Gluten Free Goodness

Calling all hosts/hostesses!  If you’d like to host, email me at cheryl (at) eharrishome (dot) com.  Info on hosting is here.

I hope everyone is easing well into the new year and brushing off the holiday food “hangover”.  This weekend was dedicated to doing the things I’ve been putting off–bills, letter, etc.  Not that I finished, mind you, but I got started.  Yay.

I posted for Nicola’s Detox January on nutrition before, during and after cancer, so please do check it out and the other fantastic detox posts, too!

The theme for this week is soup.  Soup feels like a warm, soothing, loving hug, and there’s very little as wonderful as homemade soup.  I made turkey broth today (pictured above) and it tends to be a whole day deal–start the pot simmering when I wake up, blow it kisses throughout the day, add in veggies a few hours before the end, and cool it down in a waterbath.  And then the next day is skimming off the fat.  But oh, the broth is just so rich and delicious there’s nothing else quite like it.

Most of my soup recipes aren’t really recipes, but I do have a few I love:

African Inspired Almond Collard Stew (GF, CF, EF, SF, sugar free and vegan)

Asian Style Gingery Soup (GF, CF, EF, SF, vegan and sugar free)

Celeriac and Broccoli Soup (GF, CF, EF, SF, sugar free and vegan)

Red Pepper Soup (GF, CF, EF, SF, sugar free and vegan)

Roasted Tomato and Caramelized onion soup (GF, CF, EF, SF, sugar free and vegan)

Sniffle stew (I tend to mentally classify soups and stews together)

On to the menu planning!  DH is out of town part of the week, and I generally eat mostly vegan in his absence because it’s simpler.

Monday:

Garlicky quinoa and broccoli

Tues:
Sniffle stew

Weds:
Red pepper hummus on mixed greens

Thursday:
Coconut curry with kaffir lime leaves

Friday:
Out to dinner at Wildfire for work

Baked yum:
I’m craving cookies. We’ll see how this goes.

And everyone else?

Angela of Angela’s Kitchen shares my love of soup, too, and she’s linked to a bunch of her favorites and is making Turkey Wild Rice this week. She is hosting a Bisquick giveaway, so go check it out! And I wholeheartedly agree with her resounding endorsement of MYO broth. It is so delicious!

Wendy of Celiacs in the House has a tantilizing picture of Rioja Beef Stew. And did you know that today is Bittersweet Chocolate day? Seriously, the wonderful nuggets of knowledge I get in the bloggosphere. I’d hate to miss out on joining in on the celebration!
I missed bean day, too (January 6th.)
Wendy linked to other fun food holidays here.National chocolate cake day is the 27th, just as an FYI.
and where oh where are the fruit and veggie days? How about National Pom day? Clementine day? But I digress.

Scrumptious, of In my CSA Box, talks about budgeting…and I’m sure most of us can relate to that moment of “oh no!”. She’s got a great menu planned, and her millet and kale salad sounds delish!

The last few weeks feel like I was sucked into a holiday vortex. And now, it’s quite wonderful to feel that things will be more peaceful, which I’m totally looking forward to. I haven’t set an intentions for the new year, although I’d like to when the dust settles. I did resolve to make E an apple pie every New Year’s and he was all for it.Although, of course, head of the list is having the healthiest year of my life.

Which leads me to food, of course. Angela of Angela’s Kitchen is our happy hostess, and I must say, I’m delighted to see her posting again! Her ingredient is pomegranate, which is one I love dearly. The wrinkle is that the stores near me haven’t had them lately (or I haven’t see them, either/or). And though I do make chocolate covered pom seeds, my favorite is to have them plain. I do tend to make a ridiculous mess, as my husband can attest. I hope I can find some soon, because I’d love to have some this week!

So…I’d like to make more interesting foods this year. I do like spicy foods, and enjoy a variety of spices, but I’ve gotten boring, and hopefully I can shake things up a little.

Monday:
Herbed spinach blend salad (cilantro that I’m growing indoors) with salmon and avocado

Tues:
Nightshade stew

Weds:
Gumbo. (AKA one of the most glorious things imaginable)

Thurs
um…probably more gumbo? seriously, if you’ve got a pot full, might as well enjoy!

Friday:
Sniffle stew

Fun baked stuff:
Cornbread, because you can’t really have gumbo without it. Or at least my husband can’t.
hazelnut cookies of some kind…I need to play.

I always intend to pretty much bypass the holiday craziness and stay sane, healthy and happy.   And I’ve already made way more holiday treats than I meant to–always fun, and I tend to get rolling and always want to try more recipes!  Along the lines of managing the results of excess baking zeal and avoiding the minefield of holiday eating, please check out my guest post over at Gluten-free Homemaker.

Thankfully, there are an abundance of holiday gluten-free treats out there.  So the big question of the day is, what’s your holiday can’t-live-without treat?  What is the absolute ‘gotta have it’ at your parties?

We’ve got quite a few contenders, probably because there are a bunch that we make every year, and different people have their favorites.

• Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Peels, which are one of DH’s faves (I’ll be posting a step-by-step of them tomorrow
• Bittersweet Chestnut Fudge (my favorite)
• Merinuges, which are the best for mailed treats
• Pralines, which are made at least twice annually. This is an amazing recipe that we tweak–this run has some cacao nibs
• Chocolate Mint Snowflake Cookies, which have my co-workers’ votes

and your top 3, or 5 or so?

As for food, it’ll be a little tricky.  We’ll be spending the holiday in N Carolina and I won’t have easy kitchen access, so I have a frozen stash, including the Sniffle Stew I just posted.

Monday:
Garlicky quinoa with sauteed arugula and turkey

Tuesday:
Roasted salmon with roasted cauli

Weds:

leftovers…

Thurs:
on the road!

Baked goods:
Daring baker challenge
Chestnut fudge
Chai Breakfast Cake
Candied Orange Peels

Heather of Celiac Family loves cookies, too, and has some great pictures of some of her favorites. She also suggests making peppermint divinity tarts (sounds divine!) or even meringue snowmen.