Do you need one more dessert for your gluten-free Easter week dinners? Are you looking for a task that will keep your kids or grandchildren entertained? Well, Taste of Home Holiday lastest email has got the cake for you. It only has four ingredients, which can be bought or made gluten-free, and will be fun to decorate. Here is the original recipe, with our suggestions for modifying it:

Peeps Sunflower Cake

SERVINGS: 12
PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes with all store-bought ingredients
COOKING TIME: 30 minutes plus decorating time

INGREDIENTS
•1 package (18 and 1/4 ounces) yellow or chocolate cake mix
•12 cans (16 ounces each) chocolate frosting
•19 yellow chick Peeps candies
•1 and 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Purchase gluten-free versions of each ingredient. The cake mix, Peeps and chocolate chips will be easy to find. Betty Crocker has a Rich and Creamy Chocolate Frosting that is gluten-free, and you will probably be able to find other gluten-free frosting brands.

DIRECTIONS
Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using two greased and waxed or parchment paper-lined 9-inch round baking pans. Cool cake layers for 10 minutes before carefully removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Level tops of cakes. Spread frosting between layers and over the top and sides of cake. Without separating Peeps and curving slightly to fit, arrange chicks around edge of cake for sunflower petals. For sunflower seeds, arrange chocolate chips in center of cake.

COMMENTS
Maria and I love good chocolate, so we suggest you make this dessert using our Ancient Grains or Black Bean Chocolate Cake recipes (both posted on this website). For each recipe, make two cake layers; since the Ancient Grains cake is small (6 inches), you can cut back on the amount of icing and decorations. You might want to make enough cake layers to have a decorating contest with the kids, with winning and consolation prizes. You could do single-layer cakes for the contest and post photos of them on your Facebook pages for comments. And then for next Valentine's Day, you can get pink heart-shaped "Peeps" candies and do it again!! (Susan)

Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health. The organization provides information and recipes for us to start each week with healthy, environmentally friendly meat-free alternatives. Its goal is to help us reduce our meat consumption by 15% to improve our personal health and the health of the planet. Going meatless once a week may reduce the risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular  disease, diabetes and obesity, according to the organization. It can also help reduce our carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel.

Visit Meatless Monday’s website for information on adding healthy, environmentally friendly meat-free alternatives to your diet each week. If you do eat meat on other days, the organization strongly recommends grass-fed, hormone-free, locally-raised options whenever possible. In my part of Georgia (US), I can get “free” chickens and a cowshare of beef from my local Loganberry Heritage Farm. You probably have farms near you that sell healthy beef and chickens with great, forgotten flavor.

Meatless Monday’s search engines produced nothing for the keyword “gluten free,” but many of their recipes are gluten-free or can be made  gluten-free with substitutions. Here is an example of what you will find –a recipe perfect for spring and the first heating of the outdoor grill. 

DIJON GRILLED ASPARAGAS AND ONION

Servings: 8
Preparation Time:  10 minutes
Cooking Time:  6 minutes, until tender

INGREDIENTS
Dijon vinaigrette
•1/2 shallot, thinly sliced 
•1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 
•3 tablespoons olive oil 
•2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 
•Salt and pepper, to taste 

Grilled asparagus and onions
•1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed 
•1 pound spring onions, halved lengthwise 
•1 tablespoon olive oil 

DIRECTIONS
For Dijon Vinaigrette
Whisk the sliced shallot, vinegar, olive oil and Dijon mustard together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
 
For Asparagus & Onions
Preheat a grill to medium-high. Toss the trimmed asparagus and halved onions in a large bowl with the tablespoon of olive oil, making sure all ingredients are evenly coated.
Place the asparagus spears and spring onions onto the heated grill, putting the green portion of the spring onions on a cooler part of the grill. Grill, rotating every two minutes or so for about six minutes, or until the asparagus are tender. Plate asparagus and onions on a large platter. Drizzle with the Dijon Vinaigrette and divide into eight  portions.
 
Note that this recipe does not have any protein in it. You may want to serve the dish with a protein source such as quinoa, beans or eggs.

Let us know if you like this recipe or any others that you try from Meatless Monday’s recipe collection. (Susan) 

March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day and even though I attended an Irish cookery school last year, I am not cooking. Instead, I am going to the Crimson Moon Cafe for dinner and a Celtic music concert with three friends. The café is located in Dahlonega, GA (US), a mountain town that is the home of the first gold rush in the US. Lucky for me, the cafe staff is well-educated on a gluten-free diet. Jamie Laval, a Celtic violinist and a US Scottish Fiddle Champion, is performing. Visit his website (http://www.jamielaval.com) to listen to his music while you are cooking Irish foods or enjoying an Irish coffee.

