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.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Chicken and sausage jambalaya doesn't make for the greatest picture, but the flavor of the dish more than makes up for its less than stellar appearance. This is great-tasting comfort food. I was inspired to make this when I came across a package of gluten-free, corn-free, soy-free, and dairy-free Andouille smoked sausage at our local Shaw's grocery store. The sausage makes the dish, so if you can't find Andouille sausage, wait until you can before making the jambalaya. I hunted around on the internet until I found this recipe off of which to base my version. Both of the girls really like the jambalaya and don't find it too spicy, even though Michael says it makes his head sweat a bit. And Naomi does ask for extra water to drink with the meal.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
serves 2 adults and 2 children for 2 meals; OR serves 4 to 6 adults

Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 medium stalks of celery
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne powder
• 1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts that are organic or kosher.
• 2 cups Imagine Organic chicken broth OR Trader Joe's Organic free-range chicken broth
• 1 1/2 liquid cups (which is about 13.5 oz.) pureed tomatoes. Try to use tomatoes without citric acid, such as Pomi strained tomatoes.
• 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. brown sugar
• 6 oz. (half the package) of Aidells Cajun Style Andouille smoked pork sausage
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice

Instructions:

Place a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Finely chop the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Add the canola oil to the pot and let it heat up until it starts shimmering. Then add the vegetables and saute until softened.

While the vegetables are sauteing, measure out the paprika, black pepper, sea salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper into a small bowl. Thoroughly rinse the chicken breasts and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. When the vegetables are soft, add the minced garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Then add the spices and stir for 30 seconds. Increase the heat to medium-heat, add the chicken and cook for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the outside of the chicken cubes has cooked and is no longer pink. Then add the chicken broth, tomato puree, dried thyme, dried oregano, and brown sugar to the pot and stir.

While the liquid is coming to a simmer, cut the sausages in half length-wise and then cut them into 1/4-inch pieces width-wise. Rinse the rice thoroughly in cold water. When the liquid in the pot has come to a simmer, stir in the rice, sausage pieces, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer again. Then reduce the heat to medium-low or low, cover the pot, and let gently simmer for 30 minutes, until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through. Stir the contents of the pot once every 10 minutes to make sure that the rice is not sticking to the bottom. After about 30 minutes, take the pot off the heat, remove the bay leaf, and add salt to taste, about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp.