Gluten-free quichelettes

I like having gluten-free options for family and friends, but a lot of recipes try too hard to recreate all aspects of a non-GF dish. I like things that are more naturally-occurring GF--something everyone at the table would choose to eat, not just those who have no other choice.

When I saw a box of gluten-free stuffing mix at Trader Joe's, it just struck me that those crunchy croutons would make a great base for quichelettes, and happily I turned out to be right. The croutons themselves were so tasty I kept snacking on them as I was preparing the dish, which was itself inspired by a recipe I'd seen on Pinterest, sponsored by Bisquick.

The final product is a little handful of quiche with a creamy eggy filling soaking down the vegetables into the crouton base layer that stays just the right amount of crunchy.

So, here's the process:

Sautee whatever vegetables you want to use. In my fridge I found onion, roasted pasilla chile, and purple kale. Next time I'll probably opt for green onion and red bell pepper, and definitely chop everything into more consistently-sized pieces as this first attempt is a bit ragged with the pieces of kale and cheese sticking here and there.

Spray muffin tins and put in a base layer of croutons.

Then spoon in a small amount of the sauteed vegetables. Top with shredded cheese--I used a combo of cheddar and a four-Italian-cheese medley.

For 14 quichelettes I whipped 4 eggs with one cup heavy cream until frothy, added salt, pepper, and thyme, then poured a little into each muffin cup, distributing as evenly as I could.

After about 10-12 minutes in a 425 oven, the tops were puffy and nothing jiggled, so out they came. Next time I'll include a little less vegetable filling, keeping the same amount of cheese and egg. I might crush the croutons a little so they make a little more consistent base layer. However, now I know I have an excellent base recipe that is super-easy to make and can handle all sorts of variations. This could be made with regular croutons of course, but the flavor and extra crunchiness of the gluten-free ones are definitely my first choice for this recipe.

Hungry for hearty

This is a super-quick post about a mash-up I just did of two favorites: potato leek soup and butternut squash. A pile of beautiful leeks at the market called for that wonderful classic, but I needed something with more oomph for this busy day. And, as you all know, I adore butternut squash. I knew throwing it all together wouldn't be a failure, but happily it turned into possibly my favorite soup yet.

So here are the details:

All these amounts are suggestions--vary according to supplies and taste

2 fat russet potatoes, skins scrubbed, chopped into 1" chunks
1-2 carrots, chopped
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
Big hunk of butternut squash, peeled, chopped into 1" chunks (probably about 8 oz)
2-3 leeks, cleaned, chopped (stick with mostly the white part unless you're going for extra vitamins--the green takes extra long to cook)
1/2 pasilla chile, chopped
1 tsp salt
4 oz butter

Throw all this into a big pot, cook and stir until butter is melted and coats all the vegetables.

Add 1 qt no-salt-added vegetable stock plus 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and cook 30+ minutes until everything is tender and stock is reduced below vegetable level.

Remove from heat, add about 2 cups milk or coconut milk or whatever creamy liquid you like. Puree with immersion blender until smooth(ish).

This will keep several days in the fridge (if it doesn't all get eaten straight from the pot).

Butternutty Autumn

If you've read a few of my blog posts you know how I love butternut squash. After a ramble in the hills this afternoon, we were hungry for something quick, especially since a baseball playoff game was about to start. A quick look through the fridge yielded a carton of fresh butternut squash triangnoli, kale, zucchini, and a hunk of butternut squash, part of which had already gone into last weekend's bean stew. Is it piling on to make a sauce with the same squash that's inside the pasta? Not when it's my favorite!

I diced the butternut into small cubes for a quick saute.

Next came onion and a single clove of garlic--the sweetness of the squash-filled pasta needs to take precedence. I let that get pretty brown before adding the diced zucchini.



I dropped the kale into the pasta water before it fully boiled, to take out any bitterness.

After a couple of minutes I drained and chopped it, then added to the other vegetables along with butter and a handful of chopped pecans and turned the heat down low.

The fresh triangnoli takes about 4-5 minutes to fully cook. I added goat milk yogurt to the vegetables for a little simmer, and then the pasta. It didn't end up wanting any salt.

