Recipes

Shiitake Mushroom Meatloaf, with Delicious Mushroom Gravy

Growing up vegetarian, we often ate "lentil loaf" for dinner; it had a good flavor, as lentil loaves go, but a crumbly texture. When I started eating meat six years ago, I wondered about meatloaf - but my attempts up until now yielded dense, greasy loaves, swimming in their own juices. I recently adapted a recipe from "Cook's Country" magazine, and turned out this amazingly delicious, perfect-textured loaf, with a lovely deep brown Crust, no greasiness to speak of, and fantastic flavor. Plus, the pan drippings turn into a delicious mushroom gravy!

The Most Awesome Crispy Roasted Potatoes

When I saw Cooks Illustrated's latest issue, with a description of the Best Crispy Roasted Potatoes Ever...I was intrigued. And after we polished off the whole batch, I knew I'd have to scale up my recipe and technique to meet the demand. :) These are amazing! I discovered that the salt and baking soda does not need to be doubled, even with more than twice as many potatoes as the original recipe. This makes enough for our family, with some left over. And don't be tempted to substitute for the animal fat - I think it really makes them super good.

Maya's Tree Cake (Chestnut Applesauce Cake)

Maya gave me her recipe for "tree cake 2.0", which involved two unusual ingredients: chestnut flour, and acorn flour, and was a big hit. :) I decided I liked it even better with more fat, and I experimented with using dates to sweeten it, and I discovered that a banana version is quite delightful. Great flavor, with none of the Strange Gluten-Free Taste that sometimes haunts GF baked goods...

Really Delicious, No-Pound, "Traditional" Raisin-Cinnamon Mochi

I have actually never eaten "traditional" mochi - but traditionally, when I was growing up, we bought flat cakes of Grainnaissance raisin-cinnamon mochi and baked it till it puffed up in the toaster. Such a delicious tradition!

Now we're eating rice again, but only if it's white or fermented (if it's brown). The folks at Grainnaissance confirmed that they don't ferment their rice, so I was determined to make my own mochi.

Gluten-Free Potato Latkes, Totally Delicious

I was surprisingly unsatisfied with the latke recipes I turned up by google-searching this year...so I adapted this one from the Food Network. They turned out deliciously, tiny and lacy and crisp and just-right salted. Perfect with apple sauce...

This makes a large number of latkes, almost enough for two hungry adults and three hungry children.

(2016 Latke Party Notes: 21 lbs. of potatoes (7x recipe) generously fed 17 eaters; we also ate a 2/3 full 8-quart pot of applesauce (about 7 jars worth), and had a pot of chicken soup on the side.)

Shittake Mushroom and Red Lentil Soup with Red Wine

Right around when my second son was born, the Sierra Club magazine ran a recipe that sounded delicious: red lentils cooked with "fire-roasted" tomatoes, wild rice, a bunch of shittake mushrooms, and red wine, cooked until creamy and full of flavor: http://www.food.com/recipe/shiitake-lentil-pressure-cooker-soup-276160 .

The problems with the original recipe were small but numerous, including how it made way more than indicated, and overflowed my cooker!

Herbed/Marinated Chicken Legs

These are really delicious, and are good left over, too. The sauce becomes a thick, sweet-sour glaze as it cools, so I like to toss the fully-cooked chicken around a bit once it comes out of the oven. This way, the glaze attaches to the meat instead of the pan.

15 drumsticks
Loose cup of fresh herbs - a mixture of thyme, sage, oregano, and savory is nice
Salt and pepper to taste (1-1.5 tsp. salt)
3/4 c. cider vinegar (balsamic is awesome, too)

Wonderful Thai Chicken Curry

Cooks Illustrated has more and more recipes that can be adapted to fit "special diets." This one, for simplified Massaman Curry, was absolutely superb. The curry paste was a huge pain in the rear, but I made 4x the recipe and froze leftovers for later. That turned subsequent dinners into (nearly) Fast Food.

Fantastic, Delicious, Gluten-Free Sourdough Pizza!

