Gluten-Free Ravioli? More fun in the kitchen...Dec. 09 '09

Haven't been good about being timely in posting stuff up. I'm supposed to be working on a project for which I have two weeks to finish. Something is always coming up. Here's one of the things that keeps coming up. I neglect to admit that I just keep getting distracted and my project is stressing me out and I just can't focus when I'm under pressure, and....

So I went a little too overboard on amazon.com but couldn't help pass this up...a real, authentic ravioli maker! It wasn't that cheap, but it all worked out and I'm a happy camper 'cause when I got it in the mail today, I found it to be an Italian product (sick of buying things made in P.R.O.C) and well-constructed.

Well, I don't get too excited about gluten-free foods anymore because what I'm savoring in my mind is often disappointed by my tastebuds. If you recently had to go gluten-free, then you will surely understand. But I do get excited for challenges in the kitchen. Turned out that the end result exceeded my (non)expectations.

The above photo represents the finished product with our Garlic Cashew Creme Sauce, some Marinara we canned from Big Lick Farm's delicious organic and heirloom tomatoes, and fresh parsley. How do I get these pictures bigger? Here's one last try...

Hope that photo helps a bit. Anyway, Brian made a Mushroom and Spinach Duxelle for the filling. So after formulating a recipe for the dough, I rolled it out on my handy-dandy ravioli maker to be quite thin. A bit hard to work with because there's no elasticity as with wheat flour, so it does need to be handled gently so that it doesn't tear. Filled the pockets with the Duxelle and put the second layer over. Also tricky to try to seal it with the roller. I think I might have over-filled them, so I'll keep practicing to get it right.

The raviolis held up very well in the pot of boiling water. I really was expecting them to explode but they didn't. After initially dropping them in the water that was at a rolling boil, I turned down the heat a bit so that the bubbles weren't so violent in the pot, just a low rolling boil. Continued that for about 5 minutes and then gently lifted each one out with a spoon-type strainer. I still wasn't taking any chances at having an explosion happen.

My tastebuds are happy, but I'll keep experimenting and having fun with my ravioli maker. I'm thinking of making a Butternut squash filling on the next try. Also, I'll try replacing the white rice flour with brown rice flour to make it healthier. Hope you try it out too and have fun while you're at it!

Gluten-Free and Vegan Pasta Dough

2/3 cup tapioca flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup white rice flour
¼ cup potato starch
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. xanthan gum
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup water

Combine flours and starches, sea salt and xanthan gum. Add the olive oil and water, a little at a time. Mix with a spoon. You will want to have a pliable dough that is not sticky. If it is sticky, add white rice flour a little at a time, or if too dry add water a tablespoon at a time.

Lunch Today: Patties, Potatoes and Greens Oct. 02 '09

My heading didn't sound so appetizing did it? But for lunch in a hurry, it was really very good, so I thought I'd better share this one for you time-challenged people trying to get a healthy meal on the table. This was an under-30-minutes-meal... Sorry picture is not so good, I didn't know the camera was on low resolution.

Ingredients for the patty:

1 onion, quartered

1/2 cup walnuts

2 cups rolled oats (doesn't matter what kind)

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. sage

1 Tbsp. soy sauce or tamari (wheat-free)

1 can garbanzo beans, drained

1/4 cup plain milk- almond milk or rice milk

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A food processor helps make prep pretty easy. So that's what I used to make the patties. Into the processor bowl went the onion. Pulse the machine and get that chopped up a bit smaller and then add walnuts, rolled oats, salt and sage. Process until it's all mixed together good. Add in the garbanzo beans and then soy sauce or tamari and milk. Process away until it's all blended up and gooey-looking, takes a minute or two.

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I like to use various sized ice cream scoopers to do the dirty work. Plus, me being me, I like all my patties uniform in size and shape. But go ahead and do what works for you and what you have available. (I can't help it I'm a kitchen gadget girl). Taking a medium-sized scooper for medium-sized patties, I scooped the mix into a nonstick pan that had a little olive oil in it over medium-high heat and flattened them down with the back of a shamoji-you know, the rice scooper that comes with the new rice cooker. It doesn't stick! Let it cook until golden brown and then turn over with a spatula and brown the other side.

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While my patties were cooking, I thought "Ooh, I need a starch." Brown rice takes too long to cook for last minute. I had some dehydrated potatoes, the kind for making scalloped potatoes. So I put them in a pot with water and cooked them, thinking I'd make mashed potatoes. That didn't happen because they wouldn't break down. I ended up putting them in a pan with olive oil, fresh rosemary, garlic, and salt and browning them off. Not bad.

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We had some kale and Swiss chard out in the yard. Those are always easy and tasty and you know their full of powerful stuff like Vitamins K, A and C, manganese and high in fiber. This translates into building good blood for a healthier you and keeping your colon clean. Rinse them good and chop or tear into bite-sized pieces. If the stem is large, I'd suggest removing the rib by folding the leaf in half and running a knife blade down alongside the rib. (Save the stems for juicing!) Then chop or tear. In a pan heat some pure sesame oil and saute a few cloves of sliced or chopped garlic. Once that has browned, add in the kale and saute lightly, turning with tongs. Don't overcook. Drizzle on some soy sauce or tamari at the last moment then remove from heat. Sprinkle on vitamin B-rich nutritional yeast and calcium-rich sesame seeds and you're done.

