Eggplant poppers...

The summer farmshare season here in AZ calls for eggplant, and lots of it. This recipe is courtesy a friend of mine—also a fellow-devoted farmshare-er—in an effort to try something new and creative with her bounty of eggplants last year. She came up with this brilliant combination! The combinations seem so unlikely, yet they blend beautifully. The tanginess of the cream cheese and the creaminess, and the crunch of the pepper and the bite of spiciness are really a wonderful and surprising marriage of flavors. You will be surprised how addicting these little poppers are!

Here is how to make them:

• 1 or more eggplants that are about 6 inches tall. You want about 30 slices when finished.
• 1 package of cream cheese (or 4 oz. package of goat cheese)
• 1/2 cup or so sliced jalapeños (fresh, or canned are ok). If you prefer no heat, use jarred Italian sweet cherry peppers; they are tangy without heat but have the right flavor profile.
• Salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 425-degrees.
Slice the eggplant very thin. You want it as thin as you can get it. Cut  it into strips about 1.5-2 inches wide. You might have to trim larger eggplants to size, or if you use smaller ones, they should work fine. Strips should be about 5-6 inches long and about 2 inches wide.

Lay the thin slices on foil that is brushed with olive oil. Sprinkle the slices with salt (try an herbed salt!)
Bake in the oven for 5-6 minutes. Keep a close eye! They start to brown fast!!! You don’t necessarily want them brown, but they will become soft and pliable and roll-able.

Remove from oven, and lay them out and place a small amount of cream cheese (or goat cheese) on the end of each one, about the size of your thumbnail. Lay across a pepper slice, and any fresh herbs you have (Rosemary is very nice). Then roll! Roll each one up and anchor with a toothpick!

Serve these as a great vegetarian appetizer that is a real surprise in flavors.

Variation: A wonderful variation to using these as appetizers, is to morph them into a delicious and healthy version of eggplant parmesan.
To do that, layer all your rolled poppers (without toothpicks) into a casserole dish. Cover with red sauce, and sprinkle with gluten free breadcrumb all over the top. Sprinkle with a small amount of parmesan and bake for 25-minutes at 350-degrees.

The humble fig...

Behold, the humble fig. ‘Tis the season here in AZ and other parts of the country. As part of my “Know your neighbors, and what they grow” campaign, my wonderful ‘Fig Neighbor' has offered up a glorious bounty from their treasure-laden tree.

The fig is very unpretentious, not like the cherry-red shiny apple, kind of alike a lady with bright red lipstick, or the blond Rainer cherry, standing tall with its stem and shy-but beautiful blushed coat.

No—the fig has a dusty-colored purple, matte finish skin and sort of lumpy-plump little body, and sits there in its humble fashion. But, oh—the fig! It is so deserving of so much praise in taste and nutrition!
Here is how I use this seasons bounty of figs. Buy them up in large quanitites when they are on sale and make lots of things!

Fig Jam

• 3 lbs ripe figs (stems trimmed off)
• 1 lb sugar (by weight)
• ½ cup water
• Juice of two lemons

Directions:
In a deep stock pot place figs, sugar, water and lemon juice. Cover and on medium high heat bring to a simmer. After about 5-minutes, smash the figs down with a wooden spoon. Continue to cook for another 10-minutes. Turn off the heat, and using an immersion (hand) blender, carefully blend the figs until a smooth jam forms (some chunks ok.) Ladle this into clean glass jars.
(Note: you can use a blender in batches, in lieu of immersion blender, but be careful, the jam is HOT).

Low Sugar Fig JamAn alternative to standard fig jam, which has a fair amount of sugar, try this one; pure fruit, enhanced by citrus, with natural honey for sweetness.

• 20 or so fresh figs, stems removed, and cut in half
• 2 lemons, zest and juice
• 1/4 cup honey
• Water

Place in a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Crush figs with the back of a spoon as they heat. Liquid should begin to come out. Add zest and juice of the lemons. Add honey. If mixture is too dry, add enough water to make a simmer. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Liquid should begin to reduce and mixture should thicken slightly as figs cook. Blend with blender or hand blender, place in glass jars. Once cooled it should be a spoonable consistancy.

Dried figs (make honey-soaked figs)
Trim stems and half figs. Give them a stint overnight in your food dehydrator. Once completely cool, store in glass jars in your pantry.

As for the bounty of figs in general, here is how I enjoy them:

• Jam on a gluten free cheese flavored cracker
• Honey-soaked figs on yogurt
• Turkey and mozzarella panini with fig jam or fresh sliced figs
• Fig spread
  Mix ½ cup fig jam with 4 oz goat cheese until blended. Use as a spread on sandwiches, toast, or as a cracker spread or dip at your next party
• Fresh: Take a bite, dip in brown sugar, take a bite—repeat.

