stuff I feed brian

Time Out

2012-05-06T15:52:00.000-07:00

If my life was an episode of Saved by the Bell (which I so wish it was), I would pull a Zack Morris and do a "Time Out" and everything would pause while I did everything I needed to do over the next month, and then I could just say "Time in" and everything would start back up again. Unfortunately, I feel a bit more like Jessie Spano singing "there's no time, there's never any time!". So to prevent a caffeine pill addiction from developing, I am going to just give ya'll a heads up that Stuff I Feed Brian will be on about a month hiatus while I pack and plan for and then go on my 3 weeks of consecutive trips. Hopefully someone else will be feeding Brian while I am gone, but he has gotten pretty good at feeding himself, so I may come home to a new blog called Stuff Brian Feeds Deanna Because She is a Slacker. Till then, happy gluten free eating :)

Homestead Magazine

2012-04-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

In lieu of a gluten free recipe (because grant proposal deadlines have prevented me from typing up some new recipes I have to share) I would like to share this great homesteading emag with you. I am really having fun with DIY projects around our communal mini-farm, but I wish I had more time to do them. I think that with practice and guidance from websites like Homestead and The Prairie Homestead, I will soon enough develop a speed and rhythm that will make these projects more practical and efficient.

This magazine covers many homesteading topics for everyone. I personally enjoyed it because it made me feel like I could be Laura Ingalls...a deeply rooted dream of mine ;)

Check out this FREE DOWNLOAD of the e-magazine to learn interesting tips on things I likely won't do for a while...like raising ducks and keeping bees :0) Click on the link below to view it in pdf format.

hcpemagspring2012read.pdf

For more information about the emag go to:http://www.homesteaddryingracks.com/emag.html

If you would like to join the celebration, HCP is having a HUGE give away. Go to: Homestead Drying Racks - Homestead Store - Blog

Roasted Sweet Potato Apple Casserole with Wild Rice Recipe - Gluten Free, Vegan

2012-03-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

rainy window

We've had such a wet year here in San Diego - rain almost every weekend, and now waking up to a wet misty fog. It is great for our little "OB Farm" which has been nonstop pumpin' out enough lettuce to feed the whole city. Our broccoli, kale, and brussel sprouts have also enjoyed the rain, but have been under siege by swarms of aphids. We've decided it's time to surrender to the aphids and give up on these winter crops to prepare the soil for spring and summer.

storms make great sunsets

the ladies

Luckily, in preparing for the arrival of our new roommates, 5 beautiful hens (whom Jen has given delightful Spanish names to, of which I cannot yet pronounce or spell), we discovered that our compost pile (which I thought was not even composting) actually has given birth to tons of beautiful rich soil. So, for the next few weeks, most of the back garden will be under reconstruction as we revive it with fresh compost (is that an oxymoron?), but the front should be providing the first round of spring treats soon enough (beets, chard, onions, carrots, kale, broccoli, turnips, and fava beans).

rainy backyard garden

In the mean time, our dinners will be courtesy of People's market and Trader Joe's, and less from the garden. Luckily our roommate Adam has been bringing us crates of the BIGGEST APPLES on the planet. It seriously took me 25 minutes to eat one the other day because it was so big. And while I love them as a snack, I thought I'd switch it up and roast them in dinner too. So without further ado, here comes a recipe for Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple with Wild Rice - Gluten Free and Vegan of course :)

Roasted Sweet Potato and Apples with Wild Rice

Roasted Sweet Potato 'n Apple Ingredients:
2 cups of sweet potato, peeled and cut in 1/2" cubes
2 cups of apple, cut in 1/2" cubes
1/3 cup of orange juice, fresh squeezed (luckily the orange tree is still flourishing)
1/4 cup raisins, rehydrated by soaking in boiled water
1 tsp honey
1 4" sprig of fresh rosemary
2 tbs olive oil
dash of cinnamon
Salt to taste
1/4 cup almonds, coarsely chopped

Wild Rice Ingredients:
3:1 water to rice ratio (1/4 cup of dry wild rice is a serving so I made 2 cups dry wild rice cooked in 6 cups water)
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp salt

Thoroughly wash the wild rice and place in a pot with a lid along with the water (I recommend going heavier than lighter on the water as you can drain it out later because wild rice is cooked, not steamed).
Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
Add the oil and salt, cover, and cook for about 45 minutes or until at least 90% of the grains are cracked.
Drain excess water and set aside with the lid on until ready to serve.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the roasted sweet potato and apple.
Preheat oven to 375.
Place a 13x9 casserole dish in the oven while it's preheating for a couple minutes and then remove.
Squeeze orange juice in a bowl and toss the apples in it.
Then add the oil, cinnamon, honey, and then diced sweet potatoes, (if your honey is thick, mix it in with the orange juice first), and dash of salt (just a dash and you can add more later to taste). Toss thoroughly.
Bake for 20 minutes, toss lightly, then return to the oven.
Meanwhile, re-hydrate your raisins and chop your almonds.
When the sweet potatoes are fork tender, mix in the raisins and top with the almonds and return to the oven until the almonds are lightly toasted (about 5-10 minutes depending on your oven).
Salt to taste and serve alongside or on top of the wild rice.

side dish of garlicky yellow wax beans

Adam helped out again on the side course, sharing some extra yellow wax beans. I just tossed these in olive oil and minced garlic and salt and baked them for about 15 minutes covered, then sprinkled with some bread crumbs from 1 slice of gluten free bread chopped up and baked uncovered for about another 10 minutes or until the bread is toasted.

dessert for my love - rice cake with homemade rasberry sorbet and cacao sauce

Oh and I suppose I should also introduce you to our new neighbors - two lovely goats Fauna and Flora (who was and ever shall be in my book named Madonna). Can't wait for goat's milk, yogurt, and cheese come summer!!!

Rachel, Andrew, Nick & Emily's goats

Have a great weekend! We're off to Arizona to celebrate Brian's dad's birthday :)

Udi-licious Power Bars - Naturally Sweetened, Dairy Free, Gluten Free

2012-03-26T22:02:00.002-07:00

I usually hate self promotion, but I would also love the chance to go to a Gluten Free Cooking Class at Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School. So please do me a favor and click on this link and vote for my entry for Udi-licious Gluten Free Granola & Cacao Power Bars. http://apps.facebook.com/udislookagaincontest/contests/195821/voteable_entries/47267379

Since feeling sick for two weeks now after a suspected gluten exposure at culinary school, I would really appreciate the opportunity to take a cooking class without the effects of flour being in the food, kitchen equipment, and air even. The contest is a challenge to come up with a recipe using one of Udi's gluten free products. Since I could only find Udi's sandwich bread or Udi's granola in the stores around here, I went with the granola because I thought it would be a bit different. It also went well with my goal of trying to come up with some on-the-go snack foods to bring to school and work with me, which will hopefully prevent me from buying boxes of Pamela's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I have to admit that when I sampled these right after I made them I thought, oh just another power bar. But when I got to school and busted one out for lunch the next day, I was in heaven! The flavors really came together to form a deliciously rich infusion of creamy, crunchy, sweet, and salty.

The link is for the recipe for the cacao and peanut butter bars (my favorite), which I will link to again so you remember to click on it and VOTE EVERY DAY if you can remember to :)
http://apps.facebook.com/udislookagaincontest/contests/195821/voteable_entries/47267379

I will also include the recipe below here along with the honey, coconut, raisin ones I made with Brian in mind, because he loves coconut and raisins.

CPBCPBs....code for Chocolate 'n Peanut Butter Chewy Power Bars - Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan, Cane Sugar Free

GF, Vegan Cacao Peanut Butter Power Bars

Ingredients
1/3 cup Natural Peanut Butter
4 TBS Honey
1/2 cup Cacao Nibs, coarsely ground
1 1/2 cups Udi’s Gluten Free Granola, Au Naturel
Pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt

Directions
1. Melt peanut butter and honey in a saucepan over low heat.
2. Mix in the cacao.
3. Incorporate 1 cup of the granola
4. Remove from heat and roll out the mixture into a long cylinder on top of the remaining dry granola, coating it well.
5. Wrap in plastic wrap and let set in the freezer for an hour or the fridge for a couple hours.
6. Slice the roll into rounds (or roll out the cool mixture about 1/2" high and cut in fun shapes with a cookie cutter)
7. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Honey Coconut Raisin Power Bars - Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan, Cane Sugar Free
1/2 cup coconut shredded, dried
1/2 cup raisins
3 TBS honey
4 TBS coconut oil
1 cup granola

Pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt

Directions
1. Melt coconut oil and honey in a saucepan over low heat.
2. Mix in the raisins and coconut.
3. Incorporate the granola
4. Remove from heat and roll out the mixture into a long cylinder.
5. Wrap in plastic wrap and let set in the freezer for an hour or the fridge for a couple hours.
6. Slice the roll into rounds (or roll out the cool mixture about 1/2" high and cut in fun shapes with a cookie cutter)
7. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I hope you find these treats to be helpful in your own busy life. Now please take that time this recipe will save you in trips to the store, drive-thru, and vending machine, and spend that time quickly voting for this recipe every day now through April 4th :) http://apps.facebook.com/udislookagaincontest/contests/195821/voteable_entries/47267379

Oil Free Cooking - Roasted Cauliflower and Steam Sauteed Cabbage

2012-03-13T16:01:00.002-07:00

fat free roasted romanesco and purple cabbage

In my recently attempted detox (which only lasted 4 days), I tried to eat only fruits and vegetables and nothing that was in any packaging. No grains, no nuts, no oils, no spices (except salt and pepper), and everything local and organic - quite the culinary challenge! I wanted to go 10 days, but my allergies were giving me such bad migraines that I wimped out and bought some packaged gluten free foods, because I couldn't manage standing up long enough to prep all my meals from scratch.

