Gluten Free Zucchini Choclate Chip Bread

I just have to share this amazing Zucchini bread recipe!

I was daunted by the epic Zucchinis in the garden and how Shea NEVER eats veggies. I tweaked and experimented and deviously thought that if I could make a yummy loaf maybe he would bite.

Result? Hook, line and sinker. Perhaps putting chocolate chips in it was all it took but, hey, the kid ate zucchini! That in itself is cause for celebration!

3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup cane sugar
3 cups rice flour
3 eggs or egg replacement
1/2 cup butter (melted) or organic coconut oil
1 cup apple sauce
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
2 Tbls. baking cocoa
2 tsp Zanthan Gum
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg

Combine sugar, eggs and butter together then add zucchini. Mix well and set aside.

Combine all dry ingredients. Add the Zucchini mixture to the dry ingredients. Make sure it is well blended then add chocolate chips.

Spray or grease 2 loaf pans well. Half the batch in each loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let sit in loaf pans for 10 - 15 minutes then run a knife around the inside edge of pan. Gently turn over and giggle until loaf comes out on clean surface. Let cool a bit more before cutting.

Makes 2 nice big loafs. Just watch it disappear!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Walnut Bread

Eureka! I have done it!

Apologies for gloating but for me finding a good GF recipe is reason to celebrate. And, if I happen to create one of my very own? Considering my usual lack of natural baking skills? Well, that is: time to celebrate - cubed.

I have managed to customize a pretty generic Pumpkin Bread recipe but first we need to address the pumpkin issue. I hear you saying, "Do I have a can of pumpkin handy?" NO! This will not do.

In a pinch, perhaps we can let is slide, but the fresh stuff is so much better. And, it isn't too hard once you figure out the best method. Trust me on this, I have tried a few different methods this season and will share only the successes.

Use sugar pumpkins or those old fashioned Cinderella pumpkins as they have a very high sugar count.

Slice in quarters, remove seeds and that stringy stuff. In large pot, place a streamer rack and a little water and stack the pumpkin pieces meat side down. Steam for a good 10 minutes or until the pumpkin meat is soft to a knife. Let cool.

Scoop out pumpkin (avoid the outer skin) meat into large saucepan. Add some water to the pumpkin meat and put a lid on it. It will continue to steam and break down into mush. Make sure it does not burn and keep adding liquid as needed. (I used the water that was left from the steaming as it was all orange and pumpkiny. Had to be good for something, right?)

When the pumpkin has broken down, use a potato masher to further smooth the mixture. Puree with immersion blender for very smooth consistancy. Let cool. Freezes well.

Now you are ready to bake!

Shelley's Garden Fresh Pumpkin Bread

2/3 cup rice/soy/hemp milk
2/3 cup apple sauce
1/3 Virgin Coconut oil, melted
4 eggs - I know it is a lot of eggs but it makes 2 loaves!
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 cup GF All purpose flour
1 1/2 cup Brown Rice flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In mixing bowl combine apple sauce, milk, eggs and pumpkin. In separate bowl add dry ingredients. Pour melted Coconut oil into liquid and everything to dry ingredients. Mix well.

Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 350F for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Tooth pick should come out clean. Let them cool a bit before trying to get them out of the pan.

I was shocked at the light and fluffiness of this bread. More like cake really. I guess it must be all the eggs but it does not have any of the weird heavy, denseness of the usually GF baked goods.

We are quickly eating one loaf but I wrap the 2nd in a good foil envelope and pop it in the freezer. Freezes well then thaw at room temp.

Excellent!

Fabulous Autumn Beef Stew

This was stew was so good; the kids had thirds, Jake had two whopping bowls and it went so fast I couldn't even get a picture of it.

Fabulous Autumn Beef Stew

1 lb. or so of Beef cut into chunks
onion, diced
garlic, minced
1/2 cup (approx) red wine
4 potatoes cut into pieces
1 cup baby carrots
1 Sweet potato cut into pieces
1/2 bag frozen corn
1/2 bag frozen edamame beans
lg. container of Beef stock
more water if needed
1/8 Paprika
1/8 Nutmeg
salt & pepper

Saute onion & garlic until limp, toss in beef and brown. And red wine let simmer. Add both kinds of potato and beef stock bring to boil, add carrots, reduce heat.
Cook until potato falls apart and is soft. Add corn, edamame beans and water (if needed) simmer. Sprinkle paprika and nutmeg and any more salt & pepper needed.

