gluten-free cornbread

this is an adaptation from a recipe on glutenfreegirl.com. i tried a few modifications and finally perfected it. it's awesome, and whenever i make it, i eat the whole thing in a day!

1/4 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup potato starch

1/4 cup sweet rice flour

1/4 cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening or lard (not butter)

2 large eggs

1.25 cups yogurt, or milk

1.25 cups yellow cornmeal

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Combine the flours by sifting them into a large bowl. Add the remaining dry ingredients (except cornmeal) and stir.

Cut the shortening into the flours, the way you would when making a pie dough or scones.

Combine the eggs and milk in a small bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid. Stir with a rubber spatula until everything is combined.

Stir in the cornmeal fast, until it is just combined.

’Pour’ (the batter will be very thick) into a greased 9 inch circular cake pan, and gently smooth out so that it is evenly distributed. Bake on rack one step down from center, for 25 minutes, then move up to the next rack level for 5 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, the sides of the cornbread are slightly shrinking from the pan and a toothpick comes out clean.

The cornbread is best served after it has cooled completely, with butter and whatever else you like to use cornbread as a vehicle for. I think it’s even better the next day.

summer is for salad

mmm...salad.

mung bean sprouts
fresh seasonal veggies, like carrots, kholrabi, cabbage
cilantro, chopped
peanuts

dressing:
tahini or peanut butter
lime juice
hot sauce
salt
minced garlic
minced ginger
water

chop, grate, or julienne the veggies. mix all the veggies, beans, and cilantro. stir together the dressing ingredients, thin with water to a pourable consistency, and adjust flavors as necessary. toss with salad. garnish with chopped peanuts.

madhur jaffrey's spiced rice with cashews

like most indian food, it's really easy to eat too much of this.

spiced rice with cashews

2 cups white basmati or other long-grain white rice
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp raw cashews, split in half lengthwise
1 medium-sized onion, peeled, cut in half, and sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp garam masala
3 cups hot vegetable stock (make it by boiling 10 dried shitake mushrooms, 1/2 an onion, 2 carrots, for 20-30 minutes, then drain broth from veggies)

rinse the rice 4 or 5 times. cover rice with 4 1/2 cups of fresh water and leave to soak for 1/2 an hour. drain, and leave rice in strainer.

preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

use a heave ovenproof pot or 2-quart sauté pan with a lid. heat the oil over medium heat. Put in the cashews. Fry for a few seconds, until the nuts turn golden brown. remove nuts with a slotted spoon and set aside.

fry the onion slices in the same oil for a few minutes, until they begin to brown. add the drained rice, garlic, ginger, cayenne, garam masala, and salt. turn heat to medium low and stir and fry the rice for 7-9 minutes until rice is translucent and well coated with the oil.

add the heated stock. keep stirring and cooking on a medium-low flame for another 5-6 minutes. when the top of the rice begins to look dry (there will still be liquid left on the bottom of the pot), cover the pot with a well-fitting lid and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until rice is cooked through. remove pot from oven, stir in cashews and leave, covered, for 10 minutes.

when ready to serve, break up clumps in rice and spoon onto plates.

saag paneer

i could live off of this, especially since i have access to lots of free greens and milk. homemade paneer is the way to go. chard is a good green to use, as is spinach, although i think you get a little more mileage out of the chard.

5 bunches of chard
paneer
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 small onions, chopped
1 inch ginger, grated or minced
2 Tbsp butter or ghee, and 2 Tbsp veggie oil
cumin
turmeric
garam masala
cardamom
cinnamon
cayenne
nutmeg
yogurt

first blanch the chard bunches, one at a time. as you're blanching, cut off the stems and process them in batches in the food processor, or mince them up finely by hand.
heat the oil and butter in a pot and add the onions. cook for a few minutes before adding the mustard, cumin seeds, and turmeric. keep cooking for about 5 minutes. add the garlic and ginger, cayenne, garam masala, cardamom. cook until onions are translucent. add chard and cinnamon. cook until chard is completely soft, adding some liquid if you need it (milk or water). while the greens are cooking, fry the paneer in a little butter, preferably in a non-stick or cast iron skillet. add the cinnamon and grated nutmeg to taste towards the end of cooking. the nutmeg is really what makes this taste like what you get in indian restaurants, so keep adding it until it tastes right, probably about 1/4 tsp or so.
let the dish cool a little when it's done cooking, then add yogurt to desired taste and creaminess. stir in the paneer. serve with basmati rice!

balsamic basil strawberry crush

i love strawberry season (who doesn't?). i also love amazing, high-quality, aged balsamic vinegar that doesn't even taste like vinegar, and can be poured on fruit or vanilla bean ice cream or both. basil makes it all the better. this reminds me of a dessert i had at a restaurant in chicago. the dessert was composed mostly of tomatoes, and there were three arrangements of sweet tomato creations on the plate. one of them involved both tomatoes and strawberries, and it was accompanied by basil balsamic gelato. mmmm.

