Roasted Balsamic Beets

In the spirit of fall, I am using the fresh produce that is available. The stores and markets here are full of it! The big sale that is happening at our closest grocery store is for huge 10 pound bags of onions, potatoes, and beets! My mom loves pickled beets, and that's about the only way we ate them when I was growing up. I was never a fan. (Sorry mom!) It wasn't until a year ago when my Naturopath told me how good they are for detoxing your liver that I tried to eat beets again. I usually roast them and just eat them plain with some salt and pepper. Not anymore! My recipe for Roasted Balsamic Beets has become a house favourite. Even my husband, who isn't fond of beets, enjoys them. Oh, and don't worry, my mom is a big fan of these too! Enjoy!

Roasted Balsamic Beets

These have a vinegar flavour to them, but because they are roasted, and the vinegar is balsamic, the flavour is more mellow and sweeter than pickled beets.

5 medium/medium-large beets, and their greens (optional, see note below) 
5 cloves of garlic
2 medium onions, in eight pieces
1 tbsp of herbes de provence
3 tbsps of olive oil, or oil of choice
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 F/218 C. Scrub your beets to remove any sand or dirt. Slice beets in rounds, preferably no more than 2-3cm/0.8-1.2" thick. Dice garlic and slice onion into about eight wedges. Place sliced beets, garlic and onion in a wide roasting pan or casserole dish that has a lid. Add herbs, oil, vinegar, pinch of salt, and pepper. Roast with lid for about 30-45 minutes, or until beets are tender and vinegar has caramelized a bit.  Make sure you stir the beets every once-in-a-while during cooking so that all sides of the beets become covered by vinegar. Yields enough for 4-6 people.

Note:

- If you have beets available to you that still have their greens attached, you can add them, along with the stems, to the roasting pan. Just wash and dry them, and slice into smallish pieces.

Alterations:

- If you are allergic to onions or garlic, simply omit them from the recipe.

- If you are allergic to any of the herbs mentioned, try making your own combination of rosemary, marjoram, savory, basil, lavender, and sage, or make your own blend.

- If you are allergic to grapes or balsamic vinegar try substituting another vinegar. Balsamic vinegar is quite sweet and caramelizes - if you are using another vinegar, you may want to consider adding a small amount of sweetener like molasses or honey to achieve a similar result.

Troubleshooting:

- If your beets are tender but the vinegar has not caramelized as much as you would like, just cook them for a little longer. The beets should not dissintegrate until they are very overcooked.

Sweet Potato Fritters

Sweet Potato Fritters with Golden Hubbard Squash Soup (Recipe coming soon!)

Because I cook everything myself I try to find ways to cut down on  kitchen time. I like to keep the preparation quick, and keep the ingredient list short. (This also helps to fit our food budget.) These Sweet Potato Fritters have seven ingredients in total - I know that sounds like a lot but that includes water, salt and pepper, and oil for frying. They take just minutes to put together and just a few more to cook. And they are delicious! They get my mind off the survival of food, and remind me of times past spent with great friends and delicious pub food.

These Sweet Potato Fritters were inspired by Ann Vanderhoof's recipe for Plantain Spiders in her book An Embarrassment of Mangoes. (Here is a website for her new book The Spice Necklace). I made Plantain Spiders once, and they are amazingly delicious. Since developing a banana allergy I cannot eat plantain anymore. I find that these Sweet Potato Fritters are a good substitute. We have eaten them as an appetizer, a snack, and also as a veggie side for dinner. They pair perfectly with a bowl of soup. I have to say that my father-in-law is a sweet potato hater and even he likes them. I hope you enjoy them too!

