What to do with Squash Leaves and Stems: 9 Gluten Free Ways to Use Squash Leaves (Tenerumi)

This post was originally published on August 18, 2013, but it's such a popular post this time of year I'm bumping it up so that those of you looking for ways to use up your squash leaves can find some suggestions.

Don't forget to check the comments section, as tons of people have been kind enough to share their wonderful recipes from around the world!!

Ever wondered if can you eat squash leaves? 

I noticed these big buckets of fuzzy, curly, decorative squash greens for the first time a while back at the farmers market. We eat a ton of greens, but I’ve never grown squash so it just never occurred to me to question if squash leaves are edible.

I asked the older Hmong lady selling them what to do with the squash leaves. She told me to peel the fuzzy skin off and boil them. This was rather vague, so as soon as I got my bunch home I scoured forums and blogs and found squash leaf recipes ranging from Hmong to Thai to Nigerian to Italian.

I’ve shared 9 different ways I found to make use of squash leaves and stems, as well as some tips for prepping and using them. So if you have pumpkins, zucchini or other squash spreading in your back yard, or you see a bunch of them at your farmers market, go buck wild with these ideas!

25 Gluten Free Beet Recipes: from Appies to Desserts

By now most people know that beets are a superfood. They can be eaten raw or cooked, pickled or pureed. I've used it to naturally colour icing and Watermelon Pudding. Since beets are quite hardy, they can often be found at locally grown year round, too. I've seen adorable baby beets and large ones at our local market the past few weeks.

Studies suggest that beets can reduce blood pressure and increase blood flow, and it is high in folate and manganese. Personally, I think beets are delicious, but I know not everyone else likes their sweet, earthy flavour.

The 25 recipes and ways to use beets in this post provide a multitude of ways to get yer beets, and many of them don't taste like beets at all. After all, beets and chocolate are an amazing combination!!

10 Ways to Use Hops Other than in Beer! + MeatlessMonday

Hop flowers are typically used in beer thanks to their antibacterial properties that help prevent spoilage, as well as for their ability to balance the sweetness of malt. They tend to have a bitter flavour, although there are dozens of varieties of hops with different flavours.

But a couple of weeks ago I mentioned in a post that I had received some beautiful hop flowers from one of the vendors at the local farmers market. Since I won't be brewing any time soon (although I do intend to try my hand at gluten free beer brewing this fall, so stick around for that!), I've been searching around online trying to figure out what one does with hops, other than making beer, of course.  (Yes, that is a beer in the background of the picture, but I didn't make it)

I've come up with a list of suggestions for ways to use hops and thought I'd share them with you. Some of you might just find hops at your local market, too, and want to give them a try. Or perhaps you've decided to brew as well and have a surplus of hop flowers.

They can make beautiful garnishes as well, so it's worth picking up a handful if you see them!

Farmers Market Finds (Being Locavore-ish)

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July! We went to our first Independence Day BBQ in the US last night and it was good fun.

The farmers market was pretty packed this morning and we didn't make it all the way around before we decided to bail out, but I did pick up a few good things. Here's the plan so far :

Sorghum & Citrus Sauteed Beet Greens (gluten free, vegan) for Meatless Monday

Yesterday at the farmers market I picked up a jar of organic sorghum syrup and a big bunch of baby beets with stems and greens attached.

If you've ever wondered if you can eat beet greens and what to do with them, or what to do with sorghum syrup, you might enjoy this Sorghum and Citrus Dressing. I like it so much that tomorrow I'll be tossing it on a plain salad along with some of those fresh hop flowers I got yesterday!

Farmers Market Finds - What Would You Do with This?

After having been away for a couple of weeks, I finally made it the Dane County Farmers Market to poke around and see what's in season right now. So here's my little stash of stuff, and I'd love to hear your suggestions on what you'd do with it! Especially that lovely bunch of asparagus.

So let your imagination run free and help a girl out here. Here are this week's finds:

My Gluten Free, Locavore-ish Weekly Meal Plan

So I’m a little behind making and posting this week’s meal plan, mostly because I’ve been a bit lackadaisical this weekend about putting it together. My apologies to anyone who came by looking for it! 

Part of the reason I’ve been lackadaisical about putting the meal plan together is because I’ve embarked on an intensive cooking project, one which involves making a whole lotta pasta. Anyone who has ever made pasta, ravioli, wontons, etc. will know how tiresome this can be. If you’re doing it every day the last thing you want to be doing is thinking about even more food. 

