Chicken and Black Bean Tortilla Soup

This soup I made on our first snow day from school. There is nothing sweeter than a snow day, even for the teachers! With the surprise of an unplanned day to yourself and a pantry full of food to choose from, what else was there to do but think about what to make for dinner? My boys went out to shovel the snow and I made a delicious pot of soup that simmered away on the stove until we were ready to eat.

For gluten intolerant folks, watch out for some of the box broths and stocks on the market. Not all are gluten free, although I still can't figure out why anyone finds it necessary to put gluten in clear broths! My pantry always has boxes of organic broth from Wegman's and these brands that I know are safe: Pacific and Swanson. If time allows, as it does on a snow day... make your own. In my freezer I store deli containers of my own homemade chicken soup to grab and quickly defrost.

I made my soup today with homemade chicken broth and chicken breasts that I had in my freezer, defrosted, and then poached in water on the top of the stove. You can just as easily use leftover roast chicken or a rotisserie chicken from the store. I also used a small can of chopped green chilies and I always keep these on hand in my pantry for times like this when I can't go out to shop for fresh peppers. These can be found in the international aisle of your market where they keep the Mexican ingredients.

• 2 T vegetable oil
• 1 onion diced
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1 small can of chopped green chilies, drained
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken breast
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• Corn Tortillas (GF)
• Cilantro, chopped

Heat a large stock pot with oil and add the diced onion. As the onions turn translucent, add the cumin, chili powder, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring until the spices are fragrant. Add the chopped green chilies and tomato paste. Stir.

Put the shredded chicken into the pot and toss to coat the chicken with all the flavors. Now add the black beans, diced tomatoes and chicken broth. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes. Taste to adjust seasoning.

Place one corn tortilla at a time over a dry skillet to lightly toast. Cut these into strips and add to the soup. Sprinkle cilantro over top. Excellent toppings would also be diced avocado, shredded cheese, red onion or sour cream.

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Chicken and Mushrooms a la Sonny's

First, a story...

Sonny's Pizzeria is located in Hopewell Junction down the road from Camp Kinder Ring. Anyone working at our camp not only thought of Sonny's as their second home away from home, but we all knew the phone number by heart. Counselors sitting "OD" on an adirondack chair on the porches of their campers' bunks knew that somehow they would be given a parm from Sonny's to get them through the late night. By a parm, of course Sonny knew that we meant chicken. If you weren't from camp and you came into the restaurant and asked for a parm, Sonny would yell at you. "A Parm? What kind of parm? Chicken? Eggplant? What?" But the counselors from camp were treated like family, like royalty, and Sonny knew each and everyone one of us. On visiting day, the 4th Saturday of every summer, alumni counselors would come up, first have dinner at Sonny's and then spend visiting day at the camp. It was a ritual. They loved it and Sonny loved it.

Sue Smith and I created this painting as a backdrop for a camp play. I can't even remember which play it was, but Debbie, the director, rewrote the setting of the play to be Hopewell Junction. Sue and I had so much fun driving around the town and taking pictures of all the important stops along the way to show in our painting. Sonny's Ristorante not only was a prominent location, but of course, Sonny made the scene as well! Dressed as he always was, in a white chef shirt with the top 4 buttons undone, gold chains around his neck, and a pack of cigarettes folded into one of his short sleeves, he was quite the character and nobody messed around with him. It was not a question that he would be a part of our scenery.

Sue and I would visit Sonny's every week instead of having the Wednesday BBQ down by the lake. It wasn't that we didn't want the finest hot dogs grilled by the Hawk, but we enjoyed that night as our night out. Sue would always have a glass of wine with the regulars at the bar, a Sonny's salad, and a slice of pizza. One of my favorite dishes was chicken and mushrooms on a plate, simply sautéed white chicken breast with mushrooms. My son, Zach, used to get the chicken and mushrooms on a sub. To this day, we can't seem to be able to order this at any other Italian restaurant, at least not like Sonny made it. This recipe is not only my way of paying homage to the great Sonny, but mine is gluten free! I don't think Sonny would have appreciated my asking him to make anything GF, since nobody would ever dare to ask him for something new or different. I actually hope that never changes. Some places should remain always as they live in our memories.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets
3/4 c brown rice flour
1 tsp kosher salt
Olive oil, butter
1 package white button or cremini mushrooms
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Pinch of salt
3 cloves of garlic, crushed

• Pound the chicken cutlets thin between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Cut the chicken into pieces about 2" x 4" in size.
• Mix the flour and salt together in a large plastic bag. Drop about 4 pieces of the chicken in the bag at once and shake to coat them with the flour. What you are looking for is a very light coating of the flour on each piece. Continue to coat all the pieces this way.
• Heat a large metal skillet with olive oil. Add some of the chicken to the pan to brown. This has to be done in batches so the chicken can cook in one layer without the pieces overlapping. Turn the chicken after the first side browns and then remove to a plate once they're cooked though. Repeat this until all the chicken is done.

