So, the hubs made this in a pressure cooker. This Christmas I meant to buy him a slow cooker. WIth the arrival of our 2nd bundle of joy I thought a slow cooker would be an easy way to have a hot meal ready when we got home after work. But instead I bought a pressure cooker by accident. (I liked the way it looked and it took up less counter space but still held same volume as the other ones on display). BEST MISTAKE I EVER MADE because you can whip up dishes with dried beans in no time, like 20 minutes!!! No more gooey sodium laden canned beans for us!!!  (But this can be done on the stove top with prepared beans) Here are the ingredients.

1 cup dry black bean (1 can cooked black beans – rinsed drained if you are making in a regular pot)

1 diced banana

2 cups unsweetened silk coconut milk (NOT THE CANNED STUFF!)

1 diced onion

1 head of peeled and chopped garlic

2 teaspoons Penzey’s ground red chipotles

1 tablespoon za’atar spice blend

fresh cilantro – a couple of sprigs

4 small tomatoes – quartered

3 celery heart stalks – chopped

1 tablespoon salt (do not use if using canned beans!)

1 red and 1 yellow pepper diced

1 heaping tablespoon of Girardelli cocoa powder (or any other brand)

1/8 cup lemon juice (juice of one lemon)

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1. Sautee garlic and onion in za’atar, chipotle and lemon juice.

2. Add salt, beans, banana, coconut milk and cocoa powder, bring to a boil, and set pressure cooker for 22 minutes

3. Add peppers, celery, cilantro and tomatoes – pressure cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Serve over brown rice! So YUMMY!!!! My husband has never played by the rules. And is not bogged down by culinary tradition. His unique and spontaneous food combinations never cease to surprise and please me! I used to be a purist. I no longer am. Plus he is pretty cute and totally hilarious. I love you! (picture below at last year’s Emmy’s – we lost ALL SIX NOMINATIONS but had a blast nonetheless)

i heard that this recipe would send me into labor….and i’m at the point where i will try ANYTHING!!! i did, however, make some healthy changes to it.

i baked my eggplant until tender instead of frying it after i spritzed it with a little olive oil. i also used low fat ricotta cheese, but didn’t skimp on the parm, romano or mozzarella. bc it would taste as good!

and i used cans of san marzano tomatoes – cubed.

Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
Ingredients:

3 medium size eggplants
1 cup of flour
6 eggs, beaten
4 cups fine Italian seasoned bread crumbs
Olive oil
8 cups of marinara sauce (see recipe below)
1/2 cup of grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 lbs of mozzarella cheese shredded
2 cups of ricotta cheese

Directions:

Peel the eggplants (optional) and slice them into ¼ inch slices. Using paper towels, press on the eggplant slices to get rid of any extra moisture. Salt and set them aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Take your eggplant slices and lightly cover them with flour. Dip them in eggs and then in bread crumbs. Saute your eggplant slices in oil until both sides are golden brown.

In a baking pan place a layer of eggplant slices and cover with sauce then ricotta, Parmesan and Romano cheese. Continue layering the eggplant, sauce and cheese and end with a last layer of cheese. Cover with mozzarella cheese and bake in preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Eggplant Parmesan Marinara Sauce
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of chopped garlic
3 tablespoons of olive oil
8 cups chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned)
1 cup onions chopped
1/2 cup of fresh chopped parsley
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1/8 cup of fresh chopped sweet basil
Pinch of thyme
Pinch of rosemary
One teaspoon salt
One teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a large sauce pan. Add your tomatoes and cook on medium high until sauce begins to boil. Reduce heat to low. Then add the rest of your ingredients. Cover sauce and simmer for about an hour.

beofre summer is over, try this amazing recipe from Toloache…we featured this great Mexican restaurant on our show!

Guacamole de Frutas (medium)
Yield: 4

2 Mexican hass avocados
half of a sweet onion, like vidalia, diced
2 tbsp mango, diced
2 tbsp peach, diced
2 tbsp apple, diced
1 tsp of habanero, chopped
salt, to taste

Scoop the pulp out of the ripe avocados into a bowl, and set aside. Add the rest of the ingredients and a pinch of salt. Mash the ingredients together, and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve with warm corn tortillas or chips.

