Brownies: Good for the Soul

"Are these brownies really bad for you?" -a co-workers reaction upon tasting my brownies.

Should that question even be allowed when you are talking about baked goods? How do you answer that? The trinity of good baking is butter, sugar and eggs. I can understand if you are a Vegan and like to substitute eggs with things like applesauce...but if not, accept good baking for what it is. Fake eggs, fake sugar, and fake butter do not result in the kind of dessert that makes you want to close your eyes and just say "mmmmmm."

So, without further ado, gluten-free brownies compliments of Shauna James Ahern:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut in 8 pieces)
4 ounces bittersweet or dark chocolate (chopped or chips)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sorghum flour*
1/4 cup tapioca flour*
*sift or whisk together in separate bowl

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and grease.
2. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, and then turn it down to a simmer. Place a large metal or glass bowl over the top of the saucepan. Put the chocolate and butter into the bowl and stir until they fully melt together.
3. In your mixer, combine sugar and eggs and mix until they cream together. Add the vanilla extract and salt and mix. Add in the gluten-free flours 1/3 at a time until mixed. Finally, pour in the melted chocolate-butter mixture and mix until smooth.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and bake for 25 minutes.
5. When brownies are done, cool them by placing in an ice bath (in larger tray or sink and careful not to splash).
5. Refrigerate overnight as these fudgy brownies taste better the next day after they have settled.

GOOP: Nourish the Inner Aspect

I'm not sure if you all remember last year when GOOP came out...but it was considered a little bit of a joke. Not just because of the silly name, but because people thought that Gwyneth Paltrow wanted to be the next Oprah or Martha Stewart.

What is GOOP? It is a website that Gwyneth Paltrow created to share her thoughts on everything from travel to food to fashion to relationship advice. She names them in 6 categories: Make. Go. Get. Do. Be. See. The website is purely a portal to sign-up for the GOOP email newsletter and to post past newsletters.

I signed up a couple months ago and I am quite pleased with the content, specifically with the newsletters concentrating on "Make."

Gwyneth has always been progressive with trying Veganism, macrobiotic diets and such...but what I didn't know is how much of a foodie she was. When she was younger, she spent a lot of time in Spain with an exchange program and later went on a culinary journey through Spain with Mario Batali in Spain - On the Road Again (a pretty good PBS miniseries, I've watched).

With her well to do upbringing (born into a Hollywood family), her A-list celebrity status, her progressive health trials and culinary adventures with professional chefs...she has put together quite an interesting set of newsletters. A taste of some of the topics she highlights in her "Make" newsletters are: Babycakes, a Vegan Lunch, Mario Batali, Antipasti, The Cookie and so on.

Try it out before you make fun.

The "Second Breakfast"

Not only am I a huge advocate for breakfast, I am a strong believer in the concept of eating 5-6 small meals a day rather than 2-3 big ones. Although I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist, I'm convinced that eating this way speeds up your metabolism and in general just makes you feel more energetic and light. Lastly, this helps you avoid overeating/indulging at lunch.

So how does one prepare and eat all these meals? Take 15 minutes out of your day in the morning or evening and prepare fresh healthy snacks. Since this topic can be endless, I'll concentrate on my favorite"Second Breakfast" items:

1. Big Juicy Red Grapes: I keep them in the fridge prior to eating so that when I eat them they are cold, refreshing and bursting with flavor.
2. Dried Fruit & Nuts: The Bulk Foods section at Whole Foods is great. It has great variety and is completely affordable (vs. the packaged dried fruits/nuts). I recommend buying dried fruits that do not have sugar added and Raw nuts. Buy a bunch a mix them. I like mixing raisins and sliced almonds.
3. Fruit & Yogurt: Goat yogurt is delicious and good for you. If goats milk is not your thing (it's a little tangy), try to buy plain organic yogurt without sugar added. Most yogurts contain a lot of chemicals and sweeteners. If you need a little sweetness, I recommend adding a tsp of Raw Honey. Pair with some sliced strawberries and/or blueberries and you are all set.
4. Cantaloupe: I know this is one of those fruits that you either love or hate...but I love it. I like to buy whole and cut up at home and keep fresh in Tupperware containers. I think that cantaloupe is such a great sweet treat that is also satisfying to fend off that mid-morning hunger.

