Meat Free Monday: Keeping Cool on a Hot Summer Night

Hi everyone. I'm back from my month in Maryland and am slowly readjusting to the temperatures back at home. Here in Florida it is crazy hot and humid this time of year. My husband works for a major home builder and the last thing he wants after a long day in the heat is warm food. It was also the first day of school, so after a lot of chaos, I wanted something easy. Tonight's meat free Monday meal is a different take on salad for dinner. I give you "Pizz'alad". Sounds ridiculous,  but hear me out.

Just take your favorite pizza dough.... something thin & crispy tends to work best. Tonight, I did a whole wheat crust I like to make, but a store bought lavash/ flat bread or a naan works equally well for this. It can be gluten free or whatever kind you like it really doesn't matter. Fathead dough if you're doing the keto diet works great for this as well.  Crisp it up in the oven and then let it cool to room temperature.

Next , I like to spread a thin layer of an herb cheese or some kind of a spread like a tasty hummus. then I load it up with some chopped salad and whatever veggies I need to use up. For example: tonight I have a mixture of thin sliced romaine lettuce, sliced red bell peppers, cucumbers, a handful of alfalfa sprouts, blanched green beans & snap peas, as well as my new favorite obsession, mini san marazano tomatoes.  then I drizzle the entire thing with my dressing of choice.... tonight its an Avocado ranch that I made.

And voila. slice & eat it up. its cool, light, crunchy, refreshing and an easy dinner that doesn't add to the heat in your system from the craziness outside. on another note, if your kids are pizza fans, this is another way to get them to eat some veggies in a fun way.   Hope you enjoy this easy weeknight dinner as much as we do.  Stay cool!

My Son the Superhero and a Yummy recipe

Hello from Sunny Orlando, Florida! Yes, we've moved again, this time to the land of all things Disney (which I love!). We had a dream, saw an opportunity and took it. We've been here for about two months now and life is finally normalizing as much as it can for our little family.  We've been pretty busy with big lifestyle changes lately, so I've been posting more on Facebook as opposed to different posts here as well. I'm trying to streamline all these accounts together so bear with me.

A few months ago our son was identified as having a neurological condition known as Sensory Processing Disorder. I had never even heard of this a few months ago and now it tends to occupy most of my  time; whether I'm learning more about it, taking care of my son, or juggling speech and Occupational therapy appointments. We're dealing with a number of what most people would consider quirks in a two year old.  With sensory processing disorder, funny things that my son does are not things he will outgrow, they are a part of who he is. A simplified explanation of kids with Sensory Processing Disorder, is that I like to think of them as superheroes. Absolutely every sensory kid is unique and different, as is how they feel things.  These kids are amazing. They literally have super senses, which could be insanely hard and frustrating for them to cope and deal with, not just daily, but minute to minute.

 In my son's case, his nerves don't feel it when he's exhausted,  things such as textures or even if he's cold or overheated. His body craves stimulation and feedback. In the SPD community of parents, he is known as a "seeker". Its kind of  like he has super strength because he just goes and goes. He also has insanely sensitive super hearing. People speaking loudly and crowded places with lots of background noises are completely overwhelming for him.  Even things that I take for granted, such as my love of food, are extremely hard for him.  Don't get me wrong, he's a great eater for a two and a half year old, but its the same things all the time because trying new foods are literally almost painful to him because he feels things so intensely. A new texture can make a favorite flavor taste disgusting to him so he spits it out.  On days when his nerves are really seeking he only eats super crunchy or super smooth things. On these trying days, I end up cooking multiple meals.  This is quite time consuming so I need something easy.

 Here is a grilled sweet potato salad does double duty in our home.  I grill a whole sweet potato for my son (so he can it eat it mashed), while I grill off slices for this yummy side dish that is ready in just a few short minutes. Its also gluten free and Vegan friendly for those of you living those kind of lifestyles or just a nice choice for a friendly potluck to share. It is a dish that is light and delicious on a hot day.  I am quickly learning that this is the norm here in Florida, so we will be eating this A LOT. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

By the way, this post is a new feature I'm running on my Facebook page,  (facebook.com/lifeinbalancewellness),  I'm calling Tasty Tuesdays.  Check back every week and you'll find a new recipe on Tuesdays by lunchtime.  I will also post these on my Pinterest board the following day. Let me know what you think and if you're craving a certain type of recipe. I'll do my best to help.

Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Basil Viniagrette
Serves 4

4 Sweet Potatoes ut in 1/2" slices
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped parsely

Dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup avocado oil or olive oil
1 Tbsp chiffonade basil (fancy term for sliced into super thin ribbons)
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
dash of dry yellow mustard

1) lightly coat sweet potatoes with some avocado oil ( i find spraying them with a misto works best)
2) grill potato slices until they are tender.  If you're like me, I love the smoky char taste using wood lump charcoal creates.
3) cut up the potatoes into small 1" cubes and then combine them with the bell pepper, onions and parsely.
4) whisk together dressing ingredients
5) toss the salad mixture with the dressing while the potatoes are still warm. this can be served warm or cold.

Enjoy!

Summer Nostalgia/ These aren't your grandma's pork chops

I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to say goodbye to summer yet. I've been so busy with clients, visiting family and chasing after the new crawler in our home that I feel like summer just blew past me and I've missed it.  With this in mind I spent this holiday weekend making lots of summer favorites. Friday's dinner was really more tropical in theme, but it features two of my favorite flavors on the planet: coconut and mango. I'm making Coconut crusted pork chops with fresh mango salsa.

The salsa is best if it can marinate  a few hours before serving or even overnight, so we'll start with that first.  Some of you may be unfamiliar with fresh mangoes because you've only bought them as a puree or already sliced and frozen. So step one is how to cut a mango.  A mango has a big almond shaped pit in its center that is usually about 1/2 inch thick. Instead of cutting it directly in half where you see the spot where the vine was attached, cut down on either side of it.  When you're done you will have 3 pieces: the one with the pit and the two halves.  I cut the little bit of flesh around the pit and use that too because I can't stand wasting any bit of a mango.  For each of the halves, score with a knife (cut into the flesh but don't go through the skin), lines across and down so you have the effect of a tic tac toe board. Then from the skin side push in the center which will cause the squares of flesh to pop away from the skin. From here, you can curt them off more easily (see the photo).

After your mango is diced up, toss in the juice of 1 lime, some kosher salt, chopped fresh cilantro and finely diced Jalepeno.  A note on jalepenos (especially if you wear contacts):  When cutting them up wear rubber gloves so you don't get the heat on your hands because you will never get it off before a few days. If you take out your contacts and then go to put them in the next day without having worn gloves, you will get a nasty surprise.  Also, if your guests don't like really pict food, be sure to remove all the ribs and seeds from the inside of your Jalepeno.  Here's how my salsa turned out. The little red bits are actually Jalepeno... Thats what they do when you leave them on your garden vine extra long, just like a bell pepper would do.


I used thick cut pork chops tonight for my meat but chicken breasts that are split would work very well for this recipe as well. Just cut down on your cooking time.  To bread the chops I used three shallow containers: 1) 1/4 cup flour- I used whole wheat flour with a 1/2 tsp of salt  2) 1 egg with a tablespoon of milk whisked together  3) 1/2 cup flour with 1 cup of coconut flakes also known as coconut powder if you're shopping in an Indian market.  Dredge the chops through the containers in order (flour then egg mixture and finally coconut mixture.

Now you're ready to cook them.  You can use butter to fry these up in the pan, but I prefer to use coconut oil, about 2 Tbsp.  It blends with the coconut flavor and is a little healthier for you. Brown each side of the chops so they begin to get crispy. About 5 minutes total, then transfer them to the oven. I like to place them on a rack raised over the pan so they stay nice and crispy. Cover with foil and bake about another 20 minutes. I actually do this in my convection toaster oven at about 350F so you might have to adjust your time to a bit longer for your oven.

Remove the foil for the last 5 minutes of cooking.  Then serve up with the mango salsa and enjoy! NOTE: this recipe is gluten free & pale friendly if you use coconut milk & coconut flour in place of the regular flour and milk.

Gluten free update & some meatballs

Note: This Post was writen back in October 2012. It never made it up until now due to computer issues.

