Sweet Fresh Corn Cupcakes

It's been a long time since I've posted, because of reasons I won't get into, I have been feeling very un-inspired. Until now. And all apologies for the lack of photo - my camera got destroyed on a recent cliff-jumping adventure. Ahem.

There's nothing better than sweet corn-on-the-cob, fresh from the farm! I've created my own recipe on what to do with a bumper crop of fresh (and uncooked) ears of corn. This would work with frozen corn kernels, I assume, but it would certainly be less delicious.

These little beauties are very sweet, just the way I like my cakes. They are relatively one-dimensional in flavour, and would be best served with an accompaniment. These would taste great with some of your favourite spices added to taste, or topped with whipped cream and seasonal fruit or berries shortcake-style. 


1 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar (this can be reduced according to taste)
1/3 c. butter, cold
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. fresh corn kernels, cut off the cob


Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a muffin tin with paper liners.

In your food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar and pulse to combine. Add the cold butter in pieces and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the corn kernels and pulse until combined. Whisk together the buttermilk and eggs. Add the mixture from the food processor into the milk mixture and stir to combine. Dole out about 1/4 cup of batter per cupcake.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until browned and a toothpick poked into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean.

Enjoy! Yields 12 - 15 cupcakes.

No-Carb Key Lime Coconut Meringue Pie

Hello, and it's been a while!

I've been on a four-letter-word starting with "D" so I haven't had an opportunity to post delicious recipes because ... I haven't made any. It's been boring old meat-and-vegetables for me for a while now. But I took a bit of a break, and am now officially allowed to eat just about anything except sugar and starch. If you've read my blog before, you'll see that this is nearly impossible. But I've done it. And only with the help of things like coconut flour and stevia sweetener.

Give this recipe a try with sweetened whipped cream instead of meringue!

Behold, a recipe for a Key Lime Meringue Pie for the carb-phobic!

Crust:
1/4 c. cold butter cut into pieces
3 Tbsp. extra virgin coconut oil, solid
3/4 c. coconut flour
1/4 c. soy flour
2 eggs
1 Tbsp xylitol (or use 5 - 6 drops stevia extract)
pinch salt
1/2 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
1 - 2 Tbsp water or as needed
1 egg white, beaten

In your food processor, pulse the butter, coconut oil, coconut flour, and soy flour until combined and resembling coarse meal. Add the remaining ingredients except the water and egg white and pulse until a soft dough forms. Drizzle in the water and pulse until the dough is workable. Press into a 9" pie plate. When you are done forming the crust, brush the egg white over the crust just before filling it. This is an important step, as the coconut flour is very "thirsty", and will drink up any moisture the curd has to offer.

For this recipe, we will par-bake the crust for 5 minutes at 350 F before filling it.

I am uncertain whether a flax-based egg substitute will work for the crust. If anyone tries it, let me know - I suspect it might fall apart. But if it works, it will reduce the amount of egg in this pie by just about a quarter.

Key Lime Curd:
4 large eggs
1/2 c. key lime juice, freshly squeezed if possible (or try lime juice, or lemon)
1/4 c. xylitol
40 drops stevia extract
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

While the crust is baking, whisk together the eggs, juice, xylitol, and stevia in a metal or glass bowl placed over a pot of simmering water (or use a double boiler). Whisk constantly (to prevent it from curdling) until the mixture becomes pale in colour and quite thick (like a hollandaise or sour cream). This will take approximately 8 - 10 minutes. As soon as the mixture is thickened, remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the butter piece by piece. Immediately pour the curd into the par-baked pie crust and bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes. It should be still a little wobbly. It will not brown due to the absence of sugar in the recipe.

Don't use an egg substitute in the curd. It won't work. Period. Real eggs only, please.

While the curd is baking, make the

Meringue:
4 large egg whites
20 drops stevia extract
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or vinegar)

In a very clean bowl with a very clean whisk, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and stevia, and whisk until stiff peaks form. Using a spoon, dollop the meringue onto the curd, and press the dollops down with the back of the spoon until the entire curd is covered with meringue. Bake at 375 F for about 10 minutes. Meringue may not brown due to the absence of sugar in the recipe.

Let cool completely and serve!

As you can see, my meringue deflated a little a lot. I left it in the oven too long. And, you can see the recipe yields a very thick crust - feel free to pare it in 2/3 or 1/2 of the measurements I gave you, if you prefer a less-crusty pie.

Yes, it will still be sweet - stevia is a superb sweetener with citrus flavours. If I didn't know it was sweetened with stevia, I would never guess. This recipe will certainly please even your full-carb friends!

Stevia is easy to find at your local health food store. The drops I find most convenient because they are very concentrated, and are perfect for adding to beverages, and for recipes that require sweetening.

