Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

There's now an uproar if there's not a side of vegetables on the plate at dinner. (Who would have guessed this? Not me.) However, I'm very supportive of our move toward more vegetables. It's good for both of us, especially since our food can seem limited if we don't mix it up all the time.

That leaves us with all sorts of opportunities to try new veggie sides. And keep up with ones I've made before. This is a family classic, because it's so easy and it tickles my toes how sweet carrots become with some heat. The traditional approach to glazed carrots uses butter, and we can't have that in this dairy free household, now can we?

February has also come and my use of things in the kitchen that are bright orange is an all-time high. Mandarin oranges, carrots, sweet potatoes (roasted in the oven with leeks!) and the ever-present bowl of clementines on the counter are fixtures in the kitchen.

I've found that you can make these with just a touch of coconut oil. You don't need very much, especially because it doesn't have quite the same caramelizing effect that butter can achieve. You can still see in the photo, though, how it creates these tiny crisp edges on the carrot. Like little orange stained-glass windows in the light. Oooh.

You do want to salt these to taste. I used to wonder what that meant, but it turns out it's actually really easy. You taste the food. Grab a fork and get a bite of a carrot. If you can't taste the sweetness of the brown sugar, it's not that you need more, it's actually that you need a little more salt to magnify the flavor of the brown sugar. Grab the sea salt and give it a few grinds into the carrots, stir until the salt is mixed around, and taste again. Behold, salting to taste. It's genius.

Last Year: Candied Lemon Slices
Two Years Ago: Gluten Free Graham Crackers (and some s'mores)
Three Years Ago: Simple Chicken Noodle Soup

Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
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4 large carrots (or 2 carrots per person, for a side dish)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon coconut oil
salt to taste

Wash carrots, there's no need to peel them. Slice them into 1/4 inch pieces on the bias, or at a diagonal, to maximize the surface area. On the stove, boil water in a small saucepan and add carrots. Boil for 8-10 minutes, or until the carrots are just beginning to soften.

Drain the water, and put the carrots back into the same saucepan. Add the brown sugar and coconut oil, and stir until both are combined and warmed. Then, salt to taste (as explained above).

Mandarin and Marmalade Cookies

Ever want something sweet just from ingredients in your pantry? Um, all the time.

I actually have a pretty extensive pantry, well-stocked for most occasions. However, this week, the cupboards were a little bare since I hadn't renewed our Costco card yet.

I dug through the shelves to find something that I could put together, and I also came across this recipe from the Mrs. Fields Cookie Book. The 1990s cookie-superstar-mall-food-court Mrs. Fields was founded in 1977 in California, but is now headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Not that it makes much difference to me. Except that it wasn't much of a surprise when I came across the cook book in a thrift store here, complete with autograph and personal note from Mrs. Fields herself to someone else in the front cover. (Apparently, they didn't care to hold on to this gem).

In the pantry, I rustled up some orange marmalade I canned last summer, as well as cans of mandarin oranges. Well, so becomes an excellent recipe adapted from the Mrs. Fields book, and updated to make it a little less sweet and a bit more focused on the orange-y goodness. (Not to mention, made gluten and dairy free).

The low oven temperature gives these cookies a seriously soft texture, almost like a Lofthouse cookie if you were eating gluten. They are studded with the bits of mandarin orange, and there's a zing inside from the orange marmalade. They don't need any frosting, and they are plenty sweet. The coconut oil gives a great, almost-buttery flavor, without any strange fake-fat aftertaste. The combination of flours gives a nice crumb (thanks to the sorghum), but enough structure to carry well in a lunch bag (thanks tapioca!)

Last Year: Deep Dark Chocolate Cake
Two Years Ago: Wordless Wednesday (Smores!)
Three Years Ago: Tuile Cups with Blueberries

Mandarin and Marmalade Cookies
adapted from Mrs. Fields Cookie Book
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1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup millet flour
3/4 cup tapioca starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup coconut oil (substitute: butter, ghee, organic shortening)
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup orange marmalade
one 10 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained and chopped


Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium bowl, combine sorghum flour, millet flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum and baking powder.* Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, or another large bowl to be mixed by hand, blend coconut oil and sugar to form a grainy paste. Add egg and orange marmalade, and beat at medium speed until smooth. Alternately, mix by hand until the mixture is smooth. Add the flour mixture and the oranges, and blend at low speed just until combined. Do not overmix.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, 1 1/2 inches apart. A baking sheet with a silicon mat would work well here.

