Saturday night pasta

Sometimes you want to feel like a gourmand, really treat yourself to amazing rich foods, regardless of fat or cholesterol content. And after today’s trip to the gym (Alex), run in the park (me), and a long walk to and from the Coop with a heavy cartful of groceries (both of us), we were feeling pretty indulgent. When what you crave is cozy, sexy comfort food, and it’s a Saturday night on a long weekend, I say, give in to temptation. So here’s our newly-concocted and completely-devoured recipe for a little Saturday night pasta.














This is a dressed-up version of our go-to weeknight dish (usually marinara or primavera), something fancier with a little more pizzaz, although it’s still quick and simple. Also, if you add enough veggies, it can stand alone as a one dish wonder, no sides required. The combination of the smoked gouda and brie cheeses is both tangy and savory and melds perfectly with the tart and slightly ruptured cherry tomato halves. Toss in a bunch of spinach and voila, less guilt and it’s even tastier. Between our two clean plates, I’m not lying when I attest that this is one of the yummiest cream sauces I’ve ever tried, and it’s really not that bad for you :)

Red white and Green Creamy Penne
Serves 2-4, depending on how hungry you are (we devoured it in one night between the two of us)

1 lb (GF pasta) Alex and I usually make two separate pots- one for him with wheat pasta and one with rice pasta, cooked al dente.

1 Tbsp EVOO
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup milk (we used 1%)
1/3 cup smoked Gouda, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup brie, cut into small pieces
4 cups fresh spinach, washed
¼ tsp cracked black pepper

1. Heat the oil on med-hi, add the garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and tomatoes; stir for a couple minutes.

2. Add the milk and cheeses, stir until they are melted and well combined, 5 minutes. Toss in the black pepper.

3. When the mixture is well incorporated and the tomatoes are nicely bursting, add the spinach and toss just long enough to wilt it. Immediately pour over the penne (or toss the penne in the pan, if you’re not making two separate batches). Savor with your honey and a good glass of pinot noir. Happy weekend!

Popcorn: the best snack (or meal!)

What is more tempting than the warm, nutty aroma of a freshly popped pot of popcorn? Nothing, so don't try. Well, maybe the smell of coffee beans roasting, but that's about it. Popcorn has an inviting, "it's raining outside so let's hunker down with a movie" air to it which makes the textural, flavorful indulgence all the more special and delicious.

I've been perfecting various flavor combinations for assorted movie purposes (kettle corn for a kids' movie, curry spices for an Indian flick), and have come up with a new balance that just sends me smiling to the corner of the couch where it's hard for anyone else to get their hands in my bowl. When I'm making a really delicious air-popped feast, I tend to serve my partner in another bowl so that I can savor my own without the fear of running out. I am not a handful-at-a-time eater, I much prefer the single kernel method. To Alex, popcorn is a snack, an afterthought while the main entertainment happens on-screen. To me, popcorn can be an all-consuming task, a meal extravaganza, hence the title of this post.

A note on pot-popping: This is a great method because all you need is a large pot with a lid (mine is clear glass, which is perfect for watching the kernels explode) and you can reduce the fat by popping in olive oil, which coats the popcorn, rather than pouring melted butter on top. To start, pour enough oil to coat the bottom of the pot and add kernels to coat in a single layer; my pot holds 1/4 cup. Turn the heat to Med-Hi and wait as it sizzles. When the popping starts, be sure it's not too hot (smoke coming out) or too cool (slow, spaced-out pops) and shake the pot occasionally to stir up any lost kernels. When it slows to 2-3 pops per second, turn off the heat, give it one last shake, and lift the steamy lid for popcorn perfection. Toss with your favorite spice combination and consume immediately.

My latest popcorn sensation:

Jumping Kernel Corn
Makes one large bowl of delectable crunch for studying or curling up with a movie

Pop together on Med-Hi heat:

2 T olive oil to coat pan

1/4 cup popping corn kernels

Toss kernels with:

1-2 tsp. Bragg Liquid Amino Acids (my sister introduced me to this, it's a miracle GF topper and it tastes like soy sauce)
2 T nutritional yeast (rounds out the meaty flavor and adds the definitive yellow tinge as well as a spectrum of B vitamins we veggies crave)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (if you like it spicy)

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika (my new favorite seasoning)

2 tsp curry powder

Spritz the Bragg's, add the nutritional yeast and spices, then toss until you have a virgin patch of popcorn and repeat until it's all nicely coated. Munch up!

