Archive for April, 2008

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Menu Plan Monday-April 28th

Sunday, April 27th, 2008

Gluten Free Menu Swap Monday
I must admit, I’m not a big fan of peas. Sure, I’ll eat them from my garden, but this is the first year I didn’t plant them because they just don’t do much for me. So when I found out that this week’s ingredient was peas, I headed to my Farmer’s Market in search of some. But no one had any! So, if can find fresh peas, they will appear in my stir fry. If not, I’ll have to give some of the other recipes a try when they are at the market.
Asparagus Thin is the kind host for this week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap.
Monday:
Quick and simple:
Baked salmon drizzled with olive oil and tarragon with steamed artichokes
Tues:
East Indian
Chicken rubbed with garam masala with roasted cauliflower and garlic with panch phoron. Maybe a side baked papadams–we’ll see
Weds:
Hubby’s faves
Sauteed herbed millet-crusted turkey breast tenders with thyme roasted carrots
Thursday:
 Vegan/By the Bay’s adoption
Toasted quinoa pilaf with garlic and kale and an avocado
It’s not too late to adopt your own blogger!
Friday:
Fridge clean up time
Stir fry (possibly with peas)

Weekly garden harvest:
Kale
Thyme
Oregano

Baked goods:

Someone wanted GF treats for a bake sale. So there will be pralines, an almond cake and a banana skillet bread, and who knows what else! Recipes to follow for some, if they’re good.

Posted in menu plan | 5 Comments »

Brazil nut chip cookies (and an Italian dinner, too)

Sunday, April 27th, 2008

Having friends for dinner is an excuse to get creative. Having friends that eat GF? Now, that’s just a chance to play in the kitchen.

So, dinner was:

  • Adeena’s rolls adapted to be gluten, dairy and egg free, with added Kalamata olives
  • Dipping sauce: olive oil with minced olives, fresh rosemary, oregano and thyme, pinenuts, and crushed red pepper
  • Broccoli with sauteed garlic and toasted pine nuts
  • GF brown rice pasta
  • Chicken “parm”: chicken breaded in herbed crushed cassava crackers, baked in a sea of yummy tomato sauce. Parm for the dairy eaters and melted mozzarella, and fresh herbs from my garden for me.
  • Brazil nut chip cookies with 3 variations

And the kichen, not surprisingly, looks like a tornado hit. Methinks tomorrow is all about leftovers

I spied Adeena’s rolls a while back on Book of Yum, and they got good reviews. I subbed flax eggs and some egg replacer for the egg, used almond milk, and subbed amaranth for the teff for a ‘wheatier’ taste. We did them rosemary, thyme, and cracked sea salt. Some had added in chopped kalamata olives for variety. And those rolls are FORGIVING!! My cuisinart stopped working in the middle and I had to do half by hand and they were STILL good. Rolls you can’t mess up…priceless.

And the best part is dessert, of course.

Brazil nuts and chocolate are heavenly together, and I’ve always been a brazil nut fan. I made brazil nut butter a few weeks back, and it was in the refrigerator, calling loudly to me. Not that I wasn’t sneaking spoonfuls every now and again, but I hadn’t figured out what I wanted creative venture it was destined for. We were having friends to dinner, and so I needed to find something that met my dietary needs AND avoided chocolate, as DH is avoiding caffeine. So it seemed easy enough to do some cookies with chocolate, some without.

The cookies were sweeter than I anticipated, even though I was the only one who thought so. And the brazil nut flavor wasn’t as pronounced as I’d expect. But they’re yummy treats, and largely whole grain, so that counts as delicious and nutritious. For one of the variations, I used chunks of UNSWEETENED (baking) chocolate, which paired well with the sweetness. The 3 variations were unsweetened chocolate chunks for me, Enjoy life chips for the other chocolate eaters, and heath bar toffee pieces to keep my caffeine avoiding DH from pouting too much. It’s no fun watching someone else eat when it looks like they’re getting something better than you, so I didn’t want him to feel left out.

