Wednesday, May 18, 2011

MY CRAZY CHICKEN-RICE NOODLE STIR FRY

As seen on The View's Gluten free recipes from Ming Tsai.

Serves 4

8 ounces transparent rice noodles (rice sticks)
2 tablespoons Wanjashan Gluten Free Tamari
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sambal
3 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil
3 shallots, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 pound ground chicken
1 cup packed baby spinach
1/2 cup scallions, green and white parts, sliced 1/8 inch thick
1/4 cup Thai or sweet basil leaves cut into 1/8-inch ribbons
1 lime, quartered, for garnish
4 sprigs of Thai or sweet basil for garnish

1. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Add the noodles and soak until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the tamari, lime juice, sugar, and sambal, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

3. Heat a wok or large, heavy sauté pan over high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the shallots and stir-fry until brown, about 1 minute. Add the chicken and stir-fry, breaking up the meat, until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add the noodles and sauce mixture and heat through, stirring. Add the spinach, scallions and basil ribbons and toss well. Garnish with the lime wedges and basil sprigs and serve

THE BEST FROSTED SUGAR COOKIES

Back to the basics with a recipe from grade school.

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400º.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl & set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until mixed well. Add the dry ingredients in slowly & mix well. Chill for at least an hour to stiffen the dough. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin & cut shapes with cookie cutters OR form dough balls and flatten into thick circles with your hands.

Bake 8-10 mins or until just the edges of cookies start to turn a very, very light golden brown. Don’t over-bake. For an extra-doughy consistency, remove the cookies before the edges start to brown.

*****

FROSTING:
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 Tbsp milk
1 egg yolk (optional)
5-6 cups powdered sugar (thicken to desired consistency)
food coloring

Whisk butter, vanilla, milk and egg yolk together. Slowly mix in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. If it gets too thick, add more milk in very small amounts, about 1 tsp at a time.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

Recipe courtesy of My Father’s Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness by Gwyneth Paltrow

These are about as healthy as brownies can get without sacrificing flavor.
Makes 12

INGREDIENTS

2 cups white spelt flour (preferably King Arthur)
1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown rice syrup (or light agave nectar)
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
1/2 cup soymilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided

PREPARATION
Heat oven to 350°. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Whisk maple syrup, oil, brown rice syrup, coffee, soymilk and vanilla in another bowl. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Pour half the batter into a greased 9" x 11" baking dish; top with half the chips. Pour remaining batter into dish and top with remaining chips. Bake until knife comes out with crumbs adhering to it, 30 minutes. Let cool.

The skinny

348 calories per brownie, 15 g fat (3 g saturated), 53 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 5 g protein