Lori, Author at Fake Food Free

Frittata for Dinner

September 23, 2009

I love the Scrubs episode when Turk can’t stop talking about Brinner. I’m sure you know, but just in case, brinner is breakfast for dinner. Not only does that show always give me a healthy, stress-relieving laugh, I also happen to like breakfast for dinner quite a bit too.

Honestly I could eat it much more often than I do, but somehow it always seems like a cooking copout. I’m not sure why. The dishes take about as long to cook as many standard dinner foods, but brinner always seems to be the thing you turn to when you are out of ingredients or don’t know what else to eat. At least that is the case for me anyway.

Eggs, pancakes, bacon, French toast, oatmeal – I could easily eat them all at the end of the day. Somehow, though, dreakfast isn’t quite as appealing. Ha! Get it. Dinner for breakfast. Okay, hopefully you don’t click your way here for the humor. Hopefully you are here for the food instead!

The ingredients are dwindling around our kitchen as we prepare for the move and I’m trying not to buy things that I won’t use up. We’ve been sticking with a lot produce and eggs. I made quiche the week before last and after that I thought I’d spice it up with a frittata for variety. A frittata is an Italian omelet in case you are unfamiliar. I find them to be a delicious, quick, one skillet meal.

First I should say that it is really difficult to attractively photograph a frittata. Kudos to those who do it so well. Secondly, don’t let the looks fool you. This simple dish is both hearty and full of flavor. I like to top mine with a little hot sauce for a kick. It’s kind of hard to beat brinner!

Potato Green Pepper Frittata

½ tbsp olive oil
2 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
½ cup green pepper, diced
¼ cup onion, diced
5 eggs
1/3 cup milk
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
½ cup shredded cheese

Heat the olive oil in a deep, oven-safe skillet. Layer the potatoes in the skillet and stir gently to coat with the oil. Cover the skillet with a lid and let cook for 10 minutes. Stir gently again and spread the slices out to completely cover the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle the potatoes evenly with the green pepper and onion. Return the lid and cook for 5 more minutes.

Meanwhile whisk together the eggs, milk and seasonings. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Check the vegetables and cook a few minutes more if potatoes aren’t yet tender. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and sprinkle with cheese. Allow to cook until the edges are firm. Place the skillet in the oven and bake until the center is set, about 7 minutes. Remove when firm and golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and cut into 4 to 6 slices.

Peanut Butter Wheat Berry Pancakes

September 21, 2009

I love all things peanut butter, so despite first making these peanut butter and wheat berry pancakes several years ago, they remain a breakfast favorite!

There are several things you should know about me when it comes to pancakes. I like a very simple recipe. I know you can add eggs, and oil, and milk and create a nice fluffy platform for rich maple syrup, but what I look for is something closer to a just-add-water mix that doesn’t come from a box.

And speaking of syrup, while I do love the stuff, I often enjoy my pancakes dry. I sweeten the batter a bit, top them with butter, and then maybe some dry, yet sweet toppings. You’ll understand what I mean in a few minutes.

I also like a hearty whole grain pancake. I sometimes add oatmeal to my batter, but given my recent fondness for wheat berries, I thought I would give them their chance to shine once again. And shine they did.

This recipe combines whole grains with salty-sweet peanut butter. The wheat berries lend their chewy goodness and the sparkling water creates a somewhat lighter texture to this filling breakfast. I spread a little butter on the finished product and then made a mixture of ground peanuts and mascavo sugar. Sprinkling this on top gave them all the sweet flavor I needed.

Peanut Butter Wheat Berry Pancakes Recipe | Fake Food Free

Peanut Butter Wheat Berry Pancakes on Fake Food Free via @Lori_Rice

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Peanut Butter Wheat Berry Pancakes

2015-08-20 08:24:15

Makes: 5 small pancakes

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Ingredients

¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine ground sea salt
3 tablespoons mascavo sugar
¼ cup cooked wheat berries
¾ cup sparkling water
2 tablespoons peanut butter (any variety)
2 tablespoons chopped salted peanuts

Instructions

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Stir in the wheat berries. Next, whisk in the water until everything is combined. Add the peanut butter, and stir or whisk until it is evenly distributed into the batter.
Preheat the griddle. Measure ¼ cup of the mixture for each pancake and pour onto a hot griddle. Cook about 2 minutes, or until bubbles begin to form on the surface of each pancake. Flip and cook another minute or two, until the pancake is browned on both sides and cooked through the center.
In a small bowl, stir together the chopped peanuts with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. Sprinkle over the pancakes before serving.

