Friday, November 16, 2012

Pumpkin Herb Biscuits

I love Roben Ryberg's cookbooks.  I love her single flour philosophy.  I love the way she provides multiple variations on flours for her recipes, and I absolutely love that she does most things by weight. 

Every gluten-free home should own a couple of her cookbooks.

This recipe is heavily adapted from the rice flour biscuits recipe in her book "You Won't Believe It's Gluten-Free!"  Her original recipe is also available online on at RobenRyberg.com.

My variation was motivated by a desire to use up some slightly iffy herbs before heading out to Grebar Farms tomorrow to get fresh ones.

Pumpkin Herb Biscuits

3.9 ounces Spectrum organic shortening
155 grams brown rice flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp sea salt
About 1 Tbsp chopped mixed herbs: Sage, rosemary, thyme
1/3 to 1/2 cup canned organic pumpking, plus enough water to make 3/4 cup total
1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

  1. Preheat oven to 375 (f) and liberally grease a big iron skillet or a cookie sheet.
  2. Mix shortening and flour together with until crumbly and lovely.
  3. Sprinkle baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and sea salt more or less evenly over the crumbly flour mixture.  Stir & fold to distribute evenly.
  4. Sprinkle herbs over flour mixture and stir again to distribute evenly.
  5. Mix pumpkin and water in a liquid measuring cup.  Add maple syrup and vinegar, stirring to combine.
  6. Sprinkle liquid stuff over the flour stuff, then stir gently to combine.
  7. Drop biscuits onto prepared skillet or cookie sheet, then gently shape a little with your fingers.
  8. Bake at 375 (f) for about 12-18 minutes.
  9. Makes 10-12 biscuits.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Chile Mole(ish)

Tomorrow is the neighborhood chili cookoff.  We usually don't participate in neighborhood events. Largely because there usually aren't any.

So... I've been planning.

Black beans, because all other beans are farty.

Ground pork, just because it's something I never use.

Roasted chilis, because Grebar Farms was selling chilis today.

Fresh lime basil and fresh oregano, because what is a pilgrimage to Grebar Farms without fresh herbs?

Epazote, because Mr. Grebar says it will make chili even less farty.  Not much of it because Mrs. Grebar says it's not really yummy stuff.

Chocolate, because I had some old organic baking chocolate that really needed to get used.

Purple onions, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, & ancho chili powder because, after all, this is chili.

Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice because that goes with the chocolate.

Tough decision: Tomatoes? Pumpkin? Both? 

So, inasmuch as chili is ever a recipe, and insofar as you can ever guesstimate measurements when you're making chili, here it is:

Chili Mole(ish)

1.5 lbs black beans
6-8 epazote leaves, optional
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh lime basil
3-4 Tbsp lightly chopped fresh oregano
6-8 Mild to medium New Mexico chilis, roasted
1 large purple onion
6 cloves garlic
1.25 lbs ground pork
2 oz dark baking chocolate
1 16 oz can organic pumpkin puree
2 16-oz cans organic tomatoes
2 tsp cumin
1/5 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp cinnamon
dashes of clove, nutmeg, and allspice
Additional garlic powder, to taste
Salt & black pepper, to taste
Cilantro, optional

  1. Soak black beans in plenty of water for about 12 to 18 hours.
  2. Rinse, add water to cover (and then some), and put in a large stock pot to boil.
  3. Cook for about a couple of hours, until beans are starting to soften but not yet mushy.
  4. Add herbs, onion, chilis, and garlic. 
  5. Crumble the raw pork into the mix.
  6. When pork and onions are done, add the chocolate, pumpkin, tomatoes, and the spices.
  7. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  8. Cook a little longer, until the beans are as mushy as you like.
  9. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Black Bean, Bacon Drippins, and Avocado Muffins, Take One

My mom was the Queen of Nothing Wasted. This was most evident when it came to bacon drippins.  And, yes. Drippins.  No final "g", no final apostrophe to show you believe in final "g".  Mom was an educated and articulate enough lady that she knew about final "g" and could pronounce it just fine when needed.

But, bacon drippins were... drippins.  And drippins they shall always be.

Bacon drippins were stored in coffee cans, back in the days when people drank coffee that came pre-ground in cans. You just added to them every time you made bacon or sausage, and subtracted from them every time you fried something or greased a pan.

Once mom made zucchini bread, and she greased the pans with bacon drippins.  Unbeknownst to her, the drippins had gone rancid (something that rarely happens in hillbilly households).  Worst zucchini bread ever, at least around the edges.  It was still pretty good in the middle.

Anyway, true child of Mom that I am, when I fry bacon, I save the drippins.  In little ramekins, because I don't fry bacon that often.  Unlike Mom, I let it sit in the fridge until I'm pretty sure it's rancid, then I throw it out.

But lately, the idea of using the bacon fat to make something flavorful has been calling to me.

