Karina's Crustless Quiche with Roasted Vegetables

A slice of gluten-free quiche loaded with roasted vegetables

Karina's Crustless Quiche with Roasted Vegetables Recipe

Recipe posted February 2006.

A short and sweet post today. Last night I made more roasted vegetables than we needed- just so I could use them today in a wheat-free gluten-free quiche. Nestled good-for-you goodies baked in a creamy, cheesy custard. What's not to love?

Ingredients:

Light olive oil, as needed
2 cups roasted veggies: broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, onions
1 cup shredded Swiss, Jarlsberg or sharp cheddar cheese
4 large organic free-range eggs
2/3 cup light cream
A dash of nutmeg
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, if desired
1-2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan for the top

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 375ºF. Lightly oil or butter a nine-inch glass pie plate.

Arrange the roasted vegetables in the bottom of the pie plate. Balance the colors (okay, not mandatory; it's just the painter in me coming out).

Sprinkle with the shredded cheese.

In a large mixing/measuring cup, whisk the eggs with the light cream and nutmeg till smooth. Add almost all of the parsley (save a little to decorate the top, if you like). Pour the egg mixture all over the roasted veggies.

Using the back of a spatula, lightly press down all over the top surface to encourage the egg custard to seep in and around the roasted vegetables. Sprinkle the top with shredded Parmesan.

Bake in a hot oven for 35 minutes, until the quiche is set in the center- it should be firm and golden.

Cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Serves 4 to 6.

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. 

 

 

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Luscious Lemon Cake...

Ever since I saw Ilva's sumptuous Almond and Ricotta Cake I've been jonesing for something with lemon. The odd thing is- her cake doesn't even have lemon (strange the way our mind works and sweeps us away along memory traceries of scent and flavor) but I started craving a cake laced with citrus- not too sweet and not too light. A cake with character and heft.

The day I decided to bake, of course, I had no ricotta, but I did have organic plain yogurt and plenty of blanched almond flour. Inspired by Ilva's recipe, I tweaked her ingredients with those I had on hand and baked up a lovely simple cake that reminds me of a coffee cake I remember liking as a child, a bakery cake called Louisiana Ring made by Freihofer's- yet in truth, that cake featured a hint of orange rather than lemon.

There's that memory glitch again.

Some intuitive leap from taste to taste. An image, a smell can trigger a remembrance as vivid as the day you experienced it, enhanced, I imagine, by hindsight. This ability sharpens as you get older.

Time seems to condense into the senses (invoking forgotten details). You start believing the Buddha's theory about ten dimensions. You start savoring the smallest moments. Your husband hands you a mug of green tea, the steam rising in the late afternoon sun slatted through the bamboo window shade, and a loss from the past heals for a moment.

Next time I make this recipe I think I'll use oranges.

Continue to recipe >>>

Make Mine a Gluten-Free Cheese Sandwich

Toasted gluten-free sandwich bread. With pickle.

When food bloggers were challenged by a recent article in Food & Wine magazine to write with more verve and snap than a "boring cheese sandwich" I knew I had to head to the kitchen. Not to begin unwrapping my favorite snowy goat cheese (creamy with only a slight tang and a finish that barely flutters with August grass blowing in a southerly Aix-en-Provence wind breeze) but to bake.

Because, Dear Reader, in order to make a cheese sandwich- boring or not- you first need bread.

And bread is a rare event in my gluten-free kitchen. I bake bread perhaps twice a year, even though it's the perpetual tap-dancing Holy Mother of a Grail to the ever widening gluten-free world, the numero uno item verboten most newly minted celiacs yearn- with quasi-religious fervor- to replace.

The reason for my culinary indifference?

Continue to recipe >>>

Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Goddess Cake

A rich dark gluten-free cake made with almond flour

This recipe is one I've played with for years. It began in the nineties as one of those trendy flourless chocolate things with ten eggs, and has evolved into mere semi-indulgence with only seven eggs and some extra cocoa powder for a little more structure.

