Spaghetti and meatballs

The extra time you spend preparing this sauce yourself, instead of opening a jar of store bought, will be well worth your effort. This recipe will feed quite a few hungry people, about 8 to 10 good size servings. I don’t explicitly state this in the recipe, but it is important to verify that your ingredients are gluten-free. Check the labels on tomatoes, cheese, and meats, and call the manufacturer for verification if you have any doubt. This would also be a fine time to utilize your food processor if you have one, as the most time consuming element of the recipe, besides the browning of the meatballs, is chopping the vegetables for the sauce. But I don’t recommend you chop your onions in the food processor – it seems to really let those eye irritating onion juices permeate the air, and your guests might shed a tear or two when they walk in your door.

Marinara sauce:

• 1/3 C olive oil
• 1 large onion or 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• ½ C white wine (optional)
• 2 28z cans of crushed tomatoes
• 1 14.5z can of diced tomatoes
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1 T of dried basil

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion, carrot, and celery, as well as the garlic, salt and pepper to the pot and cook for about 10 minutes. Add in the white wine and cook for another minute. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low heat with the lid askew on top of the pot.

Meatballs:

• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 C Italian blend of shredded cheese
• ¼ C parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 T chopped garlic
• ¼ tsp ground pepper
• a few pinches of nutmeg

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix them with your hands until everything is combined. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Form the meatballs into balls the size of large golf balls. Brown them on all sides in batches in the skillet, turning gently with some tongs. When browned, deposit them gently into the marinara sauce. Simmer the sauce and meatballs for at least an hour, and preferably more toward 3 hours. Serve over brown rice pasta with a side salad.

Chocolate fudge cake

If there’s one thing I can’t live without, it’s chocolate cake. There’s no need to apologetically explain, “it’s gluten-free,” before you serve this cake.  Nobody will know! You definitely ought to use a decent quality cocoa powder for your chocolate desserts, and my all-time favorite is Hershey’s natural or special dark cocoa. Adding the hot liquid at the end helps to bring out the cocoa’s flavor. For the frosting I usually make Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Frosting. And don’t worry, you won’t taste any coconut.

• 1 C packed brown sugar
• 1 C white sugar
• ¾ C cocoa
• 1 C sorghum flour
• ½ C tapioca flour
• ½ C cornstarch
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 ¾ C coconut milk (1 14z can), divided into 1 C and ¾ C
• ½ C (1 stick) melted salted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9 x 13 pan or two 9″ round pans. In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the sugars, flours, cocoa, baking powder and soda, salt and xanthan gum. Add the eggs, 1 C of coconut milk, the melted butter, the vanilla and the almond extract. Mix until thoroughly combined (I just use a wooden spoon). Heat the remaining coconut milk in the microwave until it is about boiling, approximately 1 minute. Stir the hot coconut milk into the batter and mix thoroughly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).

Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven, 35 to 40 minutes for the 9 x 13 pan, or about 30 to 35 minutes for the round pans, or until the center is firm to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely and frost.

*If you would like a little lighter cake, substitute boiling water for the last 3/4 C of hot coconut milk.

**You can add a 1/4 C of almond meal if you would like for extra flavor (but it will make the cake a little bit denser).

***For a special twist, try adding 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1 T of ground ancho chili powder to the batter.

****For a non gluten-free cake, substitute 2 C of all-purpose flour for the sorghum, tapioca, and cornstarch. Take the baking powder down to 2 tsp and omit the xanthan gum. Use an electric mixer to mix the batter as you add the liquid.

Red and green pasta sauce with chicken

This might be about as easy and tasty as it gets. No measuring allowed on this one – just keep sprinkling and tasting until you are satisfied. I really enjoy adding spinach leaves to tomato based dishes right at the end of cooking so that they wilt but do not cook. This adds wonderful color and health to your food without altering the taste nearly at all! Really, I know that when most of us hear the word spinach we fixate on the smell that leaks out of a freshly opened can of spinach. But the taste of fresh, wilted spinach is worlds away from canned spinach and it is milder even than frozen spinach.

This recipe makes a couple of large servings, or more if there are no big eaters at the table. Serve the sauce over brown rice pasta, which is available very economically at Trader Joe’s (and it is also available at many other health food stores in different brands).

