I can tell you the exact moment I learned about ZERO calorie noodles.

Yes, this moment is right up there with JFK’s murder and September 11, 2001 for me. One of those moments that makes your heart skip a beat, never to be forgotten. I mean, seriously: zero calorie pasta? Could it be true?

I got an email entitled “Miracle Noodles,” a.k.a. Shirataki noodles. You can buy these miracles-in-a-bag in Asian specialty markets, or many enlightened mega marts. The noodles come in two forms:  Zero calorie version, made entirely from fiber from a yam, or add just 20 calories per serving and you can buy noodles made from yam fiber plus a little tofu, which gives them more of the taste and texture of traditional pasta.

After some research, I can’t find a single downside to these noodles. Zero calories. Zero carbs. Gluten free. High fiber. Vegetarian. Vegan. Pretty much the best food a dieter can eat.

Either way, I love these noodles. They don’t have much flavor on their own, but I make them with Asian flavors and veggies, and the whole plateful is about 120 calories, and very VERY low carbs.

I like the House brand, a company which makes fabulous tofu. Some folks complain about a fishy smell to their noodles when they opened up the bag, but the House brand at least does not have any “off” smell.

So, if you’re like me and still have some holiday pounds to lose, put these miracles on your menu!

ZERO CALORIE NOODLES, Asian Style

Serves 2

1/2 medium onion, cut in thin julienne strips
1/2 each red bell pepper and green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon hot chile (Siracha) sauce
1/2 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1 package (8 ounces) shirataki noodles
Cilantro leaves for garnish

Heat a large skillet to medium high heat and then lightly spray with oil. Saute the onion slices for about 3 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Add peppers and cook another 2 or 3 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook another minute, until fragrant.

Mix together soy sauce, ginger, chile sauce and peanut butter. Add sauce to skillet and cook one minute.

Rinse well, drain and press noodles in a fine mesh strainer, removing as much water as possible. Stir noodles into skillet mixture and cook for about 3 minutes.

Serve immediately, sprinkled with cilantro leaves as desired.

Check out other food bloggers shirataki adventures:
Guilty Kitchen, Szechuan Noodle Salad
MIso Shirataki Noodles, The Well Seasoned Kitchen
Shirataki Noodles with Veggies and Peanut Sauce, Kalyn’s Kitchen
Zero Calorie Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce, Healthy Delicious
Shirataki Noodles with Shrimp and Grapefruit, Choosy Beggars

Also, see the discussion at The Kitchn. People either love them or hate them!

Our Most Fun and Festive Creation of 2011: Flower Power Eggs

We had a blast cooking up recipes in 2011, and as Exhibit A of that proposition, I give you the photo above – our Flower Power Eggs — a idea I created one day when thinking of how to turn eggs into a flower shape and wound up using bell pepper rings, which, turns out, look a lot like flowers when sliced up.

In Januaries past, I dutifully penned my wish list: Lose weight. Exercise more. Read more. Blah, blah, blah.

This year, I’m throwing caution to the wind and centering my resolutions around my passion for food. C’mon. If you’re reading this blog, you must have a few food wishes of your own for 2012, No?

Okay, food fans, I’ll take the plunge first.

1.  MAKE MORE MISTAKES

It is often said that we learn more from our failures than from our successes. This is especially true in cooking. I remember the caramel that turned to cement, the fondue that was a clump of cheesy greasy goo and the souffles that flopped much more than I do the enchiladas I can make in my sleep. I hereby resolve to be willing to make more mistakes rather than going with what is “safe.” Because sometimes, just sometimes, the”mistakes” turn into a whole new door being opened, a new talent being discovered. Heck, who knows? I might even try baking some bread!

Other resolutions are:

2.  Take on a charitable food cause.
3.  Join a CSA.
4.  Try something new every week.
5.  Expand my repertoire.
6.  Clean out my freezer.
7.  Small healthy changes in Baby Steps
8.  Learn how to use my pressure cooker
9.  Stop taking labels for granted
10.  Have more fun in the kitchen!

Read more about upcoming foodie adventures in 2012 . . .

2. GET INVOLVED IN A FOOD RELATED CHARITABLE CAUSE.

So, all this cooking is so much fun, I seldom stop to think about whether my cooking could do some good in the world, okay, MORE than the obvious: bringing smiles to the faces of those I love. I would like to”give a little back,” as they say, as a way of expressing gratitude for the great bounty of my life.

