Summer squash is a favorite of mine.  I love the different colors, textures and shapes.  Squash can be roasted simply but I also use it in squash casserole.  Yes, ‘squash casserole’ sounds a bit funny, but I promise, it’s delicious.  This is my grandmother, Dot’s, recipe and even though I never actually ate her version of it (because I was too young to appreciate squash casserole), it reminds me of her.  This recipe also makes me think of my mom because she always makes it in the summer, when I’m around.  My dad doesn’t like squash so when I’m in town, there’s someone else to enjoy it with her!

I found myself with a bounty of squash and onions this weekend so I made squash casserole for a dinner group.  You can bake it before hand so it transports easily.  I posted this recipe last summer, but I realized when making it on Sunday, and following my blog recipe, that I forgot to mention that you should melt the butter.

Oops.  It still turned out alright but I had to laugh at myself for messing up my own recipe.  (It looked a little funny but tasted yummy.)

Dot’s Summer Squash Casserole

Inngredients:
3 pounds summer squash, chunked
3 medium onions, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup water
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup 2% or whole milk
Parmesan cheese (the original recipe also calls for crumbled crackers on top but we just skip that step now to make it GF! Instead I sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top)

Directions:
Cook squash & onions with water, sugar, salt and pepper until mashable (about 45 minutes).
Beat two eggs lightly.
Add milk to eggs and mix well with squash. Add butter and mix.
Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes. (With 10 minutes left in cooking, remove from oven and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.)

Perfect for a 4th of July cookout!  Transports with no trouble and reheats easily.  You make make it and freeze, and just reheat before serving.  Happy cooking!

It’s hot in Altanta.  Really hot.  I’m sure there are better ways to describe this weather, but the only word that comes to mind is brutal.  The heat hasn’t broken either.  Despite the mini-rainstorms, it hasn’t been enough to side track these crazy temps.  It continues to be hot…and brutal.

On Monday, after a sweaty afternoon of running errands  (Who knew it could be so sweltering just to run errands??), I came home to find a bag full of Georgia peaches outside my door.  My wonderfully generous friend, Maury, left me this beautiful treat.   What is a better answer to heat and high temperatures than making a peach crisp?

Is it a crisp?  Is it a cobbler?  I’m not really sure.  I tend to use those words interchangeably, but I’m sure there’s a proper distinction.  (I do know, however, that it’s not a pie.)  I created this recipe on the spot and I made sure to write down what I did so I could share it with you.  I love the combination of GF oats and chopped pecans.  It’s the perfect crunchy duo with the soft, tender peaches.  I’ve found in the past that it can be difficult to find the proper ratio between fruit, crisp topping, and butter.  Too much flour and oats, makes it too dry, too much butter makes for a soggy crisp/cobbler.  Sort of like Goldilocks, I want it to be just right.  (Our girl, Goldilocks was eating porridge…Crisp is much better!)

Peach & Blueberry Crisp

• 8 peaches, peeled and sliced
• 1 pint blueberries
• (Really, any combination of fruit works.  These are what I had on hand.)
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 ½ T. cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup white rice flour
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup gluten-free oats
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 6 T. cold butter, chopped into cubes

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter an 8 x 8 pyrex dish.

In a bowl, mix peaches, blueberries, cornstarch, lemon juice and sugar.  (I add the sugar last to eyeball just how much I need.)

In another bowl, mix flours and brown sugar.  Add oats and pecans and mix.  Then add butter and mix with dry ingredients.  (A food processor can be helpful for this step but I was feeling a little lazy.

Pour fruit mixture into Pyrex dish.  Spread evenly throughout dish.  Add flour mixture on top of fruit.  Spread evenly.  (It will look like you have too much but you want it to be thick.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until fruit starts to bubble.  You can make this ahead of time and then just reheat for 10 minutes before serving.  (I think it gets better over time.)

Serve warm.  Of course everything tastes better with vanilla ice cream.  Mmm…just right.

