Cranberry Orange Olive Oil Bread (GF)

I have some more days off now, and it was with great anticipation and joy for some unscheduled time that I made this bread, to have with my morning coffee and ponder the new year ahead. It felt like a lovely treat this morning after shoveling, that I ate while gazing out at the snowy world. I am calling it bread, though the original recipe from Mark's Daily Apple calls it cake. It definitely seems more (sweet) bread-like to me. And is SO GOOD, perhaps one of the best almond flour recipes I've had. It is moist and has a really nice crumb. I want to add more cranberries next time, because the tart bites are really lovely. It isn't overly sweet, and the coconut butter drizzle on top is genius. I feel really happy to have this waiting for me these coming mornings as we approach the new year! Yay!

• 2 cups almond flour
• ½ cup coconut sugar, Swerve or granular monk fruit sweetener
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• ¼ cup tapioca starch
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup coconut milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. orange juice
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• Zest from ½ orange
• ½ cup fresh cranberries (or more!)
  
• Drizzle (optional): melted coconut butter + coconut milk to thin

1. 
   Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, sweetener, flaxseed, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the olive oil, coconut milk, eggs and vanilla extract. Combine the ingredients and whisk until well mixed. Add in the orange juice, orange zest and cranberries.
   
2. Pour the batter into a parchment-lined loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean or the internal temperature on a food thermometer reads about 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow the bread to cool.
3. If you are making a glaze, combine coconut butter with a small amount of coconut milk or milk of choice until it reaches your desired thickness. You can also add a squeeze of orange juice. Drizzle the glaze on top before slicing and serving. 

My notes to self for next time I make this: walnuts might be a nice addition along with increased cranberries. Also, because I lately love cointreau, the coconut manna thinned with cointreau might be the perfect touch. 😁

Hackberry milk (and more)

A friend tipped me off to hackberries earlier this fall, and once I had identified a hackberry tree, I began seeing them everywhere! They are all over Lake Hiawatha Park and the golf course, most easily identified by their warty bark, and of course the tiny berries. The only problem is that the branches tend to be high, and a step ladder, if not extension ladder, might be called for in order harvest the berries. 

Hackberries are very interesting - they are mostly seed, which is hard and crunchy and maybe a bit much for the teeth. They taste a bit like dates, or prunes, I think; sort of a spicy sweetness. I have been eating a few of them as a I pass by a tree, but it's a pretty firm crunch. The seeds are edible bits of protein and fat, and the berry is very thin. It means hackberries are a good source of energy with the seed AND fruit bit, especially because they do not dry up or freeze and are thus available throughout the winter. 

I'd been meaning to bring a ladder to the park for some weeks, but when I was out walking on Christmas, I came upon some trees that had a few reachable branches. That, and the recent blizzard knocked several little branches to the ground, so I could collect enough to do something with. They are tiny, and it took me close to half an hour to collect about a cup and a half of them, so this is not going to a be a winter staple, most likely. But!! They are so tasty and unusual and I'm quite into them. 

I ground the berries up in a mortar and pestle to break down the seeds (a high end vitamix type blender would also do the job) and had to really mash to crunch them all. The berries become a paste, most of which I used to make hackberry "milk," though I saved a little out to make a little candy hackberry ball. 

The milk was delicious (especially to drink warm), and so was the by-product remains, which I mixed with a bit of cream to make something like porridge. Crunchy, grapenut-like porridge. Yum, it was really good, and I love when you can make multiple things out of the same foraged item! You can drink the "milk" plain, or I used mine on some wild rice porridge (along with butter and some nuts). I also used some to make hot chocolate.

Hackberry milk

• 1 c hackberries
• 2 c water

Crush hackberries in a mortar and pestle until the seeds are all broken up and they form a paste. Combine the paste with 2 c water, and bring to a simmer in a small saucepan (not a boil, barely let the bubbles form). Stir. Turn the heat to low and just barely simmer for 20 minutes (I set mine on the low burning woodstove, which was perfect). Strain mixture through cheesecloth and consume!

