Trip to the Farmers Market, St. Augustine, Florida

The Saint Augustine Farmers market is a mix of fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood, baked goods, artists, music and prepared foods. This past rainy Saturday was a bit sparse on the vendor side, however, my favorite organic farmer was there (see below right) and the ladies I discovered at my last trip were there.

Dujor Market

Their motto is "Fresh. Local. Sustainable".I was very excited to see them here again. After glancing at the board I knew what I wanted right away. Minorcan Clam Chowder and the Portobello, Apple and Brie Panini.

We ate in the car on the way to the outlet mall and the first thing I tried was the chowder. I knew it would be amazing right when I took the lid off the bowl. Big chunks of tender potato, clam, tomato, celery, carrots and other veggies in a tomatoey broth base.

I also enjoyed the mixture of flavors in the panini. It had sweet apple, meaty Portobello, creamy brie and some tangy Dijon mustard. I, personally, would have chosen a multi, whole grain bread but for now the splurge was worth it. Great job ladies. I will definitely be back!

I love Florida for its fresh citrus and on the way out there were even a variety of trees for sale. My dad debated for a while on the grapefruit but we decided to check again next time.

When I returned home with my bounty I had to step back and admire my refrigerator and then break out the camera to show off. I am so thankful that we live in a place to have such a variety of fresh and local produce all year round.

Bison Meatball Soup

Italian Wedding Soup always sounds so good.  I was originally going to make bison burgers but since I was in the mood for soup I thought the idea of mixing the two sounded even better! 

When you read the ingredient groupings don't be scared.  This is actually from Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals so once you get going it doesn't take that long.  I did use my food processor to chop the veggies though which saved a lot of time.

Bison Meatball Soup

altered from Rachel Ray's Mini Meatball Soup recipe

Ingredients

Group 1
EVOO spray
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 8oz package sliced baby portobello mushrooms
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Italian seasoning mix, to taste

Group 2
1 lb ground bison
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese
1 Tbsp coarse ground mustard
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, a couple of handfuls
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Italian seasoning mix, to taste

Group 3

8 cups chicken broth  
1 cup whole wheat pasta
1 10oz bag of baby spinach

Directions:

1. Heat a Dutch oven over meduim high heat and spray with EVOO spray.  Add the Group 1 ingredients. Cook while you make the meatballs, about 11-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. While the veggies cook, preheat the broiler make the meatballs from Group 2.  Roll into 1-2 inch balls and place on a baking sheet covered in foil.  Place them under the broiler for 6 minutes or until the tops begin to brown.  Turn once and cook an additional 5 minutes.
 3. To the Dutch oven add broth to the pot. Increase heat to high, cover, and bring soup to a boil. When soup boils, reduce heat a bit and add the pasta and meatballs.  Contiunue to simmer as long as the pasta package recommends for cooking for the minumum amount of time. Mine was 8 minutes. 

4. When pasta is tender, remove from heat and stir in the spinach until it wilts.

Honey Coconut Curry Tempeh Wrap

Have any of you watched Food Inc?  If so what did you think? 

I know I should watch it but I'm such an animal lover I think I would spend the rest of the night crying and have nightmares. 

Instead I'm buying tempeh!  

(Ok and I did buy some meat from Native Sun too but after meeting the owner I'm confident it was humanely raised and does not contain any of the nastiness that conventionally raised farm animals do.) 

I'm now on a tempeh kick after finding out how easy it is to prepare. I came up with this idea all on my own and it was a 10 if I do say so. I wanted a sauce so I decided to boil the marinade down to thicken it and then poured it over the tempeh. It was so good I ate half of one of the tempeh burgers before I got it into a wrap.

Honey Coconut Curry Tempeh Wrap
4 Servings (or in my case...3) 

Ingredients

2 Arties Tempeh Burgers (or other tempeh burgers)
4 whole grain tortillas
Cooking spray

Marinade:
3 Tbsp honey
1 cup light coconut milk
1 tsp hot curry (I used Penzey's)
1 Tbsp peanut butter or PB2
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp light oil

The rest of the stuff: (this was not measured out just mix to your desired taste)
Red bell pepper, diced
Green bell pepper, diced
Green onion, diced
Julienned carrots
Golden raisins
Sprouts

Directions

1. Mix the marinade and pour over the two tempeh burgers.  Marinate for 24 hours.

2. Spray grill or George Foreman grill with cooking spray and heat to medium heat.  Pour the marinade in a small sauce pot and place the tempeh on the grill.
For grill: 4-5 minutes per side.  For GF: 3-4 minutes total. Slice cooked tempeh and set aside to cool. 

