Pies and Bread and Bobby Darin

I came home early from class today, which meant I got to make some of the food that I had planned on making yesterday but ran out of time for. 


First, I've really been wanting something with rhubarb in it. Weird cravings galore on this diet. I don't know exactly what my mom used to make with this, but I remembered it being good. So I picked out this recipe: 
http://bakerbettie.com/2012/04/12/strawberry-rhubarb-pie-grain-free-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free/


Strawbarry Rhubarb Pie 

For the Crust (double crust) 


3 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 tsp vanilla extract

• In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, salt, and baking soda.  Make a well in the center.
• Add the grapeseed oil, agave, and vanilla into the well.
• Stir until well combined.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Use your pie plate to draw a circle on the parchment.  Flip the paper over.
• Grease the pie plate with grapeseed oil. Pat half of the mixture into the pie plate in a thin even layer.
• Pat the other half of the dough into a circle on the parchment about a 1/2 and inch smaller than the circle.  Cut out a shape in the center if desired, or make slits.
• Bake in a 325 oven for 10-14 minutes, until lightly browned. (this is the only time you will use the oven, fyi)
• Place the top crust in the freezer to set. About 15 minutes.
• Gently remove the top crust from the parchment to top the pie.

For the Filling


4-6 stalks of rhubarb (about 3 cups), roughly chopped
1 pint strawberries, quartered
zest of an orange or lemon
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup agave nectar
3 tbsp arrowroot powder
3 tbsp water

• Heat rhubarb in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until softened.  About 8-10 minutes.
• Add the zest, cinnamon, and agave nectar and cook for 2 more minutes.
• Add the strawberries and cook for 2 minutes more.
• Mix the arrowroot and water in a small bowl to create a slurry.
• Remove the rhubarb mixture from the heat and slowly mix in the slurry to thicken the filling.
• Allow to cool slightly before pouring into the pre-cooked pie crust and topping with the top crust.

Coconut Milk Whipped Cream (I didn't use this)


1 can organic full fat coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp agave

• Allow the coconut milk to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Scoop out the milk solids that have separated to the top.  Reserve the coconut water left in the bottom of the can for other uses.
• Using a wire whisk or hand mixer, mix the coconut milk solids, vanilla, and agave until light and fluffy.
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

------


I was surprised that you didn't actually bake the whole pie together. You just bake the crust, and then cook the fruit on the stovetop, and then combine the two.


It came out well: 

Isn't this beautiful? I love making desserts so much more than real food. It's always prettier, and there is something relaxing about it.

Now for my advice: 
Crust:
I am a pie crust kind of person. It's always my favorite part of the pie. For this, I think you could go with more/thicker crust. Maybe a 1.5x recipe of the crust. That's what I'll do if I make it again. Also, if you eat the crust by itself, it's super tasty, but I feel like that was a LOT of grapeseed oil. I'm not sure how you could reduce it though, since it was about the right consistency for crust. 


Filling: 


Rhubarb:
I didn't know a lot about rhubarb before getting it. Turns out, the leaves on it are poisonous to humans (so make sure you cut them off and dispose of them), and while you don't HAVE to peel it, I did. The thinner stalks will be more tender, and the bigger/older stalks will be more stringy. If you don't want to peel them, get the thinner stalks. 
I peeled mine because they seemed pretty stringy. I just peeled it with my fingers. 
It also has a very strong flavor, so I would decrease the amount used here. Maybe 2 or 2.5 cups. 


Zest:
I didn't have any zest, so I just put a squirt of lemon in the pot.


Arrowroot and water:
Put the water in the refrigerator for a while before you mix it with the arrowroot. You want it to be really cold, so that when you mix the arrowroot in it and then use it to thicken the fruit mix, it will actually thicken.


