Eating Cake on the Rooftop

On at least three separate occasions I have been asked if I’m still doing Meals with Morri. The short answer is yes. The longer answer obviously has more to it than that. 

When I first started, I was cooking and posting and writing on the regular, and in doing so I learned how to cook and post and write. I met a lot of talented and amazing people along the way. Companies and publishers reached out to me to write reviews for their products and cookbook authors. I learned to be picky, and when to say no.

But with the evolution of Meals with Morri, particularly the person behind it (i.e., yours truly), I started to become very critical of my art. If it wasn’t something I thought people wouldn’t like, it wasn’t posted. If the photos I took were not good enough, the recipe itself would have to wait. This doesn’t particularly bother me, because I have really blossomed with the food I’ve made, and the stories I’ve written about them have refined. The problem I am facing now is the realization as to why I love to cook, and why Meals with Morri has been lacking in recipes per month recently.

My motivation in making food is just that: making food. Not for me, but to share with others. Eating the same food with other people is such an important ritual for me. It’s a sacred act of connecting with others at the table. I had experienced a similar revelation while I was in Malta. When I lived alone, I just made food. There was nothing more to it than insuring I was eating enough. But when CK and I visited each other or I made food for the office, suddenly the creative juices were flowing in overdrive. And perhaps the underlying reason is to validate my art, to see that Meals with Morri was doing something positive in person. But really, I’ve come to realize that, like my previous aspirations to be a chef, I really love it when people eat and enjoy the food I make for them. 

Living with my parents after over a year of not doing so has meant that what they eat and what I eat doesn’t mesh as often as it used to when it was my responsibility to make dinner for the family. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, but not sharing food I make with other people has affected my motivation to create and share recipes online. I like there being a reason for my art, and I want to experience that shared moment in person, in real time. CK and our two dear friends H and J have risen to the challenge in helping me see that it's equally important for me to enjoy my art, and are more than willing to help give me ideas in what to make (thanks, guys).

Last night, I was invited to a friend’s birthday party, and although I wasn’t asked, I made a cake that I knew I’d be able to eat. It was a rooftop party, one that overlooked other Washington, D.C. apartments and offices, the Washington Monument blinking lazily far away. The already present cupcakes had been eaten, and to my surprise, my cake was used to sing to him “Happy Birthday” (which I unashamedly conspired with his girlfriend in making happen). The cake was said to be quite good, and only a few people knew that it was gluten free. 

Rooftop Carrot Cake with Honey Sweetened Cream Cheese Frosting

For the cake
120 g White rice flour*
1/2 tsp. Baking soda**
1 tsp. Cream of tartar**
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
150 ml olive oil
200 g coconut sugar
5 Carrots, grated

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease (I used butter) and flour (I used the white rice flour) one 9-inch pan.
In a medium bowl, sift together the rice flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, sea salt and cinnamon.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a larger bowl with a hand mixer), combine the eggs, olive oil, coconut sugar, and vanilla, and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is slightly frothy.
Reduce the speed to low, and add the flour mixture in small increments, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula each time.
Stir in the grated carrots, mixing until combined, and pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (for me, this was 50 minutes).
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto a parchment lined wire rack to cool completely.
Once cooled, decorate the cake with frosting and other toppings you may enjoy (such as unsweetened coconut shavings).

Makes 1 cake, or 12 slices.

For the frosting (courtesy of this recipe)
8 oz package or 240 g Cream cheese, softened
56 g Unsalted butter, softened
85 g Honey
Unsweetened coconut shavings, as topping (optional)

Whip the cream cheese in a standing mixer until soft, then add the butter and honey to blend.
Mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy.

Makes 12 – 18 servings.

* NOT to be confused with sweet rice flour. If you do, you’ll get a mochi-like consistency.

** The baking powder equivalent is 1 1/2 tsp.

To Adult or Not to Adult, it Still Calls for Ice Cream

Upon returning to the states over a month ago, a dark cloud enveloped my disposition. The job searching and applying seemed to be going nowhere. I was constantly reminded that, at twenty-five, with a Master’s Degree, I was living at home in my childhood bedroom with a depleting savings account. The distance between CK and I was a hard one, especially with him traveling with family around Italy for a couple weeks, and our long talks cut short. Triggers of abandonment and rejection bombarded me, and I kick myself now in falling for the fears. 

If there was a time where I felt like a small and insignificant child, it was from May to June. I stopped caring about the things I used to be so passionate about. Every email to a potential employer felt like a desire to be accepted and integrated in the career path I so wanted to participate in. I felt like a child with the weight of adulthood bearing down on my shoulders. I felt that I had the experience and the passion to make things happen, only to be told that it wasn’t enough.

Depression is nothing less than a merciless bitch.

The other tragic event that took place just this last Saturday was the death of our newest member of the family: our cat Clyde. He had developed FIP before he came into our home, but it took him regardless. He was just a few weeks short of his first birthday, and his death was a heartbreaking blow. Lilli, our other cat, has thankfully not contracted the incurable disease (fingers crossed that it remains that way), but she has lost two friends in the span of ten months, and it hurts to watch her grieve.

He was such a bundle of love, and unremorseful in being in the middle of it all.

But Clyde’s death did something positive for me. It’s hard to explain, but whatever depression I had (smothering me to the point I had sincerely thought of packing a few days worth of clothing and food and driving my car somewhere without telling anyone) lifted. The child feeling went away. I learned what it means to be an adult, and I learned it while holding Clyde as the vet put him to sleep.

In all the kitties that have come into my life, their deaths happened without my being physically present. Luna, the cat before Lilli, also had FIP, but I was young and Mama Dazz took her in the middle of the night and held her while she died. Miette, who developed kidney disease (common in Abyssinians), died while I was in Malta. Clyde was the first death I had ever witnessed in any being bigger than a hamster, and I was adamant that I was there no matter what happened.

