Bhal Puri

I went to the greatest wedding ever of my friends Anita and Bob.  They threw a fabulously intimate and personalized wedding.  From the beautiful Hindu ceremony, to the bright colored parasols, to the local artisan crafted metal flower "bouquets," to the Hora and Bhangra dancing, to the home brewed beers (with handmade labels...), and of course lot's of love.  The food was eclectically delicious especially the freshly made bhal puri.  The line was so long to get some because each cup was mixed on the spot by San Francisco chef, Roger Feely of Soul Cocina.  But the wait was worth it, to watch the process alone was entertaining.  And he made mine gluten free!

He mixed together crisped rice (cooked in some kind sand he said.....?)  

and onions, purple and gold potatoes, mangoes...

 

Then some fried lentils

Peanuts and tomatoes....

Homemade mint chutney....

lime juice.....

 

cilantro, tamarind sauce, plantain chips, and crispy sprinkles made from lentil flour...

......and voila!  It was so flavorful, my mouth couldn't believe it! 

I wonder if I could recreate it?!

Zucchini Apple Bread

  

September has always felt more like the beginning of a new year for me than January 1st.  I have palpable memories of the first day of school, of the sudden change from humid hot air to crisp cool breezes, to bright blue skies scattered with yellow and red leaves.  Last week I attended two new year's celebrations.  One was Enkutatash, the Ethiopian new year and the second was Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.  Though I am not Ethiopian or Jewish, I took both celebrations as an opportunity for self reflection and new beginnings.  And of course for some good eating!  At the Enkutatash festival I was hoping to have some split peas, collards and injera (which is traditionally made from gluten-free teff flour), but the line was so long that I ended up getting some delicious Caribbean chicken, plantains and spinach instead.  For Rosh Hashana my friend Genessa made a feast of Iraqi stuffed cabbage and roasted vegetables.  I wanted to bring a wheat/sugar/dairy free dessert that included the symbolic apples and honey.  So I decided to adapt a zucchini bread recipe I saw on the Gluten Free Goddess blog that used coconut milk! My version is full of honey and apples for Rosh Hashana and is also totally egg and soy free!  Enjoy it for the new year!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour (I used mostly rice flour and some buckwheat flour)
• 1/3 cup of potato or tapioca starch
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/3 cup of grape seed oil
• 1 cup of honey
• 1/4 coconut milk
• 1 cup of grated zucchini
• 1 cup of grated apple

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.
2. Add the oil, honey, and coconut milk.
3. Stir in the apples and zucchini.
4. Pour into a greased 9 inch loaf pan and bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 45-50 minutes.

Fig Almond Cookies

I am the kind of person who needs to intensely study a map before daring to venture out into a new neighborhood or city.  But when it comes to cooking, I barely glance at recipe before tossing it aside and completely ignoring what I just read.  I will get some vision for a new dish in my head (or really in my gut) and without any plan of how to execute it, I start chopping things up and throwing things into a bowl and wait to discover what will happen.  Sometimes my adventurous cooking spirit gets me into trouble.  Like the time I decided to make a persimmon ice cream pie from scratch on Thanksgiving day and ended up with a soupy mess of a dessert.  I've learned there are some benefits of researching and testing out an idea before serving it to a crowd on a major holiday.  But I do believe in the importance of trusting the creative process and trusting your own instincts.

I noticed that I doubted both of these recently when making some fig cookies.  I bought a basket of fresh figs at the farmer's market with my friend Karen and immediately was filled with memories of eating bowls of figs with my friends.  I began envisioning some kind of comforting fig cookie.  But then my inner critic spoke up and got me worried about making these cookies "the right way," as if there were a wrong and right way to make a cookie.  I asked my friends what they thought I should do, trying to get some baking guidance.  But then when it came time to make the cookies, I came back to my original vision and just went with what felt right.  And I ended up with a lovely batch of cookies.  The chopped almonds brought such depth of flavor, while the honey brought a purity of sweetness, and the figs transformed these cookies into a succulent and decadent treat.  I hope you enjoy them, too!


Ingredients

• 1/4 cup of Earth Balance
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour (I used rice and chickpea flours)
• 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
• 1/3 cup of chopped almonds
• 6 fresh figs chopped
• extra rice flour for dusting your hands

Directions

1. In a bowl mix together the Earth Balance and honey.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. Using your flour-dusted hands, combine the ingredients from the 2 bowls together until you have a soft dough.  (If it's too dry add some water or rice milk, if too sticky add some flour.)
4. Wash your hands and then use a rubber spatula to mix in the almonds and about 2/3 of the fig pieces.
5. Form small balls of dough and press into cookie shapes onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  
6. Press 1 or 2 pieces of fig onto the top of each cookie.
7. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes.