GF Pancakes

Gluten-Free pancakes. These came out incredibly soft and thick. They get 4 stars for taste and texture but 3 stars overall - because unless you need gluten-free it's still a lot easier to make regular pancakes.

• 1 c rice flour
• 3 T corn starch
• 1/3 c potato starch
• 1.5 t powder
• 1/2 t soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t xanthan gum
• 1 ripe banana
• 2 eggs
• 2 c buttermilk
• 3 T oil
• milk, as needed
• optional: mini chocolate chips

1. Combine the flour, starches, rising agents, salt and xanthan gum. 
2. Add the eggs, buttermilk and oil.
3. Mash in the banana.
4. If the batter is too thick, add milk.
5. Lightly butter a pan on medium heat. Spoon or pour 1/4 c batter units into pan. Top with chips. If the pancakes are very thick then you won't see the bubbles that are the usual sign for flipping. 

Other Pancake Recipes

• Apple Pancakes
• Crepey Pancakes
• Glutenful Pancakes

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (2)

Simple Recipe ****
I was looking for "heavy cream" but only saw whipping cream (35%), table cream (18%) and light cream (10%) at the supermarket. So I went with table cream, which is the fat equivalent of light cream in the US. Grr. But with C's advice I went with a simple recipe to have some ice cream anyways. It turned out ok, considering. So this makes for a good emergency ice cream recipe.

• 1 small container table cream (18% MF)
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1-2 t peppermint extract
• ~1/4 c mini chocolate chips
• optional: pinch of salt

1. Combine cream and sugar (and salt). Stir until sugar is dissolved.
2. Add the extract.
3. Pour into hand crank machine. Stir for 10 minutes.
4. When mostly thickened add the chips (if you add earlier they sink to the bottom). Stir for another 5 minutes.
5. Transfer to container and freeze. Enjoy the same night!

Custard Recipe
1/30/2011 This time I made sure to get whipping cream at the store. I also went to the effort to make a custard base. It was MUCH smoother than the last one. MM raved when he had another helping after it sat a couple days in the freezer.

• a bit of evaporated milk (leftover from canadian sized tin from making pumpkin pie)
• 1 c milk (I used 2%)
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 c whipping cream
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 t peppermint extract
• plenty of mini choc chips

1. Combine the milk and sugar in a sauce pan. Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved.
2. Turn off the heat and whisk in 1 egg.
3. When smooth, put back over low heat and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens. About 10-20 minutes. Do NOT let it boil. Optional: Run a strainer through the liquid to get out any lumps.
4. Let it cool to lukewarm. 
5. Stir in cream and extracts.
6. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
7. Pour into ice cream maker. Once thickened, dump in chips. Continue to stir. Transfer to container and freeze until ready to eat.

Notes

The amount of extract depends on the brand you use. Some are stronger than others. 

Mini chips are the right size for ice cream. You can use any chocolate but smaller is better - so something like grated chocolate is better than regular morsel size.

Apple Pie

There are a lot of recipes for apple pie. I made one long ago and it came out with a big air pocket. Apparently because the type of apple/s I used don't keep their shape. I was rushed into making this pie so had to use a recipe that was relatively quick. 12/12/10 The second recipe is from the Joy of Baking site, which requires a lot more wait time for seeping the apples.

1. Apple Pie - Rush Version - ****
(adjusted: originally used 1/2 c butter and 1/2 t nutmeg and scant 1/2 c each sugar)
I used 1 Fuji, 1 Granny Smith, 3 gala, 2 empire. I think it came out too sweet. It also spilled over in the oven - I think I need to use the 10" pie crust recipe next time.

• 6-7 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/4 c butter
• 3 T flour
• 1/4 c water
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg

1. Melt butter in pan. Stir in flour to make a paste. Add in water, sugars and spices. Bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer.
2. Roll out pie crust into plate. 
3. Pour out liquid from sugar mixture. Mix remainder with apples. Pour apples into pie crust.
4. Cover with top crust and seal edges. Cut out vents in the middle. 
5. Bake on lower middle rack (so the bottom crust gets fully cooked) at 425F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and cook for 35-45 minutes. 
6. Let cool before cutting.

