Grain-Free Pineapple Upside Down Cake

One day in early October, I said to my Husband, "I feel like baking something." He said, "Pineapple Upside Down Cake!" And I said, "Well, okay then!" What he didn't know, or maybe he did, is that months earlier I had bought a can of pineapple rings for just this purpose. I had all the other ingredients on hand to make this Coconut Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe,which I'd printed and put into my recipe file. But, it uses a dozen eggs, and that was going to make me dangerously low on eggs in the house. So after studying it for a bit, I went back to my printed recipe file, and found this Grain-Free Coffee Cake recipe, which I'd made as written before and found awesome. I taped them both to my kitchen cabinet, and proceeded to hybridize them. The result was fantastic! So now, I'll share it with you.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

2/3c + 1/4 cup (divided use) grade B maple syrup, or honey
1/4c + 1/4 cup (divided use) coconut oil, melted
4 eggs
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (or heavy cream if you can do dairy)
3/4 cup arrowroot powder
3/4 cup sifted coconut flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 1/2-inch pineapple rings (or a can of sliced pineapple)
1/4 cup unsweetened dried tart cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil a cake pan with straight sides. (I love this coconut oil spray. It's not perfect - contains soy lecithin and "propellant", but it's far better than the alternatives.)

Mix 2/3c maple syrup or honey, 1/4c coconut oil, eggs, and coconut milk until well combined.

Stir together arrowroot powder, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.

Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir well.

Put the remaining 1/4c coconut oil in a small saucepan and heat over medium high heat. Stir in the remaining 1/4c maple syrup or honey. When it foams and bubbles, pour it into the bottom of the greased cake pan. Arrange the pineapple slices and dried cherries in the bottom of the pan. Pour the prepared cake batter over the top, and pop the pan into the preheated oven. Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before running a knife around the sides, and inverting on a platter to serve.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Poppers

This is one of those "only via the Internet" stories. A friend on Facebook posted about making these poppers, with a link to where she'd pinned the recipe on Pinterest. That, of course, had been pinned by several other people - I don't "do" Pinterest, so I couldn't quite trace the path. Not that it matters. Clicking on the pinned recipe took me to a blog that posted the recipe, which that blogger had gotten from someone *else's* blog... I took a look at it, and immediately adapted it in my head to be gluten-free. A few days later, I tried out my adaptation, and if I do say so myself, they're PERFECT! So, without further ado, here is a delicious, sugary recipe, adapted to be gluten-free and nourishing, if still a bit sugary!

Pumpkin Poppers

1/2 cup coconut flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup coconut palm sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup pumpkin

1/2 cup milk, cream, or coconut milk

For Coating - optional

4oz butter or ghee, melted

2/3 cup turbinado sugar

2 tbsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F and spray mini muffin tins with coconut oil spray.

Combine coconut flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a bowl and whisk until combined.

In another bowl, mix coconut oil, coconut  sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin, and milk. Pour in flour mixture and mix until just combined. Fill mini muffin tins until almost full and bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of one muffin comes out clean. 

If using coating: Melt butter in small bowl.  Mix sugar and cinnamon in a separate small bowl. After poppers cool for a few minutes, dip them in the butter and roll them in the sugar mixture - either the whole popper, or just the top for a bit less sweet! 

Homemade "Nutella" Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

This was a big hit at my Holiday parties, spread on apple slices and/or crispy buckwheat pancakes*!
(*Make small buckwheat pancakes, then spread them on a cookie sheet & dry them in a 200F oven until crisp. Makes a great gluten-free cracker for savory or sweet toppings!)

I adapted this recipe from here, as I didn't have hazelnut oil, and I won't touch agave nectar.

1 cup hazelnuts

¼ cup cacao powder

5 tablespoons honey, maple syrup, palm sugar, or rapadura

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon hazelnut or coconut oil

pinch celtic sea salt

Roast the hazelnuts at 350° for 8-10 minutes until they darken a bit and smell fragrant

Transfer the hazelnuts to a towel and rub off the skins if you can

In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts to a smooth butter, about 5 minutes, scraping the sides as needed

Add the cacao, sugar, vanilla, oil and salt and process until well blended, about a minute

Store in a glass mason jar in the refrigerator

Bring to room temperature prior to serving

Makes 1 ½ cups

I used Grade B maple syrup for the sugar.
I used coconut oil, and had to add a bit more to get a spreadable consistency. 

Instead of roasting the hazelnuts, I had previously soaked and roasted them. 

Enjoy!! 

Yet Another Grain-Free Muffin Recipe (Blueberry Muffins)

This one isn't sugar-free, and is also based on the original grain-free cake recipe. I'm pleased with how it came out, so thought I'd post it. 

Blueberry Muffins (Grain-Free)

1 cup coconut flour, sifted

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking soda

10 eggs, preferably room temperature

1 cup coconut oil

¾ cup raw honey, coconut palm sugar, or rapadura/sucanat

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp orange extract

1 ½ cups fresh blueberries, rinsed, and any stems removed

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease muffin pan with coconut oil and dust lightly with coconut flour.

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the balloon whisk, blend eggs, oil, sugar or honey, and extracts.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and blend.

