Blueberry Muffins√

For New Year's Eve Brunch Shirley, Mary and Karen came to tank up before we all went for a 5 mile walk. I threw together a Spanish omelet made with a mixture of greens from the garden, orange juice from a mixture of oranges and tangerines from our friends gardens - and some divine wheat-free muffins.

They take 15 minutes to throw together and 10-15 minutes to cook.

Set the oven to 425 degrees then ...

Mix the dry stuff:

• 3 cups flours (1 cup chick pea flour, 1 cup fine rice flour, 1 cup ground almonds)
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. soda
• ½ cup soft brown sugar
• zest from one large orange

Mix the wet stuff:

• ½ cup light vegetable oil (grapeseed or sunflower are perfect)
• 1 ¼ cups yogurt (low fat is good)
• Juice of one large orange (1 cup)
• 3 eggs

Mix the wet stuff into the dry stuff and add:

• 2 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen - they don't need thawing)

Bake in muffin top tins at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes or muffin tins for 15-20 minutes. Muffin tops are brilliant - you get nice, light, thin muffins packed with berries ... I also have heart-shaped silicon 'tins' that make pretty muffins for special guests!!!

The muffins are done when nicely risen and golden brown.

Cool for a few minutes then devour as is or slathered with butter and blueberry jelly!

Notes:

• The chickpea and almond flours add protein and minerals.
• The rice flour adds lightness.
• The original recipe that this one is based on uses vanilla essence but I think it's overkill.
• The original recipe also used 1 cup of sugar - too sweet for me
• The original recipe used way more baking soda (3 tsp.) and less eggs - I hated the metallic taste and kept experimenting until I got a light muffin with a great taste!

Rice Pudding√

This is not your average rice pudding

1 cup of short grain, brown rice (organic if poss)
4 cups of water

simmer gently until all water is absorbed then add

2 cups of milk (whole or 2% or almond or coconut etc.!)
1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon (or your favorite spice)

simmer gently until the rice is really well cooked
brown rice does not go into a mush and there should be some liquid around the rice i.e. it shouldn't be dry
you can add another cup of milk and simmer it again for a softer rice with more 'sauce'!

add a sweetener ... my favorite is a cup of maple syrup
you can use honey or brown sugar ... adding more or less to taste or mixing them!

bring to a boil and turn off the heat
beat 3 large eggs until fluffy and strain them into the rice pudding stirring continuously as you do so and for a couple of minutes afterwards
the heat in the pudding will cook the eggs gently and make a divine custardy pudding
if you leave the heat on the eggs will curdle

you can eat the pudding as is - it will last a good week in the fridge and is a brilliant way to start the day (all 3 logs!)
sprinkle some toasted coconut, seeds and/or nuts on top for added texture and nutrition

you can ring the changes by adding one of the following
- 1 cup of pureed pumpkin (a flavorful, non-watery one like butternut or seminole)
- some fresh or dried apricots or prunes (chopped or pureed)

feel free to let me know of any other delicious variations that you come up with!

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup√

In October I went to Bristol to be with my son Daniel, my daughter-in-law Abby and their beautiful, one week old baby girl - Amelia Freya - my first grand-daughter.

I took care of the shopping, cooking and washing up so that Daniel and Abby could get to know this new little person in their lives without having to worry about feeding themselves as well.

My kitchen frenzies were altogether gentler during that time ... quieter so as not to wake the baby but also as a gesture of respect to Daniel and Abby's beautiful new kitchen since I am naturally a messy, untidy cook at best. I noticed a slower pace also because my kitchen slave did not accompany me on this trip so I had to wash up as I went along.

Amelia is a precious little pixie who is gradually getting the hang of life outside that snug, convenient womb. For those first few weeks she was annoyingly wide awake in the middle of the night when everyone else wanted to sleep. We thought we might rearrange 'visiting times' for friends and rellies - having them come at midnight to play with the baby while we all slept!!!

Daniel, Abby & Amelia (one day old)




















One particularly fine frenzied day I made a big pot of bolognese sauce, two monster meat loaves, a coconut lime drizzle cake and this bright, velvety soup. I made enough of everything to feed us with variations for a good couple or three meals with plenty left over for the freezer for rations after granny went home!!!

