Yesterday was Katie's birthday.  She is a sweet sister and a dear friend.  She also gets some of the best presents.  Like an Agatha Christie book.  Oh, wait.  I gave her that present.  Oh, and an amazing cookbook called Free For All Cooking by Jules Dowler Shepard.  As of yet, we have not tried any of the recipes, but they still look really good.  Everything is gluten-free, and most are allergy-friendly.  They even have yeast-free bread.  I just hope I am not disappointed.

Okay, so it's Spanish Rice.  I am going to be that this is really is not Spanish.  How come America's ideas of ethnic foods (Mexican, Chinese, etc.) has little to do with the actual cuisine of that country?  At least these dishes taste better than American food.  Our cuisine is, in my opinion, the most boring.  All we have is fattening, greasy foods.

Anyway, back to the topic of this rice.  Last week while my parents were out of the country, both my sisters and their families were over partying at my house.  Well, not partying, but I am still jealous that I was at work while my sisters, nieces, and nephews were at MY house.  (What's that, Daddy?  It's your house?  You know what I mean.)  They even stayed for dinner.  And made new food.  And left as I was coming home.  It was very sad, but at least they saved me dinner.

The point of that story is that neither Katie nor I made this rice dish, but it was yummy nonetheless.  And supposedly easy to make.  It is taken from a recipe on food.com, with only a slight variation.

Spanish Rice:

10 oz. tomato puree
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 1/4 c. rice (my sister used a mixture of white and brown)
1 T. dairy-free butter
2 t. chili powder
3/4 t. oregano
1/2 t. garlic salt
1 t. cumin


In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.  Cover and without taking the lid off and stirring, simmer 25 minutes or until rice is done.

Normally I have Fridays off, but somehow I never end up sleeping late.  Today was no exception, as I made a mistake of making my blood work appointment early this morning.  I prefer earlier when I have to fast beforehand, especially since they normally take multiple vials of blood.  You get to eat sooner that way, right?  Unless you plan to run errands afterward.  I wasn't starving and I didn't faint, but I was glad once lunchtime rolled around and I found out we had special burritos.  Guess who savored their lunch?

I love burritos of just about any kind - regular, rice, or even oatmeal.  Some people - okay, almost everybody - do not share my enthusiasm for oatmeal mixed with refried beans.  It is almost as good as an grilled oatmeal, ham, and cheese quesadilla topped with barbecue sauce.  You really ought to try it.  Anyway, if I haven't scared you away with my strange sense of taste, then you may want to try my new favorite burrito made with black beans.
The recipe is from Bon Appetit.


Chipotle Black Bean Burritos

3 T. olive oil
1 medium-sized red onion, chopped
1 T. chili powder
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained
1/2 c. frozen corn kernels, thawed (optional)
1/3 c. plus 3/4 c. chipotle salsa (regular salsa works)
1 avacado, diced
6 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 c. sheep's milk feta, crumbled (optional)
4 gf tortillas (our favorite are millet and flax tortillas from Sami's Bakery)

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and chili powder, saute until onion softens, about 4 minutes.  Stir in beans, corn, and 1/3 cup salsa.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook 10 minutes to blend flavors, stirring often.  Season filling to taste with salt and pepper.

Stir together remaining 3/4 c. salsa, diced avocado, and 2 T. cilantro.

Heat tortillas if desired (I did not do so).  Spoon filing onto center of tortillas, topping each with 1 T. cheese and 1 T. cilantro, then top with avocado-salsa mixture.  Fold up and enjoy.

Often when we get a hankering for we cannot eat, Katie or I go into the kitchen to make our own allergy-friendly replica.  Half the time (okay, ninety percent of the time) the dish doesn't turn out right.  Most times it never tastes the same.  You cannot just take the main ingredients out of a dish and expect it to taste as wonderful.  Hardly ever happens.

But imagine with me for a moment if the allergy-friendly version tasted not only as good, but better than the original?  And on the first try, to top it all?   Guess no more!  Katie took a Parmesan Fish Stick recipe from Food Network's website and turned it into pure deliciousness.


Okay, I have to admit that I do not have much to base my statement that these are better than the normal kind.  My experience with fish sticks are the frozen ones that probably do not contain real fish, which the overload of "breading" hides well.   Any recipe with real fish scores over those fakes.

Side Notes:  We used goat's milk Parmesan cheese and plain yogurt.  If you do not do any sort of animal's milk products, than you can obtain vegan Parmesan cheese, but I have never found a good yogurt substitute.  As for the mayonnaise, Katie often makes her own out of eggs.  I buy egg-free mayonnaise.  If you cannot have eggs or corn, you probably need to skip the sauce.  We used Mahi Mahi for the fish, but you could use salmon (or, for that matter, whatever you like best)

Fishy Sticks

18 oz. worth of Mahi Mahi  fillets, skinned (the original recipe called for one fillet about 9 by 4 in., but the kind we used needed two fillets)
1/2 c. gluten-free all-purpose flour (we like Gluten-free Mama's Almond All-Purpose)
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
3 T. ground flaxseed plus 1/2 c. water (or three egg whites)
1 c. goat's milk Parmesan
1 c. gluten-free bread crumbs (we just crumbled our staling gf bread)
Olive oil, for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Rinse Mahi Mahi fillet(s) and pat dry with paper towels.  Cut the fish (if need be) in half to make 2 fillets each about 4 by 4 1/2-inches in size.  Starting on the longest edge, slice the fillets into 1/2-inch pieces.  Lay the widest pieces, from the center, cut side down, and slice in half lengthways so all the pieces are equally about 1/2 by 1/2 by 4 1/2-inches in size.

Places the flour in a medium bowl and season with the salt and pepper.  Mix flaxseed and water in a separate bowl.  Stirring every fifteen seconds, heat the flaxseed mixture in the microwave for thirty seconds or until mixture resembles egg whites.  (If making with egg whites, beat the whites in a separate bowl until frothy, which is about 30 seconds.  Use in place of flaxseed mixture from here on out.)  Combine the Parmesan and bread in a third bowl.

Coat the fish pieces in the seasoned flour and pat to remove any excess flour.  Dip the floured fish in the flaxseed mixture and then into the Parmesan mixture, gently pressing the mixture into the fish.  Place the breaded salmon pieces on a liberally oiled baking sheet.  Drizzle lightly with the olive oil.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.


Dipping Sauce:

1/3 c. mayonnaise (see note)
1/3 c. plain goat's milk yogurt
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. chopped fresh chives

Mix the mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon mustard, and chives in a small dipping bowl.  Serve with fish sticks.

This week we had our first real snowstorm of the winter.  Snow always puts me in the mood for soup.  Homemade soup is the best, but what about those times when you want it on-the-go or you want something that will be ready for lunch in five minutes?  A lot of canned soups either have things in them I cannot eat or simply taste bland.

But, wait, what's this?  You see soup on my pantry shelves?  YES!  Let me introduce you to Dr. McDougall's brand soups.



As long as there is a microwave and water around, you are all set.  It is so good that my sister without allergies keeps her pantry stocked these.  All his soups are vegan, hence dairy- and egg-free.  Here are the ones that are also gluten-free:

Pad Thai Noodle Soup (as shown above, my favorite)
Tortilla Chips Soup
Black Bean and Lime Soup
Split Pea Soup
Spring Onion Noodle Soup
Tamale Soup

There are also boxed soups from this brand, although I have never tried them.  For more information, go here.

The day that I made this meal was a bit of a crazy day. It was our weekly-cleaning day, and we were getting ready to have a bunch of people over after dinner. Thankfully this was a fairly easy to make (a rice cooker makes it even easier).
I apologize for not taking a picture of this dish. I was darting around the kitchen while trying to avoid stepping on my mother's mop. Also, there were shrimp tails scattered across the counter (I remembered kind of late that I would have to remove them - silly me), so I don't think you all would have wanted to see a picture of my crazy mess.
Here's the recipe, compliments Cooking Light:

2 T. fat-free, less-sodium, GF chicken broth
2 T rice wine
1 T. low-sodium, GF soy sauce
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 T. vegetable oil
2 lightly beaten eggs (poor Hannah could not enjoy this dish)
2 c. chopped green onions
1 T. finely chopped fresh ginger
5 c. cooked white rice (like I said, the rice cooker works wonderfully)
1 lb medium shrimp (cooked, peeled, and coarsely chopped)
1 package of green peas (optional)

In a bowl mix the chicken broth, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and black pepper together and set aside. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the eggs and stir-fry for 30 seconds or until the eggs are lightly scrambled. Now add the green onions and ginger, and stir-fry that for about a minute. Dump in the rice, shrimp, and peas. Stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the mixture is fully heated. Lastly, add in the chicken broth mixture and toss just until coated.

No, it doesn't mean crazy.  It's a Bolivian stew.  It is simple, healthy, and oh so good.



I love ethnic food.  Adore it.  American food it... well, boring.  And gross.  I have had this dish every year for my birthday ever since some friends from Bolivia made it for us five or so years ago.  My dad banned it from the house any other time of year.  Last month, on my birthday, my mom got my dad to try it one more time.  The next day I caught him taking some of the Locro to work.  He reluctantly admitted he now likes the stew.  Maybe I can make it more often.


Locro

2 T. olive oil
2 medium onions, cut in larger chunks
2 T. minced garlic
2 lbs. acorn squash, pealed and cut in squares
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. cumin
2 t. Kosher salt
1 1/2 c. frozen corn
4 red potatoes, cut in large chunks
1 jalapeno, chopped
Sheep's milk feta (or Queso fresca if you can have dairy, or forget the cheese altogether if you can't have sheep's milk)

Put oil in a pot over medium high heat.  Stir onions for three minutes, add garlic, and stir for 2 more minutes.  Stir in squash, pepper, cumin, and salt.  Fill water to cover all the vegetables and let it cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Use a blender (immersion blenders work great!) to blend everything.  Then add the potatoes, corn, and jalapeno.  Cook for about 20 more minutes or until potatoes are soft.  Serve hot and top with the feta cheese.