11 Smokey Beans Soup

Here's a recipe I made up today with the goal of using fresh produce from my garden. I didn't exactly measure anything, but it's just soup so adjust it to your liking.

11 dry bean mix
Vegetable broth
Balsamic vinegar
Dry sherry
Liquid hickory smoke
Sea salt
Dill
Onion
Garlic
Red potatoes
Red pepper
Pickling cucumbers
Tomatoes

A crock pot is also handy to cook your beans in.

Start you beans the night before. Don't forget to sort and wash your dry bean mix. This step is so important. I didn't find any stones this time but I have found them in the past in several types. Soak them over night. I like to drain them in the morning but I hear you don't need to. Make sure you have them covered by about an inch of water then start your crock pot on high for two hours then low for four or until the beans are cooked.

In a seperate kettle, bring your vegetable broth to a boil. I like to cut a corner here with these great organic boullion cubes I found. Next add a glug of balsamic vinegar, a splash of dry sherry and a dribble of liquid smoke. It is easy to get carried away with the liquid smoke so remember you can always add more if needed but it us not easy to mask too much. Go a little heavy with the sea salt because not only are you going to add plain beans but potatoes will soak a bunch of it up too. Last add a decent pinch of dill. This mix should taste strong at this point.
Dice your potatoes into half inch cubes. The ratio of potato to beans should be about 1:3. Add diced onion and minced garlic with your potatoes the the boiling broth. When they are about half done turn your pot to simmer and add sliced cucumber, diced red pepper and seeded and diced tomatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked to your liking.
At this point you can start adding your beans. I laddled mine in with as little cooking water as possible. They could not be drained because the lentils were too delicate. When you add the beans and stir the lentils will fall apart and make a nice gravy.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Gluten, Dairy and Soy Free Brownies

Last night I had an urge for chocolate, the kind only a brownie could satisfy. The trick to good gluten free food is great ingredients. I have found that the quality of each item matters so much more now that it has to be made without wheat and butter. If you use crappy quality ingredients you don't end up with OK food you end up with crap. Here's the recipe:


1 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil - melted
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2/3 cup gluten free flour blend
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 almonds - diced
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs. stir in remaining ingredients. Spread into a greased 8x8 pan, coconut oil works perfectly. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and center slightly bounces back when pressed.

Now about those ingredients. Your results my vary but I'll tell you what I used.
Sugar - Organic evaporated cane juice crystals. I bought this a costco although I order it from Azure Standard too.
Coconut oil - There are difference types of coconut oil. Some have a coconut flavor and smell some do not. The kind I used in this is raw cold-pressed and retains a bit of coconut flavor and smell. It works very well for baked goods.
Vanilla - I'm a fan of gourmet vanilla. This time I used organic vanilla extract from Uganda. It's one or the reasons I run a wholesale frontier buy, good prices on these specialty things. The regular price is $6.99, wholesale I buy it for $4.65.
Eggs - it's your choice what eggs you feel comfortable eating. I would rather eat eggs from chickens I raise myself but the racoons took every last one so I have to be comfortable enough with free range.
Gluten Free flour blend - This gets tricky. The key to gluten free baking is never one flour. No one item you use will work like wheat. You need a combination, really, trust me on this. The recipe only needed 2/3 cup flour so I went with a blend I bought Mama's Coconut Blend. If I didn't have this on hand I would have made up a mix in a jar containing 1/4 cup coconut flour, 1/4 cup tapioca starch, 1/4 cup garbanzo bean. I'm not a huge fan of rice flour. I think it often imparts too gritty a texture. In needing such a small amount of flour it's really worth the extra cost to omit it. That said, the blend I used contains two kinds of rice flour but the milling is so fine, it's not gritty at all.
Xanthan gum - the glue that takes the place of gluten. This makes it all stick together. Experience has taught me I needed a quarter teaspoon. Too little and to would crumble apart to much and it's like a rock.
Cocoa powder - this like the vanilla makes the end product. A high quality cocoa is essential. I like Rapunzel Organic Cocoa. It's fair trade, it is non-alkaline cocoa and makes great hot chocolate as well.
Almonds - well they're almonds
Baking Powder - I use aluminum free. It doesn't rise as fast as aluminum containing but it does rise later I'm happy with it.
Sea Salt - I love good salt. It really makes a difference is all cooking. Don't use table salt, it's not the stuff wars were fought over, it's just crap.