Falling Back into Blogging: Thanksgiving Recipes, Rants & Raves

It's been almost a year since I have carved out time to blog. Why? Raising two children is exponentially more time consuming than one, especially in the early years. Work has kept me very busy. Like "what is this elusive do-nothing government employee I keep hearing about?" busy. I come across wonderful recipes, tips, restaurants and ideas, yet time to send them back out has eluded me. Also, many of the cool internet finds go on my Facebook "Smelling and Tasting Life" page. It also occurred to me that our home office/guest bedroom now hosts a child by night, so my evening inspirations were leading me straight to the kitchen. Or I fell asleep when possible!

So, what's new? My wheat allergy continues. That has changed how our family eats. My recipes that used wheat flour are now with premade store-bought mixes, usually from Aldi. Or, sometimes I can use oats, corn flakes or a small amount of corn starch. The other day I used kosher gelatin to thicken my gravy. I mention this because I will often make and take roundabout recipe decisions and food choices that people who can and want to eat wheat would not do. These don't usually translate by weight or measurement to wheat flour or bread crumbs, so make adjustments on your own or use the ideas or recipes and look for tested recipes using wheat flour as guides. This also means that almost any sweet or baked good I consume is coming from home, not the mean wheat-filled streets.

And if all that isn't enough, a disclaimer: I have fully adopted a "cook like a grandma; don't look like a grandma" philosophy. That means I don't measure anything unless it's for some huge, major event or a couple times during the holidays. So, treat my recipes as guideposts and inspirations and consult sources that tend to test well like America's Test Kitchen/Cooks' Illustrated/Cooks' Country, Gourmet (found at epicurious.com), bettycrocker.com (often not my first choice, but they do test recipes).

Still here? Great! So much is going on in our kitchen.

Before I launch into cooking, I need to say this one more time: Aldi is your friend. Anyone out here on the grind knows wages are flat. Adjusted for inflation, they are down. Down, I say! Why do I mention this? Saving money feels best when one doesn't feel it. Aside from my pride being bruised when I realized I was losing cash money by not giving Aldi a chance, I am pain-free. Here is a smattering of my favorite Aldi things:

Pesto-Red AKA sun-dried tomato, and Green AKA basil pesto. These sell for $1.29-$1.69 and are now my base for tomato pasta sauce. I use 1/3 of each pesto along with a large can of crushed tomatoes, a small can of diced tomatoes, and a small can of...

Secret Agent Ingredient: canned carrots
I put canned carrots in smoothies, soups, marinara sauce and stews. They are a great thickener and sneak in veggies when my kids (or I) am picky and peckish. The carrots are 65 cents at Aldi all day every day and also get puréed into carrot ginger soup and even baked goods.

*Fried apples are a seasonal gift from the heavens. Use them. Most importantly stock up! Make a Dutch Baby!!

A pint of heavy cream is $1.69. Just wrap your head around that. It's cheaper than butter. WOW.

Related recipe that sets you back like $1 per person when shopping at Aldi:
"French" Tomato Soup
NOM! We had an inspiration at work. Why should French onion soup have all the fun? What if we started making tomato soup like French onion soup, with the equivalent of an open grilled cheese sandwich on top?? Why haven't we done this before?!?!?! Make some homemade tomato soup (Stewed tomatoes, large 26-ounce can, small handful of washed fresh basil (or a spoonful each of red pesto and green pesto), 1/2 of a 15-ounce can of carrots, a dash of butter or olive oil (if not using pesto). Add 1/2 cup cream and a cup of chicken or vegetable stock. Purée with an immersion blender or in a traditional blender. Top with croutons or potato bread. Then top with sharp Cheddar cheese and broil in the oven until melted and bubbly.
me favorite recipes, musings, and food combinations:

Dutch Baby with *Fried Apples
What is a Dutch Baby? As far as I can tell, it's a lazy-ass crêpe. Instead of painstakingly using this recipe to make wonderful semi-transparent crêpes, dump this mixture over some bubbling hot fried apples from a can, courtesy of Aldi, that you have transferred to your skillet. If your conscience doesn't allow for this "one and done" approach, make sure everyone sees and hears you chopping an apple or two, which will also give everyone more apples and cut down on the overall sugar per serving. Turn down the heat to low and cover about 3-4 minutes, checking until the mixture no longer jiggles. Sprinkle with cinnamon or cinnamon sugar if you did not use the sweet fried apples.

