Lets Talk Exotic - Red Raspberries

I would still classify these wonderful deep red beauties in the 'exotic' field. I'm not sure exactly why but I would think due to their cost even on the best of seasons around here. Right now, even though we are very close to officially being summer, they are still at the best price of 2.99euro (about 5 USD).

However, berries... ANY berry... are well worth the cost they come at to include in your gluten free diet! Remember, any fruit is naturally gluten free not to mention soooo good for you.

Today I present some wonderful photos I took earlier in the year of some really nice raspberries that I bought. These ones if memory serves me right were the ones I froze for my Raspberry Pancakes Recipe. You'll be pleasantly surprised at just how easy it is to infuse these beauties into cooking, baking and just every day life!

Remember, almost all berries are now considered 'super foods' due to their high nutrient content! Raspberries are not only sweet and wonderful in color but their antioxidant properties are off the scale!

Let Us Talk 'Exotic' - Doughnut Peaches

It becoming that time of year again... all of my wonderful spring and summer fruits and veggies will be coming into full cycle soon and I thought today would be a good day to write about another little treasure that I am impatiently awaiting.... doughnut peaches or otherwise known as a Saturn Peach.

These little pieces of natural gluten free heaven are about as sinful as they are good for you. If eaten ripe, they are so juicy that you will need a napkin with them, they are so sweet you will think you were eating a piece of candy and they as so flavourful that you would think that you had just spent hours in the kitchen preparing them with all sorts of exotic flavours.

Any fruit is good for you and when you are living or must live the gluten free life style, we sometimes forget the most simple of things are naturally gluten free. Normal peaches are good for you as well but they are usually large and it's really a hit and miss thing if you get a really good ripe juicy full of flavour one but when you choose to find these little beauties called 'Doughnut Peaches' due to their squished in roundness that looks a lot like a doughnut with a very small seed right in the middle that would be the 'hole' of the doughnut you will not have to guess if they will be sweet and juicy as long as you remember to pick them out ripe or let them ripen a bit at home.

As with any fruit, peaches do have health benefits as well. This wonderful piece of fruit contains a large amount of fibre and on top of it important nutrients such as niacin, thiamine, potassium, calcium and beta carotene which is a vital antioxidant that converts into Vitamin A.

So when your out at your local farmer's market or your local fruit store or even your every day grocery store and crave something sweet that is good for you, look for these little beauties, you'll be very glad you did. Don't forget, there are LOTS of recipes that call for fresh peaches. Keep an eye out later in the summer months for some posts from me on recipes using this season's wonderful summer fruits.

Recipe - Sushi

Sushi... what exactly is it? There are many people around the world that have said it's either this or that or that and I am no expert on it either but to me sushi does at least mean it does *NOT* involve raw meat as many people seem to think but there are some that beg to differ with my thoughts on this as some sushi will also involve slices of raw salmon or tuna. Ok that is fine... but in the end it is still made with cooked vinegared rice known as Shan. Anyhow, the point being is that Sushi when made at home, can be any thing you want it to be or not be.

I'm not an expert in making this art and I don't strive to be but I also still love to eat Sushi because not only is it really healthy for you but it tastes really good when you have the right combination of ingredients going on. I sometimes like to also make these with a side order of freshly made Tempura style veggies (makes really nice seafood too though!). Not to mention, making it at home costs a mere fraction of the cost that you will go out to buy it already made for... oh and the fact that you can ensure that all ingredients going into it are 100% gluten free!

Tip #1 - This is where again my advice of keeping vinyl powder free gloves for kitchen use come in handy. But this time not only do you want to wear a pair of these while making this wonderful dish but you will also want to keep a bowl of cold water (doesn't have to be iced or anything, just cold from the tap will do). As you go on preparing these wonderful little treasures, you'll want to refresh this bowl of water from time to time.

Tip #2 - Make sure you have all the ingredients you intend to use for this prepared, set out before you in easy reaching distance. It's very much a PITA to get caught up in the middle of making these only to realize you left the layer of foil or what ever sitting on the other side of the kitchen or that you forgot you wanted to add cucumber but it's sitting in the fridge uncut.

