Steamed mussels

Steamed Mussels

I found a version of this recipe on-line. One mid-November evening on the coast of Maine, I prepared them alongside slow cooker black beans and the pairing, along with a glass of white wine and a roaring fire, was nothing short of sublime. 

Ingredients:

3 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded

2 tablespoons butter

1/2-1 teaspoon celery salt (or a bit of garlic, shallots,  or onions)

3/4 cup white wine

Directions:

Melt the butter in a medium soup pot. Add celery salt or other flavoring. Add white wine and mussels. Steam for about 5 minutes. Pour into bowl with the juice.

Lentils du Puy, cassoulet style

Lentils du Puy, cassoulet style

This comes from my sister Sarah and was delightful on a foggy fall afternoon in Maine. I found it nice with an accompaniment of plain yogurt.

Ingredients:
1 pounds Lentils du puy
sauteed onions or celery
sauteed garlic (optional)
prosciutto, ham, sausage, or chicken
chicken or turkey broth
chopped tomatoes
fresh thyme
fresh parsley
bay leaves


Directions:
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Blanch lentils for 15-30 minutes, till slightly tender but firm. Drain them. Put them in a casserole dish and add sautéed onions, celery, garlic, and/or tomatoes for flavoring.  Add enough broth to moisten up to two thirds of the height of the lentils, maybe 2-3 cups. Tuck the meat into the lentils. Bake, covered, for 20-25 minutes, then uncovered for 15-20 minutes more.

quinoa

Slow cooker black beans

This one is super healthy and super yummy. Tonight we served it with roasted potatoes, raw bell peppers, chopped heirloom tomatoes fresh from the garden, cilantro and salsa. Maudemarie loved the beans and devoured them con gusto!  The recipe is easily doubled for a huge slow cooker.

Ingredients
2 quarts (8 cups) chicken broth
a goodly bunch of cilantro, chopped with stems
2 cups black beans (I like to soak them overnight first)
1-2 chopped peppers, such as jalapeño, poblano, etc. (optional)

Instructions
Cook in slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 6 hours, or until beans are soft.

Variation:
Substitute one can of pumpkin puree for 2 cups of the chicken broth. I made this version, along with two jalapeños, at Martini Mist (my Aunt Linda and Uncle Bruce's place in Winter Harbor, Maine). It made an amazing accompaniment to freshly harvested steamed mussels!

gluten free macaroni and cheese

Gluten Free "Macaroni" and Cheese

This recipe adds the wisdom of Karina Albright's gluten-free macaroni and cheese with the ole fashioned recipe in the Fanny Farmer cookbook given to me by my Mother years ago. I've enriched it a bit with double whipping cream, inspired by my sojourn in England. It does not meet my low fat criteria because of the cheese and cream, but it's such great comfort food on a fall or winter afternoon, especially with a healthy counterpoint of steamed broccoli and a glass of white wine. I think the recipe would be great with a cup or two of lightly steamed kale tossed in, but my family won't let me go there...

Ingredients:
12-16 oz. gluten-free pasta (rotini and butterflies are popular with Maudemarie, though I've been unable to find the butterflies in a gluten-free iteration).
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sweet rice flour
1 cup skim milk
1 cup double whipping cream (in the UK) or heavy whipping cream
1 1/4 cup plain low-fat Greek-style yogurt
1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 generous tablespoons white wine
1 cup grated parmesan (for the topping)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook the pasta until al dente, drain in colander and rinse under cold awarer.
3. Whisk together and slowly heat the milk, cream, and yogurt in a medium saucepan. Make sure it doesn't steam, just get it warm!
4. While the milk mixture is heating, heat the butter in a saucepan on medium heat and slowly whisk in the flour. Cook and stir for a minute or so. Slowly adding in the milk, beating all the while, to form a roux. Bring the mixture to a bubble, allowing it to thicken, then reduce to low heat. Add the cheddar cheese, salt, mustard, nutmeg and white wine. Continue stirring until cheese melts, maybe 3-5 minutes. With any luck, the sauce will be nice and thick.
5. Pour into a into a 9X13 or 8X12 inch baking pan (8X8 works as well), thoroughly coating the pasta with sauce.
6. Sprinkle the top with the grated parmesan.
7. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until bubbling and lightly browned on top.

Pizza

Pizza

I decided to make pizza after a long day in downtown Birmingham, despite being exhausted (I'd also done an early morning swim). Not only was it a huge hit , but it was among the best pizzas I've ever made and enormously satisfying after the long day. Also, it was fun catching up in the kitchen as we assembled the pizzas, waited for them to cook, then devoured them. I followed Karina Aldrich, aka Gluten Free Goddess, for the crust with a few tweaks (and I inadvertently left out the baking powder Aldrich uses, but I liked the results):

For Crust:

1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup oatmeal flour (coarsely ground old fashioned oats is fine)
1 cup potato starch
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup GF millet flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon honey - for proofing yeast
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup beaten egg whites
1/4 teaspoon brown rice vinegar

Suggestions for Toppings
Here was our pizza-making bar last night:

sugar-free pizza sauce from a jar 

sliced tomatoes

sliced black olives

cut up grilled red peppers

cut up grilled jalapeños 

grilled mushrooms

grated fresh mozzerella

grated parmesan 

grated feta

Italian salami, cut into one inch squares

marbled bacon, fried and cut up into small pieces

Instructions:
Grease pizza pans or baking sheets. I used three -- one for each member of the family. Dust lightly with gluten-free rice flour. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the GF flours and dry ingredients. 

