Lovely Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Tart

My brother Robert sends me a big box of fat and juicy Meyer lemons from his trees every November. Like 15 of them, nestled into packing material with stems and leaves attached, fresh from his tree! The box releases a cloud of lemon scent when I carefully slice the packing tape open. November and December are the season of perfect Meyer ripeness. Meyer lemons are a cook’s dream. Their flavor is sweeter than store lemons; not all that tart, with a gorgeous floral scent, perfect in cookies like the lemon squares everyone loves, which I make gf now a days. I also make lemon meringue pie, lemon marmalade, lemonade and this delicate yet gorgeous buttermilk tart. Which I am sharing with you today.

It is very easy to construct; I use a shortbread cookie style, gf, press and bake crust and the filling is just whisked together and poured into the partially baked crust. Be sure to use a fine grater to carefully remove all of the lemon peel onto a slice of wax paper before you halve it to make the juice for the filling. I used one big fat lemon plus a little bit more; 2 medium sized ones will work great.

So easy to bake up and it is perfect with a big spoonful of fresh real whipped cream. Sometimes I lay slices of Meyer lemon down the length of it when I use my special rectangular tart pan. Sensational looking and just as yummy as it looks. A round tart pan works great too. I have used a regular gf pie crust which is a tasty alternative to the cookie crust.

You could make it with regular lemons but I suspect it would need more sugar to make it sweet enough as Meyer lemons are far sweeter than the grocery store lemons. I think a few places may carry Meyer lemons; check at Wegmans. If you want to use all purpose flour in your crust and in the filling – go right ahead. I have been making this tart since long before I went gluten free: simple, tasty, and impressive looking – tart perfection!

Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Tart

Cookie Tart Crust

1 cup brown rice flour mixture (recipe below)

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp. xanthan gum

5 tbsp. cold butter cut up into 6 or 7 chunks

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2-3 tsp. water

Mix the dry ingredients in your stand mixer, add the butter, blend with the paddle blade until the butter is small pebbles. Add the vanilla and water. Press into a tart pan with a removable bottom, be sure to first spray the pan with cooking spray. Don’t press too hard or you will over compact the crust and it will lose the delicate texture that makes it delightful.

Bake 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Cool 10-20 minutes before filling and baking.

Filling

¾ cup buttermilk: let it warm up for 10 or 15 minutes before mixing

½ cup granulated sugar

2 lg eggs, warm them close to room temperature

6 tbsp. Meyer lemon juice

2 tbsp flour (I use sweet rice but you wheat can use white rice flour)

2 tbsp finely grated Meyer lemon peel

——————–

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake ten inch tart crust for 10 min

Cool at least ten minutes before filling

Mix all filling ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth. Pour into crust and bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 min; until just barely set. Cool completely and refrigerate until chilled. Can decorate tart with thin slices of Meyer lemon tart. Serve slices topped with a dollop of this lightly sweetened cream.

Topping:

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp powdered sugar

Beat cream, add powdered sugar. Serve a dollop with each slice of tart.

Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

Filling recipe modified slightly from one on food network.com, flour mix and crust from Annalise Roberts, Gluten – Free Baking Classics.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup To Warm The Tummy

Blast this early winter weather. It sure stinks unless you like to slog through cold rain or sloppy snow. Soup is often my remedy for winter chillies. This is a simple soup made of roasted produce thinned with chicken broth and a touch of milk. It will warm your tummy and fill you up without too many calories. The leek adds a slightly different flavor and the apple a touch of sweetness which I find refreshing. This mellow winter treat is great with a salad for lunch or a sandwich. No fuss, very little muss. Just a short list of ingredients and a fairly simple recipe. Enjoy!

Roasted Butternut squash Soup

1 butternut squash

1 medium onion

1 leek

2 fat carrots

1 Rome or Gala apple (any baking apple but Granny Smith will do)

1 garlic clove, unpeeled

3-4 cups of chicken broth, preferably homemade

½-3/4 cup of half and half or whole milk, even 1 percent will work!

