I love kale.  Adore kale.  Can’t get enough, really, and that’s why I’ve chosen if for this week’s menu plan (see below) And my (current) favorite way of making it is in pesto form.    It’s super easy, and totally customizable for taste.  Here’s a basic template:

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One large bunch of kale, ribs coarsely removed

1/3-2/3 cup brazil nuts, toasted
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp or more of sea salt
good squeeze of lemon
2-4 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup kalamata olives (optional)

Coarsely grind brazil nuts in the food processor and toast for a few minutes (until browning). Cook kale in boiling water for 8-10 min, drain loosely. Put in food processor with garlic, lemon, brazil nuts, etc. Process until smooth-ish and creamy, adding in olive oil as needed. Add olives at the end if you like chunks.

We usually have the pesto on quiona or baked on whatever kind of white fish.

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

I stumbled by Amy’s blog and Slightly Indulgent Mondays event and this seemed like a good fit, and a good excuse for me to post another recipe! It’s indulgent because, hey, it’s a chocolate cake. But with the sources of fat from olive oil, pecans and eggs, it’s much kinder on your body say, the standard cake with butter and loads of sugar. It’s dairy free and low glycemic. And, like all of my recipes, the ingredients are wholesome, healthy gluten free foods, just with a rockin’ taste. And now no sugar. Life is good.

Also, of course, check out the other fun recipes entered, too!

2 cups of pecans
5 eggs, separated
1/2 cup olive oil
1 TBSP mesquite + the rest of a 1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp stevia powder
pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup agave nectar

Grease a 9 inch springform, line with parchment and dust the sides with cocoa powder. Grind pecans into pecan meal in a food processor, add in cocoa, stevia, salt, vanilla, oil land yolks and grind a minute more.  Add the agave last and BRIEFLY let it mix in. Whip whites to stiff peaks, and gently fold the pecan mixture into the whites

Pour batter into the pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until the top starts to brown. Allow to cool a good 10 minutes before unmolding from the springform. You can frost or not, depending on your mood. I made a simple macadamia cream/cocoa ganache and sprinkled raw cacao on top.

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

These crackers are a staple that I make just about weekly. They’re easy, versatile, yummy, healthy, and lend carb-y goodness that seriously needed on my grain free diet. I do constantly tweak them just a bit and play with different flavors, and you can add whatever spices suite your fancy. So give them a whirl! You’ll enjoy them.

Preheat oven to 325.

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed well and put in a strainer to drain
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 Tablespoons ground flax seed
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning dried herbs (blend de jour of oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, etc.)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Italian seasoning dried herbs
coarse sea salt

Shake as much water you can from the garbanzos and let them blot with a towel. Pulse in a food processor. Add rest of ingredients through black pepper and blend well. Add oil, and the dough should come together into a ball. If not, add a little more until it does.

Cover with saran wrap for ease and roll out thinly on to 2 silpat mats or parchment paper (not as thin as you possibly can, but close). Use a pizza cutter to cut the crackers into sizes of your choice, and sprinkle with seasoning and salt. For prettier crackers, prick with a fork. Bake in preheated oven until slightly browning (around 30-40 min), watch them after 20 min or so.

You do have to turn the sheets periodically, and rotate the crackers when you’re able for the best results. The outside crackers brown much quicker–those usually just go directly to my mouth.

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

Kate of GF Gobsmacked has had a lot of practice welcoming a new one as of late! If you need a smile, check out her blog for pictures of her little sweetheart. She is bringing along her Korean Mung Bean Pancakes. They’re even kid approved, although Sea will have to wait a while until her sweetie is big enough!

Ricki of Diet, Dessert and Dogs is bringing along a variety of appetizers: almond feta cheese and Raw carrot and sunflower seed pate. Not only do they look amazing, but they’re even vegan, and the cheese is soy free, too.

Jenn, of Gluten Free Food Storage is bringing along Lentil Tacos! I don’t have a picture for this one, but it looks like a simple and tasty recipe, perfect for when you’ve got a new baby.

Wendy of Celiacs in the House is making sure we get our fill of protein with quinoa cakes. She knows Sea well enough to know that she’ll surely whip up one of her fabulous sauces to go along with it.

Emily was eager to recreate a quinoa recipe she had in San Diego, and she brings us her Garlic Asparagus Quinoa, which is perfect for Springtime.

Could I really be the only one who brings along dessert? Well, Chocolate Strawberry (or chocolate orange) mini cakes all around!

Heather of Celiac Family is bringing Raspberry Divinity Tarts that look totally delish. AND her rubber ducky meringues cookies are just beyond cute in my book. Heather, you get points for being super artistic and creative!!!

Angela of Angela’s kitchen sent in a great post for Hanana Banana Bread or mini muffins and even a pumpkin version of the same.  The banana bread was from her baby was little, and she’s got such cute flower shaped versions on her blog header!

Here’s to Sea and new beginnings! Much love as you start out on this exciting new chapter of life.

If by chance I have missed your submission, please send me an email and let me know.

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

This week’s theme is Chickpeas, or garbanzos. From hummus to soccas, falafel to garbanzo salads, chickpeas are amazing. I can’t wait to see how everyone includes them in their menus! Since my family is from the Middle East, I am a huge fan of chickpeas in all forms. I haven’t yet tried this recipe for crispy spiced chickpeas, but oh, I’m tempted!

It’s a great time of year, when it’s clear that winter is indeed going on its way soon. I love spring (and summer and fall) it’s just winter that I haven’t yet learned to appreciate. My indoor peach tree is even budding!

I’ve also (finally) posted recipes from a healthy GF recipe contest I’m hosting. If you’re interested in entering, please feel free to send recipes, or you can vote on the ones submitted! There are great prizes, so check it out.

And to those of you who were so interested in the vegan brownie recipe…it was fabulous, but it totally fell, so I need to keep tweaking the recipe. I’ll have to keep you posted. I also posted the DB chocolate cake, which was quite dreamy!

Monday:
Chicken and broccoli in a Malaysian Sunflower butter sauce

Tuesday:
Tilapia in a tomato sauce with green peppers

Weds:
Vegan
Avocado and sorrel soup

Thursday:
Socca (chickpea pancake) with arugula pesto

Friday:
Turkey in a garlicky parsley sauce with roasted asparagus

Baked goods:
I’m teaching a class “Living and Loving a GF diet”, and will make an apple crisp if I have time

If you’d like to host a menu plan, drop me a line!

A Modern Gal has a great menu planned, featuring a chicken she roasted.  Her Indonesian Spicy Rice looks delish!  Her Chickpeas and greens sound good, too.

Elizabeth of Weird and surprisingly good has a nice run down of her favorite snacks along with her menu for this week.  She’s getting her chickpeas this week in the form of hummus!  Her chicken enchilada recipe is in the works and hopefully she’ll share that soon.

Sea of book of yum joins us with an un-chicken waldorf salad recipe, and a great recipe for veggie fajitas.  Not only that, but most excitingly, Sea is pregnant and Baby yum is surely loving all the gormet GF global treats!

Wendy of Celiacs in the house has a great looking Potato and chickpea curry on the menu that I’m going to have to try really soon!  She’s also got a nice picture of the ocean to inspire her toward warmer times and nicer weather, and I can’t blame her a bit!

Ginger has an adorable picture of her piggies in a menu that also  contains pork (I guess the piggies haven’t gotten the memo!) and a great menu that includes Mahi mahi and mango salsa.  The cabbage stir fry sounds great, too!

Country living is balancing her menu with the preferences of her family members (but just as a heads up, her menu does contain spelt and barley, which are offlimits on a gf diet).  The sweet potato cakes sound yummy.

Angela gets her chickpeas in her GF flour, and she’s got a fun week planned.  She’s training for the Breast Cancer 3 day, on top of a busy schedule.

Poor Manda has been having power outages, but still joins us with a global menu.  She’s even got a Romianian buckwheat stew!

Esther stops by to share some ideas for great salads and her menu, including veggie curry, pasta with cream sauce and ribs, too.  She even teases us with the thought of beetroot hummus!

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

This is barely a recipe, but it is tasty! Lately, quick and easy have been the primary food criteria around these parts.  This pesto fits the bill, and works to make anything taste yummier. I use it as a dip for raw veggies, and add it to quinoa, steamed veg, fish, etc.  I use less oil than I do for a regular pesto because it’s been bothering my poor sensitive tummy, but feel free to sub more olive oil for the water for a more traditional pesto.

And as a bonus, DH doesn’t seem to realize that he’s eating veggies…

5oz package of arugula, well washed
1/2 cup water* (see headnote)
1/4 cup olive oil (or more)
1/2 lemon, squeezed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2-1 clove of garlic, optional
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, pine nuts or a mix

Put arugula, water, oil, lemon and salt in the food processor and blend until smooth. Add in olives and nuts and blend, leaving it as chunky or smooth as you like!

