food glorious food

Fall to winter is a curious time of yummy carb goodness with little to no thought of summer or its lack of layers. This is one of my favorite go-to dishes because it's easy and stuffed full of veggies. You see, I'm still a very small child who needs to be tricked into eating her vegetables by sprinkling them with red peppers and olive oil. This recipe includes bacon but feel free to omit it if you eat vegetarian. On an unrelated note: we didn't have a single pie for Thanksgiving and now I fear that I might be forced to make one just for Nick and I. And maybe some sugar cookies for the upcoming Christmas season. And maybe some chocolate chip cookies and brownies for good measure. Get in my belly!

Broccoli Cauliflower Spinach Pasta
   
-broccoli
-cauliflower
-spinach
-pasta (tinkyada brown rice spaghetti is my favorite)
-bacon
-red pepper flakes

This is a very loose recipe based on one that I found awhile ago. Cut up some fresh broccoli and cauliflower into small florets. Start cooking your pasta and once you have 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of your florets) of cooking time left add your cauliflower. 5 minutes before the pasta is done add the broccoli. In another pan cook your bacon. Set the bacon aside. Use the bacon grease and or some olive oil to sauté the spinach. When the spinach leaves are wilted add the drained pasta into the pan. Add olive oil as needed and season with salt, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Serve with bacon crumbled on top. (Or not.)

very berry pancakes with bananas and peaches too

I love the colors of this breakfast. They make me think of fall and summer at the same time. Lately, I've seen colors everywhere and have been mesmerized by them. I wrote a poem about nesting in trees as I walked across campus yesterday; all because they looked like the color of warmth--banked fires. I think that colorfulness is one of the things that I miss most during the winter. But it has it's own beauties too and when they are here I'm sure I'll write poems in praise of them as well.

These pictures were the gift that my weekend gave to me. A gift of quiet, peace, light, time; so different from the weekdays I'm experiencing this semester.

I pretty much followed Karina's recipe with a few tweaks.
Tweak 1: I used both millet, brown rice and sorghum flour, I omitted the almond flour and doubled the buckwheat, because buckwheat is good!
Tweak 2: No eggs, only egg replacer
Tweak 3: I added mashed bananas and frozen blueberries, but no almond extract.

Other notes:
I added more water than the original recipe requires. I didn't measure it out, I just added a little bit at a time until it was the consistency that I like my pancake batter to be.
I tried adding oat flour a while ago and those did not turn out well, they stuck to the pan something fierce.
Instead of all the lovely bubbles you might be used to pancakes showing to indicate their readiness, mine looked a bit dry on top when they were ready to be flipped.

I like cake

Over the weekend I had to do a photo shoot for an assignment. One of my ideas was to have my lovely model/friend, Devaun, pose while "baking". Devaun was great and really easy to photograph; did I mention that she's gorgeous. I'll show you the project in the near future (I'm pretty proud of how it turned out), but I ultimately went a different direction for the project. However, since we had all the ingredients out to photograph I decided to go ahead and make the cake. Because who doesn't like cake? Crazy people that's who. And we aren't crazy. At least in regards to our cake-liking.

I found this recipe on this very impressive food blog. After looking at her website for way too long I wanted to eat everything that she's created. This cake is called a Lemon Polenta Cake and was already gluten-free. Woot! The only tweak I would suggest is using a regular gluten-free flour mix instead of ground almonds if you have a nut/almond allergy. Also, my cake was a little grittier than I cared for; I'm not sure if that's because the coarse cornmeal  that I used was extra coarse or if it's just my personal preference. If I made this cake again I would use less of the coarse cornmeal or even replace it entirely with fine cornmeal. Anyway, it's been a real slice.

(And yes, I have been trying to come up with an appropriately clever yet subtle ending involving cake. Did I succeed?)

food, glorious food

Breakfast//Hot Cereal with Earth Balance, Agave and Coconut Milk

Lunch//Strawberry Surf Rider Jamba Juice with sorbet instead of sherbet 

Dinner//Butternut Squash Curry

This is what I’ve eaten lately.

