Spinach Salad Rice Paper Rolls

Awhile ago, I wrote one post about "Pantry Creativity," and then promptly stopped updating this blog, yet again. But I still have "more rice-paper wrappers than I believe are currently available in the entire country of Vietnam," and I'm still trying to find ways to use them.

I also had a whole container of baby spinach leaves, some peanut butter and raisins (no, I swear, it was really good!) and not a lot of energy for making full-on nime chow, so I improvised.

SPINACH SALAD RICE PAPER ROLLS

32 g natural peanut butter

2 Tbs rice vinegar

1 Tbs wheat-free tamari

40 g unsulphured raisins

85 g baby spinach leaves

about 8 quarter-round rice papers

Combine peanut butter, rice vinegar, and tamari, and stir vigorously until well-blended. Stir in raisins, then toss in spinach until thoroughly coated.

Have one dinner plate and two salad plates ready: the dinner plate is for soaking the rice papers in boiling water briefly; one salad plate is for rolling the wraps, and the other is for serving.

Boil water in a kettle. Place one rice paper sheet on the dinner plate and cover with boiling water. Let soak about 1 minute, until soft enough to roll but still reasonably sturdy. Remove sheet to the rolling plate and put another rice paper sheet into the water, poking it down until covered (add a little more boiling water as necessary). Meanwhile, put a small handful of spinach filling onto the softened wrapper and roll, compressing the spinach into as small a space as possible and gently tugging on the wrapper to make a tight roll. (It's ok if they still come out sort of loose.) Leave extra paper around the edge so that paper will contact paper in the outside layer; as they cool, they'll start to stick together and make a reasonably cohesive roll. Repeat until all filling is used.

Apple Juice-Sweetened Pumpkin Nut Muffins

Yet more variations on the theme of (a) Pantry Creativity and (b) my Lenten fast. I had about 1/2 c. canned pumpkin leftover from a holiday-season recipe, which I had carefully frozen for future use. Knowing that applesauce can make a good egg substitute in baked goods, I thought pumpkin mash might work, too. Working with a pumpkin pie recipe for spice ideas, I came up with this recipe.

Note: These are not particularly sweet, at all. I think they taste great with a cup of rooibos tea with milk and a banana or a little greek yogurt on the side, but if you want something sweeter, try adding a tsp or two of agave nectar. Also, they're not terribly strong in pumpkin flavor, just nice and moist. If you really want a pumpkin taste, try doubling the pumpkin and reducing the apple juice.

My secret weapon in all muffin-baking is my silicone muffin cups. I just line them up on an old cookie sheet, fill and bake. Gluten-free muffins pop right out of them, which is great because those little paper cups tend to stick to frozen baked goods, and I always end up freezing muffins for future consumption.

Thanks are due to Rebecca Reilly's Gluten-Free Baking for the framework of this recipe, especially the flour ratios.

Apologies for the blurriness of this photo. It was morning, after all...

APPLE JUICE-SWEETENED PUMPKIN NUT MUFFINS

1 c brown rice flour

1/2 c stone-ground cornmeal

1/2 c tapioca starch

2 tsp gluten-free baking powder (such as Argo)

1 tsp egg replacer

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

dash allspice

pinch salt

1/2 c canned pumpkin

1/4 c canola oil

1/4 c ground flaxseed

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/4 c apple juice

1/2 c apple-sweetened dried cranberries

1/2 c pecan pieces

Preheat the oven to 375°F and prepare 12 regular-size muffin cups (grease, paper, or use silicone as mentioned above).

Combine dry ingredients (top half of list, through salt) in a medium-sized bowl and whisk gently to blend.

In a small bowl, combine pumpkin, oil, flaxseed, vinegar, and a little of the apple juice. Stir well with whisk. Whisk in some more apple juice until a thick, liquify consistency is reached. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add pumpkin mixture, stirring from the center to incorporate dry ingredients. Once most of the dry ingredients are incorporated, add more apple juice if needed to make a thick but almost-pourable batter. Stir in cranberries and pecans.

