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Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

November 16, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

Mmmmm…sweet potato fries.

Love them. But hubby does not. Oh well, more for me, right?

These would be perfect for serving with after-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches. Or any old time, say, with some lentil soup, like we did this week.

Sweet Potato Fries with Lentil Soup

Spicy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Original by Renee, but inspired by many

2 large sweet potatoes, sliced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. (Or the highest your oven will go, if it doesn’t reach 500. The hotter, the better chance of crispy fries.) Line a cookie sheet with foil for easy clean-up.

Wash and cut the sweet potatoes to desired thickness and length. (You don’t have to peel them, I don’t.) In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with olive oil. In a small bowl, mix the remaining spices together. Then sprinkle the potatoes with the spice mixture, stirring well until all potatoes are covered.

Spread potatoes out evenly on cookie sheet. Use two sheets if they are crowded. The more space they have to “breathe”, the crisper they will be. Depending on how thick you cut your fries, the longer they will need to bake. Start with 10-15 minutes, stir them and check to see if they are tender. Bake until tender.

Also, check out Elise’s recipe over at Simply Recipes and the hints from her readers on other ways to help crisp up your fries and dipping sauce ideas. These seasoned fries I prefer to eat plain.

Posted in Holiday, Quick, Vegan, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, November 14, 2011

November 13, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

This week we are working on clearing out the refrigerator in preparation for the upcoming food-filled holiday. So my meal plan is a little skimpy. Start conserving those calories now, right? (Kidding!)

This week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap theme is meatballs, which we don’t “do” in either the traditional sense, or even the vegetarian sense. This week’s host is Gluten Free Detroit Metro, so go on over and check out all the ideas. I know some of you are flexitarian, like me, and eat meat too, or perhaps there will be a surprise and someone has come up with a tasty, gluten free, vegetarian version.

On to our plan:

Leftover soups from this past week: Pesto Infused White Bean and Tomato Stew and Lentil Soup with Kale

Quinoa with Oven Roasted Winter Squash and Kale – an experiment, I will be sure to post if it turns out! I didn’t have time to make it last week…

Three Bean Chipotle Squash Chili – if I get ambitious and have the time. It’s still a recipe in my head and written in my idea notebook.

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce and Salad

Wild Rice Stuffing with Apples and Cranberries – we both have potlucks this week, so we will be making a double batch of this to take. And there are often leftovers. Mmm.

If we need something else this week, it will probably end up being something out of our freezer. What about you – what are you eating this week before the food frenzy of next week?

This plan is also posted over at OrgJunkie. Go check out the hundreds of links over there for more inspiration!

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

Apple Crisp

November 13, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

On Friday evening I hosted a Gluten Free Gals get-together. I had suggested a theme of holiday dishes to help inspire everyone for the upcoming holidays and so I chose to make two of my standard Thanksgiving dishes. Wild Rice Stuffing and this Apple Crisp.

Our GF Gals group.

My grandma made this for me for my very first gluten free Thanksgiving sixteen years ago. And we’ve been making it ever since. It is easy, with few ingredients, and tasty. My kind of recipe.

Apple Crisp

Unknown source

2 Tbsp lemon juice

4 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced *

1/4 cup brown rice flour *

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed firm *

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 Tbsp melted butter * see notes for vegan option

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9″ square baking dish (with butter, oil, whatever you choose to use). Pour the lemon juice directly into the pan and add the apples as you slice them. Toss the apples periodically in the juice to prevent browning.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and spices. Stir in the melted butter and mix well. Then stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples. Bake for 35 minutes. Serve warm. It goes well with vanilla ice cream. (It’s also great for breakfast the next day!)

Notes:

* Use any baking apple. This time I used Gala. Slice your apples according to preference. I like my apples a bit thicker so that they still look like apple slices when they are done baking. If you slice them thinner, the apples will cook down and the individual slices will not be apparent, which is okay, just personal preference.

* I used brown rice flour this time. I’ve used white rice flour in the past. Other flours may work as well, perhaps even almond, for a grain-free version? Your standard flour mix will also most likely work. No xanthan gum needed.

* I reduced the sugar by two tablespoons this time around and I think it could be reduced even more. Play with it.

* I used grapeseed oil this time in place of the butter and it worked well. I would imagine that a dairy-free margarine will also work.

Enjoy!

This recipe is cross-posted over at Thanksgiving Favorites from Kim at Cook It Allergy Free. Be sure to check out all the links!

Posted in Dessert, Fruit, Holiday, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Meal Plan Monday, November 7, 2011

November 7, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

It’s slow-cooker week, and it’s being hosted by Angela over at Angela’s Kitchen. I don’t know about you, but I have two slow-cookers, one basic and smaller and one big fancy one with the auto-off/warm features. Two cookers are plenty for me (but not for Stephanie, I’m sure!). And in fact, last weekend I plugged in both and had most of our meals for the week cooked by Sunday evening. It took a lot of pressure off of me and allowed me to do other things in the evenings instead of spending a bunch of time cooking. I was able to just heat dinner up! I love those nights.

Now, as a vegetarian and gluten free household, you’re probably thinking, what the heck does she do with a crockpot since she can’t throw in a slab of meat? Well, there are a lot of good things to make. Of course, soups and stews are the most logical, which I do make a lot of. Of course you can also cook up dried beans, as well as make hot beverages, desserts or breakfast in them. Some people even make homemade yogurt!

As is my habit lately, I plugged in the crockpot on Sunday and made a future meal, the Lentil Soup below, so that I could use up some of the kale I still have coming on – despite the frost. Later this week, I will also make another crockpot meal to finish off the last of the homemade pesto and tomatoes. So that makes for two “no-cook” evenings, and with the leftover enchilada bake from this weekend, also below, there is another one or two “no-cook” evenings. Yay!

But that is good since I will be cooking up a storm later in the week in preparation for our gluten free gals get-together this weekend where we are focusing on holiday favorites. And since, as usual, I can’t decide on what I want to make, I will make as many items as time allows and we’ll have leftovers to send everyone home with!

So here’s the plan:

Lentil Soup with Kale and Oven Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries – the soup is made in the crockpot and is a recipe from our favorite vegetarian slow-cooker cookbooks, Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson. I made the soup on Sunday so that we will have dinner ready-made on our two busy evenings, and although I will need to roast the fries, they are super easy and not time-intensive.

Pesto Infused White Bean and Tomato Stew over Pasta – the stew will be made in the crockpot and is also from the cookbook above.

Quinoa with Oven Roasted Winter Squash and Kale – an experiment, I will be sure to post if it turns out!

New Mexican Green Chile and Pinto Enchiladas – we will be eating these throughout the week as I made them over the weekend too. This time I made them stacked, a sort of lasagna-esque casserole with the corn tortillas forming the layers instead of rolling them into ‘real’ enchiladas – less time! The recipe made one large 9×13″ and one small ~6×8″ pan and so I think I will toss the smaller pan in the freezer for later.

So what is your favorite vegetarian slow-cooker meal?

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, October 31, 2011

October 31, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

There are typically two evenings a week that I do not actually make dinner and rely on leftovers or something from the freezer. That is why you typically only see me post four meals or so a week. And this weekend I was finally craving warm soups. As I looked through my cookbooks for some inspiration I realized that there were quite a few soups that sounded especially nice. So today (Sunday), I decided to fire up both crockpots so that a good part of this week’s meals are already made. Yay! I know I will definitely enjoy my forethought even more later this week.

So, can you call soup that you cook and put immediately into the frig, leftovers? Not in my book. Especially since a lot of soups and stews are even better the second day, right?

Black Bean Chili with Winter Squash-Smoked Gouda Pupusas – we ate this for dinner tonight. The pupusas were awesome (recipe from Vegetarian Planet) and the slow-cooker chili recipe came from one of our well-used cookbooks, Fresh from The Vegetarian Slow Cooker.  (Yes, the pupusas were on last week’s menu but we didn’t get to them.)

