go ahead honey... it's gluten free! indigenous foods

venison* and a new england fall fruit egg bake

When I proposed indigenous foods for this month's "Go Ahead Honey... It's Gluten Free!" I was thinking of all the wonderful New World foods that the Americas have to offer. I wanted to encourage research into what food stuff are native to an area. I wanted to have an idea of what people were preparing here 600 years ago. Before the arrival of the Dutch and English what were the natives of Manhattan Island and New England harvesting and storing for the winter.

Corn, fruits, berries, game and seafood I discovered. Apples, pears, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and cranberries to name a few that we still enjoy. Others are lost to history or only found wild in the woods.

On the New England coast fish were a staple and shellfish abound. The clambake is a tradition adopted from the natives. At thanksgiving every school child hears the story of Squanto, the native who taught the newcomers to plant each seed with a fish to fertilize it.

In the wooded areas game was plentiful. I expect anything that could be caught could be eaten. I must confess I had a desire to cook venison when I formulated this month's theme.

The natives of this area dried fruits, berries and nuts for the winter, to be eaten along with smoked meats, stews and pemican.

After dutiful research and a thorough brain wracking my New England Fall Fruit Egg Bake was born. Mixing squash, apples and New England's fall favorite: cranberries. An experiment with good ingredients that turned out wonderfully, great as a side, elevenses or even dessert. In the spirit of authenticity, I attempted to dry my own cranberries with partial success, not having a dehydrator at my disposal.

New England Fall Fruit Egg Bake

1- apple, sliced
1/4- baked squash, about 1/2 cup
1/4- cup dried unsweetened cranberries
1- tbsp dark honey
6- eggs or egg whites
Sea salt
Butter, oil or fat to grease skillet

•Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease cast iron skillet, pie pan or baking dish

•Arrange apple slices to cover the bottom of the dish.

•Sprinkle dried cranberries over apple slices.

•In a blender, whiz the squash, eggs and a liberal pinch of sea salt.

•Slowly pour egg mixture over apples and cranberries

•Bake for 30 minutes or until firm.

While the torte was in the oven I managed to trip the circuit in my electrically challenged apartment when I started to heat my electric grill to cook the venison. The frittata had to finish cooking itself in the preheated oven, but after a trip down to the basement, flashlight in hand, the power was restored and I was able to finish cooking the meal.

The venison was simple to cook, 4 minutes in my grill at 400 F was just rare enough for me. The sweet frittata was a perfect compliment to the flavorful, hearty meat.

*Those of you who are squeamish, please turn away, but I must get this out of my system. Yes! Yes, I had Bambi for dinner, he was delicious, and I make no apologies!


Sent from my iPhone

Fennel & Eggs

As I was reading a health food magazine on the subway I found an article extolling the virtues of fennel. I don't see fennel very often, but I remember my Nonna loved it. It's indigenous to the Mediterranean and I'm sure that she ate it growing up in her Italian family; she used to call in fenochio.

Fennel is a winter vegetable, available from autumn to early spring. It has lots of vitamin C, folic acid, potassium and antioxidants. Historically it’s been used for bad breath and indigestion, intestinal spasms and cramps (maybe it’s the celiac’s best friend?)

I’ve almost exclusively had it in salads; it’s great with some walnuts, cranberries, citrus fruit and just a little vinaigrette. This article had some good ideas, but I wanted to try something a little heartier.

It’s hard to use many of the recipes I find, since I’m really only cooking for one. The rest of the folks in this apartment won’t try anything new, so whatever I make gets eaten by me. This was my first attempt, and although it doesn’t look like much, it is delicious! And quick.

Makes 1 Serving:
3 Eggs or egg whites
½ bulb Fennel
1 clove Garlic
1teaspoon Olive Oil
¼ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Salt and Fresh Pepper to taste

Thinly slice fennel and garlic, sauté in a large skillet until fennel is soft. Add eggs and stir, cook until eggs are set. Top with cheese, cover and turn of heat. Serve warm.

This is really filling, it makes a great breakfast. I think it would work well with just about any type of cheese. It could also be made to serve more; a larger batch could be baked in the oven.

Breakfast: Sunnyside Up

So this one wasn’t very difficult, and it’s not specially gluten free, but just looking at it on my plate made my morning. After toying with various versions of the egg sandwich with Glutino Fiber Bread.

I took one slice of bread out of the freezer and toasted one side of it in a pan. I flipped it over and put ¼ cup of shredded mozzarella cheese on it, making a bit of a hole in the center. I cracked an egg into the cheese, turned down the heat and put a cover over it.

When I lifted the lid, the cheese was all melted and the egg was cooked. With the second bit I broke the yolk, which was warm and runny. The yolk soaked into the bread and I had a delicious, heart-warming breakfast. I haven’t had eggs like that since I was about 7 years old, sitting in my fathers lap.