Soy-Free Soy Sauce"

Ingredients:

 4 T beef bouillon crystals or 12 beef bouillon cubes
4 t balsamic vinegar
2 t dark molasses
1/4 t ground ginger
1 pinch white pepper
1 pinch garlic powder
1 1/2 C water

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together all ingredients.  Boil gently until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup, about 15 minutes. 

Notes:

A pretty good substitute if you can't eat the real thing. 

English Toffee

aka  Amy's Toffee from Candymaking by Ruth Kendrick and Pauline Atkinson.

This recipe has been tested against several others and is my hands-down favorite.  It is very close in taste to Almond Roca, and like Almond Roca, to keep it from getting sticky it must be kept away from air by coating with chocolate on all sides and being stored in an airtight container. Wrapping them in gold foil would be nice, but, really... And yes, I still occasionally buy Almond Roca. I love both. Probably too much.

Ingredients:

2 c. almonds, (sliced if possible)  toasted in a preheated 350 degree oven on a baking sheet for 8-10 min.
1 c. butter, grade AA
2 T. corn syrup
2 1/2 c (250 g.) sugar
4 T. water
2-4 T. more water for later (not in original recipe)
 optional: 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
              
Toast the almonds so they are light golden and smell good and toasted. Cool them, then grind them in a food processor until they are fine, but not almond butter yet. Butter a 12"x18" baking sheet. Sprinkle it with the almonds, saving around half out for sprinkling on the melted chocolate at the end. If they aren't sliced and are unevenly ground they can be sifted through a coarse seive if uniformity is desired.

In a heavy 3 qt. saucepan combine butter, water, corn syrup and sugar.   Here's what the original recipe says next: "Stir over high heat till boiling.When it begins to thicken, reduce heat to low and cook to 290 degrees F."  Here's what I did, because I was doing other things in the kitchen and needed extra time: Stir over medium heat till boiling, then cover with pan lid for 2 minutes so the steam washes any sugar crystals back down into the mixture. Uncover and cook on low till the temperature reaches about 250, stirring gently with the thermometer whenever you check the temperature to even out the hot spots. Now stir in 2-4 more T of water, depending on how much longer you want to cook it - the more water the longer it takes. (Also I was hoping the extra cooking would increase the brown color a bit. Maillard reaction and all, you know.)  Now cook to 290 degrees, remove from heat and pour over the nuts. Immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top, let sit 1 minute, then spread the softened chocolate to the edges of the toffee. Sprinkle with reserved almonds. Let cool at room temperature 1 hour. Now you can break it up (which is just fine) OR... flip it over, sprinkle another cup of chocolate chips on that side, heat it with a blow dryer or something to melt them (or melt them first and spread on) and spread and sprinkle with yet more ground almonds. The two sided coating helps the toffee stay fresh longer, even in an airtight container...because they never really are completely airtight, you know. At least mine aren't. When all the chocolate is set up, break the toffee into irregular pieces and store in the closest thing you can get to an airtight container.

With any luck you will never have this toffee around long enough to see what happens to it when it gets old. (As far as I can tell, it gets sticky, loses its texture then finally starts tasting...different.) Try not to refrigerate it, as warming up attracts moisture, and we don't want that. If it's unavoidable, wrap, wrap, wrap to keep the air out! I used to think Almond Roca's gold foil was just for looks. I know better now.

Note about temperatures and thermometers: 

 It's important to test your thermometer right before using it. Altitude, barometric pressure, invisible cracks in the thermometer (yes, it happened to me - SO glad I tested it and avoided mercury poisoning for about 10 people!), can change what temperature water boils at. WATER BOILS AT 212 DEGREES F  at sea level. Where I live it often boils at 208 instead, so I just subtract 4 degrees from the temperature I'm supposed to reach at the end: 290-4=286. Easy. For some reason, though, my thermometer reads higher in the boiling water out of the microwave than from a pan on the stove. Weird! So I use the microwave temp. Really, though, for this recipe I cooked it just barely to 290 and it was great. Cook it too low and the texture is stickier and sad. Cook it too high and it can separate into an oily layer on top, or worse, burn.

Note about problems with oil separating out:

If at any time during cooking the oil starts to gather on the top, just add 2 T or so of water, stir well, and cook to 290 again, and if it happens again, repeat but cook to a couple degrees lower. Also, avoid a lot of stirring. If there are sugar crystals on the pan sides, do the pan lid trick again. 

Note about variations:

This recipe makes good toffee without the chocolate on top. Just pour it on a.) a buttered baking sheet or b.) a buttered baking sheet covered in toasted nuts of your choice, then cool, break up and eat/give away/store.

Triple Berry Pie Filling

Fills a 9" pie with no crowning, or a nice and full 8" pie.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 c frozen berry mix (I used Costco's blueberry-raspberry-blackberry mix)
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/2 t. cinnamon
2 T. lemon juice
approx. 2 T softened butter to put on top before the top crust

In small bowl mix the sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch well. In larger bowl mix frozen berries and lemon juice, then stir in the mixed dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Pour into pie crust. Don't worry if the berries are still frozen. Dot top with butter. Top with crust, crimp edges, make some slits in the crust, protect edges with strips of aluminum foil, put on cookie sheet to catch drips, and bake at 325 degrees F for 40+ minutes. When it is done the filling will bubble a bit through the nicely golden crust. If that is not happening, bake longer. The frozen berries can slow baking down. (It took my last GF pie at least 80 minutes to bake, but it was well worth the wait!)

Note: It might not be a bad idea, when filling a 9" or 10" pie, to increase the berries to 5 1/2 or 6 cups and the sugar cornstarch mixture to around 1/2c. sugar and 1/3 c. cornstarch.
Also, I just figured out that letting the pie cool all the way lets it set up so the filling doesn't run all over the place when cut. Yeah. It takes me a while.

Gluten Free Pie Crust

Gluten Free Pie Crust

from http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-pie-crust/

This was my first attempt at making gluten free pie crust. I have eaten rice flour based gf pie crusts before and was not impressed. In fact, I was sad. If that was what I had to look forward to in a gf pie crust, pie might not be worth making. Then I took a chance on this recipe because I trust Shauna Ahern, the Gluten Free Girl blogger, and her husband, the Chef. Turns out I trusted well. Yum!
 
There are 6 kinds of flour and 2 thickeners in here, though not much of any of them, AND it is done by weight. Weighing is what makes gluten free flour type recipes work. Also, I love to weigh stuff.  Makes me feel like I'm back at work in the soils lab in college :)  Here we go:

5 ounces (1 1/4 c.) almond flour *
2 ounces (2/3 c.) gluten free oat flour
2 ounces (2/3 c.) tapioca flour
2 ounces (1/2 c.) teff flour
3 ounces (1/2 c.) potato starch (not flour)
2 ounces (1/4 c.) sweet rice flour
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. guar gum
1/2 tsp. kosher salt (I used 1 tsp. regular salt. I like saltier crusts.)
5 Tbsp. butter, cold
4 Tbsp. leaf lard, cold
[I used 9 Tbsp. (4 1/2 ounces) butter because I had no leaf lard. Also, leaf lard is Expen$ive. Good, though, apparently.]
1 large egg
6 to 8 Tbsp. ice cold water
*Almond flour is finely ground almonds without the skins. Almond meal has the skins ground in, and can be coarser.

Shauna says,
"Mixing the dry ingredients:  In a large bowl, mix the almond flour, oat flour, tapioca flour, teff flour and potato starch. I use a whisk here, and slow down as I mix them, repeatedly, until they have become one flour.  Add the xanthan and guar gums and the salt.  Mix well.

Adding the fats:  Add small pieces of the ice cold butter to the flour mixture, not much bigger than a pea. (Or, if you'd like to,... freeze your butter beforehand, then grate the frozen butter into the flours. Move quickly.) Afterward, if you have it, add the leaf lard in small portions, of equal size.

Making the sandy dough:  Use your hands to scoop up the flours and mix in the fats.  Go slowly.  Rub your hands together.  Feel the fats work into the flours with your fingers.  I like to lift and rub, scoop and let them all fall through my fingers.  You'll know when you are done.  You'll feel done.  The flours will look sandy now.

Finishing the dough: Combine the egg with 3 Tbsp. of the water and whisk them together.  Here's where you can go two ways. If you want to do everything by hand, then do so.  Add the eggy water to the dough.  Work the dough together with your hands, or a rubber spatula, or whatever feels right.  When the dough feels coherent, stop.

Or, you can do what I have reluctantly realized makes gluten-free pie dough even better than making it by hand: finish it in the food processor.  Move the sandy dough to the food processor and turn it on.  As the dough is running around and around, drizzle in the eggy water.  Stop to feel the dough.  If it still feels dry and not quite there, then drizzle in a bit more water.  If you go too far and the dough begins to feel sticky or wet, sprinkle in a bit of potato starch to dry it out.  Again, after you make pies for awhile, you'll know this by feel alone. [My note: I grated my frozen butter, and almost my fingers. Next time I'm going to use the Cuisinart grating disk - chilled- and grate the butter that way with an inch or so of flour already in the work bowl, then switch the grater to the metal blade, add the rest of the flour and mix in the butter that way, then drizzle in the eggy water.]

Making the crust:  Wrap the pie dough in plastic wrap (or in a bowl) and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so.. Take it out, [split it into 2 equal hunks for the top and bottom crusts] and roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper [or plastic wrap]. This means you won't work any extra flour into the dough.  Roll it out as thin as you can.  Thinner.  Thinner.  Come on, you can do it -- thinner still.  Carefully, lift the top piece of parchment paper and turn the dough upside down on the top of a pie plate.  Rearrange until it is flat. If the dough breaks, don't despair.  Simply lift pieces of the dough off the counter and meld it with the rest of the dough.  Remember, there's no gluten, so you can't overwork the dough. Play with it, like you're a kid again.  Place the pie dough in the pie plate and crimp. When you have a pie dough fully built, you are ready to make pie.

