The noodles got me

Yes, I'm allergic to wheat. Yes, I'm allergic to soy. But these lovely ramen noodles from Santouka ramen were singing their siren song to me for two days (the beautifully arranged extra-rich pork slices and delicious salt broth didn't help the cause) and I caved. The FAQ fell off the wagon, and now you have hard evidence.

After I did the deed, I felt terrible, both physically and emotionally. (Wheat affects your seratonin levels, which for me means I get really depressed. Think of how many people out there are on anti-depressants when what they really need is to cut out wheat!) This in turn made me sleep badly, which made me look awful and puffy for about two days. It was a smack-upside-the-head reminder of how much food allergies impact my health overall. And once I cleared it out of my system, how amazingly good I feel when I behave. I usually choose bean thread (cellophane) noodles in Korean chop chae or Thai pad woon sen to get my noodle fix, but sometimes you see the right path and still deliberately drive off of it. You have to be bad sometimes as a reminder to be good.

(But for those of you who can have wheat, go for it!)

Santouka Ramen
In the Mitsuwa Marketplace food court
Corner of Centinela/Venice
Mar Vista

Homemade mayo can be sexy

I was thinking about this the other day while I whipped a quick batch of homemade mayonnaise...you take simple eggs, and simple oil, which on their own are good basic ingredients used in a million types of recipes, and by some simple physics turn them into something luscious and uniquely flavorful. Each ingredient contributes its best feature and makes something completely new and fresh. Not to mention that its texture is smooth and the flavor is rich, and it can take in flavors as well as complement others. Mmmm. I use my homemade mayo to add richness where butter and cream would ordinarily go (like in sauces), and then also use it for regular purposes like egg salad.

I began making mayo since I am allergic to soy, and most commercial mayonnaise is increasingly made with soy oil. I also can't have the alternative vegan eggless tofu-based mayo, which I am DYING to try to make just to see how it works. And taste, especially for those who are allergic to eggs.

Mayo is one of those things that French cookbooks try to scare you out of making because the traditional way is time-consuming and particular. My recipe is made in a blender, and has been simplified from Julia Child and other sources but still works every time. Once you've had homemade mayo you'll never go back. Use the freshest eggs you can get! My recipe tastes like Best Foods/Hellmans, which is my favorite. But if you're the Miracle Whip type (and I'll forgive you just this once) you can add in vinegar and a little sugar to get it to taste to your personal but misguided liking.

THE FAQ BLENDER MAYONNAISE

Ingredients

1 whole egg
1/2 c. light-flavored oil (I use either canola, grapeseed or safflower; grapeseed has a slight flavor however and turns the mayo a little green, fyi)
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 salt
1 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice if desired (plain white, champagne, or cider vinegar)

Equipment

1 blender with a lid that allows pouring while blender is on
1 spatula
1 Tablespoon measure

Crack the egg into the blender and set to a medium-high speed for 30 seconds (I set mine to puree). While running, add in salt and mustard, and blend for another 30 seconds. Add in vinegar or lemon juice at this stage and keep the blender running while you add in the oil.

This is KEY. You must add in the oil SLOWLY for the eggs to properly emulsify. If not, you'll have a pile of separated oil and eggs and you'll need to start over. With the tablespoon as a measure, dip the spoon into the oil, then slowly pour in the entire tablespoon during the time it takes to count to 10. Each time. Yes, it needs to go that slowly.

Continue the process until you hear the mayo emulsify, after tablespoon number 6 or so. You'll hear the blender sound like it's working on a solid rather than a liquid. You can add the remaining oil a little more quickly, but don't dump it in all at once.

Once all the oil is incorporated, stop the blender and look. Make sure that you don't see any streaks of egg or oil, if so, use spatula to scrape off of the sides of the blender and back into the body. Taste for correction. Serve. See how many different things you can pair with it. Sexy, yes? I try not to keep it in the fridge longer than a week because of the raw egg safety issues. Play safely, kids.

yields 1/2 cup

Regular people food!

One of the keys to surviving food allergies is to try to select cuisines that are naturally free of your allergens. I eat a lot of Mexican, Thai and Indian food because it's easy to avoid wheat and dairy, for example.

