Grilling Marinade

I use this marinade for beef, chicken and vegetable shish kabobs.

I also like it for pasta salad!

Ingredients:

½ Cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ Cup Bragg Liquid Aminos

2 Tbls. agave nectar

1 Tbl. garlic flakes

½ tsp. granulated garlic

2 Tbls. parsley

Cracked black pepper Directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients and mix well.

2. Marinate your grilling vegetables and meat for at least 1 hour.

Grilled or Broiled Salmon

I always have frozen salmon on hand for a quick, healthy meal. 
You may use either fresh or frozen.

You'll need:

Fresh or frozen salmon (Frozen salmon comes in small individually wrapped portions OR large segmented pieces.)

Sea salt to taste

Chili powder to taste (no MSG)

Garlic granules to taste (optional)

Dried dill weed, about ¼ tsp. per serving

Butter OR non-dairy margarine (several Tbls.)

If using frozen salmon, thaw in refrigerator overnight OR poach salmon portions in boiling water for approximately 7 minutes just before grilling or broiling. Remove and drain.

Lightly grease a piece of foil using ½ Tbl. butter OR non-dairy margarine. Fold in edges of foil to form a makeshift baking tray. Tray will be about 10x12. Place fresh, thawed, or poached salmon on foil tray.

Sprinkle salmon with sea salt, chili powder, and garlic granules. Gently press seasonings into salmon with a butter knife. Sprinkle with dried dill weed.

Place tray with salmon on grill or under broiler on low, for approximately 5-7 minutes, if poached. If using fresh OR thawed salmon, adjust broiling or grilling time to approximately 12 minutes.

When salmon is done, place ¼ tsp. butter OR non-dairy margarine on each portion and spread with a butter knife.

It melts great this way. Fold foil around salmon sealing in heat and juices. Place foil pack in oven OR grill with heat off until ready to serve. Enjoy with Jasmine rice, parsley potatoes or steamed veggies.

Greek Salad

 

For the Dressing:

½ Cup extra virgin olive oil (cold pressed)

3 Tbls. lemon juice

1 Tbl. dry oregano

1 Tbl. garlic flakes or 1 minced garlic clove (raw garlic is very strong)

Cracked black pepper

1. In a small canning jar or any resealable glass jar, combine all the ingredients and stir with a fork until the olive oil and lemon juice are incorporated. Seal the jar and refrigerate until needed.

2. It's good to let the flavors marinate together for several hours. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week.

3. Before using it be sure to let it sit out of refrigeration for about 10 minutes then shake or stir before drizzling over the salad.


For the Salad:
Fresh salad greens ripped into bite sized pieces (romaine, escarole, red leaf, Swiss chard or your favorite greens.)

1 small red onion, sliced thin or fresh green onions

1 fresh tomato, sliced in wedges or whole grape tomatoes

1 cucumber, sliced thin (we prefer English cucumbers because they are virtually seedless and the skins aren't as tough.)

Feta cheese, crumbled (optional if avoiding dairy)

Several Kalamata olives

Assembling it all:
1. In a salad serving dish or bowl toss all your salad greens together.

2. Place the onion, tomato and cucumbers over top of the greens.

3. Drizzle Greek dressing all over then add the feta and olives.



This salad is excellent even if you don't have the cheese. We also rarely have olives on hand.

So don't fret if you're missing an element or two, it's still very enjoyable

Granny's Potato Salad

This was our grandmother's signature recipe for potato salad.

Our mother has since revised the recipe and now uses umeboshi vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar, but that is just personal preference.

See which one you like best!

For the Salad:

10-12 whole unpeeled potatoes
8 eggs, hard boiled
2 ribs of celery, with tops
3 scallions
2 Tab. dried parsley or a handful of fresh, chopped

1. Boil the potatoes for 20 to 30 minutes, until fork tender. Chill, then peel and cube in bite sized pieces.

2. Slice the hard boiled eggs with an egg slicer.

3. Chop the celery and scallions in small pieces.

4. Combine everything in a large bowl and pour the dressing (see below) over top.

5. Toss together with the parsley until all the potatoes are well coated.

6. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to let the flavors marinate.