Corn-Red Pepper-Potato Chowder with massaged kale salad – we still have kale! And the chowder recipe is also from Fresh from The Vegetarian Slow-Cooker, see above.

New Mexican Green Chile and Pinto Bean Enchiladas – it’s been time for pinto beans and green chile but I haven’t yet been in the mood for them until this week, so I am bringing this recipe back out.

Sweet Potato Kale Pizza with Rosemary and Red Onion – I’ll make this on an Udi’s crust and hubby will eat his own glutenous pizza.

Have you moved into a fall food mood finally, like me? Or did you move into winter this weekend with the surprise snow? Thankfully it was still sunny and warm here.

 

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

Pinto-Poblano Stew

October 30, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

Looking for something to have ready for your little ghouls and goblins tomorrow night? Something hearty to soak up all that sugar?

And do you avoid making bean soups because of how long it takes to cook beans? I used to, or I would only make soups to which I added canned beans. But not anymore. I have become friends with my pressure cooker, thanks to cookbook author Lorna Sass. I’ve had one of her cookbooks now for a year or two and I am finally starting to feel comfortable improvising with my pressure cooker. Recently I had a pair of poblano peppers lingering in the crisper drawer and I had spotted the new crop of New Mexico pinto beans at the farmer’s markets. Thus a new recipe was formed.

The recipe does require pre-soaking the beans, but it isn’t hard. I typically will soak my beans during the day, while I am at work, when I am planning to prepare such a soup in the evening. I like to place the beans and water in my big batter bowl since it has a lid.

Pinto-Poblano Stew

Adapted from Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure by Lorna Sass

Serves 6

1-1/2 cups pinto beans (or Anasazi beans), soaked overnight or at least 8 hours

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, chopped

2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped

2 cups frozen roasted corn*

1-1/2 tsp dried oregano

4 cups hot water

———————-

1-15oz. can diced tomatoes

Juice of one lime, about 2 tbsp

Salt and pepper, start with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, add more to taste

Place your tea kettle on to boil the 4 cups of water. Heat the oil in your pressure cooker over medium-high heat. When the oil is rippling and hot, add the cumin seeds. They will begin to pop and turn darker brown. Add the garlic and stir constantly until the garlic begins to become fragrant. Add the onion and pepper and stir well. Add the beans, corn, oregano and water.

Lock the cooker’s lid in place and bring it to high pressure. Then lower the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 6 minutes (more if you live at high altitude like myself). You can either allow the pressure to come down on its own, or if you’re impatient like me, use a quick-release method and remove the lid carefully. Taste your beans and make sure they are tender. If not, you can cook them a bit longer on the stove without the lid or bringing to pressure.

Stir in the diced tomatoes. Then use an immersion blender to puree a portion of the soup to your desired consistency. Stir in the lime juice, salt and pepper and taste. You’ll probably want more salt.

Top with chopped cilantro, chopped avocado, chopped tomatoes, cheese, whatever you fancy. Serve with warm corn tortillas or corn muffins.

Notes:

* I like to use Trader Joe’s frozen Roasted Corn for a little extra flavor.

This post is linked up to Gluten Free Wednesdays and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. Check out the links for more inspiration!

Posted in Beans, Mexican, Soup, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, October 24, 2011

October 24, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

This week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap is hosted by Heather at Celiac Family where the chosen theme is “Spooky Delights”. We don’t do a lot to celebrate Halloween around here since we don’t have children and we live in the boonies – thus, no trick-or-treaters to get us in the mood. So nothing really spooky planned for our menu this week.

I am trying to be conscious of what I have in the refrigerator and pantry and what needs to be eaten. We still have a few things coming out of the garden, including the last of the okra and tomatoes, and kale, kale and more kale! Plus I went to the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market this weekend and picked up some yummy stuff. So, here it is:

Veggie burgers with okra (Thanks, Alta!) and sautéed Yellow Finn rosemary potatoes with a massaged kale salad

Tofu and Bok Choy Stir Fry, with whatever other remaining vegetables need to be gobbled up, and brown rice

Pinto-Poblano Stew with corn tortillas and massaged kale salad

Napa Noodles

Pupusas with massaged kale salad (yes, again!) and/or whatever leftovers need to be eaten

Perhaps, in the spirit of the holiday, I may have to make a sweet “spooky” treat this week…hmmm, I am thinking pumpkin and chocolate….

Be sure to head over to Celiac Family later this week for some additional meal planning inspiration.

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

New Crunchmaster Crackers

October 23, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

Recently I was sent samples of two new Crunchmaster brand cracker varieties – the White Cheddar Multigrain Crackers and the 7 Ancient Grains Hint of Sea Salt crackers. (Unfortunately, these crackers are not yet listed on their website so I can’t link you directly to them, but to their general website instead.)


The White Cheddar Multi-Grain crackers are quite tasty. They are light and crispy but sturdy enough for dipping. And I found that I prefer them just as they are, straight out of the bag. The flavoring isn’t too messy, getting all over your fingers and requiring a napkin to eat them. Just a little hint of messiness, just enough to lick off your fingers. (You know you do it too.) I also like that these crackers come in a resealable zip-top bag, very convenient for when you don’t always have a chip clip or rubber band or something to close up the bag.

Be aware though that these White Cheddar Multi-Grain crackers do contain oats by way of oat fiber. (Not all Crunchmaster products do, so as always, read the labels.) That little ingredient can cause some confusion since not everyone chooses to consume gluten free oat products. (I have only started consuming them in the past eighteen months after fourteen years of no oats, gf or not.) The products are certified by the Gluten Free Certification Organization which tests to 10ppm. Be sure to read the Crunchmaster statements on their FAQ, if you have concerns. You can also read more about the oat issue over at Gluten Free Fun.

As for the 7 Ancient Grains crackers, I enjoyed these as well. They are also sturdy, yet light crackers with just a hint of salt. They don’t make the corners of your mouth hurt after eating them from salt overload. The ingredient list on these crackers is short and simple: brown rice flour, potato starch, safflower oil, sorghum flour, quinoa seeds, sesame seeds, millet, flax seeds, amaranth seeds, sea salt. No crazy chemical ingredients!

I would happily serve these crackers to non-gluten free folks as the flavors are fairly universal with no strange after tastes or textures. (At least not to my sixteen-years-gluten-free taste buds.) They are perfect for the upcoming holiday entertaining season!

*These products were received free of charge but the opinions expressed here are entirely my own.*

Posted in Product Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Meal Plan Monday, October 10, 2011

October 9, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

Although we had our first snow this week (only at higher elevations, thankfully) and a freeze warning, I am still wallowing in end-of-summer vegetables and haven’t really turned the corner into the fall foods yet. Soon enough, right?

Today I had a thought that I might take the dogs to the top of the mountains to wallow in the fresh snow. But then, I thought, why rush things? The snow will be here – down at our elevation – soon enough.

The first snow as seen from our front porch this weekend. Luckily it was above 7000'.

So last night when my friend Jennifer, over at The Gluten Free Advocate, messaged me to say that there was a freeze warning in our neck of the woods, my husband and I hurriedly put on our head lamps and ran out to harvest the more tender items still growing in the garden. I should have taken a picture of it all. Basil, sage, parsley, cukes, tomatoes (both the red and green), tomatillos (even the tiny ones), okra and peppers of all kinds. We covered both counters in the kitchen with it all. And of course it didn’t freeze. But I am still glad we harvested it all. Although in hindsight I wish we would have left a lot of the tomatoes on the vine as I already had a pile of ripe ones on the counter top and now I have to figure out what to do with all these green tomatoes, besides feed them to the chickens!

