Ribs

Wash and pat dry one slab of pork loin ribs, then rub both sides with mixture of 3 Tbsp brown sugar; 1/2 tsp each onion powder, garlic powder, cumin & nutmeg; 1 tsp each chili powder, salt, & black pepper.

Tightly cover roaster (or cover with foil and crimpr tightly), then roast ribs in 1/2 c. apple juice at gas mark 4 (180 C, 350 F) for 2 hours.

Meantime, prepare sauce . . . Combine the following in a pan and simmer: 1/3 c. ketchup; 2-3 Tbsp each honey (or brown sugar) & molasses (treacle), 1 Tbsp cider or white vinegar; 1/4 tsp each onion powder, chili powder & garlic powder; pinch each of allspice, pepper, & cinnamon; a few drops Tabasco (optional).


When ribs have finished in oven, remove from pan (discard liquid), slice apart, brush with sauce. Then either broil or grill for 15 minutes, turning halfway through, or bake at gas mark 7 (220 C, 425 F) for approximately 15 minutes.

Serve with extra sauce for dipping.

My new cookbook . . .

Now you no longer have to print these out and keep scraps of paper tucked into your recipe file, or dash to the Internet every time you need one of my recipes.

I've put them into a cookbook, and added more that aren't on this site.

It's a hardcover, with dustjacket, printed on premium paper, chock-full of gorgeous colour photographs. I hope you enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed putting it together.

As always, happy cooking.

It's not summer without iced coffee

I make it quick-but-yummy style with instant organic freeze-dried coffee (decaf). Take a tall glass, add a couple of teaspoons of instant coffee, add 2-3 tsp sugar (or substitute), then pour in a few tbsps of boiling water. Stir a minute or so, until the sugar and coffee are dissolved. Fill about 2/3 of the way up with icy cold water, add a couple of tbsps of cream (or soya cream substitute), stir to mix, then fill to the top with ice.

If you aren't a fan of instant coffee, just make yourself a shot of espresso and replace the instant-and-water bit with that, when it cools a bit. Yes, you do have to wait, but of course it's worth the wait.

And after a day in the garden, it's just the thing to relax with.

(I planted about 100 onions, then staked out and netted the strawberry patch. Birds, zero; me, one. This year they won't be able to eat all my berries. They can still have the wild ones that grow everywhere, but the big ones in the main patch are all mine. There are hundreds on the plants right now, just starting to grow. Can't wait.)

Strawberry-Rhubarb pie(s)

Mini, individual pies . . . or a big pie. I like mini pies.

Either way, for one 9" pie, or a bunch of little ones, you'll need 2 cps cut-up strawberries, 2 cups rhubarb (cut into 1" pieces), a cup of sugar, and 2 Tbsp lemon juice. Stir them, let stand for an hour or so, then turn into the pastry of your choice (I like to make an oil-based pastry and roll it out between sheets of waxed paper).

Bake at about 350, until crust is slightly brown and filling is bubbling.

Oven chips, kicked up a notch

Before I put the oven chips into the oven (I get the organic, low-fat version, but any will do just fine), I give them a good sprinkling of Tabasco sauce, bake as usual, then add salt when they come out of the oven.

Mmmmmm! (And I dip them in Thai sweet chili sauce . . . )

Salmon, rocket, grape, and radish salad

This is easy, and I'm sure there are lots of great substitutes for the salmon.

Toss hot-smoked salmon (I used the peppercorn-encrusted kind), rocket (arugula) or other greens (I like some spinach and watercress tossed in with the wild rocket), sliced radishes, and halved red grapes in a salad bowl. Shake up a dressing of equal parts olive oil and soy sauce, and a bit less of fresh lemon juice, and pour over it a few minutes before serving.

Delicious.

Meatball Sandwich

Very simple really -- everything store-bought, right down to the organic GF meatballs (found them at Waitrose). Then, a jar of Seeds of Change tomato-basil sauce, a few sprigs of basil from the windowsill, a GF baguette warmed up in the oven, and voila! Lunch in 5 minutes.

Chocolate cupcakes

Oh, these are good. Very good. I-don't-want-share good. (Okay, I did put 6 into the freezer for when my granddaughter visits over Easter break -- I'll share with people under three feet tall.)

I followed the recipe on Joy of Baking, except used GF flour mix (the usual -- Doves Farm). This recipe has you add boiling water to the cocoa powder to bring out the full flavour of the cocoa. It works. They're so chocolate-y. (Oh, I substituted sunflower oil for the butter in the cakes, and used 1/3 cup, instead of half a cup of butter.

For the frosting, I made a 'standard' (is there such a thing?) chocolate frosting (1.5 cups icing sugar, 3 Tbsp butter or good shortening, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 3-4 Tbsp warm water, beat until fluffy).

And finally, I added sprinkles (finally found some E-free ones -- they're coloured with beet juice, carotene, etc.

Makes 12 really decadent cupcakes.

WW: 5.5 points each

Eggs

I love soft boiled eggs, with or without GF toast strips to dunk in them (called 'soldiers' here). I've got an egg-timer that never fails, so I have perfect eggs every time. (I'll see if I can find it on Amazon and post a link -- it's brilliant!)

As a side note about eggs here, I normally buy all organic meats, poultry, eggs, etc -- the others smell (when cooking, especially!) and taste rather wild and gamey. It can turn me off to where I can't eat the stuff after cooking it. But, with the price of eggs here (the equivalent to about $5-$6 a dozen in the US, I'm always on the lookout for something cheaper. The other day I saw local free-range eggs, only a quid for 6 (so $3-4 a dozen, with the pound turning into the new peso). I brought home a box. My daughter was visiting and got first crack at them (just realised the pun -- not intended), and after one bite declared they 'taste like chickens, but not in a good way.' I tried a bit of yolk -- it's true. Not an egg taste, but a gamey hunk of poultry.

Back to organics.

Anyway, aren't the 'new' cups lovely?? Hand made. Got them in a charity shop for next to nothing.

Favourite breakfast

I vary the nuts from time to time (right now I'm into toasted pine nuts, but I also love pecans), but it's fast, easy, nutritious, and will supposedly keep the doctor away ('an apple a day').

I chop an organic apple* and put it into a bowl, add a heaping tablespoonful of raisins over that, then a level tbsp of cinnamon sugar**, the put a saucer over it (you could use paper towels -- I'm just not going to kill trees when I don't have to), and microwave it for about 4-5 minutes.

Whilst it's cooking, toss a tbsp of pine nuts (or pecans, or whatever you like) into a non-stick pan and toast nut over medium heat, shaking the pan halfway through so they turn. They only take a minute or two.

Take the apple out of the microwave, add the nuts on top, and there you have it. Enjoy.

* They say if you eat nothing else organic, get organic apples -- they're the most highly sprayed food you can buy.

** I just keep a jar in the pantry with organic sugar and cinnamon -- for 1/2 cup sugar, I add about 1 tsp cinnamon, and shake it. Then just spoon it out when you need some.

Lunch

Another snow day, and I wanted something warm.

Had some organic polenta in the fridge, so I sliced some up and pan-fried it in a teaspoon of olive oil until it was really crispy and crunchy and golden, but still so lovely and chewy inside. I topped a couple of slices with red sauce, some with kalamata tapenade, and I always like a couple of slices just plain.

Toss on a few tomatoes, a couple of olives, some fresh basil leaves, and enjoy with a glass of white wine, knowing that the "work" week is long over (and those speech marks are very accurately used as it wasn't really a work week at all!).

EDIT: Should have spread a little pesto on the other slices . . . Will remember next time.

Date-walnut-coconut bars

In a medium saucepan, simmer (stirring all the while) 8 oz cut up dates, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, and 4 Tbsp melted butter.

