gluten free chicken soup for the skier's soul

Usually every soup I make ends up having a curry flavor (like this one). It's an easy one to grab off the shelf and I know how it's going to come out. This week I got back to basics and aimed for a Chicken Soup that tasted, well like chicken soup.  Dave's a bit tired of curry soup too- it could be due to the fact that I usually use a large 8qt pot and end up filling it and we end up eating a few days worth of curry soup.
The night before I cut the chicken and marinated with EVOO and some Herbs de Provence. The next day I chopped veggies (around 6 big carrots, 1/2 large onion and 3 stalks of celery) while I cooked the chicken and boiled a half of a cup of dry lentils. I changed the water twice on the lentils as I like to be sure they're nice and clean. Although I didn't have to pre-cook,  I wasn't sure how long I was going to be and I'm still adjusting to the low cook times of sea level. Do lentils ever taste dirty to you or did I just make that up in my head?
I tossed everything in the 4 quart crock pot along with chicken stock and 1/2 cup of quinoa and cooked on low for 8 hours while I went out and hit the mountain for the day. It's been super cold here in the western mountains of Maine and I'm playing around with different combos of down jackets and hard shells. I've also grabbed the warmest fleece pants I own and paired them with Patagonia capaline for the super chilly sub zero days. 
It was a great mix up from the rice and curry soup that usually hits the table at camp chaos and I even tossed a handful of fresh spinach into my bowl to for some added veggie power. The quinoa really didn't need 8 hours so I may toss it in later in the day next time. A warm soup after a chill day at Sugarloaf really hit the spot and defrosted my body.

cool nights and warm gluten free dinners

Fall is creeping into the mountains of Telluride, a few young aspens are starting to change from deep green to a golden yellow hue and meals are changing from summer staples to warm comfort foods.

Like this lazanga made with Tinkyada noodles and Daiya dairy free cheese...

and layers of peperoni, sausage, spinach, mushrooms and sauce. I modified this recipe for tofu lasagna that I've used for a few years by skipping all cheese and using almond milk to keep it 100% dairy free.
And Chicken Parm (sans parm)

served over a bed of Ancient Harvest Quinoa Linguine and steamed spinach. Tonight's fall fare featured quinoa served with sauted spinach and mushrooms, grilled chicken and a bit of experimental green peppers and onion (these are a bit out of my comfort zone but hit the spot tonight).

I even wore a knitted hat and insulated jacket during our evening dog walk tonight. This morning the pups really had to turn on thier cute factor to get me out of my warm down comforter...

From Droid think outside

a bit of local love... Ouray Brewery

A brewery? What- that can't be right why would a place that is based on beer be a safe place for a glutard? It's true, the Ouray Brewery in Ouray, Colorado was a great meal for me. Dave and I left Telluride's box canyon and headed to Ouray for a day at the hot springs. We grabbed lunch at the Ouray Brewery as we had reccently seen an ad that mentioned their gluten free friendly menu.

I had  Mushrooms and Herbed Quinoa and I wish that the quinoa I make at home would come out this good. It's nutty flavor paired well with the fresh herbs and the mushrooms au poivre.

They also served bottled gluten free beer, Green's which is just over a pint. It's hard for me to finish while it's still cold but it's such a great feeling to sit in a brew pub and enjoy a meal and a beer. Speaking of... the barstools were actually swings. They came from a scenic lift in Utah and made for a novel experience.

Dave was pretty excited and even got a growler of gluten beer to enjoy later at home.

Stuffed Squash

Two weeks ago on our grocery store adventure- (really a full day of stocking up is an adventure) I found squash on sale. I'm working on eating more veggies and picked a few up. I did a bit of research and found Allie's Stuffed Squash and gave it a whirl with a few tweaks of my own.
I cut the squash and cooked for 45 minutes at 400 with some butter and syrup then stuffed with quinoa and spinach that I had made in the rice cooker/steamer. I fried up a bit of bacon for a garnish and moderate the insane veggie intake of my dinner.

My squash came out a bit on the dry side so next time I'll go back to my normal squash prep of cutting in half and baking the two sides upside down in a Pyrex dish with a half inch of water in the pan. It just works better for me- I live at 9,000 feet in a dry climate.  It's not a meal that Dave would get excited about but made for a good dinner and leftovers for me.

busy winter day eats...

I'm not a huge fan of most gluten free pastas but took a chance and tried the Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta. Ok yes, I LOVE rice noodles for street noodles but I'm talking about a pasta to smear in pesto or red sauce. This cooks well and has a nice almost nutty flavor. I haven't tried to reheat at all but I never really liked gluten spaghetti reheated. Dave found their linguine in town today and that's my next dish since I polished this box off today.
We live in a small town and specialty products can be expensive here so I save pesto purchases for our monthly stock up trips. I have found that pesto freezes well and ice cube trays create perfect portions for pizza cubes and and 1/8 of a cube for a single serving of pasta. Just pull out and defrost and hour before eating. This keeps us from wasting a tub of pesto or ever having to go without.

We had a big weekend and it included over a foot of fresh powder and some great skiing on Saturday.

We took a hot cocoa break and found this bit to go along with it...

A Chocolate Bacon Bar!

It was even marked Gluten Free right on the box... there's not a ton of GF options to grab on the go and this was a tasty one. It's not my favorite and was terribly pricey but made for a interesting ski break at High Camp.

Sunday is slow cooker day at our house. We both work and it's an easy way to start the week. We normally go for a big cut of meat and a sauce from Make It Fast, Cook It Slow but today since I was working from home I made the Orange Chicken. We hadn't made in since the fall and we're both excited to enjoy it again... just a few more hours till dinner...

Quinoa for lunch

A quick quinoa mix for lunch.... Spices, onion, peas and curry chicken to help get me through a big day at work!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless crackBerry

Dinner on the road....

At whole foods today I pick up a hot lunch and packed a cool dinner at the food bar. My quinona, chicken and potatoes kept well in the cooler all afternoon and make a yummy wheat free dinner at the hotel tonight. It saves me from navigating a restaurant's menu as well as letting me relax at the hotel.
That's what I love about whole foods.... Its not just a salad but a food bar with lots of wheat free options! Plus I grabbed some redbridge and like it much better then the last wheat free beer I sampled.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry