All my best,
Sea
(Sorry I’ve been so busy lately, but those pesky PhD qualifying exams have kept me offline and with my nose pressed in a book… And when I’m not studying, my baby needs snuggles! I know you’ll understand, and you can count on more regular posts again after this hurdle is (hopefully) passed.)

Quinoa Fried Rice Main Course  Alternative Grains  Chinese

Ingredients 3 cups Cooked Quinoa, chilled 2-3 tbsp. neutral oil (canola or peanut if you can have it) 1/4 onion, diced 2 carrots, peeled and diced 1/2 cup green peas Small bundle of broccoli florets, cut into small bite sized pieces 1 inch knob of ginger, peeled. Grate 1/4 of it and slice the rest thinly, dicing 1/2 of those slices White part of one scallion, halved Sauce: 2 tbsp. Coconut Aminos or other soy-free sauce 2 tbsp. vegetable broth 1 to 2 tbsp. dry sherry 1 tbsp. agave nectar 1/4 knob of ginger, grated (from above) 2 scallions- mince the white part and discard the leftover 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. chili garlic sauce pinch szechuan salt (if you have it) pinch white pepper pinch black pepper Directions Whisk together sauce ingredients and prep your veggies. Heat wok on high. Add 2 tbsp of oil and heat until you see white smoke. Add slices of ginger and halved scallion. Let them turn brown and then remove from pan since they’ve flavored the oil. Toss in diced ginger (reserving a little) and quickly add your onion, carrots, and peas and stir fry until they soften slightly. Then add your broccoli. Toss a few times until broccoli has lost its bite… then pour on most of the sauce, reserving a little. Let sauce and veggies simmer for a minute or so and then remove from heat. Put veggies in a dish and reserve. Heat wok again and add a little oil. If you like you can do half of the quinoa at a time… you’ll have better flavor. Add your little bit of reserved diced ginger and then toss half of your quinoa into the wok. Spread it around the wok and let it brown, and then stir it up. Brown a little more and then add half of your sauteed veggies and sauce, mixing in. Add a little leftover sauce and heat thoroughly. Remove to a pretty serving dish and repeat. Enjoy!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Contents of my brain, Please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1501 Added:  May 5, 2010 Last Modified:  May 8, 2010

*If you don’t have nori you can make a chirashi “zushi” by sprinkling the filling over a nice bowl of the seasoned quinoa. Quick and easy, especially for leftover quinoa!

Gluten free Rice Free Quinoa Vegetarian Sushi Recipe Main Course  Alternative Grains  Japanese

Ingredients 2 cups quinoa 4 cups water sushi vinegar: 1/4 cup of neutral vinegar (i used a filtered apple vinegar) 1 tablespoon of sugar 1 teaspoon of sea salt 2 green onions, quartered horizontally 2 carrots, peeled,sliced into long pieces and blanched 1/2 avocado, sliced Unseasoned nori sheets *A large recipe- you will have enough leftover quinoa for several servings of quinoa “chirashi” with vegetables sprinkled on top, unless you are cooking for a large group very hungry for “sushi” rolls. Directions Toast quinoa in a skillet on medium low, stirring to prevent burning. When quinoa is nicely toasted, move to a fine wire strainer and rinse. Pour into pan with water and bring to boil. Cover and lower heat and leave for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat vinegar, sugar and salt in a small pan on low and let the sugar and salt dissolve into the liquid. Put your quinoa in a large, glass bowl and drizzle your sushi vinegar mixture over the quinoa. Fold it in for even distribution. Once quinoa has cooled, you can begin to make your sushi. To prepare your sushi, get your nori sheet and place on a bamboo rolling mat. Cover the entire sheet with quinoa “sushi-rice” except for a horizontal strip at the bottom. Choose a line about 1 or two inches above the bare strip of nori and create a strip on top of the quinoa of filling ingredients. Make sure a small strip or two of green onions,blanched, thin carrot and a slice of avocado will be in every bite. Gently roll your nori together to form a cylinder and moisten the bare nori strip with water. Seal together and let rest while you make your desired number of sushi rolls. When ready to serve, gently slice cylinders into bite size rolls. You may want to cut a wider roll at the ends where the quinoa mixture is the loosest. Serve on a plate. If allergies don’t prohibit it, you can sprinkle the rolls with sesame seeds, but it is not necessary. Enjoy with your favorite wheat-free soy sauce or one of the new soy-free sauces on the market like Coconut Secret’s Raw Coconut Aminos. (Yummy!)