*You could squeeze the mixture to capture all of the liquid and disgard the pulp, or reserve the paste with some liquid intact, mix with cream, and eat like porridge. Drink as a beverage, or use like you would coconut milk in cooking.

"Milk" will last for a week in the fridge, and is mildly sweet. Makes about 1 1/2 c.

Spiced Honey Bourbon Old Fashioned

My covid Christmas Eve plans involved sharing a couple of cocktails with a few friends, and a zoom call in which to drink said cocktails and eat dinner together. We shared some stories and read a Moomin adventure of Midwinter, which seemed fitting. My contribution was an old fashioned with a  honey simple syrup spiced with rosemary, cardamom, ginger and cinnamon. I topped it off with a few bourbon cherries that I put away last summer, and a sprig of rosemary from the rosemary plant in my kitchen. It was delicious. The rosemary addition really hits the spot - more winter spiced, somehow. Afterwards I ate the ginger and chewed on the rosemary from the simple syrup making - honey coated goodness! 

The original recipe uses a bit more juice than I did and is served up; I had mine over ice and I added the cherries and a little of their liquid, hence the red hue. Mine was perhaps stronger than the original, which could be remedied with a bit more juice. I forgot to take a final drink photo, but it was the perfect thing to make in a larger batch and pour servings over ice. Imagine this concoction in a glass with a lemon peel, rosemary, and cherries.

Spiced Honey Syrup, serves 6

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus more for serving
• 2 cinnamon sticks (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
• 1 tablespoon cardamom pods (or 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom)
• 1 inch fresh ginger, sliced
• zest of 1 orange

Old Fashioned (for 1 - multiply by 6 to make large batch)

• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) bourbon
• 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) orange or clementine juice
• 1-2 dashes orange bitters
• 1-2 ounces (2-4 tablespoons) spiced honey syrup
• Garnish: bourbon cherries, rosemary, & orange or lemon peel 

 

To make the spiced honey syrup: In a medium pot, bring 1/2 cup water, the honey, rosemary, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger to a boil over high heat. Boil 2-3 minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in the orange zest and vanilla. Let cool. This syrup makes enough for about 6 drinks.

 

Mix all ingredients together (can do this in a larger batch if making en masse) in a glass with ice. Stir, and  garnish with bourbon cherries (opt), rosemary sprig, and lemon peel.

Finnish Salmon Soup

Through an order mishap, I had a spare serving of salmon from my online order at Coastal Seafoods, and not a lot of time to eat it in, what with already making oyster stew, gravlax, and lamb shanks in the coming days. So tonight I made a solo (plus) portion of this salmon soup. Because it is blizzarding, and I was already drinking Austrian mulled wine, so why not carry forth with more warm deliciousness?! 

This soup was really easy and perfect tonight - buttery broth, fresh dill, creamy potatoes and tender salmon - all while the wind howls and the snow falls, what is not to love? This soup is ready in about 30 minutes, and I made the fish broth as suggested, by boiling the salmon skin in water for 10 minutes. It totally works, though it is a pretty light broth. I thought I had some shrimp shells stashed in the freezer somewhere for just this sort of need, but I couldn't locate them if I do. If you have clam broth, or fish stock around, I think that would make things even tastier. But if not, this does the job.

The recipe is from a food blogger I had forgotten about; I made her nut and fruit paleo bread some years ago, and was thinking about making it again in recent days, which is what prompted me to revisit her blog and subsequently see this recipe. The only thing I did differently was to use onion instead of leeks, (I had no leek), and I had a red potato, not a russet. I am pasting her original recipe below. (It was easy to shrink to 1/3, though this would make excellent leftovers.)

