citrus salad

The summer is the perfect time for salads, salads with fruit are a favourite of mine and here is one I made last week. I was inspired a recipe I saw in a magazine but didn't want to buy it so I kinda made it up as I went along. I served the salad with some steaks grilled on the barbecue that I had marinaded in a second batch of the dressing. It would go well with chicken as well and the marinade would work for that as well.It was a tasty meal.

Citrus Salad - serves 4

Dressing
2 tsp curry paste ( make sure it is GF, I use mild but you can make it as spicy as you like)
2 medium cloves garlic minced
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar ( I use raw sugar)
1/4 cup pineapple juice (orange could also be used)

Salad
Lettuce - I use 2 handfuls per serving, I think it works out to about 6 cups
1 cup green beans - washed, chopped and then cooked until crisp and bright green it takes about 3 minutes in boiling water. Rinse immediately in cold water to stop them from continuing to cook.
2 fresh large tomatoes - chopped
1 cup chopped pistachio nuts
1 can well drained mandarin orange segments

Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a jar and shake well. Refrigerate until needed, it can be made a day or two ahead if desired.

After you cook the beans mix the salad ingredients in a large bowl, add the nuts at the last minute as they get soggy otherwise. Add the dressing, toss and serve.

If you are going to marinate some meat as well, mix up a second batch of dressing, place meat into a shallow container with a lid and pour dressing over the meat a few hours before you plan to cook it. The longer it has to marinate the tastier it is. I also added an extra tsp of curry paste to the dressing for this to make the marinade a little more tasty.

Enjoy

really?!

As all GF free folks know coming up with an "instant" meal can be a real challenge. Sometimes after a long day of teaching or working outside I just need something that I can put in the oven. Today I found a gluten free fast food. Ian's (www.iansnaturalfood.com) makes gluten free chicken nuggets and fish sticks - and they taste good! Tonight I dined on his sweet potato fries and chicken nuggets, not a morsel of gluten entered my body and it was pretty good! Yeah for Ian's Natural Food.

pizza ( an adapted version)

The GF pizza struggle is a classic one, finding a dough that works and tastes good is a real challenge. P and I have found one that we both enjoy and regularly make it and slather it with all sorts of yummy things. Pesto, feta, roasted red pepper, onion and artichoke is a fav but so is plain old pepperoni and mushroom ( make sure it is GF pepperoni). Here is the crust recipe I like.

Sometimes I do the needing part in the breadmaker and sometimes I do it by hand. To do it in the breadmaker dump in the liquids first and be sure to dissolve the gelatin in the hot water first, then mix all the dry ingredients in separate bowl before adding them to the breadmaker pan. Set the breadmaker just to mix and knead, then follow the directions below.


INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon gluten-free dry yeast
2/3 cup brown or white rice flour*
1/2 cup tapioca flour
2 tblsp dry milk powder
2 tsps xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder
2/3 cup warm water ( at least 105 degrees F)
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp cider vinegar
Oil for the pan


DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
In medium bowl using regular beaters (not dough hooks), blend the yeast, flours, dry milk powder, xanthan gum, and salt, on low speed. Add dissolve the gelatin powder in the warm water and then add the sugar , olive oil, and vinegar. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. (If the mixer bounces around the bowl, the dough is too stiff. Add water if necessary, one tablespoon at a time, until dough does not resist beaters.) The dough will resemble soft bread dough. Or use a Breadmaker to blend ( see above)

Put mixture into 12-inch pizza pan or on baking sheet that has been oiled already. Liberally sprinkle rice flour onto dough, roll out dough into a large circle, use more rice flour as needed to prevent it from sticking. Then press dough into pan, continuing to sprinkle dough with flour to prevent sticking to your hands. Make edges thicker to contain the toppings. Bake the pizza crust for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread pizza crust with your favorite sauce and toppings. Bake for another 15 - 20 minutes or until top is nicely browned. If necessary turn broiler on for a few minutes to brown the cheese.

It's good, really good and still good the next day. I think the thing that I like best about this recipe is that it is good cold unlike most GF things.

* If I am doubling the recipe I use 2/3 of a cup of each