Vegetable Juice

If you have never tasted fresh vegetable juice you are missing out on a truly delicious and nutritious drink. This easy recipe below is one of my favorites.


Ingredients

2 large carrots
2 large celery stalks
5 cups kale
2 large tomatoes or 1 14.5 oz can tomatoes
1 lime, juiced

Note: Use organic vegetables to add to the nutritional value of this drink and decrease your consumption of pesticides.

Directions

Wash all vegetables thoroughly. Peel carrots. Cut carrots, celery and tomatoes into several large pieces. Place vegetables into juicer, a few at a time. Collect juice in a large container or glass. Juice lime into container with citrus reamer*. Stir to combine well and drink.

*I like to juice limes, lemons, and oranges with a citrus reamer. Simply slice the fruit in half and twist the reamer in the citrus half to remove the juice and leave the pulp.

Grilled Pineapple

Grilled pineapple is a sweet and juicy treat! Grilling it brings out the tropical flavors. Not only does it taste good but it is a good source of Vitamin C, Manganese, and Thiamin. This makes an excellent dessert or side dish.

Ingredients

1/2 pineapple, sliced and peeled
1 T brown sugar
1/4 t cinnamon

Directions

Heat grill to lowest temperature. Slice pineapple in half and remove ends. Cut 1/4 inch wide slices and remove skin. In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon. Place sliced pineapple in baking dish and rub sugar mixture evenly on one side of each piece. Place pineapple slices, plain side down on the grill. Grill for 3-4 minutes. Turn with tongs to sugared side. Grill another 3-4 minutes. Remove from grill. Enjoy as a dessert or a side dish.

In My Refrigerator

I just went to the store and loaded up on the bounty of the season. I love this time of year! There are so many fresh fruits and vegetables to choose from. Whether you frequent your local grocery store, Costco, a farmer's market, or a roadside stand be sure to stock up on plenty of produce. Here's what in my fridge. What's in yours?

Spinach
Tomatoes
Cabbage
Peppers
Garlic
Red Onion
Kale
Peaches
Watermelon
Pineapple
Canteloupe
Grapes
Potatoes
Celery
Jalepeno
Ginger
Sugar Snap Peas
Green Beans
Jicama
Carrots
Green Onion
Romaine Lettuce
Mango
Banana
Grapefruit
Zucchini
Squash
Avocado

Peach Cobbler

As the days grow warmer (actually, it's downright hot!) we know it's peach season in Texas.  Time to make this juicy, summer fruit into a delectable cobbler.

Ingredients

5 cups (or 2 lbs.) peaches, sliced*

2 T potato starch

3 T raw honey

1/3 cup Smart Balance, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup Gluten Free Pantry All-Purpose Flour

1/2 t cream of tartar

cinnamon

*You may use frozen peaches. I like the organic frozen peaches from Costco. Allow to thaw completely.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Mix peaches with potato starch and place evenly on bottom of dish. Drizzle with honey.

Beat butter and sugar in bowl until fluffy. Add egg and beat another minute. Add flour and cream of tartar and mix until combined.

Spoon batter over peaches, allowing some peaches to show through. Generously sprinkle cinnamon on top of batter. Bake for 40 minutes. Serves 6.

Quinoa Salad with Cucumbers and Tomatoes

This is a refreshing salad that is easy to assemble and full of flavor. It is one of my favorites for an easy lunch or light supper.

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water

1/2 large cucumber, peeled and diced
1 tomato, diced
1 green onion, sliced
1 t cumin
1/2 t salt
1/4 pepper
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar

Directions
Place 2 cups of water and 1 cup of quinoa in a pan.  Cover and bring to a boil then lower the temperature to simmer for 15 minutes. Let cool. Add cucumbers, tomato, green onion, spices, olive oil and vinegar. Mix well and chill. Serve on a bed of spinach or your favorite dark green, leafy vegetable.

Pumpkin Bread

We love all things pumpkin in our family. Here is a wonderful, moist recipe for pumpkin bread. As with all my recipes, this is wheat-free and corn-free. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2/3 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1 1/2 cups oat flour
1/2 cup potato flour
1 t xanathan gum*
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground ginger
1/2 cup organic raisins

*Note: Xanathan gum is a substitute for gluten in gluten-free baking. It can be derived from corn. If you are extremely sensitive to corn products you may opt to leave this out although your end product may not hold together as well.


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 7x3 inch loaf pans. (You may use a 12-cup muffin pan in place of a loaf pan.) In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugars until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, xanathan gum, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans. Bake for 45 minutes. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.