Category: Odds & ends

Cassava crust

Natalie Hanson

This recipe is the AIP Pizza crust from the Autoimmune Wellness website, and it’s supposed to serve 3-4 people as a pizza crust. But I use it primarily to create individually-portioned flatbread – it is so good when it is fresh and warm out of the oven! I prepare the dough ahead of time and chill it, dividing it up into smaller portions so I cook only what I need. I make 8 smaller flatbreads (about 6×6 inches) with this recipe. You can read more, see pictures, and the original recipe here.

1 packet active dry yeast
1½ cups warm water, divided
1 tablespoon honey
2 cups cassava flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1½ teaspoons sea salt
⅔ cup olive oil

  • Preheat oven 500°F; if you plan to cook on a pizza stone, include that in the oven while it preheats.
  • Add the yeast to a glass measuring cup with ½ cup of 115 degree water and honey. Give a quick whisk and set aside someplace warm for about 20 minutes. Once your yeast is active and ready to incorporate, it will double in size and smell yeasty.
  • Combine the cassava flour, tapioca starch and salt in a large bowl and stir to. Add the olive oil and 1 cup of warm water, along with the yeast mixture. Stir until combined.
  • Gently form into a ball with floured hands. Cover with a towel and set someplace warm (about 70-90 degrees is best) for about an hour to rise.
  • Your dough should have risen a couple of inches, perhaps cracking and smelling yeasty.
  • While the oven and baking surface are pre-heating, top the pizza on a pice of parchment paper on a flat baking sheet. First apply your sauce, then meat and vegetable toppings.
  • To make a pizza crust, carefully divide the batter it into two portions, forming each into a puck and then rolling out each into an 11-inch pizza on a piece of parchment paper and adding additional cassava flour to the pin as needed.
  • To make smaller flatbreads, divide each of the two portions in four, resulting in eight smaller balls of dough; each will yield a 6×6 inch flatbread when rolled and cooked.
  • To cook, remove the pre-heated stone or sheet from the oven and slide the crust onto it.
  • Cook for 9-10 minutes, or until just browned on the bottom of the crust.
  • Cool for a few minutes before enjoying.

Stromboli crust

Natalie Hanson

This is the crust from the Rosemary & Prosciutto Stromboli recipe in The Healing Kitchen, by Alaena Haber & Sarah Ballantyne. I use it to make a flexible flatbread crust.

1 cup of cooked and mashed white sweet potato (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 Tbsp bacon fat (to brush on the crust while baking), or another fat of your choice

  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a food processor, combine the mashed sweet potato with 1/4 cup of the tapioca starch at a time.
  • Season with the salt and rosemary; I also add half the bacon fat to the batter, which helps create a uniform texture.
  • Process until smooth.
  • Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet and use your hands to spread it into a rectangle about 1/4 inch sheet.
  • At this point you can fill and roll, or cook as-is to create a flatbread.
  • Brush with half the bacon fat and bake for 30 minutes.
  • If a crispy texture is desired, broil for 2-3 minutes per side.
  • Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining bacon fat.

Joe’s summer steak sauce

Natalie Hanson

A couple of Tbsps of soy sauce and sesame oil

A few jalapeno peppers (with or without seeds)

A Tbsp of grated ginger

A clove or two of garlic

A Tbsp of fish sauce

About 1/4 cup of cilantro

Juice of a couple of limes

Put everything in the blender until there are no more chunks.

Apple cinnamon gummy candies

Natalie Hanson

6 Tbsp gelatin

1 cup of apple juice

1/4 tsp of cinnamon

2 Tbsp of honey

  • In a small saucepan, whisk the gelatin and cinnamon together until evenly blended.
  • Add the apple juice and turn heat to medium; whisk until there are no lumps.
  • When the mixture starts to warm, add the honey and whisk well.
  • If the mixture thickens up too fast, don’t worry, the heat will liquefy it again.
  • Pour in a glass measuring cup, for easy pouring into a silicone candy mold or a small loaf pan.
  • Pop in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  • Then remove from the freezer, and pop out of the mold or cut the loaf into small squares.

Hoa’s fish sauce

Natalie Hanson

The goi cuon (flexible rice paper rolls) are often served with a peanut sauce in restaurants, but many local Vietnamese enjoy esting it with fish sauce (nuoc mem).

