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End of Summer Gazpacho

September 12, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

I realized the other day that we hadn’t had one of our favorite summer favorites yet – gazpacho! I realized this when I saw the growing pile of tomatoes on the counter and a couple of cucumbers in the crisper drawer, waiting to be used. We also had the last of the shishito peppers from last week’s visit to the farmer’s market to eat up.

This recipe is based upon one that my mom made growing up so I am not sure where her recipe originally came from. I have changed it up a little to fit our tastes and needs but it is still very simple and tasty. Add and subtract as you desire.

A few items to note – when dining out, gazpacho is usually not gluten free as it often contains breadcrumbs. Some recipes call for tarragon vinegar too, which is often made with malt vinegar – a no-no for celiacs. Check your labels. Also, chop all of your vegetables into similar sizes; we prefer a 1/4-1/2″ dice. And one last thing – this tastes better the next day, so make it ahead so that it can chill and the flavors meld.

This week we served it up with some shishito peppers and quick cheese quesadillas which were just corn tortillas with some shredded cheddar between and fried in a little oil on the stove.

Gazpacho

Recipe by Renee, inspired by my mom

46 oz bottle of vegetable juice such as V-8 Low Sodium or Spicy Hot version

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 cup green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 cup sweet onion, like Vidalia, chopped

2 cups tomatoes chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup light-tasting olive oil

1 tsp worcestershire sauce or soy sauce *

1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar, or maybe even sherry vinegar)

1-1/2 tsp salt, to taste

1/2 tsp fresh pepper

1 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped

1 – 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed (optional)*

Pour vegetable juice into a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Stir well. Chill for 4 hours and serve soup chilled.

Notes:

* Lea and Perrins worcestershire sauce is gluten free but not vegetarian, as it contains anchovies. The Wizards makes a vegan, gluten free worcestershire sauce, or you could make your own. Otherwise, substitute with gluten free soy sauce and adjust your salt as the soy sauce is probably saltier than the worcestershire.

*If we are eating this as a meal, I will often add a can of white beans for protein. We have also added fresh sliced-off-the-cob corn.

Sauteed Shishito Peppers

If you can find them at your market, be sure to grab them while they’re still around. They run about $8 per pound at the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market, but a full pound is enough for the two of us for three or four meals as an appetizer. Here is our favorite way to serve them up, from Deborah Madison, cookbook author. I use canola oil instead of olive oil as she suggests.

Posted in Beans, Soup, Tomatoes, Vegan, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, September 12, 2011

September 11, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

This week’s host for the Gluten Free Menu Swap is My Gluten Free Home. Her theme is apples, and she recently posted an apple dip recipe. While the apples are just starting to come in at the farmer’s markets around here, I still have end of summer vegetables on my mind,  like tomatoes and sweet corn. For once, I am being overrun with tomatillos and now that the nights are getting cooler, grape tomatoes. And my kale is going gang-busters with the cooler weather again.

And as a nod to the apple theme, I might make some baked oatmeal bars and freeze them. We each eat an apple a day for lunch and the bunch of apples in the crisper drawer were suddenly tasting very perfumy last week. Too perfumy to eat, yuck. I couldn’t figure out what had happened all of last week. Until I discovered that one of the lemons and one of the limes in the same drawer were half rotten. Gah. That’s where the smell came from, but it had already permeated all of the apples. So I am hoping that by baking the apples, the citrus smell will be diminished so I don’t feel like they are going to waste. (Although not much goes to waste around here since the chickens would eat them and “recycle” them into eggs anyway!)

This week’s plan:

Creamy Pesto Pasta with Chunky Tomato Salsa – one of our hands-down favorite meals. And we have plenty of tomatoes still.

Kale with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Garbanzo Beans over Polenta – to try and make a dent in the kale.

Stir Fried Tofu with Miso Sauce and rice

Red Beans and Rice – a pantry basics recipe with limited produce, good for the end of the week. I’ll probably serve it up with a massaged kale salad with cherry tomatoes (two birds with one stone!).

Make You Own Pizza – hubby will probably eat a gluten-full pizza and I will use a frozen Udi’s crust.

