Category: food

food · holiday cheer

Our First Gluten Free Thanksgiving

Jen3 Comments

This is the first Thanksgiving since going gluten-free/dairy free/soy free, so planning the menu required a bit of research and creativity. Here are some post-Thanksgiving thoughts and notes for posterity. Sadly there are no pictures. The entire meal was devoured before the thought of taking out my camera even occurred to me.

  • The Turkey: This year, as last year, featured turkey from Trader Joe’s and gluten-free (at least according to their customer service) and delicious.
  • The Stuffing: Not technically “stuffing” since I didn’t cook it in the bird. I followed this recipe from Crockpot365. I will definitely do this recipe next year, but I think I’ll do all corn bread instead of a mix of corn bread and rice bread. I might also add some pecans and a couple of boiled eggs and possibly an apple.
  • The Potato Mash: Yukon Gold Potatoes + Hemp milk + Earth Balance (soy free) = delectable.
  • The Gravy: I followed these directions on Gluten Free Girl only instead of using the Earth Balance (soy free) like I should have, I used palm shortening. FYI: Do not, ever, use shortening (of any sort) for gravy. The flavor was okay, but the mouth feel was … odd.
  • The Cranberry Sauce: Since we are trying to avoid cane sugar, maple sugar, and molasses (on top of everything else), I tried this recipe, sweetening the berries with honey. Next year I will use more honey. Probably a lot more honey. My sauce was extremely sour.
  • The Pie: This one from eHow, only I used agave nectar in place of the sugar. It was just like a “regular” pumpkin pie, seriously. There was no difference in taste or mouth feel. It was absolutely wonderful. No whipped cream for us though. Luckily we didn’t need it.

All in all, it was a mostly successful dinner. Maybe next year I will remember that, even though the package says “never frozen”, there will still be a huge chunk of ice in the center of the bird which prevents the breast and everything below (and including) the wings from getting up to temperature at the same time. *sigh*

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, everyone! Now, I’m off to finish my NaNo. Only 4200 more words to go!

food

Another Recipe: The Best Dinner Ever Meatloaf

Jen3 Comments

Since my tendonitis is still convalescing, here’s another recipe. It really is just your basic meat loaf, but my oldest kid is just now getting over all his food aversions, so it was really nice to hear him exclaim, “this is the best dinner ever, mom!”

1 lb. pork/beef/veal meatloaf mix
1 lb. ground turkey
2 carrots, finely grated
1/4 XL sweet onion, finely grated
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 egg, beaten
a heavy pinch of kosher salt
a few grinds of pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined and place in a 9×13″ pan. Top with a mix of A-1 steak sauce (about a quarter cup?), 1 Tbsp tomato paste and 1 Tbsp agave nectar. Bake at 375° until done.

Yum!

food

Really Amazing and Really Easy Crock Pot Beef Stew

Jen3 Comments

Or “RARECPBS” for short. Ready? Here goes:

Into your crock pot place 1 cup of baby carrots, the contents of a 15 oz can of tomato sauce, and 2 cups of kitchen basics stock (I used veg flavor, but use whatever you have on hand). Stir in 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp marjoram, and 1/2 tsp salt, and grind some pepper over the top. Give it a little stir. Lastly, add 1 lb of stew beef chunks (mine were partially frozen). Cook for 8 hours on low, or 4 hours on high. Shut off the crock pot, stir in a Tbsp of tomato paste and let it sit while you prepare some rice (we like brown, but use whatever you’ve got). To serve, layer into each bowl a handful of frozen peas, a paddleful of rice, and a ladelful of stew (the residual heat will cook the peas). Bask in rave reviews from your 7-year-old and 4-year-old.

(the peas are there in the bottom)

food

Heaven on a slice of toast.

Jen4 Comments

One of my very good friends has her own chickens and yesterday she sent me home from our play date with 3 blue eggs and 2 speckled brown eggs.

There is nothing at all on earth like a poached egg laid by a beloved backyard hen and eaten with a slice of buttered and salted sourdough toast. Seriously, I am still basking in the afterglow of this amazing lunch. See how the yolk is orange rather than yellow? The yolk was literaly like butter. OMG.

I can’t wait until I can have my own chickens.

birthday · cute kids · food · holiday cheer · life

Ah, yes…

Jen5 Comments

I’ve just finished putting away the Thanksgiving leftovers and am sitting here, enjoying a cup of coffee and the last couple of bites of E3’s pumpkin pie. I must say that I’m quite tickled with myself. The ginormous bird was roasted to juicy perfection. The stuffing, cooked in the crockpot with the turkey’s wingtips and tail, was delightfully deletable. The gravy, made with giblet broth (but no giblets) and turkey drippings, was velvety and flavorful. The green salad was cool and crisp, a perfect complement the savory warmth of the other dishes. All in all, it was probably the best Thanksgiving meal I’ve ever made. Sadly, there are no pictures. The entire meal had been consumed before it occurred to me to document it in photographic posterity. Oh well.