Tip #3 - When preparing the rice, HAVE PATIENCE! This is what makes Sushi.... SUSHI! You need to have patience when rinsing the rice, when soaking it (if it's a kind that needs soaking), when cooking, when cooking, when working with it. I've even read or heard some where on the web that it is taboo to 'abuse' your rice in Japanese culture... they respect the rice and treat it with respect. Doing this means your rice will be just right and will produce the finest of what ever product you are making with it.

Tip #4 - When preparing your veggies and any meat that you will be putting inside rolled Sushi, you want to make sure they are slices thinly and all around the same sort of thickness. Too thick or too large of pieces will just result in un-even rolls or rolls that don't stay together at all. See the photos through out the directions.

Tip #5 - Don't get upset if your first attempt doesn't work very well. I've been making this a couple of times a year for a few years now and even I'm still not there. I get the idea of making really good rice, what goes together and not together but my rolling technique still sucks beyond words but hey I have fun doing it and so should you!

Tip #6 - For those of us (yes me included) that are a bit more cautious and don't wish to risk eating raw fish for one reason or another, you can substitute salmon lox (a bit more salty but at least cooked) for the sushi grade raw salmon but do *NOT* substitute the tuna for canned! Canned tuna vs fresh tuna, even cooked, are SO very different and does not make good sushi. If you rather not eat raw tuna, at least buy a nice steak of it fresh, cook it through (no pink/red centre), shred it with a fork and let cool before preparing your Sushi with it.

Tip #7 - Last one, just a tip that has come down from the times of rolling these, completely cover your bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap! Don't 'tighten' it around the thing, just cover completely with enough give to allow the mat to still roll but that you don't have any of the wood exposed. This will keep your mat clean and give you an easy clean up in the end. These mats are very difficult to wash, are NOT dish washer safe and are held together by string if they are true Japanese Sushi mat. Doing this will just ensure your mat will last through out the years. On this note, when storing your mat, make sure it's stored in a dry dark place as to prevent it from absorbing any odors or moister which might cause mold to form.

Ingredients - Sushi Rice (see tip #3)
 ♥ 2 cups uncooked Sushi Style rice (most stores mark this as such rice now a days)    
 ♥ 2 tbs sugar

 ♥ 2 to 3 tbs rice wine vinegar

Ingredients - Filling/Meat Selection

This following ingredient lists are no where near being what is exactly in Sushi, there is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to go about this. Pick your favourite veggies, seafood, fish or even egg! (will get to that one another time when I attempt to make Japanese omelets).

 ♥ Sashimi grade salmon or tuna (this means that it's of a high quality, as fresh as you can get it and can be eaten raw without fear of getting sick from it. As your fish monger for sashimi grade or sometimes referred to as actually sushi grade)

 ♥ Salmon lox (see tip# 5)

 ♥ Cooked tiger pawns (large shrimp)

 ♥ Fresh cooked crab (most fish monger have this already, just ask for it)

 ♥ Japanese omelets (not recipe for this yet sorry)

 ♥ Halibut lox (another type of fish commonly sold in lox form)

Ingredients - Filling/Veggie Selection (see tip# 4)

 ♥ Cucumber

 ♥ Bell peppers

 ♥ Carrots

 ♥ Bamboo shoots
 ♥ Green onions

 ♥ Avocado

 ♥ Water chestnuts

 ♥ Pickled ginger

 ♥ Wasabi paste (if you like it spicy!)

 ♥ Nori sheets (the seaweed sheets that are used to make Sushi)

Directions - Preparing The Rice (VITAL STEP!)

This is most likely the most important part of the whole Sushi making process. Don't fear if you end up with a couple of thrown out batches of rice before you get this but just in the same you might be lucky as I was from knowing how to cook rice that you'll do just fine. Biggest word of advice is PATIENCE! (see tip# 3)

Firstly, make sure your rice is indeed rice intended for Sushi. Most stores now a days will have a section that is just for Japanese cooking and you'll find every thing you need for this adventure in it that area with exception of some of the veggies.

