Archives for “microwave”
Chickpea Love (aka Garbanzo GaGa-ness)–Cucumber Chickpea “Bruschetta”
This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Real Food Wednesdays, and Pennywise Platter Thursdays.
Amy’s (author of Simply Sugar & Gluten Free and soon-to-be author of a gluten-free, sugar-free cookbook!) roundup for this week’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays is all about healthier snacks. Amy says she receives many requests for healthy snacks and is asking her readers for help. I suspect we all know how to serve up healthier snacks, but we get bored with the seemingly mundane apples, bananas, baby carrots, celery sticks, and the like. We want something more inventive. We want a snack that appeals to all our senses and excites us just a little bit. Wasn’t your interest piqued by “bruschetta” in the title? Consider the chickpea and cucumber factors and you may be even more intrigued.
Let’s talk more about what we’re looking for in our snacks. Often with healthier snacks, it’s the presentation alone that makes the snack appealing. Take an apple, cut it into slices, arrange the slices into a pinwheel design on a plate, leave it on the kitchen counter, and I guarantee that the apple slices will magically disappear. And, that’s without the benefit of any dips or special topping. However, if I didn’t cut the apple and place it out for public snacking, it would stay in the basket on our kitchen counter until it literally shriveled up. I’m usually the only one who eats apple in their natural state at our house, but even I enjoy apple slices more than eating a whole apple. Attractive and bite-sized, with no work involved–that’s what we consumers really want in our healthy snacks.
A recent mention in Better Homes and Gardens magazine shared some ideas for chickpeas. The first was a roasted version, which used olive oil, salt, and black pepper. As you know, I love roasted chickpeas, but I think I’ll stick with my version, which uses olive oil and cayenne pepper as shown here. (Of course, any seasoning of your choice can be used.) Two other chickpea ideas appealed to me though: cucumber bruschetta and spiced chickpea couscous (remember couscous is only safe if made from brown rice like this product, which I have not yet tried). I decided to pull some of the ideas presented from each suggestion to come up with a healthy, yet appealing snack for today’s Slightly Indulgent roundup.
This Cucumber Chickpea Bruschetta is perfect for simple family snacking or elegant enough to serve as an appetizer at a dinner party. I’d even go so far as to say that one could have this bruschetta as a meal. Plus, it’s gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, soy free, corn free, yeast free, and egg free. For folks with intolerances and/or allergies, that puts tasty “bruschetta” on their table—with no baking. And, yes, this bruschetta is even vegan. No matter on our eating needs, for all of us, it’s a nice way to get in one’s veggies, fruit, and protein. I also like the fact that it’s a cold snack-—that’s very much appreciated with this heat wave we’ve been having. In fact, Mr. GFE gave this recipe two thumbs up and said that he liked the cucumber slice as the base better than traditional bread or even crackers. He explained that the cucumber slices are so juicy, one doesn’t have to keep sipping on a beverage every few seconds. He also suggested that shrimp would be perfect on these little bruschettas. As I’ve said before, we really do think adding shrimp makes just about any appetizer or entree better. No shrimp was needed though as we sampled this bruschetta before eating some steamed crabs. However, it’s amazingly filling. We had to stop after only a few. I’m taking the rest to work today, and I know they’ll be well received.
Cucumber Chickpea Bruschetta
(Click here for a printable version of this recipe.)
cucumber slices
can of drained chickpeas, mashed
juice of about one-fourth of a lemon
chopped tomatoes
chopped onions
chopped basil or other herbs and seasonings (e.g., dill, cumin, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes)
salsa (see notes below)
Slice cucumbers thick enough that they can hold some weight. (See photo.)
In a large bowl, add chickpeas and lemon juice. Mix well. Mash chickpeas with a potato masher or back of a spoon. They do not have to be fully mashed, just spreadable (or “spoonable”).
Spread chickpea mixture onto cucumber slices using a spoon.
Mix tomatoes, onions, herbs, and seasonings. Spoon onto chickpea-topped slices.
OR
Top chickpea-topped cucumber slices with a small spoonful of salsa. Serve.
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens magazine
Shirley’s Notes: I used a seedless cucumber as I think they are a bit sturdier and I like the lack of seeds. Chickpeas are much more difficult to mash by hand than black beans; I was surprised. Just mash enough to be able to place on the cucumber slice. With the remaining chunkiness and their coloring, the mashed chickpeas almost look like shredded cheddar cheese, which is not a bad thing when one is eating dairy free. We had some peach-mango salsa leftover from our weekend camping trip with Son and his friends, which I used as topping for half of these bruschetta. (Incidentally, I’m not sure on the plural of buschetta. I just found out I was saying the word wrong after all these years. Apparently there’s the correct pronunciation and then the Americanized pronunciation.) Just a dab of salsa from a spoon on top of the chickpea mixture was all that was needed. The resulting bruschetta was really lovely, with so many flavors and textures … all working well together. These are very addictive for a healthy snack! Incidentally, this would be a great recipe to get the kids involved in, too.
