Something Simpler for a Change

After a series of blogs that have mostly been real sticklers for detail work, I want to change pace here, and assure that while I love testing out these detail oriented dishes, I also love simple ones.

I feel truly bad when I have a friend say that they wouldn't want me to come to their house for a meal because my expectations are likely too high!

What!?!?!? 

Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal

Yes, I do a lot of things many people would never try. I understand that. It's just what I do. I get a bee in my bonnet about a new thing and just have to give it a try. But, my decision to go the route of finickiness in a recipe does not in any way mean I cannot appreciate something other, even if simpler. 

When I go to a restaurant, I have had friends say the same, that I must be less than satisfied with the meal. That couldn't be farther from the truth. When I am at someone's house, or at a restaurant, I am able to sit down. I am being served by someone else. That I do not have to do the work, the cleanup, the timing of a meal and all the detail that goes into it, means I am exceedingly pleased and grateful, and patient (including at a restaurant), because I know the amount of work it takes. Even for something much less complicated than a puff pastry dough or pan de campagne.

Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal

I am of an age that I do not have little ones running around the house or a busy schedule (most of the time). I don't work outside of maintaining a large house and a husband with some health issues. I have the time, now and again, to indulge my curiosity about a recipe. And my interests in food are far reaching. 

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting a woman at the local Farmers' Market, selling pork (pork in many forms, including smoked sausage and pork fat for rendering) and chickens and some turkeys for Thanksgiving. Her name is Amy, and her meats are from Bumpy Road Ranch. While all her meats are home farm raised and delicious, the items that really struck me were her smoked ring sausage and smoked brats. I have never been fond of sausage, though if I was going to eat it, it would be smoked. But this woman's sausage is so delicious I went back multiple times to get more and more. I have looked for more ways to use it, it's just that delicious. 

When I tested the recipe for this "Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal," I used store bought smoked brats. I did this because if it didn't come out tasting as good as I wanted, I didn't want to have used up a package of Bumpy Road Ranch Smoked Brats! I will make it again, now that I know how good this is,  with the good brats! But whether you have access to wonderful local smoked brats, or whether you buy them at the grocery, this recipe doesn't take very long, and it is so wonderfully tasty. 

Also, continuing with my determination to get something healthy into the mix, I added grated cauliflower (in addition to my usual onion, garlic, celery, carrot and green pepper) and used a brown rice mix instead of white rice. It takes an extra step when using brown rice, as it needs to be half-cooked before adding to the pot (meaning, technically, that it's not a "one"-pot meal). Plain white rice could be added instead, at the point where the half-cooked rice is added. 

Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal

Serves 4 to 6

Smoked Sausage & Rice One Pot Meal

1½ cups brown rice
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups water-----------------
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
2 cups grated cauliflower
1 carrot, grated
4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, stems discarded
1 bay leaf
1 package smoked brats or other smoked sausage, sliced
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, well rinsed

Set the rice, salt and water in a saucepan, bring to boil, lower temperature to a simmer and time for 30 minutes.

Left all ingredients added and Right all cooked through

In a large skillet, heat the oil and add in the chopped onion, sauté until softened, then add in the garlic and the remaining vegetables as they are prepared, stirring occasionally to soften. Add in the thyme leaves and the bay leaf, smoked sausage, kidney beans and tomato sauce. Pour in the partially cooked rice, along with its remaining water and cook for at least another 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked through. Mixture may be slightly saucy.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Foods from Hawaii to the Middle East

After returning from the greater Seattle area while visiting with my son and his new lady, who is half Hawai'ian, I got a bit of a taste for things Hawai'ian. We only ate one Hawai'ian meal, but I also got to hear a whole lot of really beautiful Hawai'ian music as well. When I returned home, I quickly looked up some of the great songs I had heard and got those into my Amazon Music lickety-split. Next, I made an approximation of an "Island Style Pho," which I called "Coconut Chicken Soup." I think I made a very good likeness of that soup.

