gluten-free broccoli-zucchini pie

I haven’t blogged in a week because I’ve been busy with dissertation revisions. The weather is still in that funny inbetween state, between winter and spring. It’s been a long cold winter that’s reached into spring and touched me with the sniffles.  What a bother! This pie I made on a whim and threw in the brown rice flour instead of wheat flour. Who’d a thought! It’s delicious, substantial,  and colorful too. 

Gluten-Free Broccoli-Zucchini Pie

Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped
1 medium zucchini, halved and sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup sweet bell pepper , chopped (I used yellow for color contrast, but red or green will do)
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano (or dill, tarragon)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (or thyme, sage)
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon grated Peccorino Romano cheese
1/2 cup brown rice flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup fat free milk
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper to taste
cooking spray

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly spray a 9 inch pie dish with cooking spray.
Heat olive oil in a large dutch pot. When the oil is hot, add the broccoli and cook it until it is bright green and slightly wilted. Add the pepper and onion an cook until slightly softened. Add the zucchini and cook until softened slightly.
Mix broccoli, zucchini, peppers, onions, herbs and cheeses in a large bowl.
Sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl.
Add milk, 1 teaspoon olive oil, beaten eggs, salt, pepper, to flour mixture in the bowl.
Combine flour mixture with vegetable mixture, and mix well. Scrape into prepared pie dish.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until knife comes out clean when pierced near the center. Let it stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

omelet with black and white bean chili, cheddar cheese, and chopped cilantro

ricotta-egg salad

Ricotta Egg Salad

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

3 hard boiled eggs
3 tablespoons fat free ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated Mexican cheese mix
1/3 cup celery, chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Chop eggs in a large bowl. Add cheeses, celery, mayonnaise and mix all together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Variation

• Add chopped onion, scallion, or cilantro
• Substitute cheddar or mozzarella cheese

 

easy breakfast: egg-egg white omelet

Egg whites are supposed to be good for you, but they don’t make very good omelets. Egg white omelets are watery and not very appetizing since they lack the beautiful yellow color of whole egg omelets. So, to 4 egg whites, I added one whole egg. Over medium heat, I heated  a teaspoon of canola oil in a non-stick skillet, swirled that around until it got hot enough to sizzle, then I poured in the egg-egg white mixture. As it started to set around the edges, I “pulled” them towards to center of the skillet until the egg mixture formed curds, like scrambled eggs. I broke a slice of provolone cheese in two and plopped the pieces in the skillet on top of the curds. Then I started folding the large curds over on top of the cheese, letting it set a bit before folding some more. I sprinkled a bit of salt and white pepper over it, and a slice of Canadian Bacon completed the plate.

lotsa tomato! baked quinoa patties

I took a break from the blog but I didn’t stop cooking! I’ve been experimenting with this recipe from 101cookbooks.com. First I tried it straight but it came out too coarse. Then, on the second try,  I put in some blackbeans, salsa, and cheese, and it was moister but still coarse. On the third try I remembered that my aunt adds a tomato to her shrimp fritters to make them moist, so chopped up half a tomato and put it in with the original recipe. It did come out moist but still coarse. I finally realized what I should do is reduce the amount of whole wheat breadcrumbs in the recipe.  I served it with tomato salsa and arugula and plum tomatoes. Is lotsa tomato, like we say in Jamaica. But I love tomatoes. And this is the season for them.

Baked Quinoa Patties

2 1/2 cups / 12 oz /340 g cooked quinoa, at room temperature (1 cup raw quinoa)
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/3 cup/ .5 oz /15 g finely chopped fresh chives
1/3 cup /.5 oz /15 g finely chopped fresh dill
1 cup / 1.5 oz /45 g finely chopped kale
1 yellow or white onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon (toasted) cumin
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup / 3.5 oz /100 g whole grain bread crumbs, plus more if needed
water or a bit of flour, if needed
1/3 cup / .5 oz / 15 g crumbled feta (optional)
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400F / 200C.

Combine the quinoa, eggs, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the chives, dill, kale, onion, garlic, and cumin. Stir well.

Add the baking powder and bread crumbs, stir, and let sit for a few minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. Gently stir in the feta. I’ve left out the feta cheese and it had no noticeable difference.

I used a one-third cup measure to make 11 patties. To make the patties moister, 101cookbooks recommends adding another beaten egg or water one tablespoon at a time to the quinoa mixture.  To make it dryer, add flour, one tablespoon at a time.

Generously spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, and arrange the patties with a bit of space between each. Bake for ~20 minutes, or until the bottoms are brown. Flip the patties over and bake for another 5 minutes.

Enjoy hot, or allow to cool to room temperature on a cooling rack. Makes about a dozen patties. It tastes pretty good hot or cold.

my everything crustless quiche

It’s Saturday-stock-the-pantry day. But first, I note to myself, make room in the fridge. I have eggs, half a pint of heavy cream that I bought to make a cake but changed my mind, a cup of home-made biscuit mix, assorted raw vegetables in various states of preparation, and inspiration.

This is basically Betty Crocker’s zucchini pie recipe, a crustless quiche which I’ve found robust enough to stand up to experimentation with the ingredients. For instance, I substituted the heavy cream for the milk–so of course it’s no longer low fat. But this is the basic recipe. For the veggies, I had eggplant, zucchini, asparagus, tomatoes, and onion. For the herbs I only had thyme and dill on hand. But any combination of herbs will do.

I forgot the cheese (I used Cheddar) so I sprinkled it on top then added the herbs on top of the cheese. It was a delicious mistake! For this recipe  and the recipe for the homemade biscuit mix, see my previous post the versatile crustless zucchini quiche.

poached egg on arugula

It’s been hard to keep up with blogging, dissertation-ing, and a full time job. And as if I don’t have enough to do, I also signed up for a course this summer on teaching reading. So I’m definitely  in the mood for some baking therapy. I just borrowed a cookbook from the NYPL about baking cakes from scratch.  To keep myself sane, I’ve been indulging in some of my food cravings. After all, how can I live in New York City and not eat a bagel, especially a bagel from Absolute Bagels. The people behind the counter are Thai and they make the best Jewish bread, in my opinion, on the Upper West Side. But this is New York. And  I digress. Here’s something healthier… a poached egg “hat” on fresh arugula.

I had some arugula (organic, what a splurge), that spicy green leaf that tastes like black pepper, and is it ever so yummy! I dressed it up with a poached egg. And for a non-vegetarian variation, I put in some sliced pepperoni. The saltiness of the pepperoni is the perfect complement to the sharp flavor of the arugula. Delicious. This is a great, simple, and easy to make breakfast.

How to poach an egg

To poach an egg, boil three inches of water in a small saucepan and add about a teaspoon of white vinegar. Bring to a near boil–the water should have big round bubbles. Crack open an egg into a small bowl. Stir the water and slip the egg into the center of the whirling water. Cook 5-7 minutes; 5 minutes for runny yolk, 7 minutes for barely runny.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the poached egg and place it on top of a cupful of arugula with a few slices of red onion. If desired, add some slices of pepperoni on top of the arugula and serve with toasted cheese on top of a slice of multi-grain bread.

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coconut kale with filipino garlic fried rice

Taranee pointed out this recipe to me because it’s quick and easy to make for a weeknight supper. I jazzed it up by adding her coconut kale to it, not that it needed it, but I’m not cooking as much and I need to move some of those vegetables before they spoil! The kale added just the right color to complement the eggs, and were satisfyingly chewy, coconut-flavored, and spicy. I also used up some leftover rice. Fried rice is good for that. This recipe was lightly garlicky, chewy;  a nice contrast between the slightly bitter kale, the bland eggs, crunchy green onions,  and al dente rice.

Coconut Kale with Filipino Garlic Fried Rice (adapted from The Kitchn)

Serves 4

2 teaspoons butter (optional; can also use vegetable oil)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 large eggs
Salt and pepper
12 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 whole head of garlic, depending on the size)
4 cups cooked long­ grain brown-and-white rice (ratio 2:1)
4 cups kale, trimmed and chopped coarsely
1 tablespoon coconut oil
red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon soy sauce or fish sauce, to taste
2 green onions, chopped

Heat 2 teaspoons of butter or oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Beat the eggs with a dash of salt and pepper. Pour them into the pan and cook until the center is set. Roll up the omelet with a spatula. Turn the omelet out onto a plate and set aside. When it is cool enough to handle, cut it into strips about 1/4­inch wide x 2­ or 3­inches long.

Using the same pan or a separate wok, if you prefer, heat a tablespoon of oil over moderate heat and add the minced garlic. Fry the garlic, stirring constantly to prevent it from burning. When the garlic is crispy and golden, remove it from the pan (leaving the garlicky oil in the pan) and set aside.

