Almond Cherry Cookies

I came across this recipe in the LA Times, knew I had to try it, but wanted to wait until Kaitlyn came for Christmas because the recipe is naturally gluten-free. It was worth my patience. The LA Times has been a source of many of my favorite recipes over the years--my butternut squash soup is the best I've ever tasted anywhere, anytime, and it's straight from the Food Section, as is the turkey chili also found in this blog.

This cookie recipe is from a bakery in Berkeley, requested by a reader in the Culinary SOS column because it is gluten free. I've never had a substitute-ingredients gluten-free baked good that was quite as satisfying as the original, but half my cookie recipes simply don't include flour. Who needs it when almonds, sugar, and egg whites make such a perfect bite?

The only change I've made in the instructions is the cookie size. The bakery's instruction was to form the balls from 2 tablespoons of dough, supposedly 1 ounce. I used my 2-Tbl meatball scoop and formed a few cookies, and realized they'd be 'way too big. So I weighed 2 Tbl of dough, and it was 2 ounces, not 1. I also changed how I formed the dough around the cherry. I like things easy.

Almond Cherry Cookies

About 30 dried cherries, preferably sour

1 pound blanched almonds

2 cups sugar

3 egg whites

1/2 tsp almond extract

pinch salt

Place cherries in a pyrex bowl and pour boiling water over to soak. Grind the almonds and sugar together in a food processor until a fine, flour-like texture. Add egg whites and almond extract and pulse until the dough comes together and balls up. Wrap in plastic and chill. Drain the cherries and lay out on paper towels to dry a bit.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line cookie sheets with silpats or parchment. Form 1-ounce cookie balls using a 1-tbl scoop or spoon. Flatten the center of the ball with your thumbs, place a cherry in the dent, and wrap the dough up around the cherry to make a ball again. Place cookies about 1 1/2 inches from one another on the sheet, flattening a little.

Bake for about 20 minutes until lightly golden at the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through for even baking. Cool completely on a wire rack before storing in a sealed container.

We all loved the cookies, assuring ourselves that this much almond must be healthy (as I assure you it is). Tim was conducting a series of gin and whiskey tastings along with the cookies, and I highly recommend St. George Botanivore gin as the perfect accompaniment. Kaitlyn and I wondered why the recipe didn't just call for almond meal, but then decided that the chemical reaction from grinding the almonds with the sugar was likely an essential component of flavor and/or texture. And, it makes the house smell really good.

Next time I make this recipe I'm planning to try variations--dried dates, cranberries, or apricots soaked in a little Cointreau could be delicious. Basically anything that pairs well with almonds. The one guarantee is that this recipe is going into regular rotation, because it is so easy, and heaven in your mouth.

Chicken Noodle Soup

When a nasty head cold fells your boo, it calls for a bowl of simple, easy comfort. Something that's ready quickly but will still taste fresh and go down easy tomorrow because one of you will be home with the tissue box while the other is off at work.



That's what originally inspired this soup, but honestly it's good for any occasion during those 6 months of the year when the temps dip below 70 degrees here in Southern California.


Most or all of these ingredients are already in your pantry. I keep chiles on hand because they enhance flavor of soup, marinara, and anything else you make. Pasilla delivers a milder heat than jalapeno; I tend to dice jalapeno fine and keep pasilla pieces larger or use a greater amount unless I'm really catering to Tim's tastes--which run gentler than my own. For this recipe the red bell pepper's sweetness balances the pasilla's pop.

I like rice noodles because they cook so easily (you don't even have to boil them--time spent in warm water does the trick) and keep their texture over time instead of getting mushy like traditional noodles. Also, because they're made of rice they provide needed simple, easily digestible carbs.

1 chicken breast
3 stalks celery
2 carrots
1/3 onion
1/3 red bell pepper
1/3 pasilla chile
Thai rice noodles
1 box unsalted chicken stock
Salt
Herbes de Provence

Put your pot over a low flame to preheat. Dice the vegetables. An inner leafy stalk of celery makes a nice flavor enhancement.


Turn up the heat and saute the veggies in oil for a couple of minutes.

Dice the chicken breast and add to pot along with the chicken stock and a teaspoon of herbes de Provence. VEGETARIANS: pour two to three beaten eggs into the liquid instead of the diced chicken.





Yes, I use commerically-made stock. Who has time to make their own? This unsalted version is simple and flavorful.

Simmer for 10 minutes over low flame. Break a fat handful of rice noodles into thirds, add to the pot, and continue simmering over very low flame for about 10 minutes more. Taste for salt (it'll need 1/2 teaspoon or so), and add water if necessary.

That's pretty much it. Ladle up a bowl for your boo, and while you're at it, one for you too.

Fusion Fiesta!

It started with shakshuka, which I made for a friend who came to lunch yesterday. Depending on whom you ask, that dish is Lebanese, Israeli, or North African--which as far as I understand it, is the dish's actual origin, though it's apparently all the rage throughout the Middle East and certainly here in the American West. Coming home from the gym today, I was hungry and in a hurry, and knowing I'd be out of town for a few days, I also needed to use up whatever fresh was in the fridge. Out came all the leftover bits of shakshuka veggies--eggplant, onion, red pepper, yellow zucchini, rainbow chard and parsley. Some uncooked roti (which is kind of like a whole wheat tortilla, but much better texture than even a regular tortilla) from the local Indian market.




I sliced and sauteed all the veggies fajita-style with a little cumin and herbes de provence (Mediterranean/North African/Indian? Whatever, the two go together wonderfully).



Cooked a fresh roti on my comal (Mexican/Central American griddle) and wrapped it up like a nice big taco with some goat cheese.




It came together so quickly and made the perfect light yet fulfilling lunch. Whole food, whole grain, fresh, and delicious! Oh, and whole-world, too...

Persistence of Memory Cornbread Edition

This is a quick post because I'm pretty busy today which is why I made cornbread. I love me some good carbs, but if they aren't complex they just don't stick to your ribs and won't even take you halfway through a busy morning.


So this cornbread is not for the faint of heart, nor for those who think that yellow cake-like substance made with a little highly-refined cornmeal and a lot of self-rising white flour qualifies as cornbread. This cornbread will stand up to the hottest chili or stand alone as a satisfying meal, slathered in butter and honey.

This is not the cornbread my mother made in my childhood, but like my mother I made major tweaks to a basic recipe and turned a good dish into something both tastier and healthier. Packed with nutrients, this bread has a very low glycemic index. It is moist with great crumb texture.

Carmen's Cornbread

Preheat oven to 400. Put a cast-iron skillet on low heat on stovetop.


1 1/2 cups whole grain cornmeal, medium grind
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbl chia seeds
1 Tbl flax meal

1 egg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups milk (I use coconut beverage)
1/4 cup oil


Mix dry ingredients together. Mix egg into pumpkin puree (to ensure even egg distribution in batter), then stir all wet ingredients into dry. Mix until well-incorporated. Distribute a little oil or butter into preheated skillet, then pour batter in.

Bake for 30 minutes, test for doneness with toothpick. Set skillet on a rack to cool. This bread needs to rest for at least an hour or two before slicing into wedges. It tastes best after a few hours, or the next day.

Let them eat cake

Last night was girl's movie night--Moonlight, which had recently won Best Picture. I promised Tatum and Wendy dessert that we could eat sitting on the sofa. My mouth was in the mood for apple cake, but it was too sticky. We needed something light and special we could hold in our hands. While you might normally associate French desserts with little tarts, fussy bonbons, and so forth, my favorite French sweet is Yogurt Cake.

Lemon Rosemary Yogurt Cake

¾ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 Tbls lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp vanilla
½ cup vanilla yogurt
3 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 Tbls fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Glaze (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar
3 - 4 Tbls fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan or two small cake rounds with cooking spray. (1 large cake round will probably work, but the center might be a little moist.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add lemon juice, zest, and vanilla. Add yogurt, and add eggs one at a time. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, add rosemary, and add to bowl. Mix for an additional minute, scraping the bowl, until everything is smooth and combined. Pour into pan(s).

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes for loaf pan. 20 - 30 minutes for smaller pans. Test with toothpick. Cook in pan for 10 minutes. Take cake out of pan and cool completely on a rack.

If glazing, whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over cake, let glaze completely set.

Cake tastes best after a few hours or the next day.

The Persistence of Memory

If you share my addiction to Chopped you know the judges loooove the Evocation of Childhood and gush over any competitor’s mention of grandmothers, memories, moms, yah yah yah. Oh, gawd. Alright already. And then I’m trying to decide what to bake for my father-in-law’s 87th birthday and the only thing that really feels right is Fresh Apple Cake. It is my mother’s go-to dessert, so easy to make, yet special enough that I and my siblings often requested it to celebrate our own birthdays.

Just dipping a finger into the batter today planted me right in the middle of my mother’s kitchen, and the aroma wafting through the oven’s vents flooded my soul with the warmth of childhood, all the yah yah yah from those chefy judges suddenly a cliche no longer.

My mother took this recipe from An Apple a Day: Vegetarian Cookery by Doctors’ Wives, a cookbook whose subtitle promises little in the way of imagination or variety, and although it has its share of gluten-steak recipes there is in fact a wide range of great dishes; it is also the origin for my love of Lebanese food.

As usual this is not the exact recipe from said cookbook. My mother always tweaks, and always for the better. Since I didn’t make today’s cake for a family of six or a church potluck, I halved the recipe, used two 6” cake pans, and it baked just as well.

Fresh Apple Cake

Oven 350. Oil and flour a 9x12 pan.

4 cups peeled diced apples (my mom always just shreds hers. The texture is a little smoother when shredded; both are very good. If you dice, make sure to cut very small pieces, less than ¼”)

2 cups sugar (feel free to cut this down: I use 1½ cups and like the sweetness level much better)
2 eggs
½ cup oil (I often use 1/3 cup)
1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

Blend oil, sugar, eggs. Add vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients and add along with apples. Mix quickly and thoroughly. Fold in nuts. Pour into prepared pan. Bake about 40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Tomorrow night we’ll eat Joe’s cake with vanilla ice cream. I think this cake is most perfect with lightly sweetened cream, whipped soft so that it relaxes just a bit atop your slice.