And, using black beans in muffins has been calling to me.

And using GF beer in muffins has been calling to me.

And, I had some avocados left over from the salad I'd made on the 4th.

So, what if I made blue cornmeal muffins, with black beans and bacon fat and avocados?  And, what if I topped them with the cracklins leftover from last week's posole?


Sounds like something you'd serve for Halloween, doesn't it? 

Black Bean, Bacon Drippins, and Avocado Muffins

Vegetable Ingredients:
3/4 to 1/2 C leftover black beans, chilled
1/2 C finely chopped onion
1 TBSP minced jalapeño
1 garlic clove or cube, or equivalent powder
1 TBSP minced cilantro (opt.)
Chunks of avocado, splashed with lime juice

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/4 C GF flour blend
1/4 C tapioca starch
1/2 C blue cornmeal (yellow or white would be prettier)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
Ground pepper to taste

Wet ingredients:
1 egg
1/3 cup melted and partially cooled bacon drippins
About 3/4 cup GF beer, room temperature

Topping (Opt.)
Small bits of cracklins or bacon.

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 (f).
  2. Place liners in 12 to 15 muffin cups, then spray with canola oil.
  3. Saute onion, jalapeño, and garlic in about 1 tsp bacon drippings in a non-stick skillet. Remove from heat.
  4. Add black beans and cilantro.
  5. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  6. Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
  7. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
  8. Gently fold in all vegie ingredients, except the avocado chunks.
  9. Divide batter among the muffin cups, then smooth tops a bit with dampened fingers.
  10. Push one avocado chunk deep into the center of each muffin, then smooth batter over with dampened fingers.
  11. Sprinkle tops with cracklins or bacon bits, if desired.
  12. Bake about 13 to 15 minutes, until toothpick inserted off-center comes out clean.



Results: Well, indeed, they weren't pretty. Spouse 1.0 thinks they had too much avocado, not enough jalapeno, and maybe didn't need the cilantro. Other than that, he liked them.










Sunday, July 1, 2012

Blue Corn Posole

In my quest for a decent blue corn posole, I'm trying something a little different this time. Well, a couple of things.

Blue corn posole, dry
First, I'm crocking it.  When I've made the posole on top of the stove, I've not been happy with how the blue corn hominy cooks up.  Some pieces are solid and very chewy.  Others split apart and are... very chewy. 

I think the chewiness is just part of blue corn, but am hoping that crocking will at least help it cook more evenly.

The second thing I'm doing is roasting the pork, onions, garlic, and chilis before adding them to the stew.  The hope is for a little more depth of flavor.

Blue corn posole is a two-day process.

Day one is easy. Take the dried hominy, and soak in water to cover.  This time around, I started the soaking mid afternoon. 

Day 2 is a little more involved.

First, trim the pork of extra fat, and render it in an iron skillet.

Rendered pork fat
This provides something like unfiltered lard to use in the skillet when roasting everything. 

It also provides cracklins, which can later be used in corn bread. 

Cracklins are like unflavored bacon.  They're a hillbilly delicacy.

Cracklins
After rendering the fat, drain some of it off, and use the rest to sear the pork. 

Rub some of the fat on the seared pork, 1 quartered onion, 2 halved and seeded jalapenos, and 4 cloves of garlic.


Put everything in the oven to roast.  I'm roasting at 350 (f). 


Pork and vegs, ready for the oven
Next, wash and quarter 6-8 tomatillos.  Drain the soaking water from the posole.  Add tomatillos and posole to the crock pot, and add a couple of quarts of water.  Add salt to taste and about 1/2 tsp or so dried oregano.  Set the crock pot on low, and let the hominy and tomatillos cook while the pork and vegs roast.

Tomatillos and posole in the crock pot
Cool the pork and vegs. Cube or shred the pork and chop the vegs.  Add to the crock pot and cook about 4 hours, until the hominy is tender and the broth is tasty.  Add additional seasoning to taste.

Ingredients:

1 12 oz. package dry blue corn posole
2.25 lbs thick cut pork loin steaks
1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 jalapeño chili peppers, cut in half and seeded
4 small cloves garlic
6-8 tomatillos, quartered
About5 1/2 tsp oregano
1 frozen garlic cube, or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
Freshly ground salt and pepper
Cilantro

Directions:
  1. Day one: Soak the posole in a covered glass bowl for at 12-18 hours.
  2. Day two: Rinse pork, pat dry, and trim fat.
  3. Cut fat into small pieces, then render in an iron skillet.
  4. Remove cracklins from the skillet and drain and reserve most of the fat. Leave about 1 Tbsp fat in the skillet.
  5. Sear the pork on all sides.
  6. Rub onions, garlic, and jalapeños with some of the reserved fat, then place in skillet with the pork.
  7. Roast pork and vegs in 350 (f) oven for about an hour or so, until pork is done. Let cool.
  8. While pork is roasting, drain and rinse the posole, then put in crock pot with about 2-3 quarts water.
  9. Add tomatillos and oregano, and start cooking on low.
  10. Remove vegs, cut onions, remove skins from jalapeños, and add to crock pot.
  11. Shred or cube pork and rub it around in the skillet to get some of the skillet liquor mixed into the meat.  Add to crock pot.
  12. Cook on low for about 6 hours, adding remaining seasonings to taste after a couple of hours.
  13. Serve garnished with cilantro.
The finished product

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Squash Chili

As my adventure in mushy food continues, my biggest question is, "Do variations in Vegetable Slop count as new recipes?"

