Book of Yum

Two weeks of menus! Crazy, I know, but we were away last weekend and I didn’t have time to come up with a menu until too late to share. But, since I made one, I thought I’d share it with you now along with this week’s menu. Gluten Free Mommy is hosting this week’s menu swap, with a theme ingredient of tomatoes. I may just have to blog about my beautiful heirloom tomatoes that I’ve been harvesting. You can find even more lovely menus at Org Junkie.

Week One: September 1- September 7
Monday: Gourmet American Sandwich
Roasted Red Pepper Avocado Clubs with White bean hummus on Gluten-Free Pantry Favorite Sandwich Bread (contains dairy)

Wednesday: Vegan
Southwestern Corn Casserole (La Dolce Vegan p. 169)
Spinach walnut salad (La Dolce Vegan p. 78)

Friday: Vegan, fusion Indian
Brown Rice
red lentil sauce (La Dolce Vegan p. 182)
Roasted Curry green beans

Saturday: Vegan
Tomato Peanut and Kale Pasta
From La Dolce Vegan p. 134- and it couldn’t be simpler! You simmer 1 can of tomato juice (I used Campbell’s) in a saucepan with 2 cups of finely diced kale (no stem) for about ten minutes, and then add 2 tbsp. of nut butter (peanut, almond, whatever) and 1-2 tsp. of chili-garlic sauce. Mix in cooked pasta and suddenly you have a great, vegan “cheesy” dish… Very simple and a great way to get DH’s and kids (cough cough) who would otherwise never eat kale to eat it without even noticing. Imagine my surprise when DH said it was good and asked for more… whahahah, all part of my evil plan.

Baked Good of the Week: Peach tartlette

Week Two: Sep 8-13
Monday: South Indian
Masala Dosa with Coconut Chutney

Tuesday: Chinese
Green Bean szechuan pepper Stir Fry with cashews
deep fried tofu
Jasmine Rice

Wednesday: Mediterranean
Chickpea Flour Socca with Green Garden not-ricotta and Roasted heirloom tomato topping
Jicama, Orange, and Fennel Salad (70)

Thursday: Italian
Zucchini Eggplant Lasagna (119) with homemade GF lasagna pasta

Friday: Indonesian/ vegetarian
Indonesian Brown Rice Vegetable Salad (51)

Baked Good of the Week: Cinnamon Sugar Baked Gluten-Free Donuts

Spinach Walnut Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad  Vegetables  American

Ingredients Dressing: 1 cup unsweetened raspberries (frozen) 3 tbsp. sugar 2 tbsp. olive oil 1 tbsp. flax oil (or other healthy oil) 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 1/4 tsp salt Salad: 3 cups Baby spinach (enough for your desired servings) 1/2 small red onion, sliced very thinly 1/2 cup lightly toasted, chopped walnuts 1/4 cup fresh raspberries (optional) Directions Dressing: Heat raspberries and sugar in a small saucepan and bring mixture to a boil, letting it boil for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Take off the heat. Strain raspberry mixture through a mesh strainer into a small bowl. Throw away seeds (unless you are impatient and just pitch the whole thing in the bowl like me, cough cough) and add remaining ingredients, whisking together or using automated whisk until emulsified. Toss your clean, dry spinach with the red onion and walnuts. Garnish with raspberries and drizzle with dressing or let guests dress their own salad. Notes Enough for 3-4 servings. You may have extra dressing- the tragedy.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Based on La Dolce Vegan, modified to be soy-free Recipe ID:  1292 Added:  September 5, 2008 Last Modified:  September 5, 2008

Eggplant Dip, aka baba ganoush with kalamata olives, served with gluten-free grilled flatbread and tahini dip.

This week the Gluten-Free Menu Swap is hosted by Fresh Ginger, and the theme ingredient is EGGPLANT. In honor of that ingredient, I decided to share my recipe for baba ganoush for this week’s dressing (or sauce) of the week. Looking for more menu ideas? Org Junkie hosts a wonderful Meal Plan Monday event.

Monday: Mexican
Cheesy Arepas
Refried Beans
Pico de Gallo

Tuesday: American
GF Baked Onion Rings (recipe coming SOON!)
Cream of Tomato Soup (dairy-free)
Spinach polenta bites

Thursday: South Indian
Mango Lassi
Dosa Indian Crepes with Masala Potato Filling
Coconut Chutney

Friday-Monday: Road Trip to Portland and Seattle!
Happy Labor Day Weekend!

This week I posted two recipes for baked samosas- one vegan, allergen-free recipe, and another based on Chebe all-purpose baking mix (with eggs and dairy)

I also reviewed a new artisan’s gluten-free, dairy-free pizza crust by Rustic Crust. (Yum!)

This month I’m hosting Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger so make sure to adopt your very own blogger and post in the comments!

As I mentioned, this week the “dressing” of the week is a dip of the week- baba ganoush, made with this week’s eggplant theme ingredient. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Baba Ganoush Sauces & Condiments  Vegetables  Middle Eastern

Ingredients 2 short eggplant or 1 large eggplant 4 garlic cloves, still in skin 1 1/2 tsp coriander 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 2 or 3 tbsp. tahini sesame paste juice of one small lemon OR 3/4 of the juice of a medium lemon 3 tbsp. high quality olive oil 1/2 tsp paprika (smoked if possible) 6 kalamata olives, chopped generous amount of salt freshly ground pepper fresh cilantro for garnish Directions Roast the eggplant in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes and then toss in your unpeeled garlic cloves with it, letting them both bake for another 15 minutes. Take out the garlic and check the eggplant. you want it to be nice and tender. If it isn’t tender yet, toss it back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Keep checking for doneness. When the eggplant is soft to the touch, remove it from the oven and peel the skin from it. Put in a food processor with the roasted garlic (peeled), spices, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. Blend until creamy and then add your olives and any additional spices. Blend again, taste, and add any extra salt or pepper to taste. Place in serving dish and garnish with chopped cilantro. Drizzle a little extra olive oil on top and add a little dash of kosher salt if you have it.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Inspired by the gluten, wheat, and dairy free cookbook AND the gluten-free menu swap. Please do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1283 Added:  August 19, 2008 Last Modified:  August 24, 2008