But, even though I failed to make it more than 4 days, I must share that Brian was AMAZINGLY supportive. By the second day, my head hurt so bad that I couldn't even sit up in bed without getting the spins. Brian rushed home from his run and offered to make me soup following the strict detox guidelines. With a little mumbled and likely discombobuled instructions from me, he prepared a delicious sweet potato soup that he delivered to my bedside. And even though I couldn't lift my head long enough to have more than three bites, it meant so much to me that he worked so hard to create a nourishing and healing meal in my time of need.

To say thank you, I made this detox dinner for us the following night, when I was actually able to stand. So, while I hoped to have many more detox recipes to share, this is the only one that I managed to take a photo of and make note of the process. This recipe would of course taste better if prepared with some flavorful olive oil, but if you are looking to cook without oil for any reason (even if you just ran out!), here is a simple, colorful recipe for you to try.

Oil Free Roasted Romanesco and Steam-Sauteed Purple Cabbage Recipe (Also Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Grain Free, Nut Free, Dairy Free, Vegan...basically the works)

oil-free recipe for roasted romanesco and purple cabbage

Roasted Romanesco (or Cauliflower) Ingredients
1 head of romanesco broccoli/cauliflower
3 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice
3-4 cloves of garlic, coarsely minced
salt and pepper to taste

Cabbage Ingredients
1/2 large red onion, sliced
1 head of purple cabbage, shredded
3 carrots, shredded
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 finger of garlic (2" piece), grated
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Wash and remove the large stem from the romanesco/cauliflower and cut into 3/4"-1" florets
Toss with garlic and lemon juice and sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper
Roast for about 30-40 minutes in a shallow preheated baking pan.
*Try to time it so you can serve the dry roasted cauliflower immediately as it cools quickly and won't taste nearly as delicious cold.

While the cauliflower is roasting, prepare the ingredients for your steam-sauteed cabbage.
In a bowl, tenderize the cabbage and carrots a bit to speed cooking time by sprinkling with a little salt and massaging it (squeeze and press with your hands).
Over medium heat, warm up an extra large pan on the stove, 1/4" deep with clean water.
Saute the onions in it until just translucent.
Add the garlic and ginger, and saute 1-2 more minutes.
Add the shredded cabbage and carrots and half the parsley to the pan.
Salt and pepper to taste, continue to saute until flavors are infused and the cabbage and carrots are both tender.
Once the cauliflower is ready, make a ring on plates or bowls with the Romanseco and top with the cabbage and remaining parsley.

Now put on those lime green tights and that off-the-shoulder, oversized purple sweatshirt you wore in the early 90's and enjoy your colorful fat free meal.

And here are some colorful scenery pictures to match :)

rooftop ocean beach sunset

funky fungus?

sunset at sunset cliffs

the trail is thataway

colorful hummingbird model shot

fleeing the scene

Belated 1 year anniversary of Stuff I Feed Brian

2012-03-05T23:12:00.001-08:00

1 year of feeding brian (well 5 years really, but 1 on the record)

I was about to share a new recipe (which I promise I will share soon), when I realized it's been a year since I started Stuff I Feed Brian. I am a very neglectful blog mamma because Stuff I Feed Brian's 1st birthday was actually February 9th. I have been so busy and off-kilter lately that I just haven't set time aside to share any new experiments. I promise I will try to be a better blog mamma soon, or at least by the time I finish this culinary program.

Realizing it's been a whole year since starting this project made me reflect on why I started it in the first place. Looking back at the first post, I recalled that this adventure started out because for years I would email or call my mom to share with someone the good, the bad, and the ugly of my kitchen experiments. When we moved to Boulder last winter, I felt further away from home than ever. I was not only away from my family in Virginia, but I was away from the family of friends I had gained in San Diego. Sharing recipes, stories, and photos on this blog was like having a dinner party with my family and friends from all ends of the country.

Our backyard farmers market

Now that we are back in San Diego I have less time on my hands to spend preparing healthy meals and snacks, let alone posting them. In addition to during the day, Brian also works Monday and Wednesday nights and I take classes Tuesday and Thursday nights, leaving us just Friday-Sunday nights for me to feed him a real meal. This gets tricky with our dietary restrictions and standards -- me having celiac disease and being vegetarian, Brian eating vegan and refined sugar free, and us both choosing to eat organic, soy-free, no heavily processed or canned foods, and local as much as possible (a ballpark guess would be 30% as local as our back yard, 25% within Southern California, 25% within California/Mexico, and 20% non-local impulse buys and convenience items mostly consisting of my personal chocolate addiction).

the journey continues

Sticking to this lifestyle is time consuming and exhausting at times, but I know it will get easier and easier as we stick with it. But, I gotta tell you, there are some hard days. Like today, when I just had a case of the Mondays and escorted Brian to eat at People's Market on his way to tutoring and I came home and ate Mary's Gone Crackers, carrots, and backyard lettuce dipped in a ghetto-rigged yogurt dip made with front yard herbs and plain yogurt, which I followed with Pamela's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies and a couple spoons of peanut butter. Probably the epitome of lazy, unhealthy, non-gourmet. However, getting back on this blog reminds me that it's all a journey, with ups and downs. Knowing that I have people like you that enjoy some of these crazy ideas motivates me to get back in the kitchen and try again...just after one more cookie ;)

So in honor of our 1 year and 1 month anniversary, here are 13 of my favorite things I have had the privilege to feed Brian.

1. Vegetarian Sushi Rolls

Vegetarian Sushi Rolls

2. Pesto Zucchini Pasta

Pesto Zucchini Pasta

3. Vegan 7-layer dip tacos

Vegan 7-layer dip tacos

4. Banana "Key Lime Pie"

Banana "Key Lime Pie"

5. Raw Squash Hummus

Raw Squash Hummus

6. Almond Butter Teff Brownies

Almond Butter Teff Brownies

7. Spaghetti Squash and No-Meat Sauce

Spaghetti Squash and No-Meat Sauce

8. Manan's World Famous Kadhi Recipe

Manan's World Famous Kadhi Recipe

9. Brian's Infamous Cashew Apricot Chili

Brian's Infamous Cashew Apricot Chili

10. Chocolate Avocado Parfaits

Chocolate Avocado Parfaits

11. Sunflower Seed Pate

Sunflower Seed Pate

12. Apple Walnut Salad Stuffed Endive

Apple Walnut Salad Stuffed Endive

13. Sweet Potato Tacos + Karaoke ;)

Sweet Potato Tacos

Gluten Free, Vegan Pumpkin Curry with Rice

2012-02-13T22:44:00.000-08:00

Goodness gracious, I have such a backlog of recipes to share. Things have been really busy over here, and I have not had a spare moment to post in a while. I went all out with the whole "new year, new you" theme and started a whole new life in 2012. While I am still doing grant writing for CCC part time, I also just started a full time Culinary Arts Certificate Program with the San Diego Community College district, began teaching kids dance classes twice a week, and am taking modern dance and ballet twice a week through the community college as well.

Unfortunately, my evening classes alternate perfectly with Brian's evening tutoring schedule. Which means, I haven't been feeding Brian exceptionally well lately. Let's just say that the endless supply of lettuce in our front and back yards has been going to good use. I have, however, made it into the kitchen here and there, and have quite a few kitchen experiments (like roasted winter veggies, gluten free/vegan eggplant lasagna, and a million ways to serve lettuce, ha) that I would love to share as soon as I have some time to type.

Till then, here is a recipe I had jotted down a couple weeks ago and just now am getting around to sharing. It is perfect for the dwindling variety of vegetables that this point in the winter results in, and is a great comfort food recipe for a stormy night like tonight.

Pumpkin Curry with Rice - Gluten Free, Vegan Recipe
Ingredients
1/2 onion, diced coarsely
3-4 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbs minced ginger
1 small hot pepper minced (cayenne, jalepeno, habenero, etc)
1 medium sized pie pumpkin or orangey squash of your choice (red kuri, kabocha, butternut, acorn, etc)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp each of cumin, tumeric, salt, and pepper or 1 tsp curry powder or more to taste

Steam saute the onions, garlic, ginger, and hot pepper in a large pan with 1/4" deep water.
Peel and cube the pumpkin or squash (peeling a pumpkin is kinda annoying, right?)
Add the pumpkin to the sauteed spices and sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin, and tumeric
Saute for a minute and then just cover with liquid (water or vegetable broth) and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered until reduced by about 1/2 and the pumpkin is tender.
Pour 3/4 of the veggies and liquid in a blender and puree (you can puree all of it if you want it all smooth but leave some chunks if you like a few bites of pumpkin like I do).
Pour back into the pan, stir and simmer about 1 minute more.
Serve over steamed brown rice or quinoa.

This comes out surprisingly smooth even without the addition of cream or coconut milk like you might usually do. Also, to add some fat to this meal, you can saute the spices in the beginning in 1-2 tbs of coconut oil or olive oil, or drizzle some on top when you serve it. You could also just drizzle oil on the rice before topping with the pumpkin mix. I'm always looking for ways to replenish the Brian's calories after his runs without sending myself up a pant size, and adding the oil to his serving is usually my go-to technique.

Hope this recipe finds you nice and cozy on such a winter's day.

Shared on The Gluten Free Homemaker's Gluten Free Wednesdays

Sunflower Seed Pate - Gluten Free, Vegan Recipe

2012-01-29T22:28:00.000-08:00

Sunflower Seed Pate

With a front and back yard full of lettuce (thanks to Rachel's seeds from the previous year!), we have been eating A LOT of salads. I mean at least twice a day, every day for the past couple months. So, to make these salads a filling meal, I have been experimenting with nut and seed pates. This is a great way to make a bowl full of lettuce actually a fulling meal.

Sunflower seeds have been my go-to because they are so nutritious. Sunflower seeds are packed with health benefits, serving as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cholesterol lowering, detoxifying, anti-anxiety, mood enhancing magical friend. It makes sense that something that comes from such a cheery flower would be beneficial to our health and mood. I just stock up on these lil buddies regularly so they are always on hand for a quick snack or recipes like this one.

Rachel's happiness producing sunflowers from last summer

There is really not much of a recipe involved as you can make a seed pate almost anyway you want. The base recipe is:

Sunflower Seed Pate - Dairy free, Gluten Free, Vegan Recipe

Sunflower seed pate with a garden salad

Ingredients:
1 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds*
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp salt
water

Basically, you just want to blend sunflower seeds with enough liquid so that your blender won't hate you (not as much of an issue for you lucky vita-mix owners). Your ratio of lemon juice to water can be adjusted according to your love of lemons, but you just want enough liquid that it covers at least 1/2 to 3/4 of the sunflower seeds. If you like your pate thicker and have a sturdy blender, then you can use less liquid. Or if you want more of a dressing, then use more liquid. Olive oil could be used as well, but I don't see any need to add more fat since the seeds have plenty of good fat.

*It's best if you soak the sunflower seeds for about 4-6 hours in water, then rinse and try to remove as much of the outer grey peels that come off as you can.

Now, plain old blended salty sunflower seeds would be uber boring. So flavor this pate up however you like. Here are some ideas that you can mix or match in the recipe and just blend up with the base:

Sunflower seed pate mixed in as a satisfy salad dressing

jalapeno or other spicy pepper
garlic
ginger
honey
cilantro
parsley
green onion
mustard
avocado (adds a velvety touch)
horseradish
dulce flakes
whatever you want!

Lately, my favorite has been the base recipe with about 1/4 cup of cilantro, 1-2 green onions, 1-2 cloves garlic, and a spicy pepper. This one goes great with a mixed garden salad with carrots, tomatoes, celery, and radishes. It has a bit of a fresh Mexican flair, which, as you know, I love.

the nightly hunt for salad supplies

the resulting garden bounty ready to be buddied with a seed pate

We've mostly been eating the pates mixed in our salads, which adds a great texture and satisfying value to the salads. You can also use them as a veggie dip or spread on a wrap or sandwich. Do you have any fun ingredients to mix in?

Orange Cinnamon Apple Chips - A Grain/Gluten Free, Nutritious, Fat Free Snack

2012-01-19T23:59:00.000-08:00

The birthday man taking in the desert morning

To celebrate Brian's 30th birthday this past weekend we went backpacking in the Anza Borrego Desert. Backpacking always poses a challenge to eating - you need to balance weight, nutrients, increased appetite, limited cooking utensils and access, and food spoilage. This is especially challenging for 3+ day hikes in which you have to carry all of your food, supplies, and sometimes all your water if there is not a guaranteed spring or river water source where you can camp.

it's hard to fit 3 days of feeding brian and myself in this bag along with my supplies

Many people just opt for lots of power bars, granola, trail mix, and dehydrated meals like Mountain House. However, if you want to eat gluten free (me not brian), organic, vegan, and sugar free (obviously this is in reference to Brian and not my weak, chocolate-addicted self), you are left with very limited options. Plus, I dislike most power bars and find them completely unsatisfying - especially after lugging a 30 lb pack through the mountains all day. To ensure I don't become super cranky, and to fit inline with Brian's zest for ultra lightweight backpacking, I have started dehydrating my own backpacking meals at home.

Nesco American Harvest Dehydrator

So far I have only gone as far as dehydrating black beans and lentils for dinners, but in the world of snacks I have been much more courageous. Apple chips might be one of, if not my favorite so far. A lot of dried fruit comes out chewy, tough, and sticky. But these apple chips came out light, crisp, and just sweet enough without tasting too sugary. They were also super simple and provided us with an absurdly lightweight source of fiber and vitamins (dehydrating retains much more nutrients than baking or cooking). Bonus: these chips are fat free, naturally sweet/refined sugar free, gluten free, grain free, fiberful, and vegan.

Here's how you can make tasty travel snacks that last for months if sealed in an airtight container (I used a Food Saver vacuum sealer to stock up for our next trip). Note: this is a food dehydrator recipe, and I have not tried an oven substitute - if you don't have a food dehydrator, get one - they are awesome!

Orange Cinnamon Apple Chips Recipe - Gluten Free, Vegan, Dairy Free, Fat Free, Cane Sugar Free

Healthy Apple Chips - Perfect Backpacking recipe!

Ingredients:
4 oranges (can be substituted with lemon)
1 1/2 - 2 cups of water
organic ground cinnamon
6 medium sized organic apples (cored and peeled if they have a wax layer, otherwise the peeling is optional)

Juice the oranges into a large mixing bowl (or you could try substituting with about 1 1/2 cups of orange juice). You don't need a juicer for this - just use a lemon/citrus hand juicer.
Slice the cored apples (if peeling them, peel each one just before slicing to prevent browning) into 1/4 inch or thinner slices. I used a handheld mandolin slicer for this because you want the size of the slices to be as consistent as possible for even drying (kitchen tip: ALWAYS USE THE HAND GUARD, trust me...).

Put the slices in the bowl of orange juice as you slice each apple, and add water as needed to keep all the slices completely covered - swirl around to ensure they are all mixed in and soaking well.
Let the apple slices soak in the citrus water for about 10 minutes. This is very important to prevent the apple slices from browning during the slow dehydration process.
Then lay the slices out on the dehydrator trays, making sure not to overload the trays, as ventilation is very important for proper drying.
Sprinkle the slices with cinnamon and dry at 135 degrees for about 6-10 hours or until completely dry (to test, snap one in half and squeeze the center to see if any moisture comes out). Depending on your dehydrator, you might want to rotate the trays halfway through, and/or flip the apple slices.
Once dry, let cool for about 10 minutes, and then seal in an airtight container.

Walnut Raisin Gluten Free Granola

Try other fruits using the same method, like strawberries, mango, or pears. I also dried some banana slices but they came out pretty chewy. They were ok to snack on (minus getting stuck in your teeth a bit), but they were even better cooked with our oatmeal in the mornings - yum! We also enjoyed some yummy walnut raisin gluten free homemade granola that we munched on at breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner/dessert.

Next I am looking forward to making some veggie chips. I'll let you know if I discover any good ones. Do you have any dehydrating recipes or recommendations? I would love advice on some good backpacking meals to dehydrate at home.

Here are a few other pics from the trip. We hiked Sheep Canyon to Cougar Falls in Anza Borrego State Park.

a wild wild life in the wild wild west

pretty cacti

we're being invaded by green headed prickly aliens!

crazy creature or burnt cactus?

heart of mud

at a cross roads

stuck in a cave!

water filter break

a resilient flower growing out of a rock

cougar falls

I always thought the palm tree oasis thing was just in cartoons

nap time

1960's psychedelic rock art

brian found a new home

ok goodnight!

Gluten Free Spaghetti Squash with Vegan Sundried Tomato Mushroom Sauce - Birthday Dinner for Brian

2012-01-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

look at that handsome 30 year old!

Brian turns 30 today! Yay! Of course, for his birthday he wants to go backpacking. So, to celebrate his big 3-0 we are taking a 3-day trip to Coyote Canyon in Anza Borrego. We did this trip three years ago (time flies!) to check out the wildflower bloom, and after we got back we read that if we had kept climbing up one of the waterfall oases we would have hit some cool 60's hippy art. So we're going to check it out again, especially since the dessert is a good spot for the winter time as it's a bit too cold to go up to the big mountains.

