Potato Pizza Soup

This soup is the product of leftovers from a pizza-making night, plus leftover potatoes from Valentine's Day dinner and a few odds and ends in the kitchen. Pan-roasted potatoes (bake and then pan fry them in canola oil with seasoned salt and pepper) give this a full, toasty flavor (like pizza from a brick oven!); leftover steak fries from a restaurant could work, or leftover hash browns or breakfast potatoes.

I threw in a little spinach to add some green color, and heated up some pepperoni in a frying pan to add as a garnish. The jar of pizza sauce from Trader Joe's has great flavor by itself, so it spiced up the soup nicely. You could always make it spicier with red pepper flakes, or add some fresh basil to brighten it up. Whatever says pizza to you!

This is a dairy-free and wheat-free recipe, and meat-free if you skip the pepperoni.

Potato Pizza Soup

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 C frozen spinach, drained

2 C pan-fried, baked, or mashed potatoes

1/2 C pizza sauce

2 C coconut milk

garnish if desired

Sauté the diced onion in 1 T oil until the onion becomes translucent and starts to brown. Turn down the heat and add the garlic to cook for about 1 minute. Add the spinach and potatoes (I recommend browning the potatoes in a separate pan a little more before this to add more of a roasted flavor). When all the ingredients have heated through, add the pizza sauce and coconut milk, stirring to combine. Heat til boiling, stirring regularly. Once it boils, turn off the heat and remove the pan from the heat. Use an immersion blender or regular blender to purée the soup to the thickness you prefer (take care to not burn yourself if the soup is still hot when you are blending it). Garnish as desired.

Whole Grain Blueberry Pecan Muffins with Ricotta Filling (Gluten-Free)

Here's the gluten-free muffins as promised - tender, moist, and flavorful. I am now a firm believer that gluten-free baking can work without gimmicks or difficult tricks, and be super tasty.

I relied on Gluten-Free Girl again to understand how to use the variety of gluten-free flours and starches that I've got in my cupboard. She's made gluten-free baking work without xanthan gum, or any other gum to provide binding in the baked goods, which is good news both for those who might be digestively sensitive to the gums or who would have a hard time finding them in the grocery stores.

Now that I've tried these, I fully believe what GFG says - gluten-free baking can produce lighter, better texture than gluten baking, because gluten can bind things up and weigh them down. That's why some recipes tell you not to over mix the batter - because the mixing action will create too much gluten and make a dense product.

You have a choice about the flours and starches you use in these muffins; GFG suggests keeping a supply of your own whole grain flour mix around, and provides a ratio of flour to starch (70/30) that you can use to create your own (I recommend reading her post linked above, it's much more thorough).

It is important to note that your baked goods will taste like the flours you choose; I was super curious about teff flour, so I mixed it with sweet sorghum and amaranth flours, with white rice flour as the starch and a few whole oats thrown in for texture. Teff turns out to have a fairly strong flavor (reminded me of a powdery buckwheat), so I would reduce the amount I would use of teff next time in proportion to the other flours, and probably choose another flour that does not have such a fine texture as the ones I chose. That being said, I still devoured four muffins as soon as they came out of the oven. Plus another one later - so, yeah, they turned out okay.

To make your own gluten-free flour mix, take 70% whole grain flours and mix with 30% starches.

Whole Grain Flours:

Almond
Amaranth
Brown Rice
Buckwheat
Corn
Millet
Oat
Quinoa
Sorghum
Sweet Brown Rice
Teff

Starches:

Arrowroot
Cornstarch
Potato Starch
Tapioca Flour
White Rice Flour

I also integrated a little advice from the Barefoot Contessa (incidentally, she is someone who I imagine never actually goes barefoot) who suggests greasing the tops of your muffin pans as well as the inside of the cups, to help you remove the muffins when they've cooled:

And I decided to make a ricotta filling for the muffins to use up some ricotta in the fridge, so I used the technique and amounts at this smittenkitchen recipe.

You can add any combination of nuts, dried or fresh fruits, or spices that you like - I went with frozen blueberries and pecans. The flavor of a lot of these flours is nutty, so the pecans were a good complement, and added nice texture.

