Dandelion greens, and a theme for April: Frugality

For those of you who haven't been paying attention to the US news, we're looking at a possible government shutdown this month if Congress doesn't vote on a budget for this fiscal year. (Yes, that should have happened months ago. Don't get me started--this is a food blog, not a place to vent my dislike of our legislature.)  Since my husband works for the federal government and may not receive his mid-month paycheck if this shutdown happens, we're having to tighten our belts significantly this month--just in case. All this may not happen, of course, but since I'm in charge of implementing our household budget I've got to do my part in making sure we survive on just one paycheck this month.  And we're lucky--my husband isn't junior enlisted military, living paycheck to paycheck. We can survive on one payday in April if we have to. But it's not going to be fun. At all. And I'm going to document the food-related bits of all this.  That means there will be lots of beans this month. Lots of canned tomatoes. Lots of... well, inexpensive food. The trick is going to be finding produce on sale and doing the best I can with that. And I will not sacrifice my values just because I can't afford a gallon of humanely-produced milk. We'll go without if that's the case.

So, here's a quick rundown of what April is going to look like here at On Cardamom and Cast Iron:   I'll be posting my grocery list and expenditures each week with the deals I find on healthy, delicious food. (I'll probably shop mostly at our local international market, since produce is usually a great deal there.) I'll write about pantry-friendly meals, since everyone has penny-pinching days leading up to payday--not just when the government threatens to shut down. I'll try to make as many test recipes as possible... Luckily the ladies I'm testing for have lots of budget-friendly dishes to make.  And finally, I'll try not to complain... much.

And all this will happen in April even if Congress can decide on a spending plan. It's something I should be doing anyway. And it'll force me to be creative.



I am going to have to say one thing, though, about the food in advance:  We have pre-paid our CSAs for the year and are beginning to reap benefits with local, humanely-produced meat and eggs.  Our meat right now comes exclusively from Chicama Run in Purcellville, VA, as part of a two-month-long meat CSA. I will be posting about what we do with that, but feel free to modify any recipes I post with seitan (if you're not gluten-free) or tempeh, or another vegetable. Our eggs are an early benefit from our full-diet CSA share from Moutoux Orchard that starts in June. (Since the little boy had a false positive on his allergy tests, we're all set for eggs.)  Most of my cooking will still be vegan or vegetarian, especially since it's the most budget-friendly option when not buying meat and dairy from factory farms. Baking will also continue to be mostly vegan save for occasional meringues, etc. Anyway, we're lucky to have that back-up with our food right now. Pre-paid food = a huge load off.

Now that I've got that out of the way, the photo above is a bunch of  decidedly not budget-friendly organic dandelion greens I got a few days ago. We had them with dinner last night. Turns out I hate dandelion greens--at least the way I prepared them (in a simple saute with garlic and olive oil). They were super bitter.  Do any of you have tips for preparing dandelion greens to make them taste a little better? I know I can find conventional greens at the international market, and I don't want to give up on this variety... but they were kind of gross last night. Major fail.  I would appreciate tips if you have them.

More photos from the weekend

I'll be back to regular food posts tomorrow, but today I'm still in vacation mode. We were up in New England for one of my college roommates' weddings this weekend.  The kids got to stay with my in-laws while we went to the celebration.  They got good time with the grandparents; we got a little break from the kiddos... Win-win situation!



The Rug Rat and Mimi outside with the bicycle



The little boy and his uncle...



Running off energy...



I've been spoiled by Virginia temperatures. Spring hasn't quite hit in New England. Kids didn't care though!

It's sad to see a vacation end, but I'm back in my kitchen and ready to write more for you tomorrow! If you're feeling the need for food links, check out the latest edition of Cybele Pascal's Allergy-Friendly Friday. (There's some great stuff on there this week.)

Tequila-lime scallop ceviche

We all love sushi at my home--even the little ones--so when my husband suggested we have ceviche, the thought of making a latin version of sashimi didn't seem like much of a stretch. (I've been wanting to try my hand at it for a while anyway.) Since we were up at my in-laws' place this past weekend and had access to a wonderful fresh fish market, I decided that it was the perfect time to make that first batch.  I went with the combination of tequila and lime for this version, giving the dish a feeling of the warm weather we didn't have in New England.  If you would prefer a vegan version, try substituting hearts of palm for the scallops.



Tequila lime scallop ceviche (serves 2-4)


1/2 lb sea scallops, rinsed under cold water and trimmed if necessary

juice of two limes

2 Tbsp tequila

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, sliced very thinly

2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro

pinch red pepper flakes

pinch sea salt

Slice the scallops width-wise in half or thirds, depending on the size of the scallops. (Do this very carefully by holding the top and bottom of the scallop and slicing through the middle, or by setting the scallop on its side on your cutting board.)

In a small non-reactive bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients with a fork.  Add the scallops; stir gently to coat with the juice mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for one to four hours. It's ready to eat when the scallop slices have turned opaque.

My pantry: Flours for baking and cooking

I considered writing my post about sweeteners as the second installment of my series on what's in my pantry, but generally thought better of it once I realized I was consuming way too much sugar and didn't need to write about it. Okay, so that's not the whole truth. I'm also out of half the sweeteners I use on a regular basis (due to reason #1 and the fact that I've been baking a lot for friends lately), so coming up with good photographs and better descriptions wouldn't be as easy. That post will have to wait until next week. So this week I'm going to talk about flours.

