Where my fellow cooks at???

[columbia]

Depending on where you live, go the local Whole Foods or hippie co-op grocery. The latter is probably preferable.
Most of those places have a person on staff, who is familiar with workarounds for conditions like this.
(Substitutes, dietary aspects of missing the protein from whole grains, etc.)
At least the one in PGH that I worked at did.

[tifosi77]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that OBH. Gluten is such a huge part of my diet - I'm a noodle freak - that I honestly don't know what I'd do if I came down with Celiac.

I'll be watching the responses with interest, as I think any cook would be well placed to know some gluten-free variations on the recipes in their repertoire.

[obhave]

Depending on where you live, go the local Whole Foods or hippie co-op grocery. The latter is probably preferable.
Most of those places have a person on staff, who is familiar with workarounds for conditions like this.
(Substitutes, dietary aspects of missing the protein from whole grains, etc.)
At least the one in PGH that I worked at did.

I have a trader joes only a block away, maybe I will find out if anyone there can offer some advise. thanks

[count2infinity]

i had a gf once that was allergic to gluten, soy, jalapenos, and a few other things. it was tough to cook for her, but we found ways around it. check the internet. there are a ton of websites out there that can help. best of luck!

[columbia]

Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding:
http://blog.cookingchanneltv.com/2011/0 ... d-pudding/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[the wicked child]

wow... so wrong... but sounds so good.

[tifosi77]

Not specifically a cooking comment, but foodie-related......

Spent the weekend in Seattle. Didn't know there was such a large Vietnamese population in the area, but it made for a glut of choices for phở and bánh mì. The seafood on hand is exquisite, particularly things like cod, crabs, mollusks and, of course, salmon. Went to the Pike Place Market, which is a very touristy area, but also a really fine marketplace in its own right. The guys throwing the fish are funny (they use stunt fish, and won't throw your order unless you ask them to), and the nearby butcher had some tasty vittles on hand as well. The greengrocers in the market had some truly exceptional-looking produce. The Saturday farmers market on Bainbridge Island was also pretty special; despite its small size, nearly every single thing for sale was grown on the island.

Had two excellent dinners, one at Wild Ginger (which is a bit overpriced, but rightly famous for its wine list) and the other at a place called Japonessa (hap-o-NES-sa) which is a Japanese-Spanish fusion place. Mario Batali's dad, Armandino, runs a salumeria downtown called, appropriately, Salumi. Sadly, the shop was closed the entire time we were in Seattle, but I have a few friends who have been there and they say it's superb.

Overall, I got the impression of a very food-savvy city.

[columbia]

Quick review from my trip to Seattle last July:

kumamoto oysters

:slobbers:

Seeing both Sir Mix-A-Lot and Mark Arm from Mudhoney (separately) on the street was an added bonus.

[tifosi77]

We're entering the height of the kumamoto 'season', in terms of the cultivated product grown here on the west coast.

My state may not know how to pass a budget, but good golly can we do sustainably-raised seafood.

(Should I note that the uni we had at Japonessa in Seattle was from Santa Barbara? Yes.... yes, I should.)

[columbia]

Lazy man's vegetarian enchiladas. I basically layer it like a lasagna:

From bottom to top...

New Mexican hatch chile sauce
corn tortillas
black beans, spinach and onions
New Mexican hatch chile sauce
cheese
corn tortillas
black beans, spinach and onions
New Mexican hatch chile sauce
cheese

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.

The tortillas broke down nicely, so that it was almost like eating scrambled eggs with a lot of extra goodness.

[ExPatriatePen]

Lazy man's vegetarian enchiladas. I basically layer it like a lasagna:

From bottom to top...

New Mexican hatch chile sauce
corn tortillas
black beans, spinach and onions
New Mexican hatch chile sauce
cheese
corn tortillas
black beans, spinach and onions
New Mexican hatch chile sauce
cheese

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.

The tortillas broke down nicely, so that it was almost like eating scrambled eggs with a lot of extra goodness.

I make something similar with chicken in it. People normally don't like the "sound" of the recipe, but it's always the first covered dish to disappear.

