Risotto in a rice cooker. It is that easy.

If I could leagally marry my rice cooker, I might just do that.  I love it that much.

When you're denied pasta... risotto comes to mind.

I suck at risotto.  I've tried.  And usually had to resort to packaged risotto mixes and they've always been just as bad... as just as attention-consuming.  Always too dry or rice too hard  or just not what I expected.

Not so with the rice cooker.

You start off... put some butter and shallots in your rice cooker, and crank it to high/boil.  I was making a mushroom risotto tonight, so I also added some sliced mushrooms.

Let those cook.  Then add a 1 cup measure from your rice cooker measuring thingy plus and extra 2 tablespoons of rice.

Let that cook for a couple of minutes.  Then add 3 cups (using the trusty rice cooker measuring cup) of stock.  I'm a fan of the Kitchen Basics boxed stuff.  Don't use a real measuring cup for the liquid... use the rice cooker measurer. 

Let that boil away.....

I've found I usually need to start checking rice for done-ness around the 15 minute mark.  It might take up to 25 minutes for the rice to be cooked to your liking.

Add some parm at the end. Because parm is pretty much good on anything.

Lovely, not a lot of fuss risotto.  Yes, you need to  do the chopping of the shallot and the pre-stock steps. but it takes care of itself after that.



The things you miss... (and why I love my rice cooker even more)

"Blue box" mac and cheese.

I know.

I know.

It's so not gourmet... it's trash.... but some days, when you have thunk all you can at work and you have to come home and still come up with something for dinner, it is comforting to know that if you bring a pot of water to boil, about 9 minutes later (after mixing it up) you'll have food.

And I think not only is the pasta a no-no when you need to avoid wheat... they might also put it in the seasoning packet.

I was making some for the hubby, and I wanted to make myself some kind of cheesy rice to try and make myself happy.

I've tried a couple of cheesy rice things off the 'net.... cook your rice and add a couple of slices of processed cheese... and they have not been good.

So I thought.  To make a good homemade mac & cheese (which I actually prefer over the boxed stuff) you cook your pasta, make a white sauce, add cheese to the white sauce and then mix it all.

But.... wait a sec.

I can use my rice cooker to make it's OWN starchy white sauce.

One cup plus 2 tablespoons of sushi rice (it was the only short grain rice I had on hand) plus three cups of chicken stock went into my rice cooker.

And after about 25 minutes you get a lovely risotto (seriously... the price of a rice cooker is worth it for a no-fuss risotto alone....)

Dumped some shredded cheddar and some grated parm.....

And OMG... what a reward.....

Lovely rice.  Cheesy goodness.  Unlike the boxed stuff... it was CHEESE.  And some nice starchy rice.  And just awesomeness. 

I will happily buy another 6-pack of the boxed blue stuff so I can make that for the hubby, and have this working its magic on the countertop for my enjoyment alone.  Blue Box is one of his favorite things.  I am more than happy to not share my rice with his.



Happy Fat Tuesday!!! (and why you need a rice cooker)

Happy Fat Tuesday!!

And Happy Paczki Day!

And considering they brought in the most wonderful looking and smelling paczki at work today and I managed to not stab anyone since I can no longer eat them... I consider the day a success.

This is the first Tuesday before lent in probably the 40 years of his life, my husband has not had a paczki.  His mom usually brings us a couple... she didn't this year.  And I am glad, because I would have made the hubby eat them in a different room than I was in.  Or... you know... stabby thoughts.

In any case... I can still make a good Crawfish Creole for dinner.

First part... that used to be the hardest for me... the rice.

 I love my new rice cooker.

Not only is it red, to match my Kitchen Aid and the one wall in my kitchen, it is the best appliance I have purchased in a LONG time.

I suck at making rice.  Dude... it took me ten minutes to make Minute Rice last week.  Seriously.  So I finally broke down, and went and spent $30 on a rice cooker (you can get an off-brand at Target for half that price).

You put in rice.  (And if you are me, you rinse your rice like 4 times just to be extrasupersure there is nothing "wheat" hanging on to it).

You put in water.

You turn it on.

It turns to warm when it is done.

And you have the most perfect, amazing, fluffy rice.

As for the Crawfish Creole.... I sliced some leeks, a red pepper, green pepper and a yellow pepper and got that cooking.....

Dump in a large can of diced tomatoes...

Add some sliced sausage, frozen okra and garlic and let that simmer away.....

Then throw in a pound of crawfish tails and let it heat thru.

Yum.

An actual gluten-free baking success

Chocolate-banana bundt cake.  From the Cuilinary Institute of America's Gluten-Free Baking book.

It actually worked.

Baking has been the hardest thing about dropping the wheat.  Ina Garen's "Outrageous Brownies" were the first thing I ever tried just using some Bob's Red Mill GF Baking Flour mix... and that was not a surprise since that recipe relies on the eggs and chocolate and butter to hold it all together.

There was then the Christmas cookie disaster.

Failed creme puffs (burned on the bottom and raw in the center).

Corn muffins that looked fab on top, and were black on the bottom.

