Chewy Molasses Cookies with Einkorn and Teff

Your basic molasses cookie, but tweaked to include a blend of einkorn and teff flours for fewer allergens and far more nutrition. Healthy enough to be a post- or pre-workout snack! And DELICIOUS, too, with a perfect texture: tender and moist inside, delicately crispy outside. Not too sweet. See explanation below for more info about the ingredients.

Ingredients:

5 ounces einkorn flour
3 ounces teff flour
1/4 cup Stevia, the fluffy kind that is designed to measure 1:1 with sugar, or equivalent sweetener
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/3 tsp allspice
3/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp softened butter
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses

 Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and stir.

 Put the butter and the egg in a food processor and process until slightly fluffed. Add the molasses and process until combined.

 Add the dry ingredients to the food processor in three batches (one third of the dry mixture at a time). Each time, process until just smooth. Note that, due to the low gluten content of these cookies, you don't have to fear overmixing them. They will not get tough.

Scoop out into a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so.

 Preheat oven to 350.

 Divide the dough into four pieces. Roll each piece into a snake about as long as your hand. Cut each snake into 6 pieces. This will give you 24 cookies of equal size with no need to bother measuring them--neat, huh?

 Roll each piece into a ball. Now, you have a choice. You can place them on the cookie sheet as-is, OR, you can roll them in sugar first. Believe me when I say they are delicious even without the sugar. I am chowing down on a plate full of them right now. However, many people feel that the texture of the sugar is a vital part of this kind of cookie, and far be it from me to deny you this pleasure if you want it!

Whether you've rolled them in sugar or not, either way, you will now bake them for 11 minutes or until set. DO NOT OVERBAKE or they won't be chewy anymore!

 Enjoy :)

Ingredient explanations:

Einkorn: Einkorn is a primitive wheat. It is grown mainly in Italy, where it was used for some traditional foods, and thank God for that or we might have lost it!

 Einkorn has been selectively bred to increase its yield and so on, but it has never been hybridized (cross-bred with other species). As a result, it has a less complicated genetic structure and a different gluten protein. Many people who cannot tolerate modern gluten have no trouble with einkorn. Now, if you have a wheat allergy, I do not recommend you go overboard on einkorn, even if you think you can tolerate it! Reason being, allergies are flexible things and you could easily develop an intolerance to this gluten, too. Instead, I suggest you preserve it for special occasions, like pies, birthday cake, and Christmas baking.

 Einkorn flour also happens to have a delightful silky texture, lovely soft-gold color, and a richer, almost tangier flavor than modern wheat. The only tricky thing about using it is, it doesn't absorb as much water as modern flour, so you will need to reduce the amount of liquids you use. With cookies, however, this is not an issue as there is no added liquid.

 I use Jovial brand of einkorn flour, but that's because I haven't found any others, not because I specifically prefer that brand.

Teff: Teff means "lost" and refers to its tiny size. It is the world's smallest grain. This is significant because it means the ratio of starch to "good stuff" is better.

Teff has more protein and more minerals than any other grain, and a lot of fiber, too. It's especially important for its magnesium content. Considering more than half of Americans get way less magnesium in their diet than they need, and considering what a deleterious effect low magnesium can have on mood and mental functioning, it's pretty awesome that one serving of teff contains 45% of your entire day's magnesium requirement!

Teff also happens to be incredibly flavorful, with a lightly sweet and fruity aspect that reminds me of cider and makes it perfect for this kind of cookie. I also love to add it to pancakes.

I use Bob's Red Mill brand of teff flour, and that is important because milling teff is not easy. I have tried other brands and they are gritty, as though sand or dirt got in with the tiny teff grains. So, not all teff flours are created equal. Bob's is worth the slightly higher price.

Kickass Carrots with Luscious Lentils topped with Non-Alliteratively Awesome Harissa

This recipe is from Cooking Light and is vegan. You can find the original recipe here. I altered it dramatically to suit my tastes and also to make it less hot and less salty.

This is flavor powerhouse that is very easy to make and also happens to be wicked good for you. Try it! The whole, roasted carrots make it satisfying in a way vegan food rarely is.

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic or equivalent garlic powder/paste/juice/whatever
3 cups broth, I like beef but if you want to stay vegan use veggie 2 cups uncooked lentils, rinsed (recipe calls for Black but you can use Brown or Indigo)
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning, divided (I give my recipe for Cajun seasoning below, I recommend you use it)
2 pounds large carrots, peeled and beheaded
2 cups flat-leaf parsley, about 1 bunch (recipe calls for cilantro, but I hate cilantro)
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2/3 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tsp garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add 1 1/2 cups onion and minced garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until golden. Add stock, lentils, and 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Combine carrots, 2 tablespoons oil, and remaining 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, tossing well to coat. Arrange carrot mixture in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until tender.

