gluten free stuffed shells with herbs

I don't usually splurge on 'specialty' gluten free pastas, I stick to the basics: spaghetti, linguine, and occasionally elbows, but when a local health food store closed recently, I had the chance to try out all sorts of fun gluten free pastas, and one was Tinkyada's brown rice pasta shells. At a steep 60% off, I stocked up on a few boxes. And my first challenge? stuffed shells! I had ricotta on my grocery list for months and I finally had the right shells to use it on.

for the size of these shells, they took only slightly longer than other Tinkyada pastas to cook. they came out to a great consistency, not too sticky or tough, and not a single one tore in the boiling/draining/colander process. hoorah! and I was even more satisfied with the end result! shells still in tact, tomato sauce gently bubbling, and all the cheese melted to heck.

I'm a happy lady with this one.

gluten free stuffed shells with herbs

• 1 box Tinkyada's brown rice pasta shells
• 2 c ricotta cheese
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 c parmesan cheese
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup spinach
• 1 tsp minced or powdered garlic
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 sprig fresh oregano

               preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
               cook pasta shells according to directions, drain and set aside           
               combine in bowl parmesan, cottage cheese, half of mozzarella, egg, garlic, and half of herbs
               spread 1/3 of tomato sauce on the bottom of a small baking dish
               stuff shells with cheese mixture and place on dish close together, open side up
               top with remaining sauce, herbs, spinach, and mozzarella cheese
               bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly

enjoy!

x danielle

pierogi and sausage on sorghum rolls

since finding out about my hereditary celiac over two years ago, I've conquered almost all of my favorites in the gluten free kitchen: grilled cheese, hot wings, fried chicken, tortilla, baked mac and cheese, cakes, pies. but one very important food way way at the number one spot of my faves has been neglected: pierogi. if you're not familiar with pierogi(thank you being born in pennsylvania dutch country), they're little doughy dumplings that can be filled with a number of things but the absolute best being garlicy cheesy creamy mash potato. they are then baked, boil, or fried to perfection.

I've held off attempting these babies for a number of reasons. one, I've homemade other types before and pasta is Hard! even with wheat-based flours! two, I've never made my own pierogi! I had no idea where to begin. and three, I didn't have a pasta machine so how the heck was I supposed to make em nice and evenly and properly?? so after getting over my fears of one and two and miraculously being gifted a beautiful marcato atlas(these things are the best!! get one!!!): I felt ready. I got a lovely length of sausage from a local farmer and was ready to make the best damn gluten free pennsylvania-dutch meal I could!

after making the pierogi I chopped up yellow onions, sweet peppers frozen from my summer garden, and button mushrooms, lightly sauteed them in evoo and fried my sausage cuts up! they were deliciously complimented by gluten free sorghum rolls I baked the morning before. in the leftover oil I chopped a few more onions and fried my pierogi on medium high heat until they were nicely browned and crispy, my favorite way to prep them.

everything turned out far better than expected, and even my pierogi went further than anticipated: over five dozen in my first batch, with some left over still months later.

gluten free pasta recipe referenced is from Gluten Free Baking with the Culinary Institute of America (my favorite, and go-to book for baked goods recipes)

roasted breakfast potatoes

every weekend morning, regardless of if I work or not, I force myself out of bed early enough to whip up something delicious. as a farm raised kid, I go for the meat/potatoes/veggie&egg a guiltily 9 outta 10 times. pre-shredded frozen potatoes are almost always kept in stock for the frequent occasion when we want to indulge in a pile of hash browns without the prep.  I could write a novel on potato dishes, but I digress.

this morning I decided to go for the just-as-delicious-but-longer-cooking roasted potatoes. this roasted potato recipe is so easy and even easier to modify to your tastes. it's especially great to roast along side a larger meal or even in the middle of the night for a quick, cozy snack. feel free to use your favorite type of oil in place of evoo, swap in sweet potatoes in lieu of reds, or play with all your go-to spices!!

oven roasted potatoes

• 3 med-large potatoes, diced into half inch pieces
• 1-2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 TBSP fresh chives, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic, minced or powdered
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 sprig fresh oregano

               preheat oven to 475 degrees F            
               combine in a large bowl oil, diced potatoes, and salt, pepper, chives, and garlic
               lay coated potatoes in a single layer into a roasting dish or baking pan
               top potatoes with fresh rosemary and oregano
               bake 20-30 minutes until browned, turning once or twice

sun brewed calming tea

summer is in full swing: heat, swimming, gardening, grilling. although I love it all, sometimes I need a respite. a little danielle time to bring it all back home. over this past winter I fell in love with calming teas. they're perfect for the morning to ground myself, at night to rest my mind, and even during the day to take a moment to be able to analyze priorities. I never considered myself a "tea drinker" but calming tea is making me into a liar.

once the warm weather came around again I was desperate to try out a family classic with my new favorite drink: sun brewed tea

sun brewed calming tea

• 2 liters cold water
• 6-8 tea bags of calming tea, depending on strength (if you can't find calming tea a great mixture is lemon balm, chamomile, passion flower, and rose)
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1/4 C honey
• 1 sprig fresh mint

in a clear container, fill with cold water and mix in honey or desired sweetener. if you have a tea ball you can just drop it in, if you're using bags, tie the bags together and attach to container with the assistance of a wooden spoon laying across the top or a lid on the pitcher. add lemon slices and mint sprig.

let the container sit in a sunny window or outside for 2-4 hours, depending on how strong you want the tea to be. serve at room temperature over ice.

gluten free blueberry muffins

the reality of summer business and the rest of spring is starting to hit me square in the face.

between gardens to plant and tend, farms to assist, dg training, art festivals and all my regular work, I just hope this warm season doesn't take my life for good.

But on to more positive things!

I've recently cut gluten out of my diet and the inner foodie in me has been going crazy! So many of my staples are full of this grainy goodness. My pastas, dumplings, pizzas, tacos, brownies! So far I have been attacking my regular cravings fairly well. I've made meatloaf, taco salad, and cookies successfully and am now pretty confident in my abilities to cut out the wheat flour.

however, breakfast has become a bit of a roadblock.

I'm already picky when it comes to breakfast foods. I usually go for an easy bagel, english muffin, maybe eggs and toast. I got sick of eating eggs and only eggs every day, quickly. I decided to mess around with what I had and figure out SOMETHING else. And success I found:

Blueberry Pecan Gluten Free Muffins

• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 C sour cream
• 1 1/4 C brown sugar
• 2/3 C potato flour
• 2/3 C brown rice flour
• 2/3 C arrowroot starch
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 C chopped pecans(or nuts of choice)
• 1 C blueberries

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, sour cream, and brown sugar until they form a smooth mixture. You can use plain yogurt in place of the sour cream, if you desire.

Gradually sift and mix in your three flours and baking soda/powder. If you have an all purpose gluten free baking flour, you can use that in place of this mixture. You should only need about 2 cups of any standard baking flour.

Gently mixed in still frozen or fresh blueberries and the pecans, mix until just combined.

The batter should be thick and chunky once you get the fruit and nuts mixed in. Line a 12-muffin pan with baking cups and spoon the mixture into them. You can probably get more than 12 muffins out of this recipe, but they will be on the smaller side as they don't rise as much as standard muffins.

Bake for about 25 minutes in the center of the oven until they are golden and spring beck when pressed on top. Take about 5 minutes off of your baking time if you are using fresh vs frozen blueberries.

Make sure to remove muffins from the baking pan shortly after they are out of the oven! They may get too soggy if you leave them

good luck and happy baking!

slow cooked roast stew

local veal roast, hungry cold bellies, and a crock pot that needs broken in means roast stew for ages. 

ingredients:

• 3-4lb lean, beef roast(chuck, bottom, round, etc)
• 4 med potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces and peeled if desired
• 2 celerey stalks, chopped
• 1 med-large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 5oz Can Tomato Paste
• 2 C of fresh or frozen Peas, Carrots, and/or Green Beans
• 2 TBSP gluten free flour
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp cilantro
• 2-3 fresh basil leaves
• Salt, Pepper to taste

Throw that big ol' roast in the bottom of the pot and dump your vegetables, tomato paste, garlic, and spices(minus the flour!) on top. Cover and set to the low 300s, or a low crock setting, and let it sit for the next 10-12 hours. About 30 minutes before you serve, whisk together about two tablespoons of your flour of choice and a bit of water to make a paste-like substance. Throw that into your stew and mix it around to a get a fuller stew broth.

You can continue cooking long enough for the roast to fall apart naturally along the fat lines, or you can remove 1-2 hours from the end of your cook time, chop, and return to the crock to finish stewing.

The best part about slow cooking these stews and soups is the luxury of using frozen meats and veggies. Frozen goods can often go straight into the crock from the ice box. After half a day soaking in your veggie broth goodness, those frozen pieces will be thick, juicy and full of a flavor rarely achieved when fast cooking meats. And frozen vegetables are a great alternative to fresh produce in these barren, winter months. But don't you worry. Warm weather and a plethora of fresh, local produce is just around the corner.