Mar19

I’m Not a Happy Camper, Take 2

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Food n Thought Peddler

This winter was particularly difficult for NYC dealing with really bad flu cases. The city usually gets hit pretty hard with any winter viruses as it’s really like the middle of the Earth where the constant flow of tourists and other visitors literary come from all the world and share whatever nasty strains they happen to carry around.

Last time I was dealing with anything major was in September, so I thought that maybe, this time, it all passed me by. Almost…

It’s been ten days, I’m still dealing with many symptoms, as it often happens with me, my immune system just never seemed to recover post-chemo, so anything minor sometimes become major, and major stuff tends to just linger on. Le sigh…

One of these days the scientists will have a breakthrough to find a cure for colds and flu and eliminate all the viruses, or at least find some quick boost for your immune system to quickly recover after you’ve had one, and maybe, while they are at it, they’ll find the cure for cancer too, so there wont be a need a chemo and post-treatment side effects…

OK, I digress, or more like whine, or rant… I’m allowed though, my blog came with a warning that some posts will be like that, so read at your own risk!

The first few days, I completely lost the sense of taste and smell, thus eating was more like window shopping, I just looked at food and turned away until hunger pains became more overwhelming than my food indifference. But once the taste came back (still working on the smell though), I figured, I needed to entertain my taste buds a bit to make them more motivated to chew some protein as I’m one of those strange people who can literary become anemic after just a few days of no animal products.

I always say “play with your food”!

Actually play with a lot of other things too!

What’s Cooking This Week

Any time you need to wake up your taste buds, make sure you have something spicy. I’m not a huge fan of anything too hot, I have a pretty low tolerance for the heat index, but it was one of those times, especially considering that my buds were still half numb anyway. Plus I was just in a mood for something different. If I was too sick to play with other things, I might as well just play with food at least.

Southwestern Pumpkin Burgers

1 lb ground beef

1 tomato, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1/3 cup of pumpkin puree

1/3 cup of bread crumbs or flour (I used Better Batter gluten free seasoned flour)

1 tspoon of seasoned salt (I used Herbamare)

2 tspoons of crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tspoon of paprika

1/4 tspoon of ground nutmeg

2 Tbspoons of fresh parsley, chopped

olive oil, shredded cheddar cheese (I used daiya)

Heat up some olive oil and saute onions and tomato until lightly golden, add chopped parsley and saute for another minute.

Let it cool off a bit and then combine with ground beef, add the flour/bread crumbs, pumpkin and all the spices. Form the burger patties.

Cook according to your preferences. Top with cheddar/daiya and ketchup. I serve it open style on a toasted Udi’s gluten free bread alongside with kale leaves and tomatoes to add an extra immune boost.

Enjoy!

Mar16

Guest Post: Something Old, Something New....

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Food n Thought Peddler

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Reblogged from Rantings of an Amateur Chef:

Our guest blogger today is Diana who is on her fifth go-around as a guest blogger. She makes some great looking dishes and this looks like yet another one. Check out the post below and if you haven't been over to Food n Thought Peddler, check it out. Here's Diana...

Thank you Pat for being a gracious host yet again!

Happy Birthday, Peddler!

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Food n Thought Peddler

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Today is Peddler’s birthday! Food n Thought Peddler that is. My blog has turned 1 year old today! And it is my 100th post, so big double celebration!

What a year it has been indeed! I laughed, and cried, and whined, and celebrated… Oh, and cooked and baked of course!

My enormous “Thank You” to all the readers, those who’ve joined to follow my blog and those who just happened to pass by! Your “likes”, comments or simply knowing that you’ve stopped by and read my posts is a huge motivation to continue on paving a road of delicious healthy and gluten free eating heavily sprinkled with sweet indulgences, but what life is if not to allow yourself some detours and rest stops?!

