Dulce de Leche Update

I tried making this in the pressure cooker.........it worked great!

I didn't realize my pressure cooker was looking so shabby. It is 30 yrs. old. Hubby welded a new handle on it a few yrs ago.
Put your can of sweetened condensed milk in the cooker and cover with water. I used
Western Family brand this time. It was just as good as Eagle Brand.
Put the lid on and bring to pressure. After you put the cap on then turn the heat down
to medium. Time it for 30 min. Let the pressure cooker cool off before opening it. DON"T put water on it to cool it off. Your can could explode!

This is much quicker than boiling it for 3 hrs. Dan says it's safer to do this method because the pressure outside the can is the same as inside the can.
I made this delicious gluten free apple cake and put the warm caramel on top of it like a frosting.

Heidi said she put hers on apple pie. The marriage of apples and carmel is a match made in heaven.
Use your favorite cake recipe....add some chopped apples...bake. Mine took 40 min.

All About Grapes and then some....

The grape harvest was great this year! Purple Concords....delectable Himrods...and what's the black ones?....oh yeah...blackberries. What? Blackberries aren't grapes.
This is my winning combination for the most DELICIOUS juice ever!
My garden may have looked awful this year despite my good intentions to weed it but the fruits of the vine were fantastic as always. I love fruit. Easy to care for. No Weeding. Just pluck and eat.
Here's some pics of the grapes growing.
First the concords.

They're like jewels hanging from above.

The Himrod vines are 30 yrs old and stretch out 40 ft long and 10 feet up
forming a gorgeous wall hiding undesirables from the front yard...i.e. cars, junk, etc.
Talk about useful landscaping.

I didn't get a picture of the blackberries but I have 6 THORNLESS blackberry
plants that produce a mountain of berries every year. They grow in a fountain
shape and the runners are 10 to 15 feet long which drape over a fence.
I'm really turned on to the idea of an edible yard.
There are so many plants that look good in a landscaping
and are so darn delicious to eat! But I digress.
To make delicious juice you have to extract the juice from the grapes and berries.
I happen to have this terrific steam juicer. It has three layers. The bottom holds the
water, the middle collects the juice, and the top is where you dump the grapes.
There's a spigot which you open up to put the collected juice into the jar.
Voila! Super easy! This doesn't work for apples though. gross.



Then all you do is put a cap on the jar and water bath the jars. I canned 45 quarts of juice.
Now something very yummy to do with this grape/berry combo is
to make syrup for pancakes/waffles. I like to put my syrup
on greek yogurt.

If you've never had greek yogurt you must give it a go!
I'm addicted to it! It has the texture of sour cream.

I also canned 85 quarts of pears and 95 quarts of peaches again this year.
The pears from the LDS farm and the peaches from Harry and David orchards.
I used OREGOLD this year. My favorite peach now and forever. At least for now.
Here's the munchkins enjoying the peaches.


To my edible forest (I live in the forest hence the name) I've added
a Taro plant and Elderberries and a lemon tree. I made some elderberry juice and syrup also handpicked
from the mountains. I thought...geesh....why not grow my own?
I also grow raspberries and strawberries.
I have plans for more fruit too!
I want everyone to start thinking of where they live. What kind of
landscaping do you have? How can I make this landscaping edible?
Tomatoes in the flowers? Squash in the front yard? Columnar apple trees
standing like soldiers by the front door? Many fruits these days are geared
for growing in pots. And geared for small plots. Get creative!

Dulce de Leche

All I can say is.........YUM!!! Addicting! Easy!
Start with a can of Sweetened Condensed Milk. I used Eagle Brand.
Peel off the label.
Do NOT OPEN THE CAN.
Put in a heavy pan with a lid.
Fill with water and bring to a boil.

Cover the pot with the lid.
Simmer for 3 hrs. to get this spoonable consistency.
Cool and then open the can.
Pat says you can pressure cook it for 30 min. Sounds
scary to me...you know exploding cans and all....maybe I'll try it!