Bear in mind that sugar, in regular baking, can often be more than a sweetener - it provides leavening, goldening, structure, and sometimes even crunch. You will not get these properties using stevia.

Xylitol is a fruit alcohol, half as sweet as regular sugar. It promotes dental health and has no effective carbs. It is considered safe and healthy, and has bulk to it - a reasonable substitute for sugar, but very expensive. Be aware that it can have a laxative effect in some folks, if too much is consumed. Feel free to leave the xylitol out of this recipe and use a few extra drops of stevia instead.

For those of you residing in Canada, check out Stevia Canada JG Group. I have ordered most of my stevia from these guys, it tastes fabulous and they have an amazing selection. And for my coconut and soy flours, I find them at Bulk Barn. The Xylitol can be found at most health food stores.

Sourdough Bread

I made some bread this week. I usually make my breads in the bread machine, but a sourdough requires more time that the machine does not afford you. There is so much information on sourdough out there, and I do mean a lot. I will not go into detail here, as I don't think I even fully comprehend it all anyway! Please take a look at the Sourdough Baker. This fine gentleman has so much to read on his website, and he offers advice via e-mail as well.

There are a few ways of making a sourdough starter. The Sourdough Baker website has helped me with many of these. I decided to make my sourdough starter naturally, that is, without the aid of a commercial yeast. I left my mixture of rye flour and warm water out to the open air, and a few days later, I had bubbles and a nice sour, beery smell. What happened was that my sponge made a tempting "home" for local yeasts (located in the air and in the husk of the rye particle). So they feasted and pooped, and voila - fermented flour.

I had read in a few places that in order to make a sourdough bread quite sour, there are many things to take into account. There were two that I felt applied to me. One is time - the dough needs lots of time to ferment. Sure, it will rise with time, but let it go (and go and go) after many rises and kneads, so that the yeasts have time to ferment the dough into a soury goodness. My fermentation time was approximately 48 hours. The second one was temperature - the process of taking the temperature of the dough down to 2 - 4 deg C and back up to warmer-than-room-temperature again is supposed to encourage the sour taste. So I did this twice! My dough took two cool trips to the fridge. It even rose a little in there!

The overall result was a bread that was chewy (thanks to all the kneading), light golden (higher oven temp. when baking), attractive, but unfortunately not very sour! This is my second attempt at making a good, sour bread with this starter. I thought I did all the right things to enhance the sour flavour. I guess I didn't! What I do love most about my bread, though, is the flavour. Even though it's not too sour, it is different! My local yeasts produce a very complex taste that is a little bit sweet, a touch bitter, and an almost musty (but pleasant) smell.

Overall, I am very pleased with the results. But I definitely have some more tweaking to do!

Easy Yummy Lentils

This makes a wonderful side dish for an Indian dinner night. It can be vegan - just substitute syrup, sugar, or agave nectar for the honey! My friend and I just ate these for dinner tonight. I couldn't get enough of them! What got me going was the addition of salt and honey - otherwise this would have been quite plain. The spices and oil combine to make a delicious pasty coating! This dish serves four.

1 c. dry lentils
4 c. water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 Tbsp. turmeric
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. sea salt (we used Celtic salt)
1 Tbsp. honey
2 cloves garlic, minced

Bring water and lentils to a rapid boil in a saucepan or medium pot, and boil these for 10 minutes. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for an additional 15 - 20 minutes. Drain lentils. Over low heat, stir in oil and spices. Simmer for a few minutes, and stir in the honey. Stir in the minced garlic and simmer for another few minutes. That's it! Serve this dish over rice, or on its own, to accompany your favourite Indian meal.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Isobel requested this one! This is a dead easy recipe. I can't really take credit for it, and I'm not sure who can, as it is on the label of just about every peanut butter jar you buy. It's almost stupefying in its simplicity - there's no flour, no soda, no added oil ... just pure goodness. If happiness took on cookie form, this would be it.

1 c. peanut butter (crunchy or smooth, your choice)
1 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
Optional: 1/2 package chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Arrange a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie pan. Stir first three ingredients together until they are well-combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop tablespoonfuls of batter onto the parchment paper, and flatten with the tines of a fork. Bake for 6 - 8 minutes, and don't overbake! These cookies are by far at their best when chewy.

Leftover Pie Crust Tarts

I got a great idea as I was making an apple pie, and was wondering what to do with the large amounts of crust that I inevitably had to cut off the sides of the pie. I puzzle-pieced the leftover scraps together in the cups of a muffin tin, and filled each mini-shell with a mixture of frozen fruit, sugar, and cornstarch.

Pictured is raspberry - fill the shell full with frozen raspberries, and add a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of cornstarch per shell. Bake at 425 F for about 15 minutes, stirring each tart at the 10 minute mark (or when the fruit is no longer frozen) to mix in the sugar and cornstarch.

