Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Kosher, Egg Free, Nut Allergies are just a few of the requests this Maui chef gets weekly.  Accommodating these families with inventive allergy free meals has allowed me to spread my creative culinary wings and make super delicious food.

Here’s a great recipe that astounds all who take a bite.  These gluten free brownies are made with black beans and if I didn’t tell anyone, you’d never know. Honest. Not kidding. Try them…you’ll see.

Black Bean Brownies

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease an 8×8″ pan.

Ingredients:

1  (15 oz) can of organic black beans, drained and rinsed well

1/3 cup gluten free quick oats

2 Tbl. raw cocoa powder

1/3 cup organic agave, I have also subbed maple syrup or date syrup with great results

1/4 cup organic coconut oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean seeds scraped from the pod

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1 cup mini chocolate chips, I use the allergy free brand with no nuts, soy or dairy

Directions:

In a blender (VitaMix, Ninja) or food processor, put all the ingredients except the chocolate chips. The batter needs to be well incorporated and ground up to a smooth consistency.

Scatter 1/2 the chocolate chips on the bottom of the greased 8×8″ pan.  Pour the batter on top of the chocolate chips.  Scatter remaining chocolate chips over the top of the brownies.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Let them cool for about 20 minutes before attempting to cut (if you can wait that long). I have to be honest, I couldn’t wait and used a spoon to taste the first warm fudgey bite of brownie goodness.

Don’t tell anyone.  Now go make some brownies and let me know what you think. Aloha!

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Here’s a fresh, delicious little nosh I dreamed up coming out of a nap. Hope you like it as much as my clients did.

Ingredients:

1 ripe papaya: peeled, seeded and sliced lengthwise. (I like strawberry papaya but any kind will do.)

1 avocado, sliced lengthwise

2 cups finely shredded cabbage

juice of 2 limes with zest

1/4 cup finely minced chives

Small bunch of fresh cilantro

1 Tbl. honey

1/4 t. sea salt

Black sesame seeds

Rice Flour Spring Roll Wrappers

Bowl of hot water and a flour sack type dish towel (no fuzzy hand towel type thangs)

Directions:

Toss finely shredded cabbage in lime juice, lime zest, salt, chives and honey.  Let set.  The lime juice will soften the cabbage while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Roll avocado slices in black sesame seeds.  Set aside.

Prep whole leaves of cilantro. Set aside

Dip rice flour wrappers briefly in hot water until mildly softened.  Don’t let them stay in the water too long, they will rip. Place rice wrapper on dish towel.

Starting with the edge closest to you lay the papaya and avocado in layers in the middle of the space with some room left at the edges.  Place a row of cilantro leaves above the papaya and avocado…this will show through the rice paper and have a pretty design. Grab a small amount of the cabbage and squeeze any excess moisture out and place on the cilantro leaves.

Roll the rice paper away from you like rolling a burrito.  Take sides of rice paper and tuck over sides of papaya, cabbage and sesame crusted avocado once you have the contents of the spring roll wrapped tight enough to hold it’s shape. You might have to eat a couple mistakes until you get the hang of it.  Not the worst thing in the world, right? Here’s link to a YouTube how to roll a spring roll video.

Keep repeating until all the ingredients are used up.

Slice on a diagonal and serve with this delicious Vietnamese inspired dipping sauce.

Sauce:

Juice of 4 Limes plus zest

2 Tbl. Red Boat Fish Sauce OR Bragg’s Aminos

1 Tbl. Honey

Sriracha to taste

These are beautiful, healthy, delicious and will delight a crowd regardless of food preferences.

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So, I threw a few Maui grown New York strip steaks directly on the coals.  Yes, you read that right…directly on the red hot hardwood coals and got cooking.  The process is called clinching and it disallows for fat flare up due to the lack of oxygen between the meat and the heat. A beautiful crust of tasty umami goodness is what happens and I have to tell you, it was FABULOUS!

Six pages of recipes and tips for a great summer BBQ is the result of this grand opportunity.  Easy appetizer starters inspired by your farmers market, sweet simple un-fussy side dishes and one of my favorite desserts are all there on the pages of EdibleHI.

Check it out people, click on the link, read those recipes…and get grillin’.

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I am guessing I am not alone.  Summer temperatures are here so ease any thoughts of global warming with this simple yet absolutely perfect end to your meal.

Grill off some fruit.  Pineapple was the choice for this summer session.  Top with ice cream. toasted nuts AND caramel popcorn.  Yes!  Caramel Corn is awesomely delicious on ice cream and grilled fruit.  It adds a perfect crunch and  a surprise in every bite.

Stay cool out there!

The post Easy Scrumptious Dessert – Grilled Maui Pineapple with Coconut Gelato, Mac Nuts & Caramel Corn appeared first on Chef Jana.

Make a cake.  But not just any cake, make a cake everyone can eat, that you can freeze, have for dessert, snack and breakfast.

What’s this miraculous cake?  Clementine Almond Cake, that’s what.  It’s a very old British recipe with make incarnations.  Here’s mine:
CLEMENTINE CAKE
Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1 hr. 40 minutes (Boiling clementines takes time)

Serves: 1 (9 inch) cake

INGREDIENTS:

Cooking spray with flour

6-7 clementines

6 eggs

1 cup

2 cups ground almonds

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

PREPARATION:

I usually boil up a whole big vat of tangerines and then freeze them for later.

Put the clementines in a pot with cold water to cover, bring to a boil, and cook for 45 minutes.  Drain and cool.

At this point, you can freeze them whole for future cakes.  I divide them up into 6 tangerine bags for easy thaw.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Generously spray an 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray with flour.  Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

Grind the almonds and sugar in the food processor until very fine.  Be sure to add sugar to the nuts, so you don’t end up with almond butter.

Add salt and baking powder to the almond mixture and process at bit more, until incorporated.  Empty the dry goods into a separate bowl.  No need to clean the food processor.

Add the clementines and the eggs process until smooth and fluffy.

Add the almond sugar mixture to the ground clementines and eggs and mix well. I like to do this process by hand with a rubber spatula.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour, when a skewer comes out clean.  You might have to cover the cake with foil after about 25 minutes to prevent the top from burning.

Remove the cake and let cool in the pan on a rack.  When the cake is cool, you can take it out of the pan.

Sometimes I make an 8 inch cake, it just cooks a bit longer.

This cake is great drizzled with chocolate sauce (orange & chocolate are one of my fave food pairings), vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, Maui vanilla bean mascarpone…you get the picture.  It’s also mildly sweet so it’s terrific at breakfast with a cup of tea or coffee on the side.  My beau likes it crumbled into some plain yogurt in the morning.  Also, great for all of us with gluten sensitivity.

The post Winter Citrus Gluten Free Wonder Cake appeared first on Chef Jana.

It’s summer again…yipee!!

I am an absolute freak for all things vanilla and love to support local companies which support local farmers. Maui Preserved is such a company.  They create a powdered vanilla that is easy to use and just plain old delicious. Don’t ask me how they do it, they just do. Genius.
The newest experiment in my kitchen is to poach fruits in different teas. In this case, I have poached apricots in strong brewed chamomile tea and Maui Preserved Vanilla Powder. Don’t poach the fruit too long, you still want it a wee bit firm and not mushy.
Remove the fruit to cool and reduce the poaching liquid to a syrup. Once reduced to a syrup, sweetened to your liking, I use organic agave syrup. Maple syrup would be nice, too. Hmmmm….I feel another post coming along (Smokey Oolong tea and organic maple syrup with a pineapple or pear, perhaps?)
Complete your vanilla poached apricot creation with the reduced chamomile syrup drizzled on the fruit and finished with fresh whipped cream or some vanilla mascarpone…again, a dash of Maui Preserved Vanilla Powder works great.

Happy summer, happy cooking, happy eating…now stop and sniff the vanilla.

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I really really love ceviche.  Fresh fish is abundant here.  I often cook fish centric meals for my clients from whole fish or whole sides.  When portioning out the fish, I often have extra or pieces left over too small to serve as a portion.  Hence, CEVICHE!  Perfect snack, lunch and leftover from the fish dinner the night before.

