Socca To Me: The New Friday Night Pizza
August 19th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
It’s Friday and it’s pizza night! While five-minute-pizza dough most certainly has its merits, if you have a hankering a gluten-free pizza alternative, grind up some beans (or buy ‘um ground) and whip up a socca tonight.
Soccas are like pancakes on MiracleGro, except they’re in the savory camp and don’t necessitate maple syrup dredging. They require only a couple of ingredients: ground up garbanzo beans (garbanzo bean flour), salt, a splash of olive oil and water. I’ve been adding dried herbs from our garden, too. While soccas are great plain, hot out of the skillet, they also make a toothsome base for a pizza. Our favorite toppings include garden zucchini, caramelized onion and fresh-picked cherry tomatoes.
Ingredients:
1 + 1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Italian spice blend (rosemary, sage, parsley, basil)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup water, cold
Method:
1. Grease oven-safe skillet. Place in cold oven. Preheat oven & skillet to 350 degrees (or 325 on convection).
2. In a bowl, whisk together garbanzo bean flour, salt and spices. Add olive oil and water and whisk vigorously until all clumps dissolve.
3. When oven is preheated, carefully remove skillet from oven and add batter to skillet slowly. Be mindful of hot, splattering batter. Place back in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, until the top is golden and slightly brown around the edges. The sides will receede slightly from the edges of the cast iron.
4. Remove from skillet and place on baking stone or sheet pan. Top with favorite pizza add-on’s. Bake five additional minutes and one minute (keep a close eye) under the broiler to make the cheese bubble.
Diet Notes: Gluten-free, vegan, nut-free
Scrumdiddlyumptious Heirloom Tomato Soup with Farmer Cheese Dollop
July 28th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Being a native Tucsonan, I’m not the kind to get sappy or nostalgic over summertimes. I’ve bolted out of the desert each June and July since high school, fleeing to higher elevations, running water or — in the case of Guatemala — cities with giant floods and goosebump-nights. About a month ago, shortly before I left for Santa Fe, I mopped my brow as I tried to yank out the pernicious mint crop that reappeared between my tomato plants. It was nearly 8am and nearing double-digit temperatures; after some ferocious tugging (that proved futile), I stomped up the garden steps and told my sun-bathing dog that I’d like to fast-forward through the rest of summer thank-you-very-much.
As with all blanket statements, that one was spoken a bit hastily. As tempting as Fall sounds at the heat of the day (or heat of dawn), it occurs to me that skipping summertime would yield a lifetime of mealy roma tomatoes from Safeway. In the southwest, we eat our first tomatoes in May; along the east coast, we eat them in August. Regardless of where you slice your tomatoes, you won’t be making salsa unless it’s toasty outside or you have a greenhouse at your disposal.
This soup is my summertime staple. There are few ingredients, so make sure they’re high quality. Heirloom tomatoes are key. Here’s a tip: At $5.50 a pound, heirloom tomatoes can be pricy to chuck into a soup. My remedy is to stop by the farmers’ market and ask for “sauce tomatoes.” Sauce tomatoes are the squishy guys — the ones that are marked down to a buck-or-so a pound that farmers can’t sell alongside other pristine specimines. These tomatoes may have a bug hole, a sunken top, a deformed edge or they might be a mutant. Stock up on a few of these blemished fruits for your soups. The flavor is outstanding.
P.S. I like this brand of farmer cheese that you can find in specialty food stores. (For those on the SCD diet, this cheese is a-okay.)
Ingredients for the Soup:
3 large heirloom tomatoes, chopped (approximately 2 cups)
1 medium, yellow onion, chopped
10 garlic scapes (or 4 cloves), minced
½ tablespoon butter
½ tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons pesto
sea salt & pepper, to taste
few basil leaves, for garnish
Ingredients for the Farmer Cheese Topping:
8 oz. Farmer Cheese (dry curd cottage cheese)
2 tablespoons pesto
1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 small cloves garlic, minced
sea salt & pepper, to taste
Method:
1. Heat butter and olive oil in a large pot on medium-high heat. When hot, add onions and garlic scapes and sauté approximately 10 minutes until onions are wilted, but not caramelized, and scapes are al dente, but not completely tender. If using garlic cloves, sauté onion only and add garlic just before adding the heirloom tomatoes.
2. Chop tomatoes in large, ½” hunks. Add to onions and scapes and reduce heat to a simmer (medium-low). When the tomatoes have loosened and lost some of their liquid and shape, add the pesto. Continue simmering for 10-15 minutes until scapes are tender, the tomatoes have completely lost their shape and the soup is liquidy.
