gluten free cooking

Brown Rice Risotto (Wild Mushroom version)

Risotto is a favorite rice dish at my house. I generally use arborio rice, short fat white grains. It takes about 18-20 minutes to cook on the stovetop. Someone got me a bag of short grained brown rice. Saturday I tried it out for risotto. And, as it takes longer than white rice, I made it in my Instant Pot pressure cooker; easier, faster and less heat in my kitchen. It was pretty tasty. And super healthy as brown rice is a whole grain. This was a wild mushroom risotto made with chicken of the woods shrooms which I had harvested last fall and frozen partially precooked. Delicious! Baby bella or cremini mushrooms would work well; slice and sauté before adding to the recipe. Or sub in a cup of frozen peas or barely cooked chopped asparagus.

wild mushroom risotto

Yes, those mushrooms are pink! This is a dish of leftover risotto; not as creamy as first cooked was.

Wild Mushroom Brown Rice Risotto

 

Ingredients:

1 cup brown short grain rice

1 Tbsp. olive oil

½ c diced onion

1 garlic clove minced

1/3 c dry white wine

1 2/3 cups chicken broth

1 tsp sea salt

1 cup cooked wild mushrooms; 1 ½ c sliced mushrooms cooked in 2 Tbsp butter 3-6 minutes

1/3-1/2 cup just grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Put IP on sauté feature, let heat then add olive oil. Add finely diced onion, cook 4-5 minutes, stir often. Add rice, stir and cook a minute, add wine, cook a minute, add garlic, stir and cook 30 seconds. Add broth and salt. Put on lid, lock and put on pressure for 35 minutes. While it cooks sauté the shrooms. At end of 35 minutes do a quick release, open, stir and add the mushrooms, stir and add cheese, grind on black pepper.  Stir and serve. Enjoy!

Note, if watery you can put on sauté for 3-5 minutes to dry it out some. Or, if dry add up to a quarter cup more broth.

risotto and firey salmon

Summer supper perfection: dilly cuke salad, corn on cob and firecracker salmon fillets with the risotto.

Crab Cake Feast!

Crab is my weakness, I love to pick out steamed Maryland blue crabs, love lump crab sautéed with shrimp and adore crab soup. Today I bring you a classic: the deluxe crabcake!  We were on vacation in the Finger Lakes and as our bungalow had a full kitchen and gluten free seemed to be scarce, we made all our breakfasts and suppers. I got this big one lb. can of lump crab meat on sale at Valley Farm Market. Add some homemade gf bread crumbs (leftover French bread), eggs and a touch of seasoning; then wait patiently as the cakes brown and you will be rewarded with a big luscious crab cake. I skipped Worcestershire Sauce and Old Bay Seasoning but they are certainly traditional additions.

Chilling the crab mixture is critical to a good crab cake. It truly is vital.

We had crabcake sandwiches a day later for a delish quick picnic lunch under a tree at Niagara Falls. Schar’s gf ciabatta rolls were perfection after I smeared a dab of mayo mixed with Dijon mustard and a leaf of homegrown lettuce. A baggie of cold grapes completed our rapid yet relaxed repast.

crab cakes

Big and juicy crammed full. of lump crab meat! No preparation pictures: on vacation!

Angie’s Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

1 lb. lump crab meat

2/3 cup gf bread crumbs

2 eggs

2-3 Tbsp. light mayonnaise

1 ½ tsp. best quality Dijon mustard

½ tsp. sea salt and ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1-2 Tbsp finely chopped red pepper (optional)

2-3 Tbsp finely chopped onion or green onion

1-2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley

 

Directions: Pick over crab meat for shells. Beat eggs in large bowl with a whisk until broken up.  Add mayo, mustard, salt, black pepper, garlic, chopped pepper, parsley, and onion, Stir, add crab and crumbs, stir gently.  Chill in fridge 30-60 minutes. Form into 5-6 large cakes. We did five big cakes! Add more crumbs if necessary.  Place on a large plate, cover tightly and chill 30-60 minutes. Heat a 50-50 mixture of butter and mild olive oil or canola; enough to well coat a cast iron fry pan and slide the cakes gently in. Maybe 5 minutes a side; until golden brown.

Some serve with tarter sauce. We had ours with rice pilaf, corn on the cob and homegrown snap peas. Enjoy!

Steak Fajitas Done Easy!

Okay, so I’ve been wanting to make gluten free flat bread, aka flour tortillas for a long long time; just been a bit exhausted and too busy for the effort of trying new recipes. Well, I think I found a keeper; found on healthystartsinthekitchen.com. You make it in a lidded quart mason jar; dump ingredients in, shake up the batter really well and pour a quarter cup into a cast iron fry pan or griddle; tilt to spread it a bit, bake on both sides 1-2 minutes and then pop in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes to finish the center. flat bread

Great as a wrap for my steak fajitas. I had some leftover flank steak cooked on the grill. It was a bit tough and kinda boring but sliced thin and briefly warmed on the hot griddle after the flat breads were done; just right. I laid a few slices across a flatbread, topped with finely shredded fresh cabbage, a few thin sliced rounds of cucumber and a bit of sliced ripe avocado. Topped it with a 50/50 mixture of mayo and unflavored yogurt. A great steak fajita is ready to gobble up with very little effort.

