Archives for “beverage”

Fried Calamari with Pico and Avocado Dressing Plus Pina Coladas

February 28, 2010 · Filed Under GAHIGF, appetizer, beverage, bread, dairy free, easy, entree, gluten free, recipe, salad, seafood, vegetarian ·21 Comments

When Bean over at Without Adornment announced her theme for this month’s Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free! carnival, I was completely on board. Tropical Vacation meal … oh, yeah. We had plenty of snow at the time and our Key West vacation seemed long ago. One of our favorite appetizers that often turns into a meal is Fried Calamari. We’ve eaten calamari all over in our travels from our favorite waterside restaurant “down the road”—Dockside—to much more exotic, tropical spots. Going gluten free meant giving that pleasure up. Oh, sure, I’ve heard of some restaurants that serve gluten-free calamari, but we just haven’t had the good fortune to find and visit one. So making calamari has been in the back of my mind for some time.

My goal has been to make calamari as good as what is served as that favorite local restaurant. And, it’s not just calamari. It’s delicious calamari served on a bed of shredded lettuce topped with a sweet pico de gallo and a special dressing. Here’s a photo of Dockside’s calamari.

I’ve mentioned that our grocery store is pretty basic. While I was happily surprised to find squid in the freezer case recently, I was less pleased to find out that it was a package of whole squid. Opening the package, the squid didn’t look too intimidating, but once I thawed them out, many soulful eyes stared back at me. Maybe I was having flashbacks to images of the giant squid in The Beast, starring William Petersen (before his rise to fame as Gil Grissom on C.S.I.). (Mr. GFE and Son had watched and recorded that movie and we’d watched it more than once.) In the end, I just couldn’t deal with those squid. They plain ”weirded” me out. However, I still wanted to make calamari.

So we made a trip into town to the upscale Wegmans and headed to their seafood counter. And, there they were … beautiful, headless squid bodies and tentacles. Not an eye in sight—thank goodness. The folks at the seafood counter were happy to slice the squid into rings for me while we chatted. The staff member who assisted me shared that her mom had been recently diagnosed with gluten intolerance. She added that she was also trying to eat gluten free, but she expressed frustration over the high cost of gluten free products. Of course, I shared my gfe approach. Seems like I was meant to go to that seafood counter.

Once home, it was easy to prepare the squid. I used the breading mix that I used recently for the chicken tenders and fried oysters. Sometimes if you find something that works with one application, it makes sense to try it with others. There is no need to reinvent the wheel all the time. I breaded the squid exactly the same way I had done the chicken tenders … with no egg wash. The result was very lightly breaded, melt-in-your-mouth calamari. I served them over romaine leaves cut into smaller pieces topped with pico de gallo (pico is easy to make; here’s one recipe I use) and a thick, creamy, and slightly tangy avocado dressing. It’s a great dish. But, truthfully, it’s different than our favorite calamari from Dockside. Not bad different—this calamari dish is really very good—but it is different. I will make the remaining calamari in two batches. For one I’ll use this breading, but also do the egg wash like I did for the fried oysters. I’ll also do a batch to test some gluten-free breading that I purchased a while ago. I’ll keep you updated on both.

Fried Calamari
(Click here for a printable version of this and the following recipes.)

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup gluten-free flour*
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
cooking oil (I used a mixture of grapeseed and olive oil)
2 lbs fresh, raw squid—rings and tentacles

Mix cornmeal, gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl (or paper/ziploc bag for shaking).

Dredge squid through cornmeal breading (or shake in bag). Fry in hot oil (about an inch deep on medium-high, about 375 degrees if using an electric skillet). The calamari will only take a minute or two, at most. Flip pieces when brown on one side. Remove once browned on both sides. To prevent tough calamari, do not overcook.

*I can’t tolerate many of the healthier, gluten-free flours; e.g., sorghum, buckwheat. Therefore, my gluten-free flour mix is 3 parts Asian white rice flour and 2 parts cornstarch. I gently mix three one-lb bags of the Asian white rice flour and two one-lb boxes of cornstarch in a very large bowl and then store the mix in several airtight containers (like large glass jars). It’s a very economical mix that works well in most recipes. No refrigeration is needed. If you’re interested in a complete tutorial on gluten-free flours, please read Amy’s (Simpy Sugar & Gluten-Free) post here. As always, if you are not gluten free, you can substitute all-purpose (wheat) flour instead of gluten-free flour.

Thick and Creamy Avocado Dressing

one half of an avocado, mashed
2 – 3 tbsp of Greek yogurt (to taste)
one garlic clove (I used ½ tsp minced garlic)
2 – 3 tbsp olive oil (to taste and/or consistency)
1 tsp honey

Add all to blender and blend on high a minute or two until well blended. Dollop over salad mixture and calamari as desired.

Shirley’s Notes: This dressing has more of the thickness of mayonnaise or a spread versus a true dressing. If you want a true dressing consistency, you’ll want to add more liquid: olive oil, milk, lemon juice, water, etc.—your preference.

As Bean shared on her Tropical Pork Pineapple Kabobs post, a tropical vacation meal requires a tropical drink. My faves are margaritas and pina coladas. This time I went with a pina colada. This one is gluten free and dairy free, and uses no processed mixes either. I basically took the idea of a Southern Living recipe that I’d enjoyed years ago and just revised it to use whole food ingredients, including coconut milk. Easy and luscious!

Luscious Pina Coladas

1 cup coconut milk
1 cup pineapple juice
½ cup rum
4 tbsp sugar (or other sweetener)
1 banana
1/4 cup shredded coconut
8 or more ice cubes
additional shredded coconut, if desired

Blend coconut milk, pineapple juice, rum, sugar, banana, 1/4 cup shredded coconut, and ice cubes to desired consistency. Top with additional shredded coconut, if desired.

Inspired by Southern Living

Shirley’s Notes: I like to use a frozen banana (I always have frozen baking bananas on hand), which provides a nice, thick consistency—the luscious factor in this pina colada.

If you want to stay in the tropical vacation mindset a little longer, be sure to check back at Without Adornment for the complete roundup of recipes. Thinking sunshine, turquoise blue water, warm breezes, bare legs, and wonderful tropical fare … so nice. Special thanks to Bean for hosting this month as well as ongoing thanks to Naomi (Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried) for originating the always fun and helpful Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free! carnival.

By the way, be sure to visit my Out and About page to find out who won the recent giveaway. And, we’re now into the final week before the Academy Awards presentation, more fondly known as the Oscars. Be sure to check out the complete roundup–either recipes inspired by Oscar nominees or others just right for throwing your own viewing celebration. They are definitely all award-winning caliber! My own contributions were Veronica’s Pumpkin Soup and the already mentioned Southern Fried Oysters. You can the listing of all the Gluten-Free Progressive Dinner Party recipes at our gracious hostess, Diane’s, blog events page at The. W.H.O.L.E. Gang.

Enjoy!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Post a comment · 21 Comments
Tags: bananas, beverage, bread, calamari, coconut, dairy free, easy, GFE, gluten free, recipe, seafood

The Spunky Coconut Cookbook

February 6, 2010 · Filed Under Out and About, appetizer, beverage, bread, breakfast, dairy free, dessert, entree, giveaway, gluten free, raw, sugar free, treats, vegan ·115 Comments

Update: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Rachel R.! Rachel was selected by Random.org and her comment was: “I would love to win this; we’d like to incorporate more coconut into our diet. Thank you for hosting the giveaway.” My sincere thanks to all who entered the giveaway. Remember that The Spunky Coconut Cookbook can be purchased at Amazon here if you’d still like to get your own copy. Stay tuned for more giveaways that fit the gfe approach!

Full disclosure: I was provided a complimentary copy of The Spunky Coconut Cookbook by Kelly Brozyna. Kelly is also graciously offering the signed copy of her cookbook for the giveaway. However, I was not paid to write this review.

I am a huge fan of Kelly Brozyna and her blog, The Spunky Coconut, which I’ve followed for a long time. I’ve been consistently impressed with Kelly’s positive attitude, her willingness to reach out and help others, and her many simple, but extremely creative recipes. So, I was delighted when she published her cookbook—appropriately named, The Spunky Coconut Cookbook—last spring. As she states in her cookbook, her mission is to “create food that is so good that no one would ever know or care it was free of gluten, casein, and sugar.” I think you’ll see that Kelly does that when you make any of the recipes from her blog or her cookbook, The Spunky Coconut Cookbook. The cookbook includes 115 recipes, some of which in addition to being gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free, are also egg free and grain free. There are even raw and “raw-inspired” recipes. For so many with multiple food intolerances, these recipes are a true gift. You have only to read the comments on Kelly’s blog or check out the reviews of her cookbook on Amazon to know this is the case.

