Spinach Filling

This spinach is just right: cooked down and dry enough not to sog anything up,
but still green and lively

     Spinach is delicious with feta cheese, and if you can eat cheese (See Cheese in the Glossary), you might want to add a handful of crumbled feta after cooking this filling. Fortunately, spinach is also delicious with just parsley and onion. 

     Use this filling in hypoallergenic small savory pastries or eat it as is.

     .

     1/4 c. oil (See Oil in the Glossary)

     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     1 large onion, chopped

     2 lb. of fresh spinach leaves, washed, dried and chopped 

          roughly (See Produce in the Glossary)

     1 bunch of Italian parsley leaves, washed and dried (See Produce in the 

          Glossary)

     sprinkle of black pepper (See Spices in the Glossary)

     In a large pot, heat the oil to medium low; add a good sprinkle of salt and the onion. Saute the onion, stirring frequently, until it is soft and translucent. Turn the heat up to medium high and start adding the spinach and parsley a third or so at a time, stirring constantly. The spinach will cook down quickly, allowing you to add the rest in manageable batches. Add the pepper and continue cooking on medium heat until all the spinach has cooked down and the mixture is fairly dry: there should not be loose moisture at the bottom of the pot. Salt to taste.

Carrot Hummus and Carrot Dip

Carrot Hummus

     Conventional hummus contains two major allergens, garbanzo beans and sesame tahini. Carrot hummus has only one, the (sesame) tahini, and is a colorful, tasty dip. Sunflower butter is an excellent, tasty substitute for tahini; if you use it you may need to add a little extra water to get the hummus to blend properly as sunflower butter is a bit thicker than tahini. As always, read the ingredient label. Some sunflower seed butter has added guar gum or other ingredients; some is sweetened, which may be disagreeable in a savory dip.

     For the record, yes, I do know that "hummus" is Arabic for "garbanzos,"  not "dip containing tahini." I don't care, since I also know that words often change their meaning as they migrate into other languages.

     6 oz. roasted carrots 
     1/2 c. water
     2 cloves of garlic
     juice of 1 freshly squeezed lemon (See Juice in the Glossary)
     1/2 c. olive oil (See Oil in the Glossary)
     1/2 c. tahini
     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     Put the carrots, water, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in a good blender and blend until thoroughly smooth and creamy. Add a small amount of extra water if necessary to get the mixture to blend properly. Add the tahini and blend until thoroughly mixed. Add salt to taste. Refrigerate.

Carrot Dip

     If you need to avoid both sesame and sunflower seeds, you can still make a smooth, delicious dip out of roasted carrots. 

     6 oz. roasted carrots 

     1/2 c. water
     1 clove of garlic
     juice of 1/2 freshly squeezed lemon (See Juice in the Glossary)
     1/2 c. olive oil (See Oil in the Glossary)
     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     Put the carrots, water, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in a good blender and blend until thoroughly smooth and creamy. Add a small amount of extra water if necessary to get the mixture to blend properly.  Add salt to taste. Refrigerate.

Roasted Carrots

     Roasted carrots deliver surprisingly much flavor for only having 3 ingredients. Brown and caramelized on the outside, sweet and tender on the inside, they put boiled carrots to shame and they do it with no dairy, gluten or other allergens.

     carrots

     olive or other oil (See Oil in the Glossary) 

     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

    

     Preheat oven to 425 F. Peel some carrots and split them lengthwise into long sticks. Put them on a cooky sheet, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and toss. The carrots should be thoroughly coated with oil to prevent them from drying out. Bake for 20 minutes or so and start checking on them once in a while. They are done when they are soft all the way through and somewhat browned on the outside. Turn the oven up or down by 25 degrees if necessary and cook until done.