It's possible to make the whole thing dairy-free too; just replace the buttermilk with almond or soy milk that you've curdled with 1 T apple cider vinegar, and eliminate the ricotta filling. GFG says that you can make them without eggs, but you'll have to see her instructions to see how to accomplish that.

Whole Grain Blueberry Pecan Muffins with Ricotta Filling

Gluten-Free

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin pan or two (with filling, my batter made 17 muffins).

In a mixing bowl, whisk together to combine and aerate:

350 g whole-grain flour mix

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

180 g brown sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

In a separate bowl, whisk together:

2 eggs

1 1/4 C buttermilk*

1/3 C grapeseed oil

Use a rubber spatula to mix the wet ingredients into the dry. When they are almost fully combined, throw in any additions to you want (about a handful of chopped nuts and a handful of fruit will do; firm fruits may take longer to bake soft). Stir until all traces of flour are gone.

If you want the ricotta filling, combine:

1/2 C ricotta cheese (fat-free is fine)

6 T Greek yogurt or sour cream

pinch salt

Fill each muffin well 1/3 full with batter, plop 1 T of ricotta filling on the batter, then cover with more batter until the well is 3/4 full. The muffins will rise, but not like crazy, so you don't have to worry if the wells are close to full.

Bake about 25-35 minutes, until muffins are browned, the tops spring back to touch, and a knife comes out clean.

*Buttermilk may always be replaced by regular or soy/almond milk that has been curdled with apple cider vinegar. The proportion is 1 T vinegar to 1 C milk; just dump the vinegar in the milk before you set up the rest of your ingredients and pans, and it will be ready when you need it.

*** I'd like to note that the best whole grain combination I've come up with so far was a mix of cornmeal and almond meal for the whole grain flours, and corn starch for the starch. Great texture and taste!

Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes (Gluten-Free)

A generous friend recently gave me a whole box of gluten-free baking ingredients; while I am not gluten-free, baking alternatives always interest me. I feel like I've developed a sense of the necessary components of baked goods with gluten, so I've been reading gluten-free recipes for a while to get an idea of how they work. Most of the time, I am not excited enough about a recipe to buy the different flours, starches, and gums required of gluten-free baking, so I never have the exact ingredients necessary.

Now that I DO have the ingredients, however, the experimentation has begun. I read a bit of the theory on Gluten-Free Girl's blog, and explored recipes on websites including King Arthur Flour, which sells quality ingredients and has nice recipes. On the King Arthur site, this recipe for Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes caught my eye because they just sound bright and cheery - and that's exactly how they turned out! Lemon zest really is a magical ingredient, and is a happy complement to the slightly crunchy cornmeal.

The original recipe calls for potato starch, which I didn't have, so I subbed in tapioca flour/starch (understanding from Gluten-Free Girl that different starches generally serve the same chemical role in a given baked good). I used the melted butter option, since I love butter, but it may be made dairy-free as well by using olive or canola oil instead of butter, and almond or soy milk instead of the milk. I always enjoy the flavor combination of olive oil and lemon, but if olive oil disagrees with you or is too strong a flavor for you, canola may be a better choice. I did end up adding an extra tablespoon of milk to thin out the batter, and they turned out well.

These pancakes are an easy foray into the world of gluten-free goods because they use ingredients that are naturally gluten-free but not that hard to find, and the process of making them is not difficult. Cornmeal is used in Johnnycakes, so it is a time-tested pancake option, producing nice texture and mild flavor. I'm pretty sure my guest did not realize these were gluten-free, so that says something, right?

I'll be working on some whole grain gluten-free muffins later this week, so stay tuned!

Lemon Cornmeal Pancakes

In a mixing bowl, whisk together:

1/2 C potato starch or tapioca flour/starch

3/4 C cornmeal (whole grain or regular)

3 T sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/8 tsp xanthan gum

In a separate bowl or measuring cup, beat together:

2 large eggs

3 T melted butter or vegetable oil

3/4 C milk

2 T grated lemon zest or 1/2 tsp lemon oil (I used the zest of two lemons)

Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. The batter should be thinner than normal pancake batter, so if it's not add another tablespoon or two of milk to the batter.