• 1 14.5z can of diced tomatoes and their juices
• good drizzle of olive oil
• 1 tsp or so of chopped garlic
• few shakes of dried basil leaves
• fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste
• 1 boneless chicken breast
• handful of fresh, torn spinach leaves
• few sprinkles of grated Parmesan cheese

In a medium sauce pan heat the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil and pepper over medium high heat for 1 minute, adjusting the seasonings as needed. Place the chicken breast into the pan and cover, cooking for about 10 minutes until the chicken breast is cooked through. Turn off the heat and remove the chicken breast from the pan to a cutting board. Take a big handful of fresh spinach leaves, tear them into smaller pieces and stir them into the tomato sauce. Add a few sprinkles of Parmesan cheese and check to see if the sauce needs any additional salt. Chop, slice, or shred the chicken and stir it back into the sauce. Serve the sauce over gluten-free pasta.

*For an extra treat, try sprinkling the warm pasta with a little bit of shredded mozzarella cheese before you ladle on the sauce.

Oatmeal apple crisp

An easy gluten free dessert! We like to keep the apple skins on for texture, health, and ease of preparation, but you can peel the apples if you like. Leftover apple crisp makes a great topping for pancakes.

Topping

• 1 1/3 C gluten-free oats
• 2/3 C sorghum or brown rice flour
• 1 1/3 C brown sugar
• 1 C of salted butter (2 sticks)

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and work the butter in with your fingers until everything is incorporated (or pulse in a food processor).  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator while you prepare the apples.

Apple Filling

• 8 medium green apples
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 T honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash, core and cut the apples into thin (about 1/4 inch) slices. Place the apple slices into a 9 x 13 baking pan. Pour lemon juice over apples and mix in the zest, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg, combining thoroughly. Take the topping out of the refrigerator and crumble it over the top of the apples. Bake until the topping is brown and the apples are bubbling, around 40 minutes. Serve in bowls with vanilla ice cream.

A little more than curry

Here is my favorite chicken “curry” recipe with a few extra ingredients tossed in to make a complete one pot meal (well, technically two pots if you count the rice). Brining the chicken for about 1 hour ahead of time adds great, easy flavor to the chicken, but it is definitely not necessary. The other secret to this dish is Trader Joe’s korma simmer sauce.

Chicken:

• 1 to 1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 T table salt
• 3 T sugar
• about 6 cups of water
• 1 gallon plastic resealable bag

Place the salt, sugar and water in the plastic bag and let it dissolve. Then place the chicken breasts in the bag and seal, letting them brine in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Remove the chicken breasts from the brine and rinse before cooking. Cut the chicken into cubes for curry.

Curry:

• 1 T coconut oil or ghee
• 1 medium yellow onion, cut in half and sliced thin
• ½ tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp curry powder or ground coriander
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 pound chicken breast, brined and cubed
• 1 14.5z can diced tomatoes
• 1 jar Trader Joe’s korma simmer sauce
• 1 pint of half and half
• 1 large baking potato, scrubbed and cubed
• handful of golden raisins
• handful of pistachios (or cashews)
• handful of fresh chopped cilantro
• big handful of chopped fresh spinach
• salt to taste

In a large pan or pot, heat the oil over medium heat and fry the onion, garlic, ginger and spices until the onion is slightly caramelized.  Add the chicken, tomatoes, korma sauce, half and half, potato, raisins, and nuts, and bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes or until the potato is tender. Take the curry off the heat and add salt if needed, cilantro and spinach. Stir to wilt greens. Serve over steamed basmati rice.

Chili lentils and brown rice

We love one pot meals! Here is one of our favorite standbys with lentils, which are sometimes referred to as the “fast food” of legumes because they require no soaking. Just give them a thorough rinse in a colander. You could cut down the prep time by pulsing your veggies in a food processor until they are coarsely chopped. Also, if you have a pressure cooker, this cooks in about 15 minutes under high pressure.

• 2 T coconut oil (or your oil of choice)
• 2 small to medium carrots or 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 stalk of celery, diced
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• dash of cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 14.5z can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (or plain tomatoes and a small can of chopped green chilies)
• ¾ C plain brown rice
• ¾ C lentils (rinsed)
• 3 C gluten-free chicken broth (or 3 C water and 1 T of gluten-free bouillon)
• handful of unsalted cashew pieces (optional but very good – Trader Joes sells cashew pieces for reasonable prices)

• handful of chopped cilantro, shredded cheese and sour cream

Sauté diced onion, carrot, celery and garlic in 2 T of coconut oil over medium high heat for about 7 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and salt and fry another minute. Stir in bell pepper and tomatoes with their juices and cook for a minute. Add rice and lentils, cashews and broth. Cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and lentils are tender, about 1 hour. If lentils or rice are not tender enough when liquid is absorbed at the end of cooking, add about another 1/4 C water and cook a little longer.

Stir in cilantro and serve with grated cheese and sour cream if you like.

Honey ginger tilapia with coconut rice

We are trying to increase our family’s fish intake, and so far we are eating a good deal of Tilapia, a fairly inexpensive and mild tasting white fish. You could use this recipe with any of your favorite fish, however, adjusting the cooking time accordingly. Serve with your favorite green vegetable.

Honey Ginger Tilapia

• 2 T gluten-free soy sauce
• 2 T honey
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 T sesame oil
• 2 T chopped ginger
• 1 T chopped garlic

• 1 can of pineapple chunks, drained

• 6-8 Tilapia fillets

Place the Tilapia fillets in a glass baking dish. Combine the soy sauce through garlic in a bowl and pour over fish. Top fish with pineapple chunks. Set oven to 400 degrees and let fish sit in sauce  until the oven is preheated. Then place the baking dish in oven and cook for about 15 minutes, or until fish is opaque. Serve over coconut rice (recipe follows).

Coconut Rice

• 1 T butter
• 2 C long grain white rice
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 2 ½ C water

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Pour rice into pan and toast in butter for a few minutes until fragrant. Stir in the sugar, salt and cinnamon and combine thoroughly with the toasted rice. Add coconut milk and water and bring everything to a boil. Cover the pan and lower the heat, simmering the rice for 15 to 17 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat and let the rice steam for another 10 minutes or so. Fluff with a fork.

Oatmeal apple scones

A wonderful breakfast for a cool morning. Make sure your oats are gluten-free (Bob’s Red Mill is one brand that makes gluten-free oats). Serve with butter and honey or some cream cheese.

• 1 ½ C gluten-free oats
• ½ C sorghum flour
• ½ C tapioca flour
• ½ C cornstarch
• ¼ C ground flax seed (optional)
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 T baking powder
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 5 T salted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 C coconut milk
• 1/4 C honey
• 1 green apple, diced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease two baking sheets. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and work the butter in with a fork. Beat the eggs, coconut milk and honey together and add it to the butter-flour mixture, mixing until everything is combined. Add the chopped green apple. The dough should be sticky but it  still hold its shape when dropped onto the baking sheet. Drop 6 large spoonfuls/ice cream scoops of the mixture onto each baking sheet. Bake for about 15  minutes, or until the tops of the scones are brown.

Wilted Thai salad with chicken

If you have an abundant source of fresh basil (either from your garden or nearby market), this is a great way to make use of it. Be creative with the salad ingredients if you like.

Salad:
• half of a 9z bag of spinach, shredded
• half of a small to medium head of napa cabbage, shredded
• 1 C loosely packed basil leaves, shredded
• leaves of 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 6 to 8z of bean sprouts
• couple handfuls of sunflower seeds

Dressing:
• ½ C natural peanut butter
• 1 C coconut milk
• juice of a small can of mandarin oranges (packed in natural juices)
• juice of 2 limes
• 2 T gluten-free soy sauce
• 2 T honey
• 1 T sesame oil
• 1 T chopped ginger
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• ½ tsp chili garlic paste

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Garnish:
• drained mandarin oranges
• slices of green apple

Whisk the ingredients for the dressing in a medium pan. Place chicken breasts in the pan with dressing, heat over medium heat until chicken breasts are cooked through and sauce is thickened, stirring every couple of minutes to ensure that the sauce does not burn (turn down the heat if necessary), about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and put chicken breasts in a medium bowl to cool.

Toss the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Shred the chicken breasts with two forks (once they are moderately cooled) and mix the chicken into the dressing in the pan. Toss warm dressing/chicken mixture with salad in the large bowl until thoroughly mixed.

Plate salad and garnish with mandarin oranges and green apple slices.

Spicy coconut tilapia

This recipe is really not that spicy. Even my kids love to eat it (including the baby). It could be really spicy, though, if you add a little more chili garlic paste.

• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 small can of tomato sauce
• ½ T chili powder
• couple dashes of cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp of chili garlic paste (available in Asian food aisle at the grocery store)
• juice and zest of 1 lemon

• 8 tilapia fillets (more or less depending on how many people you want to feed)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine coconut milk through lemon juice and zest in a bowl and mix thoroughly to make the sauce. Place the tilapia in a glass baking dish and cover with sauce. Place dish into preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. You could also simmer tilapia in sauce in a large skillet on the stove until fish is opaque.

Serve with rice and some blanched broccoli florets stir fried in a few shakes of gluten-free soy sauce, olive oil/coconut oil and some chopped garlic.