Pineapple Macadamia Rice

Since part of that soup was Huli Huli Chicken, I first had to make that, and I love how the recipe came out also. Since in that first occasion I was cutting up the chicken into the soup, my husband and I both really wanted to try the chicken on its own. The flavors are just sublime. This past Monday (after marinating the chicken over the weekend), I grilled the second batch of Huli Huli Chicken. All I can say is it must be tried to believe how amazing it is. 

Next I needed to have some kind of side dish to accompany the chicken, so while I have actually made a rice dish with some of the same ingredients just a couple of months back, and which I called "Tropical Rice," I wanted to take it a little farther this time. It is quite similar in most respects, with the same additions of brown rice, scallions, bell pepper, lime juice, grilled pineapple and macadamia nuts, I think, if my memory serves, that this version was a little bit better.

Pineapple Macadamia Rice

Pineapple Macadamia Rice

Serves 6 to 8

1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coconut oil
______________
⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 teaspoons coconut oil
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
½ lime, juice only
2 - 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
½ bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 - 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
4 scallions, sliced thinly on the bias 
1 cup grilled pineapple, in small cubes
2 - 2½ ounces macadamia nuts

Earlier in the day, or the day prior, cook together the first 4 ingredients according to package directions. Once cooked, fluff the rice and allow it to cool completely. Set aside or refrigerate until needed.

In a large, dry skillet, toast the shredded coconut until it is golden. Pour onto a plate to cool and set aside. Grill the pineapple in a large chunk or two, until it is tender and has some nice grill marks. Cut it into small cubes.

In the same skillet as previously, over medium heat, add the 2 teaspoons coconut oil, then saute the onion until very tender and beginning to brown at the edges. Add in the lime juice (at least a tablespoon: if your limes are dry, squeeze more, to make at least a tablespoon of juice) and stir, cooking until all the juice has evaporated. Add in the garlic, ginger and bell pepper and stir-fry until very fragrant. Add in all the rice and stir-fry until some of the grains begin to brown slightly. Add in the remaining ingredients, leaving aside a tablespoon each of the scallions and macadamia nuts for garnish. Stir well, then serve immediately, garnished with the remaining scallions and macadamias.

And now, to the Middle East . . .

Also, recently I have taken more of an interest in eggplants. Anyone who knows me, or who has read my blog, may know that as a child, eggplant was almost the worst thing I could imagine having to eat. It has taken me all this time to even begin to warm up to the whole idea. I have eaten a few things with eggplant and liked then, such as my sister's Eggplant Parmesan. With enough sauce and cheese, most things can be disguised enough to be edible. And so I come to Baba Ghanoush. I have read of Baba Ghanoush (or Baba Ganoush, Baba Ganouzh, etc) for a long time, but having eggplant play the major role in that dish has so far deterred me from trying it. 
 

Baba Ghanoush

Still, this summer, as I saw eggplants start to make an appearance at the Farmers' Market, I have felt the need to buy one, here and there. And so I bought an eggplant last week, and it sat there staring at me on the counter, while I tried to think what to do with it. Baba Ghanoush popped into my mind. I tried to quell the thought, but I finally gave in and looked up what constituted Baba Ghanoush. I was somewhat surprised to find that it is basically the same ingredients that make hummus, which I love. Just substitute grilled, peeled eggplant for the chickpeas and hey, Presto! A beautiful dip.

Baba Ghanoush

Okay, I baked the eggplant, because it's starting to get chilly up here. It was difficult enough trying to grill the Huli Huli Chicken on Monday, because aside from being chilly out, it was also so windy as to make it a challenge to keep the grill lit. I ended up backing the car out of the garage and having the grill just inside the garage, out of direct wind. So, baked eggplant it was. And then I put in the ingredients I felt should make this dip taste good, and I was actually shocked to find that I really LOVE Baba Ghanoush! Wow!

