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Marinated Quinoa Salad

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Marinated Quinoa Salad

For years my go-to summer salad was my take on “Marinated Pasta Salad” from Mollie Katzen’s The Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook.  Of course, one could modify that recipe to use rice pasta (gluten free) and leave out the mozzarella cheese (dairy free), but for July 4th this year I made a few additional tweaks and came up with Marinated Quinoa Salad.  Many of the same flavors and refreshing taste, but without the food allergies!

Marinated Quinoa Salad

45 minutes to prepare, plus time to chill
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 bunch kale
  • 1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
  • 1 jar or can artichoke hearts (8-15 oz., see note below), coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup (packed) finely minced parsley
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • basil (1 Tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dry) or other herb blend (I used Pasta Sprinkle from penzeys.com)

Directions

  1. In a 1 quart saucepan with a lid, boil the water.  Add the rinsed quinoa, stir, lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender.  Allow the quinoa to cool.
  2. Clean the kale by removing the leaves from the stems.  Rinse the leaves in a bowl of water and tear them into large, bite-size pieces. In a large pot with a lid, heat about one inch of water to boiling.  Add kale and steam/blanch for 2-3 minutes until tender.  Toss with tongs a couple of times during the cooking.  Remove to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.  Drain thoroughly and chop into smaller bite-size pieces.
  3. Add kale, red onion, artichoke hearts, and parsley to quinoa.  Toss.
  4. Add oil, vinegar, salt & pepper, and basil or herbs.  Toss
  5. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Notes

  • Quinoa is a high-protein, gluten-free grain-like seed gaining in popularity in the US, but ancient in origin.  Several varieties are available.  I buy the dark-beige variety in bulk at the Seward Co-op.  It requires only a quick rinse in a sieve before cooking.  Other varieties may require longer rinsing, soaking, and/or cooking times.  Follow the directions for your quinoa.  You should end up with approximately 2 cups cooked quinoa.
  • Most artichoke hearts seem to be processed with ingredients that are likely to be corn-based (e.g., citric acid, “spices”).  If you are sensitive to corn, use your judgment.  I find that if I drain the marinated artichoke hearts, I don’t have much, if any, reaction.  I haven’t tried the canned variety (with the citric acid), but would drain and rinse those before using. Feel free to substitute some other vegetable (green peppers, broccoli, carrots).
  • You could use the kale raw and be just fine.  I find a few minutes of blanching heightens the color and makes it easier to digest.

 

 

 

 

 

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GF Carrot Cake Redux

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After my successful Carrot Cake BakeOff in March, I decided to combine the best of the two recipes and made a “new and improved” two-layer carrot cake for my birthday.

Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Full Batch = two 9″ rounds; Half Batch = one 9″ round

Ingredients

Full Batch Ingredient Half Batch
2-1/2 cups Cake & Pastry Blend (see below) 1-1/4 cups
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda 3/4 teaspoon
1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon
1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/8 teaspoon
1-3/4 cups sugar 7/8 cup
1 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup
3 eggs eggs 2 eggs [my modification to avoid 1/2 egg]
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon
8 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved 4 oz. (1/2 can)
4 Tablespoons reserved pineapple juice 1 Tablespoon [modified due to additional egg noted above]
2 cups peeled & grated carrots 1 cup
3/4 cup raisins 3/8 cup
1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1/4 cup
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, rehydrated with 1-2 tablespoons of water 1/4 cup

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Grease 8- or 9-inch round cake pan(s).  Line with bottom of the pan with parchment. Lightly grease the parchment. [I buy 9″ round  parchment sheets rather than cutting my own.]
  2. Combine the flour blend, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a bowl; set aside.
  3. Prepare all the add-ins: carrots, raisins, walnuts, coconut, pineapple.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla at low speed until smooth, then beat at high speed for 3 minutes.  Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed to blend.  Add the reserved pineapple juice and beat until smooth.  Stir in the carrots, pineapple, raisins, walnuts, and coconut.  (I do these additions by hand with a wooden spoon, rather than with the mixer.)
  5. Divide the batter between the cake pans.  Bake on the center rack for 40-45 minutes, until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes away clean. [Do make sure the center seems “solid” or the whole thing is likely to collapse as it cools.]  Remove to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes.  Turn the cake out onto a rack to cool completely.  [You may need to run a knife around the edge of the pan.  I also put a sheet of parchment over the rack so the cake doesn’t stick to the rack.]
  6. Frost with non-dairy Coconut Powdered Sugar Frosting (see below) or your favorite frosting.

