Tonight I had a hankering for pumpkin and cloves – and chocolate always seems to go nicely with those two – so I used a quick bread recipe to make a week’s worth of muffins. I made them in two sizes – mini and jumbo – to meet a variety of on-the-go breakfast needs. The minis are great for lunch boxes and my jumbos will get me through a hefty morning commute.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Muffins

3/4 C water

1/2 C ground flax meal

1 1/2 C brown rice flour

1 1/2 C sweet sorghum flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves (I add a touch more because I like it so much)

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking powder

2 C granulated sugar

2/3 C canola oil

(1) 15-oz can solid pack pumpkin puree

(1) package Enjoy Life chocolate mega chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease one mini muffin pan and one jumbo muffin pan with canola oil.

In a small bowl, mix the water and flax meal and allow to thicken for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, salt and baking powder.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the oil and sugar. Add the pumpkin puree and beat for about one minute. Add the flax mixture and continue to beat on low speed, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined – about one minute. Scrape down the sides and fold in the chocolate chunks.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pans. Bake until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Times will vary based on the size of your muffin pans, so keep an eye on them – and trust your nose! The minis will take around 15 minutes. The jumbos will take around 45 minutes.

Let the muffins cool completely in their pans on cooling racks before turning them out.

Store them in the refrigerator for the week or in the freezer for the month.

You haven’t completed your Christmas baking duties if you have not yet created a plate of sugar cookies for Santa – right? We’ve indulged Santa with glutinous cookies in past years, but this year we’re going to convert him. Karen Morgan, of Blackbird Bakery Gluten-Free, provides a dough worthy of our beloved snowflake and angel cookie cutters. I’ve already made three batches of these this week – and I’m hoping some of them last through Christmas eve so we’ll actually have something to put on Santa’s cookie plate!

Leo’s Classic Sugar Cookies

(from Blackbird Bakery Gluten-Free, by Karen Morgan. The cookies are named after her son, in case you were wondering who Leo is…)

1/4 C sorghum flour

3/4 C brown rice flour (her recipe just calls for rice flour – I prefer brown)

1/4 C tapioca flour, plus more for dusting

1/4 C cornstarch

1 C sugar

2 tsp unflavored gelatin

2 tsp guar gum

1/4 tsp kosher salt

3 Tbsp nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening (I use Spectrum)

4 Tbsp Earth Balance buttery spread (she calls for unsalted butter – but we don’t do dairy, remember?) at room temp

2 large egg whites (I tried it this way for the class batch – but for our family batches, I substitute with ground flax meal – 1 Tbsp mixed with 3 Tbsp water = 1 egg)

1 1/2 tsp pure almond extract (I just used 2 tsp vanilla, since Leif is allergic to almonds)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

(Her recipe calls for royal icing, but we prefer sugar sprinkles added before baking… do what suits your family best!)

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine all the dry ingredients and mix on low speed to blend.

Add the shortening and buttery spread and mix on low speed for about 5 minutes, or until blended. Add the egg whites/substitute, extract(s), and mix on medium-high speed until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a nice ball.

Empty the dough onto a work surface dusted with tapioca flour. If the dough appears sticky, sprinkle the top with some additional tapioca flour and knead until smooth. Shape the dough into two disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight. (Or do as I do, and leave it in the fridge for a couple days until you need a fresh batch of cookies… it keeps just fine!)

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Let one disk sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften slightly. Lightly dust a work surface with rice flour and roll out the dough, rotating and turning it to keep it from sticking. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4″ – any thinner and the cookies will not hold their shape.

Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and transfer them to prepared pans. Dust with sugar sprinkles. Bake one pan at a time for about 7 minutes, or until the edges begin to color. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cook completely.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week (but you’ll likely eat them sooner anyhow – so don’t even worry about that).

