New England Clam Chowder

A classic, thin New England clam chowder, made of clams, milk, potatoes, onions, celery, and bacon. Yum! (If you don't eat pork, you can leave it out or use turkey bacon.)

Masala Chai

Mmmmm........warm, spicy, milky, sweet, fragrant tea. Why buy it from a cafe or pre-packaged when you can make it fresh?

There are variations to the spices in different regions of India (as well, I'm sure, from one household to another), but I like to use fresh ginger, cinnamon, peppercorns, whole cloves, a dash of nutmeg, and whole cardamom, all which can be found in a well-stocked kitchen. 

After the spices boil together, add some perfumed tea, milk, and sugar and let them simmer.

Using a strainer to catch the whole spices and tea leaves, pour into a cup and enjoy!

Vegetable Pizzette

A few days ago, I asked some friends what dishes they would like to see on this blog. One answered (specifically on Saturday at 7:36pm), "Something with peppers and onions."

And so begins the peppers and onions series.

The first thing that came to mind is what I'm calling a pizzette, a sauceless, cheeseless pizza. I bought gluten-free pizza crusts, one by Against the Grain and a pair by Whole Foods, both my first foray into pre-baked, gluten-free pizza crusts.

The crust only needed about 10 minutes of baking, which wasn't going to be enough to cook the vegetables through, so I sauteed the peppers, onions, and mushrooms in some olive oil until they were half cooked. I then dressed them with some sea salt, garlic, and lemon juice, and topped the crusts with the semi-cooked vegetables and fresh, diced tomatoes. After they baked, I sprinkled fresh oregano leaves on top.

This is the Against the Grain crust. It's fairly light and crispy, and has some cheese in the dough. It tastes like a cross between a croissant and a cheesey breadstick.

These are the Whole Foods crusts. They taste surprisingly like traditional pizza crusts! And they are denser and chewier than the other one. I'll definitely use both brands again

If I had worked with a raw dough, the vegetables would have baked into the crust. But in this case, they sort of slid off! But that's fine. :) 

Though both of these crusts have dairy, I'm going to tag this dish as "dairy-free" and "vegan," because it could easily be made that way with a vegan crust.

Eggs, Potatoes, and Onions

On weekdays, breakfast is usually a piece of fruit or a cup of gluten-free cereal. On the weekend, it's nice to eat something more breakfasty. 

So this morning I chopped up (with one hand, because I have a fractured wrist in a cast) a small, boiled potato and browned it in some olive oil. Then I added the onions, then the eggs. And for some freshness, tomatoes! And nothing tastes better with tomatoes than olives, in this case, oil cured.

Vietnamese Beef

This was delicious! I found a recipe for grilled beef that I liked, so I just adapted for the stove top. Please see my previous post regarding authenticity.

The sauteed beef is dressed with garlic, ginger, chilies, sugar, rice vinegar, lemon grass and fish sauce, and topped with mint and peanuts. I served it with a ginger rice.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

This was my first attempt at cooking Vietnamese food. Or "Vietnamese" food. I have very little experience with it, and so I can't claim to have the flavors exactly right. My apologies to the Vietnamese if this tasty version is not 100% authentic. (I know I get annoyed when people totally change a dish, but still claim it's "Middle Eastern.")

I consulted several Vietnamese sources, and each had a slightly different recipe, so I filled the rice paper with my own combination of pork, shrimp, mint, lettuce, bean sprouts, rice noodles, and scallions. The dipping sauce is made of water, rice vinegar. The dipping sauce is made up of water, fish sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, chili, sugar, and ginger.

Ful Mudammas

Nothing says breakfast (or lunch...or dinner...) like a warm bowl of creamy, earthy fava beans seasoned with lemon, garlic, and jalapeño pepper, and topped with olive oil. 

Ful Mudammas is an authentic Egyptian dish, dating back millennia, but has long been eaten throughout the Middle East, where it's not only cooked at home, but also sold in many little ful shops. Each area and home has a slightly different recipe and accompanying vegetables, but it is always eaten with warm pita bread and hot tea. Unfortunately, delicious as tea is with ful, it actually blocks the body from absorbing the iron in these beans. 

As I have yet to bake my own gluten-free pita, I ate this with a spoon!