Veggie Lasagna (Gluten Free)

I used to think that I hated eggplant.  My primary experiences with it have been in the form of eggplant parmesan and the two times I have eaten this I have really wanted to like it, but the flavor and texture just didn’t do it for me.  I assumed that I just didn’t like eggplant.  Until I had one of the best lasagnas ever and afterwords found out it had eggplant in it.

Last week our CSA box came with an eggplant, zucchini and a good helping of tomatoes.  I decided I would try to recreate that lovely veggie lasagna, except my version would be pasta free.  I’d seen an Alton Brown recipe for eggplant pasta and basically just followed that recipe but left the slices in tact to act as my lasagna “noodles” (I also left all the skin around the edges in tact.)  This part is pretty easy – just thinly slice (about 1/4 inch) your eggplant, lengthwise.  Lay the slices on a cooling rack that’s covered with one layer of paper towels and evenly salt the slices.  Let them sit there for 30 minutes, then rinse off and pat dry with paper towels.  Voila! You have “lasagna noddles.”

I wanted to make a totally homemade lasagna, so I started by making sauce from my Aunt Sharon’s recipe for Killer Sauce.

Where it says “Italian tomatoes,” that’s 60s Midwestern speak for roma tomatoes.  Aunt Sharon says that mostly she used to use canned, but fresh will work too.  Since I was using fresh, I added the extra step of roasting and skinning the tomatoes beforehand and I think that gives it a really nice flavor.  I also used fresh basil since it’s peak basil season.

Next, I had a DIY cheese kit from Urban Cheese Craft that has been taunting me for a while now.  I picked up a gallon of milk and made me some ricotta cheese!  Seriously, there is nothing like fresh, warm ricotta cheese…mmmm.

I’ll admit though, I haven’t worked up the courage to go all the way and make mozzarella yet (this is where I caved on the totally homemade thing).

Next it was just a matter of layering.  I brushed a thin coat of olive oil onto a 9×13 pan, then began with the first layer of eggplant, then I thinly sliced zucchini lengthwise and layered them in.  Then slices of mushrooms.  I sauteed half a large onion plus a clove of garlic and mixed that in with 2 cups of my ricotta along with two eggs.  Stirred all that together and put about half of it down on top of the veggies, sprinkled mozzarella on top and then repeated the cycle: eggplant, zucchini, mushroom, cheese.

Next time I’ll remember to take pictures of the lasagna before it all gets gobbled up!

 

Christmas in July Sale!

Tags

christmas in july, crafty, etsy, fine art, photography, sale

Have I mentioned that I’ve been building up my Etsy shop?  What’s that you say?  I’ve been completely remiss in promoting my own Etsy shop on my very own blog?  That’s crazy talk!

My new and improved Etsy shop currently has my fine art photography prints for sale.  These are available in a variety of sizes and for a limited time in July I’m offering 20% off orders!  Between now and July 22, just enter the coupon code CIJPDX to get the discount.

You can also check out my fellow PDX Etsy team member’s sales here. Happy Shopping!

Co-Opting the Rainbow

Tags

bigot, food, gay, gay oreo, gay pride, GMO, Kraft, LGBTQ, Oreo, Pride

Oreo love gay people? Sorry, I’m not buying it.

Yay Oreo, you’ve won gay marketing ploy of the week award!

Seriously, those who think they’ll be boycotting Oreos are stupid bigots.  1. Oreos are so addictive you’ll be begging for one by next week.  Even 1 Million Moms stopped just short of an official boycott.  Why? Not because they’re not bigots (they are asking followers to write stern letters to Kraft), but because they know their little brats will be screaming at the grocery store for them.  Seriously, those cookies are addictive!  2. Love the list here on Upworthy of all some of the Kraft foods you’d have to boycott if you want to truly make a stance.

At first glance, I think it’s great that large corporations have turned around and are “supporting” the LGBTQ community, but then I realize it feels a lot more like co-opting the Pride message.  These companies are unfazed by boycotters not because they’ve truly decided to finally stand on some moral high ground, but because they’ve realized that we’ve reached a tipping point in America in support of LGBTQ equal rights, and/or more likely perhaps someone at their agency showed them statistics on the disposable income of LGBTQ persons.  Am I cynical, yes.  If companies wanted to show their true support of the LGBTQ community, they would run their Pride campaigns and commit to giving a portion of their proceeds back to the community instead of simply exploiting it.  (See Bitch’s Douchebag Decree: American Apparel and Target from earlier this month.)

