Refried Beans

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Don’t be dismayed by the lack of fancy ingredients in these refried beans. Pinto beans don’t need dressing up any more than an old pair of jeans. They are a main attraction in themselves. Serve them with nicely browned tortillas.

  • 2 cups dry pinto beans
  • 8 cups water

Cook beans in a pressure cooker (45 minutes) or the long way on the stove until just right. Drain and set aside most of the broth.

  • 3-4 tablespoons olive or canola oil
  • salt

Heat wide, flat saucepan on stove. Pour in oil. Pour in beans and a cup or two of bean broth. Salt to taste (be generous). Cook for 10 minutes, or until the beans begin to get creamy. Remove from heat and let cool. They’ll get even creamier and tastier as they sit in the bowl at the table.

I don’t know the history of the ‘re’ in refried beans, but once or twice fried tastes the same to me. If you make enough beans for leftovers, fry ’em up!

End note: When I was a kid, I loved to ladle out the bean broth from the top of the beans and salt it, drinking it ladle by ladle. You’ll have more broth than you can use for the beans. Refrigerate the extra, and drink it later salted and heated.

 

 

 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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We love this soup. Scott found it in the cookbook Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

Family notes from the page: 12/26/07: The Quinns and Sasha and Ben came over after sledding with the Peterson Brest Van Kempens and we ate this soup and masa cakes. We had fun. 

  • 5 pounds butternut squash (about 3), peeled, bulbous part cut from the stem part, then each part sliced in half, seeds removed
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium-sized onion, diced
  • 1 serrano chile, chopped (any chile will do, or you can omit if you don’t want it spice at all)
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
  • 4 cups vegetable stock, or 2 cubes vegetable bouillon dissolved in 4 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • juice of 1 or 2 limes, to taste

Preheat oven to 425F

Lightly coat the squash halves with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and place cut side down on a nonstick or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (if you don’t have a rimmed baking sheet then use baking pans, to prevent the oil from dripping onto the oven floor).  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the squash is tender and easily pierced with a fork.

When the squash is about 15 minutes from being done, in a stockpot over medium heat saute the onions in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 5 minutes.  Add the chiles; saute 5 minutes more.  Lastly add the ginger, garlic, and salt; saute 2 minutes more.

When squash is ready, puree in a blender or food processor along with the vegetable broth and sauteed onions, until smooth.  Return the mixture to the pot and heat through, add the maple syrup and lime juice, and serve.

Pumpkin Pie

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The coconut milk is what gives this pie a cow-dairy-like mouth feel. The tasty GF graham crackers are a good substitute for the usual wheat pastry crust, a GF version of which I haven’t yet managed to pull off. See “Pie Crust” for a tasty wheat flour crust.

For the Filling (recipe in progress 10.30.14)

  • 15 oz + 7.5 oz canned pumpkin
  • 2 large eggs or 3 small eggs
  • 12 oz coconut cream (sans liquid in the can) or *cow cream
  • 1 cup dextrose (or 3/4 cup sugar)
  • 1/4 cup real maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon clove
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

*1/2 whipping cream and 1/2 half-and-half

For the Crust

  • 100 grams gluten-free graham crackers (try Smoreables brand)
  • 100 grams *nut-seed-meal (e.g., walnuts, pecans, almonds, flax seeds)
  • 3 tablespoons melted salted butter
  • 2 tablespoons powdered dextrose (or 5 teaspoons table sugar)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (if not using salted butter)

*I used 50 g walnuts and 50 g flax meal.

Pour filling into crust. Bake at 350F for 50 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean. Cover the crust edges with foil before baking.

Anna and Maddie came home to help us prepare Thanksgiving dinner. Anna and I set out to make pumpkin empanadas, but we used this filling recipe (the dairy version) by mistake. We realized that pumpkin pie filling is liquid, and empanada filling is not. Anna added extra pumpkin, but there was no fixing it. We made a very tasty pie instead.

