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...

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

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
  

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

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