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MaryKate – Page 12 – surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

Author: MaryKate

  • Mung Bean Patties

    Mung Bean Patties with roasted potatoes
    Mung Bean Patties with roasted potatoes

    This recipe is actually perfect for coming out of last week, as, like so many things that happened last week it arose out of the ashes of me screwing something up because I did not know what I was doing and was not paying attention. Last week was just that kind of week. I need a nap. Or a vacation.

    A few years ago, I’d bought mung beans, dried, because I understood that they could be cooked relatively quickly, like lentils. So I put them in a pot with water, on a burner, and then wandered off to do something else. By the time I came back, I had mush instead of beans. Oops. So I made a bean loaf. You know, like meatloaf, but without vegetarian. The thing is, “bean loaf” sounds kind of gross, and baking this in a loaf meant you only had a few edges. Plus, it wasn’t really that successful at holding its shape when sliced.

    You really should soak the beans overnight, so far as I can tell, but you can also just dump a kettle of boiling water over them and soak them for about an hour. They will plump up quite nicely. They are “done” cooking when they are starting to fall apart but haven’t actually fallen apart yet.

    Since then, I’ve refined this so that I have less bean mush and more mushy beans, and revised the add-in vegetables and seasonings somewhat to create a flavorful bean-based patty. Actually, if you make them my way, they’re more ball-shaped, but bean balls isn’t appetizing either. We’ll go with patties. This recipe makes 16 patties measured out by a 1/2 cup ice cream scoop. These store and reheat well, but I have not tried freezing them. Structural integrity is still low, but they taste good, and who cares if your patty falls apart a bit? You already have a fork on hand.

    Soaked Mung Beans before cooking
    Soaked Mung Beans before cooking

     

    Mung Bean Patties

    • 2 cups dry mung beans, soaked overnight or covered in boiling water and soaked an hour
    • 3-4 carrots
    • 1/4 of a bell pepper (use up to half if you really love the flavor)
    • 1 bunch (6-8) scallions
    • 1 portobello mushroom cap
    • 2 cups fresh parsley leaves
    • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon tarragon (crush the leaves as you add it)
    • 1 teaspoon thyme (also crush this as you add it)
    • 1 Tablespoon basil
    • 1/2 to 2 teaspoons salt (to taste)

    Put soaked mung beans in a saucepan and cover with water so that there’s about an inch of water over the mung beans. Put over high heat, covered, and bring to a boil. Boil 8-10 minutes, turn to low, and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. Water should be completely absorbed, and beans should be slightly mushy but not entirely without structural integrity at this point. Remove from heat, remove cover, and let cool while you prep the veg.

    Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

    Using a food processor, grind up all the veg. You can do this any way you like, but here’s what works for me — I use the shredder attachment for the carrots and bell pepper, and then put the S-blade in to grind them up a bit more. The scallions and parsley will need liquid, so add the oil or vinegar to this. The mushroom should be fine with just the S-blade.

    Add the ground vegetables and all the seasonings, along with the mung beans, to a large bowl. Stir well, longer than you think you should, and then use your hands to really work the beans.

    There are two ways to form patties — either grease a muffin tin and fill it, or make scoops with an ice cream scoop and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or greased lightly. Make sure to pack the bean patties/balls together as you form them — these won’t be masterpieces that will stay together through a coming apocalypse, but they will hold their form as you dump them out of the muffin tins.

    Bake 15 minutes, then enjoy.

    Mung Bean Patties
    Mung Bean Patties

  • Greens and Beans: Swiss Chard and Cannellini

    image
    Swiss chard and cannellini@ beans

    I am not quite sure who figured out that beans and greens is an excellent combination, and that almost any greens and beans can be used, and that, if the beans are cooked (or canned, if you can use them) and the greens aren’t collards (which really do take time), this is a quick and healthy and satisfying meal. I’m a fan because I like greens and often forget how much — until I make another version of this and wonder why I don’t eat this regularly.

    Feel free to add a grain of your choice, but I usually skip that. Brown rice is particularly complementary. But in a rush, which I kind of feel I always am lately, beans and greens is enough.

    This makes two large servings, three “normal” sized servings, and is great leftover.

