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7 Things About Me (Tied to Food & Drink)

This post is linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

Months ago, Chaya (Chaya’s Comfy Cook) graciously gave me the Beautiful Blogger award. I was very touched with the award and by Chaya’s generous words. I love reading Chaya’s posts. She’s funny for one thing. I also love her post titles—always succinct and often humorous—and her very direct way of speaking to the reader. She cooks one of my very favorite foods—salmon—weekly (yes, weekly). So, if you are looking for a gluten-free salmon recipe, be sure to look on Chaya’s Comfy Cook blog.

Chaya’s a prolific food blogger. She posted 32 times in July on Comfy Cook. And, that’s not to mention how many times she posted at her other food blog, Sweet and Savory. Her Sweet and Savory blog is not exclusively gluten free. However, she has a Meatless Monday roundup, which often features recipes from gluten-free bloggers.

Read more about Chaya and check out her flourless brownies with ganache (you know how I love flourless!) in this post where she bestowed the Beautiful Blogger award to six other folks (I was in great company!) and told more about herself. Thanks, Chaya!

I thought it would be fun to do my “response” post in my birth-month (as in my birthday and the month afterwards versus the month I was born in), to tell you a little bit more about myself. Just for fun, I’ve decided to relate all to food or spirits. (Warning: There is some bathroom talk and also some words about liver.)

1. My first job out of high school was at the FBI National Academy. Before you get too intrigued, my job was in the kitchen for the academy’s cafeteria, run by the Marriott Corporation. One of my aunts (my mom has seven sisters) was a manager and I got a job as a prep cook/alternate weekend cook. I was 17 years old and had absolutely no cooking experience. My mom didn’t really teach us to cook when we were growing up. Other than making occasional cakes and cupcakes from a box, she didn’t want us in the kitchen making messes. She was (and is) still a great mom and I eventually learned to cook when out on my own. But, there were often calls to mom for advice, and sometimes I still make those calls today.

My aunt did teach me a lot in the giant commercial kitchen (stainless steel, tile, huge walk-in refrigerators and freezers, etc.) and I managed to hold my own. For almost everything I made there was a recipe and the ingredients I used were real ones, even though most were canned or frozen versus fresh. My favorite job was probably making spaghetti sauce in a huge vat. Well, for all my prep work, I pretty much made everything in a huge vat or an equally huge wheeled tub. I cracked eggs—in preparation for scrambled eggs—two at a time, one in each hand. Dozens of eggs, into one of those stainless steel wheeled tubs. Once one of the wheels caught on a crack in the tile  as I was wheeling the tub into the walk-in refrigerator and it almost tipped over. I can still see that tub full of yellow teetering. My least favorite task on the job was cleaning the grill after cooking beef liver. Cooking bacon, sausage, eggs, and such for huge quantities of folks on a schedule wasn’t that great either. I had to be at work at something like 4:30 in the morning when I was the breakfast/lunch cook on weekends. I left feeling like a big grease bomb in my gold uniform with the requisite white, ultra dorky shoes. All in all though, it was a good experience and I learned a lot.

2. Mr. GFE and I met while working in a chain restaurant. I was a waitress; he was a waiter. He had just graduated from college in December and jobs were scarce. I was still in college and always kept a job as well. (Sometimes my jobs were part time, sometimes they were full time, and usually I was a waitress, because one could make the most money for the fewest hours.) The restaurant we both worked at had never had waiters before, but Mr. GFE convinced the manager that having another male on hand for the 1 am closing was a good idea.

I can still visualize him as he looked back then. He was 22, but looked like a high school student and frankly, I found him more than a bit goofy. In short, I didn’t give him the time of day. He likes to say that I was the only waitress there who wouldn’t go out with him. Ha! He did have all the other waitresses doing a lot of his work (making salads, brewing coffee, etc.), but to be fair, he was very nice to them and helped them, too; e.g., often carrying their heavy trays. Still … I was not interested, but he persisted.

My two roommates also worked at the same restaurant. One was a hostess and the other was a waitress as well. Unbeknownst to me, Mr. GFE had quizzed them about my favorite things and he surprised me with a bag of goodies as we started our shift one evening. He told me that he’d left something for me by my coat. I pretty much ignored him and the gift until he persisted and I saw the red carnation sticking out of the brown paper bag. I relented momentarily to see what else he had brought me. There was a bag of pistachios … and a box of Nestle Quik (okay, I am embarrassed to say that I was a serious chocolate milk nut then). His simple, sincere gifts got a smile out of me. Still, when he asked me to go out dancing the following weekend, I said, “maybe.” Of course, I did eventually say “yes” … we went dancing and had a fantastic time.

3. The first meal I ever prepared for Mr. GFE was one that makes some folks turn away in horror. Chicken livers. One evening as I was leaving the restaurant where we both worked, I said I was going home to make dinner. He asked what I was having. I told him chicken livers, expecting a horrified reaction. His response was, “I love chicken livers.” So I invited him to stop by after work. As that would be after 1 am, he just expected us to stand in the kitchen and chow down. However, I served the fried chicken livers, plus mixed vegetables in butter sauce over rice at our antique dining room table. On my grandmother’s china. With her good silver. By candlelight. Okay, I admit it … by then, I’d decided I really liked him. It was a good start to many meals together. We still love fried chicken livers. Then, and sometimes, still, I just feel like I need them, not just that I like the taste. (Iron deficiency, perhaps? I did suffer from anemia when pregnant; it’s related to gluten issues. See listing.)  These days, of course, the chicken livers we eat are gluten free and fried in just a little bit of healthy oil, like grapeseed or olive oil. And, they are more likely to be served with quinoa or just veggies as a side.

4. My love of chicken livers also made for another interesting story. Mr. GFE and a group of us had gone tubing down the river near the house he rented at the time. The house was called the Little Castle because it was a multi-level, stone house, with a flat roof and turrets, built into the side of the hill. The flat roof was great for viewing fireworks over the same river. There was a Big Castle, too—the main house, which was also stone, square, and with turrets. The Little Castle had been a garage with maid’s quarters above, that had later been converted into a complete—albeit small—house, with kitchen and living room. (We ended up living there after we were married.) There was also a bomb shelter and a graveyard on the property. The current owners of both castles are friends of ours. They host an annual Halloween party between the graveyard and the bomb shelter, which we attend every year. It’s a terrific party. But, I digress.

photo credit

So we had gone tubing down on the Rappahannock River. We’d put in at a calm, peaceful area, but then proceeded to the Class III rapids. I had popped out of my tube in one “washing machine” spot and got pulled under. Mr. GFE rescued me and on we went. I had returned to my apartment hours later, grateful to be alive, but still looking somewhat like a drowned rat with wet stringy hair and wearing a damp cotton summer dress over my bathing suit. There was a knock on the door. I answered it to find a handsome stranger in a three-piece suit. He was holding a brown paper grocery bag. He introduced himself as the area Holly Farms sales rep and presented me with 5 pounds of chicken livers. You see … I’d written a letter to Holly Farms complaining that my recent container of chicken livers had been mostly chicken hearts, with very few chicken livers. A few more letters had been exchanged because Holly Farms believed that the chicken livers I had purchased were not their brand, but the store brand. I corrected them showing them that the store had only placed its pricing label on the container. I guess Holly Farms wanted to keep a loyal customer happy, but that’s what I call customer service! I still lament the fact that I wasn’t more presentable. I mean that was back in my skinny days and Mr. GFE and I weren’t yet engaged or anything.

photo credit

5. In a recent post, I mentioned my ob/gyn issues related to gluten intolerance and shared that I had suffered from postpartum depression. Thankfully, it wasn’t severe in retrospect, but it certainly seemed severe to me at the time. Also, because my body had just been through natural childbirth, I was stressed with being a new mom, and I was unknowingly gluten intolerant, I was experiencing “The big D.” Now most folks with celiac and gluten issues know that refers to diarrhea. After childbirth, “The big D” was a huge problem for me. I went to one gastroenterologist (who still practices locally) who did nothing to help me, but sent me home with one of those little plastic containers to see if I had cancer. He was about as sympathetic as a rock. No, a rock would have been more sympathetic and helpful (especially a pet rock). I never went back. (That was a pattern with many doctors over the years.) Then one of my dearest friends mentioned that her mother-in-law, who was normally a teetotaler, would drink blackberry wine whenever she had diarrhea. The mother-in-law called it a sure cure. Ah, blackberry wine … now that was a solution I was willing to give a try. (I wasn’t nursing so that wasn’t an issue.)

