Blueberry Ginger Chia Seed Jam

This could not be easier! Take a bag (about 2c) of frozen blueberries and heat them on the stove with a splash of maple syrup and a dash of ground ginger until they are mostly broken down and very juicy. Remove from heat, and add about a 1/4 c of chia seeds. Whisk until fully incorporated, and whisk every 5-10 minutes until the jam has come to room temp and the chia seeds have plumped and the jam has thickened. Spread this on anything delicious!  It will keep in the fridge for about a week. 

I'm baaack...

Favorite salad: Fresh pineapple, fresh basil, and lemon juice. Perfectly refreshing, and incredibly delicious as a cocktail muddled with vodka as well. 

Oh my gosh... the recipe I've been waiting for: Caramel apple skillet cake

I have been remiss. I have not updated in months. The thing is, it's been a while since I made anything that totally knocked my socks off. Today, everything changed. This cake is life-changing-ly delicious. Don't trust me; make it for yourself. Also, I should warn you that I was in outright experimentation mode when I made this, and it turned out more like a cobbler because I used extra sugar and butter for the sauce and my skillet is much smaller than the one The Pioneer Woman used in the recipe I heavily adapted: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/09/apple-cake-in-an-iron-skillet/


I also used goat butter. It's been sitting in my fridge ever since I went off all dairy, and today I decided to live dangerously. We'll see how I feel later... right now I'm sugar high and fancy free. 


I will definitely be making this again, and again, ... and again. Next time I will try the same method but with coconut oil instead of goat butter. And use a bit less sugar and butter/oil. I used a cup of each and the skillet overflowed in the oven and filled my kitchen with smoke. Really, though, excess caramel sauce is the kind of problem I'll gladly handle. The way this turned out I would definitely not invert it onto a platter. The sauce would run everywhere. Just scoop out a warm chunk, ladle out the sauce that collects in the skillet and pour over the cake, then add vanilla coconut milk ice cream. Best. Ever. 

To begin: 

Preheat your oven to 350F. Melt 3/4 cup goat butter (or coconut oil.... probably. No promises there yet) in a 9" skillet over low heat, then add 3/4 cup evaporated cane juice or brown sugar. I used ECJ. Stir to distribute the sugar evenly, and leave over low heat. If you do not have a skillet, buy one. It will change your life. 

Peel and core 3 apples (I used fuji) and slice them into 1/8ths. Arrange all but 4 slices into the bottom of your skillet, rounded side down. Let them sit and get happy in the sugary buttery goodness while you make the cake batter. 

The batter:

I used Gluten Free Goddess' coconut cake batter, omitting the oil and sugar and adding half an apple (those 4 slices that didn't go in the skillet) finely chopped and 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice mix. I wrote the cake recipe on a card some time ago, as this is my new favorite cake and cupcake recipe. For those of you who are anti-coconut, know that the flavor is very, very mild. Follow these instructions:

and remember to omit the 1/2c oil and the 1 1/2 c cane sugar. It will be sweet enough; don't worry. If the card is too tricky to read, look here: http://karinaskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/03/preheat-oven-to-350-degrees-f.html 

It's the same recipe, minus a couple tweaks I've made. In case you were wondering, the frosting is also epically delicious. You should make that too, but not for this cake. 

Moving on:

Your apples should have looked something like this when you started the batter - 

- and now they should be softer, browner, and the sugar mixture should be syrupy and bubbly. 

Spoon about 1/2 the batter over the hot apples in small dollops, covering the entire surface. Make a batter 'lid' for your apples, if you will. Smooth the dollops together with a wet spatula. Use an oven mitt to transfer the skillet into the oven and be sure to place a baking sheet on another rack beneath your skillet if you over-loaded it the way I did. Trust. I learned the hard way. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes. 