1 empty glass jar

Sugar

1 Lemon

4-5 pieces of garlic

Chili garlic sauce (plastic jar with a green top, with a rooster / chicken on it)

Concentrated fish sauce (Tiparos brand)

Water

In an empty jar, measure in relation to the size of the jar:

  • Pour in 1/8 of sugar into the jar.
  • Boil some hot water and pour into the jar – just slightly above the sugar content.
  • Dilute the sugar completely with a stirring stick.
  • Add cold water to about a little over half of the jar.
  • Take one lemon and roll it around on the counter, pushing down to make it nice and squishy.
  • Cut open the lemon in half over the jar and squeeze.
  • Crush the garlic into the jar.
  • Add 2 tsp or more of the chili garlic sauce, depending on how spicy you like it.
  • Add the concentrated fish sauce – a third of less to the amount of water content already in the jar … or until the color is golden brown with a tinge of red from the chili garlic sauce.

Add more water or concentrated fish sauce, according to how strong or light you prefer the taste. Stir all contents adn chill in fridge before use.

Apple cider caramels

Natalie Hanson

From the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

4 cups (945 ml) apple cider

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp flaky sea salt

8 Tbsp (115 grams or 1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (110 grams) packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream

Neutral oil for the knife

  • Boil the apple cider in a 3- to 4- quart saucepan over high heat until it is reduced to a dark, thick syrup, between 1/3 and 1/2 cup in volume.
  • This takes about 35 to 40 minutes on my stove.
  • Stir occasionally.
  • Meanwhile, get your other ingredients in order, because you won’t have time to spare once the candy is cooking.
  • Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch straight-sided square metal baking pan with 2 long sheets of criss-crossed parchment. Set it aside.
  • Stir the cinnamon and flaky salt together in a small dish.
  • One you are finished reducing the apple cider, remove it from the heat and stir in the butter, sugars, and heavy cream.
  • Return the pot to medium-high heat with a candy thermometer attached to the side, and let it boil until the thermometer reads 252 degrees, only about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on it.
  • If you don’t have a candy or deep-fry thermometer? Have a bowl of very cold water ready, and cook the caramel until a tiny spoonful dropped into the water becomes firm, chewy, and able to be plied into a ball.
  • Immediately remove caramel from heat, add the cinnamon-salt mixture, and give the caramel several stirs to distribute it evenly.
  • Pour caramel into the prepared pan.
  • Let it sit until cool and firm – about 2 hours, though it goes faster in the fridge.
  • Once caramel is firm, use your parchment paper sling to transfer the block to a cutting board.
  • Use a well-oiled knife, oiling it after each cut (trust me!), to cut the caramel into 1-by-1 inch squares.
  • Wrap each one in a 4-inch square of waxed paper, twisting the sides to close.
  • Caramels will be somewhat on the soft side at room temperature, and chewy / firm from the fridge.
  • Caramels keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two weeks – but really, good luck with that!

Raspberry coulis

Natalie Hanson

This tart, vibrantly-colored sauce makes a delicious topping for cheesecake, ice cream, and other desserts.  Excess can be put in the freezer and thawed as needed.

1 package of frozen raspberries
1 lemon
slightly less than 1/2 cup sugar

  • Pull raspberries from the freezer and allow to thaw slowly.
  • Put raspberries in a strainer over a bowl, and use a spatula to force fruit pulp through the strainer.
  • Discard seeds.
  • Repeat as needed until all raspberries have been strained.
  • Squeeze and strain the lemon, combine lemon juice with raspberry pulp.
  • Put raspberry mixture in the food processor and blend.
  • Add sugar to taste.

Drizzle over the dessert of your choice!

Pie filling

Natalie Hanson

Filling – with crème fraîche

This should be prepared in advance, as it takes 6 hours (or overnight) for the crème fraîche to form.

3/4 to 1 cup of crème fraîche
3 egg yolks
1-2 Tbsp of sugar

Crème fraîche

1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream

  • Combine the sour cream and heavy whipping cream, and put in a warm location until it thickens (for example, in the oven with the oven light on).

Pie Filling

  • Combine the crème fraîche gently with the egg yolks and sugar.
  • Put a thin layer in pie crust and cook until set.
  • Fill the crust with the rest of the crème fraîche mixture and lay the fruit in it.
  • Cook at 375°F for 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the fruit.

Filling – a lighter alternative

2 eggs
2 cups of milk
1/4 cup of sugar
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla

  • Because this custard filling is less thick than the one made with crème fraîche, it may not set as thoroughly. 
  • This may cause the pie crust to become soggy when cooking.
  • In order to protect the crust, while it is warm it can be glazed with an apricot or currant jelly. 
  • Certain fruits (like blueberries) can also be lightly coated with flour to absorb some of the excess moisture.
  • Continue this recipe as above.