22/7

22/7, 3.141592..., pi, ... , PIE!!

Call it what you want, it's delicious.

Actually, to be honest, I've never been much of a pie person. Ice box, pudding pies? Well, maybe those. But nothing with fruit in it!

This is probably due to the fact that when growing up, I don't think my mom ever once made a home-made fruit pie. Thus, the only pies on which my opinions were based were those from boxes in the freezer.

Ah, the store-bought pie: cardboard-crust; gel-like, corn-syrup filling; unnaturally slimy-yet-crunchy fruit chunks. No, thank you.

There was, however, one freezer-fruit-pie that I could slightly bear, years ago. It was a Sara Lee "Fruits of the Forest" pie, and- like I said- it was bearable.


But then I went to Montana, this year and last year, and my grandparents made their own "Fruits of the Forest" pie. The berries may have been from the frozen section of Walmart, but the crust was purely from scratch. But of course full of butter and wheat and sugar and I couldn't eat any of it.

Thus, I created my own masterpiece upon return to the East coast. And, I must say, this is possibly my favorite thing I've ever made, and, I am now a pie convert.

So, I present: FRUTAS DEL BOSQUE: THE BERRY PIE
(when I was in Granada there was a Frutas del Bosque ice cream flavor at heladeria tiggliani, and thus anything "Fruits of the Forest" reminds me of that.)

THE RECIPE:

Crust:
1.5c garbanzo bean flour
1.5c millet flour
1.5 tsp potato starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c extra light olive oil (or coconut)

Filling:
1 bag frozen mixed berries (raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry combo)
1 tbs tapioca flour
15 drops stevia
1 tsp lemon juice

Prepare crust:
Combine dry ingredients, then slowly add oil, cutting it into the dough. Consistency should be stiffer than cookie dough. Place in fridge to chill.

Prepare filling:
Dump thawed berry mixture into a bowl. Use a fork and scissors to cut up large chunks (like big strawberries).Add tapioca flour and lemon juice, mixing thoroughly. Then sweeten with liquid stevia to taste. (Tapioca flour will thicken when heat-activated, so don't worry that filling will be runny until then)

Prepare pie!:
Remove about half of the crust dough, and roll out to 1/4 inch thick between two sheets of waxed paper.
Dough will slightly stick to paper, so use it to flip rolled dough into a pie tin.

Next, pour filling mixture into the crust.

Roll out the rest of the crust to make the top of the pie. Since this GF crust brakes rather easily, I don't recommend a solid top, unless you are feeling particularly brave, and have a whole lot of patience. Instead, I opted for the lattice.

Slice dough into 1-inch wide strips.
I insisted on a completely alternating under-over weave- which traditionally requires folding back the "over" strips. Seeing as this dough doesn't exactly "fold", I ended up doing a lot of patching.

This turned out fine, but it might be easier to be less rigorous with your weave, and instead just start laying a strip at one corner. Place the next strip to form the rest of the corner, 90 degrees to the first one. Continue working across the pie, laying each strip at 90 degrees to the last one. No folding necessary, but you also don't get the genuine weave.

Place pie on a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil, so that any overflowed filling doesn't make a mess.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 degrees, and bake until done- about 30 minutes.


Remove from oven and let cool until slicing.

Enjoy the flaky crust, fresh berry filling- just the right level of firmness!

Deeeeeelicious.

Seriously, this pie is delicious. I bought Rice Dream to put on it, but didn't even use it, because it was too good on its own. I gobbled it up within a week!

Happy National Waffle Day!!!

That's right, it's August 24! Time to celebrate those delicious squares of goodness. Today marks the anniversary that the U.S. patent was issued for the first waffle iron.

Oh, the waffle. In the bread-free world in which I roam, the waffle is a beacon of starchy hope. In addition to providing a "normal" breakfast food, it is a versatile substrate for infinite taste creations.

So many different sauces can be spread upon it.
So many different flours can make up its base.

Use it as bread for a sandwich! Use it as crust for a pizza! Use it as a "cone" for a sundae!
Best of all, waffle batter is a 3-minute miracle, as it is super fast to whip up, and slight variations never seem to harm the final product.

With a waffle in your stomach, the world is just a better place!

And thus I present, my hearty breakfast-of-choice, the UNIVERSAL CINNI-TEFF WAFFLE!!!!!

THE RECIPE:  (makes 4 belgian waffles- 4x5 square-size)

1 egg
~1 tbs extra light olive oil
~1/2 c  almond milk / rice milk / etc
1 tsp vanilla extract (sugar & alcohol free)
~ 2/3 cup teff flour
~ 1/3 cup cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 dash salt

Mix ingredients in a 2-cup measuring cup. First, beat together egg and oil. Next, add milk to make the total liquid level in the cup be a little more than 1c (this is the only step that I actually measure!). Add 1 tsp vanilla, and mix.

Add dry ingredients: Dump in ~1/2c teff, and add as much cinnamon as desired- I recommend lots! Add baking soda and baking powder, and stir mixture into batter. Continue adding more teff until batter is the consistency of very thick pancake batter.

