BlogToTheNextOne

Happy New Year -Egg Drop Soup

2012-01-24T21:58:00.001-06:00

I love a good egg drop soup. It’s very comforting. Due to his food allergies, my son has not been able to have this soup in restaurants (it’s not on the safe list). I occasionally have it, but you really don’t get a great serving for the price you pay ($3.50-$4.00 for three spoons…really). I decided that for Chinese New Year’s I would make this (I don’t know why it took me this long to make this…possibly because I made it during my freshman year of college, when my culinary skills were minimal…so they didn’t turn out well at all).

Egg Drop Soup Recipe

4 cups of chicken stock

1/8 tsp. ground ginger powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp Marsala wine or sherry

2 eggs + 1 yolk (or 3 eggs and just remove a bit of egg white)

1.5 tbs. of cornstarch

1 tsp. sesame oil (add only at end)

green onion for garnish

tiny tofu (extra firm) cubes (optional)

White ground pepper (optional)

The stock can be either home made or store bought (ready or a consommé type made from bouillon…just make sure it’s not too salty-Telma chicken consommé is a recent find-not too salty…but it’s hard to find…).

Beat eggs and put on side

Thinly slice some green onion

Cut a small amount of tofu into cubes (optional).

Make a slurry of the cornstarch and water-it should be like a thick liquid, not paste.

Bring 4 cups of stock, soy sauce, ginger powder and Marsala wine to boil.

During a slow boil, slowly add the cornstarch slurry and stir until it thickens.

Once thickened, turn off heat (but leave pot on heat), stream (pour slowly) in eggs and slowly stir with a spoon in a circular motion as the eggs form a nice stream (I use a wooden spoon to stir). Once done, add the sesame oil.

Serve (add tofu cubes if using) and garnish with thinly sliced green onion.

Serve yourself some seconds.

There are some variations on this. Some restaurants add a little corn to the soup or even some tiny vegetables. I like this pure form. Also, this recipe turns out as those of better Chinese restaurants, not the cheaper quick type places that now run rampant in suburbia.

Allergen note: If you avoiding gluten, use a gluten free Teriyaki sauce, if avoiding soy all together-use Umeboshi Vinegar-I used this as a soy substitute when my son was off of soy. Also, I don't use genetically modified soy sauce. Instead I use organic non GMO soy sauce (I use 365 brand from Whole Foods).

Are food allergies, diets and being different causing alienation? Revisited

2012-01-22T16:45:00.002-06:00

About a year ago, I blogged about the alienation that results from food allergies and special diets. So what, if any, changes have I observed since last year?

I think I’ve noticed more of an ego issue with bad food choices people make. Instead of saying, “bad food choices will lead to bad health consequences, maybe I should learn and alter my habits a bit,” (which seems like a step in the right direction if your goal is not to get chronic disease), it’s become an ‘us vs. them’ climate.

I’ve had a lot of positive comments on my blog. “Thanks for making us more aware and sharing tips and tricks on how to eat healthier and tastier food.” Such comments are very encouraging. My personal goal this year is to spend time and effort only on activities that make a difference. Time is a scarce resource. So I’m thrilled that there are people out there that want to improve their lives and just need a little help as they acquire awareness (as I did when I learned all this-it was a fulltime job to figure out how to cook with healthy ingredients, what healthy ingredients even are, and have the food taste great).

But, now I sense some of the isolation that people with food allergies, celiac disease, and other special diets face. It’s as if I came out of the closet – and now it’s public that I refuse to eat in a state of unconsciousness and succumb to peer pressure.

Surely genetics plays a role in our health. But if I don’t feed my child processed mac and cheese and sodium nitrite hot dogs every day with a generous helping of factory farmed meat and processed chemicals…. purely from a probabilistic standpoint, the likelihood of him acquiring some chronic disease is reduced. No guarantees…but at least I’m trying to influence the outcome. There is no need for me to restate all the great research that one can simply Google (China Study, Reversing Heart Disease, etc.). Same goes for me, while I can still improve (e.g., be more disciplined about working out), I indulge in conscious eating and choices. “Conscious Eating” – a term Michael Pollan coined. Yet, conscious eating is looked down upon by a lot of people. They continue to say, “I have the right to eat xyz.” Yes, they have the right, but they also increase health costs for the rest of us. And again, genetics already plays a role here.

So my goal with the food related aspect of my blog continues-enable “conscious eating” that doesn’t mean you have to eat cardboard. Not everything that tastes great has to lead to chronic diseases. Yes, it’s more effort, but most worthwhile things in life are. Is it convenient? Not for me, full time career, single motherhood and eternal commute would make great excuses for not doing it. But again, spend time on things that make a difference.

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Crockpots Aren't Just for Beef Stew, as this Delicious Eggplant Dish Proves

2012-01-17T21:40:00.000-06:00

Right before it goes into the crockpot base

Crockpots aren’t just for pot roast (I never make), stews or soups. In fact, a crockpot can render delicious vegetarian dishes. This is a favorite dish for dinner. Healthy, tasty and makes for great leftovers.

Note: for the most flavor I always pan fry (even meat dishes) the ingredients first. I want a 'main course' flavor not a boiled flavor. This is not a requirement, but a personal flavor preference. Even for meat dishes, I never just throw the meat into the crockpot. Instead I always sear and pan fry first. This process locks in the juices.

1 1/4 lbs eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes (about two medium eggplants)
2 medium onions, thinly sliced

1-2 cloves garlic (or more)
1 celery stick

1-2 red peppers diced

2-3 Tbs olive oil (or 365 expeller pressed canola oil)
½ cup. tomato sauce

2 cans of organic diced tomatoes (unflavored)

½ cup pitted ripe olives, cut in half
2 Tbs Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs capers, drained
1 tsp dried oregano

.5-1.0 tsp. cumin powder
salt and pepper to taste

2 tbs. chopped dill (add right before serving)

1 tbs. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley at end

For protein, either add pan fried tofu (see other blog entry on how to) or crumbled pan fried seitan.

I have a crockpot that allows frying as well as cooking in the same insert (most don't-but this model doubles up as a dutch oven).

Add 3-4 tbsp oil (not extra virgin, but Bertolli Classico, or 365 expeller pressed canola oil)

Fry the onion for a few minutes, then add the eggplant, peppers (I added poblano this time) & celery and fry for at most 5 minutes. Add the cumin and fry for one minute. Remove from heat and insert into the crockpot base (or transfer to crockpot).

Add the garlic, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes- cover and cook on Low 3 1/2 to 4 hours or until eggplant is tender. Stir in olives, vinegar, sugar, capers and oregano. Season with salt and pepper (not much salt is needed-it’s already tasty). Cook for about 45 minutes (at this point add optional protein-tofu or seitan). Right before serving add dill and top off with cilantro.

This one is the plate for a Jager Schnitzel lover....but my non meat eating guests were happy too

Since one of the advantages of a crockpot is not having to ‘nurse’ the dish. If you end up cooking the dish longer and only have 15-20 minutes to cook with the vinegar, tofu, etc. it will not hurt the dish.

As any dish, this is very pretty flexible and the flavors can be altered.

Because it’s a saucy dish, it tastes delicious the next day (or could be frozen-but when reheating frozen foods, always add a little extra spice to liven up the flavors).

Post Commute Chicken Marsala with Orzo

2012-01-16T22:14:00.004-06:00

This a relatively simple yet tasty dish and no unhealthy ingredients required for flavor. Chicken Marsala is festive to some, but here it’s a great after work dinner.

1.5 pound boneless chicken breast (I chose free range chicken)

1-1.5 cups Marsala wine (not the fake one from grocery section)-I like to blend two different brands

¾ cup organic free range chicken broth

¼ stick Earth Balance Soy butter

3-4 tbs. 365 Expeller Pressed Canola oil or Bertolli Classico Olive Oil (NOT extra virgin-EVO is not an ideal pan frying oil and its flavor is too strong)

flour (a light flour, if you are avoiding gluten use rice flour)

3 free range organic eggs-hand beaten (there is a difference between mass produced eggs-the omega 3s) - if you are avoiding eggs...use Ener G egg replacer mixture

Cut the chicken breast lengthwise

Pound the chicken with a mallet

Dredge chicken breast into flour

Then dip into egg

Then dredge in flour again

(you can slightly season the flour with garlic powder – not garlic salt)

Put oil and Earth Balance Soy butter into a frying pan and heat….brown the chicken about 5 minutes on each side.

Turn once, but due to uneven heat, keep an eye on each piece...you may need to move it around to get consistent results.

Pour Marsala wine into the frying pan and deglaze.

This is why you should NOT use a no stick pan....this is perfect for deglazing

Simmer chicken in wine about 15-20 minutes (covered)-this really tenderizes and flavors the chicken.

After 20 minutes, remove the chicken breast and put aside.

Pour in some chicken stock (this is based on preference-I like more wine than stock….so it has more marsala flavor)

Reduce the liquid (this will thicken in slightly)

Add salt (a pinch is enough) and pepper and a slight amount of Earth Balance Soy butter to make it creamier – whisk.

Return chicken to pan and slightly heat up.

Serve with orzo tossed in olive oil. I’ve also served this dish with roasted diced potatoes, rice or other side dishes. The sauce should NOT be overly thick.

You can garnish with parsley.

Some people like mushrooms to be part of their Marsala. I don’t like my Chicken Marsala to try to be too many things….the mushroom takes away from the Marsala flavor.

If there are any leftovers, they will taste great the next day (my son calls leftovers on this one).

I’ve had this dish in restaurants, but I like the flavor of this version the most. Light sauce with a nice Marsala taste.

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Buche De Noel-it's not just a pretty name

2012-01-05T00:40:00.003-06:00

Do I thrive on stress and multitasking?

2011 concluded and as I look back on this blog, I have one comment: I didn’t blog enough.

As I reflect on why I didn’t blog-it’s because for each entry I wanted to have all the photos, the story, and the exact recipe with all the key ingredients/substitutions. I was too busy to make such complete entries as frequently as I would like.

So here’s my ‘incomplete’ entry – more to follow later.

For years I loved the way “Buche de Noel” sounds and looks. Yes, I could have bought a ready made one, but then my son wouldn’t be able to eat it due to cross contamination and allergens. Even before his food allergies, I chose not to buy one because I knew the ingredients weren’t the best.

So I finally made it…. and it tastes as good as it looks and sounds.

As the first step, I watched the hilarious Julia Child video on how to make it (with the falling stump-I love her casual attitude when things don’t go perfectly). But she didn’t cover the rolling part. I researched at least 10 different recipes for ingredients, baking technique and rolling technique (there are many).

Mostly, this Yule Log (another name for it) is like my holiday mocha cake (prior blog entry). I separate the eggs the same way I do for my cakes and the frosting was identical to my mocha frosting (except I added a bit of Kahlua). But the rolling in towels and so forth gets a bit tricky (or at least stressful). I always say holidays are not the time to experiment, but then I always do. Decorating the Buche de Noel was very easy. So again, I tried to add a few new dishes to my holiday repertoire. While creating new recipes and food items around the holidays is a bit stressful (what if it doesn’t work-disaster), it does provide me with some sort of accomplishment.

Apparently stress may be a killer, but it also fuels one’s creativity in all areas.

As usual I didn’t write the recipe and technique down (and I really should for something I make a few times a year). So I will add this at a later time. I’ve even found my blog useful to look up my own recipes. I also have many more to add from the recent holidays.

Tasty and Not Greasy Meatballs Pasta Sauce over Fettuccini

2011-12-20T23:16:00.002-06:00

Which Meat?

I’ve experimented with different compositions of meat:

100% beef-just not flavorful enough

Blend of Pork/Beef- not bad but I find that it’s the pork that makes it more tasty (just my preference)

Turkey – not bad, a healthier option, but it lacks that ‘je ne sais quoi’-actually what we call ‘flavor’ (even with good seasoning choices)-but it’s not a bad alternative….

Lamb – I love lamb but many don’t. Lamb has to be cooked just right, but otherwise it has a gross side flavor. Either way, good ground lamb is hard to find (at least around here) and some people really hate it, so it’s not a good choice for every day dinner.

Chicken – I think ground chicken makes the most flavorful, yet healthy meatballs

I prefer, Kosher Ground Chicken. This is the most flavorful ground chicken I’ve eaten. After researching this, I realized that this flavor is due to the Kosher method of processing the meat. It’s sort of like brining. I can only find Kosher Valley at Whole Foods. The ground chicken goes fast (I've had to call the butcher and they only get this delivered on Fridays-by Saturday they are mostly gone). While not the cheapest, it is very tasty and doesn't have chemicals (hormones and antibiotics).

How to Prepare?