To recap what happened in the past year, 81 recipes have been written plus several restaurant reviews and tips on traveling while eating gluten free. I had 2 series posted, one was the Italian series and the other were Pink recipes to spread the awareness of breast cancer screening and treatment options. My blog was visited and “liked” by Chef Lena Kwak, who along with Chef Thomas Keller, developed Cup4Cup gluten free flour blend that I often use in my recipes. She also featured two of my recipes using the blend on their website.

I have several families who contacted me via the blog and now often order gluten free cupcakes or other baked desserts for their parties or family gatherings. It was the greatest acknowledgement of my hard efforts in the kitchen!

And most important, this past year, I had FUN FUN FUN cooking and baking and (flopping sometimes) and creating!

So, let’s send the Peddler off, away from its babyhood and onto a new exciting journey in the 2nd year!

What’s Cooking This Week

Since this is the 100th post and a big 1 year celebration, I was thinking of making something special. Dessert of course comes to mind, any time you think of a celebration, but I also had some of my specifications. It had to be gluten free of course, and at least not too over-loaded with fat and sugar, then it just had to be chocolate, and it just had to be pink. The possibilities were endless of course. And I think this recipe perfectly combines all the specifications in one light yet indulgent little treat.

Chocolate Tartlets with Strawberry Almond Whipped Cream and Berries

Chocolate tartlets (makes 18)

1 1/4 cups of flour (I used Cup4Cup gluten free blend)

1/4 cup of powdered sugar

1 large egg yolk

3/4 tspoon of vanilla

a pinch of sea salt

Mix together flour, salt and cocoa powder. In a food processor, pulse together butter and powdered sugar, then add vanilla and egg yolk, pulse again. Combine wet and dry ingredients and roll the dough into a ball.

Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour. After that, let it warm up again, flatten it and start rolling between the two sheets of parchment paper (as the dough is sticky and resembles play dough). Cut small pieces and roll them out to fit the size of mini tartlet pans. You can make them thin or thicker, I rolled mine pretty thin, it also made fitting them inside the tart holes much easier. Shape the tartlet and cut off the extra dough, you can re-roll and use it for the next tartlet.

Bake the tartlets in a pre-heated oven at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes or until they are firm to the touch and the sides are slightly puffed. Let them cool off completely before removing from the pan as they are pretty fragile.

In a mean while, make strawberry whipped cream.

2 cups of made Healthy Top (cashews and almonds cream), or regular whipped cream

1/4 cup of pureed fresh strawberries

1/4 cup of powdered sugar (or more if you want the cream sweeter)

berries and pink sugar for garnish

(optional) 3-4 drops of red food coloring

Prepare Healthy Top according to directions: chill the carton along with mixer beaters and metal bowl in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Then whip the cream for 3-4 minutes. Add pureed strawberries, whip again, then add powdered sugar and whip until all is well combined. Add food coloring if you want the cream of a deeper pink color.

Fill each tartlet shell with about 1 Tbspoon of cream, garnish with different berries and sprinkle pink sugar on top.

The combination of semi-sweet chocolate tarts and light strawberry cream hits all the right spots in a healthy yet indulgent union. They taste like little pieces of chocolate and berry heaven.

Enjoy!

Mar1

Drunken Chicken

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Food n Thought Peddler

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This past week has been kind of stressful and over-run with numerous glitches, broken schedules, attitudes and other not overly pleasant surprises. Blame it on Mercury retrograde squaring Mars in emotional Pisces combining with Full Moon (and whatever else was happening in the cosmic desert and other people’s lives), but I think I need a vacation just to decompress from the past 7-10 days.

Last Friday, I got home after especially stressful two days at work covering surgery. Let me tell you (and I hope I’m not offending any surgeons, as there are definitely many who are not only skillful doctors, but also have great professional and human attitude), but I’ve worked with far too many “cut and run” surgeons to say I HATE working in surgery. There, my very personal “Full Moon influence” moment!

My coworker who covers surgery is the most respected and revered among us all, as she is the only one who seems to handle the responsibilities with her no-nonsense attitude, perfect attention to details and caring demeanor. When she is out, all of us pray for her health or immediate return from vacation and our reprieve from her line of duty. I hope to find some kind of youth serum to offer her so she works for a long long time, and none of us are ever faced with a necessity to cover surgery permanently!

