Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Agave Nectar

Yes these completely normal and yummy looking cookies are gluten-free and contain no white sugar. I felt confident that I had perfected the gluten-free chocolate chip cookie using the recipe from "Gluten-Free Baking Classics," and I did want to reduce the amount of sugar in my baking. Since I had some agave nectar on hand, I simply substituted 3/4 cup of agave nectar for 1 cup of white, granulated sugar—I left the 1/2 cup of brown sugar unaltered. I've read recommendations that one is suppose to reduce the amount of liquid in a recipe when using agave nectar, but since there are no other liquids besides the eggs in this recipe, I did not make any modifications. I blended the agave nectar in with the brown sugar and butter, and then proceeded as described in the recipe below (except I used light brown sugar instead of dark because when this recipe was published in Gourmet in 2005 it called for light brown sugar).

The result? Happily, absolutely no sugar-substitute aftertaste. Our dinner guest and my sister both thought they were perfectly normal chocolate chip cookies—meaning that no one was able to just eat one or two or three or ...—although they were a little browner in color and very light, yet the slightest bit cakey. I also found them a little sweeter, so I might reduce the amount of agave nectar by a tablespoon or two. A plus was that I didn't get night sweats after eating a bunch late in the evening, as I've been known to when I have too much sugar in my system.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies from "Gluten-Free Baking Classics"
To make white sugar free, substitute 3/4 cup agave nectar for the granulated, white sugar
(click on image to see recipe in detail)

Fish in a Bag

Not a recipe really—just a comment that I love the ease of cooking fish, vegetables, herbs, seasonings, and what have you in an aluminum foil "bag." It's almost impossible to dry out the fish, as the close-enough-to-airtight environment covering the top and bottom of the ingredients with foil and sealing the edges provides keeps the juices from evaporating and makes the fish self basting. We usually heat the oven to 450º and give the fish about 30 minutes (longer if a thick fillet). The result is always a crowd pleaser.

Salmon fillet, purchased from the Newnham fishmonger, covered with basil, tomatoes, garlic, pepper and lemons.

Gluten-free, Sugar-free Blueberry Scones

My sister was coming for a visit, and, as she is diabetic, I wanted to do some gluten-free and sugar-free baking. Having made lemon, cornmeal gluten-free scones before, I knew that they contained very little sugar (1/4 cup). I've been interested in substituting out white sugar in recipes for my own health--all the gluten-free baking I did in the winter didn't exactly slim me down for summer.

My sister uses agave nectar to make a sugar-free margarita, and I've read a bit online about using agave nectar in place of granulated, white sugar. As for how to substitute in agave nectar in a recipe, I've come across different suggestions. What I seem to find most, since agave nectar is quite sweet and syrupy, is to use 3/4 cup agave nectar per 1 cup of sugar and reduce liquids a bit (amount decided by trial and error I guess), if the recipe even calls for liquids. While setting-up a monthly Tesco delivery, I found that they carry agave nectar and added it to my order.

Recipe in mid-production. Agave nectar in plastic squeeze bottle in foreground.

The scone recipe calls for mixing the dry ingredients, including the sugar, together, and then adding, at the same time, the dry mixture and liquids to the beaten eggs. Since the agave nectar is syrupy, I added it to the milk. Since only 1/4 cup of granulated sugar is required, I didn't go through the bother of exactly measuring 3/4 of 1/4 cup (anyone have 3/16 measuring cup?), I just eyeballed "a little less" than 1/4 cup agave nectar. I also reduced the amount of liquid from 1/2 cup milk to a little more than 1/3 cup.

Recipe from Annalise G. Roberts' "Gluten-Free Baking Classics" (click on image to enlarge)

Another change I made, not related to sugar or gluten issues, was using fresh blueberries instead of raisins—just not a fan of the little, dried buggers. I did make the mistake of following the recipe and adding the blueberries in with the milk. Now, raisins could stand up to the next step, being beaten with a hand mixer. However, blueberries would just get mashed-up and color the batter blue. Instead of picking the blueberries out, I just mixed the batter by hand.

Scones head into the oven. The recipe said 14 scones one inch deep and 2 1/2 inches in diameter, but I ended up with 11 one inch-y by three-ish scones. I've never been good at judging size—of a crowd or a pastry.

Hopefully from the picture below you can see that the scones emerged from the oven looking "normal." As for the taste? Well, I was really pleased, and my husband and my sister both approved. As I did not eat many scones in my gluten eating days, I still wasn't confident in their true scone-iness. When I commented that they seemed a little dry without jam, my husband reminded me that scones are drier than muffins and are typically eaten with jam. I can confidently comment that the 1/4 cup of agave nectar sweetened the scones perfectly and did not impart any aftertaste.

Oven-fresh scones ready to be eaten.

