Gluten Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

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Oh Sweet Mercy

Breakfast today was very pumpkiny. Pumpkin smoothies and these amazingly delicious Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins I found on food.com. The poster of the recipe says they are like Starbucks, but honestly it's been so long since I've had one I can't remember well enough what they taste like to say how true that claim is. You'll just have to make them and decide for yourself. Or, just make them anyway because they are really, really good.

 I used the gluten free all purpose flour from C. C. Dolch that I used to make that amazing cornbread the other night, and was not at all disappointed (other than the batter was rather bitter, but the muffins were not bitter at all after they baked). I'm not sure what made it bitter, I'm just guessing it was the flour since I've made pumpkin muffins before going GF and the batter was never bitter. Yes, I sneak a taste of batter with raw eggs in it. Been doing it all my life. Started off with licking the beaters when I was a kid...you know how that goes...at least if you grew up in the 70's and 80's or before people got all freaked out about raw eggs.

I will definitely make them again, and if I'd thought of it when I was making them I would have added ground flax for the extra nutrition. Please see the chef's notes for tweaks, as I made a few.  They really bake up nice with the C. C. Dolch gluten free flour, I think I've found my "forever (GF) flour"! I am not getting any kickbacks for promoting their flour, I am just really, really happy with it and can heartily recommend it!

(Gluten Free) Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins 

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c gluten free all purpose flour, I recommend C. C. Dolch's
• 3/4 tsp xanthan gum, if your flour does not already contain it
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 pinch cardamom (optional, but I added it...probably 1/8 tsp)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 c sucanat, or sweetener of your choice
• 1 c pumpkin
• 5/8 c light olive oil
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 2 tsp vanilla, divided...more or less to your taste
• 2-3 Tb powdered sugar or sweetener of your choice
• nuts or seeds (such as pecans, walnuts, pumpkin or sunflower) if desired for topping
• demerara sugar for topping, if desired

method:

In a small bowl, mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla until well combined. Using a piece of wax or parchment paper, form cream cheese mixture into a long log (you'll need 12 slices, one for each muffin). Place in the freezer at least half an hour before starting to mix your muffin batter.

Preheat oven to 350. 

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together gluten free all purpose flour, xanthan gum (if using) and spices. Whisk in salt, baking soda and sugar. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, oil, pumkin and remaining vanilla. Mix pumpkin mixture and dry ingredients until combined, being sure not to over mix...a few lumps are fine. 

Fill muffin cups half full. Remove cream cheese log from freezer and slice into 12 pieces. Push one piece into the batter in each muffin cup. Top with nuts and sugar, if desired.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin (not the cream cheese center) comes out clean.

Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to cool completely. Be very careful, the cream cheese filling is very hot.

Chef's Notes:

The original recipe called for white sugar, which I try not to use any more than I have to. And vegetable oil. I would have used coconut oil but just didn't feel like melting it. I also didn't really measure it (5/8 of a cup...yeah), but eyeballed it. I should also note that the measurements above are half of the original recipe as well. The vanilla is also an addition, but if you know me at all you know I put vanilla in everything, especially since I learned how to make my own vanilla that is out of this world good. I didn't have allspice, and since the substitute for that is cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in equal parts, I just did heaping-ish measurements of those spices. 

Visit the original recipe on food.com and read through the reviews. Some people thought they were too spicy, some not spicy enough. Some added cocoa powder. Even though I "winged" it on the spices, I found it to be nicely spiced but not overpowering the pumpkin. The original recipe said to just use plain cream cheese, but many said it needed sweetening and I knew I would prefer it that way. I think next time I will mix the cream cheese with maple syrup instead of powdered sugar. I love maple, nuts and pumpkin together. 

Be sure to get that cream cheese in the freezer at least half an hour before you're going to need to slice it. I didn't, and didn't want to wait any longer so I just went ahead and cut it and it was very messy. It needs to be fairly solid, but not necessarily like an ice cube.

This could also be made with regular flour. The C. C. Dolch flour is substitutable at a 1:1 ratio so no adjustments in flour measurements should be needed.

Allergy-Free* Spice Cake...FINALLY!

Thankfully, we don't have nut or egg allergies here, but I know many do so I'm sharing this recipe I found...and modified to suit our gluten-free needs. We love spice cake, and cake in general, so it's great to be able to have our cake and eat it too even though we're gluten-free. I made this for a family gathering today, and eaters of gluten loved it too.

I found this recipe on All Recipes, it's called Wacky Buckwheat Spice Cake. It's egg and nut free, and with some small modifications also gluten free. The title to my post is Allergy-Free*...but if you have a corn allergy you'll need to substitute for the cornstarch. I know there are people out there that are allergic to virtually everything, but I think this seems like a recipe that would suit many with egg, wheat, gluten and nut allergies. I was so happy to find this, because all the recipes I'd found for buckwheat cake always included almond meal...which I never have because it's kind of pricey. I'd wondered if ground flax would be a suitable substitute and decided that a family gathering was the perfect place to test out a new recipe.

The batter is thin, and seems like it would be too runny but it bakes up nicely. It fills the house with a delicious spicy aroma. And it tastes fantastic. The texture is different than regular spice cake, ground flax is not as fine as regular flour. It also calls for a couple pinches of black pepper, which did not sound good at all to me so I left it out. I topped it off with a creamy cream cheese frosting (add a couple spoonfuls of sour cream and wow is it yummy!), but it would be good by itself or topped with fresh whipped cream or a sprinkle of vanilla sugar, maybe even some fruit. 

I doubled the original recipe and baked it in a 9" x 13" pan. Click on the link to go to the original recipe, what follows is how I made it...

WACKY BUCKWHEAT SPICE CAKE

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flax meal
• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sucanat
• 1 cup white sugar (next time I will use all sucanat)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard
• 2 Tb molasses
• 1/2 cup light olive oil
• 2 Tb white vinegar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups cold water

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Mix until just blended. Pour the batter into a 9" x 13" baking dish (the original recipe says ungreased, but I missed that and greased the pan with no ill effects). 

