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Smoked Salmon Sandwiches
Jun 27th, 2009 by Alice

From Andrew Telesca

  • 20 Slices Bread
  • ½ Cup Capers
  • 12 Oz Smoked salmon
  • 1 Lemon – juiced
  • Black pepper

Directions:

Place the capers on the bread. You may spread margarine first if you have one you can use. Place the salmon on top of the capers, and brush with lemon juice. Pepper to taste.
Cut off the crusts and cut into triangles.
Serve with tea.

Cucumber-Mint Sandwiches
Jun 27th, 2009 by Alice

From Andrew Telesca

  • ¼ Cup Fresh mint
  • 2 Tbsp Honey
  • 2 Tbsp Whole-grain mustard
  • 6 Slices Whole-wheat bread
  • 3 Inches Seedless cucumber
  • Salt

Directions:

Mince the mint, combine with honey and mustard. Spread mixture on the bread.
Slice cucumber thin and place on bread in a single layer. Salt lightly.
Cut off crusts and cut into triangles.
Serve with tea.

Mayonnaise Substitute – Zesty French Dressing
Jun 27th, 2009 by Alice

Brianna’s Zesty French Dressing is almost creamy enough to pass for an herbed mayonnaise. It is slightly spicy, but not overly vinegary. It is more runny than mayo, so be sure to figure that in when substituting.

Brianna's Zesty French

Brianna's Zesty French

Beware! Brianna’s labels often picture foods that are not actually contained within the dressing. The most famous kerfuffle involves their Dijon Honey Mustard – which not only pictures an avocado, but is the exact same shade of green. There are no avocados in the Honey Mustard.

I wouldn’t use it in a chocolate-mayonnaise cake*, but in a case where you’re using mayo and don’t mind some spice and flavor, it works out quite well.

As of 6/2009 Brianna’s is available on Amazon.

*Yes, chocolate-mayonnaise cake. If you haven’t tried it, and you can have both chocolate and mayonnaise I recommend it.

Chicken Salad
Jun 27th, 2009 by Alice

From Andrew Telesca

Salad

  • 2 Cups Grilled chicken
  • 1 Sweetish apple (Fuji, Braeburn, Pink Lady)
  • ¾ Cups Dried cranberries
  • ½ Cup Celery
  • 2 Tbsp Green onions

Dressing

  • ¾ Cups Salad dressing – we use Brianna’s Zesty French
  • 2 Tsp Lime juice
  • 2 Tsp Curry mix: 1 part cumin, 2 parts fenugreek, 1 part turmeric

Serving

  • Lettuce or bread

Directions:

Chop all salad ingredients into small cubes. Combine dressing ingredients. Stir everything together. Chill and serve – on bread, on a bed of lettuce, or as a side salad with cantaloupe.

This helps me get over my craving for mayonnaise. I use it as a substitute for tuna, chicken, and egg salad.

Tea-Ginger Bread
Jun 18th, 2009 by Alice

  • 1 Cup water (as hot as you can get from the tap)
  • 1 Tbsp regular yeast (or 1 package) Make sure your yeast is “fresh” – don’t try this with a packet that’s been in the back of your cupboard for years.
  • 2-3 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Oil
  • 1/4 Cup almost-powdered green tea (a nice grade of Sencha works well) do not use Matcha.
  • 1 Tbsp ground ginger
  • 3-5 Cups Flour
  • 1/4 Cup finely diced candied ginger

Directions:

I use All-Purpose white flour – if you love whole wheat I’d do several experiments instead of using this recipe as is.
Heat a bowl. I do this by running the backside of the bowl under hot water until it doesn’t feel cool anymore.
Put your hot water in the heated bowl. Add sugar and oil in with the hot water (the goal is to have warm, happy, well-fed yeast).

Add yeast to your hot water mix. Stir once. Wait until the yeast starts to digest the sugars (you’ll see it “bloom” or get foamy). This is the best part! This should take 2-5 minutes.

In a separate bowl mix two cups of flour, the ground Sencha, and the ground ginger.
Add one cup of the flour mixture. Stir.
Add another cup of the flour mixture. Stir.
Add a third cup of flour, knead in.

If you need more flour, keep adding and kneading – you want to have dough that forms a ball and stays that shape. Don’t worry about overkneading, but also don’t add more flour than you need just because the recipe calls for 3-5 cups. If it’s stiff enough after just 2.5 cups, let it be – you’re done.

Oil a second bowl. Use the same oil you used in the bread.

Place the dough in the bowl, turn once to get it coated in oil

Let rise until it’s doubled in size, covered and warm (About 45 minutes). I preheat my oven to about ~100F (I know, you can’t do that, I just turn it on for 10 minutes and then turn it off and keep it closed, and rise the bread in there).

Punch down, add candied ginger, knead once or twice, and place in a loaf pan.

Let rise again for at least 15 more minutes, but up to 45.

Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes.

Let cool. Slice. Eat. I think it would taste good with honey.

Scones
Jun 9th, 2009 by Alice

Scone and Tea
Image ©2011 Jason Gift Enevoldsen

From Alice Enevoldsen

  • 1 ¾ Cups Sifted flour
  • 3 Tsp Double-acting baking powder
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar
  • 6 Tbsp Chilled palm oil (or margarine, shortening, butter)
  • ¾ Cup Oat milk (or soymilk, milk)
  • Dried cranberries, raisins, or currants

Directions:

Freeze your palm oil, but measure it first. You can make this with room-temp fat, but I’ve had very good luck with frozen. I try to freeze 6 tbsp more every time I use up the 6 tbsp in my freezer.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Sift the flour as you measure it. Yes really. If you want flaky scones this is a must. Sift your dry ingredients together.

