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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

THE ULTIMATE CHEESEBURGER PIZZA

Requires capslock.

A note on ingredients: When trying to make take-out or fast food at home, don't spend too much on fancy ingredients. Use cheap mustard and store brand cheese, that sort of thing. If you use anything fancy and expensive, it just won't taste right. It might still be good, but it won't be right. For example, when making chicken pot pie, you must use frozen vegetables, and when making regular pizza, you must use canned store brand pizza sauce and store brand mozzarella. In this case, you will need to use cheap yellow mustard like you would find at a hot dog stand.

Ingredients for the crust:
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
About 1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tbsp melted butter or margarine
1 envelope (2 1/2 tsp) regular bread yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup warm water, about 115°

Toppings:
3 strips bacon
1/3 lb lean ground beef
4 plum tomatoes
Shredded cheese (I like Colby or other mild cheddar, most people will prefer American; the volume is up to you, start with 2 cups)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely shredded lettuce
3 dill pickles spears
Ketchup and mustard

To make the crust, combine the cornstarch, cornmeal, salt, and garlic in a bowl along with 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. In a separate bowl, combine the water and the yeast.

Add the water and the melted margarine to the flour mixture and stir vigorously for 1 minute. Gradually stir in more whole wheat flour until a dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently, adding more flour to keep it from sticking, for 4 minutes. Be gentle (but firm) since the dough has very little gluten, due to the corn, and will tear easily.

Roll the dough out to an oblong about 18 inches across. Rolling it bigger makes a thinner crust, smaller makes a thicker crust. Transfer to a well-greased baking sheet that is heat-safe to 500 degrees. This means NOT a non-stick sheet. No non-stick sheet is safe at this temperature! Use a double layer of tinfoil instead if you don't have any heat-safe baking sheets. Then use your fingers to "squish" in the edges of the crust, mounding them up to be thicker. Let rest while you prepare everything else.

Begin pre-heating the oven to 500 or as high as your oven goes. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and fry the bacon until crisp. Remove to a plate, and pour out the drippings. Crumble the beef into the same pan and cook until done, stirring. Keep warm.

To prepare the tomatoes, cut off their tops, then cut in half width-wise. Use a spoon to scoop the seeds out and discard them. Then chop the tomatoes into diced bits about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in size. To prepare the pickles, cut out the seeds from the center of the pickle spears and discard. Then mince the rest of the pickle.

If the oven is hot, and the pizza crust has risen somewhat, you can begin to cook it. Spread the tomato bits over the crust and bake it for 7 minutes or until the edges just begin to turn a little golden.

Remove the crust from the oven and top with the shredded cheese. Return it to the oven and bake again, for 5 minutes this time. Check the pizza. If the cheese is beginning to brown, it's done. If not, bake another minute.

When it's done baking, apply the remaining toppings in this order: meat first, then onions, pickles, and lettuce. You can drizzle the ketchup and mustard over the whole thing yourself or, like I did, just put the ketchup and mustard squeeze-bottles on the table for people to serve themselves since some people like more mustard than others.

Kabocha Squash Pie

I made this without a crust, so it's more like a flan than a pie, but you can make it with a crust. I recommend this crust: Flaky Tender Pie Crust

Kabocha squash is also known as a Japanese pumpkin. It doesn't look like a pumpkin, since it's green and flattened instead of round, but its flesh is orange and very smooth and sweet. In my opinion, kabocha is better than pumpkin if you are preparing a pumpkin recipe from a fresh vegetable instead of canned puree. Fresh pumpkins are irregular and often underripe, watery, or stringy; kabocha squashes are almost always sweet and fine-textured, and taste very similar to pumpkin. This is a Pumpkin pie recipe at heart.

Ingredients:
1 kabocha squash


Kabocha squash
3 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
2/3 cup Splenda or equivalent sweetness
1 tbsp dark corn syrup (optional if you don't have it)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp vanilla

To prepare the squash, cut it in half from top to bottom, and scoop out the seeds and guts with a large metal spoon. (Metal so that the hard edges can scrape it out.) Place cut-side-down on a baking sheet or plate, and roast at 400 until it's very tender, about 45 minutes but don't skimp - it won't overcook.

Turn the oven down to 325 and remove the squash. Scoop out the orange flesh and put in a large bowl. If there is a greenish, less-ripe layer under the skin of the squash, don't use it. Usually there is more than enough meat on one of these squashes that you can afford to be picky.

Add all the remaining ingredients and beat well with a spoon. If you have an immersion blender, this is a good time to use it. Don't use a food processor or blender, though, since that whips in too much air.

Spray a pie plate with cooking spray or rub with butter. Pour the filling into the pie plate and put in the oven. Cook for 30 minutes or until the filling is set. If it puffs up, you've overcooked it so take it out right away. It might be a little watery but it will still be very delicious so don't worry.

This can also be made with less seasoning and no Splenda, for a side dish you can serve at dinner instead of for dessert. It's delicious, easy and healthy.

Brandy Chicken

A variant on something the recipe book called Drunken Turkey.

Ingredients:
4 bone-in chicken breast halves
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion, about 3 medium
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tsp chicken bouillon
5 garlic cloves, sliced
Optional: 1/2 tsp Penzey's Boquet Garni (sp?) herb mix, 6 whole allspice berries

Saute the onions in a wide Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat until beginning to soften.

Make room for the chicken breast to touch the bottom, pushing the onions aside, and lay the breasts skin-side down. Cook, occasionally pushing the chicken around in order to keep the onions from sticking, for 6 minutes or until the bottom of the pot is showing golden-brown bits stuck to it.

Add the spices and garlic. Combine the bouillon and the broth; pour over the chicken. Add the brandy.

Raise the heat to medium-high and boil, uncovered, until the steam no longer smells like alcohol. Then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Simmer for 45 minutes or until the meat is tender and fully cooked, turning occasionally.

If the liquid is watery at this point, then you can remove the chicken and boil the liquid to make it more concentrated. It will never become thick like a gravy; it's more like a very rich and concentrated broth.

To serve, pull off the skin and cut the meat from the bones. Discard the bones and skin, and slice the meat. Plate the meat and spoon the pan sauce and the onions over it.

If you're worried about fat, you can peel the skin off BEFORE cooking the meat, in which case you need to be more careful about the meat burning. Alternatively, you can pour the pan sauce into a bowl and place it in the fridge until the fat rises to the top, then skim it off. That is more flavorful but also rather time consuming. The usual method of pouring off the fat doesn't work well because of the onion chunks.

Bibimbap (Korean One-Bowl Meal)

This iconic Korean dish has many incarnations and is excellent for using up extra bits of vegetables, though I usually go out to shop especially for it since I have favorites and want to be sure I have the stuff I like. This is healthy by almost anyone's standards, except for the sugar which can be left out if necessary (but is delicious).

Ingredients:
Seasoned spinach

• 1 frozen block of chopped spinach
• 1 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1 tsp reduced sodium tamari / soy sauce

Seasoned cucumber

• 1 english cucumber, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp rice or cider vinegar

1 cup matchstick-cut carrots, about 5
1 box fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1/2 tbsp dark sesame oil
t tbsp garlic powder or 8 cloves minced garlic
Cooked brown rice
Eggs

You'll notice I didn't specify a number of eggs or an amount of rice. This is because there's one egg per serving, and the number of servings depends on how much each person will eat. Also, the amount of rice depends on how much rice you like. I only eat about 1/2 cup of cooked rice but Koreans eat way more.

To prepare the spinach, thaw it and then gently saute over medium heat in its own liquid until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the seasonings and set aside.

To prepare the cucumber, just mix it together and set it aside, separately. Incidentally, to make matchsticks, you will first cut the cucumber in half to make two shorter pieces. Then cut the pieces lengthwise into planks, then stack the planks two or three high and slice them into thin strips. Then shorten them by cutting crosswise once or twice.

Prepare the carrots by cutting them the same way, then steaming in a small amount of water for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Set aside.

Prepare the beef by sauteing over high heat until it's well browned. Then add the sugar, garlic, and soy sauce or tamari. Simmer until the liquid is thick enough to coat the meat in a nice sauce. Set aside.

In the same pan, lower the heat to medium and crack eggs over it. Fry them sunny-side-up to your desired degree of doneness. I like to break the yolks and spread them out so they are totally opaque and cooked, because I think liquid yolks are gross, but it is more authentic for them to be liquid, so if you like your eggs that way then by all means, go for it.

