Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa Recipe

It's tomato season and I bet many of you are searching for more ways to preserve the tomato harvest! Last year I had a bumper crop of roma tomatoes so I created this really easy fire-roasted tomato salsa recipe as a way to preserve the harvest. I had my freezer stocked full of salsa in various sized jars that we enjoyed through the winter months. I'm really happy to finally be sharing my recipe with you. It's a mix of roasted tomatoes and other raw ingredients, creating a nutrient-packed condiment!

Roasting tomatoes under the broiler brings out a stunning, sweet caramelized flavor, which adds depth and complexity to your salsa. It also releases some of the liquid in the tomatoes so your salsa does't end up too watery.

If you are looking for other ways to preserve your tomato harvest then you might want to try my Homemade Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce recipe, or simply freeze your tomatoes whole (stems removed). I like to take whole frozen roma tomatoes and soak them in hot water for a few minutes. This allows their skins to slip right off. Then I chop them up and add them to soups and stews in the wintertime.

Enjoy this flavorful salsa recipe with homemade gluten-free Brown Rice Flour Tortillas, cooked beans or meat, guacamole, and thinly sliced fresh greens.

Chicken Fajita Salad with Spicy Avocado Dressing

When summer's produce is in abundance we like to create meals that revolve around it, like this one. If you are vegan or vegetarian you can substitute cooked blacked beans or sautéed tempeh for the chicken. I think you'll find the Spicy Avocado Dressing rather addicting! Tom and I like to make a batch of this dressing with the whole jalapeño—seeds and all, but for the children we make it without the seeds.

Did you know that eating a small avocado with a meal containing carotenoids (found in the tomatoes, peppers, and salad greens) helps to absorb these beneficial compounds? Carotenoids, like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, gamma-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin all need to be consumed with fat to optimize absorption in the intestines. One also needs to have a functioning small intestine for this to occur (gluten, antibiotics, yeast overgrowth, and environmental toxins can damage the gut and impede absorption of fats and fat-soluble nutrients). Once in the body these carotenoids act as powerful antioxidants mopping up free radicals. Some of these carotenoids can also be converted into vitamin A (all-trans-retinol). We need vitamin A to assist with gene transcription, proper development of an embryo, various reproductive processes, night and color vision, skin health (acne), cellular communication, and proper immune function. Vitamin A is found in liver, meat, and dairy products. In order to convert carotenoids from plants into vitamin A we need to have adequate zinc and proper thyroid function as the T3 thyroid hormone helps in the conversion process. When pregnant and lactating the need for preformed vitamin A increases quite a bit so be sure to consume enough carotenoids from plants and vitamin A from animal sources, or if you are vegan, be sure to consume enough iodine, zinc, and selenium-rich foods for proper thyroid function so you can properly convert carotenoids from plants into Vitamin A.

Heirloom Tomato Basil Quinoa Salad

I love summertime's bounty of fresh produce! I created this recipe while visiting family in the Midwest, where you can actually find a variety of tomatoes this time of year. In the Pacific Northwest the tomatoes are not in abundance until August. Heirloom tomatoes have not been hybridized over the years and have a sweeter taste, but are also generally less resistant to disease, which is why they are not produced on a large scale. Look for them at your local food co-op or Farmer's Market in the summertime.

This salad pairs fresh tomatoes and basil along with cooked quinoa and finely diced sweet onion. Serve it as a light, nutritious lunch or share it at your next potluck picnic. For those of you not familiar with quinoa, it is a nutrient-dense grain packed with all essential amino acids, is gluten-free, and cooks up quite like couscous. It is best if the quinoa cools completely before you make this salad.

Since my children do not like fresh tomatoes, I cook up 3 cups of quinoa and remove a third of it to make a special salad just for them. In place of the tomatoes I use chopped cucumbers and they love it! Everything else stays the same.

Fresh Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce

This recipe in not the traditional way to make pasta sauce using fresh tomatoes. I take the easy and fast route. I just don't have time to remove the skins and seeds from 20 pounds of tomatoes each time I make sauce! Place fresh tomatoes in a blender and blend the seeds, skin, and all. Plus, this way we use the *whole food* -- the whole tomato. Once you begin to make your own you'll never want to go back to store-bought pasta sauce!

