mint chocolate chip ice cream

when we got married, jane gave us a really wonderful cookbook — wonderful even though it contains zero food photography — called The Art of Simple Food.

in this book there is a recipe for ice cream that’ll stop your heart in more ways than one. it’s technically more of a custard, because it contains lots of egg yolks. it’s so rich and wonderful. we use a variation on the basic recipe for vanilla that makes it a mint chocolate chip ice cream. it calls for real, fresh mint leaves. in madison, we knew a house nearby that had a prolific supply of mint and so we’d snatch it from there, or else suck it up and buy it from the grocery. but here at our new house we have it growing in our own back yard. lots of it.

mint leaves from our yard!

so on this sunny day, aproned and feeling surprisingly upbeat considering that it’s my due date and i’m no where close being in labor, i went out and cut the sweet-smelling plant, brought it in the house and made us a great ice cream “batter”.

here’s the recipe…

egg yolks and heavy cream

best ever mint-chocolate chip ice cream

separate:

• 9 eggs

whisk the yolks just enough to break them up. put the whites aside for an egg-white omlete tomorrow morning.

pour into a heavy-bottomed pot:

• 2 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup sugar
• a pinch of salt

warm over medium heat until steaming, but do not allow to boil. stir to dissolve the sugar. add:

• 1 cup packed fresh mint leaves

when warm, turn off the heat and allow to steep for about 10 minutes. taste now and then, and strain when the flavor is to your taste. reheat the mixture. whisk a little of the hot liquid in with the egg yolks to temper them, then whisk the warmed yolks back into the hot whole milk mixture. cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. remove from the heat. stir in:

• 2 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

cover the custard and chill thoroughly.

put the chilled batter  into an ice cream maker. add:

• 1 1/2 cups chipped semi-sweet chocolate
  

freeze the chilled custard  and chocolate in in the machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

and THAT, is a little slice of heaven on earth. trust me.

the finished product

cheesy pancakes

when i was growing up, my mom had a specialty breakfast that we all looked forward to on those relatively rare occasions when she prepared it: cheesy waffles! oh yes, my friends, fluffy white waffles with shredded cheese in them that browned and crisped. then we smothered them in butter and white sugar. oh man. they were so good.

it’s been years since i’ve had a cheesy waffle, but for reasons unexplainable, i woke up thinking about them this morning. i wondered if i could recreate them gluten-free, and perhaps sans white sugar. but i also realized that i don’t have a waffle maker, so they’d have to be pancakes.

while tim still slept, i got out of bed and googled a few cheesy pancake recipes, then using the general idea from two of them, i got to work on creating my own rendition with healthy ingredients. i also made some cooked apples in butter and maple syrup to use as a topping instead of the white sugar.

on this spring morning, we are enjoying cheesy pancakes, watching our baby girl wiggle happily in my belly, and dreaming about the plans of God unfolding in our neighborhood. amen.

a stack of flapjacks

 

cheesy pancakes topped with maple apples

t enjoys a hot cup of french press coffee

we’re nearly 31 weeks pregnant now! can’t believe our amazing little baby is going to be here, outside my womb and in our home, in about 2 months. goodness!

sporting the silly pregnancy t-shirt

and then, because i’m sure you want to have cheesy pancakes, too, here’s the recipe that i came up with this morning. it should be noted, however, that all measurements approximate because i didn’t actually use measuring spoons/cups. i will not be held responsible for any bad pancakes that result from following this recipe to a “t”….

Cheesy Pancakes (GF)

• 1/4 cup oat flour (or just grind some oats in the coffee grinder to make a flour)
• 1/3 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup sorghum flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup plain kefir
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 Tbsp agave nectar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup grated cheddar or Monterey jack cheese
• 2-3 Tbsp sliced almonds

Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl. In another larger bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, mixing well. Then fold in the cheese and almonds.

Drop 1/4 cup at a time onto a preheated skillet. Cook about 2 minutes on each side, until golden.

Maple-Cinnamon Apples

• 2 golden delicious apples, diced
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Put all ingredients in a small sauce pan and simmer until apples are softened.

Serve over pancakes.

7 of 101: fresh bread, sans gluten

well, i’ve made plenty of quick breads in gluten-free fashion. there’s the zucchini chocolate chip bread, the banana bread, the polenta-pear muffins/bread…. all delicious. but the formidable, unconquered terrain of bread with YEAST in it had not yet been explored.

until today.

today my new friend erin came with purpose of baking a couple of loaves of gluten-free bread together. thankfully, erin is a seasoned bread-baker and i am a seasoned user of gluten-free flours. so between the two of us, we knew we had a good chance of success. we did some homework ahead of time, each finding a recipe that looked promising.

1. gluten-free multi-grain sandwich bread by karina, my gluten-free goddess (whose recipes never fail me)

2. gluten-free bread that just might make you cry [for joy] written up on Gluten-Free Bay, but apparently adapted from a Celiac.com recipe

we made a list of all the bazillion flours we’d need and headed out to woodman’s to purchase them all (luckily, i’ll use these flours for future projects). upon arriving home, she took recipe #2 and i took recipe #1. we mixed the two sets of dry ingredients, then the wet ones.

we poured the doughs into bread pans and allowed both loaves to rise a while in a warmed oven, even thought recipe #1 said it only needed 20 minutes to rise, we allowed it to rise for close to the 90 minutes recipe #2 required. (i love the image of a mound of dough in a porcelain loaf pan, covered in a cheese cloth. it’s so wholesome).

