Christmas Salsa

Cranberry Christmas Salsa adds such a unique flavor to the season that I find myself eating it by the spoonful.  


 Some people keep nog in the fridge for sneaking/snacking over the holidays, I keep this! And I'm making it tomorrow to take to the GF POTLUCK PARTY and to EAT ALL SEASON!

First Posted 12-10-08, but it is such a tradition that I'm posting it again today.

This recipe has inspired a great tradition. Every year I misplace this recipe and I have to hunt for it. I start looking for it in the most improbable place and work my way to the most likely. It takes a couple of days, but that's how I start the cavalcade of Christmas cleaning.

And, if it doesn't turn out to be where I expected, at least the process wasn't all in vain!

1 Tablespoon. fresh cilantro chopped
1/2 can pickled jalapenos (vary for hotness)
1 red pepper chopped
1 green apple (granny smith)
1/2 red onion chopped
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar
1 bag cranberries chopped (fresh or frozen)

Chop everything, mix together and refrigerate.

This is a spicy and delicious addition to Christmas tradition.

Another entry for the December Dips with "Go For It Honey" at Mrs. Ed's site.

Gazpacho - Cold Tomato Soup

 

This recipe is naturally GF, so it's kind of a cheat to put it on this site and call it GF.  It's so good on  hot summer days to feed a crowd. I make up a batch while the gardens are overflowing with produce and we eat it all week. 

32 ounces V-8 Juice 

6 cups tomatoes diced (1/2 blended up with the V-8)  (any type)

2 cups cucumbers diced 

1 cup onions diced 

1/2 cup each green and yellow peppers 

1 cup celery 

2 Tbs. fresh cilantro 

1 tsp. salt 

2 Tbs. rice vinegar 

2 Tbs cider vinegar 

3/4 tsp. pepper 

4 cloves garlic minced 

3-4 drops tabasco (added to taste)

1/2 lb. cooked shrimp (optional) (add right before serving as the acid cooks the shrimp and makes it tough.)

Chop it all and keep four hours/overnight in the refrigerator before serving.  

I reposted this recipe after our Labor Day get-together. Family from Montana, and Utah converge to spend the last days of summer eating and enjoying everyone's company. And what better than a cool bowl of delicious soup?

First posted 8-15-08 and 9-4-11

Vacations aren't really time off, they are just a change of venue. I keep cooking, cleaning, caring and doing all the things I do at home, just in a different place and at a significant disadvantage. 

It's hard to eat GF on vacation so we stay at condos with cooking facilities.   This is one you can make ahead; it travels well and keeps the length of the vacation.

CONDENSED CREAM SOUP GF/CF

2011

Whatever did we do before Campbell canned condensed soups? 

Well, thanks to COVID, we all can learn to do as our grandmothers did and make our own.

This is one of the best recipes in my collection - I probably use it as a soup or in powdered form to create a casserole, twice a week in winter soup season. 

I keep this soup mix foremost in the front of the pantry -- (so the darling husband, Mr. Darcey can find it.)

Homemade Condensed Soup Recipe

 (Powdered mix) version below

GF creamed soup  (notice, all ingredients are healthy and pronounceable)

1 cup cold milk
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp salt dash of pepper

In a small saucepan, whisk milk and cornstarch till well blended. Stir in butter, bouillon, salt, and pepper. Heat to a boil, stirring frequently. Simmer on low for one minute more to thicken.

Use in recipes to replace one can of cream of anything soup.

Cream of Mushroom Soup: Stir in a drained 4 ounce can of mushroom pieces to the recipe above.

Cream of Chicken Soup: Already flavored, you could stir in 1/2 cup cooked chicken pieces to the recipe above.

Cream of Celery Soup:Stir in 1/2 cup sautéed chopped celery to the recipe above.

 

QUICK and EASY MIX

Cream of ANYTHING Soup Mix GF/CF Version

I keep a container of this in the cupboard and just use a scoop of it with water whenever I need a can of cream of something soup. If it is a can of condensed soup that I need, I half the water as liquid and double the powder.

