These Berry Tarlets are made with a sugar cookie crust and creamy filling, topped with our favorite berries.  A delicious summer dessert that everyone will enjoy.

Sugar Cookie Crust:
1 package Organic Sugar Cookie Mix from The Pure Pantry
1/2 cup butter or butter alternative, such as Earth Balance, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup organic, non-hydrogenated shortening, such as Spectrum
1 egg
1 teaspoon cold water (or more if needed)

Filling:
1 8 ounce package cream cheese or substitute such as Tofutti Cream Cheese
1/2 cup raw agave nectar, preferably Nature’s Agave Raw variety
1 egg or egg substitute, such as 1 teaspoon Ener-G foods Egg Replacer mixed with 2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 pints fresh raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Prepare pastry crust by placing sugar cookie mix, butter and shortening in large mixing bowl.  Blend with pastry blender or fork until mixture is in pea sized bits.  Add egg and water and blend with pastry blender until dough comes together.   Using your hands,  pat dough into a flat disk.  Cover with waxed paper and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer until soft.  Add agave nectar, egg (or egg substitute) and vanilla and beat on low until combined.

Remove pastry dough from refrigerator.  Prepare a work surface by placing a large sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper down and lightly dust it with rice flour or corn starch.  Dust rolling pin with rice flour or cornstarch as well.  Roll out dough  to 1/4 inch thickness.

Place individual tartlet pans upside down on top of dough and push down.  Create 12 tartlets cuts outs.  If you have just a few little tartlet pans, you can prepare a few at a time.   With a metal spatula, lift cut out dough up and place in tartlet pan.  Press dough down firmly and evenly throughout pan with your fingers.

Poke holes in each pastry with a fork so surface has tiny holes throughout.

Place pans on cookie sheet.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool 5-7 minutes.  Meanwhile wash berries and drain in colander.

Fill tarlets with 1/4 cup cream cheese filling.  Return to oven on middle rack and back for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool completely.   Place berries on top of tartlet and dust with powdered sugar.

When Fats Domino wrote the song “I found my thrill, on Blueberry Hill”, I don’t think he was talking about the health benefits of eating blueberries, but perhaps he just didn’t know the facts.  Blueberries are a super food.  A healing fruit that is high in antioxidants, blueberries provide vitamin C, B complex, vitamin E, vitamin A, copper selenium, zinc, and iron.  An Ohio State University study published in 2009 found that blueberries shrunk the size of tumors and significantly improved survival rates in an animal research project.  A compound in blueberries has also been found to prevent colon cancer, according to a 2007 study jointly conducted by scientists at Rutgers University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The study’s lead researcher, Bandaru Reddy, PhD., said, “This study underscores the need to include more berries in the diet, especially blueberries.”  Maybe Fats Domino would have had a different name had he actually eaten blueberries?  Anyways, for those of us who want the thrill of nourishing our bodies with the top super foods, blueberries should be added to the list.

Gluten-free/Dairy-free alternatives

Ingredients:
2 cups The Pure Pantry Organic All Purpose Baking Mix
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup coconut oil or butter
1/2 c. brown sugar or coconut sugar
3 large eggs, beaten, or egg replacer
1/2 cup sour cream or sour cream substitute
3 tablespoons milk of choice (rice, almond or regular)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups organic blueberries, preferably fresh but frozen can be substituted if defrosted and drained

Crumb Topping:
3/4 cup The Pure Pantry Organic All Purpose Baking Mix
1/3 cup coconut oil or butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar or coconut sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Combine baking mix, salt, and nutmeg in large mixing bowl.
In a medium mixing bowl beat coconut oil (or butter).  Add brown sugar (or coconut sugar) and cream together.  Add eggs one at a time, blending after each addition.  With mixer on low, add sour cream (or non-dairy substitute), milk, vanilla and lemon zest.
Gently fold in blueberries with spoon.  Pour into greased bundt pan or 9 x 11 inch baking dish.
Prepare crumb topping by blending coconut oil (or butter) with baking mix and sugar until mixture resembles pea sized crumbs.  Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of cake.
Bake for 30 minutes or until tester comes out clean.  Cool before serving.

Farmers’ Markets Offer Families with Food Allergies a Bounty of Options
by Elizabeth Kaplan

For kids with allergies, shopping with mom or dad at a traditional grocery store can be very disheartening.  The majority of prepared and processed foods available have gluten, soy, dairy, nuts or eggs in them making it difficult to shop.  Not only do children feel left out, their parents often feel frustrated too.  Weaning your children from processed and prepared foods is one of the 10 Steps to “Going Gluten-Free” and a great way to kick the habit is to concentrate on a diet centered on whole foods by shopping at farmers’ markets.

At a farmers’ market you are presented with nature’s seasonal bounty.  There are no flashy cereal boxes or sugary snacks tempting your children, no scary chemical ingredients lacing the foods, and there are limited offerings which makes choosing something easier.  You are tempted by the smells and tastes of fresh, local produce and artesian foods.  Shopping and eating are just part of the fun. With a little preparation, you can turn any trip to the farmers’ market into an educational experience for your children while exposing them to a world of whole food choices that are free from all the bad stuff.