Fall Fruit Cobbler minus the Cobbler

In dessert eating, I believe their are 2 groups of people: The rich dessert people and the fruit dessert people.

I happen to fall in the rich dessert category of dessert eating: red velvet cake, cupcakes, pumpkin pie, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, chocolate mousse, etc. I also happen to be one of those people who cannot end a meal without something sweet (even if it's just a bite of dark chocolate).

My Mom however is a fruit person: fruit cobblers, fruit tarts, and fruit pies. When I became gluten-free, she immediately began to research how to create gluten-free dessert options. Even though it was incredibly nice of her, I wasn't necessarily jumping for joy. I wasn't missing Cobbler. I wanted Sweet Mandy B cupcakes. Disregarding my craving, I bit my tongue and watched her work. When I tasted the sweet tender bite of caramelized apple on melting vanilla ice cream, it turned out I wasn't missing a thing. Thanks Mom.

Fall Fruit Cobbler minus the Cobbler

1 Apple, cored and sliced (honeycrips are great)
2 Pears, cored and sliced
Handful of Cranberries (optional)
2 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp Butter
2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 Lemon (juiced and zested)
Splash of Amaretto (optional)

1. On medium heat, add sugar and butter to a stainless steel saute pan. Continually stir until the sugar has caramelized and turned a nice golden brown (watch closely to avoid burning). About 4-6 minutes.
2. Add in the apple, pears and vanilla and stir with sugar/butter mixture for 3-5 minutes to coat all sides.

3. Add in the cranberries, lemon and zest and continue to stir until fruit has softened and caramelized. About 4-5 minutes (reduce heat if things get too hot).
4. Add the splash of Amaretto (alcohol is flammable, so be careful), cook and stir until fruit is fully caramelized (not burnt or too mushy). About 1 minute.
5. Let cool a bit, then serve with Haagen Dazs Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (or whatever ice cream you like).

*Since this recipe was completely made up, I unfortunately do not have exact times for each step, but I do know that this took about 15-20 minutes to complete. Biggest tip is to watch and stir until golden brown and avoid burning!

The Power of the Breakfast Smoothie

Thanks to Dr. Frank Lipman, and his book SPENT, I have completely changed my morning routine. I used to start my day with a cup of coffee w/ skim milk & raw sugar and a low fat Nutrigrain Eggo waffle w/ natural peanut butter & jelly. As usual, I thought I was being healthy, but it turns out not only was I eating poisonous gluten, I was making myself SPENT with cow dairy, sugar and processed food chemicals.

What is SPENT? SPENT is feeling exhausted during the day and tossing and turning unable to sleep at night. Dr. Lipman's book will lead you through a day by day six week journey to rid your body of the bad (caffeine, sugar, dairy, processed foods) and fill your body with the good (fruits, veggies, whole grains, vitamins, etc.). And that's just one part of it, he also gives you guidance on how to change a lot of things in your daily routine (exercise, stretching, when to turn off the TV, etc.) but I will have to save that for another day.

Back to the food, one of the most critical things that I added to my diet was the breakfast smoothie. This delicious breakfast option gives me an amazing amount of energy (enough to give up coffee!) and is very easy for the system to digest.

Here is my favorite smoothie, but please experiment and create your own:

1/2 Cup Frozen Pineapple
1/2 Cup Frozen Mango
1/4 Frozen Banana (I buy fresh, then once ripe I freeze in chunks)
1/2 Cup Coconut Water (can be found in Whole Foods)
1/2 Cup Water
2 Tbsp Goat Yogurt (optional)
1 tsp Coconut Oil (optional)
1 Scoop Vanilla Whey Protein
2 Ice Cubes
Throw them all in a blender and blend. Easy!

Sweet Ali's: A Gluten-free Bakery

If you are gluten-free, you have probably been super jealous that cities like New York City, Los Angeles and even Madison, WI have Gluten-free bakeries. I mean, have you seen the BabyCakes website? Yum!