Double Pie Crust 9" (10")

• 2 c flour (2.5 c)
• 1.5 T sugar (2 T)
• 1/2 t salt (3/4 t) [browning and flavor enhancer]
• 2/3 c frozen butter (1 c) [flakiness and flavor]
• ~1/2 c ice cold water [binding and pliability] (3/4 c)

1. Mix flour with sugar and salt. 
2. Grate in the butter (coarse grater) and mix.
3. Add water and stir until barely combined, adding a tablespoon of water at a time to bring it together.
4. Place in plastic wrap and mush together better. Flatten to disc and refrigerate for 30+ minutes.
5. When ready, divide in half. Roll out each to fit pie plate.
6. Optional: brush with egg white to prevent sogginess

Variations

- corn starch, lemon juice, allspice/cloves/ginger

2. Apple Pie - Slow Version - ****
12/12/10 This is based on the Joy of Cooking recipe. I used 2 gala, 1 golden delicious, 2 mutsu, 1 ?, and 1 ?. One of the apples was bad so there weren't as many apples as in the first recipe. I also used the 10" crust with a lot more butter. So it's hard to do the comparison. The second pie didn't have as much of an air bubble, but it also had less apples. There was a lot more crust, which was easier to work with, but as I'm not a fan of crust I think I might use the 9" version next time just to have less of it. I also left it in the oven too long and it came out a little darker than I intended. 

11/28/20 I made the filling and CF made the crust using tallow. I layered each apple slice individually to try to leave out as much air as possible. 
2/12/22 I used 2 pink lady, 4 granny smith and one mystery apple. I used the 9" pie crust with a smidge extra Dutch flour and it was just right. Brought as dessert to dinner party.

• dough for 9 or 10" pie (see above)
• 6-7 apples
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 2 T butter
• 1 T + 1 t cornstarch

1. Peel, core and slice the apples into 18 slices (1/4" thick or so). Mix with spices, lemon juice, salt and sugars. Let sit for 30 min to 3 hours.
2. Make the pie crust dough. Divide in half and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Drain the liquid until you get at least 1/2 c juice. Place in a large bowl and add the butter. Microwave (6-7 min) or boil down until 1/3 cup
4. Roll pastry. Line pie plate. (Let sit in fridge if you are still waiting for apples.)
5. Mix the apple slices with the cornstarch. Pour the liquid over it and mix. Put the apples in the pie crust.
6. Wet the edges of the crust and top with remaining crust.Seal and edge.
7. Make 5-2" slits for steam vents.
8. Keep pie chilled in fridge while preheating oven to 425F/220C. Place foil on lowest rack to catch drippings. (Do not place on bottom of oven)
9. Bake pie on next lowest rack for 40-55 minutes. Check after 30 min to make sure the crust isn't browning too much. If it is, cover it with foil.
10. Let cool on wire rack for 3-4 hours.

Pumpkin Pie

My favorite pie. For a flaky crust, minimize handling of the dough and be sure not to let the butter melt. Big chunks throughout is ok, as that is what makes separation of layers.

• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t cloves
• 1/2 t ginger
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 eggs
• 15 oz pumpkin (1.87 c)
• 12 fl oz evaporated milk (1.5 c) (or full Canadian can) [update: lactose free...by evaporating it on the stove for an hour+]

Pie Crust

• 1 1/4 c flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 c butter, frozen
• 1/8-1/4 c ice water

1. For the crust: Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Grate in the frozen butter and mix. Add just enough ice water until dough mostly holds together. Roll into ball in plastic wrap. Flatten into a disc and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, salt and spices.
3. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs (you don't want air bubbles). Add the pumpkin and sugar mixture.
4. Gradually stir in the evaporated milk.
5. Roll the dough out (on the plastic wrap) into a circle big enough to fill your pie plate. Roll from the center in quarter turns. Place in pie plate ensuring no air is trapped underneath. Lightly crimp the edges.
6. Pour in the filling. Finish the edges for style (fork pressed, curvy indentations, or rustic look). 
7. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and bake for 40-50 minutes more. Edges should be done but center should look a little wet. If you overcook it, it will crack.