Whether you are “Irish for the day or Irish all  the way” you may be interested in some of the gluten-free Irish recipes on the websites we have listed below. We get the sites’ free e-newsletters, which often have good recipes that are naturally gluten-free or that can be converted easily to gluten free.

Allrecipes 
Search on “gluten free and Irish” and “Irish” to find recipes like these: Irish soda bread, eggs, stew, potato candy, roast leg of lamb with rosemary, colcannon, corned beef and cabbage, Irish Cream Cream Brulee and Irish Cream Truffle Fudge.
Site features: free e-newsletters, personal recipe box, calculator for adjusting serving sizes, how-to and recipe videos.

Frontier Natural Products Co-op
Search for article “Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Irish Fare” and start cooking the recipes that are gluten free. These include recipes for potato dishes, spinach and other greens, colcannon and coconut chocolate mint custard.
Site features: sell wide range of natural products in categories of herbs, spices, foods, teas, body and bulk. Have Irish Breakfast Tea and Irish moss, Simply Organic gluten-free certified products and other gluten-free baking and cooking ingredients. We buy
alcohol-free vanilla extract from the co-op.

My Recipes
Search for St. Patrick’s Day Recipes to get Luck O’ the Irish Menus, Eat Green for St.
Patrick’s Day and how to make green beer. Look under the “Healthy” tab at the
top of the page for a gluten-free section.
Site features: a Free Weekly Specials Newsletter filled with recipes, seasonal menus and special features, personal recipe box and menu finder.

Taste of Home
Look for St. Patrick’s Day Recipes under the Holiday & Celebration Recipes category.  Pick Irish recipes and create your own menu with appetizers, main and side dishes, desserts, drinks, green foods, plus decorating and entertaining ideas.
Site features: has a Special Diet section, but it does not include gluten-free diets. A search for “gluten free” will give you only 50 recipes, but there are more recipes on the site that are gluten-free or can be made gluten-free easily. You will also find cooking techniques videos, cooking school information and contest information.

Please let Maria and I know if you try any recipes from these sources that you like. Now, go put on some green, use some natural green food coloring in your gluten-free beer and find yourself a pot of gold coins, or at least some golden Irish butter or cheese.(Susan)

Happy Valentine's Day from us. Recently I took a candy making class that was part of a senior enrichment program at a local church. To celebrate the holiday, we are sharing some of the class recipes. The instructor, Norma, has been a chef, caterer, restaurant owner and candy maker at our local Hansel & Gretel Candy Kitchen in Northeast Georgia (US). Her boss (David Jones) at Hansel & Gretel wrote the book Candy Making for Dummies, which has more than 100 recipes plus candy tips and tricks.

In the class, we made pecan pralines, corn flake candy, rocky road candy, bonbons with coconut centers, no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies, pecan clusters, mendiants and chocolate truffles. All of the recipes were gluten free, but Norma’s chocolate supplies (dark, milk and white) were processed in a plant that also processes wheat. Therefore, I could only taste the products that did not have her chocolate as an ingredient or were made with the gluten-free chocolate that I brought with me. That means I didn’t get to eat the store-bought, gluten-free, heart-shaped pink and white marshmallows that we dipped in Norma’s dark and white chocolate and decorated with sprinkles. They were very pretty.

Here are three of the class recipes: one for peanut butter balls, one for pecan pralines and one for corn flake candy. All are easy to make, but not healthy, so eat and share in moderation with all your Funny Valentines.

 PEANUT BUTTER BALLS
 Servings:  30 pieces
 Preparation Time:  40 minutes with resting time
 Cooking Time:  None
 
INGREDIENTS
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 pound melted gluten-free chocolate for dipping

DIRECTIONS
Stir together sugar, peanut butter and butter until well mixed. You can mix by hand or with an electric mixer. Shape mixture into one-inch balls, placing them on a baking sheet covered with waxed or parchment paper. Let balls sit for 20 minutes until drier. When drier, drop balls one at a time in the melted chocolate. Using a fork, remove balls from chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip off. Place dipped balls back on waxed or parchment paper and let stand until dry. Store tightly covered in a cool, dry place.

NOTES
Norma got this recipe from Food.com.  Elizabeth Barbone included a similar recipe in her cookbook,  Easy Gluten-Free Baking. She calls the confectionary “No Bake Peanut Butter Balls” and uses different proportions for the ingredients, and different directions.

