Gourmet Garden Herbs

Like most lovers of food, I adore herbs. I herbs fresh from the garden or farmers market but most of them seem not to have any. Therefore when my local grocery store had a BOGO event on, I went crazy for these little wonders....refrigerated herbs in a tube by Gourmet Garden. Of course I only bought a few varieties, they have several more (10 to be exact).



Now I know that something from a tube is not as good as something fresh. I know it will have more stuff in it than just the herb. But all in all, I think they're pretty good. And no where on the ingredient list did I see something with a good chance of glutening me...sweet! I have been putting these babies to work for me. Tonight they made a piece of Tilapia palatable to me. Fish, I hate it, but must learn to eat it. This goes fantastically with lightly fried zucchini, steamed broccoli and baked fingerling potatoes. And makes a very simple and quick to prepare meal.

Herbed Tilapia

(For 1, increase as necessary for additional people)

1 fillet tilapia

1 Tbsp peanut oil

1.5 tsp garlic

1.5 tsp chili

1-2 tsp champagne vinegar

Whisk together oil, garlic, chili and vinegar in bowl. Coat Tilapia with this mixture.

Fry tilapia in a small amount of Olive Oil until opaque and firm, flipping once.

Serve with veggies of your choosing and enjoy :)

Waffles

I hate spending money, but I keep wanting to try all the GF goodies on the market.  After all, so far I can only make so many things on my own, and really, I can only eat so much cornbread.  Well, on Friday I lucked out.  My good friend John had a present for me when I got to his place to help him out.  He told me to look in the freezer, and what did I find?  Van's Waffles!  

I'd heard of these, I'd seen these, but I'd never tried them.  I could hardly wait until Saturday morning to try them out.  And damn, they were good.  They're way better than I remember Eggo's to be.  Not that I think that is the most amazing recommendation, but hey, for a frozen waffle, Eggo's weren't bad.  My only problem, the cost.  The box holds 6 waffles, and I think they're around $5 a box!  Those are some pricey waffles.

Enter my slowly developing GF cooking skills.  I hunted down my favorite pre-GF waffle recipe, and went to work.  Okay, so I didn't do much, I used the flour recipe I found somewhere on-line - if you recognize, please let me know where it is from so I can give due credit - and that was about it.  I also made them non-dairy, but I'm pretty sure any milk/milk substitute would work.  But hey, they turned out great, I made 15 waffles, and I swear it cost me way less then $5.  

Gluten-Free Waffles

3 large eggs

1 cup rice milk

1/2 cup oil (originally called for melted butter, but I'm too lazy)

1 tbsp vanilla

2 cups GF-flour**

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

2 tbsp sugar

Beat eggs with electric mixer until thick, approx. 5 minutes.  Beat in milk, oil and vanilla.  Sift dry ingredients together and slowly add to liquid mixture.  Cook in waffle iron.  Serve warm, or freeze for later use.

**GF-Flour

Combine:

3 cups rice flour

3 cups corn starch

2 cups soy flour

1 cup corn flour

Transfer to an airtight container and use as needed.  Recipe can easily be increased or decreased in quantities.

Raspberries

The middle of July has arrived and with it, Summer! We've been enjoying hot and dry days after several very long wet months. The spoils of the Earth have therefore sprung. My tomato plants are starting to produce fruit, and the market is overflowing with treats. Best of all, my favorite summer food is in season...raspberries. With their brilliant red color, and their lingering slightly sweet tartness, I find they sum up everything I love about summer. And just like summer, they never last long enough.




Yesterday it was HOT (29 C, with our normal highs being around 24 C) and sunny. So I did the logical thing, I closed up the apartment, threw on the AC for the cats, jumped in the car and headed into the Valley. What could take this suburban raised girl away from the city? A few hours spent at Dempsy Corner's Orchard picking raspberries and cherries. It took me nearly 1.5 hours to pick 4 pints of berries as I was far to busy eating them from the vine. Of course they were un-sprayed...and the bugs I fought were proof enough of that for me.


However, what am I to do with all these berries? I already have enough jam to sink a ship, and very little freezer space. I keep thinking of delicious "Himbeere Kuchen" I ate in Kassel. Sadly my day's of delectable cakes are gone. Or at least until I get better at this whole baking gluten free thing. After a hunt, and the combining of a couple recipes I came up with a very nice Gluten-Free Fresh Raspberry Pie.




Gluten-Free Fresh Raspberry Pie


For the crust:
1 1/2 cups rice flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
4 oz. (1/2 package) cream cheese
1 egg, well beaten
2-3 tbsp milk


Sift together all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry cutter or two knifes. Cut in cream cheese. When fairly uniform stir in the egg. Sprinkle milk over mixture and gently stir and knead into a ball. Roll dough into a circle approx 2 inch wider than your pie plate. Bake at 450 F fro 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from heat and cool.


I baked mine for 10 minutes, turned off the oven and left it in for the remaining 5. It came out nicely dried, with a lovely golden color on the top edges.





For the filling:
2 2/3 cups raspberries
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 1/2 tbsp corn starch


Measure out 2/3 cup of the berries and mash into a medium ceramic or glass bowl. Mix in sugar and water. Microwave on high for 4-5 minutes until bubbling.
Combine the cornstarch with a small amount of water and stir into the berry mixture. Place back in microwave and cook an addition 1-2 minute until thickened. Allow to cool. Once filling is cool, place remaining berries in the prepared pie shell and pour the glaze over. Chill in fridge until ready to serve.


Enjoy with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or just as is.