Preheat a pan or griddle to medium-high heat; if you have an electric griddle set it to 350 degrees. Grease the pan or griddle.

Pour about 2 T of batter per pancake into the pan. Cook each pancake for 1-2 minutes, until the top is bubbly and the edges are dry, and then flip and cook for another minute or so on the other side.

Serve hot with maple syrup, agave syrup, berries, whatever suits your fancy.

Chocolate-Coconut Sherbet

And now back to the super easy ice cream recipes; this one happens to also be dairy-free with the possibility of a low-fat option. The cookbook description calls it something like Mounds in a cup - if you like coconut and chocolate, you'll like this!

After experimenting with a coconut-based vanilla rum ice cream (recipe still to be perfected), I've realized that great coconut flavor comes from coconut cream, so I might try to make a version of this with coconut cream to replace the coconut milk and sugar components. Meanwhile, I would recommend this as an easy recipe that is refreshing, but a little icy and very sweet. To be eaten in small amounts, or paired with a creamier, less-sweet ice cream like the caramelized white chocolate recipe I just posted.

Chocolate-Coconut Sherbet

from David Lebovitz' Ready for the Dessert

1 C water

1 C sugar

5 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 C canned Thai coconut milk (low-fat will make this icier)

1-2 T dark rum (dark rum has a more caramelly flavor than light)

In a medium saucepan, heat the water and sugar til boiling. Stir to dissolve. Whisk in the chocolate off the heat until completely melted. Stir in coconut milk and 1 T rum.

Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add 1 T rum if desired.

Refrigerate until completely chilled, then freeze in ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Zimtsterne: Dairy & Wheat-free Almond Cinnamon Cookies

These cookies were another great travel companion, back when I went to Seattle in November. I knew one of my hosts was allergic to dairy, so I decided to take a variety of goods with me, including this dairy- and wheat-free option.

Since it was nearing the holidays, this cinnamon almond cookie looked cozy to me, and the star shape happy (hence the Swiss German name: Cinnamon Stars). I was pleased to find that the result was chewy but not overly dense, despite being made of almond powder.

If you're wary of raw eggs, you could replace the egg white in the glaze with milk/soy milk, but I had no problem with the egg I used.

When I think of these cookies, I feel comforted and warm - give 'em a try, whether you're dairy-/wheat-free or not!

Zimtsterne

Cinnamon Stars, from David Lebovitz' Ready for Dessert

Cookies

3 C (240 g) sliced almonds, preferably unblanched

1 C powdered sugar, plus more for rolling cookies out

1 T plus 1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1 T honey

1 large egg white

Glaze

1 1/3 C powdered sugar, or more if needed

1 large egg white

1 tsp kirsch or other clear brandy, or lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare a baking sheet.

Pulverize the almonds in a food processor with 1 C powdered sugar, the cinnamon, and salt until the almonds are finely ground. Add the honey and egg white and process until smooth. If it's dry and cracking, add a tiny bit of water and process until dough comes together (if using a blender, add the honey and egg white to the mixture in a bowl and knead by hand until smooth).

Dust a work surface with powdered sugar and roll out the dough 1/3 inch thick (no thinner). With a 6-point star cookie cutter about 2 inches in diameter (or other shape), cut out stars, and arrange them, evenly spaced, on the prepared baking sheet. Reroll the dough scraps, cut out as many cookies as you can, and place them on the baking sheet. Repeat until all dough is used.

Bake, rotating the baking sheet midway during baking, until the cookies are very lightly browned, about 12 minutes. They should be soft; don't overbake them. Let cool completely on the baking sheet.

To make the glaze, in a small bowl, mix together the 1 1/3 C powdered sugar and the egg white until smooth, then mix in the kirsch. The glaze should be quite thick, opaque, and almost hard to stir. If necessary, stir in additional powdered sugar to thicken.

