Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Colorful Late Summer Salads

As summer comes to a close we are given the last great opportunity to enjoy fresh seasonal late summer fruits and vegetables. Soon our vegetable and fruit options will be somewhat limited to what keeps well in cold storage or those hearty winter vegetables we all know and love over the cold winter months. But let’s not close the door on summer yet, most of us still have a month or so left of warm weather. While the weather remains warm and the produce abounds, brighten up your dinners or lunches with some beautiful, flavorful salads. These salads incorporate unusual pairings of fruits, meats, cheeses and nuts and the end result is a salad bursting with flavor and color! For your next salad, add some variety with one of the following late summer salads:

Mesclun with Watermelon, Feta & Toasted Pine Nuts

Asian Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Avocado & Mango Salad

Fresh Cherry & Prosciutto Salad

Grilled Pepper, Corn & Onion Salad w/Balsamic Vinaigrette

Romaine Salad with Oranges & Strawberries

Mixed Greens with Nectarines

Watermelon & Strawberry Salad

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Freezing Gluten-free Food

Many families and busy working singles struggle with lifestyles that make cooking every night difficult and substantially more difficult when having to cook gluten-free. It would be great to have a list of gluten-free food that would freeze well and that one could be assured would taste great when re-heated.

There are foods that generally freeze well such as rice dishes, pasta dishes, stews and soups.

When freezing cooked meats and poultry, prepare the recipe as usual, except undercook the meat. The meat will cook to some degree again when you warm it up and can get overdone if it is cooked all the way initially.

We have had tremendous success freezing cakes, brownies and cookies. In fact, we recommend that you freeze cookies before you bake for the best results.

Gluten-free cookies baked from frozen dough will amaze you! They are perfect in looks, texture and taste! And they rise just like they should, instead of spreading out into flat disks.

We aim to please, and here is a list of gluten-free meals that you can cook when you have time for those occasions when you don’t:

Entrees

Arroz con Pollo w/Steamed Tortillas (Freeze the dish and steam the tortillas just before serving)
Enchiladas Verde
Curried Chicken
Baked Chicken w/Orange Juice
Puerco Verde
Beef Stroganoff
Louisiana Meatloaf
Orange Soy Chops
Asopao de Pollo (Chicken Stew)
Chicken & Meatball Fricassee
New Orleans Chicken Jambalaya

For Children

Corn Dogs
Chicken Nuggets
Spaghetti w/Meatballs
Macaroni & Cheese
Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares
Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies
Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Desserts

Blueberry Ice Cream Cake
Chocolate Raspberry Squares
Decadent Brownies