And don’t want to leave your apartment? Well, this late night cookie delivery service was created for undergrads, but even if you are no longer a co-ed you can still get your midnight munchie fix delivered to your front door. And the cookies are good!

So next time chocolate chip, coconut pecan or snicker doodles are in need in the wee hours, just hit up insomnia cookies.

If it’s the local flavors of the Hudson Valley you are after, you may want to check out newcomer Hudson Hil’s.

Cold Spring residents Hilary – a former equity analyst and her husband Bob a gifted chef and carpenter gave up their big city gigs to raise a family and create a market and cafe that is totally local. They sell cut to order steaks in the market as well as an amazing variety of world-class cheeses, all made in and around the Hudson Valley. Hilary’s husband Bob serves as executive chef and will be selling cut to order locally sourced steaks for those backyard bbq … They also sell locally made gelato in totally groovy flavors like cannoli and carrot cake alongside fresh pastas made right down the road in Peekskill. Bob says the community is changing and wants to support local economies, something he and his family have been practicing for years.

The restaurant serves breakfast all day, but if you are looking or the best, and I do mean, the best burger north of Manhattan, let Bob cook you up his locally sourced grass fed burger. Amazing. Equally as good are the homemade veggie chips on the side. Addictive! And yes, they sell them in the market, too. Mama didn’t raise no fool.

just when you think you have lost a few pounds, leave it to my production team to scout out the best bakery in Washington Heights. fine, i think, sweets aren’t really my downfall, i’ll just eat a few bites on camera and hand it over to my annoyingly skinny crew (who eat like pigs btw. unfair).

little did i know i was about to be introduced to CUCHIFRITOS. if you are on a serious diet i suggest you stop reading here. just log off now.

ok, this is what goes down: they take a lump of spiced beef, cover it with mashed potatoes and drop it in the deep frier. i know it’s a latin dish, but c’mon it’s like a freakin’ deep fried shepherd’s pie, for crying out loud – minus the peas. after i shmeared it all over my body (TMI?) in ecstasy, i took a half a dozen to go. being that this is a family show, i will not tell you what i did with the rest of them. let’s just say they didn’t last long.

usually booking shoots or my show is quite simple. we call up a place we want to cover and usually everyone is very excited. the pace of biz usually can accommodate our schedule…we go in, shoot, do an interview or two, chow down, exchange hugs and kisses and we’re out.

well that wasnt exactly the case with Tipico. first off, no one really spoke english, so my pal alicia and i conference called. but mangers were never in, we were put on hold, disconnected, we all back…then FINALLY a man named jose said we were clear to come in on a sunday at 2pm. he was not the owner but said he could speak on their behalf, so we were good to go.

jump cut to sunday: we arrive at teh scheduled time, ask for jose and after most of the employees look at the guy by the register – the guy behind the register says he is not jose. and has no idea who we are. weird. then a lady walks in and apparently she is the wife of the owner but still claims no knowledge of our appointment. i explain to her that Tipico has been recommended highly by our viewers and we want to feature them on the show. she finally complies, but doesnt want to be on camera. in fact NO ON wants to be on camera. until i point at one cute kid and convince him to do it. he doesn’t speak a lick of english. hahaha.

now the good news, the hassle was well worth it! first off, the juke box blasted with latin pop which makes you feel like you are actually in DR. and the decor is kinda old school which gives its a fun vibe.

we ate some of the best dominican food i’ve ever had – ok, fine i haven’t had that much dominican food, but it was great!

Sancocho is, without doubt, dominican’s most cherished culinary treasure. It is a soup that is usually made for special occasions as its preparation is long and it contains many ingredients. At Tipico, Sancocho is prepeared with pork ribs, plaintains and yucca. SO GOOD!

Tostones also rocked, as did chicken rice and beans, 5 bucks if you eat it at the counter! BONUS: open 24/7

the star dishes:

So our buddies Lee and Marina invited us over for a little dinner (she made Malaysian Chicken Curry w/Swiss Chard and Feta! YUM!)). But we all knew it was really an excuse for the parents to unwind, have a beer or two, while the rug rats run themselves ragged. And dessert fell in my lap. Too lazy to go to the store, in true McGuiver style, I rummaged around the cupboards on a quest to make apple crisp (which Lord knows why, I was seriously craving). This is what I found:

3 apples – one green, one golden, one fiji, all past their prime. Not really enough to make enough for 6, I pulled a half full bag organic mixed berries from the freezer.

