xo Weekend manger xo

Eggs with oregano, red onion and baby spinach. A keeper.

Sean has this super cool kick ass vintage "slow cooker" that made us some really great Gluten Free potato soup on Saturday. He's been such a trooper, trying and really enjoying some of my concoctions. Three cheers for supportive partners! :)

I never actually got a pic of the finished soup, because we were too busy eating it, but it was delicious: onion, potato, broth, cooked on high for six hours then blended with an immersion blender a chunk of cream cheese, for thickener. Yummy!!

I have been fortunate enough to find some pretty great gluten free alternatives to bread (especially since I hear there are some pretty nasty ones out there). Tasty they are, though I only use them sparingly because they are so expensive and have little to no fiber, so they don't fill you up. One item worth the cost is Van's Gluten Free Waffles - pictured here with bananas, apples and a side of peanut butter and pure maple syrup. What a treat! Celiacs can still have waffles! Yippppee!

Rudi's is one of my favorites!
http://www.rudisglutenfree.com/celiac-coupon/ for a $1 off coupon

The only veggie burger I could find in stores that did not contain wheat! And its delicious!

The photo barely does it justice, but this sandwich has been one of my finest creations so far:

One Provolone topped Garden Herb Sunshine Burger between slices of Rudi's Gluten Free Sandwich Bread.
Top burger with one fried egg and liberal amounts of avocado, pepper, Mirador, spinach and a dressing of your choice.
(The egg was a good choice because Sunshine Burger's do tend to be dry).

Polenta "Lasagna"

This recipe was borrowed and adapted from http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/polenta-lasagna-10000001108269/. Being gluten free, most of the veggie "meat" substitutes are off limits, as they contain wheat. These products are highly processed and not that great for you anyway, so I'm not all that disappointed in having to omit that. I replaced it with veggies I had on hand.

I started by prepping my ingredients:

Tube of polenta, sliced into 18 rounds
2 small onions, chopped roughly
Small zucchini, halved and sliced
About 6-8 asparagus spears, with chunky ends cut off, cut into big pieces
About ten large white mushrooms, sliced
10 oz of frozen spinach, thawed, with moisture pushed out (fresh would have been better)

I started the oven preheating (350) and spread a few teaspoons full of jarred marinara sauce in the bottom of a square pyrex baking dish. Next, I layered 9 of the polenta rounds into the dish.

Began by sweating the onions, adding salt, pepper, and herbs de provence;

Add green vegetables, allowing to saute for about 5 minutes

Add mushrooms and garlic, until the shrooms soften a little

Add the remaining sauce. I chose Trader Joes Three Cheese Marinara.

Allow to simmer for about ten minutes. It seemed thick, so I added about a 1/4 water and let it simmer as well. This is a good time to add more spices, if desired.

Layer the vegetable mixture over the polenta rounds in your square pan, and top with desired about of mozzarella/italian cheeses. Top again with polenta rounds and layer with vegetables and top with cheese.

Bake covered for 30 minutes, then an additional 15 minutes uncovered. Cool 5 minutes before eating.

This turned out really delicious. Not too saucy, nor too cheesy. Even Sean ate it. A Keeper for sure.

Holy Gluten!!

I recently have undergone a gluten-free lifestyle, for medical reasons. I say "lifestyle" because it has forced me to change SO much.
Now, some may (and have) criticized me for another simultaneous change I made, this time not for medical reasons, but for ethical and for reasons of the heart. I now find myself a gluten-free lacto ovo vegetarian, cooking a lot of gluten-free vegetarian fare, and i realize... food is so fun to photograph & display.....! Photographed here is a lunch time stir fry with sword fish, soy noodles, onion, zucchini, and lots of mushroom.