Book of Yum

Sometimes all a gluten-free girl wants is pizza and fries. Is that supposed to be a burger and fries? Well, veggie burgers are good, too. But in this case, I wanted my pizza and to have fries too. But not any old potato fry would do! Lately I’ve been absolutely obsessed with finding new, interesting ways to use my Pocono Organic Cream of Buckwheat Cereal. I love it plain, as is, or topped with some kind of fresh veggie vinaigrette bit or roasted veggies- but it can be almost more fun to use it in other, more standardly corn or semolina grit recipes. I made some really tasty buckwheat gnocchi, and that was good, but I have recently been inspired by Kate of Gluten Free Gobsmacked to make fries out of polenta. One day when I made a little too much buckwheat cereal and had some leftover vegan pesto, it occurred to me- why not make “polenta” fries out of buckwheat cereal instead of corn grits? And a new dish was born! I stirred in some pesto into the mash, cooled it, cut it into fries and browned it in the oven until all crispy and crunchy. The texture of buckwheat is a bit different than corn- Buckwheat mash has a larger flakes so the fries have more texture, almost like tempeh, but nevertheless, it makes a darned tasty fry, and if any bits crumble off, you can just gobble them up before anyone is the wiser. Not that, ahem, I did any such thing. Cough. Cough. I had some leftover tomato juice from stewed tomatoes as well, so I reduced that into a nice, sweet sauce and dipped my tasty little fries in that and had a very nice mid-afternoon snack.

Admittedly NOT on the same day (a day or so before in fact) I’d played with an onion marmalade recipe I’d found in this Amazing Soy cookbook (the recipe actually contained no soy whatsoever, so take heart if you are soy intolerant) and made up a very yummy mini pizza with caramelized onion topping, thyme and pecans. Vegan pizzas, including ones I’ve made, often try to recreate “cheesiness” and can succeed or fail based on the palatability of that cheese substitute. However, another way to go is to forgo any attempt at “cheese” and just celebrate the merits of vegetables on their own. Caramelizing onions until gewy and intensely sweet is one way to do that- and the fresh thyme brightened the flavor notes while the pecan added just the right nutty “meat” to the dish. I also made an old favorite- a simple vegan basil pesto topping that can be as simple or complex as you like, depending on what you pile on top of it. I was in the mood for simple food, so we just had our pizza with straight pesto. DH proclaimed them both a success on the Chebe crusts, but his favorite was definitely the onion. Unfortunately we liked them so much I didn’t have any to photograph the next morning in good light, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with my nighttime shots. Both were oh-so-good and perfect for vegan diners as well as dairy-intolerant gluten-free folk. (If you want to make your pizza from scratch, I recommend Carol Fenster’s pizza recipe SANS gelatin, a totally unnecessary ingredient.)

The next time you’re in the mood for pizza and/or fries, why not try one of my gloriously vegan pizzas? Less calories than cheese and just as flavorful, if not more so, than their dairy friends. And the fries, well, those are definite crowd pleasers- although when I ate mine, it was a banquet for one at our sunny dining room table. I warn you- this recipe is addicting, so if you have to share, you might want to double or even triple the recipe. And I couldn’t resist naming them Goddess Fries, because I felt like a green goddess stirring that bright green pesto into the buckwheat grits!


If you love buckwheat cereal as I do, you might enjoy my
Buckwheat Gnocchi Recipe (not vegan as written, but adaptable)

*If it’s not in your local store, you can get a good price on your Wheat-free, Gluten-free Pocono Organic Cereal, Cream of Buckwheatfrom Amazon.

