From Alice Enevoldsen

As we’re allergic to most beans and legumes (and chickpeas) I was excited by the idea of Edamame Hummous. All the ones I found on the market were combinations of chickpeas and edamame, so I tried making an edamame-only version. Get shelled edamame to save yourself some work.

• 2 ¼ cups shelled edamame – frozen (This is 1 bag of Cascade Farm)
• Enough water to see the water through the edamame when boiling in the pot.
• 6-8 Tablespoons olive oil
• 6-8 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 6-10 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Paprika

Directions:

Cook the edamame in a saucepan with the water until soft enough to eat. Drain.

Blend in a blender with olive oil.

Add all other ingredients. Blend some more. The better your blender, the less you’ll have to scrape the edges and stir it up. My blender is just okay, so I stop every minute or so to move all the goop around, or when I start to hear the motor whirring the blades in an empty space it made  in the middle of the hummous.

Serve up in a bowl or on a plate. Make a little divet in the middle, fill with olive oil, and dust with a generous helping of paprika.

Yum!

The longer you blend, the smoother your hummous.

From Andrew Telesca

• 3 lbs Pieces of Chicken
• ½+ Cup Olive Oil
• A Handful of Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
• 40 Cloves of Garlic
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken.
Coat with a little olive oil and brown on both sides in pan suited for stove-top and oven use, such as a high-sided cast-iron pan. Add the full ½-cup olive oil, the thyme, and all the garlic. Mix it all together.
Cover and bake at 350°F for 1 ½ hours.

Tomatillo Salsa in 1/2 pint wide-mouth jars

From Alice Enevoldsen

• 24 cups husked and diced tomatillos (117 assorted sizes)
• 6 small tomatoes
• 1 onion (lightly caramelized in olive oil)
• 4 heads garlic, roasted.
• 2 Anaheim chili peppers, de-seeded and de-veined  (I’m not so great at heat, you can add more if you like)
• 2 bunches cilantro, leaves only
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 & 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 & 3/4 cups white vinegar (this may contain corn or wheat, so depending on your allergies choose a light vinegar you know is safe for you)
• 1 cup bottled lime juice

• 24 (8 oz) half pint glass jars with lids and bands, sterlized

Directions:

Be careful canning, follow sterile procedure to protect yourself and your food from bacteria.

Chop everything into small bits, according to your taste for salsa. Add the roast garlic (mush it into smallish pieces and spread it through). Mix everything together.

Fill your jars, wipe the rims, and process for 15 minutes in a hot water bath.

It’s also yummy fresh!

Fridge-canned lemon cucumber pickles!

From Jason Enevoldsen

Fill your containers with a densely-packed mix of chopped:

• Japanese cucumbers
• Lemon cucumbers
• Shallots
• Garlic

Brine (per pint)

• 1/2 cup white vinegar (usually contains wheat or corn, choose a light vinegar that is safe for you)
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar (may contain undisclosed ingredients, choos a brand that is safe for you)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon pickling salt (makes clearer pickle brine)

Spices (total amount — approximately two teaspoons per pint)

• black pepper – whole (more of this)
• coriander seed (more of this)
• yellow mustard seed
• celery seed
• bay leaves (fresh)
• whole dried  thai peppers

Directions:

Boil the brine, chop the veggies.

Add the spice mix to the heated, sterilized canning jars.

Pack the jars with the veggies, fill to within 1/2-inch of the top with the brine. Add the lids and rings, process 5 minutes in a hot water bath, cool in temperate water and put in the fridge as soon as they’re touchably cool.

Be careful canning, follow sterile procedure to protect yourself and your food from bacteria.

Cooking stage of Green Tomato Picallilli

From Alice Enevoldsen

• 7 lbs green tomatoes
• 3 tart apples
• 3 sweet onions
• 1 green pepper
• 4 celery stalks
• 3 cups cider vinegar (white vinegar contains wheat or corn, choose a cider vinegar that is safe for you)
• 1.5 cups brown sugar
• 1.5 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup canning salt (regular salt makes the mix cloudy)

Pickling Spice

• 7 parts cumin seed
• 1 part black pepper
• 1 part turmeric
• 7 parts coriander (whole)
• 1 part yellow mustard seed
• 1 part brown mustard seed
• 1 part celery seed
• 1 part whole cloves

Directions:

Wash and chop tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt, tie up in cheesecloth and let drain for at least 4 hours. Discard the liquid.

Chop all other vegetables & fruits. Heat the rest of the ingredients, then add chopped tomatoes and vegetables. and fruits.

Cook over low heat until thickened and there is no water left (2-3 hours). The mixture should begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. Spoon into pint-jars (7-9). Wipe clean, add lids, and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Be careful when canning. Follow all canning safety protocols to reduce the risk of exposure to dangerous bacteria.

From Alice Enevoldsen

Green Tomato Pickles!

• dozens and dozens of green tomaotes.

Brine (per quart)

• 1 cup white distilled vinegar (usually contains wheat or corn, choose a light vinegar that is safe for you)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon canning salt (MUST BE canning salt)

Dill/Garlic Pickle Spice (per quart)

• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoon dill seeds
• 3 fresh bay leaves
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled

Curry Spice (per quart)

• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• a bunch of ground cayenne to your liking
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3/4 inch fresh ginger root, sliced into thin coins

Directions:

So I modified the recipe from Garden Betty.

Wash, dry, and slice your green tomatoes. Bring brine ingredients to a boil.

Put the pickling spice mix that you prefer in a hot,clean quart jar. Pack the jar full of the cut tomatoes.

Pour the hot brine over the tomatoes. Cover them completely and leave 1/2-inch headspace. Stir with a sterilized implement to remove any bubbles. Clean the rim, seal with a lid and band, and process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.

The green tomatoes will be pickled in three weeks.

Please follow good instructions and in-depth safety precautions when home-canning. You want all canning to be perfect or you end up with dangerous bacteria and molds growing in your cans.

From Alice Enevoldsen

Raisin Mix

• 2/3 cup raisins
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries
• 2/3 cup currants
• 2/3 cup golden raisins (the ones I’ve found have sulfites)
• 14-30 bite-size/petite dried prunes
• (2/3 cup dried cherries — as soon as I find a safe source)

That makes 6 one-third-cup servings. (The currants end up packing in between the other fruits). That’s the recipe I used for my toddler

For adults (and other people who are good at chewing before swallowing) I’m adding:

• 2/3 cup roasted soybeans (I found Roland Feng Shui Roasted Edamame to be safe for my family)
• 2/3 cup peanut-free sunflower seeds (the only ones I know of are NoNuttin’ Raw, Unsalted Sunflower Seeds by Libre Naturals)
• 2/3 cup nut-peanut-milk-egg free chocolate chips (I used Divvies, but Enjoy Life, No Nuttin, Amanda’s Own make some. Hopefully soon so will Premium Chocolatiers)

Add this last, preferably at the very last minute before you head out the door. If you add it earlier these crunch bits will get soft.

• 2/3 cup Divvie’s caramel corn or NoNuttin’s Vanilla Caramel Granola or home-made granola (rolled oats+honey+cinnamon on a baking sheet)

Directions:

Mix everything but the prunes and the corn or granola

Divide into 1/3-cup sealed serving bags (for toddlers) or 2/3-cup sealed serving bags (for adults). Be sure to toss the mixture as you’re bagging to get currants in every bag (they sink to the bottom).

Divide the prunes evenly among the bags.

Put in your pantry for snack emergencies or go hiking. It’ll keep at least a little while, depending on your climate, the temperature in your pantry, and how well the bags seal.

For people who chew

I may increase the ratio of soybeans and caramel corn/granola in the adult version. I’m happy with the ratio in the toddler “raisin mix.”

From Jason Gift Enevoldsen

• ~6-8 lbs green tomatoes, chopped in 1/4″-1/2″ cubes
• 2 medium shallots, chopped finely
• ~1 lb bacon (preferably smoked, dry-rubbed, thick-cut)
• Fresh cracked pepper
• Thyme
• Pasta of your choice-any shape, wheat-free, gluten-free or bean/rice noodles would all work.

Directions:

This recipe is a great way to consume large numbers of green tomatoes.  Most of the flavor comes from the tomatoes and the bacon, so flavorful bacon is a plus (e.g. heavily smoked, dry-rubbed bacon).  The idea is to cook the shallots and tomatoes hard enough that they start to carmelize a bit – that slight sweetness combined with the bacon fat balances the acidity of the green tomatoes.  Sometimes I’ll skip the thyme if the tomatoes are particularly fragrant varieties (e.g. black krim).  The amounts above are all my best guess – I never measure anything for this recipe since it’s always to use up leftover tomatoes that just won’t ripen.

1. Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry it in a large pan
2. Remove the bacon pieces, keep the fat in the pan (if it was very fatty bacon, you may want to drain off some of the fat)
3. Over medium heat, add shallots and fry them until lightly brown on the edges
4. Turn heat up to high, add tomatoes
5. Add a touch of pepper (maybe 1/4tsp at most), a sprinkle of thyme (again, not much – perhaps also 1/4tsp at most)
6. Stir nearly constantly to keep the tomatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan, keep frying until the liquid between the tomato pieces thickens up and some of the tomatoes start to turn light brown on the edges
7. Add the bacon pieces back in.
8. Serve over noodles.

To lower fat content (if not a fan of bacon fat), either cook the bacon and substitute olive oil for the bacon fat, or skip the bacon altogether and just use olive oil.

This and Green Tomato Bacon Sauce are similar but different.

From Alice Enevoldsen (this recipe is undergoing testing)

• 1 Cup brown sugar
• 1/2 Cup your favorite milk substitute
• 1/4 Cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup (Cane Sugar)

Directions:

Combine in a saucepan, stir well. Cook at medium/medium-low heat until simmering. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring to keep from boiling over. The last drips off the spoon should stay separate from each other.

Pour into heatsafe bowl to cool. Serve or refrigerate and serve.

(cut down milk and cook longer for a thicker sauce… but don’t forget it will thicken as it cools!)

Clockwise from top: Gingersnaps, Star Shortbread, Powdered-Sugar Lemon, Oatmeal, Oatmeal with Craisins, and (middle) Lemon-Flower Tarts
Image ©2010 Jason Gift Enevoldsen

Cookies for the Holidays

I baked 5 batches of cookies this week. Yum!

If you think holiday baking is harder with allergies, well, I don’t think it is. What’s hard is store-bought safe food. Here are some of my favorite recipes for the holidays.

Above

Gingersnaps
Shortbread
Powdered-Sugar Lemon Cookies
Oatmeal Cookies (add craisins for festivity)
Lemon-Flower Tarts

Not Pictured

Julekake
Sugar Cookies
Joulupiparkakut – Gingerbread
Powdered-Sugar Mints (wheat free!)
Blondies
Pumpkin Bread
And don’t forget about pie with the filling of your choice

Have a safe and yummy holiday season!