OK, my real biggest questions are, "Will this ever end?" and "Am I going to be alright?"

But, those questions make for boring blog posts.  Even more boring than blenderized vegetables.

So... today's gustatory delight (said with tongue in cheek, aforementioned tongue partially poking through the hole where the tooth used to be because I'm typing this as I eat, and I'm supposed to eat with my flipper out, and isn't that way more than you wanted to know?) is Yellow Crookneck Squash Chili.  And, yes, it could be made with Zucchini.

Sorry, no pics -- partly because I just didn't have time, and partly because this stuff looks almost exactly like any other Vegetable Slop.  Maybe a little more red-orange than  the greenish brown slop made with tomatoes and green beans. But, except for color, it's all be the same.

Yellow Crookneck Squash Chili

Ingredients:
  • 2 small yellow crookneck squash
  • 2 small heirloom tomatoes
  • About 3/4 cup water
  • Big pinches and dashes of Chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, pepper.
  • 1 TBSP guacamole
Directions:
  1. Put everything except the guac in a pan and cook.
  2. Blenderize with your handy stick blender.
  3. Taste and add more seasonings if needed.
  4. Pour into a bowl and top with the guac.
Yumm. Sort of.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Vegetable Slop - er, I mean, Soup

I'm not sure how humans survived oral surgery before the advent of the stick blender.  I'm sure I'll wear mine out before this is all over.

One of my biggest challenges has been vegies.  I eat LOTS of vegies.  A day without broccoli is like a day without sunshine. Only worse.

But, pureed broccoli? Not so much.

And, even though I can now chew well-done vegies, it can be very tedious trying to eat a whole bowl full.

Right now I'm kind of craving the vegie soup from Marie Callendar's.  But, without all the salt and who-knows-what one gets in restaurant soups.

So, here it is: Vegetable Slop - er, Soup.  I'm not saying it's all that pretty.  But it is tasty, and it requires no chewing.

The recipe makes 2 small servings or 1 large.

Ingredients:

About 6 ounces organic frozen green beans
About 1/2 cup organic canned tomatoes
About 1/4 cup frozen peas
A slice or two of onion, or a generous sprinkling of onion powder
Dash of garlic powder
Pinch of oregano
3/4 cup or so of organic vegie broth or water
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
  1. Throw everything in a pan and cook til done.
  2. Blenderize with your stick blender.
  3. Serve in a pretty mug.
Variations:
Add a pinch of capers, a couple of olives, or some fresh savory.  Throw in a little spinach or any other vegies you have on hand.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Millet Mini-Muffins with Sage Streusel (Gluten Free)

My muffinly machinations complete, I have to say I'm happy with the result.  Here's the recipe:

Dry ingredients
120 g. flour blend*
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freeze dried parsley
Freshly ground pepper
A few bits crumbled dried rosemary
2 tsp dried chopped onion

Wet ingredients
42 g walnut oil
1 egg
About 3/4 to 1 C organic unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp lemon juice
Fresh thyme to taste
1 C cooked millet


Sage Streusel
1/2 C fresh sage leaves
1 1/2 C walnuts
2-3 TBSP soft butter
2 TBSP flour blend*
Dash of salt

  1. Pulse the streusel ingredients together in a mini food processor.  Add the walnuts in stages so that chunks of walnut remain.
  2. Preheat oven to 350(f) and line mini muffin tins with 24-28 muffin liners.
  3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
  4. Whisk wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
  5. Stir in dry ingredients, and add a couple of tablespoons water if needed to get a nice batter consistency. The batter will look light and fluffy, and I think I hear a slight crackling sound as I stir it. Don't over mix.
  6. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, flatten gently with damp fingers, then top with toasted streusel.
  7. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. For me, that was about 10 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook them. Mini muffins can get a bit dry.
  8. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

* My current favorite flour blend is 6 parts organic brown rice flour, 6 parts sorghum flour, 2 parts potato starch, 1 part tapioca starch.  When I mix it up, each part is about 1/3 cup.  I'm working on converting that to weights so I don't have to think.  Stay tuned.





Friday, April 20, 2012

Muffin Planning

My affair with savory muffins continues.
 
