Pumpkin Pie

This pie is so good, even my non-allergic extended family enjoyed it.

CRUST
1 1/4 c GF flour(s) - I used 1/2 sorghum; 1/2 rice*
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 T sugar (optional)
1/2 c shortening - I used palm oil from spectrum
1/4 c ice water

1. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! Refrigerate the flour(s) & shortening. I did it overnight so I could make the crust first thing in the morning, but I'm sure a few hours would suffice.

2. In a food processor or similar, Mix the flour(s), salt & sugar. Add the shortening broken into small chunks. Mix until crumbly. Pour in water as the mixer is running. The dough will thicken and might ball up.

3. I just used my hands and pressed the dough into two pie pans. Next time (this afternoon, in fact) I will try rolling the dough out between two pieces of wax paper.

4. Prick the crust all over and set aside.

FILLING
2 c fresh pumpkin puree (I actually used butternut squash from my garden)
1/2 c boiled tapioca pearls or pureed, boiled tapioca root **
1/2 cup brown sugar***
3 T gelatin (4 packets of knox gelatin) + 9 T boiling water (~1/2 cup water)****
1/2 tsp sea salt
dash of pumpkin pie spice: cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice

1. Roast or boil pumpkin/squash. puree in food processor or blender.

2. Prepare tapioca pearls or yuca root.

3. In a food processor, blend squash & tapioca. While running, add gelatin mixture.

4. Add sugar, salt & spices.

5. Pour into pie shells.

6. Bake at 350 for 90+ minutes. Set your timer to an hour and then check in 15 minute intervals. I knew it was ready when the outside edge of the filling was browning and the middle felt set to the touch.

ENJOY!


* i imagine millet and potato flours would work well here too. or just all sorghum
** also known as cassava or yuca. I got mine at Tom's. I get my small pearl tapioca at Oryana. I think if you used the small pearl tapioca, you'd want to make it a 1:1 ratio, like 1/4 cup tapioca to a 1/4 cup water, instead of the directions for "pudding" on the box. i used this in place of cream.
*** i was out, so i used 1/2 c white sugar + 1 T molasses; i bet honey or maple syrup would taste great here, too
**** pour boiling water over the powdered gelatin, stirring until dissolved. throw into the freezer for 5 or so minutes, to cool. mix until frothy after you take it out. i used this in place of eggs.

FAILSAFE resources

Here is another page that outlines the salicylate and amine content in various foods. I was surprised to find that fruit & veggie staples of our diet (plus some we're avoiding due to a potential reaction) were all high to very high in both amines and salicylates. Hmmm. 

Yesterday (day three), we had some potato chips fried in canola oil - ostensibly FAILSAFE. However, within a few hours (two and a half, to be exact) Lily threw a MONSTER fit. She was just raging and raging at me, sobbing, rolling around on the floor and itching every square inch of her body. It lasted around 20-30 minutes and then she settled down, asked to nurse and then we read a ton of books. It was surreal. I realized after I'd already given us a big bowl of the chips that they had the peel on them. Potato peels are moderate in salicylates. After being fully free of salicylates for almost 72 hrs, she had a clear reaction to those chips (which she'd had before with seemingly no obvious correlated reaction).

We will see how things progress. I am hopeful that we are just sensitive to salicylates and not amines as well. I want chocolate and bananas!!

Buckwheat Pancakes - FAILSAFE

My kids are eating food! A lot of it and they're not complaining. Lily is going to sleep like a dream. There is less itching and her rash is going away. She is not whining and yelling constantly. She woke up happy and took herself to the bathroom this morning. I need to send a personal thank you note to those researchers in Australia if this keeps up. 

I think we are seeing results so quickly (only day 3 here) because we have been preservative and dye/coloring free for nearly a year. We've also been dairy free for 17m and wheat and soy free for nearly a year. I think the fact that our bodies don't have to detox all of that junk helps. So really, we just need to get the salicylates, amines and glutamates out. If we're not too terribly sensitive, that could take not very long at all, given the lack of other confounding factors. I've heard days 4 & 5 are the worst because that's the last of the detox reaction, so we'll see how I'm feeling in the coming days. 

Yesterday for breakfast we had fluffy buckwheat pancakes with pear puree. 

• 2 cups buckwheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp arrowroot starch/flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup oil - safflower or organic canola
• 1 cup or so water or rice milk

Mix dry ingredients. Gentrly stir in oil & water. Add as much water as you need to get a thin batter consistency. Pour batter a bit at a time onto a LIGHTLY oiled (non-stick) skillet. Cook as you would a regular pancake. 

Pear puree: peel and core two soft, ripe pears. Cube and put in a sauce pan, cover with water. Boil until most water is absorbed. Blend in food processor. 

Spoon pear puree over pancakes. Or on top of pancakes like jam on toast. So good!

Chicken Noodle Stew & rutabaga fries - FAILSAFE

While FAILSAFE is proving to be boring, my experience with alternative and limited cooking is serving us well. 

Chicken Noodle Stew

• 1 lb chicken, boneless (save bones for broth)
  
• 2 stalks celery
  
• 3-5 green onions
  
• several tablespoons parsley
• 2 cups chopped brussel sprouts
• 1 pint chicken bone broth (homemade)
• 2 tsps arrowroot powder
• 1lb bag rice noodles (we like fusili or penne)
• sea salt
• 1-2T organic canola or safflower oil (or rendered chicken fat)

While boiling water for noodles, saute parsley, green onions & celery in oil. Add chopped up brussel sprout and chicken stock and sea salt. When soft and bright green, spoon into food processor. Fry chicken with a little bit of chicken stock. When cooked, place on cutting board to rest. Heat remaining chicken stock and whisk the arrowroot into it. Cook on low, stiring, until it starts to thicken. Pour into food processor with veggies and blend. When noodles have been cooked and rinsed, pour over noodles. You can pour the veggies over the noodles in a casserole dish and bake for 10-20 minutes for that gooey casserole feeling. 

Rutabaga Fries

• sea salt
• rutabaga
• canola or safflower oil

Preheat oven to 400*F. Peel rutabaga and cut into shoe-string sized fries. Coat two cookie sheets with oil. Spread fries evenly over pan in a single layer. Bake at 400*F for 15-20 minutes. Flip and cook at a lower temperature (325/350) for another 5-10 minutes until soft. These weren't crispy like I wanted - I think I used too much oil. Food for thought. The kids loved them, however.

Chicken, potato & brussel sprouts - for breakfast

We find that breakfast is one of the hardest meals of the day for us. Lily would prefer to just eat grains all morning long and Aevryn would prefer to chew things up and spit them out. I would prefer to not feel starving 45 minutes after I eat.

Dave suggested that we should start eating more protein with breakfast. This snowballed into my idea of lunch for breakfast. So this morning, I made up a pretty tasty hash.

• 1/2 pound chicken thighs
• whole shallot
• two stalks of celery
• couple tablespoons of chopped, fresh parsley
  
• 2 medium potatoes, thickly peeleda
• two-handed scoop full of brussel sprouts (I literally scooped up brussel sprouts out of a bowl, bringing my two hands together like a bowl)
• drizzle of organic canola oil (I'd prefer safflower, but canola was all the store I was at had)
• sea salt

I warmed the oil in a skillet and added the shallots, parsley and celery, letting them saute for a few minutes. Then I added the chicken thighs whole and let them brown on each side a few minutes. While they were browning, I cut up the potatoes into small cubes. I took the chicken out and let it rest on the cutting board while I fried the potatoes and chopped the brussel sprouts. After the potatoes had been frying for a few minutes, I added the chicken, chopped into small pieces, mixing them with the potatoes. I added the brussel sprouts on top and put the lid on for a few minutes to steam them. I opened the lid, stirred in some sea salt and simmered on low with the lid back on for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Aevryn and I loved it. Lily has been throwing random tantrums all day and has told me both that she likes and and that it tastes awful. She is holding out for grains.

FAILSAFE

After much research and reflection, we have decided to embark on the FAILSAFE diet that is seeing great results in families in Australia. It was created by researchers at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Australia.

The basic gist is that modern food is chock full of colors, dyes, and artificial preservatives. In minute amounts, our bodies are probably okay with processing them, but in the deluge of "modern" and "convenient" foods, we are getting way too much. On top of these artificial chemicals, food naturally has various chemicals - salicylates and amines in particular. Salicylates are compounds similar to what's found in aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). Individuals can react to high levels of salicylates in their food just as they might to asprin. Additionally, there are chemicals known collectively as amines - for example histamine. There are foods that are naturally higher in histamines than others, than can mimic allergic response.

So, we are going to set out to detox from these food chemicals. It's a 2-4 week initial program, that assuming positive progress, you can start to add in other foods and isolate whether you are sensitive to salicylates, amines or both, and to what degree (i.e. what is your threshhold). People report their chronic headaches, rashes, sleep and concentration problems are greatly reduced or disappear all together once they are no longer ingesting high levels of these food chemicals.

Here is a good site explaining how to do the elimination diet.

Wish us luck.

Chicken Pot Pie*

Best. Ever. So, so, so good. 

*Ammendment: I have been informed that Chicken Pot Pie has a crust. What I have outlined here is in fact "Shepherd's Pie." Regardless: insanely good. I have eaten it for three meals in a row now. 

