The ultimate comfort food... Gluten-free Mac & Cheese

GF Mac & Cheese (better than my mom's...Shhhh)

Wow, I am so good! Seriously... Since going GF about 6 years ago, I haven't had a good mac & cheese. I've had frozen mac & cheese, and that yucky one in the box. I gave up after trying to doctor them and coming up with a goopy, yucky mess. But that doesn't mean that my need for comfort food is gone (can't you tell by the enchilada pie the other day?)

I have seen many, many recipes for this timeless comfort food on the Internet and they all look good. Truth is, I'm sure they are all good. But I wanted mine to be awesome! Instead of using flour to thicken the cheese sauce, the top three options out there are GF flour mix, corn starch and rice flour. I chose to go with some sweet rice flour I have in the cabinet, which I normally use for GF crepes. I also just grabbed all the different kinds of cheese in the fridge, so don't get nervous about that. Make sure you put some cheddar in there, then switch it up and use whatever looks good to you. The main point is to have a gooey, cheesy cream sauce that bakes into a wonderful dish that brings back comfort memories. OK, this is better actually than mom used to make, but I'll deny it if anyone tells her that (sorry Mom!)

The rest is simple...pasta, cheese, butter, milk, bake, viola! Give it a try and I guarantee you'll fool those G-Eaters out there. My husband ate two plates full and said he'd eat this over any gluten mac & cheese out there. Score!

GF Mac & Cheese 
2 1/2 cups GF pasta (I used DeBole's corn elbows)
1/2 stick butter
2 Tbs Sweet Rice Flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
1/2 cup chopped cheese cubes (I had Jarlsburg and Cheddar left and chopped it up)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta with plenty of water and salt. Take it out while just under al dente since it will cook some more in the oven.
3. While pasta cooks, melt butter in a pan. Add flour and whisk till mixed well. Then add milk slowly and keep mixing till blended well and bubbly. Let it simmer while stirring and thickening. It should be about as thick as a good thick gravy. If it isn't, go ahead and add a little more rice flour or milk, depending on which way you need to go.
4. Add the cheese and mix till all the cheese is melted.
5. Add drained pasta to cheese mixture and blend.
6. Pour pasta mixture into a greased 8x8 glass baking dish.
7, Sprinkle with a handful of shredded cheese (optional) and bake for 30 minutes.
8. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving (if you can wait that long).

I love the way it looks when it comes out of the oven...yum!

Enjoy!

A visit to True Food Kitchen

Wow. While perusing the Apple iPad at the Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix today, Daughter and I decided to take in True Food Kitchen. The restaurant is a collaboration between Dr. Andrew Weil (the whole food guru we all know and love) and local restaurateur on fire - Sam Fox.

We started with a fresh strawberry lemonade for Daughter, and I began with the T-Eight, a lovely blend of fresh veggies including Tomato, Celery, Ginger, Cucumber, Golden Beet, Apple, Carrot & Parsley ($6). Yum, served over ice it was refreshing and cool. Although at $6, I'll ask for less ice and more juice next time.

Daughter had the gluten-free baked ziti, which was essentially brown-rice pasta, tomato sauce, kale and a little Parmesan ($7). She was in heaven. The sauce was beautiful with mild spices and a sweet flavor. I gave the Spaghetti Squash Casserole a try. Lovely sauteed spaghetti squash mingled with tomatoes, onions and thinly sliced zucchini topped with fresh mozzarella and Parmesan, baked to perfection ($13). The mixture of tomatoes and onions gave this casserole a light, airy feel, although it was quite filling and I didn't miss pasta in the least. I may try this at home, but I'm not sure if I can copy this one.

We were quite full after all this, even the kid's meal was large enough to fill Daughter sufficiently. But of course, there was a flourless chocolate cake on the menu, topped with decadent vanilla bean ice cream and caramel sauce ($7). Who could resist? It was lovely, creamy, chocolaty and crunchy with cacao nibs on top.

The restaurant is clean, airy and light. Lots of wood and stainless steel makes it feel open, although the noise level can get up there. I noticed later that if we sat toward the back, we could have watched the food being prepared. Ask to sit farther toward the back and watch the action. We'll definitely be back. Wanna' join us?

Enjoy!

GF Veggie Lasagna

My cravings for lasagna have not gone away. Although I've made a GF version of lasagna using TJ's brown rice pasta (and it was yummy) I've been craving the kind Mom used to make. Finally, I came across these GF lasagna noodles. Pow! I've heard about them, and was so excited to see them at our local Whole Foods Market.

I will tell you that I put them in boiling water, let them cook for a minute, then checked the box to see how long it takes to cook them. Imagine my surprise when I saw "No Boiling - Oven Ready" right on the front. I turned the flame off but let them sit in the water while getting everything else finalized. They sat in there about 5 minutes, then I pulled them out and used them. They turned out great and I think I'll do it like that again. I liked having them just like "regular" noodles. But go ahead and try them straight from the box and let me know. Dear chef, lesson learned - read the directions before cooking.

This was made with zucchini and spinach, but give it a try with any of your fave veggies. I love carrots, yellow squash and mushrooms also. Can't wait to make all kinds of varieties now that I know it's an option to make lasagna. Even Daughter loved it.

GF Veggie Lasagna
4-5 GF lasagna noodles (pre-cooked or not)
2 zucchini, chopped
2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 Tbs chopped garlic
1 package silken tofu, drained and pressed
1/2 cup TJ's goat's milk mozzarella (shredded)
1 large can plum tomatoes
1 cup chopped and roasted carrots
dried oregano, parsley and basil to taste

This sounds like a lot of work, but it can all be going on at once. Don't let it intimidate you. It is so worth the effort and is truly a comfort food you will love.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put chopped carrots in a flat roasting sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil and salt, mix and roast in the oven for about 15 minutes.
3. Cook zucchini in a saute pan with 1/2 TBS of olive oil, salt and pepper until it becomes translucent.
4. Add spinach to zucchini by handfuls and let it wilt and cook.
5. Add 1 Tbs chopped garlic to veggies and cook for another minute, then put veggies in a strainer over a bowl to let the liquid drip off (too much will make the lasagna mushy).
6. Set a large pot of water to boil. When it boils, turn off the heat and add the lasagna noodles. Let them sit.
7. No need to wash the saute pan. Add the chopped onions and another 1/2 Tbs olive oil. Cook until onions are translucent.
8. Add 1 Tbs chopped garlic and cook for another minute.
9. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper.
10. Remove carrots from the oven. They should be carmelized and soft. Add to tomatoes, along with 1/2 tsp each of dried oregano, basil and parsely, mix and let simmer.
11. Place tofu in a bowl and add a 1/2 tsp each of dried oregano, basil and parsley. Add most of the mozzarella, leaving a little for the top of the lasagna. Mix well and set aside.
12. With an immersion blender (or regular blender if you don't have one) blend the tomato sauce until smooth. (If you use a regular blender, be sure to keep the top slightly open so you don't blow the top off the blender.)
13. Layer your lasagna in an 8X8 glass baking dish. Add sauce, noodles, half of the tofu mixture, half the veggies- then repeat. On the final layer, add noodles and sauce, then top with the reserved mozzarella.
14. Bake for 35 minutes until bubbly and cooked through. Let the lasagna rest for about 15 minutes before serving.

This is so much like Mom used to make. Yes, she used ricotta cheese, eggs and wheat noodles, but you'll be surprised how much this tastes like the real thing. It hits that comfort spot with a warm, bubbly sauce, al-dente noodles and wonderful veggies. Add a little leftover sauce and it's just like being a kid.

Enjoy!

Roasted Carrot and Pine Nut Pasta

I bought a large, beautiful bag of sweet carrots from the farmers market, now what? I love eating raw carrots and I could eat them all day long. I whipped up some white-bean hummus and cut most of the carrots into sticks to dip. This was lovely and garlicky (I used a leftover head of roasted garlic in the hummus).

