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carob date squares

May 2, 2012 in gluten-free, in the kitchen, recipes | 3 comments

I have been addicted to the “Energy Nuggets” in the bulk section at the grocery store for quite awhile now, but they cost a pretty penny and I really want to eat a LOT of them.  So I did what I often do: snapped a photo of the ingredients and went home to figure out how to make them for myself.  Is this legal? I have a file of photos of ingredients from packaged products that I am trying to recreate my way through.  I’m not going to call them Energy Nuggets though… frankly, I don’t like to eat anything called a nugget. I guess they are kind of like gold though.

Carob Date Squares (original, I know)

1 cup almonds
1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
5 ounces dates, pitted
1/4 cup carob powder, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup honey

Whirl up the nuts in a food processor until they are finely chopped. Remove the nuts and add the dates to the food processor. Pulse it until the dates are pasty.  Add the nuts back in, along with the carob powder and honey and process until everything is uniformly incorporated.  Press into a waxed paper-lined 8×8 pan and stick in the fridge for a bit until hard enough to cut into bite-size squares. Dust with carob powder (to prevent from sticking together once stored).

I’m not loving these pictures. But, they’re good. I promise.

 

famous chocolate chip cookies

April 11, 2011 in cookies, in the kitchen, recipes | 5 comments

I have two favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes.  There’s the one in Good to the Grain, and is the healthier option as it’s surprisingly made with all whole wheat flour. It’s really good (I remembered that Lecia posted the recipe last year). But my standard is a recipe that I’ve been making for years. I believe my mom got it from a neighbor and I think it was probably one of the only recipes that I made religiously as a kid. So I’ve had some years to perfect it. A few decades (yikes). It is so good they call it… famous.

I’ve come to the conclusion that there are two things that really make or break this cookie: the quality of the flour and the baking time. If you use good flour and watch them for that divine tick of the clock when they just start to turn brown, you’ll be fine as wine in the summertime. Oh, and it makes a lot of dough. I bake half and stick the other half in the freezer for an impromptu treat.

And yes, that is one pound of butter. I never said they were healthy. All things in moderation.

Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes six dozen cookies!

1 pound butter
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
5 1/2 cups good all-purpose flour
4 cups (or 24 ounces) chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

Cream butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs; beat 3-5 minutes until very fluffy. Combine dry ingredients and stir into the butter mixture. Add chips and nuts.  Use an ice cream scoop and drop onto parchment-lined sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes… a little more, a little less but don’t over cook them. You’re going for soft and chewy here so it’s better to take them out sooner than you think.

Eat with milk if you’re so inclined.

in like a lion

March 2, 2011 in gluten-free, harbors, in the kitchen, recipes, sunsets | 18 comments

Goodness, am I happy that it’s March! Never mind it’s colder than it’s been all winter, we have lots of snow on the ground and the Taku Winds have been blowing up to 150 mph (I wish I was kidding but it’s true). It’s MARCH! And spring is just around the corner… kind of. So to keep thinking happy thoughts, I am going to share two things that have made me smile lately.

I.  chocolate cake (I didn’t say I was going to get philosophical or anything)

I found the best gluten-free chocolate cake recipe ever. I was thinking of ways that I could tweak a mud bar recipe that our family loves, and it turns out Gluten Free Girl and Pioneer Woman had done it for me already. Dang, those ladies are good. I didn’t have guar gum so I’m not sure what I missed out on by not including it. I have a very important recommendation that they don’t mention in this recipe though (and I think it is essential in perfecting the cake the way we like it): once you pour the frosting over the hot cake, cut into it right away. That way the icing seeps down into the cake and it gets all gooey and moist and perfect. I used King Arthur’s GF flour, which I have found is the best all-purpose alternative to the real deal.

II.  late winter sunsets

We’ve had the most absolutely amazing sunsets this past week. And the best part about it is that they are happening around normal sunset time!  Forget that 2:30 sunset. Soon, the sun will be setting once I’m already in bed for the night. I hear these clear skies have been allowing some impressive displays of the Northern Lights (check out KirstenLee’s flickr). If only I could keep my eyes open long enough to see them.