In the same wok or skillet, heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil until it just becomes fragrant. Add the kale and stir fry until it becomes wilted and turns a bright green. Sprinkle a little red pepper flakes all over and toss.

Stir in the rice. Make sure all the rice is coated with oil and then spread it across the pan in an even layer. Cook for a couple of minutes, then stir and repeat this process until the rice is heated through.

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of soy sauce or fish sauce into the rice, toss and taste, adding more if needed. Remove from heat. Serve the rice garnished with egg strips, scallions, a little more red pepper flakes, if desired, and the fried garlic.

Related articles

• Recipe: Filipino Garlic Fried RiceRecipes from The Kitchn (thekitchn.com)
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the versatile crustless zucchini quiche

I woke up this morning to a cool and rainy day. Perfect weather for a hot zucchini pie! Since I just thought of it, I didn’t have a zucchini on hand, unfortunately. Then I wondered what I could substitute. In the fridge I found leftover asparagus and kale and some grape tomatoes. Then I remembered this recipe by Betty Crocker for a crustless Zucchini Pie. I liked it the first time I made it because it didn’t deflate after cooling, like another crustless quiche recipe I’ve tried. I thought the Betty Crocker recipe would be robust enough to adapt. I decided to use my leftover vegetables and to spruce up the flavor with some added herbs, like thyme, rosemary, and dill weed. As the quiche baked,  a thin crust formed on the bottom from the biscuit mix. You can use Bisquick biscuit mix or you can make your own (see recipe below). I like to make up a batch fresh then store the leftovers in the refrigerator for another day.

Zucchini Quiche

Ingredients

1 cup chopped zucchini
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved (originally chopped tomato)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup home made biscuit mix (recipe below)
3/4 cup fat-free (skim) milk
2 eggs or 1/2 cup fat-free cholesterol-free egg product
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried dill weed

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease bottom and side of pie plate, 9×1 1/4 inches, with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Sprinkle zucchini, tomato, onion and cheese evenly in prepared pie plate.
3. Stir together biscuit mix, milk, eggs or egg product, salt and pepper until blended. Pour evenly into pie plate.
4. Sprinkle thyme, rosemary, and dill weed on top.
5. Bake about 35 minutes or until a thin blade knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool at least 10 minutes.

Variations

• 1/2 cup zucchini and 1/2 cup chopped yellow squash instead of 1 cup zucchini.
• 1 cup fresh or frozen butternut or acorn squash. If you’re using fresh butternut or acorn squash it should be boiled until tender then drained.
• 1 cup leftover cooked vegetables, chopped and drained of any liquid. Use asparagus spears, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, green beans, peas, carrots, mushrooms, butternut and/or acorn squash—be inventive!  Cabbage quiche? Baby bok choy quiche?

Home-made Biscuit Mix

1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening or Canola oil

Mix dry ingredients together, then using a pastry cutter cut the Crisco into the mix. Makes 1 cup Bisquick equivalent.

Unlike real Bisquick, this has to be stored in the fridge — which makes it less convenient, but it works if you have a recipe that calls for biscuit mix and you don’t usually keep it in your pantry cupboard. It is also good if you’re concerned about additives and preservatives in packaged food.

veggie hash with poached egg

What’s for breakfast? I had a little bit of roasted zucchini, a little bit of snow peas and peppers, and a handful of green beans. I put it together in a saucepan with some frozen corn, lima beans, and peas, added some thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper and a couple tablespoons of water et voila! Vegetable hash. I topped it off with a poached egg. A poached egg is easy to do and if you want a step by step, fool-proof how-to, then go to this Smitten Kitchen page for some great pictures on how to poach an egg. To sum up, the steps are:

1. Crack an egg into a small dish. Set aside.
2. Heat  3 inches of water in a small saucepan on medium-low heat. Add a bit of white vinegar. When the water gets to the “fish eye” stage (bubbles all over but not bubbling), stir the pot. Into the center of the whirlpool, pour the egg. The swirling water will keep the egg white into a ball. Let simmer about 1-3 minutes depending on how runny you like the yolk. It’s cooked when the egg white is no longer transparent but has turned white all over.  I like the yolk thickened so I let it sit in the water until it looks solid but still a deep yellow, like the picture above. Use a slotted spoon to remove the egg to top off the veggie hash.

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