Ingredients

• 1 lb skin-on salmon filet
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 large leek, trimmed, sliced, and well rinsed
• 5 cups water (you can also use fish stock)
• 1 lb russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 1 cup (10g) fresh dill for garnish, finely chopped, divided
• 1 cup (250ml) heavy cream
• 1/4 tsp allspice, use more to taste
• salt and pepper to taste 

• Remove the skin from the salmon and cut into largish chunks. Remove any small pin bones and discard. Reserve the skin.
• Melt the butter in a soup pot and saute the leeks for 10 minutes, or until nice and soft.
• While the leeks are cooking, put 5 cups of water and the reserved fish skin in a saucepan and bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Note: if you are using fish stock you can skip this step.
• Strain the broth and add to the pan with the leeks, along with the potatoes, carrots, and half of the fresh dill. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are just tender.
• Add the salmon chunks to the soup along with the cream and allspice, and gently simmer on low heat until cooked through, just a few minutes. Add the remaining dill, and salt and pepper to taste.
   
  

Gochujang meatballs and Korean potato pancakes

I am a fan of meatballs. They are easy, they are cheap, and they make good leftovers. So I was excited when I came across a Korean style-meatball recipe, primarily meaning the recipe includes gochujang (Korean chili paste), which I had never had before. In the interest of minimizing shopping trips, I checked the co-op when I was there last for gochujang, which they had and I bought. United Noodle would have many more options! I did not read the label until after I made the meatballs, upon which I saw that there is wheat flour in this particular version. I ate some meatballs anyways, and so far am not having gluten intolerant reactions. (I looked up gochujang paste ingredients, which were mostly in Korean, and seem to often include barley, sometimes wheat. So. One could make their own gochujang, at least a modified version of it, if you want gluten allergen certainty.)

I thought the meatballs turned out great - they were more moist than my usual meatballs, which made me wonder if I often overcook them, or if this particular combo of an egg and half cup of almond flour really made the difference. The original recipe from Food52 also included a gochijang/apricot glaze that I did not make, and is probably delicious, because adding a little more sweet usually is! Instead I ate the meatballs with kimchi, which was really nice.

I decided to also try making korean potato pancakes, though I used my veggie julienner rather than a grater (because I only have a very tiny or extra large grater), and I did a combo of rutabega, potato, and a carrot instead of all potato. And added coconut flour and an egg. So. It's maybe more accurate to say korean-inspired potato (and more) pancake. I did add some green onion, and made a sauce with tamari and rice wine vinegar, which is the thing that distinguishes them from my latkes. They were delicious - I mean, you can't go wrong, ever really, with fried potato/root veggie pancake things. (The sauce was also good with the meatballs.)

Gochujang Meatballs, serves 2-4

• 2 green onions, very thinly sliced
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
  
• 1 pound ground beef
  
• ¹/₂ cup almond flour
  
• 2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste)
  
• 2 tsp ground ginger
  
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  
• ¹/₂ teaspoon ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all of the ingredients well. Form into 1" balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes. I put mine under the broiler for the last few minutes to brown the tops. Serve with kimchi! (Or see original recipe linked above for apricot glaze if you want to eat more appetizer style.)

Gamjajeon-inspired Potato Pancakes, serves 2

• 1 medium red or yellow potato, shredded
  
• 1+ c shredded rutabega
• 1 shredded carrot
• 1/4 small onion, minced
• 1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
• 1 egg
• 1 T coconut flour 
• oil for frying (I used coconut oil)
  

Combine all ingredients. Mixture should be moistened, but still fairly dry. Heat oil in a skillet on med-high heat. Pile handful or large spoonful of veggie mix in pan and flatten. Fry 4-5 minutes on each side, until crisp and browned. Set aside and continue frying until all "batter" is used.

Make a dipping sauce of:

• 1 T tamari
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp honey or sweetener of choice
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp water

*I ate leftover meatballs with Okonomiyaki the next night (this time it was just cabbage, carrots and green onion - no nettles), with the sauce listed there and some mayo. Also very good. I also thought about using meatballs in egg foo young...maybe that is what will happen to the last few!

