Applesauce

Just made a batch. 10 apples filled a 28 oz jar plus a small bowl for 2 as dessert.
11/24/12 8 apples made 1 mason jar worth. gala, fuji, cortland

• Apples, variety
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg

1. This time, I used 10 apples (minus a slice or two) - 5 Gala, 5 McIntosh. Peel, slice, core, and roughly chop. This is the most time/effort consuming part.
2. Heat with cover until simmering. Reduce to low and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until mushy (about 20 minutes). 
3. Mash with a potato masher or fork, for chunky texture. Blend/mix for a fine/smooth texture.
4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Notes

Recommended apple types: Gala, McIntosh, Cortland, Fuji, Winesap, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Delicious, Jonathan, Mutsu/Crispin, Braeburn

NOT recommended: Granny Smith, Rome, Jersey Mac

Variations

Add other spices to taste: cardamom, allspice, cloves, ginger, ...

Put in a slow cooker and it will "mash" itself.

Vietnamese Style Salad

A couple weeks ago we made fresh rolls. This is one of my favorite dishes - a delectable combination of fresh and tasty ingredients. The wrapping process can be quite enjoyable as well - trying to make the perfect wrap - tight around all the juicy bits. But when you're hungry and want to wolf down 5 rolls one after the other, it becomes frustrating - you rush the process, break the skin, make it too loose and it falls apart as you dip it. It just so happened a blog I follow offered a spin on it. Toss everything in a bowl and use rice noodles instead of the rice wrapper and call it a salad. Same ingredients, same taste, with a big payoff. Tried it out last night and it was delicious. Here is my spin on his recipe.

3/12/15 made this without brining chicken pieces, boiling them in salted water for 10 min. Added sliced cucumber and left out garlic, sprouts and chili flakes. Kids gobbled it up. 


Salad Base

• 3 chicken thighs
• salt, sugar, water (brine)
• romaine lettuce
• fresh mint
• fresh basil
• fresh bean sprouts
• rice noodles
• roasted peanuts

Marinade/Sauce

(for 2.5 heads of romaine lettuce it was still more than enough, adjust as necessary)

• 1/4 c + 1 T water, hot
• 1/3 t salt
• 3/16 c sugar
• 3/16 c rice vinegar
• 1/4 c fish sauce
• 1/2 t crushed red pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• juice of half a lime (about 1-2 T)
• 1/2 carrot, shredded

1. Fill a large container with water and add 1T salt and 1T sugar or whatever brine ratio you like. Let sit for one hour in the fridge.
2. Make the marinade: Add the salt and sugar to the hot water and let dissolve. Add the rest of the ingredients. You can set some aside to use as dressing for the noodles and salad. 
3. Bake the chicken at 350F until done. (I checked after 20 min, flipped them and took them out 10 min later). 
4. Cool slightly, cut/shred and dump into marinade. Let sit for 1-2 hours in fridge.
5. Make the salad: Chop the lettuce and sprouts into bite size pieces. Add some chopped mint and basil. 
6. Boil water. Add the rice noodles. Follow package directions (based on width of noodles - about 5-7 minutes) for length of time. Drain and run under cold water until cooled. Cut with scissors to bite size lengths. Coat with marinade. Toss in with salad. 
7. Add the drained chicken. Top with peanuts. 
8. Serve with extra marinade on the side. (You don't need much as the noodles and chicken have plenty - and you get plenty of flavor from the herbs.)

Variations

coriander, shrimp, cucumber, beef, tofu

If using frozen shrimp, boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain and run under cold water. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Pumpkin Breads

October means pumpkin season! I first discovered pumpkin bread at a grocery store near my college. It was delicious and I looked into making it myself. Always tasty, I eventually looked into reducing the fat and sugar content. No surprise that it still turns out moist and delicious. Now with M, I've looked into a gluten-free version. It turned out a bit ugly (dry on top, not risen as high) but just as moist and delicious on the inside. How can you go wrong with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves? 

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread
I forgot to take a picture of this. As noted, it wasn't the prettiest, but it tasted good!

• 1 c rice flour
• 1/4 c millet flour
• 1/4 c starch (potato, tapioca, or corn)
• 1 t soda
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/2 t xanthan gum
• 1/4 c butter (1/2 stick), melted
• 2/3 c sugar (brown and white mix)
• 1/4 c applesauce
• 1 1/4 c pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c orange juice
• 1/2 c raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9x5 bread pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flours to xanthan gum).
3. In a separate bowl, combine the butter, sugar, applesauce, pumpkin, eggs and orange juice.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well blended. 
5. Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour.
6. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. Allow to cool further before slicing. 

Reduced-Fat Pumpkin Bread
"Reduced fat" always sounds like something awful - like they replaced the fat with margarine or just got rid of taste altogether. Don't let my title for this bread fool you. It's just as moist and delicious as typical recipes, just with reduced butter and sugar. 
12/25/12 made this as muffins, but didn't have enough raisins so filled out with craisins. prefer raisins. also used canola oil instead of butter. next time try chocolate chips.

