Rosemary Home-Roasted Beef

1 onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6-8 full sprigs rosemary, coarsely chopped or bruised

Juice of 1 lime
Fresh ground black pepper
Sea salt

Cling wrap and aluminum foil

•Lay out a large piece of aluminum foil and a generous amount of cling wrap on top of it.

•Layer 1/2 the onion, garlic and rosemary in one corner of the cling wrap.

•Score one side of the meat, sprinkle with lemon juice, and coat with salt and pepper

•Lay the seasoned side if the meat on the onions, pushing everything underneath.

•Score the other side of the steak, juice, salt and pepper.

•Arrange the rosemary, garlic and onions on top of the steal.

•Wrap the whole thing as tightly as possible in the cling wrap, then I'm the aluminum foil.

•Place package in the refrigerator to marinate, preferably 12-24 hours

•Preheat a George Foreman grill, to 425 (or a comparable grill or oven)

•Unwrap the meat and quickly transfer it to the cooking surface, keeping all the fixings in place.

•Grill for 10 minutes, remove from heat and let stand.

•Slice thinly when ready.


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Father's Day Pancakes

A belated Happy Father's Day to all you dad's out there. Although this post is late, I did call mine on time, and I also wished it to the three father's that I live with. My boyfriend and I had a very nice day together, although his son did not come to visit or call. I'll keep my mouth shut about that since it's really not my place.

For breakfast I made a new pancake recipe that I've been experimenting with. Ever since I first introduced my boyfriend to pancakes he's had a growing appreciation for them. He even started having one for breakfast every morning. Since he was eating them and I wasn't it seemed sorta silly to spend so much money on a GF pancake mix. I got him a whole grain oat bran mix and made him those. Actually, I mixed the batter and taught him how to cook one for himself each morning.

Then, watching him enjoy his pancakes, sorta wishing I could at least have a bite, I had a little scare. I cooked his pancake for him, and then on a whim and without thinking a tossed a Van's toaster waffle into the same pan to toast. I didn't realize what I had done until after I'd eaten most of the waffle. Luckily, if I had a reaction it wasn't bad enough for me to really notice.

Between that and our mutual search for lower carb, higher protein, whole grain options I decided that my best bet was to try to make my own pancake concoction, where I had complete control over the ingredients. All the gluten free mixes had far to many carbs for his taste, and were too refined for mine. After several batches, which weren't bad at all I came up with these. Saturday morning I was told not to change this recipe, they were just right. He couldn't even wait to let me take a picture.

Without further ado, let me present the Teff Quinoa Pancake.
low in carbs, high in protien, and super yummy.

1/2c. Quinoa flour
1/2c. Teff flour
1 Tbsp. Flaxseed meal
1 tsp. baking soda
2Tbsp. NutriBiotic ruice protien powder
2 egg whites
1c. Milk

Turkey Burgers, or How to Hide Vegetable Where They’re Least Expected

I started today with a little bit of a cold and a mission. Stepping out into the chilly air, I hoped I would be warm enough. After doing my homework on the web and studying mapquest I felt like I had a pretty good handle on where I would find our ‘local’ green market.

New York has a number of green markets around the city and in the boroughs. I’ve been to the one in Union Square and the one in Brooklyn is close to where I used to live. But up until today I had been unable to locate either of Queen’s two elusive markets. Armed with my shopping bag and list I struck out for the subway station.

As in turns out, the green market is not far from one of the stops on the #7 train and the NYSC gym that my boyfriend and I work out at in Sunnyside, so I didn’t have too much trouble finding it. It’s not a large market, not like the others I’ve been to, but the food was fresh and local and the people were very friendly. It’s still early in the season and I’m sure they’ll have more in the coming weeks.

I was able to get all the fresh veggies in my list. Just look at this bounty of baby greens. I even got red spinach, which I’ve never heard of before, it’s supposed to be a little sweeter than green spinach, I’ll find out soon enough. Now that I’ve found it, and since it’s so close to the gym, I’m adding the green market to my list of errands.

