We love fresh veggies at our house!

We love fresh veggies at our house. I always serve one cooked veggie (tonight is green beans just picked an hour ago) and a plate of fresh raw veggies. I just love this time of year when everything is fresh. The cucumbers and broccoli on the plate were just picked this afternoon. The mini bell peppers and radish are from my CSA and the carrots are organic but from the grocery store.

In the winter my veggie plates are made up of root veggies - carrots, beauty heart radishes, celeriac and whatever else is available without coming from the other side of the globe.

And remember that all veggies are naturally gluten free!

Veggie Tray for Thanksgiving

Doesn't this look yummy for Thanksgiving?

I got it in a newsletter from Miss Roben's. Sorry, I didn't get proper credit. I had saved this to my hard drive to make later and didn't keep the whole newsletter. By the time I posted it here I remembered that I got it from Miss Roben's but not that they had gotten it elsewhere. My apologies - this idea actually comes from Eating With Food Allergies. You can see their original post by clicking HERE.


Turkey Veggie Tray

Ingredients
Romaine or leaf lettuce
1 cucumber, sliced
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 bags baby carrots
2 black beansToothpicks
1/3 celery stalk

Directions

1) Slice the bell peppers crosswise & then cut each circle in half. Cut one 1/2" piece off of one of the red pepper slices & set aside (this will be used for the face). Set aside the bottom part of the peppers for the turkey's body.

2) For the feathers: Cover a platter (a round one works well) with the leaves of lettuce. To make the turkey's feathers, start with forming a circle with the cucumber slices towards the bottom of the platter. Above the cucumbers, form a semi-circle with the red peppers, then the yellow peppers, then the green peppers. Place the baby carrots vertically above the last row of peppers.

3) To make the turkey's body & face: Break two toothpicks in half. Put two of the toothpicks where the eyes will go. Push the black beans onto the toothpick making sure that the toothpick doesn't go all the way through. Cut a triangle out of the leftover bottom from the yellow pepper. Attach with a toothpick below the eyes. Attach the reserved red pepper piece to the left of the yellow pepper "beak".

4) For the legs: Cut the piece of celery in half lengthwise. On each piece, carefully slice lengthwise from the end of the celery piece to almost the center. Do this twice on each piece. Place the celery in ice water & place in the refrigerator until the ends curl. When curled, nestle the un-curled end under the cucumbers.

If anyone attempts this, please take a pic and send it to me - I'll post all of the pics. I think this would be awesome if I were having guests for Thanksgiving. I may do it for just us - I'm not sure yet.

Spring is time for fresh salads!

Here are some recipes to make your own salad dressings to enjoy the fresh lettuce that is starting to show up in the stores. Remember that while making dressing from scratch is a great way to avoid high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and flavors as well as gluten and casein, they also will not have any preservatives and won't last as long.

Here are my three favorite recipes -

Thousand Island Salad Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise (I use Spectrum Canola Mayo)
1/3 cup ketchup (I use organic)
2 tablespoons vinegar (I use Bragg’s apple cider vinegar)
4 teaspoons organic raw sugar (optional)
¼ cup sweet pickle relish (I use my own home canned)
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 hard cooked egg, chopped into very small pieces
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
Mix all ingredients together. Chill well.
Makes 2 cups

Poppy Seed Salad Dressing
¾ cup organic raw sugar
¾ cup salad oil (I use olive oil)
¾ cup vinegar (I use Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar)
1 to 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Combine all ingredients together in a glass jar. Shake well. Refrigerate. Makes 1 ½ to 2 cups dressing.

GFCF Ranch Salad Dressing or Dip
1 cup firm silken tofu
¼ cup mayonnaise (I use Spectrum Canola Mayo)
2 tablespoons oil (I use olive oil)
4 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon dried or 1 teaspoon fresh dill weed
¼ teaspoon saltpinch of garlic powder
Blend in a blender until smooth and creamy. Chill.
Made as directed it is thick enough for a dip – if you prefer thinner for a salad dressing, thin with non dairy milk.