Serve the meal by placing some rice in the bottom of the bowl. Then spoon some of each thing over the rice in little piles around the bowl: spinach, cucumber, carrot, mushrooms, and beef like a tasty rainbow. Place a fried egg over the top of each bowl and serve.

You're supposed to break up the egg and stir it together when you're ready to eat it. If you have a liquid egg yolk, the yolk forms a sauce that would be tasty if you like that sort of thing. This is also supposed to be served with sriracha or korean hot sauce. If you like it, then go for it; otherwise, it's also good without the heat.

The leftovers are even better. It's delicious as lunch the next day, even cold.

Honey Roasted Root Vegetables

Copied almost verbatim from the Cooking Light recipes by the same name, this is quickly becoming "my" Thanksgiving dish. It is good all year though as long as the weather is cool enough for the oven.

Ingredients:
coarsely chopped peeled sweet potato (about 1 large) or winter squash or pumpkin
coarsely chopped peeled turnip (about 2 medium)
coarsely chopped parsnip (about 4 medium)
coarsely chopped carrot (about 6 medium)
1/4 cup honey (I like Orange Blossom but any full flavored honey will do)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 shallots, quartered

Preheat oven to 450°.
Combine all ingredients except the cooking spray in a large bowl; toss to coat. Place vegetable mixture on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender and begin to brown, stirring every 10 minutes.

Edible Edemame

I'm always looking for ways to make edimame, which is the technical term for fresh soybeans, into something worth eating. They are super good for you, after all. Here's a simple side dish with Asian flair. Took 7 minutes to make!

Ingredients:
2 shallots, minced
1 tsp roasted sesame oil
2 cups frozen shelled edemame
1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Saute the shallots in the oil for 1 minute at medium heat, then add the edamame and turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the tamari. Cook and stir for 4 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook and stir for 30 seconds more. Then serve. Yay!

Italian Cauliflower Casserole

From Cooking Light but edited to make it a more filling meal for active folks like us. To make it lighter you can reduce the amount of beef and/or cheese. To make it non-dairy just use Veggie Shreds for the cheese. You can leave off the breadcrumbs if anyone is gluten intolerant or can't have carbs.

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
1 large yellow onion, minced
4 garlic cloves or equivalent garlic powder
1 tsp sriracha or ground red pepper to taste
1/4 tsp salt
1 pound lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, ideally a garlicky or herby one
1/2 cup grated garlic and herb cheddar
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/3 cup bread crumbs

Steam the cauliflower 5 minutes or until it's crisp-tender. Drain and place in a large casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheddar.

Saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat for a couple minutes until it begins to soften. Then add the beef, stirring to crumble, and raise the heat to medium-high. Keep stirring and cooking the beef until it is all browned. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper while the beef cooks.

When the beef is done, stir in the tomato sauce and heat through. Pour the meat mixture over the cauliflower and stir to combine, gently so the cauliflower doesn't crumble.

Sprinkle the parmesan and bread crumbs over the top of the casserole. Broil for 4 minutes or until golden, and serve.

Rumbledethumps (Potato Pie)

Every nation in Europe, in fact every tiny geographical region, has its own "leftovers" dish, usually involving potatoes to glue the leftovers together. This one is particularly hearty and makes both a satisfying dinner and a fantastic leftover lunch. You can hold the slices in your hand to eat them, and they don't go bad for quite a while at room temperature, so they are good for bringing places. This is a variant of a Scottish peasant recipe called Rumbledethumps (wikipedia link). What differentiates it from, for example, colcannon or bubble-and-squeak is the addition of a cheese topping followed by baking in a plate.

Ingredients:

4 Yukon gold potatoes, with skins
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 big box or bag of baby arugula, or baby spinach if you prefer
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp smart balance or butter
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup shredded gouda (or additional 1/2 cup cheddar)
1/3 cup shredded parmesan
3 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste (I use none, but the traditional recipe calls for lots, so it's up to you)

Chop and steam the potatoes, or bake them in tinfoil, until soft. Mash.

Saute the scallions and garlic in the butter until they begin to soften, then add the arugula and saute until wilted. Transer to a cutting board and chop (it's easier to chop them after cooking than before).

Heat oven to 350.

Sprinkle half the cheddar into the bottom of a well-greased pie plate. Combine remaining cheddar and all other ingredients (except parmesan) in a bowl and mix. Pour into pie plate and top with parmesan.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until set but not puffy.

You can eat this fresh but honestly I like the leftovers better!

NOTE: You can replace the cheese with fake cheese quite easily for the lactose-intolerant.

Hearty Mexican Chard & Chickpea Soup

A recipe modified in enough ways that I consider it mine at this point, it's fast (15 minutes if you're good!) and easy, not to mention satisfying. A good way to get some greens and fiber, too.

Ingredients:
1 head Swiss chard, doesn't matter what kind - the stems lose their color when boiled, so if white is cheaper, then just buy white
1 small can chickpeas
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2 cups broth, chicken or vegetable
1 tsp cumin
1/4-1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper, or 1-2 canned chipotle peppers, seeded and minced
1 brick pepper jack cheese (low-fat works well here)
1/2 brick regular monterey jack cheese (low-fat works well here)
(Note that the cheeses must be bricks, not shredded.)

Tear the chard leaves into bite-sized pieces and set aside. Slice the ribs like celery and set aside, separate from the leaves.

Chop the onion and the garlic and sauté in olive oil over medium heat until the garlic is translucent. Add the spices and the broth and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add the chard ribs and boil for 4 minutes. Then add the leaves and boil for another 2 or 3 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender.

Remove from heat and add the chickpeas I do it this way so that the chickpeas cool the soup slightly, so it's ready to eat without needing an ice cube to cool it. If you don't intend to serve it immediately, or if you enjoy burning your tongue on your soup (weirdo) then add the chickpeas along with the leaves and boil an extra minute to warm them.

Cut the cheese into cubes about half an inch wide. Put 1/4 of the cheese cubes in the bottoms of 4 soup bowls and ladle the soup on top.

Frankly, you had me at "cheese cubes."

A note on chipotle peppers: Chipotle has recently come into vogue. Even McDonald's has chipotle-flavored stuff now. The chipotle pepper is a smoked red jalapeno. If you are familiar with jalapenos, then you can safely use them equivalently in terms of heat.

Until recently, I could only find these peppers in cans of adobo sauce, which was annoying because I never used the whole can before it went bad, and also I had to wear gloves to handle them or inevitably the pepper's heat would find its way into some tiny cut I didn't know I had and I'd be running around the kitchen yelling about how I should have worn gloves. Now, though, McCormick's Spices sells ground dried chipotle peppers and suddenly chipotle is SUPER easy to use. (Although I personally buy mine from Penzey's, I'm sure McCormick's is fine.) Try a sprinkle atop eggs, in anything mexican or beef-based, and on top of chef's salads!

Fun with Wheat Berries

I picked up a bag of wheat berries at the store the other day, for no reason other than that they looked cool. I like Grape Nuts Flakes, which are to wheat berries as instant oatmeal is to oat groats, so I thought they'd be tasty.

They were.

The particular brand I got was parboiled, so it only took 15 minutes to cook. I cooked it with a pinch of salt and then added maple syrup and melted Smart Balance, to excellent effect.

Delicious Basic Wheat Berries

1 Serving

1/4 cup wheat berries
2/3 cup water
Pinch salt
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 pat Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend (or regular smart balance, or butter)

Boil the berries and the water with the salt for 15 minutes, or until it's al dente - a firm exterior and tender interior. Drain and add the seasonings. Yay wheat berries!

They are also excellent leftovers, warmed in the microwave.

UPDATE October 6, 2010: New wheat berry idea :)

Harvest Wheat Berry Salad

1/2 cup wheat berries
2 cups water
Big pinch of salt
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp butter or Smart Balance
1 apple, peeled and chopped

Cook the wheat berries for 15 minutes, then drain. Add the butter and syrup and toss until the butter is melted. Then add the cranberries, walnuts and apple.

You can make this with pre-made wheat berries from the recipe above. You can also store this to eat later, but the apples will turn brown if you do, so either toss them with lemon juice first or add them right before serving. Makes a good afternoon snack.