Kielbasa Risotto

Happy Easter everyone!! Us K's have been pretty busy here over the last few weeks. The second round of our season has started and Levi has been having games twice a week instead of once. He also happened to have a pretty bad ankle sprain during one of those games so he's been out and slowly recovering.

In all that chaos, a guy's gotta eat (ok and me too). Since cooking and grocery shopping are my job, it was really important that I get everything I needed for Easter. As is typical in Europe, everything is closed during holidays. Easter was no exception and they decided that because Easter is on Sunday they needed a business day off as well. So absolutely no stores open for 2 days. This doesn't really seem like that big of a problem until you realize that I go grocery shopping everyday. Our apartment and kitchen are small. So having a whole bunch of extra food on hand just doesn't work.

That being said, I spent Saturday doing a bunch of grocery shopping. This is also not as easy for us as all the grocery stores here carry different things. So I had planned on going to 4 different ones to get all the things I needed for the holiday weekend. Little did I know that stores also decided to close at 4pm on Saturday. So I only got half of the food I had planned on getting. So I was pretty frustrated when I couldn't buy any meat for my large, carnivore husband for the whole weekend.

Thus, this recipe came out of necessity. When you only have kielbasa in your freezer, this is a great way to make something special. I was honestly surprised by how good this was. It's now my favorite kielbasa recipe. This recipe was adapted from http://singleguychef.blogspot.com/2008/01/creamy-cauliflower-risotto-with.html to fit what I had and to make it dairy free.

Kielbasa Risotto

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 White onion, diced
• 5 Button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1 cup Rose wine (or dry white wine)
• 2 Kielbasa sausages (each about the size of a hot dog), sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1-1/2 cups Chicken broth
• 1 tbsp Butter (or vegetable shortening)
• 1/4 cup Heavy cream (I used rice cream)
• 1 tbsp fresh Parsley, chopped

METHOD:

1. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic and the onions until the onions are translucent, about 4 minutes.
2. Add the mushrooms and cook another 2 minutes.
3. Add the rice and cook for a minute to toast it. Turn the heat down to medium.
4. Add the wine. Cook, stirring often, until most of the wine is absorbed.
5. Add the sausage and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. Again, stir until most of the liquid is absorbed.
6. Continue to add the chicken broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it's absorbed and the rice is tender but not mushy, about 15 minutes.
7. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter and cream.
8. Finally, stir in the parsley.

And that's it!! One pot meals are always my favorites (and Levi's since he has to hand wash everything). I hope you try this one. It's super creamy and comforting. A good winter dish for those of us who still have cold weather....

Maura

Chicken Ranch Salad Pizza

We had this yesterday and it was AMAZING! As you can tell, I don't make the same thing very often. However, I told Levi I could eat this once a week. It was sooooo good. Especially because our diet has become even more limited since Levi got a stomach ulcer from some medicine he was taking. So tomato sauce has been off the list of allowable ingredients. That makes it kinda hard to think of pizza recipes. Especially since it has to be dairy free and gluten free. Sooooo, not only will I be posting my all time favorite gluten free pizza dough, but the link to the recipe for dairy free ranch dressing. Even if you have no food restrictions, you gotta make this. Homemade pizza is WAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY better than ordering or store bought.

Pizza Dough Recipe
Makes: 1 medium pizza             Serves:2-3 (only 2 if your husband is a 200lb athlete)

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup warm water (about 115 degrees F)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2-1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 package)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp xanthan gum (or guar gum)
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour (I blend my own because store bought is not very healthy or is really $$$$$)

METHOD:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, combine the warm water, honey, and yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes until the mixture bubbles (this just means your yeast is alive and will actually work)
• Stir in the olive oil, xanthan gum, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and salt. Mix in the flour with a spoon until it forms a soft, smooth dough.
• Form dough into a ball and drizzle with olive oil. Spread the oil around until it is evenly coated. Put back in the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Place it in a warm location to rise for 20 minutes (I set mine in the microwave just so the temperature stays consistent).
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a spatula, press/spread the dough out into a circle (use a little more olive oil to make it easier to spread). Par-bake the dough for 10 minutes in the oven.
• Finally, add all the toppings you want and put it back in the oven for another 10ish minutes. If you are using cheese, bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

CHICKEN RANCH PIZZA TOPPINGS:

• dairy free ranch dressing (find the recipe here: http://www.adventuresofaglutenfreemom.com/2011/08/ranch-dressing-dairy-free-egg-free-corn-free-nut-free-and-soy-free/)
• spinach
• diced, cooked chicken
• diced red bell pepper
• diced green onion
• optional: shredded cheddar cheese (for those of us who can have dairy)

Seriously, make this for dinner tonight. You will LOVE it. Especially if you are dairy free and have been craving something with a creamy sauce. Do it.