Rating:  8 Original Source:  The contents of my brain. Do not replicate without my permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1480 Added:  January 15, 2010 Last Modified:  February 6, 2010

Here are some of my favorite zucchini recipes from the Book of Yum:
Vegetarian Zucchini Green Chili Enchiladas
Grilled Zucchini Parmesan Recipe
Chinese Szechuan Zucchini Brown Fried Rice
Zucchini Crust Pizza Flatbread Recipe

Feel free to share the URL of your favorite gluten-free vegetarian zucchini recipe in the comments, and I’ll add the link to this post!

Celiac Tips shared a recipe for Roasted Zucchini and Goat Cheese. (YUM!)

Menu of the Week
Sunday: Thai
Green Bean Pineapple Basil Stir Fry with Jasmine Rice

Tuesday: Vegetarian
Hash Brown Potato Crust Vegetarian Savory Pie

Wednesday: Mexican
Oven Baked Sopes with Zucchini Corn Filling

Friday: Vegan
Brown rice and Caribbean Pineapple beans with greens

You can find more great menus over with Org Junkie. As always, many thanks to Cheryl for temporarily housing the Gluten Free Menu Swap at her blog.

Participants in this Week’s Gluten-Free Menu Swap:

Cheryl of GF Goodness has a menu with plenty of whole grain gluten-free goodness as well as an announcement about a Virtual online Recipe Baby Shower she is throwing Baby Yum! Is it bad if I say that I’d love to see you there? :)

A Modern Gal’s Menu features a variety of international dishes with Mexican, Chinese, and Thai flair.

Gluten Free is Life likes zucchini roasted with EVOO and a little salt, and shares a hearty family-friendly menu using ingredients on hand.

Heather of Celiac Family plans to take inspiration from Elise of Simply Recipes and adapt a recipe for zucchini fritters this week. She is celebrating a birthday this week and contemplating chocolate, but her menu reflects her attempt to balance nutrition with her family’s diverse taste buds. Happy birthday, Heather!

Angela of Angela’s Kitchen is continuing strong with her walk for breast cancer training in the midst of a busy week. She’s planning on sauteeing some zucchini up this week, and has also planted seeds for fresh-from the garden zucchini later this summer. Angela will host next week’s menu swap with an avocado theme and I can’t wait to participate!

Celiacs in the House has a very photogenic post with menu ideas as well as a link to an intriguing Martha recipe for pickled zucchini ribbons.

Esther of the Lilac Kitchen reminded me that zucchini is also known as Courgette in New Zealand or British English, and shared a menu with some local, fresh produce and comforting fare.

I’m including a Thai-Chinese inspired zucchini stir fry recipe I enjoyed for dinner last night, as well as an absolutely delicious grilled zucchini salad that premiered on the Book of Yum two years ago, when I’d just started the blog. I hope you enjoy them, and at least one of these recipes inspires you to experiment with zucchini, even if it has never been one of your favorite vegetables.

Soy free Jicama Zucchini Stir Fry Main Course  Vegetables  Asian  Thai

Ingredients 1 tbsp peanut or other szechuan peppercorns 1 inch knob ginger, minced salt 1/2 small jicama, cubed handful green beans, chopped 3 green onions, sliced 1 zucchini, cubed 1/8 cup raw cashew halves Sauce: 3/4 cup GF veg broth (from cube like Edward and sons not-beef) 1 tbsp mirin 1/2 tsp sesame oil white pepper 2 tsp corn starch 1/2 bunch of fresh thai basil Directions Heat wok on high and add szechuan peppercorns, toasting lightly. Add oil and let it heat until a white wisp of smoke curls off of it, and then add your minced ginger. When ginger turns brown, strain peppercorns and ginger out of the oil and leave oil in pan. Let oil heat again and add salt to it. When oil is curling up in smoke again, add your cubed jicama and stir fry for a few minutes or until it is lightly seared on multiple sides. Add the green beans and fry for another minute, moving around pan occasionally. Add green onions and let them soften slightly before adding cashew halves and finally zucchini cubes. Combine veg broth and mirin (or other GF alcohol of choice) in a small bowl and whisk in sesame oil and sprinkle in some white pepper. Add some of the sauce to the vegetables in the pan and let it heat. Add cornstarch to the remaining sauce, whisk in thoroughly, and then add to the pan. Combine so vegetables are evenly coated in sauce. Let thicken to taste and remove from pan. Add thai basil and serve with rice or rice noodles. Notes For a variation, fill thai rice wrapper with rice noodles and stir fry ingredients, wrap up, let cool into a sealed pouch, and enjoy.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Completely original creation from my own brain, do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1413 Added:  May 16, 2009 Last Modified:  May 16, 2009

Grilled Zucchini with Tomato and Olive Salad Side Dish  Vegetables  Mediterranean

Ingredients 1 lb fresh zucchini and/or squash 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil 1 1/2 tsp fresh minced thyme 1 medium sized tomato cut in small dice 1 lg garlic clove, minced 16 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced (or regular blk olives) 1 tbsp chopped capers 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar salt, freshly ground pepper 1 tbsp pine nuts 8-10 fresh basil leaves Directions Heat or otherwise prepare grill or grill pan. (charcoal or propane grill is best) Cut zucchini lengthwise 1/4 inch thick, baste in 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle fresh thyme until evenly coated. Combine diced tomato cubes, garlic, olives, capers, and red wine vinegar in a bowl and put aside. Salt and pepper zucchini or squash rounds and grill until marked with grill stripes (3 minutes or less depending on heat). Place on serving platter when done, spread tomato olive mixture on top and season with salt and pepper. sprinkle with pine nuts and attractively cut basil and serve. Notes DH and I don’t even like zucchini, and we gobbled this whole recipe up in a night. A good pizza-less “pizza”- very tasty tapa dish. Yum! Perfect for using fresh farmer’s market zucchini available everywhere this year.

Rating:  9 Original Source:   Recipe ID:  1078 Added:  May 28, 2007 Last Modified:  May 16, 2009

One big challenge to the dairy-free, soy-free lifestyle is that of a cheesy pizza. Sure, you can make a tomato sauce and just skip the cheese, but it doesn’t have that rich mouth feel or decadence. I’ve played with a variety of solutions to this problem. There are a number of lactose free or dairy free cheeses on the market, including almond, rice, and soy cheeses that are also gluten-free. However, finding a commercial w”cheese” that is truly 100% dairy-free as well as soy-free can be another story. Besides, if you’ve ever tried these cheese “substitutes” you know that they taste almost nothing like real cheese, and often don’t seem to add anything good to a recipe besides the idea of cheese. Luckily vegan cookbooks such as The Uncheese Cookbook have more creative alternatives using a variety of “real” foods as the base for their un-cheese recipes. Some of these recipes use soy (frequently) or gluten (less frequently), but there are many options that do work for a gluten,dairy, and soy-free diet.