• While the chicken is browning, wipe clean the mushrooms, trim the stems if necessary and slice them. Remove the thyme from the stems by pulling the leaves off in a backwards motion and run your knife through the thyme leaves, chopping them slightly. Crush 3 large cloves of garlic.
• After all the chicken is done, add a pat of butter to the pan and sauté the mushrooms with the thyme, a little salt and crushed garlic, until the mushrooms turn golden and tender. Remove the mushroom from the pan.

• Deglaze the pan with the wine, and then add the chicken stock. Return the chicken to the pan with any juices that might have accumulated on the dish. Spoon the mushrooms over the top of the chicken. Cover the pan and let it simmer for at least 15 minutes. The flour that you originally dredged the chicken in will thicken the wine and broth and create a delicious sauce.
• Although Sonny simply folded his chicken and mushrooms in a fresh roll, I served mine over polenta to catch every drop of the yummy mushroom gravy. Enjoy!

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Spinach Oat Squares

This is a great dish to make for a brunch. It travels well and can be eaten at room temperature too. There are many recipes like this one online but I adapted mine to be gluten free. There is no flour in this at all. I use gluten free oats as the binder.

Ingredients:
1 10oz box frozen spinach
3 eggs
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup milk (I use almond milk)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Grated fresh nutmeg
1/4 cup quick cooking GF oats (or you can also pulse rolled oats in the food processor to break them up... do not grind as fine as flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup light jarlsberg grated
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese grated

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8" x 8" pan.
• Place box of spinach on a microwave safe dish or bowl and cook on high for 4 minutes. Drain thawed spinach and squeeze dry.
• Whisk together eggs, sour cream, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add flour and baking powder and mix well with the whisk to get all lumps out.
• Fold in spinach and cheeses.

• Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until middle starts to puff up and turn light golden brown. This will happen first around the edges of the pan. Wait for the middle to puff up as well.

• Let cool in pan before cutting into squares. Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Oat Cakes

These happen to be gluten free and dairy free and are made with no eggs. In developing this recipe, I started off making them as a scone, but the pumpkin purée keeps them moist and it resembles more of a little cake or muffin in texture after baking. You certainly could make them in a muffin tin, but there is something more rustic and inviting about these free-form cakes. They freeze beautifully and reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds for a quick warm treat.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats (gluten free)
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tsp real vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup oat flour (gluten free)
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp Xantham gum
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 6 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 cup puréed pumpkin
• 1/4 cup agave or honey
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• Sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar or agave for the top

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Do not grease.

1. In a small bowl, mix rolled oats with almond milk and vanilla. Let soak for at least 20 minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add flours, Xantham gum, baking powder, salt, cinnamon. Using your fingers, blend in the coconut oil.
3. Add oats to flour mixture. Add pumpkin purée and agave. Fold in walnuts. Mix together with a rubber spatula.
4. Use an ice cream scoop to place 11 scoops onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten each mound lightly with your hand to form the cakes.
5. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over the top or drizzle the tops with agave or honey.
6. Bake until golden and set in the center. Cool on wire rack and store them in a ziplock bag in the freezer.

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Yes, You Can Have Gluten Free Pancakes!

The only way to wake up Sam on a Saturday morning is with the aroma of pancakes cooking on the griddle. My children grew up enjoying everyone's favorite "Aunt Jemima" buttermilk pancake mix. My only concession to using the store bought mix was to never succumb to the complete version that only calls for water. Mixing in my own eggs and milk seemed to make it more homemade somehow, especially when the artist in me created pancakes shaped liked their initials or a heart!

Going gluten free made my own love for pancakes a challenge. I started off trying a few GF pancake mixes on the market and cooking a small batch separately just for me. My attempt to create a tastier pancake led to a batter made completely from scratch, using the best blend of ingredients. Everyone now prefers mine for our pancake brunches on the weekends. My base recipe creates five bags of pancake mix that you keep in your pantry. To that you simply add your fresh eggs and milk, and any delicious combination of tasty ingredients. Blueberry pancakes? Chocolate chip pancakes? It's easy!

