oven-baked red snapper & shiitake parcels

This Japanese style recipe is so delicious and easy, yet very very healthy.  It takes no time at all and you are rewarded with an amazingly flavorful meal. 

Ingredients:
4 red snapper fillets (100g each)
1/2 tsp vegetable oil, for brushing
8 caps fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded
8 thinly sliced pieces of broccoli
4 slices of lime, sliced thin
4 Tbsp sake
4 tsp GF soy sauce
1 tsp. ginger juice (squeezed from grated fresh ginger)
tin foil

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F
2. Put each snapper fillet on a piece of foil (about a 12"square), and brush with vegetable oil.
3. Arrange 2 shiitake mushroom caps, 2 or three slices of broccoli and a slice of lime on top of each fish.
4. Pour portions of the the sake, soy sauce and ginger juice over each parcel.
5. Gather together the edges of the foil, seal tightly and bake the parcels on a baking tray in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.  Plate each parcel individually and allow your guests to open their own parcel.

WE loved this dish.  The fish is steamed perfectly in a mere 10 minutes

chocolate mango inside-out roll with dipping sauce

what?!  um yes.  so delicious.


Ingredients:

(makes 1 roll of 8 pieces)


For the ISO
1/2 nori sheet
200g raw sushi rice
220 ml water
30 ml rice vinegar
15g sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp hazelnuts, finely chopped
50g mango, cut into strips
50g melon, cut into strips
50g strawberries, sliced into thin strips
100g plain dark chocolate, finely grated

Dipping or drizzling sauce 
Ingredients:
220g plain dark chocolate melted

Directions:
to prepare the sushi rice-
1. Rinse your rice well, between 3-5 washes until it runs clear in a fine mesh sieve. Set aside and drain for 1 hour.
2.  Put the rice and water into a heavy saucepan with a lid. Heat over medium/high heat and bring to a boil.  Don't lift the lid.  It should take about 5-7 minutes to come to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cook for another 5-7 minutes.  Turn off heat. Don't lift lid but let rice stand for another 10 minutes.
3. While the rice is standing. Make your own sushi vinegar in a non reactive bowl with the rice vinegar/sugar and salt, stirring until sugar and salt are dissolved.
4. Transfer the hot cooked rice to a flat based bowl. Use a spatula to gently spread the rice out evenly. Using the back of the spatula sprinkle the sushi vinegar over the rice.  Use the spatula to cut through the rice and turn it over in sections to distribute the vinegar.  Have someone else fan the rice (with a fan or a magazine) as you turn it to cool the rice quickly and it will absorb the vinegar mixture.  Don't stir or mix the rice as it will get mushy.  just turn it.

Directions for the inside-out rolls

1. Place the nori sheet on a chopping board and cover it with the prepared sushi rice.  Turn it over and spread the honey over using the back of a spoon, then cover it with the hazelnuts, mango, melon and strawberries.  Roll it up to make an inside-out roll (use a rolling mat and saran wrap to make this easier), then flip it over and roll it in the grated chocolate until coated.
note: there are hundreds of free online sushi rolling tutorials, just look for inside-out rolls.

2. Cut the roll into 8 pieces , drizzle with melted dark chocolate. Serve extra melted "dipping" chocolate along side for any chocoholics.

Tom Yum Goong - Hot & Sour Soup

It's -24°c outside right now.  Perfect weather for soup!

Fish or Chicken Stock:

1 pound fish bones (sole cod or other white fish), OR 1 chicken carcass, broken into pieces OR 1 pack of chicken wings (We used a whole chicken but kept aside the breasts and thighs etc. )
1 onion, quartered
1-inch piece fresh ginger, bruised
1 lime leaf
6 cilantro stems, stalks and roots bruised
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Wash your fish or chicken bones in cold water first.  Place in a saucepan and cover with 6 cups water.
2. Bring to a boil, skim if necessary.
3. Add the onion, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaf, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.  Return to a boil, turn heat down and simmer for 20 minutes only (no lid), for the fish stock.  For the chicken stock- simmer half covered for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat.
4. Cool, strain into a clean pot and get ready to make the soup. 

