November 26, 2009 • 7:09 am 0
“As American families around the world sit down for a Thanksgiving meal, Amy Fleming retraces her coast-to-coast roadtrip plate by plate, to reveal a pictoral snapshot of everyday US dishes.” -
Click here to view the slideshow and accompanying commentary from The Guardian. Interesting and enjoyable.
November 22, 2009 • 9:37 pm 0
Made baked Alaska today, for the first time ever. First time ever trying one, too. Actually I made baked Alaska miniatures, which I appropriated as petit fours. Now I’m trying to get some decent photos for when I post and upload to Flickr. Recipe (sort of) on its way soon, hopefully.
I apologize for the blog and the recipes slowing down a bit – I’m not exactly happy with the situation either, quite honestly. There are some things that are currently calling my attention away from the kitchen and ultimately this blog. Not so much as distraction, but rather duties that don’t fully subscribe to my foodie passion. Thus, I have to lay back a bit (not happily, but I have to do it). It is thankfully short term, so Ambrosia Tea Party will be back in full swing soon.
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Filed under: Uncategorized
November 20, 2009 • 6:14 pm 0
This is what I consider a staple recipe from Pecanbread.com and it is what it says: an egg replacer. When following SCD, one cannot use the usual egg replacers such as flaxseed. Another egg replacer is using gelatin, see the recipe here on Pecanbread. Although it is called SCD egg replacer, it may also be used by those following a GFCF diet. I use this if I’m low on eggs for baking or if there’s someone who is allergic or doesn’t eat eggs, even in baked goods.
This egg replacer uses baking soda, thus it is not necessary to add extra baking soda to the recipe; unless, I suppose, the recipe calls for 2 teaspoons, then just add only one after using the egg replacer. Also when using this egg replacer, as it is so quick to make, only mix it at the step when the recipe calls for the egg(s) and add it only then, as I believe that letting it set will lessen the chemical reaction. It works only works as a substitute in baking items such as cakes, muffins, et cetera – in brief, things that need to rise. It gives the chemical components needed for rising and gives no flavour whatsoever (even when you include the vinegar). Adding the vinegar should provide a bit more rising power.
I’m sorry there’s no picture at this time! I’ll try getting a photo up soon, although I have to say the egg replacer mixture doesn’t look too impressive.
This recipe makes the equivalent of 1 egg. See original recipe here.
Ingredients
1 1/2 tbsp. water
1 1/2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. vinegar (optional)
Method
Whisk above ingredients together in a cup and use as needed in recipe that calls for egg.
P.S. Also please note the new features of Ambrosia Tea Party: at the bottom of every entry, you can now share it using social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Del.icio.us, and Technorati, as well as emailing to a friend. [edit: I realize I have to fix the email formatting. One gets easily spoiled when using widgets most of the time and easily forgets - the formatting is all taken care of for you, you just have to provide the right information. Same for blogging, there's no fiddling about with HTML or other technicalities that comes with web design, most of the time.] You can also share or bookmark using Add This in the sidebar (under my Flickr photostream).
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November 19, 2009 • 12:54 pm 0
(Taken from Google Images)
While this blog is generally slanted more towards baking than cooking, today I thought I’d take some time out to make an honorable mention of the onion, poetically. Those who know me well know that I like poetry, which I write on a more or less compulsive basis; in fact, I think I write more poetry than actually read it (I mostly read poetry from the Dead Poets Society (not related to the movie), so to speak). Anyways. Getting to the point of this post, this honorable mention is in the form of Pablo Neruda’s Ode to an Onion:
Onion,
luminous flask,
your beauty formed
petal by petal,
crystal scales expanded you
and in the secrecy of the dark earth
your belly grew round with dew.
Under the earth
the miracle
happened
and when your clumsy
green stem appeared,
and your leaves were born
like swords
in the garden,
the earth heaped up her power
showing your naked transparency,
and as the remote sea
in lifting the breasts of Aphrodite
duplicating the magnolia,
so did the earth
make you,
onion
clear as a planet
and destined
to shine,
constant constellation,
round rose of water,
upon
the table
of the poor.
You make us cry without hurting us.