Sorry for the long delay between posts, been having some computer issues so I'm posting some that I actually wrote over the last several weeks and haven't uploaded yet. Hope you find them useful!

 My kitchen remodel finally is done and its amazing the difference a functional layout can make. My husband and I noticed I've been cooking nonstop since it was installed. This gluten free diet is so much easier being able to finally cook again. I've had a few yummy successes this past week.

First up I sautéed some andouille sausage in some olive oil & garlic. Then I added broccollini, zucchini, shrimp and tossed in some cannellini beans. This was definitely a winner. The smokiness of the sausage flavored everything else. The dish was nice and filling too. It didn't need any kind of side dish or starch accompaniment either.

My mom came to town and I made a paleo recipe of pork with apples slow cooked in the crockpot. Quite yummy!

The next night I was feeling lazy but still did not want to order takeout so I made meatballs. Growing up, I loved helping my mom make meatballs, especially when she'd quote that tv commercial in a funny accent and exclaim "that's a spicy meatball". The spiciest always came from loads of garlic in the meatball mix. I decided I wanted the garlic but I also had to de-gluten her recipe And wanted to make them a bit healthier. They turned out really yummy & I created a new recipe. Score!

Here's what I did:
I mixed 1package of ground turkey, tossed in a half package of thawed frozen spinach, 2 very large cloves of garlic minced, 1 egg and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. I also tossed in about a cup of gluten free panko bread crumbs. Next I sautéed the meatballs in some olive oil with about 2 more cloves of garlic mixed in.  As soon as the meatballs are browned on the outside I place them In a stoneware baker. I pour some of my slow roasted tomato sauce over the top and let it bake for about 30 minutes. Then enjoy!

I'm noticing the more cooking I do and the longer I go without gluten, the easier these new dietary changes are becoming.  Hopefully those of you pursuing gluten free diets will have as many successes as I have had these last two weeks.  Happy eating!

"Today I will Live inThe Moment, Unless Its Unpleasant...In which case I will eat a cookie"- Cookie Monster

Being very pregnant, getting lots of fiber in my diet is super important to me right now.   One of my favorite ways to eat more fiber is incorporating lots of oats into my meals.  Oats contain more soluble fiber than any other grain. I use them in oatmeal, muffins, breads and is even a great binder in meatloaf to use instead of breadcrumbs.  If you're trying to lower your cholesterol consuming 2-3 servings of oats per day day can really help. I'm not saying eating 3 servings of cookies every day will help, but the extra fiber in your diet is always a good thing.

With the holiday season upon us, I've got baking on the brain...specifically cookies (as if you couldn't tell where I was going already with this post).  One thing that always bugs me is why do people add regular white flour to oatmeal cookies.  Why add something that doesn't really add nutritional value, when you can use the good stuff for no extra cost? I like to use all oats in my oatmeal cookies. its easy. Just take half of your oats and pulverize them in the food processor to make your own oat flour. As an added bonus, this makes these cookies naturally gluten free. 

16oz rolled oats toasted at 375 for 20 mins

Place half of toasted oats in food processor to make a flour. Once pulverized add 1tsp cinnamon and 1tsp aluminum free baking powder and a pinch of sea salt.

In a mixer, combine your wet ingredients on high speed:

10oz unsalted room temp butter, 6oz dark brown sugar, 3.5 oz organic cane sugar, and beat together to cream until smooth ( about 3 mins)

Slow mixer to low and add 1 large egg, & 1tsp vanilla extract.

Add flour mixture slowly into wet ingredients. Next add optional ingredients such as nuts, chocolate chips or raisins. Also add the other half of the rolled oats that weren't pulverized. Bake 375 12 minutes. If you use 1 tablespoon size drops of dough, this recipe makes about 4 dozen nibbler sized cookies. 

Note: if you have a gluten intolerance, make sure to buy certified Gluten Free rolled oats. Oats do not contain gluten but many brands are processed in the same plants as conventional flours/ I tend to trust Bob's Red Mill brand the most.  Also, if you are vegan or have a dairy intolerance, you can substitute Earth Balance Sticks for the butter. I find they do not alter the texture.

Now the hard part is keeping my husband out of the tins through the week so we have some left for when company comes over.  Hope you enjoy them! 