So Mr. GFE dutifully picked up some blackberry wine on his way home the next day, and every other evening after that for a while, to be honest. After he’d arrive, I would sip a glass or two while we chatted and Son relaxed in the baby swing for a few minutes. (Son loved the baby swing and we loved that he loved it!) In the end, the blackberry wine did nothing for my diarrhea, but it greatly improved my disposition. It made me care a lot less about the diarrhea, and even helped me stop crying for a short while. And, it was a call to the surgeon who had removed my gall bladder 3 years earlier (another sign of my gluten issues; reference gluten-related issues once more here) that got me a medication that finally helped enough with “The Big D” to start me on my way to recovery. Well, temporarily anyway. Only going gluten free really solved “the big D” issues for good. Ironically, during my periods of diarrhea and nausea, which I now know were caused by gluten, I would eat only crackers or toast.

6. Before I went gluten free, I craved gluten. (This craving is not unusual for someone with gluten issues; read more from Dr. Ron Hoggan here.) One of my favorite breakfasts was syrup and toast. I have no idea if anyone else’s family ate this meal, but you mixed up King syrup and butter to make a dipping sauce, so to speak, and then you just dipped the toast in the syrup and ate until the sauce was gone. Of course, one always made too much sauce and had to keep toasting more bread. Incidentally, King Syrup is still around, but now contains high fructose corn syrup. However, I’m fairly certain it was always pretty much total sugar anyway.

Again, I craved all bread products before going gluten free, especially cereal. I could live on cereal, one bowl after another. Now I rarely eat real bread products and don’t really miss them. I’ll enjoy them from time to time in the form of my homemade muffins, popovers, or even pre-made bread when a gluten-free friend makes bruschetta or brings Udi’s bread to our meeting for folks to enjoy. But, I still don’t go crazy about it. And, I’ve tried gluten-free cereal, but it does nothing for me and some brands labeled gluten free actually make me sick … but that’s a story for another day.

7. I’m still learning to like new foods and dishes. I really wasn’t exposed to a huge wide variety of foods growing up. That was more about my parents’ food preferences than anything like availability of foods/eating local. So it’s a delight to have found new loves over the last two decades: bacon-wrapped figs, asparagus in any form, broccoli (no sauce needed), avocados, mushrooms, and more. So, I’m looking forward to experiencing even more new foods and dishes in the future.

Technically, I’m supposed to now bestow this award on seven other bloggers but I link to the folks and posts I feel are worthy of award just about every day, so I’ll consider that requirement satisfied. You are all beautiful to me! So, grab this idea (and badge) and come up with your list of seven things about yourself if you’d like. No strict rules or anything, but I do like learning more about my blogging buddies.

Last, there’s a truly gfe-unique giveaway up on my Out and About page. Take a look and enter if it’s of interest.

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Cinnamon-Sugar-Crusted Almond Popovers

This recipe is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays at Blessed with Grace and What can I eat that’s gluten free? over at Linda’s The Gluten-Free Homemaker. 

It’s day two of  SSS … a Suite of Sweets for Sweethearts. With that wintry stuff moving into our area again, I thought I’d share this recipe for melt-in-your-mouth breakfast (or dessert) popovers. These can surely make your forget about your “I’m over winter” blues. They would also be ideal for breakfast on Valentine’s Day morning … or brunch … or afternoon tea. Frankly, I can’t think of any time these popovers wouldn’t be good. I adapted this recipe from David Lebovitz’s Sugar-Coated Popovers recipe (an adaptation of an earlier recipe of his shared both in the New York Times and this Maida Heatter cookbook).

Each time, I’ve made these popovers, if there were more than two of us eating them, they disappeared in mere minutes. These popovers even inspired Mr. GFE to suggest that there should be a special feature here on gfe—Mr. GFE’s Recipe Pick of the Month. Of course, this recipe would be his first pick, he said. Son proclaimed these popovers to be the closest thing to a cinnamon bun that he has eaten since going gluten free. (The cinnamon-sugar mixture I always use is very heavy on the cinnamon.) Then Son ate four, in fairly rapid succession … even after he’d stated that he was only going to eat half of the fourth one. Maybe this recipe should be called Mr. GFE’s Top Pick Willpower-Busting Popovers. These popovers were a family collaboration of sorts. It was Son’s idea to prepare a little honey butter (using raw honey from our bees) for topping these popovers. That was a brilliant idea! 

I’ve added almonds to my recipe, which Mr. GFE and I love. For those with nut allergies, skip the almonds and you will still have delightful popovers.

Cinnamon-Sugar-Crusted Almond Popovers
(Click here for a print version of this recipe.)

