Shaved Asparagus Salad

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

Spring means gorgeous fresh asparagus is readily available. My mom brought home two pounds of the large, flavorful shoots. I’ve never seen asparagus so big. Most of them were bigger around than my thumb at their base. I wanted to do something with them I hadn’t tried before so I decided to shave them with my vegetable peeler. The long ribbons were reminiscent of pasta and quite fun to make and eat. I trimmed the tips off first (dicing them into my salad bowl), peeled the asparagus and then, laying the asparagus down flat against my cutting board and holding them tightly, I carefully ran the vegetable peeler down the length of the asparagus. I repeated it until the vegetable was too thin to peel. I diced up the unused segment and tossed them into my salad bowl as well but they can be reserved for another purpose. The only thing missing from the salad was the sharpness of shaved Parmesan cheese. Unfortunately I’m currently sensitive to dairy.

If you make enough salad to store in the fridge, I strongly recommend not adding the egg and nuts until right before serving. It’ll change the integrity of the ingredients.

1 lb asparagus spears, shaved
2 hard boiled eggs, diced
Juice of half a lemon (about 3 Tbs)
3 Tbs toasted almonds, rough chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Put shaved asparagus in a large bowl. Toss with lemon juice, salt and pepper to coat evenly. Add hard boiled eggs and toasted nuts. Serve immediately.

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Avocado Egg Salad

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

Even though I have no reason to dye eggs for Easter, I associate the holiday with egg salad and deviled eggs, two things I seldom make or eat at any other time of year. Last night I boiled eggs and created my version of egg salad. Instead of using mayonnaise, I finely diced an avocado to get that creamy texture and used fresh onion for crunch and heat. The Kalamata olives added that vinegary, salty element that cuts through the richness of the eggs and avocado. I didn’t measure the salt and pepper, seasoning it to my personal taste. It turned out even better than I expected. I served it on almond tortillas but I would have been happy eating it by itself.

6 hard boiled eggs, finely diced
1 ripe avocado, finely diced
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
12 Kalamata olives, diced
Juice of half a lemon (about 3 Tbs)
Salt & pepper

In a medium bowl combine all ingredients, stirring gently until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving for best flavor. Stir well before using.

Posted in Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Salads, Side Dish, Specialized Diets | 2 Comments

Grain Free Almond Tortillas

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

Since I went gluten free two years ago I’ve satisfied a lot of my cravings for bread with corn tortillas. Fish tacos especially have been a staple in my diet. Now that I’m grain free I’ve been looking for a good tortilla replacement. I finally found a recipe for almond flour tortillas. I made them tonight and can call it a great success. The tortillas are pretty fragile. They don’t hold up to folding but work great as chips or as a flat bread. I spread mashed avocado on mine and topped it with a fried egg. It was sturdy enough I could pick it up and eat it.

I halved this recipe since I was only cooking for myself. I formed my tortillas by hand and they were a little thick but that doesn’t change the taste. If using this method, dampen your hands slightly to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. The balls of dough can also be pressed between two plates with waxed paper. Be careful, though. I discovered if they’re too thin they won’t hold together during cooking. Make sure the pan you’re using is lightly oiled and very hot. A cast iron griddle would be perfect for cooking tortillas.

2 cups almond flour
2 egg whites
1/4 cup water
1 tsp salt

In a medium sized bowl, mix together almond flour and salt. Add egg whites and half the water. Stir ingredients together adding more water as needed to incorporate all ingredients and form a dough. Not enough water and the the tortillas won’t hold together but too much water and they have the same problem. Preheat a heavy bottomed frying pan or griddle. Divide the dough into six equal segments and form into balls. Press the balls into tortillas using either hands or between sheets of waxed paper and two plates. Once pan is hot, cook each tortilla for 3-5 minutes on each side until lightly brown.

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Lemon Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

I love things I can throw together, stick in the oven, and forget about for 20-30 minutes. This dish was simple to prepare yet tastes like I spent a long time on it. I like my cooked veggies to retain some crunch so I cook them until they have just a little bit of caramelization on the edges but not too much.

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice (or juice of 1/2 a lemon)
3 Tbs grapeseed oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 350*F. Lightly oil a large baking dish. Toss cauliflower, garlic, lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir until cauliflower is evenly coated. Transfer cauliflower into the baking dish. Bake cauliflower for 45-50 minutes, stirring several times.

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Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

Today was one of those windy, rainy early Spring days that makes your remember Winter still has teeth. Even though it’s 60*F outside, the wind alone made it the perfect day to make soup. I looked through my fairly bare cupboards and fridge and decided on cream of broccoli soup with coconut milk. I love broccoli stems and I used them as well as the crowns in this recipe. If they’re woody, use a vegetable peeler to get to the tender centers. I diced the stems and cooked them until soft before adding the florets.

The soup as a whole turned out better than I expected. The sweetness of the coconut milk toned down the often sulfur taste of the broccoli while the bay leaf added a nice scent and herbaceous flavor. If using commercially prepared stock or broth, add half the amount of sea salt and taste test it before serving. Too little salt and the coconut undertones will become overtones yet too much salt isn’t a good thing either.

2 bunches of broccoli, stems diced and separated from florets
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
6 cups vegetable stock
1 14oz can of coconut milk
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 bay leaf
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp white pepper

In a medium saucepot add vegetable oil, garlic and onion. Cook until onions are translucent, stirring often. Add broccoli stems, vegetable stock, bay leaf, salt and pepper and simmer until broccoli stems are cooked through. Remove the bay leaf and add the broccoli florets and coconut milk. Simmer until florets are cooked yet still retain their bright green color. Remove from heat and puree in batches in either a food processor or blender.