Pour into pre-heated, ready-to-go waffle iron (waffle iron is hot-to-go, h-o-t-t-o-g-o !!!). These will rise much less than regular glutenous waffles, so it's okay to make the iron pretty full.

Enjoy your delicious little waffle!! Butter with coconut oil, and top as desired.
If you need inspiration, see the following:

1. 
Cinni-teff waffle with rhubarb sauce, blueberries, and vanilla coconut-dream ice cream, shown at the top of the page.

--> (WHITE PEACH RASPBERRY) RHUBARB SAUCE:
rhubarb
white peach
a few raspberries
dash salt
stevia to taste, if desired

---> throw everything into a pot with a small amount of water in the bottom. Simmer until all fruits are very mushy. Mush them, then simmer on low heat for a long time, until concoction has been reduced down to spreadable consistency.

White peaches provide enough sweetness that stevia may not be necessary, depending on how tangy you like your rhubarb sauce! Additional flavorings like cinnamon and nutmeg can be added as desired too.



2.
The French Gopher!

Yeah, that's right.

It's a GOPHER!!!!

Orr, a gaufre.

Coming to you from the lovely land of France!


On the streets of Paris, there are vendors selling this genuine Parisian delicacy. Smeared with nutella and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream: THAT is a true French Gopher.

(okay I call them gophers because (a) it's funny, and (b) i can't pronounce french.)

Anyway, recreate this masterpeice with cinni-teff waffle + almond butter + vanilla ice kream on top. MmmMmm.

I think the best combo is using Trader Joe's Roasted Creamy almond butter. Buuut some days I feel like the hearty TJ's almond butter with flax seeds, and other days I prefer the milder TJ's Raw almond butter. And I have to admit, I rarely put ice cream on top. (!)

I must say, though, that the nuttiness of this concoction really is a perfect complement to the Teff. I think it is a much better combination than some of the fruity variations that I have tried.


3.  
FLOUR VARIATIONS

You can use the same recipe as cinni-teff, substituting the cinni and the teff for nearly any GF flour, and still obtain delicious results. Three that I have tried are:

Coconut flour! Now add some fruit...

-Garbanzo bean flour waffle.  I add rosemary, extra salt, and use extra virgin olive oil instead of extra light. Makes a great lunch waffle, or a sandwich substrate! (though may be a bit dry- be careful!)

- Coconut flour waffle. Be careful- coconut flour's high fiber content makes it necessary to slightly alter the proportions here- otherwise your waffle will crumble and/or stick to the iron. As a guideline, use twice the egg and half the flour. This waffle is great with fruit on top! (or that rhubarb sauce...) It will have a nice flaky consistency, too.

- Millet + Garbanzo Combo waffle. Not gonna lie, I got this idea from my popover batter- and it turned out great! I used ordinary (cinni-teff) proportions, though it probably could have used a bit more oil. Taste was mild and pleasant- would be perfect to use as a sandwich bread.


4. 
WAFFLES FROM OUTER SPACE

Because some waffles are just too cool to have been born on earth.

First, there is the Green Giant Waffle (or, Little Green Sprout Waffle, if you prefer). To assemble, YOU WILL NEED:
1 waffle
some spinach
some sprouts
some avocado
and/or anything green you can find
also maybe some cheese.

DIRECTIONS: 1. cook waffle. 2. butter it if you want. 3. PUT EVERYTHING ELSE ON TOP. 4. eat.
It's good, I promise. And all that green stuff really justifies you eating yet another waffle.


Second, there is the amazing SUPER SURPRISE PIZZA WAFFLE!!!!

Mmmm, yeah, that's right, it's pizza and waffle AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!!!

And, there's a surprise. What is the surprise, you ask?????
THERE IS CHEESE IN THE WAFFLE BATTERRRR!!!!!!!!!

Ooey, gooey, (soy) cheesey goodness!

 Yes, I added a bunch of shredded mozzarella rice cheese to my millet-garbanzo waffle batter.

Although I had pictured gooey strings of cheese dripping from the innards of the belgian squares, the cheese really just added a nice flavor. But, stay tuned for updates as I experiment a bit further.