Spoon into muffin cups and bake 18 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, turned out of muffin cups if possible.

"Sweet" Rice Flour Crêpes

"Sweet" rice flour is a flour made from glutinous or "sticky" rice. It's available at many Asian grocery stores. I found a 5-lb bag of it in a Korean grocery store in Ayer, MA, quite a few years ago and have been chipping away at it ever since. It keeps just fine when closed well and kept in the fridge (most gluten-free flours do better stored in the fridge rather than at room temperature), but somehow there's a little voice inside my head that keeps saying, "use that stuff up!" so I'm always trying to think of new ways to do it.

It's Lent again, so I gave up all kinds of things again for my Lenten fast (a nearly-vegan diet focusing on whole grains, legumes, vegetables, dried fruits and occasional nuts, plus skim milk and homemade skim-milk plain yogurt; no sugars, honey, maple syrup, etc., no caffeine, no alcohol, small portions, no snacking). On Sundays, there is a rule that says you're supposed to indulge in small amounts of what you gave up, to remember that Sunday is always a special day, even in Lent. Me, I like to go for some butter, cheese and eggs. Two of those are represented in this recipe.

UPDATE: I've increased the amount of milk from 1 c. to 1 1/2 c., because I seem to use at least twice what I originally indicated. Start with 1 1/2 c., but be ready to add significantly more. The sweet rice flour just seems to absorb a lot of liquid.

This recipe is heavily based on the basic crêpe recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, which I highly recommend. I made half this quantity (which, in turn, is half of Bittman's recipe), but it involved using half an egg, which is more trouble than most people would consider worthwhile. I knew I was going to use a great, chunky farmstand applesauce for the filling, so I added the cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and agave nectar. I recommend adding some kind of flavoring (garlic would be a tasty addition for a savory crêpe), because sweet rice flour is actually a little bland-tasting on its own, despite the name.

If you've never made crêpes before, be ready for a learning curve. (I, for example, just learned while typing this post that the first e in "crêpes" has a circumflex, not a grave accent, on it. After all these years of thinking I was clever. Oops.) But seriously, the first couple may just look horrible, and that's really okay. Make sure your griddle is flat, preferably with low sides, that your batter is very thin, that the heat is at a nice medium level, and that you use butter generously, and eventually you'll probably get the hang of it. At least, I pretty much have, and I'm no great shakes at this kind of thing.

UPDATE: I made these again and took a photo this time!

SWEET RICE FLOUR CREPES (GF, nut-free, vegan)

Serves 2

1/2 c. sweet rice flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. xanthan gum

a pinch of salt

1 egg

1 tsp. agave nectar (adjust to taste)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 Tbs. butter, melted and cooled

1 1/2 c. milk, more or less as needed

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Beat the egg lightly, then whisk in agave nectar, vanilla, butter and half the milk, and whisk liquids into dry ingredients, mixing until very well blended. Add more milk as necessary to achieve a very pourable batter. If there is time, refrigerate batter for a couple of hours before cooking.

Turn on oven to warm setting and place an oven-safe plate on the middle rack.

Place a griddle over medium heat. When hot, coat well with butter. (I just pick up the whole stick and quickly rub one end all over the hot griddle.) If you overdo this, you'll notice the batter sliding around a little as you add it, so this is one of the many variables to adjust until you find what works best for you.

Check consistency of batter and add milk if needed. I ended up adding quite a lot, maybe even half again what I mention above.

When adding batter to the griddle, the trick will be to tip the pan around quickly so that the batter coats it in as thin a coating as possible. For the first, test crêpe, ladle a small amount of batter, maybe 2 Tbs. worth, into the pan with one hand while tipping the pan around with the other. Cook until the top side looks dry, then flip with a wide pancake turner. Cook until golden brown, then flip back if necessary to brown the first side. Avoid letting the crêpe become crispy. When done, transfer to the plate in the oven or, if it's really too ugly to serve (which it really might be), have yourself a snack, give the dog a treat, or just throw it away.

