Why I don’t promote this blog May 13, 2013

I am a person who loves to experiment. I love trying out new recipes. I love writing drafts, then going back to polish them and tweak them just for my audience. I love working with WordPress, this blog’s tech platform, and keeping up with all its changes and evolutions.

But the thing is, I do this all on my own time. I use what I have on hand. My camera’s not the greatest; not even my phone camera is that great. I don’t always have time to take step-by-step photos. I’d sooner find out how the food turned out than spend time styling it for a photo.

In contrast, in my day job as a marketing person, even small companies with minimal resources usually have a decent department camera on hand. What’s more, I have a TEAM of talent: designers, photographers, videographers, programmers.. and if there’s a pattern in our work, for example, if we’re taking head shots of new staff each Monday, then we can justify setting aside a designated spot with a good background, lighting, props and so on.

It’s different when you just want to nurture a personal interest. I learn so much from blogging here. I learn about food, what people are looking for, how to use the software, and how to read the data behind who is visiting my site, when and why.  It’s become a creative outlet for me — but I’m not here to become famous.

The truth is that I never expected anyone else to find this blog. I created it as a way to connect with a couple of relatives who live half a country away from me. They were asking for help with eating healthy, grocery shopping, and with keeping it all easy and practical.

I knew they’d forgive me if my site wasn’t perfect. What I didn’t expect was that so many others would stumble upon my blog — and keep coming back! Or at least, provide me with a steady stream of viewers.

All good skill is born of practice, and practice often looks or sounds messy and unkempt. Think of a musician warming up, playing scales. Think of the unfinished black and white sketches from Disney “behind the scenes” sequences.  All artists need to get their ideas down. They need to experiment and get messy. That’s why football teams practice, and why theaters have rehearsals. This is my rehearsal space, not my performance space.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you like the recipes and tips I have to offer. I encourage you to take them and make them your own. If you take better photos than I, and upload them to your own sites, we’re all the better for it in my mind.

Fresh Strawberries May 11, 2013

Strawberries are in season and the bright red berries have been greeting me at every grocery store the last few weeks. Sometimes I’ll go through a container right away, but most of the time I’d rather have just a couple as a quick snack, or one or two sliced over my breakfast oatmeal.

Strawberries tend to spoil quickly. Here are some tips to help them last 3-4 days.

1. If the weather is generally cool; below 70 degrees, don’t refrigerate. Just let them sit in the container they came in on your counter, but keep them out of sunlight.

Serving suggestion:

• Slice a few over a fresh spinach salad. Use a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Complementary ingredients: sliced boiled eggs, walnuts, sliced red onion, sliced mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts, dried cranberries or raisins, feta, Gorgonzola or blue cheese crumbles.

2. If the weather is warm; over 70 degrees for most of the day, then I recommend slicing and adding a little sugar. The sugar helps preserve the berries. You don’t need a lot –only about a tablespoon or two for a pint of berries. It depends on how sweet you like them. Be sure to use a glass or ceramic bowl (metal may alter the berries’ flavor). Mix well, then cover the dish and store in the fridge.

Serving suggestions:

• Mix into plain yogurt topped with granola.
• Spoon over hot or cold cereal.
• Top a scoop of frozen yogurt or vanilla ice cream.
• Top fresh pancakes.

3. Freezing is also an option. Again, slice and sugar the berries. Use a freezer-friendly container, but not metal. Cover and freeze. When defrosted, the berries may be a little softer, but will have lots of flavor.

Serving suggestions:

• Blend into smoothies, yogurt or into home-made ice cream mix.
• Mix into hot cereal.
• Top fresh pancakes.

-

Gluten free chocolate almond joy bars March 2, 2013

More than anything, I wanted a creative outlet today. One of my favorite things is to find a recipe for something I’ve never made before, get all the ingredients, then see how it turns out. Today’s new recipe is adapted  from one of my favorite gluten free blogs, Elana’s Pantry.

One thing I like about gluten free baked goods is that there’s usually a lot of protein in the mix. That means I’m full after one or two bites! An indulgence I can’t go overboard on because a few bites is all I want and need.

Note: this bar is not as sweet as a traditional cookie or candy bar. Feel free to add an extra teaspoon or two of sugar if you have a sweet tooth.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND JOY BARS (GLUTEN FREE)

• 4 eggs
• ¾ cup coconut milk (Coconut has healthy fats; I use regular instead of low fat. If you have any left over, it keeps well in either the fridge or freezer.)
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• ¾ cup coconut sugar (or 1/2 cup regular sugar)
• ½ cup blanched almond flour  (Trader Joe’s is a great source)
• ½ cup coconut flour (Buy as much or as little as you like from the bulk flour bins at your local food coop.)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (might be hard to find in a traditional grocery store. Try Whole Foods or a food coop.)
• ¾ cup chocolate chips

1. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut milk, almond extract and sugar
2. In a smaller bowl, combine almond flour, coconut flour, salt and baking soda
3. Mix dry ingredients into wet with a handheld mixer
4. Stir in ½ cup of the chocolate chips
5. Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish
6. Pour batter into dish, then sprinkle shredded coconut and remaining chocolate chips on top
7. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes
8. Cool for 1 hour
9. Serve

Brave Any Chili Contest White Chicken Chili February 18, 2013

I fell in love with the San Francisco Chronicle’s cookbooks while visiting San Francisco nearly a decade ago. This recipe is from their 1997 edition with the yellow cover. In contrast with most of the recipes I post, this requires a bit of dedication. It’s not that it’s particularly tricky. It’s more that there are a lot of steps, and you need a good, solid day to make it.

