A Couple of Recipes from our Quilt Retreat

I recently returned from a quilt retreat with RaeAnn from Cutie Pinwheel and Nedra from Cactus-Needle and they have asked me to put a couple of my recipes on my blog. I was the cook a couple of days and really enjoyed myself. It was fun to open a refrigerator and figure out what could be made out of what was in there. Sometimes when I quilt all day, cooking is a great way to relax and stretch my back anyway.

I was in charge of all the food on Monday and made a bunch of gluten free recipes because RaeAnn is allergic to gluten. We had a couple of great salads for lunch and I'll put those recipes on later. For dinner, we had marinated Maui Maui, brown rice, salad, steamed broccoli, roasted tomato salad and a fabulous chocolate pudding made without dairy for dessert.

This salad recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics cookbook. I've made it again and again and it's what RaeAnn has asked for instead of birthday cake!!

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

12 plum tomatoes, halved
1/4 c olive oil
1 1/2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 t. sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
16 oz. fresh mozzarella
12 large fresh basil leaves, julienned
Preheat oven to 275 (I'm always running behind, so I turn the oven to 300 and cook for a shorter period of time.)
Arrange tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, 1 1/2 t. salt, and 1/2 t. pepper. Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize. Cut the mozzarella in 1/2" slices and put between layers of tomatoes on a platter. Scatter the basil on top, drizzle with olive oil. If you put the cheese and tomatoes together right away, the cheese melts slightly and it is delicious!!

Tofu Chocolate Mousse

This recipe comes from a great new cookbook I've been enjoying lately called, The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook. Everything in there is perfect!
3/4 c. dark chocolate, broken into pieces (I used a great candy bar from the health food store that is made with rice milk and NO gluten.)
12 oz. silken tofu at room temperature, drained
1/2 c. warm almond milk
1 t. vanilla
Melt chocolate in microwave. Make sure to let the chocolate melt slowly, stir until chocolate is smooth.
In food processor, combine tofu, melted chocolate, warmed milk and vanilla. Process until smooth. Place tofu mixture into small serving bowls. Chill and Serve. I topped mine with chocolate dipped strawberries.