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Pomegranate Red Wine Vinegar

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

Last month I bought a bottle of red wine vinegar flavored with pomegranate. I loved the flavor but not the added sugar so when I ran out I bought a bottle of cheap red wine vinegar and a bottle of unsweetened pomegranate juice and made my own. It turned out great and tastes even better than the one I purchased. I expect I’ll be trying different flavors in the future. Cherry vinegar has a certain appeal to me. Also, this recipe was extremely simple. I put the juice in a pot and let it simmer on low for an hour, checking on it once in awhile. The only problem I had was with bottling it. I poured half of it in the empty red wine vinegar bottle & the other half is in a mason jar. Next time I’ll make sure I’m more prepared to store it.

4 cups unsweetened pomegranate juice
1 1/2 cups (12 fl. oz) red wine vinegar

In a medium saucepot, add pomegranate juice. Bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Allow to cook down to approximately 1 1/2 cups, stirring once in awhile. Allow to cool and combine with vinegar, mixing well. Bottle and store in refrigerator.

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Vegan Coconut Margarine

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

I cooked in the wrong order today. I should have made this margarine before I made waffles. Anyway, my new eating plan is very strict when it comes to commercially made foods, especially margarine. The plan recommends butter but I’m still leery of dairy products. I figured it couldn’t be too hard to make margarine, especially if I used a solid oil like coconut. I found several recipes online and used them as a jump off point for my own recipe. I heated the oil in a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave and then mixed and cooled it in the glass cup of my blender. I put it in half pint canning jars to store it in the fridge. Turmeric tends to dye plastic so I used glass.

I haven’t used the margarine on anything yet but I love the flavor on its own. I used a good fruity olive oil to increase the flavor and decrease the coconut undertones. A lighter flavored oil can be used instead if you don’t want the olive oil taste. The turmeric is more for color than anything else and can be omitted.

Update: this recipe is even easier to make using an immersion blender. I’ve used it as a butter substitute in baking and it worked better than plain coconut oil, which tends to get too hard once chilled.

1 cup solid coconut oil
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
1/2 cup avocado oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric

In a 4 cup or larger microwave safe bowl, add coconut oil, avocado oil and olive oil. Heat on high in the microwave for one minute or until the coconut oil is melted. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Return to microwave and heat for another two minutes or until you see bubbles and foam on the top. Stir well and transfer to a blender or food processor. Pulse on low until combined. Keeping it in the blender or food processor cup, cool it in the refrigerator. After ten minutes, pulse it again to combine, scraping down the sides if needed. Continue to cool and pulse the margarine until it solidifies. Transfer into air tight container and store in the refrigerator.

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Grain Free Almond Hazelnut Waffles

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

I love waffles and going gluten free made me love them more; rice flour gives them a fabulous crispiness. Since going grain free I’ve been experimenting with almond flour waffles. Today I finally came up with a recipe that had the perfect amount of crispiness that wasn’t too soft or too eggy. I’m not sure how they will be without the hazelnut flour but I expect I’ll find out fairly soon. This recipe makes exactly two waffles in my waffle iron.

1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup hazelnut meal
1/4 cup water
1 egg
2 Tbs grapeseed oil
1 Tbs honey
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat waffle iron. In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients and whisk together. Form a well in the center of the bowl and pour the water, egg, oil, and honey into it. Whisk together the wet ingredients, slowly incorporating the dry ingredients until everything is well combined. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray and pour half the batter onto the iron. Cook according to your waffle iron’s directions. Serve with with your favorite syrup, honey or fruit.

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Pumpkin Peanut Butter Soup

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

Yesterday was National Peanut Butter Day and the first thing that popped into my head when I saw that was pumpkin peanut butter soup. I have no idea why other than I had a pumpkin on the counter from my mom’s garden that needed to be used before it went bad. Turns out I was too late and one side of the pumpkin was mushy but I had some cubed pumpkin in the freezer. I seasoned the soup with a variety of spices and while it could have used some heat from cayenne or chili oil, the ginger and clove brought a nice spice to it. It reminds me of Thai peanut sauce, which is my favorite use of peanut butter. I served it with steamed broccoli and it would be good with rice as well.

4 cups pumpkin, cubed
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup unsweetened peanut butter, creamy
1 medium onion, diced
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp fennel, ground
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp cloves, ground

In a medium sauce pot, sauté onions and olive oil until onions are translucent. Add cubed pumpkin, vegetable stock, salt, ginger, fennel, paprika, cloves and white pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer until pumpkin is cooked through. Add peanut butter and purée in blender or food processor until smooth (an immersion blender would work well). Return to sauce pot and simmer on low for another ten minutes. Serve with steamed vegetables, rice, chopped peanuts, lime wedges, green onions, and a drizzle of chili oil if desired.

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Grain-free Hazelnut Banana Muffins

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Vandy Roadifer

My new eating plan is completely grain free and most starches are out as well. This making baking a bit of a challenge but it’s a challenge I’ll gladly take on if it helps me get well. I had several over-ripe bananas on the counter and thought banana muffins made with hazelnut flour/meal sounded fantastic. Almond flour could be used as well but I wanted that intense nut flavor that comes with hazelnuts. I replaced part of the nut flour with coconut flour to give it a lighter texture, though the muffins are still quite dense. They taste good, though, and that’s what matters. 🙂

1 cup hazelnut flour
3/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
3 ripe bananas, mashed
3 eggs
3 Tbs honey
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350* Grease the cups of a 6 cup muffin tin and set aside. Mash bananas in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Add coconut oil, honey, vanilla and eggs. Beat ingredients until smooth. Slowly add coconut flour, hazelnut flour, salt and baking soda, mixing until well combined. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for ten minutes before carefully running a knife between the muffins and the tin and removing them from the muffin tin.

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