Mexican Lentils and Rice

This is another one of those foods that isn't much to look at, but tastes really good. I've been making this dish since the second year Michael and I were married, when I was looking for Mexican-inspired foods that didn't contain corn. Since I didn't know how to cook when I got married, the fact that I felt comfortable making this dish is a good indication that it's easy to make. What I also like about Mexican lentils and rice is that it's a nice vegetarian dish all by itself, or it goes well as a side dish with grilled cilantro lime chicken or other Mexican-themed meat dishes. You can make it with or without the shredded cheese on top.

The original recipe called for one packet of taco seasoning mix; however, this doesn't work for my family since all of the mixes I've found contain one or more of the following: corn, wheat, dairy, soy, or citric acid. I searched for homemade taco seasoning mixes and came up with the spice mixture included in my recipe below. If you would like to make the recipe with a taco seasoning packet instead of my spice mix, just omit all of the herbs, spices, and salt in the ingredient list.

Mexican Lentils and Rice
serves 4 to 8 adults (depending on whether it's a main dish or side dish)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of lentils
  
• 1 large onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 medium carrot
• 4 cups of water
• 1 rice-cooker cup (or 3/4 cup using a regular measuring cup) uncooked long-grain white rice
• 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (or less if you don't prefer it as spicy)
• 1 6-oz can of tomato paste. Try to buy one that contains just tomatoes and no citric acid.
• optional: 1 small can Lindsay Naturals sliced olives. (Most other brands contain ferrous gluconate, which comes from corn.)
• optional: 1/2 to 1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese. Buy a block of cheese and not pre-grated cheese, which contains corn products to prevent clumping.

Instructions:

Put the lentils in a bowl and fill the bowl with water to soak the lentils.

Throughly rinse the rice: Put the rice in a medium bowl and fill the bowl with water. Swish the rice around in the water with your hand. The water will turn whitish in color as the rice starch comes off the rice into the water. Then pour the starchy water out into the sink and fill the bowl with water again. Do this four or five times, until the water remains mostly clear even after having the rice stirred around in it. Then drain the water from the rice, transfer the rice to a rice cooker, add water, and let it cook.

Finely chop the onion, carrot, and celery. Pour four cups of water into a 4-quart pot. Add the chopped vegetables. Stir and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the water has come to a boil, drain the water from the lentils, rinse thoroughly in a colander or sieve, and add the lentils to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low, cover with a lid, and let simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the lentils and vegetables are fully cooked and tender.

Halfway through the cooking time for the lentils and vegetables, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 2-quart Pyrex dish (the 8"x8" square one) or casserole dish with canola oil. Measure out all of the spices.

When the lentils and vegetables are done, remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the spices, tomato paste, cooked rice, and olives. Pour the mixture into the greased dish. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, until the liquid is bubbling and has been mostly absorbed. If you would like to add shredded cheese, sprinkle it on top halfway through the baking time. After removing the dish from the oven, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Quinoa

I've been making quinoa for a few years now, but I've struggled to make it consistently good. Sometimes it would turn out really well, but sometimes it would end up too sticky and wet. And sometimes the quinoa grains just would not unfurl, stubbornly staying hard and crunchy. This summer I finally decided to branch out from the instructions on the Trader Joe's box and search the internet for a reliable recipe. I tried several different methods, and here is the one I like the best. The other great this about this recipe is that soaking and then rinsing the quinoa before cooking somehow gets rid of the coating or residue that Michael sometimes reacts to. So please soak and rinse! :) If you want to add quinoa to a stew or soup, I recommend soaking and rinsing it before cooking it in the liquid of the stew or soup.

Quinoa
serves 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Instructions:

Measure the quinoa and pour it into a medium-size bowl. Fill the bowl with water, stir, and let the quinoa soak for 5 minutes. Stir again and then pour the water and quinoa through a sieve to drain the water from the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa under water and transfer to a 2-quart pot.

