Cranberry Fig Jam (image T. Freuman)

Growing up, I never touched the cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving.  Back then, my mom served the cloyingly-sweet jellied version, straight from a can, and I never quite understood the appeal.

Fast forward to adulthood, when I had the good fortune to acquire a sister-in-law who is an expert maker of all things jelly and jam.  She has taken on the annual Thanksgiving cranberry sauce-making, using fresh cranberries, a hint of orange zest, and only half the sugar called for by standard recipes.  Finally, I came to appreciate the important role of this seasonal condiment on the Thanksgiving table beyond the gorgeous pop of magenta it provides on a plate dominated by brown-hued mounds ofcomfort food.  When done right, a good cranberry sauce adds tart counterbalance to a meal dominated by earthy flavors, while the acid helps cut through the fat of those buttery mashed potatoes and gravy.  After all, there’s plenty of sweetness come dessert time; I want my cranberry sauce to be a bit more on the tart side.  If you’re in the market for a classic cranberry sauce that fits this bill and has 75% of the daily value of vitamin C to boot, here’s recipe #1: a simple Cranberry Sauce that’s just sweet enough.

But if you’re going to go through the trouble of making a cranberry condiment from scratch, wouldn’t it be great to make one with legs beyond its one-meal-a-year debut at Thanksgiving dinner?

It was this idea that got me thinking about making a hybrid condiment–part jam, part spread, part chutney– that could dutifully serve its function at the Thanksgiving table, but could continue on into the season to adorn the bread that holds together the leftover turkey sandwiches…to serve as a fruit filling to seasonal cookies…to accompany nutty, aged pecorinos on a holiday cheese platter… to spread on pancakes and waffles for winter morning breakfasts… to put into mini mason jars and give as gifts for the holidays…

After tinkering with a recipe provided by Chef Greg Aversa of Smokin’ Betty’s restaurant in Philly, I came up with a jam-like, chutney-ish spread that tastes sort of like a cranberry fig newton filling and has me finding all sorts of excuses to spread it on foods both savory and sweet.  It’s a super-fast, beyond-easy and incredibly versatile condiment to have on hand as the holidays approach.

Cranberry Fig Jam

Adapted from Smokin’ Betty’s restaurant, Philadelphia, PA

Ingredients:

• 1 lb dried figs, stems removed, cut in half
• 1 cup 100% cranberry juice* (unsweetened; look for it in the 32oz jars in the unrefrigerated juice aisle of your supermarket by brands like Lakewood or R.W. Knudsen)
• 2 TBSP pomegranate molasses (Look for it among the Middle Eastern foods of your specialty market.  If you can’t find it, regular molasses will do fine, too.)
• 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup agave nectar or honey (orange blossom or clover honey are best)

Directions:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine figs, juice, molasses, mustard, sugar, pepper and salt.
2. Simmer ingredients, stirring occasionally, until figs are nice and soft.  If too much liquid evaporates and your figs start sizzling, add a bit more juice or water
3. When figs are soft, transfer them to a food processor.  Add the agave nectar or honey and pulse briefly until the mixture is an even texture.

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Loosely translated, Pan de Yuca means "God loves Celiacs and wants us to be happy."  Pao de Quejo (Brazilian Cheese Buns) (image T. Freuman)  

Don't you just want to cuddle up with this cute, fuzzy Taro?

Cassava (aka: Yuca, Manioc), Ñame (Caribbean Yam), Yautia (aka Taro), Batata (aka Boniato, or Sweet potato)… if you haven’t come across these staple root vegetables of Hispanic and Caribbean cuisines, what better time than autumn, when roasted roots and chunky stews take front and center?

I was formally introduced to my Hispanic roots when I had the opportunity to take a tour of NYC’s historic Essex Street Market with Lorena Drago, a fabulous dietitian, author and diabetes educator. Lorena opened my eyes to the wide, wonderful world of starchy root vegetables that hail from the southern hemisphere.  Cooked, these root veggies would generally take the place of a potato or serving of cooked grains as the carbohydrate in your perfectly-balanced plate.  Generally, these root veggies are good-to-excellent sources of potassium (which helps lower blood pressure, especially in conjunction with a reduced sodium diet) and Vitamin C; and while not extremely high in fiber, will have more fiber than a calorically-equivalent portion of white OR brown rice, which makes them a nutritious substitute. 

If you’re ready to get in touch with your Hispanic roots, consider this:

• Yautia (Taro) should be relieved of its thick and sometimes hairy peel (not unlike that of a coconut) before cooking; Drago describes its flavor as sort of a “combination of artichoke heart and boiled chestnuts.”  Um…hello?  Could that possibly sound more appealing?  
• Ñame is probably the most nutritious of the bunch; it’s the highest in fiber (1/2 cup serving has 3g fiber and counts as 1 starch exchange) and is loaded with potassium, vitamin C and Vitamin B6, which makes this Caribbean version of the yam resemble a banana more than a conventional American sweet potato, nutritionally speaking.  Drago describes the flavor as a “slightly sweet, smoky baking potato” with a texture that is “softer and lighter” than a typical yam.
• Batata (Boniato) is a Caribbean sweet potato very popular in Cuban cuisine.  It sort of resembles a typical sweet potato on the outside but tastes more chestnutty than overtly sweet and squashy like the sweet potatoes you’re probably used to.  You can use it as a substitute for conventional potatoes in all the usual ways.
• Yuca (Cassava, Manioc) is generally eaten boiled or fried, but must always be peeled before eating!  Baked yucca “fries” are a nice compromise; they’re more fibrous than potatoes, and therefore offer a nice textural change from the ordinary. 

Equally interesting to me is the role of flour derived from cassava/yuca (which you’re probably more familiar with under its alias of Tapioca Flour) in traditional (gluten-free) breads and rolls.

Casabe is a crispy, crackery Latin American flatbread made from Cassava flour; look for it in the Hispanic food aisle of your local supermarket; it’s usually sold wrapped in paper.  And then there is Pan de Yuca, which goes by many different names depending on the country, but is essentially a tapioca flour-based cheese roll. They are beyond easy (and fast) to make, and have a wonderful savory, chewy appeal when served hot from the oven.  While they get hard as rocks after a day or so of baking, they are easily revived to their soft, chewy selves with a quint stint in the microwave, and are versatile enough to accessorize breakfasts and dinners alike.  Stale rolls could also be cubed, toasted and stored in an airtight container to be used as a gluten-free crouton or possible base for an upcoming gluten-free Thanksgiving stuffing. Using lactose-free milk and a nice, mature hard cheese like Parmesan will keep these rolls virtually lactose-free, if that’s also a concern.

Pão de Queijo- Brazilian Cheese Buns

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup lowfat milk (use lactose free or your favorite milk alternative as desired)
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups tapioca flour (aka Cassava flour)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Bring the milk, oil and salt to a boil
2. Remove from heat.  Slowly combine half of the tapioca flour into the liquid mixture.  (It won’t all absorb at this point.)
3. Add the eggs one at a time, each followed by half of the remaining flour, and mix into a well-combined batter, which will be thick, gummy and somewhat difficult to stir.  Do your best.
4. Using your hands, mix the cheese into batter, kneading until well incorporated.
5. Using wet hands, roll the dough into golf-ball-sized balls; this quantity of batter should yield 15 rolls.
6. Bake for ~15 minutes at 375 degrees , or until rolls are puffy and golden brown on top.
7. Serve immediately; they taste the best when hot!

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Gluten Free Mushroom “Barley” Soup (image T. Freuman)

Nothing heralds soup season like an early Noreaster, and the cold, rainy assault of ghastly unpleasantness it brings with it.

In weather like that, I miss barley.  More specifically, I miss me a bowl of warming, filling and comforting mushroom barley soup in all of its earthy, satisfying glory.  I’ve come to terms with the fact that wheat has gluten, but et tu, barley?

As fate would have it, I was walking through a health food store last weekend and I spotted an unusual vaccuum-packed bag of some strangely named grain-looking product called “Job’s Tears.”  Immediately, I notice this grain looks exactly like pearled barley. I read the label.  It reveals frustratingly little about this unusually-named food, except to confirm that it is, indeed a grain.  From Japan.  And it is best used to add some heft to slow-cooking soups.  Cautiously optimistic (I’ve been hurt by grains before), I buy these so-called Job’s Tears and promptly return home to start the research.

My own eyes welled up with tears when the grain list on the Celiac Sprue Foundation website confirmed what I had been hoping: the grain called “Job’s Tears”  (aka: Coix seed, Hato Mugi, or Adlay) is not only gluten-free, but it serves as a perfect substitute for pearled barley in recipes.

What are Job’s Tears and where can I buy them?

Job’s Tears, like other cereal grains, is a grass. In this case, it is a tropical grass native to parts of Asia (but since transplanted to some parts of the U.S.) that got its nickname from the tear-like shape of the grain it produces.  The ones I bought are white, meaning that they have already been hulled.  Apparently, however, one can readily find the brown (unhulled) version sold in Japan. Your best bet to find them in-store would be an Asian supermarket. Otherwise, look online.

Pearled barley (top left) cooks up to look just like Job's Tears (bottom right)

Gluten Free Mushroom "Barley" Soup 

Serves 4. Double the recipe if you wish.

Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 1/4 lbs mixed mushrooms of your choice, stems removed and reserved and caps sliced (For reasons of economy, I use mostly cremini or button and then top them off with a few exotic species for sex appeal.  Adding some reconstituted dried shiitakes adds nice texture, too.)
• 5 cups cold water if using barley, 6 cups if using Job’s Tears
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 cup Job’s Tears (gluten-free) OR 1/2 cup pearled barley (gluten-full)
• 2 tsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp minced fresh garlic

Directions:

1. Heat 1 TBSP oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add mushroom stems and sweat 5 minutes until soft and releasing liquid.
2. Add water and wine and bring mixture to boil.  Reduce heat, cover, simmer for 20 minutes.  Fish out the stems with a slotted spoon and set the stock aside in a separate pot.
3. Using the original soup pot, heat remaining 1 TBSP oil.  Add onion, celery and carrot and sweat until soft, 4 minutes or so.
4. Add thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Stir to coat veggies.
5. Add sliced mushroom caps and saute 5 minutes until soft and releasing liquid.
6. Add the stock and the Job’s Tears OR barley.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer for 1 hour until the grain is tender.
7. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and garlic.
8. Fish out the bay leaf and serve!

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Canned salmon cleans up real nice in grandma's famous croquettes (image T. Freuman)

I'd like to send some love to a heart-healthy pantry item that seems to get so little of it: canned salmon.

When I was young, my Grandma Esther used to make Salmon Croquettes–which are basically like crab cakes for the kosher set. My dad apparently loved them, though truth be told, I was never a huge fan. But I recently came across her old handwritten recipe, and decided that it was worth giving them a try with my more refined adult palate. And I’m glad I did! They were darn tasty: mild-flavored, with a slightly springy, pancake texture, in contrast to a more meaty texture that you’d expect from an actual salmon burger. They are a perfect brunchy, lunchy or light suppery food, and would go well on a bed of greens as the protein on a salad, or alone as an appetizer served with your favorite fancy mustard, gingery salad dressing, horseradish sauce or dill-infused condiment.

