Category: Gluten-free

Maya’s Strawberry-Banana Yogurt Smoothi

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Maya wrote this recipe down on February 16th, 2009 when she was just 10 years old.  It was President’s Day, so maybe she was home from school.  She and Samir used to make smoothies very often, and I’d often later find a mysterious colorful liquid in a glass in the refrigerator.  Somehow it’s hard to make just one glass of smoothie!

1 banana
6 ice cubes
3 big frozen strawberries
2 giant spoonfuls of strawberry yogurt
dash milk

Add banana and strawberry and yogurt. Mix. If thick add milk and ice.

(Note from Mom – I think she cut up the bananas, and used a buzzwand to blend. I am pretty sure you add the ice no matter what and only thin it with milk. The underlines are in her original recipe.)

Louisa’s Puerto Rican Chicken & Rice Stew

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My friend Louisa introduced us to this amazing stew at their Winter Solstice Party, and it was love at first bite.

Louisa and her husband Bill have a wonderful tradition:  they host a Winter Solstice Party that’s a potluck dinner, with food that represents the sun: round, hot, yellow or somehow sun-related.  (One year our friend Josh brought home-made sushi, which worked since it was food from the land of the rising sun!)  It’s always fun to think of a dish that reminds us of the sun and to see what everyone else brings.

They ask everyone to come around sunset and to bring a candle for a candle exchange.  Their house is only lit with candles and the light of the fire in the fireplace, and it’s cozy and warm. It’s a really wonderful tradition and a chance to catch up with friends and to reflect that even on the longest night, the sun will rise again.

Anyway, I asked Louisa for her recipe, which she was kind enough to share.  It makes a lot and is one of our family’s favorites.

2 tsp garlic, crushed
2 tsp fresh oregano, or 1 tsp dried
1 tsp each cumin, salt, black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast sections, cut into bite size pieces
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
4 oz. turkey ham or bacon, or real ham or bacon, diced
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
2 cups rice, washed (I use basmati)
6 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
1/4 cup green olives, halved
1 Tbsp capers

Mix garlic and spices, and rub into chicken. Heat half the olive oil in a big dutch oven, and brown chicken (about 10 minutes.) Remove from pan.

Add more olive oil, and saute onion and green pepper for 5 minutes. Add ham and tomatoes and cook 5 more minutes. Add chicken back in and simmer 20 minutes.

Add rice and stir, then add stock and stir to combine. Bring stock just to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for about 17 minutes. Add cheese, peas, olives and capers, and cook 5 more minutes.

It’s meant to be soupy, so you’ll need to serve it in bowls. So good. Thanks, Louisa!

Paprika Chicken, Sausage & Rice

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2 Tbsp olive oil
3 slices turkey or real bacon, chopped up
2 cups onion, diced
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 green pepper, diced
1 pkg kielbasa sausage, halved and sliced into 1/2″ slices
1/8 tsp saffron
Black pepper
4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless cut into bite sizes  (Can use half thighs, too.)
1 Tbsp hot paprika
salt to taste
2 cups uncooked rice
5 cups chicken broth

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Add bacon, and saute until cooked. Then add onions, pepper and sausage, and cook several minutes until the onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove from pan, and place in a large, oven-proof casserole. Add black pepper and saffron and stir gently.

Sprinkle chicken with paprika and a little salt. Add to pan, and cook, until chicken pieces are browned. Add to casserole.

Add rice and chicken stock to casserole and stir gently to combine everything. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until the rice is done. My notes don’t say if you needed to cover the casserole, but the ratio of broth to rice is pretty high, so you probably don’t need to.

Makes a nice, large batch.

Orange-Apricot Buttermilk “Pudding”

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We bought fat-free half and half by accident, and had some buttermilk left over and I wondered if there might be a recipe for a buttermilk pudding where I could use both up.  I found one online from Garrett McCord, and tried it as an experiment.

I made the recipe pretty much the same as his, but at the very end, I threw in a large spoonful of Orange-Apricot Marmalade from Sarabeth.  Then it was off to the fridge.

