Today was a day that I hope not to repeat for years to come, if ever. Tornadoes and Spring go hand in hand in this part of the country. If you’ve been following the news at all over the past few days, you know what I mean. In some ways, the frequency of the sirens creates an attitude of nonchalance. Of course, as we have witnessed in the tragedy of Joplin, Missouri- a few hours to my south- some who chose to ignore the sirens and go about their business did not survive. This has weighed heavily on my mind this week, as the other night I had to wake my children up at 11:30 pm and get them down to the basement. As usual, at least until today, the area of concern- while still in our county- was miles away. Nothing to worry about. And so we let the girls fall asleep in the basement in front of our favorite weatherman, and went about our business.

Today was supposed to be a day for celebration- and indeed, it turned out to be- but not in the way we intended. The big girl lost another tooth today- her last that the tooth fairy will visit for- and we were to have a beautiful picnic outside to celebrate a dear friend who is moving across the country this week (complete with pictures of a resplendent table for this post!). While we were out and about this morning, we heard the radio mention more tornado warnings for the area. But, as we didn’t hear any sirens in the vicinity, we decided to make a last stop at our local Lowe’s to grab rabbit repellent for the veggie garden.  The bunnies and squirrels have been having entirely too much fun with my beets and strawberries, and need to be redirected to the other plants in my garden set aside for them. Not long after we arrived- about 45 seconds actually- the sirens blew. My first reaction was to get home as we were less than 5 minutes away, but the big girl was very anxious due to all the tornado activities over the past few days, and so we decided to stay. Honestly, I didn’t think much about it because every time the sirens have blown in the last 8 years the storms have been in a far corner of our county.

As the training room began to fill up with customers and shortly after, employees, it became clear to everyone present that this was the real deal. The sirens really were for us this time. Tables were broken down and moved to the far wall, chairs were pushed to the corner, head counts were taken, and we sat down on the floor against a wall to wait and hope we’d be missed. I thought about the Home Depot in Joplin that had been flattened, and tried to reach Jack to let him know where I was and that we were safe. But apparently everyone in the metro area had the same idea and the phone lines were completely jammed. There would be no contact with my husband until this event was over. The radar showed circulation over my neighborhood and I realized that if I was at home, the girls would be in the bathtub in the basement wearing their bicycle helmets. This was a day we had practiced for. This is why, even with homeschool, we go over our tornado protocols once a month. Thirty minutes slowly ticked by as the sirens cycled off an on. We could hear the rain pick up, then the wind, and then calm. The girls were scared, and I was scared for them. The last thing you want to see as a parent is your children terrified, knowing you’ve done everything you can to protect them, and realizing that against the forces of nature, it’s not very much.

We were lucky today. I am grateful for my 85 year old house, and the 100+ year old houses a block away. They stand as a reminder to me that the chances of my house getting flattened by a tornado are astronomically small- even in an area like Kansas City. I’m grateful for Spring- even with the threat of tornadoes lurking in the back of my mind- for fresh strawberries, mint, and arugula, and for picnics with porcelain, delicious food, and dear friends- today the indoor kind because of the ongoing rain. You can’t tell from the pictures, but it’s actually raining quite steadily in them!

This month’s inspiration came from one of the best meals I’ve had in my life. I honeymooned on Prince Edward Island, and enjoyed a stellar meal at the Inn at Bay Fortune, a beautiful estate once owned by Colleen Dewhurst who played Marilla in the aforementioned Anne of Green Gable Movies. The inn specializes in producing incredible meals using as much locally sourced food as possible, and a different version of this (in one of my favorite cookbooks), using balsamic vinegar and strawberry salsa, was one of the most memorable components of our meal there. I changed the recipe and used champagne instead of vinegar, and paired it with an arugula salad and a champagne-mint vinaigrette. I love the contrast of the slightly bitter arugula against the sweet acid of the strawberry. The mint brings a freshness and brightness to both. For transportation purposes, place the gazpacho in a mason jar, and pour into bowls, or even glasses. I often picnic with glass and porcelain- unless I have to hike a distance- then I use acrylic. Good food deserves good dishes. These recipes are simple and easy to prepare, and their flavor will leave you asking for seconds. You can use the salad as a garnish to the soup, or serve it on its own. If you are uncomfortable using alcohol that’s not going to be cooked out, you are welcome to substitute champagne vinegar. You will get a similar brightness and delicacy from the vinegar. Enjoy, and may your picnics be sunny and warm!

Be sure to stop by Lazaro Cooks and Five Star Foodie this Friday, for a complete round-up. You’ll be sure to discover some fabulous picnic food!

Strawberry Champagne Gazpacho

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 lb strawberries, cleaned with the stems removed

1/2 cup champagne, or champagne vinegar

1/2 cup grapeseed oil

Directions

Puree ingredients in a food processor for 3-4 minutes; until soup is glossy and smooth. Remove to a pitcher or jar and refrigerate until serving.

Arugula Salad with Champagne-Mint Vinaigrette

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

3 cups arugula, washed and chopped into bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup mint leaves, finely chopped

2 tbs  grapeseed oil

1/4 cup champagne, or champagne vinaigrette

juice from 1 lemon

2 tsp sugar

Directions

Place arugula in a bowl. Place remaining ingredients in a small jar. Cover and shake vigorously. Just prior to serving coat arugula with dressing and toss. Serve as a garnish to the gazpacho, or on its own.

The Adventuresome Kitchen has been up here on a whirlwind 48-hour Gluten-Free tour. We have eaten our way across the city and only scratched the surface of the delicious gluten-free opportunities here. I will be posting on our Toronto experience later this week, but for now- here’s a photo teaser.

And yes….for those of you who are “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” fans, you may recognize one of these photos!

And now, let’s talk Pie!!!

This month’s Burwell General Store Recipe Swap features a recipe called “Ozarkian Taffy Apples”.

There was some conversation in our group about why this recipe was called “Ozarkian”. Now, I can’t say for sure, but I do have a few ideas. I live just west of the Ozarks, and I do know that apples have played a big part in their history. It is said that Johnny Appleseed came through the Ozarks in the early 1800′s, introducing apples to the region. However they got here, by the late 1800′s pioneers from the Dakotas frustrated by drought and the brutal conditions of farming in the high plains were backtracking to the Ozarks ready to try their hand at raising apples. Laura Ingalls Wilder, her husband Almanzo, and their daughter Rose were among those seeking to improve their fortunes by raising apples (among other things)in the Ozarks.

During apple season, our local farmer’s markets are filled with many varieties of heirloom apples and I thought it would be great to learn what kind of apples Laura cooked with on her farm. I contacted the very kind people at the Laura Ingalls Wilder home in Mansfield, Missouri to find out what kind of apples Laura and Almanzo grew, and was told that the two varieties on Rocky Ridge farm were Ben Davis and Missouri Pippin. I’ve had Pippins before and they are a great pie apple. For me, the idea of making a pie with apples that may have been grown on Laura’s farm was irresistible, and the Caramel Apple Pie was born. I started working on this recipe last fall, in the hopes of making a nice apple post, but wasn’t happy with the results, and was happy to give it another try. I used Braeburns for this pie and felt their slightly tart flavor worked nicely against the sweet of the caramel-type filling. I also added lots of pecans- because for me- when I have a candied apple, it always has to have nuts.

