Menu Suggestion: Sorghum Pancakes with Peach Compote

September 13, 2014PajamaLiving lesson Leave a comment

Again?

A couple of months ago, I noticed a special deal on a gluten free flour blend, six 3 lb bags for essentially about $1 each. I decided it was too good a deal to pass up because I bake so much for the workshops I teach, and I put in for two orders of the flour, thinking that 12 bags would hold me for a long while.

When the ordered arrived, it was in two separate boxes. One contained six bags of the gluten free flour blend I had ordered, but the second batch was six bags of straight sorghum flour. I called up the company, and they apologized and said they’d send out the correct order of flour immediately.

I asked about sending back the incorrect flour and was told that because of certain restrictions, they aren’t allowed to receive food back. I wasn’t sure what I’d do with six bags of straight sorghum flour, but I figured I’d find a use.

When the new box came in, I eagerly opened it, only to discover that they’d sent me another six bags of sorghum flour!

When I called the company again, they determined that something must be wrong with their ordering system and that they would not be able to sell anymore flour under the special deal until they figured out the problem. They refunded my money for the second order of six bags, but once again told me that I had to keep the incorrect flour.

So, in the end I only received six bags of the flour blend at the special price, and I now had twelve bags of sorghum flour which I had neither ordered nor needed.

This morning, I decided I would begin to make use of some of that flour, and I worked out a recipe for sorghum pancakes which not only came out delicious but which the children have asked that I make again with different variations.

Sorghum Pancakes

(This makes a lot of pancakes so cut the recipe in half if you’re not cooking for a large family or want a lot of leftovers.)

Ingredients:

5 cups sorghum flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon*

1/2 tsp salt

4 cups “milk” (I used flax this time, but might try soy next time)

4 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp Agave

2 eggs

1/4 cup melted coconut oil**

Cooking Instructions:

1. Whisk together the sorghum flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

2. Mix the milk with the lemon juice and let it sit for five minutes.

3. Whisk together the agave, eggs, and melted coconut oil. Add the milk.

4. Mix the dry ingredients until the wet quickly until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Let the batter sit for at least ten minutes. It will bubble and thicken.

5. On a heated pancake griddle (350 degrees) or pan over medium high heat on the stove, pour 1/4 cup of the batter per pancake. Let the pancake cook for a couple of minutes until the edges become dry and bubbles form. Flip and cook for another minute until the second side is done.

6. As the pancakes are cooking, make peach compote: Slice eight peaches into six lengthwise slices each and put into a large shallow pan on the stovetop. Mix 1/4 cup agave with 1 tsp cinnamon and pour over the peaches. Cook the peaches for about five to ten minutes over medium low heat until the peaches are soft and the liquid as thickened.

7. Serve the pancakes with the peach compote*** on top.

* If you are planning on serving the pancakes by themselves, they need a bit more flavor, so you should add something besides the cinnamon, like 2 tsp of vanilla or orange peel. If you don’t have sodium issues, you might want to increase the salt to 1 tsp.

** If you don’t want to or can’t use coconut oil, melted vegan butter or safflower oil are good substitutes.

*** You don’t have to use peaches. You could try these pancakes with a blueberry or apple compote, too.

Summer Veggin’: Eggplant

September 2, 2014PajamaLiving informational Leave a comment

“It’s a miracle. The eggplant turned into a tomato plant!”

Several years ago my mother-in-law generously gave my husband some plants she had grown from seed to put into our garden. Most of the plants were tomato plants but she offered us one eggplant, because she knows that I like eggplant. My husband, however, does not care for it as much as I do, and he had actually at one point said that he would never grow eggplant in his garden. So, it was really a testament of his love for me that he accepted that plant from his mother and dutifully planted it in his precious garden.

Well… one day he came running into the house. “Honey, even God doesn’t want me to grow eggplant.” He grinned and dragged me outside. “See, it’s a miracle. The eggplant turned into a tomato plant.”

Sure enough, what my mother-in-law had given us as an eggplant was actually another tomato plant. Obviously, there had simply been a mistake, but my husband still refers to that incident as divine providence affirming his dislike for eggplant.

And I’ve found that many people are like my husband and don’t care for eggplant very much, which I just don’t understand. Eggplant provides so many nutrients our bodies need and is an extremely versatile vegetable — one that can be roasted, stuffed, stewed, grilled, baked and stir-fried. They’re a great substitute for meat because they’re very filling without all the calories and fat and have a meaty texture. And they’re one of the few other vegetables which provide those purples that round out rainbow eating.

Over the years, eggplant continues to be my husband’s least favorite vegetable, but he’s come to a place of recognizing their benefit — mostly that they’re much cheaper than meat — and acknowledging that the dishes I prepare can actually be tasty, even with eggplant.

Some Eggplant Suggestions which most people will like:

1. Make an eggplant parmesan instead of chicken parm. The eggplant has less calories and fat, but is just as filling, and with tomato sauce and cheese, I’ve served it to company with rave reviews. For a healthier version, I simply brush a little bit of olive oil on the eggplant and broil the eggplant on both sides for a few minutes until just beginning to become tender. I layer the eggplant with tomato sauce and a mixture of mozzarella and parmesan and fresh herbs until my pan is filled and then bake it in the oven at 375 for about thirty to forty minutes until the dish is bubbly and the eggplant is soft to cut. (When I make this allergy friendly so I can eat it, I use the vegan parmesan and mozzarella but I mix the cheeses with garlic, herb and onions and put it in the fridge overnight so the flavors can meld so the “cheeses” will taste more to everyone’s liking.)

2. Make an eggplant dip or spread. Roast a whole eggplant on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for about an hour until it’s soft and the skin is splitting. Scrape out the eggplant from the skin and mash with some garlic, onions, herbs, and a little bit of olive oil. This is delicious as a dip for pita chips or spread onto little toasts and topped with a small crumbling of cheese.

3. Stir fry the eggplant. Some friends just gave me three nice sized eggplants which I peeled and sliced into one inch cubes. Then I stir fried the eggplant with some thinly sliced carrots and mushrooms in a little bit of sesame oil. Once the vegetables were beginning to soften, I added a sauce which thickened nicely and coated the vegetables: 1/2 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp avocado oil, 1 tsp mince garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, 1/4 tsp soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch – all mixed well.

4. Grill the eggplant. Slice eggplant lengthwise into long, fat pieces, keeping the peel on. Lightly brush the eggplant with olive oil and drizzle herbs, black pepper, and a small amount of salt on both sides. Grill a couple of minutes on both sides until the eggplant is tender. You can then drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar over the eggplant, and it’s a lovely side dish.

5. Stuff the eggplant. Stuffing vegetables is a wonderful way to use up leftovers in the house, and I think I’ll actually do a post on stuffed vegetables. For now, though, focusing on eggplant, you can use most anything you want — rice, meat, vegetables, bread crumbs, seafood, stuffing, cheese. To prepare the eggplant, cut it in half and brush the cut sides with a little bit of olive oil. Bake in a 375 degree oven on a cookie sheet cut side down for 15 minutes and then turn it over and bake for another 15 minutes until the eggplant is tender. Scoop out the insides and mix it in with whatever you’re using as stuffing. Stuff the eggplant and return it to the oven for another 30 minutes to fully heat the stuffing and eggplant together.

6. Add eggplant to your usual dishes. If you’re making a vegetable pizza at home, add some sauteed, chopped eggplant. If you’re throwing leftovers into a stew or soup, add chopped eggplant. If you like to make a fresh tomato sauce for pasta, add chopped eggplant to the recipe. In each of these the eggplant will lend a meatier texture and add flavor. The ideas are endless, and I encourage you to experiment.

Recipe Makeover: Birthday Cupcakes

August 18, 2014PajamaLiving dairy free, gluten free, informational, lesson, nut/peanut free, soy free Leave a comment

“Your credit card has been declined.”

My oldest is heading off to college at the end of the summer, and we’re discovering that preparing your child for college is akin to wedding planning: tiny details which you never considered suddenly pop up as huge decisions.

For example, should your child take her clock from her bedroom with her to college which would save you the cost of buying a clock for her dorm room but which would leave her bedroom at home clock-less for when she returns at winter break or when you use it as a guest room for the grandparents? Because, of course, having a clock to tell time is rather important even if the room will be unoccupied for 3/4 of the year from now on!

Or if the college encourages you to bring curtains to keep out sunlight in the early morning and campus lights in the evening but you don’t know your room assignment and the dorms all have differing window sizes, do you a) purchase curtains anyway, hoping you’ll hit the jackpot for correct sizing; b) wait and plan to buy the curtains the day you drop your child off, hoping that you will have both the time and the luck of finding a place close by that sells curtains; c) tell your daughter that she’s just out of luck and won’t have curtains at all; or d) cry because you’ve suddenly realized that your daughter is grown up enough to be leaving the house and you’re having discussions about whether or not to purchase her own curtains. (The answer, of course, is D!)

And with wedding planning, you suddenly discover that you are about to spend a lot more money than you had originally anticipated as a result of all those tiny details you hadn’t considered before.

So, the other day, we headed out, determined to shop for all that our daughter needed in one day-long expedition because unfortunately our time for such matters is rather short in between other summertime obligations. We went from discount store to discount store (to save money) over a course of several hours until….

