VACATION TIME ...

♥

October 28-30, 2010, Vacation.

May all sentient beings have peace.

♥

HAPPY CELIAC HALLOWEEN, safety tips for gooles, goblins, and extraterrestrials

Petr Kratochvil, Public Domain Pictures.net.

Keeping our CELIAC KIDS safe and gluten-free is top priority for parents and other care takers. So, candy first: Alison St. Sure of Sure Foods Living has posted a comprehensive list of main-stream candies that are safe for Celiac Kids. Check it out HERE.  The Doctors TV Show provides a comprehensive safety check list for Halloween HERE. 

Best wishes to all for a safe and spooktackular Halloween.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

LEBANESE LEMON & GARLIC DRESSED Carrot & Zucchini Salad

Petr Kratochvil

Carrot and Zucchini Salad

Serves Four

2 large carrots, cleaned and shredded (use the large side of a hand shredder)

2 small zucchini, cleaned and shredded (use the large side of a hand shredder)

lemon-garlic dressing (see below), to taste

Prepare the salad:

Mix the vegetables and then dress with the lemon and garlic dressing, not so much that the salad is soupy.

Lebanese Lemon-garlic Dressing

Prepare the dressing:

4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the best quality you can afford when it's for a dressing

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 lemon juiced

1 fresh garlic clove, crushed well using a mortar and pestle

1/8 cup fresh coriander (cilantro), minced (you can substitute parsley)

Whisk all the ingredients together.  Dress salad to taste.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

SAVORY BAY RIDGE BREAKFAST BREAD PUDDING

The recipe

Serves four people

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups of milk (dairy, nut or soy, your choice)
• 3 large omega-3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups Pecorino Romano, freshly grated
• Sea salt
• Coarse black pepper, freshly grated
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely minced
• 7 slices of Udi's Gluten-free Multi-grain Bread, toasted and quartered
• 2 cups of Emmental Cheese, shredded
• 3 cups of water

Grease an 8 inch baking dish with the olive oil.

In a bowl, mix the milk, eggs, half the Pecorino Romano cheese, the fresh herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.
Layer half the toast in the bottom of the baking dish. This is free form. It's okay to overlap. Top the toast with about two-thirds of the cheese. Eyeball it. Precision isn't necessary. Arrange the remaining toast. With a fork, press gently on the toast to help make sure that it absorbs the liquid. Mix what's left of the Pecornio Romano and Emmental and top the pudding with the mixture.

Boil the water and pre-heat the oven to 425°.

Let the dish stand for twenty minutes. Set the baking pan in a larger pan. Pour enough boiling water in the larger pan to come half-way up the side of the baking pan. (This is like using a bain-marie - or water bath - for making cheesecake.) Bake for about thirty minutes to cook through, set the pudding, and brown the top. If the top starts to brown before the pudding is set, just carefully and loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

TURKEY POULE

Photograph courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net

This recipe may have originated for us with Paul Prudhomme. It  is an absolutely delicious way to use leftover turkey you may have frozen after Thanksgiving.

Louisiana Turkey Poule 


This recipe
Serves four

• Eight large slices of leftover turkey breast
• Butter or gluten-free spread
• Four slice of Udi's GF Multi-grain Bread, each one toasted and cut into four diamond shapes
• 4 slices of GF Bacon
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced
• 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, remove from stem and mince
• 2 cups of bechamel sauce, gluten-free
• 2 cups shredded swiss (my preference) or cheddar cheese
• black pepper, freshly grated
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely minced

Prepare the bechamel, add the cheese and the herbs, and keep warm.

Cook the bacon and set aside to drain on paper towels.

Sauté the turkey in a little butter or spread to heat through, but be care not to let it dry out. Arrange the toast points on four serving dishes.  Top toast with a turkey and a slice of bacon.  Pour some of the bechamel over each serving, sprinkle with the pepper and parsley.  Serve hot.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

AN ANTIQUE PERSIMMON RECIPE

Public domain illustration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Recipes are good-will ambassadors." Mrs. Cordell Hull as quoted in Pioneer "Vittals"

Everyone finds their way to Brooklyn, it would seem. Then their books find their way onto the shelves of second-hand bookstores and into our family library. This post was inspired by one such find.

