Diary Recipes

My newest picnic fave- quinoa salad with pears and pecans.

 

Labor Day is almost upon us. Summer's last bash. To inspire you to dine al fresco I've gathered my favorite gluten-free  picnic recipes, salads, and pot luck supper ideas- in one handy reference. Take advantage of the warm weather and get out of the kitchen. Spread a blanket under a tree or tote a basket to the beach.
Read more + get the recipe >>

The day before I was due to come home from visiting Dad, we dropped into the local blueberry farm  and I stocked up. Then when I got home, we bought the peaches that would not keep, so in addition to putting them in the salad I made a pie. Bluebobs - thats what Trevor the Irishman calls them, and hes infected me - and peaches are a great and classic combination. A little lemon doesnt hurt any either...

8 servings
2 hours - 1 hour prep time - cooling time not included


pastry for a double crust pie (I used this one)

3 cups blueberries
3 cups sliced peaches (4 or 5 medium)

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup arrowroot or tapioca starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
the juice of 1 lemon
the zest of 1 lemon
2 extra large eggs


Make the pastry and set it aside to rest.

Wash and pick over the blueberries, and drain them well. Blanch (drop into boiling water for one minute, then remove to a bowl of cold water) the peaches, and peel them and slice them. Set these aside. 

Mix together the dry ingredients and rub in the butter, then whisk in the lemon juice, lemon zest and eggs. Set this aside.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, of about 60% and 40%. Roll out the larger piece, on a floured board or piece of parchment paper, until evenly thin and large enough to fit the pie plate. Use a little extra flour to keep it from sticking, if necessary. Flip it into the pie plate, and add the blueberries and peaches in layers. Pour over the sugar and egg mixture.

Roll out the remaining dough, and cover and seal the pie. Seal the edges as carefully as you can, trim them if necessary, and cut steam holes in the pie. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until nicely browned. Its best to put this on a cookie tray as it goes into the oven; its a leaker.

Let cool thoroughly before cutting and serving.



Last year at this time I made Lemon Bread Pudding with Blueberries.

I used organic goat cheese  ordered from Full Circle Farms  made in Seattle,  including all organic vegetables  in this fantastic springtime salad...

Servings: (4)
Prep: 15 Mins.



¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon worcestershire
½ tablespoon fireweed honey (or more if you like a sweeter dressing)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
¼ cup cold water
½ cup goat cheese, crumbled; and divided

1 head of romaine lettuce, torn into pieces
2 carrots, trimmed, and peeled into short ribbons
12 radishes, trimmed, and thinly sliced
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 avocado, peeled, deseeded, and thinly sliced

***Garnish:
Sprigs of fresh parsley

2 green anaheim chiles
1 tb unsalted butter
1 tb acorns shelled and finely chopped Or
1 tb pistacio nuts unsalted
3 oz to 4 oz soft white goat cheese
1 recipe basic egg ravioli dough
2 ts kosher salt
1 qt water
CLEAR BROTH
6 c chicken stock
1 scallion, green part only, diagonal; ly sliced
1/2 ts azafran

Roast the chiles then peel, seed, devein and coarsely chop them, Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat and add the acorns. Saute 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the green chiles and saute another minute. Remove from the ehat, mix together with the goat cheese and set aside.
Prepare a stencil by cutting adesign out of a piece of cardboard. For the ravioli in the photograph, we cfut a stencil 5 inches in length, 3 inches in height, with 1-inch steps.
Roll out the ravioli dough as thinly as possible. Fold the dough in half, place the stencil over the dough and, with a sharp knife, cut around it. Repeat this process 11 times to make 24 identical pieces of dough.
Lay 12 cut out pieces of dough on a board and place about 1 tablespoon of the acorn filling in the center of each. Moisten the outer edges of each piece of the dough. Place the other 12 pieces on top, and press the edges together with your fingers. If the edges are slightly uneven, trim them. Set aside.
Add the salt to the water in a wide, large saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the ravioli and cook 3 minutes, until tender and translucent around the edges. Drain and set aside.
Bring the stock to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and azafran and simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour 1 cup of the broth into each bowl.
Add some ravioli and serve.

Contributor: Native American Cooking, by Lois Ellen Frank

Yield: 6 servings

This was a simple little salad to put together, but it made good use of some of the vegetables now coming of our garden. I found the original recipe in a cookbook from around 1890, and have expanded it a little - yeah, that was a really simple recipe.

I garnished mine with a few sliced olives, which I thought was a nice touch.

2 to 4 servings
15 minutes prep time but allow 2 hours for cooking and cooling


Make the Dressing:
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
 1 tablespoon sunflower seed oil
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Whisk or shake together in a small bowl or jar.

Make the Salad:
4 medium beets
1/4 cup sliced sweet onion
1/2 cup (1 small) sliced fennel bulb
OR 2 stalks of celery
salt
2 large eggs

Cook the beets in advance by putting them in a pot with water to cover them generously, and boiling them until tender, about 40 to 45 minutes. Alternatively, wrap them in foil and bake them at 350°F for a similar or slightly longer amount of time. Let them cool, peel them and slice them.

Peel and slice the onion. Trim and slice the fennel or celery, into fairly thin, fine slices. Put them in a shallow dish, and salt them heavily. Set them aside for about half an hour, then rinse them well and squeeze them gently dry.

Put the eggs in a pot with cold water to cover. Bring them to a boil and boil them for one minute, then turn off the heat and leave them, covered, for 10 minutes. Put them in cold water until cool enough to peel. Peel them.

Arrange the onion and fennel or celery on individual plates, and arrange the beet and egg slices over the top. Less decorative, but probably a bit easier to eat would be to chop the beets and eggs finer, and mix them with the onion and fennel.  Either way, then drizzle the dressing over the top of the salad.




Last year at this time I made Pork with Fennel & Peppers. 

How to make wholemeal muffins

If you want a wholesome muffin recipe then Chefs wholemeal muffins recipe is the perfect choice for you to bake.

These tasty muffins use light brown sugar and wholemeal flour, inside the cooked muffin is a delicious surprise of gooey sweet blueberries.

Chef uses extra strong wholemeal flour in this muffin recipe and it works a treat.

Wholemeal flour used in cakes go great with Autumn and Winter fruits.

Chef uses blueberry conserve, you can use any conserve or jam of your choice, strawberry, raspberry or your other favourite fruit.