The Humble Kitchen

I couldn't believe how creamy this turned out...and from a box!

If you’ve ever had the misfortune of eating gluten free macaroni and cheese from a box, then first let me say how sorry I am that you’ve had to endure the meal. I too, have had to endure this, but I happened upon a wonderful discovery a couple of days ago, quite by accident and totally out of necessity. (Why is it that so many wonderful things happen that way anyhow?)

I live on a boat and currently we are about to head out through the Carribean and down to the Panama Canal. Since we just spent heaps of money on food to provision the boat, I cook solely off the boat. Mac and Cheese is an easy lunch right? I mean it should take under ten minutes and fill your belly up decently. That’s part of why we picked it for a lunch a couple of times a week. While the kids and Dan get to eat the top name brands, I get to have the GF brand. It’s the most common one I know of, the name brand I will not say, but she was an orphan in a movie.

If one follows the directions, this meal is watery and tasteless, not at all what I wanted to bring with me, but I had few other choices. Just as I was emotionally preparing to cook the stuff, I decided to try making it like skillet pasta. Much to my delight, it turned out fabulously! Dan tasted them side by side and said they were almost indistinguishable. I was so excited! This is just such an awesome discovery, I wish the little orphan mac and cheese would change the directions.

Of course I did not write down exactly what I did as I did it, but here’s what I am pretty sure took place:

1. I boiled 2c. of water and poured in the noodles. I let them cook until the water was starchy and they were al dente. Do not drain. You need some of that starchy water to make the sauce.

2. I added probably 1/4c  or more of powdered milk along with the cheese packet and butter. I added some fresh ground pepper too.

3. Mix and enjoy!

~Sarah

Alright, I’m back on track here! I think I can post with some regularity again! My life has been a little ridiculous the last few months and since I moved in this same time, I managed to misplace my camera’s battery charger which allowed me to take exactly zero pictures. Add this to the new-to-me kitchen and I had a hard time cooking and sharing. I don’t have the flash settings down yet so the pictures I took weren’t really what I was after, but it’ll work.

One of our readers emailed me and said she missed our blog and that very same day, I found the battery charger. She also asked if I had a suggestion for making a pizza dough recipe milk-free, I emailed her back with my suggestion, but thought it would be great to make that my post. Plus I have been CRAVING pizza despite having one of Berkeley’s supposed finest gluten free pizzas (wasn’t all that great btw maybe my expectation was too high who knows).

This was really great and pretty simple.  I based this crust on Annalise G. Roberts’  “Gluten-Free Baking Classics.” It is very similar to the recipe I have used in the past.

2/3 c. white rice flour

1/2 c. millet flour

5T. tapioca flour

10T. potato starch flour

1t. potato flour

1t. guar gum

1/2 t. salt

2 t. sugar (omit if you use a sweetened beverage)

2 1/4 t. yeast

about 1c. unsweetened hemp milk (I suppose you could use rice or soy milk, just remember to adjust the sugar)

Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl of your mixer or the bowl you intend to mix in. Then warm the milk, pour most of it in. You want it to be thicker than bread dough, but not quite as thin as cake batter. Pizza crust, even gluten free crust, has those delectable little bubbles in it, as long as the dough is reasonably well hydrated.  Let it rise for about 40 minutes so it can develop some additional flavor. Then prepare a pan with spray oil and a heavy hand of cornmeal. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Pour  the dough into the pan, spread gently and dust heavily with rice flour. Move it gently with your fingertips about the pan, shaping it the way you want and adding more flour to keep it from sticking. Let this rise again for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Brush with olive oil and par cook until lightly browned. I chose pepperoni, spinach and cheese because the reality is these are just my favorite toppings (I forgot the mushrooms). Of course, you can use any toppings you’d like.

Happy Holidays!

~Sarah

I found this beautiful broccoli rabe at the Berkeley Farmer’s Market yesterday. I can find almost everything I need there and it’s almost all organic and pasture raised. There are delightfully different products there, like banana leaves and I even found Union-picked broccoli and strawberries yesterday. Amazing!

While I was washing it, I wondered if we could eat the stems, you know, like broccoli. In walked the neighbor so I asked him the question. He replied, “dunno,” took some over to his place and started messing with it. What came back was this…

My daughter eating raw broccoli rabe like a banana (sorry about the cat hindquarters and tail, she never moves from that location except to eat)

What my neighbor found was a tough exterior, similar to the very end of the asparagus and broccoli stems, that revealed a softer, totally edible interior. So I peeled and added the stems to the dish as well. It was a very simple dish and quick too. Only olive oil, salt, pepper, two cloves of garlic, the broccoli rabe, a little Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a few slices of sausages on the side.

