Gumbo

There are certain foods that I absolutely love, but I hesitate to make them because of the work that is involved.  Gumbo is one of those foods.  In order to make a proper gumbo, you must make a roux; and not only a roux, but a nice toasty, dark roux.  Roux, toasty ones, at least, require standing and stirring while it gets nice and toasty brown.  This is tough for me because it's hard for me to stand still for long periods of time because of my knees.  Yesterday, however, I found some BEAUTIFUL okra at the farmers market, so I took the plunge this morning and made gumbo.  It is finishing cooking in my crockpot right now.

Chicken Andouille Gumbo
Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-andouille-gumbo/ 

• 12 cups water
• 3 pounds chicken parts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds okra
• 1/2 cupolive  oil
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
• 5 medium tomatoes, peeled and finely diced, reserve liquid as possible
• 1 mixed bell peppers, chopped 
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon file powder

1. Combine water and chicken in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Using tongs, transfer chicken to strainer and cool, saving cooking liquid. Remove meat from bones in pieces.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add okra and cook until no longer sticky, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes; set aside.
3. Stir flour and remaining 1/2 cup oil in heavy large Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until deep golden brown, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Add 4 cups reserved chicken cooking broth, okra, andouille sausage, tomatoes with their juices, bell peppers, celery, garlic, bay leaf, salt, thyme, basil, cayenne, and pepper. Transfer to slow cooker and cook, covered, on HIGH for 1 hour. 
4. Spoon off any fat from surface of gumbo. Add chicken and file powder to gumbo.  Cover and cook, covered, for 1 more hour on HIGH.  Serve over hot rice or quinoa.

Mulligatawny Stew

I have seen recipe after recipe for Mulligatawny stew.  I don't know why, but when I was much younger, I thought this stew came from Australia, but I now know that the origin is actually Anglo-Indian.  The name, Tamil in origin, literally translates to pepper water.  While there is no traditional form, the recipe I followed today gets it's color and flavor from curry powder.  I have added mushrooms because I needed to use them up.  And I chose to use leeks instead of onions.  But it smells lovely and looks quite yummy.  Oh yeah, the thing that has always intrigued me beyond the curry base is the fact that almost every recipe calls for a tart apple.  I love curry and apples!

Mulligatawny Stew
Adapted from: 1001 Low-carb Recipes by Dana Carpender, pg 190

• 2 quarts chicken stock (I used homemade)
• 2 cups shredded chicken (leftover rotissierie)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil (original recipe calls for butter or ghee)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 leeks, sliced
• 1 small carrot, shredded
• 2 ribs celery, diced (include leaves)
• 1 1/2 heaping tbsp curry powder (adjust this to taste)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tart apple, chopped fine
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dehydrated lemon zest
• 1 cup evaporated skimmed milk

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add the leeks and sweat until softened.  Add the mushrooms, carrot, celery and curry powder.  Cook until the vegetables are fork tender.

Add stock, chicken, cooked vegetables, bay leaf, apple and seasonings to the crock of a slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH for 2 hours.  Then reduce heat and cook overnight on low.  Just before serving, add the evaporated milk and remove the bay leaf.

Apricot Custard

I am trying something new that sounded really yummy, but I am having issues with it cooking.  Of course, the recipe was written for a slow cooker, so I should have assumed it would take just about as long to cook in the oven as in the slow cooker.  It's finally done, so here's the recipe.  I was looking through a cookbook that I got with my Christmas Barnes & Noble gift card: 1001 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender, and looked at the custard recipes in the dessert section.  I was looking for a GF recipe since my uncle has a gluten allergy.  There was an Apricot Custard recipe that looked fabulous (and I actually had all the ingredients!), but it was to be made in the slow cooker.  Problem is, I don't have a proper baking dish that fits in my slow cooker, so I had to improvise.  I used a glass mixing bowl in the oven instead.  It's a good thing I have patience if I am busy doing other things because I had no idea how long it was going to take to bake the custard.  Here's how it all worked out.

Apricot Almond Custard
Adapted from: 1001 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpenter, page 543.