When my kids were 13-months old, I made this recipe for them and they loved it!  It’s a great way to serve fish to picky, carb-loving tots, since the texture is sort of cakey/bready/springy rather than meaty; cut up into bite-sized pieces, it looks like bread or pancake.  For babies, I’d recommend using boneless, skinless canned salmon to keep the texture smoother for safety’s sake.

If canned fish gives you the heebie jeebies, consider this: canned salmon is almost always from wild-caught salmon, which means it tends to have a higher content of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It's also a good non-dairy source of calcium, assuming you eat the teensy-tiny, wispy bones…which you can do without really even noticing it. (But take out the larger, more visible bones because they can be a choking hazard.)  If you’re squeamish about encountering the bones when you open the can, they do sell boneless, skinless canned salmon. Buy that and work your way up to the bone-in kind for the extra calcium. You’ll still get the omega-3 benefits, and no one will think any less of you for it. There’s more! wild canned salmon is lower in mercury and toxins like PCBs than even farmed salmon, (which is still reasonably low), placing it among the safer fish choices you can make for yourself, your kids, and the pregnant women in your life.

Are you feeling the love yet?

So in memory of my beloved Grandma Esther, I am sharing an updated version of her recipe, which is true to the original except for the part about cooking it in “deep hot fat” until golden brown. Oh, grandma. Deep, hot fat was so 20th century…

Grandma’s Salmon Croquettes

(Yield: 10 croquettes, which will be more crab-cake sized than burger-sized)

Ingredients:

• 1 tall (15 oz) can pink salmon. Grandma wrote to “use everything but the bones”, meaning just pick out the large, visible bones and leave everything else.  (Alternatively, you can use two 6 oz cans of boneless, skinless salmon… it’s faster and works just as well.)
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk* or plain kefir (or other plain cultured yogurt drink)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup flour or breadcrumbs (Preferably whole wheat;  you may use a gluten-free version of either if you’re avoiding wheat, as I did.)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• Salt and pepper
• Olive or canola oil for cooking (amount will depend on size of your pan… I used 1 TBSP per batch of 3-4 croquettes in a non-stick pan and it worked fine.)

(* C’mon… who actually has buttermilk laying around the house? Here’s an easy substitute that I used: combine 1 TBSP lemon juice or vinegar with enough milk to make 1 cup total. Let sit for 5 minutes and then use as you would buttermilk.  Note this recipe only calls for half of this amount.)

Directions:

1. Mix salmon, seasonings and eggs.
2. Add buttermilk, flour/breadcrumbs and baking soda and stir until well-blended.
3. In a non-stick pan, heat a small amount of oil (just enough to cover the cooking surface…~ 1.0-1.5 TBSP for a medium-sized pan) until nice and hot.
4. Drop batter with a spoon and pan fry until bottom is golden brown; flip each croquette and cook second side for an additional minute or two until its firm and also nice and brown.
5. Drain on a paper towel and serve.  Note: you can serve these hot, warm or cold.=

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Gluten-free, Lactose-free Blintzes (image T. Freuman)

Blintzes.

Now there’s a word–and food– that hasn’t passed my lips since going gluten free over a decade ago.

I’ve scarcely even thought of blintzes in that time, until recently when I was challenged by my friends at Green Valley Organics Lactose-free, for whom I serve as consulting dietitian, to come up with some recipe ideas for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot in May.  (Cue FTC disclosure music here!) Shavuot being a holiday in which it is customary to eat dairy foods, my mind went straight to Cheese Blintzes.

And once I got cheese blintzes on the brain, I wasn’t able to shake them.

The problem, of course, is that cheese blintzes are a veritable digestive Armageddon for people like me.  All that lactose-rich creamy filling… the flour-based crepe… the dollop of sour cream on top…  I’m getting cramps just thinking about it.

It didn’t take long, however, to find workarounds to all of these problems.  The biggest hurdle, as it turned out, was convincing myself that I am indeed the type of person who makes Cheese Blintzes from scratch.  The last person on earth who made cheese blintzes from scratch, and this is a well-documented fact on Wikipedia, was my Grandma Esther (whose Salmon Croquette recipe you can snag here).  And sometimes even *she* bought the frozen ones.

You can imagine, then, my sheer surprise and delight to discover that making Cheese Blintzes from scratch is fast fast fast!  And easy!  It requires a very small number of ingredients which get combined in a matter of seconds.  The filling need not be cooked… just measured out and mixed.  You make some pancakes, scoop some filling, wrap the blintzes, and bake for 10 minutes.  It was faster than cooking a pot of rice.

The blintzes turned out to be pretty freaking spectacular.  The crepe was so spongy, the filling so creamy and sweet… this gluten-free, lactose-free version is not compromised in any way from the original.  I daresay I even like it better.

Once you’ve made these blintzes, check out my gluten-free, lactose-friendly version of Grandma Mary’s Noodle Kugel… another Shavuot classic in which you can utilize the remainder of the Sour Cream and Cottage Cheese called for in the blintz recipe below.  It’s a shanda to waste food, after all!

Gluten Free, Lactose Free Cheese Blintzes

Recipe adapted from Living Without Magazine

For the crepes (yields about 8):

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil, for greasing pan
• 3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup gluten-free all- purpose flour blend* of choice, more if needed
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (use only if all-purpose flour blend does not contain xanthan or guar gum)
• 1½ cups lactose-free milk of choice, room temperature; more if needed

Filling:

• 1 cup Green Valley Organics® Lactose-Free Sour Cream
• 1 cup Lactaid® cottage cheese
• 1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

*Note the difference between GF All Purpose Flour Blends vs GF All Purpose Baking Mixes.  You want the former.  The baking mixes contain chemical leavening agents like baking soda or baking powder and are NOT suitable for this recipe.  Also, read the ingredients of your All Purpose Flour blend.  If it contains xanthan gum or guar gum, you can omit the xanthan gum called for in the recipe, or add it sparingly as needed to achieve the desired texture of your batter.

