Making Appetizers!

Headed out to the Sandy River to see friends I decided to bring bruschetta and ceviche. I know it sounds amazing and it was! It was my first time making ceviche and it turned out great! I used an adapted ceviche recipe from Simply Recipes and the bruschetta recipe was my own!

Ceviche Ingredients
1 pound medium-small shrimp, peeled and deveined (mine were cooked but there's instructions on how to cook them in the link-I'm sure they didn't soak up as much flavor but, it was still pretty good)
1 pound bay scallops
2 Tbsp salt
3/4 cup lime juice (juice from 4-6 limes)
1 cup finely chopped red onion
1 serrano chile, ribs and seeds removed, minced (it could use more heat, you could barely taste it)
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 cucumber, peeled diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 avocado, peeled, seed removed, cut into 1/2-inch chunks



I used Gramma's electric juicer. She used to make grapefruit juice with it. It works perfect!



Clean as whistles!



Chopped serrano, now it really wasn't spicy. I was expecting some more kick and would do something different next time.

1 Put cooked shrimp in dish and add the lime juice. Cover and refrigerate for a half hour.

2 Mix in the chopped red onion and serrano chile. Refrigerate over night or at least an hour.

3 Right before serving, add the cilantro, cucumber, and avocado.

4 Serves 4-6. It seems that one could add tequila to this mixture as well. Hmmm.

YUM!



Now the Bruschetta:
4 garden tomatoes
Some cherry tomatoes because they were available
1/2 Sweet onion (or less)
Red bell pepper
Fresh basil
Salt and Pepper







Finished product! I think the bell pepper adds a great taste and would be sad without it.

Great delicious surprise!

Matt and I are only getting better in the kitchen. This week Matt wanted tater tots with out ritual artichoke and champagne. Yum! YAM TATER TOTS rocked our socks and we are so excited to cook up some more varieties. I used the ingredients from Apron Strings and then just did what sounded OK.

Ingredients:
3 yams
1 tsp salt
1 TBS GF AP flour
1 TBS cornstarch
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (it's so fun to have this!)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Boil the yams for 20 min.



Peel and grate/mush then add ingredients.



First you rooollllll it up.



And throw it in the pan. I let them get pretty brown and crunchy. They could be taken out earlier per taste. I also wonder about using breadcrumbs. They don't seem like they need them.



FANTASTIC. We experimented with the last few and put in some Daiya cheese, those 6 were ever MORE amazing. We can't wait to try some with cheese and jalapenos or bacon!



Our addiction: steamed artichoke and secret sauce (aka fry sauce)



Matt picked out pink flowers and pink champagne. :)



And this is what happens when you leave your camera and your boyfriend in the kitchen.

Some good dishes of the month:

Safeco Field goes gluten free? Go Mariners! That's right GF fish and chips served at the Hit if Here Cafe behind right field. We went to watch the Red Socks sadly lose. But it was a great game with great food!


My man Matt got what would be my number one non-allergy-free choice: The bacon wrapped pulled pork hot dog with sweet apple chutney. Yum!



For my homecoming after 2 weeks away, what better than strawberries and bubbly.



Just another dish we made at mom's. Grilled corn, tomato salsa stuffed in tostitos and covered with Tapatio!

The Riverview Restaurant

Forgive the lag in posts. They'll be coming back. This was our July Birthdays Feast, we went to the Riverview Restaurant in Troutdale, Oregon to celebrate four birthdays. It was a fantastic night with amazing food. Scroll down to find the allergy-friendly dish they made.

Smoked Steelhead & Mascarpone Spread


Won Ton Shumai


Calamari


The allergy free dish they prepared: Seared ahi tuna with grilled vegetables and chutney
The tuna was sesame-crusted. Of course I could have the steak but, I love tuna. I told them of my allergies and they found this for me. They had to pull a steak out of the next days catch because they marinade it in soy sauce. The service was great and the meal was exactly what I wanted.


Crusted Chicken Breast


Pacific Crab with Three Cheese Ravioli


Bacon Wrapped Bistro


Birthday surprise


Banana's Foster for Chantel of course




The end to a wonderful night with friends.

Weekend in Seattle

Rachel, James and I headed to Seattle for the Fremont Fair. It's a huge outdoor street fair and it was a lot of fun. We started our trip at the Reddoor.



Allergy-free chicken burger and fries with lots of avocado!



Rache's BLTA



James ordered mussels



And a roasted beat, walnut salad. Yum!



This was Rachel's booth with all of her product. We spend many-a-hours here.



The parade!









What a fun weekend!

New Camera

My old Nikon of 6-7 years has endured 2 Europe Trips, college and camp nursing. On my last beach trip I asked a stranger to take a photo at Cape Lookout and it got dropped on the rocks. :( Goodbye Nikon. Hello Canon. I was unsure, until I uploaded a photo. Holy Crap! What have I been doing all this time. It's incredible. 7 years really changes things. I can't wait!

Cheers to the end of jimmying my laptop to be my camera.



Just look at that avocado!

Gypsy Soup, Again and Again

Yes, I'm re-posting previous recipes. I don't care. It was different this time. I made it and ate it with different people. I even made it in a different kitchen. :-) I was at my sister's new apartment with friends helping her get ready for Crafty Wonderland this weekend. Gypsy soup has been my dinner twice this week. The homey veggies and the spicy kick just can't be beat. For me, it's a throw-together recipe meaning that when I make it I usually have 'nothing' to eat and end up with this. I know not everyone keeps this on hand so if you need me to bring it and make it :-) just let me know. And so here again is my post though I'm only doing the ingredients which for me, change every time.

Gypsy Soup Recipe Link
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups diced peeled sweet potatoes (my goal for cooking is to make sure these are super soft)
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric (this is an anti-inflammatory agent)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch cayenne pepper (I put too much but, I don't have much kick in my life with being allergic to chili)
1 bay leaf
3 cups chicken stock (3 cups would NEVER be enough, I put more like 6, the broth is the best part!)
1 tablespoon tamari (it's like soy sauce but without the gluten-you could use soy sauce)
1 cup chopped fresh tomato (or canned diced tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (I wish they had been in longer-I'm not a recipe person & we were hungry)
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper (I don't like green bell peppers... I used a red)



Cookin' away



Rachel made goat cheese garlic spread which, I'm sure is to die for. Sadly it was discovered post-allergies so I haven't tried it but with the ingredients you can't go wrong!

Recipe
1 head of garlic (about 10 cloves) (Roasted in the oven)
2 medium red onions, thinly sliced (Carmelized)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
10oz goat cheese (I used an 8oz package and it worked fine)
Balsamic Vinegar
Fresh basil (for garnish), chopped
Baguette
Olive Oil & Sea Salt

Result:





Dinah enjoyed the party too. Ahh, a good end to a hectic day.

The weekend in Seattle

After chowing at Gramma's we headed to Seattle for Thanksgiving and it was awesome. Mom, Rich, Dan, me, Rich's twin brother Andy and his girlfriend Angie. We stayed in a house on the Sound in West Seattle. It was a mansion compared to where any of us live. It was incredible to spread out and not have 5 people in mom's parlor (seated for 3-4). Andy and Angie went out on the town on Saturday but we were completely satisfied with just hanging out at the house. Big screen, big couches, big kitchen, and a hot tub. What more do you need?







THIS is vacation. Hot tub and mimosa at 1pm. Yes!



Momma made turkey soup with leftovers from Thursday.



I made a GF pizza but look at that stove!



GF dumplings are a' cookin'. Made with GF Bisquick which rocks!



Everyone else's dumplings all done.



Dan caught me in a rabbit pose. Mmm basil.



Pizza ingredients: kalamatas and fresh basil,



sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms,



Prosciutto too! So gourmet.



Whoa, what else can we put on the table!



eating, eating, eating



Luxory! The weekend was absolutely glorious. Lucky us! :-)