Here’s to dreams of March going out like a lamb. I’m ready to feel some sun on my bones without ten layers on my body.

alaskan sourdough pancakes

January 3, 2011 in breakfast, recipes | 14 comments

Is anyone else coming off a major holiday sugar crash like me? All I want to do is eat candy and then sleep. I know my kids feel the same way because I have been finding sugar dusted all over the kitchen, like they are just eating spoonfuls of it straight out of the sugar bowl. Nice. Time for a detox, I think. And maybe a little baking sans sweetness.

For anyone who knew me about two years ago, you’ll remember my obsession with bread baking. Well, that quickly wore off once Brian found out he was gluten intolerant. Is it possible to make someone intolerant from feeding them too much bread?  I wonder. So I don’t get to bake too often anymore, but I still love to indulge on occasion, even if for the ritual.

For Christmas, we were given an Alaskan sourdough starter from a woman at Brian’s office. She told me that it had been in her family for three generations and was passed to her by her father. How cool is that? I’m thinking it must be like my family’s passed on tradition of making meat pie (which my mom wrote about on her family cookbook blog)… but I do tend to romanticize things like bread and baking. Family food traditions are so great.

So far I’ve made sourdough pancakes and two giant loaves of bread. The boys are loving eating sandwiches on homemade bread again and I’m just ripping big chunks off and slathering them with butter. I used the King Arthur recipe, but I think I need a better one. The pancakes however… to die for. I’ve never before made sourdough pancakes and boy are they delicious and tangy.

This is the recipe that came with the starter, and I’m sharing it with you with permission (thanks!). The pancakes are thinner than what I’m used to making, which is awesome for me and my tendency to burn pancakes on the outside and keep them raw in the middle. Also, if you don’t have a starter, you can buy one, try to make your own (I found lots of instructions on google) or put a call out in your community. Does anyone remember that Amish Friendship Bread starter that was going around about 10 years ago? Man, I loved that stuff. I should start a resurgence. Anyway. Recipe.

Sourdough Pancakes

2 cups fed starter
1-2 eggs (I used 2)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon baking soda mixed with a tiny bit of water before adding

Beat first six ingredients together in a large bowl. Add baking soda mixture. Cook like a pancake.

pumpkin lattes & hot chocolates

October 25, 2010 in gluten-free, in the kitchen, recipes | 18 comments

Our house is officially back to the gluten-free life now. We fell off the wagon for a bit but it’s time to get back in shape. Brian has not officially been diagnosed with celiac disease, but we do know he has a major intolerance for gluten and has pretty much been feeling awful since re-introducing the evil stuff. Though the kids and I can eat gluten, my general philosophy is that all meals eaten as a family will be free of wheat, barley and rye. I’m ok with the meals, but the desserts! I will really miss making a good old fashioned cake.

I’m officially on a quest for better gluten-free desserts this holiday season. There might be a few things from my repertoire I will have to make, just because I’m selfish like that and I can’t live without my holiday butter tarts (sorry, Brian)… but my aim is to make most of our goodies digestible for all members of the family. I’m hoping to share as much as I can here.

Luckily, there are so many really good gluten-free pumpkin recipes. This weekend, I made pumpkin bourbon cheesecake with salted caramel sauce to bring to a dinner party. Why didn’t I take a picture? Darn. All you have to do to adapt a cheesecake recipe is change up the crust–I substituted GF ginger snaps for the graham crackers. Easy. Though it seems like everything I make with pumpkin calls for just a cup… which leaves me with a small amount leftover in a 15 oz can. What to do with the leftovers? You can add it to chili, which makes it so creamy and delicious, or you can make yourself a pumpkin latte and pumpkin hot chocolate for the kids. Yes, please.

Pumpkin Latte/Hot Chocolate

2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (my original recipe calls for 2 T but I think it’s way too much)
2 tablespoons pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)

Heat all of the above in a small saucepan (you can also add a touch of cayenne if you like it spicy!). If you have a hand-held frother, froth that baby up. Or you can put it in the blender to make it foamy, if you’re careful not to burn yourself….this is not a good method for accident-prone me. Fill up your mug half full with the pumpkin milk and add a shot of espresso. To the remaining milk, stir in 2 T. cocoa powder and pour into kids’ mugs. Sprinkle them all with nutmeg.

Makes enough for one latte and two big cups of cocoa.

(Edited… when I first posted this, I forgot to add the sugar!)

ginger crinkles, etc

September 17, 2010 in in the kitchen, recipes | 13 comments

I didn’t feel like cooking much over the summer. Historically, it’s the season that inspires me most in the kitchen. I’m blaming this change on the adjustment to having more daylight in my summers again. We were out and about so much over the summer that, before I knew it, it would be nine o’clock and I didn’t have a clue what to do about dinner. With school upon us now and the dawn of a crazy new schedule, I decided that I needed to make a serious meal plan and stick to it.

My inspiration is slowly returning with the help from my menu. Here’s a few things I have made this week:

Pizza on the grill, of course. Have to squeeze in as many grill nights as possible while it is still warm out.

Scones, made with currants that I picked at my friend Jessy’s house. They were awfully bitter after I dried them but once baked and topped with maple syrup, they were super yum!

My favorite homemade bread from my favorite cookbook.

Can you believe I found Hatch chiles up here? SO awesome. I roasted and froze a big batch. I’m thinking I have to go back for more still.

I wonder what else I can turn around in my life if I were to make more “plans”? I’m kind of a fly by the seat of my pants person and I’m learning that this is not an easy way to live when you have lots of little people depending on you. Yes, it’s taken me nearly eight years to figure this out.

In the making of my meal plan, I decided a few desserts were in order. My lovely menu called for spicy pumpkin brownies. Hello, fall. So I add canned pumpkin to my brilliant, master grocery list. Turns out, the new and improved Fred Meyer decided that it’s a seasonal thing and they don’t stock freaking canned pumpkin. What? It’s canned pumpkin! Not wanting to run to Safeway which I know stocks it, I used my critical problem solving skills to make a new plan (this is where my “on the fly” skills come in handy). In keeping with my fall theme, I remembered one of my autumn standbys: the Ginger Crinkles cookies from my handy favorite cookbook. As much as I am still dreaming of spicy pumpkin brownies, I am so happy with my second choice. Makes me remember how wonderful fall cooking can be and it’s got me thinking of all kinds of warming recipes to add to next week’s plan.

Seriously, though–seasonal? I thought that’s why we had canned items: to enjoy them when I can’t go buy winter squash at the market. Is this an Alaska thing?

So here’s my deliciously addictive ginger cookies recipe. For reasons I haven’t been able to determine yet, they get the most beautiful crackly texture on top and they are awesomely chewy. Really the perfect combo. I’m thinking about trying them with rice flour in an effort to try to get back to eating less gluten. I’ll let you know.

Ginger Crinkles

adapted from the Fiddlehead Cookbook (buy this book, you won’t regret it)

1/2 pound butter, keep cold and cut into smallish chunks
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 3/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 3/4 teaspoons powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar (for dipping)

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together butter and 1 3/4 cups sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and molasses. Sift together dry ingredients and stir into butter mixture. Form dough into walnut-size balls, dip one side into sugar and place on a cookie sheet with sugar side up. Flatten ball slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake about 12 minutes, until golden brown and puffed in the center. Let cool on racks and then eat a lot with a side of good dipping tea.

makes about 36 cookies

blueberry season

July 9, 2010 in alaska, recipes | 5 comments

I felt like a total whiner making that last post, but now I’m so happy I did! Thank you all for sharing your comments and support. It’s enlightening to be real and I’m going to do it more here. But, I do love using this space to reflect on happy, pretty things. The truth is, I do see a lot of beauty around me! And it’s equally real as the bad. Obviously, that balance goes one way or the other on any given day. Especially with three kids. It’s amazing the power they have to swing the pendulum. They inspire and they make me want to pull my eye lashes out all at once.