Sweet Potato Fritters

One small sweet potato (preferably organic*)
About 1-2 thumbs of ginger (1-3 tbsps) or to taste
3/4 cup of brown rice flour
3/4 cup water
Pepper
High-heat oil for frying (I use safflower oil)
Fine or medium-grind sea salt

With a large-holed grater, grate the sweet potato into a medium-sized bowl. Grate the ginger with a fine grater, or finely mince or puree, then add to sweet potato. Add rice flour and water to the bowl and mix - I find that my fingers work best in order to get the batter evenly distributed amongst the potato. Add pepper and mix in, do not add salt at this point. Add a few tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan and heat to medium/medium-high but do not allow your oil to smoke. Carefully place batter by tablespoon into pan, quickly spread out the batter (I do this with the back of the spoon) so that it lays flat - this will help it crisp up nicely. Shallow-fry fritters in batches, but be careful to not crowd your pan or they will not fry as evenly or be as crispy. Fry until crispy and golden brown - you will know when to flip them when the outside edges start to brown. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with sea salt before they cool. Makes about 25 fritters.

* I suggest that you try to find organic sweet potatoes. I try to buy organic when I can, but I am on a tight budget so I have to pick and choose which foods I purchase organic. I have found that some foods are incredibly improved upon if they have been grown organically and sweet potato is one of them. We even eat the skin of organic sweet potatoes, it will give you some extra fibre too!

I linked this post on Allergy Free Vintage Cooking here for Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love. Check out the other recipes listed!

Troubleshooting:

- I would suggest trying one of your fritters at the beginning of cooking and adjusting your ginger amount, if necessary.

- If your fritters stick to your pan, you may not be using enough oil.


Alterations:

- If you are allergic to sweet potato try using regular potatoes or parsnips.

- If you are allergic to ginger, simply omit it from the recipe. They will still be delicious!

- If you are allergic to rice, try experimenting with a different flour. You may have to adjust the water amount accordingly.  I have also made the batter with chickpea flour.

*Updated Note: Do not use wheat flour for the batter - my sister tried these with regular white wheat flour and they did not work.

Barbecued Chicken with a Ginger Garlic Maple Sauce & My Perfect End-of-Summer Meal

I have the perfect meal for you for this time of year. It takes advantage of the warmish weather we still have by using a barbecue. It also takes advantage of the cauliflower that is now in season.

The drizzle of maple syrup was my husband's idea, I think he's been watching too much Master Chef!

We have been eating this meal frequently, probably once a week for a few weeks, and we're not sick of it yet! This meal perfectly pairs sweet, sticky, barbecued chicken, roasted cauliflower and cumin-spiced lentils. We took this meal for a picnic a little while ago, and finished it all off with cupcakes made from my Vanilla Layer Cake recipe.  I told my friends that I was going to post these recipes as a "Perfect End-Of-Summer Meal". They didn't think it was that catchy and tried to figure out a different title that would serve this meal justice. I think the best they came up with was "Fabulous Feast with Friends". Whatever you call this meal, I hope you enjoy it as much as our friends and family do!

Perfect End-of-Summer Meal:

Barbecued Chicken with a Ginger Garlic Maple Sauce
Roasted Cauliflower
Cumin-Spiced Lentils


I have posted these as separate entries, so scroll down for the rest of the meal or click on the links above.

Barbecued Chicken with a Ginger Garlic Maple Sauce 

 
For the Barbecue Sauce:

Three thumbs of ginger (3-4 tbsps)
6 cloves of garlic
1 cup maple syrup
1 tsp salt or to taste

Grate or finely mince the ginger and put in a small bowl. Put the garlic through a press or finely mince and add to ginger. Add maple syrup and salt. Mix well, to ensure the salt is dissolved.

Alterations for the Sauce:

- If you are allergic to ginger or garlic simply omit them from the recipe

- If you are allergic to maple syrup you may want to use another liquid sweetener like honey (thinned out with some water) or brown rice syrup. You could also try fruit like applesauce, or blended pineapple or peaches.



For the Chicken:

One small chicken, butterflied.
Salt and pepper
Safflower oil, or high-temperature oil of your choice

Preheat barbecue to 350°F/176.6°C . If you don't have a thermometer on your barbecue, heat the barbecue on medium for about 10 minutes then turn it down to low.

You can often purchase a chicken butterflied at your grocery store or ask your butcher to do it for you. I prefer to do it myself, it's easy and less expensive. Simply place the chicken breast-side up on a plate or cutting board. Feel for the breastbone, take a pair of strong scissors or kitchen shears and cut the chicken in half, along the breastbone, going as close to the bone as you can. Rinse the chicken under cold water to remove any bone shards.

