Swiss Chard Mini Galettes

 

Little hand pies are such a joy to eat! Better than a burger (less mess!) and usually made of flour and butter, total deliciousness!

Every cuisine around the world has some version. Pasties from Cornwall, Empanadas from Central America, Samosas from India, Scacciatas from Sicily or Galette's from France. I love them all! 

Galettes are super easy, just roll out a filling, place some cooked veggies in it and pop it in the oven to bake the dough and Voila! Heaven in your hand!

Baguette - Gluten Free

Ahh, the baguette. One of life's pleasures when you can eat wheat. Since going wheat and thus mostly gluten free, I keep searching for a good gluten free baguette. Gluten-Free on a Shoestring introduced me to this one and then I found The Loopy Whisk.  

Kat of the Loopy Whisk calls this a white bread, which I do make in the way she directs and it is more of a batard size bread, but when I want a long thin baguette style, I make the dough into two thinner breads, and voila!

I have to admit that Gluten Free on a Shoestring was my salvation for a long time until I discovered the Loopy Whisk. Kat has a different method for preparing the use of psyllium husks and uses less starches in her flour mixes which I like better. By hydrating the psyllium husks before adding them to the batter, it makes a better crumb in the breads. 

Gluten Free Burger Buns

Behold! An awesome gluten free burger bun!

The Loopy Whisk is a gluten free baking blog I have recently discovered and her recipes are not only magical, they are scientifically created, real magic!

First attempt and this was an amazing bun. I ate the other three before I had a chance to photograph it, but let me assure you, it is soft and spongy but with a firm crumb, and delicious to boot.

In her recipe, the Loopy Whisk recommends using a dough hook in a stand mixer. Since I don't have that, I did it by hand, and it worked well, enough though it left my hand tired. Be fore-warned!

Gluten Free "Rye" Bread

Rye bread has been my favorite bread since I first discovered it as a seven year old child. Toasted with bread and butter has been my go to breakfast for most of life. But when I realized I had to go gluten free, it was goodbye to my love!

But maybe not! After making Jeffrey Larsen's basic bread recipe, I adapted it to make this version that is pretty darn close to my favorite no knead rye bread recipe. Ahh, "rye" bread and butter for breakfast again!

Gluten Free Baking at Home by Larsen is a fantastic GF cookbook, with so many helpful hints that have taken my baking to a whole new level. He is clearly more interested in sweet baking than savory, but his bread recipe (which is adaptable to rolls as well) is brilliant and very versatile. 

Although the recipe appears long, that is because it is filled with tips to ensure your first attempt is successful. I now make this regularly, and just keep the list of ingredients amounts handy to make preparing the loaf faster.

Notes:
There are two key tools that you must have. One is a kitchen digital scale so you can measure your ingredients by grams. They are usually about $20, easy to find online or in stores such as Target; mine is a Taylor. Secondly, you need a smaller loaf pan than the average bread pan; 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch pans. This is because the density of the loaves will cook unevenly in a larger size pan. I happen to find a glass pan at the thrift store, but they also should be less than $20. 

In mixing the dough, he requires a dough blade on a food processor or kitchen aid machine; I do not have one and have been just as successful mixing by hand. 

Potato puree is one of his ingenious ingredients. It adds both starch, heft and moisture in a way that creates a better crumb and prevents the loaf from being too dry. I boil one peeled russet potato, and when super soft, pour off all but 1/2 cup of the cooking water. I mash the potato and add water slowly until it is the consistency of very mashed potatoes. Then I puree it in a blender - if you don't already know this trick of how to use a small mouth mason jar to puree the potato, click on the link. You can then refrigerate or freeze the leftovers for another loaf.

Garlic Broccoli Flatbread

If anyone were to ask me what my favorite food is, Pizza would be my instant reply. But variations on it are also way up there on the list, along with things like broccoli sauteed in loads of garlic with Pecorino Romano cheese grated on top. So it isn't surprising that combining the two is highly appealing to me. Maybe you too!