We were fortunately at the last store of the day when suddenly the cashier tells me that the credit card I had been using was declined. I knew it couldn’t be that we’d reached our limit because, even with all the spending, we hadn’t even reached a thousand dollars, so I was confused but gave the cashier my second credit card.

When I got home, I discovered that our unusual spending pattern (I normally only use the credit cards for gas and groceries about once a week) had triggered a fraud alert on the card. It was nice to know that my credit card company was on top of possible fraudulent charges, but it had still been disconcerting to be told that my credit card was declined.

I find that when I speak to a crowd at one of my baking workshops that people sometimes have a fear that they’ll be called out as a fraud if they serve something that is allergy friendly — that people might think the made-over baked good isn’t as good as the tried and true white, flour, sugar and butter recipes.

I found myself worrying about the same thing when my daughter told me she wanted to make yellow cupcakes for her birthday party sleepover. To date, I hadn’t made yellow cupcakes because my crew always asks for chocolate over other varieties. As I poured over recipes, I finally decided to just bite the bullet and do it. What was the worse that could happen? I had already triggered one fraud alert; what harm could another do?

Original Yellow Cupcake Recipe from Betty Crocker:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 1/4 cups milk, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup shortening, 1 tsp vanilla, and 3 eggs.

The Makeover:

1. The flour: We opted to use Bob’s Red Mill gluten free baking flour which mixes garbanzo bean, fava bean, and sorghum flours with potato starch and tapioca starch. It’s a nice dense flour which would give us the consistency you normally find in a yellow cupcake but which would add protein and fiber. We added xanthan gum and the mix was complete. We increased the flour amount by a quarter cup, though, because we opted to swap out the sugar with liquid agave.

2. The sugar: We decided that Agave would be the better way to go, because my daughter didn’t want to risk any aftertaste with Stevia or texture issues with coconut sugar. This meant decreasing the amount needed to half of the sugar called for. It also meant increasing the flour a bit to compensate for the extra liquid.

3. The milk: We chose to use flax milk because that was what we had in the house at the time. Substituting soy or rice milk would work just as well.

4. The butter and shortening: Since we wanted the cupcakes to come out as close to the original as possible, we decided against decreasing the amount of fats called for, simply opting to substitute a soy free vegan “butter” for the butter and using a vegetable shortening as called for.

5. The eggs: Again, since we didn’t want to mess with the “yellow” in the yellow cupcakes, we went ahead and used the three eggs. If I had been choosing myself, I would have opted to make “white” cupcakes and used only egg whites for a healthier version. This would have meant whipping the egg whites and incorporating them into the batter just before baking. But my daughter insisted on yellow cupcakes so we kept the yolks.

6. The salt: Normally I would decrease the salt by half, but since teenage girls don’t need to worry yet about salt intake, I figured it was okay to just leave it as is.

7. The verdict: I have to say, none of the girls realized that the cupcakes were a made-over version. We got rave reviews — especially since my daughter decorated them with cute monkey and panda bear faces!

Yellow Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten free baking flour blend

1 tsp xanthan gum

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup vegan soy free “butter”

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

3/4 cup Agave

3 eggs at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cup flax milk

Baking Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tins with cupcake liners. (I like to use “If You Care” brand muffin liners.)**

2. Whisk the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt together well and set aside.

3. Cream the butter and shortening together in a mixer. Scrape down the sides.

4. While the mixer is on low, very slowly pour in the Agave a little bit at a time, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well before adding the next one. Scrape down the sides.

6. Add the vanilla and blend.

7. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Blend just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

8. Evenly divide the batter among the muffin cups, and bake for about 20 minutes. The cupcakes will be rounded and golden and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out mostly clean. (Note: You’ll still have a few tiny pieces sticking to the toothpick. If you wait for a completely clean toothpick, the cupcakes will be overcooked and dry. As soon as the tops spring back when you lightly touch them instead of being a liquidy center, you should presume they’re done.)

9. Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a wire cooling rack for five to ten minutes before removing them to the wire cooling racks for complete cooling.

10. Frost as desired and enjoy!

** We made 18 regular size cupcakes with this batter, but we fill the tins pretty full, about 3/4 full because I like the cupcakes to rise up over the top. If you fill them the traditional 2/3 full, you’ll probably get 24 cupcakes out of them.

Summer Veggin’: Kale

July 31, 2014PajamaLiving informational, lesson 2 Comments

“One’s the size of a grape; the other the size of a lemon. Good news is that none are the size of a grapefruit.”

Last week I had to have a biopsy. One of my children asked me what I was thinking as the doctor talked to me about my “very slight but we still have to check” possibility of cancer.

She laughed when I answered, “Honestly? I was wondering why doctors insist on using food for their size measurements. I love grapes and lemons, and now I’m not going to be able to look at them in the same way again!”

It may just be me, but wouldn’t quarters and golf or tennis balls suffice just as well? And while I’m already digressing: Should anyone be given the choice of being awake or asleep during a biopsy, choose sleep, unless you are absolutely certain your doctor won’t insist on showing you what she has just removed! Because otherwise you might discover that you really will never eat another grape or lemon again.

Since my food choices are dwindling as the result of my experience, I decided it would be nice to do a post that might expand other people’s food options, and I’m opting to talk today about kale, one of my favorite summery foods.

For folks who might not be familiar with kale, it’s a cruciferous vegetable like cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli; and like those three, kale is very, very good for you. It’s has cholesterol lowering benefits, detoxifying properties, about 20 different needed nutrients, including omega 3’s, and is said to help reduce certain cancers.

I’ve found, though, that people don’t often know what to do with kale, so I’m going to share some thoughts with you.

1. Purchasing Kale: When you buy kale from the store, look for them in fresh bunches in the produce section of the store. It’s cheaper that way! Stay away from bunches where the leaves look like they’re wilting, are beginning to yellow, or have many holes in them. Good kale will be a deep green with sturdy leaves.

2. Keeping Kale: Do not wash kale until you are ready to use them. If you won’t be using them immediately upon purchase, put the bunch into a baggie which you can seal and put the kale into the fridge. I don’t often keep kale for longer than two to three days myself, but I’m told by others that kale will keep for a good five days or so in the fridge.

3. Freezing Kale: If I won’t be using kale within two days or so, I will freeze it. Best practices say to wash the kale, remove the leaves from the stems, blanch in boiling water for a minute or two, plunge into chilled water to stop the cooking, drain, dry and then put them into a freezer bag to freeze. I confess, I very rarely do that. I wash and dry my kale, chop the leaves off the stem into bite size pieces, stuff as much as I can into my freezer bag, seal it tightly without any air and freeze. I have not found much difference in the kale when I take it out of the freezer and pop it into a soup or casserole. The only thing blanching seems to do is slightly reduce the bitterness of kale, but I like that bitter taste. You can decide for yourself, though, whether I’m also just lazy.

4. Cooking with Kale: Kale is wonderfully versatile. You can use it in soups, casseroles, as chips, as a vegetable side dish, in stir frys, in omelets and anything else you’d normally use spinach for, in smoothies, and even in cakes! It’s moisture content keeps dishes from becoming dry and it’s slightly bitter tastes are a nice contrast to other herbs and seasonings and flavors in a dish.

Some things to keep in mind:

Always cut the kale leaves off the thick, woody stem. Those stems don’t taste very good.

Kale requires a bit of cooking time to soften so plan ahead that you’ll need to saute the kale for a good ten minutes or cook the soup a little bit longer.

Kale cooks down just like spinach so if you need a cup of cooked kale, you’ll need at least twice that amount of raw kale.

Keep kale handy in the freezer so you can simply add it to recipes without having to cook it to soften it first.

For easy chopping, after you’ve removed the leaves from the stem, just stack all the leaves on top of one another and slice.

5. Ideas for using Kale: We have several favorite ways of eating kale, but if you’re looking for a few easy ideas for getting started, here are three my kids really like:

One, is to make kale chips. Simply brush kale with a tiny bit of olive oil, sprinkle with the seasoning you prefer (salt, pepper, herbs, garlic or onion powder, grated parmeson, etc…), chop the leaves off the stems into bite size pieces, and bake in the oven on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for anywhere from five to 20 minutes, depending on the sizes and thickness of your pieces until the leaves are dry and crispy.

Another suggestion is to make a bean and kale saute. Saute your chopped kale in a little bit of olive oil with chopped garlic and onions until the leaves have started to wilt, mix in white cannellini beans and cook until both are soft and warmed through. Top with a small sprinkling of chopped turkey bacon or shredded cheese, if desired.

Make a frittata: Brown chopped potatoes in a little bit of olive oil with some salt and pepper. Add chopped kale when the potatoes have crisped to your liking. Once the kale is soft and wilted, beat up some egg whites mixed with a couple of whole eggs and pour the egg mixture carefully over the potatoes and kale. Add herbs of your choice. Cover the pan and slowly cook the frittata over low heat until the eggs have cooked through.

Menu Suggestion: Tetrazzini

May 19, 2014PajamaLiving dairy free, egg free, gluten free, nut/peanut free, soy free, Uncategorized Leave a comment

What about a dinner suggestion?

