Don't stir the pot

With spring well upon us, I know we're supposed to be looking forward to fresh and vibrant tastes of Spring and Summer, but this is also an awkward part of the year where it's too early to enjoy much fresh regional produce yet. Maybe it's the Scorpio in me, but I lean towards the earthy end of the food spectrum all year long, and today I am compelled to write about mushrooms, and share my secret for forcing them to not be mushy when they reach the dinner table!

I fell in love with mushrooms all over again in Ukraine. Wild mushrooms abound in the lush wooded areas that dominate much of the landscape, and many Ukrainians are regional mycologists. It is not unusual to stop along the highway to buy a bucket of freshly foraged mushrooms from a babushka, or be served a huge helping of sauteed wild mushrooms with dinner.

Called "hryby" in Ukrainian, "greeby" in Russian, wild mushrooms are quite common, adding lovely earthy taste and meaty texture to soups, sides, and sautés. I felt gluttonous eating wild mushrooms so often, since in the US wild mushrooms are an expensive delicacy, often at over $10 per pound. But in Ukraine, mushrooms are comparable in price to most other common vegetables.

Here's how you can give hum-drum cheap-o white button mushrooms the texture of wild mushrooms: meaty, chewy, not soggy. The secret to cooking delicious dark golden and meaty mushrooms is not to stir the pot! This takes an amazing amount of restraint. Why is it so alluring to stir and tinker with whatever is on the stove top? When it comes to mushrooms, try this technique of inaction, and I bet you will be pleased.

The whole idea is that raw mushrooms have moisture locked inside. If they are rotated while cooking, the moisture spills out and then steams the meat, making them mushy. By not moving them around, the steam stays more locked inside and the outsides can actually dry out and become golden.

1. Chose relatively clean small and medium whole white mushrooms, not pre-sliced.
2. When cleaning your mushrooms, try to use as little water as possible unless they are really dirty. Then make sure to leave them to dry for a bit on a paper towel.
3. Cut the end of the stems off, and then slice mushrooms into quarters (this is important!).
4. Heat up cast iron skillet on medium heat.
5. Add 1 Tbs butter and 1 Tbs vegetable or coconut oil to mix (the butter adds flavor, and the oil keeps the butter from burning). Coat the skillet.
6. Add the mushrooms in a single layer on a cut side, but do not toss them around!
7. Leave alone for 4 to 5 minutes (set a timer and find something else to do!) until bottom side is a nice dark golden.
8. Turn them each 90 degrees onto the other cut side and cook another 4 to 5 minutes (this is why you cut them in quarters!)
9. Optional: sprinkle with salt and garlic powder.
10. Serve immediately.
11. Goes well with meat, or serve as a simple side dish on their own.

Yum! Look for dark golden color on the cooked side. I developed the quarter-cut technique after taking this picture which helps to prevent over-stirring.

Enjoy! Nasdirov!

Pancakes or Blini: any flour will do

Is it true that every culture has a variation of "the pancake"? I'm discovering that a pancake can be a wonderful gluten-free alternative to bread for any meal. They are quick, cheap, simple, store-able, and vkusniya (yummy!). I urge you to cook some up for a special Sunday brunch this weekend, and save the extras (if there are any) for dinner.

Chestnut flour blini with fruit salad filling

In Russian, pancakes are called blini (blee-nee) or blinchiki. In Ukrainian, mlyntsi. The root of the word comes from the old slavic verb meaning "to mill". They are sometimes made paper-thin like the French crepes, and sometimes small and stocky like IHOP silver dollars. 

I've been on a a blini-binge the past few weeks: trying a different type of gluten free flour each week. So far, corn, chestnut, and rice flour all work wonderfully, each with a distinctive color and taste. I'm going to keep experimenting with other gluten free flours. Blini can be paired with fruity/sweet fillings, or savory fillings, or just served on the side as a vehicle for wiping up sauces at the end of a meal.

Basic Blini Recipe (thin style)
You can use a blender, but they are such a pain to clean! It's really easy to whip the batter by hand with a whisk:

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup milk (or almond/soy/hemp)
• 1 cup flour (rice, corn/masa, GF blend, or half-chestnut and half-rice)
• dash of salt
• 2 Tbs vegetable or olive oil

Let stand for at least 30 minutes while you prepare your fillings. This lets the flour expand and makes for better crepes, and is especially important for corn flour.

Heat a non-stick or cast iron skillet on medium high, and brush with oil.
Using a 1/3 cup ladle, spread a portion of the batter on the pan, and tilt the pan circularly to get a nice thin blin. (If you're using a cast iron skillet like I do, you get an added arm muscle workout!)

When the top is dry and the edges are a tiny bit brown (around a minute), flip the blin and let cook no more than 30 seconds. This excellent video shows the process: Foodwishes.com Guide to cooking the perfect crepe
 
Heat oven to 200 degrees, and keep a cookie sheet there to keep them warm, adding as you cook them.

Ready to be devoured! Corn flour makes really yellow blini

Fillings: 
Set your table with lots of filling options. You and your guests can make each blini roll-up unique!

• Any and all fruit, cut up small into a fruit salad
• Sour cream & jam mixed
• Fresh lemon wedges
• Cinnamon
• Crushed nuts
• Honey, maple syrup
• Caviar (the authentically Russian choice!)
• Savory scrambled eggs with salsa
• Asian stir fry
• Mexican spiced black beans
• Any meat & vegetable saut
• Base for cannoli

Gluten free bread: it's a sensitve topic

You may know that the issue of "bread" is an emotional one for those of us who cannot consume gluten. Gluten is the stuff that gives bread that lovely crusty-yet-elastic texture you love. Gluten free bead is at best muffin-like, and at worst sandy. I'm getting misty thinking about it now.