I have praised everything that exists,
but to me, onion, you are
more beautiful than a bird
of dazzling feathers,
heavenly globe, platinum goblet,
unmoving dance
of the snowy anemone
and the fragrance of the earth lives
in your crystalline nature.
The onion is a strange thing. I’m seemingly impervious to onions as I don’t cry when I cut them, unless it is exceptionally strong – and which is a rare occurrence at that. I don’t know what it is, every time I’ve tried Googling it I’ve come up with nil results. Speaking of onion tears, I recently read an article from the Daily Mail Online from February 2008 about the creation of a “tearless onion” that blocks the enzyme that releases the gas that irritates the eyes’ lachrymal glands, causing us to cry. The article can be read here.
I read these onion anecdotes that was brought to my attention by a friend of mine, about their antibacterial and antiseptic properties. It reminded me of Louis Sachar’s Holes, particularly the second story about the 1919 flu.
A friend of mine told me a story about how when he was a kid he was in the hospital and near dying. His Italian grandmother came to the hospital and told a family member to go buy her a large onion & a new pair of white cotton socks. She sliced the onion open then put a slice on the bottom of each of his feet and put the white cotton socks on him. In the morning when he awoke they removed the socks. The slices of onion were black and his fever was gone.
The following story that someone sent to me might have some truth in it and we are going to try this winter.
In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died. The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn’t believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She
gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work. (And no, she is not in the onion business.)
The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.
If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better. If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case…Whatever, what have you to lose? Just a few bucks on onions!!!!!! !!!!!!!!
Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions:
Weldon, thanks for the reminder. I don’t know about the farmers story…but, I do know that I contacted pneumonia and needless to say I was very ill…I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an empty jar…placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs…sure enough it happened just like that…the onion was a mess and I began to feel better. Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.
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Filed under: Food in Poetry & Literature, Info
November 18, 2009 • 4:22 pm 0
Apple Flan
This is a modified recipe from Breaking the Vicious Cycle. You can use apples or pears, or a combination thereof. Coconut milk (click here for more information) replaces the dry curd cottage cheese as used in the original recipe. The amount of apples and or pears used may be variable depending on the size of the fruit.
Simple and easy to make, it’s a nice, light dessert or snack, and it’s also great for breakfast or any other time of the day!
Ingredients
2 apples and 2 pears (or 4 apples or 4 pears)
Honey to taste
3 eggs
1 cup coconut milk
Method
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Filed under: GFCF, Pies, Tarts, & Flans, SCD , coconut milk, eggs
November 16, 2009 • 9:28 am 0
Apple Pancakes
This is a recipe from Jenny Lass and Jodi Bager’s Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) cookbook Grain-Free Gourmet. You have the choice to either make one big pancake, or two slightly smaller pancakes. In the original recipe, this would make one 8-inch pancake (using an 8-inch fry pan), however I found that it can also make two pancakes (half an apple per pancake), which is also more effective depending on the amount of persons being served, i.e. you could use as much as up to half a dozen eggs making pancakes for six people (2 eggs per pancake, 1 pancake per person) whereas by making two pancakes you’re using the same recipe and the same amount of ingredients but can usually serve two people. Making two pancakes versus one big pancake may also be easier to manage when flipping, as there is a less likely possibility of the pancakes tearing when flipped. Whether you make one or two pancakes using this recipe, or double or triple, make the pancakes individually.
Although the original recipe calls for the use of an 8-inch, non-stick fry pan, I use a stainless steel fry pan due to the aluminum in non-stick coating. When the non-stick coating is scratched and if it’s continued to be used to prepare food, aluminum leaches into the food; the toxic fumes that are released when heated can also be lethal to pet birds.
When heating the pan, I like to wait until it’s warm enough that when I add the batter (using a very small amount to test) it starts sizzling right away. This way also makes it easier to flip (less sticking to the pan). If it sizzles immediately, then I pour in the batter.
