gluten-free dairy-free seafood tomato chowder

I bought frozen shrimp and frozen katsuo fish (skipjack tuna), knowing I would come up with something delicious. Riffing off this recipe for spicy tomato seafood chowder, this is my Mamatouille version, using ingredients available in Japan. 

You'll need:

• olive oil
• onion, chopped
• celery, chopped
• garlic, minced
• potatoes, peeled and chopped
• carrot, peeled and chopped
• one bunch of komatsuna greens or spinach, washed and chopped small (including stems)
• one bay leaf
• 6 cups water + 2 beef, chicken, or veggie bouillon powder sticks
• salt and pepper
• cayenne pepper
• dried parsley
• paprika (powder)
• 2 small jars (about 8 oz. or 240 ml each) tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• seafood of choice (I chopped shrimp and katsuo fish)
• top with grated non-dairy soy cheese

Do this:

Saute the veg in big glugs of olive oil, add water and bouillon, and simmer till the veg are tender. Add in the rest of the ingredients and bubble, bubble, toil, and no trouble. 

Serve topped with grated non-dairy soy cheese and a side of rice-flour bread rolls.

Peachy poinsettias are optional but add a festive touch. Stacks of paper and books are a must. 

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year! I'm gonna add this recipe to my recurring repertoire for 2024. 

gluten-free and dairy-free kabocha pumpkin and veggie chili (no beans)

 

I've made this for years, and originally borrowed it from Practical Paleo, where I think it was called Butternut Squash Chili or something similar. Here's my take with ingredients I can procure here in Japan. 

You'll need:

• about 1 kg of ground meat (in Japan they have a mix of beef and pork)
• 2 cans of chopped tomatoes (about 450 g each)
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 3 Japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• a bunch of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 of a kabocha pumpkin, chopped small
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red or yellow pepper, chopped
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1.5 tablespoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Do this:

Cook your ground meat in a pan on the stove, then bung that with the rest of the ingredients in a slow cooker and whack it on high heat for the day. Enjoy with cornbread and salad and friends. Just don't eat the friends. 

french carrot salad (salade de carottes rapees)

 

(Check out the beautiful orange salad in the bottom right corner of the bento box.)

I don't know where I found this recipe, but it's absolutely sweet, vinegary, and citrusy, so I always double it. The recipe below is half of what I normally make, although finely grating two carrots is a chore in my book.

You'll need:

• 1 carrot, finely grated
• 1/2 navel orange, segmented
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Dill leaves (I always leave these out because I never have them)
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Do this:

Combine and chill, man.

tabasco popcorn

 

Pop the popcorn on the stove. Add salt. Melt margarine (or butter if you can have dairy) and Tabasco together and pour over. Husband will hand you a box of tissues because he thinks you might get goopy hands, but actually said tissues will be used for copious tears at the ending of The Return of the King film.

vegan tofu raisin banana bars

 

Great portable snacks for a train trip!

I got this recipe from Nutritiously.com, but of course I changed it a bit. Here's my version.

You'll need:

• 2 cups oats
• 300 g soft tofu
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 2 bananas
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 tablespoon mixed nut butter
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Do this:

In the food processor, blitz one cup of oats into powder. 

In a big mixing bowl, mash the bananas and tofu together, then add the rest of the ingredients except for the walnuts and stir well. Pour into an 8X8 inch/20X20 cm baking pan lined with a piece of baking paper. Toss the walnuts on top and mash into the batter a little bit. 

Bake at 180C for 20 minutes. Cool down, cut, and then cut your teeth on these guys. We all love them. 

pineapple chutney

 

This was a treat at Christmas, but I think it would be good any time you have ham or chicken for a meal. I'll bet it would be tremendously delicious on a ham sandwich, too, and I'm going to try it on vanilla ice cream sometime. It was packed full of spice, tartness, sweetness, and just overall perky deliciousness. 

(Borrowed from The Healthy Foodie, but I've slightly changed it.)

You'll need:

• 1 onion, finely chopped 
• 1 large pineapple, finely chopped (I used pre-cut pineapple in chunks, but then I had to chop it into tiny bits)
• 1 dried Japanese chili, deseeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 3 T. grated ginger
• 1 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/4 t. nutmeg
• a pinch of ground cloves

Do this:

Saute the onion a few minutes in a frying pan, then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low heat about an hour, until most of the liquid is gone. 

Serve with a festive meal or whenever you darn well feel like it. 

curry fried rice

 

I aggregated a few recipes plus my own ideas for this yummy curried fried rice, which one of our sons loves and one doesn't. I happen to be in the love camp. (I served it in my bento with carrot sambharo, another delicious concoction, and yogurt with honey, lettuce, tomato, and a lemon wedge.) 

You'll need:

• ground pork, about 500 g
• garlic cloves, minced, about 5 or 6
• ginger, grated, about a 1-inch or 4-cm knob
• cooked rice (I used 3 cups, pre-cooked)
• 1 or 2 carrots, chopped finely
• 1/4 head cabbage, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• frozen peas, about 200 g
• salt and pepper to taste
• Worcestershire sauce, about 1 T. 
• soy sauce, about 2 T. 
• ketchup, about 1/4 cup
• cooking sake, about 2 T.
• turmeric, about 2 t. 
• Japanese curry powder, about 1 T. 
• 4 eggs, beaten

Do this:

Saute the onions, carrots, cabbage, garlic, and ginger in a tablespoon of neutral-flavored oil, then add in the pork and stir till cooked through. Throw in those peas. Pour in the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, cooking sauce, and ketchup along with your spices, then add in the cooked rice. Cook till you get little crispy rice edges in some places, then pour over your beaten eggs, let set a few minutes, then stir again before serving. 

If you need to do a little happy-taste-buds-dance, I won't stop you. 

gluten-free and dairy-free potato rosti quiche (from nadiya hussain)

 

I'm not sure if I got this recipe from the show "Nadiya Bakes" or "Nadiya's Time to Eat," but it's lovely and it disappears in one sitting down our four gullets. I've amended it just slightly.

You'll need:

• 1 white potato
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 t. paprika
• 1 T. garlic powder
• 1 T. onion granules (I left these out because I didn't have any)
• 1 t. sea salt
• 40 g flour (I used 20 g rice flour + 20 g almond flour)
• 6 eggs
• 200 ml milk (I used soy)
• 150 g grated cheese (I used soy "cheese")
• (optional extra: I thought I might add a teaspoon or so of nutritional yeast powder next time to give it an even bigger cheesy taste)
• chopped chives or green onions

Do this:

Grate the potatoes (no need to peel) over a tea towel and then squeeze the liquid out. Put the drained grated potatoes in a big bowl and add the paprika, garlic powder, onion granules if you have them, sea salt, flour, and 1 egg. With your hands, squish it all together. 

Grease a pie plate and mash the potato mixture in using a round jar with a flat bottom. Bake it at 170 C about 13 minutes or until a little bit crispy. Beat an egg and put an egg wash all over the crust, then bake 5 minutes more. 

Beat together 200 ml of milk and 4 eggs. You could season with a little salt and pepper at this point.

Put the grated cheese into the bottom of the crust, pour the egg and milk mixture over, then sprinkle with green onions or chives. I cover my crust with a lovely red silicone crust cover so it doesn't burn. 

Bake at 160 C for about 30 minutes (might need more). Let it rest for 30 minutes out of the oven, then dive in! 

dairy-free and gluten-free cashew and veggie "cheese" dip

This is what my Blendtec blender cookbook calls "Garden Cashew Cream," but I call it MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE CHEESY CASHEW STUFF, PLEASE.  

You'll need:

• 2 T. water
• 2 T. fresh lemon juice
• 2 T. soy sauce (I use gluten free)
• 1/4 C. red bell pepper (I actually read this wrongly and used 1/4 of a red pepper, and it worked fine)
• 2 T. red onion (I used white onion---it's cheaper!)
• 2 T. nutritional yeast 
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 C. cashews, soaked for 2-4 hours and then rinsed and drained

Do this:

Put those ingredients in your blender in the order listed above, and then blast away! 

Tasty with tortilla chips or raw veggie sticks. 

And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go soak some more cashews. 

best black-eyed peas

 

I've amalgamated my own family history of making black-eyed peas with a few other recipes from online, and I'm posting this here so I won't forget next time I have some dried black-eyed peas to play with.

Peas, please! 

You'll need:

• 500 g dried black-eyed peas
• 2 T. grapeseed oil
• 1/4 to 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 t. paprika
• 1/2 t. thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• chopped cooked ham
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1 onion, chopped small
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch komatsuna greens (or whatever greens you wish), washed, drained, and chopped

Do this:

Soak the peas all day in water, changing the water every couple hours. Just before cooking, drain and rinse. 

Saute the onion, garlic, and greens in a big stockpot with the grapeseed oil, and when they're nice and browned and softened, add the black-eyed peas, water to cover, chopped ham, and all the spices. Simmer till the beans are softened and a lot of the liquid has evaporated. But make sure you keep some of that good pot liquor in there! It's great with cornbread. 

carrot sambharo

 

I can never get enough of carrot sambharo---it's great with curries, in a bento, as a side dish at a picnic, or in place of a regular boring salad. I don't remember how I found this recipe to begin with, but I used this one from Bon Appetit as a starting point.

You'll need:

• three medium carrots, cut into matchsticks
• about a teaspoon of red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 1 t. kosher or sea salt
• 1 T. veggie oil
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 T. tomato paste
• 1/2 t. ground turmeric
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Do this:

Toss the carrots with the salt and let the salt draw a bit of water out, then drain. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the tomato paste, garlic, red pepper flakes, and turmeric, and stir and cook for about 5 minutes. 

Add that mixture to the carrots, toss, and pour over the lemon juice. Stir it all up and then put in the fridge till you're ready.

Or just dive right in! The water (um, glossy spicy carrot mixture) is fantastic.