Recipe: Brownie Tart (Dairy- & Gluten-Free)

Backstory

My love for brownies led me to try every gluten- and dairy-free brownie mix on the shelves.  Not floored (although there are some great mixes out there now), I started making my own from scratch.  Then with alternative flour in my hair and coconut oil on my shirt, I looked for a brownie-like cake that I could take to parties and have people ask, "Who made this?"  To achieve this lofty goal, I thought it wise to start with a recipe from one of the brownie masters, The Barefoot Contessa.  I adapted her recipe so that I could safely and joyfully consume, but also have "normal" guests demand a repeat performance.  This recipe is rich (you don't need big pieces), chocolatey, chewey - all of the different textures that you want in a brownie. 

And this tart gets people to make naughty sounds. 

 Just out of the oven. It smells so, so good.

Ingredients

6 TBS of coconut oil

20 oz. (3.25 cups) of Enjoy Life Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips (or bittersweet chunks if you are really in a decadent mood)

1 cup of sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp. of gluten-free vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. of GF coffee extract (rounds out the flavor of the chocolate)

1/4 c. GF brown rice flour (I find white rice flour too sweet) - I use Bob's Red Mill

1/4 c. GF tapioca flour -- I use Bob's Red Mill

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. sea or kosher salt

2-3 TBS of rice, almond, coconut (or other alternative) milk

Put it Together

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

With coconut oil (or safflower, grape seed), grease a 9-inch tart pan with removable sides.  Then flour the pan with brown rice flour.

Wet Ingredients:  Melt the 6 TBS of coconut oil in a bowl over simmering water.  Make sure the water isn't touching the bottom of the bowl.  Add 2 cups of the chocolate chips to the bowl with the oil, then remove from heat until the chocolate melts.  If you need more heat, put the bowl of back on the simmering water for a few seconds.  (Chocolate burns easily, hence this method.)  Let chocolate cool completely.

In a bowl of an electric mixer (use the paddle attachment) beat the eggs, sugar, GF coffee extract and GF Vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy - about 3 minutes. Stir in the cooled chocolate.

Dry Ingredients:  In a medium bowl, combine the tapioca and brown rice flours, baking powder, salt and 1 cup of chocolate chips.  Fold the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until just combined.

Bake:  Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the center is puffy.  Don't overbake - if the center puffs up and possibly cracks, it is good to go.  The inside will still be very soft, but the outer rim will be perfectly chewy. 

Dress Up:  Melt the remaining chocolate chips with the 2-3 TBS of rice milk (or other alternative milk).  You can do this right in the double boiler you used for the first melted chocolate.  Drizzle over the top of the tart in whatever pattern floats your boat.

Cool to room temperature before removing the tart pan sides.

 The End.

RECIPE: Nourishing Burdock Stew (Vegan, GF)

I asked Lisa Rose Starner of Burdock & Rose to divulge this heavenly, vegan recipe after she served it at her 2011 talk on herbs and adrenal health.  To find out more about the medicinal properties of the herbs used in this recipe, visit this summary of her mini-seminar. If you are in Grand Rapids, you can find many of the herbs at Elder & Sage.

Castle Defense Nourishing Broth (Vegan)

Herbal Infusion Mixture

Herbal Infusion Mixture:  Red clover, Nettle, Oatstraw (read why oatstraw & oats must be gluten-free), Astragalus (2 sticks) -- approx. 2 cups dry herb total. In case of Gluten Intolerance, remove Oatstraw*, then increase Nettle and Red Clover.

1 cup dry mushroom of choice -- Chaga, Reishi, Maitake or 1 TBSP powered mushroom (MushroomHarvest online offers great mushroom blends)

Simmer herbal mixture and mushrooms SLOWLY in 6 qts of water for 20 minutes. Again, simmer, no boil.

Strained Herbal Broth

Let sit overnite (on the counter or in the refrigerator) for 12 hours. Long cooking/extraction time is needed to extract minerals. Let the broth come to room temperature, then strain & store in Ball Jars or containers and refrigerate if you aren't making soup right away. Freezes well. Can also be sipped at room temperature as a nourishing infusion.  

