Last week, we were given a box of canned goods from someone who was moving. I rummaged through it to find things that would be safe for me to eat. One thing I found was some canned sardines in tomato sauce with red pepper. I have never had them, but hey, it was safe for me, and it was free! I did a quick Google search trying to figure out what to do with them and came up with this recipe. I thought it looked like a good place to start. But, as I was cooking it, it seemed a bit bland for my tastes. So, I doctored it up a bit! Here is what I came up with:
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Seafood Pasta
from Clara, http://sixfoodintolerance.blogspot.com
Makes 4 large servings
Ingredients:
16 ounces brown rice pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 (5.5 ounce) can sardines in tomato sauce with chili, not drained (I used this one)
2 (6.5 ounce) cans minced claims in clam juice (1 drained, 1 not drained)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
6 baby Portobello mushrooms, sliced
Lemon juice
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
Directions:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook until tender.
While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cook for a few minutes until soft, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Add the sardines with their sauce, breaking up the sardines with your spoon a bit. Cook a bit to heat the sardines through.
Drain the diced tomatoes and add them to the pan and the Italian Seasoning.
Drain 1 can of the minced clams - put the clams in a bowl off to the side. With the second can, drain them over the pan, allowing the juice to go into the sauce, add the clams to the same bowl as the other. Do not add the minced clams yet.
Add the sliced mushrooms, stir and reduce heat to low.
Keep on a low simmer until the pasta is ready, allowing the sauce to thicken.
When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the sauce.
Add the clams and the lemon juice.
Continue cooking just long enough to heat the clams through (if you cook them too long, they'll get chewy/rubbery).
Serve and enjoy!
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This dish turned out pretty tasty. Hubby thought it was a bit too "fishy" but enjoyed it anyway. I think that next time, I will add some fresh basil. I think it would "brighten" the dish and maybe take away some of the fishiness.
The thing I like most about this dish is it is made from things that I can keep in my pantry. I love "pantry" meals because I can keep the ingredients on hand for a long time and just whip the dish up whenever I need it and quickly, too! Pantry food, and meals, have saved our budget lots of times when we were struggling.
This quote reminds me of a conversation that I had with my Hubby not too long after I was diagnosed with my food allergies. Back then, it was 9 food intolerances - the 6 that I follow now as well as shellfish, cinnamon and caffeine (since then, I have found that shellfish gives me no problems and that I tolerate cinnamon and caffeine fine as long as the doses are small and infrequent).
I had received the diagnoses a week or two prior to February 1st 2008, worked at it a bit and officially started February 1st. It had been a long, rough couple of weeks, but I was working at it. I had a few emotional breakdowns, but I was trying very hard not to let my emotions take over. I was running to every grocery store that I could think of to look for safe foods, I was researching my intolerances online, learning about hidden ingredients, scouring blogs for recipes and just generally trying to grasp all this.
Then, a day or two prior to Valentines day, Hubby came home with a beautiful robin's egg blue bag in his hand. He had gone to Tiffany's! He handed me the bag and told me to open it. I pulled off that satin white ribbon very gently, wanting to savor this moment. When I lifted off the carboard lid, I saw a beautiful lock necklace. He bought me the matching necklace to the lock bracelet that I had received from my Sister a few years prior. I was ecstatic. Hubby has always good with gifts, but we aren't rich or extravagant people, so this gift was a big one! I had been lusting over the matching necklace for a while, but never thought I'd actually get one! I loved it! But that wasn't the most touching part. That was definitely the speech that followed. My sweet Hubby told me that this was not a Valentines gift and I was confused. He said that he had watched me struggle with this new diet (uh ... lifestyle) and with some other medical issues that I had been dealing with for a while. He said that he was really proud of the way that I was handling it all and that through these experiences, he was able to see my inner strength and thought it was so beautiful. He said that he knew what I was going through wasn't easy, but he admired my will to go on and wanted me to know that he loved me no matter what. I was so touched. I felt so appreciated. I was surprised. It was all so moving.
Even now, 10 months later, I cherish that necklace. It is beautiful and perfect (and goes with all sorts of outfits! ;) ). But whenever I look at it, I look past it's physical beauty and remember the significance behind it - what I went through, how far I've come and just how wonderful my Husband is.
Boy do I love Google!
Last week, I had planned a Chicken Masaman Curry night. Well, when I actually went to make it, I didn't feel like curry! So I check my fridge - I had chicken thighs (that were supposed to go into the curry) and some spinach. I did a quick search (and that's why I love Google!) and I found this recipe. I'll also list it here in case the link dies or doesn't work for you or whatever. Here it is:
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Chicken and Spinach Bake
from Diana Rattray, About.com
Serves 4
Ingredients:
8 to 12 ounces fresh chopped or baby spinach, cleaned
salt and pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth
4 chicken breast halves, boneless, pounded slightly to even thickness
Creole or Cajun seasoning blend or other blend
salt and pepper
1 large tomato, diced
4 green onions, with green, sliced
Preparation:
Heat oven to 350°.
Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish or spray with cooking spray.
Put spinach in the baking dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add chicken broth.
Sprinkle chicken with seasoning blend, salt, and pepper; arrange over the spinach.
Sprinkle with the diced tomato and green onion.
Cover the baking dish with foil. Bake for 25 minutes.
Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until chicken is cooked through.
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And wouldn't you know, it was delicious! :D I served it with brown rice and it was just lovely! I did make a few changes:
I used chicken thighs instead of breasts, and only 3 as that's all I had
I didn't weigh my spinach - I just used what I had, which was one large bunch
I didn't have green onions, so I used some red onion
I added a clove of garlic, sliced up ... just because I think every savory dish needs some garlic! ;)
I really did like it! It was super quick, easy, healthy, made with ingredients that I usually have on hand, and the best part ... Hubby even liked it! He doesn't really care much for spinach, but ate it anyway! It was sort of matted to the chicken, so he didn't really have a choice, but he said he didn't mind it at all! Whoa! He suggested that next time I use fish instead and I think that's a fabulous idea! I need another way to cook fish! :D
If you can have dairy, I think some feta sprinkled on top and allowed to heat/melt before serving would be just perfect!
Enjoy!
Today is my Mom's birthday! So, in honor of her birthday, I thought I'd post a recipe that I learned from her. Fried Rice! It was a favorite dish of mine growing up and I ate it a lot when I left the nest. It was a "taste of home" and was pretty easy to make! What I'm about to share is really more of a method than a recipe (as usual!), but that's because I make it so often that I don't measure, also as usual!
Oh, and I should note that I have not made this dish since going soy free. Like I said, I grew up with this, so I'm very used to this dish tasting a certain way. I thought I'd give my taste buds a long break from it before attempting to make it again. Maybe then, they will forget and I'll be able to enjoy a new, soy-free version! And, it's totally possible. Instead of soy, you can use a bit of fish sauce (careful!!! It is extremely potent!), maybe a bit of oyster sauce, or try looking up a recipe for soy-free soy-like sauce. There are several recipes floating around out there consisting of Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, etc.
First things first, it is best to start with cold, hard rice. So, make it the day before and then refrigerate overnight. You can make this dish with fresh rice, but the rice will be a bit mushier/stickier.
Really, the hardest part of fried rice is dicing everything. I usually use shredded carrots, minced garlic, sliced mushrooms, sliced green onions, sliced beef (I use the cheapest I can find, then slice against the grain to make it tender) or you can use ground meat. Oh, and I add egg. You can totally customize this to your liking, leaving out some things, adding anything else you like - diced bell peppers, tomatoes, etc. And, I use a very large wok to cook this, but I think a dutch oven or deep skillet would work, too.
So, to start cooking, put some oil in the pan (vegetable, corn, or some other neutral flavored oil is best here - not olive oil, that's the wrong flavor for what you're doing here - you can even a bit of sesame oil in there - just not too much as it is very potent). When the oil is hot, add garlic. Let it sit for just a few seconds, then add in your meat. Cook until pink in the middle.
Next, add in your rice, stir around until warm. Then, add in your veggies. Stir in. Then, add in your sauces. This can be whatever you have on hand. I used to use soy sauce, a small dash of fish sauce and a mushroom soy sauce - check to make sure it's GF!!!! Most are not. But you can use whatever sauce you can find - a bit of teriyaki is good too. I don't have an exact amount as I've been making it so long, I just eyeball it. But, start small - less is more with soy sauce. And, of course, you can always add more, but not take out. You just want enough to flavor the dish, not to coat the rice or to make the dish soupy. Anyway, stir some more. Add any spices that you want to add. I love garlic, so I usually add a bit of garlic powder and I also add some ground pepper. You probably will not need any salt as the soy sauce is salty enough. Also, this is where many restaurants add in A LOT of butter. Probably like 1/4 cup - seriously. I sometimes add in a tablespoon or so, sometimes none. That's why mine never tastes as good as the restaurants - but is much healthier! ;) If you want that restaurant flavor though, add A LOT of butter and that'll probably do it! Stir some more.
For the egg, I break 1 or 2 into a bowl, scramble it with just a touch of the soy and some garlic powder for flavor.
After the sauce, veggies, rice and meat have all been stirred a bit and allowed to sort of mesh together, make a big well in the middle of the fried rice, exposing the bottom of the pan. Then, pour in the egg. Stir just the egg around (like you would normally scramble it in a pan) until it's about 2/3 cooked, then mix it in with the rice and stir it all around some more (notice a pattern here? ;) ). This is how you get tiny streaks of egg throughout the fried rice rather than chunks of it.
Keep stirring intermittently until the egg is all cooked and everything is mixed well.
Add sesame seeds for garnish, if you'd like.
All done! I promise this sounds like it's hard, but it's not. It just takes some time to prep all the meat and veggies and then everything is sort of layered in when you cook.
Enjoy!
As a child and a teenager, I was really into reading. Books, magazines, short stories, whatever I could find! Reading was really 2 things to me: 1) A way to get away - to transport myself from my life into something different, new and exciting and 2) Reassuring myself that someone else had been through what I was going through. I guess I figured that if I could find just one other person who got through it alright, then it meant that I would too, eventually.
I especially loved quotes. They really helped me with that whole reassuring bit. I don't know why, but they spoke to me. I guess it's because they were short and to-the-point. I liked them so much that I had this special book and whenever I heard a quote that "spoke" to me, I'd write it down. That book soon turned into 2, which then turned into 3 ... and I think I'm still on that third one! I sort of slowed down in college and only write them in every once in a while now. It's something that I've been meaning to get back to, but life just sort of gets in the way, as I know you understand.
Anyway, as a way to sort of get back into it, and because I think it would be fun to share and discuss, I thought I'd start posting a quote here once a week. And what better day than today? So, introducing ...
Quote Tuesdays! :D
The first one I'm going to share is one that I read somewhere recently that really stuck with me.
Don't we food intolerant people know ALL about that? In the beginning, this new diet ... new lifestyle ... seemed so shocking, overwhelming, difficult and tedious. I was NOT alright. I was totally freaked out, mad, annoyed, confused, frustrated, tired and lost. But, here I am, 10 months later, and I'm alright. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still feel all those same feelings from time to time. But the difference is that now, I know things will be okay, life will go on ... I will survive!
I know it's not the end, in fact, my journey has just begun, but I know that in the end, as now, I'll be alright!
I made a super quick, easy, healthy and naturally GDSYWP-free side dish this past Thanksgiving that everyone loved! It's so super simple, they didn't believe it! I've been making it for years, but never thought to share it! It's really more of a method than a recipe, but here it is:
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Simple Garlic Asparagus
Ingredients:
1 bunch asparagus
Olive Oil, about 1 tablespoon
1-2 cloves of garlic
Directions:
Take the asparagus and snap off the ends (it will naturally snap where the "woody" part ends) and lay flat onto a baking sheet.
Thinly slice the garlic, place that randomly on top of the asparagus.