Gift giving really is my very favorite thing about this season of Christmas. I love baking special goodies and delivering them to neighbors doors. I love glass jars and ribbons and pretty papers to wrap all sorts of homemade treats. I’ve experimented with quite a few new gift recipes this year, and thought I’d share this one with you. I didn’t want to share too much, because then my gifts wouldn’t be secrets anymore – but this one is just too fun to not share. It turns a chicken dinner into something exotic. It gives a pleasing little zing to a salad. And it looks lovely just sitting on the counter. I first considered it as a gift when I saw it posted on notwithoutsalt. I did a little digging in my favorite cookbooks and settled on Thomas Keller’s ad hoc at home version. So here they are:

Preserved Whole Lemons

(adapted from ad hoc at home, Thomas Keller)

1 1/2 C kosher salt

6 lemons, scrubbed

1 tsp black peppercorns

3 bay leaves

Juice of 2 lemons, or as needed

1/2 C extra virgin olive oil

Pour 1/2 inch of salt into a 1-pint canning jar.

Cut each lemon lengthwise into quarters, stopping about 3/8″ from the stem end so that the lemon wedges stay attached. Spread the lemons open. Salt the inside of each lemon generously, then push the wedges together to “close” the lemon and place lemons in the jar, pressing them down slightly. As you press the lemons into the jar, add the peppercorns and bay leaves to the jar, between the layers of lemons. Cover each lemon with a little salt as you go. When you’ve pressed all the lemons into place, cover with any remaining salt.

The lemons will have released some juice. Add enough additional juice to cover the lemons, pressing down slightly on them to compress them. Top with the olive oil and cover the jar.

Put the jar in a pantry or other cool, dark spot and let stand for at least 1 month, or for up to 6 months. Refrigerate the jar after opening and use the lemons within 1 month.

The peel of these lemons can be used instead of plain lemon rind in many dishes. Preserved lemons are often used in Moroccan dishes and are great in marinades. You can also try them mixed with salt as a rub on lamb or chicken, or in a compound butter that melts over hot meat, fish or vegetables.

After a full day of working with kids in both the classroom and on the soccer field, my sweet husband is usually pretty exhausted by the time he rolls in the door. He eats on the go throughout the day (as do I), so I love the opportunity to make us a warm, hearty meal that we can sit and savor – even if it’s just for 15 minutes – before he has to get out of his chair again and do tickly-wrestles, boxing matches, and whatever else our crazy little boys want to do before their heads hit the pillow. Hearty, savory, and healthy meals do not have to be elaborate… and this simple one-bowl dinner is proof!

This is Leif’s current favorite pasta – made super simple by a bag of frozen langostino (you can find them at Whole Foods & Trader Joe’s, or for those of you who are local, Draeger’s).

Start by cooking up a pot of Jovial pasta (or your favorite GF noodle). While it’s cooking, saute 5 cloves of pressed garlic in olive oil. Add the langostino tails, a splash of white wine, and a little chicken or vegetable broth (just enough to give the langostino some liquid to simmer in), and about 1/2 cup of frozen peas. Let simmer until the langostino are completely heated through, adding a little broth if necessary. Drain the pasta, toss it with a little olive oil and sea salt, mix in a small can of chopped black olives, the garlic/langostino/pea mixture, and crushed red peppers to taste. Serve immediately.

This is when a well-stocked pantry and freezer come in very handy… I happened to still have my turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving in the freezer, a package of unopened corn tortillas in the fridge, some boxed soups and broths, and various cans of beans, so this week’s dinners were quick fixes, super tasty, and didn’t require a grocery run. The first experiment was an enchilada-style casserole, and the second was my slow cooker version of turkey pozole.

A side note: please pardon the lack of image quality!… my camera is being shipped to me at this very moment, so the trusty iphone has provided this post’s illustrations.

Turkey Enchilada Casserole

My boys were convinced there was cheese and cream in this dish. They were even telling daddy he shouldn’t eat it, because it’d be bad for him. Boy did I fool them! I like letting them think they’re getting away with something daring while they enjoy a healthy and satisfying meal! All plates were thoroughly licked clean.

1. Prepare a 13×9″ baking dish with a thin layer of olive oil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a blender, puree the following until smooth: 1/2 cup butternut squash soup (Pacific Foods boxed soup), the cream only portion of (1) 15 oz. can of coconut milk, 5 oz canned white beans, 3 tsp cumin, 2 tsp celery salt, 4 cloves of pressed garlic.

3. Place 6 corn tortillas on bottom of baking dish. Top tortillas with 1/2 can of diced tomatoes (I used a 15 oz. can that had green chiles added to them for a little extra flavor). Layer frozen leftover turkey pieces on top of the tomatoes (I diced the turkey before freezing). Drizzle 1/3 of the “cream” mixture over the turkey and tomatoes.

4. Add another layer of tortillas, then tomatoes, turkey, the rest of the can of whole white beans that didn’t get used up in the cream puree, 1/2 cup of frozen corn kernels, and another drizzle of 1/3 of the cream mixture.

5. With the final 2 tortillas, slice them into 1/2″ strips and layer them on top. Drizzle the remaining cream mixture on top of the tortilla strips. Sprinkle the whole pan with a little kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

6. Cover with foil and baked until bubbly – about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake another 5 – 10 minutes, until slightly browned and the edges are just crispy. Serve with extra taco sauce or salsa for the adults, since this casserole is kid-friendly and not at all spicy. A mixed green salad and a fruit salad round out an easy family weeknight meal.

Turkey Pozole

The slow cooker makes this quite possibly the easiest meal I’ve ever enjoyed. Perfect for this icy almost-winter day!

1. Set your slow cooker on the lowest time/heat setting and let this simmer all day – just be sure to add extra broth as it cooks down. (I started mine at 9AM and ate my bowl of pozole – okay, my three bowls of pozole – at 7PM.)

2. You will need (1) 30 oz can of hominy, (1) 28 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes, 2 Cups of diced turkey leftovers, 1 Tbsp of cumin, 1 Tbsp of dried mexican oregano, 1/2 a yellow onion – diced, 5 cloves of garlic – pressed, (1) box of chicken broth, kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste.

3. Combine everything in the slow cooker, except for the chicken broth, salt and pepper. Stir it all up. Put the lid on it for an hour. Then add about a cup of chicken broth and give it another stir. Cover it up again and check back in about an hour to add a pinch or two of salt & pepper, and then add broth until the mixture is completely covered in liquid. Put the lid back on and forget about it until you’re ready for dinner. When it’s time to eat, if the mixture is a bit thick for your liking, simply thin it out to your taste with the remaining broth.

last day of being six, 2011

first day of being seven, 2011

so proud of you, buddy. you’re my shining star. happy seven.

xo, your mama

In our house, we graze. Three meals a day doesn’t cut it for any of the four of us. Our three main meals are generally smaller than a “typical American” meal, because we know that we’re going to graze again in about 2 hours. Grazing could be very dangerous if we had a freezer full of ice cream, cupboards laden with candies and breads and cookies, and a fridge stocked with meats and cheeses. Grazing on high fat, low fiber snacks is sure to lead to disaster. Instead, we try to focus on snacks in one of two categories: Veggie based or Fruit based. We have a printed list on the inside of our pantry door that lists “Grain/Casein/ Soy/Legume Free Snack Ideas“. It’s something I created for Leif to reference when he was first adjusting to his new way of eating a couple years ago. By posting it next to snack storage, he and the boys were never able to say, “I can’t think of anything to eat”. The other key to successful snacking was to be sure that we always had at least half of the ingredients on the list in stock. Most of the items are fresh and need a tiny bit of preparation time – requiring more effort than just grabbing a bag of something processed and pre-packaged. This turns our grazing is a conscious effort to nourish our bodies, not just something to do when we’re bored or emotional.

Perhaps you could use a little snack inspiration? I thought I’d share our list with you here. And please feel free to comment with your snack ideas, too – we’d love to add your favorites to our list!

VEGGIE BASED SNACKS

*Celery with cashew butter & raisins

*Plate of raw veggies with salsa (carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower)

*Sunflower seed crackers with artichoke tapenade

*Sunflower seed crackers with eggplant remoulade

*Sunflower seed crackers with canned chicken or tuna, mixed with artichoke tapenade or just olive, salt & pepper

*Baked potato topped with olive oil, balsamic, s&p, and fresh greens or steamed or sauteed spinach.

*Turkey & avocado wrapped in butter lettuce leaves (substitute or add sliced apple)

*Raw, jicama spears with nut butter

*Tomato & avocado drizzled with balsamic and olive oil (add red onion & any sliced citrus for variety – grapefruit, orange, etc.)

