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Mocha Kahlua Ice Cream

January 15, 2012 by BeyondRiceandTofu

Have you been introduced to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams? No? Well, me either. At least not in person. But I do have her cookbook, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home. And I love it!

And surely, one of these days I will get back to Columbus, Ohio, where I spent four years of my life, and actually check out some ice cream first hand. Until then, at least I have her cookbook.

I love that her base recipe does not require you to make a custard by tempering eggs – something I am apparently not very good at – I always end up with a bit of scrambled egg in mine. And I love that her flavor combinations are so unique. So far I have made the Lemon and Blueberry Frozen Yogurt, Pineapple Piment D’Espelette Sorbet, Sweet Corn and Raspberry Ice Cream, Goat Cheese with Roasted Red Cherries and Salty Caramel Ice Cream. All have been wonderful! The creamy texture. The richness. Truly, you only need a little bit of this decadent ice cream.

Lately though, I have been enamored with Kahlua and so I decided to make a Kahlua flavored ice cream. I used her Cognac Ice Cream recipe as the base recipe and simply replaced the cognac with 1/4 cup of Mocha Kahlua and used 1/2 cup sugar. (I am not going to print her base recipe here. You can find it in many, many places out on the web.)

The verdict – wonderful, of course! Especially with a bit of chopped chocolate on top = Mocha Kahlua Chip!

Posted in Dessert, Ice Cream | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, January 9, 2012

January 8, 2012 by BeyondRiceandTofu

I hope you are doing well with your new goals and haven’t fallen off the band wagon yet. If you are trying to eat a healthier diet or just eat more vegetables this year, there are plenty of resources out there. Of course there are lots of gluten free blogs out there. And lots of vegetarian blogs too.

But there are a ton of other resources, most of which aren’t specifically gluten free or vegetarian but still provide me with lots of inspiration. One of the recipes below is from Cooking Light magazine, one from Vegetarian Times magazine, another from Sunset magazine and the other from Food and Wine magazine.

I also make recipes from a lot of blogs. Most of which are not specifically gluten free. Some of my recent favorites are The Taste Space, Dana Treat, Fat Free Vegan Kitchen and Kalyn’s Kitchen. Recipes abound out on the interwebs, so don’t be afraid to look around, especially at all of the non-gluten free blogs. It’s so easy to modify most recipes to be gluten free. So if you need some inspiration, be sure to check out some of my favorite blogs over on the right as I have just updated my links.

Capitalizing on last week’s “Eat More Produce” theme for the Gluten Free Menu Swap, Heather at Celiac Family chose broccoli as this week’s theme. We love broccoli here at our house. We love it steamed, stir-fried, roasted – it doesn’t matter – we eat it and love it. This week we’ll be having it roasted alongside some dal.

And I’ll probably be eating it lightly steamed for lunch at work this week too. It’s so easy to just put some in a glass storage bowl and take to work. Take the lid off, drizzle in a little water before popping it into the microwave for a minute or two, and then I like to sprinkle it with a bit of salt. I don’t need any butter or other sauce. Mmmm…broccoli. What is your favorite way to eat your broccoli?

This week’s plan:

Buttery Pigeon Pea Dal with Roasted Broccoli and Brown Rice – we didn’t get to this last week.

Tempeh and Green Bean Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce with Brown Rice

Italian Chickpea Soup with a Massaged Kale Salad

Spiced Lemon Quinoa

What are your favorite sources of inspiration? Your new favorite blog, magazine? Let me know – I can always use more!

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments »

Chickpea and Spinach Curry

January 4, 2012 by BeyondRiceandTofu

Here is a tasty meal to help you with eating more vegetables in the New Year! First up, spinach!

Chickpea and Spinach Curry

inspired by others, long ago…(not sure where or who)

1 Tbsp oil

1 large onion, chopped

1-1/2 Tbsp ginger, grated

1 Tbsp Thai red curry paste (more or less)

1-1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

1-14 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well

1-14 oz can diced tomatoes, not drained

6 cups fresh spinach, torn if large

1/4 – 1/2 cup water, (depending on how juicy your tomatoes are)

1/2 tsp salt

plain yogurt

rice, if desired

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the onions and saute until soft. Stir in the ginger and saute for another minute or so. Stir in the curry paste and sugar until the onions are coated with the paste and there are few lumps, about 2-3 minutes. Add the chickpeas and tomatoes and let it simmer for a minute or two. Stir in the spinach and water and cook until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. Stir in salt, taste and add more if desired. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt, over brown rice.

This recipe is cross-posted over at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesday. Click on over and check out the other recipes!

