Category: Recipe

Ah…I love fall.  Want to know why?  Aside from sweaters, hot cider, hot chocolate, and beautiful colors throughout the landscape, autumn ushers in the official start of soup season.  What makes soup season even more exciting and interesting this year is the fact that I now get a bin of fresh, organic, and local produce from my CSA…giving me a lot of creative license when it comes to cooking up some sort of soup.

Recently, thanks to Pinterest, I found a recipe that really caught my attention.  Even more so because, save for the parsley, some spicy peppers and the avocado, I had everything else from my CSA bin.  It was as if I were being told to make it.  The original recipe turned up on a page called Naturally Ella, but, as I most often do, I changed the recipe slightly as far as how much of something got added and so forth.  The soup yields 4 delicious servings and it is very low in calories for being so creamy.  In fact, only one serving will set you back 231 calories.  And that’s with the avocado as garnish (it’s a healthy belly-flattening fat!).

So, below is my modified recipe.  This is gluten-free, low calorie, and completely vegan as well.

Recipe: Sweet Corn and Spicy Pepper Soup

Servings: 4
Time: Prep 10 minutes; Cook 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 ears sweet corn
• 2 jalapeño peppers, seeds removed
• 1 medium red pepper
• 2 small serrano peppers, seeds removed
• ½ medium red onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2-3 cups veggie broth
• juice from one lime
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup minced flat leaf parsley
• ½ cup unsweetened almond milk, optional
• 1 avocado

Directions:

In a medium pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.

Dice onion and peppers, add to pot.  Cook until onion is translucent, 4-5 minutes

Remove corn from cob and add to cooked peppers/onion mixture.  Continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes.

Stir in 2 cups veggie broth and salt, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Let cook for 15-20 minutes.

Remove from heat and using either an immersion blender or regular blender, puree soup.

Return to heat and stir in cilantro, heavy cream, and more veggie broth if needed.  Heat for 1-2 more minutes over medium low.  Taste and add more salt if needed.

To serve, slice avocados and add to top of soup.

~*~*~

This soup was a delicious blend of sweet and spicy with the fresh combination of sweet corn and the spicy peppers.  The spice didn’t overwhelm the rest of the meal.  It was just the right level of heat.  Even my roomie, who is a spice-wimp loved the level of heat in this soup.  If you do not like heat, remove seeds from jalapeños and serranos as much as possible.  I did this just because I knew my roommate would be eating it as well as me.  But if you love a hit of spice in your soup, leave the serrano and jalapeño seeds in!

In the end, you are left with a creamy, delicious soup that is not just filling…but healthy too.

It’s soup season, friends.  Let’s get that soup on!

Awhile back while shopping at one of my numerous natural foods stores, I picked up a package of Rick Bayless’ Frontera brand Red Chile Enchilada Sauce.  Why?  I was wooed by the wonder and splendor of Rick Bayless, of course.  That…and it was on sale, gluten-free, and I figured I could use it at some point.

The problem was…I had never made enchiladas before.  For being such a big fan of enchiladas, and Mexican food in general, the fact that this sort of thing was not something I had ever attempted before made the task a little daunting.  And for weeks, the Frontera Red Chile Enchilada Sauce sat on the shelf…untouched…and mocking me every time I went to the pantry for something.

But that changed last week when I finally said I was going to suck it up…and make enchiladas.  I had a crazy amount of produce thanks to the arrival of my CSA bin so I just sort of made up a filling from things I had in my refrigerator and my freezer.  The results?  A creamy, delicious vegetarian enchilada that my roommate, to this day, hopes I recreate again soon.

Until then…here is my recipe for these Mexican morsels of cheesy wonder.

Recipe: Cheese and Fresh Corn Enchiladas

Servings: 5
Time: Prep 20 minutes; Cook 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 10 corn tortillas
• 1/4 cup onion, minced
• dash of garlic salt
• dash of red pepper flakes
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes with chiles
• 1 cup sour cream (I used Tofutti vegan sour cream)
• 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used Cabot sharp white cheddar and NY sharp cheddar cheeses)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 8-10 ounces of enchilada sauce (I used Frontera Red Chile Enchilada Sauce)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Make the filling:  In a wide frying pan, melt the butter and add the onions.  Add the garlic salt and red pepper flakes.  Sauté the onion until tender.  Add the corn and cumin and 1/4 cup of water.  Cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove cover and cook, stirring over high heat to boil away any remaining liquid.  Remove from heat and stir in sour cream, half of the cheese, and the chiles.  Add the chili powder and salt to taste.

Wrap the corn tortillas in a paper towel and microwave for 40 seconds, flipping them halfway through.