I have been buying cases of fresh, organic tomatoes from Smallwood Farms in Eastern Washington. If you grown your own tomatoes, this recipe is a great way to make use of them. The sauce can be canned in mason jars or stored in your freezer for later use. The other day I asked Facebook fans what everyone was doing with the tomato harvest this season. There are so many great comments. Be sure to head over there and check them out if you need more ideas!

Salmon Puttanesca

Today I am sharing my mother's Puttanesca sauce recipe. Nearly every Christmas Eve that I can remember, she makes this sauce to serve over pasta. Can you imagine what it would be like to not be able to feed your family this Christmas? I can't. This is why I am excited to tell you that I am one of over 60 food bloggers participating in a campaign to increase awareness of childhood hunger this holiday season.

Share Our Holiday Table is a virtual, seven day progressive dinner to help raise funds for children in need. Did you know that nearly 17 million children, or one in four, live in homes without sufficient food. As a mother of four, I want to make sure that my children are well-fed daily with healthy, nourishing foods and I know that I am not alone. All parents want this for their children.

Children need proper nutrition for their immune systems to function well, for proper brain development and growth, to be able to pay attention and learn in school, and to be able to run, skip, hop, and jump all day long!

Now we all have a chance to help nourish a child in need. Donate today. Even five dollars if that's all you can do. Every little bit helps.

Chipotle Chicken & Rice Stuffed Squash

I think I'd be missing the blogging boat if I didn't post a stuffed squash recipe this Autumn! This recipe veers away from the usual wild rice or quinoa mixed with nuts, cranberries, apples, and herbs. Not that those combinations aren't perfectly comforting and festive this time of year....but I was thinking of something a little spicier.

I was snuggling my 5 year old daughter after school yesterday and at the same time was trying to think of something for dinner. We are in desperate need of a large grocery shopping trip but before I embark on one of those adventures I like to use up whatever ingredients might be lurking around our pantry and refrigerator. I had a cooked chicken breast in the fridge from a whole chicken I cooked into soup the other day and a pot of brown rice on the counter. The peppers I purchased at last Saturday's market and the kale was from our garden.

I like to use Bionaturae Strained Tomatoes any time I would generally use tomato sauce. This is because it comes in glass and not a can. Canned tomatoes are still lined with plastic and can leach potentially dangerous chemicals, such as BPA, into the tomato product. Though it is still debatable how much of these chemicals are actually present.

Moroccan Chickpea and Potato Soup

Welcome to day five of our Gluten-Free Progressive Dinner party. This month's theme is Winter Warmers. Today I offer you an easy, warming soup recipe from our cookbook. This is by far one of my family's favorite recipes. I probably make it about twice a week! My seven-year old loves to pack this soup in her lunch. Of course anything with curry and potatoes is sure to please.

My children adore chickpeas (otherwise known as garbanzo beans). They even eat them plain for breakfast with cooked quinoa and a sprinkling of sea salt.

I forgot, amongst all of the Elimination Diet hype, that I was participating in this wonderful event. I have more Phase 2 recipes to share in a few days. But for now enjoy this very flavorful vegetarian soup recipe (or cook it up for your children).

Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe

Pizza! Yay! Today I am sharing my recipe for homemade pizza sauce. And do you know what that means? Yes, a gluten-free pizza crust recipe to come soon!

This sauce is so easy to make. I use a 7-ounce glass jar of Bionaturae organic tomato paste to start. Then I mix in olive oil, honey, salt, and herbs. That's it! Pictured here is a triple batch. We are visiting with family right now so large batches are the norm these days.

Our two girls and their two cousins played restaurant tonight complete with hand written menus, aprons, and wine! This pizza sauce with a Gluten-Free and Yeast-Free Buckwheat Crust, Homemade Gluten-Free Seed Crackers with apples and french sheep cheese, a large Pear Pomegranate Salad, Whole Grain Flatbread, freshly made butternut squash lasagna with Macadamia Nut Cheese, Vanilla Tapioca Pudding, and a sparkling hibiscus cooler were all on the menu! It was quite a feast for all 12 of us.

Luckily the adults got to relax while the girls busily took orders and ran back and forth from the dining room to the kitchen carrying plates of food!

15-Minute Poached Salmon

The other day, while Tom was out of town, I got home from running a few errands at 5pm. The kids were all hungry and ready for dinner….like now! I had a beautiful fillet of wild Coho salmon which I had bought the previous day, ready to be seasoned and baked. My friend who was helping out with the kids thought I should use some of the blueberries we still had sitting on the counter waiting to be processed and frozen. Mashed blueberries with ginger to top the salmon was her idea. I thought yum, but I don’t have time for that right now.

