Apple Pie —gluten free

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

The apple mixture:

• Five cups of peeled and sliced apples (I used Fuji apples)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon orange juice (because i didn’t have lemon!)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• Three tablespoons Minute Tapioca

Mix all ingredients and transfer to saucepan. Cook on low heat for about 15 minutes stirring frequently to blend all ingredients. Add a few splashes of water as needed to keep from sticking to pan. When apples are slightly tender, remove from heat.

The crust:

• 1/2 cup finely-ground gluten-free oats
• 1/2 cup King Arthur gluten free flour
• 1/4 cup cold butter
• 1/4 cup sunflower oil
• Three tablespoons cold water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

In food processor: pulse all ingredients except the water (about ten pulses until ingredients hold together). Add the cold water and pulse another five or six pulses. Remove from processor unto a sheet of wax paper. Quickly shape dough into a ball; top with another sheet of wax paper and roll out thinly. Remove wax paper. Place pie plate upside down on crust; turn plate over and gently press dough into place. Trim off extra dough. Add a teaspoon of brown sugar to the extra dough and blend together with your fingers then flatten the dough — chop into bits and use for topping.

Add apple mixture into pie crust and top with brown sugar mixture.

Top with crumbled mixture.

Bake at 450 degrees for ten minutes.

Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 40 minutes.

Let pie cool for ten minutes or so.

Tastes great warm and even better the next day!

Note: I used my Ninja to process ingredients. Worked out well.

Another note: to make this vegan, substitute Earth Balance spread or stick for the butter. Or your choice of vegan spread.

Building a Spaghetti Sauce

Using herbs from our garden and zucchini from our daughter and our son-in-law’s garden, I got all inspired to make a sauce. Turns out this is really fun for me — and it’s always good getting caught up in creating something.

Lentil Vegan Taco Filling 🌮

INGREDIENTS

Taco Seasoning Mix:

1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed

1 tablespoon chili powder  

Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt if the chili powder is unsalted — or salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon red pepper

1/8 teaspoon paprika

VEGETABLES –  to sauté in a little olive oil and/or water with some of the seasoning sprinkled in:

1/2 sweet onion

1 small carrot diced carrot

1/2 diced red pepper

A few sliced mushrooms – cooked

After sautéing for a few minutes, Add in and mix in some more of the taco seasoning, then add in 2 cups Lentils – cooked

2 cups of lentils – cooked

1/2 cup or so of vegetable broth and/or water

Add remaining seasoning as you stir everything together.

Options:

1/4 teaspoon Trader Joe’s Mushroom & Company Umami Seasoning Blend

Top with a teaspoon or two of Follow Your Heart Soy-Free Vegenaise and whatever other toppings you like!

Sloppy Joe Spice Mix

 

Spice Mix:

1/2 tsp ground fennel seed

1/2 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp dried mustard

1/4 tsp celery seed

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp poultry seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon brown sugar

I added the spices to the following mix:

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon “non-soy” sauce

1 tablespoon mustard

1/2 cup water

Then I sautéed onions, red pepper, and mushrooms and ground turkey in the amounts shown below.  After the meat began to brown I added all of the above.  

            1/2 onion diced

           1/2 red pepper diced

         4 ounces or so of cut up mushrooms

        1 pound ground turkey

(can use slightly smooshed up beans instead of turkey to make this a vegan dish)

 

 

 

Bok Choy Breakfast

Recipe

Ingredients & Directions

• One banana
• One carrot
• One stalk celery
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• One tablespoon peanut butter
• Two tablespoons ground golden flax seed
• About a cup of Bok Choy
• 1/4 cup or so of Chobani oat milk
• 1/4 cup or so of cold water.
• Put it all in a blender and BLEND

It’s good, I tell ya’!

Soup in August

I feel like I’m getting a handle on what herbs and spices work together to make a delicious soup.  You can add almost any vegetable to round out the flavor.  It’s all about being  a “minestrone” which means, you can use what ever vegetables you have and amounts are flexible!

Here is what I’ve come up with for a milder seasoning.                                                         (I use more of the spicy stuff for chili):

2 teaspoons of Chile Lime Seasoning Blend (Trader Joe’s)

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/4 teaspoon Umami Seasoning Blend (Trader Joe’s – Mushroom & Company)

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground fennel

1/4 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 Bay leaf

I mix these up and add them in layers because I read somewhere that it helps the flavors blend.

