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.

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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

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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.

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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!

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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 (thanks 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.

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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!

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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.

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This Creamy Onion Salad Dressing does have a bit of a zing to it, I admit.  I like it though, as it’s somewhat warming during the cold winter spell we’re having.  My younger son liked this gluten free dressing so much that he not only ate it on his salad last night, he drizzled it over his chicken, declaring it a winner.

The inspiration for this recipe came from Diana Rattray’s Sweet Onion Salad Dressing over at About.com’s Southern Food section.

It’s snowing here today and the high is 23 degrees (right now it’s a toasty 18 degrees).  I will go out later this afternoon and pick more of the lovely, luscious salad (photographed above) from my cold frame.  The cold frame keeps me in greens all year round.  Forget expensive bags of organic lettuce from the health food store –shipped all the way from California to Colorado leaving a gigantic carbon footprint right on my dinner table.  I am happy to say we have delicious, fresh picked, amazing greens right in my front yard (they cost pennies to plant).

We’re living high on the hog this winter, high on the salad green hog that is.  And since I like variety I am now endlessly inspired to come up with new dressings to eat on our home grown greens.  Hooray!

Creamy Onion Salad DressingNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 tablespoons red onion
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ cup olive oil

1. Place onion, vinegar, agave, mustard and salt in a vita mix and puree on high speed for 20 seconds, until smooth
2. Turn on vitamix and drizzle in olive oil
3. Serve over your favorite greens –cooked or raw

In other news (book related, that is) Yellowscene, a Colorado magazine, recently came out with their “gift guide” edition for the holidays and featured The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook in their locavore section for Boulder, Colorado.

On the web, one of my favorite sites, wellwire.com (check it out for sure, it’s full of great information!), just posted their “Superfood of the Week,” feature and this week it is almonds.  The amazing Dr. Nishant Rao, wrote this post and highlighted what he called the “realistic and elegant recipes” in my gluten free cookbook, also saying that, “using almond flour as a base for your baked goods is really your best option. Your pancreas will thank you.”  I really like that last sentence, “Your pancreas will thank you.”  Those are the kind of accessible health and nutrition tips that you will find on the wonderful wellwire.

I was lucky enough to speak with the fabulous Paige from thesisterproject.com today.  Paige has a friend Dori, who is friends with Helen, my best friend from childhood; so oddly, I feel as though I know Paige very well even though we’ve not actually met in person.  Paige wrote a lovely post called “C’mon Get Healthy,” including The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and how it will be a part of her plan for keeping fit over the holidays. The Sister Project will be giving away several copies of my book, so head on over there to win yourself one!

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I’ve been busy with my book (The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook) lately and pumping out quick dinners.  Still, I make my own salad dressings every night and this Mustard Marmalade Dressing is no exception.

I’m just back (less than an hour ago) from the ADA conference in Denver where I met many wonderful people and had a great time.  The conference was at the Denver convention center and it was massive –there were probably 5,000 people there, maybe more and thankfully, there was a lot of interest in my gluten free cookbook.

Celiac disease and the gluten free lifestyle have been garnering more attention of late, which is good for all of us gluten freers.  We don’t have to feel like freaks in public anymore now that gluten free is more well known.

Still, as I enjoy some of the gluten free yahoo groups I often hear the saddest stories about people with celiac/gluten intolerance who dine out with friends and are given a hard time not only by waitstaff, but by so called friends as well.  As if eating differently wasn’t enough trouble already without being harassed about it!  I’m just sayin’.

Gluten Free Mustard Marmalade Salad DressingNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons orange jam
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon agave nectar
½ cup olive oil

1. Combine vinegar, orange fruit spread, mustard and agave in a vitamix and blend on high for 20 seconds
2. With motor on low speed, drizzle in olive oil
3. This will (hopefully) create an emulsion, you can see in photo of dressing above that it is thick
4. Toss over salad greens
5. Serve

I hope you all enjoy this tasty gluten free salad dressing!  I’m off to spend some time with my boys who I don’t want to feel neglected.  They are far more important than any book could ever be.

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The other night I was craving a simple, rich and super creamy dressing for our salad.  I also wanted something dairy free, so decided I would use avocado as a base.

This dressing is great for both green salads and chopped salads, and I made a combination of both to serve with our salad, using greens from our garden and cubes of cucumber.  My husband gave this dressing his seal of approval, emptying out the mason jar in which I had served the extra dressing.  Hooray!

Creamy Gluten Free Avocado Dairy Free DressingNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 avocado
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ cup water
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

1. Place avocado, olive oil, lemon juice and water in vitamix
2. Puree until smooth then blend in salt and pepper
3. Serve over green or chopped salad

I was so happy to have my book featured in the September issue of Colorado Parent Magazine as part of a great article on children’s food allergies.  They are also holding a contest to win a copy of The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  Very cool!

In breaking mobile dessert news, yesterday I was reading one of my favorite blogs, CeliacChicks, by one of my favorite bloggers, Kelly and came across a post about a cupcake truck in NYC that she had visited with friends.  Much to my surprise one of Kelly’s cohorts thought that my Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes trumped those from the cupcake truck.

In the community department, Cindy from skiptomylou.org has a great gazpacho recipe up on her site right now, and she’s looking for others to submit their favorite gazpacho recipes to share. I’ve participated myself, by adding my recent Cucumber Avocado Gazpacho recipe to her carnival.

Finally, today’s Friday freebie is a copy of the GAPS Guide, Simple Steps to Heal the Bowels, Body and Brain by Baden Lashkov. So, leave a comment for your chance to win.

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