Tag: Gluten Free
Avocado Feta Salsa
Today I have a recipe to share that is near and dear to my heart. (At least, it passes near to my heart on its way down, but I also mean it in the metaphorical sense.) I’ve been making this avocado feta salsa for years and have amassed quite a few memories connected with it: Christmas parties, backyard bash pool parties, and some especially enjoyable midnight snacking. I’ve always thought it was pretty unique and delish and have been asked for the recipe on numerous occasions. The salty feta and crisp red wine vinegar give it an almost Mediterranean flair, but the cilantro and red onion keep it firmly defined as a Mexican flavor overall. But NOW, ladies and gentlemen, in addition to calling it unique and delicious, I can officially call it “award-winning.”
Here’s the story: a few weeks ago, my husband’s company, meltmedia, held a salsa competition. (They do stuff like that. They also throw a legit Halloween party and blast each other in Nerf gun wars during office hours.) The avocado feta salsa seemed like an entry just distinctive enough that it might win. When I arrived at the competition, I saw that they had three categories for salsa entries: “regular,” “hot,” and “unique.” (Coincidentally, the same categories apply for the scoring of the “Miss Mesa, AZ” beauty pageant…badum ching!) I was convinced my entry was a shoo-in for the “unique” competition. The lunch hour wore on, complete with some surprisingly decent catering from El Pollo Loco, and soon it was time to vote. It was an tense few moments, with lots of delicious competition–like a Mexican street corn dip I really want to try making–but when the votes were totaled, YES! Avocado Feta Salsa for the “unique salsa” win!!! And the crowd goes wild!! (Or at least, I went wild in my head.)
As a prize, I even received a $20 Sprouts gift card, which I promptly spent on booze organic produce. But more than my tidy gift card, what I really prize is this recipe’s now-official credibility as an awesome, unique salsa!
The great thing about this recipe is that, like many other salsa and pico de gallo recipes, you can (and should) assemble it by taste. Like more red onion? Add it! Not a fan of garlic? Go easy on it. I’ve written it down the way I like it, with a squeeze of lemon for a bright hint of citrus. Incidentally, I have batch in the fridge right now, awaiting some dinner guests tomorrow. We’ll see if it makes it that long. I feel a midnight snacking urge coming on…
Avocado Feta Salsa
(Adapted from Allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/3-1/2 c. red onion, diced, depending on how much you like red onion
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
lemon juice, to taste
salt, to taste
4 oz. crumbled feta cheese
2 ripe avocados, diced
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, and garlic. Stir in olive oil and red wine vinegar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste and season with salt to your preference. Chill 2-6 hours to let the flavors blend.
2. Just before serving, gently stir in feta cheese and avocado.
Banana FroYo Pops
Who’s ready for summer?
…..anyone?
When you live in the Phoenix area, you don’t tend to get a lot of enthusiastic responses to this question. Most of us have accepted the fact that by this time of May it already is summer and will continue to be so until about Halloween. So, okay, it’s hot. But, looking on the bright side, there are lots of fun things to enjoy when it’s hot. Like cooling off in the pool, taking in an air-conditioned movie, blasting Beach Boys music, and…um…going somewhere not hot.
Also, eating frozen desserts. Like banana frozen yogurt pops.
If you’re heading into summer with kids at home, these frozen treats are a great way to involve kids in a “cooking” project they can snack on. My three kiddos got a big kick out of decorating their own pops in all manner of creative combinations. Even my son who loves to hate on bananas gobbled his up. (There’s something about loving our own creations.) These do take a little time, of course, since they have two rounds of chilling in the freezer, but what better way to while away a summer afternoon? Pop these in the freezer while you go for a dip, and when you get back, out comes a cold, refreshing, and relatively healthy sweet treat.
Banana FroYo Pops
(Adapted from Babble.com)
Ingredients:
3/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. honey
3-4 bananas
Popsicle sticks
Toppings of your choice: sprinkles, coconut, mini chocolate chips, etc.
Directions:
1. In a wide, shallow bowl or a tall Mason jar, mix yogurt and honey.
2. Peel bananas and cut in half. Insert a popsicle stick into the cut side of each banana half.
3. Dip bananas into yogurt mixture to cover on all sides, rotating or using a rubber spatula to ensure even coating. Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet and freeze for 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, pour toppings into shallow bowls. Remove bananas from freezer and roll in toppings to coat on all sides. Return to baking sheet and freeze for another 1 hour.
5. Serve immediately or store in the freezer in Ziploc bags.
Makes 6-8 banana pops.
