tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3324517468369551132024-03-20T17:48:16.619-06:00Flavorsome Foodflavorsome, n. A distinctive yet intangible quality felt to be characteristic of a given thing. trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-65836537905425394432012-10-23T14:10:00.001-06:002012-10-23T14:10:56.439-06:00Eureeka!I really can't believe it took me this long to figure this out! Sometimes I am as dense as...as flourless chocolate cake! <br />
<br />
I was thinking about how much I used to LOVE to make things. Every year I would learn a new craft, and then gift it to my family for Christmas. I am not sure they always appreciated my endeavors, but things pop up here and there, that they still own or display, so maybe it wasn't all a lost cause. Here are a few of the more memorable crafts: <br />
<br />
Years, nay aeons ago, when I was a new bride, I learned to clean ceramics from greenware, then paint and carefully drybrush the pieces after they were fired. I loved to make things look as realistic as possible and still fondly remember the Santas I made for everyone that year. Somehow, I did not end up with one for myself!<br />
<br />
I learned to do stained glass and spent hours cutting small glass pieces and carefully wrapping them in glowing copper tape. There is no telling how many thousands of little cuts I got on my fingers and arms...but I did not care. I was happily engrossed in creating beauty out of glass and color. <br />
<br />
I was a "scrapper" too...spending every waking moment (and I do mean <i>every</i>) that I was not at work, carefully telling the story of our lives with paper and photographs. My husband was in grad school, so during those late nights while he was studying, I was cutting and taping and arranging...happily passing the hours and reliving the fun times we had with each other and our families.<br />
<br />
Then there were the jewelry years...haunting the bead shop on Broadway and the Dragon's Lair, the bead show that came to town twice a year. With my trusty calculator nearby (aka the Hillbilly), I would shop the bead show for hours, agonizing over color and cut, stone shape and size, trying my best to get the most for my money. But my favorite part of this phase was making a necklace, earrings and bracelet to wear to work...an hour before I had to be there! Boy, life without kids was so very different (but that is another story all together!). I had shows to sell my items, and sometimes even sold it off my neck and arms! What a hoot!<br />
<br />
And so we come to my Great Revelation. I was trying to figure out why I had stopped learning new things. Why I had stopped creating. You see, I am a creative person. Created by God to make things. It is in every atom of my body, and if I am not creating then I am not very happy. Then I realized, as I stood in my kitchen with my kefir water happily bubbling away in one corner, and my bone broth in another, with my home made sausage in the freezer and my kids scones in the oven, that I AM creating, just in a whole new arena. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wai6oI2C7IB2C9dAjdmezobNRoIpqg1929lxfuE62m3o9oB5AkFUyUozFMVBbKHsPotgKZEayHyTNcr5CQ1FXYRpC0MHiwvx2udfbN_zStZOwfzScJ77qFU44BrUInaIzyVvpgHY620/s1600/DSC_0431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wai6oI2C7IB2C9dAjdmezobNRoIpqg1929lxfuE62m3o9oB5AkFUyUozFMVBbKHsPotgKZEayHyTNcr5CQ1FXYRpC0MHiwvx2udfbN_zStZOwfzScJ77qFU44BrUInaIzyVvpgHY620/s320/DSC_0431.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Food is now the medium I work in, the thing that keeps me up late doing research or stirring a pot, or carefully shopping at the store looking for just the right ingredient. Food is wrapped around all the stories of our lives and is the center of so many of our interactions. Shapes and colors, savory and sweet, glittering glass jars and shimmering steel pots. Food! What a joyful, wonderful revelation!<br />
<br />
Food.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-46600984269189341482012-09-07T14:27:00.000-06:002012-09-07T14:27:34.861-06:00You had me at CAKE!<br />
<br />
Cake. If you are blessed, you get one made for you every year on your birthday. And maybe there will be lots of leftovers, so you get to eat more of it yourself! That's what The Hillbilly (his name for himself, not mine) always hopes for, every year on HIS birthday! Then...SHAZAM!...your diet changes and suddenly you have to eat gluten free...or worse yet, when it comes to cake, GRAIN FREE! Yowsa! How's a girl who likes to bake supposed to come up with a great cake for her man, when there's no grain in the house?!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2TAm6nBb3rY6j4b8OviJgxvApQTLAAYR4CkyK5VKfm1y4pUiO9d9WD2gAcaSf3sSEX7-P7on9JPibIHVoQcWeXxU_9BDc7byRN7FHv1_7kOGqUgMK9ig2INkJba40R6L6xiqnClRVGQ/s1600/DSC_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="212" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2TAm6nBb3rY6j4b8OviJgxvApQTLAAYR4CkyK5VKfm1y4pUiO9d9WD2gAcaSf3sSEX7-P7on9JPibIHVoQcWeXxU_9BDc7byRN7FHv1_7kOGqUgMK9ig2INkJba40R6L6xiqnClRVGQ/s320/DSC_0048.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Enter a little inspiration and a whole lot of math stress. See, Sweet Girl is having major math issues right now (think 6 hours to do 1 1/2 hours of work), so Mommy has been a little s.t.r.e.s.s.e.d. lately, and we all know Mommy likes to nosh when she is stressed (but that's another post, altogether).<br />
<br />
Surfing the net, I found a brownie recipe that looked super yummy. I tried it. Chocolate Bliss!! <br />
<br />
So back to the cake...I was having a really hard time going out to buy flour to make a cake when I have spent the last two months ridding my body and my house of grain. I decided to take a stab at waving a wand over the brownie recipe and turning it into a German Chocolate cake of which the Hillbilly would approve. More than approve, I really wanted that look of "You really nailed it this time Baby!" Birthday cake perfection. That's what I was after.<br />
<br />
So here goes: <br />
<br />
(kinda) <b>Paleo German Chocolate Cake</b><br />
<br />
preheat oven to 325 degrees<br />
<br />
While you are prepping the batter, go ahead and toast <b>2 Cups chopped pecans</b> and <b>2 Cups unsweetened coconut</b> for the frosting. I like....well, I was going to tell you what brand I like, but we ate it all! I will have to come back and add it to this post when I get some more.<br />
<br />
To toast the nuts/coconut, use a baking sheet with sides and line with parchment paper. Spread out mixture on paper (you might need to do this in two batches, if your pan is not very large), and put in preheated oven. Toast til lightly brown, stirring once. Don't forget it is in the oven!! It will BURN! Not that I know that from personal experience or anything...although they did ban me from warming rolls in the college kitchen after one too many fires...) Anyway, once it is toasted, remove pan from oven and let cool til you are ready to finish making the frosting.<br />
<br />
And back to the cake:<br />
<br />
Grease 2 round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper (or waxed paper, whatever you have on hand); You will also want to line a regular muffin pan with 12 paper liners (see, I don't really like German Chocolate Cake...but I LOVE brownies, so I made a little birthday dessert for me too!)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8qqBD-98eeChyP3_ZNZbgXGD0aGaglTHmFZsqHvi5X3QKDIvpxQkSmYXLLox5X4dTaRkSXam1Kx4eBsglX0KF0OPksuUQ_eJ5ZOeVtr5h0W1gjySf9akinGxb-usyo7MWMIl3b1R68Ro/s1600/DSC_0044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="212" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8qqBD-98eeChyP3_ZNZbgXGD0aGaglTHmFZsqHvi5X3QKDIvpxQkSmYXLLox5X4dTaRkSXam1Kx4eBsglX0KF0OPksuUQ_eJ5ZOeVtr5h0W1gjySf9akinGxb-usyo7MWMIl3b1R68Ro/s320/DSC_0044.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Whisk <i>Dry ingredients</i> in a bowl and set aside:<br />
1 C <b>cocoa powder</b> - use the good stuff, the flavor will be much better!<br />
1 tsp <b>salt</b><br />
2 tsp <b>baking soda</b><br />
2 tsp <b>instant coffee grounds</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQV2ICrGfpyuiRjM1EItsEg0g1sPHV3IHL89vcisfyPl7vV4eX0mE52T79QaL2hunSd9qRE5Zr3kjdG_ZoeplPyeL0AhHromne0kgrGaQvkCZ7Gz7oJGsNtd4A8hGTE6Zsf2q59yvGJZQ/s1600/DSC_0043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="212" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQV2ICrGfpyuiRjM1EItsEg0g1sPHV3IHL89vcisfyPl7vV4eX0mE52T79QaL2hunSd9qRE5Zr3kjdG_ZoeplPyeL0AhHromne0kgrGaQvkCZ7Gz7oJGsNtd4A8hGTE6Zsf2q59yvGJZQ/s320/DSC_0043.JPG" /></a></div>I love to use pretty bowls when I cook...it inspires me!<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Wet ingredients</i>. Put into mixer in order, one at a time, and mix well before adding next ingredient.<br />
<br />
3 1/2 Cups almond butter (buy it, or make your own, by grinding raw almonds in your food processor til butter forms...google it - it's not hard to do)<br />
1/2 Cup butter (1 stick) softened<br />
4 large eggs, room temp<br />
1 1/2 Cups maple syrup...I prefer Grade B...it is very tasty and full of minerals<br />
2 Tbsp vanilla<br />
1 Tbsp Rum or Brandy (optional)<br />
<br />
When the wet ingredients are well combined, shake in the dry ingredients and mix well, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to get everything mixed in thoroughly.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTGUgEL5lwCsVI20Sn_Uxy9a9aQbplKcpW3ZWQvoFGm1PRpR63F38oANDpy9MEObObr1-u96A342ueFa-GYMXhpYDA1IAMmFaQmCDIELMz2wIykU3l9IBKqdA95yj6eE9z0qcmBUV4ec/s1600/DSC_0039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="212" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTGUgEL5lwCsVI20Sn_Uxy9a9aQbplKcpW3ZWQvoFGm1PRpR63F38oANDpy9MEObObr1-u96A342ueFa-GYMXhpYDA1IAMmFaQmCDIELMz2wIykU3l9IBKqdA95yj6eE9z0qcmBUV4ec/s320/DSC_0039.JPG" /></a></div>What a beautiful batter! I think it is even prettier than some gluten free cakes I have made.<br />
<br />
<br />
Fill the 12 muffin liners 1/2-2/3 full, then evenly divide the rest of the batter between the two prepared cake pans. Tap to settle the cake and level out the batter, then put all three in the oven to bake. I put the muffins at about 1/3 of the way down from the top and the two cake pans about 2/3 of the way down. (Have I mentioned lately how much I miss my convection oven...)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3YQ7Z5_vUAs-HJLQPn7jnOzn5q4aLxRT5R-58BH_Rb1P6_LrZ4-s9I1WxXGkswknzFehyphenhyphen-xZPzE7ShaI28WLvJbnAjh8uuRuuz2O-BSJMR2_lTKoxyDkg561YaNWxCLiuXTLf4Ml-9w/s1600/DSC_0046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="212" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3YQ7Z5_vUAs-HJLQPn7jnOzn5q4aLxRT5R-58BH_Rb1P6_LrZ4-s9I1WxXGkswknzFehyphenhyphen-xZPzE7ShaI28WLvJbnAjh8uuRuuz2O-BSJMR2_lTKoxyDkg561YaNWxCLiuXTLf4Ml-9w/s320/DSC_0046.JPG" /></a></div>Raising nicely. Cake behaves so much better at sea-level.<br />