Brian rockin' a snazzy hat at the oasis in 2009

I wonder if there will be any water at the falls this time of year

We did a little pre-birthday celebration dinner last night because I have class till late tonight and Brian has work tomorrow night. Brian was supposed to work last night too, but when he called to say it got cancelled, I threw this last minute celebration together in two hours (including a run to the store). Since Brian's latest interest is mushrooms (thanks Omnivore's Dilemma), I tried to do something that incorporated fungi for a fun guy's birthday. What resulted was:

Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Sundried Tomato 'n Mushroom Sauce (Gluten free, dairy free, vegan)

Ingredients:
1 medium-large spaghetti squash
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 onion roughly chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic minced
1 spicy pepper or 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes or about 6-7 slices
2 cups of mushrooms sliced
1 1/2 cups rice milk (or other non-flavored milk or milk substitute)
1/4 tsp salt, pepper to flavor
chopped parsley to garnish

Preheat oven to 375

Brian with his bday dinner and organic beer

Slice spaghetti squash lengthwise and scoop out the stringy pulp and seeds (reserve seeds for roasting)
Fill a large rectangular casserole dish 1/2" deep with water and place the spaghetti squash flesh down inside
Bake the spaghetti squash for about 40-45 minutes, until you can easily poke the flesh with a fork and it separates into spaghetti strings (roasting time will vary with the size of your spaghetti squash)
Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in in a deep frying pan over medium-low heat.
Saute the onions, garlic, and pepper until soft
Add in the sundried tomatoes and let simmer a few minutes, then add in the mushroom slices for a few minutes
Add in the rice milk and salt and bring just to a rolling simmer and then reduce to low/medium-low, stirring on occasion.
When the spaghetti squash is ready, remove from the oven and let sit for about 5 minutes until it is cool enough to handle.
Then scoop out the spaghetti strings with a fork. You can just loosen the strings and keep the skin as a pretty bowl, or you can transfer it to a bowl if you prefer. Then top with the sauce.
Garnish with fresh ground pepper and fresh parsley.

Mrs. Panda Terrarium joined in the party

We had this with a garden fresh salad, which is what we've had for lunch and dinner the past week because nearly every inch of our front and back yard is populated with lettuce - it's even showing up on the grass strip across the sidewalk in the front!

garden bounty!

blowing out the "birthday candle" with his vegan, sugar free cake

Since I was caught off guard with our impromptu birthday celebration, I didn't have the ingredients needed to make Brian a vegan, sugar free birthday cake. So I ran out to People's Co-op to get him the bakery item of the day (organic, cane sugar free chocolate cake with vegan mocha cream) and had him blow out a pretty scented candle. Not the most exciting 30th birthday, but backpacking is what he loves so that is what we will do to celebrate.

Shared on The Gluten Free Homemaker's Gluten Free Wednesdays

Post-Holiday Debrief

2012-01-03T15:20:00.000-08:00

It is now officially 2012 and the holiday season is complete. In just over two jam-packed months we have cooked, baked, cleaned, shopped, costumed, decorated, and crafted through four major holidays and whatever birthdays your family and friends had in the midst of it all. Our fear of getting everything done crept up at Halloween, we thanked God for our fall harvest, friends, and family at Thanksgiving, we were filled with awe, appreciation, and a giving spirit through Christmas, and let loose at the culmination of the year on New Years Eve.

Now that the new year is upon us and all of the joyous, yet at sometimes stressful, holiday events are behind us, I think it is a good time to take a breather and regroup. Just as you hold a debriefing after a traumatic or critical incident, I think we all could use a healthy debrief of our holiday experience. Because, as they say, even though it may be a positive incident, good stress and bad stress both produce the same stress on our bodies. As you can tell, I was occupied with lots of good stress these past couple months and failed to share many of the fun gluten free and vegan creations I made recently.

So let's have a post-holiday debrief. Following is my story, but I would prefer to hear about yours, so please leave comments below about your holiday highlights (or lowlights if you are like me and had some holiday goof ups).

Halloween kicked off the season with a frightening attempt at creating decorative party foods to cater to an absurd variety of dietary requirements. Some of my attempts at gluten free, dairy free, vegan/vegetarian, nut free, paleo, refined sugar free, organic, whole food, made-from-scratch appetizers and desserts coincidentally turned out quite creepy, while others I look forward to repeating.

Vegetarian thanksgiving turkey/hokie

Thanksgiving was spent backpacking in the Sespe Wilderness eating dried fruits, nuts, beans and lentils, and quinoa and millet. However, we hosted a pre-wilderness Thanksgiving meal before our trip to gather our friends together and celebrate all we are thankful for. I had a lot of fun making all those fall comfort foods, without the stress of messing up on a turkey since we did a vegetarian, gluten free, refined sugar free, and mostly vegan/dairy free meal.

Since the Christmas season started right after Thanksgiving, December was a gluten free cookie making and craft creating blur. We made dozens and dozens of gluten free, refined sugar free, vegan Christmas cookies - some of which were super delicious, many of which were confusing, and a couple that tasted like they were reindeer food. But, it was fun experimenting with friends in trying to fit dietary restrictions and adaptations to traditional holiday expectations.

goji berries and mint make these reindeer food cookies look better than they tasted

decorating with cashew and date cream icing

Gingerbread men were my favorite, but we also made cranberry coconut thumbprint cookies, carob coconut cookies, peanut butter molasses balls, almond shortbread cookies, and then when I was visiting in Virginia I caved and made some gluten free chocolate chip cookies made from a mix that was of course loaded with cane sugar. I also made my recent holiday tradition of avocado chocolate truffles - which are just pureed avocado, cocoa powder, and agave syrup rolled into balls. I roll some in crushed walnuts or peanuts, some in more cocoa powder, some in coconut, and then freeze them. So simple and guilt free but super decadent.

I had a lot of fun this year making Christmas crafts, decorations, and gifts. I experimented with making wreathes from rosemary branches and grape vines as well as with Christmas tree branch clippings. Who knew wreaths were so easy to make? Another fun gift making project was mini terrariums made with local San Diego beach sand and succulent clippings smuggled from around the neighborhood...shhhh ;)

succulent terrariums

My favorite gift making project was little custom hand-blended tea bags with tags on which I put Bible verses and quotes that were special to me. I put a lot of thought into the different types of tea someone might want to drink (energizing, calming, detoxifying, healing) and what verses might relate to those situations. It was really nice to put so much thought and effort into a gift - it just made them more special to give to each person.

National Symphony Orchestra performing Handel's Messiah

Once I got to Virginia to visit my family, the holidays really picked up speed. I started out the trip with surprising my mom with tickets to see Handel's Messiah performed by the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. It was so special to spend the day with my mom seeing her favorite piece of music. And then came visits with the grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. This Christmas I really enjoyed spending a lot of time with my sister and brothers and the most spectacular nephew in the world. Although I am completely shopped and monopolied out, we had a really great time together.

Mommy n me at the Kennedy Center

the lovely grandparents

My brother the musician passing on his guitar skills

best present ever

gluten free lasagna

Christmas Eve and Christmas Dinner were both a real treat. My brother, sister-in-law, and I made vegetarian gluten free lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner, and they spoiled me with gluten free breadsticks, crackers, and gluten free macaroons - yum! My mom and I made Christmas dinner together, which was special. She made an amazing smelling and looking honey baked ham and a mouth watering spinach and artichoke casserole. I made the veggie sides including roasted rosemary red-skinned potatoes, maple roasted carrots, and massaged kale salad with cranberries, candied pecans, and a citrus honey dressing. It was a surprisingly healthy holiday dinner that I everyone said they enjoyed.

The return home was a major bummer as I got stuck in the San Francisco airport for 12 hours due to fog in San Diego. Who would've ever guessed that of all places for weather to interfere with travel plans in December, San Diego had the problem. So despite countless hours battling United Airlines and being awake for nearly 48 hours straight, we celebrated New Years Eve at our friend Sean's house. It was a blast ringing in the new year with all of my wonderful friends that make up my San Diego family. Although I didn't make any New Year's resolutions, I am super excited for all that 2012 will bring, and I am quite relieved to have a break from the jam-packed schedule of the holidays. I look forward detoxing from the sugar-filled, cookie mania past few weeks, with some delicious treats I came home to in our garden. Oh and I can't wait to finally share pictures on this blog that really show what the meals look like as my parents gave me a real nice DSLR camera for Christmas! Prepare for some mouthwatering pics...that is, as soon as I learn to work it :)

winter garden bounty with the new camera!

How was your holiday season? What are you looking forward to in 2012?

Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies for a Vegan, Sugar Free Ginger Man

2011-12-07T21:56:00.001-08:00

I am still on the hunt for a good, moderately guiltless recipe for holiday cookies that are gluten free, vegan, refined-sugar free and not a million ingredients. I haven't had any luck so far finding any of which I approve of all the ingredients. So, in the meantime I made up this recipe for Gingerbread Men Cookies, which courtesy of the "dollar spot" at Target, I made in the shape of a star, candy cane, stocking, and snowman in addition to the traditional gingerbread man.

Gingerbread Cookies Recipe - Gluten Free, Vegan/Dairy Free, Refined Sugar Free

Dry Ingredients
3/4 c teff flour
1/2 c sorghum flour
1/2 c brown rice flour
1/2 c carob
2 tbs psyllium husk
1/2 tsp xantham gum
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs ginger
Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 c brown rice syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp flax, 1 tsp chia seeds, 4 tsp water (egg sustitute - i usually just do flax or chia but after i did the flax I decided I wanted to add some chia too)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

All set for Christmas

Mix all of the wet ingredients together with an electric mixer, or if you are cheap like me and don't have a mixer, use a food processor instead.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.
Lightly dust a flat surface with gluten free flour or use wax paper.
Scoop the batter in a big ball onto the prepared surface, cover with another sheet of paper, and roll out with a rolling pin unil about 1/3" thick.
Use your super awesome holiday cookie cutters to make shapes, then use a spatula to transfer the shapes to large baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until formed. Let cool and hide from Brian if you want them to last.

Banjo playing Pumpkin Santa

Anyone have a good recipe for vegan, gluten free icing or frosting? I just mixed some walnuts, a lil water, honey, and a tbs of banana together in a magic bullet to spread on top but I would love to find a real icing ro frosting recipe that is healthy.

Rosemary Wreath on Grapevine Base

We're all decorated for Christmas. We've been making ornaments, cookies, wreaths, and Christmas cards all week. My favorite was making a delicious smelling wreath from the grapevine and rosemary bush in our yard. I wove a base wreath out of some sturdy branches from the grapevine that has claimed the back fence. Then I stuck rosemary branches in the cracks, pine cones from a tree out front, some cranberries leftover from the kale and cranberry saute I made last week, and wrapped it all up in a gold ribbon. Then a few days ago I made another one from the tree branches we trimmed off the bottom of the Christmas tree. I didn't even use a base for that one - just wound the clippings in a garland with ribbon and then formed it into a circle. Do you have any cool Christmas craft ideas to share?

Tree trimming wreath

Featured on Melt in Your Mouth Monday and the Healthy Home Economist Monday Mania and Sweet and Savory's Meatless Mondays

Recap of Thanksgiving Adventures and Gluten Free, Vegan Backpacking Recipes

2011-11-30T21:15:00.000-08:00

The motel tent

Brian and I have gone camping every year for the long Thanksgiving holiday since we've been b&d. Since I always go home for Christmas, Thanksgiving is our only real extended vacation time that we can spend together, so we feel we have to take advantage of the time and enjoy the beauty of nature and each other's stinky company for a few days - totally away from it all.
Our first trip was an 11-day adventure up the coast of California - all the way up to Humboldt. That was our first real camping trip just the two of us, and at the time I had no faith in Brian's yet-to-be developed outdoor skills. Our giant tent collapsed on us, we could barely start a fire, and I am pretty sure a psycho killer stalked us on our 14-mile hike through the creepy, car-sized redwoods of Humboldt. Needless to say, we were hooked!

oops! drove through a tree in Humboldt

lost IN a redwood tree

stocked with camping games

ran into jellyfish everywhere in morro bay

tree love in Big Sur

The next year we drove 8 hours to Zion National Park, where we spent 36 hours in pouring rain, hiking in our $2 rain ponchos and drinking boxed wine in our soggy tent before calling it quits and heading for the Grand Canyon on our way to the Petersons' warm home in Phoenix for the rest of the weekend. Somehow, however, we missed the Grand Canyon - you know, that massive giant hole in the ground that is likely our nation's most famous natural tourist attraction in the middle of nowhere...

Wild turkey stopped by our camp on Thanksgiving- go hokies!

cold, wet Zion National Park

Some fall foliage

can't you tell how much I love rain

Well they say the third time is the charm right? We kept it simple in 2009 and went back up the coast, but stopped at Big Sur since we didn't have as much time. On that trip we managed to once again hit a crazy thunderstorm and have our tent impaled by a massive redwood tree branch, but other than that it was smooth sailing.

Bike ride to waterfalls in Solvang

drove all the way to Holland! I mean Solvang.

got lost in a tree again!

Instead of turkey we had to eat wild mushrooms

rain leads to rainbows

back to hugging trees in Big Sur

Go Chargers!

beautiful big sur

Last year we didn't technically camp. We stayed in a "cabin" that was actually a gorgeous large house in the High Sierras with the Petersons again. There we got snowed in, our car stuck, and froze our booties off hiking in the 4 or so feet of snow.

Brian's about to feed someone a mouthful of snow

winter wonderland

boy scout bridge of values

i also identified with the value "thrifty"

the SoCal Peterson family lovin the snow

thanksgiving snowhokie bird

got lost in snow this time

making our only traditional Thanksgiving meal in the past 5 years

The Sespe Wilderness

So what was this year's Thanksgiving adventure? A 4-day backpacking trip to the Sespe Hot Springs in Ventura County. We ended our curse of rain/snow this year and enjoyed 4 gorgeous days in the sun, following a fall foliage-lined river to the hottest, most secluded natural hot springs you could imagine to find in Southern California. It was unbelievably relaxing and rejuvenating.

Dehydrated Apple Rings make great back country jewelry

I have found it really hard to find backpacking foods that are not all over-processed and preservative packed, and even harder to find any that are gluten free, vegetarian, and dairy free. So I spent the previous week dehydrating up a storm so that we could enjoy organic, gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian backpacking meals that didn't break our back (and that could fit in the bear canister since we were definitely in bear country). Here's what we ended up with and plan to replicate for the most part on our next trip:

Breakfast:

Snacks on the Sespe River

Gluten free oatmeal, using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats which I pulsed a few times in the food processor to turn into quicker cooking oats. I also packed in a mini shaker of cinnamon mixed with coconut sugar. Since oatmeal is Brian's specialty, he treated me each morning to a warm almond and raisin oatmeal.
Snacks:
A big batch of homemade gluten free granola.
Dried apple slices (apples cored and sliced in 1/4" rounds, dehydrated at 135 degrees for about 5 hours or till dry but pliable)
Organic brown rice cakes
Almonds and cashews
Trader Joe's Organic Olive Oil Popcorn
Baby Carrots
Lunches:
Brown Rice wraps rolled with peanut butter, banana slices, raisins, and honey

Brian liked the lentils and amaranth cause they were "cheesy-like"

Dinners:
Dehydrated Black Beans with Quinoa and Avocado
Dehydrated Lentils with Amaranth
Dehydrated Lentils with Quinoa and brown rice wrap wedges with smashed avocado

Simple warming meals from simple kitchen supplies

To prepare these backpacking dinners for the trip I cooked the black beans and lentils as you would normally and then dehydrated them at 135 degrees for about 6 to 8 hours. To rehydrate at camp I just brought water to boil at about a 1 to 1 1/2 food to water ratio, added the beans/lentils/quinoa (separately) then let warm for about 20 minutes covered on hot embers at the edge of the fire (because luckily we could have fires every night!). However, if you can't have a fire, which is usually the case with SoCal backpacking, I think simmering them on low would work well too. Then I just combined them and sprinkled on a seasoning blend I had mixed up at the house (salt, cayenne, and Bragg's Organic Seasoning Blend).

Here are some pics from the trip:

One of the many natural hot spring pools

Hiked in my VTshirt to show moral support during the rivals game with UVA, Brian hiked in a Mexico jersey...bc he's from LA?

apparently someone else is as excited for Christmas as me

Steaming hot springs!

Didn't plan that ray of light on the random stone labyrinth

Bighorn Sheep!!!

This spring was seriously HOT

I got a "tan line" just from putting my legs in

I love fall!! Hiking in my favorite fall colors on fallen leaves

And in once again....lost in a tree...

no clue why one of us ends up in a tree every thanksgiving!

I can honestly say that this Thanksgiving holiday gave me plenty of reminders of all the things I am so thankful to be blessed with! I wonder what next year's adventure will hold...

Maple Roasted Carrots Recipe, Dairy Free

2011-11-21T22:51:00.001-08:00

I love carrots - especially when roasted to bring out their sweet, warming flavor.

Maple Roasted Carrots Recipe - Dairy Free, Gluten Free Version
Ingredients
16 or so whole carrots, peeled and cut in diagonal cup strips
2 tbs coconut oil
4 tbs maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375
Toss the carrots in the other ingredients and lay in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake covered for about 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for about 15 minutes or until tender.

Sweet Potato Casserole

2011-11-21T22:43:00.001-08:00

Brian loves his sweet potatoes, and he definitely loved this sweet version of them.

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes peeled and sliced in 1/4" thin
2 tbs coconut oil
2 tbs maple syrup
Juice of 1 hand squeezed orange
1 tsp cinnamon
Topping
3/4 cup of pecans
1/4 cup brown rice flour
3 tbs coconut sugar
1 tbs coconut oil

Preheat oven to 375
Place 2 tbs coconut oil in an 8" round glass casserole dish and place in the warm oven for a minute or so to melt the oil.
Toss the sweet potato slices in the oil along with the syrup, orange juice, and cinnamon.
Bake covered for about 40 or so minutes, stirring once or twice half way through.
In food processor, mix the topping ingredients.
Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven, mash well, then cover with the topping and bake another 10-15 minutes until the topping is set and the pecans are lightly toasted.

This is a great healthy, yet still sweet and tasty version of that old marshmallow sweet potato casserole recipe. For a nut free version, try without the pecans.

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe

2011-11-21T22:29:00.001-08:00

I'm pretty sure that this was my first attempt at making a gluten free, dairy free pumpkin pie from scratch. I was pretty nervous, but it turned out to be surprisingly simple and tasty! I used eggs because I was nervous that I couldn't do it without using fake egg replacer, but I heard from a friend that it can be done, so I'll try this again, full vegan sometime soon and update you.

Pumpkin Pie Recipe - Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free

Ingredients
Gluten Free Pie Crust:
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/2 tsp xantham gum (optional)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup cold water, adding a tablespoon more at a time if needed

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Filling
1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup coconut or date sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
1/4 tsp xantham gum

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Blend crust in food processor, roll into a ball and press into a lightly greased pie pan. (it's probably much prettier if you roll the dough into a circle and then place in the pan but I was lazy and just spread it out with my (clean) hands.
Blend the filling ingredients in the food processor and pour into pie crust.
Cover just the exposed crust with tin foil so that it won't burn as the filling takes longer to bake.
Bake for about 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 20-30 minutes until the filling is set and has just a little give when you press your finger lightly in the center.
Top with some yogurt and a sprinkle of cinnamon or crushed pecans.

