Diet, Dessert and Dogs

[I thought it would be fun to run a little series over here at DDD: I'll profile one one of my favorite foods, or a food that I've recently discovered and enjoyed, over several days.  For this fifth edition, I'm focusing on cilantro. The series is presented on an occasional (and entirely arbitrary) basis, before I move on to the next lucky comestible. This is the fifth entry on cilantro.]

The HH and I just returned from an annual sojourn to what used to be our favorite summer retreat, a country resort up in ski country.  I say, “used to be” because, like so many other businesses these days, our erstwhile “favorite” has cut services to the bone and, as a result, is no longer the hotel we remember and loved.  Those of you on twitter may have seen my lament that the breakfast “buffet” included precisely one food I could eat:  roasted potatoes.  The rest of the menu (ham, bacon, eggs, french toast, plate of baked goods and bowl of yogurts) was all verboten to me.  As I chewed on my (suddenly very bitter) spuds, I wondered, what about celiacs?  What about diabetics?  There wasn’t exactly a cornucopia of choices for them, either.  In addition, the dinner “service” was so deplorable (over 40 minutes to get our appetizers!  In a dining room with six patrons!), we decided that next year, we’ll look for a new place to patronize during our annual summer weekend away.

Well, no matter.  The weather, at least, was glorious, and hey–the paucity of food actually resulted in two more pounds of weight loss  (for those of you who’ve been following such things, the grand total is 32 lost so far. That means I can now get into my “chubby” clothes, leaving behind my “fat” and “edifice-like” wardrobes, while I’m still not quite slim enough for my “I’m-saving-these-even-though-they’re-out-of-style-and-I’m-really-too-old-for-them-because-I-love-them-so-much” clothes).  I also realized that the best way to lose weight is when you’re not really trying.  (Hmm.  Maybe that resort wasn’t so bad after all.  All I have to do is suffer there for another week , and I’m pretty sure I’d be at goal.).  

The weekend was an explicit reminder (I guess I’d sort of forgotten) that I am, indeed, following a rather restricted diet these days.  Funny, even though I altered my diet to eliminate wheat, eggs and dairy about ten years ago (meat was pretty much already gone by then), I hadn’t really thought of my food intake as ”restricted” (after all, I’d still managed to gain 45 pounds eating that way!) until these past few months on the anti-candida diet.  In fact, changing my diet initially prompted me to try out many foods I’d shunned until that point.

One prime example is Indian cuisine.  I’d never tasted any of my current favorites–an authentic, long-simmering curry, a crispy papadum, a nubby, melting dal, or peppery masala okra–until I was forced to change my diet.  Once I tried the first few dishes, I quickly grew enamored of the fragrant spices like sweet cardamom and warming turmeric, and was easily besotted with basmati rice, vibrant vindaloos and creamy kormas. In fact, it was Indian cuisine that catalyzed my conversion from cilantro foe to cilantro lover. 

Whenever we stop in at our favorite Indian restaurant nearby, the HH will often order lamb.  I have to tell you, if I’m sitting downwind, it can ruin my dinner.  Even before I stopped eating meat, I just wasn’t able to tolerate lamb.  Something about the smell–that elusive combination of unctuous yet slightly sweet–always managed to make my stomach flutter and my bile rise, even as a child and long before I understood the true source of those glistening cubes on my plate.

Well, lucky for me, most Indian dishes are naturally vegetarian.  On the other hand, it only occurred to me recently that I’ve been inadvertently ruling out a whole category of recipes in my collection simply because they feature lamb, glossing right over those when I scan my cookbooks for dinner ideas. 

Well, silly me!  I mean, where is it written that those dishes must they be made with lamb? Why couldn’t a favorite soy product (or other legume) stand in for the meat, as they’ve often done before with chicken or beef? I must have been blinded by my visions of guileless black eyes, kinky white curls and baby hooves to even consider it. (I know, I’m a bit slow on the uptake sometimes).

One of my favorite sources of protein is tempeh, and it’s one I use far too infrequently.  I thought it would offer a great substitute for ground lamb in a curry.  After browsing through various cookbooks, I combined some of my favorite flavors to create a warm, mildly spiced, and slightly unconventional main dish.  The smooth, creamy sauce is punctuated by occasional bursts of sweet peas, bits of savory tempeh, and juicy tomato.  It’s perfect served over some steamed basmati rice. 

