September 1 - 8

September 1- Leftover Shrimp Enchiladas
I have an unwritten (well, I guess it is written now, eah?) rule that if a recipe is super time intensive that it should make enough to cover two nights of dinner. Luckily, the shrimp enchiladas from August 31 made enough for two nights plus some lunches. These bad boys were delicious. AND, I had leftover filling that I added to quesadillas for lunches this week, too. nomnomnom

September 2 - GF Corn Dogs and Power Greens Salad
Nothing says "home alone with the toddler" like this meal's title, does it? My hubs was out to dinner with an old friend and so I spared no expense on the cuisine this evening. The weren't even very good, sadly. The crust came off while they were cooking, so really I had salad with a hot dog with some corn croutons. Sad. The glass of wine from a box really classed this meal up, though. ;)

September 3 - Banh Mi Bowls
Remember that curry that I made a few weeks ago that I called "stupid easy" where I just keep thinking surely I missed a step because it was so straight forward? Well, this recipe goes into the category "stupid hard" because none of the steps were particularly difficult, but there were so many of them and they seemed to take forever. I kept trying to make this dish (it lost rank on our meal plan at least three times) but getting stopped because of a lack of preparation (pickled salad has to marinate for a day, tofu has to dry out for an hour and then marinate for 20 minutes). I won't lie that when I finally go around to making it I kind of hoped that it turned out horribly so I wouldn't have to make it again. For better and for worse it was A MAZE ING. My husband all but begged me to make it again and commented about how it was restaurant quality a couple times. Thanks babe! So, this one will make it back into our repertoire at some point, but when I have my wits about me enough to do the appropriate planning and prep. I was impressed at how this blogger was able to be so spot-on in her measurements and estimates of serving size. Most of the time with a recipe that has this many elements I have way too much or too little of something. This one worked beautifully. That said, I would double everything but the pickled salad so that we had more leftovers.

September 4 - Black Bean Patties with Avocado Salsa and Sweet Potato Chips
I've had this one around for a while and I still have this muscle memory that it is "hard" and involves a lot of work. I think that stems from the skills I had in the kitchen when I first started making it. Now that I know how to chop, prep, and keep my ingredients in order this one is super easy. I adapt it by simply mincing the garlic into the black bean mixture and omitting the whole boil and mash process for the garlic. If I'm wanting a super-easy shortcut I use two cans of mandarin oranges instead of slicing the segments with a knife. The latter is certainly more time-intensive but also more tasty. The recipe doesn't denote that you need to peel the oranges with a knife, however, so be sure to do that (cut both ends and then carry the knife down the interior of the peel just where it meets the flesh).  

September 5 - Chandra Malai Kofta with Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Kale Salad, and Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (dessert)
We were at a friend's house for this meal and they made the kofta, sprouts, and salad. WOW! It was amazing. Will definitely be something I recreate, especially for a special occasion or a crowd. The kofta are little vegetable dumplings, reminiscent of a falafel. Our host used GF pretzels instead of bread crumbs, it worked well. The sauce is basically a curry (though very mild) and the ground cashews give it a nutty, wholesome texture. The roasted sprouts were also tasty, roasted in the oven until tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. I didn't happen to get a recipe for the kale salad, rather, I noted that they kale was chopped finely (but not grated) and coated with a light citrus vinaigrette (I'm guessing olive oil and lemon juice?) and then tossed with raisins. Yum. The toddler devoured the kofta and sauce (he even had seconds!). Thanks Emily and Brant for a delicious and nutritious dinner! The company and your home were lovely.

I made the carrot cake and it is quickly becoming a go-to specialty dessert for me (made it at Easter and received the same reviews then as I did this time). I used eggs (instead of making flax eggs) and I made a traditional cream cheese frosting (I make the addition of 1 tsp vanilla extract and 2 tsps lemon juice). I suggest using freshly grated carrots for the cake, it really does make a difference. And, as always, I use a blend of flours: 1.5 cups of the Namaste Perfect Gluten Free Flour Blend, 1/2 cup of coconut flour, and 1/2 cup almond flour. I used only 3/4 cup of each sugar and it was still plenty sweet, I might even try just 1/2 cup of each next time I make it. And, finally, I use melted coconut oil and used it in place of the vegetable oil.

September 6 - Hazelnut Crusted Salmon and Harvest Fruit Roasted Chicken
We hosted a quarterly gathering of some of our best friends. The theme this time was "Farm to Table" so I went to Flying Fish Co. to get the salmon (Columbia River King) and to SuDan Farms to get the chicken. Both protein sources were amazing. Neither recipe was to-die-for. It was our first roasted bird (and admittedly I did very little of the dirty work on it, thanks to my husband and my dear friend Dante).

I think the salmon would have benefited from more salt and more time in the oven. I also think that the marinade should have been oil rather than butter based.

For the chicken, I liked all the elements that went into it and it smelled AMAZING while it was cooking, but it lacked seasoning. I think I would have done some salted butter under the skin while it cooked to help with that. I added a chopped shallot to the mix of aromatics as well as halved the amount of raisins and supplemented with 1/2 cup of dried cherries. We ended up adding broth and water to the pan while it cooked. I would start with that to avoid some of the catching that happened to the aromatics in roasting pan.

Also at this meal was this Grilled Corn and Pasilla Pepper Salad  that I am certainly going to make again as well as: marinated tomatoes, marinated mushrooms, homemade salsas (green and pico de gallo), homemade vanilla ice cream a top a GF peach buckle, and peach puree and apple cider based cocktails. We know how to do it right! Thanks to all our chefs for making it another memorable Quarerly!

September 7 - Hazelnut Chicken Salad
You'll notice that this recipe calls for almonds. I had freshly roasted and chopped hazelnuts on hand, though, so I substituted. It worked out well. I'm sure you could really use any type of nut. Since I didn't want to bother looking for GF pitas we served this a top a bed of field greens. It was tasty. I used the leftover roasted chicken from the day before. 

September 8 - Thai Style Turkey Lettuce Wraps
This is a recipe I got from my sister. It is easy and yummy and surprisingly kid friendly. I served it tonight to two toddlers and they both ate it right up. Fair warning, it is a messy one, so be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand. Or, add some cooked rice to the mix to soak up the sauce before you put it in the lettuce shells. If any one has tips for how to peel the leaves off a head of iceberg to make them functional cups, please share! I'd love to know the secret of what they do at P. F. Changs to get them so firm and uniform.

1 cup thinly sliced leeks (about 2)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 lb ground turkey (lean)
1 TBS red curry paste
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 light coconut milk
1 TBS brown sugar
Grate rind from one lime 
Juice from one lime
1 TBS Asian fish sauce
1 head iceberg lettuce
Chopped basil
Chopped green onions

Combine curry paste, tomato sauce, coconut milk, brown sugar, lime rind, lime juice, and fish sauce in a bowl. Set aside. Saute leeks and garlic in a pan until leeks are separated and begin to caramelize. Add turkey and cook until it is separated and becomes slightly browned. Add the liquid mixture and stir. Allow to simmer until about half of the liquid is absorbed into the turkey.

Serve in iceberg lettuce leaves topped with chopped basil and green onions.