I’ve pan-fried meatballs but don’t like the grease factor and the time it takes to pan-fry and continuously turn them. Recently on Diners, Drive Inns & Dives (Food Network), I saw these great meatballs that were baked. I’ve heard of baking meatballs but never tried it.

Baked chicken meatballs

Recipe:

Ingredients

½+ c. breadcrumbs

¼ c soy or non-dairy milk

Chopped parsley (optional)

Salt

Pepper

2 eggs

Hint of maggi (optional-it’s a German flavor type ingredient-sort like Worchester sauce or soy sauce)

1 tsp. organic onion flakes

½ tsp. organic garlic powder

½ tsp. salt

Some freshly ground pepper

1-2 tsp of 365 Organic Ketchup (not only is this ketchup healthier, but it also won in taste tests conducted by Chicago Tribune)-optional. I forgot to add this once and it still tasted great.

Paprika (to sprinkle on meatball after it's on baking sheet)

Pasta sauce (home made, or even a shortcut one)

16 oz. organic fettuccini (or another noodle)

Gently beat 2 eggs and combine with meatball ingredients (exclude pasta sauce and fettucini).

Line a pan with foil (if you can find non-stick) and spray with a cooking spray (I use Spectrum). Make balls (roughly walnut size-they will expand). Sprinkle lightly with paprika. Bake on 375 for about 30 minutes (may need to turn the meatballs about 2/3 into the cooking cycle).

Remove meatballs from oven and simmer with pasta sauce for about 15-20 minutes (or more if you have time).

Cook fettuccini a la dente (it’s not just a joke in the movie My Cousin Vinny). Most pasta I've eaten in restaurants is way too mushy.

Drain pasta, shock with cold water and reheat with some olive oil.

Serve hot fettuccini and pour meatball sauce over it.

There are no leftovers with this dinner.

Thanksgiving/Holiday Guide Part II

2011-12-15T23:12:00.011-06:00

My original intention was to add photos of the cooked food photographed in my prior blog entry along with recipes. Between work, daily obligations and so forth-I haven’t been able to get around to it. Better late than never…so I have the photos for most of the items. Instead of adding specific recipes for each, I will simply address some keypoints/highlights for making this a successful dish.

The Pumpkin pie (dairy free, made with organic pumpkin) was not photographed. It was attacked before we took any photos. Hopefully I will make another one soon. It’s fairly simple to make and tastes delicious. The ‘overflow’ of the filling that I made turned into pumpkin brulee.

So in the spirit of “it’s better to blog at some level than not to blog at all (and have the blog be totally outdated)”-here are some holiday pointers:

Stuffing:

Completely made from scratch. I baked a dill bread (added fresh chopped dill to the dough). Cube the bread and bake it on low heat (275) for a while (maybe 45 minutes) the day before Thanksgiving. Then the next day make the stuffing. There are many fresh stuffing recipes out there. The main points are to sauté and season the vegetables (with Earth Balance soy butter). Then in a very large bowl, mix the vegetables with the cubed bread. Pour some organic broth over it to moisten. I also add 2-3 beaten eggs. This mixture is then baked for about 45 minutes on 350 (covered). For the last 15 minutes I add some of the drippings from the turkey to improve the flavor and bake for another 15 minutes uncovered.

The stuffing is delicious. We also used it for a tofu casserole.

Turkey:

Once you brine you never go back….so I used Alton Brown’s Turkey brining recipe. I also use his recipe for roasting the turkey. Pointers such as put the turkey in for ½ hour at very high heat to get crispy skin are handy. I also like the turkey armor he makes with foil for preventing burns.

This method makes for such tender and tasty turkey. The drumsticks are not fibery or chewy at all. The breast meat is moist and yet cooked.

Traditional Sweet Potato Dish:

I refuse to use that Princella (or whatever it’s called) canned sweet potato. Instead, I use my Cuisinart food processor to thinly slice real sweet potatoes. I have refined a recipe for baking (brown sugar, a little Kahlua, soy milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, soy butter). For the last 10-15 minutes add the marshmallows. This year I used the mini ones.

Tofu Stuffing & Vegetable Casserole:

I can’t claim credit for this dish. It’s delicious. The main steps are sautéing some vegetables, seasoning them as you also make a great thickened sauce (roux). Separately fry tofu cubes. Layer just right, bake and sprinkle the top with Daiya cheese and breadcrumbs. This is Shanti’s signature dish.

Green Beans Dijonaise:

Another classis dish for us. No processed / canned green beans. Instead everything is fresh. The sauce consists of soy butter/dill/Dijon mustard.

Traditional mashed potatoes and gravy:

Again, all from scratch. Gravy is very simple to make…as the Vegan Black Metal Chef dramatically states: “Gravy is broth and fat.” I use the turkey drippings with organic free range chicken broth to make it.

Dessert:

Played around with the cupcakes as well as made a pumpkin pie (non dairy from organic pumpkin). I don’t have a photo of the pie. We were too impatient and forgot to take one.

The day after:

Turkey Soup:

Fresh soup made from the turkey carcass…delicious. Although it looks ‘fatty’ in this photo, I scrape the fat off. I served it with Hungarian vermicelli noodles and it was delicious.

Turkey Tetrazzini

I used to make this dish, but then stopped because we don’t consume dairy. This year I was able to make a delicious non-dairy version. Practically the same steps as the dairy version. Jordan had two servings (not typical). I need to make this again.

While cooking: Caviar and Alaskan Wild Sockeye Salmon

This was a treat for waiting. Quick snack-toffuti cream cheese on homemade bread, fresh dill. The paper plates-the dinner was going to generate a lot of dishes...and my dishwasher was broken.

Now it’s time to think about the Christmas meal. I bought the free natural (no antibiotics, vegetarian fed duck) today. The rest is yet to be figured out. Traditionally, in Budapest we had an elaborate dinner on Christmas Eve and then also more special meals on Christmas Day.

Thanksgiving / Holiday Guide – Part I

2011-11-20T23:09:00.011-06:00

First shopping trip - Whole Foods

As the holidays are approaching, there are certain ‘staples’ that I need to have a tasty yet healthy and allergen free Thanksgiving. Certain ingredients need to be acquired from Whole Foods and a few others. So today I shopped at Whole Foods for the fundamental ingredients: the turkey and some baking ingredients:

The turkey-I need a turkey that has no additives, no ‘pre basting’ – not stuffed with antibiotics, hormones…and it would be nice if the turkey was somewhat ethically treated:

Christmas I usually make duck (my son LOVES it)-again don't want an over processed duck that doesn't even taste like duck. Again, it is pricier than the cheaper frozen duck you find in typical grocery stores....

Since I'm at Whole Foods, I may as well pick up some uncured bacon and bratwurst (my son loves both-and I don't have to feel guilty about all the nitrites I'm feeding him):

My mother used to make great goose...I have yet to do this-but I need to make sure I master this technique before I make it - this goose is $100

Since I'm here I may as well pick up some drumsticks for oven baking (my son loves this)

When roasting turkey, chicken broth needs to be under the turkey rack...this is a reliable allergen free broth. Some may say why bother with free range? It turns out what's good for the animal is also good for your diet. Free range chickens eat a healthier diet, which ultimately affects the nutrients in the the chicken that humans consume.

How I spend 50% of my time in the grocery store-found a new product...read the ingredient list to make sure I see no dairy derivates (or shellfish, nuts and peanuts)-no casein, no whey, no lactic acid starter culture from dairy. I also have to read the allergen information on what type of facility the product is made to assess the risk of cross contamination.

In the "dairy section" - some great soy based butter (I can make the best desserts with this...no butter needed). The Tofutti cream cheese is dairy free and is great on bagels or as a base to wild salmon.

Free range organic eggs are more nutritious than the ones from the tortured chickens (again, being ethical has health benefits). They are higher in Omega 3s because of the diet of the chicken.

Regular Olive Oil has a lower frying temperature than this one. So this is an expeller pressed (less processed) canola oil.

I don't even like cranberries but these are good....

Reread ingredients EACH time...just in case they changed something

The 365 Organic Ketchup was rated the highest in a taste test conducted by Chicago Tribune. My son agrees...he no longer likes Heinz (which also is not composed of the best ingredients)-he now eats food just so he can have this ketchup with it.

This is the shortening I use for frosting and other baking...(combine with Earth Balance shortening for cookies though). NO crisco

What would Thanksgiving be without a pumpkin pie? Yes, one can have a dairy free creamy pumpkin pie....this is one of the ingredients.

Sometimes it's nice to have some ready made cookies though. Jovial cookies are delicious. They are made in Italy and are made with an old world flour. But mostly, they are delicious. Usually quite pricey, but today they are on sale....time to stock up.

Creamy sauces...need a thick milk substitute. This is one of my favorite ingredients for making cream sauces. Clearly dairy free, but also soy free (many are allergic to soy)

We also make some Tofu dishes...this is a fairly new discovery. I like it because: 1. it doesn't need draining and it's already firm, 2. I can use just part of it and put the rest back, 3. is higher in protein than the usual tofu.

And for a treat....caviar and wild salmon. This will make a great appetizer.

Now I still need to plan the menu...acquire the vegetables...and start cooking...brine the turkey, make bread for stuffing (best stuffing is 'made from scratch') and dig through my recipes-most likely pumpkin pie, mocha cake - all free of dairy.

Garlic breadsticks in the comfort of your home

2011-11-04T22:56:00.001-05:00

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about anything. I have plenty of new additions, I just have to take the time to write it down.

As I resume the blog, it’s best to start with a simple addition-garlic bread sticks. Some people go to Olive Garden for this. We all know that most restaurants will not use the most wholesome ingredients. The food is at best partially pre made and it’s not that fresh. When you cook at home, you are in control of the ingredients, flavor and hygiene. Yes, it’s more work….but we all know it’s better for you.

Recipe

Pizza dough/breadstick dough

Dough:

1 ½ cups of warm water

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 cups bread flour (I use Bob’s Redmill Organic non bleached flour)

2 ¼ tsp. dry yeast (package)

Use bread machine to knead dough

Breadsticks:

Preheat oven 375 (this is convection oven)

Take a cookie sheet and line with non stick foil paper

Make bread stick shapes and lay them out on cookie sheet

Lay them out on cookie sheet

Brush top with extra virgin olive oil

Put coarse kosher salt and garlic powder on top (not garlic salt)

At this point you can add other herbs if you choose….

Bake for about 25 minutes…but when top starts looking dry – about 20 minutes into it….take a pat of butter and run it over the breadstick top.

Bake until golden brown (total 25 minutes in convection oven)

And enjoy while warm.

Note: Pizza/bread stick dough can stay in the refrigerator for days; just make sure you bring it to room temperature before baking.

Why the paper plate? This was a nighttime snack while working and doing dishes wasn’t appealing.

Great Finds

2011-09-27T22:01:00.000-05:00

Nutella no more

I’m always looking for something new, something tasty and something that won’t cause health issues and always something that maybe replaces a food that Jordan lost due to allergies. Here is a recent mix of recent favorite finds

No nuts, not dairy and not hydrogenated NUTELLA like

One of the things my son misses the most is Nutella. But due to his dairy and nut allergies it’s not even a possibility.

This one took a long time to find. But this is safe for his allergies and is a vegan Nutella like item as well (no dairy).

It’s a Kosher PARVE chocolate spread that I found in the kosher section of Garden Fresh. I first discovered it at a kosher store when I was shopping for wheat/soy free items. When my son was off of wheat/soy-Kosher for Passover was a great option for his diet. These items were mostly available around Passover. The Kosher diet actually lends itself nicely to a diet that needs to cater to food allergies (and various dairy free options). You can find out more by researching Kosher diet, but in a Kosher diet you cannot mix meat and dairy. This is ideal for us.

Recently I did try Nutella-the fact is that it wasn’t as good as I remember. I like the flavor of rich dark chocolate and don’t like that flavor of milk chocolate. Nutella tasted too sweet and diluted. It’s what we are used to. Maybe by now they have a dark chocolate version. But as much as I love hazelnuts, I can’t bring them in the house due to my son’s allergies. This is a great substitute for Nutella. It would be great for crepes. My son loves it over white bread (homemade). Make sure you get the PARVE version (there is a non PARVE version that has dairy).

Wasabi without Sushi

This snack is for me. For anyone that loves wasabi , this is a nice way to get the wasabi flavor with a rice cracker. As you can tell by the label, not fried, nothing hydrogenated. It’s a flavorful snack. It is made in a facility with nuts, so only I eat this one.

Smart, tast and easy

This is another quick little snack. I love the flavor of wings. But we don’t go out for wings anymore, and I actually like the flavor more than the meat. It’s high in protein, not fat and very easy to make. The only bad part is that so far I can only find this in one store (Woodman’s) - safe for my son's allergies.