Gently stir the blueberries into the batter.

Fill the muffin cups with batter. (Since gluten-free baked goods don’t rise as much as ones containing gluten, it’s okay to fill the cups completely.) Pop the pan into the preheated oven, and bake about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. If your pan is thin, or the cups are smaller, start checking the muffins at 20 minutes. If you are using stoneware, it may take 35 minutes. Mine came out really brown on top, because I had to bake them the full 35 minutes.

Place the whole pan on a cooling rack and allow the muffins to cool completely before removing them from the pan. In addition to being really brown on top, when I popped the first one out, I was alarmed at how *black* it was. Then I realized that was just the blueberries. I broke it open, and it was pretty perfect, studded with lovely whole blueberries! 

Enjoy!

Two More Vinaigrettes

There are three things that I simply can't comprehend why people purchase ready-made, when they are SO easy to make at home, and the results are vastly superior in flavor as well as nutrition.

One is applesauce (cut up apples - don't bother peeling! - cook with a splash of water, blend.)
Second is mashed potatoes (cut up potatoes - don't bother peeling! - boil, drain, mash.)
Third is salad dressings. That being said, I've only pretty recently gotten into making salad dressings on any kind of regular basis.

The basic recipe for a salad dressing is 1 part acid to 2 parts oil. Everything else is negotiable! Using that starting point, I made a couple of vinaigrettes a while back that were both very tasty in different ways, so I thought I'd share them. I used measurements for beginners, but the easiest way is to first squeeze the citrus directly into your glass jar, then just add oil to the level of 2x the citrus. They don't mix when you pour it in, so you can easily tell where the levels are. Then just add your spices, shake and enjoy!

The first is a variation on one I posted before. That one was Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette. This one is also lemon and mustard, but without the herbs and with the addition of enough honey to smooth out the bite and texture, but not really enough to make it gloppy sweet, like a commercial honey-mustard.

Honey Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-2 T dijon mustard - my favorite is Maille
3 T honey (preferably local)
1/2 tsp sea salt

Put it all into a jar and shake it up, or a bowl and whisk. Taste, and adjust salt or anything else. Shake or whisk again, and enjoy!

Lime Herb Vinaigrette

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
a pinch each (1/4 tsp): dried oregano, basil, & thyme
2 pinches (1/2 tsp) herbes de provence
(or use about a tsp of any mixed herbs you have on hand)
1/2 tsp sea salt

Put it all into a jar and shake it up, or a bowl and whisk. Taste, and adjust salt or anything else. Shake or whisk again, and enjoy! 

Storage: Store your dressings in the refrigerator. Take them out about half an hour before you plan to use them, because the olive oil will have solidified, and it needs time to come back to room temperature so that you can use it. You can also just shake it up really well when it's cold and that will help it liquefy to a usable state, too. 

A Note About Buying Herbs: Get to know the bulk herbs section at your grocery or natural foods store. You will not believe the price difference from those little jars in the spice aisle of the store. For the tiny effort of scooping the quantity of herbs that you need (small or large), and labeling the bag, you can pay about 85 cents for an amount that would be $3-5 in the spice aisle. Not even kidding. You can store them in their baggies (in a dark cabinet to keep them fresh), or put them into glass or plastic containers for a little more protection. I use flat plastic containers that once held carry-out Chinese soup, or old natural peanut butter jars for larger quantities. I keep a roll of masking tape and a Sharpie in a drawer and use that to label everything. (I'm a little bit of a compulsive labeller, LOL.)

Tangent: More than once, someone has said to me, "You probably alphabetize your spice rack!" to which I always reply, "Of course not! Spices are sorted by function!" This photo actually bothers me a bit, because the stacks are not appropriately sorted, LOL. The fennel seed should be in the left-hand stack (roots & seeds), and the rosemary should be in the right-hand stack (leaves). But that's just me! Ha! 

Gluten Free Chocolate Mug Cake

Husband's birthday is rolling around again soon, and he wants a German Chocolate Cake for it. I'm going to have a very talented pastry chef friend of ours make him one, but I wondered what I would have, as I'm totally gluten-free again now. Grain-free, in fact, for the time being. And trying to limit my general carb intake as much as I can. So I started scouring the intertubes for a gluten-free mug cake, and didn't like anything I found. They all called for too many ingredients, or one of those gluten-free baking mixes that taste kind of weird. I searched for coconut flour mug cake, but the only one I found used more rice flour than coconut. Then I thought, you know, I have a coconut flour cake recipe that I know works great, why not just chop it down and see how it comes out?? And I did, and it worked great!! So, without further ado, here is the recipe:


1 large egg
1 rounded Tablespoon coconut flour, sifted
1 rounded teaspoon cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 Tablespoons Grade B maple syrup
drop vanilla extract


Crack the egg into a large (12oz) heatproof coffee mug. Beat it with a fork until well combined. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to mix thoroughly. Pop the mug into the microwave, and cook on "high" for 2.5 minutes*. Take it out and let it sit for 5 minutes, then devour! Mine pulled away from the sides of the mug, allowing me to dump it out onto a plate, but I'm sure it would be just as tasty right out of the mug! 