Drizzle the asparagus with a bit of olive oil (drizzle with real olive oil, don't use the spray, it will burn the asparagus ... ask me how I know! ;) ).
Place under the broiler until as tender as you like (I like mine with a bit of crunch still, so it only takes around 10 minutes. If you like yours softer, it may take a bit more time).
You could also salt/pepper/spice it, but I love to taste the asparagus, olives and garlic all by themselves.
As a bonus, if you like garlic as much as I do, the garlic will also be sort of roasted and is yummy to eat, too! You can eat it straight with the asparagus (since it has been broiled too, it is pretty mild ... at least to me, it is!), or pull it out and throw it in with mashed potatoes or however else you would normally use roasted garlic!
Enjoy!
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And who knew asparagus was so good for you on top of tasting so yummy? Yeah for good yet tasty foods! :D
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday - even as a little girl. I always thought Valentines day was silly for kids to celebrate - I thought it should just be for "Mommys and Daddys" (funny how kids think, huh?). The Easter Bunny scared me. Halloween was okay, I didn't like talking to strangers and I don't like spiders. 4th of July was great, except for all those darn mosquitoes that always bit me! My birthday was fun. Christmas was nice, I liked decorating, looking at the Christmas tree and of course getting presents, but I never really looked forward to it.
But Thanksgiving, now that was the best. I loved being surrounded by family and close friends. We got to all just hang out, watch movies, play board games, and just generally enjoy one another. The leaves falling outside and all the decorative pumpkins were so beautiful to look at. The food included all my favorite dishes. And the message was something that I could completely understand and get into - being thankful.
I loved Thanksgiving so much that I tried to make it come twice a year.
Growing up, I used to spend my summers in a tiny town in Minnesota with my Grandparents and Father. Every year, my Grandmother would ask me what I wanted her to make for dinner on my birthday. She said she would make anything that I wanted. Every year, I said the same thing - Thanksgiving food! It's only now, looking back, that I realize just what my poor Grandmother went through just to give me that wonderful meal.
When people think of Minnesota, they mostly think of snow and the super cold winters. Well, you may not realize it, but Minnesota also gets VERY HOT in the summer! It gets majorly humid, hot and muggy ... and there was no central air in my Grandparents house. The only refuge from the heat those summers was to either hide in the underground basement, or to sit out on the screened-in deck with a fan directly on you, being perfectly still. I can only imagine how hard it was for my poor Grandmother to get in front of the oven to bake a turkey for hours and cook a whole huge meal ... just for me. She would gather all my Aunts, Uncles and Cousins and make us all a huge meal that included all my favorites - turkey, mashed potatoes, LOTS of gravy, green beans, lettuce salad and we'd all have birthday cake for dessert. As a child, I really liked and enjoyed the meal and this time together, but as an adult, I am humbled, amazed and especially thankful.
My Grandmother is no longer with us, but I always think of her on my birthday and at Thanksgiving. In my mind, I still can clearly see her standing in front of the oven, sweating way and the stove covered with her beloved cast iron pans and littered with bits of food, gravy and grease.
I also think of year that my stepbrother and his family came up to my Moms house for Thanksgiving - my sister-in-laws stuffing is still the best that I've ever had. I remember the year that my first niece was born - arriving early, just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. I think of the year that I had Thanksgiving at my house - and made nearly everything from scratch.
I look forward to this year, with my newest little niece and making new, GDSYWP-free, dishes that are sure to become new favorites.
Thanksgiving has always been special to me, and will continue to remain so. It's about all the things that I find wonderful about this world - family, friends, food, kindness, sharing and appreciation.
I'm saddened that Thanksgiving has been squeezed out this year in favor of the store-and-consumer-friendly Christmas season. It seems like Christmas just keeps coming earlier and earlier every year, but even more so this year. Around where I live, Christmas stuff has been out since Halloween - completely skipping one of the most genuine and uniquely-American holidays. I could write on and on here about this subject, but I want to focus on the joys of this occasion besides, I think Andy Rooney summed it up quite nicely on his own.
