Misty morning musings

A seasonal, yet slightly unusual blanket of fog has descended upon the Puget Sound area in the past week.  While fog is a common enough sight here, it usually sneaks in during the night, lingering through the early morning hours, dissipating into nothingness by noon, leaving the sunshine to reign supreme over the afternoon hours.  This fog is more ambitious, more clingy and lingering.  Fog with something to prove, if my memory of all those Hallowe'en horror movies serves me correct.

This morning (early, albeit not bright), as is my habit most mornings, I strolled to the bus stop far earlier than I needed to be there, to catch a few minutes of peace, quiet, and reading time, away from the chaos of home and pets and work and people.  It has become a little ritual of mine over the years, a way to enjoy the beauty of the morning and gain a little calm in my day.  This morning, the fog was thick and palpable, swirling underneath the street lights, creating little eddies and sketches on the roadway as the cars drove by.  Gone were all but the first row of houses on the other side of the street, gone the looming trees that dominate the skyline in my neighbourhood, leaving a little pocket of peace around me. 

You can keep your fancy lattés, I'll take my morning coffee black, with extra fog, just how I like it.

BBQ Chicken Stuffed Shells

Some of the best meals seem to come from those nights when you have to wing it based on what is in the fridge, because nobody has the energy to run to the store for something specific.  In my book, any excuse to use BBQ sauce is a good excuse, so this worked out smashingly for me.  ;)

BBQ Chicken Stuffed Shells

 (Serves 4)

1 pkg large gluten free pasta shells (I used Tinkyada, by far my favourite)

12 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg

2 chicken breasts
salt, pepper, and onion powder to taste

1/3 C mushrooms, diced
2 green onions, diced
1/4 C olives (I used a mix of green & black), pitted and diced
2 T parmesan cheese
1 t Italian seasoning mix

1/3 C BBQ sauce
1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Pre-cook the pasta shells according to the box instructions, but remove from heat and drain when they are just slightly undercooked.  You want them to be pliable enough to stuff, but not so cooked that they will get mushy or fall apart when they are baked.

While the pasta is cooking, sauté the 2 chicken breasts, liberally seasoned with salt, pepper, and onion powder, in a small amount of olive oil.  Remove from pan and let rest for a few minutes once they are cooked through.  Toss the mushrooms and green onions into the pan the chicken just vacated and sauté until golden brown, then remove from heat.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and egg until egg is fully incorporated.  Add mushroom and onion mixture, olives, parmesan cheese and one of the chicken breasts, diced.  Mix well and season with Italian seasoning mixture.

Divide filling mixture amongst the partially cooked pasta shells and place them, filling side up, in a lightly greased 9x13 pan.  Thinly sliced remaining chicken breast and scatter on top of the shells.  Drizzle BBQ sauce over the chicken, then scatter cheddar cheese on top.  Cook in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and slightly browned on top.  I hear a rumour this made smashing leftovers!

Tour de Fleece, days 21-23

Sadly, the Tour always comes to a close with a bit of a whimper for me.  The ending weekend always falls the same weekend as the big, annual bellydance festival here in Seattle, and I spend more time performing and hooting and hollering for my friends than I do spinning.  Ah, well.  There is always more spinning time, the festival only happens once a year!

The most recent club offering from Southern Cross Fibres snuck onto the wheel after I finished plying David's Gift, mostly out of sheer laziness.  I wanted to spin, but didn't have an empty bobbin for more Bug's Life, wanted to ply Ribbons, but still don't have a Lazy Kate for a 3-bobbin ply, so.......I grabbed the fibre nearest the wheel and went with it.  This one is a nice, deep, rich bunch of blues and purples and a bit of blue that I think will work well for fingerless mitts for at least one lucky guy this Christmas (maybe two, depending on yardage).  I've never spun Texel before, in spite of having had a club offering marinating in my stash for the past year and it was a very nice surprise.  Super, super fluffy, easy to draft, it almost spins itself.  I'm basically treadling like a mad fiend, trying to keep up with the draft (a problem I never have).  This one will eventually be chain-plied to keep the colour progression and still be strong enough to stand up to the abuse all fingerless mitts seem to be subjected to.  :)

Tour de Fleece, day 20

In the spirit of full disclosure, I really started the plying after dinner on day 19 in a fit of optimism and total understatement of how very much singles were crammed on those two bobbins.  Sure, I'll finish that tonight!  Famous last words.  :P  I'd made it through 3 of the 5 colours in the progression before I was falling asleep at the wheel and decided it might be best to finish up today.

I had planned from the beginning to not try to line up the colours in the progression while I was plying, as I wanted there to be some overlap and blending.  It was really interesting watching the changes as I plied. The blues (first colour up) matched up almost perfectly.  The light green was slightly longer on one bobbin, and then things got completely muddled about halfway through the dark green.  It appears that my first set of singles wasn't consistent in size and got a bit bigger as the bobbin emptied, so the second set of singles, which I'd matched to the size of the end of the first bobbin ended up having quite a bit more yardage.  This is a good argument right here for not letting a project languish for a year between spinning sets of singles.  :(  Probably also a good argument for starting to keep a spinning log and a sample piece to spin to, which is something I keep meaning to do.....

Anyway, by about halfway through the dark green on my thinner singles, I was already on the brown on the thicker ones.  I had a wee bit of overlap where both singles were on brown at the same time, then the first bobbin ran out and I had to start improvising.  Without breaking the one single that was attached to the plied yarn, I wound the remainder off into an Andean plying bracelet (this is a wee bit awkward while still attached to the wheel, but it is doable if you're pigheaded patient enough), spit spliced the end of the first single to the end of the second, then finished plying from the bracelet.  Voila!  One continuous skein, no knots required.  Since I hadn't yet gotten through the last of the brown and into the orange, it actually transitioned quite smoothly and still gave me a good section of pure orange to end the skein.   It is intended for a shawl, probably top down, to showcase the colour progression.  Final yardage count is 600, at about sport weight, so it should be a good sized, snuggly warm shawl. 

Apple Cider Quick Bread

Every so often, I'll stumble upon a recipe that is so easy it seems like you are cheating somehow.  The original version of this recipe was one of them.  It came from a cookbook of pre-made mix recipes and I used to make up batches of the mix to give away at Christmas.  I've modified it to make it gluten free and slightly lower in fat, but it is still just as good!  5 minutes to mix, an hour in the oven, and only 4 ingredients - how can you go wrong?

Apple Cider Quick Bread

 (makes 1 loaf)

3 C self-rising gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Biscuit and Baking Mix)
3 T sugar
12 oz bottle apple hard cider (mine was homemade, I think any of them should work)
4 T butter melted (this is about half what the original called for!)

Mix the first 3 ingredients together until all the flour is wet and there are no big lumps (a few smaller ones should be okay).  Put batter in a standard-sized loaf pan and pour 1/3 of the melted butter over the top of the loaf.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, pour another 1/3 of the butter over the top, bake 10 more minutes, pour on the remaining 1/3 butter, then bake for 10 more minutes.  Let it rest as long as you can stand it (I usually make it 10 minutes, maybe 15 - it makes the house smell heavenly!), then remove from the pan and slice carefully.  Once the bread has cooled, it slices like a champ, but you do have to be careful with it when it is still fresh from the oven.  This one keeps remarkably well for a gluten-free bread, even when not refrigerated.  We had some of the leftovers grilled in a wee bit of butter on the griddle a few days later, topped with sliced turkey and shredded cheddar, like an open faced sandwich.  Yum!

Tour de Fleece, days 10-19

Day 10 was one of the 2 days of rest on the tour, so I suppose this is really only days 11-19.  I'm super happy the rest days both fall on Mondays, since I go straight from work to rehearsal and am usually so pooped by the time I get home there would be no oomph left to spin.

I needed to find my other huge bobbin before I could start the next 8 oz of A Bug's Life, so I thought it would be fun to do a fast and easy spin.  The only problem was that I couldn't decide what fibre to use, so I had someone else pick for me.  Problem solved!  Well, except for the minor detail that I'd already decided what this fibre wanted to be a long time ago and it was already split and ready to go and....it was going to be thin.  Very thin.  My first true 3-ply, and I wanted it to be for socks.  Fun spin, yes!  Easy spin, yes!  Fast?  Not so much so.  They are going to be the most awesome socks ever, though, so I'm just not going to complain about it.  :)

This fibre is a long-marinated resident of my stash, a Spunky Eclectic fibre club offering from October 2009 - Ribbons, on a wool blend.  The wool has a slight crispness to it and an easy-to-manage staple length.  I think the socks should hold up well, without being quite as rough as a Romney or other longwool.  I split the fibre lengthwise into 3 pieces: the first was spun as is, the second was split in half again lengthwise, and the third was split into thirds lengthwise, so I should get nice shorter stripes, as well as longer colour changes.  I've only ever done a true 3-ply (not chained) once, in a plying workshop, so I'm looking forward to getting a few hours soon to ply!

Aren't they pretty?

In the spirit of cleaning off some some bobbins, I also wound off Carried Away.  I got roughly 775 yards of fingering weight singles (well, fingering weight pre-bath, but I imagine it won't puff up too much).   I am mostly decided on this pattern, just as soon as the knitting bug takes over again. 

Tour de Fleece, days 8-9

I fell down the rabbit hole that is Ravelry's new handspun/spinning feature this morning and realized a few key things:

1)  I have way too much unspun fibre.  Somehow I haven't gotten the wheel out as much over the past year as I should and it makes me really sad.  It is such a peaceful, calming activity for me, and this was a year that could have used a bit of extra peace.

2) I am a fairly lackadaisical spinner, in that I don't think I've ever measured twist angle or grist.  I'm hard pressed to measure WIP most of the time, I just eyeball it and go.  It might be time to try spinning for a specific sweater, rather than spinning the yarn and THEN deciding what it wants to be.

3)  The yarn from yesterday's post?  I started that at the end of the Tour last year.  Oi.

On the up side, progress has been made!  I pulled out another long-languishing sweater lot and started up on the second 4 oz bump of singles (the first 4 oz was spun in January-ish).  This one is called A Bug's Life and is another Spunky Eclectic fibre club offering from July 2012. The fibre is Portugese Merino and is a pretty low-key one to spin.  It isn't as slippery to me as some of the other Merino I've spun, and isn't quite as squishy.  My hopes are that these traits will make it hold up a bit better and not pill so much from wear.  My one existing handspun Merino sweater, while I love it dearly, is very felted in the underarms and starting to pill.

I loved the colours in this one so much I ordered 2 extra bumps for a total of 16 oz, which should be enough for a cardigan.  Long or short sleeves remains to be seen.  :)  The first half the singles fits nicely on the largest bobbin I own:

Tour de Fleece, day 7

It is so rare during the Tour that I get a whole day to spin, and this was one of maybe two that I'll get.  July is such a busy month, I always feel like there isn't enough of me to go around.  Car shows, races, dance festivals, gardening, it all needs attention.  So when I do get a long day stretching ahead of me to just enjoy a project, I relish every second of it.  I parked myself on the couch for the better part of the afternoon (about 1 Miss Marple and 4 Poirot episodes, if I remember correctly), drank iced tea like it was going out of style, and treadled like a mad fiend.  This was the second 4 oz bump of David's Gift on Superwash Corriedale, my Spunky Eclectic fibre club from December 2010.  I spun up the first bump about this time last year and there it has sat, looking sad and neglected.  This was originally intended to be a shawl, and I'll probably stick to that game plan if the yardage looks promising.  I think this will be sport weight when plied and is a really lovely progression starting with orange and passing through brown, olive, sage, and finally turquoise.  After the second set of singles have rested a bit (the first set it fairly dead and I'd rather not ply it with a super lively, fresh bunch of singles), I'll have a plying marathon.  The progression on both bumps was similar, but I expect and am hoping for a certain amount of barberpoling on the colour changes.  This was my first time spinning SW Corrie and it was one of the easiest spins I've had outside very long wools.  The only other SW I've spun was slippery and hard to control, but this still had a lovely crimp to it.  Not bad for a day's work!

Tour de Fleece, days 4-6

Look familiar?  I finally wrapped up Carried Away in a rare bit of quiet early morning time on the 4th. The rest of the house was peacefully napping the day away, but my brain wouldn't shut off, so I thought a bit of meditative spinning time with a cup or five of coffee would help.  I'm not sure it quieted down all the noise in my head, but it certainly made a huge dent in my spinning.  :) 

I haven't measured this one yet, as it needed a bit of a rest before winding off, so I'm still  not sure whether it will be a stole or a scarf, but I'm completely smitten with the weird colour combination!

Tour de Fleece, days 1-3

Every year, a group of mad spinners 'round the world participates in the Tour de Fleece, a yarn spinning extravaganza that runs the length of the Tour de France.  This is my..third?...no, fourth, year participating, and I'm off to a bit of a slow start.  Between the car show, the Murder Mystery party, dance rehearsal, and work, the sum total of my spinning thus far is about 2 ounces.  But, hey, that's 2 ounces more than I had spun Saturday morning, right?  :)

(Awful cell phone shot.  It looked much better on the phone, trust me!)

Southern Cross/Hello Yarn collaboration: Carried Away, on Polwarth.  SCF club fibre that's been marinating in my stash since February 2011.  Oops.  This one's intended to be left as fingering weight, fluffy singles, to be used for a scarf or stole, depending on the yardage I get.

Cider-braised chicken crepes

Crepes are one of my all-time favourite foods to make.  They seem so fancy, but are super simple.  If you can make pancakes, you can make crepes.  For those who have to follow a gluten free diet, they are extra fabulous because you can make them from any type of flour or combination of flours.  I personally love anything with buckwheat in it - it adds a rustic touch and is more filling than those made with one of the lighter flours.  I do find that you have to let the batter rest for an hour or so before you start cooking, to allow the buckwheat to soak up some of the liquid.

Buckwheat Crepes:

3 eggs (I used 2 eggs + 2 egg whites, since I had whites left over from making Hollandaise sauce)
 3/4 C rice flour
1/4 C buckwheat flour
1/4 C corn flour (not cornmeal!)
salt & pepper
1/2 C hard apple cider
1 C water

Whisk ingredients together until all the lumps are gone and set aside in the refrigerator for an hour to rest.  Once you are ready to start cooking, heat up either a non-stick skillet or a well-cured cast iron.  You definitely don't want to use a pan that is prone to sticking!  Heat your skillet on medium heat, then melt a small lump of butter in the center of the pan and swirl to coat.  Pour 1/4 C batter into the center of the pan and swirl it slightly.  You want your crepe to be thin, but still evenly cover the pan.  My crepes were 6-7" across from 1/4 C batter.  Flip crepe once the edges start curling up - if you try before then, the crepes will stick, or crinkle up when you try to turn them.  You should have a slight bit of browning on the crepes, but don't overcook them so they become hard.  Repeat with remaining batter and keep crepes covered and slightly warm until they are ready to fill.

Cider-braised shredded chicken:

1 T olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 chicken breasts
1 T dijon mustard
1-1/2 C hard apple cider
1 T maple syrup
1/2 T dried parsley
salt & pepper

In medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat, then add shallot & garlic.  Sauté until  just starting to brown, then add remaining ingredients.  Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and let simmer until chicken is cooked and comes apart easily with a fork (30-45 minutes).  Shred thoroughly with a pair of forks.  Return mixture to heat and simmer until liquid is nearly evaporated (5-10 minutes).  Fill crepes with chicken mixture and a little cheese if that strikes your fancy (I used shredded cheddar).

I served these with prosciutto-wrapped roasted asparagus coated in Hollandaise sauce and topped with a poached egg because I was feeling fancy and the chickens have been in egg-laying overdrive, but this would have gone equally well with a simple side salad.

Sticky dates

I was going to post enticing and drool-worthy photos of these little gems, but I ate them.  *hangs head in shame*

I've been avoiding the grocery store like the plague lately, so when I needed to make some little nibbles to bring to a friend's house for a bbq last week, I had to get a bit creative in viewing the odd lot in the fridge.  I love simple foods, particularly when high quality ingredients are used, and these fit the bill.  They also disappeared, which I'm taking to be a good sign.  ;)

Prosciutto peaches:

Cut one ripe, but not yet squishy, peach into 8 wedges
Cut 8 1/2" x 3" or so slices of good quality prosciutto
Wrap peaches in prosciutto and prepare to feel fancy.

Sticky dates:

Cut 12 Medjool dates in half and remove the pits
Mix 2 T creamy peanut butter, 1 T honey (mine was fairly dark, from my backyard hive), and a pinch of ground cinnamon. 
Fill dates with a heaping mound of peanut butter mixture.
Lick the spoon and the inside of the bowl. (hey, details are important!)

Nettle Cheese Pie

Once or twice (if I'm lucky!) every spring, I get nettles in my produce box.  This isn't one of those veggies that features in a lot of daily diets any more, so the first time I got them spawned a flurry of recipe searches, trying to figure out what in the world to do with them.  I've made pesto (amazing), pizza (good, but not enough of a showcase), and soup (fairly traditional, from what I can tell).  This year, I tried a Nettle Cheese Pie recipe from this awesomely named blog and it is the hands-down winner.  Beats the stuffing out of all the rest of them.  It made the house smell glorious, was tasty the first night, as leftovers, and cold straight out of the fridge. The leftovers disappeared in near-record time, which is a goal every cook should aspire to, right?



The only problem is....

....nettles won't be in my veggie box again for another year.  *sniffle*

Mini Taco Salads...on a salad!

Mini Taco Salads...on a salad! 

Taco salad is way, way up on the list of my perfect foods.  I mean, really, what is there NOT to like about tacos?  And salad?  And any vehicle at all to carry yummy salsa and avocados and cheese to your mouth?? 

One of the downsides of gluten-free dining is the distinct lack of taco salad shells.  (Granted, this may be for the best, given how very many calories are in one of the deep-fried flour versions, but I do miss the crumbly, flaky texture and the overall awesomeness of getting to eat the bowl your salad came in.)  This experiment came about from a mid-afternoon craving and I think merits some more experimentation.  The baked corn shells are nice, but a little bit on the chewy side.  I think turning the temp up on the oven a bit would have resulted in a better texture (or pre-heating the muffin tins...hmmm....), but these were still super tasty.

GF mini taco salad bowls:
 Serves 2

6 corn tortillas, softened
greased large muffin tin

The tortillas will need to be warmed up until they are *very* flexible.  I stuck mine in the microwave for about a minute, but steaming them would likely be better (sometimes weeknight dinners are a bit on the late and rushed side at my place).  Lightly grease the muffin tins (the wider and bigger, the better) and quickly press the center of the tortillas down into the muffin tins to form a bowl.  Bake at 350-400 for 10 minutes, or until crisp.

Salad fillings, two ways:
Chicken:
1 thawed chicken breast
olive oil
juice from half a lime
salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika

Sprinkle chicken breast with lime juice and a pinch each of the seasonings.  Grill until cooked through, let rest 10 minutes, and dice.

Beef:
1/3 lb ground beef
juice from half a lime
salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika

Cook in recently vacated chicken cooking vessel whilst the chicken is having a nice little rest.  ;)

Toppings:
green pepper, sliced thinly
cherry tomatoes, halved
 avocado, chopped
green onions, sliced
cheddar, shredded
queso fresco, crumbled,
salad greens (I used about 1/3 lb for 2 people)
peach salsa
lime wedges
chipotle sour cream

I'm just going to come right out and say that this probably could have fed 3 easily, but we devoured it anyway.  Portion control fail.  It was absolutely worth the food coma that came later! 

Cheese Tasting: Caciotta di Bufala

This lovely little morsel was recommended by the cheesemonger at my favourite place at Pike Place Market to say goodbye to vast quantities of my paycheck (it may be for the best that my office is moving).  This is a buffalo milk cheese (water buffalo, that is) and had a smooth, delighful texture.  Slightly rubbery with a very gamey aftertaste and a sharp citrus nose.  I realize that sounds like a bizarre combination, but it was delicious!  The gamey taste isn't overpowering, just assertive enough to let you know this isn't cow's milk cheese.  I think this would stand up well on a cheese plate with a glass of dry red wine.  I'd love to try cooking with it, but at $35/lb it might be for special occasions only!

Pro tip:  I put the little bit left over from the tasting on a slice of bread and toasted it in the oven for homemade croutons and it was delicious!

Cheese Tasting: Sainte Haonnois

Sometimes I like going to the cheese counter and picking up something unusual.  I've found some of my very favourite cheeses that way!  This one, however, I'm going to admit looked far more appealing than it tasted.  :(  While it is hard to tell in the photo, this was a very wee little round of cheese, perhaps 1-1/2" across and 2" high, covered in a white mold rind and a light dusting of grey.

The consistency was not at all what I was expecting - chalky, fairly chewy, and dry enough to have a tannic mouthfeel like a red wine.  I can't say I've ever met a cheese with the same texture.  The flavour was very light, a bit like a dry cheddar, but not as strong or interesting.

I did put the cheese aside to age a bit more and see if the flavour improves any.  Barring any major changes, however, I'm going to have to say this is one little cheese I won't be taking home with me again.  (And that is a rare thing for me to say!!)

Thai-nese Chicken Salad

Pardon the pun, I couldn't help myself.  ;)  It started out as a Chinese-inspired chicken salad, then peanut sauce started sounding good and it just veered off in a different direction all by itself.  Sometimes I like it when someone else drives, you know?

Thai-nese Chicken Salad

(serves 2-3)

Chicken:
2 chicken breasts
salt, pepper, 5 spice mix (pinches)

Sprinkle spices on chicken and pan fry over medium heat in a very lightly greased (or nonstick) pan until cooked through and golden brown.

Dressing:
2 T peanut butter (chunky or creamy, whichever floats your boat)
2 T olive oil
2 t sesame oil
1 T rice wine vinegar
2-3 dashes hot sauce
1 T soy sauce (use tamari if you need to stay gluten free)

Whisk until the lumps disappear.  Unless, of course, you used chunky peanut butter.

Spicy Sweet Peanuts:
1/3 C unsalted peanuts
1/4 t sugar
2 pinches 5 spice mix

Dry roast peanuts over medium heat 3-5 minutes, until they start to smell 'toasted' and brown slightly.  Sprinkle sugar and spice over nuts and stir frequently for another 30-45 seconds, until sugar melts and coats the peanuts evenly.  Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Salad:
3-4 oz baby spinach leaves
1 bundle rice noodles, soaked 10 minutes and drained thoroughly
3 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded & cut into half moons (you can leave the seeds in if you want - they just give me the creeps)
1 carrot, shredded
1 tomato, deseeded & diced (see creepy cucumber comment!)
1 serrano pepper, seeded & diced
1/3 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 avocado, sliced
1 t toasted sesame seeds

Assemble in whatever fashion makes you happy.  ;)  This made two HUGE dinner salads and could easily have fed three.  Had I remembered I'd have to save room for dessert, I'd have held back a wee bit on the spinach.  I never have learned to make a 'small salad', though.

A Long Journey

A few months back, I was contacted by a friend of a friend who was in need of a custom costume.  Sure, I thought, that sounds fun, and hey, I have some slower weekends coming up!   Hahahaha!  Slower weekends, that's a good one!  :p

So inbetwixt and inbetween all the shows, projects, and general life stuff that keeps rearing its ugly head, I've been working on this for several weekends straight.  I admit that I had not ever seen the character before (or even the game), but there were fortunately some really great photos available and one kind soul had even listed instructions for the costume they had made as well as some rough scale pattern pieces.  I had to laugh on one of my many trips to the fabric store because the lady at the cutting counter played Journey and knew exactly what I was making!

This did have to be modified a bit to fit, which added quite a bit to the embellishment time.  As written, the pattern was a half circle cape, which I increased to 3/4 circle in order to close properly on the front.  The hood also had to be increased about 4" in diameter.

All said, I'm ridiculously happy with how the project turned out.  I'm also ridiculously happy it will be going to live with its new owner so I don't have to see any more bright yellow bias tape for a while.  ;)

(For those like me who aren't quite up on their video game characters, this is the main character from Journey PS3.)

Corn Roti

I've been threatening to make chicken curry for months and finally got around to it (mmm, spicy!).  I never think an Indian meal is complete without naan, but haven't yet found a good GF substitute.  These corn roti were modified from a non-GF recipe I found on Eating Well.  I'm happy with it, though it isn't quite as good at sopping up sauce as naan is.

Corn Roti

(makes 6)

1 C White Corn Flour
1/4 C Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Mix (or your favourite, I think most would work)
1/4 t salt
1/2 t fresh ginger, minced finely
1/2 t minced chipotle in adobo
1/4 C finely chopped red onion
1/4 C finely chopped baby spinach leaves
1/2 C + 1 T warm water
1/2 T butter
1/2 T olive oil

Combine flours & salt.  Add ginger, chipotle, onion and spinach; stir to combine.  Drizzle water over mixture, stirring to incorporate until it starts to come together and form a mass.  Knead until a soft ball forms, using more AP flour mix as needed to keep from sticking.  Divide into 6 balls.  Flatten to 4-6" diameter discs between two sheets of waxed paper (the dough will still be a bit sticky).  Pan fry in skillet lightly coated with cooking spray over medium to medium high heat, 1-2 minutes per side.  Coat each side lightly with butter-oil mix and sear 30 seconds per side.  This last step should brown them nicely.

I didn't get to test these as leftovers, as we devoured them all with dinner, but I imagine they would keep a few days and benefit from being reheated before serving.

Mediterranean Chicken & Rice

This is one of those standard weekday spur-of-the-moment meals that happen so often in my life.  There had been plans for the evening that fell through at the last minute, so I found myself in the kitchen, pondering the contents of the fridge (and shuddering at the mashed potatoes that were rapidly becoming a sentient life form).  One of the many skills I'm glad I gleaned from my mom is the ability to cook dinner out of juuuust about anything.  Growing up out of town, popping over to the corner store wasn't much of an option, so I learned to be creative.  I'll be the first to admit that sometimes the experiments turn out better than others, but I think this one was a keeper.  ;)

Mediterranean Chicken & Rice

(Serves 2)

Chicken:
2 marinated chicken breasts (I used the brine left over from a jar of marinated mushrooms, but I think Italian dressing would work in a pinch, or any type of light vinaigrette)
1 T olive oil

Rice:
2-1/2 C cooked brown rice (I admit it, I used minute rice)
1 tomato, diced & seeded
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 t lemon zest
8-10 green olives, chopped
8-10 marinated mushrooms, chopped
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 C pine nuts
2 handfuls baby spinach

Stir rice ingredients into cooked rice while it is still warm and set aside to rest while you cook chicken in large frying pan with 1 T olive oil.  Add marinade as needed until cooked through and golden brown (I found that adding the marinade gave the chicken a really nice crust.  Serve hot with room temp to warm rice.

This made just slightly more than 2 dinner portions, and I think it may have been better the next day for lunch!

Huevos!

First eggs of the season, aww yeah!

Between the late fall moult and winter, it has been about 4 months since the last fresh egg at my house, and I am one happy, happy girl! 

(That's an awful photo, but just imagine happy eggs.  For some reason, my camera really, really, REALLY did not want to focus on them.  Bugger.)

Braised Lamb Chops

Braised Lamb Chops

(serves 2, easy to scale)

7 cloves garlic, diced
1 leek (white only), chopped
8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1 pint thin tomato sauce (if using commercial, mix 1/2 pint water with 1/2 pint tomato sauce)
4 lamb chops
1 T capers
rosemary salt
pepper
1/3 C red wine (I had pinot noir on hand)
2 T bacon grease ('cuz I'm fancy like that)
1 t dried parsley
1/2 t herbes de provence
1 T butter

In large sauté pan over medium heat, sauté garlic & leek in bacon grease 2-3 minutes.  Add mushrooms, salt & pepper and sauté until golden brown (about 2 minutes).  Scoot to sides of pan and add lamb chops to center.  Brown 2 minutes each side.  Mine were thick, so I did top, bottom, and both sides (8 minutes total).

Deglaze pan with wine.  Add tomato sauce, parsley, herbes and a pinch of black pepper.  Simmer 4 minutes.  Flip chops and simmer 2 minutes.  Remove chops to rest while you finish up the sauce.  Turn heat on sauce to medium high and cook until reduced by 2/3.  Add capers and 1 T butter.  Remove from heat and serve over chops.

I served this with some leftover mashed potatoes and it was incredibly filling and made the house smell delightful.  You could probably add another vegetable side and serve each person 1 chop and make this feed 4, not 2.  The cook time on the lamb with thicker chops left them just the pink side of medium, which I think was about perfect.  If you like your meat more well done, just increase the simmer time.

Eggplant Involtini Primavera

In spite of my decision to revert to my carnivorous ways of old, I still hold a soft spot for a good vegetarian meal and cook them as often as I can.  This one got the high praise of being devoured in one sitting by several die-hard carnivores, one of whom is skeptical about eggplant.  I consider that a win!

Eggplant Involtini Primavera 

 1/4 C olive oil
1 large Italian eggplant (or 2 smaller ones)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 leek (white only), chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped (this one was gigantic, maybe use 2 if yours aren't bruisers)
1/2 lb baby spinach
4 oz cream cheese
10 marinated mushrooms (regular mushrooms will work in a pinch, just add extra spices)
salt
pepper
1/2-1 t Italian seasoning
1 pint spaghetti sauce
1/3 C shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 350°.

Slice eggplant lengthwise, as thinly as possible (1/4" or so).  Pan fry over medium heat in olive oil, ~2 minutes per side, until softened.  Place on paper towel to drain.

In same frying pan, sauté leek ~2 minutes, add garlic & sauté 2-3 more minutes, until leek begins to brown slightly.  Add bell pepper and sauté 2-3 minutes, until softened.  Add spinach and cook until wilted.  Add mushrooms, cream cheese and spices.  Stir until cheese is melted and spinach fully collapsed.  Remove from heat.

In greased 8x10 pan, roll eggplant slices around filling (or fold in half, which seems to be easier if you used a smaller eggplant).  Cover with spaghetti sauce and scatter cheddar cheese on top.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting to brown just slightly.

Serves 3 hungry people!  This would probably serve 4-6 if dinner included side dishes, which we skipped entirely.  :)

Tortilla Soup

Early in the fall, the local farm where I get all my beef & pork from ran a special on stewing hens, so I picked up a case of 10 of them and have been playing with them off and on, trying different ways to cook them.  These aren't the plump chickens you'd buy for roasting, these are retired laying hens, so they are older, leaner, and a bit tougher.  More character, if you will.  ;)

As the name suggests, most of the recipes I've ever found for stewing hens involve making them into some sort of soup or stew.  Really, any recipe that involves long, wet cooking that will keep them from drying out would do the trick.

Tortilla Soup 

Broth:
1 3-4 lb stewing hen
3-4 carrots
3 bay leaves
1 T each ehydrated garlic & onion
enough water to cover

Soup:
1 yellow onion, diced
2 T oil (I used schmaltz)
9 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
4 carrots, diced
1 15-oz can corn (drained)
2 15-oz cans stewed tomatoes
1 chipotle in adobo, diced
4 sliced corn tortillas
1 T ground cumin
1/2 T chili powder
1/4 t each salt & black pepper

Toppings:
sour cream
shredded cheddar
fried tortilla strips
sliced avocado

In large stock pot, bring broth ingredients to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer.  Cook 1 hour.  Remove & chop hen into 6-8 pieces, then return to pot.  Cook 1-2 hours longer.  Cool enough to skin fat and remove and discard bones from chicken.  Shred meat and set aside.

In large stock pot, heat oil (I skimmed the chicken fat from the broth and used it) over medium heat, then add onions.  Sauté 2-3 minutes, add garlic, then sauté 1 minute more.  Add carrots and bell pepper and cook until onion begins to brown on the edges.  Add stock, chicken, tomatoes, cor, chipotle, spices and sliced tortilla.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes.

Serve with any (or all!) of the toppings.

This was just what the doctor ordered for the snuffly cold that has been going around - there is just enough heat to clear your head without too much of a burn.  If you like it hotter, add a fresh jalapeno in with the onions or double the chili powder.

Roasted Squash Tacos

Tacos may well be one of those perfect foods, no matter what you fill them with.  Beans, ground beef or chicken, grilled veggies, TVP, you name it.  I think I lived off bean burritos and TVP tacos through my college years!  There used to be a quirky little taco place in Seattle that was only open evenings and late nights and served a rotating (and admittedly random) set menu.  Sadly, they've closed up shop (no more late night drunken tacos, Capital Hill!).  This meal was very much inspired by their delightfully bizarre approach to their nightly vegetarian offering, which could be anything from beans to roasted cauliflower.  That one always gave me pause, and I LIKE cauliflower!


Roasted Squash Tacos


1 turban, butternut, or similar densely-fleshed winter squash, deseeded & cut into wedges
1/2 white onion, coarsely chopped
1-2 tsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

1 large jalapeño

1 lime
2-3 T fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 t garlic salt
1/2 t chile powder
3/4 t ground cumin

If you're using an unruly squash (and, being totally honest here, they all are), I highly recommend using grippy rubber gloves so you don't slip and cut yourself.  The turban I used was particularly troublesome, so I had to call in reinforcements. There may have still been a bit of creative cursing!

Roast squash and onion on cookie sheet with enough oil to coat and a sprinkling of salt & pepper at 400 degrees for ~30 minutes.  Onions should be browned on edges and the squash should be soft but not mushy.

Meanwhile, if you have a gas stove and a pair of metal tongs, char the skin of the jalapeño until nicely blackened and place in a paper bag to cool.  If you have electric or aren't feeling adventurous, you can roast the jalapeño with your squash!

Remove squash from peel, coarsely chop and mix with onion.  Add chopped jalapeño, cilantro, juice from lime, and spices.

I served this with some lightly marinated, grilled chicken breast, but it works fabulously as a vegetarian or vegan meal!

(The beans in the picture are from the Millenium Cookbook, which is the best gourmet vegetarian cookbook in my arsenal.  The photos alone are droolworthy, and every recipe I've made out of it has been amazing.)

Parsnip Soup with White Beans & Bacon

As part of my never-ending quest to empty out the produce drawer, we have reached the stage where parsnip overload was imminent.  Normally I serve them french fried and nestled up against a good steak or grilled chicken, but to be honest, digging through the freezer to find anything sounded like far too much trouble (sad excuse, I know), so there they sat and glared at me for a few weeks.  I kept hearing this rumour that parsnips were great in soup....and this time the gossip mill was onto something!

Parsnip Soup w/White Beans and Bacon

2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
2 small apples, cored and cut into 1/2" cubes
2 t olive oil
salt & pepper (pinches)

4 strips bacon
1/2 white onion
2-3 garlic cloves

2 C veggie broth
1 bay leaf
3 C milk (1%)
1/4 C white wine
1 can (14-oz) white beans
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground pepper
pinch celery seed

2-3 garlic cloves
1 T olive oil

Place parsnips and apple on a large baking sheet, drizzle with 2 t olive oil, and sprinkle lightly with salt & pepper.  Roast at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes, turning once.

Meanwhile, in dutch oven or soup pot, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp.  Remove bacon and discard all but 2 T fat.  Sauté garlic & onions in bacon grease until golden brown on edges.

Add parsnips & 3 strips of crumbled bacon to the pot.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add broth and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.  Remove bay leaf and purée the soup in a blender (or with an immersion blender if you're lucky enough to have one of those magical tools), adding milk as needed until velvety smooth.  It was still pretty thick after 3 C of milk - you could add more water or broth if you want a thinner soup.

Reheat purée, adding beans, wine, and spices.

In a small frying pan, heat garlic in olive oil until fragrant & golden.  Remove from heat immediately.

Ladle soup into bowls.  Garnish with reserved bacon, crumbled, and drizzle with garlic oil.

I'm going to admit it is a little lacking in colour, but it was really tasty!  Very filling, too.  It did get a vote of 'not too weird' from one taster, but I blame that on the parsnips.  ;)

The unassuming looking sandwich there was made of pure awesome, and you should definitely have one.  Grilled ham & garlic brie (very ripe!) with dijon mustard and mashed avocado.  This one grilled funny because it was a little crowded in the skillet, but don't hold that against the poor thing.  It was still delicious.  :)

Expanding my horizons (aka adventures with offal!)

3 years ago, when I discovered I needed to go gluten free, I made the difficult decision to start eating meat again after 18 or so years of being a vegetarian.  The vegetarian gluten free options were so limited and so expensive and I was already completely overwhelmed by the change that I really felt it was the best option at the time.  In the past year particularly, the gluten free options at restaurants in Seattle have multiplied and it is much easier to eat out and still be a vegetarian.

One of the things I insisted upon when I made the switch back to eating meat was that I was going to start buying locally raised, pastured animals and cooking with them as much as possible (I know the farm where my lamb comes from every year, and the animals are well treated).  The other was that I didn't want anything to go to waste, so I've been trying to incorporate more of the odd bits into my diet and have discovered some of them are really, really tasty.

So Friday night, this happened:

Pardon the blurry phone pic, I was improvising.  :)  That delightfully innocuous looking dish is beef intestine bbq from local Korean restaurant.  I tried looking up the Korean name, because I'm sure it sounded much more romantic and appealling, but it doesn't seem to be on their online menu!  I tried the bbq beef tongue last time I was there and it was delicious, so I thought this was a safe place to branch out to something a little weirder.

If you've never had Korean bbq, you probably aren't prepared for the fascinating and almost overwhelming array of little dishes they bring you.  There were lettuce leaves to wrap the meat in, 4 kinds of dipping sauce (bbq, sesame oil/salt, hot sauce, and fermented red bean), 5 kinds of side dishes (kimchi, steamed broccoli, marinated tofu, sprouts & shredded carrot, and potato salad), plus the sizzling tray of (in this case) intestines and grilled onions.

So.  Darn. Tasty.  I was pretty surprised how good it was, and that it wasn't too chewy.  Whatever sauce they had on it had just the right level of spice and had the extra added bonus of making it all look like a plate of rigatoni so it wasn't too scary at all.  ;)
 

Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

One of my little joys in life is trying new things, whether it be food, music, an obscure craft, or the flying trapeze.  As a consequence, my tastes tend to be on the eclectic side, and I like inflicting sharing those tastes with everyone around me.  My veggie boxes the last few weeks have had more than a handful of oddballs in them, so I decided to have some friends try something new.  After clarifying with them that brussel sprouts are not the same sprouts you get on a sandwich from the deli (though I do want to try these some time very, very soon), we settled on burdock root.  I've only had burdock a handful of times, but love the slight nuttiness and crunch it lends to a stir fry.  We've had so much fog and gloom here in Seattle of late, I've been craving soups and all manner of warm drinks, so this Asian-inspired chicken noodle soup was born:

Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

For the chicken:
2 chicken breasts
pinch each of salt, pepper, celery salt, cloves, and cayenne
2 t olive oil

For the soup:
1 T olive oil
1/2 white onion, diced
1 'thumb' ginger, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1/4 lb oyster mushrooms (sliced if large, left whole if smaller)
5 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
6 C vegetable stock
1 bunch collard greens, rinsed, deveined, and cut in 1" wide strips
1/2 t sesame oil
2 t tamari (or soy sauce if you aren't GF)
3 t rice wine vinegar
2 bundles rice noodles
1 burdock root

Garnish:
2 scallions, chopped

Thoroughly scrub the burdock root and peel off the outer dark brown layer.  Using vegetable peeler, cut the remaining root into 3-4" long strips and place in a bowl with cold water to keep from discolouring while the soup cooks.

Sprinkle chicken breasts with spices and rest for 10 minutes.  Heat 2 t olive oil in a frying pan and cook chicken until no pink remains in the center and the outside is golden brown. Remove from heat and let rest 10 minutes.  Just before soup is finished, slice into 1/2" wide strips.

Meanwhile, heat 1 T olive oil in soup pot and sauté onion and garlic until slightly browned.  Add ginger, mushrooms and carrot.  Cook 1-2 minutes until mushrooms have started to release juices, then add stock. Simmer 10 minutes, then add tamari, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil.  Stir well to combine. Add collard greens and rice noodles and simmer until almost cooked (~3 minutes).  Drain water off burdock root and add root to the pot.  Cook an additional 2-3 minutes and remove from heat.

To serve, ladle soup into individual soup bowls (larger sizes seem to work better), top with sliced chicken breast and sprinkle with scallions.  Eat while hot!

Gluten Free Pan-Fried Chinese Pancakes

3/4 C warm water
1/4 t salt
1/3 C Bob's Red Mill Pizza Crust Mix
1-2/3 C Bob's All-Purpose Baking Mix
2 t sesame oil
6-8 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2-1 t sesame seeds
vegetable oil for frying

Mix water  & salt in a medium mixing bowl until dissolved and add flour.  You could use a mixer or a spoon for this - the dough is pretty easy to work.  Sprinkle counter with either of the flour mixes and knead until smooth and firm (3-4 minutes).  Add additional flour as necessary to keep from sticking.  Rest, covered, for 15-20 minutes.  On floured surface, roll out to 1/2" thickness.  Sprinkle with half of the sesame seeds, onions, and sesame oil.  Roll the dough up like a jelly roll and keep folding in itself until the onions are fully incorporated (you could just knead them in, but the constant folding produces a more layered and flaky dough).  Repeat with remaining half of the sesame oil, seeds, and onion.  Divide dough into 8 balls.  Pat flat into 1/4" thick rounds and fry over medium heat in a deep frying pan coated with a thin coating of vegetable oil.  You don't want to deep fry them, you just need enough oil to brown them and keep them from sticking.  Pancakes should be golden brown and firm when done.  Serve with gyoza or hoisin sauce for dipping.

Here's the dough before going in the frying pan:

And here's the fully cooked pancakes, served alongside the soup:

One more, because it makes me ridiculously happy:

(Doesn't it look like the food is staring at you?? Creepy!)

Curried Pumpkin

Whenever I'm sick or feel a cold coming on, I get cravings for spicy food.  Not just hot spicy, because I like that all the time, but the complex layers of spices you find in Indian, Thai, and Korean food.  I had a special request for Butter Chicken, and found myself rummaging through the weekly veggie box to see what needed used and would go well with it.  Butter Chicken is glorious by itself, but part of me feels like dinner isn't dinner unless there's a veggie on the plate.  (Thanks, Mom!)  This time of year, winter squash and root vegetables seem to be the stars of the produce box, so an onion, a carrot, and a pumpkin worked their way to the top of the list.

Curried Pumpkin

1 smallish pumpkin or winter squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 onion, diced
3-4 cloves of garlic, diced
2 T olive oil
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
 1/2 lime, juiced
 1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 C plain yoghurt
pinch of salt
pinch black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a medium sized heavy bottomed pot and sauté onion and garlic until slightly browned.  Add cubed pumpkin and spices and sauté for a minute longer, then add tomato, lime juice, yoghurt, salt, and pepper.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until pumpkin is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Serve with rice.  (Serves 4)

The pumpkin is on the upper RH burner here, just about ready to serve (it was feeling a bit shy and hiding in the back!):

Coconut Carrot Rice

1 C long-grain rice
1-1/2 C chicken stock
1 T olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, diced
pinch salt
pinch pepper
1 carrot, cut into 2" strips with a vegetable peeler
1 can coconut milk

In a medium pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic until translucent.  Add rice, chicken stock, and salt & pepper (to taste).  Simmer uncovered for 5-7 minutes, or until the liquid has been mostly absorbed by the rice, stirring occasionally.  Add carrot strips and full can of coconut, and cook an additional 7-10 minutes, or until the coconut milk has been mostly absorbed and the rice is tender and creamy (a little residual moisture in the pan is fine). If you find you need to add more liquid, plain water will do just fine.  (Serves 4)

This may not be the prettiest meal on the block, but the house smelled heavenly!