Butternut Squash Soup

 This is a recipe from Meshell.  She was gifted with a squash from Grandma's garden and she made this delicious soup!  I do not eat any food in the gourd family, so I was not able to enjoy it beyond a tiny taste.  Yum!

Buttercup Squash Soup
Adapted by Meshell Shumaker

1 medium to large size Buttercup squash
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 small, or 1 large, yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 14-oz. can coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock

Generous pinch of ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut the squash in half, scoop out seeds and stringy insides, then prick flesh with a fork. Brush 1 tablespoon of olive oil on flesh and set halves face down in baking sheet in approximately 1/2 inch of water. Bake for about 45 minutes until flesh is soft.
3. While squash is baking, caramelize onions in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
4. After squash is tender, scoop flesh out of skin.
5. In a food processor, add roasted squash, onions, coconut milk, stock, salt, and pepper and process until smooth. Serve.

Makes approximately 8 servings.

Gluten Free Turkey Pot Pie (or Chicken)

My family looks forward to the leftovers from holiday turkey dinners.  I make as much gravy as possible in order to have enough left over for pot pie.  This is such a comfort food!

Turkey Pot Pie

I make this pie with whatever I happen to have leftover.  Quantities can be varied according to preference and availability.

1.    Lightly grease a 9 x 13” baking dish

2.    Sprinkle cubed cooked turkey or chicken evenly over the bottom of the dish, along with any other cooked vegetables you may wish to add.  If you have enough to fill the pan 2/3 full, you may not need to add more vegetables.

3.    If more vegetables are needed, peel and cube carrots, parsnips, potatoes, onion, celery and add them to a 4 quart pot.  Cover with water or turkey or chicken broth and simmer for 15 minutes until tender.  If you want to add other vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, or green peas – add them for the last 5 minutes so they don’t overcook.

4.    If you have used water for cooking, drain off excess, if you have used broth, thicken it with a paste of equal parts brown rice flour and tapioca starch flower mixed with water. 

5.    Now, add whatever leftover gravy you have to the pot in which you cooked the vegetables and stir to heat it through.

6.    Pour the vegetable gravy mixture over the meat in the baking dish.

7.    Gently cover the top of the gravy, meat and vegetable mixture with a thin layer of crust (recipe below).  

8.    Bake at 400 degrees until crust is golden brown and gravy is bubbling around the edges of the pot pie.

Crust

2 cups brown rice flour

½ cup tapioca starch flour

1 tsp. xanthan gum

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp salt

Cut in ¼ cup solid coconut oil (you can use any other solid shortening you like – even margarine is OK) until dough is crumbly – like a pie crust.

Add approximately ¾ cup water or dairy free liquid (I use coconut milk) as needed to make a firm dough.

Mix until the dough holds together, adding more liquid as needed.

Roll out between 2 sheets of waxed paper (dough is sticky)

Cut into 3” squares with a pizza cutter and use a pancake turner to transfer squares to the baking dish which is now filled with the turkey stew.  Overlap squares as needed to cover dish completely.

*Any leftovers are a treat sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and baked on a cookie sheet.

Cardboard Cookies AKA Gluten Free Molasses Cookies

This recipe is an adaptation of an adaptation created by my mother-in-law Margaret St. Charles.
She apparently developed this recipe during a time when she was trying to reduce her intake of sodium and she omitted the baking powder.  The cookies turned out very firm....even hard.  Her husband, famous bow hunter Glenn St. Charles took them hunting and appreciated how they didn't fall apart or crumble and they made a perfect treat for the hunting trail.  Glenn started calling them "Cardboard Cookies" and the name stuck! Here is my gluten-free adaptation for these holiday favorites:

Wheat, Soy, Egg, and Refined Sugar Free Cardboard Cookies

(Cindy St Charles’ adaptation)

½ cup honey or agave nectar

½ cup oil (safflower or olive)

½ cup molasses

1 heaping teaspoon egg replacer  (or one egg, if you can eat eggs)

3 cups brown rice flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

This batter will be runnier than regular.  It may be necessary to drop by spoonfuls rather than rolling it out.

 Here is the Margaret St. Charles Version

Cardboard Cookies

 

½ cup sugar

½ cup Crisco (I use butter flavor)

½ cup molasses

1 egg

3 cups flour

Roll thin.  Cut with a pizza cutter.  Ungreased baking sheet.  375 degree oven.

Sauteed Kale with Caramelized Onions

I am not overly fond of kale, but this is one of the recipes I do enjoy. 

Kale Saute with Caramelized Onions

1 small (or one half large) onion, peeled and sliced.

1 - 2 tablespoons oil, maybe be olive oil or sunflower oil

1 clove garlic, diced

1 large bunch cleaned organic baby kale

1 teaspoon sesame seeds, as garnish (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

In a 4 quart or larger pot, caramelize the onion over medium high heat in the oil.  When the onions are nicely browned, add the garlic and stir until just softened.

Add kale, and stir fry, lifting the wilted kale from the bottom of the pan until kale is mainly all wilted.  Then, add about 1/4 cup water and continue stirring until the water is evaporated.  Add another 1/4 cup and when that has evaporated, the kale is ready to serve.  Sprinkle the top with sesame seed as a garnish, if desired.