For the Dressing:

3 Tab. organic cane sugar
1 Tab. salt
2 Tab. corn starch
1 Tab. umeboshi plum vinegar or 2 Tab. apple cider vinegar
3 Tab. lemon juice
1 ½ cups boiling water
2 Tab. butter or soy margarine
2 eggs

1. In a sauce pan combine the dry ingredients then whisk in the vinegar and lemon juice.

2. Add the boiling water and butter or margarine, stir and bring to a boil over medium heat.

3. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes stirring with a whisk to keep it from sticking.

4. Beat eggs in a medium sized bowl.

5. Slowly pour the hot mixture into the eggs whisking constantly to keep the eggs from coddling.

6. Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan and return to medium heat, cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly.

Going Gluten-free

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, spelt, oats, rye, and other grains.

It's this protein that makes baked goods rise and adds lightness to their texture.

However, many people have gluten sensitivities which range from mild intolerances to severe allergies.

Often, when a person has a gluten intolerance, other food intolerances may be present.  For this reason, all of our gluten-free recipes are also converted to dairy-free.  (Dairy products, such as milk and butter, may be substituted for dairy-free in all of our recipes.)

Typically at home, because of my own gluten and dairy intolerances, I cook this way for myself.  It makes it that much easier to have the recipe already adapted to my needs.

Also, it's a good idea when cooking for someone with a food restriction, to find out ahead of time exactly what they can and can't eat.  Then double check your recipe's ingredient list for any culprit foods.

You'll want to avoid cross- contamination of foods.  It sounds simple, but always wash hands thoroughly between handling potentially allergenic foods and the "allergy dish"  you are preparing.  Even touching the fridge handle after handling nuts or cheese can leave a trail of "toxins" for a person with severe allergies to such foods.

Remember, you can't make pie crust with wheat flour and then use the same rolling pin for gluten-free pie crust. Make sure cooking implements such as food processor blades and vegetable graters are cleaned thoroughly between use, so as not to get cheese from your pizza into your dairy-free carrot cake.  After a while this becomes second nature.

We hope you have fun with our gluten-free dishes! They are all marked with the "GF" code, or just labeled "Gluten-Free." 

-JBW

Gluten-Free Websites

Here are links to some of our favorite gluten-free products and information

websites!

Products

Cherrybrook Kitchen

www.cherrybrookkitchen.com

Enjoy Life Foods

www.enjoylifefoods.com

1 2 3 Gluten Free

www.123glutenfree.com

Glutino Food Group 

www.glutino.com

Gluuteny, Wheat-Free and Dairy-Free Goodies

www.gluuteny.com

Pamela's Products

www.pamelasproducts.com

Information

Cecelia's Marketplace
Making Gluten-Free Living Easy!
www.CeceliasMarketplace.com

Celiac.com

www.celiac.com

GFCFDIET

www.gfcfdiet.com

Gluten Free Passport

www.glutenfreepassport.com

Triumph Dining

www.triumphdining.com

Fudgy Frosting

This is wonderful on our
Champion Chocolate Cake!

You'll Need:

3 Cups natural powdered sugar*

½ Cup natural cocoa powder

1/8  tsp. sea salt (1/4 tsp. if using unsalted butter)

6 Tbls. butter, softened OR non-dairy margarine

1 tsp. natural vanilla extract

1/3 Cup boiling water (may not use all the water, just to consistency)

In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine sugar, cocoa and salt.  Mix in butter until a bit crumbly.  Mix in vanilla.  Add the boiling water a little at a time while mixing, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.  Beat well until smooth.    

*Note:  If you are frosting a 2 layer cake, you may need to add more powdered sugar.

Fudge Brownies

Ingredients:

¾ cup organic sugar 

¾ cup white spelt flour (baking quality)

¼ cup cocoa powder 

¼ tsp. salt 

½ cup olive oil 

2 eggs 

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ cup dark chocolate chips (optional)


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease an 8x8 square pan.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients, preferably with an electric mixer.