There’s another reason today is a special day. Today is I’s 7th birthday.

How is it even possible? I can’t believe he’s seven already! Isaac had a pretty good year. He learned how to tie his shoes this year, and how to ride a bicycle (skipping over training wheels entirely). He has really started getting a handle on reading and math and we earned that, for I7, the number zero is really really red, the color of fire, and that the larger a number is, the greener it is.

Anyhow, happy Thanksgiving to all my bloggy buddies and long distance friends. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! (And a happy birthday if today also happens to be your birthday, hah!)

food · life · nanowrimo · off topic

Thinking of Spring Pasta Bake

Jen4 Comments

The stars must have been aligned–this dish was a huge hit at our house tonight.

I riffed on this recipe featured on the Rachael Ray show today. All of the ingredients came from Trader Joe’s. Here’s how I did it:

1. Prepare one pound of dried tortellini pasta according to the package directions.

2. While the pasta is cooking, steam one package of frozen asparagus and then puree.

3. Make Rachael’s béchamel sauce (omit garlic by accident and instead use one part vegetable broth and one part fat-free milk). Add pureed asparagus.

4. Toss the now very very green sauce with the pasta to coat.

5. Brown a package of tomato/basil chicken sausages (squeezed from their casings and crumbled) and add to the pasta and sauce, stirring gently.

6. Pour into a baking dish and cover with TJ’s Quattro Formaggio (about 1/2 a package). Bake at 375° for about 15 minutes until the cheese is browned and the sauce is bubbly.

I6 ate all of what he was served. E3 had two servings. Karl snarfed up a huge bowl. Angels sang.

Now it’s back to NaNoWriMo for me.

food · off topic

The Omnivore’s Hundred

Jen4 Comments

I found this surfing the web a while back. Behold, the Omnivore’s Hundred from Very Good Taste.

Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food – but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Bizarre foods? Not for me, apparently.

food · life · off topic

Saturday Stew

Jen1 Comment

I don’t know about you guys, but we had some crap weather here today. It was a typical New England spring day: misty, cloudy, gloomy–perfect weather for making a nice lamb stew! I’ve cross-posted the recipe on my other blog (didn’t know I had two, eh?)

Core Plan Beef (or Lamb) Stew

1-1/2 lbs lean beef (or lamb), cut into chunks for stewing
1 Tbsp canola or olive oil
1 medium onion, frenched
3 carrots, cut into large chunks
2 ribs celery, prepared similarly
4 parsnips, ditto
4 or 5 medium-ish red potatoes, again, cut into chunks
2 cups beef stock
2 cups canned, diced tomato
2 Tbsp tomato paste
Garnier Bouquet (I used bay leaf, thyme, and sage, but any old seasoning combination that plays well with beef’ll work. Dry herbs are OK, too.)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Meanwhile, in an oven-safe dutch oven, heat oil over med-high heat on the stove. Add the meat (seasoned with some salt and pepper) and sear it. When it’s got some good color, remove it from the pan and set aside. Toss in the onions along with a good sized pinch of salt and saute them until translucent. Add the remaining vegs (and a little more salt) and saute them for 5 minutes or so–just to give them a little jump start. Then, add the broth and the tomatoes and tomato paste, along with the herbs. Bring it up to a boil and throw in the meat. Cover and move the whole operation into the oven for 2 or 3 hours. Yummy! And enough for eight 1 cup servings!

If you’re following the Flex plan, there’s 4 points* in each 1 cup serving, leaving enough points left over to enjoy with a hunk of soft and chewy bread brushed with a little olive oil (and still be a relatively low point and hearty meal).

Next time I’ll add a tablespoon or so of mashed potatoes to help thicken it up a bit. Otherwise–delish!

*points calculated with the WeightWatchers.com eTools  recipe builder.

food · off topic · TKGA

What Master’s Monday?

Jen2 Comments

Sadly, I have no new swatches to show you today. Enjoy this recipe instead.

Sausage Soup

1 package (of 5 links) Sweet Italian Chicken Sausages
2 boxes Kitchen Basics chicken stock (MSG free)
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 lb new potatoes (I like the red, white, & blue mix from Trader Joe’s), cut into about 1 inch pieces.
1 cup (or 2) fresh spinach
1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil (or 2 or 3 cubes of the frozen stuff)

Squeeze the sausages from their casings, crumble and brown (discard the casings). Dump in the chicken stock, the diced tomatoes, the potatoes, the basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are done (tender, but not crumbling). Top with the spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted.

2/21/08 update–I forgot to mention to brown the sausages in about a tsp or so of olive oil.