Sol Food

Dear readers, please forgive me for not blogging this month.  It has been a tough few weeks, including an unexpected trip to the hospital.  I am feeling better now, but I have been in survival mode and have not cooked anything beyond some tuna fish and gluten free toast.  As challenging as this month has been, I have learned a lot about myself and about life.  One major lesson I learned is that I am not in this world alone and that if you allow yourself to be vulnerable and to ask for help- the universe will offer itself up to you.  I always prefer to just take care of myself over having to depend on anyone else for help.  But being sick in the hospital forced me to ask for help, to trust others to take care of me.  And the response I received from my friends, family, and community were endlessly supportive.  Their kind words and bowls of soup filled me with immense gratitude.

Even now that I am feeling stronger and healthier, this lesson still holds true.  My brother and I were in San Rafael looking for a quick dinner before heading to a meditation center.  We stopped in at a tiny little Puerto Rican restaurant called Sol Food.  As soon as I walked in I was charmed by the music playing, the bright aqua walls, black and white family photos, and the pile of plantains sitting on top of the wooden counter.  As I began to scan the menu I noticed the words "wheat free" all over it.  We had no idea it was going to be so allergy friendly; they even have vegan dishes and sugar free sodas.  I ordered the most mouth watering plate of fried shrimp battered in rice and plantain flour- I was in heaven.

Randomly stumbling upon this wheat free place reminded me to trust the universe to give me what I need.  I put so much energy into being a self-sufficient wheat/sugar/dairy free person: making all my own food from scratch, eating before I attend a dinner party, and endlessly researching restaurants and their menus, so that I never have to depend on others and run the risk of not getting the food I need.  But sometimes getting what you need does not have to be so hard, sometimes all you have to do is ask for it.  And sometimes you don't even need to ask for it; it will just appear in the form of a wheat free Puerto Rican restaurant.  And just in case I hadn't ingrained this lesson into my mind enough, later that evening at the meditation center there were tea and cookies available.  I went to get some ginger tea, not even considering the cookies that would undoubtedly have wheat/sugar/dairy in them.  But to my surprise, they had wheat free cookies made from oats and almonds and sweetened with maple syrup.  "Ok, I get it Universe.  Thank you for taking such good care of me!"

Persimmon Salad

I am in love with persimmons.  If you've never had a persimmon, they look like orange tomatoes, but are firmer with a thick skin.  The flesh is soft, sweet, and almost creamy, kind of like a mix between a melon and a mango.  There are two kinds of persimmons available- fuyu and hachiya.  The hachiya are heart-shaped and are very astringent, so you must wait to eat them until they are extremely ripe-almost like they are going bad.  Otherwise they will leave an awful dry/bitter taste in your mouth.  But if you wait 'till they are super soft, you can just cut the top off and scoop out the insides like pudding.  The fuyu variety are tomato-shaped and you can eat them like an apple.  When persimmon season comes, I am in heaven!  I eat them whole, or slice them and put them into salads with arugula, avocados, and pecans.  My friend Hilary knows how much I love them, and the other night brought over a bunch of beautifully ripe and shiny persimmons for us to eat.  She cut them up and marinated them in lime juice and fresh vanilla beans.  The tartness of the lime and the floral taste of the vanilla brought out the perfect flavor of the persimmons.  Try this simply delicious recipe out and enjoy the persimmon season while it lasts! 

Sweet Potatoes 3 Ways

I absolutely love sweet potatoes... I could eat them forever.  I love their sweetness, their fluffy texture, and how nutritious they are for you.  Here are 3 recipes for sweet potatoes that I love.  The first is recipe for simple roasted sweet potato wedges.  The second is my famous Thanksgiving mashed sweet potatoes.  And the third is a delicious sweet potato pie recipe!  Enjoy!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes Wedges

Ingredients:

• 2-3 large sweet potatoes 
• Olive oil, salt, pepper/cayenne

Directions:

1. Wash your sweet potatoes and peel if you like, but I like to keep the skins on (more hearty and more healthy!)
2. Cut them into 1 inch wedges (I do this by cutting the potato into disks, then cutting each disk like a pie into 4 pieces.)
3. Place sweet potato wedges onto a baking sheet.  Drizzle olive oil all over, sprinkle salt and pepper and cayenne on top.  With your hands mix together so the sweet potatoes are coated well.
4. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 25-30 minutes.

Thanksgiving Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients: 

• 5 large sweet potatoes
• About 1/4 cup of Earth Balance
• About a 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• About 2 tablespoons cinnamon 
• About 2 tsp of nutmeg
• About a 1/4 cup of orange juice
• Salt and cayene pepper
• 1/3 cup of pecans or walnuts

Directions:

You can choose between boiling or roasting the sweet potatoes.  Boiling is faster, but kills some of the flavor.  Roasting takes longer, but retains much more flavor.