However, interestingly one of the most successful soy and dairy-free cheese substitutes I found was not in a vegan cookbook, exactly, but on a related raw foods cookbook. Raw foodists might find it sacrilege, but I used it in a baked lasagna to wonderful effect. This recipe for soy and dairy-free lasagna has been one of the most popular recipes at the Book of Yum because it answers a real need in the food-sensitive community for TASTY cheese substitutes. This recipe came to mind when Mother was visiting us this week. She can eat gluten, but is allergic to soy and dairy, so she doesn’t often have the chance to have “cheesy” dishes. She is also allergic to garlic and avoids tomatoes due to RA. When I decided to make a dairy-free pizza, I thought immediately that I should try using the yummy pine nut sauce on it as the “cheese” base. I was also inspired by the season to roast sweet potato cubes and mushrooms for toppings. I decided to simplify the pine nut recipe a bit and found it was just as good, if not better than the original. It was a big hit with my allergy-sensitive Mom, and the DH and I enjoyed it as well. The combination of pine nut sauce, fresh basil, and roasted vegetables was absolutely addicting. Because I had extra pizza crusts I decided to also make a dairy-free walnut pesto and top it with roasted vegetables as well. Yum! And nobody missed the cheese (or soy) at all.

Looking for a gluten-free pizza crust recipe?
Here’s a fun thin-crust recipe- it doesn’t rise much but makes enough for 6 pizzas that you can enjoy over a week’s time.
And, here’s my personal favorite crust- Carol Fenster’s classic gluten-free Pizza recipe with allergen-free pizza topping recipes

Dairy-Free Soy-Free Pine Nut Cheesy Pizza Main Course  Vegetables  Italian

Ingredients 1 gluten-free pizza crust Pine Nut “Cheese” (new version) 1/2 cup pine nuts 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. brown rice vinegar 1/4 tsp or less salt 1/8 cup water or more 1 sweet potato, peeled, cubed handful fresh basil leaves, julienned 4 baby portabella mushrooms (between crimini and portabella) 1 red pepper for roasting olive oil salt, pepper Directions Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Soak 1/2 cup pine nuts in enough water to cover for an hour. Then drain, rinse, and blend in food processor with dash of salt, vinegar and water until you have a creamy consistency. Put in small container and reserve, refrigerating. Prepare toppings: Toss sweet potato cubes with dash of olive oil, salt and pepper if you like. Place on baking sheet. Remove stems from mushrooms and rub with a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Place whole red pepper on baking sheet or on oven rack along with rest of your veggies. Roast for 15 minutes and check your mushrooms. If they seem done, remove mushrooms from oven, dribbling juices over them and letting rest. If not, check mushrooms again in another 5 minutes. After they have rested, you can slice them. Roast sweet potatoes until they are fork tender but not mushy. Roast red pepper (turning occasionally) until sides are all slightly charred. When you take red pepper out of oven, place in freezer safe ziploc bag, seal, and let steam for 10 minutes on counter before removing. Rub off skin with paper or cloth towel, cut in half and de-seed. Slice and/or cut into bite sized pieces and reserve. To assemble your pizza, top with even coating of your pine nut “cheese”. If you have some, you could rub the crust first with a bit of blended sundried tomato and olive oil to give the crust a more attractive golden color that will stand out from the pine nut “cheese”. (I didn’t do that this time, Mom is also sensitive to tomatoes). Sprinkle with julienned basil, roasted sweet potato, mushroom slices and red pepper pieces. Bake following pizza crust instructions. The thin-crust pizza recipe I used requires a short bake time (12 min or less) and so is ideal. For a long baking recipe, you might bake the crust halfway before topping the pizza. Notes My dairy-free, soy-free Mom loved this pizza, and loved the pine nut sauce.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Contents of my brain. Pine nut recipe inspired by (but different from) raw foods recipe. Do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1335 Added:  December 18, 2008 Last Modified:  December 21, 2008