2 Apple Juice Boxes (which we never let our sugar deprived son have! lol!)

Lacking fresh Lemon Juice, i used my husbands dehydrated powdered lemon packets – free samples form work – True Lemon – 6 packets mixed with 6 tablespoons water.

Oats (1 cup)

Whole Wheat Flower (1 cup)

Brown Sugar (1/3 cup)

2 Tablespoons Butter. C’mon, you gotta have a little butter!

What I did:

1. I peeled and thinly sliced apples and dumped bag of berries into pyrex dish.

2. Sprinkled lemon “juice”

3. Added in 1 and 1/2 juice boxes

3. Mixed Oats, Whole Wheat Flower, Brown Sugar – also added cinnamon – maybe 2 teaspoons. Chopped up butter into tiny pieces, mixed it in and put over fruit.

4. Sprinkled remaining juice box.

5. Baked at 400 degrees until bubbly. About 35 minutes.

Packed the dish in a roaster pan, covered with tin foil, hopped in the Traverse and hit the road.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Cranberry Apple Crisp

Serves 6-8

Cranberries and apples pair perfectly in this delicious, old-fashioned recipe. Serve as a wonderful finish to your Thanksgiving Feast.  Or here’s a tip: It’s also a great way to use up all that leftover Cranberry Sauce!

6 firm, tart apples (like Granny Smith)

1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided

1 cup brown sugar, divided

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1½ cups whole berry cranberry sauce

1¼ cups gluten-free All-Purpose Flour Blend

of choice

¼ teaspoon xanthan gum

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 cup gluten-free old-fashioned oats or quinoa flakes

½-¾ cup dairy-free, soy-free vegetable shortening*

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 7×11-inch pan or an 8 or 9-inch square baking dish.

2. Peel, core and slice apples into ¼ inch-thick slices. Toss with ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ cup brown sugar and cornstarch. Transfer to prepared baking dish.

3. Spread cranberry sauce evenly over top of apples.

4. Measure flour by spooning it into a dry measuring cup, leveling it with a straightedge or back of a knife and then pouring it into a mixing bowl. Add xanthan gum, salt, oats, the remaining ¾ cup brown sugar and remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Mix to combine.

5. Melt shortening (30-60 seconds in the microwave usually does it). Drizzle it into the flour mixture, a little at a time, tossing until you have a large crumb. Spread crumb evenly over top of fruit. Use your fingers to clump it together as necessary.

6. Place in preheated oven and bake 40 minutes until top is golden brown and filling is bubbling up around edges. Let rest about 30 minutes before serving.

*TIP For a slightly drier crumb topping (and for those watching calories), use ½ cup shortening. For a “buttery” crumb topping, use ¾ cup shortening.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Cranberry Apple Crisp

Copyright © 2009 by Cybele Pascal

Cybele Pascal is the award-winning author of The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook and The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook. She has been a guest on The Martha Stewart Show, the Food Network, the Todayshow, ABC News,Good Morning America Health, and NPR. She writes a weekly food blog, Food Allergy Recipe Challenge on Martha Stewart’s Whole Living Daily and is the host of Eat Freely with Cybele, an internet based Allergy-Friendly cooking show.  She is also a regular contributor to Living Without; the magazine for people with allergies and food sensitivities, and her allergy-friendly recipes have appeared in many national publications, including Good Housekeeping, Whole Living, and NY Parent. Additionally, she has written regular columns for Oxygen Media, AOL, and Gaiam.com.

For more information visit Cybele’s Website!

Gluten-Free Vegan Baked Cake Donuts
MAKES 6 DONUTS

If you don’t already have a donut pan, get yourself over to Bed, Bath, & Beyond, or Sur la Table, and buy one! You thought making cupcakes was fun? Wait till you try baked donuts. The perfect sized treat, any time of day. And as an added bonus, these little beauties are low-fat!

¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons rice milk
½ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend , or my Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix (recipe follows)
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon double-acting baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1/8th teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8th teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening
½ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 2 Tablespoons rice milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Vanilla glaze (recipe follows)
Sprinkles (Edward & Sons makes GF sprinkles)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Combine rice milk with lemon juice and set aside.