Carrie’s (Ginger Lemon Girl) 30 Days of Quick and Easy Meals continues on. My Tasty Meat Loaf … in Mere Minutes is the featured recipe today. Note that my post is as much about a method as it is a recipe. If you have a favorite meat loaf recipe, you could certainly use that. Check out my guest post here. Be sure to check out all the other great recipes that have been shared to date and check back until the end of the event, and in the future. This one month of meals from so many great gluten-free folks could keep you in meal ideas for months to come. Maybe you’ll find—as I did with the Blackened Black Bean Burgers—that one great idea will just lead to another. That’s my favorite way to create in the kitchen!
Finally, there’s even more link love in the gluten-free blogosphere right now—all conveying some terrific, “must-have” info. My new, very sweet friend, Tia, of Glugle Gluten Free, dedicated her latest post to me because my suggestion on Elana’s Chocolate Chip Cookies worked. Woohoo for Tia’s success and Elana’s Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies! Check out Tia’s delectable version here. My other, super lovely friend, Heidi, who amazes me every day with her energy and all she’s doing to spread celiac/gluten intolerance/gluten sensitivity awareness, just shared a fabulous summary post of everything gluten free. Heidi’s roundup is so good that I may let myself off the hook for posting one this week (unless something else earth-shattering happens in our gluten-free world, of course). And, thanks, Heidi, for mentioning several posts from gfe! Be sure to check out Heidi’s post here. And, look for her upcoming article on her atypical symptoms of celiac in the next issue of Journal of Gluten Sensitivity, too.
All for now, folks … enjoy!
Shirley
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Quick and Easy Pan-Baked Potatoes
If you celebrate Christmas, the big days are almost here. I say days, because for most families, it’s more than just the actual day when we’re celebrating and sharing meals with family and friends. Those days are Christmas Eve and Christmas day in our family.
So, you have selected your main dish for your dinner or special meal—perhaps the slow-cooked POM’d Pork from the Holiday Food Fest—and now you want a lovely side dish to accompany it. Why not make your side dish both attractive and delicious, but as fuss free as a slow cooker meal? Here’s a simple side dish that fits the bill. This recipe comes straight out of the manual/cookbook that came with my Kenmore (Sears) microwave, which proves once again that you can still rely on your old “mainstream” cookbooks to cook gluten free. Recipes that are gluten free naturally or easily made gluten free—gfe—abound. One just has to recognize them as gluten-free, even though they don’t have a gluten-free label. That’s another advantage of focusing primarily on real foods and understanding ingredients.
The original pan-baked potatoes recipe contains dairy, but I’ve made it dairy free when needed just by using almond flour in place of the Parmesan cheese and olive oil in place of the butter. That modification works very nicely. The almond flour and olive oil combination don’t brown quite as well as the Parmesan/butter combo, but a quick minute under the oven broiler can solve that problem if you’re going for that visual appeal. Seasoned gluten-free bread crumbs or a similar topping, like gluten-free cornflake crumbs, will also work in lieu of cheese.
This recipe is one I often make to accompany a “gift meal,” too. The potatoes go great with a meat/fish entrée or can be an easy vegetarian/vegan meal when paired with a salad. This recipe is always very well received. Folks have even referred to these potatoes as twice-baked potatoes before. While I don’t think they taste like twice-baked potatoes, they are a much easier, healthier alternative and do taste delicious. Sometimes I just make these potatoes for us as part of a weeknight meal because they are so quick, easy, and tasty. They can also work well as a breakfast potato dish to accompany egg dishes and such.
Pan-Baked Potatoes
(Click here for a print version of this recipe.)
2 tbsp butter (or margarine, oil)
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (or almond flour, bread crumbs, cornflake crumbs)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper
4 medium potatoes (or larger potatoes cooked longer or cut to those sized pieces)
paprika, to taste
Melt butter in microwave-safe bowl (about 30 – 45 seconds on High). Set aside.
Stir together Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl (one that is big enough so you can place your potatoes face down in it).
Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Dip cut side of potato in butter, then in cheese mixture.
Place potatoes, cut-side up, in shallow microwave-safe baking dish or plate. Sprinkle with paprika, as desired. Pour any remaining butter over the potatoes.
Cook on High 10 to 12 minutes, or until tender.
Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Shirley’s Notes: Potato halves make the loveliest presentation, but if making this recipe for your family, you can cut larger potatoes into smaller pieces for faster cooking and additional “crispy” edges. I like to poke my potatoes with a fork after I’ve cut them to ensure faster baking. You can easily adjust the recipe for more or less servings.
Adapted from Kenmore Microwave Cooking
Enjoy! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays once again to all!
Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!
- Catch up with me on Twitter.
- “Like” gfe—glutenfreeeasily on Facebook to see updates/more content.
- Get gfe posts (including recipes) by email.
- Looking for a gfe recipe?
- Local to Fredericksburg, VA area? Check out Support Group & Events page.
About Me
Gluten free since June 2003, I lead a celiac/gluten intolerance group in Virginia. My passion is educating folks on gluten issues and showing how eating gluten free can be easy if you focus on “real” foods versus processed and specialty foods.
GFE's Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, but rather a volunteer sharing my experiences. Consult your physician for medical guidance. To the best of my knowledge, all ingredients/products that I use are gluten-free (even if I do not indicate that each and every time I mention them; e.g., if I refer to "soy sauce," it's a gluten-free soy sauce). However, I take no responsibility for the accuracy of that information. Always read labels and verify the gluten-free status of any ingredients/products to your own comfort level.
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