Book of Yum

Recently I had the special challenge of creating completely allergen free food for our latest CeliacBayArea potluck. These dishes had to be gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, egg-free, bean-free, nut-free, and even coconut-free. What’s a soy, coconut, nut loving girl to do? One of my go-to potluck dishes that I enjoy making is a simple spring roll, but my favorite dipping sauce uses nuts in some form or another. Luckily, some time back I’d discovered a lovely and easy sweet chili sauce that went beautifully with spring rolls. I’ve often made this as well as a peanut sauce in case there are people at the party allergic to peanuts. However, as I thought about the party, I wasn’t sure my ordinary, salad-like spring roll would do. Many (although not all) of our diners were not vegetarian, and I thought they might find a salad-type roll a bit light and unsatisfying. But what if I made a heartier filling with mushrooms- something seasoned like a rich Chinese food dish- and combined it with fresh cilantro (just a leaf or two) and some rice noodles? Wouldn’t that be hearty and tasty, and give my soy-free friends a chance for Chinese food flavors that they don’t often get to enjoy? I had a plan. I’ve been working on a jicama stir-fry for a while, ever since I discovered how delicious it is fried in flavorful oil. For this variation, I combined jicama, carrot, and mushroom for a hearty and pleasant stir fry with sweet and savory elements. The sauce required some thought- ordinarily I would have used sesame oil to give it savory appeal, but since nuts were out I had to look elsewhere for my flavors. I came up with a savory sauce using alcohol, vegetable stock (yes, mine is soy-free and guten-free! I use the bouillon on the left for all my Chinese dishes), honey, and rice vinegar. On its own it wasn’t special, but combined with the salty and savory elements of the stir fry, it really brought everything together. The verdict of my tasters? DH loved the stir fry and kept stealing bits of it, to my chagrin. He wanted to just eat it on rice, but I had other designs for it. And as far as the potluck- I think our allergen-free members really enjoyed the flavor. Allergy-boy (a fervent carnivore) liked the combination of vegetables, and my friend JM (of okra fame) wanted the recipe. Perhaps the greatest compliment of all- even though I’d made enough for an army (I thought), with two boxes filled with two tiers of rolls, our small-ish party managed to eat almost all of the summer rolls I’d brought. So much for leftovers… heheh. Although I am lucky enough (I think) not to be intolerant to soy, with some of the negative press around it, it seems like it doesn’t hurt to take a break from it once in a while. And, when you can make something this tasty, and this allergen-free, being soy-free no longer seems like such a restriction. After all, how yummy IS soy sauce, when it comes down to it? When’s the last time you felt like glugging it straight from the bottle? I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to think I could do without it.

How to make Spring/Summer Rolls and peanut sauce recipe
Summer Rolls Vegan Lunchbox-Style
Gluten-Free Soy-Free Chinese Fried Rice Recipe
Soy-free Szechuan Chinese Pea Recipe
Soy-free Szechuan Chili-Zucchini Brown fried Rice Recipe

Coming Soon…
Gluten-Free Soy-Free Living- Challenge #3 Gluten Free Vegetarian Sushi without the soy sauce (and without missing it!)
Recipes, Tricks and tips for gloriously yummy (and healthy) Japanese dining- out AND at home!
Past Episodes…
Gluten-Free Soy-Free Living- Challenge #1 Gluten-Free,Soy-Free, Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soy-Free Chinese Jicama Stir Fry Main Course  Vegetables  Chinese

Ingredients 1/2 cup Canola Oil (or peanut, if allergies don’t forbid) 1 tbsp. szechuan peppercorns a few slices of fresh ginger 2 large garlic cloves 2 scallions, just the white part 1 small jicama or 3/4 large jicama, peeled and cut into sticks 2 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks 8 med-lg. mushrooms (white or crimini), washed, stems removed, sliced 1/4 tsp. salt (NO LESS! Chinese food NEEDS the saltiness, and remember, you’ve already cut down on sodium by not using soy sauce) 2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced Sauce: 1/2 cup vegetable stock (or make from vegetable bullion) 1 tsp. mirin 1 tsp. brandy 1/2 tsp. rice vinegar 2 tsp. honey a touch of salt 1 tsp. cornstarch (the important measurements here are the VEG STOCK AND CORNSTARCH. proportions of the alcohol and honey etc. are estimated- just add until you’ve created a balance in sauce that you like. This isn’t a lip-smackingly yummy sauce on its own- it is to add depth of flavor to well seasoned vegetables that are already flavorful) Directions Szechuan oil: Heat a wok on high and add Szechuan to pan, tossing lightly. Turn heat to low and toast peppercorn lightly, stirring frequently- about a minute and a half. Add the peanut oil and raise heat to medium or medium high, depending on your stove. Once oil begins to bubble lightly (if it ever does), add ginger, and garlic cloves. Lower heat and let cook until the garlic cloves and ginger turns brown. You may want to turn them in the oil to get them brown on both sides. When they are golden brown remove them and discard. Add in the white part of the scallions and let it brown, and then remove it from the oil and discard. You should have nicely flavored oil by now. If you have the patience, let cool and strain into a glass container (with a lid). If you don’t have the patience, strain with heat resistant metal strainer after letting it reach a cooler temperature into a heat resistant metal or glass. You don’t need to clean your wok if you are planning on immediately making this stir fry. Mix your sauce ingredients in a small bowl and reserve. Add cornstarch last by mixing it with a small amount of the sauce first and then adding it to the sauce. Take two tablespoons of the flavored oil and heat in your wok over high heat. Toss in your salt and then, a few seconds later, your fresh minced ginger. As it starts to brown, throw in your jicama sticks. Move them in the wok with cooking chopsticks or other wooden cooking device (I have a wooden paddle thing I’m rather fond of) to allow them to brown evenly and not burn as well as get evenly coated with the yummy oil. After two minutes or so, add in the mushrooms, and then the carrots. You do NOT want to overcook the carrots, so watch them carefully. You want the mushrooms to be nice and soft and melty and the carrots to be crisp tender. Continue moving the food around as needed. When the dish seems ALMOST done, stir your sauce one last time and create a well in the center of the wok. Add the sauce to the center of the wok and then fold in the veggies as it thickens. Make sure the sauce has evenly coated all the veggies and then turn off the heat. Remove from wok and place in serving dish. Notes If needed, you can add more oil right before you add the mushrooms and carrots, but try to let the oil heat up a little before adding the next ingredients, and keep the jicama away from it on the sides of the wok. You can also experiment with LESS oil, but it adds a lot of flavor and the interest to the dish, so I would try it first with the given amount and then adjust for your own tastes. Steamed veggies are an alternative for the super-health conscious- but I’ve never been keen on them and the goal here is to achieve lip-smacking Chinese restaurant style tastiness without soy or gluten. You can serve this with rice (white or brown), rice noodles, or even in a summer roll rice paper wrap. Craziness, I know.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  The contents of my brain, do not replicate anywhere without my permission or I will have to send Ra and his minions after you. Recipe ID:  1286 Added:  August 23, 2008 Last Modified:  September 6, 2008

This Fourth of July we went to a local park for a picnic and fireworks with some very special friends. I love packing a picnic lunch for Independence Day, and there are some dishes that have become something of a tradition.

Our 4th of July menu was:
Grilled Sesame Tofu (recipe below)
Summer Vegetable Rolls with Peanut Sauce
Balsamic Honey Grilled Eggplant
and
Gluten-Free Raspberry Almond Financiers (recipe below)

If you look at my post for July 4, 2007 you’ll note that I made peanut sauce last year too, for sesame grilled vegetables. But I also made some new recipes for this year’s feast… like this delightful recipe for Balsamic Honey Grilled Eggplant.

This recipe was a real keeper, and one that I have a feeling I’ll be making a lot in the years to come. DH is skeptical of eggplant, and he seemed to enjoy it- and I couldn’t get enough of the stuff. To me it was like grilled and savory candy (but better).

I also experimented with a recipe from Martha Stewart that I’d been eying for a while. Of course, as written the recipe was full of gluten, gluten, gluten, but I thought it would probably convert reasonably well to be gluten-free. Even though we’re currently packing up our whole house for a move, I deliberately left out my mini-muffin tins just for this recipe. Oh, how I love my mini-muffin tins. Like real muffin tins, but cuter. Anyway, I was thrilled for the opportunity to use up some of the organic, local raspberries I’d been storing in the freezer, and an Indpendence Day Picnic seemed like the perfect time for financiers. Although, to be honest, I didn’t quite know what financiers were. To me they just seemed like little jam-filled-mini muffins.

Luckily, the Joy of Baking was able to enlighten me.

“Financiers are French tea cakes (pronounced fee-nahng-syehr), also known as Friands (meaning “dainty” or “tasty”). They are made from a sponge-like batter of beurre noisette (brown butter), egg whites, flour, toasted ground almonds, and powdered sugar. Financiers are similar to Madeleines in that they both use a sponge-like mixture that is baked in special molds. When baked Financiers are soft and springy with a slightly domed top and a lovely golden brown crust.” (Source: Stephanie Jaworski)

Financiers are a natural for gluten-free conversion, as a good portion of their batter is made with almond flour and eggs, two high protein ingredients that help compensate for any lack of gluten in our flours. Unfortunately commercial varieties will also contain gluten-flour, but you can make them at home with excellent results. As it happens, I converted the recipe to be dairy free, but for a more traditional recipe you could use butter instead of the DF, CF margarine and let the butter brown. This browning of the butter adds great nutty flavor. Just be careful not to burn it! I think traditionally financiers are made in special molds, like madeleines, but home cooks use mini muffin tins very successfully. I knew I was happy I bought that mini-muffin tin!

In Love with Financiers?
Try Gluten-Free Girl’s Chocolate Financier Recipe, brought to you by Smitten Kitten.
Or, an agave-nectar sweetened version of the recipe
An adorable Gluten-Free Apricot Financier Recipe
Or a gluten-free adaption of a Almond Tea Cake Financier Recipe

But food aside, the best thing about any holiday is sharing it with special friends that are your family-away-from-family. Last year we spent it with my favorite adopted “little sister”- and this year we spent it with one of our favorite couples. These are friends that have been with both of us for the long haul, and I hope will always be a part of our life. Happy Fourth of July, everyone! I hope your holiday was absolutely delicious, and that you got to spend it with your very favorite people!

Yummy Grilled Tofu Side Dish  Tofu  American

Ingredients 1 lb of firm tofu (Chinese Style is best for this kind of recipe) 2 tbsp GF soy sauce (preferably San-J Low Sodium Tamari) 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup 1 Tbsp rice vinegar 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (we like a Japanese brand) 2 pressed cloves of garlic Directions Drain water from tofu, and cut horizontally in thirds or half. Wrap in towel and leave for 30 minutes or so until water has absorbed into towel. Mix marinade ingredients, and marinate tofu for at least 30 minutes. If possible, grill, if not, broil or pan fry. Makes a wonderful protein addition to salads, sandwich fillings, and perfect with rich rice dishes like risotto. Notes I’ve been making this recipe for years and it always goes over very well at parties. Very flavorful and easy. Can be doubled for a crowd. You may wish to brush or spray grill with oil, as the tofu can stick.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Vegan Vittles Recipe ID:  1036 Added:  March 14, 2007 Last Modified:  July 6, 2008

Gluten-Free Raspberry Almond Financiers Dessert  Alternative Grains  European

Ingredients 8 tbsp. dairy free margarine like Earth Balance 1/3 cup honey (I like raw honey) 2 cups finely ground almonds (I use Trader Joe’s or you can grind your own) 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar 1/4 cup finely ground brown rice flour (like Authentic Foods’) 1/4 cup sweet (white) rice flour 1/4 cup tapioca starch 1/2 tsp salt 5 lg. egg whites (you can probably veganize this by using 3-4 Ener-g foods egg replacer eggs, soy yogurt, or flax seed eggs) 1 cup raspberries (if frozen, defrost first), pureed and strained (not strained is ok if you don’t mind seeds) Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray two mini muffin tins with GF nonstick cooking spray. Melt your margarine in a small saucepan on medium-low heat, whisking occasionally and heating for 6-7 minutes. At the end, whisk in your honey and let it combine thoroughly. Put your ground almonds, sugars, flour, and salt in a standing mixer (or large bowl) and whisk together on low. Turn up the speed to medium-high and add your egg whites (or egg replacer eggs) one at a time, combining each one thoroughly until adding the next. Use a spatula to make sure all the ingredients on the side of the bowl integrate with the rest of the ingredients. Lower mixer speed to low and add your warm honey-margarine (whisk quickly first to make sure it hasn’t separated) in one long, continuous stream. Turn up speed to high for 45 seconds. Fill your mini muffin tins half full. Then take a scant 1/2 tsp of your raspberry puree and pull up a little of the batter with a knife, dribbling the puree in and then settling the batter over the top to make a raspberry heart shape. Or, just make a little jam circle on the top if the heart is too much effort. Bake for 7 minutes or so, turn your rack around and bake another 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy! Notes Another cute little mini-muffin, er, I mean financier, recipe!

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Modified from Martha Steward Living to be dairy and GF Recipe ID:  1264 Added:  July 6, 2008 Last Modified:  July 7, 2008