Tomato Coconut Soup

Simple, quick, and dairy free. Just a note - when I say a 19 oz can or a 14 oz can of something in my recipes, that's not an exact requirement, that's just the size that these things typically come in. The amounts can vary. This isn't like baking where you need to be fairly precise. And you can leave the onion out if you don't like it or can't eat it.

Ingredients:
2 19 oz cans of diced or crushed tomatoes
1 14 oz can of coconut milk
1 onion, chopped
Olive oil or butter (but don't use butter if you're making it for someone who doesn't eat dairy)
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh or dried basil (optional)

Directions:
In a large sauce pan over medium-low, sautee the onion in the olive oil or butter until it is nice and translucent. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the canned tomatoes and coconut milk and heat through (you don't have to boil it), stirring frequently. Serve sprinkled with dried basil or with with a few fresh basil leaves on top.

Macaroni and Cheese

I actually don't make this very often because I've always thought macaroni and cheese was kind of boring, but I know some people really miss it after they have to stop eating gluten, so I thought I would post my recipe. When I do make it, it's usually because I'm going out of town and I have milk and cheese to use up, so I mix it up and freeze it in small portions (and I usually also add any random vegetables that are hanging out in the fridge - the last batch had kale, red bell peppers, celery, mushrooms, and onions in it).

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon (plus extra in case it doesn't thicken right away) sweet rice flour (also called sticky rice flour or glutinous rice flour - don't be alarmed by the word "glutinous", it just means sticky. It's made from the same rice they make sushi out of and it's really good for thickening)

2 cups milk

2-4 cups grated cheese (I use cheddar usually, but use whatever you like or a mixture)

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (optional, leave it out if you hate blue cheese, but it tastes really good if you're a fan)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 16 oz package gluten free macaroni

Feel free to add random vegetables if you want to be a freak like me. If you're feeling really adventurous, bake up a spaghetti squash and use that instead of pasta.

Directions:

While you're making the sauce, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.

To make the sauce: In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the sweet rice flour. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Heat the mixture almost to boiling, stirring almost constantly. Make sure you don't burn it. It should start to bubble and thicken. If it looks like it's not going to thicken, whisk in a tablespoon or so of more sweet rice flour. When it starts to get thick, add the cheese and stir until the cheese has melted uniformly into the sauce. Mix the sauce with the pasta and serve. You can also put it in a casserole dish and top with more cheese and broil it if you want to be fancy like that.

Squash Soup

A good way to use up those random squashes that have been sitting on your counter since September.

Ingredients:
1 large squash, roasted and scooped out of its skin
3-4 cups broth (I've been using turkey broth that's been in the freezer from Thanksgiving, but you can use whatever you like. Just remember to use veggie broth for vegetarians and make sure that packaged broth is gluten-free - many aren't!)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced (also optional, but I'm really in love with fennel right now)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 oz cream cheese (leave out if you're making it dairy-free - I know that's really obvious, but I feel like I have to say that so that people don't feel the need to inform me that cream cheese has dairy in it)

Directions:
Combine the cooked squash and broth in a large sauce pan. Before you heat it up (because cold stuff splattering everywhere is better than hot stuff splattering everywhere), blend with an immersion blender or mash with a potato masher to get the lumps out of the squash. Add the fennel, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat until the fennel is cooked (30 minutes to an hour, but you can keep simmering it as long as you want). About 10 minutes before serving, add the cream cheese if using and stir until it has melted into the soup.