I made one smallish eggplant to try this recipe, and the recipe came out to be approximately ¾ cup of dip. To make more, just double or triple the recipe as needed. I left my Baba Ghanoush totally unadorned for my photos. Many things are suggested, for serving, from simply drizzling with more olive oil, to serving with olives, pine nuts, parsley, etc. Some photos I saw online had so many things over top that there was absolutely no view of the main event. I think it was pretty enough on its own, so I unashamedly photographed it gloriously nude.

I chose to add an ingredient that I never saw in any of the recipes: Sumac. Sumac is a Mediterranean / Middle Eastern spice that is used as a souring agent, similarly to lemon/lime juice or tamarind in other areas of the world. Click on the link at the beginning of this paragraph to read more about sumac. This ingredient is in no way needed to make Baba Ghanoush, but I felt it would add something.

Baba Ghanoush

Baba Ghanoush

Makes about ¾ cup

1 medium/small eggplant (11 to 12 ounces)
2 cloves garlic, minced
(2 tablespoons vinegar, optional)
¼ cup parsley leaves
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoons ground Sumac, optional
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ to 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice, to taste

Heat the oven to 400 degrees, or more authentically, light a grill. Bake (or grill - not sure of timing for the grill) the eggplant for about 45 to 55 minutes, until completely soft. Set aside to cool. Peel the skin and place the eggplant into a food processor. 

The garlic can certainly be roasted garlic, if preferred. If using raw garlic, and if raw garlic is hard on the stomach, as for me, place the minced garlic in a small bowl and cover with the optional vinegar. Allow to set for 10 minutes, then drain off the vinegar and add the garlic to the food processor, along with all the remaining ingredients. Process until well blended. Serve accompanied with olives, pine nuts and a drizzle of olive oil. Set out crackers, pita crackers, or crudités. 



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Great Rice Dish with Superb Flavor

Another rice dish. Well, I have been making lots of whole grain rice, and sometimes it's great to have it be something with added new flavors. This particular dish is really superb. The flavors are bright and fresh and paired exceptionally well with the Hoisin Pork I was serving for dinner. Since I was trying to come up with a side dish for the Hoisin pork, these flavors really worked.

The recipe for the Hoisin Pork was originally made to serve as appetizers. Last night I just sliced it to serve as dinner. I still had some of the Blackberry Chutney left so that was artfully spooned over the meat slices to serve.  
 

Tropical Rice

The rice dish had one main criteria; it had to have plenty of vegetables added, so it would be adequate vegetable to rice ratio. I believe this worked well. So well in fact that we all served small portions and what was meant to be a portion of rice and a portion of vegetables, turned out to be just one, single small serving. Oh well.

What makes the flavors so good with the pork are things like lime juice, dark, toasted Asian sesame oil and the grilled pineapple. I tossed in some Macadamia nuts at the end for some texture. My goal of late is healthy, meaning plenty of vegetables and lots of fiber, coming also from lots of lentils, mainly of the Indian variety. Rice is only whole grain, sometimes red, sometimes dark brown Wehani, sometimes red and sometimes just simple brown rice.

Grilling pineapple

The grilled pineapple is exceptional for flavor, but if you don't have a grill, or just don't feel like grilling, just raw pineapple or even canned (in its own juice) will do in a pinch. Grilled pineapple has such a great kind of sweetness, offset by a bit of charring and I highly recommend it! Simply use large spears of pineapple and set them onto a very hot grill, turning as each side acquires a nice charring of grill lines. Chop into small cubes once done. Since I was grilling the pork, I took the opportunity to grill the pineapple at the same time.
 
I had found some mizuna (Japanese mustard or spider mustard) at the Farmers' Market a couple of days ago, and last minute lightly chopped about a cup of that to add in.  If not available, baby arugula would also be perfect. All in all, it was one bowl of splendid flavors.

