Knife Skills

Last night I attended a Knife Skills class at the Kitchen Table. Brunoise, julienne, mincing, chiffonade and more! I never would have guessed that I knew so little about the proper handling, care and use of knives. It was such a great class! Our instructor, Tom, was very helpful and gave lots of constructive criticism to help us improve our skills. I highly recommend taking this class!

This chicken soup we made was the best chicken soup I've ever had!

All photos copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography.

Little Beauties

All photos copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography.

Pasta Pasta!

Phew! I just finished making not one, but TWO home made pasta dishes for Golden Prairie's website. The first batch fell apart too easily and couldn't be run through my pasta machine. Lemons out of lemonade, right? So I made little gnocchis. Tweeked the recipe a bit and tried again! Success! Both recipes are gluten free pasta dishes and each has a different topping. This is honestly the best pesto I've ever had! Visit the website for the recipe...

I broke in my pasta machine, enjoyed it, and can't wait to make more pasta!

My daughter has been wanting to have a "Food Around the World" night for a while, so this was great! We ate our pasta dishes, drank grape "Italian soda" and enjoyed spending time with family. As it should be!

All images copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography.

Stir Fry!

Fresh and yummy! Vegan stir fry! New photo for the Golden Prairie website...

All images copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography.

Cupcakes!

I baked some gluten free cupcakes for the Golden Prairie website today. I had so much fun decorating them using India Tree's Natural Decorating Colors! So cute!

All photos copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography.

Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Muffins!

Oh, do I love these muffins! The first time I made them I filled the cups up too much and they weren't "beautiful" enough to photograph. But they disappeared the first day I made them! I made them again today, being careful to not overfill the muffin cups. Perfection!
These muffins will be featured on the Golden Prairie website soon!

All images copyright 2012 by Artiste Photography.

Millet Tabbouleh

Gluten free and vegan! New photography for the Golden Prairie website.

All images copyright 2012 by Artiste Photography.

5 Minute Millet

So fast! So easy! So yummy! I redid the photo for Golden Prairie's 5 Minute Millet recipes. The baby peppers were a great find - and they tasted awesome!

Gluten free, dairy free and vegan!

All images copyright 2012 by Artiste Photography

Walnut Dessert Bites

I created this gluten and dairy free recipe for Golden Prairie. So easy to make!

All images copyright 2012 by Artiste Photography

Gluten & Dairy Free Pancakes

It was a rough weekend for cooking for me. Well, that's not true, my class was wonderful. The problem was I brought some veggie burgers to my sister-in-law's birthday party. I think I realized that there wasn't enough of a binder to keep the burgers together. Alas, I was in a different location and didn't want to poke around someone else's kitchen. As soon as we put the burgers on the grill, we could tell. These burgers were going to crumble if we tried to flip them over. As my brother put it, it was like "flipping oatmeal". Yeah. That bad.

So today, when my newest experimental recipe turned out well, I was pretty happy. I usually make something great the first time. But not with the veggie burgers. To create something new, to learn, sometimes mistakes have to be made.

Long story short: I got my cooking mojo back to create these gluten and dairy free pancakes. My kiddo can finally eat home made pancakes! This recipe will be featured on the Golden Prairie website.

All images are copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography

Migraines and Gluten

One of the difficulties with eating at celebrations is knowing which dishes will contain gluten and which are without. I must have made some mistake last night at a birthday party because I woke up with a migraine. Anyone who has ever experienced a migraine knows how terrible they are. They understand why someone would completely cut an item out of their diet just to avoid them. Migraines are debilitating.

My discovery that the reason I was having migraines every day was because of gluten is why I am so dedicated to eating gluten free. I don't cheat. I am truly dedicated.

No one else is responsible for my health and well-being. I don't expect anyone to bring gluten free dishes to family functions or celebrations. It is up to me to determine what I can eat and what I cannot. Obviously, I didn't do such a good job last night. However, I can learn from this and make sure I bring more gluten free items for my daughter and I to enjoy. Will I stop eating food made by others? No! I want to celebrate and have fun like everyone else.

With care and thought we can all enjoy the events that make life memorable and enjoyable.

Lunch in Provence

This morning I attended my first culinary arts class at the Kitchen Table in Greenwood Village. Sam was an excellent instructor, the food was amazing and I had lots of fun. I learned so much! Including the fact that I have been cutting improperly all of these years. I know my way around the kitchen, but this class enhanced my cooking techniques and knowledge tremendously.

It was not intentional, but this class happened to be entirely gluten free. I had brought my own flours to the class but didn't even need them.

On the menu:

Tomato-goat cheese terrine with olive tapenade

Pan-fried loup de mer, sea bass with grilled Provencal vegetables and basil puree

Nougat Glace: Frozen meringue with pistachio nougat, mixed berries, and honey

It was a very valuable (and delicious) experience.

If you are interested in taking a class at the Kitchen Table, click on the link below.

http://www.kitchentablegv.com/

All photographs are copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography

Naturally Gluten Free Summer!

I adore mozzarella caprese! Fresh organic vine ripened tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella. Fresh, fresh, fresh! Ya just gotta love summer!

I topped it with Annie's Artichoke Parmesan dressing.

All images copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography.

Rainbow Shrimp Paella

Not quite a rainbow - but almost! We have the yellow and orange bell peppers, green peas, pink shrimp... I wanted to include some red bell peppers but I just couldn't find any that were beautiful enough. A substitution of millet for the couscous is perfect to make this dish gluten free. The recipe will be published on the Golden Prairie website.

All images copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography.

Mushroom, Millet & Sage Stuffed Chicken Breasts

We had lots of fun visiting family and friends in Chicago and Minnesota, and now we are back and ready to cook up a storm!

My favorite way to spend a Sunday is to cook for family. I made this recipe in the hopes that my love of butter and sage would prove to make a great chicken dish. Success! This filling is so great it would make an excellent gluten free stuffing at Thanksgiving time. It can be made vegan as well - just use butter substitute (such as Earth Balance) and nix the chix.

The recipe will soon be featured on Jean's Golden Prairie website. We are creating not only new recipes, but brand new photos for all the dishes featured on the site. It's a wonderful resource for gluten free folks.

All photos copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography.

Maya's Creations

Last week while visiting Michael's to get some foamboard Maya spotted a dessert kit. She really, REALLY wanted this kit. Her birthday was coming up so I decided to buy it for her. She is having so much fun making little desserts, most of which in real life she can't eat. She really misses cream puffs and eclairs.

Today we took photos for her cookbook cover. I'm sure a photo of her actual edible desserts will be more fitting when she finishes her cookbook, but I'm happy to humor her. She is so excited about all of the recipes she will create and has already started a list of the desserts.

Ah, Maya, you are such a sweetheart! I know we will have lots of fun cooking together!

All images are copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography.

Vegan Millet Stuffed Peppers

Tonight I made the Vegan Millet Stuffed Peppers recipe from the Golden Prairie website.

Click on the link above for the recipe.

On a personal note, my daughter is very excited about this project. She is so inspired she is now writing her own recipes and coming up with ideas for foods to share with family and friends. She is going to write a cookbook named "The Delicious Book of Gluten Free and Dairy Free things by Maya." Ah, she's so cute! I love being able to share my passion for food and photography with my girl. What fun!

All images copyright 2012 by Artiste Photography.

King Salmon & Fresh Peaches

Oh, Whole Foods! Every time I go to visit you I get sucked in by the aroma of some fabulous dish that has been prepared! While getting last minute groceries for Maya's birthday lunch I passed by some King Salmon with fresh peaches. Even better, it's $10 off per pound right now to celebrate Father's Day! Salmon just happens to be my daughter's favorite thing in the world. One more indulgence for my special girl... I'm not sure how it is prepared at Whole Foods, but here is how I prepared it tonight:

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb King Salmon
3 very ripe peaches
1 Tbs plus 1 Tbs plus 1 Tbs butter (or butter substitute)
Juice of one lemon
1 Tbs honey (optional)
1 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. In a large skillet heat 1 Tbs of the butter until it is melted over medium heat.

3. Lay the salmon in the skillet and cook for three minutes on each side.

4. Place the salmon in a baking pan and squeeze the lemon juice over the salmon.

5. Sprinkle the salt and freshly ground pepper over the salmon.

6. Place bits of the 1 Tbs of butter all over the top of the salmon.

7. Cook for 5 - 10 minutes (depending on how thick your fillet is and how "done" you prefer your salmon).

8. In the meantime melt the last Tablespoon of butter in the skillet and saute the peaches with the honey for 3 - 5 minutes.

9. Remove the salmon when done and place the sauteed peaches on top. You can also serve with fresh uncooked peaches.



All images copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography

Fontina & Millet Zucchini Boats

Here is my first creation for Golden Prairie! This recipe is flavorful and light. Perfect for summer! It will be featured on their website soon!



All images copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography

Birthday Breakfast!

Little Miss Maya turns nine today! She woke up to her favorite breakfast, modified to be gluten and dairy free. I made gluten and dairy free french toast with Udi's gluten free bread and black forest bacon. It's rare that I allow a full glass of orange juice, but hey, a birthday is a special day!

Happy Birthday, Maya! I love you so much!



All images copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography

Raspberry Brie Chicken

I created this recipe last week for the berry recipe contest at Whole Foods. Wish me luck!



All images copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography.

Opa!

Lot's of fun is to be had at the Greek Festival in Denver this weekend! My daughter and I enjoyed saganaki which was one of the wonderful treats that we could both enjoy. My brother-in-law, Dean, is half Greek. Over the years we've developed quite a fascination with Greek food and it's definitely been missed since we've been gluten free.

From kids games to traditional dances to food, the Greek Festival is a must!

Not pictured is our fabulous Thea Connie, who helped with the saganaki. Opa!



All photos copyright 2012 by Artiste Photography

Melanie visits the farm

Yesterday I met with my old friends, the Hedigers, at their organic family farm. I have known this family most of my life. I used to babysit their son, Bryce, who is now graduated from college and working for their farm. They have been under a lot of stress lately because they are currently evacuated due to the High Park Fire. Their home of over thirty years is there. I used to live up Rist Canyon as well, up the Davis Ranch Road. My father built our house on nine acres and we lived there with our family and animals for my first eighteen years. Rist Canyon is more than just a beautiful place. It's a tight-knit community and the place that has always felt like home to me. Our meeting yesterday was a good distraction from the fire. We are all looking forward to our big project we will be working on this summer. I will be creating new recipes for their blog, as well as photographing the old recipes to create a more consistent and professional feel. While I put lots of love and care into my new recipes and photos I will be putting even more into my thoughts and prayers for all of my friends up the Rist Canyon. One more thing: Thank you firefighters!

Fresh Raspberries and Brie on Crackers

It's simple but wonderful. I decided to use my leftovers (for a fun project I'm working on) on some gluten free crackers by Back To Nature (Multi-Seed Gluten Free Rice Thin Crackers). It's easy, just place some brie and fruit on your favorite gluten free cracker.



Photo Copyrighted 2012 by Artiste Photography

Guacamole Eclipse Burger!

No recipe, just sharing a delicious gluten free day of grilling! I wish we could have seen the eclipse but the sun dipped down behind the "China Wall" behind our house and we missed it! I even made a pinhole viewer and everything. Shucks! What to do? Grill a Coleman's burger eclipsed partially by some home made guacamole!

Photo copyrighted by Artiste Photography

Chocolate Almond Biscotti - Gluten & Dairy Free

My daughter is giving a presentation on Italy today in school. She and all the other third graders were to research a country and bring a "suitcase" containing items representing that particular country. Maya went above and beyond and she even wants to do a country report this summer, on her own, about Greece. I'm looking forward to that!

She picked out biscotti and we gathered the ingredients to make a gluten and dairy free biscotti for her class.

Maya also wants me to point out that biscotti means twice cooked in Italian.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
8 medium eggs
3 Tbs sunflower or canola oil
1 1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 package chocolate chips (we used the Enjoy Life brand)


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place your eggs on the counter.

2. Toast the slivered alonds in a toaster or conventional oven until a light golden color.

3. Combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl and mix. Or you can use a Kitchenaid and mix everything in your bowl.

4. Add the vanilla, almond extract, oil and the eggs and mix well until the batter is smooth.

5. Add the toasted slivered almonds and mix.

6. Pour the dough into your greased pans. I used two 7"x11" cake pans.*

7. Smooth the batter until it is evenly distributed in the pans.

8. Hit the bottom of the pan on the counter to release air bubbles.

9. Bake for 20 minutes and then remove the pans from the oven.

10. Turn the temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

11. Let the pan cool for 15 minutes.

12. Once cool, flip pan onto a cutting board or even onto your cookie sheet (if you can avoid cutting the sheet during the next step).

13. Slice into 24 even pieces.

14. Turn the biscotti, cut side up onto the cookie sheet and bake at 300 for another 20 minutes.

15. Remove and cool completely.

16. Melt chocolate chips in a small pan. Drizzle chocolate on, or dip biscotti in, the melted chocolate and lay on waxed paper. If you want to cover the biscotti more completely you may need one more bag of chocolate chips.

Enjoy with your favorite cup of tea or coffee!


Makes 24 biscotti

* My biscotti came out very "thin", so perhaps decrease your pan size to create thicker pieces of biscotti.

Photo copyrighted by Artiste Photography

Don't Forget Mom This Mother's Day!

Photo by Artiste Photography

Secret Ingredient Lemonade

It's that time of year! Ah, sweet, sweet lemonade! If you'd like to try a twist on the traditional lemonade recipe, try mine. It's been a secret for oh so long, but now I reveal my special ingredient: vanilla!

Recipe:
Pitcher of filtered water
1/2 - 1 cup of fresh organic lemon juice (to taste depending on how "lemony" you like your lemonade)
1 cup of sugar (or more if you like sweeter lemonade)
1 Tbs vanilla extract


I like to add fresh strawberries to my lemonade for both taste and visual appeal. Mixing the lemonade with iced tea makes a refreshing drink for the grownups. Enjoy!

Photo copyrighted by Artiste Photography

Mother's Day Flowers

My daughter got me these beautiful hyacinth flowers from Whole Foods for Mother's Day (we live far from town so we have to buy everything in advance). They smell wonderful and are much more colorful than my photo (I added a vintage look to the photograph).

Photo copyrighted by Artiste Photography

Gluten Free Lemon & Caper Chicken

My daughter enjoys this recipe so much that when I cooked it last night she said I was "the best cook ever!" as she asked for seconds. I'm sure all kids think their moms are the best cooks, but I have to say this recipe is worth a try!

INGREDIENTS:
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts)
2 large eggs
6 Tbs plus 2 tsp millet flour (or other gluten-free flour)
1 tsp salt (may be reduced if on a low-sodium diet)
4 Tbs plus 1 Tbs butter or butter alternative (I used Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread)
3 lemons
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 - 8 Tbs capers

