experiments in the kitchen

so during my extended blog vacation, i tried a number of great recipes from the many food blogs that i read. i now have approximately 50 food blogs that i follow in my google reader, most gluten free. if you want to connect on reader, drop me a note and i'll add you. i keep a mostly low personal profile on my blog due to the nature of my work, but don't mind messaging! :)

anyways, here are a few of my favorite recent recipe experiments (i only have a few pics):


GFCF Zucchini Muffins from GFCF and Not Starving
(I used a mix of millet flour, brown rice flour, and some tapioca flour)

Achiote Beans Recado from Fat Free Vegan
these were definitely a favorite! the flavor was incredibly rich and full. we ate it over tostadas that i made along with various toppings.

GF Chicken Potstickers from Gluten Free Gobsmacked
i really missed eating potstickers so much... we made these twice and they got better the second time once we learned the tricks to making them and added a few of our favorite spices and additions.




Mark Engleberg's Gluten Free Vegan Bread from Aprovechar
a great bread, simple to make.

Crusty Millet Flatbread from Ginger Lemon Girl
this flat bread was also simple to make and tasted great alongside an indian dahl i made. i subbed xantham gum for the chia seeds, and almond meal for the whey powder.

Chocolate-Rose Parfait from The Gluten Free Hippie
it's hard to get a creamy texture like milk for a chocolate mousse, but this recipe does it! believe it or not, this chocolate mousse would actually be considered healthy! :) it was a big hit and super simple to make. i love the touch of rosewater. we chopped up frozen bananas and frozen strawberries to go along with it.

Baked Mac and Cheese- Gluten and Dairy Free from Karina's Kitchen
one of my first gluten free blogs and by far my favorite, i loved this recipe and especially loved The Best Uncheesy Sauce that didn't make me feel like i was eating fake cheese! i made bread crumbs to go along with this, and all in all, wonderful baked pasta goodness.

Vegan Strawberry Banana Muffins from Karina's Kitchen
one more from karina. i loved the colors and flavor of these.




that's it for now... and these are only a few of the ones i tried! Pin It Now!

greens greens the magical.... vegetable?

i've loved greens of all types since i was little... call me a southern girl, but they've been part of my family meals forever. i didn't start cooking them myself until a year or two ago though-- partly because i didn't realize how easy they were to make! i always watched my mom make an intimidatingly big pot of them, overflowing full of mustard greens, kale, spinach, and collards, and watch them cook down for a lonnnngggg time... my dad's favorite way to eat them is with apple cider vinegar, so we would always sprinkle some on top.

now that's great, but after experimenting and reading more about them myself, i realized number one, you don't have to cook them forever. number two, there are so many things you can do with them!! i do still love to mix all the different types of greens together, but sometimes i like them separately as well. i also read something else recently, that you should chop them right before you put them into the pan, because a lot of the nutrients drain out when you cut them.

so here's one fairly simple mix i did recently:


Kale with Cashews and Sun-Dried Tomatoes







1 large bunch of kale, chopped
1 red onion
approx 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup cashew pieces or halves
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
1-2 Tbsp sesame seeds (depending on your liking)
salt
a dash or two of red chili flakes (optional)
optional: 1/4 cup chicken broth

Sauté the onion in some oil (flavored olive oil works well here). Add garlic and stir for another minute or so. Add chili flakes here if you're going to use it, or use black pepper. Also add the salt (I'm not sure how much i used, but I used sea salt, and tended to be generous with it and taste and add more depending on the flavor in the end).

Add the chopped kale into the onion/garlic mixture, and sauté for approximately 5-8 minutes. Add the broth if you're using it.

Add in the cashews, tomatoes, and half of the sesame seeds and stir for another few minutes.

Serve hot and sprinkle more sesame seeds over it for garnish.

Enjoy! Pin It Now!

stuffed vegetables

i should really be ashamed of myself for having such huge breaks between my posts, but let's just say i've been "busy." between work, sickness, becoming a doctor, finishing work, traveling, moving, and still unpacking, i've been taking a lot of pictures of food but not ever uploading them. so! hopefully i will start to get back into my blog (especially now that i'm unemployed at the moment ;))

here is something i made fairly recently-- stuffed vegetables. in homage to my persian side, i make these once in a while, but everytime it's a bit different. i usually make them vegetarian, but this time i used some nice grass fed organic beef. my recipe is to feed a small army, because i always feel that if i'm going to put that much work into it, i should freeze some of the stuffing for a later meal. i ended up putting away two bowls in the freezer for later, and i'm happy i did so... you can stuff just about anything. in this recipe i stuffed peppers and green apples. you can also do butternut squash (my favorite), zucchini, yellow squash, potatoes, etc...

(as always, this is the basic recipe that i play with, so feel free to up the spices to the combo you're happy with!)






Stuffed Vegetables

2 cups basmati rice
2 cups yellow split peas
3 Tbsp chopped garlic
1 lb organic beef
1 jumbo onion, chopped
2 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp cumin
3 Tbsp coriander
2 Tbsp saigon cinnamon
2 Tbsp salt+2 Tbsp for rice
1 Tbsp pepper
1 Tbsp hot sauce of your choice (i used Nando's wild herb)
1-2 Tbsp italian seasoning (or your own herb blend)
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
1 large can of diced tomatoes
4 Tbsp lime juice
1/8 cup flavorful olive oil
(optional: chopped parsley)
vegetables of your choosing

In a small pot cook your rice (i boiled down the rice with 2 Tbsp salt). In another small pot cook the split peas (no salt!). Skim the foam off as it develops on the top. While the rice and peas are cooking, chop your onion and saute in oil. Add the garlic and stir for a minute or two. Add the beef to the onions, along with all of the seasonings. Cook until the beef is done. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cooked rice, peas, and beef. Add the tomatoes, hot sauce, lime juice, olive oil, and cilantro and mix well. Taste and add more seasoning to your liking.

For the vegetables:

If stuffing peppers, cut off the tops and stuff, then replace the top and stick toothpicks in to keep the top in place.

For apples, cut of the top, scoop out the insides with a spoon and stuff. I like to scatter the insides around the cooking vegetables in the pyrex to give some more flavor to everything.

Baking:

Preheat the oven to about 375F when you start stuffing the veggies. Spray olive oil on your pyrex. Arrange the veggies standing up on the pyrex, and add some of the juice from the diced tomatoes as well as the insides of your vegetables around the stuffed ones. You can also add some stuffing around the veggies too. Cover with foil and place in the oven for approximately 30 minutes. Uncover and roast another 10 minutes or so or until they are done. They will be very hot, so sit back and admire before digging in :)

Pin It Now!