i'm in food heaven

...all because my beloved nando's has decided to open in d.c. as of last week. only a few blocks from my office, we decided to go to lunch there today, and boy was it tasty. i haven't eaten there since i lived in israel, and it was even better than i remembered!

i got a 1/4 chicken (hot) with a "fino" side of butternut squash and grilled corn (with red onion, grilled corn, dried cranberries, and fresh cilantro). i expected the chicken to be great, but i really enjoyed the butternut side as well. cooked well with a slight kick and quite filling. as for the chicken, i decided to grab some dipping sauces to go and really enjoyed the wild herb peri-peri sauce as well as the garlic sauce once we got back to work to eat.

anyways, if you're in d.c. definitely stop by... 819 7th st. nw, washington, dc
the u.s. website is still under construction: www.nandosusa.com but you can buy their sauces online

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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie - Gluten Free, Soy Free, Dairy Free

my father asked me to make him a strawberry rhubarb pie last winter, and i never "got around to it" because rhubarb was not in season. so for father's day, i finally fulfilled that and surprised him with the pie.

i had picked up some very ripe strawberries from the farmer's market the day before and ordered some extra rhubarb from the organic delivery so it all worked out well. if i was making this for just us or for less of an 'occasion' i would have used a few different ingredients, but oh well... the rest of the fam already had to deal with the gluten free-ness ;)

anyways, the crust turned out very well... i based it off of gluten-free girl's recipe from her book with a few changes.


Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Crust:

1 cup Sorghum flour
1/2 White Rice flour
3 Tbsp Sweet Rice flour
1 tsp Xantham Gum
1/2 scant tsp salt
1 tsp Saigon Cinnamon
3 tsp organic sugar
8 Tbsp cold butter (1 stick)
1 large egg
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ice-cold water

-mix the flours together with a stand mixer. cut the butter into little pieces and drop them into the dry ingredients. turn the mixer on again and mix until the butter has crumbled into pea-sized pieces.

-drop the egg and vinegar into the mixture while the mixer is running. once combined, drizzle the cold water into the mix a little at a time while the mixer is running. once it looks like dough, turn off the mixer.

-separate the dough into two balls and put each on a piece of parchment paper. place another piece on top of each ball and gently smoosh them down into disks. wrap the paper around them and refrigerate over night. remove from the refrigerator 20 minutes before using.

pie:

mix in a bowl:
3 cups chopped rhubarb
3 cups halved strawberries
1/2 cup raw sugar or golden brown sugar
1/2 cup organic sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt


-preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. roll out one pie crust and fit in dish. fill it with the berry mix. i actually used 3.5 cups each of strawberries and rhubarb, but it overflowed a bit with all of the juices, so i've lessened it here.

-place the second rolled out crust over it and make a hole in the top.

-bake the pie in the oven for 20 minutes at 400F, then lower to 350 for another 40 minutes. i know it's difficult, but let it cool for a while-- it helps the liquid inside solidify and is worth the wait :)

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a little more of leeks.

i guess you can tell what i got in my organic delivery the week of the leeks... i've been having to make a lot of quick meals recently so this one was another. i quickly cooked up whole leeks and garlic until soft, then added diced sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and asparagus (i added the asparagus last so it didn't get wilted), as well as some coconut milk, cumin and coriander, salt and pepper and a little cayenne. a savory and satisfying dish :)

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update on leeks! eek!

whoops-- i meant to post this a while ago! i also lost this in a wonderful summer storm, so here we go again... here's a few of the dishes i made with those pesky yet tasty leeks :) --

first of all, they definitely lasted quite a while and i made at least four dishes with them.

the first i wanted to try was the quiche, but i only had about 15 minutes to make it before pottery class one night, so i skipped making a crust (definitely time consuming for the gluten-free crustmaker). i was inspired by Susan at FatFree Vegan Kitchen who had a post for a quiche so i designed it after that one. it really did take very little time to make:

first i preheated the oven to 375. i then heated some olive oil and added chopped leeks, then the bottom, tougher stems of asparagus. i sauteed those for a little while, then added the tops and continued to cook until soft. i then added them to 8 beaten eggs and salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. next, i poured the batter into a lightly oiled pie dish and added some of the tops to make a design (see pics below). i baked it for about 15 minutes and it was done! it's probably more of a fritatta than a quiche since it's minus the crust, so breakfast, lunch, dinner... it's all good. i may have added some chopped cilantro as well if i recall correctly.

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looking for leeks

i'm looking for something creative and tasty for my leeks that we got in our organic delivery yesterday... something other than potato leek soup. anyone? hmmm....
leeks. Pin It Now!