Alternate Quick Crust

11/29/23 Tried an alternate crust but did not have pecans. I liked it but DBD prefers regular crust.

• 1 c quick oats
• 1/4 c flour
• 3 T brown sugar
• 1/4 c pecans, very finely chopped [optional: substitute more oats]
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 3 T vegetable oil
• 1 T water

1. Grease 9" pie plate. Heat oven to 425F.
2. Mix oats, flour, brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon in bowl.
3. Combine oil and water. Work into crust until well blended.
4. Pat into prepared pie plate.
5. Bake for 8-10 min until browned around the edges.
6. Fill with pie filling and bake as normal (425F for 10 min, 350F for 40 min)

European Biscuit Crust

It's hard to find graham crackers in Europe so this one uses the easy to find Biscoff biscuits. They are already sweet enough, so no need to add more sugar.

• 1 package Biscoff speculoos biscuits (250 g)
• 71 g butter, melted (5 T)

1. Grind biscuits in food processor until no big chunks exist.
2. Pour melted butter in and process just until dispersed evenly.
3. Shape into pie plate(s). Use back of measuring cup to press against edges.
4. Bake for 7-10 min at 177C.
5. Let cool slightly before filling.

Variation: Pumpkin Bars

10/29/15 Use the same filling but make an oat crust in a 9x13 pan. Bakes faster as well.
2022 3rd time making this but first time tasting it. The crust is WAAAAYYY too sweet! Rating: *

• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1 c flour
• 1/2 c rolled oats

1. Combine butter with brown sugar.
2. Stir in flour.
3. Fold in oats.
4. Press into bottom of 9x13 pan.
5. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes (check after 10 min), until set.
6. Remove from oven and fill with the pie filling from above.
7. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until set.

Pumpkin Puree

1. Cut clean pumpkin in half, avoiding stem (pull apart to do final split).
2. Scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh.
3. Place face down on parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 200C/400F until flesh is soft and coming away from skin, about 45-60 min.
4. Cool enough and then scoop out flesh (or peel off skin) and puree until smooth (3-5 min).
5. Freeze leftovers in ~1.87 cup scoops for using for pie/bread.

Evaporated Milk

2 bottles of lactose free koffie melk is the same as 1 can of evaporated milk (1.5 c), but costs 2.59 each at AH XL. One liter of lactose free milk is 1.85 at Jumbo, but simmering it down costs time.

• 3.5 c lactose free milk
• wide heavy bottomed pan

1. Bring milk to low boil and immediately lower heat to steam/simmer. 20-40 min until 40% volume. Stir constantly.
2. Heat 5 or 6 on induction - higher than you think otherwise it can take hours.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

First time I had brussel sprouts was at G's house - fresh from her garden. Delicious! I had no idea why there were the dreaded vegetable of commercials. They're everywhere at the markets now so I finally bought some. Not as good as garden grown, but still tasty.

• 2 handfuls of brussel sprouts (or however many you want to eat)
• butter
• sea salt
• pepper
• garlic cloves (to taste, I did 2)

1. Chop off stem of brussel sprouts. Optional: Cut in half.
2. Place in baking dish (cut half down unless you like them dry).
3. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
4. Cut garlic in half. Place in dish.
5. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until desired tenderness. It's ok if the outer layer goes black - the inside will still be tender.

Pasta Bake

made this for dinner tonight. It's just like lasagna but with a different pasta shape. Used brown rice macaroni to make it gluten free. Make sure all pasta is covered with sauce or cheese...since the pasta dries up and hardens very easily.

• bag of pasta, like elbows
• ricotta
• 1-2 eggs
• parmesan
• italian seasoning
• mushrooms, sliced
• zucchini, sliced
• mozzarella, grated
• pasta sauce

1. Boil the pasta until nearly done. Drain.
2. In a bowl, mix the eggs, ricotta, parmesan and spices.
3. In 9x13 dish spread sauce. Top with half the pasta. 
4. Add the ricotta mixture, vegetables, some mozzarella and more sauce.
5. Top with remaining pasta and repeat previous step. End with mozzarella topping.
6. Bake at 350 until cheese is lightly browned (about 45 min - 1 hour).