I did take a brief break to visit my sister in Mesa, and then made some BBQ turkey meatloaf muffins, then some oatmeal muffins to give The Spouse a break from the savories.  And then I was getting low on cookies.

But, now my muffin machinations are back.  I've been thinking about The Next Muffin all day. 

I'm approaching this one top down: It all starts with the streusel. 

Sage.

Fresh sage is wonderful.  I have three different sage plants growing in my windowsill.  All small, none doing well. One that's been getting white spots on the leaves.  But, I think between the three plants, even with avoiding the white spots, I have enough sage. 

Nuts.

Pine nuts? Pecans? Walnuts? Cashews? Almonds? Macadamias? Sunflower seeds? (Technically, not a nut, but usable in a nutly context.)  With sage, almost certainly walnuts.

Fat.

Olive oil? Sunflower? Walnut? Sesame? Organic shortening? Butter?  Needs to complement the sage, but should also help provide structure to the streusel.  Since I'm not using a cheese in the streusel, probably butter.

Now, down to the muffin: Muffins are comprised of grains, the egg, the liquid, the fat, leavening, maybe an acid, and the seasonings.

Grains.

You can do a blend, or you can have a main grain and then adjunct grain(s).  This is a muffin that calls for  a main grain.  The adjuncts will be easy: brown rice, sorghum, tapioca, and potato starch. But the main grain.... blue cornmeal? Cooked millet? Millet flour?   This time: Cooked millet.

Egg.

Organic. Cage free. No substitutes.

Liquid.

Definitely starting with applesauce.  Unsweetened. Organic. Funny thing about applesauce: I've seen recipes where folks use it to substitute for fat, for egg, for sweetener.  Pretty much the Universal Ingredient. I'm using it for the liquid.

Fat.

Not butter. We don't want the muffin to be about the butter. It's about the sage streusel. So, in the muffin itself... Olive oil would complement the sage, but may not work with the applesauce.  Sunflower oil would complement the applesauce, but might be too boring. Maybe this would be a good day to open that bottle of walnut oil.

Leavening.

The basic millet muffin recipe I'm starting from uses both baking powder and soda. And because it has baking soda, it needs either cream of tartar or...

Acid.

Lemon juice? Lime juice? Orange juice? Apple cider vinegar? Rice vinegar?  Probably lemon juice. Maybe rice vinegar.

Seasonings.

Salt & pepper, of course.  No sage, because we don't want to draw attention from the streusel. But, we need to have something to give the muffin some flavor.  Maybe a few fresh thyme leaves, some parsley, and the tiniest bit of dried rosemary.  No garlic this time around.  Onion?   Not sure.

Well, anyway, that's the plan. At least, the beginnings of one.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Mozi Muffins

Now that I'm done with St. Pat for another year, my savory muffin obsession continues with thoughts of color.  Golden yellow has been calling me.

Mainly, yellow has been calling to me from the jar of turmeric my baby sister gave me for Christmas.

Most muffins are named after the main ingredient.  But no, these little guys aren't made from my baby sister. Rather, they're in honor of her, and her love affair with turmeric.

Vegetables and legumes
1/2 organic sweet onion, finely minced, sauteed in a small amount of olive oil
1 cup cooked red lentils (firmly packed, semi-drained)
 
Dry ingredients

90 g. brown rice flour
30 g. garbanzo flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/8 tsp granulated garlic, or to taste
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/8 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cumin
3/8 tsp dried cilantro
Freshly ground pepper

Wet ingredients
1/2 cup "original" hazelnut milk (or milk substitute of choice)
55 grams salted organic butter, melted
1 egg
1 tsp pepper infused vinegar
 
Topping
Melted butter
Lightly toasted sesame seeds

  1. Preheat oven to 375(f) and line mini muffin tins with 24 muffin liners.
  2. Saute onion in olive oil until onion is translucent. Set aside.
  3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
  4. Whisk wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
  5. Add onions and lentils to wet ingredients and mix well.
  6. Stir in dry ingredients, and add more hazelnut milk if needed to get a nice batter consistency. The batter will look light and fluffy, and I think I hear a slight crackling sound as I stir it. Don't over mix.
  7. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, flatten gently with damp fingers, then brush with butter and top with toasted sesame seeds.
  8. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Since I'm still getting used to mini muffins, I have no idea how long that is.  Maybe about 8-12 minutes?  Be careful not to overcook them.  Mini muffins can get a bit dry.
  9. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.


Mini muffins are cute, but they're a lot more work than regular sized muffins.




Yummm.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Cookie Dough Thoughts on a Rainy Sunday

We were getting low on cookies, so I had to take a break from my muffin obsession to mix up a batch of cookie dough.  It's been a while since I made quinoa nut butter cookies...

It's a wonder to be able to mix the flour while the stand mixer just stands there, patiently and faithfully creaming butter and nut butter and raw sugar and other sweet things.