Base Pancake Mix

1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup oat flour
1 cup corn flour
1 cup potato starch
1 1/2 cups tapioca flour
1 Tablespoon fine salt
1 Tablespoon Xantham gum
1 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar (you can omit this and then a heaping tablespoon of agave or honey with the wet ingredients instead)

Mix all ingredients in a very large bowl. Blend well.
Divide mix evenly into 5 ziplock baggies. There should be about 1 1/4 cups of mix in each bag. Label the outside of the bags and store them in your pantry.

Blueberry Cheese Pancakes

Most recipes call for adding the eggs and milk to the dry ingredients but I found that it was hard to mix in the unbeaten eggs and just the right amount of milk without over mixing the batter (a big mistake for pancake batter). My recipe starts with the wet ingredients to avoid this problem. This recipe will make about ten 4" pancakes.

2 eggs
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 bag pancake mix (1 1/4 cups)
Blueberries (fresh or unsweetened frozen)
Oil or butter for pan

• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, almond milk and vanilla. Add the lemon zest and ricotta cheese.

• To the wet ingredients, add the bag of pancake mix. Stir until just combined. It should appear as a thick batter that will cling to your mixing spoon but easily drip back into the bowl. Gluten free flours tend to be a bit more absorbent than regular flours and may require more liquid. I found that 1 cup of almond milk works well, and that is quite different than the usual proportion of dry to wet with ordinary flour based pancakes.

• Heat a griddle or large nonstick frying pan with grapeseed oil or butter. Use a ladle to add small rounds of batter to the hot pan.
• Arrange blueberries on each pancake.

• Cook over medium high heat until small bubbles appear. Flip pancakes over and cook until golden brown on both sides.

• Serve with real maple syrup!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Follow same directions above, but skip the ricotta cheese, lemon zest and blueberries. Instead, blend in 1/4 cup pumpkin purée into wet ingredients. Add 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon to batter. These are delicious with fresh sliced fruit such as bananas and strawberries served on top.

Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes

Follow same directions as blueberry pancakes, but skip the ricotta cheese, lemon zest and blueberries. Instead, blend in 1/2 large mashed banana and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the batter. As I did for the blueberries, I never add the chocolate chips directly to the batter, but arrange them evenly on the pancakes while the first side is still cooking on the griddle.

Apple Nut Pancakes

Follow same directions as blueberry pancakes, but skip the ricotta cheese, lemon zest and blueberries. Instead, blend in 1 small grated apple (peel the apple and then simply grate it over the bowl using the large holes of a grater), 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 cup chopped walnuts to the batter. 

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It Takes Two to Make Cheese Blintzes

These can really be made by one person, but it is so much more fun with someone else on hand to help. Katie usually helps by arranging the crepes on the kitchen towels. She also eats the extra bits of crepes that form on the outside of the circles, and helps me roll them around the cheese filling. With my daughter away at college, my husband came to the rescue. Here is Norman making perfect blintzes as he watches tennis on TV. Now that takes coordination!

The recipe below includes both regular and gluten free crepes. I always make them both ways for my family and the amount of batter for both versions together will yield just right amount of crepes for the filling. Note: For some reason, Farmer's Cheese does not cause a problem for me with my lactose intolerance, and it says right on the package of Friendship Farmer's Cheese that it has less than 0.5% of lactose in the cheese so that might be why. But if this would still be an issue, you can try other fillings such as fruit, or a savory version with mashed potatoes and other vegetables.

Ingredients

Filling:
3 lbs. Farmer's Cheese (You can buy a big log of this at the deli counter)
1/2 cup sugar or sugar substitute
2 eggs

Regular Crepes:
1 1/4 cups of water
1 cup of all purpose flour
6 eggs
Pinch of salt

Gluten Free Crepes:
3/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of Gluten free all purpose flour
1/4 tsp Xantham gum
3 eggs
Pinch of salt

Grapeseed oil or vegetable oil to fry the crepes
Butter to fry the finished crepes
Light sour cream
Frozen berries
Agave sweetener or honey

Cover a large counter space or your kitchen table with dish towels. I use two 10" non-stick omelet pans to create the crepes. If you do not have two 10" pans or you find it too difficult to juggle 2 pans at once, do one at a time.

• In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar together. Add the cheese and mix well. Set this bowl aside.
• For the regular crepes, whisk flour and water together in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk in eggs and salt.
• In a separate bowl, whisk GF flour, Xantham gum and water together until smooth. Add eggs and salt.