• 1/2 cup Apricot All-Fruit
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cups 1% milk
• 1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• pinch salt

Whisk together the preserves, lemon juice and 2 tsp sugar.  Spread over the bottom of a 6 cup glass casserole dish you've prayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside.

Whisk together the milk, evaporated milk, eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, almond extract and salt.  Pour into the prepared casserole dish gently so as not to mix in the apricot mixture.

Place the casserole dish in a roasting dish.  Pour hot water around casserole to within 1 inch of the rim.  Bake for 3 hours at 300F.  When time is up, remove casserole from oven and cool.  Once cooled enough, place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

P.S. I hope this tastes as good as it looks!

Tropical Fruit Salad

So today I had to use up a mango and a papaya before they went bad.  And I have the perfect excuse: I need a side dish that is gluten free and my aunt is bringing the potato salad.  So, I made a tropical s
salad instead.  My only regret is that I do not have fresh pineapple.  However, I did have canned slices, so it will have to do.

Tropical Salad

• 1 ripe mango, diced
• 1 ripe papaya, diced
• 1 can pineapple slices, cut in chunks
• 1 tbsp lime juice

Combine all fruit in a large bowl.  Sprinkle with lime juice and mix well.  Cool until ready to serve.

Labor Day Quiche

So, today I will start out with what I cooked for breakfast.  I will be posting other recipes, but I will do them one at a time to make it easier to look them up.  This morning, I had some roasted vegetables that my mom made this week.  She roasted eggplant, potatoes, onions, red, yellow and green peppers, brussels sprouts (yep, brussels sprouts!  Yum!!!) and zucchini.  So, I picked some up thinking I could make a quiche out of it.  So, that's what I did this morning.  If I haven't mentioned this yet, I am quickly falling in love with including bleu cheese in my quiches.  I guess it's time to try Gruyere.

Roasted Vegetable Quiche

• 1 cup roasted vegetables
• 2 oz bleu cheese
• 2 oz sharp cheddar
• 5 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups 1% milk
• cayenne
• Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350F.  Prepare round baking pan with cooking spray.  Spread roasted vegetables in bottom of pan.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Whip eggs with milk and seasonings.  Pour over fillings.  Bake at 350F for 35 minutes.  Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

Cauliflower

So, today I need to use up my vegetables.  I haven't been very good about cooking lately and I have been wracking my brain what to make with a beautiful head of cauliflower I've had a few days.  But to be perfectly honest, I really just love aloo gobi, so yesterday I picked up some potatoes so I could make a batch.  Of course, I am still having issues finding all the boxes with my spices, etc, so, I had to improvise a little.  I couldn't find my stash of garam masala, so I looked online and found a simple recipe for homemade garam masala.  It probably isn't as exciting as the stuff I get from the India stores, but it smells really good now that it's cooking.  Here is the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-garam-masala/.  I will be adding garbanzo beans (which is an unusual ingredient) so that there is some protein in the dish.  I am cooking it on top of the stove in my beautiful Calphalon Dutch oven.  I do love that pot!

Aloo Gobi
Adapted from: http://vgourmet.ca/2012/05/19/aloo-gobi/#comment-1626http://vgourmet.ca/2012/05/19/aloo-gobi/#comment-1626

• 3 tbsps olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tsp whole cumin seed
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 4  garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsps turmeric
• 2 tsps garam masala (see link above)
• ¼ tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 16 oz  stewed or crushed tomatoes
• 16 oz tomato sauce
• 1 large cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 3 large potatoes, diced
• 1 15 oz can gabanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (optional)
• sea salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add whole cumin seeds and cook until they pop and sizzle.  Add minced garlic and ginger and cook for another minute or two. Stir in turmeric, garam masala, and cayenne. Cook until fragrant but be sure not to burn the spices; about 1 minute.

Stir in salt, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, cauliflower, and potatoes. Cook with the lid on until the potatoes and cauliflower are tender, about 15 minutes, stirring often. If it gets too dry, add a little bit of water. When the potatoes and cauliflower are tender, turn off heat and add beans. Put the lid back on and let the peas steam in the residual heat; about 1 minute. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and pepper. Add chopped cilantro and serve piping hot.

Note: I am allergic to cilantro, so I would serve the cilantro on the side for other people, but I cannot add it to the overall dish.