The flavor is slightly nutty but it’s not an overwhelming, making it a good canvas for other seasonings. The nutritional properties are similar to quinoa, with higher protein content than most whole grains. Last week I made sorghum with cooked dried fava beans. I had it with dinner as a savory dish and at breakfast with almond milk as a cereal.

It takes a while to cook – even if you pre-soak it.  So it’s not for a ’10 minute meal’.  But like dried beans, it doesn’t require constant supervision so I can work on other things while it’s cooking away.  It also reheats well so I get a few meals out of one pot.

This Sorghum Cauliflower Curry was the favorite of most of my friends at a recent gluten-free whole grains cooking class.

Gluten-Free Vegetarian Sorghum Cauliflower Curry Recipe
4-6 Servings

Ingredients
3 cups water
1 cup Sorghum grain
Salt
1 cup chopped scallion
1 head cooked cauliflower florets
3 cups cooked green peas
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup reduced-fat coconut milk
6 Tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 cup packed chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Bring a medium pot of generously salted water to a boil.  Add sorghum, return to a simmer and cook until tender, about 60 minutes.  Drain thoroughly.

In a large bowl, combine scallion, cauliflower, and peas.  Add cooked sorghum and mix well.

In a small bowl, whisk together the black pepper, coconut milk, rice wine vinegar, curry powder and cayenne.

Drizzle vinaigrette over sorghum and vegetables.  Mix well.  Stir in cilantro.

Season to taste with additional vinegar, curry powder, salt or pepper as needed.

Serve warm.

So after my week as a vegetarian, I find myself gravitating more towards vegetarian recipes – once I took away the self-imposed meat-restrictions I haven’t been craving it as much.  Besides beans, tofu and grains like quinoa and sorghum, what else do gluten-free vegetarians use for savory proteins?

I have a massive food crush on Mark Bittman.  I love his simplistic approach to food and his acerbic wit.  It was an episode of his show on PBS that inspired me to order the Florentine Steak during my visit to Montepulciano in Tuscany.  So the irony is not lost on me that his new book, Food Matters moved me to try Vegetarianism for a week.
As a yoga instructor, I have been surrounded by vegetarians. I love restaurants like Candle 79, Candle Café and Sacred Chow. I even dated a vegetarian briefly, but I never felt like I could give up meat.  Well, last week I went to a reading/cooking demo/book signing with Mark Bittman.  He outlined shocking figures about the source of calories our nation is consuming as a whole –12% from sweets/desserts, 8% from bread, rolls, crackers and 7% from soda alone.  He also spoke of the horrific environmental and health impacts of U.S. meat production.

In order to lower his consumption of animal products he became a ‘part-time vegan’ two years ago. As he uttered the words I gasped!  Mark Bittman, my food hero, was advocating a vegan diet of sorts?  How could this be?  I had been known to mock veganism as a socially acceptable version of anorexia…

Well, it turns out he only follows a vegan diet from dawn ‘til dusk and then eats whatever he wants at dinner, including meat, dairy, eggs etc.  He isn’t advocating a vegan diet per se, but rather shifting our current consumption to “eat fewer animal products and more plants.”  What works for him is to follow a vegan diet during the day and eat what he wants at night.  I was intrigued.  I took the book home with me and proceeded to devour it on a few extended subway rides.

While gradual changes to my diet and food choices have come from reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, this was my first foray into vegetarianism.  I decided to give it a try for a week.  (I contemplated veganism for about 2 seconds, but the siren call of eggs, milk, cheese and yogurt was too strong for me to resist.)  I already subscribed to two of the basic tenets of the Food Matters diet – heavy on vegetables, low on processed foods.  I just needed to get the ‘light on animal products’ part down.

It was an interesting experiment.  I maintained my workout schedule and felt sustained until the end of the week.  By Friday I was really craving protein though in theory I was getting enough from the beans, veggies and dairy I was consuming. One of the aspects of yoga I most appreciate is learning to listen to your body. I went out on Saturday and bought a big piece of fish to end my ‘meat fast.’ All in all – it was a valuable week.  I learned that a savory breakfast of whole grains is delightful – sorghum and black beans with cumin, cilantro and a splash of almond milk was my favorite.  I also discovered how ridiculously easy it is to make a homemade bean soup.

How will I take this into the future?  I am going to make higher- quality protein choices when I can. I will buy wild fish rather than farm-raised and cut out meat on other nights. Ranch Gordo beans will be an even bigger part of my diet.  Sorghum and quinoa will be appearing more often. Meat becomes a condiment – something to be savored and truly enjoyed when I do consume it but not the focus of my day-to-day meals. I am trying to be more conscious of the food choices I make. That may sound a little crazy since as I person with diabetes and celiac disease I am constantly aware of what I am eating, but I haven’t been truly conscientious of the broader environmental impact. For every person and family, the situation is different. .  My friends and family all have different ways of approaching it. It’s important to find the balance that works for you.  What works for me is different than what works for Mark Bittman, though I thank him for moving me to make changes, however small the impact.

Here is the bean soup I made with so little effort I can hardly believe it.  I made it twice this week, and the first time was accidental.

Gluten-Free Bean and Hominy Soup Recipe

Ingredients (approx):
3/4 cup dried beans
1/2 cup dried hominy
1/2 small red onion cut in wedges
salt and pepper to taste
optional – cumin, avocado, cilantro

Rinse and soak beans and hominy in water at room temperature 6-12 hours
In a medium saucepan, boil hominy and onion in water for 20-30 minutes.  Add beans and continue to boil over medium heat for 60-90 minutes, adding water as it starts to evaporate.  Test the beans and hominy for texture and add water whenever it begins to boil off (I had to add water 2-3 times, I didn’t want to add too much since I wanted a soup that wasn’t too watery at the end).  Add salt, pepper and cumin to taste.  Garnish with slices of avocado and chopped cilantro. 

While it sounds like a lot of time, I was busy doing other things as it cooked down – the ‘hands on’ time is very low and requires very little chopping or preparation (I have an irrational hatred of chopping for weeknight meals).  The level of satisfaction and extremely flavorful results were shocking even to me.  After my first ‘accidental’ soup early in the week, I was craving it for dinner later in the week.  This will definitely be a new staple in my ‘meat-lite’ diet.

After the event, I couldn’t stop thinking about the delicata squash and rushed to add it to my next FreshDirect order. If you haven’t had the pleasure of trying the petite and colorful squash – it’s sweet and almost creamy with a skin delicate enough that you can eat it after cooking.  I threw caution to the wind and decided to make my first batch without a recipe; it has since become part of my regular repertoire.  I even made it twice during my short trip to Texas for a gluten-free Thanksgiving to rave reviews.  I taught Jenn how to make it and its now part of her winter staples.  If it’s simple enough for a Mom chasing after a VERY active toddler to make on a regular basis, it must be easy.

Easy Gluten-Free Roasted Delicata Squash ‘Recipe’

Ingredients
Delicata squash
Olive oil
Dried Thyme
Course-ground black pepper
Salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Remove ends and seeds from squash and slice into1/2 inch pieces.  Toss squash in a medium-sized bowl with olive oil, dried thyme, salt, and coarse ground black pepper to taste.  Lay squash in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Roast for 30-40 minutes, until the squash is soft and tender.

For a low-fat version: instead of tossing squash in a bowl with the olive oil oil, lightly spray a cookie sheet with oil, place sliced squash in the cookie sheet and then sprinkle with dried thyme, salt and pepper.

I will surely go through withdrawal once this squash is out of season, but until then I plan on indulging on a regular basis.  Acorn squash and pumpkin are two of my other over-indulgences during the cold months – try Smitten Kitchen’s Acorn Squash with Chile-Lime Vinaigrette or for something sweeter – check out Jill’s Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll.