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Meal Plan Monday, August 29, 2011

August 28, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

This weeks theme for the Gluten Free Menu Swap is tomatoes! Perfect for this time of year. We have had pretty good success with our tomatoes this year despite fighting the birds, (our) dogs, rodents (ground squirrels or pack rats!, not sure which) and weather for them. We are having great success with our heirloom Green Zebras and Napa Grapes. The San Marzanos are not doing as well, although they are still producing. Despite the troubles we are getting a pretty consistent harvest, just enough for us to handle. So be sure to check out the menu swap, hosted by Gluten Free Goodness, where you should find lots of good ideas of what to do with these beauties.

As you may have noticed, I haven’t been formally meal planning as much lately. In the late summer, I tend to meal plan around what we have coming out of the garden and sometimes only a day or two in advance. I have also been having fun with two of my new cookbooks, 660 Curries and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams At Home.

This week though I am trying to get organized and figure out what to do with the goodies from the Farmer’s Market and our garden. I bought some sweet corn, cucumbers and okra at the market and we have plenty of tomatoes, tomatillos and basil coming out of our own garden.

BLT’s with corn-on-the-cob and Pan Fried Okra with Onion-Tamarind Sauce – real bacon on GF bread for me and fake-veg bacon on wheat bread for the hubby. The okra recipe is from 660 Curries.

Palak Paneer (Cheese in a Spinach Sauce) with rice and naan

Veggie Burgers with Fire-Roasted Corn Salad – I had this salad this week at a work luncheon and it was dynamite. I am working on my stash of Amy’s GF Bistro Burgers which I will eat on GF bread. Hubby will eat his non-gf veg burgers on wheat bread.

Pasta with tomatoes, chickpeas, balsamic onions, basil and feta

Quinoa Salad with Cucumber, Black Beans and Avocado

I hope you’re all doing well. How is your tomato harvest this year? Any special varieties you are liking?

Posted in Meal Plan | 2 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, August 8, 2011

August 8, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

This week’s theme for the Gluten Free Menu Swap is “Back-to-School”. Our hostess is Angela, from Angela’s Kitchen. We don’t have any of that back-to-school stuff around here these days, but my husband and I do pack our lunches almost every day for work. And we’re creatures of habit when it comes to lunch – he, more so, than me though. His lunches have consisted of (for years) a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cheez-its, carrots, and an apple. (No, he isn’t always gluten free, he’s the vegetarian.) I tend to stick with the same things for months at a time, but I do switch it up. Here are some of my usual lunch ideas:

Chicken – I have been eating more meat lately to try to increase my B-12 levels, and it is easiest to make it for my lunches. (I am not the veggie in the house, remember.) So I have been grilling some up on the George Foreman grill that has been collecting dust in the pantry. Sometimes marinated or sometimes with a splash of barbecue sauce on the side.

Cheese and GF crackers

Carrots, red bell pepper or celery with hummus or white bean puree

Cherry tomatoes

Mozzarella cheese sticks and GF crackers

Green beans, snap peas or kale – put in a glass bowl with a lid, add a dribble of water and microwave for 60-90 seconds with the lid partially on. Quick steamed green veggies at work! I will even just put the green beans in the dish frozen in the morning and they are thawed enough by lunch to only need a quick zap. Add a dash of salt or a drizzle of salad dressing on the kale.

Apple, cherries, blueberries – whatever is in season. And I usually take two servings.

Sweet treat – lately I have been eating Spaan’s meringues that I find at Whole Foods. Either chocolate or vanilla.

And of course, leftovers are always good when you have the use of a microwave at the office like I do.

So anyway, back to the meal plan…I was a naughty girl last week and ended up at one of the still-open Borders stores and was enticed by their going-out-of-business sale. I walked out with three new cookbooks…two of which are huge!! The first one, 660 Curries and the second, Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Also, a skinny (but not for my rear!), but tasty cookbook, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams from the shops by the same name. I still haven’t made it to back to Columbus (OH) to try her ice cream and several other bloggers have been tempting me with their testing of recipes (evil Jackie!), so I had to buy it when I saw it. This week I am planning to make the Lemon and Blueberry Fro-Yo and the Pineapple Piment d’Espelette Sorbet. I am so excited!

But we will be eating more than just ice cream this week (in theory):

Stir-Fry Tofu and Vegetables in a Peanut Sauce with Rice – tofu with red bell peppers, bok choy, water chestnuts, etc.

Curry Simmer Sauce with Chickpeas

Quick Summer Pasta with bell peppers, balsamic onions, chickpeas or white beans, tomatoes, fresh basil and oregano, feta, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and olives

Cabbage, Potatoes and Peas – from 660 Curries!

And then this weekend I need to head to the international market to pick up a bunch of spices and different legumes so I can make some more yummy curries! Also note, vegetarian friends, most (at least half) of the curries in the cookbook are vegetarian with paneer, legumes or vegetables as the star. And when I get done reading through the curries, I will start browsing through the Deborah Madison cookbook…so many new recipes!

Be sure to check out the other menu’s linked up over at Angela’s Kitchen. And if you need more inspiration, check out OrgJunkie for tons more (not gf or veg, but adaptable).

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments »

Product Review: LUNA Protein Bars

July 26, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

Last week I received a nice surprise – three of the new, gluten free LUNA Protein bars showed up in my mailbox. LUNA/Clif Bar was kind enough to send me the Mint Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Cookie Dough flavors to sample for you. There are two additional flavors, Chocolate and Chocolate  Cherry Almond.

Since we haven’t been hiking much over the past month due to fire restrictions, I haven’t had much of a need for protein bars. But I figured I should break into them and check them out. Just for you, of course.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were chocolate covered! I love chocolate-covered anything. But it’s a good thing I didn’t wait to take them on a hike, they probably would have been a gooey, melty mess. For this reason they also probably won’t stash well in your purse or bag, although I may try it this week. Again, just for you.

As you may know, most (all?) LUNA bars have not been gluten free in the past, but these new protein bars are gluten free (not all of the LUNA products are gluten free, check the labels). And I have to commend the folks at LUNA as they have tried to hit it all in these bars.

Each 1.6 oz (45g) LUNA Protein bar has around 180-190 calories with 12g protein and 3g fiber, along with essential nutrients women need. It is high in calcium and folic acid, and is a good source of vitamin D, iron, fiber and antioxidants (vitamins A, C and E). Each bar has 6-9g fat and 13-15g sugar depending on the flavor.

That’s a heck of a lot of protein stuffed into a 180 or so calorie protein bar. Most bars only have a third to half that amount of protein.

So, what about their gluten free status – do they test them? LUNA/Clif Bar makes other products, so how safe are they? Here’s the deal:

At the beginning of 2011 we started to transition all LUNA Protein flavors to be gluten free. To do this, Clif Bar & Company has looked at all aspects of making our bars. Our ingredient suppliers have confirmed that all ingredients are gluten free, so they contain no gluten from wheat, rye or barley. The location where we make our food is capable of making a gluten free food and we test our finished products to confirm that they are gluten free.

Our newest flavors, Mint Chocolate Chip and Chocolate, are all labeled gluten free.

As of March 2011, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cookie Dough, and Chocolate Cherry Almond transitioned to be gluten free, as well. You can tell if your LUNA Protein bar is gluten free by looking at the packaging.

When I inquired as to what level the bars tested at, here is the response I got:

In the absence of official FDA standards, we use the testing benchmark set forth by the Gluten Free Certification Organization (GFCO), which is less than 10 parts per million of gluten.

So there it is, and as always only you can make the choice that’s right for you.

LUNA Protein - Chocolate Peanut Butter

The chocolate peanut butter flavor was the first bar I tried. When I initially cut it open, I was a little worried, as I am normally not a fan of protein bars with this sort of mushed up substance inside. (My favorite bars are KIND bars, where you can see the whole ingredients like nuts and dried fruit.) That was when I actually took a look at the ingredients (‘doh!):

Protein Blend (Soy Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Coating (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa, Soy Lecithin And Organic Vanilla Extract), Peanuts, Organic Peanut Butter, Vegetable Glycerin, Inulin (Chicory Extract), Natural Flavors, Soy Rice Crisp (Soy Protein Isolate, Rice Flour,), Salt, Soy Lecithin, Almonds.

So, a lot of ‘processed’ ingredients. And it contains soy, dairy and nuts, so it isn’t for everyone. But, all in all, a good flavor, just enough peanut butter flavor to balance the outer chocolate coating. There are little crispy nuggets within the ‘nougat’ (as they call it) which gives a little texture to the filling. Bottom line: Pretty good. I would eat one again.