Ingredients: 

• 1lb organic, free-range chicken thighs
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 3 medium carrots
• 1 medium turnip
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 head broccoli florets
• salt & pepper
• 1 pint chicken bone broth

1. Saute salted & peppered chicken thighs, remove from pan
2. Saute onions & mushrooms in the same pan as chicken, return chicken thighs and add some stock to cover, simmer with lid on
3. Boil peeled and cubed carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes and broccoli florets
4. Strain veggies and reserve water
5. Peel and cube potatoes, boil in reserved veggie water (add stock to cover potatoes). 
6. Puree potatoes and their water in a food processor (add salt as it's running)
7. Layer ingredients in a large casserole pan (I used a 9x13 pan) as follows: chicken cut into bite-sized pieces; onions, mushrooms & stock; broccoli, carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes; pureed potatoes
8. Bake at 350*F for 20-30 minutes (until bubbling around edges)

Squash Brownies

No really, they're fabulous.

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup palm oil shortening
1/2 cup brown sugar (or honey or maple syrup, etc)
1/2 cup pureed squash/pumpkin
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp tapioca starch
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 tsp sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350*F
2. Melt shortening
3. Stir in cocoa until well mixed
4. Stir in sugar/sweetener
5. Stir in squash & vanilla
6. In a separate dish, mix rice flour, tapioca starch and sea salt
7. Add flour mixture to cocoa mixture, stirring just until all dry ingredients are wet
8. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 glass pan
9. Bake for 30 or so minutes at 350*F (you will know it's done when a knife or toothpick poked into the center comes out clean)
10. Enjoy

Tuna Noodle Casserole - An American "Classic" hypo-allergenicized

(If you can't do fish, sub in your favorite cooked and shredded meat...)

1lb rice noodles - we like the brown rice fusilli
2 cans (6oz each) of safe tuna (JUST water packed)
1 1/2 cups diced mushrooms
6 Tbsp rice flour
6 Tbsp palm oil shortening (or other safe oil)
1/2 tsp sea salt
pinch pepper
2 1/2 cups rice milk, water or fish stock (or other stock to match your meat choice)
a couple handfuls of safe rice crisp cereal - we like erewhon
a few handfuls of nutritional yeast, if you can have it.

1. Start water boiling for noodles.
2. In a med saucepan, melt oil, add flour, salt & pepper, stirring. simmer until bubbling.
3. add mushrooms & water/stock. simmer until it has thickened to your desired thickness.
4. prepare noodles according to directions, drain & rinse.
5. preheat oven for 350*F
6. put noodles in two large casserole dishes.
7. mix one can of tuna into each dish.
8. mix in half of flour mixture over each dish.
9. sprinkle top with crushed cereal & nutritional yeast. salt to taste.
10. bake in oven for roughly 20 minutes - until the sauce is bubbly and the top is crispy.

(If you can do potatoes, crumbled up chips instead of nutritional yeast/rice cereal is more "authentic".)

Still Here!

Sorry for the down time. Life has been super intense with Lily's reactions.

In brief, we started seeing a shiatsu Chinese Medicine Practitioner a week ago. He showed us some accupressure for Lily. He also gave her some herbs to help with detox and healing and to lessen inflammation. In reviewing our history, he really focused on the months surrounding when Lily's major eczema first appeared. In talking with him, it became apparent that the croup, the random vomiting, the mystery fever and the lingering eczema/rashes are signs that her body was trying to fight something off and didn't win. He says that childhood rashes can be mysterious but he is confident we will figure it out together. I am willing to embark on this journey with him. He comes very highly recommended by several people I know.

When you see it in print like that, it sounds so stupidly obvious. But the eczema came and then a few weeks later the croup. And then that healed and then a few weeks later she got a high fever. And just thrown in there intermittently she had a few sporadic days of vomiting. So, we were just in survival mode, getting through each malady as it occurred. Also Dave was in his last semester at school and I was 5 or 6 months pregnant with Aevryn at the time, so there was a lot going on. If everything had come on, all at once, presenting together, I think we would have thought things were very seriously wrong and perhaps we would have responded more critically. I don't know. We're here now, though, and that's what matters.

We have a referral to an allergist on Oct 8. It will be very interesting to see what he has to say. Our holistic pediatrician recommends him and says he's very open-minded. Hey, I will always talk to a new person about Lily. Everyone's perspective is welcome.

And finally, we are on the schedule for a new patient appointment for the dermatologist for -- get this -- February 17. Yikes. Our nurse practitioner says she will send our file with a note and hopefully the doctor will review it and bump us up to an earlier slot.

This is all on top of Lily having her third occurrence of a strangely cyclical full body rash. At first, we thought it was swimmer's itch or maybe hand-foot-mouth, especially since she had a low fever for a day or two. The second time we were concerned, so went to the doctor's, only to be told she was just as stumped as we were. This third time seemed to be triggered by a trip downstate to my aunt's house (she also had a hive-y allergic reaction to my aunt's tiny dog). Unlike the previous two cycles, this one is not getting better on its own. We treated her, Friday, with a topical insecticide in case it was mites. That seemed to help, but as of yesterday evening (Tuesday) little bumps were back (on top of the full body scabs since she'd rubbed herself raw itching).

I am consumed with this. I don't even know what to do anymore. We're back to giving her one nightly dose of benadryl when the itch gets to be too much, just so she can get some sleep. This is not where I want to be.

Coconut Ice Cream

Here is a link to a fabulous ice cream recipe. We made it just by putting it in a bowl in the freezer and stirring intermittently. We just got an ice cream maker (brand new from a thrift store for $5!!) so we will try that tomorrow. After 10 months of no ice cream of any kind, it was heavenly. Even Dave, who has had ice cream in recent times, said it was really good. Time to experiment. I will report back.

New Breakfast Cereal

Aevryn won't eat breakfast. Well, Aevryn won't eat most food. But breakfast is particularly bad. Her willingness to actually ingest food increases as the day wears on. She likes to have access to everything, and she will put anything in her mouth (including dirt, rocks, leaves, bugs, etc). The problem is, she will not swallow most things. Right now her list of "acceptable" food stuffs includes: rice; avocados; rice pasta; brown rice chips; potato chips; raspberries; blackberries; blueberries, only if they are frozen; tapioca pudding; pate on rice cracker. Everything else gets spit out, all chewed and mangled.

However, the last time we were at the health food store, we picked up a box of Perky O's. They are made by our friends at Enjoy Life Natural Brands. This morning she actually ate an entire handfull and asked for seconds. Yay!

Homemade chips.

Since the eggplant chips were such a success, we tried the recipe again with sweet potatoes. Very good. Very, very good. Ever since we got our mandolin slicer our batches of homemade chips and fries have turned out so much better - way more consistent.

We've also (in the past) made chips out of eggplants, carrots, rutabagas, turnips, regular potatoes, squash, and zucchini. The only ones that didn't turn out well were turnips. Thinking about root veggies, the law of completion says I need to try parsnip chips when they come available. Oooh, and beet chips, those would be great (and are currently in season, locally).

We've tried deep frying in oil (in our cast iron skillet) and roasting in a 400*F oven. By far, the best results have been obtained from the oven. I just can't control the frying in the same way. With the oven, I find rubbing oil and salting each side prior to baking and then flipping over each piece after five or so minutes is the best (and easiest) approach for our crazy house hold.

I've considered getting a deep fryer for making chips, fries and chicken tenders, fried zucchini, etc. Now that I've written it out, I don't know why I haven't yet. Heh. But, in reality, we really don't eat fried foods all that often enough to warrant an entire machine devoted to their production. Although, if we had the deep fryer we'd eat fried foods more often, I'm sure. Yet another good reason not to get one, I suppose.

Eggplant chips

Since Dave's parents are out of state for the week, we got their CSA box. It was full of lots of yummy veggies. We've eaten the tomatoes and the zucchini (see the Turkey Tacos from a few nights ago). I'm going to make arugula pesto (recipe to be posted upon its completion in a few days). We've had salads. We, sadly, had to give away the beans (we're off all legumes for the time being). Yesterday we had eggplant chips made from the outline of the recipe provided by the farm. Here is my implementation of that recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• eggplants
• olive oil
• sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. thinly slice eggplants.
2. arrange in a single layer on ungreased cookie trays.
3. rub tops of slices with olive oil. sprinkle with salt.
   
4. turn over and rub other side with olive oil. sprinkle with salt.
   
5. place both trays into a preheated 300*F oven.
6. bake for five minutes on one side.
   
7. turn them over.
   
8. bake for another 5-10 minutes on the other side.

You will know they are done when they are browned and crisp and wrinkly, edges up off the tray.

Yield: we only had two small eggplants from the farm, so it only produced two cookie trays full of eggplant slices. it was a nice little snack for the girls and I. Next time, I will make it with way more eggplant for a larger yield.

ALTERNATIVES:

• experiment with different oils.
• experiment with different spice blends.
  

5 minute quinoa veggie soup

Everytime I roast a chicken or cook any chicken cuts with bones, I make homemade bone broth. I have 2 quart- and 6 pint-sized jars of stock in my freezer currently. And a chicken carcass in the fridge waiting to be turned into broth (should yield roughly 3 quarts, total). I put bone broth in everything I can, since it is such an easily assimilated source of calcium, gelatin and protein. It's great for healing a damaged gut, as well. Therefore, at any given moment, I have soup ingredients on hand. The other day, the kids were hungry and ready to mutiny. I felt like I had "nothing" in the house for lunch (translation: no left overs, or anything easy or ready-made). I pulled a jar of bone broth, grabbed some veggies & quinoa flakes and we had a lunch in 5 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pint of bone broth
• veggies - we had broccoli & cauliflower
• sea salt
• coconut oil
• 1/2 cup quinoa flakes
• juice of 1/2 lime
• fresh cilantro
• fresh minced ginger, about 1 tsp
• thinly sliced onion stalks
  
• coconut milk, a few tsps in each bowl

DIRECTIONS:

1. in a saute pan, saute ginger & veggies in coconut oil with sea salt.
2. add bone broth, bring to boil.
3. add cilantro leaves and steams.
4. add quinoa flakes, turn down heat and simmer for several minutes - quinoa will thicken.
5. add sliced onion stalks.
   
