Gluten-free Gourmand

Last week I scored some good-looking pork ribs on sale at my local market and I immediately considered making my Spanish-style BBQ Boneless Pork Ribs .  However, it ended up that I was too lazy to undertake that endeavor.  Instead I decided to come up with the easiest, most delicious method of cooking pork ribs ever conceived.  Although the bar was high, I achieved my goal in one attempt.  The idea is that simple.  Here is the recipe. Easy (Easiest) Pork Rib Roast Recipe Prep time: 10-15 min Cook time 20-30 min Put a cast-iron or other high-heat pan in the oven and set the temperature to 450 degrees.  While the oven is heating, rinse and pat dry: Boneless pork ribs or pork belly Sprinkle liberally with: cumin salt pepper In a medium bowl, toss together: Red potatoes, quartered salt pepper cumin olive oil When the oven comes up to temperature, place the seasoned pork and the potatoes on the hot cast-iron pan.  Roast for 20-...

With Valentine's day coming up, you might be looking for a treat you can make for yourself - or your loved one, if he likes cookies.  But mostly yourself, right?  Most sugar cookie recipes make an ungodly number of cookies, but I for one never need 3 dozen of these guys.  This recipe is pretty easy and makes about a dozen cookies, so you can still fit into your Valentine's day outfit, sort of. Are you a gluten eater, or do you have a different GF flour on your shelf?  Just sub out cup-for-cup the flour that you have for my blend.  This recipe is very forgiving! Easy Sugar Cookies makes 1 dozen cookies With an electric beater or in a stand mixer, cream: 1/4 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar Cream these together for several minutes.  The blend should lighten and look fluffy.  Add: 1 egg 1/4 tsp vanilla Beat until creamy.  Add: 1 1/4 cup  Deluxe Pastry Flour 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp salt Slowly beat the...

Portland has been unusually dry this summer.  For weeks I've been dreading the day the beautiful weather would end.  It's been one of those eternal summers that makes me feel like warm, beautiful weather would be my privilege forever.  Now I see that tomorrow it's going to rain, and I'm surprisingly happy about it.  Endless summer takes its toll: the ground is dry and hard, there have been wild fires all over the state, and the air is thick with smoky haze.  It's time for this state and this city to get renewed.  The coming week of rain will be like a spa vacation for Oregon. Today was probably my last big harvest day at my garden.  I finally had to rip up the last of the sunflowers and the squash plant that kept on giving like it would never die.  I picked some carrots, and the ones left behind will be happy about the rain when it comes.  I still have lots of tomatoes on the vine, and I picked those that looked full-size.  I have...

It's summer, and everyone is trying to think of ways to keep their kitchen cool but still make decent meals.  The best thing about fresh pasta is you only need to cook it for 2-4 minutes.  Easy!  Top it with cilantro pesto if you don't want to cook a sauce.  I've made fresh pasta with my amazingly versatile  Deluxe Pastry Flour  several times and thought I'd share the recipe.  This pasta is strong enough to make ravioli with, or any flat pasta shape, rolling out or in a machine.  I prefer to roll it out - I think it's easier and faster. I've heard it's a saying that "If you want to taste butter, eat a croissant .  If you want to taste grain, eat pasta." Well, this recipe puts my  Deluxe Pastry Flour  to the test.  You can really taste the blend of flours.  And it tastes beautiful. I decided to make a tagliatelle style hand-cut pasta with extra-wide noodles.  I love wide noodles!  Next time, I won't go qui...

I went out to my garden this weekend and I was blown away by how big everything got after being away for a week.  I harvested five artichokes!  I gave one away to another gardener at my community garden.  Then I saw my strawberries.  It took a while to even locate and pick them all.  Then I had an unusual problem: what do I do with all these strawberries? I could just eat some of them, sure.  And I did.  Immediately.  But for once in my life I had too many strawberries. I decided to whip something up.  My idea was to make something incredibly quick, but still with a beautiful flaky crust.  I had this idea that pie crust doesn't need to take as long as it does with gluten dough because it doesn't need to rest to "relax" the gluten.  Whether or not that's strictly true is unimportant.  Sure, it helps to rest the dough to get the water to absorb evenly, but for the sake of a Lightning Tartlet I decided to omit the resting. ...

Right now, I have plenty of cilantro.  It grows like weeds in my garden.  I love cilantro.  In honor of this  prolific herb,  I created a fresh pesto recipe.  This recipe is dairy-free, and the lime juice keeps it fresh long after other pesto sauces would expire.  See some recommendations for gluten-free pasta here .  Cilantro Pesto 2 C fresh cilantro leaves from your garden 1/3 C Brazil nuts or walnuts 1 clove garlic 1/3 C extra-virgin olive oil 1 squirt lime juice 1/4-1/2 tsp salt ground white pepper to taste Blend all ingredients in a food processor until evenly minced, scraping down the sides as you go.  Taste for balance of flavors and adjust.  Serve tossed with hot pasta.  It's that easy!

If you're like me, you haven't had a chance to do anything with your turkey leftovers yet.  On Black Friday, I worked all day.  I work in retail, so there was no getting around that!  Yesterday I had a family leftover dinner.  However, I still have plenty of leftovers to deal with, so today I'll be making turkey soup. Use this recipe as a template and make it your own.The ingredients you use will depend on what you have leftover.  Typically you will not need to buy anything extra, which makes this dish very cheap to cook.  Most ingredients in this recipe can be substituted out for something else that you have on hand.  The amount of salt you will need will vary greatly depending on how salty the other ingredients in the dish already are.  Making soup is a very easy way to use your leftovers for a new dish, although it does take some time.  Allow about 4 hours to make this recipe.  Here are the basics on how to make turkey soup ...

I haven't been blogging much because I haven't been eating a wide variety of food lately, or creating any new recipes; I've been on a food elimination diet.  It's an interesting challenge to come up with different meals with a limited number of ingredients.  I tend to do a lot of chicken and potatoes using the 450 degree oven approach.  I also try to explore different varieties of rice.  Tonight I had a great meal cooked really quickly and simply on the stove top. Lamb Chops with Bhutanese Rice Cook time: 20 minutes Serves: two Ingredients: 4 lamb chops olive oil salt pepper 1 head broccoli 1 C Bhutanese rice 1 cup water Put the water, the rice, and some salt in a small pan and bring to a boil.  Stir, cover, and reduce heat to simmer.  Cook 25 minutes or until all water is absorbed. While the rice is cooking, heat a large cast-iron skillet on medium-high.  Cut the broccoli into pieces.  Rinse, pat dry, oil and season the lamb cho...

Strawberries are in season here in Oregon right now, and they are amazing on waffles.  This recipe for gluten-free buckwheat waffles is quick, easy, and of course delicious. Quick Buckwheat Waffles Recipe Blend together in a medium bowl: 1/2 cup buckwheat flour 1/2 cup white rice flour 2 Tbsp sorghum flour 1 Tbsp tapioca flour 1 Tbsp potato flour 3 Tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder In another medium bowl, beat thoroughly: 2 large eggs Add: 1 1/4 cup milk 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted Mix well, then add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and blend thoroughly.   Cook in a waffle iron.  Buckwheat waffles benefit from a slightly higher heat setting than other waffles.  Makes about four waffles. If you liked this recipe, you might also like: Easy Waffles: a Gluten-free Dairy-free Recipe Gluten-free Buckwheat Pancakes Gluten-free Buckwheat Waffle Recipe Gluten-free Corn Waffle Recipe Gluten-free Buckwheat Pa...

Waffles are easy.  Or, they can be.  My Gluten-free Corn Waffle Recipe and my Buckwheat Waffles Recipe take a little time and care.   That's why I decided to make a quick and easy basic waffle recipe that's not only gluten-free, but also dairy-free.  And of course it's delicious. For the liquid I used my favorite dairy substitute: coconut milk.  I wrote about the beauty of coconut cream in my last post and in my Gluten-free Vegan Scone Recipe . Easy Gluten-free Dairy-free Waffles Makes about 4 Belgian-style waffles. Mix in a medium bowl: 1 cup white rice flour 2 Tbsp sorghum flour 1 Tbsp tapioca flour 1 Tbsp potato flour 2 Tbsp sugar 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder Heat your waffle iron. In another medium bowl, beat thoroughly: 2 eggs Add: 1 1/2 cup coconut milk 2 Tbsp canola oil 1/2 tsp vanilla Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.  When the waffle iron is hot, lightly spray it wi...

Springtime is the season for Lamb.  It's tender and flavorful now, and because it's the right time of year you can sometimes find a bargain.  I got this lamb shoulder on sale for $4.49/lb at Whole Foods (it's usually at least $6.50).  I picked up the asparagus at the Portland Farmer's Market.  I wouldn't call it a bargain at $3/bunch, but there was plenty of asparagus in there and it was just how I like it: the stalks were thin and very fresh.  I only used about half the bunch for this dish.  The whole meal cost me about $4. I cook some variation of this meat-and-vegetable meal on a regular basis.  It takes about 10 minutes to cook, but if you have more time you might consider taking the lamb out of the fridge ahead of time to bring it up to room temperature before cooking.   This makes it easier to cook it medium-rare without getting a rare-rare spot around the bone.   Ingredients: Lamb shoulder steak Olive oil Salt Pepper Sag...

This one may look fancy, but it was really quite simple.  The recipe calls for: fresh salmon baby lettuce olive oil paprika dill salt pepper I usually only get salmon when it's on sale and in-season, which makes this dish qualify for my quick and cheap gluten-free meals round-up.  I found some good-looking steelhead salmon today for $4.99/lb - a very good deal! Salmon Paprika Heat a cast-iron or other heavy skillet on medium-high.  Rinse and pat dry: 1/4 to 1/2 pound fresh salmon fillets per person rub with: olive oil Sprinkle the top side of the salmon with: paprika salt pepper dill Place the salmon in the heated skillet, skin-side down.  Cook for 2-4 minutes, depending on thickness.  The salmon should look like this: Turn on the broiler and place the skillet on the top shelf of the oven.  Broil the top of the salmon until the dill is slightly crispy, another 2-4 minutes.  The inside should not be cooked thorou...

Continuing on with my quick and cheap gluten-free dinner ideas , I want to mention that Progresso is now labeling some of their soups gluten-free!   According to their website , Progresso has also decided to remove MSG from all their soups.  This is good news!  The MSG was keeping me from buying their soups more often.  Thanks, Progresso!

This is one of the fastest and easiest meals I make.  It generally takes about 10-15 minutes, from the time I turn on the stove to sitting down to eat.   There's only one pan afterwards.  This recipe is low-carb, but very filling.  There are only four ingredients: Pork lettuce olive oil salt 1. Turn the stove to medium and heat a cast-iron pan. 2. When the pan is nice and hot, place your cut of pork in the pan.  Let it cook for 2 minutes for a one-inch-thick piece, 30 seconds for a thin piece. 3. Turn the pork over.  Let it cook for thirty seconds to one minute, then turn off the burner and cover the meat with a large lid. 4.  When the piece is just cooked through, salt it on both sides. 5.  Place the meat on a bed of lettuce dressed with olive oil and salt. Or, for another version, prepare this dish with roasted vegetables in the oven as I described in Quick and Easy Gluten-free Soy-free Dairy-free Dinner Idea: Roasted Vegetables. ...

The biggest drawback to the gluten-free diet is the expense.  Wheat is the cheapest food that you can buy, and having it off your list guarantees a higher ticket at the grocery store.  Here's a quick list of the easiest and least expensive gluten-free meals out there.  Some of them are even naturally gluten-free, and they are all delicious! Pasta Carbonara Roasted Chicken and Vegetables with Rice Oxtail Soup   Rice Pasta with Marinara Sauce Roasted Vegetables with Bacon If you have a favorite cheap and easy gluten-free meal, leave a link or a recipe in your comments!

  I have been struggling to fine-tune these pancakes for several weeks now. I had never used quinoa flour before, and wanted to feature it in a new recipe creation. I also wanted to give people who read my blog a taste of how I mix flours together for general-purpose mixes. These pancakes come out pretty thick and fluffy with a moist and tender yet resilient texture. The quinoa flour lived up to its reputation of having a slightly bitter flavor. I used Ancient Harvest brand. Does anyone have any tips for another brand to try? I thought the best way to work with this flavor was to use buttermilk instead of or in addition to milk. The sourness of buttermilk counteracts the bitterness of the quinoa. Update: I've made these pancakes several times since I posted this recipe and they have never failed.  I serve them to people who normally eat wheat with good results.   I have my flour arranged in my cupboard now so it's easy to mix everything together. ...

I used to have a roommate named Rosaria who is from Naples. She really enjoys cooking and she was nice enough to show me how to make a few traditional Italian recipes. Pasta Carbonara was one of them. Pasta Carbonara (also known as Spaghetti Carbonara) is a fast, easy, and extremely filling dish. It's basically bacon and eggs for dinner.  It's delicious. Rosaria and I went through a few tries before we got this dish to work gluten-free. The trick is to use a pasta that can withstand a lot of handling after it's cooked. I recommend using either a quinoa pasta, a corn pasta or a white rice pasta. Both fresh pasta and brown rice pasta gave poor results. I used Ener-G brand white rice spaghetti for this meal, and it worked rather well. I have a full review of this pasta in another post. Traditional recipes are very specific for Italians, meaning that if they call it pasta carbonara, they do not experiment with substituting ingredients or techniques when ...