Archive for Ingredients

Gluten Free

August 11, 2010 at 1:45 pm · Filed under Gluten Free, Ingredients, Recipe

One of the ideas that I have running around my head is experimenting with “alternative cupcakes.” Not to the extent of BabyCakes Vegan Gluten Free low sugar cupcakes, but, specifically, gluten free and how to lower sugar/boost nutrition, and still have the cupcake seem like a cupcake.

I am a pretty dedicated King Arthur Flour baker. I like their dedication to standards and quality, their business model, as well as the baking education that they give, both online and off. I picked up some of their new gluten free baking mix (expensive!) and am looking for good recipes to try.

Also, anyone want to send me 1-2 oz of Xanthum gum? This goes by teaspoonfulls in recipes, yet I can only find 8 oz containers of it. Silly.

Recipes on my list of things to try:
Zahirah did gluten free chocolate peanut butter muffins, which look pretty good, and use honey instead of white sugar.

Something from BabyCakes Cookbook

Anyone have good links for gluten free cakes/cupcakes/pastries?

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Salsa Verde

August 11, 2009 at 7:42 pm · Filed under Background, Ingredients, Recipe, Spicy ·Tagged , , , ,

I spent two months in Mexico for a study abroad program. By the time I left, I was so sick of eggs and salsa verde that I did not eat them for a while. After I moved, and started on the current cooking craze, I wanted to try to make my own sauce. Luckily, if you can find the ingredients, salsa verde is pretty easy to make.

Tomatillos
Jalapenos or Habaneros
Onion
Garlic
Salt
Cilantro (if you want)

I tend to add about one pepper per 2-3 tomatillos, and this makes a VERY spicy salsa. You can always reduce the amount of peppers.

Remove the husks from the tomatillos, and rinse under water. They will be kinda sticky, but dont worry about it. Take the top off the jalapenos or habaneros (and, please, be careful! I did not pay attention one time and burned the corner of my eye with habanero juice! Ouch! You can use latex gloves if you are sensitive. I tend to just hack off the top and dump it into the water, so i never touch the inside.)

Bring a pot of water to boil, enough to cover the tomatillos and the peppers. Salt the water, and boil the tomatillos and peppers for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Reserving the boiling liquid, put tomatillos and peppers into a blender. (You can cool them first if you want). To the blender, add salt, a few cloves of garlic, and a quartered onion. Blend until smooth. (If this is warm, be careful, and be sure to vent the top of the blender).

At this point, you can add cream cheese and make the perfect sauce for enchiladas. Or you can use this salsa directly in cooking. Or, it makes an excellent spicy dip for chips, as an alternative to red salsas.

Enjoy!

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Meat and Carrot Tomato Sauce

July 13, 2009 at 2:34 am · Filed under Ingredients, Recipe

This is an example of an idea that I had, and how it actually came out.

I have been reading about bolognese sauce. And, for some reason, the main idea I got out of it was carrots. I had also cleaned out the fridge a few days ago, and found two bags of carrots that I had bought a while ago, and were still fresh.

So, I thought about making this sauce. It is in no way authentic, but it was very tasty.

Extra virgin Olive Oil
4 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1.5 pounds ground beef (approximate, use however much you want).
Spices
Tomato Paste
Spaghetti

Chop carrots, saute in olive oil for a few minutes, while I fill the pot for pasta and chop the onions. I wanted the carrots to cook a while to soften before adding the onions. I added the onions along with some sea salt, and let it cook until everything was soft. I then added the garlic, and the meat.

I browned the meat. I added spices to it (more sea salt, ground pepper, Italian seasoning, and some Ms. Dash. (I would have added dried red pepper flakes, could I have found them.) I then took the pot to the sink, and used the spatula to get some of the grease out of the pan. Not really draining, but got most of the stuff out. I added tomato paste, and cooked it. This makes a very thick sauce, so watch out for it burning on the bottom.

I put the noodles in with the sauce, and tossed it. I served it with grated Parmesan Cheese. Yum!

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