Taco Tuesday-one more version

Taco Tuesday-sometimes I use vegan chorizo or a non processed chorizo (see prior blog on tacos). Recently Whole Foods was sold out of both (I didn’t realize this blog had that many readers - J). So I picked up some low fat, kosher ground turkey instead. I didn’t expect this to taste so delicious. I’ve made turkey tacos before, but the flavor of this meat is great. It doesn’t have the gross side taste. There really is a difference.

Ancient wheat from Tuscany

These cookies are great and addictive. But they are not your typical overprocessed cookies. Also, they are not too sweet as most American cookies are. They are made with Einkorn wheat (not over processed wheat). Here is the ingredient list:

Organic Einkorn Flour, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Organic Eggs, Organic Cocoa, Leavening (Monocalcium Phosphate, Baking Soda), Salt. Contains wheat and eggs.

The cookies are crafted in Italy. Although they are made in a facility they state:

“We use milk, tree nuts and soy in our facility. Strict sanitary practices and batch testing prevent cross-contamination.”

They also make gluten free cookies. So far, I’ve only found these at Whole Foods. They also have an informative website.

This was the only food I could find for lunch at work....so it was a great find....at work.

Real - vegan or meat chorizo tacos for Taco Tuesday

2011-08-24T18:49:00.005-05:00

meat or veggie based ingredients

REAL Chorizo

Frying - with onion, giner and garlic

Veggie based chorizo (no loss of flavor)

Not high sodium/high fat processed cheese

American stye of taco (someone can't even wait for this photo to be taken)

Taco Tuesday is becoming an American institution. I see facebook status updates on Taco Tuesday activities. Of course many people opt for a local eatery for all you can eat tacos. Typically this involves ground beef and American style toppings along with some taco shells. But it’s best if one doesn’t start thinking about what’s really in the cheap deals. It’s cheap for a reason. Whether you like vegan tacos or meat tacos, making healthy tacos is not that difficult. A vegan chorizo or meat chorizo taco recipe is simple. You can easily set up a taco bar at home and have people prepare the tacos either American style of the authentic Mexican style (which is a filling of your choice, onions and cilantro…no cheese, no lettuce or tomatoes). Like any dish, a little conscious eating goes a long way. So what constitutes a healthier, yet tasty taco?

Mexican style-cilantro and onion with filling

Filling:

Vegan chorizo

Meat chorizo from the butcher (I get mine at Whole Foods)

This is a personal choice. I am not a vegan (but I wish I was as we all know the benefits of being one), so I try to vary it. Mostly I like making the vegan version, but my son still has a strong taste for meat. So the real chorizo is another alternative. This is not the sodium nitrate laden version you get from the grocery store for $3. Instead it is real sausage chorizo and it doesn’t have infinite shelf life. A lot of the additives of the processed food are added to prolong shelf life. As a consumer, you don’t need long shelf life. You can freeze things.

With respect to price, the two are about evenly priced. The real chorizo (from Whole Foods or a good butcher) will cost you about the same as two vegan packages. There is no way around this. The Yves veggie chorizo is not cross contaminated with my son’s allergens and it’s very clearly labeled, so we use this one (I buy it at Whole Foods). It does not have GMO ingredients. Even vegan food can be processed. So read the label.

For frying – I like to add chopped ginger. To me it adds a refreshing quality to the filling. Ginger is also great for digestion. I also add garlic-again great taste.

Taco Shells:

As far as the taco shells- use a quality brand that is not made from hydrogenated products. I use Garden of Eden Taco shells. They are made from organic blue corn and expeller pressed oil. My son likes crunchy tacos. I don’t buy the over processed soft tortillas you find in grocery stores. Many of the hard shell tacos contain hydrogenated ingredients and processed genetically modified (GMO) corn.

Vegetables, etc.:

I never add sour cream….I think it’s simply gross and takes away from the fresh flavor (personal taste). If I feel like adding some sort of creamier filling, then avocado/guacamole is the best option (again homemade, not the processed envelope variety-guacamole is very easy to make).

I actually prefer just onions and cilantro. When the chorizo (either one) filling is fried with ginger, onions and garlic, it already is well flavored.

My son of course loves the cheese. Since he is allergic to dairy (and over processed shredded cheese is not good anyways, high in fat and sodium), I use Daiya ‘cheese.’ This is not a soy-based product, so even people allergic to soy can consume it. Even if there was no dairy allergy, I would still use this product instead of the unhealthy processed shredded cheese you find in the supermarket.

The technique is fairly simple-here are some key points for this chorizo taco recipe:

Vegan chorizo filling:

· Since it’s already cooked, pan fry ginger and onion (until translucent) and add a little crushed or chopped garlic for the last few minutes. Add the chorizo and heat through.

Meat chorizo filling recipe:

· fry the meat on medium high heat in a tiny amount of expeller pressed canola oil and drain most of the juices it renders.

· Add onion and fry for about 5 minutes more; add garlic.

Typically chorizo is already well flavored so you don’t need to add spices. But you can add cumin or some other spice if you prefer the flavor. You can also add chopped cilantro for the last minute (if you eat the Mexican style then just add cilantro straight to the taco).

Heat the taco shells for about 5 minutes at 350.

This is very simple and healthy. One of the easiest dinners I make.

Lay out the ingredients on the counter (much like restaurants do…except you won’t have gross spoon handles that everyone touched falling into the food)

Let your guests/family prepare the tacos as they choose. You can add your own salsa or an organic brand (I don’t).

In addition to the health benefits of making tacos at home, you may get to know your family/children/friends better. With hectic schedules and eating out, dinner conversations are becoming extinct. Yes, meals and conversation are still critical to developing and maintaining relationships.

With respect to costs, it will not cost more than having a taco dinner in a restaurant. And the quality of the food will be radically better. As much as I love to eat out, I know that I don’t control the quality of the ingredients or the hygiene when I eat out. Would it be great to go to a restaurant that serves this quality of taco? Yes, but the restaurant would have to charge a lot more than its lower quality competitors and unfortunately people would not be willing to pay more. So making a higher quality dinner at home is a better option.

The refreshing taste of the Mediterranean - Rose Water Lemonade

2011-08-16T17:57:00.001-05:00

Organic lemonade and rosewater

With my strong love for Middle Eastern cuisine, music and beverages, this is a summer treat. In the winter, it’s Turkish coffee or mint tea but after a little time in the sun, I needed something to cool off with. The choices were typical soft drink, water, club soda, some form of ice tea. No, I didn’t want any alcoholic beverages – I actually find these choices more refreshing and I need to finish a work project.

Rose water lemonade is heavenly. Most Middle Eastern restaurants serve it. This simple and delicious beverage is available at the Egyptian booth at International folk fest and Arab World Fest.

I happened to have some organic strawberry lemonade available and I always have rose water. Rose water is a great addition to Middle Eastern desserts as well as Indian desserts. For example, the popular Indian dessert Gulab Jamun has rose water; gulab means rose.

This is so simple. Fill up a glass with ice, pour in lemonade of you choice (not an over sweetened one) and add rosewater to taste, stir and enjoy. I’m not a big lemonade drinker….but rosewater makes a huge difference.

(note: you can find rosewater in the middle eastern section of most grocery stores these days)

5 things I love about Door County

2011-08-09T18:36:00.002-05:00

Door County is the peninsula in Northeastern Wisconsin. The first time I visited Door County was with my parents as a fairly new teenager. We went with another family and had a great time. We only stayed a few days.

A few years ago I was trying to figure out where I could find a decent vacation spot that isn’t crowded or over commercialized and has reasonable prices as well.

So I found the place: Door County, specifically Gills Rock….as north as we can go in Door County. We went and it was better than I remembered.

Why? Here are 5 reasons why

1. The sunsets

Without question the best sunsets around here. I am somewhat obsessed with sunsets because when I was a child in Budapest, my dad had a great job that included the perk of Summers at Lake Balaton in the company’s resort. Beautiful sunsets were part of those summers. Since then, I never really got to enjoy it. Milwaukee/Shorewood is on the West side of Lake Michigan….so no sunsets. I guess I’m just not a sunrise person. Sunsets are moodier and are more introspective for me. Of course I’m not a morning person anyways. The sunsets are the best. Each town has its feel – each town has a different view and sound.

2. The sense of another era

Walking to the Gallery/CoffeeShop

I feel like I’m in an older America during good times

Absence of franchises beyond Sturgeon bay. No McDonald’s, No Applebee’s and this leads to the next reason.

3. Great food

Where else can you find goats on a roof? Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant (Sister Bay) is an old fashioned Swedish restaurant (as the name suggests). Iced tea tastes so much better out of pewter mugs and so does lingonberry sauce. Swedish meatball breakfast special is a favorite. And this year my son ate there multiple times. We had an excellent waitress (they all dress in Dirndl dresses) who suggested that he could have a hamburger prepared on a different area of the kitchen. Although they use peanut oil, he ate there safely two different times and LOVED it. Another restaurant, Shipwrecked (Egg Harbor) also was able to meet our needs. Pulled pork with tropical coleslaw (coconut milk); I don’t even like coleslaw and this was delicious. For us, there was delicious Cherry Wheat ale. Al Capone used to hide here.

When it’s warm, you can sit outside and enjoy. Gills Rock has The Shoreline, which has amazing sunsets also.

Charlie’s Smokehouse has the best-smoked whitefish I ever had (and Jordan can have it too). A walk from our cottage, it’s an event to walk down, buy some fish and go back and eat in the beautiful surrounding.

When we don’t eat out, we make dinner. Now one could complain that why cook when on vacation. When you have a child with food allergies, it’s bound to happen. And grilling with the lake as your view (we stayed in a great cottage) is not something to complain about. Making omelets as you’re watching the lake through the windows…..not that hard.

4. Boating

I don’t own a boat, but when we are there I rent a speed boat several times. Not the cheapest activity but still cheaper than buying a boat. We have fun, speed and beauty. This boat is from Sister Bay Marina.

5. As close as I get to relaxing

I don’t like to be on a schedule when on vacation. And that’s exactly what I get when in Gills Rock…no schedules. Other than making it on time to places before they close is all that’s expected. Everything is an event and everything is laid back. Consequently people are nice and not crabby.

Typically, we start the morning at Gallery Ten in Gills Rock; a mere walk from the cottage. So it’s a great walk, coffee, and wifi. The gallery has beautiful things and the building is even unique. The mugs are unique pottery ones …which is another favorite….I love the pottery that is inspired by nature…..not overly processed or finished.

Each town has its own flavor: Egg Harbor and Fish Creek are a bit busier (not busy-it’s all relative), Ephraim and Sister Bay become more laid back (we spend a lot of time in Sister Bay). Gills Rock is the most laid back and least busy. Nature and sunsets at their purest.

Maybe I need to return this fall, until then I will just be nostalgic. But I also need to add “5 more reasons why I love Door County.” I was going through some photos for this blog entry and I realized that 5 reasons are not enough. The whole trip starts with a stop at the winery, to be included in next 5.

All salmon is not created equal....not for taste or health benefit

2011-08-03T21:28:00.001-05:00

Delicious salmon

I know a lot of people who state how they eat healthy now and include salmon in their diet.

Salmon is healthier than many meat protein due to the ‘good fat’ in salmon and Omega 3s. Most people already know this.

But farmed salmon is not as healthy (rich in Omega 3s) as wild salmon. Without going into too much detail, the diet and lifestyle of the wild salmon causes it to have more Omega 3s.

But there is yet another reason to eat wild salmon, it tastes SO MUCH better.

I love smoked salmon and salmon in sushi. But baked/broiled salmon is not one of my favorites. Good, I know I should eat it, but I like some other fish more. Until yesterday this was true.

Last night I made the easiest salmon dish and it tasted phenomenal. Why? Because it was wild sockeye salmon. I enjoyed every bite and literally savored the flavor.

I was at Whole Foods and was looking at some of the 365 brand fish. I have to be very careful with what fish I buy because my son is allergic to shellfish. So cross contamination is a concern. I don’t buy fish from the fish section of a store.

This package had no warnings and I thought, “Well I should make it, it’s good for you.”

I made it last night, not expecting the best flavor. I’m going back to buy more.

The recipe was simple (on the back of the package).

