Grilled Vegetable Stack with Lemon Hummus

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This smoky grilled vegetable stack with lemon hummus is vegan and gluten-free.

Beneath the hot sapphire skies of August, backyard grills are still smokin' as cooks keep the kitchen cool by stoking briquettes al fresco. Cooking and dining in the open air- even if your outdoorsy territory is merely a closet-sized balcony hanging off a wall of brick and mortar- is an enduring, classic, summer pleasure. The smoky heat of barbeque spices and hickory laced sauces slathered on everything from burgers to shrimp is intoxicating and hunger pang inducing. So I'm sharing one more grilling recipe.

And this one's for the gluten-free vegan crowd.

Over the weekend we grilled some of our favorite farm fresh veggies and made these rustic grilled vegetable stacks layered with a light and creamy lemon hummus.

Deliciousness ensued.

Vegan and gluten-free grillin'. Grilled veggie stack with lemon hummus.

Grilled Vegetable Stack

Tired of the same old backyard burger? I think you will adore these lovely grilled vegetable stacks layered with a light and lemony hummus. Naturally gluten-free and vegan. (And best of all, so easy!)

Ingredients:

1 large red or purple onion, peeled, trimmed, sliced into 6 slices
2 large red bell peppers, cored, sliced into 3 pieces
2 large yellow bell peppers, cored, sliced into 3 pieces
1 large zucchini, halved, sliced lengthwise, to make 6 pieces
1 large yellow squash, halved, sliced lengthwise, to make 6 pieces
1 medium-large eggplant, trimmed, sliced into 6 pieces
6 large portobello mushroom caps, stemmed, gills removed
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon each: dried thyme, dill, parsley
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

For serving:

Lemon Hummus- recipe below
Fresh chopped chives

Instructions:

In a large bowl combine the onion, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, portobello mushrooms.

In a glass cup combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, thyme, dill and parsley. Pour the marinade over the vegetables. Season with sea salt and ground pepper, to taste. Gently toss to coat.

Cover and marinate for one hour.

Heat the grill to medium-high heat.

Place the veggies in a grill basket (or spread out the veggies on a large sheet of foil). Place on the hot grill, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender crisp, about 20-25 minutes, depending upon the size of your grill.

Remove the veggie basket/foil with vegetables to a large platter and set aside.

To serve, create a vegetable stack. Place the portobello mushroom cap on a serving plate and layer it with a spoonful of lemon hummus. Add the eggplant, peppers, zucchini and onion. Top with a dab of more hummus, if desired. Sprinkle with fresh chopped chives. Repeat for the remaining five servings.

Serves 6.

Dig in! Smoky grilled vegetable stack layered with lemon hummus.

Lemon Hummus

Hummus is so easy to make at home- especially if you have a food processor. Five minutes prep- and you're ready to roll. Tip: Chill the can of chick peas beforehand if your kitchen pantry gets hot in summer.

Ingredients:

1 14-ounce can chilled chickpeas aka garbanzo beans, drained, reserve liquid
Juice and zest of one big fresh lemon
2 tablespoons sesame tahini or almond butter
1 clove fresh garlic, peeled, crushed
Pinch of sea salt, to taste
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

Combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, lemon zest, tahini, garlic and sea salt in a food processor. Pulse briefly to combine.

Turn on the processor and pour in the olive oil, and a dash of the reserved liquid, and process until creamy smooth.

Scoop into a serving bowl. Cover and chill until serving.

Serve this lemony hummus layered in grilled vegetable stacks (recipe above) or as a protein-rich condiment to your favorite grilled dishes and gluten-free grains.


Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
All images & content are copyright protected, all rights reserved. Please do not use our images or content without prior permission. Thank you.

Vegan Peach Ice Cream

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Gluten-free dairy-free peach ice cream.

A small gift for you this weekend. Some cool, frosty, non-dairy peachy goodness. A vegan ice cream recipe for the sticky dog days of late summer. Wait. Is it August already? Good goddess, the summer is careening by. It's true what they say about the concept of time. It speeds up and gets fluid as you get, um, shall we say, older. Seasoned.

One might even venture, weathered.

During your ritual morning walk your husband turns to you and mentions a moment from yesterday and the dirt path beneath you starts to swim (not that swimming surfaces are all that unusual out here in the shimmering southwest sun).
You ask, Wait. Was that yesterday? 
And he thinks a minute. Wait, he says. Friday? 
You hear the brittle dryness of the desert wind. The roar of the loud cobalt sky. There are red and sienna stones beneath your feet. The same stones as yesterday, last week, last year.
That was last week, you offer gently, shaking your head in a spin cycle of empathy and disbelief and astonishment. 
Dude, he says. Recalculating.
Tell me about it, you sigh.
Weeks morph into days.

How about some peach ice cream for breakfast?

Continue reading

Gluten-Free Fried Zucchini Chips with Lime-Mint Dipping Sauce

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Gluten-free fried zucchini chips with vegan dipping sauce.

The Dog Days of Summer are upon us. Gardens are exploding. Vegetables are shiny fresh and happy. From A to Z, produce is queen. 'Tis the season of abundance. You know where I'm going with this, right? Need I say more, Dearest Reader? Do I really have to wax poetic and effusive about the humble cucurbita pepo known as zucchini? Do you crave another verbal celebration of le fabuleux courgette?

Perhaps I should invent a tale about some beatific Italian grandmother and what she used to do with weathered buckets of fresh-picked zucchina, transforming the green torpedoes (still cozy-warm from the sun) into melt-in-your-mouth garlic laced bliss. I could go all James Frey on ya and pretend I had a childhood that included actual, fresh picked produce (in full disclosure, there were potatoes) and not canned corn and fried bologna.

Because I didn't have an Italian grandmother.

Or a French grandmother.

The one I had on hand was Polish. And not only did she not grow vegetables, Darling, I sincerely wonder if she ever ate a vegetable in her long and prickly life of nine decades- beyond said canned corn and the occasional boiled potato. Instant Sanka, Russel Stover Assorted Creams, and Lucky Strikes were her three favored food groups. So I often find it ironic that I blog recipes and take pictures of food.

Though Dr. Freud, perhaps, would not exactly be surprised.

I've been reading the book Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth. It is a thought provoking read, and I highly recommend it. Though it is not for the faint of heart. There's stuff in there we don't necessarily want to hear, clinging as we do, to our assumptions.


Her gentle examination of our shallow culture and our collective obsession with appearance over spirit strikes a meaningful chord. How we all- to some degree- numb ourselves with one distraction or another to keep ourselves detached from living fully in the moment- be it counting cupcake calories or DVR-ing reality TV.

We are a culture living three feet from ourselves.

The painful truth about dieting as an addiction in and of itself, supporting a multi-billion dollar industry with an astonishing record of failure may be difficult to swallow at first (too scary-close to home) but as it sinks in, I find myself scratching through my initial resistance to a tangible sense of hope and freedom.

And I could not help but find parallels between sisters who wrestle with carbs or fat grams and sisters living gluten-free.

And some of us inhabit both camps.

Living gluten-free over time defines our body-mind-spirit- indeed our life- in terms of restriction and hyper-vigilance, even with the most positive, embracing, can-do spin on it, the bare bones fact is that every new day serves up dietary limitations and often, real, tangible scarcity. How we respond to this reality and regulate our lives delineates us. Patterns form and shape our behavior.

Food is emotionally charged with associations of comfort, denial, nourishment, rejection, love, acceptance, guilt, risk, pain. Food is more than just a cookie. And gaining weight is more than just eating said cookie. It's not about the food.

It's about who we are.

Living inside or outside of our body. Living inside or outside our head. It's about the health and wholeness and aliveness of our spirit. The resiliency and tenacity of our soul.

All this- in a culture unkind to imperfection, vulnerability, and aging.

How we eat reflects our core beliefs.

About everything.

I'm pondering all of this. And I'll be chewing on the implications for some time to come.

As I (gently, kindly) work on a new skill- leaving behind the past, letting go with open hands, and living in the only moment we have. Which- by all accounts- is now.

And as I do my pondering, I'll be sharing more recipes that I love, from my imperfect kitchen.

Like these amazing gluten-free fried zucchini chips.

Comfort food redux from an imagined childhood.

Zucchini chips and vegan dip. (Photo by Alexander Allrich)

Gluten-Free Fried Zucchini Chips Recipe with Lime-Mint Dipping Sauce

The gluten-free combo of ground hazelnuts and brown rice flour gives these golden chips a subtle nutty flavor and delicate crunch. I used organic Canola oil to fry these, but you could also use grapeseed oil or any organic oil suitable for high heat cooking. Choose slender, smallish zucchini squash for these chips, not huge, fat zukes.

Ingredients:

Organic Canola oil or other high-heat cooking oil
1 cup ground hazelnut meal
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon organic garlic powder
4 slender, firm zucchini squash
1 large organic free-range egg, beaten

Instructions:

Heat about an inch and a half of Canola oil in a heavy bottomed skillet, over medium heat.

Meanwhile, in a shallow soup plate, whisk together the hazelnut meal, brown rice flour, sea salt and garlic powder. Set aside.

Wash and trim the zucchini squash. Evenly slice the squash on a slight diagonal to create 1/4-inch thick chips. Press and pat the slices with a paper towel and set aside.

Pour the beaten egg into a shallow bowl. Working in batches, dip each zucchini slice into the beaten egg, and allow excess to drip off. Dredge the coated slice in the gluten-free flour mixture, patting it to coat both sides.

When the oil is hot (about 325º to 350ºF), carefully place several zucchini slices into the hot oil and fry until they are golden brown on both sides. Don't overcrowd the pan- give the chips some space to sizzle and crisp up.

Use silicone-coated tongs to remove the chips, and place them on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Note: Keep a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a 300ºF oven (especially if you are making several batches), and keep the fried chips warm until serving.

Serve immediately with a creamy dipping sauce. See my easy dipping sauce recipe below.

Yield: Serves 4

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
All images & content are copyright protected, all rights reserved. Please do not use our images or content without prior permission. Thank you. 

Lightly crunchy golden chips of veggie goodness.

Vegan and Dairy-Free Lime-Mint Dipping Sauce

This light and creamy lime-mint sauce brings out the fresh green taste of tender zucchini chips. And it's a snap to make, thanks to Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise. I love using Vegenaise as a super quick base for non-dairy dips and sauces. It has a lovely bright taste that is not too tangy or mustardy. And it's not too sweet.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Vegenaise
Juice from half a lime
1 packed tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint leaves
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Combine the the Vegenaise, lime juice, fresh mint, sea salt and pepper. Taste test. Add more lime or mint, as you prefer.

Makes about a half cup of dairy-free dip.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

Let the dipping begin. (Photo by Alexander Allrich)

Peanut Butter Ice Cream - Vegan and Dairy-Free

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The richest, creamiest vegan ice cream I've ever tasted.

It is 101 degrees outside. Fahrenheit. And I am not cooking. I am not even boiling water for my habitual ritual of afternoon tea. I am sitting in front of a petite blue desk-top fan. Eating ice cream. Homemade ice cream, to be exact. With nary a trace of dairy or gluten. And apparently, it is the best homemade ice cream I have ever made (so says my willing, taste-testing husband). Who am I to argue?

It is indeed fabulous.

The inspiration came via one of our favorite Los Angeles restaurants- Akasha, in Culver City. At Akasha you can always find a lovely gluten-free choice on the menu. As well as something vegan (which by default, is dairy-free), a welcome option for those of us saddled not only with celiac disease, but a dairy intolerance as well. (As a side note, I have found it harder to dine out dairy-free than gluten-free-- chefs love their butter, cream and cheese.)

One of the dessert choices at Akasha is vegan peanut butter ice cream. It is, simply, divine.

So I decided to try my hand at re-creating it.

Dig in. This peanut butter vegan ice cream is company worthy.

Here's what I came up with.

I started with chilled coconut milk (my favorite go-to vegan alternative to cream). And natural peanut butter. I added dark chocolate shavings.

We've made it three times now. I've tweaked. And added a secret ingredient to replace the lost butterfat factor (vegan ice creams are typically thin or thickened with starch). The secret? Organic raw coconut oil. Don't leave it out, darling.

And don't count the calories.

Enjoy a small scoop.

Use a melon-baller. That's all you need. Trust me. This ice cream is rich, peanutty, and so much like real ice cream parlor ice cream, you'll be able to fool those non-believers who swear allegiance to moo-cow superiority.

Whip up a batch.

Go ahead.

Prove them wrong.

Vegan ice cream RULES.

Dairy-free ice cream so rich and creamy you won't believe it's vegan.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Recipe with Dark Chocolate Shavings

The blend of creamy coconut milk and natural peanut butter gives this vegan ice cream a truly decadent richness many dairy-free ice creams lack. One secret is the extra coconut oil I add. This wonderful vegan fat replaces the butterfat in real dairy cream. The heavenly consistency is ice cream parlor worthy.