Poaching Fish

I've realized that M* and I eat very little meat (besides a weekly chicken) or fish at home—and we don't eat out very often. This is a result of frugality, but lately my body is in revolt. I had M* pick-up some sea bass from the local fishmonger last weekend, and I was ready to prepare it on Monday. I decided that the organic asparagus and potatoes from our weekly delivery needed to be eaten and so they were selected as the sides (I am contemplating cancelling our weekly vegetable delivery as we never eat all the potatoes).

The potatoes and asparagus were easy: peel the potatoes, toss them with some olive oil, salt, pepper, seasonings and bake at 350 for an hour (then toss with garlic sauteed in olive oil if you have the time) and toss the asparagus with olive, a little bit of sea salt and bake at 400° for 8-15 minutes depending on size and personal taste.

I was going to bake the fish with olive oil, tomatoes, basil and onion in sealed aluminum foil, but I had no aluminum foil. After looking online I decided on poaching: cooking in a pan on the stove in a little bit of liquid. I got some ideas from "Shallow Poached Sea Bass" although the only ingredients that I had were the sea bass and stock—but it was vegetable not chicken. Instead of Old Bay, coriander, etc., I used 1 tbsp of butter, garlic, mushrooms, onion and tarragon.

Poached sea bass, potatoes and asparagus

As for the methodology—that was a rough copy as well. I used a non-stick frying pan with no lid. I took the lid from a smaller pan and had to stick a wooden spoon under the lid to keep it from smushing the fish. I also didn't have the correct thermometer for reading fish, so I guessed the timing (about eight minutes per side). Regardless of the changes, M* and I were thrilled with the result: moist, flavorful fish. I think it's now our preferred method of preparing fish.

Gluten-free Pancakes

I've been making gluten-free pancakes for two years now, and, each time the recipe varies slightly. The recipe I always modify is from an old Betty Crocker cookbook; the alterations are replacing wheat flour with a gluten-free flour mix and adding xantham gum.

The variation in each batch is in the amount of xanthm gum—I used to use 1/4 tsp but now I always use 1/2 tsp—or the blend of gluten-free flours. I have used almond meal, brown rice flour, white rice flour, gram (chickpea) flour and glutinous, though gluten-free, rice flour. M* and I have enjoyed each batch, except the ones where I mistakenly used a tbsp of salt instead of sugar or three tbsps of baking powder instead of three tsps or 3/4 pint of milk instead of 3/4 cup of milk, but certain ones have more closely resembled wheat flour pancakes. Unfortunately, I never bothered to note the amounts of each flour in those standout batches.

This past Sunday, I made two batches: one horrible (the 1 tbsp salt batch) and one fantastic. The key to the wheat flour mimicing pancakes was the use of some glutenous rice flour; I had never used it before, but picked some up recently in a Korean grocer. Gluten has binding properties that one approximates by adding xantham gum, but this rice increases the sticky factor.

The recipe—with my best estimate of the flour amounts—is below. What I discovered a few days later is that increasing the glutenous rice flour to 1/2 cup or more is not recommended. Thursday, I only had a few tablespoons of brown rice flour left, so I switched the amounts of brown rice and glutenous rice flour. The pancakes were fine, but not as light as the ones resulting from the recipe below.

Gluten-free Pancakes
1/2 cup plus two tbsps brown rice flour (finely ground)
1/4 cup glutinous rice flour
2 tbsps almond meal
1/2 tsp xantham gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Whisk dry ingredients, except baking powder, in medium size bowl until well blended. Add baking powder. Blend milk, egg and oil in small bowl, and then add to dry ingredients. Gently stir ingredients with spoon or spatula just until ingredients are blended.

Let batter sit for 5-10 minutes. If you have an electric stove-top, like we do unfortunatly, this is a good time to heat the burner to medium. Make sure the pan or griddle is hot before adding batter. We use a non-stick pan, but I still lightly coat it with cooking spray before the first batch. Pancakes should cook quickly—a few minutes per side—so stay close. Enjoy with your favorite syrup.

Salsa

It surprised me that I cannot remember making a tomato based salsa from scratch. I certainly remember make tomatillo salsa, but perhaps the availability of tasty, fresh salsas in Los Angeles precluded a need for me to make my own.

As we were having friends over last week for a game and meal of Mexican black beans, rice and tacos, making homemade salsa was a necessity. There are so many recipes online, and I focused on finding a simple one. The one I decided upon was from Mexicoconnect.com, and only required the six ingredients that I envisioned one would need: tomatoes, cilantro, onion, green chilies, lemon juice and salt.

The author stresses that one should manually chop the vegetables, and that was my plan. But it was nearing the time our guests were arriving, and I still had to shower. So, the ingredients went into the blender (we don't have a food processor). The result was a little thinner/ soupier than I was going for, but it was very tasty and had the appearance and consistency of many salsas that I have eaten. I've since chatted with my cousin's wife about the experience, and she gave me a tip for future salsa making: leave the onions out of the food processor/ blender as they tend to liquefy quickly and add after.
We and our guests were pleased with the salsa—although it was quite a bit hotter than I was expecting. I really have to be better at testing the heat of a pepper before using it in a recipe.

SALSA MEXICANA from Mexicoconnect.com

Please cut the ingredients by hand, never using electric help.

3 ripe tomatoes, chopped;
1/2 cup chopped onion;
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped;
4 to 6 chiles verdes (chile serrano), finely chopped;
2 teaspoons salt;
2 teaspoons lemon juice.

Mix well all ingredients in a serving dish, or salsera. Add a little bit of water if needed. Salt to taste. You can, of course, make your salsa as hot as you want, by adjusting the amount of chile serrano you use.

Cauliflower with Onion and Tomato—Indian Style

Last week we had a very large head of cauliflower delivered as part of our weekly organic vegetable order. I didn't want to spend a long time preparing a dish and was in the mood for Indian but not in the mood for pakora. I Googled 'Indian cauliflower tomato onion', onion and tomato being the other organic vegetables I wanted to use, and decided on the following recipe.

Cauliflower With Onion and Tomato Recipe
Ingredients

1 medium cauliflower, broken into - florets
1 medium onion, chopped
1 2 piece ginger, grated
7 tablespoon water
5 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
2 small tomatoes, peeled & chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 fresh green chili, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garam masala

Directions

Soak cauliflower florets in water for 30 minutes & drain. Blend ginger & onion along with 4 tbsp water until smooth. Set aside. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat until hot. Stir-fry garlic until it turns medium brown. Put in the cauliflower florets & stir-fry for 2 minutes. Remove the cauliflower with a slotted spoon & put in a pot. Fry the paste from the blender for 1 minute. Add cumin, coriander & tomatoes. Stir-fry until it changes colour, reducing heat if necessary to prevent burning. Add turmeric, cayenne, green chili, lemon juice & salt. Sprinkle with water if necessary to prevent sticking. Turn heat to low. Return cauliflower to skillet with whatever liquid may have collected as it drained. Mix gently. Add 3 tbsp water & bring to a simmer. Cover & cook over gentle heat for 5 to 10 minutes. The cauliflower should be just done. Remove lid, sprinkle garam masala over the top. Stir to mix.

I was very happy with the results—tasted like dishes that I've gotten in Indian restaurants. The nice thing about this recipe is that it is forgiving. I substituted ground for fresh ginger, didn't puree the onion (I hate cleaning the blender) and threw in, by mistake, the garam masala with the turmeric and cayenne instead of at the end, and all was fine. It also keeps and reheats well.

Gluten-Free Gnocchi

Companies are continually improving the taste and texture of gluten-free pastas: I use my husband as a gauge, as I haven't had wheat pasta in a few years. However, there are a few pastas that have yet to be available to the masses in a gluten-free form: ravioli, of which I especially miss pumpkin; tortellini, crave the spinach and ricotta variety; and gnocchi. Gnocchi has a sentimental value for me, as my stepgrandmother, born in Italy, would always have a pot on the stove when we went for a visit. She taught me and my sister how to make gnocchi when I was still in elementary school.

Gnocchi's main ingredient is potatoes—which are gluten-free. It's only the flour that needs to be substituted out. I've made gluten-free gnocchi before (recipe from Celiac.com), and I thought it turned out pretty well. However, I decided to try a recipe in a cookbook that I bought this year: "Healthy Gluten-free Eating".

This recipe used only potato starch as a substitute for the wheat flour—the Celiac.com recipe called for potato starch, corn starch and white rice flour. Making gnocchi is actually simple, (ingredients are mixed together at one time) although a bit time consuming (the cooking of the potatoes, rolling out of the dough and cutting and dimpling of each gnocchi). The first time I made the "Healthy Gluten-free Eating" version, the dough wouldn't hold together when we attempted to roll it out. My husband ended up shaping the dough in the correct dimensions, so that I could cut and dimple them. The end result—I thought not as good as the Celiac.com recipe, but my husband and our guest thought they were quite good. I thought the homemade tomato sauce and parmesan masked the gnocchis negative qualities.

Gluten-free gnocchi and tomato sauce with sausage, onion and mushrooms

Since we get potatoes delivered weekly and never use them all, I decided to make gnocchi a week later. This time I forgot that we needed eggs. As I'd already baked the potatoes, I did some online research and discovered the gnocchi were originally made with only potatoes and flour—no eggs or butter. So, I forged ahead without eggs, and the result was pretty much the same. I'm still not loving this recipe, but one of the problems could be the potatoes we are using—and the potatoes are the most important ingredient. We are using whatever type gets delivered, while every recipe that I've seen calls for a specific type of potato.

I'll certainly be giving gnocchi another go—and I'm thinking of varying the flour from only potato starch. I think that's what makes the gnocchi extra bland.

Gnocchi from Celiac.com
1 kg (2 lb) cooked mashed potatoes
1 cup white rice flour
¾ cup potato starch
¼ cup corn starch
1 tablespoon margarine
1 tablespoon grated parmesan (optional)
2 eggs
salt Mix all ingredients with hands. Knead lightly. Shape small portions of the dough into long "snakes". On a floured surface, cut snakes into small pieces. Place a few gnocchi in salted boiling water. As the gnocchi rise to the top of the pot, remove them with a slotted spoon. Repeat until all are cooked. Cover with hot tomato sauce and serve. You can he re-heat them using a microwave oven.

Gnocchi from "Healthy Gluten-free Eating"
1 kg ( 2 1/4 lbs) unpeeled potatoes, preferably Golden Wonder or Kett's Pink
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
50 g (2 oz) butter
275 g (10 oz) potato starch
Parmesan, freshly grated

The recipe calls for boiling then steaming the potatoes, but Cooks Illustrated recommends baking them, and that's how we do it. Peel potatoes immediately once boiled/ steamed/ baked.

Push peeled potatoes through potato ricer. Add egg yolks, butter, generous pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well to combine and then, slowly stir in half of the potato flour. Knead lightly, ensuring all the flour is evenly distributed. Add more of the potato flour in this manner until dough is firm.

Boil a large pot of water (with a pinch of salt). Form a small piece of dough into a gnocchi size ball. Reduce heat to simmering and cook dough. When it floats to the surface, leave in water for another minute before removing. If the dough is too dry, the gnocchi will be heavy and stodgy. If it is too wet, it will fall apart during cooking. Adjust potato flour and egg balance in remaining dough as needed. Taste gnocchi and adjust seasonings.

Divide potato dough into four equal sections. Lightly potato-flour the work surface and roll out each section to form a log 3/4 in thick. Cut each log into 1 inch sections. Refrigerate pieces for 15-20 minutes to make dough easier to handle. Remove from fridge and gently press the back of the prongs of a fork against each piece. Then curve each piece with your fingers (we always use our thumb).

Place about 15 gnocchi in boiling water. Reduce temperature so water is simmering, and cook as mentioned previously. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and leave to drain thoroughly in a colander (if necessary). cover and keep warm while you cook the remainder.

Veggie Chili

We've been making chili quite a bit lately: ever since my sister forwarded me her recipe, which I used for an "international cooking day." As long as you have the basics—kidney beans, canned tomatoes, onion and spices—you can throw in whatever vegetables or meats or meat substitutes that you have on hand. As my sister wrote in her email which accompanied the recipe, "This is definitely an ad hoc recipe but it's pretty hard to f/u."

Maybe not the most appetizing photo, but you get the point.

My sister's recipe is below, and here are my notes:
*We always include black beans, because we love them.
*I've found that I need at least two 29 oz cans of tomatoes. This may be because we throw-in more of all the ingredients.
*We add cumin.
*Use double the amount of garlic.
*Jalapenos are hard to find in Cambridge, so we use what chilies we have. I've made the mistake of not first testing the heat of the chilies before adding a few too many of them. Always test the heat first.
*The 2 tbsps of chili powder she recommends should be adjusted if, like ours, your chili powder is smoking hot.
*We've never used the peanuts: either turkey meat or more beans.

Carolyn's Veggie Chili

Here's my spin on a veggie chili but you can also not add peanuts and
do ground beef or turkey.

2 green peppers
1-2 onions depending on size
2 garlic cloves minced
1-2 jalapenos depending on how you like them
2 cans of dark kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can of corn (drained)
1 29 oz can of diced tomatoes (do NOT rinse); you can also add an additional smaller can of diced tomatoes if you like it more tomatoey
1 14 oz can chick peas (drained and rinsed)
1/2-1 cup of dry roasted peanuts or to taste - you can also crush them if you prefer
Chili powder to taste (at least 2 tablespoons)
Cinnamon to taste but at least 1 tsp. If I have a cinnamon stick, I leave that in the pot as well.
Salt to taste

Saute in oil the first four ingredients in a large stock pot/dutch oven
for a few minutes then add all the other ingredients; bring to a boil.
turn down to a medium simmer.

Garnish with cheese/sour cream/chopped chives or green onions and you
can also garnish with tortilla chips
Enjoy!

Fast & Easy Creamy Polenta

Ever since having pan fried polenta in an Italian restaurant a few weeks ago, I've been imagining producing a similarly tasty dish at home. I have little experience with polenta; initially I didn't like it, and I probably would not have given it a second chance if I didn't have to avoid gluten.

My stepmother forwarded me her sister's microwave polenta recipe, which I quickly made. However, the consistency was creamy—like, I've realized, most polenta recipes. After my husband absconded with a bowl for himself, I tried frying up the polenta. That didn't go so well. The polenta was quite liquid to begin with, so when the bottom started turning from yellow to golden, the top had not hardened enough to be flipped without sliding off the spatula. While the result was messy, it was palatable and quickly eaten.

This recipe is great for quick clean-up. We just put all the ingredients in a Pyrex measuring cup.

After researching online, I realized that I could reduce the ratio of water to polenta from 4-1 to 3-1 for grilled or fried polenta and, importantly, I should spread it in a pan and let it set for at least an hour in the fridge. Yesterday, I attempted it again. I used about 3 1/3 cups of water and let the polenta set for just one hour in the fridge. I was able to cut the polenta into rectangles that held their shape when I put them in the pan, however the bottom of the polenta turned gelatinous before finally firming-up.

Polenta fresh out of the microwave and ready to set.

The result was certainly an improvement over the first attempt, but here are the changes for next time:

*3 cups of water to 1 cup of polenta
*refrigerate polenta overnight before frying
*make sure frying pan is completely heated before adding polenta

FAST & EASY CREAMY POLENTA

1 Cup yellow corn meal
4 Cups cold water (3 if you are going to be grilling or frying polenta)
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 Teaspoon salt

Pour all ingredients in large bowl. Stir until there are no lumps. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Remove, stir and microwave another 3 (2 minutes if 3 cups water) minutes. Remove, stir and microwave for 2 minutes (1-2 for 3 cups water). Polenta will be cooked at this time. Cook longer if you want it less creamy. Times may vary slightly depending on your microwave.

Why You Need Baking Powder

I was rushing to make a number of dishes and bake cookies and other goodies before we had visitors. I started whipping up lemon poppy seed loaves at 10pm—not a good idea. The loaves looked fine when I took them out of the oven, but within minutes they had shrunken to become dense and brick-like. Instantly I realized that I had left out the baking powder: luckily I was too tired to get upset with myself. The next morning I baked two perfect loaves in no time.

Guess which one is missing the baking powder?

Tom Kha Kai Part 2

Armed with a new recipe for Tom Kha Kai, M* and I made a trip to Cho Mee on Mill Road to pick up a few ingredients: kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, tamarind-chili paste and tamarind. I had bought two large chicken breasts from the local butcher, and they ended up being exactly one pound, which is the weight the recipe called for. We've found that the meats from the butcher really do taste better. We also had homemade chicken broth which is more flavorful and is less salty than canned broth.

We followed the recipe exactly, and the result was better than any we've had in a restaurant.

Just a few notes for next time:
*There was not as much soup as we'd like—if you are having it for a meal it makes about four bowls. However, we were planning on having a lot left over for the week. Next time we'll double the recipe.
*The tamarind that I bought did not blend well with water to make paste. There were fibrous bits of tamarind skin (think that's what it was) that I had to pick out. I spent a bit of time going over the shelves in the store, but I'll look again to find tamarind that will produce a better paste.
*We had red chilies that I'd bought at Seoul Plaza, and we tasted them to test the heat. M* and I both agreed that they weren't that hot, so I used five in the soup. While eating the soup, M* chewed and swallowed two and looked as if he was going to explode or throw-up. What I didn't realize is that if you are going to test the heat of the chili, you need to test the top of the chili where the capsaicin is stored. I had cut off the bottom of the chili for M* and me to test. Oops. Luckily the chilies did not make the soup too spicy and M* was able to taste the soup after much water and about 20 minutes.
*We added a red pepper. If we'd had a fresh tomato, we'd have added that as well—cut into quarters.

Tom Kha Kai - Thai Chicken, Ginger, and Coconut Milk Soup

from RecipeGullet.com

Thai-Flavored Chicken Stock
2 cups chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 small handful cilantro stems (leaves reserved for other use)
freshly ground black pepper

Tom Kha Gai
2 cups Thai-Flavored Chicken Stock
14 oz unsweetened coconut milk (I use 1 well-shaken can of Chaokoh)
4—5 oz Siamese Ginger (Galanga), unpeeled and cut into slices
1 stalk lemongrass, peeled and sliced into large pieces then bruised
2 tbsp nam phrik pao (Chili-Tamarind Paste)*
6 pairs kaffir lime leaves, torn
1 large lime, juiced
1/2—1 tbsp tamarind sauce**
1—2 tbsp coconut palm sugar
2—3 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce) -- less if using pre-salted stock
1 can can straw mushrooms, drained (or white button mushrooms, brushed of dirt and quartered)
1 pound chicken, sliced into bite-sized pieces
3—6 stemmed and lightly crushed Thai chilies (if you want more heat)


1. Put the stock in a pan with the cilantro, garlic, and pepper. Heat over low.

2. While the stock is warming, add the lemongrass, ginger, and lime leaves. Increase to medium and bring to a simmer.

3. Add the coconut milk and return to a simmer. Stir in the chicken and simmer for 1 minute. Add the nam phrik pao, lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind sauce. Stir until dissolved. Add the drained mushrooms and Thai chilis. Taste for balance, adding more of whatever is needed.