The glorious gold-orange globes of hachiya persimmons arrive in the market along with the autumn chill. There are several kinds of persimmons, but the ones generally available to US are the hachiya. These must be very ripe to eat raw or use in cooking.  They have high tannin levels, which makes them bitter when unripe. When the persimmons become as soft as a ripe tomato, you can cut them in half, scoop out the flesh with a spoon, and eat them raw.  Or you can use the pulp for breads, cakes, and puddings.
we found the recipe below, which we offer for historical interest, in a charming booklet compiled by Sarah Dougherty of Russellville, Tennessee.  There's no date on the book and no copyright to give us a hint.  It would appear that Mrs. Dougherty lovingly collected old Tennessee recipes and probably self-published this tiny, three-by-five, brown-covered gem.  According to the booklet, this recipe is from the mountains of East Tennessee and dates back to the 1800s.

Persimmon Pudding

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup seeded persimmons
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• Pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon soda dissolved in buttermilk
• 1 cup four [substitute gluten-free all-purpose flour, exchangeable one-for-one in a recipe]
• butter, the size of an egg [3/4 stick of sweet butter or Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks]
• 1/2 teaspoon each of spice, cinnamon and nutmeg

Mix all together and bake in moderate oven until done.
Serve with whipped cream.

***

EARTH BALANCE VEGAN BUTTER STICKS

Earth Balance Buttery sticks works just fine in baking. The spread is suitable as a spread or for cooking but not for baking, frosting, or candy-making.

Kosher.
Gluten Free.
Dairy Free.

Ingredients: Expeller-Pressed Natural Oil Blend (Soybean, Palm Fruit, Canola Seed And Olive Oils), Filtered Water, Pure Salt, Natural Flavor (Derived From Corn, Not MSG, No Alcohol, No Gluten), Soy Protein, Soy Lecithin, Lactic Acid (Non-Dairy, Derived From Sugar Beets), And Beta Carotene Color (From Natural Source).

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

VOLUNTARY RECALL OF FROZEN PEAS, may contain glass fragments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 15, 2010 - The Pictsweet Company of Bells, TN today announced a voluntary recall of certain codes of store brand products containing frozen Green Peas after the company learned that some of the packages may contain glass fragments, which may cause injury if ingested.

Products subject to this recall were distributed only to Kroger stores in the Southeast United States and Walmart stores throughout the United States and include the following items:

• Kroger 12 ounce Green Peas (UPC 11110 89736)
  Production Codes of 1440BU, 1440BV, 1440BW, and 1600BD
• Kroger 12 ounce Peas and Carrots (UPC 11110 89741)
  Production Codes of 1960BD and 1960BE
• Great Value 12 ounce Steamable Sweet Peas (UPC 78742 08369)
  Best by Dates of July 20, 2012; July 21, 2012
• Great Value 12 ounce Steamable Mixed Vegetables (UPC 78742 08026)
  Best by Date of July 15, 2012

No injuries have been reported to date. While no injuries have been reported, Pictsweet is advising the public that product from these packages indicated above should not be consumed. Consumers who have purchased the above product should return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact The Pictsweet Company at 1-800-367-7412, extension 417 toll-free from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time, Monday through Friday.

BUDGET-WISE IN BROOKLYN or anywhere ...

Picture: Fir002 via Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.

Potatoes do have a gluten in them. Some people can tolerate it and some can't. For those who can, we offer the following budget wise recipes, each of which includes potatoes.

STRING BEANS WITH TOMATOES, Loobiyeh bil zeyt, vegan and wheat-and-gluten free
From Jamie's Lebanese grandmother
This recipe
Serves four


In my experience this dish is generally made as a stew with lamb, Loobiyeh bil Lahmeh. In the days when our family was more omnivore than we are today, I would save the bone from a leg of lamb and use that to flavor the stew. Despite the fact of posts for meat-based recipes, on an everyday basis we don't each much if any meat. So now, moving more and more toward non meat-based meals, we find this vegetarian version just as satisfying. For the best quality experience, get the freshest vegetables you can find.  If the string beans don't make a snapping sound when you break them, they're old.  Don't buy them.

