gluten free Archives • Page 2 of 6 • Ant & Anise

Spaghetti squash with spinach and feta

Confession time: Squash isn’t my favorite thing, no matter if it’s a summer or winter variety. (Have I said that already? Probably that last time I wrote a post about squash. Hmm…)

But you know, I’m warming up to it. Especially now that the cooler weather has come to stay for a few months. And especially when the winter squash is spaghetti squash.

I think my lukewarm feelings towards winter squash stem from the fact that they’re tough to cut. Intimidating, right? Even when I’ve spent a lot of years in kitchens, and even when I have a lovely, freshly sharpened chef knife, cutting through the skin of hard squash still freaks me out a bit.

But I found a simple trick which has, so far, saved me from needing any first aid: Cut a tiny bit off of each end before you slice the squash lengthwise. This way, you flatten out the end that’s going to sit on your cutting board and you don’t have to slice through a thick stem at the top. Whew!

I’ve used spaghetti squash before as a substitute for pasta — it does a great job as a grain-free stand in, especially with a chunky tomato sauce. But I was after a lighter dish, although something that would still qualify as comfort food. It is bucketing rain outside these days.

Spaghetti squash with spinach and feta hits the spot. There’s a very slight nod to Greek cuisine, kind of like a spanakopita without the phyllo. And with spaghetti squash added. (Okay, I suppose it’s only vaguely like spanakopita, but you see where I’m headed.)

The great thing is that you can make this dish in less than an hour, and almost all of it is roasting time. You could even roast the squash ahead: If you do that, it’s a dinner you can pull together in less than 20 minutes. Talk about speedy comfort food. And it’s good for you. Yes!

I like that this spaghetti squash-spinach-feta dish is easy, healthy and satisfying, and requires only a fairly minimal effort. Sure, the tang of feta cheese is always welcome to add some brightness, but the squash itself was really flavorful. I added a pinch of nutmeg, and found it added a lovely background note. Not strong enough to pick out a lot of spice, but enough of a hint to give your taste buds a little something extra to ponder.

And, who knows, with a bit more cutting practice I won’t be intimated by tough winter squash anymore. Now wouldn’t that be something?

Spaghetti squash with spinach and feta

Serving Size: 2

Roasted spaghetti squash combines with the Greek flavors of feta and spinach to make this a simple, healthy, flavorful dinner. It is very easy to put together, and if you roast the squash ahead of time, the rest of it takes only minutes to prepare.

Ingredients

1 2-pound spaghetti squash
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 green onion, thinly sliced
4 ounces spinach
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
3-1/2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
freshly cracked pepper

optional garnish:

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped

Instructions

First, roast the squash:

Preheat oven to 375F. Slice a small bit off of each end of the squash so that both ends are flat. Stand one of the flat end on a cutting board and slice lengthwise.
Scoop out the seeds with a large spoon, and place on a foil lined baking sheet. (You can put them skin side up or down; I tried both ways and found no difference in how they turned out.)
Drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper before placing in the oven.
Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until a knife easily pierces all the way through the skin. Set aside to cool slightly.
Using a kitchen fork, scrape the squash flesh into a small bowl and set aside.

For the spinach and feta:

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and green onion, and saute for a minute or until the garlic has softened slightly.
Add the spaghetti squash to the pan and mix it in. (I find tongs are a particularly good tool for this.)
Add spinach and saute for about 30 seconds, or until wilted. Remove from heat, add nutmeg and 2 tablespoons oregano and stir in.
Add the feta cheese and stir to melt. Season to taste with pepper.
For serving, cut a strip of spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and place on each serving plate. Spoon the spaghetti squash and spinach over the skin. As an optional garnish, sprinkle each plate with a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese and a teaspoon of fresh oregano.

Notes

If you roast the squash ahead of time, scrape the flesh out of its skin and keep refrigerated in a covered container.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

It might surprise you that I don’t like a lot of dessert.

Um, let me put that another way. I absolutely adore desserts and sweet treats, especially when chocolate is a main ingredient, but I’m satisfied with having only a bite or two. Ask me how big a slice of cake I’d like after dinner (chocolate or not) and I’ll always say a really, really small piece, or the smallest you can do. Always.

But there’s usually an exception to every rule, and these triple chocolate brownies are it. I can’t have just one, like Mark Messier’s ad for Lay’s potato chips. Why?

Because they are perfection. Rich, intensely chocolate from three sources — melted dark chocolate, cocoa powder and chocolate chunks. Chewy, with a toothsome crunch from large chunks of pecans. I’m swooning already.

My triple chocolate brownies are smack in the middle of cakey and fudgy, the two hotly contested camps of the brownie spectrum. If you’re a brownie lover, chances are you have strong opinions on which one reigns supreme: Cakey brownies are the lightweights, airy bites with (no surprise here) a cake-like texture. Fudgy brownies are devilishly dense, usually thinner than their cakey cousins but way more intense.

