Soup's On!

What do you do with those left over veggies? You make soup. That's certainly a better idea than wasting your hard earned money on quality produce that ends up in the garbage. What is in your vegetable bin? I saw a green pepper, white onion and garlic. Not to mention a sweet potato. That is a perfect start. In the freezer were canned crushed tomatoes and GF broth. I picked up a can of Goya beans at the market and fresh carrots. Now I was cooking. I sauteed, I added sofrito, beans, etc... and will soon put some GF fusilli in the pot. I thought about putting left over rice but the noodles sounded better. Add more seasoning to taste. I often grate Parmesan cheese on to the soup just before serving. It does not take long to cook and is perfect on a cold winter night. When you are on the GF diet you cook most meals at home if you want to eat healthy. This soup is very satisfying and freezes well. Enjoy.
I plan to try meatballs soon. I haven't eaten them since diagnosis but I think I am prepared to attempt them with GF bread crumbs and a little of Pamela's mix. Stay posted.

Spanish Style

Pork chops, rice and beans. Now there is a GF meal that is satisfying. I marinate the chops in Goya Mojo marinade for beef, chicken and pork and I also season the chops with pepper. Of course, I cook the chops on top of the stove in a little extra virgin olive oil. The white rice comes from the Chinese take out. They do it perfect every time. I am not a big fan of brown rice, I'll pass on that. I always use Goya beans. Now here is the tricky part. You heat some of the extra virgin olive oil in the pot and then you add the sofrito. I don't care for the store bought ones and the authentic version is a lot of work. So hopefully you have an Hispanic friend who makes their own sofrito all the time and they will give you some, sell you some, whatever it takes. It is a wonderful blend of peppers and cilantro with many other delicious ingredients. You can also put green Spanish olives stuffed with minced pimientos (from Goya) in the beans. I cut them in half. You can use the sofrito when you make soup. Many Hispanics say that they cannot cook without it, and I know exactly what they mean. A good quality hot sauce sprinkled on this meal is the finishing touch. A just-right avocado would be the icing on the cake. Who needs dessert?

Italian Style

Tonight I will make sausage and peppers. On top of the stove not in the oven of course. I'll add some white onion and garlic and a little seasoning. This does require attention, keep moving everything around in the pan. I do start out with a little extra virgin olive oil so the sausages don't stick. I think I'll make the polenta with this.
I purchased Michael Eberhart's Gluten-Free & Wheat-Free Gourmet Desserts book. It is the best GF book I have ever purchased. The quality of the book is a sight to behold. Don't be put off by the title. The recipes are not difficult. I may start with the award winning carrot cake. This does require purchasing several different GF flours. But once you have them in the house you can do almost anything.
This cold weather really is conducive to baking. Maybe I'll do some muffins tomorrow with Pamela's mix. They are so good when they first come out of the oven. And they stay well for a few days. I only make six at a time so what ever isn't eaten up will go into a zip lock bag.

Sunday Breakfast

On Sunday morning I have a chance to eat something I don't have time for during the week. This morning it was maple flavored sausage and a cheese omelet with Prairie Jack cheese with parsley and chives. I picked the cheese up yesterday at Whole Foods and even though it cost $5.99 for 8 ounces I consider it worth the price. I also purchased cinnamon and currant english muffins from Foods By George while I was there. I had one last night with butter, peanut butter and orange marmalade. That was a nice treat. The Prairie bread was not in stock again, I was told that they expect a shipment next week. Unfortunately for me, by the time I get back there again who knows if there will be any left.
Since tomorrow is a holiday, I have the day off. Maybe I'll have an english muffin with eggs over easy. I haven't planned any further than that yet but stay tuned. I have polenta in the house and I'm still thinking what I want to serve with it.

GF puddings

When you have a sensitive stomach, it is nice to come across a dessert that actually makes you feel better! Tapioca pudding and rice pudding are perfect examples of this. I use 2% milk and when making the tapioca I use slightly less sugar than the recipe on the box calls for. I add golden raisins, vanilla extract and sprinkle on the nutmeg and/or cinnamon. This dessert stores well in the refrigerator as does rice pudding. I use arborio rice but you can also use jasmine rice. Of course, a cinnamon stick would be even better than ground cinnamon. You don't need whipped cream but a few fresh strawberries on top certainly wouldn't hurt.
I think I have gained back a few pounds and I'm going to blame it on the junk food in the teacher's lunch room. Skittles and Starbursts may be gluten free but I sure could do without them. I may have to think about how I'm going to eat less/burn more calories. That is a whole 'nother blog and as a former certified personal trainer I do know what works with out torturing myself. My excuse is the cold weather, having a job, obligations but the bottom line is-if you want to do it-you will do it.

Brussel Sprouts

Here is another example of how I adapted a recipe more to my liking. It called for bottle chestnuts which I did not come across. I cut up the red pepper in strips but also added yellow pepper and may have added green pepper as well. It calls for garlic, I may have added white onion. All these veggies go well together, especially since you are coating them with the extra virgin olive oil. Salt, pepper and the best part-caraway seeds. They add a most wonderful flavor. If you are like me and miss rye bread, it was the caraway seeds that make that bread so good. This recipe does require me to take all the pots and pans out of my oven and cook it at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes, stirring as needed. This is high in fiber, can't eat too much at a time but you will want to!
I am guilty of running (not literally) through the supermarket and grabbing the familiar items I usually make. So I treated myself to a pretty recipe file and I try to go through it from time to time to choose one of the recipes in it and write down what I need to buy for it. Even if I don't get the items that day, it is written down and sooner or later I will make that recipe.

Friday night dinner

It had been a while since I cooked my grilled chicken with arugula and tomatoes. I firmly believe in making a recipe your own. Take out what you don't like, add what you do. I added cucumber to this one. The chicken is marinated in red wine vinegar, olive oil (always extra virgin) honey mustard, pepper and garlic. I toss the salad with oil, salt and pepper. I often serve this with canned corn. I've made this for family and friends and they all loved it. Quick and easy and pretty healthy if you ask me. The cheeseburgers I'm planning for tomorrow night are not quite as healthy but I will cook up plenty of white onion in extra virgin olive oil to put on top of the burger.
Speaking of healthy. Many people do not like veggies because their first exposure to them was a disaster. Canned or frozen or undercooked or overcooked or plain or poor quality. What a shame. I really think that veggies are my favorite food. I want to do more with them and will share my brussels sprouts success in my next blog.