This year, David and I put a ban on purchasing cookbooks because we have very little space in our Atlanta apartment and we already have so many.  For the first few months, I strictly followed our self-imposed restriction, but I couldn’t resist purchasing Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors.  I love cookbooks that tell me a story.  As I flip through the pages of Madison’s Local Flavors, she takes me across the country to different farmers’ markets of all climates, shapes and sizes.  From Santa Fe, to Atlanta, to Alaska, this beautiful book transports the reader to places and seasons that allow you to connect your own local produce with delicious recipes.  The glossy pages in Local Flavors make the photos shine.  You can see every crevice and twist in each green and every seed in a sliced tomato.

Local Flavors organizes its chapters by the type of food, as opposed to most cookbooks who separate by course.  Some of the chapters include, “Small, tender fruits,” “Roots & Tubers,” and “Eggs & Cheese at the Market.”  Doesn’t it sound amazing?  Let me tell you, it is.  If you love beautiful photos, stories and delicious recipes, you should add Local Flavors to your collection.  It’s worth splurging on this beautiful treat.

When I go to The Local Farmstand, I look up any new produce that arrives in the index of Local Flavors to see what recipes Madison suggests.  Recently a shipment of green garlic and leeks came from the farm and as I flipped to the index, I soon found a risotto recipe using both leeks and green garlic.  Lovely.  I followed the recipe strictly the first time I made this dish, but the next week I found myself craving quinoa.  (In warmer weather, I tend to turn towards quinoa, while wanting risotto in the winter months.)  So I tweaked the recipe a bit substituting quinoa for the risotto, but stuck with leeks and green garlic.  This recipe can be a side dish or a main course.

Leek & Green Garlic Quinoa (adapted from Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors)

• 4 medium leeks, white part only
• 3 large heads green garlic
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ cup white wine
• s&p

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed (if instructions on box say to)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup white wine
• 2 cups GF chicken or vegetable broth (plus extra if needed)
• ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Fresh lemon thyme (or other fresh herbs)
• s&p

Wash leeks well.  Make sure that you get the grit out from between each layer.  (I cut slits in the bottom to get more water in between the layers for better cleaning.)  Cut leeks in half, lengthwise, then crosswise, then into ¼ inch slices.  Finely chop the bulbs/white parts of the green garlic.

Melt butter in a sauté pan on medium heat.  Add leeks and garlic, stir to coat.  Then add the wine and cook on medium-low heat until leeks are tender, about 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a wide pot on medium heat.  Add the quinoa and stir to coat.  Cook on medium heat, while stirring for one minute.  Add wine and let absorb, stirring occasionally.  Add broth, ½ cup at a time and cook on medium, stirring as the liquid is absorbed.  This should take about 15 minutes.  Quinoa cooks much quicker than risotto which is a plus.

Once quinoa is cooked, transfer quinoa to pan with leeks and garlic.  Turn to medium-low heat and add parmesan cheese.  Stir and serve warm.  Enjoy!  I admit, it’s not the most colorful dish I’ve ever made.  That’s why I like to serve it as a side to accompany a plate of bright and vibrant veggies, such as roast carrots and mixed greens.

Looking for a place to get drinks and a quick bite with friends?  Looking for a restaurant with well prepared, seasonal entrees?  Searching for a nice restaurant with a gluten-free menu?  Check. Check.  Check.  Midtown’s Ecco Restaurant fits all of these categories, and fits them well. Not only does Ecco offer a gluten-free menu, but I found that many of the dishes they serve on this seasonal, European-inspired menu are naturally gluten-free.  At Ecco, depending on your appetite and mood, you either can go the small plate route or choose from one of their delicious main courses and sides.  David and I thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience at Ecco last week.  On top of the delicious food, Atlanta’s weather has finally turned from terrible and rainy to sunny and gorgeous so David and I were excited when we pulled up to Ecco and saw they offer outside seating.  We enjoyed a lovely evening outside full of gluten-free food.