Here are some ideas for making your trip to farmers’ market an exciting adventure for kids, and give you time to enjoy the surroundings yourself.

Farmers’ Market Kid’s Activities:

1. Develop a list of questions for farmers: Young children often do not understand that some fruits grow on trees, some on vines, and others on bushes. The other day my three year old said, “We should plant a peach bush.”  Obviously he’s never seen a peach tree.  Talk to your kids about where and how different fruits and vegetables grow.  Play a question and answer game as you walk through the market to help them identify how fruits and vegetables grow.

2. Create a menu: As you are strolling around the farmers’ market, pick up a variety of ingredients to make a special family meal.  Have your children look at all the possibilities and come up with ideas.  See our family’s Farm to Table Sunday Supper Menu. (hyperlink)

3.  Give your kids some money to spend:  Our kids love to spend money, so we give them each $5 to choose what they’d like to purchase for their snacks and lunches.  While enhancing their math skills, they are also gaining confidence in decision making and social interaction.  Make sure your child is able to ask if an item is “gluten-free” or free from any other allergies he/she has.

4.  Find and purchase an unusual fruit or veggie: Have your kids help you find some produce that you would not normally eat. Buy it, take it home, and have the kids help cook it for dinner. This is a great way to get your family to try a variety of different foods.

5. Get artistic: Place all your beautiful produce in a basket.  When you get home give your children paper, colored pencils, watercolors or other art supplies and have them draw a still life of your farmers’ market basket.

6. Engage your children in cooking: You’ve planned the menu, purchased the food, now have your children help make the meal.  Children as young as three can help by washing produce, stirring, measuring, fetching items from the pantry, and setting the table. Older kids (10 and up) can chop produce, stir the pot, and help clean up by cleaning the counter and doing the dishes.
Shopping together at the Farmer’s Market is an opportunity to reconnect both with the food you eat, and the people who grow it. The more you can engage your kids in selecting, buying, preparing and cooking real, sustainable, non-processed, allergen-free foods, the better equipped they’ll be to make wise food choices in the future. The fact that you’ll be teaching your children to cook is just icing on the organic gluten-free carrot cake!

Take the fast food free pledge with your family, check out this site developed by a 12 year old~http://www.fastfoodfree.org/

On weekends, as a family outing, we like to visit the local Farmers’ Markets.  Today we went to the Del Mar Flower Hill Farmer’s Market .   For under $25.00, we picked up a cornucopia of fresh vegetables and fruits.   I am excited to share our Sunday Super Farm to Table Menu with you, prepared from the bounty of produce we purchased at the Farmers’Market.

A tour of any Farmers’ Market provides home cooks with inspiration.  Seeing nature’s fresh bounty, speaking with the vendors about how to prepare various offerings, and getting hungrier by the minute due to all the temptations, can put anyone in creative cooking mode.  But for gluten-free families, the experience of taking your children to the Farmers’ market is especially rewarding.  Children learn about many foods that are naturally free of gluten, they get excited to see, taste and smell the farm fresh produce, understand what foods can be grown locally, find out about sustainable farming practices  and get inspired to learn to cook.  In addition to produce, Farmers’ Markets often have gluten-free baked goods and breads, fresh fish, and jams, olives, pesto sauces and other artesian items that are naturally gluten-free.

Shopping and buying your food at a Farmers’ Market can help improve the nutrition of your family too. Many of the farmers harvest their produce the morning of the market so you will be getting the freshest and ripest foods possible. This also means that the food will taste, look, and smell the best and these foods will be higher in nutrients like phytochemicals which can protect against certain cancers.  Even your picky eaters will try new foods when they are able to pick them out from the farm stand.

This week our first stop was the Shroom Shack where dried and fresh mushrooms  were for available.    Shroom Shack sells gorgeous mushrooms at 10 farmer’s markets from San Juan Capistrano to San Diego.   Usually my children do not want to touch mushrooms, but after seeing all the varieties, funky shapes, and speaking with the kind vendor, they were excited to purchase a pint size medley mushroom basket and a container of dried morels and porcinis.   My Lentil Porcini Mushroom Risotto dish will be a great mid-week dish along with a green salad.

Our next stop was Behneman Farms, a local farm that grows organic fruits and vegetables.  Here we picked up blackberries and nectarines for a Fruit Crisp.

We also bought enormous leeks, only $1.00 for two, organic white potatoes— put those together and what do ya got? Potato Leek Soup, or served cold, Vichyssoise.

The avocados and citrus lined up together reminded us of a salad we make frequently that is featured in my cookbook.  It’s called Ensalada Verano.  After sampling one of the juicy oranges,  we decided to make a salad featuring citrus and avocado.   We also purchased cucumbers  and beautiful baby Roma tomatoes for the salad and for snacks throughout the week.

Shopping together at the Farmer’s Market is an opportunity to reconnect both with the food you eat, and the people who grow it. The more you can engage your kids in selecting, buying, preparing and cooking real, fresh, sustainable food, allergen-free foods, the better equipped they’ll be to make wise food choices in the future. The fact that you’ll be teaching your children to cook is just icing on the organic gluten-free carrot cake!

