Again With the Spicy Food

Because the spicy meatballs were not enough, I had to kick it up a notch with this lovely concoction the very next day. I found some gluten-free Andouille sausage and decided to make a Cajun-inspired dish served over steamed white rice (gotta have a little something to balance out the heat, right?). I made this dish with dried kidney beans that I soaked and cooked the day of, but feel free to use canned beans. I would suggest you drain and rinse the canned beans though. The sausage lent much flavor to the dish, so really the only thing I added was some salt. Laissez les bon temps roulez! Let the good times roll!

Ingredients:

12 oz. GF Andouille sausage*

1 medium onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 medium carrots, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tbs.olive oil

1 can small red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 cups water or low sodium chicken broth

salt to taste

Slice Andouille sausage in about 3/4-inch pieces. In a large pot add olive oil and place over medium-low heat. Add onion, pepper, celery, carrots, and garlic and allow to sweat for several minutes. Add sausage and cook for about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beans, and water or chicken broth. Bring pot to a simmer, cover, and allow to cook for about 15 more minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve over steamed rice.

*Note: please make sure to check ingredients carefully when buying sausage. Many contain gluten and/or casein. When in doubt, as your butcher or the manufacturer.

Now That's a Spicy Meatball

Thursday nights mean flamenco class for yours truly, so I try to get an early start on dinner. As I write this, I've got some homemade meatballs cooking on the stove. The meatballs I made today are all beef; though on occasion I use a mix of ground beef and pork. I use gluten free bread crumbs, egg, dried herbs, and a sofrito.

Sofrito is a popular ingredient in Puerto Rican cooking--similar in appearance to pesto, it combines peppers, onions, garlic, culantro, cilantro, and this really small, sweet chile called aji dulce. These ingredients go into the food processor, and are added to lots of traditional dishes. I make it in large batches, and freeze it in plastic containers. Now I know what you're going to say: that doesn't sound like something that would go in traditional Italian meatballs. You would be correct. But they do go in my Nuyorican meatballs. I remember Giada de Laurentiis from the Food Network using a sofrito once too--though I don't think she put it in her meatballs.

Once the meatballs are done done I'll drop them into my marinara sauce and let 'em simmer for about 30 minutes. I'll serve them over gluten free pasta--today it's Bionaturae Elbow macaroni--they're made with potato, rice, and soy. I really like the texture and flavor of the pasta; to me, it is the most similar to semolina pastas than other gluten free varieties.

Sorry, no picture yet--but once dinner's ready I'll post one. Ciao!

*edited to add: Awww, yeah!

Chugga-Chugga, Choo-Choo

Today we took the kiddies to see the Thomas and Friends Live! show. It was like Christmas in July for our kids and the eleventy million other cheering, happy kids that attended the performance. Ayden is obsessed with Thomas, so this was a real treat for him. Zoe, not to be left out, truly enjoyed the show too. She sang along with the characters (Ayden said he was too busy focusing on the show to sing along), and regularly checked on her brother to see if he was having fun. Even though she's not really Thomas' target audience--she's older than the average fan--she loved it. After the show we stopped to pick up a few souvenir items to take home. Ayden picked a Thomas-shaped light up wand. Zoe picked out a plate decorated with some of the characters. After we walked out of the theater, Zoe explained that even though she isn't a big fan of Thomas, she picked out a souvenir because she wanted to give it to her brother as a gift. Sweet beyond belief! It was such a lovely gesture of thoughtfulness--my girl did me proud.

Cooking at Home

One of the best things about coming home after vacation--to me, at least--is that I can cook again. Frankly, eating in restaurants for every meal gets boring quickly; not to mention the fact that you really don't know exactly what's going into your meal if somebody else is making it. Yesterday, the Flamenco Family made the trek over to Wild Oats to shop for groceries. I noticed that they had these lovely Wild Alaskan scallops. I remembered seeing a show on the Food Network recently where a woman prepared some bacon wrapped scallops, and suddenly inspiration struck! I ordered up some scallops to go with my other goodies and headed back home. These scallops are very simply prepared: wrapped in bacon, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and pepper. I cooked them in the broiler until the bacon was cooked and the scallops looked opaque. I served them on a bed of Bibb lettuce with some tomato slices and a spicy mayonnaise. It was an absolutely heavenly meal; and it was great to eat something made with my own hands after so many days away from home.