------


I've found that my enjoyment of cooking stops after the first recipe. I really enjoyed making the rhubarb pie, but then by the time I made my second recipe, I just wanted to go sit down. I made it anyway. 
I picked Banana Fruit Bread from 
http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2010/08/banana-fruit-bread-gluten-free-dairy.html


Banana Fruit Bread (with my alterations)

For 2 loaves or 9x13 pan

Add to bowl:

4 mashed bananas
6 room temp eggs (cold eggs will harden the coconut oil)
1/3 cup agave nectar
6 tbs liquified coconut oil (melt it in microwave)
1/2 tsp liquid stevia

1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp sea salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 cup coconut flour, sifted
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped walnuts

2 chopped uncooked apples

optional: ¾ cup dried unsweetened cranberries

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat with electric mixer.

grease pans, Put batter in pans

Sprinkle 1/3 cup coconut sugar on top

Bake for about 50 minutes

-------

I didn't add the cranberries because I'm not a fan, but maybe I will next time. If there is a next time...I don't know. This recipe is pretty good. The cinnamon makes it good, but it tasted different I guess. Which is to be expected if you are adjusting to all of these different flours and such. 

Oh, and a tip on the eggs: I never get mine out of the fridge in time for them to get warm. So I just get some really hot water and fill a bowl up, and put the eggs in the water until I use them. It normally does the trick perfectly.

I also was going to mash the bananas with a fork, but the stupid things were sliding all over the place, so I used a masher thing and it was MUCH more effective.


I didn't think I would like the apples, but I really did. Also, i might putting some almond butter on this and see how it tastes. I always used to put peanut butter on the banana bread my mom and sister made.

So how does Bobby Darin come into all of this? Sometimes, when cooking or eating dinner with people (or by myself) I like background music. So I listen to the "Bobby Darin" station on pandora. You'll have to tweak it a lot because some really annoying songs come on, but it's one of the best old stations I've found.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yca2BCwAnBQ

You can't tell me you don't want to dance and cook when you hear that.

But if that's just too much for you, here's a slower one. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRIo8GFIet8

A Night of Cooking and Sore Feet

So, yes, you may not want to think of cooking and feet at the same time (Was I the only child that read The Twits by Roald Dahl??), but I'm sorry. I have been cooking for four hours, I accidentally stepped on my heel once, I broke an egg down my leg, I cut my finger, and I burnt the onions I was sauteing. 




But I'm actually pretty full and happy right now. Want to know why? OK I'LL TELL YOU.


Ok so today. I had class, boring, then lunch: 
I get sick of eating salads, so last time I got rice for lunch. This time my friend got rice and seafood on top, so I decided I'd copy him. It was just meat, and that was the only topping I could have. 
When I got it, first of all, it smelled disgusting. And it wasn't until I sat down at the table to eat it that I discovered not only did some of the seafood have leg things, but also suckers. 

Honestly, I was surprised my lunch didn't swim off right then. That's a picture of one of the disgusting things I found. The rest of it was there too. I'm just glad that nothing was looking BACK at me. I picked everything that wasn't shrimp out, but I still wouldn't get it again.


Because I ran out of edible food to eat at home, I designated tonight to be my cooking night. I looked up a few recipes I planned on cooking, wrote down a shopping list and went to Walmart. I cannot get a lot of weird ingredients at walmart true, but they are still the cheapest by FAR of all the stores, and I wanted to get as much as I could there. 


I came home and unloaded my groceries and then went to Village Foods. This is where I became bad Brittany. Village Foods was kind enough to increase the amount of gluten free food there, almost a whole aisle of it, and a lot of it - desserts. omg, the desserts. It was bad enough that I went shopping before I ate dinner....but then I saw all of the new desserts that were gluten free...It was still difficult to find stuff that was corn / soy / dairy / refined sugar free, so I got a few things, about four or so. But I diiiiddddd break my ingredient list for one item: 
Gluten Free Maple Donuts by Kinnikinick
http://consumer.kinnikinnick.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/consumer.home.html
It has sugar and derivatives of corn, but I thought I'd risk it. Maple glazed donuts were always my favorite as a kid. 
When I went to check out, guess what day it was? Free cupcake day. Basta*ds. I never had a free cupcake day when I wasn't on this diet!!!


