Peach Pie

 Peaches are heaped at our farmers' markets, so it's time for a favorite way to eat more peaches. This peach pie recipe comes from Taste of Home. 

Your favorite double pie crust. We use Maine Pie Company

for the filling toss together:

5 ripe peaches / 4 1/2 cups chopped

1/2 cup coconut sugar

Let sit for one hour

Then mix in a small saucepan:

3 T cornstarch

1/4 t ground nutmeg

1/4 t cinnamon

1/8 t salt

add the juice from the peaches and heat slowly to a paste. Add in, stirring:

2 t lemon juice

1 T butter

Toss with peaches and spoon into bottom crust. Top with second crust. Cover crust edges with tine foil.

Bake at 400F 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes. Let cool and keep refrigerated, after all, it's August out there.

Rich Chocolate Frosting

This delicious frosting is easy if you plan ahead. I keep a can of coconut cream in my fridge so I can make it any time. This is Simone's adaptation of Oh She Glows 2-Ingredient Chocolate Fudge Frosting.

1 can coconut cream (I use Trader Joe's)
6 rectangles unsweetened Baker's Chocolate
3 T agave syrup (or honey)

Chill coconut cream in the can overnight.

Turn can upside down to open. Pour off liquid. Spoon 3 tablespoons from the can into a small saucepan and melt over low heat. Add chocolate and stir to melt. Add agave. (You can substitute honey, but amount may be different. Start with 2 T and add to taste.)

Cool saucepan by setting it in a shallow pan of cold water.

When contents are cool but not solidifying, put remaining coconut cream in a mixing bowl. Whip while dribbling in chocolate mixture.

Chill 3 hours before frosting. Frosted cake or cupcakes will need to be kept cool before serving.

Overnight Oatmeal Pudding

I grew up in a grits house, believing oatmeal to be a disgusting bowl of snot. It's taken 40 years to change my feelings towards oatmeal, and this recipe was the turning point. I also love savory oatmeal, which will be a future post. If you are celiac, use Bob's Red Mill's certified gluten-free oatmeal to make this or any other oatmeal recipe.

In a mason jar, add:
1/4 C Old Fashioned Oven Toasted Oats
1/4 C yoghurt
1/3 C milk
1 T flax or chia seeds (optional)

Stir until well blended, then add:
1/2 - 1 C of fruit - berries, peaches, applesauce, whatever you like.

Leave it in the fridge overnight, and up to 5 days. The oatmeal soaks up the liquids and turns into a delicious, portable breakfast.

Hearty Stews

It's snowing! Time for hearty stew recipes. I'll post a quick and a slow. I made both yesterday, cooled them overnight in the fridge, and now I'm freezing them in cardboard forms that I made to fit in my crock pot. It's a cunning plan! I hope to unmold the frozen blocks of stew directly into the crock pot and reheat slowly, thus coming home to a delicious dinner.

Chicken Curry (a quick stew)

2 lbs chicken, deboned & cut in 1.5 -2" pieces
1 large onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 lb kale, torn off the stems and washed
1 lb baby cut carrots
1/2 lb snow peas or green beans (whole or in half)
1 bell pepper, chopped
3/4 C frozen peas
(these are the vegetables I had in the fridge yesterday; add what you have)
2 cans coconut milk (thin with water if necessary, at the very end)
red & yellow curry paste (available at Asian groceries, and so worth it)

Cook up some rice.

Pour a couple teaspoons of oil in a big stew pot on medium high heat. Add the sliced onions and stir until they're soft. Add the garlic and stir until the onions start to brown.  Take them out, add oil if necessary, and add the carrots. Brown them, and remove. Add oil if necessary, then add half the chicken. Let it brown by not moving it around for a few minutes, then turn the pieces over and brown the other side. Take the chicken out and repeat with the other pound, but instead of taking it out, add curry paste. I cannot possibly tell you how much to use, but I recommend 2 parts red to 1 part yellow. This stuff is strong, so whether you measure in teaspoons or tablespoons is up to your family's tolerance for heat.

Work the curry paste into the oil, splashing in coconut milk as needed. I use a whisk for this. Keep pouring in coconut milk until it's all combined with the curry. Put the remaining browned chicken and onions back into the stew pot, and add the carrots. Cook 10 minutes, then add the remaining vegetables. If you're going to freeze it, stir in the veg and take it off the heat. The freezer and reheating will cook them. If you're eating it now, cook 5-7 minutes. Serve over rice.

