Thanksgiving's Happy Again

This Thanksgiving is a nerve-wracking one, it being my first attempt at gluten-free foods. I've been sifting through a flood of recipes from my fellow Twitter community (Thanks everyone, keep those posts coming!) and have literally sat for hours seeing which will appeal to my palette more. Thankfully, my husband and I are only in charge of a few side items, which gives me more time to experiment and hopefully find some winners.

I know I'll have some safeties that are already being made. Coming from a Puerto Rican household, we'll have a spanish style rice--arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas). For those who haven't tried, I highly recommend! Every family does it a little differently, but click here for an example. And for my vegetarian/vegan friends, feel free to omit the ham and sausage. We'll also have sweet potatoes, which will be gluten-free friendly.

This leaves me the task of finding a gravy and stuffing that I can bring. For the gravy, I've decided to follow a basic pan-gravy recipe and use arrowroot flour instead of all-purpose. Here's a how-to instructional video. I don't have a vegan-friendly alternative here, but here is a wonderful assortment of recipes that could please the entire family!

For the stuffing, I've decided to adapt/modify Martha Stewart's Spicy Cornbread Stuffing. First, I'm halving it since the original recipe yields about 10 cups. I'll probably still have some leftover with the five cups, but that'll be great for Friday night left reheating! 

I'm also not making it spicy, so instead of the chorizo sausage the original recipe calls for, I'm using a mild Italian sausage. For a vegetarian/vegan option, omit the meat, and use vegetable broth rather than chicken or turkey broth.

To cut out dairy, I'll be using Earth Balance margarine instead of unsalted butter. And last, while I don't mind cilantro, I'll be using flat-leaf parsley as a substitute for this dish.  So, with all that in mind, here's the recipe:

Yields 5 cups:

• 3/8 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 loaf of cornbread (Using Pamela's Products Cornbread and muffin mix)
• 1/2 pound mild italian sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup homemade chicken or turkey stock, or low sodium canned chicken or turkey stock
• 4 tablespoons Earth Balance, melted
• 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, washed well, dried, and roughly chopped
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions as follows (from Martha Stewart's site)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pine nuts in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a shallow bowl, and set aside. Cut cornbread into 3/4-inch cubes, and spread evenly on a baking sheet. Bake, shaking pan periodically, until golden brown on edges, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside.
2. In a food processor, pulse sausage until coarsely chopped; do not overprocess. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add celery and garlic, and cook until celery is soft, about 5 minutes more. Add sausage and pine nuts, and cook for 1 minute more. Add stock, and cook until absorbed, about 2 minutes.
4. Pour sausage mixture over cornbread, and mix well. Add margarine and parsley, and mix to combine.

Since I'm not stuffing my mixture into the turkey as instructed, I will place my stuffing into a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for another 5-10 minutes. This will allow the mixture to mold together a bit more.

And that's it! I hope to have a fabulous g-free stuffing that Martha would be proud of. I'll be taking pictures, and will report back on my experiences by the end of the week, but I wanted to share just in case anyone attempt. Tweet me on your successes.

Good luck to all my **-free eaters out there, and remember to give thanks for the leak-free tummy you'll be feeding!

Happy Thanksgiving,

SensiGirl

Flu Fighters

This post comes later than I would have liked, but I've been nursing a back injury that landed me in bed most of last week. (Ouch!) It's been slow-going, but finally getting better.

For this week, I decided to focus on something that's been on everyone's mind: Tips for fighting the flu. With everyone sneezing into their elbows or tissues at work, I've been desperately trying to find natural remedies to prevent and beat the flu this season. Here are some ways to stay healthy.

1. Vitamin C: A common one, but doctors are seeing the added benefits of Vitamin C in boosting immunity to all sorts of illnesses. While it cannot prevent you from getting a cold, Vitamin C can prevent complications that result from it such as pneumonia and infections. Still, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of nine servings of fruits and vegetables can be hard to consume if you're not accustomed to eating so many servings. In those instances, a 500 mg supplement + five servings of Vitamin C-rich foods is just as good. Click here for a list of foods that are great to incorporate into your diet.
2. Elderberry: My new go-to herbal supplement since having the seasonal flu a month back ago. I'm always open to natural alternatives, and after feeling like I wanted to crawl under a rock until this all subsided, I was willing to take anything my doctor recommended. He sent me over to the Vitamin Shoppe, and I never looked back. Two days into taking it, I was already a hundred times better. As Dr. Pedre explained, recent studies have shown that black elderberry extract actually contains anti-viral properties that lessens the life span of the seasonal flu. For those that are not crazy taking liquid, it also comes in capsules. And if you take once a day when you're not sick, you lessen your chances of getting sick in the future. For more information on the benefits, click here.
3. N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC): I actually can't try this one since it has sulfur-compounds, but for those not allergic to it, this might be worth a shot! It's an amino-acid that helps break down mucus and prevent chronic bronchitis symptoms. It's also said to protect the tissue in your lungs due to its antioxidant activity. If someone has tried it, I'd love to hear about your experiences with it.

Besides these supplements, everyday preventatives like drinking 2 liters of water a day, washing your hands frequently, and getting enough sleep will definitely keep you going when the barometer starts to drop.

Here's to fighting a good fight :)

SensiGirl

BabyCakes, NYC

Happy belated Halloween! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I enjoyed mine, making yummy, g-free finger foods (coming soon to a blog near you!), seeing all the trick or treaters, possibly getting spooked at a local haunted house (possibly), and spending time with my family. With all of the candy around, I can't deny it was hard not to think about satisfying my insatiable sweet tooth. However, just days before I had my own treat from New York City bakery, BabyCakes.

BabyCakes specializes in vegan, allergy-friendly sweets that girls like me (and I'm sure all of you) can enjoy. After a fun-filled dinner with my husband and some friends, they humored me by trekking over to the Lower East Side. Coming from Hoboken, I think I had the longest commute, but I was on a mission! We got there with minutes to spare, but when I arrived the woman behind the county was still super nice and eager to help.

I explained that I wanted to buy some cupcakes, and she said, "Do you have any allergies?" I paused for a moment. No one had ever asked me that whenever I ordered food. So often, I've had to be the one to list all of my intolerances, or scrutinize the menu before I even arrive.  For a moment it felt like I had entered my favorite doctor's office. Someone actually cared to ask the right questions.

All I managed to get out was gluten. She said, "Ah, okay, we have these cupcakes here. And the chocolate chip cookies." She added, "we also have all of these muffins," as she gave her best Vanna White wave to the assortment of choices. It was exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I decided I would try the vanilla/vanilla and chocolate/chocolate cupcakes. My husband also took a chocolate chip cookie for the road, so I snuck one of those in there for me too.

I carried my precious cargo all the way back to NJ, and laid them out on the counter. Decisions, decisions. Both cupcakes looks so cute, tucked nicely in their pink boxes. In the end, I chose the vanilla cupcake for that evening. My husband scarfed down his cookie, saying it was "good," which in his language meant it was delicious! The following evening I would have my chance at it and agree. Those cookies are amazing!

The one thing non-vegan or new allergy-related people need to remember is that it's not going to taste like a regular cookie. It actually doesn't rise the way that other cookies do, but that flat-bread-like quality actually makes it taste better because you enjoy the chocolate chips that much more. If you like crunchy cookies, this one is for you!

The vanilla/vanilla was also yummy. I must confess that it takes some getting used to for vegan, --free cupcakes. I love that they use natural sweeteners and flours that are safe for everyone. But when you're used to refined sugar and/or flour that seems lighter but wreaks havoc on your gut, it probably takes a bit of detox to fully appreciate the distinct flavor of these cupcakes. I've had some really terrible ones that look and feel like they could break a window. The vanilla/vanilla was nowhere near that. And the frosting ranks pretty high in my book. It was melt-in-your-mouth sweet without giving you a sugar crash. It's probably a good thing that they're in the Lower East Side, or I might frequent more often just for that frosting!

A few days later I tried the chocolate/chocolate, which was deliciously sinful. Having tried a few different types of chocolate, I can honestly say they use the real deal. The slight after taste of strong cacao was what I tasted, so I savored each bite. And honestly, isn't that what you look for in anything worth eating? Something that makes you enjoy the distinct flavor of each morsel? That's what I got out of my first visit to BabyCakes.  If you're ever in the area, I invite you to give them a shot. I'm sure there's more edible fun to be had there, and while they definitely have some tricks up their sleeve, their treats are simply sweet.

Until next time,

SensiGirl