Fortunately, it’s a great diversion on a snowy day, and the reward of a steaming bowl when the day is done makes it worth while. It’s also a great recipe to make in big batches to keep in the freezer. In fact, I was thrilled to present a container as a gift to a friend last week. I simply grabbed one of the containers I’d kept in the freezer and off I went!

And for those of you with workplace chili contests, this is absolutely a contender. Whether it brings home a blue ribbon or not, you’ll be proud it was in the running, and your co-workers will thank you, too.

The ingredients that make this so special, in my mind, are the tomatillos, roasted Anaheim chiles, beer and rice vinegar. The rest are pretty common among chili recipes.. but with these additions the recipe turns from simple comfort food to gourmet fare.

White Chili

BEANS

1 pound dry Great Northern or navy beans

8 cups water

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

Pepper

1 teaspoon salt

CHILI

12 ounces Mexican beer (not dark) –I used a gluten free New Planet beer

2 cups diced onions

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 cup diced red bell pepper

2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and diced*

4 Anaheim or New Mexico green chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded**

1 tablespoon dried oregano***

1 tablespoon crushed cumin seeds***

1 1/4 pounds skinned, boned chicken breasts (or the parts you like)

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth

2 tablespoons ground New Mexico chile (or chili powder)

1 pound tomatillos, husks removed by soaking

1 cup minced fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (or regular sharp cheddar cheese)

Cilantro leaves, for garnish

To make the beans, wash and pick over to ensure there aren’t any pebbles mixed in. (This rarely happens to me anymore but it doesn’t hurt to check.) Place in a large pot. Add the water, onion, garlic cloves and a grateing of black pepper. Simmer for 2-3 hours, until the beans are tender.  Add the salt during the last 30 minutes of cooking. (Adding salt too early can toughen the beans.)

To make the chili, While the beans are cooking, place the beer in a 4-quart pot.  Add the onions, garlic, bell pepper, jalapenos, green chiles, oregano and cumin.  Simmer for 10 minutes.

Cut the chicken into strips, then dice.  Add to the pot along with the chicken broth.  Sprinkle in the ground chile and simmer for 15 minutes. (Alternatively, you can add chicken thighs and drumsticks on the bone to the broth, cook, then simply remove the meat from the bones later.)

Place the tomatillos, minced cilantro, vinegar and salt in a food processor and process to a salsa consistency.  Stir into the chili.  Add the drained cooked beans and simmer for 20 minutes. Taste for seasoning: add salt, if desired.

Either sprinkle the cheese over the top of each bowl, or mix into the pot of chile until melted and blended. Garnish with cilantro.

*To handle the jalapeno chiles, use a small ziplock baggie as a glove to keep the hot oils off your skin. Otherwise, you can burn your fingers, and if your finger ends up near your eye, you could burn your eye.

**To roast and peel the Anaheim chiles, place on a cookie sheet under the broiler for about ten minutes per side. You may want to put a layer of aluminum foil on the sheet first, to help with cleanup.  Once the chiles are blackened on each side (yes, really go for black), carefully remove from the oven and drop into a large ziplock bag. Seal the bag and let them sit for about five minutes. This steams the chiles and makes it easier to peel off the skin.

Place the chiles onto a cutting board. Chop off the stem end, then slice from end to end. Prod open the chile and slide the seeds out with the dull side of your knife. Then peel the skin off with your fingers. (Anaheim chiles aren’t hot like jalapenos.)

Once the seeds and skins have been removed, dice and add to the chile.

***Spice flavorings are amplified and enriched by toasting briefly before adding to a recipe. Simply place a dry skillet (no oil) onto a lightly warmed burner. Measure your spices and sprinkle over the skillet. Allow to warm briefly without burning, just a minute or so depending on the heat of the skillet. Add to your recipe immediately.

Where’ve I been? July 21, 2012

New floors, new work assignments, challenge, and change have kept me distracted from blogging this past year. My apologies. Through it all I’ve honed in on what’s been making me sick all my life: gluten.  It’s inspired a comprehensive lifestyle change including a discipline of making my own lunches for work, something I never thought I’d accomplish on a regular basis.

I know, there’s a lot of skepticism over the recent uptick of gluten-free talk and products. But once I put it all together, it became clear that whenever the symptoms came back, upon re-evaluating what I’d eaten, the common denominator was gluten. Hiding in places like soy sauce, salad dressing, chicken broth at times, and other products, I’ve learned the hard way that I am overcome by sleep within about twenty minute of eating it.  It wipes me out, and it takes about 48 hours to completely recover.

