Un-Cooking: Strawberry-Pear Salad with Goat Cheese

I just posted one of my partner Rochel's recipes and I thought I'd share another. I feel silly posting this as a recipe because it is is less of a recipe than a list of ingredients, but it's so addictively tasty that I wanted to share it with you all. We make this with inexpensive kosher goat cheese we buy a huge log of for around $4 at Costco.

STRAWBERRY-PEAR SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE

[ Gluten-Free / Vegetarian / Soy-Free ]

Romaine lettuce, chopped or Boston lettuce, torn
Ripe pear, sliced
Strawberries, sliced
Goat cheese
Balsamic vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, black pepper, a little dijon mustard and some raspberry jam or pomegranate juice to sweeten it a bit)
Optional: Pecans

On each plate put a generous amount of romaine lettuce, then arrange strawberries, pear slices and slices of goat cheese in an attractive way. Sprinkle with pecans (optional) and drizzle with dressing right before serving.

Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger: Karina's Pumpkin Chai Bread with Cranberries

Seamaiden of the vegetarian gluten-free blog Book of Yum is hosting another round of Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger, a blogging event in which we adopt another GF blogger and prepare one of their recipes. Last time I participated in this event, I baked gluten-free pita bread. This time it's the "Thanksgiving Edition" so we were all asked to prepare a dish from another blog that was thematically appropriate. I chose to prepare the vegan, gluten-free Pumpkin Chai Bread with Cranberries from the blog Karina's Kitchen (a/k/a The Gluten-Free Goddess). Karina has long been one of my favorite bloggers. She has supported and inspired me ever since I entered the blogging world several years back. When she got diagnosed with a huge list of food allergies in addition to celiac disease, the gluten-free blogging showed their support for her in the Cooking for Karina event I hosted. They made it clear with their numerous submissions that she is one of the best-loved residents of the gluten-free (and food allergy) blogosphere. But I have to make an embarrassing confession: Though I've used Karina's recipes often to inspire my own cooking, I don't think I've ever truly and thoroughly followed one of her recipes! Until today, that is. I chose this recipe in order to use up the cranberries left over from canning cranberry applesauce a few weeks ago and to stretch myself by actually following a recipe for a change.

I was a little worried about what the texture would be like, because the recipe is eggless and I haven't done a whole lot of vegan baking since being gluten-free. Thanks to egg replacer and xanthan gum it actually holds together pretty well. It is beautiful when it comes out of the oven - It is golden in hue and the cranberries look like gems! I enjoyed it, and look forward to toasting a slice or two for breakfast in the morning. Do I lose points if I smear a little butter on your vegan recipe, Karina? Hehe.

The down-low on how I customized the recipe: I chose to use chopped hazelnuts as a mix-in in addition to cranberries, as they were on sale at the store (I initially wanted pecans, but they were twice as expensive). That was a good choice, because the ones I sprinkled on the top of the loaf before baking became lightly toasted which brought out their flavor and crunch. I used raw agave nectar instead of sugar (per Karina's suggested measurements). I would probably use a good bit more sweetener next time. I don't have a major sweet tooth but I think a little more sweetness would round out the flavor. I'd also cut down on the liquid a little bit more than I did, to compensate for the moisture from the agave. I baked it for 60+ minutes and it was still a bit too moist inside. The flours I used were 3/4 cup of millet flour, 1/2 cup sorghum flour, and 1/4 cup tapioca flour.

This bread has a really nice texture with little bursts of tart cranberry flavor. It is lightly sweet which is great for those of us who don't have huge sweet tooths or are trying to cut back on sugar. It has a subtle chai flavor and the pumpkin is present but not overly assertive so this might be a way to get some more veggies into your kids' tummies! It's easy to make successfully using mostly whole grains, which was a plus.

If you haven't checked out Karina's Kitchen, you've been missing out. It's worth subscribing to Karina's blog for the photographs alone! Stop by and congratulate her for just publishing Aftertaste in Exile, her book of paintings, poetry and photography.

Ginger & Cardamom Poached Pears

My dear vegan and milk-allergic readers, I have not forgotten you.

This has to be one of the most popular desserts I've made, when it comes to the reactions of the people who eat the food I cook. I didn't expect that. I think I'm a pretty good cake baker, but when I tried this recipe for the first time at Rosh Hashanah dinner, I got more mmmmms and wows and ohmyg0ds with this deceptively simple fruit dessert than with the honey cakes I served it with. I made it again for Shabbat dinner on Friday and it was every bit as lovely as before. It would be a wonderful gluten-free vegan dessert option for Thanksgiving.