I opened up my email the other day and found a note, thanking me because this young mother had found my blog and used the advice I had given my friend to make quiche for brunch for her in-laws, and it was apparently a success for her as well. Now, however, she wanted to know if I had any good suggestions for a dinner entree to serve to company which could easily accommodate food allergy restrictions.

Within in two seconds, I had the perfect suggestion: Tetrazzini.

If you’re not familiar with tetrazzini, it’s a pasta dish which incorporates protein and vegetables into the pasta with a creamy white sauce. With the exception of mushrooms which every recipe you’ll find seems to have, everything else is pretty much up to your imagination and available food staples.

For a company dish, it’s perfect because you can assemble the dish ahead of time and then just pop it into the oven. It’s filling so you can simply add a salad to accompany it, and it’s pretty when it comes out of the oven. For folks with allergies, it’s highly adaptable.

Some thoughts on Tetrazzini:

1. The pasta: Almost every recipe you’ll find online has too large a pasta to protein/vegetable ratio. For your health and for good eating, I recommend cutting the pasta by half for any recipe. When I make the dish for company in a large 9 x 13 pan I cut the 16 oz of pasta to 8 ounces. Your ratio of protein and vegetables to pasta will be healthier but it’s also tastier in my opinion.

Also the usual pasta used is a long noodle like spaghetti. I like to use small shells because they capture the sauce in their crevices well and are easily spoonable and mix well with any meats and vegetables you add. Ancient Harvest has a gluten free quinoa small shells which taste really good and have a wonderful texture.

2. The meats and vegetables: You can use just about anything in tetrazzini. The most popular meats are turkey and chicken. For company, if there are no seafood allergies, I like to use cooked frozen shrimp. It’s easy and it makes the dish special. The nice thing about tetrazzini is that it’s a great dish for using up your leftovers, so feel free to be creative with whatever you have on hand. You can even use firm tofu. You should cut the tofu into small squares and saute them on all sides first, though, before adding them to the dish.

The same goes for the vegetables. As I mentioned above, a key ingredient in most tetrazzini recipes is mushrooms, but you can leave them out if you don’t like fungi. I happen to adore mushrooms, so I usually use mushrooms and asparagus or broccoli because I like the flavor and color combination. Again, whatever leftover vegetables will work. I’ve often just chopped up leftover zucchini, squash, peppers, etc… and thrown them in with good results. The key is to make sure your vegetables are bite-size.

3. The sauce: The sauce for tetrazzini is just a basic white sauce, so for folks with food allergies, it’s easily adaptable. While many recipes will call for butter, you can substitute olive oil or use a vegan allergy friendly butter. I prefer the taste of olive oil and the added health benefits. For the milk, I’ve found just that other “milks” work just as well, though I tend to use either flax or soy milk myself. For the flour, just about any type will work. I’ve used garbanzo bean, sorghum, gluten free oat, and brown rice flour with success.

Many recipes call for you to just use a cream based soup like cream of celery or broccoli or chicken. You can always go this route as well. It’s certainly easier than making your own white sauce and if you don’t have to worry about sodium or allergies, the taste doesn’t suffer in any way.

4. The seasoning: Most tetrazzini recipes just call for salt and black pepper. I usually omit salt and add thyme, oregano, and paprika. I also use garlic and onions for flavoring.

5. The topping: Many tetrazzini recipes call for a topping but the topping varies. Some say just to put cheese on top, usually parmesan. Others use a nutty topping with almonds combined with the cheese. Some call for bread crumbs. Some just tell you to top with chopped green onions. It’s really up to your tastes and preferences. There’s a lot of vegan parmesan-style cheese these days. I like to lightly saute gluten free bread crumbs in a little bit of olive oil with herbs and mix in the vegan parmesan with the crumbs with some garlic and evenly spread that on top of the tetrazzini because it then gives a little crunch to the dish plus it makes the casserole look pretty.

Shrimp Tetrazzini

Ingredients:

8 oz Ancient Harvest Quinoa small shells

2 tsp olive oil

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

one bunch asparagus, cut into bite size pieces

1 tbsp minced onions

1 tsp mince garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp sweet white sorghum flour

2 cups flax or soy milk

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/2 tsp paprika

16 oz thawed frozen cooked shrimp, tails removed

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup gluten free bread crumbs

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 cup vegan parmesan

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.Thaw shrimp and remove tails. Set aside.

3. Prepare the shells as directed on the packaging. Drain and rinse well with cold water. Set aside.

4. In a pan saute mushrooms over medium-low heat with 2 tsp olive oil for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add the chopped asparagus with 2 tbsp water, the minced onion, and the garlic. Saute for another 4 minutes and remove from heat.

6. In a pan heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Whisk in the sorghum flour and cook, stirring for a minute. Slowly add the “milk”, whisking continually until the flour is fully mixed into the milk. Cook until the sauce has thickened, stirring continually, about five minutes.

7. Add the pasta, mushrooms and asparagus mixture, and shrimp to the sauce and blend well.

8. Pour the casserole into a 9 x 13 pan.

9. Saute the bread crumbs with the olive oil and oregano for a minute or two. Mix in the paremsan and evenly spread the bread crumb mixture over the tetrazzini.

10. Bake the casserole for about 20-30 minutes until the dish is warmed through and the sauce is bubbling.

Recipe Makeover: Wacky Cupcakes

May 7, 2014PajamaLiving dairy free, egg free, gluten free, lesson, nut/peanut free, reduced refined sugar, soy free, Uncategorized Leave a comment

“It’s just not wacky enough.”

The saying is that “necessity is the mother of invention”, and certainly for families in the Depression and World War eras, lack of rations led to the creation of what we know as wacky or Depression cake. These are cakes made without eggs and milk which were scarce, and today many people with egg and dairy allergies have turned to them gratefully for countless number of birthday and family parties.

The email I received yesterday, though, made me laugh because it said, “Unfortunately, the recipe just isn’t wacky enough for my family.” This particular person also needed the cake to be gluten and sugar free in addition to egg and dairy free.

And I’m finding that to be a common problem among folks who send me emails. The world has come a long way: grocery stores, online sites and even restaurants carry gluten free products, nut free foods, dairy free items, and sugar free versions of just about everything. Unfortunately, for the person who is allergic to more than one of these, it can still be difficult to find foods which meet all the needed “free” criteria.

So, this morning, I took a gander at reworking the two recipes sent to me. I had signed up to bring some allergy friendly desserts to the Teacher Appreciation luncheon my children’s elementary and middle schools were hosting, so I decided I’d use the recipes to make cupcakes.

The first recipe sent was for a plain wacky cake calling for 3 cups of all purpose flour, 2 cups of sugar, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp vinegar, 2 tsp vanilla, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, and 2 cups of water.

The second recipe was for a chocolate wacky cake calling for 3 cups of all purpose flour, 2 cups of sugar, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, 2 tsp vanilla, 2 tbsp vinegar, and 2 cups cold water.

For both recipes, it just called for mixing everything together.

The Makeovers:

1. The flour: Since it needed to be gluten free, I had to decide which type of flour blend to use. Since the recipe is already compensating for the loss of eggs with the use of vinegar and baking soda, I was concerned about the batter’s ability to rise. As such, I decided that Bob’s Red Mill Biscuit and Baking Gluten Free Mix which is a blend of garbanzo bean flour, rice flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum, and baking powder would be best.

Why? Because 1) the mix of rice and garbanzo bean flour would allow for the higher fiber and protein without being too heavy; 2) the mix already has the xanthan gum in it which means one less item to mix in myself; and 3) the extra baking powder would help to compensate for the lack of leavening ingredients.

Folks who can have gluten could always use a white whole wheat or red whole wheat to boost the nutrients and fiber in the recipe.

2. The sugar: I decide that I would opt for two different sugar substitutes. For the chocolate wacky cake, I used coconut sugar because I wanted to try a dry substitute and because I thought the brown sugar flavor of the coconut sugar would complement the chocolate flavor better. I used a one for one substitute.

For the plain wacky cake, I opted for Agave, wanting to experiment with a liquid substitute. Also, I had decided I’d turn the cake into a chocolate chip spice cupcake which I felt the Agave would complement better. For the Agave, though, I used half the amount of called for sugar, and added 1/2 cup to the amount of flour needed to counter the extra liquid.

3. The oil: Because I prefer healthier plant oils, I chose to swap the vegetable oil with other types. For the chocolate cake, I used a blend of olive, grapeseed and canola oil which would lend a fruity undertone to the chocolate flavor. For the vanilla cake, I chose to use safflower oil to lend some flavor without overpowering it to the vanilla.

4. The vinegar: Since the recipe didn’t specify, I was presuming they were calling for regular distilled white vinegar. Since I prefer to always add a little “something”, I decided to use a raspberry vinegar for the chocolate cake and an apple cider vinegar for the vanilla cake.

5. The additions: I chose to keep the baking soda, salt and vanilla the same for each recipe, but I added cinnamon and nutmeg to the vanilla cake to make it more a vanilla spice cake, and I swapped the regular unsweetened cocoa powder for Hershey’s Special Dark unsweetened cocoa powder to lend a deeper chocolate flavor.

I also decided to throw in chocolate chips to help give the cakes more structure. For the chocolate cake, I added a package of Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips. For the vanilla cake, though, I wanted more of the taste to exude from the batter so I put a package of Enjoy Life mega chunks into my food processor and ground them to tiny pieces which I incorporated throughout the batter.

6. The assembling: The original recipes called for simply mixing everything up. Since I wanted to make sure the batter would fully incorporate all the necessary ingredients for adding structure and leavening, I opted to do the cake batter in steps. First, I mixed all the dry ingredients minus the chocolate chips/pieces together. Then I used a spoon to incorporate the chocolate chips/pieces into the dry ingredients. Then I mixed all the wet ingredients minus the vinegar together. Finally, I added the liquid mixture to the dry mixture, adding the vinegar last and mixing until everything was well-blended. By doing this, I ensured that the effects of the vinegar would last through putting the batter into the muffin tins and into the oven.

7. The cooking: Since I needed to bake for the luncheon and because I wanted to see quickly if the structure of the batter would hold up, I opted to make cupcakes instead. I lined 24 muffin cups per each recipe with muffin liners and scooped batter into each cup all the way to the top of the muffin liner, being careful to simply scoop the batter in without squashing it down. Then I baked the cupcakes for 20 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven, turning them halfway through the cooking time.

Upon removing them, I left them in the muffin tins for about 15 minutes before removing them. This allowed the cupcakes to begin their cooling inside the tins which allows the structure of the cupcake to gain stability before being removed. After the 15 minutes, I removed the cupcakes to wire cooling racks to cool completely.

8. The new recipes:

For the chocolate wacky cupcakes, the new recipe was: Mix 3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Biscuit and Baking Gluten Free flour with 2 cups coconut sugar, 1/2 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp salt, and 2 tsp baking soda. Then add one 10 oz package of Enjoy Life chocolate chips. Set aside. Mix 3/4 cup healthy blend oil (olive, grapeseed, canola mix) with 2 tsp vanilla, and 2 cups cold water. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture with 2 tbsp raspberry vinegar. Blend well. Gently scoop mounds of the batter into 24 lined muffin cups, filling to the top. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time. Cool in tins for 15 minutes. Remove to wire cooling racks.

For the vanilla spice wacky cupcakes, the new recipe was: Mix 3 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Biscuit and Baking Gluten Free flour with 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, and 2 tsp baking soda. Food process one one 10 oz package of Enjoy Life chocolate mega chunks into tiny pieces and add to the dry mixture. Set aside. Mix 3/4 cup safflower oil with 1 cup Agave, 2 tsp vanilla, and 2 cups cold water. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture with 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar. Blend well. Gently scoop mounds of the batter into 24 lined muffin cups, filling to the top. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time. Cool in tins for 15 minutes. Remove to wire cooling racks.

Cooking Techniques: Corn Beef and Cabbage

March 17, 2014PajamaLiving informational, lesson Leave a comment

“But shouldn’t we be wearing orange? And we’re not even Irish anyway!”

When your daughter is on the autism spectrum and everything always has to be precise and make sense, it’s not always easy on the parent. My oldest was five when she learned that in Ireland, Protestants wear orange on St. Patty’s day, so she wanted to know why everyone in the U.S., whether you’re Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist, etc… wore green. She also wanted to know why we as a family would wear anything at all, given that Irish is one of the few ethnic backgrounds missing from our family heritage.

Even as bright as my daughter was at that time, trying to get her to understand the idea of a social construct evolving over time so that today basically everyone becomes Irish on St. Patty’s day, whether you are or aren’t and that wearing green is just something you do was not very easy! And to this day, she still insists on wearing orange on St. Patty’s day and explaining to people why they shouldn’t be wearing green. Fortunately, most folks extend her a lot of grace because of the autism. *grin*

This morning, however, I actually felt a kinship with my daughter when I received an emailed question about making boiled corn beef and cabbage. I was quick to point out that in Ireland folks don’t actually eat corn beef and cabbage on St. Patty’s day, that it’s something that somehow evolved as a tradition in the U.S. I also wanted her to know that folks used to boil all their meats in Ireland because of poor refrigeration and sanitation conditions. Folks wanted to make sure they wouldn’t get sick from their food, so they overcooked it.

I wouldn’t be surprised if folks are now wondering about me! Which I guess just goes to show that my daughter doesn’t fall from her mother’s tree after all!

At any rate, I started thinking about corn beef and cabbage and thought I might as well post about it on St. Patty’s Day, though I do apologize that this post most likely is not in time for today’s holiday meal.

I actually love corn beef and cabbage at any time of the year. I don’t, however, ever, ever boil corn beef and cabbage.

Boiling corn beef and cabbage just makes for a greasy, unpalatable entree in my opinion. I know some may disagree with me, but boiling cabbage turns it into an ugly shade of green which no one should ever see on their food plate, and boiling the corn beef releases the fat into the cooking liquid which is quick to congeal when cooling. Definitely not my idea for ideal presentation of food! In addition the vegetables you add to corn beef and cabbage like carrots, turnips and potatoes lose much of their valuable nutrients when you boil them.

So what should you do then? Slow cook it in the oven is my advice.

Several Tips to keep in mind:

1. The pan: You want a nice large heat proof pan with a high cover. If you don’t have a cover, you can use aluminum foil, but you should double fold it and make it into more a tent shape than flat over the pan. This will allow for more space for your vegetables and cabbage as well as allowing the heat to circulate at the food cooks in the oven.

2. The corn beef: I find that a thin cut corn beef is better than a thick cut. It’s usually more symmetrical in width which allows for more even cooking. Also, because it’s thinner and flatter, though, longer, it cooks more quickly than a fatter, rounder cut.

As a rule, unless you’re single or just a couple with no children, a four pound cut of meat is best. As corn beef cooks it actually shrinks down in size considerably and by the time it’s fork tender for eating, it’s about half its original size. A 4 pound brisket is enough for dinner for our family of five with some leftovers for lunch the next day.

Also, you should always try to cut away as much of the fat as you can. One, it helps to reduce the fat and grease. Two, it means that the spices and herbs you use to season the meat will actually reach the meat and not just rest on the fat.

As well, if you have a rack that fits into your pan, you should insert it and put the meat onto the rack. It allows the heat to circulate under the meat for more even cooking and also helps to reduce any grease from sticking to the bottom of the meat.

Finally, you should season your corn beef. Most come with a seasoning packet that usually is a mixture of chopped bay leaves and mustard corns. I like to take those and add garlic, onion powder, black pepper and oregano. Then I add the smallest amount of olive oil to make a barely moist paste which I rub all over the corn beef. After I stick whole cloves into the corn beef.

3. The cabbage: Don’t just use green cabbage. I like to mix both purple/red cabbage with the green to get a melding of flavors and colors.

Also, most recipes call for simply cutting the cabbage into quarters. I find that this makes for tougher cabbage. I cut them into 16 wedges and find that this makes for a more fork tender cut of cabbage.

You don’t want to add the cabbage at the beginning. It doesn’t take as long as the meat to cook so add it more like a third or half way into the cooking.

When you add the cabbage, put the wedges carefully around the meat so the wedges stay together.

4. The vegetables: Be creative. We have added potatoes, carrots, turnips, butternut squash, beets, etc…. My kids favorites continue to be the traditional potatoes and carrots, but even with those I vary them. Nowadays you can get a variety of colored potatoes and carrots in white, red, purple, orange, pink.

What’s important to keep in mind is that with this dish, you really should stick with root vegetables. For the length of time that you need to cook the meat, vegetables which are quick cooking really don’t work well. If you do choose to use vegetables like zucchini or broccoli or mushrooms, don’t add them until the last 15 to 20 minutes of cooking time.

Another thing to keep in mind is your size. All the vegetables should be the same size for even cooking. I like to cut everything about 1 1/2 inches in length and width. I find it cooks well in the time allowed.

Also, be sure to season your vegetables before adding them to the meat pan. If you just add the vegetables as is, they will be bland. I like to use a mixture of herbs and garlic and black pepper. I don’t ever add salt because the corn beef is salty, and you want your vegetables to complement the salty meat.

Finally, like the cabbage, the vegetables don’t need as long as the meat to cook. You should add them about 1/3 to halfway through the cooking time.

5. Cooking: As I mentioned, the method I think is best for cooking corn beef and cabbage is slow roasting them in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while prepare the corn beef.

First, wash the corn beef with cold water and pat it dry. This helps to remove some of the excess salt on the outside of the corn beef. Remove as much fat as you can and season the corn beef with a herb paste. Place the corn beef on the rack in your pan and stick the whole cloves in.

Then, add some liquid because I find that adding some liquid to the pan helps to make for a moister piece of meat. I actually make a mixture that’s about a quarter to a half cup of honey with about one cup of water that I pour over the meat. Later when the meat is done, I turn that into a gravy/sauce by making a rue of olive oil and a gluten free flour or mixing cornstarch with water to thicken the liquid.

Cover the pan with the lid and allow the corn beef to begin cooking for about an hour. You should always begin cooking the corn beef first and add the vegetables and cabbage later. The meat takes much longer to cook and you don’t want to overcook the vegetables. Also, if you begin cooking the meat, it releases some of the grease and fat which you can remove before adding your cabbage and vegetables.

As a rule, I cook the meat for about one to one and a half hours first before adding the vegetables and cabbage and cooking for another two to one and a half hours. During that hour or so, I peel, chop, and season my vegetables and cabbage.

After about an hour, remove the corn beef and strain all the grease and fat out of my liquid, being careful to do so over a bowl so you can keep the liquid for the rest of the cooking. If I need to so do, I also wash away any grease that’s accumulated on the rack, too.

Then return the rack to the pan and replace the corn beef on top of the rack. Carefully place the vegetables around the corn beef. You should be sure to put things like potatoes and carrots first on the bottom because they often need more heat to cook. Then place the cabbage wedges on top of the vegetables around the corn beef.

Pour the saved liquid over the cabbage, vegetables and meat, and cook for another two hours or so with the lid on. When your corn beef is done, it should be fork tender. The same with your vegetables.

When the corn beef, cabbage and vegetables are done, I remove them to another pan and thicken the liquid. You can do this by making a rue of olive oil and flour that you slowly add the liquid to. Or you can mix cornstarch with water and add that to the warm liquid. Either way you need to heat the liquid on the stove top, stirring frequently until it thickens.

Then pour the sauce over the corn beef and cabbage and serve.

Cooking Techniques: Stuffed Cabbage

February 13, 2014PajamaLiving informational, lesson Leave a comment

How do you feel about cabbage?

I was a Freshman at Amherst College, speaking on the phone with the mother of a host family who had invited me to dinner. Since I had never met her, I wasn’t sure if she was asking me if I liked to eat cabbage or whether she was waiting to deliver the punchline for a joke.

“Um…,” I said.

Apparently she was skilled at interpreting monosyllabic responses, because she replied, “Oh, sorry. You’re probably wondering if this is a joke, but we like cabbage, and I was thinking you might because you’re Korean, but I didn’t want to presume.”

I was able to assure her, that yes, I did indeed eat and like cabbage, and I went on to have a very lovely dinner at their home later in the week which included a wonderful cabbage soup as the part of the meal.

I was reminded of this experience early this week when I received an email on my pajama living gmail account: “How do you feel about cabbage for company?”

Cabbage is one of those foods which people seem to either love or hate, like brussel sprouts. There’s something about the smell and color (regardless of which variety – green, purple, white) which tends to put some people off. Cabbage, however, is a wonderful vegetable to incorporate into one’s diet, rich in vitamins, folates, and fiber, but also extremely versatile.

I’ve noticed that here in the United States people think of cabbage only in relation to cole slaw, Chinese egg rolls or corned beef and cabbage, but there are many, many ways to eat and prepare cabbage, including soups, entrees, salads, and sautes.

So, I responded to the email in the affirmative: “Cabbage is lovely to serve to company.” I did, however, indicate caution: “Just make sure whomever you’re serving either likes to eat or is willing to try cabbage.” I then sent a recipe for stuffed cabbage which my family likes to eat, which I’m going to talk about below.

If you’ve never had stuffed cabbage, you really ought to try it. Not only is it delicious, but you can change it up to fit whatever you actually have in your fridge.

Some tips:

1. Choosing cabbage: Don’t limit yourself to just the standard green head of cabbage. Try red, Napa, Savoy, Bok choy, etc…. Napa and Savoy have milder, sweeter flavors and are a more tender leaf cabbage. Bok choy and red cabbage have slightly thicker stems and a heartier flavor. All are wonderful for stuffing.

2. Preparing the cabbage: There are a variety of ways to prepare your cabbage for stuffing. It really comes down to preference, I think.

Some chefs recommend wrapping your cabbage in plastic and microwaving it in a bowl until the outer leaves are soft and pliable. I’m not so fond of the idea of cooking anything in plastic, though, and it means you have to keep removing the outer leaves and repeating the process several times to get all the leaves you want.

Others recommend removing the leaves you want to cook and cooking them in boiling water until they’re soft and pliable. This method is actually fine, but I find that the leaves get a little water-logged and I have to then dry them which takes time and uses up my paper towels or adds more kitchen towels to my laundry for the week.

So, the method I prefer is: I bring a pot of water to boiling. Then I core a cabbage but keep it whole and put the entire cabbage into the pot of boiling water. I boil it for six to eight minutes with the lid on and then remove the entire cabbage to a strainer to drain and cool for a few minutes. Then I’m able to simply peel off the leaves one at a time as I need them, and whatever is leftover is still intact for me to use for another recipe.

One final method that people sometimes use: Wrap the cabbage tightly and freeze for a day. Defrost it. The leaves will be soft and pliable.

3. Preparing a filling: Fillings are fun. You can do whatever you want. Do you like ground meat? Only vegetables? Rice? Bread crumbs? Chicken? Ham? Sausage? Anything and everything can be a filling for stuffed cabbage. You can suit the stuffing to your taste, or like me, it simply depends on what is in the house on hand for me to use.

The key thing to remember is that whatever you use should be cooked first, though. Don’t put raw ground beef or raw vegetables into the filling. Brown or cook your meats, and saute your vegetables. If you want rice, use cooked leftover rice from another meal. I’ve seen recipes which tell you to use converted rice or raw vegetables, and they really don’t cook up well in my experience. Some recipes even use raw meat, which does cook but then the juices from the raw meat run out of the cabbage into the sauce, leaving something to be desired for the texture and the taste.

The second thing to keep in mind is the seasoning. How you season it will depend on what flavor you have in mind. Do you want an Italian style stuffed cabbage with ground meat? Then you’ll want to use garlic and onions and herbs like oregano and basil. Do you want an Asian style stuffed cabbage with rice? You might then prefer to use coriander and ginger. Do simply want the taste of your filling to come through? Just use some salt and pepper.

4. Preparing a sauce: Stuffed cabbage can be prepared with a variety of sauces – a tomato sauce, a sweet and sour sauce, a lemon-egg sauce, a soy sauce. The list is endless. It depends on the taste you’re going for – Asian, Greek, Italian, etc….

What you should keep in mind is that no matter what type of sauce you use, it’s always best to coat the bottom of your pan with some as well as pouring the sauce over the top. That way the flavor seeps from both sides into the cabbage rolls. I also usually use some of the sauce in the filling mixture as my moist binder.

5. Cooking the cabbage rolls: You’ll find a variety of ways to cook the cabbage rolls. You can cook them on the stove top in a single layer, but you need to make sure to watch them carefully so they don’t burn and stick to the bottom of the pan. You’ll need to keep the pot covered for even cooking.

You can cook them in a slow cooker over the entire day, which is something I like to do. Just be sure to layer the rolls alternately in your layers so there are good gaps for the heat to generate around all the rolls and so the sauce can seep down between the layers.

You can bake them in the oven, which I also like to do. Just be sure to cook them first covered with foil for about 45 minutes so the cabbage leaves will soften. Then remove the foil for the last little bit of cooking so your sauce will thicken a bit.

Sweet and Sour Stuffed Cabbage

Ingredients:

Head of cabbage, 18 leaves

Two 14.5 oz cans of no salt, no sugar diced tomatoes

One 6 oz can of tomato paste

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup coconut sugar

2 tsp olive oil

3 cups finely diced or 2 cups pureed vegetables (zucchini, squash, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, your choice)

1/4 cup chopped onions

2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp roasted or regular ground coriander

1 tsp cinnamon

2 packed cups of finely diced ham (1/4 inch) (16 oz)

3 loosely filled or 2 packed cups of cooked brown and wild rice (16 oz)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Bring a pot filled with enough water to cover the cabbage head to boil.

2. Core the cabbage and put the whole head into the boiling water. Cover and boil for six to eight minutes.

3. Remove the head of cabbage to a strainer and allow it to drain and cool.

4. In a food processor, puree the diced tomatoes with the tomato paste, cider vinegar and coconut sugar. Remove one cup to use in the filling. Set the rest aside.

5. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Saute the vegetables with the onions, garlic, pepper, ginger, coriander, and cinnamon until they are soft and most of the water has evaporated off, about three to five minutes.

6. Put the vegetables into a bowl and mix well with the chopped ham, rice, and one cup of sweet and sour sauce.

7. Remove 18 leaves from the cabbage, and trim the thick part of the center ribs so the cabbage leaves are flatter all around.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put about one cup of your sweet and sour sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.

9. Scoop 1/3 cup of the filling into each leaf. Pull the edge of the cabbage leaf that was closest to the core over the filling and wrap the sides in over the edge. Then pull the opposite edge of the leaf over the sides. Essentially you’re making an envelope for the filling.

10. Place the cabbage roll seam side down into the prepared pan. You can make three rows of six in a 9 x 13 pan.

11. When all 18 cabbage rolls are completed, cover the rolls with the remaining sauce and cover the pan tightly with foil.

12. Bake the rolls in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, and finish cooking for another 15 minutes.

Cooking Techniques: Leftover Makeovers

February 4, 2014PajamaLiving informational, lesson Leave a comment

There are risks, and then there are risks.

I recently read an article about people who like to ski on mountains with risks of avalanches. The article detailed the number of deaths from such risky skiing but then went on to talk about the numerous devices now available to skiers in the event of an avalanche. I couldn’t help but wonder about the type of people who would willingly ski on a mountain that requires you to carry a tracker in your pack in case someone needs to locate you underneath a mound of snow; to carry special poles which allow you to dig in case a friend is trapped underneath snow; and to strap an inflatable device to your backside with the hopes that in the event of an avalanche, you might be able to “ride” the avalanche out instead of being killed by it.

It occurred to me, though, that several friends have made similar comments about me with respect to my cooking. They have wondered aloud to me about what type of person willingly makes recipes up on the spur of the moment for company, using whatever leftovers she has in her fridge and not knowing whether the food will actually be edible or not. For some of them, that is risky behavior they are not inclined to follow. When a friend asked such a question of me the other day, I knew it would have to be a topic for our series on cooking techniques.

The fact is that turning leftovers into a scrumptious meal for company or the family is not risky behavior. It’s being creative, and being creative is easy if you know where and how to begin.

Techniques for utilizing leftovers:

1. Make soup: Meat, beans, vegetables, fish, pasta, rice, potatoes, anything actually, can be turned into a good soup. If you have leftover vegetables, puree them with garlic, onions, black pepper, and herbs of your choosing, and add a fat free, no salt broth of your choosing to the consistency you like. Warm, and serve with assorted garnishes of choice like shredded low fat cheese or crushed croutons or chopped chives or sliced turkey bacon. Your guests will never know you were using leftovers.

If you have a little of this and a little of that leftover from a variety of meals, chop everything into bite size pieces and throw it all into a slow cooker. Don’t worry that you’re mixing a Mexican dish with an Italian one. Add a can of no salt, no sugar diced tomatoes and broth of your choosing with dried herbs and black pepper, and let it cook all day. You’ll be surprised at how tasty the soup is. If you don’t have quite enough leftovers, you can always add some thawed, frozen vegetables or a can of no salt, no sugar beans. Your soup will be a minestrone of sorts which your guests will thoroughly enjoy.

2. Make egg dishes: If you have a small amount of leftovers, you can chop your leftovers, place them into a greased pan, mix eggs with some “milk”, herbs, onions, and black pepper, pour over the chopped leftovers, and bake for a straightforward egg bake. For an egg bake, your eggs to leftover ratio is such that you have more eggs than leftovers.

If you have a large amount of leftovers, you can make a timbale or souffle. A timbale is similar to an egg bake because you use beaten eggs and milk, but your ratio of eggs to leftovers is such that you have more leftovers than egg mixture. Instead of pouring the mixture over your leftovers, you want to puree the leftovers and mix your egg mixture into your leftovers before spreading the mixture into a greased pan.

For a souffle, you separate the eggs, mixing the egg yolks into the pureed leftovers. You then whip the egg whites until they are stiff and gently fold them into the leftovers before putting them in a pan to cook. I’ll be doing a post on souffles soon since people seem to think they’re difficult when they’re really not, and they’re wonderful to serve for company.

3. Make enchiladas: Just about any type of meat, bean, fish, quinoa, or vegetable can become a filling for enchiladas. Simply finely chop your leftovers, add cumin and cilantro and salsa, add your type of “cheese” and scoop the mixture into your favorite wrap, whether it’s a corn, whole wheat, gluten free spinach or other type of tortilla. I make an enchilada sauce by combining tomato soup, salsa, garlic and cumin which I pour over the top of the enchiladas and then cover with “cheese”. One of my kids favorites is when I use leftover quinoa mixed with leftover black beans and vegetables.

4. Make pasta salad: Any leftover meats, beans and vegetables go well with pasta. Just decide whether you want a cold salad or a warm one. If going with cold, make a marinade of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, onions, black pepper, and ground mustard where the lemon juice is half your amount of olive oil and the rest is to your taste preference. Mix your leftover with your pasta of choice and blend well with the marinade. The salad should be in the fridge for at least an hour or two for the flavors to meld, but then let it sit for 30 minutes to come to room temperature for serving.

If making a hot pasta salad, decide on the type of sauce you’d like. A white sauce? A tomato sauce? A pesto sauce? A cheesy sauce? It depends on the type of leftovers you have. If it’s just vegetables leftover, any type will go well. Anything with ground meat or beef or pasta tends to go well with a tomato sauce. Chicken and turkey or ham goes well with a white or cheese sauce. Make your chosen sauce, mix your leftovers with your pasta and the sauce and pop the entree into the oven to warm, usually about thirty minutes.

5. Make rice dishes: Leftover meat, vegetables, fish and beans are great with rice. If you have meat like sausage, chicken, seafood and vegetables leftover, make a jambalaya or paella. Both are simply rice, broth, tomatoes and spices mixed with meats, seafood and vegetables, so they’re a great way to utilize leftovers.

You can also make a stir fried rice. Take whatever leftovers you have, chop them into bite size pieces, and stir fry them in a little sesame oil just until warm. Add them to cooked rice and stir fry a little more with garlic, soy sauce to taste and onions.

Or you can make a rice casserole. Two types I like to make are a rice parmagiana where I mix the leftover meats and vegetables with rice and beaten eggs and layer the rice mixture alternately with slices of tomatoes and mozzarella “cheese” and bake in a greased pan until golden brown and crispy around the edges, about thirty minutes.

The other way is to make a nice “cheesy” white sauce or a curried white sauce which I mix into rice and the leftover meat or seafood and vegetables and bake in the oven until warm. The curried rice dish is always especially well-liked.

The final way to utilize leftover rice and meat or seafood and vegetables is to make rice muffins. Mix everything up with herbs and black pepper. Beat some eggs and mix them into the rice and leftover mixture, and evenly distribute them among greased muffin tins. Bake until warm and browned.

6. Make pies: Pot pies and shepherd’s pies are great ways to revamp leftovers. Chop leftover meats and vegetables into bite size pieces. For a pot pie, heat two tbsp of olive oil and stir in 1/4 cup of chosen flour. Slowly add 2 cups of a chosen broth, and stir until the broth thickens. Add herbs and black pepper and pour over the leftover meat and vegetables. Spread into a pan and top with a biscuit or crust recipe of your choosing. and bake until the biscuits or crust are golden and the pot pie is bubbly.

For a shepherd’s pie, chop the leftovers into bite size pieces and mix them with your favorite tomato soup. Spread into a greased pan and top with mashed potatoes (shepherd’s pie is great to make when you already have leftover mashed potatoes) and a layer of cheddar “cheese”. Bake until warm and bubbly.

7. Make chili: Throw all the leftover meat and vegetables and beans into a slow cooker. Add tomatoes and chili peppers or spices and garlic and onions and more beans if needed, and just let it simmer all day.

8. Stuff something: If you puree leftover meats and vegetables and beans and add “cheese” and sauteed bread crumbs of your choosing, along with herbs, garlic, and onions, you have a wonderful filling for stuffing mushrooms or eggplants or zucchinis or peppers or squash or anything else you can stuff.

9. Make “cakes”: Finely chopped leftovers mixed with bread crumbs, spices, and beat eggs can be made into seafood or meat and vegetable cakes. Let the mixture meld in the fridge for half an hour, and then form into little patties which you can bake in the oven or fry on the stove top.

10. Make mac and cheese: When all else fails, make your favorite baked macaroni and cheese but add chopped up leftover meat and vegetables before baking. It adds a little something to your mac and cheese as well as extending the amount to accommodate a lot of guests.

Luncheon Rice Dish (made with leftovers)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup flour of choice

1 1/4 cup milk of choice

1/2 cup fat free reduced salt chicken broth

1/4 cup white cooking wine

1/2 to 2 tsp curry powder, depending on how much you like curry

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 1/2 cups finely chopped leftover ham, chicken and vegetables

2 to 3 cups cooked brown rice, depending on the ratio of rice to leftovers you want

Optional: cheddar “cheese” of choice

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a casserole dish.

2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and brown for a minute.

3. Slowly add the milk and broth. Whisk until the flour is completely mixed in, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture has thickened.

4. Add the wine, curry powder and black pepper.

5. Mix the chopped leftovers with the rice and the sauce.

6. Pour into the prepared pan and if using, top with the cheddar “cheese”. Bake for thirty minutes until the entree is warm and bubbly.

Cooking Techniques: Omelets

January 22, 2014PajamaLiving informational, lesson Leave a comment

“Do I look like a ma’am to you?”

I was 15 and working at a military base Burger King. I asked a woman, “Ma’am, would you like cream and sugar in your coffee?”

“Ma’am?” she asked. “Ma’am? Do I look like a ma’am to you?”

At 15 I didn’t understand what I had said to make her so upset, but fast forward fifteen years later….

I had been out shopping, using the gift cards I had received for my 30th birthday. Arriving home, I dropped my bags on the floor and slumped into the nearest kitchen chair.

“What’s wrong?” asked my husband.

“What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong. Pimply-faced teenage clerks kept calling me ma’am. Do I look like a ma’am to you?”

As the words slipped from my mouth, that woman’s face from fifteen years earlier swam before my face. I had one of those “ah-ha” moments where everything is so clear that you wonder how you hadn’t realized it before.

Those ah-ha moments come in all sorts of situations. I still remember my first cooking “ah-ha” moment. I had taught myself at a young age to make omelettes. I had the basic principles down – mixed eggs; setting the eggs to form a base for the meat and/or cheese and/or vegetables; and folding. My omelets, however, lacked a certain something. They were flat, and quite often they broke when I folded them over. I wanted thick, fluffy omelettes which would hold the filling and provide a good egg to filling ratio.

