As requested, a picture of me at 26 weeks pregnant in front of our new (to us) gypsy van!

I had a delicious but crazy week in a gypsy van traveling from all the way from San Francisco to Vancouver, Washington, stopping at all my favorite gluten-free bakeries and restaurants along the way. I found some new favorites and have some updates for you on new developments at some old favorites, so stay tuned for a lot of Northwest gluten-free bakery and restaurant reviews!

This week Asparagus Thin is hosting ^[1] the gluten-free menu swap with a rhubarb theme. Many thanks to Cheryl for continuing to host the headquarters of the menu swap. ^[2]If you’d like more menu ideas, check out Org Junkie’s Menu Plan Menu Swap ^[3].

Here’s a quick menu of the week:
Monday: Italian
Grilled gluten-free vegetarian pizza

Wednesday: Vegan
Brown rice with fried tofu and sauteed broccoli in Yumm sauce

Friday: Japanese
Homemade avocado sushi rolls with miso soup and tofu

Saturday: Vegetarian
Moosewood Cafe cookbook inspired menu

With a heat wave here in California, it seemed like the perfect time to return to the SALAD (and dressing) of the week. This week I wanted to share a fresh and tasty grilled jicama bean salad recipe with you. Enjoy!

Grilled Jicama Bean Salad with Lime Dressing Recipe Salad [4]  Vegetables [5]  South American [6]

Ingredients 1 can organic black beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 can corn (or small can) edible portion of scallion greens, diced 1/4 lg jicama, peeled and sliced into rounds 1 fennel root, sliced thickly 1/2 red pepper, deseeded olive oil smoked paprika or chipotle (for more heat) salt dried epazote dried oregano Optional: avocado cubes for garnish sharp paprika or chili pepper (for more heat) Dressing: 2 tbsp. olive oil Juice of 1 fresh lime zest from 1/2 lime 1 tsp. agave nectar 2 tbsp. fresh cilantro or parsley generous serving sea salt flakes Directions Prepare jicama, fennel, and red pepper for grilling. Baste with olive oil and your choice of seasonings (smoked paprika, epazote, oregano, salt) for each vegetable and grill on both sides until you have nice grill marks and vegetables are cooked to taste. Cut grilled veggies (especially fennel and jicama) into thin, mouth sized slices. Whisk together dressing ingredients. Combine grilled veggies in a small to medium bowl with corn, black beans, and scallions and drizzle with dressing. Stir together and place in serving dish. Sprinkle with sharp paprrika or chili pepper and garnish with avocado cubes if desired. Enjoy!

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Entirely the contents of my brain, do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1395 Added:  April 7, 2009 Last Modified:  April 8, 2009