• Heat the non-stick pans to medium high. I add a drop of oil to each pan. There should not be too much oil or the crepe will not set properly. Use a paper towel to spread the oil around evenly and to remove the excess oil, leaving just a fine coating in the pan. Do this after each crepe is done.
• Pour a ladleful of crepe batter in the pan and quickly swirl it around to cover the bottom of the pan. Hold the pan over the batter bowl and let the excess drip back into the bowl. The crepe should be a very thin coating. Return the pan to the top of the stove and let it set for a few more seconds. You are simply waiting for any glistening wet spots to disappear as the crepe sets.
• Cook only one side of the crepe. Do not try to flip it over and cook the other side. It is so thin that this is not necessary.
• When the crepe is set, turn the pan over the kitchen towels on the counter and tap to release the crepe. 
• Return the pan to the stove and add more oil with the paper towel, then repeat with the batter again. Make sure as you are arranging the crepes on the counter that you separate which ones are gluten free.
• When all crepes are finished, add a small amount of cheese filling on top of each crepe. I usually arrange all the crepes on the counter and add cheese in the center of all of them before wrapping so that I know there is an even distribution of filling on each crepe. With your fingers, make the cheese look like a rectangular log in the center of the crepe. 
• To wrap, fold 2 opposite sides of the crepe over the ends of the cheese log, then overlap the remaining two sides over the cheese to seal.
• I hate to admit that butter does make a difference to the flavor of the blintzes so I do still cook them in a touch of butter on top of the stove. This step can be skipped. Using the pans I have out from making the crepes, I add a small pat of butter to each pan and place 4 blintzes in each pan to cook. Turn them once so that both sides are lightly golden brown.
• Transfer each of the cooked blintzes into a large baking dish and keep warm in the oven. To make this ahead for serving later, cover the baking dish and refrigerate. Reheat them at 350 degrees until hot.
• Serve with sour cream. A fruit topping can be made with frozen, unsweetened berries and agave sweetener or honey heated up in a small saucepan on top of the stove. Let the fruit bubble for a while until a thick sauce forms. Delicious!

Is this gluten free?

A few years back, I went for a walk in Spring Lake with my sons and we stopped at a sub shop to buy lunch. Of course, the boys had no trouble buying lunch, other than to choose what to add on top of their chicken cutlets in their soft, freshly baked sub roll! The shop did sell something called 'sub in a tub' and I very happily asked for a turkey sub with lettuce and tomato, but in a tub (plastic container, no bread). I was thrilled that this was an option and I did not have to awkwardly ask for my ingredients without a roll. We stopped at a picnic table near the lake to eat our 'sandwiches' and chips. It did not take long for me to feel horrible, despite the fact that I was in the prettiest setting, enjoying the nicest weather, and with the best company. The stomach cramps, the bloating and the urge to find a bathroom took over. The culprit this time turned out to be gluten used as a flavoring in the sliced turkey breast!

     After doing a bit of research, I found that 'Boar's Head' brand cold cuts is one of the few gluten free brands to buy. They do not use gluten in their cold cuts, yet many brands do for some reason. Most of these things come through trial and error and it is unfortunate that we have to suffer first to figure it out. Ordering from a restaurant will be difficult at first and you will soon figure out what works best for you. I gravitate towards grilled dishes or salads. Chicken cutlets are often dredged in flour before pan seared in many Italian restaurants, so I usually ask for grilled chicken to be substituted in the dish. Most places are happy to accommodate. 

     At the supermarket, read all labels. Gluten or wheat is a hidden ingredient in the strangest processed products, such as flavorings and soups. It does not always stand out as a product not to buy. Of course the safest thing always would be to shop your foods around the perimeter of the supermarket, such as fresh, un-marinated meats, chicken and fish, or whole fruits and vegetables. If you venture into the middle aisles, read every box or bag. These days, products that are gluten free are often labelled clearly on the front because of the popularity of the diet. 

Grains can be confusing. Eating gluten free does not mean going without delicious grains. Here is a list of the ones I have discovered are good use.

• Rice
• Wild Rice
• Corn
• Quinoa
• Millet
• Sorghum
• Oats (must be labeled on the package as GF)
• Buckwheat (Kasha) even though it sounds like wheat

Stay away from barley, rye, and all varieties of wheat such as whole wheat, semolina, faro, durum, spelt and bulgur. This does not mean doing without delicious side dishes with your meals. A blend of different gluten free flours makes delicious doughs and pie crusts. Potatoes, corn, rice and quinoa (my new favorite) are all wonderful side dishes to round out your next dinner plate.