Potato Salad

I just cain't STAND it anymore! Here in the Pacific Northwest we are being cheated. Cheated I tell you! Where is summer? Where is the SUN, the heat, the backyard parties with kids running through sprinklers and adults sipping their dripping beverages under the shade of an umbrella? Humbug. I'm not waiting any longer. Give me BBQ, and baked beans, and...


Potato Salad (original recipe by Tyler Florence)

Sorry, Mr. Florence, but I tinkered with this just a smidge.

2lbs. small Yukon gold potatoes (I used BIG ones because they were available. Just allow more cooking time.)
2 large eggs
Kosher salt
1/2 bunch sliced scallions, white and green parts
1c. mayonnaise (Mr F. calls for two. I disagree.)
1c. Greek yogurt (just DO it- because I said so.)
1-2T honey (also because I said so... and local is best)
2T drained capers (I didn't have any, so I didn't use any.)
1/4c. Dijon mustard
1/4c. finely chopped dill pickles with 1/4c. pickle juice
1/2 small red onion, chopped
2T flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 bunch fresh dill, chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
fresh ground black pepper
extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Put the potatoes and eggs together in a big saucepan full of cold salted water. Bring to a simmer. After 12 minutes, remove the eggs, run under cold water, and peel. Continue cooking potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a knife. Drain potatoes and let them cool.

Reserve some capers (if using) and scallions for garnish. Stir together mayo, yogurt, 1T. honey, mustard,  pickles, juices, onion, scallion, capers, parsley, and dill in a large mixing bowl. Check for seasoning. ALWAYS check for seasoning. Maybe you want that second tablespoon of honey, and maybe you don't! Maybe your great-grandma Fanny always used paprika. Do what feels right. Finely chop the egg and add in. Cut up the cool(er) potatoes and toss them in the dressing. Check for seasoning again. Let sit in the fridge for a couple of hours (or even overnight!) in order for those flavors to really come to life.

GF Caramelized Onion Buns

Got this awesome book that I LOVE from the library called Cooking for Isaiah by Silvana Nardone. In it are gluten and dairy free recipes that are family (and mom) friendly, mouth watering pictures... need I say more?

Anyhoo, We have this awesome chipotle chicken sandwich planned for tomorrow night's dinner, and I was in need of a bun on which to place said chipotle chicken. Enter: Bialy Bread Slabs. They look like little ciabatta buns, only flecked with glorious caramelized onions... I left the poppy seeds out only because (well, really because I didn't have any, but also) I don't really care for them. They get stuck in your teeth, and you don't realize it, so you go around town talking to all your friends with a silly seedy grin until ten o'clock at night when you finally go to brush your teeth... oh, for pity's sake.

Bialy Bread Slabs (tweaked version)

3T Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 Yellow onion, chopped
(Here is where the author would say 1T poppy seeds. I say don't bother.)

Salt- I use Kosher.

2c. GF All purpose flour mix. Plus more for dusting (The author uses her own mix, I used Pamela's bread mix)
1 (1/4oz) packet (or 2 1/4t. bulk) Active dry east
1t. Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar (honey would be good!)
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
3/4c. warm water

In a skillet, heat 1T olive oil over medium low heat. Cook the onions until caramelized- this may take some time, don't rush it! Nobody likes the flavor of burnt onion. (Here is where you would stir in the poppy seeds if using) along with a pinch of salt.

In a large bowl, mix flour, yeast, 1t. salt, and sugar. Whisk together. Add egg white, 2T olive oil, caramelized onions, and water. Stir until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper (12 inches or more). Lightly flour the top
of your dough, and press into a rectangle shape about 3/4in in thickness. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Cut in to 4 equal pieces.

Place your oven rack in the bottom position with your baking stone on top. Mine has handles, but if yours doesn't, consider using a cookie sheet (per author) to help pull the stone out of the oven. Preheat oven to 450. Brush each piece of bread with olive oil and sprinkle with some salt. Slide the bread- parchment and all- on to the preheated stone. My parchment had to be folded under to reduce the likelyhood of an oven fire. Bake until golden brown about 10 minutes. Remove from stone and let cool on a wire rack.

These delightful little buns are truly delicious. I had one lightly toasted with just some buttery spread on, and it was really just like a gluten free comfort food. Can't wait to try more recipes from this book- especially the Toasted Ham and Tomato Cornbread Sandwiches with Jalapeno Mayo. Have you seen the picture? You should! Why do these pages not come in scratch and sniff?!?

After note: the chipotle chicken that I wound up placing on this wonderful bun was quite simple. My husband and I marinated 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (that he had skillfully cut in half) in a mixture of:

3T. olive oil
1T. lime juice
1/2t. chipotle chili powder 

for about an hour. Then Scott sprinkled them with salt, and grilled them up! (Okay. Truthfully, we doubled the recipe.)

We had regular ciabatta buns for our gluten eating friends, and I used the GF buns for myself. We topped the sammy with lettuce, tomato, avocado, some pepper jack, mayo... Hubby even caramelized some onions and garlic for some extra oomph. We agreed the sammy could use a little extra personal touch. Maybe some cilantro or basil or??? You're the boss.  

