Visitors

We had a relative of David staying this weekend. She is only 18 and was over in the states working at summer camp. She came down to visit us for the weekend. We had never met her before but she is such a lovely girl. I surprised myself with how much mothering instinct I had in me. All these years of it being repressed it came out in waves this weekend. It ended up in me driving her to the bus station at 5am on tuesday morning. I'm very glad I did as the Greyhound station in DC is not a welcoming place at that time, in fact I'm not sure it is at any time.

She arrived here on friday and I made a veggy stir fry. This is a great recipe from Rachel Ray's 30 minute Veggie Meals book. Then on saturday we went out to a BBQ where I did eat some brisket and cookie cake. For anyone who has not heard of this, (because I hadn't) - it is a huge cookie with frosting on top - in this case it said happy birthday. I'm sorry, but I had to abandon the diet for this and it was worth it.

On Sunday, David left for a week working in California so it was just me and Sofie. I made stuffed green peppers. They were stuffed with a corn and rice mixture. I got the recipe from the web and I have stupidly misplaced the link. It was basically, roast the peppers until soft. Fry off some onion, garlic, and add ground cumin and coriander. Cook some rice. Mix it all together with some fresh corn. Stuff rice mixture into peppers. Bake another 10 minutes or so.

I think Sofie enjoyed herself as she left us a lovely card and a huge box of Lindt chocolates. Oh my! They keep staring at me from the fridge. I'm going to have to find a good home for them - they can't stay here. I will surely eat them all if they are left there.

Last night I made a wonderful dish that was a recipe from Vegetarian Times. I reccommend signing up to their email list as every week I think it is, they'll send you a healthy seasonal recipe and every one I have tried has been delicious.

This one is Eggplant Steak with Chickpeas, Roasted Red Peppers, Feta Cheese and Black Olives. I'm so happy I found a nice thing to do with eggplant. I am always so reluctant to cook it as I always end up frying the thing and it just ends up with a horrible soggy texture. This is great though and a great substitute for meat eaters as its really substantial. I left off the bread part and had it with some steamed greens.

Eggplant Steak with Chickpeas, Roasted Red Peppers, Feta Cheese and Black Olives
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 large eggplant, about 1 lb.
1 ½ cups chickpeas, drained
2 medium-sized red peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and cubed
¼ lb. feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
½ cup pitted black olives, preferably Greek or Moroccan
2 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano or Italian parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 (6½-inch round) pita breads
4 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 bunch fresh oregano as garnish

Balsamic Marinade
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. tamari soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbs. olive oil

Method

To make Balsamic Marinade: Combine ingredients, slowly adding olive oil and stirring briskly to combine well. Set aside.
Preheat grill or broiler. Cut eggplant lengthwise into four ½-inch-thick slices to resemble steaks. Brush “steaks” with marinade.
Grill or broil eggplant for 2 minutes on each side, or until tender but not soft. Remove from heat and place 1 steak on each serving plate.
Place chickpeas, red peppers, feta, black olives, and oregano in small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir to combine well. Add some marinade and stir again. Toast or grill pita bread and cut into pie-shaped wedges and set aside.
Spoon 1 or 2 scoops of pepper-olive mixture on eggplant steak with some mixture pooling onto plate. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar, place several pita wedges on plate and garnish eggplant with several sprigs fresh oregano. Repeat with remaining ingredients until used up, making sure pepper-olive mixture spills over top of eggplant and onto plate. Serve immediately.

PER SERVING: 460 CAL; 18G PROT; 16G TOTAL FAT; 65G CARB; 10MG CHOL; 1060MG SOD; 10G FIBER

Chickpea fritters

I made these when I needed a quick lunch the other day. It always is hard not to just reach for a cheese sandwhich when I need a snack. I have made these before from a recipe which was quite complicated so I figured there had to be an easier way. They were pretty tasty.

Chickpea fritters (Makes 2 fritters)

Ingredients

Half a can of chickpeas
Half an onion chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli poweder
1 tsp ground coriander
2 colves garlic
1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro or flat leaf parsley.

Fry the onions and garlic until almost soft. Add the spices and fry another minute. Remove from heat and place in bowl with chickpeas and cilantro. Mash everything together. Serve with salad and mango chutney.

Mexican Food

Both David and I love going for Mexican food. However it always seems to be full of wheat and dairy and it is often difficult to find something on the menu. I used to love enchiladas and burritos slapped with loads of cheese and dollops of sour cream. So, I thought I would try to make my own version of Chillies Rellenos. These are basically stuffed green peppers (stuffed with cheese I might add), then they are fried in polenta I think and served with lots of cheese, sour cream, guacamole and refried beans. David gets them every time he is in a Mexican restaurant as a viable vegetarian option.