Another Dutch Baby option is to fry some ham or turkey ham, add a generous teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the sizzling ham and dump the batter over that. Turn down the heat to low and cover about 3-4 minutes, checking until the mixture no longer jiggles. Top with Swiss cheese and some cracked black pepper and serve with a salad.

Native American Fry Bread as inspiration
So, it can be rather depressing to be wheat free when you want bread dripping with oil or butter. Funny, when I could eat bread, I didn't often want this. One night I made Aldi's gluten-free pizza dough mix crossed with equal amounts of Aldi's baking mix (about 3 cups total), plus one egg and just under a cup of milk. I fried it in a sauté pan with a healthy dose of coconut oil, flipping it to brown both sides. It was some kind of good!!

To try: Feta-Stuffed Hush Puppies from Cava Mezze
I had (although I wasn't supposed to) some Feta hush puppies at Cava Mezze over a month ago. They were savory, crunchy and had a sweet orange marmalade butter served alongside. I will try this with gluten-free cornbread mix at Aldi and see how it turns out.
(Inspired by Emeril's Cheddar Hush Puppies)

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup bleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 ounces crumbled Feta cheese (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup minced yellow onions
1 1/2 teaspoons minced jalapeños
1 1/2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
Vegetable oil for deep-frying

DIRECTIONS
-Mix the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
-Add the cheese, onions, jalapeños, and hot sauce and mix well.
-Add the eggs, buttermilk, and 1/2 cup water. Mix well. If using gluten-free flours, rest batter 10-20 minutes.
-Pour enough oil to come halfway up the sides of a large heavy pot or electric deep fryer and heat over high heat to 360°F. In batches, without crowding, drop tablespoons of the batter into the hot oil.
-Deep-fry on all sides until the hush puppies rise to the surface and are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
-Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.
--For the butter, mix equal parts orange marmalade and soft butter. Swoon!

Backyard Barbecue Beans From Cook's Country | June/July 2016
My kids and I eat this often on Saturdays after lessons, hopefully before our nap. I use turkey hot dogs instead of bratwurst and usually add--you guessed it--a can of carrots.

SERVES 12 TO 16
Be sure to use a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan or a roasting pan; the volume of the beans is too great for a 13 by 9-inch ceramic baking dish, and it will overflow. We found that Bush’s Original Recipe Baked Beans are the most consistent product

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/4 pounds bratwurst, casings removed (we use 4 to 6 turkey hot dogs, sliced)
2 onions, chopped
2 (28-ounce) cans baked beans
2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, drained
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained
1 (10-ounce) can Ro-tel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained
6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

INSTRUCTIONS
-Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk barbecue sauce, ketchup, water, mustard, vinegar, liquid smoke, granulated garlic, and cayenne together in large bowl; set aside.
-Cook bratwurst in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up into small pieces with spoon, until fat begins to render, about 5 minutes.
-Transfer bratwurst mixture/hot dogs to bowl with sauce. Stir in baked beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans, and tomatoes. Transfer bean mixture to 13 by 9-inch baking pan and place pan on rimmed baking sheet.
-Arrange bacon pieces in single layer over top of beans. Bake until beans are bubbling and bacon is rendered, about 1½ hours. Let cool for 15 minutes. Serve.

TO MAKE AHEAD: At end of step 3, beans can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Proceed with recipe from step 4, increasing baking time to 1¾ hours.


 Brownie Fudge Don't Know What This Good Thing Is
Half box (used Aldi gluten-free) brownie mix--1/2 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk--Dash cream--2 handfuls of chopped nuts of your choice--6 ounces (1/2 bag) semisweet chocolate chips. Mix in a glass 8-inch square pan or 9-inch round pie pan. Bake 350 for 30 minutes. OMG!! So good.

Thanksgiving Click on "Thanksgiving" to see all prior Smelling and Tasting blog recipes that reference Thanksgiving!

Creamy No-Boil Mac 'n' Cheese
This recipe works PERFECTLY with gluten-free pasta. It solves the mushy "this is not really pasta but shaped glue" problem. Plus, it's lazy and tastes great. I plan to coach my oldest to make her mac 'n' cheese this way so she can have another recipe under her belt. This one is great for kids since they won't need to touch a hot stove or hot water to make this.

Teff Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Haven't tried this gluten-free carrot cake yet, but it's on my list to make!! Many mistakes can be masked by delicious frosting, so willing to try.

Sweet Potato Goodness
This sweet potato goodness is so delicious. Add an egg white or a heaping teaspoon ground flaxseed or corn starch instead of flour. I make this in the food processor. Lazy step 1: Bake sweet potatoes for 30 minutes when something else is cooking. Lazy step 2: I blend the peeled sweet potato, spices, salt, candied ginger and cream along with 1/4 cup oats. I then put a little streusel topping on the bottom, add the sweet potato mixture, then add the rest of the oat-coconut topping. Delish!! Even better, it's easy to "veganize" and hard to mess up.

What to do with leftover Turkey? Turkey Nachos
Combine chopped turkey, cranberry sauce, bbq sauce and slow cook on low heat in a pan on the stove for 15 minutes. On a ceramic or glass plate or metal pan, layer tortilla chips, brie or Cheddar cheese, white beans, sour cream. Bake 7 minutes at 375°F. Top with mango or pineapple salsa. You could also make open-face sandwiches with the turkey mixture, cheese and leftover rolls or cornbread.

Cool Tricks!

Everyone who loves the kitchen has them...those little shortcuts and secrets that save time and make dishes "younique". As you may have guessed, I have several! I just realized it's been a while since I've shared my latest cool tricks.

Cool Trick #1: Citrus Powder

I was all set to put a hex on Trader Joe's for discontinuing the Fast Flavor Sticks. Those were my ultimate cool trick! They had natural flavors and half stevia, half sugar mix. They went into smoothies, jelled desserts, iced teas, sorbets, spritzers, you name it.
But I had to move on. After extensive grocery store searches for mixes without sucralose (Splenda) and aspartame (NutraSweet), I found True Lemon brand had a stevia-citrus drink powder. But they ALSO had lime, lemon, orange and even grapefruit powders crystallized, WITHOUT sweetener. Suddenly, I had something to add to marinade--think lemon pepper or garlic lime, my own "twist of lime" tortilla chips, soups, seltzer, yogurt and cocktails. After buying some True Lime sachets and some drink mixes at Whole Foods, I ordered more products online at Amazon.com . I like that these products are sugar- and salt-free.

Cool Trick # 2: Applewood Smoked Salt (recipe follows)

I've really cut back on meat, since my digestive system seems much happier when I do so. Of course, what do I crave more than ever? Smoked meat (groan). Well, that taste can be pretty hard to replicate. Correction: it was hard to replicate. I am now making some kickin' kale and some magnificent mushrooms that have the smoky flavor of bacon. I did add a little turkey bacon to my split pea soup, but the smoked sea salt made the flavors pop without adding more fat or meat. After scoring scoring some from Marshall's and some alderwood smoked sea salt (milder flavor) from Home Goods, I invested in a pound of applewood smoked sea salt from the wonderful Frontier brand at Amazon.com.

Cool Trick #3: Stewed Tomatoes--so retro, so useful!

You may not know this, but stewed tomatoes are humble. So, they don't tell you they make amazing tomato soup and pasta sauce. Now you know. A small can, about 11 ounces, with 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream (or 1-1.5 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon water), a dash of salt, a dash of pepper and a couple basil or parsley leaves and a chopped stalk of scallions (or 1/4 onion, dried onion or onion powder). Boil all ingredients except the cream. Then add the cream and blend until smooth with a couple small lumps. It usually serves 2 people in my family. You can just over double it by using a large can and doubling the other ingredients. Do the same base for bolognese sauce with 1 large can sewed tomatoes (about 27 ounces--but don't add water), adding one pound browned meat, 1 celery, 1 carrot, 1 onion, thyme and nutmeg. Simmer for one hour, then add a couple teaspoons heavy cream or butter to finish. If you want marinara, leave out the carrots, celery and cream, add a clove of chopped garlic and add 2 tablespoons olive oil at the end.

Cool trick #4: Fruit juice concentrate

I try not to add sugar to my drinks. It was such a slippery slope for me--why not add more sugar and stretch it out? However, when I make ginger beer aka nyamakoji, sorrel aka dabilenni and other steeped concoctions, I want a way to add flavor without adding granulated sugar. I now always keep 100% juice concentrate in the freezer for these drinks and love the flavor and colors they provide. Another cool trick? I make sweet-and-sour sauce with pineapple juice concentrate, ketchup, a dash of ginger powder, soy sauce and sesame oil.