On the way home, I drank my first soda and ate my first cookie in 43 days. But don't worry, I didn't even break my diet: 

The Virgil's Real Cola tasted like actual coke. Maybe a little on the diet coke side, I'm not sure, but it was pretty good! The Nana's Lemon GF cookie....could have been better. It tasted good when you first bit into it, but as it dissolved it became grainy and kind of gross. I wouldn't buy it again. I'm kind of interested in the soda though. Unless you can buy it in bulk, it's a specialty item, it was expensive. 


I came home and gathered my stuff, and I had decided to make Spinach and Artichoke Pies from 
http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2011/01/spinach-artichoke-pies-gluten-free.html
because I had leftover spinach that my sister bought me and I didn't want it to go bad. 
I should have let it go bad. 
I've never had artichokes before, except when it snuck itself in my meals unawares at events or something, but I was being open-minded. The picture looks so good, after all. 
I spent at least two hours preparing and cooking it, and in the process, it looked promising: 

You can't tell me I didn't shape that perfectly.

And I was getting so excited, I broke my measuring cup. 

That's right. Broke it. Snapped the frickin thing in half. 

Like a boss.

I didn't take an end product picture of these, because once I bit into them, well they just plain sucked. I bagged them up and I'm going to see if I can shove them onto a starving college student tomorrow, but the lesson learned here is: DON'T MAKE THESE. The artichokes were weird and sour, the spinach is pretty gross in general, and that crust - omg. Gag me with a fork I'm done.


I was determined not to have wasted money and an entire night however, so I decided to whip up Broccoli Quiche from the same website: 
http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2008/07/broccoli-quiche.html


Ok, her quiches are heavenly. It's pretty easy to put together, except for all the chopping. But don't worry, I just bought me a Slap Chop. 
https://www.slapchop.com/default.aspx?did=&refcode=1002
Please watch the video. And I quote, "You're gonna love my nuts"
lololololololol
I'll let you know how the slap chop works out. ;)
Oh, and don't get ripped off. I bought mine from Amazon.


and here is how the quiche came out: 

and here is the recipe (with my alterations)
Broccoli Quiche

Set oven to 350 degrees.

Saute:

3/4 cup chopped onion

4 cloves of garlic, minced

Add to bowl with:

1 cup cooked brown rice (I used white minute rice. Super fast and convenient to cook but it tasted a little plain in the whole mix. Maybe add a little bit more Herbamare seasoning or something? Not sure)

2 cups lightly steamed broccoli 

Mix together:

3 eggs

3/4 cup coconut milk

1 tsp Herbamare seasoning

Combine all ingredients.

Pour into greased 8 X 8 dish.

Bake for 40 minutes. 

---

Alright, so I'd like to note: Herbamare Seasoning. I bought it on amazon after seeing it in a lot of her recipes, and now I LOVE IT. It's like the magic seasoning. Are you cooking incompetent? Seeking a simple idiot proof seasoning? Can't decide what seasoning to use? Then don't decide! USE THEM ALL = Herbamare is for you! 

I could advertise for them, seriously. 

And if you look at their ingredient list, they really do have like every seasoning lol. 

To finish my night cooking spree off, I made my now old favorite, (with more alterations to my last altered recipe!)

Broccoli Oven Omelet with Sweet Potato Crust

Omelet mixture:

11 whisked eggs

2 tsp Herbamare seasoning

1 finely chopped sauteed onion

1 finely chopped sauteed red pepper

2 cloves minced sauteed garlic (or about 1.5 TBS)

4 cups lightly steamed, thinly sliced broccoli

1/2 to 3/4 cup Daiya or other dairy-free cheese

Optional: breakfast sausage

Preheat oven to 350

Lightly grease two pie dishes. Thinly slice one sweet potato, and arrange it around the bottom of the pie dishes.

Pour omelet mixture over top.

Bake covered with foil for about 30 minutes, without foil for 10 minutes. (Foil isn't necessary, but top can get a little browned/crunchy without it.)

----

I didn't take a picture because I already have. 

Then, for dessert, I ate one of my Maple Glazed Donuts :)

I think it was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. They are in the frozen department, by the way. But seriously. The best donut I ever remember tasting. I haven't honestly had a donut in yearssssss though. But this was AMAZING. I'd buy these even if I wasn't on this diet. 

