Millet, Oat, Peach & Apple Gluten Free Muffins, and thoughts on Snow

Winter is here. Waist high snow fall and towering eight foot piles of it have zapped much of my energy and enthusiasm for life.  At good moments I like to marvel at the surreal landscape around us, wind carved drifts and epic icicles.  I am most grateful for my new snow boots keeping me warm and dry. Seriously, if you are looking for the best boot ever, look no further. 

And I think it may be wise to invest in some Westeros Wildling fashions. 

Because, see, winter is here. These are my windows after the last storm. And we live on a raised first floor, I usually have to stand on my tiptoes to reach the windows from the outside in the summer. 

I have not been outside today, since this scary guy seems to be out there right now... 

Winter and I are not friends. Mostly I have been making meals out of melted cheese and various corn products; tortillas, chips, corn bread. Cooking out of the freezer and the pantry a lot. And filling the rest of my calories with chocolate in the form of vegan brownies, and obviously hot cocoa. This is me with winter the winter snow sadness, nachos in one hand and rum laced hot cocoa in the other. Actually the two do not taste so well together, don't try it.

I did make an effort of cheerfulness with some peach muffins for breakfast. Inspired by the Millet and Oat muffin recipe in Le Tartine Gourmonde, I of course changed some things by adding peaches and removing some sugar.

This is how I keep my oatmeal; with the ratio on the front for making oatmeal so I don't have to wonder if my brain is remembering correctly first thing in the morning!

Mixing up the muffin batter up is easy.

for a double batch of muffins which makes 24. I used one bag of frozen peaches. Defrost them to make slicing easy.



Fill your muffin cups 3/4 of the way with batter. Divide the peach chunks evenly around them, poking them into the batter a bit. Sprinkle the tops with dry oats. My peaches did not sink much, you can see them here on the baked muffins. I find the frozen peaches have a good flavor, but are less tender and juicy than fresh ones. In muffins this might be a bonus, as prevention against soggy muffins.



Millet, Oat, Peach & Apple Gluten Free Muffins
makes 12 muffins

2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons tahini paste (well mixed)
3 1/2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup millet flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup oats (plus more for topping)
5 ounces cut peaches (frozen is OK!)

Preheat oven to 350°

Mix eggs and sugar in a bowl until combined and sort of creamy. Add oil, tahnini paste, apple sauce and vanilla. Mix well.

Combine the millet flour, sorghum flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl, ensure there are no lumps. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add the oats. Stir until it is well mixed, with no dry spots.

Line a muffin pan with papers, or grease it. Or if you have a super easy silicone mold like mine, it needs no grease! Scoop 3/4 full of batter. Add peaches. Poke into the batter. Sprinkled with oats for garnish.

Bake for 25 minutes. Check that a toothpick comes out clean, indicated they are done.

Enjoy :)

Tostones & Mojo Sauce. Best Snack Ever. Paleo peeps and fried food lovers unite.

Tostones, like most fried food are best eaten hot right away. If you don't know them already, meet tostones, twice fried green plantains, with mojo (pronounced mo-ho) a salty citrus and garlic dipping sauce.

I learned to make tostones about 10 years ago from an amazing woman. This is the way her mother from Puerto Rico made them. No need to go purchase a special press or any contraptions. All you need is hard green plantains, oil, and salt. A few other things for the mojo sauce.  You will see from the pictures, we use the peels of the plantain to press the tostones flat. I know there is no better way than this. The natural cracks and inconsistencies in the peel when it is flattened create ridges in the finished chips that add to the crispy possibilities of the snack. It is the best.

Green plantains are more like a potato than a fruit. Starchy, and terribly hard, they need to be cooked to become edible. The first fry softens the plantain. Then it can be pressed. The second fry completes the cooking, and creates the delectable crispiness we are after. The thicker areas of the chips puff and the meaty plantain is one with the golden brown crackled edges.  I find peanut oil gives the best fry, but any neutral flavored vegetable oil will work.

If you are new to plantains, the only trick is in the third photo. Slice through the peel but not the fruit on opposing sides. Use your knife as leverage in the cut to lift up the peel as much as you can. Put down the knife and finish the job with your thumb, running it under the peel, until it pops off. Simple. (If you are doing a lot of plantains, wear gloves or coat your hands with oil, as something in the peel can stain skin temporarily. When I do one or two plantains I don't bother with gloves, soap and water work fine.)

Put on some good tunes and you will soon find an assembly line rhythm. If you are making tostones for a crowd, change to new peels after the first ones become worn down.

Tostones, Fried Green Plantains with Mojo Sauce

• 1 cup of oil (more or less)
• Green plantains, about 1 per person
• salt

• 2 cloves garlic (garlic powder is not as good, only useful in mojo emergencies!)
• salt
• Juice of 1 orange (or lemon in a pinch)
• Juice of 1 lime (or lemon in a pinch)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• cilantro if you have it (I didn't today)

Peel plantains. Save the peels to the side. Cut into 1/2" slices on the diagonal. Heat 1/2 inch of oil until shimmering hot in a heavy bottomed pan. Test a piece to check it sizzles immediately upon contact. Fry plantain slices until lightly golden, the color will change, but don't look for brown yet. Remove to paper towels. 

Lay a plantain peel, inside up on the counter. Place a fried slice on it. Use the other peel (inside down) to cover the slice. Press down with the palm of your hand smashing the fried plantain inside. Gently lift off the top peel. It should not stick. Use a spoon to lift it from the lower peel. Repeat, working in batches. Return flattened plantains to the frying oil. Fry until golden brown on the edges. Remove to drain. Sprinkle with salt. 

Make the mojo sauce in a bowl. Mash garlic cloves in whichever way suits you. Add the salt, juices, olive oil, and cilantro if you have it. Whisk, taste, add more salt or juice to your taste.

Serve them together, dipping the tostones into the sauce as you eat them. The acidic citrus and garlic wake up all the flavors like your mouth is dancing. 

Enjoy!

Pumpkin spice has gone too far! And a real autumn treat, Apple and Maple Paleo Crisp

Fall has arrived in all seriousness, My fridge is currently home  to 5 varieties of apples. The mornings are chilly and chai sounds like a good idea again. I ate a cider doughnut, technically 3. Its official. 

If I was still not sure, say I had awakened from a lengthy Rip Van winkle sleep, I would know it was fall by the endless ads for "pumpkin spice" Or I may be confused about this "pumpkin spice" which has nothing to do with pumpkins. And everything to do with artificial flavored spice syrup.

I don't go in for this "pumpkin spice" flavor which the marketers seem to think can sell more of anything. ...Pumpkin spice is back! Pumpkin spice latte... pumpkin spice pringles... pumpkin spice coffee... marshmallows...vodka....I think I saw a pumpkin spice iPhone. Its gone too far. 

We all know by now that except for in the case of pumpkin beer, most of these things contain no pumpkin, which in real life tastes like squash. The flavor blend is a synthetic approximation of spices. If you dont believe me lookey here.

Nobody understands the pumpkin spice scented maxi pads. Im hoping those are a good internet photoshop joke, but it could not be confirmed one way or another. I think it makes a point.

This is all to say, I made an apple crisp last night, and  I used some spices. No way am I calling it a pumpkin spice apple crisp, its just spices! I hope next fall, the pumpkin trend blows over, they have ruined one of our comforts of fall, taking all the soul out of it.  

It may be a homely looking apple crisp, perhaps because it is paleo. It is certainly delicious. With allspice and nutmeg, omitting the ubiquitous cinnamon makes the dessert less than predictable. 

I left it on the counter to cool. When I had returned from dinner with a girlfriend, my husband looked at me, and said "I ate a little bit of that apple thing, its so good, too bad its not paleo." I reassured him that it was indeed. And I went to have a bite myself,  finding he had eaten about half of it. Ha, a little bit. Thankfully I took photos before. 

The sliced almonds approximate the texture of oatmeal in a typical crisp. Which is why he was fooled. 

Apple and Maple Paleo Crisp

Apples to fill a pie pan. (Mackintosh is good) peeled and chopped off the core.

Juice from 1/4 of a lemon

2.5 ounces sliced almonds

3 ounces sunflower seeds (unsalted)

pinch salt

3 Tablespoons (1 ounce) coconut oil

3 Tablespoons (3 3/4 ounces) maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon allspice

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Peel and slice apples, place directly into the pan. Sprinkle lemon juice on top of the apples.

Mix together the sunflower seeds, almonds, salt. Work the coconut oil into the mixture so all combined. Add the maple syrup, allspice and nutmeg.

(This is what real nutmeg looks like, you can grate it on a microplane directly into your baking, its the best!) 

Give the crisp topping a good mix up. Dump it on top of the apples without any fanfare. There is no way this will ever look chic, so don't waste your time. This is a homely and delicious crisp, loved for what is on the inside, thats what counts.

Bake for 20 - 30 minutes. Spin midway to promote even toasting of the topping. The apples should have softened, with some bubbling at the edges, the topping will be toasty golden brown. Try not to burn this one, burnt nuts taste icky.

Earl Grey Infused Peaches

 

Peach season is nearing the end as farm stands turn over to apples and pears. This is how I ended up with a few not-so-perfect peaches. A little overripe, a little splotchy maybe, but still a good fruit. This is a quick trick to gussy up lackluster stone fruits. Such as the ones which don't quite ever ripen and those which ripened to fast...it's hard to be a fruit. Last year I did loads of jam making, the favorite of everyone being Peach Earl Grey Jam, this is a quick rif on that and it only takes 10 minutes at most, and far less sugar.