But where, oh where, do you get brazil nut butter? Well, your food processor, of course! Buy toasted nuts or toast your own , and put them in the food processor until smooth. It takes about 6-10 minutes to process, depending on your food processor, and do scrape down the sides periodically. It’s that simple. Or, of course, you could use almond, hazelnut, peanut or butter, or even tahini. You could always do raw nut butters, too, and then you’d have to add a little oil for the grinding.

Brazil nut butter cookies, heavily modified from a recipe from the back of the quinoa flake box

1/2 cup honey* (I would use a little less next time)
1/4 cup sugar (I used turbino, next time I would use a finer grained sugar)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup soft avocado. Yes, avocado.
1/2 cup brazil nut butter
3/4 cup quinoa flakes
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup GF flour (I used mostly teff, some sorghum, and a little sweet rice and coconut flours)
1/2 cup chocolate chips or chunks, nuts, or heath bar pieces
pinch of salt

*use agave if you are vegan

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the honey, sugar, oil, avocado, brazil nut butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine flours and add flours to wet ingredients. Add in chips/chunks/nuts.

Drop walnut sized balls and flatten slighly onto cookie sheet, silpat mat, or parchment paper. Cook 12-15 minutes, allow to cool on a rack.

Enjoy, try not to eat too many.

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Posted in baked goods, dessert, recipe | 12 Comments »

African Inspired Almond Collard Stew

Thursday, April 24th, 2008

A last hurrah for the season…
These are my lovely collards, which overwintered in my garden. They started to bolt with the heat, and so it was clear it was (past) time for them to go. I’m totally partial to everything I grow, foods just taste better when you grow them yourself. There’s something very rewarding about nurturing something from a seed and then enjoying the harvest. I just needed a to create recipe worthy of my collards. I think I did! It was a very filling and satisfying meal. It will definitely be in the rotation for the colder months.

I first had a peanut-chicken stew with tomato and basil years ago from an co-worker from Guinea where it’s a traditional dish, and I was hooked. Though PB isn’t an option for me anymore, but the idea stuck in my head, and I wanted something along the same lines, but with a different twist. Nut butters add an indulgent richness, creamy smoothness and a great depth of flavor. Try it! One bite and you’ll be a convert.

Collards are in the mustard family, related to cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and other yummy veggies. I never tasted collards until I moved to VA, and now I am making up for lost time. Collards are a fabulous source of fiber and a variety of vitamins and minerals, including calcium. Actually, there are several foods high in calcium here: collards, almond butter and teff. Maybe I should call this calcium stew instead!

1 large onion
2 Tablespoons oil
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
A knob of fresh ginger, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup chopped)
1 bunch of collards–2/3 lbs after de-ribbing, so maybe 1 lb?
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1-14 oz can of diced tomatoes (I like Eden Foods)
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/3 cup frozen or canned pineapple
1/4-1/2 cup teff grain (optional)
A generous 1/3 cup of almond butter
1/4 cup toasted almonds for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions in a big pot/dutch oven with a pinch of sea salt over medium heat for 7-8 min, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, chop your garlic and ginger. Add garlic and ginger and cook for a minute, add curry powder and cook a minute more. Add in undrained tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil. Remove thick ribs from collards and add coarsely chopped collards, in 2 bunches (don’t overwhelm the pot!). Once boiling, add cayenne, pineapple and teff. Cook at a healthy boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add almond butter and mix, simmer an additional 10-15 minutes to allow flavors to meld. If you’d like a ’soupier’ stew, go for 1/4 cup of teff. If your collards are big or tough, you may want to cover the pot after adding the collards and uncover after the almond butter.

Adjust seasonings, if it’s not as thick as you’d like, just boil longer. It does thicken as it sits, though. If you don’t have teff, a) I’m sorry! b)no worries, it’ll just be moister or c) add in a few tablespoons of flour as a thickener
Sprinkle with almonds, serve with brown rice, teff, or GF ingera.

Enjoy!

