gluten free cooking

Summer Roast Chicken Minus Oven

Hot days of late, too hot to roast a fricken chicken.  Not that many gluten free rotisserie chickens around here that I know of, although I here Wegmans has them.  What to do if we crave roast chicken and don’t want to heat the house too?  It’s Super Slow Cooker to the rescue!  So easy too, make a dry rub of spices, sprinkle all over the bird and stick some under the skin.  Plop it in the pot and let er rip for 4 plus hours!  How did it turn out? Great! Mildly spicy, flavorful, moist and tasty.  Best of all: no hot kitchen.  I ate it that night with some leftover potato salad and some veggies.  The next night I created a big salad of many veggie things with my homemade rotisserie chicken breast as the star ingredient.  A few nights later another salad with different veggies and more of the fabulous chicken topping it.  Then a day later I made a simple stir fry with pad Thai noodles, broccoli florets, fresh ginger in thin strips, zuke half moons, fresh pea pods from the garden, onion and a diagonally sliced carrot.  Oh and I used the rest of the chicken breast for the protein in it. The rest of the stir fry: cold Thai salad for lunch the next day: I just added a bit of sesame oil and it was ready! Awesome!  No oven needed. Or wanted!

It is from my slow cooker cookbook by Carla Forbes. I know you will be pleased with how cool your kitchen stays and that it is safe for us gluten intolerant types.  For some reason most stores that sell rotisserie chicken add some gluten in the process.  I am guessing it is in the spice blend as is often the case with such flavor blends.  In any case, your homemade rotisserie chicken will be safe and succulent! And for anyone who doesn’t worry on gluten; well, this is a tasty dish you will love to have in your arsenal of hot weather entrée choices.

Ready for roasting!
Juicy tender breast meat

Hot Summer Rotisserie Chicken

1 four pound whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry

2 tbsp. olive oil

Spice blend: mix in a small dish

1 ½ tsp sat

2 tsp. paprika

½ tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. dried thyme

½ tsp. dried basil

½ tsp. white pepper

½ tsp. cayenne pepper or hot chili powder

½ tsp. black pepper

½ tsp. garlic powder

Directions: Remove any giblets and dispose of them how ever you like.  Just not gonna use them in this recipe! Or any I provide.  Ick!  Rinse the bird or not as you prefer: just be sure to pat dry with a couple paper towels.  Rub the spice mix all over the bird, pull back some breast skin and sprinkle the mix in there.  Sprinkle any extra inside the bird.  Place bird breast up in your six quart oval (not so good in round one!) slow cooker.  Drizzle the olive oil on top of your bird; all over it.  Cover and cook 4-5 hours on low or 3.5 on high.  I did 4 on low and turned it up to high for 45 minutes at the end. My bird was close to 5 pounds so I felt it needed a bit more cooking.

My recipe said you could make gravy: what I did was remove the bird and add 1/3 cup brown rice mixture flour and stir well to blend it into the pan juices and naturally created chicken broth.  Add salt and pepper to taste; cook on high for 10-15 minutes.

I ate some hot with potato salad that night and put the rest of it into a big batter bowl that has a lid.  Once it was cooled somewhat the bird went into the refrigerator to keep fresh and flavorful.  The broth soaks in and adds even more flavor as it rests in the cold fridge.

I have no picture of the done bird whole.  I was so hungry the first night I dug in and totally forgot to take one; next time I made it I will snap a few and upload to this post.  It looks like your regular rotisserie chicken if not as dry or dark skinned.

Originally posted July 2015. Minor changes to text made.

Pork Stir Fry: Delightfully Healthy

When time is short, the weather is hot and you are hungry for a real meal I find a stir fry can be a great choice.  It allows me to use whatever is in the fridge and pantry to create a fresh wholesome meal. For a starch my go to choice is often rice noodles, they come in skinny to very wide size and are so easy to prepare.  They take on the flavor of the rest of the dish which can be handy; no flavor conflicts here!

This version I am sharing today is a pork stir fry with those delightful medium to wide rice noodles you can get these days in most grocery stores.  I soak them in very hot water for ten minutes and drain well before stirring them into the completed dish.  Foolproof.