Spread the glaze on the surface of each cookie. Sweep off some of the excess, but leave a layer just thick enough so that you can't see the cookie through it. Let the cookies rest until the glaze is completely dry.

These cookies will keep for at least 3 months in an airtight container.

And a little heart for Valentine's Day :).

Coconut Milk Ice Cream: Blackberry Lemon

So, the good news is that I've found a great coconut milk-based ice cream recipe that's easy to make, experiment with, and render low-fat. The other good news is that you will want to sit down and eat it all at once, which could make this bad news for some of you.

It all started when I was forwarded this link to the best vegan ice cream recipes out there. I don't normally keep ice cream in the freezer, since I'm lactose intolerant, so this vegan ice cream thing is tempting me into a life of constant freezer goodness.

I first made the Caramel-Cinnamon Ice Cream with Black Gingerbread Chunks in a version that involved homemade spiced marshmallows, fleur de sel caramel sauce, Vietnamese cinnamon, dark chocolate chunks, and toasted pecans. I meant it to be a spicy caramely version of Rocky Road, but I'm really at a loss for what to call it. Whatever it was, it was tasty, and the homemade marshmallows really turned into wonderful chewiness in the frozen dessert.

I successfully substituted so many ingredients from the original recipe that I knew I could mess with it even more. This time I wouldn't make the mistake of adding more than a cup of mix-ins, since that made for super chunky ice cream, but I would replace the caramel sauce with blackberry jam and lemon curd, the cinnamon with a touch of ginger, add a bit of agave to sweeten it, and swirl in a ribbon of berry syrup.

The ice cream itself ended up incredibly creamy; next time I would probably leave out the berry syrup and just add it as a topping, since the water content of the uncooked berries froze very hard - or I would make the syrup break the berries down more before swirling it in to the ice cream. The lemon curd really made this flavor, so don't back away if berries and lemon sound strange to you.

Here's my take on this super easy, fabulously adaptable recipe:

Blackberry Lemon Coconut Ice Cream

1 C light coconut milk

2 C lactose-free, vanilla soy, or coconut creamer

1/4 C no sugar added seedless blackberry jam (strain to remove seeds)

1/4 C lemon curd (I love TJ's)

3 T agave syrup

1/4 tsp ground ginger

pinch salt

2 T corn starch

2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the coconut milk and creamer in a medium sauce pan, along with the jam, lemon curd, agave, ginger, salt, and corn starch. Whisk vigorously to combine and beat out any lumps. Turn on the heat to medium, and whisk occasionally until it just comes up to a boil and has thickened significantly. Cool completely and add the vanilla. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator. Before churning the ice cream, prepare any add-ins (berry syrup, chocolate chunks, etc.). Once the ice cream base is chilled, churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions (mine took 20 minutes total), adding any add-in in the last 5 minutes of churning. Transfer to an air-tight container, and freeze solidly for at least 4 hours before serving.

Blackberry Syrup

1/3 C water

3 T agave syrup

1/4 tsp lemon zest

12 oz. blackberries

Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and simmer for 8 minutes. Watch to make sure it doesn't boil over, stirring from time to time. After the 8 minutes, remove from heat. Optional: add up to 2 tsp liquor (brandy, framboise, etc.) and another 12 oz. of berries to add texture to the syrup. Let cool before mixing into the ice cream, or serve warm/room temperature as a topping on the finished ice cream.

How to adapt this recipe:

• Replace the liquid sweeteners (jam, lemon curd, agave) with up to a total of 1 C of another liquid sweetener (the caramel Rocky Road version had 1 C of fleur de sel caramel sauce from Trader Joe's).
• Replace the ground spice (ginger) with up to 1 tsp of another ground spice (the original had 1 tsp of cinnamon). Take care to not overwhelm the flavor you're trying to achieve - start with 1/4 tsp, taste, add more if you prefer.
• Add up to 1 C of chunky/chewy add-ins: marshmallows, chocolate chunks, nuts, berries, cookies, cake crumbs, etc. Adding more than 1 C will mean you are chewing your ice cream rather than licking it.