I'll leave you with a song before I go. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t45i8cjHzko

Peace ;)

Freezer Meal Mayhem and two weeks left of school

I haven't posted for a while, I know. It seems like it's been such a busy past few days! I've mainly been stuck inside attempting to program. 


uhhh I'm trying to remember what's been going on, lol. Let's have an update on life, and then food. 


Yesterday was the last autocross of the semester, and since I was out in the sun for about 5-6 hours, I got a terrible sunburn. My skin is still currently burning. I don't know what's worse, the sunburn, or the shape of it. My tan lines look stupid. Good going Brittany, couldn't avoid that one for like two weeks until you got to vacation at the beach in something strapless? 


Also, last night in the shower (start of a good story right here, with that line), I stepped down really hard on my metal drain plug thing that had shifted sideways - and sliced my foot open. I tried to go to a doctor to get a tetanus shot today, but turns out I have to go tomorrow instead. It's ok, I have 72 HOURS from the injury where it is still effective. I don't think I necessarily need it for this, but my last tetanus shot was when I was 8 years old and I'd rather not risk something that has a 30% fatality rate. The odds are not often in my favor...did you know you're supposed to get one every 10 years at least? I remember getting the last one when I was 8 (good thing, because my medical records are lost to oblivion) because when the nurse said I'd need one in 10 years, I thought, "In 10 years, I'll be 18, and no one will be able to make me do anything"


like a boss.


Anyway, food I've been surviving off of. Remember that Pan-Roasted Chicken with Garlic Lemon Green Beans I made with Cindy and froze? I cooked it this weekend, and ok...Maybe I've never cooked a freezer meal or I did it wrong, but it took like freaking 4 hours to bake, and i'm not even kidding. I'm thinking next time I'll try and either cook the chicken half way or all the way and freeze it. Or maybe make it a crock pot meal. And I'm talking about generally, because that SPECIFIC meal was....hmm. Ok, first of all, DON'T PUT THE LEMON IN THERE. What the heck is wrong with people seasoning their meals with so much lemon? The whole thing was like a lemon stick. The meat is pretty good, not really seasoned though, the potatoes are a little lemony and dry, and the green beans were completely not edible - tasted like lemons.


Here is a picture anyway though:

Yesterday, after Autocross we went to Abuelo's again. I hope when I am allergy tested, I get to eat corn and stuff again because those chips there look good! 
Yes, it might be a good idea to bring your own pre-dinner snack when you go to some Mexican/Italian places because they normally bring out chips/dip or bread and that way you have something to munch on too. 
It didn't really bother me though, maybe I was just not in the mood to care, or maybe I'm getting used to not having the normal kinds of stuff I had before. I don't know. 


Oh yeah though, so I've been eating those potatoes and chicken from that meal for the past few days (with organic heinz ketchup, cheating but it doesn't hurt my stomach and I LOVE ketchup) and I noticed a difference in how I felt - It makes me very full, but not in a pleasant way, and I realized that used to happen all the time and hasn't really happened on this diet yet. It like makes me store a bunch of water like a camel or something. I don't know why, but I think I'm going to try and avoid potatoes from now on. 


I also changed my medical shake up. I normally just put
 a scoop of either the inflamx or clear stuff
some frozen blueberries/strawberries/bananas
fill up with 100% real aloe vera (the juice kind of course, not the sunburn kind)
zinc pill 
Lysine pill
sometimes I add flax oil as well. 


(if you don't know what I'm talking about, see the "About Me" page.)
And I have the shake as a meal replacement every other day or so (so far).


So, I'm still mad about my foot. I had to limp everywhere on campus today, because if I step down on my heel it hurts like H-E-L-L. I was going to go dancing this Thursday, but so much for that. It's ok, I only never get the opportunity. Ever. No big deal...I'll just go back to my basement and program again now.

Chevelle and Cookie Mug Cakes

:D
HAPPY FACE.
For several reasons.


