Roasted Garlic Hummus

I love, love, LOVE roasted garlic, and it’s so easy to make!  This quick, easy, make-ahead dip is great for barbeque get-togethers or, in my case, a healthy snack for my one-year-old who loves to dip things.  You will need a food processer (Cuisinart) or a Vitamix for this recipe.

Roasted Garlic Hummus

1-14 oz can of garbanzo beans

1/4 cup sesame tahini, unsalted

2 medium size heads of garlic, roasted (see below for how to roast garlic) and peeled

2 tbsp fresh sqeezed lemon juice

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

3 sprigs of parsley (optional)

Trim stems off parsley.  Drain garbanzo beans. Combine all ingredients in a food processer or Vitamix and blend until creamy.  Let chill before serving.

How to roast garlic:

Cut the top quarter inch off the head of garlic (the pointy end).  Place on sheet of aluminum foil, cut end up.  Drizzle with olive oil and a little sea salt.  Close aluminum foil over garlic to create a loose sealed enclosure.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  I highly recommend letting the garlic cool before handling it.

Broiled Asparagus

I have asparagus in my garden, finally!  We planted asparagus three years ago, and finally this year I am able to harvest a little to eat. Of course I had to broil it because it is (in my opinion) the best way to eat asparagus.  This is a super easy recipe that our whole family, including my one-year-old son, loves.  Asparagus can take a lot of seasoning, so don’t be bashful with the salt and pepper.

Broiled Asparagus

1-2 lbs asparagus

Olive oil

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Rinse asparagus and trim ends.  Lay asparagus in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Brush lightly with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper, turning to coat all sides.  Move oven rack to top shelf.  Place cookie sheet on oven rack and broil, turning asparagus at least once, until asparagus turns lightly brown, or approximately 6-8 minutes. Cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of asparagus.

Pan Roasted Broccoli

This is my husband’s favorite way to eat broccoli and I haven’t made it since our son was born more than a year ago.  Tonight I decided to make it as a treat to my husband, and I discovered that not only my husband likes it, but my 15-month-old likes it too!  He particularly liked the stems (who wouldn’t with salt and pepper on them?).  Guess I have to make it more often. 

This recipe is originally from Cook’s Illustrated.

Pan Roasted Broccoli

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/4 lb broccoli, separated into small florets, and stems, sliced

3 tbsp water (I find with my Le Creuset cookware this is enough water, if you’re using a pan with a lid that doesn’t seal as tightly add 1 tbsp more)

In a small bowl, combine water, salt and pepper until salt has dissolved.  In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the broccoli stems in a single layer.  Don’t stir. Cook for 3-4 minutes until browned.  Add the florets and toss to combine. Don’t stir.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add the water mixture, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.  Cook for 3-4 minutes. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Creamy Mac ‘n Cheese

Tonight I was in the mood for some comfort food so I made mac ‘n cheese. It has been a long time since I made it! I love homemade mac ‘n cheese, so I thought I would share my recipe.











Gluten Free Creamy Mac ‘n Cheese

4 tbs butter
¼ brown rice flour
2 cups milk
½ lb Beecher’s Flagship cheese, grated
½ lb extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 lb gluten free pasta – I used Trader Joe’s brown rice penne pasta

I suggest measuring the milk and grating the cheese before you start cooking, as the rue requires constant supervision.

In a sauce pan, melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the brown rice flour to the butter while stirring constantly. Continue to stir until the butter/flour starts to bubble slightly and darken. Remove from heat and slowly add milk while continuing to stir. Once combined, return to the stove and stir constantly until the milk is hot and thickens. Add all of the Beecher’s cheese to the sauce pan with the milk and stir until it has melted.

Cook pasta as instructed on package. Once drained, coat the pasta with the sauce evenly. Put half of the pasta in the casserole dish and distribute half of the extra sharp cheddar on top. Repeat with the remaining pasta and cheese so the top is covered with cheese. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-60 minutes until heated through.

Gluten Free Vegan Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I made these today for my son's preschool class and all the kids loved them. Don't let the lengthy list of ingredients fool you into thinking that this is a difficult recipe. It’s not, and once you make them I guarantee that they will be a hit.





2 cups brown rice flour
½ cup tapioca flour
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp allspice
½ tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 tbsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp white pepper
¾ tsp pumpkin puree
2 cups pureed pumpkin
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup butter or Earth Balance margarine, melted
¾ cup honey (or agave)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
½ cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (except the raisins and pecans if using). Mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, water, melted butter or margarine, honey and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two to three portions, gently mixing. Be careful not to over mix. Mix in the raisins and pecans with the last portion of dry ingredients if desired.

Divide into 24 muffin wrappers. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until tops start to turn brown.

Original recipe by Johnna Deitz

Not Your Grandmother’s Meatloaf

I know what you’re thinking: Meatloaf? Dry, bland, boring meatloaf? Nope, not here! This meatloaf is full of veggies, moist and very tasty.

I have a one-year-old in my house, and I am forever trying to find new and creative ways to get more vegetables into him. I don’t want to hide veggies from him, he should know what he’s eating, but I’m not opposed to making them taste like, well, not veggies. This recipe has been a hit in my household, and I hope it will be in yours too!

Note: This meatloaf recipe is almost a one-to-one ratio of vegetables to meat. If you’re looking at the ingredients and thinking to yourself, “man, that’s too many veggies for me,” then cut all the vegetable ingredients in half and keep the rest of the recipe the same.

2 onions, chopped
6 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
6 celery stalks, chopped
1/3 cup loosely packed parsley, chopped finely
3 – 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup gluten free oats
1 lb lean hamburger
1 lb ground pork
1 lb (or 1 pkg) mild Italian sausage (I like Iserno’s)
Olive oil

To cut down on the prep time for this recipe, chop the vegetables the night before.

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for until they start to turn clear. Add celery, carrots and Worcestershire sauce, reduce heat, cover and steam for approximately 15 minutes, or until the carrots and celery are soft. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well combined. Place in a 9x13 inch baking pan, level with a spatula (or your hand). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve with gluten free ketchup.

Be prepared to have leftovers! This is a great recipe to put in the freezer for those nights when you don’t want to cook.

Split Pea Soup

Split pea soup. A winter staple. In our house, I've had to modify the traditional recipe to take out the ham hocks since they are not nitrite free. It took me a long time to figure out how to add good flavor to the soup without the ham hocks, but I think I finally got it.










Split Pea Soup (nitrite free)

6 cups gluten free chicken broth (I like Costco brand)
6 cups water
3 1/2 cups dried split peas, rinsed and drained
1 onion, chopped
6 celery stalks, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
2 lbs uncured, boneless, nitrite free ham (like Beeler's Ham), chopped

Combine chicken broth, water, split peas, onion and celery in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1-1.5 hours. Blend approx half of the mixture and return to pot. Add carrots and ham. Return to a boil and simmer 30-45 minutes or until carrots are soft.

Getting Started

Gluten, eggs, soy, dairy, casein, whey, nuts, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, oranges, nitrites.

What is this, you ask? This is the list of allergies in our house!

What do you eat? That is always the next question. To answer it, we have decided to start a blog. Two moms, two households. One Village. We will share our favorite recipes and show you that living in an gluten free, allergy friendly house is not hard. As a matter of fact, it's fun!