Success!  A light, creamy gelatin-based pudding that’s slightly sweet but with tangy notes of orange, apricot and buttermilk.

2 tsp unflavored gelatin
2 Tbsp water
1 cup half n half (fat-free works if you’ve accidentally bought some!)
1/2 cup of sugar
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp orange-apricot marmalade (or apricot jam and orange marmalade)

Mix the gelatin and water in a bowl. Let set. It will thicken but that’s okay.

In a saucepan, heat half n half and sugar, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is starting to bubble just a bit. Remove from heat, and pour about a 1/2 cup into the gelatin mixture. Stir well, then add back to pan.

Add buttermilk, vanilla and marmalade. Stir well and pour into a glass dish. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight, until the gelatin is nice and firm. There may be bits of orange zest or apricot in it, but we didn’t mind them at all.

This makes a very nice, light dessert that would even be good for company. You could dress it up by garnishing it with fresh fruit like raspberries, or diced mangoes, and a drizzle of honey.  Would be really good for a summer dinner party in the backyard.

In hindsight, I wish I’d poured the pudding into smaller bowls, which would have been prettier. Also, Garrett uses heavy cream instead of half n half.

Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli)

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This is a vegetable that’s always available in Asian Markets and one of our favorites. It has a milder flavor than broccoli, and is much leafier. You could substitute spinach I think. Or you could use Broccoli rabe. Whatever you use – it’s a super quick side dish and so good. I served it tonight with Thai Fish and rice and it was a perfect plate. It does use sesame oil which is available in Asian Markets and adds a wonderful flavor.

1 bunch gai lan, washed
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp soy sauce (check label for gluten)
1 Tbsp rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp fresh grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, crushed.

Start a large pot of well-salted water to boil.

Add all other ingredients to a large frying pan. Stir well and heat on medium/low heat, stirring constantly. Cook until the sauce is starting to get quite sticky and a little thick, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Lay Gai Lan on a cutting board, and cut it in 2″ strips, starting at the bottom of the stem. As soon as you have stem pieces cut, toss them in the boiling salted water. Continue cutting leave into 2 inch strips and add the leaves to the boiling water. Boil for just a couple of minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, or tongs, remove the Gai Lan from the boiling water, shaking as much water out as you can. (Some will remain.) Add to sauce and stir to distribute the sauce all over the Gai Lan. Serve immediately.

If you are making it with spinach, there is no need to boil the spinach, just add it to the pan as soon as the sauce begins to thicken. The moisture in the spinach will thin down the sauce and make it just perfect.

Here is a photograph of Gai-Lan:

Gai-Lan-Chinese-Broccoli

Thai Baked Fish (in Nam Prik Sauce)

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Just made this tonight from Matt Danzer and Ann Redding’s recipe in the Wall Street Journal. Wow. So easy, and unbelievably good. Served with Gai Lan, a really delicious veggie. I varied a bit from the original recipe, but the Swai looked good at the Asian Market.

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 whole lime, zested then juiced
1 more lime quartered
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce (find this in the Asian section – adds an unmistakable flavor.)
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 green chillies – very small and thin ones, sliced thinly
3 lbs. swai fillets (recipe calls for 2 lbs. cod or seabass in the WSJ)
6 Tbsp Cilantro leaves
Cooked white rice

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix garlic, brown sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, olive oil, half of the zest, and the chillies, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Put fish fillets skin down (if they have skin) in a shallow baking dish. Spoon the sauce over it. Cover with foil, or flip another pan over it. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the fish is just cooked.

Serve over rice with the pan sauce. Garnish with cilantro, fresh lime and zest.

Asian Cabbage Slaw

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Simple and delicious – great for a picnic.  Great side with grilled chicken.