Posted in Beans, Chickpeas, Quick, Spinach, Thai, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, January 2, 2012

January 2, 2012 by BeyondRiceandTofu

Happy New Year to you!

Have you updated your goals for the year? I have. And I don’t know about you, but I am working on making some changes. But it can be so overwhelming to contemplate the big changes you want to make in your life. I have learned that it is best to make a plan. (And get some encouragement (or ultimatums) from my husband!) And then start by taking some itty-bitty, baby steps. Whether you want to lose weight, find a new job, create a garden, redecorate your living room. Whatever. Baby steps. You’ll get there. And you will be able to better see that faint light glimmering at the end of the tunnel when you break it down into the small pieces. (Remind me of this later!)

I took some more of those steps today and it feels great. I don’t feel so stuck – you know what I mean?

Another one of my goals is to blog more. The past year has been rough and my relationship with food has not been very friendly so there hasn’t been a lot of new content this year – sorry. (More on this eventually, when I am ready…) I cook most days, but mostly using other people’s ideas and recipes. So I am going to work on pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone a bit. And I am working on my photography skills too. So we’ll see where things go. Who knows. Baby steps, right?

I know a lot of you are looking for “healthy” recipes right now, to go along with those new goals. Especially that one magical weight loss recipe, right? Well, you won’t find the magic one here, but you will find some pretty darn yummy vegetable based recipes! (But be sure to check out the link to Susan’s soup recipe at the bottom of this page. It may be as close to magical as we get.) And most of us could use more vegetables in our diets, right? So make sure you check out the new recipe index if you haven’t already.

With that in mind, this week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap theme is “Eat More Produce” and it is being hosted by Celiacs in the House. Be sure to check out the links on her page for more ideas.

Here’s our plan:

No-Hurry Vegetable Curry with Brown Rice – a slow cooker recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. This makes a lot so we’ll eat this more than once this week.

Buttery Pigeon Pea Dal with Roasted Broccoli and Brown Rice

Roasted Tofu with Roasted Brussels Sprouts – I want to try a new sprouts recipe but haven’t decided on one yet. Perhaps this one?

Enchilada-Inspired Polenta Pie with Salad – a slow cooker recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

Spaghetti and Salad – by request of the hubby. My favorite pasta is Tinkyada brand, which you can also purchase at Trader Joe’s, if you have one in your area. They sell it as Brown Rice Pasta in penne, spirals or spaghetti. But recently our TJ’s started carrying a gluten free corn pasta too. I bought some but haven’t tried it yet; guess we will this week. I will let you know if we like it!

And for my lunches I am thinking about making this: Susan’s Dirty Little Secret Soup. Warm soup just tastes so great right now…

For a special treat this week, I am making ice cream. I have avoided ice cream for the majority of the fall and I did well avoiding a lot of holiday treats but I have been craving some ice cream.  So I am making Salty Caramel from Jeni’s Splendid Ice  Creams at Home. And possibly the Pumpkin Five Spice or a Kahlua flavored one of my own creation. I can’t wait!

Have you updated your goals for the year?

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, December 19, 2011

December 18, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

All day today, I kept sitting down to work out this week’s meal plan, but I wasn’t getting anywhere. A mental block. And only because I had a question for my husband. But he was unreachable since he was off snowboarding. Finally he returned home and we were able to talk.

“What are we doing for Christmas this year?” I know, I know. Most of you have traditions and everything has been planned out for months. Not us. Four years ago we moved across the country, away from our families, and so we are on our own for this holiday. But that’s okay. We’re not big on Christmas.

We have made some of our own new traditions, based upon our new home and the local traditions. For one, on Christmas Eve we will head down to Old Town Albuquerque to walk around and drink hot cocoa and look at the luminarias on the plaza, or we’ll head up to Canyon Road in Santa Fe to browse the art galleries and look at the lights, also while drinking hot cocoa.

On Christmas Day, we typically go visit our friends at the Pueblo of Santa Ana and watch the dances for a while in the morning, weather dependent, of course. Then, with some juniper and pinyon burning in the fireplace, we will make a special meal for ourselves. It varies from year to year. Sometimes we’ve each made our favorite foods or something that we don’t eat very often. For me, in the past, it has been shrimp cocktail or bacon-wrapped scallops or some such thing. Another year we made spring rolls. We’ve done the traditional New Mexican thing too, and eaten tamales.

We talked about making sushi this year. But I think this evening we settled on making spring rolls again, maybe with some sushi flavors? Spring roll-sushi fusion rolls…? So now that that is settled, I could finish up my meal plan for the week.

