Book of Yum

When Diane of the Whole Gang suggested that this month we have an Oscar theme for our Gluten-free Progressive Dinner, I was both excited and perplexed. I’ve never held an Oscar themed dinner party. What could I make? Searching online, it seems that people hosting Oscar parties usually either go for a movie-theme (10 varieties of popcorn, anyone?) or prepare food inspired by one or more movies up for nomination. Popcorn didn’t inspire me, but I thought it might be fun to prepare a menu inspired by one of the nominated movies. Julie & Julia might be the most obvious choice, and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Hello, a movie about a food blogger and a woman who learned to cook in Paris- what could be better? I couldn’t remember much inspiring vegetarian fare, though, and the whole thing seemed a little too obvious. I briefly considered The Blind Side as I love making gluten-free Southern-inspired vegetarian fare. But, of this year’s nominees, Avatar was the one that really stood out to me. I loved its imaginative depiction of an alien society, its beautiful visuals, its interesting commentary on the exploitation of native peoples, and illustration of the anthropologist’s problem of “going native.” What could be more fun than creating a menu of other-worldly food? This vegetarian Avatar-inspired meal begins with an appetizer of spicy and lovely lotus root chips. If you prefer, you can try my healthier baked lotus root chip recipe. It continues with a hearty and peppery dish inspired by bruschetta but gone alien with a bird-seed millet grit base (appropriate for a people that fly on winged bird-dragons) topped with honey or agave sweetened caramelized balsamic eggplant and fresh arugula greens in a vinaigrette. The meal ends on a naturally sweet note with fried smashed plantain chips lightly spiced with exotic cinnamon and sugar. We enjoyed our meal thoroughly, and it would be perfect for an Avatar inspired Oscar Viewing party (or an Avatar viewing party).

This post is an entry in the Gluten-free Progressive Dinner Event Series.
Join us the week of February 22-26th for Award Winning Food for you to make for your Oscar Watching Party or anytime you want rave reviews.

Monday February 22- Shirley from gluten free easily sharing Veronica’s Pumpkin Soup

Tuesday February 23- SEA from Book of Yum with appetizers inspired from the movie Avatar

Wednesday February 24- Karen from Cook4Seasons and Diane from The WH.O.L.E. Gang using inspiration from Julie and Julia

Thursday February 25- Alison from Sure Foods Living

Friday February 26- Ellen from I Am Gluten Free

Looking for more Oscar Viewing Menus?
Epicurious Oscar Viewing Party Menu ‘09
Yahoo Oscar Menu Ideas ‘10 (love the “blue” theme for the Avatar menu!)

Fried Lotus Root Chip Recipe Snacks  Vegetables  Asian

Ingredients 1 lotus root bulb (renkon in Japanese) canola or other oil for frying salt smoked paprika if you want it spicy Directions Peel your lotus root and slice as thinly as you can manage. A mandolin works very well for this. If it will be a while before you fry, you can put the slices in water with a little vinegar added. Before frying, drain and dry the slices thoroughly. A salad spinner works well. Be careful of any splattering while frying. Prepare a wire rack with a pan underneath for excess oil to drip off while the chips cool. When ready to fry, put at least one inch of canola oil in a deep, tall pan. I often use a soup pan. Heat the oil to 365F and carefully drop in a few dry lotus root chips. Use a metal strainer with a long handle or chopsticks to turn them. When they are golden brown, remove them to the wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with salt and smoked paprika if you like. Continue frying in small batches. Serve and enjoy! *If the lotus chips are not done enough in the center you can fry them twice- first to a light golden brown, then let cool slightly, and then fry once more to a full golden brown. Season after the last frying. Notes You can buy lotus root at Asian Markets, especially Japanese or Korean markets. Check your lotus root carefully. It should not have any mold. Try to avoid any dark spots. The ideal lotus root will have crisp flesh, smooth, unblemished skin, and will still have its “knot” that attaches to another bulb. The knot should not have any mold, and ideally will look clean and fresh.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  The contents of my brain. Do not replicate without my permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1489 Added:  February 23, 2010 Last Modified:  February 23, 2010