When it's thick and smooth, stir in 1/2 cp walnut pieces, 2 cups puffed rice cereal, and 1 tsp vanilla.


Sprinkle shredded coconut evenly over the bottom of a 13" x 9" baking pan, then spoon mixture over coconut, flattening with a buttered spatula. Sprinkle more coconut over the top, and press into the bar slightly. When cool, overturn pan onto a cutting board and cut-up into squares.

Alternatively, rather than making this into bars, you can butter your hands and roll the mixture into balls the size of a walnut, then roll them in a bowl of shredded coconut. Place on a non-stick pan to cool.

Like everything, I use all organic ingredients, but use whatever you like.

Coq au vin

I love, love, love coq au vin. For some reason, I always think it's more bothersome and time-consuming than it really is, so I rarely make it. But it's so hearty, especially on a drizzly winter evening. Wide noodles are the traditional accompaniment, but many people (moi included) like boiled potatoes along side it.

Anyway, it's quick. Tonight, I walked to Tesco at about 6 for some organic chicken legs (also bay leaves and mushrooms), and it's only 7:15 as I type this and it's halfway cooked. In a few minutes I'll add the mushrooms, let it cook another 15 or so, remove the chicken, add the butter-flour blend, and reduce the red wine sauce.

And in half an hour I'll be eating.

No recipe to post -- it's on Delia Online.

Here are a few pics as I worked: first the chicken and bacon (after browning in butter in the skillet), a few herbs, the onions, then adding the red wine. And hopefully, in half an hour, I'll post a pic of the finished dish.

Cold weather eating . . .

Made fish 'n' chips the other evening, but did the batter thinner, and liked it that way better. Not a fan or overly-breaded foods, as the food gets lost in the breading.

Lemonade

This will only interest a few . . . namely, expats living in the UK or Europe.

Those born and raised on this side of the pond, who don't know proper lemonade, will continue drinking that fizzy yellow lemon-flavoured soft-drink that they call lemonade. Those on the other side are fortunate enough to have real lemonade. It's the expats, the ones who miss lemonade, who will want to file this away for those summer days when nothing but lemonade will quench the thirst.

Easy.

For every liter of cold water, add 1/4 cup lemon juice (either fresh squeezed or bottled) and 1/2 cup sugar (or equivalent in sugar substitute). Stir until sugar is dissolved, add some ice, perhaps float a few lemon slices on top to make it gorgeous in that big glass pitcher that's gathered dust all winter on the top shelf . . . and sit back in the garden and enjoy.

Lemon-raspberry buttercream cake

I cue very easily when I see people eating things . . . I was watching a movie the other night, and it was a woman's birthday, and she was eating a slice of very posh cake. Then, too lazy to change the DVD, I watched the movie the next two nights, too. More cake.

Tonight, I knew I had to make a cake. Something nice. I don't like to bother with cooking if it's not really good. Same with anything, really. I like the best. Hence, this cake.

It's my own creation. And yes, it contains dairy, even though I shouldn't. But once in a while, a girl just has to. This is worth it, shall we say? I'm going to slice it up and freeze the rest, so I have something fancy to serve when guests arrive. I still can't get over how well that Doves Farm flour blend works. Amazing. Light, fluffy baked goods every time.

The cake is two round layers, but I made them quite thin (half the usual amount of batter -- I prefer less cake and more filling). To make the batter, first beat well 85 g. butter, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup plain yoghurt, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tsp lemon zest, and 1 tsp vanilla. When that's well-creamed, beat in 1.5 cps flour, and 2 tsp baking powder. Pour into buttered round cake pans and bake about 25 minutes at 325 (gas mark 4).

After they bake, set them to cool and make up the buttercream. Buttercream is simple -- beat butter and powdered sugar, in a ratio of twice the sugar to butter. As with the cake, I added a tsp of finely grated lemon zest.

When the cakes have cooled, level if necessary, then spread half the buttercream over bottom layer. Top that with about 1/2 to 3/4 cup raspberry preserves, stirred first to smooth it. Place the other cake on top of the preserves, then top that with the other half of the buttercream. Wrap well, and refrigerate.

Polenta

It's so easy . . . why do we buy the stuff pre-made, when it tastes so good homemade, with organic maize?

I get my ground maize at Whole Foods, and as I said, I buy the organic . . . Bring 4 cups water to a boil (with a tsp of salt), then slowly stir in a cup of cornmeal, sifting it through your fingers as you stir it in. After about 20 minutes, I pour mine into a non-stick loaf pan, and let it congeal and cool a bit.

Turn it out onto a board, and slice, then do what you want with it (some recipes bake it, other times you fry some in olive oil, smother it in red sauce . . . whatever).

Very satisfying, too -- warm, crunchy-crispy, chewy, a bit of saltiness to it. I use 1/4 of the loaf for a meal (125 calories), shown at left, then make 4 slices out of that chunk. I fry it in 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, for a total of 3 WW points.

Blueberry muffins

Heat the oven to 190 C (gas mark 5), and grease some muffin cups*. Stir (no electric mixers here!) the following together until just combined, but still a bit lumpy (the secret to good muffins):

1.5 cups GF flour blend (I use Doves Farm)

1 egg (like all my ingredients, I use organic)

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup sunflower oil

1/3 cup coconut milk (I use full-fat organic)

1/3 cup water

1 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tsp baking powder

I'm quite particular about how I do the blueberries -- I don't just stir them in, hit or miss. Oh no. I put half the batter into the bottom of each cup, then add a pile of blueberries, then top with batter, then use a small spoon and give each muffin a quick fold, to mix the berries but not crush them. Finally, I add two or three berries to the top of each muffin, and bake.

This makes about 6 regular size, or using the jumbo cups pictured, 4 muffins. It can easily be doubled for a bigger batch, and they freeze well.

Doughnuts!

It's in the air lately -- the word 'doughnuts.' Everywhere. Must be the season. My daughter (in Holland) got some Dunkin' Donuts on a recent trip to Germany. My friend bought Krispy Kremes at TESCO a couple of weeks when we went through there. A fellow GF blogger posted about making doughnuts. So, the D-word has made its way into my subconscious. And therefore, it became time to do something about it. Time to try to make some.

Like all my cooking, it's not about precision, or making something that could pass as a doughnut-shop variety, all perfect and precise. Rather, just something good to eat, and I enjoyed making it. If cooking becomes some crazy act of less enjoyment and actual work, it's not what food is all about (pleasure). So, without further ado, here's what I stirred together and fried up in the name of a doughnut:

In a large bowl, stir 1 egg; 1/2 cup any kind of 'milk' (whatever you use) with 1 Tbsp cider vinegar mixed in (creates the buttermilk effect); 1 Tbsp vegetable oil; 1/2 tsp vanilla; and mix thoroughly (by hand). Add the dry ingredients, stirring again until mixed: 2 cps GF flour mix; 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder; dash salt; 3 tsp baking powder; and 1/4 tsp cinnamon.

Heat oil in for deep-frying and put doughnut batter into oil (you'll have to look up a temperature -- I don't own a thermometer).

Then, this is where get's very hit or miss. I made mostly 'holes' at first (blobs). I got the size right, as I went along, although at first a few were too big, so that when the outside was done, the middle was still gooey (yuck). I finally found the right size. Then I experimented with shapes, taking a big gob of dough, rolling it between my hands (it looked like a hotdog), then making the ends meet and therefore, a crude doughnut shape. Whatever works for you. Have fun with it. It's very sticky dough, by the way.

After they're cooked, drain for about 30 seconds, then put into a bag of sugar and gently shake. (Next time I'd make a glaze, I think -- I used to like chocolate doughnuts with a glaze.)

