Of stir-fry and Indian food.

(Why yes, I am addicted to redecorating my blog!)

Tonight, inspired by my friend Natalie's cooking, I made an awesome stir-fry with tofu, French green beans, locally-grown asparagus, baby bok choy, and onion. I hate mushy tofu, so I always use extra firm and then press it for as long as patience allows - just put the tofu on a dish and pile a few plates or something heavy on top of it; drain off the water as it squeezes out. I sprinkled the tofu with some wheat-free soy sauce and then sauteed it in a bit of canola and sesame oil. Once it's nice and golden-crispy, I added my chopped veggies, minced garlic, a little cilantro, and a few splashes more soy sauce. Light, yummy, and easy!

I'm also very excited about a new cookbook I recently purchased: The Indian Vegan Kitchen: More Than 150 Quick and Healthy Homestyle Recipes by Madhu Gadia. While I'm not vegan, this cookbook is a fantastic resource for anyone who loves Indian food but can't handle all the ghee (clarified butter) and cream you tend to find in restaurant dishes. It's not strictly a GF cookbook either, but the vast majority of recipes are GF and are labeled as such (obviously, they are all dairy-free and egg-free). Indian cuisine is a great match for GF people, since many dishes are made with chickpea flour (besan) or don't call for flour or wheat at all.

I have yet to test out any of the recipes personally, but they seem straightforward and totally tantalizing. My mouth is already watering for the Chickpea-Potato Snack (Chana-Aloo Chaat), Curried Potato (Aloo Tamatar) Soup, Quick Chickpea Curry, Lemon Rice Noodles (Neembu Savai), and Coconut-Mango Rice. (Is there a better dessert than mango sticky rice? Doubtful.) There are even a few gluten-free bread recipes - sorghum, millet-potato, and corn roti - for motivated cooks, of which I do not number myself, no matter how much I still pine for Indian bread. (On a sidenote, for a quick Indian food fix without having to cook, Trader Joe's frozen Chana Masala is GF and delicious, although it does contain ghee. It's great by itself or with rice.)

On Monday I'm off to the beach with my GF snacks in tow. I'll post the après-vacation gluten-free report when I return. Wish me luck!