Raspberries

This summer has been hot with lots of rain and raspberries. A lot of work to pick these up but so worth the work. Now to decide what to make with these, Raspberry Lemonade for sure.  

Blueberry, Peach & Apple Crisp

Nothing says summer to me more than a crisp and some watermelon lemonade. Today is too cool to enjoy a glass of lemonade but it is the perfect day to enjoy some blueberry, peach, and apple crisp.  

3 apples, peeled and sliced

3 peaches, sliced

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup unsalted butter

5 tablespoons almond flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

3/4 cup organic gluten-free oats

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup amaretto

Layer the fruit in a baking dish, apples, peaches and then blueberries.  Now make the topping, dice the butter, and mix with the next four ingredients. Layer on top of the fruit.  Drizzle the amaretto.  Bake in a 350º F oven until apples are the desired tenderness. I usually bake this for about 25 minutes but it depends on the type of apples you like to use.  

Happy Eats!  

Gluten-free Upside Down Pineapple Cake

I have to tell you that I struggled to make half decent gluten-free desserts when it became obvious that gluten was playing havoc on my body. Along the journey, I was gifted many gluten-free cookbooks and I even bought a few myself. There is only one that I guard and cherish. All of the recipes that I have made in this cookbook have been superior to any other versions found in other gluten free cookbooks.  

Seriously, I haven't had a fail recipe from this book and I can't say the same for the others. It is Gluten-Free Baking:  Delectable from-scratch sweet and savoury treats published under Cooking Light and authored by Robert Landolphi. You can pick up the book here. Or you can find the recipe here. But I will tell you that you really do want this book in your collection. If you search for "gluten free upside down pineapple cake + cooking light" you might be directed to this recipe. It is not the same one as in the cookbook I mentioned above. You seriously, have to try Robert Landolphi's version. It is that delicious and moist.  

I did throw in a few blueberries into the mix.  

Happy Eats!  

Spicy Chicken Drum Sticks

Another favourite recipe found in Ana Ortins' Authentic Portuguese Cooking has to be her recipe for chicken wings. Except, I didn't make chicken wings. I used chicken drumsticks which I removed the skin (a lot of work but worth it) and chicken thighs.  

The chicken is marinaded for a few hours to overnight before being transferred to a baking dish. 

I couldn't resist cooking the chicken in the marinade, it is that good.  

And messy and oh so delicious.  

Pork Chops

Sometimes I'm inspired by things found in the garden. Today, I picked up some fresh thyme and oregano to use with pork chops. And the excitement that the first tomato of the season is almost ready to pick inspired a fresh tomato sauce.  

Thinly sliced pork browned in a saucepan with olive oil and butter. Remove and set aside.  Add two large shallots roughly chopped, a tablespoon of minced garlic. Then add 3 cups of chopped tomatoes, 1/2 red bell pepper, a splash or two of red wine vinegar, a dash or three of Portuguese piri piri sauce, thyme, oregano, capers and add the pork chops back to the sauce. Simmer until done.  

Happy Eats!  

Salad de Polvo (Octopus Salad)

This is a perfect summer time dinner salad. The recipe for this dish came from Ana Ortins' latest cookbook Authentic Portuguese Cooking. I couldn't find a whole octopus and used baby octopus instead. It worked well but I didn't have enough octopus for the amount of onions called for in the recipe. Next time, I think I will substitute shallots for the onions.  

Oh and I added oregano to the dressing and served with arugula.  Yummy.  

Fish Tacos

I have to say that when I stumbled across Old Mill white corn tortillas at the grocery store on the weekend, I was pretty excited. I can't recall the last time I ate a tortilla or a wrap for that matter. And not only are they gluten-free, they're good too.   

I used Mahi-mahi for my fish that was marinaded with olive oil, cumin, oregano, chill powder, cilantro, and a 1/3 of a seeded hot pepper. This dish was inspired by the Fish Taco recipe I found here at Epicurious.com.  

Instead of the tomato salsa and Mexican crema suggested in the Epicurious recipe I went with a simple and delicious favourite, Mango salsa.

I'm so glad I didn't skip the red onions soaked in red wine vinegar. Oh my, love these!  

Now that I have found gluten free tortillas, that I like I'm sure I will be revisiting this recipe over the summer.