    Swiss Chard and Cannellini Beans

    • 2 Tablespoons oil of your choice
    • 1 can (or 2 cups) cooked cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (if canned)
    • freshly ground pepper, to taste
    • 2 Tablespoons dry sherry, dry white wine, or water
    • 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic (if using crushed from a jar, use about 2 teaspoons)
    • 1 bunch of Swiss chard, rainbow if you can get it, stems chopped, leaves chopped (separated)
    • 1-2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (beware “caramel coloring” or other additives) or lemon juice

    Heat a large skillet over medium heat until hot.

    Add oil. Heat until shimmering.

    Add beans. Cook maybe 5 minutes, until they start to crisp a little.

    Add pepper and sherry/wine/water. Cook until the liquid you just added is reduced by half.

    Add chopped stems and garlic and stir well. Cook 2-3 minutes.

    Add chopped chard leaves in handfuls, stirring each handful in as it wilts and adding the next. When it’s all in, add the vinegar or lemon juice, stir well, and let cook another minute. Taste, and add salt, pepper, or olive oil as needed to finish.

  • Soy-free, gluten-free "Tamari Sauce"

    Soy-Free Gluten-Free Tamari
    Soy-Free Gluten-Free Tamari

    Despite being diagnosed with a likely soy allergy and confirming it with a food challenge, I also challenged gluten-free tamari separately and decided I could handle it. But paying a little more attention to the fact that I felt lousy the day after Denise and I would have sushi, and also when I’d make stir-fry, I started experimenting with making my own soy sauce substitute. I did try coconut aminos. I didn’t like them. Your mileage may vary, but coconut aminos can also be a bit on the pricey side. Regardless of what you find that works for you, I think that soy sauce is a handy flavor to have in your arsenal for so many uses.

    I looked at and tried a variety of recipes online, but none were quite exactly what I wanted, taste-wise. This recipe is my version — I’d suggest trying it in this size (makes a little less than a cup) and then seeing what you might want more or less of in your own final version. Then, if you find you use it regularly, double it. So far, it seems to last safely about a month in the fridge. None of mine has made it past that.

    This sauce works best, in my opinion, in cooked or mixed recipes, so stir-fry, teriyaki, marinades of all sorts (like jerky), rather than as a dipping sauce for sushi. Although, hey, it works there, too, but it shows its differences a little more.

    Soy-free, gluten-free Tamari Sauce

    • 1 cup of beef or mushroom stock*
    • 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (be sure this is free of “caramel coloring”)
    • 2 teaspoons rice vinegar (free of sweeteners)
    • 3 teaspoons molasses
    • 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns (lightly smash one or two if you really like pepper flavor)
    • 1 teaspoon chopped garlic or one large clove, smashed
    • 1 large chunk of ginger — approximately 1 inch square, but chopped into 4 or so pieces
    • 1 pinch of onion powder
    • 1 teaspoon (or so) of salt

    In a saucepan, mix all the ingredients except the salt. A fork or whisk seems to work best to incorporate the onion powder and fully blend the molasses.

    Bring to a boil, then turn down to a high simmer (it should still be bubbling briskly) and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes, until reduced by 1/3 in volume.

    Remove from heat, whisk in salt. Allow the mixture to cool, then strain and bottle. Store in the fridge.

    *I would not highly recommend veggie stock for this, although if you really roasted the veg good and brown, it might be okay. Mushroom broth or stock has a richer flavor in the right direction for a soy sauce replacer, though, so if you want to make this vegan or vegetarian, and you’re not allergic to mushrooms, check out that option. There is at least one boxed brand on the market, or Vegetarian Times has a recipe.

    If you tweak this to your tastes, please let us know! Post your recipe or a link below in the comments.

     

  • Fresh Corn Stew

    Fresh Corn Stew
    Fresh Corn Stew

    I hate writing recipes I know Denise can’t eat, but that’s one of the things we deal with with food allergies — I almost feel guilty eating things someone else can’t. But I also know not to push that guilt on them. So sorry, corn-allergic friends and readers, but this one isn’t for you.

    With our CSA share, we are currently getting a ton of corn — about 6 ears a week. And I get all of it (which, I think works out — Denise has taken all the lettuce because I don’t eat it.) Corn on the cob is awesome (if you’re not allergic), but frankly, it gets boring quickly. Using up all the leftover corn gave rise a few variations to this recipe, a corn stew, though I’m not entirely sure about calling it a “stew.” It’s not primarily broth, like a soup, but it’s not a chowder because there is no cream or milk in it (though if you stir in the cashew sour cream suggested as a topping, BAM: chowder!). So we’ll go with stew. English. So imprecise sometimes.