The Kitchen Divas in Training had to get in on this adventure as well, and did a great job of making their own pie. You can bet I’ll be making this again during apple season and looking for Laura’s apples at the farmer’s market!

Be sure to visit the recipe swap page at Burwell General Store and check out the links to my fellow blogger’s sites- you will be in for some delicious apple treats this month!

Gluten Free Caramel Apple Pie

Makes One 8-9 inch pie

Ingredients

Pie Crust (my Gluten-Free recipe here)

5-6 apples (enough to make about 6 cups, chopped)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tbs corn starch

1 tbs lemon juice

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Caramel Topping

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

1 stick (8oz) butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tbs cornstarch

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 and move oven rack to the bottom third of the oven.

In a medium bowl, combine chopped apples, 1/2 cup of the brown sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch, and set aside.

Roll out half of the pie crust and place it on the pie pan. Cover with 1/2 cup of the pecan pieces. Set aside.

In a second bowl, combine the remaining brown sugar, butter, cornstarch and pecans.

Roll out the top crust for the pie and cut out any decorations you may like.

Add the apple mixture to the pie pan. Place the caramel topping over the apples, covering the apples completely.

Pour the heavy cream over the mixture and cover with the top crust.

Bake at 425 for 30 minutes, then turn the oven to 350 and bake for another 30-45 minutes- until the crust is golden and the juices are bubbling out of the holes. You may need to cover the crust with aluminum or a pie ring if the outside of the crust browns too quickly.

If you can- wait at least 4 hours before eating. This allows the juices to firm up. You are certainly welcome to enjoy immediately, but your pie will be a bit more crumbly. This pie tastes absolutely fabulous for breakfast!!

White Asparagus gets its color- or lack thereof- by covering the asparagus tips with mulch as they sprout, denying them the opportunity to experience photosynthesis (you know – the process of plants turning carbon dioxide (CO2) into sugars which produce chlorphyll (the green stuff) and oxygen (O2). No sunlight=no green stuff. But, if you store your asparagus on the counter and not in the fridge like I did, beware, the tips will start to turn green!

I think I went through about six pounds of asparagus before landing on my dish. I found the flavor challenging to work with, simply because it’s so delicate, and therefore very easy to overpower with other ingredients.  The evolution of my dish went something like this:

I started off thinking about asparagus custard, tarts, maybe even icecream? I landed on what I hoped would become an asparagus tart with a hazelnut crust…the end result was a really nice, creamy quiche….but wasn’t what I was after..

Then, I thought about eggs Benedict, and how I love it when asparagus is paired with ham and hollandaise… So, what if I came up with something that had asparagus in all the components, but looked like an eggs Benedict? I went back to the kitchen and came up with something that looked like this:

So while the colors may be reminiscent of eggs Benedict, in reality it tasted more like an asparagus soup with asparagus tips in hollandaise…sort of…. I was definitely getting closer, but wasn’t there yet. I liked the asparagus in the hollandaise, and I loved the pairing with morels. Morels are a classic spring offering that work beautifully with asparagus of any color. More on those in a moment….

Fast forward a few days… The leftover soup mixture was in the fridge looking creamy and thick, and not unlike leftover crepe batter. What if…….I added some flour and an egg and made a crepe? Then I could fill it with the hollandaise/asparagus/morel mixture, and top with a nice roasted spear…..Now that sounded good. And it was! I ended up saving the hollandaise for the top, and just putting the morels and asparagus inside the crepe with a little gruyere, but the flavor depth I was after was there.

Now a brief digression on Morels. Like any concerned parent who lives in a wet climate, I have repeatedly warned my children to never even touch, let alone consume mushrooms that they didn’t get from the store. They know that while some mushrooms are okay, many are not, and in the wild some deadly mushrooms look exactly like their edible counterparts.

Then I learned that we live in prime Morel country. And, that a friend of mine is an avid morel hunter. AND, that right now is Morel season!! Fortunately, there is no deadly look alike for a morel. There is something that looks similar- a false morel- but is in truth, very different. So- this is why I’m homeschooling my children, right? To take spur of the moment opportunities to spend a day in the woods learning all sorts of botany and biology….and how timely since my asparagus dish is paired with morels!

Off we went to spend a day in the woods. Thanks to the kindness of a stranger, the kids were able to ‘find’ a few precious morels. We also identified blackberries (we’ll be back in June for those!) wild ginger (Thanks Susan!) plenty of poison ivy, and other cool fungi. But mostly, they learned that the woods are their friend; a place to run and explore, and an entity not to fear.

While wild asparagus also grows around here, the challenge is that you don’t really notice it until it has reached the ferny stage, and therefore I have yet to harvest any. And with that, let’s return to the yummy asparagus dish. This dish does take more time to properly prepare than some of the others I’ve posted, but the end result is worth the flavor. This uses just under three pounds of asparagus. Fresh white asparagus is pretty fragile, and ideally should be consumed the day of purchase. If you can’t do that, stand the stems in a little water and let them sit in the fridge. You will notice that the bottoms will begin to turn pink, and that part will have to be removed prior to cooking. The longer you wait after purchase, the less asparagus you’ll be able to use in your dish. That said, three pounds should give you enough for leftovers. Wherever you are, may the flavors of Spring find their way to your table!

Be sure to stop by Lazaro Cooks! and 5 Star Foodie to get the complete rundown on all of this month’s white asparagus dishes!

White Asparagus Crepes filled with White asparagus and Morels

Serves 6-8 with leftovers

Ingredients

For the Crepes:

1 lb white asparagus, chopped into 1/2-inch lengths

4 tbs butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup water (or chicken stock)

2 bouillon cubes (if not using stock)

salt/pepper to taste (if using stock)

5-6 egg whites

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

For the Filling: 

4 tbs butter

2 medium garlic cloves, finely diced

1/2-1 lb of white asparagus, chopped into 1/2-inch lengths

1/2-1 cup of diced morels

6 oz gruyere cheese, sliced thinly

For the Hollandaise: (adapted from The Joy of Cooking)

3 large egg yolks

1 1/2 tbs cold water

1/2 cup ghee, melted but not hot

3 tsp lemon juice

For the Spears:

1 slice of prosciutto or serrano ham for every 2 asparagus

enough pairs of spears for 1-2 per crepe (I made 8 total)

Directions:

Begin by making the crepe batter. Melt butter in a medium saute pan and add asparagus. Saute for about 2 minutes. When you can smell the asparagus, add the heavy cream, water and the bouillon cubes. Bring to a simmer and turn to low. Cook for 10 minutes- the point is to really infuse the liquid with the asparagus flavor. I chose bouillon over stock this time because I didn’t want the heavy cream to dilute the stock flavor.

Remove mixture to a food processor or a blender. Once the mixer has started, remove the ‘pusher lid’ (where you add extra ingredients while it’s running) This will allow the steam to release. Mix for about 1 minute before adding additional ingredients. While the mixture is still blending, slowly add the flours, xanthan gum, and lastly, the egg whites. (I opted to use just whites so that the crepe color was as white as possible, if you use full eggs- reduce the amount to 2 or 3) Blend an additional minute and set aside. Remove the processor lid to allow the mixture to cool while you are preparing the other ingredients.

Next- Make the filling and hollandaise. The creation of hollandaise requires the use of a double boiler. For this recipe, the double boiler will be the filling. There’s enough heat coming off the cooking of the filling that you can just place your hollandaise bowl right on top.

In a small pan, melt butter. Add garlic and morels. When you can smell the garlic, add the asparagus tips. In a medium bowl (something large enough to rest on top of the filling pan) whisk egg yolks and water until frothy. Place bowl on top of the filling pan. Continue whisking until egg mixture has begun to thicken- about 2-4 minutes. When mixture thickens, remove from heat and slowly add melted ghee while continuing to whisk. Add lemon juice and taste. For the purposes of this dish I opted for no salt/pepper. You may choose to add if you like. Set aside for plate preparation.

To make the spears: Using a pastry brush, coat 2 asparagus spears with the oil mixture from the filling. Next, wrap them with prosciutto, serrano ham, or other cured meat. Place on a toaster oven tray. When you’ve assembled the desired number, set toaster oven to 350 and roast for 10-15 minutes. The meat will have crisped up and shrunk around the spears, and the tops of the spears will have just started to crisp, but not discolor.

To assemble: Heat a large saute pan or cast iron skillet. Add a dollop of butter- about 1 tbs and allow it to cover the bottom- it should be sizzling. Ladle a generous scoop of the crepe batter into the pan and swirl it around until it has covered most of the bottom. Allow it to cook until you see little bubbles. Gently flip. Place 2-3 slices of gruyere on the crepe, and 1-2 spoonfulls of the filling. Flip the sides of the crepe onto itself- like an envelope. Remove to a plate. Drizzle with a little hollandaise and top with a prosciutto covered spear. Enjoy!!

We have been very busy around here over the last few weeks. Mother Nature waits for no one, and in between the rain, snow, and generally yucky weather we’ve been having this spring, the Kitchen Divas in Training and I suspended regular schooling for a week to put in a square-foot garden. It’s amazing how much practical learning can be packed into one backyard kitchen garden project! When I debriefed the experience with the girls, here’s just some of what they said they learned:

Geometry, volume, money management, reading, chemistry, patience, ‘that it’s hard to co-operate sometimes’, flexibility when your project goes wrong, ‘bossy’ leadership vs. ‘real’ leadership (don’t you love that?!?), that big projects take longer and cost more money than you think, a sense of humor makes the hard work more fun, delayed gratification, that sometimes you just have to stop and play (I’ll admit- it was me who had to learn that!) the list goes on, but you get the idea…. what a rich experience for all of us! Future lessons will include the enjoyment and preparation of our food (arguably the best part- right?) and then preserving the bounty of the harvest- so keep your eyes peeled in future months for posts regarding pickling, freezing and other types of preserving!

When the rains began again, I found myself digging in a box of old photos for a picture that my grandmother took of me holding a badly decorated ‘wedding’ cake in front of the TV, where Prince Charles and the new Princess Di were in a carriage leaving St. Paul’s Cathedral. I was 10 years old. (Alas, the picture was not to be found.) I’d like to say that my cake decorating ability has improved significantly in 30 years time, but it hasn’t. So I compensate with whipped cream and flowers.

Now, if you’re a true Anglophile, you know the proper wedding cake for an event such as this is a fruit cake. Not the nasty stuff we all received in red tins from various grandparents, aunts, and uncles in the day, but real fruitcake. Such as soon t0 be Princess Kate- or is it Lady?- will be having next Friday. Now, I know absolutely nothing about the proper making of a fruitcake, but Fiona at Life on Nanchang Lu has an incredible fruitcake recipe that’s been a part of her family for some time. While I haven’t attempted a GF version, one look at her picture is enough to make a fruitcake lover out of anybody.

Thinking of the Royal Wedding Cake naturally got me thinking of my own wedding some years ago. My wedding cake was the last gluten-bomb I enjoyed. Six weeks later I was handed my life-changing celiac diagnosis. But, I do remember my cakes fondly- an antique rose cake and a mandarin orange cake. Both high on flavor, but low on fuss and frosting. So this week I set out to create a gluten-free hybrid of what I remember enjoying on my big day.

There are two places I go when I need to convert a recipe, The Joy of Cooking, and Mastering the Art of French Cooking. First, the technical cooking information is very comprehensive, so it helps me figure out the cooking chemistry. Second, who needs anything else? You’ve seen the picture of my beat-up Joy in a previous post, and my Mastering is quickly taking on the same look. This time, Julia did not disappoint. I converted her recipe for a basic butter spongecake with a handful of tweaks and only one hiccup. First go-round I was supervising the Kitchen Divas in Training in a chemistry lab, and as soon as I turned around from popping my fluffy cakes in the oven I noticed this: (melted butter sitting on the counter)

Which resulted in this:(funky looking cake)

In case you’re looking at these pictures a bit mystified- let me explain. Spongecakes get their sponginess from eggwhites whipped into stiff peaks. This provides structure, air bubbles,  and even a bit of elasticity to a gluten-free pastry. This is key for the pastry to not have that tell-tale ‘gluten-free’ texture. But, fat has a role to play too. Think of the egg whites as very excited children on a sugar high. They get all huge and out of control and then- phfszzzzz- they collapse. Adding fat to your spongecake is like insisting your child eat a turkey sandwich prior to the candy. It keeps everything manageable, and results in a cake that looks like this: (normal looking cake)

Much better, yes? More stable and cake-like. With the addition of the fat- in this case melted butter- the batter also behaved more like regular batter. It flowed nicely, and spread easily in the pan.

Now, if you look closely at both versions of the cake, you’ll see that the first cake- while not as attractive, does have a little more volume- this is because the eggs expanded unhampered by the fat. I would absolutely consider this recipe without the use of fat if I were spreading it on a sheet and making a buche de noel. The texture was very nice and definitely spongy- but too spongy for what I wanted for this cake.

The second cake is a bit denser, but ended up having a lovely crumb, and worked well with the mandarin orange curd I made. While I used rose water to flavor the cake this time, this is a very basic recipe that could easily take on any flavoring you desired. There will definitely be different incarnations of this in my future.

As for the decorating- in this life I will never win any awards for a beautiful cake. I content myself with simple frosting or whipped cream. The girls had the idea of picking the violets and the mint- both are rampant in our yard at the moment, and since we don’t use chemicals in our yard- they’re also edible. So in the mist and drizzle this afternoon, we ran in and out of the kitchen collecting pretty edibles and decorating a cake fit for a princess…or two!

Gluten Free Rose Cake with Mandarin Orange Filling

Makes 2 8-inch rounds

Ingredients

4 tbs ghee or grapeseed oil (ghee is clarified butter)

2/3 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

2 tsp rose water (or other extract or flavoring of your choice)

6 egg whites

generous pinch of salt

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

2 tbs sugar

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1/4 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup white rice flour (could also use brown)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch cake plans and flour using sorghum flour. Melt the ghee and set aside. You want this tepid- but not yet solidifying again- it should be clear. Sift flours into a small bowl. Sifting here is important because it’s adding air to the mix.

If possible, use a stand mixer and a hand mixer for this next section- you can have the yolks mixing in the stand mixer while you whip the whites. If you don’t have both; do the yolks first, then whip the whites.

Place yolks in the bottom of the stand mixing bowl. For optimum leavening, have all ingredients at room temperature, or about 70 degrees if you’re in a hot climate. In a separate bowl place the egg whites. Turn the stand mixer on medium high and begin to whip the yolks. After about 20 seconds add the rose water and gradually pour in 2/3 cup of sugar. Mix until the eggs are fluffy and very pale yellow and make ‘the ribbon’. See this post for an explanation of ‘the ribbon’.

Begin to whip the egg whites with a hand mixer on the lowest setting. When the eggs start to get a bit foamy add the salt and cream of tartar. When the whites reach the ‘soft peak’ stage, add the 2 tbs of sugar, and beat until the peaks are just stiff. Remember, at the stiff peak stage the whites are glossy and stand up when you scoop them with the beaters. The tops may flop over a bit- that’s ok. If your whites become dull and uneven you’ve overwhipped. I’ve read this can be remedied by adding another egg white, but I’ve never tried it myself.

Scoop 1/4 of the whites into the yolk mixture and begin to fold them together. Next, sift (yes, this is the second time you’ve sifted) 1/3 of the flour mixture into the yolk mixture. Then add another 1/4 of the eggwhites and fold, followed by another 1/3rd of the flour, continuing to fold.  Add another 1/4 of the egg whites, fold, and sift the last of the flour. Fold again, and finish by folding the last of the eggwhites into the batter. Pour 1/2 of the butter mixture into the batter and fold. The butter will drop straight to the bottom of the bowl, so it’s important to fold from the very bottom up. Fold in the last part of the butter and pour into the pans.

Cook in the lower third of the oven for about 25 minutes. The color should be golden and a cake stick should come out clean. Allow to cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the side of the pan and flip over onto a cake rack to cool. It may take a little effort to get the cake out, but gravity will win- just be patient and don’t force it.

While the cake is cooling, make the filling.

Mandarin Orange Curd

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

zest of 2 clementines

1/2 cup clementine or orange juice- strained (about 3 clementines)

8 tbs butter, cut into 1 tbs segments

Directions

Place egg yolks, sugar and zest in a medium saucepan and whisk briefly until yolks have just started to lighten (be carefeul not to over-whisk as this results in grainy curd)

Add orange juice and butter. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until butter has melted and mixture has thickened. This will be a little runnier than lemon curd, but will thicken in the refrigerator if left overnight.

To Assemble Cake

When the cake has cooled and you are ready to assemble, place one layer on a tray or large plate. Using a bread knife, gently remove the crusty top part of the cake- this facilitates the absorption of the filling. Scoop the filling into the center of the cake and using a spatula spread outward within 1/2-3/4 inch from the side. The weight of the top layer will push the filling all the way to the sides.

Next, use a bread knife to remove the crusty top part of the second layer. Gently flip this exposed side down onto the filling and using your hands, gently center the cake. Place in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes to allow the filling to firm up. While the cake is chilling, make your frosting or whipped cream.

For this recipe, I used 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 tsp of rose water, and 4 tbs sugar. Beat on high in a cold bowl until cream makes soft peaks. If you over beat the cream it will turn to butter. Spread evenly around the top and sides of the cake. Decorate as you wish. Edible flowers are always lovely!

Welcome to the April edition of the Burwell General Store recipe swap! This month’s subject was a crazy cake recipe that provided the perfect opportunity to talk about kitchen chemistry- something anyone who bakes may understand intuitively, but that is really helpful to understand more deeply- especially if you’re baking gluten-free.

To recap: Christianna, the fabulous blogger at Burwell General Store found an old cookbook and several months ago invited a group of folks to take one recipe each month and put their own twist on it. I joined the group last month, and it’s been fun to get to know my fellow bloggers, as well as challenge myself in the kitchen. And this month’s cake, was certainly that! Here is the original recipe:

Wacky cake indeed! What excited me about the Wacky cake was that it only used baking soda and vinegar for leavening. No egg, no baking powder- only these two magical ingredients. What is so special about these two ingredients you may ask? Step into my kitchen lab and I will show you!

The Kitchen Divas in Training are now schooling at home, and for science, we are currently studying chemistry. I am as excited as they are about this, because I chickened out of high school chemistry, and in the past year as I have delved more deeply into gluten-free baking, I’ve found myself wishing I understood chemistry better than I do… If you’re curious about chemistry, or have kids who are curious- I highly recommend this series of books- even if they go to traditional school. They’re informative and fun. I personally like all the smiley faces on the different atoms!

So what goes on with vinegar and baking soda when you bake? Well, this:

Cool huh? Baking soda- a base, is reacting with vinegar- an acid. A rather explosive combination.. Add sugar, and the result is amplified. On a molecular level the vinegar and baking soda atoms are switching partners- that’s what’s creating the bubbles.. And, in the kitchen- what happens when you add this to flour and oil, and pop it into a hot oven? Puffy cake!! well…. most of the time, as our kitchen experiments showed.

For this challenge we hypothesized that a cake made with lemon would have a similar lift as the chocolate cake. Chocolate is also considered an acid, and can help increase the amount of bubbles in an acid-base reaction. Honey is also considered an acid- as is an egg…the addition of any of these ingredients can help facilitate the proper reaction to ensure a puffy cake… For our cake, we went with lemon and honey. I had a beautiful jar of the palest yellow acacia honey from our trip to Paris that I had been saving for something special, and since it seemed like sunshine in a bottle, we thought it would be the perfect compliment to the Meyer lemons we picked up.

Now, like all good experimenters, we decided we needed a control. So while one young scientist worked on the experimental recipe, the other created the original Wacky Cake recipe, using the same gluten-free flours as the experimental recipe.

Here’s some of what we learned:

While the acid-base reaction helps give batter a lift, gluten-free chemistry is slightly more delicate. In addition to making sure you have the right proportion of acid to base, you also have to have the right combination of gluten-free flours. Otherwise you end up with gummy cake that tastes like the tapioca balls at the bottom of a bubble tea, like this picture to the left. Notice that the chocolate control cake is puffier. That’s because the chocolate provided additional acid for the reaction.

The shape of the cooking vessel makes a big difference. This recipe calls for mixing the cake in the pan it’s baked in. All well and good, but it’s hard to get the flour wet in the corners. We had the bright idea- well I did at least- of cooking the cake in a stainless steel bowl- the one it was mixed in. I had visions of a rounded lemony puffy cake, not unlike those enormous muffin tins used to make barbie cakes or Easter egg cakes. Not only did we end up cooking cake number two for an hour, but the middle was still uncooked, and upon removing it from the bowl, it looked like this:

The third time was the charm, however. The flours were adjusted properly, we’d gone back to a square baking vessel (more surface to heat the batter), and we’d adjusted the lemon/acid content to where we got a decent lift in the cake!

In conclusion, we learned a lot in our little experiment, including that I rely very heavily on eggs to act as a binder and a lifting agent in some form. To achieve lift using only an acid-base reaction is possible, but easier in a chocolate cake than a citrus cake. Our cake has a great moisture content- due in large part to the honey, and it has a nice crumb. It’s sweet, but not too sweet- and I’ll be having a slice with my morning coffee. No doubt the Kitchen Divas in Training will be asking for a slice with their breakfast as well!

Be sure to stop by the Burwell General Store Recipe Swap Page to get a run down of all the participating bloggers. Links to their sites are there, and you will enjoy the delicious variety of cake offered this month!

Gluten-Free Lemon Honey Wacky Cake

makes 1 9×9 cake

Ingredients

3/4 cup tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour)

3/4 cup brown rice flour  

1/4 cup almond meal

4 tbs sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

zest from 2 lemons

5 tbs melted butter

1 cup cold water

1/2 cup honey

3 tbs lemon juice

Directions

In the pan you are baking in, place all the dry ingredients and stir with a fork to fully mix. Using a 2 cup measuring cup, combine water, honey and lemon juice. Stir until honey has dissolved. Next, make a hole in the center and add the melted butter. While stirring, add the remaining liquid. You will see bubbles start to form as the baking soda and lemon juice begin to react. Combine ingredients and place in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes. Turn to 350 and cook an additional 20 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean.

I found myself this past week actively wishing that Adventuresome wasn’t in my blog title. When I’d rather stick my head in the sand, or suck my thumb because being adventuresome  requires too much effort, mental energy, or hutzpah…it calls me out of my comfort zone and forces me to get off my rear end and just try something….anything…who knows what happens when you’re willing to throw caution and fear to the wind and just go for it?     

hosted by 5 Star Foodie & Lazaro Cooks!

This month’s 5 Star Makeover really kicked my ass.. It’s all about Sustainable Fish, and that is a great topic. Sustainable Fish is important. If we want to make sure that our oceans and rivers have food for future generations, Sustainable Fish is more than important- it has to become a way of life, and soon. Our large fish populations are in peril, our freshwater fish supplies are largely contaminated, and we foodies need to get the word out about the importance of using sustainably harvested fish. We do no less when we shout about this organic fruit, or that local veggie. But then we turn around and go all out at the sushi bar. I am one such person. I had no idea until this challenge that the only fish I like are the unsustainable kind….
I pride myself on being an adventurous eater…but during this challenge I realized the big caveat to that statement is ‘except where fish are concerned’. Chalk it up to the enforced fly-fishing practice in the backyard when I was a kid. Or the enforced fly fishing excursions where I was tramped through poison ivy only to be left alone on a stretch of river with my fly rod, which on the first cast invariably got stuck in the willows. Chalk it up to one too many trout bones choked down with a piece of bread… With all due respect to those of you who’ve found Zen Nirvana with the whole fishing thing- Thanks, but I’ll take my meat with legs.
As I hemmed and hawed and procrastinated about what to cook up, I had to confront the realization that with the exception of sushi, I really don’t like fish. In fact, I shamefacedly admit, it’s usually the last thing I would consider ordering on a menu. Good for the future viability of the fish population, bad for the adventuresome eater and wannabe Julia Child. Furthermore, on those occasions when I do have fish- I like it raw or with lemon and butter. Lemon and butter are lovely, but when doing a food makeover, they equal one thing: b.o.r.i.n.g.  Not very adventurous.
Faced with the choice of chickening out or sucking it up, I went with the latter and started to figure out what I was going to do. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a great site, full of information about what fish is sustainably produced, what are good alternatives, and what you should stay away from entirely.
The biggest challenge for me here in the midwest was finding a fish labeled ‘best choice’. It was impossible, actually. Even at the one Whole Paycheck in town. There’s a dearth of good fish here- and given that we’re a two day drive in any direction from the nearest ocean, I can see why. I did however, find a ‘good alternative’ farm raised  blue tilapia from Ecuador, also deemed ‘Eco OK’ by the Environmental Defense Fund’s Seafood Selector.  I’ve never had tilapia before. I know, I know- I’m displaying my foodie ignorance and novice abilities here. It’s a nice, meaty white fish. And, when I thought about what fish I’d like to have, and never get because of my gluten intolerance- my mind immediately jumped to fish-n-chips! Gluten-Free fish-n-chips are impossible to get. Heck, even getting gluten-free fries at a restaurant is impossible because the fries are cooked in the same oil as the onion rings, battered fish, squid, chicken tenders and cheese sticks.

So, as I thought about what would be a fun twist on fish-n-chips, I thought, why not cook the chips with the fish- in the batter? Frying everything all crispy, and then instead of tartar sauce, serve with a homemade chipotle-lime mayo in place of the traditional tartar sauce? And the dish was born. Not only was it a surprising combination- it was really fun to eat the crispy shoestring potatoes in the fish batter- I discovered that I LOVE tilapia!! In this preparation, the tilapia turned out meaty, flakey, and just a little bit juicy. It was the perfect compliment to the crispy outside. And the mayo? We’ll be spreading that on everything for some time to come. As for a beverage- a delicious gluten-free beer-  and I’m in pub heaven!

Now, I can’t say that I’ll be having fish once a week from here on out- but when sustainable tilapia is on sale- I’ll be bringing some home for sure! Maybe next time wrapping it in bacon!

Many, many thanks to fish guru Lazaro for patiently and kindly answering many of my questions related to this fish challenge!! For a complete round-up of all the 5 Star Makeovers and links to the other participants blogs, Visit Lazaro at Lazaro Cooks! and Natasha at 5 Star Foodie. You’ll be inspired by all the incredible and creative fish dishes you see.

Lastly- please visit my friend Sabrina at The Tomato Tart on Wed March 30th. Over 90 bloggers across 4 continents are coming together to sell their confections to the highest bidder to raise funds for Second Harvest Japan- that nation’s first foodbank. I’ve donated a batch of my gluten-free orange almond teacakes.

Gluten Free Fish n Chips with Chipotle Lime Mayo

serves 6

Ingredients                                                             

Chipotle Lime Mayo

zest of 2 limes + extra for garnish

3/8 tsp chipotle powder (more if you like it hot)

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

2 tbs lime juice (fresh squeezed is best)

3/4 cup grapeseed oil

pinch of salt

twist of pepper

Fish n Chips

1 3/4 lb-2 lbs sustainable white fish like tilapia

1 egg + 1 egg white

2/3 cup sweet rice flour

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1 1/3 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp salt

12 twists from the pepper mill (about 3/4 tsp)

2 russet potatoes, shredded finely

enough shortening and /or oil to fill a fryer or dutch oven with at least 1 inch of liquid- about 1 1/2 lbs of shortening sticks

Cooking or candy thermometer (I have an electric one- very handy)

Directions

In a small bowl place eggs, lime zest, chipotle and lime juice. Using a hand mixer on high, whip the eggs until frothy and the yolk has begun to lighten. Very slowly add a few drops at a time of the oil into the mixture. Continue adding the oil by drops until the mixture has begun to thicken. When the mixture shows signs of thickening add the oil in a thin stream, but still go slowly. Keep beating on high. It will feel like your arms are going to fall off. When the oil has been completely absorbed, add the salt and pepper and give a quick mix. Place in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Garnish with additional lime zest.

disclaimer: yes- this is real mayonnaise, and yes- it has raw eggs. I know my farmer and where my eggs come from. I trust him implicitly. If you are concerned about salmonella or other yukky organisms I suggest you find a farmer you know and trust and buy your eggs locally. Foodborne illness from eggs comes from poor handling practices, and stressed out chickens. When chickens are raised in factory farms where they don’t see the light of day, never walk around, and poop on their neighbors heads, you get yukky organisms like salmonella. You also get eggs with higher cholesterol because the chickens are stressed out. Happy chickens=happy eggs=happy you…I eat raw eggs, and I shamelessly sample the cookie and cake batter. I’ve never been sick. Ever. That said- only you know where your eggs come from, and only you can decide if you are comfortable eating raw eggs. If you aren’t- then make this mayo by adding the lime juice, zest, and chipotle to a store bought jar.  The freshly made mayo will keep about a week. Do not leave it sitting out on the counter, and be sure to cover it when you put it back in the refrigerator.

In a separate small bowl, place the egg, egg white, sweet rice flour, tapioca, salt, pepper and buttermilk. Mix thoroughly and set aside. Finely shred the potatoes- think shoestring size- rinse in a colander, squeeze out the excess water, and set aside. Lastly pat the tilapia dry and slice into sections of even thickness. Most filets will be thick at one end and thin at the other. When you fry them, fry the thick pieces together, then the thin pieces. That way, everything in the pan is cooking for roughly the same length of time.

Place shortening into your fryer and turn the heat to medium-high.  I use my cast iron fryer. You could use a stainless steel pot, or dutch oven. What’s important is a pot or pan that can stand high heat and has a minimum of 4 inch sides. A splatter guard is helpful too.

While the oil is heating up, set up a dredging station on one side, and a cooling station on the other. For the dredging station, place a cooling rack over a cookie sheet. For the cooling station, place a cooling rack over another cookie sheet and cover with paper towels.

Dip the filets in the batter and place on the dredging station. Grab a small handful of shoestring potatoes and pat them onto the fish. Flip the fish and repeat. This is VERY MESSY work…embrace it- you will be happy when you eat your very crispy fish! If the potatoes start to slip off the fish, and they may, take your fingers or a small ladle and add a tiny bit of batter to the potatoes. The oil will be hot enough that when the batter hits the pan it will stick to the fish nicely.

When the oil temperature reaches 350 degrees fahrenheit, add 3-4 slices of fish. It will bubble like crazy, and you’ll see the temperature drop. This is normal, and why it’s important to only put a few pieces of fish in at a time. Wait until the oil is nearly back to 350 (about 3 minutes give or take) before flipping the fish. Allow to cook about 1 minute on the second side, and when the thermometer reaches 350, remove the fish. * Don’t let the oil get much over 350- the chemical make-up begins to change and ruins the taste.

The batter and potato color should be a rich golden brown, and the potatoes should be crispy and stiff. Place on the paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Cover and lightly pat with another paper towel. Add the next set of fish. Continue frying until all the fish have cooked. You may have a little extra potatoes and batter. If you do- fry them up too- they make great fritters and shoestring potatoes!

Foodbuzz in conjunction with Kelly Confidential is hosting an online tea part to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. By simply clicking over to the Kelly Confidential site, you can help raise even more money for Ovarian Cancer Research.  And, this Friday, Foodbuzz will take over the daily Top 9 to feature only tea party posts (oooh maybe you’ll see me!).  Foodbuzz will also donate $50 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund for every tea party recipe created by a Featured Publisher before March 23rd!  That’s worth getting out my great-great-grandmother’s china! This fancy antique china has been passed down to the women in my family since the 1800′s! And now, you can enjoy it too- with a lovely gluten-free teacake.

Having tea forces us to stop, slow down, and breathe. I think it helps us remember the truly important things in life- food and relationships. The girls and I will often stop for tea mid-morning, or mid-afternoon- basically at those times when our brains are too filled with facts to think anymore. And the conversations that always develop out of those breaks are little gifts.

While many snacks go well with tea, I like teacakes because they’re sweet, but not too sweet. They satisfy my need to nosh, without giving me a sugar high or overfilling my tummy and spoiling the next meal. The orange and almond in this cake make a lovely combination, and the sponginess of the cake is achieved by incorporating whipped egg whites. This is a great technique to use to get good volume and texture ingluten-free baked goods. If you don’t have oranges on hand, lemons would be good too- just substitute vanilla extract for almond extract. This batter is light enough, you could also put it in a greased madeleine pan and make little madeleines. Then they’d be the perfect finger food!

Do you have a favorite tea experience? When I was in college my grandparents took me to high tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, Canada. That was an experience! Our celebratory tea party was a little more reserved, but just as fun. Wherever you are this week, why not take time out for a little tea and conversation? There’s always something to celebrate!

My heartfelt hanks to everyone who has stopped by my site in the past year, left a comment, or a note of encouragement. I have grown so much as a chef, writer, photographer (still LOTS to learn there!), kitchen control freak, and parent! I look forward to another year of adventure in the kitchen and in life!

Gluten Free Orange Almond Tea Cakes

Makes 12-14

Ingredients

4 eggs, separated

2/3 cup + 1 tbs sugar

zest of one orange

juice from one orange, about 1/3 cup

4 oz salted butter, melted and allowed to cool (one stick)

¾ cup almond flour (also called almond meal)

¼ cup tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour)

¼ cup sorghum flour

¼ tsp cream of tartar

¼ tsp almond extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Separate eggs and set the whites aside. Sift the tapioca and sorghum together and set aside. Melt the butter and set aside. Using a stand mixer (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer) beat the egg yolks and sugar on high speed for several minutes until mixture is pale yellow, and forms ‘the ribbon’

The ribbon is a baking term used to describe batter that when scooped up and allowed to run back into the bowl forms a ribbon as it sits on the surface of the batter before being re-absorbed.

Add the orange juice, zest, and almond extract,  and continue beating another moment. Add the almond flour and continue to beat until it’s incorporated. Add the sorghum/tapioca mixture and set aside.