Bake in the preheated oven until it passes the toothpick test, 30-40 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Cooking on the Fly with Perpetual Stock

A very dear friend of mine recently introduced me to "perpetual broth (or stock or soup...)." I was intrigued by the idea, but wasn't sure if I would use enough broth to make it worthwhile. Turns out, it's a magnificent kitchen tool to have on hand. Yes, I said tool.

5. anything used as a means of accomplishing a task or purpose (dictionary.com)

In the case of the modern housewife faced with the task and purpose to feed her family nourishing, minimally processed foods, perpetual broth is definitely one tool no cook should be without..

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, "PERPETUAL BROTH"? 

My first thought when my friend began to explain it to me was YOU PUT A CHICKEN CARCASS IN YOUR CROCK POT AND MAKE BROTH WITH IT FOREVER? Sort of.  Into your crock pot, you put bones of your choice, good, filtered water, vegetables (be careful what kind, some will cause the broth to be bitter and, well, yucky), maybe some seasonings, and turn the crock pot on low. After 24 hours, you can start using the broth for meals or whatever ails you. As you remove broth, replace it with water...and you can  keep that broth simmering for four to seven days. Yes, that long!

GRANDMA WAS RIGHT ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP

I'll admit, it sounded kind of...well...gross, to be honest. But I know the benefits of good, nourishing bone broth and seeing as how we're smack dab into flu season, the idea of always having some of that magical elixir on hand night and day was what made me decide to give it a whirl.

Grandma was right about chicken soup being able to cure what ails ya. The problem nowadays is that the broth in those convenient cans on the supermarket shelf is NOT your grandmother's, not by a long shot. Even aside from the fact that most broths contain MSG and other chemicals, it's just not made the way grandma did it. And the way grandma did it produces the magical healing qualities of broth.

Science validates what our grandmothers knew. Rich homemade chicken broths help cure colds. Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons--stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.

Broth is Beautiful, by Sally Fallon  Check out the Weston A. Price Foundation's website for lots of great information on nourishing foods. 

My husband recently started "coming down with something" and I forced him to drink broth. He didn't fight much, his mom raised him right! He never did come down with anything then. The kids and I have healthy constitutions and rarely get sick, for which I am so thankful, but since I babysit for a little girl who tends to catch colds at the drop of a hat, it's good preventive medicine for us...and as long as I can get this broth into her, hopefully it will help keep her healthy this winter, too.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

This is the end of week two in the perpetual broth experiment. Not only do we drink it straight from a mug, but I put that rich, delicious broth in everything I can. Mashed potatoes? Forget the milk, use chicken broth...OH.MY.WORD. Rice, pasta, beans...anything you'd use water in, you can use this nutrient-rich broth. 

Our favorite is definitely chicken broth, made with the carcass (or frame, if carcass grosses you out too much...) of a locally raised, free-ranging chicken, rubbed with olive oil, salt and pepper, some garlic cloves in the cavity, baked and noshed on for Sunday lunch. Toss that in the crock pot with some carrots, celery, sea salt and freshly ground pepper, a splash of apple cider vinegar (to help draw out the minerals), set it to low and in no time you have a pot full of the best broth around. Strain the broth in a reusable coffee filter or other such thing, sufficient to catch bits of stuff floating around in the broth. My friend used an ice cube to "catch" the excess fat. After a couple of days, there is much less fat to fool with. The result is a rich, smooth, soothing broth perfect for a cold winter's day or a loved one who's feeling under the weather.  I like to try and have a cup before each meal and before I go to bed. It aids digestion, and the abundance of minerals can have a calming effect...something I always need!

Today, I made chicken tacos and pinto beans for supper and it was a big hit. My daughter ate three tacos and begged me to make it again. My husband would have eaten more, but we had licked the pot clean of the chicken. My son and I love beans more than the rest of the family, so there were beans leftover (fine with me, pop them in the freezer for another meal!). But here's how I got more nourishing bone broth into my family:

Chicken Tacos (no precise measurements, as I was cooking "on the fly" tonight)

Saute about 1/4 c diced onion in olive oil until it begins to soften, add a minced garlic clove and cook briefly, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add about 2 cups of leftover chicken meat, about 1 c bone broth, about 1/3-1/2 c diced tomatoes and juice. I make my own taco seasoning and keep it in a jar, which I just shook out onto the chicken mixture until it looked right, adding more as necessary until it tasted right. I also added some ground marjoram (maybe 1/2 tsp) and a pinch of sugar. Simmer until chicken shreds easily and most of the liquid has evaporated.  Serve with your favorite taco shells and condiments.

Pinto Beans

Last night (at around 8 p.m.), I rinsed and sorted a pound of dry pinto beans, covered with about 4 inches above the beans with warm water and added a generous pinch of baking soda. At around 3:30 p.m. this afternoon, I drained and rinsed the beans and put them in a heavy bottomed stock pot. I covered the beans and then some with the perpetual beef broth I had simmering away, probably about two quarts worth. Brought to a boil, then lowered the heat and simmered until they were soft, about an hour and a half. Seasoned gently with ground cumin and marjoram, generously with sea salt. I think these were the best pinto beans I've made yet. They had the most amazing "pot liquor" that I've been trying to achieve, but before now had not yet managed to pull off. Fabulous.

HEALTHY AND HANDY

I don't know if I'll brew perpetual broth all year long, as hot summer days call for cold, refreshing liquids, but I think I'll continue this practice during the cooler months of the year. It makes cooking many things, such as rice, potatoes and pasta...typical fall and winter fare...a breeze, not to mention incredibly flavorful. And with the added immune system boost, and the benefit to skin, hair and nails, well, I don't see how I can NOT keep making this amazing stuff. 

