It's Waffle Time

Sunday morning is here and those of use who are living the wheat free way are silently mourning our pancakes and waffles. Dry your eyes and cry no longer. Thanks to Trader Joes waffles are back! The recipe below features this mix exclusive of the Trader Joe's food chain. It can be adapted, as I did, and made with no eggs as well. The finished product is so good that my teenage son ate it and did not even blink. Amazing! It is really great to have the option to make a nice brunch on special days that includes some of the traditional brunch foods that we all have become accustomed to without sacrificing our journey to better health.

If you live near a Trader Joe's hop in and try this great recipe out. Not only is it good for you, but because it is a ready made mix it requires only the addition of a few ingredients, yet makes luscious waffles. What are you waiting for? Dig in.

Necessary Ingredients:

Trader Joe's Gluten Free Pancake and Waffle Mix

Applesauce (or yogurt)

Canola Oil (or Olive Oil)

Water

• Prepare the mix as described on package. Instead of the eggs replace with a small amount (I used about 1/4 cup) of applesauce or yogurt until it has reached the desired consistency.
• Stir until all ingredients have combined.
• Let sit for five minutes while the waffle iron heats up (don't forget to spry the iron with light cooking spray)
• Take 1/2 cup of the mix and pour on to the waffle iron, close lid and wait until the light shows that it is done.
• Remove waffle and plate
• Good toppings include: Trader Joe's Chunky Dices Cinnamon Apples (as shown above)fresh fruit, applesauce, sugar free syrup, mascarpone cheese.

Lavinia Tips: I like to sometimes add fruit to the batter for a little bit of a zing. If you don't like it in the waffle, by all means put some fresh fruit on top.

Lavinia

Tomato Tapenade Pizza

It finally happened. After a little more than a year of marriage I made a meal my husband loves. No kidding. This is a landmark day; one small step for me and one large step for us. I am running the victory lap and triumphantly waving my flag of success. This was no small feat. Merging our two diets is like trying to mix oil and water, democrats and republicans or Sonny and Cher. All forces of nature work against the union. I am a vegan with fish and he is fast food with a soda. I am brown rice with oat floor and he is corn syrup with starchy preservatives. I am fruit with sorbet and he is cake with whip cream. See what I mean. What is a wife to do? Our taste buds are not only different, but from opposite ends of the universe. Fortunately, God made pizza…or…some brilliant, short, hairy, dark-haired, Italian speaking man with a mustache did and I am truly grateful. Who knew crusty tomato sauce with toppings is itself an international language of love. It knows no borders, cultures, households, or cooks, only stomachs. All you have to do is make it and they will come – they people or a person that is. Could it be that simple? Ah, one small step for me and one large step for us. Here you go love…

Ingredients

• 2 ready made French Meadow Bakery spelt pizza crusts
• 1 6.35 oz jar of Meditalia sun-dried tomato tapenade
• ½ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes*
• ¼ cup pine nuts (optional)
• Four artichoke hearts
• 1 8oz carton chopped mushrooms
• ½ medium size yellow pepper sliced
• ½ medium size orange pepper sliced
• 2 green onions or scallions sliced
• ¼ fresh cilantro leaves chopped (optional)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp grated black pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375
• Add a thin layer of tomato tapenade to each pizza crust (should have about ½ cup leftover to cook with vegetables)
• Sprinkle sun dried tomatoes over each pizza crust
• Sprinkle pine nuts over each pizza crust
• Separate the separated stems of two artichoke hearts and place on each pizza crust
• Sprinkle black pepper on each pizza crust
• Sprinkle fresh chopped cilantro leaves over each pizza
• In a frying pan stir together olive oil, peppers, mushrooms, green onion and ½ cup tomato tapenade over low heat for a couple of minutes. Do not over cook. Then spread mixture on top of each pizza (there may be leftover mixture).
  

Bake pizzas at 375 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. Cool and serve. Good warm or cold.

*This pizza has a bit of a bite. If too much for you leave out the sun dried tomatoes and see if that tames the flavor down to your liking.

Enjoy,

Maria

Box Meal #1 - Fish & Rice

Ever have days when you crave a wholesome meal but would rather not work too hard to pull it together? Or are you simply a person like myself who could easily find a number of things you would rather be doing than cooking. No worry, I have a solution! Box meals. Box meals can be an occasional tasty and healthy alternative to down home cooked meals but without much hassle. All you have to do is open, cook and serve.

My favorite meal is a combination of fish, rice and veggies. Box brands you can count on for perfect fish and rice every time are sold by Henry & Lisa’s Natural Seafood and Seeds of Change.

Attributes of Henry and Lisa's Natural Seafood

• Contains no preservatives, chemicals, antibiotics, hormones.
• All seafood is put in ‘quick freeze’ at low temperatures within hours of harvest preserve freshness and flavor.
• Randomly tested for mercury and PCB’s.
• Includes a packet of sauce made by an award winning chef. A very appetizing addition!
• A variety of seafood available – I gravitate toward the Salmon and Mahimahi.
• Available in selected Super Target Stores at an affordable price.