Karina's Dark Goddess Cake Recipe

Originally published February 2006.

I love flourless chocolate cakes. So creamy and dense. But last night I experimented with blanched almond flour to see what would happen. It produced a deep dark chocolate experience. A worthy cake. And please note, Kind Reader, it only gets better as it sits overnight.

Ingredients:

12 ounces bittersweet or dark chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces (6 oz. butter)
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla extract
7 large organic free-range eggs
1 cup organic light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup organic white cane sugar
1/4 cup organic unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup almond flour

To serve:

Sifted cocoa powder or powdered sugar
Fresh seasonal berries
Whipped cream, if desired

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Line the bottom of a 9-inch Springform pan with a circle of parchment paper; tenderly butter the paper. Think: chocolate love.

Place the chocolate and butter in a medium to smallish saucepan, and set the pan into a slightly larger sauce pan filled with two inches of hot water; bring the water to a simmer and slowly melt the chocolate and butter together. Stir with an old beloved wooden spoon until the chocolate and butter are melted together. Remove the pans from the heat, and set aside the pan of chocolate and allow it to cool a bit (to warmish). Stir it often to keep it smooth. (Or you could do this melting thing the postmodern way and heat it in a glass dish in the microwave.)

On to the eggs. Using an electric mixer, beat the heck out of the eggs until they appear light colored and frothy; add the sugar and beat it all again until the mixture is thick and flows in ribbons, about 5-6 minutes.

Slowly - very slowly - pour about half of the warm chocolate into the egg-sugar mixture (to gently temper it). Beat on low to combine. At this point I switch over to my trusty wooden spoon, and blend in the remaining chocolate by hand. Add the vanilla.

Sift the cocoa into the batter and gently mix. If you're adding the almond flour, do the same. Lightly combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared spring-form pan and bake at 350 degrees F. for about 50 minutes. Ovens vary! Err on the near side if you like a fudgier texture; bake it longer and it becomes drier, more cake-like.

Note: the top of the cake may be cracked - that's fine. A toothpick inserted into the cake’s center will emerge clean with a few moist crumbs when done.

Cool the cake in the pan, on a wire rack. Loosen the cake from the edges of the pan with a small flexible spatula, and release the spring clasp.

You may serve the cake right side up or invert it onto a 9-inch serving plate and peel off the parchment. I like the shape of it as is, and serve it upright.

Dust the cake with cocoa powder or powdered sugar and garnish with a few scattered raspberries or mint leaves, if desired.

Lying in bed last night I was thinking I should make an espresso flavored whipped cream for a good sexy dollop.

Serves 10.

Karina's Notes:

Love flourless chocolate cake? Go here.

Have leftover chocolate cake? Make a New Mexican Hot Fudge Sundae.

Our Favorite Basil Pesto Recipe

Just in time for Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn's Kitchen, Steve brought home two hefty bunches of fresh California basil from our local organic produce market. A big green treat for mid-February. And since basil lore links the peppery-minty herb with amore, I figured the timing was perfect for pesto.

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with the intoxicating seduction of fresh basil and garlic?

Having your way with pesto...

Sauce it:

Classic pesto is served as a flavorful raw sauce, perfect for cooked pasta in all sizes and shapes.

Slather it:

Pesto is terrific spread on sliced focaccia, gluten-free toast, baked potato skins, or your favorite pizza shell. Steve's favorite pizza recipe: Stir a dollop of pesto on cooked sliced red potatoes; spoon the potatoes on top of a partially baked gluten-free pizza crust and top with crumbled goat cheese . Throw on a handful of sliced ripe olives, some roasted red peppers and feta to add a Greek touch.

Stir it:

Pesto is a wonderful flavor spike for Italian inspired soups. Stir in a spoonful to liven up a minestrone, chunky potato, bean, or garlicky chicken and greens soup. Or float a pesto-slathered crouton in a bowl of fresh tomato bisque.

Spike it:

Options make pesto so individual. Add garlic- or don't. Use pecans, walnuts, almonds or pine nuts. Change out the basil for cilantro or parsley and mint. Add a roasted red pepper or some olives. Pesto can be as varied (and inventive), or as traditional as you make it. And remember, it's wise to taste test and balance the flavors. Have a nibble. Is it a balance of herby- nutty- garlicky- cheesy- salty?

Our Favorite Basil Pesto Recipe

My husband Steve has become the primo pesto maker in the family. Here's his basic recipe.

3 cups washed, fresh basil leaves, stems removed, patted dry
2-4 garlic cloves, peeled- according to taste
1/3-1/2 cup pecans, pine nuts, almonds or walnuts
10 tablespoons fruity extra virgin olive oil, as needed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, optional- omit for vegan
Pinch of sea salt, if desired

Combine the above ingredients in a food processor and pulse it on and off until it becomes a smooth paste. Taste test for seasoning and texture adjustments.

Use immediately, or cover and chill.

If it becomes stiff add some extra virgin olive oil and stir till smooth.

Pesto will darken if exposed to high heat and will lose its vibrant green color, so don't "cook" pesto in a hot pan or add it to hot pasta in a hot pot; rather, transfer the cooked pasta into a bowl first- then add the pesto and stir gently.

Serve this basil pesto as an appetizer spread on toasted bread, baked artichoke hearts, or triangles of flatbread. Or toss it with warm pasta, roasted potatoes or carrots. Spoon it on toast, croutons, pizza shells or crackers.

To keep the pesto fresh, I layer mine with a thin coat of extra virgin olive oil on the top before I cover and store it in an air-tight container, chilled. Storage isn't usually a concern, as pesto disappears quickly in our house.

Some folks like to freeze pesto in ice cube trays, but I've never had enough extra pesto to set aside.

Melted Peppers & Dags

Mickey O'Neil:


J'like dags?

Tommy: 

Dags?

Mickey O'Neil: 

What?

Mickey O'Neil's Mother:

Yeah, dags.

Mickey O'Neil:

Dags, ya like dags?

Tommy:

Oh, dogs. Sure, I like dags. I like caravans more.

Melted Peppers + Dags Recipe

Dinner and a movie. Snatch and an updated old family favorite appropriate for the film (Irish Catholic Scottish Russian-Polish Jewish inspired). Confused? Not as much as I am untangling the threads of my own heritage bundle, I'm sure. All you need to know is how good it tastes. How the peppers literally melt in your mouth. The trick is slow-cooking. Throw this together early in the afternoon and rent a movie. One of Brad Pitt's best.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet onion, peeled, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large red pepper, cored, cut into strips
1 large yellow or orange pepper, cored, cut into strips
2 green bell peppers, cored cut into strips
1 28-oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes [or plum tomatoes], with juice
A handful of grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup broth
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1-2 teaspoons dried Italian Herbs [oregano, thyme, marjoram]
2 teaspoons dried basil
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
4 large Kosher hot dags, sausages, brats or vegan dags (in other words, Babycakes, any dag you choose), sliced into coins

Instructions:

In a slow cooker, combine all of the ingredients and cook on low [according to manufacturer's instructions] until the peppers are so tender they break apart with a wooden spoon.

Serve over buttered brown rice or split baked potatoes, or mashed potatoes. Terrific on brown rice noodles.


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. 

Karina's Spicy-Sweet Vegetarian Stir-Fry Bliss

Retro veg yum.

This is a post about old school bliss- an easy  budget-friendly stir-fry for a weeknight. The recipe stems from my art school past. Why do I bring this up? Because last night we waxed nostalgic.

Over olives, a wedge of Parmesan, and a bottle of Chianti, Steve and I talked about our unencumbered days at art school. The late nights painting. The crazed friends. Midnight movies at the Rialto. Jean Luc Godard. Truffaut. Fellini. 