Directions:

First, cut the butternut squash down the length and scoop out the seeds. No need to peel. Place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Cut the onion in half and likewise the apple, the leek and carrots; cut off the leek above the light green portion and core the apple halves. Put apples cut side up. Roast them all in a 375 degree oven until the squash is tender when poked with a fork. About 35 to 45 minutes depending on the size of your squash. If the other fruits and veggies are browned and done early slide them off to a plate to cool. Caramelized is fantastic but no burnt leeks in my soup thank you!

When the squash is cool enough to handle, use a big spoon to scoop out all the meat of it into your blender. Add the scooped out contents of the apple halves, the garlic you have squeezed out of its skin, the carrots and leek halves. Pour in 2-3 cups of chicken broth, blend until smooth, and add more broth until you reach a consistency you like. Mine was kinda thick and porridgey. If you prefer to use a food processor that will work or put the scooped out veggies into a large sauce pan and blend with your immersion (boat motor) blender. This will not be as smooth as the blender makes it but it is more fun and less cleaning as no blender container to wash!

After the blending is done pour it into a large sauce pan and add up to ¾ of a cup of half and half or whole milk. I used a half cup but you may like it creamier.

Taste and add sea salt to your taste (maybe ½ a tsp) and grind in some black pepper too if you like it in your soup. Heat until not quite boiling and serve with a slice of GF toast or some GF rolls. Perfect wintery day meal especially if you add a side salad of greens to round out lunch

Fruity Nutty Yummy Healthy….All in One Muffin!

No muffins in the freezer, and I was a tiny bit tired of all my flavors: it was time for a new kind of muffins. This is a riff on a recipe out of Annalise Robert’s cookbook; Gluten-Free Baking Classics. It is very similar to her blueberry muffins. If I had to have just one GF cookbook hers would be the one: her quick breads are delicious! I saw the topping on a blog (Swirls and Spice) and modified it just a touch.

These muffins did not disappoint: delicate texture yet crunchy outside with a great blueberry cinnamon flavor. The pomegranate seeds add color and a touch of flavor. Fall is the season for pomegranates so toss them in and surprise your family. I suppose you could leave them out; add another ¼ cup of blueberries. I used frozen blueberries; easy to get in the winter, don’t defrost them before adding. There are walnuts in there to so you get some really great nutrients from the fruit and nuts. No guilt in eating one of these treats!

It must be mentioned that I used a different sugar; organic coconut palm sugar from Frey’s Better Foods. It looks like soft brown sugar, can be used 1-1; same amount as granulated sugar and tastes great. Best of all, it is low on the glycemic scale so you don’t get that sugar rush/crash nearly as much as most sugars. I found that to be so; no sugar reaction like I often get when eating sweet baked treats. I think it tastes slightly like brown sugar and it does darken the baked good slightly. As a pre-diabetic I love that this sugar is low glycemic; much better for my body. But use granulated sugar if that is what you prefer.

I always eat a muffin from the batch while they are still warm out of the oven, just perfection. The streusel topping makes them look like they came from a bakery.

It is smart to freeze any you won’t eat in two days time; a zip lock freezer bag works great. These muffins are delicate; if you take them on a hike or trip, put them in a plastic bin – rigid sides will keep them safe from crushing.

Blueberry Pomegranate Cinnamon Muffins

2 cups brown rice flour mix (see below)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. xanthan gum

¼ tsp. salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1¼ cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

¼ cup pomegranate seeds (ariels)

2 large eggs beaten

½ cup milk, 1 or 2 percent

½ cup canola oil

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Topping: Mix the following in a bowl, make sure the butter is in tiny pebbles; use your fingertips to blend.

½ cup rolled oats

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tbsp. almond meal

1½ tbsp. butter

¼ tsp. cinnamon

——-

Directions: Heat your oven to 375 degrees, placing the rack in middle of oven. Spray muffin pans with cooking spray. One batch makes 12-16 muffins. I got 16 when I made them yesterday.

Mix all dry ingredients in bowl of stand mixer or big bowl Add fruits and walnuts; stir to coat them with dry mix. Combine milk and oil. Beat in eggs, add vanilla. Add liquids to big bowl; stir just until blended. It is a very thick batter.

Fill muffin pans 2/3 full. I use a big serving spoon and fill it about half way to dump in each muffin space. Sprinkle the top with the topping. Gently press the streusel into the muffin batter just a bit so it doesn’t fall off after they are done. Bake 21-24 min until golden brown. Do not over bake or they will taste dry. I let them cool 3-4 minutes before I removed them from the pans to cool on a rack.

Freezes well for a few weeks. Keeps in fridge (well wrapped) or an airtight cookie jar for 2-3 days.

Post script: I froze 2/3 of my batch and six days later I have just two left. These muffins are addictive and I love how they don’t raise my blood sugar noticeably yet they taste so wonderful; bursts of blueberry/pomegranate flavor and the crunch of the nuts. I promise that you will be thrilled with these muffins even if you skip the pomegranates!

Brown Rice Flour Mix base mix

2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

Sausage and Quinoa Stuffed Squash for Supper

Chilly days and long dark nights demand warm, hearty suppers. But your main dish does not have to be expensive or fattening, it can be gluten free and still tasty. This recipe is naturally gluten free. No flour in it or bread products needed.

I had some hot Italian sausage left over from the package I bought to make my turkey stuffing. I had a sweet dumpling winter squash and a big red bell pepper. Some quinoa grain and an onion and I was in business to throw together a homey flavorful main dish. Add a salad on the side and it is a well balanced supper that can be baked and then seconds enjoyed for lunch. This makes 3 servings, can double the recipe easily, just bake it in a bigger pan.

a plate of stuffed dumpling squash. Not that pretty to look at but the sausage makes it very flavorful.

I had the sweet dumpling on hand but I have made this same recipe with an acorn squash and with a delicata squash. A delicate is a small oblong squash with orange and green stripes on yellow skin. All three are great vessels for this riff on stuffed peppers. I happened to have a big red pepper and stuffed it as well.

delicata squash; can be pale cream with green stripes too.

sweet dumpling squash

Ingredients:

1 sweet dumpling winter squash

1 large red pepper

2/3 cup plain quinoa, rinsed well

1 medium onion, diced

2 hot Italian sausage links (gluten free of course!)

1 tbsp EVOL (extra virgin olive oil)

1 garlic clove, minced

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash from the tip to the blossom end. You probably should cut off that stem bit first; makes the cut easier. Scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff. Spray a small rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and place the cut squash halves cut side down. Roast 30-45 minutes; check by piercing with a fork; remove when tender enough to stick the fork in but don’t cook it so far that it collapses. After the squash has been in 15 minutes add the red pepper squash which you have cut the lid off, emptied the seeds out and cut up the top third into small dice. Reserve the dice for later. The lower two thirds is a tasty vessel to hold more quinoa sausage filling.

Meanwhile, as the squash and pepper bake…. Heat 1 and a 1/3 cup of water, ½ tsp. salt and then add the quinoa, cover and cook 14-15 minutes.

While that cooks….put the EVOL in a frying pan, add the links which you have liberated from their skins. Cook 4-5 minutes, chopping them up as they cook. An alternative is loose sausage meat; 1/3 to a half pound should do it. Stir them up, flip to cook all sides. Should be browned but not burnt. After you flip them over add the chopped onion, cook about 3-5 minutes stirring often. Add the minced garlic and the top 1/3 of that red pepper cut into small cubes. Keep stirring and when the onions and red pepper bits are softening add the quinoa. Leave any liquid in the pan.

Stir the quinoa/sausage/veggie mixture. Heap it into the squash halves and the pepper half. Mound half the extra filling into a small 1.5 quart round baking dish. Place the three stuffed veggies on top and pour over the rest of the filling as well as any quinoa liquid in the pot. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. The veggie filling should be bubbling when it is done and the squash is tender to a fork.

Enjoy with a side salad. I reheated some of the leftovers for lunch the next day. It gives you something much better than something cold for your mid day meal.

