Bloody Eyeball Soup

I found this recipe on Allyouneedischeese.ca.  We were duberish on how it would taste.  You can't see the "bloody eyeball" in this picture, but it's a tablespoon of whole cranberry sauce.  It sort of sunk to the bottom in this picture.

We were pleasantly surprised how good this is.  It's a fairly rich soup with sour cream and 3-year-old cheddar, but the cranberry counteracts that. I'm not overly keen on cranberries, but I like this.

You will need:

• 4 potatoes, peels and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp. chili flakes
• 2 cups white cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup whole cranberry sauce
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Saute onion, garlic and chili flakes in olive oil.  Add potatoes and vegetable stock.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about half an hour. When the potatoes are soft, I mashed them right in the broth.  You could also use an immersion blender.

Stir in sour cream and cheese until cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into bowls and spoon a heaping tablespoon of cranberries in the middle of the bowl.  Serve. 

Guacamole (vegan)

Rach really wanted to try guacamole, so we got some avocados from the St. Lawrence Market.  To pick a good avocado, feel around the stem.  It should give a little, but not mushy.  Make sure you get the HAAS avocados.  This is naturally creamy and the dip is vegan.  If you garnish with sour cream, then not.  Avocados have the good fat we need and are high in fibre.

You will need:

• 2 avocados
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. onion, chopped
• Juice of half of lemon
• Salt and pepper
• Sour cream and salsa for garnish (optional)
• Chips or cut up veggies for dipping

Wash and cut the avocados in half.  Scoop up the inside into a bowl and mash.

Add olive oil, onion, lemon juice.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  That's all there is to it.

If you're using the sour cream and salsa, just use a little dollop of each.

Cover any leftovers to minimize the guacamole turning dark. 

Vegetarian Chef's Salad

This salad turned out really nice and is a meal in itself . Avocados and chickpeas replace the deli ham.  I left the egg out due to my egg allergy.  It was great without it, so it can go either way,.

You will need:

• 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 2 cups radicchio lettuce, torn
• 1/2 cup alfalfa spouts
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup cucumber, sliced
• 1/3 cup sweet onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup chick peas, rinsed and drained
• 3 eggs, hard boiled 
• 1 tomato, cut into wedges
• 1 avocado
• 2 oz. Swiss cheese
• 2 oz. cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup Miracle Whip
• 1 tbsp. dill pickle, minced
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. capers, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• Salt  and pepper

Scoop all the good green part out of the avocado and toss with 1 tsp. of lemon juice. Set aside.

To make the dressing:  Mix Miracle Whip, dill pickle, olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice, capers and Dijon mustard.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

Mix vegetables and chickpeas in a bowl. Hold back the avocado and cheeses.

Put salad in bowls or plates.  Top with avocado and cheeses.  You don't need a lot of dressing for this.  All the flavours really work together. 

Warm Chickpea and Rice Salad

I really impressed myself with this one. I can't wait for my taste testers to get a hold of this one.

I dedicate this recipe to my restaurant game friends:  Megatron (who realizes she can, indeed, cook with the help of the blog), A100 (one of the kindest souls you'll ever meet), Gluten Free (my Celiac buddy from down under) and my newest friend Wolves Love (who I pray for every day to help her with her journey). These ladies (and include myself in this) are totally addicted to our ipad game and have become friends through it.  These gals so often make my day.

So, ladies, and everyone else, get ready to wow your next get-together.

You will need:

• 1 cup rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 Knorr veggie cube
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tomatoes, diced and seeds removed
• 1/4 fresh chives
• 1 lbs. baby arugula leaves, washed and spinned
• 1/4 cup salted soy nuts
• 2 cans chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup chevre, crumbled
• Salt and pepper

Put rice, water and veggie cube in a large pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Stir in chickpeas.  Keep simmering (you may need to bring to a boil again) until rice is done.

Add in arugula leaves and cover until they wilt.  Stir.  Add in tomatoes and chives.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Finally, stir in soy nuts and chevre.  Serve warm.

Middle Eastern Spiced Carrots and Parsnips (vegan)

 

I never had parsnips before, so I wanted to give them a try.  This wasn't in my top 10, but I did like them.  These have a middle eastern flavour to them, which I really liked.  This was also taken from the Canadian Living website, again with my own twist.

You will need:

• 1 cup baby carrots, sliced in half
• 2 parsnips, peels and cut in 1/2 x 2 inch sticks (roughly)
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. chili flakes
• salt and pepper

 Cover cut-up parsnips and carrots in water and bring to a boil.  Boil for 10 minutes and drain.

In olive oil brown garlic and chili flakes.  Add cumin and paprika  until spices become fragrant.  The spices burn really easily, so be careful.

Add in carrots and parsnips and add salt and pepper to taste. 

Chickpeas with Pearl Onions, Artichokes and Roasted Red Peppers (vegan)

This is a recipe from the Canadian Living website, with my own twist, of course.

You will need:

• 2 red peppers
• 1 bag of pearl onions
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts
• 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp. chili flakes
• Salt and pepper 

First you need to roast the red peppers.  Put them on a baking sheet or in a shallow casserole dish and put them under the broiler until they are blackened all over.  You will need to turn them.  Put them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Once cool, peel them.  The skin will come off easily.  Cut in half and remove the seeds.  Then cut the peppers into 1/4 inch strips and put them to the side.

Next, peel the onions.  This is not as drastic as you may think.  Put the pearl onions in a sauce pan - skin and all - and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.  Rinse in cold water.  The skin will come off of these easily as well.

Put the onions in a large skillet, 1/2 cup a water, chili flakes, and oil from the artichokes.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until no liquid remains. Add in artichokes, chickpeas and red pepper.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste and turn off heat.

Toss with olive oil, white wine vinegar and lemon juice.

Great Gluten-free Find

I found this tea biscuit mix at Metro.  It's from a PEI company called Duinkerken.  They advertise that you won't be able to tell their products are gluten-free.  These tea biscuits were pretty darn close to the real thing.

I had 2 (yes, 2) tonight with butter and jam (I don't usually have both).  My co-worker, Steve, makes wonderful jams and salsa each year.  I had his raspberry jam on these tonight.

I thought this was one of the foods I'd have to forever sacrifice - not anymore!

Peanut Thai Noodles (vegan)

This recipe came from my friend, Gail's blog.  Wow, this was good.

You will need:

• 1/2 package of thick rice noodles
• 2 cups of nappa cabbage, shredded
• 2 cups broccoli flowerettes
• 1/4 + 1 tbsp. vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp. chili flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Vegetable oil

First, put the rice noodles in a large bowl.  Cover noodles with boiling water. Cover bowl,  Yes, it's this easy.

Put nappa and broccoli in a large pot with a little water in the bottom.  Let it steam for about 10 minutes.

In a sauce pan brown garlic in some oil and add chili flakes.  Melt in peanut butter and 1/4 cup of vegetable stock. Turn off heat and stir in honey, soy sauce and remaining 1 tbsp. vegetable stock.

When the vegetables are tender, drain any excess water off. Drain rice noodles and stir in with vegetables.  Stir in peanut sauce.

Seriously, this is really easy and really good.  

Thin Yeast Crust Pizza

Well, my quest for a decent pizza crust continues.  As Rach says, this one isn't as bad as the last one, but it still isn't what I'm searching for. It has much more flavour and texture using the yeast.  I based this recipe from Betty Hagman's book The Gluten-Free Gourmet.

You will need:

• 1 package of quick dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2/3 cup rice flour
• 1/3 cup potato flour
• 1 tbsp. potato flour
• 1 1/2 tsp., melted shortening
• 1 tsp. salt

In bowl dissolved yeast and sugar in warm water until yeast bubbles and quantity doubles.  Add in the rest of the ingredients and add extra water (if necessary) until dough resembles cake frosting.

Spread on a stone way baking sheet or pizza round.  Top with pizza sauce, cheese and desired toppings.  Bake at 425F for 25 to 30 minutes. Let it rest for 15 minutes or so before serving. 

Mexican Lasgana

This recipe came from my friend, Ruth.  It originally was a meat recipe, but I tweaked it to make it vegetarian.  The results were amazing.

You will need:

• 1 cup TVP
• 2 cups water
• 1 tbsp. cumin
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp. chili flakes
• 1 jar of salsa con queso
• 1/4 cup. salsa
• 1 cup cheddar, shredded
• 1 package of gluten-free tortillas
• Vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper 
• Non-stick cooking spray

Rehydrate the TVP with the water and set aside. Saute onion, jalapeno, red pepper, garlic and chili flakes in vegetable oil. Add chili powder and cumin.  Stir until spices become fragrant.  Stir in TVP and kidney beans.  Stir in half the jar of chili con queso. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble, spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Spread salsa on the bottom of the dish.  Place 2 tortillas in dish.  Add half of mixture.  Place 2 more tortilla and other half of mixture.  Top with 2 tortillas and the other half of salsa con queso.  Top with shredded cheddar.

Bake for half an hour, uncovered in a 350F oven.

Good Gluten-free Find - Birthday Cake

This is more of a good gluten-free find opposed to a recipe. Today is my birthday, and, Karen, brought me a gluten-free cake mix.

I made it for myself today and it was very good for gluten-free  I topped it with Duncan Hines icing.

This icing is gluten-free.  It was fast, easy and pretty darn good..

Happy birthday to me...I'm 27 (again)!

Arugula and Beans Pasta

Rach and I liked the Arugula and Beans so much, we thought it would be great in pasta.

You will need:

• 1 batch of Arugula and Beans
• 1 package of gluten-free pasta
• Olive oil
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Prepare the arugula and beans.  Boil pasta and drain. Mix in arugula and beans.  Add olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.

That's it.