Ceviche can have lots in incarnations depending on the citrus you choose.  This recipe has local tangerines and limes along with Maui onion and leaves from my kaffir lime tree.  The acid from the citrus “cooks” the raw fish.

12 oz. fresh fish, cubed uniformly

Juice of 4 limes

Juice of 2 tangerines

1/4 cup minced onion

2 Tbl. minced chive

4 crushed kaffir lime leaves (optional)

2 Tbl. minced mint

3 Tbl. chopped cilantro

2 ears of fresh corn, cut off cob

1 cup diced tomato, I use a local small multi-colored heirloom

Salt to taste

When cubing the fish, you want all the cubes the same size so the fish “cooks” evenly in the lime juice.  Mix the fish & citrus juices together in a glass bowl.

Turn occasionally to make sure the citrus juice mixes well with the fish.  I marinate the fish overnight, but it will be ready for eating in about 4 hours.

Before serving, add the additional ingredients.  Ceviche is great on crackers, taro chips, corn chips or served in lettuce cups.

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This salad is a perfect companion for grilled meat or fish served al fresco.

NECTARINE SLAW
5 Nectarines, thin sliced
1 small head Napa Cabbage, shaved
1/2 head red cabbage, shaved
1/4 sweet onion, (Maui is easiest for me) thin sliced
1/2 cup toasted salted pumpkin seeds

Dressing:
1 lemon, juice & zest (I am partial to Meyer Lemons)

1/2 grapefruit, juice & zest  (pink is pretty)
Equal amount good olive oil (as citrus liquid)
2 Tbl. Agave nectar
1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:
Toss cabbages & onion with citrus dressing. Finish with pumpkin seeds & nectarines slices (so they don’t fall to the bottom of the bowl). Toss lightly leaving the fruit peeking out from the beautiful colorful cabbage.
Set a beautiful table outdoors in the shade and share with people you enjoy.

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Here’s the genius recipe that will change your life.

Honest, not kidding.

SHAVED KALE SALAD
SERVES: 4

1 bunch of locally grown kale
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup toasted macadamia nuts
2 lemons (juice & zest)
1/4 cup cold pressed olive oil
3 Tbl agave nectar (you may need to add more to taste…it should be on the sweet side)
1/2 tsp salt

Shave kale super duper thinly. The thinner the better, remember this is a SHAVED salad. No need to remove stems.

Pour lemon juice, olive oil, agave & salt in a jar. Shake the heck out of it until emulsified. Pour dressing over shaved kale. Toss well while fluffing the kale with your fingers. I plate the kale first and then add the currants & nuts so they don’t end up at the bottom of the salad.

NOTE: Feel free to sub any dried fruit or nut for the currants and mac nuts.

Those Parmesan crisps on top of the salad are super easy to make too. Place a piece of parchment paper on a glass plate. Sprinkle shredded parm on plate and microwave for 40-60 seconds. Let cool slightly and take off parchment.

Oh yes!  One more thing about this miracle salad.  It’s great the next day too.  Something fabulous happens to the kale as it soaks up the lemony greatness of the dressing.

Now you can have your kale and eat it too.

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Emmett, my Dad, is the inspiration for this grilled peach with raspberry sauce creation. He’s one of those folks that “needs” a little something dulce after dinner.

Fragrant summer stone fruits like nectarines, peaches & plums are piled high now, making this a no brainer.

INGREDIENTS: Serves 6
3 Peaches
Bottle of Fran’s Raspberry sauce (fab stuff)
Small tub of Mascarpone
1 Tbl Agave nectar
Vanilla (I like Neilsen-Massey Vanilla Bean paste)
Oil (I like coconut oil)

Heat your grill on high.
Brush cut fruit (I used peaches) with oil (I like coconut oil, but any will work). Another little tip, I put a little vanilla bean in the oil for another layer of flavor. Place fruit cut side down on grill until caramelized. Pool Raspberry sauce on plates. Mix agave and some vanilla into Mascarpone cheese. Place grilled fruit on plate cut side up. Plop a dollop of Mascarpone nestled next to the peach. Garnish with mint or basil leaf. Voila!

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