They really do taste like what I remember doughnuts to be like, although my daughter tells my that my gluten-memories are a bit skewed (I'll tell her something is 'just like the real thing' and she is quite quick to point out that I apparently no longer remember what gluten-foods taste like). Well, I do think these are very good, even if they aren't what she eats.

Meatballs

I've never made good meatballs, simply because I've never tried hard enough. The texture was always rubbish, too. But it's amazing how if you want something bad enough, you can succeed. Making meatballs has now turned into one such thing. These are the tenderest, most delicious meatballs on Earth (or at least this side of Italy)

Put all 5 ingredients into the food processor, and process on low until it's completely smooth (that's really a lot of the secret to getting the texture right, in addition to moistness):

1 lb (400 g). extra lean ground beef (I use organic, lean)
1 egg
1/2 cup GF bread crumbs (I grated a GF sub roll)
2 tsp garlic paste (the kind that comes in a tube), or 3 cloves, crushed
3 Tbsp olive oil

After processing until completely smooth, form into 12 balls and cook as you normally would (I vary, baking them when I'm doing a lot of them, other times in the crockpot, and today, just in a skillet on the stove).

Makes 12 meatballs. Every three (1/3 of recipe) equals 4.5 WW points.

BBQ Pulled-pork Sandwich

Oh, I know it's not quite the Southeast's smoky flavour, but close enough for me. Now if I just had a mountain each of potato salad and coleslaw on the side, and a pecan pie, I'd be in hog heaven. Or barbecue heaven.

Anyway, I had leftover pulled pork the other day, from the tamales, so I froze it with the idea of a pulled-pork BBQ sandwich in the near future. Today was the day.

To make the pork, just simmer any kind of cheap pork roast (with half an onion, for flavour) until it's literally falling apart (I did mine in the crockpot), then just use two forks and shred it. Easy.
For the sauce, put the following into a blender, puree it, then simmer for 10-15 minutes or so in a covered pot, low heat. (Note to self and others: Do not forget pot-cover, and then leave the room to play backgammon online. There will be orange spots all over your stove, counter, floor, etc, when you return. Even a few far-flung ones on clean dishes in dish rack.)

Sauce:

1 medium onion (chopped)

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 and 1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup GF soy sauce

2 tsp chili paste

1/4 cup water

The sauce will darken and thicken as you cook it.

Once both are done, determine the ratios of each that you like, mix them together, and heat through on low. I simmered this sauce recipe down to about . . . just over a cup(?), and used it with about 3-4 cups shredded pork. Extra of either will store just fine in the fridge (or freezer).

Tamales

This makes 12 good-sized tamales . . .

The pork: I got a 1-kg pork roast, and put it into the crockpot with about a pint of water and half an onion, and set it on high for the day. You need to cook it until it shreds easily. When it's done, put the meat onto a big platter, and pour the liquid into a jar or pint measuring container; refrigerate it so that you can get the fat off the top later. Meantime, remove all fat from the cooked pork, and using two forks, pull/shred it well. Add 2 tsp chili paste (the kind in a tube), a tsp of onion powder, 4 cloves garlic (crushed), 1 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp cumin, and 1 tsp pepper. Mix into the meat by hand thoroughly, then set aside.

The corn-meal mixture: I did this in my Cuisinart. Put everything in, then mix well: about 1 and 1/4 cups cornmeal (I could only find yellow, but I'd like to use white if I can find it next time), 1/4 cup of your favourite GF flour, 1 tsp salt, 4 Tbsp oil (I use sunflower, and don't skimp on it or they'll be dry), 2 tsp cumin, 1-2 tsp chili paste from a tube (again), 2 cloves crushed garlic, and enough broth (fat skimmed off the top) to make it thick. Oh, when you take the top off that Cuisinart and breathe in that corn aroma (I used organic cornmeal), it's just too good to believe. (At this point you adjust it, either adding more cornmeal or more broth to thicken it or thin it --as the method above says, it should be like thick peanut butter.)

Putting it all together: Take the 12 husks you've soaked for 3-4 hours, and drain them, shaking off any excess water. Spread them across the counter, putting cornmeal on each (dividing it evenly). Spread it as in the photos in the above website, then add the pork mixture as they do, then roll up the tamales and place into a steamer. I think the steaming time varies depending on the number of tamales you put into a steamer. I did my dozen loosely into a colander, at an angle (not straight up), and so I had bits of space between them, and they steamed up fast. The website said 2 hours, but that was for a crammed steamer-full; mine only took about half an hour.

Next time . . . I'd spread my corn thinner, maybe spice them more heavily, and try to find white cornmeal. And I'd maybe try some chicken ones, or beef . . . I'd also love to know how to make the green chili ones I used to buy in NM.

Berries

To me, toasted pine nuts taste exactly like pie crust. Except, just a little bit better. (And better for me, I'm sure, than flours and oil.)

So when I want 'pie,' winter or summer, I just put fresh berries into a bowl, sprinkle on a bit of icing sugar, and top with still-warm toasted pine nuts, straight from the skillet.

Pie-in-a-bowl. You must try it.

Risotto

Is there any such thing as bad risotto? I don't think so. Just like flan, it's always good. My standard recipe (which I don't think I'll ever do any differently) is very easy.

For each serving, saute a tbsp or two of onion (finely minced), 1/3 cup arborio rice, and 1-2 cloves of crushed garlic, in 1 tbsp olive oil. While that cooks, re-hyrdate some porcini mushrooms in a cup of warm water. When the rice and onion-garlic mixture just begins to go past golden (but not brown), add the mushrooms and water they soaked in, half a stock cube (organic chicken is my favourite, or, when Ive roasted a chicken recently, fresh stock), 1/4 cp white wine, and simmer (while stirring gently) until rice is soft. Add water as needed during this process, but not much at a time -- just whatever is required to keep the rice cooking.

When done, remove from heat and stir in a few grinds of black pepper.

Lastly, I toast a tbsp of pine nuts and sprinkle them on top (you just put them in a non-stick skillet, and cook on medium heat while tossing occasionally), and I'm in heaven.

WW points: 7

'Pumpkin' 'pie'

Love my almost-pumpkin-pie.

'Almost' in that it's sweet potatoes, not pumpkins, and there's no crust (never did like it much anyway, so don't miss it).

And I use coconut milk instead of soy or regular. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it.

Put everything into a Cuisinart, mix on low for 15-30 seconds, then pour into a microwave-able bowl and cook on high for about 10 minutes, depending on the power of your microwave. Could not be easier. Ingredients:

Two eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1 cup regular fat (not low-fat) coconut milk, and 3 small to medium sweet potatoes, microwaved for 10 minutes or so first, then peeled (should be about 2 cups of sweet potatoes).

That's all.

I love it for breakfast in winter.

Macaroons

Almost ready for bed, and then . . . the sweet urge hit. I have no flour in the house (trying to cut back on baking all the fattening goodies I devour too often), but dug around the pantry anyway, hoping for something besides a rice cake and jam. Found sugar, half a bag of shredded coconut, vanilla, cream of tartar . . . and had eggs in the fridge.

Five minutes later, they were in the oven, baking on a sheet of parchment.

Easy.

With an electric mixer, whip 2 egg whites with 1 tsp cream of tartar until stiff. Add (and continuing beating) 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, a pinch of salt, and a cup and a quarter of shredded coconut.

Spoon onto a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake at gas mark 3 (about 325 F) until golden.

Variation on white-bean salad

I had marinated peppers and eggplant leftover from last night's sandwich, so I tossed them with drained and rinsed white beans (I use organic haricots), a few kalamata olives, and a clove of crushed garlic. I even warmed it briefly in the microwave, just to take the chill off it on this cold, cold day.

