The Humble Kitchen

This is the second installment of my new series, “The boy in the kitchen.”  My son has always been in the kitchen with me, sitting on the counter as a baby and now, really interested in recipes, nutrition and cooking on his own. He comes up with some great ideas, like putting the jam on his first breakfast, “egg in a hole.”

I thought it’d be neat to document some of his dishes and the ones he cooks, not only for his reference, but for my own. The one he chose to cook this morning was egg in a nest:

Nest prepared by tearing tiny pieces of bread. He wanted a flat nest.

Place egg styled to your liking in the nest. (Being the typical five year old, he must prepare the lego people prior to him eating.)

He discovered that one of the advantages to this presentation was the "dipping sauce"

As you can see, he did not like this breakfast at all.

~Sarah

Step #1 Find recipe

Step #2 Get bread

Step #3 Get Eggs

Step #4 Select green egg

Step #5 Stir egg becuase you do not prefer a soft boiled egg

Step #6 make hole in bread

Step #7 Place bread in buttered skillet, fry for a moment on each side, then pour mixed (or unmixed) egg into the hole

Step #8 Remove from pan and say, "oooooo"

Step #9 Add some homemade nectarine and thyme jam on top

Step #10 Eat!

~Sarah

Trader Joe’s had organic, red quinoa on sale so I bought some. I had halfheartedly been looking for it, just for a dash of color in my dishes. Most grains are tan or creme so this is a lovely change. I keep having ideas for gratins because I really am on the quest for different and healthy breakfast options that still allow for some creativity.

Because of this new book I purchased titled Nourishing Traditions, I first soaked 1c. of the quinoa overnight in 1c. of water with 2T liquid whey. It definitely zaps some of the bitter taste from the quinoa and supposedly, some of the anti-nutrients as well. All I know is the kids and I eat it and it tastes yummy. To this soaked quinoa I added  an additional cup of hemp milk and some salt. I simmered it, covered, for around fifteen minutes and when the water was almost absorbed, I stirred it and shut off the heat.

Since I was keeping this as close to vegan as possible (in all honesty I forgot about the whey), I made a vegan chocolate pudding as a second layer:

In my saucepan that I have now decided I totally and completely DISLIKE and want to throw out a window, I whisked 2T of Green and Black’s cocoa powder with 2T maple syrup and a few grains of salt. When that was mixed well, I added 1c of hemp milk. In a little cup I dissolved about 2t of cornstarch and 1/3c of hemp milk and added it to the pot. I brought this mix to a boil in the evil saucepan and simmered until slightly thickened.

In the bottom of the ramekins, I placed about 1t of maple syrup and then filled it 2/3 full of quinoa (despite this photo not reflecting that amount).

A thin layer of pudding sauce was added next and then I topped it with pistachios that I had lightly toasted hoping that they’d get, well, toasty. (Never did, they did burn the first time in the other evil pan)

After my son declaring that he only “likes chocolate pudding without nuts” and deeming whipped cream a necessary  condiment, the resulting gratin was a HUGE success. Spider-Man approved even.

I brought it to work to share with my pals MEM and EM and they both really liked it. MEM and I usually sit around contemplating my next creation and also brainstorming how the one at hand could be made better (EM usually leaves at this point or drifts in and out of the conversation). She and I agreed that this needed fruit of some sort and a crunchy layer would have been welcome. I agreed wholeheartedly, but said that I was tired of putting almonds in everything.

I then suggested “hazelnut and apple compote with a fun spice on the bottom” to which MEM chimed in “and orange zest.”

This, my friends, is the next gratin creation…Red quinoa and chocolate pudding gratin with apple-hazelnut compote. I can’t wait.

~Sarah

I am not sure how this keeps happening, but for whatever reason people keep giving me old bananas.

First, I gave myself old bananas by not eating them, then my Mother drove them 150 miles to me, then my neighbor, then the ex when he brought the kids back. All of them alluded to the fact that I “could make banana bread or something” to which I replied, “There is only so much banana bread a person can eat you know.” But, not wanting to waste the food, I had to find another use for all these poor, unloved bananas.

Enter banana and rice gratin with coconut and cardamon.

I had my little pods of green cardamom, split them open and revealed their sweet-spiciness. The littlest chef lent her tiny hands to help to grind them with the mortar and pestle.

After some work with the spice and the reminder talk about sneezing into food one cooks, she determined the work would make her sneeze too much so she set off in search of something more princess-like to do. I continued on.

I made these with my friend Miriam in mind, but I also wanted the kids to have something different for breakfast. As much as we all love pancakes, one should not eat them everyday. Same goes for eggs, oatmeal, cold cereal, it all gets old after awhile…

This was a neat detour. Ultimately this gratin was based on two recipes from Gluten Free French Desserts and Baked Goods.

In a small pot, cook 1/3c of rice semolina with 1c of hemp milk over low heat for about 7 minutes. Distribute evenly on the bottom of your ramekins or bowls.

Coarsely chop about a cup of almonds and make a layer of those in the ramekin, reserving some for the banana mixture and the top of the finished gratin.

In a medium bowl, coarsely mash up four bananas and add about 6T of coconut cream. Mix well.

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine 4T of rice flour with 2/3c of hemp milk and heat until thick. Then add 4T maple syrup. Pour this into your banana-coconut mix and add about 2-3t of ground cardamom, depending upon your preference and 3T of chopped almonds.

This is the third layer of your gratin. Sprinkle with almonds and cardamom and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or so. Alternatively you could use the broiler, I just happened to already have the oven on. Enjoy while they’re warm.

~Sarah

It’s rainy here in Northern California, the perfect time to go mushroom hunting. A friend and I took a walk around Mount Tamalpais last week, and found a selection of wild mushrooms. We are novices, and do our best to identify what we find, but we like our livers too much to dare eat anything.

Though last year I was fortunate to have a lion’s mane pop up in my front yard. After showing it to several mushroom experts, I brought it in the house and cooked it up. Delicate & delicious, these can often be found at Whole Foods and other specialty markets.

There are so many mushrooms available in the markets, though most often I go for the crimini, or baby portabellas. I love their flavor and versatility. I do keep various dried mushrooms on hand, they last forever, and add instant depth of flavor to savory dishes. One of my favorite breakfasts is sautéed mushrooms on toast. Jamie Oliver’s book Jamie at home has an excellent recipe that I base mine on.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 handfuls crimini and/or mixed wild mushrooms, wiped clean
2 cloves of garlic, 1 peeled and finely chopped, the other halved
A few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
A few sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
Kosher or coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 fresno red chili, minced
A small knob of butter
1 lemon
2 slices of pain au levain, or your favorite crusty bread

Put a large heavy frying pan, big enough to hold all the mushrooms in one layer, over heat and add a couple of glugs of extra virgin olive oil. Depending on the size of your mushrooms, leave any small ones whole but tear, break or slice the larger ones up. Add them all to the pan and give it a shake to toss the mushrooms in the oil.

Add the chopped garlic and thyme and shake the pan again. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and the minced chili and leave to fry gently for a few minutes. If the mixture becomes dry, pour in a little more oil.

Once the mushrooms have got some color going on, after about 3-4 minutes, add the butter and a small squeeze of lemon juice, you don’t need much — and toss again.

To finish this off and make it into a lovely, creamy sauce, spoon 2-3 tablespoons of water into the pan. Simmer for a little longer, until you have a lovely simple sauce that just loosely coats the mushrooms. Now toast your bread.

When toasted, rub the bread with the cut side of the remaining clove of garlic. Place each slice on a serving plate, pile the mushrooms and the creamy juices from the pan on top, and sprinkle with parsley. Eat immediately.

-Jennifer

What I mean when I say proper scones, is the sort you might find at a nice hotel that serves afternoon tea, not the enormous things sold at cafés. Not that those enormous things can’t be tasty, I just wish we had a different name for them. They are somewhere between a muffin & a scone. Muffone? Maybe not. I prefer a small, plain, tender and crumbly little vehicle for double cream and lemon curd (or in this case cranberry curd) with a cup of milky tea.

When making scones, think of biscuits. What you want is bits of cold butter throughout the dough which puff up in the oven to create soft and flaky layers. You want to keep the dough rather dry. I pat it out between sheets of plastic wrap, just as I do pie dough. This seems to help all those scraggly bits incorporate.

2 cups ap flour

½ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

8 tbsp (1 stick) cold (even frozen) butter, cut into cubes

½ cup buttermilk

3 tbsp sugar

optional: ¾ cup dried currants

Preheat oven to 425º. Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to incorporate and get rid of any lumps. Cut in the butter. You can do this with a pastry cutter, two forks, or just rub it between your fingers until the whole thing resembles coarse meal. If using currants, now would be the time to stir them in.  Pour in the buttermilk and stir until a crumbly dough is formed. You may need just a tiny bit more buttermilk to bring it all together, but add only a tiny bit, the dough should never feel wet. Now dump it out on the counter. You may wish to do this on a large sheet of plastic wrap, which helps to form it into a round, and keeps you from needing to flour the board. The dough is dry enough as it is. Either roll or pat the dough into an 8″ round. At his point either use a 2 to 3 inch cutter for round scones, or simply cut the 8″ round into 8 wedges. Place your scones on a lined baking sheet, brush the tops with cream, buttermilk, or egg wash, whichever is handy. Sprinkle a little sugar on top if you can be bothered. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden. Eat immediately with double cream and lemon curd. Being the fortunate recipient of some cranberry curd for Christmas, I have used it in place of the more usual lemon curd.

-Jennifer

It is a rare morning I don’t start off with an iced coffee. Several years ago my brother sent me a Toddy Cold Brew System. It quickly became my favorite method of brewing. Some use the resulting concentrate for hot drinks, but I still break out the french press for hot coffee. But as iced coffee goes this method cannot be beat. It requires a full pound of coffee and twelve to sixteen hours, but it keeps for about ten days in the fridge, and once you’ve made a batch, you are mere seconds away from the best iced coffee you’ve ever had. Syrupy, and significantly less acidic than standard brewed coffee, it only takes a few tablespoons diluted with cold water or milk to make a nice big glass. Add sugar if you must, just don’t tell me about it.