Maria’s Tip:
If you have no time to marinate fish in the packet of sauce, which I never do, before broiling add about a tablespoon of olive oil on top of the fish and then spread the sauce – either thawed or frozen – over the top of the fish. Results are still very tasty. Sorry to all the chefs
out there who are probably cringing at that suggestion!

Attributes of Seeds of Change Rice

• Packaged in a variety of rice combinations.
• If Publix Grocery Stores are in your area, it is available at an affordable price in the GreenWise Market section.
• USDA Organic.
• Vegetarian friendly.*

For the veggie I usually add whatever I have in the fridge. Steam them over low heat on the stove while the rice and fish are cooking. Preparing the fish, rice and veggies to broil, cook and steam takes about five minutes. After that you walk away and return 10 minutes later to a fantastic meal.

*If you are a vegetarian, simply ditch the fish and add an 8 oz container of cubed tofu to the rice in the last five minutes of cooking and you still come out with a quick, tasty meal.

Maria

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have had a long love affair with chocolate. Can you fault me? Everything is better with and after chocolate. A celebration – chocolate. Outing with a friend – chocolate. Long day at work – chocolate. Mid day pick-me-up – chocolate. Pat on the back – chocolate. Just because it’s Friday – chocolate. See what I mean? Some might call that an addiction. I call it love…ah, second love to my husband of course. I don’t recall when the attraction began, but I do remember scarfing down bowls of chocolate chip batter with my sis on our bedroom floor, sneak runs to snag recess peanut butter cups from the kitchen freezer, and countless school lunch periods trying to barter off my can of applesauce for everyone else’s luscious cup of chocolate pudding. A lot of work went into cultivating that affair in those days. Now if I want something chocolaty I simply buy it, or if ambitious, make it.

Given my love for chocolate, it made sense that the first wheat free and dairy free recipe I tackled when catering my diet to food sensitivities over a decade ago was the chocolate chip cookie. The recipe I created below will turn out little golden nuggets, literally speaking. Brice rice syrup is not cheap, but well worth the investment on occasion to fuel that tasty affair of mine. Perhaps yours as well.

Ingredients
1 cup brown rice syrup*
¼ cup almond amazake*
2 ½ cups oat flour
1 cup soy flour
2 tsp baking power
½ 10 oz bag of chocolate chips*

Directions
Mix wet ingredients in a bowl.
Mix dry ingredients in another bowl (except for the chocolate chips).
Gradually mix in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.
Mix ingredients until the dough runs slightly off the spoon.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
With a spoon drop the dough into medium size balls on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.
Cool before removing cookies from pan.
Makes 1 dozen.

*May substitute Almond Amazake with almond milk. Note that Lundberg’s makes a brand of wheat free brown rice syrup. If you are looking for a delicious chocolate chip that is wheat free and dairy free try brands by Sunspire’s Tropical Source or Enjoy life. The latter is gluten free and dairy free.

Enjoy!

Maria

Ginger Tofu Broccoli Dish

Got a get away spot? Perhaps a place to perch on a stool and gaze out the window, or rest back in a chair and inhale the first warm summer breezes amidst collective bird song, chattering voices and flavored aromas that move in an out of a center bustling with activity; a place just down the street. Somewhere that always feels warm no matter how blistery cold outside; a jaunt that is top choice to meet up at or celebrate the latest occasion; a favorite hub that brings a smile to your face at the mere mention or sight of it. A place you visit so often it has become a part of your identity and home. That place for me was Strawberry Fields. Mention the name and I can almost picture myself there again; a happy, busy, grad student pacing up and down the grocery isles and through the café line with a few pieces of spare change to spend on an empty stomach eager to have its cravings satisfied. Good times. Grand place. Great food.

Occasionally I tried to duplicate some favorite Strawberry Fields café dishes in my home kitchen. They never handed out recipes but they did list ingredients! This is my take on their Ginger Broccoli Dish. Try it. You may like it or you may love it as I do.

Ingredients
1 head of chopped broccoli
1 8oz carton of sliced mushrooms
1 8oz carton firm, diced, tofu
½ cup chopped onion
¼ cup minced ginger root
¼ tsp black pepper
3 tbsp tamari soy sauce*
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions
In a large frying pan:
Add 2 tbsp olive oil and chopped onions; mix together and lightly saute over medium heat.
Mix in black pepper and minced ginger root; saute slightly.
Mix in 1 tbsp tamari sauce and mushrooms; saute slightly.
Mix in diced tofu, 2 tbsp tamari soy sauce; saute slightly.
Add chopped broccoli to mixture and stir. Cover and simmer over low heat until broccoli is soft.
Cool. Serve warm or cold.
Serves 4.

*Tamari soy sauce is made from fermented soybeans, much like soy sauce, but less salty with a thicker, richer taste. I use wheat free brands by San-J and Eden Organic.

Enjoy and feel free to share your variation on this theme!

Maria