Grocery stores offer better and better GF bread that toasts up almost as well as traditional bread (in my opinion, Udi's makes it the best, in my hometown of Denver Colorado!). But, the stuff can be expensive. Even mixes are $4-$5 each, which is more than a baked loaf! My inner frugal girl decided to conquer the bread...

Here I've reviewed and adapted the Gluten Free Goddess' Delicious Gluten-Free Bread Recipe. I've made two loaves so far, and while they weren't quite as springy and airy as Udi's, they were still pretty darned good. I'd give it a B+. I revised the recipe a bit to include some cheaper ingredients. And, it can be made vegan.

Behold! This came out of my kitchen! This is the first loaf. I got it even better the second time 'round. (P.S. thanks to my darling friends who sent me this "Betty Rocker" tea towel!)

This was somewhat labor intensive, but extremely satisfying. Now that I know the process, I might pick up a few more loaf pans and make several at once to freeze! I need to do a cost analysis to see if this one is cheaper to make than the $4-$5 loafs cost us at the store.


Here is my adaptation of the Gluten Free Goddess' Delicious Gluten-Free Bread Recipe.
Her version includes a bread machine option, which is nice if you have that appliance. The following is sans machine. Please note, my Colorado pals, this recipe is optimized for lower elevations, but I've made a few high elevation notes.

In a small bowl, combine:

• 1 packet rapid dry yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons
  1 1/4 cup warm water at 110 to 115 degrees F. (I did 1 c cold tap water and 1/4 c boiled)
• 1 tsp honey or agave nectar

Allow this mixture to get "poofy", around 3 or 4 minutes. If it doesn't get poofy you have inactive yeast! Stop here and get some fresh yeast to start over.


In a separate, large bowl, whisk together these dry ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour blend (often found at Costco) (or 1 cup sorghum flour and 1/2 cup millet flour)
• 1 cup potato starch (not potato flour!) or corn starch (which is cheaper)
• 2 teaspoons xantham gum
• 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt

Pour the yeast mixture into your dry mixture and mix by hand. Then stir in:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 more tablespoon honey or raw agave nectar 
• 1/2 teaspoon mild rice vineger or white wine cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 4 tablespoons warm water till frothy, OR 2 Tbs flax meal soaked in 4 Tbs warm water for 5 minutes OR one real egg with two egg whites. I did flax meal. *Note: High elevations try reducing the amount of egg/egg replacer by half.*

Beat until a smooth batter forms. I use the word batter because gluten-free bread dough is more like thick muffin batter than wheat based bread dough -- it is not as thin as cake batter, though. I found that whipping it really made a difference to the airiness the second time I made the recipe.

Scrape the dough into a ceramic or glass loaf pan (or use a 7 to 8-inch round cake pan for rustic ciabatta style bread) and smooth the top evenly, using wet fingers. Top with sesame seeds (optional).

Place the pan in a warmed oven or draft free spot with a cloth draped on it. I set mine on top of a  recently used toaster oven. Allow the dough to rise until it domes nicely -- from 45 to 50 minutes. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 

When the oven comes to temperature bake the risen bread until it sounds hollow when thumped -- about 45 minutes to 55 minutes, and even up to 65 minutes if you're at higher altitude. Lower style round pan loaves will bake quicker -- at 30 to 40 minutes, usually.

Cool on a wire rack. Wait about 10 minutes or more until you can comfortably handle the loaf. Run a spatula along the side walls before turning over. 


After it's cool, keep the loaf wrapped in two plastic vegetable bags in the fridge. It will last up to 4 days (if you don't gobble it up!)


Has anyone else mastered the home made gluten free bread dilemma? Let me know!


Kiss Kiss! Tsyom Tsyom!

Does the world need another cooking blog?

The world might not need another cooking blog, but I've decided not to worry about that. There are just too many yummy creations making their way to our table that I feel I must share. Plus, feeling like a journalist in my own home is a fun role playing exercise.

While traveling in Ukraine in September of this year, "vkusniya" was one of the first new Russian words I learned: tasty. I said this quite often throughout our month long stay. With each tasty dish presented at the table, I re-learned my love of cooking and eating with new approaches to a gluten-free, mostly vegan diet based on fairly simple, non-spiced techniques. I learned to appreciate the perfection of a nice brothy soup, not just for dinner, but for breakfast too!

Let's dig in!

So, to start off 2011, here's a nice cold salad I learned to make in Ukraine, and I just made a big bowl of it.

Vinegret Salad

I dislike chopping anything into small, uniform pieces, but for this dish, I somehow find a new reserve of patience. This is a very flexible recipe, but pickles are essential. Have about twice the amount of beets as everything else.

• 5 medium beets, tops cut off and washed (but not peeled!) 
• Bake in a covered dish for around 2 hours at 350 degrees. (Check online guides for temperature and time if you have small or extra large beets)
• In a medium saucepan, boil 3 carrots and 2 peeled potatoes until tender, about 20 mins, drain
• Let all vegetables cool in fridge a few hours or overnight
• Peel all veggies by scraping off skin with a paring knife (this is surprisingly easy to do!)

• Dice vegetables into 1/2" cubes, starting with the beets and carrots. Toss these in some olive oil before adding the rest (below) to try to contain the beet's pigments
• Add the rest of the ingredients, but do not stir until the end:
• All the diced potatoes
• Diced dill pickles (4 or 5 of the 3 inch kind, or 2 of the large kind)
• 1 small can of drained peas (optional)
• 1/4 white onion, diced very small (optional. This will be very fragrant!)
• A little more olive oil and a pinch of salt.
• Toss gently and serve. Refrigerate the rest
• Optional: sprinkle with chopped walnuts before serving.

Nasdirova!