2 cups of dry powdered milk or gf/cf nondairy creamer
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup bouillon granules
1 Tbs dry onion flakes
1 teaspoon each basil and garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons dry celery flakes (optional)
1 tsp salt

To make the mix, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix them up, distributing everything evenly. Stored in a quart size container, well sealed, this mix will keep for several months.

To prepare as soup: Whisk 1/3 cup mix and 1 1/4 cups cool tap water in a small saucepan. Stir well and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil and stir for a full minute. Remove from heat.

It is now ready to use in any recipe calling for a can of Cream of Mushroom, Celery or Chicken Soup. This works in any casserole when you add a can of mushrooms, some sauteed celery or chicken.

Microwave instructions - reduce the liquid to 1 cup because it does not evaporate during the cooking process.

This recipe contains no added fat - a benefit. But if you want you can add a tablespoon of margarine or bacon grease for more flavor, but it really doesn't need it. This recipe makes 9 cans of soup and may save you about $8.00 if you used to use Campbell's brand... and 80% more than that if you are able to discover a g-f stash of Progresso Cream of Mushroom . (Stores rarely have it in stock!)

Saurkraut Salad

Retro 2010

The Recipe finally!!!!

1 quart saurkraut,
1 diced green pepper,
1 diced red pepper,
1 cup diced celery

Sauce:

Stir up and bring to a boil :
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup salad oil,
1/4 cup water,
 1 1/2 cup sugar.

 Pour over and refrigerate overnight.

I know this sounds yuck. I couldn't believe how such a thing could be good either, but I tasted it to be polite and it was delicious. I had to include it on my blog so that I could remember it and so that next year I can again wow the group of adventurous gastrophile potluckers!

HOLIDAY FLASHBACK: As children, there were nine of us running about and when he got really irked my father was provoked to call any one of us potlickers, and I think I like the change.

Asian Cucumber Cashew Salad

Today I've joined a group of women to create sanitary kits for girls.  daysforgirls.org

So we're sewing, eating, but mostly talking. 

As with all service, "It's the process, not the project," that is most important.   

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·         2 large thin-skinned asian cucumbers (about 1 1/2 pounds), sliced thin.. (I'm sure regular cucumbers would work fine.)

·         2 red, yellow, or orange peppers  (diced)

·         3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
      1 teaspoon sugar (I used agave.)
    1 tablespoon soy sauce

·         1 small garlic clove, minced or pureed

·         1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

·         ⅛ teaspoon cayenne (more to taste)

·          Freshly ground pepper

·         2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

·         3 tablespoons sunflower oil or grapeseed oil

·         ½ cup cashews chopped

·         1 bunch scallions, white and light green parts, sliced very thin

·         2 tablespoons chopped cilantro    

• Sprinkle the cucumbers with a generous amount of salt and let sit in a colander in the sink for 15 minutes. Rinse and dry on a kitchen towel. Transfer to a salad bowl.  Add chopped nuts and peppers.  
• Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, cayenne, and pepper. Whisk in the sesame oil and the sunflower or grape seed oil. Toss with the cucumbers, scallions, and cilantro. Chill until ready to serve.

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Chicken Tortilla Soup Mix

I needed a quick soup for the service event and this one fits the bill great.

I made up this recipe from the back label of a great purchase from a gourmet farmers market in 2010.

Try it.  Replicate your favorite purchase --and save bucks!   Remember, food manufacturers list ingredients from largest to smallest.

Good Luck!

-----------Chicken Tortilla Soup Mix-----------------------

2 T. chicken bouillon

1 t. onion powder
1/4 cup masa harina (corn flour w/lime)
4 T. powdered cheese (like in Kraft Mac & Cheese) (or 1 cup sharp cheese chunks)
¼ tsp. oregano,

1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup nonfat dry milk,

1 tsp. parsley
1 t. minced garlic

½ t. chili powder
1 t. lemon pepper

½ tsp. dry cilantro

Add MIX to

1 can diced chicken or 1 c. shredded cooked chicken

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup milk (powdered or non-dairy creamer works great)

4 cups water

Heat to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook 10-15 minutes stirring often. Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream or diced avocados.