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

This is one of those “un-recipe” recipes. Every time I’ve done it it’s been great, and each time is slightly different, depending on what I have on hand and my mood. You can use different nuts. I like brazil nuts and almonds, too. When I have some, I add in a clove or two of roasted garlic, and it works well. I try to put aside some of my herb-y roasted peppers (if I can manage not to eat them all!!), but canned marinated peppers work, too.

The soup is creamy and satisfying and best of all it’s quick and easy to make!

1 cup roasted peppers
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup broth
a squirt or two of agave
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder (if your peppers are not already marinated or seasoned)
pinch of sea salt
black pepper, to taste
pinch cayenne
sprig of thyme

Put everything except thyme in a blender and blend until smooth (this may take a while!). You’ll have a great soup ready in just a few minutes. Warm over gentle heat, sprinkle with fresh thyme and enjoy.

This is my weekly submission to Weekend Herb Blogging, which has passed from Kalyn’s Kitchen to Haalo ofCook Almost Anything At least Once (words to live by!) This week’s hostess is Wiffy of Noob Cook

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

This made a great, quick, vegan lunch that I enjoyed most thoroughly! If you’re a big fan of cilantro, like I am, you may want to increase it. You can enjoy this on tortilla chips, crackers or just with a spoon. Yum!

Cilantro, or coriander, is a member of the same family as carrots, celery and parsley, and yet the neighborhood rabbits leave it alone. Come to think, they’re not too clever, they rarely munch on my garden. Usually they have grass instead. Hey, I’m not complaining but grass instead of veggies? You must be kidding! Now that the weather is getting cooler, I’ve planted some again and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Many culinary traditions make good use of cilantro, such as in Mexican, Indian and many others. However, there are some misguided people out there that can’t abide the taste or smell. Regretfully, DH is one.

1 avocado, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 heirloom tomato, diced
1/2 sweet pepper, diced
small shallot, finely minced, or a Tablespoon sweet onion
small handful of chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
good squeeze of lime

Add everything together, mix and enjoy!

This is my weekly offering to Weekend Herb Blogging, the baby of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s host is Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once is our host, and that’s a motto that sounds like fun. Her photos are stunning!

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

First, an ode to my peppers, from their very beginnings
Just a baby

Seedling

Go, baby, go!

Red peppers are one of my favorite foods. They’re amazing roasted, better grilled, and best, grilled with fresh herbs. There’s something about adding herbs and sea salt that just adds another dimension of yum that just puts them over the edge of total yumminess. My favorite is with thyme, but I’ve used rosemary for a change, too. You just can’t go wrong.

Not only that, the leftovers are incredible! Red pepper soup. Red pepper sauce. Red pepper dip. Are you drooling yet? And no, I do not discriminate. Yellow and orange peppers are just as welcome on my grill, but they’re usually harder to come by. I usually use bells, but smaller ones work, too. About half of the ones in the picture of grilled peppers above are actually from my garden

My poor husband knows that no matter how many peppers we make, I’m eating most of them, and so help him if he tries to steal my peppers. Seriously, good grilled red peppers are up there with chocolate in my book.

9 peppers, seeded and chopped or torn in 4ths (depending on the size)
2 loosely packed tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of vitamin c crystals, a good squeeze of lemon, or splash of balsamic vinegar (optional)
3 Tablespoons high heat oil (almond, avocado, rice bran, high heat sunflower or safflower, etc)

Mix peppers with seasonings. This can be done a few hours in advance if needed. Put peppers on grill on low to medium heat skin side down. Turn once they’ve started browning (about 5 minutes) and grill 3-4 minutes more on the second side.

This is my submission for Weekend Herb Blogging, originated by Kalyn’s Kitchen. Our host this week is Ulrike from Kuchenlatein. The posts look so yum that I’m going to have to find a site that does translations!

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

This dip is fabulous to eat by the spoonful, as a frosting, on fruit, a sandwich, whatever! It’s a bit like a blond nutella.  I added a bit of agave because my banana was just barely ripe and I was impatient. If you’ve got a ripe banana, it’s probably not necessary.

This is my submission to the PB Boy’s Great Peanut Butter Exhibition #4–No Bake. You’ll notice that there’s no PB involved, since I am allergic, but “cousin” nut butters are allowed. I bet PB would work, though.

1/2 cup roasted Cashew Macadamia butter (from TJ’s)
1 ripe banana
2 Tablespoons agave, or to taste
1 Tablespoon cacao nibs

Either combine all ingredients thoroughly by hand, or do it the lazy way. Put the first 3 in a food processor, and let it do all the work.  Then add in cocoa nibs and enjoy!

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.