Flourless Almond Butter Cookies

These are cookies made with almond butter, not butter cookies with almonds in them, although that would be delicious, too!

I wasn't sure how a cookie with no flour, no butter, and not too much sugar would even hold its shape.  Well, it is a VERY soft cookie, but it does have a nice chewiness to it.  The recipe says to bake for 8-10, but I think it's better to bake them closer to 10 minutes, than 8.  Resist the urge to grab one fresh out of the oven, because it will fall apart at the slightest touch.  They have to cool before you can pick them up.

Flourless Almond Butter Cookies

adapted from Gluten Free Easily

 

1 c almond butter

1 c grated piloncillo (I used evaporated cane juice)

1 egg

1 t baking soda

1/2 t vanilla extract

1/2 t almond extract (omitted)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together well. Grease or moisten hands slightly and form dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls on parchment-lined cookie sheet. (Don’t press these down) Bake 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown and cookies look “set”. (they won’t look done.) Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Remove carefully and allow to finish cooling on a rack.

Makes 2 – 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Pork Japchae and Menu for the Week

I looove Korean food!  I wrote a post a while back about how Korean food saved my vacation a few years back.  Since then I've always looked for Korean restaurants to relive those wonderful days of stuffing my face with the local fare.

I remember Japchae as a shiny glistening dish with smoky strips of beef, veggies, those wonderful potato starch noodles, topped with toasted sesame seeds.  At first sight, it looks like it could be a bit bland but the noodles, meat, and vegetables absorb the wonderful flavours of soy, sesame oil, with a slight sweetness of sugar.

I tried to recreate it at home with bell peppers, carrots and some broccoli (stuff we had in the fridge).  After looking through a few forums, all signs pointed to Maangchi's website for authentic recipes and helpful videos.  I couldn't follow her recipe ingredient for ingredient, or measurement for measurement because of what I had/didn't have at home, but Japchae sounds like a dish you can play around with the seasonings until you like what you are tasting.

Pork Japchae

Source: Maangchi

Ingredients:



Potato starch noodles (dangmyun) 12 oz.
1/2 lb of beef (I used sliced shabu shabu style pork)
1 bunch of spinach (omitted, I used 1 small bunch broccoli, cut into small florets and stalk sliced into matchsticks)
1 medium size carrot, sliced into matchsticks
1 medium size onion (omitted)
mushrooms - 5 dried shiitake and 1 package of white mushrooms (omitted - I used 1/2 red and yellow bell pepper each)
3 cloves of garlic
7-8 green onion (omitted)
Soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and toasted sesame seeds

1. Boil noodles in boiling water according to directions on package. When the noodles are soft, drain them and put in a large bowl.
2. Cut the noodles several times by using scissors and add 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of sesame oil. Mix it up and set aside.
   
3. In the boiling water, add a bunch of spinach and stir it gently for 1 minute. Then take it out and rinse it in cold water 3 times. Remove any grit or dead leaves thoroughly while rinsing. Squeeze it gently to get the water out, then cut it into 5 cm pieces.
4. Add ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sesame oil and mix it and place it onto the large bowl.
   
5. In a heated pan, put a few drops of vegetable oil and carrot strips and stir it with a spatula for 30 seconds. Put it into the large bowl (don’t burn it!).
6. Place a few drops of vegetable oil on the pan and add your sliced onion. Stir it until the onion looks translucent. Put it into the large bowl with your carrots.
7. Place a few drops of vegetable oil in the pan and add the sliced white mushrooms. Stir it for a bit and then put it in the large bowl.
8. Place a few drops of vegetable oil in the pan and add your green onions. Stir for 1 minute and put it into the large bowl.
9. Place a few drops of vegetable oil in the pan and add meat strips and sliced shiitake mushrooms. Stir it until it’s cooked well, then add 3 cloves of minced garlic, ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds and then put it into the large bowl.
10. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 3 tbs of sugar, 2 tbs of sesame oil, and 1 ts of ground pepper to the large bowl. Mix all ingredients, then sprinkle 1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds on the top.
11. Serve with rice and Kimchi, or as a side dish.

For step 10, I added all the ingredients back into the pan, cutting the noodles as necessary (they sure do like to stick!) and adding the seasonings. 

Menu for 2/13/2011 - 2/19/2011

Tuesday is my last day of my training session so I'll be having lunch at a regular time again.

Sunday: B-Peanut butter and banana; L-leftover friend chicken and thai food; D-Pork Japchae
Monday: B-Oatmeal; S-Banana loaf; LL- Leftover Japchae; D: Sausages, mashed potatoes,
Tuesday: B-Oatmeal; S-Banana loaf; LL-Leftover Japchae; D: Sausage meatloaf with cauliflower and carrots
Wednesday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover sausage and mashed potatoes; D-Leftover meatloaf and veggies
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:

Polenta "Pizza" Crust with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Chicken, and Peppers; Menu Plan for 2/6/11 - 2/12/11

 I think it's safe to say that all of us who don't eat wheat or dairy miss pizza terribly.  Whether it's a thick, chewy crust you adore, or a thin, crispy one, it's hard to find a wheat-free equivalent that: isn't crumbly, doesn't stink like beans, or isn't like eating cardboard.  

 
While this polenta crust is no pizza dough equivalent, it is a tasty base for toppings and your choice of non-dairy cheese.  Unfortunately, without gluten, I don't think I will ever enjoy pizza the same way.  Instead of pining for food I can't have and being completely unsatisfied or grossed out by substitutions (sometimes very fake and processed), why not try something that is just delicious to begin with?  Polenta? Yes, it's delicious!  Sun-dried tomatoes?  Yup, love those, too!  Bell peppers?  My favourite topping!  Goat Cheese?  Yes, please!

I used a Silpat to line to baking sheet but parchment paper cut to fit the pan, covering the bottom and sides will work well, too.  Do NOT place polenta directly on a non-stick pan.  In my experience, the polenta has pulled the non-stick coating (the gray-ish stuff) off the pan.  Not only is your pan ruined, but so is your dinner.


For the "sauce" I adapted a sun-dried tomato jam recipe I made in the past.  It's a pretty rich-tasting jam so I decided to add shredded chicken and some bell peppers.  The husband was advised to avoid onions by the Naturopath, so we omitted those (see here for the original recipe) even though they really do make the jam.

For the chicken, we found a great deal on bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts at our local supermarket.  As much as love a crispy skin chicken dish, we are trying to watch our fat intake.  I used this method to cook the chicken and saved the fatty chicken water (sounds appetizing, I know) to use in a veggie soup later on.  It's still chicken fat, but at least it'll be spread out over several bowls of soup, rather than consumed by us in one meal.


The verdict:  Tasty!  The tartness of the sun-dried tomatoes complemented the creaminess of the polenta well, and the water from the sun-dried tomato "jam" kept the chicken pieces from being too dry.  The only downside was that this is not a "pizza" that you can pick up and eat with your hands.  The center of the pizza gets soggy pretty easily, so make sure the crust is baked well, and is firm before you put toppings on.  I think I will make several smaller pizzas next time to avoid this.

Polenta Pizza Crust
adapted from Cooks.com

1 cup corn meal
3 cups water
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Toppings 
Sun-dried tomato jam adapted from Everyday Italian


8 oz. jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, finely chopped (reserve 1 tbsp of the oil)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper to taste


Cooked, shredded chicken (I used the meat from 2 large chicken breasts)
Chopped bell peppers (I used each of yellow and orange)

For the crust:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Put a Silpat on a cookie sheet (or parchment paper to cover the bottom and sides of pan).
Stir the cornmeal, water, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens enough to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and stir in the olive oil.

Let cool for about 2 minutes, then spread evenly over the Silpat with a rubber spatula. 

Bake for 15 minutes, or until set.

For the toppings: 

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil, olive oil, and garlic. Stir and cook until mixture starts to bubble slightly. Add the sugar, vinegar, water, and thyme, stirring well until mixture starts to bubble again.  Add shredded chicken and toss to ensure that all the chicken bits are covered in the tomato mixture.

Spread mixture evenly over polenta crust and top with chopped peppers and cheese.  Bake in oven at 375 F, or until cheese is melted.

This week's menu:

You will notice that I have a snack and a late lunch from Wednesday onwards, as I'll be at a training session that finishes at about 1:30 PM.  I plan on having a snack (S) at the training and a small late lunch (LL) when I get home.

Monday: B-Oatmeal and apple; L-  ; D-Polenta Pizza with steamed broccoli

Tuesday: B-Oatmeal; L-leftover Polenta Pizza and broccoli; D-Vegetable lentil quinoa soup

Wednesday: B-Oatmeal; S-hummus, peppers, crackers; LL-leftover soup; D-Leftover pizza

Thursday: B-Oatmeal; S-Banana ; LL- Leftover soup  D- out for friend's birthday

Friday: B- Oatmeal; S-banana and spelt cookie; LL- Bell pepper and quinoa soup ; D- Out for sushi!

Saturday: B-Mango smoothie; L- Out for Thai food; D-Husband's fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and broccoli

Asian Rice and Vegetable Bowl with Eggs and Chili Sauce, and Menu for 1/30/11-2/5/11

My mother-in-law gave me a year's subscription to Real Simple magazine as a Christmas gift.  I'm really enjoying this magazine because it has a bit of everything, from fashion, recipes, health information, and storage tips.  I found a few recipes in here that look wonderful (like Chicken Adobo from last week).  This Asian Rice Bowl dish sounded a bit like Korean Bibimbap to me (which I LOVE), with the egg on top.  The husband loves eggs on anything so I knew I would be making the recipe very soon.

I didn't have any sweet Thai chili sauce so I added a bit of soy sauce and honey instead.  I know soy sauce and honey are very different from actual sweet chili sauce but I wanted to keep the sauce more savory/spicy with a hint of sweetness, rather than sweet with a hint of spicy/savoriness.  Call me a fool, but that's what I like.

The verdict: A simple, flavorful, colorful dish that could easily be adapted for different vegetables, added meat, fried tofu, etc.  The vegetables could even be grilled in the summertime!  I also got to use the new bowls I got for my birthday, too!   The sauce was quite spicy because I omitted the sweet chili sauce, but that was fine for us.

Asian Rice and Vegetables Bowl with Eggs and Chili Sauce
Source:  Real Simple Magazine, February 2011 issue

2/3 cup short grain brown rice
1/3 cup Thai sweet chili sauce, such as A Taste of Thai (omitted)
3 to 4 teaspoons Sriracha or Asian chili-garlic sauce (I used 2 tbsp of Sriracha)
3/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
2 red or yellow bell peppers, thinly sliced (I used 1 red and 1 green)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into thin sticks
2 tbsp and 1 tsp of canola oil
4 large eggs
(I added 1 tbsp each of wheat-free soy sauce and honey to the sauce in place of the sweet chili sauce)

Cook the rice according to the package directions.  In a small bowl, combine the sweet chili sauce, sriracha, sesame oil, and vinegar; set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 450 F.  After the rice has been cooking for 25 minutes, place the broccoli, bell peppers, and carrots on a large rimmed baking sheet; toss with 2 tbsp of canola oil.  Roast, tossing once, until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Heat remaining canola oil in a large no-stick skillet over medium heat.  Crack the eggs into the skillet and cook, covered, 2 to 3 minutes for slightly runny yolks.  Serve the vegetables and eggs over the rice and drizzle with the sauce.

Oh, and this week's menu:

Sunday: B-Oatmeal; L-out for Dimsum; D-Veggie stirfry, potato salad and miso soup

Monday: B-Spelt toast with PB, and a kiwi; L-leftover dimsum; D-leftover dimsum

Tuesday: B-Spelt toast with PB, and a kiwi; L-Mochi with seaweed, tortilla chips, veggie sticks; D-Asian Rice Bowl with Veggies and Egg (see above for recipe).

