Category: Gluten-free

Macaroni Salad

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2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles
1 can tuna or salmon, drained (save the liquid)
½ cup celery, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
½ green pepper, chopped*
1 large carrot, grated
2/3 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup tuna water or oil
2 Tbsp vinegar

  1. Boil macaroni until tender. Rinse with cold water until it is completely cooled. Drain.
  2. Mix in a large bowl the mayonnaise, tuna water and vinegar to make a dressing.
  3. Add the noodles, tuna and all the vegetables. Toss until completely coated with dressing.
  4. Season with salt, pepper and parsley.
  5. Chill until ready to serve.

* If you don’t have green onions, substitute with red onion. Adjust the amount according to your taste.

Spinach salad

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For now, measurements are estimated. Use your judgement.

6 cups baby spinach
½ cup honey-mustard vinaigrette (store bought or mix it up yourself)
1 cup sliced strawberries (or canned mandarin slices, or pomegranate seeds depending on the season)
¾ cup goat cheese
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup red onion, diced (optional)
¾ cup candied pecans*

  1. Place spinach in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss completely.
  2. Top with the rest of the ingredients.

* To make candied pecans, place pecans in a small pot. Add a couple tablespoons of brown sugar and water. You can add some chili pepper too, if you like a bit of heat to them. Stir over medium heat until the pecans are candied. Leftovers can be stored in a jar at room temperature.

Beef Barley Soup

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1 ½ lbs stewing beef, chopped small and browned*
6 cups beef broth (or 6 cups water and 3 Tbsp, or cubes, beef bouillon)
2 cups carrots, sliced
1 ½ cups onions, chopped
1 ½ cups celery, chopped
½ cup green pepper, chopped (about ½ a pepper)
½ cup barley
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves
1 (28 oz) can tomatoes, chopped (3 ½ cups)
¼ cup ketchup
1 cup tomato sauce

  1. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil.
  2. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until barley and vegetables are barely tender.
  3. Remove bay leaves before serving.

* For a more economical version, you can use hamburger.

Spinach Dip

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1 (300g) pkg frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry and chopped
2 cups sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (40 g) pkg Knorr vegetable soup mix
1 (10 oz) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 green onions, chopped

  1. Mix all the ingredients, except the bread, and refrigerate.
  2. When ready to serve, hollow out the bread and break into bite-sized pieces. Fill the bread cavity with the spinach mixture.
  3. Place on a serving tray and surround loaf with the bread pieces.

* If you don’t like pumpernickel, you can use a loaf of round white bread instead.

Orange & Honey Glazed Carrots

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½ cup water
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 tsp minced ginger
2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut in 1” slices (about 5 cups)

1 tsp grated orange zest
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

  1. Place the water, butter, honey, salt, and ginger in a large sauté pan and bring to a boil.
  2. Add the carrots, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
  3. Remove the lid and continue to cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until all the water has evaporated.
  4. Add the orange zest and orange juice to pan, tossing with carrots.
  5. Simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes, until the carrots are al dente (tender, but still resistant when you bite into them) and the sauce glazes the carrots.
  6. Add the pepper and more salt to taste.

Bean Salad

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1 (16-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (16-ounce) can chick peas, drained
1 (16-ounce) can black beans, drained
½ cup onion, minced

½ cup sugar
½ cup cider vinegar
½ cup avocado oil (or another kind of oil you prefer)
1 tsp salt

  1. In a large bowl, combine the beans.
  2. In a small microwavable bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and microwave for 60 seconds on high. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
  3. Toss with beans and onion to coat.
  4. Refrigerating for at least six hours will blend the flavours.

Oatmeal Pancakes

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2 cups oats
2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp oil
½ cup flour*
½ tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

  1. Combine the oats and buttermilk or yogurt in a bowl and refrigerate overnight.

  2. Add eggs and oil.

  3. Mix remaining ingredients together, and then add into the wet ingredients. If the batter is too thick, you can add a bit of milk.

  4. Heat frying pan, with a little oil, to medium-low heat.

  5. Pour enough batter to make a pancake into the pan. If necessary, spread the batter out a bit. Watch for the tops to bubble. Turn the pancakes and cook until golden on the second side.

  6. Serve hot, with butter and maple syrup.

* To make gluten-free version, substitute a gluten-free flour.

Energy Bars (dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free)

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½ cup peanut butter (or almond butter)
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ cup cocoa
5 large, pitted dates
¼ cup raisins (or dried cranberries)

¾ cup raw pecan halves
¾ cup raw cashews
¾ cup raw almonds
¼ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

Honey (to taste if desired)

  1. Put the first six ingredients into the food processor and blend until smooth.
  2. Add the nuts and coconut and pulse until it reaches a desired consistency.
  3. Taste the mixture and add honey if you want it sweeter. (You can also add more peanut butter if it’s not binding well enough.)
  4. Press into an 8” x 8” pan. Chill and then cut into squares.

Suggestion: Feel free to experiment with different ingredients in this recipe, such as oat bran, chia seeds, sesame seeds, wheat germ, flax seeds, psyllium husk, chocolate chips… I make it differently each time!

Carmelized Onions (Instant Pot)

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Caramelized-Onions12 cups onions, sliced (not too finely)
4 Tbsp butter
2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pepper

  1. Mix together all the ingredients.
  2. Sauté for five minutes in the instant Pot.
  3. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Then do a quick release.
  4. Sauté (while draining excess liquid occasionally) for about ten more minutes until the onions have a nice caramelized appearance.
  5. Freeze in small portions to use in future recipes.

Note: I got four cups of caramelized onions and one cup of liquid.

Lava Cakes (gluten-free option)

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4 (1 oz) squares semi-sweet chocolate*
½ cup butter or margarine
1 cup icing sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
6 Tbsp flour#
Whipped cream or ice cream (to serve with cakes)

  1. Microwave chocolate and butter in large glass bowl on high for 1 minute, or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted.
  2. Stir in sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour.
  3. Divide batter between 4 greased (3/4 cup) custard cups or soufflé dishes. Place on baking sheet.
  4. Bake at 425 degrees for 13-14 minutes or until sides are firm but centres are soft. Let stand one minute.
  5. Carefully run small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto dessert dishes (scoop them onto plate, upside down). Top with topping and serve immediately.

* Instead of semi-sweet baking chocolate, I use 15 squares of the PC bitter-sweet (or extra dark) 300g chocolate bar.

# To make this a gluten-free dessert, just substitute the flour for any gluten-free flour. (Because there’s so little flour, this works well without affecting the texture too much.)