Gluten Free Archives - Page 3 of 7 A Byte of Life

Fresh Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

Somewhere in my DNA, there is an Italian heritage hanging out. Though I haven’t yet been to the country I seem to have an affinity for anything Italian. The culture, language, food, and history are all part of Italys draw on me. Italy is a country that has always had a pull on my heartstrings. Chianti is my favorite wine AND Italy was my favorite part of Eat, Pray, Love. Honestly, I usually start the book with the intention to simply stop after Italy but I always get wrapped up in the purpose of the book and wind up reading India and Indonesia and mirroring her own journey in my life as I read it.

While pasta and pizza are the two dishes that will likely come to mind when you think of Italian cooking, there are SO many other amazing and unique recipes and preparation styles that grace us from that fantastic country. I don’t remember the first time that I had bruschetta, but I do remember the first time that I had my other half’s bruschetta. It was after one of our first road trips together, the sun was shining, we were in the honeymoon of early enamoration and the world was our oyster. Yep, I just made up a word variation for enamored! He “whipped” up his now famous bruschetta while I arranged some tapas on a plate then we grabbed a bottle of wine, our sunglasses, and headed up to the roof to eat alfresco. This is one of my favorite meals I’ve actually ever had because it combined so many of my all time favorite things: those I love, wine, tapas style eating, sunshine, eating outside and fresh foods.

This bruschetta has been requested MANY times and while he’s never used a recipe, it always has that taste of spending a summer day eating outside on the roof with someone you love. You’ll notice there are not measurements. In the true Italian form, this is a dish that is best mastered over multiple and personalized to the chef and guests tastes so you can experiment with the ratios on each of the ingredients and put your own spin on the taste and texture.

One thing I will note about this dish, is how little oil you need. Olive Oil is both delicious and good for you when used in moderation, but this spread needs very little olive oil which increases the flavor and allows you to focus on the texture of the herbs and tomatoes versus any exceeding amount of oil. The shallots, onion and garlic have their own natural oils and juices, and finding a balance between those natural oils and a minimal amount of EVOO to sauté in will be the key!

Fresh Garden Bruschetta

heirloom cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
basil, washed and chiffonaded
fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt, to taste
aged balsamic
EVOO, used sparingly
minced garlic
red onion, chopped
shallots, chopped
grated parmesan or mozzarella cheese
artisan bread slices

Wash and prepared each of the veggies as directed and slice up the artisan bread
In a medium bowl, mix the tomatoes, basil, cheese and a drizzle of balsamic, adding fresh cracked pepper and sea salt to taste
Heat a pan over medium-high heat, using the EVOO sparingly
Add onions and shallots and cook until they start to turn translucent
Add the garlic to the pan and reduce to medium low, cooking just a few minutes longer to mix flavors
Pour the hot mixture into the bowl, and gingerly toss all ingredients together
You can either serve this immediately or make it ahead of time, cover and refrigerate up to 3 hours

Potato Leek Soup (Vegan)

When the weather turns soggy, I start to practice my winter sport of “being in the kitchen”. From caramelizing and chopping to baking to broiling, when the weather turns to mush I turn to the kitchen. …and a glass of wine, but that’s a year round sport!

This year I’ve really tried to focus on cooking “in season” and challenging myself to prepare my “typical” foods in a different way. While leek’s are not something that we traditionally have on hand in our house, they made the headliner in today recipes. To be honest, the lack of consistent main stage placement in our cabinet is purely due to the fact that I only know two ways to cook them; sautéed or made into leek soup. While they are can be found year round, they are in season November to February and are more readily available.

The more I looked into the nutrition characteristics of leeks, the more I realized that I wasn’t the only one who usually passed up these shallot and garlic relatives in the grocery aisles; many people shy away from these cardio enriching veggies because they don’t know how to cook or prepare them. Leeks are high in folate, which is a key B complex vitamin for supporting and balancing our cardiovascular system (source) as well as being very high in potassium and very low in sodium, giving it naturally diuretic properties (source). Sharing the same family as garlic and onions, they boast immune, antioxidant, and heart-healthy benefits.

Enjoyed in in salads with vinaigrette, in soups, sautés, risottos, sauces, pastas, frittatas, creamed, carmelized, Bruschettaed… there are SO many ways to prepare leeks it will blow your mind! Check out this Leek Pinterest Board for more inspiration!