Wednesday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover Asian Rice with Veggies and Egg; D-Roasted asparagus and carrots, chicken sausages, and brown rice.

Thursday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover asparagus and carrots, chicken sausage, and rice; D-Out for Indian food.

Friday: B-Oatmeal; L-Leftover Indian food; D-Baked tofu slices with Sriracha-soy-sesame oil sauce, miso-based soup with napa, carrots and shiratake noodles.

Saturday: B/L-Pork breakfast links, sunny-side-up eggs; Late lunch/snack- Guacamole, salsa, and tortilla chips; D-Leftover miso soup

Almond Butter Maple Cookies

I loooove the combination of any kind of nut butter and maple syrup.  I sometimes drizzle some maple syrup on my PB toast for breakfast!  These cookies sounded like they'd be delicious, healthy, and not too sweet.

I added 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum to this recipe, since it is gluten-free.  I have read that 1 tsp of xanthan gum should be used per 1 cup gluten free flour, but I have experienced gummy-textured cookies in the past with those measurements, so I decided to try half that amount this time.

I used buckwheat flour in place of wheat, but I think it "competes" too much for flavor with the almond butter.  It makes it hard to know what kind of cookie it really is.  Something to note for next time...

Almond Butter Maple Cookies

Source: Alive Magazine, February 2011 issue

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup maple syrup, No.2 or No. 3

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I used buckwheat flour)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup almonds, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.

In another bowl combine almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and oil.

Add Dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in almonds.

Refrigerate dough for at least an hour.

Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls, place onto cookie sheet lines with parchment paper, and flatten to about 1/3 inch (0.8 cm). Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.

Yields 12 large cookies.

Maple Banana Coconut Tea Loaf

 

For some reason, this photo has come out vertical, even though I shot it in landscape, and it's saved in landscape format on my computer.  Hm.

My original inspiration for this loaf was a Maple Pumpkin one that I saw in a magazine while visiting my parents.  I would definitely like to try this loaf with pumpkin, but I had so many bananas around, so I got inspired to try this loaf with banana instead, and some unsweetened shredded coconut that's been sitting in the pantry for a while.

It's a good, dense load with some crunchiness to it, thanks to the ground cornmeal I used, and the almonds.  I think the banana might be a bit too overpowering for the coconut and maple because I couldn't taste much of either. 

For the tea, I used a good quality Vanilla Earl Grey, and it smells awesome!  I can't wait to have this during my break at training tomorrow...

Maple Banana Coconut Tea Loaf

Source: Alive Magazine, February 2011 issue, Maple Pumpkin Tea Loaf.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (sub stoneground cornmeal)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp nutmeg (omitted)

1/2 tsp cinnamon (omitted)

1/2 tsp allspice (omitted)

1/4 salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup pumpkin puree (sub 2 ripe bananas, mashed)

1 tbsp loose leaf black tea, finely ground

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (sub almonds)

1/2 cup dried cherries (omitted)

1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, spices (if using), xanthan gum (if using) and salt.

In separate bowl, lightly beat eggs and mix in maple syrup, oil, pumpkin (or mashed bananas), and black tea.

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until all the flour is moist. Fold in walnuts and cherries (if using).

Pout into greased 9x5x3 (2L) loaf pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a tester inserted into centre of loaf comes out clean. Let cool before unmoulding.

Slow Cooker Variation on Chicken Adobo and Weekly Menu

I know it's boring to just read weekly menus with no recipes or recipe reviews so I will start (or try) to post recipes of our meals (if we don't succumb to temptation and go out somewhere).

Sunday is the start of a new menu week, and tonight's meal is a variation on Chicken Adobo. I think I've only had this dish once (at a food court), and with all the variations I've seen online, I had no idea what "authentic" Chicken Adobo should taste like or if the recipe I'm using (Real Simple, February 2011 issue) is anything like the real thing. I subbed in carrots and celery for the onions (this could have drastically affected the flavour), and some napa and spinach in place of the bok choy.

I'm trying to make our meals more vegetable-centered, rather than meat, which is why I reduced the amount of chicken to less than half of what the recipe calls for. Japanese cooking (which what I grew up with) mostly uses meat to add flavour dishes, rather than having it be the main thing.

Chicken Adobo with Bok Choy
from Real Simple, February 2011 issue

2 medium onions, sliced (I used 4 stalks of celery, chopped)
4 garlic gloves, smashed
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce (I used wheat-free tamari)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 bay leaf
black pepper
8 skinless bone-in chicken thighs, about 1 3/4 pounds (I used 2 boneless thighs and one breast)
2 teaspoons of paprika
1 cup long grain white rice (I used brown rice)
1 large head bok choy, cut into 1 inch strips (I used 2 large handfuls of spinach and 1/4 head of napa cabbage)
2 scallions, thinly sliced (omitted)
(I added 1 large chopped carrot)

In a 5-to-6 quart slow cooker, combine the onions (or celery and carrots), garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, bay leaf, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle with the paprika.

Cook until the chicken and onions (if using) are tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.

Cook rice according to instructions.

Ten minutes before serving, if the slow cooker is on the low setting, turn it to high. Gently fold the bok choy (or spinach and napa) into the chicken and cook, covered until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with the rice and sprinkle with the scallions.

The verdict: Pulled chicken-like consistency in a tangy (soupy) sauce. I put the carrots and celery in at the beginning, which tasted fine, but as you can imagine, ended up pretty mushy. You see, here's the thing. I love the taste and flavour onions add to dishes, but not the long, stringy, slimy things that end up in my food when I cook them. If I do use them, I usually chop them up very finely so they blend in well with whatever it is I'm making. Since Adobo sauce is quite thin in consistency, I knew I would end up with that stringy, slimy stuff. I knew the chicken needed something to "sit" on in the crockpot. Enter the carrot and celery.

Next time I make this, I will add maybe half an onion, finely diced, place the chicken on top, and then definitely add the carrot 30 minutes before time's up, the celery 15 minutes before, and then the bok choy or napa or whatever it is, 5 minutes before (as per original recipe). Also, the spinach, while tasting lovely, did not make this dish look very pretty. If you've got eaters who are nit-pickers on presentation, you may want to reconsider...


As for this week's menu, here it is:

Sunday: B-a kiwi and a banana (I had an early morning thing), 2nd B (after the thing)-1 over-easy egg, hash browns, and 2 pieces of bacon (at a restaurant); L-full from 2nd B so had a banana, mango, and cashew milk smoothie; D-Chicken Adobo on brown rice.

Monday: B-a kiwi and a banana (another early morning thing); L-leftover lentil chili (yes, eating up that last little bit!); D-Leftover Chicken Adobo on brown rice.

Tuesday: B-Oatmeal (no early morning thing, hurray!); L-Leftover Chicken Adobo; D-Out for Pho

Wednesday: B-Oatmeal; L-Chicken adobo; D-Out for sushi!

Thursday: B-Oatmeal; L- Rice, pickled plum and seasoned seaweed; D-Veggie stir-fry

Friday: B-Oatmeal; L-Chicken salad on crackers; D-Out for dinner at a restaurant but we're having Peking Duck for sure!

Saturday: B-Oatmeal; L-spelt toast, hummus, veggies, goat yogurt; D-Sushi

Buckwheat Molasses Cookies

As the weather gets colder, I tend to spend more quality time with the oven - hey, it keeps the kitchen warm! And what better cookie for this colder weather than something spicy, like gingerbread or gingersnaps? Unfortunately, with my wheat sensitivity, ginger snaps are not an option but I've found some wheat-free ginger cookies recipes that I'm more than happy to try.

I found this recipe while searching for a buckwheat gingerbread cookie online. Why buckwheat? Well, as the blogger of Always in the Kitchen says, it does have a very strong taste. I love it in soba but not so much in baked goods. I bought a rather large bag of dark buckwheat a while ago, and it's been sitting in our pantry, waiting to be used. I can still detect buckwheat in the cookies, despite the spices, but I don't mind that at all.


I wouldn't suggest running out and buying buckwheat just for this particular recipe. I don't even know if I'd ever buy buckwheat flour again. I think I'll just stick with spelt and oat, as usual. I made gingerbread with spelt once, and they turned out nicely. Not as crunchy as wheat gingerbread, but still tasty.

The buckwheat cookies will be very soft and fragile when they first come out of the oven. They will be quite fudgey and almost raw-looking in the middle but they firm up once they are completely cooled.

I made a few changes from the original recipe, which will appear is italics in parenthesis.



Buckwheat Molasses Cookies (Makes about 2 dozen cookies)
adapted from Always in the Kitchen

1 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup arrowroot flour (I used corn starch)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup oil
1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 brown sugar, 1/2 evaporated cane juice)
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves

In a large bowl, whisk the oil, molasses, and sugar. Add egg and beat until smooth.

In a medium bowl, sift buckwheat flour, corn starch, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix to combine.

Add dry ingredients to wet, and using a large rubber spatula, fold.

Roll 1 tbsp of dough in hands, and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 C for 10 minutes. Cookies will be very soft at first but will firm up after they cool.

Jerk Chicken Chili-Soup in the Crockpot

This chili-soup, (I added the -soup part because I didn't add any cornstarch to thicken it. I don't mind it being soupy at all) is surprisingly warming on these chilly November days, considering Jerk is a Caribbean flavoring. The husband and I started taking off our sweatshirts as we tucked into this soup, as the chili-like flavors heated up our cores. The rich smell of cinnamon will fill your kitchen throughout the day, as this soup simmers away in the crockpot.

The soup looks watery at first, but once the chicken is shredded, it definitely thickens up. Because the chicken cooked in the crockpot, it comes apart very easily with a squish of the ladle. You could also take the chicken out and shred with 2 forks but I found that the chicken was falling apart so much as I tried to pick the pieces out, that I just stopped trying. I used water instead of chicken broth and I found the soup to be well-flavored. I've had a few over-salting incidents recently, so I decided with this one, to leave the salt out completely, and just add as much or as little salt as we like at the table.

I made some changes to this recipe to fit what I had in the kitchen. One major change is that I put a raw chicken breast and thigh in the crockpot. I know some people are hesitant to do this, as the chicken will stay at a low temperature for a long period of time. I'm not one to worry too much about that, so this truly is your judgment call. The original recipe suggests using a rotisserie chicken, shredded of its meat but I kind of thought it was a waste to go out and buy a rotisserie chicken, just to rip meat off of it and put it in a soup. I would have rather used the seasoned chicken to make sandwiches or Vietnamese-style salad rolls.

I also used 3 fresh tomatoes instead of a can of diced ones. I had three ripe ones sitting on the counter so that was a no-brainer. For the beans, I just used what I had in the pantry. I've added my changes in parenthesis.

We found this soup to be quite mild. It could definitely be kicked up with cayenne or more jalapenos! It's the perfect winter dish, which will definitely be made again!!