Dump in the dry stuff, and the mixer mixes while I tidy up a thing or two.  And, voila! The exquisite, almost painfully beautiful lightness and fluffiness of cookie dough.

It's silly of me to feel proud.  God invented quinoa, and honey, and maple syrup, and pecans, and all the other goodness.  I didn't invent the Kitchen Aid. I didn't even invent the original quinoa cookie recipe. 

All I did was change up the nut butters and the sweet things and add an extra splash of vanilla.  I can't take credit for the skills needed to make the cookies.  God gave me the ability to learn the skills, and He gave me what little creativity was needed to change up the recipe.

Every good and every perfect gift is from above.

Which makes me wonder at intellectual property.  Is our intellectual property really ours? Do we have any right to claim intellectual property rights, when our very intellect isn't ours, but a gift? Maybe even just a loan?

Saturday, March 17, 2012

The Eatin' of the Green - Quinoa and Pea Muffins

The leprechauns made breakfast for Spouse 1.0 today.  Green, of course.  And, now that I refuse to let them cook with green food coloring, the leprechauns really have to get creative. Or just plain weird.

They weren't entirely happy with the green-ness of the green lentil muffins, so they started thinking about green pea flour, lait du pois, and quinoa.

And, while I've generally resisted the cliche of "green eggs and ham", the leprechauns asked, "What if we used some lait du pois in some scrambled eggs?"

Those darned leprechauns.  They know that when it comes to cooking, baking, and software testing, I just can't resist the question, "What if...?"

There's a peculiar rush that comes over me after the grains and vegies are cooked and I start gathering the flours, leavenings, seasonings, and wet ingredients... Yeah, those leprechauns.  They really know how to tempt and conscript a girl.

So, here's what the leprechauns came up with today:

Quinoa and Pea Muffins

Vegetables and grains
4.5 to 5 oz frozen chopped spinach, cooked and squeezed very dry
1/4 cup finely minced onion, lightly sauteed in a dry nonstick pan
1 cup cooked quinoa
3 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

Dry ingredients
90 g. brown and/or white rice flour
30 g. green pea flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp granulated garlic, or to taste
1/4 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Wet ingredients
3/4 cup lait du pois (pureed peas -- see post from 3/13/12)
42 grams sesame oil
1 egg
2 tsp lemon juice

Topping
Finely chopped pistachios or lightly toasted sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400 (f) and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.

  1. Saute onion in olive oil until onion translucent. Set aside.
  2. In same skillet, cook spinach. Cool and squeeze until very dry. Let cool.
  3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
  4. Whisk wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
  5. Add vegetables and grains to wet ingredients and mix well.
  6. Stir in dry ingredients, and add more water or lait du pois if needed to get a nice batter consistency. The batter will look light and fluffy, and I think I hear a slight crackling sound as I stir it.   Don't over mix.
  7. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, then top with chopped pistachios.
  8. Bake 13-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  9. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.
And, as you might guess, this really makes a baker's dozen.

Serve with naturally green scrambled eggs and green tea.

Naturally Green Scrambled Eggs

2 eggs
3-4 Tbsp lait du pois
Pinch freshly chopped parsley
3-4 Tbsp Pecorino Romano
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything and gently scramble. Watch to make sure the eggs don't overcook and lose their lovely green-ness.

Result: The muffins are good enough, and will probably taste better after they set a few hours. Most cooked grain muffins do.  The eggs taste just plain weird to me, but Spouse 1.0 is so happy to get any kind of scrambled eggs that he issued his usual verdict: It's good. I like it. (Grunt.)

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

It's Not Easy Being Green Muffins

St. Pat's day is impending, and that means Green Breakfast for Spouse 1.0.  Having eschewed artificial green coloring, each year I face anew the challenge of creating a naturally green breakfast for him.

This year's inspiration: French green lentils.  They are such a pretty dark green -- until you cook them.  Then they become greenish brownish gray. 

The first installment towards the St. Pat's muffin was the Lenten Lentil Muffins. Even with the spinach and herbs, they weren't green enough. 

So, to green it up a bit, we use Lait du Pois instead of soy milk.  Lait du Pois? Um... that's french for pea milk.  But, odds are, if you're making these for your kids, there's no way you'll get them to eat something made with pea milk.  (Can't you hear your wee ones giggling and going "ewwww" and saying "Pea milk? Pea milk!! Yuck!" over & over until you want to scream?)  So, we use Lait du Pois instead.

And, Lait du Pois is really just... super runny pureed peas.

Lait du Pois

About 1 cup of frozen petite peas
About 1/2 cup water
  1. Place peas in water and bring to a boil.  Do not let the peas cook for more than a few seconds.
  2. Using a stick blender or a real blender, puree the peas in their cooking water.
  3. Check the consistency.  It should be somewhere between whole milk and heavy whipping cream. If it's too thick, add more water.
You will use about 3/4 cup of the Lait du Pois for the St. Paddy's Lentil Muffins.  The rest can be used to round out your green breakfast by adding it to your scrambled eggs, or use it to make some green biscuits.