Add a little more butter to the griddle and now, if you're feeling brave, try a full ladle (about 1/4 c.) of batter, to create a full-sized crêpe. Continue as above (hopefully without feeding the dog again), then start the next crêpe in the same manner. Stack the finished crêpes neatly on the warm plate until all are ready to fill and serve.

To serve, fill with sweet or savory fillings of your choice, roll and sprinkle the top with sliced, toasted almonds, powdered sugar, fresh herbs, or drizzle with syrup or sauce.

Let's call it "crombler"

Is it a cobbler? A crumble? I'm not sure, because I pretty much improvised as I went along. But, when I was a houseguest of friends in Ohio and they had a glut of fresh peaches needing to be enjoyed, I was happy to take on the challenge of making some yummy, gluten-free desserty thing.

I had a successful second run at the recipe this weekend at my parents' house, with the variation that we substituted some of the peaches with my dad's favorite, blackberries. Both versions were pretty awesome, especially when served warm with a little vanilla or butter pecan ice cream.

PEACH or PEACH-BLACKBERRY "CROMBLER"

2 lbs. peaches (about 4-5) OR 1+ lbs peaches (2-3) plus 1 pt blackberries

1/4 c. maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 c. almond meal, divided

2 T butter or butter substitute, plus additional for greasing

1/4 c. sweet rice flour

1/2 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

Optional: pecans, walnuts or almonds, chopped into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8"x10" glass baking dish and set aside.

Peel and slice peaches into a mixing bowl. Add blackberries, if using. Stir in maple syrup, vanilla and 1/2 c. almond meal. Pour mixture into baking dish and spread into an even, shallow layer. If using nuts, sprinkle a thin layer over the fruit. (I didn't measure these, but I'm guessing about 1/4 to 1/2 c.?)

In a small bowl, combine the other 1/2 c. almond meal and the sweet rice flour. Add butter (or substitute) and pinch it in with your fingertips to form a coarse meal. Add brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon and salt and mix well, using the same pinching motion. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit layer.

Bake 40 minutes, or until thoroughly bubbly. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving. A scoop of ice cream is a very nice addition.

Pantry Creativity

Necessity is the mother of invention, right? Earlier this month, I received my vehicle excise tax bill, and even the quarterly payment was a whopper. Ouch. And you know how gas prices are skyrocketing? Suffice to say, I'm on a seriously constricted budget for my grocery expenditures for at least a little while. I still have milk delivery each week, and I'll shop for a few, inexpensive vegetables and fruits (bag of carrots, frozen broccoli or spinach) to keep real nutrients in my diet. But basically, this means being reeealllyyy creative with what's in the pantry (and fridge/freezer).

I did have one strike of luck, in that a good friend of mine who is also vegetarian and gluten-intolerant recently moved across the country and had some pantry items she didn't want to ship. I "inherited" some GF pasta, a large jar of nopalitos, and more rice-paper wrappers than I believe are currently available in the entire country of Vietnam. All of these have played roles in my recent inventions.

I'll tweet more successful results (and probably the not-so-successful ones, too) under the #pantrycreativity hashtag until I get around to writing another post here.

Invention #1: Mac&PB&J

What can I say? I was feeling lazy and was out of bread.

56 g dry Tinkyada gf macaroni elbows

28 g peanut butter

14 g jelly (I used blueberry)

Boil macaroni in salted water as usual. While it's cooking, mix peanut butter and jelly in a bowl until well mixed. When pasta is ready, drain well (rinse if desired), then stir into PB&J mixture.

It's better than it probably sounds to some of you, not quite as good as it may sound to others.

Invention #2: Spring Rolls

Like I said: "more rice-paper wrappers than I believe are currently available in the entire country of Vietnam." I didn't have any of the usual fillings, like cellophane noodles, fresh spinach or lettuce, tofu or basil leaves, so I had to simplify.

6 "triangle" (1/4-round) shape rice paper wrappers

1 small carrot

28 g peanut butter

a splash each of rice vinegar and wheat-free tamari

85 g frozen broccoli florets, thawed and chopped smaller

Combine peanut butter, rice vinegar and tamari in a bowl. Grate carrot with the fine side of a box grater, then mix into PB mixture. Add broccoli and mix.

Have ready a shallow, heatproof dish (like a pyrex brownie pan), a large dinner plate and the smaller plate on which you plan to serve the spring rolls. Place one wrapper in the heatproof dish. Boil water in a kettle, then pour just enough over the wrapper to cover it. Gently poke it around in the water to make sure it stays covered and softens; this will take just a few seconds. Remove from water with bamboo tongs or your fingers if the water has cooled fast enough.

Carefully spread wrapper on the large dinner plate and immediately place the next wrapper into the still-warm water and poke it until submerged. Add about 2-3 Tbs of filling to the wrapper on the plate, and carefully wrap it by folding over one side, then the right-angle corner, then the round edge, and rolling toward the loose side as tightly as you think it can handle. Rest the roll at the edge of the plate to drain a little before transferring it to the serving plate. Meanwhile, the next wrapper should be ready. Repeat until all wrappers and filling are used, adding boiling water to the heatproof dish as needed.

These, I liked. I've repeated this a few times. I thought I had a photo, but unfortunately I can't find it.

Invention #3: Nopalitos Corn Bread

That was one ginormous jar of nopalitos my friend gave me. After a few days of nopalitos tacos and huevos con nopalitos, I just wanted to get rid of the things. This inspiration turned out to be very successful.

1 recipe "Southern Corn Bread" from The Joy of Cooking (p. 777 in the hardcover edition of the 1998 revision)

1 c. drained nopalitos, including the jalapeño from the jar, minced

Prepare according to the recipe omitting the sugar and cutting back the salt to 3/4 tsp (1/2 tsp might have been better), stirring in the nopalitos and jalapeño just before transferring batter to a preheated, 10-inch cast iron skillet. By the way, I substitute buttermilk powder and water for the buttermilk in the recipe, and only used half the water indicated (1 c. instead of 2, I think it was).

I ate it with some huevos con chorizo de soya (that's Trader Joe's soy chorizo, which is gf and vegetarian), to which I had added some Narragansett Creamery queso blanco, and a Redbridge. (Yes, it was a "treat" day.*) Yum!

Invention #4: Veggie+ Mac&Cheese

Normally, I like my mac&cheese unadorned, but I am trying to eat healthier, so here's what I did:

1 box gf mac&cheese (Annie's, Trader Joe's, Pastariso, whatever)

1/4 c nonfat milk

1 Tbs butter

1 carrot, grated fine

85 g frozen broccoli florets, thawed and chopped smaller

Boil macaroni in salted water. Combine sauce mix and milk in a measuring cup and stir well until smooth. When macaroni is ready, drain, rinse well, and leave in colander. Rinse pot and return it to stove over medium-low heat. Melt butter and add carrot, then cook while stirring regularly until a little soft. Add broccoli and cheese sauce, stir to combine. Add cooked macaroni and stir well over medium heat until sauce thickens a little, which takes at least a few minutes.

This made three generous portions, two of which I froze for later consumption. They reheated nicely in the microwave.

Invention #5: Carrot-Yogurt Salad

I make my own yogurt using a Deni yogurt incubator, so I usually have some on-hand.

6 oz. plain, nonfat yogurt

dill, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

28 g pistachios, chopped

1 carrot, shredded fine

2 Tbs ground flaxseed

Mix yogurt together with seasonings until well blended. Add pistachios and flaxseed and mix well. Mix in carrot. Ta-da! Very satisfyingly crunchy.

