Say hello to...gluten-free party food!!!

This month is ALL about gluten-free Christmas food! I stumbled upon The Gluten-Free Homemaker's website, and can hardly wait to try the pudding cookies! Join in the fun and share your favorite gluten-free party dish :P

Say hello to...Elana's Pantry.

I enjoy frequently checking Elana's Pantry for exquisite recipes. Since my mother's currently visiting me in Seoul, leaving me little time to blog, I've decided to direct you to 2 mouth-watering recipes; Creamy Avocado Dressing and Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies. The latter is in Elana's new, 'The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook' and was also recently published in Colorado Parent Magazine. Enjoy :)

Say hello to...a few of my favorite summer foods.

Well summer is almost gone, so be sure to enjoy your favorite summer fruits before the end of the month! Here's a few of my favorite foods that I enjoyed this past summer:

- sliced strawberries and yogurt for breakfast.
- banana bread for breakfast on-the-go.
- honey nut chex and yogurt.
- watermelon cubes for snacking between meals.
- tomato salad as an after work snack (to hold me over until dinner!).
- chickpea patties for a lazy leftover dinner.
- baked sweet potato cubes to pair with chicken or curry dishes.
- fragrant chicken for a last minute dinner invite.
- fresh herbs sprinkled over roasted potatoes.
- chicken salad with mustard balsamic olive oil dressing.
- snacking on raisins and almonds.
- baked apples and peaches for an evening snack.

Say hello to...vanilla icing.

Most icing/frosting recipes call for milk. My husband and I both don't drink milk or cook with milk so I decided to change a very basic icing recipe and use yogurt instead of milk. It works wonderfully and adds a slight different taste.

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp of plain stirred yogurt

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar with a fork.
2. Add confectioner's sugar and stir together.
3. Add vanilla extract and yogurt, stirring.
4. If needed, add more yogurt for desired consistency.

To make chocolate icing, simply add 2 tbsp of cocoa or carob powder and cream together with butter and sugar.

Say hello to...sesame chicken.

I cook a lot with chicken since red meat is cut differently and often expensive here in Korea. I've posted my 2 favorite chicken recipes already: fragrant chicken and mustard lime chicken. Sesame chicken is my third favorite- it's simple and tastes great.


Ingredients
3/4 brown rice
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp gf soy sauce
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 egg whites
1/4 cup cornstarch *
2-3 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Handful of broccoli, separated
Salt and pepper to taste


1. Begin cooking the rice.
2. Fill saucepan or pot with 1 inch of water. Put broccoli in it and cook on low for 5-7min.
3. In a small bowl combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and garlic; set aside.
4. In a large bowl whisk egg whites and cornstarch. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper, toss to coat.
5. In skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil over med/high heat. Add half the chicken, turning occasionally for 8-10min. Repeat with remaining chicken. Return all the chicken to the skillet and add reserved sauce, toss to coat.
6. Serve over with broccoli over brown rice.


*The original recipe called for corn powder, not cornstarch. Although I haven't experimented with other flours yet, I'm sure there's another one that might even work better than cornstarch.

Say hello to...gluten free flour mix.

I've lived in Seoul for 3 1/2 years now. Whenever I have the chance to travel to a western country, I always try to bring as much gf flour back with me. Or when I know of someone traveling here, I'll get them to bring some. It's worked quiet well, until recently, when I've been trying to experiment with more gf baking. I've suddenly ran all the bags dry ;) Korea does most things quiet different from westerners, and adds wheat flour to most potato starches. Until just last week I hadn't been able to find a gf potato starch. Luckily I was able to find a tapioca starch at a foreign food mart here. So with those two, combined with rice flour, I can now make my very own gf flour! Here's my basic mix, which I'm sure a lot of you are already familiar with:

2 cups rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch

I've used it for several recipes and am more than content with the simple mix. Please, let me know of your favorite gf flour mixes. I would love to expand from this :) But I might have to wait until I have access to more flours ;)

Say hello to...baked sweet potato cubes.

I can't remember ever eating sweet potatoes before I moved to Seoul. But since living here, I've learned how much Koreans love them. You can find fire ovens on the corner of the streets with someone selling baked sweet potatoes. If purchased, they're handed to you in tin foil- with no sauce. After trying one, I realized how delicious they were and decided to make it at home. Instead of baking the whole potato, I cut it into cubes, put some olive oil over it, sprinkle it with Tridosha salt of the sea, and bake them until they are nice and crispy. It takes a while to make them crispy, but is well worth the time! Combine it with one of your favorite chicken dish and a salad.

Say hello to...fragrant chicken.

This is one of my all time favorite chicken recipes. The combination of ingredients makes a delicious and fragrant chicken! I usually bake it in the oven but it tastes great on the grill too! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have :)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tsp lemongrass, chopped

1 chilli, chopped (optional)

2 tsp sesame oil

4 chicken breasts

1. If baking in the oven, preheat the oven to 350. If grilling, start the grill.

2. Spray the bottom of the glass pyrex dish with Pam Original spray oil.

3. Place the chicken breasts in the glass dish, and make a small slit down the center of the chicken.

4. After chopping all the ingredients, combine them together in a bowl. Scoop spoonfuls of the mixture and place it in the slit of the chicken breasts. Spread the remainding mix over the rest of the chicken.

5. Bake until the centers are fully cooked and the top is slightly crispy. Serve with brown rice, roasted potatoes, or over a nice green salad.

