Cauliflower-Chicken Fried “Rice”

Cauliflower-Chicken Fried “Rice”

(Estimated Prep & Cook time: 30 minutes, less if you prep the night before)

Contains soy and egg. May contain wheat/gluten if you don’t get the same soy sauce as me.

I haven’t posted in a while, but thought it might be nice to slowly get back into blogging. Tonight I made a delicious recipe that fits the bill for the “Naturally Raych” blog, so I thought it might be a nice re-starting point.

1 “larger” head of cauliflower

¾ - 1 lb of chicken tenderloins

3 Tbs sesame oil (divided)

1Tbs minced garlic

½ sweet Vidalia onion, chopped

¾  cup matchstick-cut carrots, or small diced carrots

¾  cup peas (I used canned)

¼ cup soy sauce (more or less to taste) **

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 Tbs chopped scallions (green onions)

You will need a large frying pan or wok for this recipe

Chop up all ingredients.

To “rice” the cauliflower, add in small batches to your food processor using the chop blade. Set this aside until you are ready to cook. (You can chop everything the night before for a very quick meal!)

Cut up the chicken into small bite-sized pieces and cook over medium heat using 1 Tbs of the oil. Set aside in a large bowl once cooked thoroughly.

Cook the eggs, using just a little more oil to make sure the pan is coated. Once cooked through, set aside with the chicken.

Using 1 more tablespoon of sesame oil, sauté the Vidalia onion, garlic, carrots and peas until all items are tender, add to the bowl.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan, all of your “ground” cauliflower, and the ¼ cup of soy sauce. Cook, stirring often, until the cauliflower get soft/tender. This only takes a few minutes.

Add this to your large bowl, with the minced scallions (green onions). You may want to add a little more soy sauce, but blend all of your items together.

Serve warm, and enjoy!

I thought about adding some other ingredients (maybe mushrooms?) , but decided to start simple. This is a very adaptable recipe and my six year old scarfed it down :)

Naturally,

Raych

**I use LaChoy brand, as it contains no wheat ingredients, unlike most brand name soy sauces. There is much debate over “how” gluten free, as in PPM of gluten… but it’s a credible producer with decent labeling practices- and I’ve never had a reaction.

Gluten Free Pizza Muffins with homemade tomato sauce

 These little gems might become a new family dinner-time favorite. The boys were craving pizza- and being gluten free, pizza can be a time consuming task (I hate that pre-packaged stuff when I can avoid it, so I usually make my own). I found this recipe, adapted my own flour blend and was on my way...

 

I served it with some homemade tomato sauce that we made from our surplus of tomatoes this past summer. As we added all of the meats we just processed to the freezer, I needed to make room, so out came the sauce! If I can figure out where I put my sauce recipe, maybe I'll post that too. I'll link them together when the time comes.

 

So here is the recipe that will make your GF family as happy as mine :)

 

Pizza Muffins, Served with homemade tomato sauce

GF, CoF, SF, NF (Contains eggs and dairy/casein)

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup tapioca starch

2 Tbs baking powder

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 cup Italian seasoning (I used my own dried garden blend from this past summer)

2 Tbs garlic powder

3 cups skim milk

4 eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese  

3 cups pepperoni

Let's get cookin':

Preheat the oven to 350

Coat a muffin tin with a non-stick spray or oil of your choice.

Combine dry ingredients (flours, xanthan, baking powder, seasoning, garlic powder)

Combine eggs and milk in a small bowl.

Slowly pour the egg mixture into the dry, combining thoroughly as you go.

Stir in the cheese and diced pepperoni pieces.

Pout the mixture into the prepared cups, keeping in mind that they rise. I aimed for about 1/4 inch below the rim.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden on edges.

I used a silicone muffin tray, so cooking times might vary, keep an eye on them.

Serve with tomato sauce.


It makes 24 standard size pizza muffins.


I'm sure you could add multiple other fillings. I think next time I might add mushrooms, as that is a fan-favorite in our house. If you find some great additions, feel free to share!

Naturally,
Raych

Agave Sea-Salt Caramel

Oh. My. God.

Words could not possible describe how absolutely amazingly delicious this recipe is... Now I have to admit, the original caramel recipe was courtesy of Simplygluten-free.com; only minor adaptations were made due to what I had available in my house the day I was craving this.

I should also point out that I am ALWAYS craving sea-salt caramel items.

I am not going to pretend that because this is made with agave instead of refined sugar it has suddenly become a health food; but doesn't it just make you feel a smidge better?

 

So here it is...

 

 

Agave Sea-Salt Caramel

For sake of honesty, this is a stock picture, I can't seem to track mine down,
but this is how the recipe looks when done, in the same type of jar I used :)

GF, CoF, SF, NF (Contains dairy/casein)

1 cup organic raw blue agave

1 cup light agave

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

2 teaspoons sea salt

 

The original recipe says:

"Combine the agave and cream in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Let boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Transfer to a bowl or jar and let cool completely. "

I'm going to say... it took me a little over 5 minutes to get the consistency I wanted AND when they say occasionally, it does not mean you should walk away from the pan. It needs to be stirred, maybe just slightly more than occasionally?

 

I served it over ice cream and stored the remainder in a mason jar in the fridge. It has dairy, so I would not keep it for too long unless you want go through proper canning, but we did use it up to a week later with no food poisoning, fun.

 

If you try this out, let me know what you think!

 

Naturally,

Raych

 

Chorizo Stuffed Peppers

While I haven't posted in a while that doesn't mean that I haven't been busy trying out MANY new recipes. I have been jotting them down in multiple blog drafts and on a little notepad I keep in my kitchen. My camera is full of food shots ready for the posting.

 

So why not post?

 

Well, life has been... busy! My oldest is now in kindergarten, my youngest is in year 1 of 3 for "preschool". We've started sports... that's right, I'm a *gulp* "Soccer Mom". I have even voluntarily added some time to my work commute. Most significantly, though, is my husbands ability to convince me that just one more critter eating my front yard would be not only beneficial financially, but a great learning and life experience for our kiddos. 

 

Now, five  (more) laying chickens, a rooster, six turkeys, and two pigs later... we're becoming pretty darn self-sufficient. And, as of Christmas Eve, we are down to just the five chickens; with a full freezer of course. This, and the snow days we are currently experiencing, has left me with both a little time for myself and some new VERY homemade recipes to post.

 

So to start things off, I decided to post one that would actually be easy for anyone, you would just need to reduce the recipe (below) down in size, buy store-ground pork and not worry about casing anything. OR, just purchase chorizo, but where the heck is the fun in that?

 

Chorizo Stuffed Peppers

GF, DF/CF, CoF, SF, NF- basically, very "paleo" but not very vegan :)

First, the Chorizo...

 

 Ingredients:

5-lb ground pork      
1-cup cold red wine  (I used a merlot I had on hand)
8-tsp paprika
2 Tbs Chili Powder

We purchased hog casing at a local butcher-
I'm all for fresh home-grown food,
but you were not going to see me
processing intestines... They were
VERY salted, so soak and  rinse well

2 Tbs Chipotle Chili Powder
2-tsp cinnamon
1-tbsp cumin
3-medium onions, finely chopped
2-tsp dried oregano
1-tbsp garlic powder
2-tbsp salt

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

 

We needed one full "hog casing" for this recipe, but if I had been better at stuffing them it would have taken less. Be sure to rinse the casing very well and drain, and dry a bit... you could also just freeze uncased small freezer bags of the sausage filling.

 

Using a sausage stuffer/press... stuff into hog casing

 

 

When we closed down the bakery- did I mention that we closed down the bakery? I talk more about that after- we had an industrial-type sausage press that we had been using to speed up the

As my husband so eloquently
posted on his Facebook page, here I am,
"stuffing sausage like a boss."
Yeah... you can imagine the comments.

