Hey, that tastes good!

Granola for a long car ride

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:00:13 PDT

Alex and I are going on vacation soon. Wait, let me say that again correctly. Alex and I are going on vacation soon!!!!! Soon is Monday. We're driving to Milwaukee to see my best friend, and camping along the way. We will eat Kopps burgers, go to thrift stores and flea markets, eat, take a billion photos (both film and digital! I bought another film camera) and have lots of fun.

Milwaukee is a long drive away from here. About a thousand miles long drive. In preparation for this drive, I have made granola. This granola is full of protein, good fats, fiber, omegas, energy, and delicious fruit. It's not too sweet. When I first tried it I wasn't sure I liked it, but then I kept eating and then almost couldn't stop. I packed a little bag to put in yogurt with some honey for breakfast tomorrow, but the rest is for the road.

This granola was an experiment. I tried some things I've never tried before. I added chia seeds before cooking the granola, which I was nervous about because I wasn't sure if they'd do their gel thing with the oil/honey liquid I poured over. I added protein powder so this granola will fill me up a little more, and faster. I've never baked with protein powder before, and was a little nervous. I know you could, some packages even say 'add to breads and cakes and pancakes!' but I wasn't sure. I added finely ground flaxseed at the end, with the fruits, so it wouldn't lose its omegas and the other good things flaxseeds contain besides fiber.

I added maca powder, because I love it so. Maca, if you've never heard of it, is a root that helps give you energy and balance hormones. It has a malty, distinct taste. I used coconut oil for half of the oil in the granola. Coconut oil is full of good fats. I used two kinds of nuts and three kinds of fruits. See?

Long car ride granola

4 c gluten free oats
1/2 c raw almonds, chopped
1/2 c raw pistachios, chopped
1/2 c raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 c coconut flakes
2 T chia seeds
2 T maca powder
3 T protein powder
3/4 t salt
1/2 c coconut oil
1/4 c olive oil
3/4 c honey
2 T finely ground flaxseed
1/2 c each dried strawberries, tart cherries, and apricots, chopped

Preheat oven to 300. Mix together everything except the oils, honey, flax and fruit. Warm up the coconut oil so it's liquid, then warm up the honey a little so it's runny. Mix them together, then mix in the olive oil. Pour over the oat mixture, then spread into two cookie sheets. Bake 20-30 minutes, stirring once or twice until lightly brown. Once the granola is out of the oven, sprinkle with flaxseed and stir in the fruits. Let cool fully, then eat! Yum.

Steak with warm tomato and artichoke salad

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:58:38 PDT

Not my best photo, I know. But bear with me. This took about 15-20 minutes from start to finish, and was just what I wanted on a home alone night (while Alex is working late). Followed by a piece of this tres leches cake (really? You haven't made it yet? Do it! It keeps really well in the fridge and is oh so good), I'm in for a good evening of lying on the couch.

Steak with warm tomato and artichoke salad
The salad should maybe be called warm tomato and artichoke and gooey mozzarella and steak juice salad, but whatever.

a piece of flank steak (mine was about 1 lb, and no I didn't eat it all)
salt and pepper
1 T olive oil or coconut oil*
a few big handfuls of cherry tomatoes (we grew ours!)
a few artichoke hearts, drained from whatever liquid they were in
a few basil leaves
a little handful of mozzarella balls, I like the little ones

Leave your steak out for a while so it comes to room temperature. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and heat up the oil in a pan over medium-high heat until shimmery but not smoking. Cook the meat for about 3-5 minutes on each side (depending on how thick your meat is). While the meat is cooking, slice the tomatoes in half and cut the artichokes into strips. When the meat is cooked to your liking, remove it from the pan to a plate and let rest while you finish the salad. If you're not sure if your meat is done, take a sharp thin knife and cut a little tiny hole in the thickest part of the meat to see if it's cooked enough for you.

While the meat rests, toss the tomatoes, artichokes, and basil into the hot pan. Let cook on medium-high for 30-45 seconds, then toss in the pan and cook without stirring for another 30-45 seconds. Pour the salad into a bowl and toss in the mozzarella balls, which will start to melt. Slice up the meat, and serve!

*I've been cooking in coconut oil because it's healthy and full of good fats, but you don't have to. However, if you are curious about coconut oil and thinking Ew won't that make my steak taste like coconut? The answer is no. I cook almost all the meat I eat in coconut oil and Alex hasn't noticed, unless he comes in the kitchen when I'm heating up the pan with the oil - when you can smell the oil. But the taste isn't there.

Tres leches cake

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:27:44 PDT

Back to business! This cake is killer. I just remembered that I love condensed milk in my coffee, then I remembered I should probably do other things with it besides just stirring it into coffee. Somehow I remembered this recipe, and it's been on my mind for days.