This was a simple but super-delicious meal. With so few ingredients it doesn't necessarily merit it's own blog post, but this is more about finding what's in the fridge and figuring out how to pull it together quickly. Most pasta sauces have so much crap in them--sugar, sodium, generic flavors. This sauce hits several positive notes--fresh nutritious ingredients with flavors that enhance the fresh pasta rather than overwhelm it. The goat milk yogurt adds a lightly savory undertone--if you want a really creamy sauce just add more of it.

Kale and butternut squash are both sturdy enough to last a while in the fridge, so it's not a bad idea to keep them on hand. Kale pumps up the nutrition level with mild pleasant bitterness that, when unwanted, is more easily negated than with spinach. Butternut squash can take the place of potatoes in a breakfast hash, making a meal that will take you through the busiest Sunday morning chores. I buy a big one and keep hacking off sections of the long neck. It's easy to peel with a vegetable peeler.

I eat butternut squash year-round, but here in the fall season, everything seems to taste better with a little butternut.

Oh, Lovely Lilting Lemony Limoncello!

My dear friend Jennie just returned from Italy, bringing with her a bottle of the limoncello she and her husband learned to love (when she and I traveled there together 30 years ago, the most we drank was a little rotgut wine made by one of the architecture students we partied with on New Year’s Eve. It was not good).

I knew just what she meant when she rhapsodized about this delightful liqueur. Years ago the LA Times ran an article about proper Italian limoncello, taught to the writer by a very traditional little old lady in Italy. I made a couple of batches which lasted a long time (mostly because even though a little goes a long way, I was rather parsimonious with gifting it). Then I got lazy and bought a bottle--that one lasted even longer because it just wasn’t the same pure, perfumed elixir the Italians intended it to be. Now I realize it’s time to return to Italy via some proper limoncello--although as you can see, if I start now it’ll be late summer before I can treat myself to an icy little aperitif on the patio.

If you want to know why it’s worth the trouble (mostly, the patience!), here's that little old Italian lady's recipe. It's so simple I never forgot it. I've seen many recipes, but never another one that gave people credit for wanting a glass of limoncello so perfect they were willing to wait twice Noah's flood for it.

16 lemons (preferably from someone’s tree—no wax or stickers or anything)
2 x 750 ml alcohol (preferably grain alcohol; I used Stoli 80 proof as recommended by the writer)
3 ½ cups white sugar

Note: People who steep their own liqueurs say it’s a good idea to filter the alcohol 3-4 times before steeping something in it. You can do this with a water filter like Brita. This step isn’t necessary, but the purer the alcohol, the purer the finished taste. For this recipe filter just one bottle of alcohol to start with (you won’t be using the second one right away).

Scrub the lemons very well with very warm, lightly soapy water and a vegetable brush or plastic scrubber (scrub even more if you purchased them from a store; even more if they aren’t organic). Rinse well and dry.

Using a very sharp paring knife or microplane, remove ONLY THE ZEST from the lemons, leaving a little yellow behind on the rind to make sure. A fine microplane makes this easier; a sharp paring knife takes longer but produces wider pieces of zest which will be easier to deal with later on. You decide. Just make sure NO PITH comes along with the zest.

Put lemon peel and alcohol in a very clean jar (at least 1 gallon) and screw the lid on tight. If necessary, stretch plastic wrap over the opening before screwing on the lid. Put the jar in a cool dry dark place and let it steep for 40 days (more if you are super-patient). For the first couple of weeks, swirl the jar around every few days. Then just let it sit.

Forty or more days later, it’s time to make the simple syrup. Bring 5 cups of filtered water to a boil, stir in the 3 ½ cups of sugar, boil for 5 minutes, turn off heat and let cool.

Run your second bottle of alcohol 3-4 times through the Brita pitcher (again, not necessary but highly recommended).

While that’s filtering, it's time to remove the lemon peel from the alcohol it’s been steeping in. Place a fine metal strainer (such as a permanent coffee filter) inside a funnel and pour the alcohol/lemon peel mixture through to a very clean jar or pitcher. Discard the peel. Place a couple of paper coffee filters into the metal one, and pour the alcohol through a couple more times. Discard the paper filters and pour the alcohol through just the permanent filter one last time. Four filtrations are necessary if you used a microplane to zest the lemons; you can get away with just a couple if you used larger parings of peel. However, the better filtered the alcohol is, the purer everything tastes. Just don’t overdo it and aerate the alcohol too much.

This steeped alcohol and your second bottle of freshly filtered alcohol go back in the gallon jar along with the sugar syrup. Screw the lid back on tight and leave it untouched in that cool dry dark place for at least another 40 days. The longer it sits the smoother it will taste.

Eventually it’s time to bottle and bestow your heavenly limoncello on family and friends (really--don’t just hog it for yourself. You can always makes more. Start another batch now!). Make sure your jars or bottles are super-clean and have tight lids. For myself, I liked the down-to-earth feel of a pint canning jar. Like upscale moonshine! For the (too few) gifts I used clamp-top bottles from World Market. Running the jars or bottles through an extra-heated dishwasher cycle is plenty; some folks sterilize by baking clean jars in the oven for an hour at 350.

If you’re doing this for Christmas presents, the middle of the summer is not too early to start. Limoncello mellows as it sits, and will taste even better a year later. This is a drink that rewards a leisurely approach to life, in so many ways!

Veggie Burger Love!

If you've been following my posts you know I've been having fun with my Veggie Burgers Every Which Way cookbook, along the way learning a lot about the foundation ingredients of non-soy veggie burgers. Tonight it was time to strike out on my own. What I like about these is that they make a really well-rounded meal--complete protein, lots of other nutrients, and just enough fat to be balanced and truly healthy, while still tasting indulgent. I used everything I've learned about boosting flavors with mushroom, walnuts, etc. to make a full-flavored burger. It's pretty simple and yummy yummy.

The result? Tastiest veggie burger I've ever made. For my gluten-free friends,this version is just your thang!

Without much further ado, here it is. Haven't had time to name it yet. Any suggestions?

Makes 8 patties

1/4 cup quinoa
1 15-oz can black beans (no-salt variety)
1 shallot
5 oz (1/2 bag) crimini mushrooms
2 carrots
Fat handful fresh greens, such as spinach, kale, etc. (I used Trader Joe's mixed baby power greens--spinach/chard/kale)
Fingerful of fresh mint (dried herbs would be fine)
1 tsp chopped fresh sage
1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbl brown mustard
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (unnecessary, but a nice indulgence)
1-2 Tbl coconut flour (you can use 1/2 - 1 cup bread crumbs, depending on your needs)
1/2 tsp baking powder
Hearty splash lemon juice
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
Healthy pinch red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Place the quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse well. Cook with 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and set aside. Drain and rinse the black beans, set aside.

Chop the mushrooms into pretty small pieces. Peel and roughly chop the carrots, then place in a food processor along with the greens, shallot, and fresh herbs. Process in short bursts until everything is small pieces but not so fine as to be mush. Saute the mushrooms in a skillet (preferably cast iron, of course!). This gives them a good meaty texture and flavor.

In a mixing bowl, mash the beans with a fork or potato masher. Mix all ingredients together, adjusting coconut flour (or bread crumbs) according to mixture wetness. Let sit for a while.

Heat up a griddle and oil well (no need to skimp--don't bother with Pam or something like that).

Scoop about 1/3 cup mixture, press firmly together in a ball, and flatten to about 1/2" thick. Place on griddle and let cook until nicely firm and toasty brown on bottom. This will take a little while, because you want the patty to cook through the middle while it's developing that toasty outer layer. Top surface should be somewhat dry before you flip. Cook nice 'n toasty on the other side.

Mom and I ate these with avocado, greens, and sliced tomato. She thought a nice yogurt sauce (such as raita) would really go well, and I'm definitely trying that next time!

Extra patties? You can cool, wrap in wax paper and ziplock bag or tupperware, and refrigerate or freeze for later.

I didn't think about photos as I was cooking, so I will try to remember next time I make them, which will be soon.

I'd love feedback! Let me know what you think, and if you try out this recipe.

Black Bean Burgers

Don't underestimate the Glutamate!

I've posted before about burgers from Lukas Volger's Veggie Burgers Every Which Way. I kind of OD'd on falafel burgers, so I'm giving them a rest for now. Will definitely go back to them, though--they're just so tasty.