I also asked my husband what he needed, treat-wise, to make it Christmas…but we haven’t come to any conclusions on that one. Which is okay with me since I am trying desperately to avoid the extra calories this year. If the treats are in my house, I eat them. Urgh. But my arm might be twisted to make one or two items, in addition to the limoncello that is waiting to be bottled this week. Or I might have to break out Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream At Home cookbook and make something out of there. The Five Spice Pumpkin has been calling to me from the bookshelf, as well as the Salted Caramel, especially since I have been on an ice cream-hiatus for the past three weeks. (Yes, I eat ice cream year-round!)


The theme over at Celiac Family this week for the Gluten Free Menu Swap is Holiday Favorites, and appropriately so. So be sure to head over later in the week and check out who else linked up. Maybe you will find your new holiday family favorite.

On tap for us this week:

Indian-Spiced Roasted Squash Soup with Pierogies – I only just made the soup today for later in the week. Probably with some Pierogies – Conte’s for me and gluten-filled for hubby. (Can you believe that I have never had a pierogie? I am excited to try them.) And maybe with some Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli that needs to be eaten.

Red Beans and Rice with Salad

Chickpea and Spinach Curry with Rice

Green Chile and Cheese Tamales – for Christmas Eve

Spring Rolls – for Christmas Day. We’ll fill them with marinated tofu, lettuce, cucumbers, bell pepper, basil, cilantro, mint, rice vermicelli noodles, avocado, shitake mushrooms and maybe some sushi flavors – nori, pickled ginger, wasabi paste, cucumber, avocado, and maybe some smoked salmon and cream cheese for me! It fun to play with them!

Santa Fe Pumpkin Chowder or Spaghetti and Salad – if needed…

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, December 12, 2011

December 11, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

Welcome to another week of the Gluten Free Menu Swap. This week our hostess is Cheryl at Gluten Free Goodness and she chose citrus as the theme. I know at our house we have been enjoying the fresh clementines that are in season right now. We each are eating at least two a day. And the Texas Red grapefruit are starting to roll in too (sorry, Florida). Other than fresh fruit, I don’t cook or bake with a whole lot of citrus, unless I am making one of my many quinoa salads or this Lemon Pound Cake.

Although, today I just happened to start making limoncello – a lemon-flavored liqueur. But I am not sure that counts for the menu swap…not really a meal, I suppose.  Though now that I peeled and juiced a bunch of lemons, I have a big mason jar of lemon juice in the frig, ready to be used. So I will be very interested in the other lemon/citrus recipes that others may post.

In the meantime, while I am looking for ways to use up all that lemon juice, here’s our plan:

Chickpea Stew with Sweet Onions and Salad – chickpea stew recipe from Lorna Sass’s Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure – we didn’t get to it last week.

Indian-Spiced Roasted Squash Soup

Vegetarian Slow Pho with Roasted Tofu – vegetarian pho soup in the slow cooker from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker.

Kitchari with Cauliflower and Peas – a new-to-us recipe.

Spaghetti and Salad – if needed…

How are you eating your citrus these days? As whole fruit or in your favorite dishes?

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, December 5, 2011

December 5, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

With the holiday road trip sufficiently behind us, I can go back to meal planning. Last week I went to the store at the last minute, without planning, because we needed food RIGHT NOW, and so our meals were a little less satisfying than usual.

This week I will be gone most evenings, leaving the hubby to fend for himself. But I don’t like to leave him to fend for himself since that usually means he will end up eating pizza. He is fine with that, but I am not. So as has been typical of the past month or two, I have been cooking more on Sundays so that there are plenty of leftovers in the refrigerator for him to choose from throughout the week. And to save time, I have been plugging in at least one crockpot. When the crockpot is done, the contents immediately go into the refrigerator for later in the week.

On the menu for this week:

Spicy Black Bean Chili with Green Chile-Cheese Tamales and Salad – chili from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker.

Roasted Tofu with Scalloped Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

Tart-Hot Kidney Beans with Broccoli and Rice – the bean recipe is from 660 Curries. And if I get motivated, Bhaakar (flatbread) too.

Make-Your-Own-Pizza – on an Udi’s crust.

Chickpea Stew with Sweet Onions and Salad – chickpea stew recipe from Lorna Sass’s Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure.

By the way, this week’s Gluten Free  Menu Swap theme is Holiday Treats. I am still debating whether I will be making any holiday treats this year. I will probably at least make some Buckeyes and chocolate fudge. But other than that, I am trying to avoid them this year. Although, I have a feeling that the closer we get to the holidays, the more I will want to make a few things.

Be sure to check out Angela’s Kitchen, where Angela is hosting the menu swap. This post is also linked to OrgJunkie, where you can find hundreds of meal plans, some of which are gluten free, some not. Enjoy!

