Orange Flavor

Orange Flavor

Dried orange zest can add flavor to a savory dish or a sweet one. It can be used as an addition to seasonings for fish or chicken or in breads or muffins along with cinnamon or cardamom.

Choose an orange with a nice thick peel and cut the peeling into small pieces. Place the pieces on a baking sheet and let them dry. If you have high humidity, you may need to put them in a warm oven for a few hours. 

Once they are dry, grind them in a coffee grinder and store them in an air tight container. You can do this with lemons and limes, as well. The flavor is slightly more intense than fresh zest, so you won't need very much,

Every single choice is a chance to move toward the life you want.   Unknown

Holiday Pancakes

Holiday Pancakes

Pancakes can be made with whatever you have handy - a few eggs, a bit of ground grain or seed, some flavoring and salt and as much liquid as you need to make a pour-able batter. Whether or not you add some baking powder depends upon how fluffy or dense you like your pancakes.

In this instance, I ground some oat flakes, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and slivered almonds in a coffee grinder and added them to three beaten eggs and about a third cup of coffee liqueur. Some salt and cardamom for flavor and the pancake batter is complete. To quote Ina Garten, "How easy is that!"

The ratio of eggs to flour to liquid depends a little on what kind of grains and seeds you use. Chia seeds absorb a great deal of liquid, so only about a cup and a half of the flour mix is used. As your batter sits, it may thicken. Just add any liquid: water, milk, or a nut milk if you prefer.

I like a dense, high protein pancake, so I usually start with 3 or four eggs. Then add a small amount of liquid - about a half cup. Then add flour until the batter is the right consistency.

Fry in a neutral oil such as avocado. Silver dollar sized pancakes are nearly always easier to flip and cook, especially if you use an alternative flour.

You have to wake up in order to grow up. Loch Kelly

An Infusion of Color

Whether you want to infuse vinegar for a salad dressing or vodka for a cocktail, gorgeous color and delicate flavor can be had very simply. This infusion was done with some chopped cranberries. Pour the vinegar or the liquor over the berries in a glass jar and let it sit overnight in your refrigerator. Strain the liquid and discard the berries. 

The flavor is mild and cranberries are a little tart, so sweetness has to be added with another juice. This drink is made with cranberry infused vodka poured over ice and sweet grapefruit juice. Just a couple of tablespoons add plenty of flavor and color.

Cheers!

The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know.   Harry Truman

Sweet Potato Breakfast Bake

Sweet Potato Breakfast Bake

Cooked sweet potato - about 2 cups
The canned ones would work. You can also easily roast your own by popping them in the oven whole until they are soft and then scooping out the inside.

3 eggs

1/2 cup butter/bacon drippings blend Or coconut oil if you prefer

1/2 cup ricotta cheese (Silken tofu for a dairy free version)

3 tablespoons brown sugar or honey or maple syrup

1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon chili powder blend (not pure chili powder)
A couple tablespoons of spiced dried kale flakes - if you keep this kind of thing around. If not, throw in some parsley and call it good.

1. Use an electric mixer to beat the eggs, the add all of the other ingredients and mix thoroughly.

2. Spread in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

4. Top with crumbled bacon and serve warm.

This is an easy and hearty breakfast. You could mix it up the night before and stick it in the fridge to pull out and bake in the morning. In this case, I would add the bacon crumbles in the morning just before baking.


Beauty scatters the seeds of hope in us. Sister Joan Chittister

Infusion Fun with Pomegranates

Pomegranate infused vodka is simple and fun. In Southern California, there is an abundance of pomegranates every fall. They make beautiful decorations, delicious juice and great jelly. They are also quite a bit of work, no matter what you do with them. If you think you deserve a small reward for all of your efforts, try this simple process.

Fill a jar with pomegranate seeds, fill it with vodka, and let it steep for 24 hours. If the weather is warm, keep the jar in the refrigerator. If it is below 75 degrees, it would be fine on the kitchen counter. In 24 hours, you will have a delicious, sweet vodka. You can use this anyway that you like. I mixed it with ice and tonic water and it was fresh and fragrant with just a hint of sweetness.

 Happy Holidays!

Post Script: If you do not like or use alcohol, this method would work to jazz up a plain vinegar that could be used in salads or any other place you would use a flavored vinegar.

Pumpkin Fritters

Pumpkin Fritters 

5 large or six smaller eggs 
2 cups cooked pureed pumpkin 
1/2 cup coconut flour 
1 cup fava, rice or other gluten free flour blend 
2 tablespoons cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon cloves 
1 teaspoon nutmeg 
1 teaspoon salt 

Your batter should be a bit stiff. Drop into hot coconut oil and flatten a little with the spoon. Fry at medium low and serve with toppings such as butter, fruit, nuts, syrup, powdered sugar, and whipped cream.

Pie Crust Options

Pie Crust Options

Graham Cracker Crumbs and Butter
Ground Nuts and Butter
Wheat Flour and Butter or Lard (with a little water)
Oat Flour, Butter, and Nuts
Golden Flax, Nuts, Butter, and Oat Flour

When you think about it, a crust is just an additional layer on the bottom of a dessert. It is sometimes also a layer on the top of a dessert. Many people are intimidated by pie crust because they have a crumbly, flaky texture in mind that is difficult to create, especially when it is on the bottom of a second layer that is full of fruit juice or custard. Frankly, the only way to keep a crust from getting soggy is to construct it mostly of ingredients that won't easily absorb moisture.

Of course, the thing that doesn't absorb moisture is oil. So plenty of butter, oil or nuts will do the trick. The place where most people get hung up is in trying to roll out a sheet of pastry that doesn't want to stick together. Forming a sheet of pastry that can be maneuvered is a function of gluten, but glutinous and stretchy is the exact opposite of what we want a crust to be. Because a glutinous crust will absorb liquid like a sponge. One solution is to forget the rolling and simply press the crust mix into the bottom of the pie plate.

The top might be a little easier to roll into a maneuverable sheet because it is smaller in diameter, but crumb crusts on top are also appetizing in appearance and quite delicious. Think Dutch Apple. The crust in the photo of this delicious Pumpkin Creme Pie is made with oat flour, sugar, spices, ground pecans and butter. Oat flour is easily made by putting oat flakes in a coffee grinder. Pecans are also crushed in the coffee grinder. Mix these things together right in the pie plate and press them against the bottom and the sides.

 Many years ago, pie crusts were made with a variety of trans fat concoctions, which are certainly impervious to liquids, but they are also pretty impervious to healthy digestion, so these solutions should be relegated to history. A good quality lard, however, is a fine oil for pie crust if you want something traditional. Mix, stir, and handle as little as possible to avoid activating gluten.

For the crusts listed above use 1/2 cup soft butter, and whatever combination of dry ingredients you like or have on hand. You can grind most nuts and seeds in a coffee grinder to get the amount needed for your crust. Add nuts and dry ingredients until you get a crumbly mix that can be pressed easily. Spices and sweeteners can be added at your discretion. Sugars tend to scorch easily, so you might want to be somewhat sparing with these.