Tortellini Salad recipe

 ref: 

• https://marydisomma.com/blogs/recipes/luigis-italian-tortellini-pasta-salad-with-homemade-vinaigrette
• https://carlsbadcravings.com/italian-pasta-salad/

This looks like a "clean out the refrigerator recipe" but it's very tasty. I'm going to cut the ingredients in half as it makes a lot.

Dressing: Put in a jar with good lid and shake to blend

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil (if you have it, I used 2 fresh leaves from garden.)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• about 2 T. fresh, finely, grated parmesan cheese
• about 1/4 fresh onion, finely chopped (added here so lemon juice can make less sharp)
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/4 c. lemon juice (original recipe called for red wine vinegar which we don't have)

Cook for 3 minutes or until done in heavily salted boiling water (about 1 T salt)

• 6- 12 oz fresh tortellini (I assume any cooked noodles would work if you don't have tortellini)

Drain, then put in metal bowl, coat with some of the dressing and put in fridge or freezer to cool down while you cut up the rest of the ingredients.

Put in large bowl

• 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, cut into cubes
• about 1/2 - 1 c. cherry tomatoes cut in half
• about 1/4- 1/2 c. artichoke hearts, drained, quartered (can use marinated ones)
• 5 mozarella cheese sticks sliced into "cubes"
• 1/4 - 1/2 lb. salami cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/4 - 1/2 c. Kalamata Olives cut in half (or some canned olives)
• 1/4 - 1/2 c. sliced pepperoncini, drained
• 2 - 4 T. fresh chopped parsley

Blend everything together and see if you like the ratio of everything. 

Then add cooled tortellini and the rest of the salad dressing. Mix everything together.

Can eat right away or wait until later.

Gluten Free Chocolate Beet Recipe

Basically just substituted grated beets for carrots in "May 6, 2022, Very Moist Carrot Muffins recipe.

Can make with just beets and it will be super moist. However the cocoa powder adds a very nice cake like texture.

25' @ 350 F, 24 greased muffin tins

Combine dry ingredients and set aside. (Sometimes I'll make and store several bags of dry ingredients so I can make these muffins a lot quicker)

• 2 cups gluten free flour*
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 tsp crushed into a powder instant coffee.

Beat

• 4 eggs

Slowly add oil like you're making mayonnaise. You want the egg/oil mixture to thicken with many tiny bubbles and be cream colored. (I think this helps keep a dome top on the muffins and prevents the top from sinking. However they taste good no matter how they look.)

• 1 cup oil (I use olive oil but feel free to use any kind you like)

Add to egg/oil mixture until well combined.

• 3 cups grated beets (About 2 beets. I generally just let the chopped beets mound and overflow my 2 cup measuring cup. It's close enough.  I also use a food processor.)

Then add flour mixture and combine thoroughly. It is pretty thick at this point. Not really pourable.

Scoop into well oiled cupcake tins (I like to use coconut oil but if you have paper liners you could use those.) and bake.

You can tell the muffins are done by their smell and they pull away from the sides of the tin.

Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin until they are cool. It's easier to get the muffins out

*It doesn't seem to matter which brand of GF flour you use. 

I wanted to try it with rhubarb but my sister avoids rhubarb. Might try it with squash later in the season.

Cucumber Water, Rosemary and Ginger Water

 

Grandpa Ray's Sweet Refrigerator Pickles

 Blend together (heat in microwave if needed to dissolve sugar)

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• some dill (optional)

Then add

• small thinly sliced onion
• thinly sliced cucumbers

Kim's Meatloaf Recipe

 

Mark & Kim's Grandma's Cheese Torte Recipe

 Mark and Kim always asked for their Mom to make this for their birthday instead of a birthday cake. The story is that Grandma ¿DiAquisto? got it from the milkman.

According to AI Baker's cheese, also known as farmer's cheese, is a soft, unripened cheese similar to cottage cheese but with less moisture and firmer, crumbly texture. Mark says it's hard to find and is usually only sold around Christmas.

Chocolate Rhubarb Cookies

 Surprisingly tasty

Don't feel like typing

Jerry's Very Delicious Baked Fish

18-20 minutes @ 425F

Don't overcook

Foil covered baking pan. 