Ingredients:

1 14-oz. can organic coconut milk, chilled (Trader Joe's has no guar gum)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup organic natural peanut butter with sea salt
1 tablespoon organic coconut oil, room temp/liquid
1 teaspoon good vanilla extract
Scant 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
3 tablespoons dark chocolate shavings

Instructions:

Prepare your ice cream maker ahead of time by freezing the canister overnight. You'll also need a good blender or Vita-Mix to whip the ice cream mixture.

Combine the chilled coconut milk, light brown sugar, natural peanut butter, coconut oil, vanilla extract and xanthan gum in a blender or Vita-Mix. Whip until all the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is creamy and frothy.

If the mixture is warm-ish, chill it before adding it to the ice cream maker.

Set your freezing canister in place and turn on the ice cream maker. Pour the mixture into the freezing canister. 

Add in the shaved dark chocolate. 

Churn until frozen; at 30 minutes it should reach a thick, soft-serve consistency.

Scoop into a freezable quart container, cover and freeze.

This is the ice cream maker I use- it's not an expensive one; and it does a great job if the mixture is cold.

Makes roughly three cups of creamy gluten-free vegan ice cream. Serve in small single scoops, as it is rich.


Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
All images & content are copyright protected, all rights reserved. Please do not use our images or content without prior permission. Thank you. 

Summertime yum. Vegan peanut butter ice cream.

Recipe notes:

I use Trader Joe's organic coconut milk because it has no guar gum (guar gum does not agree with me, I'm sorry to say). I also find it the creamiest coconut milk around.

Light brown sugar adds a caramel undertone to the peanut butter flavor. I've made it with organic white cane sugar, too, but I prefer the brown sugar version.

I add a scant pinch of xanthan gum to my ice cream recipes. This helps vegan ice cream mixtures bind and become soft-serve smooth. If you prefer it without, leave it out. It may not be quite as smooth.

My preference is to use lovely, organic natural style soft peanut butter with sea salt (I use Trader Joe's). It has a fresh peanut flavor, and no added sugars or starches. If you use a no-salt peanut butter, you may need to add a tiny pinch of sea salt to your mixture for optimum peanut flavor. Taste test.

If you don't have dark chocolate (I use a 70% cocoa dark chocolate bar), try adding some gluten-free chocolate brownie crumbs, or gluten-free chocolate cookie crumbs instead.

For those of you without an ice cream maker you could try freezing this mixture by hand and stirring it every 15-20 minutes to help prevent ice crystals from forming. This is not ideal, but it can be done. You'll most likely need to soften the ice cream a bit before serving. But maybe not.

Zucchini Gratin

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Zucchini gratin gets a make-over. Gluten-free and dairy-free.

On the way to saving your life there are moments that stir up a thousand kinds of trouble. Denial. Anger. Grief. Desire. The last one is the trouble I hear about the most here on Gluten-Free Goddess. The slow burn of longing. Comments and letters asking, sometimes pleading, pining, always hungry for some beloved recipe one can no longer consume. Due to evil gluten. Food is an emotional issue. Charged with hot spots and invisible buttons that can be pushed and engaged by a myriad of things. A scent. A circumstance. A holiday. Food can equal love. Evoke comfort. Mom. Or lack of Mom. Food can feel like self care and nourishment. But it can also be a fence. A barrier erected to survive. A way to numb. Escape. Live three feet from yourself.

Because some days it's hard to be a human being.

Sometimes I get tired of blogging about food. Sharing recipes. Because in all transparency, I don't feel like a foodie. I don't build my day around a meal or shopping for ingredients. Food is fuel. And often (in my house) food is an after thought. As in, Sweet Tap Dancing Bodhisattva, I'm starving. It's six PM. And I have nothing in the fridge except a jar of organic peanut butter.

And lettuce.

The un-foodie truth is, I sometimes resent the fact that I have to stop what I am doing and eat. It interrupts my flow. My doing flow. My thinking flow. My reading flow. Cooking takes time. And energy. And a certain level of focus (if one wishes to avoid burning the last clove of garlic, anyway). Cooking takes planning. One has to remember to physically get to the market now and then (which requires driving, another activity preferably avoided, right up there with drafting grocery lists). Avoiding said planning, one can far too easily find oneself without a scrap of dark chocolate in the house.

Chocolate may be the primary reason I get to the grocery store at all.