Carrot Ginger Soup with Cashew Cream

This is another recipe from Rebecca Katz, author, One Bite at a Time, (Celestial Arts, 2004)

I made it exactly as she wrote it out except that I used a hand blender and did the blending right in the pot instead of transferring to a blender. It was so yummy. We are big carrot eaters in our house so I was pretty sure it would be a hit with all of us and it was.



Carrot Ginger Soup with Cashew Cream

Yields 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

3 pounds carrots (about 16) wash, cut in 1 inch pieces
2 to 2 ½ quarts cold water
1 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
½ teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon coriander
1 small pinch of red chili pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon maple syrup

Cashew Cream Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews
1 cup water
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon sea salt
Pinch of nutmeg

Soup Procedure

In a 6 to 8 quart pot add carrots and water. Cover and bring to boil over medium high heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, decrease heat to medium low. Cook until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, reserve cooking liquid and carrots in two bowls.

In the same pot heat olive oil over medium heat, add onions with a pinch of salt, sauté until they are golden. Add in ginger, curry, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, coriander, and red chili pepper flakes, stir to combine. Deglaze the pan with one cup of carrot cooking liquid. Return carrots to pan, mix well to coat with onions and spices.

In a blender, puree mixture in batches adding cooking liquid first and then the carrots, blend until very smooth. Remember not to fill the blender more than 2/3 full! Add additional liquid to reach desired thickness. Return to pot, add maple syrup, and reheat slowly.

Think FASS and taste. Does it need a squeeze of lemon or a pinch or two of salt or a drizzle of maple syrup to round out the flavor?

Cashew Cream

Grind cashews in a mini food processor or nut grinder first. Some blenders are not powerful enough to turn nuts into cream so we give it a head start. If you have a Vita-mix skip this step.

Put water in the blender; add ground cashews, lemon juice, salt and nutmeg. Blend until very very smooth, about 3 minutes. Drizzle a teaspoon of cashew cream on top of each bowl before serving.

Copy write Rebecca Katz, 2004.

Sesame Ginger Baby Bok Choy

This recipe comes from Rebecca Katz, author, One Bite at a Time, (Celestial Arts, 2004)

The first time I made it I made it exactly as she had written, but as I have made it more and more I have changed it a little - my changes are in ( )s. I also put the weights in so you know what amounts I used to come up with the nutrtional analysis.

I have to tell you that I had never had Bok Choy in my life before I started at Hawthorn and making this recipe was part of an assignment. I wasn't even sure what I was buying when I was in the store looking for it. I have since joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) since I don't have enough space to grow all the veggies my family can eat and I have been getting Bok Choy in my box from them every single week. I am so glad to have this recipe. I have tried a few other ways to cook Bok Choy but none are as tasty as this one.

Sesame Ginger Baby Bok Choy

4 heads of small baby bok choy (3 to 4 oz each) [I used 19.3 oz of regular bok choy]
1 Tablespoon Lemon or Lime (I used lemon)
1 Tablespoon Tamari
1 Tablespoon Mirin
2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil
½ teaspoon Maple Syrup
1 ½ Tablespoon Sesame Oil (I used Toasted Sesame Oil again)
1 Teaspoon toasted sesame seeds (as garnish) [I forgot these]
Pinch of red chili pepper flakes
3 Medium Garlic Cloves, minced (Mine came to .4 oz)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger Root, minced (Mine came to .55 oz)
2 Medium Scallions, sliced thin on the bias (I used 4.45 oz of onions)
Squeeze of a lime (I forgot this)

1. Cut the baby bok choy into chunks. Separate the bulb and the tops.
2. Combine the lime, tamari, mirin, sesame oil, and maple syrup in a bowl. Reserve
3. Heat a skillet. Add 1 Tablespoon of sesame oil. Add ½ Tablespoon of sesame oil, add red chili flakes, ginger, garlic and scallions. Stir fry until fragrant, until 30 seconds. Add the boy choy stems and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the sauce mixture and simmer just until thickened, another 30 seconds.
4. Add the bok choy greens. Cook another 15 seconds. Squeeze the lime and sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over the boy choy and serve immediately.