I think my problems may have been silicone pans and my silpat... just get too hot and not good in gluten-free baking.

This time... I used the bundt pan I have used for ONE other cake before, and while it was a bit dense (think banana bread) it was still tasty.

I made the cake for my 35th birthday.  I have to get used to that... if I want cake on my birthday, I gotta make it myself.  I'm fine with that.

Especially now that I found a recipe that I could actually make.


We'll see how the next scheduled attempt - soda bread - goes.

Recipes that change the way you do things

Mashed potatoes.

Everyone knows how you make mashed potatoes.

You peel potatoes, put them in a pot with water, bring that to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender, then drain it, add butter & your dairy of choice and mash away.

I did that for many, many years.

Until I found out that you don't need a huge pot of boiling water to make mashed potatoes.

I melt butter in my pot, then add about a cup of milk and a half a cup of water.  Then I put in my cubed & rinsed peel/chopped potatoes, and cook that for about 25 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

No draining.  All in one pot.

It's a Cook's Illustrated recipe I tried over a year ago, and I honestly don't think I've made potatoes any other way since.  I mean... why would I?  It's just way easier to cook them that way.  And if you ask me, they keep more of their potato-ness when you're not boiling everything away in a ton of water.

I know my mother or mother-in-law would look at me strangely if they ever saw me making potatoes that way.... but I know I'll never go back to doing it the old way.

Gluten-Free (Good!!!) Superbowl Food

So... my team lost yesterday.  But the Bears really didn't have a shot unless the Packers messed up, and they didn't.

So goes football.

So... what does one make for Football Food when you have to eat gluten-free?

Poppers. 

Yes... poppers.

Based off an older Weight Watchers recipe, I have been making these for YEARS because they are good, and easy.

Halve your jalapenos.  De-seed/rib them.  If you are like me, you might want to wear gloves while you do this - I can do one jalapeno without a lot of pain, but if I am doing more than that, I need rubber gloves to deal with them.

Make a mixture of half low-fat cream cheese and half shredded cheddar cheese.  I did five whole jalapenos, which was about 2 oz of cream cheese and 2 oz of shredded cheddar.  I also added some diced/seeded roma tomatoes that I salted & drained.  I like the little bit of tomato.

Fill your jalapenos.  If you have time, stash them in the fridge.

To cook them, beat up an egg (or a couple if you are doing a lot) and then dip the poppers cheese-side-down into the egg, then into some type of crumb-thing (I used Corn Chex - corn flakes also work).  Place on a sheet tray and cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

And you have lovely, lovely poppers.

(they also work, sans the crumb crust, VERY nicely on a grill - cook until the peppers are soft and cheese is bubbly)

Chickpea Flour Crepes

One of the things that has been hardest for me, since having to stop eating wheat, is that I am cheap.

And the store-bought wheat-free alternatives are pretty pricey.  As are some of the flours needed for wheat-free baking - not to mention you have to do a bit of shopping to find all the different flours you need.

Enter... chickpea flour.  We have a large Indian population in the Chicago area, so most stores are fairly well stocked at this point with Indian ingredients.  Which inclues chickpea flour, which is less than three bucks for a small bag of it.

Cheap.  And it makes great crepes.

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoonds fine chickpea flour
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup low-fat milk (or water - both work)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Sift together the chickpea flour, all-purpose flour and salt.

2. Place the eggs, milk (or water) and olive oil in a blender, and turn on the machine. Add the flour, and blend for one minute. Transfer to a bowl or a large measuring cup. (You can also use a bowl and whisk together the ingredients. If blending by hand, put through a strainer.) Set aside for at least 30 minutes; if longer, put the bowl in the refrigerator.

*** DO NOT SKIP THE WAIT TIME.  It is honestly better to put the batter in the fridge overnight rather than skipping this step.  It gives it all time to blend - makes it easier to get rid of any lumps in the batter, and the flavors seem to mellow a bit (you get more "chickpea" taste than "bitter").  Seriously.  Waiting is the key.  Let it go for AT LEAST 30 minutes. ***

3. Heat a well-seasoned or non-stick crêpe pan over medium-high heat, and brush lightly with olive oil. For 6-inch crêpes, ladle in 2 to 3 tablespoons batter per crêpe; for 8-inch crêpes, use 1/4 cup, enough to just cover the pan. The batter should sizzle when it hits the pan. Tilt the pan to distribute the batter evenly, and cook on the first side for less than a minute until nicely colored and easy to flip over. Flip and cook for another 30 seconds, then remove from the pan. Stack the crêpes on a plate as they are done. To reheat, wrap in foil and place in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes. Alternately, reheat individually in a dry pan.

Yield: Eight 8-inch or 10 6-inch crêpes, serving four.


These have become my new alternative to bread.  It is easy to make up a batch of them and stash them in the fridge so I can pull one out to make a quick wrap with some cheese and/or lunch meat for a quick lunch (you do have to be careful though, they can crack on you if they bend while they are cool... they can crack even when room temp since they have no wheat flour, but they stay pretty managable).