Rice Ball (Omusubi or Onigir)

It is a rainy day. Since we can't work out in the garden Bear and I decided to make rice balls (also called Omusubi). First you will need to find the right type of rice. Jasmine, and long grain rice wont hold together properly. Sticky rice works, but for this demo we used Japanese rice, it is also sold as sushi rice and seems to work best. Like I mentioned in the last blog make sure you check that your rice is not enriched with wheat if you are gluten intolerant. These Rice balls are filled with a ginger chicken filling. If you want to skip the rice ball directions, the chicken recipe is at the end of this blog. If you want to see a YouTube demo of this process click "Here".Wait for the rice to cool slightly before you start on the rice balls. You still want it quite hot, just not so hot that it burns your skin off. Lay a piece of saran wrap over your rice bowl. Add a tiny sprinkling of water and salt. Then add in your rice till it is loosely filled to the top of the bowl. Press the rice to the sides of the bowl till you have a nice indentation. Don't indent all the way to the bottom of the bowl. Then fill the rice indentation with your filling. Don't over fill it. Just use enough to fill the indentation. Next, pull the edges of the saran wrap up to form a bag around the rice. Mold it into whatever shape you like. I prefer a triangle shape. Dip a piece of Nori (seaweed wrap) into water to soften it and wrap in around the bottom of the rice ball and up the sides. I like the flavor it adds, but it also helps to keep your fingers clean while eating the rice ball. Once they are done you can wrap them up in saran wrap and store them in the refrigerator for a few days. They are a wonderful substitute to sandwiches. They keep well and are a nice treat for a pick-nick or to tuck into your loved ones lunches.
Ginger Chicken Recipe
The filling can be made from just about anything that goes well with rice provided that it is not wet and drippy. We chose to use ginger chicken. To make the chicken you will need:
4 tables spoons of freshly grated ginger root
a pinch of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of black pepper
3 to 4 cups of shredded cabbage
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1 shredded boneless skinless chicken breast
3 tablespoons of soy sauce (double check the label to make sure it is gluten free)
1/2 cup of water
Stir everything in a pan on the stove over medium heat till the cabbage softens and everything is well heated. Left over ginger chicken is perfect for egg-rolls. Let is cool slightly so it wont burn your fingers before you put it into the rice balls or egg rolls. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Sushi

Vegetarian Sushi, can life get any better? I'm looking to find ways to raise my carb intake to appease my dietitian I've settled on eating more rice. Usually I only buy brown rice but until I get better at making rolls and rice balls, white will have to do. Be careful in buying white rice. It is often enriched and may contain wheat products. To celebrate our tax refunds finally coming in we decided to celebrate by picking up some tasty treats from Byerly's. Bear went for a ham and brie sandwich. I went for Spring rolls, vegetarian sushi, and seafood salad. The spring roll is made with a rice spring roll wrapper, cucumber, avocado, carrots, and green lettuce. The vegetarian sushi rolls are made with rice, carrot, cucumber, avocado, and seaweed. The sea food salad is a rare treat and I will not be trying to replicate that recipe... As for the other two. I have already replicated the spring rolls and will be posting how to make them shortly along with ginger chicken stuffed rice balls... But that's later, for now, Enjoy!

Cream of Morel Soup

It was a cold rainy day on Friday. I wanted soup and I still had a whole bunch of Morels left. First I heated up a can of Progresso Cream of Mushroom soup. Then I sauteed the morels up with butter and green onions. I was going to put some of them aside but then I figured "what the heck" and tossed the whole lot of them into the soup. I mixed it together and sat down to enjoy while listening to the rain spatter against the windows. I died and went to Heaven and came back only to find that the cup was empty. It was more like morel stew than soup because of how thick it was. Delicious. Just the thing to warm me up on a cold day. Enjoy!

Breakfast

I realized that lately I have been posting all the not so healthy things we eat. It's easy to eat Gluten Free with fruits, veggies, meats, rice and so forth; it's the treats that you have to be creative with. I guess that's why I've been posting them. So this morning I decided to post my breakfast as a GF breakfast example. 4 yummy strawberries. Two slices of Udis Gluten free Whole Grain Bread toasted, and two scrambled egg whites with sauteed morel mushrooms. The mushrooms we gathered this past weekend (you can read about that "Here"). With the toast and the sauteing I probably used half a table spoon of butter. That is the only cholesterol in this meal (the cholesterol is in the yolk of an egg not the whites). This breakfast had 29 carbs. Sigh* hitting 45 carbs per meal is hard.
To make this meal first wash off your Morels and then cut them in half lengthwise. If they are hallow they are safe to eat. I always cut them even if I am sure they are safe. Then saute' them in butter with a little basil and garlic. I do not use Pam. It is bad for you and the environment. Next separate two egg whites and scramble in with sauteed morels. If you are not sure about a mushroom DON'T EAT IT! Enjoy!

