Lactose Free Birthday Pie

Rhubarb & Strawberry Pie Filling

1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 cup rhubarb, cut into 1/2″ pieces
2 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 tbsp. butter
Dairy Free Pastry for a Double Crust Pie

Stir together the sugar, cornstarch, salt and nutmeg. Add the rhubarb pieces and sliced strawberries,and toss gently to coat fruit. Let the fruit and mix stand for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare and roll out your pastry. I used a 9 inch pie plate and ran a pastry cutter around the edges to trim it and make it look tidy. Pour the fruit mixture into your pie plate, and place pastry on top of filling, and push the edges slightly to seal them. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.

OR — Here is how to make less of a mess, and do it the way I’ve seen it served in posh hotels:

1. Stand the fruit vertically on a chopping board, stem part up.  The stone pit inside is tough and fibrous, but the closer you can cut to the seed the better, as the fruit will be sweeter.  Slice fruit downwards, lengthwise down the two sides of the stone.
2. There will be extra mango on either side of the stone now, and I usually cut this off and like a cantaloupe or melon, slice the fruit away from the skin, dice it and use it as a garnish.
3. In each half of the sliced fruit, use a knife to score the flesh in a lattice pattern down to (but not piercing through) the skin. The more cuts, the smaller the pieces of neatly cut fruit, and the easier they are to pry away from the skin.
4. Now you can either serve your elegant-looking mango slice with the extra mango (from the sides) piled on top and with a teaspoon to scoop it out daintily, or you can invert the skin so the fruit squares can be eaten with your hands directly from the skin.
5. Standing over the sink, enjoy sucking the rest of the fruit off of the stone before discarding it, and let the juices drip down your fingers.

Now, when accused at parties of being the only woman in the world to be able to eat a mango on the go, using only her hands, and not make a mess, Charlotte claims to peel the mango like a banana.  Maybe I’m too messy of an eater, but the juices of a ripe mango just drip everywhere for me. Let me know if it works for you!

A note on selecting a fresh mango:

The best way to find out if a mango is ripe and sweet is to smell it around the stem end, and to squeeze it slightly. If it’s ready to eat, it should smell very sweet at the top, and the skin should give a little when pushed. If the stem end has a bunch of sticky stuff and the skin gives too easily, chances are it is overripe. Put it down and get another one — too-ripe mangoes have been known to give me a stomach ache!

Mango season varies depending on what sort of mangoes you’re looking for. However, they need warmth to grow, so typically when the weather starts getting warmer (March-April), mango season starts, but when it gets tired of being hot (August-September), you’ll find fresh mangoes harder to find and the price of canned ones go up.

So this year, I chose this Valentine’s Day/Lunar New Year weekend to test out the Manischewitz version of yellow cake mix. (My birthday isn’t for another two and a half months, but I’m all about preparation!) These little gems turned out beautifully, if slightly crisper than I’d hoped. The batter was grainier than Betty Crocker’s, and it didn’t smell *exactly* the same in batter form. But I’ll be damned if the resulting cooked cupcakes didn’t taste exactly like the original dream cake. PLUS, the Manischewitz Chocolate Frosting fooled everyone I gave these to: family, colleagues and friends. Nobody could believe chocolate that good could be dairy free, but it was. Bonus!

Since I’ve started so early, I might even hazard a guess at how to make this without a pre-made mix, but should my birthday ever catch me unawares and I suddenly need to have my perfect birthday cake, I now know this will work perfectly.

So apologies for the delay in posting and a hearty thanks for your patience. Coming up: Springtime Soups, Mangoes and more Dairy Free Pantry Items.

Tortelli di Zucca

You should know that my aunt, Zia Lella, makes the most amazing dishes known to man. Ask her for the recipe though, and she’ll blow it off as the easiest thing in the world. But she never fooled me. Making 5 course dinners including pumpkin ravioli from scratch for family dinners of a dozen or more boisterous Italian mouths doesn’t strictly fall under the Easy Peasy category. For the first time ever in my life (and here’s hoping my mother doesn’t read this for fear of killing her with the shock of it), I tested wonton wrappers instead of making the pasta from scratch.

The results didn’t kill me. Nor did they make me jump for joy either. Wonton wrappers in place of homemade pasta came out very, very watery. So if you have an hour to spare – and don’t mind making these a day ahead so they can dry completely before cooking, I’d recommend the age-old homemade pasta route. Also, in my quest to find decent amaretti cookies, I came across a batch of real clunkers. Cheap and nasty amaretti have a bitter aftertaste, much like almond flavoured alcohol. So if you’re deciding between some that say “Made In Italy” or some that say “Italian-style”, spend the extra dollar for the nice ones. Also, mostarda is the traditional wet agent in the filling, but at $13 a jar, I thought this was a little extravagant.

So after a lot of practicing, and testing, and researching, and trying (and failing) and trying again, I found it. Not only can this ravioli stuffing be made from scratch, and dairy free, but it can also be made using ingredients you can find right here in the US. No transatlantic travel necessary — so come up with a new reason why your hubby should buy you a ticket.

The best hint I came across for an authentic reproduction of this medieval recipe is that American pumpkins differ greatly from their Italian counterparts, so butternut squash replaces zucca, or pumpkin, here.

Ingredients for the Stuffing:

One 3-lb butternut squash
1 egg
1 cup of ground amaretti cookies
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (I used a freshly baked fruit and nut loaf from LaBrea Bakery – despite listing sour culture as an ingredient, I tested a slice first to check its Belly Healthfullness, and had no adverse reaction at all. Score! What makes me sad is this is listed as a “Limited Edition” loaf!)
2 tablespoons ground pine nuts
1/2 cup of brandy
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon grated orange peel

Directions:

1) Slice the butternut squash lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Drizzle them with a small (and I mean very small) dash of olive oil and place them flesh-side-down on a roasting dish. Pop it in the oven and roast at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until the flesh is plenty soft and very, very appealing.

2) You’ll need to wait for the roasted squash to cool, but you can prepare the rest of the ingredients in the meantime, so that blending and mixing will only take 10 minutes.

3) Gradually mix all the flavours, spices and ingredients together and leave the filling overnight and covered in the fridge to allow the flavors to blend. The texture should be sticky, but not too wet. If it does appear too wet, add a smidgen more of the breadcrumbs; too dry and I would add a splash of olive oil.

Now the process of making your own pasta can be found anywhere, so I won’t repeat it here. It’s awkward to explain and requires diagrams, so just have a look at the picture. The proper folding of this pasta should involve evenly cut squares, using a good and simple pastry wheel. Wet your fingers and “glue” the insides of the pasta squares around the filling. Fold them across to form triangles, being careful to push out any air between the filling and the pasta. Then, taking the two far corners of the triangle, bend them upwards and towards you, flattening them to form little nun’s hats (which is the traditional meaning of cappelletti). Don’t pinch them together, or you’ll end up with pasta that is too thick to cook through properly.

Any questions? (hahahahaha) Leave a comment and I’ll get right back to you!

Promises, promises .

So instead of being able to post a bunch of Christmas recipes in time for Christmas, I’ve got to settle for showing you a taste of what’s to come. Sorry, but life just happens sometimes, doesn’t it. (#decemberfail.)

Just a short post to let you know how grateful I am to my readers for visiting this site and to wish you all the happiest of holidays. If anyone is desperate for these recipes, drop me a line and I’ll accelerate my posting productivity.

On Its Way (or Cooked But Not Posted):

• Dairy Free Pumpkin Ravioli: My Personal Grail Quest
• Dairy Free Butternut Squash Lasagna
• Dairy Free Vitello Tonnato: Christmas Special

In the meantime, enjoy the snow – and if you’re in California like me and can’t find any, I’ve added some digital snowflakes for you to enjoy (my husband’s idea).

Tangy and sweet, the cabbage in this recipe is sliced thinly or grated and left to sit until the flavours of the dressing seep in and loosen the fibers of the vegetable. This might not seem right under any other circumstances, but trust me, and leave this in a covered container in your fridge for at least 2 days before serving. It will still be crunchy and oh-so-delicious.

Preparation is easy: Whisk the liquid and spices together, then toss the grated cabbage in it. Cover tightly, and refrigerate.

Ingredients:

1/2 a head red cabbage
1/2 a cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
3/4 tsp onion powder

What to serve with it:

I created a post back in October on Parma ham-wrapped chicken, which is about when I was ready to test my Northwoods Inn Cabbage Salad for the first time. My first time was a hit, but I added a tad too much sugar, so you may want to go easy with the sugar, or, add a little further down the marinating time, to taste.

Where to find Clearman’s:

San Gabriel
7247 Rosemead Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA
(626) 286-8284
Map

Covina
540 N. Azusa Ave.
Covina, CA
(626) 331-7444
Map

La Mirada
14305 Firestone Blvd.
La Mirada, CA
(714) 739-0331
Map

Hours
Monday-Thursday, Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. for Lunch and Dinner

Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and July 4th.

You’ll absolutely love this dish that works just as well for breakfast as it does for dinner. The bread-like consistency of the Yorshire Pudding, the yummy sausages, and the comforting potatoes…Bring the ketchup to the table for an extra treat, or better yet, cook up some Onion Gravy.

Toad & Tattie Bake

Serves 4 plus my 3-year-old nephew

Ingredients:

4 Ready-Cooked Chicken & Apple Sausages (I got mine from Henry’s – careful to check the ingredients for any hints of lactose, please!)
1 medium onion
2 large potatoes
splash of olive oil
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs rosemary
2 large eggs
300ml/1 1/3 cups lactose free milk
2 heaping tablespoons of Colman’s Mustard Powder

Directions:

1) Peel and slice the onion and potatoes fairly thinly. Toss them in the olive oil and roast them in a baking tin at 220 C/400 F for about 30 minutes, or until just cooked.

2) Meanwhile, make the Yorkshire Pudding mix: Sift the flour into a bowl and beat it with the eggs and about a third of the milk. Gradually mix in the rest of the lactose-free milk, and finally, beat in the mustard powder.