Proof the yeast in 1 cup warm water with a small teaspoon scoop of honey.

Add the proofed yeast and water to the dry ingredients. Add the oil, eggs and vinegar. 

Beat the dough until smooth and sticky. Add a bit more water if you need to. The pizza dough should be creamy smooth and not too thick- it's not sturdy like typical bread dough. It almost borders on batter. 

Divide the dough into as many pizzas as you'd like to make (3, in our case). Scoop each onto the center of a prepared pizza pan. Using clean, wet hands press down lightly and flatten the dough to create a thin, even pizza shell. Smooth out the dough with wet palms.  Crust can be thick or thin, as you fancy.

Set the pizza shells in a warm cozy spot to rest and rise a bit- about 15 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 400ºF or so.

When the oven is hot, place pizza pans in the oven (may need to go in shifts or use both racks (switch spots midway through) if pans are too large).

Bake for ten minutes till golden. Remove from the oven. Preheat the broiler.

Flip the pizza, so that the down side is now up. Brush the top of pizza shells with olive oil, if you like. Season with sea salt and whatever else you fancy. Sprinkle with Italian herbs, if you like. 

Each person who is partaking tops with preferred fresh vegetables, herbs, sauce, cheese, cooked meat, etc. (My to-die-for combination last night: sliced tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, red peppers, jalapeños and a goodly amount of bacon, baby, with mozzarella and feta sprinkled atop).  

Broil briefly to melt the cheese, 4-5 minutes.

How many pizzas made depends on the size and thickness of the crusts!

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala

This recipe is adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chickentikkamasala_73305. My first effort was not brilliant, although it was edible, but I want to work with it further so am posting it here.   Note: Maudemarie likes just the chicken, without the sauce. I did not sauté the celery in the chile oil and I found it much too bland -- I believe this step is critical. The rice, developed from Julie Sahni’s Classic Indian Cooking, is amazing. 

Ingredients

         4 chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cubed

         2 in piece of fresh root ginger, finely chopped

         1 tsp chili powder

         sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

         2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus extra to garnish (optional: MM prefers none)
         juice of one lime

         2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil

         3 stalks celery, finely chopped 

         1 red chili, seeds removed and finely chopped (optional)

         1 tsp ground turmeric

         200ml/7fl oz double cream (or yogurt, for lighter version)

         juice of ½ lemon

Serve with

basmati rice with cumin seeds (see below)
vegetables -- we served with sautéed spinach (which was lovely) and steamed broccoli (which was okay)

        

Preparation:

        

1. Place chicken in a large bowl. Mix ginger, chili, salt, pepper, coriander, lime juice and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Marinate the chicken for several hours in this sauce. Heat a heavy-bottomed shallow pan and, when hot, add the chicken. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the chicken is browned on all sides.

        

2. Heat the remaining oil in a large pan and flavor the oil with the chili. Cook celery for 5-6 minutes until golden brown. Add the turmeric and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the cream and cook gently for a couple of minutes.

        

3. Add the chicken to the creamy sauce and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Check for seasoning, and add lemon juice to taste. 

                 

4.  Garnish with fresh coriander and serve immediately with rice.

Basmati rice with cumin seeds

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati rice

1.5 (or a bit less) cups water

2 tablespoons cumin seeds

1 tablespoon (or more, to taste) olive or vegetable oil

2 teaspoons sea salt (or to taste)

chopped cilantro (optional)

Materials:

sauce pan

sieve

rack to go a couple inches over stovetop burner

Directions

1. Soak rice for at least 10 minutes in the water to be used for cooking. Then drain and reserve the water.

2. Heat oil in sauce pan. Add cumin until it becomes fragrant.

3. Add rice to the fragrant oil and sauté for a few minutes to coat.

4.  Then add the reserved water along with the salt.

5. Boil, then simmer for ten minutes.

6. Keeping burner on, elevate the pan over the heat and let the rice steam for another 10-15 minutes. We use a little stand over the burner that elevates the pan about 1.5 inches (and I am unable to locate what this wonderful tool is called). We have improvised with metal drying rack and pans, when we don’t have this tool at hand.

7. Garnish with cilantro, if you like.

Poached salmon

Poached Salmon

This simple recipe came from a kids'  cookbook called 1-2-3 Cook for Me! It's an easy and healthy choice to take to potlucks, if you want to do something ridiculously easy and very healthy.  

Ingredients
sockeye salmon fillet of any size (if large, cut in half so you have two pieces that fit into the pan)*
water (enough to mostly fill a large frying pan)
kosher salt (about 2 tablespoons per 4 cups of water)
about 10 peppercorns (per 4 cups of water)
1-2 tablespoons of white vinegar (optional, but recommended if you aren't going to eat the fish immediately)

Instructions
Cut the skin off the fish, if you like. This step is not necessary and I think it wastes a lot of fish.
Add water to the frying pan, then add the salt, peppercorns, and vinegar (if using). Bring to a boil, then lower to a low simmer (maybe one or two bubbles). Poach the fish for 20-25 minutes (longer is okay too).

*We use sockeye salmon because it seems to me the most sustainably raised and low-mercury fish choice available at present. It is getting more difficult to find in mid-Michigan supermarkets, however, and it's admittedly not cheap.