Southern Comfort Food

In honor of my planned gardening weekend (starting tomorrow), I indulged in a new favorite: fried green tomatos with garlic mayo. It's a bit insane that GREEN (unripe) tomatos cost more than red ones, so I have never bought them before... I mean, it's sort of dumb when you HAVE a garden full of them, but since I don't (yet), I indulged. :) Ryan doesn't like them too much, and I am NOT trying to convince him otherwise. I enjoy them far too much. Here's a re-posting of my gluten-free version:

Fried Green Tomatoes, Gluten-Free Version ...so quick and easy!

1. Cut 6 large green tomatoes crosswise into 1/2" slices.

2. Combine 1/2 c rice flour, 2 c cornmeal, dried or fresh parsley, dried or fresh thyme, paprika, ground pepper and sea salt to taste.

TIP: scoop 1/2 of the mix into a baggie. If you need more, use it, but if not, you have the breading mix pre-mixed and ready to fry! (this recipe makes too much breading, which has to be thrown away if not used).

3. Dip slices 1 at a time into 1/2 c milk, then coat both sides with the cornmeal mixture.

4. Heat olive oil in a skillet until it's hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Add as many tomatoes as will fit into a single layer. Fry until golden and crisp, turning once. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes, adding oil as needed.

5. Serve immediately with garlic mayonnaise. ENJOY!! The garlic mayo makes it. Crush a clove into 2 T of mayo (safflower for me), more or less depending on how strong you want it.

Powdered garlic works just fine, too. It's less strong, meaning my baby tolerates it. =D

One more new Szrama favorite, courtesy of my friend Jean, gluten-free chef extraordinaire!

JEAN'S MEAT LOAF

1 T butter

1 t olive oil

3 T. onion or green onion, minced

3 T celery, minced (or 1 t celery seed)

1 clove garlic or 2 T garlic chives*, minced

1 lb ground chuck or beef

1/3 lb pork sausage (or ground beef with about 1 t sage)

2 T. tomato paste

1 egg, beaten lightly

1 1/2 Tbsp. ground sunflower seed (grind in coffee mill)-- or use ground flax seed

1-2 t ground flax seed

1 t Dijon mustard

1 T fresh parsley, minced (or 1 t dried)

3/4 t salt

1/8 t unflavored gelatin

pinch white pepper

Melt butter and olive oil together. Add onion, celery, and garlic chives; saute for about 5 minutes over medium heat.

In large mixing bowl, combine ground chuck and pork sausage with the sauteed onion, celery, and garlic chives. Add all the other ingredients. Mix with meat fork until all the ingredients are well distributed and mixed together, but don't pack it all together. Keep it loose but well mixed.

On a shallow pan with sides, form into a round or oblong loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour. Top with glaze and finish cooking for 10 minutes at 450 degrees (move to lower rack at this point).

GLAZE (make double or triple this amount. This is almost like catsup but way better.)

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1-2 Tbsp. brown sugar, to taste

1/16 tsp. ground cloves

1/16 tsp. ground coriander

1/16 salt

In small saucepan, whisk all ingredients together. Cook over low heat until slightly thickened. Coat the top and sides of the meat loaf evenly with the glaze.

We have enjoyed the meatloaf with brown rice-- it's simple and relatively bland, so the meatloaf takes center stage. You could also serve it with homemade bread. Oh yes and of course a green salad.

Ok... back to my fried green tomatos... oh they are driving me to worship the Creator right now! :)