Dealing with Dietary Restrictions

Ever since meeting my wife nearly 13 years ago, my eating habits have constantly changed. She was and still is a vegetarian and I ate meat. Over the years, I weaned off one meat at a time and have lived, at most, for an entire year without eating meat. I'd eat fish, but that was about it. Eventually, during a trip to Italy, I realized that high quality Tuscan salami wasn't something I'd be able to have a shot at eating many times in my life. From there on out, I would occasionally splurge and eat something containing meat, each time determining if it was worth it or not. Many things in my opinion were certainly worth it (the previously mentioned salami, mojo grilled chicken drumsticks) and others weren't (beef ribs, krystal burgers).

Recently, my wife has started a gluten free diet upon a recommendation from our doctor. At first, I figured we could adapt our household needs accordingly, but it wouldn't affect me in any way. Famous last words. As of today, the same doctor thinks that gluten may be causing some of my chronic problems also. We're doing a 3 day trial where I can't have anything containing the damn thing. No bread, no pancakes, no beer! What am I to do? Sure, they make gluten free stuff, but most of it is terrible. Since I still like to do most of the cooking around the house, I was forced to make 3 completely gluten free meals. Amazingly enough, they were all excellent. I'll give you the instructions below to try.

1. Quinoa with winter root vegetables: We are members of a local CSA (community supported agriculture) and receive a weekly supply of vegetables that are in season and locally grown. This week gave us rutabagas, turnips, radishes, beets, carrots, and spinach. Most of those items sound awful, right? I'd never buy a rutabaga or a turnip. I'm not a huge fan of radishes, and beets are just OK. What the hell am I supposed to do with all these things? Well, I was determined to use our weekly bounty and make something delicious. I cooked up a cup of quinoa (a sprouted grain, look it up!) in 2 cups of water (cooking instructions on quinoa vary, but you can find pretty decent ones here).

Then, I cut all the vegetables, except the spinach, into equally sized 1/2 inch cubes. I threw the cubes into a bowl, mixed them with approx 1.5 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary (I eyeball everything, so be cautious especially with the salt and rosemary) and then spread them out on baking sheets. I roasted the vegetables for about 25 minutes at roughly 380 degrees. They should turn a little crispy and slightly brown around the edges. While I was waiting, I sauteed the spinach with some garlic and olive oil. Once everything was done, I mixed it all together in a big mixing bowl, adding a touch more extra virgin olive oil. I also threw some walnuts in for a little protein and extra crunch. It was ridiculously delicious and completely vegetarian and gluten free!

2. Macaroni and cheese: If you're dating a vegetarian and want to score some big points, buy some smoked gouda cheese. To make this recipe gluten free, buy some corn pasta elbows. Otherwise, try whole wheat elbows which are healthier and don't taste as bad when baked with a bunch of cheese (otherwise, I HATE whole wheat pasta). Buy a chunk of decent sharp or extra sharp cheddar. I just went with Publix brand. Cut the cheese (heh heh) into small cubes. I'm talking really small. The gouda doesn't melt, but the cheddar will. You may want to throw some mozzarella or provolone in there as well to get some more melty-ness. For my recipe, I threw in half a small brick of the Polly-O whole milk mozzarella cheese and two slices of provolone cheese. Once the pasta is done boiling and is drained, throw about half a tablespoon of olive oil in the pot and stir it up good. Throw all the cheeses in and return to low heat. Add about half a cup of whole milk and 3 tablespoons of butter to help get the cheese melty and mixed in enough. Throw some salt and pepper in there.

While you're waiting for the pasta to boil, carmelize a finely chopped onion and sautee up some finely chopped mushrooms with garlic. You can also roast a few cloves of garlic by peeling them, placing them in a small piece of foil with some olive oil, closing the piece of foil into a ball and baking it for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. The garlic should be finely chopped AFTER roasting it. Mix all these things together in the pot. Once you've prepared all these ingredients and stirred them together, throw them into a casserole dish and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the edges get a little toasty. If you're not going gluten free, definitely sprinkle some Italian breadcrumbs on top.

3. Cheesesteaks: This recipe is a variation on a favorite from an amazing veg restaurant in Athens, GA called The Grit. They prepare their tofu like no one else and as soon as you learn the trick, you'll never think of tofu as boring again (I know how insane this sounds). First off, buy a good brand of tofu. I hate Nasoya for this purpose. There is too much water in it and the edges don't crunch up like some other brands. My favorite brand is House Organic Firm tofu. They sometimes have a picture of the Kung Fu Panda on the label. For the photos below, I didn't use this brand and you won't get to see the amazingly golden crunchy beautiful strips that the tofu turns into.
About 30 minutes before cooking, take the tofu out and place it on a plate on a thick bed of paper towels. I take 2 big paper towels and fold them in half 2 times. Then, do the same thing on top with another layer of towels, placing another plate on top of the whole thing. This will drain most of the water out. If you don't drain the water properly, you will get alot of hissing and spitting from the oil when you fry it up.

Slice up a green pepper and a sweet onion and saute them in some olive oil.
You can also cook up some mushrooms in olive oil and garlic. The secret to mushrooms is to wait until they reabsorb all the water they initially release.
Slice the tofu widthwise into half centimeter strips. Then slice the tofu 2 times lenghtwise making small strips that are approximately .5 inches by 1.5 inches. I'll try to draw the sizes below with dashes.

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For this meal, I made them longer since they weren't ending up on a bread roll.
You'll want to use enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan, but don't overdo it. Use medium heat. If you go too hot, the oil will just splatter everywhere, making a huge mess. You'll want to fry the first side for WAY longer than you think. The tofu should turn golden and look crispy. Above is the Nasoya brand, and as you can see, it doesn't get evenly golden. The House Organic brand looks much better. You can add a tiny bit of cracked pepper during this stage for extra flavor.

After you've cooked the first side enough, flip the slices over. The 2nd side will cook much faster. Once you're done, place the cooked strips on another paper towel lined plate to absorb the excess oil. Wipe the pan down. Have 1/4 cup of soy sauce mixed with 2-3 drops of liquid smoke ready (use Tamari soy sauce for gluten free requirements). Put the tofu back in the pand and slowly pour the soy sauce all over the tofu and stir the slices up in it, coating both sides well. You'll notice that the soy sauce will quickly caramelize the outer parts of the tofu. Be sure to flip the strips to coat and caramelize both sides. Throw a dash of dill on there to get a bit extra flavor. The tofu will start to look a bit like the above. Immediately remove it from the heat once all the soy sauce is absorbed. If you're making sandwiches, have some toasty rolls ready and serve it up just as you would a real cheesesteak. If you're sticking with gluten free, just serve it on a plate with a slice of provolone cheese on top.
I HATE fake meat products and most gluten free items sold commercially, but these 3 meals really work well. I highly suggest them all!