1. To boil:  Chop each potato into 4 big pieces.  Keep the skins on.  Boil chunks in a large pot of water for about 25 minutes, until soft.  Place in a strainer and rinse with cold water to remove the skins easily.
2. To roast:  Prick each potato with a fork, cut in half, and wrap each half in tin foil.  Bake all halves  in the oven at 450 degrees F for about an hour, until they are soft in the middle.  Scoop out the insides into a bowl (and nibble on the skins while you cook.)
3. Take the boiled/roasted sweet potato meat and mash in a large bowl.  
4. Add the Earth Balance, maple syrup and orange juice in slowly, testing the flavor to your liking.
5. Add all the spices in and adjust to your liking and mix together until you have a heavenly bowl of mashed sweet potatoes.
6. In a pan, roast the pecans/walnuts on medium heat. Coat with any extra maple syrup and spices and heat 'till toasted and aromatic. Sprinkle nuts on top of mashed sweet potatoes and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 cup of gluten free oats
• 1 1/2 cups of nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts are good!)
• 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance or coconut oil
• 1-2 tablespoons of honey

Filling

• 3-4 mashed sweet potatoes (or 1 can of pureed sweet potatoes)
• 1/3 cup of coconut milk (or soy, or rice milk)
• 4 tablespoons of maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon of orange juice
• 2 eggs beaten (or substitute with 1/4 cup of cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup of water)
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a food processor, grind up the nuts and oats.  Add the Earth Balance and honey and pulse until mixed.
3. Press the crust mixture into a 8/9 inch pie pan and pre-bake in the oven for 5 minutes.
4. In a large bowl mix together the sweet potatoes, coconut milk, maple syrup, orange juice, spices and eggs until smoothly mixed.  (You can also process in a food processor if you want it to be completely smooth, but I like it more thick.)
5. Pour sweet potato filling into the pie crust.
6. Bake pie in oven for about 45 minutes or so, until the crust is golden and you can stick a knife into the middle and have it come out mostly dry.  Let cool before serving.
7. Serve with Coconut Bliss vanilla ice cream!  

Pecan Pie

   

When I was a kid, my mom would bring my sister and I to the farmer's market every Thursday afternoon.  She would always buy fresh flowers and an assortment of imperfect tomatoes for her students to paint in her watercolor classes.  My sister and I would sample the gouda cheese and each buy a honey stick from our favorite vendor.  Every once in a while, if we were really lucky, my mom would splurge on a freshly made pecan pie, from the turkey vendors who also sold turkey pie and fruit jams.  Pecan pie is one of my favorite pies ever- I love the gooey sweetnesss.  Now that I can't eat wheat/sugar/dairy anymore, pecan pie is a distant memory.   It's been many years since I had a slice of pecan pie, and I have been craving it for a while.  I've been planning on making a wheat/sugar/dairy free pecan pie for months now, but since I've never made any kind of pie before, let alone a wheat/sugar/dairy free pie, I was nervous.  So I bought a gluten free pie crust mix by Glutino, to allow me to focus on the filling.  I researched some different recipes and finally, on a rainy Sunday afternoon, I made my pecan pie!  It turned out so nicely, with the same sweetness of a traditional pecan pie, but not loaded with processed sugars.  Plus mine is vegan and could easily be corn and soy free if you use tapioca starch instead of cornstarch, and soy-free Earth Balance.  I added some chocolate powder to bring some richness to it.  Enjoy this dessert!

Ingredients:  (makes one 9 inch pie) 

• 1 unbaked gluten free pie crust*
• 3/4 cup of rice milk
• 3/4 cup of maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of brown rice syrup
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/4 cup of cornstarch dissolved into 1/4 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of Earth balance
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 cup of toasted pecans

Directions

1. Follow directions on the box for the pie crust mix, and pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes at 400 degrees F.
2. In a pot mix together the rice milk, maple syrup, and brown rice syrup and bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Add the dissolved cornstarch and keep whisking until it gets thick, about 5 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla and Earth Balance.
5. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and smooth it out.
6. Place pecans on top in concentric circles, starting from the outside going in.
7. Bake in the oven at 350 F for about 30 or so minutes.  
8. Let cool and chill in the fridge for 10 hours.  Then enjoy!

*Glutino pie crust was good and is sweetened with honey not sugar.  Follow directions on the box, and use ground flax seed mixture instead of eggs if you prefer.  For the butter, I used Earth Balance's vegan shortening!

Curried Red Lentil Sweet Potato Soup

Sometimes all you need is soup.  This past Sunday it was rainy and cold, and stress from work had made it's way into my lower back.  I told my roommate that I was in pain and he kindly lent me his heating pad and encouraged me to lie down on the couch with a blanket and listen to "This American Life," on the radio.  Afterwards, I began to feel better and decided to make a pot of red lentil and sweet potato curry soup.  It was exactly what I needed, something warm, nourishing, easy and comforting.  And it was exactly what my other roommates needed as they were feeling tired and under the weather.  It felt so nice to share my soup with them, and it reinforced the idea that it is ok to ask for support from others, that in fact people like to help others out.  I hope you find some comfort in this sweet and savory soup!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of red lentils
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-2 large sweet potatoes
• 3 large carrots
• 2 tablespoons of curry powder
• 1tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp of ginger powder
• 4 cups of vegetable broth
• 1 can of low fat coconut milk
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 1 head of kale
• 1/2 a lemon
• salt, pepper, and olive oil