4. Remove from heat and serve warm. Be sure to only eat the chicken pieces, mushrooms, and Thai chilies if you dare (feel free to separate out the aromatics before serving if you wish). Tastes great leftover (I usually leave in a few pieces of the aromatics before refrigerating).

* see this for a recipe or use about 1 1/2 to 2 T of the medium-hot Pantainorasingh brand "Roasted Chili Paste with Soya Bean Oil"

** Use 1 oz of seedless tamarind paste to 1/2 cup of warm water, strain. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for about a week. Or use premade "soup base" - make sure the only ingredients are tamarind and water. If you can't find this, use more lime juice instead until balanced.

Grandma Welling's Sour Cream Coffee Cake

My maternal grandmother's sour cream coffee cake is the standard dish my mother would bring to any breakfast or brunch gathering. My sister makes it frequently as well. I have made it several times with various gluten-free flour mixes, and it has always come out super tasty. This time I used a brown rice/potato starch/tapioca flour mix and added 3/4 tsp of xantham gum to the dry ingredients.

Since I'm loving my new muffin tin, I decided to make Grandma Welling's Sour Cream Coffee Cake in it instead of an eight-inch square pan (that I don't have anyway). Sour cream is a little hard to find here—if, however, you want double cream, triple cream or cream fraiche, you certainly will have many options to choose from—and lite or non-fat sour cream is unheard of. To cut down on the fat, I used half sour cream and half low fat, Greek style yogurt. The cake was as moist as I desired, but I could have cut down on the sugar a bit. It wasn't too sweet, but the sour cream taste was muted.
Muffins waiting to go in the oven. Although they look completely covered with topping, more should have been added.

I realized that I was a bit stingy with the topping; the muffin expands while baking so you need to saturate the top with the cinnamon, sugar and walnut mixture. Some of the topping actually trickled down the side of the muffin and end up at the bottom. This was a nice treat, spreading the cinnamon taste into more mouthfuls. Another plus about the muffins: they took half the time to cook.

The muffins which disappeared in our bellies within 24 hours.

Grandma Welling's Sour Cream Coffee Cake
(can be doubled and cooked in 13x9 pan)

Cream together (in large bowl): 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar

Add: 2 eggs (one at a time), 1 tsp vanilla and 1 cup sour cream

Mix together: 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Add: dry ingredients to butter mixture

Grease and flour: 8 inch square pan (or muffin tin—12 muffins)

Pour: batter into pan (spoon into muffin tin)

Sprinkle: topping (1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and chopped walnuts) on top of batter before baking

Bake: at 350° for 45 minutes (20-25 minutes for muffins)

Tom Kha Kai

Tom Khai Kai is one of my favorite Thai dishes. Since there are a number of Asian grocers in Cambridge, I decided to finally try my hand at making this coconut milk based soup. There are Tom Khai Kai pastes where one only needs to add water, meat and desired vegetables, but making the soup from scratch was my goal. I chose a recipe from ThaiCusine.com that was not complicated and included the ingredients that I expected to find.

I only had difficulty locating one ingredient: nam phrik pao (black chili paste). I asked for help locating the paste at the store, but I was only pointed to a shelf. There was a paste that I thought might be the correct one, but the name was only in Thai though the list of ingredients was in English. Since I wasn't aware of the other ingredients in nam phrik pao besides the black chilies, I opted to use a chili paste that we already had at home. I later learned that my hunch was correct, and I should have bought the paste which contained tamarind, shrimp paste, garlic and other items as well as the black chilies.

It was when I was putting the ingredients in the pot that I realized that there didn't appear to be as much liquid as I thought. I then remembered that I thought chicken broth could also be used in this soup. Since we didn't have any, I added some water and some vegetable stock powder to the dish. I think it helped, although it may have added to the overall saltiness of the soup. We liked the soup, but, since my husband is very sensitive to salt, I think that I'm going to explore a different recipe next time. I've already located a promising sounding one, which includes the straw mushrooms that I love and added to the recipe below, at RecipeGullet.com.


Tom Kha Kai (from ThaiCuisine.com)
1. 2 cups (16fl oz/500 ml) coconut milk
2. 6 thin slices young galangal (kha on)
3. 2 stalks lemon grass (ta-khrai), lower portion, cut into
4. 1-in (2.5-cm) lengths and crushed
5. 5 fresh kaffir lime leaves (bai ma-krut), torn in half
6. 8 oz (250g) boned chicken breast, sliced
7. 5 tablespoons fish sauce
8. 2 tablespoons sugar
9. 1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) lime juice
10. 1teaspoon black chilli paste (nam phrik pao)
11. 1/4 cup cilanto / coriander
12. leaves (bai phak chi), torn
13. 5 green Thai chilli peppers (phrik khi nu), crushed


Method

Combine half the coconut milk with the galangal, lemon grass, and lime leaves in a large saucepan and heat to boiling. Add the chicken, fish sauce, and sugar. Simmer for about 4 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked, and then add the remaining coconut milk. Heat just to boiling. Place the lime juice and chilli paste in a serving bowl and pour the soup over them. Garnish with cilantro leaves and crushed chilli peppers.