Egg Fried Cabbage-Rice

I have been assisting for a training the past few days, and last night I watched several Uncle Roger videos for some comic relief. I love Nigel Ng! My favorite is Uncle Roger watching Jamie Oliver make egg fried rice, 😂 though last night I watched Uncle Roger watch Gordon Ramsey make the dish. I was also mesmerized by this korean egg fried rice video of eggs cracked into super hot oil, bubbling and puffing up before being scrambled across the wok, and then tossed in the air with the rice and vegetables. The images clearly inspired my breakfast this morning, along with the leftover sauteed cabbage/onions on the stovetop that never made it into the fridge yesterday. Uncle Roger would definitely NOT approve of my cabbage-in-lieu-of-rice maneuver. But, I thought it turned out delicious. 

I am pasting Uncle Roger's egg fried rice recipe underneath what I made - should you want to make it and use actual rice! (Note: I had leftover onions and cabbage from the day before that I chopped up fine to use in place of rice. If you do not have this, start with the onions and cabbage and fry for a couple of minutes before you add the eggs.)

Serves 1

In the wok!

• 2 T sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2" piece of ginger, peeled and minced 
• 2 or 3 eggs
• small carrot, diced small
• 1+ cups (leftover) cabbage and onion, chopped fine
• 1 T soy sauce
• salt to taste
  
• 1-2 green onions
  

Heat oil in a wok on high heat. Add garlic and ginger and fry for a few seconds. Crack eggs into the oil, and stir to mix and cook. Break apart. Add carrots and cooked cabbage and onions. Stir and combine. Toss in the air to give some loft!! Add soy sauce and salt, and green onion. Toss again, and serve. 

Uncle Roger’s egg fried rice recipe

• Heat 1tbsp sesame oil in a skillet or wok. 
• Add two chopped garlic cloves and a piece of chopped ginger and fry for a few seconds. 
• Add a large chopped onion and 2 chopped celery stalks and saute. 
• Stir in a cup of corn kernels, 2 chopped carrots, 2 diced green bell peppers and a shredded cabbage and saute for a couple of minutes (Don’t overcook, leave some crunch). 
• Move the veggies to a side of the pan and pour in three eggs. Keep scrambling the eggs until cooked. 
• Mix it all up and add 1tbsp soy sauce and salt to taste. 
• Toss in the meat of your choice and let it cook for a couple of minutes. 
• Stir in three cups of day-old cooked white rice, and let it cook for a few minutes before you turn off the heat. Garnish with chopped spring onion.
  

Cocktails and Meatballs

I am having some indulgence with myself tonight and made a fancy cocktail, titled the White Lady, which I think is super funny. I am a person socialized as white, or white-bodied, and I do identify as such, and also am socialized as a "lady" or woman, though I identify as queerly gendered. So. A toast to you, White Lady, of which I have some appreciation and trepidation both. The cocktail choice really came about after I looked at my liquor cabinet (aka, the ledge at the top of the basement stairs next to the cobweb duster) and saw gin and Cointreau, and then typed those 2 words into DuckDuckGo's search engine. Behold, White Lady Cocktail. Which is strong, as straight up cocktails tend to be, and quite tasty.

White Lady and I communed while "Czech Pork Meatballs" (from Mel Joulwan) cooked in the oven, alongside reheated squash and beet soup. (Because right now, it is all squash, beets, and carrots!) The meatballs are a really easy and simple caraway/mustard affair that was tasty with aforementioned sides and some sauerkraut. I did not have parsley, but that would make things more top notch. 

White Lady

1 1/2 ounces gin 

3/4 ounce Cointreau (or another orange-flavored liqueur, though that will tinge your white-ish cocktail) 

3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice 

lemon twist, for garnish

1. Add the gin, Cointreau, and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker. Fill two-thirds with ice, cover, and shake vigorously until well-chilled, about 15 seconds.

2. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

 

Meatballs

• 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)

• 1/2 tablespoon salt

• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds

• 1 teaspoon ground paprika

• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, minced (about 1/4 cup)

• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard

• 2 pounds ground pork

  Mix everything together with your hands and form into 1" meatballs. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes (or cook on the stovetop). Serve with kraut!