Gluten Free Almond-Greek Yogurt Bread

I find lots of interesting recipes, using ingredients similar to these, so often now on YouTube, where the videos are just a wealth of information.

A simple version of this caught my eye, but of course I had to make additions. Ground flax was not in the original and I used the Everything Bagel seasoning in place of the salt called for. I love this salt based seasoning and it seemed the perfect addition for a little more color, nutrition and texture. Let all your ingredients come to room temperature before combining. Preheat your oven to 350°

In a medium glass bowl, whisk together:
2c (200g) almond flour
2t (10g) baking powder
3T ground flax seed
1T Everything Bagel Seasoning

In a large glass bowl, whisk together:
14oz - 400g plain, whole milk, Greek yogurt
2 large pasture raised eggs

When combined, add the dry ingredients a little at a time until everything is well mixed. Pour into a buttered loaf pan and bake about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the whole loaf is nicely browned.

Cool completely before slicing. This turned out really well and I'll definitely make it again. . .Lin

Cottage Cheese Bread + Rolls

It almost never happens that I post an untried recipe — especially one that I didn't create. I don't have time to bake this one right now but I've been wanting to try a couple similar ones. Ones where plain Greek yogurt is the main ingredient -or- cottage cheese like this one. Watch for that in the next few days.

The audio in this is also worth paying attention to in regard to the comments on gluten as well as the lycopene in tomatoes and how it's enhanced by cooking. This person knows their stuff!..

The cottage cheese used in this video appears to be the European type. MUCH drier than what we buy here in the U.S. I'll put mine in a strainer just before mixing with the eggs. I'm also wondering if Ricotta might be a good option. . .

When I have questions, I ask Google. This information seems accurate. I'll put my cottage cheese in a cloth lined strainer then add a couple spoonfuls of plain Greek yogurt for the tang mentioned:

To make American cottage cheese resemble European-style (often drier, denser, or more tangy like Tvorog or Schmierkase), drain the excess liquid (whey) and add cultured dairy for flavor. For better results, make it at home by cooking whole milk with vinegar, or mixing dry curd cottage cheese with cultured cream or yogurt.

click for↓recipe↓and video

Cottage Cheese Bread

here's one for rolls
Spinach + Leek Cottage Cheese Protein Rolls

Duck and Vegetable Soup

3 big carrots

4 ribs of celery

12 Brussels sprouts

2 big spoons of duck fat
1t-1T Lowry's Garlic Salt
1t black+cayenne pepper

1 big green pepper
3 seedless red mini peppers

6 sm.-med. Yukon Gold potatoes
6 big cloves of garlic
1 med. yellow onion
3 bay leaves

1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2c cooking Sherry
12oz. duck bone broth
24oz. fresh cold water
1/4-1/3c chicken Better Than Bullion
10oz. roasted duck meat

I melted a couple big spoons of the strange looking chartreuse rendered duck fat in a big heavy bottomed pot. (color is from the turmeric and oregano - although duck fat is also darker than chicken fat)

Sauté the  sliced carrots, celery and Brussels sprouts for about 5 minutes until they start to soften.

Add the second group of rough chopped vegetables, and about half the bone broth. Cover and simmer on low about 10 minutes.

Next add the final group of ingredients, cover and simmer another 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are done the way you like them. . .Lin

Shrimp, Sweet Potatoes and Green Onions

I try to always have a 2# bag of wild caught Argentinian Red Shrimp, from Costco, in my freezer at all times. I love it and crave it regularly. It can be quickly made into a healthy lunch or dinner. . .or have it for breakfast!

2T good quality ghee (clarified butter)

1 med. sweet potato

3 or 4 lg. green onions

8-10 shrimp - thawed

2-3T lemon juice

Seasonings: red and black pepper, Lawry's Garlic Salt

Peel and cube the sweet potato and rough chop-slice the green onions while melting the ghee in a heavy-bottom frying pan over low-medium heat. Add the vegetables to the pan, stir a little then cover. After a couple minutes, stir in the lemon juice and the shrimp. Cover and simmer a few minutes until the shrimp curl and brown a bit.

Dinner is ready 😃 . . . Lin

Orange Lentil - Flax Seed Rolls (gluten-free)

Measure 2c orange lentils into a big glass bowl. Cover them with fresh cold water to cover them, plus a couple additional inches. Let them soak and absorb 3-5 hours. Drain and rinse several times. Pulse them in a food processor until they're broken down. Put them back in the bowl, then add the following:

1c ground flax seeds

2T EVOO

1/2t salt

1/2c water

3T everything bagel seasoning

Mix all of this with a heavy wooden spoon or silicone spatula. Put the baking soda on the top and be sure to drizzle the vinegar directly on it.

