As always, you can find the gluten-free menu headquarters with Cheryl at GF Goodness. Asparagus Thin is hosting this week’s gluten-free menu swap with a challenge to readers to incorporate 10 super foods into our menu! She lists the following as super foods (those in bold are those I plan to enjoy this week): Avocados, Berries, Beans/ Lentils/ Pulses (and how), Cacao, Cinnamon, Dark Leafy Greens, Eggs, Eggplant, Flaxseeds, Garlic, Kiwi, Mushrooms, Nuts (Almonds and walnuts specifically), Oranges (in my sweet potato), Pumpkin, Red Wine, Non-veg bits, Sea Vegetables, Soy, Sweet potatoes, Tomatoes, Tea, Whole Grains, Yogurt.

I would personally include beets and broccoli in there as well… What can I say, I’m a b-vegetable kind of girl. Below is my menu, but don’t forget to check out more menus at Org Junkie.

Sunday: Middle Eastern
Baked Falafel, Bette Hagman’s recipe for Gluten-free Pita Bread, baba ghanoush, tahini sauce, roasted green beans

Monday: Vegan
Lentil soup and roasted organic white yams and broccoli

Tuesday: Mexican
Refried Bean fresh tortilla rollups, dairy free tomato cumin soup

Wednesday: Vegan
Bette Hagman crumpets with pinto bean un-tuna salad

Thursday: Calcium happy
Wild rice quinoa salad
Stuffed collard greens

Friday: Vegan
Roasted chickpeas
Sweet potato cinnamon boats

*Many of these recipes are based on recipes from an interesting book called “Calciyum” (pictured) that has recipes with high Calcium content WITHOUT dairy. I’ll keep you posted on how they turn out!

This week I’m sharing a delicious and fresh gluten-free pasta salad I made recently. I love whipping up an easy batch of dairy-free pesto for pasta. This time I made it with spinach for extra nutrients. It went beautifully with perfectly crispy fresh green beans from the farmer’s market. Hope you enjoy!

Dairy-free Pesto Green Bean Pasta Salad Main Course  Vegetables  Italian

Ingredients Dairy-free Pesto: 1 cup fresh basil 1 cup fresh spinach 1/2 cup toasted pecans salt to taste 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional) olive oil 1 lb. fresh green beans 1 package gluten-free pasta (I like a corn-rice blend) 1/8 cup kalamata olives, pitted and diced 1/4 cup pecans salt sugar Directions Combine basil, spinach, seasonings and pecans in a food processor. Drizzle in enough olive oil to make a paste. If you are watching your calories, use a little olive oil and supplement with water. Taste and add additional salt if needed. Prepare pasta until al dente and rinse in cool water to remove excess starch. Blanch green beans (i.e. drop in boiling water and then rinse in cold water when crisp tender.) Cooking time depends on the bean- I used fresh ones from the farmers market and they cooked quickly but older, tougher beans like those at Trader Joes will take more time. Toast pecans in pan on stove on low heat, sprinkling with salt and sugar as they start to warm. Continue toasting and remove from heat before they burn. Mix pesto into the green beans. (You may have extra for the pasta or for another use). Fold into the pasta, and add your olives and sugared pecans. Serve and enjoy! Notes The fresher your green beans, the better this will be!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  The contents of my brain, please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1458 Added:  September 25, 2009 Last Modified:  October 5, 2009

For dinner that night we started with steamed artichokes. Artichokes are so good with miso mayo, although the DH is a traditionalist and likes them dipped in butter! Then we had a lovely serving of brown rice topped with the maple-mustard glazed veggies. It was simple to make, and so delicious! The DH has suggested I feel free to make it anytime… For him, it hit the perfect note of warm, homey comfort food. I have to agree, it was delicious, and reminded me of other things I used to glaze in mustard, back in my pre-vegetarian days. So lovely to enjoy these flavors, and have it be deliciously, delightfully vegetarian… even vegan, if you use maple syrup for the sweetener. Yum! I had already had a healthy portion of tofu right before the meal, but it would be a great side dish instead of a main if you have a protein dish planned… and is certain to appeal to anyone in your house, even confirmed carnivores. Enjoy!

Maple-Mustard Glazed Roasted Vegetable Recipe Side Dish  Potatoes  Vegetables  American

Ingredients 2 organic med. russet potatoes or yukon golds, sliced into rounds 2 organic med. red potatoes, sliced into rounds 1/2 lb. green beans, with ends removed 1 red onion, cut into wide slices 4 cloves whole garlic, peeled 8 sweet nanette carrots from Trader Joes or 4+ large organic carrots, either whole (in case of small carrots or cut into 4 “thin carrot” sizes for large) 3 tbsp. wheat-free low sodium tamari 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (if you are not vegan, you could try honey) 3 tbsp. gluten-free dijon mustard (I use annies) 2 tbsp. olive oil 2 large sprigs of fresh rosemary, separated into small sprigs freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup pecans(later addition) Directions Preheat oven to 400 F.Line a large 9*13 pan with aluminum foil and throw your veggies into the pan *through the carrots). Then whisk the tamari, maple syrup, mustard and olive oil together in a small bowl and drizzle on veggies, folding in sauce so veggies are evenly covered. Season with freshly ground black pepper and add your sprigs of rosemary throughout the dish. Cover with aluminum foil and put in oven for 25 minutes. When timer goes off, take dish out of the oven and turn down oven to 350F. Remove the cover, stir the dish so sauce is evenly distributed, turning veggies (especially potatoes) if you like, and put the dish back in the oven uncovered. Set time for another 25 minutes. When timer goes off, take dish out again, stir, and this time add your pecans. Put dish back in the oven for 25 more minutes, and then check potatoes to see if they are cooked through. Once your potatoes are done, plate and serve! Notes The DH said this dish made the house smell like the holidays, and it was the perfect comfort food dish for him. I have his permission to “make it anytime.” :)