Unlike the two brownie extremes my triple chocolate brownies are, in my opinion, just right. The ones that Goldilocks would have settled on. They have the best of the cakey and fudgy worlds — crisp outside with a moist, chewy inside. Straight up chocolate, nuts, and chocolate chunks on top. While they are more rich and satisfying than a cakey brownie, they won’t leave you, after only a few bites, grasping for the sofa to have a lie down until the chocolate coma passes.

No, these are simply gorgeous — see for yourself:

Aside from looking and tasting great, these brownies are simple to make. Plus, by substituting a gluten-free flour mix for the all purpose flour they are easily made gluten free.

So, do you think you could eat just one?

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Yield: 16-24 pieces

The perfect brownie: Simple to put together, richly chocolate, and chewy. They're so addictive, I dare you to have just one.

Avoiding wheat? No problem -- these are easily made gluten free by substituting your favorite gluten-free flour mix for the all purpose flour. I've had particularly good results from Cup4Cup gluten-free flour mix.

Ingredients

4 ounces butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 large eggs
1-1/4 cups white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour (or substitute a gluten-free flour mix to make these gluten free)
2 tablespoons Dutch processed cocoa powder
4 ounces toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
4 ounces milk chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

Instructions

Place the butter and chocolate in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir gently until the chocolate has melted. Watch it closely and take it slow -- chocolate scorches very easily. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from heat and let cool for at least 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350F and grease an 8x8-inch square pan (or line with a strip of parchment paper).
In a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs with the sugar and salt on medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the vanilla extract and mix in.
With the motor on low speed, add the cooled chocolate-butter mixture to the eggs and sugar a little at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl, and mix in. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the chopped pecans and mix in on low speed. Mix briefly, just until the all the pecans are evenly distributed in the batter.
The batter will be thick and look like molten chocolate goodness. It is. Spoon it into the prepared pan and top the brownie batter evenly with the chunks of milk chocolate.
Bake for 30-35 minutes (metal pan) or 35-40 minutes (glass pan), or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the pan comes out with only a few crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Slice into squares when the brownies have cooled completely. And try to stop at just eating one.

Chickpea Flour Crepes {Gluten Free, Grain Free}

One of the best things about experimenting in the kitchen is that, just when you think you know all there is to know, a new ingredient makes itself known. And then *poof* you’re off on a brand new journey, making dishes that you never imagined.

It’s like the more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is to learn. Even after all these years in the kitchen. Such is my story with chickpea flour.

Chickpea flour, flour made from ground chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), came to my attention a couple of years ago, when I bought a gluten free flour mix for the first time. I had relatively good success with it in heavier baked goods, like brownies and cookies. Since then I’ve experimented with several gluten free substitutes: My own blend of flours, ground (gluten free) oats, coconut flour and, my favorite, blanched almond flour….

Portobello Mushroom Tacos

It’s no secret I’m having a love-in with tacos lately. If I’m not making them for dinner, I’m dreaming about making a bee line for the local taqueria a few blocks away. Dee-lish.

So when I saw Cinco de Mayo falls on a Monday this year, I thought hmmmm…. how about vegetarian tacos (portobello mushroom tacos, to be exact) that would also celebrate Meatless Monday?

I should clarify that I don’t follow organized food campaigns very closely. I’m more a devotee of the what’s-in-the-fridge-that-needs-to-be-eaten-before-it-spoils movement. But when I thought longer about Meatless Mondays and my repertoire of dinner entrées — ones where vegetables are the main event — it struck me that I don’t have very many of them. At all.

Gulp. I think it’s time to change that.

…

Chewy Chocolate Coconut Macaroons {Gluten Free, Grain Free}

I’ve made 4 different batches of coconut macaroons in the past 3 weeks. April has been a whirlwind of coconut and eggs for me. Luckily, I’ve had a lot of tasters to help me share the eating part.

(Now if only my tasters could help with my chocolate drizzle technique… I’m sure they could, if I asked them. Or maybe they like the big blobs of chocolate on top.)

This coconut macaroon experimentation-turned-brief-obsession started out as a pre-Passover, pre-Easter way to welcome spring in the form of an egg-heavy, casual sweet nibble after dinner.

But tasting my first two coconut macaroon attempts side by side, I knew I’d be back in the kitchen, tweaking amounts of sugar and coconut until I arrived at chewy, coconutty perfection. And, yes, adding chocolate to them….

Apple Cheddar Arugula Salad

I’ve been craving spa-like cuisine this week. We’re finally into spring, yes, but I think it has more to do with indulging a little too much lately with these little pieces of chocolate evil. I’m talking about Kirkland’s milk chocolate covered almonds, our preferred after-dinner nibble.

Sometimes I think the only reason I pay my Costco membership is to ensure I have a steady supply of these in the house.

But enough was enough. Time to take a break from chocolate almonds and focus on healthier eating, at least for a week or two. So my thoughts have turned to salad.

This is a refreshing salad, with crisp apple, tangy sharp cheddar and peppery arugula. Now, my favorite apple — hands down, no question — is the Cripps Pink, or Pink Lady® as it’s also known….