Other additions, depending on your mood and what's on hand:

- torn fresh basil leaves

- prosciutto or Italian salami, or those fat little slices of real Italian pepperoni

- freshly grated parm

- a few sun-dried tomatoes

Oh, the possibilities!

German non-Potato Salad

I'm not sensitive to nightshakes, but I know some who are. This recipe came about only because I started making German-potato salad the other day and found out, after the bacon was started . . . that I was out of potatoes. So, I improvised.

Just follow my regular recipe, but in place of each cooked potato, I used 1/2 cup cooked black beans.

Absolutely scrumptious!

WW: 4.5

Soup, part 2 (finished)

So, I made the soup, then taste-tested it three ways: with no 'cream' added (just chicken broth), with soya creamer added, and with full-fat coconut milk.

And the winner is?

Real dairy cream. Yes, it was good that way. I remember it only too well. But . . . the coconut is a very good runner up, and so, coconut milk it is, for me. Feel free to add whatever works for you, and if you can have dairy, by all means, stir in a cup or so of light cream (or half-and-half) and enjoy it.

Oh, how about a quantity for coconut milk? I added one 400-ml tin, stirred in after the soup was put together and simmered to perfection.

Supper will be good tonight, and with the snow spitting off and on all day, just the thing.

Hearty turkey, black-bean, and broccoli soup

This is, as they used to say on Seinfeld, "Soup-Nazi Soup.' It's world-class soup. If I could only have one soup for the rest of my life, this would be the one. Absolutely amazing stuff. Hearty, rich, creamy, divine. I used to make it every year, usually the day after Thanksgiving, and you had to fight me for it if you didn't help make it. This year, I live alone, so I can have the entire pot to myself. I'm turning the chicken carcass into a nice broth tonight, so tomorrow, I'll be eating this soup. Like all my recipes, it's more process than science.

Turkey is the way it's usually done, but chicken will suffice since that's what I cooked today.

1. Make a broth (3-4 cups), and save a cup of chicken bits.

2. In a large soup pot, saute a minced onion and about half a cup of finely diced broccoli stems in 2-3 Tbsp olive oil , retaining the florets for later. Don't use the entire stalk -- only use the tender part of the stalk, nearest to the florets. (Occasionally I spy the odd carrot lurking in the veggie drawer, so I shred it and add it.) Cook until tender, then add 1/2 cup of white wine and simmer a bit longer (10 minutes).

3. Add 3 to 4 cups broth, about a cup of black beans (cooked/rinsed/drained), the florets (broken into small bits), and the sauteed onion mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes or so.

4. Season with salt and pepper, and just before serving, add 1/2 cup light cream (I'll be using soya creamer). Heat through and serve immediately, but don't heat the cream too long, or the cream will separate.

(If you're making soup for more than one meal, divide it into two (or more) pots and put one away; only add cream to the pot you'll be using right away. For the remaining pot(s), heat through when ready to use, and like before, add the cream just before serving.)

Good with a nice crusty baguette to dip into the soup. I'll post a picture tomorrow, and any last minute instructions, when it's done. EDIT: See final post, the next day, here.

Hearty sandwich, Italian style

This is just putting together store-bought ingredients, but we all need something quick to prepare once in a while. I mean, coeliacs never get a meal off from cooking/preparing, do we? Not often, that's for sure. So, I like to simplify when I get the chance . . .

I use half of a FreeFrom ciabatta loaf (Tesco) and warm it in the microwave. If you're ambitious, brush the inside with olive oil and toast it briefly under the broiler. Layer on warmed pepperoni slices, then various antipasti (tonight I used slabs of marinated eggplant and peppers from Waitrose). Those who do dairy could add cheese and broil it open-face for an extra-special treat.

Couldn't be easier or quicker. You could also toss these same ingredients with pasta, for a warm winter dish or a cool summer salad. I sometimes add grilled marinated artichokes as well.

Basic bar cookie

This is my favourite cookie recipe. The base is almost like a chocolate chip cookie but sort of toffee-ish, with all brown sugar and no white, and then you add a couple of cups of whatever strikes your fancy (just one, or a mixture of items: pecans, shredded coconut, chocolate chips, raisins, finely shredded carrots, etc). Half the fun of these is thinking of new things to put into them.

With electric mixer, beat 2 eggs, 1 cup sunflower margarine/spread, 1.5 cups brown sugar, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix about 2 minutes on medium, then stir in 2 cups of your favourite GF flour mix (Doves Farms for me, as always). Lastly, stir in a total of 2 cups of one or more additions (above).

Spread into an oblong pan and bake at about 325 (gas mark 3) until a knife comes out clean. Be careful not to over-bake. Cut into squares and try not to eat too many. (Difficult!)

EDIT: Variation on this cookie

Divine chocolate brownies . . .

I apologise to UK readers for my use of American measurements. I still have my beat-up aluminum measuring cup and spoons that I brought with me when I crossed the mighty ocean (and I refuse to spell it aluminium, or say it 'al-you-MIN-ee-um *). If I know the equivalent, I'll write it, but otherwise, well . . . I don't know what to tell you. Except that these brownies are so good you'll be more than happy to figure out the recipe in grams.

Into a mixing bowl, place:

1 cp / 125 g. GF flour mix (I use Doves Farm)
1 cp / 200 g. sugar
1/3 cp / 25 g. unsweetened cocoa powder
4 medium eggs
3/4 cp sunflower oil
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 tsp baking powder

Beat well, then stir in about 5-6 oz / 150 g. chunked-up chocolate (I use the TESCO Continental brand, which is dairy-free, soya-free, etc, and 72% cocoa) and a 4 oz. (100 g.) bag of pine nuts which have been toasted lightly in a skillet.

Pour into baking pan (8" x 8" -ish), bake at gas mark 4 (link for equivalents at right) for about 25-35 minutes, depending on the pan you use and the brownie thickness. Remove while knife inserted between centre and edge is still a bit gooey.



* Regarding 'aluminum,' we can thank Humphry Davy for the differences between British and America spellings (and pronunciations). Yes, it was his to name, but I mean, come on -- how long does one need to finally settle on a name? And then he had finally decided on aluminum when some scholar told him that since so many other elements ended in '-ium' that his aluminum should as well, for consistency. And so after 40-odd years he switched one last time, and settled on that spelling.

Americans, meanwhile, had things to invent, electricity to discover, medicine to advance, and a moon to land on. We had better things to do than sit waiting for nearly half a century, so we kept his spelling and moved on.

Sorry, Mr. Davy. Oops, I mean 'Sir Davy.'

Bruschetta

Everyone has a different way of topping it, but variety is the spice of life, right? Regarding the bread, I've got two GF methods I like.

One, I bake up one of those par-baked baguettes, slice it, drizzle on olive oil, and grill it (under the broiler today). When they come out, I of course rub on lots of freshly peeled and cut garlic cloves, and I don't miss an inch! (I love my garlic!)

For toppings, I'm partial to either dipping the slices into a good red sauce, or topping them with a mixture of crushed garlic, finely-chopped fresh basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

But when I can't get my hands on a baguette, a GF pizza shell is just as good, and stands up to my garlic-rubbing better than bread, which means . . . I get more garlicky flavour on my bruschetta(!). Just brush the pizza shell with olive oil, grill both sides, and then slice into wedges (or tear it up, if like the rustic look).

I once served the pizza-base style bruschetta as the starter at a grill party in the U.S. (do they have the par-baked baguettes there? Never seen them) and even though my guests were all non-coeliacs, they couldn't get enough of it! The raves went on all evening. After dessert, they went back inside, scrounging my kitchen cupboards for more bases to grill. And since guests love getting involved, in this case it wasn't much more than oiling, tending the grill, and continuous re-cutting of the cloves for a fresh edge, but everyone loved the hands-on atmosphere.

