Tag: gluten-free

Mexican Flag Vegan Tacos

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Why Mexican Flag? Something about the green, white and red just makes me happy with this recipe. I had also forgotten how much I actually enjoy frozen corn kernels, so this was a great opportunity to indulge in a bunch of that.

I also served this mixture as a topper for some pearl barley a few nights later, and it was also awesome. This would make a great topper for pastas or roasted potatoes for a crowd if you want to stretch the ingredients.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Mexican Flag Vegan Tacos

8 oz. sliced mushrooms (I used crimini)

1 small white onion

1-3 red peppers (I used about 1/4 of a cup of long semi-hot peppers), diced

1-3 green peppers, diced (I used about 1/4 of a cup of a mix of hot and semi-hot peppers)

1 c. frozen corn

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

1 tsp. oregano

2 Tbsp. smokey chipotle seasoning (or your fav. taco mix)

2 tsp. cumin

2 cloves garlic, minced

Neutral oil

Juice of 1 lime

Taco fixins:

Raw breakfast radishes, chopped fine

Cherry tomatoes, at least halved

Choula

Your favorite tortillas

In your largest pan, heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium high until shimmering. Add the corn and mushrooms and sauté until the corn defrosts and mushrooms start to look like they may cook.

Add all but 2 Tbsp. of the onion and the garlic and sauté until the mushrooms give off a bunch of liquid.

Add all but 1 Tbsp. of each color of the peppers plus the spices and sauté until the peppers are softened.

Taste for seasoning, adding more if necessary.

Kill the heat and mix in the cilantro, lime juice, reserved raw onion and reserved raw peppers.

Serve as tacos as pictured or as a topper for something else. The toppings make enough to serve 4 as a taco, and can stretch further if needed

Mushroom Pea Pasta

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Yep, it’s the middle of January, and yep, I’m craving green things. This recipe is quick to put together, can be dressed up in a bunch of different ways, and keeps like a champ for leftovers.

gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian

Mushroom Pea Pasta

4 servings of your favorite pasta (I used a standard penne, but my favorite rice fusilli would be great here and chickpea or paleo pastas would also be great – shiritaki would even work, if you’re keto or low carb)

8-12 ounces portobello mushrooms, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

Neutral oil

Butter

2 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped

2 Tbsp. fresh mint, chopped

1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped

1 Avocado

1/2 c. frozen peas

1 c. frozen spinach

500g. protein of choice

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Nutmeg

Salt & pepper

Nutritional yeast (optional but adds a bit of a cheesy taste)

Set your pasta water (generously salted) to boil. Add the pasta and cook according to directions. Drain and set aside in a large bowl if ready before the rest of your ingredients.

While the pasta is working, brown your protein in a bit of neutral oil – season with salt and pepper and set aside in the large bowl.

To the pan, add your chopped mushrooms, 2 tsp. neutral oil and 2 tsp. butter. Sauté until the mushrooms are cooked through and a bit browned. Season with 1 Tbsp. garlic powder, 1 Tbsp. onion powder, salt & pepper.

While the mushrooms are going, defrost your peas & spinach.

Chop your herbs and avocado – chuck into the big bowl.

When the mushrooms are ready, add to the big bowl.

Add the peas & 1 tsp. neutral oil to the pan. Sauté until just beginning to brown. Add the spinach. Season with 1 Tbsp. garlic powder, 1 Tbsp. onion powder, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, salt & pepper. Sauté until the spinach is cooked through and the water has evaporated.

Add the green veg to the bowl.

Brown 2 Tbsp. butter in the pan and pour over the top of the pasta and veggies. Toss with 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast.

Serve topped with more nutritional yeast if desired.

Serves 4

A Nice Herbed Hash Base

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Yes, another hash. Don’t @ me; I’ve got a deep and abiding love for hash.

