Gluten Free Spicy Black Bean Fritters Recipe

This recipe was originally a question from a friend that turned into an amazing lunch...

So this morning one of my dear friends sent me a message on Facebook asking how to make this recipe for Crispy Black Bean Fritters gluten free.  Here's what I came up with...

SPH Gluten Free Spicy Black Bean Fritters
inspired by a recipe on Mia's Domain

1 1/2 c. Pamela's Baking Mix
1/2 c. cornmeal
2 T. dried minced onion
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. chili powder
Salt and/or pepper to taste
2 eggs, well beaten

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, well rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz.) fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1 roasted red bell pepper (from a jar), patted dry with a paper towel and diced pretty small
A good size frying pan and enough oil to fill it up about 1"
2 soup spoons

In a large mixing bowl, combine baking mix, cornmeal, onion, garlic powder and chili powder.  Add eggs and stir until thoroughly combined.  Stir in beans, tomatoes and bell pepper pieces.

Heat oil in pan til a small drop of batter sizzles and start to brown.  Using one soup spoon, scoop some of the batter mixture from the mixing bowl.  Slide the batter into the hot oil with the other spoon.  Flatten the batter with a spatula.  Repeat.  In my pan, I was able to fit 4 fritters.  Do not overcrowd your pan.  The oil needs to be able to maintain a consistent temperature, and you need to be able to get a spatula in here and flip these babies.  So let them fry away for 2 minutes, then flip them.  They should be a nice even brown.  Cook side B for about 2 minutes, too.  Remove from oil, and place on a plate or platter that's been covered with paper towels or a cut-up brown paper grocery sack.  Continue this procedure until all the batter has been used.  Sprinkle with more salt if desired, and serve hot.  And if you're interested, the original recipe has a creamy sauce that goes with the fritters.  None of the food critics in my house felt they needed a sauce.  The food critics in your house might like the sauce.

So let me add all the fun little side notes.  When I made these for lunch today, I made them with bacon.  I cooked the bacon first, drained off all but a tablespoon or two of the grease, then added enough olive oil to actually deep fry the fritters.  The original recipe used fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, and bell pepper.  Since I had no fresh tomatoes or pepper in the house, the stuff on the pantry shelf had to do.  Also, I find that the more wet stuff you add to a fritter (and fresh chopped vegies have a LOT of water in them), the more likely your fritters will fall apart when they meet the hot oil.  Call me picky, but I like my fritters whole.  So, I used dried minced onion and also garlic powder.  I patted my bell pepper from a jar dry before dicing it, and drained my tomatoes really well.  While I was cooking up the bacon, I let the beans and tomatoes continue to drain and dry up a bit in the colander in the sink.

Here's a little water saving tip, too - when you rinse your beans and tomatoes, use the water to rinse the cans they came in first, then dump that water over top of the beans and tomatoes.  And shut the water off between filling the cans.  Then, recycle the cans.  And their lids.  Every little bit helps.

These are very filling and delicious!  A great way to have something fast, hot and yummy in a hurry using what you have on hand in your pantry - perfect for a weeknight vegetarian meal or appetizers for a party.  Enjoy!

Garden Party - Part 2 - What Comes Next

Did you dream of strawberries and asparagus and chard and watermelon and beets and cabbage and potatoes and dirt?  I hope so!  That's the fun of being a gardener!  So here's what comes next after you read the books from yesterday...

So  if you live in Northern Illinois, today is a really good day to get yourself started.  Map out where you could make your garden in a sunny spot in your yard, or plan on what you could do in containers on a deck or balcony.  Then, decide what your family will eat.  Trust me, those seed catalogs will make you want to grow 200 different kinds of tomatoes, 400 kinds of peppers, and then some!  Once you narrow it down, order your seeds.  Here are the sources I use for my seeds:

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

And yes, we've actually grown this type of watermelon!  It's the only watermelon I'll eat - Moon and Stars.  It really is as pretty as the picture.

Seed Savers Exchange

A great resource for some really rare varieties.  This is where we order our pole beans from, among others.  I especially love the fact that they have very similar growing conditions to our own backyard, so I don't have to worry about whether or not stuff will really grow here.

Wood Prairie Farm

This is where we get our seed potatoes.  We've grown red, white and blue potatoes successfully for 4 years now.  This year, we're going to try some new varieties.  We're also ordering some clover from them.  This will not only help feed the bunnies, but also replenish the soil in one of our beds that's been used pretty heavily for the last few years.

If you are a first time gardener and you have small kidlets (mine are teenagers now, and seasoned gardeners), here are some plants I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND growing:

• Sunflowers - great for measuring both the plant and your kiddo (take photos of your little one standing next to a Mammoth Sunflower - what a memory); they also attract lots of bees for pollination which you need to grow your other plants.
• Pole beans - plant these in between your sunflowers and watch them climb.  We use Hidatsa Shield Figure beans from SSE - they are endangered, and are probably the beans eaten by Lewis and Clark on their grand expedition when they hung out with the Mandans over the winter.  Great history lesson!
• Pumpkins - generally easy to grow, and once they get going in July, they REALLY get going!  You can compare the size of your child's head to the leaves, measure the pumpkins as they grow, use describing words (adjectives) to tell the colors of the fruit and flowers.  All kinds of educational fun!