Directions:

1. Lightly grease an 8- to 10-inch nonstick skillet with vegetable oil, like grapeseed or canola oil, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and butter until well combined. Mix the flour blend with the xanthan gum and blend into the egg mixture. Pour in the milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until batter is smooth. Add more milk or flour by the tablespoon, if necessary, to ensure a smooth and thin batter.
3.  Heat prepared skillet over medium heat. Using a large ladle or spoon, place a generous ~¼ cup batter into the center of the hot pan, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan in an even layer, taking care not to spread the batter too thin.  (If batter is too thick and resembles more of a thick pancake than a larger, thinner crepe, you may need to add more milk.  If it’s too thin and your crepe isn’t taking shape, try adding a smidge of xanthan gum.  Results may vary based on the brand of flour you’re using.)
4. Cook the crepe until edges begin to brown slightly, about 2 to 3 minutes, and flip with a wide spatula. It will flip easily when ready.  Cook the other side for about another 20 to 30 seconds until the pancake is set. Turn the pancake onto a plate lined with a moist tea towel and cover to keep warm.
5. Repeat with remaining batter, layering pancakes one on top of the other. Cover after each addition.  You do not need to re-oil the skillet in between pancakes.
6. In a medium-size bowl, mix filling ingredients until well combined.  You will likely have some extra, which you can use as a topping.  Alternatively, save it for breakfast tomorrow and use it as a spread for toasted gluten free Cinnamon Raisin bread.
7. Preheat oven to 400°F.
8. To assemble blintzes, place one pancake flat on a plate. Place 2 TBSP filling on the flat pancake, about one-third of the way from the edge closest to you. Fold the bottom of the pancake over the filling, turn in the sides toward the middle and roll away from yourself to create a cylinder. Repeat with remaining pancakes.  Fear not if the filling seems a bit too liquid; just wrap it carefully and place open seam down on the baking pan.  It will all firm up during baking, and will turn out better than you could have imagined.
9. Place rolled blintzes in preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can sauté blintzes in a bit of butter or oil in a pan over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes, flipping halfway through the process.  I baked them.)
10. Let blintzes sit for a few minutes before plating and serving to allow filling to set.  Serve warm or at room temperature, plain or garnished with extra filling, lactose-free sour cream, or fruit compote.

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Grandma Mary’s Gluten-free Noodle Kugel (image T. Freuman)

Kugel is a Jewish-style casserole, usually made either from noodles or potatoes, served as a traditional side dish to festive meals.  Kugels can be sweet or savory, but are rarely gluten-free owing to their content of either egg noodles (for sweet noodle kugels) or flour (to bind potato kugels).

My grandma Mary was a terrific baker, and I used to love her almost-sweet, slightly tangy, cinnamon-y noodle kugel; to me, it was at its best straight out of the pan from the refrigerator, as the cold temperature helped keep the layered concoction stay tightly bound into lovely squares of kugel perfection.  Now that I have children of my own, I love sharing these family recipes with them. It's like giving them a taste of my own childhood.

Since I was already planning to adjust my Grandma's recipe for gluten content so that I could actually eat it, I figured I might as well take down the lactose content as well so that all the digestively-deranged people in my extended family could enjoy it, too. 

Finding gluten-free egg noodles is easy nowadays; all the big kosher food companies sell them around Passover time, and you can get them online year-round as well. 

Since Grandma used cottage cheese in her kugel (some grandmas prefer Farmer’s Cheese, but to each her own), I swapped in Lactaid's easy-to-find lowfat, lactose-free version.  She also used milk (low-fat, lactose-free versions easily available) and sour cream, which I decided to swap out for an equivalent amount of fat-free plain Greek Yogurt since it’s higher in protein, very low in lactose and shaves off 5g of fat from the original recipe.  (Lactose free sour cream is also available, marketed by Green Valley Organics, to whom I serve as a consulting dietitian.) 

My gluten-free, modernized version is a terrific success.  I've served it to guests in my home, brought it to my Rabbi's house for a potluck dinner, and even made a rainbow-colored version to serve passers-by for our town's annual Pride march. Who doesn't love a kugel?

Grandma Mary’s Noodle Kugel

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

• 8 oz egg noodles (for gluten-free, use Manischewitz Gluten free egg noodles or Gefen Gluten Free Wide Noodles-- but note they come in 12oz packages)
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 TBSP sugar
• 1 lb (16oz) low fat cottage cheese (use Lactaid brand if desired)
• 2 TBSP fat-free, plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup lowfat milk (use lactose-free if desired)
• Raisins to taste (optional)
• “Pinch of cinnamon” (I use more than a pinch, but you can sprinkle to taste)
• Large pinch of salt
• 2 TBSP butter, diced

Directions:

Grandma's original handwritten recipe

1. Cook noodles according to package directions in salted water.  Drain well.
2. In a large bowl, combine drained noodles with all ingredients.  Your mixture will be very liquidy/soupy, but worry not!  It comes together nicely during baking.
3. Transfer mixture to a greased 9″ x 13″ casserole dish/baking pan.
4. Bake at 325 degrees for about 50 minutes, or until kugel is firm in texture and slightly golden brown on top.  (Baking times vary by oven; mine took a good 65 minutes to be done.)
5. For best results, cool completely and refrigerate overnight.  The cold will allow the egg/dairy proteins to firm up and hold your kugel together into a nice, coherent, sliceable casserole.  Cut the kugel when cold into squares and then if desired, reheat the squares in a microwave.  (You can also serve them cold–still tastes great.)  Of course, the kugel will still taste divine if you serve the whole thing warm from the oven, but it won’t look as pretty since the slices will come apart more easily.