* From what I see online most people butterfly their chicken by removing the backbone and breaking or removing the breastbone. I'm not sure why this is the preferred method, I wonder if it makes the cut easier/better to cook?  We have never had any problems with the chicken after cutting beside the breastbone, and it is always tender and juicy. I think that this way is much easier.

Pat your chicken dry with some paper towel. Season well with salt and pepper and rub with oil. Oil your grill to prevent sticking. Open chicken and place the inside of the chicken down, onto the grill of the barbecue.

Cook over low flames with lid closed for 15 minutes. Flip the chicken over (inside of chicken should now be facing up) and cook for another 15 minutes. Keep an eye on the barbecue to watch for flames.

After the second flip (inside is now down) generously brush on the sauce, making sure to get lots of the ginger. Flip every 10 minutes, brushing on the sauce at each turn, including the underside.

The entire cooking time will be about 1 hour or 1 hour 10 minutes. Check with a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature reaches 180°F/82°C. Serves 4.

Alterations for Chicken:
- If you are allergic to chicken try using this as a sauce on fish or other meats like beef or pork. If you eat soy I think it would be delicious as a marinade for firm tofu.

Troubleshooting For Barbecuing: (Written by my husband, in barbecue-language)

- If you are worried about the chicken drying out, you can occasionally squirt it with lemon juice, apple-cider vinegar. If you are allergic to both, use a vinegar of your choice, a juice with some acidity, or water.

- Watch for flames, especially in the first 30 minutes and when the breast side is down. Before you start this meal, you may want to take this opportunity to do a big clean of the barbecue, scraping out the bottom and cleaning the grill of residual stuck-on food and grease that the brush doesn't always get. A clean barbecue will keep the fat from pooling which causes big flames for a prolonged period. You may also try carefully moving the chicken to a different spot on the grill so that it does not sit over the same flames for too long.

- If you do not have a barbecue thermometer, be aware the flames will cause the temperature of the barbecue to spike. When you get a lot of flames, especially when flipping the chicken, you can leave the lid open for a few minutes to bring down the temperature. After about 45 minutes, when the fat has mostly dripped out, you can turn up the burners just a little bit as the temperature may have dropped slightly.



Alterations If You Do Not Have A Barbecue:

- This sauce is delicious on oven-roasted chicken as well!

 

Roasted Cauliflower

This Recipe is part of my Perfect End-of-Summer Meal if you like, check out the other dishes that go with this meal: Barbecued Chicken with a Ginger Garlic Maple Sauce and Cumin-Spiced Lentils.

I first got the idea of roasting cauliflower from Molly Weizenberg's book A Homemade Life. And thanks be to Molly! It has now become a staple veggie dish in our house. This is my version. A word to the wise, I am generally not a cauliflower lover but when it's roasted it is dangerously good. I have single-handedly eaten almost an entire head of roasted cauliflower, so you may want to cook extra if you are cooking for cauliflower-lovers.

One head of cauliflower
Olive oil or oil of your choice
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Remove stem and leaves. Place cauliflower with the florets facing upward. Cut in half, through the florets and stem. Place one half with cut side facing up. Cut in wedges, through the root. Try to not have any pieces more than 3 or 4 cms thick or they will not brown as nicely in the oven. Wash cauliflower and dry as well as possible. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Toss cauliflower with plenty of oil and salt and pepper, place wedges (and any loose florets or teensy pieces) in a single layer on your parchment. Do not overload your pan because your cauliflower will steam and not roast. Roast on bottom rack of oven for 20 minutes, flip the pieces and roast for about another 5-10 minutes. Serves 4.

Alterations:

- If you are making this for the Perfect End of Summer Meal and you are allergic to cauliflower, try roasting another veggie like squash, parsnips or carrots. Or pair the chicken and lentils with a green salad.

Troubleshooting:

- If you find that your cauliflower is steaming instead of browning it was either too wet when it went into the oven or your pan is overcrowded. I often make two pans-full of cauliflower, either at the same time, or in batches. 