So it's particularly thrilling to order "off the rack" at a restaurant. It happened three times in one week! Unexpected presents for the FAQ.

The first is just a "self serve" pile of Middle Eastern goodies (where you pay by weight) from The Falafel King chain (this one located at the 3rd Street Promenade). It had a bit too much garlic since I'm allergic to garlic, but overall was very hospitable to the FAQ. And delicious! Falafel, baba ghanoush, cucumber salad, pickled turnips and some lamb schwarma. Mmmmmm.

The second meal shown is from Fritto Misto in Santa Monica. While they have really great traditional pasta and salad dishes, they are also very friendly to alternative diets. Offering wheat-free as well as "veggie" pasta choices, you can customize your dish to be completely allergen free. My choice here is basically julienned steamed veggies serving as pasta (zucchini, cabbage, broccoli) with turkey sausage sauced with a cilantro pesto. This looks like just a pile of veggies, but it tasted like pasta, dangit!

Lastly I'm showing you a big bowl of Moules Frites (mussels and fries) served up at my favorite hangout, Lilly's French cafe. Steamed in white wine and shallots, it was light, tender, delicious and came with a HUGE portion of my favorite fries which I dunked in mayo.

I'm a happy girl. It was so nice to just order regular people food for once! Food is meant to be enjoyed, and it certainly was.

The Falafel King
Multiple So Cal locations

Fritto Misto
601 Colorado Ave (Cross Street: Sixth Street)
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 458-2829

Lilly's French Cafe
1031 Abbot Kinney Blvd (Cross Street: Westminster Avenue)
Venice, CA 90291-3386
(310) 314-0004

Can quinoa be comfort food?

It was a cold, drizzly and dull day. The FAQ needed a little something comforting to nibble on while wrapped in sweats and looking to feel cozy until the sun came out.

How to get that sitting-by-a-fireplace-with-a-dog-at-your-feet feeling? Apple pie, chili, rice pudding? Ah, rice pudding, that's the ticket! OH YEAH, I'm allergic to rice. And allergic to the milk in pudding. Dang. What to do? I quickly dug through my files and found a recipe for Quinoa Pudding that used a lot of similar ingredients to rice pudding. It sounded sorta weird. I've always been a little suspicious of quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah)...it looks kinda funny, the grains have these little white strings, the texture is similar to rice but more chewy than rice, and the flavor is a bit nutty. (Quinoa, in case you are unfamiliar with it, is an ancient grain that's high in protein, gluten-free, and apparently it's commonly used in Peru, which is where this recipe originated.)

You know what? It was DELICIOUS. Unusual, and yet familiar, the nuttiness of the grain was complimentary to the spices. It had a lovely texture, and was similar enough to rice pudding to be comforting and yet completely allergen-free! Yay! The top was crusty and carmelized, the pudding was mellow, and this recipe recommends a little swirl of honey on top to finish it off. Sweet. It was gonna be a good day.

Quinoa Pudding

1 cup quinoa (6 oz), picked over
4 c. water
3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk (I used almond milk)
1 t. vanilla
3/4 c. plus 1 Tbs. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. fresh bread crumbs (I omitted this)
1/4 c. slivered almonds or coursely ground walnuts or a mixture
1/4 c. dried currants or raisins
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
Accompaniment: honey or miel de chancaca (brown sugar syrup)

Wash quinoa in several changes of cold water in a bowl, rubbing grains between your palms, then drain well. (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, THE QUINOA IS BITTER AND MUST BE RINSED.) Bring quinoa and 4 c. water to boil in a large saucepan, then reduce and simmer, uncovered, until grains are translucent, 13-15 minutes. Drain well in a sieve.

Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, 3/4 cup sugar, and salt in a large bowl until just combined. Stir in quinoa, bread crumbs, nuts, and currants and pour into a buttered 9-inch square metal baking pan.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining tablespoon sugar and sprinkle over top of pudding. Bake in middle of oven until a knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Drizzle with honey or syrup before serving.

* Available at Latino markets.

Makes 8 servings.
Gourmet/Lilian Zamorano
November 2002