Most Sushi rices need rinsing before they are can be used to remove excess dust from it's processing. Basically what you want to do is strain it through a fine mesh strainer until the water that is coming off of the rice is no longer milky or cloudy but running clear as the water that went into it.

 If the water still looks like this, keep rinsing... remember you want the water that comes out to be as clear as the water you put in

Let stand for a bit, this is not totally needed but it doesn't hurt either. When making this rice by stove top (for those of us that do not use rice enough to warrant having a rice cooker) use a heavy bottomed kettle for this. Do not use a light aluminum kettle for this as your rice will most likely end up burning.

Place rice into kettle and add as much water as needed to reach 1/2 inch higher then the rice itself. Bring to a full boil uncovered. If you use a gas stove, let the rice cook at a boil until the water as been absorbed just until the top of the rice and if you are using an electric stove simply skip the water reducing step needed in the gas stove directions and continue. Cover and turn the heat down to the lowest possible temperature. At this point, do NOT uncover for what ever reason for about 10 minutes. This is the patience part as well... uncovering it will result in losing the steam that is cooking the rice and may cause it to go flat. After this waiting time, return to your rice and it should be perfectly cooked and absorbed all of the water.

Again patience is required on this step, you have to remove the rice from the heat source and allow it to cool until it is slightly still warm. While waiting for this to happen mix the rice wine vinegar with the sugar in a small bowl. When the rice is still warm but no longer hot, drizzle over the vinegar mixture and use a pair of chop sticks to lightly toss the rice and vinegar mix until well disbursed. Again, more waiting... now you should let the completed Sushi rice sit until it is cooled completely. Working with warm rice is not going to work well as it is very very sticky at this stage, not to mention if you hit a spot that is still much too hot, you'll simply burn yourself. Have patience... this is the one place that it is really needed.

While your waiting for the rice to cool completely, this would a good time to prepare any of the veggies and meats you will be using. Remember to keep things kind of the same. Cut veggies in long thin slices, keep meats in small but workable sizes, if using bamboo shoots do not leave them whole but also slice them thinly. If using water chestnuts, make sure you buy the already sliced ones and then go about also slicing them thinly. If you are attempting this recipe, you at least have some skill in the kitchen already, use your common sense in what is a good size to go into a Sushi roll. If you think it's too big or too wide, chances are it is.

Once your rice is completely cooled, you're on your way to preparing you own rolls! Now I'm not going to go into what kind of roll is what kind of things or what not. I don't live in the 'it MUST be this way' type thinking when it comes to the kitchen. Yes some things need to be done certain ways such as measuring flour for a cake or the process needed to cook the Sushi rice in this dish but I have never been one to think that I must make a California Roll or what not. I just put in what I think will go good together and go from there. So with that said, don't expect to find recipes to make certain rolls... just go with your guts and put in what you think will go nicely together such as salmon with a bit of avocado or tuna with a bit of cucumber and ginger. This is YOUR Sushi... make what YOU want to of it!

Firstly, make sure you've prepared your mat (see tip# 7). Usually I work with half sheets of Nori (seaweed sheets for Sushi) but some prefer to use whole sheets. This is up to you and how much you are planning to add to each roll itself. If you want more inside the roll, then you will need more to roll, simple as that.

Lay out your sheet of seaweed on your mat shiny side down. You want the paler side for placing the rice on so that it sticks to the sheet better and that you have a better looking end result.

Now respect your rice on this part, do not 'mash' or 'press' your rice but spread it. Dip your fingers in the cold water (with or without gloves on) and using your fingers take enough rice to cover 3/4th of your sheet (not matter if you are using half a sheet or a full sheet) with about 1/4th inch thickness. Remember SPREAD the rice out, do not mash it down. You want a fluffy texture to this and if you start to mash or press out the rice with any thing but your fingers, you're likely to split the rice pieces and make a rice mash instead of keeping it in pieces.

Once the rice is spread out evenly, place your wanted ingredients along the short side closest to you from end to end. Place them side by side going up the length but do not add too much of any thing at one time. Remember, use your head on this one. If you think there is too much going into a roll, most likely it is. You just have to play with it and find what feels best for you.

