Posts Tagged ‘vegan’

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Pear Skillet Bread

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

Sometimes I get something in my head and I’m not letting it go until I get what I want! This recipe is a perfect example. I love my Nana Skillet Bread, but bananas don’t agree with me…and I can’t have grains. But I believed I could make it work with pears and was absolutely determined! Darn thing wasn’t going to get the best of me. Most of the “failed” batches were delicious, but they were a pile of crumbs, so I was always “forced” to eat them. Quite a hardship! I generally make things in season, and started working on this at the beginning of pear season, and didn’t figure out how to make it work until a week ago. I have a stash of frozen pears, and methinks this is where they’re headed.

It’s not quite a bread, and not quite a cake. It’s perfect for breakfast, brunch or a snack, and it’s quite healthy, too! If you don’t have a skillet, you can do it in an 9 inch round, but the crust won’t brown as nicely. Lining the skillet with parchment is essential if you’re using a skillet, or it will totally get stuck. Salba or chia is a must, and flax won’t work. You’ll get a pile of crumbs. Tasty crumbs. Trust me. For more info on Salba, I have a two articles here. If you don’t have mesquite, add more almond flour instead, and add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and more spices.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
¼ cup mesquite flour
1Tablespoons +1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup pecans or walnuts (optional)
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
pinch of salt

Wet:
1 1/4 cups very ripe pears
1 tablespoon ground chia (Salba) seeds
2/3 cup agave (a little less)
3T oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon maple extract
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Line the bottom of a 10 inch cast iron skillet with parchment paper, then grease the paper and sides of the pan. Preheat oven to 350 and put skillet in the hot oven 10 minutes before adding the batter.

Thoroughly mix dry ingredients together. Dump wet ingredients in a blender. Let it roll until well blended. In my vitamix, that takes less than a minute. I would assume an ordinary blender would take a few minutes. Add wet to dry mix until well everything is combined, then stir in the nuts.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until top turns a beautiful golden brown. Almond flour browns a lot so don’t be surprised if it’s darker than you expect. Cool on a drying rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Top with sauteed apples if desired.

Yum.

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008

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Posted in baked goods, bread, recipe | 5 Comments »

Pesto time!

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

As always, I leave things to the last minute, and this is pretty much the last hurrah for my basil.   I’m just lucky that the weather has cooperated and that my basil is still around!  I love pesto, and it’s just so easy to do.  It’s even better because the basil and garlic are from my garden (the garlic was harvested and roasted months ago).

And, as an added bonus, pesto is part of my sneaky agenda to add vegan meals to the menu without DH noticing.  Pesto is so hearty and filling, especially with a great protein like quinoa, and I think it somehow escaped his attention.  Whenever he notices, he feels the need to compensate by eating a big bowl of ice cream…which entirely defeats the purpose.  He says it’s not intentional, but I don’t buy it.  We had a deal when we married.  I wasn’t moving to Rochester, and he wasn’t going vegetarian.  So far, we’re living in Virginia, and still have a mixed diet.  But that doesn’t stop me from trying to push the envelope.  Ah, the things we do for love…

But onto the pesto!

I make a bunch at a time and freeze it so I can enjoy in the winter. I tend to make a pretty dry paste to freeze, and then just thin out with more olive oil as needed when I’m ready to use it. And there are so many ways to use it! Stir it into quinoa, as above, or use it as a pizza topping. Use it as a dip, pesto your fish….you’re only limited by your imagination!

You may also notice that there’s no cheese in this recipe, since I’m allergic to dairy. You can certainly add in some parm, but between the pine nuts and walnuts, there’s a delightful creaminess and I never miss it.

3 cups packed fresh basil, washed at the last minute
4 cloves roasted garlic (optional)
1 clove raw garlic
1/2 cup olive oil*
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts and walnuts
Big pinch sea salt
good squirt of lemon
1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives (optional)

*more as needed or desired

Toast pine nuts and walnuts over medium heat in a dry skillet, shaking to prevent burning. Set aside.
Process basil, garlic and oil until smooth-ish. Add in salt, nuts and lemon and pulse. I like to leave chunks, but that’s a matter of personal taste!

