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Gluten-Free Wednesdays: Quinoa Cranberry Pilaf

June 20, 2012 by KerryAnn 5 Comments

Last week we look at the basics on quinoa and how to soak and cook it. Today, let’s look at some family favorite ways of fixing it.

When I went gluten-free, I had just discovered couscous and was enjoying it. Since couscous is a wheat-based pasta, it was totally out after going GF and at the time I couldn’t find a replacement for it. Later, I discovered that quinoa was the perfect GF substitute for any recipe calling for couscous.

Quinoa’s slightly bitter, slightly earthy taste pairs exceptionally well with chocolate or fruits. Ground into flour and put in chocolate cookies will work well. Or cooked whole, chilled until cold and tossed with fruit. I sometimes add dried fruit to hot quinoa pilafs, such as dried apricots, as they pair well together.

My Quinoa Cranberry Pilaf is a good example of how to pair sweet and bitter. It’s an excellent sweet and savory dressing replacement and we enjoy it at Thanksgiving and Christmas, however I use it year-round as a side dish.

Last year, as I tested multiple recipes for the Christmas mailer, I quickly fell in love with this sweet and savory dish. We ate it for that meal, but the next day I reheated it for lunch and it took on a crispy crust that was awesome. So if you like a crisp, browned crust and a tender inside, spread this in a baking dish and pop it in the oven at 350 degrees until the top looks rightly browned to you. I promise it won’t disappoint!

Quinoa Cranberry Pilaf

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups water
3 Tbs lemon juice, divided
2 Tbs coconut oil or butter
½ onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1¾ cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
½ cup crispy or raw pecans, optional
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup golden raisins
1 apple, diced
½ orange, peeled, segmented, deseeded and chopped
zest of ½ orange
Dash sage, optional

In a bowl, combine the quinoa, water and 2 Tbs lemon juice. Stir and cover. Soak 24 hours. Drain and rinse thoroughly. Set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the quinoa, stock and salt. Stir, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook until the stock is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional few minutes to drive off extra moisture, if needed.

Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in ½ Tbs lemon juice and the remaining ingredients. Taste, adjust seasonings, and add the extra ½ Tbs lemon juice, if needed.

Can be served warm or at room temperature or spread in a pan and cooked at 350 degrees until the top is lightly browned.

This post is part of Soaking Grains Gallery.

Desserts- Nut Butter Cups

March 21, 2012 by KerryAnn 9 Comments

This is a big hit here, and is my go-to recipe for a filling snack without a lot of carbs. This recipe is from my Menu Mailer. These need to stay refrigerated or frozen, but they do great on the go or in a lunch box with an ice pack or in winter. Kids like the mini cups best as they don’t melt before they can eat it all. I did both mini and regular sized cups and kept the layers fairly thin. A regular muffin cup-size makes a great size for an adult’s afternoon snack. These are only slightly sweet, if your family likes sweet things you’ll need to increase the honey or stevia or combine the two.

How to Make a Sourdough Starter

March 14, 2012 by KerryAnn 22 Comments

As a new feature on Cooking Traditional Foods, every Wednesday afternoon we’re going to feature one of our most popular posts from the past. There are many great articles and recipes in the archives and we hope you’ll find some new favorites.

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I have tried and tried to make sourdough the ‘traditional’ way, in the way Nourishing Traditions describes in its sourdough recipe. I have let my starter sit out and fed and stirred it faithfully, time and time again, only to have it get moldy and fail after a period of time unless I kept it in the refrigerator. Maybe it’s because I live in the humid South, who knows the reason. But I have never been able to get sourdough to the point where I could bake with it and have it out on the counter so I could produce enough to use it daily. Keeping it in the fridge just resulted in too many jars to be able to keep up with the demand of daily baking, it soured so slowly.

That is, until I tried the method Lozt Nausten, one of the moderators on the CTF forum, recommended in her wonderful sourdough bread recipe. If you are gluten-free and you need a regular bread, I strongly suggest you look at her four versions of sourdough, including the grain-free and egg-free versions. I have tried every version of her recipe and have enjoyed them all.