S'mores in a Snap...

Summer. It's synonymous with camping around here. And we all know what must happen while camping…s’mores. For those of us gluten free, for a long while—well we have been left out in the cold so to speak. There is no real gluten free graham cracker to be found. I created a recipe that (if I do say so) is a very close rendition, and very delicious! (It is soon to be posted). However, sometimes life calls for s’mores in a snap (translation—not having to take the time bake something.) Now, I am not one known for impatience, after all, most from-scratch people are not likely candidates for impatience. But these are divine, more than you would even think, and fit the bill for a quick treat with a few store bought goodies…a welcome, and easy gluten free summertime treat!

• 1 package store bought gluten free cookies (I used Pamela’s mini chocolate chip cookies, because I like them, and they are the perfect size. Use any kind you like.)
• 1 jar of Nutella
• 1 bag of large marshmallows

Roast your marshmallow to your liking. Spread desired amount of Nutella on each cookie, then sandwich the roasted marshmallow in between.

Farmers cheese...

I understand that cheese is not something many would choose to take the time to make at home. And I also understand that making cheese is not for the culinary meek in the kitchen department.
However–to make your own cheese is oh-so gratifying. I cannot explain it really. To think–this is how the ancients did it, and have done it for centuries!
Well, maybe its not that big of a deal...although I feel like it is.
This isn't your aged cheese, so no cheddaring here. Its a rustic fresh cheese–often known as farmer's cheese.
So, this is where I learned, and after watching many videos, this guy's is the best. So watch it. I listed the ingredients and brief instructions below.
Video-How to make cheese.
I also included a log of our process in pictures. I recommend, this holiday weekend, gather the kids, make some time and do something like this. Make something that is back to its essence of process, no fake additives, no emulsifiers, no gelatins, or mass mechanization. You will be pleasantly surprised at how gratifying the process is and how enjoyable the end result (on crackers.) You might even think its simpler than you thought!

Ingredients and instructions:
Bring all ingredients to full room temperature before starting.

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp lemon juice
• 1 quart of whole milk
• Herbs

1. Heat 1 quart of whole mlk over low heat to 175F.
2. Then add buttermilk and lemon juice.
3. Turn off the heat, stirring the whole time.
4. The curds and whey will seperate.
5. Stop stirring and let sit undisturbed for 10 minutes.
6. Ready a strainer with cheesecloth (doubled).
7. Ladel in curds and let sit to strain over a deep bowl for 5 minutes.
8. Tie and hand for 30 minutes.
9. Open the cloth, and salt and herb the curds.

Here is what I do with mine:

• Mix with chopped olives and eat on toast
• Stir with honey (omitting the herbs) for a creamy sweet spread
• Use as ricotta in stuffed shells
• Mix with plain yogurt (omitting herbs) for a cream cheese like spread
• Eat on crackers with salami
• Roll into balls then roll in herbs and serve as an appetizer

Pictures of our afternoon in the kitchen with cheese:

Gluten Free "Lasagne"...

Now, before you fear the food in quotes—as I usually do...read on. Most food in quotes conjures up odd-ball substitutions for things that you really wonder why they even bother to stretch the barriers of science to morph a shouldn’t-be-in-it-food into another so that it fakes you out—but in a good tasting way? (think Tofurkey). It can be—we will say, an adventure.

But we all know the gluten free world is full of substitutions. Some good, some bad, some “well, because I’m gluten free I eat it”. This is not one of them.
Now—I could have settled for basic lasagna with a GF noodle and there you have it. But, my farmshare offered me up a bounty of zucchini squash this week, and I wanted some lasagna. We have vegetarian night once a week and this seemed like a perfect fit—destiny!
So using a peeler, I cut my zucchini into thin ribbons and layered that up the way I would have used a noodle!
This recipe is all about your lasagna recipe, just use the zucchini as noodles.
In mine, I layered zucchini, with my favorite sauce (see my recipes page) mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and breadcrumb (GF of course—I just crumbled a fresh slice of bread and added some oregano.)
I’ll admit, this lasagna doesn’t hold together perfectly—ok, not really at all due to the moisture in the zucchini. Not like those Stouffer’s slo-motion stratas of noodle and cheese hovering precariously on a spatula in all its glory. I mean mine ends up on your plate in a luscious pile of hot warm sauce and oozing cheese. Is that so bad??
And honestly this is the best picture I could get of it—and you can see this is not my photographic best. So, that said—not every dish has to be perfect—we will call this one rustic…but delicious!

Cracker Crust Pizza...

