“I can’t have dairy, I’m lactose intolerant”. Does that sound familiar? Lately it seems everything and everyone is going lactose free for a variety of reasons and as a result, there is a lot of confusion surrounding lactose intolerance. It’s a subject I’m very familiar with both personally and professionally. My son C is lactose intolerant – a condition he was diagnosed with as a toddler. As a nutrition professional, lactose intolerance is not only a subject I studied in school  but it’s also a subject I teach about in my food and nutrition classes. So, when the National Dairy Council asked if I would be interested in doing a series on lactose intolerance and developing some recipes for people with lactose intolerance I couldn’t wait to get started! Over the next few months I’ll be doing a series on lactose intolerance – and since this is a food blog those posts will definitely be featuring some new and tasty recipes like this Roasted Strawberry Sherbet that are terrific whether you are lactose intolerant or not!

So what exactly is Lactose intolerance?  Simply put, it means the body doesn’t produce enough of the digestive enzyme lactase which is needed to break down the lactose contained in dairy products. Symptoms include bloating, gas and diarrhea but unlike food or milk allergies, these symptoms aren’t an immune response. They are caused by the growth of intestinal bacteria that is “fed” by the undigested lactose. In general, the symptoms of lactose intolerance aren’t harmful, but they definitely are uncomfortable – which explains why so many people who are lactose intolerant avoid dairy. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing my experiences dealing with C’s lactose  intolerance and what I’ve learned through the process (such as even if you’re lactose intolerant you can have dairy!)  along with tips, tricks and of course recipes!

One thing I have learned though, is that a major challenge for those with lactose intolerance is ice cream – or rather the lack of it! But those days are over because I’ve got the solution – a lactose free sherbet! Yep, I’ve been experimenting here at the Table and have to say I am pretty excited about this Roasted Strawberry Sherbet! In fact, I think it’s going to be my “ice cream” of choice for the summer months. It’s smooth and creamy but definitely lighter than traditional ice cream – and it is delicious with fruit, providing just the right balance to showcase the flavor of whatever fruit you decide to use.

The secret? I used whole lactose free milk and eggs to create a light custard. Since my strawberries weren’t at the peak of sweetness, I decided to roast them with a little good balsamic vinegar and then layered them in with the ice cream. To be honest, my family was downright skeptical of this experiment but after one taste, were easily won over!

This post was written while participating in my partnership with the National Dairy Council but as always, the opinions expressed are my own.

Looking for more information on lactose intolerance? The National Dairy Council Website is a fabulous place to start! I really like the

Lactose Intolerance Educational Materials from the National Dairy Council as well!

Roasted Strawberry Sherbet is a post from: A Communal Table

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Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better… Melissas Produce went and introduced NEW produce collections. The newest additions are – Organic Purification Boxes! Melissas graciously sent me the Organic Purification Box B to play with… and play I did!  Overflowing with grape tomatoes, leaf lettuce, spinach, romaine, beets, sweet potato, cucumber, ginger, garlic, apple, kiwi and orange, these  boxes  are a  bonanza for juicing – or  in my  case,  for making salads – like this Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Beets and Siracha dressing.

If you are like  me, you can’t always make it to your weekly farmer’s market,. Well, Melissas has solved that problem -  the “market” can come to you!!! Filled with beautiful, fresh and nutritious vegetables these Organic Purification boxes area a terrific and easy way to add more vegetables to your diet. So what can you do with Melissa’s Organic Purification Boxes? The possibilities are almost endless as I discovered when I started making a list of everything I could make with all the ingredients in the box!

Looking for some ideas? Well, here are some delicious ways to use those veggies! The tomatoes and Romaine would be perfect in this Romaine Salad with Hatch Chiles (making use of those Melissa’s Hatch chiles you roasted and froze from last season). The kiwi would be terrific in this Strawberry and Kiwifruit Pavlova and the beets and sweet potatoes? This  Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Beets and Siracha dressing is just the thing. Tender roasted sweet potatoes and beets combined with an orange siracha dressing, the salad is sweet, spicy and  chock full of vitamin A and C, fiber, iron and calcium.

Like Melissa’s other fabulous produce boxes, these Organic Purification boxes are available for $25.00 and include delivery within Southern California (if you live outside So Cal you can still order the boxes however the delivery cost will be higher due to shipping). I think this would make a terrific Mother’s Day gift, or a gift for a recent graduate… or even better,  order these for yourself – truly one of the  best “gifts”  you can give yourself and your family – fresh, delicious and nutritious produce!

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Beets and Siracha Dressing is a post from: A Communal Table

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Sometimes I think my refrigerator looks more like the lab of some mad scientist than an actual family refrigerator. There are lots of labeless bottles and jars  sporting homemade sauces, pickles, preserved lemons and liquids of almost every color.I recently added a new specimen bottle to the collection – a lemon syrup  for  my summer  “go to” beverage – Sparkling Rosewater Lemonade!!!

I was first introduced to this refreshing drink by my friend Diana after one of our “field trips” -  a fun filled day spent visiting the world’s largest grower of Tillandsia’s – Rainforest Flora in Torrance. Arriving back in the OC we were parched and in definite need of refreshment. Within minutes Diana handed me this gorgeous, pink, fizzy lemonade – a little tart, a little sweet with this  beautiful floral aroma from the rosewater – truly the perfect spring/summer libation. We drank ours sans liquor -  I know, I know “what were we thinking??? But it wasn’t quite 5 o’clock and after downing one of these  I could easily imagine turning this Sparkling Rosewater Lemonade into a cocktail by adding a little vodka.

Having a nice supply of lemons from my tree, I juiced those babies up and made a jar full of syrup – a welcome addition to my growing collection of  homemade goodies inhabiting my refrigerator – ready and waiting to quench my thirst at a moment’s notice. With Mother’s Day coming up and the season of bridal showers, baby showers and graduations upon us, this Sparkling Rosewater Lemonade is the perfect beverage to have on hand – and definitely deserving of some of that valuable real estate in your refrigerator!!!

Sparkling Rosewater Lemonade is a post from: A Communal Table

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“What do you crave and what food couldn’t you live without?” Recently, I was asked this question and, being the food lover that I am, I had to think long and hard about my answer. And after hours (ok, it was more like 10 minutes but when contemplating  a world in which I could only have one food I didn’t linger over that horrifying idea) my answer was… bread. But I’m not talking about that pale, white spongy sandwich bread version of childhood.  No, I am talking about hearty, rustic toothsome bread, bread that will hold up to a load of ingredients, that can handle the likes of this Steak, Mushroom and Talera Sandwich.

Ever since Nancy Silverton opened her eponymous bakery on La Brea I’ve been a fan. Ok, let’s be honest here, an obsessive fan (read on to see exactly how obsessive) . I distinctly remember the first time I had La Brea Bakery’s  bread – it was  sublime and I honestly recall hearing angels sing because it was that good – a crispy, chewy crust with a tender yet toothsome center .. and the flavor!!!   I’d never had bread that good in my life. But since I lived in Orange County and the La Brea Bakery was in L.A. my opportunities to sample this food of the gods (IMHO) was limited and every trip to L.A. pretty much had to include a stop at the bakery.  So, when La Brea Bakery first began selling their bread outside of the bakery well…. I am here to tell you that dreams do indeed come true!

Since that day, La Brea bread has been the bread of choice in our household. Our standard “fast food” meal consists of a store bought rotisserie chicken, spring mix salad greens, a mango, any kind of berry available and a loaf of La Brea’s “take and bake” bread. Hamburger buns have been permanently replaced by the Talera rolls and our everyday sandwich bread is the Multigrain Artisan Sandwich bread.

In addition to these bona fides of our fan status, La Brea Bakery’s “take and bake” loaves were also included in the Christmas gifts my husband’s company sent to their clients.

I think it’s safe to say that if La Brea Bakery had a fan club, we’d be charter members. Told you I was a bit obsessed with it, didn’t I?

So, when I decided to pen this paean to all things La Brea Bakery I knew I needed something special – this Steak, Mushroom and Talera Sandwich. Based on one of my all time favorite salads (another obsession!) it’s made with layers of grilled, thinly sliced flat iron steak,  red onions and shitake mushrooms sauteed with a little olive oil and sherry wine vinegar, arugula and finished with a good slather of a spicy chipotle laced mayonnaise and piled on top of a La Brea Bakery Talera roll.

Obsession has never tasted this good.

Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. ALL opinions expressed here are my own. I honestly and truly love these products and just wanted to “share the love” with all of you!!

Steak, Mushroom and Talera Sandwich is a post from: A Communal Table

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Remember me?

I know – it’s been ages since I posted a new recipe – between work, technical problems (2 crashed external hard drives) and a packed La Crosse schedule well… you know that story as well as I do! Like almost everything else it seems, cooking has also been a “catch-as-catch-can” proposition lately.. my thoughts have been fragmented and scattered which is not conducive to cooking! Which brings me to these Turkey Zucchini Sliders – which, after the last few weeks, I am convinced that everyone needs to have in their freezer!

