RECIPE - The Anti-Salad

Spring Vegetable Salad with herbed rice. The perfect anti-salad.

Who decided that LETTUCE should be the main ingredient in a "salad"? No one really enjoys lettuce, we all just put up with it because, hey, no calories. No more!

The only times lettuce is acceptable is: on a cheeseburger or blt sandwich, on some fancy sandwich (but only arugula or some frou-frou lettuce), or on P.F. Chang's gluten free lettuce wraps (which are awesome, btw).

But ALL other times, lettuce should stay away.

Yes, Romaine, I'm talking to you.

That's why I love the idea of the anti-salad, made with brown rice as its base. The taste is better, the brown rice is more filling and contains more protein than lettuce, and the salad stores easier and actually tastes better after a day or two. And with some simple gluten free ingredient swaps (like gluten free tamari soy sauce, and fresh or dried herbs instead of packaged rice mixes) you'll want to make about 10 lbs of this salad and share with all your friends.

Here are my two newest versions of the ANTI-SALAD:

Spring Vegetable Salad (pictured above)
makes: a lot
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown rice, cooked and cooled
1 red onion, cut for roasting
1 fennel bulb, cut into 6 or 8 pieces
1 large zucchini, quartered
10 spears of asparagus, trimmed
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
6 or 7 large mushrooms, cut into thick slices
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp dried or fresh parsley
1 tbsp dried or fresh thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper

Directions:
Place these veggies (or any other spring vegetables you want! get inspired here) on a roasting pan and lightly coat with olive oil, salt and pepper: red onion, fennel, zucchini, asparagus. Roast in a hot oven for about 30 minutes, until all veggies are nicely browned. Once cooked, let cool and then chop into bite-size pieces.

While the veggies are roasting, make the dressing by mixing the olive oil, vinegars, herbs, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Blanch the peas in boiling water for just a minute or two. Let cool and pat dry.

Assemble the salad: mix all veggies in a large bowl (including peas, mushrooms, and roasted fare). Add in rice and gently stir until fully mixed. Add half the dressing, mix, and add the other half.

Non-Fried Fried Rice Salad. To make it real fried rice, reheat and add sliced omelette or shrimp.

Non-Fried Fried Rice Salad
makes: a lot
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown rice, cooked and cooled
1 lb edamame, cooked and removed from shell
1 1/2 cups snow peas, cut in half
4 scallions, finely sliced
2 cups broccoli, roasted (I roasted with veggies in recipe above)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, blanched and cooled
1/2 cup gluten free tamari soy sauce (I use San-J reduced sodium)
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp hot sauce (try sriracha)
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp agave syrup (a little more if you don't like spicy foods)
2 inches ginger root, sliced

Directions:
Mix all veggies (including edamame, snow peas, scallions, broccoli, corn) in a large bowl. Add in rice and gently stir to mix.

To make the dressing, mix gluten free soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, sesame, agave, and ginger in a bowl. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. If you like, remove the ginger before adding to salad (I like to keep it in as a "surprise").

Add half the dressing to the salad and mix, add other half and mix again. Enjoy!

LIST - I Can't Believe It's Gluten Free!

Holy smokes, Batman!!! You won't believe the gluten free foods we've got here!!


It's been almost a year since Eric kicked wheat to the curb, and I've been thinking a lot recently about how much he has to limit what he eats because of this food allergy. It got me wondering that sometimes it's possible to be overly careful and miss out on some gluten free foods that are just fine to eat.

Hopefully while reading this you'll make a face like Lucy's above. These are ingredients and products that I was surprised to find out are gluten free, even though they definitely don't seem like it at first. Just remember, always do your research! If you are dining out, never assume that something is gluten free, ask the wait staff to make sure. And if they are not sure (like if you get the response "gluten? what's that?" you might be better off passing.

Buckwheat

Yes, I know that you are now programmed to cringe at anything with the word "wheat" in it, but this type is OK. Buckwheat, in fact, is not wheat at all. It's just a regular old plant that has flowers and seeds, and those seeds are ground up and used in noodles, groats, pancakes, farina and more. They are most frequently seen in Japanese soba noodles and in buckwheat pancakes or crepes in fancy cafes. Just be sure to ask and make sure that the buckwheat was not mixed with regular wheat flour to make the dish.

Doritos (most kinds)

Now, I don't normally support bagged, preservative-laden, chemically snacks that can sit on the shelves of your pantry for years. But I am always excited to see when the folks that make these snacks take the time to figure out if people with food allergies can eat them. Take Doritos. On their website they list if each type of chip is gluten free, contains trains fat, lactose free, casein free, onion free, additive free, msg free and is pork free (the pork free thing is a little odd, but I guess it's good to know...). You'll notice that all Doritos except Nacho Cheese and Spicy Sweet Chili contain no gluten ingredients. Thanks, Frito Lay. You make it much easier for millions of gluten intolerant Americans to get their snack on!

Chex Cereal (5 flavors)

Another example of a big company helping out the little people by telling them which products won't make them crawl into bed for days on end. Chex cereal has been heavily marketing it's 5 types of gluten free cereal: Rice, Honey Nut, Chocolate, Cinnamon, and Corn. They even have a slew of gluten free recipes on their website!

Tamales

Tamales are a delicious Latin American dish made of corn masa stuffed with meats, cheese, and veggies and steamed inside a wrapper of corn husks or plantain leaves. They're gluten free because the corn masa traditionally is only made from corn. Check out Trader Joe's frozen beef tamales, or support your local Latin American restaurants and get some authentic, probably home-made, tamales. Just be sure to confirm that there is no wheat flour in the mix.