Millet Polenta Croquettes with Honey Balsamic Eggplant topping recipe Main Course

Ingredients 1/2 cup Millet Grits (Bob’s Red Mill) 1 1/2 cup water 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. olive oil Your favorite herbal blend (I like the Provencal blends by Penzeys) 1 large Eggplant Marinade: 2 tbsp. olive oil 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar or more to taste 1/2 tsp honey or agave your favorite herbal seasoning blend Handful of arugula or other favorite sturdy salad green or herb such as basil Your favorite balsamic vinaigrette or homemade: 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar 1 tsp. honey or agave salt pepper (adjust proportions to suit your palate) Directions Bring water and salt to a boil and add your grits, lowering heat and covering. Let cook on low for 10-15 minutes. Take off heat, cool for 15 minutes, and then remove to a small square shaped container like tupperware. cool in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 375F. Meanwhile, prepare your eggplant. Slice or cut into 1/2 inch thick cubes, depending on your preference. Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and seasoning blend in a small bowl. Whisk ingredients together. You can either baste your eggplant cubes with your marinade or dip your slices in the marinade. If you run out of marinade (depending on the size of your eggplant) just make more! Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and place your eggplant slices or cubes in a single layer on the sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until eggplant has gotten soft and slightly caramelized. If you are making slices, turn over and bake another 10 minutes. The cubes may not need to be turned and baked more. While eggplant is baking, remove your firm, cooled millet grits from the container. They should keep their shape. Carefully slice into rectangles about the size you would expect from bruschetta. Sprinkle with your seasoning herb and a touch of salt, if not included in the blend. Heat olive oil in a nonstick pan on medium. Place your millet “polenta” rectangles in the oil and fry until golden brown. Turn over and brown the other side. Remove to a serving plate. If you like, you can caramelize some onions to top the dish with. Slice an onion and sautee in a little olive oil on low-med heat until it gets golden brown. Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients. Now, assemble the dish. Top the millet croquettes with arugula and caramelized onions (optional). Drizzle a little dressing on top and add your roasted eggplant. Add some sprigs of arugula for garnish and serve. Enjoy! *For a variation, you can add a little pasta sauce to the top of the eggplant while it is in its final roasting phase. Notes You can also layer the dish Croquettes, eggplant, arugula, but I decided I liked it better as written here. It’s up to you. :)

Rating:  8 Original Source:  The contents of my brain. Do not replicate without my permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1488 Added:  February 22, 2010 Last Modified:  February 23, 2010

Fried Plantain Chip Recipe Dessert  Snacks  Vegetables  Mexican

Ingredients 1 slightly green plantain canola oil salt sugar cinnamon Equipment *Tortilla press 1 quart sized freezer bag Directions Prepare your tortilla press by lining it with a freezer bag with the sides cut out. Slice plantain at an angle to get a long, oval slice. If the plantain is too green to easily remove the skin, carefully cut the skin off of each slice. Prepare a wire rack above a wide, long pan for draining. Preheat your canola oil (or other oil with a high smoke point) in a narrow, deep pan like a soup pan. Heat to 365F and you are ready to fry! Place in the freezer bag lining your tortilla press and press down on the handle to create a large, flat “chip”. Gently peel off your “chip” and carefully drop in the oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove chip from oil with a wire strainer and place on wire rack to cool. Season with a tiny smidgen of salt, and generous sprinkles of sugar and cinnamon. Continue frying until all chips are done. You can place the rack (if oven safe) in an oven on 200F to keep warm if desired. Serve and enjoy!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  The contents of my brain. Do not replicate without my permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1490 Added:  February 23, 2010 Last Modified:  February 23, 2010