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Inspired by Vegan with Vengeance Cookbook but Heavily Modified. Do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1360 Added:  February 4, 2009 Last Modified:  February 4, 2009

This week the gluten free Menu swap is hosted by M-Elle of Cooking and Uncooking with a theme ingredient of chocolate. Oh, you temptress M-Elle! As always, many thanks to Cheryl for temporarily housing the Gluten Free Menu Swap at her blog. You can find more great menus with Org Junkie.

Sunday: Italian
Mushroom Risotto with optional Romano cheese
Pesc. Dish for non veggies
Roasted Honey Green Beans

Monday: Mexican
Fried Corn Tacos
with Vegetarian Refried Beans, homemade guacamole, lettuce, tomato, jicama and cheddar cheese

Tuesday: Fusion Asian
Grilled Sesame Tofu
Grilled Veggies
Basmati Rice

Wednesday: Italian
Pasta and tomato marinara sauce

Friday: Japanese
Vegan Avocado Sushi
Sesame Spinach Salad

Dessert: chocolate fondue and fresh fruit

Recipes from our Trip to Florida Last Year!

Enjoy this week’s Salad of the week- good hot or cold! Use leftovers on another salad or recipe.

Honey Glazed Roasted Green Bean with Pecan Recipe Side Dish  Vegetables  American

Ingredients Glaze: 1/4 cup honey 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp. brandy 2 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar 1 tbsp orange juice generous amount of your favorite garlic seasoning blend 1 1/2 lbs green beans with ends removed, cleaned and dried Salt to taste 1/4 cup or more pecans 1 tbsp honey Directions Combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Do this on a hot surface if the honey won’t blend, so the honey melts into the rest of the ingredients. Put your green beans on a baking sheet and drizzle with some of the glaze so they are covered but not swimming in the glaze. You will have a fair amount let. Roast the green beans for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, put the pecans in a small baking dish and put 1 tbsp of honey in the bottom of the dish and add enough glaze to dissolve the honey. Put the pecans in the oven and watch them. They will probably be done in 10 minutes or so. Combine green beans and pecans in a bowl and serve. You may have extra pecans- no worries. They’re delicious on a salad or even just for snacking.

Rating:  6 Original Source:  the contents of my brain, please do not replicate anywhere without my permission Recipe ID:  1361 Added:  February 8, 2009 Last Modified:  February 8, 2009

In the spirit of this week’s theme of leftovers, let me just add that risotto makes perfect leftovers, either plain or shaped into balls, breaded and lightly fried in oil. I also just read about a fascinating dish called “Soup with Risotto, a dish made with risotto, eggs, bread crumbs, and clear or brown soup. It is commonly made when one has risotto leftover after a meal. The risotto is made into little balls the size of small nuts. Then are covered in egg and bread crumbs and fried in butter. After being dried they are added to either clear or brown soup.This recipe is not traditional in Italy, however. The balls are made (actually a little bigger than eggs), but they are not added to soup and are rather eaten on their own, and they are locally called supplì.” (source: Wikipedia Interesting!

Other risotto dishes at the book of Yum:
Seven Herb Risotto Recipe with Risotto cake variation for leftovers
Red Onion Vegetarian Risotto with grilled mushroom Recipe
Classic Allergen-Free Risotto Recipe (Dairy-free etc.)

Green Bean Mushroom Dill Risotto with Optional Havarti Recipe Main Course  Rice  Vegetables  Italian

Ingredients Small soup pot of Gluten-Free Vegetable Stock (from bullion is fine) 2 to 3 cups Arborio Rice for Risotto 3 shallots or 1/2 large onion, diced 2 tbsp. butter or margarine 1/2 tbsp. olive oil 1/4 cup white wine 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces 8 oz. mushrooms, chopped 1 bay leaf salt pepper dill weed, dry (or fresh if available) optional: 1/4 cup dill havarti, cut into thin slices creme, kefir, or yogurt, for adding to individual servings Directions Heat vegetable stock in the soup pot. Heat butter or margarine and olive oil in a dutch oven or deep pot. Add diced shallot or onion and let start to turn translucent. Add rice and stir. As rice grains turn translucent add your wine and let evaporate away. Add in 1/2 cup or so of stock at a time and stir, letting get absorbed into rice before adding more. After you’ve added stock a few times , add your bay leaf, green beans, and mushrooms and let simmer. Add more stock as needed. Season with salt and pepper and taste as rice grains soften. When rice has absorbed enough liquid to become creamy, taste again. When cooked to your liking, adjust seasonings and let sit on a cool surface for five or ten minutes. To serve, spoon risotto onto a nice bowl or plate and (if desired) sprinkle with havarti cheese slices. Stir in and let begin to melt. If you like, you can add a tablespoon or so of kefir or cream to each individual serving. If you prefer, you can leave the entire dish dairy free. Enjoy!

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Dh’s original creation, do not replicate without our permission. Thank you. Recipe ID:  1346 Added:  December 31, 2008 Last Modified:  January 1, 2009