All the goodies I got lead me to my recipe of today: Turkey Burgers. Since the first meatloaf I made my boyfriend has been requesting different variations. First it was a beef and turkey meatloaf for the whole family and then it was an all turkey meatloaf for him to take for lunch at work. Now, the last turkey meatloaf I made he sliced up and took in sandwiches, but each slice was much smaller than the bread and I suggested that I could make turkey burgers that would fill out a sandwich better. Ever since then he’s been asking for turkey burgers.

Since I’m cooking for him, I feel partially responsible for his nutrition. He’s a personal trainer and really wants to take care of his body. But the food his mother cooks, traditional Ecuadorian fare doused in corn oil, is pretty light on the dark green leafy veggies and he has some inbred aversion to eating greens. Their idea of a salad is few pieces of iceberg lettuce along with a meal. So I formulated these turkey burgers to be very similar to the meat loaf and I tried to sneak in some dark greens. Hopefully he won’t notice. As long as it’s high protein, low fat and low carb he should be happy.

Turkey Burgers
1 ¼ Lb. ground light meat turkey
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
½ c. fresh baby spinach, chopped
½ c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. poultry seasoning mix
1 egg or egg white
salt and pepper to taste

mix everything together with your hands until well mixed. Form into 4 or 5 patties and grill or pan-fry.

Grain Free Sweet Potato Almond Butter Bread

A few weeks ago Simply…Gluten Free posted a recipe for grain free muffins, and then grain free zucchini bread. Then I was bopping around and I found Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried’s recipe for sweet potato pitas. My boyfriend and I are both trying to cut carbs and I thought the idea of a grain free bread-type product sounded really interesting.

I’ve been wanting to try to grain-free peanut butter banana muffins, but I’m still not sure if I’m really allergic to them, and I’m not ready to try just yet, I was looking for an alternative fruit. The grain-free zucchini bread looked great until I ran the nutrition: with the almond butter and almond meal it ended up being pretty high calorie and fat. A comment on the muffin post made me think of pumpkin, but since it’s not pumpkin season, that was out. After seeing the sweet potato pitas, a plan began to form in my mind.

When I was at Trader Joe’s, deliberating in the nut aisle, I opted for almond butter because no one else in my house will use it and contaminate the rest of the jar with bread knives and such. With these recipes all open in my Firefox tabs and with my previous meringue research in mind, I created this Grain Free Sweet Potato Almond Butter Bread.

4 eggs- separated
1tsp cream of tartar
¾ creamy almond butter
2 small sweet potatoes, steamed and skinned
1 Tbsp agave syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp NutriBiotic rice protein powder (optional)*

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Prepare a loaf pan with greased parchment paper or wax paper.

In a large mixing bowl beat egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form

In a second bowl beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Add almond butter, sliced sweet potato, agave syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix until well blended.

Take a spoonful of egg whites and mix into sweet potato mixture. Mix sweet potato mixture into the egg whites and fold in well, until there are no white streaks.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, until slightly brown on the sides and puffy on top. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and paper and let cool on a rack.

So far everybody in my house has liked it, and they’re a hard crowd to please when it comes to trying new foods. And it’s a really pretty color!

*I added this to add a little extra nutrition.

†A special thanks to Simply…Gluten Free and Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried. You ladies are great!

Tilapia on a Whim

Last weekend, while watching TV, my boyfriend asked me what tilapia was. He had read in his Flex magazine that some professional body builder was helping to train another and he recommended eating lots of tilapia. So naturally, my boyfriend wants to try tilapia too.

I did a little web research and learned that tilapia is not only on the “safe” list, it’s low calorie, high in protein and low in fat compared to, say, sea bass or tuna.

Never one to turn down a challenge I decided to give it a shot. I thought about what would be fairly fool proof, in terms of my boyfriend trying new foods: nothing fancy or spicy, and what ingredients I already had at home: the end of a bottle of white wine from my last seafood project.

On the way home I stopped at the local grocery, grabbed what looked good and threw this together.