"handmade" pie filling process. Another hubby convincing... we decided to "purchase" it. What we did not anticipate... if you are splitting the various types of sausage into smaller batches, you waste a little of the meat that would be left at the bottom of the press and not forced into casings. After all, it IS intended for very large batches. After making my first attempt at Chorizo, I had about 3-4 cups of the filling remaining. Coincidentally, I also had one red and one green pepper in the refrigerator.

 

And so, creative (er, lazy) me decided that if I took said chorizo filling and packed it into the peppers, I would have a delicious dinner, with no more fuss than I had already gone through.

 

I lined the pan with parchment, stuffed the halved peppers... and baked at 350 for about 25 minutes (until golden on top). They were GREAT! I served it with a homemade broccoli risotto, because my kids think it's veggie Mac 'n cheese pieces :) While the chorizo was a little spicy for them, my youngest did eat a good amount.

 

Let me know your thoughts if you try it out!

 

Naturally,

Raych

Homemade Gluten Free Pierogi!

I wrote this post a few months ago, but didn't post because I couldn't find my pictures. I wanted to make sure I shared it though, because it's just so yummy! Once I make them again I will update with some images and the step by step pictures.

Enjoy!!


So, last year I took on the inevitably impossible task of adding one new recipe or natural product review post each day in 2012... While I did manage to post 43 actual recipes and a few reviews, life work and business got away from me. The outlet of the blog, however, was a fun way for me to share some of the ridiculous number of new recipes we tried but I never had the opportunity to write up. 
One of the biggest recipe feats that I was unable to accomplish was making homemade gluten free pasta.  I want to assert that while I have some great kitchen appliances, my kitchen lacks the storage space for things like pasta attachments and presses; when I say homemade, I should be saying HANDMADE.
Except making simple fettuccine or lasagna was not enough for this overachiever. No no no... I had to take on the task of making pierogi. (I've been told that the plural of pierogi is pierogi... But, I'm not Polish, so just bear with me if I'm wrong).
When I searched online for traditional recipes I was quickly reminded that there's really no such thing as a "traditional" recipe online and nearly everyone thinks they hold the holy grail of original recipes.

Gluten Free Pierogi

GF, NF, SF... Sorry dairy free folks, you can always use dairy substitutes though :)

Ingredients
Filling:
1 medium onion, chopped finely
2 Tbs butter, to saute the onion
4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
6-7 scallions
3 Tbs butter for potatoes
2 Tbs minced garlic
1/4 cup milk
1/2 lb. of white cheddar, shredded
Salt and fresh black pepper (to taste)

Dough:
3 eggs
1/2 cup water
3 Tbs sour cream
4.5 cups  pasta flour blend (3 cups will definitely be used, reserve the other 1.5 cups to be used as needed while making the dough)
   1.5 cup brown rice flour
   1.5 cup corn flour
   1.5 cup tapioca starch
1 Tbs Xanthan Gum
1 or 2 eggs to make an egg wash to seal the pierogi

When cooking:
2 to 4 tablespoons butter, to saute the pierogi
1 to 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Boil the potatoes in a pot of water. Boil the potatoes until tender.

Sauté the onion in a frying pan in 2 tablespoons of butter until translucent. 

Whisk together the eggs, 1/4 cup water and sour cream.

Put 3 cups of the flour blend in the center of a clean work surface, I use a kitchenaid silicone mat, but a clean table lined with plastic wrap would work.

Create a hole in the center of the mound. Pour about 1/2 of the egg mixture in to it.

Slowly integrate the flour into the egg mixture

Repeat the process with the remainder of the egg mixture into the crater, and again until you have combined all the egg mixture.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest while you finish the potatoes

Drain the potatoes and mash them with the sautéed onion, chives, butter, cheese, milk, and salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

Create an egg wash by gently beating 1 egg in a small bowl.

Cut 3-inch circles of pasta, spoon some of the mashed potatoes into the center and fold the filled circles in semicircles... sealing the edges with the egg wash and pressing shut with your fingers. (you can also do this with the tines of a fork).

Bring a large shallow saute pan of water to a boil with a pinch of salt and gently boil the pierogi... removing carefully to a plate. 