Gluten free penne with broccoli rabe

While we were eating dinner, my son asked, “Which is more healthier, broccoli or red bell peppers?” He has been interested in nutritional facts lately, for whatever reason. So we looked it up in Laurel’s Kitchen. We were amazed to learn that 1c of broccoli has 324 mg of potassium and 3880 iu of vitamin A. One red bell pepper, by contrast, has 148 mg of potassium and 3295 iu of vitamin A! Healthy indeed.

~Sarah

Last time Sarah came to visit we made this flourless chocolate cake that I’d seen Jacques Pepin prepare on the PBS show Julia and Jacques. It intrigued me because I’d never seen a cake made with ganache and egg whites, and also because the recipe requires no flour. This is the sort of cake that the French would make into a bûche de Noël, but the batter can also go into ramekins for little chocolate soufflés.

You’ll need a half sheet pan (or a 11 x 17 jelly roll pan) and the following ingredients:

For the soufflé

1 cup heavy cream

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

7 egg whites, at room temperature

2 Tbs granulated sugar

For the filling

1 cup heavy cream, well chilled

½ tsp vanilla

1½ Tbs granulated sugar (optional)

1 Tbs cognac (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350º and line the pan with buttered parchment.

To make the soufflé, heat one cup of cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Add the chocolate pieces, lower the heat and whisk to melt the chocolate thoroughly. Once smooth and well combined, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Whip the egg whites and 2 tablespoons of sugar until they have formed stiff peaks with a glossy sheen.

Scoop about a quarter of the beaten egg whites into the pan with the ganache, and whisk to combine. Now pour the lightened ganache into the egg whites and use a rubber spatula to gently fold the mixture. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer.

Place the pan in the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. When done the cake should be set and puffy. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack until room temperature.

Once the cake is cool make your whipped cream.

Lift the parchment lined cake from the pan, long side facing you. The recipe says to dust the cake with cocoa powder at this point, but honestly we forgot, and it was still good.

Lift cake, still on the parchment,  out of the pan.

Spread on whipped cream.

Start to roll.

Lift up the near edge of the cake and parchment and start to fold it away from you. Begin to peel the parchment off the cake. Roll another few inches, pressing the parchment to make a tight spiral.

Keep rolling.

Keep it snug.

The cake should still be sitting on the parchment paper, and at this point you can wrap the parchment around it and either transfer it to a platter to serve immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Trim the edges.

Enjoy.

-Jennifer (and 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

Sometimes baking is the best thing I can do when coming down off a migraine. As my neighbor says, “It must be doing something creative that helps.”

Being the kind person she is, she made dinner for the kids and I and I told her I felt up to making a skillet apple pie. I have never made a skillet pie of any kind, much less an apple one. The only  interesting dish I’ve ever made in a skillet is Potatoes Anna, but that’s not really a pie.

Aesthetically, the results were stunning, but the filling had a bit too much apple cider vinegar for us. Don’t get me wrong, we ate it all, just in the future I’ll cut back some. The recipe below has it cut back to an amount that I think would be ideal. It was almost a refreshing pie, if there was such a thing. The apple cider vinegar really gave it a crisp, spicy taste that kept the ungodly sweetness of most apple pies at bay. I will definitely keep the acv in future pies.

This was one of the easiest crusts to work with. I combined two recipes to make one and of course de-glutinized it.

Crust

1c of gluten free flour mix. (I suspect almost any mix will work in this recipe but I used rice, tapioca, potato and a bit of cocount flour)

1 T sugar

1/4 tea xanthan gum

1/2 tea salt

2 T shortening, cold

6T frozen butter

2T vodka (I actually only had tequila on hand because, well, that’s a longer story)

2 or 3 T water

In the bowl of your food processor, pulse the dry ingredients until well mixed.Then pulse the butter and shortening until the mix gets crumbly looking. Then add the liquid  and mix until it comes together some. Turn it out onto a flour dusted cutting board and push it together with your hands. Then flatten into a disc and refrigerate until you are ready to use it.

