Tag: Gluten-free

Contains no wheat or gluten.

Crispy Cereal Bars (gluten-free, vegan, contains tree nuts)
Crispy Cereal Bars

THIS IS NOT HEALTH FOOD.

I know that most of you know that granola bars have an unearned reputation as magically healthy. Like most things, they have some benefits, some downsides, and it all depends on a) what goes in them and b) how you define “healthy.” I’m not focused on healthy here, though, so if that’s why you want a granola bar, move on. It also has tree nuts and almonds, so apologies to the nut allergic people out there.

What I wanted was something like the granola bars of my later childhood — something that’s basically a candy bar, but with a certain crunch and an airy mouthfeel — plus, dipped in chocolate. Just because. I’m not going to try to explain random cravings; I just cook them. We occasionally had these instead of cookies in our packed lunches, and for some reason, they remind me of this time of year — summer isn’t here, but you know it’s coming.

I started this recipe off to use up a box of Environkidz Chocolate Koala Crisp. (Link informational, not affiliate). I am not a big cereal eater, but I go through phases where I like to eat it as a snack — this wasn’t the right texture or size for that, so it had been sitting on my shelf for a bit. But it was perfect for the main filler in this snack bar — it’s crunchy, airy, and just a bit chocolatey. Any crunchy cereal in small bits will work, so whatever is safe for you, buy that. I would consider using the Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal, (again, not an affiliate link) as that’s what I generally buy when I want actual cold cereal. But I’ve only made this with Koala Crisp, as I wanted to use that up, and I’d consider buying it again to make these bars.

To the cereal, I added a bunch of trail mix staples — coconut, almonds, and dried cherries. (Note: dried cranberries or raisins work better, as they are smaller and don’t mess up the overall texture. But I just like dried cherries better.) As an adult, I wanted a little more variety of taste and texture than the kiddy granola bar I remember (but still with chocolate on). Make a sticky sauce (this is messy, I know. Sorry. It works.) and then add chocolate. Ka-blam. Childhood snack. Maybe healthier, maybe not, but it’s safe for me.

Crispy Cereal Bars — first without chocolate, then with, then sliced

Cereal Snack Bars

NOTE: dried shredded coconut appears on the ingredients list TWICE. This is not a mistake. I just find it less confusing to list it twice than tell you you need x amount, divided. This is not the sweetened coconut flakes — you could try that, but I think it would be too sweet. This is just pure dried/dessicated shredded coconut, which is wonderful.
- 1 cup crispy cereal
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup smallish dried fruit (I used cherries)
- 1/4 cup thinly-sliced almonds (could also use chopped, but not whole — they won’t blend in)
- 3 dates, pitted (about 50g)
- 2 Tablespoons shredded coconut
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 Tablespoons brown rice syrup
- 1 cup chocolate chips (brand that’s safe for you)
Prepare an 8×8 inch baking pan by cutting a sheet of parchment that will fit in it. Don’t worry about being exact — just make sure you have enough to cover the bottom and sides when it’s filled.

Mix the dry ingredients (cereal, coconut, dried fruit, almonds) in a bowl.

In a food processor, add the dates, 2T shredded coconut, coconut oil (this can be solid, it’s fine), and brown rice syrup. They are in that order because you can use the same tablespoon if you do them in this order (the coconut oil will help the brown rice syrup not stick). Pulse it until the dates are chopped up well, then just blend. You will likely need to scrape the sides a few times, as this is really sticky. I’d suggest a silicone spatula, if you have one, and be careful not to cut it on the blades (I’ve lost a few this way).

Add the wet ingredients to the dry. It will take a little work to get this out of the food processor. Again, the silicone spatula is the least sticky thing I’ve tried. Using the spatula, mix the wet and dry ingredients. Mostly, this is like kneading bread — bring up a scoop of the dry ingredients and sort of press them into the mass stuck into your sticky goo from the food processor. I am assuming that if you keep working at it, this will eventually incorporate everything. I’ve never managed to do that — I just grease up my hands with a bit of coconut oil and mix with my hands after a bit. It works fine.