Next up, the mint chocolate chip flavor.

LUNA Protein Bar - Mint Chocolate Chip

I’ll be straight up about this one – I am not a fan. The smell of mint flavoring permeated the air as soon as I opened the package. It was a little much for me, even though I am a fan of mint chocolate things. This one had the same type of nougat filling but it also had little chocolate chips and the soy crisps to give some variation in texture. Here’s the ingredients, which are similar to the first bar:

Protein Blend (Soy Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Coating (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa, Soy Lecithin And Organic Vanilla Extract), Vegetable Glycerin, Inulin (Chicory Extract), Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavors), Cocoa Soy Rice Crisps ((Soy Protein Isolate, Organic Rice Flour, Organic Alkalized Cocoa, Alkalized Cocoa), Natural Flavors, Macadamia Nut Butter, Organic Alkalized Cocoa, Water, Salt, Soy Lecithin

Again, this one is gluten free but contains soy, dairy and nuts. Bottom line: I wouldn’t eat the mint chocolate chip flavor again due to the strong mint flavor, it just wasn’t for me.

Next up, the cookie dough flavor.

LUNA Protein Bar - Cookie Dough

The ingredient low-down:

Protein Blend (Soy Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Coating (Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa, Soy Lecithin And Organic Vanilla Extract), Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavors), Inulin (Chicory Extract), Vegetable Glycerin, Macadamia Nut Butter, Natural Flavors, Cocoa Soy Rice Crisp (Soy Protein Isolate, Organic Rice Flour, Organic Alkalized Cocoa, Alkalized Cocoa), Salt, Soy Lecithin

So, again, they contain soy, dairy and nuts. Doesn’t the nougat filling in the above picture remind you of cookie dough? It does to me, although the flavor wasn’t quite there. I tasted a bit of an artificial flavor to the filling in this one but it wasn’t enough to turn me off. This one also has the addition of chocolate chips and the soy crisps to add texture. Bottom line: I liked this one well enough and would eat it again.

Overall, I would eat the Cookie Dough and Chocolate Peanut flavors again but I am not sure I would buy them if I had other choices. And I might happen to pick up the Chocolate Cherry Almond flavor to try out if and when I see it.  I like the chocolate-covered factor but it can also be a hindrance here in the heat of the southwest. I will let you know how they hold up to the heat and being stuffed in my purse for a couple of days. (That’s what I like about KIND and LARAbars, I can stick them in my purse or pack and not worry about them, they’ll be just fine until I need one.) But, I could see keeping these in my desk drawer for a quick, healthy and chocolatey(!) mid-afternoon snack to hold me until dinner. There’s enough fat in them to make me feel like I have eaten something substantial and added fiber to help keep me feeling full. I also like the quantities of calcium and B-12 in one bar as they are items I monitor for my own health.

I haven’t seen them at my local stores yet, so keep your eyes open for them. Have you seen them in your area yet? A big thank you to LUNA/Clif for providing these for me to sample.

*These products were received free of charge but the opinions expressed here are entirely my own.*

Posted in Product Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, July 25, 2011

July 25, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

This week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap is hosted by Carrie at Ginger Lemon Girl. She chose a theme of “Blogger’s Choice”, so I guess we each get to chose our own theme. Cool! My theme this week is ‘Cooking for One’. The hubby is at a conference all week and I won’t need to cook for him, so I am on my own.

Do you eat differently when you eat alone? I know I do. There is even a book of this title, from one of my favorite cookbook authors and fellow New Mexican, Deborah Madison. “What we Eat When We Eat Alone“.

So, this week I don’t really have a plan as of yet but I have a few things in mind based upon what is in the frig and freezer. Apologies to the vegetarians, when I eat alone I often chose meat since I don’t eat it often and my body needs it. So I will focus on upping my B-12 levels and getting some fish/seafood in my diet this week.

Here’s some of the ingredients I have hanging around to use:

Salmon

Pulled Pork

LaTortilla Teff Wraps

Kale, tomatillos, basil and cherry tomatoes from the garden

Leftover Three Bean Taco filling

Leftover brown rice

Fresh broccoli and bell peppers

And I am eyeing this recipe with shrimp in it.

So, we’ll see what I can come up with. I find that when I am only cooking for one, I do tend to be more off-the-cuff in my cooking.

When you cook for only yourself – are you more or less creative – or more or less healthy (cake for breakfast?). Or?

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments »

Peach Cobbler

July 24, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

This week my eyes were bigger than my tummy while shopping and I picked up too many delicious peaches. Of course they all ripened at the same time and I needed to do something with them quick. That was when I remembered one of my wonderful, old standby recipes. One of the first gluten free recipes we ever made sixteen years ago when I was first diagnosed. And it is one that I find myself coming back to again and again because it is simple and requires no special ingredients. A perfect dessert for someone newly diagnosed and overwhelmed.

Now, I am not sure where this recipe ultimately originates so I apologize to whoever that might be. Over time I have changed the original recipe; this one has less sugar and more fruit. And I think I would like to try less butter the next time.

This is a quick, throw-it-together recipe – great for unexpected guests, if you happen to have ripe fruit on the counter. Or use frozen fruit, there is no reason why it wouldn’t work.

Peach Cobbler

1 stick of butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup milk

1 cup gluten free flour mix

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

2+ cups fresh fruit, I used peaches and blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a 9″ square pan. Mix sugar, milk, flour and baking powder together. Pour over melted butter. Do not stir. Place the fruit on top of the batter evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top begins to lightly brown.

Depending on the flour mix you use, sometimes the fruit sinks to the bottom and the cake portion is on top when done. As you can see in the photo above, my fruit stayed partially on top this time. So it goes!

Notes:

* I’ve never used dairy substitutes in this recipe but I think they would work fairly well. I would use a neutral tasting milk alternative.

* Use any of your favorite flour mixes. I often use the Gluten Free Pantry’s French Bread mix as my flour mix for a lot of cookie recipes and it works great. Yes, it is a highly refined flour mix but it is one that works for me. But it is easy to find and use and it was one of the only mix companies around for years. Old habits die hard. If you use another (more) whole-grain flour mix, let us know how it works!

This recipe is also posted over at Seasonal Sundays at Real Sustenance.

This recipe is also linked up to Book of Yum’s Cobbler Carnival.

Posted in Dessert, Fruit, Quick | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments »

Napa Cabbage Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

July 19, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

With this week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap theme of light and easy for summer, I thought I would post this recipe. We have fallen in love with napa cabbage chopped salads and slaws. This one was inspired by a couple of the napa cabbage recipes over at Kalyn’s Kitchen where she blogs about South Beach Diet recipes. Many, if not most, of her recipes are naturally gluten free or easily modified with minimal substitutions. But that doesn’t mean that they are missing any flavor! We’ve just loved everything we’ve made from Kalyn’s blog. (This is starting to sound like an Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger post…hmmm.) Thanks for the inspiration Kalyn!

Napa Cabbage Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

Inspired by Kalyn’s Kitchen

This makes a lot so feel free to make only half but it is a great dish to take to a potluck or picnic.

8-10 cups napa cabbage, sliced or shredded

2 cups shredded carrots

2 cups red bell pepper, sliced, matchstick sized

1/2 cup green onions, sliced

2-1/2 cups edamame, shelled and cooked

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Dressing:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1-2 Tbsp agave nectar or honey

1-1/2 Tbsp ginger, grated on your Microplane

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil, light-tasting, I used a light and fresh Spanish olive oil

Toss together all of the salad ingredients, except the sesame seeds, in the largest bowl you have. In a mason jar with a lid, mix together all of the dressing ingredients and give it a good shake. Taste and add more salt if needed. Or ginger. Or sweetener. Or whatever.

Start small and stir some of the dressing into the salad. Add more if you would like. Adjust it to your preferences. Top with sesame seeds.

If you won’t be eating this all at one time, I would suggest keeping the edamame in a separate bowl and adding it when just before eating it. Same with the sesame seeds. We were able to eat this salad for an entire week because I kept the salad and dressing ingredients separate until we were ready to eat it.

Do you have a favorite napa cabbage recipe?

This recipe was submitted to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays over at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free. As well, this recipe was cross-posted over at Gluten Free Easily’s Virtual Support Group.