3. While the tempeh cooks bring the marinade to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer for about 10-15 minutes to let it thicken.  Remove from heat and let cool a bit.

4.  In a small container place the tempeh and pour the sauce over. 

5. Lay out the tortillas and place half of each tempeh burger on a tortilla, top with desired veggies and wrap.

Tahini Oat Raisin Cookies

This recipe came about last night after I was laying in bed reading Under the Dome by Stephen King and alternating that with Clean Food by Terry Walters. 

Suddenly, tahini popped into my head. 

I need to use that tahini before it goes bad, I thought.

I wonder if I could make cookies or something. I googled "tahini cookie" and came up with this recipe.

I bet my daughter would love these with raisins.  It will only take 20 minutes.  I should make some.  I've already brushed my teeth so I'll just quickly make them and put them up and not eat ANY.

I get out of bed and make the cookies.  I accidentally licked my finger. Well now I have to brush my teeth anyway.  As I mix the batter I think I wonder how these taste with the raisins, there aren't any eggs so I won't get sick.  So I take a few more tastes thinking, dang this is good, and then drop the (remaining) batter in spoonfuls onto the baking sheets.

I almost watch them cook the whole time. Well now I have to taste them to see what they are like when they are cooked.  They were still really good cooked.

I take them out of the oven.  I'm so tired I'll just carefully try to peel them off the baking sheets and put them in the container to cool.  Whoops these first few have broken.  I'd better eat those.

This would be the point where I realized I had eaten half a batch of cookies when I should be sleeping.  I don't recommend doing this but they are really pretty good for not having flour, sugar or butter. 

If you like that kind of thing.

Tahini Oat Raisin Cookies

Ingredients
printable recipe

6 tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup agave (or you can use all honey)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup golden raisins (or chopped nuts, or dark chocolate)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, place foil on two baking sheets and spray with cooking spray or brush with a little oil.

2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and then drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.

3. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until edges are slightly brown. (One of my baking sheets took 10 minutes and the other took 15 so just keep an eye on them).  
 
4. Let cool completely before removing from the foil or you might just have to eat all the broken ones.

Dijon Horseradish Crusted White Fish

I know I've posted a hundred and ten tilapia recipes but it seems to be a staple for us because it's inexpensive and is so mild.   In a random moment of inspiration I googled horseradish tilapia and found a perfect match. 

I only altered a few things. 

I added some garlic and seasoning and increased the amount of horseradish and then divided the ingredients by 2 since we only had two fillets.

Dijon Horseradish Crusted Tilapia 
Altered from this recipe to serve 2
printable recipe

Ingredients
2 tilapia or other white fish fillets
EVOO spray
Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning, to taste
2 Tbsp green onions, sliced (optional)
Topping:
1 1/2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoons parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon horseradish
1/8 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 teaspoons light butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 

2. In a small bowl combine the toppings and mix well.

3. Place fillets in a baking dish baking sheet coated with EVOO or cooking spray. Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over the fillets.

4. Bake for 15-18 minutes until fish is cooked through and flakes easily and then turn on the broiler for 2 minutes to brown the top.  Top with green onions.

Steak and Goat Cheese Salad with Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette

It was Saturday night and my husband and I went through one of our usual dialouges.

Me: "What do you want to do for dinner?"

Chris: "I don't know.  What do you want?"

Me: "Uuuummmm I don't know what I feel like. What do you feel like?"

Chris: "Uuuuummm I don't know."

Me: "What coupons do we have?"

Chris: "Bonos, uuuummm, pizza."

Silence

Chris: "What about steak?"

And this salad was born.

Steak and Goat Cheese Salad with Mustard Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients

(These are all estimates but I swear you can't mess it up.)

1 skirt steak

Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning, to taste

Fresh baby spinach leaves

Goat cheese, crumbled

Walnuts, handful

Red onion, diced, to taste

Dressing

Balsamic vinegar

Dash of extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp coarse ground mustard

1 tsp minced garlic

Fresh ground pepper

1 packet Stevia extract

Directions

1. Preheat the grill and sprinkle the steak with seasoning.  Grill to desired doneness then let rest for ten minutes.

2. Whisk the dressing together.

3.  Layer spinach, walnuts, red onion, steak, dressing and goat cheese.

Overcoming a slump

Apparently I had been in a yoga slump and didn't even know it. 

For those of you that work out how do you get over a workout slump?

The good thing for me was that reading the article from Om Shanti and then writing about the Advanced Yogi brought an unexpected awareness and enjoyment to my yoga practice. 

It's not that I'm learning a lot of new poses, I'm learning.......to be more humble about it.  To turn the focus inward.  If I don't feel like throwing an arm balance out there, I won't.  And when I want to kick it up a little, I will.  I love the group energy of classes but I'm now starting each class with the intention of withholding judgment of myself and others.  Closing my eyes more.

My goal is to carry this throughout the day.  Spread peace and kindness through a smile or kind word.  Do my best to release worry and stress and to embrace where I am at that moment.  Live in the "now" as Guy Finley says. 

Namaste,
Dawn

Grilled Tempeh

Even if you aren't vegetarian doesn't this make you want to run out and get yourself a nice Artie's Tempeh Burger?  

I bought the tempeh from my local Native Sun and then I googled "Artie's Tempeh" so I could tell you all where to get it and it took me straight to his blog.  I was happy to find out he's a local guy in Gainesville that delivers his tempeh by bike!

In a following post I will put the recipe for the Jerk Caribbean Tempeh Wrap that this tempeh was technically made for but it came out so pretty I decided it deserved its own post. 

After reading all sorts of crazy directions on how to cook this stuff I decided to try it my own way and since it came out so well I'm pretty sure it is hard to mess up. 

Two steps.  Marinate then grill or bake.

Grilled Tempeh

Ingredients

are as follows but you can marinate it in anything and it will take on the taste of the marinade.

2 Tempeh burgers

Marinade:

1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

2 tsp Worcestershire

2 Tbsp agave

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp jerk seasoning (I used Penzey's)
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
3 slices of orange

Directions

1. Mix the marinade in a blender and pour over the tempeh burgers (I used a zip top bag).  Let sit for 24 hours.

2. Spray grill or George Foreman grill with EVOO spray and preheat over medium heat (don't worry about temp for the GF).

Grill: 4-5 minutes per side

GF: 4 minutes total

3. Once it looks like the caramelized yumminess above it is done.

Banana Oat Souffle

Have you ever experimented with a recipe and it came out really well when you least expected it to? 

This is one of those accidental recipes.  I love oatmeal but I am usually hungry an hour or two later unless I add some additional protien.  I took 1/4 cup of the Toddler Friendly Banana Oats, a 1/4 cup of egg white and blended it together with some additional cinnamon, vanilla and banana.  The additional protien leaves me full for about three and a half hours.

Banana Oat Souffle

Ingredients

1/4 cup Toddler Friendly Oatmeal

1/4 cup egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

sprinkle cinnamon

1/2 banana (optional)

1/8 cup milk, rice milk or soy milk (optional)

Directions

1. Blend everything but the milk together until smooth.

2. Pour mixture into microwave safe dish and heat on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. 

3. Pour the milk over the heated souffle.

Caribbean Jerk Tempeh Wrap

I got it!  I have the ingredients for the Caribbean Tempeh wrap I told you about in a previous post.  For some reason I always feel a little guilty when I try to copy anything premade that is really good. As if they will be mad that I stole the recipe and now won't buy it from them.   

My last copycat was Pad Thai and I spent $40.00 on the ingredients when I should have just bought it for$14.00 at the restaurant and it just didn't taste the same. 

Maybe that's why they aren't worried. 