PECAN PRALINES
Servings: 15-20 pieces
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS
 2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup half-and-half
1/3 stick butter        
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups whole or chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients except pecans in heavy saucepan. Stir mixture  over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Turn heat down to medium low and continue to stir.
Spoon mixture up on sides of pan to melt any sugar that hasn’t melted. You can also wipe down the sides of the pan with a damp paper towel. Cook until mixture reaches 238º F. to 241º F. on a candy thermometer or soft ball stage. Stir in pecans. Remove
from heat. Stir until mixture begins to thicken and becomes creamy and cloudy. Drop onto parchment paper, using a spoon or scoop. Let  cool.
 
NOTES
Norma got this recipe from Food Network. Larger pecans can be chopped; smaller pecans can be left whole. These pralines have a smooth texture, not the grainy one that you sometimes get with pralines.
 
CORN FLAKE CANDY 
Servings:  3 dozen
Preparation Time:  20 minutes
Cooking Time:  None
 
INGREDIENTS:        
1 cup sugar        
1 cup corn syrup or other liquid sweetener like agave nectar
12 ounces peanut butter
6 cups gluten-free corn flakes

DIRECTIONS
Heat sugar and syrup to boiling, making sure all sugar is  dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in peanut butter and add corn flakes, mixing  well. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto waxed paper or parchment paper. Let  cool.

We’d love to know if you try these recipes furing the year and how they work for you. 
(Susan)

Maria and I recently posted an overview article on Tasting Table, a free daily publication that delivers “the best of food and drink culture to adventurous eaters across the country.” This posting is a follow-up one to the first Tasting Table posting, and is intended to give you a sample of the type of  information we read and use and forward to friends from the company.We have fun sharing the information, and feel like perfectly “normal” foodies when we do it.

 Dining In:  For 2012, Tasting Table is launching a new feature series dedicated to the art of entertaining. The year starts with a casual gathering of friends as an antidote to holiday excesses. On the menu are glogg, lamb daube and chocolate mousse with elderflower whipped cream. For the lamb, you will need to use gluten-free products for the flour and baquette, but the glogg (a Swedish mulled wine) and the dessert recipes are gluten-free as written. Tips are included on wine and atmosphere.
 Chefs’ Recipes: Every week Tasting Table sends us recipes from well-known chefs; many of these recipes are gluten free, or can be made gluten-free easily. The recipe I plan to try next is  Pinto Beans with Kale and Adobo Sauce, which was adapted from Tyler Morris, the executive chef at Rye restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky. These beans can be served as a side or for a stand-alone lunch.
Dining, Local and National Picks: Tasting Table publishes an email for food lovers in five cities each day around lunchtime. The cities are New York City (NYC), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Did you know that Nonna’s Table in NYC
stocks gluten-free pasta? And that Sean Brock, chef of Husk, a fairly new Charleston restaurant that has been receiving national attention, has gluten-free menu options? Maria and I had brunch at Husk last spring with my daughter and two friends. The menu focuses on regional cuisine. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal.(Advance reservations are a must!) 
Traveling Table: Atlanta: We read all about Atlanta’s inaugural Food & Wine Festival, held in May 2011, and then opened up a crib sheet of local pit stops that we can tell our Georgia visitors to try. We had no idea that Hector Santiago, chef at Pure Vida and a
former Top Chef show contender, had tried a Latino sandwich shop. Maria and I
love his gluten-free tapas, which we think are good enough to have landed Atlanta on Tasting Tables’ list of 2011 Best Weekend Food Trips. Alas, the only Southern cities included were Asheville and New Orleans.

If you check out Tasting Table, please let us know if you like it. (Susan)

One of the fun email memberships that I have is for Tasting Table, which is a free daily publication that delivers “the best of food and drink culture to adventurous eaters across the country.” Each weekday, Tasting Table sends its foodie members a story related to dining out, cooking at home, cocktails, wines, chefs, etc.  
 
Does Tasting Table specifically target our gluten-free community? No, but many of the recipes are naturally gluten-free, or can be modified to be gluten free without a lot of effort. For example, Tasting Table is now offering a free digital cookbook with 12 recipes from its Sous Chef Series. Each recipe was adapted for the home cook in its Test Kitchen. Nine of the recipes are gluten free as written;three call for flour, bread crumbs and soy sauce and one salad calls for farro, but you can make easy substitutions with gluten-free products. Farro is a variety of hard, non-hybridized wheat kernel that has been grown and used in Italy for centuries. Maria and I are planning to use quinoa, rice or gluten-free pasta in the farro salad recipe.
 