Jerk Chicken Chili (Soup in the Crockpot)
4-6 servings
source: Pam Anderson, Perfect One-Dish Dinners

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped (I used green)
3 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 large rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded (about 6 cups) (I used 1 breast and 1 thigh)
4 cups chicken broth (I used water)
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes (I used 3 fresh medium-sized tomatoes)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
1 can (15 oz) small white beans, drained (I used kidney beans)
2 tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos (I used 1/4 of a fresh one, some seeds included with a tbsp of vinegar)
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 oz semisweet chocolate (I used dairy-free)
2 tbsp cornmeal or 3 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water (optional for thickening) (I omitted)

Here are Pam Anderson's directions:

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add chili powder, thyme, cinnamon, and allspice. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add chicken and stir to coat with spices. Add broth, tomatoes, beans, and jalapenos, bring to a boil, cover partially, reduce heat, and simmer to blend flavors, about 20 minutes.
5. Stir in garlic, cilantro, chocolate, and either cornmeal or cornstarch/water slurry if desired. If you add the cornstarch slurry, bring the heat up to medium-high and allow the chili to thicken. Turn off the heat and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Here are my directions: 1. Add all ingredients except the chocolate and cilantro to the crockpot. Stir well and set to low and cook for 7 hours. 2. After 7 hours, add chocolate and stir to make sure it has all melted. 3. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro.

Masala Salmon

I'm a sucker for a good deal. Especially when it comes to food. I will buy 10 avocados when I only need 2, if it saves me a few measly cents. When I saw a whole, wild caught salmon at Uwajimaya for $4.99/pound, I knew I had to get it the whole thing. $25 for a five-pound fish! I knew it would make at least four meals for us. Fortunately, the fish monger cut it up into four large fillets. One fillet is enough for the husband and I, plus a bit leftover for his lunch.

I'm also a sucker for freezing food. As soon as I got home, those fillets were tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the freezer. I've used three out of four fillets so far. The first one was poached in a green curry and coconut milk sauce, the second one was baked after being marinated in a soy, garlic, ginger mixture. Although both of those were quite good, the third time was the charm. I got the idea from Route 79. I only ended up using half of the spice mixture, and I added some garlic ginger paste I made and keep in the freezer.

When it comes to salmon, I'm usually hesitant to use anything more than salt, pepper and lemon because salmon already packs enough flavour on its own. I'm usually afraid that using too many spices will cover up the awesome richness of the fish. Fortunately, these spices didn't overpower the salmon at all. The outside had a nice fragrant flavour, but the inside was still salmon-y, even though I let it sit in the marinade for about 2 hours.


Paired with brown rice and roasted green beans and broccoli, this made a great dinner for us. Route 79 pan-fried the salmon, but I baked mine in the oven at 475 F for 12 minutes.

Masala Salmon
from Route 79 (serves 2)

Ingredients

1 salmon fillet (about 1/4 of the salmon), cut into 4 pieces
oil to coat fillet and baking sheet
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garam masala
salt for seasoning the fish

Pat fillet dry with a paper towel. Season with salt. Place in a shallow dish (like a pyrex) and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle spices evenly over the fish (I only ended up using about half of the spice mix), and using your hands, flip the fish over and move around the dish so that the spices and oil create a paste and coat the fish evenly.

Place the pieces skin-side up in the marinade, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 475 F. Place the fish pieces skin-side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove fish from pan, and place on paper towels to absorb the oil.

Thai-inspired Eggplant Stirfry

There is a seasonal eggplant dish I absolutely love at Mae Nam in Vancouver. On their menu, it says that the eggplant is fried with fermented bean paste (I'm assuming with something like miso). Doing a quick internet search didn't turn up anything, so I decided to give it a try using one of many recipes without the bean paste.

I had globe eggplants on hand. Some websites said globe eggplants would be fine in this dish, other said the skin would be too thick, or that the texture wouldn't be very good. I found that using globe eggplants didn't affect the texture much, but the skin was noticeable. The skin wasn't too hard or tough, but it was just... there. I definitely think I'll use the skinny eggplants next time.

The original recipe didn't call for ginger, but I added it in, and I think it gave the dish an extra something. I also added dried red chili flakes because I forgot to grab fresh chilies at the market earlier today.

I also added some fresh red bell pepper (it was starting to get a bit wrinkly) and some blanched green beans, too. The result was a fragrant dish that was slightly salty, zingy from the ginger, a little fiery from the chilies, and just overall tasty!

So here it is!

Eggplant Stirfry (Pud Makua Yow)
Adapted from http://www.thaitable.com/Thai/recipes/Basil_Eggplant.htm

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bunch thai basil
1 tbsp sugar
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 asian eggplants
2 chili peppers

I added:
3/4 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced
1 handful blanched green beans

Slice the eggplants into irregular shapes for easy turning in the pan. When it's sliced into a small disk, it tends to stick to the bottom of the pan and makes it difficult to flip or turn.

Chop garlic (and ginger, if using) and slice chili peppers. Pick the leaves from the stem of the Thai basil.

Heat a pan or wok over high or medium high. Add oil, chili peppers and garlic. Stir until the garlic turns golden brown. Add eggplant and stir to coat. Add 3/4 cup of water and cover the pan or wok with a lid. Keep the lid close until the eggplant is cooked. It should take about 5-7 minutes before the eggplant is done. The eggplant turns from white to translucent when it is done. Almost all of the water should have been evaporated at this point. If the eggplant is still not cooked, add a little bit more water and keep lid closed until the eggplant is ready. Add fish sauce and sugar and stir. Add Thai basil and quickly stir to heat the basil, so that it retains it color. Turn off heat immediately.

Serve hot with rice.

Italian sausage, leek, and potato soup

This is one of those I-bought-more-veggies than-I-know-what-to-do-with meals. The one veggie I didn't know what to do with? Leeks. I'm not even sure which is the usable part. A lot of recipes say to chop off the dark green part, and then go on to tell you that they can be used for something else. Well, I ended up removing most of the green part. I chose to puree the soup with a hand blender, but if you chop the veggies smaller, it can be left unblended.

I think the sausage I used must've been pretty salty because I didn't need to season it much. Even though there is no milk or cream in this soup, it comes out very rich-tasting and creamy-feeling. I will definitely be making this again!

Ingredients:
Makes 4 large bowls of thick soup.