Directions 

1. Soak and rinse lentils.
2. Chop the onion and saute in a large pot with olive oil till they begin to become translucent.
3. Chop the sweet potatoes and carrots into 1 inch pieces and add to the onions.  
4. Add the garlic and 1 tablespoon of the curry powder.
5. Saute vegetables for a few minutes, then add the broth and lentils and bring to a boil.
6. Simmer the soup on medium/high heat for about 20 minutes.
7. Add the coconut milk, maple syrup, and the rest of the spices to the pot.
8. Wash and chop the kale into small pieces. Add to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes.
9. The soup is done when the vegetables are tender and the lentils are soft and mushy.  Squeeze lemon juice on top and add any extra salt and pepper if needed.

Maple Almond Cookies

Nuts... my pantry is full of nuts.  Almonds mostly, that I was saving up for some cooking project that I now can't recall.  My roommate and I cleaned our pantry out and found jars of nuts, along with jars and jars of lentils and rice (which I will make into some soup; stay tuned!)  I knew I wanted to make some nutty cookie and maple was the first flavor that came to mind.  I love maple syrup, it reminds me of New England, where I grew up.  As a child I was allergic to chocolate and my mom was always trying to find other desserts I could eat, and maple sugar candy was one of them.  If you don't know, maple sugar candies are maple sugar molded into little shapes like a maple leaf or a little Pilgrim.  They have a pure sweetness to them.  So, I decided to make some maple sweetened almond cookies and they turned out to be deliciously comforting!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour (I used rice and chick pea flour)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 Earth Balance
• 3/4 cup of maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsps of almond extract
• 1/4 cup of ground flax seed (or one large egg)
• 1/4 cup of sliced almonds
• Whole almonds to decorate the top

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients (except the almonds)
3. Mix the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients slowly until blended.
4. Mix in the sliced almonds.
5. Form small balls of dough and flatten onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
6. Press a whole almond into the top of each cookie.
7. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes (careful not to over cook or it will become too dry!)
8. Remove from the oven and enjoy a cookie with a cold glass of rice milk or almond milk!

Red Beet Quinoa

Firstly, I must apologize to all my devoted followers for not blogging recently. The truth is, I simply cannot sit inside and type on a computer when the sun is out.  The unusually good weather has been leading me to bike rides to the beach, outdoor dance parties, picnics in the park, and late night walks in the warm evening air.  I've been on the go, filling up every moment with fun and busyness.  But change is in the air now, literally.  The sun is gone, the rain is pouring and the wind is blowing, finally bringing a halt to my solar-energized schedule.  The time has come for some slow cooking and introspection.  The other night, I spent a quiet evening with myself, cooking up a warm and comforting quinoa dish colored pink with beets and beet greens.  Take your time making this, and keep this lovely quote in mind that my friend Eric shared with me:


If you want to be whole, let yourself be partial.
If you want to become straight, let yourself be crooked.
If you want to be full, let yourself be empty.
If you want to be reborn, let yourself die.
If you want to to be given everything, give up everything.

Red Beet Quinoa

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of quinoa
• 1 bunch of beets
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
• salt, pepper, and olive oil

Directions

1. Soak quinoa in a bowl of water for 15 minutes.  Then rinse it in a sieve several times to remove the saponin that coats the quinoa.
2. Cut the beet greens off from the beets.  Wash beet greens and then cut them into bite size pieces.
3. Boil beets with the skins on in a pot of boiling water for about 20 minutes.
4. While beets cook, chop up the onion and peel and crush the garlic.
5. Sauté the onions in a med/large pot until they are sweating.  Add the garlic. 
6. Add the beet greens and saute until they begin to soften.  
7. Add the washed quinoa into the pot and cover with water.  Add salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
8. Bring heat down to medium heat and cover pot and let simmer for about 20 minutes.
9. When beets are beginning to soften, place them in a colander and rinse with very cold water.  Then you can easily remove the skins. 
10. Chop up the beets and add them to the quinoa. Cook the beet quinoa for another 10 minutes.  
11. When quinoa is cooked (soft to bite and the little "tails" pop out) add the balsamic vinegar, and some more salt and pepper.  Enjoy! 

Debbie's Almond Truffles

Yesterday was my roommate's birthday/moving to Australia party.  We are going to miss Debbie so much!  Not only is she a great friend and roommate, but she also is a fantastic cook and lover of healthy treats.  For her party, she made the most delicious almond butter truffles.  As you might know by now, I love almond butter with a passion.  These truffles are the more sophisticated version of my late night spoonfuls of almond butter interspersed with a handful of granola or chocolate chips.  Debbie's truffles have the perfect consistency and texture, not too sticky, but not dry or crumbly.  And being the artist that she is, she decorated her truffles with adorable chocolate designs!  You have to try these delicious, healthy, and very easy to make truffles!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup processed gluten free oats (or oat flour)

For chocolate topping:

• 1/2 cup of chocolate unsweetened (melted)
• 1 tsp oil

Directions:

1. In a food processor, blend almond butter, honey and oats together.
2. Form dough into round balls.
3. Melt chocolate in a double boiler, and add the oil.
4. Dip truffles into chocolate or "paint" on designs using a chopstick, like Debbie did!
5. Enjoy these truffles any time of the day, or night!

Colette's Ovaletts

My friend Colette and I love to cook together, eat out, and talk about food, as she also has food allergies.  She has now three times cooked for me the most delicious wheat/sugar/dairy free dish.  It's a Shanghai dish that she remembers from her childhood.  For this dish, she combines preserved mustard greens, soy beans, chicken and rice ovaletts.  These little ovaletts are made from rice flour and have a satisfying chewiness to them.  You can find them in any Korean or Asian market.  They come fresh or frozen, but we prefer the fresh kind.  This dish is salty, flavorful, comforting and very simple to make!

Colette's Ovaletts
Ingredients

• 1 lb of chicken
• 1 package of fresh rice ovalettes
• About 1 cup of soy beans (defrosted if frozen)
• 1 package of preserved mustard greens
• 1 tbs of cornstarch
• Sesame oil and canola oil
• Wheat free tamari

Directions

1. Cut chicken into bite size cubes
2. In a bowl mix together the cornstarch and the chicken cubes.  Dress with a little tamari.
3. Sautee chicken in a pan of oil (both the canola and sesame) on medium heat until cooked through, about 7 minutes.
4. Add the ovalettes and cook until soft and chewy, about 15 minutes or so.
5. Add the mustard greens and soybeans and sautee for another 5 minutes or so until the soybeans are cooked.
6. Enjoy!  

Bhal Puri

I went to the greatest wedding ever of my friends Anita and Bob.  They threw a fabulously intimate and personalized wedding.  From the beautiful Hindu ceremony, to the bright colored parasols, to the local artisan crafted metal flower "bouquets," to the Hora and Bhangra dancing, to the home brewed beers (with handmade labels...), and of course lot's of love.  The food was eclectically delicious especially the freshly made bhal puri.  The line was so long to get some because each cup was mixed on the spot by San Francisco chef, Roger Feely of Soul Cocina.  But the wait was worth it, to watch the process alone was entertaining.  And he made mine gluten free!

He mixed together crisped rice (cooked in some kind sand he said.....?)  

and onions, purple and gold potatoes, mangoes...

 

Then some fried lentils

Peanuts and tomatoes....

Homemade mint chutney....

lime juice.....

 

cilantro, tamarind sauce, plantain chips, and crispy sprinkles made from lentil flour...

......and voila!  It was so flavorful, my mouth couldn't believe it! 

I wonder if I could recreate it?!

Zucchini Apple Bread

  

September has always felt more like the beginning of a new year for me than January 1st.  I have palpable memories of the first day of school, of the sudden change from humid hot air to crisp cool breezes, to bright blue skies scattered with yellow and red leaves.  Last week I attended two new year's celebrations.  One was Enkutatash, the Ethiopian new year and the second was Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.  Though I am not Ethiopian or Jewish, I took both celebrations as an opportunity for self reflection and new beginnings.  And of course for some good eating!  At the Enkutatash festival I was hoping to have some split peas, collards and injera (which is traditionally made from gluten-free teff flour), but the line was so long that I ended up getting some delicious Caribbean chicken, plantains and spinach instead.  For Rosh Hashana my friend Genessa made a feast of Iraqi stuffed cabbage and roasted vegetables.  I wanted to bring a wheat/sugar/dairy free dessert that included the symbolic apples and honey.  So I decided to adapt a zucchini bread recipe I saw on the Gluten Free Goddess blog that used coconut milk! My version is full of honey and apples for Rosh Hashana and is also totally egg and soy free!  Enjoy it for the new year!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour (I used mostly rice flour and some buckwheat flour)
• 1/3 cup of potato or tapioca starch
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/3 cup of grape seed oil
• 1 cup of honey
• 1/4 coconut milk
• 1 cup of grated zucchini
• 1 cup of grated apple

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.
2. Add the oil, honey, and coconut milk.
3. Stir in the apples and zucchini.
4. Pour into a greased 9 inch loaf pan and bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 45-50 minutes.

Fig Almond Cookies

I am the kind of person who needs to intensely study a map before daring to venture out into a new neighborhood or city.  But when it comes to cooking, I barely glance at recipe before tossing it aside and completely ignoring what I just read.  I will get some vision for a new dish in my head (or really in my gut) and without any plan of how to execute it, I start chopping things up and throwing things into a bowl and wait to discover what will happen.  Sometimes my adventurous cooking spirit gets me into trouble.  Like the time I decided to make a persimmon ice cream pie from scratch on Thanksgiving day and ended up with a soupy mess of a dessert.  I've learned there are some benefits of researching and testing out an idea before serving it to a crowd on a major holiday.  But I do believe in the importance of trusting the creative process and trusting your own instincts.