I am excited to share our Sunday Supper Farm to Table Menu using the bounty of produce we purchased on our family outing to the Farmers’ Market.

Sunday Supper: Farm to Table Menu
Potato Leek Soup
Farm Stand Salad with Balsamic Dressing
Peach-Green Chile Pulled Pork
Blackberry Nectarine Crisp

Potato Leek Soup
Gluten-free/Dairy-free Option/Vegan Option
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
4 medium leeks
2 celery ribs, including leaves
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 medium yellow potatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups leek stock (made from leek stocks)
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Tumeric
2 tablespoons butter, or butter substitute such as coconut oil
1/4 cup The Pure Pantry Organic All-Purpose Baking Mix
1/2 cup milk of choice, unflavored (rice, coconut, or regular 2%)

Instructions:

Cut off dark green stocks leek where it begins to turn pale green.  Wash stocks thoroughly.

Place in stock pot and cover with 6 cups water.  Add 2 ribs celery and 1 teaspoon salt.  Simmer over low heat for 1 hour.
Cut white part of leek in half.  Wash sliced leeks in a large bowl of cold water, separating layers with your figures to flush out the dirt.  Drain well in a colander.  Slice leeks into 1/2 inch pieces.

Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes.  Place 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat.  Add olive oil, leeks and onion.  Sauté until onions are soft.   Add potatoes, salt, and pepper, wine, leek stock and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, about 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Discard bay leaf.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter (or butter alternative) in a 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then add flour and cook roux, whisking, until golden, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 cups simmering stock (from soup), whisking vigorously (mixture will be thick), then whisk mixture into remaining soup and return to a simmer.  Whisk in milk of choice.
Blend soup in batches in a blender until smooth about 1 minute per batch, transferring to 4-quart saucepan. Serve chilled or hot.  If serving chilled, let soup cool to room temperature and place in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Farm Stand Salad
Serves 4
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 avocado
2 oranges
1 cucumber
1/2 cup Nicoise olives
6-8 baby heirloom tomatoes
1/4 cup goat feta cheese optional

Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe from “Fresh from Elizabeth’s Kitchen”
This is my time saving Balsamic Vinaigrette. I make a large batch every Sunday.

Ingredients:
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon
1 cub Dorot basil*
1 cube Dorot garlic*
1 teaspoon raw agave nectar, preferably Nature’s Agave

Instructions:
Place all ingredients in blender and process on medium until emulsified.
Pour into container and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

*Dorot makes frozen herb puree cubes.  They are available at most natural food stores and Trader Joe’s.

Peach-Green Chile Pulled Pork

Ingredients:
1– 2 1/2 – 3 lb. pork loin roast or pork shoulder roast
2 cups Pomegranate-Chipotle BBQ Sauce or store bought gluten-free BBQ sauce
1 nectarine, pit removed, roughly chopped
4  oz. can green chilies, chopped

Instructions:
Place pork shoulder in roasting pan (with lid).  Pour BBQ sauce over top.  Spread nectarine chunks over pork.  Add chopped green chilies.

Place in center of oven at 325˚ for 60 minutes.   Remove roast from over and turn over, ladle juices on top of meat.  Return to oven for 40 minutes.

Remove roast from oven.  With two forks, pull pork apart and stir pot to combine juices with sauce and meat.  If desired, stir in 2 more tablespoons BBQ sauce before serving.

Blackberry-Nectarine Crisp

A fantastic do-ahead dessert for entertaining or just the family.  Nectarine-Blackberry Crisp

Gluten-free/Dairy-free Option/Vegan Option
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
4 medium leeks
2 celery ribs, including leaves
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 medium yellow potatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups leek stock (made from leek stocks)
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Tumeric
2 tablespoons butter, or butter substitute such as coconut oil
1/4 cup The Pure Pantry Organic All-Purpose Baking Mix
1/2 cup milk of choice, unflavored (rice, coconut, or regular 2%)

Instructions:
Cut off dark green stocks leek where it begins to turn pale green.  Wash stocks thoroughly.
Place in stock pot and cover with 6 cups water.  Add 2 ribs celery and 1 teaspoon salt.  Simmer over low heat for 1 hour.
Cut white part of leek in half.  Wash sliced leeks in a large bowl of cold water, separating layers with your figures to flush out the dirt.  Drain well in a colander.  Slice leeks into ½ inch pieces.
Cut potatoes into ½ inch cubes.  Place 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat.  Add olive oil, leeks and onion.  Sauté until onions are soft.   Add potatoes, salt, and pepper, wine, leek stock and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, about 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
Discard bay leaf.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter (or butter alternative) in a 1-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then add flour and cook roux, whisking, until golden, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 cups simmering stock (from soup), whisking vigorously (mixture will be thick), then whisk mixture into remaining soup and return to a simmer.  Whisk in milk of choice.
Blend soup in batches in a blender until smooth about 1 minute per batch, transferring to 4-quart saucepan. Serve chilled or hot.  If serving chilled, let soup cool to room temperature and place in refrigerator for 1 hour.