Walnut Dairy Free Pesto Recipe Sauces & Condiments  Vegetables  Italian

Ingredients 1/2 cup walnuts 2 cups fresh basil leaves sprinkle salt 1/8 cup roasted fresh onions 1/4 cup olive oil Directions Combine ingredients in blender or food processor, drizzling in olive oil as you blend it. Taste and season with more salt or other spices if desired. Enjoy! Notes I used this pesto on a gluten-free pizza crust topped with roasted sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, roasted red pepper, roasted onion, and even half roasted chard. Yum yum yum!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Contents of my brain, do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1334 Added:  December 15, 2008 Last Modified:  December 18, 2008

I was disheartened to find on my first trip to Europe that the ever-popular and available Lindt truffles contained barley malt, and they are not the only ones. On their faq page, Godiva states that “ALL of our products including solid chocolate pieces may contain gluten. Any person with a gluten allergy should NOT consume ANY of our products.” (allergen page). Well, I guess I didn’t want any of your nasty gluten-infested chocolate anyway. Besides, Godiva puts wheat in their chocolate ice cream- who DOES that? I was also unpleasantly surprised by Joseph Schmidt truffles. They are sold in the cute deli in Half Moon Bay, among other places, without ingredient lists. I thought they would be safe, but contacted the company. In 2007 I was told that “None of our Joseph Schmidt truffles or chocolate products are considered safe for people with gluten intolerance because of risk of cross contamination in our facility. Our sister company, Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, does make a baking bar of chocolate that is gluten free and manufactured in an exclusive environment (the 9.7oz home baking bars in semisweet, bittersweet, and unsweetened).” Exciting as baking bar chocolate is (cough cough), I was disappointed, to say the least. However, some companies likes See’s reportedly have many gluten-free gourmet chocolate options. There are also many safe options in ordinary candy.

While finding chocolate without gluten can have its challenges, the search becomes even harder for those with multiple allergies. Although it is possible to find some dark chocolates that do not contain milk, they are often produced on the same lines as those that contain milk, soy or nuts. For those who can tolerate no amount of soy (even that in soy lecithin), the options start looking nonexistent. Luckily, recently Enjoy Life came out with a line of gluten-free, allergen-free chocolate bars that don’t even contain soy lecithin. They are called Boom Bars, and are offered in dark chocolate, (rice) milk chocolate, and crispy rice chocolate varieties.

My opinion? The rice milk chocolate is nice, although I tend to prefer dark chocolate. It is slightly better than Hershey’s chocolate, in my opinion, and has a slight crunchiness that may come from sugar crystals or the dehydrated rice milk. I rather like the crunch, but I’m funny that way. The dark chocolate is more satisfying, with more chocolate impact, and also has a slight crunch to it. I haven’t tried the crispy rice variety yet, but look forward to trying it.

The cool thing? You can print out a 75 cent coupon for Enjoy Life Chocolate Boom Bars at Enjoy Life’s site. Whole Foods has also had these bars on sale recently, although the sale may end soon or not be applicable at your local Whole Foods.

Also, if you have been dying to try Enjoy Life allergen-free baking chips (which I must admit are also delicious for snacking), but can’t find them in your local stores, they are currently available on Amazon. Granted, you have to buy them in quantity- possibly enough to start your own gluten-free, allergen-free cookie company, but at least they are available.

These products have been needed by the gluten-free, allergen sensitive community for some time now, and I’m so glad Enjoy Life has stepped up to the plate with these products for gluten-free baking or snacking. Thank you, Enjoy Life! Please share your experiences with these products in the comments!

How to make Spring/Summer Rolls and peanut sauce recipe
Summer Rolls Vegan Lunchbox-Style
Gluten-Free Soy-Free Chinese Fried Rice Recipe
Soy-free Szechuan Chinese Pea Recipe
Soy-free Szechuan Chili-Zucchini Brown fried Rice Recipe

Coming Soon…
Gluten-Free Soy-Free Living- Challenge #3 Gluten Free Vegetarian Sushi without the soy sauce (and without missing it!)
Recipes, Tricks and tips for gloriously yummy (and healthy) Japanese dining- out AND at home!
Past Episodes…
Gluten-Free Soy-Free Living- Challenge #1 Gluten-Free,Soy-Free, Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soy-Free Chinese Jicama Stir Fry Main Course  Vegetables  Chinese