Reality Bite: Or in a pantry pinch, serve it all by itself. It's delicious.

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First posted 12-4-08 More Mixes for Christmas

GF Mixes for soup, spice mixes.

My daughter, away at college, can't wait for her care packages. She wants GF Mixes from home.

Don't forget the appeal of quick mixes for friends. I sent a basket to a basket swap and it was the prize gift.

These seasoning packets are really great and this soup mix is really fabulous.

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I haven't pulled together many soups for Winter, yet we love them.

(Unless you count the one I threw together the day we left Utah out of leftovers--ham, quinoa, broccoli, onion, cauliflower, spaghetti sauce-- from the refrigerator. That one was another once-in-a-lifetime gastro-piphany. Delicious! Anyway...)

While it's nice to fly home from vacation in two hours instead of driving here in 20, the home cupboards are still just as bare and until I go shopping, there seems to be naught to eat! Yet, without a visit to the grocery, and in just two minutes I can mix up soup and then merely wait for it to heat.

I can't seem to get into the jive of January cooking yet--too much cooking done over the holidays--yet family still has to eat. Phew! So I'm rooting out the staples and the easy mixes that I already have made up.

My Kind of January Cooking!

Incredible Hulk Soup

Easy In-A-Minute G-F Split Pea Soup

It's almost fall here in OK and the heat has lessened some.  SOUP CALLS and so does my sister who wants this recipe.  There you go KaReen.
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I love split pea soup, but I want it NOW!  Delayed gratification works with food too and I want soup fast and easy.  Grinding grains in my flour mill or in my fav. Blendtec makes split pea soup quick.  Be careful and trade out your grain grinding so the beans won't burn up your machine.  2 cups beans then 2 cups of a gentler grain.

reposted from 3-17-08

Okay, so it's green!!! Really Green!!!! 







Ha! I Got It! The boys (who until lately, were of the opinion that green food should only be photographed, never eaten) loved it! They slurped it up first on Halloween, when I was hoping for something, at least one thing substantial in their bellies before the T or T and I had to whip up more.

Fortunately, that only took two minutes! TWO MINUTE SOUP that they love and isn't prefab? WOW!

2 cups water or chicken broth
3 Tbs. Green Split Pea powder (made by blending or grinding up split peas into a fine flour)
1 T. onion flakes
1 tsp. Lawry's seasoning salt (or some such brand)
1/4 cup Hormel's bacon (already cooked and flaked, I keep it in the freezer to toss in stuff)
1/4 cup heavy cream (or nondairy creamer)

Mix all dry ingredients (except split pea powder) with water and bring to a boil. Whisk in powder and allow to simmer for two minutes--add cream and serve.

DELICIOUS I'm not kidding!

Tips:  Make sure you have ground the peas thoroughly.  Shards of peas take forever to cook.

YUM!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

G-F White Chicken Chili & GF Mission Tortillas

Boil the heck outta the roteisserie chicken carcass and throw in some beans and have a delicious chicken chili amidst all the water falling, running, rolling and draining across Oklahoma tonight.


Saute in 1 tablespoon oil
1 large onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1 jalapeno minced

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon Tajin seasoning ( chili and lime seasoning--my new favorite--we'll talk more later about this marvel.)
1 tablespoon cumin

4 cups chicken broth (Use the liquid from the boiled chicken)
1/4 cup cilantro fresh chopped

2 14 oz. cans white beans
1 rotesserie chicken deboned and choppedYES!  I'm serving it with GF Tortillas that I love.  These have to be purchased in the West as they are not yet available anywhere else.  They are as close to the real thing as I can find ($4.88 Walmart Neighborhood Market) and so I had a bunch flown in (with the daughter from Utah).  They fold nicely, freeze great, heat well and are delicious.

