Updated: Cranberry Orange Muffin Recipe

Got any leftover cranberries? If you're like me, there was no cranberry sauce, leaving lots of cranberries for other things, like my favorite, cranberry orange muffins...I totally stock up on cranberries this time of year so I have them all year round.

About a month ago, I posted a recipe for cranberry-orange muffins. When I went to make them today, I realized I hadn't given any of the liquid ingredients in the recipe! Silly me.  The recipe in the link is fixed, but here's the recipe just in case:

Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Muffins

Ingredients:

• 160 g gluten-free flour mix (I used the white flour blend* from Gluten-Free Girl Every Day)
• 30 g flaxseed meal
• 1/4 t baking powder
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1/8 t salt
• 1 T psyllium husks
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 T orange zest
• 3 T butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/2 c buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 t vanilla extract
• 1 T orange juice
• 1/2 c cranberries

For the crumble:

• 2 T cold butter
• 2 T gluten free flour
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1 t orange zest
• pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a muffin pan with papers.

Prepare the crumble: cut the butter into the sugar, then stir in the remaining ingredients. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the orange zest and sugar. Whisk in the remaining dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, butter, and vanilla.

Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients. Stir half-way and add the cranberries. Stir very gently until combined.

Use a spoon to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tins.

Top with the crumble, pressing lightly on the tops.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out almost clean.

*I've also used their whole-grain flour mix, and that turned out well, too.

Pumpkin Fatigue

It's pumpkin season. Pumpkin carving, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin cake, pumpkin pie. That's a lot of pumpkin.

I'll let you in on a little secret: I don't much care for pumpkin. There, I said it. It's true. While everyone else is chowing down on pumpkins, I'd much rather be eating something else. Like cranberry-orange muffins. Now there's a Starbucks goodie I used to go nuts over. And then...it wasn't there anymore. And then...I had to eat gluten-free.

I've tried my fair share of gluten-free cranberry-orange muffin recipes, but I quite like this one. It's got a great crumb, but it still holds together, which is always a feat for gluten-free baked goods. With a cinnamon crumble topping, it still has a little taste of fall.  Popped in the toaster oven, it rivals any and all things pumpkin.

Rice Crust Quiche

 I'm loving Shauna James Ahern's newest cookbook, Gluten-Free Girl Everyday. She and her husband seem to cook by the motto, "Try every recipe once as it's written. Then you can play with it." Great advice, but something I'm not that great at, truth be told.

Luckily for me, this recipe still turned out great. I've been making quiche for a while, so I've got the jist of it. But I've never made a rice crust for a quiche. It's pretty basic, and a heck of a lot easier than making pastry. If I'm honest, there are weeks where I skip the quiche altogether because I simply don't feel like going to the trouble to make the crust.

Not anymore.

I didn't make the quiche from the cookbook (or even the crust recipe as it was written), but I benefited all the same from the recipe. I'll try it exactly as written sometime. I promise.

Here, I used dirty rice that had been sitting in the fridge all week. And since there wasn't that much of it left, I only used one egg to bind it together instead of two.  I cooked up some spinach and onions, threw in some cheese, and used only about one cup of cream for the quiche filling. 

It's delicious. And easy (even if it does take a long time to cook, it's pretty light on the prep work).

Quick, before it's gone

 Even when I could still eat gluten with all its magical-stretchy-bread-baking qualities, I was never much into pies and quiches. Sure, I liked a good one now and then, but homemade pie crust seemed like too much work. So I was stuck with the store-bought ones, and even those with all their delicious gluten tasted like cardboard. Ick.

But in the last year, pie crust has become a challenge. I flatter myself with saying that I've mastered the cookie crumb crust, but really, that's not hard at all.  I've tried some other pie crust recipes (the best! the flakiest!) and been sorely disappointed with the results.

Until now. This pie crust is pretty darn good. Flaky. The flour combination is just right.

