Ged and I love breakfast for dinner or Brinner. We used to make hashbrowns, Ged made cottage pancakes, and eggs. So I decided to fancy it up a little. I used a cheese grits recipe from Alton Brown, one of my favorite food network personalities. It was really easy and was the best cheese grits I've ever made. As it so happens I am making these for brunch as I write this post. Yummy.
Alton Brown Cheese Grits Recipe
Ingredients:
2 cups of whole milk
2 cups of water
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup course ground corn meal
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Bring milk, water, and salt to a boil in a large heavy bottomed pot. Once the mixture is boiling slowly add corn meal. Stirring while you add it. It is very important to add slowly to prevent lumps. Once the corn meal has been fully added. Reduce heat and cover for 20-25 minutes. Stir every 3-4 minutes to prevent lumps. After 20-25 minutes remove from heat and add cheese and butter slowly to fully incorporate.
I served this over a bed of fresh steamed asparagus. I learned a neat trick for deciding where to cut the bottom of the asparagus to prevent it from tasting woody. Take a piece and hold the bottom firmly bend outward until it breaks. That breaking point is roughly where you should trim every piece in the bunch to have tender steamed asparagus. Then top with an over easy egg and enjoy. I love the flavors and colors of these ingredients together.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Blueberry Pie
I have now used this recipe twice to make gluten free pies. I have not yet made my own homemade gluten free pie crust. I have been using the whole foods brand frozen gluten free crust. The pie filing recipe listed below is vegan but the crust isn't. I am still working on a vegan gluten free crust. The crust is mostly made from rice flour so it has a crumbly texture.
Before I found out that I had Celiacs I was thinking about becoming vegan. Most of the baking and cooking I did was vegan. But since I have been trying to transition into a restrictive gluten free diet I haven't made that commitment yet.
Blueberry Pie
Ingredients:
Pie crust (your own recipe or premade option)
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon plus a little extra cinnamon
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon minute tapioca
squeeze lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter substitute (i.e earthbalance)
Preheat oven 425 degrees F. Rinse blueberries and pick out stems. I think fresh blueberries are crucial to a great pie but you can use frozen.
Combine all dry ingredients into a small bowl. Mix thoroughly. I add tapioca because I like the texture it gives the pie. You can omit it but add an extra tablespoon of corn starch. In a large bowl add blueberries and lemon juice. Then add dry ingredients and fold together. Put blueberry mixture into the pie crust. Cut up tablespoon of butter and distribute over the top of the pie. Bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes. Then take the pie out and cover the edge of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent the crust from over cooking. Bake an additional 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or cooled.
Enjoy!
Before I found out that I had Celiacs I was thinking about becoming vegan. Most of the baking and cooking I did was vegan. But since I have been trying to transition into a restrictive gluten free diet I haven't made that commitment yet.
Blueberry Pie
Ingredients:
Pie crust (your own recipe or premade option)
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon plus a little extra cinnamon
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon minute tapioca
squeeze lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter substitute (i.e earthbalance)
Preheat oven 425 degrees F. Rinse blueberries and pick out stems. I think fresh blueberries are crucial to a great pie but you can use frozen.
Combine all dry ingredients into a small bowl. Mix thoroughly. I add tapioca because I like the texture it gives the pie. You can omit it but add an extra tablespoon of corn starch. In a large bowl add blueberries and lemon juice. Then add dry ingredients and fold together. Put blueberry mixture into the pie crust. Cut up tablespoon of butter and distribute over the top of the pie. Bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes. Then take the pie out and cover the edge of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent the crust from over cooking. Bake an additional 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or cooled.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
First Days of Celiacs
One Friday morning I got a call from my GI doctor's nurse telling me that my blood tests came back positive for Celiac's disease. Prior to this, I had had what seems like every conceivable test known to man. His first reaction was that my stomach problems were caused by my vegetarian diet saying "vegetarian is like being herbivore, humans cannot digest." I was appalled at the notion that my terrible stomach discomfort was caused, not by eating fatty, genetically engineered meats, but by eating vegetables and whole grains. As a last ditch effort my eastern European GI doctor suggested I have a few more blood tests done.