I thought we were ready for salad season.  With 14 inches of rain this month, I guess soup's still on for a while yet.










Photo courtesy of OkCity Channel 9 news

St Patty's Day and GF Sweet Mung Bean Soup

GF Chinese Sweet Mung Bean Dessert Soup
reposted from 3-29-11

Our St. Patty's party in 2011 was wonderful. It's an annual event and this year the food-belle-of-the-Irish-ball was my brother-in-law's cabbage and corn beef. The man is an O'Driscoll and he concocts the authentic Irish dish.

Although I'm paternally Irish through the Campbell's and Prescott's, I have become asian minded (due to the daughter visiting there) and so I found the food spotlight was equally shared by the green dessert from China.

The potential son-in-law came to the party, braving the outlaw in-laws and bringing a pot of mung bean soup. Chinese mung bean soup--Yes, it's a dessert there, sweetened with sugar and served cold.

In China, mung beans are considered to be Yin and purported to remove heat from the body in the summer, and when it is 101 degrees and 90% humidity here, I will eat anything that removes heat from the body!

The family was divided, those for and those against, but I ate it as leftovers the rest of the week, and even found myself making it twice since. I added grated fresh ginger and a hint of lemon and it is a good connection for a Mom who is missing her China girl.

Chicken (and Wild Rice) Soup for My Soul

Last posted 11-19-2008, but I made it again last night and it's delicious.  Happy Giving 

My visiting teachers brought me dinner last night. (In my church, these are women whose purpose it is to succor, to console, to commiserate and and help each other stay sane amidst the craziness of life).

I can't imagine how complicated it was for them, when they have already been regaled for months with my tirades on finding, cooking, adapting recipes for gluten-free. But, attempting the ultimate in service, they fixed me a meal.

In our world, it's a fading absolution--bringing someone dinner. I know in this day and age, that if you are sick or poorly, you are still capable of calling for take-out, but the delivery guy doesn't come to the door with a dish wrapped in linen and a note saying, "Feel better, I love you." And that makes all the difference. (And it might not be GF take-out anyway!)

Chicken (or Turkey) and Wild Rice Soup

½ cup butter
1 finely chopped onion
½ - 1 cup frozen corn
(or ½ cup chopped celery, if preferred)
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
½ cup carrots, sliced
1/2 cup corn starch
6 ½ cups chicken broth
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 pound chicken breasts, or turkey cubed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups nonfat half-and-half (use normal half-and-half if you prefer, but you won't believe how delicious this is with the nonfat variety!)

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, corn, chicken and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 more minutes. Transfer mixture to large pot. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly until all has been added. Bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Next, add the rice, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and almonds. Allow to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half. Then add the starch added to a little water and stir well.

Let simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours. Be careful not to let the soup come to a boil or it won't thicken properly - let it simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally.

Bless you, Kali and Cheryl. I love you two too.

Brazilian GF Salad

reposted from 11-17-08 for my friends who are slimming for summer.  Lori and Lindy? I mean you!  Also reprinted because it's summer, it's delicious and I'm craving it.  Maybe I'm having Grandma cravings--yesterday it was for Dia's p-b double chocolate cookies.  Hope that baby gets here soon, I'm sympathy bulking up!

So here is the finished product (see the story below)

1 lb. cooked small shrimp

1 cup cucumber

2 green onions chopped

2 stalks celery

1 fresh tomato diced

1 cup lettuce sliced/shredded

1 cup red grapes sliced

1/4 cup carrot grated

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1 tube wasabi paste or 1 tsp dry wasabi powder

1/3 cup mayonnaise or olive oil

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 Tablespoon of honey

WOW! I made it and it is delicioso! So, here it is. I guessed at the measurements, but when I replicated the salad it was a success!!!!

Delicioso GF Brazilian Wasabi Salad

Story of its CREATION

I went to a Brazillian girlfriend's baby shower and saw this fabulous salad. I love foods that stretch my cultural bounds, but now that I'm GF, buffets are a big no! So at most buffets, I wile away the time chewing carrors and dissecting the offerings at the buffet, using other bodies as taste testers and imagining what the dishes might taste like if they were certified GF.  It's a way to get social fulfillment now, with less gastro disturbance later.

At this party, I spied a salad that looked promising. From the other effusive compliments, I could tell that it was imperative that I try to replicate this one for GF. I couldn't speak the language well enough to understand how much of whatever the chef put in it, but she did understand enough English to agree with me when I made a guess at what was in the salad. 

Tuna Quinoa Spinach Salad

G-F Pantry Spring cleaning!  

It's time!  The once-a-year clean, fling, and installation of new freezer paper lining in the pantries.  Feels So Good!

Spring beckons the salad season and the depths of the pantry unearth many intriguing options for salad, quinoa, craisins, almonds, tuna?I can't wait for the newest sampling.  

 (I could have taken before and after photos of cleaning but that would have been mortifying--no one should have evidence of how badly winter corrupts the closets.  

When I cook, I try to shop from the pantry--keeping at least one extra bottle of whatever shelf staple available in my storage, but I'm also a winter ingredient collector so I look forward to finding recipes for  smoked paprika, ghee, chinese five spice, sorghum molasses, pickled beets, coconut milk powder, hot curry powder, hoisen, miso, pickled ginger, pho spice, YUM!   
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Last posted 5-19-11  

Tuna Quinoa Spinach Salad

DANG! I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES! TRUST ME! This one was delicious!!! I'll make it again sometime and take photos.              (Here they are!  See?  I DiD It!)

This salad came together so quickly and deliciously. I use so many teaspoons when I cook because I'm always snatching one up to taste as I go. Sometimes, if the dish is really good, there is not much of it left at the end.

I used cooked quinoa in this one. Most quinoa is sold in America already debittered so we don't have to rinse the bitter coating off before cooking. I tossed two cups in the rice cooker with two cups water and clicked the on button. It is done in a flash while I'm putting together the rest of the salad. I mix it all up and dress the salad while the quinoa is still warm so it can fully absorb the dressing flavors. (This was Mom's secret for the best potato salad on the planet.)

2 cans tuna drained

2 cups cooked quinoa  (1 cup uncooked)

1 cup sliced almonds 

1 lb. baby spinach (sliced)

1 cup craisins

2 cups apples diced and splashed with

2 tsps. lemon juice

I mix up the dressing as follows:

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup sweet pickle relish

1/2 cup onion (mild and diced)

1/2 tsp salt

Eat it warm, or cool a couple hours or overnight and serve with crusty bread. Then take it to a ladies Mix-n-mingle and everyone will love it and ask for the recipe and you will get your 15 minutes of fame. Voila!

It's worth a try right?

GF Beet, Broccoli and Cabbage Salad

This beautiful, eye-catching salad is a great addition of veggies to your winter meatandpotatoes since each ingredient is easy to find in cold months.

Broccoli (2-3 heads, don't throw away the stalks),
beets (4, already cooked),
cabbage (red, only 1/2 a head),

Food process the above veggies (including broccoli stalks) BUT don't purree them. Keep relatively large chunks, as shown on the right. If you're nervous about the power of your food processor and would rather chop, go ahead.

Reality Bite: Or you could learn from experience and get an entire head of broccoli down to broccoli powder before you notice. Oops.

Dress this mix with balsamic vinagrette, apple cider vinegar, sweetener of some kind and salt to taste. Warning, some tastes (like mine) may be different than other tastes (like my husband, who insists I added a cup too much vinegar). Can't ever have too much vinegar!