Preheat oven to 275

Season with salt, pepper (I added a little paprika…Hungarian thing)

Oil a shallow baking pan

Place salmon with skin side down

Bake for about 12-14 minutes (until cooked through)

Pour ginger/lemon/soy butter (or butter) sauce over it (see below)

Raise rack

Broil for about 2 minutes

Serve

Sauce:

Melt about 3 tbs soy butter (I don’t consume dairy , my son is allergic to it but if you insist on using butter it’s fine….but what I Iike about soy butter is that it doesn’t overpower the flavor of the salmon-when I did use butter I used Plugra which is a European style butter-had a very clean butter flavor)

Add about 1-2 tbsp. fresh minced ginger

About 3 tbs fresh lemon juice (they ask for 2, I think it needed 3-4)

Very healthy, quick and so tasty. What more can one ask for? Well yes, it’s not the cheapest food……but it was around the price of a family of three eating ‘value’ meals at McDonald’s. Nobody was bloated; I served it turmeric basmati rice. It was also a lot cheaper than eating farmed salmon at a restaurant (which isn’t as healthy).

Quick, no, not fast food –it’s Garlic Chicken with Eggplant

2011-07-25T22:22:00.001-05:00

Garlic Eggplant Chicken - final state

Stir fry eggplant until it gets soft

sauce ingredients

fried rice - eggs

fried rice..break up and cook

Chicken stir fry part (added after ginger)

After I got home from work I wanted to take a break and catch up on emails, facebook (yes, I admit it), news and music. I know I should have gone straight to cooking because once I sit down I risk not cooking a great dinner. Not that every dinner needs to be ‘great’-but with a growing child (add food allergies) I do need to make a healthy and tasty dinner. Given the recent five-day power outage, I am out of some key ingredients. The purchase of a portable generator allowed me to save some things. One of these items was free range chicken breast. Most of my ingredients come from Whole Foods or other specialty stores and my stock has not been replenished. I also haven’t had a chance to go grocery shopping for the usual this week, so I really had to make do with what was available at home (not much).

I love Chinese eggplant dishes (especially at P.F. Chang’s). I had some eggplant that I originally purchased for a Mediterranean dish that I never got around to cooking.

It was getting late so I didn’t want to make something that will take forever. “She was moving like a woman possessed,” according to one observer. But a great dinner was cooked…and it disappeared faster than it took to make (which is a big thing….if my son doesn’t like something, he drags). The key ingredients to this dinner were:

Eggplant

Boneless chicken breast (if you are a vegetarian, substitute a well prepared tofu)

Garlic

Ginger

Green onions

Rice

Eggs (because I like fried rice more than plain rice…and a growing child needs his protein)

A sauce composed of:

Soy sauce

Vegetarian stir fry sauce (vegetarian version of oyster sauce and a lot less salty….my son is allergic to shellfish, but actually I prefer this to oyster sauce and ask for this substitution at restaurants….tastes a lot less salty)

Sesame oil (only added at end for flavor…this is not a cooking oil)

Chicken broth (can use vegetable broth)

I don’t measure anything and mostly do this visually. I’ve made Chinese food for years, so I move fairly fast. I wish I had a better stove (higher heat) but it still works.

First slice (across, through) the chicken breast in Chinese style pieces

Take about

¼ c of organic soy sauce

¼ c of rice vinegar

½ tsp (again approximate) cornstarch

½ c of a good oil (canola or regular olive oil-not extra virgin that will overpower all flavors)

stir before you add the oil, then add the oil

put the chicken in a zip lock bag and pour marinade over it.

Let sit while you work on the other part

Now, multitask to the max

Dice an eggplant (the garlic, ginger and green onions can be chopped while the eggplant is frying)

Pour some oil into a wok (I use expeller pressed 365 brand Canola-it’s a good frying oil)

Stir fry the diced eggplant on high heat for 5-8 minutes until it looks softened

Stir some stir fry sauce into it….remove from wok and set asid

Stir fry finely chopped ginger (2-3 tbs) for 1 minute

Add the marinated chicken (without the liquid)

Stir fry on the highest heat possible and wait until it turns white – stirring constantly,

You may need to remove some of the liquid the chicken renders with a spoon (take it off the fire and quickly remove some of the extra liquid). During the last minute add the finely chopped garlic –garlic should never be overcooked…..stir constantly

Add the eggplant (that was already made)

Add soy sauce; stir fry sauce and some chicken broth. I don’t measure this, but the key is to get a nice consistency that is not too salty. The low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth) will dilute the saltiness. The stir fry sauce provides a rich flavor and creaminess to the sauce and soy, of course provides a soy flavor. Again, I use non genetically modified soy sauce.

Add some finely sliced green onions and stir

Add some sesame oil for flavor and stir

Garnish with green onions

If you have other vegetables on hand….you can add it to the vegetable stir frying

Put in a serving dish

Take some cooked rice (usually I like to to cook the day before..it fries better, but this was a last minute dinner)

Beat three ' non cage vegetarian fed’ eggs (higher in Omega 3s)

Add some oil to the frying pan

Once hot, add the beaten eggs

On high heat add the eggs and let it cook (this will be the shredded egg in fried rice)

Add some of the finely sliced green onions (or other vegetables…I was out) and stir

Add the rice and break up (still high heat)

Once broken up add some soy sauce and continue to use a break up motion

Note: don’t add too much soy sauce, most restaurants add too much soy sauce, don’t try to match the color…a good fried rice is not too dark

Cook for a few minutes on very high heat

Add some sesame oil –stir for a minute and turn off heat

Garnish with green onions

This dinner really took hardly any time to cook (took longer to write this blog with typos).

A healthy, tasty quick dinner that is NOT fast food. I really liked the eggplant in this dish. I make all kinds of Chinese dishes, but given how much I like eggplant, this is one of my favorites. I typically use more vegetables but the five day power outage and lack of time didn’t allow that this time. However, eggplant is a pretty powerful vegetable so it provides a lot of flavor. I will also try to make a meatless version of this with a well prepared (non GMO) tofu. I’m working on fine tuning a five spice tofu (yes, inspired by P.F. Chang’s firm five spice tofu in their vegetarian lettuce wraps).

Three common problems solved

2011-06-21T22:44:00.002-05:00

I haven’t blogged for a while because I’ve been real busy and I’ve also been creating some new dishes. Variety is the spice of life. So I decided to take on some food items that I really thought needed some fine-tuning.

Singapore noodles with some crispy tofu

Tofu

Issue

Solution

Non genetically modified (GMO) tofu is very healthy (soy in its natural form, not processed). I’ve only eaten tofu in one restaurant where I like the tofu’s consistency (5 spice tofu at P.F. Chang’s). In other places it tends to be mushy. Some people like to bake tofu to get the watery consistency out (after it’s drained)-I’ve done this and it works well. But I’ve been looking for another flavor.

Last night I finally got it to the consistency and flavor I want.

I got it to have the texture of Indian paneer (without dairy) . It was the first time that Jordan cleared out all the tofu in his Chinese dish.

First, it needs to be drained well. I buy the extra firm, non genetically modified Nasoya brand. I’ve struggled to find the best draining technique (without having things topple over). I’ve finally found an effective way to drain it too. I’ll write up the technique (simple) soon.

I also pan fry it with a little corn starch sprinkled and some turmeric-this gives it that crispy texture. It also gives it the perfect consistency and flavor. And it’s a lot like pan fried Indian paneer (which I used to make from scratch before my non dairy days)

Bratwurst

Issue

Solution

Can taste great, but it’s unhealthy. I don’t want to feed my child nitrites, fillers, fat and all kinds of food like ingredients that really aren’t food. Yes, an occasional bratwurst won’t kill you. But why not eliminate the bad ingredients completely?

I recently found a new brand of sausages at Whole Foods (see photo). They make knockwurst, bratwurst, etc. There is no dairy (more commonly lactic acid starter derived from dairy) and no nitrites, fillers, etc. My son loves meat, so I have to consciously feed him the best meat I can find prepared in a tasty way.

There are two methods I use to make this bratwurst.

During the winter months, I make it indoors. I parboil it (more for flavor) in New Glarus Bock beer. Then grill it inside.
During the summer months, I grill it outside

I serve it with Hungarian style cabbage.

Home made pizza with no dairy

Pizza

Issue

Solution

Commercial pizza tends to be high in sodium and fat. Of course for us, no dairy, so that leaves out all pizzas from restaurants (at least around my area….I’m sure there are vegan pizzas in some unique restaurants but not in my neighborhood). Schools often have pizza parties so I always have to send a pizza for my son so he doesn’t feel bad when he smells the pizza.

If I have no time to make a fresh one, the quick solution is a Tofurky pizza (they are really good). But these pizzas tend to serve just one.

The other alternative, especially for travel (cold pizza is good too) is a homemade pizza.....completely homemade. Given economies of scale, we make two and save some. These pizzas can be customized. I use generous portions of Daiya cheese (that melts like cheese), sauce, Applegate (no nitrite) pepperoni (or not), garlic, basil, etc. If I don’t have time, I use organic pasta sauce. The pizzas are baked in special pizza pans with the small holes on the bottom for maximum crispiness.

I'll be posting more.

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Looks and smells like a real creamy strawberry smoothie….

2011-06-01T23:08:00.002-05:00

It tastes at least as good as it looks

ingredients

...and it is.

I’ve been seeing all kinds of great photos of smoothies recently, including the ones from some famous fast foods. The photos do look good. But we all know that the fast food smoothie is most likely artificial.

Since I am staying away from dairy for health reasons…and my son has to, I’ve tried to find a good blend of alternatives to dairy.

In my case, I found the best mix to be a blend of Silk Soy and So Delicious coconut milk. These two alternatives are very creamy. I also used a cup of So Delicious non flavored yogurt.

To boost nutrients, I also added wheat germ. While wheat germ may not sound appealing, it is a good way to pack nutrients into the drink. I also added 1 tsp. of Acacia honey. This is so simple and can be customized to your taste and available fruits. The amazing color is real….not artificial.

Recipe

1.25 cups blend of silk soy/so delicious coconut milk

2 heaping tsp. wheat germ (optional)

1 tsp. honey
1 container of So Delicious plain yogurt (coconut based)

one container of strawberries (or mix with other fruits) trimmed and quartered

9 ice cubes

Even my son liked it and he is very hard to please. To me this tastes so much better than its dairy counterpart. And of course if you are allergic to dairy (as my son), there is no sacrifice in the texture or flavor.

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A Birthday Cake …made for me

2011-05-19T22:56:00.000-05:00

A cake baked for me for my birthday...delicious and allergen free

As most of my blog entries, this one is about food. And as most food, it’s not just caloric intake to satisfy some basic hunger.

For various reasons, my birthday celebration with my daughter was a few days early. Instead of getting some dessert that was store bought (which a tough find because I really don’t consume dairy) and would exclude Jordan (due to his food allergies), she made a birthday cake for me. Because it’s allergen free, Jordan could also eat this cake. She couldn’t buy commercial decorator icing (never know if they are cross contaminated). Instead, I got unique candles.

I haven’t had a birthday cake baked for me since I was a teen (baked by my mother). After that I got cakes from bakeries (some real good ones). Then once my son’s food allergies kicked in, that also ended. I wouldn’t celebrate with a cake he couldn’t eat and I wouldn’t bake a cake for myself (pathetic).

Cherrybrook Kitchen is a family owned business (inspired by their daughter with multiple food allergies). The mixes are made in a dedicated facility that is free of dairy, nuts, tree nuts and eggs (so no worries about cross contamination). So if you are not big on baking, this is a great substitute for making a cake from scratch. Or if you hope that a family member or friend will bake you a cake for a change, drop a hint about Cherrybrook Kitchen.

After being surprised by this homemade cake, I realized that I do prefer a homemade cake to a store bought one. There is a lot more thought and effort that goes into it.

Cherrybrook Kitchen cake and frosting for people who are not expert bakers but do want to make someone feel good

(note: the frosting mix was made with Spectrum)

Sunday Smell of Someone Frying Chicken*

2011-05-15T16:53:00.001-05:00

Oven Fried Chicken

My 'substitute for buttermilk

basic ingredients (the stock is for the balsamic red cabbage dish)

the buttermilk substitute

One of the many sidedishes you can add...European style red cabbage with wine and caraway seeds

Final product

Nothing goes to waste....great easy to make chicken stock with the rest

I have not blogged for a while because I’ve been so busy. Yet, I have all these photos we’ve been taking while I cook, but just haven’t had time to update the words to go with it (the recipe and a list of ingredients).

I’ve recently read “Food Rules” by Michael Pollan. This is an excellent book that reemphasizes to the reader that we should just stick to real food, not ‘food like’ edible things (processed food). It’s an easy read with some great rules. The book also reminds us that ‘nutritional science’ is new and not much is known. So instead of getting overly technical, the book lists some basic time proven food rules.

So, it’s Sunday. Isn’t Sunday Fried Chicken American tradition? I know it was sort of Hungarian tradition (at least back in Budapest in my home….unfortunately when we came here, my parents discovered Popeye’s, KFC and Church’s….not good).