2 tbsp of olive oil
Leeks, 3, thoroughly rinsed and chopped
3 italian sausage links, removed from casing
1 large yukon gold potato, peeled, rinsed and chopped
1/4 head of cabbage, chopped
4 cups chicken stock

Heat the a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Heat up the olive oil, and add the sausages, crumbling with a wooden spoon as they cook. Once the sausages have cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the potatoes, leeks and cabbage and cook until all vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.

If you are using a hand blender, turn off the heat, and puree the soup until it reaches the desired consistency. I left mine just a little chunky. Add the cooked sausage bits from before and stir. If you would like a thinner soup, add more chicken stock or water, and reheat before serving.

Sweet Potato Spoon Bread with Goat Cheese

I crumbled more goat cheese on top. Thank goodness to for big bulk logs of this stuff!

I had no idea what spoon bread was until I made this dish. The cookbook is got the recipe from, didn't have pictures so I really had to guess. It was the ingredients that made me want to try this one out.

Apparently, red-fleshed sweet-potatoes are mistakenly referred to, and labeled as yams. I went to the store and bought what was labeled as "sweet potatoes" but really what I should've bought were yams. No biggie, because it still turned out delicious!

Heidi Swanson's recipe calls for goat cheese (which I love!) and that is what appealed to at first glance. I loooooove how the cheese gets all creamy when baked. The tanginess of the cheese and the sweetness of the potatoes are a perfect balance. The recipe calls for shallots, which I don't use very often. I don't know if it's just the nature of shallots or if the particular shallots I bought were really strong tasting, but I found they added almost a pungent bitter, acidic taste. I would definitely replace this with onions, or just reduce the number of shallots in the future.

Melty goat cheese = good! Not-quite-set middle section = not good...
Next time, I shall use a larger casserole dish so the spoon bread will be thinner.

I baked mine for about 35 minutes but found the middle to be not quite set. The sides of the dish were perfect, and the goat cheese had browned beautifully, though.

Yellow sweet potatoes tasted fine for this spoon bread but I can see why this recipe would call for red ones. Next time, I will ignore the supermarket labels and buy the right potato!


Sweet Potato Spoon Bread
Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson

Ingredients:

3 medium - large red-fleshed sweet potatoes, baked (labeled as "yams")
1/3 cup unsalted butter (I used olive oil)
4 large shallots, sliced into thin rings
6 ounces fresh goat cheese
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I used 1/4 cup cornmeal, and 1/2 cup spelt flour)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
I cup boiling water
3 large eggs, beaten
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish (omitted)

Preheat oven to 350F, position a rack in the middle of the oven, and grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

Prick each sweet potato with a fork a few times, then wrap them in foil. Prick foiled potatoes, this time to let steam escape. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes are fork-tender. Cool until they can be handled, then use a big, wide spoon to scoop the flesh in to large bowl. Increase oven temp to 425F.

Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat, then stir in the shallots. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are golden and the butter has browned, about 9 minutes.

Whisk or blend the goat cheese with a fork until fluffy and light; you may need to add 1 or 2 tbsp of water if the cheese is on the dry side. In a large bowl, combine the flour, onion powder, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Add a splash of the boiling water and stir to make a paste. Continue adding water a bit at a time until it is all incorporated, and don't worry if the batter is a bit lumpy. Add the sweet potatoes and mash. Stir in the sauteed shallots and all of the butter in the pan, then stir in the eggs in sections.

Put two-thirds of the potato mixture in the prepared casserole dish, and top with dollops of the whipped goat cheese. Finish with dollops of the remaining sweet potato mixture. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until goat cheese begins to colour and the potatoes have set.

Simple Spelt Bread - no wheat, no yeast!

I halved the recipe and baked it in a 9x5 pan, and it made a pretty flat loaf.

The availability of non-wheat flours has really improved over the years. I remember having a friend in high school who had a wheat allergy, and how she had to go to specialty stores just to get bread. Although I can easily buy wheat-free bread, the price is pretty steep. I don't know if making it yourself is that much cheaper but hey, at least it's fresh.

I like this recipe because there is no yeast, and you can use a more natural sweetener like molasses or honey, and best of all, it only calls for about a tablespoon for 2 loaves.

I do still long for wheat breads like baguette, foccacia, rolls, pizza dough and just plain ol' sandwich bread. Unfortunately, this spelt bread is nothing like any of them, but as long as I can't eat wheat, I don't really have a choice. I do however, think this bread tastes better than some of the stuff they sell in stores. I'm really glad I found this recipe by Jean Roberts.

Instead sesame seeds, I used millet, which you can see peeking out from the crack.

This loaf has a thick, hard crust, and the bread itself is quite dense. It was really hard for me to cut through but that seems to be the case with most wheat-free breads. I won't be able to use this bread to make sandwiches but I think I'll top it with stuff (pesto and chicken) and have it open-faced. Maybe sprinkle a little goat cheese on top and put it in the toaster? I'm curious to see how it would taste if I made french toast with it. Maybe the milk/egg mixture would soften the crust up a bit?

Super-thick, hard crust.

From Jean Roberts on All Recipes. (makes 2 loaves). I halved the recipe to make 1 loaf.

Ingredients

• 8 cups spelt flour
  
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds (I used 1/4 millet)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  
• 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
  
• 4 1/4 cups milk (I used 2 1/8 cups soy milk)
  

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the spelt flour, sesame seeds, salt, molasses, baking soda and milk until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
3. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Placing a tin of the same size over the top of the loaf while baking gives it a lovely crust.

Curried Carrot Soup

I looooove carrot soup! I've tinkered around with several different recipes, which sometimes had not-so-great results (too spicy, too bland, etc), but this recipe from Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast was very well balanced. I have to admit though, I did tinker with this recipe, too!

Instead of 2 pounds of carrots like the recipe calls for, I used about 1.5, and added 4 oven roasted roma tomatoes. I love the tangy flavour they add.

