Any Kitchen Will Do

Give me a kitchen and I will cook.

Archive for the category “wheat free”

Vegetable Curry Bake

I originally planned to make a chicken curry soup in the crock pot yesterday. Unfortunately it rained. When it rains Little B and I usually go outside and splash around in puddles and follow the path the water takes from the ditches to the creek. Don’t worry grandmothers. We don’t go cavorting when there is lightning or thunder, and we watch the flowing water from above. Our rainy adventure took much longer than originally planned, so there was not enough time before dinner to cook the soup slowly the way I like it. I will do it another day. There was time to layer up a casserole and get it baked, and my hankering for curry was humming away, so I checked out the fridge and pantry. I am working on improving my ratio of vegetables to meat, in that I want to eat mostly vegetables and a moderate amount of meat. I love meat, but it is loaded with calories. I don’t ever expect to completely remove meat from my diet, but eating less of it could not hurt. The following is an attempt at improving the veggie/meat ratio without leaving me hungry an hour later.

Vegetable Curry Bake

3 medium potatoes, sliced thin
1 1/2 cups broccoli, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups cauliflower, roughly chopped
1 cup baby carrots, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 – 3 8” smoked sausage links, sliced lengthwise and then into bite-size pieces
1 large yellow onion, sliced to a medium julienne
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 cup broth (beef, chicken or vegetable)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9”x13” baking dish. Use half the potato slices to make a layer on the bottom of the dish, completely covering it by overlapping the slices. Lightly salt and pepper the potatoes. Add a mixed layer of the cauliflower, broccoli and baby carrots, topping with the chopped garlic. Sprinkle half the curry powder over the vegetables. Sprinkle the sausage slices on top of the vegetables. Add another layer of potato with the remaining slices. Finish with a layer of onions. Pour the broth over the onions, making sure it gets evenly distributed. Drizzle the olive oil over the top, along with some salt, pepper and the rest of the curry powder. Cook covered for one hour. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. Cook an additional 30 minutes until brown on top. Let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Eggy Breakfast Muffins

Eggs are quite quick and easy to cook. I love eating them in all ways and forms of preparation. My favorite of all time is Eggs Florentine with classically poached eggs, barely wilted spinach and crisp home fries on the side. When I was growing up our family Sunday brunch usually fell near one of two extremes. The first was a champagne brunch at the club, where I was summarily denied anything more than a sip of champagne or a soaked strawberry until I was ‘of age’. The second was a feast at home after we returned from church and changed into our play clothes. My mom and dad often split the cooking. Me and my brother set the table and stayed out of the way. The kitchen was square and they did a little dance moving between the sink, stove and fridge. While mom made fruit cups dad would whip up waffle batter and crank out a pile of them a foot high. The waffle iron made huge waffles with little divots. I much prefer them to the big divoted belgian waffle irons. Other times he made SOS (mildly put, creamed beef on toast) or mom made drop biscuits while dad cooked up the most perfect fried eggs. He would gently fry them in oil. He never flipped them, but splashed oil from the pan over the top to cook the upper half. We also often set the table with boiled egg cups – the eggs were boiled just enough to cook the whites and leave most of the yolk runny. The pointy end went in the cup and we snipped the top off, using little spoons that just fit into the egg to scoop out buttery bites.

Growing up Catholic we observed the tradition of fasting before Mass. Even though we went to the first service at 8:30, it still meant the earliest we would eat at home was about 10:00. I was always famished by then, since the rest of the week my stomach received breakfast by 7:30. When my stomach is grumbling first thing in the morning it is almost torture waiting for the yummy bits to cook that accompany eggs – the bacon or potatoes to crisp, the sausage patties to sear, the making of Hollandaise sauce or the baking of biscuits. One solution to my desire for instant gratification is to resort to carbohydrate loaded, oily fast food breakfast sandwiches. Another is to buy those frozen things that heat up fast, but are rubbery on the outside and cold on the inside. My third and favorite solution is baking little quiche-like ‘muffins’ – they can be eaten immediately, or pulled from the fridge or freezer and microwaved while retaining their moist and savory goodness. The content of each batch of muffins I make varies and is directly impacted by the content of my kitchen. They always have eggs and cheese, but the meat and veggies change constantly – leftover roast chicken and broccoli are popular additions, as are grilled pork chops and potatoes. Muffins with salmon, dill and asparagus are wonderful. On top of everything else, Little B adores cracking eggs, whisking them into oblivion and stirring them up with the filling. I rarely deny her an egg experience.

