A Review of Gluten-Free Flour.... for PIE.

With more apples than I could pawn off on friends, and temperatures that made cold, crisp, fresh apple eating undesirable, I had no other recourse but to make a pie.  Pie would warm me up, and my friends never turn down pie!

Determined though, to see this gluten-free thing through, I wasn't going to cave and have wheat just for warmth and friendship, no - I was going to have it all!  Warmth, friendship, and a gluten-free pie!

Now, substituting gluten-free ingredients for wheat flour in a recipe, as you might know is complicated.  There is no ONE other flour that has the same consistency, absorbtion and taste.  And then you need xanthan gum or guar gum to make it all work.  Well, Bob's Red Mill supplies a wonderful array of gluten-free products, and I thought I'd give it a try.  I used Bob's Red Mill All purpose gluten-free baking flour.  It contains garbanzo bean flour (which I already use and love), potato starch, tapioca flour, white sorghum flour, and fava bean flour.  No gums at all though!  Oh horrors when I saw that and thought my pie-making might be a bust!  (With only 14 degrees floating around outside, going to the store was not an option.)

So, in experimenting with the gluten-free flour, no gum, a traditional and simple piecrust recipe and an egg (egg = gum, right?) I gave it my all.  I substituted margarine for half the butter in the recipe to hold it together a little better.  The dough was crumbly and imperfect,

and when I first put it in the oven, it smelled a bit like potatoes (thank you, potato flour), but the pie turned out to be delicious.  I believe I might have just overcome my fear of gluten-free baking!  Mini-muffins - here I come?

For the crust:

• 2 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, in Tbsp pieces
• 1/2 cup margarine, in Tbsp pieces
• 1 egg, plus one yolk
• cold water

for the filling:

• six or seven apples, peeled and sliced
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp agave nectar
• 1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and the salt.  Cut in the butter until the dough is crumbly.  Add up to 1/2 a cup of cold water, on tablespoon at a time.  Add the egg and mix together with your hands.  On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin (I don't think it matters which flour you use for this - I used garbanzo bean flour), roll out the dough into one long piece.  Cut it in half and line a 9 inch pie pan with one half of the dough.
2. In another large bowl, toss the apple slices with lemon juice.  Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, nectar and flour and mix thoroughly.  Fill the pie pan with this apple mixture and top with the remaining pie crust.
3. Brush the top of the pie with one egg yolk and put on a baking sheet and cook at 425 for 15 minutes.  Lower the oven temperature to 350 and bake for another 45 minutes.

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Eat your Brussels Sprouts

"Boy, I need something warm and fragrant, and healthy, and filling to eat right now.  Something that I can cook quickly and season with whatever I have in my house."  I have just let you into my thoughts of late morning on my day of hibernation.  Imagine my delight when I remembered that I had Brussels sprouts in the house!  

A versatile vegetable, Brussels sprouts are said to help reduce cholesterol, protect against certain cancers, combat inflammation, and contain lots of fiber.  They grow like mini-cabbages on a stem and are in season in late Autumn/early Winter.

Steamy Brussels sprouts

Gluten-free mini-muffins

Perfect late-night snacks

Today I prepared mine simply:

Ingredients

• As many Brussels Sprouts as you can eat
• A sprig or two of Rosemary
• Enough good quality olive oil to drizzle over the sprouts
• Parmesan or Romano cheese

1. Wash the Brussels sprouts and remove any yellowed or wilted leaves.
2. Trim the ends, and cut an X into the bottom of each sprout to allow them to cook evenly.
3. Steam for 10 minutes (I use a bamboo steamer).
4. Remove a portion to a dish and drizzle with olive oil, grate the cheese atop them, snip some rosemary over them and serve warm.

Leftover Brussels sprouts make great snacks!

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Lamb Burgers and Lentil Salad with Feta and Mint

One of my favorite restaurants, Marigold, in Colorado Springs serves an open faced lamb-burger and it is gorgeous, smells wonderful, and is unfortunately covered in gluten.  Since I've been hungry for one ever since I saw/smelled the one at Marigold, I decided to make them last night.  And for those of you who don't like cold salads, this one is warm.  And has no lettuce!

Anything with cheese

Goes well with wine and garlic

Makes an evening fine! 

Ingredients:
(for the salad)

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 leeks, thinly sliced (white and light green parts)
• 2 Tbsp sherry vinegar
• 2 tsp whole-grain mustard
• 2 cups cooked lentils (you'll have to soak and cook these before starting the recipe)
• 1 1/2 cups red grapes, halved
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted pistachios
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped mint
• 3 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta

(for the burger)

• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 Tbsp chopped onion
• 1 Tbsp chopped mint
• 1 Tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tsp olive oil

1. With your hands, mix the lamb and all of the other burger ingredients together in a bowl.  Form into patties (3 or 4) and set aside.
2. For the salad, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add leeks, and cook 7 to 9 minutes, or until tender and translucent, stirring often.  Remove from heat, and stir in the sherry vinegar and mustard.
3. Combine the lentils, leek mixture, grapes, pistachios, mint, and parsley in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
4. In the same leeky (hah) pan, pan fry the burgers, flipping after about 5 minutes and covering to cook through.
5. Serve the burger with the warm salad on the side and sprinkle both with crumbled feta cheese.