One weekend, as a teenager, my parents took me to a conference where the breakfast buffet included the chef making fresh omelettes for the guests right at the table. As I watched him, everything I had been doing wrong became clear.

I was reminded of this particular ah-ha moment this past week when my middle child wanted me to teach her how to make omelettes, so for this post, we’ll look at omelette technique.

Figuring Out Omelettes:

1. Eggs alone verses eggs and liquid: My grandmother always told me that she put water into her eggs because they made them fluffier than putting milk, and if you google omelettes and scrambled eggs, you’ll find “advice” on all sides of the issue. After experimenting, I have not found that adding milk or water affects the fluffy factor at all. Adding any type of liquid simply makes your eggs more “liquidy” and less “eggy”. Whether you add liquid or not is really a taste preference: Eggs blended on their own will be a little dryer. Water added will make for thinner but slightly moister eggs. Milk adds some flavor as well as moisture. Cream makes for a richer omelette. If you do add water or milk or cream, though, don’t add more than 1 tbsp per egg, because too much liquid will only cause liquid to separate out from your eggs.

2. Low heat heat verse higher heat: I always cooked my omelettes over low heat because I feared burning them while I was waiting for them to set, but the chef I watched made his omelettes over a medium-high heat. If you google the subject, you’ll once again find many differing opinions. The one consensus among the opinions and my own experience is that you shouldn’t ever cook eggs over high heat. It doesn’t give the eggs time to set properly, and if you’re not watching like a hawk, they will burn. After experimenting, I’ve found that starting the omelettes on a medium-low heat and turning down the heat to low actually works best for cooking an omelette more quickly while also setting it without burning it.

3. Setting the eggs: I had always set my omelettes by cooking the blended eggs over low heat with a lid on top. This worked well, but it made for a very flat omelette which wasn’t very solid nor was it fluffy. Watching the chef that day, however I realized that he knew the secret. You have to create layers to your egg. To do so, you bring the liquid egg sitting on the top to the more solid bottom part of your egg.

How do you do this? When you pour your egg mixture into your pan, within a minute, it will start to set around the edges. Just it begins to set, you gently lift a sold edge of the omelette and tilt your pan so that the egg that hasn’t solidified can run underneath your omelette. You keep doing this around different parts of your edge until no more eggs will run down underneath. What this does is to create depth to your omelette which makes the omelette thicker and fluffier and more stable for your filling.

4. Pan size and type: Once again, people have a lot of opinions about what you should use for cooking omelettes. The only two things you really need to know are: 1) No matter what type of pan you use, it should be one that your eggs won’t stick to. That doesn’t necessarily mean a nonstick pan. It just means that you need to grease your pan well. I normally put a tsp of olive oil into my pan and make sure I spread it all around the pan, including up the sides. 2) Your pan should be properly sized. A omelette made with two eggs or equivalent should not be cooked in a pan larger than 6 to 8 inches wide. The larger the pan, the more your eggs will spread, and the thinner the omelette will be. Similarly, if you’re making an omelette to share and are using four eggs, you want your pan to be 9 to 10 inches wide so you’ll have proper heat distribution and enough egg space for your filling.

5. Fillings: Few people make omelettes plain with nothing in them. If they want their eggs plain, they simply scramble them. Omelettes are specifically designed for filling, even if it’s simply with cheese. A couple of tips for really good omelettes: 1) Since an omelette usually cooks in about 3 to 5 minutes, if you want your filling to be warm, you should saute them first. I like to saute chopped mushrooms, broccoli, peppers and spinach. My husband likes to saute chopped ham. Whatever you prefer, if you saute the meat or veggies for a minute or two, they’ll be warm and you can season them with the spices and herbs you like for added flavor. 2) If using cheese, shredded is always best. You want something that will melt quickly just from the heat of the folded over egg. About a tablespoon of shredded cheese or cheese substitute for a two egg or equivalent omelette is good.

6. Flavoring: Most recipes for omelettes simply use salt and pepper, but for really good omelettes you should always consider adding herbs or spices, and for health reasons, omit the salt. I make my omelettes with black pepper, chopped chives and paprika. My oldest likes to make hers with cumin. One friend of mine swears by thyme. Another believes only oregano and basil should allowed in an omelette. Experiment and see what flavors you prefer.

Okay, for a recipe. Here’s how I make my omelettes these days:

Omelette

Ingredients:

olive oil (2 tsp, divided)

fillings (meats and/or veggies), about 1/4 to 1/2 cup worth, chopped

seasonings for the filling (pepper, herbs, spices)

two egg whites or 1/4 cup liquid egg whites

one whole egg

1 tbsp flax milk (or whatever you prefer)

ground black pepper (a pinch, about 1/8 tsp)

chopped chives (a good sprinkle, about 1 tsp)

paprika (a dash, about 1/4 tsp)

1 tbsp of shredded Daiya cheddar “cheese”

Cooking Instructions:

1. Spread 1 tsp olive oil in a pan and heat on medium-low.

2. Chop vegetables and meat into small pieces and saute in the pan with seasonings like pepper, oregano, basil, onion powder, whatever, just until the vegetables begin to soften and meats are warm. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Re-coat the pan with another 1 tsp olive oil and warm over medium-low heat.

4. Whisk with a fork: the egg whites, whole egg, flax milk, pepper, chives, and paprika until well blended.

5. Pour the eggs onto the hot pan and let the edges begin to set. Should do so pretty quickly. Once setting begins, lower the heat to low.

6. Using your spatula, gently lift a solidified edge and tilt your pan so some of the liquid egg runs down underneath. Do the same with an edge side opposite the one you just did and continue until your liquid eggs are gone. This will only take a minute.

7. Add your filling to one side of the omelette, and add the shredded cheese on top. Using a spatula fold the empty side of the egg on top of the filling. Turn the heat off and cover the omelette with a lid for about 30 to 60 seconds.

8. Remove the lid and slide the omelette onto a plate to enjoy.

*NOTE: If I’m serving omelettes for company, I make three to four, but instead of putting all the cheese and meats into the omelettes, I keep some back for the top. I make the omelettes and then lay them side by side in an ovenproof dish. Then, I sprinkle the remaining cheese and meat on top of the omelettes, sometimes adding thinly sliced tomatoes and spinach leaves on top as well. After I put the dish into the oven at 170 degrees which not only melts the cheese but keeps the omelettes warm until we’re ready to eat.

Cooking Techniques: Crab Cakes

January 17, 2014PajamaLiving informational, lesson 1 Comment

Proceed to Rte 2. Proceed to Rte 2.

Until recently, I had traveled the old-fashioned way: Jotting down directions on a piece of paper which I figured out using a map. This past year, however, my father gave us a GPS, which I have been using whenever I’m going someplace new.

For the most part, the GPS has been very helpful. I enjoy no longer trying to look at written directions and drive at the same time. I appreciate that the “woman who lives in the GPS” tells me exactly when to turn and in which direction. I have fun with the kids as we laugh when the GPS tries to phonetically pronounce New England towns which are never pronounced as they are spelled.

The other day, though, I was driving to a new destination which I knew I’d need to take Rte 2 to find. The GPS, however, seemed to believe I wasn’t actually on Rte 2 itself. The little arrow which indicates where you are had me off to the side of Rte 2. So, for the next ten minutes, I listened as the poor woman in the GPS valiantly tried to get me onto Rte 2. At every intersecting road, she would tell me to turn in a direction which would supposedly get me back to Rte 2. Finally, as those intersections ceased to exist, the poor GPS simply continued to say over and over again, “Proceed to Rte 2. Proceed to Rte 2.”

I confess, I was torn between feeling quite sorry for the machine and being frustrated with the absurdity of technology. On the one hand, the machine was only doing what it was programmed to do – get me onto the correct route. On the other hand, with all our technological advances, someone hasn’t figured out how to correctly input the longitude and latitude of Rte 2?

These similar feelings were aroused when a friend of mine called last week about her crab cakes. She wanted to impress some dinner company, and the recipe she had found online wasn’t working. On the one hand, I felt terrible for my friend who was doing her best to make a nice dinner. On the other hand, I was frustrated by the number of recipes which are published which don’t actually work well.

So, for this post of our continuing adventures in cooking techniques, we are going to focus on crab cakes. I realize some folks will have shellfish allergies and never actually make crab cakes, but the fundamental principles also apply if you want to make a vegetable panccake instead.

Some problems with crab cakes:

1. If you try to make crab cakes, you quickly realize that trying to keep the crab in an actual cake or patty shape without the crab cakes falling apart as they cook can be difficult. So, the key to helping with this problem is in how you make the crab cakes.

I have found that doing two things in conjunction with each other works best. First, mix all your binding ingredients together before adding them to the crab. Whatever you’re using – cracker crumbs, bread crumbs, cornmeal – mix that up with your eggs and herbs and liquids first and let it sit for a few minutes. Then, mix the binder into your crab pieces. You’ll need to take a few minutes to incorporate the binder well, but it’s worth those few extra minutes to do so.

The second thing to be done is to chill your crab cake mixture before forming the crab cake patties. Chilling allows the ingredients to better meld with another so that when you form the patties, they’ll hold together better. So, after you make your crab cake mixture, cover it well with plastic wrap or foil and let it rest in the fridge for a little bit. I find that fifteen minutes is really the minimum you should keep it in the fridge. I usually opt for about 30 minutes. You will find recipes that suggest an hour or two.

2. Another potential problem with crab cakes is the taste. People differ on their expectations about crab cakes. Some folks like the cakes to have a strong flavor of something other than crab so you’ll find recipes which use mayonnaise and mustard which make for a heavier taste. Other folks prefer the taste of the crab to come through and would rather use just some herbs. For my friend, the recipe she found was heavy on the mayonnaise, and she didn’t really like it. If you’re trying to compromise, you can do what I do which is to make a lighter crab cake with lemon juice and herbs and accompany it with a nice remoulade sauce which is essentially mayonnaise with herbs and seasonings.

Folks also differ about the type of crab to use. Fresh is said to be the best, and I would agree. Unfortunately budget limitations and availability of fresh crab can limit the opportunity to use fresh. I personally use frozen or canned crab meat. This time of year (winter) it’s usually canned. While you lose some of the texture and taste of fresh crab, you can still have great tasting crab cakes, so do what works for your budget and what’s available for you to purchase.

If using frozen, though, make sure thaw the crab pieces first, and if using canned, be sure to drain the crab pieces.

3. The final potential issue with making crab cakes is how you cook them. Recipes vary from deep frying to cooking them in the oven. It really comes down to preference and health issues. If you are trying to eat healthy, then baking the cakes in the oven is the best, but you will find that the flavor is lacking a bit. What I do is to put a teaspoon or two of olive oil in a bowl and lightly brush the olive oil on the top of the crab cake; then halfway through the cooking time, flip the cakes and do the same with the other side.

For my preference for cooking crab cakes, I cook them on top of the stove in a pan lightly coated with olive oil. This works well and is quicker than cooking the crab cakes in the oven.

If you do choose to deep fry the crab cakes, the key is to have hot oil, 350 to 375 degrees, so you can fry them quickly which reduces the amount of oil the cakes absorb.

So, for a recipe that I use:

Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

1 tbsp dried dill

2 tbsp chopped chives (dried or fresh)

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup liquid egg whites

3/4 cup gluten free bread crumbs (whatever you’d prefer)

24 ounces of crabmeat (six 6 oz cans will give you 24 oz of meat)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Whisk the dill, chives, lemon juice, black pepper and egg whites together.

2. Add the bread crumbs and mix well. Let sit for a few minutes.

3. Drain the crabmeat and put into a bowl. Add the breadcrumb mixture and combine well.

4. Cover the crabmeat and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, 30 if you have the time.

5. Form the crabmeat mixture into patties. (I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the crabmeat so my patties are uniform.) Loosely and lightly pat the crab cakes into shape.

6. Coat the bottom of a nonstick skillet with about 1 tsp of olive oil. Heat to medium-low.

7. Place the patties onto the skillet and slightly flatten them. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the side is browned.

8. Flip the crab cakes and again slightly flatten. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the second side is browned.

9. Serve with remoulade sauce.

Remoulade sauce: Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I like to use a reduce fat olive oil mayonnaise.) with 2 tbsp finely chopped green onions, 1/2 tsp ground mustard, and 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning. Add lemon juice until the sauce is at the consistancy and lemony flavor you like. (I usually use about 3 tbsp.) Put it into the fridge for the flavors to meld while you’re cooking the crab cakes.

New Year’s Food Resolutions

January 1, 2014PajamaLiving informational, lesson Leave a comment

New Year’s Resolutions.

I was 12 years old when I made my first New Year’s resolution to be better behaved. That was the summer I spent two months grounded for recurring infractions. When I was 15 I decided to give up on boys. I had three different boyfriends before the year was out. At 18, I resolved to watch my weight better. I started college and gained 15 pounds. When my husband and I got married (in December), we decided (in January) that we’d finish grad school before starting a family. We became pregnant with our oldest despite three different forms of birth control, and I never attended grad school. After she was born, my husband and I resolved to give up making resolutions, and we’ve been faithful to that for almost 18 years.

For many people, the new year is a time for making changes to their lives, especially health-related ones. Studies, though, reveal that less than 10% of people always succeed in keeping their New Year’s resolutions. I believe it.

Interestingly enough, however, studies say that folks who continue to make New Year’s resolutions are 10 times more likely to succeed with their goals than those who don’t. So, I have to wonder….

Maybe resolutions aren’t such a bad thing.

How to keep them, however, requires making resolutions wisely, especially when it comes to food related ones.

Some thoughts I have, not as someone who’s actually made and kept resolutions, but as someone who’s had to make and keep lifestyle changes because life required it:

1. Don’t resolve to change everything: If you’re shooting for healthier eating, just resolve to do one thing better this year. Maybe you’ll try incorporating more vegetables into your diet. Or this could be the year you daily drink your eight glasses of hydrating fluids. Or how about simply adding a walk three times a week for half an hour each time.

2. Do resolve to try something different: Often we make resolutions about a habit we need to change by simply trying to stop the habit. When it comes to food, eating something healthier and different in place of what you’re trying to quit works much better. If you’re a chocoholic, try eating a piece of fruit when the craving hits or drink a glass of a fat-free “milk” that you’ve added dark cocoa powder to with a tiny bit of sweetener. If you love sandwiches, try making an open-faced sandwich on one whole grain piece of bread. If you always take the elevator, take the stairs at least once each day.

3. Don’t go it alone: Friends and family are wonderful for this. If you’re going to start walking, ask a friend to if she wants to join you a couple times a week. If you’re starting to eat gluten free, don’t just cook for yourself – make it a family affair. If you know you won’t be able to resist that piece of chocolate, phone a friend and chat.

4. Do try to be fun and creative: If your resolution is to exercise and you’re doing so reluctantly, put on your favorite fast beat music and dance around your living room instead. If you don’t like vegetables, don’t eat them plain. Make tempura (recipe will follow below) or a stir fry where you experiment with different spices and herbs to see what flavors you like best. If you have to change your diet, find ways to “jazz” up the meal – peel your carrots into spirals (one of my kids’ favorites); stuff the zucchini with sauteed vegetables and herbs which you stir a little bit of real or tofu cream cheese into to make creamy; toast some gluten free bread crumbs with herbs and sprinkle it onto your fish.

5. Don’t set unrealistic expectations: If you need to lose weight, you’re generally not going to lose 30 lbs in six months. Shoot for ten lbs over 12 months, and you’ll be more likely to achieve your goal. If you’ve eaten white flour your whole life, it may take trying a few different types of whole grains before you find one that you actually like. If you always reach for junk food when you’re stressed, expect to slide occasionally, even if you’ve been doing well for a while.

6. Do search out help: If you need to eat differently, read some magazines about allergy free or healthy eating to learn tips which can help you. If you want to exercise, ask your doctor the best way to begin. If you crave everything all the time, search online for tips for how to curb cravings.

7. Don’t be hard on yourself: Remember the statistics. If you fail at keeping your resolution, you won’t be the only one. And if you aren’t successful this time, it doesn’t mean you can’t be. Again, remember the studies – just make a new resolution, and you’ll improve your chances of success next time simply by continuing to make the resolutions.

So, now for that tempura. My children love my mother’s tempura, but of course, it’s made with wheat. I wanted to make something which could compete in taste and crispiness, and after a couple of different versions, I finally came upon one that is absolutely delicious and works well. The bonus: My children eat tons of veggies! And if you keep your heat high and use a heart healthy oil, it’s been shown that your veggies don’t absorb a lot of oil.

Tempura

Ingredients:

Heart healthy oil (I like to use Smart Balance for this)

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pie Crust (Make sure it’s the “pie crust” only mix, not the “biscuit and baking mix” or the gluten free “baking flour”)

ground black pepper

cold water

ice cubes

Quinoa flour

Veggies (broccoli, petite baby carrots, green beans, mushrooms, zucchini, etc…)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat your oil to about 375 degrees in a pan suited for doing so. (I actually own a fryer which the only two things I ever fry are tempura and mandu, which is a Korean dumpling.)

2. Put some of the pie crust mix into a bowl. How much depends on how much you’re making. I always start with at least two cups.

3. Add some black pepper to taste. I usually use 1/2 tsp per 2 cups of crust mix.

4. Fill a large measuring cup half-filled with ice cubes and add cold water. Slowly add water and ice cubes to your flour mix, whisking as you do so, until the batter is just about to the consistency you want. (I test it by pulling up my whisk. If the batter easily flows off the whisk like water, it’s good.) You’ll have some unmelted ice cubes in the batter. That’s perfect. Those will continue to melt and keep your batter cold while you turn your attention to the veggies.

5. Put some quinoa flour in a bowl and dip your veggies into the flour to coat them. Shake off any excess.

6. Dip the floured veggies into the tempura batter and shake off any excess.

7. Put just enough veggies into your oil as the pan can accommodate. You don’t want to overfill the pan because the tempura batter will expand. You want to put the veggies in as quickly as you can and then cover the pan. Immediately put two minutes on your timer.

8. When two minutes are up, remove the veggies, making sure to lightly shake off any excess oil. Put the veggies into a pan lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil.

9. Tempura is best eaten while still warm. Eat plain or with soy sauce or a sauce of your own choosing.

Pajama Living

Navigating Food and Life Challenges

Tag Archives: soy free

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New Year’s Food Resolutions

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