I’m intrigued by Cookies for Kids Cancer, and the Chez Panisse Edible Schoolyard Foundation, for starters. Anyone else have other food related causes where a humble food blogger can contribute? I’d love to have your comments on this one ~ or, email me at ourapronstrings[at]gmail[dot]com.

3.  JOIN A CSA

I have been intrigued by these community agriculture groups for the last few years, but have not taken the plunge.  I think 2012 is the year!

4.  TRY SOMETHING NEW EVERY WEEK

Do you ever get in “food ruts?” I am determined to try something new at least weekly this year. My family started off with a bang for this one – we discovered a restaurant called the “Banana Leaf,” which features food from Sri Lanka and Singapore. All I can say is – WHY HAVE I NEVER COOKED WITH BANANA LEAVES BEFORE??? Apparently, everything a banana leaf touches turns into a delicious, moist, tender, flavorful bite! I am going to be on the lookout for new bites the whole year.

5.  EXPAND MY REPOIRTOIR

Enchiladas? Sure. Fish tacos? No problemo. But I need to expand my horizons. Add to my playbook. Embrace new dishes, and make them my own.

6.  CLEAN OUT MY FREEZER

Last January, I tackled the task of organizing my spice and baking cupboard, and it has made a world of difference. No longer do I curse under my breath and waste precious time over and over again looking for things. This year: I tackle THE FREEZER. Who knows what lurks in there???

7. MAKE SMALL HEALTHY CHANGES in BABY STEPS

Ok, confession time: I am the kind that goes All Out, Full Monty, No Prisoners. When I eat, I eat big. When I diet, I diet to extremes. This year, for starters, I am planning on making small but numerous changes. Smashed avocado instead of butter on toast. Try a new lower calorie healthier milk – like Almond Milk? No late night mindless TV snacking.

8.  LEARN HOW TO USE MY PRESSURE COOKER

Lots of folks out there rave about them, and heck, every single week on Iron Chef they bust out the things. I bought one last year and have barely opened it. Must. Learn. Pressure Cooking.

9.  STOP TAKING LABELS FOR GRANTED

What ARE those ingredients that can’t be pronounced? How much pink dye is in that salmon? Why is sugar the first ingredient in this? These are questions I hope to answer this time next year!

10.  HAVE MORE FUN IN THE KITCHEN

One nice thing about getting old: you stop living for what other people want and start living for what YOU want. Than’s what I intend to do in the kitchen in 2012, food fans. I hope you join me for the journey!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

– posted by Donna

It’s a natural inclination at this time of year to look for ways to help others, and for us, those that involve the fundamental, communal connection of food are of special note. This project is particularly inspiring, as it seeks to help youth provide for their own community – an investment that will grow for years. And the impact on nutrition, and thus on their health, is part of the mission as well.

Every little bit counts in their Start Some Good fundraiser. From their site:

This year at Grow Dat Youth Farm, we will hire 20 teenagers to grow 10,000 pounds of food. To make this a reality, we are excited to announce our first annual campaign to “Grow the Green”. Help us employ teenagers to grow food for their community! 

The Grow Dat Youth Farm came to life last year with the mission to nurture a diverse group of young leaders through the meaningful work of growing food. The idea for Grow Dat is simple: hire young adults, whose job options are often limited to fast food restaurants, to grow food for their community. In New Orleans we suffer from diet-related disease in numbers even higher than the staggering national averages.  We believe in the ability of young adults not only to change those patterns in their own lives but to be leaders who can affect change throughout their community. At Grow Dat, we give young people the skills to do just that. 

Each youth employee earns $1550 over the course of their 20-week job training program. They learn how to grow, process, sell and prepare fresh food by working on the farm, at farmers’ markets and at hunger relief agencies. Youth employees also receive training in communication, public speaking, cooking and nutrition, financial health and food justice.

We have raised two-thirds of the money necessary to hire 20 teenagers in January. We are launching this campaign to raise the remaining $9,300 we need. During the holiday season we are hoping you will help us by giving the gift of employment. Everyone who donates will receive a downloadable PDF “Thanks For Giving” card which you can share with friends and family on whose behalf you have purchased this gift.

For more information, check out the Grow Dat Youth Farm page. Please consider a contribution to this wonderful project!

Who needs expensive copper or stainless steel egg or pancake ring molds when you can use pretty, bright bell peppers?

