I had my first picnic of the summer last night with my friends from the building. We did a gluten-free feast. You can tell by the picture that we didn’t go wanting. There was a cheese and fruit plate, a quinoa salad, and incredible desserts from a local gluten-free bakery and some homemade brownies.
I made polenta bruschettas. Although I have used the stuff in the tube before, I wanted to be ultra sure that the ingredients were safe for my friend who is a celiac. So, I made the polenta myself. I used a recipe from the Greens Cook Book. You basically just dump corn meal into salted boiling water, whisking it as you do. Turn down the heat and stir for about 15 minutes. Then you pour it into a pan to set.
Later, I made the topping, just a mix of red onion, garlic, peppers, tomatoes and fresh herbs, sautéed in olive oil. You could add a splash of balsamic vinegar too (it’s safe, but don’t use any malted vinegars). I sliced the polenta into squares, put the topping on, added a blob of goat cheese and broiled for a couple minutes. I garnished each square with a basil leaf.
Voilà. Summer solstice picnic without the wheat belly. Warning though, if you sample all of the desserts you will still likely have a belly.