I’m serving up this soup for this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging, the brainchild of Kalyn’s Kitchen. I’m so delighted to have a venue to share recipes and my love of gardening, too! The host this week is Coffee and Vanilla. Here’s the roundup; there are a bunch of gorgeous looking dishes!

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008

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Posted in main meal, recipe, vegetables | 5 Comments »

Menu Plan Monday-April 21st

Sunday, April 20th, 2008

Gluten Free Menu Swap Monday

This my first time submitting to the menu swap, and it’s forcing me to be more organized. Sure, I generally have a rough idea of what I’ll be making, but it tends to evolve once I realize that I’ve forgotten something at the grocery store.

This week’s ingredient is cilantro. Cilantro is a love it or hate it herb. I LOVE cilantro. Unfortunately, DH doesn’t, which boggles my mind. I discovered this years ago when I made a black bean/cilantro salad and upon walking into the kitchen, his first comment was, something smells repulsive! Needless to say, he’s come to understand that such commentary may well endanger his quality of life and/or his lifespan. And now I generally make dishes where the cilantro is added at the end (or not, for his).

Posted in menu plan | 3 Comments »

Charoset

Friday, April 18th, 2008

At a glance, charoset is a brown, unappealing looking dish served at Passover to commemorate the bricks and mortar of slaves. But looks are deceiving, it’s actually a super yummy apple/cinnamon/walnut/wine sweet combo that disappears within minutes at every Seder I’ve been at.

For starters, wine is out for me, as is grape juice, as I can’t do grapes or anything fermented. So I got a little creative, and used pomegranate instead. I think apricots would be a wonderful addition, but didn’t have any on hand. Next time!

2 mildly tart apples, cored (I like Macintosh)
1/2 cups walnuts
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon or more, to taste
3 Tablespoons succant or sugar (or 3 T agave nectar, if you’re not strictly following Kosher for Passover guidelines)
a pinch cardamom
a pinch stevia (or you can add sugar to taste)
3/4 cup pomegranate juice

Simmer the pomegranate juice over low heat until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Do keep an eye on it, as it seems to disappear to nothing at the end!

Chop apples coarsely and add to the food processor. Pulse a few times. Add all ingredients except reduced pom juice and pulse until you have small chunks of everything. Add the thickened juice and stir. Add sugar and or spices to taste.

It doesn’t taste the same, but it IS delicious in its own right. It’s even better after sitting overnight.

The first night Seder, I had
Turkey vegetable soup
Roasted cauliflower with garlic
Roast turkey
Mock Matzo from GF Bay. It was quite tasty, but I needed much less water.
Charoset (see above)
and chocolate chips for dessert.

I will have the Tropical bananas for dessert next time.

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Posted in recipe, side dish | No Comments »

Summer (or spring!) rolls

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008


Some people call them spring rolls, some people call them summer rolls. Either way, they’re yummy and surprisingly easy to make, once you get the hang of them.

They’re totally customizable, depending on what you like and what’s around in the fridge. You can put the sauce in the roll, or do the dipping thing.

I’ve gone for a veg/vegan roll because a) I like sneaking more veggies into unsuspecting husband and b) I’d rather avoid the fuss of precooking non-veggie stuff. But you can always add in cooked shrimp, chicken, rice noodles or whatever strikes your fancy.

Go for the 8 or 9 inch rice paper rounds. I’ve seen them at Whole Foods and Asian markets. I’ve never seen one with gluten, but check the label just in case. The 5 inch are way too small, and you could wrap a small dog in the big ones. Massive overkill, I think.

You can premix your “filler” veggies, which is easier, unless you have a picky person who doesn’t like one of the ingredients. In our house, that’s DH who doesn’t like cilantro. I know, hard to believe, but somehow, I love him anyhow.

These are great party foods and can be made ahead of time. Just wrap these babies up in wax paper and put them in a sealed baggie with a moist paper towel.

