Recipes: Deidre's Spelt Drop Biscuits, French Lentils and Carmelized Onions, Marinated Beets

Deidre's Drop Biscuits:


Of all the cooking I've done over the years, for some reason I had never made biscuits even though I love them- just never crossed my mind. My BFF Deidre, an ND in Canada made these for me when I was visiting. I'm still looking for the almond gravy recipe from my college days to go with them. If it turns up I'll update the post.

2 c. whole grain spelt (or whole wheat) flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup non-hydrogenated shortening in pea sized chunks (or cubed butter if you eat dairy)
3/4-1 cup soymilk (we use oat milk as we're not a soy family- any milk alternative would work just as well)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients.
Cut in shortening or butter with pastry cutter or cuisinart. Texture should resemble coarse bread crumbs.
Make a well in center and add 'milk'. Stir or pulse until moist.
Knead 10-12 strokes.
Drop onto a greased cookie sheet a few TBSP per biscuit. Should make about 10 biscuits.
Bake 10-12 min.

French Green Lentils with Caramelized Onions:


OK you got me, this photo is not French Lentils, it's azuki beans. I usually make this dish with the lentils but thought I'd try the beans tonight. It's good, not great. With the lentils, it's great.

Cut 2 medium onions into thin strips. Pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup oil in a saute pan. Heat oil to medium. Cook onions for 5 min stirring frequently then turn to low. The onions should continue to cook for about an hour until they're golden color and very sweet. You may want to look at some other instructions for carmelizing onions as well.

While the onions are cooking, put 1 cup French lentils in a pot, rinse and pick out any stones. Cover with plenty of water so lentils stay submerged and cook until tender but not disintigrating, about 20-30 minutes.

Stir lentils into onions. Add salt if desired. This is another favorite dish of my toddler.

Marinated Beets:
Beets, really? Yes!

4 beets, red, yellow, or both.
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP aged balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP wheat free tamari- we don't eat soy so we just make it without this ingredient
Handful of fresh basil, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350. Wrap 4 washed beets individually in aluminum foil and cook for about an hour. You can use the foil to 'rough up' the beet after it has cooled slightly and the skin will peel right off. Expect to get your hands red with this one. (Don't forget to rinse off the foil and re-use or recycle!)



Cut beets into small cubes, about half an inch to an inch. Place in a mason jar or similar. Add liquid ingredients and basil. Shake. Put in fridge. Shake every few hours to make sure all the beets end up sitting in the liquid for a while. It's ok for this to take a few days, but it is also good by the next day.



Strain beets after a minimum of 24 hours and keep chilled until use.
Use marinade as salad dressing- it turns a beautiful deep ruby color.

In Health,
Dr Samantha

But how do I find good recipes without gluten?

And while we're at it, let's add "without dairy" "without too many carbs" "with high omega-3" "without sugar?" And so on and so on.

Sitting where I sit, after 20 years of working on recipes that fit my family's dietary restrictions, it's easy. But I know that up front, when those first changes are being made, it can be quite daunting to say the least. So, where to start?

There are 3 main things I stress when working with folks who are making dietary changes.

1. You can enjoy food no matter what changes you decide to make, or have to make. How do I know this? From looking to the cookbook editor with a life threatening allergy to nuts, the food writer and recipe developer who learned in her 30's that she has a severe gluten intolerance, and the Foodie in San Francisco who cannot eat any saturated fat without having severe health repercussions, to name just a few. They're all people I know, and all people that have extremely satisfying culinary lives. Trust that you can do this.

2. Be willing to experiment. All cooks know that some recipes end up in the compost. If you don't try a new food or recipe though, you won't know if you like it. At our house I try at least one new recipe a week (okay, maybe every other week since our baby turned into a toddler with 8 hands. )

3. Think outside the box. Once you get the hang of cooking for whatever your needs are, you can start making subsitutions. The prosciutto and halibut recipe below for instance. You can't eat fish? Try it with chicken. You don't eat pork? Try wrapping it with a lightly steamed chard leaf and cook it in foil. Will this work? I have no idea. But, that's how you come up with new staple recipes that work for you. Honestly it is nary a recipe that I don't change somehow (note: this is not always the best idea with baking as baking is more science than cooking.)

So now, where to go for recipes?

First, my 2 current favorite websites.

1. Epicurious. You can type in an ingredient such as "kale" and it will come up with a list of recipes that have appeared in their magazines (Gourmet and Bon Appétit to name a few.) Two cool things about this site are that you can save your recipes with notes in your own 'recipe box' and you can read changes other people made to the recipes and how it turned out. This has taught me some great tricks and given me some great ideas.

2. Cookstr. This is a relatively new site that I am using more and more of late. Cookbook authors allow their recipes to be posted and you can then just click and buy if you find a book by a chef that you like. You can sign up for emails and you'll get 10 recipes on their theme of the week. They don't have the recipe box feature as above but I emailed them and it is apparently in the works. The best part of this site however is that you can search by dietary restriction! Most of the time it works swimmingly.

3. OK I know I said 2 but I'd also like to give a shout out to Post Punk Kitchen. It's not common that I recommend a vegan diet for my patients but for those who are already vegan, this is a very good resource. Just please, don't use margarine. Ick.

Other tips and tricks.

1. Clear an afternoon to sit in the cookbook section of your local bookstore. Peruse to your heart's content.

2. Send out an email and ask your friends for their favorite recipe (dairy free, wheat free, or whatever.)

3. Google. I know it's a bit desperate but sometimes I'll google something I'm looking for, like "bread machine spelt challah" or "vegan soy-free frosting." Over time you'll learn to review the recipes that come up and have a clue as to whether they may be worth trying or not.

Really though, have fun. If you choose to make changes, remember that it is a choice. If you have to make changes, remember that it is something you're doing that is good for your body. Enjoy yourself. Know that there are worlds of foods out there that you haven't even considered yet, and you may just like them.

In Health,
Dr Samantha

Edited to add: Thank you to the commenter who noted that I neglected to include Living Without magazine on my list. We have this in our waiting room (of course I read it cover to cover before anyone else even gets to see it!) and we love to recommend it to patients. I'll plan another post with GF resources in the near future.