Asian Stir Fry

After receiving two sushi books at Christmas, we figured it was a good time to attempt a few homemade rolls. We decided to start easy with just vegetables in case they didn't turn out as planned. And it was a good thing we did. After reading both books about how to prepare the sushi rice, we were quite intimidated about the first step of the process. Since I'm not really one to follow directions that well (or at all), I decided we could figure it out along the way. We weren't far along before I realized the rice was not sticky enough to roll. So we had a heaping of cooked rice and a ton of vegetables... Stir fry!



Ingredients:
- One and a half cups of rice (we used long grain, the first error in our sushi attempt)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 boneless and skinless chicken breast
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of Gluten Free Soy Sauce*
- Few tablespoons of olive oil
- Cumin, garlic and red pepper flakes
- 4 or 5 sliced mushrooms (small)
- 3 to 4 stalks of chopped celery
- 1 small onion (diced)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cut asparagus
- 1/4 cup chopped green pepper

* We decided to go lighter on the soy sauce as you can always add it in the end. We ended up not even needing to.

Recipe:
We cooked the rice in a rice cooker per (almost) manufacturer's directions. After allowing the rice to cool roughly 15 minutes in a separate bowl, we added the rice vinegar and salt. The rice sat while we cooked the chicken and vegetables.

We thinly sliced the chicken breast and pan cooked it in a wok over medium heat with olive oil, cumin, garlic and red pepper flakes. When fully cooked, we removed the chicken and put aside.

Next came the vegetables. We added more olive oil, cumin and garlic to the wok and started the sautee with the celery, green pepper and onion. Once they began to soften, we added the asparagus and mushrooms. We allowed time for all the vegetables to soften, adding a little more olive oil as needed.

We then added the rice and soy sauce. We mixed that around until all the rice was covered and then added the cooked chicken. We allowed a few minutes for all the ingredients to fully mix together, removed from the heat and served with spicy cucumber salad (see next post), Sriracha on the side and two glasses of red wine (Pinot Nior complemented nicely). While I love sushi and I am not ready to give up,  failing our first homemade attempt resulted in a great stir fry!      

Zesty Marinara Pizza

Pizza - the Holy Grail of the gluten and lactose free twenty-something.  We lived off of it in college and the taste and memories just make you feel good.  But what to do when you can't eat the crust OR the cheese?  As our dear friend Doug said, "Ill give you some sliced tomatoes and you can call it pizza."  Not very appetizing.

Luckily, on our apartment hunting trip to Pittsburgh, we found a nice little gem in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, Gluuteny Bakery.  Brittany was as wide eyed as a kid in a candy store.  Bread.  Cookies. Brownies. WHOOPIE PIES? And the most beautiful thing in the whole store? Pre-mixed pizza dough.  We bought it.  We had to - it was a sign. A sign that we would be able to have a normal Friday night!

So we went a little nuts and came up with this gem. We like spicy foods and to eat on the somewhat healthy side, so we cooked up a little marinara with a kick, topped it with some ground turkey (left over from Mexican night),  fresh mushrooms, and gluten and lactose free cheddar cheese.*

Ingredients:
- One Gluuteny "Old World" Pizza Crust
- Half cup yellow onions - diced
- Quarter cup mushrooms - sliced
- One small can (10 ounce) tomato sauce
- Quarter cup ground turkey - browned
- Half cup of Cheddar flavored Veggie Shreds (It melts!)
- Garlic, Basil, Oregano, Salt and Pepper to taste
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes







We prepared the crust almost per package directions. We pre-baked the crust for 5 minutes and coated it with olive oil for a nice browning.  While the pizza was pre-baking, we made the sauce.







We sauteed the onions until slightly brown over medium heat. Next we reduced the heat to low, added tomato sauce and seasoned to taste.  We added a fair amount of salt to cut the sweetness of the tomato sauce and a LOT of crushed red pepper, hence the zesty title.

We turned this...

... into this!

We topped the pizza with sauce, sliced mushrooms, and ground turkey.  Last came the cheese. We baked according to package directions (another 10 minutes or so) or as Brittany likes to say, "you take it out when it is done." Quite the scientist.

And no meal would be complete without a glass or two of wine.  Our selection tonight was a lovely Pinot Noir from the Pinot Evil Cellars.  Wine with pizza SHOULD come out of a box.

*We know, we know, it is SUPPOSED to be mozzarella.  But when you find a store that has ANY soy cheese, you can't complain about the flavor options.  The cheddar went well with the shrooms and turkey anyway.