Scones, really?

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Salts Kitchen

Okay, if you’ve spoken to me, read any of this blog, or know me at all, you know by now I usually steer clear of the “substitutions”. I mean, yes I have gluten free toast with breakfast sometimes, but generally if you’re trying to make something that was once based on gluten, and then you take OUT the gluten, chances are it might be crap. Sorry. Not saying it ALL will be, I’m just saying maybe…

It’s like vegetarian beef tips (sorry roommies), fat free mayo, or vegan cheese. I don’t get it. However, I do understand that sometimes you really want that pasta. And sometimes you really want that muffin, scone, or cake. So when I came across a new blog (well, new to me) on my radar Jenn Cuisine and she mentioned worthy gluten free scones, I had to make a brunch.

So… I’m new to the blogging world. I look at the Statesman and see a gillion bloggers out there, half of whom are gluten free. When I saw Jenn’s blog (she’s based in Switzerland, so NOT in the Statesman) I must say it stood out a whole bunch because she echoes my own sentiments about simple = better, naturally gluten-free= tastier. You know, that whole mantra. Now, I haven’t tried much of her stuff yet so we’ll see what happens, but so far so good. AND most importantly, I got over my fear of the blogging world and sent her an e-mail. And she sent me one back! AND through her site I’ve seen a few other gluten free folks in the international blogging world that also fall onto my natural and delicious spectrum. I think I have a whole lot of experimenting to do!

Okay, enough with this verbosity. Verboseness? The link on Jenn Cuisine’s blog was for strawberry scones: Flour Arrangements (another new blog to me). I had a banana in the house and some walnuts. Blonde Roommate went to the store in the morning to pick up some currants and yogurt for me too. Brunette roommate started to eat that banana until I smacked it out of her hand.

I invited 10 girlfriends over to taste and taste we did. Soon enough I’ll put my not-so-delicious muffins up, as well as my always-pleasing GF/DF quiche. We started with the scones…

There was a very long list o’ ingredients. It was intimidating. It was the kind of thing I usually steer clear of: guar gum, xantham that, sourghum this. I had a friend read the instructions to me as I mixed and eventually we were mixed and ready for the oven.

Here is Flour Arrangement’s recipe with my tweaks.
Banana, Walnut, and Currant Scones
1 banana cut up into small chunks
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c currants
1 c white rice flour
1/4 c brown rice flour
1/3 c sweet sorghum flour
1/3 c tapioca flour or arrowroot powder
1/2 t xanthan gum
1/4 t guar gum
1/2 t salt
4 T white sugar
2 T brown sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/4 t cream of tartar
2/3 c yogurt*
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
2 T cold butter (I used earthspread)
2 t vanilla extract

Remove the 2 tbsp of butter from the fridge, cut into small cubes and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together all flours, xanthan gum, guar gum, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cream of tartar.

Next, create a well in the center of the flours and add sugars, vanilla, and then all other wet ingredients. Then add the cold butter to the flour/wet mixture in the large bowl, and knead together until just mixed. Add the banana, walnuts, and currants and fold in.

Spray a large cookie sheet with nonstick spray, then start shaping the dough into 8-9 disks and place them about an inch apart on the baking sheet.

Bake for about 12 minutes at 425 or until slightly brown on top. Flour Arrangement says you can store these in the fridge for a few days but we ate them all that first morning.

*I loved the banana, nut, currant mixture. The original recipe called for strawberries and had orange zest. I think this would also be good simply with orange zest and currants. Or chocolate chunks, dried cherries, and orange zest. Delicious.

**The original also called for buttermilk but the chemistry between buttermilk and yogurt is so similar and yogurt is easier for me to digest. So…

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Fried Rice Delight

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Salts Kitchen

I have a very large wok. It’s a little too big for me to handle. It’s a great wok though and I feel sad for it that it doesn’t get much use, so last week I dusted off the top, heated it up, and without breaking my wrist or needing much assistance, I took it for a stroll to make fried rice.

I feel that perhaps real fried rice makers might cringe at how I made this, but I enjoyed it and so did my peeps. I hope this isn’t like the time I was on the elliptical at the gym and was forced to watch Rachel Ray make “Korean pancakes,” which really were just tortilla strips, egg, and green onion. Perhaps if you are a fried rice aficionado, you should look away now.

I had an overflowing fridge of leftover rice and tons of veggies about to turn bad, so fried rice seemed logical. This is what I had, but I think this recipe could use a variety of ingredients as well.

Fried Rice (served 5 for dinner)
3 eggs
1/2 c shredded carrots (leftover from carrot cake)
2 celery stocks, sliced on the diagonal into 1/4 in slices
1/2 cup frozen peas
dried mushrooms, set in boiling water for 5 minutes
1 small head of cabbage
1 green onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
small (1-2 in) chunk of ginger, peeled and minced
wheat-free tamari
sesame oil
garlic chili paste
grapeseed or peanut oil
4 cups cooked white rice

Heat up the wok over medium heat, add 1 TBSP of grapeseed or peanut oil and coat the sides. Crack 2 eggs directly into the bottom. When the bottoms look opaque, barely (gently) scramble until just cooked. Remove from wok and set aside.

Add another T of grapeseed oil and toss in celery, carrots, and green onion and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Drain and add mushrooms, garlic, chile paste, and ginger and stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Add the tamari, sesami oil and rice and stir-fry over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes. I let it sit for a minute at a time so it gets slightly crunchy. Add the third egg. I crack it on top and mix it in all together- this makes things nice and creamy. Add cabbage, turn heat down to medium, and cover, stirring occasionally for about 3-5 minutes, or until cabbage is totally cooked. Add peas and taste for more soy sauce or sesame oil. Add the cooked eggs and serve right away.

Posted in A Little Spicy, Dietary Restrictions, Recipes, Salty | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Carrots Part III: Carrot and Raisin Salad

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Salts Kitchen

And then I still had more shredded carrots. I had no more eggs. I had no more almonds. I did have more raisins. Make this for a super simple snack or as a refreshing side. Ooh- this would be a really good potluck item too.

Carrot and Raisin Salad
2 cups shredded/grated carrots (or as many cups as you like)
1/2 cup raisins
splash of sherry vinegar
splash of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

And that’s it. Mix it up and store it in the fridge for up to a few days.

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The Great Carrot Debate Part I: Oh Alice, You’ve Done It Again

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Salts Kitchen

What does one do with pounds and pounds of carrots in the house? Last week we had about 30 pounds of carrots (it’s an estimate, yes) leftover at the office from our farmers’ market. I brought 1 bunch home. By the end of the week, the rest of the carrots were still in the office fridge and on their last leg so I decided I would take them home before they got composted. I became the proud owner of way too many pounds of carrots.

Then… I saw a blog post by Alice Medrich. Know Alice Medrich? You should. Alice is the chocolate queen of America, of the world? I don’t know. What I do know is that when I received her newest book (a couple of years ago now), Pure Dessert, it changed my world. If you eat gluten, might I suggest her super simple and delicious olive oil pound cake? Yum. She has some naturally gluten free recipes and a few of her recipes call for such a small amount of flour that I’ve been experimenting with alternative flours and so far so good. But I’ll get to that another day.

I digress. Her blog flashed in front of my facebook page and it starred carrots AND more importantly, I peeked at the ingredients and without her explicitly pointing it out I happened to notice that her carrot almond torte has ZERO gluten in it and no dairy to boot. So… that will take care of at least a few of those carrots.

I invited a few friends over for tastings and they LOVED this. Here is the link to Alice’s recipe and pictures of my results: Alice’s Carrot Torte. Holy deliciousness. I was concerned at the length of the instructions, which made me nervous that this would be very complicated, but once I got going it was a snap and the results were great. I only had blanched slivered almonds, rather than the whole almonds she calls for, so this may have made a big difference. I think that would have given it a slightly fluffier, less wet texture. My friend Lisa said she might prefer some walnut chunks in there which sounded delightful to me too. I didn’t serve it with whipped cream, and I thought it was plenty sweet but there was a suggestion of serving it with a dollop of greek yogurt perhaps drizzled with honey too. I’d say that would be oh so do-able. The whole torte was gone in 20 minutes. Success! Alice, you’ve done it again.