Bake 24-25 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies begin to brown. Transfer with a spatula to a cool, flat surface. These cookies keep well at room temperature for about a week.

*The combination of flours could be substituted with 2 3/4 cups of your favorite gluten free all-purpose flour.

Hearty Beef Chili

I just stumbled on an interesting read, called 100 Days of Real Food. She chose to commit to cooking real, unprocessed, unsweetened, home-cooked food for her and her family for one hundred days. Eating gluten and dairy free, we come close to that. But, there's a dark little corner of the world that still has my heart, and it's the sugar. I eat a fair bit of candy, for several different reasons.

When I decided to go gluten free, knowing it was truly the right thing for me, I wanted to make sure I didn't feel deprived. I watched the husband feel pretty deprived at the beginning, when we were still figuring out how he could eat his favorite foods. That took several weeks, even months, and so we tried to make up for it in other ways. For him, potato chips. For me, candy.

Feeling deprived just as your body starts to realize it can digest the nutrients you are eating again is a tough game. You have to eat enough, and you may still struggle with some nutrition deficiencies like I did. Thankfully, that time is over.

Now we have a new vista opening in our lives, where we can take the best care of ourselves. Tuesday night as we were eating tacos, the husband inquired about our overall vegetable consumption. He was requesting more. This hasn't really been a big element for him, and so I've tried to be sneaky about vegetables for him. He's not really a salad man. But I stuff all the frozen spinach, chopped bell pepper, sauteed onion, and grated carrot I can into what he eats. But now, he apparently wants it more front and center. So last night, I prepared a delicious local roasted chicken (from Grantsville, Utah and the great folks at Dreamcatcher Farm*), roasted potatoes, mixed veggies, and a gravy made with local apple cider. Go local with veggies! He actually really like it.

The 100 Days of Real Food has a 10 day pledge. That's the direction I would have to go if I were to give up the c.a.n.d.y. I've thought about it on and off for weeks, and while I'm not ready to give up the candy for 10 days, 100 days, or a year (after all, this year has 366 days!), it gives me food for thought.

The better I am at keeping delicious fruits on the counter top, tasty veggies in the fridge, and delicious baked goods (100 Days forbids white sugar - honey and maple syrup only) to keep myself away from the temptress. What do you think? Are you already there? Would you do it? Could you do it?

And, aren't we so lucky to be gluten free and already have a head start on this?

I feel lucky.

On to the chili. We've made this chili hundreds of times. I feed it to my family with corn muffins when they converge on my house with short notice. I make large batches and freeze portions, for quick dinners or lunches for the husband.

The flavor is really classic, with the chili powder and basil playing off each other into a well-rounded spiciness. The beans are hearty and filling, and the beef comes out tender. The flavors is even better after a night in the fridge, if you have to stow it away for leftovers.

Last Year: Twin Valley Mills sorghum flour
Two Years Ago: Teriyaki Bacon-Chicken-Pineapple Skewers
Three Years Ago: Being a Community (Utah Food Co-op)

Served with a crusty boule roll from C. She gave us a whole bunch, and they were delicious! We even made sandwiches with pulled BBQ chicken!

Hearty Beef Chili (Slow Cooker Recipe)
adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook
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12 ounces ground beef (we used some local grass-fed beef from the Utah Food Co-op)
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 1/2 ounce can tomatoes, cut up
1 15-ounce can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
2 to 3 teapsoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, fresh cracked

In a large saucepan, cook ground beef, onion, bell pepper, and garlic til meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, kidney beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, or frozen in individual portions for several months.

Crockpot/slow cooker:
Cook meat, onion, bell pepper and garlic as above. Drain fat. In a 4 quart electric crockery cooker, combine meat mixture, undrained tomatoes, beans, tomato suace, chili powder, basil and pepper. Cover; cook on low for 8 to 10 hours of high for 4 to 5 hours.

*Dreamcatcher Farm doesn't have a website. I met Susan at the Utah Food Co-op Market sale**, and brought home a 4 pound young chicken. The only online information they have is this listing. Susan did say they take phone orders, and often deliver to Salt Lake City, if you want to make an order.