*Many folks allergic to gluten are also allergic to oats (see this post explaining this).  If you are not allergic to oats, be sure to source gluten-free oat straw.

Nourishing Burdock Stew (Vegan, GF if made w/o Oatstraw)

Domesticated Burdock with Carrot, Shallot, Garlic to go into soup with stewed Tomatoes & mushroom power

• Nourishing Broth as prepared above
• 1 cup brown rice -- cooked, optional
• 1 cup adzuki bean -- cooked, optional
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 6 cloves garlic (minced)
• 3 reg sized Burdock root (sliced or diced)
• 3 carrots (chopped)
• Salt, pepper to taste, or even minced Parsley, Thyme, Sage or Rosemary.

Sautee onion and garlic, sweat the Burdock & Carrots until the carrots are soft enough to pierce with a fork, then stir in cooked rice & beans (optional).

Cover with prepared herbal broth.  Simmer again for 20 minutes to meld flavors.

Eat and savor this nourishing, nutrient dense soup.

***To prepare soup with the added immunity builder of bone broth (highly recommended for persons with significantly compromised immunity and also as general immunity builder during winter months)

Immune-Building Bone Broth (non-Vegan, GF, DF)

Maitake mushroom wild from Michigan forests.
Decoct herbal mixture and mushrooms as directed. In separate pot, sear soup bones (beef or chicken from healthy animals) in the pot to brown, along with the onion.

Pour the prepared broth (herbs and all) over the searing bones.  Bring pot to simmer. Add 2 TBSP of vinegar  then do a slow extraction of 12 hours or so, by simmering the broth and bones on low heat. Add some water as needed as the broth reduces down. THEN strain.  This will be your bone broth.  

Finish recipe by sautéing your vegetables, adding in rice, beans.  Simmer for additional 20 minutes for flavors to meld, serve. 

Recipe: Crane Dance Lamb Chops with Rosemary

I found this recipe in an unlikely place - About.com (here's the original recipe).  I didn't make any real changes to it, except that I don't use black pepper, and only used 4 lamb chops for this marinade (you could use 8) when the recipe called for 10-12, which seems excessive.  The only other change is that I slowly drizzled and simultaneously whisked the olive oil into the other marinade ingredients so that the vinaigrette did not separate.  I loved what this recipe did to the lamb.  It mellowed but kept the wonderful game flavor of the lamb, and then deepened the flavor just enough. 

As with all good recipes - quality ingredients are key.  I got my grass fed lamb chops from Crane Dance Farm.  Grass fed lamb is higher in nutrients, including Omega 3 (yep, lamb has 50% of the OM3's of fish), Vitamins B12 and B3, tryptophan, and thyroid and immune system-loving selenium.  Grass fed meat also digests more easily.  I found the Crane Dance Lamb Chops to be top notch meat.  Loved them.

Prep Time: 12 minutes

Cook Time: 16 minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes

Yield: Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:

• 4-8 loin lamb chops, about 1 1/2 inches thick
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (optional)

Preparation:

Combinethe vinegar, rosemary, garlic and salt  in a large glass bowl (or an 8x8 shallow pan).  Slowly drizzle and simultaneously which in the olive oil.   Place chops in bowl and turn repeatedly to coat well.  You could put all of the contents into a ziplock bag, too.  Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 12 hours. Once marinated, remove chops from fridge and allow to come to room temperature (20 minutes). Preheat grill or grill pan for medium-high heat. Remove chops from marinade and place on a lightly oiled grill rack. Cook for 8 minutes on each side. Remove from heat, allow to rest for 3-5 minutes, and serve.

Chef's Tip: Using Avocado as a Dairy Replacement ("Lovocado")

Avocado is a what nutriotionists call a "healthy fat".   But don't panic, this kind of fat is monounsaturated, which researchers say can lower cholesterol if used instead of the saturated kind. Plus avocado's polyhydroxylated fatty alcohols (PFA) are usually found only in sea veggies & are rare in land-based plants. PFAs fight all inflammation, and reduce UVB-induced damage and inflammation in skin, and even act like a sun screen, according to a study done in Israel and published in May, 2011.  Avocado also has 20 some vitamins and minerals, too, like vitamins K, Folate, B6, Riboflavin, Niacin, E, and C; plus minerals like potassium and magnesium.  Avocado may not contain the same nutrients as dairy (like calcium), but it brings many very special and healthy nutrients to your diet.

Nutrition is one of many reasons we call it "Lovocado" here at the The Tender Palate.  Avocado's culinary ability to be used as a dairy replacment is another.  Here are a bunch o' ideas.

Chef Jenny Brewer

Since I loved Chef Jenny Brewer's Not Your Mamma's Chocolate Mousse Tart so much, I asked her for other ways that you can use avocado as a texture replacement for dairy.  Here are a few tips from Chef Jenny.

1. Use some mashed avocado as a sandwich spread in place of mayonnaise
2. Fold avocado chunks into a burrito or taco filling in place of cheese
3. Blend an avocado with lemon juice and a little water for a creamy salad dressing
   
4. Blend an avocado with chocolate and/or fruit and milk of choice for a refreshing milkshake
   
5. Use blended avocado in a creamy pudding, like in this pie!

2 large ripe Haas Avocados
(if your avocados are small, add 1/4 - 1/2 avocado more)

1/2 cup raw cacao powder or cocoa powder

3-4 Tablespoons maple syrup or agave 
(or more or less to taste, depending on size of avocados)

1 TBS vanilla extract
(depending upon the size of your avocados, you may want to start with 1/2 TBS and add more to taste)

Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

(I added 1/4 to 1/2 cup of coconut milk to make it more pudding-like)

Nutrient Tip:  The most concentrated nutrients in the avocado are closest to the skin. To get them, cut the avocado lengthwise in half, remove the pit, slice the flesh while still in the skin, then scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Make sure you get the spoon as close to the skin as possible, so your 20 vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients are in your meal, not the compost pile.

Chef Alton Brown

I wondered if you could make a frosting out of avocado, so I searched the internet for a recipe.  I wish I could say that I spoke to Chef Alton Brown personally (may some day), but I found this recipe for a dairy-free icing online through another blog called Joy the Baker.  Joy has a delicious vegan cake recipe, that could also be made gluten-free using the all-purpose, gluten-free flour from Jules Shepherd.  I asked Jules if this were true and she said:

It should work just fine with my flour, although I think I'd "up" the baking soda to 1 Tbs. Thanks for sharing - looks like a yummy recipe!  ~Jules

The icing is simple:

• 8 ounces avocado meat, approximately 2 small to medium
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 pound powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (for the vegan cake, Joy actually uses 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract)

Beat the avocados and the lemon juice in the bowl of your stand mixer (use the whisk attachment) for 2-3 minutes until creamy.  Add the powerdered sugar a little at a time until smooth.  Then add whichever extract you choose and incorporate.

With a little bit of knowledge, replacements aren't so hard, right?  Here's a Tender Foodie Challenge:  try these ideas and make your own recipe.   Let me know how your experiments go, will you?  If I like it, I might just write about it.

RECIPE: Not Your Mama's Chocolate Mousse Tart (super allergen-free)

"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch." ~James Beard

A Healthy yet Naughty Tart.  Really.

About two months ago I saw a recipe for Banana Cream Pie from Chef Jenny Brewer.  I am not a fan of banana cream (nor of pie), but many Tender Foodies are.  Plus, the pie was touted as being "better than chocolate cake" and chocolate cake is in my wheel house.  So I posted the recipe on social media for gluten- and dairy-free pie lovers everywhere.

Since a great number of Tender Foodies have developed multiple food allergies, the response I received was, "I wish it were free of {insert allergen here}.  I began to wonder:  Could you make a PIE that is free of the Big 8, plus make it oat-free, corn-free, coconut-free, and sesame-free?  And could that pie be GOOD?  I asked Chef Jenny if she could do it, and she accepted this challenge. 

Chef Brewer specializes in healthy food, dessert included.  So when I tested the recipe myself, I kept thinking, "This pie is really good for me.  How will it taste?  How will it taste?  How will it taste?"  Part of me agrees with the James Beard quote above.  Dessert is supposed to be decadent, shameful, indulgent.  Naughty.   Since this pie is actually a tart, the naughtiness is in its name, without one ounce of naughty in the pie.  Until you taste it.

