Organic Granny

Gluten-free stove top stuffing-- a delish nosh bowl along with sauerkraut salad, hummus, broccoli, and kimchee.  The recipe for a plant-based gluten-free stovetop stuffing came about when I was using a little poultry seasoning in what I hoped would be a yummy savory quinoa flour waffle. For some reason, the waffle stuck to the iron (grrr) but I tasted the mess and it was quite lovely.  I filed the idea away for some sort of dish containing quinoa flour and poultry seasoning. After making a series of recipes for whole wheat crockpot bread and quinoa GF crockpot bread , I ended up with a heel of quinoa bread about five days old, needing some rescue recipe (too good to throw out or to allow to mold). Tonight was the night. INGREDIENTS FOR THE GLUTEN-FREE STUFFING RECIPE (Serves 4) The heel of a small heavy, soft  loaf of quinoa bread: about 4 slices + end/crust piece 1 cup of veggie broth (or like-chicken vegan broth) 1/2 cup toasted quinoa flour 3 tablespoons of coconut oil or margerine

Wonderful, yummy, messy, spicy, tasty, creamy, crunchy, crisp, chewy, savory, plant-based, gluten-free Gyro   Our son, Philip, went on a high school trip in 1988 to Greece. He came back exuberant and so happy to share all the details of his trip with us, even the experience of eating in a country that did not impose alcohol restrictions on minor-age boys in the various eateries they visited.  What he did enjoy was the Greek food, particularly the simple, delicious pita sandwich of beef or lamb on a bed of fresh sliced onions, and tomato, and laced with creamy tzatziki sauce. He was so enthused he actually took a Greek cooking class.  I think he ate quite a few gyros (pronounced either Jee-rrroh or Yee-rrroh depending on the speaker's background) during his University days and until his marriage.   We also loved the gyro he introduced us to. It is so wonderful to know that it is possible to eat the meaty food we enjoyed in a kinder form. This post contains three recipes, two th

  Quite a few years ago a friend told me about making a loaf of bread in her crockpot. It was all the rage where she lived. I didn't really engage. It didn't seem particularly interesting, to say the least. But over this time since the Pandemic and all the baking ventures that went with that, I have become more interested in making quick, tasty, healthy bread-- just a small loaf for my husband and I, made in one of our small appliances to save energy (and because my elderly oven is currently out of commission). YOUTUBE IS THE PLACE TO GO FOR TUTORIALS ON BREAD-MAKING After I had made some delicious bread in my small oven, I thought about my friend's description of making crockpot bread. I found that there are quite a few recipes and demos on YT. The one I chose to most closely emulate made the process look very easy, even using a blender (I think) to make the dough, and just feeding in 1/4 cup of flour (3 times) when the recipe didn't seem to work out as planned and

When I published a recipe for a Soft Wholewheat Bread made in a Crockpot, a few people asked me if there was a crockpot recipe for vegan, gluten-free bread?  Well, the short answer is, there ARE a few such recipes on the Interweb... so hurrah!     (If you wish, bypass next paragraphs and scroll down to recipe 💁 ) But, of course, I want to have a recipe that I can make right away and made some adaptations to various of the recipes I came across to fit my particular old crockpot that doesn't accommodate a bread pan like some of the long, oval slow-cookers do (I'm using the word "crockpot" to also refer to slow-cookers and electronic pots like Instant Pot that have a slow-cook program on their menu).  (If you wish, bypass next paragraphs and scroll down to recipe 💁 ) This is my old slow-cooker or crockpot. It's pretty basic-- on/off, high, low-- no way to set a timer, no pre-programmed recipes, etc. I bought it for our older son who was off to University far away

  HOW THIS SPELT AND OAT FOCACCIA RECIPE CAME TO BE: One day I was browsing the flour shelves in my favorite health food store when another shopper sighed in frustration and gestured at an empty shelf. Evidently it had been the Spelt Flour shelf, which was now 'sold out'.  We entered into one of those conversations based on shopper bonhomie. We both liked spelt flour. It is an ancient grain, but has almost a 1:1 ability to be used in the place of bread flour or all purpose flour, even though it is technically a "whole grain flour" like whole wheat-- but sooo different in its baking profile from whole wheat. It has quite a high gluten quantity, but doesn't require as much kneading. In fact, if you over-mix spelt flour, you end up with that stringy quality that says "high protein" (or rubber bands). It has a nice nutty flavor (again, unlike whole wheat), and a sort of "soft cake-y" texture in some baking. And it is high in fibre-- definitely a pl

  Kidneys from "Dreamstime"  In 16th Century Japan, Samari warriors wore a haramaki-- a tight fitting piece of woven armor over their lower abdomen-- stomach, kidneys and other organs were somewhat protected.  Today's haramaki has little in common with the military wraps. In Japan there is a burst of the haramaki on the fashion scene. It is generally a tube that is knit or woven to fit over the abdomen and takes various aesthetic forms, textures and colors.   Keeping Your Core Warm Take 3 minutes to watch this video that will tell you about the benefits of kidney warmers: Along with the fashion surge, there is a recognition in Asia and cold-weather countries in Europe and North America, that the haramaki offers a solace for the kidneys and other organs in the abdomen. The haramaki (or "kidney warmer", "kidney wrap" or "core warmer"-- some of the many names it is called) will boost circulation, which is a great boon for warmth and health. It i

These oat-aquafaba waffles are a dream. Great as a part of breakfast or a savory meal. Aquafaba is becoming quite trendy with vegan bakers. It is, of course, just bean juice-- what is left over in the can when you take out the beans (usually chick peas or northern beans, although ALL beans make aquafaba when you cook them in water.) Aquafaba works very much like egg white in recipes, so it is a great egg replacer for vegan items such as meringues, macrons, marshmallows, and in angel food cake (I have yet to try that!) It does not smell or taste beanie in the baked item, but if you overdo it you may find that you suffer from some of the effects of over-eating beans, so take it easy.  Less is more.  Amazingly, a quarter cup of aquafaba, what you find in a 14 oz. can of beans, is enough to lighten and puff up 5-10 waffles in this recipe. Try it and see what you think! Aquafaba is best if it does not contain salt and other additives. Check the ingredients on the can when you buy it. You ca