Apple Vitti

You might ask: what is Apple Vitti?

Vitti is the nick name my uncle gave me, it's the gangster diminutive for guys named Vittorio.

When I was in middle school I amended and Apple Brown Betty recipe for my Home Ec class. My dad was converted from apple pie and my mother dubbed it Apple Vitti. This is my father's favorite dessert and there is almost always one in the house.

I used to make it as a treat, but since I moved out my mother has allowed it to become a staple.

When I got home I wanted to make one that I could enjoy too. We had tried it with gluten free flour only, and it wasn't quite the same. So this is the newly modified version.

Apple Vitti

Topping:
1/2c. Smart Balance, butter or margarine
2 tbsp flax meal
1/2c. brown sugar
2/3c. agave nectar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2c. teff flour, or other gluten free flour
1 cup quinoa flakes
1/2c. chopped pecans

Filling:
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
5 Gala apples, peeled, cored and diced
3/4c. orange juice


Heat oven to 350 F. Place apple in an appropriate size baking dish. Cover with foil and cook for 50-60 minutes.

Mix dry ingredients together. Using a spoon or fork until blended but still crumbly. Spoon over cooked apples. Replace in oven and bake another 20-25 minutes, until topping is golden brown.

Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes. We eat it alone, with vanilla frozen yogurt or with whipped cream.

My dad preferred this to any type of birthday cake I could have made him.

Blueberry Tart

Every year a family that lives near us hosts a neighborhood Fourth of July Picnic. They've got a lot of property and plenty of room for the kids to play, the adults to talk, and the men to grill. They always supply burgers, snacks and drinks, but always suggest that we bring a dish to share as well.

I can only remember attending the picnic once before, and that ended in a trip to the ER when my mom ate a Hawaiian Burger, and swallowed the partially charred toothpick that held it together. That was a memorable Fourth!

We got our annual invitation, and since I was home visiting my parents I thought it would be nice to catch up with some of the neighbors I haven't seen in eight years or more. Besides, I found this great Blueberry Tart recipe I wanted try. Picnics are always great places to test run recipes that you don't want to eat all by yourself.

Blueberry Tart
(adapted from Eatting Well August 2008)

Crust:
1/2 c. walnuts, lightly toasted
1 c. gluten free (Mi-Del) ginger snaps
1 large egg white
1 tbsp Smart Balance, melted

Filling:
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 c. maple syrup
2 c. fresh blueberries

To prepare crust: Preheat oven to 325 F. Coarsely chop walnuts in a food processor. Add ginger snaps and process until the mixture is fine crumbs. Whisk egg white in a medium bowl until frothy. Add the crumb mixture and butter, toss to combine. Press the mixture into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9-inch removable bottom tart pan (or pie pan). Set the pan on a baking sheet. Bake until dry and slightly darker around the edges, about 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

T prepare filling: Beat cream cheese, sour cream and 1/4 c. maple syrup in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. When the crust is cool, spread the filling evenly into it, being careful not to break it up. Arrange blueberries on the filling, pressing lightly to set in. Chill for at least 1 hour to firm up.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

When I was planning my visit home, I asked my mom to get a bag of gluten free oats. I have been wanting to test my sensitivity to gluten free oats, and my dad's favorite cookies are oatmeal raisin. I thought I could make the cookies, try a few, and leave the rest for him to enjoy.

Since my father had heart surgery a year ago, I wanted to try something that was at least slightly more healthy than the standard recipe. However, while I was in the middle of making the batter, the power went out, so I had to finish in the dark with a little LED headlamp on. I refrigerated the dough and baked them when the power came back on.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1/2c. Smart Balance
2/3c. flax meal
1/2c. packed brown sugar
1/2c. molasses
1/2c. agave nectar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4c. teff flour
3/4c. quinoa flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
3c. gluten free oats
1c. raisins

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.


Bake 15 minutes. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered (if any last that long).

Now, I had heard that some celiacs also react to the protein in oats, since they are very similar. I am one of those. My reaction wasn't as bad as if I had been glutened, but it wasn't pleasant either. I will simply have to leave these cookies to my dad and those of you who can enjoy them.

By the way, my dad said they were fantastic!

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

One Pot (or Pan) Tilapia

This month's Go Ahead Honey it’s Gluten Free event is being hosted my Carrie, of Ginger Lemon Girl and this month’s theme is One Pot Meals.