Chicago is a little bit behind on the gluten-free movement, however I have come upon a new bakery that is delivering a few gluten-free baked goods to Supermarkets in the suburbs. My Mom found a Gluten-free brownie made by Sweet Ali's in Kramer Foods in Hinsdale. They also distribute to a couple other stores which are listed out on their website.

Their current list of products is as follows:
- Muffins
- Brownies
- Cookies
- Flour mix

Give 'em a try and help them grow!

Red Wine Sunday 10/25/09

Red Wine Sunday's have been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. The definition of a Red Wine Sunday is as follows:
1. It takes place on a Sunday
2. The family gathers at my parents house
3. Italian tomato sauce is bubbling on the stove
4. Depending on the season either Golf, Baseball or Football in on the Living Room TV
5. Red Wine is opened in enough time to let it breathe
6. Pre-meal beverage is usually 1 glass of white wine served with some nuts
7. My Mom prepares and serves a phenomenal Italian meal (with Red Wine of course)

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, onto yesterday's meal. It's fitting that yesterday's RWS was very traditional. We had Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce (with Sausage) and a Salad. In the photo above, you will notice that their are 2 bowls of pasta (1 gluten-free, 1 traditional).

The RWS tradition stemmed from my Dad's side of the family. My grandmother Louise and great-grandmother Antoinette were both 100% Italian and great cooks to boot. The traditional recipe for Red sauce has been adapted a bit over the years, but every bit as delicious.

Red Sauce:

Ingredients:
3 Cans Whole Peeled Tomatoes (Buy San Marzano tomatoes from Italy)
1 Can Tomato Puree
1/2 Yellow Onion (diced)
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1/2- 1 Tbsp Oregano
5 Basil leaves (optional)
1 lb Mix of Sweet and Hot Italian Sausage (links)
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Heat a large soup pot on medium and add olive oil. Add onions and cook until almost translucent. Add Garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Do not let the garlic burn.
2. Add in the 4 cans of tomato (break up the whole tomatoes with a knife, potato masher or your hands prior to putting them in the pot).
3. Sear Italian sausage in a saute pan for a couple minutes on each side until brown. This seals in the juices. Once complete, add sausage to pot (pick up with a metal tongs and drop in one by one).
3. Add oregano, salt & pepper to the pot. A little goes along way.
4. Bring the sauce back to a boil then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 4 hours or so. If sauce gets too thick, you can add a little water.
5. At the end, you can throw in the basil leaves for a couple minutes to add some freshness to the pot.
6. Serve with your favorite pasta.

Wine Aerators: Another useless kitchen gadget?

Not so! My family and I put the Vinturi Red Wine Aerator to the test last night. We took a fairly inexpensive bottle of Italian red wine and did a taste test. Before using the Aerator, the wine was good but was a little rough around the edges (not a technical term). Then we refilled our glasses with the wine poured through the Aerator and the wine really came to life. It was a little lighter and definitely a bit more delicate. This is the perfect gadget to use when you are hosting guests and can't afford to buy all expensive wine. You can purchase this gadget at the Vinturi website and Sur la Table.

Salty & Crunchy

When living a gluten-free lifestyle, sometimes you just want to throw your arms up in the air and say enough is enough...I want something salty and crunchy! Well I have some good news, gluten-free crackers are being baked as we speak right here in Chicago. Nicole's Divine Crackers offers 4 different flavors of Gluten-free crackers: Flax Seed, Dill, Cranberry/Pepper, and Tomato. You can find them at Whole Foods and Sam's Wine & Liquors (among other retailers I'm sure). If you don't live in Chicago, you are in luck. They have online ordering on their website.

I will tell you that although they are delicious, they are a little bit tough and dense which is to be expected with Gluten-free bread products. With that said, after months of being bread-free, when you take a biet of these crackers with a little hummus or herbed goat cheese...you can put those arms down, take a breath, relax and smile.

What does Sorghum have to do with beer?

Beer for the gluten intolerant. If you are a lady, beer has a bad rap. You think it makes you fat, bloated, and tired. For the gluten intolerant, it's that times two. I'm sure a typical gluten intolerant girl would say good riddance, now I have an excuse to stick to wine and cocktails. Not me. I am an avid football fan that wants to tailgate with a traditional beer!