Maura

Pita Bread

Europe doesn't really do fast food (minus the american fast food chains) but if they had to have an equivalent, kabobs would be it. Kabobs are middle eastern street food but there are about 50 kabob shops just in Slupsk and there were tons in Spain too. A kabob is not what you might initially have thought. It's not a shish kabob where you put meat/veggies on a stick and grill it. It's basically pita bread filled with meat that they have shaved off these big roasters. Everyone here loves them. Levi tried some with his teammates.

With this in mind, I wanted my own kabob. My parents and I always got gyros when I was little and I loved them. Kabobs are a lot like that. Luckily, my favorite gluten free cookbook/blog has a recipe for pita bread. I've made it before but this time I attempted to make it dairy free also. It came out great! Maybe some of the best bread I've ever made and really easy to to re-use for things other than kabobs.

Gluten/Diary Free Pita Bread

From Glutenfreeonashoestring.com

Makes:12 pitas

3 to 4½ cups all-purpose gluten-free flour, divided
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
4 tsp instant yeast
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more
2½ cups warm milk, about 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (can use a dairy substitute but whatever you use must have a little fat)

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place 3 cups of flour and the xanthan gum, along with the salt, and mix to combine well. Add the yeast and sugar, then the oil, mixing well to combine after each addition. I don't have a stand mixer so I used a hand mixer.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the milk in a slow pour. The dough should begin to come together. Continue adding the milk until it’s all in there.
• Add enough additional flour so that the dough is thick and kinda creamy looking – not dry, and not really sticky, but tacky so if you touch it some of it sticks to your finger. You can always add more flour. I added just over 1/2 cup extra to mine.
• Dump the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turn it over a few times to coat with oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm, humid place for about an hour, or until nearly doubled in size. I put mine in the microwave (don't turn it on, just set it in there) because it keeps in at a constant temperature with no draft. It will look dimply, and will be a bit tough to handle.
• Once the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface (if you have a silicone mat, this would be a great time to break it out). Divide the dough into 12 to 15 pieces.
• For each piece of dough, roll it into a ball and press it together, squeezing out the air. Then, with the heel of your hand, press it into a disk. Press from the inside out, taking care not to make it too thin (especially at the endges). Sprinkle flour lightly on any sticky spots. Rotate the round of dough on the floured surface, and flip it frequently. If you have added too much flour at any point, drizzle in some canola (or vegetable) oil. It's ok if you have to oil up a piece of dough and start again. They should be just a little thicker than a pancake.
• Place rounds of dough on your baking sheet so they don't touch. Bake for between 5 and 8 minutes, taking care not to allow the pita to burn. It will be darker on the underside than on the top.

They are best right after you make them but be sure to let them cool completely before you try and cut into it. Slice each round in half, then run your knife on the inside of the bread to make a pocket. Now you can stuff it with whatever you want! We had chicken, peppers, red onions, spinach, cucumbers, and tzatziki sauce. I LOVE tzatziki sauce so I couldn't really imagine eating a pita without it. This is a really fun dinner for kids too because they can build their own.

Hopefully you enjoy middle eastern street food as much as we did!

Maura

Dairy-Free Basil Pesto

Hi everyone!

Cooking is in full swing these days. I've already given the team their first batch of cookies, made 3 loaves of zucchini bread, homemade granola as well as some yummy dinners. I'll be posting some baking recipes soon too but for now another dinner.

Since everything here is about 50% cheaper than the US, it helps me not feel guilty when I buy lots of ingredients that sometimes can be expensive. Thus I decided to buy some fresh herb plants. Basil, thyme, and rosemary. Honestly they are the less expensive way to buy fresh herbs so I think everybody should have a fresh herb garden. Mine have been doing really well, particularly the basil. Making pesto was really the only way to remedy this problem. And I love pesto. But the problem with typical pesto was the parmesean. So I did some internet searching and found a dairy free pesto recipe. I found a great recipe but was equally excited about the website it was on: www.adventuresofaglutenfreemom.com. This mom cooks all kinds of things without common allergens. Her son is gluten and dairy free so that's pretty helpful for me :) I'm trying the dairy free ranch dressing today! Anyway, here is the pesto recipe. I tweeked it just a bit based on what I have...

Dairy-Free Basil Pesto

2 cups Fresh Basil Leaves, packed

1/3 cup Walnuts

3 Garlic Cloves, minced

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1-1/2 tsp fresh squeezed Lemon Juice

3/4 tsp Sea Salt

1. In a food processor or blender, combine the basil leaves with the walnuts, lemon juice and sea salt. Pulse a few times until mixture is reduced in volume and the mixture is well incorporated.
2. Add the garlic and pulse a few times more.
3. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the blender or food processor is running, stop to scrap down the sides with a spatula.
4. Taste.  Add more lemon juice and/or salt if needed. Mine needed more salt.
5. Add to any style of Gluten Free pasta (here I found the Sam Mills brand), toss, and top with chicken!

Because cheese might be my favorite food, I added some parmesean to mine :) This was delicious so go buy a basil plant, haha.