Since I went gluten free I have been playing around with different--oftentimes expensive--flours in order to find my favorites to bake and cook with. Out of necessity I've gravitated towards the less expensive flours and generally keep them in my pantry.  That's not to say I don't occasionally buy luxuries like amaranth flour (which I love), just that they're not always in my cupboard.  To be fair, almond flour is not inexpensive. It is, however, extremely healthy and I splurge every six weeks or so on one five-pound bag of almond flour.  It's worth noting that all of these flours are available online in bulk, and are a lot more affordable that way.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Clockwise from top: blanched almond flour, teff flour, chickpea flour (besan), brown rice flour, arrowroot starch"][/caption]

Chickpea flour: This is one of my favorite gluten-free flours. It has a rich, slightly sweet, almost eggy flavor when cooked; and it lends itself well to both sweet and savory uses.  Chickpea flour also gives a nice, pale golden color to baked goods. I use this stuff in nearly everything. Some people claim it has an unpleasant beany flavor, but I've never found that to be the case if cooked properly.  Word to the wise: raw chickpea flour is really gross. Do not under any circumstances try a batter with raw chickpea flour in it. Wait until it's been baked or cooked. Please.  Chickpea flour is usually pretty cheap--especially if you get it in an international market as "besan."

Brown rice flour: Rice flour is great for use in all-purpose mixes, since it has a fairly neutral flavor.  I have found that a lot of brown rice flours are gritty, so I stay away from anything that's not either from Bob's Red Mill or Authentic Foods. I'm not usually a brand name shopper, but these are the best I've tried. Authentic Foods is better, but more expensive. (I often buy BRM because it's far more economical and still yields nice baked goods.)

Arrowroot starch: This is a nice all-purpose starch. It's pretty powerful as a thickener and binder, so it's really useful in gluten-free baking. I usually keep larger quantities of this versus the other starches (potato, corn, tapioca) because I think the flavor is more neutral. However, beware: Do not use arrowroot to thicken dairy-based sauces. You'll get a gloopy mess.  Better to stick with cornstarch for those purposes.

Almond flour: This, like brown rice flours, is one where quality counts. I buy a 5 lbs bag of the Honeyville Farms brand every six weeks or so, and just bake less with it. It's high in protein, low(er) in net carbohydrates, and high in vitamins and minerals. And it tastes good.  I love using almond flour in cookies and muffins. Just don't use it as a one for one substitute for wheat flour. Nut flours need a bit more special care than grains (for binding, leavening, etc.)

Millet flour: Millet is a high protein grain that works very well in recipe that need a higher protein content of the flour, such as breads.  It also works very nicely in quickbreads and in all-purpose mixes. I like millet flour as opposed to sorghum as a matter of personal taste and thrift. (Millet is pretty inexpensive compared to some gluten-free flours.)  I find the flavor to be fairly neutral--unlike quinoa flour, which is nice and nutritious but in my opinion distracting flavor-wise.

Teff flour: Teff is a tiny grain found mainly in north Africa. It's the main ingredient in the Ethiopian flatbread injera, and has a lovely sour flavor as it sits for a few days. It's for this reason that I love teff flour in "rye" breads like the gluten-free "rye" from Healthy Bread in Five. It's high in nutrients and has a great color and flavor. Use it anywhere you want a result that's darker and more complex. (It's best used in combination with other flours, just as the rest of these ingredients are.) Teff is a bit more expensive than the other flours here, but I generally use it a bit less so it works out in the long run.

Friday budget-friendly food links

I've got a bunch of fun budget-friendly food links for you this Friday. Just in time to start out your weekend with new food projects.  You're welcome.

First up, homemade budget-friendly pistachio-honey butter from Serious Eats. Pistachios are notoriously expensive (though delicious and worth the cost once in a while!), so Lucy Baker uses a combination of pistachios and blanched almonds to stretch her dollars a bit.

Here's an old post from the Casual Kitchen with 25 suggestions for "laughably cheap" meals. My kind of post these days. (Many of these dishes--in one form or another--appear on our dinner table regularly.)

The Oregonian has an article about the "pantry principle" and cooking what you have on hand. It's a great read. This recipe for black bean and corn chili relies on pantry staples. In fact, many chili recipes are great budget-friendly pantry meals. Canned tomatoes and beans are great for throwing together a meal at the last minute. (Cook your own dried beans, portion them into 1 1/2 cup containers, and freeze for an even cheaper option!)

If you're looking for sustainable seafood but can't afford the high prices, check out this list of more budget-friendly (but still Earth-friendly) choices.

Here's a link to an index of healthy recipes on Serious Eats. (The recipes are courtesy the author of Cheap Healthy Good, which is one of my favorite budget-friendly food blogs.)

Sunny honey granola bars

I used to love those Nature Valley granola bars. You know, the crunchy honey nut ones. Since I generally make everything from scratch these days I thought I’d try my hand at homemade crunchy granola bars.  In the end I came up with a very simple, allergy-friendly version of those classic snacks.  Sunbutter and sunflower seeds give the bars that familiar nuttiness; honey gives them a touch of wholesome sweetness.