Apple Pie-itas

Do you ever just throw something together really quickly and it turns out amazingly yummy? I love it when that happens! Look what I did with a few simple ingredients today to satisfy my sweet tooth…

I’m really trying to cut sugar out of my diet. But, it’s really, really hard. Today, I had a really bad craving for something sweet and fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) I didn’t have any junky sweets laying around. We very rarely do, although on occasion I do buy my hubby cookies or there is leftover birthday cake.

My daughter had just made a quesadilla for lunch, and I started thinking about those fried cinnamon things from Taco Bell. I don’t really like them…they kind of remind me of pork rinds with cinnamon or maybe what fried paper towels would be like if you sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar. Gross, either way you look at it.

I got an idea to fry up a tortilla in some butter and sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top. Impromptu oreja de elefante. Then I got the idea to spread some homemade applesauce on that and drizzled a tiny bit of half n half (I’m unfortunately out of raw cream at the moment or that would have been even better!). I rolled it up and tooka bite and WOW was that good. Really satisfied my sweet tooth!

It could have been healthier…homemade tortilla instead of store-bought, sucanat or raw sugar instead of white, and raw cream instead of pasteurized half n half, but I think it was still infinitely more healthy than an apple pie from Mc Death’s.  Honestly, it kind of tasted like one…but better! I will be making these again with more healthy ingredients next time, but I’m glad I found a way to make something delicious, inexpensive, quick, and with minimal heat added to my kitchen on this hot, sunny day!

I quick took a picture before it was gone...click on the picture for an up close and delicious look!

APPLE PIE-ITAS


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 soft tortilla
• 1 Tb butter (or other healthy, traditional fat) for frying  I think coconut oil would be awesome!
• 1 tsp (more or less to taste) cinnamon sugar, or combine your favorite sugar and cinnamon
• 1-2 Tbs unsweetened or lightly sweetened applesauce
• drizzle of raw cream
• a bit more cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on top, if desired

Makes 1 serving

METHOD:

Melt fat in cast iron skillet, add tortilla and coat well in melted fat. Flip over to coat other side, then fry each side until slightly crispy (you need to be able to roll it up). Remove from pan, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Spread applesauce on top, drizzle with cream and stir it around a bit until combined. Roll tortilla, sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar, if desired. Eat. Would also be good topped with fresh raw whipped cream, raw vanilla ice cream, yogurt or kefir!

What’s For Supper Wednesday: Tostadas de Alba

Quick, tasty and fresh...just what I love in meal!
Click on the picture for a closer look

In an effort to be more consistent with my blogging, I’m going to try to post on Wednesdays what we’re having for supper.  PLEASE feel free to leave a comment and share what you’re eating too! I love to see what other people are cooking!

And so, for the very first What’s For Supper Wednesday post, I’ll share the Mexican-y thing I whipped up that got an enthusiastic thumbs up from my toughest critic…My Husband...

I wasn’t sure what to call this dish…I guess they’re Tostadas, so for  the lack of a better name, I’ll call them Tostadas de Alba…which is a very loose translation of my first name. I love artistic license…

Supper needed to be quick and easy, and what can be easier than tortillas with something on them? I fried some ground beef and lightly seasoned it with a different blend of spices than what I usually use ( a homemade taco seasoning), which was what the Husband liked. He said he likes taco seasoning, but then ends up burping it all night. Come to think of it, so do I…and I unfortunately remember a bad night after eating too much taco salad while I was pregnant with my son. I didn’t eat anything Mexican for a long time after that. 

The tortillas were fried crispy in butter, topped with refried beans, meat, sharp cheddar cheese (if only I had some queso blanco….) and pico de gallo. The result was absolutely delicious! I just threw this together, so measurements are approximate…and feel free to substitute peppers…we’re not a spicy kind of family so it’s very mild, but I think I would have actually liked a bit more kick. My tastebuds are getting wild in their old age…

TOSTADAS DE ALBA

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp paprika
generous shake or two of Miss Tink’s House Seasoning
salt, as desired
refried beans of your choice
flour tortillas
butter or other traditional fat for frying
shredded cheese 

PICO DE GALLO INGREDIENTS:

I made this with what I had on hand so it’s not necessarily “authentic.” It sure was tasty though!

1 roma tomato, diced
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 c green pepper, diced
1-2 tbs hot yellow pepper, minced
1 tbs fresh lime juice
1/8 tsp ground coriander
salt to taste

METHOD:

Make the pico de gallo first so the flavors can blend nicely while you’re cooking the rest of the dish. Combine the vegetables, lime juice and seasonings and set aside.

Brown ground beef, season with Miss Tink’s while cooking. When cooked, add coriander, paprika and more salt/Miss Tink’s as desired.

Heat refried beans. Meanwhile, melt butter or other fat in skillet and fry tortillas on both sides until crispy. Layer beans, meat, and cheese, waiting a bit for the cheese to melt slightly before topping with pico de gallo. Makes about 3 to 5 tostadas, depending on how generously you top them.

CHEF’S NOTES:

This was super easy to make and really tasted good! I would have preferred to use fresh cilantro, however I didn’t have any on hand…and the Husband doesn’t like as much cilantro as I do anyway. The hot yellow pepper I used wasn’t very hot at all, so if you like spicy, adjust accordingly. It also would have been good with some Mexican crema, sour cream, or homemade ranch dressing…but it was still delicious without it! The different seasoning on the meat was a delightful change from the plain old taco seasoning I usually use. I will definitely be making this again.

Attempted Homicide Biscuits

Have you heard people refer to white flour as White Death Flour? That’s how I’ve come to think of it…but, my family is still rather fond of that stuff.  They eat what’s in the house…and since I’m in charge of all things food, well, they don’t eat a lot of stuff made with that White Death Flour – at least not at home.  And, truth be told, every now and again I get a hankerin’ for some biscuits or tortillas or a nice, thick hunk of white bread fresh out of the oven and kissed with butter.

I made biscuits the other night. Killer biscuits, to be exact. When that descriptor went through my mind, I immediately thought of White Death Flour…BUT, I reasoned, since these biscuits were made from scratch and had raw milk, coconut oil and butter in them…well, they were at least healthier than biscuit mix or those refrigerated cans of dough.  They couldn’t really be classified as killers, could they? Wouldn’t it just be more like attempted murder?