Please take the time to really enjoy this holiday - to enjoy our food, one another and to be truly grateful for all that we have. I hope that everyone has a beautiful, memorable, wonderful and deliciously safe Thanksgiving.
I got glutenized!
Yup. And it was all my fault. I can admit it. I'm mad at myself, but hey, it happened, I can't take it back, but I can try to learn from it.
So, Hubby and I were having an errand day yesterday. I made a point to eat a large brunch before leaving. I made a point to bring snacks. I was really trying, seriously.
So, we finally get to our final store, Ikea. Hubby spots their Pasta Marinara with Swedish Meatballs and really wants them. He also ate well before leaving, but we had been running around a bit and who knew how long we'd be in Ikea (I tend to get lost in there ... but that's a whole 'nother story!) Anyway, I decide to give in and let him eat there. He hates shopping with me, but does it because he knows that I like to have him there, to chat with, bounce ideas off of, give me his thoughts on items, etc. So, I thought the least I could do for him was to give in and let him eat what he wanted. At first, I wasn't going to eat anything. Everything on the menu looked bad - meatballs would have pork and/or breadcrumbs, the salmon had a glaze on it that was sure to have soy oil or butter in it, and the chicken was breaded. ALL their entree salads had cheese on them. I was just going to sit with Hubby while he ate and wait until I got home to fix myself a safe meal. Good girl!
But then ... ugh ... the fries. I watched them being dropped into the oil, saw where they were placed to drain and serve, I eyed them through the glass - they looked safe. So, I got fries. And, I took Hubby's side salad that came with his meal and put a tad of the safest looking dressing they had - Italian (sure to be filled with soy oil and who-knows-what-else). Oh, and a dark chocolate bar (that was only $0.99! How could I resist? :D)
So, we sit, and I start eating. Uh oh. I detected a grainy, crumbly substance on a few of the fries. I looked at them closer. They weren't dipped in flour, there weren't big chunks of crumblies. It could be salt ... or maybe tiny bits of fries? Even if it was flour, it was only a *little* bit ... I had had little bits of gluten when I've been out before ... and, at this point, I had already paid for them and I wanted them. I am a french fry fiend. They call to me ... I need them. So, I ate them.
Bad move. Bad girl!
Within 5 minutes of eating the dreaded fries, my stomach started rumbling, grumbling and then the sharp pokes started in. It didn't feel good. Within 10 minutes of eating, I started to feel grumpy, annoyed and irritable and felt gassy. Within 15 minutes of consumption, I had to run to the bathroom. Also not good. Within 20 minutes, I was tired and just wanted to go home. I was getting less and less calm/patient and more and more irritated.
So, we get home and I crawl into bed. The house was cold, the bed was warm, I could watch TV and best of all, I could lie down. Within another 20 minutes, I was passed out. But it was weird. Ya know when you take NyQuil's or some other sleep-inducing medicine and sometimes your body falls asleep before your brain does? Ya know how you can't move your arm, leg or other body part, even when you want to? And you're fully awake and aware of things you hear around you and what you're thinking? Well, that's how I felt. My body completely shut-down but my mind was still fully aware. It was a strange sensation.
As though it hasn't been proved enough times already, this is even further evidence that gluten is poison to my body.
The thing that really gets me is how it affects my mood. I mean, making my stomach hurt, making me need to use the restroom, making me sleepy - physical stuff - I can get food doing that to your body, but to affect your state of mind? To me, that is amazing. I mean, I've read plenty about it and have felt it, but each time, I am still amazed. I mean, I feel myself getting more and more irritable and I know, logically, that I'm being unreasonable or irrational, but I still feel the way I feel, ya know? I can't change my mood just by wanting to ... but gluten can change my mood. Just by eating it, I am a different person, someone that I don't like, thinking and acting in ways that I don't want. Seriously? I think that it's pure evil to affect someones mood or behavior against their will. Hubby and I discussed this at length after I woke from my gluten-induced coma. It's just not cool.
Gluten IS Evil!