We Are a Travelin' Family

We just got back from a short trip to southwest Florida. We visited Grandma and Great-Grandma, and we spent a few days exploring Naples and the surrounding areas. We visited the Naples Zoo and Carribean Gardens, where there were several opportunities to take silly photos such as the one above. Also, the zoo offered a short boat trip around a lake with small islands that are home to all the zoo's primates. We saw a snake and reptile show, which Ayden loved. When the zookeeper asked if we wanted to see some scary snakes, Ayden yelled "YEAH!" louder than any other kid or adult at the show. The kids got to see the lion feeding too, though Zoe was a bit put off by the fact that the lions eat raw meat.

We also paid a visit to a Lionel Train museum; my kids went nuts over this place! There was a humongous exhibit of trains complete with a Lionel city and all the accompanying buildings. Many of the buildings had sound or visual effects that could be activated with the push of a button. Once my kids realized they could make lots of the features work, they squealed with delight. The museum also offered a train ride around the outside of the museum building. It was a mini train operated by this adorable older fellow (honestly, he was about ninety--but he would probably knock me out if he heard me call him old!). Flamenco Dad and I joined the kids on the train ride, and we loved it just as much as they did.

In other news, Zoe was "glutened" on this trip--at least, we're pretty sure she was. She was okay on the drive home, although she was oddly quiet. She had a horrendous night went we arrived home, and unfortunately threw up in our car the next morning. Yesterday she was a total wreck with stomach problems, shakiness, and lots of uncontrollable stimming. Thank God she is much better today, though she is quite exhausted from the lack of sleep.

A Few Things...

I've been a bit lax in my posting the last few days. I have not been feeling well; in fact, I had to see a doctor for what turned out to be dehydration! The moral of the story? Drink lots of liquids, kiddies. Apparently I haven't been drinking enough. After Thursday evening's flamenco class (which was very challenging), I had been feeling run down and it finally caught up to me. Note to self: bring water AND Gatorade to class next time.

Today I received a copy of a soon-to-be-released gluten free cookbook, Gluten-Free Quick & Easy by Carol Fenster, PhD. I got an e-mail last week from someone at Penguin Group offering me a chance to review the book, and I could not pass it up! So far it's a great read and I am anxious to try some of the recipes. I'll share my thoughts on the book very soon. Also I'll be forwarding some questions to the author, which I hope to post here as well. Carol's website is www.glutenfreequickandeasy.com.

In addition, I'm looking forward to receiving some samples of gluten-free goodies from a place called Grindstone Bakery. They offer a variety of wonderfully delicious-sounding bread and cookies. I can't wait to try these products! Visit their website, http://www.grindstonebakery.com/ for more details about their products.

Finally, my buddy Lynn over at Free to Eat reworked the recipe I posted last week for sesame candy--and morphed it into a cocoa and coconut candy that sounds absolutely divine! I'm going to make a batch asap. Lynn's blog is at http://www.freetoeat.blogspot.com/. For those of you who haven't had a chance to visit her blog, Lynn is an uber-creative lady who has had to reinvent the way she cooks and eats due to multiple food sensitivities. And her family likes to rock-out just like my family does! One day her clan and mine are going to have to get together for one big jam session. Rock on!

Adventures in Candymaking

Sesame candy (or brittle) is a treat in many cultures around the world. In Greece, it's called pasteli; in India, it's called til gajak. And it goes by a variety of other names all over the world. While there are subtle variations in how it's prepared in each country, one thing is true for all of them; it's delicious! When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, my brother and I would walk to the bodega on the corner and buy them for about ten cents apiece. In Puerto Rico, we'd visit my great-aunt's store and grab as many of these and other penny candies as we could fit in our pockets; then we'd eat them as we walked through the plaza and as we rode back to my grandparents' house.

This recipe came from Epicurious.com; it is for the Greek version of the candy, pasteli. I made it last night, and Flamenco Dad and I loved the results. It stores well, so you can make a batch and store them in an airtight container. It will keep for about a week--thought in my house it won't last that long.

Makes about 42 to 56 candies

Vegetable oil for oiling pan

1 cup mild honey

1 cup sesame seeds, toasted

1/2 teaspoon salt

Special equipment: a nonstick bakeware liner such as Silpat*; an 8- to 9-inch springform pan; a candy thermometer

Put bakeware liner in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep). Remove bottom of springform pan and set aside. Oil inside of springform ring with vegetable oil and put ring, upside down, in center of bakeware liner.

Bring honey, sesame seeds, and salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, then boil undisturbed until mixture registers 280 to 290°F on thermometer, about 15 minutes.

Holding ring in place, quickly pour mixture into ring, then cool on a rack until candy is set but still warm, about 40 minutes. Unmold by peeling ring with candy off bakeware liner. Transfer candy to a cutting board, then run a paring knife around edge of springform ring and lift ring off candy. Cut candy into 1-inch pieces with an oiled large knife.

Under Pressure, Redux

Some of you may recall my fondness for cooking in a pressure cooker (see "Under Pressure"). I've had it for close to six months now, and I find I like it more the more often I use it. Mind you I'm still afraid the thing's going to explode someday--and leave remnants of food on my ceiling--but hey, I like the danger element of it. I'm such a rebel, LOL.

Last week we had some oven-cooked pork chops that were about as tough as my husband's cowboy boots. Cooked to within an inch of their lives, and not seasoned well enough; it was such a pity that good pork chops were wasted. But this week I decided to try cooking the chops in my pressure cooker and the results were terrific. I seasoned the pork chops with salt and pepper, and in two batches, I browned them in the pressure cooker (which had been preheated with some olive oil added to the pot). After cooking the last three chops I removed them to a plate and added julienned onions, minced garlic, two red potatoes cut in sections, and some leftover fresh herbs. I put the chops back in the pot, added some diced tomatoes and their juice and some white wine. I clamped the lid on the pot, and thirty minutes later it was ready. The pork was wonderfully tender, the meat falling off the bone. It was a meal savored by all in the house.

Fourth

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

"Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom."--Albert Einstein

Love/Hate Relationship

Quinoa. I want to love it. It's good for you. It seems so exotic. It's on the upswing in the food world for its nutritional value and because it's a nice alternative to other side-dishes. But the truth is...I don't love it.

It's like that boyfriend you had in high school who you were really into, but who let you down. Alot. Even with other perfectly good guys around, you always thought that guy was the one for you. The one who on paper seemed like a great guy; handsome and funny, with a hint of mystery. But then he left you waiting for a phone call one Friday night too many, and you finally said "no more."

After the somewhat disappointing results I got after my first foray into the world of quinoa (see my post, "You Gotta Believe"), I promised myself that I would give quinoa another try. I figured, maybe it was my fault it didn't turn out right the last time. I believe in second chances. So yesterday I gave quinoa another shot at getting into my good graces. I bought a box of Inca Red quinoa and prepared it using a recipe from the Food Network's Robin Miller. She cooked the quinoa, then mixed in some roasted red peppers, roasted garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Sounds good, right? Heck I even saw her make it on her tv show; it looked great. Why couldn't I have that?, I asked myself.

I cooked the quinoa per the package instructions, and roasted some garlic as it cooked. I prepped the basil, the red peppers, and gathered up my salt and pepper. Once the quinoa and garlic were ready, I combined all the ingredients, served myself a bit, and sat down to give it a try. The results?

Meh. Not what I thought it would be. I was let down--again. It tasted flat to me, even with all the tasty things I put into it. And the quinoa itself had kind of an odd aftertaste. Don't get me wrong, there were several things about this attempt that were better than the last. For one, I now know that I prefer the flavor of Inca Red over the plain white quinoa. Also, the texture was much improved over the last go-around. But I'm left wondering if I should give it another try. My husband, ever the optimist, said I should press on and maybe do some research on how the indigenous cultures of South America prepared it and try it their way. I'm not sure. Remember the whole "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" thing? Maybe it's time for me to just let the quinoa go and stick with rice, the grain that reliable, delicious, and has always been good to me.

Cooking? What's That?

There has been little home cooking going on here at Casa de Flamenco over the past few days. It's been sooo hot and humid, the last place I want to be is laboring in my kitchen. Last week I made some gfcf bread for Zoe (courtesy of one Gluten-Free Pantry French Bread and Pizza Mix) and some waffles, but other than that it's been leftover stuff from my freezer, fresh fruits and veggies, salads, and takeout dinner from some our local restaurants. Of course the good news is that the kids and I have been loading up on lots of fruits and veggies (always a plus), but I know my babies are missing the aroma of dinner cooking on the stove. Frankly, the thought of eating from a restaurant again tomorrow is not appealing to me at all. Even if it is from the yummy Indian restaurant near the beach.

I feel guilty.

Zoe asked me when I was going to make her some more gfcf treats--she's jonesin' for something, ANYTHING, baked from scratched with her mama's loving hands. I picked up some cookies, Pamela's Chocolate Chunk to be exact, but that did nothing for Miss Z. I'm thinking if it's not ridiculously warm this evening that maybe I'll make some peanut butter cookies for her and Ayden to enjoy. We're going on a field trip tomorrow to the children's museum, so we can take some cookies for the road.