DIRECTIONS:
1. Between two sheets of wax paper flatten the chicken with a rolling pin or meat mallet.
2. In a bowl mix 6 Tbs of the millet flour with the salt.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the egg.
4. Dip the chicken in the egg and then coat with the millet flour mixture.
5. In a large skillet melt 4 Tbs of the butter. Cook the chicken for 5 - 6 minutes and then turn. Cook the chicken until done (no pink inside and about 10 to 12 more minutes). Remove chicken and keep warm. Keep the drippings in the skillet for the sauce.
6. Cut thin lemon slices from one of the lemons. From the other two lemons squeeze the juice into a bowl. Dice the garlic and add the garlic and lemon slices to the skillet and cook until garlic is golden.
7. In a measuring cup or small bowl combine the wine, lemon juice and the remaining 2 tsp millet flour. Add this mixture to the skillet and heat the sauce until boiling. Cook for one more minute and then reduce the heat to low.
8. Stir in capers (more or less to taste) and add the remaining 1 Tbs butter or butter alternative.
9. Place the chicken on the plate (or platter) and arrange the lemon slices on top and drizzle the sauce over the chicken. This recipe is great, but don't forget to serve it with veggies! Asparagus goes really well with this recipe.

I absolutely LOVE capers! I can't get enough! This recipe has a pretty large amount of capers so if you are on a low-sodium diet you may want to reduce the amount of capers.

Gluten Free by Golden Prairie (click here)
Photos copyrighted by Artiste Photography

What's Cookin'?

Every morning I try to find an interesting art-related video for my students to watch on my blog. Today I found something a little more appropriate for this blog. It's chock-full of gluten laden foods, but I find it humorous and thought I'd share it with you.

Here is the info:

Conventional wisdom tells us not to talk with our mouth full, but no one ever said anything about pieces of food rapping along to some of the best culinary lines in hip-hop history. The latest short from production duo BankShot with music by DJ Nick Castle finds a stop-motion film that shows everything from pancakes and bacon to a green pepper with a platinum grill lip-synching along to classic lines from Biggie Smalls, Guru, Raekwon, Q-Tip, Action Bronson, Method Man and a whole lot more notable emcees. Dinner is served.

Directed by Bankshot
-TeamBankshot.com

Music By DJ Nick Castle

Proudly sponsored by the good people at Lifted Research Group

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Lunches

It is a challenge creating lunches for a picky child who has to eat both gluten and dairy free. If you are in the same boat, you may also struggle with finding healthy solutions for lunches. I have some suggestions here, but I would love to hear tips from you if you have any!

Proteins:
Seeds and nuts
Peanut butter sandwiches on gluten free bread
Gluten free jerky
Hard boiled eggs
Turkey or other sandwiches on gluten free bread
Almond butter sandwiches on gluten free bread
Gluten free trail mix (you can make your own)
Peanut or almond butter on gluten free graham crackers

Fruits and Vegies:
Well, that pretty much explains it! Sometimes I slice carrots or pop in a box of raisins but I always try to have fresh fruit in the lunchbox. Applesauce is useful. I try to stay away from sugary fruit snacks as they rarely contain "real" fruit.

Carbohydrates:
Popcorn (I pop a bag on Sunday and then put in baggies for lunches - reusable lunch baggies are the best)
Gluten Free Bars - we love Pamela's brand. The Whenever Bars, Chocolate Cocunut flavor, are my daughter's favorite.
Tortilla chips
Muffins (I prefer to make my own to save money)

Dairy:
Since my daughter can't have dairy I make sure she has a great calcium supplement...

I'll try to edit this blog whenever I get some new ideas...

Welcome to my blog!

As a mother of a child who is gluten-free and dairy free, as well as being gluten-free myself, I thought I would start a blog that would be helpful for others with the same food issues. My philosophy on food has long been that food should be good for the body, good for the environment and good for the farmers that produce it. My intention with this blog is to create and share gluten-free and/or dairy free recipes, review products and give helpful advice. While I have a long history of cooking food for family and friends (I own over thirty cookbooks!) I am not a trained gourmet chef. My recipes are all tried out by myself, and most importantly, by the most harsh food critic ever, my daughter. So, enjoy and feel free to contact me with any feedback you may have! Have a beautiful gluten-free day!