Butternut Squash and Apple Soup - Vegetarian and Gluten-Free

1 butternut squash

1 medium onion chopped

4 small or 3 medium sized apples, peeled and cubed

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

4 cups of vegetable broth

1/2 c white wine (optional)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

Slice squash in half and remove seeds. Place halves, open face down on a baking pan brushed with olive oil. Bake at 350 F until tender, about 1 hour. When squash is cooked, saute onion, cilantro and apples in olive oil and butter until onion is tender. Add squash, wine and broth. Cook until apples are tender. Blend the mixture with a hand blender or food processor until smooth. Serve hot with fresh cilantro garnish.

Gluten-free/Dairy Free Banana Pancakes

Gluten-Free/Dairy Free Banana Pancakes

1 c whole organic oats (make sure it is a gluten-free source)

1/2 c rice, buckwheat, quinoa or other GF flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 frozen or very ripe banana

1-2 cups of soya milk ( I used organic SoNice vanilla)

2 tbsp olive oil

Olive oil (to brush on the pan)

In a food processor, first process the oats so that they become a coarse oat flour. It takes about 2- 3 minutes. Add all other dry ingredients. Mix. With the food processor running, add the egg, oil, and banana then slowly add in the milk until the mixture reaches the consistency of pancake batter. Thicker batter will make thicker pancakes; thinner batter, thinner pancakes. Heat a cast-iron or non-stick frying pan to medium. Brush the pan with olive oil (or other cooking oil) and drop pancakes onto the heated pan. When the pancakes a really bubbling, flip them and cook on the other side. Remove from pan. Serve with sliced banana, lemon, butter and maple or other syrup.

Fresh Tomato and Basil Pasta

Fresh Tomato and Basil Pasta

Ingredients

Olive Oil
1 large ripe red, pink or yellow tomato, chopped
1/4 c of fresh basil, chopped
4-6 leaves of fresh oregano, chopped
1 clove of fresh garlic, finely grated
2 tbsp of parmano, romano or parmasan cheese.
1/4 c feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 c mozerella, finely grated
1 handful of spinach, torn up
2 tbsp butter (optional)
2 servings of dry pasta (rice, wheat, or whole wheat)

Instructions

Drizzle olive oil all over the pasta bowl coating it well. Add all the ingredients except the pasta. Toss together coating all the ingredients with oil. Cook the pasta to your liking and add the hot pasta to the pasta bowl with the other ingredients. Toss and serve immediately. Add a blop of butter to the hot dish.