Italian Sausage Crumbles - Quick, Easy, Vegan

True story - I fell off the vegetarian wagon over homemade sausage. Yup, visiting friends in Montana more than 20 years ago and they offered homemade, homegrown pork sausage for breakfast and I didn't blink. Forget bacon, sausage and salumi are my downfall.

In my defense, I had been trying to make my own vegetarian sausage for years; I just couldn't stomach faux sausage anymore. And after too many failed attempts, I returned to the real deal. My sisters called me a "Sausa-tarian" to mock me. 

While faux sausage has gotten better - less unpronounceable ingredients - it still is expensive and or includes wheat, which I longer can eat. But Italian sausage is still one of my favorite foods, especially crumbled on pizza. So I created this recipe, and it is a winner!

Quick, easy and even stores well, I try to have it on hand for Friday Night Pizza, and it never lets me down!

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!

Limoncello Liqueur

Ahh limoncello! So easy to make, as long as you are willing to wait.

Someone gifted me a bottle of vodka and a friend had lots of gorgeous lemons, so Limoncello I made!

It is as simple as cutting off the peels of the lemon, steeping them in vodka for at least four weeks, then adding simple syrup. 

Since I am not big into sweets, my preferred way to drink it is as a spritz, either with sparking wine or sparkling water. But if you do sip it straight, make sure it is freezer cold, that's how the Italians do it!

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.

Poultry Seasoning - DIY Pantry

Poultry seasoning sounds like such an old fashioned ingredient...and it is. But that doesn't make it irrelevant. As a mostly vegetarian (fish at home, occasional meat at other people's homes), I use it in broth to make Tofu Chickenless Nuggets or the Provencal Mock Chicken Salad pictured above. The recipe listed below will make just enough to last you a few months, which is how long the potency will survive.

Poultry Seasoning - DIY Pantry (adapted from Sage Trifle)
(makes about 1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried sage
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

Place all in a spice grinder (coffee grinder wiped clean) and grind until fine. Store in an air tight spice jar in a cool dark place.

Hugs!

Faux Pepperoni for Pizza

For most of my teenage life pepperoni and black olives were the only things allowed on my pizza slices. Day after day after day where I worked at Mazzatta's Italian Restaurant.

In the past 20 plus years as a pescatarian I have indulged in pepperoni pizza on rare occasions, but not often because I prefer my meat to be "happy" and generally pepperoni in pizza joints doesn't fit that description.

But since working as a lunch lady making vegetarian meals only in a groovy, alternative charter school where I hear the plaintive longing for pepperoni on the pizza, an investigation of alternative forms seemed in order.

And then I found THE recipe on the Minimalist Baker.

Can I just say easy, delicious and quick!

If you have kids, big or small, with a vegetarian diet who are craving pepperoni this is the ticket. Don't be put off by the list of ingredients, you probably have all them in the pantry, and this just needs a few whizzes in the food processor and a quick bake and Voila! Magic!

Baked Ziti with Veggie Italian Sausage Crumbles

Awww, baked ziti, a phrase that invokes comfort, cheesy, Italian homemade goodness.

No? You must not be from the Northeast!

Baked ziti, AKA pasta al forno is truly second best only to pizza. If you are an omnivore, adding in some Italian sausage is always a good thing. Fortunately my freezer had some of my homemade veggie Italian sausage (gluten free!), so it was added to the mix. Delizioso!

This can be a quick pantry meal if you already have a few things on hand, such as prepared tomato sauce and veggie sausage crumbles. Preparation is simple: heat tomato sauce, cook pasta, sautee crumbles (all of which can basically happen simultaneously), combine and grate cheese over the top and bake.

If you have to use gluten free pasta as I do, then this is a great dish for hiding the less than exciting texture of such pastas. It also can handle a variety of cheeses, great for using up odd bits and pieces out of your cheese drawer. (What? You don't have a cheese drawer? So sorry to hear that! Get started on that right away!)

Homemade Fresh Ricotta Cheese - DIY Pantry

When it dawned on me that fresh ricotta has been a staple in my kitchen for at least five years and had never made an appearance in the DIY Pantry section of my blog, I was incredulous! Even easier than paneer and more of an instant gratification than other DIY Pantry items, it was next on the list no matter what was in the blog queue!

I freely admit that buying ricotta is easier, when confronted with a price tag of $8 for 15 oz of organic ricotta, my thrifty self says, "it's cheaper to make" and better tasting to boot! If you have the time and inclination (and truly it didn't take more than 20 minutes to make, and so little involves cook prep time!) go for it!

Harissa Eggplant

Eggplants always seduce me, particularly at Farmers' markets and even more so when they are the long eggplant Japanese variety. Often they get used up in pedestrian ways but this time my brain thought of a really fun way to eat them, baked with a Moroccan infused flavor explosion!

My harissa is based on Aziza owner's cookbook and it is not super spicy but is very flavorful. Mashed with some preserved lemon, dried mint (actually more appropriate than fresh in this case), it was perfect! Even my vegetable suspicious husband really liked it!