That's exactly how long I did mine and it was right, but as we all know, microwaves vary, so watch it and see when it's done. It rose up right at first, higher than the mug, but then it went back down into the mug, and I basically just decided it smelled done and stopped it. I touched the top, and it was firm, so took it out and let it sit, and it was just right. Oh and I know, I prefer to avoid the microwave when I can - I do suppose you could pop the mug into a regular oven and bake it - not sure how long that would take, though. 

I have a friend who has to watch his sugar intake, so I ran the statistics on the recipe, as best I could figure:
454 calories
33.8g fat (65% of calories)
33.5g carb (28% of calories)
8.0g protein (7% of calories)


The vast majority of the carbs was 26.8g sugar from the maple syrup, so I suppose you could use a fake sugar if you were a person who needed, for medical reasons, to watch the sugar intake. For me, the fat/carb balance is what I watch. 


Anyway, I'm all about the *sensible* indulgences, as Mark Sisson calls them, and this one really fit the bill! 


**Update** The second time I made this, for some reason, it was quite bitter and not nearly as tasty as the first time. I can't now remember what I did differently, but I think I eyeballed some of the measurements, so maybe I over- or under-did something. Maybe I overcooked it. I'll update again the next time I try it and post how it comes out and anything I do differently. 

Coconut Waffles (Grain-Free)

I was following the grain-free waffle recipe from Organic and Thrifty, which was apparently adapted from Mark's Daily Apple, and I liked them. A lot. And Husband liked them, too. But I found them quite dry and dense. I realized there was no butter or oil in the batter, and most waffle recipes call for butter or oil. After studying up a bit in Joy of Cooking about proportions, I came up with the following recipe, and they are GREAT! The texture is moist and tender, and I dare say they taste like A Waffle, not like, some adapted, grain-free version of a waffle, if you know what I mean. Also, last time I made them, I added some shredded coconut to a couple of them, and we liked those, too, so I added that to the whole batch today. If you are not a huge fan of coconut, don't worry, they don't really taste all that coconutty. Just leave out the shredded coconut, and you will have simply a yummy, waffley, grain-free breakfast! One last note - these are super filling - I rarely eat more than one whole waffle.

Grain-Free Waffles
Makes 3 Waffles (doubles easily)

4 eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, or both
1 T grade B maple syrup, or local honey
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk, cream, or full-fat plain yogurt
2 T melted coconut oil or butter, cooled slightly
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut flour*
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

4 T (1/2 stick) butter
1 T grade B maple syrup (or local honey)

*Available at natural foods stores or at Amazon. Don't be alarmed by the price - you use so little of it at a time. My first 1lb bag lasted me a year.

Gather your ingredients, then start the waffle iron preheating. Whisk the eggs until uniform. Add the vanilla, cinnamon and/or nutmeg, maple syrup or honey, milk, and oil or butter, and whisk to combine. Add the baking soda and coconut flour and whisk. Stir in the shredded coconut, if using.

Pour a scant 1/2 cup into the center of your waffle iron, and cook according to the manufacturer's directions.

While the first waffle is cooking, melt the 1/2 stick of butter, and mix in the 1T maple syrup. Put a cookie sheet or plate in the oven on its lowest setting (170-200F).

When the waffle is done, use a spatula to transfer it to the pan or plate in the oven, and brush it generously with the butter/syrup mixture. Proceed with the rest of the batter, brushing with butter/syrup as soon as you put it in the oven. When they are all cooked, enjoy your filling, satisfying, grain-free, low sugar, low-carb, high protein, high fiber, DELICIOUS breakfast, loaded with GOOD fats! (Or lunch, or dinner!)

Make extra, so that you have leftovers. They freeze well: Place them between layers of waxed paper & put into a gallon baggie. When you are ready to enjoy, take them out and place them on a cookie sheet in a 350F oven for a few minutes to warm them. If you want to use a popup toaster to warm them, don't brush them with the butter/syrup mixture before storing them.

UPDATE: I tried mixing fresh blueberries into the batter. This turned out to be a gigantic mess. I do NOT recommend it!! The blueberries burnt and became glued to the waffle iron, and made the batter too wet, so the couple of waffles I managed to make turned out burned on the outside and falling-apart wet on the inside. I tried making pancakes with the rest of the batter, and had similarly disastrous results. So, if you want berries with your waffles, I recommend putting them on TOP of a COOKED waffle, and not trying to cook them into the waffles!

Broiling a Steak

For this, I owe a debt of gratitude to Shreve Stockton's wonderful cookbook Eating Gluten Free. But what really makes the steak great is Husband's recommendations. I followed them today and the steak was just about as good as when he does it!

Get a nice, thick steak, with a good rind of fat on the edge. I'm particularly fond of strip steaks. And I also buy them in the big package, cook several at once, and have them on hand to eat for several days.

Several hours before you want to cook them, take the steaks out of the package and arrange them on a broiler pan. Salt them generously with unrefined sea salt, and sprinkle generously with freshly ground pepper. (We do ours in a molcajete!) Using your fingers, rub the spices into the meat. Turn the steaks over, and repeat on the other side. Then, turn them on their sides, with the fat facing up, and sprinkle generously with Greek seasoning or more unrefined sea salt. Put them back flat, and place them in the cold oven. This is just to protect them from dust, flies, and pets while the spices infuse the meat and the meat comes to room temperature.