Notes: the veggie amounts are very fluid; use more if you like a lot of something or skip if you hate.  And sub in other things if you dislike any of the veggies I used; other choices are broccoli, onion, or snap peas. Best made in a wok; I have a small one I use all the time.  I guess you can use a fry pan; keep it hot and stir constantly.

Pork Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

Ingredients:

rice noodles, any thickness; a handful; around a cup

3/4 lb of boneless pork cut into bite sized bits

½ tsp. dry ginger

1-2 tbsp. cooking oil (I like mild olive oil)

2 carrots; sliced on the diagonal

2 celery stalks sliced on diagonal

1 cup sliced zucchini; about ¼ inch thick

1 cup bok choy; I used bokchoy greens from my garden

1 cup thinly sliced cabbage

1 big garlic clove minced

About a tbsp of slivered fresh ginger

1 tsp. corn starch dissolved in 1/3 cup water

1/2 tsp. soy sauce (be sure it is gf)

Directions: Put the noodles in a bowl half full of very hot water; I heat it in the microwave until almost boiling. I break them in half before putting in water; up to you if you like long strands. Let stand ten minutes.  Meanwhile, cut the pork up into thin slices or chunks; nothing that can’t fit easily into someone’s mouth, sprinkle it with the dried ginger.  You can also sprinkle it with meat tenderizer if you like; I would put that on before the ginger.

Heat mini wok, add oil.  Add pork and stir it after a minute; start flipping over; brown all over lightly; 3-4 minutes.  Remove to a plate.  Add celery and carrot, stir a minute or two then add cabbage, stir a minute, add the zucchini and garlic; stir 2 minutes then add the bok choy, stir 1-2 minutes.  Add the pork back and the fresh ginger slivers.  Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.  You want the veggies to be a touch crisp but mostly cooked.  Pour in the cornstarch water slurry and 1/2 tsp. soy sauce.  Stir well and add the drained noodles; keep stirring as it cooks for one  to two minutes; add more water if not enough sauce to your liking. This last minute is critical to make the sauce clear; you need to cook the cornstarch. Taste and add more soy sauce if you want, also, season with salt and fresh black pepper to your liking.

I often use fruit juice for some or all of the water.  Pineapple is my favorite but orange juice works well for some of the fluid; adds a lot of flavor. Should serve 3 people.

This is a naturally gluten free dish.  If you dislike the rice noodles service it over rice. Enjoy!

Spring Pea Soup

Spring is a great time for a light flavorful soup.  One that celebrates healthy eating: this is food code for fresh vegetables.  Pea soup sounded good but I couldn’t find a recipe for a creamy pea soup, looked at a few veggie soups and combined them into this recipe.  I used frozen peas; fresh ones are hard to find and pricy. peas

Tips: You need to blend this up – blender or food processor.  You might want to put a kitchen towel over the blender in case of flying hot soup! Don’t boil it once you add the half and half; will curdle.  I used homemade chicken broth – use a good quality broth if you can’t make your own.

The flavor is not just peas; you have the other veggies and the broth not to mention the butter and half/half.  It is not too thick or too rich.  As Goldilocks said “just right.”  It is a lovely springy shade of green and would make a perfect first course for a dinner party or just for your family.  My mom loves soup for supper and she adored this one. Healthy, quick to make and packed with flavor: that’s what I want these days in a soup. On a hot day it would be lovely cold. Chill the bowls before filling and serving.

pea soup 013

Spring Pea Soup

Ingredients

1 medium onion

1 celery stalk

2 cups frozen peas: ½ cup peas and rest (see below)

1.5 tbsp. butter

3 cups chicken broth

1 ½ cups peas (rest of 2 cups)

½ cup half and half

1.5 tbsp. butter

4 tsp. gluten free flour blend; I used my favorite brown rice/potato starch/tapioca mix (See my pie crust recipe for the blend or use King Arthur’s blend; same thing.)