Ingredients 1/2 cup Canola Oil (or peanut, if allergies don’t forbid) 1 tbsp. szechuan peppercorns a few slices of fresh ginger 2 large garlic cloves 2 scallions, just the white part 1 small jicama or 3/4 large jicama, peeled and cut into sticks 2 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks 8 med-lg. mushrooms (white or crimini), washed, stems removed, sliced 1/4 tsp. salt (NO LESS! Chinese food NEEDS the saltiness, and remember, you’ve already cut down on sodium by not using soy sauce) 2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced Sauce: 1/2 cup vegetable stock (or make from vegetable bullion) 1 tsp. mirin 1 tsp. brandy 1/2 tsp. rice vinegar 2 tsp. honey a touch of salt 1 tsp. cornstarch (the important measurements here are the VEG STOCK AND CORNSTARCH. proportions of the alcohol and honey etc. are estimated- just add until you’ve created a balance in sauce that you like. This isn’t a lip-smackingly yummy sauce on its own- it is to add depth of flavor to well seasoned vegetables that are already flavorful) Directions Szechuan oil: Heat a wok on high and add Szechuan to pan, tossing lightly. Turn heat to low and toast peppercorn lightly, stirring frequently- about a minute and a half. Add the peanut oil and raise heat to medium or medium high, depending on your stove. Once oil begins to bubble lightly (if it ever does), add ginger, and garlic cloves. Lower heat and let cook until the garlic cloves and ginger turns brown. You may want to turn them in the oil to get them brown on both sides. When they are golden brown remove them and discard. Add in the white part of the scallions and let it brown, and then remove it from the oil and discard. You should have nicely flavored oil by now. If you have the patience, let cool and strain into a glass container (with a lid). If you don’t have the patience, strain with heat resistant metal strainer after letting it reach a cooler temperature into a heat resistant metal or glass. You don’t need to clean your wok if you are planning on immediately making this stir fry. Mix your sauce ingredients in a small bowl and reserve. Add cornstarch last by mixing it with a small amount of the sauce first and then adding it to the sauce. Take two tablespoons of the flavored oil and heat in your wok over high heat. Toss in your salt and then, a few seconds later, your fresh minced ginger. As it starts to brown, throw in your jicama sticks. Move them in the wok with cooking chopsticks or other wooden cooking device (I have a wooden paddle thing I’m rather fond of) to allow them to brown evenly and not burn as well as get evenly coated with the yummy oil. After two minutes or so, add in the mushrooms, and then the carrots. You do NOT want to overcook the carrots, so watch them carefully. You want the mushrooms to be nice and soft and melty and the carrots to be crisp tender. Continue moving the food around as needed. When the dish seems ALMOST done, stir your sauce one last time and create a well in the center of the wok. Add the sauce to the center of the wok and then fold in the veggies as it thickens. Make sure the sauce has evenly coated all the veggies and then turn off the heat. Remove from wok and place in serving dish. Notes If needed, you can add more oil right before you add the mushrooms and carrots, but try to let the oil heat up a little before adding the next ingredients, and keep the jicama away from it on the sides of the wok. You can also experiment with LESS oil, but it adds a lot of flavor and the interest to the dish, so I would try it first with the given amount and then adjust for your own tastes. Steamed veggies are an alternative for the super-health conscious- but I’ve never been keen on them and the goal here is to achieve lip-smacking Chinese restaurant style tastiness without soy or gluten. You can serve this with rice (white or brown), rice noodles, or even in a summer roll rice paper wrap. Craziness, I know. :)

Rating:  9 Original Source:  The contents of my brain, do not replicate anywhere without my permission or I will have to send Ra and his minions after you. Recipe ID:  1286 Added:  August 23, 2008 Last Modified:  September 6, 2008