If you’re using frozen palm oil, I recommend shaving it with a sharp knife on a cutting board and then adding it to your dry ingredients.

Cut the fat into the dry ingredients. I prefer to use a pastry cutter, but you can also use two knives. You’re aiming for an end result that is the consistency of really coarse cornmeal. I usually don’t get quite that far. Add any dried fruit you might like raisins and dried cranberries work well.

Add oat milk. Stir as few times as possible, but get it evenly combined. The dough will be wet. Pat into a 1-inch thick flat round on a well-floured cutting board. Turn over to get flour on both sides. Cut into 8 pie-slices. Bake for ~12 minutes. I usually start with 9 and then check. You want them to be lightly browned at the edges.

Let cool. Eat.

Scones
Image ©2011 Jason Gift Enevoldsen

I Think They’re Confused
Jun 6th, 2009 by Alice

My mother bought some cookies. She didn’t buy them for me. I would never eat this type of cookie anyway. And I don’t live with her, so they aren’t contaminating my living space. But I think the people who design their label are a little confused about the meaning of the word “nut.” Observe:

Jennies Almond (flavored) Macaroons

Notice that these are made in a “TREE NUT AND PEANUT FREE FACILITY.” Hmm … this could be somewhat true – maybe they’re artificially flavored (not that I’d trust fake almond anyway). Oh, I guess not, since it says “No Artificial Flavor.” If it is real almond, then your facility isn’t tree nut free. If it isn’t real almond then there are artificial flavors. Also notice that right under the ingredients it claims “NO NUTS ARE USED IN THIS PRODUCT.” Well, almond extract and flavoring are still made from nuts. (If you can’t read the label, click the picture to enlarge) More claims about what isn’t in this product.

It gets better.

Jennies Coconut Macaroons

Notice that these are only made in a “PEANUT FREE FACILITY.” I wonder why? Oh! It’s because they consider coconut a tree nut (as defined by the FDA). I wonder why they don’t consider almond a tree nut. And I wonder how their facility is tree nut free for the Almond Macaroons. They clearly must have two facilities. More claims about what isn’t in this product.

I’m going to take this as proof that you shouldn’t blindly trust labeling. Also, I didn’t know the FDA considered coconut a tree nut, I hadn’t heard that. I always have to clarify for people that coconut, although not normally considered a nut, is still problematic for me – though less so than other nuts.

Milk Replacement – Oat Milk
Jun 6th, 2009 by Alice

If you’ve ended up without milk in your life, cooking and baking can sometimes be difficult. Luckily there’s Soy Milk. Unfortunately, if you’re also non-soy you’re left with Rice Milk. The consistency of Rice Milk is often incorrect for baking. It is about as good a substitute for milk as water mixed with a little sugar.

Enter upon the scene: Oat Milk!!

Pacific brand Oat Milk

Pacific brand Oat Milk

The consistency and sweetness of oat milk are much more like regular 2% milk than any other non-milk substitute I’ve ever tasted. I use it one for one in recipes calling for milk – even puddings! I discovered oat milk about 4 years ago, and I love it … but I’m also worried about how long it will be around. There’s only one brand sold in Washington State, so I do my best to buy as much of their product as I can to keep them alive.

My milk-drinking friends even like the taste of it, (though it doesn’t taste like milk.)

Go Dairy Free has a good review of what oat milk is all about, and they point out that if you’re gluten-intolerant, this probably isn’t the milk solution for you.

I buy Pacific Natural Foods brand. Bear in mind THEY ALSO MAKE NUT MILKS. So judge the safety of this ingredient for yourself. They do not list nuts as a cross-contaminant, and the milk is also marked Kosher Pareve. Their website has full side-of-the-box nutritional information for your edification. If you’re bean-sensitive, this brand also has carob bean gum in it. THIS IS LISTED AS GLUTEN CROSS-CONTAMINATED on their awesome food-sensitivities guide.

Oat Milk Recipe
Jun 6th, 2009 by Alice

  • 1 cup Oats, rolled (raw)
  • 5 cups Water
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Bring all ingredients to a boil, and simmer covered for an hour. Strain.

Alternative 2

  • 4 cups water
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 2 cups cooked oatmeal

Directions:

Blend in a blender until smooth. (Shake again before serving)

Aloo Gobi (Indian Cauliflower and Potato)
Jun 2nd, 2009 by Alice

via Corinne Cooley

  • 3 chopped potatoes
  • 1 chopped cauliflower
  • ½ sliced onion
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin (grind your own with a mortar and pestle)
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • ¼ tsp ginger
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 tsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • ⅓ cup water

Directions:

Boil the potatoes until tender, 15 minutes. Drain. Heat the oil in a pan, and add the spices. Cook for less than a minute, adding onion, cauliflower and potatoes. Cook 3-5 minutes. Add lemon juice and water, cook covered until the cauliflower is done (6-8 minutes says the original recipe we got, but we found this takes a little longer, perhaps because we tend to double our recipes. We’d estimate 10-20 minutes).

This is posted today for my friend Beth who is eating lots of yummy cruciferous vegetables and wants more ways to get them than coleslaw. This is pretty good …

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