So, I got home last Friday and was met with yet another pleasantry, aka cranky teen. What’s a girl to do?! With my boots still on, I marched right into the dining room and poured myself a nice shot of Amaretto. That took the edge off!

But the pleasant evening didn’t end there. The cherry on top was the kid having an immediate allergic reaction to whatever it was in those sushi that he had 1000 times before. So the evening actually ended with a Benadryl cocktail (for the kid) and me holding my own EpiPen praying I won’t actually have to use it.

Yep, it was fun indeed!

We are now in uncharted territory, having to deal with the kid’s food allergies, which are unfortunately creeping up. I always knew he was allergic to cats and to some long-haired dogs, which was easy to control as we don’t have any pets, and if we were visiting any home with pets, he’d get a Claritin before, and would be fine for that day. A few years back, we found out he was allergic to melons, which again, was easily avoidable. We’d have found out even earlier, but the silly kid was afraid to tell us that he was having a reaction every time he had a melon. I guess, we should count our blessings that he finally did say something, before we had one of those EpiPen moments. Over the last summer, he’d undergone what we thought was a thorough testing confirming his pets and melons (but not watermelon) allergies, but clearing every else, only to have a reaction to watermelon also a few months after that. And now to whatever it was he reacted to in those sushi.

So, we’re going back to see the allergist next week to re-do the whole food panel yet again. I’ll keep you posted. And if it is shrimp, the kid would be greatly disappointed, as he loves shrimp, but I know he will adjust (to whatever the allergy is) and most definitely survive!

What’s Cooking This Week

Since the theme of the last week seemed to be running around like a chicken without a head and then chasing it all with alcohol, I figured it only made sense to combine both and actually make something comforting out of it. And when food allergies are involved, you may sometimes think that certain dishes are out of your reach, but really you don’t have to, you can adjust it all and still enjoy the foods you love.

Baked Chicken in Vodka Sauce

1 lb boneless skinless chicken (I used thighs)

32 oz can/carton of crushed tomatoes (I used Pomi)

1 1/2 cup of brussels, cut in half

1 1/2 cup of baby Bella mushrooms

1 small bell pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup of unsweetened Mimic Cream (or regular dairy cream)

1/4 cup of vodka (I used Liv potato vodka)

2 Tbspoons of fresh chopped parsley

1 tspoon of Italian seasoning blend

1 tspoon of brown sugar

salt, pepper, olive oil

Start by heating up some olive oil, saute the onion until lightly golden, then add tomato sauce and heat up on a low heat until it starts to boil. Add vodka and slowly boil until alcohol is evaporated, then stir in cream, salt, pepper, seasonings and brown sugar.

Spray a baking dish with oil spray, lay out the chicken pieces and vegetables, lightly season them with salt and pepper, pour the sauce on top and sprinkle chopped fresh herbs.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until brussels are soft.

Serve it over pasta for an ultimate comfort level.

I had it on a bed of kale leaves and thought it was still outstanding on its own.

Enjoy!

Feb21

Playthings

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Food n Thought Peddler

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It’s the end of February, that often frustrating time when you just want to be done with winter and move on into warmer spring weather and more exciting things happening. So what do you do?

I say be a kid again and if sick with cabin fever, find some playthings to occupy yourself with.

Remember Little People playhouse? Yep, my kid had it, I too spent numerous hours playing the little figures with him, entertaining his every kiddie desire to be a rescuer, or a fireman, or every imaginable hero that was popular on TV at that time…

I say they need to have a grown-up version of these toys, let bored and impatient adults play “house” during long winter months. So what kind of people would you populate your mini-society with?

First, you need “the boss” of the house, somebody in charge to make all the main decisions. I say a female makes the best boss! We are already in charge of all the big and mundane things in the household anyway, that in addition often holding a job and being a caretaker to a million other people and projects.

Then of course you’d need somebody to enforce the house rules, like a police force, or at least a person who is familiar with the task even if he’s moved on to other things in life.