By Lori Rice

Fake Food Free https://www.fakefoodfree.com/

Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Fake Food Free unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.

Links to a Healthy Weekend

September 20, 2009

It’s likely no surprise that the weekend has been filled with lots of cleaning out, organizing and packing for me. Today I hope to do a little cooking for the week. How about you?

I’ve been having a hard time keeping up with reading, but thanks to Twitter some great posts and articles crossed my path this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and happy reading!

Chai Peach Yogourt Muffins from Food Gourmand
I could have gone for one of these at breakfast this morning! These beautiful muffins combine whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt and all the spices from Chai. I will be trying them as soon as I get back to my muffin pan!

Bacon Salted Caramel Pecan Bars from Savory Sweet Life
You know how on occasion you stumble upon these popular blogs with awesome recipes having no idea why it took you so long to find them. Well this blog is one of those for me. These bars are going on my holiday baking list. Considering I have many unadventurous eaters in my life, I’m not telling any of them there is bacon in there until they taste it!

Creamy Homemade Nut Milk from Sense and Serendipity
I’d honestly never thought about making my own nut milk. Here’s a step by step guide and it really doesn’t look that difficult. I especially like the tips for how to use up the pulp considering nuts aren’t the most affordable ingredient around.

Nofu to Tofu from Making Love in the Kitchen
If you haven’t noticed yet, soy was a really hot topic on many nourishing and natural food blogs this week. I especially enjoyed this post and the recipe. I’ve been researching the topic to do a post of my own for a while now (one of those things on the list I just haven’t gotten to), and found much of the same health information, so definitely check it out.

Ice cream and burgers can control your brain: study from Reuters
Some really interesting information about how fats from certain foods can reduce our ability to listen to those helpful hormones which tell us when we are full.

Photo from Dun Laoghaire, Ireland

Cooking Is a Necessity

September 18, 2009

As the weeks of my ex-pat experience dwindle down I’ve been doing a lot of thought and reflection. When it comes to food I have changed immensely in the past two years. Not all positive, mind you. Adopting a new culture often means adopting practices you may have once deemed unhealthy, but as far as world travel goes, this isn’t always a bad thing. Regardless of that, today I want to focus on the positive changes.

These changes have only partly been due to where I’m physically located. I obviously have access to more produce at less expensive prices. However, other things are simply due to the fact that I found myself with some time to learn and focus on what being healthy truly means for me.

A few of the positives…

Sodas are not part of my diet anymore and neither are artificial sweeteners.

My body has been exposed to all kinds of additional vitamins and antioxidants through once exotic foods like acerola and açaí.

Very few packaged foods are still part of my diet.

I’m cooking much more from scratch despite my half-sized oven, sweltering days and a kitchen that is functional, but not my favorite.

I’ve had cooking on my mind a lot lately. Obviously, I love it. In many ways I view it as a source of stress relief. Funny since on occasion a failed dish may result in even more stress, but overall it’s a good thing.

I often think about all the people I’ve come across in my life who claim to either hate cooking or be horrible at it. I find this view both interesting and thought provoking.

For some reason, perhaps because we have so many options to turn to that require little or no actual cooking, we have classified it as an art, a luxury and a hobby. For those who dislike it, it’s a chore and one they choose not to do.

Because we don’t necessarily have to do it anymore as a means for food source and for survival, we separate ourselves from the act which gives us permission to term ourselves a good or bad cook or regard the action as one we either love or hate.

At what point did we start to view cooking in this manner? Was it due to busyness, lack of motivation, availability of packaged foods? Likely a combination of them all.

Cooking always seems to be the one thing to go when it comes to a busy lifestyle. I struggle with it too.

I had a lot of free time when we first moved abroad, but then I started working towards my freelance writing career and the free time was soon gone. Many days I feel I am busier than I was working outside the home in an office job. Time for cooking from scratch dwindled. Now I’m at the point where I wonder how strong the temptation will be to overlook it when I move back to the U.S. I cooked a lot before we moved in order to save spending on eating out, but I also used a lot of convenience foods that I no longer want to return to.

There was an article this week in the Washington Post about a mom who took on the challenge to recreate some of the fast foods her teenagers were spending their money on, proving that eating at home is both cheaper and better. While these types of articles just reiterate what I know in my heart to be true, they are such a great form of motivation for me and a reality check for those who are skeptical.