Rolling is something I can't teach but will try to explain. You do *NOT* roll your mat up into a roll, the mat is used to add you in rolling your Sushi. If you attempt to roll you Sushi in your mat, you'll just find out the hard way that the mat is now part of your roll and that it didn't work very well (did that the first time making this). What you want to do is make sure your seaweed sheet is at the very end of the mat closest to you. Working gently, take the end of the mat and being to roll. Using your fingers on the other side where your rice is, make sure your ingredients are staying secure. Using the mat to add, begin to use it to roll the seaweed into a roll while allowing the mat to roll OVER the roll inside of it. Once you have your roll entirely together, use the mat that is rolled around the outside of it to apply some very light pressure to the roll that is inside to help seal and slightly form it.

Slowly unroll the mat and what you will be left with (hopefully) will be a wonderful little roll of Sushi made by your own wonderful hands. 100% gluten free and for only a fraction of the cost of what it would have been if you went to that new Sushi take away down the street.

I have found this best served for my tastes is a mild sweet chili sauce or a sesame sauce. The traditional way is to use soy sauce with just a bit of wasabi paste added to it, stirred with chop sticks and dipped. Remember though real soy sauce ALWAYS has wheat in it (for what ever odd reason) so if you do want to go this way, make sure you use Tamari Sauce instead... it tastes exactly as you would expect soy sauce to taste with all of its dark salty goodness (so to speak) but without the added wheat/gluten aspect. Then usually between each 'type' of roll that is eaten, one eats a small piece of pickled ginger to cleanse the pallet in order to enjoy the tastes of what each roll provides. As for me... I like it all!

I made these wonderful rolls for our Christmas Celebration in 2011 (yea yea I know, late in posting but does that tell you how long I hold on to some recipes?!). I don't have the finally cut open, laying on a plate type ending photos but basically in the end you want to cut off the ends just enough to get rid of the over hang (they taste pretty good too, so just nibble away as you cut *halo*). Take your roll, with a very sharp knife, cut it first in half, put the two halves next to each other and again cut in half. Repeat the process one or two more times depending how thin you want your roll pieces. This method allows you to keep all of your pieces the same thickness if you plan to serve this to guests or just simply want to make it look all pretty. When I make these again I'll make sure I grab photos of this stage and what the final result looks like when one is served.

Let Us Talk 'Exotic' - Coloured Cauliflower

I thought this was the best place for this posting as this is not your normal cauliflower! I found these beauties around the Christmas season in 2011 when all the kind of more odd, weird and exotic type foods come out to temp the eye of the near-by shopper into their wonders.

Well these did just that for me. I know that cauliflower is just a good for you as almost any other kind of veggie and fruit. They are high in vit C and manganese, they even contain Omega-3 fatty acids! (new fact to me!). They are also a great source to lots of B class vits! But with that said, remember the golden rule in food and eating... everything in moderation. They say to limit your intake of this veggie to not more then 4 or 5 servings a week as it has purines which are broken down by the body making uric acid which with too much can in turn lead to getting gout.

With that said, look at these beauties! Purple and Orange Cauliflower! I LOVED purple and just feel for these the instant I found them! Don't worry about too much about how to cook them as there are LOTS of ways to cook cauliflower from roasting to sauteing to even just boiling or steaming it. I personally like the roasting and steaming methods best but I also like to mash it and make kind of a mock potato pancake type dish (again will post recipes I'm sure).

The colour on these beauties aren't just skin deep either, it runs all the way through. Perhaps not as deep as the colour on it's outside but it just looks so pretty when cut up and ready for cooking. I boiled mine at this time and I have to give you one small piece of advice, if you boil these kind of cauliflowers, so them separate! Especially if you have a purple one in there! The colour DOES bleed into the water and thus my orange coloured on turned a really weird colour. That is a reason I didn't post a recipe or anything with these... just sharing some more exotic stuffs with you all! I mean what is better for a gluten free diet then going to the basic things that are naturally gluten free?! 

Let Us Talk 'Exotic' - Goose Berries

Another day, another fruit. Ok ok ok! Another month and another exotic fruit! Today I'd like to offer you a couple of cute little photos of something that are again quite common out here as compared to the USA. In the USA English, they are known as Goose Berries.

These little gems are not for the faint of heart though. They are quite bitter, especially if you buy certain types. But they are such a wonderful colour, shape and have this fuzzy little fur on them that I had to make a place for them in my blog. They are packed with nutrients (like most fruit obviously but more so since they are in the berry family) and again as most fruit, 100% naturally gluten free.

Enjoy the couple of photos and check out the WIKI LINK for some more in-depth information on these wonderful little globes of fruit. My husband is particularly fond of these.

Let Us Talk 'Exotic' - Wild Lychee

Do you ever feel adventurous when it comes to trying new foods? I do often as long as it's not totally out there such as eating bugs or something. This is what brings me to my post today. We have some of the most wonderful fresh fruit and veggie shops around here and when it becomes the wonderful spring and summer months, they become just packed with all sort of new and hidden treasures from mangos to papaya and to some things such as wild lychee fruit. There are so many wonderful and all natural items to be found in the produce section of even just your local grocer but if you have a chance to get to speciality store that carry even more in the way of exotic, go and visit!

Today's post though is about the wonderful but sadly neglected lychee. There are of course more then one varieties but mostly between 2... wild and farmed.

The other week while I was visiting one of my most beloved fruit stores when I came across these kind of odd almost spiny looking round things. As curious as I am about the world around me, I read enough of the sign that was with them to make out that they were indeed lychee fruit. So I bagged up a few (they are expensive compared to the farmed version!) and in my basket they went.

It took me a few days before I cut into them though but I sure am glad that I did. I would suggest though that when you buy this kind that you buy it not for the sake of making any kind of recipe that calls for this fruit due to the labour involved in getting the fruit from it's shell, the price that comes with it and the fact that they are just so special in the way of fruit. Use them as a nice little plate garnish or cut one up and put it in a glass of fruity wine (they even make lychee wine!) but what ever you do use them for something special!

The fruit itself without it's shell is not any bigger then about an inch long and not perfectly round but more oblong in shape. It's shell is semi-hard to the touch but breaks away quite easily once a slit is made in it. They do not have the kind of shell that you should 'hit' against something like say you would do to a hard boiled egg to remove the shell. Take a small shape knife to the shell and VERY carefully make a slit. The skin is less then 1mm thick ... it's more of a hard skin then a shell really. Then you should be able to get into the slit to find this wonderfully white and juicy little fruit piece inside. All lychees unless processed have this kind of skin thin shell but the wild lychee has this wonderfully spiky (but soft so don't be afraid of handling them!) look to it where as the farm grown ones have no spikes at all and have a very pinkish to dark pinkish colour.

** Farmed lychee photo from taste.com.au from their article on lychee cooking tips **

Once you've uncovered the little white ball from within it's shell, I suggest for the first time that you just pop the little guy whole into your month because if they are ripe and ready, they will be very juicy. Be cautious though because inside this fruit lays a very hard and rather large seed. It takes up about 1/4th to 1/2 the size of the fruit and is hard! But eating the wonderful white flesh away from it is very easy and you'll be rewarded with a very nice sweet experience.

If you want to ever try a lychee without all the hassles of getting it out of the shell or having to deal with the seed, a lot of stores now carry these little fruits already prepared for you in cans (sometimes jarred) in syrup but unless you are making something that calls for more then a half cup of lychees I would suggest you NEVER by these as not only will you 99% of the time only find them in syrup (not even real fruit juice like you can find pineapple in for example) but again they go into the 'less processed the better' rule that I try to make a point of within my writings.

When you go for fruit and veggies... go for fresh! Better tasting, no added/unwanted extra sugars, no added salts (like you find in canned veggies for example, no lose of vitamins due to the storing process and no other processing crap. 100% all natural and 100% promised to be gluten free! How much better can you get then that?? Don't forget a lot of places even offer you already prepared fruit and veggies done right there in the store too if you don't have time for preparing it, just make sure they get it fresh and prepare it fresh and if they preserve it for the fridge shelf that they use juice to store it in and not sugared syrups.