-Jennifer

Never tried this before, but I decided to give it a shot since I was out of my normal pancake mix. It is based on Carol Fenster’s sweet potato pancake recipe in her book, 1000 gluten free recipes.

I used:

1/3c sorghum flour                                                 1 egg

1/3c cornstarch                                                      1/2c of buttermilk

1/3c potato starch                                                 some oil, maybe a tablespoon?

1t baking powder                                                   1/2 c of sweet potato puree

1/2t baking soda

a bit of salt

1T brown  sugar

Mixed it all together and poured them on the hot, buttered, iron skillet.

Aside from not being able to find the charger holder for my whipped cream canister and having to break the bad news to the whipped cream loving kid that there will be no happy faces on the pancakes, these were a success. Could I eat them all the time? Nah, not really. A bit too rich for everyday fare, but quite tasty. The kids covered theirs in wild blueberries and maple syrup and gobbled them up.

Hey, another vegetable made it’s way onto my non-omlette breakfast plate. Yipee!

~Sarah

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the blue moon tonight.

I suspect you’re thinking, “That doesn’t really look like oatmeal.” In fact, my son thinks it looks like corn, onions and spinach on top of bread. Well it is not that concoction. It is in fact, oatmeal. It’s old-fashioned oatmeal cooked with a bit of half-and-half and kale.

Hold up… Kale you say?

Yup, kale. That cruciferous, ridiculously nutritious vegetable that you find decorating nearly every cheap salad bar in America. It is under-valued, under-estimated and under-used if you ask me. It’s rich in Vitamin K (yes there’s a K) among other vitamins.  And in oatmeal it really is awesome. Honestly, once you get used to the fact that there’s kale in your bowl, you’ll find that it adds something  that pretty much makes it so that you can’t eat plain oatmeal ever again. I have converted a neighbor and her preschoolers to it and my kids eat it up like crazy. They refuse the walnuts (which are also excellent btw), not the kale.

The great thing about this dish is that if your house is like mine, it’s a little tough to fit vegetables in to breakfast unless you make an egg or juice. I mean, I have made spinach on toast for breakfast, but it’s not the first thing I think of for breakfast. However, kale in my oatmeal is a dish I turn to a couple of times a week. Try it, you might be pleasantly surprised.

~Sarah

This is THE recipe I go to when I want to make coffee cake. It is based on Rebecca Reilly’s recipe in her  book, Gluten-Free Baking.

Something new this time around was to insert a cream cheese filling just as they did in the latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated magazine. I used the recipe  they recommend and this worked marvelously. The filling did not sink and was a welcome cheesecake-like addition to the cake.

It received rave reviews from those co-workers who received a piece such as “This is fantastic, light and airy. You will now make all the cakes for our company’s events.”-My boss and a VP. Also in an email was “OMG, that is easily the best coffee cake I’ve ever eaten. Brains and you can cook, who would’ve thunk” and [cube neighbor looking everywhere around my desk] “There’s gotta be more of that coffee cake somewhere.” And finally, “So everyone gets a piece except me, wtf?”

Because there’s no gluten, it can’t possibly get tough. See, there are upsides to gluten free baking, you just need to look somewhere other than to croissants.

If you want to make a cake that everyone will love, make this cake. Even if you’re not gluten free.

First things first! Take out one box of cream cheese, one stick of butter, 1c of sour cream and three eggs from the fridge. Set oven to 350 and then prep your pan of choice (I use a bundt).

Then make the streusel topping:

1/3 c tapioca flour

1/3 c rice flour

scant 1/2 c granulated sugar

1/2 stick of very cold, better yet frozen, butter (do not use the one you took out of the fridge)

2/3 c toasted almonds (or not toasted, I used raw once and no one noticed)

1/3 c shredded, unsweetened coconut

1/3 c mini chocolate chips (I use normal sized ones usually because I am not a Nestle fan)

Mix all the dry ingredients together and then shred the butter into the bowl. Mix together, cover and set aside in fridge.

Cream Cheese Filling

1 box of cream cheese

1t vanillla

2T sugar

Beat these together until smooth and set aside.

Cake:

1/2 c each of brown rice, tapioca and potato starch flours

1/2 c almond flour

1t egg replacer

1 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t xanthan gum

1/4 salt

Mix all in a bowl and set aside.

In your mixer:

Cream one stick of butter until white and then add 1c ever-so-lightly-packed brown sugar and beat again until fluffy. Slowly add three eggs and then 1c sour cream. Add 3t vanilla and 1t almond extract. Add the dry stuff and mix until just combined.

Add about 1/4c of batter to the cream cheese mixture and stir- this is the filling.

Sprinkle some of the struesel on the bottom of the pan and then add about half the batter, smoothing the top. Put the cream cheese filling along the middle of the cake (try not to get too close to the sides or touch the pan). Swirl it into the batter just a bit with a knife. Then sprinkle about half the struesel on top. Then put down the rest of the batter and then the rest of the struesel.  This is not an exact science and realistically now matter what you do, it’s going to taste great.

Bake for about 50 minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, the remove from pan and cool on a rack. Enjoy!

~Sarah