So I went out and bought a can of evaporated milk and some cream, since I had everything else. I got out of work early, and even though it was 90 degrees (still? Isn't summer over?) decided it was a good idea to bake a cake. I was right. It was a good idea to bake this cake. I should have gone with my gut and halved this, because it's a real big cake. At my house, it's just me and Alex. Even if we eat a lot of cake it will take us a long time to finish this. I might freeze half.

Anyway, this cake is pretty easy, as long as you're not afraid of beating egg whites. You make a quick sponge cake, let it cool, pour a bunch of milks all over it, and top with whipped cream. As long as you have a stand mixer, this cake is, well, cake!

It is delicious, I must say. I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it, since I don't like soggy things. Don't get me started on soggy cereal. Ugh. I did like it! So much that I might even forget to eat dinner and eat another piece.

Tres Leches Cake

Adapted from the Pioneer Woman

1 c flour mix

1/2 t xanthan gum

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

5 eggs, separated

1 c plus 3T sugar, divided

1 t vanilla

1/3 c milk

1 can condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

1 pint heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350, and grease a 13x9 pan. Stir together the flour mix, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Beat the egg yolks with 3/4 c sugar until light yellow, then stir in the milk and vanilla. Stir into the flour mix and set aside. Beat the egg whites until it holds soft peaks. Add in the 1/4 c of sugar, and beat to stiff peaks. Fold the whites into the yolk-flour mixture gently and spread into your greasy pan. Bake 30-40 minutes, until the cake starts to pull away from the edges of the pan, it's golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool the cake, then prick all over with a fork. Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and 1/4 c cream in a bowl. Pour about 2 cups of the mix over your cake, slowly, letting it absorb.

Here's where I disagree with the Pioneer Woman - she says to toss the rest of the creamy mixture, I say keep it and stir it into your coffee in the morning.

Anyway, let the cake stand for half an hour or so. It will absorb almost all of the liquid, if not all. Dump the rest of the cream into a mixing bowl with the remaining 3 T of sugar. Beat on high for a minute or three until the cream and sugar turn into whipped cream. Plop the cream on top of your cake and spread around over the top and down the sides.

Eat.

Cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:02:33 PDT

All right. So I've finally cleaned up my site, now all the links work, and it looks a little cleaner. If you aren't listed and would like to be on the links page, let me know.

Also I got a neat film camera that I am trying to learn the quirks of, so maybe I will be able to post real film photos of food. Who knows! Anyway, see you soon!

Eggs Benedict

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:18:47 PDT

Alex and I thought that today we probably needed to eat all our fat for the week this morning. It was worth it, but won't happen again for a while. I perfect the art of poaching eggs, made my favorite English muffins, and tried out blender hollandaise. Alex cooked some super thick cut bacon, and all together, oh my gosh. This is a special breakfast, and didn't even really take that long. All together it took about an hour - way more than I'd spend on breakfast on a regular day but very worth it, especially if you have guests to impress. Sorry I'm not posting recipes, I don't want to lift off Simply Recipes and I've already posted about English muffins.

Eggs Benedict

for two

2 poached eggs (to make absolutely, positively perfect poached eggs, Elise at Simply Recipes wins)

a few pieces of bacon

an English muffin (I make pretty easy ones that take about 45 minutes)

Hollandaise (again, Elise at Simply Recipes nails this one)

Thick bacon is the best, but make sure you cook it enough that it can break apart, and it's not too chewy.
To assemble, place an English muffin on your plate. Top with some slices of bacon, a perfect poached egg, and some Hollandaise. Try not too inhale it.
Blender hollandaise is genius. No more whisking over a water bath and the fear of breakage. Hooray!

Rice crispy treats NEW AND IMPROVED!!

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:21:07 PDT

We all know rice crispy treats. Apparently I already talked about them this year, but I'm going to talk about them again, real quick. I've been eating rice crispy treats my whole life. Butter, marshmallows, crispys.

This time something magical happened. I stirred in some peanut butter. WHAT!! It was awesome. I feel like I've been missing out my whole life. Did you guys know about this?

Chocolate crispys + marshmallows + butter + peanut butter = <3<3

Chocolate and peanut butter crispy treats

2 T butter

1 bag marshmallows

1/2 c peanut butter

5 c rice crispys (I used Erewhon chocolate ones)

Melt butter and marshmallows in whichever method you want. I like to use the microwave, but if you use the stove don't forget to stir constantly. This is hard work. Once your marshmallows and butter are melted, stir in the peanut butter, then the crispys. Press into a buttered pan and let cool, then try not to eat all at once.