Grated carrots and egg whites ready to fold


Folding


Finished (minus a little sliver)

Posted in Dietary Restrictions, Recipes, Sweet | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Quest for the Best GF Burger…

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Salts Kitchen

I used to go steady with a boy that made the very best barbeque in town. Oh man could that boy grill. Sometimes I think we should be friends just so I can come to his bbq’s (is that wrong?), but recently I called him Lieutenant Jackass so that may not happen soon. The first time he ever made me a burger I felt that I had never tasted a burger so good. Suddenly all prior burgers tasted like dust (sorry Grandpa). This very same boy claimed that the burgers at the new”ish” Black Star Beer Coop had a delightful burger. So if he says so, I am inclined to believe.

I should preface this by saying, I do like Black Star a lot. I LOVE the cider (crispen, the one with the burgundy label, try it) and I like the idea, the mission, and the menu in general. They procure some local meats, some local cheeses and I generally like the vibe in there (especially when it’s crowded so you can’t see how new and kind of sterile the decor is). So I went in with high hopes when I heard they had a GF bun. I haven’t had a burger in well over a year now.

Sadly, the bun was still cold and not quite defrosted. I could’ve sent it back, but I was too excited. I ordered medium-rare and it was more like medium-well. The point of writing reviews here though, is to remind myself and you GF’ers out there, where we can and cannot eat. And I must say, this awful bun ruined it for me. The fries are definitely worth a trip on there own, but I have to say: Black Star, I will not be eating your burgers again. Ugh.

If you have recommendations, please share. I continue my hunt for a delightful GF burger in Austin…

Posted in Reviews | 4 Comments

Frittata with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, and Green Onions

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Salts Kitchen

My friend Joy (yes, the very one of joyfulinthekitchengarden) who lives up the street came over to hang out after work one night and neither of us had quite enough food for dinner, but together we had enough to make a delectable feast- with enough leftover for lunches. I had eggs from one of my volunteer’s chickens, a sweet potato from Wheatsville Coop, carrots that were leftover from an event we had at work (donated from the farmers’ market of course), and Joy brought over some of her chicken’s eggs, along with kale and green onions from her garden. Ooh- and I found some leftover pecorino from this weekend to throw on top (it’s sheep’s cheese).

We decided to make a roast carrot, sweet potato, and green onion frittata with kale and brussels sprouts on the side.

Frittata:
6-8 large eggs
1 sweet potato, cut into bite-sized chunks
5 carrots, cut into bite-sized chunks
green onions- cut about 1/4 inch wide and keep greens and whites separate
extra virgin olive
salt and pepper to taste
optional: grated pecorino or other aged cheese
Preheat oven to 400. Place sweet potato and carrots in a pyrex or other roasting dish with 1 T olive oil and a dash of kosher salt. Roast for about 25 minutes. Add green onion whites, mix, and return to oven for another 10 minutes. When carrots are tender, remove pan from oven and set aside. Turn oven down to 350.

Beat eggs with a dash of salt, a small dash of pepper, and 1 T water. If you have a nice cheese, throw that in too. Add the vegetables and the green onion greens to the egg mixture and mix thoroughly. Heat a cast iron skillet (about 9 in) with 1 T olive oil over low heat. Spread the oil around so that the skillet is coated.

Add mixture to skillet and cook over medium-low heat for about 8-10 minutes. When egg mixture is bubbling slightly around the sides, move to the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes (I think I lost track on this part, so it’s done when a tooth pick comes out clean and the center doesn’t jiggle).

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And for dessert: Orange Almond Cake

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Salts Kitchen

I made this cake a little over a year ago at the office for someone’s birthday who doesn’t do gluten or dairy and prefers agave to sugar. For that version I used Elana’s Pantry and it was indeed delicious. I had a few qualms with it though and looked up the other versions she references (Nigella Lawson and Claudia Roden) and for this attempt, I combined what I thought might be best for the oranges I had and for the port we would be drinking. I think my sister does Claudia’s version at her cafe out in Lakeway.

I really wish I had taken pictures, but alas this cake went in about 10 seconds flat and even my leftover piece for later got whisked away.

Orange Almond Cake
3 large mineola oranges (or another in season and delicious orange)
6 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups finely ground blanches almonds (or pre-ground almond flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp baking soda

powdered sugar for garnish (optional)

Wash the oranges and place them in a deep enough pot to cover completely with water. If they float to the surface, no worries, just keep them covered and turn them around 1-2 times. Boil the oranges for 1.5 hours. Yes, the whole orange.