I often add a thin base of mozzarella so that the flatbread isn't too dry, as is pictured here. Other times sour cream or cream cheese (whipped in a food processor) is another option. I suppose that would technically make this a white pizza. Whatever you call it, I call it delicious!

Yogurt Cheese Pie with Raspberry Coulis

When I was in graduate school eons ago, I threw dinner parties. The first party I made homemade lasagna noodles with a spinach bolognese sauce, thinking it was pretty fancy. My diners loved it but wondered where dessert was. Dessert didn't even cross my mind, not for the entire nine hours of food preparation! But realizing that it was expected, I developed this goodie for my future meals.

Dessert is not my forte, not a strong desire. Chocolate is fine, but give me bread and butter or cheese and crackers. Mine is a very savory palate! So this dessert isn't very sweet, but it seemed to satisfy those who ate it.

Before Greek yogurt was available everywhere, this pie was made of "yogurt cheese," strained yogurt, mixed with sugar and vanilla. Poured into a graham cracker crust (or something akin to it) with a raspberry coulis on top. I loved it! 

Now, you can buy greek yogurt, which is strained regular yogurt, which makes this pie that much easier. My pie is generally more tart than those who like their desserts sweet, so taste as you go. In the past, I rarely strained the raspberry coulis, since it was simpler and I was often more preoccupied with finishing dinner preparations. Here I did, and it was divine. If you have the time and the inclination, strain it!

Tarte de Soleil with Sun-dried Tomato Tapenade

Deep into a Humboldt winter, the sun is a shy one, so try and coax it out with this baked deliciousness! While some of us are happily noticing the lengthening of the days, others get a little preoccupied by the tossing of a pigskin ball and its culmination in a big bowl. Whatever your pleasure, here is a fun and beautiful way to celebrate both of these events.

Puff pastry sandwiches a homemade sun-dried tomato and olive tapenade, baked until golden and then served with a dipping sauce. Perfect when you want to indulge or impress. My inspiration was from Smitten Kitchen, and while I strayed a bit, her suggestions were still pretty spot on. Incidentally, buying puff pastry is the easy way to go, but I did make mine - gluten free! - and my current GF cooking goddess is Nicole Hunn of Gluten Free on a Shoestring, check her out!

Spelt Everything Bagels

Ahh bagels, one of my true loves. But since eating wheat is soooo bad for me, spelt becomes my saving grace. These were easier and less time consuming than you would think, and you can customize the "everything" topping - no more poppy seeds in between my teeth!

I prefer my bagels chewy, so this recipe works perfectly; boil for 2 minutes per side and you get a great crumb and excellent chew factor! Of course I couldn't resist eating one nearly straight out of the oven, and it was amazing!

This time around I halved the recipe, fearful of having 8 bagels waiting for me to devour them in a single day, er week. But the full recipe would probably make 6 good size ones, a week's supply.

Homemade Granola

There are more than 750 posts on this blog and not one is about homemade granola...because I had never made it, until now.

I know. Those of you in the know are slapping your forehead. What took me so long!

Really, there is no excuse.

And now there is none for you either. Because it is dead simple, and you can make it with all of those bits of stuff in your pantry that you have been saving for whenever you a recipe that calls for sunflower seeds and pepitas and chopped nuts and shredded coconut and, well, you get the picture.

Add in some rolled oats, coconut oil, dried fruit of a sort, spice of a sort and bake for 20 minutes.

Yup, 20 minutes and then you have homemade granola. Just like that. To eat with your homemade yogurt, because that is really easy too. But that's for another day.

Happy Samhain! Halloween! Dias de los Muertos!

Smoked Salmon Phyllo Pie

Not everyone grew up eating hunks of raw cabbage in their high school brown bag lunch...ok, almost no one. You can guess who is the exception!

But even if you do not share my love affair with cabbage, you will be bowled over by the transformation of humble green cabbage in this phyllo encased pie.