• 1.5 c flour
• 1 1/4 t soda
• 1 t salt
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t ginger
• 1 1/4 c pumpkin puree
• 2/3 c brown sugar, lightly scooped
• 1/2 c yogurt (or 1/2 c milk + 1/2 t lemon juice)
• 1 egg
• 2 T butter, melted
• 1/2 cup raisins

1. Mix dry ingredients (up to ginger) in a large bowl. 
2. Mix remaining (wet) ingredients in a medium bowl. 
3. Mix wet into dry, stirring just until flour is moistened. 
4. Pour into 8x4 or 9x5 greased bread pan. Bake at 350 F/175 C for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until done.

Traditional Pumpkin Bread

Much higher in oil and sugar. Compare to above recipe - gives idea of how much ingredients can be bumped up.

• 3.5 c flour
• 2 t soda
• 1.5 c light brown sugar
• 1.5 c sugar
• 1.5 t salt
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t cloves (optional)
• 1 c oil
• 2/3 c water
• 4 eggs
• 2 c pumpkin (one can)
• 1 c raisins
• 1 c nuts

1. Mix everything thoroughly.
2. Bake at 375F for about an hour, using two 9x5 bread pans..

Variations

• Try different gf flours: instead of millet flour use sorghum flour, brown rice flour, oat flour or whatever you have on hand.
• Instead of all white flour, substitute half a cup of whole-wheat flour
• If you don't have applesauce, use all butter. If you don't want as much butter, substitute applesauce. If you don't have butter, use oil.
• Add walnuts or other chopped nuts.
• As with any quick bread, bake in muffin form - this reduces the baking time significantly.
• Vary the spices - try more cloves instead of nutmeg or the ginger. Go with the taste you like!

Cleaning: Floors

Floors - general
1 cup water + 1 cup white vinegar + 6 drops pure peppermint oil. Shake to mix
1 c water + 3/4 c white vinegar + 3/4 c rubbing alcohol + a few drops of dish soap

water + eucalyptus oil and/or lavender oil

Wood Polish
1:1 vegetable oil to vinegar. Rub in well

Fleas
sprinkle salt on rugs and floors. Vacuum

Slow Cooker: Beef Stew

Didn't have canned tomatoes so substituted some cheap tomato paste. Didn't taste so great - needed to cover it up with salt. Was also missing basil and thyme so used coriander and tarragon instead. Could be better with more flavor, better quality beef, etc. Makes 6-8 servings.

• 3 carrots, cut into 1/2-1" pieces
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped 1/2" pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1.5 T Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 t tarragon
• 3/4 t coriander
• 1/2 t black pepper
• package of lean beef stew, cut into 1" pieces (1-2 pounds)
• 14 oz diced tomatoes, undrained (used 10 oz tomato paste and one large freshly diced tomato instead)
• 14 oz water + bouillon cube
• 1/8-1/4 c potato flour (or corn starch) (or 1/4 c regular flour if you don't need gluten-free)
• 1/2 c cold water

1. Layer ingredients in order from carrots down to water and bouillon.
2. Cover and cook on LOW 8-10 hours
3. Remove beef and vegetables to large serving bowl. Cover and keep warm.
4. Discard the bay leaf.
5. Turn slow cooker to HIGH and cover.
6. Mix flour/starch and water in a small bowl. Add 1/2 c cooking liquid. mix well. Stir mixture into slow cooker. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until thickened.
7. Pour sauce over beef and serve immediately.

Notes
Next time use better beef (was sale package from No Frills), use basil and thyme, use diced tomatoes instead of paste
Used cornstarch but did not thicken well. Next time just use potato starch.

Beef Stew II

Tried another version using some antibiotic-free and hormone-free beef. Still lacking in flavor. I wonder if it needs more spices due to the beef stock being rather plain. Or if it's because I don't add onions to anything anymore. ***

• 2 lbs stewing beef
• 3 red potatoes, diced
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 1/4 full stalk celery, chopped
• 1/4 c flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/3 t black pepper
• 2 heaping t minced garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 t paprika
• 1 t Worcestershire sauce
• 1.5 c beef broth
• frozen peas

1. Place beef in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Mix flour, salt and pepper. Pour over beef and stir to coat.
3. Add in remaining ingredients, up to broth.
4. Cook on low 10-12 hours or high 4-6 hours.
5. About 5-10 minutes before serving add in peas.

Applesauce Banana Bars

Ran out of applesauce so used a banana to supplement. Based on a recipe from allrecipes.com.  They came out a little too sweet for my taste, so I would reduce the sugar next time - maybe by half. 4 stars for how quick it was to throw together, only 3 stars for taste.

• 1/4 c butter, softened
• 2/3 c brown sugar (reduce this next time, maybe in half?)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c applesauce
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 c flour
• 1 t soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t ginger
• 1/8 t cloves

1. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix the butter, sugar and egg until smooth. Add the applesauce.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, soda, salt and spices. Stir into the wet mixture.
4. Spread evenly in pan.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are golden. 
6. Cool in pan. Cut into squares/rectangles. 

Variations

• Throw in raisins
• add chopped apple

Gluten Free Pizza

Made some pizzas for M's birthday. Experimented with two recipes. First one rose way too much and came out with a thick airy crust. Second one didn't rise at all and came out as a thin crust (more like New York style) and tasted more "pizza-like". If to make again would reduce sugar in first recipe or increase in second. Would like somewhere in the middle. Or maybe more flour to the first recipe as it was very wet.

GF Pizza Dough 1

• 1/4 c millet flour
• 3/4 c white rice flour (or use a mixture of brown rice and white rice flour)
• 1/4 c glutinous rice flour
• 1/4 c cornstarch (or tapioca flour or arrowroot starch)
• 1/2 c tapioca flour
• 2 t xanthan gum
• 3/4 t salt
• 1 1/2 T sugar (note: would reduce this next time)
• 1 t sugar for proofing yeast
• 2 1/2 t active dry yeast
• 3/4 c warm water, (heated to 115 -120 degrees)
• 2 T cottage cheese (or ricotta cheese)
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 T olive oil
• 1/2 t red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 1 T sugar (or honey)
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t italian seasoning

1. Optional: Preheat oven to 170F.
2. Mix olive oil, cottage cheese, sugar and vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside to come to room temperature.
3. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Heat 1 c of water until it reaches 115-120F.
5. In small bowl, place yeast and 1 t sugar. Add 1/4 c of the heated water. Stir and let sit for a few minutes.
6. With everything at room temperature, add eggs AND cheese mixture to the dry ingredients.
7. Add the yeast mixture.
8. Gradually add 1/2 c warm water. Dough should look like stiff cake batter. The dough should still hold swirls as you mix, but should be shiny and not dull. Add the rest of the water slowly until the right consistency is achieved.
9. If you have parchment paper, line the baking pan with it. Grease with olive oil. Spread the dough into a 12-13 inch circle or into a 9x13 glass dish. Create high edge. Cover hands with olive oil to prevent sticking (dough will be very sticky).
10. Optional: Turn oven heat off and let rise for 40 minutes in warmed oven.
11. Bake at 375F for 10 minutes.
12. Add toppings.
13. Bake at 400F for 7-12 min until toppings are cooked (cheese should be melted and browned to preference). 

GF Pizza Dough 2 
This one was much easier to make.

• 1 T yeast
• 1 1/3 c milk
• 1 t sugar
• 1 1/3 c brown rice flour
• 1 c cornstarch
• 2 t xanthan gum
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t italian seasoning
• 2 t olive oil
• 2 t apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat the milk in the microwave so that it is warm (not so hot that it would burn your finger, just warm). Combine the milk with the sugar and yeast in a small mixing bowl. Let sit a few minutes.
3. Combine the brown rice flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum and spices in a larger mixing bowl. 
4. Add the oil and vinegar to the yeast mixture. Then pour all of that into the flour mixture and stir well.
5. Once you’ve done this, the dough will be somewhat sticky, and now is a good time to sprinkle some extra rice flour on it. Now that the rice flour is cutting down on the stickiness, form the dough into a ball and let it sit while you get your pans ready.
6. If you’re using pans or a cookie sheet to cook the crusts, you will need to grease them, so that the pizza crust does not stick. Spread butter or olive oil on the pan and then sprinkle a bit of rice flour on top of that. Use an 8x8 dish and a circular pan (or what have you). 
7. Split the ball of dough into two pieces – one for each pan. Starting from the middle of the dough, use your fingers to press down on the dough and spread it out towards the edges of the pan. When you get the dough to the edges, continue to push the dough up onto the side of the pan, so that you will have a nice crust.
8. Prebake the crusts for 8 minutes. 
9. Drizzle some olive oil onto your crusts and spread it over them evenly. (This will keep the pizza sauce from making your crust soggy.). Add the toppings. 
10. Bake the pizza for 15 min or until cheese is browned slightly. 
11. Cut and serve.

GF Pizza Dough 3

10/31/2010 Tried combining the above two to get best of both worlds while limited to flours on hand...had a crispy crust, but texture of dough could still be improved.

• 1 T yeast
• 1 1/3 c milk, warm
• 1 T sugar
• Flour: 1 c rice flour, 1/8 c soy flour, 1/4 c millet flour, 1/4 c glutinous rice flour
• Starch : 3/4 c tapioca flour, 1/4 c potato starch
• 2 t xanthan gum
• 3/4 t salt
• heaping 1/2 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t oregano
• 2 t olive oil
• 2 t apple cider vinegar
• 1 egg 

Notes

For regular pizza dough or topping ideas, see the gluten-full recipe.