Tamari

Tamari is a kind of soy sauce, actually it was the original soy sauce first invented in Japan. Tamari traditionally contains little or no wheat, and if you purchase gluten free soy sauce from the supermarket, chances are it is Tamari.

Fruit by the Foot

I'm not sure why I was so surprised to learn that Fruit by the Foot snacks are gluten free. Maybe it's because Fruit Roll Ups, a very similar sugary delicious snack, do not say "gluten free" on their label. Check out the General Mills website for nutritional info on every product they make. The Fruit by the Foot says "gluten free" right on the top right of the label.


Breadfruit


I couldn't help it, had to throw this one in there. For anyone that's watched Top Chef, you probably know already that breadfruit is not a loaf of bread shaped into a strawberry or pear. It's a regular old fruit, just with a spongy texture that will remind you of bread. Fooled ya, didn't I?

Oats


I wanted to include oats on this list with a word of caution: regular "Quaker Oats" are NOT gluten free. The thing about oats is that they are naturally gluten free. But in modern times, there is so much darn wheat everywhere that it frequently contaminates the oat fields. I exclusively use Bob's Red Mill's gluten free oats. They are grown on fields away from wheat fields, packaged in a gluten free facility, and each batch is tested for the presence of gluten. If you have an extreme gluten sensitivity then you should avoid, but for the vast majority of folks these oats will be just fine.

Kosher for Passover foods


Some of you may be aware that Passover ends tomorrow evening. I recently was surprised to find that many Kosher for Passover foods are gluten free. Foods such as cakes, cookies, macaroons, even some types of matzoh are gluten free. Without going into too much detail, about a gagillion years ago when the  Jews were fleeing slavery from Egypt, they were forced to roam the desert for 40 years without any sort of bread or bread products. To commemorate their toils in the desert, during Passover no bread or bread products are eaten. Be careful, there are still many products that do contain wheat flour, like matzoh. But I was very excited to see so many gluten free products on display. And now is the perfect time to pick up ~10 lbs of macaroons (like I did) since they will be on sale in the markets.

What other surprising gluten free foods have you encountered?? Leave a comment or email me at gfmadefriendly@gmail.com and I will expand this list!

NEWS - Gluten Free Soy Sauce from Kikkoman

TaDaaa!! You may remember a while back I did a posting on gluten free friendly soy sauce, and I pointed out that the company San-J has a gluten free tamari style soy sauce.

Now, Kikkoman has a tamari style gluten free soy sauce as well!! I have not tried it yet, but I imagine that it is more widely available than the San-J or other specialty brands. Check out Kikkoman's website here.

Have you tried this soy sauce? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

RECIPE - GF Stir-Fry w/ Beef and Vegetables

Did you know that most soy sauces contain wheat?? Here, read all about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_sauce

Soy sauce is made by fermenting soy beans, and with those soy beans can be wheat, grains, plant protein, chemicals, even molasses! Luckily for those that can't eat wheat, one type of Japanese soy sauce, Tamari, contains little or no wheat. If you are gluten free, this is the easiest and most natural kind of soy sauce available.

Here are a few types of Tamari and other wheat-free soy sauces:

San-J Organic Tamari (http://www.san-j.com/product_info.asp?id=3) - Definitely my favorite. Has a nice soy sauce taste, you really can't tell that it's any different. Also comes in a low-sodium variety

La Choy Soy Sauce (http://www.lachoy.com/products/sauces.jsp_) - Not my favorite, but definitely cheaper and more available than San-J products. Try it for yourself, but for me the sauce has an odd, chemically aftertaste.

Kari-Out Company (http://www.kariout.com/gluten.html) - Only sells wholesale products, but they do have a nifty form on their website written in English and Chinese, telling the restaurant that you have an allergy, please don't use wheat...etc etc etc.

There are many other types of organic Tamari sauces I have found (even one from Kikkoman!), but I have not seen any gluten free confirmation relating to them so I am not going to list them.


Here's a recipe (made it for dinner last night!) using the San-J Organic Tamari.

GF Stir-Fry with Beef and Vegetables


Stir-Fry:
1lb steak, sliced very thin
4 cups vegetables, all chopped/sliced to be about the same size (I used broccoli, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and peppers)
2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil
Rice, for serving

Marinade:
1/3 cup San-J Organic Tamari
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp ginger, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 Tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp  honey or agave

Directions:

1. Pour all ingredients for the marinade into a Ziploc bag
2. Slice the beef very thin, add to the bag with the marinade
3. Roll the beef around in the bag, making sure marinade covers all pieces. Remove air from the bag and seal. Let marinade for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Cook the vegetables first! Get your skillet or wok extremely hot, then add about 1 Tbsp vegetable oil. Add vegetables (in 2 batches if necessary) and cook for a few minutes. You should cook vegetables until they are about half to 2/3 of the way cooked.
5. Remove vegetables. Wipe out pan and add an additional 1 Tbsp vegetable oil.
6. Cook the beef. When removing the beef from the marinade, try to shake off as much of the marinade as possible. Cook the beef in batches, be sure not to overcrowd the pan or else the beef will boil and will not brown. Cook for (literally) not more than 1 minute per side.
7. Throw all the cooked vegetables and beef back into your pan, and add remaining marinade and an additional few splashes of soy sauce. Cook for a minute or two until everything is heated up again. Serve with rice.