When you have a mostly solid mass of sticky bar ingredients, dump it into your prepared pan and press it down. I don’t worry too much about making it exactly fill the corners — the rustic edges make it look handmade! But always feel free to be more precise than I am.

Put this in the fridge to set, maybe 15 minutes or so.

Melt the chocolate. The microwave is easiest (20 second intervals, stirring), but I don’t own one, so I use my double boiler. Originally I had planned to dip each bar in the chocolate, but I realized that the easiest way would be to pour a layer of chocolate onto the whole pan, let it set, and then cut the bars. So do this — it is WAY less messy than dipping and it wastes less chocolate.

Let the chocolate set, then cut into bars. These keep best in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy!
May 25, 2015
Roasted Garlic and Pesto DIY Tater Tots
Roasted Garlic and Pesto DIY Tater Tots

I just planted a whole bunch of potatoes in the garden, so I’m going to need some recipes to deal with them. I decided to try to make some adult flavored tater tots. You’ll need a food processor or a blender, and if you don’t have food processor, a grater. I baked these, but you could also try pan frying them in safe oil.

Roasted Garlic and Pesto DIY Tater Tots

Pesto:
- 1 cup of tightly packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 cup and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
Put all ingredients in the blender or food processor and blend/process until pureed.

Pesto after blending or processing

Tater Tots:
- 4 large potatoes (I used russet)
- 2 Tablespoons of Pesto (see above)
- 1/4 cup of roasted garlic (here’s how to do it)
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Peel and wash your potatoes. Place the potatoes on a small baking sheet. Bake the potatoes for about an hour.

(NOTE: If I don’t already have roasted garlic, I prep the garlic as described in the link above and bake it at the same time as the potatoes.)

Garlic roasted in olive oil

When the potatoes (and possibly the garlic) are ready to come out of the oven, remove the potatoes and garlic and turn the temperature on the oven to 425°F. If you’re using a large hand grater, you need to wait until the potatoes are cool so you don’t burn your fingers. Since I was using the grating blade on my food processor to grate the potatoes, I cheated and did them hot. I sliced them lengthwise just enough to get them in the food processor, and grated them up.

Potatoes after grating

Some of the grated pieces may be too long, and you may want to chop them up a bit either with a knife or a potato masher. Mix the pesto sauce and the roasted garlic into the potatoes until they are well combined.

Potato, roasted garlic and pesto mixture

Spray your baking sheet with your safe oil in a mister. I used a small cookie scoop to portion out the tater tots, but you could use two teaspoons to drop the mixture on your baking sheet.

Roasted Garlic and Pesto DIY Tater Tots before baking

Use your oil mister to mist the top of the tater tots, and place the baking sheet in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Use some tongs or a spatula to turn them over, and then bake them for another 25-30 minutes. You want to watch them closely, as you’ll notice mine were a tad overcooked.

Take them out of the oven, salt to taste, and enjoy!
May 18, 2015
Carrot Chickpea Curry
Carrot Chickpea Curry

So I went away for a week and came back to New Hampshire summer. To be honest, as much as we complained about the cold, I wasn’t ready for full-on summer temperatures. If it stays this way, I’ll need to dig out the AC sooner, not later, just to get some sleep. It’s hot! It doesn’t help that my apartment holds the heat like an oven.

Why, if it’s hot, would I give you hot food — hot in temperature as well as full of spices? Well, first off, it’s not hot everywhere — I hear that if you live in either of the Dakotas or Wyoming, you got snow this weekend. Secondly, hot food is a great way to make it feel cooler. It’s all about contrasts. Actually, this curry tastes great hot or cold, so make it for dinner and eat the leftovers for lunches. Oh! And whether this is “spicy” or “full of spices” is entirely up to you — if you like spicy foods, buy a spicy curry powder. Otherwise, buy a regular or “sweet” curry powder and you get all the flavor without the heat. I always buy sweet curry powder because I can add some cayenne if I want things spicy. There IS coconut in here — Denise and I have both made curry with cashew milk, but never successfully without a nut milk. Let us know if you have a nut-free way to make an Indian-style curry.

