Red Table Kitchen has grown up and moved out! Please visit www.RedfernKitchen.blogspot.ca to continue following my adventures in the kitchen.

Pumpkin Pudding

Another one of those dishes I forgot to take a picture of before it was too late! This was my pumpkin pie substitute to suit the gluten-free way of life. I made this earlier in the day as I wasn't too confident in the recipe - it turned out great and I wish I had just made it while we were eating dinner. Not only does it smell fabulous, the consistency was superior when it was sampled straight out of the oven as opposed to being warmed up later. Regardless, it's a unique Thanksgiving dessert that everyone could enjoy:

Pumpkin Pudding
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (Jason had pureed a pumpkin last year and we had a few containers still left in the freezer)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 3/4 cups half-and-half or light cream

Butter a 1 1/2-quart casserole. Heat oven to 350°. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk or beat on low speed until blended. Pour into the prepared casserole and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. If desired, serve with sweetened whipped cream and cinnamon sugar for sprinkling.
Serves 6 to 8.

MY REVIEW: I served this both with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar. Every seemed to enjoy it!

Turkey, Butternut Squash & Zucchini Curry With Wild Rice

Dinner this evening was a bizarre combination of what we had in the fridge and what I felt like. No real recipe - ground turkey mixed with butternut squash and zucchini with a with lot of curry!

Quinoa, Leek, and Corn Chowder

Today was the first day that really felt like autumn was here. There seemed to be a lot more leaves on the ground than yesterday and a jacket was necessary. This put me in the mood for some thick and hearty soup. I found this recipe in my much loved Quinoa 365 cookbook:

Quinoa, Leek, and Corn Chowder

Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced leek (white part only)
1/2 cup qunioa
3 cups frozen corn
2 cups vegetable broth
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of ground pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
5 saffron threads

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the onion and leek until the onion is tender and opaque, about 7 minutes. Add the quinoa and 2 cups of the corn; set aside the remaining corn to thaw. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, until the corn partially thaws. Add a few drops of the broth to keep it from sticking to the saucepan, if necessary.

Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the quinoa is completely cooked. Remove from the heat. Puree the cooked mixture with a hand blender or cool slightly and puree in 2 batches in a blender or food processor.

Return the mixture to low heat. Add the remaining 1 cup of corn and the red pepper, black pepper, cayenne, saffron and salt. Reheat and stir. Serve immediately. The soup can be stored in a seal container in the refrigerator for 2 days.

REVIEW: This was so filling! I followed the recipe exactly as shown, apart from the fresh chives sprinkled on top.  I would make this again and it's very simple to make. Nothing fancy but a really great flavor with a hint of spice.

I'm Back!

For those who don't know, Jason and I were married on August 13!

It was a wonderful, beautiful and time consuming wedding. My mind was full of seating plans, dresses and decorations for the past few months. Now that things are settling down, my mind is migrating back to home cooking and relaxing dinners that compliment an evening glass of wine.  Let's jump right into tonights dinner:

With a lack of protein in the freezer, I dug right down into the bottom and found these 6 frozen drumsticks. This is a recipe that I pieced together with some produce from the garden and some pantry staples.


Drumstick Skillet
6 frozen drumsticks (defrost & remove skin)
dab of butter (olive oil would work as well if you're avoiding dairy)

fresh green beans
1 pepper (sliced)
1 tomato (sliced)

1 cup rice
2 cups water
mixture of spices (kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, ground oregano)

1. Heat butter in skillet. Brown all sides of the chicken drumsticks and set aside
2. Add vegetables, rice, water and spice to skillet. Bring to a boil.
3. Put drumsticks on top of vegetables and rice and cover. Let simmer for approx. 25 minutes.

This was a great dish! I let it cook a little too long and the rice was stuck to the bottom but the vegetables and chicken were cooked perfectly.

Here's a taste of a few of the things I've been cooking lately and will blog about in the near future:

 Sweet potato fries made in our brand new Actifry (details to come).

Jello vodka shots made for a summer BBQ party.

Waffles!

Lunches

Sometimes the issue of what to take for lunch really stresses me out. For me, if I don't bring a lunch, I'm not eating lunch. My office is surrounded by Tim Hortons, Wendys, Dairy Queen and Arby's. The only thing gluten free at any of these fast food joints is probably a pop.

Jason has it easier when he doesn't have the time to make a lunch. However, for the sake of trying to eat cleaner and also save some money, packing a lunch is the best plan for both of us. I've seen lots of blogs where people have a "cooking day" and cook all their meals for the week or even the month on one day and simply freeze them.

Most recently I was inspired by a podcast I've been listenening to lately - Fat 2 Fit Radio. They talk about ways to be healthy - not just lose weight. They also talk about crazy fad diets and weight loss products which keeps me entertained during the work day. One of the hosts mentioned he makes all his lunches in advance and directed listeners to a photo on their website. Here it is. Impressive hey? Also, just for fun, check out these transformation photos.

So after seeing those photos and reading lots about meal planning, I had my own cooking day today! I made lunches for both Jason and I for the next 2 weeks. Nothing too creative - some brown rice, chicken & vegetables mostly. We got a large bag of mixed vegetables from Costco for $6.99 and I still have some left over after this.  I also made quinoa with tuna and peas just to mix it up. As Jason is more into the meat and I more into the alternatives, he's got lots of chicken and I've got 4 days where I replaced my chicken with chickpeas. For part of the meals, I sauteed the vegetables and for the others I simply threw them in frozen. They are all gluten free and dairy free as well. To go with these meals, I've portioned some dried fruit with nuts and I've frozen some grapes as an option too. We both always have our usual orange, banana & yogurt a day and oatmeal for breakfast. The only wild card is now dinner! I don't mind taking my time and making a more creative meal - plus now I don't have to worry about making so much for leftovers.

These 2 weeks will be an experiment as to what works best. I will keep you posted on this lunch project!

Stuffed Peppers & Baked Beans

*Ignore my weird spacing and font on this post - I am using Jason's laptop


These 2 recipes were from earlier this week and both from the Simply Recipes site that I've been frequenting. 


First off, some of "Dads Stuffed Peppers" - there was also a "Mom's Stuffed Peppers" which looked pretty good too.... but here's Dad's:

Dad's Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 4 bell peppers, any color (I made 3 and they were kind of squat)
• Salt
• 5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (Wow! Don't need that much)
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb of lean ground beef (Ground Turkey, about 3/4 of a styrofoam flat package)
• 1 1/2 cup of cooked rice 
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned (if using can, drain of excess liquid first) (I chopped fresh)
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon of dried oregano (dried)
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce (I didn't use this as it's not gluten free - at least my brand wasn't)
• Dash of Tabasco sauce (Louisiana Hot Sauce)

1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, cut top off peppers 1 inch from the stem end, and remove seeds. Add several generous pinches of salt to boiling water, then add peppers and boil, using a spoon to keep peppers completely submerged, until brilliant green (or red if red peppers) and their flesh slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Drain, set aside to cool.

2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 4 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Remove skillet from heat, add meat, rice, tomatoes, and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well. (You may find it easier to put the ingredients at this point into a large bowl and mix together with your hands.)

3 Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil inside the peppers. Arrange the cut side of the peppers up in a baking dish, then stuff peppers with filling. Combine ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl, then spoon over filling. Add 1/4 cup of water to the baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (or longer, depending on how big the peppers are that you are stuffing), until the internal temperature of the stuffed peppers is 150-160°F.

As I only had 3 smaller peppers, I put the remaining stuffing into a small loaf pan and covered with the ketchup sauce. It cooked for as long as the peppers did.

Next up, I made some "Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce" which I will be eating for the next few days!

Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce Recipe

Prep time: 1 hour

• Cook time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

If you want to save time, you can used canned beans instead of dry. Use 3 or 4 15-ounce cans, drained and rinsed and proceed to step 3. If you want a vegetarian version, skip the bacon, increase the olive oil, and use vegetable stock.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound dry cannellini, borlotti or Great Northern beans (3 cans)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 pound bacon or pancetta, roughly chopped (I didn't use this.. but would recommend you do!)
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh sage, minced (can sub fresh rosemary) (I only had dried sage)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon chile flakes (depending on how spicy you want it)
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
• 2 cups beef or chicken stock (use gluten-free stock for gluten-free version)
• Salt
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

METHOD

(I didn't add the bacon but here's the directions as posted on the website. I also do not have a heavy-bottomed pot so I dumped it all into a casserole dish before going in the oven)

1 Pre-soak the beans, either by covering with two inches of water and soaking overnight, or by pouring boiling water over them and soaking them for an hour.

2 Drain the beans and put them in a medium-sized pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook until the beans are just soft enough to eat, about 1 hour, give or take 15 minutes or so, depending on how old the beans are (older beans will take longer to cook).

3 Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a 3 or 4 quart heavy-bottomed, oven-proof, lidded pot such as a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the bacon or pancetta and cook slowly until lightly browned and crispy.

4 Add the chopped onions and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring often, until the onions begin to brown. Use a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot.

5 Add the garlic, chile flakes and sage and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the honey and tomato paste. Stir well to combine. Add the tomatoes or tomato sauce and the stock. Bring to a simmer. Taste for salt and add some if needed.

6 Drain the beans and add them to the pot. Stir well. Cover the pot and cook in the oven for an hour and fifteen minutes. If still a bit wet, remove the cover and cook for 15 minutes more. Note that the cooking time will depend on several things, the most important being how thoroughly the beans were cooked to begin with when they were simmered. If they are still a bit hard when they go in the oven, it may take several hours to soften them, once the tomato and honey have been added.

7 Right before serving, gently stir in the chopped parsley and balsamic vinegar. Taste for salt, add more if needed to taste.

Serve either hot or at room temperature.

These were both great recipes - Jason gave the peppers a 10/10! The beans make ALOT... would be good for a large family dinner or potluck. I loved the addition of balsamic vinegar and could really taste it. 

Honey-Mustard Lime Crock Pot Chicken

For this crockpot chicken, I did have to go and purchase the chicken drumsticks but everything else I had on hand. The ingredients are very simple and it takes 10 minutes to throw it all together. I found it on this Meal Planning website and it had already been adapted from a non-crock pot recipe on another blog:

8 chicken legs (I removed the skin as crock pot + chicken skin = slime)
1/2 cup honey mustard (or 2 tbsp honey mixed with 1/3 cup Dijon Mustard)
1 lime, juice and zest (or 3 tbsp lime juice)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce

Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker, and stir to evenly coat the chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours or until chicken is cooked all the way through. I cooked on high for about 3 and a half hours. Serve with rice (and steamed broccoli!) to spoon extra sauce on top.

In the spirit of using up some of the things in the freezer, I made a gluten-free crisp with some frozen raspberries and cranberries from our vast collection of frozen fruit.

Now this - I really don't have a recipe for! I was trying to experiment with alternative, natural sweeteners as opposed to putting brown sugar in the topping. The topping is a mixture of rice flour, quick rolled oats (gluten free variety), honey, agave nectar, chopped walnuts & 1/8cup margarine. I baked it in the oven at 350 until it smelled good. Aren't I just the best recipe writer ever??

Both of these dishes were a success! Its amazing the things you can throw together when you really start digging around in the freezer.

*Mom's Ground Turkey & Peppers

*Not my moms.

Before I get into this new recipe, let me say I have tried to post a few times in the last few weeks but things just weren't working out for me! My most recent attempt was crab cakes. Not only was the flavor bad, but they did not hold their shape. No sense posting a horrible recipe! I am still cooking and still eating however so don't fret. Hopefully I'll have some more successful recipes for you soon.

Now, check out this site I found for some gluten free recipes:

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/gluten-free/

As a very visual cook, I love the fact there's a picture beside each and quite often additional pictures of the steps. There's quite a few things in the list that I would like to try. While reading through them, I found that most of the ingredients are things I would normally have in my fridge or pantry. This works well with my project for the next 2 weeks: buy only fruits and vegetables for groceries and use what's already in the freezer in pantry. We have so many dried things and frozen things and pastas kicking around that I need to use up! They aren't going bad but they are taking up space and the collection seems to grow a little bit each time we do our Sunday grocery shop.

Here's what I tried tonight (with a package of already purchased & forgotten ground turkey):

*Mom's Ground Turkey & Peppers

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion, including some chopped greens from scallions or green onions (just had the yellow onion)
• 1 bell pepper (red or yellow preferred), chopped (I used yellow)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt
• 1 lb ground turkey, preferably ground turkey thighs
• 1 teaspoon chipotle powder or chili powder (or to taste) (chili powder)
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or cilantro (I used parsley)

Method

1 Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and bell pepper and cook until onions and peppers are softened, a couple minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.

2 Push the vegetables to the edge of one side of the pan and position that side of the pan so that it is off the burner, away from the heat. The empty part of the pan should be right over the burner. Add one or two more tablespoons of oil to coat the empty part of the pan. Put crumpled chunks of ground turkey in the pan, sprinkle with salt and chipotle or chili powder.

3 Cook the turkey without stirring until it is browned on one side, then turn the pieces over to brown the other side. Once the turkey is just cooked through, stir in the onions and peppers, and sprinkle with more salt and chili powder to taste. Remove from heat. Stir in fresh chopped parsley or cilantro.
Serve alone, or with steamed rice or noodles.
Serves 4.

To go with the turkey and peppers, I made some Russian Buckwheat (from the Italian Market). Despite the suspicious name, it is gluten free. It's also full of fiber and a nice change from the usual rice or quinoa. Once it's cooked I just add a little salt.

MY REVIEW: This was a good meal! I don't usually cook my ground turkey in that manner but it worked nicely and left the meat in larger pieces than usual. It was a quick and colorful dish.

JASON'S REVIEW: The turkey was hearty and delicious.

Gluten Free Crepes

Crepes were always one of those things I never imaged I could successfully make. After I fell in love with a street crepe in Paris, I added it to my "list of things to do when I get home". I recently saw that local blogger Chris, from 'Eating Is The Hard Part', made some gluten free crepes! He used a flour mix from the GF Patisserie in Cochrane which I just so happened to make a stop at on Saturday. Wanting to try my new flour and craving a sweet treat, I attempted my first crepe. Here is the recipe, as posted on Chris's blog:

2 Cups GF Patisserie Flour mix
1 1/2 Cups Milk (adjust to make thin batter)
4 Eggs

1. Blend, or whisk the ingredients.
2. Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter into hot, greased pan.
3. Cook 1-2 minutes a side.
4. Remove to cutting board and fill with anything your heart desires. Ham. Cheese. Fruit. Ice Cream. Steak. Spinach…

My crepes were filled a thin layer of nutella and topped with stewed raspberries.  I was very surprised at how easy these were to make! The crepe pictured above was my middle crepe - I made one thinner and one thicker than that. The thinner one was much easier to flip and tasted so delicate and perfect. I will definitely be trying these again soon and getting a little more creative with fillings and toppings. 

Do you love butter?

Chickpea & Sausage Soup

This lovely (or should I say... "lusty") soup was from the Edmonton Sun:

CHICKPEA AND SAUSAGE SOUP
This lusty soup has with an aroma that greets you as you walk in the door.

