Snickerdoodles

I made snickerdoodles recently with oat flour instead of wheat. It was a half batch of the recipe in betty crocker cookbook. I added 1/2 tsp xanthum gum and the cookies seemed to have no difficulty holding together. I baked them 10 minutes which turned out to be too long. The cookies were crisp throughout and I was looking for a soft middle.

Dirty Rice

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/dirty_rice/
Dirty Rice

David really loved this. I did not add the extra oil during cooking as there was enough fat from the bacon and pork. Also I didn't have cajun seasoning but made my own with this recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cajun-spice-mix-2/. Also I used brown basmati rice and bell pepper. There was plenty of heat in the cajun spice mix so I didn't miss the jalapeno at all.

David said he wished there was more liver in it since you can't really taste it. There is another dirty rice recipe I ran across that has more liver in it http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/dirty-rice-recipe/index.html that I can try next.

Note: I've made this with 1/4 lb ramps, where the white ends are sauteed first and the greens added later. It works well with varying proportions of sausage & chicken liver. I didn't add bacon this time either, and it wasn't missed. Also I used leftover rice.

Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/glutenfreecookierecipes/r/gfchocolatechips.htm

These worked great. Very rich though.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/flourless-peanut-butter-cookies-recipe/index.html?ic1=obinsite

I made these recently. I halved the sugar and added 1 tsp baking powder. They turned out really well, better  than regular pb cookies I think. They were chewy and moist even after completely cooling.

Chorizo and Eggs

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chorizo_and_eggs/

For this recipe I used Johnsonville brand Chorizo, which is so mild that I feel like it barely qualifies as chorizo. I think this is sort of more spanish style, since it is made from actual meat cuts and not weird tendons and crap like mexican chorizo tends to be. (which grosses me out.)

We ate it with sour cream and avocado on corn tortillas.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Semi-based on http://simplystated.realsimple.com/2011/07/05/homemade-strawberry-ice-cream/
Strawberry Ice Cream

I made ice cream twice this week. The first was vanilla. This strawberry recipe is the same except you add pureed strawberries along with the cream and vanilla. The recipe link at the top tells you to use a pound of fresh strawberries, preserving half for chunks that you mix in at the end. I had less than half a pound of fresh (several days sitting in my fridge, getting old!) strawberries for sure, maybe only a third or fourth pound. I pureed them in my mini food processor as fine as I could, but that food processor isn't that great. (Everyone seems to have a real food processor except me. The mini one I have came with my emulsion blender as an extra attachment.)

Anyway. This was so so good. I couldn't believe how good it was.

So here it is:

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 lb or less fresh strawberries, pureed

more strawberries cut in chunks to mix in at the end, optional. (see top link for more info)

Make sure ice cream bowl is frozen solid.

Whisk sugar into the milk. It will take a couple minutes of whisking in order for the sugar to dissolve. Add pureed strawberries, cream, and vanilla extract to milk. Pour into turning ice cream maker. It will take 25-30 minutes until done. Then it can "ripen" for 2 or more hours in the freezer if you like. But its not really necessary, you can eat it right away.

Vanilla Ice Cream

This is a slight variant of the recipe that came with my cuisinart ice cream maker. It is my basic recipe that I use most often.

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make sure ice cream bowl is frozen solid. 5 hours in the freezer is not long enough. I made this after a 5 hour freeze and the ice cream turned out more like soft serve. I think it needs overnight at least.

Whisk sugar into the milk. It will take a couple minutes of whisking in order for the sugar to dissolve. (Some recipes tell you to heat it up, but I think this is unnecessary and just adds a lot of extra time since you have to get the milk cold again. The cuisinart recipe book uses the cold whisking method.)

Add cream and vanilla extract to milk. Pour into turning ice cream maker. It will take 25-30 minutes until done. Then it can "ripen" for 2 or more hours in the freezer if you like. But its not really necessary, you can eat it right away.

Banana Oat Blender Pancakes

http://beautythatmoves.typepad.com/beauty_that_moves/2013/02/the-pancake-bowl-and-banana-oat-blender-pancakes-recipe.html
Banana Oat Blender Pancakes

I've made this twice now. They are my new favorite pancake, gluten free or not. The banana flavor is still mild but makes the pancake so tasty. Also I like the subtle oat flavor too. Its a nice change from regular pancakes.

This recipe is barely enough for me, david, and Ila. Really I'd like to do 1.5x the recipe for us. If you serve it with a side then it would be enough, but I just really like pancakes so who knows.

1.5x recipe for quick reference (since I make this at least twice a month):
3 cups rolled oats
1 7/8 cups milk
1.5 ripe banana
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1.5 tablespoons maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 T baking powder
2 eggs

Piri Piri Chicken / Carrot Tabbouleh

http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2013/08/2-golden-rules-for-substituting-meat-fish/#

I made both piri piri chicken and carrot tabbouleh and liked them both.  The chicken was great charred in the pan. I added the reserve sauce to the pan to cook it for a few seconds and it was great. Ila liked it too.