This curry passes all my tests for a weeknight dinner — it takes less than 10 minutes to prep, and while cooking takes about 45 minutes total, only a few of those are active. You will need a skillet with a lid or a cover of foil. I have one skillet with a lid (finally), but I’ve found that because my cast iron skillet holds the heat better and is a slightly different shape, it works better than my lidded skillet. A sheet of heavy duty foil stands in for a lid here and lets the carrots steam to perfection.

Carrot Chickpea Curry

Carrot Chickpea Curry
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 sweet onion (about 1/2 cup), chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic (about 2 cloves)
- 5 carrots, peeled and sliced in rounds
- 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 Tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 teaspoons cilantro
- 3 Tablespoons coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- rice to serve curry over, if desired
Heat your pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions. Stir well to coat with oil, then sprinkle with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to lightly brown.

Add the garlic and stir until fragrant. Then add the carrots and beans, and the curry and cinnamon. Stir everything well until the spices are fully spread over everything.

Now cover and cook for 15 minutes. There are two ways to do this — if you like browned bits, just let it go for the full 15 minutes. And I do mean browned, not burned. If you prefer no browned carrots or onions, stir it once or twice during the cooking time.

Then add the cilantro, coconut milk, and ginger. Stir well, and cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

Serve over rice, or if you’re feeling less like rice, over greens for a salad.
May 11, 2015
Beef Satay – Gluten-free with Soy-free option
Beef Satay – Gluten-free with Soy-free option

I used to order chicken satay all the time, before the chicken and corn allergies reared their ugly heads. Since I can’t have chicken, and I’ve been craving satay, I decided to try the beef version to see if that would get rid of the craving, which it did. It was so yummy. If you can have chicken, try it with chicken too and let me know how it was, so I can live through you vicariously. If you have a soy allergy (I don’t), try this with Mary Kate’s Soy-Free, gluten-free “Tamari Sauce” and let us know how it worked out for you.

Beef Satay – Gluten-free with Soy-free option
- 1 to 2 pound flank steak
Beef Satay Marinade:
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 small onion, peeled and diced roughly (it’s going in the blender or food processor, so don’t stress over it)
- 1 Tablespoon of Sriracha (use a safe version for you, I ferment my own at home, since I don’t have a safe version)
- 3 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce (I do well with San-J Tamari Gluten Free Soy Sauce, the alcohol is from cane sugar not corn, but if you can’t use soy, try Mary Kate’s recipe for a Soy-Free, gluten-free “Tamari Sauce” )
- 4 Tablespoons of a safe oil for you (I used grape seed and olive oil because I ran out of grape seed in the middle)
- 3 Tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of dried lemongrass (if you’ve got fresh, use it, but it’s often hard to get here)
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons of ground coriander
- 2 Tablespoons of ground turmeric
Equipment:
- food processor or blender
- a baking rack
- a sheet pan safe for the broiler
- bamboo skewers (optional)
- food safe and safe for you food prep gloves – you’ll need them to put the beef on skewers or you’ll have really yellow fingers as turmeric stains, which is a vast understatement.
Place all the marinade ingredients in a food processor or blender, and puree them into oblivion. They should be the consistency of a smoothie when you’re finished.

Beef Satay marinade pureed into oblivion

Cut your flank steak across the grain into long strips about an inch and a half wide, as these will end up going onto skewers. Place the flank steak and the marinade into a zip top bag, making sure that the marinade covers all pieces of the flank, and squeezing out any air.

Beef Satay marinating in a zip top bag

Marinate overnight, or at least 4-5 hours. When I made them, I marinated them in the morning for that evening’s dinner. I’d say that they marinated for about 10 to 11 hours and that worked fine.

