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.