- At the 20 minute mark you may want to remove any little pieces of cauliflower from the pan. If you leave them in for too long they may burn.

Cumin-Spiced Lentils

This recipe is part of my Perfect End-of-Summer Meal, if you like, check out the other dishes that go with this meal: Barbecued Chicken with a Ginger Garlic Maple Sauce and Roasted Cauliflower.

I have adapted this recipe from the book Simply Vegan by Debra Wasserman.

One medium onion, diced
3-4 tbsps oil
2 tsps cumin
1 cup red lentils
1.5 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion on medium/ medium-low heat until translucent - about 10-15 mins.  Reduce heat a bit, add cumin and lentils and saute for a minute or two. Stir frequently to prevent the spice from burning on the bottom of the pot - you may need to add more oil at this point to prevent the lentils and cumin from sticking. Add water, bring mixture to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to minimum. Cook until all water is absorbed, approximately 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 4.


Alterations:

- If you are allergic to onion simply omit from the recipe. You may want to experiment with other flavours like fresh ginger root.

- If you are allergic to cumin, try other spices like cardamom, fennel, or caraway, or create your own spice mix.

- If you are allergic to lentils but can tolerate other legumes try making spiced chickpeas or beans.

- If you are allergic to lentils and other legumes and but want something else to pair with my Perfect End-of-Summer Meal, try mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes.

Vanilla Layer Cake

The time is approaching. The time when every day we will have to wear layers and slipper socks....and dare I say it...jackets. No more flip-flops, or tank tops, or summer skirts.  I have found myself over the past couple of weeks being cold. I don't like that. I've had to open my sweater drawer and put one on. I have started to drink hot tea, instead of iced. Fall is almost here. Almost....not quite yet. But it's coming. I can feel something, and it feels like Fall.

I can see it too, in my garden. My sunflowers have started to bloom and my winter squash are thriving. I have just been able to harvest a ripe Golden Hubbard squash. I'm not about to complain about that part of this time of year. In fact, I love that part, but I'm trying to change my way of thinking about the rest of it.

I live for summer. L I V E. I love it. I feel like I come alive during summer. I wait all year long for it to appear. When I was a kid I used to like spring, but only really because I had a cute rain jacket, I liked to wear rubber boots, and my birthday is in April. Those reasons don't do it for me anymore. Spring is just a stepping stone for Summer. Ah...Summer!

One of the large parts of Fall that I dislike is that "back to school" feeling. Even though I'm not going to school right now, I still get it. I'm starting to think that this feeling never goes away. Just the other day, my mother-in-law said she had that feeling. There has to be something we can do to change that! The weird thing is that I like school, but that feeling is something all unto itself.

Over the past couple of years, my sadness over the "Death of Summer" - as I like to call it - has escalated. I end up mourning the loss of summer before it's even gone. By doing this I end up waisting the end of my precious summer, and for what? I've decided feeling that way is not worth it, so I've been trying to train my mind to feel positive about Fall. I'm starting to think of this time of year as not the "Death of Summer", or even the "End of Summer" but as the "Beginning of Fall".

I know, it's so obvious and it sounds simple, but a change like this would be monumental to my way of thinking. I've been compiling a mental list of all of my favourite things about fall, and most of them revolve around food. I love fall produce, and as luck has it, can eat quite a lot of it! I'm starting to look forward to harvesting the rest of the fall veggies from my garden, like parsnips, squash, and Jerusalem artichokes (otherwise known as sunchokes). I also can't wait for the show my sunflowers will put on - a sneak peek has already begun!

I assure you that I will get to posting fall recipes, but for now I am going to avoid it at all cost and try to just enjoy what Summer has left to offer.

Summer is, in a large part, about entertaining. So, in celebration of the last precious days of August, I give you my Vanilla Layer Cake. I remember the day when I successfully created this recipe and what a day it was! Cake, was yet again, a part of my life!