If you’re using the bamboo skewers, it’d be a really good idea to soak them in water for an hour or two before cooking them. I soaked them for about 15 minutes and it was clearly not enough time, as some of the sticks charred and burned a bit (okay, a lot).

Once your flank steak is finished marinating, turn on your oven’s broiler and let it heat up. I put the oven rack in the top-most position, but you may need to move it down one depending on the height of your baking rack and baking sheet. Place the baking rack on the baking sheet, and put on your food safe prep gloves. Over a surface that won’t stain, or you don’t care if it stains (I used a cutting board), slide the strips of beef on to the skewers and put them on the rack.

Flank steak skewered but before cooking

When you have skewered all the beef strips, place the baking sheet in the oven and broil for 5 minutes, or until you see some crispy bits and then flip the skewers over, and broil on the other side for 5 minutes. It make take more or less time depending on how hot your oven is, or how thick your flank steak is, but you’re looking for an internal temperature of 135°F for medium rare if you’ve got a thermometer.

Beef Satay after broiling

It make take more or less time depending on how hot your oven is, or how thick your flank steak is, but you’re looking for an internal temperature of 135°F for medium rare if you’ve got a thermometer.

Beef Satay – Gluten-free with Soy-free option

Enjoy!
May 4, 2015
Summer Mango Salsa
Summer Mango Salsa

Apparently it’s mango season. In browsing the grocery store flyers looking for inspiration, I noticed that two of our three chains had mangoes on sale. I’ve never eaten a mango before, but I’ve had mango juice and liked it. So I thought I’d give it a try. Why not, right?

According to the Mango Board, mangoes are ripe when they give a little under a gentle squeeze — like avocados. As I said on Friday, it’s really worth your time to watch the video before deciding you know how to cut a mango. You can make it a lot harder than it needs to be (I sure did), but mangoes are sweet and tropical and taste like summer. If your “spring” as been like ours in New England, you need a reminder that warmer weather is coming. Tropical mango flavor helps.

“Salsa” generally conjures up tomatoes, but fruit salsas are pretty amazing and seem to have a better, brighter balance of flavors for certain main dish meals. (And yes, I know that biologically tomatoes are a fruit, but US law says they are vegetables). Salsa isn’t the quickest thing ever, but the work that goes in pays amazing dividends in flavor.

This salsa is fine with chips, but if you want to really highlight it, serve it over a meal. Things I think would work well with the summer mango salsa:
- Shrimp and rice, if you can do shellfish (this was my choice)
- Chicken, pork, or fish, if any of those work for you
- Black beans and rice
Let us know what you try so that, if it’s good, we can copy you. I have a feeling I’ll be making this a few more times, and I’d love some new ideas for what to serve it over.

Summer Mango Salsa

Summer Mango Salsa
- 1/2 of a sweet onion, finely diced (this should be between 1/3 and 1/2 cup — adjust according to your love for onion)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice (I wanted to give you a measurement, but I’ve had to use everything from 2 whole limes to 1/2 a lime to get 2T. It varies widely. I always buy limes in pairs, for whatever reason.)
- 1 serrano pepper (buy a size commensurate with your love of spice), stem, seeds, and inner membranes removed, diced very finely
- 1 mango, cut into small cubes
- 1 avocado, cut into small cubes
- 3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
The order of the ingredients above is deliberate. I love onion in my salsa, but I don’t like it too strong. If you chop it first and then let it marinate in the lime juice while you fight with the mango, it mellows out a bit. I’m assuming that the acid “cooks” the onions a bit, as it does for fish in ceviche. If you’re a better food scientist than I am, I’d love to know if this is true; it could just be the power of suggestion.

For the best flavor profile, you want the onions and the chile diced very finely, as finely as you can manage, and the mango and avocado a good bit chunkier (but still, not too big). The onion and chile go into the lime juice first. The mango next, and last the avocado — the avocado will break down the more you stir it, and I like it pretty well intact.