Speaking of boycotting Kraft products, I can think of some other reasons why you actually should boycott.  Oh how about GMOs, poor labor practices, unfair trade (including the use of child slave harvested cocoa in US Cadbury products). So progressive folks, let’s not let the proverbial rainbow colored wool be pulled over our eyes here. Instead, why not tell Kraft that you appreciate them reaching a hand out to the LGBTQ community (even if it is reaching for your wallet), but even so, you still don’t feel comfortable buying their products until they address these other important issues. The company’s website gives list of Kraft’s largest brands.

MeggieKate’s Amazing Pulled Pork

Tags

bbq, crockpot, dinner, food, pork, pork roast, pulled pork, slow cooker

I’ve had a delectable little boneless pork shoulder roast sitting in my freezer for the past couple months.  It was taunting me.  See, I’d never cooked this particular cut of meat before, and so was needlessly afraid of ruining my precious little roast.  I read through dozens of recipes online, watched tutorial videos and consulted my cookbooks.

What I arrived at was inspired by three recipes I found:

Pioneer Woman’s Spicy Shredded Pork
Queenbee’s Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Diana Rattray’s Slow Cooker Pork Barbecue

Here’s my take on pulled pork.  Important note: I highly recommend meat that is raised humanely (ie gets to live outside, not in a cage) and organic.  Yes, it’s more expensive but I balance that with eating vegetarian more often, that way I’m eating less meat and the meat I do eat isn’t full of things I shouldn’t be putting into my body.  As an added bonus, the meat is way tastier!

The only shot I could get before I wanted to shovel it all in my mouth.

MeggieKate’s Amazing Pulled Pork

Ingredients

Boneless pork shoulder roast (mine was somewhere between 1-2 lbs)

Rub/Seasoning:

Juice + zest of one lime

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons coriander

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2-3 Tablespoons olive oil (EV)

Ground pepper (about 5-8 twists of the grinder)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon agave

Roasting Ingredients:

2-3 bay leaves

3-4 smashed whole garlic cloves

1/4 of a red onion, in 1 inch slices

1/4 of a lime, sliced into 3 pieces

1/2 cup Black Butte Porter

I started the night before by mixing up the rub and slathering the roast in it.  I wrapped in saran wrap and let that baby soak up all those yummy juices.  The next morning I fired up the cast iron skillet and browned the roast on all sides.  With a boneless roast, you definitely want to keep the strings or netting on the roast.  Browning took no more than 10 minutes to get a nice browning that had spots of dark brown in it.

In the bottom of the crock pot, I set down the bay leaves, garlic and most of the onion (saving a few slices for the top of the roast).  I laid the roast down on top of this and poured the beer in.  I laid the slices of onion and lime on top of the roast and cooked on low for about 10 hours.  During that time, I turned the roast over 3 or 4 times to make sure it was all evenly juicy.

Once it was done, I cut the strings and used two forks to pull the meat apart.  Then to make sure it stayed nice and juicy, I ladled the juices over the plate of shredded meat.

From there, I dished it up onto a bun and topped it with Podnah’s Pit Barbecue Sauce – OMG, amazing!

I also think in the future I’ll want to make my Grandma Drury’s Chow to put on top. (I just need to try making a version of this with a sugar substitute.)

Grandma Drury’s Chow

A complement to burgers, barbecue, etc.

Ingredients:

1 large head cabbage

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 cup vinegar

3 medium onions

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 stick margarine

2 Tablespoons prepared mustard

Chop cabbage and onion until very fine (food processor works well). Mix remaining ingredients in saucepan, just until mixture boils.  Pour over chopped cabbage and onion.  Stir until well mixed.  Store in canning jars, etc. and refrigerate.

