Senin, 31 Agustus 2009

Easy Mediterranean Chicken and Spinach Rice Bake

Easy family comfort food- chicken and rice bake with spinach.

Looking for weeknight supper ideas for the (can you believe it's that time of year again?) back-to-school frenzy? This super simple toss-together recipe is budget-friendly and versatile. If you don't have chicken on hand try using pieces of cooked turkey or your favorite sausage. Vegetarian? Use a can of white or black beans instead. The Mediterranean and Santa Fe- thanks to the fresh and unexpected spike from tomatillos- flavors in this fabulous recipe cozy up to a parade of proteins.

A family favorite from the archives, this is easy comfort food to bake and savor before the fall begins its alchemy, spinning green into gold.

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Jumat, 28 Agustus 2009

Gluten-Free Pasta Frittata Recipe with Goat Cheese

Gluten free brown rice pasta makes this pasta frittata amazingly light
Tasty gluten-free pasta frittata.

Have I got a simple and flavorful Mediterranean inspired gluten-free pasta frittata recipe for you. It is perfect for the upcoming weekend. Throw it together for a lazy brunch, or a languid late summer picnic. But first, a logistical update. We are back from LA, safe and as sound as two people can be jetting from the oxygen saturated beach of Santa Monica to the rarefied (read- bone dry nosebleed inducing) air of Northern New Mexico. My "of a certain age" skin is not decidedly not happy. My razor textured Floyd's cut now looks like a highlighted squirrel on a tequila fueled bender. And to add insult to follicle injury, there's a technical snafu that despite daily phone calls, shameless begging and patient (I assure you) correction of our physical street address (corrected three times by three different customer service representatives eager to assist you). That's right.

No Internet.

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Jumat, 21 Agustus 2009

Reader Request: Confetti Quinoa Salad



I’m back in the saddle everyone. After a very nice break and some time to think, I realized that what I really needed to do was call in the troops for some healthy reinforcement to cure my writer’s block. I want to thank all of you who responded to my email – I now have an entire warehouse of ideas, well stocked the next year of blog entries!
Your emails inspired me so much in fact (and I received so many) that I have decided to add a section to the blog called “reader requests”. Once or twice a month I will respond directly to a relevant question or two and indicate this in the post’s title. I will also post the question in the article – so look for yours!

This post will cover several questions:
What can I do with quinoa!?
Do you have any recipes that are good for traveling?
How can I incorporate fresh herbs into my food?
I am single and unmotivated to make huge, one-off meals just for myself. Do you have any ideas for fast, healthy food that can keep for a few days?

Sigh…I just happen to have the perfect answer to all of these questions. Introducing Quinoa Confetti Salad, otherwise know as my “life saver salad”. It is easy to make when I’m short on time (because quinoa only takes 15-20 minutes to cook), and it uses up whatever I have on hand in the fridge. You can also adapt it to the seasons – raw fresh vegetables in the spring and summer, and a blend of fresh and steamed or roasted veg when the weather cools down. I love it with garlic-roasted sweet potato and beets on chilly fall days. Holy delicious! When fresh herbs are no longer in season, just use good quality dried ones. And we all know the goodness of quinoa – high in protein, rich in fiber, loaded with health-promoting minerals – it’s the seed of the gods. Read more about the benefits of quinoa here.

The other bonus about this salad is that it travels very well, which is important for me, as I don’t often find a lot on the menu at drive-through highway Wendy’s, and quite frankly, plane food scares me. In fact, as I write this, I am on a trans-Atlantic flight from Copenhagen to Toronto and you can guess what I ate for lunch. That’s right.


Quinoa Confetti Salad
Ingredients:
1 cup dried quinoa (any colour you like – white, red, black, purple - or mix it!)

An array of seasonal vegetables - be creative!
-rainbow carrots (pictured)
-string beans
-cucumber
-cherry tomatoes
-spinach
-spring onion

A lovely legume - for a complete protein meal!
-chick peas
-lentils
-navy beans
-black beans
-lima beans
-kidney beans

A selection of fresh herbs - don't be scared!
-flat-leaf parsley
-mint
-oregano
-cilantro
-dill
-basil

Sunshine Dressing
:
2-4 Tbsp. Cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil
Zest and juice of 1 un-waxed organic lemon
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp. Honey
pinch of sea salt

Place ingredients in a jar and shake. If you have extra, you can use this dressing, for up to 4 days, stored in the fridge (but the sooner, the better). You can drizzle this on just about anything - green salad, steamed vegetables, cold rice, or pour it into the center of half an avocado and scoop it out with a spoon - my favorite snack!

Directions:
1. Rinse quinoa very well 2-3 times in the pot you are cooking it in, draining it with a strainer. Add 2 cups fresh water, and about a teaspoon of sea salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until cooked.
2. While the quinoa is simmering, make the dressing by zesting and juicing the lemon, mincing the garlic and combining all ingredients in a jar and shaking. Set aside to allow flavours to blend.
3. Chop the vegetables and herbs you are using. Place in a large bowl. Pour dressing over. (I like to add the dressing before the quinoa, because quinoa will continue to absorb liquid and you risk it becoming a little soggy.)
4. Once the quinoa is cooked you can add it directly to the dressed vegetables. The quinoa will cool down quite quickly as you mix it in.
5. Devour.

This salad is rather large, but like I said before, it can keep for at least a day or so in the fridge. If you really want to plan ahead, mix the vegetables, herbs and quinoa when you have time and dress it when you’re ready to eat. This will help the salad keep for 2 or more days in the fridge. If you’re eating for one, this will undoubtedly save your life - or at least save you from eating those weird microwave-popcorn-and-peanut-butter-cracker dinners.