Since I’ve been missing the “Grow your own” deadlines for a while, I’m reversing the trend and submitting early! The host for this round is Andrea, of Andrea’s Kitchen, who also was the founder of this event.

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Posted in main meal, recipe, weekend herb blogging | 9 Comments »

Salsa-mole

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

I was fully prepared to make guacamole, but there were all of these tomatoes and I was craving salsa, too. Problem solved: salsa-mole.

This made a great, quick, vegan lunch that I enjoyed most thoroughly! If you’re a big fan of cilantro, like I am, you may want to increase it. You can enjoy this on tortilla chips, crackers or just with a spoon. Yum!

Cilantro, or coriander, is a member of the same family as carrots, celery and parsley, and yet the neighborhood rabbits leave it alone. Come to think, they’re not too clever, they rarely munch on my garden. Usually they have grass instead. Hey, I’m not complaining but grass instead of veggies? You must be kidding! Now that the weather is getting cooler, I’ve planted some again and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Many culinary traditions make good use of cilantro, such as in Mexican, Indian and many others. However, there are some misguided people out there that can’t abide the taste or smell. Regretfully, DH is one.

1 avocado, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 heirloom tomato, diced
1/2 sweet pepper, diced
small shallot, finely minced, or a Tablespoon sweet onion
small handful of chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
good squeeze of lime

Add everything together, mix and enjoy!

This is my weekly offering to Weekend Herb Blogging, the baby of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s host is Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once is our host, and that’s a motto that sounds like fun. Her photos are stunning!


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Posted in main meal, recipe, side dish, vegetables, weekend herb blogging | 9 Comments »

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

Friday, September 19th, 2008

Go gourmet with this delicious vegan treat! I gave a slice to a friend, and then I was out of town for a week. When I returned, I had 3 emails requesting the recipe! I’ve had gluten eaters come back for seconds.  This bread is perfect for brunch or a snack, and also works as muffins. It’s largely whole grain, and the Salba seeds lend a wonderful moistness. It’s gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, corn and sugar free and vegan.

I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for a while, and am so glad I got around to it.  It won the Gluten Intolerant Groups‘ (GIG) Healthy recipe contest, and it is quite yummy.

There are a lot of different flours in it.  I suspect that you could substitute most of the flours with an all purpose GF mix, though I don’t know if the rice bran would sub well.  If you try it, please let me know!

Salba gel
1 T whole Salba seed
¼ cup water

½ cup + 2 Tablespoons brown rice flour
½ cup sorghum flour (or teff flour)
½ cup almond meal
¼ cup rice bran
¼ cup sweet rice flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds

2 Tablespoons honey (or agave, for vegan version)
¾ cup orange juice
¼ cup canola or olive oil
¼ cup agave nectar (or 1/3 cup sugar and 2 Tablespoons honey)
Zest of 1 lemon
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Line a 9X5 inch bread pan with parchment paper overhanging the edges. Preheat oven to 350º.

Combine Salba seed and water, in a small bowl, set aside. Combine all flours and starches and mix well, eliminating any lumps. Add in poppy seeds.

Zest lemon before juicing. Combine honey and warm orange juice. When well mixed, add in oil, agaves nectar, Salba gel, and lemon juice and lemon zest.

Mix wet and dry ingredients and stir until everything is combined. Bake at 350 for approximately 50 minutes, cover after 30 minutes to prevent over-browning. Check for doneness with a toothpick.

Allow to cool on a drying rack, and remove with parchment paper “handles” after 5 minutes to prevent a soggy bottom. Cool completely on drying rack.

Serve and accept compliments.

Makes one large loaf, or two 5X3 loaves or muffins.

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Posted in baked goods, bread, recipe | 5 Comments »

Luscious Banana Bread

Friday, September 12th, 2008

My in-laws came to visit, leaving me with an overabundance of bananas. Later that day, a friend gave me a jar of orange blossom honey, with the theory that since I bake so much, surely I’d use it. Well, I rarely bake with honey, most of it goes to DH’s tea. But honey has such a lovely flavor, and as I eyed the bananas and honey sitting side by side, I thought, bring on the banana bread!

This is a particularly dessert-y banana bread, and sweeter than many of my baked goods. It’s quite different of my very favorite banana creations, my Nana Skillet bread, which has a much more mellow flavor. I was actually surprised at how it came out because there was a pretty modest amount of sweetener, but a little honey goes a long way! Especially if you’re using super ripe bananas, the chocolate chips are totally optional. As impossible as it sounds, I think I put in too many! Next time I’d likely leave them out all together or only use 1/4 a cup (I used 1/2 cup). Like all of my creations, this is delightfully gluten, dairy, egg, soy and corn free, and can easily be vegan by using agave and cane sugar free by eliminating the chips or using cacao nibs. It’ll thrill your honey for sure. Both loaves and the cake were devoured and enjoyed by gluten eaters and non gluten eaters alike.

I favor mini cakes and loaves in general because they’re so darn cute, and I can also gift them to different people. Rather than doing a big loaf, I used 2 mini loaf pans and a mini bundt (2 mini loaves and 2 mini muffins would also have worked quite well). I assume a standard loaf pan would work, too.

I used the GF flours I had on hand. I used almond meal because I wanted to use healthy fats from real food, like the flax and almond, rather than butter or oils. I’m sure any mix of whole grain gf flours would work, and would suspect wheat flour would work, too.

And just so you’re forewarned, the honey turns the bread a deep yummy brown. Don’t be afraid, though, it didn’t burn.

1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup teff flour
1 rounded tablespoon mesquite flour(optional, or add carob or more almond meal instead)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of fine sea salt
2 overripe bananas
1 rounded tablespoon ground flax
1/3 cup sparkling water
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350. Line pans with parchment for ease of serving and cleanup. Stir flax into the sparkling water and set aside for a few minutes. Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Mash the banana until you’ve got mush. Combine it with the honey, add the flax mix and stir thoroughly. Briefly combine dry ingredients and honey mixture and add in chopped nuts, mix until just combined.

Put into preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes at 350, then cover with foil and turn down to 325. A mini bundt was done in 30 total, but the small loaves took close to an hour.

This is my submission for Weekly Herb Blogging. It may sound like this wouldn’t fit, because Kalyn’s rules for WHB state unusual fruits or veggies, and bananas are certainly run of the mill! But did you know that bananas are technically herbs, and not fruit? Well, they’re really the fruit of an herb, so that should count.

Our host is Gretchen from Canela & Comino, who has quite a range of global dishes in her recipe section. I must say, I spent far too long looking through the archive!

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Posted in baked goods, dessert, recipe, weekend herb blogging | 11 Comments »

101 Cookbooks: an adoption and an inspiration

Saturday, September 6th, 2008

101 Cookbooks meets 101 allergies…not quite, but sometimes it feels like it!

I love Heidi’s blog, 101 Cookbooks. One of the things I like best is Heidi’s inventive use of non-gluten grains and flours, like teff, millet, amaranth, and my favorite, mesquite. It’s cooking and baking for people who love good, real, unprocessed foods. Rather than specialty gluten free foods, her site often features great foods that just happen to be gluten free. The pictures are gorgeous, and each is a work of art in itself. Not only that, she has a real, fresh, approachable way about her writing which makes it feel more like an intimate conversation. And the occasional post on social consciousness? It makes me miss my Berkeley days.

Her cookbook, Super Natural Cooking, is among one of the most food stained in my kitchen, which for me is a sort of cookbook rating system.  8-) Some recipes are gluten free, some aren’t, but most are pretty adaptable to GF. It’s worth getting just for the discussion of flours and grains!

I’ve made quite a few from the website and the book, with my favorite being a gluten/dairy/egg/soy free Chocolate Coconut pudding. There is a list of GF recipes on the site, but don’t limit yourself! There are quite a few GF recipes that aren’t tagged as GF.

I “adopted” Heidi, because she’s one of only a handful of mainstream bloggers who aren’t gluten intolerant that choose to make a point to cater to GF folks and have a GF tag.  So thank you, Heidi, both for the GF recipes and great ideas.

For my adoption, I made the Choco coco clusters. They were amazing! I was first introduced to the concept of salt and chocolate by Sally. I tried it, and thought it was interesting, but I wasn’t sure if I actually liked it. But this adoption was my excuse for getting a smoked salt, and the pairing of smoked salt and the deep rich chocolate was just incredible. I did half a batch with almonds, as per the recipe, and use toasted brazil nuts for the other half. Next time I’d maybe add in some orange peel? Both ways were really amazing.

And for the inspiration…

when I read Heidi’s recipe for Banana Chip Cookies, I couldn’t get them out of my head. Banana chips in cookies?   Yes, most of the ingredients were off limits for me, like the wheat flour, eggs, sugar, butter, etc. but I was determined to pull together a gluten free, whole grain, vegan, dairy/egg/corn/soy free version with little sugar.

I’m delighted to say, mission accomplished! It took a few tries, but hey, the experimentation process was delicious.  And these were absolutely incredible. I used macadamia nuts, which gave a total buttery richness, and sweetened them with agave. People who ate them wanted more, and this was by far the best chocolate chip cookie I had since going GF (and everything else free). The only downside is that an egg free dough means you’ve got no good reason not to just eat it raw…

I didn’t use a binder because I didn’t think it was necessary. Personally, I find xantham a off putting (ya know, something about casings of bacteria and all). They stay together just fine as long as you chill them and keep them small.  But if you want bigger cookies or don’t want to chill them, just add in your favorite binder, like xantham or guar or a little chia seed.

Though I had to change a bunch of elements, the spirit of Heidi’s remains in the whole grains and banana chips.  I never would have thought to put them in a cookie on my own!

Also–I use a spoon-in method rather than sweep and dip, meaning you spoon the flour in one spoon at a time. I don’t know what effect, if any, doing it the other way would have on a final product.

Banana Mac-Chip cookies

3/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup ivory teff flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon mesquite (or 1 more tablespoon teff)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
scant 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 rounded teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

1/3 cup coconut oil
3 Tablespoons macadamia butter or cashew mac butter
1/2 cup agave
2 Tablespoons of molasses
2 Tablespoons vanilla
1/3 cup sparkling (bubbly) water

1 cup (measured pre-chopped)  macadamia nuts, lightly toasted and salted
2/3 cup banana chips
2/3 cup chocolate chips (dairy and soy free)

Chop macadamia nuts and banana chips.  I finely chopped about 1/3 of them, and left the rest coarsely chopped.  Chop banana chips.

Mix dry ingredients together thoroughly. Cream the coconut oil, nut butter and sweeteners, then add vanilla. Mix wet and dry, add in the bubbly water and add ins. Chill for 30 minutes.

Put walnut sized mounds on a silpat or parchment about 2 inches apart.   Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes or until they start turning a yummy golden brown.

LET COOKIES COOL COMPLETELY before moving them, or they will definitely crumble.  Ideally, you’d wait 15 minutes before moving/eating, but the broken ones don’t count, right?

The adoption/adaption of Heidi’s recipes and 101 Cookbooks is part of “Adopt a GF Blogger”, as hosted by Book of Yum.  Many thanks to Sea for starting and hosting this event. 

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Posted in baked goods, dessert, recipe | 18 Comments »

Roasted tomato and caramelized onion soup

Sunday, August 31st, 2008

This soup is a celebration of summer veggies, and is one of my favorites!  I make a huge batch and freeze it, and it’s such a treat to devour a bowl of summertime in the middle of the winter.

Growing up, I wasn’t a fan of tomatoes.  It was only once I started having them straight out of the garden that I discovered they were actually quite yummy!  So I never had tomato soup growing up, nor did I really develop a concept  of what tomato soup should be like.  I made a bunch of batches last year, and discovered that I like thick, serious soup…none of that thin, watery soup for me.  That’s why I seed everything by hand rather than using a food mill, because it gives a much heartier soup.  This does take a while, but it’s totally worth it–trust me!

As you’ll notice, the ingredients are as simple as can be.  That’s because when veggies are totally ripe and garden fresh, they shine best with little adornment.  For variety, I’ve roasted the tomatoes with fresh thyme, or added in a little cayenne.

I caramelize onions with just a little oil and long, slow cooking.  I do stir, simply because I like doing huge batches.  Otherwise, there’s so little left to enjoy! on!  This summer, I’ve only found sweet onions at the market, which are super yummy, but very watery, so i periodically “bail out” some onion juice and save it to add it back in later.  That’s not needed with yellow onions.   As you can see, they cook way down.

