Forums:
It was so great getting a chance to talk to some of you yesterday! That was my first "chat line" experience and it was really wonderful! What a comfort to hear other's voices, suggestions, and support in the face of this difficult time of dealing with IC! Just want to say again that I think you are all amazing women in the face of these challenges.
So new recipes were talked about and I wanted to start a running list. Feel free to add! I will add new ones as I think of them and/or as I add in new foods and attempt to come up with new ideas. Some may already be up here somewhere, so I apologize if I'm repeating.
Flatbread:
2c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda or baking powder
2 T. olive oil
1 t. salt
dill, basil and/or garlic powder to your liking (or other tolerated herbs- i.e. sage, rosemary, thyme)
enough spring water to get a dough that's not too sticky
Mix dry ingredients. Add oil and use a pastry cutter/fork to mix. Add spring water and stir/kneed until forms a dough. Press flat onto baking sheet with floured hands.
Put in the oven at 350 for about 15 min, but watch it because it gets dry if it's overcooked! If you use only brown rice flour it will look like a desert when it's bakes and crumble, though I love the taste. I've tried half spelt/half rice flour, all spelt flour, and a barley/spelt mix. Rosemary and roasted garlic* are my running favorites as far as "flavors" go. Experiment for texture/flavor!
*for roasted garlic preheat oven to 400. Cut off top of garlic so cloves are showing. Drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and bake for around 50 min, just periodically check it- you want the tops of the cloves to be browned and soft). Squeeze cloves out and press into flatbread on pan. This is for garlic lovers only as you bite into chunks of cloves!
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Preheat over to 500 F1. Halve red bell peppers (take seeds,etc. out) and place them on a broiler pan. Drizzle olive oil on both sides and sprinkle salt and pepper. Broil for 20 minutes. 2. Take out and place in a bowl and cover with foil. Let sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes you can peel the skin off but I leave it because I like the "charred" flavor.3. Roughly chop the peppers and throw in a blender of food processor with olive oil (maybe 1/3 cup? I don't measure) a Tablespoon of water, salt, pepper, minced garlic or garlic powder and fresh chopped parsley or cilantro. *OH yeah, when you let the peppers sit you'll end up with juice in the bowl, make sure and add it to the blender. Blend to your desired "sauciness," I usually leave a tiny bit of pepper chunks. Good uses: On the flatbread mentioned above as a pizza sauce. On lamb meatballs. On salad as a dressing (although you may want to add more oil/water to make it thiner). On brown rice with grilled veggies.
Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches
Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches with Roasted Red Pepper SauceServings: 41 eggplant cut into 1/2 in. thick slices (I do 2 slices per person)2+ c. arugula or spinach (or both)Slices of Mozzarella Cheese (or whatever is tolerated, though I think mozzarella really works here)1-2 T. fresh chopped herbs (basil, thyme, oregano)salt, pepper, garlic powderroasted garlic (optional, this adds an hour time to the recipe)Slices of bread (spelt, kamut, whatever)*1. Sweat the eggplant. Cut into slices and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 30 minutes. This will help with bitter taste and also keep it from soaking up too much oil while cooking.2. Heat olive oil in skillet to medium-high heat. While heating, drizzle eggplant with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and 1 T. herbs. Place in skillet.3. Flip eggplant once lightly browned on underside. Continue cooking until tender. If overcooked, eggplant will be mushy, so just test by sticking with a fork. Want it soft, but still firm. 4. Once done, remove from pan, top with additional herbs and a slice of mozzarella and cover until the cheese melts. 5. Place a little water or oil in same pan and throw in spinach or arugula- cook until wilted.6. Toast slices of bread. (Can spread roasted garlic on bread at this point, if desired). Top with 1 or 2 eggplant slices and greens. Top with aforementioned roasted red pepper sauce (heated).If you make the sauce in bulk ahead of time (say, on the weekend) you can whip this recipe up in about 15 minutes (you don't HAVE to sweat the eggplant if you're short on time). I make them open-faced and they're so satisfying. For sure a favorite.*If you can't tolerate any kind of bread you can put it over rice, or even just omit the carbs all together which is just as good!