Is it time for gluten-free?

It’s pretty trendy to go gluten-free these days, the Paleolthic diet for example has an almost cult-like following these days. Personally I believe total elimination of any single food group is a tad extreme and should be avoided wherever possible; although if you’re a celiac you don’t have that luxury.

 

The key to a healthy diet is lots of fruits and vegetables, with everything else in moderation, but moderation is a tricky thing to quantify. A typical western diet can contain up to 3-4 serves of gluten based foods every day, not exactly what you would call moderation.

 

I’ve had IBS since I was a kid. A few years back I had all kinds of tests, only to be told, “hmmm there doesn’t seem to be anything seriously wrong with you. You have IBS”. Followed by some sketchy advice about how to manage it. All this really meant was that this particular medical professional didn’t have a clue what was wrong with me. I am not alone.

I know some people diagnosed with IBS have had success undergoing the long, tedious process of strict elimination diets -  no processed sugar, alcohol, caffeine, dairy and gluten. Where slowly you reintroduce one element and see how your stomach reacts. The only thing is food intolerance's have been shown to be cumulative, making the whole elimination diet path a drawn out, challenging process. Not to mention, who really wants to know they shouldn't eat donuts?

 

Over the years I have identified a few triggers, roasted red capsicum, roasted pumpkin, too many chickpea based dinners, red meat and high fat foods all cause me grief if I over indulge. As far as dairy is concerned, I only eat cheese and cream in small, infrequent amounts, whereas cows milk out. Interestingly a daily serve of natural yogurt seems to cause me no grief at all.

 

So why am I talking about this now? I have some reoccurring issues with my lower back and recently my osteopath suggested my digestive issues and lower back problems might be linked. I put up with my IBS because I can tolerate the side effects. However the lower back stuff is pretty shitty and if they are in fact linked, I'd even consider giving up alcohol if it would make it stop.

 

As a result, over the past month and a half I have been experimenting on myself. Ten days without any gluten based foods, then a few days with and I am sad to report I think there is a direct correlation between my stomach’s happiness and my consumption of gluten. This is one of the main reasons why I haven’t blogged.

 

So for now breakfast is a rolled oat, puffed rice, coconut, almond and apricot muesli, often prepared the night before with a spoon full of yogurt and 1/8th of a cup of water. Making it super creamy in the morning. Lunches are the hardest, I’ve been alternating potato, sweet potato and chickpeas with salad. Making eggplant dip or humus has also been a nice lunch time snack. I'm also partial to an apple, some cheese, sultanas and nuts. In an attempt to not impose my gluten free efforts on my boy I had bolognaise sauce with chickpeas the other day while he had pasta. I tell you it wasn’t half bad.

 

I see this as an intolerance issue, I’m not giving it up for good… because well I don’t want to. I’m also hoping in time, after it's had a break, my tummy will protest less when I indulge in the occasional piece of cake or toast.

Wholemeal Oat, Honey and Raisin Cookies

Here is a great little cookie recipe I found on Whole Grain Gourmet, which I tested out with excellent results. It contains no sugar and is pretty "healthy" as far as a cookie goes. The website says they freeze well, which is good because it will help stop me from eating the entire batch in a couple of days... maybe. The original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, but I followed the whole grain gourmet's recommendation to add more, plus I added mixed spice too, yum!

 

 

1 cup wholemeal flour

1 ½ cups of rolled oats

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

2 tbl cinnamon

1 tbl mixed spice

½ tsp nutmeg

 

½ cup honey

½ cup oil

1 tbl golden syrup

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

 

½ cup raisins

 

In one bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.

 

 

After mixing the dry ingredients, I added the raisins, and with my fingers separated them out so they were evenly distributed in the mixture.

 

 

In another bowl, add all the wet ingredients. Tip: Measure the oil first, then use the same 1/2 cup measure for the honey and it wont stick.

 

 

Whisk the wet ingredients together.

 

 

Add the wet to the dry and mix until combined.

 

If it feels to wet, add a little extra flour (I did).

Cool the mixture for 20 minutes in the fridge.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius

Using two teaspoons press a small amount of mixture into a tight ball and drop onto a baking tray lined with baking paper, then gently press down with a fork.

 

 

Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes at 170 degrees or until golden on the bottom of the cookie, be careful because they burn easy.

