Gluten Free Goodness

Mint was the food of the week for Menu Plan Monday, and so I figured it was a good excuse to make this.  This dish is in our standard rotation, sometimes done with chicken pieces and sometimes with chicken breast, and it’s always delicious and easy.  I use chocolate mint from my garden, which doesn’t even taste remotely like chocolate.  False advertising!  The stevia leaves give a subtle sweetness, but don’t worry, they’re not super sweet like powdered stevia.

Mint tends to be a potent tummy soother, and is a good source of fiber. It’s even got a neat story from Greek mythology about its origins. And, of course, if you grow it, you know that it’s very plentiful and a perennial, so I’m always looking for ways to keep up with my plant.

I enjoy this dish because it’s low carb, quick, easy, and using mint is a nice way to add a little variety. The chicken is yummy on a bed of lettuce with cucumbers and tomatoes, and I also like it with apple. We grilled a few ears of corn to go with it as well. And, of course, what I like most is that DH grills it and I can be lazy. For winter months, we just bake it in the oven.

1.5 cups of mint leaves, loosely packed
6 large stevia leaves
several good squeezes of lemon, or a pinch of unbuffered vitamin C powder
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram leaves
1/4 cup oil
2-3 tablespoons water

Either put everything in the blender or chop the mint leaves and combine. Marinate chicken for 2-3 hours (I tend to do all day for chicken pieces). Drain marinade, grill and enjoy!

This is my weekly “Weekend Herb Blogging” submission, founded by Kalyn’s Kitchen. Our host this week is Divya of Dil Se, a yummy blog chock full of East Indian dishes. I’ve bookmarked it and plan to try some!

I made sorrel soup for the first time last year, and told my husband. He started laughing, and said, squirrel soup? Um…not even close!.

Sorrel has a nice tart taste to it, and is supposed to be lovely with fish. Next time! It can be hard to come by, and I was happy to find it at the market.

I know I saw a recipe last year, but don’t remember where, so I decided to just wing it. I left some of the lettuce and veggies un-pureed because I like the texture and hint of crunch, but that’s a a matter of personal preference.

Last time, I thickened with a potato, but those are off limits, so I used a little coconut flour. I’m sure more walnuts or another root veggie like parsnips would work, too.

2 Tablespoons oil
1 cup diced onions
2 big romaine hearts, chopped (divided)
3 cups veg or chicken broth
4 cups or so sorrel
2 Tablespoons coconut flour, or potato flour (NOT starch)
1/2 cup walnuts, soaked overnight if you think of it!
sea salt
fresh mint
white pepper

Saute the onions for 5-6 min until soft with a pinch of salt. Add in 1 1/2 of the romaine hearts and saute a few minutes more. Add broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add sorrel and simmer 5 minutes more. Reserve 1 cup or so of cooked veggies and puree the rest with the (drained) walnuts. Add back reserved veggies and add in the last 1/2 chopped romaine heart. Add salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle with fresh chopped mint.

Enjoy!

This is my weekly offering for Weekend Herb Blogging, the brainchild of Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s kind host is Sounding my Barbaric Gulp

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008. Please do not replicate without crediting/permission.

I planned to make a simple peaches and cream ice cream as a fun raw recipe for July Go Ahead, Honey, It’s GF “UNCOOKING” edition, but the fates had something more interesting in mind.

It was a bit of a comedy of errors. My first two recipe attempts–banana macadamia candies– were okay, but underwhelming, and time was running out. So I decided to go for one more attempt, peach ice cream, and as usual, I figured I could could wing it. I used young coconuts for a creamy texture, and blended in a few peaches, but you could barely taste them. Coconut milk is wonderfully creamy, but it takes a strong flavor, like chocolate, mint, berries, etc. to mask it. So I hastily ran out to the Farmer’s market, and pureed some more peaches. You could taste the peach, but still it wasn’t prominent.

Hmmm. So I had a vat of yummy, peach goop, and I needed inspiration. Pecans? Extracts? And then I realized, of course! Crystallized ginger.

The ginger and peach pairing worked really well, with the sweetness balancing the sharpness of the ginger. I would make vanilla ice cream again, and have chunks of peaches, but I wouldn’t do peaches by themselves again. I would try it with pineapple or banana in the future, and will certainly tinker with this recipe again!

You live, you learn. May all my “mistakes” be this yummy!