Mizuna Greens

Tropical Rice

Serves 4 to 8, depending on portion size

Tropical Rice

¾ cup brown rice
1½ to 2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon dark Asian sesame oil
1 cup grilled pineapple, cut into small cubes
1 small cucumber, seeded, in small cubes
1 cup mizuna, or substitute baby arugula or spinach, chopped
¾ cup chopped orange bell pepper
½ cup chopped scallions
½ cup chopped cilantro or parsley
½ cup macadamia nuts, halved

About an hour and a half before serving, make the rice: place the brown rice into a saucepan with ¾ teaspoon salt and bring to boil. Lower heat to simmer and cover with a lid. Follow package directions for cooking time (mine cooked for 55 minutes). Once cooked, remove from heat, remove lid and let cool.

Once cooled, add the lime juice and dark Asian sesame oil to the rice and toss well. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine the remaining ingredients and toss well. Add in the rice and mix well to combine and serve immediately. Or allow to chill and serve cold.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Easy Stir-Fry

Vegetable Stir-Fry, closeup

I have been making a stir-fry of sorts for a lot of years. It changes with vegetable availability; both seasonal and just what I have on hand at any given moment. It can be as simple as onion, garlic, ginger, celery, carrot, green pepper and peas - to the additions of bok choy, bean sprouts, frozen peas, snow or sugar snap peas, cabbage or Napa cabbage, squash, green beans, lemongrass, and the list continues. One of the reasons I love to make this stir fry is that I love vegetables. Another reason is that, for whatever reason, though my husband dislikes things like cabbages, carrot or squash, I can put them in this stir-fry and he loves it. I have even sneaked a little broccoli (a true hatred, alongside fresh tomato or large chunks of tomato in anything). When I use bok choy, I slice the white parts on an angle, similarly to the celery. I finely chiffonade the greens and add them at the end. 

What I love best is that there are a lot of vegetables with little calorie count, so I get the bulk that  makes me feel full, with a lot less calories than in most normal meals.

You may wonder about meat. I usually do add meat - either chicken or pork. The way I make it is to use either a pork tenderloin or pork chops, meat cut off of any bone or fat, or chicken breasts. It is best if the meat is only partially thawed, as it makes cutting into thin strips far easier. I slice the meat across the grain, thinly, and then again, into thin strips a little wider than matchsticks. It's hard to get the meat quite that small, and it isn't necessary. Once I have the thin pieces of meat, I prep some fresh garlic and ginger by mincing very finely. I set a nonstick fry pan on relatively high heat, add in some olive oil or coconut oil and add the meat. I stir-fry the meat tossing quickly, until it starts to brown. I toss in the ginger and garlic (about 2 - 3 tablespoons, minced all together). This gets tossed quickly until very fragrant, and then I sprinkle on some soy sauce or Shoyu. Once the soy sauce is evaporated (doesn't take long), I remove the pan from the heat and drizzle on a little Asian dark sesame oil. Once the vegetable part of the stir fry is done, I add the meat and mix it in. Easy. 

Vegetable Stir-Fry

This method of preparing the meat is also something I do when making a more substantial luncheon salad, usually for guests. I love salad, and prefer to toss in just about anything I can find. The meat just makes it heartier. Another thing I have done is to use a rotisserie chicken from the store - just shred and add to the vegetable part of the stir fry.

This is a basic recipe. Feel free to embellish however you might prefer.

Vegetable Stir-Fry

Asian (Dark) Sesame Oil

1 tablespoon oil or coconut oil
1 - 2 large onions, sliced in wedges
1 juicy lemon or lime, or 2 tablespoons vinegar
1 bell pepper, cut in long strips
2 - 3 large stalks celery, cut thinly at an angle
2 cups very thinly sliced cabbage
1 large carrot, grated (large holed grater - or julienne)
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 chunk of fresh ginger, about equal to the amount of garlic, minced
1 cup frozen peas, OR
1½ cups sugar snap peas or snow peas
3 - 4 tablespoons soy sauce or Shoyu
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, preferably unhulled, raw
2 tablespoons Asian Dark Sesame Oil
¾ cup cashews of choice (I use raw), optional
cilantro, for garnish
cooked rice, for serving