strawberries
high quality balsamic vinegar, aged 10 or more years
italian basil
maple syrup (optional)

serve with good vanilla bean ice cream, sabayon, or semifreddo

remove strawberry tops and quarter. put in a bowl and crush/squeeze slightly with hands to make them juicy. add balsamic to taste, then add chopped basil. let sit for 15 minutes, check for flavoring. add more vinegar for stronger flavor, and maple syrup if sweetness needs adjusting. delicious on top of Green and Black's vanilla ice cream.

sweet and spicy black bean stew

i got the idea for this dish from a recipe in Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. his recipe, Brazilian Black Beans, calls for plantain instead of sweet potato, and for the beans to be baked in the sauce. i decided that i wanted more of a stew or soup and i liked the idea of a slightly sweet and spicy sauce, but not as sweet as the plantain would make it. at the end i added lime juice and nutmeg- the result is a delicious and easy stew with complex flavoring. this stew is also great with the addition of flavorful slow cooked chicken and it’s juiced added. you can serve it as a soup if it’s thinner, or with warm corn tortillas if it’s on the thicker side.

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
cayenne to taste, or minced fresh chili
1 Tbsp or more minced ginger
1.5 cups chopped ripe or canned tomato with juices
1 medium sweet potato
1 cup or more dry black beans ,soaked for 24 hours (or alternatively, use already cooked black beans, about 3 cups)
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper
fresh lime juice, to taste
grated nutmeg, to taste

cilantro for garnish

chop sweet potato into chunks and put into a pot and add just enough water to cover. parboil potatoes until tender enough to push a fork into. saute onion until soft, add cayenne or chili, thyme and ginger and sauté for another minute or two. add sweet potato and tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. cool enough to puree in blender or food processor. put sauce back in pot and add beans and cook until beans are tender, adding water as needed. when the beans are done, add lime juice and nutmeg to taste, adjusting salt as needed. garnish with cilantro.

curried beets

this was originally meant to be a carrot dish, but the beets were oh so much better. brought them to a potluck and they were a hit. mmmm. seriously good and seriously easy.

curried beets

beets- chopped into bite-size peices
salt
lime juice
ground cumin
minced garlic
olive oil
chopped cilantro

cook the beets in a little bit of water until tender but still firm. drain any remaining water, put into a bowl and add fresh lime juice (maybe 2-3 Tbsp/pound of beets...), stir. add minced garlic, stir, then oil and cumin. let cool, then add cilantro.

duck, duck, taco

it was time to pull our duck out of the freezer and put it into the slow cooker. i made a vegan version too, for sarah g, see bottom for adaptation. i used rick bayless's recipe for guajillo pork tacos as a guide, but i couldn't find guajillo chiles, so i used ancho and chipotle instead. his recipe also called for worcestire sauce, which isn't gluten-free, so i just used tamari and cider vinegar to make up for it. i would cut back on the chiles next time, as follows:

ancho duck tacos

1 duck (5 or 6 pounds)
1.5 lbs potatoes (yukon gold or some other new potato), cut into 3/4 inch pieces

sauce:
3-4 ancho chilis? i used 6 last time, and it was too hot, had to cut it with more tomato sauce
1 chipotle chili
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp tamari
salt to taste
28 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
5 or more garlic cloves
3 tsp oregano

garnish:
cilantro
diced onion
lime wedges

served with warm corn tortillas

stem and seed chilis, tear into flat strips. lightly toast in a pan. add to blender and chop until finely cut. add the rest of the sauce ingredients and puree until smooth, add water if needed. set aside a cup or so of the sauce. layer the bottom of the slow-cooker with potatoes, add some sauce, put in the duck, breast side down. duck may need to be cut up if it doesn't fit. add some more sauce on top of duck. cook on high for 6 hours. remove duck and let cool enough to handle. remove the meat off the duck, tear into taco sized pieces, discard the skin. remove the fat from the cooker with a turkey baster. add the meat back to the cooker, along with more of the leftover sauce. continue to cook if potatoes aren't done, otherwise set on keep warm function until ready to eat.

this is also great with tofu. freeze firm tofu, then thaw. cook potatoes and tofu in a heavy pot on the stove, in the sauce, until potatoes are cooked through. use much less of the sauce, maybe 1/4 to half of the recipe for one block of tofu, and 1/2 pound potatoes.

chocolate pecan pie a.k.a. if i had to pick one thing to eat before i die

i made sarah's mom's chocolate pecan pie recipe again, only this time with maple syrup instead of sugar, and the previous modifications (rice syrup for corn syrup, 1/2 tsp salt, 5 Tbsp cocoa). the result was amazingly de-lish. next time i'll go back to using equal exchange's cocoa powder- used less, and has a less acidic flavor than the bulk cocoa powder i bought at morning glory for this one.

also tried a new pie crust experiment. used the proportions of flour, butter, etc from karen barker's recipe, but with rice flour blend, sorghum, and millet. tasted great, had a shortbread-like quality, but was crumbly. add an egg next time and see what happens.

chocolate pecan pie

mix together:
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. brown rice syrup
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
5 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt

stir in:
1.5 c. pecans

pre-bake pie crust at 375 degrees

pour in filling immediately and bake 350 for 35 to 40 minutes, until filling has set. cool on rack before serving.