Baking up a storm!

According to the husband, I am constantly cooking up a storm.  He is right; I do cook a lot.  And the kitchen does sometimes look like a storm hit it, after I'm done.  Lately, I've been baking up a storm.  I've been craving soft, warm moist baked things that don't taste like rubber or crumble to nothingness on the first bite.   Can you blame me?

Here's what I've been baking:

Biscuits!  Recipe from Hey that tastes good!:  http://www.heythattastesgood.com/2008/12/biscuits.html

I made them vegan by using shortening and hemp milk.  Fantastic.  Even the hubby liked them.

Karina's Delicious Gluten Free Bread, from Karina's Kitchen:

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/02/delicious-gluten-free-bread.html

I use brown rice flour instead of millet flour, and everything else stays the same.  Except, I do not have a bread machine, so into the oven it goes.  Scroll down to the bottom of the recipe for the non-bread machine instructions.  Great bread, and it still tastes decent after a week in the fridge.

Cinnamon Apple Muffins, also from Karina's Kitchen: 

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/11/cinnamon-apple-muffins.html

Great tasting muffin, and freezes well.  Omitted the nuts and the allspice, simply because when I made these, I was craving muffins but in no mood to run to the store to get all the ingredients.

Pumpkin Pecan Cookies, also from Karina's Kitchen:

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/11/pumpkin-pecan-cookies.html

I swear I am not virtually stalking Karina.  Really!  I omitted the nuts on both versions (I really should go to the store sometime) and used homemade pumpkin puree rather than canned.  Version 1 had chocolate chips from Enjoy Life and version two had dried cranberries.  Both were great, but I preferred the chocolate ones.  I think there is a chocoholic gene in my family!

Hamburger and Hotdog Buns from Celiac.com:  http://www.celiac.com/articles/404/1/Hamburger-or-Hot-Dog-Buns-Gluten-Free/Page1.html

Made both hamburger buns and hot dog buns.  The dough is very forgiving.  On the hamburger version, I messed up the measurements on the dry ingredients and I baked them at the wrong temperature.  They still came out okay.  I used Egg Replacer instead of the eggs and hemp milk instead of regular milk.  Good, non-crumbly buns!

Let me know what you've been baking.  I'm always on the look out for new ways to mess up the clean kitchen!

Good News!

My pistachios are not part of the pistachio recall.   That doesn't mean yours are safe to eat though.  

This is the email I got from Whole Paycheck:

Thank you for your email. Our Food Safety team is looking at all areas of our business, the FDA is investigating and we will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds. At this time we have recalled

Flavor Tree In-Shell Salted Pistachios 16 oz with Best Before dates of 07/21/2009, 08/12/2009 & 10/16/2009 ONLY
365 Pistachios dry roasted & salted (In-Shell) 16oz with Best Before dates of 07/08/2009 GL1, 07/08/2009 GL2, & 11/27/2009 GL1 (other lot codes are not affected).

Please contact your local store regarding any bulk pistachios you may have purchased, since these items are sourced regionally.

All pistachio related recall information will be posted on our website at http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2009/04/pistachio-manufacturer-recall/

Kind regards,

-(Very nice customer service person at Whole Paycheck)

Mine have a different "Best Before" date, so I've been chowing down.

Pistachios

I've been craving pistachios lately.  I'm not even that fond of them.  There is a reason to why I crave them, but be advised that it's a long story.  In October, I was on a business trip, working the registration desk at a conference.  Another person there, who was working the same desk, left an almost full bag of roasted pistachios under the counter (distributed under the 365 brand by Whole Paycheck).  She lives in Seattle, but doesn't work at my office.  I figured I'd run into her at some point, so I brought the bag home.  I've seen her a few times since then, but never with advance notice, so I've never given them back.  

Last week, the hubby was looking for something to snack on, so I pulled out the bag.  And then I started snacking on them.  Even though I don't really like them.

Then, the pistachio recall happened.  I emailed Whole Paycheck immediately to find out if these pistachios were also recalled a few days ago, and I still haven't heard back, so I don't know if they're safe.  I totally understand that under our current food system, it takes a million years to track down the source of food (it shouldn't, but that's a whole nother post!).  So, these pistachios sit on my desk, staring at me every time I use the computer, begging me to eat them.  And, for some reason, they sound really good.  I think it's only because they are there, and I can't have them, that I crave them.  

Right now, they're calling my name, "Christina, eat me!  Eat me!  What are the odds I'll make you sick?"

I have to go away now, simply because I can't handle the siren song.