Hot & Sour Soup

Ingredients:

3 cups chicken (or fish) stock
1 1/2 cups water
1 lemongrass stem
4 red bird's eye chilies, seeded and finely sliced
1-inch piece galangal, peeled and finely sliced
3 lime leaves, torn into pieces
1 ready cleaned squid tube, cut into rings
1/2 pound cooked shrimp  (shelled is easier to eat obviously)
4 button mushrooms, sliced
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp. sucanat (sugar)
3 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 red chili, seeded and finely sliced for garnish
cilantro leaves for garnish

Directions:

1. Place the stock in a large saucepan with the water.  Heat gently.
2. Trim the root from the lemongrass and slice the bottom 2 inch section into very fine slices.  Bruise the remaining stalk and add all this to the stock with the chilies, galangal, and the torn limes leaves.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the bruised lemongrass, add the shrimp, squid rings, and the mushrooms, then add the lemon juice, sugar, and fish sauce a bit at a time until you have the right balance of flavours.
5. Serve in bowls with red chili slices and cilantro garish.

I chose to start with a chicken stock rather than a fish stock and it was very delicious!  This soup is of course HOT and SOUR so be aware of the number of chilies you use.  Use less than I have if you can't take the heat.  :)

Lemongrass Noodle Soup with Edamame lunch

lemongrass noodle soup-

Ingredients:

5 cups chicken or turkey stock (preferably homemade)
1 stalk fresh lemongrass, broken in half
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 2inch piece of ginger, cut in half
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. hot chili sauce
4 ounces dry rice noodles
1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms
2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 lime cut into quarters for squeezing

Directions:

1. In a saucepan over high heat, combine the broth, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, and ginger.  Bring to a boil.

2.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Discard the ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves, ginger and garlic.

3.  Add the fish sauce, chili sauce, mushrooms  and noodles, cook until noodles are tender (about 2-5 minutes).  Stir in the scallions.  Adjust seasonings to taste.

4. Divide the soup among 4 bowls, top with bean sprouts and basil, squeeze lime juice in to taste. 


Edamame-

Ingredients-

Frozen organic edamame
salt

Directions-

Follow the package directions.  Bring water to a boil, add edamame, cook uncovered for 3-5 minutes, drain and toss liberally with salt.  You eat the beans inside, not the pod (just in case someone has never eaten this!)



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Zucchini "Pasta" & quick Tomato Sauce

If you like spaghetti squash, your gonna love zucchini done this way. It's silky and satisfying. Even better, it takes mere minutes to prepare! If you make up a batch of tomato sauce in advance, you can freeze it for convenience. 

Zucchini "Pasta"

(4 servings)
Ingredients:

2 pounds of green zucchini (or yellow)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper
1 cup tomato sauce (see recipe below)

Directions:
1. Peel the zucchini with a peeler to remove the skin and then continue using your peeler to cut the zucchini into lengthwise ribbons.  Peel off several ribbons from one side, turn the zucchini a 1/4 turn and peel more ribbons.  Continue turning and peeling until you reach the seeds in the center and then discard the core.  This only takes a minute or two with a good vegetable peeler.

2. Heat 1/2 of the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over med/high heat.  Cook the zucchini in 2 batches.  When the oil is hot, add 1/2 of your zucchini slices, some salt and cook, tossing and stirring.  The zucchini will not take long to reach al dente.  Just 2 or three minutes (until the zucchini is softened and just beginning to turn translucent) and the zucchini will be ready. Transfer to a serving dish and repeat with second batch.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with tomato sauce.



Quick Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
(Tomato Sauce)

6 large tomatoes, processed in a blender quickly
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 shallots, chopped fine
1/2 tsp. chili pepper flakes
1/2 handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 handful of fresh oregano leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp. red wine
salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Heat a med sized pot (or sauté pan) over med/high heat and heat oil. Add garlic, shallots and chili flakes, cook for 2 minutes. Add blended tomatoes, cook for 4 minutes and add basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook for another minute, add red wine and cook for another 5 minutes to reduce a bit.

Jicama, Cucumber & Lime Salad

File this recipe under "who would have guessed it".  I have never even tried Jicama before but this was one of the great recipes that our rafting outfitter sent along with our food package (on my Grand Canyon trip) .  I like the vegetable julienned so I have presented the recipe that way.  You could simply slice it into thin 1/2 inch strips.  I also added the jalapeño pepper.   I made this salad a couple of times on the trip and it was a hit with everyone!  Jicama is now on my fav list.

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and julienned
1 Jicama, peeled and julienned
2 limes, the juice of
1 jalapeño pepper, diced
salt, to taste
chili pepper, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste.

Directions:

1. Toss everything together and serve.  Easy!

Baked Polenta Fries

Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  Polenta Fries are an easy treat anytime.  You could make your own polenta from scratch first, or simply use a prepared tube like Scarpone's brand.
You should probably know.  I use my convection mode on my oven for almost everything.  I know a lot of you don't actually have convection ovens so I never really mention that.  

Ingredients:
1 tube plain prepared polenta
Olive oil
Coarse Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 450°.
2. Remove the plastic sleeve from the tube and cut your polenta in half crosswise.  Then cut in half length wise and cut those into 4 or 5 strips each. The fries taste best when they are not too thick.
3. Drizzle some olive oil on a baking sheet and place your polenta wedges on the sheet.  Use a brush to brush some more olive oil on the tops of the polenta strips.  Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper and place your cooking sheet on the middle rack of your preheated oven.  Bake for 40 minutes or so (until lightly browned) , turning once about 1/2 way through the cooking time.
4. Remove your fries when they are crisp and lightly golden, place them on a paper towel.  You could at this time toss them with some nice spices like oregano or season salt.  Serve with ketchup.  Make a nice chipotle ketchup if it is an evening meal!

Almond Pancakes

This recipe uses no processed flours.  Just almond flour (you can make your own in a food processor or buy it at a health food store).  It's really delicious.

Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup soda water or sparkling water
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp sucanat (or sugar)
(a bit of oil for the griddle as well)
Directions:

1. Mix your dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk your eggs until soft peaks begin to appear.
3. Preheat your non stick griddle on medium with about a teaspoon vegetable oil.
4. Add your oil and water to the eggs and stir to blend just a couple of stirs.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry flour mix and stir with a wooden spoon until just blended.  Don't over mix.
6. Spoon your pancake batter onto the griddle.  These pancakes won't bubble like "regular" pancakes, so you simply flip them when they are browned on the bottom.  If you keep them smallish it is easier to determine if the pancakes are done.  We made about nine- 3" diameter pancakes.
7. Serve with fresh fruit, maple syrup, butter, jam, whichever you prefer.

Quinoa chocolate cake

My MIL made me this delicious cake for my birthday.  I loved it.  I intend to make it myself sometime.  When I make it, I will replace the milk with rice milk and the processed cane sugar with sucanat. It is super moist and really delicious! Buckarooken loved it as well.  That's the thing with gluten free chocolate cakes, they are just as good as regular cakes.  Only this one is made with whole quinoa which is fabulously good for you. 

Ingredients-
2/3 cup white or golden quinoa
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup milk
4 large eggs
1tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions-
1. Combine the water and the quinoa in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and cool.

2.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease two- 8" round cake pans.  Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.

3.  Combine milk, eggs and vanilla in a blender, add the 2 cups of cooked quinoa and the butter.  Blend until smooth.

4.  Whisk together sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda in a medium bowl.  Add the contents of the blender and mix well.  Divide the batter between the two pans and bake on center rack of oven for 40-45 minutes (until a knife inserted comes out clean).  Remove cakes from oven and cool completely in the pans before serving.  You could make a two layer cake and frost it at this point.  Or just serve each cake as is (my preference).

5. Eat for dinner, lunch or breakfast until the cake is gone.  :)

Mexican Chicken, Chili and Grilled Corn soup

This soup has kick and is very satisfying on a rainy day (like today)   It makes a full pot so you will have plenty left over.  The heat of the peppers combined with the sweetness of the corn is fabulous.  A little bit of sour from the lime and it has everything.
note: we ate this for three days for both lunch and dinner and at the end of those three days my husband turned to me and asked- "Can we make this again within the week?".  it's that good. 

First you have to make your chicken broth
The Broth
Chicken Broth Ingredients:

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed
2 large red onions, rough chopped
2 cups carrots, rough chopped
2 cups celery, rough chopped
Course salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 whole organic chicken
1 sprig thyme
1/3 cup Italian parsley
1 bay leaf
1 sprig tarragon
1/3 cup celery leaves
8 whole black peppercorns

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large pot over med. heat.  Add the crushed garlic cloves and sauté for 2 minutes until the garlic is golden. Add the onions, carrots & celery to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and sauté for 8 minutes. 

2. Cut up your chicken into pieces with a heavy cleaver- making sure to cut the bones to expose some marrow.  Add to pot and fill the pot with water until it covers the chicken, bring to a boil.

3.  Tie the thyme, parsley, bay leaf, tarragon and celery leaves into a bouquet using butchers twine.  Add to the pot.  Add the black peppercorns to pot, bring broth to a boil, turn down to med-low, partially cover and simmer for 3 hours.  (add more water if required 1/2 way through cooking)

4. Skim off any fat, strain the chicken broth through a mesh sieve, then strain again through cheese cloth a couple of times until your broth is nice and clear.  Leave to sit and separate a while so that you can skim off the fat.  (I have a special fat skimming container that I use)

5. Hand pick the the good chicken meat and set it aside for soup recipe.

The Soup!
Mexican Chicken, Chili and Grilled Corn Soup
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 chipotle peppers (in adobo sauce) minced
1 hot Anaheim New Mexico chili, reconstituted and chopped
1 red onion, diced
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. paprika
course salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
5 cups chicken broth  (if you don't have enough, top it up with water)
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped coarse and smushed with the side of a knife
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken (hand picked from your broth earlier)
1 handful cilantro , chopped
1/2 cup wild rice
2 cobs of corn, grilled
canola oil for grilling
1 cup canned, strained black beans
1 tsp. sucanat (or brown sugar)
handful of cilantro, minced (and some  for garnish)
Fried corn tortillas for topping
Fresh lime to taste
Creme fraiche or sour cream for the dairy lovers

Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over med. heat.  Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.  Add chipotles, chilies, red onion, cumin, cayenne, paprika, salt and fresh ground pepper.  Sauté for 8 minutes.  

2. Add the chicken broth, the tomatoes, oregano, hand picked chicken meat and a handful of cilantro.  Partially cover and simmer for 40 minutes.

3. In a separate pot, boil some water, add wild rice and cook according to package, strain.

4. Heat some canola oil, brush some oil on the corn  and grill your corn either in a cast iron pan or on a grill.  You want each side to be grill marked (slightly brown).  Slice off the corn niblets.

5.  In a cast iron pan, heat some oil on medium and add corn tortillas slices, fry until golden, set aside on paper towels.

6.  Add the corn niblets, wild rice and black beans to the soup and stir to combine.  Season with salt, pepper, sucanat and cilantro.

7. Serve soup with crispy tortillas, a squirt of fresh lime, and some creme fraiche or sour cream if you eat dairy.

Chicken Enchiladas & Red Chili Sauce

 Ken has been holding on to this recipe from his fav site (Cooks Illustrated) to try for several years.  We finally made it and wowzers!  it was good.  I made mine completely dairy free and he used dairy.  Either way we loved it and highly recommend this easy Mexican inspired dish

Ingredients:
Sauce & Filling-

1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 med. onion, chopped fine
6 garlic cloves, pressed (about a Tbsp)
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sucanat (sugar)
4 chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/4" strips
2 -8 ounce cans of crushed tomato's
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 -4 ounce can pickled jalapenos, drained and chopped
(2 cups sharp cheddar cheese for those of you who eat dairy)*

Tortillas & toppings

10 -6" corn tortilla's
vegetable oil
1/2 head romaine lettuce, washed and shredded
2 limes, quartered
salsa or chopped tomato
(cheese and sour cream if you eat dairy)*
Guacamole-  ( I made mine with 3 avocados, pitted and diced, juice of 1 lime, 1 jalapeno pepper diced, some red pepper flakes, a bit of salt, a bit of olive oil, chopped cilantro and 1/2 small onion chopped)

Directions:

1. Start on the sauce and filling-  Heat oil in med saucepan over med/high heat until shimmering, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown (5 minutes).  Add garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt & sucanat, cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds.  Add chicken, stir to coat for another 30 seconds. Add crushed tomato's & 1/4 cup water, stir to separate chicken pieces.  Bring to a roll, reduce heat to med. low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through (8 minutes).

2. Pour the mixture through a med. mesh strainer into a medium size bowl.  Use the backside of a ladle to press the chicken and onion mixture and the liquid sauce will extract.  Set the chili sauce aside.

3.  Transfer the chicken onion mixture to a plate and place in freezer to cool (10 minutes).

4.  Once cool, combine the chicken onion mixture with cilantro, jalapeno, (cheese)* in a med. bowl and set aside.

5.  Preheat oven to 300° F with rack on lower middle position.

6.  Smear a 13x9 inch baking dish with 3/4 cup chili sauce.  Set aside.

7.  Lightly spray tortillas with oil and place on baking sheet, bake for 3 minutes until soft and pliable.  Remove from oven and increase the temp. to 400° F  for the next step.

8.  Fill each tortilla with about 1/3 cup filling.  Roll each tortilla by hand and place in baking dish, side by side and seam side down. 

9.  Pour remaining chili sauce over the enchiladas.  (and sprinkle with cheese)*

10.  Cover baking dish with foil and bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes.  uncover and serve with guacamole, lettuce, lime wedges, salsa or tomato (cheese and sour cream)*

*- dairy or soy products for those of you who eat that.

Fresh Cucumber & Dill Salad

This is super fresh and great for spring and summer!  Buckarooken likes it too!
note: This salad is really delicious.  I think I have made it at least a 1/2 dozen times within a few weeks. 

Ingredients:

Salad-
1 head of Romaine lettuce, washed dried and cut into bite size pieces
1 cucumber, peeled & thinly sliced
1/4 cup of red onion, diced
1 bunch of fresh dill, chopped

Dressing-
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
3 cloves of garlic, pressed

Directions:

1. In a large serving bowl combine all of the Salad ingredients and toss

2. In another small bowl, whisk the olive oil into the other dressing ingredients until fully combined

3. Pour dressing over salad and toss.  serve.

Spicy Thai Coleslaw

I love coleslaw! This one is hot and spicy and vegan. You can play with the amount of spices if you don't like as much fire (or if it is for the kidlets).

Coleslaw Ingredients:

3 cups finely shredded green cabbage
1 cup peeled and shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded carrot
1 handful fresh basil, chopped
1 handful fresh mint, chopped
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 bunch fresh chives, cut
1/2 cup raw unsalted peanuts

Dressing Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup tamari gluten free soy sauce
2 1/2 Tbsp sucanat (that's paddled, non-refined cane sugar)
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 one inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled & minced fine
1 heaping tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Assemble all of the coleslaw ingredients together in a large bowl and toss to mix well.

