Breakfast Tortilla Roll-Up

Some of you maybe wondering what this egg white, flax and blueberries thing is on my menu. Eggs and blueberries together? What an odd combination.

Well, my friends, it's a great combination! I've perfected it and it tastes an awful lot like a blueberry crepe or pancake.

I've always been a little curious about crepe, and never quite able to make one myself. (I'm still working on that, by the way) And then I saw recipes for egg crepes from both Naomi and Carol. The only thing was, I want a more substantial, protein packed breakfast, like an omelet only now milk is out on the SCD.

Enter my second cultural influence: the Trainers mother. On Friday nights when none of us kids are home for dinner she'll make herself a tortilla with some left over meat and rice. In South America, at least those countries that were once Gran Columbia, a tortilla is whisked eggs cooked in a pan with meat and potatoes or vegetables and resembles an Italian fritata.

We begin to see just how universal a dish like this is. And after several days of delicious experimentation I present my own version.

Breakfast Tortilla Roll-Up

3-egg whites
1-tbsp flax meal (Blood Type O) or nut meal (SCD)
1-dash GF SCD vanilla extract
1/3 cup blueberries

•In a bowl whisk egg whites (or whole eggs if you wish), flax, vanilla and sea salt until frothy

•Heat and oil a skillet.

•Pour eggs into skillet and swirl around so the eggs are evenly distributed.

•When the eggs are cooked through spread the blueberries along one edge.

•With a metal spatula or two spoons carefully roll the tortilla from one edge.

This tortilla base could alternately be used with any type of filling, sweet or savory. I'm thinking burrito, dosa, anything you can imagine.



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Jalapeno Cilantro Chicken with Spicy Sweet Potato Rounds

I might be crazy. Actually, anyone who knows me, the Trainer included, would say might skeptically and with a raised eyebrow. This evening I was working out, pumping my heart out on the elliptical trainer and reading a cookbook and thinking about the dishes I had to prepare.

But just a few days after cutting grains and sugar (and cheese) I have so much energy and I'm not pulling myself wearily along, muddy headed and exhausted to the next meal in hopes that food will revive me.

I could have gone on if I hadn't had responsibilities (read: gerbil who needs to be hand fed) and cooking. Last night I was awake until almost 2am and woke before my alarm.

Tonight I made a stab at a version of my father's favorite dish at my parents Asian haunt.

Jalapeno Cilantro Chicken for two

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, in bite size pieces
1/3 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
4 limes, juiced
2 small jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced
1 small vidalia onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Canola oil

•The night before set chicken to marinate with cilantro and juice of 3 limes.

•Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and cook the onions and garlic until transparent.

•Turn heat to low and add chicken and marinade. Sauté until chicken is cooked.

•Add jalapenos and a little water if necessary. Simmer for a few more minutes.

Spicy Sweet Potato Rounds

I have to give credit The Good Eatah for planting the seeds of this side dish

1 sweet potato or yam, sliced as thinly as possible
Fresh ground pepper
Sea salt
Light oil for frying

•Arrange sweet potato on a plate or tray and season both sides of slices with salt and pepper.

•Let stand for10-15 minutes

•Oil and heat a skillet until very hot

•Fry sweet potato slices until they are cooked through

•Remove to a paper towel to stand.

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Low-fat, Gluten Free Cheesecake

Despite the name of this recipe it's really very good. I'm used to modifying recipes to meet my needs and I found the base of this one in a women's magazine. I tweaked around so that one 1/12th of a cake slice is only about 200 calories. It's perfect for my end of the day, after my workout sweet craving. I'm putting down the basic recipe, but lately I've been preoccupied with jalapeno jelly, and I found a gluten free variety at the Union Square Greenmarket from Beth's Farm Kitchen. Both the Mighty Hot Pepper Jelly and the Habenero Jelly are gluten free. This cake is great with just a little bit of the jelly on top.