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For years, my mom has been making these crunchy biscotti to serve with tea at our Passover Seder.  She calls them mandelbread (or mandelbrot), but I’m sorry– they are so very biscotti to me.  More nuts than flour, kissed with cinnamon and subtly sweet, they are the perfect antidote to those heavy, cloying storebought passover desserts that sit in your stomach like lead.

When I went gluten-free, so did my mom’s biscotti.  When I became a dietitian, her biscotti went lower in sugar.  Let’s hope neither of my children develops a nut allergy, or these lovely little cookies may not survive to see another Passover.

Enjoy these at your Seder, and make them again this around the December holidays as a gluten-free treat to enjoy with hot cocoa or coffee.

Gluten Free Biscotti (Kosher for Passover)

Adapted by my mom from Helen Nash’s Kosher Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 6 oz hazelnuts or pecans, chopped coarsely in food processor or by hand
• 6 oz shelled almonds, chopped coarsely
• 8 oz dark raisins
• 8 TBSP gluten free Passover cake meal, such as Yehuda brand (or year round: any gluten free all purpose flour blend; I like Bob's Red Mill 1 for 1 flour)
• 6 TBSP sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
• 2 eggs lightly beaten (you might need a little more egg)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Grease 2 9×5 (or slightly smaller) loaf pans and dust with GF cake meal or flour
3. In large bowl mix nuts, raisins, cake meal, sugar, spices.
4. Add eggs and mix with wooden spoon.  If mixture does not hold together, add a little more egg. Divide dough in half and put it in 2 pans.
5. Press very firmly to pack it down.  Bake side by side in oven, reduced to 300 degrees, for 1 hour.
6. Cool, turn over pans and release the biscotti. Cut them into 1/4 inch slices, then place them on cookie sheets to dry out in 200 degree oven for 45 min. on each side.
7. Cool completely before storing in airtight container.

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Gluten-free Linzer Hamentaschen (image T. Freuman)

This recipe is a brilliant riff on Hamentaschen–the traditional folded-triangle filled cookies that we Jewish folk eat on the early spring holiday of Purim.  But I debated whether to even share it or not.  

On one hand, it’s extremely labor intensive– the dough is soft and melty like you’d expect a shortbread to be, and there is a lot of back and forth between active time and freezer time to get it right.  On the other hand, the results are SO INCREDIBLY delicious, that perhaps it’s worth the trouble.  The cookies are nutty and buttery and delicately textured; an absolutely indulgent treat.  If you’ve got a season of something to catch up with on Netflix, perhaps you can devote a Saturday night to cookie-making and TV as my husband and I did; the stops and starts wont be as annoying when you’ve got high drama paused on your screen.

I originally attempted a sandwich-style Hamentaschen instead of the traditional variety-- which involves rolling out a cookie dough, cutting it into circles, adding filling and folding up the edges-- because GF doughs can be sticky to work with in this way.  But in a linzer scenario, all you need to do is roll out the dough, cut into triangles with a cookie cutter, and bake flat.  Furthermore, since we’re using triangles, the shapes “tesselate”–meaning they can be cut back to back like tiles, leaving virtually no wasted scrap in between shapes.

I recommend you cut the dough this way; it reduces the number of times you’ll need to consolidate scraps and re-roll the dough to make use of it all, since–as you will see–this is not a dough that likes to be worked.  It cuts best when very cold, and once it starts warming, you’ll need to go back to the freezer for a few minutes in order to get your shapes cut and removed onto a baking tray with ease.  Since the jam goes in AFTER the cookies are baked, each cookie retains a nice, full center of well-textured filling.  

A few tips and technical notes:

• You will want a stand mixer to do this type of recipe properly.  Most of the gluten-free Linzer cookie recipes I consulted agree on this point.
• It’s best to cut out our triangle shapes with cookie cutters on parchment paper, and then transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• You will be making/baking two types of triangles: whole triangles (for the sandwich bottom), and ones with a mini triangle cutout (for the tops).  I recommend making your first batch of triangles the cutout ones, so you can “recycle” the cutout dough back into the master dough ball to be re-rolled.
• You will need 2 sizes of triangular cookie cutters to make this recipe work easily.
• If your dough starts getting too soft and melty to work with, just return to the freezer for a few minutes to firm it up and try again.

Gluten Free Linzer Hamentaschen

Yields about 2 1/2 dozen 2.5″ sandwiches (~72 triangles)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup finely ground hazelnut flour (you can substitute almond flour)
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (or alternative shortening as desired)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten free baking flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Filling: 1/2 cup thick jam, poppy seed filling or Nutella
• Optional: confectioner’s sugar and a fine sieve or sifter

Equipment: parchment paper, triangle cookie cutter(s), stand mixer

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Spread nut flour into a thin layer on a cookie sheet and roast for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through to ensure evenness.
2. With a stand mixer or electric hand beater, beat butter with brown sugar until well mixed. Add egg and vanilla, mixing until well incorporated.
3. Add gluten free flour mix, hazelnut flour, cinnamon, xanthan gum and salt. Beat until you’ve got a smooth dough. (It will be wet– but fear not.) Roll dough out between two pieces of parchment until it is 1/2-inch thick and freeze for 10 minutes.  Do not roll too thin or the cookies will be too delicate to handle raw or break easily once baked.
4. Remove dough from freezer/fridge and cut with triangular cookie cutters to desired size.  Remove the excess dough from between the cookies.
5. Using a spatula and working quickly, gently move the cookies to a parchment lined cookie sheet(s).
6. Use a smaller cookie cutter (or knife) to cut mini-triangles out the centers of half of the cookies on a baking sheet.  Ideally, segregate the cutout halves from the intact halves on different trays, as the ones with cutouts may have a slightly shorter baking time. Gently remove the inner shape with the tip of a small knife to keep from damaging the outer cookie.
7. Place the baking sheet(s) in fridge to keep the cookies chilled. Repeat until you’ve used up all the dough.
8. Once all the dough has been cut with cookie cutters and the shapes are arranged on a baking sheet, place the baking sheets in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325° while they are chilling.
9. Bake cookies for 14 minutes, or until they are very lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on pan for 5 minutes before moving the cookies, with their attached piece of parchment, to a cooling rack.
10. Allow to cool fully.  If you are not serving in the next day or two, freeze the unadorned cookie halves as-is and remove/thaw when ready to decorate and fill.
11. To serve: Arrange cutout halves (tops) on a working surface, and dust with confectioner’s sugar.  Spread filling onto the intact triangle cookie bottoms.  Top each frosted cookie bottom with a sugared cutout cookie top.  Voila!

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Sweet Potato Picnic Quiches (FODMAP friendly) (image T. Freuman)

This tasty little recipe comes to us from Israel, via my cousin Shelly, who brought it to a family retreat over Memorial Day weekend.  It’s a great portable, vegetarian “entree” for summer picnics–as it can be served warm, room temperature or cold.

A digestive aside: while this recipe does feature dairy prominently, most of the cheeses used are low (or negligible) in lactose.  You can swap in Green Valley Organics Lactose Free sour cream* for the Greek yogurt to help keep lactose content to a minimum.  Once the lactose situation is sorted, you’ll notice that there are no other fermentable carb (FODMAP) ingredients in the mix– no onions, garlic, wheat, flour of any kind or gassy veggies.  So file this one away in the event you’re ever invited to a potluck attended by a digestively diverse crowd.

Sweet Potato Pignoli Picnic Quiches

Yield: ~16 mini quiches

Ingredients:

• 14 oz sweet potatoes, grated
• 6 oz mozzarella, grated
• 3.5 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
• 8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
• 7 oz 0% plain Greek yogurt OR Green Valley Lactose Free Sour Cream*
• 2 TBSP canola oil
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
• 1/2 cup pine nuts (pignoli)
• 4 eggs
• Black pepper (to taste)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Using non stick pan, toast pine nuts on stove top until just starting to turn golden brown and fragrant.  Remove from heat immediately and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine grated sweet potato, mozzarella, Parmesan and feta.  Mix to combine.
4. Add Greek yogurt or sour cream, canola oil, chives, toasted pine nuts and eggs.  Season with black pepper to taste.  (No need to add salt… these are well salted from the cheese already.)  Stir until all ingredients well combined.
5. Spray standard-sized muffin tin with non-stick spray
6. Pour batter into muffin tins and bake for 35-40 minutes until firm and turning golden.

* FTC disclosure: I am a paid consultant for Green Valley Organics Lactose Free

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After my twins were born, both my mom and my mother-in-law stocked our freezer with their own versions of cholent– the quintessential Jewish comfort food. Cholent is a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs, stew that was traditionally cooked overnight on Fridays and served for lunch on the Sabbath.  Most versions contain meat, potatoes, beans and barley, though the folks who cook for me replace barley with a gluten-free substitute like quinoa or millet. 

I guess they figured it was loaded with complex carbs, protein and iron to keep me nourished and energized, but would be easy enough to shovel in my face by the spoonful in between crying jags (both mine and the babies, naturally).

Cholent is decidedly heavy winter fare, though you can significantly reduce its fat content (which derives from the meat) by refrigerating finished cholent overnight and then skimming the solidified fat right off the top; besides, cholent that’s 1-2 days old tastes even better than fresh-from-the-oven.  Cholent is a pretty flexible dish and everyone’s grandmother makes it everso slightly differently: you can change proportions of beans, meat, potatoes to suit your taste, or according to what you have on hand.  (My MIL sometimes adds whole eggs in the shell to hers, which roast overnight.  She’s also been known to toss in some sweet potatoes.  It’s very hard to go wrong with this dish.)  The important thing is to cook your cholent for 6 to 8 hours, or even longer; anything less than that has no flavor.

My Mom’s Cholent

Ingredients:

• 2 large onions, sliced
• 1 lb. dried lima beans–more if you don’t use barley or a replacement grain(you can also mix in other kinds of dried beans, preferably medium to large ones.  Gigante beans come to mind as a delicious and buttery option.)
• 3 to 4 lbs of flanken* (or if flanken is too pricey or unavailable, you can use any meaty bones plus about 3 lbs of stew meat, like chuck)
• 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, sliced thin or chopped
• 3 lbs of peeled potatoes (cut them in half if they are large)
• 1 cup of barley (optional; substitute millet or quinoa to make gluten-free)
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Olive or canola oil for browning onions

* Flanken is a cut of meat similar to beef short ribs

Directions:

1. Soak beans for several hours in cool water.  Drain well.
2. Cut flanken into strips or chunks.  Sprinkle a little salt, pepper and paprika onto meat.
3. In a large, heavy pot with cover, lightly brown the onions and garlic in oil.
4. Add seasoned meat to onions/garlic.  Stir to brown it a bit for just a couple of minutes.
5. Add beans, potatoes, bay leaf, barley (if you use it), and add enough water to cover everything. Stir it up so ingredients are well-distributed and mixed up nicely.
6. Bring cholent to a boil on top of stove.
7. Transfer pot to 200 degree oven and bake for 7 or 8 hours–or longer!  Check occasionally to add water if needed.  You want it nice and wet, but not watery or too soupy.
8. Adjust flavors to taste; Serve with horseradish, mustard, or similar spicy condiments.

This reheats beautifully–and tastes better the second or third day. It freezes like a dream.

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The Quintessential Soup for Locavores: Zucchini Curry soup at Moulin Brégeon (image T. Freuman)

Before I had children, I got to take a few vacations to France. That will obviously never happen again. But thankfully, on my last trip to the Loire Valley, I had the good sense to leave with a recipe so I could recreate some of the flavors of a fantastic culinary experience.