Easy but sophisticated is what I was going for. Peeling fruit does not equal "easy" in my book, so I didn't bother. If you'd like to try peeling the pears before halving them, go for it! This recipe works best with pears that are just ripe enough to have some softness while being firm enough to be handled without their skin getting easily damaged. How long you cook the pears will depend on how ripe they were to begin with - Five minutes on each side is plenty for a ripe piece of fruit. As for sugar, any kind should work. I have used raw sugar both times I've prepared this.

I sure wish these photos were better. The bits of stuff on top of the pears is ginger pieces, which I like to serve with the pear though they can be removed if you prefer. These pictures were taken before the sauce finished reducing into the dark, thick syrup that is drizzled on top of the pears - So the thin sauce you see on the pears is just the pre-reduction version of it, which I spooned on top of them before taking pictures. Imagine a thicker, darker and more syrupy sauce that can be truly drizzled across each pear. This recipe inevitably makes extra of the reduced ginger-cardamom syrup. The leftover syrup is divine, with its rich and slightly spicy flavor and sweet pieces of nearly candied ginger floating in it. It would be wonderful on pancakes or vanilla ice cream, so I like to save it in a little tupperware container for later enjoyment.




GINGER & CARDAMOM POACHED PEARS

[ Vegan / Pareve / Soy-Free / Dairy-Free / Gluten-Free ]

2" piece of ginger root, peeled
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp cloves (powdered)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2" piece of lemon zest
5 semi-ripe Bartlett or Anjou pears, washed and dried

Slice ginger root into very thin slices. Cut slices into narrow matchsticks. Bring water, sugar, spices, lemon zest, lemon juice and fresh ginger to a boil in a wide, heavy saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.

While the liquid is simmering, slice pears in half lengthwise and use a teaspoon to scoop the seeds out of each half. Place the pears cut-side down in the sauce pan and simmer for 5 minutes, then flip over and simmer for another 5 minutes. Baste occasionally with a spoon while cooking. Using a slotted spatula, carefully lift each piece of pear out of the liquid and place on a serving platter or individual plates.

Remove the lemon zest and cinnamon sticks from the liquid (you can remove the ginger pieces, too, if you like, but I think they're wonderful left in). Bring the liquid back up to a rolling boil, and boil until it thickens into a syrup. Drizzle 1 Tbsp of the syrup across each half of pear just before serving.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

The Thanksgiving Kugel: Gluten-Free Noodle Kugel with Cranberries

I haven't been inspired by Thanksgiving yet this year, which explains the lack of Thanksgiving mania on this blog. But tonight I think the bug finally bit me, if only mildly.

This past spring I posted my recipe for Savory Gluten-Free Noodle Kugel, a hearty mushroom-flecked kugel made with Manischewitz brand gluten-free Passover egg noodles. I made a point of stocking up last Pesach so I'd have some of these fabulous noodles to last me through the year, and I used up another bag tonight making a sweet lokshen kugel (noodle and egg casserole). I still have two or three left, just enough to get me through to this spring when they are back on the shelves at kosher grocery stores. Though I generally prefer Tinkyada noodles for just about everything, there are a few things that a wide, flat egg noodle is better for - Kugel is one of them. The fact that the Pesach noodles are made from potato starch means that they are all the more absorbent, which is perfect for a kugel.

Our family has two different kugel traditions - My dad's side of the family makes savory noodle kugels. On my mom's side, it's sweet kugel all the way. Since I made savory kugel last time (and boy was it good) this time I tried to sweeten it up without overdoing it on the sugar. What I ended up with was the Thanksgiving Kugel. There are thousands of bubbes rolling over in their graves at the very mention of the words "Thanksgiving" and "kugel" next to each other. I'm usually a little bit of a purist when it comes to ethnic foods. But I think if any of those bubbes would taste this kugel, they would forgive me. The dried cranberries (or "craisins" as marketing gurus seem to have renamed them) really plump up like little sweet-tart gems and make a tasty replacement for the usual raisins.

I lightened the kugel up a little - Trying to make this kind of traditional food low fat is just not something I have the heart to do. But I did trim some fat from where the texture or flavor wouldn't suffer. If you like your sweet kugels really sweet, you'll want to add an additional 1/2 to 3/4 cups of sugar, since I made this to be a side dish more than a dessert. This easy kugel would be a really nice side dish for Thanksgiving, it works well by itself for breakfast, and it should heat up well in a toaster oven or conventional oven.