*1/2 a sweet potato with 1 chicken apple sausage link

*Baked potato with salsa or vegan pesto

*Canned chicken or fish mixed with avocado over greens

*Greens with smoked salmon, blue or raspberries, and sunflower seeds

*Kale chips

*Oven roasted brussels sprouts or cauliflower florets – seasoned with olive oil, s&p

FRUIT BASED SNACKS

*Homemade trail mix (combination of nuts and seeds of your choice, with dried blueberries, apricots, or cherries, and large flaked coconut – and perhaps a sprinkling of dairy free/soy free chocolate chips or chunks)

*Grapefruit & walnuts

*Raspberries or blueberries with coconut and walnuts, pecans or sunflower seeds

*Coconut milk yogurt with trail mix or just seeds or fresh fruits

*Sliced strawberries with sunflower seeds and shredded coconut

*Sliced banana or apple with sunflower seed butter

*Oven baked pear or apple, with cinnamon, vanilla extract, a touch of orange juice and a sprinkling of brown sugar

*Apple sauce with chunks of roasted winter squash and a dash of cinnamon and/or nutmeg

*Tall glass of cold nut or rice milk, mixed with chai tea concentrate (I like 1 part hazelnut or almond milk to 1 part tea concentrate)

Clockwise from top right: Pumpkin pies from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook; Flying Apron’s Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book; Allergy-Free Desserts; and puddings with the left overs from the Allergy-Free Desserts recipe. 

I still have pumpkins on my counter.

And in my garage.

They are everywhere.

Are you wondering what to do with all your lovely pumpkins? Don’t throw them out just because December is here and you need to move the fall orange out to make way for winter’s blue and silver or green and red… Pumpkins are winter squash. They are usually harvested in fall, but they have a storage life of one to six months, provided you keep them nice and cool and out of direct sunlight (that’s why most of mine like to stay in the garage).

Pumpkin flesh and seeds are super nutritious. They are heavy on carotenes, providing a great defense against many cancers. They are also great sources of vitamins C, B1, B6, niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, potassium, and dietary fiber. They are versatile vegetables, as you’ve probably noticed by my recent posts – I love to use them in pastas, salads, rice dishes, purees, smoothies, breads and other baked goodies. The most popular use of pumpkin, however, may just be in the form of pie. I can easily say it trumps the turkey for me every Thanksgiving.

I started working out my *perfect* crust/filling combination in early November – giving myself plenty of time to mess with the recipes before our Thanksgiving day feast. There are so many pumpkin pie recipes, some of which are a bit more complex than others – but let’s face it – all pumpkin pie is, is a sweetened pumpkin puree in a crust. It is not a difficult pie to make. Or at least it shouldn’t be. I wanted to share a pie recipe with you that would be both simple and delicious, and one that really features pumpkin – not a bunch of distracting additives. Initially tried three different versions from three different gluten-free cookbooks.

We took the pies to a family dinner that night and everyone voted and gave their feedback on each pie. All three were so very different. I took the suggestions and combined the filling of one with the crust of another and we ended up with a real crowd pleaser. The recipe below features the unbaked filling of Elizabeth Gordon’s Allergy-Free Desserts version, and the Standard Pie Crust featured in Jennifer Katzinger’s Flying Apron version.

Standard Pie Crust 

from Flying Apron’s Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book, Jennifer Katzinger

1 1/2 C brown rice flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 C plus 3 Tbsp palm oil (or coconut oil will work, too)

3 Tbsp agave syrup or maple syrup

1-2 Tbsp cold water (put it in the freezer while you’re gathering the other ingredients)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the rice flour & salt in a large owl. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the palm oil until softened, about 1 minute. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture slowly until incorporated. Add agave syrup and water and mix until a soft dough has formed, about 5 minutes. If dough is dry, add additional water 1 Tbsp at a time until the dough is smooth.

Dust your work surface (12×18″ cutting board or piece of cardboard covered in parchment paper) and hands liberally with brown rice flour. Dough will be very wet. Place dough on surface and sprinkle the top with more brown rice flour. Roll dough into an 11-inch disc. Place 9″ pie plate on top of the rolled out dough. With one hand under the work surface and the other on the pie plate, flip them so that the cutting board is on top. Set pie plate on counter, removing the cutting board, and gently press the pie dough into the pie plate.