Let's talk about something different for a minute

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:08:00 PDT

Not cakes or desserts or sweet things. Have you seen that commercial for the burger that uses grilled cheese as a bun? That's so something I would do. Fat kid city over here. Sometimes.

Anyway, you know that breakfast thing, egg-in-a-hole? Where you punch a hole in a piece of toast and cook an egg in it? That's cool and all, but how about instead of boring old toast, you use a grilled cheese sandwich? That way, you get cheese in your egg-in-a-hole, since eggs and cheese are, let's face it, meant to be together. This is SO AWESOME. I used Udi's bread, since it's the only GF bread I've found that makes delicious, regular tasting grilled cheese. Use cheese of your choice, I used American (which I do not like at all) because that's what they accidentally gave me at the deli when I asked for cheddar. At least it works in grilled cheese.

Grilled cheese egg-in-a-hole

2 slices bread (if you keep bread in the freezer like I do, let it thaw first)

butter

2 slices cheese - American, cheddar, mozzerella, Gouda, go nuts

1 egg

salt and pepper

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Heat up a small grilled cheese making pan, and put one slice of bread, butter side down, in the pan. Place the cheese on top, then the second slice of bread on top, butter side up. Cover the pan (for maximum cheese meltability) and cook for about 3 minutes over medium heat, until the bread is just starting to be crispy brown. Flip and cook on the other side for 3 more minutes, uncovered (for maximum crispiness). Remove your sandwich from the pan and punch a hole in it with a cookie cutter, or some sort of round thing like a cup. Remove the circle of sandwich and set aside. Put your sandwich with the hole back in the pan and turn the heat back on to medium low. Break your egg into the middle, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cover. Cook about 5 minutes, until the white is set. Remove the egg-hole-sandwich to a plate, and eat, along with the sandwich circle you removed earlier. If your yolk is runny, like I like, you can dip your sandwich circle into the runny egg yolk.

Lemon curd

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:14:47 PDT

Remember the angel food cake from the other day? A good thing to serve it with is lemon curd. I like to cut a slice in half, smear it with lemon curd, and eat it like a delicious sandwich. I've made lemon curd a bunch of times, but never this way. Normally, you combine the ingredients and cook them slowly, then strain. That's the worst! Straining lemon curd is messy and the last thing you want to do after you've been standing over the store stirring it for 15 minutes. This recipe is a little easier, you do the blending ahead of time and once you're done with the cooking, you're done.

Lemon curd

From Fine Cooking

6 T butter, room temp

1 c sugar

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

2/3 c lemon juice (I used 3/4)

zest from 2 lemons

Cream the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs and yolks. Mix in the lemon juice. It will look curdled, don't worry. Pour the lumpy mixture into a heavy saucepan, and cook slowly, stirring, until thickened. Stir in the zest, pour into a bowl, and press plastic wrap over the top to keep a skin from forming. Cool before serving, store in the fridge.

Angel food cake

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 08:33:06 PDT

I was so sure I had posted about angel food cake before, but turns out I've only ever posted about chocolate angel food cake, which, while delicious, is just not the same. I made this to be a base for this insane cake-berry-cream thing, which I will finish posting about soon. But first, this angel food cake is just too good not to share.

Heads up- it takes a ton of egg whites. All those eggs were separated and whipped to fluffy peaks. The yolks went into two things. A few of them went into lemon curd (coming soon!) and the rest of the yolks went into a soup I made for Alex. Egg yolks are a great way of making a soup super creamy without using cream (or dairy). Temper the yolks by adding them slowly to a small bowl of hot liquid you are stirring, then slowly pour the hot egg mix into your pot of soup once you've turned off the heat.

Angel Food Cake

Adapted from the Joy of Cooking

1 1/4 c sugar

1 c rice flour mix

1/4 t xanthan gum

1/2 t salt

10 egg whites, room temperature

1 t cream of tartar

1 t vanilla

1 t almond extract

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the salt and xanthan gum with the flour and 1/4 c sugar, set aside. Beat the whites until they're foamy, then add the cream of tartar and continue beating until stiff. Fold in the vanilla and almond extracts, then the sugar. Fold in the flour mix, and pour batter into an ungreased tube pan. Bake 35-45 minutes. Cool upside down, and try not to open the oven more than you have to.

Serve however you wish, I like to top angel food cake with whipped cream, or hot fudge, or fruit, or even top with ice cream. Or you can just eat it as is.

Kombucha

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:13:31 PDT

Oh my gosh I am sorry. I feel like I am always apologizing lately for not writing on here, and I am sorry. I will try to get better. Seriously! But it's summer and too H O T to do anything. we've been eating tons of burgers and grilled cheeses.

Do you know about kombucha? It's this weird, slightly fermented drink made from tea + weird bacteria. It might be really good for you, or it might not. Recently Whole Foods pulled it all off the shelf, because some of the bottles were testing much higher for alcoholic content than the labels said. Alex is a huge drinker of kombucha and has been terribly upset that he can't get it. I did some internet research (I love you, internet) and decided it seemed like something I could do.

I ordered a 'mushroom' off of eBay (see above picture- the solid part is the mushroom and the more transparent part is the new growth!). It came quickly, I followed the directions, and ten days later, perfect, delicious tea. It doesn't taste much like the bottled kind, which I find too harsh and overly carbonated. My kombucha, which I brewed with plain black tea, is a little sweet, very light, and almost like a hard cider. It's very refreshing, and requires very minimal effort.

Kombucha

1 starter mushroom

1 gallon water

8 tea bags

1 1/2 c sugar

1/4 c cider vinegar

a glass gallon jar

Boil your water, turn off the heat and add the tea bags and sugar. Let steep as long as you'd like, then let the tea come to room temperature. If you add your mushroom to the hot tea it will kill it! So be patient. Stir in the vinegar (to help balance the pH, you won't have to do this ever again), then pour your tea into the glass jug. Plop in the mushroom, cover with a paper towel or clean dish cloth, and rubber band over the top so no bugs get in. Place somewhere out of the way where it will be ferment at room temperature, and come back and taste a little in 7 days. If it's too sweet, never fear - just let it keep going for a few more days. The mushroom feeds off the sugar.

Once your first tea is finished (we gave ours 10 days), pour off most of the tea and leave 2 c of tea along with the mushroom. If you're not ready to make your next batch, stick your mushroom in the old tea in the fridge until you're ready. When you are, repeat the process, just without the vinegar. You can go on forever. I will keep you posted about interesting things that happen or that I discover.

If your kombucha is not fermented enough, my instructions say you can store it in capped bottles for up to 3 days and it will further ferment.

triple onion burgers

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:37:01 PDT

These are so delicious. Crispy on the outside, sweet and onion-y on the inside. Sorry I don't have anything else to say about them, but I have to go to sleep but I have been so miserably terrible about updating I figured I owed you this much. These are a cheap, delicious dinner if you toss some kale in the oven for kale chips and some sweet potato fries too.

Triple onion burgers

1 1/4 lb ground meat (beef, pork, veal, bison, your choice)

1 onion, chopped very finely

2 T dried onion (I love these ones)

1 T onion powder

1/2 t salt

a good bunch of pepper

2 T chili garlic sauce

a little less than 1 c bread crumbs*

1 egg

Preheat oven to 450. Mash everything together, and form into patties. Preheat a cast iron pan with a little bit of oil (I used coconut, healthier) and brown well on either side. Finish in the oven, about 5 minutes.

*I've been saving the ends of my Udi's bread, toasted and ground them up.

Eat some vegetables, too.

Peanut noodles and tofu

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:05:49 PDT

So our vegan challenge is finished, and sorry for not posting more about it. We're still unpacking, a month later. We're been working, and driving, and visiting my family, and digging a garden. Turns out I have a problem buying plants - I can't help myself. Pictures to come, once we've finished planting.

One of my favorite vegan meals we had was peanut noodles with tofu. I've been buying fresh tofu, made locally. I forget the brand. In the picture I used spinach Tinkyada spaghetti, but it's just as good with regular spaghetti. Or even rice noodles, if it's too hot to cook for too long.

Peanut noodles and tofu

Adapted from epicurious.com

1 block tofu, cut into cubes and patted dry

1 T olive oil

1 package gf pasta, spaghetti or angel hair, cooked

1/2 c peanut butter (I've used both smooth and crunchy and like both equally)

1/4 c soy sauce

1/4 c warm water

2 T minced ginger

1 clove smashed garlic

2 T rice or cider vinegar

2 T sesame oil

2 T honey

hot pepper flakes to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan, and cook the tofu. I like to cook it a long time on each side, so it gets crispy on each side, then shake the pan around. Sometimes I get crazy and sprinkle it with garlic powder and pepper.

In the blender, combine everything else (peanut butter to pepper flakes) and taste. You might want to add a little more peanut butter or honey, or some chili oil. Toss with the noodle right before you serve it, then top with tofu. This is good warm, or cold for lunch the next day.

Kale, garlic, tomato pizza

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Sun, 16 May 2010 13:36:33 PDT

I've been seeing kale pizza all over the internet, and figured while we're being vegan for a month or so, now is a good time to try it.