But there are still lots of carrots left. Daughter wanted pasta for dinner and I was hit with inspiration...roasted carrots in the pasta. The sweetness of the roasted carrots were divine and the nuttiness of the pine nuts offset the sweetness just enough. Daughter said, "I love these nuts, what are they?" Hmmm, something new.

Roasted Carrot and Pine Nut Pasta
1 bag Trader Joe's Brown Rice Fusilli
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1/4 cup raw pine nuts
1 Tbs chopped garlic
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs grape seed oil
2 tsp dried parsley
salt/pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Place carrots on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with 1 Tbs olive oil and 1 tsp Celtic sea salt. Mix and put in oven for about 20 minutes or until brown and carmelized.
3. While carrots roast, cook pasta as instructed on package (about 12 minutes). Drain and rinse in cold water.
4. In a large saute pan, heat the remaining olive oil and grape seed oil over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and cook over medium heat, being careful not to brown the garlic. If you do, start over again since the garlic can become bitter very easily.
5. Remove carrots from the oven and add to saute pan.
6. Place pine nuts on the pan used for the carrots and place under the broiler for just about 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully, they brown quickly.
7. Add pine nuts and pasta to saute pan. Add parsley last and mix.
Enjoy.

The secret to this dish is that roasting vegetables doesn't have to be a big job. Just throw whatever veggies you have onto the pan, mix with olive oil and salt and roast away. In the time it takes to make the pasta, your veggies are carmelized, sweet and browned. This is on my permanent list now.

Easter Pasta Frittata

The dew on the plants in the morning was beautiful. That's one good reason for getting up early and taking a walk before the morning has burned off. It was a great morning and many people were out walking and bike riding. But after that beautiful walk, it was time to settle in to the real meaning of Easter--family and chocolate. I love Easter--Any holiday with that much chocolate related to it can't be bad. I love the idea of eating a chocolate bunny, chocolate eggs, etc. And once a year I break down and eat a peep. Just one, head first. I know, it's pure sugar, but sometimes you just gotta' be bad, right? But on to brunch.

Mom came over with a wonderful fruit salad and we chowed down on a great pasta frittata. I saw an episode of Ellie Krieger's cooking show on the food network yesterday and promptly changed this morning's quiche into a frittata with pasta after watching. It looked marvelous. Of course, no recipe can be made without tweaking it to just the way you want it, so some changes were made. Most importantly, GF Trader Joe's pasta instead of spaghetti. I also added mushrooms because anything is better with mushrooms (in my opinion). Of course, my husband had to make a spinach quiche for himself with a pre-made crust. He doesn't like mushrooms and loves a crust. Well, at least it wasn't made in my kitchen from scratch, and that leaves more of the frittata for me, mom and Daughter. Yum.

This is made in two parts--frittata and marinara sauce. Both are easy and quick. For the sake of time, I made the marinara sauce the night before and just heated it up the next morning. But if you choose to do it at the same time, that's also not a problem. And you need to use a pan with a metal handle so it can go right into the oven without melting. If you don't have one, just skip that part and cook a little longer.

Pasta Frittata
Marinara sauce
Olive oil
1 chopped onion
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
salt
pepper

Frittata
Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup chopped mushrooms (any kind, I used button)
1 bag fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 bag Trader Joe's Brown Rice spaghetti
3 eggs
4 egg whites
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt
pepper
1 tsp dried parsley
1 cup cheese (I mixed leftover Jarlsburg Swiss, mozzarella and Romano equaling to 1 cup)

Marinara
1. Cook onion and garlic in olive oil till soft.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to simmer. Let simmer on low heat for at least 30-45 minutes to let the flavors blend. Set aside.