Bake the pie crust for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

To prepare the filling:

(adapted from Elizabeth Gordon’s Pumpkin Pie recipe)

30 oz pureed pumpkin (make your own, or use two 15 oz cans of pure solid-pack pumpkin – we tried it both ways)

1 C oil, in liquid form – either coconut oil, palm fruit, or canola

2/3 C packed dark brown sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 tsp ground cinammon

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground ginger

pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Place all filling ingredients into the pitcher of a high-speed blender. Blend on high for 1 minute. Scrape down sides and then blend for another minute. Pour filling into cooled pie crust and chill for 3 hours or overnight so it sets well before serving. Keep pie refrigerated until just before serving. Store pie, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days.

For the first six years of our marriage, we enjoyed swedish pancakes – or crepes – every week for at least one meal. Sometimes they would play double duty and make appearances at breakfast and dinner on the very same day, just with a new smorgasbord of toppings. In year seven of marriage, we mourned the loss of the carton of eggs and butter and believed we would never eat swedish pancakes/crepes again. One month of missing our tasty tradition was all it took to get me flipping through recipes again to find a suitable weekend comfort food replacement. I was overjoyed to find this recipe for a great pancake/waffle mix in one of Carol Fenster’s cookbooks. These are some amazing waffles! My family loves them so much, I make to-go bags of the dry ingredients to take on vacation. We even took them to work to share with our staff. We have been so excited about them, that we invite people over for breakfast and brunch and dinner to share our joy. Yes – even for dinner. We love breakfast for dinner – and our guests haven’t complained, so we think it’s okay with them, too. And let me tell you, this makes a really fantastic dinner in the fall and winter, because you can use any late harvest fruits as a tasty compote accompaniment.

Are you convinced yet that you have to try these?

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Here’s the recipe for you to play with on your own: (from Gluten-Free Quick & Easy, by Carol Fenster, Ph.D.)

Start with Carol’s Flour Blend: 1.5 C sorghum flour, 1.5 C potato starch, 1 C tapioca flour. Whisk together until thoroughly mixed and store in an air-tight container.

Carol’s Pancake & Waffle Mix

2 C Carol’s Flour Blend

2 C cornstarch or potato starch

1/2 C cane sugar

6 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp xanthan gum

Sift ingredients together. Store in an air-tight container up to 3 months.

Waffles

1 C Carol’s Pancake & Waffle Mix

2 Tbsp unsalted butter or buttery spread (I use Earth Balance - soy free) melted

1 large egg (I use 1 Tbsp ground flax meal, mixed with 3 Tbsp water)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 to 3/4 C milk (I use coconut, hazelnut, rice, or whatever other non-dairy milk we have on hand) (amount of milk depends on your preference in waffle batter – I like mine a little on the runny side, so I use closer to 1 C of milk. This recipe produces a pretty thick batter if you go with the recommended 1/3 C)

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Put the dry mix in a mixing bowl. Whisk in all the wet ingredients except for the lemon until the batter is very smooth. Keep adding milk until the batter reaches your desired consistency. Then stir in the lemon juice and let it rest while the waffle iron is heating. Lightly coat the waffle iron with cooking spray of your choice and then cook the waffles according to the manufacturer’s directions.

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If you come to my house to enjoy these waffles, they will most likely taste nothing like the ones you make for yourself with the recipe above. You may remember me mentioning that I never cook the same thing twice. While I do stick to the basic ratios with my baked goods, I do love seasonal add-ins (kind of like how people add-in treats at ice cream or froyo shops). The waffles pictured in this post have diced pear and extra vanilla in the batter. The flours are gf oat and brown rice, with a portion of cornstarch, instead of Carol’s mix. To top them off, I tossed some pears into my skillet along with a little maple syrup, some brown sugar, a splash of brandy, a touch of cinnamon & nutmeg, a handful of raisins, and two fistfuls of pecans. I let this mixture heat through just to the point of starting to caramelize. And for the first photo, I had to add a dollop of sour cream. That’s what my mom would do. It looks lovely, right? But for everyone else who is steering clear of dairy, just forget about that sour cream. It’s completely heavenly without it.