Pumpkin Soup Recipe- Gluten Free Dairy Free

2011-11-21T22:21:00.001-08:00

This is more of an eyeball it type of recipe that can change each time you make it and can be flavored to match the rest of your meal of your craving.

Pumpkin Soup - Gluten Free, Vegan Recipe

Velvety vegan and gluten free pumpkin soup

Ingredients:
About 10 cups of pumpkin puree
1 can of coconut milk
3 cups of vegetable broth (or water if you need to)
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup of finely diced onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 spicy pepper of your choice (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the onion, garlic, and pepper (optional) in the olive oil until soft.
Add in the pumpkin puree, coconut milk, vegetable broth. Season to taste.
Bring to a near boil, then simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.
Top with fresh ground pepper and/or a dollop of yogurt.

This versatile meal can also be used as a topper for rice, quinoa, or whatever you'd like, really :)

Pumpkin Puree Recipe

Slice pumpkin in half

the bigger the pumpkin, the more soup!

Scoop out the seeds and stringly flesh

Roast at 375 for about 30-45 minutes (depends on size of pumpkin)

Scoop out and blend in food processor or blender

Then feed to Brian

Oh and don't forget to reserve the seeds for roasting!

Shared on the Gluten Free Homemaker's Gluten Free Wednesdays

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

2011-11-21T22:12:00.001-08:00

Ok, so this is the one thing I couldn't feed Brian at our Thanksgiving dinner, but I saw them selling this at Trader Joe's and just had to make a version of my own with my never ending supply of pumpkin puree from the world's largest pumpkin. This is the simplest thing ever but makes for a unique and tasty fall appetizer.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

Ingredients
1 container of cream cheese
about 3/4 cup of pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp or so of cinnamon to taste

Blend ingredients in the food processor and sprinkle some extra cinnamon on top for garnish. It's really that simple. I served this with gluten free crackers but I would bet that apple slices would be a delicious dipper too!
Need a vegan/dairy free version? Try mixing pumpkin with cashew cream instead of cream cheese.

Gluten Free Stuffing Recipe, Traditional style, Vegan Ingredients

2011-11-21T18:11:00.001-08:00

Stuffing has always been my favorite part of Thanksgiving, but since I went gluten free 5 years ago, I haven't had much success recreating that amazingly flavored and mushy treat. I tried wild rice stuffing and corn based concoctions, but none had the same effect as traditional bread-based stuffing.

The Gluten Free Homemaker inspired me to give this old classic another shot with her recipe for Gluten Free Bread Stuffing. I tweaked it a bit to make a vegan version,using coconut oil instead of butter, vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and one loaf of that pretty darn dense Food for Life Brown Rice Bread, which is fruit juice sweetened and vegan (they also make a yeast free bread).

This recipe filled up an 8x8 square dish and a 6x9 rectangular dish...my big casserole dishes were all taken up by other meals, but I would assume you could get this in a 13x9 dish.

So don't let allergies keep you from enjoying the best Thanksgiving dish of all - this recipe is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, vegetarian, sugar free, nut free, soy free, and vegan!

Vegan, Gluten Free Stuffing (Traditional Style)
Ingredients
1 loaf of gluten free bread diced
1 onion diced
1 cup diced celery (feel free to leave the leaves on)
1/4 cup of coconut oil
3 cups of vegetable broth (Trader Joe's has a gluten free one)
2 tsp all purpose seasoning like Bragg's Organic Sprinkle (tastes like thanksgiving!)
About 1/2 - 3/4 tsp sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Toast the bread cubes on a large flat pan for about 10-15 minutes or until dry and toasty.
Sauté the onion and celery a couple tablespoons of water until soft.
Put 1 tsp of coconut oil in a large 13x9 casserole dish or half a tsp in two smaller dishes and place in the warm oven for a minute.
Add the remaining coconut oil to the warm pan of onions to melt it.
Place the bread cubes in a large bowl toss with the herbs and spices.
Pour in the vegetable broth and onions and celery and mix well.
Grease the casserole dish(es) with the melted coconut oil and add the stuffing.
Bake covered for about 30 minutes.
Keep covered until ready to serve or you can remove the cover and toast the top by popping it back in the oven just before serving if you like the top a bit crispy.

I know it's been a while since I've had old fashioned stuffing, but this tasted just like the good ole "stuff" to me! I would also bet that this makes a great base for all sorts of different takes on stuffing, so have fun with it!

Early Thanksgiving Feast - Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegetarian Version

2011-11-20T21:52:00.001-08:00

A full plate and more to go

Since we'll be out of town for the holiday weekend, Brian and I decided to get everyone together for a big early Thanksgiving feast this past Saturday. And because our oven is tiny, half the people in our house are vegetarian, and many of our friends are vegan; I got out of making a turkey - phew! We just had all the good stuff - all those amazing thanksgivingy side dishes. I wasn't sure what people were going to bring because I sent out the invitation less than 48 hours before the dinner, so I ended up making 9 allergy friendly dishes from scratch to make sure we had enough food.

There was more food than I could have ever imagined! Good thing too, because I think there were more than 30 mouths to feed! While I was a bit over-committed with this size of a menu, only one small oven and not enough baking dishes, the dinner was surprisingly stress free. And by the time all our wonderful friends arrived with all their delicious contributions, things were smooth sailing.

Michele could fit in the other half of the giant pumpkin

A lot of these dishes are pumpkin based because Rachel and Andrew had kindly picked up a bunch of pumpkins that Seeds at City Urban Farm was giving away after Halloween. They were the biggest pumpkins I've ever seen. Now, you know when I said the oven was too small to fit a turkey...well this pumpkin was so big that I couldn't even fit half of it in the oven. I did manage to roast about 1/3 of the pumpkin the night before, and it made pounds upon pounds of pumpkin puree for many of the recipes to follow.

Lauren crafted the top into a Hokie bird!

So here is the base recipe for making pumpkin puree:

Giant pumpkins make giant serving dishes

Wash and slice the pumpkin in half (or in this case quarters).
Scoop out the stringy, wet pulp and seeds (wash the seeds and reserve for roasting separately)
Bake the pumpkin flesh side down in a pan at 375 degrees for about 30-40 minutes or until tender (the timing will vary greatly by the thickness of the pumpkin).
Then just flip it over, let it cool off a bit, and scoop the flesh out into a food processor and puree.

Here is the menu that resulted:

A Mostly Gluten free, Nut free, Dairy free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Cane Sugar Free Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

Appetizers:
Seasoned and roasted pumpkin seeds (GF, DF, NF, SF, Veg, Vegan)
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip (GF, DF, NF, SF, Veg)
Dinner:
Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese (GF, DF, NF, SF, Vegan)
Traditional Style Stuffing (GF, DF, NF, SF, Veg, Vegan)
Sweet Potato Casserole (GF, DF, SF, Veg, Vegan)
Pumpkin Soup (GF, DF, NF, SF, Veg, Vegan)
Maple Roasted Carrots (GF, DF, NF, SF, Veg, Vegan)
Green Bean Quinoa Casserole (GF, DF, NF, SF, Veg, Vegan)
Dessert:
Pumpkin Pie (GF, DF, NF, SF, Veg)

Half of the Thanksgiving buffet

Maria's delicious gluten free, vegan casseroles

And our friends, who are all fantastic cooks, brought all sorts of great dishes like artichoke dip, black bean soup, mashed potatoes and gravy, dinner rolls, celery and spicy cream cheese appetizer sticks, vegan green bean casserole, cranberry orange squash and quinoa casserole, spicy creamed corn and corn bread casserole, massaged kale salad, pumpkin pie, gluten free brownies, cookies, cheese and cracker platters, cranberry sauce, and of course, plenty of wine and beer.

Fireside meal by the garden

While they are a lot of work, and often quite expensive, holiday dinner parties always remind me of how blessed I am to have a house to host people in, a bountiful garden, weather that allows us to enjoy being outside year-round, more food than I know what to do with, kind, funny and vivacious friends, and most of all an appreciation for it all. Even though it's not Thanksgiving yet, I am so grateful to be surrounded by so many gifts, that I am compelled to give thanks to God every day. I hope your life is filled with as many things to be thankful for as well!

Arts and crafts fun with friends

Shared on My Sweet and Savory's Meatless Monday and Real Food Wednesday and What's Cooking Wednesday and Simply Sugar and Gluten Free and 33 Shades of Green Tasty Tuesday

Pumpkin Mac 'n Cheese - Gluten Free, Dairy Free Version

2011-11-14T22:12:00.001-08:00

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

Get ready for this - all the flavor and velvety texture of mac and cheese but without the bellyache - use pumpkin puree for the cheeze sauce and your favorite gluten free macaroni noodles and you'll never miss mac and cheese again. My friend Maria shared this idea with me and I couldn't wait to make it! As usual, I had recipe-following-anxiety, so I just made up my own version based on her description - use pumpkin puree as the "cheeze" and you've got pumpkin macaroni and cheese. Which means, feel free to improvise yourself and see what you come up with!