Ingredients:
12 lettuce leaves
2 cups shredded carrots
about 1/3 napa cabbage, sliced very thinly
1/2 yellow, red or orange pepper, sliced thinly
1 cup bean sprouts
1/3 cup mint leaves
1/3 cup cilantro or basil
15 rice paper wraps (a few extra in case of mistakes)

So here’s the general idea:
Have a large dish of warm water and all of your veggies arranged. Put the rice paper in warm water. Grab a piece of lettuce. Fish out your rice paper and arrange it on the plate. Put down the lettuce leaf and a small handful of the “filler” veggies. Roll up! If the paper rips, you can double wrap.

ready to roll
It takes a few tries to get the hang of it, and often less is more. Don’t overstuff! For a crash course, you can always come to my GF and healthy class in Alexandria, VA.

Serve with Thai dipping sauce or peanut sauce. I’ll post a soy free almond sauce recipe I use when I figure out what I put in it. It’s based on a modified recipe from the Spice and Herb Bible, one of my favorite reference books.
Book of Yum has a peanut agave sauce that looks intriguing, too.

These are my finger food entry for April’s “Go ahead, honey, it’s gluten free!” as hosted by Glutenagogo

from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008

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Posted in appetizers, recipe, side dish | 4 Comments »

Roasted Celeriac and broccoli Soup (aka leftover veggie soup)

Sunday, April 13th, 2008

celeriac and broccoli soup
Someone mentioned going on a nightshade free diet (i.e. avoiding potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, etc.) and I got to thinking about my favorite potato-like veggie: celery root, or celeriac.

This bizarre looking vegetable has a mild, celery like flavor and is delicious roasted with a little oil and thyme. As with many things, its beauty lies within… Just cut off all of the dirty/hairy looking stuff, then cut into 1 inch cubes, toss with fresh or dried thyme and a little sea salt and oil at 375 for 25-30 minutes.

Personally, I think celeriac is much tastier than potato and has a much more complex flavor. It’s certainly much healthier and lower glycemic. It works well in many soup recipes as a faux-tato, but is a winner on its own, too. Whenever I roast it, I freeze a cup or two for use in last minute soups, like this one.

2 cups GF chicken or veggie broth (I like Pacific brand)
1/2 cup thyme roasted celeriac
1/2 cup steamed broccoli (fresh or frozen)
a pinch of dried thyme, or a sprig of fresh thyme

Heat broth and celeriac on the stovetop or in the microwave. Blend 2 cups broth and celeriac on high until creamy (4-5 min unless you have a vitamix). Add a pinch of dried thyme, to taste. Add in broccoli and pulse, leaving chunks if desired.

Serves 4 as a starter.

As an added bonus, I submitted this to Susan from the Well Seasoned Cook as part of my first foray into the Weekend Herb Blogger (WHB) event. They have lovely recipe roundups with all sorts of creative veggie and herb recipes.

from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008

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Posted in recipe, side dish | 3 Comments »

Tropical bananas

Thursday, April 10th, 2008

This dish was “born” when I wanted a change from caramelized bananas and wanted to use coconut, too. So I threw a few things together, and voila! Dessert. It’s got a subtle sweetness, and is super easy. Any dessert that is delicious and takes less than 15 min from start to finish is a keeper in my book! It also works well for Passover, and for people with multiple allergies and sensitivities.

I totally love coconut flakes rather than the shredded coconut. I’ve found them at Whole Foods from Let’s do organic.The bigger chunks are just much more decadent.

Some had the bananas over ice cream, but you can substitute rice dream or sorbet or have them straight, too.

4 bananas, cut lengthwise
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes or shredded coconut
1 T coconut oil
1/2 t maple extract and pinch stevia or 3 T maple syrup
1/2 cup pureed pineapple or 1/3 cup orange juice
a dash of rum (totally optional)
1/2 cup pecans

Grease an 8X8 pan with coconut oil or whatever you’ve got on hand. Preheat oven to 350. Put cut bananas in the pan. Mix pineapple with maple syrup or extract, and pour over bananas. Melt the coconut oil and toss with the coconut. Sprinkle evenly on top of the bananas.