The soup is deceptively easy - it positively zings with flavor. It is particularly welcome to be reminded of the summer sunshine when the autumn leaves are crunching underfoot.

Ingredients
Tomatoes (nice red ones)
Red peppers (nice red ones)
Garlic
Olive oil
Salt
(Fresh lime juice)

You'll need a bag of tomatoes and one of red peppers
The quantities and weight don't matter - the bags should be roughly the same size
If you make a smallish soup you can make it all in one pan
I always think this is a mistake - it doesn't take much more time or energy to make a huge pot of soup that will last at least 5 days in the fridge and/or freeze beautifully.

Wash and dry the tomatoes and the peppers and peel the garlics

Cut the tomatoes in 4 (or 8 if you use big beefie toms) and place them skin side down in a large, shallow baking pan - don't smash them all up against each other
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt
Cut the peppers in 2, pull and shake out the seeds and place them skin side UP on another pan (they don't need anything drizzling over them)
Place in a Very Hot Oven (450/225) - the peppers on the top shelf to start with - for 20-30 minutes - the skins should brown and even burn a bit
Pull them out once they have started to blacken

Throw a handful of peeled garlic cloves (you can never have too many) over the tomatoes
Move them to the top shelf and bake for another 15 minutes (until the garlic has started to brown)

While the tomatoes are cooking peel the blackened skins off the peppers
They will come off easily - you don't have to remove all the skin
Throw them into a blender
Add a cup of water (or stock) to the pan and 'deglaze' any juices in the bottom or sides
Add to the blender and blend until completely smooth, until the skins are completely liquidated!

Pour into a large pan or bowl
Once the tomatoes and garlic are cooked cool them a little then throw them into the blender
Add a cup of water (or stock) to the pan and 'deglaze' any juices
Add to the blender and blend until completely smooth, until the skins are completely liquidated!
Add to the blended peppers and add salt to taste.
Add the juice of 1/2 - 1 lime
This is not an essential ingredient and no one should be able to taste it but it does potentiate all the other flavors in a deliciously mysterious way.
If the soup is too thick then add water or stock until the texture is just right - not too thin, not too thick
Serve as is - it really doesn't need anything else.

If you must you can serve with a drizzle of olive oil, or basil or chilli oil, or a dollop of sour cream and some chopped herbs (basil or chives or parsley).

Bon appetite!!

Pantry Pie

The trouble with a biggish pantry is that it's too easy (for me) to fill up. With all sorts of items that I might need one day. With 2 or more of something I can't buy at Publix ... that I picked up in an Indian grocery store: chick pea or lentil or rice flours, tins of alphonso mangoes, lime pickle, poppadoms ... 3 bottles of my favorite olive oil that were on sale ... or whatever. There are items that have been there for a year ... or longer. I have been hanging on to a bottle of clam juice and a tin of clams for making a clam chowder for at least 3 years. That's ridiculous. Our freezers have a similar disease. I am terrible at labeling things with either the contents (left over soups for example) or the date. Every now and then I defrost something and occasionally I never figure out what it once was. One of my (everything but the) Kitchen Sink Soups maybe ... a curried something or another ... a completely unidentifiable ice cream.

It really is counter-intuitive of me to be doing this at the height of summer ... when there's an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, but this week I decided we are going to eat out of the fridge and the pantry and the freezer until they are all lean and I can scrub them all clean. Today I made a great start with an unexpectedly successful sour cherry custard tart made almost completely out of pantry items ... and 3 fresh HennyPenny eggs.

The pantry items:
An Arrowhead Mills Graham Cracker Crust

A can of pitted sour cherries and a can of sweetened condensed milk

HennyPenny are still pullets and their eggs are about 1 1/2 oz. each
2 regular eggs would be fine.

Set the oven to 350

Open both cans.
Strain the cherries carefully ... shake them to get as much of the juice out as possible but don't squeeze or press them ... and leave them in the sieve over the bowl to drain a little more.
Crack the eggs into a bowl and add half the can of sweetened condensed milk.
Whisk like crazy then add the cherry juice and whisk again.
It seemed very liquidy and I panicked momentarily - all for naught since it thickened nicely without any additional agents.
Sprinkle the cherries into the pie crust and pour over the cherry custard.
Cook for 40-50 minutes.
Test it by pressing with your finger - it should be soft and springy ... if there are any wet cracks leave it a little longer.
The custard was silky smooth, the crust still intact (not soggy) and the sour cherries deliciously bright in every bite.