I didn't taste much curry in this soup. I didn't mind that, but I might add garam masala instead if I want more of a curry flavour. Who knows, maybe the tanginess of the tomatoes took away from it.

Ingredients:
Source: Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast
Serves

2 tablespoons butter (I used Earth Balance)
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon curry powder
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
3 cups chicken broth
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks (I used 1.5 pounds)
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (omitted)
(I added 4 roasted roma tomatoes)

Preheat oven to 350F. Prep vegetables while oven preheats. Cut tomatoes in half, and scoop out seeds using a spoon. Arrange tomatoes on an olive-oil greased oven-proof dish. Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Heat the butter in a Dutch oven or large (4- to 5-quart) saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, curry powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoons pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, and set the roasting pan aside.

Add the broth, carrots, and 3 cups water. Add some of the water to the pan used to roast the tomatoes, and scrape all those wonderful cooked-on bits, and pour in the saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; cover, and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

In a blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth (I used a hand blender). Stir in lemon juice, and garnish with cilantro (if using).

Simple Grain-ola

For the past 2 years, I've replaced toast, bagels, and cereal with oatmeal. Oatmeal has been my breakfast almost everyday. There are days I love its simple taste, and others where it's the last thing I want to eat. The latter puts me at risk of stopping by a cafe on the way to work to grab a fatty muffin or worse.

I've often substituted cereal on those days but I really noticed the sugar content, and the price of so-called "healthy cereals" to be pretty high. Even if it uses cane sugar or some other natural sweetener, it's still sugar, and I'm not too crazy about having the first thing to enter my tummy be too sugary.

Enter Heidi Swanson's Grain-ola. It's simple, and with a slight tweak, I reduced the 3/4 cup of honey to 1 tablespoon, added a bit of maple syrup, and one grated apple. It just came out of the oven and it smells amazing. I couldn't resist and poured some cold soy milk over a bowl while it was still warm. Yum! The fragrant orange zest helps to make it seem sweeter than it actually is.

Oh, and I have a confession here... I don't like dried fruit. I'll eat it if it's already in something but it's not something I reach for. I don't know if it's the chewiness or the shrivelly factor but it just doesn't really appeal to me. Want to hear something worse? It's the unsulfured kind that just looks awful to me. Brown and wrinkly stuff? No thanks!

Back when I made my Homemade Oat Treats, I had to cut the dried fruit really small. I've left all the dried fruit out of this one (except for the coconut) so I can add fresh fruit if I want.

Makes about 10 cups!!

Grain-ola
adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1 cup walnuts or macadamia nuts, chopped into halves or quarters (I used almonds and pecans)
1 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups assorted unsulfured dired fruits (omitted)
Grated zest of 2 oranges
3/4 raw mild-flavoured honey (I used 1 tbsp of honey, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1 small, finely-grated Spartan apple
1/4 cup coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 300F and set aside 2 rimmed baking sheets.

Combine the oats, sunflower seeds, nuts, coconut, dried fruit (if using) and zest in a bowl. (Toss and use a sturdy spatula to make sure the zest is evenly distributed throughout the mix).

Heat the honey (maple syrup and grated apple if using) over low heat (until it bubbles slightly). Whisk to thoroughly combine, then pour over the oat mixture and stir until everything is well coated.

Divide the mixture between the baking sheets and spread into a thin layer. Bake stirring every 10 minutes for about *40 minutes, until golden brown. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

*In my oven, the grain-ola started to brown after 30 so be sure to keep an eye on it.

Basic chicken stock

This recipe has become a major staple in my weekend cooking. Whenever my local supermarket has a special on skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts, I stock up. I wrap them individually in plastic wrap and freeze then so I can just take one out the night before I'm planning on using it.

My reason for wanting to make my own is probably the same as everyone else's. I want to control the salt (and the type of salt), and the type of chicken that goes into the stock. Yes, I'm aware that I can just buy stock in a carton (and I sometimes do!) but when you make your own stock, you get the stock, and the chicken meat. Sometimes I use the chicken meat in whatever soup I'm making, and sometimes, I'll wrap and freeze it. Shredded chicken freezes pretty well!

This is what I use for a light chicken stock, as in, you probably wouldn't want to add any water to this when using it for another recipe.

Ingredients:

Olive oil (enough to generously coat the bottom of the pan)
1 large skin-on, bone-in chicken breast, rinsed and seasoned with salt and pepper.
1/2 an onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, scrubbed and cut into quarters
2 stalks of celery (or about 4-6 celery tops)

Heat a large saucepan or dutch oven over med-high heat. Make sure the pan is well-heated before adding the oil, otherwise your chicken will stick.

Place the chicken skin-side down, and cook for about 4 minutes (the skin will get brown and crispy, and the fat and flavour will render out). Using tongs, flip the chicken so it is skin-side up, and cook for another 4 minutes. You can also use the tongs to "press" the chicken on its side so skin/flesh on the side gets cooked (hey, more fat, more flavour!).

Add the onion, carrots and celery, and cook for about 4 minutes, until onions slightly brown.
Pour 8 cups of water over the chicken, reduce heat to medium, cover, and bring to a simmer (about 30 minutes).

Remove chicken and cut through to see that it's cooked thoroughly. If it is, let it cool on a cutting board or plate. It not, return to pot and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Then remove again to see that it's cooked throroughly. Cool, and remove meat from bones, discarding the skin.

I like to let the stock simmer for another 30 minutes after the chicken has been removed.

Use a slotted spoon to remove vegetables, and discard. Let the stock cool and skim off fat.

Spinach and Artichoke Spread with Goat Feta

I wanted another dip or spread to have with the sun-dried tomato jam for a light lunch. I had a big jar of marinated artichoke hearts in the fridge so decided to base it off of that. I used to make spinach and artichoke dip but that was laden with mayo, sour cream and of course, cow's milk mozzarella. I wanted something my dairy-free, egg-free sister could have so that was out of the question.