Channeling my Inner Cookie Monster

Its been a busy and exciting last few weeks for me.  For those of you whom I haven't talked to, I am finally leaving my full time job at Lowes. The best part is that I'm leaving it so I can expand my coaching practice. I'll be doing what I love full time! Not to mentino the change in schedule... first time having evenings and weekends off in quite a few years.

What prompted my decision? It struck me that I talk about evaluating quality of life issues and time management with a lot of my clients. I have been juggling this crazy Lowes schedule, not seeing my family adn definitely not getting paid enough for my efforts for way to long. My dream was to be coaching full time. I started building my business but it got to the point that my job at Lowe's was preventing me from pursuing my dreams.

So now that I am free to enjoy my family and my home more, what will I be doing? I've got some great classes and workshops I've been developping that I want to start offering. My favorite ones are using creativity using rubber stamps and papercrafting. Keep your eyes peeled for my monthly gratitude project series.  Over the next 2 weeks I also plan on thoroughly enjoying the holidays by baking, handmaking my holiday cards and gift tags and baking in my newly rennovated kitchen. Tommorrow evening my husband and I will be enjoying a nice quiet dinner at home and burning of the Yule log before all the holiday hoopla starts with our families over the next week. 

This time of year is one of indulgence for me. I let myself take the extra time to treat myself to a day of baking,  and to enjoy the occasional treat or two.  As with everything I try to stay balanced about my choices as possible, enjoying these indulgences in moderation. One of our favorite indulgences lately is the chocolate milk we get from the local farm. If you happen to live in PA and are near Strites' Orchard or see it anywhere else, the chocolate milk from the Apple Valley Creamery is amazing! Its like drinking a milk shake.

 I have discovered that living a gluten free lifestyle does not mean I really have to give up my favorite holiday foods. I just get to morph the recipes a bit. I love baking cookies this time of year.  Here are a few that I plan on making over the next few days during my extra fee time.  Note: the recipes below are gluten free, if you need to make them vegan as well, I've had a lot of luck using the earth balance buttery sticks in my cooking and baking. they're in the dairy case of the natural foods section at the grocery store.

Ginger Molasses Cookies
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/gluten-free-Ginger-Cookies

Traditional Sugar Cookies
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Gluten-Free-Sugar-Cookies

In our family its not the holidays without peanut butter cookies, occosionally topped with a chocolate kiss, luckily for me they are naturally gluten free!

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Gluten-Free-Peanut-Butter-Cookies

This was a neat dessert that I plan to take to my parents' home, Gluten free sugar Cookie blueberry cheesecake:


http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=752638



Lastly, my piece de resistance I'll be making my famous Pumpkin Amaretto Chessecake for Dessert for the holiday celebration with my husband's family. I'll use the ginger cookies pictured above to make the crust so I can keep my cheesecake gluten free as well. I'll  post some pictures as soon as I have some. I'm sorry to say that recipe however is top secret.  I'll be posting next about the approaching new year. In the meantime, happy holidays regardless of how you celebrate them.

My crockpot is becoming my best friend.....

...not because it's chilly this week either.  I came home from work yesterday to discover my husband had finally demolished our kitchen so our new one can be installed. This is exciting on several levels but really scary to me for one reason: I don't want to compromise my personal food values just because I don't have a normally functioning kitchen at the moment, I'm not sure where everything has been stashed and lastly everything is covered in about a quarter inch of dust.

I teach a lot of my kitchen design clients about the need to be prepared and organized during their remodels, but much like my struggle with my new gluten free diet, talking about something and living it are two completely different things.

I decided, in advance, I was going to set up my kitchen like I do when on a camping trip. My friends at festivals joke that I'm glamping because we always have such a nice kitchen for the week. What it really boils down to is that just because I'm at a festival doesn't mean I should start suddenly eating a ton of junk food that makes me feel crappy just because it's easier. This remodel, I feel the same way except this time I have one added bonus, electricity.

On our side porch I'm setting up my camping kitchen table with bins of my basic necessities underneath. My husband was happy with having a hot dog roast over our backyard firepit, but with his brother staying with us to help with the kitchen, I had a nicer set up in mind. We have a grill, a single butane burner stove, a convection toaster oven, but most importantly a crockpot. I used to think the only things to make in a crockpot were hearty stews and overnight applesauce, boy did I have a lot to learn!

