Creamy Peanut Soup

I made this soup for my Mexican cooking class & it turned out yummy. One of my students was lactose intolerant so I replaced the heavy whipping cream with coconut milk which gave it more of a Thai taste but very, very yummy. I didn't have to thicken it because it was thick enough because of the peanuts so as long as you don't add a chicken stock with gluten it is gluten free. If you want it thinner you can add more chicken stock. If you want it lower in fat replace the cream with low fat milk. 

1 ea .......... Onion

1 lb............ Peanuts, skinless

2 to 3 ea... Chipotle Chilies

4 c............. Chicken stock

3 drp......... Tabasco

1 Tbs........ Onion Powder

1 Tbs........ Garlic Powder

1 tsp.......... Thyme

1 tsp.......... Oregano

3 ea........... Bay Leaves

1 c............. Heavy Whipping Cream

To taste.... Salt 

1.   Dice onion.

2.   Sautee onions, peanuts and chilies.

3.   Add stock with the remaining ingredients except bay leaves & cream.

4.   Puree and add bay leaves & cream. 

5.   Salt to taste. 

Almond Cake

This cake is completely gluten free.  …And it’s good.  ...And, almonds are really good for you.  Traditionally almonds are used in Spain but you could use any type of nuts such as walnuts or hazel nuts.  If you were to use hazel nuts try making a syrup with coffee in place of the orange juice.


 Cake 

5 ea............... Eggs

½ c................. Sugar

2 ea............... Orange

1 c.................. Finely ground almonds

1.    Grate orange rinds of the oranges.

2.    Separate yolks from whites and cream yolks with sugar and orange rind. 

3.    Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form and fold into the batter with the ground almonds.

4.    Pour into a greased 9”x9” pan.

5.    Bake for 35 minutes in a preheated oven (350ºF)

6.    Let cool.

Syrup

2 ea............... Juice of oranges

1/3 c............... Sugar

5 ea............... Whole cloves

¼ tsp.............. Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 Tbs............. Rum

7.    Add all syrup ingredients, except for rum, in a small saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes.

8.    Remove from heat and add rum.

9.    Let cool and pour over cake.

Be creative, have fun and enjoy!!!

Pakora

Street vendors in Suva, Fiji

Pakora is an Indian dish of fried veggies. I spent a dive vacation in Fiji once where most of the restaurants are Indian. Some of the best Indian food was found at the little street vendors along the streets in the bigger cities. Yes, I always eat at the little street vendors when traveling because that is always the best and most authentic foods of the area. I haven't been sick yet. I will also ask the locals where they eat not where the tourists eat. Pakora is served with different types of chutney and yogurt sauces. 

1 c............. Garbanzo Flour
1½ tsp....... Salt
½ tsp......... Onion Powder
½ tsp......... Garlic Powder
¾ c............ Water
1 ea........... Veggies
3-4 c.......... Peanut oil

1.   Mix all ingredients except the veggies and oil and let set for about 30 minutes.

2.   Heat oil in a deep heavy bottomed pot.

3.   Cut veggies into slices and dip into batter.

4.   Fry until golden brown.

The veggies I like to use are boiled potato, onion, zucchini, and broccoli but any can be used. I found the Garbanzo flour at our local health food store along with the other flours. I use peanut oil for frying because it has a high smoke point, which is when the oil will start to smoke.  Peanut oil has a smoke point of about 450°F where olive oil’s about 350°F.  However, some people have allergies to peanuts so you need to stay away from it in that case.  Sunflower oil is almost the same as peanut oil and Canola oil’s is about 400°F.  Ok, so why am I talking about smoke points???  It’s because the hotter the oil the less oil absorption.  With less oil absorption the more we can eat.  This dish is gluten free.

Be creative, have fun and enjoy!