When shopping for leeks, look for ones that are firm and straight, with dark leaves and white bodies. Quality leeks should not be yellowing, wilting or cracking. To store, keep them unwashed and untrimmed,wrapped in a paper towel inside a plastic bag in the fridge up to a week. Cooked leaks should be kept for no more than two days, but you can freeze them up to three months once they’re blanched for three minutes and stored in an airtight bag.

I have to warn you, you’ll need a spoon readily accessible once this soup is cooked, is so good you’ll be eating it out of the pot!

Vegan Potato Leek Soup
Adapted from recipe posted on Care2.com Serves 4 – 6
Ingredients:

1 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
3 large leeks, whites and greens, washed and sliced
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
½ tsp fresh cracked sea salt
3 cloves garlic, or 1 ½ tsp minced garlic
2 large white potatoes, washed and cubed
5 cups chicken stock (use vegetable stock if you’re making entirely vegan)
½ tsp crushed rosemary

Wash all veggies
Heat EVOO in stock pan with the chopped leeks, onion, garlic and sea salt, sauté stirring often until the onions begins to turn translucent
Add the potatoes and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes
Meanwhile, get your blender out and prepared to blend up the soup
Once cooked, remove the soup from the heat and ladle into your blender, 1 cup at a time (if you have an immersion/stick blender you can blend the soup right in the pot)
Blend the soup until smooth and free of chunks
Pour smooth soup into a heat-proof bowl and continue until all of the soup has been blended
Transfer the blended soup back to the original soup pot and warm over low heat until heated through
Serve hot

Baked Chicken with Tomatos and Basil

Everyone needs a few of those dishes that can be thrown together and are sure to please. For me, that’s baked chicken. It’s so easy to take a few chicken breasts, spastically cover them in dried herbs and spices, wrap them in aluminum foil and throw it in a pre-heated oven until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. This recipe takes it one step further with a little trick, searing. When you sear the chicken, it locks in the flavor, keeps the chicken most, and creates a delicious crispy and pretty coating!

Apologies to all of you for not having a better picture of the final product, I got hungry and broke my OWN rule of taking a picture first! I’ll update the post next time I make this dish and have a better “finished product” picture for you!

Baked Chicken with Tomatoes and Basil
Ingredients

One chicken breast per guest
Heirloom tomatoes (Or Roma tomatoes will work)
Optional-one slice of cheese per guest (Fontina or Mozzarella)
Fresh Basil
Minced Garlic
Cracked Pepper and salt
Parchment Paper and Baking sheet
Frying pan and oil to sear chicken

Directions

1. Wash and dry the basil. Wash the tomatoes and thinly slice them. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut individual sized pieces of parchment paper or aluminum foil to bake the chicken on. Since the chicken has natural juices, you’ll need to think about how you’re cooking the chicken. If you’re cooking it alone (no other veggies on the pan in the oven) a parchment paper is just fine. But, if you’re making other veggies at the same time as I often do, I find it easier to use aluminum foil so I can curl up the sides and contain the chicken juices so that it doesn’t touch the other veggies.

2. Wash the chicken breasts off, and pat them dry. Lay out chicken on a cutting board and “butterfly” it- which means slicing the chicken lengthwise, but don’t cut it enough to separate the two sides. Pre-heat a pan on the stove and cover with cooking spray or some EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil).

3. Crack fresh pepper over the surface of the chicken. On one side of the chicken, that will be the bottom side, lay the washed basil down, followed by the tomato. (If you want to get really fancy, you can sauté some spinach and garlic and include it in this step). If you’re using cheese, lay it in between the basil and the tomato. Close the top side of the chicken over the bottom side, making sure that the tomato and basil don’t pop out. You can secure them with a tooth pick if needed.

4. Carefully transfer the closed chicken breasts to the pre-heated pan and sear each side until golden brown. I use a wide spatula for this and you have to be careful when turning the chicken breast over so that none of the tomato or basil fall out. When they are seared on both sides, transfer the chicken to the individual pieces of parchment or aluminum foil and secure the openings with a toothpick if they’re still trying to let the tomatoes and basil fall out.

5. Place the chicken on the baking sheet and bake for for 25-35 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees for internal temperature.

6. Remove the chicken from the oven and serve! I usually like to serve with some toasted quinoa, blasted broccoli, or yam fries.

Oven Baked Yam Fries

Believe it or not, I was a “garbage guts” when I was younger. My mother did a wonderful job of trying to get me to eat my veggies and not letting me leave the table until I’d consumed all my broccoli. But, if I had my wish I would have lived on chicken strips, fries dipped in BBQ or ranch, and any type of candy I could get my hands on. Oh, and a milkshake with LOTS of sprinkles. But no syrup drenched cherry, I did apparently have SOME culinary inclinations as a child. I think we can all agree that those are just gross!

My adult self shudders when I think of that “menu” and makes me want immediately consume a kale smoothie just in an attempt to balance out the years of chicken strip consumption! Even as adults we need a little comfort food. Pie, mashed potatoes, ice cream, onion rings, and, of course, french fries! Traditional french fries get a bad wrap for being…well…basically deep fried in oil which, let’s just call a “spud” a spud and admit that they’re is little to NO nutritional value of the potato left at that point. What if I told you that there was an alternative to “healify” fries and they were still delicious! So delicious, in fact, that I don’t even DIP MINE or miss my trusty BBQ or ranch.

Yes, my fry friends, it’s true! While you can do this with white potatoes, and add a little rosemary and garlic while you cook them, I prefer to do yam fries because I just simply like yams more. These are my go-to side dish when entertaining or just needing to add a carb to the meal. They’re delicious and super simple to make! You can also get “fancy” and experiment with different spices. Post in the comments what you’re favorite spices are!

Yam Fries

2 long skinny yams
EVOO
Smoked Paprika
Fresh Cracked Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Depending on your oven, and how crispy you liked them, you can experiment with 450°F or even 500°F. Cover a baking sheet with non-stick foil and pre-heat the baking sheet (this helps to achieve crispier fries)
Wash and dry the yams, then cut them once lengthwise. Using a very sharp knife makes this easier. Place the halved yams face down on the cutting board, and cut in half again lengthwise and then slice the yams length wise in little strips to create the “fry” form.
Put the cut fries in a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, smoked paprika and cracked pepper and toss them until all the fries are covered. You can also brush the olive oil on the fries if you prefer, using a basting brush.
Lay the fries out in a single layer a baking sheet lined with non-stick foil and cook forThe SimplyRecipes.com recipe had a helpful note I’ll try next time, one of their readers recommended laying them on a wire cooling rack on top of a baking sheet, so that the oven air circulates around the sweet potato pieces and you don’t have to flip them over .
Bake for 15- 20 minutes until lightly browned on one side, then flip and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until they reach the desired browned crispness you desire.

Taco Thursday: Carne Asada Steak + Padron Peppers + Cabbage Slaw

Sometimes you just need a taco. Or a glass of wine. Or…both.

Thursday was a “both” day. Whether it be in celebration or on consolation, there’s something about a good taco that calms and comforts like a chat with a good friend or a glass of wine. You can also make them out of pretty much anything in the cabinet! Anyone can find a way to eat a taco whether you be vegan, vegetarian, or carnivore. The preparation is also a variable whether basking in simplicity or it’s own braised beauty!

Tonight was a much needed “comfort” night, including some home cooking which always has a way of reminding myself that there is something worthwhile that I can do, and do quite well. In addition to home cooking, include a challenge to overcome and a hearty pour of wine. For my challenge I chose the chopping jalapeños without staining my fingers in the fire juice and promptly wiping my eye which seems to be a habit of mine. For the home cooking, Carne Asada Steak Tacos, oven roasted Padron Peppers and some good old Grilled Cabbage Slaw. For the wine, honestly whatever was open on the counter would do but at this point. I looked for Rioja to make the complete “spanish” experience but settled for a glass from the bottle of open Chianti that always has a home on my counter.

The result, a masterpiece that both soothed my mind and filled my belly. You can’t go wrong with a taco!

Do you have “taco + wine” days?

Padron Peppers

We fell in love with these tasty little treats on our trip to Spain last spring. Known to the locals as Pimientons de Padron, they originated in the Galicia region of Spain but can be found throughout the country and are served a part of the national tapas tradition.

These guys aren’t necessarily spicy hot, only one in ten usually pack heat, but they have a mild kick which meshes with the smokey grilled flavor and the cracked salt. Preparation is quite simple: rub with olive oil and fresh cracked sea salt then oven grilled in a cast-iron skillet. You can usually find them fresh in season from may through late september.