 

 

Peanut Butter Cookies

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This recipe is an adaptation of the foolproof, yummy Betty Crocker recipe that I grew up with. The salt, sweet and peanut butter flavors are just right in this gluten-free version.

  • 1 cup *dextrose (or 7/8 cup table sugar)
  • 2 tablespoons **molasses
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup salted peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup salted butter
  • 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil or non trans fat shortening
  • 1/4 cup flax meal
  • 1/2 cup ***teff flour
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (3/4 t. if no salted butter)

Mix the wet ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients. Blend the two mixtures together. Bake at 350F for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

*Ratio of fructose to glucose in sugars: dextrose 0-100; sucrose (table sugar) 50-50; HFCS 42-53 or 55-42.

**Barley malt syrup (100% glucose) has the same flavor as molasses but is not GF.

***Or any other flour (like wheat, oat, buckwheat, more coconut). Bob’s Red Mill makes teff flour.

Baked Beans

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These beans make a divine dish for a party or a campout. Topped with a rosette of thin tomato wedges and broiled until blackened around the edges, they’re as pretty as they are tasty. You can add the protein of your choice for a different flavor. Smoked tempeh is a good option.

  • 3 red, orange or yellow bell peppers, diced
  • 2 onions, diced
  • 3-4 tablespoons olive oil

Saute until semi-soft.

  • 2  6-0z cans tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons chipotle (or other) hot sauce
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 1/2 cup dextrose powder (or 1/3 cup table sugar)
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
  • bean juice from 2 cans of beans (see below)
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Blend.

  • 4 cans navy beans (or other white bean), drained

Stir together beans, sauce and sauteed peppers and onions. Place in large stoneware bowl. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F.

  • 1 tomato, sliced into thin wedges

Take the beans out of the oven. Decorate with tomato wedges to fill the top surface. Broil for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are blackened around the edges and the sauce has begun to caramelize on top.

Helen’s note:

We have taken these beans camping for years with the girls and their many cousins. We recently served them at our empty nest party, celebrating 25 years of parenting three lovely daughters (we did it!) and our return to the twosome we created so long ago. In those days, our favorite meal was instant mashed potatoes, blackened hot dogs and canned green beans. You will see after eating these beans that we have been practicing in the kitchen a bit since then.

June 2016 note:

Barbecued Tempeh

My sister Katherine her husband Tomás asked me to convert this recipe to the grilled barbecued tempeh that Scott and I served them on their recent visit when they came to town for the Ragnar race (go, Team What Was I Thinking? !). Here it is:

Make the sauce as described above. Cut the tempeh into slices about 3/8″ thick. Boil them for 15-20 minutes to expand the tempeh. Lay the slices out on a well oiled baking pan. Brush them with sauce and broil. Turn midway through and brush the other side. Broil until just blackened. Enjoy!

 

Veggie Red Chile Stew

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Christmas 2013

Last night I made two pots of chile: red chile with liver broth and veggie red chile. Guess which one was better? You got it. Moral: NEVER put liver broth in ANYTHING. Corollary: Never stretch a pot of liver chile hoping to dilute the taste. You just get more. Here’s how to make the excellent veggie version:

Saute:

1/2 onion, diced
3 corn tortillas, ripped up
2 tbsp olive oil

Add and saute:

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons New Mexico chile powder (or other medium-hot variety)
1 tablespoon paprika

Stir in:

1 15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes,
1 can water (or more)
2 cubes veggie bouillon

Et voila!

 

Camping Cakes

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You can call these flax cakes if you’re serving them to adults, but they taste better to children if you call them camping cakes.

  • 3 tablespoons flax meal
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil, virgin or liquid

1. Mix all ingredients in a cereal bowl. If you use room-temperature virgin coconut oil, it will be difficult to blend completely, but the lumps will resolve in the baking.

2. Cook approximately 1 minute 15 seconds in a microwave oven. Let cake sit for one minute. Swipe a knife around the inside of the bowl and remove the cake. Slice it in half horizontally to make two round slices.