Real fried chicken isn’t really all that bad for you when it’s real. I haven’t met one person (who eats meat) that doesn’t love fried chicken. But because it’s deep-fried it’s somewhat fattening.

So how can one still have fried chicken without clogging their arteries and all that bad stuff? Basic food rule: eat real food. Fried chicken from a franchise is very unhealthy. For example, they reuse the oil that lends carcinogen qualities to the oil. They use over processed ingredients and horrible factory farmed chicken that due to its diet doesn’t even have nutrients that chicken has (grass fed is always better).

So here are some simple ways to get your friend chicken without the carcinogens and artery clogging qualities of franchise fried chicken.

Use real chicken-I buy organic free range chicken-the nutrients in this chicken differ from mass processed chicken. Yes, it costs more. But I wait for sales on such chicken. And as Michael Pollan discusses in his book-eat less! So ultimately it will not cost more. Balance out the chicken meal with vegetables and other things.

Oven fry-you can still get that oil-fried flavor if you oven fry. With just a few tricks, it will taste a lot like deep-fried. Plus with the flavor of real chicken (yes it does taste different)-your taste buds won’t rely so much on that oil flavor. Instead, you will actually enjoy the flavor of the chicken too.

Use parts of the chicken for making great chicken stock (this again will help you reduce the cost of the meal).

Customize the breading to your tastes/preferences.

Don’t eat the whole chicken by yourself – instead, balance it out with exciting vegetable side dishes.

Some friends tell me “I can’t afford organic chicken,” yet they can afford premium beers and drinks. It’s just not a priority. This is most likely because they cannot see the benefit of eating real wholesome meat vs. the cheaper mass-produced ones. Another way to look at it is that eating out is not cheap. If you add up the cost of wholesome friend chicken at home (made with real chicken), it is around the price of eating out, but it’s real food. I like to eat out, but I usually have less ‘unexplained’ stomach upsets when I eat at home. I know the ingredients, I control what to use and how much. And of course home cooking is so much cleaner…..

Oven Fried Chicken Recipe

One real chicken (free range, no antibiotics, no hormones)

Some coconut milk (this is my substitute for buttermilk)

A few cloves of garlic

Paprika

Cut up chicken – I leave the skin on for most pieces except the breast. Since I tend to eat the breast, I debone it and take the skin off. Jordan, who is a growing kid, can handle the fat from the skin.

Soak the chicken in some coconut milk with paprika, pepper and garlic (and any other flavor you might like).

Bread the chicken

This too is variable. I like to bread in organic whole wheat flour, real eggs and a mix of corn meal/matzo meal with oregano. Sometimes I use bread crumbs (finally found some without dairy cross contamination warning) or panko. Putting some Dijon mustard in the eggs can provide for a slight hint of Dijon mustard flavor.

My breading technique is the traditional European breading for schnitzel, etc.

Dip in: Flour-->eggs (beaten) -->breading

After breading it, I put the breaded pieces on a foiled broiler rack (see photo). I cut little slits where the broiler slits are so that the chicken drains while baking. Then I take some oil (by hand) and work it into the coating of the chicken (pat it into it). This will give it that nice fried flavor.

Bake on 420 for about 45 minutes. The high heat gives it a crispy texture (if you oiled it well). If it’s going too rapidly, reduce the heat (after 15 minutes) and prolong the baking time (I use a convection oven-and all ovens differ….so the heat/duration will have to be fine tuned). It is important to initially put it in at high heat though. This will ensure that you get the crispy quality. If you start baking at 350 it will not be crispy.

I also made chicken stock from the bottom part…so nothing goes to waste.

And like Johnny Cash, you too can catch that Sunday smell of someone frying chicken* (you).

*Sunday Morning Coming Down, Johnny Cash

Heavenly Homemade Hummus

2011-03-29T23:23:00.006-05:00

run food processor and drop garlic cloves in

One lemon is usually enough...also use a very high quality olive oil (you do get what you pay for)

Fine tune as you process

Add fresh lemon juice
(DO NOT USE 'realemon' bottled lemon juice)

The whipped/creamy consistency that we like

My 11 year old recipe from Bon Appetit magazine that I've fine tuned

drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle
with some authentic paprika

serve (again, drizzle with EVOO and paprika sprinkle)
with some hot pita bread
(don't serve with cold pita bread)

Hummus is one of the healthiest (and even cheap) foods – yet it’s so good and there is nothing to feel guilty about.

I don’t like store bought ones-they taste dry and not very flavorful. Fresh (no more than two days old) homemade hummus is the best. Many Middle Eastern restaurants make their own hummus and the fresh taste is just like homemade. I prefer a fairly whipped/creamy consistency for hummus-this allows the subtle flavors to be showcased and not be overcome by a dry texture.

Many people like to make variations of this. I like the old fashioned, traditional hummus. Some cultures make it with fava beans also.

Hummus Recipe

2 15 ½ ounce cans of garbanzo beans drained (save a little water for part of the water for mixing (or one 29 ounce can)

½ cup water (mixed with garbanzo bean can liquid)-will add more later (to taste)

½ cup tahini (it helps to bring tahini to room temperature so you add a consistent mix of this as it tends to separate when refrigerated)

½ cup (but will add more) Extra Virgin Olive Oil (you really get what you pay for with olive oil-the cheap extra virgin olive oils aren’t even real-caveat emptor)

1 heaping teaspoon of ground cumin

3 cloves of garlic

1 lemon

Run garlic through food processor (have the food processor running and throw in garlic cloves-turn off when all crushed).

Put garbanzo beans along with all other ingredients, pulse first and then run food processor for a few minutes. At this point you will need to fine tune this recipe. As I mentioned, I like hummus that has a slightly whipped consistency (many restaurants and store bought ones are too dense and the flavor beyond the garbanzo beans doesn’t come through). I add extra virgin olive oil as the food processor runs and a little more water. Then I add the lemon juice (roll the lemons before squeezing – this makes it easier to squeeze the juice out). If after adding the lemon juice it’s still too dense, add a little more extra virgin olive oil and a bit water (again the consistency is a matter of preference).

Transfer to serving plates/bowl-drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle a bit of real Hungarian paprika on it (this is how most middle eastern restaurants serve it). Serve with some warmed up pita bread (the fresher the better).

Hummus is an extremely healthy dish. Another side benefit of homemade hummus for us is that Jordan can eat it! It's not cross contaminated with dairy, nuts, etc.

Don’t feel like cooking – make some convenient homemade food

2011-03-24T22:04:00.004-05:00

Lo Mein Noodles with pan fried tofu and vegetables

The quality of the ingredients does make a difference

It was an “I don’t feel like cooking night.” A long week (still not done) combined with some other things led me to not really wanting to cook. I don’t have the option to carry out because of Jordan’s food allergies, but even without food allergies we all know the carry out food is processed food with bad ingredients and we should refrain as much as we can from breaking down and giving into it.

Initially, I was going to try to make a really fast dinner but had no idea what to cook (because nothing made from scratch is that fast). Half the battle was walking into the kitchen. Once in the kitchen I thought maybe some sort of Chinese style noodle for Jordan would work (I’m not even that hungry and there were leftovers). So I created this fairly quick, on the fly, dinner. I wasn’t in the mood for meat (plus nothing was thawed out).

Get the bland out

I don’t like mushy and bland tofu. There are two ways to eliminate the bland mushiness. First, after squeezing the liquid out (there are many techniques for this-I put a plate with some weight over it), marinate the tofu. Second, pan-fry the tofu on high heat. During the last 5 minutes of the pan-frying, drizzle cornstarch on the different sides and this will give a little brown crust.

Another ingredient that is useful for this style of cooking is 365 Organic Expeller Pressed Canola Oil. This oil has a much higher frying temperature than extra virgin olive oil and it doesn’t have a strong domineering taste either. Instead, this oil will let the flavors of the ingredients dominate. Expeller pressed oils retain most of their nutrients including valuable Omega 3 (alpha linolenic acid) and 6 (linoleic acid) essential fatty acids. Canola oil is a rich source of vitamin E, an important dietary antioxidant. Canola oil also contains the lowest amount of total saturated fat of commonly consumed vegetable oils. You can do more research on this, but regular vegetable oil is highly processed. The Kadoya sesame oil is not a cooking oil and is used for flavoring the dish.

RECIPE

Tofu Mushroom Lo Mein Noodles

Grab about 2" around Lo mein noodles (this is approximate)

1.5 cups thinly sliced shitake mushrooms

1 large can of straw mushroom (optional)

5-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

small can of sliced water chestnuts

¼ cup. organic soy sauce (I used 365 brand – I don’t use genetically modified soy)

2-3 tspb. cornstarch

3+ tbs. vegan oyster sauce (vegetarian stir fry sauce)

(if not allergic to shellfish or not vegan you can use oyster sauce-oyster sauce is very salty)
about 1 cup of chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

1 tsp. unprocessed cane sugar

extra firm Nasoya tofu with water pressed out

1/3 cup (approximate) 365 Expeller pressed canola oil

drizzle of Kadoaya Sesame Oil

Dice tofu and marinate in about ¼ cup of soy sauce in a zip lock bag for about ½ hour.

make a small slurry of 1.5 tbs. corn starch and water

boil lo mein noodles in salted water for about 10 minutes, drain and set aside.

chop all vegetables

Pan fry tofu in oil on high heat; be careful not to break the tofu. As the tofu browns (after about 5 minutes) sprinkle cornstarch on it and turn over so that the corn starch roasts. Drizzle more cornstarch on the tofu and turn. This will make the outside of the tofu a little crispy. Take tofu out and put on a plate.

Stir fry vegetables (can add other vegetables like water chestnuts or baby corn etc.) for about 5 minutes over medium high heat.

Add chopped garlic and fry for one minute

Add stir soy sauce and stir, add stir fry sauce and add chicken stock until it gets to the right flavor (about 1 cup-without stock it will be too salty).
Pour cornstarch slurry into the liquid part (in a wok you can move the vegetables to the side) as the liquid burns. The corn starch will thicken the boiling liquid. Once thickened, add the noodles and toss thoroughly. Mix thoroughly on high heat and noodles will steam.

Add tofu back
add sesame oil (this is at the end for flavor and heat on high heat).

Drizzle chopped green onion on top

Serve

(note: This can also be made with chicken or other meat also. I prefer to marinate the meat Asian style)

Bodylicious Bacon Brunch

2011-03-19T12:28:00.002-05:00

365 Organic uncured bacon from whole foods

This is how it looks when you take it out
of the oven
-looks 'not done,' but it is

Pat dry and let it sit for a few minutes, now it is done

....bacon that won't kill you

I don’t like bacon, I never did. But my 12 year old son LOVES bacon. So I have to make bacon for him. He’s not alone, a lot of people seem to love bacon…they love bacon flavor.

I can’t make the typical bacon for him for two reasons: 1. I know bacon is not healthy between the fat and nitrites; I can’t feed this to my child with a clear conscience. 2. Most bacon has lactic acid derived from dairy. So that’s out for us.

So here is another situation where the EE and food allergies led me to a healthier option. Get the flavor without carcinogens.

I found organic bacon at Whole Foods (365 brand) that is uncured with no nitrites that tastes as good as any bacon, or even better (I do taste tests and the bacon lovers at home tell me that this is the best bacon they’ve had). Yes, from a monetary standpoint it is more expensive than your run of the mill bacon, but you will not be paying for this bacon with your body (cancer, etc.).

This is a very simple recipe, smells great and tastes great. There is no dairy derivate in it and I don’t have to feel bad about knowingly feeding my child garbage. So even if he didn’t have dairy allergies, I would continue with this version of bacon.

The recipe is fairly simple, and smells great too. You could vary the recipe by brushing a little maple (real) syrup on top for the last 5 minutes. I’ve read and tried a lot of bacon recipes. Some put the bacon on a rack….this is a mess and also results in a really long dishwashing project. I find parchment paper works the best.

Recipe:

1 12 oz. pack 365 Organic brand Uncured Smokehouse bacon (see photo)

Wilton parchment paper

Roasting pan (I love the Food Network one-great for roasting potatoes)

Preheat oven to 400

Line out roasting pan with parchment paper

Line up bacon-don’t overlap

Bake for about 20-25 minutes (keep checking, ovens vary)

Take out of oven, use tongs to place bacon on a paper towel lined plate and pat dry with paper towels.

Let it rest for a few minutes so it can harden.

Coffee Shop Creativity

2011-03-18T13:29:00.001-05:00

Why am I more creative, calm and productive at a coffee shop than elsewhere?

As I’m waiting for some service on my car, I decided to work from the Starbucks across the street from the dealer. I brought plenty of work to do. I have lots of emails to read through and some projects to plan.

