Simple and easy gluten free thanksgiving...

I know there are a multitude of recipes out there for a gluten free Thanksgiving. So, I am simply going to post a few tips I like to use, and also a few of my already posted recipes that could be incorporated into a simple gluten free Thanksgiving menu.

Tip 1: Make a centerpiece out of fruit. Its always beautiful, and then you get to eat the fruit after, so there is no waste. Use some extra herbs from your garden, or what you didn't use in your recipes--Voila! Instant centerpiece!

Tip 2: Brine your turkey. Trust me on this one. Google Alton Brown's recipe. You will never go back to un-brined turkeys.

Start with this recipe as one of your appetizers. Its simple, and easy to make, and delicious.
Olive Appetizer.

Make one of these biscuits as your gluten free roll offering for dinner. Either is delicious, and even your non-gluten free eaters at the table will not know they are GF. Tip: The next day, they make amazing biscuits and gravy! Cheddar biscuit, or Buttermilk-Sage biscuit.

Pie. You cannot have Thanksgiving without pie. This crust works! Its a great gluten free recipe! Pie Crust.

Serve your pie with this holiday spiced and scented coffee. It will truly feel like the beginning of the Christmas season. Cinnamon French Press Coffee.

Grilled Locavore Vegetables...

At first glance, these grilled vegetables that I served as a side dish on Memorial Day don’t appear to be to overtly extraordinary. Sure—they taste delicious. The charred, yet caramely flavor of the seared zucchini, the sweet-tangy pop of the roasted tomatoes, the earthy-fresh flavor of the fresh chopped herbs, and then the bright tang of the fresh lemon. It’s really a remarkable balance of flavors. And from such simple ingredients. And that is the point really—a few things, all at their best, make a very great dish.

But the extraordinary part about this dish is that it is a true locavore’s dream. Locavore has become a bit of a trendy thing, I know. However it’s really just a return to the true way things were always done. Once upon a time, a person only had lemons for 2 months out the year, and then only if they lived in a place that grew lemons!
Now, I didn’t set out for this dish to be locavore, but that is the other point I will get to in a minute. As I begin to think about the components of this dish, one-by-one…I realized, the zucchini—came from my local farmershare, the tomatoes—from my aunt and uncle’s bush a few block’s away, the lemons—from my neighbor across the street, the herbs—from my own backyard, and the olive oil from a local olive mill here in town. I stepped back for a moment and realized that through simple, small changes over time, my food began to evolve in such a way that without even trying to, it became local, fresher, organic, and sourced from places other than a grocery store! And that would be my oher said point. By making small changes, we can transform the way we eat, and our relationship with food and nutrition.

I know some would debate me, but I’m pretty sure a lemon from my neighbors tree, plucked moments before its use, clean and fresh—with no chemicals or waxes on its skin, is far better for us than a lemon picked green, then ripened artificially, shipped for a week, waxed and massed transported to a grocery shelf.

So:
• Grow some herbs

• Get to know your neighbors (and their trees)

• Find a local farmer and buy a few veggies

Pick one of these and start small. Over time, other things will evolve themselves into each other and you will find it easier and easier to transform. You may even find a dish like this on your table one evening and think hmmm….this is easier than I thought.

How its done:
This ‘grilling’ happens in a skillet on the stove over high heat.

• 4-5 medium zucchini or summer squash, cut into thick slices
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup fresh chopped herbs, any variety. I used basil, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, and thyme.
• Juice of one large lemon
• Few tbs olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
This will probably take two or more batches to cook all vegetables, repeat steps for each batch.
In a large skillet over high heat, place a tbs or so of olive oil. Place the zucchini in the pan. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Add about half the tomatoes. Let the zucchini brown on each side, flipping when one side is browned. Remove browned zucchini and roasted tomatoes from pan and place on a platter. Sprinkle with some of the fresh herbs, and while hot, juice some lemon juice over the veggies. Repeat, stacking the grilled veggies on the platter.

Homemade raisins...

Everyone should own a food dehydrator.
Now, I know when you hear food dehydrator; you have visions of Ron Popeil-infomercial king–singing praises to his super-handy-fast-and tasty make-anything-in-a-minute piece of magic machinery… but this one really is worth having an oversized, horrible-to-store, single- use piece of kitchen machinery in your kitchen tool kit.