Makes a batch for a 4 quart ice cream maker

“meat” of 2 young coconuts
4 cups of water (I assume you can sub 2 cans of coconut milk for the coconut and water)
2 tablespoons of raw cashew butter
1/2 cup agave nectar
7 peaches
1 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
vanilla or almond extract, if desired

Puree all ingredients, except ginger, in batches. Stir together in a big bowl. Chill for 1 hour. Add in ginger chunks, and put in ice cream maker and follow instructions.

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008

I’m sneaking under the wire here to share one of my simple cooking favorites. Weekend Herb Blogging rules are changing so that we use exotic veggies and expand our horizons…and cauliflower doesn’t fit the bill!

Cauliflower has a bum rap, no way around it. Some people don’t like it raw or boiled, and so they assume that they don’t like it at all. But roasting gives a totally different dimension to the flavor, and there are so many great spices you can add. I thought I first read about roasted cauliflower with paprika in Joy of Cooking, but I looked back and it’s not there, so I have no idea where I first got the thought, but there are so many other flavors that work as well (or better, I think). I didn’t even offer it to my DH for a while, and then I got him to eat a piece. And gradually over months, he’s stealing all my cauliflower! I’ve had more success getting him to be a cauli-convert than I have with any other veggie.

So you can’t really go wrong as long as you roast. You can do high heat for a shorter time and stir more often, or lower heat, and get busy doing other things. I’ve tried it as low as 350, which takes a long time, and I’ve seen recipes as high as 450. However, the higher temperature you use, the bigger issue of development of acrylamide, a chemical which is cancer causing in high doses. I usually opt for lower and slower because I always have a ton to do and hey, I’m a nutritionist. What do you expect??

You can really get creative for spices, from cumin seeds, to panch phoron, to rosemary, to chili powder, to lemon and dill. Just use sea salt, the texture does matter here.

It’s hard to give an exact recipe, as caulis come in all sizes, and it depends on how much of the stems you use and all of that.

1 cauliflower, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1-3 Tablespoons of oil
1-2 teaspoons sea salt
1 bulb (not clove) of garlic
pepper, to taste

Cumin: add 1.5 teaspoons whole seeds
Panch phoron add 1.5 teaspoons whole seeds and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
Rosemary: add 3 Tablespoons or so fresh rosemary needles or 1 Tablespoon dried
Chili:Add 1 T chili powder
Lemon dill: squeeze juice of one lemon and add 3 Tablespoons fresh dill or 1 T dried. Omit garlic.

Preheat oven to 375-400*. Remove the biggest garlic bulbs from the garlic ‘paper’ but leave the small ones. Chop cauliflower and toss with salt and seasonings. Spread out on a cookie sheet LINED with parchment (you’ll be glad you did.)

Roast until nicely browned around the edges, stirring every 15-20 minutes.

Rediscover cauliflower…isn’t it good?!

*see discussion above

This is my entry to Weekend Herb Blogging, a fabulous way to celebrate the herbs and produce of teh season, and our hostess is Simona from Briciole.

I’ve got a few names for these brownies: Mayan brownies, Brazil nut brownies, and (dare I say it?) Black bean brownies.  Are you still there?  Please don’t run away!  I know the idea sounds wrong, but I can say, for sure, black bean brownies are really quite yummy.

I heard about black bean brownies years ago, in my pre-gf life, and never got around to trying them.  Then when Heidi posted them on 101 cookbooks and I kept seeing them in different places, like Diet Dessert and Dogs and Have Cake Will Travel.  I was intrigued, but there were so many eggs, and/or more sugar (or succant) than my body can handle.  So I adapted the general spirit, threw caution to the wind and hoped for the best.  It took a few tries.  I dabbled with a carob version, had one with coconut flour, etc. and finally, success!  Fudgy, yummy, moist and light brownies, which were promptly gobbled by a group of folks used to a “normal” diet.   And dare I say they’re even healthy?  They’re not low calorie (well, maybe compared to normal brownies!), but the ingredients are nutrient rich, with good-for-you fats, not empty calories.   I don’t even feel guilty that I had one for breakfast.  In the interests of full disclosure, black bean brownies are tasty and very moist, but not over the top decadent.  So they’re great for an every day treat, but not so much when you’re craving a total chocolate/sugar bomb.

The magic ingredient (besides the beans, of course!) is the Brazil nut butter.  I’ve had a long term, enduring love affair with nut butter.  Peanuts and I parted ways years ago, and I truly missed sticky creamy goodness of peanut butter until I ventured out into the wild world of nut butter   It’s great that you can get almond butter easily, but if you’ve never had hazelnut, pecan or brazil nut butter, baby…get your food processor and let’s get cracking! I’ve been known to creep into the kitchen in the wee hours and eat it by the spoon.

Oh, and the Mayan part of the name?  That’s a tribute to the beans, cinnamon, cayenne, Salba and the mesquite, all common South of the border ingredients.  The cayenne adds a nice zing, and I’ve used anywhere from a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon.  Each level of heat is yummy, and is a matter of personal preference.  If you’ve never mixed chocolate and cayenne, do give it a go.

As an added bonus, your food processor does pretty much all the work, you only need one bowl, and they’re vegan, gluten free, egg free, dairy free, corn free, soy free, sugar free, grain free and delicious.

Mayan brownies

1 can black beans, well washed (1 ¾ cup)
1 ½ cup of toasted brazil nuts, divided (or 2/3 cup chopped nuts and 6T nut butter de jour)
2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
2 teaspoons whole salba or chia seeds
½ cup agave (or 1/4 cup agave, 1/4 cup honey)
generous 2/3 cup fresh or frozen cherries
2 Tablespoons carob powder
¼ cup plus 2 T cocoa powder
1 t mesquite (optional)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
pinch of cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons almond extract
3 or 4 drops oil of orange (optional)
1/2 cup of chocolate chips (optional)

Line an 8X8 pan with parchment and set aside.  Preheat oven to 325.

Toast about 1.5 cups of brazil nuts for 10-15 min at 350.  Pulse in the processor to grind very coarsely, and reserve 3/4 cup of chopped brazils (somehow, by the point where I add them to the recipe, there’s only 2/3 a cup left).  Grind the rest until they become nut butter, which takes a minute or two.  Scoop out and reserve.  Put chopped unsweetened chocolate in the processor, and grind until you’ve got fine pieces.  Add the rinsed beans, Salba, sweetener and cherries and let it run 3-4 minutes.  Add back the nut butter and everything except the reserved brazil nuts and chips (optional) and process until smooth.

Mix in brazil nut chunks into the batter.  (If you’re feeling really lazy, you can mix within the processor bowl, but it’s a tight squeeze.  Put the batter into a prepared pan and smooth out.  Bake 30 min at 325, then cover loosely with foil and continue to bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes.

This lovely brazil nut butter treat is a part of the Peanut Butter Boy’s PB exhibition. It’s not quite peanut butter, it’s not quite a cake, but it’s along those lines and hey, it’s all in good fun. If I could try it with PB, I would, and I bet it would be awesome!

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008. Please do not replicate without crediting/permission.

One of my husband’s kung fu students is shipping off to Afghanistan, so we had a small cookout to send him off with warm wishes for safe and entirely uneventful tour. He and his wife are fabulous people, and it was just a small reminder of all of the men and women who are serving every day while we go about our merry ways, totally insulated from the sacrifices they make.

I was a bit stumped at first, since cookouts usually mean hamburgers and hotdogs, and I just didn’t want glutenous crumbs all over the place. DH was a little uncertain about doing things GF, but I promised things would be yummy, so he went along with it. So…we had a gluten free cookout, and people didn’t really notice or miss the wheat in any way!

Generally, if I’m making food I’m going to eat, I have to adapt or create my own recipes, since I can’t do gluten, dairy, soy, corn, sugar, eggs, yadda yadda. So since many of the things I was making were for other people this was a great opportunity for me to make recipes from other GF bloggers!

We had:

• Freshly squeezed mint lemonade



• Guacamole
• 3 bean salad
• Speidie chicken and spice rubbed chicken
• Herb-alicious veggies skewers
• Sweet Potato Cornbread
• Chocolate chip pecan pie (with a nice flaky pie crust)
• Mayan brownies (recipe posted soon)
• Blueberry squares (see below!!)

What can I say, I’m full, and so were all of my guests. Yum.