4. Combine remaining 1 cup onion, remaining oil, parsley, and remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.

5. Place lentils on a serving dish; arrange carrots on top. Serve with harissa.

My Cajun Seasoning mix (less hot and less salty):

2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
3 tsp aleppo pepper flakes, OR 2 1/2 tsp paprika and 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1/3 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme

This makes more than you need; save the rest to sprinkle on veggies, eggs, or potatoes.

Fluffiest Oatmeal

I am a huge fan of Scottish oatmeal, which has a texture halfway between grits and rice cereal but ten times as much flavor. But it takes ten minutes to cook, whereas quick oats take only 5, and some mornings that really makes a difference. Also, the texture, being soft, is less interesting than rolled oats, and sometimes I have trouble eating when all my food is the same soft texture (I know, I'm fussy).

Problem with regular quick oatmeal is, it's gooey and gross. I have been known to describe it as a "bowl of grayish sludge". It's also less flavorful than steel-cut or Scottish oatmeal.

So, if you want the speed and textural contrast of quick oats WITHOUT the gooiness, WITHOUT too much compromising on flavor... I have the recipe for you.

Two servings:
1 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 cup water or milk
Cinnamon, butter or margarine, and brown sugar to taste

Place the oats in a small saucepan, all by themselves. Turn the heat to medium-high and toast, stirring often, until the tiny broken oat fragments or oat dust on the bottom of the pan begin to turn golden and the oats smell toasty. This only takes a minute or two.

Add the water and stir quickly. It will steam and boil hotly for a few seconds, then subside.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and put a lid on the pan. Let sit 3 minutes.

Turn off the burner. Add the cinnamon and sugar and butter if you are using them. Stir once, gently, and replace the lid for 2 more minutes.

You will see that the oats have steamed like rice and have held their shape without getting mooshy. Fluff up and serve.

To store for later, fluff up first so they don't get too compacted, then store in a container with a tight lid.

I'm going to get a rice cooker and try using it to make oatmeal next!

Basic Italian Sausage Soup: A Template

So here's a new idea: a recipe template. I'm going to list ingredients as categories and give acceptable ranges of volume. Then you can freely adapt the template to work with whatever you have on hand, and vary it to make it interesting.

Ingredients:

1 package hot or sweet Italian chicken sausage

1 or 2 onions, white or yellow (red doesn't always work unless you add olives)

Garlic. Use ONE of the following:

- If fresh, 4 or more cloves. 

- If powdered, 2 or more teaspoons. 

- If paste, 1 or more teaspoons.

(OPTIONAL) 1/4 cup cooking wine or sherry

Dried Herbs. Use any or all of the following:

- 1/2 tsp oregano

- 1 tsp parsley

- 1/4 tsp powdered rosemary OR 1/2 tsp whole rosemary

- 1/2 tsp thyme leaves

Tomatoes. Use ONE of the following:

- 1 can diced

- 4 fresh plum tomatoes, chopped and seeded

- 2 tbsp Tomato Paste

(OPTIONAL) Additional Vegetables. Use any or all of the following:

- 1 cup chopped zucchini

- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

- 1/4 cup black olives, or to taste

- 1 summer squash, chopped

- 3 carrots, sliced

- 2 celery stalks, sliced 

8 ounces greens: spinach, chard, kale, etc. Frozen works well. Avoid delicate greens like arugula.

1 or 2 cans of beans, rinsed and drained. Use any of the following, or a combination:

- kidney beans

- cannellini beans

- navy beans

- lima beans (frozen, not canned, the canned ones are gross)

- butterbeans

(OPTIONAL) Squeeze of lemon, recommended only if you omitted the wine

(OPTIONAL) Cooked pasta

Preparation:

Slice the sausage and sautee in a large soup pot with a little olive oil until browned. Remove to a plate.

Sautee the onion and, if you're using fresh garlic, the garlic too until beginning to soften. Add the wine, if you're using it, and scrape the pot to get any browned bits. 

Add any other chopped vegetables you're using EXCEPT greens. Add the broth, tomatoes, and the herbs.

Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer until the vegetables are almost done. 3 or 4 minutes for delicate vegetables, 8 minutes if you've got carrots. Stir often to check progress.

Add the greens. Return to a boil and cook until greens are tender, about 2 minutes, but maybe a little longer for kale.

Add the beans. If you're using pasta, add that too. If you're using lemon, now's the time--don't go overboard though!

Serve. If you can eat cheese, this is great topped with parmesan, romano, provelone, manchego, or most Greek cheeses.

This soup stores well. Freeze leftovers or keep in the fridge. It gets better the next day.

Salmon Bisque

Yum. Works with frozen salmon just fine, but not canned. This looks super fancy, with a lovely peach-pink color, and tastes creamy and satisfying. It's impressive enough for company, but it's actually not hard to make, and you can prepare it the day before and reheat it.

Ingredients:

1 lb salmon, cooked and flaked
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, or your favorite potatoes, chopped
4 ounces cream cheese or neufchatel
2 tbsp table cream (media crema) or additional cream cheese or heavy cream
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 of a can of diced tomatoes or 2 tbsp tomato paste
Salt

Sautee the onion, celery, and carrot in a little butter until tender. Add broth, garlic, thyme, and paprika. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, steam the potatoes until just tender, about 12 minutes. Don't overcook.