G-F Hot & Sour Soup

Yup, we have colds and sickness after the holidays so a cleansing soup is just what my body is hungering for.  I tried this recipe from Yahoo recipes.  It was so simplistically written that homeschool guy made it for me.   He said as he cooked,  "Dang, Mom, that's a lot of vinegar."  I should have listened.  TOO MUCH vinegar--HALF THAT.     But still drank it down.  Vinegar cleanses the sinuses.  That I can state emphatically!

I'll make this recipe for HOT and SOUR Soup again when I'm not mucus challenged and see how it really tastes.  Here are our modifications from what was in the pantry:   (I'm not driving nor shopping in my condition.)

He used onion instead of shallots,
seaweed instead of tofu  (maybe the tofu would have sucked up some of the vinegar)
wood ear instead of fresh mushrooms
and ground beef, not ground pork.

And then he set up the photo/lighting and took the picture.  Pretty awesome huh?

I'm back to bed.    Um... Happy New Year!

Pumpkin Curry Soup

Mass Soup Rave--people at the latest party really loved this one again. It is a keeper.  

Go acquire the real curry from the India store.  The hot one.  It's worth the extra work to get the good stuff.   


Last posted 10-11-11

One of my bff's brought curried soup to the India fest birthday and here is her recipe for all those who loved, loved, loved it!

Mr. Darcey loved it because he prefers a savory soup and this one really hits the delicious spot.

Saute in

2 Tablespoons butter (or olive oil)

1 cup onion diced

1/2 cup apple diced (I used granny smith)

1 cup celery diced

Cook about three-four minutes, just until everything is translucent. (It's the job of the fat to take on flavors and carry them throughout the soup to the tastebuds.)

Add 2 teaspoons curry powder (use your favorite--she used spicy.)

Saute just a couple minutes more.

Add 1 cup chicken broth (make sure it's GF, and dairy-free if you need)

Blend this mixture in your blender (I used a hand-held immersion blender) until smooth.

Return soup to your pot and add

2 more cups of chicken broth

1 3/4 cups of solid pumpkin (or a 15 oz can)

Reality Bite: (I added the 29 oz can and then had to remake the second bath of the entire soup and there was soup, soup, everywhere... plenty to freeze for next week and the week after...)

Anyway...

Add 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

1/3 cup heavy cream (or coconut cream, if you're dairy-free)

2-3 Tablespoons honey or maple syrup

Stir and heat to a simmer-- about another 5-10 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Delicious served with a dollop of sour cream and chives.

Reality Bite: And if you accidentally blend the second batch with the bay leaf, it's still good, just green flecked.

G-F Frog Eye Waldorf Salad

This is it!  One of the more delicious salads that can now be made gluten-free!

Take the
juice from one can of mandarin oranges
juice from one can of pineapple chunks

Measure it into a two cup measure and add water to make two cups.

Use that liquid to cook two cups of quinoa in your rice cooker.  If you use a conventional cooking method, use two cups of liquid to one cup of quinoa in a saucepan steamed for 25 minutes.

When the quinoa is cooked, add the oranges and pineapple chunks while still warm (to maximize absorption). Cool in refrigerator while you beat

1 cup heavy whipping cream  til fluffy with
1 teaspoon of vanilla and
1/4 cup powdered sugar    (YEAH, I'm a whipping cream purist!)

(or use 2 cups Cool Whip).

Fold into cooled quinoa mixture.  Add flaked coconut or mini marshmellows if you insist.

Delicious and you could just swear it was that poisonous cous cous dessert you have lusted after since becoming diagnosed.

Happy Frog Eye Eating!  

Italian Quinoa Veggie Salad

Made this for the g-f party last night and again it was most successful.  Eat up.
I used light blasamic vinaigrette, red pepper, yellow pepper, orange pepper, olives, cucumber and green onion in this batch.  Tasty again!


last posted 5-30-10

It's summer and time for salads 'cause it's too hot to cook in Tulsa!!! We're headed to Arkansas to a bbq for Memorial Day and this salad was on the requested list. I've made this salad before, but couldn't find it on my blog site (You know you've blogged to much when... the author can't even find the recipe!)

Steam some quinoa. To do this: 1 1/2 cups quinoa in 1 1/2 cups water (This method was in the rice cooker, not on the stove).

Chop up a mire poix (mixture) of veggies

1 cup black beans (canned or boiled and drained. I cooked these in the crockpot on high for four hours to minimize heating up the kitchen.)

1 cup broccoli, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup cauliflower, diced

1 cup grape tomatoes

1 cup of a combination of red/yellow/orange peppers

2 tbs. minced onion

1 clove garlic (1/4 tsp. dry garlic)

1 cup Italian dressing (I used Fit&Active's fat-free Italian)

I refrigerated this overnight to fully marinate. It's delicious!

We ate this salad with the best zucchini medley I have tasted in recent memory (recipe to come) and a dish of delicious sauerkraut salad. A veritable BBQ feast! Thanks, Jenna, Jason, Shauna and Alan. I appreciate relatives who go to the trouble of feeding and entertaining our family -- all gluten-free.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

A yummy light bisque is a great way to close out the soup season.  The daffodils are up and the salad season beacons.

My g-f team mate Lori has scored again with a delicious roasted cauliflower soup.  I thought that there were very few tastes that could match the delight of mashed cauliflower, but this one does.  Scrumptious, and I've had to double the batch both times.

 http://www.closetcooking.com/2012/02/roasted-cauliflower-and-aged-white.html

Leave out the presumptuous cheese and replace the cream with your favorite milk substitute for a dairy-free, calorie light version.

Green Chili Chicken Soup

Served most recently last night.  I halved the batch and it still made mucho leftovers.
First posted Jan 10, 2011

Once upon a time, my husband ate a delicious soup in an airport in Albuquerque. He purchased the recipe and brought home a tiny bag of ingredients. We loved it and served it up to friends, until the bag was empty. One day I pulled out the recipe, looked at the enclosed ingredients and concluded that the bag was ... chicken bouillon.

And we've mixed it up ourselves since then. It's perfect for this season. Enjoy!

2 cups cooked chicken meat

2 cans chopped green chilis  (wow, spicy hot)

3 cups chopped canned tomatoes

1/4 cup chicken base (2-3 T. condensed GF chicken bouillon) (if you want it dairy free, look for one both GF and CF--OR just make your own)

1 tablespoon garlic (I used minced)

6 potatoes with skins (red or yukon gold) diced

2 quarts water

I bring all ingredients to boil and simmer until potatoes are soft. I serve it with cheese, chips, guacamole and sour cream/plain yogurt.

Mucho Caliente? I make it with one can of chilis and add on from there. Leave off the sour cream and cheese if you're dairy free as well. 

Faux Shark Soup... GF and Delicious

I ate this in Hong Kong at a party.  They party differently, without paper products and napkins, without utensils to eat with and chairs to sit upon, but it's still great because what is important is the food.  Hong Kong is well known for it's flavorful foods.  At times I prefer to remain ignorant of what is in the dish, but this soup was so good I had to have the recipe.  

So my newest friend Elaine sent it to me.  FYI:  It was at once very apparent that the Chinese people don't use recipes.  She sent photographs of the ingredients to help me find them and I ventured to the Asian food store to find them. 

• 1 oz, dried shitake, 
• 1 oz. dried black fungus, 
• 6 cups  chicken stock, 
• 1/4 cup g-f soy sauce, 
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger root, 
• 1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic clove
• 1 side of a breast of chicken 
• extra firm tofu diced into cu
• 1 oz. dry rice noodles
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon fish oil
• no shark fin after all

At the Asian stopre I discovered dried sliced shitake mushrooms, dried black fungus (a mushroom I think, also called wood ear) and replenished my supply of tofu, oils and noodles.  I just threw all these together and simmered until everything was soft.  I added cooked chicken and it was YUCK!  Then I realized that I needed to water the whole thing down.  I had neglected to add all the broth recommended and then the soup was delectable.