Book of Yum

The other night DH and I settled down to a deceptively simple feast of homemade vegetarian pinto bean burgers, corn tortillas, lettuce, and baked onion rings. And yes, I just said BAKED onion rings. Of course, they were totally GLUTEN-FREE. But the real secret… they weren’t even that hard to make! I had been thinking about baked onion rings for some time when I stumbled across an intriguing recipe at Cooking for Engineers. It used a nice buttermilk batter (alas, not gluten-free) and a crispy coating of potato chips and (non gf) saltine crackers. I just happened to have some buttermilk in the fridge so I converted the batter to be gluten-free, and then reworked the coating. I was reluctant to use FRIED chips for a BAKED dish and cancel out all that healthfulness, so I decided to use the newly gluten-free and crunchy Rice Chex instead of potato chips. DH and I had recently discovered a new type of Glutino Cheese crackers at the local New Leaf health food store, and I decided to use them as a substitute for the saltine crackers. The result was cheesy and flavorful with less fat than the gluten-based-recipe that inspired me. To accompany this traditional American fast-food restaurant treat, I took some homemade slow-cooked organic pinto beans and sauteed them with some caramelized onions and garlic, adding peanut butter, tomato paste, green pepper, and fresh cilantro for flavor. Then I added some freshly cooked brown rice and shaped the mixture into patties and floured them with pure GF buckwheat. I pan fried them in a little peanut oil in a cast iron pan and then sprayed them with nonstick cooking spray and baked them until they were firm and perfectly brown. We enjoyed them in a non-traditional corn tortilla with mayo and ketchup (and a little chipotle salsa) and they were the ideal accompaniment for golden, perfectly baked onion rings. Onion rings have always been a rare treat, due to all the trouble (and guilt) of all that oil and deep frying, but with this recipe, they can be on our regular menu. In fact, DH has insisted that we have them again… soon!

*I know, I know, the pinto bean burgers don’t have exact proportions. This is one of those recipes that I created as I went along, tasting and adjusting as I liked. That’s the fun thing about veggie burgers- you can make them up as you go along, just making sure they will shape into a croquette at the end of your kitchen witchery. Enjoy- and tell me all about your version!

Question of the day:
What is your favorite gluten-free breading, either homemade or purchased? Tell me in the comments!

I may not have mentioned this, but as soon as DH and I get back from Japan, we’re going to be moving to a brand new apartment in the area. Sounds great, right? Yes, but have you seen my freezer? No? Well, let me just tell you, it’s not a place for the weak of heart. I freeze GF baked goods (especially bread, sliced and sealed in a ziploc freezer bag), beans made from scratch and cooked in the slow cooker, and homemade “tv dinners” of leftover GF veg stews and soups. I always appreciate leftovers three times as much a month or so later! Well, terrific, except our freezer was getting so full not only could I not find anything, but things would jump out at us whenever we opened the door. Oops! Danger, Danger, Freezer Ahead! Since school ended I made it my personal mission to go through some of the frozen goodies I had been storing. I had lentil soup (with some freshly made saffron yogurt), smoked potato pot pie, and all sorts of yummy GF things as I wanted them, and I had never appreciated my own cooking more! When I could finally see the back of the freezer again (DH was amazed) I reorganized our freezer and realized it was time to start baking up some of those lovely frozen beans. I was bummed when I found out there weren’t any black beans in there, especially since I’d hoped to make a Mexican black bean soup for dinner one night. But, I did find some frozen red beans- and decided to think outside the box and come up with my own version of a Mexican… red bean… soup. Happily, I seemed to like red beans just as much as black and this soup met with both my and DH’s approval. It’s funny, because hot soup seems like a winter thing. But, on a hot summer day, a slow simmered soup can really hit the spot without heating up the kitchen (or the chef) too much. Pair it with rice in the rice cooker and you have a great, balanced meal.