Herb Garden

Herbs are planted... just waiting to make the first batch of pesto.

Basil, Greek oregano, and two types of thyme. 

Cilantro

Wild Mushroom and Garlic Pasta

Super easy dish when your short on time.   

6 cups of assorted mushrooms

2 tablespoons of butter

12 cloves of garlic

4 more tablespoons of butter plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 teaspoons dried basil

gluten-free spaghetti 

Top with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!  

Spicy Italian Lasagna

Start with spicy Italian Sausage, remove casings and break into small pieces. In a saucepan, add sausage, white onions and garlic. Cook until no more pink remains.

May I recommend the best gluten-free noodles that I have worked with, Le Veneziane pasta sheets. Worth every penny. And these noodles freeze well too. Found at Lorenzo's Specialty Foods Ltd.

And the star of this lasagna, red basil.

Okay, back to the sauce. Add a large can of diced undrained tomatoes, basil, oregano and freshly cracked black pepper.  Simmer for about twenty minutes.

While the sauce is simmering away into delicious goodness get your cheeses ready, mozzarella and a ricotta, spinach and parmesan cheese.

Start layering with the sauce.

Did I mention that the lasagna noodles do not need to be pre-cooked?

Bake covered in a 375 degree oven.  Remove foil and finish uncovered for the last fifteen minutes.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mama R's favourite salad is Salad Nicoise making this an easy decision for Mother's Day eats. And there is Crab Quiche in the oven too.  

Happy Mother's  Day to all!  

    

Boiled diced potatoes

Steamed green beans

Hard boiled eggs

Sliced cherry tomatoes

Canned Tuna

Sundried black olives

Bed of romaine lettuce

1/4 cup diced shallots

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp freshly chopped basil

2 tsp freshly chopped oregano

1 tsp freshly chopped thyme

1 tsp dijon mustard

Spaghetti and Meatballs

This is one of my favourite comfort food on a cool rainy summer day. The meatballs were taken out of the freezer this morning. They are not store bought. These are homemade meatballs.

gluten free bread crumbs soaked in milk for about ten minutes and then add:

ground pork

lean ground beef

eggs

seasonings

fresh basil

shaved parmesan cheese

Mix altogether and form meatballs. Bake in the oven but until half way done. Cool and freeze until ready to use.  

When meatballs have defrosted they are ready to finish in sauce. I like to use the homemade red pepper sauce but store bought sauce will work too. Add to a sauce pan the sauce and about 5 tablespoons of chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Bring to a slow boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Gently place the meatballs in the sauce and simmer for about 20 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.

While the meatballs are simmering away in the sauce cook your gluten free pasta. 

I like my pasta to be cooked al dente and I avoid white rice based pasta. I find that they fall apart easily and don't give me that al dente texture. I do like TruRoots Ancient Grains Pasta the best but it is hard to find their spaghetti in these parts. You can order it online but beware of shipping costs outside of the United States. When I can't find TruRoots' spaghetti I'll opt for an organic corn spaghetti from Europe (European countries don't use GMO corn).  

When the spaghetti has reached the desired doneness drain and add to the sauce and meatballs. Give it a gentle toss and serve. I don't sprinkle my pasta with cheese, it is already in the meatballs!

  

Cold Soups

Cold soups are widely consumed in the southern European countries during the hot summer months. In Portugal, vegetable-based cold soup is referred to as Gaspacho. Here in North America, it is best know as a soup from Spain. Regardless, there are many versions of Gaspacho, or if you like Gazpacho.

Gaspacho is one of my all-time favourite soups and I could eat this anytime of the year, but right now there are cucumbers in the garden and this is the best time to take advantage of the produce at hand. I'm took a detour from the tradition European recipe to try twist on Alton Brown's version because of the addition of cumin and lime to the traditional recipe. Love these two flavours! I was lucky to have cucumbers, red onions, parsley and basil from the folk's garden for this recipe. Still waiting for tomatoes that are taking their sweet time getting here.

My Twist on Alton Brown's version:

2 cups of diced cucumbers
1/2 cup of diced red onions
3 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
4 large fresh basil leaves chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 peeled and seeded tomato
1 cup of vegetable juice (or tomato juice)
1 tablespoon cumin
Juice of 2 limes
Freshly cracked sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of gluten-free worcestershire sauce

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, remove about 1 1/2 cups and process in the food processor, add back to the diced vegetables and chill.

Mushrooms

Sauteed Mushrooms, Yellow Beans, Fresh Basil, Portuguese Hot Pepper Paste, Gluten-free Soya Sauce, Olive Oil

These delicious mushrooms were made by my father, one of the greatest cooks I know, next to mom. They were delicious and I could have easily made this side dish my main course.  

Nicoise Salad

Tomatoes, leftover roasted potato, hard boiled eggs, sun-dried black olives, fresh-from-the-garden string beans, fresh-from-the-garden lettuce and tuna.

Arrange on plate.  Drizzle with dressing.

Dressing:

1/2 cup of lemon juice
3/4 cup of olive oil
fresh thyme
fresh basil
freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp. gluten free dijon mustard

Share and enjoy the conversation and company.

Greek Frittata

Black Olives,

Sundried Tomatoes, 

Marinated Artichoke Hearts, 

Fresh Basil,

Onions, 

Goat Cheese

Recipe from Wheat Belly Cookbook by Willliam Davis, MD

Tonight's Gluten-free dinner...

Chicken Breast stuffed with Sun-dried Tomatoes & Goat Cheese

Sauteed Vegetables (Red Peppers and Zucchini) with Sesame Seed Oil and Fresh Basil.

Yum!

Pesto Sauce

The garden that I am able to raid in exchange of some labour (my Dad' pride and joy) is not doing so well this year. It was been hot and an unusually long dry spell that has been withering the plants away. But this morning to my surprise, there was about 4 cups basil leaves at my disposal.

So pesto was on the menu.

Preheat the oven to about 200 degrees F and slowly toast about 1 cup of pine nuts.

Meanwhile, clean and add the basil in the food processor with about six large cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

By the time you have the cheese grated and the basil washed the pine nuts should be ready.

Blend all the ingredients together while slowing pouring 1 cup of good olive oil into the food processor. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper.


And it is that simple!