The Smiling Onion

Vegetarian and Gluten-free Cooking

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Spaetzle (With Caraway-Dill Cabbage and Onions!)

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Twelve long years ago, I met spaetzle for the first time. We were in the Czech Republic, and it was summer. I was 16 – spaetzle was….well…considerably older, but age didn’t matter to us. During our first encounter that summer in the Czech Republic, I fell madly in love.

I remember it like it was yesterday: I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt; spaetzle was cloaked in a sweet sauce of butter and poppy seeds. Neither of us heard the clink of fork on plate as we met for the first time. I remember the moment as tender, with a slight bite (just the right amount.) I remember the rush as my teeth sank into pillowy goodness. And I remember the butter.

That summer was amazing, and we both swore we would not be strangers to each other when it came to an end. But touching down on American soil once more, I was distracted. Years of pizza, tacos, and take-out Thai came and went, my beloved spaetzle momentarily forgotten. During one of those years, I swore off floury food all together: no gluten, no spaetzle! It looked like our love affair might be over for good.

But I’m happy to report that, twelve years after we first met, I’ve rekindled my relationship with spaetzle. Our first meeting on American soil was remarkably similar to our first meeting in the Czech Republic: my new spaetzle is just as tender, just as pillowy, and just as buttery as the one I remember from twelve years ago. But with one major difference: no gluten. Which made our encounter all the more exciting.

If you’ve never heard of spaetzle and just made it through that whole love story without googling it or giving up – you are super awesome!  In case that did happen, let me brief you: spaetzle is a traditional German dish that is somewhere between a dumpling and a noodle. It is normally oddly shaped and can be served in both sweet and savory preparations, with all manner of delicious things.

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Carrot Latkes with Green Apple Sour Cream

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It’s latke time! Whether you’ve just lit candles for the second night of Chanukah, or all you know about Chanukah is the Adam Sandler song (one of my all-time LEAST favorite songs, by the way), you gotta make some latkes. Or at least, find somewhere to go eat them. Because Jewish or not, who doesn’t like crispy fried potatoes with sour cream and apple sauce?

That said, too much of a good thing definitely applies . And if you do happen to celebrate Chanukah, you know what I’m talking about. The first time you eat latkes on Chanukah, it’s totally awesome. But by the time the obligatory latkes hit your plate at the third Chanukah gathering you’ve been to, you may start to get a little…well…rebellious. My solution? Ditch the starchy, heavy potato and bust out your carrots! Need some more reasons to try carrot latkes? I’ve got ’em!

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Spicy Harissa-Chickpea Burgers

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Harissa is one of my kitchen staples, since I love its intensity of flavor and incredible vibrancy.  Add in some crunchy dill-infused carrots and some nutty chickpeas, and you’ve got yourself a winning combination. This is a burger that packs some heat – in a delightfully zesty way. It’s delicious with the optional yogurt dressing featured here, but an aioli made with vegan mayo would work just fine too. Or you can just eat these babies straight out of the oven – no accoutrements necessary, provided you like it hot!

These burgers are a wee bit similar (in method, not flavor) to my Indian Chickpea Cakes, since I’m a huge fan of using millet in my burgers and cakes. This awesome grain is moist, nutty, and really gives you something nice and meaty to sink your teeth into. Plus it’s totally under-appreciated and really good for you! If you’ve never enjoyed millet before, this is a great introduction to it – its flavor and texture in this recipe is similar to rice, and it doesn’t taste at all like “health food.”

Finally, I should mention that if you keep reading, you’ll actually find not one, but three recipes included in this post! Woohoo! Exciting! (Consider it my Halloween present to everyone :p)

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Apples and Honey Cake for Rosh Hashanah

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On the eve of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), I’m home with my family in Western Massachusetts, soaking up as much countryside as I can get before heading back to city life. And of course that also includes taking advantage of all the delicious local produce! Yesterday, I was dragged around to various farmstands in search of the perfect Hadley corn, which led to a heated argument over what that meant exactly. (My dad insisted he could tell by scent alone; the rest of us demanded he at least take a peek inside the husk before choosing!) The argument was forgotten, come dinnertime, as we dove into the buttery ears, which proved quite delicious. We also enjoyed a lovely cherry tomato and goat cheese salad and some delicious pesto potatoes, courtesy of my mother’s garden (except for the goat cheese, that is!).

And today, it’s all about the apples.

After a lovely morning at an orchard in Easthampton (pictures here), I am definitely in the Rosh Hashanah spirit. Apples dipped in honey are traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashanah to symbolize a sweet new year, as is honey cake. But this year, I decided to combine those two traditions into one scrumptious grain-free, dairy-free Rosh Hashanah apples and honey cake. I guess it was a good idea, because my family told me it was the best honey cake they’d ever had! (Disclaimer: They don’t really like honey cakes to begin with, so I’m not sure how that fact affects the rave review).

While I personally wouldn’t go so far as to call this the best honey cake ever, it’s definitely a great grain-free, dairy-free, Rosh Hashanah option to help you start your year off right. Because everyone (including those with dietary restrictions) deserves to have a sweet new year!

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Mystical Applesauce “Bran” Muffins

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My favorite thing about bran muffins is their nutty, whole-grain flavor. What I’m not such a fan of is that dense (and sometimes dry) texture you’ll sometimes experience in a less-than-perfect bran muffin. As such, trying to create a gluten-free “bran” muffin was a bit of a task, as dryness is something you have to be extra careful to avoid when there’s no sticky gluten involved!

After a couple tries (I was really muffined out for a while there),  I managed to create a delicious gluten-free muffin with a “bran” like flavor but with a texture that is lighter and cakier than a traditional bran muffin. They are so pleasantly light, and so wonderfully moist, in fact, that you can eat quite a few of these guys before realizing just how many you’ve eaten!

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Indian Chickpea Cakes

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Do you have specific foods that always stick out to you on a restaurant menu? The ones that immediately catch your eye and say “pick me, pick me!”? For me, it’s fritters, cakes, patties…anything that comes in the form of a nice, elegant, flavor-packed crispy round of goodness. I can’t say no! Sadly, since most restaurants use flour to bind those lovely little rounds, I often have to. And even the ones marked gluten-free often contain rice or rice flour, which is a no-no for me. Luckily, flour really isn’t necessary. My secret for making flourless cakes and patties that still hold together perfectly? Millet!

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