Whatever helps me sleep at night, right?

Strict Real Foodies are probably cringing as they read this. The ones that have banished white flour and sugar completely from their diet…and honestly, I wish I could say that’s where I’m at! I have to emphasize here the Real part of Real Foodie, for me anyway, also includes “being real” about my budget, my time, and my family…and sometimes, well, sometimes we eat stuff I really don’t want to. My family eats what I cook because they’re hungry and their choices are eat that or make your own meal. Which they would, probably, if we had ramen noodles, frozen pizza and blue boxes of mac ‘n cheese in the house.

BUT…making a meal that no one but myself will eat defeats the purpose, too. I certainly don’t have room in my budget for throwing out food, nor do I want to – that is not good stewardship of God’s blessings.  So, I compromise on occasion…and make a loaf of white bread, or pizza dough, or tortillas, or biscuits. We’re still eating healthier versions of store-bought foods, and sometimes that’s just the best we can do. As long as the majority of the time we’re eating better (or the best!) foods, we’re still coming out ahead.

Check out the killer biscuits I made:

Right before baking...click on the pic to see it bigger and you can see the layers

You know that nice looking chunk of dough up there in the first picture? Apparently, there was so much rise on  that biscuit it toppled over!  I think If I had cut them wider, say 6 biscuits instead of 9, they wouldn't have fallen over like they did. But the flaky layers are very evident!

When I was still at home, we loved "flakies" - those refrigerated biscuits with the flaky layers.  I won't buy them now, no matter how cheap they are. They just taste gross to me. Besides, I can make my own flakies  (:

It's all in the technique, the cut and the fat: Don't overwork it while mixing, then FOLD the dough over on itself 5-6 times, don't knead it like the recipes usually say. You can see evidence of the folding in this biscuit. For higher rise on biscuits, USE A SHARP KNIFE OR BISCUIT CUTTER. The right side of this biscuit was the edge of the dough, the left side was cut with a Cutco bread knife...ubersharp! I don't make round biscuits anymore but squares because a knife is sharper than a glass dipped in flour and I get much taller biscuits that way. Sometimes I trim off the edges of the dough and have darned near perfect biscuits. And the fat secret? Most recipes say cut in the fat until it resembles cornmeal, but you actually need small chunks of fat to improve rise and flakiness. You need to leave some pea-sized chunks of fat in the flour. Also make sure the fat is COLD. I also use a baking stone and preheat it in the oven while making the biscuits.

These biscuits not only looked beautiful (in spite of some oddly-shaped ones) but tasted  absolutely divine! If  I'm gonna die from eating white flour, this is the way to go...

No self-respecting biscuit would be caught dead dressed in anything but real, honest to goodness butter...at least not at MY house!

I debated on whether or not to include this recipe, since the "best" results (as far as rise goes, anyway) come from using White Death Flour. But, since I started out on this Real Food journey in baby steps, switching from canned biscuits or biscuit mix to making them from scratch, for example, I decided maybe someone else who is in that same place would like this recipe. I usually make these now with half whole wheat flour...and am journeying into the world of soaked grains...but I still fall back to this recipe when the urge for Death by Biscuit hits.

KILLER BISCUITS

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 c flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 4 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 c traditional fat (coconut oil, lard, butter or combination)
• 2/3 c milk (raw, whole fat, or buttermilk will work wonderfully)

METHOD:

Preheat your oven to 450, throw in your baking stone to preheat if using one. Mix dry ingredients, cut in fat with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs, making sure to have some pea-sized chunks. Add milk and stir gently with a fork just until moistened and the dough will follow the fork around the bowl. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and gently pat into a ball, then press out and fold the dough over onto itself 5 or 6 times. I usually try to shape it into a square or rectangle during this process to eliminate handling it too much before cutting. Using a SHARP knife or biscuit cutter, cut out your biscuits. Place on stone or baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

CHEF'S NOTES: 

It takes practice to get good at doing anything, and baking and cooking are no exceptions. Especially when learning to cook from scratch or learning traditional methods of preparing food...so give yourself some grace if they don't turn out perfectly the first time. Sometimes it's your flour, sometimes it's how you worked the dough, sometimes it's the weather (seriously...humidity will jack up a baking day, trust me!). I've been working on biscuits for over a year now and believe me, I've had some flops. But when they do turn out oh man, there's just nothing like a good homemade biscuit!

The Perfectionist Kitchen...Grace Under Fire

I wish this was my kitchen, but it's from
www.remodelingmyspace.com

Do you struggle with perfectionism? I always believed perfectionists live in those House Beautiful centerfolds, have perfectly behaved families, and never have a hair out of place. Then I discovered that I was one. And believe me, House Beautiful couldn't be paid enough to photograph my home, my family is not perfectly behaved, and I often have hairs out of place...in fact, it's almost noon as I type this on a cloudy Saturday morning, I'm still in my PJ's, and my hair is stylishly coiffed in a frightful Why-Yes-I-DID-Just-Roll-Out-Of-Bed 'do.

And yet, I'm busy working in my kitchen...the room that currently looks like a scale model of a nuclear testing ground. I've made sourdough pancakes, fed my starter, mixed up some healthy(ish..it's not soaked) granola that is currently infusing my home with the most delightful aroma of oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, honey, butter and coconut ( you can find the recipe here, at Kitchen Stewardship!), and I just started some dough in my breadmaker to make the bratwurst buns we need for tomorrow's outing to a local park to hunt for mushrooms and just enjoy spending the day together. I'm very happy that my 16 year old stepson will be joining us...it will help make for a wonderful Mother's Day!

I'm taking a coffee break...enjoying some freshly ground Starbucks House Blend, sweetened slightly with sucanat and lavishly lightened with some raw cream from local, happy, organically grass-fed cows. Mmmmm...