Eat it in good health!




THANKSGIVING KUGEL
(GLUTEN-FREE CRANBERRY NOODLE KUGEL)

[ Gluten-Free / Soy-Free / Vegetarian / Dairy ]

16 oz wide gluten-free egg noodles*
6 eggs
7 to 8 oz farmers' cheese
2 cups low-fat sour cream
1/2 cup 1% milk
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar or raw sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Butter or margarine for greasing the pan
Optional: Additional pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar for top

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook noodles until tender but not overly soft, remove from heat and drain immediately, rinsing with cold water. Set aside. Grease lasagna pan.

In a blender, combine spices, salt, sugar, milk, eggs, sour cream and farmers' cheese. Pulse until smooth. In a large bowl, pour liquid over the noodles. Add cranberries. Stir until well-combined. Pour entire mixture (including all "extra" liquid) into the greased pan. Dust the top with additional sugar and pumpkin pie spice.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the top is golden-brown and the egg mixture has become slightly firm (will still be somewhat soft - do not overcook!) Allow to cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving warm.

* If you don't have access to gluten-free Passover egg noodles, gluten-free tagliatelle or lasagna noodles (cut in strips after cooking) will work, though the texture won't be quite the same.

Gluten-Free Apple-Quince Pie

I got some e-mails asking me about the pie pictured in the post on my Pecan-Quinoa Streusel Crumble Topping. That's an apple-quince pie! I would have posted the recipe sooner if I hadn't been gallavanting around New York City with a bunch of gay Jews this weekend. Have you ever cooked with quince? It's a hard autumn fruit that looks like a hard and somewhat lumpy cross between an apple and a pear. It tastes unpleasantly astringent when raw but is delicious when cooked down with plenty of sweetener (agave nectar, in my case), and has a flavor that is fragrant, mild and apple-y. The texture is firmer and more grainy than an apple, which makes it stand up well to a long cooking time. Apples and quinces are lovely together. Quinces take much longer to cook than apples, so cooking them together results in an apple-quince "sauce" with a wonderful consistency - The apples will nearly dissolve into sauce while the quince retains just enough of its firmness to give the filling a good bite and appearance. I discovered later that I used unripe quinces, so keep an eye out for yellow quinces rather than the green ones I used, and they will take less time to cook.


The pie was fantastic, if not entirely photogenic. I used the Natural Feast Gluten-Free Frozen Pie Shells again. As I mentioned in this post they are gluten-free, vegan, kosher (pareve) and free of refined sweeteners. They are also free of soy and nuts. They're no replacement for a homemade crust, but they work well in a pinch. Since they come in packages of two, I had one left after making that delicious apple-raspberry pie, so I used the remaining one for this pie. This recipe calls for a pre-baked crust - If you use the Natural Feast crust, follow the directions on the package for baking it without a filling, but cut the baking time in half, then remove the crust from the oven and fill it with the fruit filling. Once you fill it, put a piece of tin foil underneath and fold the edges up so it creates a loose partial tent around the pie, with the top open. This will keep the edges from burning.


You will likely have some leftover filling, but that's intentional on my part. I think the filling is just too good to only be inside one little pie. Eat the leftovers cold, like applesauce - Or mix with yogurt. Better yet, put them in ramekins, sprinkle with leftover crumble topping, and bake in the oven or toaster oven until the topping has browned slightly. An easy breakfast or dessert. Who needs a crust, really?



APPLE-QUINCE PIE

[Gluten-Free / Pareve / Soy-Free / Vegan ]

5 quinces
8 granny smith apples
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice mix*
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup apple cider
1 cup agave nectar, sugar or honey
2 Tbsp sweet rice flour**
1 Tbsp margarine (or butter) cut into small pieces
1 recipe Pecan-Quinoa Streusel Crumble Topping

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Peel apples and quinces, core them and cut them in thin slices - You can use an apple slicer for the apples, but make sure the quince is cut as thin as possible. Add all ingredients to a large pot, and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the fruit is tender (about 20-30 minutes), stirring occasionally.

Pour the fruit mixture from the pot into a mixing bowl, and slowly sift in the sweet rice flour, making sure to mix it in evenly so there are no lumps.

Pour fruit mixture into a partially pre-baked pie crust. Use your fingers to crumble the streusel topping across the entire top of the pie. Arrange small pieces of margarine across the top, and bake for 20-20 minutes, or until the topping is golden-brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.

*You can buy pumpkin pie spice mix from any spice company, or make your own.

**Sweet rice flour is not the same as white rice or brown rice flour, which are not good thickeners. You can find it at most Asian markets as well as some health food stores. It is sometimes called sticky rice flour, glutinous rice flour (yes, it's gluten-free!) or oriental rice flour. You can buy it online here.

Flourless Streusel Crumble Topping with No Refined Sugar

It took me a while to find a gluten-free crumble topping that doesn't use oats and has a texture and appearance that I like. I guess I'm picky about my crumbles. When I finally got this recipe right, I was pleased as punch. Now I can actually convince myself that pie is health food! This crumble topping is especially for those of us who choose to avoid refined sugar, which is the backbone of the crumble toppings usually used on top of fruit crisps, pies and some bar cookies. I created this crumble topping as a healthier, whole grain alternative, free of cane sugar and full of crumbly texture and sweet, nutty flavor. I hope it will help somebody out there transform some plain old fruit or a topless pie (ha!) into something truly worthy of oohs and aahs.

Though certified gluten-free oats are now available, they are hard to find in local stores and are very expensive. There are also celiacs who cannot digest even these certified oats. So some of us still have the need for a gluten-free crumble topping that is made with alternative ingredients. This recipe relies on the versatility of pecans and the oat-like texture and outstanding nutritional profile of Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes for its texture. I buy quinoa flakes locally for around $3 per package. I hear there are other companies besides Ancient Harvest that make quinoa flakes, but this is the only brand I've found in stores here and I'm quite happy with it as a baking ingredient and a hot cereal for chilly mornings.

I have tried this recipe with both honey and agave nectar, and honey creates a much better crumb and holds the sweetness better when the crumble is baked. However, if you need to make this strictly vegan, agave nectar will certainly do the job.

Feel free to use butter (as if you needed my permission!) I've called for non-hydrogenated margarine only because I often like to make my pies pareve so that I can eat them at both meat and dairy meals. I would definitely choose butter if I didn't need this versatility, because butter makes everything better. My good buddy L of A Question Mark taught me that. Using butter would also make this recipe soy-free.

I have a tupperware of leftover crumble in my refrigerator after using it to top a pie I made the other day. I can't wait to go to the farmer's market to buy whatever's in season to transform into a delicious fruit crisp.

PECAN-QUINOA STREUSEL CRUMBLE TOPPING

[ Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Pareve / Vegan ]

1 cup pecans
3 Tbsp non-hydrogenated vegetable margarine (such as Earth Balance), softened slightly
3/4 cup quinoa flakes
3 to 4 Tbsp honey or agave nectar
Pinch of salt

In a food processor with blade attachment, process pecans until they are in nearly uniform small chunks (see picture below). If you have a plastic blade or mixer attachment, attach it and add the rest of the ingredients. If you only have a metal blade, pulse ingredients as slowly and minimally as possible. Process only until ingredients are well combined and form a uniform, crumbly mixture. Use your fingers to crumble it into small pieces over the top of a pie, fruit crisp, muffins, or other baked good. Place dish into a preheated oven at 400 F. Bake until the crumble topping is browned but not burnt (watch carefully to make sure the top doesn't char), approximately 20 minutes.

Here's what the pecans should look like before you add the other ingredients:

Pie. Pie. Pie. Pie. Pie. Apple Raspberry Pie.

I love pie. I've never met a pie I didn't love, though sadly some pies just don't love me back.

This is a vegan gluten-free apple-raspberry pie with a crumble topping, made with no refined sugar and all local fruit. It was improvisational, and I didn't write the recipe down - I mixed up apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, fresh raspberries, a little Earth Balance margarine, agave nectar and some lemon juice and a little cornstarch (or was it arrowroot starch or sweet rice flour?) for the filling. I will post the delicious whole-grain crumb topping recipe one of these days, I promise. It turned out deliciously. I have another frozen gluten-free pie crust in my freezer just waiting to be turned into another pie, so a recipe should be forthcoming in the next week or so.

The pie crust is this one, which I bought at my local Hannaford:

If you don't have a Hannaford near you, you can buy it from Gluten-Free Mall. They come in packages of two, and are vegan, kosher, gluten-free and free of refined sugar. Though my homemade pie crusts are better, these frozen guys are pretty darn decent and so very, very convenient.

Yum.

Low-Fat Sugar-Free Sesame Banana Muffins / Sesame Banana Bread

I baked up an adapted version of the Sesame Banana Mini-Muffins my parents ate while staying at Poetry Ridge Bed and Breakfast in Greenfield, MA. They came back from their stay with the recipe, written in pencil on an index card. The muffins had apparently been made by the proprietors for another guest, who had multiple food allergies. They both raved about them, so I told them I'd give the recipe a shot despite my skepticism.

The original recipe called for Splenda. Those of you who've been reading this blog for a while know that I don't usually go for artificial sweeteners. Don't kid yourself into thinking that Splenda is any more natural than any other artificial sweetener - It's not. But since I wanted to duplicate the recipe my parents had eaten as closely as possible, I decided to give Splenda a shot. The verdict? The muffins were good, and the loaf was even better, but I won't be baking with Splenda again. Unlike some people, I can detect quite an unpleasant aftertaste. I'll stick to agave nectar and its ilk - Natural sweeteners that are not sugar-free but are lower-glycemic than cane sugar and not over-processed. However, no one else who ate them complained about the Splenda taste so I think I must just have freakish taste buds.

The sesame seeds in this recipe give a delightfully unusual texture to what would otherwise be banana bread (or banana muffins). I used untoasted sesame seeds - But I have called for toasted sesame seeds in the recipe since I believe that lightly toasted sesame seeds would improve the flavor and texture. For the gluten-free flour the recipe calls for, any mix that contains xanthan or guar gum will work, such as Pamela's Ultimate Pancake & Baking Mix or Bob's Red Mill Wheat Free Biscuit & Baking Mix or my cake flour mix recipe.

These muffins have a wonderfully moist texture - Yet they are also low-fat in addition to being sugar-free, which make them a good option for people who are on restricted diets. The quinoa flakes also increase the protein content quite a bit. You can easily replace the sour cream with Tofutti soy sour cream and the milk with soy or rice milk if you'd like to make these muffins dairy-free / pareve. They taste great at room temperature for several days, too. I poured the batter in both a silicone mini-muffin pan and a standard-sized tin bread pan. I enjoyed the cuteness and convenience factor of the mini-muffins, but the loaf took a slight lead when it came to taste and texture. This recipe makes enough batter to fill one mini-muffin pan and one bread pan, so you don't have to choose between the two!

LOW-FAT SUGAR-FREE SESAME BANANA MUFFINS / SESAME BANANA BREAD

[ Gluten-Free / Nut-Free / Soy-Free or Dairy-Free / Milchig or Pareve]

3/4 cups low-fat sour cream or Tofutti soy sour cream
1/2 cup Splenda
2 egg whites
2 bananas, thoroughly mashed
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes Hot Cereal
1 cup gluten-free flour mix
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg)
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup low-fat milk or soy / rice milk

Cream Splenda and sour cream with electric hand-mixer. Mix in egg whites, bananas, vanilla. In a separate bowl mix together flour, quinoa flakes, sesame seeds, baking soda and salt. Add to batter and mix well. Pour into greased mini-muffin tins, filling each cup to the top, and/or pour into well-greased bread pan, filling to 1 inch below top. Bake muffins for 15-20 minutes and bake loaf for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Banana Medallion Pancakes

There are endless variations possible for breakfast pancakes. While I do make pancakes from scratch sometimes, I've found that I really prefer the pancakes I make with Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix*. For those who haven't already discovered this, Amazon has a great deal on a case of 6 bags... and hallelujah, Pamela's also now makes a a 4-pound bag, which is fabulous for those of us who use this as an all-purpose mix for most of our baking needs. Though I do make my own flour mixes, I love the convenience of Pamela's mix so I always keep a bag of it on hand. For pancakes, it can't be beat... Though you know I'll keep trying!

I know a few of you are still waiting for my plantain pancake recipe. I haven't forgotten. When a cool morning and a well-ripened plantain coincide in my kitchen I will recreate that recipe to share with you all. But in the meantime, fix yourself a stack of gluten-free banana pancakes while singing this little ditty, share them with a loved one, and dig in. I enjoy these with tart blackberry jam spread on them and real maple syrup drizzled on top.



BANANA MEDALLION PANCAKES

[Gluten-Free / Soy-Free / Vegetarian / Milchig]

1 cup Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix*
1 large egg
3/4 cup low-fat milk or rice milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large ripe banana

Cut bananas in 1/4" rounds. Mix all ingredients except bananas together until smooth. No lumps should be visible. Heat a nonstick griddle over medium heat - If you use a griddle that isn't nonstick, grease lightly with additional vegetable oil or spray with cooking spray. When the griddle is hot, pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter onto it. Immediately place 2-3 banana medallions on top of each pancake. Allow to cook until the bottom of the pancake is golden brown and the edges begin to firm. Flip carefully and allow the second side to cook. Serve hot. Leftovers can be cooled and stored in ziploc bags, and reheated in microwave or toaster oven.

*Edited 3/09 to add: Pamela's baking mixes are under kosher supervision but are not certified by a mainstream kosher certifying agency, so most people who keep strictly kosher kitchens will want to use another gluten-free pancake mix such as Gluten-Free Pantry Brown Rice Pancake Mix. I no longer use Pamela's products in my house since I now have a more strictly kosher kitchen. If in doubt, check with your rabbi!

If there's a reason why I haven't been posting...

...it sure isn't because I haven't been cooking!


Maduros (fried ripe plantains):



Baby turnip greens from my garden sauteed with olive oil, garlic, red chili flakes, salt and crimini mushrooms:



It's summer, and it's hot, and I'd rather spend time in the garden than cook... so you'll notice I'm not posting as frequently as I was when the weather was cooler. But I'll post some recipes soon enough, my dears.

Tropical Charoset

This is a delicious winter fruit salad recipe from Mirj, who is possibly the most prolific kosher cook on RecipeZaar. Some of you will remember the beef tzimmes I posted last week, which was based on a recipe of hers. Her recipes have yet to fail me - This fruit salad was no exception. It makes use of the fruits that are widely available in supermarkets this time of year, which is a good reminder for me that no matter how much I might be craving apples or strawberries, March just isn't the time to buy them. I have adapted the recipe slightly to suit my tastes and my dietary restrictions as well as to cut the amount in half, since I'm not feeding a family of 10 like Mirj is (yet)! I wrote her to let her know that this is the first time I have ever enjoyed figs, which is quite an achievement. I have put in parentheses my silly little nickname for this dish - I've been calling it "tropical charoset", because I believe it would make a wonderful charoset alternative for Passover.

WINTER FRUIT SALAD (TROPICAL CHAROSET)

6 navel oranges
2 seedless tangerines, clementines, or other small, seedless orange
2 large bananas
4 moist dried figs
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup sweet red wine or concord grape juice

Peel and segment 5 of the 6 naval oranges; remove all membrane and chop roughly. Peel the tangerines or celementines, segment, and add to bowl with naval orange pieces. Chop figs in very small pieces and slice bananas. Add to the rest of the fruit. Squeeze the juice from the remaining naval orange over the fruit, and toss. Stir in raisins, walnuts and wine or juice. Serve cold or at room temperature. This dish looks best when served immediately, but tastes wonderful the following day.

Lemon-Blueberry Pancakes

When I found out that IHOP was serving free pancakes yesterday for Shrove Tuesday / National Pancake Day, I was sad for a moment that I couldn't take advantage of the offer. I sure am a sucker for free food. The disappointment was short-lived, however, because I remembered that I had made a huge batch of gluten-free lemon-blueberry pancakes on Sunday and still had a number of them in the fridge. I popped them in the toaster oven for a few minutes, spread no-sugar-added Raspberry Jam on them, and dug in. Pancake heaven!

I used Meyer lemons from my uncle's tree to prepare these - If you have access to this sweet, juicy variety I recommend using them. If not, a regular lemon will certainly do. I prefer them with real eggs and rice milk, but you can use egg replacer and any type of milk replacement. Try raspberry jam on them instead of syrup... it works wonderfully with the flavor and texture of the pancakes.

I've decided that pancake joy is its own special category of joy.

LEMON-BLUEBERRY PANCAKES

2 cups Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix*
2 large eggs or equivalent egg replacer
1 1/2 cups rice milk or almond milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat a lightly oiled griddle over medium heat. Mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly until they are smooth with no olumps. Fold blueberries in gently. Pour approximately 1/4 cup of the batter onto the griddle at a time. Cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and cook the second side. Serve hot with butter, real maple syrup and/or raspberry preserves. Leftover pancakes should be cooled, then stored in ziploc bags in the freezer or refrigerator. They can be reheated in a toaster oven or on a griddle, or microwaved for about 1 minute.

Makes approximately 12 pancakes.

*Edited 3/09 to add: Pamela's baking mixes are under kosher supervision but are not certified by a mainstream kosher certifying agency, so most people who keep strictly kosher kitchens will want to use another gluten-free pancake mix such as Gluten-Free Pantry Brown Rice Pancake Mix. I no longer use Pamela's products in my house since I now have a more strictly kosher kitchen. If in doubt, check with your rabbi!

Homemade Cranberry Applesauce (and Traditional Applesauce, too)

Both of these applesauces go beautifully with potato latkes, or eat them by the spoonful like I do. Depending on what varieties of apple you use, your sauce can range from extremely sweet to very tart. I recommend using half sweet apples (I chose Braeburn) and half tart apples (Granny Smiths are perfect). This recipe has no sugar added, which lets the fruit shine on its own.



HOMEMADE CRANBERRY APPLESAUCE

3 pounds of apples, peeled and cored
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cups of water
2 thin slices of lemon
Juice of 1/2 an orange
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cut apples into approximately 1 inch cubes. Add all ingredients to pot, and turn heat on high. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the apples have softened significantly. Stir frequently, making sure that the apples are not sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add more liquid if necessary. Remove lemon slices. Mash with a potato masher or use a food mill for a smoother consistency. Serve warm or at room temperature.




HOMEMADE TRADITIONAL APPLESAUCE

3 pounds of apples, peeled and cored
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
1 1/2 cups of water
2 thin slices of lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cut apples into approximately 1 inch cubes. Add ingredients to pot, and turn heat on high. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the apples have softened significantly. Stir frequently, making sure that the apples are not sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add more liquid if necessary. Remove lemon slices. Mash with a potato masher or use a food mill for a smoother consistency. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This recipe is part of the Antioxidant Rich Foods / 5-A-Day recipe roundup.

Once Upon a Persimmon Cake

Once upon a time, the blogger known as "By The Bay" purchased two pounds of Hachiya persimmons at Oakland's Grand Lake Farmers' Market. She wasn't a big fan of persimmons, but something about Elise's Persimmon Pudding Cake recipe called to her.


She bought them firm and unripe, but knew that in order to be edible this variety of persimmon needed to be so ripe and mushy that they would practically fall apart in her hands. She figured they would be ripe enough in a week's time. A week passed, and they were still hard as rocks. She knew she could do things to help ripen them, but decided instead to wait and see how long it would take for them to do so on their own. Another week passed, and still they weren't ripe. Thanksgiving came around and she left town, thinking for sure when she got back they'd be ready to use. No such luck. But a full month later, she came home from work and knew today was the day... The persimmons were finally ripe!

So she set about adapting Elise's recipe to be gluten-free, changing the recipe just enough to make it her own.


The result was a rich, sweet cake with a moist consistency akin to bread pudding. The distinctive flavor of the persimmons came through beautifully, and the taste of pecans and caramelized sugar rounded out the flavor.

PERSIMMON PECAN PUDDING CAKE

2 cups of pulp of extremely ripe Hachiya persimmons
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups Gluten Free Cake Flour Mix
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ginger

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a 8" round cake pan. In a large bowl, mix persimmon pulp, eggs, butter, buttermilk and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Slowly fold the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until thoroughly combined. Add chopped nuts and stir to incorporate. Pour into cake pan and bake for about 50 minutes. When done, the center will still be very moist and soft, but the outside of the cake should have formed a firm crust and be well-browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before serving. Slice and serve warm.

The Orange Creamsicle (Dairy-Free Smoothie)

When I was a child, I spent many summer days at Moriello's, our town's public swimming pool. After a few hours of splishing and splashing, I would run barefoot over to the ice cream stand, where for pocket change you could buy Good Humor ice cream in deliciously soggy frozen cones; Mickey Mouse popsicles with a gumball for a nose; or red, white and blue rocket popsicles. My hands-down favorite was the Creamsicle (orange flavor only, of course)... Vanilla ice cream encased in a thick layer of icey orange sorbet. This creamy drink is inspired by Creamsicles and memories of hot summer days. No dairy, vegan, no added sugar.

THE ORANGE CREAMSICLE

1 cup orange juice, not from concentrate
1 cup rice milk, fortified (plain or vanilla)
1 banana
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth and frothy. Serve immediately.

