grain free Archives | Fake Food Free

Spring Pea Salad with Walnuts and Za’atar Yogurt

April 27, 2018

This spring pea salad uses farm fresh peas and combines them with green onions and crunchy walnuts. It’s dressed in a yogurt-based sauce that is seasoned with za’atar, a Middle Eastern herb and spice blend.

Pea salad. We’ve had a love-hate relationship for as long as I can remember.

It has a bit to do with the pea salad I grew up with – canned or frozen peas and a mayo-based dressing. My family loved the stuff at get-togethers, but I always skipped over it in favor of macaroni or potato salad.

But spring pea salad? This I can get behind. It sounds the same, but there is a key difference.

Fresh peas.

Riced Cauliflower Chicken Casserole

March 28, 2017

It’s like broccoli rice casserole, but without the broccoli or rice. That’s the first description that came to mind when I made this. Or at least that is what I envisioned when I came up with the recipe.

I’m still not over riced cauliflower. Maybe the rest of the world is? I don’t know. But I love the stuff. I’m always stir-frying it into things. So last week I thought – why not stir it into things…and then bake it.

Alas, a casserole was born.

Cauliflower Rice with Basil-Spinach Pesto and Chickpeas

October 5, 2016

In this recipe, cauliflower rice is tossed with a spinach and basil pesto and chickpeas. It makes an easy light meal or side dish for anyone at the table because it also happens to be vegan and gluten free.

I usually post things on Instagram the day I make and shoot them with a note about when they will be live on the blog. Call me old fashioned, but I’m just one of those diehards who still believes in preserving the real-time aspect of social media. Especially those platforms that have a portion of the word instant in their names.

I typically get a few comments from people who can’t wait to see it, but none quite like this recipe. After posting this cauliflower rice, I not only got comments on Instagram, but also follow up on other social sites about when the recipe would be live.

I think there is some unspoken rule that says your simplest recipes, the ones you just kind of throw together on a whim, are the ones that garner the most attention.

That is definitely the case here.

Cassava Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

September 28, 2016

Any time I get a new ingredient for the kitchen, I always seem to make cookies. Most often chocolate chip cookies.

I think it’s because I want to see how something unfamiliar behaves in something I know well.

Although, saying that cassava flour is unfamiliar isn’t exactly accurate. I became familiar with it when we lived in Brazil. Cassava = mandioca = tapioca.

There we ate farofa, pão de queijo and tapioca com goiabada. All are made with some version of the flour – fine ground, coarse ground, sweet, fermented or sour.

Simple Slow Cooker Mung Bean Soup

November 11, 2015

Soon, we’ll be frantically running out to the supermarket to get overlooked ingredients. Soon, we’ll forget what it’s like to shop during the holidays and find ourselves elbowing our way to a check-out line. Soon, we’ll be waiting in line at the post office (something we swore we’d never do again) to get gifts mailed before the last possible hour.

Soon, no matter how hard we try to stay in control, things are going to get crazy.

I love the holiday season, crazy or not. So I say bring it on! As long as I have some lights sparkling in the living room and cookies in the oven at some point throughout the season, I’ll take it.

Pear and Peanut Butter Yogurt Parfait

November 5, 2015

Half the time I’m very much – YAY breakfast! The other half of the time I’m – bleh, breakfast.

I know. Shame on me. When I was working as a health educator, there is no telling how many times a version of the words, “eat breakfast,” came out of my mouth. But truth be told, some days I wake up excited for it, and other days I’ll pass and go straight to lunch.

I think it has to do with being inspired. Or uninspired, as the case may be.

Lentils with Curry Turkey Meatballs and Lemon Spinach

July 8, 2015

In this recipe, slow cooker lentils are topped with turkey meatballs and then brightened with a sprinkle of fresh spinach for an easy one-bowl meal!

I tend to eat in earth tones. It’s something I didn’t realize until I began photographing my food.

Think about it. The occasional leafy green aside, many healthy foods are pretty much a big bunch of off white, beige and brown.

Lentils, beans, chickpeas, cauliflower, oats, onions, garlic, meats, mushrooms — all pretty much the same boring color. It’s unfair, too, because they can be pretty darn delicious.

Steamed Japanese Yams with Curry and Lime

May 13, 2015

These tender, steamed Japanese yams are flavored with curry powder and a twist of lime. They make a great side dish or snack!

I’ve been intrigued by the world of potatoes and yams for some time. I think it probably started when we traveled to Ireland. Visiting the food markets there opened me up to the reality that there were more varieties than the red skinned and russet I was familiar with.

Then my potato passion moved to my own garden when I was growing red and white skinned potatoes. The excitement reached epic proportions the year I grew Adirondack Blue potatoes (what many people refer to as purple potatoes) and harvested 15 pounds from the garden!

I’m not growing my own potatoes right now, but the adventures have not ceased. They continue with cuisines and cultures that I have to admit took me completely by surprise. I’m not sure I ever expected to find so many Asian varieties of potatoes. They are of the sweet potato and yam family, and they are all over my favorite farmers market in Oakland. Purple, white, orange, yellow — it is seriously a rainbow of taters out there.

Pickled Daikon and Kohlrabi Salad

March 10, 2015

This tangy pickled daikon and kohlrabi salad makes a super simple side dish for spring!

I’m a big fan of pickled veggies. Asparagus, long beans, cucumbers, carrots — pickle it and I love it. Last year, I gave up on pickling for long term preserving. Meaning no water bath pickling, etc.

I just can’t seem to master the art of keeping things crisp, and the batches end up being too large for us to finish in a reasonable amount of time.

So now I’m into quick pickling. A few veggies, a vinegar mixture, a couple hours in the fridge and a manageable amount is ready to serve.

Grain Free Pizza Crust from Everyday Grain-Free Baking

February 20, 2015

I found this grain free pizza crust in my review copy of Everyday Grain-Free Baking by Kelly Smith. I quickly became a huge fan. It’s a variation that everyone will love regardless of your personal eating style.

Everyone has an opinion about grains these days. Some people limit them because they think it helps them lose weight, or because they follow a specific eating style. Others stay away from the gluten in grains out of necessity due to a diagnosed medical condition, or because it makes them feel better. Grains are in the spotlight right now for better or worse, no doubt.

I don’t speak much about the topic because opinions are so strong on every side of the argument. What I am happy about is that all this grain talk has given those with medically diagnosed gluten allergies many, many more food options and I think this is a great thing.

I can only speak to my own experiences. I am not gluten free or grain free. Neither make me feel bad as others claim they do, and yes, I have experimented with cutting them out. I completely respect that your story might be that your life changed after cutting them out, but that story isn’t mine.