Green Goddess Baked Basil Pesto Buckwheat Fries Recipe Side Dish  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 2-1/2 Cups Water 1/2 tsp Salt (optional) 1/2 cup Cream of Buckwheat (Pocono) 1 tbsp olive oil 1 or 2 tbsp. dairy free (or your favorite) basil pesto recipe Materials: Small Bread pan lined with aluminum foil Baking sheet Sweet homemade ketchup: leftover tomato liquid from jar of seasoned, stewed tomatoes- maybe a cup or so two swigs of organic white wine capful of balsalmic vinegar 1/2 tsp cornstarch Directions Bring water and salt to a boil and add your cream of buckwheat in a slow, steady stream, whisking continuously. When cereal is completely distributed, add your olive oil. Lower heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring or whisking frequently so you don’t have any lumps. At the end, add your basil pesto and mix completely throughout your buckwheat grits. Pour your basil pesto grits into your small bread pan lined with aluminum foil and let cool COMPLETELY. When the mixture has set and is cool to the touch, carefully remove the block of grits (with aluminum intact) and then peel the aluminum foil off. Slice into french fry shapes and then place in single layer on a baking sheet. You can line it with aluminum foil if you like. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and bake your fries for twenty minutes or so and then turn over and bake until your fries have reached the ultimate golden coating (maybe another 15 minutes). You can turn multiple times until each side is browned to your satisfaction. Sprinkle with coarse grain kosher or black salt. Enjoy! To make sauce, reduce your tomato liquid in a saucepan on the stove on medium heat, adding swigs of white wine and balsalmic vinegar to taste. Let reduce until it has thickened. If you want a really thick sauce, remove a tablespoon or so of the tomato liquid, let it cool slightly, and whisk in the tsp. of cornstarch. Add the cornstarch tomato slurry to the sauce after it has reduced to your heart’s content, let the sauce thicken, and then remove from heat and serve with your fries.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Original recipe inspired by Kate’s polenta fries. An original recipe, do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1209 Added:  March 16, 2008 Last Modified:  March 16, 2008

Vegan Caramelized Onion Thyme Pecan Pizza Recipe Main Course  Vegetables  Italian

Ingredients 1 large yellow onion 1 large red onion 2 tbsp olive oil 1 cup vegetable broth (from bullion or freshly made) fresh cracked pepper Your favorite GF Pizza crust (Carol Fenster, Chebe, or other) sprigs fresh thyme A few tablespoons of pecans Directions Slice and chop your onion so you have consistently sized pieces. Heat your oil in a cast iron or dutch oven pan to medium-high and add your onions. Mix the onions into the oil until covered and saute until onions are quite translucent (10 minutes or so). Cover, lower heat and let the onions cook on a low heat for about half an hour, stirring a few times. Try not to let the onions brown excessively. Add your broth and let come to a boil before you cover it and lower the heat, letting the onions get increasingly soft. Remove the lid and let the liquid reduce until onions are no longer liquidy. Stir as needed and don’t let any bits burn on the bottom. Season with pepper. Remove from heat and let cool. Prepare your favorite gluten-free pizza crust (from mix, from scratch, or pre-cooked) and generously spread your onion marmalade on the pizza. Sprinkle with some fresh, chopped thyme (including one or two sprigs in the center of the pizza) and add pecans to taste. Bake according to your pizza instructions and enjoy! Notes This deceptively simple recipe made for a very satisfying vegan pizza- if desired add grilled mushroom strips, spinach, or any other veggies that sound good to you!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Inspired by Onion Marmalade recipe in Amazing Soy cookbook. Recipe ID:  1207 Added:  March 15, 2008 Last Modified:  March 16, 2008

Dairy Free Basil Pesto Recipe for Pizza or Pasta Main Course  Sauces & Condiments  American

Ingredients 2 cups basil leaves, destemmed, and packed tightly 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (*Edited to have more nuts) 1/6 cup rice wine or cider vinegar 1/8 cup water 1/6 cup nutritional yeast flakes (optional) 2 cloves roasted garlic (bake with other dishes in the oven or use raw if you like) 1/4 cup olive oil salt and pepper Your favorite gluten-free pizza recipe (from mix, scratch (carol fenster) or pre-made) Directions Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender through the garlic, and pulse until ingredients are combined and chopped. Add olive oil in a steady stream with the machine on until you form a nice pesto paste. Scrape out pesto into a bowl and reserve. Notes Reserve one or two tablespoons of pesto for other recipes like my buckwheat grit pesto fries! You can use it for pizza: Prepare your gluten-free pizza according to recipe and top with pesto. Add any other ingredients you like (olives? artichoke hearts? portabella mushroom slices?) and bake according to instructions. (Usually 10-15 minutes). Slice and enjoy! Or for pasta: Combine with gluten-free pasta, grilled veggies and plenty of pesto. Yum!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  modified version of this recipe: http://www.bookofyum.com/recipes/showrecipe.php?recipe=1024 Recipe ID:  1208 Added:  March 16, 2008 Last Modified:  May 15, 2008