“Handy” doesn’t even begin to cover it – these Turkey Zucchini Sliders are incredibly versatile – you can eat them on their own with a little tzatziki sauce on the side, stuff ‘em into pitas with tomatoes and lettuce, plop them on a traditional burger bun or even put them over pasta with some roasted veggies. Definitely my kind of “fast food!”

Dinner. Done. Yes!!! And for those nights when you  can’t wrap your  head around dinner these Turkey Zucchini Sliders are worth their weight in gold.

And the best part aside from the fact that everyone in my family likes them? They can have them their way.. fast food never tasted so good!

Turkey Zucchini Sliders is a post from: A Communal Table

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Recipe ideas come from many places – cookbooks, magazines, restaurant meals, a vacation – you name it, it probably has inspired someone to create a recipe. This Thai Hot and Sour Soup was inspired by a cookbook I was flipping through on a recent trip – although the soup that inspired it was a bit  different – combining squash, coconut milk and thai spices  (which I did end up making and it was delicious!) but this Thai Hot and Sour Soup is  the version I kept coming back to as I doodled on the plane – a variation of Tom Yum soup.

As you probably know, I love soup almost as much as I love salads and appetizers – and soups are definitely my “fall back” plan when I can’t decide what to make for dinner- my version of  “fast food” . Yes, I said fast food -   and soup is definitely fast food if you have the right ingredients on hand – and by ingredients I am talking about stock. Although I love making homemade stock, my demand for it definitely outstrips my supply (and my freezer space!)  – and so there are always jars of chicken, beef, vegetable and mushroom  “Better than Bouillon” bases in my refrigerator for making quick  pasta dishes, sauces, or for soups like this  Thai Hot and Sour soup. A combination of  Better than Bouillon’s Organic Chicken Base, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallots, fish sauce and rice wine vinegar made a fragrant and   flavorful soup and with the addition of  some cooked and shredded chicken, shitake mushrooms, pea pods, jalapeno and some slippery noodles it fit right into the category of not only fast food, but a one dish dinner. Since I’m trying to add more vegetables to our meals, I paired this Thai Hot and Sour Soup  with a simple salad of napa cabbage, cucumbers and carrots dressed with a little rice wine vinegar… easy, nutritious and delicious…truly fast food at it’s best!!

Would you like to try some Better than Bouillon?? Well, you are in luck because I just so happen to have a little giveaway for you today!! In fact, I have TWO giveaways today – two lucky readers will each receive a 5 pack of Better than Bouillon’s Organic Bases – chicken, beef, mushroom, vegetable and turkey!

If  you’d like to win one of these packs of Better than Bouillon Organic Bases it’s easy! Do one, or all of the following!!

1. Sign up for my RSS feed, and leave a comment that you are!

2. Follow me on Pinterest. and leave me a comment that you are!

3. Join me on Google Plus - and let me know in the comments!

4. Follow me on Twitter and let me know  in the comments!

5. Leave me a comment and tell my your favorite soup!

The more you do, the more chances you have to win! The Giveaway will end on Thursday, April 4, 2012 at 12pm PST. Winners will be selected by a Random Number Generator on Friday, April 5, 2013!

*This post was sponsored by Better than Bouillon. However, all opinions, recipes and photographs are my own.

Thai Hot and Sour Soup is a post from: A Communal Table

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Happy Spring Everyone!!!

Change is in the air – plants are emerging from their winter naps, spring fruits and vegetables are beginning to appear in the markets and so naturally it’s time for a change of cocktail as well.   So what better cocktail to toast Spring than this Lillet Rose Cocktail?  Lillet Rose, fresh lemon juice and peach liqueur – its a little sweet, a little tart with a beautiful  peach color – and a wonderful excuse to pull out  that crystal to show it off!

Lillet Rose is the newest addition to the Lillet family of fortified wines which are drunk throughout France as an aperitif- except, as David Lebovitz notes, in Paris! If you’ve never tried Lillet, I highly recommend it. I am a big fan of fortified wines and this Lillet Rose did not disappoint. Served chilled over ice, it’s a very civilized way to start a meal and is a refreshing change from the usual glass of wine. Although Lillet Rose is delicious on it’s own over ice, it’s fruity, floral and honey notes make it a terrific base for all kinds of spring and summer cocktails like this Lillet Rose Cocktail.

These Lillet Rose Cocktails will be a  beautiful addition to Easter brunch and a  festive way to welcome guests to a birthday lunch or wedding shower. Speaking of brunch, here are some great brunch recipes to pair with the Lillet Rose Cocktail!

Avocado, Tomato and Poached Egg Salad

Brown Butter and Cardamom Coffee Cake

Lillet Rose Cocktail is a post from: A Communal Table

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So what do you make for people who can’t have gluten?

The simple answer is “lots of things” -  soups, salads, meat and rice dishes all come to mind.  But when it comes to breads, the answer is not so simple and a question  that I wrangled with a bit this past  semester.  I was teaching a class on cultural foods and several of my students could not have gluten.  Since they needed to sample to dishes I demonstrated in class  I had to find some alternatives and in the process, found some absolutely fabulous dishes – such as this  gluten free Moroccan Flat Bread.  Made with chickpea flour, it is Morocco’s version of socca,  a chickpea flour pancake that is  a common street food in Nice. This  Moroccan Flat Bread is thicker – it has an almost custardy texture and is generally served with a sprinkling of cumin  and a dab of harissa.

And it is really, really good.

And really, really easy.

In class, we enjoyed this  Moroccan Flat Bread straight out of the pan, but it would be great served alongside a salad, with soup, or as an appetizer  (maybe with a little tapenade or tomato salsa!) or  as part of a mezze platter.

And it was not only a hit with me, but with my students!

To be honest, baking with gluten free ingredients isn’t something that I’ve done a lot – there is an art to it

Moroccan Flat Bread is a post from: A Communal Table

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Sometimes, it seems a bit like Christmas when you write a food blog. Last week, Melissas Produce shipped me one of their new organic produce  boxes to play with – WOOT! Inside were lots of organic goodies – kale, collard greens, rainbow chard,romaine lettuce, italian parsley, carrots, celery pears, apples and oranges – and I lost no time in putting them all to work in my kitchen. After cutting up the chard for a soup, I was left with these beautiful stems which were just too pretty to throw away (and I um, planned to have photos of said box and stems but ahem, I accidently deleted them:-(). Since those stems were simply too gorgeous to toss,  I decided to try this  Rainbow Relish. I know, I know, chard stems? Really? Yes, really. I was skeptical as well, but let me tell you, these little stems make a terrific relish that is great with roasted pork, chicken or a meaty fish like swordfish.. As  they say,  “waste not, want not” – but in this case, you are definitely going to “want” this relish!

So, what exactly is this produce box from Melissas Produce? Genius, I tell you, genius! Between 7 – 11 lbs of organic produce shipped right to your door – you can choose a 50/50 box (50% fruit and 50% vegetables) a green juice box and an all vegetable box -  and since the folks at Melissas are experts at shipping fresh  produce, everything arrives fresh and ready to eat! I love these boxes for a couple of reasons  – each Melissas box has a wide  assortment of fruits and vegetables unlike some CSA boxes. Of course the contents will change from week to week depending upon on what is in season – and to me that is one of the best parts.  These  Organic Mixed Vegetable and Fruit boxes encourage me to think outside the box – to try a new vegetable or a new preparation – like using the chard stems in this Rainbow Relish. As I have always told my boys “you weren’t born knowing you liked chocolate – you had to try it to figure that out”! Well, the same applies to vegetables! Who knows what treasures await you inside one of these Organic Mixed Vegetable and Fruit boxes!  Right now, the boxes are available from Melissas for $25.00 each for delivery within Southern California! Live outside Southern California? You can still order a box – however, shipping charges will be higher.

So what did I do with the rest of the fruit and vegetables – read on for some inspiration!

Carrot Salad with Moroccan Spices

Pickled Celery

Chicken, Barley And Kale Soup

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Dia duit!

And a good day to you all!  It is almost here – St. Patrick’s Day, the day  when just about everyone in America becomes Irish. Since I’m Irish, I couldn’t let the day pass without paying some form of  tribute here at the Table. So in true Irish fashion, I have a drink for you… the Irish Kiss Cocktail -  a great introduction to Irish Whiskey and  in my opinion, far superior to drinking green beer – a shot (or two!) of Jameson’s whisky, a wee bit of clover honey and finished with a good dose of ginger beer!

Now, if  you haven’t decided yet on your St. Patrick’s Day menu, I have some great suggestions for you!!

Although Corned Beef and Cabbage is “traditional”, it definitely is not everyone’s “cup of tea” (and yes, that would be my family) so… why not try a good Cottage Pie instead?

If you are looking for something vegetarian, then this Irish Boxty might be just what you are looking for…

It definitely wouldn’t be St. Patrick’s Day without some Irish Brown Bread, now would it?

But if you aren’t a fan of soda bread, you could also bake up a loaf of this Guinness Bread.…

Finally, it wouldn’t be much of a celebration without dessert, would it? A Brownie Tart with Whiskey Meringue might just be the thing…

And last, but certainly not least… some pictures of the Emerald Isle ..

 Wishing you all a very happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Slainte!

An Irish Kiss Cocktail for St. Patrick’s Day is a post from: A Communal Table

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