This cake is delicious, and no, I am not going to be modest about that. This is a fight-for-the-last-slice kind of cake. An excuse-to-drink-another-cup-of-tea cake. A cake-is-a-legitimate-breakfast-food cake. It has a taste that is a bit different from a conventional vanilla cake, which is made with butter, eggs and wheat.The taste of this cake is a teensy bit reminiscent of cornbread, but in a more delicious, cakier way. I have heard people on TV talk about how chickpea flour tastes too much like chickpeas, and because of this you can only put it with strong flavours like an immense amount of chocolate. I disagree. If you have the correct balance of ingredients in your recipe, you will not be able to recognize the chickpea flavour. You may have noticed this if you tried the Chocolate Chip Pancake recipe I posted a few weeks ago.

This cake is one of my big crowd-pleasers. It will satisfy your guests no matter what their dietary restrictions are. There is always a "wow" factor attached to a layer-cake and it can be the perfect addition to a celebratory meal. Speaking of "wow" factors, you may be wondering why I have not included a photo of the complete cake. I made this cake the other day when we had guests, and had intended to take photos of it in its entirety. I was in a hurry to assemble it, and I ended up breaking the top layer of the cake. It looked terrible, but I was assured by everyone at the table that the taste made up what the cake lacked in appearance.

I suggest that you layer this cake with my Vegan Buttercream Icing. I also make this recipe into cupcakes. You can ice them, or serve them with berries as a sort of short-cake. I will post photos of an entire cake and cupcakes the next time I bake them. In the meantime, the photos of this slice will have to do. I hope you are able to take advantage of these last few days of Summer. Enjoy your cake!

 

Vanilla Layer Cake

Compared to a conventional cake, this cake is free of gluten, wheat, eggs and dairy, and also does not have baking powder that generally includes corn or potato starch. This cake is also vegan.

1 1/2 cups/375 mls sorghum flour
1 cup/250 mls chickpea flour or white bean flour
1 cup/250 mls tapioca starch
2 tsps baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup/250 mls sugar


2 cups/500 mls rice milk

2 tsps apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup/157 mls sunflower oil
4 tsps vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350˚F/176˚C.

If baking a cake, grease two 9''/23cm pans, line bottom and sides of pan with parchment, grease parchment.

If baking cupcakes, line cupcake pans with liners.

In a small bowl mix rice milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside. In a large bowl sift together dry ingredients. Add oil and vanilla to rice milk mixture. Add wet ingredients to dry and whisk just until combined.

If baking a cake, divide batter into cake pans and bake at 350˚F/176˚C for about 34-38 minutes, or until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Cool on racks in pans for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert onto a rack to cool completely.

If baking cupcakes, divide cupcake batter evenly into cupcake pans, you should have 24 cupcakes. Bake at 350˚F/176˚C for 18-22 minutes, or until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Cool on racks for a few minutes in the pan, remove cupcakes and cool completely on rack.

Ice with Vegan Buttercream icing (recipe below) or icing of your choice.

Yield, a two-layer cake or 24 cupcakes.

Vegan Buttercream Icing

1 1/2 cups/375 mls vegan butter (I prefer Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Flavoured Spread)
5 cups organic icing sugar (I prefer Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Icing Sugar)
2 tsps vanilla extract
About 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

Makes enough icing to ice a two-layer cake or 24 cupcakes.

In a medium bowl, cream vegan butter. Gradually work in sifted icing sugar. Add vanilla and salt. Spread over cake or cupcakes once they have completely cooled.

Troubleshooting:

- Even though I suggest using a sieve you may notice a few small lumps in your batter. These should dissipate during baking. Do not over-work your batter, as it will make your cake/cupcakes fall during baking.

-When purchasing icing sugar, be careful to read the label and double-check for potential allergens. Conventional icing sugar generally contains cornstarch. I noticed on Wholesome Sweeteners website that their icing sugar (sometimes labelled "powdered sugar" instead) can include cornstarch or tapioca starch.

Alterations:

- If you are allergic to chickpeas, try using white bean flour in its place. I find that white bean flour gives a finer crumb, and is a closer taste/texture to wheat flour. Some people who are allergic to peanuts also have a legume allergy. If you suspect this, talk to your doctor before introducing. If you know you are allergic to legumes, or the other flours listed, try substituting your own favourite flour blend or ask me to try one for you.

