Pear Clafouti

Every now and then I hit the jackpot with a new recipe. This one took a few attempts to de-glutenise and de-dairy. The end result is a delicious, fresh tasting dessert that even your pickiest of palates will enjoy.

A traditional clafouti is a baked pancake of butter and whole milk, studded with fresh cherries and dusted with icing sugar.

Traditional Clafouti

Good luck finding cherries in April in Ottawa! Pears are more accessible. I throw in slivered almonds for added protein and crunch.  To make a dairy-free clafouti, you'll need a can of coconut milk and some coconut oil.

The coconut oil comes in a jar. It's rock solid, so you'll need to scrape or scoop it out and liquify it. A few seconds in the microwave will do the job.  In place of wheat flour, I use a combo of rice and sorghum flours plus baking powder.

This pseudo-clafouti is easy as pie to make. Actually, it's much easier than pie. Try and let me know how it works out.

Pear Almond Clafouti 

Pear Almond Clafouti dusted with cinnamon

4 firm pears, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
2 TBSP lemon juice
3/4 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup canned coconut milk
1/2 cup  coconut melted oil
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour




Grease a 10-inch round dish and set aside.
Brush the pears with lemon juice and arrange in the prepared dish.
Grind 1/2 cup of almonds. 
Using a food processor or hand blender, add coconut milk, coconut oil, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup.
In a small bowl, combine the baking powder with the flours.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  
Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.
Pour the batter over the pears.
Sprinkle remaining almonds over the batter.
Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.
Serve warm.

Note: If you prefer dairy milk and butter to coconut milk and coconut oil, use those ingredients in the same measurements. If you prefer wheat flour, replace the dry ingredients with 3/4 cup of cake flour.

Healthful Hot Cakes

It was a lazy Sunday and I had a hankering for hot cakes. With the maple trees flowing with sap, it's the perfect season for pancakes.

I made a double batch, gluten free of course. To sweeten the batter, I used one banana and three dates all mashed together. I also sprinkled a spoonful of my Energy Crunch (see previous entry) into the batter to add texture and heartiness. In place of butter or oil, this recipe uses apple sauce.

These hot cakes freeze beautifully. I often double the recipe and freeze the leftovers for breakfasts and snacks during the week. Just toss them into the microwave for 20 seconds with a damp cloth on top of the plate.  

Healthful Hot Cakes

1 1/2 cups cottage cheese or plain yogurt

2 eggs

2 Tbsp applesauce

1 ripe banana, mashed

3 dates, pitted and mashed

rind from half a lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup rice flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup water

Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and blend with a hand blender. 

Let the batter sit for about 10 minutes.

Cook on a hot non-stick skillet. 

Enjoy with fruit preserves, honey or maple syrup.

This recipe yields about 12 pancakes.

  

  

Energy Crunch

Good things come in small packages. Take, for example, the minute chia seed. Smaller than a single poppy seed, it is chock full of fuel and nutrients. 

Chia Seeds

Buckwheat Groats

Chia seeds and buckwheat groats have a new place of honour in my pantry. I try to toss them into all my recipes. Here's why:  


Buckwheat groats are crunchy mini-pyramids filled with fibre, amino acids,  phosphorus, iron, zinc, copper, manganese and other minerals. While you enjoy the light nutty taste, your body will benefit from the magnesium which relaxes blood vessels, improving blood flow and the delivery of nutrients to your cells.


Those bland, black chia seeds work wonders for the body. In liquid, the protein and fibre-rich seeds form a gel which expands in size and weight. A tiny amount of chia seeds can make you feel full for a long time. As the gel slowly passes through your system, it acts as an intestinal mop containing a healthy dose of omega-3s. 

A Healthy Marriage

I married the two ingredients and threw in a few other favourites to make A-K's Energy Crunch. This blend is guaranteed to rev up your breakfast or snack. 

Energy Crunch

A-K's  Energy Crunch
2 cups chia seeds
1 cup buckwheat groats
1 cup hemp/sunflower/ pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup almonds
1/8 cup raw cacao nibs (optional)
1/4 cup dried fruit (raisins/ apples/ apricots/ dates)
2 teaspoons cinnamon


Mix all ingredients in a container with a lid.
Presto! Your own home-made functional food. 

Breakfast Fuel

If you're looking for a snack during tonight's Earth Hour, try some of AK's Energy Crunch. Add 2 tablespoons in 1/4 cup of water or milk (hot or cold). Let it sit for about 5 minutes and stir. My kids like to add maple syrup or honey. It won't look like a lot of food, but it is very satisfying. Try sprinkling the crunch on your baked goods, yogurt, eggs, soups or stews. Or, eat it straight out of the jar.
    

Japan

It's great to be home. I left Japan a day before the massive earthquake and tsunami. I thought this posting would be a fun account of my food adventures in the land of the rising sun.

But as I hear the news reports about the mounting destruction, my heart aches for the growing number of victims. I am stunned by the images of devastation and what lies ahead for the Japanese people.

I prefer to remember the Japan that I visited only a week ago. Its awe-inspiring beauty and spirituality. The respect and hospitality of the people. Every one of our hosts, tour guides and shopkeepers bowed low to show their utmost respect to us.

 Their indigenous religion is Shintoism; the belief that every living thing has a spirit and that every aspect of nature is sacred.

Shibui is a Japanese word which describes a subtle, unobtrusive and deeply moving beauty. Shibui aptly describes the Japanese aesthetic. From the landscape, to the architecture, to the reverence of the people, everything I witnessed was shibui, even Japanese cuisine, in which the purity and freshness of the ingredients are paramount.

I was told that Osaka is the food capital of the country. There, street food is gourmet. You can slurp up fresh oysters on a street corner.

Fresh oysters 

I savoured takoyashi, warm balls of seasoned rice flour stuffed with fresh squid.

Takoyashi, squid balls 

Manju is a traditional cookie sandwich. Two spongey cookies are glued together with vanilla or chocolate cream or sweet bean paste. On the stunning island of Miyajima, you can enjoy momiji manju, or maple leaf cookies. They are famous throughout the country. I sampled a chocolate momiji manju fresh off the assembly line.

Manju assembly line

Miyajima is a sacred island for the Japanese. Our tour guide told us that the word Miyajima literally means "island of shrines."  The most prominent landmark on the island is the O-torii Gate, a world heritage site. During high tide, the O-torii Gate appears to float on the water.

O-torii Gate

My photos of a peaceful and perfect Japan are a stark contrast to the bleak images of unimaginable loss. It will take decades to rebuild.

If you wish to lend your support to the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, I urge you to contact the Red Cross.

A Valentine Surprise

 Valentine's Day is very special day in our household. The day of love also happens to be my hubby's birthday. So we have lots to celebrate. This year, for his 45th, he was surrounded by loved ones and Filipino food.

Lumpia Shanghai

Pansit

We had Myrna's pansit (a traditional noodle dish for good fortune and long life), lumpia Shanghai (fried rolls) and fresh egg rolls (the gluten free, peanut free version wasn't quite what my Lola used to make), Melisa's adobo (marinaded chicken) and 12 pounds of slow-cooked pulled pork courtesy of our BBQ master, Neil.

Pulled Pork

For desserts, we had a healthy bibinka (coconut rice cake), chocolate quinoa brownies (thanks Anna B) and Ellen's fruit salad.

Assorted desserts

Bibinka baked in banana leaves

.

Chocolate sushi

The show-stopper was Tara's chocolate sushi.

I'll be off-line for the next three weeks, cruising the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. I'll take lots of shots of the exotic foods. Until then, eat well and be well.




  

A Strange Brew

I made a strange brew this morning. I threw in some ground flax seeds, avocado, banana and various flavourings. It started off as a stick-to-your-esophogus pudding that had a detergent after-taste. After a bit of tweaking, the concoction morphed into an interesting smoothie.
Have a look:

Sure, it resembles a cup of sludge from the Alberta tar sands. But according to my youngest, it's quite drinkable and tasty. He downed two helpings.

I've decided to call the concoction AK's sludge. It contains a healthy dose of omega-3s, vitamins C and E, magnesium, potassium, and protein. The banana and avocado in the almond milk make this shake thick and satisfying. The ground flax seeds and avocado add a double dose of essential fatty acids. The cocoa helps everything go down. (It also camouflages the green colour from the avocado, and I'm not too enthusiastic about drinking anything green.)

AK's Sludge

AK'S SLUDGE
1 ripe avocado
1 ripe banana
2 cups almond milk or regular milk or soya milk
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon maple syrup or your favourite sweetener
1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds

Combine all ingredients in a blender.
Blend until smooth. If you find it too thick, just water it down with more milk. Try it and let me know how you like it.

Superhearty Superbowl Jambalaya

Chill the beer. Fry up the finger foods. And put on your loose eatin' pants. There's going to be a whole lot of mindless eating this Superbowl Sunday. Just how much? Check out these figures from treehugger.com:

8 million pounds of popcorn consumed on Super Bowl Sunday

28 million pounds of potato chips

53.5 million pounds of avocados

1 billion chicken wings

325.5 million gallons of beer imbibed by Americans 

Not surprisingly, there is a reported 20% increase in ant-acid sales the Monday after the game. And 7 million employees will not show up to work.

An estimated 105 million people will tune in to the Superbowl, including yours truly. I will be comfortably parked in my La-Z-boy watching the halftime show and the commercials. 


I'll take a pass on the chips and wings. Instead, just pass the thick and chunky jambalaya please. This is a Louisiana style , smokey stew recipe I've adapted by combining several other recipes. The key ingredient is the andouille sausage. The smoked pork gives a wallop of flavour. I found some excellent andouille sausage at the Butchery in Ottawa's Bells Corners neighbourhood. If you can't find andouille, try spicy cajun sausage. This recipe yields a lot of jambalaya, more than enough to satisfy your Superbowl munchies. 

Jambalaya

Jambalaya
4 links andouille sausage 
1  28-ounce can plum tomatoes
3 cups stock
1 green bell pepper diced
1 red bell pepper diced
2 celery stalks diced
2 large onions diced
4 cloves garlic chopped
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon oregano
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons chili flakes
1 bay leaf
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup uncooked rice
24 raw shrimp (shelled and deveined)
24 raw mussels (cleaned well)


Brown the sausages in a large heavy pot. 
When cooked, place the sausages on a plate to cool and keep the pot on the stove.
Using that same heavy pot and fat from the sausages, fry the peppers, onions, celery, garlic.
Toss in the seasonings and stir.
Slice sausages and throw into the pot.
Add the canned tomatoes and broth and bring to a simmer.
Stir in the rice. 
Cover pot and let simmer over low heat for about 25 minutes.
Once the rice is al dente, add shrimp and mussels.
Continue to cook for about 2 -3 minutes or until the mussels open and the shrimp turn pink.     


This dish will be a guaranteed touchdown with your Superbowl guests.