    If you’ve never taken corn off the cob, here are some ideas about how to do this. I just use my largest cutting board and a long thin knife and clean up the mess.

    This stew is completely vegan, but depending on the toppings you choose, you might alter that. I suggest considering, as toppings: avocado, crumbled bacon, scallion greens, cashew sour cream, cheese (vegan or not, as you decide), and cilantro. You sure don’t need all of these, but this stew kind of begs for a topping or two. In any case, it highlights the sweet corn that says “summer” to so many people.

     

    Versatile: with bacon, vegan, and with cashew sour cream
    Fresh Corn Stew is Versatile: with bacon, vegan, and with cashew sour cream

    Fresh Corn Stew

    • about 2 T oil or fat of your choice (if you are going to top this with bacon, consider using the fat!)
    • 2 leeks, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
    • 1 Italian pepper, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
    • 3 ears of fresh sweet corn, cooked and kernels cut off the cob (between 1.5 and 2 cups)
    • 1 teaspoon dried basil (or about 4 leaves fresh, chopped)
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • 16-20 oz. of vegetable broth or stock
    • 3 small fresh tomatoes, cut into chunks (between 3/4 and 1 cup)

    Toppings, all optional:

    • scallions
    • cashew sour cream*
    • fresh cilantro, chopped
    • bacon, cooked and crumbled
    • cheese or cheese substitute
    • avocado

    In large pot, heat oil over medium heat. When hot, add leeks, stir well, and then add chopped pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until soft.

    Add corn kernels, stir well, and then add basil, salt, and pepper. If you are using commercial broth, go light on the salt until you’ve tasted the broth. Stir seasonings in well.

    Add broth and bring to a low boil. Add tomatoes, and when low boil is again achieved, turn down the heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes.

    Top as desired, and enjoy. This soup is great the next day.

    Cashew Sour Cream (modified from oh she glows!) (obviously this makes it not nut-free)

    • 1/2 cup raw cashew pieces, soaked overnight or in hot water for a few hours
    • 3 Tablespoons water
    • 2 teaspoons lime juice
    • pinch salt (to taste)
    • 1 teaspoon chives

    Add cashews, water, and lime juice to blender. Blend until smooth. Stir in chives and salt. Refrigerate for an hour to thicken.

    Enjoy.

    Fresh Corn Stew with Bacon
    Fresh Corn Stew with Bacon

  • Grilled Chimichurri Pork Chops

    Grilled Chimichurri Pork Chops. Photo by J. Andrews
    Grilled Chimichurri Pork Chops. Photo by J. Andrews

    A few years ago my friend Liz was up in the Boston area and we went out to dinner somewhere north of Boston. I think it was an Argentinian restaurant, but I’m not 100% sure. This was pre food allergy apocalypse, but I was in a phase of not eating much beef. For whatever reason I ordered pork chops, which, I think, is an odd choice for me — I can’t recall ordering them out before or since. But these were amazing. They were marinated in chimichurri sauce and then grilled. This recipe is my attempt to recreate that meal, but also just to make chimichurri.

    Chimichurri sauce, as the internet has well-educated me, is a traditional Argentinian condiment that the non-South American internet has fallen in love with, and, as the internet is wont to do, bastardized. Yes, you can add all sorts of ingredients to all sorts of recipes, but then they are no longer that thing, right? So far as I can tell, this is a reasonably traditional chimichurri. From what I can tell, it doesn’t really need anything else — it’s really good as it is.

    The other thing that internet writers rail against is the claim that, in Argentina, chimichurri is used “like ketchup” or “on everything.” Now, I do have one friend who does use ketchup on everything, but overall, ketchup is not all that universal in my opinion. But I do think that the reason writers may say these things about chimichurri is that it really is amazing and, if you make it, YOU might want to use it on everything. And because I’m me, I’m frying my breakfast potatoes in it now. I may need chimichurri in my life forever. See, internet, that’s just projection.

    I pulled the parsley apart, measured it, and scaled the recipe to the amount of parsley I had. I’d suggest you consider doing the same unless you are way better at using up leftover parsley than I am. I’m pretty sure that traditionally, fresh oregano would be used. I couldn’t find any. I used dried. I also used a food processor. Tradition only goes so far. This recipe does make way more than you need for a recipe of pork chops, unless you’re cooking for a mob, so make plans for the leftovers. (Breakfast potatoes.)

