A Yucca recipe

Dealing with allergies to rice, corn, soy and gluten at the same time makes finding side dishes tricky. What's left -- potatoes? I've recently found that yucca -- a root commonly used in other cultures -- is a good substitute for potatoes to rotate into your menu. Here's a good recipe to start with.

"French fry pancakes"

These really are just a version of potato pancakes, using yucca. My kids, of course, love fries, so I called them french fry pancakes. They're a hit. Here's my recipe:

• 2.5 lbs yucca, either frozen or fresh.
• 1 small onion
• cooking oil
• pam original cooking spray
• thyme, basil, cilantro or parsley
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup homemade broth -- I use low-fat chicken

If using frozen yucca, thaw them. I put mine in a pot, cover with water, a little sea salt and a little lemon juice. If fresh, peel and quarter.

Boil the yucca with lemon juice for roughly 45 minutes, depending on how big the chunks are. Strain, let cook slightly. Remove the tannish core stem that will become visible after cooking.

Put yucca into food processor and mash it down. Then, in mixing bowl, add yucca, your choice of spice (I use 1 tsp thyme), sea salt and broth, mix well.

Put 1 tbsp cooking oil in pan and heat to medium high temp. Wet hands before handling the yucca mix. Scoop a dollar-sized amount of yucca mix and shape into a pancake. Cook a few minutes each side until golden brown.

This recipe is very adaptable. You can cut the oil and just cook with Pam Original, for example, to cut down on fat. You may use your choice of herb. And, you may use your choice of broth.

In addition, you can use this mix to make yucca pancakes, yucca balls, yucca logs, or even a yucca dough by mixing in some flour. I haven't tried that yet, but I plan to. And, if you can make a yucca dough, then you could make yucca noodles or yucca gnocchi, just like you would with potato.

By the way, I found yucca -- both fresh and in 5 lb frozen bags -- at a local Asian grocery that also carried some South American foods. So, look either in South American or Asian groceries for this. Cost was $1/lb.

A brothy solution

Have you ever checked the ingredients of your everyday broths -- chicken, beef, vegetable? I've seen all sorts of things that I know aren't natural, and even items like MSG! And for us cooking for allergy sufferers, you're sure to find dairy, gluten, soy, corn, etc. So, the best answer is simple. Make it yourself. Once a month, I make chicken broth once a month, using a crockpot, a fryer chicken and a few veggies -- carrots, onion, celery, parsley, salt. Set on low and come back 6-8 hours later. I strain this, then chill overnight. Skim fat away the next day and freeze in ice cube trays.

Snowflake fries

Yep, the lotus root worked. I promised to update how some of my potato alternatives worked and I'm happy to report that the lotus root was successful (see my previous post, "Potato or potato," from 2-17-06). The lotus root, as you can see from the photo, has air chambers, giving it a pinwheel or "snowflake" shape if sliced. So, I decided to fry some and call them snowflake french fries. The lotus root is easy to work with. You cut off the ends, slice it like a potato and then cut as you desire. Most people stir fry them, enjoying them as a crunchy addition to their meals. I may try that next time. Frying is trickier because they cook quickly and it's easy to overcook. I fried in a pan set at medium-high for about 4 min. each side, thinly sliced. Actually, I turned them when I could see the edges starting to brown. You want that tan-brown color rather than the deep brown. Add some sea salt and ketchup.

Potato or Potato?

So, I've been on a mad quest to find alternatives to potatoes for my daughters' diets. The reason is one cannot eat rice due to an intolerance. They can handle quinoa 1x or 2x a week, but no more. One's very fussy about the gfcf breads I've tried -- so, no stuffing. And, due to the rice intolerance and a corn intolerance, standard noodles aren't an option either (we are trying some Asian noodles now -- tapioca, sweet potato, etc. -- and I'll post more on that later).

The kids just can't eat potatoes everyday. One, I'm afraid they will build up an intolerance to the potatoes if they eat it 3x a day. And two, I don't want to get stuck on a food. Thus, my search for potato alternatives.

I've found some and am in the middle of experimenting. I thought I'd share.

Taro root: found this at the Asian grocery. You peel this, plunge in cold water, boil, and then slice thinly, dice or cut into sticks to cook. I fried these like french fries and the kids didn't notice the difference. Yep, it worked. These are a little tricky to handle. I've read they can irritate the skin while handling in the pre-cooked stage, so I wore plastic gloves. No rash. Also, they tend to get sticky when they cool. I served these warm so I didn't encounter that problem either. I don't know if it would make much difference though if I had prepared mashed taro root. I plan to try it. I paid $1.49/lb for these.

Malanga: have not found this yet, but 2 local Asian grocers carry it. From what I've read, this may be the most promising as it closely resembles a potato, without the fussiness of the taro root. I'll let you know when I get them. Also, priced at $1.49/lb.

• Lotus root: I just bought a few of these to try but have not yet cooked them. I believe these have "air chambers" in the middle, so if you were to slice one, it might appear like a snowflake. I'm hoping the fun snowflake appearance of these entices my kids, or that I can mash them. I'll be experimenting this week. Also found at the Asian grocery at $1.49/lb.

Plantains: a restaurant owner I came across in the Asian market told me about these starchy vegetables. These also look promising and might be sold in an Asian or Latin American grocery. I've also seen them in big cans at the Latin American grocery.

Yucca: The same restaurant owner also suggested yucca, which is very similar to potato. These are sold at both Asian and Latin American markets.

So, I'll post again as I experiment and discover which ones work and what doesn't work.

Quinoa stuffing

I was involved in a message board discussion yesterday and today at GFCFrecipes about how to get more protein in a child's diet if they're picky about meats. One way is to introduce the quinoa or amaranth grains into the diet -- if you can find a good recipe for the child. I haven't mastered amaranth yet, but I do make a quinoa recipe that the kids love. It's called "broccoli circles." This is from my posting:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa grain
• 1 cup broth -- I use homemade chicken broth.
• 1 cup water
• margarine -- I use ghee (clarified butter)
• 1/2 medium onion
• 3-6 celery stalks (depends on preference - I use 3)
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pepper (I skip this)
• 1 tablespoon parsley flakes

Now, bring water and broth to boil. Add quinoa. Bring to boil. Cookover medium heat for 12 minutes OR until quinoa has absorbed all theliquid. (When cooked, quinoa will "pop" open, thus creating the "circles.") In a skillet, melt the margarine or ghee, cook chopped onion and celery about 10 minutes. (I dice the celery in smaller pieces) In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, onion mix and the spices.

I got this recipe from Bob's Red Mill's website. It says you can use this to stuff a turkey. However, my kids used to love eating broccoli pieces but cannot anymore because of one daughter's food intolerance. When this recipe cooks, the parsley pieces sticking to the celery gives the appearance of broccoli. When the kids saw it, they called it broccoli and then they saw the quinoa and said, "circles." So, "broccoli circles."

Fake rice

Since one daughter has an intolerance to rice, I've tried to find a substitute. She really liked rice, even more than potatoes. I've tried quinoa (keen-wah) and amaranth, which a lot of people turn to. Quinoa is OK -- it's much different than rice and certainly doesn't look like it. But, my daughter liked one recipe I tried (I'll post "broccoli circles" later). Amaranth is much different than either rice or quinoa. It's very sticky and small. Maybe good for a hot cereal mix but not mock rice. After much trying, I've found my answer: white sorghum. Yep. Maybe you've heard of sorghum flour. This is the grain. I found the grain in a local asian grocery. A 2 lb. bag cost just $2. It looks like a round rice, which is what I called it in front of my kids. The sorghum I bought is "white sorghum," so it's even colored like rice. You soak the sorghum overnight. Then, cook it like you would regular rice. I make mine with homemade chicken broth, sea salt and chopped onion. The kids love it. They renamed it "big rice," because it puffs up a little bit in cooking. I think you still have to watch your kids for intolerances. Sorghum can cause reactions similar to corn. I'm still monitoring my one daughter for such a reaction -- rash. You can also look for this in your local health store or CO-OP. I've also found it sold online through flour mills in the midwest, where sorghum is grown everywhere.