You definitely need a doctor, to make sure everybody is safe and healthy and just to be ready to jump and help if an emergency occurs.

You’d then need an intellectual, to read and know all about everything and just ponder life in general.

I say you also need a “free spirit”, a bit of a hippie and a rule-breaker to shake everything up and make it more interesting.

And, as in any modern society, you need a visiting international traveler, let’s say from France (just because who wouldn’t want a French man staying in your house?!), to entertain the lady while the rest of them are gone rescuing people or making sure the societal rules are strictly enforced.

When you’re bored in winter, make your own Play House and spin the Russian Roulette to see where your luck lands.

What’s Cooking This Week

It’s cold and often snowy, and sometimes you need to comfort yourself. In that case, nothing is better than a stew. You can just see what’s already available, aka Little Play People, and maybe add a few things to spice it all up.

Country Style Veal and Vegetables Stew

1 lb of veal cubes

4 potatoes, cut

1 1/2 cup of baby carrots

1/ 1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms (I used cremini)

1 cup of white pearl onions

1 medium eggplant, cut

2 tomatoes, cut

2 cups of vegetable stock

1/2 cup of white wine

3 Tbspoons of olive oil

1 tspoon of lemon-pepper seasoning

1 tspoon of French mixed seasoning

7 small bay leaves

1/2 tspoon of fennel seeds

salt, pepper

fresh herbs for garnish

In a large Dutch oven, heat up olive oil and start by browning veal cubes (I usually cut big pieces in half). After a few minutes, add potatoes, pearl onions and carrots,, add some salt and pepper and brown them for a couple of minutes also.

Add vegetable stock and wine, cover and slowly bring it all to a boil.

Add bay leaves and seasonings, mix it all well, cover and cook on low heat until about half way done. Then add mushrooms, eggplant and tomatoes, bring it all to a boil.

Transfer the pot into pre-heated oven and cook at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Warm and comforting yet not overly heavy and full of nutritious vegetables.

Enjoy!

Feb14

Sweet Valentine

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Food n Thought Peddler

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Happy Valentine’s Day! No matter if you are attached or single, savor the air full of love and joyous feelings and appreciate the relationships (be it love related or not) you have in your life. Every human connection is a gift that’s brought into your life by the Divine Order, however, long or short that may be, to enjoy each other, possibly learn from each other and continue on your own path of growth and self-development.

If you are in a relationship, take a moment to let your partner know how much they mean to you, even if not every day is all “kisses and roses”. As a matter of fact, reach out to every person in your life who is important and do the same. Love is never just intimate relationship related, love is Love, it just is!

And if you’re single this Valentine’s Day, be gentle on yourself and take it lightly, just go out and celebrate, have fun with your un-attached status. Make sure to have a princess dress and a tiara at hand and get in touch with your “inner child”. Sing it like Sophia Grace and make moves like Rosie .

What’s Cooking This Week

Valentine’s Day is inevitably associated with sweets and chocolate in particular. If you ask me though, chocolate is pretty much a daily necessity in my menu, it’s my BFF, Valium and an alcohol-chaser, it’s just one of those things that makes life much more tolerable. So it was a no-brainer what to make this Valentine’s Day. Yet I felt it didn’t have to be necessarily rich and void of nutrients. This recipe is a great “bridge” without compromising the sweet cravings for something decadent, or spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Use that time to be with your Valentine!

Chocolate Almond Torte with Strawberry Rum Sauce

(makes 3 mini heart cakes):

3 eggs

1/2 cup of plain yogurt (I used coconut yogurt by So Delicious)

1/3 cup of almond flour

2 Tbspoons of coconut flour

2 Tbspoons of cocoa

2 Tbspoons of sugar

1/4 tspoon of cinnamon

Sauce:

1 cup of chopped strawberries

2 Tbspoons of rum

2 Tbspoons of sugar

1 tspoon of lemon juice

Beat together eggs, sugar and yogurt. In a separate bowl, combine together both flours and cinnamon, add into wet ingredients and incorporate well. Oil 3 mini heart cake pans and fill each about 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Let the cakes cool off a bit before removing from pans.