A note on vegetable cooking times: Onions, carrots and other root vegetables, and broccoli take more time than leafy greens, peppers, peas, corn, and beans. I pull all the veg I want out of the fridge/freezer and divide them into piles based on how long I want them to cook. You can also slice/chop accordingly - if it's going to cook longer, it can be a bigger piece. If you're using frozen spinach, it's basically already cooked, so add it at the end.

Daube (a slow stew)

2 lbs stew-cut beef or venison
1 large onion, sliced
6-8 cloves garlic, smashed
2 lbs baby cut carrots
1 bottle red wine (3 buck chuck is good)
3-4 T rice flour
3 T dried thyme
oil & butter to cook in (you can substitute oil for butter if you don't eat dairy)

For this one I like to bake it for a while, so I use a pot that can go in a 300F oven. If you don't have that kind of pot, you can simmer if stovetop on very low heat instead.

Pour 2 T oil into your stew pot.Add onions and cook until soft and starting to brown. Add garlic for just a minute, stirring constantly, then pull it all out of the pot. Add 2 T butter, then add 1/2 a pound of meat. Brown the meat quickly, remove it, and do another 1/2 pound, etc, until it's all browned and sitting on top of your onions. Make sure there's visible oil in your pot, 3 tablespoons or more, then dump in the carrots and cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle in the rice flour and thyme, scraping the mixture around the bottom of the pot. When your fat and flour are combined, pour in a little wine. Work your way around the bottom of the pot, deglazing with the wine, scraping up crusty brown stuff from the bottom, and mixing in the roux (cooked fat + flour), until you have a smooth, thick delicious wine broth. If you find that you are drinking wine, substitute some stock or broth for that glass you snuck out of there. Once all the wine and in and the pot deglazed, preheat your oven to 300F and add all meat and onions back in. Cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours. Traditionally this is served over mashed potatoes, but rice or a crusty Against the Grain baguette are good too.

Almond Flour Biscotti

I just made this recipe from Elana's Pantry and want to capture it here. After tasting the dough on the first batch I made a second variety on the spot.

In a food processor, pulse until combined:
1 1/4 C almond flour
1 T arrowroot powder
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t sea salt (I used Kosher)

Add
1/4 C agave syrup or honey
1 T lemon zest

Pulse until a ball forms

Chop 1/4 C nuts (I used pumpkin seeds, Elena used almonds)

The dough is sticky. Lay done a square of cling wrap and spread the nuts in the center. Scrape out the dough, touching it little, and put it on the nuts. Fold over the cling wrap and gently fold the nuts and dough together, then roll the dough into a log about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 in diameter. Slice into 2 logs and place on a baking sheet lined with oiled parchment paper. (I use brown paper bag with the dye side down. These first 2 batches stuck to the paper like crazy, so I'm going to try oiling the paper next time.)

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes. Let cool for 1 hour. Carefully slice on the diagonal with a sharp knife. Lay each piece cut side down on a baking tray and back at 325F for 15 minutes.

VARIATION
For the second batch I used 1 T mixed chopped fresh cranberries and orange zest for the fruit, and cashews for the nuts.

Mushroom Pie

This recipe is inspired by/adapted from Finnish Mushroom Pie from the great Sundays at Moosewood Cookbook. My brilliant husband adapted it for our gluten-free diet, and I think the walnut crust is even better than the traditional flour crust.

Crust:
4 C ground walnuts (or your choice of unsalted nuts)*
3 T rice flour
1/2 C softened butter


Filling:
1/2 an onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 C chopped mushrooms
1 T soy sauce (gluten-free tamari. If you're not sugar-free, substitute Worcestershire sauce)
salt & pepper to taste (heavy on the pepper)
2 slices prosciutto, chopped (optional)
8 oz cream cheese
2 eggs

Crust is simple: 4 cups ground walnut (your choice of I salted nuts) stir in 3 T rice flour, then mix in 1/2 cup butter. Shape this into the bottom and sides of a pie pan. 

Filling: Sauté onion and garlic. When they've softened, add mushrooms. When mushrooms are cooked and releasing their juice, stir in soy, salt, pepper, and prosciutto. Add cream cheese and remove from heat, stirring until melted. Let it cool a bit (just enough so it won't cook the eggs when you add them.) Fill the pie crust with 4/5 of the filling. Mix the remaining 1/5 with two eggs, really well and top the filling with this. 

Bake at 450 until brown on top.

Next time, we'll try a dusting of freshly grated parmesan cheese on top.