Say hello to...tomato bean soup.

My father is a great chef and makes the tastiest soups. Since we come from German heritage, a lot of his classic recipes are German. This is one of my favorite soups that he makes. I always make a huge batch and eat it all week! All the chopping is worth it :)

Ingredients:
1 bag of mixed beans*
1 lb of sausage, thawed, peeled, and chopped**
2 onions, diced
2 cans of diced tomatoes or 2 large fresh tomatoes, diced
4-6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups celery, diced
2 cups cabbage, sliced
2 potatoes, chopped
1 carrot, diced
handful of fresh dill
salt & pepper to taste

1. Soak beans in water overnight. Rinse and drain before using.

2. Cook sausage on medium heat until brown. Set aside.

3. Bring 2 cups of bean mix to a boil. Simmer for 25 min.

4. Puree the diced tomatoes and add to the soup.

5. Add cooked sausage, garlic, onions, celery, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots.

6. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few hours. Add salt and pepper and stir every 25 min.

7. Add dill before serving.

*I like to buy an already prepared bag of beans that has many varieties. If you do this, make sure it does not include barley (some bean mixtures do include barley). You can also make your own mixture.
**Make sure the sausage is gluten-free. I prefer the taste of pork sausage with this soup since the juices from it add great flavor.

Say hello to...mustard lime chicken.

If you like tangy and sour, you'll sure like this flavourful chicken! I found this recipe at Elana's Pantry. Her website is filled with delicious recipes. The mustard-lime sauce is very strong tasting, so be sure not to put too much all over the chicken!

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast

1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp celtic sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1. Combine lime juice, cilantro, mustard, olive oil, chili, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Pulse until ingredients are combined well.

2. Place chicken in a pyrex baking dish.

3. Pour marinade over chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 6 hrs.

4. Place chicken in pre-heated oven or grill.

5. Serve with brown rice and broccoli.

Say hello to...chickpea spinach curry.

After boiling too many chickpeas, I wondered what to make with them all. I looked in my fridge and decided that I needed to make something with spinach. I didn't have any curry powder in my cupboards, so I decided to use the Asian Home Gourmet Korma Curry spice packet. It worked wonderfully. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 yellow onion
1 pack of Korma Curry/masala curry mix/blend of curry and cumin
1 can of crushed tomatoes or 1 1/2 cups of fresh sliced tomatoes
1 cup of mushrooms
1 can of chickpeas or 1 1/2 cups of chickpeas (soaked overnight and boiled)
1 cup of fresh baby spinach
2 tsp of fresh coriander

1. Heat the oil in a large pan or medium pot. Add onions, stirring frequently for 3 minutes.

2. Stir in spices until fragrant. Mix in tomatoes, mushrooms and chickpeas, and cook for 20-25 minutes.

3. Stir in baby spinach and cook until completely wilted. Sprinkle coriander all over.

4. Serve with warm brown rice.

* You can add red pepper flakes if you like it spicy.

Say hello to...honey mustard dressing.

A few weeks ago I posted a recipe for an easy balsamic & olive oil dressing. I received a comment on that post and realized that a lot of people probably don't make their own salad dressings. Once you make them yourself though, you'll soon realize that they taste SO much better. Here's a new salad dressing recipe that I recently discovered:

Ingredients

1/2 tsp chopped or smashed garlic

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard (dijon mustard works great too)

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together and shake well before using. I like to triple the recipe and keep it in my fridge for the whole week.  This recipe serves 4. 

Enjoy your salad :)

Say hello to...balsamic mustard vinaigrette.

Since I bring my own lunches to work, which are usually salads, I like to have a variety of salad dressings. I can't buy gluten-free salad dressings in Seoul, so I've started to make my own. There's a lot that you can do with simply balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and different arrangements of herbs. Here's my latest mix:


Ingredients
1 heaped tbsp of wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
5 tbsp of best olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper


Mix all ingredients together. Serves 4.

Say hello to...frozen tofu.

The other day I brought a tofu salad to an outing with my friends. When they saw the tofu, they were surprised by how it looked and tasted. I wondered how many people don't know about this tofu secret, and how everyone should hear about it! It's easy to make and has a completely different texture from the smooth and silky tofu that you're probably used to. Most people compare this sponge-like texture to meat, and it absorbs flavors much better than the smooth tofu. Simply buy tofu (preferrably firm tofu), drain the water from the container and give the tofu a gentle squeeze to release excess water. Put it in a sealed-tight container and freeze for atleast 24hrs or up to 2 weeks. When ready to use, de-thaw the tofu (preferrably not in the microwave, it'll crumble to pieces). You'll notice water rising in the container as it de-thaws, drain the water. I often cut it into cubes (squeezing the water from each cube) and bake it in the oven with a small amount of vegetable oil, salt, and pepper. It tastes great on salads with balsamic and olive oil dressing. Definitely give it a try!

Say hello to...gluten-free blogs & news.

Nowadays we can access all kinds of gf information on the internet. When I was a child, my mother had to make everything from scratch. She shopped mostly at health food stores and only bought whole foods. It was much more difficult then for people to live on a gf diet. Now we have gf labeled foods, health foods stores with gf foods, even grocery stores now carry gf foods, and the internet provides us with never ending resources. I recently stumbled upon the website, 'Sure Talent Books,' which provides countless gf recipes and the latest gf books. It also has a section on the latest gf news and gf blogs. You'll be sure to find some great recipes or news there.