For those of you alive in the 1970′s, travel back in time with me for just a minute. Remember “Flower Power?”  This was a slogan of the anti-war protest raging in the country when I was a teen.That is exactly what these eggs in pepper rings look like – the bright, round flowers that were plastered on posters, walls and even our clothes back then. You can even play some Simon and Garfunkel while you eat these Flower Power Eggs to complete the ambiance. Go-Go boots optional, but Out-a-sight, Man!

There’s no recipe, really, just three steps: 1) Cut bell peppers into 1/2 inch rings; 2) Place in a non-stick lightly oiled skillet; and 3) Crack an egg in the middle of each ring and cover and cook over low heat until done. If you like your yolks runny, just cook over low heat until whites are done. If you like your yolks firm, break the yolks and then cook over low heat until both whites and yolks are firm.

We didn’t have Meatless Mondays in the 70′s, but if we did, we would have been making these for breakfast!

Easy. Fun. Colorful. Healthy. Groovy, Baby!

– posted by Donna

In honor of culinary icon Julia Child’s 99th birthday on Monday, August 15, 2011, we will be selecting the winner through random.org on Monday at 11:59 p.m. and posting the win on Tuesday, August 16th. Be sure to stop by and see who wins!

Oh, and here’s a bonus: We have enjoyed all your comments so much that we have decided to give away three BONUS PRIZES! Yes, you read that right: we’re picking three of our favorite comments and giving away three copies of Julia Child’s Two Volume set: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the cookbook that started it all ~

So, get those last few comments written by clicking on our giveaway badge at the top left.

Good Luck, Everyone!

– Donna and Anne

Campfire Orange Blueberry Muffins

I used to love camping.

OK, I hated the actual camping part, but loved to be with my family when they enjoyed camping. Kids always LOVE camping. Camping is fun for everyone but the Mom. The Mom has to do all the work she would normally do, but in the dirt. With no electricity. And no running water. Sheeeeeesh. What’s fun about that?

But the kids, that’s a different story.

Dirt + Fire + Running wild + Water to splash in + Sleeping outside = Kid Heaven.

These days, I do more campfire cooking in my backyard portable metal firepit than I do actual campfire cooking in an actual campground. I highly recommend it.

So, every summer, we have the best of both worlds: campfire in a small portable campfire. And then sleeping in our own comfy beds at night. Plus hot showers and no bug bites. Definite improvement.

Our family developed some really delicious campfire desserts over the years, and I wanted to share some of them with you. So here, my friends , are our top three fave campfire desserts of all time.

CAMPFIRE BLUEBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS
CAMPFIRE ECLAIRS
TOASTED ANGEL FOOD CAKE WITH CAMPFIRE BERRIES

CAMPFIRE BLUEBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS

These babies are so delicious and so foolproof even kids as young a 5 can put them together with minimal help and throw them in the fire.

Here is the entire recipe:

Stir up a box of blueberry muffin mix according to the package directions.

Cut an orange in half  and scoop out all the orange flesh. Save orange flesh for another time, or strain and drink the orange juice.

Fill one half of emptied orange with blueberry muffin mix.

Cover the filled orange half with the empty orange half and then wrap in three layers of aluminum foil.

Just throw them in the fire. No, really. Literally toss them in the fire. I know, I know. This might be scary the first time you do it. But trust me – they will not burn! The orange peel will insulate the muffin mix from burning. The orange peel itself might blacken a little, but the mix in the middle will turn out steamed and delicious. Like a steamed pudding. With a delicious orange flavor. Yum.

Keep turning the aluminum balls over and over in the fire, every minute or so. It usually takes about 10 minutes, but go ahead and pull them out and check them once in awhile until they are firm in the middle.

Then unwrap and eat with a spoon!

This, I think, is my very favorite campfire dessert of all time. My mouth is watering as I am writing this!

CAMPFIRE ECLAIRS

These are another easy foolproof but delicious dessert – with three ingredients: crescent roll dough in the tubes; chocolate pudding; whipped cream from a spray can.

You will need some wooden dowels, about 2 inches in diameter is best. Then, soak them for a few hours before using them.

Wrap some crescent roll dough around the soaked part of the dowels.

Then, just hold them over the fire until the dough cooks. Don’t hold them too close to the fire, or the dough will burn before it cooks through.

Then, fill with chocolate pudding. I like to put the pudding in a zip top bag and then cut one corner out and squeeze the pudding into the crescent roll tubes. Then, top with whipped cream.

These are yummy while the dough is warm but the pudding is cool.