Vanaema's Sauerkraut

My grandmother (vanaema in Estonian) told me, verbally, how she makes her sauerkraut. I'm not sure if I remembered it in its entirety, and I just kind of made what I thought she said. It turned out great and I make it this way all the time. It's a hard one to screw up, though. *Edit: I talked to her the other day and she told me that I had it all wrong! Oops. I'm still not going to change it because this is how I make it!*

This sauerkraut is rather sweet. It's certainly not the kind of 'kraut you get from the jar! Try different ways of sweetening this recipe - brown sugar, white sugar, maple syrup, or apples.

1 head of green cabbage, shredded or julienned
1 jar of naturally fermented sauerkraut (not wine-fermented!)
1 large vidalia or sweet onion, chopped
2 - 3 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
Optional: 1/2 lb. bacon, ham, or pork, chopped

Mix all ingredients together in a large pot with a lid. Place in the oven at about 300 F for 4 - 5 hours, stirring occasionally. The sauerkraut will turn golden brown, smell a little sour and a little sweet, and you'll get awesome chewy bits where the mixture has been baking up against the side of the pot. It will have caramelised nicely because of the sugar and apples, and the cabbage will be oh-so-tender.

You can also make this in your slow cooker, on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 10 hours. Enjoy!

Perfect Pancakes

This is my own recipe. It is better than Bisquick, I promise! Plus it's very easy, never chewy, always fluffy - the perfect pancake! The purpose of the spelt or buckwheat flour is to prevent the pancakes from going chewy if you happen to stir the batter too much. Spelt and buckwheat have very little gluten, and gluten is what is responsible for the chewiness of bread. You can use any gluten-free flour in place of the spelt or buckwheat in this recipe.

Preheat a non-stick griddle to medium heat. Make sure your griddle is completely heated before you pour your pancakes.

Combine in a large bowl:
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. spelt or buckwheat flour
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder

Combine in a large measuring glass:
2 eggs, whisked
2 c. milk + 2 tsp. vinegar (or just use buttermilk)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. oil

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix with a fork until just combined (but not if there are still large lumps of dry flour throughout the batter - stir the batter till the bigger lumps have broken up). Spray the griddle with oil, and pour 1/4 cup portions of pancake batter onto the hot griddle. Fry them until you see lots of bubbles surfacing on top and are a deep golden brown, and then flip them over. Cook the other side until it is also a deep golden brown. Serve the pancakes immediately with butter, syrup, jam, or whatever tickles your fancy. They can also be kept warm on a stoneware plate in the oven set on the coolest temperature.

I like to make large batches of pancakes. This recipe yields about 20 - 25 pancakes. Halve the recipe if you desire. I like to eat the morning's cold pancakes for lunch with cheese and lunchmeat on them, popped in the microwave for a few seconds. Not sure why. I just like them that way.

Super Duper Zucchini Muffins

Somehow, these muffins were ridiculously fluffy. That's a good thing. I just didn't understand how, because I put two cups of sopping wet zucchini into these! Vegan alternative in (brackets). Adapted from allrecipes.com

2 1/4 c. flour
1 c. white sugar (Redpath sugar)
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. each cinnamon and nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. vegetable shortening, margarine, or unsalted butter
1/4 c. buttermilk or yogourt (or vinegar + soy milk)
2 eggs (or 2 portions egg substitute)
2 c. shredded zucchini - I left the skin on, and seeds in, and I used a cheese grater to shred it all
Optional: 1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease or spray-oil a muffin tin. Combine the sugar and dry ingredients. Cut the shortening into the dry ingredients, or use a food processor to combine shortening and dry ingredients. This step is important, as it is responsible for the fluffiness of these muffins!

Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, and mix them into the shortening-flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the nuts. Distribute evenly to each muffin cup and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a centre muffin comes out clean.

Serve warm and fresh, on their own or spread with butter.

Stuffed Zucchini

Tim's bugging me to "get going" on putting up veg recipes. Here is a vegetarian delight! Even J loved it, and he's Mr. Meat! I'm posting this completely out of season, so save this one for a gorgeous summer evening when the zucchinis are ready to be picked.

Here's the story: My friend Justin brought over an enormous zucchini from his organic farm. I hadn't the faintest idea what to do with it. He suggested stuffing it. I used half of the zucchini to make muffins, and the other half on this.

Stuffing:
Optional: 1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled, cooked, chopped
3 - 6 cloves chopped garlic
12 fresh grape tomatoes (yellow and red), quartered
Handful of fresh basil, chopped
1/4 of a kolrabi, julienned
10 green beans, chopped
1/4 c. bread crumbs
3 - 4 Tbsp. cream cheese

Mix all of these ingredients in a bowl until very well combined. Stuff this mixture into a zucchini, prepared thusly:

Half the zucchini lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, but leave lots of flesh remaining. On the skin side, slice just a bit off the bottom so the zucchini sits flat. They should look like boats. You can do this with smaller zucchinis, as well. Place the unstuffed zucchinis skin side up, on a cookie sheet and broil at 500 F for about 5 - 10 minutes, or until they are sweating. Remove from oven, turn flesh side up, brush with oil, and sprinkle on salt and pepper.