I was completely devastated because it seemed to me my entire life revolved around wheat. My friends call me the pie lady and my favorite food is toast. I had a really hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that TOAST was making me sick. So I decided I would start my life wheat free the next day. That Friday, to celebrate my last day of eating wheat I went to get my favorite red velvet cupcakes. Then went for pizza and a pitcher beer.
Saturday, I felt like complete shit. My joints hurt and I felt run down. I went to my local grocery store to to do a quick shop, start with finding some cereal. I found 3 gluten free cereals out of the hundreds in my big grocery store. I was used to eating granola and Kashi shredded wheat cereals, Rice Chex was not what I was looking for. That night I made quinoa and veggies for dinner, which I love, so it wasn't terribly disappointing. I love quinoa. Being a vegetarian, it is highly versatile and protein rich.
My standard quinoa recipe is to take a cup of red or white quinoa and brown it over medium heat in a saucepan with olive oil. Then add two cups of water and bring to a boil. From there I add a tablespoon of vegetarian Better than Bullion (a paste bullion substitute) and two bay leaves. Reduce heat to medium love and cover. Some nights when I'm feeling lazy I just steam frozen mixed veggies, add a dollop of earth balance and some dried sage and serve it over quinoa.
Sunday I made the thirty minute drive to Whole Foods to go in search of a wider selection of processed gluten free foods. I found a large dedicated gluten free section. They had frozen dinners, donuts, cookies, crackers, and a variety of other snacks. I also did a build your own six pack of gluten free beers. And to my great joy I found whole foods brand frozen, wheat-free pie crusts.
I rushed home to make a blueberry pie to eat my sorrows away. If you've never had a wheat free pie crust, you should try it. They are different from the traditional pie crusts. They have a grainier texture but aren't terrible. The pie was extremely satisfying warm with vanilla ice cream. All in all there seemed to be some hope that I would be able to bake and eat toast again.
I was completely devastated because it seemed to me my entire life revolved around wheat. My friends call me the pie lady and my favorite food is toast. I had a really hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that TOAST was making me sick. So I decided I would start my life wheat free the next day. That Friday, to celebrate my last day of eating wheat I went to get my favorite red velvet cupcakes. Then went for pizza and a pitcher beer.
Saturday, I felt like complete shit. My joints hurt and I felt run down. I went to my local grocery store to to do a quick shop, start with finding some cereal. I found 3 gluten free cereals out of the hundreds in my big grocery store. I was used to eating granola and Kashi shredded wheat cereals, Rice Chex was not what I was looking for. That night I made quinoa and veggies for dinner, which I love, so it wasn't terribly disappointing. I love quinoa. Being a vegetarian, it is highly versatile and protein rich.
My standard quinoa recipe is to take a cup of red or white quinoa and brown it over medium heat in a saucepan with olive oil. Then add two cups of water and bring to a boil. From there I add a tablespoon of vegetarian Better than Bullion (a paste bullion substitute) and two bay leaves. Reduce heat to medium love and cover. Some nights when I'm feeling lazy I just steam frozen mixed veggies, add a dollop of earth balance and some dried sage and serve it over quinoa.
Sunday I made the thirty minute drive to Whole Foods to go in search of a wider selection of processed gluten free foods. I found a large dedicated gluten free section. They had frozen dinners, donuts, cookies, crackers, and a variety of other snacks. I also did a build your own six pack of gluten free beers. And to my great joy I found whole foods brand frozen, wheat-free pie crusts.
I rushed home to make a blueberry pie to eat my sorrows away. If you've never had a wheat free pie crust, you should try it. They are different from the traditional pie crusts. They have a grainier texture but aren't terrible. The pie was extremely satisfying warm with vanilla ice cream. All in all there seemed to be some hope that I would be able to bake and eat toast again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)