If a picture says a 1,000 words, I'm afraid that what this picture is saying doesn't have any basis in reality - the meal tasted way better than the picture makes it look.

I had a friend over for dinner last night. She's a self-confessed meataholic and she's not interested in any 7 step programs to change her carnivorous ways - not that I blame her! We're both gluten free due to celiac disease and we're both on the SCD eating program, so planning a meal wasn't too difficult. I decided to take slight advantage of the situation. Having an "extra" set of taste buds means additional feedback for a new recipe. I decided to adapt a family favorite from just GF to the more strict SCD plan.

When the weather turns cold, my turkey chili tops the list of meals my boys request the most. My standard recipe is, of course, gluten free, and so I figured it would be SUPER easy to make it SCD compliant. I knew the hardest part, which you can't see in the first picture, would be the "edible" cheese bread bowl. The edible bowl is what makes this dish a meal. I took the second picture today in order to give you a better idea of what's under all the chili.

I was a kid in the early 70's when "Candy Man" by Sammy Davis was playing constantly on the radio. I loved that song and the rich imagery set this child's imagination on fire! My favorite line was, and still is:

"The Candy man makes, everything he bakes, satisfying and delicious. Talk about your childhood wishes. You can even eat the dishes!"

I guess that's why I had to have this pan when I first saw it. I use it for many things, but as a bowl for chili ranks right up there for the family. Most GF families can use any number of the many cornbread recipes available, but my oldest son is allergic to corn, and my old standards aren't SCD legal. So far I've only made SCD muffins. What I needed was a savory "bread" and I had no time for any kind of testing. Sometimes a little pressure is good, after all that's how we get diamonds!

The results? I finally found a really good use for Bob's Red Mill Flour (read full product review) Putting nuts in a food processor is a great way to make fresh nut butter, but processing nuts can present a challenge if your intention is to produce something that looks like flour. By processing Bob's blanched almond meal in a super cold state (directly from the freezer) I was able to get an even grind that looked and felt like corn meal. Of course almonds won't taste like corn, but I figured using sharp white cheddar cheese, fresh jalapenos, cayenne pepper and cumin could work to trick the taste buds into believing it was a enjoying a flavorful southwestern inspired cornbread as opposed to eating almonds. My gamble worked almost exactly the way I'd hoped: getting the bread out of the pan required me to get creative. I'll play around a bit more before I post my recipe to see if I can solve that issue.

To complete the meal, I sautéed leeks, mushrooms, and fresh sage in olive oil till tender. Then I added the fresh spinach to the pan. To assemble each plate, I put the spinach sauté around the edges of the plate and placed a bread bowl in the center of the plate. I filled each bowl to overflowing with the turkey chili. Fresh parsley and cheddar cheese completed the dish.

Since my friend went back for seconds I figured this version is a keeper.