Seasoning for Salmon (SCD,GFCF)

I am always leery of spice blends. I was glutened once by lemon pepper seasoning. This is my replacement for Old Bay seasoning. There's no bay leaves in it but it goes well with salmon. I've had success with it on broiled salmon and salmon patties (recipe for future post). The nice thing about making your own blend is that you can adjust it to your taste.

 If you are avoiding seeds you can substitute celery flakes for the celery seed. I use Simply Organic spices but I cannot vouch whether they are SCD legal or not.

This post is linked to Grain-Free Tuesdays from Hella Delicious Food, a GAPS diet and whole foods blog.

Seasoning for Salmon (SCD,GFCF)

1 TBSP Paprika
2 teas. Coriander
3 teas. Mustard (powder)
1 1/2 teas. Celery Seed
1 1/2 teas. Sea Salt
1 teas. Ginger (powder)
1/4 teas. Allspice
1/4 teas. Cinnamon
1/2 teas. White Pepper
1/8 teas. Cayenne (optional)

Combine. Adjust to taste. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Review - Grain-Free Cocoa Butter Cookies (SCD, GFCF)

OMG...these are so good! Here's our latest favorite cookie recipe from Esther of Digestive Wellness. She declares they are so different from other cookies...and she's right. They have a delightful crisp to them, and then there's the taste the cocoa butter adds to it. It's almost like a hint of white chocolate. And if you are a cookie dough eater you will be in heaven. When baking these I found they turned out best when I used a teaspoonful for each and rolled it into a ball. These burn easy and they don't taste as well when they get too brown, you definitely want to take them out when they have just a touch of golden brown. They are best when very cool. Right now our house is a bit cooler so they do fine in the cookie jar but in the summer they will probably do better in the fridge. These are just too yummy. Thanks Esther!

Recipe Review for Grain-Free Sticky Buns (SCD)

I guess if I have a resolution for 2011 it is less stalking and more cooking.  I love food blogs and always see so many delicious ideas. I must have poor meal planning skills because my mind goes blank when it's time to write up a shopping list for the week. I'm going to try to start making all of the recipes I have bookmarked. If you're going to have a resolution or a goal, it might as well be a tasty one, right?
  I've had this recipe bookmarked for over a year. It's a recipe review of "Wendy's Cinnamon Rolls" on Heal-Balance-Live. These are sooo yummy. The only alteration I did was use pecan meal in place of the almond flour in the Spice Mix. I haven't had sticky buns since going gluten-free and these were a real treat. Thanks Karen and Wendy!

Fridge Art Gallery - Treasures of a 5 Year Old

It doesn't take much to make my five year old happy. One empty egg carton and he's off on a treasure hunt.

Off the subject, The Healthy Skeptic has an interesting article on Dietary Toxins.

Creamy Shrimp Bisque (SCD)

Did you know that January is National Soup Month? Lauren of Celiac Teen is hosting this months Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten Free. The theme is "Follow the Calendar" and January has more food holidays than you can beat with a stick. Soup is my favorite one, especially creamy bisques and chowders.

The idea for this soup came from Raman Prasad's "Red Pepper and Tomato Soup" in Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I love this cookbook! If you are on the SCD, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, or just very serious about a whole foods diet, it's worth checking out.

Today's batch I made with creepy store bought wintertime tomatoes, not the best for flavor. For those of you not on the SCD, you may opt for a large can of whole tomatoes. For those of you on the SCD, this soup is a good inspiration to freeze those fabulous summer garden ones for winter recipes.

The creaminess comes from yogurt. Homemade yogurt that has been fermented for 24 hours has almost no lactose in it, the bacteria breaks it down. Many Celiacs also have lactose intolerance. Oh, I forgot to mention, this recipe makes a lot.

Creamy Shrimp Bisque (SCD)

2 Red Bell Peppers
7 Roma Tomatoes
1 cup Carrots
1 Onion
2 TBSP Butter
2 Cups Chicken Stock
Salt to taste
1 pound Cooked Shrimp, peeled and tails off
1 to 2 cups Yogurt or Yogurt Cream

To roast and skin peppers: Rinse and slice peppers lengthwise into quarters. Remove seeds. Place on an oiled baking sheet, skin sides up and place under broiler until skin is bubbly and has black spots. Turn oven off and let peppers sit in warm oven awhile.

To skin tomatoes: Boil a large pot of water. Drop in tomatoes. When skin splits, remove and add to a bowl of cold water. Skin should come right off.

Pull out peppers and let cool. Peel of the papery skins.

Add carrots and onion to a food processor. Pulse just until finely minced. Heat butter in a large pot, add carrots and onion and saute until tender. Add tomatoes and bell pepper to food processor and puree. Run through a sieve and pour strained mixture into carrots and onions. Add chicken stock and heat to boiling. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Salt to taste.

Put shrimp into food processor and pulse until finely minced. Add to pot and heat through. Stir in yogurt and heat about 1 minute. Serve.