I used Bob's Red Mill pizza crust mix, since I happened to have it in the pantry. I never use pizza crust mixes, but since we've moved I haven't fully restocked my flours. I was skeptical, since I don't normally love Bob's mixes (bean flour, yuck!) but this was actually pretty decent. I used chia seeds instead of eggs, which worked out well - 2 T chia in 1/3 c water.

The kale steams a little on the pizza and then crisps, and if you use a ton of garlic like I did, this is so delicious. Garlic + crispy kale + tomatoes = really good pizza. Make sure you precook your crust enough because the pizza can't cook for that long or else you'll burn the kale. Also be sure to rip the kale into small pieces, smaller than you think you need to, or else you will end up eating all the kale off in the first bite.

Healthy pizza

1 prepared gf pizza crust (I have posted recipes for crust here, here, here, and here)

3-4 stems kale, washed and torn into small pieces

3-6 T garlic, crushed

3 T olive oil

1/2 tomato, sliced very thin

salt and pepper

1/2 t chili flakes

Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Prebake your pizza crust until just starting to brown. Toss the kale pieces with 1 T olive oil and set aside. Mix together the crushed garlic and the rest of the olive oil. When the crust is ready, spread the garlic and oil mixture evenly over the top. Place the tomatoes around on top, then cover with the kale. Heap as much as you can onto the pizza, the kale will shrink while it cooks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and chili flakes.

Bake 25-30 minutes, until the kale is cooked and the crust is browned.

It's spring!

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:48:48 PDT

Hi. It's spring now. And I live in Connecticut now. Hooray! Moving was rough, but we're settling in now. Alex and I started our new jobs, and trying to get back in the swing of things. As part of starting over, we're going vegan for a month, and trying to be healthier. We've been eating too much meat and junk.
Now that the kitchen is unpacked (mostly), I was able to cook again. Hooray! We had gone to Wholefoods, where they had a great local-seasonal produce section. We got ramps, spring onions, fresh garbanzo beans, and fiddleheads. Yum. I also found some gluten-free (and vegan!) gnocchi, for $4. I cooked everything together and made the most delicious dinner.

Spring vegetables and gnocchi

1 package gf gnocchi

1 lb fiddleheads, cleaned of their papery shells

1/3 lb ramps

2 spring onions

a big handful of fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 T olive oil

salt and pepper

Bring a pot of salted water to boil, and cook gnocchi 2-3 minutes. Drain and toss in a little olive oil, then sautee over medium heat until slightly browned on all sides. Meanwhile, steam the fiddleheads for 5-8 minutes, until fork tender. Slice the spring onions thinly, then the ramp bulbs, setting aside the onion tops and the ramp greens. Sautee the onions in a little olive for 5-10 minutes until softened and starting to brown. Add the mushrooms and cook until browned, then add the greens from the ramps and the onion tops. Cook until softened. Toss in the gnocchi, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and enjoy!

A delicious sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:44:35 PDT

I love sandwiches. And since we’re moving soon, and I have been running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off (when I’m not collapsed on the couch trying to regroup) I haven’t been cooking much. To tell the truth, Alex has been cooking most of the meals.

Two things have led to me eating sandwiches again, after not bothering for so long (gluten-free bread is so bad, usually, and I’m too lazy to bake it myself lately). First, I got a box of Udi’s bread and bagels from work. That stuff is delicious! Soft and light, edible without being microwaved to death. Second, I tried a box of Sunshine burgers. Even though I eat meat, I do like veggie burgers. Most of them aren’t gluten-free, so I just stopped eating them. We were out of them at work and people were going crazy, so when they came back in stock I bought a box. The ingredients are mostly sunflower seeds and brown rice, but they’re delicious.

When I work late at work and have time to make lunch at home, I’ve been making a sandwich. This is what I put on mine, in case you’re wondering.

A delicious sandwich
1 Udi’s gluten free bagel (or the bread of your choice)
1 T hemp seed butter (this stuff is good for you- full of omegas)
1 piece of lettuce
A few slices of onion
1 slice of tomato
1 Sunshine burger
2 slices of horseradish cheddar
1 T hummus (Bobbi’s is my favorite brand)
1 t mustard if you’re feeling crazy (I like honey mustard best)
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Toast your bagel. It will hold all your sauces better. Spread with hemp butter, then top with lettuce, onion, tomato, and whatever vegetables you feel like using. I would like to use cucumbers and grated carrots, but I don’t have them usually. Pan fry your Sunshine burger, top with cheese, and let melt. Plop the hummus on top, spread the top bagel half with mustard, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Eat! This will fill you up for lunch.