Anyway, this was a most-delicious waffle form, and easily constructed by spreading pizza sauce on the freshly-cooked waff, and sprinkling a handful of rice cheese on top. Yummo!


~~~~~~

As this National Waffle Day winds to a close, I sincerely hope that you have gotten the chance to eat at least one sweet waffle in this 24 hours. I was lucky enough to eat THREE! (two 1/2 cinni-teffs at breakfast, and one pizza-waffle plus one garb-millet for dinner)

I also would like to thank National Waffle day for bringing my family together for a waffle-filled dinner this evening. As I wished everyone a Happy  N.W.D. about a million times during the day, my mom was well-aware of the importance of the date. Thus, when stumped for something fast to make her and my dad for dinner, she whipped up her own waffles with a buckwheat mix... plus some eggs and turkey bacon!

So, for the first time in a long time, my parents and I sat around the table happily munching our waffs. And, when my sister came over hours later, the first thing she said was "Happy Waffle Day!!!" --and grabbed a leftover waff from the plate left out on the table.

What a wonderful day!! What a wonderful waffle!! What a wonderful world!!!!
Ilovewaffles.

Letter from 'Ome: The Butte Pasty

Brought to you from Butte, MT!

(half eaten because I couldn't resist taking a bite before taking a photo!)



Pasties are delicious. They're all the fun and convenience of hot pockets without the disgust and indigestion! Plus, they've got their own historical and cultural significance!


From the Butte Heritage Cookbook:

"Old-timers claim the pasty arrived in Butte, Montana along with the first housewives who followed their husbands into the mining camp. Long favored in the copper miner's lunch bucket, the pastry-wrapped meal was an ideal way for "Cousin Jeannie" to provide a hearty meal for the hard working "Cousin Jack." As the miner unwrapped his lunch, he would refer to the pasty as a "letter from 'ome." Its popularity spread quickly throughout the camp, and today the pasty is as much a part of Butte as the Berkeley Pit."

Image from www.bozemannet.com

Above:  Butte, Montana-- clearly celebrating the deliciousness of their pasties! And, the fact that I'm presenting you with a (relatively) ACD friendly version. Yippee!



Traditional recipes were made with beef, potatoes, and onion. As I don't eat red meat, I swapped that ingredient for chicken. This recipe is still high in carbs for the ACD, so use in moderation... or just fill with your favorite veggies!




THE RECIPE:


filling:

Boneless chicken thighs, chopped
White onions, chopped
Potatoes, diced

crust:

1.5 cups garbanzo bean flour
1.5 cups millet flour
3/4 cup extra light olive oil
1.5 tsp potato starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (a few pinches)

1. Chop filling ingredients and combine in a bowl.

2.  Combine dry crust ingredients. Add oil, and just barely mix (so that dough forms small beads). Chill in fridge before rolling out.





Roll a lump of dough between two floured sheets of waxed paper, until a bit less than 1/4 inch thick.












Next, place a lump of filling on one half of the dough circle, leaving space around the perimeter.




(this filling is actually too centered)

Fold dough over filling to form the pocket. Use the waxed paper under the dough to assist in the folding process.


Seal the two dough layers together around the perimeter of the pasty.


Use a toothpick or knife to poke steam holes on top of the pasty. For authentic pasty labeling, poke your initial into the top to let it be known that this is YOUR treat!


Preheat oven to 350 (??? TBD), and bake for ~45 minutes, or until golden brown, or edges are just beginning to brown. Remove and enjoy!

Pasties can be eaten hot or cold, with a fork or picked up sandwich-style.

Generally I find that hot-out of the oven, it's easier to go the fork route.

The cold leftover pasty to many is actually more delicious than the fresh version! Plus, its cold-ness makes it easier to pick up and bite, which is always fun.

Yummo!

Corn Syrup = Death

Image from http://www.caymanmama.com/2009/03/10/tip-of-the-day-high-fructose-corn-syrup_200903104230.html.

Mmmm, delicious sweet nectar? Think again, this is HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, the bane of all sweeteners!!!!!

In case you need another reason to limit your sugar intake, a news-breaking study has linked fructose intake to tumor growth. Some article excerpts:

"Sources of fructose in the Western diet include cane sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a corn-based sweetener that has been on the market since about 1970. HFCS accounts for more than 40 percent of the caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages, and it is the sole sweetener used in American soft drinks.

Between 1970 and 1990, the consumption of HFCS in the U.S. has increased over 1,000 percent, according to an article in the April 2004 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Food companies use HFCS—a mixture of fructose and glucose—because it’s inexpensive, easy to transport and keeps foods moist. And because it is so sweet, it’s cost effective for companies to use small quantities of HCFS in place of more expensive sweeteners or flavorings." (2)

"Pancreatic tumor cells use fructose to divide and proliferate, U.S. researchers said Monday in a study that challenges the common wisdom that all sugars are the same" (1)

 The interesting point in this study was that tumor cells used fructose and glucose differently, showing that there are differences in how the sugars were metabolized. Fructose in particular was required for tumor growth, as it was used in the transketolase-driven non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway to generate nucleic acids, which are subsequently used to generate DNA and RNA.

"A federal effort should be launched to reduce refined fructose intake," primary investigaror Heaney said.  ....agree.


Post article at (1):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/02/AR2010080204793.html

Full article at (2):

http://www.cancer.ucla.edu/Index.aspx?page=644&recordid=385&returnURL=%2findex.aspx

___________

ALSO:

so, I wanted a sweet image for this post and googled "high fructose corn syrup." First two thing I got? These images, and the yet another Washington Post article about the dangers of HFCS!

"A new study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy found that nearly half of the samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup they tested contained mercury, which is highly toxic. They also tested 55 major brand-name processed foods and beverages where high-fructose corn syrup is the first or second main ingredient, and found that about one third contained mercury"
(taken from this blog)

for a slightly less opinionated source: http://www.thorninpaw.com/mt/archives/cat_food.html