3. While the soup simmers, prepare cheese topping. Combine the farmer cheese with pesto, minced garlic, thyme and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning. (I often add an additional spritz of lemon or a pinch of sea salt at this stage.) Set aside.
4. When soup has finished cooking, remove from heat. Serve into individual bowls with a dollop of herbed cheese on top. Enjoy leftovers up to three days; this soup also freezes and thaws well.
Diet Notes: SCD-safe, gluten-free
Ginger Lemon Tea
July 10th, 2011 § 3 Comments
Some of you may already carol the merits of the two primary ingredients in this drink. But if you’re not a member of camp-ginger or camp-lemon—if, let’s say, the title of this recipe induced a nose wrinkle, a stomach turn or a mighty urge to click away to a different hyperlink—let me quell your worries.
Let me preface by saying that lemonade makes me pucker, unless it’s diluted with plenty of water and a couple glugs of orange juice. Similarly, if I had to eliminate one spice from my spice rack, it would be a toss-up between a pristine jar of ground ginger or a plastic container of poultry seasoning re-gifted to me nearly a decade ago. Ginger and sweetened lemon water are two things I figured—if I ever really thought about either—I could very easily live without.
But friends, life is full of surprises! Five weeks ago my friend invited me to one of our favorite local coffee shops. I happened to have a bit of an upset stomach that day and when the cutie-pie barista started listing off the slew of available iced teas—ginger and lemon was his favorite—I shyly smiled and said “Oo, that sounds good!” while inwardly eye-rolling. I sheepishly figured that, if nothing else, it might be a tummy-soother. My friend and I shuttled back to our table, sweating glasses in hand, and I took a sip, hoping for palatability.
To say I liked it would be a severe understatement. I went back to Bentley’s Coffee Shop and ordered that tea nearly every day for the next two weeks (disclaimer: Cutie-Pie was only present a third of the time). To everyone I dragged with me, I claimed that I was deflating my wallet for “testing purposes,” while I tried to master my own Ginger-Lemon Tea at home. But while that was sort of true, I didn’t start any feverish duplication attempts until my summer job started 374 miles away in Santa Fe.
If you’re not sold on making this drink, let me make one last attempt. I’m under the impression that when you boil the heck out of a bunch of ginger and mix it with a dizzying amount of lemon juice, they somehow rule out each other’s less-than-savory attributes and harmonize—with a nudge of honey—in the most exceptional way. I’ve made over a dozen batches of this sweet-tea blend in the last month and this is as close as it gets to the real-deal. (Although nothing is quite as good as sitting in Bentley’s with an iced glass in hand, gabbing by the big window with a good chum. The ambiance can’t be beat.)
This recipe is easily tweakable to your tastes: If you like it sweeter, add another quarter-cup honey. If you want the lemon to stand out more than the ginger, add the juice of another lemon or two. I’ve made this tea several times with just ginger tea bags (four bags total for this recipe) and it’s quite good—but nothing beats the real-deal ginger. If you can, buy the knobby rhizome. It’s critical to note that the recipe makes a concentrate. I’d rather not expend the energy to bring eight cups of water to a boil. Instead, when the concentrate has cooled, you can reconstitute with another quart of water and chill until serving. (Usually, lacking shelf space, I simply leave the concentrate in a glass jar in the fridge and pour myself a half-glass and top it off with cold water.)
Ingredients for a 1-quart concentrate*
*Reconstituted, this recipe yields 2 quarts ginger-lemon tea
2/3 to 3/4 cup lemon juice (approx. 5 large lemons)
4 cups water
1/3 cup ginger, peeled and chopped in hunks
1 ginger tea bag (optional)
½ cup honey, high quality
To make a pitcher of tea:
3-4 cups water, chilled (added at the end)
To make one glass of tea:
Add equal parts chilled water and concentrate
Method:
1. Peel ginger (perfectionism is unwarranted here) and chop into chunks. In a medium saucepan, heat water to a boil. Add ginger and simmer for 20 minutes; the water will turn an amber-gold color. Remove from heat and steep an additional 10 minutes (if desired, add one tea bag at this stage).
2. Meanwhile, squeeze lemons and strain pulp and seeds.
3. Remove ginger pieces (and tea bag, if using) by straining or skiving off with a slotted spoon. Add lemon juice and honey to the pot. Heat and stir until honey dissolves, just below a simmer. Remove from heat and cool completely.