<br />
<br />
You will bake the cupcakes for 15-20 minutes, the cakes for about 25-30 minutes. You will know it is done when the center is set and a toothpick put in the middle comes out clean. Move cupcakes to cooling racks right away. Let cakes sit in pans 10 minutes, then carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan, place your cooling rack on top of the cake pan and flip the cake and rack over together. Tap the bottom of the pan to make sure the cake released, lift off the pan and gently pull off the parchment paper and leave the cake on the rack to finish cooling. Repeat with second cake layer.<br />
<br />
While the cake is baking, prep the icing.<br />
<br />
<b>German Chocolate Icing</b><br />
<br />
Please see above for toasting directions for the nuts/coconut<br />
<br />
<i>2 Cups Chopped Pecans<br />
2 Cups unsweetened coconut</i><br />
<br />
1 1/2 Cups <b>brown sugar</b><br />
2 sticks <b>butter</b><br />
1 3/4 Cups <b>evaporated milk</b> (the NOT in not Paleo)<br />
4 tsp <b>vanilla</b><br />
4 tsp <b>brandy</b> (optional) <br />
6 large <b>egg yolks</b><br />
<br />
Combine all of these ingredients and cool over medium heat until it is bubbling and thick, first stirring with whisk, then spatula, as it gets thicker. I would not leave it alone at this point..it kind of becomes like a sneaky two-year-old, if you know what I mean. Take pan off heat when a thermometer reads 225 degrees. Carefully add nuts/coconut (using paper as a funnel) and mix well. Let cool while cake finishes baking and cools off to room temperature.<br />
<br />
OK...now to the fun part!<br />
<br />
Place first layer on your cake plate. Scoop a good amount of icing into the middle, and carefully spread out, you can even go ahead and do the edges now, if you want. Then even more carefully, place the top layer on the cake, and continue frosting, till the top and sides are completely covered. If the icing is cool enough, it should go pretty easily. If you got in too much of a hurry (I have lived much of my life in this spot), then icing the cake will be harder, because the icing will slide more. <br />
<br />
Oila! The cake is finished. So sing happy birthday, and wait for The Look. It's coming just wait for it. This cake is GOOD!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJag_u6Yp8MbMXFiHmXkBEM1ND8_NNcSavZuwV1-2yqR5jZizPMIZ1dhocM8i2V-SreZEC3AFG3NqpL3zINmIzu1pcw-B4iKh-hwqJKBu4_Z5alsp44WEK4ZhSiSsDm3PeAXTv4K3bV0/s1600/DSC_0050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJag_u6Yp8MbMXFiHmXkBEM1ND8_NNcSavZuwV1-2yqR5jZizPMIZ1dhocM8i2V-SreZEC3AFG3NqpL3zINmIzu1pcw-B4iKh-hwqJKBu4_Z5alsp44WEK4ZhSiSsDm3PeAXTv4K3bV0/s320/DSC_0050.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
BTW, I got the basic recipe for the frosting here: <a href="http://glutenfreecanteen.com/2011/10/13/german-chocolate-fudge-cake-gluten-free/"></a> And the inspiration Brownie recipe here: <a href="http://barefootgirevik.blogspot.com/2011/08/paleo-chocolate-peanut-butter-brownies.html"></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-54660644137148145952012-09-03T09:45:00.000-06:002012-09-03T09:47:36.099-06:00Pumpkin Walnut PancakesSaturday is pancake day here at the Inn. I might want to skip it some days, which I did this last Saturday, but I always have to make it up to the kids on another day...I have to say, I don't really mind because they are so great to eat "pottage" the other six days of the week.<br />
<br />
I posted an almond flour and avocado pancake recipe a short time ago, and it is really good, but it takes an extra step to get them on the table since I <strike>am too cheap</strike> don't buy preground almond flour. So for today, I decided to try this pumpkin recipe. Let me know if you try it and what you think about it!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWYCkxpB5N3NjK3vZodoyI7vCyI3kXkRILvq6NIaR2bZ6nErrvv7EdC18TeN17v80NyCAU2mgHqtrUKOQPSr5e-xeclcQmaJXNLv_T40xYNgmcD8c8AlkcixfBW5hRMR9ZBoKb6gRzwk/s1600/DSC_0052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="212" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWYCkxpB5N3NjK3vZodoyI7vCyI3kXkRILvq6NIaR2bZ6nErrvv7EdC18TeN17v80NyCAU2mgHqtrUKOQPSr5e-xeclcQmaJXNLv_T40xYNgmcD8c8AlkcixfBW5hRMR9ZBoKb6gRzwk/s320/DSC_0052.JPG" /></a></div>These don't look anything like their gluten filled, no nutrient pancake cousins, but I am okay with that. These are made with real food, they won't spike your blood sugar and the flavor is really good!<br />
<br />
<b>Pumpkin Pancakes<i></i></b><br />
<br />
Found this in the Practical Paleo cookbook I got for my birthday and tried them this am, with my changes, of course! Pretty good!<br />
<br />
Makes 19 pancakes +/-<br />
<br />
Preheat griddle to 325 degrees<br />
<br />
8 <b>eggs</b>, whisked<br />
<br />
1 1/2 C canned <b>pumpkin</b><br />
<br />
2 tsp <b>vanilla</b> extract<br />
<br />
4 Tbsp good <b>maple sryup</b> (Grade B is best...has LOTS of great minerals in it)<br />
<br />
1 1/2 tsp <b>pumpkin pie spice</b><br />
<br />
1 tsp powdered <b>ginger</b><br />
<br />
2 tsp <b>cinnamon</b><br />
<br />
1 tsp <b>baking soda</b><br />
<br />
4 Tbsp good <b>butter</b><br />
<br />
1/2 cup finely ground <b>walnuts</b> (optional)<br />
<br />
Whisk eggs with pumpkin, vanilla and syrup. Then whisk in dry ingredients, and finally stir in the nuts if you are going to use them.<br />
<br />
This batter is pretty thin, so don't be surprised! I used a 1/4 C measuring cup to ladle the mixture onto the griddle.<br />
<br />
Melt a little butter on the griddle, then use the measuring cup to pour batter onto hot griddle. Make sure to keep them small and easy to flip, since they are just a bit fragile. Flip when you see bubbles start to form on the top of the pancake. Cook till center is set.<br />
<br />
Serve with additional butter and fresh maple syrup.<br />
<br />
Totally delish, and perfect for fall!trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-20308852076160386642012-08-31T18:58:00.000-06:002012-10-25T13:27:27.904-06:00Creamy Chicken Soup over Cauliflower 'Rice'You know what I just realized? Since I can't eat grain anymore, I don't need a toaster. And my blog is named after my beautiful red toaster which languishes in my cabinet, alone and neglected...what to do, what to do...<br />
<br />
Oh, well, I digress. <br />
<br />
We are new on this Paleo food journey and after reading some research on Adrenal Fatigue, I discovered that it could take <i>two years</i> to get myself back to normal! Wow. That's a long time with no grain. But I am committed for the long haul, and frankly, I have been enjoying trying all these new foods (or rather new ways of preparing old foods). Which leads me to today. <br />
<br />
At two o'clock I realized that there were no dinner plans in my near future and I better get a move on. I had my sights set on reorganizing and cleaning out the pantry and kitchen, but first I needed to get dinner going or there was going to be some serious caterwauling going on around here. I grabbed a recipe I had recently copied from, well, I don't really know WHERE I got this one from, but I did change it (of course) so it is not a direct copy (sorry)! This one is quick and easy and sure to satisfy those empty tummies!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Creamy Chicken Stew</b><br />
<br />
3-4 <b>chicken breasts</b> (frozen ok), <br />
2 T <b>Italian Seasoning</b> (it seems like I actually used 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp basil and 1 tsp parsley)<br />
1 T <b>basil</b> <br />
2 cloves <b>garlic</b> - pressed <br />
1 can <b>whole-fat coconut milk</b><br />
2 cups <b>bone broth</b> (or really good chicken broth) <br />
1/2 c <b>white wine</b> <br />
salt and pepper to taste <br />
<br />
Now here is the easy part! Mix together everything but the chicken in the crockpot. Add chicken and turn to coat. Cook on high 3-4 hours. Oila! Go clean out your pantry, or climb Mt. Washmore. Or take the kids for a bike ride...the sky is the limit! The house will smell great, and everyone will think you spent hours cooking! I love it when it works!<br />
<br />
About 20 minutes before you want to eat you will want to toss together this quick faux rice to put under your tasty chicken. I had heard about "cauliflower rice" but was honestly pretty skeptical. I mean really, how can you make cauliflower taste like rice?!? I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Give it a try and tell me what you think!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://nomnompaleo.com/post/1626071845/another-simpler-version-of-cauliflower-rice"></a> The only changes I made were to put my riced cauliflower in a large bowl, and season it there, before I put it in the hot pan. I used salt, lots of dried thyme (since there is thyme in the chicken), garlic powder and onion powder. <br />
<br />
Once you have the cauliflower steaming, remove the chicken from the crockpot and shred. When everything is ready, it goes together like this: Into your bowl you layer the 'rice', then shredded chicken and then put broth over the top. Your family will rave and you will sit back and admire your organized kitchen and the smiling faces of your loved ones, and chalk one up for the Crockpot Momma.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAswHWQCNf5GFE9sBnQkmHkB1-RFH8d09B6Kirr1kLLbzED4StrUFQvcGamMjf-S_cOpdYTLo60tofZj2XZDdltJv53Ek-HkzGjzxLlH7gm0JTdrbEtJWRddwVfip-L_xAazBaiNjg3s/s1600/DSC_0211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="265" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAswHWQCNf5GFE9sBnQkmHkB1-RFH8d09B6Kirr1kLLbzED4StrUFQvcGamMjf-S_cOpdYTLo60tofZj2XZDdltJv53Ek-HkzGjzxLlH7gm0JTdrbEtJWRddwVfip-L_xAazBaiNjg3s/s400/DSC_0211.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Now, there is one little thing you should know about. If you make this with a box of chicken broth, your tastebuds are not going to sing. You really need to put together a batch of bone broth which has so much more flavor and depth. You basically do that by taking a chicken carcass or two and cooking them 12-24 hours with onions, garlic, celery, whole peppercorns and lots of water. You can find out more by doing a google search for bone broth. And to be fully transparent, my two cups of bone broth were actually left over from a Chicken Marsala I did a few weeks ago, which had the wine in it, so it had cooked down really well. I do believe it added even another layer of flavor to our soup tonight. trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-71782029249581052612012-08-07T17:50:00.000-06:002012-08-07T17:50:13.147-06:00Chicken Curry and Creamed Cauliflower...WOW!I LOVE savory food. Love it. Makes my heart and my tummy so very happy!!<br />
<br />
I have been off grains and sugar for the last 2-3 weeks, eating a huge salad at lunch every day, and some kind of lean meat and veggie for dinner. So far, I have not really missed grain at all, which I find very surprising, since it has driven my food choices for so many years!<br />