Eggy Breakfast Muffins

9 eggs
6 ounces frozen spinach
1 cup cheese, grated
4 ounces ham or cooked sausage, small dice
1/4 cup black olives, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Heat oven to 375F. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan. In the microwave cook the spinach for about two minutes in a covered dish. When it cools squeeze as much liquid out of the spinach a possible. Chop finely. In a medium sized bowl add the cheese, meats, spinach and olives. Stir together. Crack all eggs into a separate bowl. Add salt, pepper, garlic, onion powder and parsley. Whisk the eggs until whites and yolks are well blended. Pour egg mixture over the cheese, meats and vegetables. Stir everything together until all is coated with egg. Spoon mixture into muffin pan until it is evenly distributed – they holes should be 2/3 to 3/4 full, depending on pan size. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until they start to brown on top. Remove from oven and let muffins cool in pan for about five minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each round to separate them from the pan, then gently lift them out onto a serving dish. Serve immediately. They also do well heated up in the microwave after being refrigerated or frozen.

Big D’s Gluten Free King Cake

Do you know how fun it is to eat a huge cinnamon pecan King Cake? How about doing it in front of someone who cannot eat it? Someone who would get sick if he did, but who also adores cinnamon rolls? No fun at all. After making a traditional King Cake the other day I decided to make one Big D could eat without worrying about wheat. Here is what I came up with and I must say, it came out gangbusters good! It is smaller and flatter than the humongous one I made with wheat, but it was plenty for him to be a complete part of the celebration. We had people over this morning for coffee and cake – they preferred this wheat free version to the wheat version. I bet I will be making it again. Let the good times keep rolling!

Big D’s Gluten Free King Cake

Pastry:
1 cup warm water (about 110F)
2 ¼ tsp (1 pkg) active dry yeast
1 ½ cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
1 ½ cups brown rice flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 Tbsp white sugar
2 tsp salt
½ tsp vinegar
2 eggs, room temperature
Filling:
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
1 Tbsp brown rice flour
½ cup pecans, finely chopped
1 Tbsp cinnamon
¼ cup butter, melted
Icing:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 Tbsp milk
¼ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp purple decorating sugar
1 Tbsp green decorating sugar
1 Tbsp yellow decorating sugar

Grease a large cookie sheet with butter. Set aside. Place on the counter a piece of wax or parchment paper. Spray it with oil or cooking spray. In a bowl combine all the dry Filling ingredients together. Add melted butter and stir until crumbles form. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. To make the pastry add yeast to warm water and wait until it proofs. In a stand mixer using a flat paddle, place eggs and vinegar and whip until blended. Add yeast/water mixture and continue mixing. Add baking mix, flour, gum, sugar and salt and stir on low speed until completely combined, scraping down sides as needed. Spread the dough out on the wax/parchment paper in the shape of a rectangle, roughly 22” x 10”. Make sure it is as thin and even as possible. Spread filling on the dough, leaving about 1” around the edges without filling. Using the paper as a a guide gently roll the dough into a tube. Transfer the tube by rolling it off the paper onto the cookie sheet and coax it into a ring, gently connecting the ends together. Place ring in oven and bake for about 45 minutes until browned on top.

While the bread is baking make the icing. Mix together confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and milk. Set aside. While the cake is still warm drizzle the icing along the highest point of the bread, encouraging it to drip down the sides. Before the icing hardens sprinkle colored sugar over the icing, alternating colors in the order of purple, green then gold. Allow the cake to cool and the icing to set. Transfer to a serving dish.

Egg Bake

When I was a single working girl I loved making these eggs for breakfast. They would warm me up on winter mornings when I was not feeling it for oatmeal. I would set it up and start it baking right when I woke up. By the time I was ready for work my breakfast was ready too! If I wasn’t running late I would sit and enjoy every bite before leaving home. If I was running late I would snap a top on it and take it with me, enjoying it at my desk while my slower-than-molasses computer booted up.

My married version of this dish is a little different – I triple the recipe, which works wonderfully, and bake it in a small casserole dish. Big D may or may not be interested – he is not a big breakfast eater – or even be awake to decide. It also may be a morning when Little B decides she does not want any other food touching her eggs. After I eat my share eventually – following the preparation of eggs ‘without all that red stuff on them’ – the leftovers will go in the fridge. Microwaving the eggs to reheat may make an explosive mess. It tastes okay cold, but is just not the same. I end up not making it much anymore.

When I made it today I was by myself in the house. I curled up on the couch and loved every bite. I was not hurrying to leave for work, but it still warmed me up on a cold day. It tasted as good as it always did.