Put the pie pan in the refrigerator while you preheat the oven to 325 and make the filling. ... Fill the pie pan with the...filling.  Put several pats of butter over the top.

Roll out the remaining pie dough between two pieces of parchment paper Remove the top layer and lay the pie dough over the filling. Pinch the edges together, then crimp the pie dough. Brush with an egg wash if you want a golden crust [ I didn't] Make a few small slits in the top crust.

Bake at 325 until the crust is golden brown and the filling starting to bubble out of the slits on top, about 40 minutes. [It took my pie about 80 minutes, maybe because my berry filling was still partly frozen] Remove from oven and let the pie cool. [I made a triple berry pie filling and cooling it to room temperature let it set up beautifully.]

Please eat pie." [Ok! No problem!]

Makes 1 pie, with enough crust for bottom and top [and several yummy cinnamon-sugar pie crust crackers! I baked those for about 20 minutes at 325. This dough would make good savory crackers, too. Must experiment!].

Tiramisu

Tiramisu!

Serves 10 to 12

From Cooks Illustrated November 1, 2007, with minor changes. Notes: Do not allow the mascarpone to warm to room temperature before using it; it has a tendency to break if allowed to do so.  Brandy can stand in for the dark rum, or Victorine (a sweet rum flavoring) if going sans alcohol. For a less potent rum flavor, halve the amount of rum added to the coffee mixture in step 1. And yes, you can use decaf.

Ingredients:
*2 1/2 c. strong black coffee, room temp. (2 single serve packets of Starbucks instant)
*1 1/2 T instant espresso powder (I use Medaglia d'Oro instant)
5 T. rum (or Victorine flavoring or artificial rum flavoring to taste)
4 T. rum (  "        "              "         "          "        "        "           "     "    )
6 large egg yolks
2/3 c sugar
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 lb. mascarpone cheese
3/4 c. heavy cream
14 oz. ladyfingers (42-60, depending on size of pan)
3 1/2 T unsweetened cocoa, preferably Dutch process
1/4 c. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, grated (Or more. I use more)

Instructions:
1. Stir coffee, espresso and 5 T rum in wide bowl or baking dish until espresso dissolves; set aside.
2. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat yolks at low speed until just combined.  Add sugar and salt and beat at medium-high speed until pale yellow, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once or twice.  Add remaining 4 T rum and beat at medium speed until just combined, 20 - 30 seconds, scraping down bowl once or twice.  Transfer mixture to large bowl and set aside.
3. In now-empty mixer bowl (not need to clean bowl), beat cream at medium speed until frothy, 1 - 1 1/2 minutes.  Increase speed to high and continue to beat until cream holds stiff peaks, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer.  Be careful not to over whip; it makes the final product dry.  Too runny is better, to a  point. Using rubber spatula, fold one third of whipped cream into mascarpone mixture to lighten, then gently fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain.  Set mascarpone mixture aside.
4. Working one at a time, drop half of ladyfingers into coffee mixture, roll over once, remove, and transfer to 13 x 9: glass or ceramic baking dish. (Do not submerge ladyfingers in coffee mixture; entire process should take no longer than 2-3 seconds for each cookie.)  Arrange soaked cookies snugly in single layer in baking dish, breaking or trimming ladyfingers as needed to fit neatly into dish.
5. Spread half of mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers; use rubber spatula to spread mixture to sides and into corners of dish and smooth the surface.  Place 2 T cocoa in fine-mesh strainer and dust cocoa over mascarpone.  Grate chocolate over top if you like chocolate. I do.
6. Repeat dipping and arrangement of ladyfingers; spread remaining mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers and dust with remaining 1 1/2 T cocoa and more chocolate. Wipe edges of dish with dry paper towel.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 to 24 hours.  Sprinkle with grated chocolate, cut into pieces and serve chilled.
Can be made up to 24 hours in advance.

*any coffee can be substituted with postum or decaf or even Crio Bru, though I cannot vouch for the results.

Pretty Much the Best Salsa Ever

Ingredients:

1 small red onion, finely diced.
2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely diced.
1/4 jalapeno pepper, seeds and veins removed, finely diced (or to taste)
1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro
2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and finely diced
1/2 t salt
juice of 1 lime
2 firm avocados, diced
fresh (uncooked) corn (optional)

Directions:

Mix all together, and serve with corn chips. The longer it sits, the juicier it gets.

Notes:

"Four of us ate a whole batch in 30  minutes."   
Red onions are better than white or yellow.
The corn is very, very, optional.

Source:  Sunflower Market, August 2009

Betsy's Eclectic Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Ingredients:

 6 lbs tomatillos, husked and quartered
1 medium onion
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 - 2 T white wine vinegar or lime juice
20 slices bottled tamed pickled jalapeno peppers
salt to taste


Directions:

Steam tomatillos until fairly soft.  During this time, puree onion, cilantro, jalapenos, and vinegar or lime juice.  Add cooked tomatillos and salt and puree (do this in batches if necessary).  Freeze about 4 cups at a time in Ziplock bags.  Can be used as a dip, for enchilada sauce, or in chile verde.

Yummers.

2009