Improvisational Awesomeness

I've been experimenting around the last month with various foods and have comprised a variety of things to keep working with as I create and alter recipes as usual.

The first is date paste. Date paste stands in as a natural sweetener (like agave, maple syrup, and honey) and apparently is rich in a wide array of vitamins and is anti-inflammatory. As a stand in for brown sugar, it worked great in an altered brownie recipe from Easy Gluten-Free Baking.  To make date paste, you pit 1 cup of dates and combine with 1 cup hot water.  Mix in blender until pureed -- this will take at least one minute.  It will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.  The brownies held together; and, my experience with brownies on my diet is that they are too crumbly and not moist enough.  This is no longer the case!  Do these properties of date paste hold up for bread and cake?  I don't know.  But I am definitely going to play around with it more. I was originally hoping date paste would hold my granola bars together, but alas, I still have to work on that as they still crumble.  Date paste is also a key ingredient in a dairy free homemade coffee creamer I've come to use a lot.

I have been trying to find a sugar free chocolate chip (or recipe) ever since Sunspire discontinued their grain-sweetened ones.  Alas, I have had no luck yet.  People often suggest cocoa nibs, which aren't the same -- mainly due to their lack of sweetness.  I did try coating the nibs in maple syrup before making chocolate chip cookies and even though it was not a replicated taste of chocolate chips, it was pretty good.  By the way, the dough in Fruit-Sweet and Sugar-Free has the consistency of Chips Ahoy -- it's awesome.

 

 

This pesto was amazing.  Instead of using Parmesan I used goat cheese (many dairy allergic folks can tolerate this in moderation). I also sauted some chicken before adding the sauce, and mixed in cooked gluten free pasta.  Total success.  I'm thinking of using turkey instead of chicken next time, just to mix it up.

 

 

There is a restaurant in Oregon that had these amazing apple pancake topping years ago.  I had been really wanting them, so I replicated the recipe as best as a could -- taking the tastes from memory.  Here it is, Maple-Apple Sauce Topping:

-Core some apples (how many apples you ask?  However many you want!).

-Cut up into bite size chunks.

-Place some coconut oil in frying pan (maybe...a couple tablespoons or so) on medium high heat.

-Once oil has melted, place apple chunks in pan.

-Douse in maple sugar and cinnamon (taste to liking).

-Pour pure maple syrup in (enough to cover bottom of pan) and make sure everything is coated evenly. 

-Place lid on pan, stir occasionally.

-Roughly ten minutes later apples should be soft and about half of the syrup will be absorbed (don't let them get soggy).

-So now, there are two choices: pour in organic unsweetened applesauce or use an immersion blender to blend half of the apples.  Blend/stir to desired chunkiness.

-Top with more maple sugar (it gives it a little more zest)

-Serve over pancakes, waffles, french toast, etc.  And now that I think about it, a GF graham cracker crumble would really highlight the experience.

I've also been experimenting with salads because I need a more steady diet of greens, but need them in meals.  I mean, salad greens by themselves are not filling, nor are kale chips.  At the store I just pick and choose two salad packs, because really I have no idea and have so far all kinds have been good for my liking.  I often end up with spinach in one because I like it and it has proven its worth to me (I'll spare you the graphic details for that one).  The real fun is in various combinations of other stuff: sliced avocado, radishes, pear, apples, strawberry and blueberries, chicken or turkey or salmon covered in a spice, cucumber, carrots, or quinoa.  Endless possibilities here!

Now, we move on to salad dressing.  Honestly, I used to hate salad dressing.  Why sogg-ify what is supposed to be crunchy?  But now, I often put a combination of olive oil, flax oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and crushed garlic because they are all good oils that dramatically effect the health of my gut.  And I've actually have grown to like the taste.  I don't think this combination exists on the market and it's so much cheaper to keep a fresh jar of my own likings in the fridge anyways. 

Cooking is wandering through flavors and combinations. So, in the words of Tolkien, "not all those who wander are lost."  Yeah, some creations don't turn out and there have been epic failures, but there are so many more keepers. Recipes are just guides, but ultimately you are the one in control of what and how you eat.

For all you improv cooks, you've got to check out the Flavor Thesaurus.  It's not exhaustive, but it pairs different foods together and it is a great tool for experimenting.  (This is where I got the idea to marinade a turkey breast in olive oil and dill to highlight the cucumbers in a salad.)

And, for your entertainment, here is an awesome food allergy parody: One Grain More