Mississippi Mud Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 09:46:45 PDT

Sorry I haven't been around lately - things are happening. Alex and I got jobs in Connecticut, and we're moving in the next few weeks. This is a big move. Alex has lived in Philly for over ten years, and I've been here for five. We're moving out to the country, kind of. I will try to update, but I've barely been home (driving back and forth to CT to look at apartments/have job interviews, etc) and haven't been cooking. But I whipped these up last night, since Alex cooked dinner.

You all know how I love brownies, right? Because I do. Love them. Love love love love brownies. Especially warm, with ice cream and caramel sauce on top.

These brownies do not have ice cream or caramel on top, but they're still good. These are what I call deluxe brownies. They are not plain, but have toppings. Toppings of marshmallows and chocolate and nuts. Next time they will have peanut butter.

Mississippi mud brownies

Brownies:

From Simply Recipes.

8 T butter

1 c sugar

3/4 c plus 2 T cocoa powder

pinch of salt

1 t vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 c flour mix

Preheat oven to 350, and grease an 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Melt the butter in the microwave, then stir in the sugar and the cocoa and salt. Stir in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, then stir in the flour mix. Beat by hand for a minute or two, then pour the batter into the pan. Bake 30-40 minutes until set.

Marshmallow and nut layer

3/4 c mini marshmallows or marshmallow fluff

1/2 c chopped nuts, such as pecans

Drop the marshmallows over the top of the brownies, or carefully spread the fluff over. If using fluff, drop spoonfuls on top of the hot brownies and let sit for a minute or two, to melt the fluff, then spread carefully. Sprinkle the nuts on top.

Chocolate layer

6 to 8 oz dark chocolate

1 T butter

1 T cream or milk

Microwave the chocolate, butter and milk together, stirring every 10 seconds or so, until melted. Pour over the marshmallows and nuts.

Let cool fully before serving.

Richards famous chocolate cake (and kahlua whipped cream)

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:33:18 PST

My mom's boyfriend makes this fabulous chocolate cake. He hasn't made it gluten free yet, so I did to prove it's possible. This is a good cake. It's not too sweet, quick to whip up, and serves a crowd. You should use some good quality cocoa, but if all you have is something crappy that's fine too. I used Hershey's. It was fine, but could have been better.

Richard's famous chocolate cake

1 3/4 c rice flour mix

1/2 t xanthan gum

3/4 c cocoa powder

3/4 t salt

1 1/4 t baking powder

2 t baking soda

2 c sugar

1 c milk, soured with 1 t lemon juice

1 c strong coffee

2 eggs

1/2 c oil

1 t vanilla (or kahlua)

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan (I use glass). Mix together the dry ingredients, and then in another bowl mix together the wet ingredients. Fold together, pour into the pan, and bake 45-50 minutes until the cake starts to pull away from the sides a little and a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.

Kahlua whipped cream

1 c heavy cream

1 t kahlua

1 T confectioners sugar

Combine ingredients, and beat to stiff peaks. Serve on top of chocolate cake.

Franks and beans and bacon

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:06:04 PST

I was going to do something elaborate and fancy for dinner tonight but then I got lazy. And hot dogs were on sale. And then I remembered hot dogs and beans, otherwise known as franks and beans. I threw together the Pioneer Woman's baked beans, which I'd been meaning to make for a while. Basically you doctor up a few cans of baked beans, and bake them for a long time with some bacon. I added some jumbo hotdogs and served them with a salad for a lazy, delicious, super cheap dinner.

Franks and beans and bacon

8 slices bacon

1 onion, diced

1 pepper, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 c bbq sauce (I used bone suckin sauce, I would use the hot version next time)

1/4 c brown sugar (I might use molasses next time)

1/4 c cider vinegar

2 T mustard

2-3 cans of baked beans (Bushs are gluten free)

3 jumbo hot dogs, sliced

Cook the bacon on low for a while, until most of the grease is rendered out. Set it aside, and toss out a little of the grease. Keep some, about 2 T, and cook the onion, pepper, and garlic on medium-low to soften. Stir together bbq sauce, brown sugar, cider vinegar and mustard, then stir into the onion mixture. Add the beans, stir in the hot dogs, then lay the bacon on top. Bake at 350 for about an hour and a half.

Serve with a salad and maybe some sort of bread for dipping.

Cabbage roll soup

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:46:29 PST

It's snowing again. Of course it is. We're having the snowiest winter in the history of the universe of Philadelphia, so I don't think the snow will let up/melt anytime soon. When it snows, I don't really leave the house unless it's an emergency, so I had to cook dinner with things we had in the fridge/freezer, which led to this soup. It's delicious, hearty, easy, and delicious. This soup has all the ingredients of Hungarian stuffed cabbages, which are delicious but a little time consuming. Here is a good, quick alternative.