there is a lot of waiting involved with baking any sort of yeasted bread. thankfully, with the gluten-free varieties, there is no kneading involved, however. so, we sat in the living room, still apron-ed, sipping on mugs full of rooibos and talked about our life work, future dreams, and longings for adventure until the rising process was complete.

recipe #1 rose to high heaven, almost doubling in size. recipe #2, however, seemed flat. this did not change through the baking time.

while the loaves cooled, we had a simple meal of kale, sweet potato, and black-eyed peas, topped with feta and a side of corn tortilla.

then, along with t, who always shows up once the food is ready to eat, we sat down at the table and tried a half slice of each, with pasture butter spread on top.  we were careful to chew slowly, after sniffing, and noted aloud what we noticed about taste, texture, and aromas. for a few moments we were food critics, though perhaps not very qualified ones.

final verdict: both very decent breads (though i have a slight bias towards recipe #1). they actually taste and feel like BREAD, unlike many gluten-free store-bought options. worth doing again? yes, indeed. though erin will opt to stay with the traditional gluten-laden breads because, well, she can.

thanks to erin for a wonderful afternoon of baking, laughter, and good conversation. not to mention tasty eats.

ruby rice with chevre (a new christmas recipe)

cube the following veggies into 1/2-inch sizes:

• beets (3)
• sweet potato (1 large)
• butternut squash (1 cup worth)
• carrots (2 medium)
• parsnips (3 medium)
• yukon gold or red potatoes (6)
• fennel (1-2 bulbs)
• onion (1)

put all veggies in large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. sprinkle with cinnamon, allspice, basil, garlic powder, paprika, and salt (all to taste). toss to coat.

spread veggies on 1 or 2 large baking sheets or shallow baking dishes. roast on middle rack for 45 minutes, until edges brown and become crisp.

meanwhile, place the following ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil:

• 2 cups pure water
• 1 cup orange juice
• sprinkling of salt
• Tbsp of butter
• 1 1/2 cups wild/brown rice blend (e.g., Lundenberg)

once it reaches a boil, reduce to simmer, cover, and let cook about 1 hour.

once veggies are done roasting and rice is cooked, combine both in a large bowl. after the dish has cooled just a bit, add in 1 container of goat cheese crumbles and mix in (or you could add this to each individual serving on plates).

mayan harvest bake (a mimicking)

Inspired by the Kashi frozen dinner of the same name.

A few things you should know:

• I haven’t had the actual frozen dinner. My mom told me about it (she loved it) and it sounded amazing, so I decided to attempt to reproduce it, loosely.
• I read the ingredient list and worked from there. As usual when I make a recipe, all measurements are [very] approximate.
• I did not even attempt to incorporate in the Kashi 7-Grain Blend normally found in all Kashi products. It seemed sorta unnecessary to me.
• I couldn’t find a ready-made ancho chili sauce, so I bought dehydrated ancho chilies at the co-op, which I reconstituted in a small amount of boiling-hot water for 30 minutes or so.
• This was a LOT of work to make, because there are about 4-5 processes all going on simultaneously. But I think it is probably worth it if you’ve got the time and the inclination.

Ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp grapeseed oil
• ½ cup amaranth
• ½ cup cornmeal (polenta)
• ½ cup vegetable broth
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 3-4 fistfuls of kale, shredded
• 1 large plantain
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 2 Tbsp roasted, salted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

For the sauce (which is more like a salsa, uncooked):

• ½ large red onion
• 3 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
• 4 large cloves of garlic, pressed
• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 dehydrated ancho chilies, reconstituted and deseeded
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp raw sugar
• Sea salt
• 2 small tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Combine all the sauce ingredients, EXCEPT for the tomatoes and 1 of the ancho chilies, in a food processor and combine until it’s like a semi-chunky salsa.

Amaranth Polenta: In a small saucepan, heat 2 Tbsp of the oil over medium heat. Add ¼ cup of the of  the “salsa” and sauté for 2-3 minutes until it smells great. Stir in ½ cup amaranth and ½ cup of cornmeal. Stir in ½ cup vegetable broth and ½ cup water. Stir often while bringing to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the grains are barely crunchy and the contents have become like a semi-solid mass. Transfer this mixture to a shallow baking dish (9×9 inch or similar) and put aside to cool.

Now, to the remaining “salsa,” add the tomatoes and the remaining 1 ½ ancho chilies, and blend in the food processor. This is the sauce that will go over top of every thing else.

Chop the sweet potato into ¼-inch cubes. Toss with a bit of oil, salt, and pepper and put in a edged roasting dish for 30-40 minutes, until fork-tender.

Meanwhile, In a medium-size skillet, heat 3-4 Tbsp of oil over medium-high heat. Peel the plantain and slice into ¼-inch thick slices on the diagonal. Place the slices in the oil in the skillet. Sprinkle with chili powder, cumin, and salt. Fry for 5-8 minutes on each side until outsides are crispy and inside is tender.

Remove the plantains from the oil and set aside on a small plate. Add the kale to the same skillet and sauté until bright green and tender.

Slice the polenta into 4 equal-sized portions.

Once the sweet potatoes are done roasting, you’re ready to assemble the dish. I assembled it separately for each portion, giving each plate about 1/4^th of the total prepared ingredients.

This is the order I assembled it (bottom to top):

1. Polenta
2. Black beans (2 Tbsp)
3. Plantain slices
4. Roasted sweet potatoes
5. Kale
6. Ancho Chili sauce (2 Tbsp)
7. Pepitas (1/2 Tbsp)

VERDICT: It may or may not taste like the original frozen dinner, but it was still amazingly delicious. Tim and I sat there and marveled at the multi-layered tastes. It’s still lingering pleasantly in my mouth as I write this. And I’m feeling pretty proud of myself.