Grapes-Before & Raisins After

Recipe: (It's really this simple)

• 
  
  Grapes
• 
  
  Deydrator
• 
  
  24-48 hours in the dehydrator

Although I shouldn’t say single use, because I make everything in it! I have been teased that if it isn’t tied down in my kitchen-in it goes to the food dehydrator!

My mother gifted me with mine a few Christmases ago and what a wonderful gift it was! However, this is one of those appliances–while its recipients have great intentions–goes straight to the Goodwill after about year 2 in the cupboard taking up as much space as a Volkswagen would. Not mine! But for others who fear a $50 commitment to a large appliance, visit your local GW to find one for $10, they always have a few up on a top shelf.

That said, let me talk a minute about why it is so great:

1. It makes 100% natural, healthy dried fruit snacks. Did you know most ‘dried’ fruit snacks are actually boiled in sugar syrup and then dried? They are soft and squishy and sweet. Well, that is why. Making it yourself, you add no sugar; however, the natural drying process of dehydrating off the water concentrates the sugars making dried fruits super sweet. And, they get chewy, like chewing a good piece of chewy candy, like a Starburst.
2. It reduces waste of over ripe fruit and veggies. When your apples get too soft and mealy to enjoy, or bananas are a little brown, or extra grapes (into raisins!) it all goes into the food dehydrator. I also dry things like turnips and squash. It keeps in the cupboard and then when I want it, it goes into chili or soup, or is used to make a gratin (think potatoes au gratin in a box…but from your kitchen!) The flavors are so intense and really come through.
3. It makes inexpensive dog treats. Yes….the dogs. In our home are treated ,ah-hem…well, spoiled some would say. The chicken jerky at $11 a bag at the warehouse stores is not something I prefer to afford on a regular basis. Leftover cooked chicken, beef, or pork scraps go right in and get dried into meat snacks for the pooches.

Extra tomatoes from the garden Before & After (sundried tomatoes)

  

Ok, so you are thinking…"but the work!" Not really; slice the apple, put it in the dryer and that’s it. They are at such a low temperature, leaving them on overnight and while away is no issue. The food dries itself, literally. It’s effortless.

Just wait till you taste your first batch of dried strawberries and you will be a convert–I promise.

Gluten Free Spring Brunch and Seed Party...

(All recipes are at end of post...)

I love to grow things. If you read my blog, you know this. The excitement of coming home each day from work to see what has pushed up through the earth and is emerging and growing is exhilarating.
Every spring, I host a Seed Party to get my garden planned and prepped and get all my fellow gardeners excited about this year’s seed sowing. Now, we are not master gardeners, some have plots of ground, others just pots. Some veggie gardens, other English gardens, but whether pots or plots, it works for all!

The recipe is simple:
• A handful of seasoned gardeners
• Usually 1 or so new gardening recruits
• A delicious brunch
• Stir in some lively plant discussion
• Sprinkle with tips and tricks, and you have it!

Here is how I host mine, scale yours back if you want to. No matter what, its fun!

Menu: (Recipes at the end)
• Strawberry-chocolate smoothies
• Garden salad (truly, everything was from the garden!) with fresh pear vinaigrette
• Herbed potato strata
• “Dirt-clods & mud” for dessert
• Strawberry water to drink

1. Everyone gets a bag to tote their seeds home in.
2. Everyone gets a garden layout to plan their garden or pots (this helps you to see what you have room for, and what to plant where).

3. Then, share, exchange, and organize your seeds!
4. Have guests bring seeds to share and exchange.

If you love this idea, but just need a smaller scale production, do a Flower Pot Party (think cookie exchange, but with flowers).

1. Have each guest bring a 6-pack of any flower from the local nursery, and their own pot.
2. You provide the potting soil.
3. Then each guest pots a beautiful pot full of a variety of the flowers each guest brought.
4. Have a simple dessert and refreshing drink to go along with it, and that is a fantastic spring party!

Everyone goes home with a beautiful mixed-flower pot full of flowers.

So the scene looks like this: children dig joyfully in big pots of soil, the gardeners chatter and laugh and share their gardening successes and disasters, the dog steals someone's napkin and runs off, the bees buzz the flowers on the table...

So, pick a warm day, some good friends, and just enjoy a few hours on a saturday of dirty hands and doing something that makes you feel good and alive–like growing something.

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RECIPES FOR THE BRUNCH | This brunch is nearly allergen free, and is all gluten free.

Strawberry-chocolate Smoothies | Makes 8 6-ounce servings.
Creamy and yummy!

• 2 pints of strawberries, stemmed removed
• 1.5 cups (or more) coconut milk (this can be any soy, milk, or almond)
• 2 very ripe bananas
• Agave nectar (to sweeten to taste if needed)
• 3 tbs cocoa powder

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend well till smooth. Adjust the milk to make it thinner, add ice if you like it thicker.

Garden Salad with Fresh Pear Vinaigrette | Makes about two cups

Salads don't just have to be lettuce; add whole bunches of parsley, dill and basil in like lettuce leaves. I added raisins and peaches too.

• 1 fresh pear, halved and cored (no need to peel)
• 1 tbs pomegranate molasses (or use honey)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1/3 cup white wine (or apple juice)
• 4 tbs olive oil
• 3 tbs chopped fresh herbs of your choice (I used dill, thyme, basil, scallion, curry herb, sage)
• 2 tbs apple cider vinegar

 Put all this into a blender and let it whirl! You need to taste it and adjust. If too tangy, add more fruit or honey, of too oily, add more wine or juice.

Our truffles and chocoalte sorbet made up our 'dirt-clods' & mud.

No one can do chocolate sorbet better than Ina, so this is her recipe. Use any truffle recipe you find, they are all the same basically.

New options on my blog...

I was pretty excited to find that I could change a setting on my blog that was allowed people to comment without registering! So now that is fixed, people (should be) able to comment freely! (Sorry it took me so long.) Test it and see!

I also now am able to index all my recipes on a recipe page. Up top there are two links, HOME, and RECIPE LISTING, visit the recipe page and you can see them by category, all the links at a glance. Hope that is easier for you all!

That is all for today's post, but I posted a picture of my lettuce patch! It is arugula, mizuna and other various lettuces, that have gone to bolt (seed) and are flowering. Did you ever think a lettuce patch could be such a gorgeous field of flowers?

I suggest when your weather warms, that you grow lettuce, anywhere! Then let it flower! It promotes bees, which is good for other crops, and you can also harvest the seeds for next year (plus, you get to eat all the lettuce it produces!)

Chemical free home...Part II

Here is where I left off in the last post about chemical free home...

If you feel like you cannot go full-boar chemical free, pick one product and convert it. Then after a while pick another...ease into it. Soon, it will be like a normal thing to use those products for everyday use.

6. Furniture/wood polish. Mix 1/4 cup alcohal, 1/2 cup vinegar. Mix in 2 tablespoons lemon juice and about 2 tsp olive oil or jojoba oil. Mix this one well before each use, as the oil will seperate in between uses. Decant from a pop top lidded bottle like a shampoo lid bottle where you can squirt the liquid into a rag for use. Spray bottles do not have enough pressure to dispense the oil.Dust first, then place a little on a soft cloth and polish.

7. Leather cleaner and conditioner. Mix 1/4 cup vodka or rubbing alcohol with 1/4 cup white vinegar. Add 1 tsp jojoba or olive oil.  Decant from a pop top lidded bottle like a shampoo lid bottle where you can squirt the liquid into a rag for use. Shake very well, and squirt mixture onto a soft rag and rub into leather. Do not rinse. Buff well for best results.

8. Disinfectant. Use straight Hydrogen Peroxide 100% right from the bottle. Use on all solid surfaces; counters, sinks, bathrooms--anything you need to disinfect. It must be kept in a brown light-free bottle like it comes in the store, so purchase a sprayer top, or find an old Windex sprayer that fits (most bottles are universal), and screw it to the top of the Peroxide bottle. Spray surface and let sit for a minute or two and wipe dry, or simply allow to dry on the sruface if you want.

9. Dish Soap. This is the only thing I use. Dr. Bronner's 100% Organic Castile soap. It is made only from olive oil, is all natural and not harmful in anyway...no chemicals. Now, Dr. Bronner is a bit of an activist, and while I don't prescribe to all that, his products are PHENOMINAL! They are readily available now, even my SuperTarget sells it. Its a concentrate, so you mix it with water to use.