Can cook in oven or in grill.

Thaw fish in cooler tepid/lukewarm water.

Make 1 layer onion bed for fish to sit on

• Thinly sliced onion (use mandolin)

Season onion with

• olive oil
• garlic powder
• soy sauce

Put fish on top of onion bed, then season top of fish with

• pepper
• salt (not too much!)
• garlic powder
• soy sauce
• olive oil

Then bake.

Buttery shortbread crackers

10-15 minutes @ 375F, parchment lined cookie sheet.  

A very soft, buttery cracker that reminds me of shortbread. I think it would taste good sprinkled with powdered confectioners sugar and served as a cookie. I don't know if this recipe would work in the summer kitchen if you don't have air conditioning.

The night before making crackers:

• Put 1/2 stick of butter in freezer (Makes it easy to grate)
• Make sure you have about 1 cup of refrigerator cold water in the refrigerator
• Make the dry ingredient blend and put in the fridge.

Make dry ingredient blend in large bowl and put in fridge overnight. (Cover top of bowl with plastic.)

• 1 c. gluten free flour blend like Bob's Red Mill
• 1.5 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. sugar
• 1/4 t. salt

Next Day:

Partially unwrap 1/2 stick of butter, lightly mark at 4T (1/4 c. mark), (I peeled the paper back a little more than halfway then held onto the paper covered portion.) Then use grater to grate on top of dry ingredient blend. Stop occasionally to flour the butter. Want butter bits to be coated with flour mixture.

• 4 T. Butter

Then add in and stir/ press? with back of spoon to combine. (I wonder if this part might work better by pulsing in a food processor.)

• 1 T. oil
• 1/4 c. refrigerator cold water plus more added VERY SLOWLY added drip by drip if needed.

You want to moisten the dry ingredients until the dough starts to clump together. I believe that you're trying to keep the butter encapsulated with the flour so it ends up tender. (I wonder if this method of grating frozen butter would work with pie crust or empanada dough?)

Then flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and store in fridge a couple of hours.

Later take out of the fridge and roll out to about 1/8" thick between 2 pieces of plastic. Take off the top plastic and cut into squares with a nonsharp edge like a rubber scraper or butter knife.

Move the squares to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Can poke holes in crackers if you like. I forgot and they still turned out fine.

Sprinkle with salt or powdered sugar when they come out of the oven and are still hot.

Ref: original recipe at https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-crackers-ritz-style/

1-Bowl Gluten Free Crackers

 10-15 minutes @ 375F, parchment lined cookie sheet

This is delicious and very easy to make in a food processor but probably could be made by hand.

Blend together dry ingredients 

• 3/4 c. Gluten Free Flour Blend (like Bob's Red Mill)
• 2/3 c. Almond meal
• 2 T. Flaxseed meal
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/4 t. baking powder

Then pulse in until crumbley like you're making pie dough (Can use two forks too.)

• 3.5 T oil (olive oil tasted just fine to me)

The add 1 T at a time, pulsing or stirring, until a semi-sticky dough forms that's moldable with your hands and not crumbley

• about 3-5 T

Then wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge for a couple of hours. 

Couple of hours later, take it out, slightly flatten with hands between 2 sheets of plastic wrap, then roll out dough (still between the plastic wrap) until it about 1/8 or so thick. (I felt that the dough was too wet to roll on a bottom layer of parchment paper with a top layer of plastic but it could work.)

Take off the top sheet of plasic and use a butter knife, rubber spatula... (something that won't cut the plastic underneath) and cut into squares. 

Then transfer squares so they're not touching onto the parchment lined baking sheet and bake.

Sprinkle with salt when they come out of the oven while they are still hot.

I let them cool, then stored them in a plastic container, and they were still crisp the next day.

If you want to add herbs see original recipe below for suggestions.

Original recipe can be found at https://minimalistbaker.com/1-bowl-vegan-gluten-free-crackers/

Judy's Butternut Squash Soup

 

Judy's Roasted Veggies

 

Judy's Roasted Brussel Sprouts