One of the most surprising resources I found for crockpot cooking was Pinterest. Yes, I've filtered out a lot of recipes that contained a lot of processed junk, but I've also found some gems and learned a lot of new techniques. My most recent discovery was that you can roast an entire chicken just like you would in the oven, in a crockpot. Just place the onions, potatoes and carrots underneath the chicken like you would in a roasting pan, season it up and cook on low between 4-6 hours. This has proved invaluable to me. I come home from a long day of work to dinner that is already done. Talk about a great way to make sure I can relax and enjoy my time with my family.

This week I don't have a full kitchen, and I'm on jury duty so I have the challenge of packing gluten free lunches. I am refusing to eat takeout during this remodel, (as if you hadn't guessed). The crockpot is helping me create dinners that easily can become leftovers that can be eaten the next day, without a lot of dishes or mess (especially important since I'm currently using our bathtub to clean dishes).

This week I'll be doing meat free Tuesday since I have the house to myself and I'm not entirely sure what my brother in law is and isn't willing to eat while he stays with us.  Tonight we are having pulled pork barbeque, a super easy dish to make. I rubbed on a pork shoulder with my family's secret spice rub. I then placed it in the crockpot, fat side down) with some apple juice (local of course), beer works well for this also.  I put the crockpot on low and left for court. 8 hours later I have wonderful pork that is juicy and falls apart that can be used Ina multitude of dishes. I shredded some of the pork and am heating it up with 1 part cider vinegar, 1 part water and 1 part homemade BBQ sauce. My husband and his brother will be having it over whole grain rolls to soak up the juices, while I will be enjoying mine plain.

For a side dish: zucchini corn salad, fresh from our garden. Simply toss corn kernels and diced zucchini with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Season with salt and pepper and toss with some fresh chiffonade basil from the garden. Let the flavors marinate about a half hour before serving.  It's a simple dinner that is full of flavor and does not take a lot of time to make. Once the kitchen is finished I'll be posting about how my homemade tomato sauce is coming along as our harvest should be just about ready as well as my first attempts at making catsup. In the meantime, be well and treat yourself to all the wonderful flavors this season has to offer.

Gluten Free... Not by Choice

The latest health craze for a lot of people is going gluten free. With books out like "The Wheat Belly Diet", wheat in our food supply had become the next food enemy number one.  Whole grains are a wonderful thing, when they truly are whole grain. The problem with the latest media blaze against wheat is that the media is not recognizing the difference between the wheat our ancestors ate and the stuff that is mass produced and put in almost all of our food supply.  

I've tried the occasional gluten-free cookie and have even developed recipes for my clients, but these were infrequent meals.  What happens when you are forced to eat gluten free all the time? I am about to find out.  I was diagnosed with a very unhappy thyroid this past week.  My doctor was ready to prescribe me a pill that I would have to take for the rest of my life.  I knew there had to be another option and it would involve my diet.  I talked with my doctor and presented her with testimonies and studies from experts in the nutrition field and professors from my schooling at the Institute for Integrative nutrition, such as Andrea Beaman. These people have shown that through nutrition therapy it is possible to reverse some thyroid conditions if caught early on. We made a deal, if after one month some of my symptom haven't lessened in severity I try the pill.  I may be creating a lot of extra work for myself but I'm willing to try it. 

 Let me start by saying I am not allergic to gluten, but it, as well as soy, happen to be things that make a inflamed thyroid grumpy so I have to give them up.  This is a bit brutal for me, having grownup in a heavily French influenced family, where my father did not consider dinner to be ready or even sit down unless the bread was crusty, warm and ready on the table. And I admittedly really LOVE bread. I don't even like anything on it because I love tasting the complexities of the crust. I love baking it even more.

Its the beginning of day three for me and I'm learning that I can't do this cold turkey.  Yesterday's provided labor day lunch at work was a real wake up call.  Staring at macaroni and pasta salads, cookies, cupcakes and a whole slew of food and not being able to have any of it was not an easy feat.  I was able to eat a plain hot dog, no bun....That was literally the only thing in the spread that I was able to eat by my nutrition plan guidelines.  