Last Tuesday I did a secret reconnaissance mission to the Native Sun deli to get one of these simply amazing wraps.  They are a little sweet, have all sorts of flavorful veggies and the texture of the tempeh, sort of these smooth little round bits that have a sort of nutty taste, all just GOES together.


Luckily, I didn't have to grill the chefs for very long on the ingredients as they were printed on the label.  Veeeeeery sneaky was I.  The chef also brought me the very tempeh they use in the wraps and said they marinate it in jerk seasoning.  He must have thought I was just curious.  He won't be so nonchalant when I challenge him to a Caribbean wrap THROWDOWN!  BOOYA!

Here is the REAL thing...just look at all those goodies in there.

Original Caribbean Tempeh Wrap Ingredients

1 Whole Wheat Wrap

Tempeh
Lettuce
Jerk marinade: jerk spice, brown sugar, tamari, orange juice, canola oil
Tropical slaw: cabbage, carrots, scallions, green bell peppers, raisins, vegenaise, jerk spice, lime juice, molasses, habanero sauce

Have you ever had tempeh?  What did you think?


And here is my remake....
Caribbean Jerk Tempeh Wrap
printable recipe

Ingredients
Serves 4

2 Tempeh Burgers (I used Artie's Tempeh Burgers)
EVOO spray
4 whole grain wraps

Marinade:
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp Worcestershire
2 Tbsp agave
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp jerk seasoning (I used Penzey's)
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
3 slices of orange

Sauce:
3 Tbsp light mayo or vegenaise
1 Tbsp reserved marinade
Jerk seasoning, to taste
1 tsp agave
Cayenne pepper, to taste

Slaw Mix:
1 cup slaw mixture (I used a broccoli, carrot, red cabbage mix)
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup green onions
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 green pepper, sliced thinly
1/8 c red onion (I would actually omit this next time I just liked the color)
Sprouts (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix the marinade in a blender, set aside one tablespoon to reserve for sauce.  In a small zip top bag place the two tempeh burgers and the rest of the marinade.  Marinate for 24 hours.

2. While tempeh is marinating, in a small dish whisk together the sauce ingredients and in a larger bowl combine the slaw mix. 

3.  Oil and preheat your grill over medium heat or George Foreman.  For the GF cook the tempeh for 4 minutes total, for the grill cook tempeh for 4 to 5 minutes per side.  Set aside to cool a bit then slice.

4.  Mix the slaw and sauce together.  Lay out the tortillas and evenly top each with half a grilled sliced tempeh burger and 1/4 of the sauce/slaw mixture. 


How did I score? Try it and see for yourself then let me know!

Shrimp and Rice Florentine

I got a pleasant surprise yesterday.  My friend Justine did TWO recipes for recipe swap in a row so I had another of her casseroles the next night.   Thank you Justine!  She chose to do the Shrimp and Rice Florentine from Holly Clegg's Trim and Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals.  The link will take you to the Shrimp Creole but then just click to the right and the recipe will be on page 255.  

This was another meal high up on the Chris meter of tasty "Justine recipes".  It was excellent.  We both went back in for another helping!

Chicken and Rice Casserole for Recipe Swap Day

Photo of me and Justine after

a wedding two weekends ago.

Last week was my friend Justine's recipe swap week and one of the great things about most of our casseroles is you can freeze them if you aren't ready to eat them yet which is just what I did.  I had made Chicken Mulligatawny which had been moderately labor intensive and was worth the end result but I really didn't feel like cooking the next night so I took the Chicken and Rice Casserole out of the freezer.  For ours, she left off the cream and cheese so I could send some to school with my allergic-to-everything daughter the next day. 

This one made my hubby's top ten list.  He said this is his favorite "Justine recipe" yet.  We had the darndest (is that word?) time finding the recipe again and he told me I'd better track it down because he wants this every week. 

So there you go, a Chris rating of 10 on the "Justine recipe" scale.  

Chicken and Rice Casserole

Ingredients

EVOO spray

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

2 (3 1/2-ounce) bags boil-in-bag brown rice

1/3 cup dry white wine

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1 3/4 pounds) (she used the thighs with bone and they were just as good)

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons whipping cream (Optional)
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese (Optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°.  Spray a large skillet with EVOO spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan and sauté 2 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Remove rice from bags; add to pan. Sauté 30 seconds. Stir in wine; cook 30 seconds or until liquid almost evaporates. Spoon rice mixture in an even layer into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish (or two 9x9 inch baking dishes) coated with cooking spray.