Chicken and Peanut Sauce Noodles with Broccoli

I bought some rice noodles from TJ's and wanted to make a peanut base for them. It is loosely based on this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/thai-noodles-with-spicy-peanut-sauce-99918

12 oz fresh rice noodles (Trader Joes)
1 head broccoli, stem + florets, chopped
green onion, chopped
1/2 can or whole (small) can water chestnuts, sliced
1/2 lb raw chicken, chopped
sesame oil for sauteing

Sauce:
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 T rice vinegar
1 T honey
3 T water
3 T soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

The noodles take only 2 minutes to cook so I did them last. The chicken and broccoli I started at the same time as the sauce, steaming until soft so that Ila can eat it easily. Without toddler, I would leave them a little bit crisp if possible.

Start water boiling for noodles in a pot. Put a little oil in a skillet and saute chicken. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a separate pot and heat up around medium. When broccoli is done, add to sauce. When the chicken has browned, add to sauce. Use chicken saute pan to saute the green onion after chicken has been added to sauce. Put noodles into boiling water when water is ready and other items are either done or nearly done. Cook for 2 minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water. Then add noodles to sauce and toss.

Anyway, all three of us liked it a lot. There was a small serving left over.

Notes: David prefers this over pasta. I've made it over rice pasta and it was good.

Next time try over ramen noodles.

Primal Breakfast Casserole

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-breakfast-casserole/

I used 2 lbs of rutabagas in this recipe. I couldn't find turnips. I used hot pork sausage. It was overflowing in a 2 quart 8x8 dish, and turned out to be too wet for my liking. I would make this again if I spread it thin in a 9x13 dish instead. I added red bell pepper and a green hatch pepper too. Ila did not like this. I'm not sure if it was the spice or the rutabaga, but she wouldn't eat any of it. David liked this a lot more than I did.

Notes: David said not to use hot sausage next time though, since it was overpowering. Especially for the leftovers.

Blueberry Pancakes

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/todds-famous-blueberry-pancakes/

I double this recipe even for our tiny family (of me, dh, and a 1 year old) since it is so yummy and I want leftovers. I used fresh blueberries and it was so good. You don't need to wait an hour either, just cook as soon as it is mixed.

Rhubarb Crisp

I made rhubarb crisp tonight with some rhubarb I bought at the farmers market here. It was only a dollar for a bunch and was enough for this recipe. http://www.food.com/recipe/rhubarb-crisp-93946

I did put in only 1/2 cup white sugar, and increased the oats to 1 cup. David and I both really liked it. I would add in more rhubarb next time. I had a bit over 4 cups this time, but it could have done with 6 or 8 cups.

Update: It works best with something between 4-6 cups. Also the topping is great with just the 1/2 cup oats as called for in the recipe.  So in future, just have between 4-6 cups rhubarb and 1/2 c white sugar, with everything else as written.

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gf and sugar free variant:
filling:
1/2 cup honey
8 cups rhubarb
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup gf flour (bob's red mill)

topping:
1/2 c sucanat
1 cup oats
1/2 cup gf flour (bob's red mill)
1/2 cup butter

This was not very good. I used bob's red mill gf all purpose flour and it did not perform well with the wetness of the dish. It rose to the top to make a strange spongy texture on top. It has done this with a corn casserole too, which was a custard. So if I make this again I will use a different flour, maybe oat flour.
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gf variant #2

3/4 c sucanat
6-8 c rhubarb
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c oat flour (finely ground)

topping:
1/2 c sucanat
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup butter

This turned out great.

Rice Pudding

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/rice_pudding/

Great recipe. I've only used arborio rice with it so far, see adjustments at bottom of page. I love rice pudding and this is a great one.

Notes from first time making it:
Turned out great--much more creamy than baked rice pudding. I kept the heat below boiling like she said, and the egg did not curdle. I think I will try sweetening with honey next time (less than 1/4 cup).
SO good. Try with 1/4 cup arborio next time, it was VERY thick. I put raspberries in it and it was so divine.
(I should point out that I used arborio rice instead of the short grain white the recipe called for. Had I used short grain white, it would not have turned out so thick.)

Notes from second time making it:

Using arborio rice, the recipe needs an extra 1/4 cup milk (or a 1/2 cup) or it will be too thick. I used whole milk and it was great.

Quick Cole Slaw

http://www.grouprecipes.com/37428/old-fashioned-cole-slaw.html

I made this to go with some sloppy joe leftovers. This is good on the side or as a part of the sandwich. It adds a nice crunch which I like, so I think it is great with the sandwich. David gave it a 3.5 mainly because he doesn't care much about cole slaw. But I think it was pretty good! Ila didn't care for it much thought. She threw it on the floor:)

I call this "quick" in the title because it uses store bought cole slaw (shredded cabbage and carrot).

Note, 8/2020: David liked it this time. I used "21 seasoning solute" from Trader Joes in lieu of salt/pepper/celery seed, primarily because it had celery seed in it and I didn't have any.