Next, add the cream of tartar to the egg whites. Using clean beaters, whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Sprinkle on the remaining tablespoon of sugar and continue to beat into stiff peaks.

Pour the melted butter into the orange/almond mixture, leaving the milky bits that have sunk to the bottom of the pan or bowl. This is the milk protein and isn’t needed for this recipe- you will have about 2 tbs of ‘butter’ still left in your container, but it will be milky looking.

Using a spatula, fold the butter into the batter. When it’s fully incorporated, stir in ¼ of the egg whites. When the egg whites have been fully mixed, gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon batter into greased muffin tins and bake in the lower third of the oven for 20 minutes.

Allow to cool briefly in the muffin tins, and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Today’s pasta was re-created by my oldest Kitchen Diva in Training. She has started working on geography by checking out cookbooks from different countries and then selecting a dish or two to prepare- how cool is that? And, since this has really been her project from start to finish, it’s only fitting that you hear from the KDiT herself about the ins and outs of this special recipe. Without further ado, I present to you Arianwen, one of two amazing Kitchen Divas in Training!

KD: Arianwen, what was your inspiration for this dish?

KDiT: I like Italian food. I liked the way the pasta looked with two different colors- green for hay and yellow for straw, and I liked all the ingredients used.

KD: Where did this dish come from?

KDiT: The city of Siena, in Tuscany.

KD: What was the biggest challenge for you?

KDiT: I think waiting for the pasta to cook.

KD: What was your favorite part of making the dish?

KDiT: I liked the cooking part- preparing and cooking the ingredients that went with the pasta.

KD: My favorite part was taking pictures of you. Did you have fun? What part was the most fun?

KDiT: YES!! I think it’s really fun when I get to cook- I make really good food. (She says with a satisfied smile…..)

KD: Yes, you do! What did you learn?

KDit: That the pasta takes a long time to cook; that you have to be super patient so that your food comes out the way it needs to be cooked. I also learned that Italian food uses lots of fresh produce….and lots of cheese!

KD: When I cook, I don’t really follow the recipe- I use it as a guide, and I always have to change something. You stuck to the recipe exactly the way it was written. Can you tell me your thoughts about that?

KDit: I stuck to the recipe because I wanted to try something new.  I like to cook the exact recipe out of the cookbook because sometimes when you cook off of the recipe it tastes different, and not like what the recipe intended. I wanted to see what this recipe tasted like!

KD: So, do you think you want to make another dish sometime?

KDit: Oh YES!!! (I was told I had to put in the capital letters!)

This dish comes from the children’s cookbook “Cooking the Italian Way” by Alphonse Bisignano. Thanks, Arianwen! You teach me so much when you cook. Enjoy the recipe and may your St. Patrick’s Day be filled with a little luck o’the Irish! Cheers!

Straw & Hay/Paglia e Fieno

4 servings

Ingredients 

4oz thin spinach noodles, uncooked (we used gluten-free)

4oz fettucini noodles, uncooked (we used gluten-free)

3 tbs butter,

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup peas

4 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

3/4 cup heavy cream or half n half

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

1/4 grated Parmesan, plus extra for the table.

Directions

Cook noodles in boiling salted water until they are al dente. Drain and toss with half the butter. Cover and set aside.

Melt remaining butter in a large saucepan. Saute garlic until golden.  Add peas and mushrooms and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. In a separate pan, heat the cream but do not boil.

Add the noodles, cream, salt and pepper to the vegetables and toss until noodles are thoroughly coated. Remove from heat and add cheese. Serve on warm plates.

(And special thanks to Toni from Boulder Locavore who was kind enough to help me get involved with this recipe group!)

This month’s recipe was Chicken Stew with Drop Biscuits.  Our challenge was to change 3 things about the recipe to make it our own and then post about it. I’ve had a sneak preview of some of my colleagues’ recipes, and they are mouthwatering and creative. I’m only sorry I can’t sample them right now! Once you’ve read my take on the recipe, pop on over to the Recipe Swap page at Burwell General Store, where you’ll see everything from crostata to curry. There are even a few additional gluten-free recipes! How cool is that?

I’ve been on a buffalo kick for the last month or so. There is a buffalo farm less than 20 miles from my house, and the owner sells her meat at many local grocers as well as the River Market. I had a great conversation with her a few weeks ago about stew meats,  cooking ‘low and slow’, and thought since the cold weather is refusing to give way to spring- at least for the time being- that a buffalo pie would be a nice twist on the chicken pie theme.  And, to save time and energy, I did it all in my crock pot! I have an older crock pot with a removable ceramic interior, which means it can go from crock to oven very nicely. I slow cooked the buffalo with some red wine and a few other ‘stewy’ ingredients, before adding my biscuits to the top and popping the whole thing in the oven!

If you don’t have a crock pot and a toaster oven in your kitchen, I highly recommend their addition. Both items are great in the summer when you don’t want to heat your kitchen any more than necessary. And, if you’re only cooking a little- it takes way less time and kilowats to run the smaller appliances. My toaster oven can even accommodate my small Le Creuset Gratin baker. Perfect for all sorts of side dishes! But I digress….

The crock pot gets a workout in this house because I’m very fond of throwing in a bunch of ingredients, walking away, and coming back to enjoy them several hours later. The key is to use the lowest setting and to allow cooking for a minimum of 6 hours. Anything beyond that just makes the meat even more tender. Normally, when I do a roast or a stew, I serve it with clear broth made from the cooking juices, but this time, I went out on a limb and added a little roux and cream. It was totally worth it, and I will absolutely consider doing it again. Hopefully not until next fall! The creaminess of the sauce worked nicely with the texture of the drop biscuits, and the green chiles added the tiniest bit of punch to the flavor. I could have used a little more myself, but wanting to make this accessible to a variety of people- including the Kitchen-Divas-In-Training… I went a little light on the chiles. Certainly add more if you like the heat- the dish is rich enough that it can stand up to a somewhat spicier biscuit! This is a recipe that can easily accommodate whatever changes and twists you’d like to add when you serve it up at your house. Remember always to have fun in your kitchen, and be sure to stop by the Burwell General Store Recipe Swap page for some outstanding recipes and a dose of inspiration! Who knows what might end up on your table?

Buffalo Stew

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 lbs of buffalo stew meat, cubed

1/2 cup red wine

4 shallots, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cups potatoes, chopped (about 3 small)

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 tsp salt

2 tbs wheat-free tamari (soy sauce)

6 twists of fresh pepper

1 1/2 cups water

Roux:

2 tbs butter

3 tbs sorghum

1 cup milk, half n half, or heavy cream

Directions

Place all ingredients except the roux in a crock pot and simmer on low for 6-12 hours. A word- please use red wine you would drink. If it’s not fit to drink, it’s not fit to use in food you will eat… just sayin’…… See! I told you it was easy!

45 minutes before you are ready to eat, turn off the crock pot and remove the ceramic container. It will be hot, so be sure to use potholders and place it on a heat safe coaster. Turn your oven to 425, and begin preparing the green chile cheddar biscuits below. Just before putting the biscuits in the stew, make the roux. Melt the butter in a small saute pan. When the butter is foamy, add the sorghum and whisk briskly. When you start to smell the flour, but before it has darkened in color, slowly add the milk while continuing to whisk. Once the ingredients are fully incorporated, add to the stew and stir. Then add the drop biscuits and proceed as directed.

Gluten Free Green Chile Cheddar Drop Biscuits

Makes about 20 small biscuits

Ingredients         

1 cup millet flour

1 1/4 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)

1 tbs baking powder

2 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 oz (one stick) butter

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped green chiles

3 tbs honey

1/2 cup buttermilk

Glaze:

3 tbs butter

3 tbs honey

Directions

Place dry ingredients in a food processor and mix by pulsing about 6 times. Chop the butter into 8-10 segments and add to the dry ingredients. Pulse an additional 6-8 times, until the butter has been cut up to pea-sized bits. Add the cheddar cheese and pulse 2-3 more times.

In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup, combine the honey, green chile, and buttermilk. Add to the dry ingredients and pulse several more times until mixture comes together in a ball-like form. Scoop into the stew (or onto a parchment lined cookie sheet) with a large melon-baller. To make the glaze, melt the remaining butter and honey in a microwave safe dish- it should take about 30 seconds. Brush the glaze onto the biscuits and then place the whole crock into the oven. Immediately turn down the oven heat to 375, and cook for 20 minutes, or until tops of biscuits are golden brown. The biscuits expand during the cooking process and make a lovely thick crust over the stew. Don’t be shy about cutting into this and serving the biscuits on top of, or next to the stew. Enjoy!!

A souffle is an egg-based dish that is light and fluffy and just melts in your mouth. Their mystique is legendary, and they are seemingly one of the toughest dishes to get right. In reality, while they do take a little time, they’re fairly easy to create, and the results are always spectacular. And the taste? Well, you can judge for yourself, but in my book it’s like eating a cloud. Better than cotton candy or marshmallows. The second layer of flavor in this dish was inspired by bacon and eggs erstwhile companion, maple syrup. Again- going back to the classic companion to greasy spoon/Saturday breakfast/diner food- the pancake with maple syrup. In addition to using the very fragrant maple sugar to coat the souffle dish instead of parmesan cheese, it was a key ingredient in the sauce.

This dish is best served in a brunch-like situation. It’s very rich- sweet, yet savory, and surprisingly filling for something so light. If you don’t have bacon bourbon on hand for the sauce, you could use regular bourbon, or forgo the alcohol entirely. While the bourbon adds a great kick to the sauce, I confess I grabbed it mostly because I wanted to set something on fire- it adds such an air of festiveness to a dish. Just be careful not to singe your eyebrows, and to flambe far from anything flammable- like clothes, dishcloths, the open bourbon bottle, paper towels- you get the idea.  Enjoy, and be sure to check out all the recipes at the round up this Friday at Lazaro Cooks and 5 Star Foodie- you’re sure to be inspired by all the bacon & egg creations!

Bacon Souffle with Maple Bacon Bourbon Sauce

Makes 1 large souffle or 8 individual souffles

Ingredients 

1 1/4 cup milk

1 shallot

2 small bay leaves

4 cloves

3 tbs butter

3 tbs sorghum (can use regular flour here if you don’t need to worry about serving gluten-free)

6 egg yolks

salt and pepper

1/2 cup shredded jack cheese

1/2 cup shredded parmesan

1 lb of bacon, fried crispy and crumbled

butter for coating ramekin- about 1-2 tbs

1/2 cup maple sugar

6 egg whites

For Sauce

4 tbs butter

4 tbs maple sugar

4 tbs orange sugar

4 tbs crumbled bacon

1/2 cup bacon infused bourbon

Directions

Make the orange sugar by combining the zest of one orange with 1/4 cup of sugar. This can be done in a food processor, or by hand with the back of a fork. Cover and set aside. Fry the bacon over low heat until it is very crispy. When the bacon has cooled crumble and set aside. Take 1-2 tablespoons of room temperature butter and coat the inside of a large souffle dish or 8 individual ramekins. Place 1/2 cup maple sugar and 1/2 cup crumbled bacon into the bottom of the large souffle dish (divide this between the ramekins if making individual souffles). Cover with a plastic bag and shake vigorously, coating the sides and bottom with the sugar/bacon mixture. The bacon bits will settle to the bottom. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.

In a small pan, infuse the milk with the shallot, bay leaves and cloves. You can place the spices in a tea infuser, or poke the cloves directly into the shallot. Heat, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes. You don’t want to forget about this, as a skin will form on the top of the milk, it’s important to keep stirring to prevent the skin from forming.

In a medium pan- large enough to hold the souffle base and the fully beaten eggwhites- melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter foams, whisk in the sorghum flour. Whisk constantly for 1-2 minutes. You will smell the sorghum starting to cook. This process is important as it coats each flour molecule with fat, and that helps with thickening and structure. Do not allow the roux to burn. Pull the roux from the heat and remove the shallot and herbs from the milk. Slowly whisk in the milk to the roux and return to the heat, stirring constantly. In a minute or two, you will see the mixture begin to thicken. Keep stirring another minute, and do not allow it to boil. When the mixture looks like a thick cream, remove it from the heat. Congratulations- you’ve just made a beautiful gluten-free bechamel sauce!! This can be the base for many things- including the souffle!

Next, separate the eggs. Place the egg whites in a stainless steel bowl, and mix the yolks- one at a time- into the bechamel sauce. When all 6 yolks have been incorporated, add the shredded cheese. Whisk thoroughly and season with a dash of salt and pepper. Set the souffle base aside and grab your hand mixer- it’s time to beat some whites!

Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites, and beat on high for 2-3 minutes- until the whites just begin to show stiff peaks. To get maximum height from your souffle, it’s very very important not to overbeat the whites. The only way I know how to do this is by stopping a tiny bit before you think they’re ready. Divide the mixture into fourths, and spoon 1/4 of the whites into the souffle base. Stir to fully incorporate. This lightens the souffle base so that when the rest of the whites are folded in, the mixture doesn’t collapse on itself- thus creating quiche and not souffle. Fold in the rest of the whites and pour into the souffle dish. Run your thumb around the edge of the souffle, making a little valley- this will help the souffle to rise properly. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is a beautiful golden brown.

Five minutes before the souffle is ready to be removed from the oven, make the sauce. Place butter, sugars, and bacon in a pan and allow to melt. Stir the ingredients as they’re melting. If the ingredients boil, everything will stick. As soon as the butter has melted and the sugar has liquefied, add the bourbon. If you flame it now, you will get a fantastically large flame that is very dramatic. If you’re worried about burning your house down, then allow a little of the alcohol to cook off, and then flame it. Remember- keep your face, and anything flammable away from the flame- be smart about this, and if you’re worried- don’t do it. You may cut into the souffle and add the sauce directly to the souffle, or you may scoop out a section and drizzle the sauce onto the plate. Whatever way you choose to serve it, the flavor and texture is sure to please!