    Chimichurri Sauce Grilled Pork Chops

    • 4 cups flat leaf parsley, leaves removed from stems (one bunch of parsley)
    • 2 Tablespoons dried oregano
    • 6 cloves of garlic, or about 1/4 of the head
    • 2 pinches red pepper flakes
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or you know, “enough.” Do people measure freshly ground pepper, really? I never do.)
    • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
    • 1.5 cups olive oil
    This is what herbs look like when "ground" in a food processor
    This is what herbs look like when “ground” in a food processor

    With your S-blade in your food processor, pulse the parsley down a bit.

    Add the oregano, garlic, salt, and red and black peppers. Pulse until ground.

    Scrape the ground herbs and spices into a bowl. Stir in the vinegar, and then the oil — use a fork to get the best mixing.

    Let this sit at room temperature for 2 hours to let the flavors meld, and then bottle up and store in the fridge. I’m assuming this will last a few weeks. To use, spoon herbs up from the bottom and use as a marinade, condiment, or anything else you can think up.

    For the pork chops:

    • thick, bone-in pork chops, however many you need.

    In a glass dish, spoon a layer of chimichurri into the bottom of a glass dish. Place pork chops on top of this layer, and top with thick spoonsful of chimichurri. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 12 hours or so.

    Marinated pork chops. Photo by J. Andrews
    Marinated pork chops. Photo by J. Andrews

    Grill by the “piled” method — put all your charcoal to one side (or turn on half the burners). Place the meat over the hot side of the grill to sear the outside, both sides, and then move to the cool side of the grill (which really isn’t cool) and cook until done. For pork, that’s 145°F, remembering to rest the meat for at least three minutes after cooking before cutting into.

    Add some extra chimichurri before serving. Then proceed to prove the internet right and use chimichurri on all the things.

    (P.S. to my friend Cathy, yes, this is just like when I discovered lefse and put “inappropriate” things on it.)

  • WW Kitchen Stories: Mary Kate's Rice Cooker

    Mary Kate's Rice Cooker
    Mary Kate’s Rice Cooker

    If you are gluten-free, you might find that rice becomes an even more important staple in your diet. I actually discovered the variety of rices out there  when I tried out eating vegan for a while right after I cut out dairy (and as far as I know, my friend Cathy may still be eating all the random bits of rice I passed on to her when I moved, many years ago). With the right rice to pair with the right foods, rice becomes more than just a base for Chinese takeout. I still really do not like brown rice with “traditional” Chinese(American) style food; white rice tastes right. But brown rice with roasted veggies is fantastic, sushi rice with saucy foods, jasmine rice with delicate flavors. Rice is amazing. I can see why it’s a staple food in many parts of the world.

    But you may have noticed that, while I make a lot of rice dishes, my instructions for rice usually boil down to “cook it. However you can.” That’s because despite being reasonably adept in the kitchen, my sad truth is that I cannot cook rice on the stovetop. In a pot, with water, like a normal person.

    Or, as my college roommate put it in the birthday card that came with the rice cooker, “I don’t know why you can bake a 10-layer cake but not cook rice, but here, this should fix it.” That’s not verbatim. I may have the card somewhere, in a box, but it was along those lines (but possibly with more profanity. This is the same person who sent me Geritol for my 30th birthday.)

    This is true. My first baking “experiment” was a concoction called the “Heaven and Hell Cake.” Go ahead and Google it. I found it in a USA Today while my family was on vacation in Florida, along with a story about a chef whose parents ran a diner, and his childhood conundrum: angel food cake? Or devil’s food cake? So he combined them into an 8-layer cake, alternating angel food and devil’s food, with peanut butter mousse between and a chocolate ganache over it all. Ridiculous. And also full of so very many things that I cannot now eat, so I’m glad I got a chance to try it.

    But standard rice? Even of the Uncle Ben’s variety in the nice orange box with very specific cooking instructions on the side? Stymied me. It was always mushy or partly cooked, or otherwise barely edible.

    A rice cooker fixes that pretty solidly. You still need to measure the rice and the water. In my rice cooker, a spritz of oil on the bottom is necessary or it sticks pretty badly. But after that, you turn it on and let it go. It turns down to warm when it is done. Easy, right? Yeah, it still took me 6 months to get it right regularly.