So of all the ways that this experience has changed me it has shown me that cooking is a necessity. There is no debate. Sure, eat out and enjoy the masterpieces of others on occasion, but if you want health you must cook and you must cook using real foods. It’s not a matter of being good or bad at it, it’s just something you have to do.

I will continue to cook from scratch when we return to the U.S. despite a busy lifestyle, which regarding my work, I hope gets even busier. This is how I intend to do it.

View it as a challenge. We set fitness goals, financial goal and productivity goals yet goals in the kitchen don’t seem to be so popular for the general public. That should change.

Rely on one-pot meals, especially those I can cook ahead. I have a feeling my crock pot will be getting lots of use. I’ve really missed not having one here now that I’ve learned a lot about the natural foods I can cook in it.

Plan ahead, way ahead. I’ve always been a list maker and planned meals for the week, but now I want to carve out blocks of time to make pastas, stocks, breads and crackers to eat throughout the week.

Utilize the skills of my past. I know deep down inside me that all those hours spent watching my mom can and preserve produce from the garden taught me those skills. Now I just need to practice it.

Reevaluate the budget. We’ve always had a monthly budget for groceries and I would go twice a month. I now want to adjust things so that I buy more things upfront that will last longer. For example, grains in bulk and large amounts of grass-fed beef to freeze for a couple months. If a house comes about next year there will be a garden otherwise we’ll join a CSA and take better advantage of my father’s garden when possible.

Is cooking important to you? How do you manage it amidst your long to-do list?

Photo is a sampling of bamboo cooking utensils made by a gentleman at the local farmer’s market.

This post is being submitted as part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday.

Finding Fish and Sweet Soy Dressing

September 17, 2009

I love just about every kind of fish and form of seafood there is. You would think I grew up near the sea given my attraction to it, but perhaps it was all those Catfish and Bluegill dinners from the lakes of Indiana that got me started.

When we first came here to visit before our move the girl who showed us around told us, in not so many words, that we should avoid buying the seafood or fish because it wasn’t fresh. This being because we are so far inland. (In case haven’t mentioned it, as much as I would enjoy lying on the beach all day with my laptop and a drink in hand, unfortunately it takes a eight hour drive to get to one from here.)

Like any good traveler/ex-pat we heeded the advice of the locals and at first it wasn’t so difficult at all. If you don’t what your fish dried in the form of bacalhau (salted cod), then frozen is your other choice. Unfortunately the frozen stuff here tends to look like something that has been in the back of my freezer for a year, long forgotten. Not so appetizing.

As time went on though, we started enjoying all the amazing sushi so prominent here due to the strong Japanese influence. Okay, so somebody was getting incredibly fresh and tasty fish somewhere. Later I found the fish market located just outside our Asian market. Not outstanding, but a resource.

It does have great fish if you catch it on the right day and eventually I got up the courage to order salmon. It is amazing just how much courage it takes to ask someone behind a specialty food counter for something in another language, at least for me anyway. I’ve only purchased it twice, but wow, what a welcome change from red meat!

A long time ago a good friend gave me the recipe for an Asian salad her mom would make and while I don’t make the entire recipe often, I make the dressing all the time. We usually have it with chicken on a salad, but when I recently bought my second round of salmon I thought the substitute would be perfect.

I didn’t do anything special with the salmon, just baked it with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. The salad isn’t anything special either, just the greens I have to use up and I often throw in some chopped green onions as well. The dressing, however, is what makes the dish.

You can substitute mascavo sugar or honey for the white sugar. The flavor will be slightly different, but still very good. This makes enough for a very large salad, like one you would serve at a party. It’s best to toss the lettuce in all of the dressing for full flavor, so when I am making salad for two I cut the recipe in thirds.

Sweet Soy Sauce Dressing

¾ cup oil (your choice, it would interesting to try coconut)
¼ cup white vinegar
½ cup sugar (again, your choice)
2 tbsp soy sauce

Whisk all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium heat and allow it to boil for one minute. Remove and cool before tossing with the salad. Toss with toasted sesame seeds if desired.

Quick Chickpeas in Curry

September 14, 2009

The first time I had chickpeas with curry was in Vienna at the summer film festival. At this event, along with the film comes a large variety of vendors selling foods from around the world. Typically with so much available I can decide what I want pretty quickly, however, it was one of those nights when I was hungry, but nothing specific sounded good.

I finally settled on the Indian food booth. Knowing that I like chickpeas and curry and other veggies, I gave it a try. Wow, did it hit the spot – creamy, spicy, vegetarian. As Anthony Bourdain mentioned in his recent NYC episode of No Reservations, Indian cuisine is the way to go if you want to eat a vegetarian meal. You will never miss meat. There are just too many great flavors and textures going on.