The recipe:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 pound fresh string beans, tip, top, string and snap in half
• 4 large boiling potatoes, cut in quarters
• 2 large onions, cut in dice
• 1 15-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 16 oz canned or homemade gluten-free veggie broth, or use water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• salt to taste
• Aleppo pepper to taste
• 1 large onion, slice thin and mix with 2 tablespoons olive oil
• juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon
• soy or dairy yogurt

Prepare the stew:
Saute the garlic in the olive oil in the bottom of a dutch oven or other pot large enough to hold all the ingredients. When the garlic is lightly brown, add the sesame oil and all the other ingredients with the exception of the potatoes, sliced onion in oil and the yogurt.
Bring the pot to a boil, and then lower to a gentle simmer.  Watch to make sure the liquid doesn't cook away.  Add water if necessary. It shouldn't be as watery as a soup, but it should still have some liquid when cooked.  After about twenty minutes, add the potatoes.

Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 more minutes. When it's done, stir in the lemon juice.

While the stew is cooking brown the sliced onions.

Serve the stew:
Dish out the stew in soup bowls, top with the browned onions, and serve the yogurt on the side as a condiment.  The yogurt is topped with a little raw olive oil and a dusting of smoked paprika.

POTATO PIE, Kibet batata, Vegetarian, Wheat-and-Gluten free
This recipe
Serves four
This is the Lebanese version of the English Shepherds Pie.  It is usually made with lamb.  My version in a veggie version.  I fill the pie with carrots, onions, dill, and toasted pine nuts instead of lamb. Once cooked, I top it with minced, fresh cilantro. (Tip: It easily becomes vegan if you use your favorite egg-replacer.) I use Earth Balance Buttery Spread.  It's vegan. It's gluten-free. It has no trans fats. It does have Omega 3. It's widely available in the U.S.
The recipe:

• three pounds boiling potatoes, cut into quarters (I just scrub them.  I don't peel them.)
• 1/2 cup dairy or non-dairy milk of your choice
• 1/2 cup of Earth Balance Buttery Spread
• 1 egg (whipped)
• 1 pound of carrots, sliced into rounds and then quartered
• 1/2 dry dill weed
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• 2 large onions
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup cilantro, finely minced

1 well-greased 12" x 8" baking pan
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain and mash with milk, Earth Balance, salt and black pepper and, finally the egg or the egg replacer.  Spread half of the potato mixture over the bottom of the baking pan.
Steam the carrots and, while they are steam, sauté the onion and the pine nuts in the olive oil. Brown slowly.  When the carrots are tender, mix them with the onions, pine nuts, dill weed, salt and black pepper .  Pour into the pan on top of the potatoes.  Top the carrot mixture with the remaining potatoes. Brush with some melted Earth Balance.  Lightly salt.  Bake for thirty minutes or until the top is nicely browned.

Serve the pie:
Top each portion with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
Variation: You can just use browned onion to fill the pie and/or any other favorite vegetable or combination of vegetables.

POTATO AND GARLIC SAUCE/DIP, Skorthalia, vegan, wheat-and-gluten free

This is a delicious and simple Greek sauce that is traditionally used to top fried fish or as a dip with bread. It can be used to good effect as a topping for almost any steamed vegetable.  The texture should be creamy, smooth, and somewhat thick.  It is most easily made in a food processor; but, you can mash the potatoes by hand and do the garlic in with a mortar and pestle, the old fashioned way. That's the way I do it.
The recipe:

• 6 large cloves of garlic, mashed or minced
• 1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled, quartered, boiled and mashed
• 1/2 cup Wild Wood Soy Creamer
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, the best quality you can afford
• salt to taste

Prepare the sauce:
Put the potatoes, garlic, and creamer in the food processor and puree.  Then slowly add the oil and the wine, alternating a little of each until it's all incorporated.

Serve as dip:
Place in a small bowl on a large platter surrounded by crudités and/or bread slices.

Serve as sauce:
Top your choice of steamed vegetables with the sauce.  Thin if you need to with water or milk.  Or, use as a topping on pan fried or batter fired fish or batter-fried vegetables.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

CUTTING THE CAFFEINE, Not the flavor

Picture: Blogger before morning coffee.

Okay, seriously, this little guy is a Virginia Opossum photographed by David Arbour for the U.S. Forest Service.