David and I started our meal ordering from Ecco’s large list of meats and cheeses. I’ve never been all that into anti-pasti, but after my dinner at Ecco, I’m officially converted.  We selected two cheeses and one meat, under the guidance of the chef.  We went with the Bresaola, a house-cured organic beef eye round, thinly sliced.  These thin slivers of beef were amazing.  You could taste the rosemary, pepper and spices used for curing the beef.  Because Ecco slices the meat so thinly, I felt like I was eating a lot but did not find myself too full after the course.  To accompany the beef, we ordered an aged gouda from Holland and a semi-firm cow’s milk cheese from Thomasville, Georgia.  The Gouda contained what David and I like to refer to as ‘flavor crystals,’ little crystallized pieces in the cheese that provide a little crunch and added dimension of flavor.  The local Georgia cheese was also yummy, but a little milder.  The gluten-free menu contained two blue cheeses which I avoided, but I recently read that blue cheese is safe for people with celiac disease.  (*See note below for more information on blue cheese and gluten.)  We slowly savored every bite of our ‘Meat & Cheese’ plate.  An added plus for us gluten-free diners is that Ecco’s meat and cheese plates come with no gluten which you must navigate.  You don’t have to worry about crackers, bread, contaminated knives, etc.  Just a platter of meat and cheese.  Beautiful.

After we leisurely enjoyed every last crumble of cheese and sliver of beef, we ordered our entrees.  I chose the braised beef short rib with carrots, radish and mint and of course I couldn’t resist ordering a side of roasted Brussels sprouts with walnuts.  If you like Brussels sprouts, you should leave your home immediately, go straight to Ecco and order their sprouts.  I’ve eaten a lot of Brussels sprouts this winter and these were without question, the best I’ve consumed.  Ecco roasts the sprouts perfectly in their wood fire and the combination of walnuts, parmesan and spices cannot be described in words.  Go.  Go now and try them for yourself.  The flavors of the shortribs provided a delicious center piece to the meal and the radish and mint went surprisingly well with the shortribs.  I ate almost every bite, except the one I generously shared with David.  (I even gave him a Brussels sprout.)

For all of you gluten-eaters out there, David ordered the house made pasta and absolutely loved it.  The good news is that I didn’t envy his meal one bit because I barely looked up from my shortribs and sprouts.

As I mentioned earlier, Ecco provided a gluten-free menu, always such a relief for gluten-free diners.  When choosing a restaurant, I love the option of a GF menu because I don’t have to ask as many questions of my server and I know all of my options.  I spoke in detail with the chef about the wood fire grill they use.  He assured me that only pizzas are cooked directly on the oven and everything else is prepared in a pan.  Ecco’s staff is careful about contamination and even though they have a GF menu, they still take extra precaution when preparing a meal for a gluten-free diner, making sure to use clean tongs and pans.  The chef also assured me that they don’t use any soy sauce in their food preparation.  From my conversation with the chef and my own dining experience, it’s clear to me that Ecco used great care and research in creating this menu.  My only concern on the GF menu is the pomme frites side dish.  I forgot to ask the chef if they use a separate fryer for their frites so I would inquire before ordering the frites.

Not only was our meal delicious, but the service was amazing.  Our waiter gave us well-thought advice on wine (great selection of wines by the glass) and ordering in general.  We did not feel rushed, as we took our time, enjoying every bite and sip.  Owned by the Fifth Group Restaurants, all of their restaurants now offer gluten-free menus including, South City Kitchen, El Taco, and La Travolla.  I haven’t seen their GF menus yet, but I’m sure they have plenty of delicious offerings as well.  I will be sure to check out Fifth Group’s other restaurants in the upcoming months and let you know about how their menus size up. If they’re anything like Ecco’s, it will be worth the trip.

Ecco – 40 7^th Street, NE  – Atlanta, GA 30308

*A note on Blue Cheese From Gluten Free in SD: All Blue Cheese is now considered fine on a gluten-free diet.  Reported in the Gluten Intolerance Group Magazine in 2008: “Based on the most sensitive tests currently available on the market and our understanding of the minute amounts of mold spores used in the making of the cheese, we may conclude that blue cheese is safe for consumption as part of the gluten-free diet.”