Gazpacho Dos Colores√

Lori and Shirley came to dinner this evening and since they are so fond of gazpacho I decided to try out a new version on them. It was a triumph: delicious, refreshing and colorful.

Let's face it gazpacho is a trumped up salad. Finely chopped it's a labor of love to prepare. Blended it's a liquid salad you don't have to chew but the red and green blended together make for a muddy result - or the often-used day-old bread dulls any remaining bright colors. I decided to deconstruct it and make it in two parts - one green and one red ... and to serve it carefully to preserve the colors ... and to let my guests play with their soup - mixing the two parts ... or not. I couldn't work out how to serve them in a yin/yang shape but I got close!

The green gazpacho is fabulously delicate and smooth with just a little spice from the jalapeno (add more for a spicier soup). The red soup is fresh and light with a spicy finish from the garlic. The two complement each other beautifully and the garnish adds some welcome texture.

This gazpacho was such a spectacularly healthy way to start the meal that I ate the skin from the roast chicken without one shred of regret. Lori and Shirley's signature fruit salad ended a meal jumping in summer antioxidants!

Green Gazpacho
1 ripe avocado: half, remove seed and peel
1/2 English cucumber: wash and roughly chop
1 large green pepper: wash, de-seed and roughly chop
1 jalapeno pepper: wash and de-seed
1/2 cup chicken stock (or water) - or none for a thicker soup
1 slice of day old bread (trimmed of all crusts) or a boiled potato (1/4 cup)
1 small lime: juice
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Blend everything until smooth.
Be careful not to over-salt - start with 1/2 tsp. You can always add more. Cover and chill in the fridge for a good couple of hours.

Red Gazpacho
4-5 large, red, ripe tomatoes: skinned (dip in boiling water for 30 seconds and peel)
2 large red peppers: blister under the broiler and skin/de-seed saving the 'juices'
3-4 large cloves garlic (6 small cloves): peel
1/2 cup chicken stock or water (if your tomatoes are watery omit the stock )
1 slice of day old bread (trimmed of all crusts) or a boiled potato (1/4 cup)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Blend everything until smooth.
Cover and chill in the fridge for a good couple of hours.

Garnishes/Optional Extras!
Small bunch of scallions: clean and chop finely
Parsley (or cilantro): wash and chop finely
Pour over a drizzle of very good, fruity or peppery olive oil.
Sprinkle over a little red wine, sherry or balsamic vinegar.
Serve with a bowlful of freshly made croutons.

We took Ziggy for a walk between the roast chicken and the fruit salad ... and Noodle joined along with us for part of it but pooped out after a bit. It's been a brutally hot summer ... 45 days and counting of temperatures in the mid to high 90s with up to 100% humidity. A brisk walk was out of the question but we all did our best to enjoy what passes for fresh air in this sauna we call home. On the way back this beautiful leaf showed up on the path ... totally the same colors as the soup. Sweet!

It's a gazpacho weekend!
Dinner at Marilyn and Susie's the day after this one and gazpacho is on the menu. What fun! A spicy redness all the more delicious for being served in a delicate glass. How beautiful.It had more texture than mine and I liked that. It made me want to remake mine without the stock. And strain the tomatoes. And to not blend it to smithereens but to let the texture of the tomatoes speak a little about their day.

Variations on the Theme
Another summer another year. This time Carmen and Joa came over so I replaced the chicken stock with water cos Joa doesn't eata da meata. And I wasn't sure about too much spice so I omitted the jalapeno as well. I added an extra avocado to the green one which made it so divinely smooth I couldn't stop wanting just one more spoonful. And so the (gazpacho) beat goes on!!!

Beetroot Brownies√

Ellen's family came to visit this week ... her sister and husband drove down from Michigan with their doggy. Her niece and husband from Connecticut and her nephew from Texas ... plus her other nephew came up for golf games and occasional meals from Ocala. Yesterday it rained all day and the temperatures dropped as an arctic chill blew through. By mid-afternoon I was dying for cake and tea. I've been thinking a lot lately about the kinds of vegetables that can be incorporated into baked goods. If we can enjoy pumpkin pie and carrot muffins why not beetroot brownies.