Invention #6: Pasta Salad

A friend of mine is having a potluck party this weekend, and is providing ice cream so she prefers that people not bring dessert. I have a lot of gf baking supplies on hand, but not much for baking savory things. She did say it was ok to show up empty-handed, but I felt embarrassed to do so.

Fortunately, I had an idea.

1 small onion, chopped (or 1/2 onion; I think I had a little too much)

1/2 c. plain, nonfat yogurt

1 tsp dill

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1-2 Tbs olive oil

1-2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1 medium carrot

7-8 oz. dry GF pasta

leaves from 3 sprigs of fresh mint

salt and pepper to taste

Chop the onion, separate the pieces well and soak in a baking soda solution (1 Tbs : 1 c water) for 15 minutes, then drain and rinse well.

Combine yogurt, dill, garlic powder, olive oil, and vinegar in a small bowl. Add onion after soaking/draining/rinsing. Cover and refrigerate overnight (optional).

Boil water in a large pot. When it reaches a rolling boil, stir in pasta and a generous shake of salt. Stir regularly, especially in the first couple of minutes of cooking.

Meanwhile, grate the carrot into a large bowl, using the coarsest side of a box grater. Add yogurt mixture and mix well.

When the pasta is done, drain and rinse briefly, shake out extra water, then add to bowl while still warm. Stir well to combine ingredients thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Snip mint leaves into small pieces over bowl, then stir to combine completely. Transfer salad to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve (preferably in the next day or so).

* After successfully reaching the "normal" BMI range, I fell into summer slothfulness (and travel-eating) and gained back some of the weight I'd lost. I decided that it's not worth berating myself over every cookie, but there had to be a way to balance rich snacks with healthy eating habits. My solution? First of all, treats are one small desserty-snack and one richer meal per day; second, I only get to have those days if my weight is down when I do the Wii Fit "body test" in the morning. If it's not down, then it's healthy-eating-only that day. So far, it's working fine (and I've re-lost about half the weight I'd re-gained).

A couple of days ago, a new friend was surprised to hear that I'd had a donut for breakfast that morning. Specifically, she asked, "How do you look like that, if you eat donuts?" I explained my treat-day system. But also thanked her: no one had ever before implied that I looked like someone who didn't eat donuts. I guess anything's possible. :-)

How possibilities can change ...

It has been over a year since I've updated this blog, but I think about it regularly. It's hard to find time to post, yes, and even harder to find adequate time to take good photos of the things I cook (even when there is time to cook). But, I invented a recipe this morning that I'd like to share, and I have some thoughts, in any case.

When I began this blog, nearly four years ago, it was my assumption that my body type was pretty much set for life, whatever changes I might make in my habits. But last summer, I decided I wasn't happy enough with my habits and needed to make more lasting changes.

I was exercising too little, eating too much, too frequently, too unhealthily. I had lost the habit of going a few days between servings of sweets, and of cooking up good food that I could grab for a meal when I was in a hurry. I needed better motivation. So, I decided to try Wii Fit.

It was a significant initial investment, so I saved my money by quitting my YMCA membership and using my second-hand exercise bike for exercise for a few months until I had enough money for the Wii and the Wii Fit. I quickly discovered that I don't like the Wii Fit's reliance on the BMI as the only measure of the user's health, and the fat-shaming it gives you if you're outside the "normal" range. And was I outside the "normal" range? Oh yeah, I was "obese." Which is just a lovely thing to be told every morning.

But, I did like the activities themselves, and found it cathartic to yell at the Wii when it called me "obese" or "unbalanced." After all, it is a gaming system, so I made it a game. I decided to stick with it, did different combinations of exercises every day that added up to 30 minutes, and built up my will power to skip desserts and bring my portion sizes back down.

And, lo and behold, and really at least somewhat to my surprise, I actually did start to lose weight. And kept losing it. And losing it. I went from a BMI of something like 32.25 to my current 24.75. That's nearly 40 lbs, on my 5'2" frame, and puts me within the "normal" range for the first time in over half my life. More importantly, I have more energy than ever, and I can actually run. I'm planning to participate in a 5K race in June.