The cashew cream on top isn’t necessary, but boy, is it the icing on the cake.  You can also use a dollop of pesto, if you’ve got some handy.

4 large onions, sliced thinly
2 Tablespoons oil
pinch of sea salt
4 lbs of tomatoes, seeded and peeled
fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil

2 tablespoons of fresh thyme (optional)

Cashew Cream:
2/3 cup cashews
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon agave or maple syrup

Thinly slice the onions.  If you have a mandolin slicer, it’s much easier.  Heat the oil in a big heavy pot on medium heat, and add onions, stirring every 2-3 minutes for the first 10 minutes.   Add in a pinch of salt.  Onions should keep cooking over medium low heat for 70 min or so until dark and gorgeous.  They require little attention, just stir every 10 min or so while you’re working with the tomatoes.

Preheat oven to 350.

De- seed tomatoes, by chopping and squeezing gently.  For Romas or plum tomatoes, cutting in half is perfect, for a huge heirloom tomato, smaller pieces might be necessary.

Place tomatoes skin up on a WELL LINED cookie sheet.  Spray or drizzle with oil (if desired), thyme (if desired), black pepper and sea salt.  Roast for 15-20 minutes.  You will have more than one tray.  If you have a Vitamix or a high powered blender, it’s not necessary to peel the tomatoes.   If you don’t, it’s easy to pull the skins off as they are cooling.

Puree tomatoes in batches, adding in onion “water” if there is any.  Pour pureed tomatoes into the caramelized onion mix.

If you’re using the cashew cream, soak cashews in water overnight, then blend with water until smooth (this may take a long time!)  Add sweetener to taste.

Gently heat tomato soup, and serve with fresh chopped basil and cashew cream.

Cool to room temp before freezing.

This is my entry to the August edition of Go ahead honey, it’s GF, as hosted by the Crispy Cook.  This month’s theme is seasonal veggies.  What’s more seasonal than tomatoes?

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Posted in go ahead honey, recipe, soup, vegetables | 13 Comments »

Tamarind Spiced Cauliflower

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

I got a kick out of the “mood lighting” for the picture of my cauliflower. Of course, I meant to do that! (yeah, right.) Taking pictures is still quite new for me. I’m so in awe of many of you whose photos look like a work of art!

If you’ve read my blog, you know that I have a thing for cauliflower, and that I enjoy trying different things. I saw tamarind pods in the neighborhood Latino grocery store a while ago, and I’ve
been strategizing ways to use it. Somehow I thought they were really sour. I was quite surprised that the tamarind pulp reminded me of dates, and has sweet taste! Tamarinds are actually fruit, which was news to me

This was a very experimental dish, and I didn’t know quite what to expect. The taste is unique and I did enjoy it, though I was quite surprised when I looked up the Glycemic load. Oh well, turmeric root is a good anti inflammatory food, so hopefully it balances. But it is a nice change and both DH and I enjoyed the dish.

I used Thai peppers from my garden, and I was surprised at how mild they were. I don’t know if I just have a mild plant this year. I would probably toss in a few more peppers next time! I didn’t count the number of tamarind pods, and the sizes are so different that it’s hard to give an exact amount.

1 1/2 cups boiling water, divided
enough tamarind pods to fit in 1 cup of water and still stay covered

1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 Tablespoon oil
2-3 Thai red peppers with seeds, chopped
2 teaspoons ground tumeric root
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Florets from 1 large head of cauliflower
pinch of salt

Put tamarind pods in boiling water (as many as will fit in 1 cup water). Let sit for 2-3 hours. Smoosh with a fork and press solids through a strainer (add additional 1/2 cup of hot water to help with the process).

Heat mustard seeds over medium heat for a minute and add oil and chopped Thai pepper. Add in the cauliflower florets and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Add spices and salt, mix well to coat.

Simmer, partially covered for 15 minutes. Remove cover and continue to cook gently until cauliflower is tender. If there is too much liquid, just turn it up to a rapid boil at the end. Adjust seasonings, serve and enjoy! We had this with papadams and garam masala baked chilcken.