Mango Basil Pork

Tags

basil, blueberries, mango, pork, quinoa

Tonight I had a delicious creative adventure in my kitchen.  To be honest, that’s where most of my creativity is manifesting itself these days (hmm, is someone trying to tell me something here?).  So far though I’m no chef, and I know my techniques would get me laughed out of most of my favorite kitchens.  Seriously, I am constantly having aha moments when I watch foodie videos.  I recently watched a video that showed how to quickly strip kale off the stalk by sliding your hand down it and thought wow, why couldn’t I think of that instead of wasting my precious free time meticulously hand plucking each leaf?  I know I have much to learn in the kitchen, but I enjoy coming up with new flavorful dishes.  Lately I’ve been playing around with mangoes, having been inspired by this brilliant recipe for Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad.

My version of the Mango Blueberry Quinoa Salad

Since it’s a little early for basil to be growing in my backyard, I ended up buying a big bag of the herb that needed to be used up and I loved the mango/basil flavor combo.  Thus the Mango Basil Pork dish was created!

Mango Basil Pork

I’m a fly by the seat of my pants kinda cook in the kitchen, which means when I make up a new dish, sometimes it will never be the same again.  I’ve decided I need to get better about writing things down while my path to creation is still fresh in my mind.  I’ll just say that if you’re the kind of cook who craves exact measurements from your recipes, you should probably look elsewhere.

Ingredients:
-1 pound of pork stew meet
-1 meyer lemon + zest of 1 half of lemon
-mango nectar (I used Trader Joe’s)
-1 garlic clove, diced
-About 10 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
-salt & pepper to taste
-1 or 2 dribbles of extra virgin olive oil
-1 small red onion
-2 T tapioca flour
-Half a bag of frozen mango chunks (Trader Joe’s)

Marinate 1 pound of pork stew meat in the following (I let this sit for about 5 hours):

-Juice of 1 meyer lemon + zest of half
-Mango Nectar, eyeballing it I’d say I had about a half and half lemon/mango mix
-garlic
-fresh basil
-salt & pepper to taste (I should note here that my pepper grinder has lavender mixed in with the pepper, so I got a bit of lavender in there as well)
-a dribble or two of olive oil
-Pinch of Cumin
-1-2 dashes of chili powder
(Add sautéed chili peppers, habaneros or Thai hot peppers, depending on your spiciness threshold and taste for peppers)

Once the pork is sufficiently marinated, begin cooking. If one of the ingredients is done before the others, that’s fine, just cover to keep warm. You’ll be combining everything in the end anyway.

-First take the small red onion and cut lengthwise into about 1 inch strips, caramelize these in a separate pan

-Next, heat some more olive oil in pan and place pieces of pork in, browning on all sides

-Place marinade only in separate sauce pan, and heat up (here I added in the rest of my Mango Nectar from the bottle (I’m guessing it was about 1/2 – 3/4 of a cup).  Once this is simmering, gradually whisk in about 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour to thicken.  Next add in half a bag of frozen mango from Trader Joe’s.

Once pork is cooked, add onions and mango sauce all together over low heat.  At this point I tasted to see what might be needed.  My conclusion was it needed some spiciness to it and then I knew I should have trusted my previous instincts in the grocery store to get some chili peppers (and maybe even some habaneros!).  I shied away from my instincts.  Never shy away!  So I ended up adding a pinch of cumin and a couple dashes of chili powder instead.  Next time I will be spicin’ it up big time!

Gluten Free Tuna Noodle Casserole

Tags

casserole, fish, gluten free, hazelnut, tuna, tuna noodle

This ain’t yo mama’s tuna noodle casserole! Quinoa pasta and chopped hazelnuts replace the wheat ingredients in this tasty dish. This is seriously the best tuna noodle casserole I have ever tasted, if I do say so myself.

1 seared tuna steak (Trust me, once you make this with freshly cooked tuna you will never go back to the canned stuff.)
Half of 1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 stalk of celery
1 small box of sliced mushrooms (I know, I’m a bad person for buying pre-sliced, but that’s minutes of my life chopping mushrooms that I will never get back.)
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp tapioca flour
Thyme, Dill, Salt & Pepper to taste + a pinch or 2 of Tumeric
1 box Quinoa pasta, spirals
About a cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 – 1 cup chopped hazelnuts

Trader Joe’s has frozen steaks that are well worth using in place of a gross old can of tuna. Oil a pan, bring to medium high heat, salt your steak and throw it in the pan (don’t let it stick!). Give it a couple of minutes and then flip it over. You want it to have a nice browning, and about medium rare since it will be going into the oven later. Pull the meat apart with a fork and knife. I kept mine pretty chunky. That way you can tell you’re eating tuna.