1 Tbsp. (15 ml) olive oil
3/4 lb. (375 g) fresh Italian sausage or chorizo (we used gluten-free Italian sausage from the Italian Market)
1 large onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can chickpeas
1 carton (900 ml) sodium-reduced chicken broth
1 Tbsp tomato paste
Salt
2 cups lightly packed shredded spinach

In large heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add sausage; brown well, about 10 minutes. Let cool on cutting board. Slice thinly.

Meanwhile, drain off all but 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) fat. Add onion, garlic, thyme and pepper; saute for 5 minutes.

Drain and rinse chickpeas; mash half with fork. Add mashed and whole chickpeas to onion mixture along with sausage, chicken broth and tomato paste. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low; simmer covered until flavours blend and broth thickens slightly, about 30 minutes. (Make-ahead: Let cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate uncovered in containers until cold. Cover; refrigerate for up to 3 days; reheat.)

Taste, adding salt if desired. Stir in spinach; let stand 1 minute.

Makes 6 servings.

Aero Garden!

The Aerogarden has been growing for over a month now and it's fantastic! So far I've only used the basil once on a pizza. I keep forgetting I have fresh herbs! You can see my little stack of basil in the bottom left corner:

Lately there's been a lot of stir fries and pizzas. My new favorite thing to use is rice noodles! I didn't realize all you have to do is soak them in water before using them. All I do is cook up either shrimp or chicken, throw in some vegetables with a mix of garlic, ginger and curry powder and then add the noodles with some soy sauce and vegetable broth.  Both Jason and I love this quick supper! If you go to T&T you will find every thickness and style of rice noodles imaginable.. and they're cheap.

Quinoa Salad, Falafel & Aero Garden

Although I have been cooking lots of great things lately, this week has just been so busy! Classes for work, doctors appointments and a leaky roof are just some of the things that have been occupying my time. Extra effort was put into making sure we had a healthy dinner every night however and I've got some great new recipes to share.

First of all - check out the Aero Garden on day 14:

It's a kitchen jungle! I still have not sampled anything but I've got my eye on that basil...

Now onto the recipes. Last week we had a little family get together and I brought a salad to share. Surprise, surprise - it was from my Quinoa 365 book! It's good for vegetarians, celiacs and those with lactose intolerance (all of whom were at this particular family get together):

Quinoa Chickpea Salad

2cups vegetable stock

1cup quinoa

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1cup diced red bell pepper (about 1 pepper)

1/3cup dried cranberries

1/3cup chopped walnuts

3tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Bring the stock and quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for 4 more minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.

Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl and mix in the chickpeas, red pepper, cranberries, walnuts and parsley. Chill before serving. Stays fresh in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 

The next recipe I wanted to share came from a book a co-worker brought to my attention called "The Gluten Free Bible":

While I have enjoyed the odd falafel pita in the past, I had never attempted to make them. This particular recipe also included a recipe for a tomato sauce to be served on top but I chose to just make the falafel:

Falafel Nuggets

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2cup rice flour

1/2cup chopped parsley

1 egg

Juice of 1 lemon (or squirt of lemon juice)

1/4cup minced onion

2tbsp minced garlic

2tsp ground cumin

1/2tsp salt

1/2tsp ground red pepper or red pepper flakes

1/2cup canola oil (*I did not use this as I used the "variation" method to reduce fat content. I will write both methods however)

Preheat oven to 400F. Coat baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray (or parchment paper).

Combine chickpeas, rice flour, parsley, egg, lemon juice, minced onion, garlic, cumin, salt and red pepper in food processor or blender; process until well blended. Shape mixture into 1 inch balls.

(This is not the method I used) Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Fry falafel in batches until browned. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet; bake 8-10 minutes. 

*Variation Cooking Method - Falafel can also be baked completely to reduce the fat content. Spray the falafel lightly with nonstick cooking spray and bake 15-20 minutes, turning once. 

Once I had made these, I wasn't too sure what to do with them. Apparently they're good in salads or even as a sandwich filler. I enjoyed just eating them as is for a quick snack. 

For one meal this week, I threw them in the wok for some protein with my veggies. Expecting them to just crumble, I was happily surprised when they held their shape and acted like a little meatball! There is such great flavor in these little things and they are a wonderful source of protein for those of us who don't get enough of it from meat. 

MY REVIEW: Two good recipes I know I will make again. 

JASON'S REVIEW: Jason is currently removing the iceberg featured in the major motion picture "Titanic" from our roof. Perhaps you've seen it? It's safe to say he liked both meals as they were both happily consumed. 

A Cold Snap & Personalized Gnocchi

Lately, my work day consists of at least 4 cups of joy (aka green tea). Those little cups of joy keep me warm from the inside out. For those of you not living in Edmonton, it's cold. Damn cold. Since Friday we have gotten about 25-30cm of snow and the temperature is dropping to around -30 degrees celcius.

Snow in the front:

Snow in the back:

Remember when it looked like this?

Hard to believe, I know!

Since it seemed like Jason was basically shoveling all weekend, I treated him to a pork tenderloin on Sunday night. The recipe was nothing out of this world but I wanted to show you the magic of a crinkle cutter. These are left-overs and check out how fancy they look:

Now on to this evenings dinner - I came up with my own baked pasta creation. Jason had some Italian Sausage (although I didn't eat any, these are gluten free and that just makes it a lot easier for me to cook and not worry about contamination) from the Italian market and I had some turkey sausage from Planet Organic. I used individual ramekins to mix up different creations to satisfy both of us.

I cooked the meat in a frying pan on the stove while the gnocchi cooked in boiling water for only about 4 minutes. In the ramekins I put the sausage, some grated cheese (mozzarella for me, spicy jack for Jason), gnocchi and pasta sauce. You can use your favorite pasta sauce - I used 'Dave's Gourmet Butternut Squash' sauce. I purchased it simply because I liked the design on the jar:

If you're a regular here, you know I'm not one to measure, so use your best judgement! Any leftover cheese was sprinkled on top and then the whole thing was baked in the over at 350F for about 20 minutes. It's ready when it's bubbly:

MY REVIEW: Good, warm comfort food.

JASON'S REVIEW: The pasta was very good. Spicy, sausagey and delicious.

Aero Garden - Day 13

Potato Candy - Recipe From A Memory

Early in the Christmas season, my Grandma was telling me about a special treat her mother used to make her and her sisters at Christmas time. She said there was only 3 ingredients; potato, icing sugar and coconut. In my head, I immediately thought "gluten free"! Having never heard of something like that, I turned to the Internet and found quite a lot of results. Most were covered in chocolate or had some sort of wax in them. Some recommended adding milk and salt to the mashed potatoes. I couldn't find something as simple as my Grandmas memories so I just gave it a shot. Nothing was measured and I will work on trying to perfect this recipe in the future, but here's what I did:

 

1 medium potato, peeled, cooked & mashed until smooth

Icing sugar (I'm going to say about 2 cups but don't add it all at once)

Approx. 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 tsp vanilla

 

I kept adding icing sugar to the potato until it became a dough-like consistency. Once it was thick and not sticking to my hands, I added the coconut. Upon tasted it at this point I decided to add some vanilla extract (vanilla was not one of the original 3 ingredients my Grandma mentioned but she did confirm it was in the original once she sampled mine).

 

Once I had my dough all mixed, I was really unsure of what to do next. I spread it thin on parchment paper and then stared at it for a while. I couldn't see it really sticking together so I decided I would drizzle some melted chocolate on top. Once I did that, I stared at it again. Seeing this wasn't going to work either, I smooshed all the dough together and started making 1" balls. After a few hours, the balls do harden up and hold their shape nicely.