Although I get made fun of for this, I have several teams that I follow. For professional, I am a Giants and Colts fan. I can explain. I spent the first 6 years of my life in New York with a father who is die-hard Giants. When we moved to Chicago in December of 1986, my alliance was not to change. I would not and could not be a Bears fan. No problem. For college I went to Indiana University for undergrad and Notre Dame for my MBA...and somehow with all the Indiana influence I started to like the Colts. Sue me, at least it's the Manning brothers, right (and not the Bears for that matter)? Keeping in the same theme of two's, I follow the IU Hoosiers and Notre Dame.

Back to the subject at hand, lots of football to watch and in need of a beverage in hand. Anheuser-Busch came out with a Gluten-free beer believe or not. It is made from fermented Sorghum. It's called Redbridge and it's great. I'll preface this with I am not a beer snob, but I like it. I think it tastes like Sam Adams Light (although it is not light; it has 160 calories). And, it does not make you tired or bloated.

Pumpkin Muffins...Yum!

If you haven't noticed, pumpkin baked goods are everywhere! Pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin bars, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cake, pumpkin pie...oh my! When you give up something (like gluten) you can get caught up in wanting (craving, needing, salivating) over something you can't have. I'm not promoting this behavior, it is just a reality. So, I took the situation in my own hands and found a recipe for gluten-free pumpkin muffins. Let me tell you they are delish!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (room temp)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs (try organic, and room temp)
1 teaspoon vanilla (make sure it's real vanilla)
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
2 cups gluten-free flour, blend (**recipe below)
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

**Gluten Free Flour Mix for Quick Bread (Bob's Red Mill offers all of these in the baking section at Whole Foods): 1.5 cups white rice flour,1.5 cups sorghum flour, .5 cups tapioca starch, 4 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp xanthan gum.

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
2. Line or grease muffin tins (Recipe makes 15-16 muffins)
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and pumpkin. Mix until blended. (Do yourself a favor and buy a KitchenAid Mixer. It will change your baking life)
3. In a separate bowl, mix remaining dry ingredients. Gradually add flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture (1/3 at a time) and stir until combined. Do not over-mix.
4. Scoop (I love to use an old school ice cream scooper) into muffin tins and bake 20-25 minutes (use a toothpick after 20 to see if it comes out clean).
5. Serve for breakfast with a cup of hot coffee (I love Peet's) or with a scoop of Vanilla bean ice cream for dessert.
6. Can be stored covered with saran wrap and/or aluminum foil for about a week. You can keep in the fridge as well. You can also freeze the muffin in a freezer ziplock bag.

Butternut Squash Soup

At Thanksgiving, my Mom makes the most delicious butternut squash soup. To make it, she uses a Williams & Sonoma starter jar of squash puree. This fall when I took a look at the ingredients I was very saddened to find wheat flour on the list. That's when I started researching all of my favorite Thanksgiving items and figured that I should get crackin on new recipes in order to help my Mom prepare for our first G-free Thanksgiving.

So, I started with the soup. My gluten-free mentor has been Shauna James Ahern aka "The Gluten Free Girl." She is an amazing writer and photographer which unfortunately I am neither. But everyone needs someone to aspire to right? For the butternut squash soup I used a recipe from her blog.

Soup turned out delicious with every essence of fall...my apartment smelled amazing. One thing that I should probably tell you right now. This is a blog about food and for the most part about healthy eating. This is not a blog about losing weight or new years resolutions. This blog is about enjoying all foods "in moderation" to soothe the body and mind. Thanks to my Mom, I am a food purist who enjoys all foods even butter and cream!