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments »

Three Bean Chipotle Butternut Chili

December 4, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

Still feeling like you indulged too much over the recent holiday? Here’s a healthy, hearty chili to offset some of those feelings of guilt.

Chili with Smoked Gouda-Squash Pupusas

Three Bean Chipotle Butternut Chili

Olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp cumin

2 tsp dried oregano

1 cab diced tomatoes

8 oz can tomato sauce

2 cups (or more) vegetable broth

12 oz butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into chunks, pre-cooked slightly *

3 cans of beans, drained and rinsed well *

1-1/2 Tbsp chipotle pepper in adobo puree, add more or less as desired, check ingredients *

1/2 – 1 tsp salt

Heat 1 Tbsp or so of olive oil in a large soup pot. When hot, add onion and saute for about 3 minutes. Add bell pepper and saute until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for one additional minute. Stir in chili powder, cumin and oregano and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently so that spices do not burn.

Stir in diced tomatoes and sauce. Add broth and squash. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until squash is tender (when pierced easily with a fork). Stir in beans and chipotle puree. Add more broth if needed, to get to desired consistency. Simmer for 10 minutes more or until beans are heated through. Stir in salt to taste. Serve topped with chopped avocado, cheese, green onions or sour cream.

Notes:

* This time I used pre-cut butternut squash from Trader Joe’s and I pre-cooked it for a few minutes in the microwave.

* Use any variety of beans. I used black beans, pinto beans and kidney beans.

* Be sure to check the label of your chipotle peppers in adobo, not all brands are gluten free. When I open a new can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, I throw the contents of the whole can in the blender and blend it into a puree. I store the remainder in the  freezer to use later.

Posted in Beans, Soup, Tomatoes, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Recipe Index

December 3, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

Hello! I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. We did. And now we’re back and catching up.

Something that has been on my to-do list for a little while is to add a Recipe Index page and I today I marked that off my list! Be sure to go over and check it out.

Back soon with a couple of new recipes…

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Quinoa with Balsamic Butternut and Kale Saute

November 18, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

My husband is frequently amused by the different pizza combinations I come up with, which are often inspired by other bloggers. Last weekend I finally got around to making Maria’s Sweet Potato Kale Pizza with Rosemary and Red Onion, and it was so full of gorgeous, seasonal flavors. The same evening, my husband made his standard (gluten-full) cheese pizza but he was intrigued by the kale on my pizza and so added some to his own. Maybe there is a possibility of his pizza tastes becoming more sophisticated? (Yeah, right.)

And so, that pizza sent my mind wandering around, thinking of the other possibilities for the flavors I had just enjoyed together. Somehow my mind landed on quinoa. And so did Maria. I laughed when I saw her Quinoa Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Kale pop up one morning last week. I was like, dang, she beat me to it! But at the same time, it wasn’t quite what I had running through my mind. And so, I introduce you to…

Quinoa with Balsamic Butternut and Kale Saute

An original by Renee, inspired by those listed above

1 butternut squash (2-3#), seeded, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 large onion, chopped

1 Tbsp oil

3 cups kale, de-ribbed, torn into small pieces

1/2 tsp salt

Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp dried rosemary leaves, crushed (or sage)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet(s) with foil.  Toss chopped squash in olive oil to lightly coat. Roast squash until tender, 30 minutes or so, depending on the sizes of squash pieces. Be sure to stir the squash at least once, halfway through. And give the squash plenty of room to “breathe” on the roasting pan so that they are crisp rather than soggy.

Cook quinoa in water according to your favored method (I prefer to use my rice cooker these days).

Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and set aside.

Once the quinoa is cooked, in a large skillet, saute the onion in the olive oil until it begins to soften. Stir in the kale and allow to soften slightly. Next, stir in the roasted squash and allow to heat through slightly, especially if it had cooled down significantly (I had roasted mine the day before). Pour in half of the vinaigrette and stir to coat the vegetables. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes, then stir in the cooked quinoa and salt. Heat through if quinoa had cooled down significantly. Taste. Add more vinaigrette or salt as desired. Serve warm.

Additions:

We had some goat cheese that needed to be eaten, so I crumbled some up and sprinkled on top as well, after the photo – a very nice addition.

I also thought that adding a can of drained and rinsed white beans might be nice and add a big protein boost (although quinoa is already high in protein).

I saved the extra vinaigrette in a small glass jar to pour over the leftovers. Quinoa has a tendency to suck up some of the flavor and make it disappear after some time in the frig.

Posted in quinoa, Vegan, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

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