Sunny honey granola bars (makes 16)

¼ cup Sunbutter
6 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups gluten-free rolled oats
¾ cup raw sunflower seeds
½ tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the Sunbutter, honey, and vanilla until smooth.  Add the oats, sunflower seeds, and salt. Mix with your hands until the oats are well-coated and sticky.  Turn out the oat mixture onto the middle of the baking sheet. Pat firmly into a 10” x 10” square (or thereabouts)--about 1/2" thick. Try to even out the edges as much as possible. Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely before using a sharp knife to cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.

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Shared at Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Friday 6/17/11.

My pantry: Sweeteners edition

{Intro}

Organic granulated sugar: Granulated sugar is such an all-purpose sweetener, it's hard not to have it in my cupboard. Organic cane sugar is not as refined as your basic white sugar--though it is still fairly refined. I use it mostly in baked goods that need a dry sweetener, and to make my own confectioner's sugar on occasion (since I rarely keep powdered sugar around).

Honey: Ah, honey. Just about my favorite sweetener. I use it for baking, drizzling, glazing, and just about anything that needs a little sweetness. There are many varieties of honey; it all depends on what kinds of flora are in the bees' locality. (I actually love this about honey. It's so local.)  I will caution you that some honey is mass produced by bees transported long distances for crop pollination. Get around this by buying local honey, and you'll get some extra health benefits from this natural sweetener too. Some say exposure to local pollens via local honey can help with seasonal allergies. (I am no expert; that's all anecdotal evidence.) Honey is good for your skin, though, and also has antiseptic qualities besides. I just think it's delicious.  Be aware of a couple of things, though: Some honey has a very strong flavor. If you're looking for an all-purpose sweetener, don't buy buckwheat honey. It's very molasses-y. Also, honey does not dissolve well in cold liquids.

Agave nectar: Agave is a great all-purpose natural sweetener. It has the benefit of being low on the glycemic index (in relation to most other sweeteners) and is completely plant-based (making it vegan-friendly). It's also great for sweetening cold beverages, unlike honey.  Another benefit of agave is that it has a very neutral flavor, making it great for baking.  Use light agave if you want little extra flavor, and amber for things that will showcase the flavors of this sweetener. Be aware that it is quite a bit sweeter than cane sugar--and even honey, in my opinion.

Brown rice syrup: Brown rice syrup has a fantastic consistency and taste that make it perfect for homemade caramel sauces when you don't want to use refined sugar. (Granted, this is still somewhat refined by definition.. Just less so than your basic white sugar.) It's not as sweet as honey or agave, but in some cases that's exactly what you want. I use this stuff in sauces and baking when I want a subtle, caramelly sweetness. If you're gluten-free, take care to buy gluten-free rice syrup. Not all is guaranteed gluten-free.

Maple syrup: This stuff is like liquid gold. I love maple syrup--for pancakes, cupcakes, cookies, oatmeal... You name it, I use maple syrup for it. When I can afford it, that is. Grade B syrup is cheaper and far more flavorful than the fancy Grade A stuff. (Buy Grade B!)

Molasses: Molasses is a superstar. Blackstrap molasses is extremely high in iron, making it a nutritious way to sweeten foods.  I use it mostly in chili and in dark baked goods to give depth, since the flavor is quite strong. (Gingerbread anyone?)

Dates: I keep medjool dates in my pantry at all times--not as much for sweetening baked goods as for smoothies and homemade nut milks. Dates are a great, natural sweetener. (I also eat them as snacks, stuffed with nuts--incidentally also a great party food.)

Raisins: I know, I know. Raisins, you say?  But hear me out:  Raisins can be a fantastic slightly-sweet and natural way to cut acidity in tomato sauces. This works best in sauces you plan to puree, since chunks of raisin may not be what you're going for when you are making a pasta sauce. But the grapes really add a nice hint of sweetness to otherwise highly acidic liquids. Make sure you add raisins with plenty of time to let them plump up and soften, or blending the sauce won't work as well.

Homemade cranberry-orange Lärabar-esque bites

I'm not sure how I missed out on the Lärabar craze when I was vegan, but I recently made amends and tried one for the first time. Unless you can't have nuts, they're super allergy- and intolerance-friendly--which is one of the reasons I bought a box of the mini Lärabars in the first place. Since there's no gluten, soy, egg, etc.,  in them (unlike the Clif bar brand) everyone in my home can eat these on the go.  And dear me, they're good. Unfortunately they're also expensive.

There are a few things I really like about Lärabars: First, they have a very small list of ingredients. All whole foods, all quality ingredients. I like that. They're also nutrient dense, which is really great when you're on the go and can't make a snack at home.  I like that, for on the go eating, they're individually packaged and that you can get them in a mini size (100 or so calories each). I like having a handful of the mini bars in my purse for emergency snacking purposes (for the kids and for me).

Sadly, I also don't like the packaging--for at-home snacking, anyway. I don't tend to buy "convenience" foods that are overly packaged. Fine for on the go when you need a shelf-stable option, but not great if you're eating these at home on a daily basis. That's lots of trash.  As I mentioned before, they also have a really high unit price. Sure, this is because Lärabars are made with great ingredients. But it still means I can't just buy them for snacks even if I didn't mind the excess trash associated with home Lärabar snacking.

