Strawberry Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

This is an Eating Well recipe that I fell in love with last year.  http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/strawberry_rhubarb_upside_down_cake.html. I'm making it to take to Pam's with me, and I'll probably take some to the potluck, too.  I definitely shouldn't eat the whole cake by myself, and Nancy doesn't much care for strawberries.  

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sliced fresh rhubarb

3/4 cup orange juice, divided

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

3 large eggs

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp orange zest

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease 9" round cake pan with olive oil.

Combine rhubarb, 1/4 cup orange juice, and granulated sugar I a medium bowl.  Let stand, mixing occasionally, for 20 minutes.  Add the strawberries.  Stir to combine.  Spread fruit mixture in prepared cake pan.

Whisk eggs, oil, brown sugar, orange zest, vanilla, and remaining 1/2 cup of orange juice in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl,  mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Do not over mix.  Spoon batter on top of the fruit mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out dry, 40-50 minutes.

Run a knife around the outside of the cake, shake the pan a bit to loosen the bottom, and invert the cake onto a serving plate.  Remove the cake pan.  Let the cake cool to room temperature before serving, about 2 hours.

Nutritional information:  Makes 10 servings, per serving = 321 calories, 17 g fat, 56 mg cholesterol, 241 mg sodium, 40 g carbs, 3 g dietary fiber, 5 g protein

Simple Paleo Veggie Quiche

Paleo recipes are often compatible with my food sensitivities, so I often search Paleo food blogs.  This week I was particularly looking for vegetarian Paleo recipes, and this quiche is one I found on the Kohler Created blog, http://www.kohlercreated.com/blog/?p=19726.  I'm taking it to Sunday's church potluck.

INGREDIENTS

7 eggs

1/2 cup coconut milk

3/4 tsp baking powder

Salt & pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1 cup broccolettes or roughly chopped broccoli

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1 small yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

Almond meal/flour and coconut oil for preparing pie pan

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 9" pie pan with coconut oil.  Sprinkle with almond meal/flour, tilting and shaking pan until bottom and sides of pan are coated.  Turn pan upside down and gently tap to remove excess almond flour.

Whisk eggs and coconut milk.  Add baking powder, salt, and pepper.  Whisk.  Mix in spinach, broccoli/broccolettes, onions, and garlic.  Pour into prepared pie pan.

Bake 40 minutes, or until done.

Nutritional information: If cut into 8 pieces, per piece = 78.2 calories, 4.6 g fat, 162.8 mg cholesterol, 137.2 mg sodium, 3.0 g carbs, 0.7 g dietary fiber, 6.3 g protein

Pistachio Date Bites (also Coconut Date Bites)

Tomorrow I both have a potluck at the UU church and a drive to Louisville to visit my friend Pam.  Visiting Pam includes the fun of planning our meals and bringing food.  I'm making these date bites for both the potluck and the road trip.  I found the recipe at http://zaatarandquinoa.com/2014/01/21/pistachio-date-bites/, and I made one batch rolling the bites in crushed pistachios and a second batch rolling them in desiccated coconut.

INGREDIENTS

20 pitted dates

1 Tbsp almond butter (any nut butter will do)

1/3 cup crushed pistachios or desiccated coconut (that was more than needed)

COOKING INSTRCTIONS

In blender or food processor, blend the dates and nut butter until smooth, about 2 minutes (mine formed a dough after a little more than a minute).

Form the mixture into balls (you can grease your hands with a little olive or coconut oil if dough is too sticky - I didn't need to).  Roll the balls in the pistachios or coconut and freeze for 20 minutes.  Uneaten bites can be stored in the refrigerator.