For the actual soup:

First I sauté (in water or broth) a cup or so of onions along with stalk or two of celery (including some of the leafy part).

Once this cooks a bit, I add in about a cup of the broth and sprinkle in some of the spice mixture, then I add in a couple of carrots and a sweet pepper — sometimes red, sometimes green and sometimes a mix.

Next comes a 16 oz can of diced tomato –  I add a teaspoon or so of sugar to mellow this out — it’s still good without the sugar, though.

Then I add in some kidney beans (white and red) or any kind of beans I have on hand.

For variety, I sometimes include a cup or so of red lentils.

After I add in each item, I sprinkle a little more of the spice mix.

After adding in the beans, I pour in the rest of the broth.  I use about 16 ounces of

low-sodium vegetable broth and about a cup or so of water.  Then I add in the bay leaf.

After the soup simmers for about 20 minutes, I add in sliced zucchini and a cup of peas and a cup of corn — anything that needs less time to soften.

After another 30 minutes, it’s blended and ready to go.

Ingredient list for the soup:

1 16-oz box of vegetable broth

1 cup of water

1 cup diced onion

2 stalks celery

2 carrots

1 sweet pepper 

1 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes

2  15-ounce cans of beans

1 cup corn

1 cup peas

1 cup red lentils

1 zucchini sliced (green or yellow – or both)

P.S.  One thing I like about retirement is that it’s so great to have TIME to cook.  It’s kind of therapeutic and fun — and being retired, means I can take my time and I like that!

 

Any Three Beans…

Since I had some left-over kidney beans and pinto beans, I made a bean salad with them.

I added in about a quarter cup of diced celery and a quarter cup of diced onion and one diced hard-boiled egg — just leave that egg out to make it vegan and it will still be good! Crushed some slightly dried dill from the garden into the mix and also a dash of salt and pepper.

I used about a 1/8 of a cup of Vegenaise and about a teaspoon of mustard and stirred that in.  (I bet dried mustard would be a good addition — about 1/4 teaspoon or so).

I had a few Italian green beans from our garden so I cut them and sautéed them for a few minutes in just a little water to soften them.

And there it is.  A quick and easy salad.  

 

Leftover Cannelloni Beans

I had about a cup of cannelloni beans left over so I added a 1/4 cup each of chopped onion and celery.

Then I mixed in a sliced-up hard-boiled egg and tossed that in

A tablespoon of mayo and a teaspoon or two of cherry mustard and it becomes a nifty little side salad.

Fresh Green Beans and Potatoes

A quick and delicious side dish or even a main dish!

Peel one or more Yukon potatoes and cut into pieces. Break up some green beans and toss them in. Cut up some onion and toss that in. Shake on some salt and pepper and a teaspoon or so of onion powder and bring it all to a simmer until tender. So good. I recommend it!

Peach Crunch

The peachy part:

Six peaches (as pictured)

1/4 cup brown sugar                                                                                                                            3 tablespoons instant tapioca                                                                                                   Pinch of salt                                                                                                                                  Pinch of ground nutmeg                                                                                                                 1/8 tsp cinnamon

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Put ingredients in a pan on low heat and stir until blended then cover and let it simmer for about 10 or 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

The Crunchy Part:

1/4 cup finely ground oats                                                                                                                          Plus 1/4 cup minute oats                                                                                                                            

1/2 cup King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour (regular flour works, too).                                                                                                            

1/8 cup ground flax

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon                                                                                                                Pinch of salt                                                                                                                                    Pinch of nutmeg

1/4 cup Earth Balance & sunflower oil, mixed together                                                          (you can always use butter instead)

Mix dry ingredients, then cut in oil mixture (or butter) with a fork until blended into pieces.  I usually end up using my fingers to break it all up and make sure dry stuff is buttery.

Pour peach mixture into baking dish and top with crumbly mixture.                                       Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes; reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 25 minutes or until bubbly and crust is crusty or browned.  Gluten-free flour tends not to brown much at all.

Note:  You can leave out ground flax if you don’t like that and you can add in other things, like pecans if you do like that.  It’s a very flexible recipe.

Tastes great on its own or with ice-cream or whipped topping.