I’ve been blogging for a while, but now I’m really starting to feel plugged into the community. This months Go Ahead Honey theme really works for me. Since, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m sure, I live in slightly crowded circumstances. My boyfriend’s mother does the family cooking, and I cook for myself and sometimes my boyfriend too.

So, when I get home from work all the burners on the stove are usually full. I try to do our weekly food preparation during the week, making morning muffins and mixed meat burgers for us to take to work. On the rare evenings that we get to have dinner together I have to keep it simple, and in one pan.

Now, I must point out that my boyfriend’s mother is also a master of one-pot meals, coming from a country with so little, but this is the one that I fix at least once a week.

My boyfriend is a personal trainer and he read in one of his magazines that some body builders rely on tilapia as a low calorie, high protein, and low fat fish. His first question was: “Mija! Can you cook Tilapia?” and after the first time I threw this together it’s been the same every week. As long as we eat together, I don’t even care what we eat; it’s just nice to have him home for a meal.

Now, Carrie has suggested that we post kid friendly one pot recipes, and I think my boyfriends picky eating habits; i.e. “I don’t eat green food” qualifies his favorite dish as kid friendly.

So, after stopping at, on average, three grocery stores on the way home in an attempt to find fresh tilapia, I get home. I take the Big Pan out of the cupboard and set it on the stove.

I crush, peel and chop about three cloves of garlic, peel and slice one yellow onion and dump those into the pan. Turn the heat up to medium and add a dollop of olive oil and some of whatever spices I have on hand.

While the onions and garlic are cooking I wash the tilapia and salt both sides with a sea salt, dulce and kelp mixture and slice about two large tomatoes.

When the onions are translucent, I push them to the middle of the pan, lay the tilapia on top and then layer the tomato slices over the top of the fish. I put the cover on the pan, turn the heat to low and let it cook until the fish is 1) cooked through 2) it falls apart or 3) my boyfriend gets home.

It’s simple, gluten free and delicious. It’s a staple in our “household” such as it is.

Citrus Soy Sea Bass and a Pamelo

It’s been quite a buys week for me. It’s been a busy week, between work and home; I’ve hardly had a minute to relax. Our company is going to be showing at trade show in Las Vegas, and it’s me job to get all the goods ready for it. Throw in a last minute buying trip and you’ve got chaos, as well as me working both the Saturday before and Memorial Day. (Don’t worry; I’ll be getting well compensated in July)

I did some cooking and baking this week, as well as fitting in a few reviews, which I have yet to write. I’ll start with the Citrus Soy Sea Bass that I made last Sunday and I’ll try to follow up quickly with Glutino’s wafer cookies and Pamela’s chocolate chunk cookies.


Last week Whole Foods had a special on Chilean Sea Bass, intrigued, I ran a little search on Epicurious and found an interesting cirtusy ginger marinade for sea bass. It sounded great to me, although I wasn’t sure how my boyfriend would like it. So, after my trip to the Green Market I got down to business, making the marinade and then preparing his turkey burgers and my hamburguesas de tres carnes.

Rather than spending more money on ingredients that I didn’t have I decided to substitute a pamelo that one of our contractors had given me to try. He claims that they are the original grapefruit, and opening this thing up was an adventure. The skin is super thick, and the fruit itself was about the size of a softball. One section alone was bigger than my ear. Opening it was exciting but the fruit itself was a little disappointing; it was dried out and crumbly and not very good eating. It did however serve very well in the recipe, where I substituted it for orange.

The bass turned out wonderfully, soft and flaky, almost as though I had cooked it in butter. I loved the bold, spicy, ginger pineapple sauce. My boyfriend ate the fish but proclaimed the sauce “too spicy”. I had suspected he might, but he told me to fix what I wanted, so I did. I’ll just have to save this recipe for folk with less delicate tastes. However, if you choose to accept the challenge, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Citrus Soy Sea Bass

½ c. pineapple chunks
½ c. grapefruit sections

¼ c. soy sauce, gluten free of course
3 tbsp fresh ginger
1 tbsp sesame or other oil
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1- large bass steak, or other cut of bass

Put all ingredients, except bass, in the blender and puree. Place bass and marinade in a glass container, make sure the fish is covered, stir occasionally, let sit for at least two hours.

Heat a pan, cover the bottom with marinade, put in fish and cover with the rest of the marinade. Cover and steam until the bass is white and cooked all the way through. Time depends on how thick the bass cut is.

Remove the fish when it’s done. Cook down the marinade until it is caramelized.

Serve and enjoy.

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.