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 or honey
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

The post Orange Ginger Sauce appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

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.

Herb GravyNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 quart chicken stock
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic
pan drippings (from roasted chicken or turkey)
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 tablespoon thyme, chopped

1. In a medium saucepan, heat chicken stock, onions and garlic to a boil
2. Reduce heat and simmer until onions and garlic are soft, about 30 minutes
3. Pour pan drippings into saucepan
4. Blend stock-onion-drippings mixture in a vitamix until smooth
5. Place mixture back in saucepan and reheat, then season with salt and thyme
6. Serve over turkey, mashed cauliflower, or anything else

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

-Nutritional Yeast Gravy by SeaMaiden from Book of Yum
-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.

The post Herb Gravy appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

My boys and I love eating this sauce over fish and chicken.  It’s also great on top of salads.  Now that we’re settled back in after a wild weekend that took us straight from Blogher into Yom Kippur, I will be making this to serve with our dinner tonight.  I’ll serve it over salmon and greens and I know that the boys will lap it up, as they always do.

Tangy Peanut Sauce (Gluten Free)Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
½ cup creamy peanut butter or creamy roasted almond butter
¼ cup lime juice, freshly squeezed
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons ume plum vinegar
2 teaspoons agave nectar
¼ cup water
¼ cup cilantro, minced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 teaspoons ginger, freshly minced or grated on a microplane zester
1 teaspoon chili powder or diced jalapeno pepper

1. In a quart jar, combine nut butter, lime juice, fish sauce, sesame oil, umeboshi vinegar, agave and water
2. Close jar and shake well
3. Add cilantro, garlic, ginger and chili powder and shake again until ingredients are well combined
4. Use as a dip for jicama and cucumber, or serve over salad or spring rolls

Although mine has turned out somewhat differently, this recipe is inspired by one I found in the May/June issue of Clean Eating; that recipe was the launching pad for me to come up with this cilantro infused addictive sauce.

Another big weekend lies ahead as I will be speaking at Boco on Friday and The Gluten Free Culinary Summit Saturday and Sunday.  If you haven’t already registered for the summit, go ahead and get in now, it’s going to be a lot of fun!

The post Tangy Peanut Sauce appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

Tonight I had this conversation with my little boy while I was tucking him into bed:

“How do you know I love you?” I asked him
“You tell me 2 billion times a day,” he replied.
“If I didn’t tell you, how would you know?  I asked.
“I can feel it in your hugs,” he said.

That really got me.  I try not to take things for granted in life.  Like my children.  Or hot showers.  Or glass bottles that I get to keep after I’m finished with the food inside.  It’s the little things in life that make all the difference really.

Here’s a little recipe that’s making a difference in my kitchen.  It’s my new go to sauce for chili, bean dishes and pasta.  The boys scarf it down and I love its versatility and flavor.  The husband doesn’t mind it either, in fact, he seems to likes it.

Homemade Tomato SauceNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 cup water
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil
2. Add onion and saute until soft, about 10 minutes
3. Add cherry tomatoes, water, garlic, oregano, chili and salt
4. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes over medium heat until tomatoes are soft and beginning to fall apart
5. Serve

Stay tuned.  In the next few weeks I will post warm and comforting entree dishes over which you can serve this easy sauce.

The post Homemade Tomato Sauce appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

From the recipe archive: Originally posted in 2008. This homemade cranberry sauce is a perfect side for your healthy Paleo Thanksgiving dinner.

This sweet yet tart raw cranberry sauce is one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes, in fact, it’s one of my favorite naturally gluten free dishes of all time!

Tart, tangy and full of healing properties, just last week I ate an entire test batch.  I adore cranberries and stock up during this time of year while they are fresh, making fun cranberry dishes several times per week.

When they go out of season, I keep bags of frozen cranberries in the freezer as the boys enjoy my homemade cranberry sauce.

Beware, this raw, vegan sauce is quite tart.  If that is not your thing, just add a few more dates.  Personally, I’ll take mine super sour!

I would not recommend making this dish with frozen cranberries, though you can always give it a try to see how it turns out.  If you do, please leave a comment and share your results.

What is your favorite cranberry dish?  Which one will you be making for Thanksgiving this year?  Leave a comment and let us in on it!

The post Raw Cranberry Sauce appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

Is your garden overflowing with tomatoes? Mine is. It’s a jungle out there. The zucchini plant is on the offensive, overtly attacking its neighbors in a battle for square footage while the tomatoes surreptitiously creep and cling to everything they can. At this point, they are huge sprawling bushes, heavy with fruit.

The boys go out to jump on the trampoline and come inside bearing gifts, their little hands laden. I too venture out to pluck tomatoes off the bushes before they turn to mush or fall to the ground. I’m not complaining. They’re delicious. Some are good eaten straight up. Others go nicely on top of a green salad. With so many tomatoes there really needs to be so many ways to eat them.

In an attempt to create much needed variety, this afternoon I made a raw tomato sauce to serve over pasta. Well, I can tell you it was one of those small, satisfying successes. Our neighbors Chris and Larry (Josh’s parents) came over for dinner and ate the sauce uncomplainingly. The children all asked for seconds after it was gone so I ran out to the garden, harvested more tomatoes, some basil and whipped up another batch in the middle of dinner. My younger son drank his seconds as soup and Josh’s little sis, Zoe used hers as a dipping sauce for her green beans.

So, as you see, this raw tomato sauce is very versatile and provides a good deviation from the standard forms of tomato consumption.

Raw Tomato SauceNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
8 medium tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ cup basil leaves

1. Place 7 of the tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt and basil in a vitamix
2. Puree on high speed until creamy
3. Chop the remaining tomato and add to the sauce
4. Serve

This quick and easy dish can turn mountains of tomatoes into a yummy raw sauce without heating up your kitchen in the middle of August.

Are you enjoying your garden this month?  If you find yourself with an abundance of tomatoes, what are doing with them?  Let us know and please, share your recipes in the comments section!

The post Raw Tomato Sauce appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

Spring is in full bloom here in Colorado and it’s gorgeous. Bright clear days in the high 70′s, perfect for hiking, taking the boys to the park and breaking out the grill! While the lucky folks in California probably start grilling a bit earlier, we usually wait until May to fire ours up.

Luckily, Katie had me on my toes with a request for gluten free barbecue sauce a couple of weeks ago. She was looking for something with no sugar or agave.

To be honest, I am not a natural when it comes to the open flame; in general, my husband does the grilling in our family (so manly!) and slathers up the fixins’ before he throws them on the grill. In order to get my BBQ bearings I went to bbqrecipesecrets.com. On that site, I learned that there are 3 types of barbecue sauce –tomato, mustard or vinegar. Unfortunately, for me, and perhaps some of you, each of the recipes contains a significant amount of sugar, so I used their Basic Tomato BBQ sauce recipe as a map, adding and subtracting from it to create the new one below. I hope you like it Katie!

Gluten Free BBQ SauceNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup shallots, minced
1 (7 ounce) bottle Bionaturæ Organic Tomato Paste
1 cup orange juice, fresh squeezed
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

1. Warm oil in a saucepan over medium low heat
2. Add garlic and shallot; cook until soft
3. Add tomato paste, orange juice, vinegar, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper
4. Simmer over low heat 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often
5. Baste over fish or chicken
6. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for 1-3 hours
7. Grill and serve

Serves 6 -makes enough sauce for one whole chicken or 4 breasts

You may notice that grilling instructions are conspicuously absent –you do not want to get them from me. While my husband is not a chef, he is, as I mentioned the grill master in the family and I assure you, that when he starts his food blog, you will find grilling instructions there. For now, try these.

Feel free to use this gluten free barbecue sauce creatively. I imagine it would be delicious on pasta or a sandwich –I must have eaten half a batch by mopping it up with bread the night I first made it.

The post BBQ Sauce appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

During this time of year I make gravy on a weekly basis. When the cold, damp weather sets in, rich, warm, gravy makes for a delicious comfort food smothered over roasted chicken or turkey.

This simple gluten free, grain free and dairy free gravy turns a mere meal into a Thanksgiving feast.

The post Gravy appeared first on Elana's Pantry.

Did you ever wonder how to make fresh cranberry sauce?  You can add another recipe to your gluten free condiment repertoire by making this quick and easy recipe.

When I see fresh cranberries in the grocery store, I know fall is upon us. My boys love cranberry sauce and I have a special recipe that I make for them that includes ginger and dried apricots. Here it is…

Serve as a snack or over turkey!

The post Cranberry Sauce appeared first on Elana's Pantry.