A couple notes that I took while making this recipe are listed below (something I'll try to do for all recipes of others that I try):
1. Kosher Salt: Use it! So much better for you than iodized salt. You can find it at any grocery store.
2. Olive Oil: I used extra virgin, but I will admit I have a lot to learn in this category.
3. Spanish smoked Paprika: Warning...this is hard to find in the store! I found it in a little white and blue tin on the bottom shelf at Whole Foods in the spice section. Ask an employee to help you find it.
4. White Onion: These will makes your eyes cry more than any other onion. Do half an onion, then take a breather, then finish with the second half. If you don't know how to dice an onion, Shauna has a video posted on her blog which is great.
5. Wine: I'm not exactly sure what "dry" white wine is, but use a wine that you would want to drink. I like Sauvignon Blanc, so I used the 1/2 cup for the recipe and drank a glass while I cooked.
6. Cream: Typically you are not going to find just "cream" in the grocery, it's called heavy whipping cream. You only need 1/2 cup (4 oz) so buy a 8oz small container and use the rest for whip cream & berries. Put the extra cream in blender and whip on high for a couple minutes and gradually add some sugar and a drop of vanilla. Blend until you get soft peaks and your done!
7. Squash: The first time I try a recipe I always follow it exactly the first time. Don't do this...spend the extra $2 bucks and buy the pre-cut squash at Whole Foods rather than cutting and peeling a whole one. My squash could have been a little more ripe. How do you know when a squash is ripe? No idea! If you do buy pre-cut, you will need to reduce your roasting time to 20 minutes.
8. Vegetables: I found it took at least 15 minutes to sweat the veggies in the pot.
9. Herbs: During that step I let them cook for about a minute or two. My apartment had so much smell going on already i couldn't tell when the "smell" changed.
10. Stock: In order to cover the veggies by one inch, you need a 32oz container. Please use organic stock (check label to ensure it is gluten-free).
11. Pureeing the soup: Instead of transferring the soup a millions times, I used an immersion blender (also called hand blender) to puree. Since this soup is super chunky, do not miss the step of staining the soup (which I did, not a good idea).
12. Finish the soup. I didn't get too crazy with it and buy creme fraiche (which is delicious but a container just for me is a little silly)...but I did garnish with an extra sage leaf left over. See the photo above...the finished product!

Good Luck!

Lunch remixed

When I decided to go Gluten-free due to a life long struggle with stomach issues...the hardest thing to change was lunch. Because my stomach was always upset, I always brought my lunch so that I could control what was going into my body in an effort to reduce the pain that was impending. What that meant was that everyday I had turkey on either a piece of bread or toritilla and some goldfish crackers. While I thought that I was being healthy (compared to the 1000 calorie lunch options at QSR's), it turned out that I was actually poisoning myself with gluten.

So, I thought I would share the healthy substitutes that I have replaced my lunch with:

Gluten Free Bread (Can be found in Whole Foods Frozen Gluten-Free Bakery Section) I've had the Prairie bread. If you are not worried about Gluten, Ezekial bread is a great whole grain bread.
Bread toppings: Goat Cheese, Jelly (you can find brands that are naturally sweatened with apple juice rather than sugar), Raw Almond Butter, Roasted Vegetables (paired w/ Goat cheese)
Fruit: Take the time to buy fresh organic fruit and cut up and bring in tuppeware rather than buying the soggy fruit cups that you can buy for $5 a pop. Try also to buy what's in season.
Salad: Again organic is great and try to mix it up rather than always buying ice berg or romaine. Try baby spinach, field greens, Mache or Arugula.
Salad Topping: My favs include Goat Cheese or Parmigiano-Reggiano, raw nuts/seeds (sunflower seeds, cashews, almonds), dried fruit (make sure they do not have sugar added), tomato
Salad Dressing: Balsamic Vinegar Dressing (2 parts Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 part Balsamic, spoon of Dijon mustard, fresh ground pepper)

This may seem limiting, but it's a start...this blog won't be able to be built in a day.

Enjoy!

Food thoughts in the appropriate arena

I started watching Martha Stewart when I was about 10. Since then, I've been on an 18 year journey collecting recipes, techniques, and food experiences that have made me the foodie that I am today.

Recently I learned that a friend of mine has Cancer and needs to change the way that she eats. Immediately I brought to the table several ideas for how she can easily change her eating to better her health. I've thought about starting a food blog before...and I think I'm finally ready.

Now to be clear, I have published my food thoughts before (on Twitter, via email, etc.) but now it's time to share my ideas beyond my inner circle (i.e. for people who actually want to hear my food ideas).

What is this blog going to be about? Gourmet Food, The Food Network, Restaurants, Chicago, Gluten-free living, Wine, Family dinners, Vitamins, and anything else that occurs during my food journey.