Author: wheat-free dairy-free me

I love to cook, dine, and share the things I've learned during my years as a cookbook author, food stylist, caterer, and now - blogger.

Thai Beef Salad

Thai Beef Salad

3 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons coconut aminos or teriyaki sauce

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon fish sauce or gluten free soy sauce

1 clove garlic, put through garlic press

Pinch red pepper flakes

4 cups bite sized pieces lettuce

1/2 cup sliced red onion

Whole lettuce leaves

2 cups tomato wedges

1 cup sliced cucumber

3/4 to 1 pound cooked (to desired doness) London broil , sliced

In a small bowl, stir together the lime juice, coconut aminos, cilantro, garlic, and pepper flakes; set aside.  In a large bowl toss the lettuce pieces and red onion. Add as much of the dressing as desired and toss.

Place 1 lettuce leaf on each of 4 salad plates.  Top with the dressed lettuce and onions. Arrange the tomato wedges and cucumber over the lettuce. Top with sliced steak.

Sprinkle with additional chopped cilantro if desired

Serves:  4

Kofta Stuffed Green Peppers with Spicy Tomato Sauce

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Kofta Stuffed Peppers with Spicy Tomato Sauce

All you need to make this a whole meal is a lovely salad on the side.  Try Wilted Cucumber Salad or Kale and Brussel Sprouts Salad.

2 medium bell peppers (any color)

1/2 pound ground lamb

1/2 pound ground beef

1 sheet gluten-free  matzoh, finely crumbled

1/4 cup chopped parsley

3 tablespoons grated onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Spicy Tomato Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped red or orange bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt to taste

Blanch the peppers in boiling water for 3 minutes; drain.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, combined the beef, lamb, matzoh crumbs, parsley, onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, allspice, ginger, cayenne, and salt.

Divide the meat mixture into 4 parts and place one in each of the bell pepper halves.

Bake 45 minutes, uncovered, until meat is cooked through.

While the peppers are cooking, prepare the sauce:

In a 1 quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Add the peppers, onion, and garlic. Cook, stirring until softened.

Add the tomatoes, water, parsley, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes until sauce is thick.

Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender or in a blender or food processor.  Season with salt and additional pepper if desired.

Serves: 4

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Ants Climbing a Tree – Paleo Asian Noodle Dish

Wheat-free * Dairy-free * Gluten-free  * Paleo ~~

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Ma Yi Shang Shu –

Ants Climbing a Tree

What a horrible name for a dish!  Don’t blame me…this is a pretty traditional Sichuan dish and that’s what it’s called.  In my book, it’s also called delicious.

When you look at the ingredients you may doubt that this is strictly a Chinese dish because who ever heard of tahini or maple syrup in Chinese or Asian cooking?  Of course coconut aminos and fish sauce are not traditional Chinese ingredients either, though fish sauce is used widely in other parts of Asia.

4 ounces paleo noodles

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced ginger

 2 tablespoons coconut aminos

2 tablespoon maple syrup

1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon  dry sherry, optional

1 tablespoon tahini

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon chili oil

1 1⁄2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil

1/2 cup (4 ounces) ground meat (pork is usually used but any meat will be fine)

1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions

2 teaspoons sesame or chili oil

Cook noodles according to package directions (assuming they are in English or boil until soft); drain.

In a medium bowl, stir together the stock, coconut aminos, maple syrup, fish sauce, sherry, and tahini;  set aside.

Heat coconut or olive oil in a wok or large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat Add garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add pork; cook, breaking up meat, until browned, 5–7 minutes.

Add liquid mixture; bring to a boil. Add noodles; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by half, 8–10 minutes more, and stir scallions and chili oil.

 

 

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Great Recipes for Thanksgiving

It’s been quite a while since I last posted, but I can’t resist reminding you of some of the really great gluten free, dairy free, and paleo recipes on this site for Thanksgiving.

I’m highlighting just a few of my favorites but there are lots more here too

Pumpkin Bread (gluten free, dairy free, grain free, paleo)

So moist and delicious no-one suspects it’s anything other than “the real thing”!

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Maple Pumpkin Pie in Pecan Crust (gluten free, dairy free, grain free, paleo)

Expect to hear “more pie, please” when you serve this un-traditional, traditional Thanksgiving favorite.  I love to have it with Coconut Bliss Coconut Ice cream.

Maple Pecan Pie

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup (gluten free, dairy free, grain free, paleo)

Smooth as silk, this holiday soup is a great way to start the meal.

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Red Cabbage Sweet Potato Salad (gluten free, dairy free, grain free, paleo)

This is an unusual salad everyone will love and ask for the recipe.

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Maple Roasted Pears Halves (gluten free, dairy free, grain free, paleo)

For those of you who are looking for a lighter dessert or a yummy sweet side dish, these are just the ticket.

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A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

 

 

 

 

Delicious Gluten Free, Dairy Free Hamantashen with Cranberry-Date-Peach Filling

I know I’ve been negligent about posting recently, but I promise I’m coming back soon.  I’m reposting these Hamantashen because they are so good no one will ever suspect they are gluten free!  Click here for the recipe.

Happy Purim!

 

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Paleo Shepherd’s Pie

Paleo * Gluten-free  ~~

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Ironically, my dog Bella is on a Paleo diet.

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No, it’s not because I’m some paleo fanatic, but because she has itch issues and the vet has taken her off the most common allergens:  beef, chicken, and grains.  I buy her grain-free kibble but then to make it more appealing, I make ground lamb stew to stir into it.   About once a month I traipse to the the meat market that has reasonably priced ground lamb and buy about 5 pounds, then portion it out for single meals.  This month I bought way too much lamb.  As it happens, I had made the Paleo Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes the day before – so Shepherd’s Pie was a no-brainer for the extra ground lamb.

Paleo-izing the Shepherd’s Pie was an interesting challenge.  The potato topping I had already dealt with in last week’s post.  The filling traditionally uses flour (wheat, of course) to create a thick gravy.  My thinking was, instead of substituting an alternate flour for the wheat, why not just let the potatoes be the gravy as well as the topping – after all, I love to smoosh the potatoes into the meat part when I eat Shepherd’s Pie anyway.

The result is a tasty, but less thick meat stew.  I liked it very much as I sometimes find traditional recipes to be a little pasty.

About the vegetables…I confess I use frozen vegetables.  They’re easy and, frankly, I like them.  If you are more ambitious than I, feel free to start with fresh vegetables and cook them before adding them to the meat or just throw in any leftover vegetables you have from previous meals.  It doesn’t really matter what vegetables you use, or even how much you throw in – Shepherd’s Pie is very forgiving.

Though I used ground lamb for the reason stated above, I also love ground lamb; but I know there are many non-lamb eaters in the world you if you are one of them, ground beef or even ground bison would be perfectly fine substitutes.

This is a great  winter meal with protein, starch, and vegetables all in one dish – add a salad for crunch and you are good to go.

Enjoy!
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