 

steak fajita 4The recipe is available on her site: 1/2 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup tapioca flour, some water, onion and garlic powder, sea salt and pepper. Says it makes four but I got 3 medium sized ones. Next time I will double it. They were tasty warm from oven. A very simple to construct (few ingredients and just easy) and extremely useful recipe. Give it a try next time you need a gf flour tortilla. You may be very pleased and it is a fraction the cost of those tough, dry and bland gf wraps you can buy…if you can even find any at your store.  I also like that it takes no weird flours or tricky processes to create these crispy treats. Enjoy!

Aldi’s New Fresh Pasta: Perfection!

Recently I bought some of the new Aldi’s products including fresh fettuccine. I paired it with a cremini mushroom and tomato sauce and it was just perfection. The taste and texture of the pasta was spot on and I can’t wait to use the package of linguine I also purchased. The price was about $3.45 for 8 ounces. Not a bad price for fresh pasta. It has a use by date several weeks away so I am sure I will be able to enjoy it almost as fresh as if I made it myself. Don’t have time for that right now so I am super pleased with this great addition to the Aldi gluten free line. It is everything you could want in a gf fresh pasta.

This is a riff on a mushroom sauce I often make; just more simple.

mushroom linguini

Angie’s Mushroom Red Sauce with Fettuccini (3-4 servings)

 

1 8 oz package of cremini mushrooms

2-3 Tbsp. EVOL

1 medium onion diced (optional)

1 large garlic clove

1 14.5 oz can petite cut tomatoes

2-3 Tbsp heavy cream or half and half

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

8 oz fresh fettuccine

1 Tbsp fresh parsley or basil

 

Directions: Slice the mushrooms which you have cleaned; I washed mine briefly to get all the dirt and dust off. My slices were thick and meaty. Heat the EVOL in a wide saucepan. I used my mini wok. When it is fairly hot add the onion and mushrooms. Cook over medium heat 3-5 minutes until both are soft and mushrooms look fairly cooked. Add the garlic clove, minced. Stir. Add the can of tomatoes, stir well. Turn down heat and cook 10 minutes. Add cream, stir. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and then add the pasta which you have cooked according to the directions (Do not overcook pasta; always best to subtract one minute from directions to allow for a minute in sauce.) Stir well and cook one minute; top with grated cheese. Enjoy!

Chinese Chicken with Broccoli

Chinese stir fry is something most people just buy at the local take out place. When you have celiac you generally can’t do that. So many places use soy sauce that contains gluten. Plus their egg roll wrappers and long noodles are wheat based. But, I love Chinese food and so have to do my best to recreate my favorites. This is a classic; chicken and broccoli. I based it off a recipe on food network; from their kitchen.  I used thighs as they are juicier and I added extra veggies; that’s my jam! It was very tasty and healthier I am guessing than the typical takeout. Not a lot of work except the chopping and I cheated; got a bag of fresh broccoli florets on sale at the farm stand and they were perfect for this dish. You can leave out the extra vegetables like the pea pods but I know you will want them!

We enjoyed this over brown rice: I have a new trick to make better rice. I don’t have a fancy rice cooker but with a circle of brown bag paper I seal the top of the pot; goes right under the lid. The rice doesn’t lose as much moisture as it cooks and I think it comes out perfect.

One last thing; you could omit the fresh ginger and use ½ tsp. dried ginger; works in a pinch but fresh is best!

Chinese Chicken with Broccoli

 

1 lb boneless chicken thighs

2-3 scallions thinly sliced; angled is nice

2 cloves garlic minced

1 inch fresh ginger minced or grated (I grate)

1 Tbsp. gf soy sauce (LaChoy is gf)

1-2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. sea salt

1 Tbsp. dry sherry

2 tsp. dark sesame oil

3 Tbsp. canola oil or mild olive oil

1 carrot cut on bias

5-6 cups broccoli florets

1 orange/red pepper cut in large dice

½-1 cup pea pods; ends cut off

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp. hoisin sauce

 

Directions: Cut the chicken into large cubes, toss them with scallions, half the garlic and ginger, the soy sauce, 1 tsp corn starch, ½ tsp. salt, the sherry and sesame oil. Marinate at room temp while you chop veggies (for 15 minutes). Mix the remaining corn starch with 1/3 cup water.

Heat your wok over high heat, add 1 tbsp. Add chicken, cook for 3-4 minutes, push up sides. Add another Tbsp. oil and then the carrots, top with broccoli and cook a minute, add yellow/red pepper chunks, garlic, ginger and pea pods. Cook maybe 2 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes and hoisin sauce and mix the chicken in well.

Add scallions then cornstarch slurry and cook a minute. If you need more water, add a bit. Check seasoning and add more salt if needed.

Serve over rice. Enjoy!