10. Sponges I love! Twist-you throw them away and then they decompose!
In addition: scrubbies–use wadded up tin foil. Seriously! it works, wont scratch teflon and is magic on cast iron. Then, it goes in the recycle bin. A close 2nd eco-friendly I get at target is the 3M scrubbie.

Note: Ok, what I do for this and the washing machine may not be for everyone, and I know that, but you will at least know that it works--I think good enough--to be chemical free of all the things dishwashing and washing machine detergents leave behind for us to absorb or ingest.

11. Dishwasher. Before running, add 1 cup white vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher, add enough to fill the detergent dispenser, and fill the rinse agent area. Then run the cycle on hot and use a hot dry cycle. This is all you need! The heat cycle degreases the food, and then the heat dry is a sanitizer. The vinegar does the rest. Now, depending on how good your dishwasher is, will be how good your results will be...however--I find this works good for me, and I use no chemicals.

12. Washing machine. Believe it or not, i use no detergent. Nope, none at all. Again, 1 cup vinegar in the detergent area, and I wash on hot. Arm & Hammer recommends 1 cup of baking soda in with your clothes, and we do this too, though not each time. The clothes are clean, as clean as with detergent (I did a test). You can pretreat stains if you need to however you feel like it.

13. Dryer. I use nothing in the dryer. Please read up on the internet about dryer sheet usage, it is something to be educated about...and then most liklely choose for yourself or family to not use them.

Well, that is how we went chemcial free. I feel good about it because there is no worry while cleaning about breathing or ingesting chemicals. Or any residue on my clothes, or dishes...plus its way more economical! Costco sells the huge jugs of vinegar for about $2.50, the 5lb. baking soda bags for $5 and alcohol, and peroxide are 99-cents each. Much more economical than a $4.99 bottle of cleaner.

Chemical free home...Part I

This edition of chemical free home is for cleaning. There is alot to post, so I will post it in parts...I will post another later too for body products.
But for today...cleaning products Part I.
A while back we went chemical free. And honestly, it was not that difficult a transition. I could talk about why, and all the reasons to minus out the unecessary chemicals we expose ourselves to and how the body absorbs them...but you can do that research yourself and make your own decisions about your home and choices. You could also just choose to go chemical free in an effort to save money and create less waste (in the way of plastic bottles you throw away from home cleaners.)

Here is my lineup...
Packaging and containers.

• I purchased emtpy containers and bottles from here. http://www.containerandpackaging.com/.
• Or you can reuse empty ones you have once emptied if you like.
• I found it worth the small investment to purchase blank new ones and label with a label maker. 
• The Container Store also has some empty containers you can purchase. http://www.containerstore.com/welcome.htm

 Recipes for cleaners.

1. All purpose scrubbing cleaner - Baking soda.
   Cleanser for all tasks; sinks, toilets, showers, pots, pans, anything!
   Decant in a shaker-top jar of any kind.
2. Floor cleaner for tile, wood laminate or vinyl floors.Mix 30% water with 70% vinegar. Add ½ cup rubbing alcohol. Add 1 tbs lemon juice.
   Put into a spray bottle (like a Windex bottle) for use. Spray onto the floor and mop with a terry-cloth mop (you can wash the terry-rags) so there is no waste or trash.
3. Streak free mirrors and chrome. Mix 40% rubbing alcohol, 40% vinegar, 20% water. Put into an atomizer or sprayer like a windex bottle. The alcohol evaporates the other liquids quickly resulting in streak free mirrors.
4. Windows and all purpose. (Counters, toilets, stoves, general use.)
   Mix 30% water and 70% vinegar. Put into a spray bottle for use.
5. Fruit and veggie wash.Mix 50% hydrogen peroxide and 50% vinegar. Put into a small spray bottle for use and store in your kitchen. Vinegar is an antibacterial cleaning agent and peroxide is a disinfectant . Spray fruit or veggie liberally and let sit for 2 minutes. You can rub with your hands to loosen dirt. Then rinse.

Remeber use rags for cleaning, then wash them in the washer. The only time I use papertowels are when sanitation is an issue (think raw chicken juices on the counter...) I will post disinfectants (all natual) next time... stay tuned!

That is a good place to start...I will post more later this week!

Everyone should grow something...

