Scalloped Ham and Potatoes with Goat Cheese

Food and Holidays go so well together, and Easter is no exception. Ham and asparagus are always on the menu at our home. Most hams contain sulfites, dextrose and other undesirable ingredients. Luckily, Whole Foods and other natural food grocers carry more alternatives to mass-produced, chemically-stuffed, inhumanely treated little piggies. Niman Ranch is just the kind of rancher who pays careful attention to the environment as well as the health of the animals and those who eat them. One taste of a Niman Ranch ham and you will know quality.

1-1 1/2 cups ham, diced
2 pounds potatoes, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 tbsp butter or ghee
2 cups chicken broth, warmed
4-6 ounce goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste

• Saute onion in butter over med-low heat until soft but not brown
• Stir potatoes into butter and onion mixture
• In a buttered 2 quart baking dish, layer half of the potatoes then half of the ham. Repeat layers again.
• In a blender mix the chicken broth and goat cheese. Pour over the layered ham and potatoes.
• Cover and bake at 375 degrees for half an hour. Uncover and bake for 25 more minutes or when potatoes are fork tender.

Gluten-Free Fettucine with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

 

I just recently tested tomatoes on rotational basis and did not have a reaction: YAY! I am not brave enough to eat a marinara or red meat sauce yet, but an occasional tomato on a salad, with an egg, or on a sandwich is a beautiful thing! In its stead I developed a roasted red pepper sauce that is wonderfully rich on pasta or white fish. I think jarred peppers would work, but roasting your own peppers is so aromatic as well as simple.

 

To roast, heat up the grill or broiler to med-high (mine is about 400-450 degrees). Put peppers on and turn every 4 minutes or so, whenever the skin turns black. Once all sides are black, take off grill (or out from under broiler) and place in a glass or metal bowl and cover with a lid or foil to steam. After about 12-20 minutes, peel the charred skin off. It should come right off. Then pull the stem out which pulls out most of the seeds. Cut into fourths and scrape the seeds and veins off. They smell so good!

• 1, 14 ounce package of Tinkyada fettucine, cooked and rinsed (or other favorite GF pasta)
• 1/3 cup chopped white or yellow onion
• 2 tbsp oil (olive, grapeseed, safflower or other oil of choice)
• 1 jar or 4 roasted red peppers
• 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp slivered basil
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Saute onion in oil over med-low heat, until soft but not brown. Add roasted red peppers, onion, vinegar, broth and goat cheese in blender or food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Place cooked and rinsed pasta and sauce in the same pan the pasta was cooked and heat until hot. Or heat sauce and pour over hot pasta. Serve in a pasta bowl and top with basil and toasted pine nuts.

 Toasted pine nuts: toast nuts in a dry skillet over med-high heat, shaking pan often to toast evenly

For fish: replace red wine vinegar with lemon juice

 

Sausage, Goat Cheese, and Roasted Red Pepper Mini-Quiches

Please excuse my ametuer photography-it's a work in progresss

A tasty quiche is a top contender for my favorite breakfast food. Of course, a buttery crust is just about my favorite part. Since removing gluten and rice from my pantry of cooking ingredients, I have temporarily omitted the crust in my quiche. Another challenge of making a great quiche is the lack of dairy. By dairy, I am referring to the bovine sort. I can, however, eat goat dairy-YAY! Did you know that goat dairy is easier to digest than cow dairy? There are several reasons for this: First, it has a different casein protein than cow’s milk, much more similar to the protein found in human milk. Second, the fatty acid chains are shorter, thus easier to break down during digestion. Third, the minerals (including calcium) are more bioavailable than those in cow’s milk. And fourth, there is less lactose, which causes problems for many people. Personally, I have yet to develop a taste for goat’s milk, but I so love goat’s cheese!

Thanks to the lovely moms in our playgroup for taste-testing these little quiches!

5 eggs
3/4 cup of cashew cream (regular cream is delish if you can tolerate)
1 tbls mayo
2 oz. Goat Cheese (more if you love it)
Salt and Pepper
Roasted Red Peppers (2 small or 1 large), chopped
½ lb sausage, cooked and crumbled (Mulay's is a definite fave)
2 tbls scallions/minced onion
1 tbls chopped parsley if not using scallions for color

• Prepare a 12 cup muffin pan with muffin liners 
• Blend the eggs, salt, pepper, and cream in a blender 
• Stir in onion 
• Place the sausage in the bottom of the liner (in the pan), top with roasted red pepper, and lots of crumbled goat cheese 
• Pour egg mixture on top of sausage and bake at 350 ̊ for about 23-25 minutes. Keep an eye on the time because I am at high altitude and used a stoneware muffin pan, which sometimes lengthens the baking time.  

Cashew Cream

• Soak 1 cup of raw cashews in water overnight or 8 hours 
• Drain and Rinse  
• Place cashews and 1 cup of fresh water in blender (a Vita-Mix is the very best tool for this job) and blend a few minutes. If there are still small pieces of unblended cashews, blend more and strain if necessary  
• The cream thickens upon chilling. For the recipe above, I used it right away without chilling

Savory Cream: add a few dashes of salt when blending
Sweet Cream: add vanilla extract or the insides of a vanilla bean, a single dash of salt, and a spoonful of your favorite sweetener (mine is honey or maple syrup)