For the popovers:

2 tablespoons butter, melted (non-dairy should work)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk (whole, 2 %; non-dairy should work)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup gluten-free flour mix (I used my gluten-free flour mix*)
1 tsp xanthan gum

For the topping:

about 1/3 cup of sliced almonds

For the sugar coating:

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (more or less depending how much you like cinnamon) (UPDATED: I just made the popovers again and made a new batch of cinnamon-sugar. One tablespoon of cinnamon was too much. Start with 1 teaspoon and add more if necessary after taste testing your popovers.)

For dipping:

1/4 cup melted butter in small bowl

Softened butter, for greasing the pan (I always just use a butter wrapper.)

1. Preheat the oven to 400º F. Grease a nonstick popover or muffin pan (with 1/2-cup indentations), with softened butter.

2. For the popovers, put the 2 tablespoons melted butter, eggs, milk, salt and sugar in a blender and blend for a few seconds.

3. Add the flour and blend for about 10 seconds, just until smooth.

4. Pour into 9 greased molds, filling each about 2/3 full.

5. Sprinkle each with about a teaspoon of sliced almonds.

6. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the popovers are golden/deep brown. (I do my usual toothpick doneness test.)

7. Toward the end of the baking time, you’ll want to get ready for the popovers by creating a little assembly line for final processing. Melt butter in a small bowl and place on your work space. Mix cinnamon and sugar in another small bowl and place to the right of the butter. Place plate or napkin-lined basket to the right of the cinnamon-sugar bowl.

8. Remove popovers from the oven. At this point, you can wait a few minutes until they are cool enough to handle or you can do what an impatient person (that would be me!) does. I stick a toothpick in each popover, remove it from the pan and follow an assembly line process. Dip the popover in the bowl of melted butter rotating until bottom and sides are buttered. (Alternatively, you can brush the butter on the popovers using a pastry brush.) Keep the popover on the toothpick and dip into the bowl of cinnamon-sugar. Roll bottom and sides into mixture. Place on plate or in napkin-lined basket. Each one is a warm, buttery, cinnamon-sugar bundle of goodness ready to eat!  

Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz

*I can’t tolerate many of the healthier, gluten-free flours; e.g., sorghum, buckwheat. Therefore, my gluten-free flour mix is 3 parts Asian white rice flour and 2 parts cornstarch. I gently mix three one-lb bags of the Asian white rice flour and two one-lb boxes of cornstarch in a very large bowl and then store the mix in several airtight containers (like large glass jars). No refrigeration is needed. If you’d like to learn more about how to select the right gluten-free flour for all your recipes, you’ll want to check out Amy’s (Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free) current series on Understanding & Choosing Gluten-Free Flour—Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Shirley’s Notes: That last photo is actually of recovered, “mistake” popovers that I made during our last snowstorm. As soon as I popped the muffin pan into the oven, I saw the bowl of melted butter sitting on the counter. I had gotten distracted by a couple of ”brown-outs,” while preparing the batter. Long ago, I might have scrapped the whole batch and started anew. Not any more … I set the muffin pan on the stove and spooned a little melted butter into each muffin cup and gave a tiny stir, then replaced the muffin pan in the oven and baked per usual. As you can see, the popovers suffered no ill effects. I also had forgotten to allow the eggs to come to room temperature. No worries … the recipe still worked fine. The popovers might have turned out a teeny tiny bit better if the eggs had been at room temperature, but we certainly didn’t find anything to complain about.

Enjoy, and if you’re on the snowy East Coast of the U.S., stay safe. These popovers will take care of the usual, second part of that parting statement— ”stay warm“—at least for a bit. They’ll  warm your tummy and bring some sunshine into your life. Later, you can enjoy yesterday’s SSS offering …  Surprise Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, because at this point, I really don’t think you want to be eating that snow cream. Just sayin’.

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Popover Pizza with Baby Bellas

… Plus Caramelized Onions and Sweet Peppers

First things first … Mr. GFE says that it’s really not accurate to call this a pizza. I will continue to call it popover pizza, but I’ll add the disclaimer that some folks call it a pizza “casserole” and others call it “upside down pizza.” I’ve been making this recipe for years, so I think his comments “stemmed” from this particular version of this pizza—a vegetarian one—not the popover pizza in general. And, the fact that I added caramelized onions might have put it over the top for hubby. (It’s definitely not a manly, man recipe like Carol is seeking in this month’s Go Ahead Honey It’s Gluten Free theme. ) Another factor might have been that the cheese does not stand out in this recipe. It plays an important role in holding the ingredients together, but you don’t get that super ooey, gooey texture that’s sometimes present in pizza dishes. The vegetables and sauce are definitely front and center, supported by the very nice popover crust.

