Caroline Remebered

As many of you know, I returned home this summer for the funeral of my Grandmother Caroline. Even though Caroline was born in South Dakota, her love of polka and the Lutheran Church gave away her German heritage. When I was younger, we'd visit her home in Oregon and two common breakfast foods that she'd serve were grapefruit and shredded wheat bars. Do not be mistaken, this shredded wheat was neither frosted nor mini, it was the size of a small loaf and had to be softened in milk. In her later years, through, Grandmother developed quite a sweet tooth. So when I came across this recipe for a German apple pancake, that features a healthy amount of brown sugar, I though "this is a dish she would have thoroughly enjoyed."

If you're in the mood for something savory, you can replace the brown sugar and cinnamon with some diced ham and fresh minced sage.

German Apple Pancake

A 10-inch ovenproof skillet is necessary for this recipe; I highly recommend using a nonstick skillet for the sake of easy cleanup, but a regular skillet will work as well. You can also use a cast-iron pan; if you do, set the oven temperature to 425 degrees in step 1, and when cooking the apples in step 3, cook them only until just barely golden, about 6 minutes. Cast iron retains heat better than stainless steel, making the higher oven temperature unnecessary. If you prefer tart apples, use Granny Smiths; if you prefer sweet ones, use Braeburns. For serving, dust the apple pancake with confectioners' sugar.

Serves 1-2 people

Ingredients

½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

½ teaspoon table salt

2 large eggs

2/3 cup half-and-half

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 ¼ pounds Braeburn or Fuji apples (3 to 4 large apples), peeled, quartered, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

¼ cup light or dark brown sugar

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon lemon juice

confectioners' sugar for dusting

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position; heat oven to 500 degrees.

Whisk to combine flour, granulated sugar, and salt in medium bowl. In second medium bowl, whisk eggs, half-and-half, and vanilla until combined. Add liquid ingredients to dry and whisk until no lumps remain, about 20 seconds; set batter aside.

Heat butter in 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon; cook, stirring frequently with heatproof rubber spatula, until apples are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in lemon juice.

Working quickly, pour batter around edges of pan and then and the middle. Place skillet in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees; bake until pancake edges are brown and puffy and have risen above edges of skillet, about 15-18 minutes.

Using oven mitts to protect hands, remove hot skillet from oven and loosen pancake edges with heatproof rubber spatula; invert pancake onto serving platter. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve!

Mixing old and new memories

An old memory and a recent experience are the inspiration for today's recipe. Let's begin with the old memory.

Old Memory: Growing up, our family made an annual summer pilgrimage to Mt. Rainier National Park. We would always stay at site C-9 in the Ohanapecosh campground (see picture from this summer). The years that we would borrow Grandpa Van Dyke's motorhome, I would wake to the smell of blueberry muffins baking in the oven. We always used a box mix which, alas, contains gluten and is now off-limits.


Recent Experience: A classmate and labmate of mine, Kate, from MIT got married this past August. Having grown up on Cape Cod, she wanted the wedding to also be out there (how awesome is it to get to attend a wedding in sandals and a suit). We stayed with friends of Kate's family in Hyannis Port, Janni and Jeff, and over breakfast I discovered that Janni also cannot eat gluten. On the way out the door back to Boston, she gave me some gluten-free blueberry muffins that she purchased. She admitted the were a bit dry and after one bite I agreed.



There has to be a way to make a moist, tender, muffin that's gluten-free right? Yes, Victoria, there is...and you can find the recipe below.

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Once these muffins have cooled, store in an airtight container or ziplock bag in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave prior to consuming, about 20-30 seconds, otherwise they'll taste wicked dry.

10 tablespoons unsalted, soft butter
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup sweet white sorghum flour
1 cup white rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups plain or vanilla yogurt
1 cup blueberries (frozen are fine)
2 teaspoons lemon zest
3 tablespoons crystallized ginger, minced (optional)
2 tablespoons raw sugar (not granulated, look for Turbino)


Preheat the oven to 375.

Combine all the dry ingredients together (sorghum flour through salt). Set aside.

Cream the butter and white sugar together, until just creamed. If you leave the stand mixer running as they are creaming, these muffins will not rise. Simply cream them until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg.

Add one half of the dry ingredients, mixing well. Add one-third of the yogurt and combine until well mixed. Add one-half of the remaining dry ingredients to the mixture, and combine. Continue this, alternating the yogurt and dry ingredients, until you have mixed both of them in, completely.

By hand, stir in the blueberries, lemon zest, and crystallized ginger.

Line a muffin tin with paper or foil cups. Fill each cup two-thirds full. Sprinkle the raw sugar over the top and set them in the oven.