Roast chicken and veggies

No recipe -- just toss a chicken leg, potato chunks (I prefer Lady Balfour), carrots, and a quartered onion with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, add a couple of sprigs of rosemary, and roast until done. (Or overdone, if you like that charred flavour as I do.)

Normally you'd add the veggies after the chicken was partly done, but everything was cooked (leftover from a crock-pot supper a couple of nights ago), so rather than just microwave the leftovers for tea tonight, I decided to warm it up by roasting everything.

Season with salt and pepper if desired, and serve.

Perfect 10-minute snack for a damp chilly evening

Any guesses? Okay, I'll make it quick: A microwave baked apple (I won't run an oven for an hour for one apple), and an espresso cup of my chocolate 'stuff' (still haven't figured out what to call that yet). You know, the one that's so thick you can stand a spoon up in it? Well, almost.

Anyway, chop up an apple, shake up 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 2 Tbsp brown sugar in a little container with some about 10 walnut halves, and sprinkle it over the apples. Wrap it with a paper towel and a rubber band, and microwave it for about 5 minutes.

Meantime, simmer the chocolate stuff on the stove top, and enjoy.



WW points for both: 7.5

Scallops (and my Zyliss garlic crusher)

The scallops are nothing, really -- I just saute them in some oil (sometimes olive oil, other times or toasted sesame oil) with crushed garlic. Might have some jasmine rice on the side . . .

But the real point of this post is to rave about my garlic crusher. It's by Zyliss, and I love it. You don't have to peel the garlic first! You just put the whole clove into it, squeeze, and then pop out the peelings when you're done.

Couldn't be easier, especially if you use as much garlic in your cooking as I do.

Breton Gateau

Like I always say at the start of each recipe (all together now) . . . 'This one's very easy.'

I guess I just can't be bothered with too much cooking because, let's face it, fellow-coeliacs, we have to prepare our own food 99% of the time, and it's time-consuming. Three meals a day, year in and year out, never a day off. So to have to prepare long, painstaking recipes to boot, with dozens of steps, after a 50-60 hour work week, is just too much (for me at least). Quick and easy.

So, I was sitting in the sun today (roasting hot -- hard to believe this is England in September!), shuffling through odd recipe clippings I'd stuck into my little hand-made recipe book (I've glued my favourite recipes to blank pages, found some lovely paper for a cover, and tied it up with a ribbon), and saw this recipe I'd cut out from a Waitrose Food Illustrated magazine a couple of months ago. I just substituted my Doves Farm flour for regular, had to add baking powder since the recipe called for self-rising flour, used a bit less flour, and it came out fine.

So, here's the adapted recipe.

Put the following into a food processor and pulse until well-mixed: 200 g flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 110 g icing sugar, 110 g white sugar, 250 g. butter (or substitute), 5 egg yolks, and 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Divide it into two equal balls. Press one into a spring-form pan, put clingfilm on top, smooth it out, and pull off the clingfilm. Add 125 g strawberry preserves, and spread to within 1 cm of the edge. Roll the other ball between two sheets of clingfilm, remove one sheet, place it over the jam, and remove the last piece of clingfilm. Brush the top with an egg yolk beaten with a tsp water, and bake for about 45 minutes at gas mark 5 (190 C). (There were steps like 'chill the dough for two hours,' etc, but I handled it just fine without chilling.

Dividing it into 12 slices, 8 WW points per slice. Obviously not a daily treat!

Apple Crisp

Very easy!

In a non-stick baking pan, place 5 cups of coarsely chopped-up apples (I used Bramleys today), and add 1/2 cp. dried cranberries (or, in season, 1 cp fresh cranberries), and a cup of sliced almonds.

In a food processor, pulse until crumbly: 1 & 1/2 cups light brown sugar, 1/3 cup of flour (I use Doves Farm blend -- always works in everything I make), 1/4 cup margarine or butter, 2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp each cloves and nutmeg.

Sprinkle this mixture over the apples mixture, and bake at 175 C, gas mark 4 until done (about an hour?).

All set to bake, but . . .

. . . first time cooking in the new house. Realised as I have two things about to go into the oven that I don't know gas-mark equivalents for my oven.

I had finally gotten used to Celsius (had an electric oven), but now I have gas (which I'm thrilled with), and have to find the conversions for those.

P.S. Any guesses what I'm making??



EDIT: Found it -- here it is for others. And if I post a recipe in gas-mark, you'll know how to do F or C.

Phat Thai (a.k.a., Pad Thai)

It was surprisingly simple! This recipe, like most, is for one serving (is my singleton status still not obvious?) -- double o whatever depending on the number of servings you want to make.

Set 2 oz (50 g) rice noodles to soak in lukewarm water, for about 10 minutes. You can prepare the other ingredients in the meantime. Don't forget them and let them get too soft - they need to be firm when you add them to the wok/skillet.

In a wok (or large non-stick skillet, which is what I use), heat 1 Tbsp sesame oil over high heat. Add and stir until brown 1 clove crushed garlic, 2 oz chicken (cut up), and one shallot.

When the chicken is brown, lift the noodles out of the water and put them into the skillet. Stir and cook them with the chicken mixture., adding a few tbsps of water to finish cooking them. When they're done (measure the following four ingredients in a little bowl ahead), add 1 tsp tamarind paste, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp fish sauce (nam pla), and 1/4 tsp chili paste. Use tongs to coat the noodles with the sauce, and cook/toss about 3-4 minutes this way. At the end, quickly stir in a handful of bean sprouts and a chopped scallion (spring onion). Toss/cook until prouts are warmed through.

Serve with a wedge of lime.

(Some people like it with peanuts, so if you do, Google a recipe for it. I like it as is.)

WW:7

Lemon-berry slush

Sizzling hot English summer day, and all this ex-pat can think of is a Sonic lemon-berry slush. Call me crazy.

This is Nirvana. Better than Sonic, I promise.


1) Dissolve 4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) sugar in 1 to 2 Tbsp boiling water, in the bottom of your tumbler. Let stand 5-10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.

2) Coarsely chop 3 oz. of strawberries, and a lemon which you've peeled (do this on a plate, so you don't lose any juice).



3) Add the fruit to the sugar-water, along with 1/2 cup cold sparkling water.


4) Blend/whisk until chunky, but mixed.

5) Crush up roughly a tray of ice cubes (I use a plastic bag an a mallet).



6) Add the ice to the tumbler, put on the lid, and give it a shake, or stir, or whatever you like.



WW: 3.5

White-bean Salad

I take this for lunch at school quite often, and when the kids come back after eating (I always eat and work in my room), they always know what I've had. Smells wonderful.

You can use any white beans for this -- I buy tinned organic Haricots. Allow a tin for every two servings. Rinse and drain the beans well, then toss with one clove crushed garlic, 2 Tbsp olive oil, a few fresh basil leaves, a tsp. of lemon juice, some sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and about 10 kalamata olives, torn in half. (In summer, I add local tomatoes.)

That's it -- could not be easier. Good as a side dish, or as lunch. You can also tear up a few strips of prosciutto and add it to the salad. And perhaps a shaving or two of parm or asiago?

Variations . . .

Tuscan Roasted Chicken

This is the simplest recipe, and fast to prepare, but best of all, always a hit. And the aroma in the house is so good you want to bottle it, or roast this chicken every day (or two or three times a day!).

