gluten free

Instant Pot Revolution!

I got this amazing kitchen appliance: the Instant Pot electric pressure cooker 6 in 1, six quart size.  It has functions for sautéing, steaming, making rice, porridge, stewing, slow cooking and yes; pressure cooking.  Now, when I was a kid, my mom had a pressure cooker. She used it mostly for canning tomatoes and I remember being told to never ever touch it while in use.  I was terrified of that pressure top thingy; if touched, clouds of boiling hot steam poured out.  Any time I thought of getting a pressure cooker, those memories would come back and it was “nope” to a pressure cooker.  This past year a lovely friend of mine, Jenn, got an Instant Pot and she was always talking about it on facebook.  I asked and got her response of “This thing is wonderful and I use it all the time.”  She is a vegetarian and is totally in to legumes and grains.  Not gluten free like me but she eats very healthy and that IP (as folks call it) seemed to be her best friend in the kitchen.  On Black Friday, the 6 qt Instant Pot went on sale on Amazon 47% off.  I ordered one during my lunch break and it came the following Monday!  Kinda intimidating with all the directions, but I dove in and did the required water pressure test, no issues so next I made my favorite chicken paprikash in it in slow cooker mode.  For this setting, I did get the glass cover that allows one to see the food cooking inside; not for use under pressure but great for sautéing or slow cooking.  It turned out perfectly.  And so it began.  My love affair with my IP….

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I made amazing coq au vin; chicken thighs braised in red wine to you! It was done faster than the mashed potatoes I was making in the traditional stove top fashion. The sauté feature is wonderful; the chicken goes in to get a browning, comes out, the onions go in and cook a bit; then garlic and after a minute back goes chicken as well as wine, broth, herbs and the lid is tightened and the manual feature set for the desired minutes.  It takes a few minutes to come to pressure and then my IP beeps and starts the pressure cooking and the count down to zero.  I let it naturally release (read: turn it off and let it stand ten minutes untouched) and then I pushed the pressure valve to release with a kitchen towel over it for any serious steam.  It released for 2-3 minutes and then I added the pan full of sautéed mushroom slices and my luscious and tender chicken with mushrooms and wine was ready to serve.  To recap the time: it took about 5-6 minutes to come to pressure and the time at pressure was like 15 minutes.  That’s a fast way to make excellent dishes. I like it better than a slow cooker; my veggies taste fresher and the meat is cooked better without being over cooked.

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Then, I made two different kinds of meat broth; chicken and pork; done in about 30 minutes for chicken and 60 for the pork.  Which is far less than half the usual time for making broth. I love being able to load it with the broth ingredients and start the cycle and walk away to do other stuff.

The other day I made some amazing dulce de leche caramel sauce; so delish and creamy and one ingredient: sweetened condensed milk.  You pour it into canning jars and pressure cook it for 14 minutes. I did two batches of that for gifting.

I expect to make soup in it often; made some cauliflower potato soup last week; so easy.  One item I had that is very helpful is my immersion blender; great for pureed hot soups. I call it the boat motor!

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Making soup!

So, next time someone starts talking about an IP you will know what they mean.  And maybe you will start thinking about getting one.  It will change how you cook, for the better.

Dark Drizzled Kettle Corn

Aldi’s has something so yummy I am loath to share it with all of you for fear you will buy it all and I will be then crying the blues.  It is their Dark Drizzled Kettle Corn.  Lightly drizzled with dark chocolate, and not that sweet. Perfection in popcorn form. An addictive snack. It combines my deep love for dark chocolate with my frequent enjoyment of kettle corn. A one ounce serving has 140 calories. The label says GF.  It also says limited edition, so get a few bags and tell the staff to tell the boss to keep ordering it and maybe, just maybe Aldi’s will keep it around! kettle-corn-001

Info on My Blog Posts

Sometimes I get questioned on the recipes I put up on my blog. I never post anything I have not made myself.  Know too, that if it doesn’t taste great it doesn’t get on this page!  I make many things that never reach print for one reason or another.   I go back and bake/cook a lot of these things again a year or two later; most of the recipes I post become true favorites of mine.  For example, I am making a fig and yogurt cake this afternoon with some of my last few figs. I made the first one for me two weeks ago and knew it was a keeper on my first bite, see the blog post from two week ago.  Today I am making it with some orange extract I bought for the purpose to see if that was even better than the lemon extract I used last time.  I often switch things up a bit to try different flavors for new results.  Next fall, you better believe that I will be making this cake again once the figs ripen.  Ditto for that fig and raspberry galette of last week; it was an amazing dessert for sure.

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Feel free to change things if you make my recipes; if you hate a seasoning use something you prefer.  I do suggest that it may not go so well if you change the proportions in pie crusts, breads or quick breads as baking is really a science; there you need to stick closer to the proportions and ingredients.  You still can switch the seasonings if that floats your boat!

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If you are new to my blog know that I tend to cook seasonally with fruits and vegetables are they are harvested and ripe. I like using organic and local grown produce as often as possible.  I tend to add extra veggies to soups, stews and stir fries as I am a lover of them to a bit of an extreme.  My herbs are often grown in my own yard for best flavor and freshness but I do buy them when I don’t have and need them for a dish.

chicken-gumbo-005My food is totally gluten free as I must remain gf due to celiac disease.  But that doesn’t mean my meals are less than fantastic or that the plate of cookies I bring to your house won’t be delicious. They will, I promise!  Gluten free from scratch baked goods CAN taste great.  Do not think otherwise and bake gf with confidence for your loved ones.