2. Assemble all of the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

3. Pour the dressing over the coleslaw, toss and serve. (you might not need to use ALL of the dressing)

Amazing Chicken Souvlaki

Greek Food! This is the best Tzatziki sauce in the world. I looked around and found dozens of recipes for gluten free Pita bread. All of them involved hours of prep, several types of flour, xantham gum, etc. etc. No Way! I simply wrapped my sandwich in greek grilled organic corn tortilla's. It was so delicious! You can of course, use regular Pita bread for the non GF avoiders in the family. Also, feel free to add Feta to your sandwich if you eat cheese.


Ingredients:

Marinade-
1 1/2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
4 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. dried Oregano
1/2 Tsp. fresh ground black pepper

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

6 to 8 wooden grilling skewers, soaked in water.

Directions for Marinade-

1. Mix your Balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Pour the marinade over the chicken cubes in a lidded container. Cover, shake and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. We went for 4 and it was good.

Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients-

1/2 cup seeded, shredded cucumber
1 tsp. course salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. Extra Virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
mix together a spice mixture of-
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper (to taste)
1 tsp. salt (to taste)

(set some of this spice mix aside for grilling the tortillas)

Ingredients for assembling Souvlaki sandwiches-

8 small round organic corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups a romaine lettuce sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup chopped jalapeño pepper
kalamata olives for garnish


Directions for Tzatziki Sauce

1. Combine the shredded cucumber with 1 tsp. salt and let sit for 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, rice vinegar and olive oil. Season with garlic, spices and fresh dill. Squeeze water out of shredded cucumber and add to sauce. Stir, season to taste again with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Directions for Souvlaki-

2. Preheat your grill on high.

3. Remove chicken from the marinade and push onto skewers. Discard the remaining marinade.

4. Cook your chicken on a lightly oiled grill about 8 minutes per side (until the internal temp reaches 165°).

5. Brush both sides of organic corn tortilla's with olive oil and season with more dried oregano, garlic salt, onion powder, white pepper/black pepper and salt mixture. Grill both sides until lightly browned.

6. Assemble sandwiches using two grilled tortillas each. Arrange chicken, lettuce, onion, tomato, and jalapeño peppers on tortillas. Drizzle with tzatziki sauce, cut into halves for serving and garnish with olives.

Curry Coconut Shrimp with Basil & Rice Noodles

This is easy, fast and super duper yummy. Like -"Hey let's make this again tomorrow" kinda yummy. Like as in "you will spend the entire meal discussing how delicious the meal is", kinda yummy. From my favorite noodle book.

Ingredients:

6 ounces of thin vermicelli rice noodles, softened for 15 minutes in hot water and then cooked for about 3 minutes in boiling water until just tender. Rinsed under cold water and drained.
1 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
500g medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and rinsed
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 cup fresh Thai basil, cut into thin strips (you can use regular basil as well)
2 red onions, sliced thin

Seasoning Ingredients:

1 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, tough outer eaves discarded and chopped into fine pieces
1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

- process all of these seasonings to a coarse powder in a blender. Set aside.

Coconut Sauce Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups coconut milk
3 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp sucanat

- mix these coconut sauce ingredients together and set aside.



Directions:

1. Arrange your cooked and cooled rice stick noodles on a platter or serving plates.

2. Heat a heavy skillet (or a wok) over medium/high heat. Add the oil and heat for 1/2 minute. Add the seasoning coarse powder and the onions, turn down heat to med/low and stir fry for 3 minutes until onions are tender. Add the coconut sauce and cook for 3 more minutes.

3. Add the shrimp, turn up the heat to med/high and cook for about 3 minutes (until the shrimp turn pink). Add the peas and basil, toss and spoon over the rice vermicelli stick noodles. Serve immediately.

Miso Turkey Burgers with Southern Cornbread

Soft, fresh bread and a delicious savory burger. !!!!!
Oh gluten free friends, you are gonna love this.

Cornbread-

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp melted butter and 1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 cup stone ground organic gluten free cornmeal
2 tsp. sucanat
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup boiling water
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position & heat the oven to 450°F. Set an eleven and a half inch cast iron skillet (with the melted butter and oil inside) in the oven as it heats.