 I can't be superwoman in the kitchen every day, I work too much for that, so I headed to the natural food section of the store. I don't like buying pre-made food of any kind, but drastic times call for drastic measures.I bought some gluten free bagels and English muffins to try to make my hectic mornings a bit easier, not to mention the transition to go a bit more smoothly.

The flavor of these breads is actually pretty good and they look normal enough, but the texture is the main difference I notice. They are Very  crumbly, not exactly the best choice to eat on the go unless you want everyone at work  to know what you had for breakfast, because your clothes are covered in it.(learned that the hard way) SO in a nutshell some of these products are pretty good but I definitely will be experimenting with baking some of my own when I have a bit more time on my hands.  In the meantime, I am developing an entirely new level of respect for my friends struggling with Celiac disease. I will definitely be sharing my experiences on this journey, as well as the recipes I develop while on it. 

The english muffin looked and tasted pretty good but it fell apart when I spread my almond butter  & homemade fig jam on it.

Healthier Convenience Baked Goods? Am I dreaming?

Happy Saturday! Its my one weekend off per month...hooray! I'm happy to report we have lots of fun things planned but the best parts are that my brother in law is spending the weekend with us and I get to see my good friend Sara later tonight. Whenever we have weekend guests I like to wake up and have some nice warm baked goods ready for our guests. After a crazy night out, the thought of getting up, proofing and baking dough is not exactly at the top of my wish list.  Despite it making my life easier, I refuse to buy the biscuits with a certain giggling rotund boy in a chef hat. I don't trust the chemicals & preservatives in the prepackaged doughs. This youtube clip pretty much demonstrates what I think of them , its entitled where croissants come from:



I was faced with this same dilemma about a month ago until I discovered the Immaculate Baking Company while in Wegman's. Their products were right on the refrigerated shelf next to the other pre-packaged doughs and cookies....so I almost missed them. Here's the skinny on what I thought of their products.

1) I love the fact that I can not only pronounce and recognize every ingredient on the label but they even explain they use non GMO Canola oil and aluminum fee baking powder

2) They also have gluten free and dairy free cookie lines as well

3) The scones are more like biscuits and have yummy things like cranberries or cinnamon in them.  They also don't leave that yucky film on the roof of your mouth when you eat them at room temperature like that other popular brand does. They also keep for a few days.

4) They actually taste pretty close to homemade...... almost as good. Homemade for me, is always best.

5) My husband really likes the cookies.

So basically yes, you can actually buy good tasting pre-made dough for baking that isn't full of nasty chemicals. I will still make 99% of my baked goods myself, but it is nice to know I have a trustworthy option if I decide to take  it easy and cheat once in a while.  (They have no idea I'm giving them this glowing endorsement BTW, I just was very pleasantly surprised by their products)

Happy Bastille Day!

Yup, I'm celebrating French independence day.  Why? because that is where my father's family is from.... and also I'll make any excuse to cook my favorite comfort food recipes from my ancestral heritage.  Also, this is the 3rd day in a row I'm stuck at home nursing a sinus infection. When I am stuck at home & get a dose of cabin fever or if I am really upset about something, I cook. Any of my dear friends and family have witnessed this because I channel my grandmother during tough times and then feed everyone way too much food until whatever the current storm in my life passes over. Cooking calms me down, gives me a project to work on by myself providing time to think  and also some sort of peace knowing that a little bit of myself is in every dish I make and that the people I care about most in this world will get to enjoy it.

So for today, I've  made two things: a triple berry pie because I have berries from Strite's orchard that I refuse to go to waste and they happen to be the patriotic colors of the French flag as well. I also am making a variation of Ratatouille.

My grandmother and her sister, my great aunt Jeanette, grew up in a tiny farming village in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France. They ate simply growing up, living off the land. this was not because it was the right thing to do, but it was because that was what they had to do.  One of my favorite stories from their childhood, was that often it rained, they ran out in the grasses outside, picked snails and enjoyed escargot for dinner.  I always found it funny how dishes that many American think of as fancy French food, actually started off as peasant fare.  Ratatouille is one of those dishes that a lot of folks in farm villages ate. It consists of summer squashes, tomatoes and eggplant with garlic and herbs cooked together until it forms a stew. To me, it is the taste of summer on a plate.