And the loft parties- the drama of almost meeting Warhol (he never showed up; he was famous for it).

We talked about all that longing and envy and art student poverty mingling in a passionate virtual eddy of sensing we were a part of something big, a tidal push toward consciousness, toward peace and equality.

Sounds almost quaint, doesn't it?

Though my husband was in Chicago and I was in Washington, D.C. at the time our art student days were archetypally similar. And when painting brought us together more than fifteen years later we had an instant shorthand, a shared lexicon of idealism and curiosity seasoned with an ego-checking love of irony and humor.

Two hearts unwilling to live in quiet desperation for a paycheck. An appreciation of small pleasures. Stacks of books by the bed. Years later, we still connect over ideas. We still become animated discussing film. Or music. Or books. So I made a brown rice stir-fry.

Art school style.

Continue to recipe >>>

Roasted Winter Vegetable Ragout with Shaved Parmesan

A simple warming recipe for oven-roasted stew or ragout. 

After an odd and uncharacteristic nod to spring the temperature has dipped again into chilly territory. The bird baths are frozen. No snow, but the moonlit sky was sharp last night in a brittle way it hasn't been for weeks.

Roasted Winter Vegetable Ragout Recipe with Parmesan

Savor the warming flavors of this vegetable ragout. A perfect way to feed yourself, body and soul. And, Darling, every goddess needs a little soul food now and then.

Ingredients:

3 medium gold or sweet potatoes, scrubbed, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cabbage, cored, sliced thin
1/2 peeled butternut squash, cut into bite-size pieces
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and ground pepper
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz can organic fire roasted whole tomatoes, with juice
1 14-oz can white Northern beans, drained
1 cup of vegetable broth
1/2 cup dry white table wine
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or golden balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon rubbed sage

For serving:

Parmesan, shaved (or vegan cheese)

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large roasting pan combine the potatoes, cabbage and butternut squash and drizzle with enough olive oil to coat. Season with sea salt, pepper, and garlic; toss. Add the whole tomatoes; break them apart with a wooden spoon. Add the white beans.

Stir the broth and wine together and pour over the vegetable mixture. Drizzle it all with golden balsamic vinegar; sprinkle with sage, and toss lightly.

Place the pan in the pre-heated oven and roast the vegetables for an hour; stir half way through cooking. Check the potatoes for doneness; they should be fork tender. Continue to roast for another 10 minutes, or until the veggies are tender enough to melt in your mouth.

Serve in warmed shallow plates with shavings of fresh Parmesan.

Serves 4.

Karina's Notes: 

Add more vegetable broth to the mix if you'd like more of a stew. 

To stretch the recipe a bit, serve the ragout over hot pasta, broiled polenta, or steamed short grain brown rice.

Roasted Vegetables in a Nest (Gluten-Free Pasta)

Tender, sweet roasted vegetables in a nest of gluten-free pasta.

Last night was a night for roasting. There's nothing so easy as roasted vegetables. And nothing quite as tender and sweet. All those natural sugars softening and caramelizing into deep toned jewels of melting charred goodness. It's enough to soothe any gloomy girl's heart. Especially against-the-current girls who dream of Venice Beach and don jean jackets and flip-flops instead of downy winter coats and wool scarves.

Especially in February.

Roasted Vegetables in a Nest - An Easy Pasta Recipe

Balsamic vinegar and sea salt make for fabulous roasting, complementing the caramelized sweetness with a perfect touch of salty-tart (and who doesn't love a salty tart?). Seriously, nothing could be easier.

Cut up any and all veggies you happen to have kicking around and throw them in a roasting pan. Give them a hefty toss in some balsamic vinegar.

Crank up the oven to 375ºF.

Put on a pot of pasta water.

Kiss your favorite person.

