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. 

SHAKSHUKA, Israeli Breakfast

Peter Griffin, PDPictures.net

Properly turned out, shakshuka hits sweet, fiery, and filling notes all at once.
"Shakshuka, A Tel Aviv Mainstay," Ted Weesner, Jr., The Boston Globe

Shakshuka! Isn't it a wonderful word?  It means "all mixed up" or "all mixed together,"  something to that effect.  Essentially, it is eggs cooked in tomatoes.  Our instinct is, however, that like such dishes all around the world, good cooks vary the ingredients depending on what supplies they have in the larder or are able to get.  Even the name hints at that. The Boston Globe article quoted above is interesting and discusses regional variations for this delicious, budget-wise dish.

One of the things we like about this dish is that it doesn't have to involve bread or other wheat products, and  it gets us going on my veggies first thing.  On the other hand, it can, of course, be eaten any time of day. It has few ingredients and is quick and easy to make, so it's a fine choice for dinner after a long work day.  It lends itself well to adaption as a vegan option.  We prepared it Sunday morning for a friend; but, while his portion was made with eggs, ours was made with tofu.

We were inspired to make shakshuka on Sunday because we were a little too enthusiastic at one of the farmers' markets last week and had an overabundance of tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic, which we needed to use up.  We also had an amazingly wonderful and fresh batch of za'atarزعتر‎, a fragrant Arabic spice-blend of sumac, sesame seeds, thyme, and salt, which I was anxious to use.

The recipe:

For each person you will need:

• one-half of a white onion,
• one bell pepper,
• one large tomato,
• one tablespoon of tomato paste,
• one large omega-three egg or a serving of firm tofu,
• Aleppo pepper to taste, and
• about a half-teaspoon or so of za'atar, depending on taste.
• and one tablespoon quality olive oil for the pan.

Chop the vegetables and proceed with the recipe as in the video.  If you are using tofu, cut a few slices and brown them before adding them to the pan of vegetables. Add the Aleppo pepper during the cooking process.When the shakshuka is ready, sprinkle each serving with some za'atar.

POMEGRANATES, Starting to show up in stores and national pomegranate month coming up

Illustration from Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, 1885, Gera, Germany courtesy of Wikipedia.

When we eat pomegranates, we eat food fit for a goddess. In Greek mythology Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, was abducted and taken to the underworld by Hades. Zeus demanded that she be returned to earth. Hades had to relent, but Persephone ate four pomegranate seeds and for that she was doomed to return to the underworld for several months (winter time when fields and trees are dormant) each year. 

We, on the other hand, eat pomegranates and are "doomed" to good health. High in antioxidants and ellagic acid, they are believed to mitigate cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and potential for various cancers including breast and prostate. Pomegrantes are, however, contraindicated for those taking certain medications.  So, if you are on cholesterol lowering or blood pressure lowering medications, it's best to check with your doctor or pharmacist before indulging.

Persians put out big bowls of pomegranates at weddings for fortunate and fruitful marriages. In Persian (Iranian) cuisine - a largely undiscovered wonder in the U.S. - it is used in many delicious ways including their tantalizing walnut, bell pepper, and pomegranate dip, muhamarra.  It's quite easy to prepare: In a blender combine

• two large red peppers, seeded and cut in chunks
• 1/2 cups of raw walnuts
• 3 teaspoons of fresh pomegranate juice
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon of Aleppo pepper
• sea salt to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best quality you can afford

Blend well.  Taste and adjust salt, lemon and olive oil and give it another whirl in the blender.  Pour into a bowl and serve with crudités.  (Great dish for raw foodists.)

Among modern-day Greeks on New Year's Day, pomegranates are taken outside the house and smashed on the ground to disperse the seeds for good luck. The further the seeds travel, the better the luck. More practically speaking, the pomegranates are used in drinks, salad dressings, fruit salads, and just by itself. To get at the seeds, cut the pomegranate in half.  Hold the halves over a bowl of cold water and tap the shell.  The seed and the pith will fall into the water. The seeds will float to the bottom and the pith to the top, making it easy to separate them.  Drain off the water and pith and eat the whole seed.  The flavor is in the juicy outer part, but the fiber is in the inner kernel, so eat the whole thing for maximum delight and health benefit.