It is these kinds of dishes I seem to remember when I eat alone while my husband is traveling for work.

I tend to go to one of two extremes when I’m around the apartment by myself during dinnertime. I either spend all my time in the kitchen making new things, or I simply don’t want to cook at all. Weird, I know. There really isn’t a way to predict what the upcoming attitude will be.

Recently, though, I was in a no-cook mood. I think it has to do with the packing and preparing to move. Despite not wanting to cook, well, I still really wanted to eat. So with some chickpeas in the freezer (I have to cook them from dried here) and some coconut milk left over from a previous dish, I decided on a quick curry.

Keep in mind; this is in no way authentic. It is simply my way to get the flavors I want in a quick and healthy meal. This time around I only had chickpeas and onion, but it is excellent with some cauliflower thrown in as well.

Quick Chickpeas in Curry

½ tbsp olive oil
¼ cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
2 tbsp curry powder (more or less to taste)
1 cup chicken stock
½ cup coconut milk

In a deep skillet, heat the olive oil, and then add the onion and garlic. Cook for about five minutes or until the onion is slightly tender. Add the chickpeas and then sprinkle with the curry powder, mix well and allow them to heat through.

Pour in the chicken stock. Place a lid on the skillet and cooking for about five minutes or until everything is bubbly and begins to thicken. Finally stir in the coconut milk and heat through. Serve over white or brown rice if desired.

If you happen to find yourself in Vienna during late June through late August, do pay the Music Film Festival a visit. It is an outdoor event set-up at the Rathaus. My husband and I love it. We’ve been twice and are already considering a stop there during our travels next year.

Also, if you want to know some more ways to use your chickpeas check out these recipes from Reeni at Cinnamon & Spice. If it is curry your interested in you’ll learn a lot from this post at Oyster Food and Culture.

Links to a Healthy Weekend

September 12, 2009

I hope this September Saturday is treating you well. It’s a beautiful one here. I’ve only posted a little bit about our trip to Curitiba last week, but I have to share a picture of one of my favorite parts and it has nothing to do with food. Well, actually, now that I think about it, it does have a little to do with food, just not food for me.

I’ve been completely intrigued by the Capivara (Capybara) since living in Brazil. It is the world’s largest rodent and often referred to as the “water pig”. Really, they are like great big, overgrown guinea pigs. They are so fun to watch because the young ones like to play and they seem to be incredibly docile. They hang out at the local parks in Curitiba paying no mind to the huge crowds that gather around them to watch.

When we arrived at the park last Saturday it was dinner time (hence the food reference) and they were just munching away.

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So that really has nothing to do with the links this week, but I figured there are probably some animal lovers out there who would enjoy the photos as much as I do.

May favorites from the week:

Ria’s Collection featured a lovely chocolate cake this week. A simple, straight forward recipe and her photos are always so pretty to look at.

Meatless Mama shared a Sweet Potato Quesadilla. What a great idea! I love sweet potatoes and while I’ve had small pieces in a wrap once, I’d never thought to mash them up with great flavors and make a quesadilla.

Big Food vs. Big Insurance was an article in the NY Times this week from Michael Pollan. The article focuses on how our food system fits into healthcare reform. There are a lot of great points here, a really informative and thought provoking read.

Pure Travel showed off a cool graphic – Around the World in 80 Beers. It’s just a lot of fun to look at.

1000 Recipes: Brazilian Food Will Live On

September 11, 2009

There is a term that was used to describe me when I was younger – spoiled rotten. It is hard to escape that classification when you are the baby by five years and the only girl in a family of four children. As an adult, I’d prefer to remove the rotten part, but it is impossible to remove the spoiled. Especially considering how great my husband is and all this wonderful travel we are blessed with.

The spoiling continued during our trip to Curitiba last week where I got this cookbook to keep all the wonderful foods I’ve had here in Brazil only a recipe (and a day in the kitchen) away.

Just look at it. Isn’t it beautiful?

1000 recipes of traditional Brazilian foods. There are recipes for doce de leite without sweetened condensed milk, feijoada with the tails, ears and all, recipes for the foods I ate in Minas Gerais and countless foods I’ve eaten out, but haven’t yet had a chance to recreate. It’s in Portuguese, of course, so my translation skills will get a workout, but I’ve been cooking enough over the past two years using terms and measurements in the language that it should come pretty easily.