Homemade Veggie Breakfast Sausage (or Italian Sausage) (gluten free)

Ahhh, sausage, my one true food love! As a vegetarian for 13 plus years, I finally caved and began eating real sausage. My sisters called me a sausatarian. But it was because I was tired of eating bad faux meat with unprounceable ingredients. Failing to make good faux veggie sausage, I had subccumbed to the real stuff. But then the vegan sausage revolution happened and things changed! Unfortunately, gluten is not my friend, so after some experimentation, this gluten free version was born!

It does hold together pretty well when frying, but certainly will not hold up in a stew. But super tasty it is! This is a basic recipe that can be changed according to the seasonings to make it Breakfast sausage or Italian Sausage, or maybe one day I'll even try to make a bratwurst!

I like to make the breakfast sausages really fat so that I can slice them thin and cook like a patty. Yum!

Homemade Sriracha - DIY Pantry

Yes, that is a honey bear with homemade Sriracha in it. It is kind of the perfect container and the irony of spicy sweet condiment inhabiting a honey bear tickles my fancy quite a bit!

I like to make my own sauces and condiments because it's fun, and often cheaper if you do it in season. With Sriracha, you can only do it when the jalapenos are red, usually at the end of the summer, so keep this recipe at the ready for when you can scoop some up.

Fig Chutney - DIY Pantry

Exploring Indian cuisine is so much fun because there are sooooo many condiments! Not only are there different types of condiments - chutneys, pickles, raitas - but such variety in each of those types of condiments!

When some free figs came into my kitchen (whoo hoo!!) I knew that they were going into a chutney tout suite. David Lebovitz's recipe looked great but it was boosted with a little more ginger and my favorite chile powder, Kashmiri, for its gorgeous taste and color. (Yes, hard to find except in Indian stores. Stock up on it, you'll love it too!)

My family had already fallen in love with Pear Chutney from this recipe which I made a few days later and canned them all at once to save water (we are in a severe drought!) And we are flying through both of them. So there will definitely be more fig chutney making in my future.

And as you can see from the picture, smearing fig (or pear) chutney on soft cheeses like chevre or brie is highly addictive as well. Double that recipe, you won't regret it!

Like so many delicious things, figs are in season for only a short while, so grab them while you can. Ignore the price and remind yourself they are like christmas or your birthday - a once a year event!

Harissa - DIY Pantry

I don't know why or how I decided to make a Moroccan Feast one fateful night in January 2009, but it was love at first bite ever since.

At that point in time, Harissa was totally new to me and that version was made with hot pepper flakes. While it was perfect for that meal, this updated version blows my mind. It's made with whole dried peppers that are soaked and deseeded and then pureed with the remaining ingredients. The result is less fire and more flavor and we can't get enough of it!

And if you're at all interested in Moroccan, buy Mourad New Moroccan; not only is he the real deal, but he knows how to write about food preparation and in beautiful, image filled detail. Make your own couscous! Really! What you get in the store is like the couscous version of freeze-dried rice they use in rice-a-roni! Who knew! And as he writes, even if you never roll your own couscous, just reading about the process is fascinating!

A fun cooking tip from me to you:

In case you did not know, small mouth mason jars will fit your blender blade. In fact blenders used to be sold with a half pint mason jar as part of the standard equipment. My blender carafe broke years ago and I only use mason jars on my blender. It's great for making sauces like harissa. Try it, you'll love it!

Vegetarian Breakfast Sausage - DIY Pantry

Breakfast sausage is one of those faux meat items that I have begrudgingly bought in a package. My boyfriend's kids like it, I like it, he likes it. So hard to break that taste habit! But, being stubborn and an avid DIYer, I decided to break this cycle and make my own.

Wow, can I just say wow! Tooting your own horn is kind of declasse, but these were delicious! And great texture (always the tricky thing with homemade faux meat). We definitely preferred them sliced and fried in rounds or make them as skinny as possible, otherwise the insides don't get as warm nor crispy, the best part!

While I labeled this as "DIY Pantry", trust me when I tell you that they will not last long in the pantry! Yes, you can freeze them but really, everyone will gobble them up, no matter how many times you double and triple the recipe!

Oh, and the kicker? They're gluten free. Yes, really, truly, and delicious! They are actually healthy for you, packed with beans, oatmeal and quinoa. Whoodda thunk it?!

Classic Dijon Mustard - DIY Pantry

So we are nearly six weeks into the new year - how are your resolutions going? Faultering? Gaining in speed? Well if eating less processed food was one of your desires for this year, make more of your condiments and know exactly what is in them!

I have been making my own mustards for about five years now, and it is so worth the time and effort, on top of being a fun sort of chemistry project! This is a classic Dijon mustard which is akin to Grey Poupon mustard and what my family was raised on. Always having this on hand ensures its easy addition to marinades, salad dressing, or just as a topping on a burger of any sort.