It’s a tricky thing–this whole world wide web. I sometimes get depressed that I’m not SouleMama. There, I said it. And I’m totally laughing at how ridiculous that sounds. Life is good when it comes down to the heart.

So anyway, I’m not good with the deep stuff, so I’ll just talk about blueberries.

Blueberries!

Aren’t they splendid? And we have some growing around here these days. Lots, as a matter of fact. Some of them have worms (isn’t that a life metaphor for this post?). The first time I made pancakes with the wild blueberries, they were crawling with worms. I think that was just a bad worm year. We picked quite a bunch this morning and a small sampling didn’t turn up a single creepy crawly. Awesome.

Don’t you want to make muffins now?

Here’s our favorite blueberry muffin recipe. I’m not sure where I got it. It’s one of those dirty old printed sheets that I’ve had for years; probably since the great worm bake of ’98, as it now goes down in history.

Health Nut Blueberry Muffins

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 banana, mashed
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare muffin cups.

In a large bowl, stir together the two flours, sugar, oat bran, oats, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir in the blueberries and walnuts. In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed banana, buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix just until blended. Spoon into muffin cups, filling all the way to the top.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly touched.

**the first photo above is from the A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson.  This version has the most gorgeous turn-of-the-century illustrations and it’s definitely one of my favorite books to read to my babies (after we’ve read the Very Hungry Caterpillar 26 times).

egg muffins, by request

June 25, 2010 in breakfast, eggs, recipes | 2 comments

I got several requests for the recipe for my egg muffins on flickr… here ya go. I’m flattered you were interested!

Just a note: if you plan to freeze these, I’d skip out on the veggie version… they were really good fresh but very soggy once frozen then defrosted. I kind of winged the fillings, so here is my best recollection. I just used whatever I had in my fridge and I’m sure you could do the same. I’d also use foil liners next time.

Egg Muffins (what a boring name)

8 eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheese*
salt and pepper to taste

Beat eggs then mix in cottage cheese, shredded cheese, and s+p. Set aside.

Southwestern Variation:
*cheddar
6 links chicken sausage, cut into small bite size pieces (I used Habenero and Green Chile from Aidells–I’ve never loved anything that looks like a hot dog but these are so delicious)
3/4 cup chopped red and yellow peppers
1/2 cup chopped onion
handful chopped spinach

Sauté sausage in a large skillet until browned, add onions and peppers. I like mine a little crunchy still so I took it off the heat after just a few minutes. Add spinach and stir until wilted.

Veggie Variation
*Parmesan
1 cup chopped asparagus
1 cup chopped cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped spring onion, white and green parts
2 cloves garlic, minced
handful chopped spinach

Sauté everything together in a pan in a little olive oil. Add spinach at the end to wilt.

Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full with veggie or sausage mixture (line them unless you want to scrub egg out of your muffin pan–not fun). Top off with the egg mixture and give a quick stir with a butter knife to incorporate.

Cook at 350° F for about 20 minutes, or until they look puffy and golden.

spruce tip jelly

May 13, 2010 in alaska, canning, foraging wild edibles, in the kitchen, recipes | 26 comments

I have been really anxious to start harvesting edibles from the forest this spring! I read up on what’s available at this time of year and the thing that jumped out at me was spruce tips. Back during the Alaskan gold rush, homesteaders used spruce tips in jellies and teas as a source of vitamin C to prevent scurvy. As it turns out vitamin C is my favorite vitamin (growing up on a citrus orchard and all). So off I went to harvest some tender young spruce tips to make a batch of jelly.

It was a nice day so I didn’t wear long sleeves, or gloves. Big mistake. By the time I was done, I was poked something awful and had a momentary reaction in which my arms swelled up and it looked like I had the measles. Does this make me allergic to spruce? Not to be deterred, I continued on with my mission.

Spruce tips are only available during a short window in the spring. Apparently, once the tips grow into branches, they are not quite as tasty. And much more dangerous as the needles turn from soft feathery edibles into mean razor blades.

I have never made spruce tip anything before–I didn’t know what to expect from the jelly taste at all. Alaskan’s Winter Ale is made with spruce tips and I’m a big fan so I figured the jelly must be good. And guess what? It’s divine! Nearly perfect, in my humble opinion. It’s herbal, it’s acidic, it’s sweet. It’s definitely worth the skin piercings and heavy doses of benedryl (ok, I’m being a little dramatic. Next time, I’ll just wear long sleeves and gloves). In fact, I am going to be heading right out during this short window to pick buckets more to make some home brew. I’m sure I can enlist Brian’s help in that endeavor.

Spruce Tip Jelly

I based mine on this recipe, but I didn’t really want to make a giant batch so I halved it. Mine could be more gelatinous (***see update in ingredients) but the flavor is really good. I imagine it would be awesome mixed with some kind of fruit. I think I’ll make a batch of tea to freeze and mix with salmonberries when they ripen. I used Sitka Spruce tips because that’s what we have in our yard, but you can use any spruce, pine or fir tips. Makes eight 8 ounce jelly jars.

Pick roundabout four cups of spruce tips–just after the brown papery covering has fallen off and before they get too mature. Rinse in cold water and give a light chopping. Cover the tips with water and simmer for 10 minutes. Let stand overnight, strain with cheesecloth.

3 1/2 cups spruce tip juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 package fruit pectin (Updated May 2013 to add: I used Sure-Jell when I first wrote this post but as my experience has grown, I have switched to Pomona Pectin… I sometimes cut back the sugar, sometimes not… I have had much better setting results with Pomona)
5 cups sugar

Mix juice with lemon juice and pectin, stir until dissolved. Bring to a full rolling boil for 2 minutes and don’t let it boil over (it was a giant mess to clean up). Pour into jars and place in a boiling water bath* for 10 minutes.

*I don’t have any fancy canning products.  I just use a big pot with a small towel in the bottom instead of a rack (to cushion the glass jars and keep them from banging together and breaking during the boiling). Here is a good website to read more about canning.  It always seemed so intimidating to me before I started doing it… but I haven’t had a bust yet.  So give it a shot!

Check out this website for more recipes with spruce tips–and please, if you have an ice cream maker, try this so you can tell me about it.  Why don’t I have an ice cream maker?

post-easter

April 6, 2010 in recipes | 1 comment

We had a nice, quiet weekend around here.  Egg dyeing, a visit from the Easter bunny, a few sunny days allowing us to get outside and explore.  We had Easter dinner at a friend’s house which was fun for all.  I am always amazed by what a bunch of great cooks my friends here are.  I love having foodie friends.  They are all ambitious in the kitchen, unafraid to try new things, and share the love with other people.  I always learn a lot from them and want to steal all their recipes.

So after our wonderful Easter meal, in which I couldn’t resist eating way too much, we were in need of some lighter fare around here.  I had a bunch of green chard that I hadn’t used from our CSA box last week and a batch of white beans already made, so I whipped up a variation of the Giant Crusty and Creamy White Bean recipe from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Cooking. Please buy this cookbook–even if for the photos alone.  It’s so wonderful.  I didn’t have high hopes that anyone would love this… after all, it’s just beans and chard that make up the bulk here (which doesn’t sound bad to me, but others might argue).  I was totally wrong.  Even the kids liked it, served over a piece of semolina bread and sprinkled with Romano cheese and olive oil.  I’m so happy that I have some leftover for lunch today.  This is definitely a budget friendly recipe.  Assuming you have the staples, it must cost around five bucks to make, between buying the beans, chard and bread.  Not too shabby.  Here’s my recipe.

Did you see this?  I thought it was neat, but I would my title would have been something a little more lively.  I don’t really think of “death” when I look at this… I guess it’s all a matter of perspective and who you’re choosing to become curious about.  My favorite person is the man with the baby in the sling–or maybe the man next to him with the popsicle.  I wonder why those two people each have eye patches?  This is like people watching from a safe distance.  I like it.

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