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California Hoppin’ John

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This is a Southern classic done California style. Hoppin’ John actually has a rich history, which one legend says started in 1841 when a crippled black man known as Hoppin’ John sold the dish on the streets of Charleston. The dish has African/French/Caribbean roots and eating it on New Year’s Day is supposed to bring a prosperous year filled with good luck.

The Hoppin’ John ingredients symbolize different things. For instance, the tomatoes will help to bring good health while the peas symbolize coins. The greens are supposed to add wealth to the new year. And when eaten with cornbread, which is the Southern tradition, this is supposed to further symbolize wealth.

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 California Hoppin' John
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 90 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 90 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare black-eyed peas and rice
  1. Cook rice according to package instructions.
  2. While the rice is cooking, bring 2 quarts water to a boil over high heat in a large pan. Add peas; reduce the heat, and simmer until tender (about 50 minutes)
  3. Drain and rinse the peas and combine with the prepared rice.
Prepare soup
  1. Chop the onion, mince the garlic, and dice the chicken sausage
  2. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender. (About 3 minutes)
  3. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Continue stirring to keep garlic from burning.
  4. Add cumin and cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly.
  5. Add tomatoes, chiles, kale, chicken sausage, and chicken broth. Also add the jalapeños if you are using them. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.
  6. Remove and discard the jalapeños. Add rice and peas and heat through.
Recipe Notes

You can prepare the peas in advance and either refrigerate up to a day or set aside for use later the same day. By preparing the rice separately, it reduces the starchiness of the soup. You may use your favorite type of rice and the correct amount of liquid to prepare according to package instructions and store with the peas. The jalapeños are optional, but will add a little bit of spice to the soup. Just be sure to remove them at the end!

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Gluten-free pumpkin breakfast cookies

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Exterior of the Pelican Cove Inn, Carlsbad, CA.

This recipe originally came from the Pelican Cove Inn, a local Bed & Breakfast in Carlsbad, CA. This quaint local B&B is conveniently located to downtown Carlsbad, has wonderful rooms, and offers a full breakfast to start your day. It’s a fabulous place from which to explore the coast of North County San Diego.


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Gluten-free pumpkin breakfast cookies

Here's a little something special for your fall holiday season. And best of all, these cookies are gluten-free!

Course Desserts

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15-20 minutes
Passive Time 10 minutes

Servings
cookies


Ingredients

Course Desserts

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15-20 minutes
Passive Time 10 minutes

Servings
cookies


Ingredients


Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325. In a large bowl, mix both kinds of oats, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, flax, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.

  2. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, coconut oil and honey. Stir until combined.

  3. Drop on cookie sheet (about ¼ cup each) and flatten a bit. They don’t flatten while cooking.

  4. Bake for 15-20 minutes.


Recipe Notes

Original recipe and photo for these pumpkin breakfast cookies from Pelican-Cove Inn, Carlsbad, CA at https://pelican-cove.com/blog/pumpkin-gluten-free-breakfast-cookies/


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Spaghetti Carbonara

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The original recipe came from Gimme Some Oven. I’ve made a few changes to make this gluten-free, proportioned for two, and slightly healthier by replacing the pork bacon with turkey bacon. It’s a wonderful, quick dish and takes only about thirty minutes to whip this up.

Personally, I like to get all of my prep work out of the way first because it makes the cooking part of the process go smoothly.

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 Spaghetti Carbonara
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Italian
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Italian
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, parmesan and black pepper until well- blended. Set aside.
  2. Bring a big pot of generously-salted water to a boil on the stove.
  3. While waiting for the water to boil, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-heat.
  4. Add the turkey bacon and onion and cook until bacon is nearly crispy and onion is tender. Stir every few minutes.
  5. Once the pasta water is ready, add the spaghetti and cook according to package instructions until it is al dente.
  6. When the pasta is ready, carefully and quickly drain out the pasta water, and return the pasta to the hot pot immediately. With heat on low, stir pasta while pouring egg mixture into the pasta. Continue to toss until the egg mixture is cooked into the pasta. (You may see a few tiny clumps, but in general, the eggs will just coat the individual pieces almost like a sauce.)
  7. Add in the bacon and onion mixture and toss until mixed. Garnish with extra parmesan and/or chopped fresh parsley. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes

If you don't keep regular milk around, substitute nonfat dry milk. I found making the nonfat milk with 2 tbsp. powder to 2 tbsp. water worked well.

Photo from gimmesomeoven.com.

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French Pear Tart

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This recipe is provided courtesy of Daryl Wood Gerber, the author of A Souffle of Suspicion. 

From the publisher: 

The buoyant mood at Bistro Rousseau deflates when Chef Camille’s sister, Renee, turns up dead in the chef’s kitchen, and Mimi Rousseau must tease the real killer out of a mélange of menacing characters.