Frittata
1. Cook pasta according to directions, leaving it very al dente since it will be cooking in the frittata also. When the past is done, rinse with cold water, mix with just about 1/2 cup of the marinara and set aside.
2. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil till soft.
3. Add mushrooms and cook till mushrooms are done, about 10 minutes.
4. Add spinach, piling into the pan. Don't worry, it will cook down tremendously. Let this cook for about 10 minutes until all spinach is wilted. Leave it cooking on very low heat without a lid to cook the moisture out of the spinach.
5. Whisk eggs and eggwhites, along with nutmeg, parsley, salt and pepper.
6. Add pasta to spinach mixture in pan and mix well.
7. Add cheese to spinach/pasta mixture (reserve a little Romano for the top) and mix well.
8. Spread out mixture in pan evenly, then add egg mixture.
9. Let frittata cook over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes until it's just about all set and not wiggly in the middle.
10. Sprinkle remaining Romano over the top, then take the frittata and put it under the broiler on low for about 8 minutes, letting it get brown and toasty on top.
11. Remove and let it cool for about 10 minutes before removing from pan. The entire thing should come out of the pan easily and onto a plate.

Serve with Marinara on top and a little extra Romano. Yum...

Happy Easter...Enjoy!

Pignoli Pasta Salad

Daughter and I are going on a hike tomorrow and bringing along a lunch. I'll leave it in a cooler at the bottom of the mountain, but what can I bring that will satisfy my hunger, taste great and not taste boring? I had an "aha" moment in Trader Joe's when I saw the pignolis (pine nuts). Why not make a pasta salad with toasted pine nuts? Yum. There's no mayo, so letting it sit in the cooler for a few hours works fine. With lots of fresh, crunchy veggies, it's sure to satisfy after a long hike in the desert. Of course, Daughter and I had to eat it for dinner too, just to make sure it was good. The pine nuts give it a wonderfully nutty flavor, and the veggies give it a crisp and light taste. I love fresh herbs, so please use the fresh parsley. Dried parsley just wouldn't give it the fresh, spring taste. But feel free to add any fresh veggies you want and substitute anything. I adore crispy, fresh baby vegetables, and with the farmers' market overflowing with great veggies right now, you can't go wrong. I found the fennel and tomatoes there last weekend. Can't wait to go back and find out what else I can make next week.

As I write this, I realize that since I'm in Arizona I forget that the rest of the world isn't having 80-degree weather with sunny skies and farmers markets on the weekends. I know so many of my friends are shoveling themselves out of snow and trying to find anything green outside. If that's your situation, I wish you a nice, warm, cozy fire to sit by and a good movie to watch. And have some pasta salad while you're at it.

Pignoli Pasta Salad
1 cup raw pine nuts
1 cup chopped baby zucchini (one small bag from TJ's)
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced fennel
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup diced tomatoes (I had these left from the farmers' market trip)
3/4 cup shredded Romano cheese (leave out if you're vegan or DF)
1 bag of Trader Joe's brown rice fusilli pasta

Dressing:
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
1 tsp chopped Basil (or dried)
1 Tbs grated romano cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt
Pepper

Ratio is 2/1 for oil and vinegar totaling about 1/4 cup. Then just add herbs and spices and taste. I don't like my dressing with too much vinegar, but some people do. Just add a little more of each till you have it just right. Depending on what veggies you use, you may need a little more.

1. Start out by cooking the pasta as directed. When it's done (al dente), drain and quickly rinse it in cold water to stop any further cooking. You don't want mushy pasta salad.

2. In a frying pan without any oil, toast the nuts lightly over medium heat. Stir often and when they turn golden brown, remove from pan to prevent burning. I burned the first batch, so be careful, they go from brown to black quickly.

3. Once the pasta has cooled, add the veggies, cheese, nuts and dressing. Mix thoroughly. I saved a little of the dressing for tomorrow since it usually soaks everything up overnight.

Enjoy!

Confetti Pasta

While watching TV awhile ago, I saw a cooking show using lentils and pasta. Nice idea. I looked around and realized that I had bought some yellow lentils the other day, I just didn't have a plan for them. Now I did.