I used a tablespoon of psyllium husk instead of the xanthan gum. I find that the psyllium absorbs so much moisture that I tend to need add more. I used two eggs instead of one, and added a couple of tablespoons of cream to get it just right.

The filling is just shallots, sauteed until soft, four ounces of baby spinach wilted and moisture pressed out, a little bit of sausage, and red peppers. Lots of cheese, of course, and scallions sprinkled on top. And like any quiche, eggs and cream are a must.

If it lasts long enough, it's excellent for breakfast the next day, and even lunch.

French Toast, Gluten-Free

Maybe this goes beyond stating the obvious, but making French toast gluten-free isn't that much different than making it the "normal way." Stale bread, eggs, milk, frying pan, and done. Maybe some cinnamon sugar and fruit if you're lucky.

I don't know about you, but my best ideas come to me when I'm staring at the fridge. It's like the ideas that come to you in the shower, or right before you go to bed. Mine come to me when I'm standing there, letting all the cold air out, absentmindedly surveying its contents.

Remember that bread I made? It was amazing right out of the oven, but then it dried out pretty darn quick. I avoided using it, and then one night I was staring at the fridge, wondering what to make for dinner, not really wanting to cook but definitely not wanting to go out to eat either. And then the lightbulb went off in my head - French toast. Quick and easy, and a great way to use up stale bread.

I added some honey, vanilla, and cinnamon sugar to the egg mixture. The best French toast in my book has lots of cinnamon sugar, so I sprinkled it liberally over the toast when it was done too. And the last of the raspberries from the freezer graced the top (and their juice combined with honey made a great syrup).

Habit-Forming (Coffeecake)

Ah, New Year's Resolutions. How are yours going?

....they're made to be broken, aren't they? Mine involve "lose the last 10 pounds," "exercise more," and "eat less sugar."

I know. I know. I know! Sugar rots my teeth, and brain, and everything else, but there's nothing like cinnamon sugar to throw that all out the window. The secret is in moderation: muffins and mini-muffins. Plus, my desserts tend to get rationed out these days. But when it's time for one of these, time slows down. I go back to the days when I used to sit in Starbucks and "people watch" while I read a book, ate an insane amount of coffeecake, and sipped iced coffee. Those days are long gone, but this coffeecake is really what I was going for in the first place.

Coffeecake Minis

Makes about 12 muffins

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Batter:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon psyllium husks
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/4 cup teff
• 1/4 cup sorghum
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Crumble topping:

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons rice flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cold butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease or line a muffin tin and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the filling and set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the psyllium husks, flaxseed meal, potato starch, teff, sorghum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Beat in the dry ingredients, alternating with the cream and sour cream until all ingredients are combined.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins so the batter covers the bottom of the pan, but does not fill it. Spoon in the filling, then spoon in the remaining batter. 

Combine the ingredients for the crumble topping, cutting the butter in with a pastry cutter or two knives. Press on top of the muffin batter.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Leftovers - Lobster Omelet

Leftovers. There are leftovers and then there are leftovers. Some are good, some are bad, and some are downright ugly. There's cold pizza or macaroni and cheese (good), fish that was overcooked in the first place (bad), and that stuff at the back of the fridge that's melted into something really stinky, fuzzy, and totally unrecognizable (ugly, of course).

For most of my life, leftovers usually fell into the last two categories. The bad leftovers were eaten grudgingly, and the ugly leftovers were thrown in the garbage bin. The good leftovers were usually lunch or an afternoon snack, and rarely made it to dinnertime the next day.  But the sad reality was that leftovers were a tired memory of a meal that was just o.k.

In the last few years, as I've begun to really cook for myself, I've started to rethink what the word "leftovers" really means. Sometimes it is the same soup, or casserole, or pasta, reheated yet again. And it's always a lot better than the leftovers in my memory. (I had one boss tell me he was always jealous of my leftovers. Another boss always complained that I never brought enough to share with the whole office. Chalk one up for leftovers.)

