The Weekly Menu

Category: Vegan & Vegetarian

Gluten-Free Recipes / Snacks / Vegan & Vegetarian

Homemade Red Salsa | Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

Homemade Red Salsa Do you have a favorite recipe for red salsa? We’ve been playing around with different variations of homemade organic red salsa and I really like this one! It is easy and has a little kick to it. Since we are trying to keep it mostly organic we’ve used Muir Glen whole tomatoes, fresh organic peppers, onion, and garlic. Of course, you can add more peppers and different types to adjust the heat level, too.   We’ve also use fresh tomatoes as well and fire roast them with the other veggies. So the secret is roasting the veggies under the broiler to get a little char before blending them together.   I saw someone else make it that way, so I had to try...

homemade Asian fried rice with peas, water chestnut, eggs, mushroom, broccoli

Dinner / Gluten-Free Recipes / Vegan & Vegetarian

Asian Fried Rice | Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

Hello Meatless Monday! So Asian Fried Rice? It’s been done before. Why blog it again?  I’m sharing this recipe because Asian fried rice recipes have been a challenge for me.   And trust me that I’ve tried to make ‘Chinese Fried Rice’ with old cooked rice and cold rice – all the ways they’ve said to make fried rice – but it just never works for me. I get mush, especially with Basmati rice. I need something just a little bit easier. So I adapted the method I use to make other rice dishes like Mexican rice, restaurant style Tex-Mex rice and my mom’s decadent and sweet carrot rice.   The steps to make the Asian fried rice are pretty easy: The Basmati rice is actually fried in oil first until...

Gluten-Free Recipes / Side Dish / Vegan & Vegetarian

Mexican Rice | Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

Easy Mexican Rice Maybe because I’m half Persian and always have Basmati rice in the pantry, but I just love rice dishes. All kinds of rice dishes from sweet to savory.   My mom used to make this decadent sweet carrot rice for special occasions now we make it more often since it’s a slightly cleaner version. And I just love this restaurant style Tex-Mex rice!  Oh and then there is Cajun bison dirty rice. Another one of our favorite side dishes is this recipe for naturally gluten-free, dairy-free Mexican rice.   You can make it so many different ways and depending on what you have on hand.   It starts with frying white Basmati rice in olive oil, but from there the recipe is really...

Breakfast / Gluten-Free Recipes / Vegan & Vegetarian

Vegan Banana Oat Muffins | Gluten-Free

Vegan Banana Oat Muffins I’ve been working on a basic breakfast muffin recipe that is quick and easy to make as well as healthy and nutritious without eggs because I know so many people have a sensitivity to eggs. This one for vegan banana oat muffins is my favorite so far. Some Celiacs are sensitive to oats as well so if you are newly diagnosed check with your doctor about adding oats to your diet. I like using oat and sorghum flour and walnuts and rolled oats for the nutrients and fiber.   But I’m pretty sure you can adjust the flours and nuts to your preference. It just takes a little practice and patience getting used to new flours when baking. What makes this...

Gluten-Free Recipes / Side Dish / Vegan & Vegetarian

Roasted Spiced Potatoes | Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

Roasted Spiced Potatoes This is one of our favorite side dishes – roasted spiced potatoes!   And if you like roasted potatoes, you’ll love these spiced potato wedge nachos.  A happy accident with chili seasoned potatoes, vegan nacho cheese and pickled jalapeño peppers. These potato wedges are naturally gluten and casein-free (check your spices) and super easy to make with any kind of potato.   We definitely only buy organic potatoes though.  I read years ago that potatoes are heavily doused in pesticides.  And they routinely show up on the EWG dirty dozen list.   I really like potatoes because they actually contain a lot of nutrients – potassium, fiber, calcium, vitamin C, iron, vitamin B6 and magnesium.   It’s crazy that a medium potato...

Gluten-Free Recipes / Snacks / Urban Patio Gardening / Vegan & Vegetarian

Quick Pickled Jalapeños | Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

Quick Pickled Jalapeños When our jalapeño plant is producing well we like to quick pickle the peppers just to use in recipes like spicy chicken spaghetti or in a hummus or to eat with nachos.   Most store bought versions of pickled jalapeños either contain yellow dye or distilled grain vinegar. Jeff’s Naturals is a good choice for free and clear pickled jalapeños. It is really a pretty simple process to do this at home.   You will need: 3/4 cup water 3/4 cup GF distilled white vinegar 3 tbsp raw cane sugar 1 tbsp kosher salt 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp oregano 2-3 large jalapeños, sliced into rings 8 oz canning jar Before prepping the jalapeños, wash, rinse and dry them. Slice the...

Dinner / Gluten-Free Recipes / Vegan & Vegetarian

Veggie Paella | Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

Veggie Paella We are always looking for interesting meatless meals to have at least once a week for Meatless Monday.  Some of our favorites are simply black beans and cilantro lime rice. Or a simple Caesar salad with homemade dressing.  Or lots of fried goodies like these fried artichoke hearts. But I wanted to try something a little more complex.  And I was inspired by Giada’s recipe for vegetable paella.   So why not test my hand at this amazing veggie paella while keeping it gluten and dairy-free. So I’ve made this veggie paella several times but altered some of the vegetables.  I’m not a fan of radishes but love cauliflower seasoned with bright spices. You could probably use any vegetables you like and it’s a...

Gluten-Free Recipes / Sweets / Vegan & Vegetarian

Chocolate Sweet Potato Brownies | Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

Chocolate Sweet Potato Brownies I love brownies! I don’t have a sweet tooth but I do love a chewy gooey brownie. And why not healthify them. These chocolate sweet potato brownies are delicious, nutritious and allergy friendly. I’ve made them allergy friendly by making them eggless, gluten-free, casein-free, dairy-free, nut-free and soy-free. But how do we make these a little more nutritious? Well instead of bleached flour, sugar, butter, chocolate and eggs – we are adding in stuff that is really much better for you. We use mashed sweet potato, ghee, organic raw cane sugar, gluten-free flour, cinnamon, cayenne and ripe mashed banana. Then just add cocoa powder and a few baking ingredients to make an amazing brownie out of it. The recipe is also...

Gluten-Free Recipes / Sweets / Vegan & Vegetarian

Orange Marmalade Oatmeal Cookies | Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

These orange marmalade oatmeal cookies are naturally gluten-free, dairy-free (ghee and coconut oil) and egg-free.  They are highly addictive and super easy to make from scratch. Gluten-free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Orange Marmalade Cookies It’s not something we make often, but I wanted to make a gluten-free Chicken L’Orange recipe for The Weekly Menu II eCookbook.  As a special treat for Christmas dinner.   So I found gluten-free marmalade (Bonne Maman) and the recipe only required two tablespoons.   You know I hate to waste food.   So what was I going to do with the rest of it?   I thought why don’t I adapt my recipe for cranberry oatmeal cookies into some type of orange marmalade oatmeal cookies.   And on the first try they...

Dinner / Gluten-Free Recipes / Vegan & Vegetarian

Kale Pesto | Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Kale Pesto Pesto is such an easy thing to whip up in the blender.  Usually it is made with fresh basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, lemon and olive oil.   But I wanted to try it with everyone’s favorite superfood – kale. And we took out the Parmesan to make it casein/dairy-free.   It turned out wonderful.   Toss is with some gluten-free pasta and you have an easy, tasty, quick dinner!  Perfect for Meatless Monday! Or you can make it a pasta side dish with roasted spiced chicken or Italian turkey meatballs.  I’ve also used pesto on top of a cooked chicken breast and covered with bacon based on a dish I had years ago at Kerbey Lane.   There are so many...