In May/June 2014, Cooks Illustrated presented an in-depth article on "Gluten Free Pizza Worth Eating." I was very intrigued...but didn't want to use commercial baking yeast, and wanted to eliminate a couple of other questionable ingredients. Therefore, I created a prototype for a 24-hour-fermented, kefir-risen pizza crust. It was nearly unbelievable - you wouldn't even know it was gluten free unless someone told you, the texture was crispy-on-the-bottom and chewy, you could eat a slice with one hand (just like real pizza!) and I'm gonna keep experimenting...

Vanilla Coconut Chia Pudding

I can't decide what I think about chia. On the one hand: seems pretty indigestible. On the other hand: is a traditional food. On the other hand: did people just eat it as is?? Did they grind it, or ferment it?? I don't know. But this tastes pretty delicious. :)

3.5 c. coconut milk
2 T. vanilla
1 vanilla bean's insides, scraped
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. honey
pinch salt
1/2 c. chia seeds

Saag Paneer

I love love love saag paneer. And when our friend brought over two pounds of fresh paneer, I just had to find a good recipe. Here it is:

2 T. butter or ghee
1 T. minced fresh ginger
1 T. minced fresh garlic
3 small dried chiles
2 T. curry powder
Salt, to taste
1.5 lbs. spinach, washed well, cut into 1-inch pieces, water still clinging to the leaves
3/4 lb. fresh paneer cheese cubes
1/2 c. yogurt
1.5 c. light or heavy cream, preferably cultured (yogurt cream)
squeeze of lemon

Raw Vegan GAPS Brownies

There are a ton of similar recipes that proliferate around the Internet. This one is a pretty tasty one - heavy on the Sweet, but hey - decadence every so often is supposed to be a good thing, right?

2 c. raw walnuts (soaked and dehydrated)
2.5 c. medjool dates, pitted
1 c. cocoa powder (raw doesn't taste as good as Regular)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. raw almonds (soaked and dehydrated), chopped coarsely

Process walnuts till finely ground. Add the dates one at a time, and process until fine cake-like crumbs emerge, that can hold together when pressed.

Hoppers

These are interesting Sri Lankan/India crepes, inspired by Sandor Katz' description in "The Art of Fermentation." Ideally, the edges are thin and beautifully crispy, while the centers are chewy and moist. My recipe is still in process; I'll post updates when I improve things. For now, the most important thing I've learned is that you absolutely must not use sticky rice - starchy white basmati is the best I've tried.

Delicious Dosas

I have been trying to add nutritious and delicious sources of high-quality starch to our diet. Dosas fit the bill, and they are also fermented. Plus, they are really delicious, especially when fried in lots of ghee!

3 c. white rice
1 c. red lentils
1/4 c. fenugreek seeds

Soak this overnight in water to cover; drain and rinse, and add just enough water to be able to blend till smooth (immersion blender works fine).

Peach-Blueberry Clafouti

For my son's sixth birthday, he had lots of requirements for a cake. I did a google search for "peach blueberry cake" (plus additional search terms "GAPS sugar-free grain-free easy"), adapted two recipes, and discovered clafouti: a delicious cross between a custard and a cake, sweetened with fruit, and best enjoyed cold. SO buttery and good! It's really a lot better served cold, preferably chilled overnight.

Makes one 9x13" pan

8 medium peaches, or 16 small ones, pits removed
1 cup blueberries (or blackberries)

How I Roast A Duck

Duck is so fantastic, especially when the fat renders, and the skin is crackly and incredible, and the meat is moist and super delicious. This technique tends to make that happen...

1 duck (2-5 pounds or so), and salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450f.

Sprinkle the duck with salt and pepper, and place breast-side up in a Dutch Oven; cover tightly.

Delicious, No-Churn Ice Cream!

In the process of developing a delicious GAPS cheesecake, I discovered that with a few minor adjustments to the filling, one can have fantastic GAPS ice cream! Even if you don't have an ice cream maker. The texture is a little hard, but not icy, and super creamy and delicious. Add 3/4 c. good-quality organic cocoa to the honey/date mixture before blending with the cream, if you want chocolate.