Published by Editor in Chief of Modern Hippie Mag on May 9, 2012
Interest in gluten-free foods has surged as an increasing number of people have been diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged from eating gluten and other proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye, or have discovered that they have a wheat allergy or sensitivity.
Those facing dietary restrictions due to a gluten allergy or sensitivity, take heart! Organic Gourmet Leslie Cerier presents gluten-free, vegetarian recipes the whole family can enjoy! In her new cookbook, Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook (New Harbinger, $17.95), Leslie includes recipes for a wide variety of whole-grain foods including pancakes & waffles, casseroles, pasta dishes, and pastries! Within the pages of her cookbook you will find a wealth information about gluten-free whole grain flours and rice that can be used to create flavorful and delicious appetizers, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts.
As a pioneer organic chef, Leslie is a national authority on wheat-free baking. In addition to innovative recipes, her cookbook offers fun and easy tips for:
shopping green and using seasonal ingredients
understanding nutrition basics
incorporating fiber in your diet
creating food combinations for complete proteins
More about Leslie:
Leslie teaches exciting “garden to table” hands-on cooking classes in some of the most prestigious centers of holistic evolution and organic lifestyle worldwide. Her New England based business includes custom culinary work for private clients, as well as private and group cooking instruction and coaching. Cerier is a pioneer and national authority on gluten-free cooking and baking, the entire spectrum of whole grains, and cooking with wild foods. Her specialty in culinary nutrition has led to her being much sought after by health professionals and private clients to help them translate challenging dietary allergy issues into culinary success and meal satisfaction.
Teff, peanut butter, and cookies, oh my! Teff adds a subtle hazelnut/chocolate flavor to these peanut butter cookies, and just so happens to be gluten free and high in dietary fiber, protein, iron, and calcium. With this easy six ingredient recipe starring the super nutritious teff flour, you can almost convince yourself that you are eating these cookies for health, and not pleasure! Almost…
We found this recipe conveniently located on the back of our bag of teff flour from Bob’s Red Mill. It is by Leslie Cerier, who just so happens to be the author of one of our favorite cookbooks: Going Wild in the Kitchen.
1 1/2 cups Teff Flour 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/2 cup maple syrup 1/2 cup canola oil 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup peanut butter
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients together in a big bowl. In your favorite food processor blend the maple syrup, canola oil, vanilla, and peanut butter well. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, incorporating well. Form little balls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheat. To get that classic criss-cross look that peanut butter cookies are famous for, get your criss-cross action going with a fork. Bake for about thirteen to fifteen minutes. Allow them to cool all of the way, and then gobble them up!
Leslie Cerier, who calls herself “The Organic Gourmet,” combines a holistic lifestyle with hands-on vegetarian cooking for health and vitality, as well as writing cookbooks and articles focusing on eating local, seasonal, organic foods. As Leslie will tell you, gluten-free cooking is not just for celiacs or people with wheat-allergies, but can inspire beneficial mood and health changes.
I recently had the opportunity to chat with Leslie about her newest cookbook, “Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook” and the benefits of a gluten-free diet, and the importance of eating sustainably for both the mind and body.
Alyssa Berkowitz: Did you always want to be a chef? Any stories of cooking as a child?
Leslie Cerier: I didn’t plan to be a chef. I always loved to cook. In high school I asked my grandmother Ethel how to make her strudel dough. She said, “You take some flour and water and it should look like this.” And I said, “Grandma, how much?” She showed me again and repeated that you take some flour and water and it should look like this. She knew what texture she was looking for. Now when I teach hands-on cooking classes, I encourage people to follow their senses: taste, touch, smell, see, listen, and make it a total sensory experience.
How do you derive influences for your recipes? How does your Jewish background shape your recipes?
I get my inspiration from the local, organic harvest: the fruits, vegetables and herbs of the season; then mix and match a variety of whole foods: grains, beans, grass raised dairy and eggs, nuts and seeds to create globally inspired meals. My Jewish roots inspire me to create healthy twists on classic recipes. For example in my “Kasha Varnishkes” recipe in “Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook,” I swapped Quinoa Corn spiral pasta for the classic white wheat bowties; also added sunflower seeds and even collard greens for a colorful and nutrient dense gourmet dish. Top it off with pesto for a yummy meal.
My Jewish influences are more about how to be creative and think out of the box. I guess thinking out of the box is a Jewish thing.
How do you see the relationship between a holistic lifestyle and the eating of whole grains and organic food?
I see it all as one really. I sleep on organic sateen sheets, use natural and organic soaps and cleaning products. I don’t use a microwave. I prefer to cook in cast iron, stainless steel, lead-free enamel and glass. I tune into the natural rhythms and the changing seasons. In cold weather, I cook long simmering soups and bake; in hot weather I make quick sautés and marinated salads I look at the interconnectedness of everything. Years ago, I gave up a promising career as a photographer to avoid toxic, chemicals in the dark room. I now print my photos on 100% cotton canvas. Even my artwork is about sustainability. My latest series, “Photographing the Jewels in the Water” is about sunlight on shallow streams that create natural jewel like patterns, like impressionistic paintings. I’m trying to connect all the dots, inside and out with my deep love of nature.
For some, gluten-free might seem like the next big health-fad. Why do you think eating a gluten-free diet should be something everyone is doing?
Gluten-free whole grains have been around for centuries — they’re not fad foods. They are delicious, loaded with vitamins and minerals, great for energy and stamina. I’m not gluten-free myself, but often prefer to eat gluten-free grains and flours for their taste and nutrition. Also since there is genetically modified wheat on the market, it might be that folks are really intolerant of the petrochemicals used to grow common wheat, which contributes to health problems. A diet rich in gluten-free whole grains can enhance everyone’s health and vitality; expand your cooking repertoire and celebrate the earth’s bounty.
Some people think that gluten-free dishes don’t taste as good. What would you say in response?
When I teach, I introduce people to many tasty gluten-free grains like teff, amaranth, rice, and quinoa. My recipes are simple, and when you use fresh seasonal and organic ingredients, they’re going to taste great. It’s like any kind of cooking: you have to understand how to use herbs and spices to create tasty dishes. My daughters aren’t gluten free either, but they prefer the Cinnamon Banana Pancakes made with teff flour instead of wheat. This isn’t about depravation. I’m using real foods, not processed food. Gluten-free grains are full of life and flavor.
While reading through your cookbook, I was surprised at how many ingredients seemed new or unusual to me, which makes gluten-free cooking seem like a challenge. What advice can you give to people looking to start cooking gluten-free who might be scared by the ingredients?
My suggestion: stay out of the supermarket. For the more rare ingredients in the cookbook, there is a mail-order section in the back of “Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook.” Also, my mother taught me to ask for what you want. Ask stores to stock the ingredients you want. Make the products available. Start the real food revolution.
I taught my sorghum salad (one of the lesser known grains) in a recent class. I cooked it like a Mediterranean couscous salad, and everyone was like, “Wow.” I’m introducing people to different textures, flavors, and the fun of eating really well. Yeah it’s challenging if you’re just thinking of the challah you normally eat every Friday night, but if you’re thinking of variety you’re really going to have fun and thrive.
In addition to writing cookbooks and catering, you also teach classes. Do you have any exciting classes coming up?
I’m teaching a “Thriving Gluten-Free” class at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY July 6-8. The class includes continuing education credits and I’ll be co-teaching with celiac expert, dietician and author, Melinda Dennis. In addition to culinary nutrition and hands-on cooking classes, I offer telephone consultations. I also have an online course, “Wraps and Rolls.”
What’s an ingredient you think everyone should have in his or her pantry? Why?
Flexibility. But aside from that, I think everyone should stock a variety of whole grains. At least four to six different whole grains and most whole grains are gluten-free.
Any last things you want our readers to know?
