Author: chefalice
On a chilly day it’s nice to have something hot for lunch whether you’re at home or work. Pile this pasta dish into a Thermos flask and you will be so happy come lunchtime. It’s an adaptation of an Italian classic but with added veg for goodness and fibre. And if you leave the bacon out and use vegetarian cheese, this could be a good veggie meal.
Curtis and I have three mature peach trees in our yard. At the end of June or early July these trees begin to burst forth their bounty in sweet, juicy peaches. For about a month we enjoy peaches fresh from the tree, and we add them to curries, salads, and ice tea. But inevitably we always end up with more peaches than we know what to do with, so I began fermenting them. I came up with this deliciously sweet and spicy peach chutney, which we polished off in a day. So I tripled the recipe to make enough for…
Of the five gluten-free, sugar-free focaccia recipes we offer in this book, this one is most similar to traditional wheat flour versions featuring an herbed oil topping. The high proportion of flaxseed meal gives it a creamy interior texture, along with a wide array of nutritional benefits. We call for both dried and fresh basil in the herbed oil because each adds distinctive flavor characteristics. It doesn’t really need any topping beyond what is called for, but as with all focaccias, you can add any number of other toppings.
Canned pumpkin purée (not the pie filling) is an easy, nutritious way to create a fabulous soup. Tortellini come with a variety of fillings, so try other kinds than cheese. Make an extra batch of feta cheese croutons to add to your favorite salad.
The perfect vegan and gluten-free biscuit was one of the most challenging items I have ever attempted right up there with banana bread and brownies. I must have tried to make biscuits a dozen times, with not even a glimmer of success. Discouraged, I took to the Bunner’s Facebook page and asked our fans what made a perfect biscuit. The resounding response: Moist with a bit of a crumble, a touch of salt, and, somewhat surprisingly, cheddar. Re-inspired, I took to the kitchen and hit the nail on the head. All it took was a little teamwork.
My friend Geoffrey is a phenomenal cook. He and I have so much fun together in the kitchen because we get so excited about the wonders of pure, fresh food, and we enjoy similar flavors. We both love making veggie quinoa bowls, but his special blend with an added wow factor (a green chimichurri sauce that blends up in minutes) is the best I’ve tasted so far. This combination of veggies and grains is earthy and satisfying, even to the most devoted carnivore. However, it does take 1½ hours to make, so if you don’t have that much time, make…
Dressed with nothing but lemon and olive oil, sweet, nutty farro and tangy pickled mushrooms get together in this toothsome salad. Farro is an ancient relative of wheat, yet it has far less gluten. It has lots of grain nutrients, as do most whole, unprocessed grains. Texturally, it has the fullness of barley. I first tasted farro at Gramercy Tavern when Tom Colicchio was the chef there in 1994. He used stoneground whole farro grains, which retain more bran and fiber so they don’t convert to sugar so rapidly.