Cilantro Lime Rice is a simple side dish that pairs well with Mexican or Tex-Mex cuisine, such as Chicken Enchiladas, Guacamole-Stuffed Southwest Burgers or Santa Fe Bean Salad. I like it best with lots of lime and a moderate amount of cilantro, but it’s easy to adjust the ingredients to your own tastes. All of the ingredients are very low oxalate and can be doubled or halved without affecting the oxalate content by much. You may also want to try adding a clove or two of garlic or some sauteed, minced onions.Yum!

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup long-grain rice
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 T  olive oil
Juice of one lime (about 2 tablespoons lime juice)

1.  Put rice, water and salt in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until rice has absorbed the water.

2.  Meanwhile, combine cilantro, olive oil and lime juice in a large serving bowl.  Add rice when it has finished cooking and mix well, fluffing with a fork if necessary.

Makes 4 servings (about 1/2 cup each).

Low Oxalate Info: All ingredients in Cilantro Lime Rice are very low oxalate. One half cup serving has less than 1 mg. oxalate.

Other Diets: Cilantro Lime Rice may also be appropriate for gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian and GFCF diets.

Photo credits goes to Evan Bench for Cilantro Lime Rice.

Hoppin’ John is a fabulous Southern rice and beans dish that is traditionally served on New Year’s Day.  Hoppin’ John is so ubiquitous to the South that there are as many recipes, traditions and legends surrounding the dish as there are cooks who serve it.  Traditionally, Hoppin’ John is a stew of black-eyed peas, onions and smoked pork (bacon or ham) that is served over white rice. Some cooks add celery, hot peppers, and seasonings such as thyme, bay leaf or cajun spices. Others leave Hoppin’ John plain. The oldest surviving printed recipe dates back to 1847, although there are references to the stew in letters and literature  before this.

Serving Hoppin’ John on New Year’s Day is supposed to bring prosperity and good luck in the New Year.  Most southern cooks serve it with turnip, mustard or collard greens, which are also supposed to bring wealth in the New Year.  Some cooks add a coin to the dish and whoever gets the coin is supposed to have the most luck of all. Other cooks put a coin under each plate before serving Hoppin’ John.

Most of the traditional ingredients in Hoppin’ John are low oxalate, so I didn’t do much to my version to tweak the oxalate content.  Many modern cooks use celery and green pepper in Hoppin’ John, which you can use in moderation if you wish. I choose to substitute chopped kohlrabi or broccoli stems and red bell pepper to keep the oxalate down. I also prefer to make Hoppin’ John with a smoked ham hock or bacon, but it’s also a fabulous way to use up the left-over ham from Christmas.  These meats are pretty interchangeable without changing the final result too much.

Enjoy your Hoppin’ John and good luck in the New Year.

Hoppin’ John

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large ham hock (or 1/2 pound bacon or smoked ham)
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup kohlrabi, chopped (or peeled broccoli stems, chopped)
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (3-5 cloves)
1 pound black-eyed peas, soaked overnight and rinsed
1 quart low oxalate chicken broth (or more if you like a soupier stew)
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dry thyme leaves
1 teaspoon white pepper (UK readers click here)
salt to taste (I usually let people salt at the table since the pork is usually already salty)
1/8 – 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)
3 tablespoons finely chopped green onion (optional)
3 cups long-grained white rice, cooked

Heat the oil in a large soup pot, then add the ham hock and sear on all sides for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onion, kohlrabi, red pepper, and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent (about 4 minutes). Add the black-eyed peas, chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, and seasonings. Bring the Hoppin’ John to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes to an hour, or until the peas are tender but not mushy, stirring occasionally. If the liquid evaporates, add more water or chicken broth. Pull the ham off the bone if using ham hocks. Adjust the seasonings to taste, and garnish with green onions if using.  Serve over the long-grain rice.

Makes 10 servings.

Menu Planning: New Year’s Dinner in the picture above is a Southern soul food feast with Hoppin’ John, corn bread, collard greens and creamed corn. I like to add fried catfish (in corn meal batter), and Wow! Southern low oxalate cooking at it’s best (although do go easy on the corn bread).

Low Oxalate Info: All ingredients in Hoppin’ John are low oxalate. One serving of Hoppin’ John has about 4.6 mg. oxalate per hearty serving (1/10 of the above recipe).

Other Diet Info: Hoppin’ John may also be appropriate for gluten-free, dairy-free, and GFCF diets.

Photo credits go to Sleepneko for New Year’s Dinner and January 1, 2011.

Vegan Stuffed Red Peppers sharing a dish with Roasted Onions and Fennel

These vegan stuffed red peppers are a perfect Thanksgiving side dish or main dish for vegetarians.  They are gluten-free, low oxalate and have all the traditional holiday flavors you love.  Although fennel seed – a traditional flavor in Thanksgiving stuffing- is high oxalate, fennel seed tea is low oxalate and gives the same flavor to the stuffing.  Even better, the fennel tea gives the illusion that these vegan stuffed red peppers contain sausage, a nice surprise for vegetarians who miss some of the flavors of their childhood.

Hope you enjoy vegan stuffed red peppers, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Vegan Stuffed Red Peppers

1 fennel seed tea bag (UK readers click here)
1 cup apple cider
1 cup long grain white rice
2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup diced onions
1 1/2 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled and finely diced (about 2 apples)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon white pepper (UK readers click here)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (UK readers click here)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (UK readers click here)
6 medium red bell peppers, tops cut off and hollowed
fresh thyme sprigs for garnish (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup water and the apple cider to boil and add the fennel tea bag.  Brew the tea for about five minutes, then remove the tea bag.  Add the rice, thyme and sage. Cover the pot and return to boiling.  Simmer the rice, covered, until all liquid is absorbed (about 20 minutes).

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Saute the celery, onions, apples, salt and pepper in the hot oil until they are softened (about five minutes).  Combine the cooked rice, sauteed vegetables and fruit.  Stir in the cranberries and the pumpkin seeds.  Spoon the stuffing into the bell peppers, then stand the peppers upright in a baking dish.  Put the top back on if desired (or cut it up for a salad).

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until the peppers are tender and stuffing in heated through.  To serve, garnish with a thyme sprig if desired.

Low Oxalate Info:  All ingredients in vegan stuffed red peppers are low oxalate except for the medium oxalate celery (7.o mg. oxalate per half cup) and pumpkin seeds (6.2 mg. oxalate per half cup). Each vegan stuffed red pepper has about 10.3 mg. oxalate (which is still low oxalate since each of these peppers is actually 2-3 servings of veggie/rice/fruit).  These peppers are large and filling!  Vegans and vegetarians might enjoy these with a salad.  Meat-eaters might enjoy them with roasted turkey or chicken.

Where to buy fennel seed tea:  I buy fennel seed tea, loose or in tea bags, in the natural foods section of my large chain grocery store.  Most natural food stores in the US, Cananda and the UK should carry fennel seed tea as it is a very popular digestive aid, weight loss aid, and herbal remedy for gas, bloating and menstruation troubles. You may also order fennel seed tea from Amazon or directly from your favorite tea company.  I really like Alvita brand herbal teas (US readers click here and UK readers click here. Sorry Canadian readers, I’m having trouble finding an on-line source for you. Let me know if you have one.) Or you might try one of these (US readers click here and UK readers click here). Any herbal tea that is made from fennel seed (without extra ingredients) should be low oxalate (3.0 mg. oxalate per cup) and should work well as a substitute for fennel seeds in recipes that call for fennel seeds plus some kind of liquid.

Photo credits go to avlxyz for just baked and karmadude for fennel seeds.

Short grain rice is the secret to a creamy risotto.

After three weeks in beautiful Colorado I am finally home and back in my own kitchen again!  Yay! I had some kohlrabi that needed to be used quickly or consigned to the compost heap, so I went exploring and I found this recipe for kohlrabi risotto from the New York Times (see An Introduction to Kohlrabi if you aren’t familiar with this fabulous low oxalate veggie).  I was intrigued, but a few things bothered me about the NYT recipe.  One tablespoon of olive oil is barely enough to cook the onions and kohlrabi, let alone leave enough left over to coat the rice (an important step in cooking short grain rice varieties).  Most risotto chefs use 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil (or butter) to sweat their onions and coat their rice.  Also, risottos traditionally use more wine and include more oil or butter added at the end of cooking.   If you want to try a lighter version, give the NYT recipe a shot.  It is low oxalate and probably delicious.  Here’s my modified version which I thought was FANTASTIC!  Who knew kohlrabi could taste so comforting? I loved this kohlrabi risotto and couldn’t stop eating it.  One of my sons loved it, too, although the other one picked out all of the kohlrabi.

If you’ve never made risotto or worked with short grain rice and you’re feeling a little nervous about trying this recipe, you may want to check out this cheesy, but fun, and very informative Alton Brown video about cooking short grain rice.  Alton knows a lot about food chemistry and what makes recipes work.  I love his cookbook and his show, and have learned a lot about cooking from him.

Kohlrabi Risotto

4 cups kohlrabi
7 cups LO chicken or vegetable broth or stock (homemade or Swanson’s 100% natural)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter
1/2 cup minced onion
1 1/2 cups short grain white rice, such as arborio (medium grain is okay, but do not use long grain rice!)
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt to taste (may not be needed if you use a commercial chicken broth)
1 cup dry white wine, like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
1 tablespoon butter (optional)

1. Peel the kohlrabi, making sure to remove the white, fibrous layer just under the skin (i.e. double peel the kohlrabi), and cut into 1/2-inch dice.

2. Put your stock or broth into a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium heat, with a ladle nearby or in the pot. Turn the heat down to low.  I personally like a rich, homemade meat broths for risotto, although homemade vegetable broth and Swanson’s 100% natural chicken broth are okay.  If your broth tastes a little weak you may want to add more onions, garlic or pepper (none of these ingredients will substantially raise the oxalate level of this dish, so don’t be shy about adding them if you need to).

3. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy saucepan or a heavy dutch oven. (It should have heavy sides, too, not just a heavy bottom.) Add the onion and cook gently (sweat) until the onion is just tender, about 2-3 minutes. Do not brown the onion. Add the diced kohlrabi and the garlic and cook, stirring, until the kohlrabi is crisp-tender, about 5 – 10 minutes.  I prefer my kohlrabi on the tender side, as opposed to the crisp side, for this dish.

4. Add the rice and stir until the grains separate and begin to crackle. This won’t happen if you skimp on the oil. In fact, you may need to add more oil if your onions seemed to have soaked up most of the oil.  Add the wine and stir until it has evaporated and been absorbed by the rice. Add the simmering stock, a couple of ladlefuls (about 1/2 cup) at a time. The stock should just cover the rice, and should be gently bubbling. Cook, stirring often, until the stock is just about absorbed. You can tell it’s absorbed and you’re ready for another ladleful when you stir the rice and the dry bottom of the pot shows for a moment behind the spoon.  If its not ready, you won’t see the bottom of the pot, just stock.  Add another ladleful or two of stock and continue to cook, adding more stock and stirring each time the rice has just about absorbed the stock and you start seeing the bottom of the pan. Note: you do not have to stir constantly, but do stir often. When the rice is tender all the way through but still chewy, in about 25 minutes (give or take five minutes), it is done. You probably used about 6 cups of stock to get to this point but may have used all 7.  Add the pepper and adjust salt to taste.

5. Add another ladleful of stock to the rice (add a half cup water if you are out of stock). Stir in the Parmesan, the nutmeg if using, and the butter and remove from the heat. The mixture should be creamy (add more stock if it isn’t). Serve right away in wide soup bowls or on plates, spreading the risotto in a thin layer rather than a mound.

Yield: Makes 6 large servings or 10 side dish servings.

Low Oxalate Info:  All ingredients in kohlrabi risotto are low oxalate.  Oxalate per serving will depend on the variety of rice, type of broth, and optional ingredients you choose).  A large main dish serving has about 6 mg. oxalate per serving (based on 6 servings per recipe using the nutmeg, arborio rice and zero oxalate homemade chicken broth), while a smaller side dish serving has about 3.6 mg. oxalate (based on 10 servings per recipe using nutmeg, arborio rice and zero oxalate homemade chicken broth).

Other Diets:  Kohlrabi risotto may also be appropriate for gluten-free and vegetarian diets.

Photo credit goes to Breahn for risotto.

My boys have a new favorite low oxalate recipe–Jamaican Rice and Peas!  This is a staple from my vegetarian days that I haven’t made in years, but I had one of those crazy cravings and gave in.  It also seemed like a good learning opportunity for the boys.  What better way to introduce new cultures than through their food?

Get in the mood for Caribbean food!

Rice and peas is an everyday staple in Jamaica.  Its subtle coconut flavor and creamy texture are a perfect complement to Jamaican Jerk Chicken and other spicy island treats, but it also makes a filling vegetarian main-dish.  It’s traditionally made with pigeon peas, but black-eyed peas or kidney beans can be substituted.  I sometimes use the  habanero pepper and sometimes don’t.  Since you use a whole pepper and remove it before cooking, it doesn’t make the rice hot, but adds a nice, subtle pepper flavor.

The night I introduced Jamaican Rice and Peas to my boys, I talked with them about Jamaica and tropical islands.  They were fascinated and asked lots of questions and repeated the things I was telling them over and over.  I think it was the first time it started to make sense to them that people live in many different places, and that people in different places eat different foods than we do.  It was fun watching them learn, and  it was a very pleasant way to make dinner conversation with soon-t0-be-three-year-olds.  I plan to buy a good map to keep in the kitchen, so as we cook and learn together I can point out where the different foods we eat come from.  I hope this will also make cooking and eating together as a family more fun.  It sure was fun last week.  And it was even more fun when Aidan requested “Island rice and beans” again for dinner a few nights later.

Aidan loves his Jamaican Rice and Peas (made here with kidney beans)

Jamaican Rice and Peas

2 cups cooked pigeon peas, black-eyed peas or kidney beans
1 can unsweetened Coconut Milk  (13.5 ounces)
1 cup water
2 cups  long grain white rice (not instant!)
1 habanero pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2-4 cloves garlic, crushed
sea salt to taste (start with 1/4 teaspoon)

Put all of the ingredients into a saucepan, including the cooking liquid from the beans if possible (should be about 3/4 cup liquid — adjust by adding extra water if necessary).  Bring to a boil, then simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender (about 30 minutes).  Remove the habanero pepper and serve.

Makes 4 main dish or 8 side dish servings.

Note:  Most Jamaican chefs start by cooking raw pigeon peas (which are soupy like non-drained canned beans), then add the other ingredients to the bean pot.  This is why I use the cooking liquid in my recipe. It keeps things easy and more authentic tasting.  You may like the texture of this dish better, however, if you drain and rinse the beans first, then add an extra 3/4 cup water.

Low Oxalate Info:   Pigeon peas and kidney beans are medium oxalate ingredients.  All other ingredients are low or very low oxalate, so this is a low to “lower medium” oxalate dish depending on what type of pea/bean you use. Actual oxalate values are: black-eyed peas (3 mg. oxalate per half cup, uncooked), pigeon peas*(7 mg. per 1/2 cup, canned), kidney beans* (11.7 mg. axalate per half cup, uncooked), coconut milk (0.0 mg. per 1/2 cup if using a brand without guar gum, such as Chaokoh or Natural Value), Uncle Ben’s long grain white rice (trace) OR “boiled” white rice (0.9 mg. per half cup), habenero pepper (0.4 mg. per sauteed pepper), thyme(2.5 mg. per teaspoon), garlic (0.3 mg. per clove), Celtic sea salt (about 0.2 mg. oxalate per teaspoon).  Jamaican Rice and Peas has about 2.4 mg. oxalate per main dish serving or 1.2 mg. oxalate per side dish serving IF you use black-eyed peas.

Picky Eater Pleaser:  Try leaving out the pepper, thyme, garlic and beans at first, so you just have coconut rice (you will have to add 1/2-3/4 cup water).  If your picky eater likes this, try adding back in the beans/peas first, then add each “spice” one at a time each time you make the dish.  Alternately, make “coconut rice” and let family members add their own beans at the table.  You can also use 2-3 fresh thyme sprigs instead of the dried thyme and remove them before serving if “green specks” in the rice is unacceptable to your picky eater.

Menu Planner:  Try Jamaican Rice and Peas as a side dish with baked chicken and pineapple, or as a main dish with a tropical fruit salad on the side (mango, banana and pineapple with coconut sprinkles-yum!).

Other Diets:  Jamaican Rice and Peas may also be suitable for gluten-free, dairy-free, GFCF, vegan and vegetarian diets.

Photo credit goes to Loren Sztajer for Beach Chairs and Umbrella in Jamaica.