Note

  • I use these velcro cake pan insulating strips to keep the cake from doming.  They work great!  However, it’s possible that without them your cake will be done sooner . . . so remember to start checking after 30 minutes of baking.  Better safe than sorry!

 

Cake & Pastry Blend

(adapted from Hillson, Gluten-Free Makeovers)

  • 1-1/4 cup sorghum flour
  • 1 cup superfine brown rice flour
  • 1/2 cup tapioca starch
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons guar gum
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Store in a plastic zipper bag in the refrigerator until needed.

Notes on Flour Blends:

  • DO NOT use the old “scoop and level” method of measuring with GF flours.  You will get too much flour.  Spoon the flour into your measuring cup, then level off excess with a knife.
  • Obviously, this recipe makes more than the 2-1/2 cups needed for the carrot cake recipe.  Remember to mix the blend, then measure for the recipe.  Save the leftovers for other baking.
  • If you use any other flour blend you will need to add gum and salt to the carrot cake recipe.

Lucinda’s Non-Dairy Coconut Powdered Sugar Frosting

(Update 10/6/2014: I no longer use these proportions in my frosting.  Please see my current recipe at http://highlysensitivegirl.com/hsgblog/2014/10/04/apple-cake/#frosting )

  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (I use Spectrum Organics Palm Oil Shortening)
  • 2 Tablespoons Coconut Manna (I use Nutiva brand; https://store.nutiva.com/coconut-manna/)
  • 2-3 cups confectioners sugar; sifted if lumpy
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
  • dashes of lemon juice or water or “milk” substitute as needed to thin the frosting
  1. Beat the shortening and coconut manna until light and fluffy.  Add extracts and beat again.
  2. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar and mix at low-medium speed until combined.
  3. Add liquid, one teaspoon at a time, to thin the frosting enough to use.

Notes

  • The coconut manna provides some richness to make up for not using the butter and cream cheese that would be in the traditional version of my powdered sugar frosting.
  • For some reason this recipe wasn’t quite enough to frost the cake today.  Haven’t gotten the proportions correct after years of making cream cheese frosting.  I think this needs more shortening, so next time I’ll try 3/4 cup shortening and maybe an extra spoon of coconut manna.

 

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Lemon-Soy-Sesame Marinade

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Lemon-Soy-Sesame Chicken & Kale

My plan for Marinated Grilled Vegetables was cancelled due to inclement weather (rain and hail throughout the day), forcing me to punt.  I had some leftover quinoa and baked sweet potato that needed to be eaten, a bunch of kale, and some chicken tenders.  So the marinade intended for grilled veggies became the basis for sautéed kale and marinated chicken tenders.

For years I’ve used this Lemon-Soy Marinade with vegetables (mushrooms, squash, peppers, red onion, eggplant slices . . . ), as well as tofu and tempeh; I found it originally in Quick Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin (her version adds scallions and uses rather odd amounts of some of the ingredients, but my proportions are similar to hers).  Only tonight did it occur to me to use it on chicken!  Absolutely perfect combination of the tang of lemon, the salty tenderizing of tamari, and the nuttiness of sesame.

Lemon-Soy-Sesame Marinade

Makes about 1-1/4 cups, enough for several dishes, so divide in half if only using for one dish.

  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup wheat-free tamari soy sauce
  • 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons grated ginger (or 1/2 tsp dry ground ginger)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl or jar and whisk or shake together.

Lemon-Soy-Sesame Chicken

Cut chicken tenders into bite-sized pieces.  Place in bowl and drizzle some of the marinade over— just enough to marinate all the pieces.  Stir to coat.  Let sit for at least 30 minutes (refrigerate if marinating longer than 30 minutes).  Heat skillet over high heat.  Toss in the chicken and its marinade.  Stir to cook until done, about 5-8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Lemon-Soy-Sesame Kale

Remove one bunch kale from its stems (save the stems for veggie stock).  (Tearing with your hands is the easiest, but you can also run a knife down each side of the stem.  Wash the leaves and tear into bite-sized pieces.  Drain.  Heat a skillet over high heat.  Coat lightly with vegetable oil.  Add kale (you may have to do this in bunches, it will wilt down quickly).  Cover and cook until softened.  Sprinkle on about 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (the kind folks use on pizza).  When the kale is almost done (from 10-20 minutes depending on how you like it) drizzle over a couple tablespoons of the Lemon-Soy-Sesame marinade.  Keep cooking until kale is done and most of the marinade has been absorbed or evaporated.