Finally, melt the butter in a large pan and sauté the garlic for a few minutes until it is tender... don't burn it! Sauté the pierogi in this and serve.

The recipe makes about...  30 pierogi. Isaac, my son, told me I should make mashed potatoes the same way I made the filling from now on. He said this as he tried to sneak samples by the forkful!

Let me know how it works for you!

Naturally,

Raych

Tie-Dyed Gluten Free Waffles, A Birthday Treat!

Today's post is a remake on an older favorite recipe. August 10th is my "little" big man's birthday. This year he turned five. So, being the awesome mommy that I am... I thought I would mix him up something special for breakfast. I vaguely remembered seeing a post on Pinterest about colored waffles and thought I would give it a try.

Tie-Dyed Gluten Free Waffles

A Special Birthday Treat

 

To recreate this you will have to first visit my post from around this point last year to get the recipe for my GF waffles... Click Here.

After mixing the batter, I put out 4 large plastic cups and lined them with large "zipping" food bags (no endorsements here, folks). I divided the batter into the four cups and then colored each one with a different food color blend. For the tie-dye effect I made red, blue, green and orange. I didn't do a

yellow because the batter itself is pretty yellow... if I had wanted it in there I probably would have left a bag with no color or only a few drops or yellow. The coloring is completely up to you, but I will tell you that a couple colors took quite a few (12) drops; and the red still came out more pink than crimson.

Too top the perfect birthday breakfast I rimmed some mugs with chocolate and sprinkles and poured hot cocoa in.

My sons both continued to eat the leftover waffles throughout the day. For snack, dipped in applesauce... randomly and dry... with blackberries from the bushes in our yard... They do not have a lot of sugar (except when doused in maple syrup like they did this morning) so I didn't feel bad letting them snack away. The color made them think they were eating something bad for them and getting a real treat!

I think this will become a birthday tradition, or at least something like this. Five years have flown by, but we have at least 16 more to go with at least one kiddo in the house!

Let me know your thoughts if you try it out on your own :)

Naturally,

Raych

Summer Recipes: Gluten Free Peach Cobbler

Ok folks, consider this your warning. I have adapted a Paula Deen recipe to make it gluten free. What this ultimately means it that this recipe is in no way dairy free--- READ: There is Buttah’ and Milk.

It is peach season here in the northeast. That means a surplus of peach recipes to share. I went with my little men to pick up some peaches yesterday. Actually, I went to PICK peaches with them, while my husband was out of town working. Yep, I’m insane. Luckily for me, our local orchard is in-between varieties of peaches- so we had to settle for one of the remaining bags of the last variety that was stored in their cooler. What this meant is that we brought home a good sized bag of juicy, ripe, “ready to eat yesterday” peaches.

Gluten Free Peach Cobbler

(An adaptation of Paula Deen's Recipe)

GF, CoF, SF, NF

Ingredients

• 8 peaches peeled & sliced2 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Ground cinnamon, optional

This is what the pre-baked product
will look like.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a large baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, tapioca starch, brown rice flour, salt, baking soda.

Pour in milk slowly to prevent clumping.

Pour mixture over melted butter. DO NOT STIR.

Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup.

Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using.

Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for approx. 45 minutes. You will notice some browning on the edges.

 

Paula Deen recommends: “To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream“. At this point you have used a quarter pound of butter, so why not? I, however, did not want to feel junky for 2 days, so we skipped it today.

In her recipe, the biscuit rises way above the peaches making this amazing looking fluffy crust- even though the batter starts on the bottom. In the GF adaptation is doesn't rise quite as much, though you will see it come around the edges. My guess is that the brown rice flour outweighs the peaches and juices. The result was still absolutely delicious despite this lack of top crust; and you'll still get a laky puffy crust on the bottom. You're scooping this into a bowl to serve... A bowl that it really won't last long in anyway, I see no problem.

With just a little more time on my hands during the summer I have put together a few new recipes that I am hoping to start posting again. I'm a little less lofty in my goals though- if I can post once a week, I'll be a happy camper.

Let me know your thoughts!

 

Naturally,

 

Raych