Heat to medium high a very large skillet. Add in the oil or coconut oil, then add the onions. Toss the onions frequently, until they begin to just barely turn color. Add in some vinegar or the juice of one juicy lemon or lime. This seems to help the onions taste better and gives a little zip to the flavor. Continue cooking until the juice or vinegar evaporates. Add in the bell pepper, celery and cabbage and toss for a few minutes until wilted. [In general, add any vegetables that take longer to cook to your desired doneness, first.]

Now add in the garlic and ginger and toss well, until it becomes fragrant. Add in the shredded carrot, sesame seeds and cashews. Drizzle on the Asian dark sesame oil and toss to combine.

Serve over a bed of white or brown rice, rice noodles, or other oriental style noodle.

This makes 4 very hefty portions. It takes about 1 hour, start to finish, if making the meat to add in; otherwise about 45 minutes.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

It's Pheasant Hunting Season; time for delightful recipes

Our friend Rich came to visit for the opening of pheasant hunting season. His first day out was unsuccessful, but on day two he did get one young bird. I have had the experience of killing and cleaning both chickens and turkeys in my life, but never a pheasant. I was informed that one does not need to pluck feathers from a pheasant as the skin is so easy to just rip off with the feathers still attached. I came outside to watch Rich skin and clean the bird and then came the time to think what to do with it.

Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

Rich and I collaborate well on food matters. We both have wonderful ideas, but vastly different ones, so it is especially fun to bounce ideas back and forth. His first idea was that he wanted to brine the bird. I have only brined once - a turkey. I was unimpressed. I did understand the reasoning behind brining a wild bird such as this, so we agreed on that, for both better flavor and tenderizing. He also wanted to subsequently soak it in buttermilk as an added insurance against too gamy a flavor. Once the bird was cleaned we set it to soak overnight in brine. Next morning (yesterday) he removed it from the brine, cleaned out the container and set the pheasant pieces back into the container with 2 cups of buttermilk. We left that to soak for a few hours.

Assembled casserole, before baking

Meantime, we started to work out the flavors we wanted. I had only eaten pheasant once in my life, at a restaurant over 20 years ago. I recall loving the dish, but was unsure if that was an accurate representation of the flavor of a wild bird. I told Rich that I knew juniper berries were supposed to be good with wild game, so we agreed to use a little of those. We both love the flavors of fresh thyme, so we decided to use that. Rich wanted rice with the casserole, and particularly to have wild rice be a part of it. 

What we ended up doing is cooking wild rice in one pot, brown rice in another and white rice in a third. I made ¾ cup (dry) of each variety of rice, with a teaspoon of olive oil, 1¼ teaspoon of salt and 1½ cups of water, cooking the brown and the wild rice for 50 minutes, and the white rice for 15. The wild rice did not soak up most of the water it cooked in, and I drained and saved that water to use for the sauce later. Rich dislikes the use of flour to thicken things and suggested using bread crumbs instead. We were looking for a creamy mushroom base for the sauce, but without using a canned mushroom soup (we are both purists on that score). I had some artisan style homemade bread on hand so I cut two thick slices and put into the food processor to make crumbs. We wanted mushrooms to be a part of it, so since my husband and I love dried shiitakes, we used those, which are delightfully chewy when reconstituted. I used 10 of them, soaked in boiling water for about 20 minutes. I saved the about 3 cups of water from the mushroom soaking to use as part of the liquid for the sauce. Rich also wanted to add chicken to the whole dish, as chicken is more fatty than pheasant and would lend some of the fattiness to the dish.