So, back to the perfectionist kitchen oxymoron...I've learned that "perfectionist" doesn't always mean one does things perfectly and always "has it together". In fact, it can mean just the opposite, because the inability to do something perfectly paralyzes the perfectionist, and nothing gets done. 

I had a long day yesterday...not enough sleep, I've started babysitting for a three year old girl so I toted two three year olds around with me on grocery/errand day (wow...that's a challenge!), came home, made homemade pizza (thank God for 5-Minute pizza crust...), tried to make some sourdough English muffins (emphasis on TRIED. I don't want to talk about that one.), had a daughter who chose to lose out on allowance rather than do her dishes...and I just didn't have the energy to do them, even though starting the day off with a clean kitchen is so much more inviting and efficient. So, I went to bed. And got some rest, which I really, really needed. I wasn't too worried about the dishes running off in the middle of the night, or someone breaking in and stealing them....or washing them for me (now that would be wonderful, though...)

I did neaten the mess up before bed...sounds kind of odd but you know what I mean...stack the dishes, wipe up some crumbs, little things that only took a few seconds and not much energy. 

So, I find myself facing the day, and the mess, early this morning after taking my daughter to a Girl Scout function for the day ("I'll do the dishes tomorrow, mom..."). I know that I want to get these things accomplished today:

• make granola
• make granola bars
• make buns for our picnic lunch Sunday
• move Little Mister's toys up into his new room
• catch up on laundry
• clean up the kitchen, including mopping the floor

A To-Do list is always a little like shopping for clothes for me...I take a big pile of garments into the dressing room, spend forever in there trying them on, then come out with one or two that I like. I know I will not, realistically, be able to get all that done today. So, I have to decide...do I clean the kitchen first? It's tempting, since it is usually easier to work on clean, uncluttered surfaces...but then I'll have to clean the kitchen twice. I don't like to do it once, why make myself do it twice? Do I do laundry first? Well, I could start some, but my stepson beat me to the washer and honestly, I feel a bit ADD today, I'm not sure I could remember to stay on top of it! 

My choices then, are, get the kitchen in Perfect Order and then start cooking....or do nothing. Yep, that's how my mind works...all or nothing, most of the time. If I can't do it perfectly, then I just don't do it. It's something I've struggled to overcome for years. So, today, I decided to do something completely different and allow myself to consider a third option: start cooking anyway, in spite of the less-than-perfect conditions. And to remember to give myself some grace...I'm a very real person, I don't have it all together, I can't actually be perfect.

It was a stretch...I had to keep stopping myself from switching over to Clean Up The Kitchen Perfectly First mode, but I was able to get some things going...now my kitchen looks really bad! See, you won't find this in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens, I'm sure...

...kind of looks like squirrels were cooking in there. Highly distractable squirrels who have had one too many cups of coffee...

But, I can take some comfort in knowing I will only be cleaning it once today. And if I can get myself away from this computer, I just might be able to get more than I thought accomplished. 

Beating perfectionism, one baby step at a time...and making some darned good granola in the process...that's my day today...what habits or tendencies do you have that hinder you in the kitchen? How are you overcoming them?

Homemade Hamburger Buns (Bread Machine)

Why make homemade buns when you can buy them so inexpensively at the store? If you read labels at all, and are put-off by ingredients that you can’t pronounce and would be hard-pressed to locate in your local grocery store, then making them yourself with ingredients that you recognize is a healthy, and satisfying option.

 

I love Money Saving Mom’s website. She recently posted a D-I-Y Experiment  list to work on this year and one of those items on her list was making homemade hamburger buns. She used a recipe a reader posted from Food.com, Homemade Hamburger Buns (Bread Machine). I had to make some adjustments in the ingredients, as my bread machine is apparently on the small size, and I used part whole wheat flour, natural sugar, and coconut oil instead of butter.

I was especially intrigued by her technique, which involves rolling the dough out and cutting it with a glass, like to make biscuits. She wasn’t especially thrilled with the shape of them after they rose, and I suggested in a comment to use a sharp biscuit cutter. I’d learned a while back that when making biscuits, you should use a very sharp cutter or knife to get maximum rise – using a dull edge presses down the dough, hindering its ability to rise.  I thought the same might work for the buns.

I conveniently needed hamburger buns for supper tonight so I thought what the heck…why not play around a bit while preparing for tonight’s meal?  I discovered that I do not, in fact, have a biscuit cutter, sharp or otherwise. I’ve always just cut them into squares. So, I rolled the dough out into a rectangle, instead of a circle and used a nice, sharp Cutco bread knife to cut them into squares. They stretched out a bit in the transfer from counter to baking stone, so I smushed them back into a more squarish shape and let them rise.  I was quite pleased with how they looked, kind of like the fancy rolls you can buy at the grocery store.  

 I was afraid they’d get monstrously big in the oven, but they didn’t. They were light and fluffy, overall, I’m very happy with these. I just need to figure out a way to make them round!


HOMEMADE HAMBURGER BUNS (BREAD MACHINE) 
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/4 c milk, slightly warmed
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 Tb butter (or coconut oil)
• 1/4 c sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3 3/4 c bread flour
• 1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

METHOD:

Place ingredients in bread machine according to manufacturer’s directions, set on dough cycle. When cycle is complete, remove dough and place on floured surface. Roll dough out and cut with sharp knife or biscuit cutter. Or use a floured drinking glass for a round shape. Bake at 350, checking after 9 minutes, until golden brown and baked through.

CHEF’S NOTES:

 

I used baking stones to bake these, one a rectangular bar pan with sides and one a round pizza stone. The pan with sides took longer to bake, about 15 minutes, where the round pan only took 12.

I adjusted the recipe using the tool on the food.com recipe site, had to play around a bit to get it to a flour amount that wouldn’t exceed my bread machine’s capacity. I ended up with some weird measurements, which were quickly figured out using the conversion table I downloaded from Carolina Clipper’s site.

