Category: lactose-free

Watermelon Gazpacho

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This brilliant, fresh soup is the perfect thing for a hot summer’s day.  I made it up ahead of time, stuck it in the fridge, and just ladled it up for an appetizer.  I topped it with a little feta and cilantro, but you could also chop up a little watermelon, tomato or cucumber to sprinkle on top.

I found the recipe on One Perfect Bite. I just used less olive oil.

What you need:

4 cups watermelon

2 cups tomatoes

1 small jalapeno pepper with the seeds removed, diced

2 tablespoons minced red onion

1 small cucumber, peeled and seeded

2 tablespoons cilantro (plus a little more for garnishing)

a tablespoon or two of olive oil

1 tablespoon wine vinegar

salt and pepper

feta for garnishing

What you do:

1. Puree everything (except the garnish!) until it is smooth.  I used an immersion blender, but a regular blender would do a great job.

2. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

3. Serve with your choice of toppings: feta, cilantro, chopped tomato, cucumber or watermelon.

Zucchini “Spaghetti”

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This is a summery twist on a standard comfort food.  It’s just some raw zucchini strips with a delicious tomato sauce.  I served it with chicken, but it makes a nice light and healthy meal on its own.  The sauce only takes about a half hour of cooking, and the zucchini just needs to be julienned, and you’ve got a great meal!

What you need:

1 zucchini

1 – 796 mL can of pureed tomatoes

1 small onion

a few tablespoons of butter or olive oil

a few garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste

fresh basil

What you do:

1. Throw the whole onion, garlic cloves, butter and tomato sauce into a pot and cook for about half an hour, or more if you’ve got the time.  Take the onion and garlic out when it’s done, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

2.  Julienne the zucchini and plate it.  Pour some of the hot sauce on top of the zucchini, and top with some fresh basil.

Yum, easy and delicious!

Gorgeous Gazpacho!

This is one of the best things I have ever made.  I was transported back to Spain as soon as I took my first mouthful.  Last summer I had the most amazing food in Barcelona, and one of my favourites was gazpacho.  So many meals were started off with this lovely cold soup; I ordered it almost every day.  I never thought I would like a cold soup, but it was so refreshing and flavourful.  I didn’t get a chance to make any last summer, and since winter tomatoes are pretty much tasteless, I waited until summer to try the recipe.

Love.  It.

And it requires no cooking, just some chopping, pureeing, and chilling.  My favourite version was topped with finely diced bits of the soup ingredients, so this one has diced tomato, red pepper, and some of the bread fried in a little olive oil.  I forgot to keep a little of the cucumber aside for the topping, but I recommend that you chop up a little of that too.

I got the recipe here, but I used less onion than the recipe called for. The recipe says it’s for four people, but I think it feeds a lot more people than that.

Enjoy!

What you need:

1 pound of tomatoes

1 cucumber

1/2 a medium-sized sweet onion (the recipe called for two – way to much for me)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups bread (plus more for the topping)

2 red bell peppers

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

7 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons water

salt to taste

What you do:

1. Soak the bread in water for a few minutes, then squeeze most of the water out with your hands.

2. Puree all the veggies, bread, vinegar and water, then slowly add the olive oil to blend it in.  Salt and pepper to taste.

3. Put the soup in the fridge to chill.

4. Dice a little tomato, cucumber and red pepper for garnishing

5. Cut the remaining bread into very small cubes.  Heat a frying pan, then pour in some olive oil.  Add the bread and toss it around the pan until it is slightly browned.

A nice way to serve this is to ladle the soup into individual bowls, then have the toppings in separate bowls so everyone can garnish as they wish.

Breakfast Arepas

On my recent trip to Quebec City I was treated to this great breakfast made by Eduardo.  He is from Venezuela, and he showed me how to make these traditional Venezuelan arepas.  They are the vehicle for whatever you want to stuff into them; we had egg and cheese in ours, and then some “dessert” arepas with nutella, cream cheese and jam.

What you need for the arepas:

1 cup corn flour

about 1 cup water

about 1/2 teaspoon salt

a little oil for frying

What you need for the eggs:

a few eggs

chopped onion

chopped tomatoes

diced garlic

salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Mix the flour, salt and water until there are no lumps.  Scoop some dough into your hands and roll it into a ball.  Then flatten it out and make the edges round.

2. Heat a frying pan with a little oil, then place the patties in the pan until browned on each side.

3. Heat the oven to 350F and place the arepas into the oven on the rack.  After 10-15 minutes, take one out of the oven to see if the inside is cooked.  To do this, take one in your hand and tap on it; it’s ready if it makes a dull hollow sound.

4. While they are baking, cook the onions and garlic for a few minutes in a little oil in a frying pan, then add the tomatoes.  Beat the eggs with a fork and add about a tablespoon of water and some salt and pepper.  When the onions and tomatoes have cooked for a few minutes, add the eggs to the pan and cook them.

5. To serve, slice the arepas open, spread on a little butter,  and then fill with some egg.  Add a piece of cheese if you like, and you’re set.

 

Ginger Beer

I love ginger beer that has a strong ginger bite, and not too much sugar.  Here’s a really easy recipe that costs very little to make your own ginger beer.  You just need to plan a couple of days ahead of time to let the yeast work its magic.  This is a non-alcoholic drink; nothing to do with real beer!  Some people like to mix it with beer, though, but I prefer a little rum, or just on its own.