4. Add 3 cups of water and taste; add additional water if preferred. Chill in the refrigerator and serve over ice. A fun tip: Freeze an ice cube tray with ginger-lemon tea and serve drink over iced tea cubes.
Diet Notes: SCD-safe, gluten-free, nut-free
A Really Good Shmear: Roasted Eggplant, Pepper and Onion
July 1st, 2011 § 1 Comment
I’m big on shmears. I like whizzing black beans around in a food processor and adding cumin and cilantro, or pulverizing garbanzos with the predictable hit of lemon and garlic, or, come wintertime, blending-up roasted butternut squash and lentils or — one of my favs — mashing a couple cups of freshly-shelled green peas, roasted garlic scapes (garlic cloves work too), basil and a little olive oil and Parmesan cheese.
As versatile as shmears are on sandwiches, scooped up in lettuce wraps and so on, they can also stand alone and do so marvelously. The aforementioned pea spread was my favorite dip of 2009; this sucker is my favorite of 2011. It ushers summer into the kitchen with roasted bell peppers and eggplants and a little bite of lemon. I like eating it plain, scooped on pitas and raw veggies.
Ingredients:
1 eggplant, peeled and cubed (about 3 cups)
1 bell pepper
1 medium red onion
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt, pepper
1.5 tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice (approx. 1 lemon)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut bell pepper, red onion and eggplant into large, 1″ cubes. Cover with olive oil, chopped garlic, sea salt and pepper to taste and toss. Bake in oven until soft in the middle and slightly browned around the edges, stirring half way through. (Approximately 30-40 minutes.)
2. When vegetables are cooked, remove from oven and cool for a few minutes. Add to food processor with tahini and lemon juice and blend until smooth. (Be careful; veggies are still hot!) Taste and adjust seasoning; I often add a few teaspoons of additional lemon juice and a dash of extra salt.
Diet Notes: SCD-safe, gluten-free, nut-free, vegan
A Simple Side: Slivers of Summer Tomato and Onion Bake
June 16th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
I normally crow that it’s “positively criminal!” to cook tomatoes before July. In fact, I usually eat them only out of hand for the first three or four weeks of harvest season before I venture to put them into salad-y dishes like quinoa tabouleh.
Well, I’m getting off my high horse. This week (it’s only Thursday, mind you) we’ve picked over two dozen gigantic, heirloom globes from our seven tomato plants. (I was a bit overenthusiastic during planting season.) Yesterday I hacked up a dozen tomatoes and made a sauce for a veggified lasagna. (Instead of noodles, I thinly sliced a zucchini the size of a baseball bat. See Exhibit A, below.)
Exhibit A
The day before I made this dish, below. It was a breeze to prep. The tomatoes overlap slightly sweet red onions and then they bake together. Sprinkled with only heirloom garlic chunks, salt, pepper and a drizzle of fruity olive oil, this dish is mostly hands-off. My family of three polished off this 9×13″ pan in about twenty minutes. My only suggestion: Before serving, leave on the counter for seven or eight minutes to take away the initial bite of heat. It’s miserable to burn your tongue on a hot tomato and you can taste the veggies better when they’re not quite so hot.
P.S. Thanks to “Everyday Food” for recipe inspiration.
Ingredients:
2 large tomatoes, preferably heirloom
1 large red onion
4-6 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon fruity olive oil
sea salt, pepper
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle a 9×13″ pan with olive oil and spread around the edges so the pan is well-greased.
2. Slice tomatoes and onions in 1/3″ slices. Overlap on top of one another in the baking dish. Layer with roughly chopped garlic, sea salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until slightly crisp around the edges.
3. Remove from oven and set on the counter for 7-10 minutes to cool, just slightly, before serving warm.
Diet Notes: SCD-safe, gluten-free, nut-free, vegan
Dried Fruit Trio Granola Bars
May 30th, 2011 § 4 Comments
When it comes to grab-and-go snacks, I’m positively addicted to salted peanuts & brazil nuts plus a few banana chips. But after overdosing on a shockingly large freezer bag of the above blend on a recent road trip, I’ve decided to cool off on the ‘nana-crunch snack attacks and instead, create a fantastic bar that offers additional nutritional benefits.
