Jacques Pepin's Fresh Tomato Coullis

 Ingredients

1 lb (about 3 large) fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (see directions)

1/2 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1/4 cup)

1 T oil

1 clove garlic, minced

fresh thyme to taste (1/2 - 1 tsp)

salt, pepper, sugar to taste

1 T butter

Instructions:

Remove skin from tomatoes by immersing in boiling water for a minute, then peeling off. Cut in half and squeeze out seeds over a strainer, reserving the liquid. Chop tomatoes. 

Add oil to pan and heat.  Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft; add thyme and sauté a minute or two more.   

 
Add tomatoes and juice, salt, pepper, and a pinch or two of sugar and boil 3-4 minutes or until tomatoes are broken down to your liking.

Taste to adjust seasoning, then stir in butter.

Serve over pasta, or in any other way you would use tomato sauce.  

Chicha Morada (Peruvian purple corn drink)

Chicha Morada 
(Peruvian Purple Corn drink)
found online July 2014

Ingredients:
1 lb. Inca purple corn
2 quartered Granny Smith apples
1 pineapple - just the rind and core
4 cinnamon sticks
8 cloves
1 gal. water
1 more gal. water for second  corn boiling
Later: juice of
       3 lemons
       5 limes
       sugar to taste

Instructions:
In large pot, put corn, apples, pineapple rind and core, cinnamon and cloves into 1 gallon water. Bring to boil. Boil 45 minutes covered, then 30 minutes uncovered. Cool overnight. Strain. Save the corn.
Put the corn in another gallon of water, boil about 1 hour, cool overnight (or as long as you can). Strain. Add to rest of juice.  Add lemon and lime juice, then sugar. Drink!

This is really yummy!

Orange Jello Salad with Sherbet

Ingredients

1 small box orange Jello
1 small box lemon Jello
1 cup hot water for each box of Jello
Two cans Mandarin oranges, drained
1 small can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 pint orange sherbet

Directions

Dissolve Jello in the hot water, then add sherbet.  Stir to dissolve.  When cool, add fruit and chill to set.

From Trudy Simmons.

Killer Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

Dressing:

• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 3 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
• 1⁄2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1⁄2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1⁄2 tsp. paprika
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad:

• 1 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed well
• 1⁄2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups cold water
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1⁄4 cup finely diced dried apricots (or dried mangoes)
• Warm water
• 2 ripe avocados
• 2 green onions, sliced diagonally
• 1⁄4 cup toasted slivered or sliced almonds

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, oil, coriander, cumin and paprika. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a saucepan, combine quinoa, salt and cold water; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender. Fluff with a fork, spread on a large baking sheet and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, place cranberries and apricots (or mangoes)  in a small bowl. Cover with warm water and let stand for about 5 minutes or until plump. Drain and set aside.

Peel avocados and cut into bite-sized chunks. Place in a bowl and toss with 1 Tbsp. of the dressing to prevent discoloration. Place cooled quinoa in a large salad bowl. Add cranberry mixture, avocados, green onions and almonds. Add the remaining dressing and toss to combine.

The dressing can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. The quinoa can be cooked up to 1 day in advance; after cooling, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/food/Killer-Quinoa-Salad-Recipe_2#ixzz2fgVGx56d

Impromptu White Chicken Chili (Gluten Free)

Ingredients:

2 - 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 - 2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, smashed or minced
1 medium onion, diced
2 4-oz. cans diced green chilis
2 cans great northern beans
~ 2 cups chicken broth or 2 cups water with 1 Tb chicken flavor base
1 tsp ground cumin (or to taste)
cornstarch (optional)
Butter (optional)

Directions: 

Cut chicken into small cubes and saute in olive oil along with diced onion and garlic.  When chicken is opaque, add the diced green chilies and cook for another minute or two.  Add cumin and stir for a minute, then add broth and beans.  Cook for 15 minutes to allow flavors to blend.  If desired, thicken with a roux of butter and cornstarch (or flour if wheat isn't a problem).  Adjust seasonings and thickness.  Serve.

GF Coffee Cake 1.0

This is my first attempt at gluten free cake, cobbled together from about three recipes online, maybe four. It turned out pretty edible, to my surprise and delight. It took 80 minutes to bake, rather than 50, and was still gummy, but that's what this recipe is for-to tweak. Also, I weigh my flours and brown sugar. The results are more reproducible.