1-1/2t baking soda

1T apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350° When the dough's all moistened and fizzing, work quickly to stir everything together. Take a big spoonful of the dough, roll it into a ball and place on a non-stick cookie sheet.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned. Cool on the countertop a half hour or longer before transferring the rolls to a cooling rack. Let them cool another hour or so before slicing. This made 18 rolls. . .Lin

Olive, Oat- Muffin-Bites - Gluten-Free

1c quick rolled oats
1c corn flour
2T raw sugar
1t baking soda
1t baking powder
1t ground cumin
1t smoky chili powder
2T ground chia-flax seeds
1-2T Everything Bagel Seasoning

⅔c chopped pecans or walnuts
⅔c sour cream
⅔c warm water
1 can of corn-drained
⅓c EVOO
1T white vinegar
8 finely chopped jumbo garlic-jalapeno olives

In a medium glass bowl, whisk to combine all the dry ingredients.  Add the next group, stir then scoop batter by spoonfuls into paper-lined muffin tins.  Bake at 375° for 20-30 minutes.  These are good with chili. . .Lin

Gluten Free, Seedy Lentil Protein 'Bread'

Well this continues to surprise me. The European recipe I used as a guide, used orange split lentils, which I thought I had, but mine were yellow mung bean lentils. I soldiered on, determined to try this interesting recipe. You'll need to use a kitchen scale that gives results in ounces and grams for this one since weights don't translate well to measurements with dry ingredients.

60g lentils - Grind these to flour consistency in your blender, food processor, or coffee type grinder, then combine with the following in a medium glass bowl:

6oz. warm-hot water - The recipe said 'a glass' of warm water, this amount worked for me, but you might need a little more. Let this soak a while, stirring occasionally until it cools a bit, then whisk in:

1T EVOO

2 eggs

~ Mix all this well, then add the following:

1t baking soda that's been stirred together in a small cup, with 1T apple cider vinegar

40g of ground flax and chia seeds (I didn't have my favorite mix this time so only used flax. Make sure they're ground though, not whole.

Mix all this together again, then let it soak for 10-15 minutes.

~ In a small, non-stick frying pan, dry toast until lightly browned and releasing their nutty scent:

30g EACH - sprouted pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, or 60g total of either. I only had the pumpkin seeds, so I chopped those up a bit before dry toasting. Mix the toasted seeds well with the ingredients in the bowl. Transfer the batter to a well buttered loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds, or a light shake of Everything Bagel Seasoning. Bake at 350° until risen and lightly browned on the surfaces, about 1 hour. Cool completely before removing from the pan and slicing.

I had some of this ↑ for breakfast with a boiled egg, a little chicken salad and a sliced McIntosh apple. Then again for lunch with some mixed nut butter combined with jalapeño jelly. The finished 'bread' is mildly savory. It's a recipe I'll make again, which is rare for me, and also a huge surprise. When I first tried it, I almost chopped it up and put it out for the birds and bunnies! So glad I didn't, I can already tell, this is something I'm going to actually crave!! Next time, I'll use the orange split lentils and probably make a couple other changes. (of course I will) . . . Lin

Celery Vegetable Soup

Every once in a while, when grocery shopping, I discover some awesome vegetable to build a recipe around. On Tuesday I found some celery that was spectacular! I picked 2 and probably should have bought more. This went together quick and was a fun soup to make.

Snip the celery greens off the stalks and set aside, with the garlic chives, to add at the end of the cooking time.

Chop the vegetables and sauté together in 2-3T of butter in a big heavy bottom soup pot.

1 big bunch of celery
1 lg. Vidalia onion
4 sm. red potatoes
8 lg. cloves garlic
8oz. mushrooms
2 carrots

Season while cooking with pepper, garlic salt and a good salt-free herb blend.

Add 2-3 quarts of water and enough vegetable based Better Than Bouillon to give the broth the flavor you want. 

Simmer this for 30-40 minutes until the celery and carrots are cooked the way you like. I did NOT use the cream of mushroom soup shown. Instead, I added about half a can of coconut milk.

