The good news. The bad news.

There's no way to sugarcoat this. 

 I have found a wonderful gluten-free pastry recipe.

Yes, it's both good news and bad news.  Before I stumbled upon this amazing combination of most edible ingredients, I had the excuse (and the weight loss to support) not to ever eat another piece of pie.  *Sob*  Yet, faced with the prospect of Christmas traditions falling willy-nilly by the wayside, I just had to make a mincemeat pie.  H.A.D. to.  I did lots of research and this is what I came up with:

Gluten Free Mama Almond Blend Flour and Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pastry Recipe.  The mincemeat was mine - canned three years ago and almost forgotten in a corner of my canning cupboard.  As part of my resolve to get organized and work/eat my way through my voluminous canned stores, I found four pints of mincemeat.  And it was darned good, too! 

(The link to the Bob's Recipe site is down temporarily, so here it is, with my changes)

Easy as Pie Crust (Gluten Free)*

1-1/2 Cups GF All Purpose Flour (I used GF Mama Almond Blend)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup Margarine (I used Earth Balance Shortening)
4 Tablespoons cold milk

The recipe directs you to cut fat into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter.  I am too impatient for that.  I put the dry ingredients into the food processor, pulsed it a few times, then added the cold shortening cut into cubes, pulsed it until it was crumbly, with some pea-sized pieces of shortening.  Then I sprinkled the cold milk on top and pulsed until it clumped together.  I gathered it into a loose ball and rolled it out between two pieces of waxed paper. 

To bake the pie crust alone, bake at 400 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes.  With pie filling, bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F for an additional 40 minutes.  Be careful to check the edges of the crust for over-browning and cover with foil if it gets too brown too fast.

*The recipe is for a single crust - I doubled it with no problem, although I did have to add more milk - about a half cup, plus two tablespoons.

I apologize for not having taken a picture.  By the time I thought about it, dinner was over and the remaining pie had been divided up between my parents and guest.  I am very well acquainted with my total lack of self-control - I cannot be trusted alone with pie.  And now I have to try to ignore the soft, pleading whispers from my two four-pound bags of GFM's Almond Blend beckoning me from the freezer - "Make More Pie.  Make More Pie".  LALALALALALA.

Comfort Food - GF Style.

After a brief (and mostly missed by me) break in the Gray Condition, it's back.  This endless grayness called for some serious Comfort Food.  While the 'old' me would have whipped up a turkey-roaster full of mac and cheese/heavy on the cheese, the 'new' me sat in deep thought last night and noodled it over.  Noodles!  I made one of my new favorite comfort foods, full-on comfort low-on fat and no gluten.  I did not take pictures, of course.  If I thought my photography skills were rocky before spending a few days with a professional photographer, the aftermath may find me never lifting my camera again.  Kidding!  I'm not that intimidated.  But, I do now try to look at what is in the viewer with a more careful eye.  I will need a few thousand more lessons.

Pork, Apple and Miso Noodle Soup

(based, albeit loosely, on a recipe from the September 2012 issue of Eating Well Magazine)

Approx 10 oz of ground pork
2 tart, crisp apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
pkg rice noodles
1/4 cup of white miso (and, yes, I have two kinds of miso lurking in my fridge...)

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, cook the pork until there is no pink on the outside, stirring to break the larger pieces up.  If the pork is not lean (and mine never is), pour off most of the fat.  Your dogs will thank you when it appears on their breakfast kibble.  Stir in the apples and cook until slightly tender, stirring occassionally - about 2-3 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil.  Add the noodles and cook according to package directions or to your own taste.  Just before the noodles are done, carefully scoop out about a half-cup of the cooking liquid and stir it into the miso in a small bowl.  Return the miso mixture to the soup and stir in.  Remove from heat and serve.  You'll want to wrap your arms around your soup bowl and give it a great, big hug!

Cookin'!

You can sure tell when Summer has transitioned into Fall - I am in the kitchen and happy about it!  This past summer had me avoiding it like the plague.  Thank goodness, there were no two-legged dependents relying on three meals coming out of that particular space in my house.  The only thing I was capable of in 90+ degree days with 150% humidity, was slinging some kibble in a bowl with a splash of heavy cream.  Heavy cream, you say?  Don't ask.

But now -- I was cookin' up a storm this past weekend:  deviled eggs and plum crumble (GF) to go with  fried chicken and the delicious (quinoa) pasta salad my sister made for our mother's surprise birthday picnic; then peach crumble made from the same recipe - not quite as good, but I ran out of plums; my new favorite soup, recipe borrowed from Kim's stellar weekly menu - always a source of inspiration, then a turkey meatloaf stuffed with spinach, accompanied by garlic smashed potatoes for Kay and Nick (rather bland - I forgot the cheese in the stuffing! - but they were kind and et it anyway), and, finally, some of Marianne's amazing pork chops, marinated in soy (Bragg's) and lemon and garlic (see recipe here).  I also squeezed in a round of cheesemaking and have a nice, fresh pound of mozzarella in the fridge. 

My second planting of lettuce - although spotty on the germination front - has yielded enough leafy greens to get me through a couple of weeks.  I'm glad I have the cold frame, as Tuesday morning's temperature (at 4:30) was 32 degrees!  I am going to try to plant some spinach in the 'bald spots' to see if I can keep this up throughout most of the Fall and Winter. 

Speaking of the garden, it is a sorry sight, indeed.  I have prepped two beds for the spring - one will be planted in garlic this fall.  I have to pull out the tomato plants - which are still loaded with tomatoes, but I am so beyond caring - and I am still hopeful that I may get two whole pumpkins and four whole winter squash out of my half acre (not nearly, but still...) of plants that got zapped by powdery mildew.  I will give them a couple more weeks, and then out they go.  I've got my seed garlic ready and will put it in Columbus Day weekend.  I still have to harvest and dry herbs, and transplant my rosemary plant to a pot for safekeeping over winter, and cut down the strawberries to be ready for their nice straw blankie.  The leaves are turning and it's time to tuck things in for the year.

You can put this stuff on EVERYTHING!



The lowly nut of the pea.



Well, maybe not on herring or sardines.  I suppose, if you have a cast iron stomach and a penchant for some serious food fusion, you could.  But this is my new favorite sauce that I have put on tofu, rice, noodles, chicken, pork, and green beans.  And I have just started - nothing is safe.  The sauce recipe originated from the Vegan Coach.  While I am a little leery of a vegan queen called Sassy with a newsletter entitled the "Golden Banana", she does have some great sauce, dip and dressing recipes that are gluten free. 

Anyhoo, I have tweaked this recipe often, as every time I get the burning urge to make it, I am missing an ingredient or two.  It is very forgiving.  And delicious:

Rich Vegan Peanut Sauce

1/4 Cup Tamari (smoother taste) or Bragg's Liquid Aminos (saltier)

1/8 Cup brown rice vinegar (I usually use regular rice vinegar and it's fine)

1/3 Cup water
1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup (have used agave nectar as well)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1- inch piece fresh ginger (or ground, to taste)
2/3 Cup chunky peanut butter (I use creamy, 'cause that's what I have)
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil (I usually use more because I LOVE it)
1/2 teaspoon paprika (forgot it this time and the sauce survived)
1-2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (or red pepper flakes) or to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  You can adjust the thick/thin-ness of it by either adding more peanut butter or more water.  Serve immediately or chill.  Let the sauce come to room temperature before serving.  I have kept this in the fridge for weeks.