Ingredients
1 apple, peeled and cored
2 eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon, or extra to taste
Coconut oil for frying
Method
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Filed under: GFCF, Pancakes & Crêpes, SCD , eggs
November 15, 2009 • 1:56 pm 0
I’m reviewing Purely Decadent’s coconut milk ice cream. First off, delicious! I haven’t tried all the flavours but what I have tried – Coconut, Vanilla Bean, and Chocolate – does not disappoint. The coconut milk gives the ice cream a creamy and smooth consistency. It’s dairy-free and soy-free, perfect for those who are following GFCF (the cookie dough is gluten-free), as well as for those who are lactose intolerant, or for anyone wanting to try something new and different that isn’t made with dairy or soy or rice, and is also healthy and nutritious. It would also be SCD legal but it is sweetened with cane sugar or agave syrup.
Purely Decadent also now makes yogurt made with coconut milk (also dairy-free and soy-free), though I have not yet had the opportunity to try it.
For more information about Purely Decadent’s ice cream made with coconut milk, visit the website here. For information about their coconut milk yogurt, click here.
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Filed under: GFCF, Ice Cream, etc., Reviews , coconut milk
November 10, 2009 • 6:14 pm 0
These cookies are easy and relatively quick to make. I have included almost step-by-step pictures as a visual guide, following the instructions If you can, also try the chocolate/mint variant. The total amount of cookies depends on the size and shape of your cookie cutter. There are more images below the instructions in the gallery.
Ingredients
2 cups almond flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp. coconut oil, approx.
Method
For the chocolate version: add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the dry mixture, before adding the honey and coconut oil. If you wish to make the cookies chocolate mint, add 1 teaspoon of mint extract to the dough. Make the cookies as usual, baking for the same length of time at same temperature. Once cooled, they can be eaten as is or to double the pleasure, eat with chocolate sauce/icing, as pictured above. Enjoy!
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Filed under: Cookies, GFCF, SCD , almond flour, chocolate, coconut oil, egg-free, mint
• 5:37 pm 0
It is important that the coconut milk is as thick as possible to ensure proper consistency and thickening as it chills. It also makes a great ice cream (see instructions). To make mint chocolate, add 1 teaspoon of pure mint extract after all the other ingredients are combined and fully incorporated.
Ingredients
1/2 cup thick coconut milk or coconut cream
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tbsp. honey, warmed until runny
Method
Using a whisk, mix the cocoa powder into the coconut milk. Add honey. When the honey is added, ensure that all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. It should have a relatively thick consistency, although the warmth of the honey may cut its thickness initially. Use as is, or chill in the fridge until it’s to the consistency of a spread (use as icing) or freeze to make ice cream.
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Filed under: Dessert, Dessert Sauce, GFCF , chocolate, coconut milk
November 9, 2009 • 5:13 pm 1
I could just call these macaroons, but there are so many varieties of macaroon (not to be confused with the French cookie, macaron) that I thought I best specify especially as there is another kind of macaroon, the Italian amaretti, which is made with almonds, meringue, and traditionally sugar that I wish to make eventually and blog about. I already have a recipe for it, so that should be coming hopefully soon. Look out for it!
The macaroons can be made by forming individual mounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or filling paper cupcake liners half full. A general rule of thumb: the total amount of macaroons made depends on how much batter you use per macaroon (I suggest 1 tablespoon in the instructions) or the size of the paper cups that are filled.
This is only one of several recipes that is a great way to use up any egg whites that may be leftover from other recipes, such as ones that call for only egg yolks. With this in mind, you may double or triple the recipe as required or as needed. When whipping egg whites, make sure the appliance you are using is absolutely dry, no moisture left whatsoever. Also make sure that there isn’t any egg yolk in the whites. These factors are important to observe so that the egg whites stiffen and form peaks properly when stiffened. Once stiff, the egg whites must be used immediately or they will weep as there isn’t any binder, such as cream of tartar, used to prevent this. If the macaroons aren’t sweet enough to your liking, you may increase the honey to half a cup.
Makes 12 macaroons (see general rule of thumb above)
Ingredients
3 egg whites
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 cups unsweetened, unsulphured coconut flakes
1/2 cup or less unsweetened, unsulphured currants or raisins (optional)
Method
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Filed under: Confection, Cookies, GFCF, SCD , coconut flakes, eggs
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