Cabbage roll soup

3/4 pound ground beef

salt and pepper

1 T paprika

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, cut into half moons

2 stalks of celery, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes (or of tomato sauce, I didn't have any but that's what I wanted to use)

1 quart chicken or beef broth

1/2 head of cabbage, core removed and the rest sliced into thin strips

1/2 c rice

Salt and pepper the beef, add the paprika, and mush in. Brown the beef in a small amount of olive oil, then remove to a bowl. Cook the onion, carrots, celery and garlic until starting to soften, then add the tomatoes, broth, and cabbage. Add the beef back in, and enough water to cover. Cook 15 minutes, then add the rice. Cook another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is done and the cabbage is cooked to your liking. Add salt and pepper if necessary. Serves 4.

Gooey cinnamon buns

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:51:42 PST

I got a box of Better Batter flour at work. I've been hearing fabulous things, but I really don't use pre-mixed flour mixes much. This morning I woke up late, and wanted to make cinnamon buns. I figured that was a tough test for a flour blend. Cinnamon buns need to be light and fluffy and easily pulled apart; a tough test for any gluten-free blend.

And let me tell you- the Better Batter flour blend passed. I used recipe for gluten cinnamon buns, switched a few things up, and baked them off. Then I might have eaten four, trying to decide if I liked them.

I'm not sure if this recipe will work with regular flour mix, but I will try it eventually. The only differences between my basic flour mix I use for almost anything and the Better Batter mix is that the BB mix has pectin (gelling agent) and potato flour (which I've never used). I bet you could make this with regular flour mix, with maybe 1 1/2 t xanthan gum and then about 1/3 c teff flour too.

Gooey cinnamon buns

I used Elise's recipe for cinnamon buns, with a few changes.

The buns:

1/4 c warm water (around 110 degrees)

1/3 c sugar

1 packet of yeast (2 1/4 t if you don't use packets)

3/4 c milk

4 T butter, melted

1 egg and a yolk

1 t salt

3 c Better Batter flour

Combine the warm water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl and let proof for 5 minutes. Beat together the milk, butter, eggs, salt and yeast mixture. Stir in the flour mix a cup at a time. The dough will be pretty thick.

For the cinnamon filling:

2/3 c brown sugar

1 T cinnamon

4 T butter, melted

Divide the dough in half. Set one half aside, and roll out the other half on a well floured surface. Don't roll too thin, about 1/3" is good. Half an inch is ok too. Brush the top with butter, and sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the top. Roll up, and cut with a sharp knife into 3/4"-1" slices. Repeat with the other dough half.

For the topping:

1/4 c brown sugar

3 T butter

3 T honey

1 T corn syrup

Combine the ingredients in a small bowl, and microwave until butter is melted. Stir to combine, and pour into the bottom of a 13x9 glass pan.

Place the sliced cinnamon rolls on top of the sticky sauce, spaced evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 while the rolls are rising. Bake 30-40 minutes until topping is bubbling around the sides and the tops are brown. Turn out onto a plate and try not to eat them all at once. Makes about 20.

Buffalo chicken soup

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:14:30 PST

It's soup season. Have you noticed? We've got a ton of snow. Like, a TON. Now is the right time to eat a hot, spicy, creamy soup. This is it.

Buffalo chicken soup

1 lb chicken thighs, cut into cubes

2 T rice flour

salt and pepper

1 T butter

1 onion

2 carrots

2 stalks of celery

4 c chicken broth

1/2 to 1 c hot wing sauce (Franks brand is gf)

1 c gf noodles (I used Tinkyada fusilli)

3/4 c blue cheese, crumbled

Dredge the chicken cubes in rice flour, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in an appropriate soup making pot, and brown the chicken on all sides. Once browned, remove the chicken from the pot and stir in the vegetables. Cook the vegetables 15 minute over medium-low heat until softened. Add the chicken and any juices that have oozed out, then stir in the chicken broth, hot wing sauce and noodles. Watch out, the soup will be much spicier once it cooks for a few minutes than it will when you start! Bring to a simmer and cook about fifteen minutes, until noodles are tender. Stir in the blue cheese, and serve with extra blue cheese just in case.

Cream cheese and blueberry coffee cake

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:15:10 PST

Once again, we're snowed in. Seriously snowed in. The highways are closed, the public transportation system is shut down, and no one has even bothered to start shoveling. It's serious. Although I'll be hurting a little bit if work is cancelled again tomorrow, I've had too many (unpaid) snow days.

I searched high and low on the internet for a recipe like this, and I couldn't find any. I wanted a basic coffee cake, but with berries, a cream cheese layer, and a crunchy streusel-y topping. Why doesn't this exist besides in my mind?