Working seems totally effortless here. I always enjoy working at Starbucks; whether it’s my job related work or even just personal computer type activity. It doesn’t feel like work.

So I started thinking (I actually think here) why is this. Is it the music? Is it seeing people come and go? Is it the sound of the coffee grinding or the smell of freshly brewed coffee? It’s probably a combination of all these things to a point. But I think the main reason I’m more focused, calm and productive here is that there are no reminders of my daily stressors-or at least they are minimal. It’s just a world of my computer, my work, my extra hot soy latte and me. No reminders that I have to rush to a meeting, or that I don’t have enough daylight in my work area or drifting into a conversation I’m overhearing. Even from home, no reminders that I better get my roof inspected, or that that some of the carpeting should be replaced, or that the house needs cleaning and painting, or that my property taxes are going through the roof, or the endless list of things that are in the back of my mind all the time. I did handle realities about life here also by taking calls during my 'coffee shop work session,' but I was able to calmly focus and not get lost in my world of stress. It’s almost time for the phone call stating that the car is ready. I’m not looking forward to it.

No wonder J. K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter in a coffee shop...and look at her life now.

2011 A Canine Odyssey

2011-03-06T14:08:00.004-06:00

Sylar on the 2011 Canine Odyssey

We have the first scene from 2001 Space Odyssey happening at home. I recently bought a new type of kong toy. It looks like the usual kong toy-but it’s huge and not for chewing. You put treats in it and there is a small opening on the side. The point is to roll it around and at the right angle the treats fall out.

The monolith

So I added the favorite dog treats inside. Once unrolled, I felt like I was watching the monolith scene (with the apes) from the movie. After wondering what it was (yet they could smell treats)-they treated it like it was a totally alien object. The largest dog (Athena) tried to dominate it by sitting by it. She didn’t quite get it, but had to dominate it. I showed them that treats fall out of it. They still kept looking at it, as if it was the monolith in 2001 Space Odyssey. After I did some ‘refereeing,’ Sylar (smallest dog) is the most curious and is constantly trying to figure out what to do with this. I wonder if Sylar will invent a tool now…..

That's all he left (Chocolate Chip Meringues)

2011-03-01T20:49:00.001-06:00

This is all that is left of 3 dozen meringues

We made 3 dozen of these yesterday and this is all that’s left.

This is a very easy recipe for chocolate chip meringues. No baking is needed. I modified an Emeril Lagasse recipe that I saw on the Food Network a long time ago while waiting for Jordan to return from kindergarten. He had walnuts in it also. We are dealing with nut allergies, so that is not an option. Additionally, I think the nuts would wash out the great flavor combination of chocolate and meringue.

Last night Jordan was craving these, so we made them at 10 PM. By 7 PM, not much left. I even had a few. These meringues are not baked and they retain a very moist flavor. I've found the baked versions to be more dry.

Chocolate Chip Meringue Recipe

3 large egg whites, at room temperature
3/4-teaspoon cream of tartar

1-cup superfine granulated sugar

1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.5 cup semisweet chocolate chips or finely chopped semisweet chocolate 1 cup finely

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy (use the whisk type attachement, not the paddle one)

Add the cream of tartar and beat until fluffy but not at all dry. (Be careful not to over beat.) Add the sugar gradually, about 3 tablespoons at a time.

When 1/2 of the sugar has been added, add the vanilla extract. Continue beating and adding remaining sugar gradually until all of the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is very shiny and tight. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Working one teaspoon at a time, push a teaspoonful of meringue from the tip of 1 teaspoon with the back of another teaspoon onto the lined baking sheets, leaving 1-inch of space between cookies. You can make swirly tops. You can also pipe this…but the simplest way is to use a spoon.

Place baking sheets in the preheated oven and turn the oven off. Leave the cookies (undisturbed) in the oven for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, or until cookies are crisp and dry. No baking is needed.

Google Rolls Out New Search Tool for Recipes

2011-02-24T22:12:00.003-06:00

Google Rolls Out New Search Tool for Recipes

This is going to make searching for recipes easier. Typically, when I develop a new recipe I search through quite a few. I narrow it down to the top 3-4 and then develop a recipe from that. Since I'm trying to avoid some ingredients (e.g., dairy), I can simply check 'no.' I tried this with Chicken Biryani which is typically made with yogurt. By check 'no' for yogurt I was able to find recipes without. This makes search a lot easier. Of course google can really fine tune some advertising from this. If I continually check 'no' to dairy, I'll be more likely to find non dairy ads.

You can also check 'yes' for some ingredients. For example, I searched for french silk pie and I checked 'yes' for tofu. So I got the non dairy versions.

This will really help with recipe search/development.

Love Italian Seitan, no exorcism needed

2011-02-21T20:13:00.000-06:00

A quick white wine sauce pasta

Seitan is a wheat/soy based ‘vegetarian meat.’ Often used by Buddhists (mock duck), Japan, and other Asian cuisines as well as with the macrobiotic movement in the U.S. If you can’t have wheat in your diet, the other alternatives are of course the sausage or a really well prepared tofu (not straight out of the package). Seitan is not fattening or artery clogging and it is a lot easier to prepare than sausage. I think it will be one of my ‘convenience foods.’ I included the label at the end of this blog so you can see the nutrition information. Italian Sausage style seitan is available at Whole Foods. I don’t recall if it is available at Woodman’s or not.

My diet is not vegetarian or vegan, but I’m beginning to like this Italian Sausage style seitan more than Italian sausage. Italian sausage has great seasonings and texture. For years I’ve made slowly simmered pasta sauces with it Italian sausage. Usually, for Italian sausage, I would crumble it and fry out the fat and then add to whatever dish I was making. I’m finding that I can get that great flavor (without the fat) in my sauces when I use this Italian Sausage Style Seitan. I am actually beginning to like it more because its texture is more a la dente than the sausage texture. It is also much faster to prepare than the sausage. I don’t have to plan ahead (defrost or buy fresh) and I don’t need to spend time frying out the grease. It is also a great substitute for people who chose not to eat meat or even pork.

Here is a quick pasta recipe that I threw together in no time. I got a late start with dinner today and didn’t have time for a long preparation.

For this dish I love the way the seitan works its way into the little shells

Ingredients:

16 oz of Conchieglie –shell shaped (I prefer organic-seems to taste more robust-but not a requirement)

½ c. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. dried basil (if fresh is not available)

1.5 tsp. or dried oregano (if fresh is not available)

1 cup white wine (I used Gato Negro Sauvignon Blanc 2010 from Chile-reasonably priced for cooking)

½ cup soup stock (if not vegan, then chicken, if vegetarian-than vegetable, I use organic free range soup stock 9if fresh is not available)

6 cloves of garlic mashed (or chopped in a food processor)

2 yellow peppers diced

about a medium head of brocolli or 2/3 head of large on with flowerets chopped off

Note: you can add or substitute other vegetables-this is what I had on hand today and given all the ice we have , I was not in the mood to go out grocery shop

Heat olive oil and start sautéing the broccoli flowerets on medium heat.

Sauté for approximately 5 minutes

Add the diced yellow peppers-sauté for about 3-4 minutes

Add chopped garlic and sauté for another minute

Crumble the seitan and sauté for a couple of minutes

Add white wine and bring to a boil

Add stock

Simmer opened for about 5-8 minutes

Prepare the pasta in the meantime (this dish is easy , so I multitasked)

Stir pasta into the sautéed mixture. Make sure it is blended well. The seitan and sauce will work their way into the shells.

I mostly improvise my recipes, so if you want to vary this with other vegetables, it should work fine.

The sauce is very light and tasty (not oily). I really like the flavor of this sauce and it combines nicely with the vegetables. No flavor dominates. I've had people insist that this dish has Italian sausage. They only believe me (sort of) when I show them the package of Italian Sausage seitan.

Our bodies can tell the difference between sausage and seitan

the sauce and seitan work their way into the shells

Valentine's Days and Hearts

2011-02-14T23:33:00.003-06:00

Broken hearts like this are good

Although I like to go out for quiet dinners, I don’t ignore my children for this day.

Some say it’s a Hallmark holiday…some go all out for this. I view it as another day to make others feel somewhat special.

This year I got to go out on Sunday and with Valentine’s Day being a Monday (work day) it seemed better to stay home and celebrate.

After a long day at work (along with my long commute), I decided to make sure that we have a cookie cake (heart shaped). So with Jordan’s help I made the cookie dough into a heart shaped pan. Because this has been a hectic year so far, I’ve had a few mishaps. I couldn’t find my Wilton pastry bags for decorating. So instead, I used a ziplock bags with the usual Wilton tips. I also wasn’t in the mood for adding color (even natural…..boiled beets make the best Valentine’s Day colors), I just kept it white. Various events of the evening led to a real late decorating session, so I rushed through the whole thing….but it still looks nice. Even more important-the cake/frosting tastes phenomenal. Cookies with frosting are the best. Another great aspect of course-it is dairy free and is made with not the super processed ingredients.

The cookie recipe is the cookie dough recipe in an earlier blog

http://blogtothenextone.blogspot.com/2011/01/chocolate-chip-cookies-that-wont-clog.html

and the frosting is similar to my mocha frosting.

Decorating Frosting

3 cups of powder sugar

1.5 cups Spectrum Organic shortening

1 tsp vanilla

(no soy milk or coconut milk-we need a drier frosting for decorating)

Slowly add the sugar to Spectrum and beat until whipped, add the vanilla.

Gifts, dinner and cookie cake done without any major mishaps. For a long day, that sounds like an accomplishment.

Decided to be quick and keep it white...plus had to use some last minute pastry bags

Well deserved brownies after shoveling out of the blizzard (and no artery clogging)

2011-02-04T21:52:00.000-06:00

The essential ingredients-dairy and artery clog free

After trying to shovel our way out of 20" of snow, I had a serious craving for brownies. Fortunately brownies of convenience are out of the question for me due to Jordan’s food allergies (dairy or made in a facility with nuts). So I’ve been experimenting with some brownie recipes over the past few years. Even pre EE and food allergy days, I really didn’t want to use a brownie mix. Most recipes of course call for butter. Not an option here anymore. Even if Jordan wasn’t allergic to dairy, I would no longer use butter in my cooking. Necessity is the mother of invention. I learned how to get rich creamy flavor without butter. I’ve sometimes referred to myself as the “Paula Dean of soy butter” (without the weight, wealth and the southern accent). For some reason we all love a creamy texture. So after shoveling, I decided to make some brownies. My constraints were: I will only make it with Droste cocoa powder (childhood favorite), will not use over processed sugar or over processed flour-and of course it needs to be dairy free.

I actually found a great Alton Brown recipe and converted it with my constraints/choices.

We ended up with delicious brownies and did not increase our chance of heart disease.

Here are some interesting quotes on why even if you aren’t allergic to dairy, you would make these substitutions.

"...There's a lot of money in the Western diet. The more you process any food, the more profitable it becomes. The healthcare industry makes more money treating chronic diseases (which account for three quarters of the $2 trillion plus we spend each year on health care in this country) than preventing them. "

— — Michael Pollan (Food Rules: An Eater's Manual)

Whatever I make, I keep this in mind and use the least processed ingredients. Also,

"You are what you eat eats."

— Michael Pollan (In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto)

And since I’m not a vegan at this time, I buy the cage free eggs (more nutritious…. because the chicken’s diet is reflected in the eggs nutrition value). If you are a vegan, then you can use an egg substitution. When we avoided eggs, I used Ener G egg replacer or the apple sauce mix that is substituted for like eggs.

These brownies are delicious and they will not make you feel guilty about all the processed flour and saturated fat you ingested.

Note: these brownies have a rich robust flavor. As much as I LOVE chocolate and sweets, I no longer enjoy the flavor of processed brownies-they have a thin flavor.

As I’m writing this blog, I hear on a heart disease focused show that the #1 killer in the U.S. is heart disease, and half of us will die from it. We cannot control everything (genetics, stress, jobs, etc.), but we can control what we eat and put in our bodies.

Recipe

Ingredients:

Soy butter to grease pan

Flour (organic whole wheat pastry) to dust the buttered pan

4 large eggs

1 cup organic cane sugar sifted

1 cup brown sugar sifted

8 ounces of melted soy stick

1 ¼ cups of cocoa sifted

2 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup of organic whole-wheat pastry flour

½ tsp. kosher salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Soy butter and flour an 8-inch square pan.

In a mixer, beat the eggs at medium speed until fluffy (sort of frothy) and light yellow. Add both sugars (gradually. Add the remaining ingredients (gradually) and mix to combine.

Pour the batter into the soy buttered and floured pan (I actually forgot to flour the no stick pan and it still worked) and bake for 45 minutes. Use the toothpick method (insert and see if it’s clear) to make sure it’s done. In my convection oven, it finished in about 40 minutes.

Cool thoroughly. I sifted powdered sugar on top while hot. It could also be frosted with a Spectrum based frosting (after it cooled). I was too tired with an impatient child to make frosting. These were also delicious the next day…..the flavors combined perfectly.

Chocolate chip cookies that won’t clog your arteries (or your child’s)

2011-01-30T19:00:00.004-06:00

Getting Jordan involved....he has to learn this

note: this is NOT the soy sticks....you will get hockey pucks with those

I like the cookie scooper to shape these

compare this to butter and traditional shortening.....even if you aren't a vegan-this is so much better

This flour is not the over processed white flour and its use results in a homemade rich flavor

I was a very picky eater during my childhood. Sometimes my mother had to make two dinners because I refused to eat what she made for dinner for my father. Later I ended up having one picky child (now known as a foodie and founding food photographer) and one with EE and multiple food allergies. So for those who believe in karma, this was a natural outcome of what I put my mother through (who was a great cook). But for those who like to think positive, this actually worked out. My foodie daughter appreciates my cooking (and cooks some great dishes as well). She always praised my cooking; to me this is the ultimate reward for all the work. Because of my son’s health issues, I learned a lot about ingredients and their impact on your health. So I vigilantly eliminated some ingredients from our home. For a while we had to live 'top 8 allergen free' (wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, fish, shellfish, peanuts, treenuts). I learned how to make gourmet meals without these allergens. Getting wheat, soy and eggs back in Jordan’s diet made life a lot simpler. But processed flour does not have the same effect on your body as less processed flour. I’m still avoiding dairy. If Jordan was able to have dairy, it would only make life easier with respect to not having to worry about cross contamination (‘made in facility with’ or restaurant situations). Now that I know the effects of dairy (no not just the fat, but the evil casein), I will always cook without dairy. Substitutions are easy once you experiment with various techniques.

When I did use butter I made cookies with butter only. I hated the ‘side taste’ in margarine cookies or margarine/shortening/butter mix cookies. These cookies do not have this ‘side taste’-I’m not sure how to describe that taste.

This modified chocolate chip cookie recipe is not loaded with fat and bad protein. The flour is not as processed either as white flour. A basic rule is, the less processed food you put in your body, the better off you are with respect to your health and weight. Yes, there is sugar here, so I wouldn’t eat a dozen of these (although it wouldn’t be hard).

Recipe

These cookies can also be easily converted to a gluten free and vegan version by another mix of flour (see below) and substituting Ener G Egg Replacer (or the apple sauce mix commonly used) for eggs.

· 1.5 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (I use Enjoy Life-only one guaranteed to be allergen free without cross contamination)

· 1 cup Earth Balance Natural Shortening softened (the one in the GREEN box-2 sticks, although I like Spectrum shortening for some things, I think this works better for cookies, they end up being shaped just like butter cookies. Don’t use the vegan soy sticks…you will get hockey pucks)

· 3/4 cup sugar (I use organic cane sugar-unprocessed one)

· 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

· 2 large eggs (I buy the free range ones…they are more nutritious)-if you are avoiding eggs, you can use the Ener G Egg replacer and still get great flavor

· 2 teaspoon(s) vanilla (again, I use organic)

· 2 1/4 cup(s) unsifted flour-I use Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat pastry flour (see photo)

· If you are avoiding gluten, I used to make this with a gluten free flour mix that combined sorghum flour with rice flour (I have to find that recipe….it works great for substitutions)

· 1 teaspoon baking soda

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

Note: this is mostly traditional cookie dough mix-the main substitutions are the vegan shortening, the unprocessed flour and the less processed sugar. With the less processed flour, the cookies end up with a heartier homemade flavor.

Directions

Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside (again, no need to sift).

In large mixing bowl, beat shortening and with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color. You may need to stop the mixer and scrape sides more often than you do with butter.

Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time. Mix on low speed until incorporated.

Gradually add the dry mixture into the dough while beating at low speed

Stir in chocolate chips.

Use cookie scooper to add to ungreased cookie sheet (or use another method to drop the batter-I like the shape that I get with this technique)

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes. The cookies are still fairly soft, then with a spatula/flipper, move each cookie to the cooling rack where it will solidify further.

I have a countertop convection oven that I think makes really great cookies (reduce baking time when making in a convection oven).

You can also use this basic cookie recipe for heart shaped cookies or a cookie cake (I will add the slight modification to this blog)

If you are not allergic to nuts, you can add some walnuts to this recipe also. Unfortunately that is not an option for us now (and nuts are healthy).

One updated old world comfort food (and recipe)

2011-01-25T21:52:00.001-06:00

The updated lecso

possibly with German Spaetzle noodles

Lecso (prounounced ‘letchoh’) is a traditional Hungarian dish. As much as I love Hungarian food (being Hungarian, this is the food of my childhood), it tends to be very ‘rich’ (meat fat used in cooking and dairy cream laden sauces). Maybe with smaller portions, lots of walking and non factory farmed dairy, it’s not the worst thing. However, I don’t walk around the streets of Budapest, instead I sit at a desk all day, have a two hour commute, eliminated dairy from my diet, and have a child with dairy allergies. Yet I love the flavor and smell of Hungarian food. I would like to expose Jordan to the rich flavors as well.

Over the past few years I realized that with minor modifications we can have my Hungrian food without getting a prescription for cholesterol lowering medication (and of course Jordan can eat it too).

This Lecso recipe is just one of my ‘updated’ dishes.

There are many ways of making this dish. Using the diced tomatoes saves time on peeling and chopping tomatoes. Italian sausage style seitan adds a great texture and protein to this dish. What is seitan (not satan)? It is a wheat based meat textured source of protein. It was actually invented by Buddhist monks as an alternative to tofu. If you don’t like tofu and can have gluten it’s a great meat substitute (no, I’m not a vegan, but love the flavor and texture of this Italian sausage style seitan and there is no gross fat flavor). If you are avoiding gluten, then I would suggest adding tofu instead (but marinating/baking to get a better texture). You can avoid tofu/seitan and add nothing or add some sort of meat. But it’s healthier without the meat (and with a growing child, protein is important here) and I like the refreshing flavor. Even if you aren’t a vegan, many doctors believe that the American diet has too much meat protein. But then this is not a medical blog; free will.

Expeller pressed oil is healthier than processed oil. This again is not a necessity, but it helps. I try to keep my ingredients at home the best. I can’t control the ingredients in a restaurant, but I can control it at home.

Paprika must be authentic Hungarian paprika. If you live in the Chicago area, there is a Hungarian store called Bende that sells it a reasonable price. Recently I found it on Amazon also.

This dish is fairly easy to make (it’s one of the weeknight dishes here). Serve it with brown rice, soy buttered spaetzle or tarhonya (another Hungarian specialty). Clearly brown rice is the best, but spaetzle and tarhonya are not bad alternatives. Needless to say-it’s loaded with some great vegetables (and it’s not salad).

Lecso Recipe

3 large red peppers julienned or a mix of other ones (but not green…they are VERY bland and just have a waxy contribution)-

2 medium red onions – cut in half and then thinly sliced

1 pckg. of Upton’s Natural 8 oz Italian Sausage Seitan (available at Whole Foods, Woodman’s or other specialty/health store)

2 14.5 oz. Organic Muir Glen Diced tomatoes (not flavored)

3 TBS. Authentic Hungarian Paprika (not durkee or some colored bland powder)

3-4 TBS. Expeller pressed canola oil

2-3 tbs. chopped parsley

2-3 tbs. chopped dill

3 – 4 tbsp. oil (this is approximate-add enough to stir fry, not deep fry).

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the sliced onions on medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the julienned peppers and fry for another 15 minutes.

Add 3+ heaping tbsp. of authentic paprika and stir for 30-60 seconds to roast it a bit (this optimizes the flavor of the spice-I do this with other spices also)

Add diced tomatoes

Add about ½ c water (from canned tomatoes to get tomato residue-it should be saucy not liquidy)

Bring to a simmer and simmer covered 15-20 minutes (stir occasionally to make sure it’s not drying out)

While simmering:

prepare the side dish

crumble or chop the seitan and pan fry for a minute or two in very little canola oil

After the simmering is completed, add the parsley and dill and stir for one minute (herbs should always be added at the end for a brief time, overcooking causes a loss in flavor).

Add Italian Sausage seitan and serve.

Enjoy the time you save from researching potential cholesterol lowering medication.

Feel free to ask questions on this recipe. I like creating dishes a lot more than writing down the detail. If something isn’t clear, let me know.

I use the Italian Sausage flavor for this dish (not chorizo)

Are food allergies, diets and being different causing alienation?

2011-01-23T13:42:00.002-06:00

Jordan

Today’s Chicago Tribune actually had two articles about the increase in food allergies and the social impact on kids as they try to fit in. Some of the ‘ways around’ were also discussed. As I was reading this article, I realized similar issues exist when you are an adult avoiding certain foods. While cross contamination is not an issue for an adult who chooses a healthy diet, it is a choice, not something you were dealt (food allergies, celiac, eosinophilic esophagitis), some of the socially alienating issues still apply. Of course the degree of alienation is not as extreme as for a food allergic child or teen who really wants to fit in. Additionally, it’s very different to deal with something out of choice vs. what life has dealt you. And a trace of dairy won’t kill me, but it can kill (or at least make very ill) someone who is truly allergic or has EE.

Even if you are not dealing with these issues directly, a little compassion and understanding goes a long way. Pity or sympathy is not what you should offer. Don’t break the person’s spirit and make them feel like they are less than you. Although well intended, I hear “Oh poor Jordan, he can’t eat normal food, what can he eat?” First of all, he is not poor; his diet is superior to the typical child his age who can live on convenience processed foods. As a result, he is less likely to develop health problems form processed food and yes, the evil casein. These two common situations really apply in all food situations-whether by choice or not (some people try to eat healthy although their friends like them unhealthy).

Restaurant situations - Jordan can only eat in one restaurant right now at least 20 miles from our home (P.F. Chang so far seems to be the only place that can handle cross-contamination). And even then there is always the speech to the manager and the tension that something will get messed up. But it’s worth it to see the look on Jordan’s face that shows ‘yes I’m normal too and can eat out.’ So what can friends and family do to not make things worse? First, no pity. Being considerate and not bragging about how great their dish is that contains the allergen is much better. For example, a friend or colleague should not brag about how great a certain cheese tastes when there is a person with a dairy allergy sitting at the table. Common sense? Not really…. I’ve had ‘friends’ that have tried ‘tempt me’ with dairy laden desserts in front of Jordan. I chose not to eat it, Jordan can’t. We’re not telling people not to eat dairy and we don’t go into a lengthy speech how unhealthy it is; free will. However when I encounter such a situation, I’m forced to go into detail about why I chose not to have casein from a factory farmed cow who is forced to stand in its own feces. It’s not good for the cow and it’s not good for me (but good for ConAgra).

School functions – for some reason everything in school is rewarded with dairy (pizza and ice cream). You reach a goal, time for a pizza party. Actually it’s the same thing in corporate America. Want people to come to a special lunch meeting? Order pizza. Not much consideration of the fact that we aren’t all alike. As an adult who chooses not to eat dairy (it does make me somewhat sick, but I won’t die from it), I’m used to it and ignore it. A vegan, food allergy person, or even someone on a strict Kosher diet cannot have pepperoni pizza. And the so-called ‘vegetarian pizza’ doesn’t solve the dairy or gluten issue. So for school functions I run my parallel kitchen and send treats to class that everyone can have so Jordan can feel normal; finally eating what everyone can eat. I stay up all night baking but it’s worth it; the kids always love what I send. They don’t even think that there is no dairy in those cookies, cupcakes or popcorn. They go back for seconds and Jordan loves every second of this-feeling normal again. Adults at parties are a bit different. They can say “Oh how can you have such and such with no dairy?” “Oh how awful it must be to be you.” “Oh this pizza is delicious; I feel so bad for you.” They form expectations that a dish with no dairy or whatever allergen is going to be bland and boring. So with adults, I don’t even announce that there is no dairy (or whatever allergen) in whatever dish. Of course if they thought about it, seeing Jordan eating obviously implies that it doesn’t have the offending allergen.

So building awareness among friends, family, school and work is the best one can do regardless of what your role is in this food-driven world.

Ace of Non Dairy Cakes?

2011-01-22T20:11:00.007-06:00

Time to organize and consolidate my recipes and techniques that right now are mostly memorized in my head.

Maybe he will be the Ace of Non Dairy Cakes?

Although it was not Valentine's Day-a Birthday cookie cake all pink (requested)

Home made heart shaped Valentine's Day chocolates

This was designed by Jordan....not really sure about what's going on....