Coffee, we've been told, is good for the liver but bad for the ticker due to the caffeine. On that basis, cutting back on the caffeine may be well advised for some. I found that flavor tends to suffer from the decaf process and, unless it's Swiss Water Processed, decaf can just present another set of problems. We don't want to go totally decaf. So, after some experimentation, we've found a half-caf combo that works for me.  Using Peet's Coffee and Tea coffees, here's our solution. Once a week, we prepare a batch of our own special "house blend".  The proportions follow. When we want to have coffee,  I make single cups using a cone.

• 1/2 Espresso Forte, ground for cone
• 1/4 Decaf Mocca Java, water processed, ground for cone
• 1/4 Orleans Coffee Exchange Chicory

EMPOWERING CELIAC DISEASE PATIENTS TO GET HEALTHY

Copyrighted illustration, AGA Press

Are you among the millions with undiagnosed celiac disease or a gluten-related ailment? If you have unexplained depression, anemia, infertility, bone degeneration, liver disease, vitamin deficiency, or trouble with your balanceReal Life with Celiac Disease will help you consider whether you have undiagnosed celiac disease and need to go gluten-free.

It you have been diagnosed with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. Find out:

• Why you still have symptoms, even though you're eating gluten free
• Easy ways to adjust to a gluten-free lifestyle
• How to heal your gut with gluten-free fiber vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and more
• Where to look for hidden gluten and why cheating has serious consequences
• Whether you can eat oats and what starch and how to travel and dine out safely
• How to eat healthy if you are a vegetarian, have diabetes, or want to lose weight
• Which family members need to be tested for celiac disease
• How celiac disease should be monitored by your health care team throughout life

Real Life with Celiac Disease, Troubleshooting and Thriving Gluten Free by Melinda Dennis, M.S., R.D., LDN and Daniel A. Leffler, M.D., M.S.

I received this book to review from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). If I saw this on a shelf in a bookstore, it's likely I wouldn't have bought it. I've been dealing with celiac disease with fair success for a number of years now. I don't think I know it all, but after a while it all gets old. I have my cooking and dietary policies established and just want to move on with life.  Nonetheless, I find  I'm glad I received a review copy. I couldn't put it down.
The book offers a chapter-by-chapter overview and update on all facets of celiac disease, each one written by a professional in that specific area. In textbook fashion, chapters end with suggested further reading. The book offers comprehensive, up-to-date, and practical information and guidance on a broad range of celiac disease and gluten-related disorders and issues.
The  many values of Real Life with Celiac Disease include:

• up-to-date discussions of celiac conditions other than just the standard discussions of gastrointestinal issues, vitamin deficiency, and skin disease (dermatitis herpetiformis), including depression, liver disease, anemia, and osteoporosis
• clarification of the connections or lack there-of between celiac disease and various cancers, including breast cancer
• guidelines for successfully combining both vegetarian and diabetic diets with a gluten-free diet
• malabsorption of fructose, lactose, and related carbohydrates
• information on how your medical team should be monitoring your celiac disease
• guidance for reading food-labeling in Canada and the United States
• dealing with celiac disease when you have an eating disorder
• comprehensive information on successfully accommodating lifestyles
• information on infant feeding and celiac disease

Until the 1990s, we believed that celiac disease was unavoidable if the person had inherited the genetic risk from a parent. Then, between 1984 and 1996, Sweden experienced an epidemic of celiac disease in children under two years of age. Diagnosis of celiac disease rose to levels higher than found in any other country and then sharply declined back to the previous level. Clearly genetics isn't the only thing that determines the development of celiac disease; environment and lifestyle are important aspects, too.

Real Life with Celiac Disease devotes a chapter to the changing diet of humans over the millenia, how celiac disease has evolved, why it is still often not recognized by physicians as anything more than a childhood disease, and why and how we have moved from incidence of celiac disease to prevalence.
One of the chapters I most appreciate is the chapter on combining a gluten-free diet with a vegetarian diet. Before I found I had celiac disease I was virtually vegan. My concessions to an animal-based diet were cream in my coffee and plain, nonfat Greek yogurt. I was discouraged from continuing that diet. Now I feel empowered to revisit that option and reevaluate.
I must say, I was ready to take a week or so to read the book in between doing other things, but that is not the case at all. Once started, I had to pursue it to the end. I found it to be clear, engaging, and recommend it as good choice for either an introduction to celiac disease or an update. It's comprehensive and organized in a way that will save you a lot of research time.

