In my previous life, unburdened by poor health and any concern for nutritious eating, white rice could have been a food group. I ate it like crazy. In my poor college days, I would buy Chinese boxes filled with it, adding soy sauce for bargain work lunches, not really thinking of what little it did for my body. I'd eat leftovers for breakfast, with hot milk, butter and sugar for an improved texture experience on the oatmeal I so detested. But on it's own? Well, white rice really doesn't taste like much. So what was I holding onto by not trying an alternative?

I'll admit, I'd heard of cauliflower "rice", but as a staunch hater of the white veg, I never even considered it. Once I opened up to the idea, my newly narrowed food world opened way, way up. As an accompaniment to curries and Asian-inspired meat dishes, it's the perfect sub for rice - and surprisingly delicious, even for those fellow cauliflower-haters out there. Trust me on this one. High in fiber and vitamin C, it offers a lot more nutrition than white rice and at about ten minutes cooking time, this "rice" is ready faster than the real thing.

I feel like I'm still figuring out how to cook and eat the best way for me right now, but realizing I am down with subbing out grains like rice with cauliflower rice to make the foods I used to, the better I feel - both health-wise and that hard-to-please side of me that just wants to eat delicious food. This curry satisfies all those needs, not to mention that like most curries, it's super easy and flexible to all kinds of substitutions. Change up the veggies. Omit the meat if you're vegetarian. Use a different curry flavor (I love the green curry paste for Thai Turkey Meatballs). Make a big batch and you're fed for days. What's not to love?


Matsaman Curry with Cauliflower Rice

For curry:
2 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large chicken breasts, cut into cubes
3 carrots, sliced into thin rounds
2 zucchini, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
1 can coconut milk
2-3 Tbsp Thai Matsaman Curry Paste

For "rice":
1 large head cauliflower
3 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 green onions, light green part, chopped
2 Tbsp coconut oil

For garnish:
toasted sesame seeds
chopped green onion
chopped corriander
lime wedges
salt & pepper

Prep the rice by grating the cauliflower into rice-sized pieces, either by hand or with a food processor. Set aside. Steam the sweet potato for about ten minutes and remove from heat, set aside.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat and add onion and garlic, sauté until garlic is fragrant and onion is translucent. Salt and pepper the chicken cubes and add to pot, stirring occasionally. Once the chicken has cooked on the outside, push aside and add 2-3 Tbsp Matsaman curry paste and slowing whisk in coconut milk. Add more paste to your flavor and spiciness preferences. Stir curry sauce into chicken and reduce heat.

Meanwhile, heat coconut or olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat for the "rice". Add garlic and shallots, stirring constantly to keep from browning too quickly. Once softened and fragrant, add grated cauliflower and green onions. Stir well to combine. Turn down heat to medium and continue to cook for about 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally to cook evenly.

Carefully stir the vegetables into the curry. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cook for about five minutes, until vegetables are at desired texture (I prefer mine less cooked so as not to have a mushy curry). Add in cooked sweet potato during the last minute or two to bring to the same temperature as curry.

Make sure rice is cooked through, then serve curry over rice in bowls and garnish with preferred toppings.

Serves 4

My strict no-eating-out policy following my celiac diagnosis just over a month ago has proved to be the hardest part of my diet transition. I mean, we moved to Berlin in large part for the food. Now I was supposed to hole up in our apartment, cooking every single meal until my digestion healed enough to brave the big, bad world of eating in restaurants that didn't understand the first thing about gluten cross-contaimination. I thought I might be old and grey before I could venture out to enjoy a meal again. Enter Cielo di Berlino.

I was skeptical about a pizza place that makes both buckwheat crust and regular crust pizza, envisioning air thick with poisonous wheat flour and work surfaces long covered in the sticky, glutenous stuff. But even on its website, it puts even the most dramatic of worrywarts like myself at ease, explaining how they make the different crusts in separate places to avoid cross-contaimination and they are cooked in the oven on dedicated sheets. It looked like other than the one Paleo restaurant in town, I wasn't gonna get much safer than this. So after a particularly long Ikea visit late one night, famished with nothing to cook at home, I threw caution into the wind and we headed here.

I had heard that sometimes the wait for food could be a bit long, but thankfully our food arrived before our grumbling bellies forced us to start gnawing on our arms. Our wide, hungry eyes were drawn to the salads, sure to come quicker than a pizza requiring a trip to the oven, so we started there. The dressing was a light and flavorful addition to the fresh greens with onions and cherry tomatoes, but it was the toasted pine nuts and wide, thin slices of the best parmesan I've ever tasted that really impressed me. After wolfing down my salad, I was even more eager to get to the main course.

The pizzas arrived, filling the large, platter-like plates, and we set to work. If it's your first buckwheat crust pizza, you discover it is actually work. Cutting the crust (true Italian pizza comes uncut) takes a heavy hand and a good knife. Unlike flaky, crisp wheat flour crusts, buckwheat is denser and a bit more chewy. This is not to say it is not good, it's just different. If I've learned one thing about gluten-free eating in my relatively short time having to do so, it's that you must adjust your expectations. A gluten-free baguette won't have the same buttery, flaky crust, the same way a buckwheat pizza crust won't have a light, crumbly feel. You can't expect things to have the same flavor or texture when they are made from entirely different ingredients. And frankly, they're better when they're something altogether new, rather than trying to be something they're not and failing miserably. Long story short, the buckwheat pizza crust is a tasty, satisfying alternative for those eating gluten-free.

Aside from the thin buckwheat crust, the pizzas were impressive in their flavorful toppings and generous cheesiness. My pizza had thinly-sliced pepperoni and a heady goat's cheese, while my husband's had an assortment of olives, peppers and a good kick (though, that might've just been his ample dousing of hot chill oil...). His being the winner that night, it was ordered again on our second trip, while I opted to mix it up with the classic Margherita, which was fresh, simple and delicious. The cheese, brought all the way to the outer edges of the pizza where it crisps in the most perfect way, makes the 'crust' my favorite part. We also tend to stuff ourselves so full of pizza here, there is literally no room left for any of the gluten-free desserts, but I hear good things from those who have indulged. The offerings can vary from something chocolate, to classic cheesecake or crème caramel. Next time, I really must remember this so that I pace myself to leave room for something sweet.

After two very successful trips to Cielo di Berlino, and I'm sure many more to come, I must offer high praise to the Italian culture and its knowledge of celiac disease. Apparently in Italy, children are regularly tested for it and there are ample alternatives to standard wheat-based pizzas and pastas. A simple 'senza glutine' will be met with a nod of understanding and a plethora of gluten-free options brought to you. The very kind Italian ladies running this place have thankfully brought this compassion and understanding for those of us who must not only eat differently, but also very carefully, to a city and culture that too often does not understand the rather high-maintenace needs of those with this disease. I am eternally grateful that they did.




Cielo di Berlino
Monumentenstraße 31
10829 Berlin (Tempelhof-Schöneberg)
S+U Yorckstrasse
Pizza daily from 16:00, Sundays from 14:00
Cash only

During our time without a working stovetop in our new Berlin apartment, I suffered from a sort of cooking malaise in which I let the sad state of our kitchen get the better of me. Luckily, my husband stepped up quite often to figure out what we would make for dinner - and more importantly, how the heck we were going to do it. This was one such oven-only recipe he discovered - the rice was made with an awesome microwave rice cooker picked up at our local Asian market - and I immediately insisted it remain in our regular dinner recipe rotation.

The nice thing about this fairly simple meal is the ability to change it up and customize it. Cut down on the chili paste if you don't want it so spicy. Mix it up with the kind of vegetables you prefer. You can even make it with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, if that's your thing (though I think much of it's winning flavor and moisture hail from the bone-in, skin on meat). Another plus: This sticky-sweet and hot goodness gets even better after it's had time to sit, so it's one of those wonderful and rare occurrences where the leftovers are even better than the first night.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!



Glazed Orange-Hoisin Chicken with Vegetables

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon chili paste
1 large garlic clove, pressed
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons scallions, chopped for garnish
3 lbs/ 1.3 kilo chicken legs with thigh, with skin
3-4 carrots, cut on the diagonal
green beans (optional)
sliced bell pepper, for garnish
chopped green onion, for garnish
roasted sliced almonds, for garnish
2-3 cups cooked white rice

Combine ingredients up to marmalade in a large bowl and whisk until well combined. Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Place the chicken and vegetables in a large shallow roasting pan or baking dish. Pour the hoisin marmalade sauce over the top. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the chicken is done (depending on thickness of meat), basting with juices one or two times during the baking process. Remove from oven and serve over rice. Spoon some sauce over it and garnish with the bell pepper, onions and almonds. Serve immediately.




adapted from this recipe

The first time I made this recipe, the only kind of green (or red or yellow, for that matter) curry I was familiar with was on a Thai take-out menu. Not only had I never cooked with curry paste, but I had no idea what I was looking for on the Asian market shelves lined with jar after jar of labels I couldn't even read. Needless to say, I felt a little out of my depth, for the relatively new cook that I was.

So that first attempt was a little lackluster, but I knew we had a potential winner on our hands. It wasn't until I understood the flavors more - and became a better cook in general - that I felt more confident to make changes and substitutions to suit our tastes. Perhaps even more importantly, it took my dear British friend who knows a thing or two about curries to point me in the direction of a better curry paste. With the right amount of heat and a bit of veggies thrown in for a more balanced dinner, I have worked out a recipe for one of our go-to meals. Just mix up my favorite cocktail accompaniment - a Kentucky Mule - and it's the perfect night in. Here's to more nights like this, now that I finally have my Berlin kitchen nearly complete!



Green Curry Thai Turkey Meatballs

1-1/2 lbs/680g ground turkey
2 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp + 2 tbsp Thai green curry paste, separated, plus more to taste
2 tbsp Asian fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 + 1/2 cup green onions, white and green parts finely chopped, separated
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (coriander)
salt to taste
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 14oz/400ml can coconut milk
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 cups chopped vegetables, such as green beans
3 cups cooked rice
cilanto, chopped green onion and lime wedges, for garnish

In a medium bowl,combine turkey, ginger, 2 tsp curry paste, fish sauce, sugar, egg, 1/3 cup green onion and cilantro, mixing well. Heat peanut oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and fry up sample of meat to taste. Add more curry paste and salt if desired. Form into one-inch/2.5cm meatballs and cook in oil until all sides are nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside in a covered bowl. Lower heat to medium. Add 1/2 cup of green onions and minced garlic to the fat in the pan and stir until soft, about five minutes. Add can of coconut milk and scrape up any brown bits from bottom of the pan. Whisk in 2 or more tablespoons Thai green curry paste and lime juice. Taste and add more curry paste and lime juice as desired. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Add green beans and meatballs back to pan, cook covered for a few minutes for flavors to meld and vegetables to soften. Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro, green onion and lime wedges.

Serves six.




Adapted from this recipe.

This is one that took a little TLC. When I first came across the recipe, it sounded good enough, but the online comments were full of people proclaiming it 'bland' and even the ingredients sounded a little flat. With my then-very remedial cooking skills, I used the more seasoned cooks' commentary and a little of my personal preferences to figure out what additions and substitutions would make this a worthwhile meal. The coconut milk and Sriracha make this a bit more of a spicy curry sauce and the vegetables make it a more well-rounded dinner. What started out as a so-so recipe has become one of our spicy and satisfying cold-weather staples. Hopefully, you will come to enjoy it as much as we do.


Ginger Curried Chicken and Vegetables

1/3 cup + 2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup coconut milk
2-4 tbsp Sriracha (adjust to heat preferences)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1-1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cups various chopped vegetables (I like zucchini, carrots, red bell pepper and small, quartered potatoes*)
4 chicken breasts, cut into medium-sized chunks
salt and pepper
1-1/2 cups jasmine rice
1/2 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Pre-heat oven to 325F/160C on convection setting. In a 4-6 quart dutch oven, whisk together the tomato paste, coconut milk, Sriracha, garlic, curry powder, ginger and cumin. Add onion and vegetables, stir to combine. Place chicken on top and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until chicken is cooked through and tender, about an hour, checking and stirring contents after about 45 minutes. Twenty minutes before serving, cook rice according to directions. Just before serving, add the yogurt and 1/2 tsp more salt to curry and stir to combine. Serve with the rice and sprinkle with chopped green onion.

* If using potatoes, boil first for about 5-7 minutes to soften before adding them to the pot


Adapted from this Real Simple recipe

With all the packing and selling and planning for our Berlin move, my cooking mojo has taken a bit of a hit. There are days when my husband has come home from work and I have to tell him to fend for himself because I have not the motivation, the hunger nor the time to make something happen. On such occurances, I feel terribly guilty. But on the weekends, when my husband gets excited about a recipe he has found and asks if he can cook dinner, I gratefully sit back and let him be master of the kitchen.

This weekend, as soon as he started asking for specific spices and mentioned he had to find raw chorizo while at the grocery, I could hardly contain my excitement. Anything spicy is always a treat when living amongst a culture with an aversion so strong to spice of the heat variety, anyone with a love of Mexican or authentic, belly-burning Indian knows that to enjoy any of these cuisines, you're going to have to cook it yourself - and likely have to import the ingredients as well. So when my husband actually managed to find some spicy raw sausage (at Hit, if anyone's looking...), that two-hour wait time for this slow-cooked, stewy goodness felt a bit like torture.

Now, let me just say, I'm extremely lucky that my husband not only knows how to cook, but has an appreciation for good food perhaps even stronger than mine. I have never been disappointed in anything he has brought to the table. That said, when I took my first bite of this Mexican street food, complete with chunks of red potatoes, pretty decent avocado (also notoriously hard to find in Germany) and nice, sharp shredded cheddar, I declared it the best thing he has made yet. Even my burning lips couldn't stop smiling with delight. Two thumbs way, way up.


Pork Tinga recipe from Food & Wine

When I first saw the recipe for Sloppy Tacos in the r.s.v.p. section of the September issue of Bon Appetit - yes, I'm a bit behind on my magazine reading - I was intrigued (meanwhile, my husband could not stop with the dirty euphemisms). I really enjoy tacos, Sloppy Joes are OK, but I wouldn't say either is necessarily my favorite food, especially not crispy tacos of the ground beef variety. But somehow, when you make this Sloppy Joe meat and pair it with a taco, it became one of the best things I have eaten in a long time. Magic, I tell you.

The meat is perfectly spicy and sweet, and with the crisp of the taco shell, the sharpness of the cheddar and the brightness of the lime sour cream - pure heaven. I recommend you whip up these for your next taco Tuesday craving. But don't stop there. The recipe states it serves six, which is madness unless you're having sumo wrestlers over for dinner. We've had this for three-plus meals and there is still a giant vat of leftover meat in the fridge. So if you're like me and get sick of eating the same leftovers after about day two, this recipe is the perfect solution. Have your Sloppy Tacos, but then slap it on buns and have traditional Sloppy Joes or add it to scrambled eggs wrapped in a tortilla for a breakfast burrito. And of course, the highlight was when we piled up the Sloppy Joe goodness on top of fresh-from-the-oven nachos and doused them with the lime sour cream and fresh coriander. Seriously, this recipe does not quit.


See bonappetit.com for the Sloppy Tacos recipe, originally from Off-Site Kitchen in Dallas. Charred Tomato Salsa (pictured in the back) via Esquire's September issue.

This recipe became a regular in our dinner rotation after I asked my husband to handle dinner one night a few years back and he found this gem. Simple, fresh and a perfect autumn evening meal - not to mention that living so close to the Rheingau means we have our choice of the very best Rieslings (note: the wine shown below is not one of the best, merely one of the cheaper, decent bottles that we often keep on hand for cooking). Added bonus: with only one cup of wine in the recipe, there's the rest of the bottle to enjoy while you cook. So pour away - and enjoy!



Chicken in Riesling

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts*
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), finely chopped (about 1-2/2 cups)
2 tbsp finely chopped shallot
8 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 2-3"/ 5-8 cm pieces
1 cup dry Riesling
1 lb/ 453 g small potatoes, preferably red
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup crème fraîche
Fresh lemon juice to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F/176°C. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil with one tablespoon butter in a 3-5 quart, heavy oven-proof pot over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then brown chicken, turning once, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Meanwhile, wash leeks and pat dry. Pour off fat from pot, then cook leeks, shallots and 1/4 teaspoon salt in remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until leeks are pale golden (5-7 minutes). Add chicken, with any juices from plate, carrots and wine, boil until liquid is reduced by half (3-4 minutes). Cover pot and braise chicken in oven until cooked through (20-25 minutes). While chicken braises, generously cover potatoes with cold water in a 2-3 quart saucepan and add 1-1/2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are just tender (about 15 minutes). Drain in a colander and return to pan. Add parsley and shake to coat. Stir crème fraîche into chicken mixture and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Add potatoes.

Makes four servings.


Adapted from this Ruth Cousineau via Gourmet recipe

*Original recipe calls for whole chicken, cut up, but many reviewers complained of a resulting fatty sauce, so I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead and find the sauce perfectly light and creamy.

Besides Mexican food, there's one other culinary treat that expats - and speaking from experience, California expats especially - miss terribly: Chinese food. And I don't mean the authentic you-ate-it-in-China stuff, I mean the bastardized, made-for-American's-palate kind. You know the kind you eat out of white cartons because somehow it tastes even better that way? The kind Kramer ordered with extra MSG? Yeah, that's the stuff.

Since discovering Germans have Thai food on every corner, but Chinese is next to non-existent, I decided to take matters into my own hands. These dishes are the perfect thing to satiate those white take-out carton cravings. While all the chopping and the whole chicken-coating process can be a little time-consuming/messy, these are pretty easy recipes for things I could imagine, when done the authentic way, might require boatloads more effort. It's like CliffsNotes for Chinese food. Like us, I'm sure you will keep coming back to these recipes time and again. They're that good.



Sweet & Sour Chicken

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
salt & pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1 medium-sized onion, cut into large pieces
1/4 cup canola oil
whole pre-cut and pre-cored pineapple, cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 cup store-bought sweet & sour sauce

Preheat oven to 325°F/163°C and grease a 9x13"/22x33cm baking dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper, coat with corn starch and then dip into the egg. Heat the oil in a large skillet and cook chicken until browned, but not cooked through - adding the onions about half-way through to soften. Put chicken and onions into greased baking dish along with pineapple and bell pepper. Pour sweet and sour sauce over and toss very gently to coat. Bake for one hour, turning over contents of dish every 15 minutes.



Fried Rice

3 cups cooked white rice (day old or leftover rice works best)
3 tbsp roasted sesame oil
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup carrots, chopped into small pieces
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp garlic, minced
4 green onions, thinly sliced (light green part only)
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the peas, carrots, onions and garlic, stir fry until tender. Add green onions and push over to one side, lowering the heat to medium. Add egg to other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled. Break apart the rice (if using cold leftovers) and add to skillet with soy sauce. Blend together well and cook until heated through.

Serves 4, very generously




adapted from this Life in the Lofthouse recipe

I've never really been a cook. Seriously. Before moving to Germany and having significantly more time to dedicate to hausfrau pursuits, I was the kind of girl who could burn water. This new way of focusing on food, more for its enjoyment than as a rushed afterthought at the end of a 12-hour workday, has really blossomed into a love of cooking I never thought I would possess. Now, I not only tear through each new issue of Bon Appetit with a voracity that I used to reserve for the likes of fashion magazines, but somewhere along the line, I actually got brave enough to start experimenting. And this, ladies and gentleman, was the first of such creations. Simple, easy and delicious. It's my baby, in the kitchen sense. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.


Chicken Stir Fry

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
4 cups of green beans and chopped red bell pepper (or any fresh veggies you prefer)
2 small shallots, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 spicy pepper, chopped
4-6 tbsp roasted sesame oil
4-6 tbsp soy sauce
Srirachi rooster sauce
roasted sesame seeds
cashews, halved
4 cups cooked rice

Heat 2 tablespoons each of sesame oil and soy sauce in a large non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add shallots, garlic and pepper and cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add chicken, with a bit of salt, freshly ground pepper and a tablespoon of Sriracha to taste. Sauté until chicken is cooked through. Reduce heat to medium. Add veggies and a drizzle of both sesame oil and soy sauce on top, cover and let steam for about 5 minutes (I like my veggies with a bit of crunch, but cook longer if you prefer softer results). Remove from heat and stir. Serve over rice and sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds, cashews and Sriracha to your liking.

Makes four servings.