But other times, leftovers are something much, much more. It's amazing how a totally different focus can create an entirely new meal that no one would ever imagine was leftovers.

Eggs are one of my favorite ways to manage this. Frittatas and omelets are so good that folks will think you cooked the entire thing for that meal only, instead of scraping around the corners of the fridge to use up scraps.  I only made my first frittatas and omelets this past year (it's a lack of patience thing), but they sure do make a strong showing in my life now.

I'm still working on the ability to make a new meal out of any kind of leftovers, but this particular omelet was a revelation. We had too much lobster the other night (if there can be such a thing), and as I stared at the fridge wondering what to eat, this recipe came to me. Even better, it took less than twenty minutes from start to finish.

And it tasted wonderful. A far cry from the leftovers of my memory.




Saute some onions and crushed red pepper.

Toss in some lobster for 30 seconds or so, just to get it a little bit warm. Remove from pan.

Add some more oil to the pan, pour in eggs whisked with milk or cream. When the eggs are mostly set, scatter lobster and cheese on one side of the omelet.

Say a prayer while you (gently) fold the eggs over the filling. Leave it in the pan for another minute or so, then remove to a plate, and top with more lobster and cheese.

Lobster Omelet

• 
  

• 2 tablespoons bacon fat or olive oil, divided
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cream
• 1 or 2 lobster tails, cooked, peeled, and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 ounce cheese, grated (about 1/2 - 3/4 cup)
•  1/4 small onion or 1 shallot, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 scallion, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 tablespoon fat in an omelet pan or 8-inch skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft and beginning to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper and saute about a minute more. Add the lobster to the pan for about 30 seconds, then transfer the entire mixture to a bowl and set aside. 

Heat the remaining fat in the pan. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs and cream. Pour the eggs into the pan. Lift up at the sides with a spatula every now and then to keep them from sticking to the pan. When the eggs are mostly set, scatter 2/3 of the lobster mixture and half the cheese on one side of the eggs. Starting at the other side of the eggs, use a spatula to fold the eggs over the filling. Keep over the heat for one or two minutes more, then transfer to a plate. Top with the remaining lobster and cheese. Sprinkle scallions over the top, and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately.

 There won't be any leftovers from this one, I promise.

New Favorite

My new favorite afternoon snack involves a steaming cup of homemade hot chocolate and a pastry of some sort. But it doesn't end there. It has to be on the fine china. This china belonged to my grandmother's great-aunt (I think) and is about 120 years old. I'd never choose the pattern for myself, but I love it just the same. It reminds me to relax, breathe, and enjoy my little escape from reality. Now if I could just escape from the calories...

Bacon All Around

Mike came across a poem the other day, and we've been quoting it ever since. It goes something like this:

Roses are red

Bacon is red

Poetry is hard

Bacon.

Bacon.

There's just something utterly primal and satisfying about bacon. The pop and sizzle of the grease, the smell, the way it crumples up in the pan, and the taste. Oh, that taste.  

I'm listening to bacon pop and sizzle as I write this, and the only think that's keeping me from gobbling it all up is that I had some leftover bacon before I started cooking the new bacon. 

It took me a long time to figure out how to fry decent bacon. Like so many others, I turned the heat up too high and burned the crap out of it. What a waste. Bacon needs long, slow heat to get just right.

My dad, who cooks the best bacon I've ever had, fries it at the absolute lowest setting on his gas stove and just waits. I've never been that patient, but I like to think I'm coming along. 

There is an easier way: Lay the bacon in an ungreased jelly roll pan in a single layer. Put it in a cold oven, then turn the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook it until it's done, which will depend on the thickness of the bacon and your own personal preferences. (I use a thicker-cut style, which takes 15-20 minutes, but thinner cuts can be done in 8-10 minutes.) Remove from oven, let the pan cool for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Strain the grease left in the pan through a fine mesh strainer into a glass jar, and store in the refrigerator for later use. Enjoy the bacon right now, or save in the fridge or freezer for later.

You might be totally grossed out by saving the grease to use it later. I know, I used to be weirded out by it too. But it turns out that the grease (a.k.a. lard) is actually quite useful for cooking. It has a much higher smoke point than butter or olive oil, meaning you can get it a lot hotter. Plus it makes for wonderfully browned veggies. Eggs fried in lard are a-maz-ing. Seriously - give it a go!

Bacon!

Guilt in the Kitchen

I've said it before and I'll say it again. There's nothing quite like the guilt of leftovers. Maybe it wasn't my favorite dish, or it didn't turn out right. Maybe I'm just plain tired of it, or maybe I can't think of a way to make it new again. Whatever the excuse, those leftovers stare up at me from the fridge, warning me that their days are numbered.

That's what happened with the blackeyed peas. They were never a favorite of mine when I was a child. I always (grudgingly) ate one for good luck on New Year's at my mother's insistence. It wasn't until I grew them in my own garden and discovered Hoppin' John that I could really appreciate them.

This year was my first New Year living in Utah, and I was amazed to find fresh blackeyed peas at my grocery store. Of course, they only came in one size: prepackaged, about two cups worth, I I felt obligated to make a full recipe of Hoppin' John for New Year's. In retrospect, I should have cut the rice in half and used the same amount of blackeyed peas, because even though we both had generous servings, there were enough leftovers to feed me lunch for a week...except I never quite got around to eating them as leftovers.

Enter eggs and cheese, my favorite ingredients for making old food taste new again. I made a frittata, adding in some spicy local sausage and plenty of cheese for an entirely different dish.

I wasn't expecting much, but it ended up being pretty darn good. The rice melted into the eggs, making them almost silky, and the peas brought an unexpected texture. But the sausage really carried the day.

Hoppin' John Frittata

Hoppin' John, the first time around, served on a bed of boiled collard greens

Hoppin' John is a traditional southern dish served on New Year's day for good luck.  It's basically a pilaf of rice, blackeyed peas (also called cowpeas), and ham. Seasonings include onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper. Here's a basic recipe for it, and another one here.  I use the Hoppin' John recipe in Joy of Cooking, but there are plenty of ways to prepare it. It doesn't really matter which one you use, as it's simply a base for the frittata.

Hoppin' John Frittata

This recipe serves four with no leftovers. It can easily be doubled or scaled down depending on your needs. Just be sure to use an appropriate size pan.

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups prepared Hoppin' John
• 1 link sausage (about 4 ounces), broken up and cooked
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups grated cheese
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 3 - 4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small mixing bowl, combine eggs, cream, and about half of the cheese. Set aside.

Heat butter and olive oil in a medium ovenproof skillet. Add Hoppin' John and sausage, and saute over medium heat, stirring frequently, until warmed through.

Pour egg mixture over the contents of the skillet and lower heat to medium low. Cook until the eggs are beginning to set around the edges, about ten minutes.

Top with remaining cheese and transfer to preheated oven. Cook 30-40 minutes more, or until the eggs are completely set and the top is beginning to brown.

To get the top all brown and bubbly, if you're into that sort of thing, place under a hot broiler for 2-3 minutes. If you're doing this, be sure to keep an eye on the frittata, since it can burn quickly.

Serve warm. If you happen to have leftovers, they make a good breakfast or lunch. Just reheat in the microwave 30 seconds to a minute. Trust me, you won't be avoiding the leftovers from this one.

Gluten Free English Muffins

One of my favorite breakfast foods is a toasted English muffin smeared with butter. In fact, it was an English muffin that alerted me to my gluten sensitivity.  For months, a good ol’ English muffin was one of the few foods I craved after going gluten free. 

Let me tell you, I’ve tried every gluten free English muffin I’ve come across. Some were light, but oddly spongy. Others felt like hockey pucks, and tasted about the same. The closest I’ve come were good, but a little too heavy for my taste. How hard could it be to get that light texture but still have a little bit of body too? Oh yeah, and don’t forget they needed to taste good!