What's For Breakfast (Gluten, Corn, Dairy Free)

When you are gluten free (corn, dairy) it's not easy finding a good hot breakfast to have. Oh sure - eggs! yep, and that's a good one to be sure. But after a while, it gets old. So do smoothies, which are also delish but day after day? And really, in the winter, sometimes a good hot breakfast is what you want. so here is one of my favorites. It Rice Farina with dried cranberries (or blueberries, or raisins) and pepitas (pumpkin seeds) with a little bit of maple syrup to sweeten the deal. I follow the recipe on Bob's Red Mill Rice Farina package for 1 serving and then add the pepitas, dried fruit and a swirl of pure maple syrup (or local honey if I'm out) and that's it. Hot breakfast free of most allergens! The best part of this breakfast - NOW I can get the Farina at WALMART! I hate WM but that is where I usually have to do most of my shopping and it's nice to not have to go to town for it.....

Vegetarian Delight! Wheat Free/Corn Free

Sometimes, the creative juices are flowing and a meal comes together that just makes your tastebuds sing! I'd love to take the credit for all these, but alas, I cannot. But here is a yummy, meat free, wheat free, corn free dinner that is filling and tastes delish! First off - if you haven't yet tried Lundberg Farm Rice couscous - you really should. One of the things I miss most about going gluten free is couscous cucumber salad (my kids miss it too) so when Lundberg came out with this couscous made of brown rice - I had to try it! KUDOS!

I cooked it according to package directions, let it cool and then added chunks of cucumber, feta cheese a little olive oil and lemon - YUM!
Next up - the soup - again I cannot take credit for this but who cares, it's still probably the best part of the meal. It is Sweet Potato soup with cranberry garnish. MMMMMMM Good. You take about 5 good sized swee potatoes, 2 carrots and roast them in the oven with some olive oil. In the meantime saute some onions in some EVOO (extra virgin olive oil.) Add the roasted veggies when they are soft cooked and add some vegetable broth (if you aren't vegetarian, add some chicken broth - it works too! ) We used Pacific Naturals Organic Broth. Puree the whole lot into a smooth creamy blend, add (to taste) cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pepper and salt and then blend up some cranberry sauce and add to the soup when served. Delightful!
Lastly - stuff acorn squash. This was my own creation and really not bad at all (hubby LOVED it!) I took 3 scrubbed acorn squash, cut them in half and scooped out the goop. I roasted them in the oven for a little while - until soft (add some water to the pan and butter in the cavity to keep them moist. Then I made Quinoa (KEEN Wa), roasted some pecans and sauteed some carrots, celery, and onion. Mixed it all together and stuffed the roasted squash and then topped with some feather grated parmesan. IF you are lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy then leave off the cheese - it's all good!

Runzas, Bierrocks, Cabbage Buns. (NOT Gluten Free )

YES this is not a Gluten Free recipe - I apologize but for those of you who make GF bread - I am sure you can adapt it. I do not make GF bread because most of the bread dough mixes/recipes call for Xanthan Gum which hubby swears is derived from CORN. Another no-no. But since kids and I are not Gluten Free, I am making these and freezing them because if you are going to the trouble you may just want to make a huge batch, freeze a bunch and pull them out to bake on one of those crazy days (y'know where you are running your kids hither and yon to activities or where you get caught up in something and go - OH, boy am I hungry!)

You will need to make your recipe of homemade bread dough.

Then you will take 2 lbs of ground meat (turkey or beef) 1 onion, cabbage shredded. Brown the ground meat and add the onion and cabbage (shredded) and cook this together. When it is cooked, you need to roll out balls of dough (like you see here) and fill them with the meat on half.

Then you will fold over the other half and pop these in the oven on 350* for about 20 minutes, when the dough is golden brown.

Here they are ready to bake. The smell of cooking Runzas is awesome and my kids love these. I slather mine with good mustard and ENJOY!

Like I said this makes a HUGE batch - and they freeze great.

Baked Potato Soup (GF/CF)

Another Gluten Free/Corn Free yummy dinner to make for our family (one that makes you just feel all warm and fuzzy on a cool autumn day!) is Baked Potato Soup. It is not too hard to prepare

as the base is just a good potato soup. I peel and chop about 10 big potatoes (less if you have a small family) and boil them. Then strain and mash about 3/4 of the potatoes leaving some chunks for a heartier soup. I add chicken stock (read labels - not all are created alike and yes, some do have wheat and corn in them) I use Pacific Naturals Chicken stock or my own homemade, and my own goat milk (yes, you can use regular cow's milk or even rice or soy if you prefer.)

Then I prepare all the toppings: bacon, shredded cheese (a variety is nice too - cheddar, Pepper Jack and/or Bleu cheeses work) green onions, sauteed mushrooms, and more - let your tastebuds be your guide!Go ethnic!

Okay, I ladle up the soup and then let everyone top their own soups.

EAT HEARTY MATES!!!