My 'endo' version involves the peppers being roasted, then stuffed with a rice mixture, and served with Organic Guacamole, organic refried beans, and tofutti sour cream (yes, its true, and it tastes great!). Now, there is a lot of controversy about Soy generally and about Soy for endometriosis. Read more at endo-resolved, personally I have come to the conclusion that in moderation it is OK. Again, I have no medical training to base this on but I think as long as you're not eating it every day then a bit now and again is OK. Also David has high cholesterol so the Tofutti sour cream is an excellent choice for him.

I have called this recipe 'Chillies RallEndo'.

I'm sorry I don't have pictures for any of my recipes yet but I am always half way through the meal when I remember I should be taking pictures. So, I promise I will make more of an effort. Keep checking back. They promise to be good pictures. David is a photographer so I've absolutely no excuses really.

As an aside whilst on the subject of Mexican food - you can even buy Rice flour Tortillas now for those chimichanga or burrito cravings.

Chillies RallEndo

Serves 2

4 large green poblano peppers
1/2 cup of rice - or 1 cup if you want leftovers for lunch
1 onion - chopped (I used red because it was all I had but I think yellow would be better)
1 green or yellow zuchinni
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves of garlic - chopped

To serve
Amy's organic refried beans
Toffuti Sour Cream
Organic Guacamole
Organic Salsa - a jar is fine

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut off the end of the pepper and deseed so you have a hollow cavity in each one for the filling later. Roast the peppers with a drizzling of olive oil until they are soft - They take about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile boil the rice. You need twice as much water to rice. Add the rice and water to a pan, bring to boil then let simmer over a low heat, covered, until all the water is absorbed.

Fry the onion, zuchinni, garlic in some olive oil until soft. Then add the spices and continue cooking another minute. Add the vegetable mixture to the rice.
Remove the peppers from the oven and leave to cool enough so they can be handled.
While they are cooling, warm up the refried beans in a pan over a moderate heat.
Take teaspoons of the rice mixture and fill the peppers. Serve with dollops of guacamole, sour cream, salsa and refried beans.

Take the leftover rice mixture for lunch the next day.

Weekend Away

We just had to get out of the city this weekend. It was just too hot in DC. So, we headed out on friday to the mountains of West Virginia. I booked a room in Berkeley Springs. It was a lovely suite actually so it had a kitchen and seperate bedroom. I try to book places now with a kitchen whenever I can. It means you have some control over what to eat, just incase the local area doesn't provide what you need. It meant that when we arrived on friday I cooked penne a l'Arrabiata (recipe below) with the rice pasta that I had taken with me. It also meant I could have my oatmeal in the morning instead of the muffins that they left (looked gorgeous but I resisted).

It was a nice weekend and I also managed to get an endo friendly meal in the restaurant we ate in on Saturday night. It was Grilled Salmon, a baked potato and succotash - (corn with lima beans I think). It was a relief as most of the other things on the menu had some form of Angel Hair pasta with them which is lovely if you like angel hair pasta.

So, here is our recipe for the Penne a l'Arrabiata. It has been a staple in our house for a long time. It evokes memories of our first house together in Cardiff, Wales. We used to go swimming on a Wednesday night, come home, cook Arrabiata and watch Ally McBeal. We still try to cook it on Wednesdays but it is just as tasty on any day.

Serves 2

Ingredients

Rice pasta - Tinkyada penne works best. - however much pasta you like really.
4-6 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 tsp of chilli flakes
6 tbsp olive oil
1.5 cans of chopped tomatoes
large handful of fresh basil
black pepper

Method

Put a pan of water on the heat to boil for the pasta.

Heat the olive oil gently in a skillet. You don't want it too hot or the garlic will burn. Add the garlic and the chilli flakes and cook until the garlic is soft but not brown. Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes. The tomatoes will start to break down and take on a smoother more sauce like consistency.

Meanwhile cook the pasta. (Takes about the same time as the sauce)

Near the end of the cooking the sauce add two thirds of the basil, and cook some more until the basil is wilted.
Drain pasta and divide between 2 pasta bowls. Pour the sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle with remaining basil and freshly ground black pepper.

Food for a hot day

It was way, way too hot to cook anything yesterday. I did not want to use the stove or the oven for any length of time. Thankfully there is finally a breeze today after a few days of stagnant air which is so welcome and I've opened the windows for the first time in days.

Some kind of salad was in order last night but I wanted something substantial. I found this great recipe at Vegetarian Times. Its rather spicy and involves a lot of chopping but because its a cold salad, somehow the heat from the curry paste doesn't matter.
The only heat in involves is boiling a pan or kettle of water, and its really tasty.