Note: To see the entire ordeal of making the first cake check out my LiveJournal post

Crust:
1/4 cup chopped pecans and walnuts
dash cinnamon
dash salt

Filling:
15 oz part-skim ricotta
8 oz 1% fat Whipped Cottage Cheese
1 cup sugar, more or less
½ cup fat free sour cream
4.5 tsp Ener-G egg replacer powder
3 Tbsp warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract (or more)
2 tsp Bob's Red Mill GF all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt


Heat oven to 350. Toast nuts with a little salt and cinnamon in the bottom of an 8" spring form pan for 10 minutes. Remove from oven; reduce heat to 325. Wrap outside of pan in foil to prevent seepage. Filling; puree ricotta in a food processor until smooth, about 1 min. Add cottage cheese, sugar, sour cream, egg replacer, water, almond extract, flour and salt; puree until smooth. Pour filling into pan. Add 1-inch hot water to a shallow baking pan; place spring form pan in baking pan. Bake until cheesecake is firm around the edge and slightly soft in the center, 45-50 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan. Remove foil; let cool on rack. Chill 6 hours or overnight before removing sides of pan.

If you want experiment with marbling the cake mix 1 cup of plain filling with your additional ingredients and drizzle it on top.

Seco de Chivo (Peruvian Lamb Stew)

Two weeks ago my boyfriend and I went to our favorite Peruvian restaurant for dinner. As we looked over the menu we decided that we wanted to try something different from our usual grilled fish. We settled on lamb stew. The stew arrived, and was quite tasty. Since we always share our meal, I didn't eat to much of it, we had beans, rice, and salad as well. By the time we got home, my skin was starting to feel a little funny. His mother asked us what we had, and when we told her "seco" she told us that, in Ecuador, they use beer in seco. Now, what with the language barrier and all, I don't know how much she understands about my celiac disease, but she does know that I can't eat anything prepared with beer.

Now, she's a good cook, as far as the things she knows how to cook goes, but she said she didn't know how to make seco and I managed to ascertain that she wanted me to make seco if I could. Feverish internet research ensued. I discovered that all the seco recipes did indeed use beer. Not to be deterred I set about finding gluten free beer. The Whole Foods in the Bowery happens to have a beer room which carries several brands on gluten free beer, including at least one that can be purchased individually.

This recipe is tasty, great for cold winter days, and I'm sure can be made with any type of meat of your choice. It got rave reviews from my future in-laws, so it's authentic. It's also fairly fool-proof as far as I can tell.

8 large Garlic cloves
2 tsp Salt
1 tbsp ground Cumin
1 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
5-7 lbs lamb, cut in 2 1/2 inch chunks
3 tbsp Olive Oil
4 med Onions finely chopped
1 1/2 cup GF Beer
4-6 cup GF Beef stock or broth
1 bunch Cilantro, leaves only chopped

Mix the garlic, salt, cumin and black pepper with the vinegar in a large non-reactive dish. Place the lamb in the marinade, evenly coating the chunks. Marinate at room temperature for at least 3 hours, overnight if possible.

Remove the lamb from the marinade with a slotted spoon, reserving marinade. In a large heavy casserole, heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil over high heat. Brown the lamb, turning with tongs to sear all sides evenly. This will take about 20 minutes (if the lamb does not fit all in one layer, brown in 2 batches, otherwise the meat will steam rather than sear). Transfer the lamb to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium-high and add onions and salt. Saute, for about 10 minutes, or until the onions are golden. Add the beer and lower the heat so that the liquid is simmering. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until all of the beer has evaporated. Return the browned lamb, along with the accumulated juices from the plate, to the pan. Add the stock and stir to mix. Bring up to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the dish, covered, for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the meat is tender.

Add the reserved marinade and the cilantro, stir to mix, and cook for 1 minute more. Serve from the casserole.

To serve in a traditional manner have rice or boiled potatoes on the side. You could also add precooked peas or carrots at the end.

This is really tasty!