My original decoration until Jordan went wild with some 'abstract concepts'

Well it’s time to get organized (maybe if I state it more than once I will actually do it). I will be adding the recipes for cookie cakes and the type of frosting that is best for decorating (all with no dairy). I hope to do this within the next few days. Although I do use eggs, the standard egg substitutions work great (I had to bake without eggs for a while-used Ener G egg replacer exactly as directed or the apple sauce trick….it worked great). So with the egg replacer these recipes can also be vegan.

Also, if anyone is interested in making valentine candies, I will post something on to make such chocolates. I HAVE to make my own because it has to be made in a nut free/dairy free facility to avoid cross contamination. There is only one supplier that sells shaped chocolates from an allergen free facility and they don’t have these shapes. What they do carry costs a fortune.

So I buy Enjoy Life chocolate chips (the only ones I trust), made in an allergen free facility so no traces of nuts, dairy or gluten and soy for those who are avoiding it.

I bought the standard molds from Michaels and ordered the heart shaped box and paper on-line. Then I made the chocolate molds and wrapped each one separately. I do the same thing for any other holiday candy (just different molds from Michaels).

Heart shaped cookie pans are available even at Target (they usually have a special themed section around the holidays).

I used to be adamant about using only butter in my cookies and frosting….but I actually like this better and the lack of dairy in our diet has huge benefits.

The key ingredients for these items:

Bob’s Red Mill Pastry Flour (versus the more processed white flour)
Spectrum Shortening
Earth Balance Vegan Shortening (not the soy butter sticks-this comes in a green box and so far I only found it at Whole Foods)

I’m not the best cake decorator, so I often try to recruit family members to help decorate. It’s a fun activity and it gets my son away from his video games. Maybe he can be he next Ace of Cakes guy.

Classic Immortals

2011-01-19T22:07:00.001-06:00

Anna Karenina returns

I’m reading more with the Kindle (helps with sanity). I was expecting this because of the mobility and ease of making last minute decisions on what to read. What I was not expecting is the selection of books I’ve been reading recently-classics I’ve read in high school. Flaubert, Hesse and now Tolstoy. One of my first Kindle books was Goethe (Sorrows of Young Werther)-expected since it is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. But then for some odd reason I decided to read Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse again (classics from Kindle are free). A completely different experience this time around. I don’t even remember he had a little boy or how a fateful circle was referenced. I got so much more out of the book than I did a long time ago. So I’m going to reread Flaubert’s Madame Bovary and Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. I’m sure I will get a different perspective for these books. Thanks to the free classics on Kindle, I get to read books that I most likely would not have even purchased. For people who love to read, I highly recommend rereading some classics (and they are free).

Valentine’s Day desserts don’t have to kill your heart

2011-01-15T14:18:00.002-06:00

This cookie cake can also be made heart shaped for Valentine's Day

Again, use different colors and a heart shaped pan to make a Valentine's Day Version

I really don’t like to bake. Baked goods recipes have to be exact and are very hard to convert if you are picky about your ingredients. Yet, I love desserts and certain festive desserts are a requirement (in my family) for birthdays, special holidays and even Valentine’s Day.

Although you can now find some cakes that cater to special diets (gluten free, vegan, etc.), they are very expensive and not easily available. But in my case, these cakes aren’t even an option. Since we are dealing with multiple food allergies here, I can’t run the risk of something being cross contaminated. Basically, cross contamination is the possibility of having a tiny amount of allergen in the food since the allergen is present in the bakery. Bakeries (even gluten free ones) have nuts and dairy in their facility….so I can’t buy any baked goods (not even bread). As a result, I have to bake everything at home. As a result, I end up with an allergen free and much more wholesome version of the dessert.

Necessity is the mother of invention; so over the years I learned how to make the celebratory cakes, cookie cakes and cupcakes without any of the bad things.

As Valentine’s day approaches, it’s time to find the heart shaped baking pans, cookie pans and chocolate molds.

You don’t need to have food allergies to make these special cakes at home. They really aren’t that hard to make and taste so fresh.

In the next few days I’m going to post recipes for the frosting, cookie cakes and cakes that can be used for Valentine’s Day. Even if you don’t have to follow a special diet, these sweets will not clog your arteries and pack on the pounds.

Again, because baking is so exact, figuring out the right ingredient substitutions was a challenge. Friends and family love these cakes.

Let me know which recipe you are interested in first.

related blogs:

Tools of the trade

Creamiest mocha frosting with no gross after taste

Mader's - Makes the Indulgence Worth it

2011-01-11T23:35:00.001-06:00

If you live in the Chicago/Milwaukee area, Mader’s in Milwaukee is a great restaurant to visit.

It is one of the last German restaurants around (and is a historical landmark). In addition to the great food, the place restaurant includes $3 million dollar collection of art, suits of medieval armour and antiques from as early as the 14^th century.

I hope they retain the authentic food (menu choices are authentic) and feel. There is also great German beer on tap (much better than bottle). I’ve seen so many ‘old world’ restaurants go out of business in this area: Little Europe in Kenosha, Hans Bavarian Lodge in Wheeling, Wunderbar in Antioch and Paprikash in Arlington Heights (formerly in Chicago). Some say this is because the country is very health conscious. I find that highly doubtful. Standard franchise restaurants offer very fattening, bland and unhealthy food; many resembling a bad frozen dinner brand. If I’m going to indulge in some extra calories, at least it should be for a good cause-a great place and great authentic food.

Winter is a great time to stop in (the Sunday brunch is phenomenal too).

Mader's

I completed reading a book!

2011-01-10T00:19:00.003-06:00

It has been a long time since I actually completed reading a book. I’m always too busy and never have time to read. I’m still busy and the Kindle didn’t miraculously add more time to my day. It is the convenient features (see previous blog) of the Kindle that enabled me to read more frequently and finally complete this book.

For the first book, I chose Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. The last time I read this book I was 17. Reading it at this age was a completely different experience. With the Kindle I was able to highlight and share these notes on facebook (or just reflect after).

If I didn’t have a Kindle I wouldn’t even have read this book since it wasn’t new to me. But the free classic download (many classics on Kindle are free to download…even Tolstoy) led me to read it.

Prior to owning a Kindle I didn’t completely get it. I’m so glad I have one and I can start to enjoy reading again!

Now what do I do with the two hard cover books in progress? They do look good on a bookshelf

Creamy yet healthy – the tools of the trade

2011-01-09T13:54:00.002-06:00

Friends have asked me for recipes of my frostings, “but it’s so creamy.” They can’t believe that it’s dairy free.

I will admit, before I learned about food, I thought a good butter crème frosting was the ultimate. I still believe that it’s not as bad for your body as hydrogenated margarine or traditional shortening (Crisco). Actually the culprit in the dairy is not the fat, but the protein (casein).

Without going into all the technical details, there is a way to get that great buttery taste (yes, it is a great taste) for your frosting.

It took me a while to get this right. Sure the first version was good and people liked it, but I was looking for that whipped creamy consistency of a butter cream…. perfection.

I started out using the Spectrum Organic Shortening with a little soy milk and the typical frosting ingredients (powder sugar, vanilla, cocoa, etc.) But it just didn’t have the right consistency. I’ve never used shortening before (we didn’t have it in Europe) so I had no idea what to expect. It was good, but just not good enough for me. Spectrum is also great for other baking needs. It’s not the cheapest, but in the long run, you will save on medical bills because it’s not bad for you.

I’ve seen recipes using soy butter but I didn’t think that would work because soy butter is salted. When I did use butter (pre 2005) I always used non salted butter. My mother never even bought salted butter after we moved here from Europe and nor did I. Salted butter overshadows the flavor and is not creamy. I’ve been trying to replicate the flavor of that good homemade butter crème that I used to make with Plugra (a European butter).

Recently I tried a different formulation because of a new product “So Delicious Coconut Milk” (note: it is not a dominating coconut flavor that you get from canned coconut milk). This milk tastes the closest to real milk in texture and flavor. It is organic and allergen free (and tested for allergens-so I trust the brand since I’m dealing with dairy allergies at home).

So the key to a good dairy free frosting that still has that buttery flavor we all love:

Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening

Ingredients: Mechanically Pressed Organic Palm Oil – and that’s ALL

Where can you buy it? I find it at Whole Foods (watch for sales) and it's also available on Amazon. Some grocery stores also carry it, but it's a bit pricey (too specialized for the regular stores).

(and you can use this without the soy butter – the frosting is still great, just not as perfect)

So Delicious Organic Coconut Milk- Vanilla-gluten free, dairy free, soy free and vegan

This is a fairly new product. I use about ½ cup to moisten the frosting (but not more-don’t want the flavor to dominate). Soy milk will also work, but I like the effect of this one more.
Where to find it? I have only found this at Whole Foods so far.

Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks – dairy free, gluten free, vegan (contains soy)

Sometimes I feel like I’m the Paula Dean of soy butter. This product is a great butter substitute; I use it for all my butter recipes (not just baking). They also have a tub that is like whipped butter. It is reasonably priced too. It’s available at Whole Foods, some other grocery stores (where it’s a bit overpriced), and Woodman’s for those who live in Wisconsin.

There is a certain ratio for that perfect consistency. I will include it in my recipes. But it’s basically one cup of Spectrum and half a cup of soy butter stick (along with others). It’s 100% vegan, dairy free, gluten free too. If you are avoiding soy, skip the soy butter.

So my cakes are truly dairy free and no chance of cross contamination with nuts and dairy in my kitchen as I don’t even bring nuts and dairy into my home.

One handed reading on my new Kindle

2011-01-08T18:09:00.002-06:00

Yes, I broke down and bought one:

Much like my 12 year son, I seem to be more productive if there is a technology gadget involved.

But this is not just a gadget. I’ve only had a Kindle for three days and I am finally reading again. I have read more in the past three days than I have all year (yes sad). Why?

Portability: If I’m relaxing I don’t have to preplan what I will read and bring the books. Instead, on a whim, I can decide what to read.

One handed reading: I can hold the Kindle in one hand, drink coffee/tea or even pet my dogs with the other hand while I’m reading. Great for my ‘multi tasking’ nature. The iPad is so much heavier.

Contrast: The Kindle is easy to read-much easier than some cheaper paperbacks or even some hard cover books. Reading the Kindle is not an exercise in eye strain.

Highlight phrases: I love being able to highlight phrases that are relevant to me. Then being able to post these excerpts on Facebook is an added bonus.

Price of books: This is related to the spontaneous factor again. If I want to read a book – in a matter of minutes I can start reading it (free, real cheap or cheaper than the book). I am in the process of reading three books right now. Who knows, tonight that might turn into five books in a matter of hours.

There are still many features I haven’t discovered, but so far I love the Kindle.

I have hardcover books to finish and I’m very tempted to just buy them for the Kindle because I don’t even want to pick them up.

You are what you eat and yes-you can eat to your heart’s delight (literally)

2011-01-08T13:48:00.003-06:00

Who doesn’t love traditional stuffing? I remember I made my first allergen (top 8) free Thanksgiving meal in 2005. This was necessitated when I first found out that my son had various medical conditions, at that time it wasn’t even clear if he could eat food since we were still exploring whether he could tolerate a top 8 allergen free diet or not. Without going into the complex medical details, I felt that this was the make or break Thanksgiving. So I made a completely allergen free meal-meaning no dairy, wheat (gluten), eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish. But how can you make a tasty, traditional meal without all this?

I thought I perfected holiday meals but now it was a new set of rules, still driven by the same goal.

Stuffing was a challenge-make a gluten free bread (every baked item can be cross contaminated so store brought bread is not an option), substitutions for eggs and so forth. The meal was a success. The family was expecting a tasteless bland meal for the “good of the child.” Instead they got a tasty traditional meal but so much better, healthier.

Since then I’ve added eggs, soy, wheat and fish back because we no longer have to avoid this.

Many may say “Oh yes, I wish I could eat and provide a healthier diet, but I’m not a full time stay at home mom, so I need my unhealthy processed food because it saves me time.” Well, I’m not a “stay at home mom” either. I’m a single mother with a full time career, a long daily commute, with three dogs and a son with all kinds of food related health challenges (my daughter doesn’t have these issues, but she is kind of vegan-so my cooking also needs to make her happy).

I’ve had five years to master these techniques. I did quit my career for a while and learned all about how to cook without garbage – let’s call it what it is. But now I’m in production mode. The massive research and experimentation is done. I still research new foods and ingredients, but it’s not a full time job anymore.

As this new blog evolves (not even a day old), I will share tricks and tips about healthier cooking. No, you don’t need to have food allergies or special circumstances to live healthier, be at your optimum weight and not develop diabetes coupled with high cholesterol. It turns out that the old adage: “you are what you eat” is true.