Red or Green?????????

In NM the all important question is RED or GREEN? Here, they don't mean lights or just merely a color....it's all about the chile! So I was out harvesting from the garden the other day and found all these lovely green chile's and one gorgeous red.

Each type of chile is grown on the same plant - green is picked earlier and red later or allowed to ripen completely and dried. NOW, being from a family that is gluten AND corn allergic....mexican, or rather New Mexican food is a challenge - Chile Rellenos - yeah if you can make your own batter with GF flour. enchiladas? Not so much. Burritos - yep with a GF pancake instead of tortilla - it's just not the same. Oh, Tacos? NOPE. So some of us do not want to loose the flavor of the Southwest and we just need to be creative....So here is my self created layered GF/CF "chile relleno. Trust me - this is tasty and looses no southwest flavor - just the batter and corn.

First you start early in the morning and put on a fresh pot of beans. cook them until soft and salt them good.

Take your fresh picked green chiles and roast them until the skin blisters and pulls away from the meat of the chile.

Let them cool slightly and peel them, deseed them unless you want the heat and de -stem.

Cook up a good batch of ground beef with all your favorite SW flavors: I use salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, garlic and onions. Then, carmelize a good sized batch of Zucchini and onions (if you are not allergic to corn, add corn kernals!) and garlic.

Shred some pepper jack, Monterey jack or a mix of cheddar and these cheeses. (just plain cheddar is fine though)

Now layer! chiles, meat/beans/zucchini mix (calabacitas here) cheese, chile, meat/beans/zucchini and cheese. Then top with a fried egg and/or some sour cream. IF you really need your chile fix - some good salsa and some quacamole works too!

Then:

California Rolls, Sauteed BokChoy and snow peas and veggie egg rolls - it's what's for dinner!

I was so hungry for asian food I couldn't make up my mind what to have so we had an asian fusion dinner. We had stir fry bok choy with bean sprouts, onions and snow peas (yes, this is the recipe!) with about 1 tsp of rice vinegar and 1 tbsp. of soy sauce and about 2 tbsp. olive oil.
Then I shredded up some carrots, used some of the bean sprouts, avocado (thin sliced) and some green onions (thin sliced) and sticky rice rolled up in sushi wrappers to make some yummy california rolls. OH, I almost forgot - the pickled daikon radishes!!!!

Recipe: 1 large daikon radish cut into matchsticks and put into a jar. 1/2 - 1 cup of rice vinegar, 1/2 - 1 C. of water and 1/2 - 1 C. of sugar (I cut this back) and 1 tsp of turmeric boiled and poured over the radishes in the jar - the longer they sit - the better they are.

I CHEAT on my egg rolls. I buy egg roll wrappers and pre-made coleslaw mix and fill the wrapper and deep fry them in canola or sesame oil (you can use peanut oil also but I don't usually!) I also buy pre-made thai sweet hot sauce and use it for dipping my egg rolls in.

Yep - this was a yummy and easy dinner that satisfied the craving - the only thing that would have made it better would be if I had had not so ripe mangos so I could make a thai mango salad. That would have been DA BOMB! Someday soon I will satisfy the need for Thai food! REAL SOON!

After a Full Day of Canning......

After a full day of canning and baking (4 Quarts of dilly beans, 5 -1/2 pint jars of Jalapeno jelly, and 2 loaves of zucchini bread) I needed and easy dinner that used leftovers from the canning.
I was gifted with about 6 lbs of green beans from a neighbor so I canned the beans but still had some left over so we had green beans for dinner.
Also in the days' doings I ended up with some leftover grated zucchini(about 2 Cups), so I add some grated carrots (about 4 big ones ) and some homemade goat-milk ricotta (about 1 1/2 C. - you can add regular ricotta if you don't have your own home-made goat ricotta)an egg and some buckwheat flour (about 1 Cup - any flour will do but we use Gluten free flours here), some salt and pepper to taste and made a dough. These are veggie ricotta fritters. and once I finish the "dough" I fry it is a lightly greased skillet. Add some fresh homegrown tomato slices, some yummy cucumber salad (recipe yet to come) and those green beans and you've got a nice homegrown meal. Nice and cool and quick for a busy day canning and such.

If this is too boring for you - you can add some spices : oregano, garlic, onions finely minced, cayenne pepper for a bite!

Harvests coming in - yummy food being made.

Ah tomatoes being harvested, and basil, onions - This time of year makes me very hungry for home made crockpot tomato soup.
I start with about 5 lbs (or more)of ripe roma tomatoes (although, I've thrown in just about any tomatoes that are handy!) some garlic (I like lots - 5 big cloves minced) and onion or two diced (all the better if they are homegrown and some basil. I peel and seed the tomatoes and chop them up and add them to the onion, garlic, basil, and some EVOO

and then add about 10 good stalks of celery chopped up. I let this just cook on low in the crockpot. I add seasonings to taste:salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, oregano, thyme and then either can or eat it. (it's amazing how much of this doesn't get canned.) YOU can adjust this for less though a crock pot might be overkill if you don't have a ton of romas!