Make sure to age it at least one week in the refrigerator before using to allow the flavors to really meld. Like most mustards, they get better with age.

Homemade Paneer - DIY Pantry

Homemade paneer - sounds hard, complicated, right? Wrong! So simple it's crazy and mind-blowing that it's taken me so long to make it at home! Thank god my beau loves Indian food and our local stores don't carry paneer. So I simply had to make it. Dead simple, really. And impressive and delicious... So go buy some whole milk and make it!

Pictured above is some paneer that was marinated in spiced yogurt and then broiled to golden perfection. It was then tossed in some Makhani sauce and gobbled up in ecstatic delight!

Tomato Jam - DIY Pantry

Tomato jam came into my life about 10 years ago when a Minnesotan asked me if I made it. Made it? I'd never heard of it! It took several years more before I met someone who's cooking I trusted enough to give her recipe a go. Wow! too many years wasted without tomato jam!

Combine four ingredients - tomatoes, cider vinegar, rosemary and brown sugar - and presto! You have a savory sweet delicious condiment which you will find a multitude of ways to slather on anything within reach.

If you remember that tomatoes are actually fruits, this jam idea doesn't seem that far fetched. It may take a little prompting to get people (especially kids) to try it, but you'll be rewarded for your efforts!

We've eaten it on squash fritters, latkes, chickpea flour pancakes and swirled into frittatas and scrambled eggs. If you're a meat eater I would  imagine it would be great on steak, brined pork chops or even with hash browns. Really, the sky is the limit!

Apricot Jam and Canning 101

Fruit season is upon us! If you are lucky enough to be blessed by easy access to fruit trees or berry bushes, get out there and start picking! After you've had your fill of eating fresh fruit, channel your inner pioneer woman and make some jam!

Jam or preserves is the easiest of the preserved fruits, at least in my book. It usually does not require dealing with packaged pectin and involves very few ingredients. The basic premise is heating fruit to bring out its natural juices, adding sugar (to aid in the natural jelling process) and cooking until jelling will occur. If canning using a hot water bath canning method makes you nervous, you can skip that part and simply store your preserves in the back of your refrigerator. But honestly, canning is less scary than you think. The key is sterilizing your jars before filling them; if you have a dishwasher, one wash cycle is all you need. Check out this site for more information.

Canning does require some extra equipment, including specific tongs for lifting jars in and out of the hot water bath as well as a metal funnel for filling the jars, and the pot with the canning rack. If you decide to make these investments, your best bet for finding them is your local Ace Hardware store - much more economical than high end cooking stores.

While it seems a bit extravagant to buy new equipment for such a short time of year, trust me when I tell you that once you get the canning bug, you'll be hooked! Since becoming a canning fanatic years ago, I use my canning funnel every day and store all my foods - dry goods, leftovers, prepared lunches - in canning jars large and small. It's a great way to eliminate plastic from your life and know exactly what's in your pantry!

Raw Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Day five of your New Year's Resolutions - How's it going?

For me, I want to eat as much raw fruits and vegetables as possible, which includes raw entrees as well. Those recipes will be coming soon, but for now, here is a mainly raw dip that will blow your mind!

A few nights after the Christmas debauchery had ended, I whipped up this dip based on a vague idea of making a raw (and unprocessed) version of this recipe, which translated into no vegan mayo. My new version was even better than the last, since it was made of lots of spinach, artichokes, walnuts that had not been soaked, a little miso and lots of jalapeno. Super delicious and almost entirely raw, except for my homemade marinated artichoke hearts. 

Pair this with raw vegetables for dipping - sturdy ones like carrots and celery or cauliflower and jicama.  It would go equally well on crackers, tucked in a pita along with other veggie sandwich fixins, swirled into cooked grains or tossed with pasta. Whatever you fancy!

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate

Brussels Sprouts get so much love at Thanksgiving - everyone is so excited to make some dish with them for the big feast. But I often wonder if they're like the new pair of shoes that lose their allure after that night of heavy partying? Never for me, but just in case you haven't had any since the Feast night, here's an offering well worth trying.

This recipe comes straight from Eats Well With Others, unadulterated. If you haven't visited with Joanne of Eats Well With Others, well high-tail it over there now! Yes, leave my blog and go check it out. Not only is her food killer (and her photos insanely drool-worthy) but she's an amazing writer, hysterical tale-teller, and all-around amazing human being. Ok, go now and we'll see you when you come back...

Welcome back! So back to Brussells Sprouts. I love pomegranate anything and when I saw that this dish had both the seeds (AKA avils) and pomegranate molasses, it was a match made in heaven. If your family/friends/random dinner party guests claim to hate the "bitter" taste of Brussels Sprouts, bring on this dish. Sweet and tart, crunchy and earthy, what's not to love!

A word of caution. In my preserving fervor I deseeded several pomegranates and froze the seeds. They froze just fine and lost no flavor, but in defrosting they lose their jewel like transparency (as seen in Joanne's photos as opposed to mine.)