So today, I made a ton of tomatillo salsa and it all went into the freezer next to all of the other containers of it. (After two years of bugs eating my tomatillo plants, this year they finally grew and I have had tomatillos coming out of my ears all summer, so I have a lot of salsa in the freezer. My husband says that now we need to make more tamales. Maybe. )

And I made pesto. Then for lunch I had a pesto-tomato grilled cheese sandwich. And I have cucumbers in the frig to be eaten. So I am stalled in summer. And I am okay with that.

I noticed that this week’s theme for the Gluten Free Menu Swap is cranberries. I almost bought some this week. (So I am feeling the pull of fall, just a little.) I had them in my basket but the price was still too high in my opinion and so I put them back. Soon enough. Fall is indeed coming but I am in denial still… (Be sure to read Cheryl’s story about her cat and cranberries. Our dogs love them too, even frozen.)

This week’s plan:

Quinoa Salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and parsley – gotta eat up the garden goodies before the freeze really does show up!

Moroccan Chickpea Salad – one of our favorites.

Swiss Chard and Potato Curry with Veggie Burgers on the side (no buns!)

Kale with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Garbanzo Beans over Polenta

Poblano Pinto Bean Stew – okay, this is starting to get a little fall-like.

What about you, are you still stuck in summer? Or are you feeling the pull of pumpkin and squash and warm, cozy soups?

Be sure to jump over to this week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap, later in the week, to see what everyone else has planned. They’ll probably have more fall-like ideas for you than I do!

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments »

Variations on a Theme

September 14, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

Over the past month, I’ve been making a lot of dishes using the produce coming out of our garden and what I’ve found at the farmer’s markets. One of my favorite summer meals is pasta with a bunch of fresh vegetables. Below I present you with two variations on a theme, both of which are deliciously simple.

I intended on getting this post up for Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free since the theme was “Dishes so Simple, No Recipe Required” but alas, I procrastinated and didn’t get it up. Regardless, go over to GF Easily and check out the other un-recipes.

Balsamic Vegetable Pasta

Quick Summer Pasta

Original by Renee

No measurements here, just go with what feels and tastes(!) right.

Gluten Free Pasta, my favorite brand is Tinkyada (which is also sold cheaper as Trader Joe’s house brand of brown rice pasta).

Chopped heirloom tomatoes (Yay for Green Zebras – the birds don’t try to eat them since they’re green, and leave half-eaten, beautiful red toms hanging on the vine)

Chickpeas, cooked/canned, drained and rinsed

Feta cheese, crumbled – I had picked up some lovely marinated goat feta from Sweetwoods Dairy at the farmer’s market

A drizzle of olive oil

Fresh basil – lots of it!

Sea Salt and Fresh Pepper

Cook pasta and drain. Toss with remaining ingredients.

Balsamic Vegetable Pasta

Original by Renee

Again, no measurements but I wanted more vegetables than pasta in this one.

Gluten Free Pasta – see above

Onion, halved and thinly sliced, either red or white will work

Balsamic vinegar

Chickpeas, canned/cooked, rinsed and drained

Heirloom tomatoes, chopped – lots of them!

Feta or goat cheese, crumbled

Olive oil

Basil – lots of it!

Sea Salt and Fresh Pepper

Cook pasta (gluten free pasta needs a lot of water to move around in!). Drain and rinse.

In a large skillet, heat a bit of olive oil. Add in the sliced onion and cook over medium heat. Turn down and let the onions start to carmelize a bit and then drizzle some balsamic vinegar over them. Add in the chickpeas and let them heat through, stirring occasionally, and adding a bit more balsamic if you want.

Toss onions and chickpeas into a  large bowl. Add in the tomatoes, basil and feta, toss gently. Add in pasta (I wanted more veggies, less pasta in this version). Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and add salt and pepper (and/or more vinegar) to taste.

Notes:

* Sometimes I also saute a red sweet bell pepper with the onions.

* Kalamata olives and/or toasted pine nuts are a nice addition.

* Parmesan cheese instead of feta or goat cheese works too. So many variations!

* Mix it up to fit your taste buds!

What’s your favorite quick summer pasta combination?

Posted in Beans, Chickpeas, Pasta, Quick, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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