Broccoli: My favorite food

My father just taught me a technique to avoid overcooking broccoli. When it is finished steaming and is just the right firmness, he said, leave it in the steamer basket and drizzle a little bit of cold tap water over it. The cold water will stop the cooking process so that the broccoli won't get any softer. This is similar to the concept of blanching but without full submersion which would likely make the broccoli too water-logged.

I love broccoli, it's been my favorite food since I was a child and I used to call them "trees." I've never met a broccoli dish I didn't like. My preference is plain, undoctored broccoli - No butter, no salt, no nothin'.

A tribute to chickpeas, and a recipe for spicy hummus

I recently discovered the joy of buying dried chickpeas and cooking them myself instead of buying them canned. I started buying dry beans instead of canned to save some money, but now I'm starting to appreciate the difference in flavor and texture. This photograph shows the beans soaking in my favorite Pyrex bowl.

Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are one of the many ways I sneak more calcium, protein and fiber into my diet. I toss them on salads. I throw them in pasta with tomato sauce. I make Indian curries with them. I puree them into creamy hummus that I eat on raw carrots, celery and red bell pepper, or on rice crackers. I love their nutty, unique but unimposing flavor, and their soft texture.

Here are instructions for preparing dried chickpeas, and then a recipe for my hands-down favorite chickpea dish, which I'll be having for lunch today with domas (Greek rice-stuffed grape leaves) and a broccoli and feta salad.

Soaking & Cooking Dried Chickpeas

Place dried chickpeas in a bowl or pot and add cold water to cover by 3 inches or more. Leave them at room temperature for 4 hours, or overnight.

Rinse, drain and place in pot. Cover by 4 inches or more with cold water or vegetable stock. For every 2 cups of dried beans, add 1 teaspoon of salt. Optionally, you can add bay leaves, onions or garlic at this point to impart extra flavor.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover partially (leave just a little gap so that some steam can release) and reduce to a simmer. Check the liquid periodically and add more when necessary to ensure that beans are always covered. Cook over low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until the beans are soft but not mushy and still retain their shape.

Spicy Hummus

16 ounces cooked garbanzo beans (or one 15-ounce can)
1/3 cup sesame tahini
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 lemons, juiced
1 raw garlic cloves
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2-3 teaspoons hot chili oil
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper (optional)

Combine tahini, olive oil and garlic in food processor or blender. Blend until pureed.

Add remaining ingredients, blend until smooth and creamy consistency.

Serve at room temperature, with pita bread, on crackers, as a sandwich spread, or as a dip for raw vegetables. Store in refrigerator. It will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Pear, Feta & Basil Salad

Today's salad:

-Butter lettuce
-Finely shredded carrots
-Red bell pepper
-Fresh basil (chiffonade)
-Feta cheese
-Ripe bartlett pear
-Vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, black pepper and olive oil)

I tossed a few marinated artichoke hearts in when I took seconds. This salad works with any goat cheese, but the saltiness of a goatsmilk feta really complements the sweetness of the pears particularly well.

More muffins.

Mmmm...muffins! This is a photograph of my attempt at Brendon's Raspberry Double-Coconut Muffins.

Potato Kugel

A friend requested my potato kugel recipe. For those who don't know, kugel is a baked Jewish casserole with many variations. The recipe I use is this one. Use a lasagna pan and it will turn out just thick enough to be creamy on the inside while the outside becomes brown and crispy. It has a nice zing to it when you add fresh ground pepper, and it freezes well. It's meant to be a side dish for dinner, but it makes a perfect breakfast food, too.

When Manischewitz starts making its kosher-for-passover potato-based egg noodles (only available near Passover time) I will stock up on them and work on a gluten-free noodle kugel recipe... Which is one of the foods I'm missing the most.

A coconut flour experiment: Coconut Blueberry Muffins

This was my first time using coconut flour, and the result was a rich, sweet muffin that is completely grain-free as well as dairy-free and, obviously, gluten-free. They are quick to make and stay remarkably moist even when stored for a few days. Coconut flour absorbs a huge amount of liquid, so very little flour is necessary. The eggs act as a binder and leavening agent and the muffins need very little honey in order to be quite sweet. I used the coconut flour from Bob's Red Mill, which I found at Piedmont Grocery. These are definitely muffins for coconut lovers only!

Coconut Blueberry Muffins

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut flour
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons canola oil (or melted butter)
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk
3 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Whisk eggs, butter, coconut milk, honey, salt and vanilla until thoroughly blended. Sift all coconut flour (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons). Stir sifted coconut flour and baking powder into the batter and stir until there are no lumps. Fold in frozen blueberries, stirring gently. Pour batter into greased muffin tin. Bake at 400 F for 15-18 minutes. Makes 6 muffins.

Celiac & Gluten-Free Meetup in Oakland, CA

For local folks,

Someone on the Bay Area celiac disease e-mail list is putting together a casual meetup for gluten-free and celiac folks. A group of people will be going out to eat together at Pizza Rustica in Oakland, where they are now serving gluten-free pizzas, on November 15th, 2006.

For details, go to http://celiacdisease.meetup.com/93/ - Be sure to register and RSVP on the site.

Gluten-Free Kasha Varnishkes: Mission Accomplished

Tonight's dinner was a successful revision of kasha varnishkes, served up gluten-free. I grew up eating this Ashkenazi Jewish dish, a combination of nutty kasha, sweet browned onions, and toothsome noodles. It is great as a side dish with meat, but I enjoyed it this evening as an entree, with just a green salad on the side. This dish is traditionally made with bowtie noodles. Sadly, in my extensive internet research I discovered that there doesn't appear to be a gluten-free bowtie noodle on the market. I was glad to discover that Glutano Gluten-Free Pasta Tagliatelle* which is made of maize, is a great substitute. It has the right texture and taste for this dish. If you can't find tagliatelle, try any other flat, gluten-free noodle. Egg noodles are preferable - Break them to the length of bowtie noodles if they're longer. Mmm... nothing like some carb-on-carb action!

Kasha, for anyone who's confused, is another name for buckwheat groats. Buckwheat is a misnomer, as it is not related to wheat in any way and is safe for people with celiac disease.

Ess gezunterhait! (Eat in good health!)

Kasha Varnishkes

1 cup buckwheat groats
1 egg
1 cup uncooked Glutano tagliatelle* or gluten-free egg noodles
2 cups boiling chicken stock
1 teaspoon of salt (less if you're using a very salty broth)
1 quart water
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons canola, corn oil or chicken fat (schmaltz)
1.5 large onions, chopped coarsely

Beat the egg in a small bowl. Add kasha and stir until every grain is well coated with egg. Place in a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the egg begins to dry and the groats separate. Some of the groats may stick together and/or brown slightly.

Pour boiling chicken stock over the kasha. Mix in salt and pepper and stir thoroughly. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until the kasha has absorbed all liquid. Remove from heat.

In a separate pot, bring water to a boil and cook the pasta until done. Drain and set aside.

In a skillet, heat the oil (or schmaltz) on a medium flame. Saute the chopped onions until thoroughly browned. Add the onions and noodles to the pot of kasha, and adjust salt and pepper to taste.


*Edited 3/09 to add: Glutano Tagliatelle doesn't have kosher certification. I now use Manischewitz Passover Egg Noodles which I stock up on at Passover when they're in the stores, or I cut Tinkyada Lasagna Noodles into strips.