The good news is that my ideal recipe translated perfectly into reality. This is a hell of a coffee cake. The base cake is light and fluffy, the blueberries fit right in between the cake and the creamy layer of cheese, and the streusel topping is thin and crunchy.

Cream cheese and blueberry coffee cake

Cake base and streusel layer adapted from the Joy of Cooking 1975 edition

For the cake base:

1 1/2 c rice flour mix

1/4 t salt

1/4 t xanthan gum

2 t baking powder

1/4 c butter, softened

1/4 c sugar

1 egg

2/3 c milk

1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. In a small bowl, blend together the flour mix, salt, xanthan gum, and baking powder, then set aside. Cream the butter and sugar, then beat in the egg, followed by the milk. Add the vanilla, then stir in the flour mixture. Blend well, then spread into a 8x8 pan or an 8" pie/tart pan.

For the berry layer:

1/2 c to 3/4 c fresh or frozen blueberries (don't thaw them if they're frozen)

1 T sugar

Toss the berries in the sugar, and sprinkle over the cake layer.

For the cream cheese layer:

8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used low fat 'Neufchatel')

1 egg yolk

1/4 c sugar

2 t lemon juice or vanilla

Smoosh the cream cheese together with the egg, sugar, and lemon juice. Beat until smooth, and drop big spoonfuls on top of the berries.

For the streusel layer:

2 T rice flour or almond meal

2 T butter

3 T sugar

1/2 t cinnamon

Mash together all the ingredients with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over the cheese layer.

Bake the cake about 45-60 minutes, until no longer jiggley in the center, and starting to brown. Cool completely before serving.

Rice crispy treats

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:51:00 PST

Rice Krispies are not gluten free. The only ingredient that makes them unsafe is 'malt flavoring', that and Kellogg's do not make any products that are gluten free. Hey Kellogg's, take a hint from General Mills!

Who cares though, because there are a few gluten free krispies alternatives. I used Nature's Path Crispy Rice, but I sometimes use the chocolate Koala Crisps. Both are delicious options. Kraft Marshmallows are gluten free.

All you need for rice crispy treats are most of a box of crispy cereal, a bag of marshmallows, and a little butter. They're pink today because I used strawberry marshmallows, which are delicious!

Rice crispy treats

a bag of marshmallows

2 T butter

5-6 cups of rice cereal*

Lightly grease a 13x9 pan and set aside. Melt butter, then add marshmallows. Stir until smooth, remove from heat, and stir in the cereal. Spread in the pan and pat down with a lightly greased spatula. Cool and eat, not all at once if you can help it.

*I like to use less cereal sometimes so everything is more marshmallow-y. That's a word, right?

Crab cakes!

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:38:08 PST

I love Alex. Sometimes he makes me fabulous things, like these crab cakes. They are fairly easy to make, and so delicious.

Alex's crab cakes

1/2 lb lump crab meat, picked over for shells

1/2 onion, minced

1 carrot, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

1 egg

2 t mustard

2 t grated horseradish

2 T mayonnaise

3/4 c to 1 c bread crumbs, plus more for coating

3 T oil for frying

Cook the onion, carrot and garlic in 1 T butter until softened. Put the crab in a bowl, add vegetables, salt and pepper, egg, mustard, horseradish, and mayonnaise. Add in the breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup at a time, until the mixture isn't too wet and holds together when you press it into a ball. Divide mixture into six balls, and flatten into tight patties. Coat on each side with breadcrumbs. Heat the oil in a pan, and cook on each side until well browned.

Makes six, serve with cocktail sauce or remoulade sauce or just eat plain.

Cheesecake brownies

noreply@blogger.com (jill elise) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:38:54 PST

Everyone is panicking. It's snowing. The world is apparently ending. Snow!!!! You should have seen people at Wholefoods today. It was terrible. People fighting over the last pack of chicken.

I figured if we're going to be snowed in for the rest of our lives like the news is saying, we'd better have something delicious. These are delicious. Fudgy brownies, tangy cream cheese, I could have eaten three. Or six.

They're good for a snowy night.

Cheesecake brownies

My favorite brownie recipe, plus a cream cheese topping.

4 oz unsweetened chocolate

3/4 stick butter

1 3/4 c sugar

3 eggs

1 t vanilla

1 c rice flour mix

1/4 t xanthan gum

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 egg yolk

1/3 c sugar

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly grease an 8x8 pan. Melt the chocolate in the microwave with the butter. Mix in the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in rice flour and xanthan gum. Spread the batter in the pan. In a clean bowl, mash together the cream cheese, egg yolk, and sugar. Keep stirring until smooth, then plop in three thick lines across the batter. Swirl around with a knife. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the center isn't jiggley. Cool completely before cutting.