First of all, I went to see Chevelle last night with my boyfriend and other best friend. And they were AMAZINGGGG.
It was kind of stupid though, because the venue they were at, Harry's, kind of set up a scam. They put 7pm on the tickets, lending you to think the concert started at ohhhh, 7pm? But it actually started at around 9pm. Pretty sure they did that just so they would get tons of people standing around with nothing to do but buy something to drink (Harry's ----> $$$     <- that's what it looks like when you throw your wallet at Harry's as a sacrifice).


We sat around and chatted and it wasn't terrible, but I would have rather just heard the band straight from the start. They had two intro bands: New Medicine and Dead Sara. Never heard of either of them. New Medicine sounded alright and played for about 30 minutes, Dead Sara was pretty dang terrible and played for about 45 minutes. THEN CHEVELLE OMG.


I assumed they would play a lot more music from their new album, Hats Off to the Bull, but they only played about 3 songs from it, and a ton of old good ones that everyone knew the lyrics to.
Here is a link for my favorite song from their new cd, Envy,


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mKFzMWW8HQ


They ended the night with Red,


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5w0dotWseU


I had a great time. I want to see them play again!


Ok, ok, I know, i'm supposed to be talking about food here.


So today: I had leftover eggplant casserole for breakfast. I really hate celery. I'm just going to throw that out there. I also don't think I made it right, or maybe the cheese substitute changed it a lot, because it just doesn't taste as good as my grandma's does.


For lunch I made the oven omelet that I had frozen. Ok, DON'T FREEZE EVERYTHING YOU MAKE. Bad idea, guys. It came out weird. For some reason, not all of the egg would cook. Even after I put it in the oven for an hour (like, really?). So, no more freezing that dish.


Then tonight, I ran across some mug cake recipes online. (little "cake" recipes for a cup that you can make in the microwave, a < 5 minute process)


Slightly doubtful, I decided to try one out, because I really really want a cookie / cake / bread.
I used this recipe:
http://www.thisflourishinglife.com/2012/03/chocolate-chip-cookie-mug-cake-allergen.html
And I made some alterations of course. Here is the recipe I made from it:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mug Cake

Ingredients:
3T gluten-free flour blend (I used Bob’s Red Mill)

1T stevia in the raw

1 T light/raw agave nectar
¼ tsp baking powder
2T almond milk (You can add more if it's too thick after you stir it.)
1/2T canola oil (any good tasting oil would work)
1T almond butter (or peanut butter, hazelnut butter, sunbutter, etc)
1T chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life allergen-free chips)

Making It:
Mix flour, stevia, and baking powder thoroughly in a microwave safe mug.
Add in oil, agave, and almond milk and mix.
Add in almond butter and mix.
Add in chocolate chips and mix.
 Microwave for about 40 seconds.

Please note, DO NOT EAT THIS RAW. You may get excited and think it's like tasty batter or cookie dough, BUT IT'S NOT, IT TASTES LIKE NASTY FLOUR AND WILL DISAPPOINT YOU. 

Ok, Other than that, it was freaking amazing. I paired it with almond milk (I pretty much drink almond milk with everything dessert-like). and it was SOOO GOOOODD. 

I haven't added up the calories because I want to enjoy this one for a few days, but I will eventually just because I'll probably eat it all the time if something doesn't stop me. 

I forgot to take a picture (curses), but I will upload one as soon as I make another. I just got so excited I forgot about pictures....


UPDATE: I made another, this time doubling the recipe and took a picture. 

Turns out, I cannot handle sweets like I used to. The doubled recipe came out fine, and the double heating time on the microwave was perfect. But it was too much for me! I couldn't finish it. And that's saying A LOT. I used to down sugar packets at restaurants for goodness sakes. I guess my sweet tolerance is dying. And that genuinely makes me sad. I guess it's a good thing though.

Also, I added up the calories for a normal batch. It's 327.5 Calories. Not terrible...

----end update

Also, as far as my well-being: I'm doing better, honestly. I've had a lot of variety in what I've been eating, which really makes a difference when you'd rather eat anything else but what you have (even if it tastes good, I just don't normally eat stuff like the stuff I've been eating. I miss my "real" food). It definitely makes you less depressed to be able to mix up food and not continuously eat one thing for a couple days or meals. 