Padron Peppers
Prep 5 min| Cook 25 min

Ingredients:
2 tsp. Avocado or Safflower oil (these are best for high-heat cooking)
1/2 lb. pimentons de padron
Fresh cracked Sea Salt
Cast Iron Skillet & Aluminum Foil

Preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 350. Wash and pat the peppers with a paper towel to dry them. Toss them in the oil and crack some fresh sea salt on top then place in a cast iron skillet that is covered with aluminum foil. Once the oven is pre-heated, place the skillet with the oil coated peppers and cook for 20-30 minutes, turning once or twice to make sure all the surfaces are charred. Crack more fresh sea salt over the peppers and serve!

Pair well with some delicious Sangria and tapas!

Donuts: Vegan & Gluten-Free

Everyone has a hankering for a donut from time to time. Yes, this includes the healthiest of people! Now, if you’re silently saying, “Why no, I can resist a fluffy, melt in your mouth, little bit of heaven pastry goodness” then 1- you’re either lying or crazy or 2- your just bitter because you’re gluten- intolerant. Well, harbor bitterness NO longer my friend! We have a family member that is gluten intolerant and on his last trip to see us I had the itch to bake.On my recipe hunt, I found QUITE a few recipes for donuts, and once I got my drooling problem under control, created a Pinterest board to keep all my lovely donut finds in one place. But, as I started clicking through the recipes I found that many of them were fried, used gluten-filled flours, and called for xanthan gum or other additives.

While I’m a FIRM believer that deserts should never be desecrated and demoted into the “light” or “non-fat” categories and should remain their butter or chocolate anchored selves, I do also believe it moderation. So, I set out to focus on the baked donut recipes and FINALLY found one that didn’t call for xanthan gum or some other additive that I can’t pronounce or state with confidence what exactly it is. The gal over at Vegan YumYum had a delicious recipe for mini-baked donuts which called for regular flour so I made a few alterations and gave it a shot! I also did my research on baked donuts, and decided to go with the affordable Norpro 6-Count Nonstick Donut Pan from Amazon and purchased a 4-pack of the Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour as well. With a few toppings gathered and the ingredients for the glaze in hand, I was ready to BAKE my Vegan* gluten-free goodness! *In order to make these donuts vegan, use the egg replacer in the recipe instead of the egg.

The donuts turned out to be a success, both men in the house had seconds and my gluten-loving one didn’t complain about the taste or texture. They are not going to be a complete replacement for the real deal full butter and flour style of donuts, and if you prefer a good fried old fashioned donuts beware that this will not replace that hankering and you better go get one..or two immediately! The texture was a bit different but the taste, especially buy the time the various toppings and glaze were applied it all tasted like a delicious donut! I followed the glaze recipe on the same website, and used sprinkles, shaved chocolate, coconut and cinnamon as toppings! You can take a glance at all our delicious toppings below

What’s your favorite donut topping?

Mini Baked Donuts
Recipe adapted from Vegan YumYum
Yield: Her recipe makes 20 mini-donuts but since I purchased the large donut pan, the recipe wound up yielding 10-12 donuts… I can’t remember because we were chowing on the first batch while the second batch when in!!!

Dry Ingredients:

1 Cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour
1/2 Cup Organic Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp (scant) Nutmeg
1 tiny pinch or shake Cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Soymilk
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Egg (Or you can use Egg Replacer for 1 Egg)
4 Tbs Earth Balance

Preheat oven to 350º F. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients with a whisk to mix thoroughly. Combine wet ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium low heat and mix until earth balance is melted. This mixture should NOT get too hot, you should be able to stick your finger in the mixture. It should feel slightly warm. Add wet to dry and mix until just combined. It should form a very soft dough. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop out dough into your un-greased nonstick donut pan. If you’d like “pretty” donuts, Smooth out the top of the dough with your fingers.

As you can see, the dough sits just below the rim. If you over fill, your donuts will come out looking like it has a little muffin top. Bake for 12 minutes. They should not be browned on top, but a tester will come out clean. Invert hot pan over a cutting board or cooling rack to release donuts. Allow to cool completely before decorating.

Glaze with Sprinkles

1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar (lump free!)
1 Tbs Soymilk
Bowl full of sprinkles (aprox. 1/3 cups

Whisk soy milk and powdered sugar together. Dip the “bottom” half of the donut (the side with the nicer shape) into the glaze, let some drip off, then dip glaze-side down into sprinkles. Transfer to a wire rack that has been set on top of some parchment paper. The excess glaze will drip through the rack onto the paper for easy cleaning later.

