Alternative to Soy Sauce

Chinese night at home can be hard when the soy sauce in your pantry is made with wheat.  Even if your soy sauce doesn't have wheat it most likely has caramel color, which may or may not have a gluten derivative.  What is a mom or dad to do?

The solution for our household is Liquid Aminos.  Liquid Aminos is derived from soy protein.  The Bragg brand of liquid aminos is gluten free.  I find this amazing product at my local Fred Meyer.  Most health food stores should carry one brand or another.  I don't only use this for my stir fry but for marinades as well.  In fact marinading chicken in just the liquid aminos is a delicious way to break up the monotony of another chicken meal. 

Now it is time to bring stir fry night back! 

Where's the (roast) Beef

Roast beef, a quintessential meal item of down home cooking.  Yet, alas, most of us can only come out with a dried, shriveled thing.  The perfect roast beef has haunted me.  Until just recently.  Here is my success recipe.

Roast Beef:
3-4 lb roast (I use eye of round)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pepper
2 1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsp oregano
3 cloves garlic

Preheat oven to 350.  Put the roast in a baking dish with a lid.  Evenly slice the garlic cloves.  Pierce the roast with a knife on both sides and jam those little slices of garlic in the holes (this will give a mild flavor, but if you really like garlic, jam in some more)  Mix the spices and herbs together and rub all over the roast.  Now I mean the whole thing.  Get the front, the back, and don't forget the sides.  Place the lid on the dish a put it in the 350 degree oven for 3 hours.  The roast will come out fully cooked.  Just let it sit for at least 5 - 10 minutes to before slicing.  If you like a little pink then decrease the cook time.

To make gravy I scrape up all the yummy goodness off of my Corning ware dish that I just cooked the roast in.  I then transfer them to a small pot (burner on medium high heat), and whisk in tapioca flour (or cornstarch) paste.  This is 2 tbsp of flour to 1/4 cup water or milk.  I then keep on whisking and adding milk or a substitute until I get the desired consistency, about 5 minutes.  Now pour over your roast and potatoes and enjoy!

Yorkshire Pudding (sort of)

Yorkshire or Chicken Pudding is a great one dish meal.  Traditionally one would use fresh chicken and simmer the pieces with water, the herbs and spices.  Original recipes do not put vegetables in the dish but I do this to make a complete meal out of my leftover chicken or turkey.

Ingredients:
Leftover chicken or turkey (up to 2 lbs of meat)
1 - 2 cups chopped Vegetables (any mix of veggies will do)
  Thyme
  Parsley
  Salt and pepper to taste
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk or substitute
1/2 cup potato starch or cornstarch
3 tablespoon  melted butter. cooled slightly

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place chicken and vegetables in a baking dish.  Mix the milk and flour together until the flour is dissolved completely.  Add the eggs and mix well.  Add the butter, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper.  Then pour the whole thing over the chicken and vegetables.

Bake for 15 minutes and then turn oven down to 350 degrees.  Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the dish is puffy and lightly brown.  Serves 4 - 6

This recipe was modified from the book The Fugal Gourmet by: Jeff Smith
I like to convert many of his recipes to gluten free because they are always full of flavor using only the simplest of ingredients.

Pasta

To have a truly wonderful pasta again is the wish of many on the gluten/corn free diet.  We have tried all the pasta options out there that were relatively inexpensive.  My son never really liked any of them.  Then my friend Melissa discovered that our local grocery story, Winco, sold noodles made of brown rice and water  in the bulk section.  My son loves them and I do too!  My suggestion for noodles is to find some with minimal ingredients, they just taste better.  We found a great noodle and now it is time for a great sauce.  The following is a basic cream sauce.  You can add what ever you want to make Mac and cheese, Alfredo, or just a herb sauce.





The Base:
1/4 butter or butter substitute, if making Alfredo sauce now is the time to add garlic
2 tbl of potato starch (or corn starch if you can have it)
1 1/2 cup cold milk or substitute
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium pot melt the butter on medium low heat.  Measure out the milk and dissolve the potato starch in it completely.  When the butter is completely melted add the milk.  Stir frequently.  It will take a while to thicken up.  If it is too thick you can add more milk.

Take off the heat just as the sauce begins to boil.  Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper.  At this point you can add the following:

Mac and Cheese:
Add 2 cups grated cheddar or colby/jack cheese and stir into sauce a little at a time

Alfredo:
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp minced garlic (add to the butter and saute the garlic)

Herb Sauce:
Just add the following to taste.
Thyme, Rosemary (fresh is better), Basil, or Oregano
A little Curry powder is delicious with chicken or fish.

With base option you can be as creative as you want!

Roasted Chicken!

Welcome to the New Year and a new way of cooking.  I love to cook but it is so difficult and time consuming when I have to cook one meal for my son and another meal for my husband and daughter.  That is why I have modified our favorite recipes to include us all.  No more cooking two meals or making the meal a dull affair.  I hope that you will be able to utilize the recipes I have acquired to make delicious family meals that everyone will enjoy.  Ok, it is now time to unleash your Domestic Gluten Free Goddess (or God) within!  Let us get cooking!

I have a family of four with small children so one chicken (served with at least two sides) can last us for two meals.  For a larger family use two chickens if you want leftovers.

The Simple Two Meal Chicken

1 3lb whole chicken (make sure it is completely defrosted)
1-2 Tbl    Kosher Salt
1-2 Tbl   Black Pepper
1 Tbl of the following
    Rosemarry
    Thyme
    Garlic Powder
    Basil
1 small onion or half a leek
2 celery stalks
2 carrots

Chop onion, celery, and carrots into large chunks
Mix all spices, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Rinse the chicken off and pat dry, leave the gizzards in the cavity they give flavor, and rub the chicken with the mixture.  Get inside the chicken and under the skin with the spices.
Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the vegetables and place any extra around the chicken.  I put my chicken in a Corningware dish.
Place chicken in a 350 degree oven, uncovered for 1 1/4 hours.
If you have the time, for a truly tender chicken cover the chicken and bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours, increase the temperature to 350 for one hour, then increase the temperature to 400 and cook for an additional 15 - 30 minutes uncovered. 

Serve with rice or patatoes and steamed vegetables or salad.

Note: yes leave the skin on, you don't have to eat it after the chicken is cooked and it helps to keep the chicken moist and flavor full

Use the left over chicken to put in soup, make a stir fry, salad, or quesadillas for tomorrows dinner.