3. Measure out flour mix by spooning flour into a dry measuring cup, then leveling it off with a straightedge, or the back of a knife. (Do not scoop the flour directly with the measuring cup or you’ll wind up with too much flour for the recipe). Combine flour mix with xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk well. Set aside.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable shortening, granulated sugar, egg replacer, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

5. Sift in the flour mixture in three bathes, alternating with the rice milk, and beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, about 30 seconds.

6. Using a teaspoon, spoon the batter into an ungreased non-stick donut pan, filling each donut cup about 7/8th full. Do not over fill them or they’ll rise too much. Smooth down batter with back of teaspoon to even surface, then wrap pan firmly against counter a few times to really settle batter into pan.

7. Bake 15 minutes in center of oven until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool in pan 5 minutes on a cooling rack. Invert onto rack and wrap back of pan lightly to dislodge donuts. Let cool on rack to room temperature. Dip top of donut (the smoother side) into vanilla glaze, then into sprinkles. Set back onto rack to let glaze set. Best when eaten fresh (like all donuts), or they can be frozen and then thawed on counter, on demand.

Vanilla Glaze

½ cup confectioners’sugar

1 Tablespoon rice milk

¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Combine all ingredients, mixing until smooth.

Gluten-Free Vegan Baked Cake Donuts
Copyright © 2010 by Cybele Pascal

Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix
Makes 6 cups

The key to the very best gluten-free baked goods is Authentic Foods superfine brown rice flour; it is the Cadillac, or cashmere, of brown rice flours and is worth its weight in gold. It is not grainy like other rice flours, and bakes the most fantastic cookies, cakes, pie crusts, and so on. If you can’t find it at your local natural foods market or Whole Foods, order it online. Both Ener-G and Bob’s Red Mill brown rice flours will also work in these recipes, but they won’t turn out quite as well. The brands of potato starch and tapioca flour or starch are not as important; I find them all interchangeable. (Please see Resources, page 177, of The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook for more information.)

4 cups superfine brown rice flour
1 1⁄3 cups potato starch (not potato flour)
2/3 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)

1. To measure flour, use a large spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level it off with the back of a knife or straightedge. Do not use the measuring cup itself to scoop your flour when measuring! It will compact the flour and you will wind up with too much for the recipe.
2. Combine all ingredients in a gallon-size zipper-top bag. Shake until well blended. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix recipe reprinted with permission from The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook: How to Bake Without Gluten, Wheat, Dairy, Eggs, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, and Sesame. Copyright © 2009 by Cybele Pascal, Celestial Arts, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA.

Gluten-Free Vegan Baked Cake Donuts
Copyright © 2010 by Cybele Pascal

(Please note that all my recipes are completely free of all top allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish, and gluten), so as many people as possible can enjoy them. Additionally, all the ingredients are available at Whole Foods, and online at Amazon.com. If you have trouble finding something, let me know and I’ll help you find it.)

SAFETY NOTE: Because each person’s food sensitivity and reaction is unique, ranging from mild intolerance to life-threatening and severe food allergies, it is up to the consumer to monitor ingredients and manufacturing conditions. If manufacturing conditions, potential cross contact between foods, and ingredient derivatives pose a risk for you, please re-read all food labels and call the manufacturer to confirm potential allergen concerns BEFORE consumption. Ingredients and manufacturing practices can change overnight and without warning.

Cybele Pascal is the award-winning author of The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook and The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook. She has been a guest on The Martha Stewart Show, the Food Network, the Todayshow, ABC News,Good Morning America Health, and NPR. She writes a weekly food blog, Food Allergy Recipe Challenge on Martha Stewart’

s Whole Living Daily and is the host of Eat Freely with Cybele, an internet based Allergy-Friendly cooking show.  She is also a regular contributor to Living Without; the magazine for people with allergies and food sensitivities, and her allergy-friendly recipes have appeared in many national publications, including Good Housekeeping, Whole Living, and NY Parent. Additionally, she has written regular columns for Oxygen Media, AOL, and Gaiam.com.

For more information visit Cybele’s Website!