I noticed that I doubted both of these recently when making some fig cookies.  I bought a basket of fresh figs at the farmer's market with my friend Karen and immediately was filled with memories of eating bowls of figs with my friends.  I began envisioning some kind of comforting fig cookie.  But then my inner critic spoke up and got me worried about making these cookies "the right way," as if there were a wrong and right way to make a cookie.  I asked my friends what they thought I should do, trying to get some baking guidance.  But then when it came time to make the cookies, I came back to my original vision and just went with what felt right.  And I ended up with a lovely batch of cookies.  The chopped almonds brought such depth of flavor, while the honey brought a purity of sweetness, and the figs transformed these cookies into a succulent and decadent treat.  I hope you enjoy them, too!


Ingredients

• 1/4 cup of Earth Balance
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour (I used rice and chickpea flours)
• 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/3 cup of chopped almonds
• 6 fresh figs chopped
• extra rice flour for dusting your hands

Directions

1. In a bowl mix together the Earth Balance and honey.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. Using your flour-dusted hands, combine the ingredients from the 2 bowls together until you have a soft dough.  (If it's too dry add some water or rice milk, if too sticky add some flour.)
4. Wash your hands and then use a rubber spatula to mix in the almonds and about 2/3 of the fig pieces.
5. Form small balls of dough and press into cookie shapes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  
6. Press 1 or 2 pieces of fig onto the top of each cookie.
7. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes.

Farmer's Market Feast

I love farmer's markets.  I love all the free samples of strawberries and olives.  I love the buckets of fresh sunflowers. I love the local guitar player strumming "Good Day Sunshine."  I love running into neighbors.  And I love all the intimacy created between the food and the people.  This summer my friend Laura worked at the farmer's market selling blueberries and one night we made a feast with all the food she had bartered that day at the market.  She brought home fresh green beans, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and beets.  I brought yellow squash and a bright green tomatillo I had purchased at my local farmer's market.  She made a delicious beet salad and I cooked up some veggie and fish tacos.  We took our time cooking, laughing and making a mess in her kitchen.  When everything was ready we ate and talked for endless hours till we were tired and full.  Below is my taco recipe as well as Laura's beet salad for your farmer's market feast!

Fish Tacos
Ingredients

• 1 fillet of tilapia (or whatever fish you love)
• 1-2 summer squash chopped into small bite size pieces
• 1 sweet onion chopped
• 1 ripe tomatillo chopped
• 1-2 fresh tomatoes chopped
• 1 ripe avocado sliced
• Corn tortillas 
• Salt, pepper, olive oil

Directions

1.  In a pan saute the onions on medium heat in olive oil.
2. When onions are halfway cooked, add the squash and tomatillo.
3. Add garlic and salt and pepper and saute till all veggies are cooked.
4. In another pan, add some olive oil and fry the tilapia for a few minutes until golden on both sides.
5. Warm tortillas on a pan then fill each one with the squash, tomatillo, and tilapia chunks.
6. Top with tomatoes and avocados and enjoy!

Laura's Beet Salad
Ingredients

• 6 red beets
• 2 ripe avocados
• 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbs of honey
• Olive oil, salt, pepper

Directions

1. Boil trimmed beets in water for about 10 minutes.
2. Run beets under cold water and peel skins off.
3. Chop beets and roast in the oven with a little olive oil, salt and pepper at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.
4. Mix together the balsamic vinegar and honey.
5. Take beets out of the oven and pour the vinegar/honey mixture on top.
6. Roast beets for another 10 minutes until cooked through.
7. Slice avocado and mix together with the beets in a bowl.

 

Pesto Polenta with Okra and Tomatoes

The first time I tried to cook okra in a curry broth it turned the whole dish into a slimy mess.  Since then I have been baffled on how people make okra without it becoming the consistency of runny mucus.  Luckily my friend Ginny, a southern girl herself, told me she roasts her okra.  Brilliant- I thought!  The oven dries out all the excessive moisture in the okra and leaves the vegetable more crunchy and flavorful.  Also, when you slice the okra they look like little green stars!  So this week I went to the farmer's market and bought a bag of okra and some yellow tomatoes.  I cooked up some polenta, added some leftover pesto, and topped it with the veggies.  Enjoy this simple summer dish!

Pesto Polenta with Okra and Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 1 log of cooked polenta (just check ingredients as some brands add parmesan cheese)
• 1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes
• 1 bag of okra
• 1 tsp of garlic powder 
• 1/4 cup of pesto
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Slice okra into star shaped discs.
3. Lay okra on a baking sheet and coat with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. 
4. Roast in oven for about 30 minutes, or until it's as crispy as you like it.
5. Meanwhile, cut up polenta and mash into a pot.
6. Turn on the heat and add some water, olive oil and salt.
7. Keep stirring and add more water if needed until the polenta is a thick and creamy.
8. Add salt, pepper, and the pesto to the polenta and turn off the heat.
9. Scoop polenta into a bowl and slice some tomatoes to put on top. Add the okra and enjoy!

Salmon and Avocado Maki

My friend Rosalie and I were playing a game where we had to come up with a food that represented each other's dating personality.  She described me as a sushi roll: cute, fresh, and tightly wrapped up until you bite in and everything delicious falls out.  I took the comparison as a compliment as sushi is my favorite food!  I love the salty seaweed, the sweet vinegary rice, fresh pieces of fish, and the way tobiko pops in your mouth. It is the first dish I ever learned to make and since then have taught many a friend how to make sushi.  It is a fabulous party activity especially for all my creative friends who love to use their hands!  I've played around with different ingredients such as: tuna and wasabi, mango, fried tofu and daikon radishes, wheat-free tempura, peanut butter and avocado, tamago and scallions, sweet potato and spinach, shitake mushrooms and garlic...... People think that making sushi is hard, but it isn't!  I make sushi almost every week because it is so easy!  There is of course an art to making authentic sushi that sushi chefs master over many years, but it's not complicated to make a basic sushi roll. Here is one of my favorite rolls I make for myself.  If you are serving more than 2 people, use twice as much rice, nori, and fillings!

Jasmin's Basic Salmon/Avocado Roll

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of sushi rice (white or brown)
• 4 sheets of nori seaweed
• 2 tbs of rice vinegar or umeboshi vinegar
• 1 tbs of sesame oil
• 1 package of smoked salmon (check ingredients for sugar) or raw sushi grade salmon
• 1 avocado
• 1 carrot
• 1 bunch of spinach or bok choy

 Directions:

1. First things first, you have to buy a rice cooker if you don't already own one.  You can cook the rice in a pot the old fashioned way, but it's much quicker if you have a rice cooker. Follow the directions on your rice cooker.
2. While rice is cooking start cutting the vegetables up into thin long pieces.  I often use a peeler to slice the carrots into thin strands.
3. Steam the greens. Dress with tamari if you like.  Let cool. 
4. Mix together the vinegar and sesame oil. 
5. Once rice is cooked, transfer to a wide bowl and gently stir in the vinegar/oil mixture.
6. Let rice cool completely before you start rolling.  If you are in a hurry, you can cover the rice and put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
7. Once all ingredients are cooled down it's time to make the sushi!
8. Place one sheet of nori, shiny side down, on a clean work surface or bamboo roller mat.
9. Using a wet spoon or clean wet hands, spread a thin layer of sticky rice on the nori, covering the bottom two thirds of the nori.  Make sure the rice is tightly packed.
10. Lay the vegetables and salmon across the rice near the bottom edge of the nori.
11. Wet the top edge of the nori.  Starting from the bottom side, begin to roll the sushi, trying to keep all the ingredients in the first turn.  As you turn, make sure to keep it tight and gently press the roll, like you are trying to roll a sleeping bag very tightly.  (I don't use a bamboo roller, but you may find it easier.)
12. Once roll is rolled up, let sit for a minute so that the roll sets (start on another roll in the meantime).
13. Using a very sharp and slightly wet knife cut your sushi roll into cute little pieces.
14. Serve with wasabi, ginger and wheat-free tamari.

Chinese Pork Rolls

I generally follow my wheat/sugar/dairy-free diet very strictly, but the only food I ever "cheat" on is Chinese baked goods and dim sum.  I won't drink any alcohol, I'm fine to pass on a gourmet slice of chocolate cake, but I just can't say no to shrimp and scallion dumplings and bbq pork buns.  For a while I've been wanting to make wheat/sugar/dairy free dim sum, but have not quite figured it out...yet.  In the meantime, one dish that fulfills some of my dim sum cravings is pork spring rolls made with rice paper wrappers.  These Vietnamese sheets of rice paper are usually used to make fresh rolls filled with shrimp, vermicelli, mint and cilantro.  They come dry and hard, but when you soak them in warm water they soften like a cooked noodle (no need to cook them).  I love making the Vietnamese fresh rolls, but I eventually started experimenting with filling the rice wrappers with other ingredients such as pork.  The other day I saw the most beautiful purple baby bok choy at Rainbow that I had to use in my pork rolls.  For variation, fill your rolls with your favorite seasonal vegetables and try using chicken or tofu instead of pork. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb of ground pork
• 1/2 cup of sliced shitake mushrooms or oyster mushrooms
• 1 tbs of fresh grated ginger
• 1tsp of nutmeg
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1-2 carrots grated
• 1 bunch of bok choy or spinach chopped into ribbons
• 1/4 cup of water chestnuts, chopped
• Bean sprouts or any sprouts you like
• Soy sauce or Tamari (wheat free kind)
• Sesame oil

Directions

1. In a pan cook the ground pork in a little bit of sesame oil on medium/high heat.  
2. Add the mushrooms and the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and garlic.
3. When pork/mushrooms are almost cooked through, add the grated carrots, chestnuts, greens, and bean sprouts, in that order.
4. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with soy sauce until it is salty as you like it.
5. Soak one rice wrapper in a bowl of warm water for about a minute until it is soft like a noodle.
6. Lay the soft wrapper on a cutting board or large plate and fill with pork/veggie mixture and wrap it up like a burrito.
7. Serve as is, or if you are in the mood, fry these pork rolls in oil for a few minutes until golden on the outside.

NYC Guide to Eating Out

I was worried about traveling for a month in New York City and not being able to cook for myself.  Being without my kitchen and pantry, without my favorite grocery store near by, without my red cast iron pan and the floral apron my mother bought me.  But actually, New York is the best place to eat out for wheat/sugar/dairy free folks!  Here are my favorite places:

Souen
This popular macrobiotic restaurant has 3 locations in Manhattan.  Macrobiotic eating is all about the balance between the yin and yang in foods.  Brown rice, vegetables and selective proteins are essential, plus Japanese influenced ingredients like umeboeshi plum.  They don't use dairy or sugar and only have a few wheat dishes (like noodles and seitan.)  I ordered the most balanced meal of salmon terriyaki (cooked in a gluten free-tamari), steamed greens, and their seaweed/vegetable filled "maze rice" and cold kuki-cha tea. They also have gluten free cornbread and healthy desserts such as the adzuki bean mouse I ordered!

Pala
Pala has done it right, creating an elegant and traditional restaurant atmosphere, with quality gourmet pizzas, but all with the option to be gluten free! It feels like a "normal" restaurant without any crunchy granola hippie aesthetics, only white linen tablecloths here and simply good food that people who do or don't eat gluten can enjoy!  They have gluten free beers and wines and also serve gluten free pasta dishes and have an entire vegan menu.  I had a savory pizza topped with lamb sausage and asparagus!


Pie by the Pound   and  Mozarelli's
Pizza joints that we can eat at!  At Pie by the Pound you have to order a whole pizza, so go with a gluten free friend.  But Mozarelli's has gluten free slices available, which made me so happy.  I hadn't stopped for a slice of pizza in over 6 years!  These places will bring you back to your college days of late night food cravings.

Sacred Chow
This place is the opposite of Pala, all vegan food and funky lanterns hanging from the ceiling and waiters who are high on life and super...relaxed.  They serve vegan tapas, and heroes sandwiches (that can be served on gluten free corn tortillas) and many choices to mix and match.  Since it is vegan, beware of all the seitan they use since that's made from 100% gluten (not good for us)!  But they label everything well and are happy to answer any questions about the menu.  They also have a large selection of desserts that we can eat!

Mercadito
Being away from San Francisco and from the tastiest Mexican food in the US, I was seriously craving tacos.  My friends Hannah and Coleen took me to this fancy Mexican restaurant- not quite like the Mission taquerias, but very quality food!  We had amazing mahi-mahi ceviche, chunky guacamole, and an array of the cutest tacos filled with fresh mangoes, spicy pork, and cactus leaf.

Risoterria
I didn't actually get a chance to go here, but I hear it's a fantastic gluten free Italian restaurant in the West village.  They specialize in risotto and pizza, and even have gluten free panini!  I am definitely going there the next time I'm NY!

Super Core
This hip little Brooklyn cafe has amazing Japanese tapas, and my favorite- rice balls!  Check out my blog entry on this place:  
http://jasminshappytummy.blogspot.com/2010/07/rice-balls-in-brooklyn.html

Angelica Kitchen
I always hit this spot when I come to NYC.  They have the healthiest, freshest, and most delicious foods made with love and care.  Check out my blog entry on this special restaurant:  http://jasminshappytummy.blogspot.com/2010/07/angelica-kitchen.html

Baby Cakes
This sweet little gluten-free and vegan bakery has the cutest cupcakes with delicious frosting and my favorite brownie bites!  They even serve agave sweetened lemonade!  See more on my "Favorite places to eat out" page on my blog:    http://jasminshappytummy.blogspot.com/p/my-favorite-places-to-eat-out.html

Angelica Kitchen

I recently enjoyed a peaceful late lunch at the heavenly restaurant Angelica Kitchen in NYC.  I walked in from the hot summer streets, and was greeted with a quote by William Ruckeshaws, drawn on a chalkboard reading, "Nature provides a free lunch only if we control our appetites."   I sat down and heard the gentle sounds of  fiddles and Gillian Welch vocals.  The waitresses floated back and forth dawning their sweet checkered summer dresses and aprons.  The menu is very wheat/sugar/dairy free friendly with all fresh local vegan ingredients. They even serve coffee with rice milk, gluten free cornbread, and desserts like almond anise cookies! Not everything is wheat/gluten free, but they label things very clearly for you.  I ordered the daily special, quinoa croquettes served with fresh green snap peas, collards, grape tomatoes, a vegan tart sauce on a bed of white beans.  The colors were so bright and vitamin packed!  It was the perfect balance of heartiness and freshness. Make sure you go here if you are in NYC!

In business!

So I must admit that I started this blog after watching the movie, "Julie and Julia."  I was inspired by Julie's story, especially the part where she made it big and got rich off her blog-turned-book-turned-movie!  So I decided to make my own blog, hoping that I too could be discovered, write a book, and then direct/write and star in my own movie, about me!  :)  Did I mention that I love attention?  I am actually making one of my dreams come true this summer by writing and performing in a play in New York City.  It's a risky creative adventure, but I figure I may as well dive right into my dreams with full force and commitment.  One of my favorite professors, Art Keene, once told me to take yourself seriously- to believe in your work and to give it the respect and passion it deserves.  I have never forgotten that.  So I am taking myself very seriously, with this play and with my blog.  I went ahead and made Happy Tummy business cards.  So now, when people ask me about my blog I can hand them my fancy little business card and show them that I mean business!

