Innovative Gourmet Flavor Combinations: Feta Pasta and Avocado Cream Soup

Innovative Gourmet Flavor Combinations

Welcome! I've always enjoyed unusual flavor combinations. I am committed to continuing this pleasure, while eating healthy. I hope this blog will allow me to share ideas for eating healthy without losing the excitement of innovative recipes.

I am a follower of the diet plan of Dr. Eric Berg, which in my case means gluten-free, alkaline, low-fat; my health and figure have improved vastly with this. This also fits with raw-food, vegetarian, and Weston Price (nutrient-dense), D'Adamo's Eat Right For Your Type, the Perricone Weightloss Diet, and the proportions follow Barry Sears's 40-30-30 Zone Diet. Organic, ecologic, and local-eating are also guiding principles. (Interesting how they all overlap.)

But looking around the Net, and in books, a lot of what's offered for "gluten-free" eating is versions of baked goods, and imitations of wheat dishes like pizza and burritos. You won't find that here. This site will present a complete re-thinking of how to be "gluten-free".

And followers of chef Michael Roberts and khymos, as well as lovers of Japanese creativeness (as in Iron Chef) should also find gourmet ideas here. The recipes will not just echo American cooking, but present new combinations.

Some of the reasons for this way of eating are: autism, perhaps aspergers, "celiac disease", obesity, perhaps cancer and who knows what else. You won't find the word "disease" used here though. As D'Adamo explains, a large part of the world's population (mostly with "O-blood type") never got the genes to adapt to eating the new foods of wheat, etc that came into the diet during the Neolithic. So don't call it a disease! We are actually an older human type. We're not sick; we just don't have that new-fangled adaption that some folks have. And looking into traditional diets shows that much of the world did not have wheat until very recently, and got along just fine. I know I'm eating quite well. I don't miss gluten at all.

Enough! Welcome to my kitchen . . .

Monday, May 11, 2009

Feta Pasta and Avocado Cream Soup

Here's a wonderful, early summer "cooling" dinner, to go with the salad.

Serves 4

Feta Pasta

6 oz Japanese somen (thin) noodles, or 12 oz egg noodles [for gluten-free: rice noodles]

8 oz Greek or Italian feta cheese

3 Tb fresh lemon juice

4 garlic cloves, pressed

1 cup olive oil

2 Tb wine vinegar

1 Tb pepper

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

8 green onions, chopped

2 oranges, peeled and sectioned

Combine all ingredients except noodles in a blender

and puree. Cook noodles in about 3 quarts of water.

Pour puree over, mix, and serve.

Sopa de Aguacate/Avocado Cream Soup

2 avocados, peeled

3/4 cup sour cream or heavy cream

3 cups chicken broth (or 15 oz can + 1 cup water)

1/4 cup dry sherry

/2 tsp pepper

1 or 2 tortillas, quartered and fried until crisp [omit for gluten-free]

Puree the avocados and cream in a blender. Bring

broth to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and stir in avocado

puree. Add sherry and pepper.

Top with tortilla pieces or avocado slices. Serve warm,

or refrigerate until cold.