3. Add the wet ingredients and beat for 3 minutes.

4. At this point, if you're using chocolate chips, mix them in by hand.

5. Pour the thick batter into your prepared pan.

6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

7. When you're baking brownies, it's important to check them often as they are nearing the end of baking.

Test the center with a tooth pick or butter knife.

You want to take them out as soon as the center is firm but still moist, your knife should come out clean.

If you over bake even by a minute your brownies will be dry.


Cut brownies when they've cooled completely.

Pie Cookies

Our kids like to make these "cookies" as a tide-me-over treat when we make pie.  We usually only use the left-over dough, but you can make a full or half recipe of pie dough, just freeze the leftovers.

Ingredients:

Pie dough, WF dough or GF dough

Various sprinkles or natural cane sugar

Instructions:

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out or let the kids roll out the dough, not quite as thin as you would for a pie.

2. Cut in various shapes with cookie cutters or a butter knife.

3. Place on a cookie sheet 1-inch apart.

4. Use a pastry brush or your fingers to dab water sparingly over the tops of the cookies.

5. Decorate with various colored sprinkles or natural cane sugar.

Bake for 5-7 minutes at 350 degrees.

Eat as soon as they cool, you won't be able to wait any longer!

Kid tip:

My 5-year-old can do all the steps of this recipe with minimal help, but rolling the dough without ripping it can be frustrating for little ones.

Pie Crust

Ingredients:

2 cups white spelt flour

1/4 tsp. salt

10 Tbls. butter or margarine, chilled (If you are Dairy-Free, use DF margarine.)

1/4 Cup cold water (more or less accordingly)

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl combine your flour and salt.

2. With a fork or pastry blender incorporate the butter.

3. 1 Tbl. at a time add the water until the dough is soft but workable.

4. Make two balls of dough, wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Pie Crust Gluten-Free

For one 9-inch double crust pie

Ingredients

1 Cup White rice flour

½ Cup Tapioca flour

½ Cup Arrowroot powder

2 Tbls. natural cane sugar

2 ½ tsps. xanthan gum

¼ tsp. sea salt

12 Tbls. DF margarine (OR 1 ½ sticks cold butter may be used if dairy isn't a problem)

Approximately 2 Tbls. ice water

Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine first 6 ingredients.  With a fork or pastry blender, cut in margarine until mixture is crumbly.

2. Add water a little at a time.  You may need more or less water, but you don't want the dough to be too wet.

3. Roll dough into a ball in plastic wrap.  Chill in refrigerator for about thirty minutes to an hour.  To speed up process, chill in freezer for no longer than 15 minutes.

Pumpkin Pie Gluten-Free

Ingredients:

Gluten-free pie crust for 9-inch pie shell

 

¾ Cup natural cane sugar

 

½ tsp. sea salt

 

1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice OR 1 tsp. ground Cinnamon and ½ tsp. ground Allspice

 

2 large eggs

 

15 oz canned pumpkin OR pumpkin puree (If using fresh pumpkin, slice, cube and peel pumpkin.  In large pot, cover pumpkin with water and boil without a lid until tender.  Puree in food processor until smooth.)

 

1 ½ Cups (12 oz) evaporated milk OR milk substitute

 

Instructions:

 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

2. Prepare pie crust and press into 9-inch pie pan.  Set aside in fridge.

3. In small bowl combine sugar, salt and spices. 

4. In large mixing bowl, beat eggs.  Stir in pumpkin and dry ingredients (sugar, salt and spices).  Slowly add milk OR milk substitute, gently mixing until well combined.  Pour into prepared pie shell. 

5. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees.  Then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for approximately 40-50 minutes, or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.  Allow to cool on rack, then refrigerate.

 

Enjoy!

Fruit Cobbler

A summertime treat with your favorite seasonal fruit!

We love this with fresh picked cherries, peaches, blueberries, or strawberries.

It's also great with apples or pears.

