Gluten Free Cornbread

Finally back into the kitchen after a month of traveling and skiing. Unfortunately it's still snowing, so comfort food is still being cooked. This gluten free cornbread was not originally gluten free, but changes needed to be made because I couldn't live without this loaf in my life. The kernel was planted in my stomach at my favorite Manayunk brunch spot, Winnie's Le Bus. The best place to carb up on amazing bread and mimosas. You know a place sells good bread when it's shipped to NYC for Philly cheesesteaks. Now I have to double up on the mimosas when I visit my old neighborhood.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix*
• 1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 c. milk + 1 tbsp white vinegar)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
• 1 cup corn kernels (frozen or canned)

*The gluten free flour can be swamped out equally with regular flour if you prefer the taste of gluten.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degree and grease a 9 inch loaf pan, set aside. Try to use room temperature milk and eggs. Mix the dry ingredients together, the wet ingredients together, then combine with whisk. Once thoroughly combined, fold dry corn kernels into the batter and pour into the loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until cooked through.

Dry Ingredients:



Wet Ingredients:

 


































Combine wet and dry ingredients:


















Fold in defrosted/dry corn kernels:


















Add Butter and Eat:

 

Healthy Rice Pudding

Healthy rice pudding, my style of comfort food without guilt. I have a feeling rice pudding is going to be the next cupcake craze, there is already a little shop down the street that is soley rice pudding with 35 different flavors (all gluten free!). I never knew there were flavor options with rice pudding. My roommate and I stopped to sample, but in the end, I still prefer traditional rice pudding.

Why not use brown rice you ask? It doesn't absorb the liquid the same way and leaves the pudding runny. Believe me, I've tried. Sometimes, you have to suck it up and use the white rice. But rest assured, there is no added white sugar and very little fat here.

           

Ingredients 

1 ¾ cups water 

1 cup Carolina raw rice       

1/2-cup honey

1 Tbsp. Butter

1 tsp. Salt

2 quarts fat-free milk

1 well-beaten eggs

2 tsp. Gluten Free Vanilla

On medium high, add water and rice in large pot until water evaporates, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 cup of honey, butter, salt, and milk, cook on medium heat until thickens for 45-60 mins, uncovered. Stir very frequently.
Remove from the stove and add a tempered egg and another 1/4 cup of honey, stirring frequently. Reheat again until the right consistency and to ensure the egg is cooked.
Cool, uncovered or with paper towel and vented. Add vanilla and depending on your preference, add a sprinkling of either cinnamon or nutmeg.

This unfortunately does not freeze well.

Homemade Apple Sauce

Naturally sugar-free apple sauce tastes 1,000 times better than anything you can buy in the store. One thousand times. Promise. I'd like to say I've been spoiled with homemade apple sauce for years, but "spoiled" isn't the right word. Its too easy to make to consider this side dish, dessert, breakfast, snack, oil-substitute - whatever you want to categorize apple sauce as - as a luxury or labored food. Although apples aren't easily freezable - apple sauce is the best freezing fruit I know. Freeze as you would any other leftover and you'll always have the best quality apple sauce to defrost for later or swap out the butters and oils in baking recipes.

Ingredients
6 red apples
1/2 c. apple cider or water
1 tsp cinnamon
(makes 4 servings)

Tools:
Food mill

Directions
I will be making a lot more than 4 servings. When I make apple sauce, I make a big match of it.

Wash apples, cut into equal size wedges (most likely 6 wedges per apple) and place into a large pot on medium heat; pour cider/water over top and cover. Stir occasional for about 30 minutes, until the apples are completely tender, almost all cooked down, and easily crushed. Remove from heat, let cool for 15 minutes.

Spoon 3 ladle fulls of apples into the food mill and turn until completely empty. Dispose of skins. Continue adding more apples until all finished. Stir in cinnamon. Serve, refrigerate, or freeze - "have it your way".

Italian Tuna Salad

I've made this twice now, both times for Christmas Eve. Although tuna isn't the typical fish served for the Italian Christmas Eve, we aren't a picky family, we were just glad to get 7 "fishes."

Ingredients

nocoupons8 ribs celery from the heart with leafy tops, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
6 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can chick peas, drained
1 medium onion, chopped
A handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup pitted black or kalamata olives , coarsely chopped
2 - 6-ounce cans Italian tuna, drained
1 lemons + zest
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Directions
Flake tuna and place in medium bowl. Add the chopped celery, tomatoes, onions, parsley and olives, plus chick peas. Zest and juice a lemon, mix into salad along with olive oil; season with salt and pepper and toss.

 

 

 

 

Beef Stew

Snowed in. Pull the crockpot out, it's time to slow-cook. A fire is burning, red wine is poured, football is on, and the smell of stew fills the house. As much as the inability to leave your house frightens some, this is a dream come true for others. You have no other choice than to eat, drink and be merry. So let's eat beef stew, paired with red wine, and be very merry if the Giants win.

Ingredients:
3 lb chuck roast
6 garlic cloves
10 red potatoes
7 carrots, coins
2 medium onions, sliced
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 c. beef broth
1 -28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 - 16oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasonings

Directions:
Slice cloves of garlic in half, make 6 slits into beef and a half into the beef. Ground 6 garlic cloves and brush onto beef. Open the can of crushed tomatoes and add 2 crushed cloves of garlic and Italian seasonings. Scrub and cut potatoes into chunks, mix all veggies together, place in bottom of the crockpot. Add beef, then pour the two cans of tomatoes and broth over top. Put on high for 5 hours or low for 8-10 hours.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

Hours later:

 

Herb Polenta

Polenta. Naturally gluten free and such an easy dish, yet comes off as an intimidating dish. Most people don't even consider making it themselves, as if polenta is only available at a restaurants or in the pre-made tubes at the grocery store. The irony of polenta's intimidating myth is the dish is actually fool-proof. You can make it thick, soft, herby, plain, or cut into squares. There no real right or wrong way to serve polenta and it goes well with everything - fish, meats, veggies, fried eggs, made into croutons, and so much more.
Because basic polenta has very little flavor, I always do some general fresh herbs that won't over power any dish its served with - most often it will be multiple dishes for one batch.

 Served under fried eggs and bruschetta:

 

Ingredients

2 cups polenta or yellow ground cornmeal
6 1/2 cups broth, water, or stock
2 gloves of garlic
1 tbs fresh rosemary
2 tbs fresh parsley
1/4 c. parmesan cheese

3-4 tbs olive oil

Salt and pepper


10x15 rectangle baking sheet with edges (jelly roll pan)



Grease a 10x15 baking sheet, set aside. In a medium size pot over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil with 2 minced garlic cloves. Once garlic is toasted, add the broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, slowly whisk in the polenta to avoid clumps. Reduce heat to medium, add the rosemary, salt and pepper, then cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the polenta is cooked, add the parmesan cheese, parsley, and another tablespoon of olive oil. Immediately pour polenta onto the baking sheet and spread evenly. Let cool for 4 hours. Do not cover with plastic wrap while still hot otherwise the polenta will not set.
Once completely cooled, cut into squares and either grill or fry with oil in a pan on medium-high heat until both sides are golden brown. Serve with anything.