*we grind them ourselves in a food processor, a cup at a time, until they're crumbles but not starting to soften into nut butter

Chocolate Cookies

I don't know the provenance of this simple, delicious cookie recipe. I got it from my friend Monika, who's trying out the paleo diet and loving it. Paleo is a whole food diet with low carbs, minimal sugar, and no dairy. I prefer the low carb high fat diet which allows dairy. My ancestors were Northern European, therefore I have the gene that allows me to get nutrition from cow's milk. If your ancestors are from elsewhere, you may want to consider a non-dairy diet.

The idea of Paleo chocolate cookies makes me giggle. Cavemen did not eat cookies. Or chocolate. But we can, and they're delicious.

2 C almond butter
2 squares unsweetened bakers chocolate, chopped into chocolate chip-sized pieces
2 eggs
1/2 C cocoa powder
1 T vanilla
1/2 C honey

Mix together, drop about a table spoon at a time onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (I cut up paper grocery bags for this, rather than buying baking paper.) Bake at 350F for 10 minutes, and let set for 10.

PS Yes, that's supposed to be a tablespoon of vanilla, really. Best source of almond butter is Trader Joes or Costco.

Barbeque

I'm not going to post many dinner recipes. Gluten and sugar free dinner is easy if you cook real food and don't serve bread. However, there are certain dishes that I love that are traditionally made with sugar. Of my two favorites, barbeque and sushi, we make both at home with great success. 

My children love this bbq sauce, and when they have more traditional sauces elsewhere, they don't like them! This recipe is adapted from Epicurious, first published in Bon Appétit magazine, March 2005, submitted by Joan and David Oswalt of Pasadena, California. Although I have made it with fresh berries, frozen works just as well.

The recipe as written is terrific, but I've slathered the sauce on chicken and pork chops as well. It's best when combined with the simple spice rub.

The rub:

4 teaspoons chili powder

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon salt

The sauce:

2 1/2 cups fresh blackberries or frozen, thawed

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup minced peeled fresh ginger

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce

2 slabs baby back pork ribs (about 2 pounds)

Preheat oven to 400°F. 

Mix chili powder, garlic, and salt in small bowl; rub mixture into ribs. Place ribs on large rimmed baking sheet, meaty side up. Bake ribs 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, puree sauce ingredients in blender until almost smooth.  Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. 

Brush ribs with enough sauce to coat. Continue baking until sauce browns and forms thick glaze, about 10 minutes longer. Cut slabs between bones into individual ribs. Serve with remaining blackberry sauce. 

This sauce stores well in the freezer, and this recipe makes more than enough for two delicious dinners.

Clafouti

Fun to say, full of good stuff, easy make-ahead breakfast. I discovered clafouti on Nourished & Nurtured breakfast round-up, a fantastic resource.  This recipe is based on her apple or pear clafouti recipe, but use can use any fruit you want. Throw a bag of frozen cherries at the bottom. Go on, you won't regret it!

3 large apples or pears, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 C butter (or unrefined coconut oil)
2-3 T honey
4 eggs
1/2 C plain yoghurt, or sour cream
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t sea salt
dash nutmeg
1 t vanilla
1/3 C almond flour


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, butter or spray an 8"x8" glass baking dish or 6 ramekins.

Divide the fruit amongst the ramekins (or spread it out on the bottom of the dish).

In a small saucepan gently melt a stick of butter and stir the honey into it.

Mix together eggs, yoghurt, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, & vanilla. Pour in the honey butter and stir. Add the almond flour and mix well.

Pour the mixture over the fruit. Bake for 45-55 minutes.

These keep well in the fridge for a few days. Feel free to play with fruit and spice combinations. I prefer cardamon to cinnamon, myself.

Waffles

The greatest waffles in the world happen to be gluten-free. I found this recipe on Epicurious and saved it to my recipe box. Now when I log out and search for it, it never shows up, nor does it appear on Kitchen Frau's archive. I would hate to lose this every-weekend treat, so I'm posting it here for posterity. I routinely make double recipes and freeze the leftovers, which can be revived for 30 seconds in the microwave and crisped lightly in the toaster oven for a quick weekday breakfast.

Kitchen Frau's Gluten-Free Waffles

1 ½ cups rice flour (brown or white or combination)
½ cup tapioca flour
½ cup potato starch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla*
4 eggs, separated
½ cup cooking oil
1 ½ cups milk

Mix all dry ingredients together with wire whip. Set aside.

Mix vanilla, egg yolks, oil and milk. Add to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly with wire whip.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with beaters until peaks form. Gently fold into batter.

Cook in waffle iron as directed, spraying iron with cooking oil spray as needed.


* Look for pure vanilla extract, without added sugar or corn syrup.