C'mon Spring!

There was ice on my little pond this morning. ICE! It's March 26th for goodness sake. I want sunshine. Green plants! Flowers! Flip-flops, not boots! I want my pond to look like the picture above, not a tiny ice-skating rink.

But Barista is home for "spring" break, so we've had fun, despite the dreary and oh-so-cold Ohio weather. She is deciding between two (yeah!) grad programs at Ohio State next fall so we've been doing a lot of talking about the programs so she can make her choice by the April 15 deadline. (Not such a bad problem to be forced to choose between two great options at OSU, mind you!)

Tonight we're going to dinner at some friends' house in Grandview. Barista would like to find an apartment in the quaint area and they may have some good advice. . . plus they're fun to be with! I offered to bring some gluten free appetizers, and have landed on the idea of a tray of three "small" offerings -- bacon-wrapped, almond stuffed dates; crab dip with GF crackers, and large, green olives. Recipes are below.

Bacon-wrapped stuffed dates
Cream cheese (may be light), cut into 18 (1/2 by 1/4-inch) pieces
18 pitted dates
18 salted and roasted almonds
6 slices bacon cut crosswise into thirds

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Stuff 1 piece of cheese and 1 almond into each date, then wrap one piece of bacon around each date and secure with a toothpick. Arrange dates, bacon seam down on a shallow baking pan.

Bake 5 minutes, then turn dates over and bake until bacon is crisp, 5 to 6 minutes more. Drain on a paper towel. Serve immediately or at room temp. (Note: mine took much longer than this for the bacon to get crisp!)

Crab Dip

1 (12-ounce) container whipped cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 lemon, juiced

2 teaspoons white wine

Dash Frank's hot sauce

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 (6-ounce) can crabmeat

2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus more for garnish

In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, Worcestershire, lemon juice, wine, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Fold in the crabmeat and chives. Top with additional chives. Serve with crackers and veggies.

Happy Spring and Gluten-Free Asian Chicken Meatballs

Hooray, it's the first day of Spring! When my kids were little, we would talk about the Spring Equinox and how legend has it, you can balance an egg on its end. Then, we'd go outside and try it on the sidewalk. It actually worked! (Or was that the little indentation in the sidewalk that helped?)

Yesterday was gorgeous and I did one of my favorite spring tasks -- burning sticks. Nothing like picking up all the twigs and sticks in the still-muddy backyard, throwing them in the firepit and lighting a nice, afternoon blaze. What says spring like that, huh? Last night, though, brought an absolutely stunning full moon -- the largest full moon in almost 20 years. There is a scientific explanation (and name) for this but I can't remember what it is. But, on a crystal-clear Ohio night, oh, that moon was breathtaking!

For dinner last night, I wanted something low-carb, healthy and totally tasty that even 18-year-old Chip would like. These Asian chicken meatballs with ponzu sauce were just the ticket. They would make a great appetizer or light dinner.

Gluten Free Asian Chicken Meatballs with Ponzu Sauce

Meatballs:
1/3 cup gluten free cornflake crumbs
1/3 cup gluten free brown rice breadcrumbs
1/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut (don't leave out!)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce with garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 pound ground chicken
1 egg white

Sauce:
1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon white wine
1 teaspoon sugar
dash hot sauce (ie Frank's)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all meatball ingredients in large bowl. Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add 8 meatballs to pan and cook for 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove meatballs and arrange on cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Repeate with remaining meatballs. Bake meatballs for 7-10 min or until done.

For sauce, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Serve with meatballs. (Note: meatballs are great wrapped in a boston lettuce leaf, drizzled with sauce and eaten like a taco, or even better, served over white rice that has been adorned with some cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.)

Gluten Free Shrimp Etouffee and Hocking Hills, Ohio

Oh, winter, when will you head out and leave a balmy, green spring in your wake? Oh well, what can we do while we wait out Ohio's icy season? For me and my friends, at least one winter weekend means heading down to Hocking Hills in southern Ohio and renting a big log house, hiking, cooking, playing board games, sitting in the hot tub....and cooking! This year, though our numbers were smaller due to some winter illnesses that cropped up and unavoidable conflicts, we still managed to enjoy a lovely weekend and a short trek to Old Man's Cave (above). (Check out my cool boots that I got at a garage sale last summer -- real fur!) We would have hiked more extensively but a pesky ice storm two days before covered the trails with a good 2 inches of ice. Luckily Stu and Maryanne were ready w/ ski poles that had sharp ice picks on the ends! (Check out the frozen waterfall below. For a sense of how massive the icicles above and the whatever-you-call-the-frozen-ice-structure in the pool, note the size of the people hiking to the left.)


Back at the ranch, I made a tummy-warming shrimp etouffee. This was kinda based on a recipe from Emeril that I changed massively. And it was easy to cart down to the cabin -- I made the base the morning we left, and then simply put it all together in a big soup pot at the cabin. Add a blazing fire in the fireplace, a few glasses of red wine (or maybe an ale), and a little KD Lang on the CD player, and you've got a fabulous winter afternoon w/ friends!

Gluten Free Shrimp Etouffee a la Hocking Hills

5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup gluten free flour
1 cup chopped onion
2 green peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes with chiles (Rotel)
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspooon oregano
2 dashes Frank's Hot Sauce
1 quart chicken broth

3 pounds raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 chicken Andouille sausages, fully cooked, sliced and browned in a saute pan
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Freshly cooked white rice

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add GF flour and stir to make a roux. Cook roux for 5-7 min. Add onions, bell peppers, garlic and cook for 10 min. Add tomaatores, bay lweaves, cayeenn and tspoices. Whisk in the chicken broth. Bring to boil and simmer for 45 min. (Can be made ahead. Cool, and cart to the cabin with the other ingredients).

At the cabin, heat up the sauce. Add the shrimp and sausage and cook until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Add chopped parsley. Serve in bowls topped with a big spoonful of freshly cooked white rice.