2 fillets Tilapia
1 medium Vidalia or yellow Onion, sliced
2 cloves Garlic, sliced
1 Tomato, diced
3 sprigs fresh Rosemary, partially chopped
White Whine
Olive Oil
Salt and Fresh Pepper

Wash the tilapia and lay on a plate. Sprinkle salt, fresh ground pepper and chopped rosemary over fish. Clean and slice garlic and onions. Sautee garlic, onions and rosemary with salt and pepper until onions are translucent. Push onions to sides of pan, lay tilapia fillets in pan to sear on one side. After 3 minutes flip fillets and cover with onions. Add diced tomato and enough white wine to cover bottom of pan. Cover and cooked until fish is cooked through, about 7 minutes.

We had this with brown rice. I started the rice before I started to prepare the fish and they were done at just about the same time.

My boyfriend really liked it, the only thing that slipped my mind in the mad-dash for groceries was the lemon, luckily we always have limes in the refrigerator. I expect I’ll be making tilapia in ever more creative ways in the future.

Fennel & Eggs

As I was reading a health food magazine on the subway I found an article extolling the virtues of fennel. I don't see fennel very often, but I remember my Nonna loved it. It's indigenous to the Mediterranean and I'm sure that she ate it growing up in her Italian family; she used to call in fenochio.

Fennel is a winter vegetable, available from autumn to early spring. It has lots of vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and antioxidants. Historically it’s been used for bad breath and indigestion, intestinal spasms and cramps (maybe it’s the celiac’s best friend?)

I’ve almost exclusively had it in salads; it’s great with some walnuts, cranberries, citrus fruit and just a little vinaigrette. This article had some good ideas, but I wanted to try something a little heartier.

It’s hard to use many of the recipes I find, since I’m really only cooking for one. The rest of the folks in this apartment won’t try anything new, so whatever I make gets eaten by me. This was my first attempt, and although it doesn’t look like much, it is delicious! And quick.

Makes 1 Serving:
3 Eggs or egg whites
½ bulb Fennel
1 clove Garlic
1teaspoon Olive Oil
¼ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Salt and Fresh Pepper to taste

Thinly slice fennel and garlic, sauté in a large skillet until fennel is soft. Add eggs and stir, cook until eggs are set. Top with cheese, cover and turn of heat. Serve warm.

This is really filling, it makes a great breakfast. I think it would work well with just about any type of cheese. It could also be made to serve more; a larger batch could be baked in the oven.

Gluten Free Meat Loaf

Last week a friend of mine made his first meat loaf, for friends, and was so excited and proud of himself. This got me thinking, I haven’t had meat loaf since going gluten free. My mother made hers with rolled oats, and all along I have simply assumed that all others were too.

I had this sample of Nueva Cucina seasoning that I wanted to try, so after consulting with my mother, Jeff and his copy of the Good House Keeping cookbook I formulated my own recipe. Which turned out really well. It’s been perfect for lunch at work all week.

½ Lb. Ground Sirloin
¼ Lb. Ground Veal
¼ Lb. Ground Bison
1 small Onion, finely chopped
¼ bunch Parsley, chopped
2 Egg Whites
Crumbs of 1 slice of Gluten Free Bread
½ c. Tomato Sauce
Nueva Cucina Chipotlé Taco seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 F

Mix bread crumbs, onion, parsley, 2/3 packet seasoning, ¼ c. tomato sauce and egg whites until everything is moist. Mix in ground meats by hand. Form into desired loaf-like shape and place on pan or baking sheet. Mix remaining seasoning and tomato sauce and spoon onto top of loaf.

Bake at 350 F for 75 minutes.

Colada de Arroz

When I got home from running errands the other day I got to share a rare moment with my boyfriends mother. She was working over the a large pot on the stove, and after greeting each other she showed me her Colada de Arroz and told be what was in it. “Solo arroz, azucar, leche, canela, y pimienta de dulce.” We filled bowls of the steaming colada and put them to cool by the open window. As we ate our treat we looked through the newspaper coupon circular and conversed as best we could.