(Bragg's is the perfect moistener-cum-saltifier as it is gluten-free, nutritious, and sprays on for a light, even distribution. Tamari just isn't the same, it splashes in large doses and renders the kernels it soaks utterly useless soggy messes. A spritzer is the way to go if you're not using butter and want your seasonings to stick.)

Fresh start in the kitchen

I am wonderfully blissed out from my vacation, and instead of hitting that post-holiday depression yesterday, I was surprised with a wonderful gift: a new stove! Since we moved here in March, we have been cooking on a mini-stove with 1 1/2 working burners (out of four!) and an oven that frequently extinguished itself and would pump extra gas, making a "tick tick tick" noise, when the pilot would try unsuccessfully to re-ignite. To top it off, the oven dial was completely worn off, so that we had to guess temperatures by dividing the circumference in reasonable fractions of 25 degrees. I am not a geometrist, nor am I a chemist, so this left a lot of guesswork in baking. But yesterday, our building super surprised us with a brandy-new stove complete with FOUR functional burners and an oven dial in crisp, clear numbers.

Today, as I was facing an empty home for the next week, I again fought the post-vacation, loneliness blues and decided to test out our new gear. Frankly, it was also a test of my GF baking ability, as I've only made one other thing and I followed that recipe very strictly. Today, either from the heady heat or the lingering Cape attitude, I felt more playful and concocted my own. Surprisingly, these muffins are a real success: they are super easy to make, I can't taste any difference from a wheat-based confection, and they're pretty healthy too. The walnuts, flax seeds, and egg are all great sources of omega-3 fatty acids, a nutrient lacking in many vegetarian diets. I wasn't even aware of this until my friend explained it to me about six months ago, and ever since, I've tried to get my daily dose through either 1 teaspoon of flaxseed oil, 2 Tablespoons of ground flaxseeds, or 1/3 cup of walnuts. These muffins rock both the nuts and the flaxseeds. I can't be sure that the omega-3s are intact after baking, I think the heat may damage them. But these are certainly rich in healthy fats, fiber, and vitamins, so eat up!

This is a good basic recipe which you can modify for your taste: experiment with other combinations of add-ins, like shredded coconuts, macadamia nuts and chocolate chips; or dried cherries and blueberries with almonds. The spices can also be modified for the season or ingredients: fresh diced apples with extra cinnamon and some lemon zest would evoke an apple pie; grated carrots and zucchini with ginger would be a fun combination as well. They are as yummy as they are quick and easy, and your gluten-eating friends won't know the difference.

Omega-3 "New Oven" Muffins

Makes one dozen

1 egg

1 cup milk (or your choice of liquid: OJ, soy, water, etc)

1/4 cup plus 1 T sugar (these are not very sweet, they are breakfast-y, but you should add more if you prefer a sweet confection)

1 tsp baking powder

2 T. canola oil

1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (for glutinous texture)

1 cup white rice flour

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or other nut)

1/2 cup dried cranberries (or fruit of your choice)

Extra butter or oil to grease the tin

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease the muffin tin (or use paper liners, if you prefer)

2. Combine all ingredients except nuts and fruit, mix well.

3. Stir in nuts and fruit

4. Pour into prepared muffin tin. Bake 12-15 minutes, until peaks just start to brown.

5. Let set 2 minutes in pan, then separate from tin with butter knife and remove to cooling rack. Bon appetit!

Beaches top to bottom

I am halfway between the Gulf and the Atlantic on my two-week work-and-play combo tour of America's beaches. Okay, it's not really that glamorous: I'm just finishing up a week of work in Orlando (which took me to Seminole and Madiera beach, pictured here) and am now sitting in the airport, headed out for much-needed vacation time on the Cape at my annual family reunion.

Living out of a hotel room and working 15+ hours a day, I haven't had much opportunity for cooking or even eating well. Thank you to Lara Bars and Nana's Gluten-Free cookies for keeping me from starving in this land of Denny's and Chik-Fil-A's.

While on the Cape, I will actually do a fair amount of cooking. Our family breaks down the dinners (breakfasts and lunches on your own) so that a pair of relatives works together each night to prepare supper for everyone. I'm "on" with my grandma and stepfather on Sunday night, and I think we're doing polenta with a mushroom saute. My grandma is bringing fresh heirloom tomatoes from her garden in Virginia for a delicious salad. I'll be sure to snap pics of everything that is wonderful in the coming week at our cottage.

Of the record seventeen (!) people coming this year, I am the only vegetarian and now also the only GF foodie, so I foresee some culinary acrobatics on nights when others are cooking. My mom is bringing some GF waffles and pasta for me, so I think we can improvise. (She was a professional cook for many years.) My aunts are each planning GF meals too, and I can't wait to see what they come up with that I can take home to Alex.