Using kefir made with apple juice instead of water to make the sourdough starter speeds the process up considerably and gives the starter a major boost of beneficial bacteria to ward off mold. You can use the starter in as little as 24 hours if you want a very mild flavor. Allowing it to go longer while feeding it daily creates a stronger sourdough flavor.

You can use any fermentable flour to make sourdough. Nuts and starches, like coconut, almond, tapioca starch and the like, will not ferment and can not be used for the starter but they are fine as an ingredient in the dough. If you need a grain-free starter, you can use bean flours to make your starter. In fact, on Lozt Nausten’s blog, you’ll see a grain-free recipe that uses bean flour to make the starter.

Sourdough pizza crust, ready to be baked

To make your starter, combine equal amounts of a flour of your choice and apple juice kefir. 2/3 cup flour and 2/3 cup apple juice kefir makes 1 cup of starter. Leave it on the counter for 24 hours. If you need a mild sourdough, use it to bake at that point. If you want a stronger flavor, feed it more and let sit longer.

If you need to take a break from using the starter, stash it in the fridge and feed it once a week. I use my starter to make pancakes, pizza, bread and much more. In the coming weeks, we’ll be going over a variety of recipes and techniques to help you add sourdough to your meals.

Image adapted from Pauline Mac on flickr

Coconut Milk Yogurt

March 14, 2012 by KerryAnn 39 Comments

Finally, the recipe so many folks have been asking for. Coconut milk yogurt with all real food ingredients! The CTF Facebook page has been excitedly waiting for this one while seeing my multiple posts and pictures on the progress of the recipe.

This recipe is from the Menu Mailer, Volume 4 Week 29. Please consider supporting our blog by making a purchase of a Menu Mailer subscription or buying some of the issues of the Back to Basics Menu Mailer series. Mailers contain the recipes, shopping list and prep schedule for 6 meals and one dessert every week. We add extras such as this coconut milk yogurt as we develop the recipes. The Mailer runs as low as $1 a week. You can receive a free Menu Mailer that was published in January, 2011 if you sign up for our mailing list.

The slightly tan color comes from using rapadura as the sweetener to feed the beneficial bacteria. If you need a white yogurt, use honey.

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Quick Pan-Seared Chicken Thighs

May 12, 2011 by KerryAnn 3 Comments

Things have been pretty crazy here recently. Between having company from out of town here on an extended stay and my dad’s cancer, we’ve been busy. It’s the end of the school year. And my business has been requiring extra time while we launch a new (surprise) project, finish up three print books and start filming for our eClasses.

This dish is quick, simple and easy. It makes a great week-night dinner when you don’t have much hands-on time. I serve this with a side salad, a grain and one extra veggie from whatever’s on-hand and in-season and I’m in and out of the kitchen for dinner in about 25 minutes.

Pan-Seared Chicken Thighs
From the Menu Mailer
Volume 4 Week 41

2-3 tsp Herbamare, lemon pepper or other seasoning mix
1 tsp salt if you seasoning doesn’t have it
4-8 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on
2-3 Tbs coconut oil, butter or ghee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sprinkle the spices over the chicken on both sides. In an oven-proof skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs, skin side down. Brown for 5 minutes then flip the chicken and brown another 5 minutes. Place the skillet in the oven and bake about 40 minutes, or until the juices run clear when the meat is pierced and it registers 165 on a meat thermometer.

This recipe has been shared at Real Food Wednesday, Gluten-Free Wednesday, What’s Cooking Wednesday, What’s on the Menu Wednesday, Pennywise Platter, Simple Lives Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, and Full Plate Thursday.

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New Site!

April 1, 2011 by KerryAnn 2 Comments

Welcome to the new site! I’m so excited it is finally up. We’re working to fix the broken links and missing pictures. I hope it will all be done this weekend. If you see any problems with the site, please post a comment and I’ll add it to the to do list. Thanks so much! [Read more…] about New Site!