2. Measure 1/3 cup cornmeal into a med. size bowl. Set aside.

3. In another smaller bowl, mix the remaining cornmeal, sucanat, salt, baking powder & baking soda together. Set aside.

4. When you are sure your oven is up to temperature- Pour the boiling water (must be boiling!) quickly into the 1/3 cup cornmeal med. size bowl. Stir to make a thick mush. It should stir up to resemble a soft polenta. Whisk in the buttermilk gradually, breaking up any lumps, then whisk in the egg. Stir the dry ingredients into the mixture until "just" moistened. Remove your skillet from the oven and carefully pour the melted butter/oil mixture into the the batter, stir to incorporate and quickly pour the entire batter into the heated skillet. Put that back in the oven for 15 minutes (until golden brown). Remove from oven and turn onto wire rack to cool immediately. let cool for 5 minutes and then cut into "bread" slices for your burgers.


Miso Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:

400g ground turkey thigh
1 tsp. soybean (gluten free) miso thinned with 1 tsp. water
salt & pepper to taste


Directions:

1. Mix your miso mixture with the ground turkey, add salt and pepper for flavor (about 1/2 tsp each). Form into about 4 medium sized burgers.

2. Preheat a stainless steel skillet (or cast iron skillet) on med. hot, swirl in some vegetable oil and add your burgers. Brown well for about 5 minutes on each side. Turn temp. down a bit and continue cooking until the inner temperature of the burgers reads 165°F.

3. Serve on slices of fresh cornbread with lettuce, onions, ketchup, tomatoes and anything else you like on a burger.

a healthy Chocolate Cake

My mother in law has been making me this cake for my birthday for a couple of years now. I adore it. I have adjusted the recipe to be less sweet because as I get older, the less sweet I seem to want my treats. Besides, I know you. You will serve this with say, coconut ice cream. Or you will make a ganache and pour it over the cake. Or some raspberry sauce.

Garbanzo beans are really high in protein. Go lift some weights now.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups organic gluten free dark chocolate chips (I like DAGOBA 73% chocolate drops)
1 (19 ounce) can organic garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
4 eggs
1/2 cup sucanat (you can use white sugar if you insist but I like the deeper taste of sucanat)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp cocao nibs- raw chocolate (I simply crushed up some cacao beans and removed the skins)
Dark chocolate for curling and garnish
a bit of gluten free all purpose flour and some butter for greasing the pan

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9 inch spring form pan.

2. Melt your chocolate chips in a double boiler until smooth (Or you can melt them in a microwave on medium heat for a couple of minutes stirring, frequently).

3. Place the rinsed beans in a blender and blend until all the beans are broken up, add the eggs and blend until smooth. Add the sucanat and the baking powder and blend. Pour in the melted chocolate and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender to be sure all the chocolate is combined.

4. Pour into your spring form pan and bake for 40 minutes (until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean). Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove spring form sides and transfer cake to serving platter. Sprinkle with Cacao (raw chocolate) nibs and toss some chocolate curls on top just before serving.


5. Serve with almond milk and coconut milk ice cream to your sweet honey bunny on Valentines day.

Pineapple & Sweet Potato Madras Curried chicken

first make your own madras curry powder- (I made a huge typing error at first and omitted several spices when I wrote down the recipe, which I have now corrected)

Ingredients-


8 tbsp coriander seeds
6 tbsp cumin seeds
4 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp whole cloves
2 tbsp tumeric
1 tbsp fennel seed
8 tbsp peppercorns
1 tbsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp ground cardamom
2 tbsp ground ginger (powder not fresh)
1 tbsp ground cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. In a dry skillet over very low heat, place the coriander, cumin, mustard & fennel seeds. Roast the seeds gently, shaking the pan occasionally, until they begin to pop. Add the cinnamon, peppercorns, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, turmeric, ginger & cayenne pepper.

2. Continue to heat & stir gently until the mixture is quite hot but not burnt. Grind in a mortar & pestle to a fine powder. Pour into a clean, dry jar, seal, & let cool before using.

Next- make your delicious curry!

Pineapple & Sweet Potato Madras Curried Chicken

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Tbsp Madras curry powder
1 tsp. tumeric
1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. ground ginger
4 large chicken legs, skin on, thighs & drumsticks separated
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 pineapple, peeled, cored & cut into 1 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup pineapple juice
2 cans (400 Ml each) coconut milk
1 cup gluten free chicken broth
1 cinnamon stick
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine the spices in a small bowl, in a shallow container, coat the chicken with 2 Tbsp of olive oil & 1/2 the spices, & salt & pepper. Marinate, covered, for 2 hours in fridge.

2. Preheat oven to °325F. Warm the remaining olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the legs & thighs in a single layer (batch if required). Brown on both sides, remove & set aside.

3. Saute the pineapple, garlic & 2/3 of the coconut. Stirring frequently until brown (about 4 minutes).

4. Add the pineapple juice, coconut milk, chicken stock, cinnamon stick, remaining spices & sweet potatoes. Stir to combine. Arrange the chicken evenly on top. Bring to a simmer, remove from heat & transfer to oven, uncovered. Cook for 45 minutes, basting the chicken with the liquids a couple of times.

5. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving, adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve on top of curried jasmine rice. Garnish with cilantro & coconut flakes.


Curried Jasmine rice-

follow cooking instructions for jasmine rice but add 1 tsp. madras curry powder to water.

Terrific Thai Red Curry

so, here we are using up the rest of the red curry paste we made the other night for the fajitas! And oh yum! this was good. It goes straight into our favorites list!

Red Curry Paste-


Ingredients:

1 shallot, chopped fine
2 tsp. gluten free Thai chili sauce
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger, chopped fine
2 Tbsp organic tomato ketchup
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
3 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp. dried shrimp, ground in a mortar and pestle.
1 tsp. sucanat
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/3 cup coconut milk
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Directions- combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Thai Red Curry

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 cup eggplant, cubed into bite size pieces
1 red pepper, cubed
2 hot red chilies for fire
1 stick of lemon grass
3 kafir lime leaves
stick of cinnamon
fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Directions

1. Put the chicken in a casserole dish, add the sauce (red curry paste), the limes leaves, the lemon grass and the hot chilies. Cover and bake in a 350° oven for 40 minutes.

2. Add the veggies and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

3. Serve with rice and garnish generously with cilantro

Many Lentil Daal

You can make this with as many different types of split lentils as you like.
If you only have 2 kinds (like I did tonight) That works fine as well.

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp split green lentils
5 Tbsp split red lentils

(if you have any split gram lentils ; split and husked black lentils (urad dal) ; or split yellow lentils, you can substitute some of the volume with those)

1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground tumeric
2 Tbsp ghee
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. red chili powder
1 tsp. ground garam masala
1 tomato, chopped
1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 lemon, juice of

Tadka-
1 Tbsp ghee
1 dried red chili
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
4 cloves
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Mix all of the lentils together, wash under running water. Leave them to soak in cold water for 20 minutes. Drain.

2. Place the lentils in a medium saucepan with 2 1/2 cups water, 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. tumeric. Bring to a boil, skim if necessary. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 25 minutes (or until the lentils are are very soft).

3. While the lentils are cooking, heat the ghee in a frying pan until hot, add the onion and cook until golden brown. Add the remaining salt and tumeric, the chili powder, the the garam masala and sauté for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomato and cook until soft.

4. Pour the onion and tomato mixture over the lentils and bring to a boil. When it has all reduced to your liking, stir in some fresh cilantro and a splash of lemon juice. Remove from the heat and keep lid on.

5. Make the tadka quickly- heat the ghee in a small saucepan until smoking, add the whole red chili, cumin seeds, cloves and garlic. As the garlic begins to turn golden, remove from heat and pour over the lentils. Cover with lid again and let sit for 2 minutes. Remove lid, stir once and serve immediately.

6. Serve with basmati rice and chutney.