TOASTED ANGEL FOOD CAKE WITH CAMPFIRE BERRIES

This is another super easy dessert that tastes amazing when you’re gathered around a cozy campfire.

You just hold slabs of angel food cake on sticks over a fire – so easy that kids can do their own, just like s’mores.

Then, you slice some berries and add them to an aluminum foil packet with some brown sugar and toss the packet on the fire. Again, really. Be Brave! It won’t burn. Just leave it for a minute on each side and then remove. The berries turn out warm and sweet and delicious.

The New York Goodwich: A Nutrition-Packed Veggie Wrap

We set out to start blogging more authentically, and, specifically, focusing on how food and cooking became a form of bonding for us as we got to know each other as a birthmother and daughter. Most mothers and daughters don’t have to “get to know each other” as a deliberate act – it unfolds over the course of a lifetime, and much of that unfolding involves nurturing and literally nourishing one’s child. And naturally, much of that takes place in the kitchen. So for Donna and I, it was (and still is) a  template for the way we’ve been making up for lost time.

And really, sometimes, we’re just going to share some recipes because they’re just plain good, no backstory required.

But here’s the thing: if we’re going to be talking about authentic writing + food, there’s more to that equation than just the love and nurturing and connecting. Yes, we all absolutely do connect with one another through food, and we all have emotional connections with food because of that. And most of the time, in most ways, this is a beautiful thing. But emotional connections are imperfect, as is anything in this imperfect world, and therefore, our relationship with food itself is not always going to be healthy.

This is a part of my (Anne’s) story that I haven’t talked about much publicly, let alone in a food blog platform. What? Talking about eating disorders on a food blog? Aren’t food blogs supposed to be about the awesome FOOD, along with fabulous photography and engaging writing? Why bring up such an uncomfortable topic?

Well, I bring it up because it underscores what a revelation it was to me, truly, to be connected with someone who loves food and relates to it in much the same way I do, as it was when I met my birthmother. To have that love for food be transformed into something not shameful, greedy, indulgent in the worst kind of pejorative (because the latter was the way I felt for decades), well, it has been nothing less than life-changing.

I will give you the Cliffs Notes version, rather than the Lifetime Movie of the Week version, but in a nutshell: My early adult professional life was spent as a dancer, which in turn meant that my formative years were spent in a dance studio, which in turn meant that the odds of developing an eating disorder were relatively high. I did not beat those odds. I spent years struggling with food, primarily as a bulimic but with an aggressive bout of anorexia at the very beginning. My adolescence was consumed, in many ways, by my obsession with weight and food. It took well into my twenties for me to start to attain some equilibrium, though, to be honest, neurotic tendencies still pop up from time to time. In the intervening years, eating disorders started being discussed more openly and now aren’t nearly as stigmatized, thankfully, which has also been a help.

The strongest influence in my disorder was certainly the competitiveness of the dance world, but there were familial factors as well. I was raised by a family I love very much – and no one in my adoptive family could be considered a food lover. My mom (my wonderful adoptive mom) was interested in food only insofar as it was necessary for survival, for the most part. She wasn’t a terrible cook, it just wasn’t something she particularly cared about; it was no different than cleaning or doing the laundry. It was a chore to complete.  And in contrast, my love of food and my naturally voracious appetite always carried with it some sense of shame, especially once my fixation on weight loss entered the picture. So, years later, to find that there was possibly something innate in all this, and to find someone who reflected my own passion – it was the kind of validation I never thought I would ever receive.

You might be wondering, at this point, “Yeah, yeah, very touching. What the heck does any of this have to do with the tasty-looking wrap in the picture?”

So it was about 1987. For months, I had been living on 600 calories a day, painstakingly recorded in a notebook down to the last packet of Equal (4 calories, by the way), along with the rigors of daily dance classes and rehearsals. I had dropped down to about 103 pounds, which, on my mesomorphic frame, was a pretty perilous place. People were starting to whisper and worry, especially my mother, who felt very concerned but had no idea where to even begin to address it.

One weekend, my mother, sister and I went skiiing – one of the perks of living in Colorado was growing up on skis, so I can ski as casually as most can jump on a bike for a ride. Anyway, after only a couple of runs, I was so cold that it was actually painful, excruciatingly so. It wasn’t any sort of unusual temperature – no one else was bothered at all. My fat stores had just dropped so low that I had next to no insulation. I felt like I was on the verge of frostbite, and was in tears by the time we got off the chairlift for the third time.

Somehow I made it to the bottom, and Mom accompanied me down to the lodge, where I would wait for her and Amy to finish out the day.  While I got situated with some coffee (black, of course) near a fireplace, She ran down to the gift shop to see if she could find me something to read, and returned with a diet book called “Fit For Life”. Remember that food-combining fad from the 80′s? This version was by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, and I was engrossed immediately.

It may seem ironic that a diet book would rescue me from sliding into much more severe anorexia, and the science behind food combining was admittedly iffy, but the book’s overall focus on nutrition, on vegetables and on organic ingredients was exactly what I needed at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, this was far from the end of my struggle – in fact, it was really the beginning. But it got me back to a generally healthy state, crucial at the moment, and it also got me cooking for myself in earnest for the first time. No one else in the family was going to be subject to these wacky combinations, so it was up to me.

There were, of course, a number of recipes in the book, some better than others, but one was by far my favorite. The Diamonds called it a Goodwich, specifically a New York Goodwich due to their popularity at a Manhattan health expo of some kind. I made it long after I had abandoned the Fit For Life principles, and though I forgot about it for a few years, I’ve been making it again recently. It’s kind of addictive – the steamed veggies with the barbecued onions, a touch of mayo, the creamy avocado and crunchy sprouts – it all comes together so well. Satisfying food that really does your body good – what more could you want from a wrap?

I’ve tweaked it a little, as per always, and I now use gluten-free wraps like Trader Joe’s brown rice wraps or La Tortilla Factory’s Ivory Teff Wraps, but the concept is definitely pure Fit For Life. Try it and see if it just might be added to your favorite lunch items!

NEW YORK GOODWICHES

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons barbecue sauce (preferably one without corn syrup)
2 cups broccoli florets, sliced
1 cup cauliflower florets, sliced
2 large wraps or 3-4 smaller ones
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 cup lettuce, roughly chopped
1/2 cup zucchini, grated
1/2 cup carrot, grated
1 dill pickle, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sprouts (alfalfa or otherwise)
1 avocado, sliced

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft and translucent, just starting to brown. Stir in barbecue sauce and cook a few more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Steam broccoli and cauliflower for 5 minutes (I like a steamer basket in a regular pot, a friend has an electric steamer she swears by, whatever works for you), making sure not to overcook.

There’s no exact science to assembling these, dividing the filling ingredients evenly as you go but a rough order would be: Spread each wrap with a thin layer of mayo, then spread the broccoli and cauliflower over them. Then the lettuce,  zucchini, carrots, and sprouts; and finally the dill pickle and avocado slices, topped with a few spoons of the barbecued onions. Wrap ‘er up.

These are great to eat right away or, if you wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate them, they’ll keep for a future meal and be even better.

Donna & Anne showing off their henna on a Colorado trip

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, Donna, for being a kindred spirit, and for accepting me as I am, appetite and all.

– posted by Anne

P.S. I promise, readers, it’s so not ALL going to be this heavy. We’ll talk more about our reunion, our relationship over the years, and, as stated upstream, sometimes just post some dang good recipes.

Birth Mom Donna and Daughter Anne - Reunited for just over 10 years now!

Remember this post? When we attended BlogHer Food 2010, we had some revelations.

Everything that was talked about – relationships with food, emotional connections, and the deep value of cooking itself – affirmed exactly  what has been calling to us. And so we will finally begin to write about our story [as a reunited birth mother and daughter], our connection with and through food, and how it has changed both of us.

We are changing up our focus to devote more time and space here to what matters most to us food-wise: How food binds us together as families; how food is always more than just food – it is a statement of who we are and where we’re going; how food grounds us and family recipes and traditions give a richness to our lives and to those we love. And for us, specifically, how food played a major role in how food brought us together when we reunited.

Food is the story of us, and we plan to devote our space in the world and on this blog to that concept.

For most of the month of April, we’ll be remodeling. There may be an occasional post from time to time, but most of our work will be on a makeover, rename and redirect (don’t worry, you’ll still be able to find us and our Fab Frugal Food archives right here in the same place as the newly rechristened blog). And we’ll certainly still be out and about on Facebook and Twitter.

What can you expect? There will be stories and recipes from the past, from the time Donna and I reunited and started to connect in the kitchen. There will be stories and recipes from our lives as they unfold now. There will also be stories and recipes about the food in our lives before we met – from Donna’s childhood in Tucson, Arizona and then starting her own family in Hood River, Oregon, and from Anne’s youth in Denver, Colorado – things that we want to share with one another for the first time while we share them with you.

