Chili and pasta is one of those great comfort foods that really makes me think of home. I first had the dee-licious combo from my MIL, and considering we’re gearing up for a family road trip next weekend it’s no wonder I had the hugest craving for it last night.

When my MIL makes it, she has one of those really nice, flat fry pans with the tall walls. I just have a wok. Either one will do!

And of course, fixins are essential. We topped ours with sour cream, lime, shredded Oregon 1-year cheddar and green onions.

Back when I was vegan, though, I added lime juice to plain soy yogurt until it was more drizzly than gloppy. Sometimes I crave that combination more than actual sour cream.

Fusilli Chili
Serves 4

8 oz. Brown rice fusilli pasta
1 lbs. Extra firm tofu
1 can Diced tomatoes
1 can Pinto beans
1 pkg. Taco seasoning
1 Tbsp. Chili powder
1-2 Tsp. Vegetable oil
Dash of Ground cinnamon
~1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped

1. Set a wok or fry pan to medium-high heat and add crumbled tofu, oil and taco seasoning. Fry until tofu starts to brown– about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes and beans once the tofu looks done.

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to packaged directions.

3. Meanwhile, add chili powder, a shake or two of cinnamon and cilantro to taste. Reduce heat to a simmer while the pasta is cooking.

4. Once pasta is done, add to the chili mixture. Prepare fixins and you’re done!

I would’ve loved to have served this with cornbread, but am yet to come across a quality gluten-free cornbread that isn’t dry and tasteless. I guess that’s what butter’s for, right? :)

Recommendations are very welcome!

As anyone knows, going gluten-free can turn your kitchen upside down. A lot of methods we used to use to flavor tofu got canned as soon as we had to stop cooking with wheaty ingredients– teriyaki sauce being the big one.

While perusing the shelf of dressings and marinades one day we took a shining to a bottle of buffalo wing sauce that was not only gluten-free, but surprisingly minimal on the ingredients altogether (not to mention fat free and extremely low-calorie!). It was on sale, so of course we tried it. And now… Well, now Chris enjoys it on almost everything he eats. :)

I’ve already blogged about how I like to fry tofu, which is basically coated in cornstarch and fried in a small amount of oil (recipe here). Flavoring it with the sauce is as easy as turning the heat on low and pouring sauce over to coat.

What I (surprisingly) haven’t blogged about is the side dish we always eat with it: coconut rice with avocado and lime. If we don’t have any rice in the house, we don’t have buffalo wing tofu. We don’t even mention either one on their own. It’s always, “Buffalo wing tofu with coconut rice and avocado.” Always.

The best part is, in a rice cooker, it takes around the same amount of time to cook the rice as it does to fry tofu for two. It’s a pretty hands-mind-feet-free recipe.

We used to use white basmati rice but are in the middle of transitioning to the healthier, chewier brown rice. The coconut results are completely different– and terrifying on the first switch– but I enjoy them both. White rice will give you a much creamier side dish, but brown rice will give you great leftovers for any time of the day. The latter will also appear to not absorb any of the coconut milk while cooking, but fear not, it all works out in the end. :)

Coconut Rice with Lime:
Makes ~4 servings

1 1/2 cups Rice
1 1/2 cups Water
1 can Coconut Milk
1 tsp Salt
Zest of 1 lime

1. Rinse rice until water is no longer cloudy. For brown rice, soak for 20 minutes.

2. Add all ingredients into a rice cooker, stir and set to cook. It’s that easy. Stir it about halfway through the cooking process, if you wish.

In the event that you don’t have a rice cooker, it’s relatively easy to make on the stovetop. Simply add all the ingredients, bring to a boil with the lid on, then simmer and stir frequently until all liquid has been absorbed.

For brown coconut rice leftovers, we like to heat them up in the wok with some potatoes for a hearty breakfast snack.

Enjoy!

I’ve been wanting another French Press for non-coffee related purposes and found this little fella at my local Goodwill for 4 measly dollars. Ask and ye shall receive!

Some time ago I had read that you can froth milk using a French Press, but thought it sounded silly and never tried. The first thing I did when I got home with this guy was make hot cocoa and attempt to froth it.

The results were like buttah. Or maybe velvet is more accurate.

Anyway, it’s possible, guys! Recipe for a hot tea latte after the froth porn.

These photos are from a romp I had this morning with a black tea latte I made using honey and my Nilla Nut tea from Whole Foods.

