Simple Chicken Noodle Soup

I think many of us have fond memories of chicken noodle soup, especially when we're sick. The boy has been laid up with a fever today (and body aches, and a gut ache, and no appetite, the list goes on), and this was the immediate solution that came to mind. N0 Campbells for us! Besides, we wouldn't want to fight over the 3 chicken pieces generally found in one can of Campbell's.

I remember my mother had the '70s version of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, covered with a orange and yellow checked pattern. She bought my sister and I each our own (covered with an updated red and white checks for us). I was so proud of that book, even after I lost mine at college, but the boy came across one in good shape at the second-hand store and brought it home for me.

I checked in there for a quick chicken noodle recipe, and the one I found had a can of diced tomatoes in it! Excuse me? I don't think so - we want just the broth, chicken, noodles, and some herbs.

So I winged it. (Isn't that what makes cooking so delightful?) Here's the result:



Simple Chicken Noodle Soup

4 cups water
1 McCormick chicken bouillion cube
2 tsp basil, crushed
2 tsp oregano, crushed
1 bay leaf
2 cups or 1/2 the meat from a Costco gluten free rotisserie chicken (when we have Costco rotisserie chicken for dinner, I pick the remaining meat off the chicken and freeze it - what I used in this recipe started out frozen)
1/2 cup onions (frozen chopped), or rehydrated onion flakes
fresh cracked black pepper
about 1 cup flat rice noodles, also called Banh Pho, made in Thailand (I got mine at the Asian Market!)

With a little bit of oil in a saucepan, add onion and simmer. Pull out your pieces of frozen chicken pieces and add to the bed of onions. Cover, and simmer on medium-low until chicken is warmed through and the onions are soft. Shred the chicken a little with a fork if needed. Add water, bouillion cube, basil, oregano, bay leaf and pepper. Continue to simmer.

To prepare the thai noodles, boil a small saucepan of water. Break the noodles into small pieces, about 2 inches long (this will help your chin not get hit with hot noodles as you eat :) Boil the noodles for 6-8 minutes, and then drain. Run under cold water, and then add to the soup. These noodles are great - they hold their shape, and have some great al dente chew.

Simmer until you are ready to eat. Fish out the bay leaf. For a sickie, spoon into a mug until it's half full. This will help them eat without spilling.

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Word to the wise: Even if you are Kramer, don't strain your flat rice noodles over the bathtub. I had done this several times when making pad thai, because my kitchen sink was full of other "things" (called dirty dishes). The next morning as I stepped into the shower, something crunched under my feet. Yep, rice noodles. They had slipped through the holes of my colander and dried in the tub. The worst part - getting rehydrated and then having a clogged tub drain. Clogged with rice noodles. Not a story I want to repeat to my landlord.

Daring Baker's Challenge January 2009: Blueberry Cups (Tuiles)

Following is a recipe taken from a book called “The Chocolate Book,” written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck.

Ironically, I chose not to add any chocolate to mine. Chocolate isn't really on the top ten list around here. But, it's January. January means a fresh start - lighter, healthier, tastier. The first thing I thought of with lighter, and tastier, was blueberries. I created these delicate tuile cups to hold some delicious wild blueberries.

Oh, and on the recent episode of Iron Chef America (Curry), one of the chefs made curry tuiles.

Blueberry Cups (Tuiles)


1/4 cup softened butter (not melted but soft)
1/2 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
a dash of vanilla extract
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
1/8 cup white rice flour
1/8 cup tapioca starch
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. With a knife, spread a thin layer of dough onto the cookie sheet in a section larger than the shape desired. Leave some room between your shapes.

Bake shapes in a preheated oven (350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from baking sheet and with a knife, trim into the shape desired. For blueberry cups, ovals, rectangles, squares, or circles work well. Press the cookie into a shallow cup, such as a teacup. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time.

When the cookies have cooled, fill the cup center with 1/8 cup wild blueberries. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

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This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Baking Soda and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf.
They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Being a Community

Over these last five years, I've grown to love Salt Lake City. And now that we eat gluten free, I've come to appreciate the fruits of living in a big city. The boy and I both spent some of our growing-up time in Boise, Idaho, which is the largest city in the state, but doesn't compare in size to Salt Lake City, or the greater Wasatch Front.

I've come to appreciate a whole list of things that make being gluten free easier while living in Sugarhouse, including:

• Pei Wei Asian Diner
• Chipotle
• Au Naturale (these three restaurants are less than a mile from my casa!)
  
• Harmons
• Against the Grain
• even Smith's manages a good box of Annie's Mac on their shelves
• a Wendy's up the road for some gluten free chili on the go

But, this month, I discovered Salt Lake has taken it to a new level. My friend, who coincidentally has parents who eat gluten free, introduced me to:

The Community Food Co-op

FANTASTICALLY FRESH PRODUCE!
mushrooms, red potatoes, oranges, apples, green onions, kiwis, red leaf lettuce, artichokes, rice

Every month, at the beginning of the month, you can order a "share" of commonly-purchased foods. A single share includes several common types of vegetables (such as carrots and tomatoes), several types of fruit, and a selection of common meats. There are ordering options for just fruits and veggies, for extra meat, and for some add-ons like excellent olive oil or salsa. All this food comes at a great discount price, because it is ordered through the co-op. You have a pickup location of your choice (there are pickups all around the valley), and generally on the last Saturday of the month, you arrive there in the morning to greet your pile of home-grown goodness. Each order also comes with a bag of rice, and a loaf of bread. Easy solution for the bread: give it to a friend, or the co-op can easily donate it for you to one of the local causes (soup kitchen, YWCA, etc).

Being gluten free, I'm buying a lot more meat and a lot more produce. So, this is perfect for me. More food, less money, helping the community. The catch is you need to volunteer for 2 hours per month, either with the co-op or anywhere in the community, as long as it's not for your family.

I think I'm in love.

Lloyd's Barbecue Company: Seasoned Shredded Chicken in Original Sauce

It's mainstream Monday, but the image is hanging out on my other computer, and let's be honest...I'm lazy.

Last week, on Monday even, I was traveling with my family. We were in Disneyland, where it turns out, all of the landscaping is edible. I "challenged" my brother-in-law, who lives in Arizona, that the oranges I saw hanging in a tree in California Adventure were fake. Being that I've always lived in the Mountain West, it's really a stretch for me to believe that oranges (and other citrus fruits) grow on trees. While the kids were playing in a water fountain, he snuck into the bushes and grabbed a tangerine. He peeled it and gave me a piece, and sure enough, tangerines

a) really do grow on trees
b) are part of the Disney landscaping
c) can probably be eaten by the average Disney-goer, as long as you are discreet

Throughout the rest of our Disney adventures, I sampled a kumquat, growing in low bushes on the way into the Autopia Cars ride, and some rosemary, including the rosemary flowers. I also noticed some cabbages, which were beautiful.

I wish I had scoped out other plants, but I was a little busy feeling, well, green (going on California Screamin' twice in a row, with fast passes, doesn't do much for the stomach), and chasing after some really cute kids.

Aside from the edibles scattered behind fences around the park, I did notice that the various hot dog stands carry Lays potato chips, milk, and pieces of fruit. How's that for gluten free selection?

(I would imagine there are other gluten free options, I just didn't do any research on it).

All the while, the boy was at home working away. We had stocked the fridge, and one of the best options we had found was Lloyd's barbecue meat. It comes in a yellow tub, and just needs to be heated to eat. In fact, you could probably eat it straight out of the fridge, if y0u're into that.

It's labeled gluten free on the back - we went with the original chicken. It would definitely be worth it to check out the other flavors. This stuff is really good with some corn chips - the perfect bachelor dinner.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I'll be honest, if you're looking for a gluten free peanut butter cookie recipe, you'll routinely find the same one all over the internet. It's the flourless one, and I've made that recipe once before since joining the gluten free club. It was pretty decent, except it didn't have a lot of depth. Well, more complexity than depth, I guess. It was really rich, because well, peanut butter mixed with sugar (and some eggs) is pretty rich.

I prefer my cookies to have a little chew. The flourless peanut butter cookies were crispy, which was nice, but seriously, it's all about the chew.


Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

2 cups gluten free flour (you can use your favorite mix, or follow my lead on a higher protein mix)

• 1/3 cup almond meal
• 1/3 cup sorghum flour
• 1/3 cup soy flour (this is high protein, and the uncooked batter will taste a little metallic, but it does have good nutritional properties. The finished cookies don't have the "interesting" soy flour taste)
• 2/3 cup brown rice flour
• 1/3 cup tapioca starch (or any other starch)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup butter, softened (at room temperature, at least)
3 large eggs
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. I know it sounds cool, but these babies are best made low and slow.

In a bowl, combine the gluten free flours, soda, xanthan gum and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), blend sugars together. Add butter and mix until combined, and butter gets a little fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and add eggs, peanut butter and vanilla. Continue mixing until fluffy.

Add the flour mixture and mix at low speed until the ingredients are just mixed. Be careful not to overmix.


Get out your muffin pan (with 12 muffin spots). It doesn't need to be greased, if it is no-stick. Using a spoon, drop small amounts of the batter into each muffin spot. (We're not actually making muffins here, keep the amount of batter small.) Bake 12-13 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to brown. Because of the nature of the cookie, it will puff up during baking, and then fall in the middle. So, your cookies will be like a cup with sides. Remove the pan from the oven, and pour a small amount of chocolate chips into the center of each cup. After a few minutes, the chocolate chips will have melted. You can swirl them around with a fork, or leave them there, or really, just put the cookie straight into your mouth. Loosen the cookies from the pan and continue cooling on a wire rack.

Notes:

• These kept just fine on the counter on a plate. If they are going to disappear within a few days, they don't really need to be wrapped tightly or refrigerated.
• It's important to bake these in a muffin tin, since they spread all over when you bake them on a regular pan! Believe me, I tried that with my first batch, before coming up with the muffiny-cooking concept.
  
• I hope you just bought another gallon of milk!
  

Bullseye Barbecue Sauce

Now, I understand that BBQ sauce can be a touchy subject. I was just out in the online-stratosphere looking for photos of a BBQ sauce, and came across some nasty reviews on sauces that I rather like. It's so regional, so cultural, and so hotly debated.

However, I came across this post on a BBQ sauce reviewing site, and they had some good information about gourmet sauces that are gluten free.

Our pick on gluten free BBQ sauce? Bullseye Original. Yes, you can buy it in the grocery store. Almost all grocery stores. If you want to be extra sure, the lady at Against the Grain even calls the manufacturer to be sure the batch is gluten free. So nice.



Try some quick BBQ pork ribs on your grill. They are so delicious, brushed with Bullseye. Or whatever you decide you like in the sauce department.

Lindt Excellence Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate Bar

I love the free chocolate that comes with Christmas. Thankfully, the boy's not really into chocolate, so someone has to take care of it. Hmmm, that would be me.

However, I noticed that a gift I received - Lindt Excellence Extra Creamy Milk (in the 3.5 oz bar) - is not gluten free. It contains barley malt extract.

So, word to the wise: this is the season of chocolate, but steer clear of this one.



Oh...happy new year! May this year be filled with lots of gluten free convenience, and happy living!