Whether you’re gluten free or not, including a wide variety of gluten-free grains in your diet is good for you and good for the planet. Ecologically, gluten-free grains could be part of the solution for our changing climate: some can grow in drier climates; others in flooded areas; some use less seed for higher yields and all offer great nutrition. Eating gluten-free isn’t just about personal health; it could be part of the solution for feeding the masses during climate change.
Quinoa and Shiitake Pilaf Serves 6 to 8
Leeks, celery, and mushrooms enliven this pilaf and give it a flavor reminiscent of a Thanksgiving stuffing. If you like, you can substitute other types of mushrooms for the shiitakes. White button mushrooms, criminis, or portobellos would all be great choices.
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 cups chopped leeks (white and tender green parts)
2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups stemmed and sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 3/4 cups quinoa, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 1/2 cups boiling water
Heat the oil in a medium-size saucepan or skillet (one with a tight-fitting lid) over medium heat. Add the leeks, celery, and mushrooms and sauté, stirring continuously for about 5 minutes, until vegetables become fragrant and their colors brighten. Stir in the quinoa and salt. Lower the heat, then slowly pour in the water. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until all of the water is absorbed.
Many of Leslie’s recipes can be adapted for Passover, but most of the gluten-free grains are considered kitnyot so those of Ashkenazic background may choose not to eat them.
Alyssa Berkowitz is a senior in the Joint Program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary. She is currently the Food Programs Intern at Hazon.
If you’re adhering to a gluten-free diet because you have celiac disease or other health conditions that benefit from avoiding gluten, this is one cookbook you’ll want on your cookbook shelf. But be sure to take a look at it if you’re interested in exploring a variety of whole grains, too — regardless of what else you eat!
Leslie tells us all we need to know about this dietary choice, even if we’re new to the topic. She explains what gluten is, she looks at the health issues that prompt people to adopt a gluten-free diet, and she introduces us to ancient and exotic gluten-free grains: amaranth, buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, quinoa, rice, sorghum, teff, and wild rice. A chapter is devoted to basic grain cookery, including everything from cookware to modifications to change texture or enhance flavor (such as including seasonings and toasting grains before adding the cooking liquid).
The Bountiful Breakfast chapter includes directions for making nut and seed milks, smoothies and shakes, granola (Vanilla Hazelnut Granola, no less!), porridges, muffins, scrambled tofu, pancakes, and waffles. There’s even a breakfast soup!
You’ll find a handful of savory stews in the chapter on Main course sensations, along with loaves, pasta dishes, a quinoa casserole, and much more. You’ve come to the right book to dispel any lingering doubts about gluten-free recipes being boring. In this chapter alone you’ll find Shiitake and Kale Lasagna with Marinated Dried Tomatoes and Chevre as well as Red Lentil and Teff Loaf with Red Wine and Porcini Sauce.
There’s a chapter devoted to Sushi, and another on Savory Sauces and Tempting Toppings. For readers who want to experiment a bit without committing to an entire gluten-free meal, the Super Sides chapter is a great place to start. How about a Lemony Quinoa Salad with Toasted Sunflower Seeds or Spiced Yams with Pecans? Sweet indulgences include an array of cookies, puddings, pies, crisps, and bars. (I’ve put Mocha Coconut Rice Pudding and Cashew Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies on my dessert menus for next week!)
This unassuming paperback includes over 100 intriguing recipes, with straightforward directions that put most of them in the easy-to-prepare category. A glossary of ingredients and a section of resources are helpful, too.
Leslie encourages the reader to cook “like an artist designing a meal, composing with gluten-free whole grains, flours, and pastas complemented by a rainbow of local, seasonal fruits and vegetables.” To get you started right away, we’re happy to be able to include on our recipe site three recipes from Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook for you to try. (You’ll also find some recipes from a couple of Leslie’s other cookbooks.) Let us know what you think!
This recipe is from Leslie Cerier’s wonderful new cookbook “Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook”. This book is packed with whole food, nutrient dense and delicious recipes. Leslie has been kind enough to share one of her original recipes with us this month. Try it and check out this great cookbook. This recipe feature shitake mushrooms which are one of the best vegetarian sources of vitamin D.
Cashew butter makes this soup rich and creamy without a drop of dairy, and the shitakes are very healthful. In China, they’ve been used for their immune-boosting properties for thousands of years. What a delicious way to ward off colds and flus! When cooking with any type of fresh mushrooms, sauté them first to seal in the flavor or they will give it all to the broth.
Serves 6-8
3 Tablespoons of sunflower oil
3 Cups grated yams
3 Cups sliced onions in half moons.
6 Cups stemmed and coarsely chopped shitake mushrooms
1 Cup cashew butter
7 Cups hot water
1 ½ Cups diced red bell pepper
8 cloves of garlic pressed
1 Tablespoon sea salt
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the yams and sauté for about ten minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the yams from sticking.( if they do stick just add a bit of water.) When yams begin to soften and take on a brighter orange hew, add the onions and sauté for about 30 minutes, until the yams are tender. Add the shiitakes and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms begin to soften.
Use a handheld blender to blend the cashew butter and hot water until smooth, then add the mixture to the soup. If you only have a standard blender, put ½ cup of the cashew butter in the blender, add 3 ½ cups of the hot water, then blend until smooth. The hot liquid can cause the blender lid to pop off, so put the lid on loosely (so the steam can escape) and cover it with a kitchen towel. Add the mixture to the soup and repeat with the remaining cashew butter and water.
Bring the soup to a boil; then lower the heat to a simmer for 5 minutes to blend the flavors. Stir in the bell pepper, garlic and salt.
Mocha Rice Pudding Garnished with Fresh Strawberries
The seasons change and with them the availability of fresh, local produce. Crisp fall apples, tart cranberries, juicy summer strawberries, fresh figs — would they be so special if we could eat them all year round?
Reinventing a recipe keeps it fresh and enjoyable. For example, you can make Apple Blackberry Pie in fall, Pumpkin Pecan Pie in winter, Lemon Tart in spring, and Blueberry Crumb Pie in summer. For variation, use the same pie crust and change the filling. Create a new variation to the pumpkin pie filling by adding sweet potatoes, or substituting butternut, or kuri squash. Use more cinnamon or cloves. Change the pie crust, too by switching the flour, oil, or sweetener.
Likewise, keep your basic minestrone new and inspiring all through the winter by swapping vegetables. Use butternut squash instead of carrots, leeks for onions for example. Other times change the beans from pinto to kidney to other beans. Cook the beans from scratch with a sea vegetable, like kelp. Another time, switch the sea vegetable to dulse, or skip the seaweed, and just use spices. And of course, you can vary the herbs, too. Finally, flavored oils can take the place of some herbs and spices.
My enthusiasm for creating new recipes and menus comes from the local harvest. For instance, in June the markets near my western Massachusetts home yield strawberries, spinach, baby red kale, arugula, radishes, lettuce, mustard greens, and mizuna (an Asian green leafy vegetable that you can eat like spinach). Perennial herbs like chives, oregano, garlic chives, sage, and sorrel abound. Simultaneously harvested, they become the natural choices to mix and match into savory salads, dressings, quiche, scrambled tofu, sushi rice rolls, and pasta dishes. During summer, crunchy fresh string beans, cherry tomatoes, and sweet baby carrots are wonderful in salads dressed with aromatic basil. The first zucchini and eggplant inspires me to fire up the grill. Come fall, collards, red peppers, and cilantro, revitalize the tofu scramble. The vibrant cool weather leafy kale, moist to the touch seduces me in winter when spinach is out of season. Kale becomes the green to use in quiche, soups and stews. When we take our cues from Mother Nature, she gives us plenty of guidance.
The weather affects our cooking methods, too. In hot weather, you may want to stay away from the stove. Quick grilled vegetables and tofu, refreshing smoothies, marinated salads with corn, berries, and chevre cool you off. To beat the heat, cook beans, pasta, or grains in the early morning or the night before when the house is cool. Cold winter days are ideal for long simmering soups, garlicky roasted vegetables and spicy stews made with the vegetables of the season: potatoes, carrots, winter squash, and yams. An attractive garnish can enliven any dish. For example, decorate summer pasta salads with yellow calendula flowers and bright red bee balm for a splash of color. Toasted nuts and seeds on top of green salads add a contrasting texture. Chopped herbs on cooked rice give a delicate fragrance. These simple pleasures charm the heart.