Rich, serving his pheasant creation

Okay, so now we had a working idea and had started prepping. Rich chopped an onion, a carrot and 2 stalks of celery, along with about 6 or 8 large cloves of garlic. I sautéed that mixture in a frying pan in olive oil until they were wilted, then removed that to a large roaster pan, spread over the bottom of the pan. Meanwhile, Rich blotted all the pheasant and chicken pieces dry with paper toweling, then sprinkled with salt and pepper and I followed with browning all the pheasant and chicken pieces, which were then removed to the roaster pan, in one layer. We removed the stems from the soaked mushrooms and sliced them, strewing them over the meats. I sprinkled in about a teaspoon of juniper berries, and then the bread crumbs. Over top of this I evenly sprinkled the wild rice, then the white rice and then the brown rice. Rich was interested in a smoky flavor element, so I sprinkled on 1 1/2 teaspoons of smoked paprika (Pimenton de la Vera).

Pheasant Chicken Casserole with Three Rices

Back in the frying pan, I added about 1½ tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves and a cup of dry white wine, cooking quickly over high heat, stirring up all the browned bits in the bottom, to reduce to less than a half cup, total. We added in the mushroom cooking water and the wild rice cooking water and cooked briskly to reduce to about 2 or 2½ cups of total liquid. To this we added 2 cups of heavy cream, off the heat. After tasting, we added another teaspoon of salt to the sauce. I poured this sauce over the whole casserole, covered the pot and baked it for 1½ hours at 325 degrees.

It may have taken a while to assemble, but I have only one word for the outcome. YUM! The casserole was unctuous from the cream and perfectly flavored. The smoked paprika was just enough to give that hint of smokiness without overwhelming. The pheasant was absolutely not gamy though it retained the flavor of a wild bird, and it was very tender. Both the pheasant and the chicken were juicy and perfect. It may have taken a while to assemble, but oh great heavens, it was good. 



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Cracker of a Challenge

My painting of a Current Critter on a plate for my Dad

I am a creative person. I realized this long, long ago. My creativity has come out in different areas as my life went along. I drew pictures as a child, and they were pretty good. I was still drawing, going into high school and my one semester of university. When I moved to Guatemala as a young wife, I learned to cook, finally, and this was a logical step in the creativity department. I learned to cook and eat far different foods than I grew up with. I learned to can foods; make jams. Then I learned to do macramé. I always loved plants and had a relatively green thumb. I made the macramé hangers for plants and sold them along with a potted plant to set in them. Later I learned from my friend Elena how to crochet. I made doilies, baby blankets, sweaters for my kids and lots of other things. I learned to knit, though not as well as I could crochet. I learned to work with ceramics and paint lovely pictures, copying the "Current Critters" of the era.



A Cooking Class at
the Dacotah Prairie Museum

Through all this, I still did a lot of cooking with 4 young children at home. Then I met my second husband who is into computers in a huge way. We usually have software and hardware that he termed "bleeding edge", rather than just cutting edge, as it was so far out there in the vanguard of what was the norm that most knew nothing of it. He taught me to use computers and my artistic creativity went wild with the advent of graphic art. I have been asked to give cooking classes at or for the local museum. And now, not quite a year ago I started a website, this blog site, a Pinterest site. I wrote about 100 articles which my husband posted onto many, many online 'zine sites.

And for the first time in my life, as I started "A Harmony of Flavors," I realized I didn't need a recipe to make a new food!  This was such a revelation. It shook my little world. I have been making recipes, but changing things about them to my own taste, for as long as I can recall. This first happened in Guatemala. I had a cookbook my Mom gave me, called "Jiffy Cooking". As one might expect, it used time-saving/labor-saving things like cans and boxes. All of which were not available to me in Guatemala, so I had to improvise and make those "time-saving/labor-saving" ingredients from scratch. I mean, what the heck does one do when a recipe calls for cream of celery soup and no such thing exists?

I have been merrily making up my own recipes now for nearly a year. So when a new friend with an extremely restrictive diet gave me a challenge to make her some crackers yesterday, my mind went crazy with possibilities. I had a hard time focusing on our conversation after that little challenge was set down. It percolated in my mind all day yesterday, and this morning I got going. Before I even had breakfast, I set some brown rice to cook!

