A needle for your dinner

A clinical trial of a celiac vaccine (think allergy shot, not polio) is getting a lot of buzz. I am not holding my breath, but my fingers are crossed. I would like to see more test results, and honestly the idea of intentionally noming some gluten seems both scary and exhilarating... but this probably has several more years before anything interesting happens.

Up the research!

Dam good eats - Amsterdam Falafel

I have a thing for most things deep fried. Honestly, there are few items that I would refuse once they have taken a hot bubble bath in oil. (The list is short, if it contains fenugreek, juniper, pine nuts, canned water chestnuts, forget it.)

A lot of falafel is cut with bulgar - a type of cracked wheat - which saddens me. So when I was directed to Amsterdam Falafel  in Adams Morgan, I was skeptical. I was at first stupefied by their toppings bar. There were over 5 hot sauces, and 20 or so other pickles, salads, and sauces. The staff were able to quickly recite ingredients and once the balls were deemed gf, I was off to the races. At a place that only offers falafel and french fries, you order fries.

I topped my order of 3 golden orbs with pickled beets, tahini, hot sauce, one of three of the cucumber salads, cold chickpea salad and pickles. They do not have forks, but they do offer a device that looks like a split popsicle stick - with the end sharpened into two points, great for scooping and stabbing falafel balls into falafel pops. Genius. The balls were perfectly crisp and flavorful and the toppings were great compliments, none tried to steal the show.  The fries were ok, not great, but the offerings of ketchup, Dutch mayo, and garlic cream came to their aid.  

Oh yeah, there is an "Amsterdam theme" to the small, restaurant. There are no plates, everything is served in cone-shaped paper wrappers that easily sit on the tables with 3" holes gauged out of the top. The sign dons an XXX in the logo and there are posters and images - including a painting of a topless woman that greets eaters as you walk in. If a topless woman can be subtle, this one is, I honestly didn't notice her till after I was half done my meal.


I will most certainly dine here again, and maybe scope out more of the decor.

May is Celiac Awareness Month, let's discuss

So there is a lot of chit-chat, buzz, blogging, facebook-posting and I am sure tweeting about Celiac Awareness Month, you are apparently in it right now.

There is a little debate about is whether May or October is/should be the month, but how about we have a bit of a sit down and discuss what is and isn't going on.

Last week, at an event, someone offered me salad. I politely declined. Confused, she pressed why I brought my own snack when salad is gluten-free. I explained that the salad was from a pizza place - red flag #1, and with unknown ingredients - #2, people were sharing - #3, and the boxes of salad were set below the boxes of pizza - #4, and that I don't know where the food is coming from - #5, and it goes against my personal rules of not eating from any place new during the first two weeks of class or during finals.

I was then offered the salad again, by another event goer, but I did not feel the need to explain again.

Sometimes I just do not want to do the work of education via explanation. It is work. Even when its exciting, helpful, clarifying, justifying, and accepted, it is work.

I bring up this story, because I want to say that every day is Celiac Awareness Month, Day, Hour and Minute when you are interacting with other gluten-eating humans. I do not want to take away from what is going on in D.C. today, or all the work of gf and celiac groups, researchers, etc. But I do want to highlight the real-lived work that is advocacy and education in restaurants, kitchens, places of work, doctors offices, grocery stores, hallways, phone calls, and online forms. These moments connect many of us. The work that one person does, explaining or advocating for gluten-free options or safety measures, helps the next person that walks through the door.

I am grateful for those campaigning, advocating and lobbying congress for gluten-free labeling laws - I signed the 1in133 petition - I feel that the best way to celebrate celiac awareness month is perhaps to focus on the everyday. I am not sure how this should look. High-fives down grocery story isles for everyone with gf products in their carts? More information sharing?

I don't know. What would make your life - or the life of your loved ones - easier? Is it more writing, recipes? Better labels? More stories about what life gluten free is like?

"real" injera

Teff is a very tiny grain - in the grass family - that is the basis of Ethiopian injera. It is a thin bread, that is sour, with a soft, spongy texture. Its sometimes described as a thin pancake or a thick crepe, but it is much more. It functions as plate and utensil in Ethiopian cuisine.

My first visit to D.C. I saw injera at a gas station, and began my hunt for some "real injera", injera that is made with just teff. The D.C. metro area has the largest population of Ethiopians in the U.S., but all the injera - at restaurants, markets and gas stations - are cut with wheat and or barley flour. Teff, outside of Ethiopia is extremely expensive, around $10 a pound.

I decided to give it one more try, at Dashen Ehtiapain Grocery in Silver Spring. There were over 7 different types of injera, but all, even the darkest in color, were cut with barley or wheat. The clerk was very helpful, going through the bags of bread and then eventually given tips to making injera from scratch - he said it was key to mix the teff flour with water and let the larger particles settle to the bottom and discard them. 