Serve chunky, or blend with an immersion or stand blender. Shown with Dubliner Crisps. Biscuits or warm crusty garlic bread would be nice with this too. . .Lin

Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup

3 big carrots

3 stalks celery

1/4 med. onion - minced

2-3T EVOO

Chop the carrot and celery and sauté over medium heat, with the onion, until it they begin to brown. Add 32oz. chicken or vegetable broth. 

Slice then cube half a medium green cabbage. Rough chop the onion and add those to the pot with the bay leaves. Sauté  adding a little water as needed. You'll need about 32oz. fresh cold water in total. Add 2T powdered chicken soup base, pepper and simmer this for about an hour.

I roasted a chicken the other day and froze half. I'm using the rest for this soup. Remove the skin and bone from the chicken, saving those for bone broth. What remained was 12oz. of roasted chicken meat.

Add 2 blocks - 5oz. of millet and brown rice ramen noodles. Stir gently, until the noodles soften and separate. Add the chopped chicken. Stir and simmer another 10 minutes or so. At the end, I also added  a little lemon zest and 2T fresh lemon juice. This turned out SO well! . . Lin

My First Chicken Pho Adventure. . .

1-2T truffle infused EVOO

5 lg. cloves garlic - sliced

1½c celery - sliced very thin

6oz. sliced mushrooms

chopped celery tops

1 med. carrot - shredded

3 lg. green onions - sliced thin

In a 3 quart, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil then add that group of vegetables.  They should immediately snap and sizzle if the oil temperature is right.  Reduce the heat, stir-saute' these for a few minutes, then add the next group.  Stir until everything quietly sizzles, add a cup or so of the bone broth, cover and let simmer only a few minutes.  Take off the heat, uncover and set aside while you flavor and heat the bone broth.

1 qt. homemade chicken bone broth

2T fish sauce

1T dry cilantro

2t pumpkin pie spice

2T Better Than Bouillon

~ mushroom or chicken flavor

1-2t coconut sugar or brown sugar
4 cubes of candied ginger - chopped

½t each: cinnamon, chipotle pepper

~ onion and garlic powder

1 lemon - juice and zest

4c chopped kale

6-8 oz. thin rice noodles

shredded meat from 4 cooked chicken legs

In a 6-8 quart pot, put about a cup of the bone broth.  Add all the rest of this group and whisk them well.  Stir in the remaining broth, and another 4-6 cups of fresh cold water.  Bring this to a simmer, then add the kale and noodles.  Simmer on low heat 10 minutes or until the kale and noodles are almost done.  Add the chicken, the previously sautéed vegetables, and again, just bring it to a simmer.  Check flavors.  Add more water, pepper, soup base or whatever may be needed.  Ladle the hot Pho into bowls and top with fresh, sliced cilantro leaves ☘️

This was such fun!! 😁

I can't remember ever having Pho, at a restaurant, and I know I've never made it.  It's come up in several conversations recently, so I decided to have A Mini-Vietnam-Adventure

! - - in my kitchen - - !

I consulted several recipes to get ideas, and understand the flavor palette I needed to achieve.  There are things I would have added, if I had them, and those I altered and omitted.

My Pho is similar to others, but this is my version of it.  I like it!  Now I need to get some of the real thing, from Taste of Saigon, here in the Dewitt Seitz building, near the shipping canal in downtown Duluth.  Then I'll know what to add or change, for future, steamy pots of this great ethnic soup.

Be Bold!  Be Creative! - - Happy Cooking 😊 . . . Lin

Multi-Grain Fruit and Nut Muffins (gluten-free)

I've been reading about gluten again recently and have decided to try to eliminate wheat, rye, barley and certain oats from my diet.  With chemical additives, GMO's etc., these 'grains' hardly resemble what our grandparents consumed 50+ years ago.  I'm one of the fortunate ones who don't crave breads and most simple carbohydrates, so it's not too difficult to keep these grains out of my cooking and my diet.  The exceptions will be a couple soup recipes I make using barley.  White rice might work though.  Once in a while I start craving those grainy carbs, so I'm always trying to come up with healthy recipes for those times.  I realized about a week ago that I have a LOT of different flours in my refrigerator, so  thought I'd try coming up with a reasonably good option.

½ cup each:

~ corn flour

~ rolled oats

~ coconut flour

~ hazelnut flour
~ organic cane sugar

¼c ground flax seed mix

1t salt

1T baking powder
1-2t pumpkin pie spice

1c chopped dry fruit and nuts

2 eggs
½ c light oil
1t+ pure vanilla
1T white vinegar

½c half and half
½c liquid coconut coffee creamer

Stir the dry ingredients together in a large glass bowl.  In a smaller bowl, whisk the next group until smooth then combine quickly in the big bowl. Stir gently with a wooden spoon, only until everything is incorporated then spoon into paper-lined muffin tins.  Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.  Bake in preheated 350⁰ oven for 20 minutes.  This made 24 muffins. . .Lin

Meatloaf Potatoes and Carrots

BISON, TURKEY and PORK MEATLOAF

1# lean ground bison (lamb or beef)
1# ground turkey (or chicken)

1# pork sausage

2 lg. or jumbo eggs

1c quick cooking rolled oats

1 lg. onion - chopped

6oz. sun-dried tomato pesto*

6oz half & half* - may not need

1t fresh ground garlic sea salt

1t fresh ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients *(or 8oz. tomato sauce and 8oz. half & half - the half & half last, after mixing, only if needed) in a large bowl, using a heavy wooden spoon or very clean hands 😊 Form into 2 loafs and bake at 350° for one hour.  Only slice what you need while the meatloaf is hot.  Once chilled, it cuts nicely into thin slices for meatloaf sandwiches.  You can also cut it a little thicker and into cubes and serve with spaghetti and red sauce, for Spaghetti and Meat Cubes. 😀 . . . Lin

*            ~            *            ~            *            ~            *

ROSEMARY BUTTERED POTATOES and CARROTS

2# baby assorted fingerling potatoes
2 lg. carrots - scrubbed & sliced
1/4c butter - and/or - Italian Herb Olive Oil
2 sm.-med. sweet potatoes - scrubbed & sliced
1/2 lg. purple onion - rough chopped
1-2t Rosemary Seasoning *

Scrub the potatoes well, leave them whole and combine them with the carrots in a 2-4 qt. heavy bottomed pot.  Add a little water, partially cover and simmer over low-medium heat on the stove, for about 10 minutes to steam and evaporate about half the water.  Add the remaining ingredients, partially cover once again, and continue to heat another 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are still a little crisp tender.  Serve with some of the seasoned butter cooking 'sauce' spooned over the vegetables. . .Lin


A POSTSCRIPT - - LEFTOVERS

Have I mentioned how WONDERFUL meatloaf is - in regard to 'leftovers' of ANY sort?  Dinner, sandwich, spaghetti, covered in cooked vegetables and mashed potatoes - then broiled to brown the potatoes....sort of a Meatloaf Baked Alaska....  hash when combined with chopped potatoes and vegetables and browned. . .or whatever else you can dream up.  Today I did some town errands.  I cut that short, saving some for another day since it turned rainy and damp.

I came home, put the sweaters on the dogs 😊 then decided to have an early dinner and maybe just a simple salad later.  I quick sautéed 4oz. white mushrooms with ½ a large purple onion, both slice-chopped, in 2T butter.  Then I cubed two slices of meatloaf.  Added those just before the mushrooms and onions were done cooking.  At this point a splash of steak sauce or ketchup and a little water, or just Vodka (!!) This is a great way to get all flavor of the pan brownings into the food Mmmmm. . .It was ready in minutes.  Happy Leftovers 😀

Gluten Free Greens and Vegetable Quiche'

5 jumbo eggs

1/2c half and half

3T corn flour

1/4t baking powder

1t salt

1/2-1t chili powder

1/2t cumin

1 BIG handful of arugula and baby spinach

5 lg. cloves garlic

1/2 med. onion

1/2 orange or red pepper

8oz. canned chopped tomatoes--no juice

2-4oz. fresh grated Parmesan cheese

In a medium size bowl, whisk the eggs and half and half together.  Mix together the dry ingredients then sift them into the eggs, whisking all the while.  Chop the greens (You could use any dark, flavorful greens.  Beet greens or kale would work well.)  Mince the garlic, finely chop the onion and pepper and stir into the bowl.  Stir in the tomatoes - you could also use a large, peeled and chopped, fresh tomato.  Butter or spray a large glass pie pan and pour in the quiche' mixture.  Top with cheese and a sprinkle of the chili seasoning. 

Bake at 350° 30-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool 5 minutes, cut and serve.  If there are leftovers, they keep well, covered, in the 'fridge for several days.  This reheats well for a quick breakfast. . .Lin