Michelle's Ratatouille Pasta

• 2 eggplants (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• coarse salt to taste
• 4 yellow squash (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 8 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 7 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 pounds penne rigate (with ridges) or fusili
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

I actually halved the above recipe since its just myself & my hubby enjoying this tonight. Traditionally this dish is a vegetarian one, but since my hubby wanted some more "oomf" to it, I also added some spicy andouille sausage sliced up.We also used whole grain & vegetable fusili. This time we tried Hodgson Mill brand & its not bad.  If you have a gluten free diet, this dish is excellent on its own and really doesn't need the pasta, I just use it to turn it into a full meal as opposed to a side dish.

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Stir together eggplants, onions, 1/4 cup oil, and kosher salt in a large roasting pan, then roast mixture in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Stir in squash, bell peppers, 2 tablespoons oil, and more kosher salt and roast mixture, stirring occasionally, until bell peppers are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

While vegetables are roasting, simmer tomatoes, garlic, thyme, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and kosher salt in a heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir tomatoes into roasted vegetables and season ratatouille.

Cook penne  in a  pot of boiling salted water until al dente (to the bite) and drain. While pasta is cooking, stir parsley and basil into ratatouille and season. Toss pasta with 1/3 of ratatouille and serve topped with remainder. Enjoy with a nice light red wine and a crispy hunk of a baguette.

Getting tired? I tend to keep myself  going with some inspiring tunes. Today I'm enjoying the sounds of Edith Piaf and Maurice Chevalier while I'm relaxing and then maybe I'll play some French house music later when I have to motivated for the cleanup.


Triple Berry Summer Pie
Ok so first things 1st, the pie.  In France they usually eat tarts or free form pies called galettes, as pie is more of an American dessert. Unfortunately  I'm out of almond flour  to make a proper crust, and galettes are a huge mess in the oven, so pie it is!  First I tossed a mixture of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries together with 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch and about 1 and a half teaspoons of cinnamon.  You can use any mixture of berries you like, these were just what I had on hand.  I added 2 hearty splashes of Cointreau (Note: Cointreau is an orange flavored liquor, using Grand Marnier will give you the same flavor profile) liquor (about 2 tbsp),    and then tossed the mixture with my hands. when its was mixed it looked like this:

Next I poured this mixture into my pie dough shell which I had already formed in my stoneware pie plate. Incidentally my mom always taught me to keep homemade pie dough in the freezer, ready to go. If you're not this fortunate to have it on hand, the ones in the refrigerated section of the grocery store work too. For those of you with Gluten intolerance, Wegman's carries some great ready to use gluten free pie shells in their frozen section.  I took a second piece of pie dough and cut it into strips to make a lattice.  Once I placed this on top I baked the pie for 35 minutes at about 350F in my convection toaster oven.  (I didn't want to waste the energy of heating up an entire oven and the apartment for just one pie).

Et voila! We're sure to be enjoying this later tonight with some vanilla ice cream while watching some of our favorite french inspired films. I think Pixar's Ratatouille & French Kiss will be our movies of choice. I hope you have as nice an evening as we will and happy summer!

Meat Free Monday Recipe: Summer vegetable ragout over polenta

At my wedding we made a dish similar to this with ratatouille over grilled polenta triangles.  This is a modification of a recipe I tried from this month's issue of Self magazine. As today is the second Monday of the month, this recipe is a vegan & gluten free version. I hope you enjoy it!

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 2 cans (15.5 ounces each) navy beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 pound plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup basil, chopped, plus 15 leaves for garnish
• 1 tube (18 ounces) prepared polenta, cut into 16 slices
• 1 pound zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/2 pound of japanese eggplant, sliced
• 1 bottle (7 ounces) roasted red peppers, drained
• 2 roasted garlic cloves, chopped
• 10oz rice cheese, mozzarella style diced (you can find this in most natural grocery stores)

Preparation

Heat grill. Fold four 18-inch-long pieces of foil in half; unfold and coat inside with cooking spray. Combine beans, tomatoes, chopped basil, 5 oz rice cheese and garlic in a bowl. . Place 1/4 of bean mixture in center of 1 half of each piece of foil. Working 1 packet at a time, place 4 slices polenta in an overlapping circle over beans. Top with 1/4 of zucchini slices, 1/4 of red peppers and 1/4 of remaining 5 ounces rice cheese. Fold foil to close and crimp edges to seal packets; place on grill; close lid; cook until packets are fully puffed, 10 minutes. Carefully cut foil to open and garnish with basil leaves. Serves 4.