6. remove from heat and allow to cool.
7. pour in a little bit of coconut milk into each bowl and stir.
   

Yield: lunch for two hungry kiddos and their mama. obviously, very easy to double, triple, etc.

ALTERNATIVES:

• try onions or other aromatics in addition to or in place of ginger.
• add chicken meat.
  
• use pre-cooked grains (buckwheat, quinoa, millet, rice, etc) instaed of quinoa flakes.
• use pre-cooked rice noodles instead of quinoa flakes.
  
• try various veggie combinations.
• spice it up with cayenne pepper or minced hot peppers.
  

Tortillas & turkey taco filling

In the past, I've made buckwheat tortillas with moderate success. I've both fried them and baked them. I think the baking turned out the best, I think, but I was totally winging it. I had just mixed buckwheat flour, oil and water together and went for it. That's the basic recipe, I do believe for genuine tortillas. I did find this link for authentic corn tortillas and I'm going to follow it with buckwheat flour (or possibly a half and half of buckwheat and sorghum).

I will try them this afternoon and then post an update this evening or tomorrow. Wish me luck.

UPDATE: I used Bob's Red Mill buckwheat flour - it's dark and very finely ground. It is not my favorite buckwheat flour, but it was what we have available to us, since we are trying to avoid bulk-bins (i.e. gluten contamination). I've heard there is a pre-packaged "light" buckwheat flour, so I will have to look into it. My point is, when I started making the dough based on the corn recipe, the dough was way too sticky. I added probably another cup of flour and it was still too sticky. So, I added some tapioca flour. That helped at first, but then it made it sticky in a different way. Good for holding the tortillas together; bad for allowing them to transfer from wax paper to frying pan easily. Adding even more buckwheat flour as I was flatening then (with my hands and fingers, not a roller) seemed to help. I fried them on high heat in palm oil shortening. The dash of baking soda I added to the flour helped them bubble and rise.

They were chewy and fabulous. But also very time consuming. I think it took me an hour to make a dozen. [Dave had 4; I had 4; Aevryn had 1; Lily had 3. That alone tells you how good they were.] I knew it was going to take awhile, so I had pre-chopped my veggies so I was able to just let the filling simmer while I did the tortillas. I'm not sure how these would be if I made them ahead of time, put them in the fridge or freezer and then warmed them for dinner. I wonder if I'd lose a lot of the flexibility these had.

For the sake of completeness, here is what we had for dinner last night, to go with our tortillas.

Turkey Taco Filling:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 large onion
• 1 green pepper
• 4-5 tomatoes
• 1 lg zucchini
• bone broth
• fresh cilantro
• juice of 1 lime
• sea salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, coriander, allspice, clove
  

1. Brown turkey.
2. Add 1 cup bone broth & spices. Let simmer for a few minutes.
3. Add finely chopped veggies. Simmer some more until veggies are soft.
   

Yield: enough filling for 12 small tortillas, plus lettuce cups. roughly 6-8 servings.

Taco Toppings:

• avocado
• green salsa
• lettuce
• black olives

We're back!

Okay, so we didn't *go* anywhere. Whatever. I needed some time to devote to kids, family, the house, etc. I will hopefully get back to once-a-day recipes starting with my next post. Also, consider this an invitation to comment on recipes or to share what has worked for your family. My email address is on the sidebar to the right and I'd love to hear from you. Reader submissions are always welcome.

Vacation

I need a break for a few days. I'm working on some new recipes and will post again next week. Meanwhile, check out my 2 dozen or so recipes already on the site.

Tortilla Strata

Our brown rice tortillas fill a nice niche. They allow us to have taco-esque meals with a modicum of normality. Just a scootch, however, since they will. not. roll. At least, not without breaking. As stated before, Dave just gives up and eats them with a fork. Lily rips them up and makes "mini tacos." I somehow hold them together at the perfect tension until the last few bites when they fall apart spectacularly.

I like the ease of having a "convenience" food available to us (there are so few), so that I'm not stuck cooking every single ingredient from scratch every single night. In theory, I'd love to do that. In practice, some evenings, the kids just are just glued to me and every second spent in the kitchen is torture to them. Or so one would assume from the constant, blood-curdling screams. Or that could just be my kids.

So, while I like their convenience, I do not like their uncooperative nature. The enchiladas helped by softening the tortillas, but I still had to roll them first (which, of course, resulted in breakage). Also, I think I would like to make a better enchilada sauce next time. In the mean time, I thought I would work with the round shape of the tortillas instead of trying to convince them to bend smoothly. I decided that layering tortillas and filling in a round cake pan would do just the trick. And it worked!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package (6 count) brown rice tortillas
• 1/2 cup bone broth or water
  
• onion, diced
• 2-3 bunches kolrabi greens (from my garden!)
• 1 large zucchini, diced
• 2 large tomatoes, peeled & seeded
• cilantro
• olive oil
• sea salt & pepper to taste
  
• handful of paprika
• handful of cumin
  
• large pinch of coriander
• small pinch of allspice
  
• small pinch of clove
• black olives
• 1 avocado
• shredded (raw) cabbage
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Saute onions in olive oil, with sea salt.
   
2. Add tomatoes, zucchini, broth & spices, including cilantro.
   
3. Simmer for a few minutes, until tomatoes & zucchini are soft.
   
4. Add kolrabi greens, simmer until they turn bright green and soften.
   
5. Blend everything in a blender or food processor until smooth.
   
6. Pour a little olive oil in the bottom of a round cake pan (or square casserole dish larger than the tortillas).
   
7. Place the first tortilla in the pan.
   
8. Add 2 or 3 spoonfuls of sauce and spread around to edges.
   
9. Repeat, layering tortillas and sauce.
   
10. The last tortilla will set on top. Spread with a little bit of olive oil.
    
11. Garnish with olives & cilantro leaves.
    
12. Bake at 350*F for 15 or so minutes.

We ate ours with shredded raw cabbage, diced avocado, and black olives. If we'd had fresh salsa ready, we would have eaten that, too.

Yield: 8 slices. Enough for our family of four. If there was another side, it would easily serve four adults.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Add meat or grains or beans or potatoes.
  
• Try different greens.
  
• Add mushrooms.
  
• Add broccoli or peppers or other vegetables.
  
• Serve with shredded lettuce instead of cabbage.
  
• Serve with salsa.
  

Roasted Chicken & Turnip Greens over Penne with Sweet Potato Fries

We had a potluck picnic to attend last night. Prior to our all consuming allergy situation, I would have brought hummus and pita, potato salad, tuna pasta salad, chips and salsa or cheese and crackers. Basically, your traditional summer picnic fare. Now, however, I have a bit of a challenge. I need to think of things that I can make in advance, that travel well and that are easy to eat in public. And are yummy and nutritious. Of course.

Yesterday, we settled on pasta, since my kids will eat it no matter what. I don't know about yours, but my children almost abjectly refuse to eat unless they are sitting in their chairs at home (or strapped into the carseat - something about the car makes them both suddenly starving). It doesn't help that the picnic was at a park with two fantastic play structures and a nice paved bike path. Lily is very into her big wheel right now, so she spent most of her time riding back and forth on one section of the loop. Here is the recipe that enticed her off of her big wheel, if only for 3 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

PASTA

• Roasted chicken - 1 breast, 1 thigh, 1 drumstick - chopped up
• Turnip Greens
• Brown Rice Noodles (Penne)
• 1/2 cup, approx, chicken bone broth (or water)
  
• Onion
• Parsley
• Olive oil
• Spices, several pinches of each, to taste: sea salt, pepper, sage, fennel, thyme, rosemary, basil, marjoram*
  

*the idea here was to mimic the flavor of an italian sausage - hence the sage & fennel

FRIES

• one large sweet potato, cut into fries or wedges or chunks
  
• coconut oil (roughly 2 Tbsp)
• sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

PASTA

1. Saute onion in olive oil with sea salt.
   
2. When onions are translucent, add remaining spices (including parsley) and the bone broth. Simmer for a few minutes.
   
3. Add roasted chicken pieces.
   
4. Add rinsed & chopped greens.
5. Stir greens while sauteing. When they are ready, they will turn bright green and wilt slightly.
6. Stir in prepared pasta. Add more olive oil and sea salt if necessary.
   

Yield: Many. This would serve the four of us plus leftovers more than enough for lunch the next day. Perhaps 4-6 adults, depending on side(s) served?

FRIES

1. Cut sweet potato(es) into whatever type of small pieces to you like - traditional fries, wedges, or chunks.
   
2. Coat with melted (if not already liquid due to it being 80+ degrees outside) coconut oil & sea salt.
   
3. Place in a single row on two baking sheets.
   
4. Bake at 400*F for 10 minutes. Turn over and bake for an additional 7-10 minutes. You want them golden and slightly crispy, but not burnt.
   

Yield: 4-6 as a side dish. Obviously the more sweet potato you use, the more you can serve.

ALTERNATIVES:

PASTA

• Try different greens, or a mixture of greens.
  
• Try turkey or bacon or salmon, or actual sausage (then go easy on some of the sausage spices).
  
• Experiment with different noodle shapes.
  
• Serve over rice or buckwheat or millet or quinoa instead of noodles.
• Add other veggies - zucchini, broccoli, carrots, etc.
  

FRIES

• Try 1/2 sweet potatoes, 1/2 carrots.
• Try different oils.
  
• Add spices like cayenne pepper & paprika for cajun fries.
  

Avocado-Banana-Coconut-Zucchini Bread*

* Not as gross as it sounds. And isn't THAT an apetizing way to begin a yummy breakfast bread recipe. Ha!

This recipe was born in response to a Dave-issued challenged. I was lamenting that we don't have any good egg replacers for baking. We can't do eggs anymore, apparently. Xanthan gum comes from corn, so we're avoiding that for now. Flax seed meal gel is out because we are avoiding all seeds and nuts for the now. Bananas are our only option really, and even then it's not always an appropriate or complementary flavor. So, Dave suggested avocados. And I scoffed. So he googled (avocados and baking to prove that other people do it) and here we are. I am only brave enough to try it mixed with bananas right now. Another time, perhaps I'll try just avocados.

I admit that it is still in the oven, so I will have to update when we've actually tasted it. However, I did taste the batter (of course) and that was super good. It had the consistency of cake batter, so I'm very interested to see the texture of the bread when it's ready.

EDITED TO ADD:
Okay it's out of the oven and cooled. It is GREAT. Very creamy. Pretty much half way between traditional banana bread & cake. It puffed up quite nicely and the edges are golden and perfect. I think I'll take a picture before we eat it all. The girls love it. It's very rich, so next time I might take out most of the coconut oil - avocados are pretty fatty, I forgot just how much. It's pretty sweet, too, so perhaps only 1/4 cup brown rice syrup... Also, I might make it as two thinner cakes, or perhaps as small muffins (so it will hold together a bit better). I also recommend letting it cool completely before cutting into it, or it will just tear apart.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2/3 cup brown rice flour
• 2/3 cup sorghum flour
• 2/3 cup tapioca flour (AKA tapioca starch)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 med banana
• 1 med avocado
• 2 small (or 1 med) zucchini, peeled & grated
  
• 1/2 cup coconut oil*
  
• 1/2 cup brown rice syrup**
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

[This time, I really did measure everything out, just for this blog. Also, in case it was a disaster, then I would have a starting point from which to add or subtract ingredient amounts. There's nothing like pubicly experimenting with baking.]

* Next time I would omit most of this oil - maybe a half TBSP just for flavor.
** Reduce to 1/4 cup sweetener

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix flours, soda & salt. Set aside.
   
2. In a separate bowl, mash banana & avocado.
   
3. Add grated zucchini. Blend with a hand blender or in a food processor.
   
4. Blend in coconut oil, brown rice syrup & coconut milk, one ingredient at a time.
   
5. Slowly add avocado mixture to flour mixture, gently stirring.
   
6. Pour batter into a round cake pan.
   
7. Bake at 350*F for 30-45 minutes. You will know it's done when the edges are golden brown and a knife tip comes back clean after you poke it in the center.
   

Yield: 1 single-layer cake. Theoretically, it should serve 8. In our house, it will be gone by breakfast tomorrow.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Use honey or maple syrup instead of brown rice syrup.
  
• Use a different oil - say palm oil shortening - instead of coconut oil.
• Use rice milk instead of coconut milk.
  
• Add corn-free vanilla extract (1 tsp).
  
• Sprinkle coconut on top before baking.
• Add allergy-friendly chocolate chips.
  
• Try different flour mixtures and ratios.
• Add spices - cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg... to get a spiced zucchini bread taste.
  

Tart Cherry Tart

This is probably one of the best desserts I've made since we cut out "everything". It was unbelievably simple and quick. I put it in the oven while we were eating and it was ready by the time we were done. That fact that the Cherries were hand-picked by the children (and myself & Dave's mom) in a local orchard makes it that much better.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• approx 1/4 cup palm oil shortening
  
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
  
• 2 cups (pitted) tart cherries
• approx 2 TBSP coconut oil
• approx 2 TBSP maple syrup
• approx 3 TBSP GF breadcrumbs

DIRECTIONS:

CRUST

1. Mix flour, soda & salt.
   
2. Mash shortening into flour mixture with a fork, until crumbly.
   
3. Press "dough" into the bottom of a pie pan.
4. Prick with a fork all over.
   
5. Pre-bake at 400*F for 10 minutes or so (will start to look "golden").
   

TOPPING

1. Mix cherries, coconut oil (melted if it's not already melted due to ambient temperature), maple syrup and 2 Tbsp of bread crumbs.
   
2. Pour cherry mixture over pre-baked crust. Spread evenly.
   
3. Sprinkle remaining breadcrumbs (~1 Tbsp) over top.
   
4. Bake at 350*F for 15-20 minutes.
   

The tart will be gooey. It may not come out of the pie tin in nice, whole pieces. However, it is fantastically good, even if it starts to resemble more of a crumble or cobbler than a pie or tart.

Yield: realistically, this yields a modest after-dinner dessert for four adults. (Or two adults and two small children with enough for two adults to snack on after said children are in bed. Ahem.) You could easily double (or triple, etc) the recipe, use two pie pans (or glass casserole dishes, whatever you have) and have enough for lots of people. Or lots for a few people.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Add 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract in the crust.
• Use coconut oil in place of palm oil shortening in crust.
• Try adding toasted coconut to the crust and/or to the top of the tart.
  
• Try allergy-friendly chocolate chips mixed into the filling and/or on top.
• Try different flours: quinoa flour is especially finely ground and makes great cookies and pie crusts. It does have a particularly unique (read: strong) flavor.
  

Fried Zucchini Slices

So, it's late summer. That means: zucchini. And lots of it. Creative, allergy-friendly, non-boring zucchini dishes are always welcome in our repertoire. Since I found an allergy-friendly bread crumb at the co-op the other day, I thought I'd try my hand at fried zucchini & pattypan squash slices. They were a hit!

INGREDIENTS:

• a few medium-sized zucchini
• several pattypan squash
• 1/2 cup (ish) palm oil shortening
  
• a few pinches of sea salt
• a few handfuls of bread crumbs
• a few handfuls of nutritional yeast

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl mix sliced zucchini & squash with bread crumbs, salt & nutritional yeast.
   
2. Heat up a skillet of shortening (you can pretty much use any frying oil you want - we made it last night with palm oil shortening, but this afternoon we used rendered chicken fat).
   
3. Pour bowl of zucchini into the skillet. Let it fry for a few minutes and then stir while frying a few more. The bread crumbs and yeast will brown and the zucchini & squash will get tender. Don't over cook, or your veggies will get soggy & mushy.

Yield: easily serves four as a side dish.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Add spices to the bread crumbs: basil, oregano, rosemary
  
• Add some aromatics: onions, garlic, ginger
• Serve with some chicken and/or baked potato wedges for a full meal
  

Condiments - BBQ sauce

My love for ketchup lives side-by-side with my love for BBQ sauce. It makes almost everything taste better. And, it's a dipping sauce that tastes vaguely like bacon. Genius!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup ketchup (commercial or make your own)
  
• 1 cup prepared mustard (commercial or make your own - recipe coming)
  
• 1 cup vinegar (grain-free options include: apple cider vinegar or brown rice vinegar)
  
• 1 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup honey
  
• 2 tsp liquid smoke (hickory flavor)
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix molasses and mustard.
2. Add honey.
   
3. Add vinegar.
4. Add ketchup.
5. Add liquid smoke.
   

Yield: I'm not sure on actual volume. I think 1 quart or 2 pint jars would be enough to store, if you're not going to use any right away.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Try different kinds of vinegar.
  
• Try different smoke flavors.
  
• Try adding powdered spices - onion, garlic, cumin, turmeric, etc.
  

coconut-molasses stir fried veggies

We have hit harvest time, the time of abundance. Fresh veggies are coming out our ears, so it seems. What better way to enjoy lots of veggies at once than a quick & easy (and of course, delicious) stir fry.

We just had this for lunch. Lily just told me that she's "not really a big fan of this stir fry." When I asked her what didn't she like, she said the "taste of all of it." Well, then. Aevryn and I thought it was great. Aevryn is also currently eating a wedge of lemon. Make that, Aevryn is currently spitting out a wedge of lemon. So, perhaps her palette is suspect. Lily and I just had a conversation about when you don't like something, the cook isn't going to jump right up and make you a brand new meal. I offered to let her forage in the fridge for a meal or she could try her stir fry again. Guess who's decided the stir fry is good after all (once we took out the onions)? Gotta love my houseful of negative first responders.

INGREDIENTS:

• Whatever veggies you have on hand. We used: cauliflower, broccoli, onions, green onions, cilantro, left over shredded cabbage, left over shredded kolrabi
• roughly 1/2 cup or so of bone broth (we freeze ours in pint-sized jars so that we always have broth on hand). You can easily sub water.
• roughly 1/4 cup coconut milk
• coconut oil
• juice of half a lemon
• sea salt
• pepper
• 1/4 cup or so nutritional yeast
• 1 TBSP molasses
• I would have added ginger, were it in the house. I thought it was when I started gathering my ingredients. Oh well. Blame it on the kitchen gnomes.
  

I feel compelled to make it known that I really don't measure out my ingredients. I do pinches and handfulls and drizzles and squeezes. My measurements here are really just approximations.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Saute onions (& ginger).
   
2. Add bone broth, veggies (including herbs), coconut oil. Season with salt & pepper.
3. Simmer until veggies are tender. (When the broccoli turns bright green, you know it's done!)
   
4. Add molasses, coconut milk, nutritional yeast. Stir well.
   
5. Simmer until liquid is mostly absorbed and a thick sauce remains.

Yield: lunch for one adult (with an admittedly healthy appetite) and two small children.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Serve over rice or rice noodles.
• Add seafood or chicken or beef.
• Try honey instead of molasses.

Rhubarb-Spinach Chicken Salad with Rhubarb dressing

As we head into August and the days (and nights) are hitting their peak hottness, I find myself preparing lots of cooling meals. Nothing that requires an oven for certain; even better if you can make it ahead of time and serve it cold. And so, various traditional summer fare, including salads, are heavy in our meal rotation.

When rhubarb was coming into season, I decided that there must be something to do with rhubarb, aside from bake it into a pie. As it turns out, I was right. This rhubarb-spinach chicken salad is a light, yet filling, summer dinner.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lg bunch of spinach
• several rhubarb stalks - amount will vary depending on length and thickness - approximately 1 lb
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 6 Tbsp safflower oil
• salt & pepper
• Roasted chicken
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut rhubarb into small chunks. Put into a saucepan and cover with about an inch of water.
   
2. Add honey or maple syrup
   
3. Bring to a boil and boil for one or two minutes.
   
4. Strain rhubarb - set aside & return liquid to pot.
5. Add vinegar, salt & pepper.
6. Simmer until liquid volume is roughly reduced by half
7. Remove from heat.
8. Whisk in oil.
   

Serve with rhubarb spooned over chopped spinach leaves. Add chopped roasted chicken. Pour dressing over top. Enjoy! We usually serve some cut up raw veggies on the side. Veggies + "dip" (i.e. dressing) = children will eat plenty. I've recently made some homemade dill pickle slices that would go fabulously as well.

Yield: Serves four. There will be plenty of dressing left over. We use it as a regular salad dressing or as a veggie dip.

ALTERNATIVES:

• (vegetarian & vegan): replace chicken with brown rice. Sprinkle nutritional yeast over top.
• Add minced raw red onion either to dressing or over salad
• Replace chicken with bacon.
• Add fresh herbs to salad - dill, mint, parsley, etc
• Substitute in-season berries for rhubarb - strawberry, cherry, raspberry...

Cultured Veggies - Dill Pickle Slices

You know me and my fermented foods. I love them. Well, I'm growing to love and appreciate them. Food enzymes useful for digesting said food are destroyed when exposed to the heat of cooking. Eating fermented foods with your non-raw meals are a way to naturally supplement enzymes to help digest your food.

You can also take enzyme supplements in the form of fizzy powders and capsules. We currently do a capsule of digestive enzymes with any meal containing meat or grains. I would love to eventually stop taking the pills and to rely solely on fermented foods. Just a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of fermented veggies (sauerkraut, salsa, pickles...) can help your digestion immensely.

Fair warning: at first, you may experience gas or bloating as your body gets used to having more (enough) digestive enzymes to completely break down the food. Your bathroom habits may change as well (for the better in many cases).

And a final clarification: there is nothing magical about the cabbage in sauerkraut or the peppers in salsa or the cucumbers in pickles. It's the fermentation process (sitting at room temperature for roughly 2 or so days) that creates the lacto-bacteria that help your gut. Going to the store and getting a jar of sauerkraut or salsa or pickles will not afford the same benefits.

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 "baby" or pickling cucumbers
• handful of fresh dill
• 1 Tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 Tbsp sea salt
• juice from one lemon
  
• water
• 1 quart- or 2 pint-sized canning jars with lids
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut cucumbers into 1/4" slices.
2. In a large bowl, mix cucumber slices with dill, salt, mustard seeds & lemon juice.
3. Spoon mixture into jar(s).
4. Cover with water.
5. Smoosh cucumbers down, so there is an inch or two between cucumbers and the top of the jar.
   
6. Let sit at room temperature for roughly two days before storing the fridge.

Yield: 1 quart-sized or 2 pint-sized jars of pickled cucumber slices.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Slice cucumbers length wise into spears.
• Use larger cucumbers cut up in various ways.
  
• Add garlic or onion or hot peppers.
• Experiment with other herbs and spices - parsley, black peppercorns.

"Butter Cream" frosting

I love frosting. I grew up in a house where it was perfectly acceptable to eat it out of the fridge with a spoon (as long as no one caught you, that is - but we all did it). In particular, I love chocolate butter cream frosting. Believe it or don't, but I have come up with VEGAN butter cream recipe that you would never guess was dairy or soy free. The secret is in the palm oil shortening. Spread the word. Palm oil shortening is also good for making french fries in a cast iron skillet. Versatile and delicious. And super allergy-friendly. Yay for palm oil.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup palm oil shortening, slightly chilled is best
  
• 1/4 cup rice milk
  
• 1 cup cornstarch-free powdered sugar*
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

* or make your own: put one cup of white cane sugar and 1 tsp cream of tartar or tapioca starch in blender or food processor. Mix on high until sugar is powdered. Voila!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cream shortening and rice milk with a hand mixer.
   
2. Slowly add powdered sugar until you get a nice frosting consistency. If it's too stiff, add more rice milk. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar.
   
3. Add vanilla and mix well.
   

Yield: enough frosting for a batch of brownies, the top of a sheet cake or a batch of cupcakes.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder to the frosting for chocolate butter cream.
  
• Use cold coffee or espresso instead of all or part of the rice milk for coffee butter cream. You can also sub out vanilla and sub in coffee extract.
  
• Use coffee AND cocoa for mocha butter cream.
• If you can do nuts, sub out vanilla for almond extract.
  

Easy One Bowl Brownies

Not only did we recently re-lose eggs, now we are finally addressing the lingering chocolate issue. Namely: I love it and really don't want to give it up, despite a potential reaction. I am in serious denial here, but we really need to find out.

So, vicariously, I am posting this fantastic brownie recipe. It's a little crumbly as is, but if you can tolerate eggs, that helps immensely.

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 cup safflower oil
• 2 Tbsp flax meal + 6 Tbsp water heated in microwave = flax meal gel
• 1 cup cane sugar
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix flours, salt, soda & cocoa.
2. Add sugar.
3. Add oil.
4. Add flax meal gel.
5. Add vanilla.
6. Pour batter into a greased & lightly floured 9x13 glass pan.
7. Bake at 350*F for 30 minutes or so. Edges will pull away from sides of pan & knife tip will come out clean when pushed into center.

Yield: Double batch. For us, that means 24hrs, 48 max. For other, more will-power endowed, it will last longer.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Eggs instead of flax meal, will help it hold together better.
• Try adding chocolate chips, dried coconut, or dried fruit, like cherries.
• Use coconut oil to grease pan.
  
• Make a chocolate "buttercream" frosting and frost like a cake.
  
• Pour into muffin tins for brownie "bites".
  

Back-tracking

We thought we'd successfully re-introduced eggs several weeks ago. About a week ago, Lily developed a mystery rash - so mysterious that the doctor at urgent care had no idea, other than the suggestion that it "sort of looked like bug bites". After 8 days of this rash, we dropped everything suspect - including eggs, xanthan gum, her vitamin, and the hydro-cortisone cream we'd been using to help control the itching and inflammation. That was Sunday night. Monday morning she was significantly improved. This morning, she is even better. We've actually been off of eggs since Saturday morning. So, I don't know what effect anything had on anything, really. All I know is her skin is better; her behavior is better; her sleep (kinda - shhhhh) is better... And that's okay for now.

Therefore, my recipes will now again default to egg-free. (I should go back and edit the Tuna Pasta Salad entry - I just made an eggless version this morning. It was really good. Different, but good.)

Sorghum Bread (a la Cornbread)

What goes better with Chili than cornbread? Sorghum Bread, of course! Sorghum is a grain that has a sweet corn-like taste to it. If you can tolerate cornmeal, sorghum mixes very well with it for GF muffins, breads and crusts. The secret to successful GF, in my experience, is to focus on sweets and quick breads (i.e. ones that don't need to rise, thus don't need gluten to hold them together). This Sorghum Bread is sweet and fluffy. It may crumble apart when you try to put honey & butter-substitute (coconut oil!), but it will taste great in doing so. It may also force you to go ahead and mix the bread right into the chili. Yum!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups sorghum flour
• 2 tsp GF baking powder*
  
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 - 2 Tbsp honey, maple syrup or agave
• 1/4 cup palm oil shortening
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup rice milk

* or make your own: 2 parts cream of tartar to 1 part baking soda

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix flour, baking powder & salt.
   
2. In a separate bowl, mix shortening, honey. Add egg.
   
3. Stir dry ingredients into wet.
   
4. Very lightly stir in rice milk.
   
5. If batter seems too wet, add more flour; if too dry, add more rice milk.
6. Spoon batter into a single-layer cake pan, lightly greased & floured
   
7. Bake @ 400*F for roughly 20 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and a toothpick or knife tip comes out clean when inserted into the middle.
   

We slice ours up and eat with coconut oil and honey. Or crumbled into chili. Or sometimes both at the same meal.

Yield: 1 single-layer cake. Enough for 8 people, when served as a side to a main dish.

ALTERNATIVES:

• (Vegan): Use flaxmeal gel instead of egg (1 Tbsp flax meal to 3 Tbsp water, heated in microwave)
• If you can tolerate corn, substitute one cup of cornmeal for one cup of the sorghum flour.
  
• Instead of shortening, try olive, coconut or safflower oil.
  
• For a spicy version, omit honey and add one or two jalapenos, minced
• Bake in muffin tins for "sorghum bread" muffins
  

Three Bean Chili Casserole

Last summer, before we truly embarked on the elimination diet adventure, we loved one-pot meals. Especially meals I could cook bit by bit throughout the day - say, chop veggies in morning; cook beans/meat later; then just saute aromatics & stir in spices before dinner time- and still be tasty & fresh in the evening. We were tomato-free at the time, still eating legumes, and trying hard not to eat very much meat. This was a filling meal that really hit the spot at the end of a long summer day. It's also perfect to take to potlucks - i.e. it travels well.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup cooked chickpeas (1/2 cup dry)*
  
• 1 cup cooked kidney beans (1/2 cup dry)*
  
• 1 cup cooked green beans, chopped
• olive oil
• 1 onion
• a couple stalks of celery
• 1 jalapeno, minced (leave some seeds if you want spicy)
• 2 tsp cane sugar, maple syrup or honey
• 1/4 tsp clove
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp paprika
  
• 1tsp coriander
  
• 1/2 tsp allspice
  
• 1 tsp oregano
  
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 1 cup bone broth (or water)
• juice of one lemon

*it's best to soak your beans overnight, then rinse them before cooking in fresh water. 1 cup of dry or soaked beans cooks in 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer covered for 45ish minutes (until the water has been absorbed and the beans are soft all the way through). Soaked beans will cook faster than dry beans. They are also much more easy for your body to digest.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Saute finely chopped onions & celery in olive oil
2. Add cooked beans, jalapeno, spices & sugar/sweetener
3. Add broth/water & lemon juice
4. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve with Guacamole & Sorghum Bread.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Add chopped, peeled, cored & seeded fresh tomatoes (or a can of tomatoes or tomato paste plus more broth)
• Add fresh cilantro
• If you can do corn chips, eat it like salsa/dip (this was our favorite way)
• Put it on brown rice tortillas or noodles
  
• Add green and red peppers, sauteed with the onions
• Add mushrooms
• Serve over rice, quinoa, or millet
• Replace beans with ground turkey or shredded chicken
• Add a 1/2 cup nutritional yeast

GF Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Sorghum Cookies

These cookies are amazing. Really, really amazing. It's the only allergy-free food I make that you could easily mistake for the "real" thing. (Aside from rice noodles... Those things are fantastic.) Without further ado:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup palm oil shortening
• 1/c cup sugar (organic & fairly traded, if possible)
• 2 eggs (organic & free-ranged/pastured, if possible)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup GF oats (soaked overnight in water with a little lemon juice, if possible)
  
• 2 cups sorghum flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips i.e. the only Dairy, Soy & gluten-free chocolate chips I've found. You could always find a "safe" chocolate bar or bakers' chocolate and chop it up yourself. In which case, you would have chocolate chunk cookies. Ooh la la.
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. With a handmixer, cream shortening and sugar.
   
2. Add eggs & vanilla. Mix well.
   
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, soda & salt.
4. Add flour mixture a little at a time to the shortening mixture.
5. Add oats. (If you use dry oats, you can mix them in with the flour in step #3.)
   
6. Add chocolate and mix lightly just to evenly disburse chocolate.
   

I use a tablespoon to scoop up the dough and put it on my very lightly greased cookie trays a dozen at a time. Flatten dough balls so they are more like pancakes and less like spheres. Bake for roughly 8-10 minutes (until edges are golden brown) at 350*F. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Yield: Approximately three dozen, I think. It's hard to say. Much dough is consumed in the process when you have a little helper (or two). Also, cookies seem to disappear off the cooling rack before the entire batch has been made. Hmm. Mysterious!

ALTERNATIVES:

• (Vegan): Omit eggs and use a flax meal gel (1Tbsp of flax meal + 3 Tbsp of water per egg)
• Try rice or quinoa flour instead of sorghum. Or mix & match.
  
• Try coconut oil instead of palm oil shortening
• Omit oats for plain chocolate chip cookies

What to eat for breakfast (when all you can think of contains dairy, wheat and eggs)

Breakfast is our trickiest, head-achiest, carb-loadiest meal of the day. But it's also when we take all of our supplements, so it evens out, right? Right! Seriously, though, breakfast is tough. Especially when you've been roused out of a sound sleep by one child incessantly flopping and the other potty-dancing in her sleep. At some variation of the 6 or 7 o'clock hour. But, that is why I go to bed at 10 or 11. And I digress.

The breakfast market seems to be aimed at those among us who are addicted to wheat and/or dairy. Traditional breakfast items include:

• wheat-based cereal with cow's milk
• cow's milk yogurt
• oatmeal (unless GF oats are usually wheat-contaminated)
  
• granola (with wheat-contaminated oats & wheat flour)
• smoothies (with cow's milk yogurt)
• eggs & wheat toast
• wheaty bagels with cream cheese
• wheat toast and butter
• wheaty, buttery pastries & danishes
• wheaty pancakes & waffles with butter
• fruit
  

Of that entire list, the only thing we can safely consume right now is fruit. Or oats if they are GF, but 2lbs of GF oats costs $7, so we only splurge every now and again - say for oatmeal-chocolate chip (sorghum flour and palm oil shortening) cookies! Speaking of: I know what recipe I'm posting tomorrow. These things are outrageously good and you would never guess they are allergy-friendly.

My point is, it took me a really long time to widen my breakfast repetoire beyond rice puffs with fruit and rice milk. But, now that we've been on our fully restricted diet for almost nine months (aside: wow), I think I have some good suggestions.

What to eat for breakfast when everyone else is eating eggs, wheat and dairy:

• The obvious: GF cereal with milk substitute.
  
• Hot cereal: GF oatmeal, cream of rice, or cream of buckwheat with maple syrup & coconut oil
• Homemade granola (recipe to come)
• Pancakes with GF flour (see: cherry pancakes - can easily omit eggs)
• Muffins with GF flour (see: cherry muffins - can easily omit xanthan gum & sub flax meal gel)
• Hashbrowns (or other potatoes) in oil with greens
• Coconut milk & tapioca "pudding" (porridge really) with jam stirred in
  
• Dairy-free Smoothies (future post dedicated to smoothies soon to come)
• Breakfast burritos (recipe/filling ideas to come)
  
• Blended soups - as the weather gets cooler, I will start posting lots of yummy soup recipes
• Dinner leftovers

In the last few days (i.e. as far back as I can recall) we have had: cream of buckwheat with maple syrup & coconut oil; rice puffs with rice milk & blueberries (2 days in a row); cream of buckwheat with honey & coconut milk; "breakfast fries" with ketchup & sauteed kolrabi greens plus raisins on the side. Once you get used to having to actually work for breakfast, it's automatic. Especially if you remember to soak your grains or flours the night before. (Or if you keep your house fully stocked with GF cereals and dairy-free milks. Haha. Although, remember: convenience comes at a price. Those prepacked allergy-friendly foods are not cheap.)

Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolma)

Grape-leaf dolma are perfect for summer picnics and potlucks. You can prepare them ahead of time; you can serve them cold; you can eat them with your fingers. Three cheers all around. Did I mention they are incredibly easy to make (once you get the hang of it) and are super tasty. 100% kid approved! (Just make sure you have your kiddos chew very well - we are known to have some dolma-related choking incidents.)

Currently, we use grape leaves from a jar bought at the co-op, but I'm hoping to get grape leaves from local wineries this season and preserve them myself. I will, of course, chronicle that adventure here.

Aside from being easy, portable, and tasty, this dish is very versatile. You can do just about anything for the filling. Here is our favorite version - Stuffed Grape Leaves with Lamb, Rice & Spinach.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 16oz. jar of grape leaves
• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1 cup (dry) short-grain brown rice
  
• 1 large bunch of spinach
• 1 medium sweet onion, minced
• 3 Tbsp dry mint or a huge handful of fresh, finely minced
• sea salt & black pepper
  
• juice of 2 lemons

DIRECTIONS:

1. If you know ahead of time that you will be making this dish, it is best to soak your rice overnight. Just measure out a cup of rice into a bowl, cover with water and let soak until you need it (8+ hours if possible).
   
2. Put rinsed & drained rice in a pot with 2 cups of water. Cook on high heat until boiling. Turn way down and cover. Let rice simmer until water is absorbed.
3. Rinse & drain grape leaves. Submerge in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes.
   
4. Brown ground lamb with finely minced onions.
   
5. Add washed and chopped spinach, mint, sea salt & pepper. Mix spinach and mint into lamb and onions as it cooks down.
6. Add juice of 1 lemon.
   
7. Add cooked brown rice. Mix well.
   
8. Take blanched & rinsed grape leaves and spread them out viney side up
   
9. Place a small spoonful of the filling in a horizontal line at the base of the leaf.
   
10. Roll the bottom of the leaf up over the filling. Fold in each side one at a time and then continue to roll all the way up.
    
11. Place the rolled leaves on a serving plate or in a casserole dish and squeeze the juice of one lemon over the top.
    
12. You may also serve with additional lemon wedges on the side.
    

Yield: many dolma; depends on number of leaves in jar. The four of us can easily eat an entire batch for dinner.

ALTERNATIVES:

• (Vegetarian/Vegan): omit lamb, use safflower oil to saute onions & mint
• Add fresh parsely
  
• Add zucchini; try other greens
• Try other grains: different rices, millet, buckwheat or quinoa
• Try other meats: ground turkey; ground buffalo, ground beef
• Try cinnamon, nutmeg & oregano instead of mint
  

"Best Ever" Quiche

There is something fundamentally comforting and delicious about a big fluffy slice of quiche. They are incredibly easy to make and, if you load 'em up with greens instead of bacon, they're healthier than you would think. I have fond memories of mini quiche at my grandma's house every Christmas. She always had them catered in, so I assumed they were this super difficult, expensive endeavor. I felt kind of cheated out of years and years of quiche-making when I finally attempted one and it was no big deal. Traditionally, quiche is made from wheat dough pie crust, eggs & cream, plus "fillings" - i.e. cheese, bacon, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach... Ours is a little more Spartan, but it still hits the spot when you find yourself in a quiche-y mood.

INGREDIENTS:

• Potatoes - the amount is going to depend on the type & size - we've used 6 medium white potatoes or 8 small red-skinned potatoes; peeled & grated
• safflower oil
• sea salt
  
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup rice milk
  
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• lots of kale (one bunch from the grocery store is good; I've been using the kale fresh from my garden and it has been wonderful - I highly recommend growing your own food whenever possible)
  
• handful of mushrooms, sliced
  
• one onion, cut in half and finely sliced
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Peel & grate potatoes
2. Fry them in safflower oil like hashbrowns - fry on one side, letting sit for a few minutes getting golden, then turn over.
   
3. Push hashbrowns down into a greased glass pan (we use an 8x8 pyrex or a round casserole pan - whatever you've got on hand will be fine)
4. Saute onions & mushrooms in safflower oil, sprinkle with sea salt; let them cook down until the onions are nice and soft
   
5. In a mixer (or with a whisk), blend eggs together on high until eggs get frothy. Add a pinch or two of sea salt and black pepper as it mixes.
   
6. Add rice milk while mixer is running. Add nutrional yeast. Mix for a few minutes more.
7. Prepare kale by ripping leaves off of stem (like you would chard or spinach). Rip or chop the kale into small pieces.
   
8. Layer kale over potatoes.
   
9. Pour eggs over potatoes & kale.
10. Sprinlke with nutrtional yeast, covering the entire top surface - this will give you a "cheesey" coating on top

Bake at 375*F for 45 or so minutes. Start checking on it around the half hour mark. Every oven and bakeware combination is different. You will know it's done when it's fluffed up and the top is "set" (firm to touch).

Serves 8, theoretically. The four of us can easily polish off an entire quiche for dinner.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Add 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• Try adding bacon or sausage
• Try subbing the rice milk for maybe 3/4 cup chicken stock
• Instead of kale, use chard, collards, spinach, turnip greens or any other green (or combination of greens)
  
• Use broccoli instead of greens
  
• Experiment with different potatoes/combinations to see what you prefer
• Instead of potatoes, use sweet potatoes
• Try using lots of different mushrooms plus a well carmelized onion or two
  

Cultured Condiments - Salsa

We like salsa and chips - as a snack, as a side dish, as an entire meal. However, we are currently corn-free (well, the girls and I are), so I've had to find some interesting ways to consume salsa. So far I've eaten salsa: scooped with brown rice crackers; scooped with Better Made Potato chips; wrapped up in Brown rice tortillas; mixed into cooked rice or millet;and over eggs and hashbrowns. All were fantastic, though not quite as satisfying as crunchy, salty, corn-y corn chips. (Sigh.)

As promised, here is my delicious & nutritious homemade, fermented salsa recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tomatoes, peeled, cored & seeded
• 1 medium onion
• 1 green pepper, seeded
  
• 1 red pepper, seeded
  
• 1 jalapeno pepper, with varying amounts of seeds (depending on "heat" desired)
• 1 Tbsp sea salt
• juice of two lemons
• fresh cilantro leaves
• approx. 1/4 cup water
• 1 quart-sized or 2 pint-sized canning jars with lids

DIRECTIONS:

1. Dice everything: tomatoes, peppers & onion
2. Mince cilantro leaves
3. In a big bowl, mix chopped veggies with cilantro leaves, salt and lemon juice
4. Let it stand for a few minutes
5. Stir for a few minutes, smooshing veggies into bottom of bowl as you go.
   
6. Pour into canning jar(s).
7. Add enough water so that juices are above veggies in jar - leaving around two inches between salsa & top of jar.
8. Let it ferment at room temperature for roughly two days.
   
9. Transfer to cold storage.
   

Yield: 1 quart-sized or 2 pint-sized jars of salsa.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Try tomatillos instead of (or in addition to) tomatoes
• Try different kinds and combination of peppers
• Try roasting peppers first
• Add black beans
• Add corn
• Add garlic and/or other spices
• Try limes instead of lemons
  

Cultured Condiments - Ketchup

The word "ketchup" comes from the ancient Chinese "ke-tsiap", meaning "pickled fish-brine," which is one of the most widely used condiments in the world. (Per Nourishing Traditions pg 104-5). Perfect for hamburgers and fries in particular, ketchup is also a good base for tomato BBQ sauce or chili. It is also one of my favorite condiments of ever (the other, for you curious few, is mayonnaise).

Since we avoid garlic, we have to avoid any commercially processed food that lists "spices" in its ingredients. Garlic is almost always one. (We also avoid turmeric, which is universally used as well.) Annie's Homegrown Organic Ketchup is safe for us, but uses vinegar in place of the natural fermenting process. When you naturally culture your condiments, they are full of living enzymes (in this case, lactic acid) instead of chemical preservatives.

I'm trying to sneak more cultured foods into our diet - besides the sauerkraut that my family will or won't eat depending on the direction of the wind, apparently. I also naturally culture my salsa, which is delicious. I will post that recipe tomorrow.

Here is our recipe for a naturally fermented ketchup sauce that you can customize with whatever spices you prefer. Adapted from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups organic tomato paste (roughly four 6oz. cans, if not using homemade)
  
• 1 Tbsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup fish sauce
• juice of one lemon
  
• 1 Tbsp paprika
  
• 1/2 tsp clove
• 1/2 tsp allspice
  
• chives or green onions, finely sliced
  
• 1 quart-sized (or 2 pint-sized) canning jars with lids
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Grind salt and chives or green onions into a paste
   
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
   
3. Pour into one quart-sized canning jar (or two pint-sized), leaving at least one inch below top of jar.
   
4. Secure lids.
   
5. Leave at room temperature to ferment for roughly two days.
   
6. Transfer to cold storage (i.e. fridge).
   

Yields: 1 quart-sized or 2 pint-sized jars of ketchup.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Try tomatillos instead of tomatoes for green ketchup
• Try adding pureed roasted red peppers
• Use garlic in addition to or instead of chives & onions
• For curry ketchup, use curry spices (e.g. allspice, garlic, coriander, cardamom, turmeric)
• For Tex-Mex ketchup, use Mexican spices (e.g. clove, garlic, onion, cilantro/coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin)
• For Italian ketchup, use Italian spices (oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, garlic, onion)
• Try adding (or using instead of tomatoes) various fruit pastes - cherries, apricots, mangoes, plums, etc.
• Just experiment! Cinnamon ketchup? Why not?
  

Flatbread a la Pita Pockets

I miss bread. A lot. This rice bread available at the store is a. expensive (over five dollars for a tiny loaf) and b. not very good. It's actually pretty good toasted with coconut oil, but that's about it. It is absolutely terrible for sandwiches. So, we've been without bread for a long time. I've grown accustomed to the lack of sandwiches (lettuce wraps or straight-up salads are surprisingly satisfying in their stead).

Recently, though, I stumbled upon a recipe for a GF sandwich wrap bread. With a bit of futzing, I came up with a really tasty and surprisingly easy pita-type bread for sandwiches or burgers. (Real burgers! with lettuce and ketchup* and everything!) We had a nice pseudo-normal summer meal with those burgers and sides of carrot sticks and Better Made potato chips (fried in "safe" cottonseed oil - safe because it does not cause us an allergic reaction; "safe" because it is a GMO crop and heavily laden with pesticides). Better Made chips are also made in Michigan (where we are) so that's a bonus.

* homemade ketchup recipe to be posted soon!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package of dry active yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 tsps sugar
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca or potato starch/flour (we used potato)
• 2 tsps xanthan gum
  
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 2 eggs
• extra oil & flour for oiling & flouring pan

DIRECTIONS:

• Proof yeast: stir packet of yeast into 1/4 cup warm water. Stir in sugar. Wait 10 minutes, or until yeast has at least doubled in size with a nice head (foamy top).
  
• Mix all dry ingredients (rice flour, potato starch, xanthan gum, sea salt) and set aside.
• In a stand mixer, combine wet ingredients (1/2 cup water, vinegar, oil, eggs) and mix well.
• Slowly add dry ingredients to wet.
  
• Beat on medium for roughly four minutes until it turns "doughy"
• Oil & lightly flour a "jelly roll pan"
• Scrape dough onto pan, press as thin as possible (fill pan) (oiling your hands first helps keep the dough from sticking to them)
  
• Prick dough all over with a fork
• Allow dough to rise 35-40 minutes in a warm area
• Bake for 10-11 minutes at 425*F - top will be slightly browned

If you allow the bread to cool for 15-30 minutes before using, it will become very soft and flexible. Cut the pan into 8 equal pieces (roughly the size of a commercially prepared piece of sandwich bread) and then slice those like you would to separate the top and bottom of a hamburger bun. Store the bread on the counter in a plastic zipper bag - do not refrigerate as it will get crumbly and stiff. I don't know how long this bread will store on the counter. The longest a batch has lasted in our house is roughly 24 hours.

Yields: 8 servings

Turkey Tacos with Brown Rice Tortillas

I blanked on dinner tonight, so I just browned some frozen turkey and made do with what we had in the house. Luckily I had bought brown rice tortillas last time I was at the store. Also, we always have avocados and green salsa around. Easy as pie. Or tacos, as it were.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1lb free-range ground turkey
• 1 cup chicken stock (or water)
  
• 1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded & chopped
  
• 1 large zucchini, diced very small
• fresh cilantro
• green onions or chives
• 1/4 cup (or more) nutritional yeast
  
• spices: 1 Tbsp cumin, 1 Tbsp paprika, 1/4 tsp clove, 1tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp oregano
• juice of 1 lemon
  
• 1 cup shredded raw cabbage or lettuce or other greens
• 1 can of Green Salsa - or make your own with jalapenos, tomatillos, onions & salt
• 1 avocado
• 1 package Brown Rice Tortillas
• 1 -2 Tbsp safflower oil
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown turkey. Add stock a little at a time to help turkey thaw. [If you are using fresh turkey, add the stock with spices after turkey has browned.]
2. Add water, green onions, nutritional yeast & spices. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring.
3. Add zucchini, chopped cilantro, and tomato. Simmer on low-medium with lid on while preparing the next ingredients.
4. Finely slice/shred greens. Set aside.
5. Cut avocado in half, scoop out pit with spoon. Scoop out flesh from skin with spoon. Cut up into chunks.
   