These buns turned out great, light and fluffy and delicious. We had them with Mexicali Chicken and Cheese Sandwiches. I think I will cut back on the sugar by about half next time, though, they were just a bit too sweet for my taste. Definitely a keeper recipe and one I look forward to making more often!

Low GI Cooking Adventure: Grassfed Beef and Italian Vegetable Skillet with Buttery Herbed Brown Rice

Ever get some news that just throws a big old wrench in your works? Chaps your khakis? And generally just makes your life a big pain in the derriere?  Yeah, 2011's just turning out to be that kind of year so far...

HELLO, I'VE GOT BAD NEWS FOR YOU

I got the wonderful news this week that my blood sugar is out of whack. Super. Just what I need...one more thing to have to manage. I'm having flashbacks to my pregnancy with my son, where I ended up having to use insulin. By the end of my pregnancy I hated food. If it weren't for the fact that I had a precious Li'l Man depending on me to keep him healthy, I think I would have just quit eating. Every waking moment of every day revolved around what went in my  mouth:  wake up, prick my finger, check my blood, write it down, figure out what I CAN eat, try to find something I WANT to eat out of that, measure this and measure that, write it down,  then two hours later it started all over again, only then I often needed to give myself a shot.  It was horrible. And now...the finger-pricker and glucose meter have returned. At least there's no insulin this time, I guess.

THERE'S NOTHING IN THIS HOUSE TO EAT, FOR REAL

Today, I spent most of the day starving hungry because there's just not much in the house that's low GI...some almonds, celery and frozen veggies. And eggs...but I have to be in the mood to eat eggs. I was so hungry nothing sounded good. I had a headache. I was very crabby. I'm still mad about all of this anyway.

So, I had to go to the grocery store and find something to make for supper that wouldn't send my blood sugar to the moon. It had to have a low Glycemic Index. It had to sound appetizing. It also had to be cheap. And, I went hungry and crabby and with both kids in tow. Not really the best idea, now that I look back on that.

COOKING ON THE FLY

Earlier in the day I had hoofed it down to the best little butcher shop I know and picked up some of that delicious grassfed beef. I know there's venison in the freezer, but I have been craving some of that wonderful beefy goodness for some time...and darn it, if I have to mess around with all this blood sugar nonsense I'm going to eat at least some of the foods I love. That marvelous meat was the basis of the meal I was trying to formulate, and I decided some brown rice would be good as it is full of fiber and doesn't have a huge impact on blood sugar.  But what else? It's hard to think when you're hungry, your head hurts, you're completely irritated, and your kids apparently don't notice that fact...or they do...

I found some red peppers marked down for 50 cents for two, grabbed a cucumber and some frozen veggies and a few other things just to have around. When I got home, this is what I came up with:

Grassfed Beef and Italian Vegetable Skillet

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground grassfed beef

16 oz package frozen Italian Blend vegetables (zucchini squash, cauliflower, carrots, Italian style green beans, baby lima beans and red bell peppers)

1 c broth (I used organic, free range chicken broth)

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed; or garlic powder to taste

sea salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 Tbs cornstarch + a small amount of water for thickening (optional)

METHOD:

Brown ground beef until no pink remains, season with salt and pepper while cooking; about half way through add fresh garlic. Add broth and bring to a low boil, add vegetables, stirring well. Return to a low boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are done to your liking, about 7-10 min. Combine cornstarch and water and stir into mixture to thicken, if desired. Serve with Buttery Herbed Brown Rice (recipe follows)

This is not overly seasoned in order to allow the wonderful flavor of the grassfed beef to take center stage. You could, of course, add whatever seasonings you like to it. I found that the lightly seasoned brown rice complimented this very well without overpowering that lovely meat.

BUTTERY HERBED BROWN RICE

INGREDIENTS:

2 c water

1-2 Tb butter, divided

3/4 - 1 c brown rice

sea salt, to taste

1/2 - 1 Tbs Italian Seasoning

METHOD:

In a 2 quart sauce pan, bring water, a pinch of sea salt, and half the butter to a boil. Add rice, stir well, return to boil then reduce heat and cover. Cook for 20 minutes or until most of the water has been absorbed. Add the rest of the butter and all of the Italian Seasoning, stirring well. Add more sea salt if desired.

THE VERDICT

It really turned out to be quite delicious. Our locally-raised (as in just a couple miles away) grassfed beef has the most exquisite flavor...helped also by a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. I almost hate to even put salt on it! But I try to get a little sea salt into everything to increase our mineral intake. If I were to use regular ground beef from the grocery store, I'd have added all kinds of things from my spice cabinet.  Sliced fresh red and green bell peppers and cucumbers were served along with this as well.

GLYCEMIC INDEX

As far as the GI of this meal, I don't really know exactly. The lists I've found for foods and their GI values don't say what the serving size is so until I can find that information I'll just have to take a stab at it:

• meat, of course, has zero carbs...that's a good start
• green beans, cauliflower, 15
• carrots, 16
• red peppers, 10
• baby lima beans, 32
• cucumbers, green peppers, 0
• brown rice, 50

All of these foods are considered "low GI". To me, 50 sounds kind of high, but compared to glutinous rice (my most favorite Asian food ever...Sticky Rice!) that runs from 86-98 depending on the list you look at, well, that's not so bad.  Do I add all these numbers up and average them? What does all this mean? How will this meal impact my blood sugar level? I have no idea! I have a book on the way about low GI dieting so hopefully it will clear up all these nagging little questions.

It's been about half an hour or so since I ate. I feel reasonably satisfied, although there is this underlying, nagging feeling of some little monster wanting to be fed. Sugar withdrawal I guess....it's reminiscent of when I did the Atkin's diet years ago. Which, by the way, I hated but lost 40 pounds while doing. I don't eat much sugar anymore...that's the real kicker!  And I use as much whole grains as I possibly can. I hope I don't have to do a "no carb" diet...that would not really work for me. At all.

Thanks, 2011. You stink. 