Getting Your Green's - Spanish Eggs Revisited

All I did here was create the Spanish Eggs (prev. post) and added a bed of steamed (al dente) lacinato kale and asparagus. Was really delicious! Oh and I only used one egg because I figured two was a bit much. .... oh I also sliced some peppers from the garden into loops and saute'd them before cracking an egg over them. They were hot! Sweet peppers would add a bit more flavor.

Spanish Eggs

Printable Recipe Here

Spanish Eggs with Valentina Sauce

You can make this combination whatever you wish.
This is just my variation of Spanish Eggs. I strongly emphasize presentation when I make a
meal because "just eggs" is not fun or yummy. Adding any type of garnish or topping from
the garden makes breakfast eggs that much more exciting.

Eggs - however many you want to eat [free range brown]
Valentina Salsa Picante (very cheap at your local grocer in the Mexican isle) or any hot sauce
Real Bacon Pieces
Parsley - chopped
Tomato - any combination [I used yellow jellybean and a Roma both from my garden]
Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese - OPTIONAL (real Spanish eggs have cheese but I am allergic) - shredded
Fresh Ground Pepper and Salt to taste

1. Heat your pan to medium, spray with Olive Oil (or canola)
2. Crack eggs into the pan, turn heat down to medium-low
3. Sprinkle Valentina or any hot sauce of your choice in any quantity you want over the raw egg tops.
4. Sprinkle the bacon pieces, cracked pepper and salt over eggs
5. Cook side one of eggs to your preferred doneness, turn them
6. Add Cheese if you are having any, cook until yokes are to your liking
7. sprinkle half the chopped parsley over eggs, add chopped/sliced tomatoes and sprinkle the rest of the parsley on top of those.

Enjoy! Compliment them with a side of fruit. :)

Oatmeal Cakes

Ben made these oatmeal cakes for his Rainier Hike.
Take some oats and grind them up in a magic bullet or food processor so
it's chunky flour. Mix in some water just so you can form the oats into a flat patty.
Fry in Olive Oil until browned. Salt. Enjoy! These are really tasty and keep well for a backpacking trip. The trick is not to grind the oats into pure flour. You want that chunky oat flavor to shine through. Delicious as a snack!

YUM YUM ICE CREAM

I loooooooooove my mommy's homemade dairy free pumpkin pie ice-cream!

What to Eat on Top of Mt. Rainier

Eat your heart out Zac!

Take this and add a little diced buffalo. Saute it up in a WOK with
delicious olive oil and herbs. And then do this........

It dries infinitesimal small so it's easy to pack and lightweight.
Easily hydrates in about 10 min. with boiling water.

Summer Chill'n

I melt for kitchen appliances, tools and gadgets. This year my husband (John) got me the cutest apron (I'll get a pic soon) and a food dehydrator - which I was dying to have. My family/parents got me a radical ice-cream maker (I will post brand and more goodies tomorrow) and a flour sifter. The ice-cream maker was a total left field surprise! So far we have made vanilla ice-cream, MILK FREE! uh, yum! And this sorbet (eww, pure mango is a little too much for me!). Tonight I have made a [milk version] to-die-for-chocolate and tomorrow is the milk-free version. I'll do a proper post on the recipe book for the milk free recipes. So rad.

Mango Madness Sorbet
(this requires the use of an ice-cream maker)

3 C. Mango (peeled, diced, pureed)
1 C. Water
1/3 C. Sugar or Agave Syrup

Puree Mango, sugar and water in a blender or food processor until smooth.
Chill for at least 2-3 hours.
Finish up in an ice-cream maker according to the instructions.
Ours took 30 minutes to freeze up.
Eat and Enjoy! Yum!