Egg Bake

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
4 eggs
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
Pinch garlic powder
Pinch onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. Open the can of tomatoes, but don’t pour them out. Add oregano, parsley, garlic and onion powders, as well as salt and pepper. With a spoon mix up the spices with tomatoes in the can. Divide tomato mixture between two 12 ounce oven-proof ramekins. Break two eggs into each ramekin*. Top with cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes until eggs are cooked to desired doneness.

*Since I was usually cooking for one I placed the second ramekin with tomatoes (before adding eggs and cheese) in the fridge. The next day I could quickly add the eggs and cheese and continue preparation.

Pizza Amore!

Big D and I have promised each other a pizza night for quite a while now, but things kept getting in the way. Then what do I do? I have a pizza party when out of town and he is stuck at home! Evil me! So last night we had our pizza night at home. Since Big D is sensitive to wheat and I am still working on improving my gluten free baking skills, we relied on a Bob’s Red Mill mix for the pizza crust. Here at home we are not equipped with a barrage of pizza making tools (my old pizza stone finally cracked after about ten years of good service and we use an ulu instead of a pizza cutter), so we relied on a cookie sheet for the baking. Little B jumped right in, stood on her learning tower (by the way, these things are awesome for safe learning in an adult sized world!), and helped top the pizza. The result was a successful experiment with plans to tweak our next attempt, because boy to we like pizza! The miniscule imperfections were mostly our fault, but we are okay with that, because there will definitely be a next time…

Gluten Free Pizza

1 package Gluten Free Pizza Crust, prepared

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

3 links hot Italian sausage, casing removed, broken up and cooked

10 baby portabello mushrooms, sliced and sauteed in 1 Tbsp butter

3 ounces pepperoni slices

5 cloves garlic, finely diced

2 Tbsp dried thyme

4 Tbsp dried oregano

5 ounces mozzarella cheese

3 ounces Parmesan cheese

4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

1/3 cup coarse corn meal

Salt to taste

This is what we did:

Heat oven to 425F. Sprinkle corn meal on large cookie sheet (17.25”x11.5”). With wet hands (and keep a bowl of water close by to re-wet hands) press pizza crust dough out to edges of sheet. Bake for 7 minutes without toppings. It will puff up and start browning on the edges. Remove from oven and add desired toppings. We did tomato paste, garlic, herbs, some cheese, salt, pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, more cheese, more herbs, maybe more salt. Return to oven and bake for 15-18 minutes until cheese in the middle is melted and bubbly. Slice in squares and eat!

This is what we are going to do next time:

The crust in middle of the large rectangular pizza we made was cooked, but thick. Next time we will make two smaller, thinner pizzas (freakishly similar to the instructions on the mix packaging – go figure), knowing that the middle may rise higher than the edges. Also, the dough was substantial and held its shape when we ate it, which excited us, but we thought it needed more flavor. We plan on adding salt and herbs to the dough before we leave it to rise. We cooked the pizza for 14 minutes, but think with thinner crust it could cook longer and brown safely without burning. Yes, we were afraid it was burning and took it out early, but low and behold, it could have cooked longer.

 

Chicken Enchiladas with Cilantro Cream Sauce

My tex-mex run is coming to an end. I promise. I am ending it (for now) with a pleasant flourish. When offered enchiladas there is usually a choice between cheese, beef, chicken or spinach. I usually want chicken/spinach enchiladas, so I just go -harumph- and choose between the two, or abandon both and go for cheese. I am not complaining. It is not a curse to have four good options to choose from. There just has to be a choice made, or I resort to a combination plate that mixes them all, which also means mixing the sauces and not really getting a pure, committed bite of any one enchilada from a crowded plate. I do not usually ponder the nuances of enchilada purity, but I live where there exists only mediocre Mexican restaurants, so my mind wanders to places it normally wouldn’t. Here is my solution for being surrounded by mediocrity:

Chicken Enchiladas with Cilantro Cream Sauce

1 pound cooked, shredded chicken

4 ounces roasted green chiles, chopped

1 cup cooked spinach, well drained and chopped

8-10 ounces shredded cheese blend (such as monterrey jack, mild cheddar and asadero)

Dash of salt

10 corn tortillas

1 bunch fresh cilantro (leaves only), chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 lime, juiced

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tsp oil or butter

Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl combine heavy cream, sour cream, chicken stock, lime juice, garlic and cilantro. Stir together until well mixed. Set aside. Grease shallow baking dish with oil or butter. Spread a thin layer of the cream sauce in the bottom of the dish, leaving enough to cover the top of the enchiladas. Combine together chicken, chiles, spinach and about half the cheese. Season with salt to taste. Warm the tortillas right before rolling to make them easier to work with. Place in a tortilla about 1/3 cup of the filling, roll it up and place it seam side down in the dish. Repeat with all tortillas until pan is full. Pour sauce over filled tortillas. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top. Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10-15 minutes until enchiladas are a golden color on top. Remove from oven and let cool about five minutes before serving.