Basically, chop everything up and mix it together in a bowl. This is a very fresh salsa, and it doesn’t need much time to meld — half an hour at room temperature seems to be enough, although it is great the next day. I doubt it would last all that much longer, but I’ve made it a few times now and I’ve yet to test that.

Enjoy your plate of summer.
April 27, 2015
Hoisin Sauce – Gluten-free with Soy-free option
Hoisin Sauce – Gluten-free with Soy-free option

Hoisin sauce was just another well-loved condiment no longer within my grasp until I found a recipe and modified it to be safe for me. If you have a soy allergy (I don’t) try this with Mary Kate’s Soy-Free, gluten-free “Tamari Sauce” and let us know how it worked out for you.

Hoisin Sauce – Gluten-free with Soy-free option

Makes 1 cup.
- 1/2 of a 15 ounce can of Black Beans, rinsed and drained (I use my home canned, but use what’s safe for you.)
- 1 Tablespoon of either Sesame Oil, Chili Oil or other safe for you oil (I can’t use Sesame, so I made a homemade Chili oil with my safe oil.)
- 1/2 Tablespoon of minced Garlic
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 Tablespoon of Molasses
- 2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar (Bragg’s is generally safest for those with corn allergies)
- 2 Tablespoons of Rice Vinegar
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce (I do well with San-J Tamari Gluten Free Soy Sauce, the alcohol is from cane sugar not corn, but if you can’t use soy, try Mary Kate’s recipe for a Soy-Free, gluten-free “Tamari Sauce” )
- 1 Tablespoon of water
- 1/8 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
In a food processor, purée the black beans into a fine paste. If it is too thick and doesn’t process well, add a little bit of water (1 teaspoon at a time) until you can continue to pulse the black beans. They should be puréed into mush.

In a non-reactive pan (I used an enameled cast iron pan), heat the oil until it is hot, but not yet smoking. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes (don’t let it turn brown).

Once the garlic is cooked, add all ingredients to your pan and stir together really well. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. The sauce should coat and stick to the back of a wooden spoon when it is ready.

Remove from heat immediately and let it cool before placing it a container in the refrigerator. I put mine in a squeeze bottle so I can use it easily whenever I want.

Enjoy with all your favorite Asian and Asian-inspired dishes!
April 20, 2015

Salad Dressing Recipe Theory

So, salad dressing. It’s one of those things that I can’t buy any more, my corn allergy pretty much blew any hope of being able to find a commercial product to buy out of the water. I don’t really use recipes any more, I tend to throw things in a blender and have at it, but you might want a slightly more careful approach at the beginning, but I’m pretty sure you’ll end up throwing stuff in a blender too after I explain this.

Salad Dressing Recipe Theory

The parts to a dressing recipe are the base, the acid, the emulsifier (sometimes), and your spices/flavors. Now, the conventional wisdom is that the ratio is 3 parts base to 1 part acid, and then add your emulsifier and flavors to taste. However, I think you should mix the ratio so that you like it. I tend to almost flip the proportions of base and acid, but feel free to fiddle those proportions as you wish. Also, this is not a table to be read from left to right across a row, as it’s not in any particular order. Also, I tend not to just pick one emulsifier or spice/flavors or I might even skip the emulsifier altogether when I do a dressing, and I may even put a combo of two of the acids.