Start cooking your pasta.

Oil a skillet or wok with half butter, half oil (about 1 T each) and add chopped onions and garlic, then the celery, then the mushrooms. Cook until all of these are almost tender. Add cup of milk and herbs, and sprinkle with tapioca flour. Stir it up and let it come to a boil, stir a few times, continuing to let boil. When it has thickened up a bit, turn off heat.

Mix together the tuna, veggie/milk mixture, pasta and the cheese. Honestly, I’m not really sure how much cheese was used, I just kind of eyeball it and/or stop when my arm is tired of shredding. Pour into a 9×13 buttered pan. Shred some more cheese onto the top of the dish. Chop up hazelnuts (I love my vintage nut chopper for this, though if you are going for a more true breadcrumb consistency then maybe a food processor is for you, but personally I love the bigger hazelnut bits in there) and sprinkle over the cheese. Put in the oven (which by the way you should have preheated to 425) for about 10 – 15 minutes, until the cheese is all melty and the hazelnuts are golden brown.

Prepare to meet your new favorite gluten free comfort food!

Blueberry Banana Baked Oatmeal

Tags

agave, baked oatmeal, banana, blueberries, breakfast, gluten free, healthy eats, sugar free, yeast free

Baked Oatmeal seems to be all the rage these days.  Just one taste of this delicious stuff and it’s easy to see why.  For people like myself who have issues with eating things like wheat and yeast, breakfast can sometimes leave us feeling left out of all the fun.  After playing around with a couple different recipes, here’s what I’ve arrived at.  The brilliant thing about this recipe is that it’s so versatile.  Don’t have blueberries?  Add a chopped pear instead (or whatever fruit you like).  Don’t like walnuts?  Try using raw cashews or pecans as a substitute.  Can’t find agave at your local supermarket?  Use maple syrup, but make sure it is real, not some corn syrupy wanna be.  Don’t like chocolate?  Huh??  What’s wrong with you?  Okay, I guess you can take those out if you must.

Ingredients

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces, chopped
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups milk
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup agave nectar
• 1 ripe banana, peeled, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 375°F and butter one 9×13 baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, baking powder, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg salt, walnuts, blueberries, and chocolate. Transfer to baking dish, making sure to get an even distribution of berries, nuts and chocolate.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, butter, vanilla extract, and agave.
4. Arrange the banana slices on the top, then pour the milk mixture over everything. Make sure the liquid ingredients cover the oat mix evenly by slightly tilting the pan until everything is covered.
5. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown and the milk mixture has set. Let it sit for a few minutes before dishing out the warm deliciousness.  Enjoy!

Orange Maple Herbed Pork Sirloin Roast

I’ve been going through a pork roast phase lately.  I never used to be such a fan of the “other white meat” and limited my cooking experience with it to pork chops and bacon.  But a recent food sensitivity test revealed that I have slight issues with most proteins with the exception of beans, nuts, beef and pork.  So there has been a good deal of experimenting with new dishes, including a few pork roasts.  I think tonight’s version might just be my new favorite.  I love when a new dish is developed by chance.  If I hadn’t made baked oatmeal for breakfast (which required orange zest, but left a slightly naked orange to be used), this new pork dish wouldn’t be with us tonight.  I was simply meant to be.

Preheat oven to 400. Add just a bit of EVO to the bottom of a glass pan.  Place roast in the pan.

Cut up 2-3 sprigs of Rosemary and a few Thyme sprigs along with a couple cloves of garlic. Mix with salt and pepper and a few glugs of EVO. Juice half an orange, add in a little bit of orange zest and a couple of glugs of maple syrup.  Pour over the roast and make sure most of the herby goodness sticks to the pork.  Stick that bad boy in the oven.  My roast was about 2 lbs and took about 2 hours (I cook until the temp is at 170 to be safe, though the USDA says 145 is ok.  If you like living on the edge go for 145, but I must say that I haven’t had an issue with dryness).  I do spoon the juices over the top of the meat about 2-4 times while it cooks.  For this roast, I added the other half of the juiced orange and another swig of maple about halfway through the process.