In addition to the cookbook (yes, more spoiling) I got to expand my collection of Brazilian cookware. Remember my Pedra Sabão (soap stone pot)? This is what it looks like now, after seasoning it.

Before that came along, what I had really wanted was to find a Panela de Barro (clay pan) which are used to make many Brazilian dishes including Moqueca. Well, I got my wish.

In my research I found this excellent video about how they are made. It is in Portuguese, but you can still view the process.

So it looks like my Brazilian cooking and blog posts about it will live on long after we leave at the end of the month!

Pause for thoughts and prayers in remembrance of 9/11 today.

Sesame Flax Seed Crackers

September 10, 2009

When I first set out on this journey to reduce and eliminate packaged, processed foods from my diet I knew there would initially be things I missed. One item that I wasn’t expecting to miss so much, however, is crackers.

It is amazing how many things they pair nicely with which you don’t realize until you are trying not to eat them. I love spreads and fancy little appetizer crackers and while I’ve been trying to buy whole wheat versions, I know they still have lots of additives and preservatives that aren’t good for me.

A few months ago Healthy Ashley shared a flaxseed cracker recipe and it has been on my list to make ever since. I finally got around to trying them yesterday and I am happy to announce that they turned out wonderfully! Packaged crackers are getting kicked to the curb along with the once addiction-inducing diet soda.

I changed the recipe in a few ways. First I used whole wheat flour instead of the refined flour called for in the original recipe. I only had ground flaxseed so I doubled up on that instead of adding both the ground and whole. I also had some sesame seeds so I thought they would make a nice addition. Then, instead of squares I cut them out in a circle shape using a drinking glass.
The crackers are crisp with a slightly nutty flavor from the seeds. They are perfect for topping with cheeses and veggies for a tasty snack or appetizer.

Sesame Flax Seed Crackers
Adapted from HealthCastle.com & Flax Council of Canada

½ cup ground flax seed
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp sesame seeds
4 tsp butter, softened
½ cup skim milk

In a bowl, combine the flax seed, flour, baking powder, salt and sesame seeds. Add in the butter and stir or mix until the mixture is crumbly. Pour in the milk and form into a round ball of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Remove dough from the fridge and divide into four pieces working with one at a time. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface or between two sheets of plastic wrap. Roll until very thin about 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch. Cut into squares or circles and transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until browned and crisp. Makes about 24 2-inch circle crackers.

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Happy 7th Birthday to our baby girl, Macy Mae! A couple more months and she’ll be sitting on my lap at the computer once again.

Lasagna with Cinnamon

September 9, 2009

I wouldn’t rate the Italian food we have around here top notch. The restaurants put forth a great effort, but there always seems to be something lacking in the tomato sauce. However, I should clarify that just because it may not be rated best in the world, or even the best in Brazil for that matter, it doesn’t mean it is lacking in creativity.

In a previous post, I introduced the wonderful Italian rodizio restaurant. A quick refresher, rodizio is a style of eating similar to a buffet, but in reverse. The waiters bring all the dishes to you and you accept a small portion of each you want to try.

In that post, I left out a dish that I was pleasantly surprised by. On our second visit to the restaurant we were offered Lasagna com Canela – Lasagna with Cinnamon. As happens with most dishes I’m unfamiliar with, I was intrigued. And after one bite, I was a fan.

I recently recreated the dish at home adding in a few extra vegetables and enjoyed it just as much. It is difficult to describe the flavor the cinnamon adds to the dish. The spice combined with the tomato sauce really brings out a delicious sweetness.

I have to be honest though. I have a feeling this will be one dish that you will either enjoy or dislike. For example, I like it, my husband, on the other hand does not prefer it. It is the sweetness he doesn’t enjoy so much. Nonetheless, I’ll share it here and next time I’ll make a reduced recipe since I may be the only one infatuated by it. Kind of like me and my spicy peanut sauce.

Lasagna with Cinnamon

1 package lasagna noodles, partially cooked

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tbsp olive oil
2 small zucchini, halved and sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste
2 batches Easy Pasta Sauce (add 1 can tomato sauce to the doubled recipe)
2 – 3 cups cheese, shredded

In a skillet brown the beef or turkey, add the cinnamon and set aside. In a separate skillet heat the olive oil and cook the zucchini, onion and garlic for five to seven minutes or until veggies slightly tender. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Set aside. Now add the pasta sauce to the cooked ground beef and mix well to combine.

In a deep 9×13 baking dish layer your noodles, sauce, veggies and cheese in your favorite order. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes or until bubbly. Let set for at least 5 minutes before serving.