**Sadly, the Utah Food Co-Op is closing its doors forever at the end of January 2012. They served the Salt Lake and Utah valleys for 6 years with great food at low prices, and cultivated a venue for local farmers and artisans to sell their delights. This is so so sad for me. I'm going to have to figure out how to get my favorites without being able to hit the market every Monday afternoon.

Book Review: Artisinal Gluten Free Cooking by Peter and Kelli Bronski



These are just a few, (and a random History of Modern Art there at the bottom)

 I have a whole shelf full of cookbooks, both gluten free and regular. I like to browse them, mark them, and toy with the recipes. I like to modify endless numbers of regular recipes to be gluten free.

But when it comes to my number one, grab and go gluten free cookbook, the one I like to reach for is Artisinal Gluten Free Cooking by Peter and Kelli Bronski. The husband got me this one as a present for our wedding, and I have made many of the recipes already.

We've had the waffles, the cornbread, cider bacon chicken, yesterday we had the biscuits (with some seriously good dairy free sausage gravy), the peanut butter stir fry, and it turns out that chipotle-marinated pork fajitas are also in this book, even though the ones I made were adapted from a website. Similar taste, yes?

In fact, we do have the same taste, and I can't be more pleased that these wonderful Colorado folks eat pretty much the same flour blend that I cook with. It's healthier than the average starch-only mix, and tasty too! You may have noticed that I'm not necessarily a flour blend type of person, preferring to mix on the spot and choose the flours that I think would be best for the recipe based on their taste and texture. But if I had one, it would be on page 15 of Artisinal Gluten Free Cooking. You can read about Peter and Kelli's flour comparison from their blog, No Gluten No Problem. Also, a very excellent read!

One other element that I find really fascinating as a difference between my cooking style and theirs is the fact that they eat a lot of seafood! I ate a lot of seafood in Italy, and we eat the occasion tilapia filet or crab cake, but the Bronskis sure like their fish! It's exciting to see what our fish-eating world would look like if we decided to embrace it. Living in Utah, we are solidly land-lubbers who like our beef, but I've seen a little sparkle in the husband's eye lately about branching out into different foods. Maybe more seafood is on the horizon for us, and thanks to this book, we'll be well equipped to prepare seafood dishes that speak to our palates!

I mentioned above the sheer number of recipes out of this book we've already tried, and I think we've already made this cookbook worth its purchase. I have to say that each of the recipes was easy to make, the directions were clear, and I was able to execute each of them with successful results. With that being said, I'm not the follow-every-last-bit of the recipe type, so it's easy for me to improvise and end up with a good result. Still, I feel like the detail is sufficient for any gluten free cook to make some great food using these recipes. The ingredients are simple and accessible, and the techniques easy to intermediate, and well described.

Thank you Bronskis, we so love your cookbook! (We paid for it, just for the record). We're going to get their new cupcake book next.

Last Year: Roasted Delicata Squash with Garlic
Two Years Ago: So what do you eat? Fruit, that's what.
Three Years Ago: Lloyd's Barbecue: Seasoned Shredded Chicken

Honey Ginger Cookies with Candied Lemon

Cookies!

These are the perfect January cookies, when everyone's a bit under the weather. They include all the things you would grab, or ask your kind friend to get for you, and they're all combined into one soft and chewy cookie. Honey, ginger, and bright and bitter candied lemons.

If you haven't made candied lemons before, you can follow my lead and try them, or they are also available in the store near the lemon curd and other jam-like jars.

I love the consistency of these cookies - they are truly a chewy cookie with a soft texture. They even held up decently well in my lunch in a hard-sided container (few cookies could handle the beating if they were only in a baggie or something). The technique of this recipe lends itself well to the soft and chewy texture, with 3 cups of flour to 1/2 cup fat, and the flour is only barely moistened when the dough finally comes together. These would actually be perfect for shaping and freezing as dough balls for another day when you need a cookie and only want to bake a few.

When seeking the perfect gluten free cookie dough, you can often find yourself with less than stellar results. This is often due to the low protein content of cookies (depending on which flours you use), the temperature of the dough and baking sheet before, during and after the baking process. It can also be a problem if you add ingredients during the mixing process because you feel like the texture of the dough is wrong. Hopefully you can avoid each of these pitfalls.

• Flours with a good protein content are beneficial for cookies, and they taste good too (sorghum, millet, brown rice and quinoa, buckwheat, teff in smaller amounts)
• Don't let your cookie dough get too warm before baking it. If needed throw it in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill again. Use a cold cookie sheet. After the first batch, pop your cookie sheet (no cookies on it) in the freezer for 10 minutes to cool down.
• Follow the directions carefully of the gluten free recipe the first time through, until you're more comfortable modify regular recipes into gluten free recipes.

Hopefully, these will lead you to better cookie success. Everyone deserves a good cookie, and there's no reason you can't make them at home!

Last Year: Roasted Delicata Squash with Garlic

Two Years Ago: Coconut Cupcakes

Three Years Ago: Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Centers

Honey Ginger Cookies with Candied Lemon

adapted from the recipe for Ginger Cookies in The Ultimate Cookie Book by Catherine Atkinson

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1 cup sorghum flour

1 cup millet flour or brown rice flour

1 cup tapioca starch

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt*

3/4 cup white granulated sugar

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup Spectrum organic shortening

1/4 to 1/3 cup honey (more if the dough doesn't come together)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup candied lemon slices, drained and coarsely chopped (the measurement is after they have been drained and chopped)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a baking sheet with a silicon baking mat, parchment paper, or lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine the sorghum flour, millet flour, and tapioca starch in a large bowl with the salt and xantham gum. Add the sugar, ground ginger, and baking soda, and whisk to combine.

Add the room temperature shortening and honey to the flour mixture, and stir until the shortening is distributed and coarse crumbs form in the mixture. Add the eggs and two thirds of the candied lemon slices, and mix thoroughly. The dough is really dry, and it will seem like you don't have enough wet ingredients. Use your hands to bring the dough together, forming a very dry, stiff dough. (It will be similar to a shortbread dough made with gluten). If the dough doesn't combine into a large ball, add a small amount of additional honey, and work into a ball.

Shape the dough into 20 large or 30 small balls, depending on your preference. Mine were just larger than one inch in diameter. Place them on the baking sheet, leaving space between the cookies and gently flatten the balls.

Press a few pieces of the remaining candied lemons into the top of each cookie.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies, until light golden on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the sheet with a metal spatula to a cooling rack.

Notes:
*Salting cookie dough: the amount of salt needed varies depending on the fat you choose. Less to none with salted butter, some with unsalted butter, and slightly more than that if you are using a non-dairy organic shortening, like Spectrum.

Santa Monica Farmer's Market

On our trip, we went to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market. Mostly, I was too busy drooling over things to take a lot of photos, but I wanted to capture the brilliant colors in the early sunshine. Isn't California the place where the streets are paved with gold and fresh produce?



Brussel sprouts on the stock.

 We ended up buying a few things for our snack stash, as well as a few things to take home. From the Ha's Apple Farm booth, we grabbed a few small Granny Smith apples, a bag of dried Fiji apples (so flavorful!), a jar of apple cider vinegar (for home), and a bag of fruit and almond brittle. The fruit and almond brittle was actually one of my favorite snacks - it was fruit leather with bits of chopped almond in it. Crunchy and sweet at the same time!




Strawberries!

We stopped and got a bag of lemons and some Cara Cara blood oranges from some adorable farmers, and even got to taste the blood oranges before bagging them (um, that was what sold us).

We grabbed a jar of jalapeno olives from Adams Ranch, and some Desert Wildflower honey (that the husband can't get enough of) from Bee Canyon Ranch. It's a honey that's really dark in color, has the viscosity of the La Brea Tar Pits, and tastes like the desert. It's so beautiful.

Last, we scored some excellent berries. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and it was the closest to the ocean we had been yet in the trip. You could feel it.

I think it's fascinating to explore the food cultures of other cities. To see that every Saturday of the year, you can get fresh produce in Santa Monica. I've never lived in a place with a year growing season. Here in Utah, we get our produce in August and September, with some excellent tomatoes in October this last year. When I did the CSA in 2010, we received weekly orders from the last week in June (and really, those were the earliest foods, like garlic and herbs), through October.

Last Year: Chili Colorado
Two Years Ago: Coconut Kumquat Tea Cake
Three Years Ago: Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Centers

Italian Ricotta (Ricotta Salata): Casein-free cheese

As you may know, some doctors estimate that at least 50% of individuals with Celiac disease are also sensitive to the dairy protein called casein. The husband and I both fall into this category.

