Super-Simple Hummus

Zap 3 or 4 whole unpeeled garlic cloves in the microwave for about 20 seconds (or you can roast them in the oven, of course). Then simply pop them out of the peels for this recipe.

Combine in blender:

Garlic cloves
A 15-oz. can of garbanzo beans, including liquid (a 16-oz. can would be fine too, if that's what you have)
1/8 cup olive oil
2 to 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Blend until smooth. You may have to pulse it and stop occasionally to stir with a spoon to release a trapped air bubble, as this is very thick. You can add a bit more olive oil, plain yogurt or water if necessary to blend it.

Serve with crackers, bread, chips, raw vegetables and/or whatever else you like to dip. :)

Feel free to tweak the amounts of seasonings, or to add your favorite flavor--sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives or fresh green herbs instead of the cumin might be tasty (though probably not all together. :) ). If your beans aren't already salted, you may want to increase the salt.

Simple Gravy or White Sauce

1 Tablespoon butter, oil or meat drippings
⅛ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. salt
1-2 Tbsp. flour (or more for thickness desired)
1 c. broth or milk (use homemade broth cooked a short time for excitotoxin-limited diet if using broth)

Heat first four ingredients over low heat until smooth. Add liquid, turn heat up to medium, and stir until thick and smooth. A wisk works best for stirring, and you need to stir it fairly constantly, especially if using milk.

For gluten- and dairy-free, I use sweet rice flour and rice milk. Cashew or coconut milk could also work in this (coconut milk and garam masala spices are very good with poultry or rabbit meat).

This is a great base for casseroles, gravies, soups and all sorts of things.

We like to add tuna, deboned chicken, rabbit or sausage and serve it over biscuits, rice or mashed potatoes.

Gluten-free Banana Waffles

This is the gluten-free version of the Banana Waffle recipe I've been making lately. You can use any GF flour, but keep in mind that different flours may absorb more or less liquid, so you may need to adjust the amount of milk substitute.

2 cups flour (I use 1 and 1/2 cups brown rice flour plus 1/2 cup sweet white rice flour a.k.a. gelatinous rice flour, or it's even better with 1 cup brown rice flour, 1/2 cup coconut flour, and 1/2 cup sweet rice flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar, optional (I usually leave this out or use an unrefined sugar such as palm sugar)
3/4 tsp. salt

2 mashed ripe bananas (about 1 cup--I'll add a third one if they're extra-small)
3 eggs, beaten
1 and 1/2 cups milk or milk substitute (I use rice milk)
1/3 cup melted shortening or oil (coconut oil works great)
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

(or, if preferred, you can use buttermilk or diluted plain yogurt [1/2 cup yogurt, 1 cup water or milk] instead of the milk and omit the vinegar)

Blend or sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the bananas and other wet ingredients and mix well. Then mix together the wet and dry ingredients just until the flour blend is moistened. Bake in a hot waffle iron until crispy and brown on the outside and the amount of steam coming out of the waffle decreases.

Depending on your waffle iron, you may or may not need to grease the iron between waffles. With mine I usually find I can oil it just at the beginning of the batch and they don't stick.

The great thing about these waffles is that the bananas make them so sweet and moist, you don't even need toppings like syrup. We just eat them plain as finger food. :)

You could add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of vanilla and/or cinnamon if desired. To turn these into an extra-special treat or a dessert, you can add chocolate chips (and maybe top with whipped cream).

Quinoa Apple Salad

This recipe is modified from Martha Stewart's Curried Quinoa Apple Salad recipe.

Rinse 1 cup of dry quinoa well and cook with 2 cups of water. I bring it to a boil in a covered pot, then turn off the burner and leave the pot on the stove for about 20 minutes for perfectly cooked quinoa.

In a separate container mix together for the dressing:

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

2 to 3 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil

1 teaspoon curry powder (I use a nightshade free curry powder and heap the measurement a bit)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sweet spice (optional--this is a mixture with cinnamon, cardamom and other sweet spices by the same manufacturer that makes the curry powder I use; I will edit the post to add the name later)

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1 tablespoon diced shallot

Stir the dressing into the cooled cooked quinoa, add 1 diced apple (grannysmith or Gala apples are good in this recipe) and 2 tablespoons currants.

This recipe is excellent chilled. I usually make a double batch and keep it in the refrigerator for a ready-made quick snack.

Fluffy Baked Eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking dish, either by rubbing oil on the inside or putting a little butter or coconut oil inside and heating in the oven long enough to melt, then tipping it to coat all sides of the pan.

Prepare your eggs just as if you were going to make an omlette or scrambled eggs. For me, this means beating my eggs and adding a dash of milk or milk substitute. Add salt and dried dill to taste. I use a very generous amount of dill. You can either mix these in or just sprinkle them on top after you pour the eggs into the pan.

Bake until solid but not too brown--for a 6 egg batch, I bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

This is so simple, and amazingly delicious. And you don't have to stand over it stirring it the whole time it's cooking. :)

Crustless Sweet Potato Pie

One 15-oz. can or 2 cups pureed sweet potatoes (the more orange ones often called yams)
1/2 cup honey
Scant 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
1 cup milk or milk substitute (I used whole goat milk, but coconut milk would probably also work very well in this recipe)
4 eggs, beaten

Mix ingredients together, pour into oiled pie pan or baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for another 35-45 minutes. Best if cooled before eating.

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

This is the gluten-free version of the Eggless Banana Bread recipe--I added a couple of eggs to bind it and to add protein, but it would probably be just fine with the eggs left out.

3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup melted butter or oil
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca or sweet rice flour (NOT modified tapioca starch--any modified food starch is an excitotoxin)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out relatively clean.

This was almost a bit too sweet--next time I'll probably try cutting the honey down to about 1/4 to 1/3 cup.

Sweet and Savory Lentil Soup

Small amount of oil (I used olive oil)
1 onion (medium to large), diced
2 to 4 cloves garlic
3 to 5 carrots, washed and sliced thin
1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized chunks (1/2" to 1" or so)
Other vegetables as desired (I added 1/4 head of green cabbage, sliced)
2 cups lentils, rinsed and drained
About 10 cups water
Large pot

Saute onion and garlic in oil in the bottom of the pot until beginning to get soft and brown (carmelized). Add carrots and cauliflower, stirring and cooking slightly. Add water and lentils, bring to a boil, and simmer over medium to low heat until lentils are tender, about an hour.

Depending on what other vegetables you add, you may wish to add them when you add the lentils, or wait until closer to the end of cooking. I added cabbage about halfway through cooking.

If desired, add up to 1 lb. sausage about halfway through cooking also. (I buy a safe uncured sausage made with just meat and fresh herbs at a local butcher shop [Butcher Boys' ground Italian or Breakfast sausage], or there are a few safe brands of chicken sausage available commercially) If you leave out the sausage, this is a vegan recipe. Carmelizing the onions and garlic until they are brown makes the flavor and color much richer, and the carmelized onions and carrots give the soup a sweet flavor.

Just before stirring, add salt and pepper to taste if desired. With the sausage, I found we didn't need any further salt or spices.

This recipe is grain-free and nightshade-free, as long as you are careful about sausage ingredients. The cauliflower gives the starchy, mild flavor that takes the place of rice, noodles or potatoes in this recipe.

If you leave out the sausage, it's vegan. We get sausage with no additives other than herbs and spices at a local butcher shop or natural-food store. Our sausage contained ground chicken, salt, fennel seed, caraway seed, coriander, black pepper, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. For even more flavor, you could use vegetable broth or bone broth in place of all or part of the water.

Rewriting My Introduction

Since it's been 4 years this month since I started this blog, and our dietary journey has come a long way since then, I decided it was time to rewrite the post introducing and telling a bit more about myself and this blog.

It's been updated--for now. :)

Almond-Crusted Tilapia with Garlic and Dill

Lay 5 to 6 fillets of tilapia or other mild white fish in a baking dish (I used a glass 11" x 13" pan)

Drizzle with 2 to 4 tablespoons oil (I used a mixture of olive oil and melted coconut oil)

Rub with 2 cloves crushed garlic

Shake a generous sprinkling of dried dill over the fillets.

Spread about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of almond meal over the fish (enough to coat the tops heavily), followed by another drizzle of oil and a second sprinkling of dill on top of the almond meal.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until fish is light and flaky.

I did not actually measure anything for this recipe, so the amounts are guesstimates. Basically I applied a fairly heavy sprinkling of dill each time (we like dill) and a nice thick layer of almond meal, with enough oil to lightly coat the fish and then slightly moisten the almond meal.

Even my fish-hater found it edible, and everyone else pronounced it some of the best fish they'd ever had.

I served it with a side of heated canned green beans, a head of cauliflower that I chopped and fried until lightly browned on the stovetop with oil and a sprinkling of salt, and some cooked quinoa.