Kicking The Can(ned Cream of Mushroom Soup): A Healthy Alternative + 2 BONUS Recipes!

Canned Cream of Mushroom soup is a staple in the cupboards of my region. It is the heart and soul of  a myriad of casseroles. We make Green Bean Casserole with it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter Dinners. It livens up Beefy Macaroni and Cheese for a quick supper on a busy night, something known in our house as  Surprise, It's Supper.  It's one of those magical ingredients that you can just dump in with something from each food group and voila! dinner is served. You'll find it in Chicken, Rice and Broccoli Casserole, and Poor Man's Steak and in at least half of any church fundraiser cookbook's recipes. And who hasn't tossed some boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a crockpot and smothered them with a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup for Sunday dinner? 

Of course, the Holy Grail of condensed cream of mushroom soups is Campbell's. I have a delicious recipe that my mother in law shared with me for Burrito Casserole that is simply to die for, and even though (when I used to buy canned soups) I would buy the cheapo creamo's for most applications, I would always buy Campbell's to make the hallowed Burrito Casserole. It just really was that much better.

Now, however, I make most of everything from scratch in order to avoid all the chemicals in most commercially prepared foods. It can be time consuming, but I absolutely love it. Sure, there are some days that I wish I could just make a box of Hamburger Helper and be done with it, but most days I love making things myself. Burrito Casserole was talked of last night, so tonight I had to make it. I didn't have taco seasoning or cream of mushroom soup, two essential ingredients. But I had the stuff to make them with.

I searched online for a cream of something soup recipe that didn't call for bouillion or powdered milk (I used to make a mix that was super easy to use, but have since quit using bouillion and powdered milk) and ended up combining a couple recipes, but since I used my cell and can't find the sites again I went to, I'm going to have to try to recreate it from memory. Wish me luck...

CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

• 3 Tbs butter
• 1/2 c flour (I used Ultragrain whole wheat)
• 1 1/2-3 c milk
• 10 oz beef broth or stock, no msg
• 1/2 c finely chopped mushrooms (more or less to taste, I used Organic Mini Bellas)
• 1 tsp refined coconut oil (optional)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• sea salt to taste

In a small sauce pan, heat beef broth and mushrooms, simmering until time to add to soup. Meanwhile, in a 2 qt sauce pan, melt butter and then whisk in flour (will be thick). Add about half of the milk slowly, whisking. Continue whisking until smooth, cook until it begins to thicken, stirring or whisking occasionally. Add beef broth and mushrooms, whisking until smooth. Add seasonings and coconut oil, combining well. Add more milk or broth, as necessary, until soup reaches desired consistency.

Really simple and very tasty! And probably very forgiving. You could use chicken broth or even vegetable or mushroom broth if you didn't have beef, but I really liked the flavor the beef broth imparted, subtle yet rich. I don't like mushrooms, really, so I whacked them pretty well into teeny, tiny pieces. If you like mushrooms and want larger chunks or even whole slices that would work too. I think simmering the mushrooms in the broth draws out the mushroom flavor, which gives the soup that classic cream of mushroom flavor and not mushrooms-in-white-sauce. The can of beef broth that I had was 14 oz...I used four ounces in the meat mixture for my Burrito Casserole, but you could use the whole can, really, if you didn't want four ounces of beef broth sitting around. Of course, switch the ingredients up a bit and you have a basic Cream of  Something soup...broccoli, chicken, celery...whatever you want to cream up. 

And now, just because I'm nice like that...I'm going to give you my Burrito Casserole recipe. We have this on a rotation for Christmas meals at my mother in law's. It's a tradition. It's amazing. It was totally love at first bite!

BURRITO CASSEROLE

• 1 lb hamburger
• 1 pkg taco seasoning (see recipe below)
• 1 1/2 c sour cream
• 1 pkg small tortilla shells, or  homemade
• 1 can mushrooms, or desired amount of sliced, fresh mushrooms
• 1 large (or small works too) can refried beans or equivalent amount of homemade
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (or above recipe)
• 2-4 cups shredded cheese (sharp cheddar is terrific but any yellow cheese or blend works well)

Brown hamburger and drain if necessary. Add seasoning, mushrooms and beans and combine well. In a small bowl, combine soup and sour cream, then spread half of mixture on the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish. Fill tortillas with meat and bean mixture, roll and place in pan. Cover filled tortillas with remaining soup mixture, then cover with cheese (I just use 2 cups of cheese usually, but 4 is very, very delicious!). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until center is bubbly and cheese is slightly browned. Can serve with salsa, and taco toppings if you want, but we just eat it like this.

I made this tonight with some fabulous homemade whole wheat tortillas (thanks Heather and Nancy!), which were made with freshly (as in from the mill to the mixing bowl fresh) ground soft whole wheat. Absolutely delicious and satisfying!

TACO SEASONING MIX

• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp parsley flakes
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt (or garlic powder and salt to taste)
• 1/2 tsp oregano

Mix and use as one package of taco seasoning mix.

Really, there isn't much that is in the grocery store that you can't make yourself. If you like cooking and love a challenge, start making your own convenience foods and condiments. Use the freshest, healthiest ingredients you can find and afford and you will be amazed at the difference in taste...not to mention that your body will be amazed at the lack of chemicals to contend with! 

Healthy Convenience Food: Breakfast Hot Pockets

Convenience food is not necessarily known for being particularly healthy.  While it's quick and easy and yes, tastes good, in the long run the toll on one's health from subsisting mainly on pre-packaged, processed foods just may not really be worth the time you save in the kitchen at all.

Fortunately for me, I love to cook. However, I also have an extremely busy 2 1/2 year old BOY. As in I can not usually maintain any kind of productive activity for more than 30 seconds at a time because the remainder of each minute requires me to take immediate action to prevent him from destroying something or hurting himself. This makes cooking difficult some days, especially in the morning if Mister doesn't sleep late. As if 7 am is really late, but I'm just sayin'...