Recipes are not etched in stone in my kitchen, nor should they be in yours. The more you cook, the easier it becomes to improvise. Calm and confident, you can focus; choose ingredients, rinse and chop, mix and taste. Your inner wisdom will tell you when to follow pure intuition and when to stop and think it out.
Bee on Flowering Marjorami in Leslie's Organic Herb Garden
Herbs and spices are Mother Nature’s versatile gifts. Herbs are the leaves; basil, thyme, and cilantro are good examples. Spices are the twigs, stems, roots, and seeds such as garlic, cumin, cinnamon, and ginger.
Before adding herbs and spices to a dish, smell or taste them to make sure they are fragrant and potent. Dried herbs can be stored for about a year, spices longer. Generally, you can add hearty spices in the beginning of cooking a dish. Delicate herbs, whether fresh or dry, are added at the end of cooking.
Every culture has its blend of sweet, sour and pungent flavored herbs and spices (Ethnic Herb and Spices, Global Flavors Chart below). Paired with beans, grains, vegetables, fruits, oils, wines, and cheeses; herbs and spices deliver ethnic flair, support our health, and reduce our need for salt. As garnishes, herbs whet our appetite with a stylish hint of what is to come.
Bay Leaf, Mediterranean Marinated Dried Tomatoes and Olives Decorate Organic Vegetable Stir Fry
Various herbs and spices cross borders and appear in more than one ethnic cuisine. Ginger is common in Indian, African and Asian dishes. Dill is a regular in Eastern European, Indian, Mediterranean and French cooking. Cumin is standard in African, French, Indian, Mediterranean and Mexican cuisine. These herbs and spices called carminatives aid digestion. They contain volatile oils that absorb intestinal gas, relax stomach muscles, increase peristalsis and reduce flatulence. Thyme, cinnamon, fennel, chilies, anise, caraway, cardamom, mint, and turmeric are also carminatives. Before scientists could explain their restorative virtues, cooks worldwide intuitively cooked with these herbs and spices.
Delicious Berry and Apple Pie with Maple Teff Pie Crust
You can make delicious pies with local, seasonal and organic fruits all year long. Simply mix and match and swap as you adapt the seasons. You can freeze the local berries in summer. Then add them to the fall apples and pears as I have done here. Even making a gluten-free pie crust is easy with teff flour. No need to roll or refrigerate the dough. Simply mix it up and press it in.
Have fun and eat well.
Leslie’s Gluten-Free Pie Crust
2 cups teff flour
1/2 cup melted Organic extra-virgin coconut oil or pasture raised Organic butter
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Lightly oil a 9-inch pie pan.
To make the crust, combine the teff flour, oil, maple syrup, and salt in a medium-size bowl and stir until well combined. Reserve 1/2 cup of the mixture to use as a crumb topping.
Transfer the dough to the prepared pie pan and use your fingers to press it out in an even layer over the bottom and sides of the pan. Poke a few holes in the dough with a fork. Bake for about 10 minutes, until it loses it shine.
3 cups spelt flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup canola oil or melted extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a cookie sheet and set aside.
2. Combine the flour, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl
and set aside.
3. Place the oil, molasses, honey, and ginger in a blender. (If the
ginger is too fibrous, gather it in your hands, squeeze the juice
into the blender, and then discard the grated fibers.) Add to the
flour mixture and stir to form a moist dough.
4. Knead the dough for a minute, then shape into walnut-sized
balls. Place on the cookie sheet about 3/4-inch apart. Flatten gently with a fork.
5. Bake 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven, and cool at least
10 minutes before serving.
Interest in gluten-free foods has surged as an increasing number of people have been diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged from eating gluten and other proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye, or have discovered that they have a wheat allergy or sensitivity.