Topping/filling:
2/3 c. (80 g.) oat flour
3/4 c. (6 oz.) brown sugar
3 T. cold butter
2 t. cinnamon
2/3 c. chopped pecans, toasted at 350 for about 10 min, or till they smell good. (Next time I'll use 3/4 c.)

Cake:
1 c. (8 oz.) butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 c. (8 oz.) brown sugar
2 eggs, added one at a time
1 t. vanilla
------------
2 c. (272 g.) Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour baking mix*
1 1/2 t. xanthan gum
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 c. (8 oz.) sour cream 

Directions:

Topping: cut cold butter into oat flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix in toasted chopped pecans. Set aside.

Cake: cream sugars and softened butter till light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla, then eggs, one at a time. Beat well.  In separate bowl blend all the dry ingredients. A wire whisk does a good job of blending them. Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream, ending with dry. I folded them in, trying to not deflate the airy texture of the creamed mixture. Not so sure it worked. 
The recipe says to pour half into a  greased 10" bundt pan, but lacking that I used a 9 1/2" springform pan, then sprinkle about half (half seemed excessive, so I used about 1/3 and wished for more pecans) the topping/filling over it. Spoon in the rest of the batter. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the rest of the topping.

Bake at 350 for "45-50 minutes", but a toothpick came out clean for me after 80 minutes, and the middle fell badly.


Notes to self: 
1. Next time,  use two smaller springform pans (because I have them) and cook for the full 80 minutes, unless the edges burn first. Soggy middles are a letdown. A thinner cake may be the answer?
2. Use more pecans and less oat flour and sugar in the topping. Try 1/2 c oat flour, 1/2 c. (4 oz.) brown sugar, 1 1/2 t. cinnamon and 3/4 c. toasted chopped pecans.
3. Beware of the bean flours, even though they taste lovely once baked. They kick back later.


*Bob's Red Mill All Purpose GF Flour Mix contains:
     garbanzo bean flour
     potato starch (NOT the same as potato flour)
     tapioca flour (same as tapioca starch)
     white sorghum flour
     fava bean flour

Another recipe that looked interesting made the cake with:
1/4 c. canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. almond milk
1 t. (or less) almond flavoring
---------------
1 1/2 c. (204 g.) Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour mix
3/4 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt

Mix wet ingredients well.  Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl, add to wet ingredients.
Pour into 8"x8" pan.
Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.
Drizzle with 1/2 c. powdered sugar, 1/2 t. vanilla and 1T. milk.

I would try it with the pecan topping, not the wet drizzle.

Creamy Balsamic Dressing (soy free)

This started out to be Italian dressing, from a recipe gleaned from the internet.  Not what I had in mind at all! What I wanted was a soy free, delicious dressing to eat on the salad I signed up to bring at the church potluck supper, which was in 10 minutes. This was soy free, but the delicious part was glaringly absent. So, I found my bottle of Brianna's Creamy Balsamic Dressing and started adding ingredients I saw on that label. Being in a hurry, I did not carefully measure some of the ingredients. I also ran out of time, so ended up bringing Brianna's and finishing this dressing when I got home. Surprisingly, the dressing ended up tasting pretty good. The recipe is only in its first stages, and may deserve tweaking here and there (like in the amount of xanthan gum! I used way too much), but here it is:

1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar (I'm really not sure how much I used-it may have been less, but more balsamic is usually good)
1 t. garlic, minced (I used the bottled kind. Fresh is always nicer, though)
3/4 t. parsley flakes
1/2 t. celery salt
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/4 t. onion powder
Juice of 1 lemon (this may be optional)
1 t. spicy brown (or dijon) mustard
2 T. honey (I really like the honey in this. More may be better, but start with this.)
1 T. or so sugar mixed with
1/2 t. xanthan gum (I used more than this, I think. It turned very thick and had to be thinned with water. Then it was fine.)
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese, the kind in a jar
pepper to taste
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together, being sure to mix the xanthan gum into the sugar before adding it to the dressing, so it won't lump. Let sit till thickened, maybe 20-30 minutes, then blend with an immersion blender till creamy looking and well blended. Taste and adjust seasonings. I mixed this up in a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup. It made the full 2 cups.