Baked and Dressed Zucchini AKA Jamie Oliver Zucchini #2

This is one of easiest recipes ever, and yet still so good!  Try and find really small zucchinis.  I omitted the vinegar and mint and used dried parsley, and it was still awesome.

Ingredients:

8 small zucchini
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
red wine vinegar
a small handful each of chopped fresh parsley and mint

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Wash and pat dry zucchini.  Toss them with olive oil and generous amount of salt and pepper, and lay in ceramic baking dish.  Bake for 15 minutes until soft and blistered.  Remove from oven and dress with a couple splashes of red wine vinegar and the herbs.  As Jamie says, "loosen and balance" the dressing with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle of S&P.

Simple Sauteed Zucchini with Chilli and Lemon AKA Jamie Oliver's Zucchini #1

My aunt gave me a Jamie Oliver cookbook a couple years ago for Christmas and I've been a fan ever since.  I wasn't much of a TV watcher so I didn't know him, but now I'm a big fan.  He's passionate about food and making a difference.

When it comes to Jamie's stuff, I am particularly fond of his veggie recipes.  They taste amazing, and as far as I can tell they're pretty hard to mess up!

Here's the first of two zucchini recipes I've made by him.  Thanks Jamie!

Ingredients:

4 small zucchini
olive oil
1 dried red chilli, crumbled (I substituted dried chili powder... which I'm sure isn't the same, but was still yummy)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1/2 a lemon
a knob of butter (butter may be omitted)

Slice zucchini with a mandolin or sharp knife so they're under 1/4 inch thick.  Heat a large frying pan over high heat and pour in a "good" splash of olive oil.

Drop sliced zucchini into pan and fry for two minutes with the chilli and garlic until they begin to brown.  Season well with salt and pepper, add lemon juice and butter, and cook for another two minutes.  When juice has evaporated remove pan from heat and serve.

Prune Compote

As may be obvious by the lack of dessert recipes on my blog, I am not that big on sweets.  I like desserts, but I haven't been motivated enough to go the extra mile to learn how to bake gluten-free goodies.  So, when I want something sweet these days my go-to food is fruit.

This recipe is easy and quick just like most of my cooking.  It can be stored for two weeks in the fridge, making it a simple dessert that can be dipped into when you're too busy for much preparation.  Just be careful not to eat too much, after all prunes do help to keep things moving through the digestive tract.

Ingredients:

1 pound pitted prunes
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
2 bags Earl Grey tea

Combine prunes with just enough water to cover in a saucepan.  Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook for 20 minutes, then stir in sugar and 1/2 cup orange juice.  Add tea bags and cook about 10 minutes more or until all prunes are tender.  Refresh the flavor if desired by blending in another 1/2 cup juice.  Discard tea bags and remove fruit with syrup to a covered container and refrigerate at least three hours before serving. 

Eat on it's own, or with sour cream or yogurt.

Quick Ground Beef and Celery with Kidney Beans

After living with ranchers for three months it is now time to finally post a beef recipe!  All the beef we eat here is grass-fed and butchered here on the farm, and it's so much better than most other beef I've had.  We are so lucky!  If you can get your hands on good beef I think it's really worth it, although I suppose you might as well splurge and get some steaks or a roast if you're going to go to the trouble.

Anyway, this particular recipe is one of the simplest things in the world to make, which is exactly how I like my cooking.  This realization was reinforced today while perusing some rather fancy-schmancy gluten-free blogs.  There are some amazing GF blogs out there, filled with baking galore and all kinds of ways to reinvent the glutenous favourites we all once had.  This blog is totally not that!  So, in summary I have decided that my niche market is gluten-free folks who want to make relatively simple, mostly health conscious, delicious food.

That being said here's my latest creation:

Ingredients:

2lbs lean ground beef
one head of celery
one white or yellow onion
a splash of oil of your choice
whole bunch of seasonings: dry mustard, garlic powder, dried parsley, basil, and cayenne
one can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Start by chopping onion and celery into fairly small pieces.  Toss the veggies in a pan with just a bit of water and cover to steam and soften.  Remove lid and add a bit of oil.  Saute for a few minutes with the lid off so the water evaporates.  Set cooked veggies aside.  Then, cook ground beef in the same pan on medium heat until completely browned.  Stir in the veggies and add many dashes of the seasonings to taste and mix in the beans.  Serve on a bed of quinoa or rice.

Serves 4.

"Light" Roast Veggies

Recently I moved in with some folks on their farm, so my cooking has changed somewhat.  Now instead of cooking primarily for myself and my partner, I am treated to the cooking of others and pitch in the occasional side dish.  Since they raise beef here on the farm (and are therefore far more experienced in it's preparation than I am), I find myself looking for side dishes that I can add to the family meal. 

This recipe was something I mixed together last night.  I wanted something easy and fast, as in nothing that needed peeling!  I call it "light" not because of it's fat or calorie count, but rather because the veggies used weren't the heavy, starchy veggies so often roasted.  Ordinarily I would use olive oil in a dish like this, but we had grapeseed oil on hand last night and it turned out great.

Ingredients:

6 peppers chopped (I used 2 each of red, yellow and orange)
1 or more red onions, chopped
1 pkg (aprox 10-15) medium sized button mushrooms, stems removed and cut in halves
5 zucchini, chopped in large chunks

Throw all the veggies together in a roasting dish.  Splash with oil and toss so they are lightly coated.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 min or until it looks good.  :)

Serves 8.

Pork or Chicken with Cabbage and Sesame Seeds

As some of you may have noticed, I try to incorporate alot of veggie and fish dishes into my meals, since meat can be contribute to inflammatory problems.  I do eat some lean meats though, including beef, pork, chicken and turkey.

Here's a recipe I invented a few weeks ago when looking for a yummy way to cook cabbage.  I love how inexpensive cabbage is, and it's been used to help people lose weight since it is low in calories.  Along with other cruciferous vegetables, they are high in idoles, which have been found to help prevent cancer.

Ingredients:

Lean pork or chicken breast, sliced
1/2 cabbage, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp tamari
1 onion, sliced (optional)

Cook pork or chicken in oil over medium heat in a large pan on the stovetop.  The pan should have a lid, as that will be needed to steam the cabbage in the next step.  Once meat is cooked through, add cabbage and onion to pan and cover.  Turn heat down slightly and cook until cabbage is wilted.  Once cooked add tamari and sesame seeds.  Mix so that cabbage and meat is lightly coated.  If necessary add more oil and tamari.

Serve with brown or basmati rice if desired.  Makes 4-6 servings, depending on amount of meat used.

Oatmeal with Currants and Agave Syrup

Oatmeal is something I gave up when I became gluten free, because they say some of them have gluten.  My naturopath said the way to remember what to avoid was to by the word BROW: barley, rye, oats and wheat.  I have been very pleased to start eating some gluten free oats though.  It seems that the issue with oats is that they can be cross-contaminated by barley, rye or wheat.  These folks seem to have some info on this: http://www.glutenfreeoats.com/

Another great find I have had lately is agave syrup.  Agave is used to produce a sweetner that tastes very similar to honey, but is low on the glycemic index.  Some say that it is a better choice for diabetics because it doesn't affect their blood sugar the same way as other sugars.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup gluten free oats, cooked according to package
1 tsp agave syrup
a handful of dried currants or raisins
rice, almond or soy milk

Cook oats according to package.  Serve immediately, topped with syrup, dried fruit and dairy-free milk.  Very filling and delicious.