Loosen the skin (breast and legs) on a whole chicken, and stuff in a few sprigs of rosemary which have been dipped in a small bowl of olive oil (maybe 3-4 Tbsp). Stuff a few cloves of unpeeled garlic under the skin, too, and throw a few more inside the cavity. Cut a lime in half, and squeeze the juice into the olive oil bowl (with the oil. Put the lime halves inside the cavity of the chicken. Then pour/rub the olive oil and lime juice over the chicken (get some under the skin, if you can). Salt and pepper the outside of the chicken liberally, and roast as usual (about 350, time depending on size of chicken, but be sure it reaches 165 on a thermometer).

Heaven. Good with white bean salad (recipe to follow), or maybe a platter of sliced tomatoes layered with fresh mozzarella (if you're lucky enough to have dairy) and basil, topped with some kalamata olives, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper?

Rosemary Sweet-potato Wedges

So easy, and so delicious.

Peel sweet potatoes, and cut into wedges. For every two small (or one large) potatoes (roughly 8 oz), toss with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, a liberal sprinkling of sea salt and a good grind or two of pepper, and toss again.

Roast in the oven (375 F, or about 180 C) until golden with a few dark bits around the edges (45 minutes to an hour).










WW: 5

Coeliac research

A Ph.D. student in the UK, doing research to understand the psychological aspects of living with coeliac, has put an ad in our Crossed Grain magazine, looking for volunteers to complete a few questionnaires.

I requested and received a set, filled them out (half an hour or so) and returned them. Anyone who is diagnosed and living in the UK , and is interested in participating can email stf615@bham.ac.uk .

Thai Salad

Cabbage, carrots, cucumber, cashews, and crayfish . . . with a really easy dressing.

You decide on the veggies and fish and nuts -- how much, how you shred or slice them, etc.

For each salad, dressing is approximately 1 Tbsp each toasted sesame oil and rice vinegar, a tsp sugar, a clove of garlic (crushed), 1/2 tsp each soy sauce and nam pla (fish sauce), and 1/4 tsp chili paste. Stir the dressing ingredients, pour over salad, toss, enjoy.

Individual chocolate souffles

I should warn you that there are people who probably do these 'better.' Professionally. I don't do the whole beat-the-whites-and-yolks-separately thing -- I beat the whole eggs (4 of them), along with 50 g. sugar and 175 g.melted chocolate until it's a really really fluffy mixture, and then I pour the batter into buttered-and-sugared ramekins (butter them, sprinkle in a teaspoon of sugar, and shake it around until it sticks on bottom and sides).

That's it.

And it works out just fine that way.

Bake at 200 C (220 fan, gas mark 7, 400 F) until they're what you want (either slightly molten in the center, or baked through). You can also make a chocolate sauce and pour it (still warm) over the souffles, and even toss on a few raspberries.

(Sauce: One part unsweetened cocoa powder, two parts sugar, two parts water, and a few drops of vanilla extract. Whisk it over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Set aside and serve warm or at room temperature.)

Portobello mushrooms with garlic and basil

This is really an appetiser, but I've been known to just make a platter of them for a summer lunch. Too good for words, and equally simple.


Scrape the gills off the underside of 4 large portobello mushrooms. Brush each side lightly with olive oil, then grill for about 4-5 minutes each side.


While they grill, crush a clove of garlic, tear up a 1/4 cup basil leaves, and combine in a small bowl with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil, a dash of salt, and some freshly ground pepper.

When the caps come off the grill, place them on a plate (upside down) and spread them with the basil and garlic mixture. Serve immediately (warm).

Garlic mashed potatoes

I make a large pot of these and store the extra in an air-tight container in the fridge -- very good (and handy) heated up on a work night, and they'll keep for a week. If it's too much for you to use at once, either reduce the recipe, or freeze some.

Set five pounds of potatoes (any type you like) boiling in a large covered pot/kettle. I don't peel them, but if you don't like the peels, feel free to remove them.

While the potatoes cook in a large pot . . . crush or finely mince 10 to 20 cloves garlic (depends on size of cloves, and how garlicky you like things -- I do 20 fat cloves). Saute garlic in 1/2 cup olive oil in a medium sized saucepan. When the garlic is golden brown, add 1/2 tsp salt and as much freshly ground pepper as you like (1-2 tsp?), and 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth. Heat through, then set aside. (I like the Kallo organic stock cubes when I'm in a rush, but prefer homemade stock when I've made is from a left-over chicken carcass.)

Drain the potatoes very well when tender, return them to the big pot, pour the garlic and broth mixture over them, and over medium heat stir and mash coarsely for a few minutes. When the broth has mixed in well, use an electric mixer and whip them. (Don't go straight to the electric mixer -- the hot broth will splash up and burn you, so it's important to mash the spuds up first to reduce the pools of broth before whipping.)

Serve piping hot, with a nice chunk of 'spread' (sunflower or olive oil), or butter if you can.


P.S. You don't even have to peel the garlic when you put it into the the Zyliss press (pictured)!

Garlic, kalamata, and egg-white omelette

In the U.S., I used to be able to have this one several times a week, but here, with the price of organic free-range eggs (the equivalent of ten dollars a dozen), I can't. So American readers might be able to indulge in this more often than I can.

It's simple. You need 4 egg whites per serving (either freeze the yolks for future use in a recipe, or discard), 3 cloves of garlic, half a dozen pitted and torn kalamata olives, and a teaspoon or two of olive oil.

Peel and slice the garlic and cook it in the oil, in a skillet, until it's golden (don't cook too long or it will turn bitter). Add the olives, give it a quick stir, then pour in the slightly-beaten egg whites. Cook as you would any other omelette, flipping when the under-side is done. Add lots of freshly grated black pepper before serving.

Sometimes, for supper, I add things in while I'm cooking the garlic: a bit of coarsely-grated zucchini, some well-drained diced tomato, even some shredded prosciutto. I've topped it with a couple of spoonfuls of warmed tomato-basil sauce, too. Those who eat dairy could add cheeses to the top.

Chocolate Fudge

Mmmmm, I love this stuff. First perfected the recipe in 1985. Spent an entire winter making fudge every day, until I got it right. Of course, no one in my family ate fudge again for a long time, but that time is forgotten. People forget the pain of childbirth and winters of daily fudge making.

I use all organic ingredients, but it'll work fine with regular.

Bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally:

2 cups sugar
1 cup milk (or soya milk, or almond milk)
2 Tbsp sunflower oil
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Continue stirring occasionally, and when it reaches soft ball (234 F, I think?**), take it off the heat. Immediately add (but don't stir in) 2 Tbsp sunflower margarine* and 1 tsp vanilla.

After 20 minutes, start stirring by hand until it gets thick and loses its gloss. When it's about ready to pour into the pan, add 1/2 cup walnut pieces. Don't go too long, or it will set up in the pan (I've had this happen when absent-mindedly chatting whilst stirring -- suddenly the spoon is stuck, and we're all eating it out of the pot).

If you want to add any nuts, do so at this point, quickly, then pour/spread the mixture into a greased pan (loaf? 8 x 8? I've even put it into a pasta bowl at times, or just onto a cutting board -- whatever is handy).

It'll be set in seconds (sort of sets as you pour it out of the pan, if you do it right).

One warning: If you 'play' with it during the 20-minute cooling time, it will not set, full stop. No dipping spoons in to taste, etc. Just let it stand. That was my downfall for most of that winter, until the night I was so tired of trying I just left it, and that's the time it worked, of course.

*If you can tolerate milk, obviously use milk and butter instead of soya and sunflower ingredients.

** I no longer use a thermometer, but just the ice water method. Either way works fine.

(Divided into 18 pieces, 2 WW pts per piece.)