Maura

All you basketball fans, don't worry we'll have lots of things to post about that when the season starts. Only 2 days till the first exhibition game! We have the schedule finally so I'll post that too.

Kielbasa Casserole!

The first thing you'll notice about Polish grocery stores is all the sausage! Kielbasa (polish sausage) is EVERYWHERE! Unfortunately most brands are not gluten free. However, after reading just about every sausage label in the store, we discovered one! It doesn't specifically say it is gluten free but it did list the allergens and gluten was not one of them. So we sort of gambled with this one but I ate this casserole 3 different times (dinner and two leftover lunches) and never felt a thing. Like I mentioned before the brand is Nowak and we found it in Slupsk at E.Leclerc.

I found this recipe online on the Taste of Home website after Levi mentioned we should make more casseroles. It is officially termed Three-Cheese Kielbasa Bake. Obviously this is not a dairy free recipe but Levi was ok taking a few lactase pills :) 

Here's how delicious it looked...

Sometimes I make something and I'm entirely unsure if it will be good or not. Not this time. I knew right when I put it in the oven it was gonna be so good. We had one of Levi's teammates over (a 6'-10" basketball center) and there were plenty of leftovers so this is a great meal to have with company. I'm sure kids would love this too!

Ok, here's the recipe:

Ingredients

12 z uncooked fusilli2 pounds kielbasa, cut into bite size pieces
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
2 medium carrots, grated
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce - I use homemade which is about 3 1/4 cups
1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 carton (15 oz) ricotta cheese
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups (8 oz) part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Cook fusilli according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown sausage in oil over medium heat; drain. Add the onions, zucchini, carrots and garlic; cook and stir for 5-6 minutes or until crisp-tender.
2. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Drain pasta.
3. In each of two greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dishes, layer half of the pasta and meat sauce. Combine egg and ricotta cheese; spoon half over sauce. Sprinkle with half of the cheddar and mozzarella. Repeat. Top with green onions.
4. Cool one casserole; cover and freeze for up to 2 months. Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350° for 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
5. To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

I made just 1 casserole so I split all these quantities in half. That was enough to feed 6-8 hungry people. I will say this recipe is fairly labor intensive. Not hard, just a lot of prep-work. Make sure to have all your ingredients cut, shredded, chopped, beaten, etc. ahead of time and it will be a lot easier. It also originally said to layer everything 4 times! I felt like this was a little overkill and two was enough to distribute all the ingredients well.

I don't think people in Poland really eat this but it was a good way for us to ease into Polish food :) I hope you like it!

Maura

Thai Coconut Cilantro Chicken

Hi! Now that we've been able to explore a little and had time to collect some ingredients, I've been able to make some new recipes! Since Levi has recently discovered he is lactose intolerant (just a couple more ingredients I can't use...) I've been excited to learn about coconut milk. A pleasant surprise has been that they have some in nearly every grocery store here. They must like Asian food because I have already discovered gluten free soy sauce which I was a little worried about.

I have had this chicken recipe in one of my trusty GF cookbooks - Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking by Kelli & Peter Bronski. I'll have much more to say about this book in later posts but for now we'll stick to the chicken.

I'll admit this picture isn't very exciting. But the sauce was delicious! For any you who are dairy free, this is a great one to try. Here is the recipe:

Thai Coconut-Cilantro Chicken
14 oz. can of coconut milk
1/4 cup tamari wheat-free soy sauce (I have only found the Kikoman brand overseas)
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
4 garlic cloves
2 jalapeno chile peppers, seeded (unfortunately I had to use jarred because I couldn't find fresh ones)
2 tbsps chopped fresh ginger (I used powdered at the time, 1/4 tsp, but have since discovered fresh)
Grated zest and juice of 2 limes
1 tbsp brown sugar (European kinds are very granulated and don't pack at all but the results are similar)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1. Combine coconut milk, soy sauce, cilantro, garlic, jalapenos, ginger, lime zest and juice, and brown sugar in a food processor and blend until smooth. I have an immersion blender so I just put it all in a big bowl and blended it up.

2. Transfer the sauce to a shallow dish, add the chicken, and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

3. Here the recipe calls to grill the chicken, which would be delicious I'm sure. Of course we don't have a grill so I boiled the chicken  for about 15-20 minutes or until the inside is no longer pink. If you do have a grill, heat it to medium-high and cook for about 8-10 minutes on each side. Baste the chicken with the sauce as it cooks.

4. If grilling, take the remaining sauce and bring it to a boil over high heat. Cook for 4 minutes. If you do what I did, you end up boiling the sauce with the chicken so it's already good to go. Serve the sauce with the chicken.

This was great served over brown rice and adding a few sauteed peppers and onions would be really good. Hope you like it!

~Maura


*As an aside, I'm going to try to post what ingredients I find and where I find them so if anyone else with Celiacs finds themselves in Slupsk, Poland they'll have some guidelines. This will only be for specifically gluten free items.*