I mean, I had two crying 1-year olds pulling on my legs. Poached salmon came to mind. With a thin fillet like I had, 10 minutes cooking time is all that is needed. Add five minutes of prep time and you get 15-minute Poached Salmon.

Serve it over brown rice noodles with a green salad for a 15 minute meal! How is that for healthy and quick? Grain-free? Try serving this over a bed of sautéed dark leafy greens like kale or collards, or try serving it with zucchini noodles.

Start a pot of water to boil before you prep the salmon. Add the noodles, place the salmon on the stove to cook, prep a salad or steam green beans. Dinner is done, kids in the bath, bedtime early…..ahhhh take a breath, relax.

Spicy Summer Black Bean Salad

The days of overflowing gardens and refrigerators full of produce are upon us! What to do with all of those peppers, tomatoes, and onions? I got it! A fresh black bean salad!

On Saturday, the girls and I went to the market to pick up what is not growing in our garden, such as peppers (mine aren't ready yet), cucumbers, carrots, and garlic. While I was picking out a few hot peppers, my girls saw some "pretty tomatoes" that they really wanted to buy. Apparently the tomatoes in our garden aren't pretty. So I bought tomatoes as well.

Cold Spaghetti Salad (gluten-free, vegan)

Here is another summer recipe for you to sink your taste buds into. Refreshing, colorful, slightly salty, and full of flavor, this salad would make a great addition to a summer picnic!

The original recipe comes from my aunt Martha. While I was visiting my mom this summer, she pulled the recipe out of the old family cookbook in hopes that I would make it. I took one look at it and thought...yum! Martha's recipe used wheat-based spaghetti noodles and green bell peppers. I used Tinkyada spaghetti noodles because they don't get mushy and fall apart during cooking. Be sure to cook them al dente for this salad. For some reason I am not a huge fan of green bell peppers so I omitted them for this recipe. If you would like to use them, her recipe says to chop them and sauté lightly with the onions and garlic.

I use kalamata olives produced by the company Mediterranean Organics. I while back I wrote the company about the citric acid used in their products. Here in the USA citric acid can only be made from corn (through fermentation), but in other countries it can be made from either corn, wheat, molasses, or beets. About 25% of the citric acid used here in the USA is imported from other countries, meaning, unless you write the company to find out the source you may be getting minute amounts of gluten in your diet.

Here is the response I received from the company: The citric acid in the Mediterranean Organic Olives and Capers is produced by the fermentation of sucrose derived from cane and beet sources and purified to the highest standard. The Peppers is manufactured through a natural (microbial) fermentation process which converts corn syrup (a carbohydrate substrate) to citric acid using the microorganism Aspergillus niger . The corn syrup is GMO free. And yes, the products are also Gluten-free.

Happy Summer!

Slow Cooked Chicken Tacos plus more Meal Ideas!

This past Thursday I had a cooking class. A dessert class to be exact. There is a lot to prepare the day of a cooking class. Not only do I need to make sure I have all of my recipes printed and ready to go, I also need to pack up most of my kitchen to go with me. Then there is the shopping, class, and clean-up. But when there are children involved, and in my case, four of them, I also need to prepare dinner and make sure the house is in order for the babysitter.

And to top it all off, Tom was away in Washington DC attending a Functional Medicine Conference on restoring gastrointestinal equilibrium. Needless to say, he couldn't be there for the class like we had planned. I am sure his time was well spent though!

So dinner? Something easy, make-ahead sort of deal that doesn't require much effort for the sitter. My mind was spinning Thursday morning as to what to make. Bean Soup. No, too hot. Salmon and potatoes. No, too much timing and work for someone else to do. Okay, I got it. I'll slow cook chicken in the oven earlier in the day and shred it for tacos. Make brown rice, cut up cabbage and avocados. Set out tortillas. Done.

It worked and was delicious, though I didn't measure my amounts so my recipe below is just a guesstimate. Though I think with this type of recipe you can't go wrong. Just use your intuitions when measuring. It will be great! :)

We have been enjoying these for lunches the past few days. I added chopped napa cabbage, diced avocado, cherry tomatoes from our garden, chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. I snapped these photos yesterday at lunchtime. Read below for more meal ideas.