Quinoa Cakes

We don't have an exact recipe for quinoa cakes: I start with the list of ingredients off of a Whole Foods' label for quinoa cakes bought at their prepared foods counter. What we actually put in them often depends what vegetables we have: beets, carrots, zucchini, parsnips, corn, spinach, kale, black beans.

Making them gluten-free requires substituting the pastry flour with a non-glutinous flour, and I've mostly used gram (chickpea) flour. I also use thick low-fat yogurt (Greek style) which gives them a slight richness and added umami. Although it did not say how to cook them on the label, I started out frying them. However this required my almost constant attention, and I was only able to cook four medium size cakes/ patties at a time. I've started baking them in the oven at about 375° for 30 minutes (flipping them halfway through). M* and I can't tell a difference in taste between the two cooking methods.

When I recently made them with tahini instead of yogurt, M* and I were disappointed—the cakes were really dry. The only way to make them reasonably palatable was to drown them in lemon juice or, my favorite, ketchup. If we use tahini again, we'll certainly use a thinner paste and still use yogurt.

Quinoa cakes/ patties ready to be baked.

Here is the list of ingredients from the Whole Foods's label:
quinoa (we use 1 cup pre-cooked)
(yogurt—our addition)
cumin
olive oil (we use 2-3 tblsps)
pastry flour (we use 1/2-3/4 cup of gram/ chickpea flour)
garlic
lemon juice (very important for flavor—1 lemon)
tamari
black beans
diced tomatoes
bell peppers
carrots
cilantro
corn
sea salt

Zucchini Bread

Modified a zucchini bread recipe I found online to make it gluten-free. I've done this before with a different mix of gluten-free flours and this time I used the Brown Rice Flour Mix from "Gluten-Fee Baking Classics"—both times the results were delicious. That being written, I think for the next batch I'll reduce the cinnamon by 1 tsp and the sugar by 1/3 cup. I know it's really closer to a cake than a bread, but, in my opinion, the sweetness and cinnamon overpowered the zucchini.

Zucchini Bread IV (from Allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F ( 165 degrees C).

Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done.

Notes:
Replaced flour with equal amount of Brown Rice Flour Mix and add 1 1/2 tsps of xantham gum.

I didn't have the correct size loaf pans; I used three smaller ones instead. Not sure of their size as I forgot what the dimensions (in centimeters, of course) were on the label.

Batter distributed evenly between three small loaf pans.

Fresh from the oven and ready to be eaten.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

This is the first recipe from "Gluten-Free Baking Classics" that did not turn out perfectly (or close to). Yes, the cake and muffins were yummy, delicious even, but the cake and especially the cupcakes fell in the center. My plan was to bring the cupcakes in honor of M*'s birthday to Judge Pub Night, but I'm too vain to have brought gravitationally-challenged cupcakes to a gathering where people do not know that I usually produce well-formed baked goods.

The problem may have been that I opened and closed the oven doors a few times during baking: I had the cake in the upper oven and the cupcakes in the lower. I actually accidentally slammed the bottom oven door once. Since the recipe calls for 2 tsps of baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda, I should have been more careful. Since the recipe was for two 9-inch round layers and I split the batter between cupcake and oval pans, I felt that I needed to check the progress of their baking throughout. Another reason they could have fallen is due to not being cooked enough, but M* and I liked how they tasted and did not think they were gooey.

I love this type of cake with my Grandma Welling's seven-minute white icing. M* found the icing too sweet—the sugar hurt his teeth. I told him that he is not allowed to say anything negative about Grandma Welling's recipes, but I did agree to attempt the recipe with less sugar in the future.

Chocolate Fudge Cake from "Gluten-Free Baking Classics"
4 ozs unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 3/4 cups Brown Rice Flour Mix
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 teaspoon xantham gum
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsps pure vanilla extract

Melt chocolate in small, heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir regularly. When done, remove from heat and cool until lukewarm.

Whisk ingredients 3-7 in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Whisk canola oil and milk in liquid measuring cup until thoroughly combined. Discard two tbsps of liquid.

Beat sugar and eggs in large bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add dry and wet ingredients in two additions at low speed, then at medium for 1 minute.

Cook in center of oven in two 9-inch round layer cake pans (lined with parchment or waxed paper and sprayed lightly with cooking spray) at 35o° for 30-35 minutes (35-40 minutes for 8-inch layers; 18-20 minutes for cupcakes).

Cool cake layers in pans on a rack for 5 minutes. Loosen cake from sides of pans, invert layers onto a rack, peel off paper, and cool.

Notes:
I could not find unsweetened chocolate, so I used 80% dark chocolate and reduced the sugar by 1/4-1/3 cup.