This dish came from part inspiration and part TV cooking show. Of course, it's GF, as always. But these days I'm trying to use more ingredients that are good for you with protein, vitamins, etc. I think it's important to try and eat as healthy as possible these days, why not give your body a boost? I looked in the fridge and came up with a plan, pasta with lentils, tomatoes, onions and greens. Not only would this be good for you, but it had to be tasty as well with all these good things.

One thing I learned from my friend Linda many years ago was to use bagged salad for other things. She made a wonderful pasta dish using just caramelized onions, leeks and a bag of mixed greens for salad. They add a great texture and flavor. And it's a quick thing to add to any pasta dish for a bit of color and pizazz.

The name Confetti Pasta came from my husband, who remarked how beautiful it was. He then ate a bowl of it and said it was the best thing I'd cooked for him. He gave it a 9 because, as he explained, if he gave it a 10 I would get a big head. Isn't he precious?

I love this dish because it's so beautiful, colorful and inviting. Of course, as always, feel free to improvise with anything else you have in the house. Add any veggies you want. It's already a rainbow of colors, adding zucchini or eggplant would just add to the colors, or even sun-dried tomatoes or roasted red peppers.

Confetti Pasta

1 bag TJ's brown rice penne
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 bunch of greens, chopped. I use 1/2 a bag of baby greens with arugula, spinach, etc.
3/4 cup yellow lentils
3 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chopped basil
1/2 cup veggie broth
1 1/2 cup water

1. Start water to boil for pasta. When water boils, cook as directed. Be careful with the penne, it tends to stick together when you first put it in the water. Make sure to salt the water well and stir for the first minute or so. I also add some olive oil to the water to make it less sticky.

2. Add lentils to water and broth in a separate pot and simmer for about 20 minutes. Check for doneness at 20 minutes and decide if you need more time. Also, keep some water handy in case you need to add more as the lentils cook.

3. Heat about 2 Tbs olive oil in a large (very large) skillet. Add onions and a pinch of salt and sweat (covered) for about 15 minutes, then cook uncovered over low heat for another 15 minutes until they begin to carmelize.

4. Add chopped tomatoes, garlic powder, basil and salt and pepper to onions. Let these cook over low heat while you wait for the pasta and lentils to finish.

5. Drain lentils and pour into onion, tomato mixture. Toss gently, careful not to break the lentils.

6. Drain pasta just at al dente. Rinse quickly with cold water (I find this keeps the GF pasta from getting mushy). Add pasta to pan with veggies and mix. Pan is getting full now, so mix slowly.

7. Finally, turn off the heat and throw the greens on top and mix gently. The heat from the pasta and veggies will wilt the greens just right.

8. Serve with shredded Romano cheese and red pepper flakes.

Enjoy!

Where to eat out in Phoenix

I may be handy in the kitchen, but sometimes, especially when it's 110 degrees, I just can't fire up the stove. It's so hot it drives me nuts. But my daughter and I have found a few great places to nosh this summer without breaking the bank or using too much gas.

PieZano's
The first place we love is PieZano's pizza place in the Town and Country shopping center. Located at 20th St. and Camelback Rd., it's pretty centrally located. This small restaurant tucked behind Trader Joe's (another one of my favorites, but that's another story) lets you build your own personal pizza. We like to call it the Pizza Subway. And even better, they carry GF pizza crust.

If you ask for the GF crust, right away the server changes his gloves and reaches for a special cooking tray. After the toppings are added (they'll tell you what is GF or not, but most things are) it's run through an oven on it's own tray so it doesn't touch the bottom where gluten has been. They even have a specially designated slicer for the GF pizzas. Now that's what I call service. PieZano's also carries GF Redbridge beer and GF brownies, although they are a little pricey for the small brownie you get. Wed. nights are GF nights with free brownie and $2 GF beer, more than enough reason to give it a try.

Pizza Picazzo's
Picazzo's is a much more elegant type of eatery than PieZano's but just as good. There are a few of them dotted around the Valley, but we mainly hit the one on Scottsdale Rd. and Gainey Ranch. There is another one in Tempe off the I-10 if you're down that way.