Slow Cooked Chicken Taco Filling

This recipe can be made ahead of time and then reheated when needed. Extras can also be frozen if needed. I think this recipe may work in a crock pot though I haven't tried it. Use this to fill corn or rice tortillas. Or, one of my favorites, napa cabbage leaves! Add in brown rice, avocado, a squeeze of lime, and cherry tomato halves. Enjoy!

1 Ancho chili, seeded*
1 cup boiling water
4 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon (add more for a kick) chipotle chili powder
1 to 2 tablespoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons sea salt or Herbamare
3 pounds uncooked chicken breast and/or thigh meat
1 medium onion, diced
3 cups tomato puree*
few tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place the ancho chili in a small bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Let soak for 5 to 10 minutes. Then place the chili and soaking water into a blender with the garlic, chipotle chili powder, cumin, and salt. Blend on high until pureed.

Place the pureed chili mixture into a large casserole dish with the remaining ingredients. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Remove cover, stir, and bake for 1 more hour uncovered.

After it is done, use the back of a large spoon to mash the chicken until it begins to fall apart. Taste and add any extra salt or seasonings to bring it up to flavor.

*Notes: I use Bionaturae Strained Tomatoes. Ancho chilies are dried poblano peppers. I buy mine in the bulk spice section at my local co-op.

I have recently been asked a number of times for more main dish meal ideas. I do have many, but it is not always practical to stop right before a meal to take a photo or 2 or 3 or 4. If I had more time, and didn't have hungry children waiting for dinner, I probably would post more main dish meals.

Tonight I made an easy dinner of baked halibut, penne pasta (Tinkyada brand), and a quick sauté of veggies from our garden (walla walla onions, summer squash, collards, and kale). Nothing fancy, just simple ingredients, but very nutritious and satisfying.

For the halibut, I grabbed a few small handfuls of herbs from my garden (oregano, marjoram, rosemary, parsley, and chives). I minced these with a few cloves of garlic. After sprinkling the halibut fillet with Herbamare (or sea salt) and black pepper, I added a nice layer of the minced herbs. A few dashes of olive oil and a couple of lemon slices topped it all off. Baked in the oven at 425 until done, about 15 minutes.

Other Main Dish Meal Ideas:

I cook a large pot of beans about once a week. A different bean each week. Black, pinto, pink, or garbanzos usually. Then I incorporate the cooked beans into a meal. Maybe burritos one night, rice and bean bowls for lunch the next day, or a bean soup if it is chilly.

Got any great main meal ideas to share? I am sure others reading would love to hear. If you feel so inclined you can post your ideas in the comment section below. Happy Cooking!

Here are a few other easy meal ideas from my blog:

Halibut and Potato Chowder

Thai Fresh Green Curry

Bean and Rice "Breakfast" Bowls with an Avocado Sauce

Yellow Split Pea Dal

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Cucumber Tomato Basil Salad

After a temporary break of much needed spring-like rain, summer is back! We spent the day at the beach. The kids waded in the ocean and found purple and orange starfish in the tide pools. The boys were happy to dig in the sand for a few hours. And me? Well I got to lounge in the sun and talk with a friend while I ate this refreshing summer salad.

I am posting this recipe as part of Diane's Friday Foodie Fix. Diane posts a new ingredient each week on her blog The Whole Gang where fellow food bloggers can add a recipe link. Please check it out for many more delicious recipes using cucumbers!

Here I used English cucumbers and basil from the Farmer's Market, and local tomatoes from our food co-op. This simple recipe comes from my cookbook.

If you have any additional ways to use the bounty of summertime cucumbers then please share them in the comment section below. Happy Summer!

Homemade Chipotle Barbecue Sauce (soy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free)

Just in time for summer BBQs comes an easy recipe for homemade barbecue sauce! It is sweet and tangy with a nice kick from the chipotle chili powder.

I don't shop around much for barbecue sauce and therefore am not on the up-and-up with ingredients and allergens commonly found in sauces. I have no doubt though that many BBQ sauces contain soy sauce and therefore wheat, many recipes probably contain large amounts of cane sugar, and some contain other types of processed ingredients that most of us would like to avoid.

Here I use a combination of organic strained tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and olive oil. Along with a bit of onions, garlic, and chipotle, this sauce is mighty tasty and very easy to make!

Use this sauce to marinate chicken, fish, tofu, or tempeh (if you tolerate soy). It can also be used to top cooked beans or whole grains (this is how Tom uses it). If you have any ideas on how you like to use BBQ sauce then let us know. Enjoy! :)