About the popover factor … loyal readers already know that I am a self-confessed popover lover. Early on in gfe’s history, I shared my recipe for popovers as my favorite gluten-free “bread.” Then, I posted the recipe for the fabulous volcano pancake, which is the equivalent of a popover in pancake form. Now, I’m sharing popover pizza. (Look at the photo below of it right out of the oven to see the popover effect! Ignore the slight “leakage” of the sauce.) This is a recipe that’s all over the web. I just adapted it to be gluten free. Usually I make it with ground venison as the “topping.” But, this time I wanted to use mushrooms for Diane’s Friday Foodie Fix at the The Whole Gang. I could have just added mushrooms to the meat sauce mixture I generally use. However, because I was going for a real veggie taste, I skipped the meat and along with the mushrooms added caramelized Vidalia onions and yellow and red sweet peppers. The results are a sweeter version punctuated with the meat-like flavor of the baby bellas.

It’s important to note that the dough of this popover pizza will taste significantly better and allow for an easier, “prettier” flip if it is allowed to cool/set up for several minutes. A 10 – 15 minute wait works well. However, at our house, we can’t always wait that long. Sometimes we don’t get to appreciate that fact until we cut our second piece of popover pizza!

I gave this version the ultimate test by eating a piece cold for breakfast. It passed with flying colors! I will make my traditional version for Mr. GFE soon and share with you all. Plus, I’ll be sharing my flourless pizza recipe soon (you won’t believe that this pizza contains no flour). For now, I hope you’ll enjoy this popover pizza with baby bellas, caramelized onions, and sweet peppers. As always, feel free to modify the ingredients to what you have on hand and to your liking … that’s really what being gfe and being happy in the kitchen are all about!

 

 

Popover Pizza with Bellas, Onions, and Peppers
(Click here for a print version of this recipe.)

6 ounces of Baby Bella (portabello) mushrooms—cleaned, sliced and cooked
2 Vidalia onions—thinly sliced and slightly caramelized
sweet pepper slices—sauteed a few minutes
small amount of oil (for sauteeing and caramelizing onions)
pinch of granulated sugar (for caramelizing onions)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar (for caramelizing onions)
1 jar spaghetti/pasta sauce (I used a 24-ounce jar of Bertolli organic this time—olive oil, basil, and garlic—but I’ve tried many different mainstream gf sauces, all with great success)
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1 cup gluten-free flour mix*
½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if using a gf flour mix that contains xanthan gum)
¼ tsp salt
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Grease 13 x 9 Pyrex baking dish. Saute mushrooms in a small amount of vegetable oil until they release their liquid. Drain and place in single layer in  baking dish. Saute peppers in remaining liquid for about two minutes; add a little vegetable oil if needed. Remove peppers with spatula or slotted spoon and add in a layer to baking dish over mushrooms. Slightly caramelize onions by sauteeing on medium heat until translucent, then adding a pinch of sugar and one teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and cook until browned and fragrant (a few more minutes). Remove onions with spatula or slotted spoon (so all liquid is left in pan) and layer onions on top of peppers and mushrooms. Heat sauce in skillet bringing to a simmer, then pour over veggies. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Beat eggs, milk, and oil until foamy. Add flour mix and salt, and beat until smooth. Pour batter over sauce/veggie mixture, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until the top is puffed and golden brown. Cool a few minutes and then cut into squares, flipping as you place on plate.

*A very economical option is the gluten-free flour mix that I use most of the time. It consists of three parts Asian white rice flour (much more finely ground than typical white rice flour) and two parts cornstarch. I make 5 lbs of this mix at a time. I use three 1-lb bags of Asian white rice flour and two 1-lb boxes of Argo cornstarch. Mix well, but gently in a very large bowl and then transfer to airtight storage containers (like Tupperware). I can’t guarantee that this recipe will work with all gf flour mixes.

Shirley’s Notes: I cooked all the veggies beforehand to ensure that I wouldn’t have too much liquid in the recipe. I added the leftover liquid from my skillet to my freezer container for future use in Everything Soup. I had a little too much liquid initially as you can see from the next to the last photo, but once the pizza cooled, the little bit of extra liquid was absorbed and it was not a big deal. However, I had cooked the peppers with the sauce and I think they provided the liquid, so I modified the instructions to show sauteeing the peppers separately to prevent any extra liquid.

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

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