I served this meal with a side of tzatziki following a cup of avgolemono.

Salad Recipe from Vegetarian Times, November/December 2010.

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!

Happy Beaujolais Nouveau day!  The third Thursday of November every year is the day that the new Beaujolais comes out.  Beaujolais is a light, fruity wine, meant to be served slightly chilled, enjoyed young, and paired with almost anything!  As a dry red-wine drinker, I think of this as an afternoon or white wine.  I have read that the Beaujolais should actually be consumed by the May after it comes out.  CAN DO!  Sounds like a perfect wine to me! 

In celebration, tonight I am opening a bottle and enjoying it with a light and simple meal of deviled eggs, cheese and crackers, and caramelized pears.

For those of you looking, this is a nice wine for Thanksgiving dinner.  I thought this year's Beaujolais seemed almost sparkly.

A votre sante!

Beaujolais Noveau
C'est rouge,  et délicieuse
Le francais et dur 

You can get this year's Beaujolais for just ten dollars at the Green Grocer on Grand.

Kimchee Shepherd's Pie

To my delight, I recently came across a creative food I hadn't tried.  A friend took me to a new place in Chicago called Del Seoul, where the specialty is Korean Barbeque Tacos.  The food was fabulous (pictured here) and what inspired me (which sounded a bit gluttonous at first) were the pork-belly kimchee cheesy fries.

Here is my new take on an old family standard inspired by that recent trip.

Kimchee Shepherd's Pie

Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum

Kimchee Shepherd's Pie!

Ingredients:

• 1-2 lbs ground turkey
• 1/4 cup barbeque sauce (I like Bone Suckin' Sauce, Spicy)
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 jar kimchee (approx 15 oz)
• 5 potatoes
• cheddar and jack cheeses

1. Chop the potatoes and boil until soft for mashing.
2. Sautee the onion and garlic until soft and aromatic.  Add the turkey and saute until cooked through, stirring.  Add the barbeque sauce and stir.
3. In a souffle dish, put the barbeque ground turkey on the bottom.  Layer with the kimchee, straight from the jar.
4. Once the potatoes are soft, drain, return to pan, and mash using a bit of butter, olive oil, sour cream - whatever you typically use.  Grate the Monterey Jack cheese into the potatoes and spread atop the turkey/kimchee layers.
5. Bake for 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  Pull out and top with grated cheddar cheese to cover and bake 5 minutes more until cheese melts and begins to bubble.

1. Serve warm.

Caramelized Bananas

I can't believe I haven't blogged this before as it is the recipe that is most asked for by my friends and theirs.   I make it all the time (though bananas are healthier in their natural state) and think it is probably the tastiest dessert I've had in ages (up there with lavender creme brulee and sweet dessert guacamole).

 

Decadent and sweet

Caramelized bananas

Not TOO bad for you!

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 bananas
• 2 tsp sugar
• half a fresh lime (lime juice in a bottle is not a good substitute)
• one fresh orange
• coconut ice cream (optional)
• butter cookies (optional)

1. Heat a sauteing pan over medium heat and add the butter.  Let rest 30 seconds and swirl around to coat the pan.  
2. Slice the bananas in half and then lengthwise to make four pieces.  Lay all eight pieces in the butter and let them sizzle for 3 minutes.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp of sugar and turn over, adding more butter if necessary.
3. Sprinkle the other side with sugar and the juice from half a lime.
4. Keep cooking and turning until both sides are slightly brown and crispy.  Remove bananas to bowls and turn off heat. 
5. Immediately squeeze the juice from one orange and use a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan with the orange juice.  To reduce the juice, heat slowly, or just pour over the bananas as it is.
6. Add a scoop of coconut ice cream and garnish with a butter finger (or mint, pictured here).

 After.

Steamed Acorn Squash Croquettes

What to do with an acorn squash?!  There are stews, and of course buttery-sugary ways to prepare it, but I wasn't hungry for any of that.  Browsing for healthy and satisfying recipes online, I got some ideas and came up with the following delightful meal. 

Though they're not pretty,

these steamed acorn squash croquettes

were quite delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 acorn squash
• 1/2 cup flour (I used chickpea flour, which is gluten-free)
• 1 green chili, chopped
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• vegetable oil
• cilantro, washed and chopped
• 1 Tbsp mustard seeds
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp ghee

1. Slice the squash in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, and cut into it, like you would to let a potato steam.  Bake the squash in an oven pan, cut side up at 400 degrees for an hour.  Remove and let it cool.
2. Scoop the insides out of the squash and remove to a mixing bowl.  Add the flour, chili, coriander, cumin, baking soda and salt.
3. Line a bamboo steamer with cheesecloth, or lightly oil a steaming basket and scoop 1 tablespoon at a time into the steamer and steam for approximately 6 minutes.  You will have to do this in batches.
4. 
5. When the croquettes are steamed and removed to a serving plate, heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a sauteeing pan and add the mustard seeds.  Cook until the seeds start to pop and then add the ghee and garlic.  Cook until the garlic is browned and slightly crispy.  Remove from heat.
6. Serve the croquettes topped with chopped cilantro and drizzled with the oil.  Enjoy!

I particularly enjoyed this recipe served with a salad topped with raita and a dessert of cardamom banana rice.


*  Recipe derived from recipes at International Vegetarian Union online.