When you’re in your teens, you dream about being an adult. It means making your own decisions, running the show. In your twenties, you have this checklist of Being Adult. It means having a job with insurance and unpaid internships are a thing of the past. It means moving out of your parents’ house. It means having enough money to live off on. It means paying taxes. It means being out of school. Based upon my Being Adult list, I was out of school, but I didn’t meet the other requirements, and I felt less for it. 

I spent all my energy and motivation trying to fulfill this stupid list, when in reality I was looking at it in the wrong way. I am very grateful and appreciative to have this time to live at home so I can find a job on my terms. I have a partner that I always cherish seeing. And instead of looking at job after job after job, I realized that it isn’t a burden to have such an inclusive career path. It means I have a lot of options to choose from.

Being an adult means that you make the final decisions in every choice that is presented in front of you. It means knowing when to say goodbye. It means knowing when an opportunity presents itself, and taking that leap forward.

It also means being able to have dessert whenever you bloody well feel like it.

As I’ve said, my desire to make recipes waned significantly since returning to the states, but for a few weeks now I’ve really wanted to post summer fun foods that can be enjoyed after a day’s worth of Adulting.

And like any sad moment, this calls for ice cream, or gelato.

One of my favorite memories in 2014 was Chris surprising me with a trip to a gelateria that made a few gelato flavors with fructose, and thus Morri-friendly. Since then, the craving to make homemade gelato was constantly on my mind. Mama Dazz had mentioned that she had a hand-churning ice cream maker (old school and awesome), and so the challenge was accepted.

Only this time, instead of fructose, it was made with coconut sugar.

Ice cream, gelato, and sorbet are relatively easy things to make at home. And like most things, I felt empowered that I could indulge on my terms without the fear of being glutened, sugared, or soyed. Yes, it’s a little time consuming on the prep, but it is a labor of love that is well worth it.

The recipe I found for authentic Italian gelato is from the wonderful Memorie di Angelina, and it speaks for itself. Even though the coconut sugar changed the coloring of the gelato to appear darker, the texture is exactly what I remembered enjoying in the park with CK as kids kicked the soccer ball around.

And it’s a naturally gluten free food, a plus in my book.

Gelato bionda (Blonde Gelato) (adapted from this recipe)

500 ml Whole milk
150 g “Blonde” coconut sugar, pulsed to a fine consistently
4 Egg yolks
1 Vanilla pod, split down the middle

Pour the milk, half of the coconut sugar (75 g), and the vanilla pod or lemon zest, into a saucepan and bring the milk nearly to a boil.
When the very first bubbles begin to appear, take it immediately off the heat and let it cool.
Cover the saucepan, which will slow down the cooling process and prolong the steeping process, thus drawing out more of the vanilla flavor.
When the milk has cooled (at room temperature or a little warmer, but not too hot or it will cook the egg prematurely), put the egg yolks into an electric mixer together with the other half of the coconut sugar.
Beat at a high setting until the egg yolks and sugar have been thoroughly combined and the mixture is creamy.
Lower the setting and slowly add your cooled milk mixture (after removing the vanilla pod) in a steady stream, and mix until everything is well amalgamated.
Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan, and heat it gently until the eggs thicken it into a thin custard (thick enough to coat a spoon lightly, but not so much that the egg curdles).
Stir continually and raise the heat very gradually (medium to medium-high) until said thin custard is observed.
Once the mixture has thickened, remove it from the heat and pour it into the mixing bowl previously used.
Let it stand to cool for ten minutes before transferring to the fridge to chill for at least one hour to overnight (I personally chilled the mixture overnight, and was very pleased with the result).
Pour the now chilled mixture into your ice cream maker and proceed to churn per the instructions that came with the machine (mine ended up with a soft serve consistency in about 20 minutes), a place the final product in the freezer* to continue the firming process.
Serve as soon as it is out of the freezer with your favorite ice cream accompaniments.

Makes 6 – 9 servings.

*Tips from Memorie di Angelina: “If you are keeping your gelato in the freezer for a longer time (gelato will keep for quite a while in the freezer) then remove it from the freezer about 15 minutes or so before serving, as it hardens further over time, and the texture of gelato can be firm but never hard.”

Raspberry Oatmeal Cookies

I struggle with desserts. Replacing cane sugar and corn syrups result in experimenting with honey, maple syrup, stevia, pureed fruits like banana or date, but I have learned that the sweetener is an essential part of the dessert’s ratio. Ruhlman taught me that.

But living on my own or, for the moment, with just one other person, I’m typically left with leftover desserts… or bread… or anything in excess that, in reality, I only wanted one or two servings of. And so I don’t really experiment with the sweet stuff as much as I’d like unless there’s a lot of people to share it with.

On the other hand, I do make exceptions. When CK arrived in Malta for our summer together, berry season struck the island. The local green grocer near my work’s office was selling small plastic boxes of his favorite, raspberries, for a reasonable price. Sadly, anyone who loves raspberries knows how quickly they can spoil; and so, another buy later, we had roughly 120 g of them to work with after picking out the already molding ones.

I don’t know whose idea it was to use them for cookies, but the recipe turned out to be what CK referred to as “the best cookie he’s ever had”. Tart, savory, sweet, and buttery, with a satisfying cookie that doesn’t crumble more than it should. They spread out beautifully on the tray while baking, and rose slightly due to the presence of leavening agents.

Once I get around to making these chocolate chips, I think I’ll incorporate them into my next batch of these cookies. But really, these are quite delicious as is. They are an adaptation of Ruhlman's 1-2-3 Cookie Dough in Ratio, but I added one egg and replaced the sugar with honey.

Raspberry Oatmeal Cookies

60 g Honey
120 g Unsalted butter, softened
90 g CGF Rolled oats*
90 g Chickpea flour
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
1/8 tsp. Baking soda**
Dash of Cinnamon
Pinch of Powdered ginger
1 Large egg, lightly beaten
120 g Raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C and lightly grease or lay out parchment paper on a sheet tray (half to two thirds size).
Combine the honey and the butter, and mix until it is evenly distributed and the butter is light in color, followed by the egg.
Fold in the oats, chickpea flour, spices and baking soda gradually and continue to stir until a uniform dough is formed.
Add the raspberries and carefully stir to the point of breaking down the berries into smaller pieces, but not so much as to turn it into a puree.
Form the cookies using about two tablespoons of dough for each cookie and place them at least 2 inches apart (you don’t need to press them down, they spread out on their own).
Place the sheet in the center of the oven to bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges turn a light golden brown.
Remove from the oven and place the cookies on a rack to cool.

Makes 12 cookies.

*The oats I used has a "pulsed" look, so I would recommend putting your oats in a food processor or blender and pulse a couple times.
**I initially used 1/4 tsp. baking soda, but it tasted a bite too soda-y for my preferences.

It's Cobblerin' Time!

When I was in fifth grade, I joined my local Girl Scouts group. We did a lot of arts and crafts and cookie sales, but the one thing I explicitly remember about being a girl scout was the overnight camping trip. A night in the woods can be terrifying, as it’s darker than city life, and the unfamiliar sounds of nocturnal animals have you wondering whether or not you’re in a horror movie no one told you about. But a night in the woods can also be exciting, because it almost always means a good campfire and roasted marshmallows.

While marshmallows and weenies were placed on sticks, a girl scout’s dad did something a bit different. He made cherry cobbler on the grill. When it was ready, he placed a heaping spoonful of the dessert into drinking cups and passed it to everyone that wanted it. My brain had difficulty processing the concept of a smoked dessert. S’mores didn’t count. A burnt marshmallow was the only sort of marshmallow that existed in my mind. And although I wasn’t big on cherry desserts, the concept of cobbler on the grill remained deep in my subconscious until this month’s Gluten Free Ratio Rally.

Cobblers have an old history of being enjoyed in the United States. Some sources claim the cobbler’s origins in early British American colonies, and depending on what the people had on hand, the names changed. Thus, you have names like Cobbler, Crisp, Crumble, Brown Betty, Buckle, Grunt, Slump, Bird’s Nest Pudding, Sonker, and Pandowdy. It could be sweet or savory and served whenever the mood struck. The crust could resemble drop biscuits, pancake batter, or a piecrust. And the filling could be sweet or savory or a bit of both.

As I was thinking of what sort of cobbler to make, that memory of cherry cobbler around the campfire revealed itself. And what better way to make a summer cobbler than to do so on the grill? There is no exact science to the cooking process, other than to monitor the flame and watch for burnt filling along the edges. But at first bite, you feel like you are a wild man enjoying the sweeter side of wilderness. 

Cast Iron Fruit Cobbler on the Grill

For the filling:
46 small strawberries, halved
2 Rhubarb stalks, finely diced
52 cherries, pitted and halved
125 g Honey

For the crust:
75 g Brown rice flour
55 g Quick cooking CGF oats
25 g Corn flour
60 g Chilled salted butter, cut into small pieces
60 ml Whole milk
1/4 tsp. Baking soda

Preheat the grill (gas or charcoal) to moderate to high heat, and generously butter a 9-inch cast iron pan.
To make the filling, combine the strawberries, rhubarb, and cherries in the prepared dish and drizzle the honey on top.
To make the crust, in a mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
Scatter the butter on top and, using a stand mixer or doing so buy hand, cut the butter into the flour mixture until pea-size pieces form.
Gradually stir in the milk, mixing until the dough clings together.
Gather the dough into a ball and transfer to a cutting board lined with parchment paper.
With another piece of parchment paper, cover the dough and flatten it out into a 9-inch circle with a 1/4-inch thickness.
Lay the dough on top of the filling and drizzle additional honey on top of the crust. Place the cast iron pan on the grill, to bake for twenty minutes.*
When done, remove from the grill and let it cool slightly on the counter.
Serve warm or at room temperature, scooped from the pan, with yogurt or ice cream on top.

Makes 6 servings.

*You’re looking for filling bubbling along the sides of the pan and a golden brown crust. Depending on the heat, it may take fifteen minutes or twenty-five to thirty minutes. 

T.R. of No One Likes Crumbly Cookies was our amazing host this month.  We had a lovely selection of participants, so be sure to check out what other delicious recipes you can enjoy this summer! What am I saying... You can enjoy these delights all year long!

T.R.* | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies    Cherry Lime Cobbler   
Adina | Gluten Free Travelette    Date Night Berry Cobbler   
Morri (me!) | Meals with Morri    Cast Iron Fruit Cobbler on the Grill       
Heather | Discovering the Extraordinary    Pineapple Cherry Dump Cake   
Brooke | B & the boy!    Apple-Cranberry Cobbler  

Teatime in Spring

Spring is here, my friends! Are you rejoicing in seeing the clear blue skies and fluffy white clouds? Are you running and playing barefoot in the green grass? Are you getting your hands dirty to plant seeds and anticipate their harvest in the coming seasons? Go on, take a deep breath; inhale the perfume wafting strongly off the flowers.

Ah… Wait a minute...

Ahhh...?

Ahhhhh… ACCCHHOOOOO!!! *sniffle* *grumble* So much for breathing in spring.

With spring's frivolity and warm weather, it also means the dreaded snot and sinus monsters have come out of hibernation. It means piles of crumpled tissues everywhere you walk. It means sneezing and coughing and probably nose spray and decongestants. It means tea… lots and lots of tea.

March was a bitter pill to swallow, but despite the annual allergies April is showing itself to be more productive and bountiful. The stress has become manageable (it’s amazing what sleeping a full eight hours can do for a person), and the semester is a shy couple of weeks away from being over. Even more exciting is that the GFRR seems to have come back stronger than ever!

I mean, who doesn’t love a good shortbread with their tea? The participants of this month's GFRR sure do.