<br />
In my quest for new recipes, I came upon a chicken curry recipe that was more complicated. You are supposed to brown veggies, then brown the chicken, then make a sauce and...well, you get the idea. It is pretty time intensive! So I made it easy. And fast. And it makes the kitchen smell good all.day.long. Really!!<br />
<br />
First off, curry powder. You can use a premade one, but I can't have any peppers, so I threw together a quick blend of pre-ground spices and toasted it in a dry skillet to bring out the aromas. Once I get my new mortar and pestle...look out! <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cardinallakepottery.com/CLPWebImages/mortarandpestle.jpg"></a><br />
<br />
<b>Thai Curry Powder<i></i></b><br />
<br />
1 Tbsp ground Turmeric<br />
3 Tbsp ground corriander<br />
2 Tbsp ground cumin<br />
2 tsp ground ginger<br />
1 tsp ground peppercorns (pref. white, but black will work)<br />
1 pinch ground cloves<br />
<br />
Heat dry skillet to medium high and add mixed ground spices. Stir or toss til they are well mixed and the heat has brought out all the yummy aromas and oils. Let cool and store in small glass jar. Makes about 1/2 C. Make it ahead of time and when the taste for curry makes you crazy, you are ready to go!<br />
<br />
<b>Chicken Curry<i></i></b><br />
<br />
1 can coconut milk<br />
1/2 can water<br />
2 T of curry powder (see above)<br />
2 t freshly minced ginger...though I used dried today, since I was out of fresh<br />
4 cloves garlic, minced<br />
1 Vidalia or other sweet onion, sliced<br />
pinch of salt<br />
4 chicken breasts, cut into strips; you can also use thighs or legs<br />
<br />
Mix all ingredients except chicken in bottom of crock pot. Add chicken and stir to coat. Cook on low for 2 -3 hours, or 'til chicken is cooked.<br />
<br />
So this deliciousness was wafting through the house all day...and got me hankerin' after something creamy to offset the curry...what to do, what to do? So I got online and found a Creamed Cauliflower recipe that I had to doctor because, well, that's what I do! And I was missing a few of their ingredients! Here is my version:<br />
<b><br />
Creamed Cauliflower<i></i></b><br />
<br />
1 large head cauliflower, steamed well (you don't want al dente for this!)<br />
2/3 block cream cheese, softened (it can sit out while the cauliflower steams)<br />
2 Tbsp butter<br />
1/4 cup plain kefir (or other milk sub...that's just what we had)<br />
2 small cloves of garlic, peeled<br />
salt to taste<br />
<br />
Add cheese, butter, and garlic to food processor. Cut up cauliflower into chunks and steam cauliflower 'til cooked through. Drain and add to food processor. Turn on and pulse 'til big pieces are broken down, and add kefir/milk only if needed to combine all ingredients. Add salt to taste.<br />
<br />
Mercy!! What a good, flavorful dinner! I am sure the cream cheese adds more calories than you have to have, but it was what I had and it sure was good!!<br />
<br />
Let me know if you try it, and what you think!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-66216799611667252682012-06-30T09:54:00.002-06:002012-06-30T09:55:22.210-06:00Off the Deep End?Maybe, but it sure is fun down here!<br />
<br />
It's Saturday! And in the Reynolds' home, Saturday means....PANCAKES!!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNlAwg5pdJD5grWjUuo-QHeEg3wJgsKIiHspPhgEQSp0K-ydJ7SSfGcar_HwEiHKXL7TJKffAbcL2rDf6WcGprBT6BgiGPpPykVT2pvqsm2LEVNyFJ4dmBfkuTWn444sDsOmupx5xvso/s1600/finished+cake+2+the+good+one.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNlAwg5pdJD5grWjUuo-QHeEg3wJgsKIiHspPhgEQSp0K-ydJ7SSfGcar_HwEiHKXL7TJKffAbcL2rDf6WcGprBT6BgiGPpPykVT2pvqsm2LEVNyFJ4dmBfkuTWn444sDsOmupx5xvso/s320/finished+cake+2+the+good+one.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Since we embarked on our No-Grain diet, I have been looking for a good pancake that the kids will like, and which fits our new way of eating. I found a few, but the reviews were not that great, so I have not at this point tried any of them. Until today that is, when I found a non-Paleo recipe that talked about whipping the egg whites and then folding them into the batter. Ureeka! That one caught my attention right away.<br />
<br />
The problem with the other almond flour based pancakes seemed to be heaviness and that they were very fragile. Most reviewers wrote that the pancakes fell apart while flipping, and we all know that falling apart pancakes are no fun at all!<br />
<br />
So feeling inventive this morning (amazing what 7 1/2 hours of sleep will do for your foggy mind, not to mention getting rid of grain), I decided to take two different recipes and make my own Saturday Morning Savory Pancakes. You will be thrilled to know that I MEASURED everything!! Oh the JOY of a real, live Trinarecipe with measurements!<br />
<br />
<b>Saturday Morning Savory Pancakes</b><br />
<br />
Preheat griddle to 275 degrees; on the stove this would be a medium-low heat. <br />
<br />
<b>Dry Ingredients<i></i></b><br />
<br />
2 C <b>fresh ground raw almonds</b> (I used my food processor to do this...not sure what the exact equivalent would be for store bought almond flour, since it tends to settle, but I would start with less and add a bit more if needed)<br />
<br />
2 T <b>Coconut Flour</b><br />
<br />
1/2 tsp <b>Cinnamon</b><br />
<br />
1/2 tsp <b>Salt</b><br />
<br />
1/4 tsp <b>Ginger</b><br />
<br />
Mix all these dry ingredients together and set aside.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>Wet Ingredients</i></b><br />
<br />
4 <b>large eggs</b>, separated<br />
<br />
1/2 C Water<br />
<br />
1/2 C <b>Mashed Ripe Banana</b><br />
<br />
stay with me here...1/2 C finely mashed ripe <b>Avocado</b> (equals about 1 normal sized avocado)<br />
<br />
2 tsp <b>Vanilla</b><br />
<br />
1 T <b>Maple Syrup</b><br />
<br />
Beat egg whites till foamy and set aside while you...<br />
<br />
Combine rest of wet ingredients, mixing well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in egg whites, mixing until combined well. Batter is thicker than your normal gf batter...don't even ask me how it compares to regular wheat batter...I have not made those in so many years, I don't even remember!!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwH2zUlU0xoNdlpbtBsloMaMXeKMKxs1LSy_EzHfNuNu-PPW5dKpz1GTnwUUyjvl4gGO-ntFDlO7h7EUX45XPDLs1Iv0zedOtMSZ5DxtlxQ3YyCzKmSxZmSPTtXqMULGtwuuQuL-NV54Y/s1600/with+measuring+cup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="212" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwH2zUlU0xoNdlpbtBsloMaMXeKMKxs1LSy_EzHfNuNu-PPW5dKpz1GTnwUUyjvl4gGO-ntFDlO7h7EUX45XPDLs1Iv0zedOtMSZ5DxtlxQ3YyCzKmSxZmSPTtXqMULGtwuuQuL-NV54Y/s320/with+measuring+cup.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Using your 1/4 c measuring cup, put batter on the griddle, using the bottom of the measuring cup or a fork to spread the batter out to an even thickness. These pancakes need to cook slowly, so don't rush them or they will be burned on the outside and raw in the middle! Yuck!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQpVP3b8CLuJ1sZ5EuEgW8FROgigCJUXwY203wB-ZeQ-D8myKoA6dHS0WRkAlSXM6o3J06c5ykvVzNpjR8upUnPzCK7Bbfz4R1g8D2qrRYUYLvwk1X3omnEzm4wHeaesUNN82jSk7YeF4/s1600/flipped+cakes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQpVP3b8CLuJ1sZ5EuEgW8FROgigCJUXwY203wB-ZeQ-D8myKoA6dHS0WRkAlSXM6o3J06c5ykvVzNpjR8upUnPzCK7Bbfz4R1g8D2qrRYUYLvwk1X3omnEzm4wHeaesUNN82jSk7YeF4/s320/flipped+cakes.JPG" /></a></div><br />
I'm not sure if this conforms to the Paleo mindset, but we topped our pancakes with a little pat of butter and our delicious Grade B Maple Syrup...it is dark and full of wonderful minerals and tastes like a bit of Heaven on your tongue!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhfjfxcteMqxmwF51QNNTXyuNtOWohiOu0ZM6OXtPTjSRbgr_s_4zUmT_C-MVwBzpbl51pe8wOONuidEJ7YyNkEZWPjcQCIn5hBJvpw2_YNvqzAq_JoC8vx5dEKsHcw7Um3G5HeVxoEGo/s1600/finished+cake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="212" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhfjfxcteMqxmwF51QNNTXyuNtOWohiOu0ZM6OXtPTjSRbgr_s_4zUmT_C-MVwBzpbl51pe8wOONuidEJ7YyNkEZWPjcQCIn5hBJvpw2_YNvqzAq_JoC8vx5dEKsHcw7Um3G5HeVxoEGo/s320/finished+cake.JPG" /></a></div><br />
If you are just leaving the gluten filled world, I am guessing that this pancake will take some getting used to. Because it is made with nut flour, it has a grainier texture than even a gf pancake would have. We normally put ground walnuts in our gf pancakes, so it was not a real stretch for us. <br />
<br />
Also, I would not advertise the avocado in the pancake until your family has tasted them!! One of my kids knew about it (he was helping me cook) the other two and my Darling Hubby did not, and all three of them really liked the pancake a lot. There is absolutely NO avocado flavor in the pancake at all! I promise! It just adds creaminess and lots of good oil.<br />
<br />
So, if you are brave, give these a whirl and come back and tell me what you think!<br />
<br />
Happy Saturday!<br />trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-91365287787750224592012-06-28T18:42:00.000-06:002012-06-28T18:42:41.686-06:00Imagination...Research in food always gets my brain going...and you just never know what might come out of the pan!<br />
<br />
Right now I am looking at the Paleo/Primal ideas of food. <i>Basic</i> premise: eat <i>good</i> meat, good fats, lots of veggies, minimal fruit and dairy. Doing this keeps your blood sugar balanced, and keeps you away from inflammatory foods, which can wreak havoc in your body. As happens with most "diets", you have the full range of investment, from the radical, "all out" folks, to the people who just take everything as a suggestion. <br />
<br />
As I was talking to a friend last night about these ideas she told me about a cool cookbook that really has my brain stewing. It is called <b>Well Fed<i></i></b>, and I think it may be my new favorite cookbook! <br />
<br />
What I think I am really going to love, is the author's idea of doing some big prep on Sundays, to make meal prep during the week go so much more easily. Even though today's recipe has nothing to do with her book, I will give the author Melissa Joulwan the credit for our yummy dinner!<br />
<br />
It all started with mushrooms. Mushrooms and broccoli. Except the broccoli ended up back in the fridge, a casualty of my other favorite 'cookbook', <b>The Flavor Bible<i></i></b>. I had this idea to saute mushrooms a la Julia Child, in coconut oil. We had some leftover roasted chicken and had just purchased some ginger today as well as some asparagus, so I looked both of those up in my Flavor Bible and it all came together like this:<br />
<br />
<b>Chicken with 'Shrooms and Asparagus</b><br />
<br />
5-6 <b>mushrooms</b>, peeled and sliced<br />
2-3 Tbsp <b>coconut oil</b><br />
<b>butter</b> - skip this if you are dairy free<br />
salt and pepper<br />
1 bunch baby <b>asparagus</b> (the big ones are too tough), ends chopped off and cut in half<br />
thumb size piece of <b>ginger</b>, peeled and grated fine<br />
leftover <b>roasted chicken</b>, chopped (I used about 2 cups)<br />
salt and pepper<br />
<br />
* Heat pan to medium heat. <br />
* Add coconut oil, and let melt.<br />
* Add mushrooms in one layer. Saute gently, then flip and cook on other side (I salted mushrooms and added a few tsp of butter here). This will give you beautifully golden mushrooms...a la Julia Child!<br />
* Remove mushrooms from pan, and return pan to burner.<br />
* Add a little more coconut oil/butter and bring to temp. Add asparagus and a little salt. Stirring and tossing til cooked al dente.<br />
* While asparagus is cooking, chop chicken and grate ginger. Add chicken to the pan.<br />
* Return mushrooms to pan. <br />
* When chicken is warmed through, add ginger and toss all ingredients together. Check salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.<br />
<br />
I dished this yummy concoction onto our plates, and topped it with a bit of freshly grated <b>Parmesan</b>. It added a nice tang, and truthfully, I thought it might encourage the kids to dig in if they saw cheese on top! They are pretty brave eaters, but the idea of mushrooms was throwing the boys off.<br />
<br />
Verdict: They LOVED it! Even AJ was asking for more! It fed four of us, and they had some leftover limas on the side (a casualty of cooking on the fly...the limas were already warming as I created the asparagus dish, so I went ahead and served them anyway). When I make this again for all of us, I will probably double it, or perhaps serve it with a salad. <br />
<br />
Let me know how you like it, and if you make any modifications!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-66798509435041218532011-08-27T10:00:00.000-06:002011-08-27T10:00:27.269-06:00Mother!Necessity really is the mother of invention! Had guests coming over for a pancake breakfast yesterday and discovered I was OUT of syrup! OH NO! So I took my blueberry sauce recipe and reinvented it for the strawberry pancakes I was serving.<br />
<br />
YUMMO!<br />
<br />
<b>Strawberry Sauce for Pancakes of Waffles</b><br />
<br />
4 Cups frozen <b>strawberries</b><br />
1/2 Cup water<br />
2 Cup <b>cranberry juice</b><br />
1/3 cup <b>evaporated cane juice</b><br />
<br />
Combine in sauce pan, over medium heat. Bring to a boil, Stirring occasionally. Once comes to a boil, turn off heat and...<br />
<br />
1/2 Cup cold water<br />
6 Tablespooons <b>corn starch</b><br />
<br />
Whisk together the cornstarch into the cold water and pour into boiling mixture. Stir quickly to get the cornstarch evenly mixed through the fruit mixture. As soon as it thickens, add...<br />
<br />
1/2 tsp <b>vanilla extract</b><br />
1/4 tsp <b>cinnamon</b><br />
<br />
Stir well and serve over hot strawberry pancakes or over waffles. For best flavor results - use whipped cream too!<br />
trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-20233399815172713372011-03-28T13:55:00.005-06:002011-03-28T14:25:15.895-06:00Ideas to Make Lunchtime Easy!Lunchtime can be hard or boring, depending upon how limited your diet has become. I thought I would post a few ideas of things we have done and hope that you will add your ideas below. Here's to making lunchtime fun again!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Egg salad with crackers and/or sliced veggies</span>. Cucumber slices, carrot and celery sticks, bell pepper sticks and jicama sticks all make great scoopers for egg salad.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Black beans and rice</span>. If you have time to cook up a pot of black beans yourself, you can bag them and freeze them for later use. Or used canned black beans because they are EASY! Use left over rice from dinner the night before, or put on a pot of brown jasmine rice at snack time which will be hot and ready for lunchtime! Don't forget to add salsa and sour cream and a dash of lemon juice if you have it on hand.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Leftovers</span>....a no-brainer, but sometimes we think leftovers are only for dinner! We do a COTF meal, where we put out all the bits and pieces and everyone gets to pick what they want, no matter how weird the combination.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Snack for lunch</span> - one of my kids favorite meals! We start out with a traditional snack item, say bugs on a log, and then Mommy rummages through the pantry and fridge looking for other typical snack foods...when they finish one thing, I offer another til they are full. Makes for a zany, fun meal!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Banana Split Oatmeal</span> - amazing what happens when you take regular old oatmeal and serve it in a banana split dish and allow the kids to pick whatever frozen fruit, nuts or fresh fruit toppings they like. Bonus points if you have whipped cream for the top!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7aNKf13eQXeRfxx228swfeIX1Ix0F1_66bM5JWKhhuYgo8ogF3VIOwawsoncrnXLruCXB2d51du_5tIToARYs2ri0YT1f46XYcdmiuIGxakmIORDKW_AjpsS3MgnNy3pRP_21tr7QjCQ/s1600/P1100747.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7aNKf13eQXeRfxx228swfeIX1Ix0F1_66bM5JWKhhuYgo8ogF3VIOwawsoncrnXLruCXB2d51du_5tIToARYs2ri0YT1f46XYcdmiuIGxakmIORDKW_AjpsS3MgnNy3pRP_21tr7QjCQ/s400/P1100747.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589227828073834162" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Daddy Lunch</span> - my husband does not eat as much bread as he used to, so he will often fix a lunch plate of sliced lunch meat, sliced cheese and a veggie. The kids love this too, and often roll up their veggies in the meat slices, creating strange combinations that make Mommy cringe!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Euro Lunch</span> - Grapes, goat cheese, crackers, olives, fresh bread - you get the idea...anything that you think you would enjoy if you were on an European Tour<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Millet and lentils</span> - We did this one quite a bit last year...I would put on a pot of french green lentils and a pot of millet mid-morning and we would have a nice, hot lunch ready for us when it was time to eat. Top with EVOO and a bit of coarse ground kosher salt...yum!!! Can sub any grain you like...rice, quinoa, etc...<br /><br />Nachos - I was first introduced to nachos when I was in highschool and have loved them ever since. We use refried black beans, shredded cheese and any leftover meat that happens to be hanging out in the fridge. You can make a big pan and bake it in the oven on foil and then slide the foil to the middle of the table for a free-for-all, or do individual plates and micro for a minute or two. Again, don't forget the toppings....salse, sour cream, jalapenos...whatever you have on hand!<br /><br />OK, now I am hungry! What ideas do you have to add to the list?trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-3769774690157609342011-01-14T18:53:00.003-07:002013-01-12T08:44:39.872-07:00Pizza Bread...Yum!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghU8IbxlNFJQp1LUWk4_dHOWYsHyHLQbAUbLRpDT1UFbx8CYRxqHy_TfOoRt472Pu0iGUCGaAI7aPBCwkno3TsCZ5olmFITk31fi16il9EtRMulNrEwBRikbzeB4gn5gQ3Tg6A350pwUk/s1600/P1100953.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghU8IbxlNFJQp1LUWk4_dHOWYsHyHLQbAUbLRpDT1UFbx8CYRxqHy_TfOoRt472Pu0iGUCGaAI7aPBCwkno3TsCZ5olmFITk31fi16il9EtRMulNrEwBRikbzeB4gn5gQ3Tg6A350pwUk/s400/P1100953.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562239534726447778" /></a> <br />
I got a hankering for something savory...so I headed to the kitchen to play about a bit. I started out with my version of Karina's Focacia bread, and then the fun began! This might just become a family favorite! This is gluten free, and can be egg-free if you use the flax seed/hot water substitution, and dairy free if you leave out the cheese. The basic recipe is hands down my favorite bread ever!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;">Pizza Bread</span><br />
<br />
Grease and corn flour a large iron skillet or 9" cake pan. Preheat oven to 170 degrees<br />
<br />
Whisk together these dry ingredients:<br />
<br />
1 cup <span style="font-style:italic;">sorghum flour</span><br />
1/2 cup <span style="font-style:italic;">tapioca flour</span><br />
1/2 cup <span style="font-style:italic;">corn starch</span><br />
1/2 cup <span style="font-style:italic;">millet flour</span><br />
2 tsp <span style="font-style:italic;">xanthan gum</span><br />
1 Tbsp <span style="font-style:italic;">dry minced onion</span><br />
2 tsp <span style="font-style:italic;">dried basil</span><br />
2 tsp <span style="font-style:italic;">dried oregano</span><br />
1/2 tsp <span style="font-style:italic;">garlic powder</span><br />
1 1/4 tsp <span style="font-style:italic;">salt</span><br />
1 Tbsp <span style="font-style:italic;">yeast</span><br />
1 tsp <span style="font-style:italic;">sugar</span><br />
1/3 cup <span style="font-style:italic;">Parmesan cheese</span><br />
<br />
Add in:<br />
1 <span style="font-style:italic;">egg</span><br />
4 Tbsp<span style="font-style:italic;"> extra virgin olive oil</span><br />
1 1/3 cups plus 2 T <span style="font-style:italic;">HOT water</span><br />
1/2 tsp <span style="font-style:italic;">lemon juice</span><br />
<br />
Beat to mix, then scrape down and turn mixer to high. Beat til smooth, about 5 minutes. Add in 2/3 cup <span style="font-style:italic;">Feta cheese</span>, 1/2 cup chopped <span style="font-style:italic;">pepperoni </span>and stir through dough with spatula. Dough will be thick; scrape into prepared pan then take two forks and spread dough evenly into pan. Sprinkle with a bit of <span style="font-style:italic;">kosher salt</span>.<br />
<br />
Put in warmed oven to raise for 25 minutes. Don't take out of oven, and turn temp to 400 degrees. Let bake for 25 minutes once oven reaches temp or till bread sounds hollow when you tap it.<br />
<br />
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-56MqMUlfDXFtiLJqgrRXtBJpc_9PjbEzG6duTG8hq367kpVB2EQRuguMxD6g9OKUFDcfQAwNjgMp8L9zNlA2NrAdmkExz0G-j8aupcNghwyGwAHKtrTycyQizDHGamuxs8IsLr65JKQ/s1600/P1100955.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-56MqMUlfDXFtiLJqgrRXtBJpc_9PjbEzG6duTG8hq367kpVB2EQRuguMxD6g9OKUFDcfQAwNjgMp8L9zNlA2NrAdmkExz0G-j8aupcNghwyGwAHKtrTycyQizDHGamuxs8IsLr65JKQ/s400/P1100955.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562239545933092818" /></a><br />
<br />
Serve with <span style="font-style:italic;">pizza sauce</span> for dipping.<br />
<br />
You could add just about anything to this bread, as long as it is not wet..I am thinking well drained sausage, sauteed mushrooms, etc.<br />
<br />
Link to Karina's Focaccia: <a href="http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/03/gluten-free-focaccia-recipe-with-garlic.html">http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/03/gluten-free-focaccia-recipe-with-garlic.html</a>trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-61914979671768397882011-01-11T11:23:00.004-07:002011-01-11T19:54:39.307-07:00Keep It Simple!Sorry, it's been awhile since I posted here...but it is a little hard to cook when you are in bed! I am now almost five weeks post-op, and feeling pretty good, though I still feel it if I am working too hard.<br /><br />I know that a lot of you have mentioned in the past how hard it is to get a good, filling dinner on the table that everyone will eat. I encourage you to keep it simple! Start a card file or a note book with your family's favorite meals, and start a two week rotation. As you add to the meals you all love, you may be able to break it down by seasons, with your soups, stews and casseroles for the cooler months, and salads, grilling and lighter fare for the warmer months. Again...keep it simple - this is not rocket science ladies!<br /><br />That said, I wanted to share another COTF meal with you. While I was recovering from my back surgery, a friend brought over a roast for dinner. We had lots in the fridge at the time, so I froze it, and last night pulled it out for a quick-thaw dinner. <br /><br />We had a good bit left over, so this am I got inspired to play...I diced the roast into bite sized pieces and set it aside. In a large oven-proof pot (my darling, my dear husband bought me a cast iron/enamel lined dutch oven for Christmas...sigh...) I heated a few tablespoons of olive oil and I sliced one large white onion, the heart of a bunch of celery, four large carrots, one leek and four cloves of garlic. I put the lid on this so that it could steam, then added 2-3 T dried rosemary, salt and pepper. Then I dumped in the beef, and covered it with 4-5 cups of red wine. Taadaa!! That's it. Covered it and put it into a 250 degree oven. (*) Tonight, by 6 p.m., we should have a tasty melange (don't you love that word?!) of beef and slow cooked veggies.<br /><br />The key to a meal like this is to use what YOU have. You could add any kinds of veggies or meats you have in the fridge. This would also have been good with potatoes and acorn squash, or mushrooms and chicken. If you have NO idea of what flavors go together, then check out this awesome book...it is chock full of food combinations, for great flavors every time! http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Flavor-Bible-Essential-Creativity-Imaginative/dp/0316118400"></a><br /><br />Have fun in your kitchen today, and make some memories with your family!<br /><br />* P.S. About two hours in, I added two juice glasses of water to the pot. Then about the time I pulled it out of the oven, I did two more juice glasses with cool water and 2-3 T cornstarch per glass, mixing it together well, then added that to pot, stirring all the time. The cornstarch thickened the gravy and I have to say, this was one of the best stews I have ever made!! Served this yummy stew with home baked bread and butter - YUM!trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-30554494828414606902010-11-08T18:18:00.002-07:002010-11-08T18:55:23.397-07:00Creamy Tuna Noodle CasseroleHave you been missing that creamy, soul satisfying dish of...something, since you stopped eating gluten and/or dairy? I was messing around in the kitchen tonight, and came up with this <span style="font-weight:bold;">Creamy Tuna Noodle Casserole</span> that will satisfy every fall craving you have had! <br /><br />You will need:<br /><br />1 - <span style="font-weight:bold;">8 oz package of rice noodles</span> - I used Annie Chun's brand of pad thai noodles from King's<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2 large cans Tuna</span> packed in water, drained well<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6 Cups broth</span> - I used a garlic broth from "The Gluten Free Italian Cookbook" by Mary Capone<br />1 Tablespoon <span style="font-weight:bold;">butter</span>, or dairy free butter substitute<br />3-4 T <span style="font-weight:bold;">olive oi</span>l<br />3 T <span style="font-weight:bold;">gluten free flour blend</span><br />2 T <span style="font-weight:bold;">arrowroot powder</span><br />4-5 stalks <span style="font-weight:bold;">celery</span>, diced fine<br />2-3 cloves <span style="font-weight:bold;">garlic</span>, minced fine<br />1/2 <span style="font-weight:bold;">onion</span> minced very fine, or 3 Tablespoons dry, minced onion, rehydrated<br />1-2 C <span style="font-weight:bold;">frozen peas</span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">salt and pepper</span> to taste<br /><br />* Bring a pot of salted water to boil for rice noodles, but don't add noodles just yet.<br /><br />* In a large skillet or wok, add a bit of olive oil to pan and sautee onion, garlic and celery. When tender, remove to a plate.<br /><br />* Add butter and 3-4 Tablespoons of olive oil to pan, melt butter. Add pinch salt and pepper, and then with a whisk, briskly stir as you add flour to oil/butter, you want it to be pretty thick, add a bit more flour if necessary.<br /><br />* Again, with whisk, briskly stir as you slowly put 5 cups broth into the pan. Try and keep the lumps out, if you can. Take the remaining one cup of broth and whisk in 2 T arrowroot powder, then stir into pan. Guess what? You just made a roux!! Yay for you!! Turn the heat to medium and stir often as the broth mixture starts to thicken. Cook for 5-7 minutes.<br /><br />* Go ahead and drop the rice noodles into the boiling water, stir, cover and turn off heat. Set timer for 10 minutes.<br /><br />* Put sauteed veggies, drained tuna and peas into the sauce. Taste and add more salt/pepper, if desired.<br /><br />* Continue to stir, til sauce thickens nicely. Add drained rice noodles, stir well and check salt/pepper again.<br /><br />* Serve hot and enjoy!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Garlic Soup Stock</span><br />Mary Capone, p 41 in her book, listed above<br /><br />2 quarts cold water<br />2 heads of garlic, skinned and smashed<br />1 large, yellow onion, thinly sliced<br />1 bay leaf<br />2 sprigs fresh thyme (I used dried)<br />3 T fresh sage leaves (I used 2 T dried, rubbed sage)<br />3 T fresh oregano or savory (I used dried oregano)<br />salt to taste<br />6 whole peppercorns<br /><br />combine all in large stock pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, with pot covered for 2 hours. Strain into a container and salt to taste.trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-87366784746386833292010-09-07T23:04:00.005-06:002010-09-08T10:40:09.835-06:00Pick a peck of peaches...this is NOT a paid advertisement!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLY716bGs2FzJpb7XpGOuUxEI_FgdWo1rhC1EHNr0RCYal749cwPHNglqoWHiIYqkvGebahUSpnXgib8cdMpmTqECZIO54hfbdK7YUj_p76aHiV6PfGU23DRBhMbBdtmAdeVN2OSVRO3o/s1600/b+lots+of+goodies+two+jams+and+pickles.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLY716bGs2FzJpb7XpGOuUxEI_FgdWo1rhC1EHNr0RCYal749cwPHNglqoWHiIYqkvGebahUSpnXgib8cdMpmTqECZIO54hfbdK7YUj_p76aHiV6PfGU23DRBhMbBdtmAdeVN2OSVRO3o/s400/b+lots+of+goodies+two+jams+and+pickles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514583163768071090" /></a> <br /> <br />Mmmmm...homemade JAM! Is there anything better? I think not, especially when you get to make it with Mom and fruit from your own trees. We have been making lots of jam lately since we are in a "good" year with our peach tree. A few years ago, I discovered a great pectin that does not require tons of white sugar to get a good tasting jam. <br /><br />I don't know about you, but putting four cups of white sugar into six cups of fruit did not sound good to me at all. So I did some research on my trusty computer (don't you love how easy it is to get info these days?!?...sorry - rabbit trail) and found that there is a product called Pomona's Universal Pectin. Not only can you use honey to sweeten your jam (I mean really, don't we want to actually TASTE the FRUIT?!?), but you don't need much sweetener at all. In a 'batch' (four cups prepared peaches, for example) you can use as little as 1/2 C honey! We have been very happy with the results so far, and am super glad I found this great product. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQeeAvtOsTW2tCSehyzZeyTUKKnzXrlZOhMiwXdJPtw6jHEGH3EDZpHR3QAVdQLvFbSfdX8db6JT1X0OqHUQAYZqa_qQHcGOeoF4tznMX4yTPyuMqQ6n1vGF7jzElAgfIOn0CkAuhEQ3U/s1600/a+pomona+pectin+box.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 348px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQeeAvtOsTW2tCSehyzZeyTUKKnzXrlZOhMiwXdJPtw6jHEGH3EDZpHR3QAVdQLvFbSfdX8db6JT1X0OqHUQAYZqa_qQHcGOeoF4tznMX4yTPyuMqQ6n1vGF7jzElAgfIOn0CkAuhEQ3U/s400/a+pomona+pectin+box.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514582308221136658" /></a><br /><br />Another benefit of Pomona's Pectin is that you can double, triple, even quadruple your batch of jam with no ill side affects, unlike the typical pectins you might use. Because the typical pectins can easily overcook, and so not thicken as they are supposed to, you can only mix up one batch of jam at a time, which can really slow down the process. And when you head out to pick a peck of peaches at 4:30 pm, that can be super handy, eh Mom?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Honey Peach Jam</span><br /><br />10-12 fresh, ripe peaches, peeled and sliced<br />1 box Pomona's Universal Pectin (I found mine at Vitamin Cottage)<br />1/4 C lemon juice (I use the good stuff: Santa Cruz Organic Pure Lemon Juice<br />1/2 C honey (I love to use local honey for the immune boosting properties)<br />5-6 clean sterilized pint jars with rings and new lids<br /><br />Wash and rinse your jars. I prefer pint jars (or smaller) for my jams. Place them on a baking sheet in the oven at 225 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the jars there. This will sterilize them and keep them warm and ready to be filled. <br /><br />Wash rings, and place lids in a little pot, covered with water. Bring water to a boil, then set aside. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_k3vDtVXfNdU9MVHu0Y04RUA91yGY3VBwuLMS0e8WjYPoWfGaWxijKIt70kYdJivChyrN1eY6Nkpe445Zok6_Wbd7bu7IApe-a1xTvB1An99i_1gZRG_j2X57idOxaNUFb2AdELhA9vw/s1600/a+grammie+with+rings.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_k3vDtVXfNdU9MVHu0Y04RUA91yGY3VBwuLMS0e8WjYPoWfGaWxijKIt70kYdJivChyrN1eY6Nkpe445Zok6_Wbd7bu7IApe-a1xTvB1An99i_1gZRG_j2X57idOxaNUFb2AdELhA9vw/s400/a+grammie+with+rings.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514582285698639554" /></a><br /><br />Get your hot water bath ready. You will need a pot with a lid that is large enough to place the jars in and still be able to cover them with one inch of water. Bring water to a boil. I found a dark blue enamel hot water bath at a yard sale for a few dollars and it included a rack (a must as far as I am concerned), a wide-mouth funnel, and the tongs for pulling the jars out.