Mango & Shrimp Salad

Salad:
Put the following into individual bowls for each person: up to 1/2 pound boiled Peeled shrimp, half a mango (diced), a cup of snow peas (sort of no-cook -- just put them into a colander and pour boiling water over them, then rinse to cool, and pat dry), a handful of cashews (or peanuts), and a few leaves of cilantro if you have it (or scallions).

Dressing:
Shake the following in a jar and pour over the salad(s). For each serving, use 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil; 1/2 Tbsp each rice vinegar, lime juice and soy sauce; 1/2 tsp each chili paste and freshly grated ginger.

Kiki's Latkes

We each cook them differently, but this is my daughter's recipe, and it's superb. She likes her latkes dense, and I like mine very lacey and crispy, but I think we both smother them in applesauce.

For each generous serving:

Grate 7-8 ounces of raw potatoes, and place on paper towelling for 5 minutes to absorb liquid.

Place potatoes in a mixing bowl and add one egg, 2 Tbsp minced onion, about 2 T. GF flour mix (or cornstarch), 1/2 tsp baking powder (5 ml), salt, and pepper.

When oil is the right temperature (375 F), fry up your latkes. How you put the mixture into the skillet determines how they come out. I use 2 forks and as I'm placing it into the hot oil, I pull it out from the centre a bit, making it 'lacier' and therefore crispier. To make them dense, use a spoon to put the mixture in, and pat it down slightly.

When brown on bottom, carefully turn over (I use a couple of forks, to prevent them splashing and burning me).When done, drain briefly on paper towels, then serve piping hot with applesauce.

German Potato Salad

I love this -- it's warm, filling, comforting, really fast and simple to make, and above all, it's made from potatoes (one of my favourite foods).

Per serving:

In a skillet, start 3 strips of bacon cooking. Meantime, put 6-8 ounces of potatoes into the microwave (or steam them, or use leftover cooked potatoes).

Flip the bacon and chop up a small onion.

When the bacon comes out of the skillet, put the chopped onion into the bacon drippings and cook, stirring occasionally. When tender, add the chunked-up potatoes, the crumbled bacon, a Tbsp each (15 ml) of vinegar* and sugar, freshly ground pepper, and salt. Stir gently, coating the potatoes with the onions and bacon (while the vinegar evaporates and the sugar dissolves), about 2-3 minutes), and serve hot, warm, or room temperature.

Variation: Use 1/4 head of white cabbage, coarsely shredded, in place of the potatoes. Don't cook it ahead -- just add it at the same time as the onions, and cook until done.

* I've used any kind of vinegar I have on hand, and though they'll all give a different flavour, they all 'work.' Usually, though, I use cider or rice vinegar. (Obviously, if you have coeliac, you're not going to use malt vinegar.)

The Real Italian (sandwich)

If you're not from Maine, the name alone will throw you into a tizzy. An Italian Sandwich (aka, a Real Italian) is a specific kind of sandwich, made by Amato's . . .

The history itself is interesting: In 1902, Giovanni Amato began selling fresh baked rolls filled with meats and vegetables, drizzled with olive oil, etc, to dock workers in Portland Maine (my birthplace). Click on this link for the full story.

One of my earliest Portland memories is having 'the house the Italian sandwiches built' pointed out -- at first, by parents, uncles, or grandparents, but later, we kids always spotted it ourselves and called it out, as famous a landmark to us as the Statue of Liberty might be to New York kids. As a very young child, I had odd images in my head of rolls and tomatoes out there wielding hammers, building a house. Later I understood that the poor Italian immigrants who started selling Italian sandwiches for pennies turned their business into an empire, which built this house. The house was, and still is, gorgeous. (I've looked and looked, but can't find a picture of it online. I'm going to ask my mother to snap one and send it, next time she's in the area.)

I grew up on Italians, and still crave them. They were always our Sunday evening supper. I was the one who got to go into Amato's on India Street and stand with Dad in the line, listening as he called out the inevitable "six Italians, one with onions 5 without, all with salt-peppah-and-oil." I loved watching the men behind the counter slice the veggies so fast that their hands were a blur, then roll the sandwiches up into the waxed paper and snap a rubber band around each one (today it's a piece of tape), slide them into a bag, and hand it over to me while Dad paid the $1.50 for the 6 sandwiches. Sometimes he'd add in a big bag of Humpty Dumpty potato chips. We'd drive home, waiting patiently for the sandwiches, the aroma filling the car (and we actually passed Humpty Dumpty on the way home). Usually a little bit of olive oil leaked out of the waxed paper and made dark spots on the brown paper bag I held on my lap, but that just made my mouth water all the more. Although it was less than a ten-minute ride home, it seemed to take forever.

Anyway, it was a Sunday night tradition. Mom got a night out of the kitchen, and it had all the food groups, so even a 1960's mother could feed them to her brood guilt-free. We always watched The Wonderful World of Disney while eating them, which was the only time we ever ate in front of a television set.

Many years later, my daughter and I lived just around the corner from the 'house the Italian sandwiches built,' and I told her the story. I also made sure she ate lots of Real Italians.

Today, the bread is the only thing I have to change (although you really can't get true Amato's bread outside of Maine anyway), and of course I don't eat cheese. So I buy a GF par-baked roll, finish baking it, slice it lengthwise, fill it with all the best things, either do it cheese-free or buy a soya-cheese, and make the closest thing to a Real Italian.

It's simple: ham, provolone (for most people -- I have to substitute), tomatoes, green peppers, a pickle, some kalamata olives, make yours with or without onions, then drizzle with olive oil, add a bit of salt and pepper, and you've got yourself a Real Italian.

The pictures on Amato's website are better than mine, so do have a gander, and read the rest of the history while your there.

Other alternatives include using cooked and cooled pasta in place of the bread, thus making a salad. Do use olive oil, though, to keep it exactly the same otherwise.

Dried bananas

Ever since I found out that the banana chips you buy in the 'health-food' stores are deep-fried (how did I think they made them so crunchy?), and most have added sugar as well, I've been making my own.

Spent £2 to buy 30 bananas at the market this morning, and drying will let them keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks (store them in an airtight container).

To make, peel them, then stick your finger into the end and they'll naturally split into three long pieces. Put these on a non-stick making sheet, and bake them slowly (100 C, or maybe 175 F?) for a couple of hours, turning half-way through. Make sure they're really dry and chewy before you take them out.

So sweet and chewy. Completely different flavour from regular bananas.

Peach tart

Had tons of peaches from the market . . .

So, I combined 8 oz. flour, 4 oz. sunflower spread (or butter), an egg yolk, a 3 T. sugar and 3 T. ice water, made a shortbread-type crust.

Smushed it into a spring-form pan (even crimped a little edge!), then added a Tbsp of sugar to the peeled/sliced peaches, spread them on top of the crust, and baked it for about 40 minutes at 175.

Whoopie pies

I wanted a childhood favourite called "Whoopie Pies" (a New England treat -- the rest of the U.S. hasn't heard of them). Basically it's chocolate cake, baked in little mounds, filled with butter-cream. I think they're named that because kids always yell, "Whoopie!" when they know mum is making them.

Here's the most authentic recipe I found online -- just substitute your GF flour (and in my case, milk as well) for the regular flour. (Steer clear of those recipes using marshmallow fluff in them! Not authentic!)

Caponata

Beautiful day today. Just one of those magical days you wish would never end. Sitting her now at 6 p.m., Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli on the stereo, having a glass of merlot, beautiful breeze coming through the open windows, getting ready to call my daughter and granddaughter.

Puttered about the flat for a while, then decided what I wanted to eat for the week and set about making my list and heading off to the shops.

Started off with putting a whole chicken in the oven (I tuck rosemary sprigs under the skin, also a few cloves of garlic, drizzle it with olive oil, add some sea salt and a grind of pepper, and roast it. There's no better smell in the house.