- If you are allergic to sugar, or you are just avoiding it, substitute your sweetener of preference. I have used part sugar, part maple syrup before with decent results. Keep in mind that if your sweetener is in liquid form, you may want to reduce the rice milk in the recipe.

- You may substitute any other milk for the rice milk. You could also try replacing the milk/vinegar combination for plain yogourt.

- If you are allergic to apples or apple cider vinegar, you may substitute the apple cider vinegar for a vinegar of your choice. You may also substitute the vinegar for lemon juice.

- I use sunflower oil in this recipe, but feel free to substitute your oil of preference.

Pasta with Garlic Beans and Zucchini

I have to apologize in advance. This post is a little long, because it's been so long since I last posted. If you just want the recipe, scroll down to the bottom. No hard feelings.

When I first started having anaphylactic reactions to foods I cut many many things out of my diet. Actually for a week or two after my first terrible reaction I was so afraid to eat that I stuck mostly to plain rice, rice cereal, and Enjoy Life cookies. At this point I didn't know what all of my allergens were (I still don't, but I have a better idea) so I had no clue what foods were safe. I know a lot more now about which foods to avoid but the problem with latex-food allergies is that the lists of potential problem foods seem endless. So far I'm OK with some latex foods, like apples and cherries and I keep reading that most people are not allergic to ALL foods on the lists. This gives me hope.

There are only four fruits that I know for sure I can eat right now - apples, cherries, raspberries, and blueberries. Over the past few months, I introduced each of them slowly and I ended up being OK. I've been waiting to introduce more foods and I was hoping for a fruit so I decided to try peaches. Peaches are in season and Ontario peaches are always so amazingly delicious. I generally eat them by the container-full and ask myself "how many peaches are too many?".

The problem is that I have seen peaches listed on a few latex lists, as well as "fruit with stones", which really narrows it down. Come on! But, the idea of being able to add anything to my diet is so exciting to me, so I did. With a new food in mind the possibilities for cooking seemed endless. My mind started to wander, creating new recipe ideas....

My favourite was the idea of a peach marinade on chicken. I thought I would take peaches, blend them up with some ginger and garlic, then marinade the chicken. I think that would be prefect grilled.

Mmmmm.

What about stewed peaches on rice pudding or non-dairy ice cream? Deeeelicious! If you know you can eat peaches, try those out and let me know how they go!

As you can see, I don't have peach recipes posted here - just daydreams. I didn't get very far with the peaches.

The thing I keep reading about food challenges is that, yes, they are dangerous and should only be attempted with a doctor, in a hospital. In retrospect, I should have done it this way too, but I had not yet been referred to a doctor to help me in this way.

I slooooowly I tried the peach. I did little tests over about an hour and a half, each time waiting 20 or 30 minutes in between. I put a teensy bit of peach juice on my arm. Nothing. I put a drop on my lip. Still nothing. (I was getting SO excited!). I put a drop on my tongue and spit it out so that I didn't ingest very much - it was one of the most DELICIOUS things I have ever tasted in my LIFE! Still nothing. Then, I swallowed one drop of peach juice and INSTANTLY started having a reaction.  Another long story short, the ER doctor told me not to introduce any more foods on my own. Luckily, yesterday I had an appointment with my allergist and she is referring me to someone who will do oral challenges with me.

I've spent countless days pondering my allergy-ridden life. It gets me down, more than I like to admit. I still have hope though, and try to keep my head up. Something that one of you said has helped me immensely. I found a comment by "Anonymous" under my Chocolate Chip Pancakes post. It seems as if I have the ability to help this person. It reminds me of why I started this blog and re-enforces what I already know - that there are people out there with similar allergies. I know that it doesn't always feel that way when you're dealing with a reaction or its aftermath. I feel lonely and scared and anxious about my allergies - I'm sure some of you do too. I'm learning that these feelings are all normal, and it's ok to feel this way sometimes. My naturopath referred me to a holistic allergist and with her help I'm learning to let go of these emotions. My husband also reminds me that although I've had a lot of reactions, I've survived them and I'm OK. It's important that we try to keep things in perspective like this, and remember that you are not alone. The thought of that helps me more than you know.

