Gluten-free Gourmand

This is a recipe inspired by my garden.  In the late summer, I often have an excess of tomatoes.  I created this recipe to make use of them, and it turned out better than I imagined.  All the flavors compete with each other to make a beautiful late summer meal with a Spanish influence. Ingredients: Olive oil 1 whole chicken, cut in 8 pieces 1/2 onion 10 oz. GF beer 1-2 lbs tomatoes 1 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp pepper salt to taste 1/2 Valencia orange, cut in wedges fresh basil to taste pitted black olives and juice Recipe: In a dutch oven or large non-aluminum pot, brown the chicken pieces on each side in olive oil.  Remove the chicken and set aside.  Brown the onions and remove them.  Add the beer to the pot and scrape up the brownings with a wooden spoon.  Reduce the beer to the desired thickness for the sauce. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Add the tomatoes, orange, salt, pepper, basil, olives with juice and cumin to t...

I heard about this technique called "The 450-degree oven" on the Splendid Table on NPR a few weeks ago. I tried it for the first time last week while I was bar-b-queing some steaks for a friend, and thought it was one of the easiest and most flavorful side dishes I had ever made. For this post, I decided to prepare it as a one-dish full meal. The whole thing only takes about 25 minutes to prep and cook, and it can be done with a wide variety of ingredients. If you're not into the meat aspect of the dish, omit that and make it vegan. The dish pictured was made with just potato, yam, onion, and bacon for main ingredients. It didn't occur to me until I looked at the pictures, but this dish could also be served with eggs at breakfast. The potatoes look a lot like home fries. First, turn on the oven to 450 degrees. Put a cookie sheet or a large cast-iron skillet into the oven as it's warming up. Cut into large pieces your soft vegetables: Onion Garlic ...

I have been spending the last several weeks working on a few new recipes: gluten-free vegan scones and gluten-free pancakes. I have now produced a scone recipe that I can't wait to share. This recipe is incredibly simple. I was resistant to the idea of vegan scones until I found a few recipes for cream scones, which don't take butter or egg. Therefore there is only one dairy product to substitute: the cream. In a cream scone recipe, the fat in the cream is the substitute for the fat in the butter that has been omitted. Therefore I couldn't use a low-fat substitute like rice milk. I have found that coconut cream is the best vegan substitute for regular cream, especially in cooking. I love coconut soup, coconut curry, coconut everything. It's the only non-dairy cream I've found that has somewhere close to the right fat content to substitute for cream. To make sure the coconut cream was really rich, I first scooped the dense part out from the top of the c...

This weekend I'll be working on a few projects for the good of the gluten-free. I'll be making another attempt at my new gluten-free pancakes recipe. I have so far made several attempts , only some of which have been successful. (As you can see from the photo, I probably won't be recommending that you use this as a waffle recipe.) I am also working on a gluten-free vegan scone recipe which I have high hopes for. Does it sound impossible? Reserve judgment until you hear my idea! I'm relying very heavily on coconut cream for this one. What do you use? What other kinds of baked goods would you like to see a new recipe for? Do you have a favorite recipe of your own for gluten-free scones or pancakes? Do you cook with coconut cream, or have another favorite dairy-free substitute? I want to hear about it! Update: See my successful new gluten-free vegan scone recipe here .

This week for What's for Dinner? Wednesday blog carnival I'm doing a simple rice recipe and a review of some battered halibut and haddock from Starfish. For more dinner ideas go see Linda at the Gluten-free Homemaker . Eric over at Starfish asked me to sample his new breaded fish products and let him know what I think. That's right - he gave me free samples, meaning that I've been bribed . In spite of this I will try to give you the most objective review I can possibly muster. After all, if someone tried to "bribe" me with inedible food I'd have something to say about that. As my fair readers may know by now, I take food very seriously. There are two sets of instructions on the box: one for cooking in the oven, one for deep-frying. I appreciated the fact that there are no microwave instructions. Who wants to eat microwaved fish? In the name of science, I should have tried it anyway, but I couldn't bring myself to it. I'm more of an...

In Mexico, they serve ceviche everywhere on the coast. They serve it in restaurants, and vendors sell it from coolers on the beach (not recommended!) It is actually made without cooking the fish, but the lime and any other acids in the juice "cook" the fish in a chemical process without heat. As with any recipe, but especially when raw fish is concerned, buy your ingredients some place that you trust. I get my fish from New Season's in NE Portland or at Umajimaya in Beaverton. Both places have fish good enough to eat raw. If you want to do a shrimp ceviche, the shrimp should be cooked, but otherwise you can follow this recipe. There are lots of variations to this recipe, but I tried to make it like they serve it on the Pacific coast of Mexico. This dish is usually considered an appetizer, but I could eat it all day. I am not going to give quantities for this one, as you can adjust the ingredients according to your taste. Start by buying the fish. About a qu...