Sweating onion, cabbage and finely sliced fennel in olive oil brings out the sweetness in cabbage and blending it with a minimum of ingredients creates what looks fancy, but us cooks know was actually quite simple to make.

While this pie features smoked salmon or lox, you could easily make it with pork or veggie sausage or just make it a cabbage pie for those of you who share my love of this member of the brassica family.

Pesto and Olive Pizza - Low Carb Crust

Pizza is my favorite food, hands down, no competition. And when you end up on restricted diets - no gluten, low-carb - the alternatives generally leave quite a bit to be desired. Enter this crust.

I cannot claim to have created it - that would be Fat Head Pizza Crust, whomever that is. But I did find it on the internet, and it is blow your mind good! Soft but chewy crust, crisp bottom, good flavor. Who'd a thunk it!

It does require a microwave, and in my wildest imaginings I cannot fathom how the creator dreamed up this recipe. But it works wonderfully. So prepare yourself for some delicious gluten-free, low-carb pizza!

Homemade Burger Buns in 40 minutes!

I'm lazy, yep so lazy that I'd rather make something at home rather than run out to the store to buy it...I know, sounds like I've got a screw or two loose, but that's just my crazy!

So when I wanted to grill some veggie burgers (the best ever!) and didn't want to have any leftover buns (always the case when you're using one at a time), I thought there has to be an easy burger bun recipe out there flitting around the web...and there was!!!

Super simple, quick and very delicious (according to my happy hubby!) They even look inviting, don't you think?

I cut the recipe in half and made them really large and got two out it, but I think three would have been really reasonable.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies - Vegan

I know I know, it's really hard to claim that cookies are healthy...and I'm not. But made with coconut oil is a move in the right direction, right?

Ok, all rationalizations aside, these are amazingly delicious cookies! And yes, they are vegan, so your friends who eat cruelty free can indulge as well!

By the way, the school lunch kids got these and no one was the wiser, nor were there any complaints. Rather it was, "may I have another, please!?"

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting - Vegan, GF, Yum!

Lucky me, my hubby brings home all sorts of interesting ingredients that are left as samples at the co-op grocery store where he works. Coconut flour was one, and it was a puzzle for a long time, until I realized I could make cupcakes with it for many many school kids...

Not only would it be gluten free but vegan as well, and supposedly amazingly delicious. I was intrigued!

Now most people do not have those kinds of dietary restrictions, but a few of the kids that I am a lunch lady for do have those dietary limits, so instead of making separate things for them, I just go with GF and vegan for all (and make sure it's good enough that no one's the wiser!)

These cupcakes did not disappoint! Power Hungry wasn't kidding when she said these were winners!

And to top it all off, there was butter (vegan) cream chocolate frosting, which everyone was fighting over to lick the bowl!

Morning Glory Muffins with Spelt Flour

What do you do with 3-4 cups of leftover raw shredded carrot and apple salad? Make morning glory muffins, of course!

One of my many fun food jobs is being a free-lance lunch lady at North Coast Preparatory Academy and usually the kids are fairly food adventurous. But too much carrot apple salad was just that, too much. So I found this muffin recipe and used up my leftovers. Voila! Repurposed salad in a hand-held breakfast.

Since wheat flour is out of my diet, I used spelt flour. And despite the original author's admonishments about the "correct" way to measure flour (which I didn't follow), and my need to just keep adding until the mixture looked right (spelt needs less liquid than wheat), these muffins turned out wonderfully! My husband's co-workers thanked me profusely for sending them in with him for the staff lounge.

Tofu Pot Pie

Do you recall the first time you had a pot pie? Wasn't it a revelation! Buttery crust, warm, gooey stuff inside (probably chicken - my childhood was pre-tofu in frozen food). Burning your mouth on the hot gravy, but plowing through the next bite because it was so exciting. This was definitely food that your mother did not make at home. It always came in its own foil tin and was disposable (recycling hadn't become a household mandate yet.) 