<br /><br />If your peaches are very ripe, you can just slip the peels off pretty easily. If the skins are on tight, you will need to blanch them to get the skin off. Here's how: <a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_2096906_peel-peach.html">http://www.ehow.com/how_2096906_peel-peach.html</a> (No need to remake the wheel, right?)<br /><br />Halve the peach, take the pit out and slice the peach. You can then hand chop the peaches or pulse them in the food processor, being careful to leave the consistency somewhat chunky, but even. You want to end up with 4 cups of chopped peaches.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiw2kvTuUOXv7RUDnIcaG1yWVGRjej5p-Cki_mdPO_Dbwr-VmdWeif7BHssqy78ooyY-vJ6CzgkLg1b66pFzMLrBjpFaPXYDmueDlQK7uVxB4byvN-pZWo-TmjWC8WHMtv0pnRmzC1L6M/s1600/a+bowls+of+peaches.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiw2kvTuUOXv7RUDnIcaG1yWVGRjej5p-Cki_mdPO_Dbwr-VmdWeif7BHssqy78ooyY-vJ6CzgkLg1b66pFzMLrBjpFaPXYDmueDlQK7uVxB4byvN-pZWo-TmjWC8WHMtv0pnRmzC1L6M/s400/a+bowls+of+peaches.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514582281244159842" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The peaches in the back bowl are sliced and ready to go into the food processor.<br /></span><br />Mix up the calcium water according to the directions in the Pomona package. You can save what you don't use in the fridge for your next batch.<br /><br />Combine 4 cups prepared peaches with 1/4 C lemon juice in a stock pot. Stir well.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVfQ9YXdcOos_OL7Qt0sc9a-S7PQFfJrjUtrSOiDEMSKGWpeE90jYLqxHRTQoyf8MVmvjEDXvYKBKA5Lmbngz8QekPiZ9Oh1R5qtEfYIlLGYe8Uve9sYxpQuWeQyYeATZvXPACUBpMhE/s1600/a+peaches+in+the+pot+with+lemon+juice.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVfQ9YXdcOos_OL7Qt0sc9a-S7PQFfJrjUtrSOiDEMSKGWpeE90jYLqxHRTQoyf8MVmvjEDXvYKBKA5Lmbngz8QekPiZ9Oh1R5qtEfYIlLGYe8Uve9sYxpQuWeQyYeATZvXPACUBpMhE/s400/a+peaches+in+the+pot+with+lemon+juice.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514582298185156642" /></a><br /><br />Add 4 tsp calcium water, stir.<br /><br />Mix cold or room temp honey (1/2 C) with 3 tsp pectin powder in a small bowl. Set aside.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxJ8GA4Byun6sxt6_ZsOZPIhjJVYFOx9Mfy4PP96h50v6TfNFxim_rGzVKZUzhtet__uMcEQycPqeVefp6V1ryL70mW_KZ8qgNZEXJE6ZAU5jtL8brC9jAedEWGSc5MyU8ZDO36pLuwY/s1600/a+pectin+and+honey.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxJ8GA4Byun6sxt6_ZsOZPIhjJVYFOx9Mfy4PP96h50v6TfNFxim_rGzVKZUzhtet__uMcEQycPqeVefp6V1ryL70mW_KZ8qgNZEXJE6ZAU5jtL8brC9jAedEWGSc5MyU8ZDO36pLuwY/s400/a+pectin+and+honey.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514582303716424994" /></a><br /><br />Bring peach mixture slowly to a boil, then stir in honey/pectin mixture, bring back to a boil and remove from heat.<br /><br />Fill jars to 1/2" of top. Wipe the top of the jar with a damp paper towel, place a lid from the little pot on top of the jar and hand tighten the ring. You want it firmly tightened, but not super tight. Never reuse lids (rings are okay to reuse, if they are not bent) as you may not get a good seal...and why would you want to go to all this trouble and not be able to line these pretty, jewel colored beauties up on the shelf?<br /><br />Once all the jars are filled, place them in the hot water bath. You may need to add some water at this time to get your "one inch above the lid" coverage. If so, bring back to a boil, then cover and start timing. At our elevation (we are in the Mile High City) you will want to do the bath for 11 minutes for pint jars.<br /><br />When the time is up, remove the jars from the bath, placing them on a towel. Cover the jars with a dry dish towel and let sit to cool. Hopefully, pretty quickly, you will hear the joyful pinging of the lids popping down as they seal!! And don't do like I do. I am always pressing on the tops to see if I can "help" them along. Keep getting in trouble with my Mom on that one (and I am forty....something!).<br /><br />So, this is the way we are making our peach jam these days...thanks to the great directions in the Pomona packaging...I think now we need to bake a loaf of bread!<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />What are you canning in your kitchen this summer?<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span>trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-74913772927508469082010-05-01T13:28:00.004-06:002010-05-01T14:14:00.567-06:00Oh, la, la! A really good Oatmeal Rasin Cookie!I am doing some baking for a MOPS fundraiser tomorrow, and so I made over a recipe I found at Vitamin Cottage. Try it and tell me what you think!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Silly Boy Oatmeal Raisin Cookie</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1ApxY4hSs6MAoqBZhyphenhyphenZuUOllTKxI-QCXKjA9eHSJCTQwrZwFMs28cUzp3T15Whx5FU3fQJ7cHkniosWUzQPzi9Xu-7zUGhYLhQ5wwm2a1ZFeel0pkxtO9QOsvXnn0i40Nh8pERq1Ibo/s1600/silly+boy+cookies.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1ApxY4hSs6MAoqBZhyphenhyphenZuUOllTKxI-QCXKjA9eHSJCTQwrZwFMs28cUzp3T15Whx5FU3fQJ7cHkniosWUzQPzi9Xu-7zUGhYLhQ5wwm2a1ZFeel0pkxtO9QOsvXnn0i40Nh8pERq1Ibo/s400/silly+boy+cookies.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466397348171071842" /></a><br /><br />Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a cup of water to boil.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Combine in a bowl</span>:<br /><br />1 C <span style="font-weight:bold;">gluten free flour mix*</span> <br />1 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">xanthan gum</span><br />1/2 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">salt</span><br />1 tsp ground <span style="font-weight:bold;">cinnamon</span><br />1 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">nutmeg</span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Combine in Mixer Bowl</span>:<br /><br />1/2 C softened <span style="font-weight:bold;">butter</span> (make this dairy free by using the Earth Balance stick butter substitute)<br />1/2 C <span style="font-weight:bold;">brown sugar</span><br />1/2 C <span style="font-weight:bold;">evaporated cane juice</span><br />1/2 C <span style="font-weight:bold;">almond milk</span>, or milk substitute of choice<br />1 heaping Tablespoon <span style="font-weight:bold;">ground flax meal</span> mixed into 3 Tablespoons <span style="font-weight:bold;">boiling water</span> (let sit for 3-4 minutes before adding to mixing bowl)<br />2 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">vanilla</span> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Add dry ingredients to wet, and mix til smooth, then add</span>:<br /><br />1 C <span style="font-weight:bold;">raisins</span><br />1 C <span style="font-weight:bold;">chopped walnuts</span> <br />2 C <span style="font-weight:bold;">rolled oats</span> (not quick oats)<br /><br />Mix to combine, then drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet, giving them plenty of room to spread out. I did 8 or nine cookies per sheet. Bake for about 25 minutes or til your liking. We like our cookies crunchy, so we did the full 25 minutes. <br /><br />Makes a bakers three dozen: about 38 - 3" cookies<br /><br />All I can say is...I am getting the stuff out and making another batch, or there won't be any for the bake sale!<br /><br />* As usual, I use my modified Bette Hageman GF flour mix: 6 C brown rice flour, 2 C cornstarch, 1 C tapioca flourtrinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-23254695225609745752010-04-11T20:01:00.003-06:002010-04-11T20:15:20.372-06:00Savory Chicken StripsA grown up version of chicken fingers that even the kids will find very tasty!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Marinade</span>:<br />2 <span style="font-weight:bold;">lemons</span>, juiced<br />1/2 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">salt</span><br />2 tsp ground <span style="font-weight:bold;">cumin</span><br />4-6 Tbsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">olive oil</span><br />3-4 cloves <span style="font-weight:bold;">garlic</span>, pressed<br /><br />Mix all ingredients together and pour over chicken in shallow dish. Let marinate for <span style="font-style:italic;">15 minutes to 1 hour</span>.<br /><br />1 package of <span style="font-weight:bold;">chicken strips</span>; pounded to 1/4" with meat tenderizing hammer<br /> <br /><br />Heat additional 3 Tbsp olive oil in skillet. Put in one layer of chicken, let brown just a bit, then turn. They will cook quickly, since they are so thin. Remove from pan and keep warm in oven. Continue cooking til all chicken is cooked. Don't take out last layer, add rest of chicken back to pan. Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups <span style="font-weight:bold;">white wine</span>, leave uncovered so alcohol cooks off.<br /><br />We served it over a cooked rice blend, part "wild rice soup blend" and part brown jasmine (ran out of jasmin ;-D), with steamed cauliflower. It was kind of a "beige" colored meal, but the flavors blended well together, and better yet - the kids loved it and it was a quick fix!! It would also be good with steamed carrots or broccoli (we spooned the "gravy" over the rice with a pinch of kosher salt).<br /><br />Thanks to the "Flavor Bible" for the marinade inspiration!trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-66158105592443116062010-03-13T14:52:00.004-07:002010-03-13T15:11:51.642-07:00Birthday Fun!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITHvnUAFYbKDf_3qjqGnrGoCF3h-ensuO8d72i5PduiqotE3t1vDOYWc9qirjnuhqNuOJWpAiiylV-RCbsfCYMLxHZZ6gj-r9M2kYNKxp0L4zQFlg3hqfdn0wAtJR36hviEUkXf2B_BA/s1600-h/pretzel+flowers.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITHvnUAFYbKDf_3qjqGnrGoCF3h-ensuO8d72i5PduiqotE3t1vDOYWc9qirjnuhqNuOJWpAiiylV-RCbsfCYMLxHZZ6gj-r9M2kYNKxp0L4zQFlg3hqfdn0wAtJR36hviEUkXf2B_BA/s400/pretzel+flowers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448240677240436882" /></a><br /><br />Sweet Potato got invited to a Tea Party, and I had this image of chocolate confections dance through my mind...these did not turn out like I had imagined, but they were fun, and relatively easy, nontheless!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IBv4vI4n1ANXLtx6V9JAwQQrtavOIagbHTrNskHMtTySiOgR9WjusHt01Q5Sj0v5Xy8zjI8KnWUWZKrSKhOKreRi5U0DRWxgsPRF8IVpf-epYDDxs4AT8hgBR22kl8qTiGitmX0Vs8E/s1600-h/choc+dip.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IBv4vI4n1ANXLtx6V9JAwQQrtavOIagbHTrNskHMtTySiOgR9WjusHt01Q5Sj0v5Xy8zjI8KnWUWZKrSKhOKreRi5U0DRWxgsPRF8IVpf-epYDDxs4AT8hgBR22kl8qTiGitmX0Vs8E/s400/choc+dip.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448240672189907330" /></a><br /><br />I melted chocolate bark for the first layer and poured it into a glass so that it would be deeper. I dipped the pretzel into the glass and then twirled it as I pulled it against the edge, to spin off the excess chocolate. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbZTZDcYA1nViAW82PXM0pcKawJFHUo5B-kKlvNQFIGJ1P6Rx4wfefEhkoOqBDt4eTdCRQFV3H_SUyKR2Tt4ByykbMd6uDN7-ifJzz0sQUBGuCZY-tQGivs4r9WFUZZYE9qTZ82C7FI4/s1600-h/round+one.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbZTZDcYA1nViAW82PXM0pcKawJFHUo5B-kKlvNQFIGJ1P6Rx4wfefEhkoOqBDt4eTdCRQFV3H_SUyKR2Tt4ByykbMd6uDN7-ifJzz0sQUBGuCZY-tQGivs4r9WFUZZYE9qTZ82C7FI4/s400/round+one.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448240668769320962" /></a><br /><br />I laid the pretzels on wax paper on my cooling racks, and then put them in the fridge to harden. They could have used a little more time, because when I came back to do the pink layer, it melted a little...<br /><br />Second round, I melted white chocolate vanilla bark, added some red food coloring, and mixed it up well. We dipped the sticks into the pink icing, and then add colorful sprinkles. Voila!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8rKS-2RX1WRJs2Eo_BhIcy77_CYV3hIAzrUuB0r9jqQz8o_sMq2YrAOHRivWZmpLb9jwOP5gcbNWEaHVvGqoSIUqK2K8NwiWamm907FCXd31H_gh1M9JJWuY5OEzRH29UCFCM5_5Unuo/s1600-h/finished+product.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8rKS-2RX1WRJs2Eo_BhIcy77_CYV3hIAzrUuB0r9jqQz8o_sMq2YrAOHRivWZmpLb9jwOP5gcbNWEaHVvGqoSIUqK2K8NwiWamm907FCXd31H_gh1M9JJWuY5OEzRH29UCFCM5_5Unuo/s400/finished+product.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448240658706487906" /></a>trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-90903617408448202412010-03-13T11:10:00.004-07:002010-03-13T11:33:19.460-07:00Nutty Pancakes v.2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRpraYCMr8eJnE49J_n-G7dqfhuHLx_3-ZVq1PvC_Qv8ORg1gRW4wXjeJ6vikOzxNoVnOSPlCSmBWwabrfuOBol1bchCOsy2BAmHYElrCOkqsmQ1LP-2K67i6YahWHmbtBovZ9S2Goaw/s1600-h/pancakes.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRpraYCMr8eJnE49J_n-G7dqfhuHLx_3-ZVq1PvC_Qv8ORg1gRW4wXjeJ6vikOzxNoVnOSPlCSmBWwabrfuOBol1bchCOsy2BAmHYElrCOkqsmQ1LP-2K67i6YahWHmbtBovZ9S2Goaw/s400/pancakes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448188162547253474" /></a><br /><br />This is my Nutty Pancake Recipe, with the eggs removed...It is lighter and fluffier than v.1, and a big hit around here. Also, if you don't do the whipped cream, then it is dairy free!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Nutty Pancake v.2</span><br /><br />Mix in a medium size bowl:<br />1 1/2 Cup <span style="font-weight:bold;">GF Mix</span>*<br />1/2 Cup <span style="font-weight:bold;">quinoa flour</span><br />1/2 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">xanthan gum</span><br />1/2 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">salt</span><br />1 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">baking soda</span><br />1 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">baking powder</span><br /><br />boil 1/2 cup water, then:<br /><br />In a small bowl, mix 2 heaping Tablespoons <span style="font-weight:bold;">ground flax seed</span> with 6 Tablespoons boiling water (<span style="font-style:italic;">you can also skip this step and use two large eggs, if you don't have egg intolerances</span>).<br /><br />2 Tablspoons <span style="font-weight:bold;">EVOO</span><br />2 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">vanilla</span><br />2 C room temp water<br /><br />1/2 C <span style="font-weight:bold;">ground nuts</span>, if desired (I usually like ground walnuts, but ground almonds are good as well)<br /><br />Warm your skillet over medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil and cook pancakes. These will not get super 'brown' like some recipes, but you will be able to tell when they are done.<br /><br />Makes about 20 - 4" pancakes<br /><br />We had these yummy pancakes topped with strawberry sauce and whipped cream this am for Sweet Potatoes Birthday Breakfast. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Strawberry Sauce</span><br /><br />One pound <span style="font-weight:bold;">fresh strawberries</span>, leaves removed and sliced<br />2 Tbsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">orange juice</span><br />2 Tbsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">agave nectar</span><br />1/4 cup water<br /><br />Add all ingredients to pot and stir, simmering til water reduces a little. This is not an artificially red sauce, but it is fresh and good!! You could all a little more agave, if you like it sweeter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"Whooped Cream"</span><br /><br />A family fave!!! They like it on just about anything...I can not make this enough for my kids.<br /><br />one pint of <span style="font-weight:bold;">whipping cream</span><br />1-2 tsp sugar<br /><br />Put whipping cream in mixer bowl, add sugar, whip on high till you achieve the proper consistency (<span style="font-style:italic;">that would be nice and stiff - you could run a knife through it and it would stay stiff</span>).trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-51726129087983400082010-02-21T11:28:00.007-07:002011-03-27T10:03:05.665-06:00Kefir-Blueberry-Walnut Pancake<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIriwlXep5mmMzCu3WujxwIQSyYlZtI_4yA9MkMLJ2xd9CIoST7evTvkLQ6Y1B3A0JIit-blRscxhUEp3GauwUBFTuRQ9hiqABrrCzZH_DLtrJdut6jmW2dmyCLnFoyfFT1iWGDdrC2uE/s1600-h/on+plate.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIriwlXep5mmMzCu3WujxwIQSyYlZtI_4yA9MkMLJ2xd9CIoST7evTvkLQ6Y1B3A0JIit-blRscxhUEp3GauwUBFTuRQ9hiqABrrCzZH_DLtrJdut6jmW2dmyCLnFoyfFT1iWGDdrC2uE/s400/on+plate.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440771328890289730" /></a><br /><br />OK, I am truly a believer in the old saying that "necessity is the mother of invention" and to prove it, try this "Mother of All GF/CF Pancakes"!!<br /><br />My boys are recently dairy free, and one of them is also off eggs, and yours truly is gluten free, so the challenge became...try making a pancake without the trifecta: milk, flour, eggs! <br /><br />Here is what I came up with on this snowy Colorado Sunday morning, tell me what you think!<br /><br />Preheat skillet or griddle to med-low<br /><br />Whisk the following in an 8 cup bowl:<br /><br />1 1/2 C <span style="font-weight:bold;">GF Mix</span>*<br />1/2 C <span style="font-weight:bold;">quinoa flour</span><br />1 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">baking soda</span><br />1 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">baking powder</span><br />1/2 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">xanthan gum</span><br />1/2 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">salt</span><br />1/2 Cup finely ground <span style="font-weight:bold;">walnuts</span> (leave these out, if nuts are a problem for you - I add them to boost the protein)<br /><br />To <span style="font-style:italic;">replace the two eggs you would usually use</span>, bring a small amount of water to a boil, then whisk together:<br /><br />6 T <span style="font-weight:bold;">boiling water</span><br />2 heaping Tbsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">ground flax seed</span> (<span style="font-style:italic;">fresh ground is best, but you can buy it ground and keep it in the freezer also</span>)<br /><br />Let sit for a minute, while you add these ingredients to the dry mix:<br /><br />2 T <span style="font-weight:bold;">extra virgin olive oil</span><br />2 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">vanilla</span><br />1 C <span style="font-weight:bold;">coconut milk kefir</span> (I found mine in the refrigerated section at Vitamin Cottage)<br />1 C water<br />flax seed/water mixture.<br /><br />Mix with whisk, then scrape with spatula, and mix again, just til all ingredients are combined.<br /><br />Stir in 1 C fresh/frozen <span style="font-weight:bold;">blueberries</span><br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBW-2APjwHDdECdYIWTmpGJbIzABjuT6vqtlzZfa1PthEMG13d_uteyyq48z2swcap3iXive4Qt-UyqbfSUKLp34mmigawoTlspQH58Dzbz2Q0iIsjxe3cXLGZuOWrivo95qUpmTPVwo/s1600-h/batter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBW-2APjwHDdECdYIWTmpGJbIzABjuT6vqtlzZfa1PthEMG13d_uteyyq48z2swcap3iXive4Qt-UyqbfSUKLp34mmigawoTlspQH58Dzbz2Q0iIsjxe3cXLGZuOWrivo95qUpmTPVwo/s400/batter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440771337549682610" /></a><br /><br />Add bit of olive oil to pan. Scoop onto griddle/skillet with 1/3 C measuring cup. This batter is thick, so you will need to spread it out a bit with the edge of the scoop. Because they are so thick, you will want to cook them at a lower temp than usual. Cook til golden brown on bottom, then flip and cook til done.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_geQdSOAHUABu1BVlHJux1DUVNcHgOHcG-JwlFR_cvUDl_OnXwmIJWyaWlyWodB0WzCClNDgAB56jB4IpmE_B9CcOK8lbWmfb3o9agHfKWMd7nYQRJyfAbzCIe7MWXRNwHlOuT5qZfE/s1600-h/in+pan+preflip.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_geQdSOAHUABu1BVlHJux1DUVNcHgOHcG-JwlFR_cvUDl_OnXwmIJWyaWlyWodB0WzCClNDgAB56jB4IpmE_B9CcOK8lbWmfb3o9agHfKWMd7nYQRJyfAbzCIe7MWXRNwHlOuT5qZfE/s400/in+pan+preflip.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440771343653858626" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtyerrn6wkG212cWXAH0rbzlj5Z-XHcSWQU1URE0wr-SP4DyM33GoJSt2f28_OqmxBO-Rv0SyovjzPBP_YayvDrb1PwQWqwM_qCQ5nMepszYPLZwmVlCTJGM9C7vCU7d-OdnNYnQmtTGc/s1600-h/pancakes+in+pan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtyerrn6wkG212cWXAH0rbzlj5Z-XHcSWQU1URE0wr-SP4DyM33GoJSt2f28_OqmxBO-Rv0SyovjzPBP_YayvDrb1PwQWqwM_qCQ5nMepszYPLZwmVlCTJGM9C7vCU7d-OdnNYnQmtTGc/s400/pancakes+in+pan.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440771344364020722" /></a><br /><br />Top with butter and syrup (we use "Earth Balance natural buttery spread made with olive oil". In my opinion, you can't tell it's not real butter).<br /><br />This recipe makes 16 pancakes, here - three pancakes is a serving.<br /><br />*GF Mix - I use a combo based on a Bette Hageman combo: 6 C brown rice flour (= one 2# bag from Vitamin Cottage); 2 C corn starch; 1 C tapioca flour. Whisk all together in a container and store in the fridge.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />March 27, 2011</span> - I made a few substitutions today that made these even better!<br /><br />1/2 C fresh ground buckwheat <span style="font-weight:bold;">replaces</span> the quinoa<br />1 1/4 c kefir instead of 1 cup<br />1 1/4 c water instead of 1 cup<br />I added two eggs <br />I deleted the flax seed preparation, but did include two Tbs fresh ground flax seedtrinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-55336899511646849092010-02-13T23:38:00.005-07:002010-02-14T00:31:31.108-07:00COTF StewThis is one of my all time fave stews/soups. I will give you a recipe, but remember, this is COTF (clean out the fridge), so use what you have if you don't have something that I list.