Brew Earl Grey Tea, you need 1/2 a cup. Dice a few peaches. Get a spoon of sugar

Put tea, peaches and a spoonfull of sugar together in a saucepan. Turn up the heat, make it boil.

Turn to a simmer for about 5 minutes. The liquid reduces a syrup and peaches are tender and infused.

Serve in all types of luscious ways; in yogurt with chia seeds like I did for breakfast. 

On vanilla ice cream for desert. 

As an accompaniment to plain sponge cake. 

On waffles. 

In oatmeal. 

Mixed into rice pudding even!

Ill note that I prefer to leave the skins on, when I have organic peaches which haven't been sprayed.  This is different, I know a lot of cooks like to skin their peaches, but I believe the skin has wonderful flavor and I find the textures appealing.  Plus it is probably filled with vitamins, that's what I was told as a child. (If they are not organic and you want to remove any pesticides the peaches can be skinned by a quick poaching.)

Earl Grey Infused Peaches

 

2-3 peaches

1 tablespoon honey or raw sugar

1/2 cup Brewed Earl grey tea

Brew the tea, steeping for 4 minutes. Wash and chop the peaches. Place into a small saucepan. Add the honey and tea. Turn on high, bringing the liquid to a boil. Stir occasionally, keeping the liquid at a low boil. In 5 to 10 minutes the when the tea has cooked off, the remaining liquid will have become syrupy and the sugary peaches will begin to sizzle, turn off the heat.   

Keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge. 

Old Fashioned Morning: Attempted Fig Pancake, Recipe circa 1845

I love love love reading old cookbooks. Lets be honest they can be tricky to cook from. Sometimes they are recipes big enough to feed an entire boarding school or made all of butter and beef fat. And there are rarely enough green vegetables. But such fun all the same. I just bought this gorgeous reprint of Florence White's Good Things in England which aims to celebrate the history of British cooking. The real roots of British cooking are milk, butter and flour it seems. (read more of what I found in the book here). I had to give one a try. Considering the fridge was pretty bare and breakfast was wanted rapidly, from my limited options I tried this funny Apple Fraize or Froise. Its a pancake type of dish, see the process in photos below; simple enough with a messy outcome!

I followed the recipe, you can read it at top. From Good Things in England by Florence White. Using figs instead of apples. Since I had no apples. Also, I used part buttermilk, which wasn't right either. I am too independent. And I make do.
It wasnt bad, a rustic sort of stuffed pancake. I don't think ill make it again. But I might try, and if I do, I would use a small personal sized frying pan for each portion instead of one enormous 8 inch plate sized pancake. It did not stick but was unwieldy to flip and it might cook better (on medium low) if smaller.
Adventures!

Blueberry Grunt with Vegan Oatmeal Dumplings

Blueberry Grunt with Oatmeal Dumplings

A grunt is an unfortunate name for what it is. It is associated with slumps, cobblers and brown bettys. All are sorts of long forgotten American country style fruit desserts. Im still not sure what a slump is, but I have learned what a grunt is. Basically is is dumplings steamed in fruit. Lets be honest, who doesn't just love dumplings?

I do, I do!

Grunts are perfect for summer desserts because, you don't have to turn on the oven! They are cooked in a pot on the stovetop, and all in about 15 minutes on mostly low heat. Even on the hottest of days that is doable. Much better than cranking up your oven for an hour in July.

Making millet and oatmeal dumplings

It is quite similar to a biscuit cobbler, the dumplings are the consistency of the underside of the biscuits, without a crunchy top. It goes well with ice cream too. 

Once you have made one, the whole concept and recipe are easily adapted to other fruits and even messing with the dumplings themselves. I made these today from millet flour and oatmeal for a lot of nutritional value. The traditional recipes are always made from regular flour. And I have made them with quinoa flour and even corn flour (which is delicious). AP gluten free baking flour or buckwheat would be good too. 

You will see in the photos I added in some pitted cherries I had laying around needing to be used and lime zest, since this week the limes were cheaper than the lemons. The prices of citrus fruit has gone crazy this summer, so I am always sure to get the most out of what I have, both zest and juice!

Blueberry Grunt with Oatmeal Dumplings

For the fruit base:

4 cups blueberries

zest of 1 lime or 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup water

pinch of sea salt

For the dumplings:

3/4 cup millet flour (or all purpose flour)

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 Tablespoon Coconut flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Grated fresh nutmeg (about 1/4 tsp)

zest of 1 lime or 1/2 lemon

2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil (or canola)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup almond milk

Mix the ingredients for the fruit base in a medium saucepan which has a well fitting lid. Mine is about 8 inches across, it would be find in a 6 inch pan also. Nothing much larger. 