Today is the fourth Sunday in Lent, and I have started observing Lent much more, well, observantly in the past few years. I've decided that my health is a gift, and I should show my thanks by adhering strictly to my healthiest habits during Lent: 30 min aerobic exercise every day; meals made up of small portions of healthy foods like plain, nonfat yogurt, whole grains, vegetables, beans, and the occasional natural peanut butter and unsweetened jelly; no coffee or tea (except herbal); no alcohol; no sweets at all; no snacks. I also give up shopping for anything I could live without until Easter, so I end up doing a lot of creative cooking and rummaging through my pantry and freezer. I've eaten a LOT of various kinds of beans with brown rice.

And today, I made up a muffin recipe, thanks to the mashed roasted peaches I found in the freezer. (Note: I totally don't remember how I roasted the peaches and am too lazy this evening to find that recipe. If you don't want to try faking it, you can probably get the same effect by buying a can of peaches packed in juice without sugar and mashing them up with a potato masher.) This recipe is actually vegan! And decently tasty, although the muffins break pretty easily. But they contain no fat other than flaxseeds, are sweetened with brown rice syrup (Lundberg Farms is GF), and probably have at least a little protein in them.

I used Annalise Roberts's Gluten-Free Baking Classics as a guide for some of the quantities.

PEACH GINGER MUFFINS (GF/Vegan)

Dry ingredients:

3/4 c. ground flaxseed meal

1 c. millet flour

1 c. garfava flour

3/4 tsp. xanthan gum

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Wet ingredients:

5/6 c. brown rice syrup

3/4 c. mashed, cooked peaches, in liquid

1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, whisking to combine thoroughly.

In a smaller bowl, combine the wet ingredients and stir well. The syrup is heavy, so you will need to stir thoroughly.

[The above steps can be done the night before, if you want to be able to make fresh muffins quickly in the morning—although, I actually was able to do this whole process pretty fast. Just close each container well and store in the fridge.]

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°F. Grease 12 muffin cups with olive oil (I use a set of silicone baking cups arranged on a cookie sheet; if using a metal muffin tin, I'd suggest lining with paper).

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until well incorporated, then spoon into muffin cups, distributing evenly. The batter will not quite fill the cups.

Bake about 22 minutes, or until firm and slightly golden on top. Turn out onto a wire rack and cool. The first one was tasty when cooled just slightly.

I've frozen the rest for future breakfasts. Hoping they reheat well!

How to make a cream sauce with no flour and lots of flavor

Yes, it's sometimes going to be a long time between posts. And I mean a loooong time. Sorry 'bout that. Also? This is totally not one of those healthy-eating posts, in the sense that even reading about this quantity of butterfat might just raise your cholesterol about 10 points. But there is some pretty good nutrition here, too, and it's not like I'm suggesting we eat this way every day.

When I was a graduate student in Chicago, I worked at a cafe in Rogers Park called Ennui Café. One of my coworkers was a culinary student who told me her approach to cream sauces: instead of starting with a roux, start with equal parts heavy cream and white wine, and reduce it down about 50%. Finding myself with some extra cream on-hand after making ice cream (more on that later), I decided to give it a try. Another person I met recently had a good rule of thumb for vegetarian meal-building: "a grain, a green and a protein," so I added canned navy beans and frozen, chopped spinach. Knowing that (a) vitamin C increases iron absorption from leafy greens and (b) tomatoes are yummy, I added some canned crushed tomatoes.

I'm still doing my best to use local ingredients, but since I spent most of last summer scuba diving instead of prowling farmers' markets and putting up veggies for the winter, there are a lot of supermarket goods in this one.

By the way, I've decided that there is no point in eating any brown rice pasta other than Tinkyada, ever again. Fin.