It's been almost 2 years since I went dairy free, and probably about a year for the husband. We are both feeling tremendously better, and I'm particularly happy for him. It was hard to watch him eat the same dinner as me, except with cheese, and then not feel well afterward.

The protein casein is included in all dairy products, or, as it turns out, almost all of them. I recently read The Gluten Free Homemaker's post on making ghee or clarified butter, which only contains butterfat and whey protein, and excludes the casein. I read other sources about ghee and would like to try it, but I still haven't yet. But, it got my wheels turning. Casein-free dairy products.

Then, I came across this section (and a few other bits) in On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee:

Subtract the four caseins from the milk proteins, and the remainder, numbering in the dozens, are the whey proteins. Where the caseins are mainly nutritive, supplying the amino acids and calcium for the calf, the whey proteins include defensive proteins, molecules that bind to and transport other nutrients, and enzymes. The most abundant one by far is lactoglobulin, whose biological function remains a mystery. It's a highly structured protein that is readily denatured by cooking. It unfolds at 172 degrees Fahrenheit, when its sulfur atoms are exposed to the surrounding liquid and react with the hydrogen ions to form hydrogen sulfide gas, whose powerful aroma contributes to the characteristic flavor of cooked milk (and many other animal foods).

In boiling milk, unfolded lactoglobulin binds not to itself but to the capping-casein on the casein micelles, which remain separate; so denatured lactoglobulin doesn't coagulate. When denatured in acid conditions with relatively little casein around, as in cheese whey, lactoglobulin molecules do bind to each other and coagulate into little clots, which can be made into whey cheese like true ricotta. Heat-denatured whey proteins are better than their native forms at stabilizing air bubbles in milk foams and ice crystals in ice creams; this is why milks and creams are usually cooked for these preparations. (page 21)

Hold on, there's a cheese that doesn't contain casein? I read several articles about how mozzarella is made from whole milk, and the whey is a byproduct of the mozzarella process. Then, the whey is used to make a traditional Italian ricotta.

It wasn't too many minutes after that when I pulled into the grocery store parking lot to see for myself. I was able to find some small blocks of it in the artisan cheese case, and this was the label on the package. I was also disappointed to see that the label printed by the grocery store (not shown) was completely wrong, but I trusted the added label (below) from the cheese maker.

'Made from 100% pasteurized sheep's milk whey, salt.'

I brought it home.

I sliced off a few bits and ate it. I wanted to give it a few hours before I told the husband that we were having some cheese with dinner. I felt the same after about 4 hours, so I took the next step.

It's a really dry cheese, with small bubbles and tunnels, and crumbly when you break it off. (This is NOT the same kind of ricotta that comes in a tub, similar to cottage cheese, that you would put in lasagna.) It doesn't really have any elasticity, the way you can waggle a string cheese around, or bend pieces of medium cheddar almost 90 degrees before it breaks.

So, does it melt? I put it on an end piece of Udi's bread and put it in the oven under the broiler. I ended up with a piece of blackened bread, and a slice of cheese that was only starting to look "warm." You know, how it gets soft around the edges. Well, it doesn't melt.

Like gluten, I think the protein casein provides the type of structure to foods that gives it some bend, and the ability to melt. Don't plan on melting the Italian ricotta.

But, I did really enjoy bits of Italian ricotta stuffed in some chipotle pork fajitas, crumbled over corn chips, or just a slice of it. It's cheese! And it's casein free!

Last Year: Chili Colorado Recipe

Two Years Ago: Orange Muffins with Fresh Cranberries and Southwestern Chicken Soup

Three Years Ago: Bullseye Barbecue Sauce

Top 10 Recipes of 2011

The sun through the living room window this afternoon was delicious. It was a cool white and playful along the walls. We sat on the couch together, talking about pocket knives. He was showing me the features of the one he got for Christmas, and we were sharing the relief that the one I left in my carry-on when we went through security last week, and subsequently put in the mail to arrive back at home, had in fact arrived. (The TSA agent sure had his eye on it!)

[I would also like to mention, as a side note, my extreme embarrassment for being "one of thoose people." The ones who hold up the security line because they forgot to take the nunchucks out of their carry on bag. Uh, sorry people.]

It wasn't that there was anything about this little piece of the afternoon that was out of the ordinary. In fact, the ordinariness of it all is what made it stick inside of me, like an extra big dinner. 2012 will be our first whole year as married people. One of many in our future, I'm brimming with the hope that we'll see our lives wind through and realize that we were side by side the whole time.

Because it's held its rank as such a special place in my heart, I thought I would show you a glimpse of our special day. It was terribly cold that day in early October, like in the 30s, but I hardly noticed. It was the others at our reception that seemed to notice how frigid it was! I'm grateful for the folks who endured the chill with us, and I loved watching my nieces and nephews play near the beautiful stone fireplace. I think that made their day memorable too.



Top day of 2011!



Well, this coming year is going to be pretty great. I have some big plans for the blog, and for some restaurant reviews (which haven't been my strong point in the past), and for having some gluten free dinner groups at our house. Are any of you local folks interested in getting together for some delicious gluten free dinner? It would just tickle me pink to meet people around the valley who have awesome gluten free insights and have a great evening together.

Last Year: Top 10 Gluten Free Recipes of 2010
Two Years Ago: Top 10 Recipes of 2009
Three Years Ago: Lindt Excellence Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate (not gluten free)

Well, let's kick this off. Since you all, the readers, are my favorite part about blogging (with food coming in as a close second), I wanted to highlight the foods you chose this year. The ones that people read about, and hopefully tried out the recipes. It's always the highest honor to have someone explain how they tried out a recipe, and whether or not it worked, and how they liked it.

So, 2011 brought us:

10. Jerusalem Artichoke Soup was one of my earliest 2011 inventions, and it came because of a Bountiful Baskets order. I was convinced that they had passed along 5 knobby roots of fresh ginger, and was puzzling over what I could do with it!

The Jerusalem Artichoke flavor is more complex than potato, with a nice hint of spicy bitterness underneath the creamy tuber taste. It's a nice way to try something different for the cook who has made all kinds of potato soup.

9. Sweet Potato Fries have always been a favorite for us, but we haven't been able to eat them out at restaurant since going gluten free. (If you live in Salt Lake and don't eat gluten free, the Bayou has some excellent sweet potato fries.)

I wanted to get to the bottom of how to make crisp sweet potato fries, and so I studied it out and we think the results are pretty positive. The outsides have a nice crunch (but they aren't burnt), and the inside has a nice creamy and smooth texture.

8. Pumpkin Cranberry Bread came out of our oven multiple times this fall! I just couldn't get enough of the warm spices with the earthy pumpkin, with bits of bursting fresh cranberries in the bread. I made regular sized loaves and some of the small loaves, and this was one of the first times I really saw the clear difference in baking with different types of pans. You will find different results with metal pans than you will with glass or ceramic.

It's a true measure of a skilled baker to recognize when the texture is correct, and adjust the baking time accordingly. Hopefully we'll be exploring more about baking times and pan materials in the coming year.

7. Easy Apple Coffee Cake really truly did turn out to be an easy recipe. I loved the walnut-studded outer crust, and the way I was able to get this in and out of the oven in time to help the husband get ouf bed.

Has anyone else noticed that a divine smell from the kitchen can help rouse the heaviest of sleepers? I guess it works at this house. I was also pleased to be using some delicious local apples from the Monday Market several times in making this recipe.

6. Chili Colorado Recipe was actually part of our special day. We served it, along with a choice of Shredded Mexican Chicken, and the guests were able to choose their favorite and pile on the toppings. From the murmurs at the tables, I think it was a win.

The husband's favorite part of this dish is the meatiness, combined with the complex spice profile. It's surely something that will perk up taste buds, and leave people wondering what you put in there!

5. Gluten Free Fresh Grapefruit Cake is actually a recipe that I had to battle with. The grapefruit flavor provides the underlying bitterness in the cake, which can be very pleasant. Still, it needed something to help tone down the bitterness, so the Dairy Free Caramel Sauce (number 2 on this list) turned out to be a great accompaniment. There are few things are sublime as something bitter paired with something quite sweet, with a touch of sea salt in the caramel. What a treat!

4. Berry Streusel Coffee Cake is hands down now my favorite coffee cake. The streusel topping was almost like an oatmeal cookie (sans oatmeal, since the oatmeal and butter usually found in coffee cake are no longer on my list of edibles). You can use any berry you like, I personally prefer frozen berries in here, since I have them in my freezer all year long. This is another breakfast treat that is sure to help your sleepy crowd out of bed!

Honestly, coffee cake holds a tiny corner of my innermost me, since I make it every year at camp. This year we let one of our greatest mentors go, and he remains a part of me and my cooking, since he treated me and my cooking contributions for camp with such respect.