For last night's meal we cut up:

Half a head of cauliflower
Half a head of broccoli
One yellow and one green squash
One large sweet onion
3 large carrots
A handful of grape tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic

And tossed them in:

A generous drizzle of olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
More balsamic vinegar than you think you'll need
A spoonful of your favorite herbs - oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, basil

Instructions:

Roast the veggies for about an hour, stirring them at least once or twice. If you prefer your vegetables less cooked, shorten the roasting time.

Serve on a nest of cooked brown rice pasta noodles tossed in pesto or simply your best fruity extra virgin olive oil. Shave some good Parmesan for the top, if you like cheese.

Here's my post How to Make a Vegan Pesto for those of you who are dairy-free.

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. 

Gluten-Free Potato Frittata

Lovely roasted potatoes make a fab frittata.

Whenever I roast potatoes I make extra. That way I'm sure to have some yummy leftover morsels to play around with the following day. The night before I roasted Yukon Gold, red and blue potatoes cut into wedges and tossed in olive oil, sea salt and Old Bay Seasoning. The leftovers were perfect for a crustless quiche or baked frittata- an easy and simple way to make a savory gluten-free pie.

Roasted Potato Frittata Recipe

How relaxed and laid back easy can you get? Whisk a few eggs with a little sour cream. Grate some Jarlsberg. Chop some parsley. Whisk the custard and toss in those leftover potato wedges you roasted last night. Dinner in a New York minute.

Ingredients:

Light olive oil or butter, as needed

About two cups cooked seasoned potato wedges

1 1/4 cups shredded Jarlsberg

5 extra large organic free-range eggs

1 heaping half cup of sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

12 grape tomatoes, halved

1-2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 375ºF. Lightly oil or butter a nine-inch glass pie plate.

Arrange the potatoes in the bottom of the pie plate. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese.

In a large mixing/measuring cup, whisk the eggs with the sour cream till smooth. Add almost all of the parsley [save a little to decorate the top]. Pour the egg mixture all over the potatoes.

Dot the top with the halved tomatoes and remaining parsley. Using the back of a spatula, lightly press down all over the top surface to encourage the egg custard to seep in and around the potato wedges. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan.

Bake in a hot oven for 35 minutes, until the frittata is set and golden. Cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Serves 4 to 6.

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.

Mexican and Santa Fe Recipes

My Mexican, Tex-Mex and 

Santa Fe Inspired Recipes

How to Make Roasted Green Chile Sauce
Brown Rice Tortilla Chips
Spinach & Cheddar Quesadilla
Joey's Kicked Up Rockin' Guac
Parmesan Crisps & Roasted Tomato Salsa
Jalapeño Lime Hummus
Eggs Diablo on Soft Polenta
Calabasitas
Cilantro Pesto de Esteban
Santa Fe Brown Rice Bake
Acorn Squash with Attitude
Roasted Vegetable Salsa
Spicy Vegetable Soup with Lime
Santa Fe Pumpkin Chowder
Chicken Enchilada Bake (New Mexican Style)
Santa Fe Chicken Chili
Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Roasted Corn Chowder with Cilantro
Roasted Green Chile Bake
Baked Chicken Chili Rice Casserole
Lime Chicken (Soft) Tacos
Spaghetti Squash New Mexican
Two Artists Chili
Holiday Turkey Enchiladas
Vegetarian New Mexican Green Chile
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas
Turkey Nachos
Buffalo Sausage Stew
Pineapple Salsa Chicken Enchiladas
Mexican Black Bean Soup
Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

Tostada Nueva
Butternut Chili
Spinach & Cheddar Quesadilla

Tequilla Lime Salmon
Mexican Pumpkin Soup
Santa Fe Chicken Chili
Pinon Rice Bake
Enchiladas Griegos for Two
Pueblo Bread- with green chiles
Pumpkin Corn Muffins
Sweet Potato Cornbread
Sweet Banana Polenta Cake
Skillet Cornbread with Green Chiles
Easy Green Chile Cornbread
New Mexican Hot Fudge Sundae
Strawberries Citronge