So far this past week I’ve made:

* GF fettuccine with salmon              * GF ravioli filled with ricotta and spinach

* steamed Asian rice noodles             * GF white ravioli balls with tomato cream sauce

* GF orzo                                           * basil and kale pesto

I’ll explain more about all this soon enough, but tonight I’m finally sitting down to plan this week’s cooking, so let the meal planning begin!

My GF, Locavore-ish Weekly meal Plan & 'What's Cookin' Sunday?'

Phew! Thank goodness we woke up early to get groceries, because as I’m writing this at 9:45am the sky has opened up and rain is pounding against our windows. 

But I have a confession to make. I didn’t go to the market today. I sent my husband on his own instead. At our bachata dance class last week I must have twisted my ankle a little because it’s been quite sore and tender so I’ve been trying to stay off of it, and keep it wrapped and iced. Since we don’t have a car in the US (weird laws around my Canadian car being considered an import), we always walk the 15 minutes to the market, and that’s too much back and forth for me right now.  

So now that my groceries have arrived, courtesy of my handsome young husband, let the weekly meal planning begin! 

Gluten Free Watermelon Pudding + Melon Allergies & Oral Allergy Syndrome

Pudding is free of gluten, dairy, soy, nuts, eggs, corn and sugar

Watermelon has left the building! 

I realize I'm behind on posting this. Most people have moved on from watermelon and summer fruit to pureeing and preserving pumpkins. I searched the farmers market in vain this weekend for more watermelon. But just over a week ago I shared a super frugal recipe for Watermelon Rind Soup, and I promised I would share another cooked watermelon recipe.

So this week I'm posting this funky pink pudding - Sicilian style. If you look hard enough, you can probably still find some watermelon so you can enjoy this on a sunny fall day.

My GF, Locavore-ish Weekly Meal Plan & 'What's Cookin' Sunday?'

Once again I’m proud of us for making to the farmers market by 8am! I even woke up before dawn and worked out before we had breakfast and headed out. I’m trying desperately to get my Oral Allergy Syndrome Cookbook ready for publication, so this week I intend to spend minimal time in the kitchen.

Well, except for the pumpkin pie I’m making today to take to a Canadian Thanksgiving potluck on Sunday.  I tested the recipe out on Thursday night and was very pleased, and a little alarmed, that my husband ate a whole ¾ of the pie yesterday!! Luckily he eats very healthy 95% of the time and has a high metabolism. 

I’m also excited about my husband making dinner tonight. He actually picked up 1lb of local emu meat at the market today and plans to make an emu stew. We don’t really eat much meat (at present there’s 1 meat recipe on my whole blog!) but I’m willing to give emu a try.

Now let the meal planning begin!

Gluten Free Cooked Watermelon Rind Soup: the health benefits of watermelon rind, OAS melon allergies & saving $$!

Free of gluten, eggs, dairy, nuts, soy, seafood, corn

Holy smokes is this ever cool! This soup is more than a quadruple threat -it's super frugal, it's easy, it's healthy, it's tasty, AND it's a safer way for people with oral allergy syndrome related melon allergies to eat watermelon! (i.e. me)

And if you hurry, you can probably still pick up some watermelon from your local farmers market to try this out!

My GF, Locavore-ish Weekly Meal Plan, and 'What's Cookin' Sunday?'

After battling the crowds last week at the farmers market, we set our alarm for 6:30am this morning and were out the door by 7:30 am. It was a lovely time to be at the market! The rising sun was streaming across the coffee shop patios around the capital square and it feels wonderful to get shopping over and done with by 8:30 Saturday morning. 

After unpacking and a quick breakfast, I've put together this week's meal plan - while watching last night's new episode of Project Runway ;) 

Now let the meal planning BEGIN!

Preserving and Freezing Dill for Winter

 

 I love fresh dill. I like it mixed into yogurt or cream cheese to spread on bread, and I love it in my Breakfast Veggie Omelettes. 

Come winter, though, and fresh dill is harder to find and more expensive. Yes, I could buy it at the grocery store, but where we are in Madison, WI, a small package of fresh dill can cost $3 AND it comes all the way from Michigan!!  

Right now I can get lovely bunches of fresh dill at the farmers market for $1. So in the spirit of being frugal and supporting local farmers, I'll be preserving a few bunches of it for the winter months.  Here's how I'm doing it...

My Gluten Free, Locavore-ish Weekly Meal Plan & 'What's Cookin' Sunday?'

Fall has definitely arrived. I woke up cold in the middle of the night last night and had to rummage in the dark for an extra blanket to help warm me up! 

With fall comes root veggies at the farmers market, so while I'll be sad to see some of the summer produce go I'm looking forward to more stews and baked dinners. 

This week's meal plan is still based around summer farmers market produce, but lunches and snacks involve a bit more baking than the last month's "too-hot-to-stand-in-the-kitchen" cooking.

Now let the meal planning BEGIN!

Healthier Gluten Free Apple Dumplings for National Apple Dumpling Day

Free of gluten, soy, eggs, nuts and corn

Am I on a roll or what?!  I've actually managed to post 2 national food day recipes ahead of time, 2 weeks in a row. I'm awfully proud of myself right now, especially since I usually end up scrambling at the last minute to clean up some pictures and post a recipe.  

September 17 is all about Apple Dumplings!  And in honour of it, I've created a slightly healthified Gluten Free Apple Dumplings recipe.  And my husband's response after biting into one? "Ohh... so you only made three of them? Damn."

Needless to say I'll be making these again. And soon. (I let him eat 2.5 of the 3!)

Happy National Apple Dumplings Day, I hope you enjoy this apple dumpling recipe

My GF, Locavore-ish Weekly Meal Plan & 'What's Cookin' Sunday?'

So the overwhelming drone of the giant summer cicadas is starting to slow to an occasional buzz and the weather is finally starting to feel like fall. Which means I finally feel like spending some time in the kitchen again!

Luckily it's that perfect time of year when the farmers market is still packed with produce and its not too hot to shop. We just got back from elbowing our way around the capitol to get a couple of bags of food for the week and I'm ready to share this week's meal plan! 

Well ok, we didn't really elbow anyone and thankfully we always try to make it there early enough that it's not too packed. *Hint - try to hit up the farmers market first thing in the morning. We sleep in on Sundays instead of Saturdays because we want to get to the market before it gets crazy busy (after about 10am), and then it's not much fun anymore.

My GF, Locavore-ish Weekly Meal Plan and What's Cookin' Sunday?

I must confess that the hint of cooler weather we had last week has been such a tease.  My apologies to those still enjoying the oppressive humidity, but I'm ready for fall, or at least fresh air that doesn't make me feel like my head is being crushed! 

When it comes to cooking in the heat I often find myself at a loss because I just don't want to be in the kitchen when the air conditioning unit is around the corner in the living room. 

So once again my meal plan and Sunday cooking is based around local farmers market produce and simple, quick meals for cooking in the heat. 

Gluten Free Baby Thai Eggplant Stir Fry (Soy-Free option)

Free of gluten, dairy, nuts, seafood, meat, eggs and with soy-free option

Have you seen those adorable teeny weeny green Thai eggplants at the farmers market or you CSA box yet? Wondering what to do with those little baby eggplants?

This simple gluten free Baby Thai Eggplant stir fry is a slightly sweet and spicy way to use up a bunch of local, in season veggies from the farmers market, CSA box or (if you're really lucky) your own garden.

Thai eggplant has a very mild taste compared to the usual bitter eggplant, and they absorb flavours wonderfully, so it doesn't take a lot of sauce to make baby eggplant flavourful. They also require much less preparation than regular, large purple eggplant, which usually needs to be salted and left to drain for awhile.

My Gluten Free, Locavore-ish Weekly Meal Plan, and What's Cookin' Sunday?

I've just gotten back from my weekly trip to the Farmers Market and have done up our Gluten Free, Locavore-ish Meal Plan for the week!  Like last week, this week's meal plan is pretty simple since I'm really focusing on finishing up the Oral Allergy Syndrome Cookbook and getting it all ready to go for printing.

I'm also really excited because this week I'll be experimenting with making Hot Cross Buns for National Hot Cross Buns Day. Gotta love these bizarre food holidays, right? So stay tuned for that.

Please check out last week's post on How and Why I Meal Plan {Gluten Free & Locavore-ish} if you're interested in the benefits of meal planning. I break down why meal planning helps save money and your sanity!

My Gluten Free Locavore-ish Weekly Meal Plan and What's Cookin' Sunday

 

My apologies to those of you who visited this post prior to Sept. 2, somehow it ended up as a repeat of the How and Why I Meal Plan post, when I'm pretty sure I had originally posted it as a meal plan!  *Sigh* another Blogger mystery. 

I've edited it to show last week's meal plan instead. So sorry 'bout that. 

We’ve made it our goal to buy as much as we can from the farmers market, and then meal plan around that.  We’re not 100% locavores, but we do our best to be as locavore-ish as possible so our meal plans are based around what we find at the farmers market.