recipe: gluten- and nut-free granola

If you're a vegetarian, gluten-sensitive, have food allergies or are simply seeking to follow a more health-focused diet, you're a part of a major movement that is reshaping the way we eat. Working for a cooking school, I have witnessed an increased interest in health-conscious cooking and, more interestingly, have noticed that most of my colleagues are affected by at least one food allergy or intolerance. But rather than "suffer" from food sensitivity, home cooks can take this opportunity to become better informed, to learn about what goes into our food and - at best - to make most of what we eat from scratch.

So that's how I arrived at my DIY granola. I had been innocently enjoying a morning pistachio/mulberry mix, when my allergist informed me that I have a mild allergy to certain legumes and nuts - including pistachios. That's when I realized that the pistachios were the most recognizable item in my granola, and I had no idea what else might be in there.

This granola gets its crunch from seeds, rather than nuts, and coconut chips. The signature (but absolutely optional) ingredient is a spice blend by Lior Lev Sercarz, the master spice blender at La Boîte á Epice. I met Lior at the Institute of Culinary Education, where he was teaching a class inspired by his new cookbook, The Art of Blending. When the class was over, there were a few half-full containers of his spice blends left over, which he encouraged me to take home.

Over the past few weeks, I have sprinkled Lior's spicy "Shabazi" blend over freekeh with eggs and roasted vegetables with his "Marrakesh", but spent more time nostalgically sniffing than actually cooking with his French gingerbread-inspired blend, "Reims". Mixing it into my granola added a savory complexity that goes far beyond cinnamon. In truth, it's an excellent example of how spice can empower health-focused cooks - a flavorful mission that I think Lior, himself, would fully back.

Gluten- and Nut-Free Granola

Ingredients:

• 5 cups gluten-free oats*
• 5 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup coconut chips
• 3/4 cup golden raisins/craisins
• 2 egg whites
• 1-2 pinches of high quality sea salt
• 1/2 tsp "Reims" spice blend (in lieu of this, you can pass on spice, or add fall/winter baking spices, like cinnamon or "pumpkin pie spice")

Instructions:

1. Mix together all dry ingredients.
2. Add coconut oil, and mix.
3. Beat egg whites, and add to mixture. Dry ingredients should be lightly coated by oil/egg whites, to the point of just beginning to stick together. You can add more oil/egg white if necessary.
4. Shape granola into a "donut" on large greased baking pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes on 350 degrees, stirring occasionally to ensure even cooking. (The "donut" ensures that you don't end up with an uncooked middle.)

*Oats are naturally gluten-free, but if you have gluten sensitivities, it is important that they are verified as being produced in a gluten-free environment.

au marché: pike place market

While preparing for my recent trip to Seattle, I started having "fish fantasies". There I'd be, in a yellow rain slicker, steaming cup of coffee in hand, hanging with the Pike Place fishmongers at 5am.

Needless to say, my co-travelers weren't having this. But I did motivate them to head to market around 8:30, on a surprisingly sunny day, with the promise of coffee in their near future.

For all my fantasizing, I really didn't know what to expect. I knew they might throw fish, a quirky gimmick I'd witnessed in the opener for Seattle's Real World. Given the market's tv-ready renown, I assumed I was walking into a relatively delicious tourist trap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3vcGax9ojE

First, let me attest that throwing fish is a pretty efficient way to move the product. When we arrived, there were very few other onlookers, so we got to chat a bit with the 'mongers about their fish flinging style. They also let us taste their smoked salmon (I hate this "word", but mouthgasm seems an appropriate descriptor), and sold us a bit of salmon jerky for the road, while I wantingly eyed the king crab legs.

As impressive as the fish was, the biggest surprises at Pike's were the flowers and fruit. Generously bursting bouquets of cabbage flowers sold for the New York price of a bad bunch of dyed carnations. The range of local,  vividly-hued produce was also impressive, especially the iconic-ly tart local citrus: satsumas. We were also seduced by one vendor's chili-spiced spin on huckleberry jam. In short, the whole market was a series of sensory revelations.

If I did have one critique of the market, it would be this: when the other tourists did arrive, few of them seriously shopped. It's hard to support a market on tourism alone, and you could hear it in the mongers' banter. "Step right up, anyone with money." "Someone here who actually wants to shop?"

It killed me not to have a kitchen. Next time I go to Seattle, I'm cooking for myself.

tie one on: three gin cocktails

Gin is a liquor that many of us associate with old men or collegiate over-imbibing. Somehow, I escaped both correlations, discovering the classic "G & T" at the ripe tippling age of 23. It quickly became my go-to at sleazy bars and upscale haunts alike. And when my relative lack of cocktail knowledge became a professional liability - spurring me on to discover the city's best mixology - I still remained largely loyal to this purest of spirits.

Interestingly, over the past year, gin has shifted from a peripheral pleasure to a celebrated ingredient - most notably with the opening of a string of gin-centric bars. So in honor of my longest lasting liquor love, I'm listing off my top gin cocktails in the city. It's by no means an exhaustive imbiber's city guide, but rather a personalized collection of favorite finds.

3) Hong Kong Garden, Lovers of Today I was introduced to this tiny subterranean bar by a boy who I was not yet seeing. He, being a poetic personality, knew just where to casually seduce a lady. But that night, he wasn't the only thing I fell for. The unique addition of yuzu pepper to the Hong Kong Garden's elegant gin- and lime-filled coupe quickly distinguished it from the other spicy cocktails I'd eagerly sipped around the city. Since then, I've returned with other men, but I'm still loyal to the Garden.

2) Negroni, Amor y Amargo - and Weather Up These days, my go-to cocktail is no longer a G&T, it's a negroni. Campari inducted me into the cocktail game, and it remains a flamboyant bitter that I never tire of. Needless to say, I've tasted negronis all over town, and these two bars are among the best. Amor y Amargo for obvious reasons: they're the bitters experts. So if you're looking for both balance and intensity, they're your perfect cocktail bar - for negronis and more. As far as Weather Up, they won me over with their cubes. Oversized, hand-cut squares, swaddled in sturdy lowball glasses, create the perfect climate for a refreshingly chilly negroni that is (almost miraculously) never watered down.

1) Thick as Thieves, Gwynnett St I came upon this bar entirely by accident, at the invitation of a young food professionals networking group. As we nibbled on the restaurant's addictive, buttery whiskey bread, I consulted with a waitress on my second round. When she brought me this drink, I audibly raved. It was my first encounter with Cocchi Americano and the more unusual quinine. Cut with lime, this libation is less aggressive than a bitters-driven negroni, but avoids veering down an overly saccharine route. It's easily the most unique, elegantly grown-up gin cocktail I've tried to date.

To learn more about the Thieves' story, I contacted Adam Volk, General Manager at Gwynnett St:

"Originally the Thick as Thieves was made as a riff on the classic Tanqueray and tonic; I was looking to create a more elegant version of my favorite drink. It started out with myself and Doug Mancini and soon after we were joined by Gerry Corcoran and Marissa Evans. After we played around for a while, it was brought to its current form, using Tanqueray, Bonal, Cocchi Americano, lime juice and our house-made quinine tincture. I actually was inspired to use the name from The Jam song "Thick as Thieves". The name comes from the saying 'they are as thick as thieves' - an idiom for close-knit people or groups. Gin and tonic being such a classic combo, it seemed to fit."

Better yet, for those who like a little food with your booze, Gwynnett St's kitchen has received raves reviews from numerous publications, including the ever-intimidating New York Times.

So belly on up to one of these fabulous bars, and raise a glass to good ol' gin.

Lovers of Today, 132 1/2 E 7th St, New York, NY Amor y Amargo, 443 E 6th St, New York, NY Weather Up, 589 Vanderbilt Ave, Brooklyn, NY Gwynnett St, 312 Graham Ave, Brooklyn, NY