Fall Salads: The Autumn Harvest on Display

As part of a meal I cooked for my mother, who's visiting from New York, I put together this sald. I based it around some ingredients I had on hand - roasted butternut squash, a ripe pomegranate, and Marcona almonds-- the sweet, heart-shaped Spanish variety of almond that is fried lightly in olive oil and sea salt. I bought the almonds at Piedmont Grocery, but discovered today that you can find them in tins at a very reasonable price at Costco. This salad was a side dish for grilled chicken breasts but cended up as the star of the meal, with the meat nothing but a footnote. Since it was a meat-based meal, for reasons of kashrut I didn't add goat cheese - But if you're not kosher, or are not eating it with meat, I think goat cheese (soft or feta, crumbled) would be a perfect touch. This was one of my favorite salads, with perfectly complementary textures and flavors along with vivid fall colors.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH, MARCONA ALMOND AND POMEGRANATE SALAD

4 cups mixed salad greens
Seeds of 1/2 pomegranate
1 cup Spice-Roasted Butternut Squash or other roasted squash cubes
1/3 cup Marcona almonds
Crumbled goat cheese (optional)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine vinegar, olive oil, honey, mustard and black pepper in a jar. Shake thoroughly to combine. Add just enough dressing to the salad greens to coat the leaves very lightly. Add squash and pomegranate seeds. Toss gently. Sprinkle marcona almonds and goat cheese (optional) on salad just before serving. Makes 3-4 servings.

Note: A tutorial for removing the seeds of a pomegranate can be found here.

This recipe is part of the upcoming Fall Salads Event at My Life As a Reluctant Housewife.

The promise of persimmons.

I bought two pounds of organic Hachiya persimmons yesterday at the Berkeley Farmer's Market. My plan is to make the Persimmon Pudding Cake Recipe that Elise posted last week, using a gluten free flour mix. I'm not usually a big fan of persimmons but something about that recipe just looks so amazing, and the boxes and boxes of brightly colored fruit at the market convinced me to give persimmons another try. If I have some left over I will make persimmon salsa or freeze them for use in smoothies.

Pear, Feta & Basil Salad

Today's salad:

-Butter lettuce
-Finely shredded carrots
-Red bell pepper
-Fresh basil (chiffonade)
-Feta cheese
-Ripe bartlett pear
-Vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, black pepper and olive oil)

I tossed a few marinated artichoke hearts in when I took seconds. This salad works with any goat cheese, but the saltiness of a goatsmilk feta really complements the sweetness of the pears particularly well.

Strawberry-Pear Cobbler

I made my first attempt at a gluten-free cobbler. The biscuit topping was not as perfect as I was hoping for, but it was satisfyingly biscuit-y. The fruit beneath it was nothing but delicious, with the distinctive taste of pear peeking through the tart sweetness of strawberries. It's a perfect fruit combination for this transitional season, when here in Northern California there are still juicy strawberries on sale at the farmers' market and pears and apples are fully in season. On a fatty note, I recommend using Spectrum's palm oil based shortening, as it's non-hydrogenated and has none of those much-maligned trans fats. Serve this cobbler alone or with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. And don't forget to give me your feedback, as this is the first cobbler I've ever made and definitely a work-in-progress.

Strawberry-Pear Cobbler

2 1/2 cups Pamela's Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix* or other GF all-purpose mix
3/4 cups butter or palm oil (no trans fat) shortening
1/3 cup milk, buttermilk, or milk substitute
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 pints strawberries, cut lengthwise in thirds
2 ripe Bartlett pears, in 3/4 inch cubes
1/4 cup brown sugar or Sucanat
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a medium bowl mix the sugar, cornstarch and nutmeg. Add berries and pears, and mix thoroughly until fruit is coated with the dry ingredients. Pour fruit mixture into greased 8x8" baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix baking mix and salt. Cut shortening or butter into the baking mix, using your hands to mix until no large lumps appear. Add milk or milk substitute, and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon (the mixture will not be completely smooth).

Spoon batter over the top of the fruit, spreading over the whole dish. It will be thick, so use your hands to distribute it evenly. Leave a few small uncovered areas so that some of the liquid from the fruit can evaporate during the baking process. (Optional: Put a few pats of butter on the top of the cobbler before putting in the oven.) Shake a bit of cinnamon evenly over the top of the dough.

Bake for 30 minutes or until knife inserted in biscuit topping comes out clean and the top has browned. Serve warm.


*Edited 3/09 to add: Pamela's baking mixes are under kosher supervision but are not certified by a mainstream kosher certifying agency, so most people who keep strictly kosher kitchens will want to use another gluten-free all-purpose flour mix such as Arrowhead Mills All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Mix
. I no longer use Pamela's products in my house since I now have a more strictly kosher kitchen. If in doubt, check with your rabbi!