Tag Archives: vegetarian

Stuffed Grape Leaves

I am not sure what it is about grape leaves but I love them. Anything that makes food fun, great to entertain and something different is always a winner with me. You have seen me stuff them with meat asian style on NBC but now I am going back to my route and doing it the meditaranian way. At the next party skip the bigs in a blanket and do it the guilt free way.

Ingredients:

1 Jar Grape Leaves
3/4 Cup Rice Uncooked
2 Cups Water
1/3 Cup white Raisin
1 tsp Salt
1 TBS Olive Oil
1/2 Onion Chopped
1 Lemon

First start by adding oil to a pot and browning the onion lightly. Add rice and water and bring it up to a boil. Once boiling add raisin’s, parsley and salt. Lower to a simmer and cook till liquid is almost gone but make sure to stir every few minutes. Once done place rice in a container and chill in fridge for about an hour to cool.

Now for the fun part. Take about five grape leaves out at a time and rinse well to remove brine. Lay one leaf flat on counter and place about a tablespoon of rice in the shape of your thumb on one edge. Then roll the leaf like you would any wrapper with folding in the sides and rolling the filling to the other side. Place each one on a well sprayed cookie sheet. Once all the rice is rolled spray the tops with oil or none stick spray and squeeze with lemon juice. Broil on low for a few minutes on each side. Make sure you watch them the whole time. They will burn easy if your not careful.

I like to serve them warm with a simple yogurt sauce. Enjoy

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Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are one of the easiest most loved classic side dishes. I did an event the night before thanksgiving and was shocked by all the people that had crazy horror stories from holiday dinners when the mashed potatoes came out like glue. The reason is the starch in potatoes will become stiff if it is over worked. Don’t ever use a food processor, blender and hand processor to whip your potatoes. A simple spoon and hand masher will do the trick. If you need all little help a hand mixer (like the one you use to make cake) will help.

Ingredients:

10 Medium potatoes (Washed)

1 head of garlic

3 TBS Salt (Plus a handful for water pot)

2 TBS Heavy Cream

2 Cups Milk

3 TBS Butter (melted)

1 tspn Rosemary

1 tspn Tyme

1 Tspn Tyme

The first step is the most important. Place all the potatoes in a large pot of cold water. Salt the water heavily. Turn the heat on high and bring to boil. Once boiling lower heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes begin to fall apart. This can take over an hour.

While potatoes are cook place the whole head of garlic on tin foil. Coat in oil and a tiny bit of water and sprinkle with herbs. Place in oven at 375 degrees for about an hour. Keep on eye on it. Your looking for the inside to get soft. When its done, squeeze out the inside cloves and get ride of the paper peel.

Once potatoes are done, drain and let cook for a few minutes. Depending on your preference remove the potatoes peals. My family loves the rustic potatoes so I remove about 50 percent of the peals. Believe it or not potatoes skins are filled with nutrition so leaving some on are a healthy option.

Return potatoes to pot, add garlic and mashed with potato masher. Add cream, melted butter, salt, and any remaining herbs. Continue to mash and add milk slowly until you have the leave of creaminess you are looking for.

Serve hot and save leftovers for my gnocchi recipe that is soon to come!

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Risotto Rice Stuffing

Being gluten free makes some classic holiday sides hard to enjoy. Stuffing can easily be made with gluten free bread but try my spin with rice and leave everyone asking for seconds.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Dry Brown or Wild Rice

1/3 Cup White Raisin

1/3 Cup Cran Raisins

3 Cups Vegetable Broth

1 Oz Rum or Port

1 Oz Red Table Wine

1/2 Cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 small white onion chopped fine

1/4 Cups Carrot Cleaned and Chopped

1/4 Cup Celery Cleaned and Chopped

1 Tbs Olive Oil

2 Tbs Cant Believe It’s Not Butter

chopped pistachios and or orange zest optional*

Start by soaking raisins and cran raisins in rum for a few hours. The fruit will soak up all the rum and get nice and plum. In a medium size pot start by browning onion, carrot and celery. Once onion starts to become translucent add raisins and half the parsley. After 2 minutes add dry rice, toss and toast for about a minutes. Pour in vegetable broth, stir and bring to boil. Lower to simmer stirring occasionally and keeping and eye on liquid level. Once liquid has mostly disappeared start adding one cup of water every few minutes. The idea is to hydrate the rice but by leaving the pot uncovered and adding water while it cooks will create a nice creamy and wonderful moist stuffing. Once the cup of water seems to be mostly absorbed add another. Continue doing this at least 4 times or until rice is soft and velvety. This does take time and patient but totally worth it in the end. Once the desired consistency is reached and rice is no longer watery, add remaining parsley, butter, wine and nuts or zest. Stir and serve warm.

Make sure you keep an eye out for my re-use recipes for using any left over rice stuffing you may have.

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Low Fat Tiramisu

I have started to become a big fan of Tiramisu but I needed to come up with a gluten free and guilt free recipe. This is a great recipe to play around with, easy to do and no baking needed. Great dessert for everyone for the holidays. With the added kick of espresso and liquore its a crowd pleasure and no one will know if guilt free.

Ingredents:

14 oz Light Cool Whip

25 Gluten Free Fingerling Cookies

8 oz marscappon cheese or light cream cheese

4 Eggs whites whisked to high peacks

1 oz Port

1 Oz Coffee Liquor

1 1/2 cups espresso or strong coffee light sweetened

2 Tbs Splenda

The first step is to whisk egg whites and cream cheese in two separate bowls. Pour the port into the cream cheese to help soften. Slowly combine the three in on large bowl working hard not to over work the eggs. Now, combine the coffee liquor and espresso and sugar.

Now its time to assemble. Soak each cookie in coffee for 15 seconds on each side. You want them to be well soaked but still firm. Place each cookie in a 9′ by 5′ dish to form layer. Then place half the cream mix on top. Place an addition layer of soaked cookies above the cream layer. Top the whole thing with remaining cream mix. Chill in fridge for 3 hour. Enjoy!

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Carrot Cake

Carrot cake has been my cake of choice since I was a kid. Something about the unique taste and cream cheese frosting that is just perfect. Lucky enough my boyfriend feel exactly the same. I played with a way to make it gluten free and I think it came out great.

Ingredients:

2 Large Carrots Grated

2 Cups White Rice Flour

2 Cups Sugar

1/2 Cups Oil

4 Eggs

1 Tbs Cinnamon

1 tsbn Baking Soda

Whisk eggs and sugar together. Stir in remain ingredients and pour into a well greased spring pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 min. Allow to cool well and then remove from pan. Frost with any cream cheese frosting and enjoy.

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Apple Fritter

Its hard to get the best fall treats gluten free. Like the apple pies and donuts. I am trying hard to come up with some great alternatives. This time I made a simple and healthy recipe or Apple Fritters. I have been having them for breakfast and cant get enough.

Ingredients –

1 Large apple sliced into 1/4 inch rounds (remove seeds)

1 Large Egg

1 Banana

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a food processor beat egg, banana, baking powder and cinnamon till batter is formed. Pour batter into bowl. Dip each slice in the batter to coat well and cook on a hot well greased pan. Flip after 2 minutes. Cook apples on medium flame so that they cook completely with out burning the batter. I like to store the finished ones on a cookie tray in a 200 degree over while l finished cooking all the batches.

Serve hot with syrup or power sugar!!!

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Cheese Cauliflower

I am always a sucker for a good creamy side dish but love finding ways to enjoy it gluten free. I whip this one up really quick as a side to a store bought roast chicken. It would be a great Mac and Cheese alternative for a holiday side.

Ingredients:

1 Cauliflower Head cut up
1 Slice American cheese
1/4 Cup Almond Milk
1/3 Cup Parm Cheese
1 Tbs Half & Half
2 Tbs Bacon Bits (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil cauliflower till very soft. Stain well and mash with fork or potato masher. With heat on low add remaining ingredients. Cook until all liquid is gone and cheese is melted.

Serve Hot

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No Joke Banana Pancake

I am always on the hunt for super easy and healthy breakfast. Can never go wrong with pancakes 🙂 You wont believe this one until you try it.

1 Banana

1 Egg

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Sugar

(Optional) Pinch of Cinnamon

Put all ingredients in food processor and blend will. Allow mix to sit for a few minutes and then cook on a hot, oiled pan.

I am not sure why but the second batch is always better.

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Elote Recipe

Elote is a mexican corn on the cob dish that sweet, spicy and creamy. When my boyfriend is in the mood for something he will ask for it repeatedly until he gets it. It’s kinda funny because it is always something very random that he sees in passing. The other day while walking in the market he must have found someone selling it so as always he called and started chanting “Elote… Elote….. ELOTE.” With corn in season this is a great alternative to spice it up a notch.
Since Jay is the Mexican food expert I finally got him in the kitchen to make this one. Check out what he did and give it a try.

Ingredients:

2 Full corn on the cob still in husk
1 Tbs Mayo
Juice of half a lime
1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese (Cotija if possible)
2 tsps chile powder
2 tsps cumin
1 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 cup cilantro chopped

Soak corn for about an hour in water. Then broil corn in husks until dark brown on outside. Rotate 1/2 turn after 7 mins then cook another 7 mins. If you don’t have a broiler feel free to cook the corn in the same way on the grill or in am oven at 500 degrees.

When corn is cooked remove from husk. In one bowl combine 1 tablespoon of Mayo with 1/2 lime squeezed. In another bowl mix together Cotija cheese (or Parmesan if you don’t have Cotija) , chile powder, cumin, ground red pepper. When your ready to serve, brush on mayo lime mixture. Then coat heavily with cheese spice mixture and top with chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

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Veggie Burger

I am always looking for fun stuff to do with Quinoan and since finding a gluten free veggie burger can be hard I figured I would give it a try. The combination of nutty quinoia and naturally sweet butternut squash makes this a fun fall dish.

1 Small Butter Nut Squash
1 Tbs Honey
1 Egg
2 Cup Quinoa cooked (Ancient Harvest Brand Original or Red http://www.quinoa.net/)
4 Tbs Chestnut Flour
1/2 Red Pepper chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 tspn Nutmeg
1/2 tspn Onion Powder
1/2 Tbs Garlic Powder
1/2 paprika
1 Pinch Chile Flakes
4 Gluten Free Hamburger Buns ( As always Sweet Christens brand is my favorite http://www.onlinebakery.co/ )

Peel and cut squash in to cubes. Place into a small non-stick over safe dish with a tiny bit of water at the bottom. Roast at 500 degrees for about 30 minutes until cubes are soft. Remove and drain as much water as possible while you allow them to cool completely. Once cool, mash squash on a bowl and add cooked Quinoa, egg, honey and all spices. Stir well and then add flour. I use chestnut but any nut flour would do the trick. Combine all ingredients and place in the fridge over night to firm up. When ready to serve just form patties and cook on a pan. Serve with your favorite topping!

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