This year, I plan on sharing more of my daily cooking that doesn’t rely on full-fledged recipes, like my Easy Rosemary Beans, Prosciutto-Wrapped Figs, and Balsamic Kale and Mushrooms.  Any feedback or requests would be much appreciated! Hope you are staying warm, Southern California may call me back if the bone-chilling weather persists….

I had lunch a few months ago with Deb from the luscious food blog Smitten Kitchen.  She described her recent discovery of the ‘best beans she had ever tasted.’  Always looking for ways to explore new tastes and delight the palate, I went home that night and immediately started researching the beans.  Rancho Gordo sells varieties of heirloom beans for $5-6 a pound plus shipping.  While my love of beans urged me to go through with it, I just couldn’t justify the expense.

Fast forward to December – I found myself at the San Francisco Farmer’s Market at the Rancho Gordo stand.  In addition to their heirloom beans they also sell dried corn and tortilla chips.  Their stand boasted some of the most unusual beans I had ever seen and I also spied the best corn tortilla chips I had ever had (my friends Alex and Heather had let me forage in their kitchen where I devoured them the night before).  The beans were a better fit in my carry-on luggage than the bags of tortilla chips; beans got the nod, though it was a ‘Sophie’s Choice’ of sorts for me.

I decided to cook up something with Rancho Gordo’s Christmas Lima Beans last week.  They were so good and so simple.  It’s amazing how much easier cooking is with a few quality ingredients.  While $5 is still a bit pricey for dried beans, they expand to much more than 1 pound, making the cost approximately equivalent to my previous go-to: canned beans.  I also realized how convenient dried beans are for a single girl like me – I can measure out just as much as I want, rather than having to deal with how to use the rest of the can.

It’s not really fair to call this a “recipe” since it’s just 5 ingredients – beans, rosemary, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Well, my Dad would call that a recipe.  It was inspired by a dish Katie and I had during my gluten-free tour of Italy.

Gluten-Free Lima Beans with Rosemary and Olive Oil
Soak the beans, cook in the soaking liquid or chicken/vegetable broth until of the desired consistency (I like mine a little al dente).  Drain and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary to taste.

Ranch Gordo has a cooking primer on their site if you want more info – but they believe simple is better.  I can’t wait to try some of the other varieties.  Have you made any new food discoveries recently?

While gluten-free dinner rolls were one of my most elusive achievements, the recipe that I developed was so complicated and required such difficult to attain ingredients that I never even posted the recipe to this blog.  Gluten-free bread that tastes as good at gluten-filled bread is tough to make or find — and rolls, they require even more exceptional skill and care.   While I had had success making cheese rolls with the Chebe roll mix, they weren’t really the type of dinner rolls that I craved.  At Thanksgiving this year I decided to give the Chebe bread all-purpose mix a try with a few adaptations.  They were so tasty and unbelievably easy – I feel as though I’ve conquered the unconquerable!

Easy Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls Recipe

Makes 12 small rolls

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons sweet cream butter, softened

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 package Chebe all-purpose gluten-free baking mix

5-6 Tablespoons whole milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

In a medium mixing bowl, using a fork or spoon, mix butter with sugar, add eggs and the Chebe all-purpose mix.  Stir until the mixture forms even-sized crumbs.  Add 3 tablespoons milk and mix.  Add 2-3 more tablespoons milk and continue to stir with spoon.  Once the mixture is almost even, work with your hands until smooth.  Divide dough in quarters and then break into three pieces and roll into balls.  Place each roll onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

At 10 minutes, rotate cookie sheet. After another 8 minutes remove from oven and gently top with a bit of butter (I just use a stick of butter and glide it over the top).  Return to oven and continue to cook for 2-7 minutes or until very-lightly browned.

As you are getting ready for more holiday dinners and celebrations, these will please your guests and no one will ever suspect how easy they were to make or that they are gluten-free!