I’m sure that you’re on the edge of your seat; this is the post that you’ve been waiting for. :) But there are two reasons why I wanted to share them with you—one, because these are some of the pictures that I’ve taken lately. And two, because I am so happy that we finally have an oven again. It was broken for two of the saddest weeks of my life. Because of all my different food allergies there's almost no "fast food" that I can eat (not that I usually even want to.) Sometimes I get tired of how long cooking can take but never again. (read: not yet at least) 

So, here's to food.

Why I need to visit the dentist very soon

Hello. My name is Alison and I am addicted to sweets. 

I feel like there should be a support group for recovering addicts from delicious treats. Although I haven't sworn off the goods for life, recent events coupled with previous determination (read: insanity) has made me want to try to make September a month without sugar. I've tried this before, unsuccessfully but September felt like the perfect, new beginnings type month. Although I've fallen off the wagon a couple of times due to temporary hysteria and daydreams about ooey gooey brownies I've been pretty good (read: I haven't consumed my daily 1/3 pound bag of candies). It's been mostly healthy fats like avocados and the sweetness of fruit in the form of smoothies that has gotten me this far. I'm not a fan of "fake" sugars (too afraid of cancer and not desperate enough to dabble), so for now I will just fantasize about these delicious cookies, that I can't get enough of and hope that this month will help me to moderate, if not get rid, of my need desire for sugar.

Lemon Sugar Cookies
1/2 C Earth Balance, soy free
1/2 C Spectrum
1 C sugar
1 t vanilla
1 egg worth of egg replacer 
1 T lemon zest
3/4 C of tapioca flour
3/4 C of sorghum flour

3/4 C of sweet white rice flour
1/4 C of brown rice flour

1 teaspoon of xanthum gum

3/4 t salt

1/2 t baking soda
1 T coconut milk
1 T fresh lemon juice

frosting:

1/8 C Earth Balance, soy-free, softened

1/4 C Spectrum softened

1/2 t vanilla

1/2 lb. powdered sugar

fresh lemon juice 

sprinkles, golden if possible

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream butter, Spectrum, and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla, egg replacer, and lemon zest; mix. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to mixer and combine. Add milk and lemon juice, and stir until completely incorporated.* Roll dough into Tablespoon-sized balls and place on a greased baking sheet, squishing flat. Bake for 9-12 minutes, until cookies are just beginnig to turn golden on the edges. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat Earth Balance and Spectrum until smooth and well mixed. Add vanilla. Add powdered sugar and salt. Stir. Mix in fresh lemon juice until the frosting reaches a spreadable consistency.**

*The dough shouldn't be too dry, otherwise the cookies with come out very dense.

**May need more powdered sugar.

original recipe found here

pancake breakfast

We haven’t taken the time lately to get up early enough to make breakfast together. French toast is his favorite. Bacon and waffles are mine. But, since I can’t have eggs and we don’t have a waffle iron we settle for the comfort of pancakes most often. 

I have a recipe or two that I love but what I've been missing is not actually the pancakes. I love the time. The morning sitting time that we gather up together. It’s an opportunity to talk and dance and tease and sit and be. I even take pictures without makeup on which in the last few years I have felt too uncomfortable to do. And when we do finally shower and dress the day feels better. Not because of what we ate, but because we ate. Together. Quietly. In the embrace of a morning.

easy peasy lemon squeezy

I found this recipe on Pinterest for Cornmeal Pancakes and decided to try them for a change from my normal breakfast. There were less ingredients and they took less time than traditional (gluten free) pancakes. Nick and Grace gave them two thumbs up and we all agreed that they're a yummy option for breakfast, although I wouldn't give up ever having "normal" pancakes for them I would like to add them to the list of go to breakfasts. It was already pretty allergy friendly, I just substituted coconut milk and wahla, delicious breakfast.

I preferred the sweet over the savory, which is not really a surprise considering my sweet tooth leanings, but the savory were also just a little lacking. I'd like to make them again but try to add some spices or something. Perhaps more bacon. Any recipe can be improved by more bacon. Write that down.

original recipe

feasting on treats

Nick is gone again on another (and last) work excursion for the next three days. I'm being brave and pretending that I'm not going to miss him as much as I will by going on an outing with Grace to Salem and shopping for clothes and makeup and making the same delicious lemon sugar cookies recipe for the third time in less than a week. (Shh. Don't judge.) Only cookies can ease the hole Nick's absence has left in my life. Cookies and new clothes. I'm actually beginning to doubt that these trips are actually for work. The first one was to Dallas, and I swallowed that one OK because who pretends that they have to go to Texas (no offense), and then Belize which was a little more suspicious but this time Nick will be in Disney World. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Nick has been saving for this for months and just used work as an excuse to go without me. Unsurprised--but my wrath would know no bounds.

But back to feasting on treats. These pictures capture the day we found a deal for thirty dollars worth of pastries at a local gluten free bakery for half the price. We hesitated for a moment (not really, I just wrote that to build anticipation) then we rushed over to claim the triple chocolate cake before someone else stole it out from beneath our quivering nostrils. At the bakery we chose one of these and two of those and Nick deliberated for far too long even though I knew what he would want and I told him right away. He ended up agreeing with me, albeit abashedly. When we got home we laid out our feast on the table and I insisted on a few pictures before we vultured forth. The triple chocolate cake was good but I would have been happier with a third brownie. They were so good. Treats like those call for condensation ripe glasses of milk. And I missed it. A little. But that didn't dampen the pleasure of a chocolatey brownie.

make my last meal from Eritrea

My most recent food obsession is Eritrean and Ethiopian food. I am the kind of person who will try almost anything once. (No monkey brains, no live octopus.) And because of this I've come to love food from many different cultures. Thai, Indian, Cambodian, Somali, Greek, and Caribbean foods are some of my favorites, but I had never tried Eritrean or Ethiopian food before this summer, even though one of my best friends in high school was Ethiopian and there are supposedly some great Ethiopian restaurants in Chicago.

The first time we went to Asmara Restaurant in Cambridge I was on the brink of starvation and not a very pleasant person to be around. My mood softened as they told me they could make their teff based injera bread gluten free for me. Ding ding ding; we had a winner. Top that off with the best salad I've ever tasted--no exaggeration--and I, of course, wanted to go back the very next day. We've actually been back twice since, which is a lot of restaurant going for us, since we usually prefer to save money and eat healthier by cooking at home.

They brought out warm, floral scented wet towels for us to clean our hands with before we ate and then we watched and listened to Ethiopian music during the meal. I love the mixture of light sweetness, biting flavors and spiciness that Eritrean fare offers. There were so many colors, smells and textures to experience and we got to eat with our hands at a basket-like table.  It was the sort of experience that doesn't require words. At least no more words than a mumbled, "Sooo good" and moans of contentment throughout the meal.

I like pie crust more than pie

I'm going to be honest with you, this pie came out tasting mediocre at best. Wohn wohn. However it looked scrumptious and was fun to photograph. This was my second pie after I got the itch by making strawberry rhubarb. I made the crust from scratch and fresh cherries and therein may have been my problem. The box crust tasted better :( and although I love fresh cherries, they did not make this pie work. I still sort of want to try a few more pies, but I need a good idea and a good recipe. Her series definitely inspires me. And makes me hungry.

another way to use rhubarb that doesn't involve a pie

This was actually the reason that I bought rhubarb in the first place. Making strawberry rhubarb pie was just one of the perks of having extra rhubarb. Like most of the food that we eat, I can't take credit for creating the recipe but I'm sure glad that my friend Mary was willing to pass it along.

I had Rhubarb Lentil Chili for the first time last fall and I've basically been dreaming of it ever since. It may not seem like a very summer food, but rhubarb's in season and when I saw it at the store all I could think of was putting some of this chili into my belly asap. Also, it's gluten free, dairy free and yum-full. I usually put celery into my chili but rhubarb is like celery's tart, sassy, redheaded cousin that adds a major yum factor.  It's a pretty easy recipe that can be thrown into a crockpot or done on the stove. I love one pot meals. I ate the chili with grilled polenta—yum on it's own and with everything else—but I imagine it would be great by itself, with rice or cornbread on the side.