3. Dairy Free Easy Peanut Butter Fudge was this year's holiday friend gift smash hit. My friend K asked for the recipe, and I made multiple batches, and kept it in my fridge for the moment I needed it. I'm not really one to plan ahead on those sorts of things, so I appreciated a speedy recipe that could go into the fridge, and then be sliced on demand and wrapped on a little plate for a good friend or neighbor.

I'm a big believer that we should each find those easy things that make our life better - whether it's Chili Colorado in the freezer, a quick and filling risotto meal that is always on the appealing list when few other things are, or a treat that's easy to make and easy to share when it's needed. It's quite appealing to my pratical side, and so I'm sure it will make its appearance again and again.

2. Dairy Free Caramel Sauce, like I mentioned above, was the perfect pairing for the fresh grapefruit cake. Sometimes all you need on a cake with a really strong flavor is an equally delicious contrasting sauce. The same thing happened on my Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache, just a few days ago. It also reminds me of the Apricot Dobos Torte from several years ago. Complex and packed with caramel.

1. Balsamic Beef Stew was the all-time favorite of the year for you readers. I have to be honest that I can't really blame you. It fed me and the husband multiple times this fall, and the deep smoky balsamic makes all the difference. It's a substantial and chunky dish, perfect for the chill of winter.

Here's to another year, bursting with creativity, fresh food, ingenious dishes, and good friends and family. May your 2012 be bright.

Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache

I was watching a battle of Iron Chefs Superstars (or whatever it's called) and one of the judges referred to dusting something with powdered sugar as "soooo 1970s dinner party." Well, apparently I'm stuck in an age that was before my time, because I like dark cakes dusted with powdered sugar. I also don't get points for my plating design from a dude who eats fancy food for every meal, so there you go.

Despite pretentiousness, I made this cake several times this December. It's dark and spicy, especially because I used the "bold" molasses, rather than the "mild flavor" molasses. You'll have to be sure you like the molasses flavor if you're going to use the bold. It's, well, bold.

The bold molasses flavor was also the perfect venue for the chocolate ganache I posted earlier, making a great pair.

I can't believe all that's happened this year. I'm sort of bursting with gratitude, even though it was not without bumps and bruises. We actually just got back from our honeymoon trip to Los Angeles, and we had a delightful time. It was just the two of us, and we had a hotel room that overlooked a public square where people were ice skating every evening. We went to every art museum we could pack in, ate some great gluten free food (and even managed to find some meat among all the vegan and vegetarian options available), and made some memories. I'll tell you all about the food in an upcoming post.

Until then, have a piece of cake!

Last Year: Peanut Brittle

Two Years Ago: Delicious Chocolate Pretzels

Three Years Ago: Beef Hot Links and Pump Up your Annie's Mac and Cheese

Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache
adapted from this recipe
[Printer Friendly]

1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons dried ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 cup molasses
2/3 cup oil
1 cup water
powdered sugar, if desired

Chocolate Ganache

Heat oven to 350 degrees f. Prepare 12 inch Bundt pan with shortening. (I find shortening works best with a Bundt pan, which can be tricky for removing the cake).

Lightly spoon flours into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine tapioca starch, sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, sugar, cocoa, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves; mix well.

In medium bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add molasses and oil; beat well. Stir in water. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; beat just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert on serving plate. Cool 30 minutes or until completely cooled. Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with chocolate ganache.

Easy Chocolate Ganache, Dairy Free

I can't believe 2011 is rushing to a close! It's just passing so quickly. In spite of it, we've managed to eat some delicious food, and spend some time with my family.
I thought I would quickly show how to make chocolate ganache, dairy free of course, because it's the perfect topping for holiday cakes and other deliciousness. I made it three times in December.

Easy Chocolate Ganache, Dairy Free

1/2 bag dairy free chocolate chips or 5 ounces chopped chocolate
coconut milk, about 1/4 cup (as needed)

Over a double boiler (or a small saucepan with simmering water, with a glass bowl nested inside), combine the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate and coconut milk. Stir the chocolate and coconut milk together as the chocolate melts, forming a rich sauce. If needed, add a little more coconut milk to thin the mixture.

Serve warm over cake, ice cream, or whatever it sounds good on!

Perfect topping for a moist cake.