As you may know, we’ve been struggling with allergies at my house these days- it turns out that our darling Baby Yum has a very sensitive tummy and so I’ve had to go on a rather extreme elimination diet in order to breastfeed her. The good news is that she is doing much better (yay probiotics!)- and the other good news is that while I had to turn my diet upside down, I’m starting to come up with some recipes that rock, limited ingredients or no. This recipe is amazing because it doesn’t contain any of the top allergens (no dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, animal products, potatoes, corn etc) and yet still has fantastic texture and flavor. As I was bemoaning the loss of Ener-g foods egg replacer (which contains a corn derivative AND potato, both of which I’m currently avoiding), it occurred to me that the french crepe/flatbread recipe socca doesn’t contain any eggs at all, and still tastes lovely. It is based in high protein chickpea flour but I thought, what if I used another high protein flour like amaranth, which is one of my current staples? And so, a lovely recipe was born. Obviously I wasn’t going to be able to top it with hummus (no sesame at the moment, sigh) but I raided my admittedly limited fridge and came up with an easy veggie saute that tasted surprisingly savory and delicious. I’ve made this recipe many times since its first inception, and it comes out beautifully every time.

For those of you new to amaranth, you can find gluten-free certified flour through Bob’s Red Mill, sold on Amazon or directly through the company. Amaranth is a traditional food plant in Africa, and only now beginning to be cultivated for use in the United States. It has a long and interesting history with the Aztecs and with the native people of Mexico. “To this day, amaranth grains are toasted much like popcorn and mixed with honey, molasses or chocolate to make a treat called alegría.” (Recipe for Alegría using whole grain amaranth )

Most interestingly for our purposes, Amaranth contains “large amounts of protein and essential amino acids, such as lysine . . . [and is] reported to have a 30% higher protein value than cereals, such as rice, wheat flour, oats, and rye.” That sounds good to me, especially since Baby Yum is currently sensitive to so many of my vegetarian protein staples. Further, “Amaranth and quinoa are called pseudograins because of their flavor and cooking similarities to grains. These are dicot plant seeds, and both contain exceptionally complete protein for plant sources. Besides protein, amaranth grain provides a good source of dietary fiber and dietary minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and especially manganese.” (Source: Wikipedia) Nutritional value aside, this recipe is worth trying based on flavor alone. I think you’ll agree that in this case, a simple whole grain (or whole pseudograin) recipe is amazingly tasty- and easy, too!

Gluten Free Amaranth Flatbread Crepe Recipe Bread  Main Course  Alternative Grains  European

Ingredients 1/2 cup GF amaranth flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill) 1/2 cup water + 2 tbsp water 1/8 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. olive oil Generous sprinkle of dried rosemary olive oil for oiling cast iron pan cast iron or other oven safe skillet *Makes two crepes- double for larger recipe Allergen-free filling: 1 thinly sliced apple 2 carrots, cut into horizontal thin pieces similar in size to the apple (cut like a very wide matchstick) 1/2 or 1 zucchini, cut into tiny cubes(optional) olive oil to taste salt pepper Directions Whisk together flour, water, salt, and olive oil in a medium bowl. Set on counter and leave for 30 minutes, whisking as needed. Meanwhile preheat oven to 450F and place seasoned cast iron pan in oven, heating. Add rosemary after batter has set. Brush pan with small amount of olive oil and let cool slightly. Pour half of your batter into the pan and swirl to make a round crepe in the pan. Place in oven and let bake for at least 8 minutes or until it starts to brown and lift off the edge of the pan. Take out of oven and carefully peel off flatbread and turn over, letting it brown for a minute or so on the other side if you like it crispy. While you are making your second flatbread, heat a small amount of olive oil in a nonstick or second cast iron pan and saute apples and carrots until apple starts to brown. Season generously and turn. Add a little more olive oil and heat in the center of pan. Sprinkle oil lightly with salt and add zucchini cubes, sauteeing until lightly browned, turning as needed. When done to your desired texture, remove from pan. Fill or top flatbread with your sauteed veggies and enjoy!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Inspired by garbanzo bean chickpea recipe, but my own creation. Please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1470 Added:  December 1, 2009 Last Modified:  December 19, 2009