You will need:
2 onions chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (I used 1 1/2 fresh tomatoes and a little puree because that's what I had on hand)
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp thyme
4 tbs butter (or coconut oil or palm oil, I choose coconut this time)
1 tsp cumin
3 fresh stalks of rhubarb cut into bite size pieces
1 tsp garlic salt (didn't have any and it was still great)
2 cups of lentils
1 tsp red pepper
4 cups vegetable stock (if you want to do it vegetarian or I used chicken stock)
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of garbanzo beans
1 large chicken breast (or not, it's fine either way)

Throw all the ingredients into a pot or crockpot with the chicken on the bottom and bring to a boil and let simmer for 3 hours or let the crockpot do all the work. That's all folks and then you get some amazing food at the end. And I'll say "yum" one more time for the road. Yum.

cooking for one

three separate meals
three different days

Dear Nick,

We ate pizza on a quilt on our living room floor. We kept the door propped open to let in the after storm cool of the night. Jeopardy was on TV and we answered "What are" and "Who is" before the contestants beeped in. There were root beer floats, pizza sans gluten and sans dairy, and a brownie for dessert. You ate your pesto and cheese pizza even though it was thin crust and you prefer thick and you liked it.

Then we crawled into bed and listened to more of The Book Thief and I became more in love with you. Because I was sick and you cared for me. I was sad and you comforted me. I was alone and you stayed with me. I was hungry and you fed me. I was bored and you played with me. I was lonely and you gave me attention. I wanted to create and you supported and helped me. Thank you, Nick.

Last night I had a terrible migraine. Despite the amazing, cable destroying thunderstorms we had here we were supposed to go canoeing with some of the boys in our church, but we had to bail on them which made me feel even worse than the migraine. I felt so frail, which is not a condition I am used to since I am usually the caretaker not receiver.

Nick was very sweet and gentle with me and with a little medecine and lots of attention he made me all better. I was still weak from my episode though and had no desire to cook so we went to our trusted friend Groupon and got a great deal on pizza from Stone Hearth Pizza which is conveniently located right across the street from us. This was the third night in a row that we had pizza for dinner (and you might be able to guess what I've been having for breakfast as well) but I wasn't sick of it and theirs was seriously good pizza and service in my book. It makes me so happy whenever I find a restaurant that has a good gluten free selection on their menu. I love to cook, but sometimes you just want to go out to eat--or at least have them make your food and then eat it picnic-style on your own floor--and not feel like your dietary needs are a hassle or that you might accidentally be poisoned because the people don't know what gluten is. 

Jarcake

Today I would like to tell you about my desires to turn this blog into a food blog. I made a dish called Louisiana rice last night with g-free cookies for dessert. I also want to make these cakes in a jar that I saw at a store and wanted to send to a friend who is out of state for the summer, but I didn't want to spend 9 dollars for a measly piece of cake. In fact my cheapness is usually the impetus for my craftiness (I mean with actual crafts not schemes.) That is the current extent of my qualifications for blogging about food. I am sorry if that seems lacking.

I realized a while ago and then forgot and then re-realized today that I need to carry my camera around with me so that I can take pictures more for this blog but I always think of pictures when I am sitting at a computer, not when I am at a cool shop in Seattle or looking at a dress I'd like to make (after I learn to sew), or making dinner or admiring the mini garden by the side of the road near my house. So, sorry that I don't have any pictures of all those things that I've seen lately. They were neat.

The ADD must be setting in because that last paragraph as well as a good portion of this post hasn't had anything to do with food. However, this recipe does:

finally! sorry that it's taken me a while to get this up, and that I was too lazy to transcribe this rather than take a picture. I know that the picture is a little blurry (new camera please, please, please.) If you have any questions about what a word is, just ask. The first ingredient is shortening.

I LOVE these cookies. They are some of the best cookies I have ever had (and I've only been g-free completely for about 1 1/2 years so I have tried my fair share and my siblings share as well of "real" treats.) They are also, hands down, no questions asked, the best g-free, dairy free, egg free and soy free cookie I have ever had. Allergic much? My goal is to see what I can do about making the jarcake (can I make that a new word? think cupcake but in a jar) delicious and Alison-friendly. Here are some examples of other jarcakes people have made to stimulate your mind and your salivary glands.

cute

yum

Somewhere Nick is drooling.

What other vessels can I put food in? What's the weirdest thing you have ever received in the mail?