Our best moments are when we’re alone in the kitchen, working together or learning together. We two women, neither of who speak much of the other’s language, can bond and communicate over the simple task of preparing food. I learn the most Spanish when we’re working with food; it’s our common ground. Often we find that an hour or more has passed and we’ve understood each for most of that time.

Colada de Arroz is such a simple, comforting food. It’s the closest I’ve been to that oatmeal on a winter morning feeling. In America we would call this Rice Pudding, but this is nothing like the rice puddings never liked before, it’s not sticky sweet or gelatinous. It’s like warm, spiced, slightly sweet rice soup. It’s easy and gluten free.

After some cross communication and being translated through my boyfriend, here is the recipe, as I understand it.

1 cup White Rice
Water
½ cup Sugar
3 Cinnamon Sticks
10 pieces Whole Allspice
Whole Milk

Cook rice according to directions with the sugar and cinnamon. When it has 15 minutes left to cook, add the Allspice. When the rice is finished cooking, add enough milk to cover the rice. Stir the mixture until the milk boils. Cool and serve.

I am already imagining endless possibilities for this recipe: brown rice, skim milk, honey, maple syrup, more cinnamon, nutmeg, the list goes one. This could be a filling breakfast before a cold hard day or a warm comforting treat after a long day playing in the snow.

Seco de Chivo (Peruvian Lamb Stew)

Two weeks ago my boyfriend and I went to our favorite Peruvian restaurant for dinner. As we looked over the menu we decided that we wanted to try something different from our usual grilled fish. We settled on lamb stew. The stew arrived, and was quite tasty. Since we always share our meal, I didn't eat to much of it, we had beans, rice, and salad as well. By the time we got home, my skin was starting to feel a little funny. His mother asked us what we had, and when we told her "seco" she told us that, in Ecuador, they use beer in seco. Now, what with the language barrier and all, I don't know how much she understands about my celiac disease, but she does know that I can't eat anything prepared with beer.

Now, she's a good cook, as far as the things she knows how to cook goes, but she said she didn't know how to make seco and I managed to ascertain that she wanted me to make seco if I could. Feverish internet research ensued. I discovered that all the seco recipes did indeed use beer. Not to be deterred I set about finding gluten free beer. The Whole Foods in the Bowery happens to have a beer room which carries several brands on gluten free beer, including at least one that can be purchased individually.

This recipe is tasty, great for cold winter days, and I'm sure can be made with any type of meat of your choice. It got rave reviews from my future in-laws, so it's authentic. It's also fairly fool-proof as far as I can tell.

8 large Garlic cloves
2 tsp Salt
1 tbsp ground Cumin
1 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
5-7 lbs lamb, cut in 2 1/2 inch chunks
3 tbsp Olive Oil
4 med Onions finely chopped
1 1/2 cup gluten free Beer
4-6 cup gluten free Beef stock or broth
1 bunch Cilantro, leaves only chopped

Mix the garlic, salt, cumin and black pepper with the vinegar in a large non-reactive dish. Place the lamb in the marinade, evenly coating the chunks. Marinate at room temperature for at least 3 hours, overnight if possible.

Remove the lamb from the marinade with a slotted spoon, reserving marinade. In a large heavy casserole, heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil over high heat. Brown the lamb, turning with tongs to sear all sides evenly. This will take about 20 minutes (if the lamb does not fit all in one layer, brown in 2 batches, otherwise the meat will steam rather than sear). Transfer the lamb to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium-high and add onions and salt. Saute, for about 10 minutes, or until the onions are golden. Add the beer and lower the heat so that the liquid is simmering. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until all of the beer has evaporated. Return the browned lamb, along with the accumulated juices from the plate, to the pan. Add the stock and stir to mix. Bring up to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the dish, covered, for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the meat is tender.

Add the reserved marinade and the cilantro, stir to mix, and cook for 1 minute more. Serve from the casserole.

To serve in a traditional manner have rice or boiled potatoes on the side. You could also add precooked peas or carrots at the end.

This is really tasty!