 

Black Bean Chilli

This post follows directly on from Black Beans 101. Martha Rose Shulman has a number of recipes using her perfectly simmered black beans. The first one I tested out was her  Black Bean Chilli. I've been searching for a vegetarian chilli recipe for ages and I'm so happy I found this one.

I made a few changes, primarily due to a lack of canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce available in Australia. As a substitute I added paprika, fresh chilli and apple cider vinegar. I also added some celery, because it was in the fridge and needed to be used.

It's thick, rich and delicious!

1 pot simmered Black Beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions finely chopped
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 fresh chillies
3 sticks celery
1 tbl dried chilli
1 tablespoon lightly toasted cumin seeds, ground
425 gm tin tomatoes
2 tbl apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tbl paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt
1/2 cup chopped coriander

Make the black beans as directed, preferably the day before you wish to serve.

Heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion and celery

 

Cook, stirring often, until the onion is lightly colored, about 10 minutes.

Add the fresh chilli and garlic, fry for a minute or two until fragrant

 

Then add the spices, dried chilli, cumin and paprika. Cook, stirring, for two to three minutes, until the mixture begins to stick to the pan.
 

 

Add the tinned tomatoes, vinegar and oregano. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.

  

 

Stir in tomato paste then simmer for another 15 minutes, stir often to prevent it from sticking and burning.

 

Add the Black Beans to the tomato mixture and bring back to a simmer.

 

 

 

Continue to simmer, stirring often, for 45 - 60 minutes.

 

Taste and adjust salt.

 

I've been eating this all week in various ways along the theme of a burrito salad.

Served with brown rice and/or sweet potato

Garnished with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, black olives, coriander, jalapeños, spring onion, grated cheese, natural yogurt and corn chips.

 

Black Beans 101

Black beans are not widely used or available in Australia, which is sad, because they are so delicious not to mention super healthy. Lucky for me the Kakulas Brothers in Northbridge, Perth have bulk bins of almost everything you could desire, including dried black beans.

I attempted cooking black beans once before with poor results because I boiled them and discarded the cooking water - amateurs mistake. They require more time and effort than other dried beans, but after discovering the absolute brilliance that is Martha Rose Shulman and her guide to Black Beans as part of her awesome recipe series with the NY times called Recipes for Health, I think my cooking abilities are about to take a leap forward.

 

On her website she says, "I draw my inspiration from Mediterranean and Mexican cuisines, inherently healthy cuisines with big flavors, whose recipes can be easily adapted, if they need to be, to lower-fat versions without compromising flavor"... I want to meet this woman!

 

This recipe is pretty much Martha Rose Shulman's to the letter, it takes a good 2-3 hours and completely worth the time and effort. 

I am tired of the excessive foodie language used today in Australia. Comments like "I love how the saltiness of the fish sauce is balanced by the sweetness of the palm sugar", or "I love the way the lemon zest brings out the flavour of the beans" are so over used and drive me bananas. For this reason I avoid being too verbose when describing food.

But for this recipe I can't help it. The rich earthiness of these black beans has to be tried to be believed, it is deeply satisfying.There I said it..

When you have time, give this recipe a go, you won't regret it!

 

2 cups dried black beans, washed and picked over for stones

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 medium onions diced

6 large garlic cloves roughly chopped

1/4 cup chopped coriander

Salt to taste 

Soak the beans in about 2 litres of the water for at least six hours. If they will be soaking for a long time in warm weather, put them in the refrigerator.

 

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about three minutes.

 

Add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about one minute.

 

Add the beans and soaking water. The beans should be covered by at least an inch of water. Add more as necessary and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and skim off any foam that rises.

Once it comes to a boil, this is when I put mine in the oven at about 170 degrees for an hour, alternatively simmer on a low heat for an hour.

Add salt and fresh coriander and simmer for another hour.

 

The beans will become soft and the broth thick and fragrant. Taste for salt.

T

Let sit overnight in the refrigerator for the best flavor.

 

 

I ate mine with brown rice, coriander, spring onion, lettuce, jalapenos, fresh chilli, black olives and a couple of corn chips. Some sour cream or natural yogurt would have been good, but it wasn't missed.

Tasty Tomato and Mushroom Pasta

Pasta with a tomato based sauce made from scratch is one of the most economical dinners around. It's also a classic example of simple Italian flavours making a deeply satisfying meal. Today I made one with mushrooms and anchovies, other great combinations include sopressa & red capsicum, tuna & capers, zucchini & eggplant or olives, sun dried tomatoes & bacon. A rich twist with a dash of cream makes a rosé sauce, which is extra fattening and delicious.

The secret to a great tomato pasta sauce is patience. You need to simmer the sauce for an hour, it makes a world of difference. I don't know why, it just does.

I tend to add some combination of anchovies and vegetables, if you don't like anchovies, I recommend you try adding just one or two. You won't even taste them and it adds a depth of flavour that is hard to match.

Fresh basil at the end is always good, although it's still early spring and pretty expensive in the shops so I didn't use any today
 

Tasty Tomato and Mushroom Pasta - serves 2

 

4 cloves garlic

1 tin tomatoes

olive oil
 

8 mushrooms sliced
6 Anchovy fillets
 

250gm wholemeal pasta

Parmesan cheese and spring onion to garnish

 

Start by frying 6 anchovy fillets (or your fatty meat of choice e.g. bacon/sopressa/pepperoni) and 4 cloves of roughly chopped garlic on a low heat until the anchovy breaks up and the garlic softens.

 

Add the mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes

 

Add one tin of tomatoes and 1 cup of water, bring to boil and then simmer for an hour.

 

 

The sauce will be become rich and thick, add a little water from the pasta to thin it out if needed

 

Taste the sauce for pepper, salt and sugar.

 

Because the tinned tomatoes I use aren't very sweet I usually end up adding about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of sugar.



 

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir through

 

 

A sprinkle of spring onion, parmesan cheese and olive oil finishes this nicely

Super Simple Burrito Wraps

Like the post title suggests, this is a really fast, satisfiying meal that you can make within minutes of walking through the door. It would probably taste even better if you had the time to make my roasted corn salsa but sometimes you're too tired to even think about cooking let alone doing it.

 

you will need...

 

wholemeal wraps (I like to buy mission brand)

A tin of refried beans

sliced black olives

chilli sauce/Jalapeños

natural yogurt/sour cream

avocado

lettuce

spring onion

tomato

coriander

 

 

Just cut up the vegetables and you're ready to put this baby together.

 

I zap the wrap in the microwave for about 30 seconds and then put down a smear of refried beans and sprinkle on the rest.

 

If you have more time you could sprinkle the beans with cheese, onions and olives and put it under the grill for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese, then add the salad and yogurt at the end

 

Or wrap it up and put in the sandwich press to toast.

 

the choice is yours!

Larb Chicken Salad

This recipe is one I've learnt not to experiment with and follow to the letter. It's deceptive in it's simplicity. I used to try and add more things like coriander or nuts, but it needs nothing else I promise. Traditionally it is eaten inside a lettuce leaf similar to like san choy bow. It also tastes great with jasmine rice or vermicelli noodles. I served it along side two Indonesian curry's (that I didn't have the energy to photograph, but I promise I will post them in the future).

 

These photos are from when I made a double batch with pork, which is traditional, but wasn't as well received as chicken normally is (the butcher only had chicken breast mince that didn't have a scrap of fat in it which would have been dry and grainy). The pork was also a bit smelly and I guess that put some people off... Lesson learned, some people aren't big fans of pork. But as a chicken dish it is usually a bit hit.

 

for one batch you'll need... 

 

 

2 tbl uncooked jasmine rice

500 gm chicken mince

2 tbl finely chopped lemongrass

1/3 cup water

3 tbl fish sauce

3 tbl lime juice

1/2 cup of mint

1 red onion finely diced

3 spring onions finely chopped

3 small hot red chilli's (seeds removed if you want it mild)

  

 

The weirdest part of the recipe is how you prepare the rice. First you dry roast it in a fry pan until it browns. Then crush it in a mortar and pestle until it looks like crushed nuts. It adds texture to the salad and is missed if you forget to put it in.

 

 

Finely dice the mint, onions, lemon grass and chilli

 

 

Cutting up these vegetables is the only really time consuming step. I use my mandolin for the red onion, it makes a huge difference!

 

 

To cook the chicken mince, put the lemon grass, 1/3 cup water and meat into a fry pan on a moderate heat and continue to stir until the meat is cooked through but not browned.

 

Carefully drain off the water and add the meat to the salad with the crushed roasted rice. I like adding the meat when it's hot because it slightly cooks the onions and mellows their flavour slightly.

 

 

 

It's best eaten still slightly warm or at room temperature, but always great the next day in your lunch box!