Cinnamon Chicken

a few weeks ago i asked my husband what he wanted for dinner and he commented that he really liked this "cinnamon chicken dish" called "arna chicken" from a greek diner he used to go to. i searched the web but found no such greek dish. so-- i decided to make my own up based on a loose description. it ended up tasting really great, and went along with things that i have been reading recently on the health benefits of cinnamon. these include (but are not limited to): lowering LDL, regulating blood sugar, a natural preservative, reducing cancer cells, and improving cognition and memory.

anyways, here is my recipe... i tried hard to write it down so i could recreate it later, but we know how that goes. my recommendation if you want to make it is to use your cooking intuition :)

Cinnamon Chicken

1 lb chicken breast (2 large pieces), cut into 1 inch strips
1 small yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 tbsp Nutiva Organic Coconut Oil (or your favorite oil)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cinnamon sticks (i broke mine in halves)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp tahini
2 dried red chiles broken up (or less if you don't want it as spicy)
3/4 cup broth (veggie or chicken)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 can-1 can rinsed chickpeas
1/4 cup pine nuts
4 medjool dates, chopped
chopped cilantro
sea salt to taste (approximately 1/2 tbsp)


-heat oil in skillet, then add chopped or sliced onions. allow to soften and turn slightly golden
-add garlic and stir for a minute or so, careful not to burn garlic
-add sliced chicken, and add salt, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and cinnamon sticks to the chicken while it is cooking
-when chicken has almost cooked through, add broth, chickpeas, pine nuts, tahini, and chiles.
-let simmer for about five minutes on medium heat, then lower the heat and add chopped dates. -simmer another ten minutes or so, and add more broth if the water runs low.
-garnish (generously) with cilantro and serve

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spring has sprung

i've really missed our organics delivery the past couple weeks, and was so delighted to see it yesterday... it's sad to see the winter veggies start to go, but i'm looking forward to all of the berries and summer fruit as well. here is the box that arrived yesterday:

getting these deliveries has been great for so many reasons. one has been that no longer do i have to go to the annoying grocery store with super long lines (that will remain nameless), but it allows me to branch out and come up with recipes for veggies that i would not necessarily buy spontaneously. for instance the last box we had included yellow beets. who buys yellow beets!? but we really enjoyed them.

speaking of spring, i've made this twice already in the past week--- avacado salad. i was going to make "salad shirazi" a persian salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, but i had a bag of avocados from costco in the fridge as well, so i added those in and was extremely delighted! :)

here is what i used:

2 ripe chilled avacados, chopped into chunks
1/4 english cucumber (the really long kind)
1 firm and ripe tomato (or grape tomatoes will do as well)
1/2 large yellow onion
salt to taste
pepper to taste
approximately 2 tbsp lime juice

combine all ingredients and let stand a bit in the fridge if you can wait... i don't usually :)

simple enough, but so fresh and tasty!!

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gritssssss

i've had a love of grits since i was little, but i think i took a 10 year hiatus from eating them, mostly because i usually don't like breakfast food. anyways, trader joe's began carrying a new herbed olive oil that i think really provides a great accompaniment to grits. of course you can make your own oilve oil blend, but their's has so many wonderful things inside that at this point i'm too lazy to make! :)

my grits recipe is quite simple:

for a single serving

3 tbsp grits (not the instant kind!)
1 cups water
1/8-1/4 tsp salt (depending on your taste)
dash of fresh ground pepper
approximately 1 tbsp herb olive oil

boil water with salt and pepper
add grits to water and turn heat to low
simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally to stop lumps from forming
pour into bowl, and immediately add olive oil and stir in.

*note, i've also tried adding nutritional yeast to grits and have been very pleased with the taste (as long as it's not too much!) Pin It Now!

gluten free travels

i was a bit nervous about going on our recent trips to israel and switzerland and eating gluten free...
but thankfully, i requested the gluten-free meals on all three airlines we flew, and what do you know, they were much better than my dear husband's tasteless and transfatty meals! :)

i didn't take any pictures of them, but for instance, i got an organic sugar free french coconut macaroon which tasted incredible instead of a dry pepperidge farm cookie, a fresh fruit salad with blueberries, pineapple, and other fruit instead of an orange and yellow cabbage substance, and more :)

israeli food on the whole was not too difficult to manage, although all of my old favorites that i used to enjoy eating there i can no longer eat, like toasts (grilled sandwiches) and hot chocolate cake. but on the upside, hot salads are still fantastic, and falafel and shawarma are served on plates now as well.

i'm going to try to remake this drink and post the recipe at some point... there are different variations at each cafe or restaurant you go to in israel, but the main idea is mint and lemonade with crushed ice-- "limonana"

this was my last meal in israel where i really pigged out: :)

in switzerland they weren't too appreciative of the gluten-free lifestyle, and definitely not the dairy-free, but i did walk by a store window in zurich and saw a whole display of gluten-free food for sale. all in all, a positive experience food-wise, and i only got sick once in the two weeks! (which is not too bad) :)

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introducing...

my newest obsession:

the AeroGrow AeroGarden!

after a lot of deliberation, i finally decided to invest some birthday money into the purchase of a lovely AeroGarden . i always get sick of throwing out herbs that go bad, so this product really appealed to me. anyways, it's been fun so far watching it grow. here are some pictures of the process:






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