Nutritional information:  Makes about 18 bites, per bite = 41 calories, 1.3 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0.3 mg sodium, 7.6 g carbs, 1.0 g dietary fiber, 0.7 g protein

Lemon-Grilled Chicken Breasts

Grilled out tonight.  The porcelain grill grates on our propane gas grill had started to rust, so I bought some Grill Grates to put on top of those.  This was my first time grilling with my new Grill Grates, and I was very pleased with how they worked.  I did roasted vegetables and lemon-grilled chicken breasts, http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-grilled-chicken-breasts-10000001823354/

Needed to make some of these when our grill was out of propane, and I found this oven baked lemon chicken breasts recipe that worked out well  - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-chicken-breasts-recipe.html.  I used them in both SW Chicken Salad and the Chicken, Farro, Green Beans, Corn, and Goat Cheese recipe (I didn't have any green beans, so I used mixed vegetables, and that worked well, too.)

INGREDIENTS

3 Tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

4-7 chicken breast halves

Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking spray (optional, depending on how seasoned your grill is)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

In large plastic storage bag, mix together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and chicken.  Let marinate in refrigerator at least 30 minutes, turning the bag several times.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.  Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade.  Salt and pepper the chicken.  Grill the chicken 6-10 minutes per side.

Chili Experiment

The chili recipe I tried earlier this year didn't work out so well for me - the black beans did trigger pain.  So today I am experimenting with a nightshade-free chili that uses lentils and ground beef.  I used zucchini with a little vinegar as a substitute for tomatoes, and I used my No Tomato Marinara Sauce.  I used onions, garlic, black pepper, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and oregano as the spices - no chili powder, since that is a nightshade.  And I threw in the corn because Nancy has a meatless chili recipe I like a lot that uses corn.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup lentils

2 cups water

1 pound ground chuck

I medium to large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small to medium zucchini, diced

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Dash of salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp coriander

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

2 cups No Tomato Marinara Sauce

2 cups water

1 pound frozen corn

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Put lentils and 2 cups water into a large saucepan.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 25 minutes.  

In skillet, cook the ground beef, onion, garlic, and salt & pepper until meat is cooked and browned and onions are soft and translucent.  Add zucchini, vinegar, and other spices.  Cook, stirring continuously, for 2-3 more minutes.

Drain lentils.  Add meat mixture to lentils.  Add No Tomato sauce, 2 cups of water, and frozen corn.  Simmer for at least 30 minutes.

 Nutritional information: 8 servings, per serving = 249.6 calories, 11.4 g fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 382.9 mg sodium, 25 g carbs, 5 g dietary fiber, 15.3 g protein

Marvelous Millet Loaf

A food processor makes this an incredibly easy recipe to make.  Let the food processor do all the fine chopping, shredding, dicing, and mincing.  I found this recipe in a cookbook: Food Allergy Survival Guide, by Vesanto Melina, Jo Stepaniak, and Dina Aronson.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup millet

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup finely chopped onions

1 cup finely chopped or shredded carrots

1 cup finely diced celery

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1/2 tsp dried thyme, well crumbled

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2-1 cup raw or toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Oil a large loaf pan and set aside.  Rinse the millet well and place it in a large saucepan along with the water, onions, carrots, celery, salt, garlic, and thyme.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce the heat to medium- low, and simmer for 30 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let stand 10 minutes.

Stir in the oil and seeds and mix well.  Spoon into the loaf pan, packing the mixture down firmly.  Place on a cooling rack and allow the loaf to rest in the pan at room temperature for 15-30 minutes.  The longer it rests, the firmer it will be.  Carefully turn the loaf out of the pan onto a cutting board or serving platter.  Cut into slices and serve.

Nutritional information, per slice:  189 calories, 5.5g protein, 9g fat, 24g carbohydrate, 3.5g fiber, 23mg calcium, 81mg magnesium, 386mg sodium, 2.3mg iron, 1.2mg zinc, 36mcg folate, 0.1mg riboflavin, 4mg Vitamin C, 

Rutabaga Hash Brown Egg Nests

I can't tell you how much I miss potatoes!  I am so glad that I read about rutabagas as a substitute.  I had never tried rutabagas before this year, and now I am just so grateful for them!  They are terrific in with roasted vegetables, and make a great substitute for potatoes in our Turkey Kielbasa Potato Chowder (I'll post that recipe next time I make it).  Some other substitutes for potatoes include cauliflower, turnips, celery root, jicama, and sweet potatoes (and I've recently discovered the white-fleshed sweet potatoes, which can even look like the forbidden nightshade potatoes, but aren't).