Now, stuff your zucchinis with the veggie mixture, and sprinkle them generously with freshly grated parmesan and some more breadcrumbs. Bake at 425 F until stuffing is bubbling, parmesan is melted, and top is nice and crunchy, about 40 minutes!

Serves two, with one-half of a very large zucchini.

Pesto

Pesto is so useful. You can mix it with a bit of pasta-water to use as a pasta sauce with mushrooms or chicken, or you can nibble a slice of baguette or toast spread with goat's cheese topped with this great green stuff. And it keeps so long in the fridge! Best used with basil picked minutes earlier from your garden, you can also use the packaged-fresh variety. Consider yourself warned - this stuff is addictive.

3 or 4 handfuls of fresh basil leaves (you can include stems, but it gets a little stringy)
3 - 4 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic
Sea salt to taste
Splash of lemon juice
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 c. pine nuts - expensive but don't try to substitute

Add all ingredients to your food processor and blend until everything is incorporated into a thick paste. Alternatively, put everything in a large bowl and puree with a hand blender.

Don't be afraid to add a little more of this and a bit more of that. More oil means a more spreadable mixture. More garlic means no one will want to kiss you for the rest of the day. Taste as you go, and you will have the perfect pesto!

Store in a mason jar with a tight-fitting lid, in the fridge. It will keep for I daresay a month - if it's not already eaten by then!

Cornbread

This one's an old favourite. Like biscuits, cornbread makes an excellent accompaniment, or is great as a snack just warmed up with butter. This recipe is easy to vegan-ify, and tastes exactly the same. My cornbread is moist, tender, slightly sweet, and very fluffy! Vegan verson in (brackets). Adapted from Molly Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook.

1 c. corn meal
1 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk or yogourt (soymilk + 1 Tbsp. vinegar)
1 egg (1 portion egg substitute)
1/4 c. white sugar (Redpath sugar)
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a loaf pan with butter, margarine, or spray oil. I usually grease a muffin tin for portion-sized cornbreads. Combine dry ingredients together. Whisk wet ingredients together in a separate bowl or ewer. Add wet to dry, stir just until combined, and fill loaf pan or muffin tin. Bake for about 12 minutes for muffins, or 20 minutes or longer for loaf. Remove from the oven when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

This is a mushroom soup recipe that even I like. It is so earthy and rich in flavour. I got the idea from Chef Michael Smith on the Food Network show, Chef at Home. This recipe, in the style of Mr. Smith, is all about taste. You don't need to measure to get the flavour you want - just taste it as you go!

Melt about 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute a variety of mushrooms (oyster, portobello, crimini, etc.) in the butter until golden. The more mushrooms you have crowding the pan, the less likely they will brown properly. You can saute the mushrooms in two batches if need be. Add a few Tbsp. white wine (red is OK too, it just tastes stronger) and reduce for a couple of minutes. Add 1 - 2 c. strong beef broth (depends on how much soup you would like to make). Add fresh grated garlic, salt, and pepper to taste. Chop about 1/8 c. fresh thyme and add to soup. Add more wine to taste, if desired. Simmer until flavours meld and mellow, about 10 minutes.

When soup is at your desired flavour and temperature, add a spash or two of heavy whipping cream (or table cream), until your desired colour and thickness is reached. Remove skillet from the heat and let the soup thicken slightly. Serve hot, with fresh garlic-rubbed toast.

Trina's Baked Beans

Good old cowboy beans! Tasty, and not the least bit bland. Be careful - when you're done enjoying these beans, things might get a little ... stinky ;) This takes some preparation and should be started about one day in advance of when you would like to serve.

- Soak dried white navy beans in water overnight. Drain and rinse. Put the soaked beans in a pot, cover with water, and boil for ten minutes. Turn off the heat and let the beans soak for an additional hour or two in the hot water. Drain and rinse, and add to slow cooker.
- Add: 1 small can tomato paste, and 3 c. water (Add more water if you like the sauce a little "juicier").
- Add 1/4 c. each of: BBQ sauce, prepared mustard, maple syrup, sugar.
- Add to taste: onion, garlic and bouillon powders, and salt.
- Most importantly (or this can be left out for Veg's) ... add a pound of chopped, uncooked bacon. Mmmm!

Bake on HIGH for at least 6 hours, or LOW 10 - 12 hours.

Serve warm with cornbread, or any other homemade bread. Can easily be reheated.