My latest foray into the veggie burger world was Black Bean Burgers. When I followed the recipe exactly I found it to be a bit bland in both taste and texture. I wasn't looking for the spiciness of a falafel burger, but instead craved a patty with quiet, simple flavors that give the hearty satisfaction of a good beef burger.

What his bean mixture needed was a good dose of glutamates--glutamic acid naturally occurs in a wide variety of foods and provides what is called "umami"--the "fifth taste" beyond sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Google umami and you'll see a ton of articles explaining what it is. Basically umami is "savory." Add ingredients naturally rich in glutamates--such as tomatoes, mushrooms, anchovies--and whatever you're cooking suddenly becomes much richer, all without the addition of many calories (it only takes a teeny squirt of anchovy paste to make a stew sing). Some glutamate-rich foods are caloric, such as roquefort cheese, but let's be honest--how much roquefort should you put in a recipe? --very little, otherwise it just takes over your dish. A little dab'll do ya.

So this is Lukas Volger's easy-peasy recipe for Easy Bean Burgers, umami'd up and tweaked even easier-peasier by yours truly. He fries, then bakes his, which I found dried out the exterior and left the interior a little mushy. My version cooks faster with better mouth feel.

1 1/2 cups cooked beans (any medium to large starchy beans, such as black or red beans, chickpeas, cranberry beans, or pintos. I used a 15-oz can of unsalted black beans, drained)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (an umami-delivery ingredient)
2 tsp Dijon mustard (umami)
2 handfuls crimini mushrooms, chopped small, sauteed in olive oil (deglaze pan with a little red wine or stout to add even more umami)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup toasted bread crumbs (I used panko)

In a mixing bowl, mash the beans using a potato masher or fork. Fold in the eggs, parsley, Parmesan, mustard, mushrooms, oregano, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Fold in the bread crumbs, adding more if the mixture is too loose. Set aside for 5-10 minutes to let the crumbs soak up moisture. Shape into 5 patties.

Set the patties on a microwave-safe plate and cook on high for 4 minutes. (At this point, you can set aside those you don't plan to eat right away. Refrigerate or freeze, thawing before the final saute.)

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet or griddle and fry the patties for 2-3 minutes on each side to give a nice finished texture.

I would post a photo of my burger accomplishments, except that I ate it all.

Royal Icing (optionally with Ponzu)

Carmen's Royal Icing:

2 cups (230g) confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon meringue powder (available at stores like Michaels)
Dash vanilla
Juice of 1 lemon

Warm water for adjusting consistency

Optional additional ingredients: Ponzu marinade, balsamic vinegar, Tabasco (of course)

Combine sugar and meringue powder on low speed using flat beater (not wire whisk). Add lemon juice, vanilla, and enough warm water to thin the icing to a spreadable consistency. Mix on medium for 5 minutes. Stir in food coloring. Use immediately or store in an airtight container at room temp, or in fridge up to 2 weeks.




My niece Alissa graduated and turned 18 last week. That much accomplishment required a fair amount of celebration. Of course I volunteered for a fun thing--a plate of cookies celebrating my girlie. Because these cookies were travelling a bit between making and eating, I frosted them with royal icing, which is fairly indestructible.


Getting the consistency right is a process—the recipe above will make a nicely viscous frosting that could glue furniture together. I add too much lemon juice, then I need to thicken up again with more sugar, and eventually need a bit more egg white to keep everything balanced. It’s okay, because more icing means more color options for the cookies. Along the way, I generally end up tossing in a few drops of Tabasco because everything can use a little, and a few more drops of balsamic vinegar, for the same reason.

This time I did start with lemon juice, but it was from a Meyer lemon whose lovely flavor was too gentle to stand up to all that sugar. I needed more punch, so I pulled out my bottle of Ponzu sudachi marinade—it’s mostly mirin, citrus juice, rice vinegar, and I don’t know what else but has a really bright profile.

Suddenly the royal icing wasn’t just a convenient vehicle for color flow on sugar cookies, but its own really yummy element. All the citric acid made the icing behave properly and set firmly, and the flavor made those cookies rather hard to resist—I don’t care how long you’ve worked on cookies, it’s so satisfying to watch them disappear.