Chocolate Mug Cake

This decadent chocolate cake can be made in five minutes. Yes just five! But remember, just because it can be made every five minutes doesn't mean it should be ;) There are several recipes out on the web for this cake and they are all almost the same. I found it to be slightly bland so I took it and made it my own (small surprise there). I also made a simple frosting for it. Use a large mug (or bowl). It will rise quite a bit and the larger the mug the more likely it is to stay intact.
You will need:
4 tablespoons of flour (I used Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour)
4 tablespoons of granulated sugar
2 tablespoons of cocoa
1 egg ( I have yet to try this with a flax seed substitute)
3 tablespoons Milk ( I used Blue Diamond Natural Unsweetened Almond Milk)
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon light sour cream
3 tablespoons chocolate chips
Almond extract (use a tiny amount)
1 large coffee mug

Mix the first three ingredients in the mug. Mix the egg in. Then mix the rest of the ingredients together. It's that simple. Pop it into the microwave for 3 to 4 minutes. Time will vary with different microwaves. Wait for it to cool if you want to frost it. My frosting is extremely rich and sweet. It pares nicely with the cake but I would not suggest going overboard with it. For my simple frosting (and none to original frosting) you will need:
6 tablespoons of Confectioner sugar
3 tablespoons of softened butter (Country Crock works wonderfully for this)
2 tablespoons of cocoa (you can use just one tablespoon for a more milk chocolate taste).
Whip the ingredients with a fork (or mixer) till light and fluffy. Frost your cooled cake. Eat. Enjoy!

Zebra Pizza

We found another Pizza we like. I know I know, What IS up with gluten free people and Pizza? Well we like it, 'nuff said. I'm just glad that I don't have the dairy problems that usually go with it.. Knock on wood. Anyway about Zebra Pizza, the staff there was wonderful. They also offer gluten free deserts. I think the woman in the back nearly split her sides laughing when I found out about the deserts. If you put the words cherry and chocolate cake in the same sentence I can't help but smile. Ok, smile and beg to have some. The pizza crust was the closest I've had yet to a 'real' crust. They make their own dough so it's fresh and you can taste it. The crust is the perfect mixture of a crunchy outside and bread-like inside. It does not cut your mouth, or fall apart while you are trying to eat it. It felt and tasted like any wheat based flour crust, only better. The sauce was slightly spicy (I've had better, but this was pretty darn good). They also load the toppings on the pizza. Other than homemade pizza I've yet to see anyone else put this many toppings on a gluten free pizza. Yum Yum and yum! The Cherry chocolate cake we did not get around to till the next day but it was also delicious. It is about 6" in diameter but a little goes a long way. We had it with tea in the morning. It was the perfect combination. The cake is extremely moist and chocolaty. It does have the grainy gluten free texture but the moistness covers it up nicely. This would have been perfect with some cool whip, but I don't often buy that type of thing. All in all, this was a WONDERFUL pizza place! We will defiantly be trying them again soon and with all the work we are doing around the house having a quick pizza place nearby is going to come in handy. Enjoy!

Udi's Lemon Streusel Muffins

It was raining hard when I woke up. I decided that this was a perfect morning for a naughty breakfast. I picked up some Udi's lemon streusel muffins the last time I was at the store. They are gluten free, soy free dairy free, and nut free. I love Udi's bread so I figured I would try some of their other products; and this was just the morning to do it. The muffin was light and moist. I warmed it up in the microwave for a few seconds and sat in my bay window to watch the storm rage. The muffin had 43 carbs I drank one cup of almond milk with it, which had 2 carbs. This brought it to the perfect 45 carbs per meal that my nutritionist wanted me to work on. I feel stuffed. Next time I might try cutting the muffin in half and having some fruit with it. I was so excited when she told me my carbs were low and I needed more. Now, I'm not so sure. I feel like the Stay Puft marshmallow man. I feel bloated. I'm not sure how eating like this is going to help me Loose weight. I think that my dietitians main concern was getting my Hypoglycemia under control instead of loosing the weight; but shouldn't the two go hand in hand? Just my rambling thoughts. I'm sure this is not the type of breakfast she had in mind for me. Usually I avoid this type of sweet, but it was so yummy. We will see what happens in the days to come. In the mean time I'm going to pour myself a cup of tea, lean back, and watch the lightning shatter jagged cracks in the sky. I love a good storm, don't you? Enjoy!