I won't be posting anything for at least another 10 days, but I will be basking in the dear Cape sun, biking along trails lined with honeysuckles and blueberries, riding our boat out to watch fireworks on the ocean, and generally trying hard to do nothing. I can't wait!!!!

Till next week- your pale, but soon to be slightly tanner- Foodie.

Nori rolls

As a child, I generally avoided dirtying my hands in the kitchen, preferring instead to eat everything that came out of it. I got away with this for years because my mom is such an amazing and willing chef, happy to chop and saute and knead for hours when she has an appreciative audience. It wasn't until my senior year of high school, in anticipation of moving away for college, when I realized that I needed to learn to cook for myself.

One of the few things I would try my hand at and loved making with my mom were nori rolls, the all-veggie sushi roll. I would stand on my toes to see what my mom would pull from her paper bags of groceries, and when the package of nori sheets emerged, I would immediately make myself a snack: toasted nori sheets (passed over the gas flame) dipped in tamari. We would also make incredible nori rolls, with seriously sour and salty umeboshi plum paste (that I could eat by the spoonful), spread on the edges to seal in the sticky rice filling. We would slice the finished rolls on the cutting board and marvel at how perfectly formed the little swirls were, like watching a Fimo bead take shape from a lumpy roll of clay. I would devour each piece, standing over the counter top with a small dish of tamari and my favorite floral chopsticks until I cleaned the final grain of fallen rice from the dish.

Last night, I decided to try my hand at the delicacy and they were a huge success! Alex has only recently tried and enjoyed sushi, so his approval means the world. I made a variety of combinations from our five fillers, but you can use whatever you choose. Our local sushi restaurant makes peanut-avocado rolls, so I attempted a couple of those. I also made mushroom-carrot-avocado, my favorite, and an "everything," as well as simple cuke and avocado rolls. Play with your favorite fillings, get creative. Other options include green beans, soy beans, and bell peppers. When it's all done, as long as your ingredients are good, you can make a mess of the roll and still enjoy every last bite.

Sushi rice
Yields about 4 cups cooked rice
2 cups white sushi rice, rinsed until water is clear (this is necessary to clean off the starches so it will be the right consistency when cooked)
2 1/2 cups water

3 T rice vinegar
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp tamari (the wheat-free soy sauce)

1. Cook water and rinsed rice over high heat. Once boiling, reduce to the lowest setting and cover for 20 minutes or until all water is absorbed, stirring several times to prevent sticking to the pot.

2. When rice is done (taste for cooked but chewy texture), remove from heat and let sit, covered, 10 minutes. This helps keep it moist.

3. Turn rice into large bowl and combine with vinegar-sugar mixture. Cut in sauce, as with pastry dough, until rice is thoroughly coated.

4. Spread rice across sides and bottom of bowl to cool. Cover with a damp cloth to keep it wet until you're ready to use it for the sushi.














Momma's Nori Rolls
Makes 8 rolls, with some leftover veggies

4 cups cooked sushi rice, seasoned as above

8 sheets nori, toasted VERY briefly over a low flame (just pass it over quickly until it turns bright green but before it starts smoking)

Filling of your choice:
5 shitaki mushrooms, reconstituted with boiling water for 20 minutes (reserve the liquid)
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into matchsticks, blanched briefly over boiling water
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
1 avocado, sliced thinly lengthwise
1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

Bowl of water to moisten the edge of the nori.

1. Using the back of a wooden spoon, spread about 1/2 cup of the rice on a sheet of nori (rough side face up). Press the rice onto the sheet, creating a thin coating up to the last inch of nori, being careful not to tear the wrapper. (Keep the damp cloth over the remaining rice to prevent drying.)

2. Line up your chosen filling along the bottom edge of the nori (on the rice end), placing just a few pieces of carrots, cucumber, or mushrooms stacked onto each other. You don't want to add too much or you will burst your nori.

3. Starting at the edge with the filling, wrap the nori over and roll tightly up to the non-rice end. Moisten the dry part with water and complete the roll, resting it seam-side-down on the counter. Slice at 3/4" intervals or so, to your desired thickness, and dunk in sauce (below).

Dipping Sauce
Makes enough for 2 rolls, if you cook it down
This sauce has a pleasantly sweet, woodsy flavor, thanks to the shitaki "juice" which is made from soaking the dried mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes prior to use.

Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes:
1 cup shitaki soaking water
1 Tbsp tamari
dash of toasted sesame oil

Cook down to 1/3 cup, remove from heat and pour into small dipping bowls. Toss in some sliced scallions and go to town on the sushi.