Pomegranate molasses can be combined with the seeds and juice of the fruit to make a delicious Greek salad:

• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, best you can afford
• 2 teaspoons Annie's Dijon mustard (gluten-free)
• Freshly ground sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 10 cups of mesclun salad mix
• 1 apple, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of crumbled feta
• 1 cup of pomegranate seeds

For the vinaigrette, combine the juice, molasses, oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk.  To make the salad, combine the greens and the apple in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with half of the vinaigrette and mix.  Divide the dressed greens among eight salad dishes. Top with the crumbled feta and the pomegranate seeds.  Spoon some more of the vinaigrette over each portion, and you're ready to go.
In Lebanese cuisine pomegranate seeds are sprinkled on bowls of leban (yogurt) and on hummus bi tahini, chickpeas with sesame seed paste, and baba ghanouz, tahini with eggplant. There is also a popular pomegrante drink - Americans would call it a "mocktail."  Combine the following ingredients in a pitcher and serve over ice:

• 2 1/2 cups fresh pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice, Meyers preferred when you can get them
• 1 teaspoon orange-blossom water*
• honey or sugar to taste
• 4 cups mineral water

* Orange blossom water and rose-water are used frequently in Middle Eastern cooking.  It may be a bit of an acquired taste.  Hard for me to tell since I grew up with it.  However, we can give you a good budget tip.  If you have a Mediterranean or Indian grocer near you, these waters will be half or even one-third the price of the same product in other stores.  And, a beauty tip: rose-water makes a great and very soothing toner for mature skin.


For the holidays, drop a few pomegranate seeds in glasses of champagne for the grown-ups and sparkling apple juice for the kids and watch with delight as the lovely garnet gems dance.  Or for the kids a soda with grenadine. Grenadine is a sweet syrup made from pomegranates and something with which most people are familiar since it is often used in mixed drinks. Most of  my generation got introduced to it as kids in Shirley Temple and Roy Rodger drinks, ginger ale and grenadine on ice.  They might be fun drinks for your kids during holiday season, but probably need to be renamed.  Maybe Hanna Montana and Spider Man, or something like that.

Enjoy fresh pomegranate now. The season will pass quickly.

PUTTING THE NY SPIN ON BROWNIES

PDphoto.org

There are few things more New York than coffee and a cannoli . . . so forget dinner . . . How about a good, hot Cafe Americano and a luscious gluten-free chocolate brownie topped with snow-white cannoli cream and slivers of red-ripe strawberries macerated in golden rum?  Are you smiling yet? Drooling? Making gluten-free cannoli shells is a bit of a project and doesn't lend itself to spontaneity. I've taken to topping brownies or filling figs with cannoli cream and that does it for me.


Cafe Americano
1 espresso added to six ounces of hot water

Chocolate Brownie with Cannoli Cream and Macerated Strawberries
BROWNIE RECIPE - Note: The brownie recipe is adapted from the highly recommended The Gluten-Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg.


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit

• 1 1/3 cups of organic granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup gluten-free, trans-fat free shortening, Spectrum
• 3 omega-3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon Singing Dog Organic Vanilla Extract
• 1 tablespoon white rum
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 cup Dagoba Organic Chocolate, pure cacao powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons guar gum
• 1 cup Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Grease a 9" x 13" glass baking pan with some Spectrum and dust with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free All-purpose Flour

Cream the sugar and Spectrum together.  Lightly beat the eggs and add along with the vanilla and rum to the creamed sugar mixture. Mix well and add the remaining ingredients.  Make sure the batter is lump-free.  An old-fashioned hand-held mixer or an immersion blender work well for this. Bake 18 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the pan comes out clean. Allow the brownies to cool on a rack before cutting and removing to serving dishes.

Top each serving with Cannoli Cream and Macerated Strawberries (below).  Serve with a hot Cafe Americano.

Cannoli Cream
When I found out I had Celiac Disease and would have to make wheat-and-gluten-free cannoli shells from scratch all the time, I realized that the outside of the cannoli wasn't as important to me as the cannoli cream filling.  I found other ways to use the filling when there is not enough time or energy to make the shells.

Traditionally, cannoli cream is made with goat's milk ricotta cheese, which is not readily available. Some clever person came up with the idea of adding goat's milk cheese to the ricotta for a more authentic taste.  Should you prefer to do without the goat's milk cheese, it is optional. The result will still be delicious.  Just add a bit more ricotta.  I have left out the candied fruits and cinnamon since in this dessert the Cream is pared with fruit and brownies, quite rich enough without those additions. This is a favorite at my house.  I'm sure it will be at yours as well.

CANNOLI CREAM RECIPE:

• 1 pound fresh whole-milk ricotta
• 2 ounces soft and mild goat's milk cheese
• 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Combine all ingredients in one bowl and mix well.

MACERATED STRAWBERRIES
You can prepare these while the brownies are baking so that they can macerated at room temperature for a while before you serve them.

• 2 small baskets of strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced thin
• 3 tablespoons organic granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons white rum

Combine in one bowl and mix well.

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.