‎This is my first attempt at injera, and while the recipe couldn't be simplier, I feel like I might be missing something. Maybe the dough needs to ferment longer. Maybe there needs to be more water? Perhaps I should have added oil to make it easier to handle. I am not sure. But the results, even though a little ugly at first, were delicious!

I have secretly thought that teff might taste like pumpernickel. This injera is very sour, more sour than sourdough - which makes sense, because you are basically cooking just the sourdough starter. There are hints of pumpernickel - aka rye - flavor, which leads me to think that a teff-based fauxpernickel is in my future. 

Injera
1/2 cup teff flour
3/4 cup water

1. Combine teff flour and water in a jar. Stir well.
2. Allow to sit, uncovered, at room temperature for 2-3 days, or until bubbles form.

Time to make the injera!
3. Stir up the starter.
4. Add a pinch of salt.
5. Stir again.
6. Pour onto a lightly greased, flat-bottom pan.
7. Cook only on one side, till bubbles form and the dough darkens.

The first batch stuck, so I switched to the caste iron skillet, which worked a lot better.

With pratice, the shapes improved and they stuck less!

Overall, I think the flavor was right, but they were not as supple and soft as I think they are suppose to be. They fell apart when I used them to pick up food. But they really were delicious with left over Peruvian chicken - with hot sauce, rice and beans and sauteed asparagus with caamelized onions. Not bad for a last-minute, late-night dinner.

stats

I was messing around a bit with google/blogger applications and I came across some stats on how many pageviews NGR gets.

Today: 84 views

Last month: 3,262 views

All time history: 22,614 views

I find counters on webpages sort of annoying, but this is pretty cool!

Pi ... a little late

 
Pie is better than cake. I am not even going to entertain the idea that you are reading this and disagreeing with me. I have only once ever gestured towards a brawl over a difference of opinions, and let's not break my track record.*  Pie is glorious and should be celebrated weekly, if not daily, but alas, not all have realized the awesome potential of pie. I, like many others, see March 14 as a great day to celebrate the best dessert, the best dish ever created.

There was a point in my life when I was pretty good at math. I was "that girl" who took advanced calculus in college, for fun. (I know, my river of dork runs deep and has many unexpected turns.) Pi, the 3.14 variety, was something I was grateful became integrated into graphing calculators. I still sort of miss my TI-83, but mostly for the Tetris. 

Pie crust
1 cup sweet rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca starch
2/3 cup potato starch
2./3 cup corn starch
3 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1 eggs
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup half and half
ice water

1. Mix all dry ingredients together.
2. Cut cold butter in to pieces, cut into dry ingredients until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of peas.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and vinegar.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into butter mixture. Mix together.
5. Wrap in plastic or place in zip-top bag and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Apricot Filling
2 cups dried apricots (slab kind are tarter)
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp corn starch

1. Combine the apricots, water, sugar, cider vinegar, and salt.
2. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook uncovered till the apricots plump and half the liquid is gone.
3. Remove the apricots, set aside, and reserve the liquid.
4. Whisk the cornstarch into the remaining liquid.
5. Bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid thickens.
6. Add the apricots back in and allow to cool.

Putting it all together
1. Divide dough in half. Roll dough out between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Dust the dough first with tapioca starch if a bit sticky.
2. Add in the filling.
3. Roll the second piece of dough to form top crust.
4. Crimp edges and dock top (make steam vents, perhaps in a dorky math symbol)
5. Bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Allow to cool completely before cutting.
7. Enjoy with strong coffee.

*I really should apologize to Marisa and our other guests that lovely evening at a piano bar, where we brought the average age of the audience down by 40. It was not appropriate for me to go to such extremes to explain my position that Frank Sinatra - womanizing aside - is far superior to Tony Bennett in every way possible. But honestly, I bet Marisa likes cake.

May 4 - protest with cake

According to Sasha Cagen, there is going to be demonstration on May 4th in D.C. to raise awareness about Celiac Disease and there is going to be cake!

Ginger soy chicken with zippy lemon salad

It is going to snow tomorrow, SNOW in Boston. I am not really dealing well since trees are blooming in D.C. That said, I figured I could tackle a spring-feeling meal to help push through. I resisted my normal inkling to add more things to this, even though I sort of wanted to. I am glad I somehow found some restraint because the final dish was really on point.

If you wanted to go vegan, sub out the chicken for some firm tofu cubes (frozen and thawed are best).

This is sort of a 4-part salad, but do what feels right. I would have had pecans instead of walnuts, but someone spilled a jar of maraschino cherries all over the pecans at Market Basket, so almonds it is!