Spiced Red Lentils
In my last post, I shared about what I had learned from writing a research paper on the multifunctional spice turmeric and its many potential medicinal uses. Today I thought I’d share a real-life example of how to incorporate turmeric into your diet. (Because turning research into dinner always sounds like a good idea.) This red lentil side dish was a real sleeper hit at our house. It’s a classic example of don’t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover–I mean, how often do we expect something that looks like a pot of rust-colored mush to turn out to be full of restaurant-quality deliciousness? Not often, yes? But that’s just what happened the night we gave this recipe a try.
As for myself, I would never have started cooking with lentils if it hadn’t been for a half-finished bag my vegetarian brother left at our house after one of his visits. Being a neurotic food-user-upper, I knew I had to find a purpose for the remaining legumes in the bag. But how to do so was kind of a mystery to me, because prior to that, my only mental associations with lentils had been the following:
1.) Thinking of them as “those tiny beans that people from other countries eat” (my inner ‘Murica coming out)
and
2.) The line in the musical Funny Girl: “When a girl’s incidentals are no bigger than two lentils, well, to me that doesn’t spell success.” (Don’t tell my husband that quote or he’s gonna start using it about me).
So figuring out how to cook and serve lentils was a real education. And as it turns out, a useful education, since turmeric is such a health-beneficial spice. (Again, see that last post.) As discussed in that post, turmeric is best absorbed by the body when paired with black pepper. This red lentil dish does so with a 2:1 ratio of turmeric to pepper.
In my research, I found out that a typical amount of turmeric in the dietary supplements people take to experience its health benefits is between 400 and 600 milligrams. With this in mind, I was curious–how much benefit would be gained from eating this red lentil dish with only a 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric in it? A half teaspoon doesn’t sound like a lot. Would it be at least the same as one dose of turmeric in supplement form? To find out, I had to do a little finagling involving my food scale. Since a teaspoon is a measurement of volume and milligrams are a measurement of weight, they don’t convert. The half teaspoon had to be weighed to determine how its content might compare to a supplement.
The verdict? One half teaspoon of turmeric is equivalent to 2 grams (my spoon weighs 18g–don’t get too excited), or 2,000 milligrams. So if you ate the entire batch of spiced red lentils (good for you in the turmeric department, bad for you in the bathroom department) you would get a whopping five times the capsule amount. But if you, like a normal person, eat a regular serving–say, 1/5th of the recipe–you’ll get about as much as if you took one turmeric supplement. As someone who would rather eat than take a pill, I call that good news. While I don’t expect it to keep me from getting cancer, it’s a nice way to incorporate a health-beneficial spice into my diet from time to time. Maybe over the long term, it will work some magic.
But I digress. The important thing is mainly that these lentils are incredibly, aromatically delicious. Served with a tortilla-crusted tilapia and a drizzle of red pepper-shallot aioli, they were HEAVEN. My husband talked about this dinner for days afterward. I could also see them pairing well with grilled chicken or pretty much any Indian dish. Give them a try even if you think you don’t like turmeric–your taste buds and your health will thank you.
Spiced Red Lentils
(Adapted from Myrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter (or olive oil, to make vegan)
1/2 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
28 oz. chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/4 cups red lentils, thoroughly rinsed
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. black pepper
salt to taste
Chopped basil for garnish, if desired
Directions:
1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté about 6 minutes or until onion is tender. Add broth, lentils, turmeric, cumin, and pepper.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender and have absorbed the broth. Season with salt to taste and garnish with basil, if desired.
Makes 5 cups.
Creamy Margherita Quinoa Bake
The first time I ever made this for dinner, my husband said, “This is probably one of the best things you’ve ever made.” I was stunned. (And possibly a little insulted–a quinoa bake? What about all those fancy cakes I’ve made, or herb-marinated tilapia with mango salsa? Or my chicken pot pie?) But as I kept eating, I had to agree. This initially unassuming quinoa bake is in fact a consummately delicious comfort food. With stretchy mozzarella, fresh tomatoes bursting with flavor, and strips of basil, it’s pretty much all the things you love about a margherita pizza in creamy casserole form. As if margherita pizza could be improved upon! But for a little something different, I think I actually prefer this dish to the pizza of the same name. (Pause here for horrified gasp.)