Picazzo's has an incredible GF menu featuring pizza, foccaccia bread, dips, etc. Most everything can be made GF and it's worth it. The pizza tastes closest to real pizza, although a bit drier than PieZano's. The advantage to this one is that you can get an entire pizza. And the toppings are numerous. But, you will pay for this treat. Most GF pizzas will run you about $20 for a regular pizza, nothing special. When you pile on the toppings, you may need a second mortgage. But if anything, you must visit Picazzo's for dessert. A warm, half-cooked GF chocolate-chip cookie in a skillet topped with vanilla ice cream. It's amazing, and tastes more like a real chocolate-chip cookie than I have ever come across. I think I just like eating that, it's my favorite and worth the trip just for that, trust me. They also have a brownie along the same lines, but try the cookie, it rocks. I'll get a photo of the next one I eat.

Taco Bell
Don't laugh, if I'm looking for a quick meal that's GF, it's hard to find. Ever been driving around and think you'd love to hit a fast-food joint? Being vegetarian and GF cuts those options down to one. But, the bean tostada or the crunchy taco (with beans instead of meat) are GF and quite satisfying. My daughter and I share a #8 (three tacos) and it's just enough, and it definitely won't eat too far into your wallet. Plus, without all the cheese and meat and fried tortillas, it's not so bad for you either. You can find Taco Bell anywhere, of course. Just remember to check the web site or ask if you're not sure. Of course, soft tacos and burritos are out of the equation, and I believe when I last checked the potatoes were not GF either.

Noodles Ranch
Tucked away in the Albertson's shopping center at Thomas and Scottsdale roads is a great little Vietnamese restaurant. While in there one day, I spoke to the owner and asked about GF food. He was very accomodating and made a great GF/vegetarian rice noodle dish. It is just wonderful. It has veggies, tofu, and rice noodles in a great sauce made with GF soy sauce he keeps in the back. I've been back a few times and I'm never disappointed. Give it a try. They also have fried rice that can be made GF and it's great with tofu also.

Well, that's a few for now. I'm getting hungry. I had leftover noodles with sun-dried tomatoes, Roma tomatoes and garlic for breakfast. Yum! That will keep me going for the morning, but I'm getting hungry just thinking about all this great food. Let me know if you have any places in town you love. I'd love to give them a try.

Enjoy!

Non-traditional Pesto

I love the way basil grows, it looks so beautiful and bushy and smells wonderful. Every year, I plant a new one and watch it grow. My daughter uses it for her food, I use it as much as possible, but I hate to pick at it it since it's so pretty. Well, right now it's large and overgrown in the back yard. Today it was about 113 degrees out here in the desert, and this plant won't last much longer, even in the shade of the orange tree where it sits.

So if you have all that basil...we all know what that means... pesto! I grabbed a huge handful of leaves from the plant this afternoon and headed into the kitchen. Just the aroma of the leaves is intoxicating and I've said more than once that I would love a perfume with basil in it. It smells so sweet and earthy.

But, I digress. I gathered all my ingredients, most of which are always in the house such as garlic, olive oil, Romano cheese, salt, etc. But I was missing one of the key ingredients--pine nuts. I've read that some people make their pesto with walnuts, so I figured I'd use something else also.

All I could find was a bag of candied pecans from Trader Joe's. I know it sounds crazy, but I used them and it was so amazingly tasty. I'm going to use them from now one, that's how good it was. It gave the pesto a wonderful, sweet but tangy flavor. If you don't happen to have any candied pecans in the house, go ahead and try any kind of nut in the house.

Pesto has that wonderful versatility and can be used in so many ways. Over grilled veggies, over pasta (of course), on pizza, on toast (gf of course) and more. Go ahead and give this a try. And if you try anything different, let me know. I'm always looking to try something new.


This is the pesto on it's own. I just love the vibrant green color and the aroma is fantastic. I could just eat it with a spoon (and I do).


This is my pasta with the pesto and sun-dried tomatoes. Too yummy for words.