2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp oil
2 tsp sugar
pinch salt

Mix in a large bowl

3-4 cups cabbage, sliced thin
1/2 cup grated carrots
1 cup cilantro, chopped
4 scallions, cut into 2″ pieces, and slivered into “matchsticks”
1/2 jalapeno, split, deseeded and minced

Dump all veggies into the bowl and toss well.

Dobar Chicken with Port Wine and Gorgonzola

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This recipe is Slovenian I think. I originally thought it was from one of our family Christmas Eve dinners, but I can’t remember ever having Slovenia as the country. Wherever I found it, this chicken was delicious and very, very purple!

2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, and cut into strips
olive oil
salt & pepper
Penne pasta

Slather chicken with olive oil and salt and pepper generously. Cook on a George Foreman grill. You could also just pan fry them. Meanwhile, cook a box of Penne pasta in salted water.

1 tsp butter
1 1/4 cups port wine
3/4 cup half and half
6 oz Gorgonzola cheese
1/8 tsp each Salt and Pepper
1/2 tsp parsley

Melt butter in a sauce pan and add wine. Cook on medium heat until it’s reduced by half. Add half and half, cheese, salt and pepper. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly for another 5 minutes or so.

In serving bowl, place cooked pasta, then strips of chicken and top with wine sauce, and garnish with parsley. You can also garnish it with grapes, halved and soaked in port wine.

Basmati Rice

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Making good rice is one of those things which seems like it should be easy, but is often a real challenge. I’ve made rice a million times and I always make it the same way. I use one cup of rice for 2-3 people, and 2 cups for 4-5 people. Be careful in adding the salt – you add one tsp for the first cup, but only  1/2 tsp more for 2 cups.

People are daunted by the idea of rinsing rice, but it’s easy.  Here’s how I do it:

Put 1 cup basmati rice in a sauce pan, and fill it about half full of warm water. Swirl the rice around with your hand.

Pour out most of the water, until the rice is just about to pour out. Cup your free hand loosely under the flow of water, with fingers slightly open so the water can drain through. That way you catch any rice that pours out, and just toss it back in the pan. Rinse and drain the rice one more time.

Add 1 7/8 cup of water  (just shy of two cups, basically), 1 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp of butter to the pan. (Butter is not traditional in Pakistan, but it is in New Orleans rice and we love the addition.)

Bring to a boil on the stove, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

Just remember:  if you double the recipe, don’t double the salt. Just add 1/2 tsp salt for each additional cup of rice.

Delicious Variation:  Make rice with chicken broth and 1/2 cup frozen peas.

Kumy always adds 1″ of cinnamon, a green cardamom and a teaspoon of whole black peppercorns. Yum.

Kir (Rice pudding)

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There are so many different ways of making Kir.  It can be very soupy, or quite thick.  It can be plain, or garnished with almonds, pistachios and raisins. I learned this recipe form my mother-in-law Shamim in Karachi, and it’s a great dish for large groups, because it makes a lot.  It is also called Phirni.

We took it most recently to an international dinner at my daughter Maya’s high school.  That was an amazing dinner –  her school is really diverse and the food was so good.   I also took some to a Unitarian Eid lunch one year. One of my friends who is Indian said it tasted just like her Grandmother’s recipe.

1 1/3 cup basmati rice, rinsed, dried and ground
8 green cardamoms, ground
2 Tbsp ground pistachios
Rose Essence (optional, but it gives a lovely floral scent) (1/2 tsp or to taste)
7 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar

Grind dry rice and cardamoms in a food processor or mortar and pestle. I use a coffee grinder we keep for spices that gets it really finely ground.

Add ground rice and cardamoms to a large pot and add 6 3/4 cup of the milk. Stir well, and cook over a medium/low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the rest of the milk, pistachios, sugar and rosewater and cook 2 more minutes.

The kir should thicken up as it chills, but will still be quite soupy when warm. Pour into small bowls, (little unglazed clay bowls are traditional) and chill well. Before serving, garnish with more chopped pistachios, and if you want to give it the full monty; rose petals.

Note: Watch the heat carefully when you are cooking the milk. Don’t let it scorch!