What is the difference between a pie and a tart?  The short answer is that a pie has sides, but a tart does not.  I like this post from The Kitchn that explains this more in depth.

No one will know that the "cream" in the mousse is actually avocado.  When I finished my first slice, I felt nourished and satisfied, so did my fellow testers.  This is a great quality in a dessert (and a great quality in a saucy little tart, too, I would imagine).

Chef Jenny made a video that demonstrates the finer points of making the tart (see below).  So give this recipe a try and let us know if you like this recipe as much as I do.

Tools

8' Spring Form Pan (the crust is really sticky, and this pan works great)

Food Processor

Spatula

Medium-sized skillet

Toasting the Sunflower Seeds in a Swirling, Dry Pan.

The Crust

1 cup pumpkin seeds, sprouted and/or toasted* (toasting gives great depth of flavor)
(*to toast pumpkin seeds, place them in a dry skillet over medium high heat, stirring until brown, about 5-7 minutes, being very careful not to burn. Alternatively, place in a 375 degree oven and roast for about 5 minutes, or until browned.)

½ cup popped millet**
(**to pop millet, place in a dry, hot skillet over medium heat and stir constantly -don't let them burn- until you hear consistent popping.  See video below for more)

½ cup raisins

1/3 cup dates, pitted

2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed mixed with 4 Tablespoons water and left to gel for 3-5 minutes            

pinch of salt

In a food processor bowl, pulse pumpkin seeds and millet until seeds are ground. Add raisins, dates and pinch of salt and chop until everything is ground together.  Add in flax mixture and pulse until sticky. Wet your fingers and press the mixture into 8-inch pie pan and keep refrigerated while you prepare the filling.

The Chocolate Mousse Filling

2 large ripe Haas Avocados
(if your avocados are small, add another avocado and adjust the ingredients.  Avocados vary quite a bit in size.)

1/2 cup raw cacao powder or cocoa powder

3-4 Tablespoons maple syrup or agave 
(or more or less to taste, depending on size of avocados)

1 TBS vanilla extract
(depending upon the size of your avocados, you may want to start with 1/2 TBS and add more to taste)

Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. 

Spread into crust and chill until ready to serve.

Note: taste it and add more cocoa and maple syrup if desired.  I used a 10" springform pan so that the crust was very thin, then doubled the filling.  If you would like more naughtiness, you can double the filling with an 8" springform pan, too.  It will give you a more voluptuous tart.

Watch the Video Demonstration

Where to find the ingredients:

I used raw cacao powder, processed wtih no preservatives or additives (no alkaline). From Harvest Health.

The pumpkin seeds I used were sprouted and salted from Go Raw, so I cut back the pinch of salt to accommodate.

The whole grain millet is from Eden Organic.  They process their millet in a gluten-free factory and test their millet to 5ppm (the proposed law requires 20ppm).  Thanks to Saffron's A Gluten-free Market for sourcing this for me.  Please note that even though millet is inherently gluten-free, not all brands source, process or test millet as a gluten-free product.  Look for the gluten-free label and check any brand's web site.  Eden's whole grain millet is what I recommend.

Saffrons has an online store, as well.  So if you can't find it, give them a shout, or let us know that you would like them to carry this online and we'll tell them.

Nutrients

Avocado provides Vitamins C&K, B6, folate, and copper, potassium and dietary fiber.  It also provides anti-inflammatory and digestive support and being researched as a blood sugar regulating food.

Pumpkin Seeds are protein and Omega-3 rich. They are one of the healthiest seeds around providing manganese, tryptophan, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, Vitamin K and zinc.  Pumpkin Seeds are also thought to be anti-inflammatory, good for prostate health and may have cholesterol lowering benefits.

Whole Grain Millet has manganese, tryptophan, magnesium and phosphorus and is thought to be heart-healthy like oats.

Organic Raw Cacao contains flavanols and flavanoids that have been studied for cardiovascular health.  The benefits are all in how the cacao is processed, so organic and the less processing the better.