Garlic Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing

This photo is not my own but from
another blogger. This is exactly how
my dressing looks, but in case you want
to try another recipe, you can
find this one at:
http://eatingtolivewell.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html
I'll update with my own photo soon!

Since the last time I wrote, my husband and I packed up our family home in the suburbs of Chicago, where I've lived since I was 10 years old, and moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. I've been cooking, but a bit too busy to blog!

Where we used to live, my parents were about three miles from our house. My life resembled the TV sitcom, "Everybody Loves Raymond," where I was Raymond (I'm not kidding!). It was a fabulous life, but we decided our family was ready for a change. My husband had a career opportunity here in East Tennessee, and my in-laws live in the area, so we knew the timing was right for our move down south and so far we are enjoying it very much!

This dressing is one of my favorites because it is so easy to make and is so delicious - especially with a green that can hold up to the amount of garlic, like baby arugula - also known as rocket (I love that name!), or a mix of other hearty leaves like beet greens, dandelion greens, escarole or you can jump on the kale craze and enjoy this dressing on a baby kale salad.  

Today I hosted my mother-in-law and father-in-law for a lovely Sunday brunch and served:

Egg Casserole
Arugula Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Fresh Watermelon
Double Chocolate Zucchini Mini Muffins
Mimosas

Everything was organic, home-prepared in my kitchen and came out very well. I'll post a separate entry for each item I served. Because my Mom-in-law asked specifically for the dressing recipe, I decided to start there!

Garlic Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing
(Dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free )

Ingredients:

¼ c olive oil

¼ c fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

¼ tsp of xylitol, stevia, monk fruit, or other natural sweetener OR 1 Tablespoon organic, raw honey

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp fresh oregano, minced (or ½ tsp dried)

Sea Salt to taste

Freshly ground Pepper to taste

Place all ingredients into a jar (Ball or Mason style), tightly close the lid and shake it like you mean it for about 15-20 seconds. Serve over any firm, greens; my favorite is organic baby arugula.

 

Dairy Free Creamy Garlic Calamari with Wilted Fresh Spinach over Fettuccine

Yes, that's a tiny bit of organic Parmesean on top.
Leave it off for 100% dairy-free.

Oh my. This was SO good. Well... I can pretty much say that about any food I end up posting here because I only post the really good stuff!

When I was in my mid-20s I gave up dairy totally for about a year or so. At the time, it wasn't as easy as it is today because there were so few alternatives, and almost no one writing dairy-free recipes online. But when I gave up eating all forms of dairy, I noticed my seasonal allergies completely vanished, almost like magic. I felt better and didn't miss it - too much.

Milk was an easy thing. I did rice milk at the time and it didn't take much getting used to. It was similar in texture to skim milk. So that one was simple.

But then, there was cheese. Glorious creamy, melty, flavorful, cheese. The substitutes SUCKED. It wasn't even worth it to eat the fake, plasticy, artificial-tasting sort of lookalike.  Cheese did me in.

There was the Parmesan cheese I missed putting on my pasta.

And the creaminess of a beautiful bowl of mac-n-cheese.

And a slice of swiss on a turkey sandwich.

And pizza. Oh yes. Pizzzzzzaaaaaahhhhh.

So I slowly went back to dairy.

Now that I'm cleaning up my diet and looking at foods that "bother" me, of course, dairy is tops on that list. So when I cook, I seek to eliminate as much dairy as possible. When I *do* use dairy, it's organic and I use it sparingly. Or I go all-in and know I'm going to be in pain later. But it's becoming less and less worth it for the pain.

My kiddos wanted calamari (they're foodies). I was feeling like a little creaminess. And this is what I came up with:

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Dairy Free Creamy Garlic Calamari with Wilted Fresh Spinach over Fettuccine

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons Olive oil, separated
1 onion, chopped (I used organic vidalias)
7-8 cloves garlic, minced, separated
1 cup white wine
1 cup water
1/2 cup cashews
Juice of 1 lemon
4 Tablespoons Brewers yeast
3 tsp Salt, separated (or to taste)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 bag fresh spinach
1 lb raw frozen calamari
1 package gluten free fettuccine noodles, cooked according to package instructions
1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Preparation:

Prepare noodles. While water comes to a boil and noodles begin cooking, prepare the sauce and calamari.