And now I know rutabagas work for hash browns, too!  Today's breakfast was bacon, egg, and rutabaga hash browns.  Since I was indulging in bacon today, I fried my hash browns in bacon grease, but extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil should work fine, too.  I used the recipe for Rutabaga Egg Nests from the PaleOMG blog http://paleomg.com/rutabaga-egg-nests/, with slight modifications.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium-large rutabaga, peeled (remove layer of white)

1 small-medium or 1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

3-4 slices bacon per serving

1 egg per serving

Salt & pepper to taste

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Roughly chop peeled rutabaga then put through shredding attachment on your food processor, if you have one.  My food processor doesn't, so I used the shredding blade on my mandolin for the rutabaga and the thin slices blade for the onion.

Mix the rutabaga, onion, garlic, salt and pepper together in a bowl.  Save any unused for another day (I used about 1/4 to 1/3 of mine and stored the rest in a plastic bag in the refrigerator).

For each serving:

Cook 3-4 pieces of bacon in a skillet.  When done, remove to paper towel.  Over medium heat, place a layer of the rutabaga onion mixture in the hot bacon grease in the skillet.  Press down with spatula.  Let cook 3-4 minutes.  Turn the hash browns over.  Clear a hole in the middle by pushing the rutabaga/onion mixture away from the center.  If needed, add a little olive oil or bacon grease to the hole.  Crack an egg and empty into hole.  Cook until egg is done as you like it - about 3-4 minutes.  Covering the pan while cooking helps cook the top of the egg.

Nutritional information: 

per serving of just hash browns cooked in coconut oil = 112.7 calories, 9 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 170.9 mg sodium, 7.3 g carbs, 1.5 g dietary fiber, 1.3 g protein

per serving cooked in bacon grease and with 4 slices bacon and 1 large egg = 440 calories, 38.2 g fat, 236.4 mg cholesterol, 854.1 mg sodium, 7.7 g carbs, 1.5 g dietary fiber, 15.6 g protein

Popeye Beef Stroganoff Hotdish

This is a recipe that came from Nancy's recipe box.  I'm not sure where she got it originally.  I used to make it entirely in a Pyrex casserole dish, which made it a one-dish wonder.  But now I cook the meat in a skillet - Pyrex can shatter due to thermal shock, and I had one casserole dish do that when I poured cold beef broth into the hot casserole dish I'd just cooked the meat & onion in on the stove.  I've also modified the recipe to adapt to my special dietary restrictions, including finding a dairy- and soy-free sour cream (WayFare We Can't Say It's Sour Cream from Elbert's).

Since I've given up on this being a one-dish wonder, I often mix everything up in a big bowl before putting it into the casserole dish - much easier to mix, and less spilling.  Also, when I add the spinach, I usually stick it all on top, cover the dish with the lid, and microwave for 2 minutes.  Then I mix the spinach in with the other stuff and return to microwave for 2 more minutes.  And when I don't have canned beef broth I use 1 1/2 beef bioullion cubes in 1 1/2 cups of water as a substitute for the beef broth and water in the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound round steak, thinly sliced into 2" strips

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 small onion, chopped

1 10.5 oz. can beef broth

1/4 cup water

3 cups uncooked egg noodles

8 oz. sliced mushrooms

1 Tbsp catsup (I used 2 Tbsp of my No Tomato sauce instead)

1 tsp prepared mustard

4 cups spinach, chopped

1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (I used soy- and dairy-free)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in large skillet.  Coat steak stips with flour.  Cook steak and onion in oil until brown on all sides. Transfer meat and onion to 2 1/2 qt Pyrex casserole dish.  Add remaining flour and a little of the beef broth to the skillet, mix, and then scrape up as much of the flour, etc., as possible and add to casserole dish. Add remaining beef broth, water, noodles, mushrooms, catsup/No Tomato sauce, and mustard to casserole dish.  Stir.  Cover.  Microwave on high for 14 minutes, stirring twice.  Add chopped spinach.  Microwave additional 4 minutes.  Stir in sour cream or yogurt.

Nutritional information:  Makes 6 servings, per serving = 250.6 calories, 6.6 g fat, 62 mg cholesterol, 448.2 mg sodium, 22.2 g carbs, 2.0 g dietary fiber, 25.6 g protein

Nightshade-Free Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

I found this vegetarian sloppy joe recipe on the Food Network website http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/spicy-vegan-sloppy-joes-recipe.html.  I substituted my No Tomato marinara sauce for the ketchup and tomato paste called for in the original recipe.  And I left out the green peppers and chilli pepper spices.  So their recipe was Spicy Vegan Sloppy Joes, but mine is just Nighshade-free Vegetarian Sloppy Joes, tho it was pretty spicy using 2 teaspoonfuls of black pepper!

When I put the mushrooms in the food processor, I did them all at the same time and ended up with more of a raw mushroom purée than with finely minced/chopped mushrooms.  I'll probably try doing them in smaller batches next time.  I ended up eating my sloppy joe with a fork - tasted pretty good, but not one of my favorites.  I definitely liked the cabbage with it.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound mushrooms

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large sweet onion, diced

1/2 to 3/4 cup light beer

Dash of salt

1 to 2 tsp black pepper, depending on how spicy you want it

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

1/2 cup No Tomato Sauce

Shredded red cabbage

Hamburger buns

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Pulse mushrooms in food processor until finely minced.  Set aside.

Heat oil in skillet, add onion and 1 Tbsp beer, and salt.  Cook about 5 minutes.  Add walnuts and cook another 3 minutes.  Add mushrooms and 3/4 Tbsp black pepper.  Cook 5 minutes.  Add remaining beer and No Tomato sauce, and cook additional 2 minutes, or until thoroughly heated and proper consistency.

Serve on hamburger buns and top with shredded red cabbage.

Nutritional information:  6 servings, per serving = 187.4 calories, 6.7 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 234.7 mg sodium, 29.6 g carbs, 8.1 g dietary fiber, 8.3 g protein

Chocolate Pie

MI went looking for a gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free chocolate pie recipe, and I found several promising ones: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/62705391803/kelly-brozynas-chocolate-pie-raw-graham-cracker, http://www.elanaspantry.com/chocolate-cream-pie/, http://brittanyangell.com/chocolate-orange-mousse-pie-with-a-toasted-coconut-crust-sugarglutendairysoycornegg-free-with-directions-to-make-with-carob-or-flavor-with-peppermint-almond-or-raspberry-in-place-of-the-oran/, and http://www.paleofondue.com/2013/11/14/paleo-chocolate-silk-pie/.  Each of these recipes had features that really appealed to me, and I may have to try them all eventually.  The one on Nom Nom Paleo uses no sugar or other sweeteners, and the crust is made from walnuts and dates.  Elana's Pantry just is very consistent in having good recipes, and tha almond flour crust recipe sounds like a really good substitute for regular pie crusts.  I love the flavors of orange and chocolate together, so Brittany Angell's chocolate-orange mousse pie sounds really good.  But Nancy doesn't like coconut, so I don't want to use that crust.  Then Paleo Fondue's chocolate silk pie uses avocado, which I know from a non-dairy chocolate pudding I've made several times can make a very creamy and delicious filling.

One of the challenges for me in making anything chocolate is avoiding both dairy and soy.  Enjoy Life makes soy- and dairy-free chocolates using rice milk.  And I can use cocoa powder, or chocolate bars that are 100% cocoa.

CRUST INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 cut walnut oil (her recipe calls for grapeseed oil)

2 Tbsp honey (or agave nectar if Vegan)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

CRUST COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in a small bowl.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well.  Put dough into 9 1/2 " glass pie plate.  Use hand and fingers to pat into place and shape.  Bake at 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until golden.  Let cool.

I mostly used the filling recipe on the Nom Nom Paleo blog for Kelly Brozyna's Chocolate Pie...  But I'm sure hers is much better than mine.  The dates I used weren't so soft, so my filling has small bits of dates and isn't truly smooth.  And my filling is too sweet.  Instead of using the separated cream from two cans of 22% fat coconut milk, I tried using most of a can (1 cup) of cream of coconut.  That has a lot of added sugar and is not the same as coconut cream.  Now I know.  

And because my filling was so sweet and also didn't fill the pie crust, I decided to try making a dairy- and soy-free whipped cream topping.

CHOCOLATE FILLING INGREDIENTS

1 cup coconut cream (only I used cream of coconut)

8 soft, pitted dates

3 oz. 100% cocoa dark chocolate, melted

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

FILLING COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Process the dates in a food processor until smooth.  Whisk together other ingredients.  Add to food processor and process until smooth.  Pour into cooled pie crust.

My attempt to make a whipped topping did not work out, so I had Nancy pick up some Cool Whip.  I can't have it, but everyone else can ;-).  I also had her get some gelatin - I'm hoping I can thicken my coconut cream topping mixture with that.  I had been trying for Vegan, but failed.  So now I just want whatever will work, and the gelatin did get my coconut cream topping to work.

Meatloaf

Our family's meatloaf recipe has evolved over the years, although the basic recipe has remained fairly constant.  Mostly, we've moved from using ground beef in it to using ground turkey, and eliminating any of the foods I'm sensitive to - so no hot pepper sauce or chilli sauce.  The grated zucchini, carrots, and onions make it a very moist, and delicious, meatloaf.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium summer squash, grated (I almost always use zucchini)

1 medium carrot, grated

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (gluten-free, if needed)

1 large egg

2 pounds ground turkey with the following spices: 1 tsp dried sage, 1 tsp dried crushed Rosemary, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp salt

1/4 cup water

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together well - this is done easiest by washing your hands well then using them to really mix things together.  Shape and put into loaf pan.  Bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

10 servings, 4 Weight Watchers Smart Points per serving

Peanut Noodles

Dinner tonight was Peanut Nnodles with Chicken Satay and Cucumber Salad.

I based each dish on separate recipes I found on different blogs, and I'm posting each as a separate blog entry.  The peanut noodles recipe is adapted from The Comfort of Cooking blog http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2013/08/simple-asian-soy-peanut-noodles.html.  I made adaptations to keep it soy-free, gluten-free, and nightshade-free.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound brown rice pad Thai noodles or thin spaghetti

1 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2-3 Tbsp coconut aminos to taste (or soy sauce, if tolerate)

1 tsp rice vinegar

1-2 Tbsp peanut butter, to taste

1 Tbsp honey

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced or grated

1 clove garlic, minced

3 scallions, sliced

1/4 cup unsalted, dry roasted peanuts, chopped

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

(Original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of cilantro, but I don't like cilantro so leave it out)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Set a pot of water to boil.  Add spaghetti or noodles and cook according to package directions.

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, coconut aminos, vinegar, peanut butter, honey, ginger, garlic, and scallions.

Once noodles have cooked, drain and add to bowl of other ingredients.  Toss to coat well.  Chopped peanuts in food processor.  Sprinkle noodles with peanuts and sesame seeds (and cilantro, if you like the stuff).

Nutritional information: 6 servings, per serving = 299.6 calories, 15.3 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 145 mg sodium, 136 g carbs, 2.7 g dietary fiber, 427g protein (I think this must be wrong, but it's what the nutrition calculator gave me)

Chicken Satay

I had a 1/2 chicken breast in the freezer, so decided to thaw it and use our grill for the first time this year.  I made a half recipe - just enough to use up the chicken breast and make two skewers of Chicken Satay for Nancy and me.  I used the Chicken Satay recipe from The Steamy Kitchen blog http://www.steamykitchen.com/27510-chicken-satay-with-peanut-noodles-recipe-video.html.  I got the peanut noodle recipe I used from a different blog, tho.  And I substitututed coconut aminos for the soy sauce that was called for in the original recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes.