Through my recipe tweaking I’ve learned the following: Substituting OJ for water does not yield good results. Honey can be used as a substitute for agave nectar; however, the agave makes a sweeter bar, which is a good thing in my book, and better chew. Have fun fiddling with the dried fruits. Everyone agrees, the dates are a MUST. Dried figs are also exceptionally good. I’ve tried a couple different kinds of nuts, but pecans (shelled from my aunt and uncle’s tree!) were the clear favorite.
Ingredients:
1 + 1/4 cups dried fruit (favorites: dried peach, date and orange-hinted cranberries)
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
1 + 1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup buckwheat groats
2 tablespoons flax meal
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons teff flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/3 cup agave nectar
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 325 on convection (or 350 in a standard oven.) Grease a 9 x 13″ baking pan.
2. Chop dried fruit and pecans. Set aside. In a separate bowl, begin adding dry ingredients. (HELPFUL HINT: While doling out teff flour, sprinkle some of the measured amount directly onto the dried fruit and nuts and toss with hands. This will prevent the dates, peaches and cranberries from clumping and sticking into a large mass.)
3. Once all the dry ingredients are assembled, set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients. Combine with dry and stir until completely incorporated and all oats are coated. Spread in greased baking pan. (HELPFUL HINT: Dab the tips of fingers with water and press oats into pan; this will prevent stickage.)
4. Bake until golden and slightly browned on surface, about 18 minutes. Let cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before slicing and removing.
These granola bars stay chewy on the counter for several days, but also freeze and thaw very well.
Diet Notes: Gluten-free
Fiesta Salad: Roasted Tomatoes, Corn and Mango
May 24th, 2011 § 1 Comment
The saying goes, “Knee high by the fourth of July,” but blog-o chums, just two hours South of my Saguaro-ville home, corn has grown past the thighs. Harvest season, in the hotsy-totsy southern parts, has begun. It occurs to me that unless you live in Arizona, south of the border or in Florida, none of the three star ingredients in this salad (see title) will be seasonal. But for the smattering (read: four of you?) that live in these parts, I wanted to share a salad I’m smitten with. I’ve made it two times in three days and I intended to make it again tomorrow, but my third mango was ripe for peeling tonight.
Ingredients:
8 cups leafy greens
2 early onions, chopped (including scallion-like green part)
1 large mango, cut in slivers
2 ears corn, cut from the cob
2 cups cherry tomatoes, preferably heirloom
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
Ingredients for the Dressing — approximations
Juice from one large orange (~ 1/3 cup)
few glugs of white balsamic vinegar (~ 2 tablespoons)
small spoonful dijon mustard (~1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon)
pinch sea salt (at least 1/4 teaspoon)
10 cracks pepper
2 teaspoons maple syrup (real-deal)
1.5-2 tablespoons olive oil
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop tomatoes in half. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic and sea salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and stir. Bake for a remaining 15 minutes until carmalized and slightly browned/blackened around a few edges.
2. Meanwhile, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil on the stove. Cut corn kernals from cob. Boil in salted water for 2 minutes, ridding the kernals of a raw-corn taste. Blanch in cold water (or rinse thoroughly under cold tap water) and set aside.
3. Prepare the rest of the salad ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together all ingredients in the salad dressing, save the olive oil. When thoroughly combined, begin adding in a slow stream of olive oil. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
4. When tomatoes are finished, remove from oven and cool for ten minutes. Assemble salad. Toss with dressing just before serving.
Diet Notes: Gluten-free, vegan, nut-free
Straight from the Garden: Savory Coleslaw
May 15th, 2011 § 1 Comment
While my aunt skied down frosty slopes in Southeast Alaska this past week, my mom and I ate kumquats picked from our baby tree and harvested our first cherry tomato. The horse trough gardens are teeming with leafy explosions of zucchini, a bright orange pepper, tomatoes up the wazoo and a dozen overzealous herbs (a few of which are nearly bolting). To pay homage to the last of our winter harvest, I whipped together a simple garden coleslaw so that we could taste the inherent flavor and sweet tang of this maroon-y brassica. This isn’t a recipe per se; rather, I gathered what looked best in the garden and threw it into the salad. It is a fantastic riff off of the usual sweet slaw of summer.
Ingredients:
1 small head red cabbage
handful of herbs (dill, parsley, basil) — approximately 1/3 cup chopped
2 early onions, chopped on the diagonal
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 tablespoon mayo
juice of one lemon (approximately 1/4 cup)
sea salt, pepper to taste
Method:
Thinly slice cabbage in ribbons. Toss with chopped herbs, sea salt and pepper. Add liquids (lemon, mayo and sour cream). Stir until combined and chill until served. Best eaten cold, prepared several hours (or overnight) in advance.
