Gazpacho has always been one of my summer loves. Just take ripe summer produce, throw in the processor, purée and enjoy. I committed the ultimate gazpacho sin when I first made it on my own, using *gasp!* canned tomatoes, but I was a poor grad student and it wasn’t summertime – I will say now never do that, ever. Wait for beautiful fresh tomatoes, it’s worth it. Gazpacho is often my choice when I go out to eat as well – there is just something so refreshing about the blend of cucumbers and tomatoes together, that even when it’s so hot out that you feel like you’re going to start melting like that ice cream cone the kid walking down the street is enjoying, you can take a few loud slurps with the spoon and instantly cool off a few degrees (and when it’s that icky out no one minds a few loud slurps anyways).
When I heard about the existence of white gazpacho from Green Kitchen Stories (GKS), I was immediately intrigued – I mean, where would gazpacho be without all of those fresh summer tomatoes?? I wasn’t really that skeptical though, because it looked mouthwatering – go check out their pictures, and you’ll understand. I immediately knew that I wanted to make this, and so I did what anyone does nowadays – I googled blogs for “white gazpacho”, and picked one on the first page that looked yummy. I still am pretty lacking in the cookbook department, and so the vast interwebs are basically my very large cookbook. It’s really not such a bad way to be. I love my cookbooks, but they are all in the U.S., an ocean away, and I just cannot bring myself to either A) pay to ship a bunch of books over the ocean or B) buy them all over again. Besides, the interwebs can be a great resource if you are able to recognize a good recipe out there. And the one I came across looked amazing.
Continue reading Gazpacho Blanco
Is that really glutenicious bread next to a gluten free soup???? How can that be? I have mentioned this previously, but the reason for my “mostly gluten free” blog rather than “completely gluten free” is that we have a dual household. While my diet is probably 90% gluten free at home, I do enjoy eating some glutenicious foods from time to time – especially given all of the wonderful fresh breads that I now have access to!
However, without care and planning, it is quite difficult for one residence to have gluten-containing foods and still be safe for someone who is intolerant. We have got a system. Basically my muesli and bread and pasta are in a completely separate cupboard from the rest of the food in our home, and I thoroughly clean any surface/utensil/gadget my glutenicious foods were prepared on/with immediately after use. It does not bother me to do these things because I have seen my husband suffer when he accidentally is “glutenized” – trust me it’s not fun for him or me. But developing routine habits of rigid cleanliness has allowed me to enjoy some things that I otherwise would not dare to bring home.
So yes, there is bread next to this soup. I enjoyed bread with my soup, and it was heavenly. I think my husband just helped himself to extra nutella for dessert haha, we go through way too much of that stuff!
So on to this soup. This soup is flexible. Comfort. Unpretentious. Unremarkable. And yet, it is for all those things that I love it. It’s great for those “clean out your cupboards” nights, or when you just want something that doesn’t require a lot of fuss. The pasta and potatoes give it a bit of weight, so it can serve as the main course if you like (as we frequently eat it), or you can simply use it as a first course or side dish. It’s entirely up to you. The quality of taste mainly comes from the stock, which is always best homemade. You can change out the leeks for onions, or shallots, and the Swiss chard for kale or spinach (though I think soup is my favorite way to eat Swiss chard)
Continue reading Hearty Spring Soup, Gluten Free
Yes, this is osso buco stew, not osso buco. Why? Mainly because sometimes I am lazy. I did not want to have to check it and baste it, especially since it was an amazing miracle that the pot I cooked it in even fit in my countertop oven. Yes, I slow cooked osso buco for nearly 4 hours in a fancy toaster oven. And know what? It worked  The veal (queues de veau) was totally fall off the bone fork tender and flavorful. To be lazy, I added more liquid so that the entire thing really stewed. Another part of my lazyness is that I didn’t feel like carrying cans of stewed tomatoes the half mile back with me from the grocery store, so just used some tomatoes I already had in the kitchen instead. I also used leeks instead of onions, and then, I didn’t even serve it over the classic risotto milanese. I just dished it up in a bowl and we devoured it. At this point I probably shouldn’t even be allowed to call it osso buco anymore haha – so I call it osso buco stew.
But then I am one for breaking all the rules and being more concerned about cooking and eating what suits me than getting everything exactly right. I think the world does not need to be quite so worried about doing everything exactly the same. It’s one of the beauties of cooking, because like an art, you cannot help but add your own colors to the canvas that is the food we eat. What would the state of art be if impressionist artists had to see the world exactly as Monet did, or if we all had to listen to music by one composer? Well Monet is a bad example because I love his works and would never tire of seeing them. But you get the idea – creativity and diversity of thought are good things, and no one benefits from cooking everything the same way. That is not to say that people should not learn the proper skills to cook, because understanding how to use the tools you have to work with is important – but a recipe is not a technique, it is an idea, a personal and unique expression. Sometimes I think we should not be so fussy to get every detail just right, and be able to play.
I’m not saying that is an excuse for me being lazy and not wanting to carry cans of stewed tomatoes back with me – but my end creation was something a little different and yet still satisfying. In fact, it was perfect on a cool blustery Winter day that desperately tried to be Spring. Continue reading "Osso Buco" Stew, Sorta OK Not Really
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