As we move from Lenten Lentil Muffins to St. Paddy's Lentil Muffins, not much has changed. Just the "milk," the acid, and the topping.

St. Paddy's Lentil Muffins

Vegetable Ingredients

1 cup well-drained cooked green lentils (do not overcook)
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped fine
4 oz frozen organic chopped spinach

 
Dry Ingredients
30 g. white rice flour
60 g. brown rice flour
30 g. garbanzo flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp each, slightly rounded: Rosemary, thyme, garlic, parsley
Freshly ground salt & pepper to taste

 
Wet Ingredients
A little less than 3/4 cup Lait du Pois
1.5 tsp lemon juice
42 g. olive oil
1 egg

Topping
About 1/4 to 1/3 cup finely chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 400 (f) and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.
  1. Saute onion in olive oil until onion translucent. Set aside.
  2. In same skillet, cook spinach. Cool and squeeze until very dry. Let cool.
  3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
  4. Whisk wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
  5. Add vegetables to wet ingredients and mix well.
  6. Stir in dry ingredients, and add more water or lait du pois if needed to get a nice batter consistency. The amount of liquid you need will vary depending on how much water remains in the spinach and how well-drained the lentils are.
  7. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, then top with chopped pistachios.
  8. Bake 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  9. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

 Actually, because I don't like them to be too big, this made a baker's dozen muffins for me.  The 13th muffin is cooked in a glass Pampered Chef prep bowl lined with a muffin liner. That one usually is a little smaller than the others, and sometimes takes an extra few minutes to bake.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins with Pumpkin Ketchup Glaze

Last summer I bought a couple of small bouquets of fresh sage and parsley at the farmer's market, and those two little bouquets changed my life.  Or at least my meatloaf.

Meatloaf until then had always a failed attempt to replicate Mom's beef-based, tomato-infused, ketchup-topped comfort food. 

And turkey meatloaf?  A failed attempt's poor cousin.

Until fresh sage.

My first sage-infused turkey meatloaf got a cranberry sauce topping.  And, from then on, all turkey meatloaves contained parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.  Topped with cranberry sauce, they were once a true love of mine.

But, cranberry season ends. The stockpile of frozen cranberries dwindles. And, the container of frozen pumpkin beckons.

Many months ago I came across the term "pumpkin ketchup", mentally went "ewww", and dismissed it entirely.  But, seeing the pretty orange frozen pumpkin, the ketchup concept returned to mind.  Googled up a few recipes, but really wasn't interested in apple or mustard or the whole pantheon of pumpkin pie spices.  No, I wanted a very simple pumpkin ketchup... one that would complement the last of my fresh sage, not go to war with it.

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins with Pumpkin Ketchup Glaze

All measurements are approximate.  This is meatloaf, after all.

Meatloaf

Olive oil spray
Organic blue cornmeal (or cornmeal of choice)
1 organic red onion
3 ribs organic celery
4 oz organic mushrooms
1 2/3 lbs ground turkey with nothing added (Costco's turkey burgers work well)
3 organic eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 to 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh thyme
Dash of garlic powder
2 Tbsp ground flax meal
Pumpkin ketchup

  1. Preheat oven to 400 (f).  Line 24 muffin cups, then spray with olive oil spray and sprinkle a little blue cornmeal in the bottoms.  The cornmeal helps absorb some of the liquid that cooks out.
  2. Chop the onion, celery, and mushrooms reasonably fine and parboil covered briefly in a small amount of water. Let cool.
  3. Mix everything  except pumpkin ketchup together.
  4. Divide meatloaf mixture evenly among the 24 muffin cups, and press down. 
  5. Divide the pumpkin evenly among the meatloaves, and smooth it down.
  6. Bake about 25 minutes, until meat is done.
Pumpkin Ketchup

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 organic sweet onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup organic cider vinegar
3-4 Tbsp honey
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 - 1/2 tsp allspice
dash of garlic powder
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

  1. Cook everything in a small saucepan until the onion starts to get almost translucent.
  2. Whir the mixture with a stick blender until almost smooth

Result:  Not as pretty as cranberry topped meatloaves, but tasty enough and a bit lower on the glycemic index.  Definitely a keeper.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Tomato Muffins with Pesto Streusel - Take One

Todays muffins were inspired by a tomato rosemary muffin at myaspergersgirl.blogspot.com, and the pesto recipe I saw in a friend's Williams Sonoma cookbook.  Both needed some changes.  On the base muffin:
  • I'm a firm believer in the value of organic eggs over flax goo.
  • I needed to use up some BRM all-purpose gf blend a friend had given me.
  • I'm not a huge fan of rosemary. 
  • Spouse is not a fan of rice milk.
  • Spaghetti sauce is more interesting than plain tomato sauce, and less likely to have BPA.
Other than that, I followed the recipe faithfully.