My recipe today is one that my husband and I created before my allergies were a big problem. We were on a trip to Italy and lived in Venice for a month - my husband is studying Venetian Renaissance Art History and I got to tag along. What a treat! If you have ever been to Venice you know that food prices there are just ridiculous. We were on a tight budget and also wanted to eat as deliciously as possible. Most of our meals were vegetarian and our favourite was Pasta with Garlic Beans and Zucchini. Since Italian food doesn't mix well with my allergies now (no more wheat, no tomato, no parmesan, no spicy pepper oil) I have made several alterations. But, I assure you this version is equally delicious. This is a vegan meal, but it will also satisfy the meat-lovers in your home, just trust me.

Pasta with Garlic Beans and Zucchini

Gluten-free pasta of your choice (I use GoGo Quinoa Spaghetti)
8-10 cloves of garlic (just trust me) crushed or minced 
2 small zucchini diced
2 small cans (roughly 800 mls or 3 1/2 cups) of organic beans - I find that navy beans are best
about 1/2 cup olive oil or oil of your choice
Salt and pepper to taste

Dice the zucchini and saute at medium/medium-high heat in a small amount of the oil for about 2 -3 minutes or until it begins to soften and release some of its juice. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two, just until it begins to soften. Be careful not to burn the garlic! Add most of the oil to the pan. Drain and rinse beans (if using canned) and add to pan. Gently fold garlic and zucchini into beans until beans are warmed through, about another minute or two (careful not to cook them too long, or else they will go soft and starchy). Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook pasta to manufactures' directions. Drain pasta and add to beans and zucchini mixture. Add the rest of the oil. Gently fold beans and zucchini into pasta. Add more oil if necessary.

This recipe makes enough pasta for four generous servings, and possibly leftovers too! Feel free to cut the recipe in half if you want small portions or are feeding a smaller crowd. If you don't feel like pasta, try the beans and zucchini on their own as a side dish. I have also been known to eat a bowl-full for lunch or dinner .

Troubleshooting:

- Be very gentle while folding the beans. If you mess around with them too much they will get mushy and too starchy.

- If your beans are already salted, be careful about the amount of salt you add. Try to buy organic beans, if using canned, because non-organic canned food generally has preservatives.

- When cooking gluten-free pasta make sure you have a large pot and PLENTY of boiling salted water. Stir your pasta around frequently, as it tends to stick together.

- I have recently discovered quinoa-rice blend pasta and I I'm hooked on it - actually our whole family is. If you cook it according to the directions on the box (the kind I buy, GoGo Quinoa, takes 13 minutes) you will be very satisfied. I had to pinch myself a few times while eating it because it is so close to wheat pasta that I got a little scared! I have not craved pasta in a LONG time but I assure you, my cravings are back!

- If using rice pasta watch the cooking time very carefully because it tends to turn from under cooked to mush very quickly. If you are not satisfied with your pasta, try other brands because they differ significantly. The best rice pasta I've tried so far is President's Choice Organics brand.

- Use your own judgement, but you may want to rinse your rice pasta after cooking. I know that this is often considered a big no-no in cooking, but rice pasta has an immense amount of starch and may end up being very sticky, especially combined with the starch of the beans.

Alterations:

- If you are allergic to garlic, simply omit it from the recipe

- I have seen zucchini and squash listed on some latex lists, so please check with your doctor before introducing. If you are allergic to zucchini, I think this would be delicious with mushrooms and I know it is delicious with tomatoes. You could also try substituting your favourite vegetable or use just the garlic beans alone.

- I prefer to use navy beans because they do not fall apart as easily as larger, softer varieties like kidney beans

- If you are allergic to peanuts or other legumes ask your doctor before trying any beans. If you know you are allergic to beans, try substituting your favourite veggies, or some chicken.

- The original recipe had freshly grated parmesan, spicy pepper oil and sometimes tomatoes so feel free to add these ingredients if they are not allergens for you.