Before I discovered I had celiac disease, I ate simply. I was a vegetarian. Food was no big whup. As long as I had a bag of brown rice in the pantry, I was golden. I stir-fried veggies. I bought French baguettes daily. I baked the occasional chocolate chip brownie. But I wasn't hyper-focused on every single morsel that went into my mouth. I was loose and free, and true, I cooked. But food was more of a natural expression of my life as an artist and a mother. Cooking was as organic as breathing, a creative thing that didn't require surgical precision. I cooked simple, down to earth food. The kids grew up well fed and acquainted with pasta and fresh basil, olive oil, pumpkin soup. And real mac and cheese. Today both sons are amazing, intuitive cooks.

But when celiac disease made its appearance (in vivid ways you don't want to know about, Sweetpea) it complicated everything. Spontaneity (my favorite trait) atrophied. My easy going relationship with food morphed into an anxious love-hate alliance. Yes, I rolled up my can-do sleeves and problem solved. I did. I was a good sport. I tackled gluten-free head on. And I've been churning out gluten-free recipes for ten years. And dairy-free for four. I'm no slacker. But.

Some days?

I wish I was "normal". As in, I wish I could grab a crusty bakery baguette and a salty wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano for dinner. Like I used to. When making art was romantic and love was new. Wishful thinking. Which gets me nowhere. Except back to the place I started.

Desire.

Fresh basil and zucchini beckon. Make a gratin.

 

Yesterday I craved an easy old favorite. Zucchini gratin. You know the one. Classic Italian comfort food, hot from the oven, bubbling with pan-tossed zucchini and garlic in a creamy cheesy sauce topped with Italian herbed bread crumbs. Zucchini gratin is the perfect marriage of tenderness and flavor. Melted gooey cheese and toasty crumbs. Gluten-free and dairy-free. Wait. What? Seriously?

Yes, Darling. A gratin to love. Even if you aren't a foodie and need to avoid gluten and dairy like the plague, doesn't mean you have to give up a lovely, cheesy, comforting gratin.

It just means you have to plan a little.

And make a list.

And shop.

And cook.

And then. You can eat.

And smile.

Because it's so freakin' tap-dancing good.

Tender zucchini and creamy vegan cheese topped with g-free crumbs.

Gluten-Free Zucchini Gratin Recipe

Zucchini gratin is an easy home cooked side dish that will entice even veggie avoiders to indulge. If you don't need to be dairy-free, use milk and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, as needed
4 medium zucchini, trimmed and sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
Sea salt, to taste
2 organic free range eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
3 tablespoons fresh chopped basil leaves
1 cup gluten-free bread crumbs
2 tablespoons almond meal
2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup shredded vegan cheese (I used Daiya mozzarella style)
Fresh chopped Italian parsley, for serving

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking dish or two 8-inch oval gratin dishes. Set aside.

Heat a splash of olive oil in a large skillet, using medium-high heat, and add the zucchini slices and garlic. Season with sea salt. Shake and toss the zucchini to cook lightly- just until tender-crisp.

Spoon the zucchini into the baking/gratin dish.

Sprinkle with fresh chopped basil leaves.

In a large measuring cup, beat the eggs with a fork. Add in the soy milk and beat till combined.

Pour the egg mixture over the zucchini. Top with most of the vegan cheese.

In a small mixing bowl toss the gluten-free bread crumbs with the almond meal, dried Italian herbs, and one tablespoon olive oil.

Spoon the oiled bread crumbs on top.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Loosely tent the gratin with a piece of foil.

Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes or so, until hot and bubbling. Remove the foil and cook for another 5 minutes if the top needs needs browning.

Serves 4.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
All images & content are copyright protected, all rights reserved. Please do not use our images or content without prior permission. Thank you. 

Zucchini gratin yum- with vegan "mozzarella".

Karina's Notes:

To make your own gluten-free bread crumbs (highly, highly recommended), use two toasted plain waffles or two slices of your favorite gluten-free bread, processed into crumbs.

If you are avoiding nuts, replace the almond meal with more GF bread crumbs.

To replace the eggs, thicken the sauce with gluten-free flour: Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a saucepan. Add two tablespoons sweet rice flour; whisk to combine. Cook for a minute. Add the soy milk, stirring to warm through and thicken. Pour over the zucchini slices.

If you prefer to use dairy based cheese, I think goat cheese or good Parmesan would be lovely, as would fresh mozzarella.

More gluten-free gratin recipes:
Andrea Meyers - Zucchini Tomato Gratin
Karina's Pesto Zucchini Tomato Gratin
Pinch My Salt - Zucchini and Tomato Gratin
Kalyn's Kitchen - Zucchini Bake with Feta and Thyme