Lately I’ve been in a southern frame of mind. I never really experimented with Southern food much, with the exception of maybe some gluten free biscuits and vegan gravy recipes that are even now my ideal comfort food. But, this little book, Cookin’ Southern Vegetarian Style, has really won me over. Oh sure, some recipes have the subtlety of a truckload of butter flavored crisco and a vat of tamari, but hidden among some of the rough stones there are some real recipe gems. I’ve also learned a lot about the slow dance that is the southern way of food preparation. Using the stovetop can be like watching tar drip- the hours invested in roux, or slow cooked greens- it seems like a lot of investment. But, the greens don’t need to be watched, and the roux makes a big batch for later use, and, well, sometimes the results are worth it! When I first made the slow cooked green recipe I mentioned that it needed some tweaking. Many readers are allergic to peanuts and soy, and were wondering about substitutions. I considered this a good excuse to pull out my favorite recent find- a Trader Joe’s Cashew Macadamia nut butter- and get busy cookin me up some allergy friendly greens! Some readers mentioned Sunflower butter as a good substitute for peanut butter, so if you can’t do Cashews or Macadamia nuts, you could try that as well. I actually simmered up my greens the night before and served a small portion with balsamic vinegar. Then I took the rest (sans vinegar) and put them in a yummy sauce the next day. I used collard greens, actually, but I personally prefer the flavor of chard, so you might try that instead. The best part of this recipes is DH, who is notoriously balky about greens, will actually eat a (small) serving of them with the meal. Of course yummy southern greens like this need a yummy southern style protein dish, so I took a chance on a recipe from the same cookbook, although I rather heavily modified it. Altogether a super tasty meal. I served them with brown rice for added nutritional value, but you can enjoy them with mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes- or even biscuits- if you want to go all out and rustle up some super yum southern grub. So, enjoy! And why not make tonight a gluten-free, vegetarian, SOUTHERN night, y’all?

If you’d like to try some of my other, favorite ’southern’ vegetarian dishes, try

Southern Greens and Gumbo
Southern Corn Cakes
Breaded Tofu Strip recipe
My Famous Southern Fried Tofu Recipe
and of course
Gluten-Free Vegetarian Gravy Recipes

Chicken Fried Vegetarian Chickpea Fritter Recipe Main Course  Vegetables  American

Ingredients 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic 2 cups home simmered chick-peas 1/4 cup nut butter of choice (I used Cashew-Macadamia) scant 2 tbsp. mustard a little strong vegetable broth 1 or 2 slices of GF bread, toasted and crumbled (preferably cold) Coating: 1/3 cup Leftover Nutritional Yeast mix from Southern Fried Tofu Recipe 1/3 cup brown rice flour sprinkling sesame seeds Olive Oil (or non stick cooking spray) Directions Food process all ingredients, adding bread crumbles once everything else is thoroughly blended. Check that the puree is thick enough to form patties. Mix the coating ingredients and place them on a flat plate. Add balls of dough to the coating and turn them over to make sure they are thoroughly coated. Heat small amount of olive oil in a non stick fry pan or cast iron pan. (a tablespoon or so.) Add a little more oil for the cast iron pan. Fry them until both sides are golden brown. Serve with mashed potatoes, rice or sweet potato mash. Add a vegan gravy if desired as a side.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  modified from Cookin Southern Vegetarian Style Recipe ID:  1140 Added:  September 22, 2007 Last Modified:  October 5, 2007

Slow Cooked Southern Greens in Cashew Macadamia Sauce Side Dish  Vegetables  American

Ingredients 1 or two bunches of red chard sauce: 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp cashew macademia butter 3 tbsp vegetable broth 1 tbsp honey 1/2 tsp black salt 2 tbsp vinegar of choice 1 clove garlic 1/4 tsp smoked paprika or chipotle pepper (to taste) Directions Cut spine out of your greens, and wash the leaves. Cut them into bite size strips. Bring your water to a boil in a pot and then put your greens in the pot, in stages if necessary. They will all fit, though! You don’t have to worry about being careful- just smoosh your greens in there. Then cover your greens and lower the temperature to a simmer for 45 minutes up to 2 hours. (No, i’m not kidding.) 45 minutes is probably fine for chard- the really tough greens like mustard greens or collards take a long time to get the desired buttery melty texture. While your greens are simmering, combine sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and process into a sauce. When greens are done, drain them and put them in a pretty serving dish. Pour your sauce over them and serve. There may be extra sauce, that’s ok, you can get greedy with it or reserve some for another snack- say, a small package of rice noodles with peanut sauce and fresh chopped veggies?)

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Heavily adapted from Cookin’ Southern Vegetarian Recipe ID:  1143 Added:  October 4, 2007 Last Modified:  October 5, 2007