Posted in Asian, Beans, Quick, Salad, Vegan, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Meal Plan Monday, July 18, 2011

July 17, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

I am hosting this week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap and the theme I have chosen is “light and easy” for summer. Here in New Mexico, it has been brutally hot. Surprisingly, we normally don’t hit triple digits, except for maybe a couple of days in July or August, but we have had many triple-digit days already this year. And now other parts of the country are dealing with hot temperatures too. So I thought we should highlight some of our light and easy favorites for summer, to give us all a break from the hot stove and oven, and even the grill, which is even too hot to stand over.

Here are a few of our light and easy favorites:

Spicy Ginger Noodles – you only have to boil some pasta.

Wild Rice Tabouli – you only need to cook the rice. Try a rice cooker to avoid turning on the stove.

Lentil Salad Provencal – turn on some lentils to simmer and then walk away from the hot stove. Or you could use canned, rinsed lentils or cook some up quick in your pressure cooker.

Moroccan Chickpea Salad – one of our favorite no-cook meals, minus the pita, of course.

What are your favorite no-cook or light-on-cooking recipes?

This week, we are having:

Three Bean Tacos – this is one of those meals that you make once and eat on it all week. Perfect.

Three Bean Taco Salad – using the leftovers from above to make taco salad.

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad – cook up the quinoa in your rice cooker for no fuss.

Tofu Fried Rice – subbing in whatever leftover vegetables we have on hand. Cooled rice is best, so cook the rice the night before in the rice cooker and let it cool in the frig.

Here’s what everyone else is up to this week:

Heather over at Celiac Family says that they try to keep it light and easy ALL summer. Check out her tips on how to do it. And check out her menu. I am digging her Seven-Layer Salad – it’s been ages since I’ve made that – and she kicks it up a notch with a dill dressing. Sounds light and refreshing to me!

Over at Celiacs in the House, Wendy is trying to keep it cool too since the temps are forecast to be rising during the week. Her Asian cucumber and carrot salad topped with salmon sounds right up my alley (hubby would have to fend for himself – sorry, dear!). As well, her menu reminds us that omelets are a quick, delicious and light summer dinner. She also reviews Stephanie O’Dea’s new Totally Together Journal, which covers menu planning. Check it all out.

Claire over at My Gluten Free Home is trying to stay cool in the Dallas heat. She went light and easy this weekend and hung at the pool! Sounds nice to me. And she’s doing the light and easy thing by eating down the freezer – her tamales sound delicious to me!

For plenty of inspiration, check back later in the week to see what everyone else will be eating. Or head over to OrgJunkie (but hosted this week by Finding Joy in My Kitchen) on Monday for (literally) hundreds of menu plans (not necessarily gluten free or veg).

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments »

Meal Plan Monday, July 11, 2011

July 11, 2011 by BeyondRiceandTofu

This week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap is hosted by Celiac Family and the theme is pineapple.

Yum! We love fresh pineapple. It is one of my husband’s favorite fruits and I always try to buy him one when they are on sale. I will have to see if they are on sale this week. We usually don’t do anything special with pineapple, just cut one up and eat it, mainly because my husband isn’t one for sweet fruits in his savory food. We have grilled it once before and that was pretty good. So I will be interested to see what others do with their pineapple. Maybe I can convince him to try it as part of a dish one of these days!

This week’s menu:

Red Kidney Beans and Tomatoes with Rice and Steamed Broccoli – and perhaps some dosa, if I can get my act together! The kidney bean recipe is new-to-us and from one of our favorite cookbooks, Indian Vegetarian Cooking from an American Kitchen by Vasantha Prasad.

Chickpeas in Tomato, Ginger and Garlic Sauce with Rice – one our all-time favorite recipes from the same cookbook above, Indian Vegetarian Cooking from an American Kitchen by Vasantha Prasad.

Quick Summer Pasta – this is one of my very simple, make-it-up as I go along recipes that I will attempt to document for you.

Spicy Tofu with Vegetables and Rice and Cucumber Salad – one of our go-to quick summer recipes.

Be sure to head over to Celiac Family later this week to check out everyone’s menus for some inspiration.

I am hosting next week’s GF Menu Swap with a theme of “Light and Easy for Summer”. What are your favorite, quick and easy, don’t turn on the oven (or even the stove) meals? I hope you’ll let me know next week!

Posted in Meal Plan | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments »

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