Inspiration

In an effort to inspire myself to post more often, I have done a bit of a makeover on my blog. New layout. A header from my own photography. New colors. What do you think?

I think it is important to find inspiration where you can. Our sources of inspiration need not be big or dramatic. Often times, the simplest things or moments can impact us the most. It can be the small indulgences that lift our spirits. During this time of year, when the cold and darkness seem to become just too much, where do you find inspiration? What helps you to lift your spirits when it seems the snow will never end?

My inspiration can come from the simple things:

-chocolate (Yum!)
-music

-photography

-laughter

-rubbing my kitty's belly

-good food

-smelling good (perfume, baby!)

-the sun on my face

-a cup of tea

Other times my inspiration comes in a more complex form:

-sitting on the beach, listening to the sounds of the ocean

-seeing the light of discover in the eyes of my students

-good conversation with someone I care for

-other food bloggers (yes, all of you!)

-my mom

-friendships

-brainstorming with other fine arts teachers

-witnessing the love between two people

One source of inspiration that I have is my family. Not just my mom, dad, and brother. I come from a large (and usually crazy) extended family. Mom is one of seven kids, Dad is one of six. There are about 25-30 of us in my generation. We are all very different. There are small business owners, teachers, contractors, housewives, office workers, secretaries, retail workers, and everything in between. One person in my family who went down her own, unique path was my aunt. For a number of years, she and my uncle owned a restaurant in Colorado. It was situated half way up on one of the ski slopes in Snowmass. Vacationers and weekend skiers alike would take the lift to the top of the mountain. Half way down they could stop at Sam's Knob, a small plateau upon which their restaurant was located. My aunt and uncle offered healthy, tasty fare, perfect for the Colorado lifestyle. After a while, demand for their recipes became such that, after much work, my aunt released a cookbook full of recipes from their menus.

This was many years ago. I had nearly forgotten all about the cookbook. Around Christmas time, when I was doing some gf holiday baking, I came across a copy of the book at my parents' house. I admit it. I stole it. It is now sitting here next to me. Mom will never know. As I looked through the recipes there is an overall simplicity and healthfulness in the selection. Then I see it, the recipe I must make. Since going gluten free I have desperately missed indulging in a morning scone. Flaky, slightly sweet, with a moist inner crumb. Oh yes, this would be the first one I would try. They were wonderful. Being my aunt, she used a light hand with the sugar, so I may use a bit more next time. Otherwise these lightly sweet biscuits are fantastic.

Fruit Scones

from Food With a View by Patti Dudley

2 C gf flour mix (I used Kinnikinnick pastry mix)

1/4 C sugar

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/8 t salt (omit if your gf flour mix contains salt)

6 T cold butter

1 egg

1/2 C heavy cream

2/3 C fruit or nuts (I used pecans and dried blueberries)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour mix, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in the butter until crumbly. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and cream together, and add to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined. Stir in the fruit and/or nuts of your choice.

On a lightly greased baking sheet, spoon out the mixture, spreading it into a 9-inch circle. Score into 10 wedges. You may also use an ice cream scooper to scoop individual scones directly onto the baking sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until browned.

Cut into wedges and serve with sweet butter and jam if desired.

For a truly inspiring moment, put your feet up and eat these with a hot cuppa tea. Cozy relaxation. That is the ultimate inspiration.

I am a geek

A food geek to be precise. Seriously! I'm not kidding. I know it may not come as a surprise to learn that, but let's just say this was a bit of a revelation to me. It's not that I used to hate cooking. I would never go that far. But there was once a time where I would have killed to have someone else cook for me.

Today I get excited by the smallest culinary moment. This morning I walked into the office at school. On the bench sat a shipping envelop. It was big, obviously holding a large, rectangular object. I rushed over to read the shipping label. Clutching it to my breast I danced around the office. It had arrived!!! What could cause such excitement, you ask? Why the copy of Starting With Ingredients that I ordered from Amazon. It is this enormous tome organized by...you guessed it, ingredients. You purchased some quince when it was on sale at the veggie market and have no idea how to prepare them? No problem, look up the chapter on quince. You get a section that includes information about the ingredient, hints/tips on everything from purchasing to preparing, and about 3-8 recipes. The page count comes in at just over 1050. This sucker is hefty.

You would think that would be enough excitement. Oh no, more was to come. My Kinnikinnick order was delivered! Bread mix, 4 bags of pastry/pie crust mix, and a package of GF bagels. As soon as I arrived home I busted out the bagels. Toasted and slathered in cream cheese...so...darn...good. Perhaps not like the New York bagels they claim to emulate, but these suckers are good. My dietitian recommended the pastry/pie crust mix for making kolachi cookies (a staple in the Mueller family Christmas baking.) Mom and I have a baking date planned.

No all of that excitement is understandable. The average foodie would be thrilled by both deliveries. The two things that tip me over the line into geek territory are thus: 1) I still have the forthcoming excitement of a delivery from Gluten Free Pantry and additional cookbook, and 2) I am having to seriously talk myself out of being a bad friend. I bought a book for one of my friends for Christmas. It is a food related book. I want to read it. I could buy myself a copy or borrow it from the library. OR...I could read the copy I bought him before Christmas. I can be careful with the book. He would never know it had been read. But that would be bad. Not a good friend. Damn. Must exert self control.

One thing that became clear to me is that in the midst of geeking out, finding new recipes, try new techniques, we often forget an important rule: KISS. Keep it Simple Stupid. Fancy is not always better. Of course it is fun, fulfilling, and compelling to challenge ourselves with complex recipes. I think in all that complexity, we forget how amazing the simple seasoning of a basic ingredient can be. Tonight I made pan seared tuna. Sounds fancy, but could not be more simple.

Rub tuna with olive oil. Rub with a coating of salt and Argyle Street Asian Spice Blend from the Spice House. (It is premixed. All you do is sprinkle and rub.) Pour 2 T of olive oil into a hot pan. Place seasoned tuna in the pan and sear until the edge begins to turn opaque. Flip tuna. Sear for another 1-3 minutes (depending on how rare you like you tuna). Move tuna to a plate. Eat. You basically season the fish and fry it up. EASY!



Ok, I made a rice dish that was slightly less simple.

Mandarin Almond Rice

In a medium sauce pan combine:

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup brown rice

2 t. Argyle St. Asian Spice Mix

1 t. salt

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. When rice is cooked and render mix in:

1 can Mandarin oranges

1/2 cup slivered almonds

The good, the bad, and the ugly of Thanksgiving

Gluten Free Thanksgiving: The Maiden Voyage

Ok, maybe it wasn't that dramatic. It was an adventure, though. My mom felt that this was the most disorganized Thanksgiving yet. Eh. It kind of was. Hey, I tried setting the dialogue going about planning our menu. Regardless, it still turned out just fine. Some dishes were more successful then others. As previously mentioned, the stuffing was not so good. The turkey itself was very nice. We forgot our Cucumber in Sour Cream dish that we always have. That is ok, we still have Christmas lurking around the corner. The Strawberry-Banana Jello is another holiday favorite. The layer of sour cream in the middle makes it a special treat. The sweet potatoes were over cooked (they were supposed to be the "candied" variety with marshmallows.) No problem! I whipped them up with a little brown sugar, vanilla, and half & half. Lightly sweet, fluffy and creamy. I think I preferred them to the original version.

I was put in charge of dessert. I decided on Pumpkin Cheesecake. Very simple recipe from our fellow goddess, Karina. The filling was delish! I messed up the GF crust. Silly mistake. I over processed the cookie and nut mixture. The butters started to turn to butter. It was goopy. I added a bit of rice flour and pre-baked the crust. Sadly, it ended up a bit burnt. Not a complete disaster, but not exactly a success. We had tons of extra filling so I poured it into custard cups and baked. Those were excellent. I am going to make it again someday and will simply skip the crust. I will also make some whipped cream for topping. MMmmmm..... ::drool::

The biggest success (in my opinion) was the cranberry sauce. Super tangy and flavorful. We have always eaten the canned jellied stuff. I have to admit that I love it. I decided to be fancy this year. I recently purchased The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. LOVE this book! Not only does it have 100's of wonderful recipes that have been tested 40-60 times before making it into their cookbooks, but it includes product reviews. Wonderful step-by-step photo illustrations for some of the techniques are included. I have not yet tried a recipe from this book or any of their other books that has failed. I combined two of the variations they included in this book for cranberry sauce, and came up with this year's dish: Orange-Ginger Cranberry Sauce.

Orange-Ginger Cranberry Sauce

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1/4 t. salt

1 T grated ginger or ginger puree

zest of one large orange (I used a navel orange)

1 (12 oz) bag fresh cranberries

Bring sugar, water, salt, ginger and orange zest to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally to help dissolve the sugar. Stir in the cranberries an simmer until slightly thickened and the berries begin to pop, about 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature before serving (about one hour). Can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week.

I stuck with the 10 minutes of simmering. It began to thicken and pop prior to that, but I like fewer whole berries and more mush. This recipe was so simple. A great effort to flavor ratio. I am thinking of making it again and using it as a glaze for a pork roast in the slow cooker. We will have to see how that works.

So did any of you try new GF holiday dishes?