3. Or bake: Make four recipes; pour into in a 12-count muffin pan; and bake in a 350F oven until golden brown. Skip step 4 below.

4. Toast in a toaster oven for about 3 minutes. Spread with butter or oil spread . Top with jam or syrup.

High-Protein Variation

  • Add 1 tablespoon plain gelatin powder

Camping Tip

Pack untoasted cakes in your cooler. Brown cakes in oil at breakfast time in a pan on a cookstove. Serve.

Caramel Sauce

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The delightful Feldman sisters, 9-year-old Leah and 6-year-old Evann, helped me make this excellent sauce on a recent visit to their parents’ home in Petaluma, California.

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 stick salted butter
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Caramelize the sugar in a narrow, deep pan (stir slowly over medium heat until the sugar becomes a golden-brown syrup).

Add butter one pat’s worth at a time, allowing the butter to melt before adding more.

Pour in the cream a couple of tablespoons at a time, allowing the caramel mixture to resume  boiling before adding more.

Serve liberally over vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

Note of caution: fiery hot temperatures result during the cooking process. Adult supervision required.

 

 

Flax Coconut Oil Chocolate Cookies

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I love these cookies. Also see excellent vegan and raw versions at the end of this post.

  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened)
  • 2/3 cup flax meal
  • 2/3 cup dextrose (glucose as powder; common baker’s sugar)
  • 2/3 cup cocoa (or 1 cup ground cocoa beans/nibs)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla (best is Madagascar, Mexican or Dominican Republic)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Combine. Roll into balls. Place 1″ apart on a cookie sheet. Smash flat. Bake at 350F for 14 minutes.

Upon leaving the oven, the cookies will be moist and fragile. Remove them carefully from the cookie sheet to a cooling rack. After coming to room temperature, the cookies will have a perfect crunchy chew.

Variations: Add chopped walnuts or pecans. Add dark chocolate chips (my favorite is 90%).

My friend Maureen gets the prize for trying this recipe out first. Hers were excellent. Thanks for sharing, Maureen! Friends who bake are the best kind, aren’t they?

March 2014

Vegan Version – Raw or Baked

  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup coconut flakes
  • 2/3 cup flax meal
  • 2/3 cup dextrose (glucose as powder; common baker’s sugar)
  • 2/3 cup cocoa (or 1 cup ground cocoa beans/nibs)
  • 1 scoop chocolate protein power (10g protein)
  • 3 tablespoons rum
  • (baking powder not necessary for raw version)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla (Madagascar or Dominican Republic)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (for baking but fine for raw too)

Roll into balls of 1 heaping tablespoonful. Bake 5 min at 350F (if you prefer) and let sit in cooling oven. Excellent raw too.

Anna came for dinner just because.  What a nice surprise. We  had these for dessert, but I served them blackened. This is how we found out five minutes is enough. – Helen 

April 2016

Not a recipe but related to food…

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Just for grins and to see what my body would do, I tried a ketogenic diet for a few days (for various reasons that I don’t want to go into here).  Well, for about three days I ate a high-fat, medium-protein, and low-carb diet.  I ran two times–four miles on the first day and five miles on the last day–just to make sure all my glycogen was gone.

I crashed late at night the last day.  I couldn’t get to sleep because my heart was pounding and I had started to wonder what I had done to myself.  So at 11pm I got up and “carbed up” a bit with a banana, some corn syrup (for that extra kick of carbs), and some garbanzo beans.  I could feel my heart doing less pounding but still wasn’t able to get to sleep.  The carb-kick lasted for a a few hours and then I was back to a pounding heart and a sleepless night.  I slept maybe 2 hours and got up at 5am to eat a big bowl of steel cut oats and to start my recovery from too few carbohydrates.

For any of you who do want to try a ketogenic diet (there are some benefits from a low blood glucose level), you might want to check into cyclic ketogenic diet (CKD) as you get to replenish weekly (even mid-week!) so it might be more maintainable!

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