Remove when the cake appears golden and crisp, like this: 

Use the remaining batter to make mini apple biscuits! I just scooped a few tablespoons of batter into 12 silicone muffin cups and baked them at 350F for about 12 minutes. They're perfect for breakfast with jam :)

I am feeling freshly inspired. More to come soon :)

big huge photo dump post

Life's been busy! This is just going to be pictures of things I've made these past three months, and the recipes will be added later. I figure it's a step.

Chocolate pumpkin macaroons:

Ingredients: 

Brown rice bread with almond butter, pumpkin butter, and pumpkin pie spice:

so. good.

Gluten free vegan pizza with veggies and diya faux cheese:

My delicious and simple Thanksgiving dinner of apples with honey-almond butter dip and roasted delicata squash:

Pumpkin chai macaroons with spiced chocolate drizzle:

Roasted brussels sprouts with oodles of garlic and curry sweet potato fries:

Spicy Mayan hot chocolate:

 Ingredients:

Gluten free vegan mac and cheese:

 Ingredients:

Recipes coming asap!

more recipes coming soon!

But in the meantime, here's what I've been pouring my creativity into of late: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/profile?id=1299569

Sipping chocolate with coconut milk

I LOVE hot cocoa. I think my pursuit of the perfect mug began shortly after seeing 'The Santa Claus' for the first time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG1BSj4g-1k&feature=related), and I finally found a good mix that is dairy and soy free! Trader Joe's sipping chocolate, available only seasonally, is rich and delicious even when made with just hot water. Today I made an extra decadent version.


3T sipping chocolate mix
1 c almost boiling water
3T light coconut milk
1 t bourbon vanilla extract

stir and enjoy :)

Oktoberfest dinner

Wow, this post was really intense to write. Thank goodness I'm mostly caught up now :)


At my house we often have Sunday night dinner potlucks, and on the last Sunday in September we had an Oktoberfest dinner. I wore my dirndl and made gluten-free homemade pretzels and gluten-free german chocolate cupcakes! My housemates helped with the pretzels and made German potato salad and a lovely green salad. It was quite the gluten-free feast!


The pretzels were a bit of a challenge, but once we got the dough to the right consistency it was smooth sailing. We used Bob's Red Mill bread mix and followed the directions on the back, then formed the risen dough into long thin ropes - ideally about a foot long by an inch diameter, but the gluten-free dough is tricky to roll out. We then formed them into pretzel shapes on a sprayed cookie sheet and baked them in a 425 F oven for about 12 minutes until they were golden brown. I made a dipping sauce for them using 1/2 meadowfoam honey (agave or brown rice syrup could substitute!) and 1/2 mustard. So tasty!

Bretzeln! 

Honig senf sauce!

For the German potato salad we used red potatoes. I believe my housemate followed this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chic-easy/german-potato-salad-recipe/index.html omitting the bacon and adding fresh rosemary from our garden.

Kartofellsalat!

German chocolate cupcakes are one of my favorite things in the whole wide world. The chocolate with the coconut and the caramel and the pecans... mmmmmmm. 

I combined several recipes to make these, since I did not want to use eggs or garbanzo bean flour. I knew my vegan friends would want to enjoy them, and garbanzo bean flour always seems to lend a distinct flavor to baked goods that I have not yet come around to. I used the gluten free pancake and waffle mix from Trader Joe's as my base (which I recently discovered has been discontinued... du-oh!) and added cocoa. 


For the cupcakes: 


3 c TJ's GF pancake and waffle mix (which is mostly just rice flour, baking powder and baking soda)
1 t baking powder (probably 2 t when using just plain rice flour)
1t baking soda (Same as above)
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c organic evaporated cane juice
3 T ground flax meal + 9 T warm water
3/4 c rice milk + 3 T apple cider vinegar
3 T vanilla extract
1/4 c grapeseed oil
1/2 c coconut oil


I mixed all of these together, then filled about 24 cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and placed in a pre-heated 325 F oven. I checked the cupcakes for done-ness after 25 minutes using a toothpick and found they needed a bit more time, but somewhere between 25 and 30 minutes should do the trick. 