Add 2 Tablespoons olive oil to skillet. Saute onion on medium heat for several minutes until translucent. Add about half the garlic and raise heat to medium high until both are slightly browned.

While onion and garlic are cooking, to high speed blender (like Vitamix or Blendtec) add wine, water, cashews, lemon juice, 1 tsp salt and basil. When onion and garlic are ready, add to blender and blend on high about 3-4 minutes.

After pasta boils, drain in colander in sink. Put pot back on the stove over high heat, add remaining olive oil and heat for 20-30 seconds. Add calamari and garlic and sauté about 1 minute until calamari is cooked. DO NOT OVERCOOK unless you want to eat rubber band-like fish. Toss in spinach and season with 1 tsp salt and stir for about 20-30 seconds until just starting to barely wilt.  Add sauce and warm through, about 30 seconds. Add pasta to pot and stir to coat.

Serve immediately garnished with red pepper flakes to your taste and with leftover chilled white wine in a lovely glass on the side.

Fish Tacos

Fish tacos. Healthy, quick, delicious. This was so good tonight my girls begged for more. It was one of those times I tossed together a bunch of things and it came out as fabulous as if we bought it from a food truck. So I'm here because I have to write this down or else I'll forget what I made!

This recipe is gluten-free, and if you use non-dairy sour cream, is dairy-free, as well. Use non GMO corn tortillas and organic avocados and other fresh organize ingredients and you have an amazing healthy meal.

Prepare each component in the order listed so the slaw has a little while to come together as it sits.

For Cabbage Slaw
1 C finely sliced or shredded cabbage (green or red; I used green)
2 chopped green onions
3 Tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice
1/3 Cup sour cream (or non-dairy sour cream alternative would work well, too)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
sea salt and pepper to taste

Combine cabbage and onions in a bowl. Whisk together remaining ingredients. Reserve half of the sour cream mixture for drizzling over the finished tacos and stir remaining into the cabbage and onions. Mix well.

For the Fish
2 pounds tilapia (or other whitefish like Mahi Mahi, or snapper)
Seasoning mix:
1 teaspoons granulated garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
few grinds fresh ground pepper

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Mix together seasoning mix and generously season both sides of each piece of fish. Heat non stick pan (I use ceramic) over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Pan fry both sides of fish in batches as necessary until cooked completely through and flaky, about 5-6 minutes. Split each filet in two and cover to keep warm.

For Serving:
Package corn tortillas
Guacamole (homemade is best!)

Heat the tortillas over gas range by placing directly on burner with medium to low flame and using tongs to turn about every 10 seconds until the tortilla is soft and very slightly charred in a few places. Or, if you have electric, place several on a cookie sheet in a single layer under the broiler and watch VERY closely.  Place on a plate and cover with dry cotton tea towel to keep warm and steam a bit.

Assemble the tacos in this order:
One tortilla
One half of a piece of fish
2-3 Tablespoons Slaw
1 Tablespoon Guacamole
Drizzle with about 1-2 teaspoons sour cream sauce per taco
Few drops Chulula or favorite hot pepper sauce


Make a lot of these because they will go fast!!
ENJOY!

Healthy Green Smoothie Recipe (dairy-free, gluten free)

Happy New Year!

As I write this, my arms a bit on the sore side, and my hands are shaking just the tiniest bit. You see, I just completed my customized workout designed for me and my specific body and all its issues by the western hemisphere's best personal trainer. (I was afraid if I said "best personal trainer in the known universe" that might sound hypey.)

Yes, just like many people this time of year, I'm working on getting healthy. I had some excellent excuses for getting to be completely in the worst shape of my life that go far beyond working too much while sitting on my previously-growing-by-the-day butt (I definitely do that), or my Mommy-baby weight (my youngest just turned 10 years old, so I guess I have to be done with that excuse). Two years ago I was diagnosed with -- and completely cured of! - lung cancer. But to get better I had open lung surgery (if you're into fancy medical terms it was a thoracotomy), and they removed a big chunk of my right lung. Because they had to cut through several layers of skin and muscle to do that, well, to this day, even after physical therapy my back still isn't fully recovered.

So two years ago this very month, after coming through that surgery, I decided I would get extra healthy and started doing the green smoothie thing.

That turned out to be a big mistake and ended up giving me kidney stones a few months later (I described why in this post), which sent me back to the hospital for two more surgeries. Seriously. That was a heckuva crappy year!

Now, more educated about healthy foods, I'm fully focused on getting into the best, most-rockin', HOT shape of my life. That is a tall order, considering in my 20s I wore size 4 clothing and worked out up to 6 days a week.  But that was before I was married to the best trainer ever, and before I knew about GMOs, understood why organic food is crucial, and a whole host of other things.

So, here's today's post work-out smoothie recipe.

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Healthy Green Smoothie - Kale, Pineapple, Grape - Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free

3-4 Tablespoons filtered water
1 cup rough chopped pineapple
1 cup packed curly kale
1 cup frozen red grapes (no stems)
1-inch piece frozen ginger
1 Tablespoon flax seeds
1 scoop unflavored, unsweetened protein powder of choice

Toss all ingredients into Vitamix or other high-powered blender, gradually increase speed from low to high, and blend on high for about one minute, tamping down anything into the blades that isn't getting pulled down right away.  Enjoy immediately!

Rosemary Potato Bacon Frittata Recipe, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

This morning I had a quandary. My husband is a big man and a big eater. On Sundays I usually make a big brunch, which typically involves a LOT of eggs. Except this morning I only had five eggs left. Barely enough for my family of four good eaters. So it was time to get creative.

Last week the 10 pound bag of potatoes was about 10 cents more than the 5 pound bag, so I have a lot of potatoes and need something to do with them. Potatoes also are a good way to stretch a meal. Last night I was thinking I'd make some kind of scrambler, but then decided to try a frittata and I am so happy I did! It turned out deliciously. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family did. You'll notice I served mine with an extra piece of bacon and a gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate muffin.

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INGREDIENTS:

1/2 pound uncured, nitrate-free bacon
3 large russet potatoes, peeled, cubed (you could use Yukon golds or red potatoes and not peel them for a more rustic dish)
3 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
2 springs fresh rosemary, chopped finely
1/2 large yellow onion (or 1 small)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
5 eggs, beaten well
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Line large jelly roll pan or other cookie sheet/pan with edges to catch the bacon fat with aluminum foil and place bacon evenly across the pan, being careful not to overlap any pieces. Place pan into a COLD oven and turn oven to 400 degrees. Set the timer for 18 minutes. When the bacon comes out of the oven, leave it on. Remove bacon and let drain on paper towels. Chop cooked bacon into large pieces.
2. Meanwhile, cover the potatoes with water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil the potatoes for 5-7 minutes or until a fork can easily go through but not so they are smooshy and break apart. They should still be slightly firm. Drain potatoes.
3. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and rosemary to a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Allow the rosemary to infuse the oil as you chop the onion and mince the garlic. Then add onion and garlic and cook for about one minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Mix the cooked potatoes with the onions, garlic and rosemary in the skillet and lightly smash the potatoes with a potato masher so a few big chunks still remain. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika and leave alone to let brown lightly on the bottom for about 5-7 minutes.
4. After the bottom of the potatoes are lightly browned, turn them over to cook the other side of the potatoes. (I ended up stirring mine around the skillet because they weren't yet all one cohesive piece. That's okay, it's what you want.) Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Cook opposite side of potatoes for about 3-4 minutes. Top with chopped bacon pieces and eggs, making sure to allow the eggs to get inside and under all the potatoes. Cook bottom of eggs about one minute until beginning to get firm but still very wet on top and place skillet into preheated oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until top is light golden brown.



Underside of frittata after being turned out of skillet

Remove from oven and flip skillet onto large cutting board. The bottom of the eggs should be a deep golden brown color, while the top is slightly lighter. Cut into serving size portions and enjoy! I shake a few drops of Chulula on mine, while the kids like their ketchup. Enjoy!

Shrimp Bisque: Gluten-free, Dairy-Free, All Delish

This was my second bowl.
Yum.

Over the years I've developed a number of recipes (which is why I'm now a food blogger!). Then, I became gluten-free before I became dairy-free, more than a year later. So many of my early recipes are neither. And some are GF but not DF.

Tonight I *thought* had some leftover "imitation" lobster meat. Yes it's processed. But it's not bad, is it? (Tell me in the comments if it is.) So I thought I'd make lobster bisque. When I looked at my recipe it had butter. So I had to adjust that out for my new dairy-free-ness. Then as I was cooking and pulled out my "lobster" close to the time I needed to add it, I realized it had gone bad in the fridge and suddenly I was stuck (and grossed out, plus a little ticked that the label had said it was good until the end of November, and now that I'm thinking about it, how could real seafood be good for a month? I'm sure the processed stuff is bad now...).

But no fear! My freezer to the rescue! I had some lovely raw, deveined, easy-peel shrimp. (Just shrimp on the ingredient label - yay!) I usually have frozen homemade shrimp broth, which I would have totally used for this, but I was out, so I ended up using my homemade chicken broth mixed with Thai fish sauce, which worked FABULOUSLY! So, I made this up on the fly and it turned out so deliciously that I had to record it here - or else risk never getting it right again, You know what I mean? Yes you do. We all do that. Make the most amazing food, knowing for sure we'll remember what it was because how could you not, and then never ever be able to duplicate it again. Sigh. Well not THIS time!

Even if no one else ever makes this, while that would be a shame because it turned out AMAZING, I am writing this recipe for me to remember so I can make it again and have my family ooh and ahh over how lucky they are to have an awesome Mommy and wife like me, and how no restaurant could ever come close. Yeah. They rock.

Now - get to cooking.

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SHRIMP BISQUE - Gluten Free, Dairy Free

6 tablespoons olive oil (can substitute coconut oil, or combine 3 T olive oil and 3 T ghee)
1/4 cup yellow onion
6 garlic cloves, minced
6 tablespoons white rice flour
1/2 c white wine (I used chardonnay)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce (the kind from the Asian section in the grocery or your fridge!)
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (I use Chalula and should probably have them as a sponsor)
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning (YES it IS gluten free!!)
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons sea salt (or to taste - your fish sauce will make a difference)
2 1/2 cups homemade chicken broth (seriously do not use that stuff in the cans and if you do, you may not need any salt)
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 pound raw shrimp, rough chopped
1 can full fat coconut milk (the kind from the Thai aisle, not the cold one in the carton, there's nowhere near enough fat to get the unctuous mouth feel you want from a good bisque)
1/2 cup dry sherry

Directions:

1 In a dutch oven heat oil over med-high heat and saute onions until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute another few seconds. Sprinkle all with flour and mix into a roux.

2 Deglaze the pan with the white wine. (That means add the wine and scrape up the bottom of the pot really well.) It will quickly form a globby mess. That's okay.

3 Whisk in the Worcestershire, hot sauce, and fish sauce and then add the broth. Bring to a boil.

4. Stir in tomato sauce, paprika, Old Bay, and add the bay leaves. Turn heat down to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Raise heat back to medium high and stir in the raw shrimp. Heat until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook the shrimp. 

6. Whisk in coconut milk and heat through.  Adjust seasoning to taste. If you like a little more spice, add some more hot sauce. Stir in sherry just before serving. (Or, if you have children, after adding sherry, bring back to a boil to evaporate the alcohol so you don't end up with tipsy kids or in jail. Because either would be very, very bad.) Remove bay leaves before serving because no one wants to get stuck with one of those things floating around in their bowl.

Serve in your fancy-schmaniest bowls and be ready to lick those suckers at the end because this is SO GOOOOOOD! 

If you like to garnish, use some chopped green onions, or, if you're fresh out like I was, sprinkle a little more paprika and Old Bay on the top and call it done!

 

Shrimp and Grits (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Gluten-free, dairy-free shrimp and grits.

Being a northerner, grits have never been part of my regular diet. However, a few years ago while visiting my in-laws who have retired in the foothills of east Tennessee, I had the fortunate opportunity to try the fabled southern classic dish shrimp and grits. It was delicious, but because grits aren't on my radar as something to cook regularly, I didn't ever consider making them for dinner -  until tonight.

Shrimp happened to be on sale last week so I picked up a pound and thought I'd make one of my regular shrimp go-tos like scampi. But today, as I was thinking about what to make, the idea of shrimp and grits popped into my head and sounded FABULOUS.

In case you didn't know, grits is a dish made from cornmeal. It's known in Italian cooking as polenta (yet still my Mom isn't a fan, although she grew up in her mother and father's Italian kitchen). And in other circles it's called by it's least appetizing name, "mush."  

Shrimp and grits became popular in the south near fishing communities, especially near Charleston, South Carolina, where the shrimp were plenty and the grits were cheap, particularly during shrimping season, May through December. Traditionally there is bacon fat involved, and while there's nothing wrong with that at all, sometimes you want something lighter (not that creamy grits could be considered light, but you know what I mean!). There are as many recipes for shrimp and grits as there are variations of minestrone soup in Italian-cooking land. With the emergence of special dietary needs, there are an ever-growing number of shrimp and grits recipes. My recipe is my own creation today.

If you're already a grits fan, you may prefer your grits a bit more on the runny side, but I like mine thicker. Feel free to add more liquid to your version and make it your own!

Also, these all happen to be ingredients that I almost always have on hand, including homemade shrimp stock/broth. To make a basic shrimp stock, peel raw shrimp and toss the legs and shells into a stock pot with whatever veggie scraps you have in your freezer. I save all my carrot peels and ends, onion and garlic skins and ends, celery leaves, potato skins, and so on in a gallon-sized freezer bag adding to it every night in the freezer and once every couple of weeks use them with whatever protein I have to make a stock. In this case it's shrimp shells and legs. Cover with water to the top of the pot and boil for about 45-60 minutes. I choose not to add salt so that I can salt any subsequent dish as I cook it, instead of the broth itself. Strain the liquid, cool, and freeze in various small containers.

In a pinch you can use gluten-free shrimp or fish stock in a can, but obviously homemade is best, and when made with the veggie scraps, costs nothing because you would have thrown those scraps in the garbage, anyway!

Now, on with the recipe.
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Shrimp and Grits

4 1/2 - 5 Cups homemade or gluten-free canned shrimp stock
1 1/4 cup gluten-free cornmeal
3/4 coconut milk (full fat, in the can - this is what will give your dairy-free grits the creamy, rich consistency that this dish is known for)
1 lb. shrimp, raw, peeled, deveined, tail on (I use 16/20 size, but you can use whatever medium size you prefer)
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 small red (or green) jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped
juice of one-half a small lemon (do NOT use that nasty stuff in the yellow plastic fake thing; yuck)
2 tablespoons fresh, flat leaf parsley, chopped
3 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning (Yes! It's gluten free!)
2 teaspoons granulated garlic, or two cloves chopped fresh garlic
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1-2 tablespoons tapioca starch or flour

Method - 
For Grits:

Mix cornmeal with 1 1/4 cup cold shrimp stock in a bowl. Bring 2 cups shrimp stock to a boil and add cornmeal mixture, plus 1 teaspoon salt, several cracks of freshly ground pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until thick. If you prefer your grits looser, add more stock. Add coconut milk, incorporating well. Remove from heat. Taste and add more seasonings (salt, pepper, Old Bay) to taste.

For Shrimp:
Heat coconut oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and jalapeno pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes until onion is translucent and just starting to brown around the edges. Add shrimp, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons Old Bay, garlic, and freshly ground black pepper. Saute 3-5 minutes depending on the size of your shrimp, until cooked. Mix in lemon juice and and parsley. While the shrimp cooks, mix remaining cold shrimp stock (about 1 C) with 1 tablespoon tapioca starch to form a slurry. When shrimp is cooked, add the slurry and stir constantly until boiling. If the sauce isn't as thick as you like it, quickly combine remaining 1 tablespoon tapioca starch with a few tablespoons of cold water and mix into the sauce until it thickens. Season to taste with more salt, pepper and Old Bay. Serve in bowls over grits with plenty of sauce.

Enjoy!