So, a dilemma. Luckily, I have access to the wonderful world that is the internet. I did a quick search for homemade Lärabar recipes and came up with two sources I generally trust for good food: Enlightened Cooking and Chocolate & Zucchini. I went with the ratio of fruit to nuts from Enlightened Cooking and decided to adapt it to my family's snacking needs.  Instead of shaping in plastic wrap, I've pressed the fruit and nut mixture into a lightly greased mini muffin tin. Each bite is just about the size of one of the mini Lärabars, so although I haven't done the nutritional calculations I assume it has a similar nutrient profile. At any rate, they're really tasty and kid-friendly; they have no packaging other than the plastic bag I store the entire batch in; and they are significantly more budget-friendly than the storebought variety.



Homemade cranberry-orange Lärabar-esque bites (makes 12)

1 cup whole, pitted medjool dates

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup raw cashew pieces

1/2 cup raw almonds

zest of 1 orange

1 Tbsp fresh-squeezed orange juice

Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Pulse the dates and cranberries in your food processor until an almost-smooth paste, scraping the fruit down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Transfer to a medium-sized mixing bowl and set aside.  (No need to clean the processor for the next step.)  Pulse the nuts until very finely chopped--almost a powder but not quite. Add the nuts and orange zest into the date/cranberry mixture. Mix with your hands until well combined. Divide the mix evenly between 12 mini muffin cups. (Wash your hands.)  Place a layer of plastic wrap or waxed paper over the tin, pressing lightly onto the bites so seal out air.  Chill for at least a few hours to let set.

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Shared at Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays 6/14/11.

Cookbook Review: Gluten-free perspective on Vegan Brunch

At first glance, it's hard to imagine a brunch cookbook being even somewhat usable for people with food intolerances. Tofu scrambles and quiches aren't so great for those sensitive to soy; the rest of the book doesn't appear to be great for gluten-free folks, what with the muffins, pancakes, waffles... You get the picture. The only recipes that are overtly "safe" are the potatoes. (And don't get me wrong--there are plenty of those!)  So why am I reviewing Vegan Brunch this week?  Well actually, I'm here to tell you that it is in fact very easy to make this book work for you. I've done it, and do it with such frequency I probably should put Vegan Brunch aside and break out a different book for a few weeks.

First let's talk about the soy-based recipes. I'm only going to spend a couple of minutes on this since I want to focus more on the other recipes. For those of you who can't (or don't) eat soy, you have plenty of options. There are only a few recipes specifically based on tofu (the quiches, scrambles, and tofu benedict). The rest of the book is fair game, really.  Since I can eat soy, I occasionally make the scrambles. And they're good. My favorite is kind of a dark horse--the curry scrambled tofu with cabbage and caraway. It has a really interesting flare that I can't really describe other than that it's addictive.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="337" caption="naturally gluten-free curry scrambled tofu with cabbage and caraway"][/caption]

But really, I know what you've been waiting for is the rest of the book. The gluteny stuff. I cannot say that I've made every recipe gluten-free, but I can offer encouragement for those of you who want to try. I have made all of the muffins, the scones, the pancakes, and the crepes gluten-free with a 1:1 substitution of an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix and the appropriate amount of xanthan gum for the amount of flour used. Yep--it's that easy.  I posted earlier this year about my gluten-free adaptation of the crepes--different enough to be my own recipe, but admittedly based on the ratio of flour to liquid of the Vegan Brunch version (and no eggs, obviously). The pancakes work wonderfully gluten-free, as do the muffins.  And the East Coast coffecake? Perfect without wheat. I have not made the yeasted goodies gluten-free, as I've found gluten-free yeast-filled stuff to be more finicky. Everything else? You're good to go. My favorite store-bought all-purpose mix to use is the one made by Bob's Red Mill, but if you prefer another or make your own, you shouldn't have any problems.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="gluten-free adaptation of the Vegan Brunch crepes"][/caption]

While we're on the topic of baked goods, I'd like to mention the muffins.  Until my copy of Vegan Brunch arrived, my all-time favorite muffin recipes were from Vegan with a Vengeance. (The mocha chip muffins and the pumpkin muffins are both regulars here.)  My favorites from Vegan Brunch are the lemon poppyseed muffins and the cocoa raspberry muffins. Both have great flavor and a wonderful crumb. And the muffin recipes work like a charm when halved for smaller batches.

If you're more in the mood for potatoes, there's virtually a whole chapter on different root veggie recipes. I blogged last week about the individual hashbrowns, but those are only the beginning. If you only try one potato recipe from this book you need to make the creamy avocado potato salad.  It's incredibly creamy without being filled with mayonnaise. (Mayo-haters rejoice!)

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="East Coast coffeecake made gluten-free, with chocolate chunks and dried cranberries added"][/caption]

There are only a few recipes that cannot be easily made gluten-free--the seitan sausages. And those are really good. But really, there's enough other food in Vegan Brunch you'll love that you won't miss those at all. Especially if gluten makes you ill, like it does me. Even great seitan isn't worth the pain.  (But if you are reading this and can eat gluten? Try out those sausages.)

I really could write about three quarters of the recipes in Vegan Brunch separately, but that would make for a very long (and probably boring) post. I'd buy this one again without even thinking about it. Vegan Brunch is one of my most-used cookbooks, and I still have plenty of recipes I haven't tried.