Fast forward several decades and kids, young and old, still love pot pie. So make them a homemade version and make everyone happy!

The youngest daughter thought this version was "one of best ones" she had ever had. High praise indeed! This one has a rich mushroom gravy with some pan fried tofu tossed in for protein and fun veggies like corn and peas. 

Yes, this is a time commitment recipe, but just think of how pleased everyone will be with the results! If you read the recipe carefully, you will see that you can make the filling while the crust chills. Give yourself some time and enjoy a well made homemade pot pie dinner!

Flourless Chocolate Cake - Vegan

One of my greatest faults (and sometimes virtue) is ambition. Not for money or fame or even praise but projects, grandiose and extravagant projects. Making flourless chocolate cake for 70 middle school and high school students without trying the recipe first, that's the kind of ambitious projects I attempt. Or not. Since there are also a few vegans who buy lunch I usually provide a vegan option. Vegan options do get a test run at home since they do tend to be more experimental. Hence this recipe.

And while the ingredients seem really whacky, trust me, this is delicious and decadent! Super rich, it easily serves 16 - 20, without being overly sweet. Be careful and measure carefully because with too much coconut oil it crystalizes and looks a little icky.

Blue Cheese Tart with Tomato Jam Topping

How many times do you have grand plans for an ingredient and then....it just doesn't happen. A hunk of blue cheese has been taunting me in the refrigerator for a couple of days because I didn't make the tofu "buffalo" wings that would have been accompanied by a great blue cheese dressing.

Enter a desire for a savory tart, a subsequent google search and the appearance of a "blue cheese tart." I mean really, could the universe have been more specific!

Not wanting to go to the store - this is how my laziness manifests - tomato jam was substituted for the fresh tomato and avocado and we pronounced it delicious! With some homemade ricotta on hand, this came together in a snap, but the extra egg was added due to the dryish nature of the homemade ricotta; most store bought is a little more loose.

I apologize for all of the abundance of sub-recipes. But really, use store bought crust and ricotta to make things easier, I just happen to have them on hand. If you don't have tomato jam - Really??!! You don't have it in your fridge at all times!! (wink wink). I would go with some thinly sliced tomatoes or even some salsa with a sprinkle of sugar and some lemon juice; it helps balance the richness of the tart.

Easiest Flakiest Olive Oil Crust

Making homemade crusts for quiches and savory tarts has been my regular m.o. for more than 25 years. It was cheaper and had better ingredients: no brainer. But the cutting in of the butter, chilling of the dough, and then rolling out is quite the process. Then I discovered this recipe! Eureka! Soooo easy, soooo flaky, and no chilling or rolling!

The "freeze the olive oil" crust that Post Punk Kitchen circulated a few years ago was an improvement on the butter, chill, roll method, but this one takes the cake or more aptly, the pie! Try it, you'll like it! You may never go back!

You can thank me as you're spooning that flaky goodness into your mouth, or crushing the last bits with your fork tines and watching lovingly as they mash together oh so beautifully, not dry and crunchy. And quick! Did I mention how fast it comes together. What's not to love!

As usual, I had to reduce the liquids since I was using spelt; see the original recipe if you're using all purpose flour.

30 Minute Pizza Crust - Pesto Pizza with Homemade Veggie Italian Sausage

It was one of those nights, when cooking seems like the hardest thing to do - yes, it happens, even to me. And then Vegan Richa's new post popped up and she promised a 30 minute pizza crust. Intriguing and turns out, quite good!

Oddly enough it is a normal crust - flour, water, yeast, oil, salt. There is very little rise period, which makes for a very crispy crust. Take care not to overbake it or it will be too crispy!

Having just made some veggie Italian sausage and being gifted with two huge bunch of fresh basil, it was perfect for a pesto pizza with pan fried sausage on top!

Do note that I made my crust with spelt flour so the water in the recipe is slightly less; check Richa's recipe for the wheat flour version.