While they are baking, make the sauce. Blend together strawberries and lemon juice in a blender. Transfer the mixture into a small pan, add sugar and cook on a slow heat for a few minutes until sugar is dissolved, then add rum and cook until alcohol is evaporated and all the liquids are reduced. Let the sauce to stand for a couple of minutes before serving.

Serve the cakes and sauce slightly warm to fully enjoy their soft texture and rich flavors.

Enjoy! Share with your Valentine!

Feb8

Say What???

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Food n Thought Peddler

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Most days I cook “straightforward” meals that are both nutritious yet not too lengthy, some days, like weekends, are left for an extra creativity and time spent in the kitchen.

Some though are met with a big question mark, as to a 15 year-old, all meals should be “straightforward” even if their nutritious value is questionable (to his credit, he’s tried many of my offerings that were quite adventurous, he just didn’t know it, as much of it was disguised with things like bacon ).

So as I was spending my usual Saturday afternoon in the kitchen this past weekend, the kid walked in to inquire what was for dinner.

“Gnocchi”, I replied.

Which was met with a silent observance of all the ingredients laid out on the kitchen counter.

“Um, don’t you need potato for that?”, glancing again over the foods and not finding any.

“Yes, it’s in there”, but I was still registering some concern on the 15 year-old’s face who is suspicious by his teen nature and doesn’t like to be played with his food.

“OK, mama!”, sounded like a warning.

Let the games begin!

What’s Cooking This Week

On my never-ending quest to provide meals that are gluten and mostly dairy free but “you won’t even know it”, I was craving to find some gnocchi recipe that is both gluten/dairy free and possibly less starchy and more nutritious. After viewing some recipes and making some adjustments to satisfy all the requirements, I came up with this recipe. It still needs some minor future adjustments (mainly to play with flour/starches and wet ingredients proportions to hold the shape better), but it surely didn’t disappoint in taste. And, in case you’re wondering, the kid had two bowls. So, guess, who won?!

Pumpkin Gnocchi in Buttery Coriander Sauce

1 cup of cooked pumpkin

1 egg

1/2 cup of almond flour

1/2 cup of millet flour

1/3 cup of coconut flour

1/4 cup of potato starch

1/2 tspoon of salt

1/4 tspoon of cinnamon

1/4 tspoon of nutmeg

1/2 cup of white wine

1 tspoon of dried coriander

2 Tbspoons of oil spread (I used Earth Balance coconut spread), or butter

1 Tbspoon of fresh lemon juice

2 Tbspoons of pignoli nuts

1/2 Tbspoon of fresh chopped herbs (I used curly parsley)

In a bowl, mix together all the flours/starch with nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin and the egg. Gradually start adding the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until a firm ball of dough forms.

Flour a surface and cut the dough ball into four parts, then roll each part into a long log of about 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut it into 1 inch pieces.

You can leave gnocchi pieces as is or make the standard lines with a fork. Transfer cut gnocchi on a sheet lined with parchment paper. If you want, you can freeze them at this point for future use, just make sure dust them with flour first.

Boil a pot with water, add salt and cook the gnocchi for about 5-7 minutes or untill they start to float at the surface. Drain and set them aside. In a mean while, make the sauce.

In a pan, melt the buttery spread, then add wine and let it cook until alcohol evaporates and the liquid is reduced. Add fresh lemon juice and spice/fresh chopped herbs, stir in pignoli nuts at the last minute. Add drained gnocchi and toss them around in the sauce untill well covered.

There were no complains from the kid about a “lack” of potato or meat ingredients in this meal .

Enjoy!

Food n Thought Peddler

Where Food and Thoughts are Born

I’m Not a Happy Camper, Take 2

Guest Post: Something Old, Something New....

Happy Birthday, Peddler!

Drunken Chicken

Playthings

Sweet Valentine

Say What???

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