Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Gluten Free Crustless Goat Cheese Fruit Tart

I love Summer when fruit is at the peak of its season.  This gluten and cows milk dairy free Crustless Goat Cheese Fruit Tart is creamy and tart yet sweet and tangy... The perfect summer treat!  It is a mix between a custard and a cheesecake and is best served cold.  Speaking of cheesecake... Cheesecake is another of those foods that I miss desperately, but so many of the cows milk dairy free options are laden with soy or nuts instead.  So if you can tolerate goats milk dairy this version of a rift on a cheesecake loaded with fruit might be a perfect summer treat for you. 

Also, this recipe lends itself to being played with... Feel free to switch up the fruits as any sort of stone fruit will work beautifully in this crustless goat cheese fruit tart.  This recipe is loosely adapted from Crustless Coconut Pie from Gluten Free Easily


Crustless Goat Cheese Fruit Tart

3 large eggs
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
6 oz chevre (soft fresh goat cheese)
3 tbs rice flour
2 tbs corn starch
1 c full fat coconut milk
1/3 c coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
9 apricots, halved & pitted
1 cup cherries, halved & pitted

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Spray a deep dish pie pan with oil.
Place the fruit in an even layer in the pie pan.
Beat together the eggs, sugar and goat cheese until smooth.
Beat in the rice flour and corn starch.
Beat in the coconut milk, coconut oil, vanilla, and vinegar.
Pour the batter over the fruit.
Bake for 45 minutes or longer until the filling is set in the center.
Let cool to room temperature and then chill well before serving.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Refrigerator Pickled Green Tomatoes

These Refrigerator Pickled Green Tomatoes which are  naturally dairy and gluten free are the result of  dealing with the hand mother nature dealt me... We had a major hail storm come through and it just thrashed my poor garden.  I wasn't home when it happened, but my husband was and he sent me pictures of the hail on the front steps.  When he wouldn't send me pictures of the garden I knew it had to be bad.  When I got home I wanted to cry at the aftermath of the damage of a fickle mother nature!!  My tomato plants which had been loaded with green tomatoes were just broken and laying everywhere with all the lovely green tomatoes knocked off and lying askew.  I picked up all of those green tomatoes and decided to make pickled green tomatoes instead of letting them waste.  Since my green tomatoes had hail damage I had to trim my tomatoes, if you use unblemished green tomatoes then pierce the small ones a few times to help get the brine to penetrate quickly.  These dairy and gluten free Pickled Green Tomatoes are delicious and in my case might be the only tomatoes I get from my garden! 


Refrigerator Pickled Green Tomatoes

Add to the bottom each quart jar:
     4 cloves of freshly peeled garlic
     1 large fresh dill head or 1 tbs dill seeds
     1 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
     1 small serrano pepper with slits cut into it (optional for spice)

Green tomatoes - enough to fill how many jars you want to make.  Pack the tomatoes in tightly but do not smash them.  I like small bite sized tomatoes best (pierce these to let the brine penetrate). Halve or quarter larger tomatoes as necessary.

Brine - approximately enough for 1 quart jar (combine in a small non reactive pot and bring just to boil to dissolve ingredients.)
1 c vinegar (I like apple cider vinegar for this but white vinegar is traditional)
1 c water
2 tbs kosher salt
1 tbs sugar

Pour the brine into the jar, leaving approximately ½ inch headspace.
Tap jars gently on countertop to dislodge any trapped air bubbles.
Apply lids and let jars cool. When they've returned to room temperature, place jars in refrigerator. Let them sit for at least 1week before eating.