This might be a little too ambitious for most on a weeknight (I tend to be a bit of an overachiever in the weeknight category at my home)...so plan this for this weekend.
Take one batch gluten free cracker recipe, to one batch-any old topping you love-and you have the most exceptional cracker-crust pizza.
Its crispy, crunchy, and delightful. Its also light, because there is a small ratio of crust to topping, you don't feel carb loaded. This will please everyone! I promise.
We topped ours with paper thin strips of zuccini, artichoke hearts, olives, herbs, white cheese and parmesean. Use what you love!

The base is my Old World Cracker recipe. Morph it into this pizza crust.

Cracker (this recipe will make two, large 14-inch pizzas. Half it for one pizza.

• 2 cups GF flour (Tom Sawyer)
• 1 tbs sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 2 tbs butter, chilled and cubed small
• 2/3 cup plus 2 tbs buttermilk (or milk)
• 2 tbs fresh herbs (optional)

Preheat oven to 425-degrees. You will use ungreased cookie sheets/pans. Use the whisk attachment and to the bowl of a stand mixer combine flour, salt, sugar, pepper, and herbs.
Turn on lowest setting and add butter. Let it cut in the butter until it is a course meal consistency.
Drizzle in the milk. Scrape the sides to ensure all dry parts are captured. Add liquid until the dough comes together. Make sure to get all the dry at the bottom of the bowl. Add more liquid 1 tsp at a time if it is not coming together.

Use a round 14-inch pizza pan, or a 13x9 cookie sheet. Using a rolling pin, roll very, very thin, almost to thin to pick up right, you can do this right onto the pan. Or using a pasta roller (my preferred method), roll sheets at #4.
Lay the cracker strips together, with edges just overlapping to form a large crust.
Sprinkle top with salt and lightly press into cracker. Bake in a preheated 425F oven 8 minutes, checking at 4 minutes. It browns FAST! When edges are lightly browned, remove from oven (leave oven on). Place toppings on pizza and return to oven to melt cheese and warm toppings.

Gluten Free English Muffins....

 
Now, before you hem, and haw over the next GF recipe you are sure will be "kinda-close too..." or "its good enough for being GF" or "well, its great if you have to eat GF bread"—kind of recipe. This English muffin is it. No—I mean IT! For all you know--you just pulled a bag of regular old Thomas's off the shelf! They even withstood the true tests—In the fridge (still light and fluffy), on the counter, 1-day old (still light and fluffy). This dreamy recipe is a hamburger bun. This is a focaccia roll. This is an English muffin. This is sandwich bread. Never did I know such a multi-faceted, multi-tasker in the GF repertoire before!

I almost couldn’t believe it at first. The lightness, the fluffiness, the airiness, I mean look at the nooks and crannies! I kept walking back over to the pan and expecting it to morph into the dense, not so light and chewy loaf of GF bread most GF recipes end up turning in to. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love those breads, I make them and eat them all the time. But these—well, frankly—these will change your life.

I could swoon on and on about this bread, but I will spare you any more, but you MUST—no really MUST try this. Then—without hesitation—plan those green-chili-bacon cheddar hamburgers for Thursday night—the ones you know you have been missing for years? …and this time, eat one on a bun.


You’re welcome.

GF English Muffin (Makes 6)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cups sorghum flour
• 1/2 cup Tom Sawyer Gluten Free Flour***
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill GF flour blend
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 scant Tablespoon quick rise yeast (1 packet) 
• 1 teaspoon olive oil 
• 3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon warm water

 *** If you cannot source Tom Saywers, you can use rice flour + 1 tsp xantham gum. Note: I have not tried it with this substitution, however it should work just fine.

Some of these steps are critical, so read closely.
In a small bowl, mix warm tap water (100-110F), yeast and sugar and oil. Stir and let set so the yeast can start to work.
Meanwhile blend the flours, and salt in a bowl. When yeast has started to foam and proof (about 5 minutes), pour it into the flour, and using a fork, bring together the batter. Stir till lumps are gone. Prepare the pans.

A note on the pans: I used any oven proof dish I had, a 4-inch cake pan, a four inch square glass baking dish, anything will work that you can put into your oven!
Using a brush or paper towel, coat the pans with olive oil, and dust with some flour or corn meal. Lay them on a baking sheet. Spoon the batter into the pans, dividing among the six pans. Now, let them rise.

Turn on your oven to 150F for five minutes. Then turn off. Place baking sheet with batter in the pans in the oven to let them rise for 20 minutes.
Then, remove from oven, heat oven to 375F. Place them back in the oven.
Bake for 15 minutes until they look dry, try not to brown then, they should be lightly, to not at all browned. Let cool in pans. Split with a knife, toast and enjoy.