 

Mexican Rice

I used to think of Mexican rice as the bland, tomato-y part of my school lunch I did not eat. Then, it was the sticky stuff that always came with a Mexican meal, but I always left it for last in case I filled up on other stuff, and I always did. I don’t have anything against rice, but it is a starchy filler that is often my last priority after protein, fruits and vegetables. If I don’t like how it tastes I am not going to eat it. I am a big girl and sometimes choose to leave food on my plate.

Now I make my own Mexican Rice, which is not very red, not very sticky, not very bland and has just the right amount of vegetables in it. You may think using both green chiles and jalapenos is an overdose on heat, but it really isn’t. The jalapenos make it smoky and the chiles make it tangy, and both flavors are soaked up by the rice and spread throughout the dish. Just try it.

Mexican Rice

2 cups uncooked parboiled rice

1 Tbsp butter

2 cups water

2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp salt

½ tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 small onion, diced

1 small tomato, diced

4 ounces green chiles, diced

1 cup corn, removed from cob

½ jalapeno, diced (optional)

Melt butter over high heat in medium pot. Add onion, jalapeno (if being used) and corn, cooking until the corn browns and the onion begins to sweat. Add rice, salt, cilantro, parsley and chili powder and stir until rice begins to brown. Add tomato, chiles* and corn, stirring until blended. Add water and chicken broth*, bringing the mixture to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Let set for about five minutes before serving.

*Sometimes if I am lacking for fresh chiles and tomatoes I will use a can of Rotel tomatoes and chiles instead. I drain the can and retain the juice for use as part of the water and broth liquid (within the four cups needed) to cook the rice.

Tortilla Steak

I don’t know about you, but when I make a big batch of beans, and chimichurri and guacamole I want to mix it all up on one plate and have a feast. Here is what I did for my latest tex-mex feast. I was inspired to make this steak by a Japanese based cooking show – sort of – an Iron Chef America episode. If you know anything about Iron Chef, you probably know it was started in Japan in the ’90s by Takeshi Kaga, who pit Japanese chefs from the different regions of Japan to compete others touted as Iron Chefs. The twist of the competition is a secret ingredient presented at the beginning of the show which the chefs must use in four creative, delicious dishes in one hour. Judges then taste and score the dishes and a winner is declared. Many of the ingredients in the original Japanese show are interesting to say the least. I don’t commonly cook with eel or octopus, and only eat them as part of a sushi feast, but some ingredients were more familiar to me, like corn, mushrooms or noodles. The secret ingredients in the recent inspiring episode were very familiar – tequila and corn tortillas. One dish, a pork cutlet, was breaded with crumbled tortillas. In my constant quest to find good recipes without wheat, the breading idea intrigued me. Tortilla chips are a constant presence on our kitchen counter – what a coincidence!

Instead of deep frying pork like they did on the show I chose to flash fry the steaks on the stove top. I use the term steak here very loosely. When I think of steak I immediately picture a thick ribeye, seared over a wood fire and medium-rare in the middle. In the tex-mex world I knew from growing up in San Antonio, Texas, steaks are thin and quickly fried, then covered with a delicious sauce, based in tomatoes, tomatillos or queso. I recall scarfing down a number of these thin, saucy steaks when I was in college and working down the street at Tomatillos Café y Cantina. I used a round steak here, since a quick braise is all I was going to do to cook it.

The steak would be okay without a topper, but I still have chimichurri from a few days ago, and I am hard pressed to have a dish with beef and tortillas without yearning for a spoonful of chimi on top. And what else goes along on a plate of tex-mex food? Guacamole and beans of course.

Tortilla Steak

8 oz Tortilla chips

Salt, cumin and Pepper to taste

1 round steak cut into three or four smaller pieces

½ cup oil or butter

Crumble the tortilla chips in a food processor and place them in a shallow bowl or pie plate – you will need about a cup of crumbs. Set an iron skillet over medium high heat (maybe a little higher for electric stoves) and add the oil or butter. Season the steaks with salt, cumin and pepper. Press each steak firmly into the crumbs so the meat is covered on all sides. When the pan is hot add the steaks and cook no more than one minute on each side for medium rare, or longer until cooked to desired wellness. If you want them cooked more than medium rare, you may need to lower the heat so the crumbs don’t overcook. Serve immediately with a generous portion of chimichurri drizzled on top, along with traditional sides, like tortilla chips, guacamole, refried beans and a fresh salad.

Guacamole

Once again my food preparation decision is strongly influenced by what was on sale at the store. I live in a small town in Texas. There are two options for groceries – Walmart (yuck) and a a regional chain. I gave in and got a discount card for the local place, especially since they let me do so without giving a bunch of personal information, and they have REALLY good deals that I would otherwise have to drive 30 miles to get. This week avocados influenced me. Not only were they on sale, but they were grown in Texas. YeeHaw! I bought ten of the suckers, knowing that I can freeze some if I overdose on the green stuff.

When I first started making guacamole at a teenager I would throw everything in a blender, add sour cream and make it a smooth, creamy dip. I don’t recall why I started making it smooth, because I was surrounded by people who preferred creating chunky versions. Maybe it was my way of being a rebel – I toilet papered a few houses and made smooth guacamole. Scary.

Now that I am a big girl I make it chunky. Besides the fact I do not currently own a blender, I really like not knowing if I am going to bite into a piece of tomato, onion, jalapeño or avocado. It is a comfort food for me and I will be eating a lot of it because, well, avocados don’t freeze well unless you mush them all up with some lime juice. I guess if I end up freezing avocado I can just thaw it out later make a batch of smooth guacamole…anyone got a blender?

Guacamole

4 large ripe avocados

2 small tomatoes, diced with seeds removed

½ small white or red onion, diced

1 medium jalapeño, diced with seeds removed

1 lime, juiced and meat included

¼ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, diced

½ tsp ground cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut avocados in half lengthwise. Carefully remove the pit (I usually strike it with my knife blade and twist). In each half cut the avocado meat in a crisscross pattern. With a spoon scoop all the meat out of the skins into a medium bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, keeping the lime juice for last to pour over the top. Stir it all together with a fork, adding salt and pepper to taste and smashing some of the avocado. To prevent the top from turning brown during storage, cover with cling wrap and press it down against the guacamole until all the air is pushed out. Chill for at least an hour, then let it warm to room temperature before serving.

 

 

Orange Chicken Redux

Adaptability. The need for it comes in small and large ways. With two aging oranges in the fruit bowl the chicken in the freezer was calling to be joined with them. My original idea was to make a stir fry, with the sauce caramelizing around the meat and veggies, trickling down into the rice and filling every bite with a sweet spiciness. In the end, the dish was delicious, but only after a bit of adapting. I pulled the chicken out of the fridge when it came time to make dinner. Arghh! Still frozen! Since I hate defrosting meats in the microwave – it always partially cooks it and encourages rubberiness – my options were to wait way too long to start dinner, make something else, or switch up the recipe. I decided to (sigh) bake the chicken instead of stir fry. Not the end of the world, but not exactly the plan.  I jumped in and went with the flow. I am including directions for what I did (redux) and what I meant to do (original). In the end it turned out yummy with a slow heat from the sauce.

Orange Chicken

4 chicken thighs, skinned and deboned (redux version used chicken with skin and bone intact)

Salt to taste

3 Tbsp canola oil

2 oranges, juiced with meat

1 tsp red chili flakes

2 Tbsp chili sauce

1 Tbsp teriyaki sauce

1 garlic clove, diced

½ medium onion, julienned

4 cups stir fry vegetables (snow peas, carrots, cauliflower, watercress, etc)

Original Directions

Mix chili flakes, chili sauce, teriyaki sauce and orange juice. Set aside. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces, sprinkling it with salt to taste.  Heat oil in wok at medium high heat. Add garlic to oil until browning begins. Add chicken and cook until half cooked. Add onions until they begin sweating. Add remaining vegetables and until almost done, covering if needed to speed up cooking. Turn up heat, add sauce and continue cooking and tossing until chicken is cooked and veggies are desired crispness. Serve over rice or noodles.

Redux Directions

Heat oven to 350F. In a small bowl combine ½ the oil, all the chili flakes, chili sauce, teriyaki sauce, orange juice and garlic. Set aside. Arrange onions in the bottom of a 9×9 baking dish. Season chicken with salt and arrange on top of the onions.  Pour sauce over chicken, making sure it runs over all the meat. Bake in oven for 45 minutes until juices run clear. Heat remaining oil in wok over medium high heat and toss until vegetables begin sweating. Turn heat to high. Draw about one cup of juices from the chicken dish and add to the vegetables. Toss the vegetables and sauce until they are done and the sauce thickens. Serve chicken, vegetables and sauce over a bed of rice or noodles.

 

 

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