Bake at 350 until browned (about 8-10 min). Serve over a frozen dessert or plain, and sprinkle on pecans at will!
~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008

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Posted in dessert, recipe | 2 Comments »

Adopt a Gluten free blogger: Turkey Chili soup

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Cindalou\'s soup

You know how dogs and cats have this spot, and if you scratch it at just the right angle, they start to purr? Well, I have this thing about comfort foods…they’ve got just the right mix, and I’m purring away. Soup is usually a “winter food” but April is such a rainy month that it’s perfect now, too.

Cindalou’s Turkey Chili soup hit the spot for me. It had that simple but delicious comfort food kind of vibe going on. For one of the first times in my life, I followed the recipe almost to the letter. I did use fresh herbs instead of dried, mainly because I have an herb garden. And…mmmm. But yum with a kick! The jalepeno I used was over-the-top hot. Usually they are so bland, but this baby packed a punch! I’m not so much into super spice, so I did add some vitamin C crystals (they give a lemon flavor, for those of us who are citrus allergic) but that was totally a reflection of the pepper I used and my mellow tastes, not the recipe.

I didn’t try the optional BBQ sauce because of allergies/intolerances, but I bet it would be a nice touch. I think sauteed collards would pair well and I’ll have to make some next time.

I’ve been a long time fan of Cindalou’s blog. It’s clear that she is an intrepid explorer and totally willing to just play, which is the best way to come up with neat ideas! And I do plan to try her muffins that have cabbage, basically because for the life of me, I can’t picture cabbage in a muffin. I woudn’t have thought of that one by myself, and that’s why it’s so awesome to be able to peek into someone else’s kitchen for inspiration. I love that her diet is much like mine! For reasons beyond my choosing, I’m largely paleo, and it’s hard to find foods that are without gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, etc. AND low carb. And, of course, tasty.

For more fun in the gf adoptee universe, please see the Book of Yum site, which is coordinating the festivities this month.

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Posted in main meal | 3 Comments »

Quinoa Italiana

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Quinoa Italiana with roasted asparagus and red pepper chicken

Ok, I know there’s nothing Italian about quinoa, but boy, does quinoa go well with traditional Italian flavors like tomato, basil and pine nuts. I’ve enjoyed quinoa for years, but usually did it with a southwestern twist. But I wanted to do something totally different, and use familiar flavors to introduce quinoa to the uninitiated…and it worked!

Toasting the quinoa is key. It takes a while (15 min or so) over medium heat in a dry skillet, but most of the time you’re ignoring it and free to do whatever else. It really helps the nutty flavor of quinoa shine. You can toast it ahead of time and keep in a jar for a month or so.

Raw pine nuts are delicious, but roasted…they’re a symphony.

I played with using half regular quinoa, and half of the Inca Red quinoa. And it looked lovely! But the regular quinoa cooked quicker, and the red remained a little crunchy. Everyone seemed to like the crunch factor, but I think I’d stick to one or the other in the future.

Also pictured in the photo are roasted asparagus and red pepper chicken. I’ll have to post those recipes when I get a chance, but to me, the quinoa is the rock star… and many thanks to Natalie, the photographer.

Enjoy, let me know what you think.

Quinoa Italiana (quinoa with an Italian flair)

1 cup quinoa
1/3-1/2 cup of pine nuts
3 Tablespoons oil
8 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups chicken or veggie broth
2-3 sprigs thyme (optional)
½ cup kalamata or other olives, pitted and chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup fresh basil, torn or coarsely chopped
sea salt
black pepper

Toast quinoa over medium heat in a dry skillet until it starts to smell toasty (about 15 minutes). Stir occasionally or shake skillet. Remove.

Toast pine nuts until slightly browned. Remove to a plate.

Add oil, garlic and a pinch of salt, sauté until the garlic is golden. Add quinoa and stir, add broth and thyme. Bring to a boil and cover, let simmer for 10 minutes. Add olives and pine nuts in after 10 minutes. In about 5 more minutes, the broth should be absorbed. Add tomatoes, black pepper and basil. Enjoy!

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008

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Posted in recipe, side dish | 8 Comments »

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