What's to come

Morning all! Sorry it's been a while since my last post but I've been crazy busy.... I got married. Now that things are calming down and All the ideas that have been on the back burner of my my brain are now coming to the surface. So needless to say I'm writing up a storm. So, here's some of what you can expect in the coming weeks and extended future from this blog.

My green wedding wrap up will be about 2 weeks away because I want to include some of our amazing pictures. It was a wonderful day which will be covered in 2 more posts.

During, my wedding weekend a very special friend of mine went beyond the call of duty to help make my day perfect. She has a lot of dietary challenges so as a thank you gift i'm writing a gluten free vegan cookbook for her. On the 2nd Monday of each month I will now be posting a gluten free vegan recipe, some from this book, to celebrate meat free Mondays. Additionally, you can expect one additional vegetarian recipe as well as at least one seasonal recipe reflecting what I'm currently noshing on/what is currently inspiring me.

Other upcoming features will be some fitness tips and meditations. But first up, I'm feeling very inspired by my honeymoon (I'm currently writing this post from beautiful Waikiki beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. My travel experience with my new hubby has inspired me to write a few things on green travel, as well as local eating while on vacation. I also am writing my travel guide to Oahu, so if any of you make it here you'll have some ideas of where to go.

Well, that's the news for now, keep your eyes peeled over the next few days for my traveling green article and a recipe or two on yummy Hawaiian cuisine. I'm off to spend the day heading to some of the places Tony Bourdain visited on his last trip here. I promise lots of photos & tidbits. Aloha!

Guilt Free Gingerbread

“Had I but a penny in the world, thou shouldst have it for gingerbread.”  

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Gingerbread. Why is it we only seem to make it during the holidays?  Its wonderful stuff. As you can see from above, even Shakespeare loved it, and he was a genius.

I spent last weekend making a gingerbread house with my 2 little nephews and it got me thinking about how much over-processed food they eat on a daily basis, let alone during the holidays.  I always am trying to come up with healthier snacks for the boys as often as possible when I am with them. They love cookies, as most small children do.  In trying to find some healthier cookie ideas, I found the following recipe in the November 2008 issue of the Yoga Journal.  I gave it a try and it wasn't bad at all. It definitely had a lot less sugar than conventional gingerbread cookies, as well it is suitable for someone with gluten allergies. Don't be intimidated by some of the unusual ingredients, most can be found in the health food section of your grocery store.

Recipe makes about 5 dozen Cookies

2 1/3 cup brown rice flour

1 1/2 cups amaranth flour

1 1/2 cups arrowroot powder

2 Tbsp baking powder

2 Tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1 Tsp ground ginger

1/2 Tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 Tsp ground cloves

1 Tsp Sea salt

1 cup amber agave nectar

1/4 cup dark molasses

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup canola oil

2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

Note: grinding your own spices always gives much better flavors (especially nutmeg), but if you don't grind your own try to at least buy organic spices. They really make a difference. Cold pressed oils are also always preferable, make sure you look for a notation on the label to see if its cold pressed. If it doesn't say anything, its not.

Directions:

1. In a large bowl stir together the rice and amaranth flours, arrowroot and baking powders, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the agave nectar, molasses, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Pour into the large bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix well.
3. Cover & chill the dough for 2 hours or more.
4. Sprinkle a work surface with arrowroot powder. Divide the chilled dough into 4 equal parts. Roll out the dough to 1/4" thick.
5. Cut out the gingerbread with a cookie cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat.
6. if you want to decorate eyes, buttons or noses on the cookies, you could press raisins, currants or nuts into the dough before baking.   
7. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 6-7 minutes. The cookies will be slightly soft when 1st removed from the oven.  Allow to cool 5-10 minutes and then move to a rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy!