A giant stinging nettles bush climbs up the side of the little red barn in my backyard.  Although we've been in this house for 9 years, it's taken me half that time to pay any mind to it.

The bush literally caught up with the boys first; they complained that it "bit" them whenever a 3-way collision of plant, child and a baseball occurred.  Back in those days, with 2 little ones, and always in a rush to clean something, cook something, or get somewhere, I would file this semi-monthly complaint along with all the others.  Finally, I figured out what this mysterious plant was, and that while I needed to keep the boys away from it, it might be advantageous to get myself closer.

Moving to the present, I have entered into a culinary relationship with the nettles plant in my backyard.  A wild edible, in my opinion, nettles is both superfood and superherb.  Nettle leaf is thought to be anti-inflammatory, helpful with seasonal allergies and calming to the nervous system.  Nettle root is regarded in herbalist circles as a natural aromatase inhibitor, meaning that it has been shown to prevent the "good" hormones from turning into "bad" hormones, that is, the type of bad hormones that cause cancer and other dis-ease.

This raw Nettles Pesto does taste very healthy, however, I couldn't stop eating it and neither could my tasters. This naturally gluten free pesto has a slightly astringent taste, the strong flavor of basil and a nice lemony tang to it. If you decide to find yourself a nettles plant and make it, I hope you'll stop back by to let me know your impression.

According to Wikipedia:

"Stinging nettle has a flavor similar to spinach when cooked and is rich in vitamins A, C, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium. In its peak season, stinging nettle contains up to 25% protein, dry weight, which is high for a leafy green vegetable. The young leaves are edible. Nettles can be used in a variety of recipes, such as pesto. Nettle soup is a common use of the plant, particularly in Northern and Eastern Europe.

Be advised, if you pick stinging nettles, you may want to wear gloves.  When lightly touched, the leaves cause a mild rash.  When I picked the nettles for this pesto yesterday, I again used my bare hands.  My 12 year old wore gardening gloves and was even stung once through them.  It is thought that deliberately stinging oneself with the nettles plant is a quick, easy, and free way to relieve symptomatic arthritic pain.

Last year, I did a little experiment and let the nettles sting me to see if it would heal any of my remaining symptoms from this diagnosis.  Unfortunately, I can only report that the results of this investigation were inconclusive.

I like to serve this delicious Orange Ginger Sauce with the gluten free Chicken Fingers from my book, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  It's sweet enough that my children enjoy it and gingery enough for me --a perfect condiment for the entire family.  I also like to dip steamed broccoli into this sauce.  I hope you all enjoy it as much as we do!

With all of the cold weather we're having here in Colorado, I've been relying on ginger quite a bit in my cooking.  In addition to this sauce, I've had a pot of my Ginger Licorice Tea on the stove just about every day over here.  Yesterday I changed it up and made a big pot of Soothing Chai.  These spicy drinks are keeping me warm in the bitter cold of this Colorado winter.

Orange Ginger Dipping SauceNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon ume plum vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
¼ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1. Combine all ingredients in a mason jar
2. Shake vigorously to combine
3. Serve with Chicken Fingers (from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook)

Have you made the Chicken Fingers from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook?  If not, you are missing out.  They are my children's fave dinner.  If you don't have my book, serve this healthy gluten free sauce with Fish Sticks.

Here are some other great looking dipping sauce recipes for Chicken Fingers and Fish Sticks:
-Pineapple Dipping Sauce from The Sensitive Pantry
-Thai Peanut Sauce from Book of Yum
-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce from Nourishing Meals

Last weekend my in-laws came out to Boulder to visit and I used them as guinea pigs for this new gluten free Herb Gravy.  Thankfully this gravy passed the in-law test served over Mashed Cauliflower.  My husband and children liked it too!

When I made this gravy, I roasted a chicken with onions and thyme and used the pan drippings for the recipe below.  I probably only had a couple of tablespoons of drippings, and I actually think this gravy recipe might work without any drippings at all.  The onions thicken the gravy; I learned this trick from the late, great author Elaine Gottschall (also a dear friend), who wrote a fabulous gravy recipe in her book Breaking the Vicious Cycle, which I highly recommend.

Here are some other gluten-free gravy recipes you might enjoy:

-Nutritional Yeast Gravy by SeaMaiden from Book of Yum
-Shiitake Mushroom Gravy by G.F.Veg from Wheatless and Meatless
-Gluten-Free Gravy by Shauna from Gluten-Free Girl
-Gluten-Free Mushroom Gravy Video from The Chef

I was beyond thrilled to find my book at the top of Jane Anderson's list of Christmas and Hanukkah Gift Ideas for Celiacs on About.com.  She listed The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook as her personal favorite gluten-free cookbook.  Wow.  Thanks Jane!

The big Vitamix giveaway is still happening until November 18th, 2010! Don't forget to enter for your chance to win!

For today's freebie, I'm giving away a variety pack of soups, broths, matés and teas from Pacific Foods.  All you have to do to enter this giveaway is leave a comment below.  This giveaway will end at midnight on November 16th, 2010. It is open to everyone in the U.S. and I will select 2 lucky winners randomly.

This super tart cranberry dressing is the perfect gluten free addition to any fall meal, and is ideal for Thanksgiving.  Cranberries are a superfood, rich in antioxidants.  I like to sprinkle fresh cranberries on my salad when I use this dressing.  Because they are so mouth-puckering and tangy, I spare my husband and children, by using fruit sweetened, dried cranberries as a garnish on their salads, rather than the fresh ones.

I found this recipe in an old Sunset magazine and adapted it, replacing white sugar and some of the other ingredients with ones that I prefer.  I hope you enjoy this gluten free salad dressing; it's autumn in a condiment.

Creamy Cranberry DressingNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 cup fresh cranberries
5 drops stevia
¼ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
¼ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon agave nectar
½ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ cup olive oil

1. In a Vitamix blend cranberries, stevia, orange juice, lemon juice, and agave until smooth
2. Blend in the thyme, mustard and salt, then drizzle in olive oil while motor is still running
3. Serve over mixed greens

Hey y'all, I have a big freebie coming up.  I will be doing a giveaway for a Vitamix.  Yup, you read it right, a Vitamix.  I will provide more details about this in a post Friday, so stay tuned for the giveaway of a real live Vitamix!

My boys and I are very into salads right now.  And It's my job to change it up with different and fun salad dressings to keep them interested.  The scrumptious salad above is 100% from my garden.  It includes a variety of lettuces, dino kale, tomatoes and cucumbers.  I love sending the boys out to "pick" a dish that we will be having for dinner, and it's great to hang out in the kitchen with them while they wash and chop the vegetables.

I find that gluten free salad dressings that have a little bit of tang and sweetness keep the boys interested in their veggies.  Here's one of our favorites.

Honey Mustard DressingNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey (thank's Grant!)
½ cup olive oil

1. In a medium mason jar, combine apple cider vinegar, mustard, agave and olive oil
2. Shake well until combined
3. Serve over mixed greens
4. Store in mason jar in refrigerator for up to 3 days

Did you know that today, September 13th, is Celiac Awareness Day? It is also the date of Samuel Gee’s birthday. Samuel Gee is credited with being the first person to find a link between Celiac Disease and diet. He once said “if the patient can be cured at all, it must be by means of diet.”

In honor of Celiac Awareness Day I'll be doing a book signing at the Whole Foods on Pearl Street in Boulder from 4:30-6:30pm tonight, September 13th. Hope to see you there!

The winner of last weeks giveaway for Feeding Baby Green by Dr. Alan Greene is Jennifer Marie!  Here's what Jennifer had to say in hopes of winning Feeding Baby Green:

Oh...I'd love a how-to on feeding for my little men. We just began the foray into solids with our youngest this past month and he's not liking jarred baby food...can't say that I blame him.

If you haven't already, make sure to visit my Cauliflower Rice post to be entered in my other giveaway from last week for a chance to win a signed copy of The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. 

If you would like an additional chance to win The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook Nuts.com is doing a giveaway on their Facebook page.

My garden is flourishing and the basil plants are doing particularly well.  Hence pesto, gluten free, dairy free, chopping board pesto.  A couple of years ago, I saw a recipe in the local paper for a chopping board pesto, and then just the other day, my friend the fabulous Patrick reminded me about making pesto using this method.

My favorite way to eat this delicious green stuff is on a gluten free (of course) cracker.  Enjoy!

Chopping Board PestoNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 cup basil, well packed
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

1. Chop the basil into fine strips until it's practically minced
2. Place the basil in a bowl
3. Chop the pine nuts fairly fine, though not to a powder, leave a little crunch
4. Place pine nuts in bowl with basil, then toss in olive oil, salt and pepper
5. Serve over crackers

I was surprised to learn that Serious Eats recently featured Elana's Pantry in an article called "The Crisper Whisperer: 10 Great Blogs for Veggie Lovers That May Be New to You."  The author, Carolyn Cope of umamigirl.com, said Elana's Pantry is an "under-appreciated resource for produce lovers."  I am thrilled that she got past all of the gluten-free hype and into the "meat" of my site --simple recipes that use whole, fresh ingredients resulting in dishes that are tasty enough for everyone. Make sure you check out the beautiful food photography on her website. Thanks Carolyn!

Speaking of gluten-free hype, I read an amazing article on Celiac Disease in the Wall Street Journal yesterday called "Giving Up Gluten to Lose Weight? Not So Fast" by Melinda Beck. It's interesting that the glow is wearing off the gluten-free SAD (Standard American Diet) and that people are looking more carefully at the available food choices. This type of coverage makes me think that sites like marksdailyapple.com, which offer healthy gluten-free food options, are only getting ready for prime time.

I wanted to give a big shout out to Chris from celiachandbook.com and a post he wrote last month called "Gluten-Free Blogs - Best of the Best" over at his personal blog gfhandbook.com. Celiachandbook.com is a great online resource and restaurant guide for everyone with Celiac Disease. Thanks Chris and keep up the good work!

Whew! I wasn't kidding about it being giveaway season over here at Elana's Pantry.  Don't forget that the giveaway for Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint Cookbook is going on until Sunday, August 29th.

Now, Here's another!

Today I'm giving away a 12" x 18" bamboo chopping board from Grande Epicure. To be entered in this giveaway all you have to do is leave a comment below letting us know what you use your chopping board for the most. This giveaway will end on Wednesday, September 1st.

I took the picture for this tasty apricot salad dressing after my first day at the Food and Light Photography Workshop that I attended here in Boulder, Colorado. I came home, made dinner and decided it would be good to put some of my newly acquired skills to use.

The instructors at Food and Light were amazing. Jen from userealbutter.com organized the entire affair and taught a wonderful section of the workshop on basic photography skills, which some of us --namely me, really needed to learn. Suffice it to say that I had no idea how to take a photo without the automatic settings on my Nikon D200 DSLR. Now I know, thanks to Jen!

And thanks to Christopher Cina of ccina.zenfolio.com for teaching me how to take the camera off of those automatic settings. Yes, Christopher literally showed me which dials to turn and which buttons to push to get the old camera working without auto.  Christopher was just another participant, though you would never know that by looking at his website --his food photography is of professional quality.

We were also treated to instruction on photography and food styling by Helen from mytartelette.com and Diane and Todd from whiteonricecouple.com. What can I say, other than, amazing!  Be sure to take a look at those two websites if you're looking for food photography inspiration.  The work of these folks is pure genius.

And of course, check out Jen's site too.  She is amazing in every way both behind the camera and in person.

Apricot Salad DressingNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 whole fresh apricot, pit removed
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
7 drops stevia
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Place all ingredients in a Vitamix and blend on highest setting until smooth
2. Serve over fresh garden greens
3. Enjoy!

Another highlight of the Food and Light workshop was sitting next to Lisa of lisa-is-bossy.blogspot.com (another amazing photographer) and Anita of dessertfirst.typepad.com, and the author of the Field Guide to Cookies. And finally, my favorite part of the workshop was that I was able to take it with my 10 year old (younger) son.  He often steals my camera in the middle of a photoshoot and goes wild taking photographs around the house.  I thought he would enjoy taking this workshop with me and learning about photography, though was not sure if he would be able to sit and pay attention with adults for two full days --he did!  We had a delightful time together and totally bonded over something we both love.

Finally, I know summer has truly arrived since All Star Baseball has begun.  Thankfully, both boys made their respective all star teams.  We really weren't sure if our younger son would make it this year and had begun planning all kinds of alternative special activities for him to assuage any disappointment/jealousy that might have arisen over his older brother getting to play.  No need, after all.

Now the baking begins as I will be making healthy treats for each of their teams for every game.  Wish us luck, their tournaments start on Tuesday.

What are your summer plans?  Anything exciting, or are you tied down to home like us given sports or other commitments?  The upside of this?  Constant gardening (see salad above) --hooray!