Gluten-Free Stuffing Recipe with Pears, Prosciutto and Hazelnuts (adapted from Eating Well)

4-5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into small strips
2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)
2 cups diced fennel bulb (about 1 large)
1/4 cup minced shallot
2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 loaf WholeFoods Gluten-Free Bakehouse prairie bread, cut into 3/4-1-inch cubes
2 ripe but firm pears, chopped
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2/3cup toasted chopped hazelnuts
12-16-ounces reduced-sodium gluten-free chicken broth
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 250°F. Spread bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast until crisped and dry, 15-25 minutes.  The cubes are slightly larger than a traditional recipe because gluten-free bread is more likely to crumble if the cubes are smaller 2
2.Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
3. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add prosciutto; cook, stirring, until crispy, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel.
4. Use the same pan and heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, fennel and shallot and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add sage, thyme and rosemary and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Transfer everything to a large bowl and gently stir in pears, parsley, hazelnuts, the prosciutto and half of broth.  Gently stir in bread cubes, season with salt and pepper and spoon into the prepared baking dish.  Drizzle remaining broth over the mixture and cover with foil.
5. Bake for 40 minutes; remove the foil and bake until the top begins to crisp, 25 to 30 minutes.

The combination of textures and flavors made this stuffing a standout – and we didn’t even need the gluten-free gravy I made to give it extra moisture. My sister-in-law insists I left her with all of the leftovers to make sure she gained weight because it was so tasty.  Well, since there are still many holiday parties and dinners to come, here are some tips from RealSimple on how to eat healthy during the holidays.  

The latest episode of Top Chef made healthy cooking look like a chore. One of the contestants even said “I never use grains in my cooking. I don’t know what I am going to do.” As someone who regularly experiments with whole grain recipes featuring quinoa, amaranth, millet and recently teff, it was a little difficult for me to understand why this was such a substantial challenge. Luckily, the producers brought sexy back to the episode with Sam from season 2 serving as the guest judge. (He has type 1 diabetes, which for some reason made him the de facto expert on healthy cuisine. )

Healthy cooking does not have to be as much of a struggle as the contestants might lead you to believe. A focus on fresh produce, whole grains and lean proteins makes it easy and quite delicious. Try this healthy fish recipe I recently made in a cooking class using whole fish rather than the fillet. It makes for a great presentation at a dinner party, though for a weeknight meal I will stick with fish steaks and fillets.

Red Snapper with Chimichurri Sauce

Ingredients

Fish
1 medium whole fish, about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, cleaned and scaled (or one individual fish such as branzino for each person)
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt/sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Fresh thyme or favorite herbs to tast
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1/4 cup dry Italian white wine

Chimichurri Sauce
1 1/4 cup packed flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper lfakes
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 garlic cloves
1 to 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

In a large baking dish, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and spread around dish. Place fish in dish and coat with remaining tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper. Insert garlic, rosemary, thyme, other herbs, and lemon to cavity of fish. Pour white wine over and inside cavity of fish.

Bake until fish is opaque and skin is browned, about 10 minutes per inch of thickness of the fish.

While fish is baking, make sauce. Combine parsley, cilantro, vinegar, red pepper flakes, cumin, salt and 2 garlic cloves in a food processor. Pulse on high seed until garlic is minced, about 4 to 5 seconds. Transfer herb-garlic mixture into a small bowl. Stir in oil and mix until thoroughly combined. Set sauce aside.

To serve fish, lift the top of the fillet off the fish with a cake server or knife and place on a serving plate. Grab the head, tail, and backbone; remove and discard. Discard the herbs and lemon. Transfer remaining fillet onto serving plate and drizzle sparingly with chimichurri sauce.

If making individual fish for each person, follow the same steps, and instead of removing bones, serve each person the whole fish on a plate.

And as long as we are talking about fit lifestyles, I promised my friend Doug I would let the world know about the talent regularly appearing at the 91st Street New York Sports Club. Any ladies (or gentlemen) looking to enjoy a fine view of some very good-looking men can make their way over to this hidden gem of a gym. Do you have any tips for making healthy living a little bit more enjoyable?

Technically it’s spring out, but this weekend was cold and blustery. Winter is still in full effect in Manhattan. So before welcoming all of the delights of spring produce, I want to share an easy recipe for those last sweet potatoes you may have in your fridge.