Several hours later, take the steaks out of the cold oven, put the rack into the broiling position, and preheat the broiler. When the broiler is hot, put the steaks under it for five minutes only. Be sure to keep the door ajar while broiling! Take them out, flip them over, and put them back in for five more minutes. They will now be cooked perfectly rare, so that when you reheat them later, you will not be left eating shoe leather. (Voice of experience here, trust me.) If you plan to eat one right away, it's okay to put it back under the broiler for another 2 minutes to get it medium rare.

This is important! Take the steaks out of the oven and let them sit for 5 minutes before serving. The meat finishes cooking and the juices "set" in this time.

And there you have it, one delicious, perfect steak! Or, several delicious, perfect steaks! :-)

Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette

Actually, I'm not sure it's a vinaigrette if it doesn't contain any vinegar, but that's what it's most like...

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 T Maille mustard
1 T local honey

1 tsp Greek seasoning
1 tsp Italian seasoning
     (or really, any combination of salty spice & herbs that floats your boat)

Put all ingredients into a pint jar, put the lid on, shake well, and serve on salad or vegetables. Yum!

Fearless Friday: Cornmeal Pancakes

Husband brought home this booklet, 50 Pancakes & Waffles, taken out of the Food Network Magazine. Everyone loves pancakes and waffles, but being made of refined grains, they are definitely not something we have regularly. Browsing through the booklet, I saw a recipe for Corn Cakes. Cornmeal is the one grain other than brown rice, that I occasionally indulge in, and I had all the ingredients on hand, so I decided to try it. I wrote down the ingredient list & adapted it for overnight soaking - mainly for the small amount of flour in them. It's not nixtamalizing the corn, but I figured it couldn't hurt the cornmeal to soak it, too. They came out delicious! And they did not make me feel bloaty and terrible like some other grains might have. Not daily fare, certainly, but definitely repeatable.

Here is what I actually did:

The night before I wanted to make them, I mixed together:
1/2 cup unbleached white flour (I'd have used whole wheat if I'd had it)
1 cup stone ground cornmeal
1 cup milk + 1/4 cup sour cream (This is what I had on hand. 1 1/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt would be great.)
3 T local honey (From my next-door neighbor. It doesn't get any more local than that!)

I covered this mixture with plastic wrap and left it on the counter overnight.
In the morning, I added:
4 T melted butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 T baking powder

You'll also need:
More butter or coconut oil for the griddle
Butter and honey to serve them with.

I mixed it all up with a whisk, heated the griddle, buttered it, and cooked them just like pancakes (Scant 1/4 cup batter onto heated, greased pan, wait for bubbles, flip over.) We ate them with more butter, and tried them with a tad of honey added, too. I also added some fresh blueberries to a couple of them - this was great, too. Just add the blueberries after you pour the batter onto the pan, then wait for bubbles & flip as usual. Yum!

I may try adding a couple tablespoons coconut flour and another egg in place of the 1/2 cup wheat flour to see if they can be made gluten-free. But at least with the soaking, the wheat is rendered more digestible.

Enjoy!

100% Rye "Biscuits"

So I got this recipe for Soaked Whole Grain Buttermilk Biscuits, and decided to try them. Husband misses such things, and he was on his way home. As with most things I cook, I used the recipe as a starting place, and made a lot of changes.

Friday night I went to the store for buttermilk, but was horrified at what they put in it. I remembered that in the absence of buttermilk, you could "clabber" milk with lemon juice or vinegar, both of which I had at home, so I bought a quart of whole, organic milk. (A so-so choice. Read about healthy milk choices here.) I came home and opened Joy of Cooking, checked substitutions, and found they suggest yogurt as a buttermilk replacement. I guess the clabbered milk substitution was from the previous edition of Joy of Cooking (I have both, LOL). Anyway, I had some homemade raw milk yogurt on hand, so I used that instead of clabbered milk. I also didn't have any whole wheat flour in the freezer, but I did have some stone ground rye flour, so I used that. Since I was using rye flour, I added some caraway seeds and rosemary to the dough. The rest of the method I followed. I did roll the dough out and cut them out with a biscuit cutter that was my Mom's - maybe even my grandmother's. Using that made me happy, but I'm sure the biscuits would be just as good made as drop biscuits, as recommended in the original recipe.

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups stone-ground rye flour
½ cup cold butter
1 T caraway seeds
1 T dried rosemary
1 cup buttermilk or yogurt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt

Method:
Measure the whole grain flour into a bowl or better, into the bowl of a food processor or mixer. Add the cold butter, cut into chunks. Cut the butter into the flour, using two knives, or mix with the food processor or mixer  until the mixture resembles the texture of cornmeal. Mix in the caraway seeds and rosemary. Stir in the buttermilk or yogurt to form a thick dough. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and allow to sit on your counter overnight.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once the oven is preheated, knead baking soda and unrefined sea salt into the dough.

Flour your hands and gently form the biscuits either by rolling them out and cutting them out with a biscuit cutter, or drop them straight from the mixing bowl onto a baking sheet or preheated baking stone.

Bake the biscuits at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about fifteen minutes, or until they puff up and become a golden brown color. I used a Pampered Chef baking stone, and I think I baked the rye biscuits for 20 minutes. They didn't really puff up, but I don't know if that is the heaviness of the rye, or if I should have used more baking soda. I will try using a skosh more baking soda next time.

Use a spatula to transfer the biscuits to a rack to cool slightly, then slather with pastured butter, and enjoy!

Homemade Dill Pickles

One of the cornerstones of Traditional Food is homemade fermented foods. On Ash Wednesday, I finally took the plunge and made some dill pickles. It couldn't be easier! Today I tasted them when I transferred them to the fridge, and guess what? They tasted like pickles! Amazing!

Photo tutorial of this recipe can be found here.

I followed the recipe in Nourishing Traditions, and did it thus:

3 English cucumbers (these are the long, skinny ones - unwaxed, smaller seeds, don't need peeling)
2T mustard seeds
4T snipped fresh dill
2T sea salt
1/2 cup whey (Here's how to get whey)
4 pint-sized, wide mouth mason jars with lids. I bought mine in the grocery store next to the vinegars.

Unwrap and wash off the cucumbers. Cut off & discard the ends. Slice the cucumbers at 1/4 inch intervals. Distribute them among the 4 jars. I had a few left over that I just put in a container in the fridge to eat raw. (They are great with yogurt dip!) Add 1 1/2 teaspoons (1/2 Tablespoon) sea salt to each jar. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons (1/2 Tablespoon) mustard seeds to each jar. Add 1 Tablespoon (or so) snipped fresh dill to each jar. Add 2 Tablespoons whey to each jar. Top each one up with 1 cup filtered water. Add more water if needed to cover your cucumber slices. Put the lids on, and let the pickles sit on the counter for two days. After two days, transfer them to the refrigerator. You can eat them then, but I expect they will improve with age. Exciting!

Mrs. Economides's Yogurt Recipe

I had a gallon of raw milk that I knew I'd be unable to drink all of, so I decided to make yogurt out of it. I looked up several ways to make yogurt, but they all seemed so complicated. I knew I had this recipe, and had made it successfully, when I was quite a novice cook. According to my notes, I received this recipe back in 1994 from the mother of my dear friend Theo. I know that I made it at least once back then, but I don't think I've made it since! I deviated from the recipe somewhat, but it's a very forgiving recipe. Try it!

Mrs. Economides's Yogurt Recipe

1/2 gallon milk
8oz good quality plain yogurt with live cultures

Pour milk into a large pot and bring it to a gentle boil. If you have a candy thermometer, keep temperature between 145-160 degrees. Simmer 30-60 minutes. The longer the milk is boiled, the thicker the yogurt will be.

Put the pot in a sink of cold water to cool it until it won't burn when touched.

Put half the container of yogurt into a small bowl. Stir in a little of the warm milk, then transfer the mixture back to the pot and stir. Pour into smaller containers, but do not put lids on them. Place them in a warm place*, covered with a couple of towels. Allow to set for 5-6 hours. Put lids on, let cool to room temperature on the counter, and place in refrigerator.

*A gas oven with a pilot is ideal. Or, turn on an electric oven for just under a minute, then turn it off. Place a pan of  hot water in the oven under or near the yogurt, and leave the oven light on. This is also how I rise bread dough. A perfect proofing cabinet!

Enjoy!

Mom's True Texas Chili

Photo Tutorial of this recipe here.

This is my own version of my Mom's recipe for True Texas Chili. Texas Chili contains Meat. And Spices. That is ALL. No beans. And for God's sake, no tomatoes! Are you making spaghetti sauce, or chili? Anyway. I modified Mom's recipe by adding an onion. Because really, what suffers from the addition of onion? Nothing. And my unorthodox addition (Sorry, Mom) is a bit of brown rice. The original recipe called for a couple tablespoons of flour to thicken it, and in the attempt to go gluten-free, and eventually grain-free (except for rice), I've used different things over the years to thicken it, from ground millet to cornmeal to quinoa. Everything works fine, but the brown rice addition is compliant with the McCombs Plan, which we are currently following. Really, you could just skip the rice and add the water and simmer the chili. It would thicken up just fine, I'm sure. *Update 4/19/10: Trying to be grain-free now, so today I'm making it without rice or any grain. It worked great! 

Anyway, Enjoy a great big bowl of Texas Red! And if you just *want* beans, just add them at serving. But not to the pot. Okay? Oh, and "beans" means PINTOS. Not those big, weird, yucky kidney beans you Yankees think go in chili... **grimace**

Mom's True Texas Chili
(Can be halved easily, but why not make a bunch and freeze half?)