Frothed Tea Latte:

1 tea bag
1/2 cup milk
Sweetener of choice

French Press

1. Fill mug about 1/4 way with hot water and steep tea with sweetener.

2. Meanwhile, heat milk in a small saucepan. Don’t bring it to a boil, but you want it to be hot. Stir frequently to keep it from scalding.

3. Pour milk into French Press and give it a good few pumps, until you notice the volume increasing, making sure to bring the mesh up for air after each pump. I usually give about 8-10 quick pumps.

4. Pour milk into cup, remove tea bag and give it a stir.

In case you don’t happen to own a French Press, a friend tipped me off that you can buy a battery powered milk frother from Ikea for $1.99 that would likely produce similar results.

As much as I love coffee, I will never choose it over a tall glass of cool, sweet iced tea. We have a few varieties that are made at Starbucks, and once upon a time I was addicted to Safeway’s O-brand of chilled tea. But it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to spend $1+ on a drink that is essentially water, sugar and a little bit of tea, so I decided to kick the habit of convenience and make my own.

Knowing that everyone’s tastes are different, I made unsweetened black tea and a lemon syrup, so my imaginary guests that never come over can sweeten their drinks to taste.

Lemon juice from a bottle was all we had in the kitchen, but I can only imagine how dee-lish freshly squeezed juice would be. I also can’t wait to try this with lime juice. Or raspberries! Lemon-lime italian sodas, anyone?

The possibilities really are endless.

Black Lemon Tea:

2 Black tea bags, family size

2 cups Sugar
1 1/4 cup Filtered water
3/4 cup Lemon juice

1. Place tea bags in a large pitcher and fill with boiling water, about 1/4 full. There seems to be quite the hub-bub about what is proper steeping time, but I let mine go for about 15-20 minutes.

2. Remove the bags, squeezing the excess liquid out, then fill the pitcher with filtered water and place in the fridge.

1. Place sugar and water in a medium-large saucepan and bring to a boil for a minute or two. You can stir along the way, but don’t have to.

2. Remove from heat and mix in lemon juice. Let cool, then transfer to a glass bottle or jar.

I used about a tablespoon of syrup to sweeten my mug of iced tea. It was perfect!

On a final note, a few folks have asked me what kind of bottles I’ve been storing my experiments in– they’re rinsed out Crispin cider bottles, though they’re roughly (if not exactly) the same shape and size as a regular beer bottle, which I’ve fitted with cheap-o nozzles I picked up in the wine department of my local market for ~$2 each. Ta-da! Mystery solved. :)

Kim understands that those are not lemons in her photographs.
Lemon, lime, orange– it’s all citrus and it all tastes good with copious amounts of sugar!

When I decided to start making my own syrups, one of the first flavors that came to mind was chocolate, because, well– duh! It’s chocolate. Mmmmm. Normally I put a little cocoa powder and brown sugar in my coffee, so I thought chocolate syrup would be an obvious alternative.

I have to admit, I didn’t get too excited when I put this in my drink the other morning. If I had the capabilities to brew espresso at home, it would’ve been an outrageously good d.i.y. mocha– but since I just have my French press, the combination doesn’t really do it for me.

However, I did get excited when I put it in some warm milk for the most delicious cup of hot cocoa I’ve ever had. Perhaps a little too excited– the hubs can vouch for all my “OMGs” while I was taste-testing it in the kitchen.

The original recipe was pulled from An Oregon Cottage with the only change being that I added more salt. Who knew chocolate and salt were such a match made in Heaven? Like Jami suggested in her original post, it really gives depth to the sauce and adds more complexity to the taste than just sugar and chocolate.

And since I’ve been on the subject all week of copycatting Starbucks recipes I should note that the more salt you add, the closer it comes in resemblance to the Salted Signature Hot Chocolate; all that’s missing is your caramel/hazelnut flavoring.

Salted Chocolate Syrup:

3/4 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup Unrefined sugar
1 cup Boiling water
1/2 tsp Coarse salt
1 tsp Vanilla

1. In a saucepan, add sugar and cocoa powder and whisk until combined. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over mixture and whisk until a smooth paste is formed.

2. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of water, stir, and bring the syrup to a small boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Reduce heat to a simmer, add salt (either the full 1/2 tsp, or to taste).

4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let cool completely (about an hour), stirring now and then, before transferring to a glass container.

5. Refrigerate when not in use.

So, I won’t be putting this in my morning coffee, but I will be drizzling it over everything in sight. This chocolate syrup is unbelievably addictive; consider yourself warned!