I couldn't resist putting the stem on for a "cheesy" decoration ;)

What's cool about this recipe is that, to me, it really fooled me that it wasn't a creamy, cheesey sauce. You would be surprised, but without the usual pumpkin spices like cinnamon and allspice, the pumpkin doesn't impart your stereotypical pumpkin flavor. Instead it shares its velvety texture and rich color to fool you into thinking you are enjoying one of your favorite old childhood regulars. I also think the mustard and fresh ground pepper helped to acquire that mac and cheese-ish flavor.

I suppose you could use canned pumpkin for this recipe, but I don't like to eat things from cans, so I'm not going to recommend it. Luckily Rachel and Andrew had kindly picked up free pumpkins from a local farm post-Halloween and dropped a bunch by our house. So when I had the craving to try this out, we had a stock of pumpkins ready to be roasted. (They also dropped off 4 of the biggest pumpkins I've ever seen, so I might have to make this recipe for the masses one day and serve it in one of the giant pumpkins. Here's an estimation of what I did this time to make a festive fall version of this allergy unfriendly staple dish.

Vegan Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese - Gluten Free, Dairy Free Recipe

Pumpkin Mac 'n Cheese with a garden fresh green salad

Ingredients
1 medium sized pie pumpkin
1 bag of organic, brown rice macaroni noodles
2 tbs diced onion
1-2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp dijon mustard
Bragg's Organic Seasoning
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Few sprigs of fresh parsley for garnish

First, roast your pumpkin. Elana has a beautiful picture guide to roasting a pumpkin. If you've always used can pumpkin, see how easy she makes it look. But to be completely honest, I once again didn't check a recipe, and I believe I just cut mine in half, scooped out the flesh and seeds (save the seeds for roasting!) and baked it flesh side down in a casserole dish with a tiny bit of water at 375 degrees until it felt tender when I poked it (about 30 minutes).
While the pumpkin bakes, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your gluten free macaroni according to the package (usually you can just bring it to a boil for a minute, cover, and turn off the heat for 15-20 minutes).
Once the pasta is cooked, wash it well (an important step for gluten free pasta to keep it from getting all gummy), and toss back in the pot with a little olive oil and set aside, covered.
Once the pumpkin is cooked through and you can easily poke the flesh with a fork, remove it from the oven to let cool slightly.
In a saucepan, soften the onion and garlic over medium heat in about 4 tbs of water.
Scoop the flesh from the pumpkin into a blender or food processor with the softened onions and garlic. Now, if you want to make a bowl from the pumpkin shell, you will want to be very careful when scooping out the flesh. If not, just get after it so you get as much pumpkin as you can. One lil pie pumpkin practically filled my blender!
Puree the pumpkin, adding a little water or rice or almond milk or regular milk if you need more liquid to get it moving. I think I only added about 2 tbs of water to mine, but this could vary with your pumpkin.
Pour the pureed pumpkin back in the saucepan you cooked the onion and garlic in and heat on medium low. Stir in a couple shakes of sea salt and the mixed herb seasoning. Heat and stir for a few minutes then stir in the mustard and remove from heat.
Now, each individual pumpkin will make a different amount of puree, so I recommend scooping the flavored puree into the pasta a little at a time, so as not to over-sauce it. I would estimate you would use about 2 1/2 cups of puree to a bag of pasta if you want it super creamy.
Once you have the desired consistency, scoop back into the pumpkin shell or into a bowl. Top with fresh ground pepper and fresh chopped parsley.

Other ideas....
I think I'd also like to try putting the mixed mac and cheese into a casserole dish, drizzling the top with olive oil, and baking to see if it crisps up a bit on top. Or maybe even topping with some diced up gluten free bread before baking.
If you try any fun variations, be sure to share by leaving a comment below.

I also have to share some awesome fall scenery we've been enjoying in OB. Unseasonal rain storms from the west met by the Santa Ana winds from the east has made for quite the sky art.

It was cool to watch Jupiter hanging out with the moon last week (you can see it to the right of the moon)

rainbow over our house

rainbow, fall colors, and palm trees....recipe for a pretty evening

the bike commute from Hillcrest along the San Diego River

Rosemary Apple 'n Onion Toasties

2011-11-06T15:54:00.000-08:00

dairy free rosemary apple and onion toasties

Here's a super simple and quick snack, dinner, side dish, lunch or what-have-you. It's perfect for fall, with it's warming taste and texture.

I had planned to make these for our Halloween party, but never got around to it. So instead Brian and I enjoyed them alongside some soup and sprout salad after an unexpectedly long run in Mission Gorge last weekend. I had planned to run 3 miles, then grab my book and water and a snack for a little hike/picnic while Brian ran for two hours through the Fortuna Mountains.

evening run in mission gorge

Unfortunately for my legs, the spare key to Brian's truck fell off my shoe as I was coming back down from the crazy steep Climber's loop. I then retraced my steps back and forth twice before giving in and just running throughout the gorge for the remaining hour and a half until Brian returned with his key. Needless to say, I was hungry and tired upon arriving back at home. This was a great comforting and filling meal that took minimal effort - just what I needed!

Rosemary Apple 'n Onion Toasties

4 for Brian, 2 for me

Ingredients

4 gluten free english muffins

2 apples, cored and sliced

1 small yellow onion peeled and sliced

1/4 cup of red wine

1 sprig of rosemary chopped

2-4 tbs olive oil

Sliced goat gouda or cheese of your choice (optional for dairy free)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Caramelize the onions by sauteeing them in the oil and wine on about medium heat for several minutes, scraping them off the pan every few minutes but allowing them time to brown.
goat cheese version
Meanwhile, core and slice the apples thinly and add to the softened onions.
Slice the gluten free english muffins in halves and place in the oven on a baking sheet for a few minutes to toast.
Once the apples are cooked, the red wine is cooked down completely, and the muffins are getting slightly toasted, remove the muffins from the oven.
Drizzle the english muffins with olive oil for the dairy free option or place cheese slices for the not so dairy free option.
Scoop the apple and onion mixture onto each english muffin half and sprinkle with rosemary.
Return to the oven and toast for a few more minutes (about 3-5).

Sunset in the gorge was a great appetizer for this meal.

sunset once I got in the car and accessed my camera

shot of sunset from the car

Shared on Melt in Your Mouth Mondays, The Healthy Home Economist, My Sweet and Savory Meatless Mondays, Real Food Forager Fat Tuesdays

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T18:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Let the competition begin

I hope you are enjoying the fun wherever you may be. While it sounds like the northeast is buried in absurdly early snow, we are finally back to being sunny San Diego. After may gray, june gloom, cloudy july, awful august, silver september, and cloudtober, we have finally had more than two consistent days out from under that sheet gray sky that had lingered over us all summer. Just in time for all the fun fall activities.

Gravestones and black cat in the garden

On Thursday I hosted my annual Halloween Dinner and Pumpkin Carving Contest. I love theme/holiday parties, and this one always turns out fun with everyone in costume and taking part in arts & crafts. While I love decorations, I am usually a big slacker on them. I'm really just not good at aesthetics (which most of you probably already knew). So I was in luck when my friend Ren showed up with 3 big boxes of extravagant Halloween decorations. I'm talking stuffed Frankensteins and werewolves, orange lights, a giant pirate sail, skulls, candles, gravestones...you name it and she brought it. so while I finished up the food, she decorated the back yard. The garden looked amazing!

pirate ship on the hops tower

I had all sorts ideas for fun Halloween recipes to make, I was even dreaming of them Wednesday night. But when it came to the day of the party, I realized I was a bit over ambitious for one person making that much food. Especially because I was trying to make dinner for 20 some people with the widest array of food intolerances imaginable. Halloween themed food gluten free, dairy free, cane sugar free, vegan, paleo, and nut free, not to mention I like everything to be made from scratch and organic. I soon found that this was way too many restrictions to try to make a decorative halloween meal to fill up that many people.

I had started cooking around 3:30pm for the 6:00pm dinner. My ideal Halloween Menu included:

the spooky appetizer table

Appetizers:
Gluten Free Rosemary Cracker Ghosts with Pepita Seeds for eyes
Garden Squash Veggie Dip
Carrot Platter Jack-o-lantern
Chips & Salsa
Roasted Rosemary Pumpkin Seeds
Main Event:
Fall Colored Red Quinoa and Orange Squash Soup
Sauteed Apples & Onions English Muffins
Dessert:
Pumpkin Bread with Cashew Date Frosting and Chocolate Icing Spider
Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Avocado Frosting and Chocolate Icing Monster Faces
(nearly) Raw Vegan Almond Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cashew Pumpkin Frosting
Beverages:
Warm Apple Cider
Creepy Ghoul-Aid (kiwi juice and chia seeds)

remnants of halloween cupcakes

Well, that would have been quite the spread! But of course things never work the way you plan, especially when you get excited about something. The ghost crackers stuck to the parchment paper, the pumpkin bread was too pumpkiny and stayed gooey instead of baking through, I forgot to put the pumpkin seeds out (which I had roasted the night before), the chocolate seized up when we tried adding maple syrup instead of sugar, I ran out of cacao powder, the ghoul-aid just looked like thick rotten juice, the person bringing the carrots forgot them, the squash soup turned out burn-your-face-off-hot, and there were 10-15 people piled in my kitchen and my sister on the phone when I started to chop the onions and apples so I gave up on that idea quick.