I really like the combination of spinach and artichoke so I thought of substitutes for the mayo and dairy add-ins. I came up blank. Sometimes, it's better to just leave it as simple as possible, and that's what happened here.

Spinach and Artichoke Spread with Feta

Ingredients:

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach
About 10 marinated artichoke hearts
About 2 tbsp of the artichoke marinade
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil for drizzling
Some feta cheese

In a saucepan, bring salted water to a rapid boil. Add chopped frozen spinach and cook according to package instructions.
In a food processor (or by hand) coarsely chop the artichoke hearts.
Drain spinach, and squeeze out as much of the water as you can.
In a bowl, combine the spinach, artichoke hearts, marinade, salt and pepper.

Heat the spread (either in the microwave or oven) and drizzle with olive oil.
Serve on bread or crackers, and with feta.

I know "some feta" is really not helpful but it really depends on how much you like feta. If you like it a lot, use a lot. If not, then whatever. You could even crumble the feta into the spread before heating it up, but I wanted to give people the option of adding the feta to their bread/cracker or not.

I think this spread could also be tossed with hot pasta (with some additional olive oil) as well. My sister was able to enjoy this spread and the rest of us cut various-sized chunks of feta cheese to have with ours.

Sun-dried Tomato Jam

I saw this recipe on a blog I linked to from a cooking forum I like to frequent. It's perfect for a light lunch or to take as an appetizer to a party. I made it for my mother-in-law over American Thanksgiving, and she really loved it. I tend to love sour, tart flavours (like sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, etc.) but my husband doesn't. The great thing about this jam is you can mellow out the tartness of it by pairing it with cheese. We used goat cheese because that's what the recipe recommended but I'm sure it'd taste great with mozzarella or other cheeses as well.

Just a note: I'm not sure about adding a whole cup of water to this jam. It took a really long time to cook down (not 5-10 like the recipe says), maybe about an hour! Even though I cooked it for much longer than instructed, I still ended up scooping out a lot of liquid and oil. I guess the tomatoes (packed in oil) release a lot of the oil as they cook.

When I made this for my in-laws, the enjoyed it with lovely baguette slices. I had it with tortilla chips and it went really well with them. I've also had them with gluten-free crackers and they went well with those, too.

I think this recipe will become a part appetizer staple... if I can figure out that too-much-liquid/oil issue.

Sun-Dried Tomato Jam
Source: Everyday Italian

8oz jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped, 1 tbsp of oil reserved
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper Crostini:
1 baguette, cut into 3/4-inch slices
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Instructions:

For the Sun-dried Tomato Jam: Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil, onion, and garlic. Stir and cook until the onions are soft and beginning to brown at the edges, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the sugar, vinegar, water, chicken broth, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue simmering until most of the liquid is reduced and the mixture is the consistency of jam, about 5 to 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the Crostini: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the baguette slices on the baking sheet. Drizzle the bread slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until lightly toasted, about 12 minutes. Place the soft goat cheese in a small bowl. Stir in the thyme.
To assemble: Spread the crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam and top with the goat cheese mixture. Transfer to a serving plate and serve.

Yields: ~ 24 servings

Dairy-free,spelt gingerbread cookies

I loooove gingerbread! A few years back, I started making Martha Stewart's recipe which calls for some ground black pepper. Wow, that pepper really made those cookies pop!

Fast forward a few years and the naturopath's advice to avoid dairy and wheat... Boohoo! Well, I knew a girl with a wheat allergy in high school, and she ate a lot of spelt products so that was one of the first grains I turned to for baked goods.

Through an internet search, I came across this blog, which had a great-sounding recipe. I accidentally added the sugar to the dry mix rather than the melted butter/molasses, which resulted in some sugar crystals in the cookies but hey, that's not the end of the world.



Compared to regular GBC (gingerbread cookies) made with wheat flour, these ones came out lighter and a bit puffier. I guess with baked goods, spelt will never yield the same results as flour. I'm not sure if you could poke a hole in the top of these and hang them on your tree, but they are excellent to nibble on while decorating your tree!

Puffy man and snowman

I modified the amount of spices, and ended up adding about 3 tbsp of spelt flour to the dough because it was quite soft.

Spelt Gingerbread Cookies
Adapted from Rackle's Ramblings
Yield: About 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached organic whole grain spelt flour, sifted (plus more for rolling)
1/4 - 1/2 cup finely chopped (minced) crystallized ginger (optional) I omitted this
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1-2 tbsp ground ginger (I used 2 tsp)
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon (I used 1 tsp)
1 tsp ground cardamon (omitted)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground coriander (omitted)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup unsalted organic butter (I used Earth Balance)
1/3 cup Sucanat (organic fair-trade evaporated cane juice) (I used yellow cane sugar)
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
1 large organic/free range egg, beaten

Method:

In a sauce pan over very low heat, melt butter (or butter substitute) and add molasses, then sugar, stirring until dissolved. Turn off heat and let cool a few minutes, then add beaten egg.

In mixing bowl combine flour, spices, salt and baking soda. Gradually add liquid ingredients to flour mixture, stirring each time until flour is completely absorbed. When the dough becomes too stiff to stir, it should be ready to be kneaded by hand. If dough sticks to hands, add small amounts (1 tbsp at a time) of flour until dough no longer sticks and is firm but pliable and shiny. Shape into a round, wrap in plastic or cover in a bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill at least 4 hours.

Place oven racks in the middle and pre-heat oven to 350.

On a floured surface, roll out dough using floured rolling pin. I just put the same piece of cling wrap the dough was wrapped in over the dough and rolled over it with an unfloured rolling pin.
to 1/8" thickness.

Once you cut as many cookies as possible using your cookie cutters, pull away the excess dough and place dough shapes on baking trays lined with parchment (not wax) paper. Place trays on rack positioned in middle of oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on size of cookies.

Cool on wire racks. These cookies get crunchier the more they cool so be patient!