Gluten Free Goodness

I decided to choose one of my very favorite foods as the theme for this week’s menu plan.  This yummy Incan food is a seed, not a grain, which is what makes Quinoa so fabulously nutritious, and the only complete protein that’s in the veggie kingdom.  And did I mention easy to make?

My favorite quinoa recipes:

Quinoa Italiana
Southwestern Quinoa Black Bean Salad
Lemony Mint Quinoa

Many others feature quinoa, too
Chai Breakfast Cake
and I’m sure there are others I’m just not thinking of!

I think the reason I chose quinoa, though, is an excuse to make my almond quinoa cookies which I really need to post. Like this week, even.

I love the idea of the new post for Heidi’s quinoa skillet bread. No, it’s not GF, but very easily could be! And I’m looking forward to seeing how everyone uses quinoa.

This week, we’re taking it easy. I did a massive cooking binge last weekend (homemade applesauce, honey cinnamon cornbread, cinnamon rolls, brownies with pecan frosting, homemade mint lemonade, meringues and more) and so I’m a little kitchen shy…I’ll get over it soon, I know.

Menu Plan:
Monday:
Lemony thyme quinoa (mint quinoa recipe, just using a small amount of thyme instead)

Tuesday:
Quick Mahi Mahi in a tomato sauce with peppers

Weds:
Chicken in a mint pesto sauce with broccoli

Thursday:
Steamed veggies with a Malasian curry sauce (from spice and herb bible)

Friday:
Leftovers

Fun stuff:
almond quinoa cookies

And everyone else?
Heather of Celiac Family has a yummy looking Quinoa Indian Chicken, and she’s got Tilapia Parmesan on the menu too. I’m tempted to make her pulled pork when I go out of town next (I don’t eat pork, but DH LOVES pulled pork.)

It’s worth checking out In my box just for the pictures! Scrumptious has a great looking line up, including unusual ones, like stir fried lettuce and butternut squash risotto.

Ah, the joys of menu planning. My husband is hosting a martial arts seminar next weekend (and I am doing the smart thing and going out of town!) so the biggest question is how to make enough make-ahead food for people who tend to be hungry and happily subsist on a diet of chocolate, chips and beer, at least while they are training.  And as a dietitian, I am justifying my decision to provide food because homecooked is always better and, well, otherwise it would be pizza, wings and beer.  The key operating term is choosing one’s battles.

So, as starters, they’ll be having:

• cinnamon rolls
• crockpot BBQ beef and carrots
• cornbread
• mint lemonade
• chocolate covered pecan balls
• marscapone brownies (’cause, ya know, brownies aren’t decadent enough)
• meringues

Now, it would logically follow that I’ll also be cooking for me, but since I’ll be off largely without refrigeration, it’ll likely be Kalamata hummus with sunbutter on red peppers, quinoa, and other easily portable options.

Our fine hostess of the week is Manda of Asparagus thin, who chose fusion cuisine.  I always think of Asian food when I think of fusion, and since I can’t have soy, vinegars, anything fermented or sesame, or rice, generally I don’t draw much inspiration from Asian dining aside from summer rolls and sauces.  Hmm, now I’m getting hungry, I may need to rethink that one!

More on my garden next week, and have a great one!

Happy sunny Monday! I’m loving the Springtime and all the sun that goes along with it. I still have some plants alive from last year, like to tomato plant. Can you believe it! And I have an artichoke that’s deciding if it wants to live. The picture at the left is raspberries before they’ve fruited.

Heather of Celiac Family is our hostess this week and has chosen eggs as her ingredient. Unfortunately, I’m allergic, although I may make my sweetie meringues. Last week, I posted a Chai Breakfast Cake–super yummy, vegan and sugar free, and featuring coconut, our ingredient from last week. This week I plan to take it a bit easy since I’ve been fighting a cold. So onto food!
Monday: Soup from my freezer
Tues: Roasted turkey and garlicky roasted cauliflower
Weds: Lemony Mint Quinoa (my mint plants are back!)
Thursday: Grilled pepper and rosemary salmon
Friday: Leftovers!
And please let me know if you want to host!

It’s been a delight to see the coming of Spring, and I’m excited to post garden pictures very soon….but on to the food!

Angela has chosen coconut as this weeks’ ingredient.  I love coconut, especially young coconut. The water is just delicious and I blend the “meat’ into coconut milk.  Our local Whole foods carry it from time to time, and so do local Latino markets.  We even have a screwdriver in the kitchen for busting them open.   But I’ve also become enamored with coconut sugar (I’m currently out, though)  To celebrate Angela’s choice, I’ll be making a coconut Chai breakfast cake–good excuse, right?

Monday:

Quinoa Italiana with asparagus

Tuesday:

Beef curry with coconut and cauliflower

Weds:

Nightshade stew with fennel

Thursday:

Orange halibut with broccoli

Friday:

leftovers–our Friday standby

Baked creations:

• Chai breakfast cake
• fruit crisp (maybe)
• bread (maybe, depending on time)

My kitty is a good attack cat…he makes sure his humans stay safe, largely because we have opposable thumbs and can open the food container, and he can’t.

I got a comment on one of my last posts asking for ideas of cheap and easy meals, so I thought that would be a great theme! It’s one of the questions I get most often at work. In a nutshell, it’s largely all about using real foods, not GF specialty foods. I rarely buy GF pasta, GF baked goods, etc. and all of the stuff that gets super expensive. I do use GF flours, but more and more I’ve been playing with grain free cooking and using nuts and seeds as the “flour”.. Fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, fish, beans, dairy, rice and wild rice, etc. are no more expensive on a GF diet, and often eliminating processed foods is cheaper overall, too. So almost all of my food recipes are naturally GF, but I’m also someone who enjoys exotic ingredients so some are more economical than others. And that was the case long before I’d heard of gluten.

I’m sure everyone will have lots great ideas, and can’t wait to see what you come up with! I will be out until late-ish Monday so my apologies in advance if some of the posts are delayed.

Calling all hosts: We’ve thinned out during recent menu plan Mondays. I’m able to host about once a month, but that’s about it, and more than that isn’t much fun. So if there’s enough interest, I’d be happy to continue, or we can agree to retire GFMPM as well. Or if anyone has thoughts on how to get the word out and get more participants, I’m all ears…

So last week was a fun one for me but busy, too. I posted chocolate sunbutter cookies, which I enjoyed too many of for sure and I made a Nana skillet cake, which is one of my favorite easy delicious recipes.

Monday:
Beef in coconut curried sauce with roasted cauliflower

Tuesday:
Lemony Mint Quinoa with avocado

Weds:
Roasted rosemary salmon and broccoli with garlic

Thursday:
Turkey nightshade stew with gobs of fennel (I just LOVE fennel!)

Friday:
leftovers…

Baked goods:
Hazelnut cookies

Heather of Celiac Family has a birthday bonanza (3 birthdays!) and an Easter celebration, too.

I love the idea of clay pot chicken, and Heather also has a list of some cheap and easy GF recipes, including a crock pot pulled pork.

First, the fun stuff! I had a Menu Plan Giveaway and the winner is *drumroll please* Heather of Celiac Family! Yay yummy stuff.

And onward to menu planning. I’m delighted to host, especially since I’ve been so busy so this forces me to plan, which is always so helpful. This week’s ingredient is Sunbutter AKA sunflower seed butter, or, if you’re one of those ‘weird’ people who can eat PB, that works, too. (for the record–I’m totally joking…I would LOVE to eat PB again, but alas no) I love sunbutter, particularly the sugar free one, because it’s such a yummy and versatile ingredient. In cookies, on apples, in ‘pb’ sauces…I love it across the board.  I’ll be posting Chocolate Sunbutter cookies later this week to celebrate our ingredient, and look forward to seeing how all of you use it, too!

What a lovely week here…my daffodils are popping up, and Spring is flirting with us. It’s delightful to see.

I have not been able to bake much lately, but hope to get back more in the kitchen this week. And I’m having a class on Healthy GF eating on Saturday, so if you’re in the Alexandria area, sign up! We’ll be making quinoa and millet, and having Nana Skillet Bread, too.

And, of course, as always, looking for Menu Swap hosts.  Email me cheryl (at) eharrishome (dot) com

Monday:
Chicken in coconut/kaffir lime sauce with broccoli

Tuesday:
hummus and peppers

Weds:
Rosemary salmon and asparagus (I know I should wait, but I can’t!)

Thursday:
Turkey and celery in chestnut sauce

Friday:
Leftovers

Saturday:
Quinoa, millet and more!

And everyone else?

Heather of Celiac Family is totally ready for summer, and has salads on the lineup.  She’s been doing Chicken Tikka Masala regularly, and I’m going to have to try it soon.

Scrumptious of In my (CSA) box has, as usual, a lovely vegan lineup, including one my my very favorite things: cabbage with cumin seeds.  Make some extra and I’ll have to pop on by!