In a 9×13 baking dish, poor a scant amount of enchilada sauce in the bottom and spread it across the bottom of the pan.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of the filling into the middle of each tortilla.  Roll the tortilla around the filling and place, seam side down, in the baking dish.  Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.  Cover the enchiladas evenly with the remaining sauce.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the top of the enchiladas.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbly.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Serve and enjoy.

~*~*~

I was actually quite happy with the way my enchiladas turned out.  The corn added a nice hint of sweetness to the filling and I loved how the sour cream added this bit of rich creaminess to it.  This also made me fall in love with the Frontera brand of enchilada sauce as well.  It was really delicious and the perfect amount for this meal.  My roommate and I devoured these over the course of three days and already she is asking me to make it again.  Now that I have created my own enchiladas and successfully executed them…I think that’s doable.

Looking for a creamy, sweet, and a little spicy meal for dinner…give these a try.  And enjoy!

A food that I have ended up loving more and more as I’ve gotten older is squash.  All squash.  As is pretty evident from my blogs.  I use it in a lot of things, dress it up different ways, and turn it into casseroles, soups, etc.  The possibilities are endless.

Even more so with the advent of Pinterest.  For real.  I can spend hours on Pinterest.  It’s crazy-ridiculous what I find on there and I file away to revisit and even attempt to make.  This rarely happens…but I have it saved…just in case.

However, when my CSA bin arrived with a spaghetti squash last week, I knew just the recipe I needed to make.  I pinned this one awhile back, compliments of Whole Foods.  I had most of the ingredients as it was either in my fridge, on my counter, or in my pantry.  All I needed were some Serrano chilies and a red pepper to make it.  Epic win.  And this…was just as good as I hoped it would be.  Not spicy at all…at least not for me.

Recipe: Spicy Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans

Servings: 2-4
Time: Prep 20 minutes; Bake 40 minutes

Ingredients:

One of my favorite eggplant dishes has to be Eggplant Parmesan.  I loved ordering it at restaurants and it never would disappoint me.  And then…gluten-free happened.  And things had to change.

In a word…I didn’t eat it anymore…despite being a great vegetarian dish to go to when out and about.  Not only is it normally served with pasta, but breadcrumbs coat the eggplant.  *sigh*

But, when I received an eggplant in my CSA bin this past week, my roommate really made a push for me to make a gluten-free Eggplant Parmesan.  I agreed, as we just happened to have some gluten-free corn flake crumbs to bread the eggplant in.  So that was actually doable.  The problem was…I am not big on fried foods, so I wanted this to be baked.  It’s healthier that way anyway.  But I also didn’t want to spend a fortune on other ingredients to incorporate into it.

Thankfully, there is this great book I bought called Gluten-Free on a Shoestring.  It’s by Nicole Hunn and it is fantastic for these little cooking dilemmas.  Even better…there is a Baked Eggplant Parmesan recipe in this book.  And that’s what got me the meal I absolutely wanted to make.  And I already had everything on hand in my kitchen.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Servings: 4
Time: Prep 20 minutes; Cook 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 large or 2 medium eggplants, peeled and sliced in 3/4-inch thick rounds
• 2-3 cups gluten-free breadcrumbs (I used Southern Homestyle Corn Flake Crumbs)
• 2 extra-large eggs, beaten with 1/4 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk) and 1/4 cup water
• 2-3 cups tomato sauce (I used Dave’s Gourmet Organic Roasted Garlic & Sweet Basil Pasta Sauce)
• 10-12 ounces grated mozzarella cheese (more if you like)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.

Place the egg mixture in a wide, flat dish; place the breadcrumbs in another.

Place one slice of raw eggplant in the egg mixture, invert it to coat the other side, and allow the excess to drip off.

Next, press both sides of the eggplant firmly into the breadcrumbs and transfer to a prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining slices of eggplant, arranging them 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.

Place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake until soft to the touch and golden brown, 15-20 minutes.  Halfway through baking, flip the slices so they brown evenly on both sides.

While the eggplant is baking, grease a 9 x 12-inch baking dish with unsalted butter and spoon just enough tomato sauce into the pan to cover the bottom with a thin layer.  Once the eggplant is done baking, remove the baking sheets from the oven and allow the eggplant to cool for 5 minutes, or even less.  This allows the eggplant to become somewhat firm.  Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

Place one layer of eggplant over the layer of tomato sauce, cover each slice with sauce, and top generously with grated cheese.  Continue with another layer of eggplant slices, sauce and grated cheese, followed by one more layer (if eggplant is small…my eggplant was big so I made big, single slices and didn’t layer).

Place the baking dish in the center of the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.

~*~*~

Like I said…my eggplant was massive so I made individual slices of eggplant, which were placed over sauce, then sauced and cheesed according to the recipe.  No layering with this style of eggplant.  But let me tell you…the results were awesome.  The eggplant was firm, but soft and the corn flake “breading” crisped up perfectly.   I even reheated the extra slices the next night for dinner and it was just as good as the original night I pulled it out of the oven.

I will totally make this again in a heartbeat.  And maybe next time layer some eggplant and cheese.  I guess it all depends on the size of the eggplant I get delivered to my door.

Go ahead…try it.  It’s easy, delicious, and done on a budget!

With the onset of gluten-intolerance last year…I was missing out on an important piece of food from my life.  My mom used to make them.  I’d eat them as fast as she could cook them up.  I’m talking about perogies.  Yes.  Perogies.  Those delicious Polish dumplings that are stuffed with goodies in the filling.  In my case, it has always been potatoes and cheese.

Believe me, when the wonderful Jules Gluten Free posted this recipe on her blog, I couldn’t wait to make it.  Even better, my CSA bin was going to have Yukon gold potatoes in it…so I had the filling.  Some extra-sharp Cabot cheese was the other part of the filling.  And together…with the dough recipe…I was finally going to have perogies in my life again.

I couldn’t wait.

The recipe is super simple.  Not a lot goes in to them.  Just remember to not let your dough dry out as you stuff them.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Perogies

Servings: 36
Time: Prep 50 minutes; Cook 20 minutes

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 2 cups Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup sour cream, dairy or non-dairy alternative (I used Tofutti’s Better Than Sour Cream)
• 1/4 cup +/- very warm water

For the filling:

• 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes
• 3/4 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese (I used Cabot)

Directions:

In a large-bottomed bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.  Whisk together with a fork.  Form a well in the center and pour the oil and cracked egg into the well.

Whisk these together without incorporating much flour, until well mixed.  Add the sour cream to the well next, whisking to integrate.

Gradually begin stirring the flour in with the wet mixture in the center.  Meanwhile, pour 1/8 cup of water on top of the dry ingredients and stir that in as well. As the dough gets too dry, add in the additional 1/8 cup water.  Continue stirring with the fork until all the liquid is completely integrated.  If the dough is too dry, add more water, one tablespoon at at time.  The dough should hold together without being overly wet and sticky.

Gather the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.  Set out on the counter for at least 30 minutes while you prepare your fillings.

Cover the potatoes with water and add a little salt.  Bring to a boil and cover.  Allow potatoes to cook until tender, about 20-25 minutes.  Drain the water and mash with a potato masher.  Add the cheese.  Stir well.  Season to taste.

After 30 minutes, prepare a clean counter or pastry mat by dusting with All Purpose Flour.  Divide the dough in half, turning one half of the dough onto the dusted surface and leaving one half of the dough wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.

Begin rolling the dough by rolling gently in one direction, then in the other, to form a 1/8 inch thick round of dough.

Using a 3-inch round cutter (or larger), cut out circles of dough until all the dough is used.  One half of the dough should yield about 18 3-inch rounds.

Scoop out a marble-size ball of your prepared filling and place it just off the center line of one pastry circle.  Press each ball into a longer shape, more like the last knuckle of your index finger, so that the filling will fill the cavity of the crescent formed by folding the dough over itself.

Dip your finger in water and lightly dab around the edge of each pastry circle to wet it, helping one side to adhere to the other when folded over the filling.

Fold one side of the pastry over the filling, forming a semi-circle.

Press gently, being sure to seal the edges, then press again lightly with the tines of a fork.  Set each formed pierogi aside and cover with a damp towel until ready to boil.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and gently submerge each pierogi in the boiling water.  Put only as many pierogies into the pot as can boil without crowding (I boiled 6 at a time). Stir once in awhile, if necessary to prevent them from sticking together.  Once they begin to float, boil another 5 minutes – total boil time should be approximately 6-7 minutes.

Remove with a skimmer or slotted spoon to rinse and drain.  Try not to let the pierogies touch while they are draining, so that they will not stick to one another.  Repeat until all pierogies are boiled.

Serve at this point, or pan fry in butter or non-dairy alternative until slightly crisp.

~*~*~

For my first attempt, these didn’t work out quite as planned.  But, they were still good.  They lacked some seasoning, but that was my own fault.  I ended up boiling them, then searing them off in a pan with some butter.  Very yummy.  Gave them a little crisp on the dough.

While these do require some work, some time, and yes…some patience…being able to eat perogies again made it all worth it.  And I, once again, have the marvelous Jules Gluten Free to thank for this recipe!