(This recipe will give you enough batter to make two tins of muffins, or close.)

Bake the muffins for about 35 minutes, or until the tops have browned and started to harden.

It's a dessert! It's a breakfast! No, wait, it's a smoothie!

The past few days in Boston remind me why I tell everyone that Seattle is a horrible place to live...let me explain. It has been in the mid 90's with humidity that gives you a perpetual "I'm standing in a shower" feeling. Now, for anyone who has been to Seattle for an extended period of time in the summer they realize it's quite the utopia; sunny, low humidity, reasonable temperatures. And this is precisely why I tell people it's horrible, because one day I'd love to move back to the city and the last thing I want is demand driving up the cost of housing.

Then again, perhaps I overestimate my ability to influence the urban housing market.

Well, the point of today's post is that in the midst of this special canto of Dante's Inferno that I call Boston summers, I whipped up a fantastic smoothie. The inspiration for this drink was that I wanted something to satisfy my evening sweet tooth but was not the typical summer favorite-- ice cream (I don't want all the dairy and sugar).

How do you like to cool off during the summer? Post a comment and let us know!

Dante's Smoothie

Don't let the name fool you, the blazing hell-fire refers to the weather that inspired this recipe, not the spiciness of the actual drink.

9 ice cubes (approx 1 cup)
1/2 c. apple juice
1/4 c. apple sauce
1/4 c. pineapple
1/3 c. frozen unsweetened strawberries
1 small banana (broken into pieces)
1/4 c. shredded sweetened coconut

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend till smooth...or smoothie.

Makes approximately 2 1/2 cups.

For Those Who Like a Little Meat

I was very happy with the mushroom spinach quiche from two weeks ago (May 13, Rise and Shine) but as I was walking past the meat counter in Whole Foods I saw more sausages than you could shake a...well I'm not quite sure what you'd shake at a sausage but needless to say there were a lot of them. I purchased two sausages (about 1 inch diameter, 8 inch length) that were filled with pork, spinach, and garlic. And with that purchase came the inspiration for this week's quiche.

Use the same oatmeal crust as before and this filling (it's very similar to the previous version). If you'd wish, you can always use precooked sausages (i.e. turkey or chicken) just cut into small pieces and add to cooked onion/mushrooms.

Filling
2 large uncooked sausages (casings removed)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I used portobello, they were fantastic!)
1 cup fat free milk
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dried dill
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 large egg whites
2 large eggs

Thoroughly cook the sausage filling in a pan (remove the casings with a knife), using a wooden spoon to crumble into pieces. Cool and let sausage drain on a paper towel to remove any excess fat. Next, saute onion 2 minutes then add mushrooms and saute additional 5 minutes. Remove from pan and add to cooked sausage, let cool slightly.

Prepare oatmeal crust (May 13, Rise and Shine)

Combine milk through eggs with whisk, add sausage, mushrooms, and onions. Pour into crust and finish in oven at 375° for 35 minutes.

Rise and Shine!

The problem...I love a hearty breakfast but I rarely have time to make my gluten-free pancakes on the weekday, plus I wasn't thrilled with the high-glycemic load of rice flour (especially in the morning). Don't get me wrong, I think it's fine from time to time, just not every morning.

The solution...A quiche is easily prepared and eaten over the week (6 pieces = 6 breakfasts). It features a really yummy oatmeal crust which gives the quiche a nice earthy flavor. I'm excited to play with the filling (think ham and swiss or some seasoned sausage and aged cheddar) but this vegetarian version is also great. Enjoy with a sliced apple or other fruit!!

CRUST:
1 cup regular oats
1/3 cup oat bran
2 tablespoons chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into
small pieces
3 tablespoons cold water
Cooking spray

FILLING:
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/4 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup evaporated fat-free milk (regular 1% milk works fine too)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan or Asiago cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 large egg whites
2 large eggs
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely shredded Gruyêre or Swiss cheese

*********

Preheat oven to 375°.

To prepare crust, combine oats and oat bran; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add water; stir just until moist. Press mixture gently into a ball on wax paper, and cover with additional wax paper. Roll dough, still covered, into a 10-inch circle. Remove 1 sheet of wax paper, and fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Remove top sheet of wax paper. Bake at 375° for 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

To prepare the filling, place a medium nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion; sauté for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; saute for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; spoon into a bowl. Combine milk and next 8 ingredients (milk through spinach) with a whisk until combined. Add to mushroom mixture, and stir well. Pour into prepared crust, and sprinkle with Gruyêre or Swiss cheese. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes.

Want to eat it later? Cover w/ foil and then reheat in µW (that's chemist for microwave) for 1 min.

Cooking Light, June 2000