Fourths Flour

I'm working on a post about the new gluten-free rice sourdough I've been working with, but I keep wanting to try one more thing with it before I hit "publish". So, I figure I will write about something I feel like I have already perfected - at least enough for me to be happy with it. "Fourths Flour" is my alternative for expensive, icky tasting AP gluten-free flour mixes. It works 1=1 as a replacement for wheat flour with everything I have tried. I do usually add an extra egg when cooking gluten-free recipes since I don't use Xanthan gum.

There are a few things things I love about this mix. One, it is the tastiest flour mix ever. I like to taste batter as I play with it or make new things and one thing I cannot stand is beany batter. The taste of bean flour in my batter makes me want to throw it out the window rather than cook it and if I am trying to adjust for the sweetness of a muffin I might have to taste that crap 2-3 times and it does not make me a happy cooker.

The second thing I love is the texture. Nothing I have cooked using this mix has turned out dry or grainy or pasty. My husband is full-on texture sensitive and he said the banana bread I made with this flour was the best he had ever had. It raises nicely in breads and creates that crispy crust we all like on the outside. In bare naked biscuits it still holds together and works like wheat flour.

Thirdly - price. I save a lot of money by adding in the inexpensive oat flour that I make myself by processing conventional oats into powder in my food processor. If you are celiac of course you will need to buy gluten-free oats which are more expensive, but you should still end up paying less than $4 per "bag" for this superior flour mix with no bean fillers in it.

Fourths Flour
4 equal parts:
oat flour
almond flour
white rice flour
tapioca flour

I make mine in big batches that use a whole bag of almond flour and almost a whole bag of the rice and tapioca plus 4 cups of oat flour. I mix it all up in a big bowl and then store it in a big tupperware container in the fridge. Frontier sells a nice 5 lb flour keeper that would work well for this, or you could probably find one at any kitchen goodies store.

If you don't cook much, just use this ratio when you are baking something. If a recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, just use 1/2 cup of each of these flours.

I hope you give this a try and let me know how well it works for you!

Maple Cream Stuffed Patty Pan

If you know me, you know I am madly in love with squash. I love all kinds of squash and nothing makes me happier than finding a new "squishy dish" to enjoy. I've grown patty pan in my garden for a few years now, and while it is super easy to grow and has a great flavor, I have always found the shape a little daunting. Too shallow to stuff with rice, too flat to make squash boats out of, not enough flesh to make a pie and which way to slice it for frying? Hmmmmm.

Voila! Inspiration finally hit me. I could "stuff" it with a sauce - a fluffy sweet sauce that will turn my flat squash into a perfect gluten-free breakfast or maybe even a desert. This recipe was an instant hit with my sometimes squash-wary daughter. She said it is her favorite squash meal ever. The maple cream pairs perfectly with the mellow sweetness of the patty pan and we both scraped the skins clean because it was so good.

Maple Cream Stuffed Patty Pan
2-4 small to medium patty pan squash
4 oz (1/2 block) cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup maple syrup (I used the most amazing wood-fired syrup from here in Ohio - Johnson Maple Syrup - delicious!!!)
2 tbsp powdered sugar

Wash then roast the patty pans whole in your oven at 350 until they are soft and browning slightly (1/2 to 1 hour depending on size). Take them out and let them cool for a few minutes. Slice them around the widest part of the squash and remove the top. Scrape out all of the seeds and pulp. While the squash are roasting mix together the other ingredients and whip them well until they are creamy and thick. spoon the cream into the bottom of the squashes, place the tops on and serve.

Lazy Fridge Pickles

So, I haven't posted on here for... quite a while. I've been fluttering around sourdough and gluten-free cooking lately and I feel like I have some things to share. Now, I just need to find the time to share them. I'm actually motivated to post this recipe because I've been having a lot of people asking for my pickle recipe lately and this seems like a nice central place to stick it. I have played around with this quite a bit the last few years. It is kind of a ferment and fridge pickle hybrid that involves uncooked cucumbers and uncooked brine with Braggs apple cider vinegar and "forgetting" to put the pickles into the fridge for a day or two... hence the "Lazy" part of my Lazy Fridge Pickles. I actually attempted a fully fermented pickle once and very unfortunately used two quart jars full of homegrown pickles, garlic and dill to do it. It was a massive fail to make pickles, but a huge success at making rancid cucumber jelly... I always try to look on the positive side. So, I've been too scared (read: smart) to try that again, but I did want a little more mature flavor and health benefits in my pickles and the hybrid technique was born. So far - and I'm going on maybe 20 quarts of pickles over the last three years - this is NO FAIL. Seriously. And, they get rave reviews, even from my toughest critics (aka my husband and daughters) and get demolished at parties where most self respecting social butterflies should know better than to scarf down garlicky pickles. Anyhow, if you like pickles, I hope you give this a try and let me know how it works for you!

Lazy Fridge Pickles
By: Vanessa Prentice
Ingredients:
6-7 small cucumbers sliced in quarters
1 cup water
1 cup Braggs apple cider vinegar
5-6 sliced cloves of garlic
4 or so sprigs of fresh dill
1 tbsp dried dill
1 sliced onion
8 tsp salt (I use Redman's Real Salt)
1 tbsp raw honey
additional water to fill jar

Optional: fresh washed grape leaves, 1 tsp mustard seeds or prepared mustard, 3-4 sliced hot peppers if you like 'em spicy, additional honey or 1/3 cup sugar if you like 'em sweet.

Pack your quart jar with layers of grape leaves - if you have them, onions, cucumber, garlic and dill sprigs until the jar is almost completely full. In a bowl mix together the rest of the ingredients until well combined and pour into the jar. Fill the jar up completely with water then put on a lid and shake well. Leave the jar on the counter for 12-24 hours then put into the fridge. The pickles will be nice and tasty in about a week, but will keep for much longer - if you can keep from eating them all.