And there will still be the occasional stand-alone fabulously frugal recipe! So if you’ve come with us this far and like what you see, come a little further.

Our grand re-opening – with a giveaway, too – will be, of course, on Mother’s Day!

See you then!

– posted by Donna and Anne,
birth mother and daughter, co-bloggers
and dedicated food enthusiasts

Cranberry Clementine Salsa Fresca

There are no falling leaves. We’re not going to the pumpkin patch this weekend. We know. It’s not Fall.

But.

We just found out yesterday that Donna’s Cranberry Clementine Salsa Fresca won a California Cuties recipe contest, and we couldn’t wait ’til Fall to brag!

So, put this recipe on your Must-Try List to make when you see pumpkins piled outside your favorite grocery store. Better yet – if you have a bag of cranberries stashed in your freezer since November, like I do, make it NOW.

Fruit salsas are so yummy, and so I used California Cuties, which are a perfect pairing with the cranberries.

So, on Thanksgiving last year I tried out a cranberry and clementine salsa on all my relatives. I kept all the ingredients raw, or “fresca.”All 18 who tried this refreshing, fruity salsa voted a Thumbs Up! Waaaaay Up!

The combo of clementines and cranberries is delightful!  And I added jalapenos, but you could add any peppers you want.

Your taste buds will have a fiesta!

CRANBERRY CLEMENTINE SALSA FRESCA

12 ounces fresh or frozen thawed cranberries, divided
4 clementines, divided
1 1/2 cups peeled diced apple, divided (I like Fuji)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and pulp removed and diced
2 tablespoons honey, or more as desired
1 tablespoon raspberry or red wine vinegar, or more as desired
1 teaspoon salt, or more as desired
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce, or more as desired

Remove 2 teaspoons of zest from the cuties. Set aside 1/2 cup of cranberries, 1/2 of one cutie, and 1/2 cup of diced apple. Place zest and all remaining ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste, adding additional honey, salt, vinegar or cayenne pepper sauce as desired.

Add remaining 1 cup of cranberries, remaining 1/2 of one cutie and remaining 1/2 cup of diced apple and pulse a few times, until added ingredients are in small bits.

Serve at room temperature with chips.

Other fruit salsas worth checking out:

Fresh Fruit Salsa, Guilty Kitchen
Fruit Salsa with Pita Chips, Two Peas and Their Pod
Peach Salsa, Eclectic Recipes
Kiwi, Mango and Cucumber Salsa, Kalyn’s Kitchen
Quick Fruit Salsa, Nummy Kitchen
Pineapple Salsa, For the Love of Cooking

– posted by Donna

Portabella Etouffee

I’m a big fan of New Orleans cuisine. I honestly can’t think of a Creole or Cajun classic that I haven’t liked. If I had to pick only one, just ONE, though, it would have to be shrimp or crawfish etouffee.  So with only a few more days left until this year’s Fat Tuesday Feast, I wanted to see if I could concoct a vegetarian version for Meatless Monday. I had a hunch that portabella mushrooms might be a good match.  It’s a little darker than a traditional etouffee, but I think they held up well.

PORTABELLA ETOUFFEE

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup rice flour (or another flour; I like this best for roux so far)
1 cup onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 celery, diced
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
a few dashes Tabasco
4 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
14 ounce can diced tomatoes
3 cups mushroom or vegetable broth
2 portabella mushroom caps, cubed
1 bay leaf
juice of half a lemon

Melt butter over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed pan. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring frequently until the roux is a deep caramel color. Stir in the onion, celery and green pepper (the “Trinity” of cajun cooking) and cook until vegetables are soft; add garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add peppers, salt, thyme, Tabasco and tomatoes; and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, letting the mixture reduce a bit.

Add mushrooms, broth of your choice and bay leaf. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until portabellas are tender (adding more broth if it becomes too thick). Adjust seasoning to taste, especially re: cayenne and Tabasco. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and serve over rice – I like brown for just about every rice application, but suit yourself.

Have a happy Mardi Gras! Le bon temps roulez!

Other food bloggers doing up some etouffee:

Chili-Cheese Etouffee from The Tasty Kitchen
Gluten and dairy-free Crawfish Etouffee from Go Dairy Free
Rabbit Etouffee from The Schell Cafe
Shrimp Etouffee from The Perfect Pantry

-- posted by Anne