Garden Fare

It has been a long and busy summer (visit the knitting blog for the 411) here on the farm, thus the silence on this blog. I have been cooking up a storm and yesterday found myself over run with a variety of garden produce including cherry tomatoes, basil, garlic scapes (we plant garlic in the spring just for this reason) and green onions. I got creative and made us a lovely lunch.

Cherry tomatoes and goat cheese serves 2

2 tsp butter or olive oil for sauteing

2 garlic scape's chopped ( or 2 cloves garlic minced)

2 cups cherry tomatoes quartered

1 cup fresh basil leaves

3/4 cup soft goat cheese - crumbled ( more or less if you prefer)

Salt and pepper to taste

chopped green onions to garnish

1/2 package rice pasta (enough for 2 people) cooked according to package directions.

The whole thing goes together rather quickly so I would suggest that you cook the pasta first and while that is happening you assemble the rest of ingredients. Be ready to throw the garlic in the warmed pan as soon as you have drained the pasta

Melt the butter/warm the oil in a large skillet

Saute the garlic in the butter/oil for about 2 minutes over high heat and add in tomatoes, saute for another 2 minutes and add in the basil, as soon as the basil starts to wilt remove from heat and add in cheese, give it a quick stir to mix in the cheese but don't over stir or the cheese will all melt. Spoon the sauce over the warm pasta and garnish with chopped green onions - enjoy.

I have many recipes in draft form that just need a little attention and so there will be more posts here soon.

fresh

I picked these this morning as they needed to be thinned out. Guess what we are having for dinner?

Cooking for Karina

Indian Chick Peas (or Lentils)

1 19oz/540ml can of chick peas or lentils - rinse them well and then put them back in the can and fill it up with water.
1 large onion finely chopped
4 to 6 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp salt - if you cook with salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp of cayenne - the more you add the hotter it is.
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp cumin
1 to 2 cups of coconut milk ( lite or regular)

Heat a few tsps of olive oil in the bottom of a heavy frying pan ( I like cast iron as they hold the heat well)
Add the minced garlic and onion, saute for about 10 minutes over medium heat
Add the in all the spices, saute for another minute or so.
Add the can of chick peas/lentils and allow to boil rapidly for a few minutes to reduce the liquid. Turn to low and simmer for at least 5 minutes, longer if you have time. At the last minute add the coconut milk. The amount depends on your tastes, I usually add 2 cups. You just want to heat the coconut milk but not have it boil

Serve over rice or rice noodles. Serves 2 big eaters or 3 smaller eaters.

Notes - Sometimes I double the recipe and add both chick peas and lentils.
- I use canned but you could use dry ( that you have soaked and cooked ahead) and add about 1/4 cup of water in place of the water in the can.
- I rinse the can contents well due to the amount of salt that is in the liquid they are canned in.
- This is not a "hot" curry, I can't eat really hot things but it is tasty. P. makes his hotter with pickled mango added on to his plate.

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

Strawberry rhubarb crisp

I love rhubarb and we are lucky enough to have about 5 plants that grow in our yard. I started playing with this recipe last week and after I tried it again this weekend, I think it's now ready to post.

Preheat the oven to 350

4 cups sliced rhubarb
4 cups slices strawberries
1/4 cup sugar ( I use raw sugar but white or brown would work just fine)

Combine these 3 ingredients in a medium shallow size casserole dish and prepare topping

In a large bowl combine
2/3 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup white rice flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
2/3 cup brown sugar

Stir the flours and sugar together and then add

2/3 cup softened butter ( margarine would work as well but I prefer butter)

Using 2 knives or a pastry mixer blend the butter into the flour mixture until it is well mixed. Using the pastry mixer will mix the butter more completely but as long as the butter is cut into small pieces and mixed throughout the flour mixture it will work fine.

Add the mixture to the top of the casserole dish pushing it down around the edges, so that it doesn't spill out. (My casserole looks very full once I add the topping but the fruit cooks down and it doesn't spill over the edges. )

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes

Serve warm with ice cream, whipping cream or plain. I like all 3 ways.

Roasted Potato Salad

There is something about warm weather that makes me want to eat potato salad, I am not sure why I always feel so drawn to it but I do. I am often on the look out for new ideas, ways to make those potatoes sing with flavour. Last week I was inspired by a few other recipes and after a little trial and error I came up with this, enjoy.

3 pounds of 2 different types of potatoes, (I used red and yellow) cut into wedges about 1 inch in length. I leave the peels on but without would work as well.
2 large sweet peppers (red, yellow or orange) cut each pepper into 6 or 8 long slices for roasting
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces.
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
24 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

Dressing

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon of each of the following oregano, basil and rosemary ( I use dried)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 425 f. Add the olive oil to the bottom of a roasting pan large enough for the potatoes and peppers. Heat the oil for 5 minutes, remove pan from oven and add the wedged potatoes, mix well to coat the potatoes in the worm oil. Arrange potatoes so that they occupy 2/3 of the pan, add the cut peppers in the empty space. I find that keeping the potatoes and peppers separate works best. Place the pan in to the oven. Cook for 10 minutes, remove pan, mix the potatoes well and turn the peppers, return pan to oven to cook for another 10 minutes. Then remove the pan and repeat the process. The potatoes should be cooked after about 30 minutes, transfer them from the pan into a bowl and put the peppers back in the oven for another 10 minutes. You want the roasted peppers to be soft enough that you can peel the skins off, in my oven this takes about 40 minutes total.

While the peppers and potatoes are roasting cook the green beans. Add the cut green beans to a pot of boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes or until they tender, rinse them immediately with cold water to stop them from becoming over cooked. Drain and place onto a clean towel, pat dry. Add the sliced onion, chopped olives and cooked beans to the bowl with the potato wedges.

Remove the peppers from the oven, allow them to cool until they can be handled easily. When they are cool the skins should peel away easily ( use a small knife if they don't come away). Peel all the pepper pieces and discard the skins. Chop the peeled pepper pieces into bite size chunks and add them to the bowl.

Make the dressing. In a blender combine the garlic, spices, oil and vinegar, blend until the garlic is minced and the dressing is well mixed, about 1 minute.

Add the dressing to the salad and mix well. This salad is best if made ahead and allowed to to sit at room temperature for 2 or 3 hours. If made the day before remove it from the fridge early enough to allow the salad time to come to room temp. before serving

Great for barbeque's and summer potlucks.

FYI - I experimented with roasting the potatoes and peppers on the barbeque, it worked quiet well but in the end took about the same amount of time as in the oven

A First

Every blog needs a first post and since I have no fabulous recipes ready at this exact moment I can't share any. I am working on perfecting a most fabulous new bread recipe that I think is as good as regular bread. I need to work on the oven version and as soon as it is ready I will share.

Lots of great GF recipes to follow.