1 Tbsp coconut aminos (or soy sauce, if tolerate)

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

Freshly ground black pepper

4-6 wooden skewers

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk together the coconut aminos, olive oil, garlic, ginger, cumin, and pepper.  Marinate chicken in mixture in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to 24 hours.

Soak wooden skewers in water.

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Place chicken on skewers and grill 3-4 minutes per side.

Nutrition information: 6 servings, per serving = 110.2 calories, 2.6 g fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 200.9 mg sodium, 0.7 g carbs, 0.1 g dietary fiber, 21.8 g protein

Cucumber Salad

I wanted peanut noodles for dinner tonight, so then had to decide what to serve with them.  I chose cucumber salad and chicken Satay.  Since it was just Nancy and me for dinner, I made half recipes (except for the peanut noodles, figuring leftovers of them would be eaten up).

The cucumber salad recipe I used is from the Food Network http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/cucumber-salad-recipe.html

INGREDIENTS

2 English cucumbers

1 small red onion

1 1/2 Tbsp salt

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp white wine or sherry vinegar

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp dill (2 Tbsp fresh)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Slice cucumbers lengthwise.  Remove seeds.  Thinly slice the cucumbers and onion.  Toss with salt and let sit 20 minutes in a colander.  Rinse well and drain.  Whisk together vinegar, sugar, and dill.  Add cucumbers and onion and mix together.

Nutritional information: 6 servings, per serving = 23.4 calories, 0 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 27.5 mg sodium, 5.3 g carbs, .6 g dietary fiber, 1.2 G protein

Ghiuvetch

I've been using this recipe for years.  Originally, I got it from Readers Digest.  I've since learned that there is a traditional Bulgarian beef/meat or vegetable stew called gyuvetch, and I'm guessing this is some version of that.  I've modified my recipe to remove the soy and dairy - you can use soy sauce instead of the coconut aminos.  Coconut aminos is a good substitute for soy sauce - I get mine at Elbert's.  And ghiuvetch is usually served with either plain yogurt or sour cream, but I don't eat those because of the dairy.  Technically, paprika is in the nightshade family and I should avoid it, but it is pretty essential to this recipe and I include it.  It could be left out and added black pepper used instead.  This is one of those recipes that is good freshly cooked, but even better the next day.

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 stalks celery, sliced diagonally

1 Tbsp grated horseradish

1 Tbsp paprika

1 pound frozen corn

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1 tsp dill weed

2/3 cups vegetable stock

2 1/2 cups shredded red cabbage

Coconut aminos

Freshly ground black pepper

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in large saucepan and gently sauté onions until soft, about 4-5 minutes.

Add celery, horseradish, and paprika.  Cook 2-3 minutes.

Stir in corn, walnuts, dill, and stock.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Add red cabbage and cook additional 10-15 minutes.

Season with coconut aminos (or soy sauce if tolerate) and pepper.

Serve hot (garnished with plain yogurt or sour cream if tolerate)

Nutritional information: 6 servings, per serving = 230.8 calories, 15.6 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 136.9 mg sodium, 22.4 g carbs, 5.1 g dietary fiber, 6.2 g protein

Nut Hummus (two recipes)

I miss hummus since I no longer eat garbanzo beans.  I can sometimes find a lentil hummus in the grocery store, but I've otherwise just had to do without hummus,  The Courier & Press had an article recently by Aimee Blume that included a couple of recipes that are essentially nut hummus - one with cashews and one with almonds.  That gave me hope, and inspired me to come up with a very simple almond nut hummus that I like a lot.

ALMOND HUMMUS 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup almond flour

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, mincedt

1/2 cup cold water

Salt to taste

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Put everything into a food processor and process a couple of minutes.

Nutritional information: makes about 1 cup, per Tbsp = 63.7 calories, 6.1 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 9.8 mg sodium, 1.9 g carbs, 0.8 g dietary fiber, 1.5 g protein

I had it with pita bread and a Greek salad for lunch.

I haven't tried the cashew hummus recipe yet.  It's more complicated than my simple hummus.

CASHEW HUMMUS (simplified from "Creamy Herbed Cashew Hummus" recipe that was in the newspaper)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup whole raw cashews

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

3 Tbsp grapeseed oil

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

1 Tbsp fresh chives

1 tsp fresh dill

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Place cashews in medium bowl and cover with 3 inches cold water.  Let soak 24 hours.  Drain soaking liquid, rinse under cold running water, and drain again.

Purée cashews, lemon juice, zest, oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup cold water in food processor for 6 minutes, or until very smooth and creamy.  Stir in chives and dill.

The part I left out of this recipe was straining the mixture through a triple layer of cheesecloth (essentially wrapping the hummus in cheesecloth and setting in a strainer in a bowl), chilling for 12 hours or overnight, and discarding excess liquid.  I may find I need this step once I try the recipe.

Braised Cabbage Wedges

My friend Sarah recommended the Nom Nom Paleo blog for many good Paleo recipes.  This braised cabbage recipe is modified from that blog http://nomnompaleo.com/post/1356598429/worlds-best-braised-green-cabbage.  Instead of using bacon grease, lard, or ghee I used olive oil, keeping my recipe vegetarian/Vegan.

INGREDIENTS

1 medium head green cabbage, cut into 8 wedges

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4" coins

1 medium red onion, peeled and thickly sliced

1/4 cup water

Freshly ground sea salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 

Balsamic vinegar to drizzle

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease or spray 9"x13" baking pan with olive oil.

Place cabbage wedges in single layer in prepared pan.  Add carrot and onion slices, broken apart.  Season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with water and oil.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil or lid.

Bake undisturbed for 1 hour.  Remove lid/foil and carefully flip cabbage.  Replace lid/foil, sealing tightly. Bake additional 1 hour.

Drizzle with vinegar and serve immediately.  (Can be stored and reheated before adding vinegar and serving)

Nutritional information:  8 servings, per serving = 101 calories, 7.4 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 52.6 mg sodium, 9.1 g carbs, 3.4 g dietary fiber, 2 g protein

The dinner I served this with was not vegetarian.  While at the Old Fashioned Butcher Shoppe yesterday, I got a couple of brown sugar ham dinner slices, and I heated those in a frying pan to serve with the cabbage,

Baked Lemon Chicken

Tonight's dinner for company was a baked lemon chicken recipe I modified slightly from Kelly the Kitchen Kop's blog http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2012/03/baked-lemon-chicken-recipe.html.  She has lots of recipes and other information and testimonials in support of the real food lifestyle.  My chicken was cut while I waited at The Old Fashioned Butcher Shoppe on Stringtown Road. They get their chickens fresh on Tuesdays and Thursdays from a farm near Goshen, Indiana.

I roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, onion, rutabaga, and Brussels sprouts (mixed with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and freshly ground salt and pepper) in the same oven, at the same time, I baked the chicken.

INGREDIENTS

2 fryer chickens cut into eight pieces each

Juice of 2-3 lemons

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 cup gluten-free Panko bread crumbs

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp lemon pepper

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Wash chicken pieces, dry, and set out about an hour before cooking to allow them to come to room temperature.  Place in Baggie or bowl with lemon juice and olive oil.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray or grease 9"x13" baking pans with olive oil.

Put remaining ingredients through food processor, then into separate Baggie or bowl.  Place chicken, one piece at a time, in Baggie or bowl to coat with bread crumb mixture.  Place coated pieces in prepared pan.

Bake 45 minutes.  (Optional step is to grill the chicken briefly before baking)

Nutritional information: 8 servings with 2 pieces per serving, per serving = 557.4 calories, 36.9 g fat, 168.8 mg cholesterol, 327.9 mg sodium, 10.7 g carbs, 0.1 g dietary fiber, 42.9 g protein