I have for some time now wanted to make some healthy (or at least healthier) homemade "convenience foods" to toss in the freezer but just haven't had the time/ingredients/organization/motivation lately. My youngest stepson, who is almost 16 and a football player, has inspired and motivated me to give it a whirl. So, today I whipped up some breakfast hot pockets. They're really rather easy, although as  you'll see below I do need to tweak my technique. They may look strange, but they are pretty tasty! I've always had trouble with this sort of thing...ravioli, those pizza-like things of which I can not remember the name...the dough always ends up too thin in the middle and the stuffing pokes out or leaks out, then the edges are super thick. I think with practice, though, I'll be able to nail it one of these days.

I used my favorite pizza dough recipe for these, it only takes maybe 10 minutes to make...no first and second rise like with bread dough, and it's tasty and has nice texture too. Since my football player was headed out to a game this morning, I decided it would be a great time to try this. I added a bit of Frank's Red Hot to his, because I know he likes that on his eggs.

BREAKFAST HOT POCKETS 

• 1 RECIPE 5 MINUTE PIZZA DOUGH, BELOW
• 6 EGGS
• 1/4 C MILK
• 1 TB SEASON SALT OR TO TASTE
• 1/2 TO 1 LB BACON, SAUSAGE OR OTHER MEAT, COOKED TO YOUR LIKING
• 6 SLICES CHEESE (I USED WHITE AMERICAN)

PREHEAT OVEN TO 400 DEGREES. BEAT TOGETHER THE EGGS, MILK AND SEASON SALT AND SCRAMBLE. AFTER MAKING THE DOUGH, SCOOP OUT A BALL THE SIZE OF A LARGE SERVING SPOON OR SO AND PRESS OR ROLL INTO A CIRCLE, MAKING SURE TO NOT GET THE MIDDLE TOO THIN. PLACE CHEESE, TEARING OR CUTTING TO FIT INSIDE THE DOUGH PIECE IF NECESSARY, A SLICE OF BACON (OR A COUPLE TABLESPOONS OF SAUSAGE OR OTHER MEAT), AND A COUPLE TABLESPOONS OF SCRAMBLED EGG ON TOP. CAREFULLY FOLD THE DOUGH OVER AND SEAL THE EDGES. CHECK POCKET TO MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO HOLES FOR THE FILLING TO LEAK OUT WHILE BAKING. PLACE ON BAKING SHEET AND BAKE 20 MINUTES OR UNTIL GOLDEN BROWN. COOL COMPLETELY BEFORE WRAPPING AND FREEZING.

YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET 6 HOT POCKETS OUT OF ONE BATCH OF DOUGH. YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE EGGS OR MEAT LEFT OVER, I'M REALLY JUST GUESSING ON THOSE AMOUNTS SINCE I'M A THROW-IT-TOGETHER COOK! I MADE TWO BATCHES, USED A DOZEN EGGS, WITH A SERVING OR TWO LEFT OVER, AND ABOUT A POUND OF BACON.

5 MINUTE PIZZA DOUGH  (REFERS TO HOW LONG IT SITS!)

• 2 1/2 C FLOUR (I USE 2 C BREAD FLOUR, 1/2 C ULTRAGRAIN WHOLE WHEAT
• 2 TB SUGAR (I USE ORGANIC EVAPORATED CANE JUICE)
• 1 tsp SEA SALT
• 1 TB YEAST
• 2 TB OLIVE OIL
• 1 C WARM WATER (105-110 DEGREES)

MIX DRY INGREDIENTS, ADD OIL AND WATER AND MIX UNTIL DOUGH BALL FORMS AND FLOUR IS MOSTLY MIXED IN (DON'T OVERWORK IT OR IT WILL BE TOUGH, IT'S OK FOR A TEASPOON OR SO OF FLOUR TO BE LEFT). SET IN WARM PLACE FOR 5 MINUTES. (FOR PIZZA, PRESS INTO PAN AND ADD TOPPINGS)

 And now for some pictures of my first attempt at these delicious morning goodies:

 Dough ball, this is roughly the size of my palm

 Dough circle...I just press them out but you can roll if you want

 I take a slice of cheese and tear it in half, then put on bacon and eggs. I found putting the bacon on last ends up with bacon poking out of the dough. Not good!

 On this one, I decided to fold each side up to meet in the middle, since folding it over completely, like what commercial hot pockets look like, results in a big hole in the middle. Definitely not good!

 I pinched the dough together, this is the bottom.

 Four pockets ready to bake...notice the variegated forms LOL

 This is the first batch I did. The one in the foreground I used a fork to pinch/seal the edges. I had to do some "repairs" on that one because the filling ended up poking out of some holes.

 Second batch turned out a bit more uniform looking

 Inside...warm, cheesy breakfast goodness! I was afraid the bread-to-filling ratio might be too much, but it was ok. I'm finding it's tricky to get enough filling and be able to cover it all.

My dear friend Mary from church suggested using two circles, like making a pie. Easier to work with...I think also that if I rolled out two dough sheets in a rectangular shape and cut them in rectangles that would also work. She also suggested brushing them with melted butter after them come out of the oven. I'm going to try those suggestions next time!

This is really a a versatile recipe. You can add herbs and seasonings to the dough, use fancy cheeses. You can leave out the meat. You can add veggies or mushrooms. Salsa and jalapenos. Cream cheese flavored with herbs. Or cream cheese and fruit...that sounds great! I'm planning a "baking day" here soon and want to make some with pizza fillings or other sandwich fillings for lunches and suppers too. 

Use the freshest, healthiest ingredients you have or can procure. I know bacon isn't necessarily the healthiest food in the world, but we love it anyway. And the fact that this wasn't loaded with preservatives and other chemicals makes it far more healthy than what you can buy in the store.

So, now I have some quick and easy breakfasts in the freezer. Since I'm trying not to use my microwave these days, I figure I can get a couple out the night before to thaw and then heat them in my cast iron skillet to warm them up. I'm glad I finally got these done!