Summer Herb Series: Roasted Garlic and Tomato Pasta (Allergy-Free)

 

In this weeks installation of the summer herb series is a recipe inspired by summer picnics. I love summer foods. With the grill fired up and a bounty of fresh produce there seems to be no end to the summer picnics and barbecues. This pasta salad is infused with fresh basil, parsley, tomatoes and roasted garlic. I hope you enjoy!

Roasted Garlic and Tomato Pasta

1 package of gluten-free pasta, cooked, drained and cooled. (I prefer Trader Joe's Corn Pasta)

5 Roma tomatoes

1 head of garlic, roasted, peeled, and chopped

2 sprigs of fresh parsley

8 basil leaves, chopped,

Dressing

1/4 cup vegenaise (soy-free)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard

Method

Mix dressing ingredients together and set aside. Once pasta is cooled, add tomatoes, basil, parsley,and roasted garlic. Toss with dressing. Chill 30 minutes before serving. 

Additions: This pasta dish would be great with olives, artichoke, roasted red peppers, and even capers.

How do you like your pasta salad?

 

My Go-To Quick Dinner: Orgran Falafel

As my baby grows, my time for meal prep each day seems to be shorter and shorter. I must admit some days it is hard to get dinner on the table while chasing a toddler. This falafel is a quick and delicious menu addition on a busy day. Best of all, this brand is free of the most common allergens. You can serve these tasty patties with rice, in lettuce wraps, or even with your favorite dipping sauce. I use Orgran Falafel mix and simply follow the instructions on the box. You can find Orgran products at Whole Foods Market or online.

Savory Sunday: Chick-Pea Salad and Lunch Spread

I love chick-peas and so does my family. I am always thinking of new ways to incorporate this healthy ingredient in my recipes. This recipe is a marriage of two things I love. Chick-peas and egg salad. Since I can no longer eat egg salad due to Catherine's egg allergy, I took everything great about creamy egg salad and transferred it to a light and versatile chick-pea salad. This salad can be served over greens or in a pita pocket. I have even used it as dip with wide corn tortillas. I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we do.

Chick-Pea Salad

2 cans of chick-peas, drained and rinsed
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 green onions, diced
2 tablespoons of Soy-Free Vegenaise
2 teaspoons of dill weed
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper

In a mixing bowl combine vegenaise,dill weed, salt and ground pepper. Stir and combine well. Add chick-peas, celery, and green onions until the salad is combined. Chill before serving.

* You can make many variations of this dish. Sometimes I like to add a little lemon juice or curry powder.

Savory Sunday: Easy Cranberry-Pecan Cookies

This recipe is an adaption from the Food Allergy Mama's chocolate chip cookies. I think this recipe is a good base for multiple variations.  Simply leave out the pecans if you or your little one has a tree-nut allergy. Luckily, Catherine does not. I hope you enjoy.

Yield: 2 Dozen Cookies

2/3 cup dairy-free shortening (I used Spectrum brand)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon best-quality vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups of gluten free flour mix ( I used Trader Joe's brand
1/4 teaspoon of xanthum gum (Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
1/2 cup of chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the shortening, sugars, applesauce, and vanilla until smooth.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, xanthum gum, baking soda, and salt with a wire whisk. Add the flour mixture to the shortening mixture, and stir until just combined. Stir in the cranberries and chopped pecans. 

Use a cookie scooper to place the batter onto the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Cool completely on the baking sheet.

Savory Sunday:Warm Strawberry Bread

I hope you all had a blessed weekend. Today I want to share a recipe I tried this week. This strawberry bread is from The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book. My family enjoyed this recipe and I hope it warms your hearts and tummies as well. It is a Valentine's-Day treat everyone can enjoy!

I did make a couple of adaptions. Instead of using all purpose flour, I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. I also ended up baking my bread 10 minutes longer than recommended. I'm not sure if it was my oven, or the addition of the gluten free flour. I also added 1 teaspoon of vanilla flavoring. I just think all baked goods need a little vanilla.

Yield: 1 Loaf

11/2 Cups frozen strawberries
1/2 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice
21/2 cups of Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all purpose flour mix
2 teaspoons of xanthum gum
1/12  teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x5x3- inch loaf pan with dairy-free baking spray.

In a blender, puree the strawberries, oil, water, applesauce, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla until smooth.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, xanthum gum, and salt with a wire whisk.  Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture, and pour the strawberry puree into the well.  Stir with a rubber spatula until combined.

Pour into prepared pan, and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until an inserted tooth pick comes out clean.

Cool completely before slicing.

Yummy strawberry bread

Easy Chick Pea and Potato Lettuce Wraps

This recipe is really was invented by necessity. Originally I planned to make chick pea and potato tacos, but discovered my blue corn tortillas were moldy. Mom fail! I forgot to put them in the refrigerator. So instead of tacos tonight, we are having lettuce wraps.

Homemade Taco Seasoning
2 tablespoons of chili powder
1 tablespoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
2 teaspoons of onion powder
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
 
 Mix all of the seasoning ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Chick Pea and Potato Lettuce Wraps
2 large russet potatoes, cleaned and diced
1 can of chick pears, rinsed and drained
1 head of lettuce, washed and dried
2 tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1/4 cup of veggie broth
1 green onion chopped,  for garnish

Method

In a medium skillet, heat oil to medium high. Add diced potatoes. Stir making sure each potato is covered in the oil. Once potatoes begin to brown, add the drained chick peas. Again, stirring to make sure everything is browning evenly. Then add two table spoons of the homemade taco seasoning.  Stir again to coat. Add the vegetable broth and cover. Let potatoes and chick peas cook for ten minutes. Remove the lid and serve the warm filling in the lettuce cups. I garnish my lettuce wrap with green onion and daiya cheese. Enjoy!

Homemade Donuts: Apple Cinnamon Donuts

I love donuts. There is just something about sugary fried dough. I even wanted to have donuts served at my wedding reception, but there was a family intervention two weeks before our big day.

Although I have a love affair with donuts and love to bake, I had never attempted to make my own. It always seemed like it was too much effort. Since Catherine's diagnosis, I have craved donuts. Unable to go into a shop and buy a gluten-free,soy-free,dairy-free,and peanut-free donuts, I was forced to make my own.

After searching the Internet and my personal library of recipes, I decided to try Kelly Rudnicki, the Food Allergy Mama's recipe. What I liked about Kelly's recipe was it was simple. I could have hot donuts in about one hour. I didn't have to wait for the dough to rise.

The results were amazing. My family enjoyed the hot donuts. Listed below is the recipe I used. I did adapt the recipe a bit. Instead of regular all purpose flour, I used Bob's Red Mill's All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour.

What are some of your families sweet treats?


Apple House Cinnamon Doughnuts

Doughnuts
Canola Oil, for frying
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dairy-free, soy-free butter, melted
4 1/2 - 4 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of rice milk

Cinnamon Sugar for rolling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Method

In a large heavy pot, heat 2 to 3 inches of canola oil until a candy thermometer is inserted in the oil reaches 375

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the applesauce, vanilla, and 3/4 cup sugar.  Add the butter, and mix well.  In a separate medium bowl, combine the 4 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt with a wire whisk.  Add the flour mixture and the rice milk alternately to the applesauce-butter mixture.  Add more flour, if needed, to make a smooth and not-too-sticky dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured board. Knead for about 1 minute, and roll out to 1/2 inch-thick circle.  Dip a doughnut cutter into flour, and cut it into the dough.  Remove the trimmings and reroll, repeating the process.

Slide a few doughnuts into the hot oil, being careful not to crowd the pot. Fry until the doughnuts rise to the surface, about 2 minutes, and turn over with metal tongs to fry the other side.  Doughnuts should be golden brown on both sides.  Lift out the doughnuts with the metal tongs and drain on paper towels.

Mix together the 1/2 cup sugar and the 2 teaspoons cinnamon.  Place the cinnamon-sugar mixture in a brown lunch paper bag.  Place the warm doughnuts, one at a time, in the brown bag, and shake to coat.  Shake off excess sugar, and place on a serving platter. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.

Ladies Who Lunch:A Review Of Eden Ally Cafe

I am a foodie. I have loved great food since I was a small child. My mother has said that even in the NICU ( I was a preemie), I enjoyed feeding and would often offer a toothless grin at the sight of the bottle.Some of my fondest memories of childhood are at the dinner table. Whether that table was my mother's or a restaurants, I have always enjoyed dinning. When Catherine was diagnosed with multiple food allergies, I worried that it would be hard to enjoy dinning out again.

Each week my mother-in-law,sister-in-law and I have a tradition. We pick a new restaurant and have lunch together. I really enjoy this time together in many ways. Our weekly lunch date gets me out of the house, I enjoy great food and conversation with adults, and my little one gets to bond with her gram and aunt. It is a blessing to say the least.

Last week we chose to dine at Eden Ally Cafe, a vegetarian,vegan,gluten-free, and soy-free restaurant. This was the first time since Catherine's diagnosis that I could really enjoy myself. For once I didn't have to worry about cross contamination or be limited to two or three items on the menu. It was awesome.

Eden Ally Cafe is located on the plaza near downtown Kansas City, Mo. It is actually in the basement of the Unity Church.  The service was great. Our waitress was friendly and she answered all of the questions we had. Eden Ally Cafe is child friendly too. They have a play area at the back of the dinning hall.

All of our entries were reasonably priced and tasted delicious. I had the falafel platter. My falafel was so good that I was inspired to make my own version for dinner that night!

If you are in the Kansas City metro region, I highly recommend giving Eden Ally Cafe  a visit.

Curry Quinoa Patties

I'm always looking for something new for dinner. I often make oatmeal patties for my family, so today I decided do something different. We started eating quinoa as a family after Catherine was diagnosed,but have only enjoyed it in sweet breakfast recipes. This is my first attempt at making a savory quinoa dish. My family loved it. They were delicious. I wish I had a better camera. The pictures don't do them justice. 

I served my patties with rice. For a round two recipe, I plan to break my left over patties up tomorrow and serve in corn tortillas. 

Curry Quinoa Patties

1Cup of quinoa
1 Cup of Water
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
2 large carrots, minced
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
5 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 can of Garbanzo Beans,drained
1 tablespoon of vegenaise soy-free
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon of paprika
 cooking spray of choice

Method

1. Rinse quinoa in cold water. This is really important. If the quinoa is not rinsed well, it will have a bitter taste.
2. Place rinsed quinoa, water, tomato sauce, salt, and garlic powder in a pot.
3. Stir and let ingredients come to a boil. 
4. Then cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Quinoa will be translucent when it is done.
5. Place cooked quinoa in the refrigerator to cool while you prepare other ingredients.
6. Heat a sauce pan on medium heat and add olive oil.
7. Once oil is hot, add carrots,green onions, and garlic. Saute for 3 minuted or until veggies are soft.
8. In a food processor, pulse garbanzo beans. You don't want to over pulse. Look for a ruff chop. Almost a thick paste consistency.
9. Remove cooled quinoa from the refrigerator. 
10. Add sauteed veggies, garbanzo beans and the remaining spices to the cooled quinoa. 
11. Stir well.
12. Heat an electric grill to 375 degrees/
13. Spray with cooking spray.
14. Form and cook patties. I make my patties about 1/4 cup. They cooked 2 minutes on each side or until browned.