Two kinds of Crackers this morning

This lady is not on a gluten-free diet, per se, though she is not eating gluten. She cannot eat much of seeds or nuts. Beans of various sorts, brown rice, quinoa and many vegetables are her staples, along with some little meat or fish. Nothing from the nightshade family, no citrus or anything at all with acid. I wrote down those things that she could eat, and with those parameters I came up with two different kinds of crackers for her. As they baked this morning I was so excited. The first batch smelled wonderful while baking, and my only concern was that they be too fragile to hold a topping. This seems not to be a problem after all. I called them: 

Garbanzo Brown Rice Crackers with Herbs and Onion

dough set on parchment, scored and ready to bake

Makes about 35 to 40 (1½ x 2-inch) crackers

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans (drained, canned beans work just fine)
1 cup cooked brown rice (¼ cup before cooking)
2 tablespoons onion, very finely minced
2 cloves garlic, very finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely minced
½ teaspoon fresh thyme, finely minced
½ - 1 teaspoon salt, as needed
¼ cup olive oil

Place in the bowl of a food processor all ingredients except the brown rice. Process , scraping down sides as needed, until a smooth paste has formed. Add in the brown rice and process again, until well combined.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (350 on Convection Bake). Cut a piece of parchment that will fit on a baking sheet. Pour the cracker dough onto the parchment and smooth with a spatula as much as possible. Cover with another piece of parchment that has been sprayed lightly with cooking spray, sprayed side downwards, onto the dough. With a rolling pin, smooth the dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Peel off the top parchment sheet very gently and discard. Slide the parchment onto the baking sheet. With a pastry cutter or knife, score the dough into whatever size or shape desired, but keeping them relatively small. Bake them for about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and slide the parchment onto a rack to cool.

Once cool enough to handle, carefully peel the crackers off the parchment. Some will be crisp and many will not. If they need more crisping, reduce the oven to 300 degrees (275 on convection bake) and bake them for another 10 to 12 minutes, or until they reach the desired crispness.

I went ahead with a second variety as the first kind came out of the oven. The second variety I named: 

set on parchment, scored and ready to bake

Quinoa Brown Rice Crackers with Bragg's and Garlic

Makes about 35 to 40 (1½ x 2-inch) crackers

1 cup cooked red (or white) quinoa (½ cup before cooking)
1 cup cooked brown rice
2 cloves garlic, minced fine
1 tablespoon Bragg's Liquid Aminos
2 tablespoons olive oil

Place all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and process until fairly smooth. The quinoa will remain visibly "whole" even though it is cooked. The mixture will look rather like a whole-grain mustard.

Preheat oven to 375 (350 on Convection Bake). Cut a piece of parchment that will fit on a baking sheet. Pour the cracker dough onto the parchment and smooth with a spatula as much as possible. Cover with another piece of parchment that has been sprayed lightly with cooking spray, sprayed side downwards, onto the dough. With a rolling pin, smooth the dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Peel off the top parchment sheet very gently and discard. Slide the parchment onto the baking sheet. With a pastry cutter or knife, score the dough into whatever size or shape desired, but keeping them relatively small. Bake for about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and slide the parchment onto a rack to cool.

Once cool enough to handle, carefully peel the crackers off the parchment. Some will be crisp and many will not. If they need more crisping, reduce the oven to 300 degrees (275 on convection bake) and bake them for another 10 to 12 minutes, or until they reach the desired crispness.
 
Both turned out so very good. The lady loved them and was so happy with the crunch. I set some out with slices of plain avocado on top and they were excellent. The crackers are highly flavored on their own, so they do not need flavor enhancing and go well with anything not highly flavored.

These crackers are gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, vegan. Simple ingredients, with a most flavorful outcome. I hope that your diet does not need to be so restrictive as Cindy's for you to try these crackers. They are just too good to miss.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.