Penne with zucchini ribbons and mushrooms

I've been working on a granola post (plus several others) to give you, but I'm still tweaking the recipe, so instead I give you penne with zucchini ribbons and a quick write-up.  (This is your cue to look at me like I'm crazy and say, "But Sunshine, it's Fall!   Zucchinis are for summer."  And to that I say, "Well, somebody needs to tell the people at Publix because they just had zucchini on sale last weak, so there.")

Also, I'm going to refer to the zucchini as zukes, because that what we call them at home and I like the way it sounds.  Hope you don't mind.

This is an awesome meal for both AIP and non-AIP folks.  Because the pasta amount is adjustable, you can have as much or as little carbs as you want or need.   We've had this a few times and I've occasionally just had the zuke noodles and pesto on their own.

Penne with zucchini ribbons and sauteed mushrooms

While not so original, I prefer it topped with sauteed mushrooms just like some other recipes.  Roasted pesto stuffed tomatoes (see Smitten kitchen and Veggie Belly's recipes) are a great accompaniment.

Ingredients

• 3 zucchini squashes
• 2+ tablespoons oil, divided
• 1 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup pesto*
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• salt and pepper to taste
• grated parmesan
• pasta of your choice

Directions

Pumpkin seeds:
Heat oven to 350F.  Spread pumpkin layers in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet.  Toast for about 10 minutes.  Keep an eye on these, they go from just right to burned pretty quickly.  A few minutes before they're finished, they'll start to puff up and pop (which is fun to watch, by the way).  When they're done, they seeds will be mostly puffed up and a greenish brown color.  Conversely, you can toast them on the stove top on an ungreased pan over med heat, shaking frequently; I've never actually done it this way, so I can't speak to its effectiveness.  (Because I use so many pumpkin seeds, I usually toast a large batch in the toaster oven and store them so they're recipe-ready.)

Pasta:
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Dump in the pasta, boil for a minute or so and turn off the heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil, and cover.  Let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the pasta is cooked to your liking.  Check the pasta frequently after the 10 minute mark to determine when the pasta is done.  I find this method a lot easier to cook pasta than the traditional method. Once the pasta is done, drain and return to the pot. Also, if you don't want to add oil to your pasta, you can rinse it once or twice in cold water (Tara thinks this is blasphemy, but she's also part Italian; I'm part Puerto Rican and can make up my own pasta rules.).

Mushrooms:
While you're waiting for the pasta water to boil, heat a large skillet over med - med/high heat.  Once the pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon of the oil.  After the oil has heated, add the butter and cook until it has foamed.  Add the sliced mushrooms and stir to coat in the butter-oil mixture; season with a little salt and pepper.  Saute the mushrooms until they are done to your liking, 10-15 minutes.  Empty into a bowl.

Zukes:
Prep your zukes while the pasta and mushrooms are cooking; do this first if you're not confident in your speedy kitchen skills. Peel the zukes. Then working around it's length, peel strips of flesh off.  Continue until you get to the seed (You can throw away the remaining bits or use them up in a creative way; I haven't figured this out yet.).  When the mushrooms are done, heat up the remaining oil if you need it (That's the "+" in the recipe.).  Put your zuke strips in the pan and saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently; you want them to soften up a bit, but still have some crispness to them.  When they are done, toss them with the pesto and pumpkin seeds.

To serve, plate the noodles, top with the zuke noodle, pesto, pumpkin seed mixture, and, finally, top with the mushrooms and grated parmesan.


*Note: I just realized that there are no pumpkin seeds in the pictures, but add them anyway.  They give a nice crunch.  Also, we use homemade pesto and since we like ours on the dry side, it takes a little more to get good coverage.  Adjust this to your preferences.

5 Foods you didn't know had soy, 2nd edition

In my continuing efforts to eliminate all soy products from the foods we eat at home, I've found even more foods that I never realized contained soy - so much so that I'm making my posts on "Foods you didn't know had soy in them" an occasional series!  This one is my second post (in case you couldn't tell from the title...); be sure to check out the first post.


1. Margarine

Source

2. Potato chips

3. Bottled tomato sauce

4. Vegetable oil

This might sound obvious, but I was so surprised when I checked my bottle of 'vegetable' oil and the only ingredient was soybean oil.

5. Non-stick cooking spray

I have this brand in my cabinet.

The above spray has an oil blend that contains soybean oil and it also has soy lecithin.  For each spray I checked, all varieties, even olive and sunflower oil, had soy lecithin.  Your best bet here is to either get one of those pump spray things or go old-school.

Note: While not all varieties of a product contain soy, each of the items pictured above does.  For most items, there are a variety of alternatives; some, however, may be harder to find than others.

BIG THANKS to Maggie Hoffman from Serious Eats for linking this post!

Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat focaccia

I love a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  It's not something I eat regularly, but every so often, I'll get on a kick and I'll eat it for a few days.  (Tara, on the other hand, can't really stomach the stuff and thinks I'm a little bit off for being so enamored with it.)  I'm rather particular about my PB&J: it has to be on whole wheat bread, I like it super rich with lots of peanut butter and lots of jelly, I only like it with grape jelly, and the peanut butter and jelly have to be in even amounts, spread all the way to the edges (I'm almost obsessive about the last two; I'll spend several minutes making sure each slice is the same, even going so far as to hold each slice next to each other to compare.). 

While I could technically use my favorite bread for a sandwich, even though it has soy, I actually wanted to make wheat bread.  However, I'm still a little nervous about making a whole wheat sandwich loaf and I was already making the olive oil bread that same day, so I didn't want to make another loaf style bread.  I decided to buck tradition and make a whole wheat focaccia bread for my sandwiches.   I didn't have any regular whole wheat flour, but I had some graham flour which I figured would add an interesting crunch (much like the addition of cornmeal to pizza).   

I forgot to oil the top of the focaccia, so it baked up a bit wonky and the entire thing was slightly curved.  Because of this, and the deep holes in the bread, I decided not to slice the focaccia pieces in half as you would for a traditional sandwich.  Instead, I flipped each piece over and slathered what would have been the bottom with both the peanut butter and the jelly.  I felt rather daring each time I made a PB&J slice.

Because my peanut butter was so thin, it was hard to get the ratios even.  Believe me, I tried!

Whole wheat focaccia bread
Adapted from Mark Bittman

I followed the recipe below, but I would make a few changes next time.  Mainly, I would use a bit less salt, reduce the oil in the bread to 2 tablespoons, and maybe add a tablespoon or so of honey.  I used my stand mixer, but I'll give directions for mixing it in the food processor or by hand. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more as needed
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat graham flour (or regular whole wheat)
• 1 1/2 cups (or more) water
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

Directions

Stand mixer: Combine half the flours with the salt, yeast, 3 tablespoons of the oil, and water.  Using the paddle blade, blend until smooth.  With the machine on slow speed, add the remaining flour a little at a time, until the mixture has become a sticky ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl (switch to the dough hook, if needed).  Knead by hand for one minute, adding as little flour as necessary.  Proceed below.

Food processor: Combine the flours, yeast, and salt in a food processor.  Turn the machine on and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil through the feed tube, followed by 1 1/2 cups of water.  Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch.  Proceed below.

By hand: Combine half the flours with the salt and yeast in a large bowl and stir to blend.  Add the oil and water and stir with a wooden handle until smooth.  Add the remaining flour a little at a time.  When the mixture becomes too stiff to stir with a spoon, begin kneading, adding as little flour as possible - just enough to keep the dough from being a sticky mess.  Knead until smooth but still quite moist, about 10 minutes.  Proceed below.

Form a smooth, round dough ball, put it into a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours.  When the dough is ready, shape the dough into a ball.  Put the ball on a lightly floured surface, sprinkle with a little flour, and cover with plastic wrap (I used the same piece as before).  Let rest until the dough puffs slightly, about 20 minutes.

Use the remaining tablespoon to grease an 11x17-inch jelly roll pan (I think my pan dimensions are a little different.).  Press the dough into a small rectangle and put it into the pan; let it relax there for a minute.    Press and stretch the dough until it reaches the edges of the pan.  (I didn't have any trouble with this step, but if you do, the key is to take your time and don't fight the dough!)  If it resists, let it rest a bit and then begin stretching again.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. 

Heat the oven to 425F . Uncover the dough and dimple the surface all over with your fingertips.  Brush the surface of the dough with a little olive oil (I forgot this and it was a little dry.  While this wasn't a problem for me because I intended it to be covered with peanut butter and jelly, your mileage may vary.).  Put the focaccia in the oven and lower the temperature to 375F, and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.  Remove and cool on a rack.

Note: This focaccia freezes really well, so don't worry if you're not going to eat it all right away.  Also, you could, of course, use this recipe as a base for toppings; just prepare it like I did for the butternut squash flatbread.

This post has been submitted to Yeastspotting.

Quinoa and sausage stuffed acorn squash

Woohoo!  It's Fall!!  Around here, Fall is more of an attitude than an actual season because significantly cooler temperatures don't arrive here until November.  Normally, I'm not so excited about Fall, but this year, I've already put some mini pumpkins on display and I've started transitioning from lighter summer recipes  to the heartier fall recipes.  This past weekend, I had a marathon session in my kitchen where, among other things, I roasted butternut squash and a pumpkin and made this very fall-inspired dish.

I actually attempted this dish once before, but it did not turn out very well at all.  I chalk it up more to user-error than anything else: I over-peppered and underseasoned at the same time, I tried to make it vegetarian while missing some of the key ingredients like celery and fresh herbs, and I used a butternut squash as the base, which made it squash heavy.  I'd like to try vegetarian-izing it again, but, honestly, this version is so darn good, I'm not sure that I need to.  

This recipe makes a lot of stuffing - probably enough for 8 servings - especially since I upped the quinoa amount.  So, either scale down the recipe or save the stuffing for leftovers.  I've already had the stuffing heated up plain, wrapped in a burrito with scrambled eggs, and microwaved with an egg mixed in and topped with salsa (most successful version, IMO).   You could also put it in a small baking dish and top it with the cheese Panko mixture.  I plan on doing this next time because I'm not sure how much the acorn squash adds to the flavor.

Quinoa and sausage stuffed acorn squash
Adapted from The Other Side of Fifty

Squash:

• 1 acorn or other small squash (mini pumpkins might work well, too)

Cut squash in half and remove seeds and any stringy pulp. Brush squash halves with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place squash halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet and add 1/4" of water to pan. Roast squash in 375 degree oven for 45-50 minutes, or until fork tender.

Quinoa:
I used red quinoa from the bulk bin at Whole Foods.  If you buy your quinoa in bulk, use the directions below, otherwise follow the directions on the package.  Also, I doubled this recipe, not realizing just how much it made.

• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed thoroughly
• 3/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth (I used homemade mushroom broth)

Bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan; pour in the quinoa and bring back to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.

Sausage stuffing:

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, no sulfur added
• 1/2 lb. chicken sausage (I used 2 1/2 links, casings removed)
• 1 TBSP olive oil (or cooking fat from sausage)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• 1 TBSP all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 tsp fresh sage, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped (you could also use thyme)
• 1/4 cup pumpkin or sunflower seed kernels (I used pumpkin seeds)
• 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 2 TBSP parmesan cheese,grated

Brown sausage in large skillet. Remove from pan, leaving the cooking fat in the pan if you are using it, and set aside.

Return skillet to stove and add olive oil (if using). Add onion and celery and season with salt and pepper. Saute until onion is softened and translucent then add the garlic and saute for another minute or two. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook for a few minutes to ensure that flour loses its raw taste. Whisk in the broth and cook/stir until smooth and bubbly. Stir in fresh herbs and remove pan from heat. Add the pumpkin or sunflower seeds, quinoa, cranberries, and sausage to the skillet, stirring to combine well.

Stir Panko and parmesan together in a small bowl.

Stuff each half of the acorn squash with the sausage/quinoa mixture. Sprinkle the tops with the Panko crumbs. Place squash back into oven for 10-15 minutes to heat through and brown the breadcrumbs.

Review: Enjoy Life Very Berry bar

When Tara and I started to get serious about her diet and the carbohydrate requirements associated with AIP, we realized that Tara was skipping the most important meal of the day - breakfast.  Of course, eating breakfast is important for everyone, but it's doubly important for those living with AIP.  People with AIP should eat regularly and not fast, so eating breakfast (break fast) is crucial.  Well, in effect, Tara was fasting for 12+ hours in between dinner and her next meal.  The problem, though, is that she's one of those people who gets nauseous if they eat too soon after waking.  So we had to find portable breakfast items that she wanted to eat while driving to work.  Initially, we tried rice cakes, but we had to nix those as soon as she got her braces.  We had some success with a variety of snack bars (Kashi was pretty popular)...until we started eliminating foods that contraindicate AIP.

Enjoy life Very berry

Enter the company Enjoy Life. Their mission is "to make great-tasting allergy-friendly and gluten-free foods that nearly everyone can eat freely without worry." (source)  All of their foods are free of the Big 8 allergens; they are also made without casein, potato, sesame, and sulfites (big bonus for folks with AIP).  Check out their website to see all the allergen friendly goodies they have.  I can't wait to try their trail mixes.  Also, I've purchased and tasted their soy free chocolate chips (tastes just like the "real" stuff) but I have yet to use them in baking to see how they hold up.  These are the only chocolate products I have seen that do not have soy!

I first found these all the way on the bottom shelf at Whole Foods after desperately searching every single breakfast bar variety in the section.  I have since seen the Cocoa loco variety at both Publix and Walmart.  In addition to the Very Berry and Cocoa Loco flavors, they also have Caramel Apple and Sunbutter crunch. So far, we've only tried the Very Berry.  Tara thinks they are a rather bland and dry, especially when compared to regular breakfast bars.  I'll agree that they're a little dry, but I rarely eat breakfast bars and I find these to be plenty sweet.  Plus, I enjoy the crunch of the rice flakes.  I probably won't buy them regularly, but that's because I really have no need to - I eat cereal or oatmeal every morning.  If my needs suddenly changed, I would definitely buy these, though!

Do y'all have any recommendations for breakfast-y type foods that are AIP-friendly?