Sooo...the menu that resulted was:

my un-artistic spider cake

Appetizers:
Chips & salsa
Squash Veggie Dip
Cheese platter with pumpkin butter and Mary's Gone Crackers (thanks Rachel, but sorry vegans and dairy-intolerant)
Green Olives (thanks Rachel again)
Main event:
Giant pot of Red Quinoa
Intolerably-spicy Squash Soup
Dessert:
Vegan Almond & Pumpkin cupcakes with chocolate pumpkin cashew frosting
Carob Cupcakes with Avocado Frosting and Coconut Sugar Sprinkles
Carob Cake with Cashew Date Frosting & Seized Chocolate Spider
Seized Chocolate turned Truffles rolled in coconut sugar
Beverages:
Apple Cider that no one wanted to drink because it didn't have alcohol in it

at least my soup was inspiring for the pumpkin carving

Since nothing (except for the carob cupcakes) turned out exceptionally well, I am not going to share any recipes...not to mention in the craziness of it all I didn't pay a bit of attention to what and how much I put in anything.

maria's casper pumpkin

the carving station

Oh well! Live and learn! I had discouraged the potluck style dinner because someone always seems to bring something crumbly or drippy that is full of gluten and ends up contaminating the rest of the food. And even though I wanted so badly to accommodate everyone else's dietary needs and preferences, I think making things gluten free is hard enough. So I may have to either go back to potlucks style or just make things gluten free.

It was ok because the decorations were fantastic and our roommate's friend that was visiting is a DJ and took care of the music and brought a fog machine, so the ambiance was great. And the pumpkin carving was a great success as well.

Maybe I'll practice all year and be ready to make the best gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, vegan, nut free, organic, homemade Halloween dinner ever!

fog machine added a cool effect

lights and dj in action

spooky stories by the fire

or funny stories apparently

a werewolf joined us

Time for trick or treats! Happy Halloween!

Colorful Massaged Kale Salads with Citrus Avocado Dressing or Lemon Ginger Dressing

2011-10-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

View of the hot air balloons from the Temecula Half Marathon & 5K

After a fun but very tiring weekend in Temecula Wine Country, Brian and I were both feeling beat. Him probably from protesting wine country by downing as many different craft beers as possible on Saturday, followed by getting up at 6am on Sunday to win the Temecula Half Marathon with a time of 1:21:36 I believe (although his time didn't count because he didn't put his timing chip on).

Beautiful setting at one of the wineries for the race

I had a feeling that I got some cross contamination of gluten. I've read that in rare occasions, and mostly with small batches, wine can be stored in oak barrels that once contained beer (although it is usually the other way around if anything) and that they sometimes seal the old oak barrels with a flour paste - weird! I'm guessing that since we went to two small wineries, and at one we even got to taste a special batch of port straight out of the barrel, this may have been the case :(

feelin a bit sleepy but ready to run regardless

the 4:45 am wake-up call to volunteer was worth it for this sunrise view

So, needless to say, we've been trying to eat intensely nutritious dinners since Sunday to try to get us back to normal. We've gone the color approach - getting as many colors in our meals as possible to provide a variety of nutrients. This has involved Skittles, M&Ms, Fruit Loops, Gummy Bears. Just kidding ;)

greens with a side of greens on greens

Sunday night we went with the color green and had Lemon Ginger Kale Salad with fresh picked green beans and lettuce as a side salad for our salad. Why did Kermit ever think it's not easy being green? This was the simplest meal ever. Here's a brief recipe for when you need a lil green in your life, stat!

Slice a bunch of curly kale into very thin ribbons. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with about 1/2 tsp sea salt. Massage until glistening, squeezing handfuls of the kale and pushing down with your palms. After a good 1-minute massage your kale will be feeling great and looking as if it was all dressed up in a pretty marinade, but it's really just the moisture released from it's own leaves. Grate in a carrot and about 1 inch of peeled ginger. In a Magic Bullet or your blender, mix up the juice of one lemon, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds, 1 tbs honey, and 2 tbs apple cider vinegar. Blend it up to a thick dressing and mix it into the kale and carrots. I often add beets and or cabbage to this if I have some on hand, but I was feeling so tired I didn't even have the energy to go in the back yard and grab a beet! This is a really easy recipe to add or subtract ingredients based on what you have on hand.

Kale salad with tri-color bell peppers

Monday night I had about the same level of energy or less, but still no other symptoms, so I felt that the greens were helping keep any sickness at bay. I thought it would be good to continue with that therapy and simplicity of preparation, so I made Colorful Massaged Kale Salad with Citrus Avocado Dressing. I switched it up this time with dinosaur kale and more of a southwest/mexican flavoring.

surprise - it's dinner time!

Prepare the dinosaur kale just as you would in the previous method. Then dice up a red, yellow, and orange bell pepper and mix in with the kale. In a blender or magic bullet, mix up 1 avocado, juice of 1 lemon, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 spicy pepper (we had habanero but a jalapeno would be good too). Blend it up, maybe stirring or shaking it in between to get a good mix. If you need to, you can always add a little water to ease the blending and as long as you just use a little at a time, it shouldn't come out watery. Mix in the thick spicy, citrus avocado dressing in with the kale and peppers, and your done! We had this with Trader Joe's Organic Corn Dippers chips - they are kinda like frito's scoops but made with non-gmo corn! I had the baked organic blue corn chips from Trader Joe's for a lower fat option (to make up for my daily dark chocolate binges).

brian at work on his signature potatoes and peppers

And last night, we enjoyed Brian's Signature Dish - Roasted Sweet Potato Fries and Peppers. Talk about colors - orange sweet potatoes, green, yellow, and red bell peppers, and white onions and garlic make this dish burst with color. Even though this is probably the most common meal we have, I never seem to remember to take a picture before they are all gone. But here is an example of Brian at work on his masterpiece, just with purple potatoes instead.

Skittles ain't got nothin' on our colorful foods - taste the real rainbow :)

Warming Roots 'n Squash Soup Recipe - a gluten free, dairy free, vegan dinner

2011-10-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

Roots 'n Squash Soup

While the garden is still producing good food, I want to make the best of it and eat as much from the yard and as little from the store as possible. Good on the wallet, good on the environment, and good on the body. Here is one of many "I just came home from work and roamed the front and backyard and threw it together in a meal" dinners that I have been feeding Brian lately. I've made some sort of variation of this almost every night so far this week. So feel free to sub in what you have on hand, as this is really just a medley of your favorite starchy and spicy garden bounty.

Warming Roots 'n Squash Medley Recipe
Ingredients
1 small orange hubbard squash (you could sub in acorn or butternut or pumpkin)
1 large sweet potato
1 large beet
1 medium onion
2 peppers (I used jalepano and some kinda habanero but adjust to your spice levels as this much pepper is not for the faint-hearted.)
2 cloves garlic minced
Dash o' salt & pepper

Spicy Sweet Potato, Squash, and Beet Soup

Wash, peel and cut the squash, sweet potato, and onion into 3/4-1" cubes, and the beet in 1/2" chunks (reserving the beet leaves).
Remove the stem, seeds, and inners of the peppers and chop finely (making sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap after if using hot peppers so as not to cause burning on any body parts you touch after).
Heat 1 tbs of olive oil on medium to medium-low in a 2" rimmed pan and add the peppers, onion, and minced garlic. Saute about 2 minutes until softened. Then add in the potato, squash, and beet cubes and saute for about another two minutes.
Pour water just to cover everything and bring to a boil.
Cook for about 1-2 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until veggies are tender and can be easily pierced with a fork.
Turn off heat and scoop half of the veggies into a blender along with most of the cooking liquid.
Puree and then add back into the pan with the remaining veggies over low heat.
Cut up the beet greens and stir in with the rest.
Cook on low for about 3 minutes or until just barely wilted.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve alone or with a sprinkle of cheese or spoon of yogurt on top.

Variations I also tried this week:
Instead of sauteing the peppers, onion, and garlic in oil at the start, steam saute them in water about 1/3" deep. When softened, add the other ingredients and cook with the lid partially on for about 15-20 minutes, or until the veggies are tender. Remove the lid and continue cooking until most of the liquid in cooked off. This will produce a thicker mix of cooked veggies as opposed to more of a soup, but still very warming and cozy.
Try adding any green tomatoes that are overstaying their welcome on the vine to the medley. They should soften up but hold their shape.
Try with all squash if you don't have a potato on hand.
Keep the beets to the side, grate them, and toss them in some lemon juice for a side salad
Add 5 of the spiciest peppers around, courtesy of Andrew planting about 7+ different kinds of peppers in the back yard from jalepeno, to thai chili, to habenero, and I believe there maybe even be a ghost pepper in the mix. This is the melt-your-face off version, which we enjoyed last night - brian was glistening with sweat!

Happy Fall in San Diego:

Bright maroon and orange leaves contrasted by an evergreen palm tree

Harvest moon rising along the eastern horizon of the 8 freeway

Shared on the Gluten Free Homemaker's Gluten Free Wednesdays as she is featuring gluten free squash recipes in the month of October - Yum! Also shared on Simple Lives Thursday and It's a Keeper Thursday