Making maror for your Passover Seder is a cinch (even though it can be just a tad dangerous).

Let me explain... While DIY maror is a lot of fun, be sure to proceed with caution.  I make my maror in the food processor; danger can arise when you open the lid and the trapped horseradish fumes escape up your nostrils --and severe sinus relief (or burning) can occur.  So be careful!

Beet MarorNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 horseradish root (about 4 inches), peeled and chopped
1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 raw beet, peeled and diced into ½ inch cubes

1. Combine all ingredients in food processor
2. Pulse until horseradish and beets are well ground
3. Carefully remove lid; do not inhale or smell mixture, as it may burn eyes and nasal passages
4. Store in a glass container
5. Serve on Gluten Free Oat Matzo (as pictured above)

It's been a busy couple of weeks in book tour land. I recently did an interview with Erika on one of my favorite recipe sharing sites, Tasty Kitchen. You can view the full interview in their Meet the Member! section on The Tasty Kitchen Blog, their editorializations are very cute.

I was also interviewed by Julie Steinberg from The Jew and the Carrot and she featured some of my gluten-free recipes for Passover from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and elanaspantry.com; jcarrot.org is currently giving away a copy of my cookbook, but hurry as the giveaway ends April 4th.

This beet hummus recipe comes from Elise over at simplyrecipes.com.  She is one of my favorite bloggers and I was lucky enough to hear her speak at the last Blogher Food conference.  I myself, would not have ever thought of combining beets into a hummus type dip, so, leave it to Elise.  She is the inspiration for me on many fronts.

When it comes to beets though, I find that there is a bit of a love-hate relationship with them --as in, people either love them, or hate them.  I am a beet lover.  I think they are beautiful, I worship their color and truly enjoy their sweet, earthy taste.  My husband on the other hand, holds great disdain for this little root vegetable.  I think this comment from Jerry on my previous beet post, pretty well sums up my husband's perspective:

"From a man's point of view - beets taste like dirt and there's no disguising this fact!"

Thank you Jerry, my husband could not have said it better himself :-)

So, all you beet haters, turn away from this beet recipe and head on over to my delicious gluten free beet cake --I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with it.  My husband certainly was.

Beet Hummus from simplyrecipes.com (slightly adapted)Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
4 medium sized beets, scrubbed, cooked and cubed (learn how to roast beets)
¼ cup raw tahini paste
¼ cup lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, pressed
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth
2. Serve with crackers (Elise suggests topping with goat cheese)

The amazing Jen Cafferty of gfreelife.com is once again throwing The Gluten Free Cooking Expo in Chicago (at The Wyndham Hotel).  I spoke with her the other day and she told me that registration is filling up fast.  If you are interested in attending this conference on April 17th & 18th, head on over to gfreelife.com to sign up.

The creation of this delicious, homemade vanilla almond butter is hardly my own.  One of my favorite readers, Courtney, over at benefityourlife.com, gave me several amazing presents during the holidays and one was a bottle of super tasty vanilla almond butter from the lovely Katie Kearney over at naturallynutty.com. Yum!

This is a great product, and when I finished Courtney's gift and was too impatient to wait for my own order to arrive, I came up with the little treat below.  Katie's is way better though and I suggest you get the real thing!

Vanilla Almond ButterNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 cup creamy roasted almond butter
1 tablespoon agave nectar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium (2 cup size) mason jar
2. Stir ingredients vigorously until well combined
3. Serve over apples, on sandwiches or plain (with a spoon)

If you are in Boulder this weekend I'll be over at the Whole Foods on Pearl st. this Saturday from 12-3pm doing a book signing and participating in their gluten free taste fair. Visit their store calendar page for more information.

Audio is now available from my recent radio interviews with Gina Snow over at Epicurean Corner and Zorba Paster and Tom Clark on the Zorba Paster on your Health program. To listen to the audio just click on the play button next to the link. In addition you can find my Southwestern Salmon Burgers recipe from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook on their recipes page.

The winner of last weeks Friday Freebie, a box of Cashew Cookie Larabars from iHerb, is Diane. Congratulations!

For this weeks Friday Freebie I'm giving away a jar of Naturally Nutty Sunflower Butter (with flax seed and hemp). To be entered all you need to do is retweet this post using the green button below.

UPDATE: this giveaway has ended, the winner was RickiHeller