Speaking of margherita pizza, have you ever wondered who Margherita was? I have, but maybe that’s because I spend approximately 90% of my mental energy thinking about food. Supposedly, back in 1889, a Neapolitan pizza maker was commissioned to make a pizza in honor of Queen Margherita, who was visiting Naples. (Um…I want to live in a country where people get commissioned to make pizzas.) He created three different pizzas–two of which have apparently been lost to history–and the queen was thrilled with the one that represented the colors of the Italian flag: red, green, and white. Thus was the pizza named Margherita, and thus did Margherita go down in history as Queen of Pizza, which is probably the greatest honorary title ever bestowed on a human being.
So for a little twist on an Italian classic (that happens to be gluten-free, if you’re into that sort of thing), give this one a whirl. With a green salad, it’s a tasty dinner that has won my heart, and my husband’s–and probably would win the Queen of Italy’s, too.
Creamy Caprese Quinoa Bake
(Adapted from Half Baked Harvest)
Ingredients:
1 c. uncooked quinoa
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 1/2 c. tomato-basil pasta sauce
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
scant 1/2 tsp. salt
scant 1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella, divided
1 1/2 c. grape tomatoes, sliced lengthwise, divided
12 large basil leaves, chiffonaded, divided
Directions:
1. Thoroughly rinse quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve. Drain. Place quinoa in a large saucepan and cover with 2 cups water. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside in a separate container. Wipe the pot clean to be used later in the recipe.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In the same large saucepan, heat tomato paste and pasta sauce until warm. Stir in Parmesan, heavy cream, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat and mix in cooked quinoa until well combined. Add half the mozzarella, half the sliced tomatoes, and half the basil leaves, stirring to combine.
4. Spray an 11 x 7 inch baking dish with cooking spray and pour quinoa mixture into the dish, smoothing the top with a spoon. Sprinkle the top with the remaining mozzarella and sliced tomatoes, pressing the tomatoes down slightly into the mixture.
5. Bake in the preheated oven 15-17 minutes, then turn broiler onto high. Broil 1-2 minutes (75 seconds is the sweet spot in my oven). Top with remaining basil strips and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 5-6.
Fig, Pear, and Goat Cheese Salad with Toasted Cinnamon-Pecan Vinaigrette
Have you ever had a really unforgettable meal at a restaurant, then gone back anticipating having it again, only to find it’s been taken off the menu? Or worse yet, that the recipe’s been changed and what you order is not nearly as delicious as what you remember? There’s a popular restaurant in Phoenix called La Grande Orange I’ve been to only a couple of times and enjoyed. Once I got a salad there with a truly spectacular pecan vinaigrette. While nuts have been growing on me for the last few years (you know, figuratively, not literally), I have historically not been their biggest fan. This dressing, though, was a revelation. Sweet, rich, and complex–this dressing probably gets alllll the ladies. I’ve thought about it frequently since our last visit to La Grande Orange. Imagine my disappointment, then, looking up the LGO menu recently and not seeing it listed!
Well, I couldn’t let it go at that. I had to at least Google and tinker around to try to recreate a version of it (if not call LGO’s chef and tearfully beg for the recipe). The dressing on this salad is the result. Since I don’t actually remember LGO’s salad itself, just the vinaigrette, I chose ingredients I tend to like with sweet dressings: dried figs, pear slices, goat cheese, and arugula for a little spicy kick. I must say the whole picture of flavors came together dee-liciously. I might have even liked my homemade pecan vinaigrette with its touch of cinnamon even better than the restaurant version, if you can believe it. So here it is, the salad with the most delicious vinaigrette ever–and possibly the longest name ever. If this were in a cookbook, I’m pretty sure my editor would make me cut some words out of its 11-word title.
Fig, Pear, and Goat Cheese Salad with Toasted Cinnamon-Pecan Vinaigrette
(Dressing adapted from Food.com)
Ingredients:
Salad:
8 c. arugula
4 oz. crumbled goat cheese
1 ripe pear, thinly sliced
4 oz. dried figs, sliced in half
Dressing:
1 c. chopped pecans
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Cinnamon, to taste
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. honey
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
Directions:
1. Assemble salad ingredients on a platter or in a large bowl.
2. Toast the pecans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread chopped pecans on a baking sheet. Drizzle with the 1 Tbsp. olive oil and sprinkle cinnamon over top. Bake 3-5 minutes, checking at 3 minutes for doneness. The nuts should look dark brown but not burnt.
3. To make vinaigrette, whisk together Dijon and honey. Slowly whisk in olive oil, then balsamic vinegar. Stir in cooled toasted pecans. If you like a more emulsified texture, give the whole thing a few pulses with an immersion blender.
4. Toss salad with pecan vinaigrette, or serve on the side.
Serves 4.