Cool trick #5: Good seasons natural dressing mix 

I think my addiction to "sauce packets" started in Peace Corps. In fact, I know it did. Ubiquitous mayonnaise became ranch dressing; pasta became alfredo; vegetables became a wonder with Indian curry mixes. I am a label-gazer. I often look for the best or least bad set of ingredients. Cooking from scratch often happens when I read labels. Take Jello--I don't buy those packets. I buy organic bovine gelatine online and add my own sweetener and flavorings. Yes, it's a bit much, but I and the others I prepare food for a worth it! OK, I am getting off my homemade soap box to laud a dressing packet. Good Seasons Italian All Natural Salad Dressing Mix is a great dressing starter, marinade, seasoning for beans, dips and hot vegetables. 
Ingredients: Sugar, Salt, Sodium Citrate, Garlic (Dried), Onions (Dried), Spice, Red Bell Peppers (Dried), Carrots (Dried), Xanthan Gum, Maltodextrin (from Corn), Parsley (Dried), Natural Flavor, Guar Gum, Citric Acid.

Application: I really like to use the dressing mix as a marinade chicken for Caesar salad and chicken salads. I start with frozen skinless chicken breast tenderloins in a single layer-covered in a skillet in about a quarter cup of water and cooked on medium to high heat. I add one packet of marinade/dressing mix. Next, after about ten minutes, I turn over the chicken and uncover the skillet. Finally, after 5 more minutes or when the water is almost cooked all the way down, I add about a teaspoon of olive oil. Then sauté on one side for two to three minutes. In less than 20 minutes, I have browned yet tender, well-seasoned chicken breasts. It's one pot, no cleaning and my meal is halfway done. It's mostly hands-off, so I can cook or do other things at the same time.

Cool trick #6: Pancake Bake (recipe follows)

My daughter loves pancakes. However, I am often loathe to stand and flip mini mountains of pancakes, and I don't like the ones as big as the pan; they taste dry or don't flip well for me. Solution? Bake a thick large pancake using a glass pie plate in the toaster oven. Before anyone scoffs, the really cool trick is to make a layer of buttery syrup underneath, so it's sweet on the bottom and sides. Then I top it with blueberries. Destruction!

Pancake Bake
I use Trader Joe's multigrain pancake mix and add a few spoons of oats or bran. I basically calibrate whatever yield works with one egg.
First off, however, I am preparing the pan with 2 tablespoons heavy cream, 1 teaspoon water, 4 tablespoons organic sugar and a good shake of cinnamon. I mix them together directly in the glass pie plate, then put that in the toaster oven. I set it for 30 minutes, but it will be done in a little less time than that. My toaster oven is not running as hot as it used to because the top element isn't working. My guess is that 325-350 is about right.
Next, I make the pancake batter. I then take the pie plate out with a mitt, pour the pancake batter in, then put the pie plate back in the oven. By that time, there is about just over 20 minutes for the pancake to cook, which is about right. I get out the blueberries (or whatever fruit you like) and go upstairs to get ready.
Usually, the 20 minutes have elapsed plus about 5 minutes warming time in the oven. I would say to stay downstairs to see how long it takes the first time. Toaster ovens are precarious; two minutes too long can burn your stuff.
Then smugly eat the delicious unflipped concoction. You can call it a pancake pie or whatever you think will work to get people to take the first bite. How many people does this serve? Unfortunately, this has only been serving a greedy mother and child.

Recipe highlighting smoked salt:
Split Pea/Carrot Ginger Mash-up Soup
With an electric pressure cooker, it's done in 25 minutes, including prep time.
I love a good music mash-up and collabo. This soup is a mash-up of two winter favorites!

Ingredients:
6 ounces turkey bacon, chopped with kitchen scissors-optional
2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
2 stalks celery with leaves, rinsed, then chopped with kitchen scissors
2 large or 3 small carrots, chopped about the size of a fingernail or larger
1 teaspoon smoked sea salt (start with half if using chicken stock)
About 8 ounces organic dry split peas
About 6 ounces dry red split lentils
About 5 sprigs of fresh parsley leaves, chopped with kitchen scissors
1 "nub" of peeled fresh ginger, thumb size
Black pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic
A handful kale or spinach, rinsed and chopped with kitchen scissors (optional)
5 cups water (or a combination of chicken stock and water). Just note you may have to decrease the sea salt when using chicken stock to avoid oversalting.

Cooking directions:
Brown butter or oil in the electric pressure cooker for one minute. Add chopped turkey bacon and brown for two minutes. Then add celery and carrots and cook for one or two minutes, still on the "brown" or high setting. Next, add all of the remaining ingredients into the pressure cooker. Change the setting to "low pressure". Close and align the pressure node, then set the pressure cooking time for 7 minutes. Meanwhile, set the table and clean. After the cooking time ends and you are almost ready to serve, puree about half of the soup if you like (I used a stick blender). Serve and enjoy!