Shortbread is considered a cookie in the United States. I don't know about anyone else, but when I think of a biscuit I think of the savory, fluffy kind. In Ruhlman’s (2009) book Ratio, the classic recipe for shortbread is the exact same as his cookie dough (p.37) ratio (1 part sugar, 2 parts fat, and 3 parts flour), while his biscuit ratio (p.33) contains no sugar at all and is 3 parts flour, 1 part fat, and 2 parts liquid. So this could be another reason why the U.S. views biscuits differently. It’s all about the ratio of the ingredients that differentiate the two.  

This delectable treat is so named because of its crumbly texture, the cause being to its relatively high fat content inhibiting the formation of long gluten strands. When you are gluten free, however, it’s not much of a problem to begin with. In fact, substituting sugar with honey was relatively easy to do as well.

Instead of baking it like Ruhlman suggests (as one would a typical cookie), I chose a lower temperature and a longer baking period. Shortbread is typically baked at a low temperature to avoid browning; and when done, it is nearly white, or a light golden brown. It may even be crumbly before cooled, but will become firmer after cooling. In other words, I had to not eat them all when coming right out of the oven if I wanted to know how they actually turned out. Like my tendency with gluten free bread, I needed to be patient and leave them be in order to enjoy them at their best.

And thank goodness I waited, because shortbread and tea were meant to be together.

Earl Grey Shortbread

60 g Honey
120 g Unsalted butter, soft but not melted
150 g Brown rice flour
30 g Coconut flour
Pinch of Sea salt
1 Bag (2 g) of Earl Grey tea leaves

Preheat the oven to 275°F.
Cream the butter with the honey until light and fluffy (either by hand or with an electric mixer/food processor), and add the tea leaves and sea salt.
Slowly add the flours into the mixture until completely incorporated.
Shape the dough into a ball (will be soft and buttery but should not stick to your hands) and roll out to about 1/2 an inch thick.*
Use cookie cutters or a knife to make them into the shapes you want, and transfer them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.**
Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until the shortbread is lightly browned.
Leave them on a cake rack to cool, and store in a cool place in an airtight container.
Serve with hot Earl Grey tea during any time of the day throughout the year.

Makes 13 servings.

   

*I found it was easier to roll out and flatten by covering the dough with parchment paper on both sides and using a rolling pin (less of a mess too).

**You can make any shape you want, or you can cut into squares or rectangles and prick the tops with a fork in two parallel lines as it is traditionally formed.

I was beyond ecstatic to see so many participants for this month’s challenge! Meaghan (i.e., “The Vegan”) of The Wicked Good Vegan was our lovely hostess. She is thorough, hysterically honest, and a wonderful person in general. And how awesome is she to make gin and tonic shortbread cookies? I’ll drink (tea) to that!

Here is the complete list of those who participated. Welcome back!

*Meaghan | The Wicked Good Vegan    Gin and tonic cookies: Lime shortbread cookies with juniper berry glaze    

Rebecca | Salts Kitchen    Rosemary, Lemon, and Toasted Pecan Shortbread and Espresso and Bittersweet Chocolate Chunk Shortbread

Mary Fran | FrannyCakes    Gluten-Free Jammie Dodgers   

Meg | Gluten-Free Boulangerie    Lemon Bars with Lemon Shortbread Crust   

Heather | Discovering the Extraordinary    Buckwheat Shortbread Cookies with lemon curd

Jonathan | The Canary Files    Black Sesame Teff Shortbread Cookies   

Morri (me!) | Meals with Morri     Earl Grey Shortbread   

Twenty-three Things

It was a glorious birthday weekend. I rock climbed and made primal-friendly brownies. I had a 1920s/Prohibition themed birthday party with mead making, classy friends, and laughter. I walked around with Daddy-O after a light lunch and returned with a Belgian waffle maker in tow. And now, with primal eating and my body in a love-not love relationship at the moment, I am taking it easy by writing this post, my birthday spirit still intact.

On Friday the 16th I turned twenty-three. I’ve heard people give up on the birthday magic after a certain age (most notably in the U.S., becoming legal to drink alcohol on your twenty-first), but not me. Turning twenty-three was awesome, because I feel my age in the most positive of aspects. I may not know what life has in store for me this year, but I have learned a lot thus far.

1. Living safely is not the same as living smartly.
2. I stopped aiming for perfection, and started living for progression.
3. Community is not only something you find; it’s something you make.
4. It’s okay to not be everything at once, and it’s okay to not be everything at once at twenty-three.
5. It is never too late to learn something, and it is never too late to start something new.
6. When asked “What is the point of life?”, this was my response: “I think there really is no one single answer to this question. My meaning is not your meaning, and your meaning isn't mine. Some people spend their entire lives looking for it, while others run into it one random November day. It may take seconds, minutes, days, weeks, months, years, decades, and lifetimes to figure it out, but you won't know unless you put yourself out there for the Universe to show you what it offers. Sometimes dreams and goals take time, even grunt work and sh*t work that you may not like. Ask yourself ‘Is it worth it?’ for each and every dream and goal you have. If the answer is ‘no’, then move on to something that is.”
7. Observe without judgment; behind every action is a need.
8. There is no such thing as one perfect body, fitness regimen, or dietary lifestyle. (More on the this after Thanksgiving.)
9. The language your body speaks to you with is possibly one of the hardest and easiest languages you could learn.
10. How do you start to become great at something? By deciding you’re great at it.
11. When in doubt, make belief.
12.  I’m like a chess piece playing the best game I can with the squares I have accessible to the rules of the board.
13. You don’t have to be “on” all the time to be productive.
14. Being genuine has gotten me further than being nice.
15. I strive for community service that is for more than just humanity.
16. My progress is my progress, and it is still progression regardless of the time it takes.
17. Bettering yourself (looks, diet, fitness, education, work, life, etc…) just to prove to someone else what your are worth will never give you the satisfaction you think you’ll get from it.
18. If you treat your body like it’s something to control and fix, it will always be in constant rebellion.
19. Comparing myself to others is a disservice to both parties.
20. I am not my condition.
21. Living in optimism does not mean living with unrealistic expectations.
22. What climbing and yoga have taught me is to reach even with the fear of falling, to be flexible and self-aware, to breathe with purpose, to accept the not-today’s and celebrate the little wins, and to always keep trying.
23. Life is the biggest science experiment there is.

Primal Birthday Brownies (inspired by this recipe)

180 g Coconut oil, solid and at room temperature
125 g Cocoa powder
240 ml Whole milk
100 g Honey
3 Large eggs
240 g Almond meal
1/2 tsp. Sea salt
1/2 tsp. Bourbon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Place the coconut oil and cocoa powder in a bowl and mix well.
Add the coconut milk, honey, eggs, almond meal, and spices and blend until combined.
Pour the brownie mixture into a greased 8x8” pan* and smooth the surface of the mixture.
Bake for 30 minutes, then remove and allow it to cool before cutting into individual servings.

Makes 20 servings.

*I was able to make two batches with this recipe, though I do believe the thicker the brownie layer, the gooier and less cake-like it will be.

Playing with Paleo: A Delicious Birthday Experiment

The autumn storms have rolled in and brought with them that crisp air I love so much. Pumpkin and apples are in ample supply, and baking is becoming a coming occurrence in my household. With my Masters application officially submitted, I’ve exhaled this breath I had apparently been holding. Along with other hard lessons digesting from September, October is looking to be one creative and relaxed sort of month (save for midterms, of course).

The best part of fall is the flavor selection. We have foods that warm and fill us, sweet and savory ingredients that come together in a symphony of delights, and the oven always seems to be preheated and ready to go. To add to that, fall is the season I become very adventurous in my recipes.
 

Over the weekend I celebrated my two best friends’ birthdays. J and TJ, a ridiculously adorable couple, have been so supportive and loving as I pieced together what had been causing my recent stress, and visiting them (individually and together) always lightens my heart and brightens my day.

What was left of the piñata...

So when I was approached with the challenge to make a Paleo dessert for TJ, a lover of pumpkin and cheesecake, my Creative Mind’s gears starting turning.

In place of cream cheese and butter, because TJ is lactose intolerant, I looked for ways to make turn raw, dehydrated coconut flakes into “cheese” with a creamy nut butter consistency. (How did I do it? Read on for the link in the directions.) For the crust, almond meal and coconut oil was used to make it grain-free and dairy-free, and it had a marvelous crushed graham cracker taste and consistency.

 It was a delicious experiment, and one that will only get better over time. As for TJ and J?

They loved it.

Paleo Pumpkin Birthday "Cheese"cake

For the crust:
240 g Almond meal
64 g Honey
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
120 g Coconut oil, melted

For the filling:
500 g Homemade coconut “butter”
425 g Pumpkin puree
3 Large eggs
400 g Honey
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 tsp. Bourbon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Ginger
Sea salt, to taste (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
In a medium bowl, combine the almond meal, honey, cinnamon, and melted coconut oil. (If a little wet, add a little more almond meal until it is soft but stable to the touch.)
Press the mixture throughout a greased 9-inch pie pan until evenly covered, and then set aside.
If you do not have homemade coconut butter on hand, proceed to Chocolate Covered Katie’s blog to learn how to make your own, and then add it to the remaining ingredients for the filling in another medium bowl to mix.
Pour the filling in the center of the pie pan and spread it evenly.
Cover the crust with aluminum foil to prevent burning and bake at the center of the oven for one hour.
Remove from the oven and let it sit for 2 – 4 hours until room temperature and then let chill in the fridge for an additional 2 – 4 hours or overnight before serving.
Serve cold.

Makes 8 – 16 servings.

Monkeying around with Macaroons

Before fermenting, culturing, and sprouting became common phenomena on Meals with Morri, I thought I’d give you a fun recipe that is easy to make and popular at any get-together: macaroons. Simply put, macaroons that a wide spectrum of people can enjoy.*

The macaroon is that type of confection that I have to be creative with, or use other sources as a starting point and go from there. It sometimes is made with flour, and it usually has cane sugar, both of which (if you know me by now) my body is not a fan of. So then I look out into the unknown of cyber space, and used the Google search engine with terms like “GAPS macaroons” and “Paleo macaroons”. And I kind of find what I’m looking for… but not really. I did see that plenty of people made my kind of macaroon, but I didn’t want to use a liquid, dairy free or otherwise, and I didn’t want to open a can of coconut milk just for a few tablespoons of the “cream”.

There was, however, a lone banana on the countertop, softening and browning to the point that all you can do with it is bake it in the oven, wanting to be used in a creative and loving way. I was struck with an idea, and it was a huge hit among the family. So it is with great pleasure that I give you The Monkey Mac, the dairy free, grain free, and above all healthy indulgence you’ve always wanted.  

Monkey Mac(aroon)s

300 g Raw dehydrated coconut flakes
84 g Honey
1 Ripe banana
30 ml Coconut oil
2 Large eggs
Pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Combine 200 g of the coconut flakes with the other ingredients in the food processor until a loose ball can form in your fingers (not exactly thoroughly combined but not too separate either).
Pulse in the remaining coconut a few times, and then scoop out the mixture one heaping tablespoon at a time onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 18 minutes, or until golden brown in some places.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Makes 24 macaroons.

* Herbivores, I'm in the process of making something just for you!

Learning from Kids and their Art

When you work with kids, you start seeing things in a brand new perspective. You start seeing how amazing the world is, how fascinating the creative mind works, and just how brilliant sentience can be. The kids I work with range from going into kindergarten all the way to entering middle school, and all of the artwork they’ve created thus far is simply too beautiful for words. 

In the working environment I find myself in this summer, with its amazing staff and equally amazing kids, I come home so energized and inspired to make the next day even more spectacular. They’re bringing out the best in me as I hope I do the same in leaving a positive mark in their lives.

As I work with these kids, it is phenomenal how effortless being yourself actually is. They keep me on my toes, sure, because each child needs something different from me, but I strive for that sort of life. Whether it’s how I teach, what art project I have them do for the day, or working with what kind of day they’re having, I feel limitless in my abilities to be that person for them.