MINEST, classic Brooklyn-Italian winter soup of greens

Photograph of fresh Greens via Wikipedia under GNU Free Documentation License

* * * * * * * * * *

Minest: It's unlikely that you will find this recipe in a cookbook or even on-line.  It's classic Brooklyn-Italian, great winter comfort food, a soup lush with mixed greens and rich with flavor.  If your kids generally don't like to eat greens, there's a good chance they will eat them this way. 

Serve the minest with warm slices of a quality gluten-free bread that you have made or purchased at Whole Foods.

A salad of fresh herbs, grape tomatoes, and cubes of fresh mozzarella. Dress the salad with a savory vinaigrette. You can substitute extra-firm tofu for mozzarella if you are vegan. Just cube and marinate the tofu for about an hour in some vinaigrette first. 

Follow the soup and salad with a light dessert such as fresh orange sections drizzled with Amaretto and topped with a sprinkle of chopped almonds or shredded coconut. Wind it all up with a cup of smokey, black China tea like Russian Caravan Tea from Peet's.  

Traditionally minest was made by first boiling a prosciutto bone in water for a broth and then adding the other ingredients after several hours.  I always used to make the broth and then refrigerate it so that I could skim the fat and proceed after that. I have not included it here for a few reasons: 1.) Given the times, it just won't be budget-wise for many folks.  It used to be you could get a prosciutto bone from the Italian Pork Store for nothing.  I'm sure they come dear these days.  2.) I don't know if they are gluten-free. 3.) Many of us are cutting back on or forgoing meat for reasons of health, and/or ethics, and/or compassion.  I don't think the recipe suffers from this modification.  I have enriched the veggie broth with a base of sauted minced vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, and the addition of pesto (for those who have no nut or cheese allergies) or pistou for those who do.  Although some folks add cheese to pistou, the traditional version does not include it. 

If you must have meat and can't afford or don't have access to prosciutto, you could substitute smoked turkey legs or a hunk of gluten-free American ham. Whatever you use, check the packages or contact the manufacturer to be sure that whatever you buy is gluten-free.  Other variations:  you could add polpetti (tiny meatballs) or take a page out of the French cookbook and top each serving of minest with a fried egg.

This post includes recipes for minest, pesto, pistou, and vinaigrette salad dressing. 

GLUTEN-FREE MINEST

The Recipe

Serves six as a main course

1 large onion, peeled and minced

6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1 carrot, shredded

1 celery stalk, minced

1/2 green bell pepper, minced

4 mushrooms, minced

Olive Oil (doesn't have to be first press)

1 small head of savoy cabbage, washed, cored and cut into wedges

1 bunch of escarole, washed and torn into small pieces

1 bunch of swiss chard, washed and torn into small pieces

1 - 32 ounce container of  Imagine gluten-free vegetable broth

1 cup of cold, filtered water

1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the best you can afford

Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Saute the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, bell pepper, and mushroom in the olive oil in a pot large enough to accommodate all the greens. When they are lightly browned and beginning to soften, add the both to the pot and follow with the greens.  Simmer until the greens are tender.  Add the extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir.

After you dish out the soup, pass around the pesto or the pistou so that each person can add what they would like to flavor their own bowl of soup.

Pesto: Process the following in your food processor, everything but the basil leaves at first.  Once the rest is processed, add the basil.

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
• 1/2 cup freshly grated sheep's milk pecorino romano
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, best you can afford
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Pistou: Process the following in your food processor, everything but the basil leaves at first. Once the rest is processed, add the basil.

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 4 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, best you can afford
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

GLUTEN-FREE VINAIGRETTE, adapted from Charles Virion's French Country Cookbook
The recipe
Makes 1 1/2 cups
3 tablespoons wine vinegar
9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best you can afford
1 tablespoon Annie's Gluten-free Dijon Mustard
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh chives, minced or 3/4 teaspoon dried chives
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Place all the ingredients except any fresh herbs into a mixing bowl and beat vigorously with a wire whisk until well mixed.  Add fresh herbs just before dressing the salad.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE

THAI PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE

The recipe

Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 shallots, minced 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons ginger, grated
• 1 red chili pepper, minced
• 1 small red bell pepper, minced
• 1 large omega-3 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of cold water
• 3 tablespoons gluten-free vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons Thai Fish Sauce  or gluten-free tamari
• 3 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 cup of fresh pineapple, cut into medium dice
• 8 medium-sized fresh, raw shrimp, peeled and devained, leave the tail on
• 1 chicken breast, cut into large dice
• 1/4 cup frozen, organic baby peas
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced

Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a pan large enough for all the ingredients.  Add the shallots, garlic, peppers, and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant and tender, just a minute or two.  Set aside.