I didn’t grow up in a sweet potato family – it was always regular mashed potatoes for us. Since moving to NY, I have enjoyed sweet and savory preparations. I recently made a birthday dinner featuring this pork tenderloin recipe, and wanted to highlight the flavors of the spice rub with a mashed sweet potato. I looked at The Barefoot Contessa’s recipe – but it seemed like too much work for an already labor intensive meal (lots of other dishes – the tenderloin is really quite easy).

So instead, I adapted a technique suggested by America’s Test Kitchen. The key to letting the sweet potatoes maintain their rich flavor is to braise rather than boil them. It was so easy – yet surprisingly the favorite dish of the night!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes Recipe

3 pounds sweet potatoes (3-4 depending on size)
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Peel the sweet potatoes, quarter and slice into pieces 1/3 of an inch thick, keeping the pieces as uniform in size as possible.

Combine the sweet potatoes, butter, and cream in a saucepan over low heat. Cover and stir occasionally. After 20 minutes add the sugar, nutmeg and a dash of salt and pepper. Keep cooking and stirring occasionally until the potatoes start to fall apart. Remove the pan from the heat, mash with a fork or a potato masher. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

I used a trio of sweet potatoes to add more color and texture, but work with whatever you have available. These will be replacing regular mashed potatoes for me, though the question remains as to whether or not I will be able to convince my family.

If you are looking for a more savory preparation – try these baked Cilantro Sweet Potato Fries.

Fig Avocado Salsa, originally uploaded by A Gluten-Free Guide.It seems that everywhere I turn this week I am bombarded with Superbowl hype. Whether it’s about the teams dealing with illness and injury, the weather in Arizona, the commercials set to make a splashy debut, I just can’t seem to escape it. While football is not my favorite way to pass an afternoon or evening (much to my friend Strutter’s chagrin), I do love throwing a party. So it is with great relish that I read all of the Superbowl party menus with creative and classic savory snacks. Many of the menus have a version of homemade guacamole or salsa, so I thought it would be a good time to share one of my favorite recipes for a healthy fig and avocado salsa. This sweet and savory salsa combines a hint of spice with creamy fresh avocados to delightful effect.

This is a large recipe, great for a party. Just half the portions for a smaller group.

Healthy Fig and Avocado Salsa Recipe

1 cup diced dried figs or 3 cups diced fresh figs
juice of one lime
3 medium firm ripe California avocados, diced
3 fresh jalapenos, small diced, seeds and ribs removed
2-3 medium, vine-ripened tomatoes, diced, seeds removed
4 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 small cloves of garlic, minced

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir gently. Refrigerate several hours to let flavors blend. Serve with gluten-free corn tortilla chips.

(It’s great right away if you are like me and aren’t patient enough to wait for it to come out of the fridge.)

Chilean Sea Bass with Kale, Mushrooms and Butter beans, originally uploaded by A Gluten-Free Guide.

Kale is a nutritional powerhouse, but on it’s own, it’s flavor isn’t particularly pleasing to most. I set out to find a way to make a delicious dish featuring kale to take advantage of the natural source of vitamin C, A, Folic Acid, Calcium and Iron. I played with recipes for a couple weeks before settling on this version as my favorite. Use it as a side, or for some extra decadence, as a base for a piece of pan seared Chilean Sea Bass coated with forbidden black rice flour.

Tip: older kale is tougher and stronger in flavor – avoid this by choosing smaller bunches.

Balsamic Kale and Mushrooms Recipe

1 medium red onion, diced
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1/4-1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
2 Tablespoons of aged balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 pound kale, washed, large stems removed, cut into 2-3” pieces
3/4 cup butter beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until they start to soften, about 5-10 minutes. Add mushrooms and balsamic vinegar; stir 3-5 minutes. Add thyme and stir. Add kale pieces and cook until tender. Add butter beans until just warmed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Delicious and healthy, this recipe was another big hit during my visit home over the holidays.

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