 

Biscuit ingredients:

1 ½ Cups white rice flour

½ Cup tapioca flour

3 Tbls. natural cane sugar

2 tsps. xanthan gum

½ Tbl. baking powder

½ tsp. sea salt

6 Tbls. non-dairy margarine

½ Cup + a bit more as needed, GF rice milk OR soy milk

 

Filling ingredients:

Unsweetened fruit of your choice, about a quart (If using frozen, thaw and drain first)

Natural cane sugar and/OR agave nectar to taste, approximately 1/3 cup sugar and 3 Tbls. agave

 

 

 

Instructions:

For Fruit Filling:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In oven, in ungreased baking dish, heat fruit until hot and bubbly, 10-15 minutes.

Remove from oven and stir in natural cane sugar and agave nectar to taste. (Depending upon the choice of fruit, you may need more or less sweetener. Example, tart cherries require more.)

 

For Biscuit Topping:
 

While fruit is heating in oven, in a mixing bowl combine rice flour, tapioca flour, 3 Tbls. sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt.

Mix in margarine with a fork, until mixture is crumbly.

Add rice milk a little at a time and mix briefly with a spoon until combined. Mixture will be sticky.

Place spoonfuls of biscuit topping over hot fruit. Bake for approximately 20 -25 minutes, until lightly golden.

 

Serve warm or chilled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh Salsa

Ingredients:

3 banana peppers
2 medium Vidalia onions
1 lb. tomatoes or one 28oz. can organic diced tomatoes, un-drained
3 Tbls. Dry cilantro or a handful of fresh, chopped
1 Tbl. Garlic flakes or 1 clove, minced
1 Tbl. Red pepper flakes, more or less, depending on your heat preference
Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Chop the onions, peppers and tomatoes into similar sizes, we like our salsa chunky.
2. In a medium sized pot over medium heat, begin cooking the onions until they sweat.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients including all the seasonings.  Let everything come to a slow boil then reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour.







Serve hot with your favorite tortilla chips or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

You can also freeze salsa in pre-portioned containers for later use.

Fresh Fruit Cicles

For a refreshing sugar-free treat try our quick and easy popsicles!

 

1. Make one recipe of our Berry Banana Smoothie

2. Fill popsicle molds to the top with smoothie mixture, cover and freeze for at least 4 hours.

3. Run popsicle molds under warm water to remove the popsicles

 

We also like these combinations:

 1 mango and 6 strawberries

 1 mango and 2 oranges

 1 peach and 1 cup pineapple

 

Fast French Toast

This is simple and delicious. 

I like to make enough for

next day leftovers as well,

so family members can

reheat on their own.

 

You'll need:

8 slices of your favorite bread, about a half-inch thick (WF and GF bread works great for this too!)

4 eggs

½ Cup milk or milk substitute

1 tsp. vanilla extract (If making this gluten-free, make sure your vanilla is safe to use)

Dash of sea salt, about 1/8 tsp.

Butter OR non-dairy margarine OR canola oil for pan

 

Instructions:

1. Heat skillet below medium heat, while whisking together eggs, milk, vanilla and salt.

2. Evenly coat skillet with butter, margarine OR oil.

3. Dip bread a slice at a time in egg mixture, coating well.

4. Place 2 slices of egg coated bread in skillet.  Cook bread for approximately 2 minutes per side, until lightly golden brown.

For a tasty variation, try adding a tsp. of ground cinnamon to egg mixture.

 

We have enjoyed this French Toast with pure maple syrup, agave nectar, our Grandmother's homemade blackberry jelly, applesauce, nut butter and plain or just with a dab of butter.

 

Enjoy!

French Dressing

I love making my own dressings because I know exactly what's in them.  I don't have to worry about msg, food coloring, additives or preservatives.  Plus I can ensure they are gluten free and dairy free if needed, as well as sugar free.

This dressing is also great on our taco salad recipes!

Ingredients:

½ Cup expeller pressed canola oil

1 Tbl. Apple cider vinegar

1 Tbl. White vinegar

4 Tbls. Agave nectar

1 Tbl. Tomato paste Or 2 Tbls. natural ketchup

¼ tsp. sea salt

¼ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. ground mustard

¼ tsp. paprika (optional)

Whisk together oil and vinegars until thoroughly incorporated.  (Mixture should be opaque.)

Whisk in remaining ingredients.

Serve over your favorite salad.  Enjoy!

Makes approximately 8 oz