Drain oranges and cut them in half horizontally (like you would to juice an orange). When they are cool enough to handle, remove seeds. Put the oranges in the food processor and puree. Place all the remaining ingredients into the processor with the oranges and blend until incorporated.

Preheat the oven to 375. Grease a spring-form pan (I couldn’t find mine and tried in a 9-in cake pan, and it was too much batter for 1 so I used 2). Pour the mixture into greased pan and bake for 45-60 minutes. When a toothpick comes out clean, it’s done. If it starts to brown too much on top (check after about 30 minutes), cover with foil.
Let cool completely and dust with confectioner’s sugar. Serve with port or vin santo if possible.

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Oranges, olives, and fennel, oh my! (Or The Neighborhood Table Continued)

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Salts Kitchen

I used to hate when my mom put an orange in my lunch for school. Even when she scored the top for easy peeling, I still felt like I was getting juice all over my face and hands and what child wants to wash their hands after lunch (except my niece Delfina). I think for that reason oranges were never my favorite. And orange juice gives me a stomach ache in the morning (anyone else sensitive stomach friends?!). I ate the already peeled oranges at home, the clementines that don’t leave residue on your hands, and who doesn’t love a tangelo or mineola (also known as nipple oranges in our house) here and there?

Something happened I think when I was in Italy for my junior year in college. I don’t know what it was, because we had our fair share of delicious oranges at home in LA, but something happened. I ate blood oranges like they were going out of style. My American roommate in Italy asked me where I’d gotten my latest batch of oranges that I claimed were so delicious. She told me she got hers at the same place but they were awful. I asked her what was so awful and she responded that they were all brown and icky. I asked if she tasted them and she told me no because they looked like they’d gone bad. I told her that’s the color of the blood oranges here. She’d never heard of a blood orange and had thrown away orange after orange until I told her to just taste it.

I veer from my point. I do love oranges now. I still don’t pack them for lunch if I’m not going to be near a sink, but now with citrus season upon us, I have been experimenting with a few (GF and DF of course) recipes. For The Neighborhood Table I made an orange and fennel salad, with the fried calamari I made an aioli with orange zest instead of lemon juice, and the dessert was an almond orange cake.

Here is the salad (serves 6-8 as a starter)
1 bag fresh baby greens
10-12 black pitted olives
1 large fennel bulb, greens removed and reserved
3 sweet oranges

Slice the fennel very thinly and place in ice water until you’re ready to mix the salad. Tear apart some of the tender green fronds off the top and reserve for garnish. Compost the remaining green parts.

Supreming the segments: yep, you read right. The way my mom taught me to cut oranges for dishes like this is called supreming the segments. Slice off the top and bottom of the orange. Stand it on 1 end and then cut off the peel from every side. Then take a smaller knife and cut out the orange between the pith. you’ll have small wedges of oranges and a star-shaped remainder of pith in your hand that you can later squeeze over the salad.

Pour greens into a large bowl. Drain fennel and place on top, orange segments next, then the olives, and finally the torn fennel tops. Pour about 3 T of good extra virgin olive oil , a sprinkling of good salt (like fluer de sel) and pepper to taste. Squeeze the remaining juice from the pith all over salad and then toss. If there’s not enough juice leftover, add a splash of sherry vinegar.

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The Neighborhood Table: Red Wine Braised Short Ribs over Mashed Potato and Cauliflower

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Salts Kitchen

Oh what fun! I started Saturday night with the browning of the meat, then let it cook on the stove-top for just over an hour before I needed to sleep (it was 1am alright?). I stuck the pots in the fridge and then woke up bright and early to skim the fat
and start the slow-cooking process in the oven before heading to yoga. I cooked these puppies in the oven at about 225 for 4 hours and then raised the temperature to 350 for about 2 more hours. I also learned that tinfoil works wonders below the lid in terms of keeping additional steam in.

Yes, before I turned it to 350 I started to panic as the ribs felt more boiled than tender. My sister, a professional beef braiser, thankfully had just returned home from Argentina in time to help me save the beef with her sound advice- keep cooking!

I loosely based this recipe on my mom’s braised short rib recipe from, Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook version of this dish. This was a huge amount of meat and yet it fed 13 people with leftovers for ONE lunch. Scratch that, 12 people (1 is a vegetarian).

