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Side Dishes – Page 3 – surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

Category: Side Dishes

Side dish, noun: a portion of food served in addition to the main dish. These recipes will not contain dairy, eggs, gluten, wheat or hazelnuts. If we use a top 8 allergen, we will use a tag warning of its use.

  • Blood Orange Broccolini

    Blood Orange Broccolini
    Blood Orange Broccolini

    Okay, as Denise and I raved on Friday, it is officially citrus season up here in New England, which means someone has trucked citrus fruit all the way up to the frozen north. After two years of just eating or juicing the citrus, I’m finally starting to try cooking with them beyond. I’ve been marinating and dressing and mixing and playing and it’s brilliant. Let me share my favorite side dish so far.

    Broccolini was kind of a cheat for me. I could happily eat broccoli every single day and not get too bored, but it seems like we should eat more than just one vegetable, right? So the other night when I was tempted to pick up more broccoli at the store, I decided on a bunch of broccolini instead. Turns out that broccolini is not just a different stage of broccoli’s growth. Broccolini is a hybrid of broccoli and another vegetable I’m not particularly familiar with (kai-lan, an Asian vegetable I’ve never cooked). A quick internet search tells me it was developed in the early 1990s and made it to the US in the late ’90s. It has tender stems and less dense tops, and it’s a nice variation on broccoli. The flavor is pretty similar, but greener and more mild.

    This recipe cooks both the long tender stems and the tops, but adding the stems first so they will be done when the tops are, with neither part overdone. It also takes two pans, but I think it’s worth it. I’ve cooked the sauce first and set it aside while cooking the broccolini. When chopping up the broccolini, I’ve pulled off all the “tops” that are on lower stems, too.

    From top left: whole raw broccolini, blood orange and squeezed juice, finished sauce, and toasted garlic in Earth Balance margarine
    From top left: whole raw broccolini, blood orange and squeezed juice, finished sauce, and toasted garlic in Earth Balance margarine

    Blood Orange Broccolini

    • 2 Tablespoons Earth Balance or other safe-for-you fat or oil (if you are not using a margarine or butter, add a pinch of salt to your oil)
    • 1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
    • 3 Tablespoons fresh-squeezed blood orange juice (about 1/2 an orange)
    • 2-3 teaspoons olive oil
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
    • 1 bunch broccolini, stems and tops chopped separately

    Melt your Earth Balance in a small skillet or sauce pan over medium low heat. When foamy, turn the heat a notch or two on your stove — you want basically the point between low and medium, wherever that is for you. Add the garlic, stir well, and cook over this low heat for about 10 minutes or so. Garlic should be caramel brown when you’re done. Remove from heat and set aside. When it’s no longer hot, stir in the blood orange juice.

    Heat a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the broccolini stems and about 1/4 teaspoon salt. I’ll be honest — I almost never remember to measure salt in cooking (baking is different). I just added a large pinch. When the stems start to get a little browned, stir in the tops and another pinch of salt. Keep stirring every few minutes until the stems and tops are just barely fork-tender.

    Add the sauce, stir well, and heat it all together for 2 or 3 minutes. Scrape the pan well to get all the garlicky goodness out and stir to coat all the broccolini well.

    Enjoy.

    blood orange broccolini
    blood orange broccolini

  • Green Tomatillo Rice

     

    Green Tomatillo Rice
    Green Tomatillo Rice

    I needed a really simple dinner the other night because I wasn’t all that hungry, but I had to eat something and it was already 10:00 p.m. (I really need to stop doing that kind of thing.) So since I’m trying to work through all this rice that I keep buying at Asian markets because I cannot walk away from how inexpensive it is compared to regular grocery stores, I decided to throw a rice thing together. I liked it enough that I’ll make it again, and I can see this as being a great side dish to go with tacos (or in my case, taco salads, as I haven’t found a safe tortilla recipe I can stand) or with fajitas.

    Green Tomatillo Rice

    • 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, or other oil that’s safe for you
    • 1 cup of rice (I used sushi rice because that’s what I’m trying to use up, but any rice would work, arborio would be lovely)
    • 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
    • 1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
    • 1 – 16 ounce jar of green tomatillo salsa that’s safe for you (I used my home-made, home-canned version)
    • 2 to 2 1/2 cups of water, depending on how tender you like your rice
    • 1 to 2 Tablespoons of minced fresh cilantro (optional)

    In a large skillet with a lid, add the oil, rice, onion and garlic, and stir with a spatula over medium heat. When the onion is translucent, add the water, salsa and cilantro, and stir to mix thoroughly. Turn the heat to medium high, put the lid on and bring the rice mixture to a boil. When the rice mixture reaches a boil, stir it, put the lid back on, and bring the heat down until the mixture just simmers.  Simmer for 10 to 20 minutes, until the rice is tender, and the sauce is thick.