Add 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to the pot and stir. Bring the water to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let the water simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the quinoa from the heat and let it sit in the pot, still covered, for 5 minutes. Then fluff the quinoa and serve.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been playing with this recipe since the summer, and I think I'm finally going to call it good. I started with the following recipe for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, but I modified it to suit our taste and to make it corn-free. I'm really happy with how my recipe turned out -- these cookies are amazingly good for not having any butter or egg. What I'm still mulling over is the fact that the cookies are great when they're eaten warm, right out of the oven, but they're not nearly as good the next day. Don't get me wrong, the cookie are still good the second day, but they're not that warm cookie perfection. I need to keep in mind that this is only a flaw if you can't eat all of the cookies in one day. :)

My other quandary has been at what temperature and how long to bake the cookies. I've decided just to leave the decision up to you. If you like the cookies to be a little crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, then bake them at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, until just golden brown. If you like your cookies a bit crunchier, then bake them at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. And if you prefer your chocolate chip cookies to be "soft baked," then use just 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, instead of 1 teaspoon, and bake them at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes about 18 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour
• 1 Tbsp. flax seed meal. I used Bob's Red Mill brand.
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 2 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
• 3 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup Spectrum organic shortening. I use this palm shortening because we still react a bit to regular shortening, which is made from soybean oil.
  
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. Use Trader Joe's alcohol-free vanilla extract or another vanilla extract that does not have corn syrup and is preferably alcohol-free, since the alcohol could be derived from corn. Recently I have been using Rodelle Vanilla Flavor alcohol free all natural extract, which I found at Stop and Shop.
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 2/3 cup dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips. The two kinds I use that do not contain milk fat are Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips and Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (or 375 degrees if you want crunchier cookies). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sift the flour into a medium bowl. Whisk in the flax seed meal, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Set aside. Into a small bowl add the white sugar, applesauce, shortening, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and sea salt. Whisk these ingredients together until they are thoroughly combined and the mixture has become light and fluffy. Pour the sugar and shortening mixture into the flour mixture and stir until no traces of flour remain. Then stir in the chocolate chips.

Using a cookie scoop (which holds about 1 1/2 Tbsp. of dough), scoop balls of cookie dough and place them on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. These cookies spread quite a bit, so be sure not to place the balls of dough too close together. I usually bake just 9 cookies per baking sheet. Bake one sheet of cookies at a time for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are just turning golden brown around the edges. Let the cookies cool for about 3 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack.

The cookies are best eaten while still warm. If you have any leftover, place them while still warm in an airtight container. This helps to prevent them from becoming stale.

Apple Baked Oatmeal and Michael Timothy's

Apple Baked Oatmeal

My parents came to visit us for the Columbus Day weekend. We had a great time enjoying the warm weather -- going to the playground, playing in the pool in the backyard, and visiting Parlee Farms to go apple and pumpkin-picking. Since we now have a lot of apples to eat up, I decided to add apples to our maple baked oatmeal this morning. Wow! It was so good that I think I'm going to make the same thing for breakfast tomorrow. I peeled one medium apple and cut it into 1/8" slices. Then I cut those slices into small 1/2-inch squares and put between 1/4 and 1/3 cup of apple squares into the bottom of each ramekin. Next I poured the oatmeal mixture on top of the apple pieces and put the ramekins in the oven, following the instructions from the original recipe.


Michael Timothy's

Michael and I also had the special treat of going out to eat while my parents babysat the girls. We decided to try out what used to be Michael Timothy's, which they're now calling MT's Local. We hadn't been in years, but I thought we'd try it since the online menu looked promising. Michael and I were impressed with the new decor, menu options, and food. The waitress was very aware of food allergies and intolerances, and the chefs were able to cater easily to our requests. What Michael and I enjoyed just as much as the food, though, was their weekly wine flight. Each week they have a flight of three 2-ounce servings of wine. If you prefer, you can create your own flight from any of the wines they offer by the glass. The wines were quite good, and it was a fun way to combine dinner with some wine-tasting. We look forward to going back to try more items off of their food menu and to try a different wine flight.

White Wine and Paprika Vinaigrette (or Taco Salad Vinaigrette)

I wish I had a picture of this vinaigrette to post on the blog because it has a great orangey color. We like to eat this salad with Mexican food, but it would also go nicely with Hungarian or German foods that use paprika. The vinaigrette also works as a dressing for taco salad. Just top the salad with some ground beef cooked with taco seasoning. You could add cubed avocado, shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, and salsa. Since regular tortilla chips are made from corn, we eat our taco salad with potato chips instead.

White Wine and Paprika Vinaigrette
serves 2 adults and 2 small children

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar. I use Acetaia Bellei brand since Cook's Illustrated recommended it.
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 large Romaine heart
• 1 can of sliced olives. Use Lindsays Naturals or another brand that does not contain ferrous gluconate.
• cherry or grape tomatoes

Instructions:

Whisk together the white wine vinegar, honey, paprika, mustard, black pepper, and sea salt. Then whisk in the canola oil.