Chef Pascal gathering the garnishes for the soup from the front garden

The cuisine in the Loire Valley was simple and delicious, featuring locally-grown produce in season, like strawberries, cherries and zucchini.   Locally-grown mushrooms also played a starring role, and locally-caught pike perch (fish) and locally-made goat cheeses are ubiquitous.

While our meals were quite varied, the one dish that kept resurfacing was some version of a curried zucchini puree.  The most successful variation on the theme was a cold, pureed soup served by our lovely and talented hosts at Le Moulin Brégeon, possibly one of the most idyllic places on the planet. While I’ve never much been one for cold soups (or making soup in the summer), I must say that this dish won me over; it’s a lovely substitute for a salad to start off a summer meal, or would make a fine half of a light soup-and-salad lunch.

This recipe was graciously provided by Bernard at Moulin Bregeon.  After having tasted the cool soup, which was incredibly refreshing after a long, hot day of touring around the region, I expected the recipe to be a considerably more involved and nuanced affair than it turned out to be.  The actual process is astonishingly simple, and really highlights the difference that locally-grown, fresh ingredients make from a flavor perspective.  In our case, the zucchinis used for the soup were picked from the inn’s garden just 3 hours before dinner, and we watched Chef Pascal clip some chives and pansies for the garnish just moments before we were seated for dinner.  Bernard emphasized the importance of using small, younger zucchini for this recipe–about 6 oz each– rather than the monster-sized zucchini we’re used to buying in the U.S.   He also mentioned that the trick to the texture is really blending the soup until it is a very smooth and creamy with no chunks or visible pieces; this gives such a velvety and rich effect without using any cream whatsoever.  (If you've got a Vitamix, this should be a breeze.) For my vegan readers, I’m sure a vegetable broth would substitute just fine for the chicken broth.  While I’ve never much been one for cold soups (or making soup in the summer), I must say that this dish won me over; it’s a lovely substitute for a salad to start off a summer meal, or would make a fine half of a light soup-and-salad lunch.

Moulin Brégeon’s Curried Zucchini Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• One large, peeled onion cut fine
• 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 4 young zucchinis (~26 ounces total, or about 1.7 lbs), washed and cut in fine rounds
• ~4 cups (1 liter) of chicken broth

Directions:

1. Pour the oil in a big pot, throw in the onion, the curry and a pinch of salt. Brown until the onion is tender (3 or 4 minutes).
2. Add broth and zucchinis, cover and reduce heat, cook for 20 minutes.
3. Blend until the soup is creamy.
4. You can eat this soup hot or cold; you can also add more curry if you like it spicier.
5. Garnish with fresh chives if desired

Bon apétit!

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His 'n' her pozole (image T. Freuman)

I first encountered pozole at a small Mexican restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. It was a freezing cold day, much like today, in fact, and one of my friends ordered a preternaturally red, steaming, spicy bowl of pozole–or, Mexican pork and hominy stew. Big, hearty kernels of white hominy floated around in the bright red broth as lovely pieces of cilantro clung to them. The smell was divine. It was exactly what I was craving…except for the large hunk of pork-on-bone anchored right in the middle of the bowl.

I decided to find a vegetarian recipe that I could make at home, and came up empty. So I went about creating my own version, based partly on my memory of what was in that steaming bowl and partly on some of the many soups I had tasted when traveling around Puebla, Mexico, when I spent time studying there in graduate school.

My version lacks the shocking red color, which actually derives from a natural seed called called achiote (or annatto, in English). I left it out because it’s only there for color, not flavor, and unless your supermarket has a large Hispanic foods selection, it can be difficult to find. (You may recognize annatto from your natural cosmetics; it’s used to impart orange and red colors to lip balms, soaps and body washes.) We fake the achiote effect here by using the canned tomatoes with their juice.

Hominy is dried white corn that has been soaked in a basic (as in pH) solution, traditionally lime water, so that the hulls are removed from the kernels. In Mexican cuisine, you’ll see hominy mostly in soups, though it is also used to make tamale flour. In the U.S. south, you’ll also see hominy used to make grits. The big, soft kernels (which look like oversized soft corn nuts) help give this soup a hearty, substantial-ness that I find is lacking in some vegetable soups. (Of course, I’ve included beans and mushrooms for this same purpose.  What can I say?  I like soups that eat like a meal.)

Since pozole is a soup I crave in the cold, dead of winter, when the pickings can be slim as far as fresh, inexpensive and flavorful produce goes, I designed this recipe to take advantage of some pantry staples you can keep in the cupboards, supplemented with a just a few, key fresh ingredients. 

Depending on what’s available locally in your area, you can use fresh zucchini or chayote, which is a small, green-skinned, mild-flavored summer squash (well, it’s really a gourd, technically) that looks sort of like a quince or a pear. In my area, where there is a large Hispanic population, it’s cheaper and easier to find in winter than zucchini is, so I’ve offered it as an option for this recipe. If you can find it, try it! Chayote is super low-calorie and is a good source of Vitamin C, potassium, folate and fiber.

Lastly, don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients. This soup is a breeze to make, since you basically just dump in all of the ingredients and let the thing simmer for an hour.

Vegetarian Pozole

(Makes a big-ol’ pot that should serve at least 10.  Leftovers freeze well.)