Enjoy!

Update June 15, 2012

Today I doctored the remaining marinade and used it with some vegetables.  To what was left after making the above, I added 2 Tablespoons tamari, 2 Tablespoons oil, 2 Tablespoons rice wine, a dash of sesame oil, 1 Tablespoon molasses (honey would work too), and another clove of garlic.  After marinating a few hours my veggies looked like this before going into the 375°F oven (I gave up on the grilling):

After 40 minutes in the oven:

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Adzuki Beans & Yam Hash

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Several months ago I bought some adzuki beans with the thought of making homemade gluten-free hoisin sauce and other asian condiments.  Never got around to that, but last week saw several recipes using adzuki beans over at nourishingmeals.com.

Considered a adzuki bean and rice salad, but then our weather got cold, so I went with Adzuki Bean and Yam Hash.  I’m not on the elimination diet, mentioned in the recipe, so I made a few minor changes; it turned out pretty yummy and healthy!

First, I soaked 1-1/2 cups of adzuki beans overnight.  Sources differ on whether or not to soak adzukis and how long to cook them (40 minutes – 2 hours!).  I used my never-fail  method of starting them on the stove top and then finishing them in the oven.  To help with the “beano problem” I rinsed the beans several times after soaking and then threw in a 5″ strip of Kombu seaweed during the last 20 minutes of cooking (mine took 60 minutes in the oven).

While the beans were cooking I cooked some brown rice using Saveur’s Perfect Brown Rice method.  When the beans were done, I took advantage of the hot oven to bake a large sweet potato.  The Adzuki Bean and Yam Hash recipe has you dice the yam very tiny and then cook it in the skillet, but it warns of possible burning, so it seemed easier for me to bake the potato (at least partially) ahead of time.  And while that was happening I chopped the red chard I used instead of the collard greens.

So, most of my prep work was all done early in the day so I could rest for several hours before doing the rest of the cooking.

Here’s my version of the recipe:

Adzuki Bean & Yam Hash

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 large yam, baked, cooled, then peeled and diced
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 cups cooked adzuki beans
  • 5 large red chard leaves, finely chopped*
  • Italian Herb blend and black pepper to taste
  • prepared Long Grain Brown Rice (to serve over)

Directions

  1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the oil.  Once the oil is hot add the onions and a dash of salt.  Sauté for a few minutes until tender.
  2. Add the yams, thyme and cumin.  Sauté for a few minutes uncovered and then cover and cook for 5 more minutes (see Note).  Stir occasionally and check for sticking and/or burning.
  3. Add adzuki beans.  Sauté a few minutes more or until the beans are re-warmed, 5-10 minutes.  Add the chard.  Cover the pan and leave to steam and wilt the chard (about 5 minutes).  Sauté everything together.
  4. Add Italian Herb blend and pepper to taste.
  5. Serve over rice.

Makes approximately 4 servings.

Note

  • Cooking times will depend in part on whether your yams and beans are still warm (and thus just reheating).  Adjust as needed in order to get everything hot.

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B is for Baseball, Brats, Buns

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Thursday was the start of the baseball season (at least for Chicago Cubs fans).  I knew I was going to have to figure out a GF, DF, and corn-syrup-free alternative to Hot Dogs/Brats . . . turned out to be trickier than I expected.  According to the guy at my local meat counter, in order to be a “brat,” and not some other kind of sausage, the sausage must contain milk . . . who knew?  Not me.  Seward Co-op has a great meat department where they make their own sausages, most of which I can eat . . . my favorite are Umbrian (with raisins & pine nuts) and Lime-Mango Chicken Sausage, but neither of those will do as a substitute for a baseball brat, and no-go on dairy-free brats  . . . so I ended up buying Polish Sausages instead.

I sautéed some onions and peppers and served the sausage over rice with the onions & peppers . . . but it wasn’t quite what you want to accompany a ball game.  So this morning I decided to try to bake some Gluten-Free Hot Dog Buns.  I used Annalise Roberts’ recipe from Gluten-Free Baking Classics.  The pan I have is an Italian Bread pan (rather than the thinner baguette pan recommended in the recipe) . . . so the buns were a bit flat . . . but they worked!!

So this afternoon I had sausage/onions/peppers on a GF bun while listening to the Twins game on the radio . . .

Sausage on a GF Bun

To paraphrase Field of Dreams:
Is this heaven?
No, it’s baseball.
No contradiction intended.

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