Rinse the Romaine lettuce leaves and rip them into bite-size pieces. Dry them in a salad spinner or with a towel. Transfer the lettuce to a serving bowl. Pour the vinaigrette over the lettuce and toss so that the dressing coats all of the leaves. Serve immediately.

Mexican Rice

This is another dish I started playing with over the summer, beginning with this recipe. However, the original recipe called for chicken broth, and I like to avoid using chicken broth for side dishes when I can. The organic chicken broth I have to buy is expensive, and it can be hard to find. So I decided to try to increase the flavor of the rice without using any broth. With the addition of spices and a little extra salt, Michael and the girls think this rice is a hit. The bright color is just a bonus. :)

The other thing I've been working on this summer is how to prepare rice in general. Over the past year Michael has become more sensitive to rice and will sometimes react to it. I think it might be either something sprayed on the rice or something in the natural rice starch coating. The trick I've found to make rice safe for Michael to eat is to rinse it thoroughly in cold water. I put the rice in a large bowl and fill the bowl with water. Next I swish the rice around in the water with my hand. The water will turn whitish in color as the rice starch comes off the rice into the water. Then I pour the starchy water out into the sink and fill the bowl with water again. I do this four or five times, until the water remains mostly clear even after having the rice stirred around in it.

Mexican Rice
serves 3 to 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
  
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1/4 cup tomato paste. Try to get a can with just tomato and no added citric acid.
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice (optional)
  
• 1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Instructions:

Place a 2-quart pot over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pot to heat up. Finely chop the onion and add to the pot. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened. While the onion is sauteing, pour about 2 cups water into a kettle and bring to a boil. Measure out the cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper into a small bowl. Rinse the rice thoroughly in a large bowl with cold water until the water runs clear. Drain the water from the rice.

When the onion is soft, add the garlic to the pot and stir for 30 seconds. Then add the spices and 1 more tablespoon of olive oil, and stir for 30 more seconds. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Then add the tomato paste and stir so that the paste thoroughly covers the rice. Measure out 1 3/4 cups boiling water and pour into the pot. Add the oregano and stir the rice and water mixture briefly to make sure that the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Bring the water in the pot back to a boil over medium heat. Cover the pot with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Cook covered for 15 minutes. Then stir the rice and any liquid that is still on top, cover the pot again, and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, stir the rice, recover the pot, and let the rice sit covered for 5 minutes. Then add the chopped cilantro and lime juice and serve.

Cilantro Lime Chicken

As you can tell by my lack of posts this past month, September was a busy time for us. The girls and I were all getting used to their new school schedule, especially getting up at six in the morning! Needless to say, by the time each evening rolled around, I was too tired to work on the blog. However, now that October is here, I think I'm starting to get into the swing of things. And I really want to share some of the recipes I've been trying out over the past month.

I was inspired to come up with this recipe because I had some extra cilantro lying around that I didn't want to go to waste. Back before we had kids, I used to make a recipe for grilled cilantro lime chicken. However, most of the flavor for that dish came from the cilantro lime butter that was spread all over it. Since we're trying to avoid consuming as much dairy now, I wanted to increase the flavor of the chicken itself so that I wouldn't need to spread butter all over it to make it taste good. On a hunch, I started with my recipe for rosemary lemon chicken and modified it to use cilantro and lime instead. Voila! The chicken tastes great all by itself, without the help of any butter. But for those of you who love butter and can still eat it happily, I've included the recipe for the cilantro lime butter at the bottom.

Cilantro Lime Chicken
serves 3 to 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts that are either kosher or organic
• juice of 1 lime (2 to 2 1/2 Tbsp.)
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
  
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

Instructions:

Rinse the chicken breasts thoroughly under cold water and place in a quart-size Zip-lock bag. Mince the cilantro and transfer to a small bowl. Add the lime juice, minced garlic, sea salt, and black pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Pour the marinade into the bag with the chicken breasts. Seal the bag and massage the marinade onto the chicken. Place the bag with the chicken in the refrigerator for at least one hour, but preferably two.

Remove the chicken from the bag and grill until the chicken is done.


Cilantro Lime Butter

Ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp. lime zest
• 1 1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 shallot, minced
• 3 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, minced
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Instructions:

Let the butter soften on the counter top. In a small bowl combine the rest of the ingredients. Then stir in the butter until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated into the butter. Form the butter into a log or spoon it into an attractive bowl. Place the butter in the refrigerator for at least an hour to let it firm up before serving.