Red Table Kitchen has grown up and moved out! Please visit www.RedfernKitchen.blogspot.ca to continue following my adventures in the kitchen.

Pumpkin Pudding

Another one of those dishes I forgot to take a picture of before it was too late! This was my pumpkin pie substitute to suit the gluten-free way of life. I made this earlier in the day as I wasn't too confident in the recipe - it turned out great and I wish I had just made it while we were eating dinner. Not only does it smell fabulous, the consistency was superior when it was sampled straight out of the oven as opposed to being warmed up later. Regardless, it's a unique Thanksgiving dessert that everyone could enjoy:

Pumpkin Pudding
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (Jason had pureed a pumpkin last year and we had a few containers still left in the freezer)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 3/4 cups half-and-half or light cream

Butter a 1 1/2-quart casserole. Heat oven to 350°. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk or beat on low speed until blended. Pour into the prepared casserole and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. If desired, serve with sweetened whipped cream and cinnamon sugar for sprinkling.
Serves 6 to 8.

MY REVIEW: I served this both with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar. Every seemed to enjoy it!

Turkey, Butternut Squash & Zucchini Curry With Wild Rice

Dinner this evening was a bizarre combination of what we had in the fridge and what I felt like. No real recipe - ground turkey mixed with butternut squash and zucchini with a with lot of curry!

Quinoa, Leek, and Corn Chowder

Today was the first day that really felt like autumn was here. There seemed to be a lot more leaves on the ground than yesterday and a jacket was necessary. This put me in the mood for some thick and hearty soup. I found this recipe in my much loved Quinoa 365 cookbook:

Quinoa, Leek, and Corn Chowder

Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced leek (white part only)
1/2 cup qunioa
3 cups frozen corn
2 cups vegetable broth
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of ground pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
5 saffron threads

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the onion and leek until the onion is tender and opaque, about 7 minutes. Add the quinoa and 2 cups of the corn; set aside the remaining corn to thaw. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, until the corn partially thaws. Add a few drops of the broth to keep it from sticking to the saucepan, if necessary.

Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the quinoa is completely cooked. Remove from the heat. Puree the cooked mixture with a hand blender or cool slightly and puree in 2 batches in a blender or food processor.

Return the mixture to low heat. Add the remaining 1 cup of corn and the red pepper, black pepper, cayenne, saffron and salt. Reheat and stir. Serve immediately. The soup can be stored in a seal container in the refrigerator for 2 days.

REVIEW: This was so filling! I followed the recipe exactly as shown, apart from the fresh chives sprinkled on top.  I would make this again and it's very simple to make. Nothing fancy but a really great flavor with a hint of spice.

I'm Back!

For those who don't know, Jason and I were married on August 13!

It was a wonderful, beautiful and time consuming wedding. My mind was full of seating plans, dresses and decorations for the past few months. Now that things are settling down, my mind is migrating back to home cooking and relaxing dinners that compliment an evening glass of wine.  Let's jump right into tonights dinner:

With a lack of protein in the freezer, I dug right down into the bottom and found these 6 frozen drumsticks. This is a recipe that I pieced together with some produce from the garden and some pantry staples.


Drumstick Skillet
6 frozen drumsticks (defrost & remove skin)
dab of butter (olive oil would work as well if you're avoiding dairy)

fresh green beans
1 pepper (sliced)
1 tomato (sliced)

1 cup rice
2 cups water
mixture of spices (kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, ground oregano)

1. Heat butter in skillet. Brown all sides of the chicken drumsticks and set aside
2. Add vegetables, rice, water and spice to skillet. Bring to a boil.
3. Put drumsticks on top of vegetables and rice and cover. Let simmer for approx. 25 minutes.

This was a great dish! I let it cook a little too long and the rice was stuck to the bottom but the vegetables and chicken were cooked perfectly.

Here's a taste of a few of the things I've been cooking lately and will blog about in the near future:

 Sweet potato fries made in our brand new Actifry (details to come).

Jello vodka shots made for a summer BBQ party.

Waffles!

Lunches

Sometimes the issue of what to take for lunch really stresses me out. For me, if I don't bring a lunch, I'm not eating lunch. My office is surrounded by Tim Hortons, Wendys, Dairy Queen and Arby's. The only thing gluten free at any of these fast food joints is probably a pop.

Jason has it easier when he doesn't have the time to make a lunch. However, for the sake of trying to eat cleaner and also save some money, packing a lunch is the best plan for both of us. I've seen lots of blogs where people have a "cooking day" and cook all their meals for the week or even the month on one day and simply freeze them.

Most recently I was inspired by a podcast I've been listenening to lately - Fat 2 Fit Radio. They talk about ways to be healthy - not just lose weight. They also talk about crazy fad diets and weight loss products which keeps me entertained during the work day. One of the hosts mentioned he makes all his lunches in advance and directed listeners to a photo on their website. Here it is. Impressive hey? Also, just for fun, check out these transformation photos.

So after seeing those photos and reading lots about meal planning, I had my own cooking day today! I made lunches for both Jason and I for the next 2 weeks. Nothing too creative - some brown rice, chicken & vegetables mostly. We got a large bag of mixed vegetables from Costco for $6.99 and I still have some left over after this.  I also made quinoa with tuna and peas just to mix it up. As Jason is more into the meat and I more into the alternatives, he's got lots of chicken and I've got 4 days where I replaced my chicken with chickpeas. For part of the meals, I sauteed the vegetables and for the others I simply threw them in frozen. They are all gluten free and dairy free as well. To go with these meals, I've portioned some dried fruit with nuts and I've frozen some grapes as an option too. We both always have our usual orange, banana & yogurt a day and oatmeal for breakfast. The only wild card is now dinner! I don't mind taking my time and making a more creative meal - plus now I don't have to worry about making so much for leftovers.

These 2 weeks will be an experiment as to what works best. I will keep you posted on this lunch project!