Seriously, if you want a bunch of really yummy GFCF recipes, with gorgeous photos, go to myaspergersgirl.blogspot.com. 

On the pesto, I combined ideas from several pesto recipes, and then tried to make it thicker so it could function sort of as a streusel.

Pesto Streusel

About 1.5 to 2 cups of rinsed, dried, de-stemmed organic basil leaves (not that anyone really measures)
1/4 C raw pine nuts
6-8 Tbsp olive oil
1/8 to 1/4 tsp garlic powder, to taste
a few grinds of sea salt
1/4 C pecorino romano

Pulse everything in the food processor attachment of a stick blender on low until the basil is finely chopped, but not emulsified.  Pesto should be very thick.

Tomato Muffins

Dry Ingredients
2 C Bob's Red Mill GF flour blend (or any GF blend with bean flours)
2 Tbsp organic turbinado sugar
2 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
A few grinds of pepper

Wet Ingredients
1 egg
1/8 C Fearn soya powder + 1/2 C water (or 1/2 C unsweetened soy milk)
1/2 C organic pasta sauce, plus a little extra
1/3 C olive oil

  1. Line a 12 cup muffin tin and preheat the oven to 350 (f).
  2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Whisk together the wet ingredients in a small to medium mixing bowl.
  4. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
  5. If the batter looks too dry, stir in a little extra pasta sauce.
  6. Fill muffin tins evenly, then smooth tops down with dampened fingers.
  7. Top each muffin with about 3/4 tsp pesto streusel, spreading it evenly over the muffin top with your fingers.
  8. Sprinkle a few pine nuts on top of each muffin, then press in so they stay.
  9. Bake for about 15 minutes (test after 12).

Thoughts for next time:
  • I'll add more pine nut and pecorino to the streusel, and maybe use a little more on each muffin.
  • I think the batter needs more salt, and maybe more garlic. Some chives might be nice.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Lenten Lentil Muffins

On Monday I had another muffin vision.  It seems to take at least three rounds of tweakage to an existing recipe to achieve a muffinly vision.

Today's muffins were only round 2, and are therefore not the realization of Monday's vision. But these little guys seemed worthy of official muffinhood in their own right.

Lenten Lentil Muffins

Vegetable Ingredients
1 cup reasonably drained cooked green lentils (do not overcook)
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped fine
4 oz frozen organic chopped spinach

Dry Ingredients
30 g. white rice flour
60 g. brown rice flour
30 g. garbanzo-fava flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp each, slightly rounded: Rosemary, thyme, garlic, parsley
Freshly ground salt & pepper to taste

Wet Ingredients
1/4 cup soya powder (instant soy milk) mixed with 1/2 cup water
1 tsp cider vinegar
42 g. olive oil
1 egg

Topping
About 1/4 to 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

  1. Preheat oven to 400 (f) and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.
  2. Saute onion and spinach in a small amount of olive oil until onion is translucent and vegetables appear dry, but extrude a small amount of liquid when pressed firmly with a spatula. Let cool and mix in the lentils.
  3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
  4. Whisk wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
  5. Add vegetables to wet ingredients and mix well.
  6. Stir in dry ingredients, and add up to 1/4 cup water to get a nice batter consistency. The amount of water you need will vary depending on how much water remains in the spinach and how well-drained the lentils are.
  7. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, then top with chopped walnuts.
  8. Bake 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  9. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.
The walnut topping is not strictly necessary, but GF muffins don't brown the way wheat-based ones do.  Using a topping adds visual appeal and helps disguise the lack of browning.

The muffins seem to have better texture after a few hours.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Blue Cornmeal Poppyseed Cookies

A while back, I saw a recipe for blue corn poppyseed cookies on the Bob's Red Mill site.  I was so excited to find yet another blue cornmeal cookie recipe that I didn't notice that it was ... a normal flour recipe. Blech.

Every time I leafed through my printouts of cookie recipes, there it was... Blue corn poppyseed cookies. The momentary excitement. The immediate disappointment. Oh, yeah. Gluten. Blech.

In December I finally got around to converting the recipe. I'm gaining confidence in my ability to do that. Sorta.  Trial #1: Use the GF King Arthur flour a friend had sent. Add a half teaspon xanthan gum.

Yeah, I know.  Bob has his own GF blend. Surely he wouldn't approve of my using King Arthur flour in Bob's recipe.  Had Mr. Red Mill have been there, he no doubt would have laughed when the cookies came out buttery, yummy, and... well... kind of powdery. (See, that's what you get for using some other guy's flour.)

So, a couple of weeks ago, it was time to branch out and start using my own flours. Much better.  Still maybe a little powdery, but kind of addicting, nonetheless.