If it is one thing I’ve learned so far, it’s this: if there are no mistakes in a child’s artwork, then there are no mistakes in my own growth and progression. Why should my inner critic talk so loudly over something that can only get better over time? If I find children’s art so amazing – with their perceptions of reality shown in shaky albeit heavy marker lines, large words and figures out of proportion – and their imagination so incredibly infinite in their tiny finite bodies, then I should realize how far I’ve come and far I’m going.

To celebrate my first forty-hour workweek in my life, I made a cake. It’s a sticky, moist, apple cake that tastes amazing warm from the oven to sitting in the fridge for a few days. It isn’t too sweet, but life is sweet while you eat it.

“While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.”
~ Angela Schwindt 

Sticky Apple Cake

240 ml Sparkling water
2 Large eggs, yolks and whites separated
60 g Unsweetened applesauce
42 g Honey
1 Apple (I used a Pink Lady, but whatever you have is fine), grated
1/2 tsp. Bourbon vanilla extract
120 g Buckwheat flour
90 g Mesquite flour
30 g Blanched almond flour
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Sea salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Ground ginger
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
80 g Apple butter
Walnuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
In a medium-sized bowl, blend together the sparkling water, egg yolks, applesauce, honey, grated apple, and vanilla, and set aside.
In another bowl, mix the flours, spices, and leavening agent thoroughly before integrating the wet ingredients with the dry.
With a hand blender or a whisk, form the egg whites into stiff peaks and gently fold them in with the batter.
Pour the mixture into a greased (I used coconut oil to keep it dairy-free) 9-inch pie pan.
Using a small silicon spatula, place the apple butter on the top and form a swirl indentation to create a marbled appearance.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the center is thoroughly cooked through.
Remove from the oven and let it cool for fifteen minutes on the counter before cutting into the cake and serving.
Smear your choice of nut butter, creamed cheese, or whipped cream, and serve warm or chilled with coffee, ice cream, or whatever you’re in the mood for.

Makes 1 cake, or 8 servings.

Safe Travels: A Sweet Tradition

Does anyone else associate almost every great memory they’ve ever experienced with food? I look back on my college career (and perhaps beyond, now that I think about it) and I recall faces but not names, places but not directions on how to get there, and classes I attended but not the professors who taught it. But for some reason, every single memory that has food in it I can remember it perfectly. I know where I went, what I ate, and whom I was with. I know how I felt before, during, and after eating it.

Food has become quite an intimate thing for me, because nothing else parallels the creativity and the adventure of going to a restaurant or coming up with a recipe. I think back on the time my first roommates at George Mason University took me to Choices By Shawn, a place I would later enthusiastically take others and still wholeheartedly recommend their fries. When friends heard or found out I was gluten free, they would text me the name of a restaurant offering gluten free foods or say they found a product at the store I should try (usually a beer brand). And when I had a recipe I wanted to experim-, I mean, share (Right. Share. That’s the word.) with them, many were kind enough to have a taste and tell me what they honestly thought.

These people, my dearest friends, are the reason I pursued my mad scientist tendencies in the kitchen without my being sorry about it. No one has ever told me “It’s good, I mean, for a gluten free recipe.” If a recipe needs some tinkering, the people in my life will sit down and work with me to make it stupendously delicious. One of those people, and forgive me for the mushy gushiness, is the boyfriend.

When he and I first started dating, he and I would walk around campus after dark or go to the gym right before it closed. We are both fairly active, now in the form of running and rock climbing, but early in our relationship it was a form of bonding.

He didn’t bat an eyelash when I told him I was gluten free. In fact, he was interested in what I ate to make sure I didn’t get glutened when we went out to eat or when we made food together. On our first Valentine’s Day, he made us buckwheat blini with cream and fruit preserves.

But one night, before we actually started dating and being more than friends, we did something so random and so spontaneous I knew I was in it for the long haul.

We made pie, a delicious gluten free apple pie… at 10 p.m.  

It must have been after a late “date” night at the gym, but we came back to the Mason townhouses and found ourselves with nothing to do. We could watch a movie or do homework. We could go on a moonlit walk around Fairfax. But really, after a workout like that, we wanted food. And then he said, “I know! Let’s make a pie!”

“At 10 p.m.?” I asked, incredulous. I’d never baked something so late before, and I was known for my early bedtime. That, and we didn’t even have the ingredients to make a pie.

Before I knew it, we were in his car on the way to Wegmans, still wearing our workout clothes and sneakers. We found a pre-made piecrust in the freezer section, got a bag of organic Granny Smith apples, some whipping cream, and we were good to go.

I still think back on the memory with a smile, especially now that he is gone for another summer to sell educational products in Texas.

Why? Because he wanted to make a pie before he left. An apple pie.

Unfortunately, this particular pie was fresh out of the oven and too hot to handle right when he walked out the door on Saturday, so he didn’t get to taste how delicious it was. But with the family getting together for the weekend, it didn’t last very long and was happily received.

“It was never about eating the pie, anyway,” he explained. “All that mattered was making it together.”

So now we have a new tradition. Whenever one of us is going away, no matter how long, we will make pie the night before. It isn’t to symbolize that the person is leaving; rather, it’s to symbolize safe travels and great adventures while apart.

I’ve said this before; this isn’t a goodbye. It’s a see you later, a "safe travels" and "I wish you well" sort of thing. Still, I can’t wait for him to come home. 

This pie’s crust is the same one from October’s GFRR challenge, only this time I measured it out in grams. One of the hardest things I’m noticing is how ounces and grams are converted to each other. Sometimes, I see thirty grams equaling an ounce while others say 28[.349] grams is an ounce. And then of course there’s the difference between the fluid ounce (29.57 grams or milliliters) and the regular ounce. One cookbook, I don’t recall which one, had pages of these different measurements and briefly caused my head to spin. I’d just made it easier for myself by rounding it up to thirty grams/milliliters per ounce for my recipes, and so far they’ve worked out fine.

Unless it’s a recipe that I make from a cookbook with those specific ounces to grams measurements, Meals with Morri is a 1 oz = 30 g/ml kind of blog. I tried making the dough by first measuring it out by ounces and then converting the scale to grams. The dough turned out just as delicious as before, but I ended up using more water than I had in the fall (likely due to the weather more than anything), and it was just too frustrating with how an ounce varied in its weight.

Along with a bag of Granny Smiths, we also had quinces that needed to be used up, so it just made sense to combine the two. And although apple is usually a double-crust or lattice-topped sort of pie, I used the remaining scraps of dough from the bottom crust to top the pie using cookie cutters in the shape of animals. I didn’t have room for the moose shape, though, so I placed in the center a star instead.

Safe Travels Apple Quince Pie

For the piecrust:
223 g Unsalted butter
112 g Glutinous rice flour
86 g Amaranth flour
56 g Garbanzo bean flour
58 g Tapioca starch
28 g Coconut flour
1/2 tsp. Sea salt
120 ml Ice water

For how the dough is prepared, click here. Like the recipe in November, this will make enough dough for two crusts, so save the other half of this recipe for another sensational pie you have in mind.

For the filling:
4 Quinces, roughly chopped
70 ml Honey
3 (around 154 g each) Granny Smith apples roughly chopped

Honey syrup (30 ml honey and 30 ml Water)

Place the chopped quince into a pressure cooker or large pot and fill it with water 2 – 3 inches above the fruit.
Stir in the honey and cook on medium heat for two or three hours and let it sit until the liquid has thickened into a syrup.
Fold in the chopped apple and set aside.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and bring to about room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Dust the counter or cutting board with tapioca starch.
Use a rolling pin and flatten the dough into a flat circle.
Place the dough into a greased 9-inch pie dish and remove the extra dough around the edges for the shapes on top.
Pour and evenly distribute the fruit in the dish, and then lay the pie dough cookie cutter shapes to your preference.
Bake for 15 minutes, and then brush the dough with a silicon pastry brush the honey syrup.
Pour the remaining honey syrup throughout the filling and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it sit for a few hours before serving with whipped cream and your hot drink of choice.

Makes 1 9-inch pie, or 8 servings.

Do You Know the Muffin Method?

There are a couple of recipes that I seem to have trouble with, the most notable being muffins. I know, in comparison to pâte à choux or popovers, you’d think that muffins would be easy-peasy lemon squeezy. They are very persnickety, and demand a lot of attention to detail.

The first time I attempted to make gluten free muffins for this blog was for the GFRR. To remove some of the fat and sugar content, I substituted butter for avocado and the sugar for a little maple syrup. After a few other recipes, such as my cornbread rounds, I noticed that there was a greasy crumb to my muffins and I had no idea why.

I learned that muffins/quick breads need a certain amount of “sugar” to balance its “fat”, no matter what you use in place of both. If you omit one the other will cause an imbalanced product, too greasy and/or too dense and chewy.

I started doing research on baking the “perfect” muffin after my chocolate muffin recipe didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. Fearing that it wouldn’t be cooked after the designated time had elapsed, I baked them for an additional fifteen minutes. They were baked through all right, but they didn’t have the crumb and overall texture I was looking for. If I’d taken them out after thirty minutes, as Ruhlman instructed for his muffin ratio, I’d have been golden.

They still tasted pretty amazing though.

After reading up on "The Muffin Method" from The Balanced Pastry Chef, I learned a thing or two about muffins: how they differ from cupcakes, how to get a peak versus a dome muffin top, and why it’s crucial to keep the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls before mixing together. Ah, the joys of food science at its best.

So what did I learn from the two muffin recipes I created? Well,

1. Do not over-bake. Seriously.
2. Keep the wet and dry ingredients separate before combining, and make sure all ingredients are at room temperature (as in, between 70 - 72ºF).
3. If substituting fats and sugars, make sure that you keep the ratio of ingredient types balanced.

Next time I want to try baking muffins at a higher temperature for those majestic peaks I read about, maybe baking half the batter at a lower temperature to see just how different the tops actually turn out.

The story behind these muffin recipes differ, as one was made for the ultimate indulgence and one was to go back memory lane with every bite. The chocolate muffins are meant to be a treat, something that says “Late Night Snack”, while the apple muffins were made with breakfast (and the doctor) in mind. Like the chocolate, I did not skimp on the apples with this recipe. There were apple chunks and applesauce in there for double the apple love, tasting more like a moist coffee cake in a muffin package. Mama Dazz and the boyfriend really liked this one, but I’ll post it another time this month.

For now, indulge yourself and "... keep the doctor away" later.

Late Night Chocolate Muffins

60 g Cocoa powder
60 g Mesquite flour
60 g Blanched almond flour
60 g Quinoa flour
120 g Maple sugar
1 tsp. Sea salt
2 Large eggs, room temperature
240 g Whole milk yogurt, room temperature
113 ml Unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Unrefined apple cider vinegar
Cocoa nibs, as garnish

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Combine the flours, maple sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl.
In a quart measuring cup, blend together the eggs and yogurt until you have a smooth consistency.
With a hand mixer or a whisk, add the wet ingredients to the dry until just combined along with the baking soda and cider vinegar, and then slowly pour the butter until all has been added.
Pour the batter into greased muffin tins, about three-fourths the way, and lightly garnish with a sprinkling of cocoa nibs.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the blade of a pairing knife inserted in the center come out clean.
Let it cool in the muffin tins for 10 minutes before popping it out onto a cooling rack.
Serve warm with coffee or a glass of milk.

Makes 12 muffins.

A Week of Goals and the Ultimate Socca Indulgence

To start off the new week in an awesome manner, I have listed a few goals I want to work on to further my positive growth:

• Match my eating habits to my fitness regimen (No. 1 priority)
•  To get plenty of rest, i.e., 8 continuous hours of sleep (No. 2 priority)
•  Continue running (3x) and rock climbing (3x)
• Don’t take things too seriously and be flexible
• Keep up with my something-nothing philosophy
• To not spread myself too thinly
• Be there for myself, to be loving and not judgmental or critical
• Work on my resume and seriously look into jobs

As I don’t really have much of a story, I figured I’d post about my weekend in the form of photos...

... and a recipe. I was inspired by the Pure2Raw twins Lori and Michelle's vegan Tiramisu Pancakes, and I instantly thought of socca. They love socca. I love socca. And this recipe was the next logical step forward to combining two great ideas.

Socca Tiramisu

120 g Garbanzo bean flour
60 ml Coconut milk
60 ml strong coffee, chilled or room temperature preferred
120 ml Almond milk
10 ml Unrefined apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. Sea salt
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
1/2 tsp. Coconut oil
Stevia, to taste

Click here to see how I usually prepare socca. This ranges from two to four servings, but I halved the recipe to make one large “pancake” with a cast iron griddle pan.

After it is cool enough to handle, slice the socca into quarters and stack the triangles on top of each other.
Smear the top with an extra helping of refrigerated coconut milk, which has the consistency of a soft whipped cream (though I think it would be absolutely fabulous to have between every single layer).
Garnish with cocoa nibs and a drizzle of maple syrup as garnishes.

Makes 2 sweet indulgences. Serves 2 – 4.

Yuletide Sugarplums

I feel as if my life is at a standstill. There are no more exams, essays, or projects. There are no more car battles for the closest parking space on campus, running from class to class, or studying. I am no longer an undergraduate.

As of Monday, I am officially an Alumnus.

After turning in my paper and portfolio for Conflict Integration on Thursday, I joined my friends while they ate lunch. I was the only one who was completely finished, but there was talk that I could take another semester’s worth of classes, maybe a minor of fifteen credits or less. Joking or not, I was done with the student aspect of my life for a while, but what I am going to do to fill the new void where school was a part of me for more than sixteen years?

(On a positive note, fall graduates like myself are actually supposed to be part of the cap and gown walk in May, even though we get our diplomas in January.)

The word of the week is Obligation, as I have obligations with family, new and old, friends, my significant other, my work at the community center, and yes, definitely myself. My life isn’t at a standstill, per se, but I feel like my pants have been yanked from the back to keep me in place even though Life keeps on going. I have Obligations to others to go a certain way, but at the same time I have Obligations to go a certain way that may not be compatible. So I do what I can, but as the boyfriend explained it, Life is like an apple pie. You have enough ingredients to make two pies, which will satisfy sixteen people. But say there’s eighteen people; what will you do then? If you cut the pie pieces to accommodate the other two, the pieces won’t nearly be as satisfying for everyone involved, including the baker.

After he told me that, I knew he was right. I’ve been trying to satisfy too many people and as a result, I feel I have only done what had to done at minimum. On my end, it hasn’t been as fulfilling and believe me, I aim to fix this error… especially where stress management is concerned.

I have so much to be thankful for, and they are things that have made this Yuletide a glorious one. I am extremely lucky to have a family that has pushed me to succeed and had paid my way through college. I am humbled by the love I have for the people in my life and the love that is reflected right back.  

(source)

So here I am, an Alumnus with or without a plan for the upcoming year ahead of me. Will I attend Grad school in the fall?  Will I move into my own place by February? Will I have a job pertaining to what I want to use my discipline in conflict resolution in the spring? Will I travel on my own accord, make a garden to feed the people I love, run a 5k (or 10k), or start the art project I’ve been thinking about the last two months? Will I finally have the apple pie distributed in the manner that suits my liking?

True, I’ve been thinking about these questions. But at the moment, the only thing I’m thinking about is the holidays and the recipes it may bring.

This month has become the designated cookie month for many who have children, love baking for the holidays, and well, love cookies. At the same time I’ve been looking for something different for a Yuletide dessert, although I assure you cookies are definitely in the making. Alton Brown from Good Eats did a particularly festive episode titled “Twas the Night Before Good Eats,” and inspired me to have the Holiday Spirit in recipes other than in cookie form. Cassie from the amazing blog Back to Her Roots also inspired me with her sugar plums recipe, whose ratio I’ve used as the base for my creation.  

And wouldn’t you know it? The recipe happens to be gluten free without any help at all.

The history of sugarplums varies depending on the type. There is the literal sugarplum, which are plums oven-dried and then rolled in sugar, a delicacy during the Tudor period. Plum also denoted any kind of dried fruit, so it wasn’t always made with a plum. But then there is the archaic version, made with more than that. The recipe has changed throughout the eras, the Victorians even going to far as to hang them on the Christmas tree as an edible treat (similarly the same concept that I’ve done with putting candy canes on mine in the past).

From Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker to Moore’s "A Visit from St. Nicholas" to Field’s “The Sugar Plum Tree,” this delectable treat is, by far, a healthier indulgence than what can be expected in the remaining weeks of 2011. I used coconut flour in place of the powdered sugar as coating, but each piece is still two bites of heaven.

Yuletide Sugarplums

1 c. (112 g) Raw almonds
1 c. (120 g) Raw pistachios
1/4 c. (63 g) Creamed honey (regular if you don’t have it or maple syrup/agave nectar for a vegan friendly recipe)
1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Allspice
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
3/4 c. (85 g) Dried apricots
3/4 c. (114 g) Prunes
15 Medjool dates, pitted
Zest of 1 Tangerine
Coconut flour, for dusting

Put the almonds and pistachios through the food processor until they are chopped into fine pieces.
Add the spices, dried fruits, and the tangerine zest, and pulse until the mixture is chopped and beginning to clump (I pulsed mine past what Alton Brown had done, but they turned out just fine).
To form the sugarplums, use the larger end of a melon baller (a tablespoon works also) to scoop the mixture and roll it into a ball with your hands.
Roll the balls into the coconut flour (or powdered sugar if you prefer) and shake off the excess before stacking them in a jar or on a plate.

Makes 44 sugarplums.