Brown Rice Fusilli and Navy Beans with Spinach-Tomato-"Atwell's Gold" Cream Sauce

makes 2-3 servings

2 c. light or heavy cream

2 c. white wine (I used Newport Vineyards Pinot Grigio)

Combine in a medium saucepan over medium heat and simmer to reduce. This will take bloody forever. Try being braver than I was, and turn up the heat a little more to speed up the process.

Meanwhile, put a pot of water on to boil for pasta, and ...

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

6 cloves garlic (or less, if you're not quite as insane for garlic as I am)

1 c. canned navy beans or cannelini, drained and rinsed

generous pinch of salt

1/2 c. canned crushed tomatoes, lifted out of the sauce with a fork to get as high a tomato:sauce ratio as possible

2 c. frozen spinach

Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, then crush and add the garlic. Stir for a few minutes until garlic is fragrant and a little bubbly. Stir in beans and salt and cook for about five minutes to allow the starchy beans to soak up the flavors. Mix in tomatoes to deglaze pan and stir until warm. Add spinach and sauté, stirring occasionally, until warm and well distributed, then set aside.

When the pasta water is boiling, check to see whether the cream mixture is at least down to 2 1/2 cups volume. If not, turn the water to low or off and wait. Once it is, ...

2 c. (dry) brown rice fusilli or other short pasta (penne, etc.)

Add to rapidly boiling water along with a generous amount of salt, at least a couple teaspoons. Stir for the first couple minutes, then occasionally until desired tenderness. Drain, rinse and return to pot and toss with spinach mixture, and set aside.

When sauce is reduced to 2 c., reduce heat to low and start adding cheese:

1/2 c. freshly grated Atwell's Gold, asiago or pecorino romano cheese, plus additional for serving

Over low heat, add cheese a small pinch at a time, stirring after each addition until completely incorporated. When all cheese has been added, pour cheese sauce over pasta and spinach and combine over low heat, stirring gently until warmed through.

Serve in a warmed pasta bowl, topped with additional cheese and freshly ground pepper. Mwah!

** If you're dining alone, you can eat possibly deliciously for two nights! The whole thing might reheat well, but I didn't try it. What I did do was the following: Boil only 1 c. pasta and shred only 1/4 c. cheese (+ a little). When the spinach is all thawed and distributed, put half the mixture in a lidded container and refrigerate. When the cream mixture is down to 2 c., put 1 c. in a separate lidded container and refrigerate that, then proceed as above.

When it's time for leftovers, start the pasta first and shred the cheese while waiting for the water to come to a boil. As soon as the pasta's in the water and boiling happily, start warming the cream concoction over low heat. It will look like it's separating and bad things are happening, but I promise it's fine; I just did it. The pasta should be done just before the sauce is warm enough to add the cheese; drain, rinse, and return the pasta to the pot along with the cold spinach mixture. Heat the two together over low heat. Next, start adding the cheese to the sauce, slowly as above. As soon as all the cheese is in, pour this over the pasta mixture and heat thoroughly.

And about dessert ...

I'm feeling downright smug, because I succeeded in making tartufi, or scoops of ice cream encased in a coating of chocolate so that they look like big truffles. I used David Lebovitz's recipe for Chocolate Ice Cream, Philadelphia Style, and his recipe/instructions for tartufi (except that I substituted brown rice syrup for corn syrup because corn syrup makes me cringe), and it was downright easy. Using my brief training as a helper at the now-defunct Ursula's, I drizzled them with white chocolate (which I thinned with whole milk, which I'm not sure was a good move but it made it drizzlable). And then served them over a small pool of raspberry sauce à la Rose Levy Beranbaum.

Plus, I made moose-munch-only-it's-not-moose-munch-because-that's-a-copyrighted-name from Patrick Evans-Hylton's Popcorn book, again substituting brown rice syrup for corn syrup and also mixing unsweetened chocolate about 50/50 with the milk chocolate for a richer flavor. I got a Whirley-Pop recently, and have been giving it a real workout because I loooooove popcorn. I was feeling very intimidated by toffee-involved recipes, and this was messy but overall pretty easy. And it made a lot.