I melted the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave at low heat, stopping the cooking to stir regularly. Worked fine and took less work.

I didn't line the cake layer; I forgot=(

Grandma Welling's Seven-Minute White Icing
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp light corn syrup or 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (I've always used the cream of tartar)
1/3 cups cold water
1/16 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients except vanilla in double boiler; mix thoroughly. Cook, beating steadily (I use a hand mixer) until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat; add vanilla extract and beat until think.

Cake cooling.

Fallen cupcakes.

Seven-minute white icing just after peaks formed. I had to improvise the double boiler.

Icing can hide a cake's imperfections. Drizzled dark chocolate is a nice finish on this cake.

Millet Flour

The gluten-free pizza crust recipe that I love suggests using 1 cup of millet flour along with the brown rice flour mix. This provides the nuttiness that is missing when you substitute out wheat flour. There was a shortage of millet flour at the local health food stores, and I was beginning to worry that my pizza's wouldn't taste as good without it. I was at Al Amin on Mill Road, which carries a great variety of Middle Eastern, African, Asian and Mediterranean ingredients, and I saw a large bag of bajri flour paranthetically labled millet flour. It looked a bit greener than the millet flour I had bought previously, but I decided to try it.

Above is a photo of the bajri flour (bottom) and the little bit of millet flour that remained from a previous purchase. The difference in color is obvious, and the bajri flour appeared to be milled to finer texture.
I am happy to report that there was no difference to the appearance or taste of the pizza. It's a plus that the bajri flour is cheaper than the millet flour purchased in health food stores.

Gluten-Free Cornbread

I made a large pot of spicy chili, and since I had corn meal and a gluten-free cornbread recipe I made cornbread as an accompaniment. I should have known by the sugar in the recipe that this was a sweet cornbread which I prefer with a cup of milk and a bit of butter and jam. M* and I certainly ate all of it within a few days, but we never ate it with the chili. The sweetness and cakey texture just didn't mesh with the mouth-burning, vegetable-laden tomato chili. Since I haven't had cornbread in many years due to gluten issues, I forgot about the differences between sweet and savory cornbread. One can find quite a bit online explaining the difference between or extolling the virtues of one of the two types. Here's the Wikipedia explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornbread#Regional_tastes.

Gluten-free sweet cornbread

I certainly would make this again if I want a sweet treat, but next time I want a savory version I'll modify it by lessening or removing the sugar, adding corn kernels and possibly adding some diced, mild chili peppers.

Gluten-free Cornbread from "Gluten-Free Baking Classics"

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup Brown Rice Flour Mix
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup milk minus 1 tablespoon
1 large egg, well beaten
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Combine oil, milk, egg and vanilla in another small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry and gently stir to combine, being careful not to over mix. Pour batter into muffin pan or 8-inch round cake pan that has been coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes for muffins or 25 for bread. Eat and enjoy.

Sushi!

Using the tips from our friend Tialda and the ingredients picked-up with the help of two others, Yuri and Wakako, I made sushi all by myself! It was much easier and faster than I expected. I also did not have the worry of getting ill from raw fish, as I used smoked salmon. I'm not sure where to get sushi grade fish in Cambridge.

Tialda had taught me how to make Korean sushi, which meant adding sesame oil to the rice and sesame oil and sesame seeds along with the other ingredients to be rolled. I picked up the sushi mats, seaweed, sesame oil, sesame seeds, sushi rice, pickled radish and rice vinegar at Seoul Plaza—a Chinese/Korean/Japanese grocer located on Mill Road. The salmon I picked up at Sainsbury's and the cucumber at the daily market on Market Hill Square.

Recipe (makes about nine rolls)
Seasoned Sushi Rice
sushi rice (2 cups before cooking)
rice vinegar, to taste (I'm guessing 1/4-1/2 cup)
salt, to taste
sugar, to taste (I'm guessing 2-3 tbsps)
sesame oil, to taste (I'm guessing 1/4-1/3 cup)

(You can buy seasoned rice vinegar, which already has the sugar and salt added, or powdered sushi rice seasoning instead of vinegar, sugar and salt.)

Procedure
Cut one cucumber lengthwise into 9 or 10 strips. Cut smoked salmon into 9 0r 10 equal size pieces roughly the same length as the width of the seaweed.

Lay seaweed on sushi mat. Spread a thin layer of seasoned sushi rice on little over 1/2 of seaweed. Drizzle sesame oil and sprinkle sesame seeds on rice. Place one pickled radish, one cucumber strip and one salmon strip in center of rice. Using the mat, begin to roll the sushi, rice end first. Once you've rolled the rice end under, pull the mat back to tighten the roll. Then use the mat to complete the roll; and you can again use the mat to tighten the roll. To help the rolls keep their shape, place them in a container or foil, and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then cut and eat. Since soy sauce contains wheat, we served this with tamari.