Base	Acid	Emulsifier	Spices/Flavor
Extra Virgin Olive Oil	Red Wine Vinegar	ground dry mustard	soy sauce (if you don’t have a soy allergy, and if you have a wheat or corn allergy you can try San-J Organic Tamari Gluten Free Soy Sauce or use Mary Kate’s Soy-free, gluten-free “Tamari Sauce”)
Grapeseed Oil	Fruit Infused Vinegar	prepared mustard	minced garlic or garlic powder
sesame oil (if you don’t have a sesame allergy)	Rice Wine Vinegar	honey (if you have a safe one)	fresh micro-grated ginger or ginger powder
Safe for you vegan yogurt	Balsamic Vinegar	maple syrup	Sriracha or other hot sauces
safe for you vegan mayo	Apple Cider Vinegar	a quarter of a preserved lemon	fresh herbs – any of dill, parsley, cilantro, mint, scallions
silken tofu (if no soy allergy and if you can find one without corn in it)	Lemon Juice	jam or fruit preserve	minced onion or shallots
an avocado	Lime Juice	tahini (if you don’t have a sesame allergy)	dried herbs – any of marjoram, thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil,
chopped tomatoes	Orange Juice	tomato paste	dried chili powders – chipotle, ancho, jalapeno
raw cashews soaked and blended into cream (if you don’t have a nut allergy)	Pickle Juice – left over from my homemade fermented dill pickles or my home canned pickles		ground black pepper or peppercorns
			sugar to sweeten
			salt

For example, if I wanted to make a red wine vinaigrette, I’d use extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar and a bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice, some of my home made Dijon mustard, some garlic, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil, ground black pepper, salt and a bit of sugar, and blend it. If I wanted to make a Mexican spiced tomato vinaigrette, I’d use some chopped tomatoes and some extra virgin olive oil, some lime juice, maybe a bit of honey if I had a safe one, and some garlic, hot sauce, cilantro, oregano, basil, chipotle, black pepper, and salt, and blend it. I could also do an avocado ranch (I don’t have any safe yogurt, mayo or tofu to use as a base instead, although I could use cashews blended into a cream) using an avocado, some extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar, and some garlic powder, onion powder, dill, salt, basil and red bell pepper flakes. Note that this combo didn’t use an emulsifier because the avocado has enough body on its own. You could also do an Asian themed dressing with some grapeseed oil, rice wine vinegar, minced scallions, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and Sriracha. See what kind of craziness you could come up with?

Now, I know what you’re saying – “Denise, Denise, how will we know if we got the proportions right? You’re not giving us enough information.” Yep. Because some of this stuff is trial and error. And the answer is you should taste it, and see how it is. If you like it, you got it right. If it needs something, fiddle with it. But, to give you a guideline, if the combination of your base and acid equals about 3 cups or so (because the ratio of the base and acid is up to you), I’d add a tablespoon or two of the emulsifier, and I’d add the spices/flavors to taste. Start with about a teaspoon of your combined spices/flavors and see if you like it, or if you need to add more.

But for those of you who want a conventional recipe, I’ll make an easy Red Wine Vinaigrette for you. But since you’re making it, if you don’t like something, leave it out. Also, I added a bit of paprika and crushed red pepper, because I’m Denise. God forbid that I don’t have some form of chili in a recipe, but I’ve marked them optional for you. Also, note that my proportions of base and acid are the way that I like dressing, so if you like a dressing with less acid (I like my dressing screaming) use 2 cups of extra virgin olive oil and 1 cup of red wine vinegar. (Yes, that’s still not 3 to 1, but if you need to it be 3 base to 1 acid, do the math).

Red Wine Vinaigrette, based on the Salad Dressing Recipe Theory

2 cups of red wine vinegar (I make my own, but make sure that you have a safe source)
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil (I do well with California Olive Ranch)
1 Tablespoon of prepared mustard (I use my homemade Dijon, make sure you get one that’s safe for you)
1 clove of minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon of marjoram
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1/2 teaspoon of basil
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
salt and pepper to taste (I used a 1/4 teaspoon each)
optional: 1/8 teaspoon of paprika
optional: 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper

Put it all in the blender.

Blend it. I start on low for a minute and then move it up to high, blending for at least a minute or two to make sure the oil incorporates with your emulsifier and base.

I then use a funnel and put it in an old wine bottle or vinegar bottle I’ve saved. You should store it in the refrigerator. Because California Olive Ranch is really good olive oil, it will solidify a bit in the refrigerator, so shake well, and let it sit on your salad a bit to warm up before eating.