Really, everyone should. It is a beautiful thing to watch something grow and then to harvest and eat from it. For the new gardener and the not-enough-time-to garden gardener, I think two easy-successful things to start with are potatoes and snap peas.

Potatoes are quite possibly my very favorite thing to grow. Harvesting is like digging up treasure! You have no idea how many perfect little smooth presents are going to be under the soil, and every time you come upon one it is like a little surprise!

Here is why I feel these two items are an easy and good place to start...
You can grow potatoes in a large deep pot…no yard needed. The plastic terracotta-look pots at the garden center are inexpensive. It takes about one bag of soil to fill it and you are ready to go! Simply buy a potato at the grocery, and set it on your counter until it begins to grow ‘eyes’. Cut the eyes off, then plant them (green shoots up) into the soil so the little eyes barely peek. Then water. And wait…but not for long. Potatoes grow fast! Then they begin to grow their new potatoes attached to the roots under the soil.

I grow them in both winter and summer in my climate in AZ. Potatoes near the top of the roots will begin to peek out of the soil. But there are also plenty down below! I will dig around and harvest and leave the plant in the ground for more to develop.

Snap peas are another great place to start. These grow great in a deep pot as well, and believe it or not, can even be grown indoors in a bright sunny warm window. I grow mine outside in the ground at my home. They climb the poles and have pretty flowers, then like magic, these white flowers become these sweet crisp snap peas. I also harvest the leaves of the plant and eat them in salad (no need to waste a perfectly delicious green!). They are a mild, sweet pea flavor and are tender and amazing in a salad.

Peas do take a few weeks to germinate and sprout, so there is patience involved on the front end, but the growth and harvest is wonderful to watch! Just place a teepee of bamboo poles (from the garden center) or tree twigs from your yard to have them grow on.

Plastic-free home...

About 2 years ago, I chose to stop using plastics as food containers in our home. I recycled every last one of them and went to glass. The risks and information regarding plastics is everywhere on the internet, so do your own research and make your own descisions on the topic.

Using glass jars is an easy transition. You can buy a dozen at the grocery in various sizes, but if you plan to transition out of plastic over time, simply save the glass jars and bottles that you do use from products that you buy. Instead of recycling a glass salad dressing bottle, clean it and reuse it, making your own homemade salad dressings instead.
In fact, I know purchase good and products with the reuse of their vessel in mind. I try my best to buy products that are packaged in recycled/recyclable/reusable containers or packaging.

The glass jars go right into the freezer (be mindful of freezing liquids however). With the lids removed, they also go right to the microwave. We do not own a microwave at home, but I pack my lunches into 8oz. glass jars and then reheat them at work in the microwave there. Then, they go right into the dishwasher where they are cleaned and sanitized for the next use.
But where to store them all? My counters and cupboards were over run, so my solution was to utilize a space I had under an island in my kitchen and store them in baskets. It works great.
I use the glass jars for everything; I store dried fruits, granola, nuts, grains. In the fridge I store leftovers, homemade pickles, I reuse spaghetti sauce jars and jar my own sauce. In the freezer, I pack leftover dinner portions for my lunch the next day, like rice, or fish and vegetables, even grapes and sliced apples. Baby-food jars are fantastic for transporting salad dressing to work to go on my salad, or small portions.

I will post my spaghetti sauce recipes and salad dressing recipes this weekend, stay tuned!

A few words about Tom Sawyer Gluten Free Flour.

I have been known to thank our good Lord during grace at the table for a man named Tom Sawyer, and for his flour. His flour changed my gluten free life.

 Tom’s flour is by far the very best to use in gluten free recipes.
 What I love about his flour is there are not extra items to add, like xantham gum, his blend is flavor neutral, and imparts no additional flavors to the food, like other flours can sometimes you want that, but often with baked goods, you don’t. Also, I can take any recipe, and simply substitute in his flour, and the food turns out amazing.


I mail order it from Sedona (local to me in AZ). You can too.


Trust me; it is worth the mail order. You will never go back. For new gluten free bakers, you will see often and wonderful success, I promise.


That said, I realize mail ordering your flour is not for all, so use whatever GF flour blend you choose to use in these recipes. If you have a mix you buy of GF flour, or that you make, you can use that in my recipes. They should turn out the same without issue, however the flavors may not be right on.