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 29-oz can white hominy
• 1 4-oz can diced green chiles (hot) (e.g., Hatch brand)
• 2 small zucchini, quartered and chopped OR 2 chayotes, peeled, seed removed, and chopped
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, including the juice (so choose low-sodium, if possible)
• 1 handful of cilantro, chopped
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp oregano
• 8 cups broth (chicken or vegetable; low-sodium, if possible; or, 8 tsp bouillon and 8 cups water)
• Salt to taste
• To serve:
• 1 15-oz can kidney beans, rinsed
• Monterrey jack cheese, shredded OR fresh diced avocado
• 1 lime (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large stockpot, sautee onions in olive oil until translucent.
2. Add all other ingredients EXCEPT for kidney beans and cheese/avocado, bring to a boil, and simmer partially-covered for 1 hour to let flavors blend. Salt to taste.
3. Before serving, scoop 1/2 cup kidney beans into each serving bowl. Add soup. Squeeze a small fresh wedge of lime into bowl.
4. Top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese OR diced avocado. Serve.

If you want to heat up leftovers, you may need to add some water before re-heating. This pozole has a tendency to become stewier and stewier after the first round.

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When most of the country is prepping to stock up on holiday gifts each Black Friday, I’m doing some stockpiling of my own... at the local supermarket.  For the brief weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, barrels of sweet, starchy fresh Chestnuts are available, ready to be roasted.

In a season where centerfolds of over-the-top seasonal desserts beckon me from every glossy foodie magazine I encounter, there’s a lot to be said for finishing off a festive holiday gathering with communal bowls of fresh-roasted chestnuts instead.  When the dinner plates are cleared and friends linger around the table over tea or wine, I find that slowly peeling away at a fresh chestnut is a calming ritual of sorts, preventing idle hands that might otherwise be tempted to make quick work of, say, an entire gooey pecan pie. Chestnuts finish off the meal with a hint of sweetness and lend themselves to being enjoyed slowly and shared among friends.

How to choose, roast and eat fresh chestnuts

Before I met my husband, roasting fresh chestnuts was something that I thought only happened in Christmas carols.  But he taught me the fine art of choosing the best chestnuts…

• squeeze fresh chestnuts before buying and and select ones that are nice and hard
• any softness or “give” means they’re not fresh and will be impossible to peel once you’ve roasted them

… and roasting fresh chestnuts:

• score a small “x” on the flat side with a paring knife (a MUST… this allows steam to escape and prevents a chestnut explosion in your oven)
• lay them score side up on a baking tray
• sprinkle them lightly with water
• bake them at 400 degrees in a toaster oven or 425 degrees in a conventional oven for 10-15 minutes
• Note that roasting times will vary by oven; look for the scores to start curling back as an indication that the chestnuts are done.  Alternatively, you can take one out and test its done-ness by carefully peeling it (use a dishtowel or gloves…it’ll be hot!) and seeing if the nutmeat is nice and soft.

… and eating fresh chestnuts:

• just peel off the hard outer shell from the open flaps created by your x-shaped scores–while they’re still warm.   (Get cracking on the peeling as soon as they’ve cooled just enough to handle.)
• Share!

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Shakshouka (image T. Freuman)

Oh, shakshouka. Your beauty is surpassed only by your deliciousness.

It’s the kind of word that invites an exclamation point, doesn’t it?

I first tasted shakshouka as a college student studying abroad in Israel. It’s a brunchy, tomato-and-pepper based egg dish that was contributed to mainstream Israeli cuisine courtesy of the Moroccan Jewish community. (Strangely, though, I’ve visited Morocco twice now and have never actually come across shakshouka there…) Over the years, I’ve made it too many times to count, and always to rave reviews. It’s a vegetable dish that’s sloppy and savory and hearty enough to appeal to the meat-loving, salad-eschewing set… and a sneaky way to get in a solid 1-2 servings of vegetables before noon. It’s also really versatile: you can serve it alone; along with toast; wrapped in a crepe or tortilla, or as I’ve seen them serve it in Israel: stuffed in a pita lined with hummus. Sound weird? Don’t knock it till you try it.

Leftovers can be heated up to make a very respectable weekday dinner, served as suggested above, or as the main filling of a burrito that you enhance with some beans and cheese. But there won't be any leftovers.

Tamara's Shakshouka

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped 
• 4 garlic cloves, minced or thinly sliced
• 2 large bell peppers (mix red, orange or yellow for visual appeal), very thinly sliced into pieces roughly 3-4" in length
• 2 large handfuls baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp ground cumin, or more to taste
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• A dash of ground cayenne pepper (optional)
• Salt & pepper
• 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes (can use crushed tomatoes as well but it will take longer for the liquid to cook off)
• 6 large eggs
• Optional garnishes: feta cheese, fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until nice and hot. Add onions and saute until they are soft and somewhat translucent, but not browning (3-4 minutes).
2. Add garlic and continue to saute for another minute. Add the sliced peppers and stir so that the vegetables are nice and mixed up. (Note: if your large peppers yielded really long strips, feel free to cut them in half so they are more reasonably-sized for a mouthful.)
3. Add the cumin, coriander, cayenne (if desired), salt and pepper. Continue to saute until peppers start to soften.
4. Add the spinach and the tomatoes with all of their juice and stir so that all ingredients are mixed well in the pan. Once the tomato liquid starts bubbling, use your spatula to carve out six ‘holes’ in the bubbling vegetable mixture.
5. Crack an egg into each hole. (If you’re cooking for someone who’s runny-yolk phobic, you may crack your eggs into a separate bowl, whisk them, and then pour them into the holes instead. If you’re avoiding egg yolks for any reason, you can put 2 egg whites or their equivalent in liquid eggwhites into the holes.)
6. Keep the mixture simmering until the eggs are well-cooked and the yolks are semi-hard. (As the eggs start to set, if need be, scrape aside some of the gooey egg white from atop the hardening yolks so that it gets a chance to cook, too…) The liquid will start to cook off, leaving you with a firm ‘stew’ that you will be able to cut into messy pieces–sort of like a lasagna. When you get to this point, use your spatula to cut the shakshouka into six pieces, each of which should have an egg in it. Serve on toast.

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