Thursday, April 30, 2009

Gluten and dairy free Carrot Muffins

James woke up this morning at 5:00 and he said he was starving to death. Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the fridge and he left for his p.t. (physical training - army language) with a glass of milk mix with 1 tbsp of Chia seeds in his belly. I felt bad for him. So I got up and before he got back to shower and change I came up with this Muffin recipe. Which turned out to be quite tasty and nutritious on top of being gluten and dairy free. After they cooled down I dabbed a bit of Tupelo honey over the top and sprinkle some raw sugar cane.

Ingredients
1 cup almond milk
1 cup rolled oat (old fashion of course)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup Tupelo honey
1 cup of coconut oil, melted
1 cup of carrot pulp (I used the one from my morning carrot juice - if you don't own a juicer you can finely grade 2 medium size carrots)
2 cups of quinoa flour
3/4 tsp celtic salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup dates, chopped
1/2 cup pecan nuts, chopped

Directions
Heat up oven to 350F.
Grease and dust your muffin pan with quinoa flour.
Mix almond milk, oat, egg, honey, coconut oil and carrot pulp. Let stand for 20 minutes. In a separate bowl mix all remaining ingredients. Combine dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Transfer to muffin pan (try to scoop equal amount of batter for each muffin in order to achieve an even baking.)
Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes up clean. If you would like some kind of icing, I suggest to mix some cream cheese with a bit of maple syrup...that is yummy!!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Sushis


Last night with my class we did some Sushis. Everybody did a fabulous job so I just thought I would show off a little.....:)
Below is the recipe if you feel like trying.
Sushi Rice Recipe
Makes 10 rolls
Ingredients
500 ml Sushi Rice
500 ml Water
Sea salt for seasoning rice
6 tbsp Rice Vinegar (Marukan Gourmet is one of the best sushi rice vinegar-make sure it says gourmet on the bottle. The other one is labeled "genuine brewed" is is pure rice vinegar, the Gourmet one is sweet and sour)
5 tbsp natural sugar
1 tsp of sea salt

Directions
Wash the rice several times until the water runs clear when drained. Let your washed rice strain for 30 minutes. Transfer the rice to your pot, add water and some salt. Turn heat until rice starts to boil hard, cover tightly and simmer on low allowing the rice to steam for 15 minutes. You must leave it covered... no peaking! Remove your pot from the heat and let stand covered for another 15 minutes. Take a wooden spatula and fold the rice to cool it a bit. Be gentle as you do not want to smash the cooked grains.

Mix the vinegar, sugar and salt together in a small saucepan. Heat the mixture until the sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let your sushi vinegar cool to room temperature. Put the hot rice into a mixing bowl and add 1/4 of the sushi vinegar solution. Mix with a folding motion so as to not smash your perfect sushi rice. Repeat until all sushi vinegar is used. After mixing, fan the hot rice mixture (you can use a magazine to fan the rice) for about 5 or 6 minutes in order to remove excess moisture and create a glossy shine to your rice. Your rice should have a slight chewiness and be sticky to the touch.

Sushi
Ingredients
1 sheet nori (seaweed
1 cup of sushi Rice
Desired fillings (such as; carrot, zucchini, cucumber, avocado, crabmeat, smoke salmon, tuna, cooked shrimps)
1 recipe Wasabi Sauce
1 recipe Honey-Ginger Sauce
Pickled ginger

Directions
Lay seaweed, shiny side down, on a sushi mat topped with plastic wrap. With damp fingers, spread 1 cup of sushi rice on nori sheet, leaving ½ inch unfilled at far side. Arrange desired vegetables or seafood on the edge closer to you. Roll seaweed into a spiral, rolling around filling toward unfilled edge. Pressing down firmly on your sushi mat to make sure the roll is nice and tight. Continue rolling mat over sushi all the way to the edge. To serve cut each roll in half and each half in 3 pieces. Serve with sauces.

Wasabi Sauce
Ingredients
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tsp wasabi
Directions
In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce and wasabi.

Honey-Ginger Sauce
Ingredients
1/3 cup honey (preferably non pasteurized)
2 tbsp bottled plum sauce
2 tbsp shoyu
1 2-inch long piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly chopped
Directions
Combine all ingredients in small bowl and transfer to serving dish.

Garnishes
The garnishes can be used inside or outside your rolls. If you use it outside the roll, then drizzle some of the ginger mayo first and then sprinkle with toasted Panko/crispy onions/black or white sesame seeds.

Toasted Panko
Heat a medium size skillet on medium. When skillet is hot add 1 tbsp of sesame oil, when oil is hot, place about 1-2 cups (depending on the amount of Maci Rolls you are planning on doing) of Panko in a skillet and cook stirring constantly until nice, crispy and brown.

Crispy onions
Slice onions thinly and sauté on low for about 30-45 mins or until crispy, then chop and transfer to serving dish.

Seasoned Mayonnaise
Mix 1 cup of mayonnaise (preferably homemade) with 1 minced garlic clove, ½ inch of fresh minced ginger, a dash of lemon juice and a hint of sea salt. Add a bit of water if texture is too thick.
Black or white sesame seeds
Just so you know
Don't pass food from one set of chopsticks to another. As part of a Japanese funeral ritual, family members pass bones of the deceased to each other by chopsticks. Passing food from one set of chopsticks to another mimics this ritual, and is therefore considered extremely impolite and offensive. If you must pass something to another person, pick it up, and place it on their dish. They can then pick it up with their own chopsticks.