Author: Angela Drake

Angela Drakehttp://AWorldWithoutWheat.wordpress.comElementary school teacher, circulation desk clerk at my local library, mother of Kasey, Nonna to Aiden and Liam, volunteer at Musikfest, gardener, potter in stoneware, quilter, gf baker, hiker, camper, birdwatcher and addictive reader.......
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Salad Nicose; Classic Summer Supper Salad

This dish is a family favorite in those summer months of ripe tomatoes and hot days that feel too warm for a big heavy meal. I know it has cooled down some but this salad is so delicious if you have fresh summer tomatoes which are easily available at farm stands or home gardens. This salad is composed of several vegetables cooked until just barely done, bathed in a simple EVOL vinaigrette and topped with oil packed tuna. Fresh, satisfying and very healthy in that trendy Mediterranean way I keep reading about. This salad is my daughter’s favorite from her teen years; she is 31; I have been making it for decades! My mother loved it too. My guy enjoys it as well. I don’t make it except in summer as the fresh produce is critical to the flavor especially the tomatoes.

First, you start with fresh ripe summer tomatoes, crisp bell peppers, tender zucchini and high-quality small potatoes, preferably red organic ones and the oil packed tuna of your choice. Do not make it with water canned pallid tuna, a total waste of time in my opinion. You can lay it on a bed of romaine leaves or leave off the lettuce, great either way. I use fancy olives sometimes, but inexpensive small canned pitted ones work really well. Please do make the homemade vinaigrette; it is very simple and very effective in creating the perfect flavor of the salad. If you hate one of the ingredients; leave it out. I do want to mention that many recipes use wedges of hard boiled eggs but my version doesn’t usually have that. Feel free to add them in!

Before I add the tuna….

Angie’s Salad Nicose

Ingredients

2 lbs of small red potatoes

2 medium peppers; one red, one green, cut into vertical strips and halved across the middle.

1 medium zucchini sliced in 1/2 inch half rounds

1/2-2/3 lb fresh green beans, tips removed, if long cut in half

2/3 of a 14 oz can of small pitted olives, drained

1 large ripe tomato cut into chunks

2 cans oil packed tuna fillet

Vinaigrette
I use one of those cool modern vinaigrette jars that has a wire metal ball in it to easily mix my dressing in; works really well!

Fill jar with 1/4 cup red wine vinegar or to the water line [If using a Good Season’s jar – second line from bottom]

Fill rest of way to oil line with EVOL (I often do half EVOL and half mild olive oil) (about 2/3 cup)

Then add the following:

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp. French Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp sea salt; rounded

ground black pepper to taste – cap it and mix it up well

Salad directions

Put the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water and boil on high until just tender. Whie, they cook chop the individual veggies. Steam each kind individually in a pot with 1/2-inch water until just tender (3-5 min) Taste one to be sure., do not overcook them! Carefully drain each cooked veggie and dump gently into a big bowl. On top of each other. Make the vinaigrette as you do the cooking so it can stand 5-10 minutes. When the potatoes are done drain them and set on your cutting board to cool; not touching each other. Peel them and slice thickly. If they are oval, I sometimes just cut into two thin halves, cutting along the long side. Put them in the bowl you will serve the salad in. When all hot potatoes are peeled pour 1/3 of the vinaigrette over them and carefully turn with a big spoon to coat well. They should still be quite warm when you do this step. The dressing soaks into the warm potatoes; doing it warm is very important to the flavor. Put the cooked and drained veggies in there on top. Add the tomato chunks, tuna and olives. add another third of dressing and gently turn the salad to mix well. Adjust the salt/pepper and dressing amount. Serve on a plate or shallow bowl on a bed of torn up crisp romaine leaves. Enjoy!

Peach Crisp with Oat Topping

I rarely make peach crisp and this small pan of crisp I whipped up by lunchtime today made me wonder why that is. It is so peachy flavored and the topping is perfectly crisp; I am just sad that peach season is about over, and I only made it this once. Sigh. Well, I plan to enjoy it even though it is not a huge pan; all the remaining peaches I had after a cobbler and peaches on my cereal every day for a week… Plus, I dislike soggy crisp, so it seemed perfectly sized to be all eaten before any sog sets in. I did poach the peaches 2 minutes in a hot water bath to make the skins slip off easily; I strongly suggest you do the same. Let them cool 5 minutes before you peel and slice them. So much easier than using a peeler and laboriously peeling with it. Plus, now they are nicely warmed from the poaching and ready to make into crisp. Don’t be tempted to use canned peaches; that would be a sad parody of peach crisp. Get fresh ones! There are still peaches at Bechdolt’s Orchard.

Notes: This recipe is a slightly different version of the fruit crisp in Annalise Robert’s Classic GF Baking Cookbook. I like less sugar and I like oats in mine plus I downsized it by approximately one quarter. It is easy to throw together in 15 or so minutes and bakes up golden and sweetly crisp. So peachy I wanted to devour the entire pan full! This hastily taken picture give you some idea of its looks; I was in a hurry to eat some before heading out to an appointment, so my photog skills were somewhat impaired.

Angie’s Small GF Peach Crisp

Fruit filling Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups of skinned, pitted and sliced fresh peaches

1/4 cup of sugar

A heaping 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon

3 Tbsp. tapioca flour

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees, put shelf in middle position for baking; I used a 6-cup size glass rectangular baking dish. Next, put sliced peaches in a large mixing bowl, blend the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and pour over the fruit, mix with a spoon and pour into the baking dish that you have sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with the lemon juice. Make the topping next.

Topping:

3/4 cup gf flour (I like King Arthur’s basic GF blend)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 scant tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 heaping tsp. of xanthan gum

3.5 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/4 cup old fashioned oats, gf

Directions:

Mix together dry ingredients except oats and pour melted butter over the mixture. Stir briefly and then add the oats and stir until blended and sort of clumping. Spoon over the peaches. Bake 30-35 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving it in dessert dishes. I like it plain but some people I know love all things peach with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Apple Bread Pudding

This is a great take on bread pudding, adding fruit for flavor and added nutritional value. Apples are good for you and knowing they are in the pudding makes me able to rationalize this rich and delicious dessert concoction. I found this recipe online; it had a caramel sauce but honestly it seems sweet enough without that addition. I make a version that is more or less halved the original one. It’s in my fridge calling to me!

I used some Wide pan whole grain Aldi’s gluten free bread that was getting dry; perfect usage for it. I used more apple than the original as I love apple flavor. When in doubt I increase fruits/veggies in most dishes.

This can be gluten free as it was for me or use any bread you want. Enjoy!

Angie’s Apple Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup 2 percent milk

2 small apples, peeled and cored and sliced on the thin side

2 Tbsp. melted butter, melted in a glass ramekin

1/2 tsp. cinnamon, divided

3-4 cups of cubed bread; I used 4 slices plus the end crust

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 inch square baking pan or a 9×4 baking pan; I used cooking spray.

Cut the bread into the cubes and get the apples ready. I like thin slices as they go further and cook easily. Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl; whisk briefly to blend, add milk and cream and whisk good. Measure the sugar and set 1/2 Tsp sugar aside; add that to the 2 Tbsp. melted butter and add 1/4 tsp. cinnamon; blend and set aside. Pour the rest of the cinnamon, sugar and the vanilla into the milk and egg mixture and whisk until well blended. Put the bread cubes in the liquid and press into it to absorb the wet into the dry cubes using a large wooden spoon. Then pour half of it into the buttered pan and put apple slices all over the bottom; half of what you cut up. top with the rest of the bread/egg mixture and then with the rest of the apples. Pour the melted butter/cinnamon mixture over the top to cover the apples and bread mixture evenly. Bake about 40 minutes; should still be slightly jiggly when you take it out. Let the pan cool at least 15-20 minutes before serving.

Refreshing Gazpacho Soup: Slurp your Tomatoes!

Hot late summer days mean I need a cool soup recipe. One with minimal cooking: that is easy and tasty.  Plus I want to use some of my garden produce.  This classic Spanish soup called gazpacho is perfect for all of that and my family loves it. It absolutely must be made with ripe summer tomatoes, never ever attempt it with any less than the best vine ripened fruit.  You can get great tomatoes at farm stands, farmer’s markets and even the grocery store; look for the grown local label for the best flavored tomatoes. Please do not use greenhouse tomatoes grown far away and shipped while not really ripe. Your soup will not be full of tomato flavor and it will taste disappointing.  These ripe locally grown tomatoes are vital to the flavor of gazpacho.

I make my gazpacho in the blender but I believe a food processor works okay too.  No heat,  minimal fuss.

My version allows you to add chopped raw veggies in the amount you prefer just before you slurp it down. I prefer its fresh pure flavors to those soulless restaurant versions that are gelatinous and crammed full of a wide assortment of chunked veggies…uggh.

I once had a version of gazpacho similar to mine in a Philadelphia restaurant made with golden yellow tomatoes which was beautiful looking and quite tasty too.

Warning: you do need to peel the tomatoes but that goes pretty fast.  I heat about a wide sauce pan filled 3 inches deep with water to a boil and pop the ripe tomatoes in for 2 to 3 minutes. I put in 4 at a time; done in a couple batches.  Let them cool a bit and then peel off the skin and cut out the blossom end (top) and they are ready to use. You can easily halve this recipe; just one blender-full of tomatoes for that and half the rest of the ingrediens.

One more important instruction: gazpacho HAS to chill really good; make it early in the morning to serve as a late lunch or better yet; for supper. The colder the better, I actually put my soup bowls in the freezer for 15 or 20 minutes and yank them out just before filling and serving this cold summer delight.

It is a flexible recipe; depends on the size of your tomatoes. This should make close to 60 ounces or just shy of 2 quarts; cut in half if you don’t want too much. But you will wish you had made more…I promise!  It will keep 3-5 days in the refrigerator.

gazpacho and pork steak 004

tomato juice for thinning the soup

 

gazpacho and pork steak 003

skinned tomatoes ready for soup making

 

gazpacho and pork steak 006

I am about to press the puree button!

 

gazpacho and pork steak 007

Still in blender, just pureed soup.

Summer Chill Gazpacho

Soup ingredients:

8 to 10 ripe fat tomatoes (large ones)

About ¼ cup EVOL; best you can afford

2 slices white bread (GF if you have celiac)

1 lemon

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 to 1 ½ tsp. sea salt

Toppings:

2 large tomatoes diced, heirloom if possible

1 cup diced burpless cucumber

2 scallions, sliced thin, green and white parts

Directions: peel the tomatoes as described above.  When I peel them I do it over a bowl to capture the juices and seeds. I save them, strain off the seeds and I add back the juice as needed to thin the finished soup.    Put 4-5 tomatoes in the blender; add a slice of bread broken up, 2 tbsp. olive oil, the juice of half a lemon and one garlic clove.  Put the lid on and blend well.  Note: do not fill the blender more then ¾ full. Taste; add salt; ½ to ¾ tsp.

Repeat entire process with the rest of the ingredients and thin with reserved tomato juice – it should be thick but not porridge thick. Just know that it will thicken as it rests and chills in your refrigerator.  Mix the two batches together in a big glass bowl; never metal because of the acidity of tomatoes and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Then chill it at least 3 to 4 hours.

Serve with bowls of toppings to sprinkle on top of the thick soup; diced ripe tomatoes, scallion slices and cucumber ( preferably burpless) cut in small dice.  If you want to guild the lily, top with croutons (gf ones if you have celiac), I don’t bother.

Note: gluten free bread often gives a slightly different texture to the soup; somewhat less smooth in the look of it and the taste.  It’s okay as it doesn’t affect the flavor: it still is delicious and a bowl of it is so very refreshing on a hot day.  Serve with a sandwich and you have a perfect summer lunch.

Note: This recipe has not been changed but some additional information is in this repeat posting of this most delicious soup!

I used some chunks of gf sourdough as my croutons in this bowl. Used zucchini not cucumber in topping.

Peach Blueberry Crumb Pie

In eastern Pennsylvania we are past the peak of blueberry season, but both are still plentiful, and I was craving a great late summer pie.   The resulting pie was delicious down to the last slice.

blueberry peach pie slice

This is so easy to make: slice and dump together the filling, crumb topping gets made in the mixer bowl you just used for bottom crust. You can store any leftover crumb mixture in a sealed container in the fridge; it keeps a few weeks.  This GF crumb topping is perfect for most any fruit pie.

I used a lot more peaches than blueberries; the proportions are up to you.To peel peaches; heat 3 inches of water to a boil, drop the peaches gently in 3-4 at a time and poach them 1-3 minutes.  Allow to cool somewhat before peeling.  I like to do that over a bowl to catch the juices as I slice each peach.

Bake and enjoy summer in a pie in just a few minutes of work.  Don’t eat it piping hot; it should be cooled to close to room temperature.  You could certainly serve this with vanilla ice cream.  And this pie works perfectly with fresh nectarines.  Bonus: no peeling required!

GF Blueberry Peach Crumb Pie

Crust:

1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)

2 tbsp sweet rice flour

1 Tbps. granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbps. cold butter cut into 6 chunks

1 lg egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Directions:

Spray 9 or 10 inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour. I confess I forget to do this more often than I remember…still works.

Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer.  Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal.  Add egg and juice.  Mix until it comes together into big chunks.  Shape into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you prepare the filling.

crust

Filling:

5 cups sliced fresh peaches, peeled and cut in thick slices

1 cup fresh blueberries – rinse and place in medium bowl

Mix with:

½ cup sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

3 Tbsp. quick tapioca

Add and stir in

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

blueberry peach pie filling

Let the filling stand while you prepare the crust, important for the tapioca so it does its job optimally.

Roll out pie crust in a pie bag or between the two sheets of wax paper, try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered.  Remove other slice of wax paper.  Crimp edges all around.  Fill with fruit mixture.

blueberry peach pie unbaked

Crumb topping

Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form.

¾ c brown rice flour mix

½ c sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks

Directions:

Sprinkle the top of the pie with crumb mix; use as much as you like.  I like about a heaping cup and a half of the mixture.  Up to your personal taste… It sinks partially into the fruit mixture and adds lots of sweetness and eye appeal.

blueberry peach pie, done

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 45-50 minutes until bubbly and the crumb crust is light brown.  I put a piece of aluminum foil on top for the last ten minutes.  Cool at least 2 to 4 hours before serving at room temperature.  I think it is best served the same day you make it, or no more then 10 hours after baking for optimal flavor.  The crumbs will get soggy if too much time passes.

Note: if you find your bottom crust is not browning enough bake it empty at 375 degrees for ten minutes before filling it with the fruit.  I have a bottom heat oven which gives me perfect pie crust if I put the pie on the very lowest shelf so I don’t ever have pale pie crust.

Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 c brown rice flour (finely ground)

2/3 c potato starch – Not potato flour!

1/3 c tapioca flour