Asparagus and Artichoke Salad with Black Olives- Gluten Free

I received a few gluten free magazines from friends when I first found out I had Celiac disease. They were great since it gave me some education on eating gluten free as well as providing me with some great gluten free products and recipes.  Since it has been asparagus season here and we love artichokes and black olives I knew we had to try this recipe.  It was very good, but next time I would use a little thicker asparagus.  Mine were really skinny ones, and seemed to get a little lost in the salad.  But the flavor was good!

Asparagus and Artichoke Salad with Black Olives - Gluten Free
From: Delight Gluten Free
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 15 min

Ingredients:
For Salad:
2 lbs asparagus
1 pkg frozen artichokes or 1-2 cans
2 Tbsp olive oi
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 can black olives, pitted, drained

For dressing:
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp water
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard (make sure gluten free)
2 Tbsp minced red onion
3/4 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Trim off bottom of asparagus spears.  Break the edible part of spears into 2 inch pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.

2. Place drained artichoke hearts in bowl with asparagus.  Add olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat.

3.  Place asparagus and artichokes on a baking sheet.  place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until browned on edges and asparagus is bright dark green but not soft/overcooked. Place in a large bowl.

4. While asparagus and artichokes cook, prepare dressing.  In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, water, dijon mustard, red onion, garlic, salt, and black pepper.

5  Add black olives to asparagus and artichokes mixture and toss with dressing  Cober and refridgerate for at least 1 hr prior to serving.

Gluten Free Zucchini Muffins

Friends of ours got me the book Gluten is My Bitch when they found out I had Celiac Disease.  It was informative and funny and also included some recipes.  The first one I tried was Gluten Free Zuchini Muffins since I had some zucchinis from the farmers market.  It did take me a few stops to find xanthan gum (which of course I found at Whole Foods).  They didn't look exactly like regular muffins (they don't settle into the muffing tins) but I think they turned out pretty tasty!  We ate half for breakfasts and then froze half for the following week.

Gluten Free Zucchini Muffins
From: Gluten is My Bitch
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 25-30 min

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups grated fresh zucchini (about 4 small zucchinis)
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
3 cups gluten free all purpose flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease muffin cups in muffin pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter.  sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the zucchini mixture and mix.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the gluten free flour, xanthan gum, nutmeg and cinnamon. (I only used half the amount of nutmeg it called for because I don't like an overpowering nutmeg taste). Slowly stir dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture.

4. Distribute muffin batter evenly among the cups, filling cups up completely.

5. Bake on middle rack until muffins are golden brown and the tops of the muffins bounce back when you press on them (25-30 min) or until toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

6.  Let cool in pan for 5 minutes.  Remove muffins from pan and let cool another 20 minutes.  Makes 18-20 muffins.  I stored 1/2 of mine in the freezer to eat later.

May - Celiac Awareness Month

May is Celiac Awareness month.  Why do I care?  Because 2 months ago I was diagnosed with Celiac disease.  What exactly does that mean?  According to the Celiac Disease foundation:  "Celiac disease, found in some genetically predisposed individuals, is an autoimmune disorder where ingested gluten activates the immune syste and results in damage to the small intestine.  

In short, it means that I can't eat gluten. At all. Ever.

My carefree eating/cooking days are over, and I now am increasingly aware of everything gluten is in...from bread and pasta to salad dressings and sauces. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes it is hard, but it is a new adventure for me (and Bill too!).

I've taken a break from blogging (as you may have noticed) and hopefully will be back at it soon with some gluten free recipes, likely along with a few gluten filled recipes for everyone in my life that can still eat gluten.  I may branch out and post on some restaurants where I have good or bad gluten free experiences.  Hopefully it will still be interesting to everyone!

Easy Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry

This is a good quick stir fry meal that is lighter than a lot of stir frys.  I made a little more of the marinade than it called for (my changes are below) because I felt like it didn't have that much, plus I didn't want to add anything that had chicken juices after the chicken was cooked.  I liked that it used asparagus, but I think some mushrooms mixed in with the asparagus could also be good.

* Can be made Gluten Free *

Easy Chicken and Asparagus Stir Fry
From: Gimme Some Oven
Prep Time: 5-10 min
Cook Time: 12-15 min

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce *if making gluten free use gluten free soy sauce*
2 Tbsp honey
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch bite sized pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 bunch of asparagus, cut into bite sized pieces
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 scallions, sliced
1 tsp sesame oil

Directions:
1. In a ziplock bag, combine 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp honey. Add in chicken pieces and toss.  set in refrigerator while preparing everything else.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add in asparagus pieces.  Saute until cooked, but not soft, about 5 minutes. Remove asparagus with a slotted spoon and set aside.

3. In the same pan, add chicken and cook over medium heat until cooked through but still slightly pink inside, turning occasionally (about 5 min).  While chicken is cooking, whisk together 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp honey in a small bow.

4. When chicken is cooked, add in garlic, scallions and the soy sauce/honey mixture and cook until chicken is cooked through and the garlic is fragrant.  Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil and add in asparagus.   Serve over rice (we used brown rice) and garnish with sesame seeds.