Wild Rice Stuffed Tomatoes

As I'm sure many of my gluten-free friends agree, rice is a pretty important staple when you can't eat wheat.  It fills you up better than anything else can, and whole grain varieties are full of fibre.  Wild rice, as every website out there will tell you, is not actually rice but a grass, but it's still full of fibre as well as protein.

This recipe comes from my latest purchase, The Liver Cleansing Diet, by Dr. Sandra Cabot.  In all fairness I didn't really make her recipe as I made alot of alterations, so I'll post both the original and my changes.  In the book they consider it a main course to be served with a side salad, but we had it as a side along with BBQed pork, mushrooms, and the previous Jamie Oliver zucchini recipe.  Yum.  It made for a great Sunday dinner.

Also if keeping dinner prep time down to a minimum is important to you, you can easily make up the stuffed tomatoes or just the filling in advance, leaving only the baking to the last minute.

Original Ingredients:

8 medium tomatoes
1 cup wild rice
1 onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup currants
4 tablespoons chopped pine nuts
2 heaped tablespoons chopped mint
2 heaped tablespoons chopped chives
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup gluten free bread crumbs
1 heaped tablespoon LSA  (a ground mixture of 3 parts flaxseed, 2 parts sunflower seeds, 1 part almonds)

My ingredient changes:

I omitted the currants, mint, bread crumbs and LSA, and substituted chopped scallions for chives.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove tops from tomatoes and scoop out pulp with a metal spoon.  Combine pulp with all ingredients except crumbs and LSA in a saucepan and season with sea salt and ground pepper.  Bring mixture to a gentle simmer and cook for one minute.  Place the tomato cases on a foil-lined baking tray and fill them with mixture.  Sprinkle breadcrumbs and LSA on top if desired.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Easy Tuna or Salmon Bake

When I stopped eating gluten a few years ago I needed some easy lunch ideas that would work in place of a sandwich.  This recipe was a great option.  It can be baked in a toaster oven, and only takes a couple minutes of prep.


Ingredients:

1 can tuna or salmon - drained
3-4 tbsp. mayonnaise
Vegetable salt to taste
Several dashes each of cayenne and kelp
Optional: 1/4 cup of green onion tops, chopped fine

Serves 2.

Mix everything together and pat it into one or two small, oiled baking dishes about 1/2-1/3 inch thick.  Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes or until browned on top.  Serve immediately, with rice crackers or raw veggies for dipping, or a side salad.

Acorn Squash with Pine Nuts and Green Onions

And now presenting, my second original recipe!  My girlfriend and I were in need of a light meal option tonight and she suggested squash.  With just a few bits tossed on top, Voila!  We had ourselves a simple yet delicious vegetarian meal.  If you're hungrier, this would make a good side dish for fish or chicken.

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash, halved with seeds scooped out
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 green onion, chopped
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. each basil and oregano
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Place squash cut side down on a microwave safe plate with a bit of water.  Cook until soft, approximately 10 minutes.  While squash is cooking, saute nuts, and onion in olive oil.  Cook until nuts are slightly browned, then remove from heat.  Add basil and oregano and mix.

Once squash is soft scoop pulp out with a spoon into individual portions.  Top with nut mixture.

Serves 2.