Wash the Winter Blues Away

Tags

beach, bird feeding, coast, glorious sunshine, oregon, sunshine, tide pool, west coast

I’ve heard rumors that there are people who enjoy winter weather, but personally I am skeptical that these people exist.  I think there should be some kind of law passed that says you have to leave your holiday lights on through the entire month of January, just for my own sanity.  After a month of gloomy January weather, I’m ready for some serious sunshine.  So when I found out late last Friday that it was going to be sunny and in the mid 50s – 60s on the Oregon coast, I began contemplating.  Combine that with the fact that not only did Alex and I have a rare entire weekend off together, but there was also a special running at our new favorite hotel on the beach (complete with ocean view and fireplace), and I knew that the cosmos must have aligned.  I went home and informed Alex of our new weekend plans.

Just under two hours away from our destination, I dusted off my sunglasses and prepared to enjoy the scenic drive to the coast.  I don’t even think I knew how much I needed this getaway until we arrived and felt the stress and doldrums wash away.  

For the next 24 hours it was all wave watching….

beach combing…

sunset watching…

bird feeding…

brunch eating…

tide pool exploring…

and lots of basking in the glorious sunshine!

It’s Ms. Honey Badger to You

As printed in Erin Parker’s “Am I There Yet?” Newsletter
by Megan Cox – Guest Columnist

While Ms. Parker is busy gallivanting about the world being a sparkling entertainer, I am usually sitting in my grey-walled cubicle dodging
monotonous office work. Earlier this year I read an article stating that “Advertising Account Executive” was among the top 10 most stressful jobs. Even though what advertising professionals do doesn’t exactly matter in the same way that say, pilots and EMTs who havethe fate of human lives in their hands every day do, somehow seeing my line of work in this list somehow justified my nail biting habit a bit. But it’s not just me – we are all clearly a stressed out bunch of people lately.

There are few things that get me through my days. Clandestinely scrolling through Erin’s newsletter on my ipod has been one of them. Other stress relievers include staring deeply into my sprinkle ring, devouring bars of Cadbury dark chocolate, dreaming of one day having my own lavender and blackberry farm, and thinking about what the honey badger would do.

My boyfriend Alex loves watching online videos, mostly of animals doing silly things, preferably cats. Personally, I’ve never been big on this form of entertainment since I find about 98% of amateur videos tobe utterly boring and anti-climatic. I’ve come to realize that video watching is his way of releasing stress. Focusing on things like a cat repeatedly jumping into a box and then out again allows him to let go of his crappy day at work. Me, I prefer
yelling at the other cars on my way home. I always thought watching silly videos was a waste of time, but I guess that getting my road rage on, while cathartic, isn’t exactly the most healthy form of stress release. I’m learning the art of decompressing a little less toxically, but I never knew how much a silly video could affect my life until I was introduced to Randall and his famous honey badger video.

I find it hard to believe by now that there is anyone out there who hasn’t seen this video, but if you haven’t seen it, please, I implore you, go to YouTube now and watch it. FYI, the official video is titled The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger (original narration by Randall).

Randall’s honey badger isn’t just a funny video; it’s a way of life with the transcendental tagline of “Honey badger don’t care.” I cannot tell you how many
times I have whispered this line to myself as I am starting to get worked up over stupid email or a client’s request that feels like it’s about to ruin my day. I say the words and become one with my inner honey badger. And yes, it really helps to hear those words in a saucy gay tone that implies “I ain’t takin’ any shit from you, stupid.” Not only does honey badger not give a shit, (and why should he? He can get bit by a venomous snake with little consequence) he’s also a total badass, just taking what he wants.

We should all take a little life lesson from the honey badger. Whenever life or work gets you feeling so stressed you want to bang your head
against something, take a deep breath and exhale as you repeat to yourself “Honey badger don’t care. Honey badger don’t give a shit.” Your world will be a more peaceful place.