I think I had one medical shake this week. I'm going to start making them differently and probably have one about 1-3 times a week. I'll post when I figure that out. One thing at a time, yo. 

I have also started running about 3-4 times a week for the past two or three weeks. Yeah, that's weird to say. You know why? Because I hate exercise. I HATE running. So why combine the two? I'm not sure. Ironically, because I'm lazy, lol. It's easy to just put on shoes and start running around my neighborhood. And I think being outside makes me feel better. I'm always indoors doing homework or in a dungeon coding something. It's nice to see the sun or feel the wind sometimes, even if you think you are dying because you are running. I run about 1 - 1.5 miles each time, depending on how tired I am or how much I feel like I'm going to pass out or throw up. Yeah, so I've got the body of a 70 year old, give me a break. 

I was losing incentive to run until I installed a RunKeeper app on my phone. It keeps track of how fast you are running and how far you run. So now that I'm competing with myself, it makes running a tiny bit easier. 

Annnnd that's about it. 

CHEERS

Oven Omelet Happiness

So, I'm getting pretty sick of those chicken and dumplings I made (yes, i'm still eating them, and omg why is there so much left...)


Then for lunch, I had my usual on campus. They have limited options for me (like one) so I have a salad with: lettuce, turkey, and avocado. And normally some sea salt chips. 


When I got home, I discovered that I not only had the seasoning I've been waiting for in order to make a recipe been delivered,


 (Herbamore - http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=herbamare+seasoning&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4391322795&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1326889671536470711&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_8q7bvcfzuq_b )


but my oldest sister had also sent me a box of 6 bags of dried figs! OH BOY!!


I had honestly never had a fig in my life. Or a dried one. I'm not a big fan of dried fruit and stuff, honestly. My other sister made me some dried apple chips that are good though, and some good dried sweet potato chips, but they kind of break your teeth because they are thick.


Anyway, back to the figs - I decided to be open minded and try one, and so I opened up a bag. Ok. Why do these things smell like a combination of alcohol and my hair conditioner. 
Bad idea to smell things. 
It's best just to put a clothes pin on your nose during all of these food experimental moments. 


So...I tasted the conditioner smelling dried disgusting looking little brown shriveled thing (they are quite big, i was surprised.) and it was surprisingly kind of good. Strange aftertaste, interesting texture and the inside is gooey with little crunchy bits. Think fig newton, without the newton, and times 100, plus some conditioner.


For some reason, they are addicting, in a disgusting way. I ate a couple more lol. They are really good! Except for that smell, really.


Anyway, back to the Herbamore. When I opened up the package, both spices had opened up and were spilling in the box. I was very unhappy. What kind of spice jar doesn't have a seal? Who are these people with their amazing throw every spice into a jar and get away with it without a seal? I angrily complained to Amazon, so we will see if I get a response.
I wasn't going to use them because they were open, but then I got hungry and was like...oh whatever. 


and I made an Oven Omelet!
http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2010/10/oven-omelets-with-sweet-potato-crust.html


I have been staring at this recipe for days lol.
I didn't add any sausage or sundried tomatoes. 
And it came out beautifully!!!

It was absolutely delicious. I added more broccoli than originally called for, by the way. And I also thought it needed more eggs. See my "other recipes" tab for my altered recipe. 

Which yes, forgot to mention - all these recipes I try from other people, i am putting them on the "other recipes" tab with my changes. 

mmmm. Now I'm happily full. 

PEACE.

Grandma's Eggplant Casserole!

For some reason, I have really been wanting eggplant casserole, for weeks now. And now that I have finally discovered a non-dairy/soy/corn cheese (Daiya) I thought I'd make it today! I had most of the ingredients anyway and needed to use them before they went bad. 


I got the recipe from my grandma: 


Grandma's Eggplant Casserole: 

1 medium.size eggplant

1 onion

1 tsp garlic powder

1 medium bell pepper

2 stalks celery

1 pinch salt

1/2 tsp sage or poultry season

1/2 tsp italian season if you have it.

1 egg

Breadcrumbs

Sprinkle of cayenne pepper

1 1/3 Cup grated cheddar Daiya non-dairy cheese

Peel and cut up eggplant, onion, bell pepper, and celery.

Put this in a pot with garlic powder and a pinch of salt. Fill to top of ingredients with water and boil until soft.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Drain water, put in a bowl and mash mixture up.

Add the egg, breadcrumbs, poultry seasoning/sage, Italian seasoning, a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and cheese. Mix up.

Put all this in greased casserole dish, cover with foil and cook for 40 min at 400 degrees. Take off foil and sprinkle cheese on top and bake/broil for about 10 minutes.

-----------------------------

I didn't drain my mixture enough after boiling, so it was a little bit more juicy than I wanted the casserole to be. I wanted it to be more firm and stick together, but I didn't drain enough off (even after mashing).

I was also afraid of adding too much Daiya since I wasn't sure if it would alter the flavor in a bad way. Don't worry about it though! You can hardly tell it's different at all in mixtures like this. 

And then I had strawberries for dessert.

Also, I'd like to point out that I again cannot read food labels correctly. Remember the Gorilla Munch I was really excited about? IT HAS CORN. RIGHT THERE. IN THE INGREDIENT LIST. That's why I liked it so much. So no more gorilla munchies....

I experimented....and I didn't die... Mac and "Cheese"

OMG GUYS. I'M EATING "CHEESE" THAT ISN'T REALLY CHEESE, IT'S LIKE OTHER STUFF, BUT IT TASTES MOSTLY LIKE CHEESE!


Let me explain.


So, I've been searching desperately for a cheese substitute. Everything delicious is better with cheese. It's my most missed dairy product so far (and frozen yogurt). Do you know how impossible it is to find a gluten / dairy / SOY / corn free cheese? And after my stunt with "vegan cheese slices" I was NOT ready to try another cheese substitute. 


Then one day I was reading recipes online and it mentioned "Daiya - a non dairy cheese"
http://www.daiyafoods.com/
I looked it up, and it looked pretty promising, it didn't look scary vegan, it comes in shredded cheese bits like the cheese I was used to, and it's base ingredient is appropriate oils / flours. So today, I went out and bought it. According to their website, the only place around me for like 150 miles that carries it is Kroger and a local natural foods place. So I went to Kroger. It was next to the vegan cheese, ironically enough.


I brought it home and didn't know when I would use it and then I got stressed out this evening and decided to take a break and cook something simple. The only thing I had all the ingredients for and used that type of cheese - I got the sharp cheddar kind - was Cheesy Quinoa Mac and Cheese


http://aroundthetableri.blogspot.com/2012/02/cheesy-quinoa-mac-cheese.html


I cooked the quinoa for the longest amount on the package so it would be less seed like, and in the recipe I subbed 
milk => almond milk
I didn't put any veggies or extra stuff in, but I did blend up some rice crackers for breadcrumbs. I only put it on half of the thing because I wasn't sure I'd like the breadcrumbs. Turns out, I liked it more without, so next time, no breadcrumbs.


It says to put it in a 9x13 pan, which was way too big. If you are making this for a family, double the recipe and use that size pan. if only 1-2 people, just use a smaller pan. 


As the quinoa was cooking it gave off a terrible smell, which didn't make me too enthusiastic about the recipe. Then I cautiously cut open the Daiya package and leaned in to smell it - probably bad idea. It has a VERY strong, kind of strange smell. I'm sure really strong cheeses do, but I never ate really strong cheeses. So as I was mixing it all up together, I figured the disgusting smelling mixture would come out terrible and would probably make me cry. 


I made it anyway, and stuck it in the oven. As it baked, the smell and look improved. I cooked it for about 20 minutes because it was so thin. 


Then I got it out, cut a nice piece, and slightly terrified, tasted it. Then I was like PRAISE GOD IT TASTES LIKE REAL FOOD AND REAL CHEESE AND OMG I'M SO HAPPY. 


It does have a stronger/different taste, but it's good. and I am so excited about more things to make with this cheese!! 

Another cheese to try in the future is Wayfare cheeses...but for now...Daiya wins.
http://www.wayfarefoods.com/