Black Beans

Oh, my. Life is busy. But, more importantly, my camera broke. So I don't have any beautiful pictures to post. But I feel guilty for neglecting the blog . . . so I'm posting picture-less.

Last summer I decided that it was time to add more beans to our diet . . . because groceries just keep getting more and more expensive, darn it! And my kids are just going to keep growing, which will make the grocery bill grow, too, and so I informed my children (on the way home from our family reunion) that we would be eating beans every evening from then on. My 10 year old was rather leery of the whole plan (everyone else just kind of ignored me), but I've trained them to believe that complaining about my cooking makes me (and, by extension, them) unhappy, so all I got was a semi-reluctant "Okay." After the first bite, though, she told me: "I don't think I'm going to mind eating beans every night!"

Most of the credit for this recipe goes to my neighbor, but I did change some of the spices to suit my own tastes. Feel free to re-adjust them to suit your own likes and dislikes!

Black Beans

4 c. black beans
lots of water
salt
onion powder
chili powder
cumin
5 or 6 quart crock pot *

Rinse the beans and pick out any rocks or things that may have escaped the manufacturer's sorting process. (I've never yet found a rock in my beans, but Wal-Mart felt impelled to warn me about the possibility of rocks, and so I'm passing the warning on!) Place the beans in the crock pot, then fill it up to the top with hot water - about 16 - 20 cups. Add about a teaspoon of salt, put the lid on, and turn it on Low. Let it go all night long. (LOTS of hard work, I know, but it's worth it!)

The next morning, drain and rinse the beans. (DON'T put cold water in your hot crock, though, as it will probably break, and then where will you be? Use hot water instead.) Return the beans to the crock pot, and add enough water to just cover the beans. Sprinkle spices on top (I use about 1 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. onion powder, 2 - 3 tsp. chili powder, and 1/2 tsp. cumin), then turn it on high. Let it go all day long. (You can stir it occasionally if you are home, but don't worry about it if you're not.)

Serve with corn tortillas and rice. Also yummy in black bean salsa, chef's salad, and chili (recipes forthcoming).

By the way, you may not want to start off with eating them every single night. Beans can cause some . . . hmmmmm . . . intestinal distress (if you aren't used to eating them). Rinsing the beans in the morning helps alleviate some of that, but it won't stop all of it.

* My mother has a crock pot that apparently thinks it's true calling in life was to be a real oven. If your crock pot cooks as quickly as hers does, adjust your cooking times . . . perhaps cutting them in half.

Stuffing!

Okay, I don't have a picture of the finished product because I'm leaving for CA in about 1 hour and I'm going to be making the stuffing there . . . but I made the bread cubes at home, so that's what you get a picture of! I'll try to edit with a finished photo later.

To make fabulous stuffing for Thanksgiving (or any other time), first make a single batch of my bread recipe. Spread the bread batter in a well-greased 13x18 pan, let it rise for 20 minutes, then bake it at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool. Once it's cooled, use a pizza cutter to cut it into 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch cubes. Break the cubes apart, then return them to the oven for 15 or 20 minutes to toast/dry the cubes. (Or you can just let them sit out overnight.) Then just use the cubes in your favorite stuffing recipe, or use this one:

Stuffing

½ c. finely chopped celery
¼ c. chopped red onion
¼ c. shredded carrots
¼ c. margarine or butter
½ tsp. poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp. pepper
3-4 dashes of salt
4-6 c. dried bread cubes*
½ to ¾ c. chicken broth or water

Sautee celery, onion, and carrot in butter until soft (but not browned). Remove from heat and add poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Place bread cubes in a bowl. Add onion mixture. Pour on enough broth to moisten the bread. Bake in a covered casserole dish at 375° for 20 – 30 minutes. (Or use to stuff an 8-10 lb. Turkey).

White Sandwich Bread . . . really!

Bread is one of the foods that people with Celiac Disease miss the most. Rolls, stuffing, sandwiches made from leftover turkey . . . all of these things require a bread recipe. If you want a GF bread that works well for all of these, try the following. People always say: "Wow! This tastes like bread!" Success!

Betsy's Favorite White Sandwich Bread Recipe

2 c. GF mix
1 c. Featherlight mix
1/4 c. sugar
2 ½ tsp. Xanthan gum
1 ½ tsp. Salt
3 ½ tsp. yeast
1/4 c. oil
1 3/4 c. warm water
1 tsp. Rice vinegar
3 eggs

Mix dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Place yeast on top. (Don't mix it in yet!) Combine water, oil, and vinegar. Pour the water mixture on top of the yeast and let it sit for about 3-5 mintues. Mix well, then add eggs. Beat on high for 5 minutes.

Turn oven to 375. Grease 2 loaf pans or 12 english muffin rings on a 13x18 pan. Spoon into pans (or English Muffin rings), and let rise for 20 minutes. Bake loaf pans for about 35 minutes. Bake muffin rings for 20 minutes.