Tasting Table, which published its first daily email in 2008, considers itself unique because it makes epicurean recommendations that are "authentic, trustworthy and actionable.” The company says you can get the most from its information services by taking the following steps:  
        
Keep Current With Dining Dispatch: to keep you current on food news in your neighborhood, it reports on openings, closings and other major updates in the Dining Dispatch [URL] section at the bottom of its local-edition emails.       
Use Its Short List Cheat Sheet: Also at the bottom of its city edition emails is
the Short List, your quick guide to where its editors are eating right now, and
a handy cheat sheet for when you need to find a last-minute dinner spot.        
Build Your To-Do List: When an article piques your interest, just click the red “Save This” button at the bottom of the article to store that recommendation to your personalized To-Do list. Access your personal list anytime by clicking “To-Dos” in the navigation bar at Tasting Table. It even keeps your list organized by category: Dining, Wine, Drinks, Cooking, Travel and More.       
Take It To-Go: Download a free iPhone application, Tasting Table To-Go, to take your To-Do list with you, to access the Short List cheat sheet, to read articles from the archives or to use a map to find Tasting Table recommendations near your current location.    
Plan Ahead With Weekend Menu: Each Thursday, city editions publish a Weekend
Menu, which rounds up the best culinary events happening in multiple cities. From street fairs to wine tastings to cooking classes and beyond, it previews the weekend’s upcoming events so you can plan ahead.        
Follow Your Stomach With Flight Plan: Once monthly, the National edition publishes food news from international food festivals to regional wine pressings and more.        
Get Social: It’s not always fun to dine alone. Take advantage of the share buttons at the bottom of every Tasting Table email to forward an article to friends, or to post
to your Facebook, Twitter or Google+ feeds.
 
Tasting Table offers eight city editions, plus a national edition. Its city editors publish local picks daily in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, DC. When you join Tasting Table, your zip code is used to suggest the closest edition to your hometown, but you can add other city editions in case you want information from other locations.

For an extra helping of Tasting Table, you can sign up for two specialty editions with your membership:   
     
Chefs’Recipes Tasting Table: Chefs' Recipes shares exclusive recipes from
 buzz-worthy chefs around the country, adapted for the home cook. Every recipe
 is thoroughly evaluated in Tasting Table’s Test Kitchen.        
Top Shelf: Once a week, Tasting Table Top Shelf delivers the latest trends, cocktail recipes, ingredients and spirits shaping liquid culture from coast to coast. 
 
By now, you have either lost interest in this posting or are thinking about signing up. Give it a try! It is free and you can always cancel your membership if you don’t think the emails are useful, or decide your email inbox is too full. As for me, I am happily sharing Tasting Table’s Fifty Best Bars story with friends in Atlanta and other cities that made the list. Maria and I are hoping for reports back on which bars have good gluten-free beer and bar food. (Susan)

 

This salad is too pretty to eat, but make it anyway. It’s delicious, and will give you an excuse to stroll through your favorite international Farmers’ Market sipping fair trade coffee as you select additional ingredients to add.

Gluten-Free Pomegranate Salad

Servings: 8
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: none, except for toasting pecans

INGREDIENTS/DIRECTIONS, PECANS
3-4 ounces freshly toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350º F. Put whole or chopped nuts onto a baking sheet and place in oven for 5 to 6 minutes, tossing gently from time to time and watching closely to prevent burning. Cool before adding to salad.

INGREDIENTS/DIRECTIONS, VINAIGRETTE
·         2 tablespoons plus two teaspoons Balsamic or Sherry vinegar
·         2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
·         2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
·         Salt and freshly ground pepper
·         5 tablespoons plus one teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Mix first four ingredients together and then whisk in the olive oil until emulsified.

INGREDIENTS/DIRECTIONS, SALAD
·         Selection of lettuces, watercress and rocket leaves (if available)
·         3 ripe Fuyu persimmons (look for little, firm persimmons)
·         3 ripe d'Anjou or other pears
·         1 lime, freshly squeezed
·         Seeds from ½ pomegranate

Wash and dry the greens and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Cut the persimmons and pears into 1/4 inch slices. Put slices into a medium bowl and sprinkle with lime juice. Add pomegranate seeds and toss gently.

To serve this salad, toss the greens in some of the vinaigrette and arrange greens on eight plates. Toss fruit mixture lightly in remaining vinaigrette. Arrange on top of greens and sprinkle with toasted pecans. Serve immediately before the vinaigrette turns the greens limp.