This makes a good bit of salad dressing. Usually, I put it in two bottles and take half to work to leave in the refrigerator there (your salad doesn’t get all wilted and gross if you don’t dress it before you leave for work) and leave some at home. I could make it as needed, but with food allergies, we all have enough stuff to do and making an amount in volume saves time.

What are your favorite flavors and combinations? If you try out our “theory” let us know about combinations you come up with that you particularly enjoy. We’d love to see what inspired ideas you come up with!

April 6, 2015

Kitchen Sink Soup, vegan, gluten-free, allergy-friendly
Kitchen Sink Soup

One of the ways that food allergies have taken over my brain is that I’m always planning ahead — you have to. A lack of planning can mean not eating, which in my case leads to extreme crankiness or just a complete lack of functioning. I’m also completely incapable of deciding what to eat if I’m too hungry. So I usually know what’s for dinner — tonight and tomorrow night, maybe for the whole week, but certainly for any important dates or busy nights coming up.

On the other hand, life with food allergies also makes you pretty flexible — again, by necessity. So when I had plans to make Winter is Coming Chicken and Kale, I had chicken, polenta, and kale on hand. Or, rather, I thought I did. Turns out, hey, winter is ending and the chicken I’d defrosted (properly — in the fridge, though for two days instead of one) was not good.I don’t really know if it was bad when I bought and froze it or what, but that left me with kale and polenta, which is a really sad meal.

So I ended up making this soup. I’m just going to call it “kitchen sink soup” because that’s pretty much what went into it — everything but the kitchen sink. It turned out so well, though, that I thought I’d go ahead and share it. I wish that it were too late to post soup recipes, but it really isn’t. We’ve moved into cool and rainy, so soup is still all over my menu. If you live somewhere where it’s not soup weather? Yeah, don’t tell me about it, please. I love soup because it’s a one-pot, one-bowl meal that can be entirely balanced.

The key to this soup, I think, is the *right* amount of really good hot sauce for you. Even if you “don’t like spicy things,” you need the hot sauce — you will just add less. GOOD hot sauce will give you tons of flavor and it doesn’t need to have a kick. I’ve written the version for the light end — taste and add more as you see fit.

Soup pre- and post- kale awesomeness

Kitchen Sink Soup
- 2 teaspoons oil of your choice
- 1/2 an onion, chopped
- pinch of salt
- 8 oz mushrooms, de-stemmed and broken (I prefer crimini)
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 3 celery stalks, sliced thin
- 15 oz of canned or cooked garbanzo beans
- 1 teaspoon good hot sauce (or as much as you want)
- 4 cups of vegetable broth
- 1 potato, peeled and chopped small
- about 4 cups of kale, de-stemmed and shredded
Heat soup pot over medium heat. When the pot is hot, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion and the pinch of salt. Cook, stirring regularly, until onion starts to brown.

Add the broken mushrooms. Breaking mushrooms rather than chopping them gives you bigger mushroom chunks and reduces the shrinkage. Cook until the mushrooms have sweated and darkened.

Add the carrots, celery, garbanzo, hot sauce, and vegetable broth. Stir well, and stir in the potato. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 – 30 minutes — when the carrots and potatoes are cooked, you’re good.

Add the kale, stir, and let cook another 2-3 minutes until the kale is brighter green. Do NOT overcook the kale! Taste and adjust the hot sauce and salt if you need to.

Enjoy the warm veggies and dream of summer.
March 30, 2015

Tag: Gluten-free

Cereal Snack Bars

Roasted Garlic and Pesto DIY Tater Tots

Carrot Chickpea Curry

Beef Satay – Gluten-free with Soy-free option

Beef Satay Marinade:

Summer Mango Salsa

Hoisin Sauce – Gluten-free with Soy-free option

Salad Dressing Recipe Theory

Red Wine Vinaigrette, based on the Salad Dressing Recipe Theory

Kitchen Sink Soup