Update: I have made the peanut butter cookies. And there was much rejoicing at Casa de Flamenco.

Kids Rock

This is what summer looks like at the rockin'est house on our block.

Who Wants a Beer Here?

I'm not much of a beer drinker, but I had to give this a try. Anheuser-Busch had gluten free folks doing cartwheels when Redbridge hit the market. It is the first sorghum beer, and I was curious about the flavor; I thought that wheat and barley were what made beer taste like beer. On Father's Day, Flamenco Dad and I took a drive to Total Wine & Liquor Warehouse. FD picked up some new Belgian beers he wanted to try, I got some Spanish wines and my bottle of Redbridge (oh, and some rum too. Hee-hee).

I gotta say...this beer actually TASTED. LIKE. BEER. Shocking, I know. Again, I'm no expert in beers, so I'll leave the specifics like flavor profiles and such to the pros. But to me, the Redbridge had a flavor and aroma reminiscent of American beers like Budweiser or Miller. I have tasted some of the brews that Flamenco Dad bought, and while I'm not ready to buy case upon case of Redbridge (I did like the Belgian beers more), this gluten-free beer is a great alternative. We've got a buddy who is allergic to wheat and barley (and he used to love beer), so I'm going to recommend that he try Redbridge. Who knows, maybe his beer drinking days aren't quite over yet.

Happy Father's Day

What Does She Eat, Anyway?

I got an e-mail a few days ago from a friend who is looking for some helpful hints on what to feed her son. Mara is starting her son on the GFCF diet, and thought a primer on what to look for when meal planning/shopping would be beneficial. So, I looked in my cupboards to see what's on hand, thought about what my shopping cart usually looks like, and shared my findings. Since there are other folks out there who are currently wondering what Zoe typically eats, I thought I'd post this info online.

Since I am a bit on the OCD side, I prepared a nifty little spreadsheet for Flamenco Dad to refer to while I was on vacation. As some of you are aware I am not tech savvy--the mere fact that I was able to create a spreadsheet is something of a miracle. But what should surprise no one is the fact that I can't get a screen shot of the darn thing to appear on my blog.

Breakfast
GFCF Pancakes
GFCF Cereal, cold or hot
GFCF Waffles
Hard Boiled Eggs
Fried Eggs, prepared without butter

Lunch
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Soy Cheese Sandwich
Thai Noodle Soup
Hot Dogs
Toast with Jelly
Ham Sandwich
Turkey Sandwich

Dinner
GFCF Pizza
Any Meat + one or more of the following:
Fries
Frozen or Fresh Veggies
White Rice
GFCF Pasta

Snacks
Peanut Butter & Apples
Ice Pops
GFCF Cookies
Fruit
Maya Bars
Soy Yogurt
Carrot Sticks

Note that any sandwiches are made with GFCF bread, hotdogs are served w/o bun, cereals are served with soy milk, eggs are prepared w/o butter, the Thai Noodle Soup is a variety that is without milk. Please check labels--they are extremely important.

I'm compiling a list of favorite GFCF products by category to list on my sidebar . If there is a product anybody would like to nominate for the list of favorites, please feel free to email me. I welcome input from all foodies out there, so if you've got a favorite, make your voice heard and share with the group!

Nature is a Wonderful Thing

Thought I'd post a few more photos from my trip to the mountains. As you can see, there were many beautiful views to photograph. The first two are from our visit to Blowing Rock. It's funny because the rock actually looked much larger when we saw the photos on the brochure. We kept searching for it while standing on the observation deck...

Blowing Rock, NC

The view from the observation deck was lovely, as evidenced by this photo. What we didn't realize, however, was that while we were walking towards the deck...

Blowing Rock, NC

We actually walked passed the rock, which is in the photo above. It was small enough that we could have climbed it (even me with my limited climbing abilities).

Linville Falls, NC

We also hiked at Linville Falls, which has three trails of varying levels of difficulty. Last year I was here with Flamenco Dad and the kids, and it was lovely. It was also autumn, which meant it was cooler outside. This time, I looked like a drowned rat by the time I reached the end of the trail, that's how much I was sweating. Ick. But the reward for making it to the end was so worth it.

Linville Falls, NC

Even though I was a big old sweaty mess by the time we made it to the falls, I was pretty proud of myself for not giving up. After being sick and not able to breathe this past winter, it was good to feel like I was able to push myself to get to the end.

We spent lots of time enjoying just being in the outdoors, in the company of people we love and respect. I've known my friends for almost half my life now, and I really look at these women as sisters, as well as close friends. The girls and I spent tons of time gabbing away about everything. In fact, on Saturday morning we had plans to visit another mountain, but those plans got sidetracked due to the gabfest. We sat down to breakfast and started talking, but before we realized what had happened it was already 3 p.m.! And the three of us ended up looking like prunes after more than one lengthy chat in the hot tub. Did I mention this cabin had a hot tub?

Wish You Were Here

I'm almost fully recovered from my weekend getaway with the girls. We had a fantastic time! It was the first time my girlfriends and I had gone away for a weekend in...well, ever. We're already talking about when we can schedule another getaway. There's much ground to cover, so the recap and photos will be broken up into two (or three) separate posts. On with the photos!

Blue Ridge Mountains; Blowing Rock, NC

The Blowing Rock was one of the stops on our visit to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Everywhere you looked, there was something beautiful to see. And considering that I live at sea level, the scenery at the higher elevation was a most welcome sight. There were miles upon miles of what appeared to be untouched mountains and trees. It took my breath away, literally and figuratively--it's tough to breath up there!

Duke University Campus

I toured the campus at Duke University for a bit while L stopped in to check on a few of her patients (although I think I would have made a darn good candy striper). Duke reminded me of what I used to imagine a college campus looked like. Love the stone buildings and the tree-lined walkways.

Stained Glass Window; Duke Univ. Chapel

Duke is home to a beautiful English Gothic inspired chapel. It has 77 stained glass windows like this one. The photo doesn't do it justice. I loved looking at the stained glass windows at church when I was a kid instead of paying attention to Father DiLorenzo(okay, I know I'm not the only kid who wasn't paying attention). Oh, and that reminds me--I'm supposed to go to confession.

Duke University Chapel

Here is the exterior of the Chapel. The portal features sculptures of some well known Christian reformers like Martin Luther, as well as Southern leaders like Thomas Jefferson. I was really blown away by how beautiful the campus at Duke was. Unfortunately I didn't have time to see more of it--we had to hit the road. It was a three hour drive up to the cabin, and we were hoping to make it before it got too dark. Well that didn't happen, but we got there just the same. More to follow...

Leavin' On A Jet Plane

My vacation starts at o'dark thirty tomorrow morning. I'll be gone before my babies wake up, so we had our good-byes this evening. Sniff, sniff--even though I know a good time is awaiting me, I'm going to miss my kids and, of course, Flamenco Dad. I'll be back here on Monday with a recap and pics. See ya!

Product Review: Sorella Bakery Biscottines

Every now and then a gluten free treat comes along that miraculously appeals to everybody in Casa de Flamenco. I think this week we hit paydirt. I visited Nature's Harvest, one of my favorite shops for gfcf food, and I stumbled upon these cookies. They're Sorella Bakery Gluten Free Biscottines (Vanilla). The company makes several varieties of these cookies, though I must be honest--I did not check the ingredients of the other flavors to confirm if the other varieties (like the chocolate ones) are casein-free as well.

I will say this; these are among the best gluten free cookies I've eaten. Ever. They have a light, airy texture. They're just crumbly enough to make them comparable to traditional biscotti. Oh, and they're fantastic with a cuppa joe. Zoe reluctantly agreed to share them with us; I'm so happy she did. Like most other premade gluten free treats, they are pricier than their traditional counterparts. But they are so worth it for a special treat every now and then. I'll be picking up more of these soon. Delizioso!

Visit www.sorellabakery.com, or check them out at your local natural foods store.

What Inspires YOU?

I'll be the first to admit that there are days when the motivation to experiment in the kitchen just escapes me. I've done very little gfcf baking this week, which has me feeling guilty--and my daughter hankering for some treats.

Today I thought I'd experiment with some muffins. It was a different recipe than I was accustomed to using (maybe not the smartest idea given my brief culinary hiatus), but I thought I'd give it a shot. I had some frozen cranberries and pecans laying around, so I put them to use with these muffins. I used a combo of sorghum, brown rice, and tapioca flours. The results? Well, they were not very sweet, but they were tasty. They reminded me of a hearty date and nut loaf I tried a while back at the health food store. Once I've finished tinkering with the ingredients a bit more I'll post the recipe. They are pretty though, and Zoe enjoyed them, as did Dad and Ayden.

I'll be cooking quite a bit over the next few days; I'm leaving Thursday for my girls' weekend, so I need to leave Flamenco Dad ready with a full arsenal of gfcf meals and goodies. That means I've got to shake off this funk I'm in and get cracking in the kitchen. When days seem long, and you don't feel like working in the kitchen, what motivates YOU?