    Rice cookers come in super-basic models which basically turn on when you plug them in, to super-fancy models that should be able to know when you’re getting home from work and have a 5-star meal on the table. When I took a Chinese cooking class from a local Chinese restauranteur in Bismarck, our instructor told us that spending a lot of money on a rice cooker was pointless (or at least unnecesary). His advice was to buy a basic cheap one, use it until it died, and then buy another. I think I’ve had this one 10 years and as long as I measure the water right, it has never failed me.

    I’m mostly in agreement with Alton Brown’s rants against the evils of single-use kitchen devices, but this one solves a very great need. My rice cooker not only fixes one of my basic culinary inadequacies, but it also frees me up to concentrate on the vat of stir-fry I’m making or the sushi salad veg I’m working on, or whatever else I am doing. In theory, I could also steam veggies in the basket that came with the rice cooker, but I’m not sure which box it’s in. This appliance may be a one-trick pony, but it’s a really good trick.

  • Mint Lemonade Rocket Pops with raspberries onboard

    Mint Lemonade Rocket Pops with raspberries
    Mint Lemonade Rocket Pops with raspberries. Photo by J. Andrews

    The frozen fruity goodness of popsicles is pure summer magic — so much so that in the middle of winter, when I’m starting to believe summer is a myth, I crave popsicles. Many popsicles are safe for people with allergens, though I’d be concerned personally if I had nut anaphylaxis, but reading the ingredients list on your average box is an education in chemical compounds. We had plastic molds as kids, and my brother and I dreamed up all sorts of combinations — many of them were juice and Sprite, as soda carbonation leaves fun holes in a frozen pop. But this summer, I wanted to make something slightly more suited to an adult palate.

    So with the aid of some fun new Tovolo molds from our local kitchen store (Things Are Cooking, on Main Street in Concord), I’m working on making my own. The molds are kind of amazing, and it’s hard to choose, but I am me, so rocket pops were a given. I also ended up with the twin pops, which do break apart just like the ones we occasionally got as kids. That’s probably one of the few things my brother and I were good at sharing.

    Making ice pops can be super easy — just find a juice you like, pour, and freeze. But I wanted something different. Lemonade would be the other thing I’m really hung up on this summer, and it’s also hard to get it right — so I figured I’d make my own and make a fancy pop out of it. What I decided on was a tart lemonde with mint in the sugar water, and raspberries added to the pops. The result is a bit tart, a bit sweet, with a refreshing hint of mint and the surprise of bits of berries inside it. These took a little over 4 hours to freeze, so plan accordingly.

    Rocket Pops Vs. Twin Pop. If you ever played 1980s video games you can imagine the sounds Denise and I were making while poor Jack asked us to just hold the pops still so he could take the photograph. Photo by J. Andrews.
    Rocket Pops Vs. Twin Pop. If you ever played 1980s video games you can imagine the sounds Denise and I were making while poor Jack asked us to just hold the pops still so he could take the photograph. Photo by J. Andrews.

    Raspberry-Mint-Lemonade Rocket Pops

    • 5 lemons, freshly squeezed (3/4 cups juice)
    • 1 cup boiling water
    • 1/4 cup sugar
    • 1 sprig of mint (10 or so leaves)
    • 1/2 a carton of raspberries

    Squeeze the lemons and strain out pulp and seeds.

    Put the sugar in a heat safe bowl and mix in the mint leaves. Pour the boiling water over the sugar and mint, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.

    Mix the lemon juice and the sugar-mint water. Add the raspberries and lightly crush — you don’t really want to make raspberry-lemonade so much as you want a bit of essence of raspberry in the juice and some flattened raspberries that will be frozen into your pops.

    The molds I have have a pretty solid base, but the openings aren’t huge. A measuring cup with a pouring spout worked perfectly. Be careful not to overfill them, as that gets messy, and you still need to insert the sticks.

    Unmolding may require running the mold under hot water for a minute. The nice thing about these molds is that they are individual, not all one piece, which makes them easier to take apart. Do whatever your molds require, then sit in the sun and enjoy a pop.

    If you’re looking for new molds, can I highly suggest rocket shapes? Too much fun. This recipe makes a full 6 rocket pops and a full six (so 12) twin pops. Cut it down if you’re only doing one mold. My original recipe made enough for 4 molds, but I don’t have them and don’t have near enough freezer space either for that many. If you have the small molds that are most commonly sold, this recipe may also make too much juice. If you have leftovers (you might) you will need to add a bit more water to make a drinkable lemonade; this is more like a concentrate.

    Rocket pop flying solo, to the Top Gun theme. Photo by J. Andrews
    Rocket pop flying solo, to the Top Gun theme. Photo by J. Andrews

  • Vegan Sushi Rice Salad

     

    Vegan Sushi Rice Bowl, raw veg and soy-free sauce
    Vegan Sushi Rice Bowl, raw veg and soy-free sauce

    Denise and I both love sushi, and, with a little care, it’s something we both seem to be able to order out in relative comfort. But I could eat sushi a lot more often than I go out to eat. You can make sushi at home, but mostly, I’m too lazy to roll my own maki*, and I don’t trust my own judgement on sushi grade fish. When I do sushi at home, it’s always vegan.

    So my solution to weeknight laziness and/or heat is a sushi salad — flavors on the order of a California roll** or a veggie roll, which differs from restaurant to restaurant. I’m going to give a menu of options — the rice, cold avocado and cucumber, and dressing are necessary. Everything else is optional — I’m including some roasted veg, as an option, and some additional vegetables I’ve used and liked.

    This recipe makes one sushi rice bowl. Increase as needed to feed more people. The roasted veg will make enough mushrooms for one, but I would just roast the whole bunch of asparagus and use the leftovers for snacking the rest of the week.

    The recipe calls for sesame in the form of seeds in the dressing and toasted sesame oil in the rice and roasted vegetables — this is optional. It adds a nice bit of flavor, but if you’re allergic or just don’t have it, don’t worry about it; your sushi bowls will still be good.

    *(Side note: Want to learn to roll sushi? The internet has tons of videos, but the one I learned from is part of the sadly short-lived Post-Punk Kitchen video series: Episode 1: Sushi and Cupcakes, which I used years ago when living in Bismarck, North Dakota before they got a sushi restaurant — they have one now. If you can eat soy, try the tempeh “spicy tuna.” It’s so good.)

    **(Side note 2: Regarding California rolls, beware the imitation crab sticks. They can be rife with allergens, including dairy, soy, egg, and gluten, and likely they have corn derivatives. It would be generally safer to avoid it.)

    Vegan sushi rice bowl with just raw vegetables: cucumber, avocado, sugar snap peas
    Vegan sushi rice bowl with just raw vegetables: cucumber, avocado, sugar snap peas

     

    Vegan Sushi Rice Salad

    Rice:

    • 1/2 cup sushi rice
    • 1 cup water
    • 1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar (set aside for after rice is cooked — and check this for additives!)
    • 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (optional)

    Cooked option veg:

    • 3 or so shitake mushrooms, washed and stemmed
    • 1 bunch asparagus, ends broken off and discarded (you will likely have leftovers of this, which is good!)
    • 1 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (optional)
    • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
    • salt (optional) and pepper, lightly applied

    Raw veg (use these with or without roasted vegetables):

    • 1/2 cup cucumber, cut into sticks or cubed
    • 1/2 avocado, cubed
    • 1/4 sheet nori, cut into thin strips and then into bits (use scissors for this)

    Additional raw veg options:

    • carrots, finely shredded
    • sugar snap peas, strings removed, cut in half

    Dressing:

    • 1 Tablespoon gluten-free tamari or soy sauce replacer, or coconut aminos (I have not tested coconut aminos in this recipe)
    • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar (check this for additives!)
    • 1 pinch of garlic powder
    • 1 pinch of ginger powder
    • 1 pinch of wasabi powder (optional)
    • 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)

    If you’re going to roast vegetables, preheat the oven to 425ºF.

    Start the rice. I always use a rice cooker, but if you don’t, you can do this on the stovetop. Just don’t ask me how. I can’t cook rice on the stove at all.

    Roast veg: Toss mushrooms and asparagus in oils, and sparingly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until tender.

    While the rice is cooking, prepare your raw vegetables.

    Prepare the dressing by mixing everything together.

    When the rice is done, toss the rice with rice wine vinegar and toasted sesame oil, if using. If using raw carrots, I like to toss them in with the hot rice to soften them.

    Scoop the rice into a bowl. Top with the roasted and raw veg, sprinkling nori on top, then add the dressing.