3. Arrange chicken thighs in a single layer over rice mixture; sprinkle evenly with thyme and salt. Combine broth (and cream optional), stirring well; pour over chicken and rice mixture.

Bake Now: Bake at 450° for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until chicken is done.

To Freeze: Wrap all sides well with heavy duty aluminum foil.  Freeze for up to two months.

To Bake after freezing: Thaw casserole completely in the refrigerator.  Bake at 450 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Chicken Mulligatawny and Recipe Swap Day

I decided to make Eating Well's Chicken Mulligatawny for recipe swap day.  It makes (at least) six servings (we got about eight) and was something other than a casserole!  I used 1/2 tsp of the hot curry and 1 tsp of the regular and it still had a kick to it.  I brought the left overs in for lunch and I think it was even better once the flavors had time to meld together!

Chicken Mulligatawny

Ingredients

EVOO spray
2 small onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Granny Smith apples, diced

spice mix:
1 1/2 teaspoons hot Madras curry powder or regular curry for less spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup brown rice
12 ounces chicken breast tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup “lite” coconut milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted 
 
Directions

1.Spray a Dutch oven with EVOO spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and garlic; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.


2. Add apples and spice mix and cook, stirring often, until the apples begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add broth and rice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 12 minutes.


2.Add chicken and beans, return to a simmer and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender, 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in coconut milk and return to a simmer. Remove from the heat; stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper. Garnish with almonds.

Roasted Red Pepper Tuna Wrap

This wrap was a completely impromptu lunch.  For some reason I eyed my pouch of tuna and decided to make a wrap.  Simple and delicious, you will never miss the mayo.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Roasted Red Pepper Tuna Wrap

Ingredients

1 low carb wrap

1/2 pouch tuna

2 Tbsp hummus

1/4 cup diced roasted red peppers

2 Campari tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup fresh baby spinach, chopped

Directions

1. Spread the hummus on the wrap. 

2. Top the hummus with the tuna, red peppers, tomato and spinach.

3.  Wrap and enjoy!

Caught In Time

I promised to follow up from a previous post about my Dad's art work so here is my shameless plug Dad! 

"Caught In Time" drdaniels1@Comcast.net 

He does what is called Gyotaku which is the art of Japanese fish painting.  An avid fisherman, he actually catches the fish, then lays them out and preps them.  He paints them with a non-toxic ink so the fish can still be eaten and will not go to waste.  (I put his full bio at the bottom) The ink dries and he then goes back over the canvas to paint in the details.

The following are photos of his art I have on my walls!  I'll keep you all posted with any new work he does and post photos of the additional prints when I get a chance to take them.

"Shoulders"

"Bandit"

"Pinfish"

Prints are available for sale as well as additional paintings. 

"Caught In Time" Bio:
WHAT MAKES THIS ART FORM DIFFERENT AND UNIQUE?
Each fish in my gallery is not a line sketch interpretation or a photograph, rather its genesis comes from the actual imprint of the fish, in that way it’s true “Essence” is “Caught in Time.”

Gyotaku (pronounced GHEE-OH-TAH-KOO) is the art and technique of Japanese fish printing. Gyo means ‘Fish’ and Taku means 'Rubbing' or 'Impression' dating from the mid 1800s, a form of nature-printing used by Japanese fishermen to preserve the size and species of the fish. It later evolved into an art form of which my artwork is an example.

My unique approach to Gyotaku first captures the “Essence” of the fish through the traditional direct method, where after cleaning and preparing the fish I lightly cover the fish surface with non-toxic printing ink and then lay cloth on the fish and transfer the impression of the fish onto the cloth. Once removed, the magic begins where the cloth is enhanced to bring out the characteristics of each individual fish such as its size, color, and weight.