I cook with love for my friends and family. I cook with joy for the process and I cook with great anticipation for the flavors and textures of my home cooked from scratch gluten free meals.  Enjoy!

Apple Crisp: Easy and Tasty

Apples are the centerpiece of the fall harvest culture.  Pumpkins are popular but they are a relatively new comer to the contest.  Some may think pumpkins are the way to go in baking but I firmly believe the apple is king in Autumn in America.  Crisp, sweet, flavorful and so very good for you.

If you can, get the organic ones as the sprays they use on growing apples are not at all good for you.  I recently made apple crisp with some baking apples from a pick it yourself farm near Milford NJ and it was very tasty indeed.  I especially suggest you get your apples at an actual apple orchard.  Another orchard just south of Hellertown is Bechdolt’s Orchard which grows many apple varieties.  Go there if you want the freshest tastiest apples in the Saucon Valley area.  Apples grow all over the globe so shop where you can get them fresh and crisp! The variety is up to you but I would not suggest any that are not meant for baking; don’t use red delicious as they are for eating only, same goes for honey crisp apples. apple-cart

This recipe is out of Gluten-Free Baking Classics Cookbook by Annalise G. Roberts with a few minor changes.  I am betting you can use any GF flour mix in this recipe, not like a cake or other baked goods that have very specific flour requirements.

And it is so much easier than a pie.  No crust to mix or roll out.  Just a simple mixed up topping to add to the cut up apples.  Bake it and voila: a yummy yet fairly healthy dessert!

I have made the topping several ways.  You can cut un-melted butter into the dry ingredients; it makes for a firmer crumb than the melted version below. I have made it egg free but it really somehow needs that egg to pull it together to mimic a wheat flour based crisp.  The oats can be left out if you don’t like them or can’t eat them. I personally love oats in my crisp.  A quarter cup of chopped nuts can be added to the topping; really a nice touch too!  I don’t like it too sweet so I use the lesser amount of sugar.  This is entirely a personal choice.  You can up the nutritional value by adding flaxmeal to the dry mix; 2-3 tbsp.

For those who love ice cream, this recipe is absolutely perfect with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream next to it.  I like it warm from the oven but it also is tasty cold the next day, if you have any left over that is!

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Angie’s Apple Crisp

 

1 cup GF flour (mix below)

½ to ¾ cup sugar (I prefer brown sugar)

½ cup old fashioned gf oats

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

Sprinkle of nutmeg

½ tsp xanthan gum

½ tsp. salt

1 large egg

6 cups peeled and thinly sliced apples

¼-1/3 cup butter, melted

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.   Put rack in center level of oven.  Lightly butter a 9 inch square pan or spray with cooking spray.

 

Combine all the dry ingredients.  Add egg and stir to mix well.   Place apples in the baking pan, top with the dry mix and sprinkle with the melted butter.  Bake 40-50 minutes until bubbly and the topping is lightly browned. Let cool at least 10 minutes before dishing out. Six servings.

 

Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur’s GF blend)
2 c brown rice flour (finely ground)

2/3 c potato starch – Not potato flour!

1/3 c tapioca flour

 

Originally posted by me October 2015.

Eggplant Potato Moussaka: Opa!

It being fall, the garden is winding down but there are still eggplants to pick in my garden.  Kinda tired of the usual stuff I make with eggplants so I did some research and came up with moussaka, a Greek eggplant casserole.  I made it once long ago and remembered it as tasty. This recipe is from food network and is by Emeril Lagasse, he of the “Bam” exclamation.  It is a fair amount of work; took me about 90 minutes to put it together, 45 minutes to bake and another 50 minutes of resting time before you can cut into it.  Gotta say it was worth the effort. Everyone who ate it were crazy about the flavors.mousakka-014

My alterations: I used a mixture of ground pork and ground lamb (recipe is 50/50 ground beef and ground lamb) and subbed in white wine for red as that was all I had.  Ditto in my subbing of a red onion for the yellow onion and chopped fresh tomatoes for the crushed tomatoes.  Sometimes I am unwilling to make a second run to the grocery store to spend $ for something if I can sub in a different but similar ingredient.  To make it gf I used white rice flour; it was okay; next time I am trying brown rice flour or a flour blend to see if it sticks tighter and browns better. Worked but not sure white rice was the best flour choice.  I used brown rice flour in the sauce but I am guessing any gf flour will work.  The cheese I used was fresh grated Parmesan; three choices are provided.  Never heard of Kefalotiri and I am allergic to Romano.  Plus: that’s what I had in the cheese drawer.

I read some of the comments people made on the recipe; I’m thinking about roasting my eggplant slices if I am in a hurry. I used less oil than the recipe and some of my oil was canola as I was running out of olive oil; couldn’t tell the difference in the final product. I might add a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg next time too, and there will be a next time as this tastes amazing.  PS: I used a mixture of whole milk and 1 percent for the béchamel sauce.

This recipe is too involved to put in my post; here is a link to the recipe.  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/eggplant-and-potato-moussaka-recipe.html

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Have fun making it; a great recipe for 2-3 folks to work on together.  Super entrée choice for a family gathering.  Enjoy!