Thanksgiving! Aaaaggghhh!

So, I started this blog with the intention of posting a new recipe every week or so. And I did really well at first . . . but then life hit. There have been broken feet and thumbs, snapped achilles tendons, 5 different cases of strep throat, and a chronic sinus infection at my house. Not to mention the Halloween costumes I made for my kids (Belle, Indiana Jones, an Army guy, and a Poison Dart Frog). Well, let's just say I got a little busy.

But it's Thanksgiving in just 2 days! And I really NEED to post some holiday recipes! So my husband is packing the car for the 12 hour drive, and I'm typing away!

Peach Raspberry Cobbler

Sometime last winter (November? December?) I found myself half-kneeling in my backyard, trying to pick up the remains of the peaches that had fallen off the tree in autumn. It was so sad! I'd been in the exhausted stage of pregnancy when the peaches ripened, and I don't think that we ate more than half a dozen of them! Well, this year is different already. I've got boxes of peaches waiting to be bottled, and last night I cut up some of the more bruised ones and made Peach Raspberry Cobbler. I like to make and freeze extra batches of filling so that I can serve it all year long. One and a half batches will just fill a 9x13 pan. Use a double batch if you want more filling (or if you can't imagine trying to use half an egg in the topping).


Peach Raspberry Cobbler

Topping:

1 c. featherlight mix
1/3 tsp. xanthan gum
2 Tbs. sugar
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ c. butter or margarine
1 egg
¼ c. milk


Filling:

2/3 c. sugar
1 Tbs. cornstarch
½ - 1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ c. water
4 cups unsweetened peach slices
¼ - ½ c. fresh or frozen raspberries

Combine all topping ingredients (except for egg and milk) in a small bowl. Mix together until it looks like coarse crumbs. Set it aside.

Peel and slice the peaches. (I used the peaches that had fallen from the tree . . . just make sure you cut off all the bruised parts!)



For the filling, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a saucepan. Whisk them together to remove any clumps of cornstarch. Add the 1/4 c. of water and whisk it again. (No one wants to find a clump of cornstarch in their cobbler. Blech!) Stir in the peach slices.

Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, then add the raspberries.

When the filling starts bubbling again, remove it from the heat and pour it into a 9x9 baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine egg and milk. Add them to the dry topping ingredients, and stir until just moistened.

You can see that it's rather sticky. Drop spoonfuls of topping on top of the filling, trying to cover most of it.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes, or until topping is a golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Mmmmm . . . I think I'll go eat some more!

Dehydrated Pears

This topic isn't really thrillingly gluten free, but yummy nonetheless. At the end of the summer, I usually break out my food dehydrator and start drying things. Yesterday there was a sale on pears at a local store - they were 20 cents per pound. When I got to the store, there was only an empty 4x4x3 foot box where the pears had been. The produce stockers promised more, so I waited for 30 minutes or so. Eventually the employees brought out 3 more of those huge boxes of pears, and the stampede began. Those boxes were empty within 20 minutes, and the produce stockers got a lot of good, clean fun out of the spectacle.
So, what does one do with several bushels of pears? If one is an adept bottler, one bottles them. I (unfortunately) am not. So I bribed my neighbor into helping me bottle them once they ripen. In the meantime I am drying a half bushel that I bought last week. Drying pears doesn't require a lot of knowledge, just some time. But in case the thought of drying fruit scares you, here are the necessary (highly technical) directions.

Peel the pears. Don't cut off your thumb.

Cut the pears in half lengthwise. Core the pears, starting at the fat end. Make sure you pull out most of the stringy things that run from the seeds up to the stem. (I told you these directions were highly technical!)

Place the pear halves, flat side down, on a cutting board. Cut 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick slices.

Spread the pears out on the tray of a food dehydrator. Don't worry about crowding them in; they'll shrink as they dry, and you'll be able to pull apart any pears that get stuck together. Stack the trays on the base of your food dehydrator, and plug it in. Dry them at 135 degrees for 6 to 8 hours. (If your dehydrator isn't adjustable, just keep an eye on them after 4 hours or so.)

Once they are dry, unplug the dehydrator and store the pears in closed containers. You can freeze them if you plan on keeping them for a long time. If your family is going to eat them before you can fully empty all the trays, however, just go ahead and keep them on the counter.

Dried pears are very sweet and incredibly addictive . . . be careful that you don't eat too many at once!

GF Mix and Featherlight Mix

We use two basic gluten free flour mixes for most of our cooking. Both mixes were developed by Bette Hagman, the author of the Gluten Free Gourmet cookbooks. The recipes for these mixes are:

GF Mix

6 c. rice flour
2 c. potato STARCH*
1 c. tapioca starch


Featherlight Mix

1 c. rice flour
1 c. tapioca starch
1 c. cornstarch
1 Tbs. potato FLOUR*


I mix up large batches of flour mixes at one time and keep them in my cabinet.

*Potato flour is not the same as potato starch. Make sure you use the right one!