[redwill]

My wife saw a show saying that best stress-reducing foods are green peppers and walnuts. So I made this:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1726,15 ... 93,00.html

VEGETARIAN STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

4 peppers
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
2 carrots, julienned
1 c. peas, fresh or frozen
1 tomato, diced
1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts
1 1/2 c. cooked brown rice
2 to 3 c. tomato sauce (your favorite bottled or homemade)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and clean peppers. Cut off tops and remove seeds and membrane. Place prepared peppers on steamer rack in wok or Dutch oven and steam 3 to 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in wok or large skillet, add onion and garlic. Saute 1 minute. Add herbs, carrots and peas. Continue to cook 3 to 5 minutes or until carrots are tender, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and add the tomato, walnuts, brown rice and 1/2 cup tomato sauce. Heat through.

Stuff mixture into peppers. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in bottom of baking dish. Stand peppers upright. Pour remaining sauce over the tops of peppers. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.

Didn't do much for stress, so far as I can tell, but they're darn tasty! I've made them three times in the past five days.

[columbia]

Didn't do much for stress, so far as I can tell.

Apparently not, since you're ready to start a war in Ireland.

It sounds good....

[count2infinity]

Made some cajuny ravioli tonight... the stuffing was gouda, andouille, shrimp and grits. after it was cooked, tossed it in some olive oil, garlic, and freshly shaved parmesean. delicious!

[redwill]

Made some cajuny ravioli tonight... the stuffing was gouda, andouille, shrimp and grits. after it was cooked, tossed it in some olive oil, garlic, and freshly shaved parmesean. delicious!

Wow. That's a very interesting combo. I don't eat meat, but I admire your ingenuity.

One of my favorite dishes is black bean, serrano pepper, and gruyère ravioli with a beurre blanc sauce.

[ExPatriatePen]

Count, that Ravioli sounds great!

Has anyone here ever made a Cajun variation on Fried Rice?

[count2infinity]

never tried that EPP...but the next time i make jambalaya, i'm saving some of the sauce for when i make those ravioli again. i think that'd be an awesome combo.

[ExPatriatePen]

You have to love the Internet.

So I decided to see if I could find a recipe for Cajun Fried Rice.

I came up with this:

[youtube][/youtube]

[shmenguin]

chicken stir fry from the other night. my sauce:

fresh ginger
soy-free soy sauce
siracha
brown sugar
rice vinegar
a bit of cornstarch+water thrown in at the end

result? pretty damn awesome. but i want the sauce to be thicker and richer. maybe i need more sugar and cornstarch?

[count2infinity]

cornstarch will get it thicker, that's for sure, but what do you mean by richer? One thing i bought and am very happy that i bought for asian cooking is fish sauce. adds just a great level of depthness to most of the dishes.

[columbia]

a touch of sesame oil is also nice.
It's easy to overuse it, however.

[shmenguin]

cornstarch will get it thicker, that's for sure, but what do you mean by richer? One thing i bought and am very happy that i bought for asian cooking is fish sauce. adds just a great level of depthness to most of the dishes.

i guess it's a little too sweet maybe? looking for something more savory. i think fish sauce might do the trick to balance it out. i would add oyster sauce in, but we can't use that because of allergies. as for the cornstarch, i've seen a couple different methods to put it in. some people just add it to the sauce before it goes into the pan. other people combine it with water and set it aside until the very end of the cooking process. thoughts?

[shmenguin]

a touch of sesame oil is also nice.
It's easy to overuse it, however.

another allergy no-no. asian cooking is an uphill battle in my house, but i'm gonna fight it until the bitter end

[count2infinity]

cornstarch will get it thicker, that's for sure, but what do you mean by richer? One thing i bought and am very happy that i bought for asian cooking is fish sauce. adds just a great level of depthness to most of the dishes.

i guess it's a little too sweet maybe? looking for something more savory. i think fish sauce might do the trick to balance it out. i would add oyster sauce in, but we can't use that because of allergies. as for the cornstarch, i've seen a couple different methods to put it in. some people just add it to the sauce before it goes into the pan. other people combine it with water and set it aside until the very end of the cooking process. thoughts?

i always mix it up in water before hand and then pour it in only because if you put the cornstarch into the hot liquid directly it clumps up and is almost impossible to unclump, but once you pour it in it's just sort of a wait and see game for thickness. the longer you leave it on the fire the thicker it will get up to a certain point.

[the wicked child]

Cornstarch most def needs to be mixed w cold water first.