    Enjoy!

     

    Green Tomatillo Rice
    Green Tomatillo Rice

  • The World's Best Cauliflower (aka Aloo Gobi in the slow cooker)

    Aloo Gobi
    Aloo Gobi

    I wish I could claim credit for inventing the following recipe, but I can’t. My former neighbor told me, as we were all sitting outside one evening, that he made “the world’s best cauliflower.” I don’t know about you, but cauliflower is not a vegetable I’d ever considered for a “world’s best” anything nomination. As a child, we got cauliflower doused in cheese sauce on an occasional basis, and while it was fine, it wasn’t something any of us clamored for. Since then, I’ve seen it on raw veggie platters, had it in “California blend” frozen vegetable bags, and had it roasted once or twice. Again, not bad, but not generally exciting.

    But Mukesh was not lying — this really is the World’s Best Cauliflower, and it will make a believer out of you, too. The usual name for this dish is “aloo gobi” (just “gobi” if you leave the potatoes out), and it’s amazing. The cauliflower is tender but not mushy, well-seasoned but not “hot” spicy, and the color is gorgeous (we eat with our eyes first, supposedly). This is shared with permission, a family recipe from Mukesh Singh. The only modification I’ve made is to cook it in the crock pot because my version never turned out as tender as his did.

    I’d have given you more photos, but while this cauliflower tastes great, it’s kind of boring to photograph.

    The World’s Best Cauliflower (Aloo Gobi)

    • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 1/2 small onion, chopped
    • 1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
    • 3 small potatoes, cubed
    • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
    • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
    • salt to taste
    • 2 Tablespoons water

    Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.

    Add onion and cook until lightly browned.

    Mix in the cauliflower and potatoes, and then all the spices. Mix well to combine.

    Scrape pan into your slow cooker. Use the 2T of water to “rinse” all the leftover spices out of the skillet into the slow cooker. Cook over low heat for 10 hours.

    Serve with rice for a full meal, or serve as a side dish.

     

  • Tod Mun (Thai Fish Cakes)

     

    Tod Mun (Thai Fish Cakes)
    Tod Mun (Thai Fish Cakes)

     

    Have I ever said how much I love Thai food? And that my first date with my husband was at a Thai place?  Because of the corn, wheat, and coconut allergies, going out for Thai food really isn’t an option anymore. And I miss it, very much. I used to order this appetizer often in the long, long ago before food allergies, and when Mary Kate and I talked about doing a Fry-Day for Thanksgiving this year, I decided to give it a shot. I was very happy. I may have even teared up because it was just like our local Thai joint’s version.

    Tod Mun:

    Makes about 10-15 or so.

    Cucumber Salad/Dipping Sauce:

    • 1 cup of Thai Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce
    • 1 cucumber peeled and diced
    • 1 cup of cashews, toasted in a skillet or roasted in the oven (If you can have peanuts, use roasted peanuts. If you can’t have nuts, just leave them out.)

    Tod Mun:

    • 1 pound of Haddock (or other mild white fish, such as Pollock or Halibut)
    • 5 ounces of uncooked shrimp, peeled and tail off.
    • 2 Tablespoons of Thai Red Curry Paste (If you can use a commercial version, great, but if not, here’s a recipe for it.)
    • 1 Tablespoon of safe for you fish sauce (If you don’t have one you can leave it out).
    • 1 bunch of scallions, trimmed and chopped into small pieces
    • 1 chia egg (1 Tablespoon of ground or milled chia seed mixed with 3 Tablespoons of water)
    • safe oil for frying enough to fill the pot about 3 to 4 inches deep

    For the frying:

    • A pot deep enough to accommodate about 3 inches of oil and the frying thermometer, a thick stainless steel stock pot or an enameled dutch oven would be best. You also want a pot that’s tall enough that the edge is 4 or more inches above the oil level. It’s safer and there’s less splatter all around. We do not recommend using anything with Teflon or nonstick coatings. Of course, if you have an actual deep fryer appliance, use that.
    • frying thermometer (the link goes to the one we used)
    • tongs and/or slotted frying spoon/spider  (we used a silicone one rather than the traditional wire and bamboo, but I can’t find a picture of ours)
    • plate or cookie sheet, lined with paper towels

    Set up your frying pot, add your safe oil, and set up your thermometer. Start heating your oil over medium heat, as it will take some time to reach the right temperature.  You are aiming for about 350ºF.

    Chop your toasted/or roasted cashews and place them in a bowl. Add your your peeled and diced cucumber and the Thai Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce, and mix well to combine.  Set aside.

    Cucumber Salad/Dipping Sauce
    Cucumber Salad/Dipping Sauce

    Chop the haddock into pieces small enough to put in your food processor.  Place the haddock and the shrimp in a food processor with the regular cutting blade and process until the haddock and shrimp forms a smooth paste. Empty the mixture into a large mixing bowl, making sure you scrape down all the sides of the food processor bowl carefully.  Also, wash your food processor parts immediately. You really don’t want the fish mixture to dry to your food processor bowl, cover and blade.

    Mix in the Thai Red Curry Paste and fish sauce, until well combined. Then add the scallions and chia egg, and mix thoroughly.

    Tod Mun mixture before frying
    Tod Mun mixture before frying

    Once your oil is hot and has reached 350ºF.  Use two large spoons to form a rough patty, and drop it into the oil. Depending on the size of your pot, you may only be able to do a few at a time. I had a 10 quart stockpot and I was only able to do about five at time.

    Use large spoons to make rough patties
    Use large spoons to make rough patties

    Fry them for about 4-5 minutes or until golden brown.. Place them to drain on the paper towels.

    Fried Tod Mun (Thai Fish Cakes)
    Fried Tod Mun (Thai Fish Cakes)
    Fried Tod Mun (Thai Fish Cakes)
    Fried Tod Mun (Thai Fish Cakes)

    Once you have fried all of them, serve them with the cucumber salad/dipping sauce.

    Tod Mun (Thai Fish Cakes)
    Tod Mun (Thai Fish Cakes)

     

    Enjoy!

     

  • Chunky Mustard Refrigerator Pickles

    Chunky Mustard Refrigerator Pickles
    Chunky Mustard Refrigerator Pickles

    So here’s another canning inspired recipe, because these pickles were really a winner. I used the recipe from the Ball Complete Guide to Home Preserving, but modified it to leave out the ClearJel (which is modified corn starch) and to substitute the distilled white vinegar for apple cider vinegar instead. I did water bath can them originally, but I’ve rewritten the recipe here for a much smaller quantity and so that you can do them as a refrigerator pickle for those of you who don’t can. These would be great to do as a part of your appetizer plate for Thanksgiving. They’ll need to sit in the refrigerator for a week or so to absorb the flavors, so start them now for Thanksgiving.

    Makes 1 quart.

    • 2 cups of a mix of zucchini and summer squash, washed, trimmed of stem and blossom ends, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (you can use pickling cukes, but they are harder to get this time of year)
    • 1 2/3 cups of onions, chopped
    • 1/2 Tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon of canning salt or sea salt (nothing with any additives)
    • 1/2 cup and 1/3 cup of sugar
    • 1/2 Tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon of ground mustard
    • 3/4 teaspoons of ground ginger
    • 3/4 teaspoons of ground turmeric
    • 1 1/2 Tablespoons of water
    • 1/2 cup, 1 Tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (safest for those allergic to corn is probably Bragg’s)
    • 1/4 of a red bell pepper  (put the rest in your freezer in a zip top freezer bag and use it the next time you make pasta sauce or chili)

    In a non-reactive bowl (stainless steel or glass), mix the zucchini and summer squash and onions. Sprinkle them with the canning or sea salt, cover and let them stand at room temperature for an hour or so.  Transfer the vegetables to a strainer/colander over the sink and drain them well.

    In a non-reactive (stainless steel or ceramic or enamel, do not use aluminum or cast iron) sauce pan, combine the sugar, mustard, ginger, and turmeric. Stir well, gradually blending in the water. Add the vinegar and red bell pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Add the drained vegetable mixture and return to a boil for two minutes.

    Ladle the mixture into a non-reactive heat safe container (beware that putting them in a plastic container will cause the plastic to be permanently dyed yellow with the turmeric). Your best bet is probably a mason jar or glass container with a lid.  Just make sure to warm up the jar/container with some hot water (don’t leave the water in the container, just put the hot water in the container to warm it up and then dump it out) before putting the hot veggies and brine into it. Put a lid on the container and let it sit on the counter until it reaches room temperature, and then place it in the refrigerator for a week.

    In a week, enjoy the fruits of your labors!

     

    Chunky Mustard Refrigerator Pickles
    Chunky Mustard Refrigerator Pickles

  • 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.

  • Grilled Peach Salsa

     

    Grilled Peach Salsa - Photo by J. Andrews
    Grilled Peach Salsa – Photo by J. Andrews

     

    When Mary Kate and I began to plan the cookout we held several weeks ago (grilling, friends and lots o’ posts for the blog, what could be better?), we started with thinking about what ingredients were in season and could be grilled.  We wanted to do a dessert, but I couldn’t figure out anything with my restrictions by the time we were solidifying the menu. I had seen a recipe for peach salsa for canning, but I wondered what it would be like grilled instead, because it would bring out the sweetness of the peaches and combine it with some lovely caramelized, smokey flavors. So we tried it. It’s good. And for those of you that can’t have chips like me (the corn chips are only to make the picture pretty in my case, although Mary Kate can eat them), this salsa is really good on pork chops as a sauce. You could also use it as a marinade or a glaze on pork or chicken, depending on how finely you chop the ingredients or just put it in the blender for a peach barbecue sauce. This is a low heat salsa, so don’t be afraid because I’m posting it. For the chili heads, don’t worry, I’ve got a hot sauce coming up in few weeks that blows my head off, and will have appropriate warnings.

    Grilled Peach Salsa

    • 1 pound of peaches, grilled
    • 1 small red red onion, grilled
    • 1/2 of a orange bell pepper, grilled (If you don’t know what to do with the half of orange bell pepper you’ll have left over, de-stem and de-seed it, put it in a freezer zip top bag and put it in your freezer. Peppers need no additional prep to freeze. Use it the next time you make a soup, stew, chili or marinara sauce.)
    • 2 jalapeno peppers, grilled
    • 1/2 of a bulb of garlic, with top cut off and with most of the outer layer peels removed (Grill the whole bulb and put the remainder in the fridge to use for mashed potatoes or something else where roasted garlic would be awesome)
    • 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil or other safe-for-you oil
    • 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar
    • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
    • 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
    • 1/8 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper

     **Please keep in mind as you look at the pictures that I was cooking a whole lot of other things the day we were grilling, so the pictures do not reflect the correct amounts of the ingredients shown, or may show additional ingredients. Also, my original recipe made a holy ton of salsa, so we cut the ingredients in half for the purposes of this post.

    De-stem and de-seed your peppers.

    Peppers de-stemmed and de-seeded.
    Peppers de-stemmed and de-seeded  – Photo by J. Andrews

    Place the peppers on the grill and grill until they get a bit tender and have a bit of char on them.

    Peppers on the grill
    Peppers on the grill – Photo by J. Andrews
    Peppers and Garlic on the grill
    Peppers and Garlic on the grill – Photo by J. Andrews

    Take your garlic bulb, slice off the top so that the cloves are exposed a bit (see the picture and description in our previous Grilled Salsa recipe), and place it on some aluminum foil large enough to wrap the garlic in as shown in the picture above. Drizzle the olive oil over your garlic bulb, and wrap the aluminum foil around it and place it on the grill. Roast the garlic until the cloves are cooked and mushy.

    Trim and peel your onion and then slice it in about half to one inches slices and place on the grill. Grill until you have a bit of char, and the onion is tender. (Ours were a bit more charred probably than strictly necessary, we were having issues with the grill, totally user error.)

    Sliced Onions
    Sliced Onions – Photo by J. Andrews
    Sliced onions on the grill
    Sliced onions on the grill – Photo by J. Andrews
    Sliced onions on the grill just before they got a bit too done.
    Sliced onions on the grill just before they got a bit too done – Photo by J. Andrews

    Cut your peaches in half and remove the pit. On some of them I had to cut the peaches in quarters to get the pit out, but it’ll still work, it’s just halves are a little easier to manipulate on the grill.  Place the peaches on the grill and grill until they are a bit more tender and have some nice charring on the outside.

    Peaches in halves and quarters
    Peaches in halves and quarters – Photo by J. Andrews
    Peaches on the grill
    Peaches on the grill – Photo by J. Andrews

    Once all your grilled ingredients are cooked, squeeze out the roasted garlic from the cloves, and put the garlic, peppers, onions, and peaches in a blender or food processor, and process until chopped to the level of chunkiness that you like. I used the manual food processor from Pampered Chef because I wouldn’t have to truck everything back inside or find an electric outlet (no affiliation, I just like it). You are likely going to have to process in batches.  Place all the chopped ingredients in a large bowl and add the white wine vinegar, brown sugar, cumin and cayenne pepper. Mix thoroughly.

    Completed Grilled Peach Salsa
    Completed Grilled Peach Salsa – Photo by J. Andrews

    Enjoy!

     

  • Zesty Mexican Style Bean Salad

    Zesty Mexican Style Bean Salad
    Zesty Mexican Style Bean Salad – Photo by J. Andrews

    I modified this recipe from a recipe in an old Weight Watcher’s magazine. The original had raw green bell pepper and Great Northern beans in it instead, but back in the day before food allergies, I preferred it with roasted red pepper in a jar and garbanzo beans, and with some added spice enhancement. (Shocker, I know.) These days I can’t buy roasted red peppers at the store because of the citric acid, and I’ve been meaning to can my own so I could make this, but I hadn’t gotten around to it yet with everything else on my plate. So when Mary Kate and I decided to have a cookout, a light bulb went off that I could grill the red peppers and make this again. You could also broil the red peppers in your oven. (Not sure why that did not occur to me until I went to type up this post; I could have been making this all along. Sigh.)

    Zesty Mexican Style Bean Salad

    • 1 – 15 ounce can of black beans (Find a safe brand for you. I pressure can my own from dry beans.)
    • 1 – 15 ounce can of garbanzo beans (Find a safe brand for you. I pressure can my own from dry beans.)
    • 1 1/2 cups of chopped tomatoes
    • 1 cup grilled or broiled red bell pepper (about one and half peppers)
    • 1 cup of sliced green onions
    • 1 cup of salsa (Make sure you use a safe for you brand. I used my home canned salsa.)
    • 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
    • 2 Tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro
    • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
    • 1 teaspoon of Adobo seasoning (If you don’t have Adobo seasoning or you don’t have a safe version, mix 1/8 cup of paprika, 1 1/2 Tablespoons of ground black pepper, 1 Tablespoon of onion powder, 1 Tablespoon of dried oregano, 1 Tablespoon of ground cumin, 1/2 Tablespoon of ground chipotle, and 1/2 Tablespoon of garlic powder, this makes half a cup of seasoning)
    • hot sauce to taste (Use a safe for you brand. I used my own homemade version of Sriracha.)

    Cut your red bell peppers into quarters and seed and de-stem them.

    Quartered and de-seeded peppers - Photo by J. Andrews
    Quartered and de-seeded peppers – Photo by J. Andrews

    Place the red bell pepper quarters on a hot grill or under the broiler in your oven on a rack with a cookie sheet under it, and grill/broil them until they have a bit of char and are tender. When they are done, take them off the grill or out of the oven and let them cool a bit.

    Peppers on the grill - Photo by J. Andrews
    Peppers on the grill – Photo by J. Andrews

    In a large bowl, place the chopped tomatoes, sliced green onions, salsa, red wine vinegar, cilantro, salt, black pepper, and Adobo seasoning. Drain and rinse the black beans and garbanzo beans and add them to the bowl.

    All ingredients except the grilled red pepper - Photo by J. Andrews
    All ingredients except the grilled red pepper – Photo by J. Andrews

    Now that your red bell pepper has probably cooled down a bit, either give them a quick spin in a food processor to chop them into small pieces, or chop them up finely with a knife, and put them in the large bowl.

    Mix everything in the bowl together very well with a spatula or spoon. You want to make sure that none of the spices are clumping up. Taste it, and then decide how much hot sauce to need to add. Mix in the hot sauce really well.

    Mix all ingredients together - Photo by J. Andrews
    Mix all ingredients together – Photo by J. Andrews

    If you have safe chips, feel free to eat this with them. I don’t at the moment, but I’m happy just eating it with a fork or spoon. It also holds up very well in the refrigerator if you have leftovers.

    Enjoy!

     

    Zesty Mexican Style Bean Salad
    Zesty Mexican Style Bean Salad