And the aroma, redolent with Indian spices, is guaranteed to entice you–no matter which side of the table you’re on. 

“Mum, we know you don’t want to eat sheep, but if you ever need them rounded up or led into a pen,  we’d be happy to help out. (We’re both part Border Collie, you know.)”

 “Ground” Tempeh in a Creamy Curry Sauce

Taking inspiration from recipes in several cookbooks as well as what I had on hand, I came up with this satisfying curry.  Use crumbled tempeh, or, for more discernible pieces of tempeh, cut into small cubes.

1 pkg tempeh (I used soy tempeh with seaweed)

1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable broth

2 Tbsp (30 ml) organic coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, finely diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp (10 ml) minced fresh ginger

1 small tomato, finely chopped

1 tsp (5 ml) ground cumin

2 bay leaves

2 cardamon pods (or 1/4 tsp/ 1 ml ground cardamom)

1 tsp (5 ml) garam masala

1 tsp (5 ml) ground turmeric

1 tsp (5 ml) ground coriander

1/3 cup (80 ml) smooth natural almond butter

1/4 cup (60 ml) unsweetened almond milk

1 cup (240 ml) frozen peas

1/4 cup  (60 ml) fresh cilantro, finely chopped, plus more for garnish

2 Tbsp (30 ml) fresh mint, finely chopped

sea salt, to taste (depending on how salty your veg broth is)

cooked brown basmati rice, to serve

Prepare the tempeh:  crumble the tempeh and place in a skillet with the vegetable broth.  Heat over medium heat until broth bubbles; lower to a simmer, cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, 10-15 minutes.

Remove tempeh from skillet and set aside.  Melt the coconut oil in the skillet (no need to wash it first) over medium heat and add the onion, garlic and ginger.  Sauté until the garlic and ginger begin to brown and the onion is translucent, 5-10 minutes. 

Add the tomato, cumin, bay leaves, cardamom, garam masala, turmeric and coriander and cook an additional minute.  Lower heat and add the almond milk, almond butter and peas, stirring to melt the almond butter.  Gently stir in the tempeh. Cover and simmer for another 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching, until flavors have melded and the curry is heated throughout.  Add the cilantro and mint and heat for another 2 minutes.  Serve over hot rice.  Makes 4 servings.  May be frozen.

Other posts in this series:

• Lucky Comestible 5(1): Spicy Cilantro Sauce
• Lucky Comestible 5(2): Lemony Baked Tofu
• Lucky Comestible 5(3): Confetti Quinoa and Wild Rice Salad
• Lucky Comestible 5(4): Grain-Free Hazelnut Cilantro Crackers

Other Lucky Comestibles:

• Lucky Comestible 1: Sweet Potato
• Lucky Comestible 2: Quinoa
• Lucky Comestible 3: Avocado
• Lucky Comestible 4: Coconut

Last Year at this Time: Sweet Potato, Quinoa and Black Bean Bites

[Sometimes, you just want to eat something now.  I've decided to offer a mini-post every once in a while, for a dish that comes together incredibly quickly or else is so easy to make that no recipe is required. Here's today's "Flash in the Pan." (For other FitP recipes, see "Categories" at right).]

Before I get to today’s super-quick, super-easy, SUPER DELICIOUS recipe, I wanted to respond to all your generous comments about the new blog home (AND remind you all that there is only ONE WEEK left to enter the giveaway contest to win a quart (liter) of pure maple syrup or a custom-baked cake–be sure to get your comments in!) 

First : Thank you for all your positive feedback and support!  And thanks, too, for following DDD to its new home.  I’m glad that, overall, most of you like the new site.  I’ve attempted to incorporate as many of the suggestions as I could; please know that changes are limited by (a) the existing template, some of which can’t be modified without extensive knowledge of html (my knowledge of which extends about as far as the length of an eyelash); and (b) how much I can badger entice beg request from Blain, who has been implementing these revisions for me. 

Interestingly, I deliberately chose the white background and sparse look to replicate the old blog (even though it, too, was all white in back with an orange title and green blog post titles, it seems as if many of us–myself included–found the old site less “bare” looking!  I wonder what genetic wiring that’s connected to. . . ?).  I have changed the font, the glaring black-against-white color, and the comments link (the best we could do is highlight it at the bottom of each post, which I hope makes it more visible). 