Here we have Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine

approx 9-10 pounds short ribs
4 ribs celery, finely diced (I trim the ends but leave the leaves)
3-4 carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 small yellow onions
1/3 c chopped parsley
3-4 bay leaves
1-2 large portabello mushrooms
5 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups red wine (plus more)
1 can diced tomatoes
4 T minced sun-dried tomato
3 slices pancetta, diced

Buy delicious meat from your local farmer.

Short Ribs from our friends at Green Gate

Brown the beef by heating a large, wide pot over medium heat. Season the ribs with kosher salt and add them to the pot. I leave them for about 3-4 minutes on each side until nice and browned. Make sure there is plenty of room for the meat in the pot, so work in batches if necessary.

 
When the meat is done browning, remove to a plate. “Deglaze” the pan with a little of the red wine, just to clean it up a bit. Turn heat down to low-medium and add pancetta. Get the pancetta a little brown and crispy and then add all chopped vegetables, bay leaves, and 1/2 of the parsley. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are pretty soft. Add the garlic (all except 1-2 T) and saute another couple of minutes.


Add 4.5 cups of the wine, the diced tomatoes, and the sun-dried tomatoes. Raise the heat and bring this to a boil. Cook the liquid mixture until it’s reduced by about 1/3.

Put the beef back in the pot. If it’s too crowded (if you don’t have a roasting pan like me), use 2 pots so that there’s enough room for the beef and so the liquid reaches up about 1/2 way up the meat. Cover the meat and cook on low heat for about 2 hours.

Here’s when I put the pot in the fridge and went to sleep. I would do this again, as it’s the easiest way to skim the fat when it firms up. Once firm, skim the fat off the top and preheat the oven to 225. Put the pots in the oven, covered in foil and their lids. Turn the meat over after an hour and again 2 hours after that. Check to make sure there is plenty of liquid all along, add more wine, water, or broth, if it goes below covering 1/3 of the meat. I checked every 2 hours. After 4 hours of cooking, raise the oven temperature to 350 and cook for another 1-2 hours. At that point, add the remaining parsley and garlic.

When the meat is falling off the bone and very tender, it’s done. I seem to have missed taking pictures of the final product. Imagine it looks tasty.

Mashed Cauliflower and Potato

2 medium cauliflower, de-stemmed and cut into large pieces
6-8 medium white or other thin-skinned potato, peeled and cut into chunks
small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup olive oil

Boil cauliflower in large pot of salted water. Drain when tender. Boil potatoes in large pot of salted water and drain when very tender. Saute onion in a large pot on medium-low heat. When onion is soft, add garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Season with salt. Add potatoes, cauliflower, half of the olive oil and 1 cup of the broth. Mash the mixture up until it is thoroughly mixed, but not mashed like mashed potatoes. Add more oil and broth as necessary to your taste. Add salt to taste.

I have no picture of the finished product. I DO have a picture of some very full people though.

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The Neighborhood Table: The Menu

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Salts Kitchen

I did my shopping this morning at the farmers’ market downtown and bought as much as I could from there before heading to Central Market tonight for the rest. I found my balsamic vinegar at Texas Olive Ranch and I’ll be reducing that tomorrow. I bought my mixed greens from Joe and I can’t remember his farm but the mixed greens he calls “pazzo verdi” or crazy greens. The parsley is from a friend’s garden. The meat I made a nice trip out to Green Gate Farm where Farmer Erin set aside 8 pounds of short ribs for me. I bought another 2 pounds from Fredericksburg Farms at the market just in case (I don’t know what comes over me). I bought my carrots from Cas at Animal Farm the pecans are from my yard. I also bought the cornmeal from Richardsons a couple of weeks back (find your gluten free flour options with them, they’re amazing!). It’s like I’m feeding a small army. And yet, there are only 13 of us. Yikes. Oh, and I’ve only talked to my mom 5 times in the last hour.

On the Table: Walnuts/pecans, aged pecorino, reduced fig balsamic vinegar
Salad: Fennel, orange, mixed greens, and black olives
Starter: Cornmeal dusted calamari
Main: Red Wine braised short ribs over cauliflower and potato puree (mushrooms for Lynda)
Dessert: Orange Almond Cake and Port

Starting on a Saturday at 9:30pm with a glass of wine in hand, apron on my waist, and Twine Time on the radio, I’m good to go. Wish me luck as the braising commences…

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