Filling (based on a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated magazine)

1/4c apple cider vinegar

2T maple syrup

1/4c brown sugar

2 T lemon juice

2 tea cornstarch

1/8 tea cinnamon

2T unsalted butter

5 medium apples, cut into 1/2 in thick wedges

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Over medium high heat, melt the butter in an oven-proof skillet and add the apples, cooking about 5 minutes. While they are cooking, whisk the cornstarch with the cider, syrup, lemon juice and sugar. Take the apples off heat and stir in the cornstarch mix.

Roll out the dough and place it over the top, scoring in a pattern of your choosing.  Bake until brown.

~Sarah

I turn to The Best American Classics book from Cook’s Illustrated time and time again for everything from chicken to pie. I love to hear about the trials, errors, techniques and science. It’s to me what a trashy romance novel is to others.

Today I made the gluten free version of “Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.” I made the variation with coconut and toasted almonds. The ex-chef neighbor and the picky cookie neighbor (he works at Donsuemor) both loved them.

I made these with coconut flour which, if you have never baked with it before is a very interesting flour. It is absurdly high in fiber and has a lot of protein to boot. I haven’t done the nutritional analysis on these cookies, but at minimum they have 8 grams of protein and 24 grams of fiber and that is solely because of the coconut flour. When was the last time your delicious cookie had a minimum of 24 grams of fiber? It imparts a lovely sweetness to the finished product, but also absorbs a ton of liquid (something I always forget for whatever reason) so be sure to add a little extra fat or water. It works in these cookies without extra liquid or fat, but it is a thicker cookie as a result.

***Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.***

My flour mix was as follows:

1/2 c.organic coconut flour

1/2 c. tapioca flour

1/2 c. potato starch

1/2 c. brown rice flour

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 t. salt

1 c. unsweetened organic coconut

In the bowl of my stand mixer I combined:

1 1/2 sticks of melted butter

1/2 c of granulated sugar

1 c. of golden brown sugar

I mixed it until well combined and added:

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

2 t of vanilla.

Then I mixed in about 1 c of sliced, toasted almond and 1c of chocolate chips.

I then placed them on the sheet as tiny little gems. The recipe says to make ‘em huge, but I am a fan of the tiny temptation…the one no one can resist.

I cooked them for about 15 minutes, turning the pan halfway through. Now I have a heap of cookies to share.

~Sarah

I didn’t realize that the death of my sourdough starter had such an effect on me. I have been crushed honestly. Unable to make ANY bread. Unable to take pictures for the blog despite having made tortilla soup, brownies, beef stew, cheesecake squares and all sorts of other dishes.

Although I had a few days off in a row, I simply could not muster the will to start again. But last night, somehow, I was able to do it. I enlisted the help of the three year old and just did it. Who knows if it will work since it is only day one, but at least I have started. I feel better already. Aren’t humans peculiar? I mean really, letting a food product get me down. Sheesh.

This wild seed starter is made from one cup freshly ground quinoa and 3/4c water. The idea comes from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. The original text uses rye flour, but of course I can’t use nor do I own rye flour so I picked quinoa since  I had that enormous bag from Costco. Just mix the flour and water together with a plastic or wooden spoon and keep it lightly covered in a plastic or glass container.

As usual, the little one had a blast grinding it up in the coffee grinder (not used for coffee) and pouring the water in to the cup. Here it will sit for 24 hours.

Day 2

It doesn’t look any different than Day 1 so there’s no picture. Same idea though, mix 1c of rice flour and 1/2c of water into the starter from Day One. Let it sit out for another 24 hours. It might rise a little, or it may do nothing as mine did.

Day 3

Day 3 is a little different, you have to throw out or give away one-half of the starter. Then add one cup of flour and 1/2 c of water. Stir and let it sit for another 24 hours. (yes there is a lot of sitting and waiting). My Day 3 isn’t over yet, so I’ll take a picture later. Last time my Day 3 is where something started to happen! Here’s hoping…

Well days 4, 5 , 6 and seven never got posted because this starter is hassling me. I think I finally have it going, but I’m just not sure it smells quite right. I am going to try and refresh today to see if it will work. Otherwise I may need to start over.

It was a sad day yesterday.

I made the determination that my starter officially died. It smelled of fingernail polish remover and was no longer fluffy. I dumped it out and cleaned the container. My son said the whole house “smells awful.”

I will start again and post the process this time for anyone interested. If you’d like to try it too, be sure to pick up some quinoa flour (or grain and grind your own). That’s how I was so successful last time… I used a “wild seed” starter.

The bread I have made without it is totally acceptable, but the starter adds something special in terms of flavor and texture that really makes gluten free bread spectacular.

The simple wins out again, but will need to be reborn.

~Sarah