The original idea for the site was to add a banner under the title (there’s a thin, long white space there now) with assorted photos across the top, but honestly, I don’t like any of my photos enough to leave them there all the time; and I’m growing rather fond of the clean, austere look (I figure at least something in my life should be unencumbered!). I’d love to one day put up a cartoon of The Girls’ faces as a kind of mascot (to the right of title “Diet, Dessert and Dogs”), but so far my cartooning skills aren’t up to snuff.  Any volunteers??

So, for now, anyway, this is the new look of DDD.  I’m sure it will evolve and grow with time. . . and after I take a few courses in web design.

And now, on to today’s supercalafragafantabuwonderlicious veggie recipe! 

(I liked it.  Can you tell?)

[I know our cruciferous friend here isn't exactly photogenic.  But he makes up for it a thousandfold in personality, believe me!]

Well, with my current (ACD-imposed) gluten-free diet–which will likely drag on  improve my transit time  leave me with post-traumatic stress sydrome continue for at least another month, I’ve been relying mostly on tried-and-true favorites, plus a whole lot of raw dishes (mostly salads–too boring to blog about). 

For some reason, I don’t seem to possess my usual zeal to create many new recipes based on the ACD requirements.  Oh, and I’m hungry all the time.  No, really, all the time.  (I used to know a guy in university who was such a chain smoker that his body woke him up around 3:00 AM every night so he could have a cigarette.  He’d roll out of bed, light up in the dark, then butt out and go back to sleep.  Well, that’s pretty much what it feels like to me, except substitute “food–ANY food” for ”cigarettes.”) 

And–worst of all–I seem to have misplaced my sense of humor on this diet. 

Curse thou, wretched ACD–

Do not my humor take from me!

(Thank goodness I haven’t lost my sense of poetry–for the time being, anyway).

While I’m waiting for both hunger to subside and humor to return, I discovered a simple and irresistible recipe to help tide me over. For quite some time now, I’ve been a regular follower of Cheryl’s cheery, informative blog, Gluten-Free Goodness (you should see some of the incredible, innovative ways she meets the Daring Bakers’ challenges on a restricted diet!).  And every month, I read her contribution to the “Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger” event, and think, “Hmmm. . . . I should take part in that, too.” Though I’m not entirely gluten-free (except when following the ACD), I actually prefer most GF grains to wheat or spelt, and tend to cook that way quite often.

I read about Cheryl’s Coconut Curried Greens a couple of weeks ago and immediately thought, “Yes!  I love collards, too!”  And I’m always on the lookout for new ways to make them.  I mean, oil and garlic is great, but sometimes, you want something a little different–creamy, say, and coconutty, and a little spicy.

This Indian-inspired dish (it features a good hit of garam masala, one of my favorite Indian spices) is ready in a flash and rewards you with a rich, velvety sauce, one that’s slightly sweet from the combination of aforementioned spice and coconut milk–the perfect foil for the assertive, slightly bitter collards.  And the extra bit of sauce that pools at the bottom of the pan is perfect for dipping some chickpea cheela, which is exactly what I made to go alongside.

As Cheryl mentions in her own post, these are so good that she and her hubby “ended up fighting over leftovers.”  The HH and I didn’t fight, but we did resort to that age-old method used by moms everywhere, to ensure fairness when splitting food between bickering siblings:  one of us (that would be me) got to divide the mixture in half, thereby determining the size of each portion; and the other (the HH) got to choose which one he wanted first.  It’s the perfect way to guarantee absolutely equal division of portions, believe me. 

So, finally, here is my first entry to this month’s Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger.  Head on over to Book of Yum’s blog to see all the amazing GF creations!

I’m also entering this recipe in Kristen’s Fight Back Fridays blog carnival for healthy foods. . . check it out!

Creamy Coconut Collards

from Gluten Free Goodness: Recipe here

The only change I made to Cheryl’s original recipe was in preparation of the greens: rather than boil them first and then add to the sauce, I simply added the shredded greens to the coconut milk mixture in the pan and let the whole thing simmer for about 8-10 minutes for the sauce to thicken. I also used a can of full-fat coconut milk instead of the fresh coconut.

Last Year at this Time: Quinoa Salad with Buckwheat and Cranberries (and it happens to be gluten-free!)

© 2009 Diet, Dessert and Dogs