From there, I moved on to another pot of caponata. Have it as a relish, or on bruschetta; warm, cold, or room temp.

Peel/chunk 3 medium size eggplants (aubergines); sprinkle with 2 t. salt, then let drain for an hour.

Meantime, chop 3 sweet onions, 4 stalks of celery, 1 lb. of fresh tomatoes (and set to drain), 1 c. cured green olives; mince 3 cloves garlic; measure out 3 T. capers; combine 2 T. sugar with 1/4 c. red wine vinegar and let stand; grind up a t. of black pepper. You'll also need a couple of sprigs of fresh basil and up to 1/2 c. olive oil.

After eggplant is drained, saute it in a heavy kettle (use as much oil as necessary -- it sticks easily) until soft and browned on all sides (10-15 minutes).

Remove eggplant from pan, and using same oil, saute onions, garlic and celery until all are soft.
Return eggplant to pot with onion mixture, and add all remaining ingredients (except basil), and simmer about 30 minutes.

Remove from heat, add a dozen torn basil leaves, stir. Add salt to taste. Refrigerate.

Chocolate to drink (both small and big varieties)

Oh, the above picture is what I made for dessert with friends the other evening . . . little espresso cups of liquid chocolate. (For each serving, put 15 ml unsweetened cocoa powder, 30 ml sugar, and 45 ml water into a saucepan. Simmer, pour into cup, spoon up and very slowly enjoy.)

Better yet, my recipe for hot cocoa (serves two): 1 pint whole milk, 1/2 pint single cream, and a large 70% Lindt bar. Bring to a simmer while melting the chocolate in the cream/milk, then pour into two large mugs. Thicker and creamier than you could ever imagine.

(If you're dairy-free like me, substitute the milk and cream with soya milk and soya cream-substitute.)

Flourless French chocolate cake, butter-cream, and raspberry preserves

A treat I made at Christmas last year. (Since I just opened this blog, I'm going back through my 'other' blog and pulling out all the recipes and putting them here.)

Yes, it has dairy.

I baked it in a spring-form (about 350 F, or 175 C), leveled it off, filled it with raspberry preserves and a layer of butter-cream icing, then topped it off with more butter-cream . . . all sliced, ready to freeze.

The 'scraps' that I leveled off the top were put into cups with fruit compote and leftover butter-cream . . . or was it whipped cream?

The cake is easy to make: 1 pound of butter, 1 dozen eggs, 1 pound of 70% chocolate, 2 cups of sugar, and a cup of ground almonds. Mix well, and bake.

Butter-cream icing is always twice the sugar as butter (250 gms of butter, 500 gms of icing sugar).

The preserves? I usually use the kind without added sugar, simply because it's like fruit, not all sugary.

Makes a lovely Christmas dessert.

Shortbread tart with custard-cream and berries

Now, nearing 7 p.m., the sun is still high and the windows are open, and I'm making a tart. Something about summer fruits always make me want tarts.

Rough amounts (tweak as needed):

For the crust, 2 oz sugar, 4 oz butter (or sunflower spread), 6 oz GF flour blend (I use Dove Farms), one yolk, and 2-3 T ice water. I mix all that with a fork, then smush it into the bottom of a spring-form pan.

Bake it at 350 (F (about 175 C) until it's just golden and not still soft in the middle (15 minutes or so? Done, in other words).

After it comes out of the oven, let it cool whilst you cook up a quick custard for the top. Whisk together two egg yolks, 3-4 T sugar, 1/4 cup soya cream substitute (or single cream if you can), and a dash of nutmeg). Cook it slowly over medium-low heat, til thick, then spread over shortbread crust.

Top with fresh sliced strawberries or any fruit of your choice.

Fish and chips

I decided it was time to see if I could make proper fish (I skipped the chips, actually). Overhauled a recipe from a cookbook and set to work.

This recipe is enough for about 6 large fish fillets. Double or halve accordingly.

First off, set the oil to heating whilst you prepare the batter and fish. I put about 3/4" of sunflower oil into a medium non-stick skillet, and set it to med-high heat. It needs to be at 375 F (190 C).

Whilst that's heating, put the following into a large flat bowl, then stir and let stand for 5 minutes:

1 egg

1 T. vinegar (I used rice, but cider would be fine too)

1 T. sparkling water

1/2 cup milk (I use soya milk)

Whilst that sits, put 1/4" of flour (any good GF blend for baking will work fine -- I use Dove Farms). Dredge the fish fillets (flounder? Haddock? Whatever you prefer) in the flour and let stand on the floured plate.

Begin adding flour to the liquid ingredients, whisking as you go along. Depending on the flour type you use, the amount of flour will vary, but roughly 1/2 a cup is needed. If you get it too thick, just add a bit of soya milk to thin it. The thickness of the batter will determine how thick it is on the finished fish, of course. I did mine a bit too thick, so would make it thinner next time. Everyone's preference is different.

From there, when the oil is hot enough, dip the floured fillets into the batter and fry for about 3 minutes on each side.

All I can say is, amazing. Had mine with tartare sauce . . . Mmmmm.

If you want chips (fries) with it, you could do oven fries, or use the same oil and deep fry them. I was happy with just the fish.

Minestrone and ciabatta

The whole flat smells wonderful, there's lovely Italian music on the stereo, I have a glass of Pinot Grigio, a bowl of my best minestrone, and a hunk of GF ciabatta. Just home from a two-hour hike round the lakes, and it's the perfect antidote to the cold and grey out there. (The calendar still insists it's April, but it's deluded.)

Very easy, very quick recipe (makes two nice bowls, 325 calories per bowl):

Start music. Anything Italian will do (I have a preference for Andrea Bocelli).

In large heavy kettle, in 2 Tbsp olive oil, saute 3 cloves minced/crushed garlic, 1 thinly sliced leek, 1 stalk thinly sliced celery, 1 shredded carrot, 1 cup assorted fresh mushrooms, 1 diced zucchini, and 2 oz. pancetta.

When vegetables are tender, add 4 oz white wine and simmer 10-15 minutes. Then add 2 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock. Simmer for another 15-30 minutes. Time doesn't matter.

If you prefer a few white beans (I usually do, but didn't today), a can is just fine (they've really just boiled them for you). Drain and rinse them, and add them in the last 10 minutes or so.

I got very lucky to find GF-WF-DF ciabatta bread in Tesco today, on the return from my walk! Oh, happy day! They come out with more and more gluten-free/dairy-free goodies for people like me (fact: half of all coeliacs can't 'do' dairy).

Oh, one of my students is in a group which is studying coeliac disease, I was informed by the cooking teacher Friday. I'm going to visit their class and answer questions. Awareness is key -- coeliac is the most common inherited disease (1 in 100 has it).

Okay, off to enjoy my lovely soup.

Squash-carrot-orange-maple puree

This is to die for. You'll want to eat the whole pot for supper with nothing else. Very easy to make, too.

Cook up a whole butternut squash by any method (bake in oven, put in crock-pot, or steam on stove-top). After it's done, set it to cool. Meantime, begin preparing the rest of the recipe:
Saute 1 large chopped onion in 2 T. olive oil. After 10 minutes, add 3 large peeled, sliced carrots, and continue cooking a further 10 minutes. Add the squash (peeled, seeded, chunked up roughly) and a cup of orange juice. Simmer until the carrots are tender.

Transfer the whole thing to a food processor, and add 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, 2 T. butter (or if you're like me, sunflower or olive oil spread), and salt and pepper to taste.

Process until it's a smooth puree, although you could leave some small bits if you like more texture to it. Absolutely divine.