Print Recipe
 French Pear Tart
Course Desserts
Servings
Ingredients
Crust (*Gluten-free Crust Recipe Below)
Filling:
Gluten-free Crust
Course Desserts
Servings
Ingredients
Crust (*Gluten-free Crust Recipe Below)
Filling:
Gluten-free Crust
Instructions
Main Recipe
  1. Set one oven rack in the middle of the oven and set another at the top or second to the top slot (depending on how hot your broiler is).
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar and salt. Add melted butter and combine to form dough. Set the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough along the bottom and onto the side rims of the pan.
  4. Place the crust in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 28-30 minutes, or until crust turns golden brown. When ready, remove crust from oven and let it cool. Leave oven on.
  5. Meanwhile, set the fig preserves into a small microwaveable bowl and heat for about 40 seconds. Pour the fig preserves through a mesh strainer into a bowl to separate chunks from liquid. Don’t throw away either portion. Set aside.
  6. Now, slice three pears into 1/2-inch slices, discarding core. (You do not need to peel.) Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet. Add pear slices plus 1 tablespoon water. Cover and cook on medium heat until pears are slightly tender— about 3 minutes. Remove pears onto a large plate and let cool.
  7. Take the remaining three pears and cut them in the same manner. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in previously used skillet. Add the uncooked pears, chunks of fig reserves, and salt. Cook on medium heat, covered, for ten minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they cook through. You want them to be very tender.
  8. Using a potato masher, mash the pears and fig reserves into a puree. Let cook for another 5-7 minutes or until pureed mixture reduces and thickens. It will turn a darker color. That’s okay.
  9. Transfer pear-fig puree onto the cooled tart crust; spread evenly. It will fill up nicely.
  10. Next, take the cooled pear slices that you set side and assemble them in layered circles, starting at the outer edges, like a rose petal design. You might have to trim a few to make them fit together.
  11. Place tart on the middle rack of the oven. Bake at 350 degrees F for 28-30 minutes.
  12. Just before the tart is finished baking, warm up the strained liquid fig preserves for 20 seconds in the microwave.
  13. When the tart is cooked, remove it from oven and brush the surface of the pears evenly with the warmed fig liquid. Return the tart to the oven and place on the top rack (or second to the top rack). Broil very briefly!!! 1-2 minutes. Watch carefully until pears get a nice caramelized look. You don’t want the fig jam to burn.
  14. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 1 1/2 hours before serving.
  15. When ready—and this is a nifty trick—place the bottom of the tart pan on a wide can of food. Hold the ring part of the pan and carefully slide it downwards. It leaves a perfectly formed crust.
  16. Cut pear fig tart into eight slices and serve.
GLUTEN-FREE CRUST:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a bowl, mix together cornstarch, tapioca flour, sweet rice flour, whey flour, xanthan gum, sugar and salt. Add melted butter and combine to form dough. Set the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough along the bottom and onto the side rims of the pan.
  3. Place the crust in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 28-30 minutes, or until crust turns golden brown. When ready, remove crust from oven and let sit to cool. Leave oven on. Return to main recipe, Step 5: “Meanwhile, set the fig preserves…”
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Southwestern Turkey Salad

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The original recipe for this southwestern turkey salad came from a cookbook called Today’s Turkey Favorites which we sent away for in 1990. This book was only thirty-five pages long, but it contained a number of good recipes. “Today” is always a relative term because the original recipe is now nearly thirty years old. However, with a few little additions, this recipe is better than ever!

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 Southwestern Turkey Salad
This is a colorful way to create a turkey salad without using lettuce or tomato. It's very tasty and can be modified to be "hotter" very easily by modifying the spices or using a different salsa.
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Slice the zucchini 1/8" inch thick, shred the cheddar cheese, and chop the cilantro.
  2. Bring a pot containing 4 qt. water to a boil. This will be used to blanch the zucchini. If the water comes to a full boil before you're ready to blanch the zucchini, just turn the heat off and leave a lid on the pot.
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, add the olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the turkey and cook until turkey is barely pink. Add the chili powder, lime juice, taco seasoning and stir together well and cook until turkey is no longer pink.
  4. Add the salsa and simmer the turkey mixture for 5 minutes. While the turkey mixture is simmering, it's a good time to slice the avocado.
  5. When the turkey has about a minute to go, blanch the zucchini by putting the slices in boiling water for about a minute. Drain the zucchini and place zucchini slices in a circle on a plate.
  6. Spoon the turkey mixture on top of the zucchini, top with avocado slices and cheddar cheese. Serve with tortilla chips.
Recipe Notes

I like to get my prep work done in advance. This sometimes means I wind up with more dishes to do, but it relieves so much stress while you're in the "assembly phase". When we make this, we make individual plates, but you could make one large plate if you prefer.

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Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bars

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These Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares are a wonderfully tasty snack for anyone who likes peanut butter, butterscotch, and marshmallows. And who doesn’t? This is a great combination that’s sure to be a hit around the home or office. The only problem is…will you really want to share?

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 Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares
Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Passive Time 10 minutes
Servings
bars
Ingredients
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Passive Time 10 minutes
Servings
bars
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares
Instructions
  1. Heat a large pot over low heat and add peanut butter, butter and butterscotch chips. Stir the mixture constantly until all ingredients melt. This will probably take about ten minutes.
  2. Remove the mixture from the heat and set the pot aside about ten minutes to cool slightly.
  3. While the mixture is cooling, oil or spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick spray,
  4. Fold the marshmallows into the cooled mixture until they are evenly distributed. Some of the marshmallows may melt and create swirls in the mixture.
  5. Spread the mixture in the 9x13 pan and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. When completely cool, refrigerate the bars.
Recipe Notes

The original recipe called for 2 10.5 oz. bags. We could only find 16 oz. bags. We chose to buy extra and have the marshmallows handy for hot chocolate, etc. These bars seemed better when they were refrigerated and made very tasty quick snacks! Original recipe from www.howsweeteats.com.

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