This exploration is my weekly submission to Weekend Herb Blogging. I know tamarinds are familiar territory to many, but to me, it’s totally new! WHB was founded by Kalyn as a fun way to learn more about new foods and enjoy herbs. Our host this week is Srivalli from Cooking 4 all seasons.  She has a bunch of recipes listed that I plan to try soon!




				


				
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 Posted in recipe,  side dish,  vegetables,  weekend herb blogging |   4 Comments »


			


				

				
Sorrel Soup

				Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

				

					
I made sorrel soup for the first time last year, and told my husband.  He started laughing, and said, squirrel soup?  Um…not even close!.


Sorrel has a nice tart taste to it, and is supposed to be lovely with fish.  Next time!  It can be hard to come by, and I was happy to find it at the market.




 I know I saw a recipe last year, but don’t remember where, so I decided to just wing it.  I left some of the lettuce and veggies un-pureed because I like the texture and hint of crunch, but that’s a a matter of personal preference.


Last time, I thickened with a potato, but those are off limits, so I used a little coconut flour.  I’m sure more walnuts or another root veggie like parsnips would work, too.


2 Tablespoons oil

 1 cup diced onions

 2 big romaine hearts, chopped (divided)

 3 cups veg or chicken broth

 4 cups or so sorrel

 2 Tablespoons coconut flour, or potato flour (NOT starch)

 1/2 cup walnuts, soaked overnight if you think of it!

 sea salt

 fresh mint

 white pepper


Saute the onions for 5-6 min until soft with a pinch of salt.  Add in 1 1/2 of the romaine hearts and saute a few minutes more.  Add broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add sorrel and simmer 5 minutes more.  Reserve 1 cup or so of cooked veggies and puree the rest with the (drained) walnuts.  Add back reserved veggies and add in the last 1/2 chopped romaine heart.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle with fresh chopped mint.


Enjoy!


This is my weekly offering for Weekend Herb Blogging, the brainchild of Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s kind host is Sounding my Barbaric Gulp


~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008. Please do not replicate without crediting/permission.

				


				
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 Posted in recipe,  side dish,  vegetables,  weekend herb blogging |   3 Comments »


			


				

				
Peaches and spice and all things yum…

				Thursday, July 31st, 2008

				

					
I planned to make a simple peaches and cream ice cream as a fun raw recipe for July Go Ahead, Honey, It’s GF “UNCOOKING” edition, but the fates had something more interesting in mind.


It was a bit of a comedy of errors.  My first two recipe attempts–banana macadamia candies– were okay, but underwhelming, and time was running out. So I decided to go for one more attempt, peach ice cream, and as usual, I figured I could could wing it.   I used young coconuts for a creamy texture, and blended in a few peaches, but you could barely taste them.  Coconut milk is wonderfully creamy, but it takes a strong flavor, like chocolate, mint, berries, etc. to mask it.  So I hastily ran out to the Farmer’s market, and pureed some more peaches.  You could taste the peach, but still it wasn’t prominent.


Hmmm.  So I had a vat of yummy, peach goop, and I needed inspiration.  Pecans? Extracts? And then I realized, of course!  Crystallized ginger.


The ginger and peach pairing worked really well, with the sweetness balancing the sharpness of the ginger.  I would make vanilla ice cream again, and have chunks of peaches, but I wouldn’t do peaches by themselves again.  I would try it with pineapple or banana in the future, and will certainly tinker with this recipe again!


You live, you learn.  May all my “mistakes” be this yummy!


Makes a batch for a 4 quart ice cream maker


“meat” of 2 young coconuts

 4 cups of water (I assume you can sub 2 cans of coconut milk for the coconut and water)

 2 tablespoons of raw cashew butter

 1/2 cup agave nectar

 7 peaches

 1 cup crystallized ginger, chopped

 vanilla or almond extract, if desired


Puree all ingredients, except ginger, in batches.  Stir together in a big bowl.  Chill for 1 hour.  Add in ginger chunks, and put in ice cream maker and follow instructions.


~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008

				


				
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 Posted in dessert,  go ahead honey,  recipe,  side dish,  weekend herb blogging |   4 Comments »


			


		
		

			
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