Ingredients:
5 lbs ground chuck, 80/20. (If you know me at all, you know I don't believe in lean.)
2 medium yellow onions (White or 1015 will also do fine.)
2 T garlic powder (or better, a couple cloves of fresh garlic, peeled and chopped)
1 (scant) cup chili powder (I like Fiesta "light in color" Chili Powder, but any will do.)
1/2 cup ground cumin (I like to grind my own, but pre-ground is okay.)
1/4 cup ground turmeric (If you can get this in the bulk section, it will be much cheaper than those tiny jars.)
2 T sea salt
1 cup brown rice (We are partial to Lundberg Organics Short Grain Brown Rice, but any will do.)
4 cups filtered water, plus more if needed.

Method:
Put the ground beef in a big stock pot and crank up the heat to medium-high. As the meat browns, stir and break up chunks with a wooden spoon.

While the meat browns, chop up the onions, and garlic if you are using fresh.

Measure into a bowl: 1 cup chili powder, 1/2 cup ground cumin, 2T garlic powder (if you are not using fresh), 2T salt, and 1/4 cup ground turmeric. Turmeric is supposed to be really good for your brain, and specifically in the prevention of Alzheimer's, which my Mom has, along with all of her siblings. Scare. So whenever the dish allows (chili, rice, potatoes, etc.) I try to remember (heh) to add it. I actually forgot this the last time I made chili, but I have noted it on my original recipe, so I won't forget in future!

Get the beef nice and brown. When it's fully cooked, add the onion (and fresh garlic, if using) and mix it in. Then add the spices and mix them in. Add the brown rice. Add four cups of water, and mix it all up. Turn the heat to low, and simmer this mixture for a good, long while, stirring occasionally . 2 hours is the absolute minimum. I partially cover the pot, by laying the wooden spoon across the top of the pot, and putting the lid on so that it is slightly ajar. At two hours, it's edible, but really needs more. This last batch, after two hours, I added 2 more cups of water and simmered it about another hour and a half.

When it's done - nice and thick - take it off the heat and allow it to cool for a while. Split it between two 2-quart containers. Put one in the fridge for immediate consumption, and one in the freezer for later. Chili freezes really well. And as delicious as it is, one gets tired of eating it by the time you get to the end of one of the containers. Or if you have a friend in need, you have a delicious hot meal on hand that you can take to them.

Enjoy!

Gigi's Famous, Award-Winning, Triple Ginger Cookies!

Yes, here it is, for you to have. THE recipe! I've never been secretive about it, actually. Below are the measurements for a single batch. I almost always make a triple batch, but I've got the larger KitchenAid stand mixer, so it can handle it. Note that these are NOT Ginger "Snaps", because while they are "snappy" with ginger and spice, they are *soft* cookies, not thin, hard ones. Those have their place, but they are not these!

Triple Ginger Cookies

2 ¼ c. unbleached flour
1 c. dark brown sugar
1 ½ sticks real butter (Kerrygold or Falfurrias is best)
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon (freshly ground is best)
1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled, and grated or chopped
1 tsp ginger preserve or chopped crystallized ginger
½ tsp ground cloves (freshly ground is best)
½ c. granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F.  In a large mixing bowl, combine half the flour, and the brown sugar, butter, molasses, egg, soda, gingers, cinnamon, and cloves.  Beat with electric mixer until thoroughly combined.  Beat in remaining flour.  Shape dough into 1" balls.  Roll each in granulated sugar and place 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake at 350° on top rack for 7-10 minutes or until set and tops are crackled.  Cool on racks.

Makes about 3 dozen.

This recipe doubles/triples easily, if your mixer can handle it! Every year at the holidays, I make four triple batches: about 40 dozen.

BE SURE TO SEE THE PHOTOS OF THE PROCESS HERE.
And specifically note the size of my "tablespoon" measurements.
There are also photos of grinding cloves & cinnamon. Makes a huge difference!

ENJOY!

Candied Citrus Peel

This is also something I make every year at Christmas time. I've done everything from pomelos to grapefruits to oranges to lemons and limes. What I've found is that smallish, thin-skinned citrus works best. So this year, I bought two five-pound bags of clementines. What follows isn't a recipe, exactly, just a method, which I've found to work over the last few years. I'm following the method outlined in the 1997 edition of The Joy of Cooking, with my own tweaks. If you can get organic fruit, so much the better, since you will be eating the peels. This is a several-day process, so be sure to start about a week before you need them.

Photos of the entire process can be seen here.

Wash all the fruit in soapy water and rinse well. Be sure to remove any labels.
Cut them in half and juice them (an inexpensive citrus juicer is recommended!)
Cut the empty halves in half again, pulling out as much of the flesh as possible.
Put the quarters into a large stockpot and cover with water.
Place on medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
Lower heat and simmer until the peels are starting to soften, 30-60 minutes. Don't overdo it.
Drain the peels in a large colander and allow to cool.
When they are cool, use an eating spoon to gently scrape the remaining white pith off the peels.
Make enough sugar syrup to cover the peels you now have. Here's how:

Mix 1 cup white sugar, 3/4 cup water, and 3T light corn syrup in a large pot over medium heat. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Is it enough to cover your peels? If not, add the same quantities again & stir to dissolve, until you have enough. For my 10lbs of clementines, I used 4 cups sugar, 3 cups water, and about 6T corn syrup, and it was just about perfect.

Add your peels to the sugar syrup, bring to boil, lower heat and simmer until the peels start to look translucent and the syrup is starting to be absorbed, an hour or two.
Turn off the heat, cover, and allow to stand overnight.
In the morning, drain the peels. If they are very sticky, you can put them back on the heat for a few minutes until the syrup liquifies again and you can drain them.
Spread the peels out on a rack or large quantity of parchment paper and allow them to dry for a while, but not completely. You want them moist, but not drippy. Don't leave them more than a day or they run the risk of getting moldy
Spread a couple of cups of white sugar in a 9x12 pan, dredge each piece of peel in the sugar, and place in a single layer on parchment to dry. If your weather is humid like mine, this can take several days.

Between the sugar syrup and sugar to dredge the peels, I used an entire 4 lb bag of white sugar for the 10 lbs of clementines.

Finally, the peels are ready to eat! You can eat them like candy, or chop and use in recipes, or dip them in chocolate and allow to harden for an even more elegant treat!

CocoChews - Koo Koo Ka Choo!

This is an entirely original recipe. I made it up based on my annual Deadly Caramels recipe, after smelling some coconut-scented lotion! I've tweaked it a couple of years now (I only do stuff like this at Christmas time) and I *think* I've got it. Because of the shredded coconut, they are not as chewy as the caramels, but more crumbly.

You can see instructive photos of the process here.

Line a 9x12 pan with 2 layers of Reynold's Heavy Duty aluminum foil. Trust me, don't use regular. Get the heavy stuff, and the store brand is *not* sufficient. Grease it thoroughly with coconut oil. Set aside. Do this ahead of time, you will not have the chance to do it after you start the recipe.

1 cup coconut oil
1 lb turbinado sugar (white sugar will also work)
1 cup light agave nectar* light corn syrup or mild honey
15oz cream of coconut (sweetened coconut milk, like you'd use for a pina colada)
1 tsp vanilla or coconut extract
4 cups unsweetened flaked coconut

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the coconut oil. Add the turbinado sugar and stir until mostly dissolved. Add the agave and cream of coconut. Bring to a boil. Clip the candy thermometer to the pan (not touching the bottom of the pan) and stir constantly for 15 minutes or so, until it reads between 148 and 152 degrees Farenheit. Turn off the heat, and stir in the vanilla, then the coconut. Mix thoroughly, then pour into the prepared 9x12 pan.

When it cools, lift it out of the pan using the foil, and cut into 1 inch squares. Wrap them in waxed paper squares. Bribe Invite your friends to help!

Update: Rather than a 15oz can of Coco Lopez, I got something called Coco Real that came in a 21oz bottle. Since that is about a half a cup more than the can of Coco Lopez, and I was going to have to supplement my agave nectar* with corn syrup, I just used the whole bottle and a half cup of agave nectar*. They came out just fine.

IMPORTANT FURTHER UPDATE: (2/13/10) Use honey, or maybe maple syrup, but not the agave nectar. I have since found out that agave nectar has more of the processed sort of fructose (versus the good stuff in fresh fruit) than the evil High Fructose Corn Syrup. Stay FAR FAR AWAY from it.

Deadly Caramels

I make these every year for Christmas - some people call them "Toffees" because of the butter. And because sometimes I overcook them, so instead of being chewy they are harder, LOL.

You can see instructive photos of the process here.

2 cups butter (1lb)
2 lbs dark brown sugar (1 sack)
2 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk
2 cups dark corn syrup (1 bottle)
2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
Reynold's brand heavy duty foil (DO NOT SKIMP. YOU WILL BE SORRY.)
waxed paper

Line a jelly roll pan (large, rimmed baking sheet) with heavy-duty foil, extending the foil over the edges of the pan. Butter foil the foil and set aside. Do this first, you will not have time to do it once the recipe has begun.

In a heavy 6 quart pot, melt butter over medium-low heat then add  the brown sugar, condensed milk, and corn syrup; mix well.

Cook and stir over medium heat to boiling.

Clip candy thermometer to side of pan. Be absolutely sure the thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pan.  Cook and stir very frequently over low heat to 248°, firm-ball stage.

This may take an hour or more of frequent stirring.  (Heather at Home Ec 101 says, "Books on tape, talk radio, or even a tv in the kitchen are nice for this type of project." Quite true!)

Remove saucepan from heat, remove the thermometer, and stir in the extract(s). Immediately pour the mixture into prepared pan.

Allow to cool completely.

When the caramel is firm, use foil to lift out of pan. Cut the caramel into 1-inch squares with a sharp, buttered knife. Wrap each piece in a 3×3″ square of waxed paper. Bribe Invite friends to help, it goes much faster!

Makes about 4 lbs (128 caramels.)

The recipe makes a zillion, so the friends you bribed who offered to help can eat all they want as you wrap, and there will still be PLENTY for Christmas presents!

Lentils!

Yesterday began Week Nine of The McCombs Plan, so I'm allowed to have legumes again. Last week there was a great post over at Home Ec 101 about a Lentil Pilaf, and in the comments someone suggested cooking lentils in the rice cooker. My little rice cooker that I bought specifically for The McCombs Plan is my new favorite gadget, and I'm so excited to try it out on lentils! I did not make the Home Ec 101 lentil pilaf recipe, I just did what I've been doing with rice, only with lentils. And I added spinach, because I absolutely love lentils with spinach. In case you are interested, here is what I did:

Lentils with Spinach

1 cup lentils

2 cups water

2 carrots, large dice

1/2 yellow bell pepper, large dice

1 rib celery, large dice

1/4 cup coconut oil

3-4 T Tone's Rosemary Garlic Seasoning*

2 big handfuls fresh spinach (um, 2 cups maybe?)

Put all in Fabulous Magical Rice Cooker, and hit "Cook"!

*We buy this at Sam's, and it has just the right amount of salt, and no yucky stuff like "hydrolyzed yeast", MSG, or sugar of any sort. It makes fantastic rice "pilaf". You could, of course, use whatever seasoning you like/have on hand.

Update: The spinach cooked down way too far. I put another couple of handfuls in a large bowl, dumped the hot lentils on top, stirred, and put a plate on top to keep the heat in & wilt the new spinach. Tasting now: Yum! The seasoning is great coupled with the natural pepperiness of lentils. I'd call it a success!

Update Two: Hm. Further into the bowl, I find there is a tiny hard kernel at the center of some of the lentils. I think next time I'll put just a skosh more water in, and leave it on "Keep Warm" for a little while to be sure they are cooked through. Also, these lentils were pretty old, so they may have been even dryer than most. Still tasty! ;-)

Watermelon Sorbet

So I wanted to do something with this enormous watermelon I got, besides eating it in chunks and/or juicing it. There is only so much watermelon you can eat, or drink. I've always thought it would be nice to freeze watermelon pulp in the ice cream freezer, but I wasn't sure how it would come out. Actually, as I'm typing this, I'm still not sure how it will come out, but I'll let you know! I went over to Epicurious and researched some recipes, and as usual, came up with my own version. So here's what I did:

Put about 1/4 cup water in a small bowl, and sprinkle 1 envelope unflavored gelatin over it. Leave to soften.

Put 1/3 cup water and 1/3 cup sugar in a small saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until all the sugar is dissolved. Pour the sugar syrup into the softened gelatin and stir for a while to be sure all the gelatin is dissolved. Leave on counter to cool.

Put your watermelon in the sink, rinse it off, and cut it in half (mine didn't actually fit in the sink, but the halves did. You can cut it lengthwise or the short way to get the pulp, it doesn't matter. Put your blender right next to the sink, and scoop watermelon flesh, seeds and all, into the blender. Whirl the flesh, on low speed, until it's all pulp and seeds. On low speed, it won't cut up the seeds. Strain the pulp through a colander (not a strainer - a colander with round holes is best) to remove the seeds.

Measure 4 cups watermelon puree into a half-gallon pitcher. Mix in 2 tablespoons limoncello liqueur, and then the cooled gelatin mixture. Place the pitcher in the refrigerator to chill. If you don't have limoncello, you can use fresh lemon juice and perhaps some vodka. The alcohol is intended to keep it from freezing solid once the sorbet is made, but it's optional.

When the mixture is cold, process in your ice cream freezer, according to the manufacturer's instructions.

You will likely have a lot more watermelon puree than you'll need. I like to strain the rest through a strainer (a fine sieve for this second straining), and keep the juice. It's sweet, an AMAZING red color (like Hawaiian Punch, seriously, but all natural!), and it mixes very nicely with vodka! I'm sure that like all juices, the sugar is way too isolated to be healthy, but hey, it's a once-a-summer indulgence.

Now, I'm currently at the "chilling the mixture" stage. It tasted pretty good, but the big question is, how will it freeze up? Last time I used my little ice cream freezer (eggless gelatin ice cream), I didn't get the gelatin all the way dissolved (cream wasn't hot enough) and I didn't chill the mixture before putting it into the ice cream freezer. So I'm hoping these two steps will help. Since watermelon is so sweet to begin with, I added the gelatin, to help with the texture without overdoing the sugar.

Once it's frozen, I'll update with results!

Update One: Once the ice cream freezer had pretty much done its job, I scooped the sorbet into a container and put it in the freezer. Later that night, I mixed it up a little - the inside was still soft, outsides beginning to get hard. Scooped some out and ate it - the texture was silky, the color deep pinkish red, and the flavor was wonderful - sweet, with a limoncello aftertaste. I think the silky texture is from the gelatin, so I was pleased with this addition.

Update Two: The next day, it was frozen pretty much solid. I tried to scoop some, and ended up scraping it up into the ice cream scoop, which has a very useful thin aluminum edge. I found myself wishing I'd smoothed the top of the sorbet before I put it back into the freezer the night before; it would have made the scraping easier. Since it was icier, from being frozen and scraped like a granita, it came out a much lighter color, a lovely lighter pink. It was still sweet and delicious, and actually the limoncello overtones had calmed down, which was good.

Conclusion: I declare the watermelon-limoncello sorbet a rousing success! Something I've always wanted to try, and it came out great. Go me! ;-)