 

The verdict - these were SO sweet. I don't have much of a sweet tooth so I couldn't really see anyone eating and finishing a complete ball but everyone tried one (some even two!). My grandma agreed - super sweet but similar to the original. Her mother somehow cut it into bars instead of the balls. My recipe requires some fine-tuning still but it was a fun experiment. If you like cake icing, you will love these!

Sweet Potato & Coconut Soup with Quinoa

I promise to make something without quinoa tomorrow! I just can't get enough of this Quinoa 365 book. So many fantastic looking recipes in there. I just about made a quinoa chickpea salad to go with this soup but figured that would be overkill. Here is the soup I made this evening:

Sweet Potato & Coconut Soup with Quinoa
2 large sweet potatoes (I used 1 large and I can't imagine how thick this would be with 2!)
2tbsp water
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup quinoa
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup coconut milk
1/4tsp cayenne pepper
1/4tsp chili powder
1/4cup plain yogurt (optional) (I didn't have any)

Wash and peel the sweet potatoes and cut in 2-3" chunchs. Boil for 5-6 minutes until just soft but not mushy.

Place the water and onion in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook until the onion softens, about 7 minutes. Stir in the quinoa and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes, until the quinoa is cooked.

Add the sweet potato to the saucepan. Puree the mixture with a hand blender. Return to low heat and stir in the coconut milk. Reheat slowly on low, adding the cayenne and chili powder. Ladle into bowls and top each serving with a spoonful of yogurt (if using).

To go with this soup I made salad with a new salad dressing. I halved a recipe that came from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch. I mostly was excited to use the newest ingredient in my pantry which is agave nectar! My salad consisted of lettuce and cucumbers but the dressing made it special ....

2tbsp agave nectar
2tbsp dijon mustard
1/3cup olive oil
2tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove minced
salt & pepper


MY REVIEW: The soup was damn thick! A bowl will fill you right up. If you're not the largest fan of coconut, fear not. It's not an overwhelming flavor. I really liked the little bit of spice the cayenne added and just the overall simplicity of the recipe. There was no sauteing the onions in butter so this recipe is 100% lactose free as well (assuming you skip the yogurt).  I didn't even have to add any salt or pepper - the natural flavors were enough. Great salad dressing too - even with half the recipe there's quite a bit left over. I just mixed it up in a mason jar and will keep it in the fridge.

JASON'S REVIEW: It was fabulous. I couldn't guess the ingredients - the flavors stood on their own.

Tasty Tuna Casserole

Here's another recipe from my much loved Quinoa 365 cookbook:

Tasty Tuna Casserole
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
3tbsp butter
3/4 cup finely diced celery
3/4 cup finely diced white onion
2 cups chopped white button mushrooms
1/2tsp minced fresh garlic
2 cups milk
1/4 cup quinoa flour
1/4tsp salt
pinch ground pepper
two cans flaked light tuna, drained
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (the one ingredient I forgot to purchase!)

Bring the water & quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the head off and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for another 6 minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow the quinoa to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly spray cooking oil in a 3.5L casserole dish.

Melt 1tbsp of the butter in a large saucepan. Saute the white onion and celery until the onion becomes translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and continue to saute until the vegetables are tender, another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Combine the remaining 2tbsp butter, milk, flour, salt & pepper in a medium saucepan. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Add the quinoa to the vegetable mixture in the large saucepan, along with the sauce, tuna, peas & 1 cup of the cheese. Stir to combine well and pour the mixture into the casserole dish. Top with the remaining 1/4cup of cheese and green onion. Place on the center rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes, until bubbling hot.

MY REVIEW: This recipe dirties a whole lot of dishes so be prepared! It's also fast paced and you might require assistance getting things out of the fridge and chopped if you're not ready. In the end, it was worth it. I've been craving tuna casserole for quite a while now and this was delicious AND nutritious.

JASON'S REVIEW: It's the casserole that keeps on giving.