Moving forward, my guiding principles continue to include simplicity, seasonal foods, and organics when possible.  Half the battle is in finding recipes for foods that I can make in bulk, freeze, and/or easily transport to work for lunch.

Lately, my staples have been:

• Pre-washed lettuce by Earthbound Farm Organics (stays fresh about a week in its original container).

• Rotisserie chicken from Whole Foods (I worry that chickens from other sources may have been injected with gluten-containing flavoring or moisturizers).

• Nature’s Path Eco Pack gluten free cereals; a basic flake and raisin cereal.

• Frozen berries

• Plain organic yogurt (usually served over the frozen berries).
• Watermelon
• Home-made granita
• Baby Bel mini-cheese, a convenient snack at work.
• Nuts, dried fruit and chocolate; another convenient snack at work.
• Corn chips
• Shredded carrots (for salads)

Future posts to include favorite recipes, tips and will of course be focused on gluten-free eating.

Easing into Autumn – Cheesy Lentil Hash August 29, 2011

After a June of cold rain and a July of sweltering humidity, we’ve finally got those ideal days of blue skies that are warm enough for shorts, but make you reach for long sleeves at night.  With great delight, I am pushing aside summer salads and grilling.  I am ready to be gently re-acquainted with my oven.  This recipe is one of my absolute favorites.

Filling, cheesy, high energy, and good if you’re craving something with a salty flavor, this is easy to whip up.  Enjoy with warm tortillas, tortilla chips or as a side to any dinner. It also packs well, and is a great bring-your-own lunch.

Nutrients: Red lentils are reported to contain fiber, folate, magnesium and iron.

CHEESY LENTIL HASH

1 vegetable bouillon cube or 2 teaspoons of granular bouillon

3 1/2 – 4 cups water

1/2 cup split red lentils (must be red, not green or brown.)

1 Tablespoon soy sauce. (Or Tamari, which is gluten free.)

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons tomato paste (Did you know you can freeze leftover tomato paste in a Ziplock bag?)

3 1/2 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Dissolve the bouillon cube in 3 1/2 cups boiling water. Stir well.  Add the lentils.  Bring to a boil again, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, adding more water if necessary, until all the liquid is absorbed and the lentils are soft.

Meanwhile, heat the soy sauce and 1/4 cup water in a saute’ pan.  Add the onions, celery, and garlic and saute’  for 8-10 minutes, or until soft.  Add the lentils and the tomato paste to the pan.  Heat, stirring, until piping hot.

Transfer to a baking dish and sprinkle with the cheese.  Heat under a hot broiler for about 2 minutes, until the cheese begins to melt.  Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

Credit: This recipe is from “The High Energy Cookbook” by Rachael Anne Hill

 

 

Cool Breezes July 28, 2011

Hot, humid, shut the door, turn on the AC sweet July.  Here’s a bit of what I’m dipping into to stay cool!

Frozen Granitas

Pour juice, sweetened tea, or nearly any kind of beverage into a freezer-friendly container. I use Ziploc containers because I know they’ll keep me from spilling on the way in and out of the freezer.

After about an hour, take your granita out of the freezer and scrape the frozen sides down and stir into the middle.  Repeat after another 30 minutes to an hour a couple of times until there are flakes of ice throughout and you’re ready for cool, sweet refreshment.  Depending on the size of the container, allow 2-5 hours for freezing.

Alternatively, create a simply syrup of 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water by heating until the sugar is dissolved.  Add to taste to freshly squeezed lemon juice or other fruit juices. Freeze as above.

Home-made Popsicles   

Take the same as above and freeze in popsicle holders.  If you don’t have popsicle holders, freeze in paper cups covered with aluminum foil with a popsicle stick inserted through the middle.

Experiment with adding simply syrup to your juice, blended fruit, whole berries, kiwi slices, or your tea of choice to get the flavoring you like.  I don’t particularly like highly sweetened juices.  Lately, I’ve been going with 8 ounces of unsweetened coconut juice, mixed with the juice of one freshly-squeezed lime and chopped fresh mint, with but a tablespoon or so of simple syrup.  Restorative on a hot day after a bike ride.

Watermelon

Buy a big seedless watermelon. Chop into bite-sized pieces. Store what you can in a refrigerator-friendly container. Freeze the rest on a flat tray lined with saran wrap and covered with saran wrap. Once frozen, store in a Ziploc bag, then blend, frozen, to create an instant watermelon slushie.

Cucumber slices in water    

Peel and slice fresh cucumber. Drop slices into a pitcher. Fill with fresh, cold water. Refrigerate.

Get creative: sometimes I add slices of lime or sprigs of mint. Go with what calls you.

Pickles

I don’t know why. Something about the saltiness, the coolness of the refrigerated jar, makes me crave pickles in summer.  I keep a jar in the fridge all throughout the summer.