There's More Than One Way to Cook A Goose

"There's more than one way to cook a goose," my Auntie used to say.

"There's more than one way from here to the Comedian's house in LA," is what I say.

When I'm driving I leave the freeway at Highland and drive through the city on FLAT streets in lots of traffic. The extra minutes it might take are just a few more minutes to enjoy NPR or the Book on Tape I'm listening to. When Santa Barbara drives, she takes the Canyon road. That's the road that twists and turns and climbs and falls. I don't like it. It takes too much concentration for me.

But I wasn't driving. I was the passenger and with Santa Barbara at the wheel the Canyon road was very beautiful. We were going along quite nicely until - well - until we were no longer going along nicely. Stop. Start. Stop. Start. After many minutes and a couple of miles of this, we came upon a detour that took us STRAIGHT up another canyon and through a residential neighborhood where there was a stop sign at the end of every block and we were one car of 100s of cars taking the detour. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. Straight up. Start. Stop. GRZZRGRGRGRZZZ said the car. Then we smelled smoke. The car did not respond to shifting gears. Santa Barbara pulled over and parked. What to do? What to do? 

Long story short, with the aide of cell phones, AAA and Cousin, we survived, of course. Cousin, visiting from the East Coast, arrived in her rental car with a gorilla suit in the back seat. (That's another story.) Cousin took us to the Comedian's house and AAA took the car to Santa Barbara's mechanic. After a nice visit and dinner, we drove the Comedian's car home. A memorable day. 

This weekend we will be returning the Comedian's car. I am planning to bring a pie. I'm thinking, "There is more that one way to bake a pie." To make it memorable, I'm making a teff crust. Today I practice. Today we will have Apple Teff Crumb Pie. If we love it, I will bake another for the Comedians.

Teff, the grain of champions.

The world's smallest grain, teff is said to be the secret behind the Ethiopian long distance runners strength, stamina and speed. It's got a nutty flavor. I buy Bob's Red Mill teff whole grain and  flour (and other gluten-free flours) at my local health food store.  You can order it on-line if it isn't available locally.

Apple - Teff Crumb Pie

I'll put a picture here when the light is better. It has turned into a stormy day in So Cal.

You can bake this pie in 30 minutes flat - if you buy the filling in a can (why not?).

THE CRUST:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Without sifting, combine

     2 cups teff flour

     1/2 cup maple syrup

     1/2 cu unrefined corn or canola oil

     1/2 teaspoon salt

3. Reserve 1/2 cup dough for crumb crust

3.  Without rolling or refrigerating, press remaining dough with your fingers into a pie plate.

4.  Bake for 10 minutes.

5.  Add filling and and crumble remaining teff dough crumbs on top.

6. Bake for 10 minutes.

Allow to cool a bit before you cut it.

I served it with some SO Delicious Vanilla Bean frozen Coconut Milk  

This crust can be used wherever you might use a sweet dessert crust, like a graham cracker crust. It is delicious. We love it. It is memorable and I will bake another for the Comedians this weekend.

Gluten-Free

The athletes pulled into my driveway with horn honking on Saturday afternoon. Even when they are in a car they seem to be running. They had already stopped twice on the way to my house to explore Santa Barbara and then the outlet malls here in Camarillo. A straight-through drive would be unthinkable and a little to dull for them.

After hugs and hellos and introductions, the bags started coming out of the car. Oh no, not just little overnight bags - coolers, pillows, stretching equipment and water packs the likes I've never seen. Samantha and her friend Katherine made about 3 trips in and out to gather it all. They planned way ahead for the 25km and 50km runs they were doing on Sunday in the mountains above Malibu. Food and water during distance runs up 5000 feet is serious stuff. Truthfully it makes me a little dizzy thinking of the oxygen deficit at 5000 feet. I'm a sea level gal.

My friend Samantha is one of the founders of the Central Coast Triathlon Club. We have been friends since the late 80s and have had many adventures, some we will keep to ourselves. Her adventure into running and triathlons I do not share. I'm a hiker and beginning runner. Her go-getter attitude is wonderful to be around.

One adventure we share is a gluten-free diet. I've got something for you, she said, and handed me the April/May issue of Living Without, a magazine for people with allergies and food sensitivities. While she ran around getting settled, I had my nose in the magazine. It's a gold mine of information and recipes. I knew I'd be making the carrot cake for today's blog.

Before you can make the carrot cake you need to mix up a batch of

Betsy's Gluten-Free Baking Mix:

makes 7 1/2 cups

3 3/4 cups garbanzo bean flour

2 1/4 cups potato starch (NOT potato flour)
1 1/2 cups tapioca starch or flour

Measure the flours into a large container with an airtight lid. Stir very well with a wire whisk until evenly incorporated and no white spots remain. Then seal the container and shake it vigorously for 1 minute

Store in a cool, dry place for up to 3 months.

Easy enough. I admit that I didn't do the shaking. Stirring thoroughly seemed sufficient to me. And I had only 3 cups of garbanzo bean flour so I added 3/4 cup almond flour to the mix. Maybe it's why my muffins sank in the centers. They are still delicious.

Moist Carrot Cake
serves 8-10
I made muffins - 2 dozen - you could say I served 24.
very rich without the frosting they suggest - forget the frosting

2 cups Betsy's Baking Mix

1 Tablespoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1//3 cup canola oil ( I used safflower oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups grated carrots

1 1/2 cups raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease three 8 inch round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Then lightly grease the parchment paper

OR put paper liners in 2 - one-dozen cupcake pans.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the baking mix, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, xanthan gum and salt. Set aside.

3. In a small bowl, combine the water and flaxseed meal and allow to thicken for 3 to 5 minutes.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and oil. Add in the vanilla and then the flaxseed mixture and beat for 1 minute. Stir in the dry ingredients and then fold in the shredded carrots and the raisins.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pans (or cupcake papers), smooth the tops with a knife and bake for 30 minutes or until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean.

6. Let the cakes cool completely in their pans on a cooling rack. This is where I head out the door for my one hour power walk. I am not one who waits. Turn the cakes out of the pans and remove the parchment paper. Now you frost it. No thanks, it makes my big toe hurt to think of all that sugar.

Gluten-free Bread

Last night I attended a lecture and book signing in Santa Barbara. The author is my friend Mia Lundin R.N.C., N.P. Her book, Female Brain, Gone Insane is an intelligent discussion about the chemistry of the female body. I first met Mia about 30 years ago and she has guided my health ever since. She's responsible for discovering my food allergies. She changed my life. She's indirectly responsible for today's blog entry. Gluten-free (and egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free) is a way of life for me now. So, with a thank you to Mia, let us go onto the crows.....

I love crows. You have to admit that they are quite impressive. Yes, and beautiful. They form communities and neighborhoods. They have scouts who warn of danger or good harvest. When I throw out bread crumbs, (or whole loaves), the leader calls the tribe to the picnic in my yard. The crows have eaten more of my fresh baked bread than anyone in the house in the last 2 years. We don't say Failure anymore, we say Lesson. The lesson is to let someone else do the experimenting and find a recipe that more than one online group is calling a success. So here it is - the bread that smells like bread, looks like bread, slices like bread and tastes like bread. Gluten-free.

And I might add, the bread that opens a huge door to my vegan possibilities. Simple things like a sandwich. Toast. Croutons in my salad or floating in my soup.....

 

a note: I used a Kitchen Aide mixer on 'stir' speed. It was so easy. The measuring, and mixing took about 15 minutes tops. Then it was rising and baking time. Total time - on the outside,  2 hours. The hardest part is waiting for the bread to cool so you can slice it.
Mark Engelberg’s Gluten-Free, Vegan Bread

Recipe for 2 loaves—it is okay to halve the recipe if you want to make just one
Note: If you are using a mixer that doesn’t have a great engine, you may want to mix it by hand at the end to ensure it’s all mixed. Since there’s no gluten to get tough from overmixing, you can mix until you’re confident.
In a large mixing bowl combine:
1 1/2 cups millet flour
1/2 cup teff flour
1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup cornstarch (or double the potato starch if you can’t eat corn)
1 cup potato starch
1 cup tapioca flour
4 tsp xanthan gum
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp active dry yeast (not rapid rise)
Add:
4 tsp olive oil
3 1/4 cup warm water (not hot)
Mix with electric mixer–using paddle attachment, NOT regular beaters or bread hook–for two minutes. The bread dough will be more like cake batter than traditional bread dough.

Two options for the rising:
For the best rising: While mixing the bread, create a proofing box from your microwave. Microwave a small mug or ramekin with water until the water boils. Leave the water in the microwave. Pour the bread dough into two nonstick or well-greased pans. Tuck the loaves into the microwave with the water—the container of water should not be touching the pans. (I have to remove the turntable in my microwave to do this.) Allow to rise until batter extends a bit over the top of the pans–generally 30-50 minutes.

My microwave is too small for 2 loaf pans, I used my stoves warming drawer.

Standard method: Pour into two nonstick or well-greased loaf pans, place on a warm surface (such as on top of the pre-heated oven), and cover with a towel. Allow to rise until batter extends a bit over the top of the pan–generally 50-70 minutes. (Batter should take up about half the loaf pan before rising.)

Perfect - only now I had to preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

The rising continued - over the edges of the pans

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove loaf pans from oven and cover with aluminum foil. Return to oven and bake for an additional 35-45 minutes, depending on your oven. (Insert a toothpick or knife into the center to see if it comes out clean or doughy, if you aren’t sure when you pull out the bread.)

some dough was sacrificed in this first 10 minutes of baking

As with most breads, it is easiest to slice if you allow it to fully cool. But who can wait that long? I usually let it cool for a little bit, and then remove the loaves from the pans and place them on a rack to cool more while I slice it up. The bread tastes delicious warm, dipped in olive oil and herbs or spread with honey and ghee. It also works well for sandwiches after it has cooled. If you won’t be eating it within 2 days, after it’s cooled, slice it, wrap it in a couple of layers of plastic wrap, and freeze it. Never refrigerate this or other bread—it will get dry and hard if you do. If you leave the bread on the counter (wrapped), it will be good for all purposes for a couple of days.