When I see the romas ripen, my mouth starts to water and my stomach starts to growl for some good homemade tomato soup. Worth the work!

Pantry Items: EVOO and Balsamic Vinegar (we like Trader Joe's the best)

My Pasta Salad.

I make a LOT of pasta salad during the summer months. Too hot to cook and it's big filling and can sit nicely in the fridge for a few days while we work our way through it.

I don't really follow a recipe PER SE because I like to throw whatever I have in it depending on my mood. So you can pick and choose from list of ingredients depending on your mood!

PASTA SALAD

Fun Pasta Shapes - cooked and cooled (I toss with olive oil to prevent sticking)

Olives (halved)

Artichoke hearts (marinated ones work just fine)

cherry or grape tomatoes (more shapes and colors the better)

Cucumbers (the more the merrier I say!)

bell peppers (again different colors work well!)

Feta cheese

Kidney beans(I use canned)

Pine nuts

add a bit of apple cider vinegar and some herbs, salt and pepper to taste and you have a meal.

*IF you are wanting gluten free we use Tinkyada brand rice pastas - I think they taste the best and hold their shapes the best. I love the Fusilli and the shells for this salad.

You can also add fresh herbs from the garden such as cilantro or parsley. Curly leaf parsley's add some body and crunch to the salad too!

Summer shredded beet salad

when I don't feel like cooking because it's too hot I start thinking salads. LOTS of salads. I love having fresh veggies from the garden to use in those yummy salads.

This is one of my favorites - I think it looks festive and it tastes GREAT! I make a salad with lettuce, fresh cucumbers and cherry tomatoes from the garden then I shred multi colored beets and carrots into the salad and top with a delicious vinaigrette. You Can't go wrong! The vinaigrette I used for this is 3parts Olive oil, 1 part Red wine vinager, sea salt and pepper to taste.
Don't these fresh picked tomatoes make you want to have a big salad? MMMMMMM and it's light on the calories too. It won't undo your weekday workouts!!!!

Saute Swiss Chard

AAAAA, an abundance of Swiss Chard in the garden. This is one of my favorite Greens. (Next to spinach and of course lettuce) We seem to eat Swiss Chard several times a week. So here is my recipe for quick and easy sauteed swiss chard.

4 garlic cloves peeled and minced

1 sweet onion, diced

A Mess of Swiss Chard (remember this cooks WAY down)

1TBSP olive oil

1 tsp or more to taste Balsamic Vinegar

Add oil, diced onion and minced garlic to large wok or frying pan.

Heat until fragrant.

Roll cleaned swiss chard leaves into cigars and cut in strips. Add to wok and saute until it is wilted.

Take off heat and add a few splashes of the balsamic vinegar and mix to blend.

ENJOY!

Pantry Items:

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil.

Warm Root Veggie Salad

This is one of my most requested recipes! It is corn, gluten, dairy, soy, wheat free! And not bad tasting (I've even had beet haters say this was good) I cannot take credit for this yummy creation - recipe courtesy of Deb McCleave!

Recipe for Warm Root Veggie Salad

2 - 3 Good sized sweet potatoes (peeled and cut in thin rounds)

3 good sized turnips peeled and cut in thin rounds

3 good sized beets, peeled and cut in thin rounds.

2 Leeks trimmed and cut into mix

Toss with Olive oil, 1 Tsp of good sea salt, 1 tsp of garlic powder or fresh garlic minced and pepper to taste. Put in oven on 400* until veggies are tender.

In the mean time prepare the salad dressing -

1/4 C. Olive Oil

1/4 C. Balsamic Vinegar (we like Trader Joes)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp - 1 tsp sugar (you can substitue splenda for sugar free version I just use less)

pepper to taste and for those who are adventuresome - Cayenne pepper to taste.

When the veggies are done, toss them with dressing and serve warm.

You can tweak the spices to fit your taste.

PANTRY ITEMS

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Cayenne Pepper

Garlic Powder or Minced Garlic

Salt

Sugar

Why Am I Here?

Time and Again I get asked how to make the stuff I make. I decided this was a good way to share the recipes we use here at home and share our recipes we make using things we grow or produce here at CBFNigerians. WE have a small herd of dairy goats which we make cheese, ice cream, kefir, yogurt and soaps from. We have a garden and lots of trees that produce veggies and fruits and now we have bees for honey.

I am always happy to share my recipes and I love being able to cook from the garden. So here I am blogging about some good eats from the homestead.

Another thing about us is that we have a family member who is Gluten/Wheat intolerant and we make a lot of food that is Gluten/wheat free. This will be a good source to add to your gluten free repetoire as well. Some of this stuff you won't even miss the wheat and gluten. I will try hard to remember to put together a pantry list and tell you about products that are ones we love when cooking. Otherwise, they are things we grow here!