Gluten Free Wraps

I don't like soup in the summer so I've had to re-adjust what to do about quick easy meals and summertime is aways a must for quick sandwiches and wraps. It can be tough when trying to be Gluten Free to manage alternative meals when you're on a road trip or picnic and everyone else is eating bread. Also, I find that it just isn't as filling to eat lettuce wrapped lunch meat - yummy, but not filling. I'm always starving 15-minutes later. So this morning was the first time I have tried this, and it turned out perfect and delicious!

All I did was cook up the Gluten Free Crepes I posted about back in April (minus any sugar - you want a "savory" not sweet crepe). I then just fixed it up like a wrap.

Important point: Remember that I use my tortilla warmer to keep my crepes in while cooking them all up. I find that this not only keeps them warm for the moment, but it also keeps the crepes moist so that they aren't sitting out in the air and getting crusty. My point being, IF your crepes are hard to use as a wrap because they are cracking and breaking up, try putting them in a tortilla warmer or a bowl with a towel snug around and on top of the crepes right after cooking. I notice that this works the same with regular tortillas from the store if you are toasting them up and let them sit out in the air they crack when rolling .... but if you place them in a tortilla warmer for a moment they will have some flexibility to roll nicely.

I now have wraps for the week! I put my stack of crepes between two paper towels and keep them in a large Ziploc in the refrigerator.

Gluten Free BLT Wrap

1 Gluten Free Crepe (not hot out of the pan unless you like that)
Turkey Bacon cooked up
Lettuce
Tomato diced
Veganaise (or mayonnaise)
Mustard
Ketchup (ok, I'm weird, I like ketchup on my BLT's!)

You can do anything with these. I've done a PB&J wrap before too. I'm going to eat another BLT for lunch but make a club by adding Turkey.

Enjoy!

To Die for Pie

I love pie. My very most favorite being blackberry pie.
I love pie crust. So tender and flaky and full of gluten and fat.
And then I discovered gluten free pie crust. I got the recipe from
Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts.
If you want the recipe then email me since its copyright protected.
Easy and delicious. Easy to roll out. Flaky tender.
I chose to make a rustic pie shell where you roll out the dough, put
filling in the middle and then bring the pie crust up over the edges.
The filling is a quart of blackberries mixed with 3/4 cup Trader Joes
organic sugar (100% evaported cane juice) and 3 Tbl. sweet rice flour,
1/2 tsp cinnamon, a little grated lemon peel.

Betty Crocker and Gluten Free

Coming in June of 2009 http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/gluten-free/Faq.htm

Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts

Fresh Rhubarb picked from the garden. The strawberries aren't
ripe yet so I had to buy some.

Here's the rhubarb simmering with some water. The problem with
the way I cook is...I don't like to measure. I cut some rhubarb stalks...
about 6....chopped them up and put them in a sauce pan with some water...
maybe a cup? I also added about 1/4 cup of raw cane sugar.

Simmer the rhubarb for about 10 min. then add a box of small
jello. You can thicken this without jello I just like the color it
gives the tart and helps add to the flavor. Thicken with cornstarch
or whatever you like to thicken it with that will keep it clear.
Then add about 2-3 cups of cut up strawberries.


The crust is really divine.
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup gluten free oats (don't use thick cut)
pinch salt
2 Tbl. sugar
1 cube butter melted
Mix all the dry ing. then add the melted butter and stir it up.
Press into tart pans. I don't have enough tart pans so I end up
with a bowl of filling that is delicious to eat on its own.

Bake the tart crust in a 350 oven for 10 min. Cool.
Then Fill them with the filling. Put in the Ref. to chill.
Yummy!

Greens

Easter Egg radishes....so pretty and yummy in a stir fry.

Pak Choi and Swiss Chard picked fresh from the garden for stir fry.

I did make something cool but I ate it before I took pictures.
Now I'll have to make it again.
It was a delicious gluten free strawberry rhubarb tart.

GLUTEN FREE SMORES

Absolutely Delish! Test tasted by non gluten people who approve heartily.
I used two Baby Mum-Mum crackers which look like surf boards. Note:
there is a toddler mum-mum but it's in a little circle and not big enough so use
the baby mum mums.

You can find these crackers in the baby section of any store.
The recipe speaks for itself. Two mum mums, chocolate of choice,
marshmellow of choice. These were zapped in the microwave.

Veggie Stir Fry Sushi Rolls (yeah, no rice!)

Originally I had meant to create a stir fry over Pad Thai noodles (which I did), but then, wallah! This creation was born. I hope you enjoy as much as I did. Let me know if you try an alternative stir-fry center. I think some sliced steak would be delicious to add.

Printable Recipe

Healthy Factoids
Nori is rich in iodine and iron and quite high in protein. It is also a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, magnesium and riboflavin (B2).
Not only does it have all these nutritional riches, it is also a low-fat food.

No Rice, What?! I love sushi, but I don't like the amount of white sticky rice that comes with it. This recipe gives you a delicious, low-calorie way of eating sushi. Plus, whenever I think about making sushi I think it's going to be a big ordeal, taking out the rice step really makes this a quick-fix item. Really you can do any kind of vegetable and/or meat variety. This was just one example to show you how you can enjoy the benefits of Nori and sushi without all that rice!


Ingredients
Nori Sheets

Shallots or Small White Onion (I actually use dehydrated white onion)
Garlic, 2-4 Cloves sliced thin
Sweet Potatoes, cubed about 1/4"
Asparagus, broken into 1/2-1" pieces
Brussel Sprouts, quartered lengthwise (or halved if they are really tiny already)
Crimini Mushrooms, cubed about 1/4" (or Shitaki or other brown mushroom)
Cabbage, sliced thin lengthwise; feather-sliced (I used a small ruffly head - will update the name when I go back to the store. Any green will do though)
Lacinato kale, sliced small, about 1/2"

White Cooking Wine
Olive Oil for frying
Sea Salt

Toasted Sesame Seeds (I did a white/black mix)
Mung Bean Sprouts

Sushi grade Soy Sauce (or Tamari Sauce... any sushi sauce of your choice)


Special Items to help you out:
Sushi [Bamboo] Roller
Chop Sticks


Instructions
Stir fry your filling (Start with the hardest vegetables first). I suggest the following order...

1. Heat a splash of Olive Oil in your skillet. Add the Onion and Garlic Slices and saute until golden.
   
2. Add Sweet Potatoes, Asparagus and Brussel Sprouts (only add the Asparagus if you are using a thick variety, if thin, wait until you add thinner vegetables).
3. Toss these veggies with the sauteed Onion and Garlic. Add a splash of the White Cooking Wine, Cover and let it infuse/steam. Cook these until almost tender.
4. Add the quick cooking veggies now; Crimini Mushrooms, Cabbage and Lacinato Kale. Continue to toss and cook everything until desirable doneness. I like all my veggies to be a little Al Dent.
5. Add a sprinkle of Sea Salt to taste

---

---

Finishing...

• Boil Some water in a kettle or a soup pot (you will only need it to be 1-2" deep). turn off after boiling if using a pot or pour into a dish almost as big as your Nori sheets.
• Take your Nori sheets and either very lightly-quickly dip them into the hot water. You can try to steam them or dip quickly. Just don't let the sheet SIT in the hot water.
• Make sure the sheet is not dripping wet, lay it out on your Sushi Roller like you would for regular Sushi making.
• Place a generous amount of stir fry near the top end (closest to you).
• Sprinkle Sesame Seeds and add a small amount of fresh Mung Beans on top of the stir fry filling.
• Roll it like regular sushi rolling. It should go pretty easy as the wet Nori should adhere a bit to itself. Keep the roll tight as you don't have the advantage of using sticky rice for extra 'stick'.
• Slice and Serve. I dipped mine in the Sushi Soy Sauce and then in the Sesame Seeds and it was just divine. Adding a little Wasabe to the soy sauce would have been yummy too.