Heat the other tablespoon of oil in the pan and pour in the egg mixture.  Let it cook through.  Do not stir.  You can gently flip it to lightly brown both sides.  Slip it into a plate and cut it into slender lengths. Set aside.

Put the meat and seafood into the pan and cook gently until they are almost cooked through.  Then add the broth, fish sauce and other seasonings, reserving the cilantro until later.  Continue to stir fry.  Add the peas.

Next add the brown rice and the pineapple and continue to stir-fry to mix all and heat through.

Plate the Thai Pineapple Fried Rice and sprinkle it with the fresh cilantro before serving.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE with cinnamon-streusel topping

On some Thanksgivings through the years, we would make Pumpkin Cheesecake instead of Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving.  A nice change of pace, and we New Yorkers love our cheesecake. This one combines the best of cheesecake with the best of pumpkin pie.  Be prepared though, making cheese cake is expensive and bit labor intensive. Plan ahead. You can't make it at the last minute. You must do it at least a day ahead of when you want it.

Streusel-topped Pumpkin Cheesecake

Twelve Servings

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

The Ginger-Pecan Crust:

• 1 1/4 c crushed Mi-Del Ginger Snaps
• 1/4 c granulated sugar
• ½ c finely chopped pecans
• 4 T unsalted butter, melted

Mix all four ingredients well and pour into the bottom of a nine-inch, non-stick spring-form pan.  Using the back of a tablespoon, pat the crust down firmly.  Bake for ten minutes. Remove the pan and place it on a cookie tray.  Leave the oven on.

The Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling:

• 4 pkgs. 8oz. Philadelphia cream cheese, leave out of the refrigerator to soften
• 1 1/4 c granulated sugar
• 3 T Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all purpose flour
• 1 c canned pumpkin puree
• ½ t each ground nutmeg
 and ground cinnamon
• ¼  t each ground cloves and powdered ginger
• 1 T gluten-free vanilla extract
• ½ t salt
• 4 large omega-3 eggs at room temperature

Beat the cream cheese and sugar on the lowest setting of an electric mixer until the mixture is smooth.  Slowly incorporate the flour being careful not to over do it.  Add the puree, spices, vanilla and salt and mix gently until smooth.  Incorporate the eggs one at a time.

Pour the cheesecake mixture into the pan on top of the crust.  Place in the center of the oven on the cookie tray and reduce the heat to 300 degrees after you close the oven door.  Do not open the oven after this until the cheesecake is done.  Bake for 45 minutes at 300 degrees and then turn off the oven, leaving the cake in it for two hours. Again, be sure not to open the oven.

After two hours, remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow it to cool complete.  When it is completely cool, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least four-to-five hours, but overnight is best. When ready to serve prepare the streusel.

The Streusel Topping:

• 1 ½ c finely chopped pecans
• 6 T ice cold butter
• ¼ t each cinnamon and powdered ginger

Put the sugar and butter in a bowl and with a fork mash it working it until it looks like meal.  Add the pecans and toss.  Add the cinnamon and ginger and toss.  To serve, remove the outer ring of the spring-from the cheesecake.  Gently spread the streusel over the top.

Optional:  Create a decorative edge with home-made whipped cream and, about an inch apart on the outer circumfrance of the cake, place pecan halves, plain or sugared. 


Gluten-free Mi-Del Ginger Snaps:

The Mi-Del company has a line of gluten-free cookies. The only ones we've tried are the ginger snaps. They're pretty flavorful, and nice and crispy. They make for a pleasant snack and are dunkable. We crush them for cookie crusts in a number of dessert recipes.  Among the advantages are that they are dairy free.  They are not, however, free of potato flour nor are they processed in a dedicated facility. They are not organic.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

CILANTRO HAPPINESS, Moroccan Carrot Salad with Cilantro and Cilantro Pisto

We love cilantro.  We find it refreshing and often use it where we once might have used parsley.  Here we've added it to good effect to an otherwise traditional recipe for Moroccan Carrot Salad.  We've also used it for a Cilantro Pistou, a nice change-of-pace from basil and a good alternative for those who don't particularly care for basil.


