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Strawberry Cream Cheese

By Christy on May 13, 2012 in Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast, Desserts, Gluten-free, Recipes

Yummy, luscious, oh-so-sweet local strawberries! I ordered a pound of these beauties and savored a few every morning with breakfast for a week. When I reached the bottom of the container, I had a few mushy berries left. Too scrumptious to just throw away or turn into compost, I used the Full Quiver cream cheese I had in the fridge to make a strawberry cream cheese spread. A touch of cinnamon adds an interesting taste but feel free to omit or substitute vanilla if you prefer. I used brown sugar to sweeten but of course, you can use honey, agave, or plain sugar.

3-4 strawberries

8 ounces cream cheese

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1-2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Rough chop berries and sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon sugar. Allow berries to sit for at least 1/2 hour to macerate, which means the sugar will draw moisture and flavor out of the berries. Add berries, cream cheese, and cinnamon to a mixing bowl and mix for 2-3 minutes on high speed. Taste and add more sugar if desired.

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Roast Chicken

By Christy on May 4, 2012 in Gluten-free, Main Dishes, Recipes

As the Texas summer starts creeping up on us, my thoughts turn to ways to avoid the heat of the oven. I have long been a fan of the crock pot to stew a chicken in for soups but did you know you could roast a chicken in the crock pot? OK, technically it is probably a braise but by just leaving the lid off for the last 30 minutes of cooking time, the skin gets closer to a crispy roast than a flabby stew. By placing the chicken on top of a bed of vegetables, the juices are used to add flavor to the veggies without submerging the bird in too much liquid. It is ok if it comes part way up the bird but you want it mostly out of the broth for the crispiest skin.

3-4 potatoes cut into bite size pieces

4-5 carrots cut into bite size pieces

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

olive oil

3-4 pound whole chicken

Combine the spices to make a dry rub for the chicken. Rub the chicken inside and out with the olive oil and thoroughly sprinkle with the rub. You can let this rest covered in the refrigerator for an hour up to overnight if you have time. Layer the vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot and position the bird on top. You should still be able to close the lid on the crock pot. Cook on high for 30 minutes, then switch to low for 6-7 hours. For the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the lid.

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Kale Chips

By Christy on May 3, 2012 in Appetizers & Snacks, Gluten-free, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan

My poor kale was starting to yellow. One too many days in the fridge. I needed to cook it right away but was not in the mood for cooked greens. A quick toss with some oil, salt, and sesame seeds and I had a delicious crunchy snack of kale chips. Even the kiddos will like this one.

1 tablespoon sesame oil or chili oil if you like it spicy

1 head kale, thoroughly washed and dried

salt to taste

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Remove tough stems from kale. Toss with oil. Sprinkle with salt and sesame seeds. Bake for 40-50 minutes, stirring after about 20 minutes.

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Mushroom Pesto Grilled Cheese

By Megan on April 28, 2012 in Main Dishes, Recipes

As a novice mushroom eater, I’m always looking for interesting ways to work mushrooms into my meals. Although I’ve managed to work my way up to eating whole mushrooms instead of picking out every tiny bit of ‘shroom from condensed soup, I don’t often get a craving for them. Of course, when many of your groceries are selected for you by the team at Greenling, you have to change your mind about what you want to eat, and make it what you want to eat.

I don’t remember how I thought of this combination of mushroom pesto and grilled cheese, but I know I love regular pesto with cheese and bread, so I couldn’t go much wrong.

Mushroom Pesto Grilled Cheese

For the pesto:

6 ounces button mushrooms
1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large garlic clove
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt

Blitz everything in a blender or food processor until smooth.

For the grilled cheese:

Butter
Sourdough bread
Slices provolone cheese
Mushroom pesto

For each sandwich, butter two slices of bread on one side. Spread the pesto on the opposite side of one slice bread, add 1-2 slices of cheese, then top with the other slice of bread. Fry on the stove over medium heat for about 3 minutes a side, or until golden brown.

Leftover pesto can be used as a dip for veggies, a pasta sauce, or mixed into scrambled eggs. When storing in the fridge, add a thin layer of olive oil to the top to help prevent an unattractive browning of the pesto. If you forget, you can just scrape the darker portions off.

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Mushroom Soup

By Christy on April 23, 2012 in Gluten-free, Recipes, Soups

This recipe can be used with any kind of mushroom you have on hand. I had some fresh button mushrooms and an assortment of dried ones. Rehydrate the dried ones by bringing 2 cups of water to a boil, pour it over the dried mushrooms and let them steep for 20-30 minutes. Do not throw the steeping water away! Strain out any sand or dirt particles and use the broth in the soup. The fish sauce is optional in this but I really like the umami flavor it adds, not fishy at all.

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 ounces dried mushrooms, rehydrated with boiling water and roughly chopped

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, like button or crimini, roughly chopped

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

2 sprigs of thyme

6 cups broth, veggie or chicken

1/2 cup milk or cream

2 tablespoons fish sauce (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add mushrooms and saute until browned, about 6 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and saute until translucent. Add the thyme and broth to the pot and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove thyme stems and whisk in cream, fish sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture into a blender, never filling more than half full and pulse till smooth. If you overfill a blender with hot liquid, it can blow the lid off the blender and send hot soup flying everywhere, so be very careful and work in batches or use an immersion blender right in the pot if you have one.