Good morning, GUStastics! Woopsie! I really screwed up this diary. I forgot to finish it this a.m. and then got immediately buried in work at about 7:45 this morning. Will try to fill in the blanks now!!!!
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I found Carrie on Vegan's website while perusing Mr. Google for a sensibile plant based diet for better health. I admit, I really can't be a vegan because it is a lifestyle, not an occasional diet. I still love fish, cheese and a rare schnitzel. I can easily eat meatless meals most days of the week -- well, 6 to be precise.
The diet book I perused is Eat To Liveby Joel Fuhrman, M.D. While it makes as much sense as any other advocacy of eating plant based foods, I found it too extreme. No salt in recipes????? The guy must never cook or has the palate of a rock. Vitamin supplements are not a good approach if you can get B-12 and other basics from actual food. So, I use this concept as a springboard and lean toward a Mediterranean diet which is heavy on fresh fruits, vegetables and legumes but allows for small portions of fish and meat.
So, a bow to Portia Elm, our vegan queen. Here's one of Carrie's interesting recipes which I will have to try just for the hank of it. She does have many recipes on her website and I've tried a couple -- salt helps bring together the flavors, however.
Chickpea Flour Omelet
Click the link for lovely direction photos and commentary.
Ingredients
1⅓ cups chickpea flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon dried turmeric
1 tablespoon no-salt seasoning or your choice of dried herbs
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, optional
1 cup water, plus more if necessary to achieve a pourable consistency
1 shallot, minced
¼ cup chopped mushrooms
2 handfuls of baby kale, chopped finely
Coconut oil spray, optional
Sea salt, optional, for topping
Instructions
Combine chickpea flour, baking powder, dried turmeric, no-salt seasoning or dried herbs, and nutritional yeast in a medium-sized bowl. Add water and use a whisk to stir together, getting rid of any clumps.
Stir in minced shallot, chopped mushroom, and chopped kale. The consistency of the batter should be pourable and not too thick. Add 1-2 tablespoons of water and stir again, if necessary, to achieve the proper consistency.
Spray a medium skillet lightly with coconut oil and heat on medium. You can use two skillets if you want to make and serve both omelets at the same time.
Pour half the batter into your skillet. Place a lid over the pan to help it cook faster. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the omelet cook for 3-4 minutes.
Once the top of the omelet has started to cook, use a spatula or a plate to help flip the omelet onto the other side. If your batter sticks, then you can always make it into a scramble, using a spatula to scrape the batter off the bottom of the pan.
Reduce the heat to low, place the lid on the pan, and let it cook for another 4-5 minutes (if making a scramble version, then it will cook faster, maybe another 2-3 minutes).
Serve hot, topped with a bit of sea salt, if desired.
From
America's Test Kitchen
Salt Baked Potatoes with Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Butter
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Sometimes baked potatoes can use a flavor boost. And instead of light and fluffy, most often they are dense and crumbly. We found that baking the potatoes on a bed of salt remedied these problems. Moisture that escaped the potatoes during baking was trapped in the enclosed pan, absorbed by the… read more
Serves 4
Kosher or table salt can be used in this recipe. The salt can be strained to remove solid bits and reused for this recipe. The potatoes can be prepared without the roasted garlic butter and topped with other garnishes such as sour cream, chives, crumbled bacon, and/or shredded cheese.
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
4 russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried
2 sprigs plus 1/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 whole head garlic, outer papery skin removed and top quarter of head cut off and discarded
4 teaspoons olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Spread 2 1/2 cups salt in even layer in 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Gently nestle potatoes in salt, broad side down, leaving space between potatoes. Add rosemary sprigs and garlic, cut side up, to baking dish. Cover baking dish with foil and crimp edges to tightly seal. Bake 1 1/4 hours; remove pan from oven. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees.
2. Carefully remove foil from baking dish. Remove garlic and set aside to cool. Brush exposed portion of each potato with 1 teaspoon oil. Return uncovered baking dish to oven and bake until potatoes are tender when pierced with tip of paring knife and skins are glossy, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, once garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze root end until cloves slip out of their skins. Using fork, mash garlic, butter, 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt (or pinch table salt) and minced rosemary to smooth paste. Remove any clumped salt from potatoes (holding with kitchen towel if necessary), split lengthwise, top with portion of butter, and serve immediately.
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