Life, Goats, Curry, and Bread
May 6, 2008 by glutenfreesoxfan
Right now, my life seems to revolve around searching for a new job. My boss is retiring as of September 1, and that means my job ends then too. The economy seems to be affecting every industry at this point, and even the legal field is feeling the pinch. Which makes finding a job that much more difficult. But life must go on, and it does. I’ll find something, and it will be the right something. If not now, eventually. I just have to keep telling myself that.
Meanwhile, spring, and some days summer, has arrived with gusto to Eastern Tennessee. Our open-air market is back, and this week we had our first strawberries. Yum! We don’t have a lot of other produce yet, but that won’t take too long. And since I cheated and planted actual herb plants and not seeds, I’m already enjoying fresh herbs from my garden. It may be a little while before I get basil, but I have plenty of thyme and parsley.
I mentioned last week that I had bought goat steaks from the market and was planning on grilling them. They were really quite good! The taste was excellent - a little bit like lamb. They were a bit tough, and I don’t know if it was because I slightly over-cooked them (they should be kept medium at most) or if they needed to be marinated first. So I’m going to try again this week, and give them a bit of a marinate in something acidic to help break down the meat. Here are some “before and after” photos from our goat dinner:
Before
After
I recently discovered a great new product at the grocery store. (Our store just underwent a major renovation and added a lot more international foods.) It is Patak’s brand curry paste. It makes a really fast and easy curry. And it’s gluten free. It says so right on the label! (I was so excited when I saw that.) Basically, all you have to do is saute up some onions, some beef or meat/vegetable/tofu of your choosing, add a little of this curry paste and water, and simmer. I got the “hot” style and yes, it was HOT! I needed extra rice. My husband thought it was just right.
Beef Curry over Rice
Finally, I made some fabulous bread over the weekend! I’ve had a hard time with bread, so I usually don’t bother. I don’t really miss sandwiches, so it’s not a big deal. But now that it’s getting warmer, a sandwich is often a good choice to take for lunch. This bread recipe is Gluten Free Gobsmacked’s Sorghum-Flax Bread. It is moist, it has depth of flavor, it doesn’t fall apart in your hand - in other words, it’s great! She lists three different ways to make the bread on her site. I made the quicker loaf. I also made a few minor alterations due to what I had in the kitchen. I used quinoa flakes instead of oats, I used honey instead of agave nectar, and I left out the flax seeds (although I still used the flax seed meal). Also, I used brown rice flour instead of regular.
Sorghum-Flax Bread
Okay, so I have a really dumb question. I’ve been doing to gluten free thing for several months now, but have no one to ask these silly questions. In that bread recipe it calls for sweet rice flour. I have brown rice flour and then this rice flour from an asian market…neither are sweet rice flour. Where do you find it. And in the mean time–does anything replace it?
PS Go Sox tonight, I think I may even be able to watch them on ESPN…trying to figure a way to get NESN down here.
I’m so glad you took a picture of the goat. I don’t think I have ever seen it sold where we live. But, maybe I’ve just not looked for it! I really like lamb. Especially lamb chops, so maybe I would like it? It will be interesting to see how you like them marinated.
Sarah - sweet rice flour is also called “sticky rice flour” or “glutinous rice flour.” Don’t be put off by its name - no gluten there! I find it in the Asian market. It tends to be a bit more fine than regular rice flour, but more importantly, it’s “stickier.” If you can’t find it there, you can order it on the internet. Amazon has a good grocery section. Bob’s Red Mill has a lot. I’m not sure where else because I haven’t been buying online, but I know that many people do. Maybe they can be more helpful.
And yeah Sox! We watch over the internet down here in TN.
Karen
Great post Karen! I know you will find a really good job soon!! I’ve never seen goat steaks either! Looks yummy!! Thanks for sharing! I really need to try Kate’s bread too! I’ve been meaning too!
Melanie - I certainly can’t find goat in the grocery stores. I can only find it at the farmers’ market. I probably won’t get around to cooking it again, but I’ll keep everyone posted on my experiments.
Carrie - The bread is really good. I think I’m going to try it with millet flour next time instead of sorghum for something different. It actually holds up well for several days without freezing, which is great.
Karen =)
Please tell me how well it works with millet - I bet it will be easy/tasty too!
I’m SUPER happy that the bread turned out for you and that you like it too.
-Kate