The first 4 were done freestyle, so I can’t offer much in terms of a recipe. The cornbread was amazing. Despite being hideously seasonally inappropriate, I couldn’t resist making the GF Goddess’ sweet potato cornbread. As usual, she didn’t disappoint! The pie crust was from the Gluten free girl, and my husband asked if there was gluten in it. Um, hello? Have I made anything with gluten for the last 4 years? The brownies are delish AND healthy, a wonderful combo, and I will be posting the recipe soon for the PB exhibition.  They’re chock full of brazil nut butter, which is just luscious.

And here are the blueberry squares, a gluten, dairy, corn, soy, egg, sugar and grain free creation of my very own. I was just so inspired by the beauty of the berries at the Farmer’s Market that I just couldn’t resist. They’re light, moist and a quick, easy, vegan-licous seasonal treat.

Blueberry Squares

1/2 cup buckwheat flour OR quinoa flour*
1/2 cup finely ground blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 cup oil
3 Tablespoons apple sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice or 1 teaspoon water with vitamin c powder for citrus allergic
1/2 cup agave* (or 1/4 agave, 1/4 honey)
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8X8 with parchment paper. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl and mix wet ingredients together thoroughly in a separate bowl.  Add wet to dry and mix until combined, then add in the berries. Spoon out into prepared pan and smooth down. Bake for 18-20 min or until browning on top (I don’t remember exactly, sorry)

I will also be posting for the Virtual GF BBQ soon and bringing my ‘nana Skillet bread, which is one of my personal all time faves. I just couldn’t make it today because I’m grain free for the month of June (long story, it’s an exercise for a nutrition conference I’m attending. I’m on day 28 of 30 and I can’t wait!!!)

* for a no amylose version, use agave, quinoa flour and unsweetened apple sauce.

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008. Please do not replicate without crediting/permission.

My hardneck garlics had scapes a few weeks ago, and now the soft necks are doing their thing. So it’s the perfect time for garden pesto. The scapes and tops are much milder but still have the garlicky zing that I love.

I’ve used both hazelnuts and brazil nuts depending on my mood, and I must say they’re both yummy. I leave the nuts a little chunky, but you can blend, depending on taste. I like it thick. Not A thick sauce does it give flavor, but it keeps the fish from drying out. You use the pesto on pasta, on quinoa, on veggies, or pesto any thick fish. We used halibut, and the leftover sauce went on broccoli, carrots, and (in the interests of honesty) straight into my mouth.

And, of course, you can eliminate the water and do more oil for a more traditional pesto.  But with water it has a fresher taste about it, you’re not missing out at all on the flavor, and of course, it’s a bit kinder to your waistline, too.

1 cup garlic scapes or tops, pushed down
1 3/4 cups fresh parsley, packed down
2/3 cup brazil nuts or hazelnuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
squeeze of lemon (optional)
handful of chopped Kalamatas (optional)
sea salt and pepper

Using a food processor, grind nuts very coarsely. Toast at 300 until starting to brown, about 10-15 minutes. Blend parsley, garlic scapes and olive oil, scraping down the sides as needed. Add water (or broth) and other seasonings if desired. Add in nuts and pulse until it is the desired consistency.

Marvelous on veggies, fish, or anything that needs a little jazzing..

This is my submission for weekend herb blogging, which is hosted by none other than the lovely Kalyn herself from Kayln’s Kitchen!  She is also the originator of WHB, and I’m quite grateful, because it encourages me to post about by garden babies.

Everyone has that go-to meal for long days and times when there’s just no time.  This is one of my favorite last minute standbys.  It is ready in less than 20 minutes, and it’s a healthy, tasty, simple meal. I really enjoy it, there’s something that’s very ‘comfort food’ about its simplicity for me.  And it’s easy enough that my husband has made it, too.

I tend to be a very “cook it from scratch” kind of gal, but there’s a time and place for canned and frozen foods, too.  Especially when paired with herbs from my garden, you never know the difference.  For the protein, I have used ground chicken, turkey, or beef, though I’m sure soy crumbles would work too.  When DH is out of town, I half the amount of protein, the same amount of veggies and cut back a bit on the herbs.

In the summer months, the peppers are usually from my garden, and it’s a good way to use up those green peppers that are too harshly flavored to eat on their own.  One of the peppers for this one was this summer’s first (sorry, I forgot to take his picture).

We serve this with steamed broccoli, brown rice (thawed from frozen) or avocado, which is my personal fave. Also, for variety, sometimes we add black olives, sometimes garlic powder, sometimes a little parsley, etc. It mostly depends on my mood.

1 lb ground turkey, chicken, beef, etc.
1 14 oz can of Eden or other diced tomatoes (if you are using tomatoes with chilis, leave out the cayenne)
2 medium sized green peppers, torn coarsely
1/3 cup fresh herbs–combo of thyme, oregano and a little marjoram, rosemary, and basil
OR
2 Tablespoons of mixed dried spices
1/4-1/2 teaspoon of cayenne, to taste
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
1 can sliced black olives (optional)
Parm cheese or almond slivers (optional)

This is my entry for this month’s “Go Ahead Honey It’s Gluten Free” blogging event, started by Naomi at Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried. This month’s host is Carrie over at Ginger Lemon Girl, and the theme is one pot meals.

As my family is Middle Eastern, I grew up adoring baklava, hummus, shwarma, halva, tahini, and all that good stuff. Since developing allergies to…let’s see, ingredients in all of the above, I’ve really been missing the tastes of family and celebration across the years.

So when I accidentally happened upon Siri’s Corner and and her Middle Eastern recipe challenge AWED:Middle Eastern I figured it was time to start playing and bring back some of the old flavors, even if they were in new form. The experimentation process was quite fun. Really, how can you go wrong with ingredients like these?

The result was a satisfying, shortbread-ish cookie with a whiff of rosewater. Unlike most Middle-eastern treats, they are not very sweet. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll want to dust with sugar. I’ll have to try these with orange blossom water sometime, too. I might also make them into thumbprint cookies with a dab of raspberry jam…

1 3/4 cup finely ground blanched almond flour
pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 Tablespoons almond or other oil
2 generous Tablespoons honey (for vegan or low glycemic, use agave)
1 teaspoon rosewater
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
slivered almonds or pistachios (optional)

Mix flour, sea salt, and baking powder. Mix honey oil and rosewater, microwave (or put in a hot oven) briefly to soften the honey. Add to the almond mix and stir.

Briefly kneed together, put on wax paper and roll into a log. Refrigerate a few hours or overnight. Preheat to 350. Cut slices 1/8-1/4 inch thick and place on a silpat. Press in an almond or pistachio, if desired. Bake for 6-7 minutes or until starting to brown.

Enjoy.

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008. Please do not replicate without crediting/permission.

The timing for this worked perfectly. It’s over 100 degrees outside, a perfect day for a no-bake recipe. Additionally, I’m attending a conference in June, and they’ve challenged all participants to go grain free for a month (including quinoa and other pseudo grains). I’m currently on day 8, not that I’m counting. So Sheltie Girl’s (Natalie’s) Truffles saved the day!

I have enjoyed the Gluten a go go blog for quite some time. Natalie makes great use of a lot of unique flours and binders, which is awesome. Some, like mesquite, agave and chestnut, were already ‘loves’ of mine, but others, like chia, and sweet potato flour were inspired by her recipes.

Natalie is also a fellow Daring Baker, and it was great fun to bake with her and get her suggestion last time around. It’s clear her experimentation has made her quite an expert.

I did follow her recipe exactly, but made 4 mini batches, to give a wider variety of flavors. One batch used curry powder, another mesquite, another Ras el Hanout, and the last vanilla extract. And then within those, some got dried orange peel, some that got heath bar (NOT dairy free, but DH’s favorite) some plain, some nuts…and then they were rolled in carob powder, cinnamon and coconut flour, cocoa powder and powdered sugar, coconut powder and ras el hanout or nuts. No, it wasn’t as complicated as it sounds, and using the muffin tray made it a lot easier. It’s amazing how ambitious I can be when I know as soon as I finish, I have to file insurance claims. Anything but that…

The recipe worked marvelously! My husband remarked a few months ago that carob was something that he’d never eat. So obviously, I didn’t mention what he was eating, and asked what he thought and he said, yummy chocolate. Tee hee…

Due to allergies and such, I was limited to the carob and cinnamon covered curry and mesquite truffles, and I enjoyed both. I enjoyed the curry, but didn’t care for the mesquite (one of my variations, not Natalie’s). It just didn’t add much. Most of my tasters enjoyed the orange peel ones best, but they all disappeared quickly.

This adoption is part of the “Adopt a GF Blogger”, as started by Sea Maiden of Book of Yum. Our current fine host is Thomas, of the GFCF experience.