6. Prepare tortillas - rub the surface of each tortilla with safflower oil and nuke in microwave for 10-15 seconds. Alternatively, have oven preheated on warm/low and toss them in the oven for a few minutes.
   
7. Check meat/zucchini - the water should be mostly absorbed. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or so.
8. Stir in lemon juice and throw some fresh cilantro on for garnish.
   

We eat ours by putting a line of the turkey filling down the middle of the tortilla. Then add avocado and fresh cabbage (and spicy green salsa down the middle if you are Dave or I). Last we attempt to roll the tortillas up. Even with the warming and the oiling they are a bit... brittle, shall we say. Lily likes to rip up the tortillas and make mini tacos. Dave likes to eat them with a fork. I manage to hold mine together long enough to eat it like a burrito. Aevryn kind of just goes for it and eats with her fists - inelegant yet effective. You could also toast the tortillas and make nachos or taco salad. The possibilities are endless.

Serves 6, if everybody eats just one (large) taco/burrito.

ALTERNATIVES:

• Additions: raw onions, raw tomatoes, salsa, sauteed peppers & onions, mushrooms - whatever you have in the house
  
• Make avocado into guacamole and spread onto tortillas first
• (VEGETARIAN): swap meat for quinoa or beans & rice

Tuna Pasta Salad with cooked egg "mayo"

It's summer and we've been longing for those easy & cool summer meals. Pre-allergy elimination diet, we were a big fan of tuna pasta salad - tuna from a can; hard boiled eggs; frozen green peas; elbow (wheat) noodles; mayo; salt & paprika. Delish. Since we were egg-free for so long, I didn't even attempt it. Now that we're doing cooked eggs (no raw yet - thus no true mayonnaise yet), I thought I'd give it go. Allergy-friendly style, of course.

INGREDIENTS:

• 12oz (dry) brown rice noodles
• 4 hard-boiled eggs
• two green onion stalks
• 6oz can of safe tuna (check labels - most tuna packed in "water" is actuall packed in a vegetable broth containing soy)
• safflower oil
• paprika
• salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare noodles according to package directions, rinse in cold water & set aside
2. Cut boiled eggs in half and separate hard yolks from whites. Chop egg whites however you like.
3. In a separate bowl, mush up egg yolks. Add some salt, paprika & safflower oil and make a mushy paste. Gradually stir in more oil until you have a dressing/sauce of sorts.
   
4. Finely slice green onions.
   
5. Mix everything (including drained & rinsed tuna) together in a (really) big bowl. Add more salt or oil as necessary.

We served ours with raw carrot sticks on the side. Easy, cool and yummy. And for the first time in a long time, I felt like we were eating a "normal" meal.

Serves 4-6 (The four of us ate it all, eating probably more than we needed to feel full because it was so good and so different than what we've been eating.)

ALTERNATIVES:

• use fresh chopped up chicken or fish or seafood instead of canned tuna
  
• use actual (homemade or otherwise) mayo if you can tolerate raw eggs
• chop up raw veggies and mix in - onions, garlic, broccoli, kale, cabbage, etc
• serve as "real" salad over a bed of greens
• Omit chopped egg whites and use an italian-style dressing (olive oil, basalmic or apple cider vinegar plus spices) instead of yolk sauce.
  

zucchini fritters

I'm getting a little "grained-out" in the morning, so those soaked pancakes will have to wait another day.

We went to the farmer's market on Wednesday and got some amazingly delicious (and large) zucchini. They were so beautiful (and cheap) that I got a bit more than we could use in a week. Thus a zucchini brainstorm yielded this easy and nutritious meal/snack.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large zucchini, grated
  
• 1 egg
• approx 1/4 cup rice milk
• approx 1/2 cup sorghum flour
• sea salt
• safflower oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Grate zucchini, sprinkle with sea salt
   
2. mix egg, sorghum flour, rice milk and grated zucchini
3. drop by small spoonfuls into heated safflower oil
4. turn them over when you can see the edges getting golden
5. put on wax or parchment paper to cook. sprinkle liberally with salt.
   

Lily liked to dip hers in basalmic vinegar. Aevryn just ate bits and pieces as she ran around the living room. I thought they were fairly good - I admit I'm not a huge zucchini fan, so my recipes tend to be along the lines of "how can I hide this wonderful veggie so I don't have to taste it so much?" I think they would be fantastic dipped in homemade spicy mayo.

Yield: 16 small-medium sized fritters

ALTERNATIVES:

• (Vegan): use flax meal gel instead of egg (1 Tbsp flax meal to 3 Tbsp water, whisked & heated in microwave, per egg)
  
• add grated onions or chives
• add carrots and bean sprouts and an extra egg and you get egg foo young
• add fresh herbs - cilantro or parsely or basil

Cherry Pancakes

More cherry deliciousness. We've been in a breakfast rut, so I'm trying to add some variety. Yesterday was cherry muffins. This morning was cherry pancakes. (Still maybe 10lbs left.) This recipe is adapted from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Cup GF flour (today: 1/2 cup sorghum & 1/2 cup brown rice)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup rice milk
  
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup pitted sweet dark cherries
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix together dry ingredients.
2. In a separate bowl, beat egg, adding milk & vanilla.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry, mix well.
4. Add cherries last and just stir to mix. Today, I just cut the cherries in half and took out the pit. These cherries were too big. Next time, I will either chop them up after I pit them, or, I mix blend/process them with the rice milk first, depending on the texture I want.
5. Heat pan and lightly oil (or use non-stick pan).
6. Pour one Tablespoon of batter into each corner, or around edge. We can fit four pancakes on our square griddle at a time.
7. Flip over when bubbles form and edges brown.
   

We serve ours with coconut oil and maple syrup.

Yield: roughly 24 sand-dollar-sized pancakes.

Alternatives:

• instead of an egg, you could use 1 Tbsp ground flax meal mixed with 3 Tbsp water, whisked together and popped into the microwave (or heated on the stove) until boiling. Allow to cool and you have "flax meal gel" that you can very successfully use as an egg replacer in baked goods.
• instead of rice milk, you could use almond milk. Cherries and almonds go GREAT together.
  
• you can easily omit vanilla extract. Or substitute with almond extract.

[One final note: per Fallon's recipe, instead of rice milk, you should use yogurt or butter milk poured over the flour (and mix) and let sit overnight ~8 - 12hrs. If you can't use dairy, you can use water or rice milk or whatever and add a Tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar to sour. I have yet to try this, mostly because I never remember before we go to bed. Perhaps I will try to soak our flour overnight, tonight and try the pancakes again in the morning.]

Grain-free Turkey Chili with Guacamole

We are big fans of Tex-Mex influenced cuisine. (We are fans of many cuisines, as you will learn.) This Chili is easy, fast and filling.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1lb free-range ground turkey
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 small green pepper, diced
• handful of mushrooms, diced
  
• 4 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded & diced
• 1 large zucchini, diced (Apparently, I like dicing things!)
  
• homemade chicken bone broth (you can use water instead)
• spices: sea salt; pepper; ground cumin; clove; allspice; ground coriander; paprika; oregano
• fresh cilantro leaves, whole & diced
  
• lemon
  
• olive oil
• nutritional yeast
• medium avocado

DIRECTIONS:

1. Saute onions, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini in olive oil, sprinkled with salt. Set aside.
2. Brown ground turkey. Add bone broth as needed to keep meat from sticking to pan. Once meat is cooked, add reserved onion mixture. Stir.
3. Add diced tomatoes, chopped fresh cilantro and more bone broth. Simmer.
4. Add spices. I used: handful (well, a palmful, really) each of paprika & cumin. Liberal pinches of sea salt & pepper. Small pinch each of oregano & ground coriander. Dash each of clove and allspice. Stir well. Continue to simmer.
5. Add a couple handfuls of nutritional yeast. Stir well and continue to simmer bone broth down.
6. Once you've reached desired thickness, stir in the juice of most of one lemon, cover and let sit.
7. For guacamole, I just mash up avocado with oil oil, sea salt & lemon (or lime) juice, fresh squeezed (squeeze a bit of the lemon into the guac and then squeeze the remainder into the chili).
   

Serve the chili in a bowl with a dollop of guacamole in the middle, garnished with fresh, whole cilantro leaves.

The yield is hard to guess. This recipe easily fed all four of us for dinner with plenty left over for the girls and I for lunch the next day (and me for breakfast the following morning).

We like to make enough to have left overs. For lunch tomorrow, I will put the chili (sans gauc, because 1. it doesn't keep well & 2. my kids devour it so there's never any left) in on leafy greens - kale, lettuce, steamed cabbage - and eat like a taco. Yum!

Alternatives:

• instead of ground turkey, use free-range ground beef, buffalo, chicken, fish, whatever.

Vegetarian Alternative:

• The meat can be swapped for quinoa, millet, or rice & beans.
• Instead of swapping meat for grains, use as a meatless taco stuffing and put on brown rice tortillas - brushed with oil and nuked in the microwave or heated in the oven to soften.