3) Remove the roasted onions/potatoes from the oven. Toss the veggies around to ensure even cooking and add the ready-cooked sausages (pictured here sliced, but for presentation, you can use them whole), the garlic and the rosemary. Roast for 10 minutes until the sausages are thoroughly heated.

4) Remove the rosemary, and pour in the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes until risen and crispy.

Ready to dig in, but distracted by the bus outside, that's my nephew looking out of the window, and a side salad to serve the Toad & Tattie Bake with.

Recipe below!

So I had to wait a while to post this one so I wouldn’t spoil the gift-giving surprise, but this homemade vanilla extract was super easy (and super economical) to make. You could probably still make it now and have it looking decent by Christmas, too. My sister in law liked this idea so much, she took it a step further and made three times as many as I did. Plus, it keeps for about a year and just gets better and better the more you let it steep. I got the idea from the Dalai Mama, Catherine Newman, so I can’t claim that this was all me. But her original article and links required a little extra research. Vanilla, for example, being the second most expensive spice in the world can be hard to find in the quantities that you need. And then you have to choose types. Oh, so many types to choose from. In my googlicious travels, I came across Garrett at Vanilla Garlic who not only tested and provided a guide in 2006, but recently updated the article: ‘Know Your Vanilla – A Guide to Vanilla Varieties’. From Madagascar to Tahitensis and Planifolia Blends, this guy knows his vanilla pods.

So here are my notes, followed by the “recipe”. It’s easy, really. Just takes a smidgen of prep by shopping online. Worst case scenario, you’re looking at $4-6 per bottle, delicious vanilla extract to bake with, and some leftover vodka for your celebratory cocktail when you’re done.

Choosing the Beans:

So we all know how expensive vanilla extract can be. My personal favorite, and the one that I’ve been loyal to for at least 5 years has been the Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, but the price has always been shocking. So once you’ve made it through Garrett’s notes on the different kinds, try visiting Beanilla Trading Company. When I was shopping around, these guys had the best deals on offer, so I would recommend looking around whenever you’re ready to try this yourself.  Beanilla did have excellent deals on plenty of varieties (other sources reported that Tahitian, Bourbon or Madagascar would work out best), as well as getting a standing ovation from Garrett, plus I can definitely vouch for their shipping and handling of orders. In no time at all, and right on schedule, my house was smelling like vanilla in every freaking room.

Choosing the Bottles:

Again, I shopped around, but things couldn’t be simpler than visiting Specialty Bottle. Again, an A+ when it comes to handling my order, no delays, and the bottles were lovely. Only trouble was, I meant to buy clear ones, and as the picture shows, I accidentally put amber ones in my cart. This happened to my sister-in-law, too, but at another website. She ended up with plastic instead of glass. So pay attention, double and triple check your order before placing it. The plastic bottles, I must say, looked very nice indeed and were a blessing in disguise since she’s flying to Texas to deliver them as Christmas gifts. Glass would have been much heavier and less kind on her luggage allowance (as well as potentially spilling all over her clothes and making her smell like alcoholic cookies, forever). Whichever bottles you decide to go for, you can even add that extra professional flair by adding these easy-to-install shrink bands. I’ve never tried them, but they look cool.

Choosing the Booze:

So originally I thought this would be a super-simple case of finding the cheapest vodka on the shelf and necking it using that. Not so.

I found an awesome conversation on a Chowhound messageboard : “The FDA specifies that pure vanilla extract contain 13.35 ounces of vanilla beans per gallon during extraction and a 35% alcohol/65% water mixture. (70 proof)…” was what I took away from this site, but often lesser brands (lesser known than Skyy or Smirnoff) use a different distillation process because of the US tax levels on alcohol. Sometimes they’ll use a form of “freeze distillation” to increase the alcohol levels. Meaning it’s not as pure/natural/good. So although the Dalai Mama went with Skyy, I reached for the tried and tested Smirnoff. I’m not a vodka connoisseur per se, but I’ve tasted some nasties (literally, one that actually burned through a plastic cup while I was holding it) and thought, well, there’s bound to be some left over anyways.

There you go, kiddies, a lesson on why one should never skimp when purchasing vodka.

THE RECIPE:

So easy, I feel guilty calling it a recipe.

Ingredients:

1 2-litre bottle of vodka
a dozen nice 4 oz. bottles with screw-on caps
24 whole and fresh vanilla pods of your choosing

Tools of the Trade:

1 very sharp knife
a funnel
a 1 cup measuring cup

Directions:

1) Sterilize the bottles. This basically means running them through the dishwasher on their own and leaving them to dry.

2) Taking a sharp knife, slit open the belly of 2 to 2 1/2 vanilla pods (per bottle). Working with the tip of your knife, loosen the beads within from end to end.

3) Cut the pods to fit your bottles, and stick them in!

4) Using a measuring cup and a funnel, pour 3/4 to 1 cup of vodka into each bottle.

5) You’re almost done! Seal the bottles with their caps and store them in a cool dark area out of direct sunlight. Every week, or whenever you remember, give them a little shake to loosen the vanilla beans further.

The longer you leave these babies, the darker they’ll become and the more potent the extract. I used mine within 3 months for baking and the results were l.o.v.e.l.y.

Happy Vanilla Extract Making!!!