Good stuff September 17, 2008

Mixed Fruit Cider Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

1 quart apple cider
1 quart pineapple juice
3 cinnamon sticks
2 lemons, thinly sliced
1 orange, thinly sliced

In a Dutch oven, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain mixture, discarding solids. Serve warm.

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Orange Banana Smoothie Copyright Ina Garten

1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice (4 oranges)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 cup strawberries, tops removed, and cut in 1/2
1 to 1 1/2 ripe bananas

Combine the orange juice, lime juice, strawberries, and banana in a blender and process until smooth. Refrigerate until cold.

Phyllo Wrapped Asparagus August 28, 2008

8 or 9 asparagus spears, depending on size
1/2 (16-ounce) package frozen phyllo dough sheets, thawed
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. Unwrap the phyllo and cut the stack in half lengthwise. Reserve 1 stack for later use. Cover the phyllo with a damp towel to keep it from drying out. Take 1 sheet of phyllo and brush lightly with some melted butter. Sprinkle with some Parmesan. Place 2 to 3 asparagus spears on the short end of the sheet. Roll up, jelly-roll style. Place each piece, seam side down, on a baking sheet. Brush with more melted butter and sprinkle with more Parmesan. Repeat until all the asparagus spears are used up. Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.

Molten Lava Cakes August 22, 2008

6 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) butter
1/2 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange liqueur

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Grease 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave, or in a double boiler. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and orange liqueur. Divide the batter evenly among the custard cups. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. The edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.

Strawberry Fool August 13, 2008

A fool is an old-fashioned English dessert that is made from pureed fruit and whipped cream or custard. It can be made with a variety of different fruits. Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, or kiwi make great fools.

1 cup fresh fruit, strawberries in this case

2-3 Tablespoons of sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tablespoon of sugar

Puree about 3/4 cup of the fresh fruit with 2-3 Tablespoons of sugar. Sweeten to taste- When you use fresh fruit there is no way to know, without tasting, the exact amount of sugar needed. Refrigerate the puree for several hours or overnight.

Place the mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the refrigerator for a few minutes until cold. Whip the cream and a tablespoon of sugar until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the fruit puree- leaving some white streaks of cream. Transfer into wine glasses and layer with the left-over strawberries. Cover and refrigerate for up to four hours before serving time.

You may consider adding liqueur or orange/lemon zest.

Serves 4.

This pecepie recepie is from http://glutenfreemommy.com/.

Cornmeal Pancakes August 13, 2008

I found this recipe online and I want to try it. I’m writing it down because I don’t want to lose it. So there it is:

CORNMEAL PANCAKES

2 cups stoneground yellow cornmeal, medium grain
1/2 cup rice flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, rice flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, beat the buttermilk, water, oil and egg with a fork until blended. Add to the cornmeal mixture and mix until lumps are eliminated.
Lightly oil a griddle and heat over medium heat. For each pancake, the recipe recommends pouring about a 1/4 cup of the batter onto the griddle. I made my pancakes slightly larger. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until brown. Turn the pancakes and cook for about 2 minutes longer, or until browned on the second side. I kept my pancakes warm in the oven. My pancakes cooked a little faster than this on med. heat.

This pecepie recepie is from http://glutenfreemommy.com/.

Lemon Yogurt Cake August 3, 2008

I like lemon and I like cake. So I will try this lemon cake- it is from foodnetwork.com. The only change I will do – change all-purpouse flour with gluten-free all-purpouse flour.

Lemon Yogurt Cake Copyright 2006, Barefoot Contessa at Home, All Rights Reserved
Show: Barefoot Contessa

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
For the glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice and pour over the cake.

Polenta July 24, 2008

500g yellow corn meal,
1 1/2 liter water,
1 teaspoon salt

Boil the water in a pot. When the water is simmering add salt and a bit of corn meal. When it boils fully pour more and more of the corn meal, sprinkling little by little, all around the pot, while continuously stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon. When the mix becomes thick enough stop adding corn meal. Take into account that it will become quite a lot thicker when boiling, and that it shouldn’t be too thick in the end so we can still mix it easily with cheese. Keep stirring the pot, pressing the spoon against the side of the pot. You’ll know when the polenta is boiled enough by tasting a bit. It should taste like cooked (boiled) corn, rather than the raw corn meal.

Enjoy!

Cabbage quenched July 24, 2008

1 medium cabbage,
1 large onion,
7 tablespoons oil or 3 tablespoons lard,
pepper,
3-4 tomatoes or 2-3 tablespoons tomato paste,
salt

Saute the chopped onion in hot oil until softened. Julienne the cabbage and rub some salt in. Set the cabbage to fry(in the same pot with onion), stirring continuously and adding a little water every now and then. When the cabbage is almost done, add pepper, peeled and thinly sliced tomatoes or the tomato paste, mix well and simmer until there is almost no liquid left.
Serve with polenta and sausages.

Enjoy!

Eggplant salad July 23, 2008

2 big eggplants,
1 onion,
3-4 tablespoons oil,
a pinch of pepper (optional),
salt,
tomatoes

Roast the eggplants, peel while still hot and then leave on a slanted cutting board to drain. Chop with a wooden or glass chopper, place in a bowl and then mix, using a wooden spoon, with a little oil at a time, until it whitens and becomes foamy. Add finely chopped onions, pepper and salt. Place in a a salad bowl or on a plate and garnish with tomato slices.

Bad news July 22, 2008

Hi there,

How are you today? How was your week? Mine – not so well.
I’m a mother of a sweetest baby boy in the whole world. In the last four and a half months I had diarrhea and I lost a lot of weight.
So, finally, I went to the doctor. And he had ordered me some blood tests. He told me that I am suspect of a celiac disease – it means I cannot tolerate a protein called gluten. So my diet will be gluten-free. The doctor said that this is very common for mothers – this usually happened after a child birth.

I’m waiting for my blood tests results. I really hope is something else, like a virus that I can fix it with a simple pill.
Meanwhile I’m looking for the foods to avoid and the ones are allowed when you have to fallow a gluten-free diet.

Please wish me good lock.