If I had just another minute more I would have added a sauce to go with my patties. My thought would have been to blend some pimientos or roasted red bell peppers with pepperoncini peppers, and mixing that into a bit of Vegenaise. I know this makes a great sandwich spread because Brian did it recently for an event we catered. That would have been good on those patties. Oh well, next time. Anyway, a fresh green salad rounded out this meal. Try this dressing we had on our salad today. Everybody in our family liked it a lot. Found it on this web site: http://www.foodmatters.tv/_webapp_265455/Golden_Elixir_Salad_Dressing_Recipe

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Happy cooking, happy eating, happy health!

Mmmmm...Ono Food in Portland Oct. '09

Road tripping is fun right? Of course, but for us vegan foodies it can be a bit challenging, especially when there a more restrictions such as my gluten-intolerance. We made it through just fine, and here are some highlights from this road trip...

Arizona landscape.

Just got back after two weeks starting at home in Myrtle Creek, Oregon. An 18-hour drive (not including stops) down to Holbrook, Arizona where we spent a few days with our close family friends Arnie and Susan. They have a health ministry called The Rational Christian, also with a book by the same title. You can check it out here- http://www.therationalchristianministies.com/. We have always talked about working together to teach others about health, food, and cooking, but somehow time and distance would separate us. Now that they have relocated back to the Mainland from Hawaii, it may become a real possibility to do what we have so longed to do. We are hoping to travel to various places to conduct health and cooking seminars. I'll keep you posted as thing develop.

From Arizona we drove up to Utah. Ended up stopping over at Bryce Canyon. I couldn't resist as we were passing by. We spent a freezing night in the van, thankfully with sleeping bags and blankets. It was all worth it the next day when we took a horseback ride into the Canyon. Our little girl was ecstatic as she loves horses. And the Canyon was in all its majestic splendor the way I remember it some years ago. What a nice and unexpected side trip we took!

On to Northern Idaho. Beautiful, but freezing cold. Literally. Spent a couple of days there with family friends, the Wohlberg's. Steve runs a ministry called White Horse Media, seeking to enlighten the world about common misconceptions and educating on Biblical truth. Find out more about it here- http://www.whitehorsemedia.com/.

The drive from Idaho through Washington and then through the northeast end of Oregon led us to a scenic feast for the senses. Cool, crisp autumn air and the beauty of the changing colors of nature along the Columbia Gorge was absolutely stunning. We stopped over in Portland to visit more friends. Our good friends, Jay and Julie have set up a business serving ono (means 'delicious' in Hawaiian) vegan food out of a food trailer. It is called Native Bowl. They have bowls named for such local Portlander icons such as the "Alberta" which I tried. Rice with veggies and greens served with Vietnamese sweet/spicy sauce all mixied in. It was ono! They have quite a selection of bowls and sandwiches available as well as a weekly special. We happened to be there when they had Macaroni and Cheeze. The absolute BEST I have ever tasted. If you, dear reader happen to be in Portland, make it a point to stop by Native Bowl and say hi to Jay and Julie and try out their delicious vegan food. By the way, Julie is what I have termed, THE Vegan Dessert Queen, and she always has a selection of goodies on the trailer. Check out more on their website- http://www.everydaydish.tv/ where you can also see Brian's food videos, Julie's cookbooks for sale, and more. Location: Mississippi Marketplace- at the corner of Mississippi and Skidmore on the NE side of Portland. Call Julie at 818-264-9733.

Now we are glad to be home, loving the rain and how it made the grass go from brown to green. Sad that most of the garden is gone now, but looking forward to warm woodstove fires on the many cold nights to come. A hui hou---Until next time---aloha!

Country Living Seminars October 7 & 8, 2009

Our friends, Craig, Nancy, and Nick Meissner will be here on October 7th and 8th conducting a Country Living Seminar. It will be held at the Roseburg Seventh-day Adventist Church Better Living Center at 1109 NW Garden Valley Blvd., Roseburg. Please join us for a COMPLIMENTARY light supper (provided by The Maui Vegetarian) each evening at 6:00 p.m. followed by these important topics:

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-"Preparation of Presumption" --why we should live as independantly as possible.

-"Providing for Life's Basic Necessities" --don't get caught unprepared.

-"Equipping for Country Living" --gettin' it all together.

-"Alternative Energy Systems" --off the grid

-"What to Look for in a Land or a Homestead" --

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Each family guest will receive a FREE DVD "Ready or Not." And more DVD's and Books are available for purchase each evening. Practical information we can all use. See you there!

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More information at www.mountainmediaministries.org. Any questions, just call me:

Crystal 541-863-9706

August 20 '09

The Half Shell is (finally) over. Yes, yes, it was fun working. And it certainly was fabulous seeing familiar faces again, that really was the best part about it all. But I have to say, we were all so exhausted and by the time we recuperated from a night at the Half Shell, we had to do it all over again. All in all, the experience was a good one.

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Now what? Well, Brian decided that he would return to work at the Academy. He will still help me with food prep and deliveries to the Natural Foods Stores. That, by the way is going well, but I have had to cut it down to two days a week. Fresh wraps, sandwiches, sushi, hummus dips, and frozen dumplings are delivered on Tuesdays and Fridays to New Day in Roseburg, Harvest in Winston, and Promise in Canyonville. OOO!! If you haven't stopped by New Day lately, you better go 'cause they have VEGAN donuts and other VEGAN baked treats including some vegan + gluten-free varieties. Holy Donuts in Eugene provides them with the delectables.

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We do have a few events happening in the next few weeks. Mostly private catering, but I do want to invite you all to a Country Living seminar hosted by my friends from Georgia. This will be October 7 and 8 at the Better Living Center of the Roseburg Seventh-day Adventist Church. We (The Maui Vegetarian-Vegan Kitchen) will be providing a FREE vegan supper each evening to our guests. I'll have more details posted up later and hopefully get invitations out to all of you. So keep your eyes open for that and mark your calenders. You'll get a good meal and lots of good information.

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Still on the subject of food...Do you struggle with the eternal question "What's for dinner?" I do every day. We all know being vegetarian/vegan is not always the easiest. Meals often need to be planned out, and if possible, have a well-stocked fridge with just the right ingredients to put something decent together or at least a stash of frozen meals ready to pop in the oven . But we are a picky bunch, aren't we? Even though we cherish leftovers. And who has time nowadays anyway? So I thought that I'd try to share the kinds of meals we have in our professional chef's home kitchen. But don't be surprised, because Chef Brian rarely cooks at home. But once in a while he does get pretty creative in the kitchen. Well anyway, I've gotten much better at "throwing" things together, and hey! they're actually tasting pretty good. This is the best season for doing just that, with all the great produce around, but it helps to have ideas doesn't it?

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There is so much beautiful produce going on right now all I can say is WOW! I am loving it. Here's a recipe my friend Marjorie gave me for "Ratatouille." It came out superb and a great way to use those succulent summer vegetables. I'll try to remember to take pictures of the stuff I make. Note: You'll probably never see an original recipe, I always change things around to suit my taste, and depending on what I have available. So the recipes I post usually reflect the changes I made.

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Ratatouille

1 cup pasta sauce, your preference

1/2 medium onion

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 eggplant

1 zucchini

1 yellow crookneck squash

1 red bell pepper

several sprigs fresh thyme

sea salt

Pour the pasta sauce into the bottom of a medium-sized baking dish. Chop the onions and spread it on the sauce, do the same with the garlic. A mandoline slicer is a great help for this next part. I peeled the skin off of the eggplant and then used my Benriner (brand) slicer to make thin 1/8" slices. Layer the eggplant over the sauce with the onions and garlic. Repeat with the zucchini and squash (No you don't need to peel the skin off of those). Slice the stem end off the red bell pepper and scoop out the white membrane and seeds with your fingers, you can discard that part. Slice on your mandoline to make rings.

So now it's all layered nicely in the dish, throw the thyme sprigs on top. Don't worry about taking off the tiny little leaves right now, just let it bake on there and then it will be easier to remove after it's all dried out. You can also sprinkle on some already dried thyme if you don't have the fresh available. And don't forget a generous sprinkle of sea salt. I prefer Celtic Sea Salt, best for nutrition and flavor.

Cover with a piece of parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until veggies are tender and the red sauce is bubbling around the edges. We had this over linguine noodles. Perfect for a summer evening supper!

July 10 '09: Now Available...

Roseburg- New Day Quality Grocery
Canyonville- Promise Natural Foods and Bakery
Winston- Harvest Natural Foods
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You can find wraps, like the Hummus Wrap or Roasted Veggie Wrap with Galic Creme Sauce, or try the Arnie Wrap (named so after our good friend that inspired this wrap) which has curried lentils and leeks, all of them bursting with fresh garden vegetables. Or try a Mock Tuna Sandwich or Veggie Roll Sushi. Happy and Healthy Eating! Aloha from your friends at The Maui Vegetarian.

Good Eats

Sometimes it's nice to go out and eat...We enjoyed a nice VEGAN lunch the other day and wanted to share with you about it. If you haven't stopped in for a meal at LOS NOPALITOS, be sure to visit them for some traditional home-cooked Mexican cuisine. They have the freshest and most unique salsas. These are courteously served with tortilla chips when you sit down to dine. Skye especially likes the Nopalitos or cactus salsa with fresh tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. Not spicy at all, but full of flavor. Of course, Brian and I love the spicy and that's why the Fire-roasted Japanese pepper and tomatillo salsa was perfect. Not too spicy to overwhelm. You can also pick up a container or two to take home. They have lots on the menu to choose from with many vegetarian/vegan selections (and even for those who are gluten-sensitive, like me), and prices are right too. They are located near the intersection of Jackson and Cass in historic downtown Rosebug at 719 SE Jackson Street. Open Sunday thru Thursdays from 9 am to 8 pm and Fridays from 9 am to 5 pm. Aloha!