Pat Thai - naturally gluten free!

This recipe is the "easy" version of Pat Thai. It turned out wonderful, and it was very easy to make. We liked this home made version better than the ones we've had at the restaurants... you can make it a lot less greasy. You can get some of the following ingredients (Thai rice noodles, bean sprouts, tamarind paste & fish sauce) at the local Asian store. If you live in Columbus area, I recommend CAM (Columbus Asian Market) on Bethel Road (Microcenter Plaza). They remodeled/moved the store recently, and it is one of the largest Asian stores I've ever seen! They have many varieties and selections of all types of Asian food and it's fun even just for browsing : ) If you've never been there, it's worth checking out!

• 8 oz Thai rice noodles
• 1 lb ground pork or beef
• Marinade for pork/beef: 1tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp gluten free soy sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Optional: 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced
• 3 cups fresh bean sprouts
• 5 Shiitake mushrooms (optional)
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• Olive oil for stir-frying, and wedges of lime

Pat Thai Sauce:

• 1 Tbsp tamarind paste dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce + more to tatste
• 1 to 3 tsp chili sauce or 1/2 tsp dried crushed chili or cayenne pepper
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar

1. Cook rice noodles according to the package directions (Boil for about 5 minutes). Drain and set aside.

2. Make the Pat Thai Sauce by combining the sauce ingredients together in a cup. Set aside.

3. Pour the marinade over pork/beef.

4. Warm up a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, garlic and minced chili (optional). Stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds).

5. Add pork with the marinade. Stir fry for about 5 minutes until meat is brown. Add bean sprouts & shiitake mushrooms and stir fry for another minute. (If it is too dry, you can add some chicken stock).

6. Add the noodles, and pour the Pat Thai sauce over. Using two wooden spoons, immediately stir-fry the noodles. Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes. 

7. Add the green onions.

8. Taste test for seasoning, adding more fish sauce until desired flavor is reached. Toss well to incorporate. 

9. Lift noodles onto a serving plate. Top with fresh cilantro and add fresh lime wedges on the side. 

Japanese Style Swordfish Dinner & Cheese Cake

Happy belated Valentine's Day! 
I had never been so excited about dining "in" for the Valentine's Dinner. Because we were living with someone last year, we were always looking for excuses to go out of the house. So this is really a treat for us to be able to stay home and celebrate it together... on our own!
Since swordfish is Jeff's absolute favorite fish, I decided to make some Japanese style swordfish dinner. For the dessert, I made a very light flavored, gluten free (of course) cheese cake. This cake is something my mom used to make when I was little. It's very easy and light, low sugar dessert option.


Japanese Style Swordfish with Dikon Radish

• 2 swordfish stakes
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Mirin
• 2 tablespoons rice wine
• 3 tablespoons potato starch (Katakuriko)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 green onions, chopped
• grated daikon radish for garnish

1. In a glass dish, combine the garlic, GF soy sauce, mirin, and rice wine. Mix just to blend. Place swordfish steaks into the marinade, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

2. Pat dry the sword fish, and do not throw away the marinade. Sprinkle potato starch on both side of the fish. 

3. In a pan, heat the olive oil with medium high heat. Place the sword fish and cook for about 10 minutes, turning once. Be careful not to burn the fish.

4. Place the swordfish on the plate and cover... keep warm. Using the same pan, stir green onions for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the marinade sauce and cook for another minute.

5. Garnish the swordfish steaks with daikon radish and pour the marinade/green onion sauce on top. Serve warm.

Japanese Style Gluten Free Cheese Cake

• 1 package  (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 egg whites
• 3 egg yokes
• 3 tablespoons Gluten Free baking flour (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl and using electric mixer, beat egg whites until still. Put it aside.
2. In separate bowl, mix softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract. Add egg yolks, one by one.  Add optional flour into the egg yolk mixture.
3. Fold in egg yolk mixture into stiff egg whites gently. Make sure well blended, but do not over mix. 
4. Pour the batter into 8 or 9 inch greased pan. Bake at 325 for 35 minutes or until done. Let it cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi with Sautéed Spinach

When making any seafood dish, make sure you are using "wild caught" fish. Because most of the farm raised fish are corn fed these days, that means they are filled with omega-6... which we need to avoid. On the other hand, wild caught fish are very high in omega-3, and are very good for us.
Wild caught Mahi Mahi was on sale at Meijer a couple weeks ago, so we bought a lot and froze them. This recipe is good for any white fish or salmon, so try this with other fish if you like!


Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi
Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets
• salt & pepper to taste

1. In a shallow glass dish, stir together the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic and olive oil. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper, and place them into the dish. If the fillets have skin on them, place them skin side down. Cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to marinate.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove fish from the dish, and reserve marinade. Fry fish for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, turning only once, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove fillets to a serving platter and keep warm.
3. Pour reserved marinade into the skillet, and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze consistently. Spoon glaze over fish, and serve immediately.

Sautéed Spinach with Shiitake Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 lb. fresh spinach leaves
• 2 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce

1. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. 

2. Add spinach & shiitake mushrooms to skillet and cook, stirring, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with soy sauce and serve warm.

Gluten Free Pizza

We love home made pizza, and it would be very difficult for us to give up pizza completely just because of my diet. I'm sure that you have tried several different GF pizza recipes if you have been on the GF diet for a while, but this is my favorite so far. The pizza crust was a little crispy outside and still chewy in the middle... it was delicious! Don't forget to let the dough rise before shaping it into a pizza form.

Ingredients

Crust: 

• 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 3/4 tapioca flour
• 2/3 sorghum flour
• 1 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Pizza Sauce

• 1 (15 oz) can tomato purée
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1. In bowl of electric mixer, whisk together tapioca flour, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, xanthum gum, and salt.

2. In small saucepan over moderate heat, stir together milk and 1/4 cup water and heat until warm but not hot to the touch, about 1 minute. Stir in yeast and sugar. Add milk–yeast mixture, eggs, and 2 tablespoons oil to dry ingredients and, using paddle attachment, beat at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until dough is very smooth and very thick, about 5 minutes.
3. Place into a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for about 1 hour.

4. Roll out with rolling pin onto lightly greased pizza pan or pans of your choice, poke dough with fork and place into a pre-heated 375F oven and let bake 5-7 minutes or until soft to touch. Remove from oven and place on sauce and topping then return to oven and bake at 425F until cheese is melted or golden brown. 

Chunky Veggie-Lentil Soup

This was surprisingly satisfying! My favorite part of this recipe is that it literally took me less than 45 minutes (15 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking time) to make the soup. I used carrots, mushrooms and nappa cabbage, but feel free to add your favorite veggie items. If your New Year resolution is to eat well (& stay well), try this low carb, high fiber soup at home : )

Ingredients:

• 1 tabalespoon olive oil
• 1 med. onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup dry green (Frensh) lentils, rinsed & drained
• 1 lb. whole small mushrooms, quartered
• 4 med. carrots, thinly sliced
• 4 cups water
• 2 cans (14-oz.) gluten free chicken broth (or veggie broth)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 of a head nappa (Chinese cabbage) sliced into strips

1. In a 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic (image 1). Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in lentils (image 2); cook and stir 1 minute.

2. Add mushrooms, carrots, water, broth, salt & pepper. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 30 minutes or until lentils are tender. (image 3)
3. Add nappa cabbage and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer. Serve warm.

Makes 6 servings.

Egg Drop Soup

This recipe was adopted from simplyrecipes.com, and I made some small changes. Try using homemade chicken stock for this, and you will love it!

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 cups gluten free chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 3/4 cups straw, enoki or sliced shitake mushrooms

1. Reserve 1/2 cup of the stock and mix with the cornstarch until dissolved.
2. Place the chicken stock, ginger, soy sauce, green onions, mushrooms and white pepper in a pot and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch and stock mixture and stir. Reduce heat to a simmer.
3. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs while stirring the soup. The egg will spread out into ribbons. Turn off the heat and garnish with a few more chopped onions. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Manhattan Clam Chowder & GF Corn Bread

I realized that I don't have to always look for special "gluten free" recipes.. but I can just look for regular recipes and try to find something gluten/plant oil free, or modify it to fit my needs!
I think I can honestly say that this is the best Manhattan clam chowder I've ever had! And of course, it was not only GF, but also plant oil & latex free! I also found a great GF corn bread recipe online, but I modified it a little. The result? ... yum!

Manhattan Clam Chowder:

• 1 pint shucked clams
• 1 cup tomato and clam juice
• 2 potatoes, cleaned and chopped
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes

1. Chop clams, reserving juice; set clams aside. Strain clam juice to remove bits of shell. Measure juice; add enough water to equal 1 1/2 cups liquid.
2. Combine clam juice mixture, clam-tomato juice cocktail, potatoes, bell peppers, scallions and black pepper in large saucepan; heat to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are just tender.
3. Stir in the undrained tomatoes and the chopped clams and heat through.

Gluten Free Corn Bread:

• 1 cup white rice flour
• 1 cup stone-ground cornmeal
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 beaten large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup creamed corn
• 1/4 cup melted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt) together in a med. bowl and set aside.
2. Melt the one tablespoon of butter in a 10 inch cast-iron skillet or 8/9 inch round baking pan in the oven. This takes about three minutes. Swirl the butter around the pan coating the bottom and sides.
3. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, creamed corn and 1/4 cup butter. Add this mixture all at once to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened. Pour batter into the hot skillet or baking pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm.