Day: November 17, 2009

Stash Cookies

/ Ren

One bite of these and you’ll know..

Stash Cookies

Makes about 18 1 1/2-inch cookies

3 oz unsalted cultured butter, melted
3 oz papelón (rapadura)
1 oz piloncillo oscuro (dark, unrefined Mexican sugar), shaved
1 1/2 oz raw cacao beans, skinned and ground
1/2 teaspoon ground canella (wild cinnamon)
5 oz unsweetened dark chocolate chips
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla bean paste
1 pastured egg (at room temperature)
6 oz unbleached organic all-purpose flour
2 oz sprouted organic wheat flour (adds structure and a slight nutty taste)
1/2 teaspoon plus 1 pinch aluminum-free baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Slowly melt the butter in the top of a double boiler.  Remove from heat, stir in the papelón and let stand 10 minutes to dissolve and cool. With an electric mixer, whip the butter and papelón together until a smooth, butterscotch-color paste is formed.  Add the vanilla bean paste and egg and stir to combine.

Mix together the piloncillo, ground cacao, canella, flour, baking soda and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time until combined (the resulting dough will be thinner than regular chocolate chip cookie dough).  Cover and chill until firm, about 1 hour.

Pinch off silver dollar-sized pieces of dough (there is no need to roll or flatten the cookies) and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until slightly dark around the edges and light golden brown on top, about 10-11 minutes.

These cookies are of course best when only minutes from the oven, but may be kept up to 2 days in an airtight container.

Tuesday Twister

/ Ren

Isn’t it interesting how the natural color of foods tend to follow the seasons?

Each week, fellow real food-blogger Wardeh @ GNOWFGLINS encourages us to take look back and share a little about what’s been twisting in our kitchens over the last week.  Here’s what the 2nd week of November looked like around here..

1) Chili con Calabaza Asada (Roasted Pumpkin Chili) Oven-roasted pumpkin, fried pork belly, fresh & dried chiles, onions, toasted corn, cumin and oregano.  I can (and do) make chili out of just about anything..

2) Chicken Neeka Paprika-roasted chicken with Spanish onion, Roma tomatoes, sweet peppers, lemon, garlic and fresh herbs, served with pecorino-safflower orzo..

3) Lemon Snaps I wanted to see if I could make old fashioned lemon snaps from scratch, using only healthy, unprocessed ingredients.  I got the taste and the healthy part down, but didn’t get the texture right this time..

4) Sprouted Brown Rice Curry A thick, rich soup of sprouted brown rice, corn, curry, red chiles and coconut cream, topped with toasted cashews. When I’m not making chili, I can generally be found making curry  🙂

5) Potatoes Gratiné A slightly different take on a classic dish, these Potatoes Gratiné forgo the usual cheese and cream in favour of bacon, onions and fresh tri-color sage.  This one’s a keeper!

Hot Peppers for Chili con Calabaza Asada


What say we head on over to gnowfglins.com to get some ideas for next week!

Potatoes Gratiné

/ Ren

A slightly different take on a classic dish, these Potatoes Gratiné forgo the usual cheese and cream in favour of bacon, onions and fresh tri-color sage..

Potatoes Gratiné

Serves 2-3 as a side dish

approx. 18-20 fingerling potatoes, quartered
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 pound un-cured bacon or fresh pork belly, diced
1 small bunch tri-color sage (Salvia officinalis Tricolor)
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground smoked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 pieces of stale bread
1 tablespoon pastured butter
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Sauté bacon or pork belly in a heavy skillet until about half cooked, then add potatoes.  Cook, stirring often, until the potatoes are golden brown and tender and the bacon is nearly crisp.  Add onions, garlic and sage and cook until onions are translucent.  Pour of excess fat then season potatoes to taste with sea salt and smoked pepper. Transfer to a small casserole and set aside.

Cut or tear stale bread into small pieces and combine with chopped parsley and melted butter.  Scatter the gratin over the top of the potatoes then place the casserole 8 inches under the broiler until toasted.


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