If you don’t like red pepper; make it with 2 small winter squash and just leave the chopped pepper totally out. You could sub in half a chipped carrot for the red pepper bits. Use a mild Italian sausage if you prefer it less spicy or leave the sausage out to make the dish vegetarian. I am guessing you could try to bake it in your crock pot; maybe like 2 hours on high. If you try that let me know how it turns out. It is a versatile recipe for sure!

I saved my seeds, rinsed and dried them to toast for snacking: waste not want not!

Awesome Apple Pear Crumb Pie

Pie has always been a classic holiday dessert. But sometimes we want something a bit different for our company. Maybe, right now you are frantically looking for an alternative to pumpkin pie or apple pie; they seem kinda now what you want this Thanksgiving. Look no further, apple pear caramel crumb pie to the rescue!

cortland apples

bosc pears

Fresh tasting, locally sourced fruits are exactly in the spirit of Thanksgiving. The apple is the predominant flavor but the pear adds sweetness and its special flavor. The sugars, spices and lemon peel create a yummy caramely sauce. It is not that really cloyingly sweet caramel of most sauces; just enough sweetness to tease your palate.

This pie is fantastic with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. I even tried a slice with some sharp cheddar in the British pie tradition; it was nice but I really like it best all alone, so the delicate fruit and spices show their winning flavors.

apple pear pie, squash, chicken and dumplings 019

Not the prettiest slice: I am terrible at cutting a piece without destroying the shape!

This recipe is a blending of my own pie filling and the pie crust and crumb recipes from Annalise Robert’s cookbook, Gluten-Free Baking Classics. I used less sugar, more fruit, and made a few other changes to create my own special pie using apples and pears. Her cookbook is a fabulous resource and I can’t recommend it enough to anyone trying to bake gluten free for a family member. There is nothing like the classic desserts that we traditionally enjoy at celebrations and feasts to comfort a celiac who can’t eat what they used to.

Angie’s GF Apple Pear Crumb Pie

Crust:

1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)

2 tbsp sweet rice flour

1 Tbps. granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbps. cold butter cut into 6 chunks

1 lg egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Spray 9 inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour.

Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer. Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal. Add egg and juice. Mix until it comes together into big chunks. Shape into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you chop the peeled and cored fruit into ¼ to 1/3 inch slices. I use my plastic pie bag; sturdy and helps me roll the crust thin in the middle.

Filling:

5 cups peeled, cored, and thin sliced cooking apples (4 big apples)

2 cups (2 large pears) bosc pears; peeled, cored, and sliced thin – place in medium bowl

Mix the following in a small bowl and pour over the sliced apples and pears:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 tbsp. tapioca flour

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. grated or zested lemon peel (I zested)

Roll out pie crust between the two sheets of wax paper; try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered. Remove other slice of wax paper. Crimp edges all around. Fill with sweetened fruit mix. Sprinkle the lemon peel evenly over top and pour the crumb topping (1 to 1½ cup) evenly over this mixture. The more crumbs the thicker the crust they will form; for a really thick crust use all the crumbs from the recipe below.

If you love your pie really sweet add another ¼ cup granulated sugar to the dry mix part of the filling. I found the pie to be plenty sweet but everyone has their own sweetness level.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes with a piece of aluminum foil on top of the pie, then 30 more minutes uncovered until bubbly and the crust is light brown. I put a pie guard underneath my pie while it bakes to catch any drips. Cool at least 2 hours before serving at room temperature.

Note: I bake pies in my bottom heat pizza oven and it gives me a great browned crust. If your oven isn’t bottom heat you might want to pre-bake the crust 10 minutes before filling and topping the fruit.

Crumb topping

Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form.

¾ c brown rice flour mix

½ c granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks

Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur’s gf flour mix)

2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

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My World Without Wheat

My World Without Wheat by Angela E. Drake continues here

gluten free

Lovely Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Tart

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup To Warm The Tummy

Fruity Nutty Yummy Healthy….All in One Muffin!

Sausage and Quinoa Stuffed Squash for Supper

Awesome Apple Pear Crumb Pie