The only way to find out if something works is to give it a try. I've made a few mistakes, but I've also discovered some pretty great dishes too. I've put the recipe I used below, but go ahead and use more of less of anything to suit your taste. The recipe calls for one large clove of garlic, but if you like more, go for it. If you like less, I'd say just use one small, or just 1/2 of one. I like a lot of garlic and not so much cheese.

Pesto
1 large cloves of garlic
2 TBS candied pecans (or pine nuts, walnuts, etc.)
1 tsp kosher salt
2 TBS shredded romano cheese
1 large handful of basil, (about 2 cups)
2-3 TBS olive oil

1. Put garlic, nuts and salt in food processor and blend.

2. Add basil and cheese, then blend a few pulses to get all the basil blended.

3. Add olive oil slowly to get the consistency you like. You may not need to use all the oil, or you may need more. I like mine pretty thick.

4. Done! It's that simple.

To serve with pasta, just add pesto to cooked pasta and stir. I added a few sun-dried tomatoes in the pasta water for the last 2 minutes to soften them up, then mixed them all together with the pesto. Yum. You can add a little more shredded cheese if you like.

Enjoy!

Pasta - Comfort Food Finally

Growing up in New Jersey, Christmas Eve was never complete without Mom's pasta/seafood dinner. My favorite was the calamari pasta. I loved the chewiness of the calamari with the al-dente texture of the pasta. The tomato sauce was slightly spicy and always perfect. For the rest of the dinner, I preferred not to eat the eel, although it wasn't too bad, and never ate the plate of little fish staring at me. (Mom, what were they called again?)

Alas, that was many years ago and many miles ago. I'm living in the Valley of the Sun now, I've been a vegetarian for 22 years and gluten free for the past three years. That pretty much leaves out any more pasta/seafood Christmas Eve dinners. But Mom lives in the Valley now also, and is living GF too. Although I'll never have calamari pasta again, the search for a good GF pasta is finally over.

I've finally decided on a brand that actually tastes like the pasta I remember. Of course, nothing will ever compare exactly to a good, semolina pasta. As I've said before, I refuse to eat something that doesn't wow me, and in my quest for pasta, I wasn't wowed for a long time. I tried Tinkyada's brown-rice pasta and it was pretty good, it just had a tendency to get mushy very fast and it doesn't have much flavor. I tried corn pasta that I found at Safeway one day (I don't even remember the brand) and it was totally inedible. I think I could do some yard repair with that stuff.

Finally, someone mentioned Trader Joe's brown-rice pasta. It's much less expensive than the other brands, and believe it or not, it's great!... The pasta cooks up nicely and has a wonderful al-dente texture, just like whole-wheat pasta. It actually has a great taste that adds to the flavor of any dish. I prefer to use the spaghetti-style pasta, but they do have smaller noodles also.

Tonight, my daughter requested one of her favorites for dinner--broccoli and garlic noodles. Before GF, we ate them often. After, I would just make them for her and watch her eat them. Now that I've finally found a pasta with great flavor and texture, it's time to head back. Since she's not a big fan of sun-dried tomatoes, I just take her serving out of the pan before adding the tomatoes. But if you're good with everything, just follow the directions below.

And thanks Mom for the great Christmas Eve memories.



Broccoli, Garlic and Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

3/4 lb brown-rice pasta (cooked to al dente)
2 Tbs olive oil
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 Tbs chopped garlic
1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 tsp wheat-free tamari
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
grated Romano cheese

Drop pasta into large pot of boiling water for approximately 10 minutes.

While pasta is cooking, put broccoli in a large sautee pan with about 1/3 cup water. Cover and steam broccoli for about 5 minutes or until tender. Remove cover and let water cook off.

Add olive oil, garlic, tamari and sun-dried tomatoes to sautee pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until garlic is slightly browned. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

Strain pasta and rinse with cold water for 10 seconds. Let drain and add pasta to sautee pan and toss everything together.

Serve with grated cheese.

Enjoy!