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">COTF Stew</span><br /><br />You are going to need <span style="font-weight:bold;">8 cups of broth</span> in a large stock pot. Bring it to a boil, then turn down to medium.<br /><br />You will also need about <span style="font-weight:bold;">3-4 cups cooked wild rice</span> (or brown jasmine rice or a combo of the two).<br /><br />Warm a large skillet on the stove, add a few tablespoons of <span style="font-weight:bold;">olive oil</span> and add these ingredients to the skillet as you chop them. Keep stirring, as you add ingredients.<br /><br />1 med <span style="font-weight:bold;">white onion</span>, chopped fine<br />4-6 cloves of <span style="font-weight:bold;">garlic</span>, minced<br />generous pinch of <span style="font-weight:bold;">coarse ground kosher salt</span><br />1 <span style="font-weight:bold;">leek</span>, chopped fine (<span style="font-style:italic;">don't use the dark green leaves, and make sure you rinse it well, on each layer, as the dirt tends to get down in there</span>)<br />2 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">dried thyme</span><br />1 tsp <span style="font-weight:bold;">ginger</span><br />1 tsp ground <span style="font-weight:bold;">black pepper</span><br />Add about a half cup of water at this point, and cover with a lid, to steam the veggies<br />5-6 small <span style="font-weight:bold;">carrots</span>, sliced fine<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">celery heart</span>, chopped (<span style="font-style:italic;">this is the four or five center stalks of celery, plus the short little ones in the middle, and all their leaves</span>)<br /><br />After these veggies have steamed a bit (about 5-7 minutes) They should be starting to get tender. Take the whole pan and carefully spoon the ingredients into the hot broth. Add the rice and more pepper and salt, as needed. Add more rice to get a thicker stew, but remember, it will thicken overnight if you have leftovers so don't get it too thick now.<br /><br />Let warm through, then add in a handful of <span style="font-weight:bold;">fresh chopped parsley</span> (<span style="font-style:italic;">pull the leaves off, the stems are bitter</span>) or 4 tablespoons of dried parsley, and a cup or two of <span style="font-weight:bold;">frozen peas</span>. Oila! <br /><br />Serve in <span style="font-style:italic;">warm bowls</span> (a trick my mom taught me to keep your soup hot longer) with a fresh baked loaf of bread or your fave loaf from the store.<br /><br />If you want, add whatever chopped meat you have on hand. If you don't have any meat cooked up, you can pan sear a <span style="font-weight:bold;">chicken breast</span>, chop it and add it to the pot. Here is how you do that:<br /><br />Using the same pan you used to saute the veggies, heat to medium heat. Split a chicken breast lengthwise, to make it cook more quickly. Put a few tsp of oil in the skillet. Lay the meat in and cook till it starts to get some color on the bottom. Flip with tongs and cook on the other side too. Don't worry about it being a little pink in the center...it can finish cooking in the stew. Take out of the pan, and chop it on your cutting board, and then add to the stew. <span style="font-style:italic;">Take a cup of white wine and pour into the hot skillet. Stir with a spatula, till all the browned goodness is not stuck to the bottom of the pan anymore (don't look - but you just "deglazed" your pan!!</span>). Pour this into the stew, and stir.<br /><br />One of the reasons this stew is soooo yummy, is that when you saute the veggies and spices, you add a layer of flavor that you can't get just by putting the veggies/spices straight into the soup pot. It takes a little longer, but the flavor is worth it! And boy-oh-boy, is this good the next day!!trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-70174396071739472562010-02-06T17:34:00.000-07:002010-02-06T17:51:13.762-07:00Chicken TendersI am very blessed to have kids that will eat almost anything. The other day, I made a Thai Coconut Soup, and 5 year old Jalapeno declared it "the bestest soup ever" and claimed the leftovers the next day when we did COTF (a fancy name for 'clean out the fridge'). It had cabbage, zucchini, coconut milk...as I said, so blessed that my kids eat "funky food'!<br /><br />Today, I decided to make them a special treat. So we bought a package of <span style="font-weight:bold;">chicken tenders</span> and tenderized them with a hammer made for that purpose (<span style="font-style:italic;">put the chicken pieces between a folded sheet of wax paper - it will keep the juice from splattering</span>). I took a few pieces of foccacia out of the freezer, thawed them, and ran them through the food processor to make <span style="font-weight:bold;">bread crumbs</span>. You can use any bread that you have, or prepared bread crumbs, but if you bake your own gluten free or egg free bread, just <span style="font-style:italic;">save your ends in a ziplock in the freezer to use for breadcrumbs</span>). <br /><br />In a flat bowl or pie pan, mix bread crumbs (about two cups) with 1 tsp each <span style="font-weight:bold;">oregano</span>, <span style="font-weight:bold;">thyme</span>, <span style="font-weight:bold;">garlic powder</span>, <span style="font-weight:bold;">kosher salt</span>, and <span style="font-weight:bold;">parlsey</span>. Mix with a fork. <br /><br />Preheat your a large skillet to medium heat.<br /><br />Take tenderized chicken strips and coat them well on both sides with the crumb mixture. Add 2-3 tablespoons <span style="font-weight:bold;">extra virgin coconut oil</span> to the skillet (you could also use another oil that you have on hand). Let melt, and then add chicken strips, being careful not to crowd them. Let chicken brown with out turning, on the first side. Then turn with tongs (<span style="font-style:italic;">piercing with a fork will release the juice</span>), cover and let finish browning on the other side.<br /><br />We ate ours with some brown jasmine rice topped with olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt, and some leftover baked butternut squash. Yummy!trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-67986659989157721822010-02-06T17:29:00.000-07:002010-02-06T17:33:37.660-07:00English Mufffin BreadEnglish Muffin Bread<br /><br />Prepare bread pan by greasing with shortening and dusting with cornmeal<br /><br />Preheat oven to 170 degrees<br /><br />Whisk in bowl of stand mixer:<br />1 3/4 C brown rice flour<br />1/4 C sorghum flour<br />1 C tapioca flour<br />1 Tbsp xanthan gum<br />2 tsp salt<br />2 Tbsp yeast<br /><br /><br />Gather wet ingredients:<br />1 1/2 C water (120 degrees)<br />2 T agave nectar<br />2 large eggs<br />1 tsp apple cider vinegar<br />2 Tbsp butter, melted<br /><br />Add all ingredients to bowl, stir to mix; Add wet ingredients. Slowly mix, until water is incorporated, then turn mixer on high for 3-4 minutes till batter is smooth.<br /><br />Spoon batter into prepared pan, and <span style="font-style:italic;">smooth with forks to get it level</span>. Place in oven and let rise about 20 minutes or til doubled.<br /><br />Take pan out gently, and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Just before popping back in oven, sprinkle with kosher salt and a bit of melted butter. Return pan to oven and bake about 20 minutes or till loaf is nice and brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped.<br /><br />Turn out onto cooling rack, and let cool before slicing.trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-30834570176732511262010-02-06T17:19:00.000-07:002010-02-06T17:24:35.983-07:00Vegetable broth & Chicken Noodle SoupI can't get enough of this soup!<br /><br />The broth takes some time to make, but it is not hard. The soup itself is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy!!<br /><br />Broth -<br /><br />48 cups (or 12 quarts or 3 gallons) of cold water in a 16 quart stock pot<br />3 white onions, quartered - don't worry about "papery skin" it will all get strained out<br />2 whole heads of garlic, cut cross ways, so each clove is cut in half - see above note on onion<br />1 piece of ginger, about a thumbs length, and the same width; cut in half, up the length of the root<br />5-6 big carrots (not the baby ones)<br />3-4 stalks celery (I prefer to use the inside of the celery, if available)<br />2-3 leeks (depending upon the size). take of the top four inches of green<br />1 Tbsp salt<br /><br />Place all ingredients in the pot, and turn on the heat - do not allow it to boil, and don't stir it, just let it simmer for 4-6 hours with the lid on, but tilted a bit, so some steam can escape. Apparently (from what I just learned in an Italian Cookbook), <span style="font-style:italic;">if you boil or stir the veggies, it will make the broth cloudy</span> - who knew?!?<br /><br />Turn off and let cool. Place a large colander in a larger bowl, and pour the broth into the colander. Lift the colander out, and there you have lots of beautiful, home made vegetable broth! I freeze my broth in quart freezer bags (4 Cups per bag) <span style="font-style:italic;">lay them flat on a cookie sheet to freeze</span>, then you have it on hand for...whatever!<br /><br />(Do I have to mention that if your bowl is not bigger than your stock pot, that it will flow over?? Just checking...)<br /><br /><br />Soup:<br /><br />8 cups of veggie broth<br />2-3 large carrots, sliced into thin rings<br />2-3 stalks celery, sliced thin, including green tops<br />2 tsp dry parsley, or handful of fresh, chopped <br />1 chicken breast, cooked, shredded (or whatever left over meat you want to add); or keep it veggie, if you like<br />1/2 to 1 tsp salt (depending on how much salt you like to use)<br />fresh ground black or white pepper (I use a mix)<br /><br />1/4 to 1/2 package banh pho rice stick noodles - these are the flat rice noodles, such as you would use for pad thai; they are available at most grocery stores in the asian food section<br /><br />Put everything but noodles in pot with 8 cups of broth; bring to a boil, then turn down and let simmer for 20 minutes. Bring back to boil and add noodles; turn off heat, cover pot and let sit for 15 minutes. <span style="font-style:italic;">I use a pair of scissors to cut the noodles once they are cooked</span>, either in the pot, or in the bowl..or you can leave them whole, but they are long ;-))<br /><br />I pretty much don't measure anything when I cook, so I have gone back and tried to do that for you, but you may need to adjust the seasonings to your taste.<br /><br />Enjoy!trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332451746836955113.post-81346878062474250052010-02-06T17:18:00.000-07:002010-02-06T17:19:27.133-07:00Here we go!!Finally an online recipe box!! I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I have enjoyed creating them!trinabambinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05923184499951176073noreply@blogger.com0