Measure the dry ingredients for the dumplings into a bowl or glass measuring cup. Measure the wet ones into another. Mix them together with a fork, so all the dry spots are incorporated. It will be a stiff and rather crumbly mixture. 

Put the pot of berries on the stove, turning the flame to high. Hang around for the minute or two until it begins to boil. Give the fruit a good stir and turn the heat down to a bare simmer. Simmer for 3 minutes. (if using harder fruit like apples or rhubarb, simmer for 5 minutes). 

Take the dumpling batter and drop dollops of it all over the top of the fruit. A spoon is helpful here. When all the dumpling batter is set, put on the lid, nice and tight. Set a timer for 15 minutes, and make sure the heat is at the lowest simmer setting. Now you can walk away to do important things for 15 minutes. 

When the timer begs you to return, take off the lid, and voila! Boiling fruit seeping through risen dumplings. Allow to cool just a bit before tucking in, it should be eaten warm. Clearly vanilla or ginger ice cream would be fun. Thick cream or coconut milk poured over would be cool too. You can even eat is as breakfast!

Notes on Re-heating: best reheated in the same pot, with lid on, for about 5 minutes on medium low heat. Until the fruit just boils again and it is warm through. Microwave would probably be good too.

Notes on using Frozen Berries: Totally yes. Instead of 1/2 cup of water, use 1/4-1/3 cup. You can put the frozen berries directly into the pot and onto the heat. It will take longer to come to a boil, from then on follow the same steps. 

Cooling Watermelon, Cucumber, Mint and Goat Feta Salad

Watermelon, Cucumber, Mint and Goat Feta Salad

It is officially summer time. Sunscreen and bug-spray perfume the air of weekends by the waters edge and long lazy evenings. It is suddenly hot all the time. The ice maker does all it can to keep up with the glasses of iced tea.

Wedding season coincides with this most glorious high point of summer evenings. This weekend I attended a beautiful farm wedding where guests were asked to bring all the side dishes. There was a grill filled with hamburgers and outdoor fryers for turkey. Three kinds of cakes were made by a friend of the bride. (This time it wasn't me! So relaxing.) The salads and veggie dishes were brought by an assortment of family and friends. 

Watermelon

Watermelon salad is the sort of thing I might order in a restaurant, but wouldn't normally think to make at home. I would just eat my watermelon straight up, for dessert. I got this recipe from my sister, instructing me over the phone while she was sitting in summer traffic. it was fun to make and not surprisingly just as fun to eat. Lime dressing pulls all the flavors together. And it presents sparkling and jewel colored on the table.

Limes have lately been unreliable due to droughts, sometimes having no juice. So good luck, you might need an extra one. 

Feta cheese holds together well in this juicy salad. Goat chevre could be used, but know it might melt melt in more than the feta does. Cow feta of course course could be substituted.

It is a matter of cubing the watermelon and cucumber in an attractive way. This gets a little juicy, if you have one of those cutting boards with a channel around the outside, use that to avoid puddles. The rest is easy as pie.  

Watermelon, rind removed and sliced

Cooling Watermelon, Cucumber, Mint and Goat Feta Summer Salad

1/2 a watermelon

1 English cucumber

Mint leaves, a big handful of fresh leaves

Lime juice from 1 to 2 limes

drizzle of olive oil

black pepper

salt

Goat feta cheese

Slice the watermelon in half, slice this in half again. From each 1/4 of melon, remove the rind in pieces with a knife, leaving a wedge of sweet watermelon.

Cubed watermelon

Slice the wedge of watermelon in even 1/2 inch slices. The slices are fanned out in the photo, but stack them up neatly to cut into cubes. Slice the long way into 1/2 inch lenghths, and then turn, slicing into 1/2 inch squares. This way, they are the same size, making perfect cubes. Very pretty!

Diced cucumber and mint

Dice the cucumber, which is easier to handle than the big melon. 

Combine cucumber and melon into a large bowl. Reserve some mint leaves to garnish the top of the finished salad. Tear the remaining leaves with your fingers into pieces. I love mint and it is a feature here, so put in a lot, I guess it was about 1 cup. 

Squeeze the limes and pour the juice over the salad. Toss and taste if more lime juice would be a good thing. 

Season with salt and pepper. A drizzle of good olive oil will bring the savory flavors together. 

When the seasoning is right, crumble goat feta into it. Toss briefly and put into a beautiful serving bowl. Garnish with mint leaves.

Watermelon, Cucumber, Mint and Goat Feta Summer Salad