Here is what it looked like - Yum!


And here are the nutrition facts.

Armenian Eggplant

Andy loved this - asked for seconds - I was sure this was going to be an adult only dish. I included the nutritional information from my nifty new software from Esha - so I included weights on my ingredients so you would know what I used to get the nutritional information.

Armenian Eggplant

1 large eggplant (mine was 5.8 oz)
1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped (mine was 4 oz)
¼ teaspoon dried garlic (or use fresh)
1 Medium Onion, sliced (mine was 7.5 oz)
4 Tomatoes, diced (mine came to 1 lb. 1.45 oz)
¼ cup Olive Oil
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon saltFresh herbs to taste (I used oregano, basil, tarragon & rosemary)

1. Pare and dice eggplant (if you don’t want it darkening, sprinkle with lemon juice).
2. Heat oil in skillet; Add onion, green pepper, eggplant and garlic. Stir over low heat until eggplant is soft.
3. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper.
4. Simmer a few minutes.
5. Add herbs.
6. Pour into casserole dish and bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes.

My salad making assembly line!

I do my grocery shopping on Sunday mornings. When I get home before I put everything away (and have to get it all out again), I make salads for the week. I just go down the line and put lettuce in each and then carrots and then peppers, etc. I put them in the fridge and we are set for the week. Make sure you cover them tightly.

I made tomato soup this weekend

I heated a little bit of olive oil in a sauce pan and added one large onion and 4 cloves of garlic and cooked until soft. I added 3 pint jars of tomato sauce and 1 pint of frozen veggie stock (could use water or chicken broth) and just a little pepper (I didn't add any salt since I add salt when canning). It tasted just a little bitter to me so I squeezed in a little honey. I used my hand blender to blend it all up and lunch was ready! It was so yummy!

Good old fashioned baked beans

I made these in the slow cooker yesterday and they are wonderful. When I was a kid growing up, my Mom used to make great baked beans like this all the time. They are really inexpensive to make and you can't get a taste like them from a can.

Kathi’s Old Fashioned Baked Beans (can also be made in the slow cooker)

1 pound dried navy or great northern beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 ½ cups dark brown sugar
2 cups ketchup
6 tablespoons maple syrup
6 tablespoons dark molasses
½ cup soy sauce -make sure it is gf!
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Rinse and pick through the beans. Soak them overnight in a large pot of water.
Rinse the soaked beans well under cold water, and place them in a heavy saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer covered until tender – an hour or two. Drain.
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and cook until wilted – about 5 minutes.
Add the brown sugar and stir over medium-low heat until it has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Stir in ketchup, syrup, molasses, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Pour Beans into an oven proof 2 quart casserole dish. Pour sauce over them and mix well.
Cover the casserole and cook in oven at 300 degrees, stirring occasionally for 3 hours.
Uncover, stir and bake uncovered until the sauce is thick and syrupy.

Green Beans with Carmelized Onions and Almonds

This was our veggie side dish on Thanksgiving. To make it I thawed 2 quarts of green beans that I had frozen from my garden - but you can use commercially frozen beans as well. I drained all of the ice crystals off of them. I sliced 4 medium onions into slices and cooked over medium heat in 2 tablespoons GFCF margarine until nice and brown looking. While they were cooking, I sprinkled them with a pinch of salt and a pinch of brown sugar - not too much. When they were nice and brown looking I added a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and cooked until the liquid was cooked off. Then I added 1/4 cup of slivered almonds and the green beans. I cooked until heated through. I added another 1/4 cup of slivered almonds on top for crunch. Everyone gobbled these down - even Andy likes onions when they are carmelized.

Bush's Original Baked Beans

This is one of Andy's all time favorite meals when I cut up hotdogs into little pieces and stir them into this. He would eat Hot Dogs and Beans every day if I let him!

Rosarita Traditional Refried Beans

Again, there are more than one variety of this product. I do not know if they are all GFCF - this is what we buy. Read labels and call manufacturers because ingredients do change.