When the vegetables are done, add the cream cheese, table cream, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender, a regular blender, or a food processor until smooth. Pour through a sieve to remove any fibrous bits (optional).

Return to the pot and add the potatoes. Taste and add salt or pepper if you like. Reheat if necessary.

Add the flaked salmon and serve.

About the salmon: 
You can prepare it any way you like, or use leftovers from another meal, as long as it's relatively simple - no crazy sauces that will conflict with the flavor of the soup. The way I made it was I just brushed it with oil, sprinkled salt and garlic powder on it, and baked it at 425 for 11 minutes.

Spaghetti Pizza Pie

Like Pizza but MORE AWESOME. Also healthier, and super easy to make.

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked spaghetti, tossed with a bit of butter or olive oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic paste, or powdered or minced garlic to taste
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried parsley
2/3 cup marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella or pizza blend
1 tomato, seeded and chopped

Turn oven to 400. Butter a pie plate and place in the oven while it preheats.

Combine spaghetti, eggs, parmesan, garlic, salt, and herbs in a large mixing bowl.

When the oven is heated, take the plate out and pour the spaghetti mixture in. Spread out so that the edges are a little higher than the middle, forming a bit of a crust.

Spread the tomato sauce in the middle, leaving a 1/2 inch crust. Top with cheese, then tomatoes.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Slice and serve! It's good with salad :)

Grain Hipster Pizza Dough

I've arrived at an AWESOME PIZZA CRUST. It is flavorful, soft and tender, but with a nice texture. Start making it an hour before you want to eat it.

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
2 1/2 tsp yeast (1 packet yeast)
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup oat flour
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp vital wheat gluten
Bread flour

Stir the sugar and yeast into the water and set aside for 5 minutes while it foams.

Combine the oat flour, wheat germ, salt, gluten, and 1 cup bread flour in a bowl. Add the olive oil and stir in the water mixture.

Beat with a spoon for 2 minutes, vigorously. You can use a machine for this if you have one.

Turn out onto an amply floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Add plenty of bread flour as needed to keep it from sticking. You'll end up adding maybe another cup of flour. The final dough will be soft and stretchy.

Roll the dough out and stretch with your hands until it's the right size.

Sprinkle cornmeal on a cookie sheet that is heat-safe to 450 degrees - odds are, this is NOT a non-stick sheet! Non-stick sheets aren't safe at high heat. Use a double thickness of tinfoil if you don't have a non-non-stick cookie sheet.

Place the rolled-out dough onto the cookie sheet and let sit in a nice warm place for half an hour, or until it is fluffy enough.

Preheat the oven to 450. Move the oven shelf to the lowest level, if you have an adjustable oven shelf. Bake the dough naked for 3 minutes, THEN add the toppings and bake for another 6 minutes, or until done.

Sort Of Cassoulet

If you know what cassoulet is "supposed" to be and/or are authentically French, you may want to turn away to protect your delicate sensibilities. This is not your mama's cassoulet.

What it is, is a richly flavorful, economical casserole that can be prepared in about an hour, plus half an hour of cooking time. Compare this to the several days and expensive exotic game meats it takes to make authentic cassoulet :P

You will note that the ingredients are sometimes vague. This is an EXTREMELY FORGIVING recipe. You can, and should, alter it and serve it differently every time you make it. That way you can make it often without getting tired of it!

Ingredients:
5 carrots, finely chopped
5 celery stalks, finely chopped
2-4 onions, finely chopped, about  2 cups total
5 slices bacon
1 package spicy Italian chicken sausage, about 8 ounces, sliced
Dark meat off a rotisserie chicken (I like to use the breast for other things)
2 cans small white beans, rinsed and drained
1 16oz can crushed tomatoes or petite-diced tomatoes or fire-roasted tomatoes, your choice
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/4 cup cooking wine or sherry
Broth (or water + bouillon)
Spices

Cook the bacon in a large dutch oven until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Pour the fat out of the dutch oven, only leaving enough to prevent the sausage from sticking.

Add the sausage and cook over medium heat until golden brown. Remove.

Add the veggies (including the garlic IF you are using fresh garlic) and saute until tender.

Return the sausage and bacon to the pot. Add the beans, tomatoes, garlic (if using prepared or dried garlic) wine, broth, and spices. Cook, stirring often, over medium-low heat until veggies are very tender and sauce is gravy-like in thickness.

Stir in the chicken and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and serve, or save for later. It just gets better as you store it!

This makes a lot of servings and, though time-consuming with all the chopping, is an efficient use of your time and money per serving.

Serve with cheese on top if you wanna get fancy. Smoked cheese is especially yummy.

Here's why I don't list a volume for broth: 
The amount you will need depends on the moisture of the veggies, your personal preference, the humidity, etc. Just add broth when it looks too dry. If you accidentally make it too wet, turn up the heat and boil the excess liquid off. Cassoulet is best when very thick, but you don't want it to burn, either. 1 cup is probably the right amount most of the time.