Chicken Broth

You could say I'm a bit of a recipe-aholic!  I love to read different recipes, and I collect them by the hundreds, even recipes I know I'll never make.  One must have fifty different salsa recipes!While recipe hunting this week, I read two on nytimes.com.  One was a pork shoulder recipe, and the other was a chicken pasta recipe.  While reading the recipes, I became annoyed at the waste of the authors.  In both recipes, the authors indicated that cooks should discard perfectly good parts.  I'm not sure why it upset me so much - it could perfectly well be hormones - but I felt that the authors should encourage their audiences to not only reduce waste in the kitchen but also to use solid bases in recipes, like using homemade chicken stock.  Making your own chicken stock isn't nearly as difficult as it sounds, it's also a million dollars cheaper than buying stock in the long run, and you have complete control over the ingredients.  Packaged foods that have "spices" listed as an ingredient usually have gluten, soy, or msg in them.  Plus, it tastes fantastic. Packaged stock taste like dishwater in comparison.
Here is my super easy recipe for chicken stock:
Chicken bones, skin, fat, blood, ect  (to acquire this, keep a bowl or bag in your freezer.  When cooking chicken, place either cooked or uncooked chicken "waste" in the bag.  When you have enough to fill your crock pot, get ready to make stock)
Vegetable peelings (you should not use vegetables that are rotting or gross.  You can use things like carrot peels, celery leaves, onion and garlic paper, ect.  Make sure to use mild flavored vegetables like carrots, celery, summer squash, baby turnips, mild greens like spinach, ect.  You can save your veggie scraps in the same bag as the chicken parts)
One small onion chopped
2-3 peppercorns
Herbs (like parsley, bay leaf, celery seed, chive.  Use small amounts and experiment)
Dump everything into your crock pot and turn to high.  Add enough water to cover the chicken.  You want the crockpot to be at least 3/4 full, or it won't run properly.  I use a 3 quart crockpotand it holds one picked-clean chicken carcass, a cup or so of vegetable scraps, and a small onion.  If you have a larger crockpot, I envy you.  Use a larger onion and more scraps. 
Cover, bring to a simmer, and let simmer for at least 8 hours or overnight.  I like to start mine right before bed and leave running all night.  
When done, turn crockpot off and remove lid.  Let sit for 30 minutes or so, until the pot is somewhat cool.
Place a very large bowl in your sink and place a colander inside.  Carefully (using good hot pads) dump the stock from the crockpot into the bowl.  Pick up colander, and let drain for a minute.  Press a large spoon against the cooked scraps until the remaining liquid is drained.  Discard scraps (If you live in Seattle, you can add the scraps to your yard waste bin).
Place bowl in the fridge for several hours, until the stock thickens and the fat has solidified on the top.  Using a large metal spoon, scrape off the fat .  If you'd like, you can save the fat in a glass jar.  Keep it in your fridge for a month or in the freezer for 3 months.  It tastes fantastic on toast, or as the primary fat used in homemade french fries.
You can use the broth right away, or it will keep in the fridge for about a week.  You can also freeze the broth.  It should keep at least 4 months.  I like to freeze mine in ice cube trays, which are about 2 tablespoons for each cube.  I've also seen people freeze broth in their muffin pans, which are about 2/3 cup per cube.  You can also freeze in plastic bags or containers.
I'll post pictures the next time I make broth.
Enjoy!

Maui

Vacationing with multiple food allergies is a nightmare.  At least for us, when we're on vacation we are more active and adventurous than normal.  We've hiked, kayaked, and snorkeled across parts of three countries now.  We need to feel great every day!  Thus, we must find a way to eliminate any chance of food contamination when traveling.  The simple solution?  Rent a condo!  This was our first big vacation in a condo, and we loved it.  I'm not sure we'll ever return to hotels.  

 

The best part about our condo on Maui was the view.  I'm not sure most restaurants on Maui could guarantee us this kind of show:

The second best part of having a condo is an opportunity to really sample the local foods.  I'm not talking about a bite of poi and poke at a luau.  I'm talking about real, locally-grown, heirloom fruits, vegetables, and meats.   Across the street from our condo was a daily produce stand with a wild variety of fresh summer produce.  That's right, in January we were eating local zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, eggplant, purple sweet potatoes, and strawberries.  Plus, we had our fill of local heirloom bananas called apple bananas, strawberry papaya (a non-GMO papaya variety.  Most other varieties have been corrupted by GMO varieties planted), pineapple, passion fruit, star fruit, and mango.  And then there was the citrus, like pomegranates, limes, lemons, and oranges.  In short, I'm ready to move.

 

The kitchen was well equipped, for a rental kitchen, right down to the metal garlic press.  One item missing in particular was a metal loaf pan.  They only had glass.  This is why I don't recommend baking bread in a glass pan:

To be fair, the oven was also broken.  But still, bread should never look like that after being in an oven for two hours.  The oven also ruined the brownies.  It was sad:

But, we survived without baked goods for the trip.  The meal list:

 

Spaghetti with GF pasta 

 

Tacos with sprouted corn tortillas

 

Stirfry with brown rice - without soy sauce :(

 

Fresh grilled Mahi Mahi with grilled vegetables and sweet potatoes

 

Fresh grilled Walu with grilled vegetables

 

The meal list starts with meals we commonly eat at home, and slowly shifts towards less common meals made with readily available foods on Maui.  Eating tacos is great, unless the tortillas cost more than the meat.  And let me tell you about insane food prices!  I paid $13/lbs for "natural" chicken breasts.  Ouch.  Thankfully, neither of us can digest milk.  That saved us $8 a gallon.  By eating simple meals with all local ingredients, we were able to stick to our food budget. 

 

Most every day was started with a fresh fruit smoothie, made with whatever fruit we had on hand.  Fresh banana was almost always an ingredient and coconut milk made regular appearances:

Lunch was usually a salad, except for the last day.  I went all out and made a pasta salad with grilled eggplant, grilled tomatoes, and steamed green beans (and EVOO and lots of garlic).  I topped it with a hunk of leftover Walu.  Fantastic!

 

Dinner was always started after a long walk on the beach at sunset.  We were completely spoiled.  I'm so ready to move.

 

Of course, I forgot to take pictures of most of the meals, so I can only leave you with this to inspire jealousy:

I'm counting down the days until strawberry season.  The Wenatchee farmers promised me some in April.  We'll see if that happens.

And now we return to our regularly scheduled programming....

Around January 29th, I disapeared off the face of the earth.  There were two reasons for this:  Our internet died! and we left for Maui two days later, before the internet was fixed.  Now that we're back, and our internet is working again, I can return to posting.  I know, dear readers, that you've missed me dearly.  I missed you too.

Words of Wisdom to Ponder...

SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR
ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

-Anonymous