Now, the even-more-coolest part of growing these three together is that they are companion plants for each other, as well as part of a traditional Native American garden.  You may have heard of The Three Sisters.  Well, sadly, sunflowers were the Cinderella of the Three Sisters family, and they typically get left off the list.  The most common of the three is corn.  We don't do corn.  We've had really bad luck with it.  When it does grow, it tends to attract earwigs.  I hate earwigs.  Like I really hate earwigs.  Somehow, we've managed to get the magic jumping earwigs into our sweet corn.  So we stay away from corn.  If you want to try it, feel free.

Here's a hint of what's coming next - start saving your milk cartons/jugs (well washed and rinsed), egg cartons (plastic and cardboard are both ok), and newspapers.  Once those seeds come in, you'll need a place to put them.  That's what's next - and we'll tackle that next weekend!


Have fun with your seed catalogs today!

Gluten Free Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

When it's so cold, it's so nice to eat something spicy!

The original idea for this recipe came from here.  It really needs no introduction, except that it is scrumptious, and insanely easy.

SPH Gluten Free Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers
6 bell peppers, your choice of color, tops sliced off, and white stuff and seeds removed
2 c. long grain white rice
2 c. beans & corn salsa
4 c. chicken stock/broth (I use Pacific Organic brand) or beef broth/stock
1/2 pound chorizo (I used a package of Sausage by Amylu chicken chorizo)
a little olive oil
1/2 c. Mexican cheese, shredded
Extra cheese for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350.  If necessary, slice of bits of the bottom of peppers to make sure they'll be level in your pan, which is a 9x13, and rinse cavities to remove all seeds.  In a large saucepan, combine rice, salsa and stock (choose chicken or beef based on ingredients in your chorizo).  Bring to a boil over high heat, then drop heat to low and allow to simmer for at least 20 minutes, or til rice is tender.  Meanwhile, in another pan, heat oil over medium high heat.  Crumble chorizo into oil, and brown.  Since my chorizo came in links, I snipped them with scissors.  Drain on paper towels.  When rice has cooked, stir chorizo into rice mixture.  Add cheese and stir.  Place bell peppers into baking pan, and spoon rice/cheese mixture into each one.  Add about an inch of water to bottom of pan, and cover with foil.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil, and sprinkle with extra cheese.  Bake for about 5-7 more minutes, or til cheese is melted.  Serve hot, with sour cream if desired.

I love how easy this is, and the bell peppers make it look so elegant and add so much flavor.  If you'd like, you can even eat the rice mixture by itself.  It would be delicious that way, too.

Stay warm, and enjoy!

Gluten Free Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

The perfect warmer upper for a cold January night!
This recipe is a takeoff of many MANY I've seen over the years, and it's gluten free.

SPH Gluten Free Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 recipe Enchilada Sauce (see below) + 1 cup chicken broth/stock
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or use whatever piece you like best)
1 16-oz. jar salsa - your choice mild, spicy, flaming hot (I use Muir Glen brand mild)
1 16-oz. can sweet corn, drained
1 16-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed well
**just a note here - if you really want super easy, use corn and black bean salsa**
1 quart chicken stock/broth (I use Pacific brand Organic Free Range Chicken) - plus whatever is left from making your enchilada sauce
Tortilla chips, shredded cheese for garnish (I use Xochitl brand chips) - optional

Enchilada Sauce (based on this one by Emeril Lagasse)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried cumin
2 tablespoons all purpose flour (I use Gluten Free Pantry brand)
2 cups chicken stock
12 oz. tomato paste (I use either Muir Glen brand or 365 Organic from Whole Foods)
Salt to taste

Start by making the enchilada sauce in a large soup pot. Add oil to pan over medium heat.  Add spices and allow to warm until fragrant (this happens pretty quick so be ready!).  Add flour, and stir to make a paste.  Then, add chicken stock to make a roux (or in this case, spicy chicken gravy).  Add tomato sauce and stir to combine.

Add chicken breasts.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Add other ingredients to pot and simmer til heated through and chicken is fully cooked, about 30 minutes.

You could also do this easily in a crock pot.  Just make your sauce, add it to your crock pot along with everything else, then cook on high for several hours.  Shred chicken just before serving.

Top with tortilla chips and maybe a sprinkle of some grated cheese, if desired.

By the way, the best part of a recipe like this - YOU CONTROL THE SPICE!  If you like things spicy enough to require a fire extinguisher next to your fork, have at it.  If not, then you can adjust accordingly.

This enchilada sauce is my go-to enchilada sauce.  I have tried commercially available brands that are GF, but this one is just so much better.  You can also make this into a quick queso dip, simply by adding cheese to the sauce when you add the tomato paste.  Then, throw it into a small crockpot to finish melting the cheese and to keep warm for yourself or your family or your guests.

Oh, and enjoy!

BEAN DAY!

Today is Bean Day!  In honor of this auspicious occasion, here is our family's favorite bean recipe!

SPH Roasted Garbanzo Beans
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed well, and patted dry with paper or kitchen towels
1 stick butter
1-2 T. chili powder - or to taste
1 t. onion powder - or to taste

Preheat oven to 425.  Cover a large cookie sheet with foil.  In a small saucepan, melt the butter.  Add in spices, and stir to combine.  Pour beans onto cookie sheet, then pour butter mixture over them.  Place in hot oven, and roast for about 30 minutes, or til beans are crunchy.  Shake pan to rotate beans every 10 minutes.

This is a great snack to serve in place of the usual popcorn or chips.  It is packed with protein and fiber.  Just an interesting bite!

Enjoy!