I hope that this delicious, and simple recipe comes to your tummy's rescue, and feel free to change things up to suit your preferences. If you have a favorite dressing, pour it on. If you don't like chick peas, leave them out! If you love nuts, throw those in too. For me, this recipe is a little different every time, so be creative and have fun with it.

Thanks again for writing in and giving me some great ideas. Over the coming months I will try to answer as many questions as possible. Keep up that healthy curiosity!

Rabu, 19 Agustus 2009

Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Icing

Lovely and classic gluten-free carrot cake 
with coconut, iced with lemon cream cheese frosting.

Here is one of my most popular gluten-free cake recipes. Something sweet and satisfying to keep your taste buds happy until I return. We're leaving Santa Monica early Thursday morning, you see, driving back to northern New Mexico with an iPod playlist heavy with Neil Finn, Warren Zevon, Fiona Apple, Tom Waits, Suzanne Vega, Crowded House, The Devlins, Jarvis Cocker, Pulp and a liberal sprinkling of Eighties hits. Not to mention a bag of fresh baked Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies for fortification. See you soon!

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Sabtu, 15 Agustus 2009

Chicken Curry Apple Stir-Fry Recipe with Art School Rice

Curried Apple Chicken Stir-Fry Recipe
Easy curry chicken stir-fry recipe.

In time for the last hurrah of summer, I thought I'd share a crazy simple recipe favorite that is spicy and sweet, infused with curry. Because I love to mix up flavors (don't you?). I'm interested in how traditions influence, enhance and co-mingle. Perhaps because I'm an eclectic heritage bundle myself. And vegans, don't assume this recipe isn't for you. In fact, I make a vegetarian version of this recipe all the time. Use drained canned chick peas in place of the bird- it's a fabulous meatless and budget-friendly option.

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Rabu, 12 Agustus 2009

Gluten-free Peach Cake

gluten free vegan peach cake recipe
A vegan peach cake perfect for a summer picnic.

Lazy summer days are sweet and sticky jewels studded with fresh cut fruit and juicy cakes. Farmers' markets buzz with color and scents. And peaches are the star. Get them while you can, Gentle Reader. Inhale their ripe velvet voluptuousness. Because all too soon they will be gone, and the stony, flavorless winter impostors picked well before ripening, thrown into crates and imported from far off orchards flirting with the southern hemisphere sun will be posing at your market as peaches. But they are not. And they know it.

They don't even try to pretend.

So grab your baskets and get thee to a local farmers' market. There is peach cake and peach crisp, and peach ice cream to be savored.

Some of you may recognize the basic recipe here. It's one I've posted and tweaked. It's not in my nature to follow directions or repeat a success without tweaking it, you see. I just can't do it. My brain chemistry switches to Bored Beyond Belief faster than you can mutter the words peach pancakes on a stick.

Let's just say I was a challenge in school. And in jobs (and okay, relationships) requiring a set routine or specific schedule. Rules and expectations writ in stone give me the itch to break free and play, What if? I just can't do the same thing over and over. I get too restless. I get punchy. And I'm also a big believer in change.

Change is good.

Change means I'm alive, growing and learning. Change means I'm curious, taking a risk, discovering something I didn't know before. Experimenting and sometimes failing or looking like an idiot often comes with the territory. Sure, I might end up feeling inept or totally stupid. Born too late. Or too soon. But will that keep me in my proper place and tame my wanton right-brained ways?

Not on your life, Babycakes.



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Minggu, 09 Agustus 2009

Pesto Zucchini Tomato Gratin

Pesto zucchini gratin
Zucchini tomato gratin. Summer garden deliciousness. With pesto!


Today's post is short and sweet. Or should I say, brief and savory. Are you experiencing an abundance of zucchini and tomatoes? Here is a favorite summer recipe updated from the archives- a basil and garlic laced gratin featuring sliced zucchini, artichoke hearts and fresh tomatoes. Use your favorite gluten-free crumbs on top (my current favorite crumbs for a crunchy golden topping are these cornbread crumbs). 

Serve it as a delicious side dish with grilled chicken, fish or grass fed beef. Vegetarian? Spoon it on top of pesto penne pasta.

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Senin, 03 Agustus 2009

Watermelon Gazpacho with Lime

Refreshing watermelon gazpacho. Serve cold, cold, cold.


Happy August. The Dog Days of Summer are upon us. The Back To School Sales have commenced. Evenings are shorter, sultry and sticky and it's too damn hot to cook. Here in our sweet little Santa Monica sublet the modest act of baking two potatoes nudges our ambient temperature to a hot flash inducing tie-dyed t-shirt peeling UGG tossing fever pitch. I pace and prowl for air like the downstairs yellow cat who slinks into our kitchen unnoticed despite his thunderous girth. I stick my sweaty matted head out the kitchen door inhaling the hope of an onshore breeze.

My restless, itchy body you see is trying to ignore the calendar.

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Minggu, 02 Agustus 2009

PartitionMagic 8.05 En & Fr



Partition Hard Drive without installation.

Download Portable PartitionMagic on RapidShare (5.4 MB)

(md5: 519b7e237d860d0bb5db5a95f1ef0d8c)

Téléchargez PartitionMagic Portable sur RapidShare (5,1 Mo)

(md5: 715c91fe45fc5fa6c66727d8923f1c87)

Extract and run PartitionMagicPortable (or DriveMapperPortable, PartitionInfoPortable, PQBootWindowsPortable)

Old (2004) software for XP/2000.

Settings of installed PartitionMagic should be preserved.