NOTES
This salad looks great on a serving tray for a family style dinner or a buffet. Adapted with permission from Ballymaloe Cookery School recipes. (Susan)

The weather is delightful in Northeastern Georgia (US), with warm days and cool nights. It’s a perfect time to think about soups and salads for dinner. We recommend a simple pureed potato soup and a winter green salad with cider vinaigrette dressing. Here are the recipes:

POTATO SOUP
Servings:  6
Preparation Time:  20 minutes
Cooking Time:  30 - 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS
·         4 tablespoons butter
·         1¼ pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch cubes
·         3/4 cup diced onions, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch cubes
·         5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
·         1/2 cup milk of any kind
·         Salt and freshly ground black pepper
·         Freshly chopped herbs and herb flowers (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in heavy saucepan. When butter foams, add potatoes and onions and toss in butter until well coated. Season with salt and pepper. Cover vegetables with a piece of parchment paper, put the lid on the saucepan and sweat on gentle heat for 10 minutes or more until tender, but not colored.

While the vegetables are sweating, bring stock to boil. When vegetables are tender, add them to the stock and continue to cook until they are soft. Puree soup in blender or food processor. Taste and adjust seasoning. Soup will be a little thin. Can serve topped with a few freshly chopped herbs (e.g., parsley, chives, rosemary, etc.),  gluten-free croutons, sausage or pesto.

NOTES
It is important to season the potato and onion base well at the beginning. You can correct the seasoning at the end, but it’s difficult to get it right if no salt was added during the sweating stage. Soup freezes well.

WINTER GREENS SALAD
Servings: as much as you want
Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: none 

INGREDIENTS/DIRECTIONS
Use your favorite selection of winter lettuces and salad leaves, e.g., butterhead, radicchio, endive, chicory, watercress, chard and whatever else you find in the market that looks interesting. You can add tips of purple sprouting broccoli, some finely-shredded Savory cabbage or a few pieces of red cabbage.

Wash and dry your lettuces, leaves and other ingredients carefully. Tear into bite sized pieces and put into a deep salad bowl. Cover with cling-wrap and refrigerate. Just before serving, toss with only enough dressing to make the greens glisten. Serve immediately with your soup.

CIDER VINAIGRETTE DRESSING
Servings: makes scant 2 cups (3/4 pint)
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time:  none

INGREDIENTS
·         1½ cups olive oil
·         Scant 1/2 cup (3 fluid ounces) cider vinegar
·         4 teaspoons mustard with honey
·         1 teaspoon pure honey
·         1 crushed clove garlic
·         Salt and freshly group black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a glass jar with a lid, shake and then whisk well before use. Use only enough to make the greens glisten and serve right away before the greens go limp.

Let us know if you like these recipes, which were adapted with permission from Ballymaloe Cookery School. (Susan)

Maria and I were at a food bloggers conference this year that featured information on US-grown peanuts displayed at one of the vendor booths. According to the National Peanut Board, peanuts have great taste, versatility and good nutrition. Peanuts, the board explains in one of its brochures, have more protein than any other nut; more antioxidants than broccoli, carrots or green tea; and over 30 vitamins and nutrients. Peanuts, the board says, will give you “Energy for the Good Life.”

We got recipes for Masala Slaw, Peanut Parmesan Spiced Chicken Cutlet, Boiled Peanut Hummus and Crisp Pork Belly with Peanut Slaw. All these recipes are gluten-free, except for the chicken recipe that will require a gluten-free substitute for the Japanese panko breadcrumbs. You can find most of these recipes, and many more, on the National Peanut Board website.

While you are on the website, check out the “Innovative Ingredients” tab to read about defatted roasted peanut flour that provides a fat-free, gluten-free boost to a variety of food items. It contains over twice the protein than all purpose white wheat flour, according to the peanut board, and is a “great  thickener for soups, and a flavorful aromatic ingredient for a variety of breads and pastries, as well as a creative and flavorful coating for meats, fish and other center of the plate proteins.” The recipes section of the board’s website does have recipes calling for peanut flour; some are gluten free, but others would have to be modified.

Here is one of the gluten-free recipes we plan to try, since neither of us have a peanut allergy:

PEANUT SLAW

INGREDIENTS
·         2 cups shaved savoy cabbage
·         1/2 cup grated carrot
·         1/2 cup julienned red onion
·         1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
·         1/4 cup roasted peanut oil
·         2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
·         1/2 cup minced scallions
·         1/4 cup shelled, roasted peanuts

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss well to combine. Let set for about 30 minutes before serving.

If you make any of the peanut recipes, or try peanut flour in a recipe, we’d love to hear about your results. We’d also be interested in knowing your source for peanut flour; we are planning to order it from Nuts Online, since their peanut flour is certified as gluten free. (Susan)