Cool and serve. I served toasty bread points for dunking. Why are the called "toast points"? Because they are pointy!

The Vashon Sunset: summer cocktail extraordinaire

Since it is summer and all, I need to share with you a very special hot weather refreshing beverage.

This one is guaranteed to cool you down during those dusty dry hot summer days.


The Vashon Sunset - my very own creation

Over ice, pour:

Healthy jigger of good quality Tacquila
large splash of Orange Juice
medium splash of Paul Newman's Lemon aid, Pink Lemon-aid or Lime aid
small splash Pomegranate juice
sprig of mint if handy

Add a straw, give it a stir:

Oh, baby!

What's for dinner?

We're lucky out here on Vashon because of all the farm stands. I don't go as often as I should but there are many sprinkled around the island and it is really fun to do some shopping road side. They are usually "self service" or "honor system".

Plum Forest Farm is right around the corner from my house. They have eggs, greens, seasonal veggies and organic Turkeys at Thanksgiving time. So, a day or so ago, I picked up a bag of fresh leeks and thought; Potato Leek Soup.

Now, let me say, I am no chef. I love to eat but my culinary skills are basic. I can make soup though. And, Potato Leek is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I am the only one in my family who really likes my soups. But, sometimes you just have to be selfish and make it anyway. This recipe has bacon in it as a way to get my bacon loving family to give it a try.

Shell's Potato Leek and Bacon soup

8 med. sized organic potatos diced, leave the skins on if you like
2-3 carrots chopped
1 lb. of bacon, sliced into 1 inch pieces
4-5 leeks sliced, greens chopped and discarded
4 cups chicken stock
garlic - 2 or 3 cloves
cream, 1/2 & 1/2 or Rice Milk to finish

Set potatos and carrots into Chicken stock to boil until soft. Meanwhile, saute bacon until crisp, remove from pan. Hold back several tablespoons of fat and throw in garlic then leeks. Saute until limp.

When potatos and carrots are soft, mash slightly, add leeks and stir. Add cooked bacon, stir. And, add cream, 1/2 & 1/2, milk or Rice Milk.

Serve it up hot!

Buffalo Chili for dinner

One of my friends called to ask if I would be interested in some buffalo meat. I know, what a weird question to come out of the blue.

But, apparently, the Sacred Earth Foundation (the nonprofit running Ekone ranch) was culling 2 buffalo from their herd as a fundraiser. Both had been raised on organic, sustainable grasslands in Goldendale, Washington. The meat was being butchered and sold through friends by word of mouth only. I was not sure how much meat 2 buffalo gives forth but my friend was getting 450 lbs. to distribute to her friends. And, that was only 1/4 of the beast.

"Ok, sure. Why not?" It sounded like a good cause and I am always up for buying clean, not industrially produced meat. I threw in for 25 lbs. of various cuts; a couple of roasts, some T-bones that are literally 3 inches thick and a whole bunch of ground. In fact, my freezer is packed but I am not complaining.

Tonight is our first night trying it out. The ground is perfect for chili and it cooked up just like beef. It was a brighter, redder color than ground beef and has less fat. So I was careful to use a good splash a olive oil to brown.

Shelley's Buffalo Chili

Olive oil
Yellow onion
Celery
Variety of canned beans of your choosing: kidney, black, small red, great northern white, etc. I like mixing several kinds of beans
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
I packet Simply Organic Chili seasoning packet

Saute onion and celery till limp-ish then add ground beef/buffalo and brown. Add chopped tomatoes and beans then bring to simmer. Add tomato sauce. Add more sauce, water or beer if you like thin chili. Cook for 45 minutes or so.

Serve with grated cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.

Sunday Pot Roast

Thanks goes to my GGF, Deirdre, for making me buy a Crock Pot last year. I bought it for myself, wrapped it up and put it under the tree for Christmas. We are pretty no-nonsense about gifts around here.

I am not a super-duper foodie like she is. Wish I was! Man alive, she is a great cook. Don't even get me started on her crab cakes! But I will admit that Jake and I can make a mighty good pot roast.

From our Crock Pot to yours:

Pot Roast ala' Dillon

Hunk of beef
Onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
handful of baby carrots
5 or so small potatoes, cut into quarters
1/2 sweet potato diced
Splash or so of Red wine
Beef Bouillon or stock
Olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 bay leaf
Salt & pepper
Worcestershire Sauce
Simply Organic brown gravy mix or flour or corn starch to thicken

Saute onion, garlic & celery in olive oil until limp. Place hunk of beef in pan and sear each side while veggies are becoming translucent. Splash with some red wine and stir. Place all into warmed up Crock Pot. Add bay leaf, carrots, potato (both sweet and regular) and couple of good healthy tsp. of Worcestershire Sauce and water or beef stock to cover.

Let cook for half way, 3-4 hours, and add a little more wine or stock so it doesn't dry out. Wouldn't want to be short on the gravy. All told, it takes a good 6 hours to cook a pot roast.

When it is done, I add the Simply Organic brown gravy mix to thicken the sauce. You could also use a flour or cornstarch mixture to thicken.

Under cooking a pot roast will be a very sad occasion. In fact, it is literally impossible to overcook a pot roast. So, let it go all day. The beef should fall apart in little strings or my kids won't even eat it.

Bon Appetite!

Hot Toddy Recipe

"Oh! The weather outside is frightful. And, being lazy in the house is so delightful, there is really no place to go, so let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"

But, could you make me a Hot Toddy first?

Call me a boozer if you dare but I sure think we could all deserve a warming "grown-up" beverage this evening.

I love the history and the connotation of the Hot Toddy. Doesn't it sound like something good old Charles Dickens would be sipping as he was cranking out the rough draft of a particularly interesting little Christmas story he was working on?

To the computer to do some research!

Wiki says, " Hot toddy is a name given to a mixed drink that is served hot, believed to have originated in the 18th century to make the taste of scotch more palatable to women." Well, something tells me that the ladies ended up liking it.

Now, the hard part, to settle on a recipe. I found many, many, many; all were different but basically the same. Some used tea and others just plain water. You can use either Brandy, Whisky, Bourbon or Scotch. Lemon was a constant; although whether you use the juice, a slice or zest was up in the air. Some rather fancy recipes asked for a whole clove, cinnamon stick or a sprinkle of nutmeg. Nice idea.

I like that a Hot Toddy is a drink that can be anything. It is not thick, rich and fancy like Hot Butter Rum or Egg Nog. Therefore not super-caloric; except for the booze and the honey, of course. It's a true peasant beverage. I like that the only parameters are that it is warm, sweet with a little citrus and good dollop of booze. Cures what ails you on a cold day.

So, here is my recipe; from me to you:

Shelley's Hot Toddy

Jigger booze: Scotch, Whisky, Bourbon or Brandy - Pick your poison
Juice (and pulp, if desired) of 1 small lemon or 1/2 big lemon
Heaping spoonful of honey

Place all in nice big cup, pour hot water over it and stir. Throw a whole clove or a cinnamon stick in if you got 'em. Careful, it's hot! Sit down and enjoy.

Bonus: If you're feeling a little sick, adjust the recipe slightly by adding freshly grated ginger.

Yes, buy the Ginger root, peel the outside and grate a little bit of it, put that in a tea infuser and steep in the hot water with all the other ingredients. This will really help with head, chest colds and fevers. It's like magic!

Fall is time for comfort food.

For me, comfort food is roast organic chicken and mashed potatoes. It makes me happy just writing about it. Thank goodness mashed potatoes is an easy recipe to make gluten and dairy free and the kids actually will eat it.

Boil up 1 -1 1/2 organic spuds per person depending on how much you LOVE them. Leave the skins on; remember that is where the real nutrition is. Boil until soft.

Drain liquid but reserve about a cup for mashing.

Add several big dollops of butter straight onto the hot spuds. Add splash of Rice or Hemp milk and start mashing. For years, I would mash potatoes with a fork which is quite a work out and then I finally graduated to a real masher. Fast, efficient; the right tool for the job. I wouldn't live without one now.

Continue to mash, add a splash of potato liquid. Add splash of chicken or veggie stock, if available. I get those little 6 oz. containers just for this purpose. Keep mashing and adding liquid until it is the texture and smoothness that you desire. Salt & Pepper to taste.

I dish out with an ice cream scoop so that our mashed spuds are perfectly proportioned mounds. Maybe it reminds me of school lunch from when I was young but if feels right somehow and the kids get a kick out of it.

Yum, yum. Have another scoop. It's good for you!