4th of July Coleslaw

I am staying at my friend Liz's apartment in Brooklyn and she asked me to pick up her farm share vegetable box.  Since I have been eating out so much in NY (great food, but not the same as home made), I was thrilled to do the favor for her.  There is nothing more centering for me than being around freshly picked vegetables: collard greens, dill, summer squash, carrots, and cabbage!  I was instantly inspired to make some 4th of July coleslaw.  I have many fond childhood memories of chowing down on crispy coleslaw at my my favorite seafood restaurant near Rockport, MA.  We often went there on the 4th of July to see the fireworks over the ocean.  Even though I was a scrawny little child, I would always order the fisherman's platter, just like my father.  The platter was a mountain of fried shrimp, scallops, cod, calamari, full-bellied clams with french fries and coleslaw!  My father and I would both finish our platters.  I inherited my father's love of unique flavors and foods, like the creamy green stuff in lobster, grapefruit and tonic water, and rich uni nigiri.  He is also the king of BBQ.  My father will BBQ outside, in the middle of winter (in Boston) just because he loves his steak grilled.  His terriyaki chicken is still the best I have ever had.  Growing up, our family usually bought our coleslaw from Stop and Shop to have at our BBQ's, but below is my recipe for a traditional coleslaw (that is wheat/sugar/dairy free!)

Coleslaw 

Ingredients

• 1 head of cabbage
• 6 carrots
• 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise (Spectrum has sugar free kind, or use Vegannaise if you don't eat eggs)
• 1 tablespoon of celery seed
• 1 tablespoon of honey or agave
• The juice of one big lemon
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1.  Cut and shred the cabbage as thinly as possible.
2.  Grate carrots.
3.  Mix cabbage, carrots and mayo in a large bowl.
4.  Mix in the celery seed, honey/agave, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.
5.  Best if you let it "marinate" for an hour or more in the fridge!

Rice balls in Brooklyn

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We all scream for ice cream!

Mark Twain said,"The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco."  It's true, summer in San Francisco is foggy, windy and cold, hitting the low 50's many days!  I grew up in Boston where summer is so hot and humid that the minute you step out of a refreshingly cold shower you are already dripping with sweat.  Moving to San Francisco makes me miss those days of east cost summers that envelope you, for better or for worse, in a blanket of steaming heat.  I just returned to Boston this week, where I have been hit with the blazing hot sun reflecting off the pavement and the abruptly beautiful thunderstorms.  I love it!  Today I ordered a mango smoothie for lunch, which I realize I never do in San Francisco because it is never hot enough (for me at least) to want a large cup of icy cold fruit puree.  And ice cream is so much more delicious when you don't have to put on a scarf and wool socks to enjoy it!  Lucky for people like me, who are on restricted diets, we can also enjoy wheat/sugar/dairy free ice cream nowadays!  So Delicious now has a line of "Ice cream Minis" vegan novelty items like ice cream sandwiches and ice cream popsicle bars!  Some flavors do contain beet sugar and wheat, so make sure you read the ingredient labels!  But none the less, today when I got home with my shirt soaked with sweat, I grabbed one of the chocolate almond bars and enjoyed every cold, delicious bite!

Home

I am the constant.  I am home.
I read this in a yoga magazine and it really hit "home" with me.  For much of my adulthood I have been searching for a home, a community, a place where I feel fully accepted for who I am. On this quest, I have begun to realize that the closer I get to truly loving and accepting myself, the closer I get to finding this sense of home. And amazingly, when I get in touch with my self worth, people who really value that seem to just come into my life. Last year when my relationship with my ex fell apart, I was feeling wrong, unlovable, and lost.  I had to find a new place to live (figuratively and literally). I was very stressed out about finding an apartment with good roommates, but in almost no time I landed in the most perfect place.

My roommates were strangers on Craigslist, but I instantly felt at home with them.  They are welcoming and friendly, they like to listen to show tunes and watch Glee, they're culturally open minded, and most importantly they love to eat and cook healthy food!  My roommates are not grossed out or annoyed by my wheat/sugar/dairy free diet, but rather impressed and intrigued by my cooking.  I even converted them all to rice tortillas and Coconut Bliss ice cream! And for my birthday, my roommate's girlfriend wanted to throw me a dinner party with all Jasmin-friendly food!  They brought gluten-free crackers, researched dishes like quinoa and black beans, checked the ingredients on cans of jalapenos, and made it seem like a pleasure to cook wheat/sugar/dairy free, not a nuisance. Best of all, since all the dishes were Jasmin-friendly, I actually felt included and part of the group, not separate like some w/s/d free side dish that nobody else wants to eat.  Before we dug in, I had to make a toast to everyone for making me feel so loved.  And to myself, for finally starting to truly love who I am- wheat/sugar/dairy free diet and and all!