easy polenta

We really like polenta around here but the making of it has been compared to making napalm.  Sticky hot burning stuff flying through the kitchen.  And then the pan!  It can be difficult to wash.  But I was on The Merry Gourmet blog and she mentioned making grits in the slow cooker.  I had to try it with polenta.  This is a snap.

Polenta

1/2 cup polenta

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup hempmilk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

water

Find a heat proof container, like a pyrex bowl, that can sit in your slow cooker with room around it.  In that bowl, mix the polenta, salt, hempmilk, and cream.  Place in the slow cooker.

Pour water between the pyrex and slow cooker insert until it comes half way up the side of the pyrex dish.  Cook on low for eight hours or longer.

Server hot.  With a bit of butter if you wish.

When we make gluten free pizza, we find that our favorite crust is polenta so we actually have a polenta tart.  Making polenta this way really makes it much easier.

chocolate coin cookies - made tall and gluten free

I thought we were going to have friends over for dinner tonight so I made a bit of dessert.  I knew it was iffy and they were not able to make it but we had some lovely cookies.  With shepered's pie.  My family felt like the won the jackpot.  There were a lot of non-word sounds going on.  And truly, who best to spend dinner with but family.  By the way, I think I need a stainless steel range so I cannot scrape off the paint while cooking... sigh....

Chocolate coin cookies

Note:  Adapted from Country Living, December/Januarny 2012.  I made them gluten free and really simplified the directions.  They are not as fancy but we like them.

1 cup semi-sweet Enjoy Life chocolate chips

1/2 stick butter

100 grams sorghum flour

100 grams teff flour

100 grams almond flour

100 grams arrowroot flour

10 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Valrhona.  I buy it bulk so it is what I have)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt chocolate chips and butter in a large pot over low heat.  Stirring will make this go faster and stir and melt until smooth.

 Add the sugar and cocoa powder.  Mix well.  Add the eggs.  Mix well.  

Mix n the flours.  

Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchament paper.  Drop dough by small teaspoon on the baking sheet.  Bake for 11 minutes.

The name of this recipe is coins.  They are supposed to be a flat cookie, which I tried on the left.  Then there is the rustic looking tall version on the right.  My family thought the rustic tall version was much more successful because they were moister.

This is the family we had dinner with.  They are awfully special and well loved.

Just cause.

a bit of wonkiness

Last night we went to a Circque du Soleil performance.  We had so much fun but by the time we got back home, I was much to tired to post.

I have been needing new pot holders or oven mitts.  After being horribly disappointed in what is available to buy, I made some.  The middles of these are felted sweaters.  I wanted a bit of wonkiness and nothing quite straight, so I did not measure anything.

This is a lot like making nine squares for me.  Very restful but also a quick project.   

I like making beautiful practical things and these pot holders fit that.  I actually have some more I am making so I can wash them.  Those will be filled with scraps of batting since I ran out of sweaters.  More beautiful practicalness on the way.  It is like the quote from William Morse:  "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

pumpkin ice cream

The last time I was making ice cream, I asked My Beloved what type he would like.  He said pumpkin.  I was thinking that he would want vanilla.  He said the mix before I froze it was a slow tango on his tongue.  I do not know if it is really that good but there is no reason to have pumpkin ice cream out anymore!

Pumpkin Ice Cream

2 cups pumpkin puree

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 can condensed milk

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups cream

Put everything in a pot except the cream.  Cook a bit of the liquid off over low heat.  This can become naplam type stuff so be careful.  

I was using roasted pumpkin puree which was a bit runny.  You would not have to do this with canned.  I also used my immersion blender to make sure there were not lumps.

Take the pumpkin mixture off the heat.  Mix in the cream.  Cool and freeze by the directions for your machine.

I personally poured everything into a very large pyrex.  Mixed well and stuck it in the freezer.  That is how hard this is.

Yes.  This is the picture I got of the ice cream once it froze.  The pretty scoops of ice cream got eaten before any pictures were taken.  This is a winner.  Maybe you can get pretty pictures

roasted turkey

I am the crazy person who thinks roasting a turkey is easy.  Maybe that is because for many years I cooked two on Thanksgiving.  One for the store my Beloved managed and one for home.  He liked this Thanksgiving holiday.  He did not have to work any of it!

So how do I do it.  I listened to a radio show over twenty years ago in New Orleans and have been doing it this way since.

Roasted Turkey

1 turkey or turkey breast, thawed

1 pound softened butter

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

4 clove to one head minced garlic

1/2 to 1 minced onion

1 tablespoon rosemary or to taste

1 tablespoon sage or to taste

1 tablespoon thyme or to taste.

1 orange, sliced

1 apples, sliced

1 onion, sliced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

In a bowl, put butter, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, rosemary, sage, and thyme.

Mix together.

Rinse the turkey.  Make sure the giblets are taken out if you are using a whole turkey.  With the breast side up, put the turkey in your roasting pan (or in this case, very large cast iron skillet).  Work you fingers betweent he skin and the meat.  You are creating a pocket.  In this pocket, you are going to put as much of the butter mixture as you possible can.  I smear what I cannot fit or clean my hands off on the outer skin.

If I am using a whole turkey, I put the orange, apple, and onion inside the cavity and the extra around it.  A breast of turkey, I put the orange, apple, and onion around.

Put the turkey in the oven.  Close the door.  Turn the heat down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Roast for 20 minutes a pound.  Keep the door of the oven closed.  Do not baste.  Do not fuss.  

My turkey comes out every time.  The key is the butter and having a thawed turkey.

Sorry there are no pictures of it roasted.  I was dealing with rabbit and making tortillas at that point!