What you need:

a clean 2 litre plastic pop bottle

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger(I keep my ginger in the freezer – it grates easily that way)

1/4 teaspoon baker’s yeast

juice of 1 lemon or lime

What you do:

1. Using a funnel, pour the sugar into the bottle.  Add the yeast.

2. Mix the lemon juice with the grated ginger.  Add this mixture to the bottle.

3. Add some cold water, put the cap on the bottle, then give it a shake until all the sugar dissolves.

4.  Add more cold water to the bottle until it is filled to about 3 cm away from the top of the bottle.

5. After closing the bottle, place it in a warm place for a day or two.  If you give the bottle a squeeze now you will notice that it has some give to it. You will know the ginger beer is done when you squeeze the bottle and it is firm and no longer has any give to it.  At this point you need to put it in the fridge so the yeast stops working.

Because there are bits of ginger in the bottle,  you need to strain it before you serve it.  I just do this as I am pouring each glass.

Grilled Chicken Salad

Here’s another Mother’s Day recipe – I made this grilled chicken salad with a vinaigrette dressing, mango, and pita and tzatziki on the side.  The salad makes a nice light and tasty meal.

I watched this TED talk by a young girl named Lauren Hodge who speaks about her research on reducing the carcinogenic effects of grilling.  She says that you can reduce the carcinogens by up to 90% in grilled chicken simply by marinating it in lemon juice.  Great information, and inspiring to hear someone so young being so dedicated to research.  A helpful and tasty tip – thanks Lauren!

What you need:

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon dry oregano

1 teaspoon sumac (available in middle eastern shops)

2 tablespoons olive oil

What you do:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a shallow pan or ziplock bag.  Allow to marinate for 1/2 hour to a few hours.

2.  Grill the chicken for about 4-5 minutes per side, until no longer pink.  Be careful not to cook it too long.  This will not only dry it out, but also increases the carcinogens in the meat.

3.  While the chicken is grilling, prepare the salad with vinaigrette and mango on the side.

4.  Slice the chicken and arrange it on the salad.

Fig & Anise Crisps

Terra Breads makes this fabulous fig and anise bread.  I just made up a mixture of olive oil and maple syrup, brushed it on and toasted it to makes these darlings.  They were delicious with some salty olive tapenade on top to play off the sweetness of the figs and maple syrup.

What you need:

part of a loaf of fig & anise bread, thinly sliced

olive oil

maple syrup

What you do:

1.  As thinly as you can, slice the bread.  Place the slices onto a baking sheet.

2.  Mix some olive oil with some maple syrup, less syrup than oil.

3.  Brush a little of the mixture onto each piece of bread.

4.  Toast them in the oven on about 250-300F, watching closely so they don’t burn.

They were great with the olive tapenade, but I would imagine a sharp cheese or some cream cheese would be fantastic.

Corey’s Amazing Mango Salsa

I was treated to an amazing feast recently!  This salsa was so fresh and tasty, brought to us by guest blogger Corey Knott.  He served it with tilapia, which paired perfectly with it.  Corey started with fabulous fresh ingredients, highlighted by the best mango I’ve ever tasted, and the most beautiful.

What you need:

1 ripe mango, diced

1/2 red onion, diced finely

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

juice of 3 limes

1/2 a bunch of cilantro, chopped

What you do:

1.  Combine all the ingredients and… it’s ready to go!

Homemade Olive Bread Croutons

I bought a loaf of bread from the fabulous Terra Breads the other day, and since I couldn’t use the whole thing, I threw it in my freezer.  Later I pulled out a couple of slices to make these yummy croutons.  They were fabulous on top of a caesar salad.

What you need:

a few slices of olive bread

1-2 cloves garlic, finely diced

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

1.  Cut the bread into cubes.

2.  Heat a frying pan to medium-low and drizzle in some olive oil, then throw in the garlic, sage and bread.  Toss the bread around so it gets coated in oil.  Add a little more oil if you need it and toss it again.

3.  Toss the bread from time to time until it gets a little browned and crusty.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Throw them on your favourite salad!

Lebanese Chocolate Anise Cookies

When I lived in Halifax circa 1995 my friend and I ate a Lebanese feast every weekend at Mediterraneo Restaurant.  We were so addicted to their food that we were devastated to find they weren’t open on Easter weekend.  Luckily for us there was another Lebanese restaurant across the street, called Beirut Beirut.  I don’t think either of these places exist any more.  It was at Beirut Beirut where the owner, Peter, asked us to sample some of the desserts.  When we tasted these little unbaked chocolate cookies he made us guess what was in them.  We couldn’t, but after many visits and special orders for these cookies, he shared the recipe with me.  This is only my best imitation of the real thing, as I never actually saw him making them, so I had to guess at some of the process.

Instead of baking, you toast the ingredients, then mix them with some honey.

Today I made them into Easter egg shapes because it’s that time of year, and it was Easter weekend when I first tasted them.  Peter made them into small logs, or shaped like a Hershey’s Kiss.

This recipe makes about a dozen small cookies, but they are packed with flavour, so you don’t need a lot at one time.

What you need:

1/4 cup raw peanuts

1/4 cup raw almonds

1/4 cup raw walnuts (I used half walnuts, half pecans when I ran out of walnuts)

1/4 teaspoon mint leaves

a pinch of thyme

2 teaspoons anise seed

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons cocoa

honey

a little icing sugar for sprinkling on top

orange flower water, optional

What you do:

1.  Grind the nuts, anise seeds, thyme and mint.  I used my electric coffee grinder to do this.  Spread this mixture on a baking sheet and toast at about 250F for about 15 minutes.  Every 5 minutes you need to give them a bit of a stir, and make sure they don’t burn.

2.  Mix the flour and cocoa with the nut mixture in the baking pan.  Toast for another 5 minutes or so.

3.  Let the ingredients cool, then place them into a bowl.  Mix honey in, a little at a time, until you get a firm mixture that you can make into shapes.

4.  Shape the cookies into logs, eggs, “kisses,” or whatever shape you desire.

5.  Sprinkle with a tiny bit of orange flower water, if you are using it, then dust a little icing sugar on top.