Variations

see lasagna recipe for other things to do. spinach in the ricotta. beef in the sauce. etc.

Hotteok

Hotteok are a delicious Korean snack - akin to a grilled pancake with a cinnamon-sugar filling. I first experienced it in Korea this past April with C. She showed me her favorite stands and I filled up on as many as I could. On a cold foggy day at the bottom of a mountain, they are the perfect snack to get you motivated. When you bite into them, the cinnamon-sugar juice is waiting to burst out into your mouth. The grilled dough wrapper is a thin vehicle to get the delicious filling inside. The dough is prepared ahead of time but the rest is done in front of you - the rolling, filling and cooking. They are a 5 star snack. This is my first attempt at making them at home. I don't have the equipment that the street-side cooks did, so I made do with what I had. They taste pretty good (4 stars) but in comparison to the authentic Korean ones, this can only garner 3 stars. Now that I'm in a cold climate again, I hope to experiment with a few other recipes before settling on the perfect one.

Hotteok Try #1 ***

I rolled the first two by hand but they were too thick. So I used a rolling pin on the remaining six. These came out pleasantly thinner, but still not as thin as the authentic ones. It was hard to get any thinner without the dough breaking and revealing the filling. So I went to just before the breaking point. Recipe from this entry. It calls for milk but I only had lactarded milk on hand. Not sure what difference this makes but my dough did not come out sticky as the blog mentions.

• 1/4 c lukewarm water
• 1 T sugar
• 1 t yeast
• 1 c flour
• 3/4 c glutinous rice flour
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 c milk
• oil for frying

Filling

I had trouble fitting in this much filling. Could get away with half - but I also felt there wasn't enough filling inside - so next time make sure to really stuff them.

• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 2 T peanuts, finely chopped

1. Combine the water, sugar and yeast. Let sit 5 minutes until bubbly.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, sugar and salt. Add the yeast mixture and milk. Stir until comes together.
3. Knead with hands for 2-3 minutes.The dough should be sticky (add more milk if too dry).
4. Leave in a covered bowl in the oven with a pot of boiling water. Let rise for 2 hours or until doubled.
5. Combine the filling ingredients in a small dish.
6. Punch down dough and need a few times. Break off 1/8 of the dough. 
7. Roll into a flat circular shape. Fill with 1 T of filling. Pinch in sides. Squash down with hand. Roll to as thin as possible without breaking open the filling. Note to Self: Next time try the roll into ball and pinch hole in middle method.
8. Lay in oiled frying pan. I used a cast-iron pan at heat 5 (for other pan try medium high). Cook each side until lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes. Continue to flatten as it cooks. Note to self: next time flatten with bowl and leave on as it cooks.
9. Serve hot.

Hotteok Try #2 *****

1/29/24 This turned out delicious! Used significantly more peanuts in the filling and this was very nice. Still only used half the filling as the original recipe called for because it's very hard to stuff them without making a mess. I could fit more if I flattened the dough to a large disc. But less filling was still tasty.

• 
  2.25 t active yeast
  
• 2 c flour
• 1/2 c glutinous rice flour
• 1 t salt
• 1 T sugar
• 1 T oil
• 1 c milk, warm
• Filling
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 5 T chopped peanuts

1. Sift the flours, sugar and salt. Add the yeast, oil, and warm milk. Knead until dough is formed. It will be quite sticky
2. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Prepare the filling by mixing together in a bowl.
4. Punch down the dough and let sit for 20-30 min until doubled in size again.
5. Heat a couple tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Lightly oil your hands. Tear a piece to make about a 2.5" ball. Flatten into a disk and place 1.5 T filling in the middle. Pinch dough to seal.
6. 
   Put the sealed side down in the pan and flatten with greased measuring cup (or other flat round surface). Cook until browned and then flip. Flatten again. Cook until golden brown. Flip to finish cooking the squished dough. Makes 8-9 hotteok.
   
7. Enjoy warm. Toast leftovers to reheat.

Other Recipes to Try

Korean recipe - uses egg in the dough

another Korean recipe - different ratio of flours (less glutinous rice flour)

Variations

- instead of peanuts, use walnuts or black sesame or almonds

- if you've run out of glutinous rice flour, use regular flour