Very Happy News

      Since a cold front is rumored to be headed our way, I'm going to keep a mineral-replenishing seaweed soup recipe in my back pocket for a hotter day and tell you some very happy news:

      I figured out how to make my cornbread GLUTEN FREE!

      Hear me loud; I love bread and I love yeast and I love being able to eat whatever I want. I do, however, recognize that if I don't practice moderation when it comes to gluten, my brain becomes foggy and my hands get very achy. Coincidentally, the former ailment also happens when I think too hard about what my future holds. To combat this, I've been chanting "Do not distress yourself with imagingings" like an affirmation bird and making skillet after skillet of this cornbread; there is something to be said for keeping company over comfort food.

Gluten-Free Buttermilk Cornbread

adapted from Kathy Justice

      You really, really ought to get a kitchen scale -- you will be limitless and will come to learn that baking is a science and, therefore, quite attainable. Although I am hesitant to do so, I will include approximated cup measurements because I don't want to discourage anyone from trying this recipe.

Ingredients

Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour Mix 
(This will yield about a cup and a half -- you may double or triple the quantities to store for future use.)

70 g millet flour (approximately 1/2 c)

70 g chic pea flour (approximately 3/4 c)

15 g arrowroot powder (approximately 2 T)

15 g white rice flour (approximately 2 T)

Cornbread Ingredients

1 c gluten free flour mix

1 c cornmeal

1/2 c cane sugar

1/2 t sea salt

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1 egg

1 c buttermilk

3/4 c canola oil

pad of butter for greasing

maple syrup (optional for glazing)

Process

      Preheat 10" skillet in 425F oven so that a pad of butter will sizzle upon contact.

      Mix the millet, chic pea and rice flours with the arrowroot powder. You will get more than the required cup -- just measure out what you need and store the rest to use later.

       Sift (or whisk until combined) the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and gently mix to incorporate, making sure to not over-mix. Pour into hot, buttered skillet and bake for 25 minutes, or until solid/yielding of a clean toothpick.

      Remove from oven and gently brush the top with maple syrup. Place back in oven and broil until the top is glazed (keep an eye out, it can go from caramelized to burned in a matter of moments).

      I serve it from the skillet, but if any remains, I remove it and store on a plate, as skillets often infuse too much of an industrial flavor if the food sits for longer than an hour. 

Yields: enough cornbread for 8 mild-mannered people

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Writing and Styling by Adria Lee | Photography by Amy Pennington

Treasured

     I am unable to find words deserving enough to address fresh strawberries; how does one speak of the taste of sunshine or of the vapor that steals through the sinuses?

      This word came to me like a gift:

      smultronställe: (n.) lit. “place of wild strawberries"; a special place discovered, treasured, returned to for solace and relaxation; a personal idyll free from stress or sadness.

      And this recipe did, too.

Slow Roasted Strawberry Jam

inspired by Alice Waters

       The original recipe calls to let the macerated berries sit in the sun for two days in a place free from ants. The weather was uncooperative for this process, so I took some latitude and placed them in a very low temperature oven, turning it on and off throughout the day. By evening, the berries and their juices had reduced into a jam-like consistency, filling the house with an exquisitely dreamy fragrance.

      Despite their settings, ovens burn at different temperatures so use your own discretion with how long you roast the jam. I went through three rounds of turning the oven on and off and was very casual in doing so; feel free to run errands, go for a run, mow the lawn or take a nap.

Ingredients

4 quarts fresh strawberries, stems trimmed and discarded *

1 1/2 c packed brown sugar

squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

Helpful Equipment

an immersion blender (or something of the sort -- a potato masher could work)

3 casserole baking dishes with flat bottoms

Process

      Pre-heat oven to 200F.

      Slice the berries thinly lengthwise. Place them in a large pot with the sugar and let them sit for fifteen minutes to release their juices.

       Heat the pot over a high flame for a minute or two, stirring constantly, and scrapping off any foam that appears. Using the immersion blender, coarsely blend the berries until only 1/4 of the berries remain intact.

       Pour immediately into flat, oven safe dishes so that the jam is one inch deep in all places. Place in a 200F oven for an hour, stirring occasionally. Turn off the oven for two hours and then back on for another hour. Repeat the process one last time; by now the mixture should thickly coat the back of a spoon.

      Pour into sanitized jars and seal tightly. The jam will keep for a month in the refrigerator. If you are adept at canning, perhaps this could be a recipe to try -- I can only imagine the winter's respite it could supply.

      I've been eating this by the spoonful and it is additionally perfect on (salted) buttered toast or swirled into strained yogurt.

      * If using fresh strawberries, especially ones that were picked that day, the berries will require only the small amount of sugar I call for. Less fresh berries, like ones that have traveled in plastic to your grocery store, will require more sugar.

Yields: 8 4oz. jars

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 6 hours, mostly unattended

Writing and Styling by Adria Lee / Photography by Amy Pennington