Moroccan Carrot Salad with Cilantro
This is based on a recipe in Paula Wofert's Couscous and Other Good Foods from Morocco.

Serves four as a side
The recipe

• 1/2 pound fresh carrots, grated large
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, from Meyer lemons if you can get them
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, best quality you can afford
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced
• Orange Flower Water, to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons organic sugar
• sea salt, to taste

Place all the ingredients in a bowl except the carrots and mix well.  Taste and adjust seasonings. Add carrots and mix them in well.  Chill before serving.
Tip: If you purchase flower waters - Orange and/or Rose - at ethnic groceries, you will find they are considerably less expensive there than the regular grocery or  gourmet food specialty shops.


Gluten-free Cilantro Pistou
Use on sandwiches, pasta, or to flavor soups.
The recipe
Process the following in your food processor, everything but the basil leaves at first. Once the rest is processed, add the cilantro.

• 2 cups fresh cilantro leaves, washed and dried
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 4 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, best you can afford
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

BROWN BUTTER SAUCE, Kafteró Voútiro, over pasta

Mizithra Cheese*, dried sheeps' milk cheese

This recipe s

erves four.

• 1/2 pound of fresh, sweet butter
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley or cilantro, minced
• cracked black pepper to taste
• sea salt to taste
• mizritha*, freshly grated

Gently melt the butter in a pan, being careful not to burn it but letting it brown.  Pour over your favorite cooked gluten-free pasta  and add the black pepper.  Mix well.  Taste for salt, remembering that the cheese is a salty addition.  Sprinkle with the parsley or cilantro.  Pass the grated cheese at the table.

Prosecco is the recommended wine.

* Mizithra cheese is a type of Greek cheese made with leftover whey from the production of other cheeses which is combined with sheep or goat milk. MORE [wiseGEEK]

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product.  

RED BEANS and RICE, spicy, satisfying, healthy, budgetwise

Work-for-hire photograph of New Orleans Jazz Musician, Louis Armstrong, originally published in the New York World Telegraph and Sun (1953), subsequently donated to the U.S. Library of Congress and in the public domain.

All music is folk music, I ain't never heard no horse sing a song.Louis Armstrong

Not a Brooklyn recipe in origin, but we certainly made it there. When we think of red beans and rice, we think of Louis Armstrong, New Orleans, and Mardi Gras. Jazz, spice, sunshine, and fresh air ...


The recipe we share here is easy, healthy, filling, budget-wise, great for potlucks, and adaptable. When we prepared it for our potluck recently, we used a vegan soy chorizo sausage knowing full well it would change the flavor from New Orleans to old Mexico. If you want to use meat, use andouille sausage and just make sure it's wheat-and-gluten free.


This is the basic recipe, which we're happy having vegan. We did plain brown rice in our Cadillac of rice cookers, theZojirushi.

And now for the red beans, which starts off with the Louisiana trinity. You can do your beans from scratch if you normally do so, or you can use a good organic canned bean ... Eden Foods is always a good choice if you with canned beans.

RED BEANS AND RICE, Wheat-and-Gluten Free, Vegan
The recipe
Serves 6- 8

• 2 cups minced celery
• 2 cups minced yellow onion
• 2 cups minced green bell pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 28-oz can organic crushed tomatoes
• 1 15-oz cans of organic kidney beans, drain
• 12 oz. vegetable broth, homemade or packaged, wheat-and-gluten free
• 2 dry bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried red pepper (adjust to taste)

Sauté the celery, onion, and green pepper in olive oil until they are tender. Add the garlic and stir, cooking for about one minute. Add the tomatoes and the beans and stir. Add the broth and the seasoning and stir. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat immediately. Simmer on low with the lid slightly ajar on the pot for about 45 minutes or so.  If you then let it rest in the refrigerator overnight, the flavors will be enhanced.  Serve over rice ... Yum!

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product.