Perfect Polenta

Last night I whipped up polenta (for the first time). I served it with steamed asparagus, and pan seared rainbow trout. Awesome eats!
So here's my recipe for the polenta - and in the vein of my theme, feel free to substitute the spices, cheese, etc. to suit your taste and accompanying foods.

Perfect Polenta
Serves 4
1 cup ground corn meal (I used Bob's Redmill - coarse ground)
5 cups water
1 teaspoon sea salt

Dump 3 cups of water, salt, and corn meal into pot. Stir to incorporate the polenta and remove lumps. Heat on medium until it begins to simmer. Stir. Stir polenta every so often to make sure it doesn't stick. It will absorb the water and begin to thicken. Warm the remaining cups of water. In quarter cup amounts, add water to polenta and stir. Add water until polenta reaches desired thickness.

That is your basic polenta recipe. From there I added:
1 large shallot, 2 cloves garlic - chopped and sauteed in butter.
2 tablespoons butter
salt, pepper to taste
2 pinches of dried thyme
1 ounce goat cheese

Polenta is very healthy, gluten-free, and versatile. It would make a great base for a spicy meat with a good deal of sauce (like a stew).

Despite rumors of polenta being 'difficult' to cook, it proved to be very easy. It is time consuming, and benefits from slow, lengthy cooking. So while it isn't labor intensive, it does take quite some time to cook the perfect polenta!

Enjoy!

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Posted in: cooking,cooking substitutions,gluten-free,polenta,recipe

Gluten - What is it, exactly?

Today's post will discuss gluten in detail. How many of my gluten-free friends know what gluten is? Sure, we know it comes from the grain, wheat, but what exactly IS gluten?

Gluten is produced when a high protein flour is kneaded. It's that stretchy quality found in dough, particularly pizza dough, breads, etc.

Here is a video from the cooking school,

Rouxbe Online Cooking School & Video Recipes

So, in short, gluten is the stretchy stuff in breads, etc., that causes the breads to rise, and have a light airy taste.

In the full lesson they discuss the different properties of flour. A lower protein flour will have less gluten once kneaded. So, this got me thinking. . . what might be a good substitute for a high protein grain for a flour that will have more gluten, but not be wheat. After some serious thought, I've come up with Quinoa. I'm going to attempt using Quinoa flour to create bread. It certainly has enough protein, thereby making it a great candidate to produce gluten, but yet be wheat gluten-free. I'll let you know how it goes!

Happy, allergy-free cooking!

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Posted in: cooking,cooking substitutions,gluten-free

Back to School!

Yes, I have gone 'back to school'! I've recently enrolled in an online cooking school. Through a link of a link, I'd discovered they offer a free couple of day trial. And though I consider myself pretty knowledgeable in the kitchen, I thought, "Free? What the heck, why not?" I'm pleased to say that I am very impressed by the information, presentation and overall school. I learned quite a few things in the short amount of time I've been with them. Let me add that, this school is completely online, you get to pick what you'd like to learn next, and then you can take the quiz to see how you've done. I can proudly say that I'm an "A" student.

Interested in knowing more, get your own free trial (and trust me, it's WELL WORTH IT!!!)? Here's a link to get you started:

Rouxbe Online Cooking School & Video Recipes

And if you sign up, come and find me at the school. (And tell them The Substitute Chef sent you). ;-)

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Posted in: cooking,cooking substitutions,learning to cook,recipe