These brownies are good for you! The beetroots add a smooth, sweet moistness and you cannot tell for one minute that they are there.

• 9 oz (250g) good, dark 70% chocolate (Bakers: 1/2 100% and 1/2 50%)
• 9 oz (250g) salted butter cut into cubes (or unsalted butter + a good pinch of salt)
• 9 oz (250g) soft brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 4 oz (150g) self-raising flour or plain flour (brown or white) with 1 tsp baking powder
• 9 oz (250g) raw beetroot
• 9 oz (250g) pecans or walnuts

1. Grease and flour a 12 x 12 (or 8 x 16) pan/tin.
2. Grate the beetroot (on a fine to medium size grater)
3. Break or cut the chocolate into pieces, cut the butter into cubes and throw them all into a heatproof bowl.
4. Turn the oven to 350°F/180°C (my oven runs a bit cool and I find 375 is better).
5. Put the chocolate/butter into the oven as it begins to warm. Stir after a couple of minutes and put back into the oven for a few more minutes to melt completely. Be sure not to leave it in for too long - the mixture should not 'overheat'.
6. While the chocolate is melting and the oven is heating whisk the eggs and sugar till fluffy.
7. Beat in the melted chocolate and butter till smooth.
8. Gently fold in the flour then the beetroot – be careful not to over-mix or the brownies will be tough.
9. Pour the mixture into the tin/pan and sprinkle with the nuts (whole or chopped).
10. Bake for 30-40 minutes. A knife or skewer pushed into the middle should feel some resistance (if it is too wet it will go in too easily) and it should come out with bits clinging to it.

All recipes tell you to remove the pan from the oven and leave it on a wire rack to cool before cutting into squares. This is patently ridiculous. After the house has filled with the mouth-watering aroma of chocolate, waiting is simply not an option in any sensible home. We hacked great hunks from the pan as it landed on the kitchen counter and wolfed them down piping hot with ice-cold glasses of milk. Some of us went back for seconds by which time it had cooled off a bit!

This recipe is adapted from a recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Pecan Kisses√

When I first arrived in Gainesville I became obsessed with sour oranges. My new friend Corky had a sour orange tree in her garden - a good orange tree turned 'native' after a hurricane. Her tree was full of oranges. She had been letting them fall to the ground and rot for many years. I experimented with sour oranges - cooking nearly everything that asked for key limes - and finding Sour Orange Pie (with a pecan shortbread crust) to be a hands-down winner. I couldn't get enough oranges. She stripped her tree and I filled my freezer with one cup portions of juice and grated rind so I wouldn't get withdrawals when the sour orange season was over. Here's the problem - I made so many dishes that involved egg yolks my fridge became literally overrun with egg whites. I don't particularly like meringues so I searched for a way to make a 'cookie' that uses up the exact number of egg whites that are left over after making a fruit curd or a sour orange pie!
Here they are! Divine little dairy-and-wheat/gluten free, meringue-like cookies. They use less than half the sugar of other similar recipes. Depending on how long you cook them they are crisp and crunchy (better than biscotti!), or soft and chewy! It is impossible to eat one of them. I have known grown men to eat 10 or more in one sitting!
This recipe makes about 40 tablespoon size cookies or about 60-80 small ones and is really quick and easy to cook up!

Ingredients
5 eggs (about a cup of egg whites) at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 cup soft brown sugar
2 cups of ground pecans (or 1 cup ground and 1 cup roughly chopped)

Turn the oven on to 250 degrees
Whisk the egg whites & salt till they form soft peaks.
Add the sugar gradually and carry on whisking until the peaks are stiffer (it's possible to get stiff whites with confectioner's sugar but the flavor isn't the same).
Fold in the pecans.
Line 3 cookie sheets or pans with lightly greased parchment. *
Drop even sized spoonfuls with half inch gaps (they shouldn't spread much).

Cook for 45 minutes (for chewy cookies)
Cook for one hour or a bit longer (for crisper cookies).

* Use a flavorless oil like safflower or sunflower or canola. I often don't bother greasing the parchment - once they are cool I peel off the paper carefully so as not to leave any on the cookies!