Directions

Cut the onion into small dice, same for celery.  Heat a medium saucepan: 1/5-2 qt size, add 1.5 tbsp. butter. Add onion, celery and cook 3 minutes.  Add first measure of peas.  Stir and cook 1 minute.  Add broth.  Cook 15 minutes.  Add rest of peas.  Cook 3 minutes.  Let cool slightly, puree in blender in 2 batches, keep lid on tight, can cover with kitchen towel in case of liquid escapage.  Return to sauce pan while you make the rue.

Heat second amount of butter in a small sauce pan and add flour when it is melted.  Stir and cook a minute, add ½ tsp salt and a sprinkle of white pepper.  Add the half and half, stir well until lumps are gone.  Add a ladle of soup to it and stir until fully blended.  Add back to the rest of the soup. Heat stirring constantly until hot but not bubbling.  You can thin it with more broth or water if it is too thick. Serve hot and enjoy the flavor of spring in your soup spoon.

Originally posted by me in May 2015

A Note on Updates

Just a brief note to my blogs readers. I am very glad if you chose to follow me and get my posts via email but I have a suggestion.  Before making any of my recipes; check my post on line. I do update the recipes sometimes, and you might be sorry if you don’t check the on line version for any revisions.  Case in point; I had not placed salt on the ingredients for the potato leek soup I posted last week.  When I made it Sunday I realized that if you use unsalted broth you really need to add salt to the finished soup so I went back and added the salt in as an ingredient.  Other recipes get revised to for a variety of reasons including newer, better recipe versions, ingredient amount changes and tips or hints I think of after the post was published…so I suggest looking the recipe up on my blog before attempting it and that way you will have the most recent version.

 

Happy cooking!

Potato Leek Soup

What a chilly spring! Cold nights and days mean my tummy craves warm comforting soup.  This leek potato soup fits the bill and then some.   It is also known as vichyssoise: the fancy French name for pureed leek and soup. My mom used to make it when I was a kid, in the summer she served it chilled and in the winter it is perfect hot from the pot. Both versions are awesome.

I love to make this recipe as it gives me the opportunity to yank out my boat motor blender and let it go!  It is a small, hand held immersion blender that is fun and effective although it often leaves a few chunks of potato and leek in my soup which I kinda like.

I used half and half to make it creamy.  The original recipe uses heavy cream but I wanted to lighten the fat load, sometimes I use plain whole milk.  I have a friend who makes it with nonfat milk, in my mind that is going a tad too far in that austere direction.  Don’t use less than 2 percent if you want a rich creamy texture and great mouth feel. You could mix some cream and some milk.  Whatever works for you or is in the fridge!  Note: if your chicken broth is unseasoned you will  need to add salt for sure; taste and add as much as you desire; I have added salt as an ingredient for that reason.  If you use broth containing salt taste before adding any additional salt.

You can guild the lily by sprinkling this with chopped fresh chives, nice but not necessary.

 

Mom’s Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter

1 medium onion, diced small

3 leeks; white and pale green parts only, chopped into small rounds

3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced

3-4 cups chicken broth

¾ cup half and half

¼ tsp. mace or nutmeg

1-2 tsp. sea salt to taste: depends on salt level in chicken broth used

Directions

I use my heavy bottomed small soup pot.  Heat the butter, add the onion bits and leek slices. Cook 4 minutes.  Add 3 cups gluten free chicken broth.  I really prefer Kitchen Basics; says GF on box and tastes great.  Heat to boiling, add the diced up potatoes, cook 15 minutes or until potatoes are done.  Add more broth if it seems low in liquid.  I add up to 4 cups broth and then I add water to thin it further if needed.  I usually poke the potatoes with a fork to check for almost falling apart status.  Turn off and let stand 10 minutes.  Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture. Can also use a blender or a food processor for this action but in any case, be very careful not to burn yourself with a splash of hot soup. Add half and half, half the salt and the mace.  Blend them in until it is smooth. Add more salt if you desire.  White pepper is good as a seasoning too.  Great hot or well chilled once we reach that lovely season of summer heat that makes a chilled soup seem fabulous.  Right now, it is practically the last thing I want to eat.

Anyway, enjoy it hot or cold.  This recipe is an adaption from The Joy of Cooking, a handy resource volume for classic recipes like this one.  Great taste never goes out of style.

Originally posted March 2015.  Slightly revised.