Baked Oatmeal

I got this great book- Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson. She does vegetarian whole food cooking, and her photography is really inspiring. This is our collective effort (Eli was helping me) on the baked oatmeal. We switched out some ingredients (berries and nuts) that we didn't have for some that we did. This was really tasty and only slightly sweet which I have come to prefer as opposed to a blatant sugary-hit.

Baked Oatmeal (Eli and Jeni style)

2c. rolled oats (GF if you like)
1/2c. pecans, chopped
1/3c. natural cane sugar, maple syrup, or honey
1t. baking powder
1 1/2t. ground cinnamon
1/2t. kosher salt
2c. milk
1 egg
3T unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2t. vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, cut into rounds
1 1/2c. frozen mixed berries

Preheat oven to 375.

Butter the inside of an 8-inch square baking dish.

Mix the oats, half the nuts, sugar (if using) baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In another dish, mix the syrup or honey (if using) milk, egg, half the butter, and vanilla.

Arrange the banana rounds on the bottom of the buttered dish. Sprinkle two thirds of the berries on top. Top with the oatmeal mixture, and slowly drizzle the wet ingredients over the oats. Top with remaining berries and nuts.

Bake 35-45 minutes, until the top is golden. Drizzle remaining butter on top. Serve with more maple syrup or sugar if you like, or not if you don't.

I might even add in some orange zest next time... maybe some dried apricot chunks... you know, mix it up!

                                           I can't wait to try her recipe for Muesli and granola!

Culinary Around the World in a Day (well, almost.)

I love Indian food. Anyone who knows me, knows this about me. BONUS; a large variety of dishes are gluten and dairy free! SCORE! However. I have this weakness, this soft spot in my heart... for naan. Naan, glorious naan. Sauce sopping, curry scooping, edible little spoon... I love you. It's that chewy texture that gets me every time. Whoops! I just drooled a little, excuse me.  Enter- a gluten-free naan recipe! I found it on the web, and it is SPECTACULAR! It's from artisanbreadinfive.com. Truly, truly delicious and a keeper in my book. I can't thank them enough! I did slightly change the recipe as I usually do- I cooked the naan in coconut oil instead of ghee. I used cetrifugated oil which retains that lovely coco-nutty-ness. As opposed to the expeller pressed which really doesn't have much of a flavor at all. You can find the technique and link to the dough recipe here:

http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/01/18/gluten-free-naan-and-an-update-on-freezing-the-dough


Masoor Dal Recipe

This is my own sort of fusion between two different recipes, a standard masoor dal recipe, and a Gujarati dal recipe.

2c. masoor dal (small red -though really more orange in color- lentil found in the bulk foods section)
1/3c. oil
1t. mustard seeds
1/4-1/2t. red chili flake
a pinch asafetida (hing)
7-8 curry leaves
2t. garam masala
1t. ground coriander
1/2t. turmeric powder
1t. salt
2t. organic evaporated cane juice
1 onion, chopped
1 (1 inch piece) ginger root, grated
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 handful fresh coriander (cilantro), washed and roughly chopped

Rinse the dal thoroughly. In a pot bring 1 quart of water to the boil, add the dal. Cook for about 10-15 minutes.

In a high sided pan (with a lid) over medium heat, add oil and mustard seeds. The mustard seeds will pop and sputter.

Once this has stopped, add the chili flake, asafetida, curry leaves, onion, ginger, ground coriander, masala, turmeric, salt and sugar. Stir well and let cook until onions are softened.

Add tomatoes and cook until softening and breaking down a little.

Add in the cooked dal, stir to combine the flavors.

Test for flavoring, adding more salt if needed.

Top with fresh coriander, serve with gluten-free (or regular) naan bread. Enjoy!

On the very same day I tried my hand at a Moroccan Chicken Tagine. Now normally I wouldn't tax myself quite so much all at once, but for some reason this was calling my name. The tagine itself did not wind up being particularly blog-worthy, but the sauce was really good.

2/3c. orange juice
1/4c. honey
1 red onion, sliced thinly
1 lemon, quartered

I don't know why, but I could just see this reduced down into a syrupy glaze. Something about this demands further investigation. And I intend to. I'll keep ya posted.

Experimentation

I've recently been on a cleanse and back again. The reason for this was to figure out why in the world I was feeling so crummy most of the time. So with some help from my acupuncturess (half acupuncture, half goddess) I cut out all the naughty stuff. No sugar, caffeine, red meat, dairy, gluten, alcohol... you get the picture. For twenty-one DAYS. The result was shocking. I felt great! Better than I had in years. Now I've been toying with my diet, adding things back in to try and find my 'trigger'- those one or two things that I didn't know my body couldn't handle. So far sugar, gluten, and milk seem to be the culprits. So with my inherited stubborness (this goes back generations with the women in my family) I am seeking out how to best duplicate the foods that I love without returning to icky, awful, painful Square One in Tummyville.