Blue Cornmeal Poppyseed Cookies
(Adapted from Bob's Red Mill)

Dry ingredients

2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt*
1 cup blue cornmeal
1/4 cup brown rice flour
3 TBSP white rice flour (or more brown rice)
1/4 cup potato starch
1/8 cup tapioca starch
3 TBSP almond meal
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/3 cup poppy seeds

Wet ingredients

1/2 cup cold butter*
3/4 cup raw turbinado sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 375(f) and grease cookie sheets.
  2. Mix dry ingredients thoroughly in a small mixing bowl.
  3. Cream butter and sugar in a medium mixing bowl.
  4. Add eggs & vanilla and mix well.
  5. Add dry ingredients.
  6. Chill dough for at least 1/2 hour.
  7. If you're going to make cut out cookies, roll out between sheets of plastic wrap, cut, and place on cookie sheets. Otherwise, just shape into small balls, place on cookie sheets, then flatten.
  8. Brush tops of cookies with beaten egg (optional).
  9. Bake at 375 for 6-10 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies and type of pan.
* If using salted butter, cut back on the salt to about 1/8 tsp.

The dough can be a bit sticky and tricky to use for rolled and cut cookies.  

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Sesame Soy Muffins

Lately, I've been obsessed with savory muffins. 

Pretty strange for a girl who a) has a bit of a sweet tooth, and b) doesn't really like muffins.

But, then, most of my muffin exposure has been to wheat ones:
  • The ginormous over-sweet, greasy ones from the big box stores, where every muffin in the assortment kinda sorta tastes the same.
  • The slightly dry ones manufactured in bulk and delivered to your favorite coffee shop. And, they all kinda sorta taste the same, too.
  • The homemade ones that, well, end up kinda dry and overcooked because the dear person who made them was chasing her kids around the kitchen and averting household crises while baking.
Nope.  Not a fan of muffins.

Until.

Until spouse 1.0 needed to go GF, and I needed to find ways of providing grab and go breakfasts for him.

Even then I resisted muffins. Too many bad associations. And, who wants to clean muffin tins? And mine was 20 years old and made of a really scary aluminum.

But, the grab & go allure of muffins eventually wore my resistance down. As all GF bakers surely do, I gave in and started making muffins.

And, I worried that all those sweet, convenient morsels would lead to Spouse's destruction.  If he became diabetic from all my muffins, I'd have to give up making muffins.

Enter the savory muffin.

Now, most folks expect muffins to be sweet. Savory muffins really freak people out:

Me to Taster 1:  This is a sesame quinoa muffin. I'm experimenting with savory muffins, so it's OK to tell me what you really think.
Taster 1: It's good, but it needs something to make it sweeter. Maybe some agave syrup?

Me to Taster 2: I'm experimenting with savory muffins, so it's OK to tell me what you really think.  This one is a sesame soy muffin.

Taster 2: It's... it's... like food.  Maybe you should add a sauce to it? Like mangoes or something?
Someone with a more fragile ego would have given up somewhere around here.

But, I had a muffinly vision, and was not to be thwarted. The goal: A muffin gently evocative of a hearty and pretty fried rice. 

Sesame Soy Muffins (Gluten Free)

Dry ingredients:
90 grams brown rice flour (3/4 cup)
30 grams almond meal (1/4 cup)
3/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp ginger
A few grinds each of sea salt & pepper
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp xanthan gum

Wet ingredients:
25 grams (1/4 cup) soya powder mixed with a scant 3/4 cup water  (or just use a generous 3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk).
1 tsp pepper infused rice vinegar
42 grams sesame oil (3 TBSP)
1 large organic egg
1 tsp GF organic tamari sauce
1 cup cooked black rice, slightly packed
1/2 to 2/3 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
2 TBSP finely grated organic carrot

Topping
2 to 3 TBSP sesame seeds, lightly toasted

  1. Preheat oven to 400 (f). 
  2. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin.  For these muffins, I use muffin liners, and spray the liners with a spritz of organic grapeseed oil.  
  3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.  Optionally, whisk in about 1 TBSP of the sesame seeds.
  4. Whisk together the first 5 wet ingredients in a medium or large bowl until thoroughly blended.
  5. Whisk in the rice, peas, and carrots.
  6. Whisk the dry ingredients
  7. Evenly distribute the batter among the muffin cups.  Dampen fingers and slightly smooth out the tops.
  8. Top with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.
  9. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick tests done. Don't overbake.
Notes:
  • I used Lundberg Japonica, but any black (or mostly black) rice should do.
  • Substituting tri-color quinoa for the black rice makes a really pretty muffin with a lovely texture.
  • To make pepper-infused vinegar, just put some small dried chili peppers in a jar, add rice vinegar,  cover and let it set in the fridge for at least several days. 
  • If you don't want to make pepper infused vinegar, just use plain rice vinegar. Maybe add a tiny pinch of cayenne or an extra grind of the black pepper to compensate.