Ginger Soy Chicken with Green Beans
3 chicken breasts
1 inch of fresh ginger grated
2 tbsp gluten free soy sauce (San-J is my jam)
1-2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 lb green beans

Place the chicken breast in a bowl with grated ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil. Swirl around and allow to marinated for 10-20 minutes. You can do the rest and cook it after.
Clean and wash the green beans and set them aside too.


Candied Almonds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1-2 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt

In a heavy-bottom sauce pan, place the almonds, sugar and salt. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar melts and the almonds begin to brown. As soon as most of the almonds are covered in sugar and about half of them have turned brown, pour them out onto a piece of parchmant paper, sil pat or greased pan to cool.

The zippy lemon salad dressing
Zest of 1 lemon
juice of half a lemon
salt
canola oil
wasabi powder (optional)

Place the zest and lemon juice in a bowl (you can do this directly into the bottom of your salad tossing bowl). Add an equal part of canola oil. Season with salt and wasabi powder to taste.

Chop your veggies and dry them well
2 carrots
1 head of green leaf lettuce
6 radishes

Now is time to cook your chicken and sautee your beans!


In a hot pain, place 1 tbsp canola oil. Once it becomes shimmery, add in the chicken breasts and then cover loosely. Flip chicken after 4-5 minutes, cover and allow to finish cooking. Once they are cooked through, remove from the pan and allow to rest, covered.

In the same cooking pan, throw in your cleaned green beans and sautee over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Remove them and set them aside.

Putting it all together...
Add the chopped lettuce, radishes and carrots to the dressing and toss. Place the salad on a plate, then slice the chicken, add it atop with the green beans. Garnish with the almonds.

Thing of spring and enjoy.

The Face of Celiac Disease - [insert your mug here]

First off, its Pi day. YES!
(I will be posting and eating 3.14 slices of deliciousness later)

In other news, the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness wants your photos. They are making a mosaic of images of persons with celiac disease that will be displayed on their Facebook page (smart marketing) on May 1.

To submit, email a JPEG image to photos@celiaccentral.org today

Why I cannot follow the rules

I am a kitchen hypocrite. I hate following recipes. No sane person would ever allow me to be a baker - ever. (Sorry Matt S.) I can never recreate a dinner I make... why so few complete meals are posted here. I took a class with Sheryl Julian who insisted the answer was keeping a notebook in the kitchen, no dice. I just stop writing things down or "guesstimate" how much of 17 different spices I dashed and sprinkled into a dish. 

Telling me to follow a recipe is like telling handing a painter a color-by-number book. Sure, something awesome might result, but there is thrill and creativity in the unknown, in the experimentation. I love the culinary high of thinking a flavor thought, being so sure I can mentally taste it, and then try to make it. There is a rush to being right, and a buzz to being able to course-correct when its not quite right. Oh this ends in some fantastic crash and burns. (Isn't that a necessary part of the thrill?)

Blogging has forced me to at least attempt to write things down. I have taken to bringing my laptop into the kitchen with me. I don't recommend this. It is really a horrible idea. I have nearly dumped almost every flour, powder and almost egg yolks into the keyboard. But I still do it, otherwise I don't write down what I cook.

But I still do things like make boss enchiladas with homemade salsa verde and not write down a damn thing:

I have had the idea for apple sauce muffins for a week. I bought a half bushel of seconds apple and pears a few months ago, and made a lot of sauce, the freezer is getting a bit snug. I didn't want them like spice cake, not super moist, no. These muffins were going to be moist but with the texture of regular muffins. The last batch of muffins I made turned out really well, so I followed that recipe... well sort of.

I did succeed in writing down the creation. I used coriander in stead of cinnamon or allspice, which you could easily substitute if you desire a more traditional flavor. These are hands down, the best ____ muffins I have ever made.  Positive reinforcement. Why would I follow the same recipe twice?

Coriander ApplePearSauce Muffins
yield 12 muffins
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 egg whites (or one whole egg, I just had extra whites lying around)
1 1/2 cup apple-pear sauce (I went unsweetened here, use what you have or like)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp sweet rice flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup potato starch flour
1 tbsp psyllium husk fiber (optional - extra fiber)
1 tbsp flax seed meal (optional - extra fiber)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp xanthan gum

1. Cream the butter and the sugar. Do this for at least 3 minutes, until it becomes light, fluffy and has worked up the sides of the bowl.
2. Add in the egg whites and mix until it completely combines. (This is going to take a while, be patient)
3. Add in the apple sauce and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix together pretty well (you don't want lumps of fiber or xanthan balls in your muffins)
5. In 3 or 4 additions, add the dry ingredients into the mixer. Mix till almost combined before adding more.
6. Portion into lined muffin tins.
7. Bake at 325F for 25-30 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean

UPDATE - these became a little dry and rice after the first day. If I hadn't run out of arrowroot starch and millet flour I would have probably used some of each and less rice.