foods section of my neighborhood food store in BedStuy Brooklyn, near the Broadway Triangle, home to many things Latin here in my favorite Burrough of NYC.
     I was happy but surprised to see this as-yet-unknown-to-me food on the shelves. I bought some and delightfully found a fat-free rustic cracker that is 100% gluten free; this tasty treat will surely be joining my weekly food fun.
     Don't get me wrong, I love all the wannabe cake, cookie, and gluten free bread products that have come into play in recent years. But I love even more the NATURALLY gluten free traditional foods that folks have been consuming for hundreds or even thousands of years. Just see my cookbook, The Gluten-free Guide to Vegetarian Recipes to witness how bananas I am over traditional gluten free foods. It's available on Amazon.com along with my other recipe cookbooks.
   Here are some pics I snapped this AM of a tofu scramble w some of that delicious Dominican Casaba Bread.

Whole lotta Gluten Free Goodness Going On!

2012-10-13T21:26:00.001-07:00

Well you know I love food. I love cooking it, smelling it, seeing it, and eating it. I also eat out quite a bit these days because I'm in a very demanding phase of life where I'm rarely home! So when I find gluten free deliciousness outside of my home, I become quite happy.

CHECK OUT ALL OF IAN FINN'S COOKBOOKS HERE :)

Here are some gluten free goods I found this week, each with an International flavor! There are French macarons made with almond meal and egg whites. Fantastic! There are Kortakos (Korean fusion-style Tacos) made with white radish, pickled Kimchi cabbage and corn tortillas. And there is Japanese Mochi dessert made of sticky rice flour and filled with a Red bean sugar paste. When it comes to G free I am so thankful to find these amazing foods available!

Here is a recipe link I found online for French Macarons.... They are different than the coconut based ones (also Gluten-free) of Eastern European origin that I am used to. The French version looks like a giant Moonpie or Cookie! It is made of luscious almond meal mixed with sugar and egg-whites and has some kind of filling- they are at once both dense and light.... a combination from the egg whites (light) and sweetened nut meal (dense)... suffice it to say they are AMAZING..... if you are lucky enough to have a Patisserie or French Bakery, see if they carry them... or else make your own:

http://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/easy-macaron-macaroon-recipe/
http://www.marthastewart.com/318387/french-macaroons
http://www.yumsugar.com/Basic-French-Macaron-Recipe-21651110

Kortako brand Korean tacos with white Daikon radish shreds, Korean hot sauce and pickled cabbage Kimchi found in Lower Manhattan, NYC

This Hazelnut Macaroon is about to Get Ate Up!, from Financier Coffee Shop and French Bakery

Mochi ingredients: Gluten Free

Mochi is good if you like soft, sweet, sticky desserts