Salad
* 7 oz. thin rice noodles
* 2 tsp. vegetable oil
* 1 cup finely diced red bell pepper (1 small)
* 1 cup grated carrots (about 2)
* 1⁄2 cup chopped scallions (white and light green parts), about 8
* 1⁄2 cup chopped cilantro
* 1⁄2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
* 1 medium head Boston lettuce, leaves separated
* 1 lime, sliced in half moons, for garnish

Dressing

* 1 cup pineapple juice
* 1⁄2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
* 1⁄3 cup coarsely chopped fresh ginger
* 1⁄4 cup rice vinegar
* 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
* 3 to 4 tsp. vegetarian Thai green curry paste
* 2 tsp. brown sugar
* 6 medium cloves garlic, minced (I've only been using 3 and I think its enough)

1. Bring large pot of water to a boil.
2. Make dressing: In blender or food processor, combine all dressing ingredients; process until well blended. Set aside. (Dressing can be made up to 4 days ahead and refrigerated.)
3. Put noodles into large bowl. Pour boiling water over noodles and stir to immerse and separate strands. Let soak 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain again, shaking colander. Return noodles to bowl, drizzle with oil and toss to coat.
4. Add bell pepper, carrots, scallions, 1⁄4 cup cilantro and 1⁄4 cup mint to noodles in bowl. Add half of the reserved dressing and toss to coat. Line platter or shallow serving bowl with lettuce leaves; top with noodle salad. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and mint and garnish with lime. Serve, passing remaining dressing separately.

Banana 'Ice-Cream'

I just had to put this on here. Its not my recipe but I got it from the endo resolved recipe book. (See the link on the right). Its fantastic.

Basically you just slice some bananas and freeze. When you are ready for the 'ice-cream' take the frozen banana out of the freezer and thaw slightly. It should still have the ice crystals on. Then whizz in a blender or food processor until creamy. the result is delicious healthy ice cream. You have to try this. Perfect for a guilt free dessert on a hot day.

Fresh fruit and veggies

This weekend saw the first ever organic farm delivery to the Baker household. I had been meaning to try this for some time. My reluctance has been because I didn't want to withdrawl my reliance on my ever so handy organic shop that is literally 3 blocks away. However, I have recently been getting very fed up with their lack of variety and local produce. Their stuff comes from california, argentina, chile, new zealand. I'm not sure why when there is plenty of great local produce. Anyway, the produce I picked up on Saturday morning was divine. You order online and then have to go and pick it up from someones house where its kept in a shed to the side of the house. It really feels like trespassing but the box was there and the order exactly as requested. I didn't get too much just incase but I have to say I am very impressed. Big bunches of fresh herbs, sweet juicy peaches, lettuce, cucumbers. I also had some new potatoes so decided to create a potato salad for our lunch.

New potato salad - Serves 2

4-6 new potatoes
baby spinach or lettuce leaves
4 or 5 radishes
half a red pepper
Dressing
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard

Boil potatoes until tender - about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile assemble the salad using all ingredients apart from the fresh herbs.
Make dressing. Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl. When potatoes are cooked leave them to cool. When they are cool, add them to the bowl with the dressing. Spoon the potatoes onto the salad.

Polenta 'pizza'

I really like polenta. Its filling and you can use it in many ways.

It cooks with about 3 times the amount of liquid to polenta. You can use vegetable stock, or water to cook it. If you've never used it before you can find it in 2 different forms in the supermarket. There is the dried polenta which comes in packets, uncooked, and there is the already cooked variety that comes in a tube. This is perfect for slicing and frying, but the dried polenta is better if you want a more loose consistency. If you are cooking the dried polenta, once it is cooked it will firm up if you leave it. I sometimes roll it up into a tube with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator. It will become firm and you can then use as you would the pre cooked variety that you can buy. I prefer this as I know it has not been processed in any way, and won't contain any additives.

I experimented the other day with this recipe with dried polenta. It satisfied my cravings for real pizza.

Polenta 'Pizza'.

Fry some chopped garlic, red pepper, zuchinni (diced small)

Polenta - I used 1/2 cup with 1 1/2 cups water. Perfect for one with some left over.

Cook polenta - then add some parmesan cheese at the end. Thereis no perfect quantity of cheese - just as much as you would like.

When the polenta is cooked, leave to cool slightly so its firm but not too firm. Spread polenta on plate. Spread some pesto on top of the polenta. Then you can spread a layer of sundried tomato pesto.
(recipe below) (Blend sun dried tomatoes and roasted cherry tomatoes).
Top with fried veggies and some shredded basil, black pepper.

Sun dried tomato pesto.

This is basically about 15 sun dried tomatoes and 15 roasted red cherry tomotoes blended together in a food processor.
For sun dried tomatoes I use the dried ones, not the ones in oil. You just pour boiling water on them and leave for about 5 minutes unitl they are soft. This pesto will keep a few days in the fridge.