Friday field trip (Frying Pan Farm)

Okay, so my kids aren't quite school-aged yet. That doesn't mean we can't occasionally take field trips!  This week with my sister here on spring break we decided to go see some of the baby animals at Frying Pan Farm Park in Fairfax county.



We were able to see the new lambs and calves, and just missed the piglets it seems.



Of course the most fascinating part of the day wasn't the babies at all--it was a worm the Rug Rat found in the middle of the walkway.



(Cue a good five minutes of examination.)



I promise we're not just staring at the dirt!



Happy Friday everyone!

Thursday [vegetarian] soups and stews, and a chili teaser photo

Winter's not quite over yet, so hearty soups and stews are still very much appropriate fare. But there are soups appropriate for all seasons, even the heat of summer.

Mark Bittman once again outdoes himself, giving all of us a thorough primer on vegetable soups. He divides soups into categories (creamy, brothy, earthy, hearty) and lends technique and inspiration to the home cook staring at the pantry wondering what to have for dinner.   (The curried cauliflower soup looks especially nice to me today.)

Of course, chili is always appropriate for this time of year. I tested this slow-cooker bean and grain chili for Carla the other day:



If you're looking for something even easier, check out this super simple black bean soup from A Year of Slow Cooking. It's truly a pantry- (and budget-) friendly meal.  Leek and potato soup is also classic, and has fewer than five ingredients. Substitute vegetable broth to make this version vegetarian. (Earth Balance of light olive oil will easily make it vegan as well.)

If you're looking for cookbook recipes to try out, Nava Atlas' Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons is a great resource. Atlas categorizes soups by seasonal ingredients. (I can't wait for the summer chilled fruit soups to be on my menu again.) The Gumbo Z from Vegan Soul Kitchen is one of my all-time favorites (and so healthy!), and is easily made gluten free. It's also conveniently a pretty standard lenten version of gumbo--perfect for this time of year.

Homemade red cabbage sauerkraut

One of the foods I have been meaning to try my hand at making is sauerkraut. I should also mention that I have never in my life even had the store-bought stuff, so this project really got me outside my comfort zone. Homemade fermented food and trying something new? I admit--it's a little crazy. I mean, how can I possibly know whether my kraut turned out well if I'd never had any before? I used the method from Wild Fermentation and just trusted the source. The recipe looked easy enough, and cabbage is so darn inexpensive that I only had a couple of dollars to lose if the sauerkraut was a complete flop.

Here's my sauerkraut after almost weeks' fermentation, at the point I put it in the fridge in a smaller container. Notice the violently bright pink color from the red cabbage.



The verdict? I'm not positive I like it. I love pickled foods, but this is a little beyond what I'm used to. I'm sure used as a condiment for the perfect food it'll be good--I'll just have to get used to it. In the meantime, the sauerkraut will keep for quite a while in my refrigerator and I have plenty of time to find something to eat it with.

Questions for you: Do you make sauerkraut? What do you eat it with? Do you add any other ingredients to the ferment?

Happy Wednesday!

Gluten-free blueberry lemon muffins

My kids adore blueberries, and ask to get them whenever we go grocery shopping. And while I try for the most part to stick to in-season produce, it's hard not to pick up a container of what I consider to be one of nature's best snack foods. (Can you tell I love them too?) I've made these muffins a little taste of summer, with a hint of lemon to offset the sweetness of the blueberries.



Blueberry lemon muffins (makes 6)

1/4 cup agave

1/3 cup rice or hemp milk

1/4 cup extra light olive oil, or other neutral-tasting oil

zest of 1 lemon

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

1/3 cup chickpea flour (besan)*

1/3 cup brown rice flour

1/3 cup arrowroot

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375; line 6 muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk the wet ingredients (agave through lemon juice) in a large bowl.  Sift in the flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Mix until there are no more large lumps. Fold in the blueberries.  Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each of the six cups almost to the brim. Bake for 21-23 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean of batter. (There may be some blueberry on the toothpick.) Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

*Just a quick note: Do not under any circumstances try the batter before you bake it. Chickpea flour (besan) is really nasty raw, but bakes up into a really nice, rich, slightly sweet flavor.

Teaser photos: Thanksgiving in March

I love Thanksgiving flavors, and would eat them all year if it were practical. Today's teaser photos are of foods that brought Thanksgiving into my little home yesterday. First up is a tester for Carla's latest project--a slow-cooker nut loaf that's both gluten- and soy-free! Did I mention that I made it in the crock pot? (Put this next book on your list for the fall now, because you will be needing it.)



Next is the first batch of muffins I've made from Cybele Pascal's book the Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook
.Since I was already making a Thanksgiving-y loaf for dinner (which, granted, will be in my rotation year-round) I decided to start out with the gingerbread muffins. They're tender and moist, filled with healthy ingredients, and are free of all of the "big eight." I am so happy with this cookbook and will be moving it up in the "to review" queue.



Please take a minute to enter this month's giveaway if you haven't already! (You can take your pick of the Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook, The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook, and the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.)  Info here.  I'll be drawing a winner on the 20th, so go check out the details today!

Gluten-free almond sandwich bread

This is the sandwich bread from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook
I wrote about a while back. This batch I made with local duck eggs--so unfortunately my little one can't eat it--just to see how it worked versus the batch I made a while back with chia "eggs."   The verdict?  This one had a bit better texture, and rose more (surprise, surprise). I think the key to de-egging the loaf is to use a combination of egg replacers since [the recipe] calls for four eggs. I'm going to play around a little more with it, but in the meantime this is one good bread.

What's in my pantry: Fats & Oils edition

From time to time I find myself explaining why I use certain ingredients, or being asked what certain foods are good for. Which ingredients do I consider essential to my pantry? Because I'm behind in taking pictures of foods for the cookbook reviews, I'm going to start on this series and try to juggle yet another ball. (Speaking of cookbooks, next up is Vegan Brunch either this weekend or the beginning of next week, so stay tuned!  And just as a preview, most of the book can be made gluten-free. Hooray!) This week I want to highlight cooking fats--which are my favorites, and how to use them. I realize that the best time for this one would've been on Shrove Tuesday, but... Life got crazy.

Why highlight fats first? Well, they're delicious (for one). Also, our bodies need fat. Please don't take that to mean that our bodies need a whole bunch of animal fats, because they don't. (I'll give you fish oils, but I'm mostly talking those saturated fats found in beef and pork.)  And while we're on the topic, I don't believe for a second that the newish trend of believing saturated animal fats are particularly good for us if they're from  organic-free range-humanely-treated animals. Sorry. I'll give you "tasty" as an adjective, but not "healthy." Instead, olive oil, coconut oil (a saturated fat, but a healthy one), and other plant-based oils can give you delicious food and can work just as well--if not better--than animal fats.  I've included butter in here because it is in my pantry on occasion... But we usually use it as a finisher for flavor rather than an everyday cooking fat.  I generally keep three types of fat at home (and occasionally buy others in small quantities for recipe testing or a specific fancy dish): Olive oil, coconut oil, and butter.

First up, extra virgin olive oil. I have a big bottle of Spanish extra virgin olive oil in my pantry. I go through that stuff like you wouldn't believe--that is, unless you're the same way. I think there are many people who would agree that it's one of the all-around healthiest and most delicious fats to use in cooking. I use it in soups, stews, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes, on pasta, in baking, for dressings and sauces, and even in some desserts. Now, it's not for everything. If you want to bake cupcakes, extra virgin olive oil is probably not your best bet. The flavor will overpower anything else you're using, so beware if playing with delicate flavors. But I love the fruitiness of extra virgin olive oil.  Play around with different origins for different flavors.  Buy an expensive one in small quantities for drizzling; an economical one for everyday cooking. (Here's a Serious Eats review of different everyday olive oils for reference.)

Light and extra light olive oils are also good for cooking, and are generally better for dishes that have a more delicate flavor balance than Mediterranean fare.  Extra light olive oil is fantastic in place of canola oil (which I don't like) in baked goods. You will have no olive oil aftertaste if you use extra light olive oil. Regular old olive oil is fine for cooking, too, and I generally use it for higher heat fried dishes.

Next: Coconut oil. Man, is this stuff good. I use it for baking all the time. And for stir-fries at high heat, and for curries. And.. Well, you get the picture. Coconut oil is one of my favorite in baking because it's a healthy fat, but also because it's a saturated fat. (That just means that it's solid at room temperature, not that it's necessarily artery-clogging.) Know what else is a saturated fat? Butter. And interestingly coconut oil and butter melt at similar temperatures, making coconut oil the perfect choice to replace butter in recipes calling for butter or shortening. You will get flaky biscuits and pie crusts, perfect cookies, and moist cakes.  Keep in mind, though, that while butter is generally about 80% fat, coconut oil is 100% fat. That means you need less of it when replacing butter in a recipe.  I generally use about 75% of the volume of butter called-for in a recipe.  (I admit, though, that the first few times I used coconut oil as a one for one replacement of butter and got the greasiest, nastiest pastries imaginable. So be aware of the composition of the fats you use in cooking!) Keep in mind that you can get refined and unrefined coconut oils. They taste vastly different, as different as, say, light olive oil and extra virgin.  Refined coconut oil is fairly neutral in taste, but the unrefined stuff is definitely sweeter and tropical. I love both, but if you're new to coconut oil you might want to try both and see which one you like best.

Oh right. And butter. My husband loves butter. And okay, I'll admit it: I like butter too. But here we really use it as a condiment and in things that need a buttery taste.  If you need a vegan version, Earth Balance I think is the best nondairy "butter" out there--and they make a soy-free version now. (It's the one in the red tub.)  But dairy butter--cow and goat alike--is great for some applications. Buttercream? Yes. Spreading on toast? Absolutely. It's great in baked goods that need a little color and the creamy taste that comes from butter. I prefer using local butter in only selected baked goods because the stuff I buy is too expensive to use everyday.  Shortbread comes to mind as one of the better uses.  I only buy unsalted butter, so that I can use it for both sweet and savory dishes without worrying about a salty flavor. My favorite butters have been goat milk-based, because they have such a unique tangy flavor. Cultured butters are also nice.  (Honestly, though? Buy some cream from a local dairy and try making your own. It's a fun project to do with kids, and your butter will be ridiculously fresh.)

As for the other fats I use on occasion, my favorites are avocado oil, truffle oil, toasted walnut oil, and toasted sesame oil. I don't use them as often, but they do make appearances in my pantry. I've been wanting to play with infused oils and will probably be making some of my own when my herb garden is ready for harvest this summer.  Why didn't I include animal fats? Easy answer: I don't really use them.  If I've gotten some local bacon I'll occasionally render fat, but I can't even remember the last time I did that. And even though I am no longer vegan, the idea of having a tub of lard in my pantry just doesn't... appeal to me. (Something about a flashback to the first time I watched Down Periscope.)

Quick update on allergy/intolerance testing

Ugh. Okay, SO. Here's where we stand right now.  My RAST numbers came back completely negative. Like, zero. I went for a second opinion... The second doc re-tested me via skin prick and added all the foods I've had problems with. ALL negative.  So that's great! Back to square one, though... And I'm congested like woah. (Ugh--sorry for the teen speak. I need a little coffee.) So I "get" to go have a CT of my head, specifically to check my sinuses. The second doctor wasn't quite sure why I'd not been referred to one by the previous doctor (no names given here, obviously), and why I'd not been referred to a GI specialist... which is my second stop. To probably be re-tested for celiac and other related conditions.  For now, I'm cleared to use dairy since it doesn't give me GI symptoms (no lactose-intolerance here), but to stay away from gluten like the plague since it makes me feel so horrible.

Also, the negative results just mean that I don't have IgE responses to food, not that I have no responses or intolerances to anything. At least that means the reactions really aren't life-threatening. (I'm incredibly relieved.)

/vent

But you know, I feel SO much better with gluten completely out of my life, that even if my intolerance isn't something like celiac there's no way in hell I'm going back to eating wheat. Migraines, fibromyalgia flares, fatigue, eczema, and GI distress.  Not worth it. SO not worth it.

Anyhow, for now I am going to have a lot less anxiety now that I have consistent skin AND bloodwork results. Even if I can't breathe through my nose and my ears are fluid-filled all the time.

Even if I do feel like kind of an idiot.

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In other medical news, since I'm over-sharing already, I had my follow up mammogram and ultrasound yesterday from that scary issue last summer. NO CHANGES. Completely negative. I go back now for yearly exams, even now at 28, because of the family history.

Great news all around, eh? Except for maybe that I am insane.

Roasted chickpeas (tester) + Viva Vegan flan

This first pic is a tester for Alicia Simpson's newest project. Roasted chickpeas! (I've made two varieties for her. Both are a little out of the ordinary flavor-wise, and so good!)



Here's the vanilla-coconut flan from Viva Vegan. I can't believe I hadn't made it until now. (PS: It's so much easier to make than the traditional version.)

Monday DIY links

It's been a bit of a rough weekend with sick kids and overbooked schedules, so today's posting is pretty light--just a few fun DIY links. Enjoy!

How cool is this? Christina over at the From Scratch Club blogs about tapping your own maple syrup.

The Ball canning site. I'll be using this as a reference a lot this year.

Planet Green has an index of 45 common items that you can make yourself. PEOPLE. Check this out. (Especially food allergy peeps. You can make your own baking powder at home and easily sub another starch for the cornstarch usually found in store bought stuff.)

And last but certainly not least, homemade jimmies. (Uhh, "sprinkles" to anyone who hasn't lived in New England...)  'Nuf said.

Guest post: "Pasotto" (or, the creamiest pasta you'll ever eat)

Editor's note: This post is courtesy my husband who, while not the everyday cook here, is no slouch in the kitchen. A lot of his experimenting is based on Alton Brown techniques and kitchen MacGuyver-ing, and often at my request. (He made a smoker out of a hotplate and a couple of terracotta pots a couple of years ago.) As soon as I mentioned that I heard about an interesting method of cooking pasta on Splendid Table, my husband the engineer immediately went to work on dinner. He's such a good sport. Makes me smile.  (I love him so.) So without further ado, here's my hubby's take on pasta cooked almost as you would a risotto. I swear to you: Even with only 3 ingredients this is the creamiest pasta I've ever eaten. And it has no milk (dairy or non-dairy), butter, or cheese. We now eat his "pasotto" regularly. -Celia

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Months ago, Celia mentioned a bit she heard on The Splendid Table about alternative pasta cooking methods. Listening to the archives turned up one that I was particularly eager to try: it parallels the risotto technique. I've since done it enough to have proven the method, which follows. It's not exactly a recipe - there are too many ways to do it to nail down a single formula in an introductory post like this - but if you're reading this blog you probably have at least some creative tendencies, and your variation ideas are welcome in the comments. I have never done this vegan or vegetarian, but the substitutions you would have to make are elementary.

Put simply, all you are doing is starting the pasta in cold liquid. It could be water, but I subscribe to Alton Brown's maxim that you should generally avoid water in favor of a flavorful liquid. Thus I recommend broth, wine, or a mixture of the two. I prefer a shaped pasta like penne or elbows for this application, as it will be much easier to stir in the beginning and they aesthetically refer back to the rice that inspires the technique. That said, Celia just did this with fettuccine, and it worked just fine.

First, put your pasta into a large pot. We have found that our large enameled dutch oven works best. (I first used a smaller dutch oven, only to be forced to move its contents as the pasta grew in volume!) Next, add enough of your liquid to just cover all of the pasta, and start the heat (a medium-high to high works for the initial phase). At this point you may wish to add some fat, though it is not necessary. (We generally use olive oil, but butter has worked well for me too.)  Bring the liquid to boil, stirring regularly, then turn the heat down to something near but above medium. Continue to stir regularly as the pot simmers; you should observe the pasta growing and the liquid level dropping.   This is also the point where you can stir in some frozen broccoli or other such vegetable, and while I've never done it, you would probably want to add a cooked meat or some freshly grated parmesan here if you were going that way. If you do these things, continue to cook until your additions are suitably warm, otherwise it's ready to serve.

There are a lot of advantages to this technique. The greens among you will notice that it uses a lot less water to cook pasta, and it is likely to require less stove energy as well. From a purely practical standpoint, you also avoid having to dump a huge pot of boiling water and getting a face full of steam. I like those things, but you also gain some culinary advantages. First, you will have infused your pasta with flavor, and the difference is quite noticeable. Second, you don't need to sauce this, as the reduced cooking liquid that remains will marry with the pasta starch to create a good enough sauce in its own right. I, for one, always see Scott Conant talking about having to add some of the pasta cooking water to a sauce in order to make use of the starch. Well, I always wind up having finished my sauce before I cook my pasta, so doing that never works for me. Here you get the best of both worlds, a convenient dish with a pasta starch-laden sauce.

In lieu of a recipe, here is a rundown of the basic ingredients with rough amounts:

1 quart broth

1 pound pasta

Salt and pepper to taste (I recommend adding late in the process, as your broth will probably have salt already)

2 tbsp olive oil or butter (or equivalent, optional)

Food Network Friday: Rustic Ligurian artichoke stew

Clearly I am not taking a full week off of blogging!  But, having the pressure off has been great.  I probably wouldn't have posted any recipes until Monday next week except that I had forgotten about Food Network Friday. And since I picked the recipe this week, I couldn't very well miss out on the fun! -Celia

Since I've been feeling a little minimalist lately I immediately went to simple Italian food for inspiration. Ultimately I chose this recipe for Ligurian fish stew courtesy Giada di Laurentis. It's rich with olive oil, and super healthy with all the ingredients. And really, it's very easy to veganize since the only non-vegan ingredient is the fish.   The recipe has gotten mixed reviews, but the negative comments seem to be centered around the dish being too simple for a Food Network chef's repertoire. Huh? Since when does food always have to be fancy? I'm all about peasant food, and this recipe seemed to me to be just that. Simple. Delicious.

I spent the other day reading a little about Ligurian cuisine to get inspired to cook. Fresh herbs, vegetables, and seafood reign since there's very little pasture land for other meat dishes. For Food Network Friday purposes, I wanted to take a minimalist dish and veganize it simply, with a vegetable readily found in Ligurian dishes. I ended up doing a quick sub of frozen artichoke pieces for the fish and adjusted the seasonings a bit to my taste. This is a quick meal with relatively inexpensive ingredients, making it a great pick for a weeknight dinner.



Rustic Ligurian artichoke stew (serves 4-6)--adapted from Giada di Laurentis' Ligurian Fish Stew

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 12-oz package frozen artichoke pieces

1 tsp chili flake

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

1 cup vegetable broth (or water)

1/3 cup packed Italian (flat leaf) parsley, coarsely chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

truffle oil for drizzling, optional

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and carrots; saute for about 5-7 minutes, until vegetables have softened. Add the garlic, artichokes, and chili flake. Cook for an additional two minutes, stirring frequently.  Add the wine and loosen any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.  Add the tomatoes and broth.  Bring to a simmer; then cover and cook for 20 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the parsley.  Drizzle with truffle oil at the table if desired.

*Food Network Friday is a blogging project started to inspire creativity.  Every couple of weeks a group of us veganizes a recipe from the Food Network however we wish. Join us! You don't have to be vegan to participate and eat delicious vegan food.*

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Shared at Cybele Pascal's website for Allergy Friendly Friday on 5/13/11. Go check out the other great recipes!

Tester photos: maple-oat muffins and white bean-fennel minestrone

Tami's maple oat muffins (de-glutenized with permission):



Carla's white bean and fennel minestrone:

Slow cooker pear butter

This past weekend I got six pounds of d'anjou pears in the discount bin at our local international grocery for $1.98. Yes, you read that right. Beautiful, fresh pears for $0.33/pound. I know. So of course I went off to preserve them.  Making homemade apple and pear butter is so easy, it's almost a shame not to try it at least once. You can also control the amount of sugar in your preserves that way.  I have not canned this, just so you know. I'm just a beginning canner and am not up on pH balance and safety yet, so please just keep this in a sealed jar in the fridge for a few weeks just like you would a jar of opened jam. Here's what you need:

6 lbs pears, cored and cut into 1 inch chunks. No need to peel the fruit.  (Sweeter apples will work here, too.)

1 tsp cinnamon

Put everything in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours; then puree with an immersion blender. Re-cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 1/2 hours (check after four and then in half hour spurts) until greatly reduced and, well fruit-buttery. Turn off your slow cooker and let the fruit preserves cool completely before refrigerating in a clean, covered container.