One day I will start making my own chicken stock. Really, I will. Especially now that I use it to cook and saute nearly everything and considering how very indispensable it is in the making of risotto. But in the meantime, I am quite pleased to be using this store-bought variety by Pacific Naturals. Organic, free-range, low-sodium and very flavorful. Probably better than I could make it anyway…
More info here: Pacific Natural Foods

This cookbook has saved me numerous times.
I’ve only made, I think, two recipes from it and both times they were heavily adapted and substituted with ingredients I could find. But many, many times it has saved me from running straight to the pizza place down the street; it has saved me from being glutened.
I often sit and slowly flip through the glossy photos of vegetable dishes like they were pictures of my dear friends and family. I’ve come to know them so well.
The heirloom tomato soup with arbequina olives and shaved fennel.
The bleeding heart radish ravioli with yellow tomato sauce.
The portobello mushroom pave with white asparagus vinaigrette.
The apple-quince pave with pecan-maple ice cream.
It is a raw food cookbook, as you may have guessed from the title. I’m intrigued by the philosophy that is well outlined in the opening pages, but I am not myself a raw foodist.
It’s just that this cookbook makes me love vegetables, drool over them. It revives my faith in vegetables - that they are truly nourishing and deeply satisfying.

I love risotto. What’s not to like? Most recipes call for butter, olive oil, lots of cheese, and more butter. But alas, times have changed. Or rather, the amount of fat I can tolerate has changed (thanks to a void where my gallbladder once was).
But did you know that even without butter, oil and cheese risotto is still creamy? It’s a miracle, really.
So now when it’s raining like mad outside and I’m craving something starchy and gooey, I make mushroom risotto (but of course it could be peas or asparagus or a combination of whatever you have available). I “saute” some shiitake mushrooms in a little chicken broth, maybe with a splash of dry vermouth (as Jamie Oliver recommends), then throw in some arborio rice and stir it around. If I’m feeling patient, I have a pot of heated stock ready to ladle in and massage into the rice. But honestly, I usually just throw the stock in and cook as you would normal rice. It still comes out deliciously creamy.

Image by Taking5

I’m finding it difficult to fill my crunch quotient for the day now that I’ve gone gluten-free so I was thrilled to find these crackers made from brown rice, quinoa, flax seeds and sesame seeds. Textural contrast at last! These would be so good with a slice of cheese, or even soy cheese. But for now I’ve been eating them with delicate slices of perfectly ripe avocado or homemade hummus with lots of garlic and lemon juice. My husband says these are his absolute favorite cracker now. That’s right, he’s eating a gluten-free product by choice. They’re that good.
Note: These do contain soy.

More info here: Mary’s Gone Crackers

Makes 1.5 cups dressing
Ingredients:
300-g pkg soft tofu
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt

Notes:
The addition of soft tofu, with the subtraction of dairy, is genius. I’m a little skeptical but will definitely try this drizzled on grilled romaine hearts, perhaps with grilled chicken on the side. And, of course, sans croutons.

Recipe via Clean Eating magazine
Image by MyFeasts