I’ve made a version of Kelly’s almond muffins, Almond Banana Carrot Muffins, shown above (recipe here). I had hoped to make her Custard Pie. It’s flourless and crustless—my favorite characteristics—how could I resist? But, alas, I found out I was short of eggs and I wasn’t about to brave the grocery store with the impending storm of the century. Here’s Kelly’s fabulous photo of her Custard Pie. Kelly even made a gluten-free, casein-free, and refined sugar-free version of my crustless coconut pie. Check her version out here.

My support group was honored to have Kelly speak (via Skype) at our October meeting. She shared her family’s journey to their current diet with us. Their tale (also shared in her cookbook) involves misdiagnoses, celiac, autism, attention deficit disorder, gluten sensitivity, and more. (She also shares their story in the introduction of her cookbook.) However, their new diet has allowed resolution of their symptoms in almost all cases.

Kelly talked to us about the cooking techniques she’s mastered over the last few years. She even did a cooking demo of her Flourless Brownies. Made from almond butter, Kelly says they are healthy enough to even eat for breakfast. Yes, the recipe is in her cookbook, along with a mouth-watering photo. (Kelly took every one of the gorgeous photos in her cookbook.)

By the way, one of our members has made a couple of Kelly’s recipes for our meetings. She made the Cider Cabbage & Kale dish for one and Almond & Orange Spinach Salad for another. I don’t think she took leftovers home either time. That is how good all of Kelly’s recipes are.

The deadline for the giveaway is Friday, February 12 (Abraham Lincoln’s birthday), 9:00 pm, Eastern. Here are the many ways you can enter:

1. Leave a comment below.
2. Subscribe to my feed via email or RSS and leave a comment saying that you did.
3. Tweet about the giveaway sharing the link and leave a comment saying that you did.
4. Post a message on your Facebook page about the giveaway and leave a comment saying that you did.
5. Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave a comment saying that you did with your link.
6. Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment saying that you did.
7. Become a fan of my new gfe-gluten free easily page on Facebook and leave a comment saying that you did.
8. Read and comment on either of these gfe discussion posts: Stop the Madness or Educate, Not Eviscerate. Also, leave a comment on this post saying that you did.

All entries will be tracked by the individual comments, so you must enter a separate comment to get an additional entry. One comment showing you did all these things will only be counted as one entry, so please remember to note each by separate entries.

Good luck!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!

Post a comment · 115 Comments
Tags: dairy free, easy, GFE, giveaway, gluten free, healthy, recipe

Wassail Recipe and More

January 21, 2010 · Filed Under Progressive Dinner, beverage, crockpot, dairy free, easy, giveaway, gluten free, recipe, slow cooker ·12 Comments

Our Gluten-Free Progressive Dinner Party (GFDP) happily continues on! Soon, folks will be coming through the door to see what I’m serving today. It’s a hot soothing wassail—recipe and photos courtesy of Stephanie O’Dea at A Year of Slow Cooking. Wassail is just right for this cold, damp day, that even has a promise of sleet and snow later. Head over to my Out and About page for the recipe and the giveaway of Stephanie’s cookbook that goes with it! UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for entering! The complete listing of the GFDP warm and wonderful submissions is there as well. Click here or on the Out and About tab above (giveaways, reviews, and such will always be on my Out and About page).

Even though I tried to include “everything but the kitchen sink” in Monday’s post, I still forgot to mention something—a big something. I am hosting The Gluten-Free Lifestyle Carnival for February. Always radiant and positive, Kim Hopkins, The Food Allergy Coach, originated this blog carnival last August. It’s fairly all encompassing really. In Kim’s words, the carnival is a roundup of “tips, recipes, health information, and support for people adjusting to life with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or gluten sensitivity.” Now I know that all of you who blog gluten free can link up a post that fits that definition. So, please join in! You can submit your entry via this link. Submissions should be in by Thursday, January 28. Past roundups and future hosts are identified here. (Just click on the applicable tabs once you are on the site.) Don’t forget to check out Kim’s blog, The Food Allergy Coach. She’s looking at life from a different perspective these days and I’m so happy for her!

Don’t forget to visit my Out and About page to enter the giveaway. After you enter and your steaming, delicious wassail is ready, grab a mug and check out all the entries for the GFDP!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!