White Nectarine, Mozzarella, Basil “Stacks”

White Nectarine, Mozzarella, Basil “Stacks”
Serves two

2 ripe, but slightly firm white nectarines
2 fresh mozzarella balls
1 bunch fresh basil, washed
Mandarano balsamic glaze

Wash the nectarines and basil, laying the basil out on a paper towel to pat dry. Slice the bottoms of the nectarines, then carefully slice so you have layers to stack. Taking a sharp knife, slice the mozzarella balls. Stack up the ingredients, starting with a slice of the white nectarine and alternating the other ingredients until you have your “stack” created. Drizzle with the balsamic glaze and enjoy!

Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad

Summer is FINALLY here!! That’s right, ladies and gents, the Pacific Northwest finally has consistent sunshine! With the change of the weather, comes the change of the taste buds. I trade my warming winter ratatouille and warming cast-iron portions of delicious steaming cassoulet for the lighter summer fare like the Cilantro Lime Chicken & Baked Potato Skins I made for dinner TWO nights in a row (yes, they are THAT good and SO simple).

A few of my other “go to” summer meals are:
Hawaiian Poke & Ginger Ono Sashimi
Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken & Asparagus
Healthy Chicken Veggie Spring Rolls with Garlic Ginger Dipping Sauce

This year I needed a new salad, something that was out of my normal cooking pallet. I’ve had different variations of this type of salad (Fez on Wheels Turkish Shepherd Salad, and Tom Douglas’ Home Remedy Jackie’s Greek Salad are two of my favorites) and decided it was time to make it myself.

Of course, after I used the “wing it” approach I realized that looking for a recipe could have been smart idea. Psh, who needs a recipe when you have a photo of the ingredients and taste testing! Next time I WONT forget the mint or the fresh lemon juice. The Epicruious version called for scallions instead of the red pepper and the Simply Recipes version called for 1 tsp fresh chopped oregano. There is also a more italian style version that A Taste of Home posted with mozzarella that I’ll be trying next week! Whatever the variations you use, it’s even better than next day once the flavors marinate together for a while. Also makes a great potluck or BBQ side!

Do you have any special additions or variations of this delicious dish? Next time I’m thinking I’ll add some quinoa!

Ingredients
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 c fresh squeezed lemon juice
fresh cracked salt and pepper to taste
drizzle of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 large cucumbers, peeled and seeded
cherry tomatoes (to taste), washed and halved
1/2 c chopped fresh mint, Chiffonade
7 oz fresh sheep feta, crumbled
1 cup pitted halved Kalamata olives

Directions

To make the dressing, mix the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, cracked pepper and drizzle of EVOO to a small bowl and whisk together then set aside. If you have a jar, you can also just add the ingredients and shake the living heck out of the ingredients to mix. Wash and half the cucumbers, then use a spoon to scoop out the seeds in the center then slice and place in a medium bowl. Add olives. Wash and half the tomatoes and add them to the cucumber bowl. Rinse and pat the mint dry, then Chiffonade it. That’s a fancy little french term for stacking herb leaves on top of each other than tightly rolling them and cutting horizontally to produce long thin strips. Add the dressing to the cucumber bowl and toss lightly, sprinkling in the feta and tossing all the goodness together. Serve as a main with some humus and pita bread, or as a delicious side!

Enjoy!

Taco Tuesday

For a while we had a tradition of doing Taco Tuesday, with the effort to keep it up every Tuesday. Well, life gets busy and sometimes you don’t always feel like prepping tacos. If you don’t feel like eating tacos there is just something wrong with you BUT I can completely understand not feeling up for the prep part. While they’re relatively simple to make, mind you, the chopping can take a bit of time depending on how glamourous you want your festivities to be.

While other ingredients come and go, there is ONE thing that is always requested for Taco Tuesday in our house, and that’s my grilled cabbage slaw. I don’t remember exactly how I though to grill the slaw that I’d made to go with tacos one fateful night but the point is I did and Taco Tuesday has never been the same. Grab some cabbage, a lime or two, handful of cilantro, some garlic and a Anaheim pepper or jalapeño and you’re good to go!

Tonights Taco Tuesday: Grilled Ling Cod fish tacos with pineapple, grilled cabbage slaw, charred spring onions and corn.