Spice suggestions:
The seasoning on this recipe is forgiving. You should adjust to your preferences. Here is what I use:
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp dried parsley (add this at the end, right before serving, so it stays fresh-tasting)
2 bay leaves
Ground pepper to taste

Ariel likes to shake crushed red pepper on his, like you do on pizza.

Salt:
This recipe gets most of the salt from the bacon, sausage, and cooking wine. You may not find you need any extra salt. If you do want salt, I suggest using chicken bouillon instead of plain salt. It's more flavorful! Taste the cassoulet at the end, just before serving, and add salt then. If you add salt early, it might end up too salty as additional salt leaches out of the meats.

Sausage:
You can use lots of different sausages. Anduoille is good. Regular Italian pork sausage is probably good, I've never tried it. Turkey sausage is good. Other flavors of chicken sausage, like garlic and roasted pepper, are good. Go nuts!

Scottish Oatcakes

This is straight-up the recipe off the back of a bag of Bob's Red Mill scottish style oatmeal. You need that stuff to make these.

Scottish Oatcakes are biscuits for people who are too busy repelling the Roman Empire to eff around with fluffy baked goods.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Scottish oatmeal
1/2 cup wheat flour
3/4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 - 1/2 cup hot water

Oven to 325.

Place all but 2 tbsp of the oatmeal in a bowl with the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir.

Add butter and stir until evenly distributed. With a fork, mix in water just until moistened. Don't make it too wet. Press dough into a ball, like you would pie crust.

Sprinkle the counter top with the reserved oatmeal and roll the dough out on top to about 1/3" thickness - a little thicker than a pie crust. Cut into squares and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake until oatcakes are golden around the edges, about 20 minutes. Do not overbake or they will be crumbly.

Allow to cool thoroughly before storing in an airtight container. These keep a long time.

Hella Good Omelette

I am the biggest egg snob you have ever met. To be honest, I don't actually like eggs. Growing up, my dad would get me to eat eggs by topping them with so many things, the actual egg underneath was but a distant memory.

Even then, it had to be the right topping. Heaven help the man if he served me GREEN PEPPERS. Ugh.

Anyway, this hasn't changed. But I don't have my daddy to top my eggs for me anymore (*sadface*) so the result is very creative egg recipes. When visiting my sister last year to help her through chemo - she's in full remission now, hooray! - this came in handy, since chemo messes up your taste buds and it was hard for her to eat.

Today's omelette doesn't have nearly as noble an origin, however. Basically I had woken up with my heart set on huevos rancheros (Rancher Eggs, kind of like nachos but with scrambled eggs) but discovered I was out of salsa. After I'd finished HULK SMASH-ing the kitchen, I made this omelette as  a consolation prize, pulled out all the stops because I was hungry and mad, and made something GOOOOOD.

I'm almost certain there's still an omelette in there somewhere.

Ingredients PER OMELETTE: - see below for explanations of ingredient varieties and substitutions
2 eggs
1 tbsp water
Pinch salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin
5 cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1 oz shredded chipotle-flavored cheddar, or to taste
1/2 avocado, diced

Preheat a small skillet over medium heat.

Combine eggs, water, salt, cumin and garlic in a bowl and gently beat with a fork. You need to make sure the cumin doesn't make a glob but instead gets beaten into the eggs, so keep beating until it is more or less mixed in.

Grease the skillet by half-unwrapping a stick of butter and rubbing it around the bottom. If the butter sizzles and begins to brown, the skillet is ready. If the butter IMMEDIATELY BURNS, it's too hot! Wash it out and start over. Temperature is important.

When the skillet is ready, pour the eggs in all at once. Watch it attentively; when the edges are opaque, gently pull them back from the pan with a spatula to let the uncooked egg flow under neath. This makes it cook faster so it doesn't burn. But always be gentle so it doesn't stick to the pan. If you moosh it around, it will stick.

After completing this step, add the tomatoes. They are more flavorful if they are warm :)

When the omelette is almost cooked, add the cottage cheese and fold it over with a large, flexible spatula. Then flip the skillet over on top of a plate so the omelette falls out on the plate. I am way too lazy to try to actually use a spatula for this flipping process, ha!

Top with shredded cheddar and avocado.

NOTES:

Eggs: For the love of God and your own conscience, spend a little extra money to buy cage free eggs. Battery cages are a blight on our species. Do not get me started, just buy the good eggs. (And if you love yourSELF, also buy antibiotic-free eggs. Chicken farms are spawning antibiotic-resistant UTIs.) The advantage of this is, most good, humane farms test for salmonella, meaning a healthy adult does not have to worry about salmonella at all and can safely eat soft-cooked or even raw eggs. ALSO, they are tastier and make firmer omelettes.

Cottage Cheese: Fiber One makes a delicious cottage cheese with a ton of fiber. Using it in this omelette will keep you full longer and help you keep a healthy weight! Woo Fiber!

Cheddar Cheese: I live in New England and buy Cabot brand cheese because my research indicates that dairy cattle raised in this area are kept in a more humane way than Midwest dairy cattle. Having said that, I now fully expect to be mailbombed by a Midwest dairy farmer... Sorry, guys! You know I love farmers :) Anyway, Chipotle cheddar is amazing, but regular cheddar is fine too.

Awesome Pancakes - gluten-free, lower-carb, high-fiber, DELICIOUS

I have been seriously remiss in not posting my recent grain-hipster experiments on this blog.

In case you're wondering, NO, I did NOT name these "awesome pancakes" myself. This is, however, what Ariel calls them. Like so:
Me: "What do you want for breakfast?"
Ariel: "I want those awesome pancakes again."

This recipe makes one serving. Just multiply it out to make enough for more people.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Almond flour
2 tbsp ground flaxseed (I like Bob's Red Mill golden flaxseed)
3 tbsp oat flour (be sure to buy Gluten Free oat flour if you need gluten free)
1 packet of Stevia or equivalent sweetener
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg (optional)
Milk or milk substitute
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp vanilla

Whisk the dry ingredients together.

Add wet ingredients. Note that, if you do not use an egg, you will need more milk. Basically, just add liquid until it is a slightly runny pancake batter. It is important to make the batter a tad thinner than you usually do! The flaxseed will make it thicken up.

Let the batter sit on the countertop and thicken while the griddle heats. You don't need it to be quite as hot as usual for pancakes.

Grease the griddle and pour out into four little pancakes. Cook until the edges loosen from the pan and look a bit golden. You want the edges to be a little crispy. Yummmm....

These are delicious with the usual butter and syrup, but they are very flavorful on their own, so you can also top them with peanut butter (or other almond butter) for a more savory breakfast, or even eat them plain! They're moist and tender and make a good snack, too.

MATH:
Here, I will do some math for you to make larger volumes of batter.

FOR 2 PEOPLE:
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
6 tbsp oat flour (that's 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 packets Stevia or equivalent
1 or 2 eggs, or none if you're leaving them out (you might have guessed that the egg quotient is flexible)
Milk or whatever
1/2 tsp vanilla

FOR 4 PEOPLE:
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
3/4 cup oat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
4 packets Stevia or equivalent
2 or 3 eggs, or none if you're leaving them out (you might have guessed that the egg quotient is flexible)
Milk or whatever
1 tsp vanilla

Grain Hipster Muffins - high protein, gluten-free

This is mostly lifted off the back of the Bob's Red Mill soy flour bag, where it is called "Outrageous Muffins", for very good reason. I made some changes:
1. Left out the wheat flour (entirely by accident)
2. Substituted half the sugar with stevia
3. Used diced prunes instead of raisins, since I hate raisins, and used less of them
4. Reduced the salt
5. Used orange oil instead of orange zest, because I didn't have any oranges and anyway zesting is annoying.

They are amazing. I'm eating one THIS VERY MINUTE.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup soy flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup wheat germ (leave this out, or substitute oat flour, if you need gluten-free)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar OR 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup Splenda OR equivalent sweeteners
1 cup almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
Zest of 1 orange OR equivalent orange flavoring OR orange oil
3/4 cup diced prunes OR your favorite dried fruit OR blueberries

Oven 350

Combine dry ingredients and whisk. Add wet ingredients and mix with a big spoon; the batter will be thick. Stir in the fruit.

Spoon into 12 muffin cups. I firmly advocate aluminum muffin cup liners, instead of paper, because they never stick. I hate peeling soggy paper off of my muffin or cupcake!

Bake for 22 - 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden.

Notes:

- These are far lower in carbs than regular muffins, but much higher in fat, due to the almond flour. Therefore they are higher in calories. While the fiber and nutrients make these muffins still a MUCH healthier choice than conventional muffins, don't go crazy and eat ten of them.

- The recipe also called for baking soda; I used baking powder by accident. I just realized that. Oops? Apparently I still have my brain wrapped up in my book. However, I recommend the baking powder. It came out great and baking soda is very salty.

- You could probably substitute all the sugar for non-nutritive sweetener with no ill effect, since the almond flour will keep it moist. But you might want to add a spoonful of molasses for flavor.

White Bean and Sausage Soup with Chard

Ingredients:
1 large bunch Swiss chard, chopped
2 yellow onions, chopped
1 package prepared spicy Italian chicken sausage (or other Italian sausage)
1 tsp garlic powder or equivalent
1 tsp chicken bouillon
~2 cups milk or water (not any milk substitute)
Dash ground rosemary
Pinch dried thyme
Big pinch dried parsley
2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Grated parmesan
Black or white pepper

Slice and fry the sausage in olive oil until golden. Remove to a plate.

Saute the onions until tender. Add the spices, milk, and 1 can of beans.

Puree with an immersion blender. (This step is optional).

Add remaining beans and chard. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until chard is tender.

Put the sausage back in and serve with parmesan and pepper.

Balsamic Bourbon Pan Sauce for Steak

We rarely eat steak, but Ariel's boss bought him some filet mignon recently. I didn't want to mess it up so I did some research and ended up just pan-searing the steaks and then offering this sauce on the side, along with bacon crumbles. Ariel liked it that way because then he could eat part of the steak plain (purist style) and the rest with sauce on it. This is a luxury sauce for sure, but it would be just as good brushed onto grill meats or served on hamburgers.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup bourbon
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp Tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp high quality barbecue sauce, ideally Jack Daniels brands, or extra thick Worcestershire sauce if you don't have any good barbecue sauce
2 tbsp cold butter (not margarine) cut into 4 pieces

First, cook the steaks in a heat-safe skillet. While they're cooking, whisk the sauce ingredients together.

When the steaks are done, remove to a plate and pour the sauce into the skillet. Stir to loosen any tasty brown bits stuck to the pan.

Bring to a boil and cook until thickened and all the alcohol is boiled off. Reduce heat to low and drop the butter in one piece at a time. Whisk each piece thoroughly into the sauce to form a suspension. This adds body and richness.

Serve in a small gravy boat or other serving thing with a pour spout.

Note: You can leave out the butter if you are serving a well-marbled steak. Just cook the sauce down a little longer so it's thick enough. The filet mignon is (according to the Internet) so lean that it is best to serve it with a sauce that has fat in it, ideally butter, to bring out the flavor. London broil would probably be the same, but you wouldn't need butter for, say, Delmonico.

Black Bean Burgers with Eggs

An enhanced version of the recipe found in September 2012 edition of Cooking Light.

Ingredients:
To make the patties:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp peanut oil or canola oil
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup panko

Finishing the patties:
4 eggs
1/4 cup panko
Peanut or canola oil
Cheddar cheese with chipotle (optional but delicious)

Combine the ingredients for the patties in a food processor and process until combined but still pretty chunky.

Pour enough oil into a nonstick pan to cover the bottom. Preheat over medium heat.

Divide the mixture into quarters. Place remaining panko on a plate. Scoop up a quarter of the bean mixture, plop it into the panko, and press it gently flat. Then scoop up the patty and carefully lay it on the hot pan. Repeat with remaining bean mixture to form 4 patties.

You will note that panko is applied to only one side. If the patty sticks to the spoon when you press it flat in the panko, DO NOT PANIC. This is actually quite convenient. Let it stay stuck to the spoon and use that as an easy way to transfer the patty to the frying pan. Use a soft spatula to scrape it off the spoon and directly onto the hot pan.

Fry for 4 minutes, turn, and fry for 3 more minutes, or until golden and crisp. Remove to drain on paper towels.

Pour excess oil and any burnt bits of panko out of the pan, and return to stove. Crack four eggs into the pan and cook until firm.

Top each patty with an egg. If you're using the cheese, put as much cheese as you like atop the egg - the hot egg melts it. Serve immediately.

Shortcut Chicken Pot Pie

A long time ago I posted a recipe for chicken pot pie "better than store bought." I still like that recipe, but since then I have gotten lazier about making it and now I have a much faster and incidentally somewhat cheaper version that is still delicious enough to serve to company.

Ingredients:
Filling:
1 bag frozen peas and carrots
1/2 bag frozen pearl onions (NOT in sauce, just plain onions), or more to taste
Breast meat of 1 rotisserie chicken
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1/4 cup white flour
1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon or equivalent broth mix

Topping:
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup pastry or cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar 
1/3 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 stick butter or stick margarine
2/3 cup milk

First, make the topping. Preheat the oven to 450. Also put a large pot of water on to boil.

In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and stir. Chop the butter into small pieces and drop into the dry ingredients. Then, use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until the pieces are no bigger than peas. Add the milk and stir gently until a dough forms. It will be stiff.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead carefully 8 times. Kneading a biscuit is not the same as kneading bread dough; each time you knead the dough, you will press it out flat to about an inch thick, then fold it in half. This creates the nice tender layers in the biscuit.

Roll the biscuit dough out into a shape that will fit into whatever container you're going to use for the pie. Basically, the topping is going to be one giant biscuit. You can use a pie plate or a rectangular Corningware, whatever you like that is about the right size. It doesn't have to be oven-safe.

Lay a sheet of tinfoil on a baking sheet that is safe to use at high heat. Most nonstick baking sheets are NOT SAFE at high heat. If all you have is nonstick sheets, then just use a double thickness of tinfoil.

Grease the tinfoil and then laay the giant biscuit on top. Carefully fold up the edges of the tinfoil to make about a 1/2 inch lip all the way around. This will catch any butter that melts out of the huge biscuit, so it doesn't drip onto your oven and smoke.

Bake the biscuit for 12 minutes or until golden. You will want to bake it a tiny bit longer than you usually bake biscuits to be sure it's cooked all the way through.

While the biscuit is cooking, make the filling. The water should be boiling now so just dump in the frozen veggies. Set a timer for 5 minutes and start working on the gravy.

For the gravy, whisk the flour directly into the cold milk until smooth. Then pour the milk mixture into a saucepan and add the water and bouillon and (optional) any herbs you want to add, such as a pinch of thyme, parsley, or sage. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat.

By now the veggies are probably done. When they are done cooking, dump them into a colander to strain out the water, then pour them into the pie plate (or other serving container that you're going to serve the pie in).

If you haven't already chopped the chicken, do it now, and then add the chicken pieces to the veggies.

Pour the gravy over the veggies and chicken, and stir gently.

By this time the biscuit is probably done baking. Carefully, using two large spatulas or pancake turners, lift the giant biscuit off the tinfoil and place on top of the gravy mixture.

Ta-daaa! Your chicken pie is done, and it is PERFECT. Eat it!

Variations:

You can use the whole chicken including dark meat if you like dark meat. I don't, so I feed the legs to Ariel (hubby). Or, you can cook your own chicken, but rotisserie is really really good so I don't recommend this unless you don't have access to rotisserie or it's too expensive.

You can use frozen mixed vegetables instead of peas and carrots, but you must pick out the green beans. They make the filling soggy.

You can also make drop biscuits instead of the giant biscuit if you don't want to bother rolling it out and kneading it.

You can save calories and carbs by making a half recipe of the biscuit topping. It will be thinner and bake in much less time, so check on it after 7 minutes.

Can't find frozen pearl onions? You can use frozen chopped onions instead of pearl onions. The pearl onions are nicer, but the regular chopped onions are fine if that's all you can get. Don't use the kind that comes in a sauce or your gravy will be too salty.

Don't have pastry flour? Substitute an additional 1/4 cup whole wheat flour plus 1/4 cup cornstarch.

Don't have whole wheat flour? Use 2 cups regular flour and leave out the pastry flour.

Don't have cream of tartar? Use an additional 1/2 tsp baking powder, although you should try the cream of tartar sometime. You might find you really like biscuits made with it.

Can't drink milk? Replace it with water. It will still be good. DO NOT use a milk substitute, because they will all make the gravy come out wrong. Lactaid milk is fine.

Traditional Flan

This isn't your chef's creme caramel.

The apple pie, and indeed the pie in general, is American. It's a colonist's interpretation of an old world dish, namely a tart, but made with the available ingredients and techniques. Pie crust is the commoner's pate sucree. Similarly, this is the flan of the people, created with the ingredients available in tropical places like Mexico and the Philippines. It is not healthy.

Ingredients:
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
8* egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar (organic is ok)
2 tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 325. Grease a pie plate or similar ceramic or glass oven safe container. Prepare the filling by heating the canned milks in a small pot to almost boiling. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and vanilla lightly.

When the milks are hot, pour into the eggs in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Set aside.

Make the caramel sauce by mixing together the sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook without stirring until the sugar turns golden-brown.

Immediately pour the caramelized sugar over the bottom of the greased pie plate. It will turn rock-hard as soon as it cools, so try to pour it all over the plate and not in a mound in the middle, although don't worry about getting it evenly spread. It will melt and spread out while cooking.

Pour the egg filling on top and bake gently for half an hour, or JUST until the center is set. If you see the edges begin to puff up, you're overcooking it and must take it out immediately. However, this flan is much more forgiving than regular custard, since the canned milk does not curdle.

Variation: Reduced sugar

To make a reduced sugar version, simply replace the can of condensed milk with an additional can of evaporated milk plus about 1 cup of Splenda or equivalent heat-safe sweetener. You must use real sugar for the caramel, though.

* About the egg yolks: This number of yolks is a guideline. Some families use a whole dozen!! It's possible to use as few as 5. Basically, 8 is just the compromise number, so use however many you like.

Kahlua Chocolate Cupcakes

Our favorite cupcakes. Maybe. It's hard to choose.

3 tbsp instant coffee granules
2 tbsp boiling water
4 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp Kahlua, divided
3 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar (or equivalent Splenda plus 1/2 cup milk powder)
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Frosting:
2 oz semisweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 tbsp Kahlua
Milk

In a small bowl, dissolve coffee granules in water. In another larger bowl, beat the eggs, buttermilk, 1/2 cup Kahlua, oil, vanilla, and coffee mixture until blended thoroughly. Combine the dry ingredients and gradually combine the two mixtures. Beat thoroughly for fluffiness.

Pour into greased cupcake tins. Bake at 325 for 25 - 35 minutes until the cake springs back when gently touched. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Cool for 15 minutes more, then brush with remaining Kahlua. Cool.

To make the frosting, combine the chocolate and Kahlua. Microwave for 10 seconds at a time until melted, stirring frequently. Add milk, a tiny bit at a time, until it reaches a spreading consistency. Remember that it will firm up as it cools. Spread over cupcakes.

Avocado Bubble "Tea"

Bubble tea is a catch-all term for any drink that contains "bubbles", which are actually large, dark colored tapioca pearls. The Taiwanese word for these is Boba, and our use of Bubble is probably a corruption of this word. A shop selling bubble tea usually offers actual tea with bobas, but also usually offers smoothies with bobas, milk tea with bobas, and juice with bobas. The dark pearls are colored in a variety of ways, but the best ones are colored with purple potato and have a slightly sweet, molasses-y taste.