This version takes a “safer” route than I usually take to cook the potatoes to unburnt perfection. I also upped the fat content because I was working with a cast iron skillet, and I have not yet gotten the full hang of using it without stickage.

gluten-free, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, Whole30 (sub the oil for W30 or strict paleo)

A Nice Herbed Hash Base

1 lb. small potatoes (I used a mix of purple, white and red)

1/2 lb. green beans

Sun dried tomato oil (or roasted red pepper oil – or, regular oil with a bit of either mixed in would also be great)

Citrus salt (I made mine and used this recipe as a starting point. Unfortunately, I didn’t post the recipe here. Mine has cracked peppercorns, rosemary and oregano mixed in and I believe the citrus mix is lemon + orange)

2 -3 cloves garlic

4 Tbsp. mixed fresh rosemary and dill – more if you want it even herbier

Some nice finishing salt (I used Maldon flake salt)

Maybe a splash of red wine vinegar at the end to punch up the flavors and cut through the richness (I added a dash upon reheating leftovers and it was fantastic)

Chop your potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Parboil in a large pot of salted water about 5 minutes or until tender but not falling apart. Drain.

While the potatoes are working, tip and chop the green beans into bite sized pieces.

Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large pan over medium-high until shimmering.

Add the potatoes, sprinkle with your citrus seasoning, and sauté 2-3 minutes or until just beginning to get some color.

Add the green beans & some pepper and sauté an additional 3 – 5 minutes or until nicely browned.

While the hash is working, mince the garlic and chop the herbs.

Add the garlic & herbs to the pan and stir to combine. Let cook a few minutes to meld. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.

Finish with a sprinkle of good salt and/or a splash of vinegar.

I served with some vegan cashew curry sausages for dinner the first night and with a sausage, a little leftover seared red pepper + a fried egg the second. Both ways were yum.

Serves 2 for dinner & 1 for lunch if your portions are small (at least small to me; if you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you know I love a healthy portion)

Vegemite Chicken & Rice

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I know … Vegemite (and it’s British cousin, Marmite, are weird.

But … they’re good. Especially when paired with a little fat. I’ve had a little smeared on toast with some butter (sometimes with a little apple butter), on a burger with some bacon (freakin delicious), on toast with cheddar cheese (also yum), and now tossed with chicken – surprisingly good.

I’m curious to taste it with apple pie and macaroni & cheese. Stay tuned for that one; I have plans to revamp one of my old Mac & cheese recipes to include it. I have a feeling it will be fantastic. EDIT: Happy to report that in a test run of both that beloved recipe + a dash of Vegemite was fantastic. Still needs either a dollop more, or more salt …

This dish is really good. It doesn’t scream Vegemite – more like really good chicken. Not sure exactly how to describe the taste. Vegemite tastes salty, kinda yeasty, and kinda like miso. This chicken doesn’t really taste like that – but the chicken ness feels somehow elevated(?)

I don’t know. You tell me. If you try this dish, let me know in the comments what you think it tastes like. I’m curious to see!

gluten-free (check your labels – a gluten free variety of Vegemite is available, made with bakers instead of brewers yeast, paleo if you go for the GF Vegemite

Vegemite Chicken & Rice

1 lb. chicken thighs

1 egg white

1 Tbsp. chili powder

2 tsp. honey

2 tsp. Vegemite (or Marmite, if you lean toward that continent)

1 Tbsp. coconut aminos, soy sauce or tamari

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 c. cornstarch or arrowroot powder

1/2 tsp. white pepper

2 Tbsp. neutral oil

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

Broccolini, cut into bite-sized pieces

Sushi rice

Neutral oil

Salt & pepper

Preheat your oven to 200C/375F. Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone mat or tinfoil.

In a large bowl, whisk together the chili powder, honey, Vegemite, soy sauce, egg white, neutral oil and sesame oil.

In a shallow dish, combine the baking soda, cornstarch or arrowroot powder and pepper.

Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Toss to combine.

Take small batches of the sauced chicken and coat with the dry batter. Lay on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 10 minutes, add the broccolini drizzled with a little neutral oil and sprinkled with salt & pepper. Bake an additional 10 minutes.

Serve over sushi rice.

Serves 2 for dinner

Simple Korean-Style Bok Choy

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This is a quick to put together and simple recipe with big payoff. So delicious, and just what my body needed mid holiday season.

I served mine with a bit of ground chicken; tofu would also be great here – the sauce would also make a fantastic tofu marinade for some oven-fried crispy tofu like this.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Simple Korean-Style Bok Choy

3 small bunches bok choy

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

2 Tbsp. sesame oil

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tsp. gochujiang

1/4 – 1/3 c. pine nuts

Sesame seeds for garnish

Sushi rice for serving

Thinly slice the bok choy, separating the bottoms from the leafy tops. Chuck the bottoms in a medium/medium-high pan. Mince and then add the garlic.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, oil, red pepper flakes, and gochujiang.

When the veggie bottoms are beginning to soften, add the pine nuts and sauté, stirring frequently, until the pine nuts are beginning to brown. Chuck the veggie tops in and stir.

Add the sauce and cook until the veggies are done to your liking and the sauce has been well incorporated.

Serve over a bowl of sushi rice and top with sesame seeds for a quick and light meal.

Serves 2 – 3

Peanutty Fancy-Ish Ramen

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It seems our Lockdown staple of ramen noodles isn’t going anywhere any time soon. DH and I are both still craving comfort, and I’m still on the war path when it comes to wasting ingredients and clearing the pantry – so we are having some mish-mashed meals as of late.

Which is all fine, provided I can continue to find ways to add at least a little nutritional value to dinner. Some sort of vegetable.

This dish elevates some pantry staples admirably, adding two sources of protein (if you add meat), and a veggie that can also serve as a freezer cleaner.

A note on ramen: I used pot noodles (aka cup o’ noodles) for this recipe. We are loving the Korean brand Budok lately – the base flavoring I went with was chicken cheese, but this would be great with pretty much any base flavor. Mushroom, chicken, chili chicken, shrimp, curry – all would be delicious.

vegetarian and vegan if you don’t add meat, gluten-free with substitutions

Peanutty Fancy-Ish Ramen

1 pot instant ramen per person (any flavor will do, or sub rice noodles for gluten free – a little chicken or veggie bouillon would add some nice flavor if you are not using the flavor packet that comes with the noodles)

2 Tbsp. peanut butter (I used a low sugar variety)

1/4 c. soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos

1 Tbsp. sambal olek (chili garlic sauce)

2 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. honey (sub agave for vegan)

2 small scallions, sliced thinly

Frozen spinach

Optional: leftover ground chicken or beef, soft boiled egg, fish cakes, leftover fried tofu, or other additional protein source

Sesame seeds for garnish

Combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, sambal, sesame oil and honey in a small pot over low heat. Simmer, stirring, until well combined and beginning to thicken. If your heat is too high and this mixture dries out too much like mine did, add a Tablespoon or two of water, stir quickly to combine, and move off the heat for a second or so to cool down a bit.

While the sauce is working, add frozen spinach to the noodle pots and fill with boiling water. Let sit 3 minutes and drain.

Add the noodles to the pot with the sauce, along with scallions, any additional protein sources, and the seasoning packet. Stir well to combine and garnish with sesame seeds.

Serves 2

Pumpkin Hummus With Orzo

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Ok, so I’m on a bit of a pumpkin kick. And a grain/harvest/Buddha/nourish/whatever zeitgeisty thing you want to call it bowl kick. Again.

If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’ll know I love a good bowl. I think I first got started down that track right about when this blog started, and I’ve never really looked back. Bowls FTW. Plates be damned.

This version can either go the Instagram route with an artful swirl of hummus to the side, or is also great all mushed together like a creamy pasta sauce. Either way you slice it: yum. I also love this hummus as a dip and swirled into my breakfast oatmeal.

Note: The addition of date molasses in this recipe was a point of contention in this household. I liked the sweetness and thought it brought good balance, but DH was not a fan.

gluten-free if you swap the orzo, vegetarian, vegan

Pumpkin Hummus Grain Bowl

1 cup orzo, rice, quinoa, barley – whatever grain you fancy – cooked in veggie stock

300g baby spinach

1 – 2 cups pumpkin, chopped

2 tsp. date molasses (optional)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbsp. turmeric

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1/4 cup smoked almonds, chopped

First, drizzle your pumpkin with 1 Tbsp. neutral oil, sprinkle liberally with cumin, salt and pepper and bake at 200C/375F for 20 – 30 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking.

prepare your grain, mixing the spinach in during the last 30 seconds or so. Drain and add to a large bowl.

Add the baked pumpkin to a food processor, along with the date molasses (if using), lemon juice, turmeric, olive oil, and garlic. Whiz to form a hummus. Taste for salt and add as needed.

To serve, either create a bowl topped with the chopped almonds and parsley or combine together

Serves 2 – 4 for dinner with some hummus leftover if you create individual bowls

Fall Pumpkin & Orange Salad

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I think I found my Thanksgiving pumpkin-centric side for this year. I made this first round with sushi rice because that was what I had on hand, and it was great. Soft, almost creamy, and filling.

For Thanksgiving, I think I’ll swap the soft rice for something with more chew – either a wild rice mix or maybe pearl barley – and bump the orange and dill up a bit for more of a punch that will stand up to DH’s bourbon honey ham.

EDIT: I did end up making this for Thanksgiving, and it was fantastic. I used a mixture of wild and basmati rices for the grains and went for a curry spiced pumpkin instead of the molasses – both versions were great. I also beefed up the dill a little, which was also welcome.

gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan

Fall Pumpkin & Orange Salad

Take:

2-3 cups chopped pumpkin or other orange squash

And toss with:

1 Tbsp. date molasses

2 Tbsp. neutral oil

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Salt & pepper

Bake at 220C/400F for 30 – 40 minutes or until deeply browned. Add to a large bowl.

While the pumpkin is working, make some ginger rice by combining the following and cooking however you cook your grains.

1 cup rice or grains

2 cups water

2 coins sliced ginger

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

When the rice is done, toss out the ginger and combine the warm rice & squash with:

1/2 inch ginger, minced

3 Tbsp. good olive oil

2 scallions, minced

1/4 cup pomegranate arils

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3 Tbsp. dill, chopped

2 Tbsp. peanut butter

2 Tbsp. whole grain mustard (Maille is my favorite)

4 clementines, supremed, with the juice squeezed out of the leftover bits

2 tsp. turmeric

1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Serves 4-6

Buffalo Chicken Pasta

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This dish takes the goodness that is buffalo chicken dip and brings it to the dinner table. It’s creamy, satisfying, and just a bit spicy. Yum.

gluten-free

Buffalo Chicken Pasta

4 servings your favorite pasta (I used rice fusilli)

Shredded chicken (I used rotisserie, about half a chicken)

3 ounces buffalo sauce (Franks Red Hot is the best IMHO; I used half garlic flavored and half regular)

5.5 ounces cream cheese (vegan or otherwise)

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 tsp. celery seed (if you’re using celery salt, make sure to taste before adding more salt)

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

Cook your pasta according to directions. Drain and add to a large bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Stir to combine.

Serves 4 for dinner

Pumpkin Grain Bowl

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This dish is great warm, room temperature or slightly chilled – making it perfect for your next get-together.

Pumpkin Grain Bowl

1.5 cups chopped pumpkin (or any variety orangey squash)

1 carrot, shredded

1 cucumber, ribboned

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 cups wild rice mix (quinoa would also be good – you want something with a bit of body to it)

Crispy fried chickpeas (mine were pre-seasoned and halved)

2 scallions, chopped

1 Tbsp. turmeric olive oil (substitute with adding a little turmeric to your favorite oil )

2 tsp. cumin

1 Tbsp. curry powder

Dressing

1/4 cup turmeric olive oil

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Juice of 2 limes

2 Tbsp. dijon or whole grain mustard

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1/2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. salt

Lay your chopped pumpkin out on a prepared baking sheet. Drizzle the Tablespoon of oil over top and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 Tablespoon curry powder, salt and pepper. Bake at 200C/375F for 30 minutes or until soft and beginning to brown. Remove.

While the pumpkin is working, cook your rice or other grains however you cook rice. Set aside.

Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk.

To assemble, combine all but the crispy chickpeas in a large bowl, adding the chickpeas as you serve so they don’t get soggy.

Serves 4 for dinner and more as a light lunch