Diet Notes: Gluten-free, nut-free
Oaty, Banana-Hunk Muffins with Buttermilk
May 6th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
You may raise an eyebrow, or roll an eyeball, when you see another gluten-free recipe coming from this bread-loving-carb-queen. I’ve been hesitant to write personal jibber-jabber, but I think I’ll address one bit of drama, to answer any Qs from the eyeball/brow-crowd:
About a year ago, when I studied in Xela, Guatemala, I got some stomach parasites (or as my teacher Lesvia took to calling them, my “mascotas y bebes” — my pets and babies — leaving a smattering of eavesdropping students with the impression that I was pregnant and had lots of stray dogs). Upon my return to the States, I took a rainbow of different medicines to try to get my stomach back in order. The long in short: I’m still popping antibiotic pills, but heavens I do feel much better. To help my stomach get “back on its feet,” my doc told me I might want to try to cut out gluten as well as sugar alcohols (found in boatloads of chocolate – sniff!). While I’m not feeling tip-top, I’m on the mend, I think, and getting stronger. I have rekindled my enthusiasm for baking (and eating!) and I’m mindful, perhaps borderline obsessive, about taking care of myself. This past year I spent a lot of months sipping soda under a blanket on the sofa and now, I like to think I’m making up for lost time.
So, for a while, you might see a new type of recipe — many recipes without gluten, but ones that also show off some kick-tush grains that are equally, if not more tasty than their gluten-toting counterparts. This muffin recipe has been tested by many (who didn’t know they were eating a muffin with an array of odd-ball flours). The verdict: They’re wholesome, slightly sweet and, incredibly, wonderfully fluffy with great flavor. My friend Regina (I’m not speaking of myself in the 3rd) says they’re enjoyed best with an afternoon coffee, sipped and chewed in the sun.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup buttermilk (low fat is fine)
1 cup rolled oats
1 large banana, mashed (about 2/3 cup)
1/3 cup agave nectar
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup millet flour
1/3 cup oat flour
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup teff flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, nutmeg, all spice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tin.
2. Mix oats and buttermilk and set aside for a few minutes while preparing the rest of the liquid ingredients. In a separate bowl, mash banana, mix with beaten eggs, vanilla and olive oil. Combine with oats and stir until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, prepare dry ingredients. Toss with a fork. Slowly mix into liquids and stir until just incorporated. Scoop into muffin tins 3/4 of the way (they’ll rise slightly) and bake until the knife comes out clean (between 16-20 minutes). Note: If reserving some batter to bake the following day, like most muffin batters, the consistency will thicken. Reconstitute with two to three tablespoons of buttermilk (or another milk you have handy) before baking.
4. Once baked, leave muffins in tin for 5-7 minutes. With a dull knife, scrape along edges and carefully remove from the pan. They freeze and thaw wonderfully.
Diet Notes: Gluten-free
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (zippo fat)
April 27th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Hello, chocolate meringues! After I cleaned away the remnant crumbs from my first two batches, my dad suggested I continue the experimentation into the evening. These crackle-bites are so light, I tested four cookies from each “batch” without feeling the slightest bit sluggish! My only word of caution: Because the primary ingredients are mostly confectioners sugar and egg whites, bake the batter immediately after it’s quick chill in the fridge. The eggs will deflate after a longer period of time and you’ll be left with less-crackly, flat hockey pucks.
Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons cocoa, sifted
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon coffee grinds
3 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate shavings
Methods:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet and set aside. In a mixing bowl, sift dry ingredients (powdered sugar, cocoa, sea salt and coffee grinds).
2. Using a whisking attachment, beat dry ingredients, adding egg whites one at a time. Whisk on high for approximately 1.5 to 2 minutes until soft peaks form. (When you lift the paddle attachment from the batter, the mixture will fold back onto itself, like a ribbon.) Beat in vanilla. Beat in chocolate chunks.
3. Refrigerate batter for 20 minutes. Afterward, scoop one heaping tablespoon of batter onto the baking sheet two inches apart (they’ll spread). Bake 11-12 minutes. The tops will be crackly and soft in the middle. Let cookies sit on the hot baking sheet for one minute before removing to a cooling rack. Cool completely before packaging. Enjoy warm out of the oven or at room temperature.
Diet Notes: Gluten-free, nut-free