Making bubble tea at home has been a dream for a long time, since Ariel and I found a fantastic bubble tea shop in Seattle that uses real fruits for the smoothies instead of the more common flavored powders. It's called WOW, which stands for Wonder Of Worship, and is an Asian Christian hangout and board game den in addition to its bubble tea vending.

There's nothing like that within comfortable driving distance of us here in Stoneham. So, in case you're in the same boat, here's a bubble tea recipe. You can also just leave the bubbles out and have a smoothie.

Ingredients (per smoothie):
1 small ripe avocado
Milk, or milk alternative if dairy intolerant - I suggest coconut-almond milk
Sweetener to taste
3 drops vanilla extract, or more to taste
Ice cubes (optional)

Slice the avocado in half down to the pit. Twist the two halves apart and pop the pit out with a spoon; discard the pit. Hold each half in your hand and, using a blunt knife, slice the inner meat vertically and horizontally. Then scoop the meat out with a spoon. It will come out already nicely chopped.

Put the avocado meat into a small mixing bowl if you have an immersion blender, also known as a stick blender. If you don't have one, put it into the regular blender, and afterwards, go get an immersion blender ;) Add enough milk to just cover the avocado. You may need to add more later. Avocados are remarkably powerful thickeners.

Add a little sweetener. You can use any kind of sweetener, either natural or artificial. If you want to use natural, then I suggest half honey and half organic sugar. About a teaspoon of each to start with, you can always add more. Also add the vanilla.

Puree the mixture until smooth. You will be amazed at how velvety smooth the avocado makes it. Taste and add more sweetener if needed.

Next, either put in the fridge to chill, or add a few ice cubes and stir until it's at your desired temperature.

To make the bobas:
You will need to buy the right ones. Go online to Amazon and order the kind specially made for bubble tea. If you try to use regular tapioca, you will be disappointed! (Obviously, you will need to do this well in advance of making the smoothie!) Then, follow the directions to cook them. When they're done cooking, drain in a strainer, and put into a bowl of ice water to chill before adding them to your smoothie.

To drink a bubble tea, you will either need a jumbo bubble tea straw that is big enough to suck up the bobas, or you will need to use a spoon. Enjoy!

Delicious Blueberry Compote-slash-Syrup

This is great on pancakes, ice cream, angel cake, and as a topping to spice up less flavorful fruits like cantaloupe.

It is an excellent way to use frozen berries, which are much cheaper than fresh, and available year-round. They may also be more nutritious, since they haven't been sitting on a shelf, but instead were frozen and preserved right after being picked.

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen wild blueberries (about a pound)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Sweetener to taste
Optional: Lemon zest, OR orange zest, OR 1/4 tsp orange oil

Place the blueberries and the cinnamon in a small pot over medium heat. No need to thaw the berries first. Cook and stir.

The berries will burst and give up a lot of juice. As long as you keep stirring, the berry syrup will become thicker and thicker. There is a "sweet spot" where the berry syrup has become concentrated and intensely flavorful, but hasn't become too thick or gritty from the seeds. Exactly how thick is up to you. Just keep spooning some out and looking at it. You will know when it's done because you will look at it and say "I wanna put that on my ice cream." (When it's too thin, you will look at it and say "Ick, that looks watery.")

Take it off the stove and add the sweetener at this time. It doesn't matter what kind you use, but do make sure it has cooled before you add nutrasweet (phenylalanine) if that's what you use. The flavor of the berries is strong enough to cover up the flavor of stevia if you choose to use it. How much you need will depend on the sweetness of the berries, which varies from bag to bag. Start with 1/4 cup (or equivalent) and taste.

If you chose to use the zest or flavoring, add it now.

NEXT: Some people like this as a compote, which means there are whole berries floating in a relatively thin syrup, while other people like it better as a thick syrup with no chunks, ie. a smooth puree. I like puree, Ariel likes chunks, so I puree half of it and then store the results in separate jars.

Note that this syrup is different from store-bought in that it has no preservatives. This will keep for only 2-3 days in the fridge. If you want it to keep for longer, then take it out every day or two and bring it to a boil, then cool and return to the fridge. Every time you boil it, you stop the bacteria and yeast from growing, and reset the shelf life.

WHY AND WHEREFORE:

Why wild blueberries? They are higher in antioxidants and have a stronger flavor, and are a little more tart, which I like. They are also a little more expensive, so feel free to use regular blueberries if the wild ones are too pricey.

Why cinnamon and citrus? That's just the traditional "berry cobbler" combo. You can also use 1/4 - 1/2 tsp almond flavoring, which is sophisticated and a nice treat. Also, you can include other berries, such as blackberries, to make a more complex flavor. Ginger and lemon is another fun twist. I haven't tried it, but I have seen fruit recipes that use 1/4 cup of zinfandel wine, too.