In addition to the original Gyotaku on cloth, Giclees are reproduced to the exact size of the fish and are printed on canvas or archival paper for a first class professional reproduction which will last a lifetime. The reproduction media I use as my trademark reproductions literally cause the fish to “Pop” from its background. Print sizes are set to standard commercial frame sizes for ready framing, or can be configured to meet the specific needs of the customer.

As an avid saltwater enthusiast, including fishing, free diving, and surfing I was inexorably drawn into this art form from my love of the saltwater. I was fortunate enough to have been born and raised two blocks from the beach in San Diego, California, where I earned a Biology degree with a major emphasis in Marine Biology, which included scientific illustration. I have been involved in the art form of Gyotaku for the past 10 years.

You can choose a fish print from my gallery of Gyotaku fish rubbings, or I can make an original of your fish so that it can be “Caught in Time. . . . .”

Banana Raisin Muffins: Gluten, Dairy, Nut and Egg Free

For school I have been packing my daughter lunches since finding out she's allergic to everything but martian dust.  If they could test for that I'm sure she'd be allergic to that too.  Today, all the other kids are having yummy blueberry muffins as a snack so in replacement I made her favorite flavor mixture, banana and golden raisin. 

She helped me make the entire recipe!  I fill the measuring cup and she would pour it in. I think it's great to involve kids in cooking.  When I got to college I couldn't boil water and my hubby isn't afraid to tell me what a terrible cook I was.  I guess he didn't marry me for my cooking skills.  It must have been for my winning personality.  At least that's what I tell myself. 

***Please note that when I state “allergy free” this is my attempt at gluten, egg, dairy, soy, peanut and cod fish free which are the allergies my daughter has. I am not a doctor or registered dietitian.

Banana Raisin Muffins:
Gluten, Dairy, Nut and Egg Free

Ingredients


1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp Egg Replacer (I used Bob's Red Mill which I later found out is not soy free)
6 Tbsp Water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup golden raisins


Directions 



1. Preheat oven to 350.


2. Place 16 muffin papers in muffin tins.

3. Cream together oil, sugar, egg replacer, water and vanilla in large mixing bowl.


4.  In a separate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients; flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder and cinnamon then slowly add to the egg mixture, alternating with bananas.


5. Beat until just smooth.


6. Fold in raisins. 

7. Using a spoon drop evenly into lined muffin tins.


8. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

Photography Practice

The other night I actually had a few free minutes with nothing I had to do right then.  The baby was in bed and hubby was off visiting friends.  I decided to do a little photography practice with night photography using no flash.  For the second photo the shutter was open so long I thought something was wrong but I think the photo came out pretty cool.

Night light from my trip to Cape Cod (I have started a pretty night light collection)

Candle reflection in the countertop

My dining room at night.  It was almost pitch black in there!

Basil and Sun Dried Tomato Tortellini Pasta Salad

I was off to a party last Saturday night and told the hostess I would bring a few dishes. I decided to make a cold pasta salad. The taste came together perfectly.

The other dish was Nutella filled croissants which I did not post the recipe for a reason. I accidentally got phyllo dough rather than puff pastry. And I ran out of butter to put between the FORTY sheets so I had to use canola oil. And trying to drop Nutella neatly is like trying to drop a nice little ball of peanut butter. The ended up looking more like sad little Nutella egg rolls rather than croissants. At least they tasted really good. It's hard to mess up the taste when Nutella is involved.

(Pictured here pre-spinach because I didn't have a camera when I mixed it in at the party!)

Basil and Sun Dried Tomato Tortellini Pasta Salad
Printable recipe

Ingredients

2 (13ox) pkgs tortellini cooked to package directions then cooled
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 to 1/3 red onion, diced
pesto:
1 large bunch fresh basil (I used the whole package from the grocery), roughly chopped
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp minced garlic
4 sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
1 Tbsp water
1 tsp Turbinado sugar
1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
add in at the end:
1 6oz package of reduced fat feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 package fresh baby spinach, about 5 oz


Directions

1) Mix the tortellini through the red onion.

2) In a blender mix the pesto ingredients.

3) Stir the pesto into the tortellini mixture and then fold in the feta and spinach (if the salad is going to be eaten later leave the spinach out and add it right before serving)