When I realized that I would have to be on a gluten-free diet for the rest of my life, one of my primary thoughts was: I can still eat steak. In fact, when people try to have pity on me for my dietary restrictions, I tell them that I love my diet: it includes steak, potatoes, and ice cream. You probably don't need instructions on how to cook steak and potatoes. I'm mentioning it for What's for Dinner? Wednesday not because I think people need to know more about steak and potatoes, but because I sometimes like to remind myself to keep it simple. Simple is delicious. For more gluten-free dinner ideas see Linda at the Gluten-free Homemaker. My friend and I bought all the main ingredients for this meal at the Portland Farmer's Market. The herbs were picked form the garden - they miraculously survived the winter. First I cleaned and prepped the potatoes. We put a dry skillet in the oven at 400 degrees to heat up. I mixed some walnut oil, salt, sage, and thyme toget...

Here is a recipe that is surprisingly simple. It's a good recipe for making dairy-free. Simply substitute all of the milk and cream for coconut milk. I would imagine that a full-fat almond milk would taste lovely in this recipe too, though I haven't tried it yet. This is my own modification of the Joy of Cooking's recipe. The trickiest part of making this recipe is in preparing the caramel sauce. It has few ingredients but it takes some patience and attention. Place in a saucepan, preferably one with a light-colored inside: 3/4 cup sugar Pour over the top: 1/4 cup water Heat the mixture slowly, swirling the liquid occasionally until it clarifies. Increase the heat to high and boil for 2 minutes, covered. Uncover the pan after the two minutes is up and watch it boil until it begins to darken. At this point start swirling the syrup in the pan again to cook it evenly until it turns a dark brown. If you smell burning immediately remove it from the heat: yo...

For those of you who can't eat corn, I have not forgotten you.  I adore the taste of buckwheat, and it is by far my favorite variation on the waffle theme. All of these variations simply change the type of flour used, but not the quantity, which always comes to 2 cups total. Some flours will make the batter thicker than others, but the waffles almost always turn out no matter what the consistency of the batter. Use your favorite GF Pastry Flour for the other cup of flour, and you're set. If you don't have pastry flour on hand, try your All-Purpose GF flour mix and sub out a few tablespoons of potato starch. Mix it up and have a some great waffles! This recipe is particularly good with buttermilk instead of regular milk. If you love both the taste of corn and the taste of buckwheat, try using 1/2 cup corn flour and 1/2 cup buckwheat flour instead. Buckwheat Waffle Recipe: 1 cup buckwheat flour 1 cup Deluxe GF Pastry Flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4...

These savory and sweet cornmeal waffles are one of my favorite breakfast foods. I am not bragging when I say that these are the best waffles I've ever tasted. I'm simply telling the truth. This recipe is essentially the Joy of Cooking Cornmeal Waffles recipe that has been modified to be gluten-free. If you are on a no-dairy diet try almond milk instead of cow's milk and a mild-flavored oil (not olive) instead of butter. I'm afraid there's no helping the eggs - they are essential for making the waffles fluffy. If anyone has an egg-free version I'd love to hear it! Corn Waffle Recipe Mix together in a large bowl: 1 cup  Deluxe Pastry Flour (something with a lot of potato flour is excellent) 1/2 cup corn flour 1/2 cup corn meal 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (if your flour mix doesn't have it already included) 1/4 cup sugar Separate: 2 eggs Beat until stiff in a separ...

I had never made my own tempura before creating this recipe.  However, I wasn't afraid to try it gluten-free.  This tempura recipe didn't come out looking like a typical all-over breading, but instead resulted in an ultra-light batter and a surprisingly tasty vegetable dish.   For a vegan version, see this recipe on I Am Gluten Free, which was my inspiration for creating a tempura recipe of my own. Dipping Sauce Recipe: Tempura is usually served with a simple dipping sauce. Combine: equal parts (GF) soy sauce and water a dash of rice vinegar a dash of mirin (optional) a bit of sugar Gluten-free Tempura Recipe: Cut in to pieces 1/4 inch thick: 4-5 assorted vegetables Pat the vegetables dry. Heat in a large skillet: 3/4 inch to 2 inches oil I used mostly olive oil with some sesame oil. You will know that the oil is the right temperature when a little bit of batter dropped in it only sinks halfway to the bottom, then immediately floa...

A friend of mine who is a dedicated gourmand recently commented that it seems like I truly enjoy being gluten-free. It's true; I look upon it as a culinary challenge, and my restriction has brought me to many a recipe that I would not have found if I could just eat a sandwich every night. I actually feel like my options have expanded and that I've become a better cook since I've started this diet. That I am capable of easily digesting everything I now cook helps to reinforce my gluten-free ways. My aforementioned friend has introduced me to some new recipes and techniques for making dishes that are traditionally gluten-free. The project we worked on most recently was braised rabbit - an animal that I had only eaten once and had never cooked. Rabbit is not readily available in most butcher shops, but you should ask about special orders at a specialty butcher shop. Or, substitute chicken, lamb, or another meat. Braising is a technique that produces a very tender meat. ...