Let these cool before you frost them!


For the frosting:
1/2 c coconut oil
1/2 c toasted unsweetened coconut
3 c powdered sugar
1/2 c 'dulce de coco-leche' - recipe to follow
1/4 c toasted pecan pieces (optional)


Beat these ingredients together at room temperature, then chill until it firms up enough to frost - about an hour.


For dulce de coco-leche I used this recipe, but halved the ingredients since I only needed 1/2 a cup for my frosting: 
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Coconut-Dulce-de-Leche-240759

German chocolate cupcakes (are not authentically German; are delicious)

Glamour shot :) Happy baking!

Delicata squash with rainbow chard

I went to the farmer's market in my neighborhood a few weeks ago and found my favorite squash for a really great price! I bought 3 delicatas and prepared them a couple different ways. First, I pan sauteed thin slices of it with delicious spices and rainbow chard. It was really pretty, but the squash's texture was not ideal. I would recommend roasting the squash, as I did with the other 2, and then adding slices of the roasted squash to the sauteed chard. Pictures!

The raw slices of squash, tossed in olive oil and in a pan with a 1/4 inch of water and lots o'spices.

Cracked pepper and rosemary and nutmeg, oh my! I covered the pan and cooked these over medium heat until they were almost done, then added chard.

Rainbow chard is so gorgeous!

Covered and steamed, then sauteed until the chard was tender.

All done :)

Really pretty, see?! But, as mentioned, the squash's texture was lacking. Next time I make this I will roast the squash like I did below:

For this version of the squash, I just Preheated the oven to 375 F, cut it in half, scraped the seeds out, and coated it in olive oil and spices. I placed the squash opens side down on a baking sheet and baked it until tender, for about 30 minutes. It is crazy delicious this way!

Happy autumn!

Ahhhh! It has been too long :/

So sorry to all 3 of you who read this. School and life have been pretty crazy! I'm going to catch up today, if possible. Many mini-posts and recipes to follow!

mostly raw carob almond coconut truffles

These are based on a recipe my friend Tati showed me. I don't know if she used the same proportions, but I've made them a few times since without a recipe and this is my favorite result so far. One of the other times I rolled the finished truffles in carob powder after chilling them. They really looked like truffles then! This time I didn't have the patience for that, but I did have a camera. 

Ingredients:
1 c almond meal
1/2 c unrefined coconut oil
1/2 c coconut butter (I use Artisana brand)
1/2 c carob powder + more for finishing, if desired (I use Bob's red mill brand) 
5 T honey (I use raw meadow foam honey)
1 T bourbon vanilla extract
3 t cinnamon
1 t fresh grated nutmeg
1 t ground ginger
1/2 t cardamom
1/2 t sea salt


Melt the coconut oil and butter together in a saucepan over low heat until completely liquid and combined. Remove from heat and add honey and vanilla. Allow to cool until it is just above room temperature (or just cool enough to handle). 


In a medium bowl mix together the almond meal, carob powder, and dry spices. 


Pour warm oil mixture over the dry ingredients and, with clean hands, mix in the oil thoroughly and knead the mixture until it will form a ball. 


Wash your hands and coat with a dab of coconut oil. You can eyeball them if you don't need them to be exactly the same size, but I have a mini ice cream scoop that allows me to scoop out exactly a tablespoon at a time so I use that. Scoop out about a tablespoon at a time and roll into a ball with your hands. Set finished balls on a plate or cookie sheet that can fit in your fridge. 


Once you've rolled all the dough, chill the truffles for about an hour. At this point they are firm enough to serve or roll in carob if you'd like, in which case you can dump about 1/4 c of carob powder in a small teacup or ramekin and coat them one-by-one by rolling them around in it. I've served them in mini cupcake liners in the past and they were super cute that way! Here they are sans liners or carob powder coating: