Recently I came across this recipe for Gluten-free Cookie Bars by Julie Hasson over at Everyday Dish TV, and we have a friend who has been going through some food-related problems, so I figured I would test them out on him and hubby. For me, its all about the taste and texture — who cares if its gluten-free or vegan if it tastes like cardboard! I’m a firm believer in enjoying your food — there is more to food than just its nutrient components! I don’t want to be cooking for people if they are going to feel as though they are deprived of something.
Baking gluten-free does require stocking a few extras in your pantry: I had some of the items already (flax seeds, egg replacer, chickpea and soy flour), but added a couple of extras (gluten-free AP flour, xantham gum). Most are readily available at your local health food store, and some supermarkets are now stocking some of these items.
I have found that many of the vegan baked goods go together quite easily — no mixer required. Because you are not creaming butter, or using stiffer ingredients, it doesn’t require arms of Hercules to incorporate all the ingredients! This was a bit of a stiffer batter, but completely manageable. I opted to bake these in 2 8-inch square pans (recipe uses a 9×13), for 2 reasons:
Here’s the final result: They had great texture, nice and chocolatey (I used 1 cup of chocolate chips rather than 1 1/2 cups as that was all I had), crispy on the outside, chewy in the interior, and they had a great taste without being overly sweet. Hubby seemed surprised that they had no butter in them (he’s not normally free with comments, so this is good!). I am thinking of using this as a jumping off point for other flavourings and other additions (dried cranberries and vegan white chocolate chips? orange zest and oil with dried blueberries?)
Thanks Julie for a great recipe!
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In the last 1-2 weeks leading up to Passover, there have been a lot of articles and recipes for foods that are kosher for Passover. (Disclaimer: I am not Jewish, nor do I claim to have in-depth knowledge or insight re. kosher practices)
On the surface, these two threads of discussion appear to have nothing in common, however, when thinking about this a bit deeper, it occurred to me that in both situations, due to the thought required for the gathering of, and preparation of the foods, there is a much deeper appreciation of food than the average consumer would have. In order to eat kosher, there are rules to follow and many things to consider, about all aspects of the food — and an additional set of rules and guidelines for preparing Passover Seder. At each stage of the meal preparation, one must stop and think — where has this come from? what process it has gone through? if it was alive, how was it butchered? who butchered it? what it will be combined with?, and what the preparation method will be? A lot of things that most cooks don`t normally spend much time thinking about.
As we were watching the pantry purge and initial shopping trips in the 100 Mile Challenge, it seemed that there was a similar process playing out for the families involved, causing them to think deeply about what constituted `local` food. It was not sufficient to merely purchase a loaf of bread from the local farmers market, but questions were asked about where the flour was milled, where the grain was grown, what sweeteners were used, what leavening agents were involved, and if so, where did they come from — a new thought process that was now required for every piece of food they considered eating.
Not to get too deep, but in both situations, the end-result seems to result in a greater appreciation and respect for the food we consume, which in these days of processed food-like products, can only be a good thing. This is part of what motivates me to grow some of my own food. There`s nothing like knowing first hand what went into it!
Am busy trying Peter Reinhart`s basic recipe with the wild-yeast starter I concocted thru the week. Will let you know how it works out. It`s not 100% local, but pretty close. The starter was made from scratch with pineapple juice, and I used agave syrup instead of honey in the dough (for a vegan loaf), but the flour is from locally grown and milled wheat.
]]>Notice that Kimi is poking around here. I had planned to hose down the tarp, and fold it up, but before I could get that far, she commandeered it for her backyard surveillance. It wasn’t particularly warm, or really even any drier than the lawn. I think it was just a Shiba thing!
Now that it’s not quite so bitterly cold, things are starting to poke through the soil in earnest. From left to right: sweet cicely poking its new shoots thru the earth (i think they look a little like aliens); brand new blossoms on the super dwarf peach tree we planted in the patio; and lots of fresh little tarragon shoots emerging. I grow the tarragon in a pot, where it seems to be quite happy. I’ll harvest a lot of these shoots in the next couple of weeks to encourage lots of branches on the plant.
The dogs have also been happy that the rain is abating, as it means they can poke around in the yard while i am out working, without getting wet fur — Shibas hate getting their fur wet. I have discovered, however, that Shibas dont always make the best garden helpers.
Good thing they’re cute!
]]>I also had someone come in in February to take a few feet off the large laurel hedge in the backyard, so that it not only looks ok at the top, and doesnt cast too much shade on the backyard. Having stronger backs than I, I also asked them to pull down our big debris pile, which had about 3 yards of composted soil underneath, and level out a large portion of the backyard. Ive now put grass seed over most of this area, although between the cold, and Kimiko and Eric rampaging around in the back yard, it may be a while before the seed comes up!
Most of these pictures were taken yesterday, and you can see that the real growth has happened where I have had things protected from the nighttime chill — while there is a bit of green, things are still looking pretty brown.
Thus far, there are a few things coming up in the protected parts of the square foot beds — the back half of two beds are covered with hoops and greenhouse film. Peas, broad beans and radishes are coming up, and oriental greens are hardening off under the hoops.
Of the things in the greenhouse, the greens appear to be doing the best although the carrots have really started to take off with the increasing day-length. Brassicas and various herbs are started in pots. Tomatoes and basil will be next, but I think I will give them a head start inside before moving to the greenhouse. I have a heater set up in there, but it is maintaining a nighttime temperature of 10C a night — warm enough to keep things from damping off, but still not super toasty!
I have built three new square foot garden beds, which will replace growing space that either wasnt raised, or was standalone pots. The SFG beds are much more efficient, I find. I plan to build another 2 — one being a 2 x 4 sized one, against the deer fence, and another long one (8 x 2), to sit in front of the patio wall. With all the new beds, the pots in the greenhouse, and the pots in the patio, there will be lots of new growing space for vegetables.
In the non-raised part of the garden, the rhubarb and artichokes are coming up, kale has overwintered, and the perennial bunching onions are just starting to put on new growth. Ive also dug over and planted Jerusalem artichokes, with a cover crop of small seeded fava beans, and planted a section of strawberries. i have one more chunk to dig over and this will be planted with hull-less oats as a trial run. I’m curious to see whether they are as easy to thresh as claimed! Ive also put in three saskatoon berry plants (less hassle than blueberries), and hope to acquire an apricot tree and a super-dwarf peach to put in the patio. Also toying with getting another apple tree for the back yard (need to get it soon if I do!)
Finally, the other main structure I put in, was an herb spiral. Ive made it out of reclaimed bricks that were laying around the yard, and its set up so it could easily be increased in height if I decide along the way. At the moment, it has a dwarf lavender, thyme, chives and an oregano plant in it — more herbs to come as the weather improves. With the last spell of snow, you could really see the various microclimates that the structure creates, so i’m excited to see this in action thru the summer!
Now that things are starting to grow, I’m going to try and take similar pictures from the same angles on a monthly basis, something I didnt do last year. Once they start warming up, things progress pretty quickly. Fingers crossed, last frost date is supposed to be April 19!
]]>To go with the whole middle-eastern snack theme that had asserted itself this morning, I made some hummus and flatbreads. I had a stash of olive oil bread dough already in the fridge to make calzones this week sometime, so it was just a matter of snipping off a hunk, rolling it out flat and topping with a good slather of olive oil and coarse salt before baking in a hot oven. The dough is from Artisan Bread in 5 minutes per day, so there is still lots left over.
For the hummus, I have been making it with freshly cooked (not canned) chickpeas lately. I find it makes a big difference in flavour, and they can be cooked in the pressure cooker in about 40 minutes with no soaking. I also like my hummus very creamy, so I really blitz it with the lemon juice and water before adding the olive oil and tahini, in order to get it nice and smooth. I also added a bit of paprika, cumin and coriander to this batch.
Dog update — we finally got a sunny day, so Kimi spent the day following the sunny spots, and trying to get Eric to engage in “bitey” play. As you can see below, she succeeded!
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