Gluten-free – KellyintheKitchen

Impeachmint Gelato.

Published on July 4, 2017May 30, 2019 by KellyInTheKitchen2 Comments

Impeachmint Summer Gelato | KellyintheKitchen | 4 cups whole milk, 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup water, 10-12 sprigs fresh mint, 5 smallish fresh peaches, juice of 1 lemon, 4 egg yolks

It’s been a year since I last posted. My, how things have changed!

The past few months have held a lot of surprises. Most of them have left a pit in my stomach and a bad taste in my mouth. And amidst all the protesting and the calling my representatives and the learning about my privilege, as a small-time recipe blogger, there is one other contribution I can make: I can combine two summery flavors, peach and mint, in a creamy, icy gelato recipe.

I’m calling it “Impeachmint.”

Fair warning: Impeachment is not easy to do, there are a lot of steps involved, and you’ll have a bit of a mess to clean up after it’s over. Don’t let that stop you. This needs to be done.

And what about this flavor combo, right?? Peach and mint? They really don’t seem to go together at all. Peaches are good on the grill or in a rustic pie, perhaps while kicking back with a toxic dose of Fox News?, whereas mint pairs well with fine chocolate or tea and reading The Atlantic. It’s like these flavors have nothing in common!

Sure, they’re not a natural pair. But in order to successfully execute this recipe for Impeachmint, peach and mint have to unite behind their shared dream of a better gelato. As Abraham Lincoln said, “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.” He was talking about the Civil War, but his words hold true today, about this gelato.

I get it, the prospect of Impeachmint is kind of intimidating. And there are probably other gelato flavors you prefer over this one. Hell, I’ll take something chocolatey from Ben & Jerry’s over Impeachmint any day. But be realistic. What’s in your freezer right now? Some gross old orange creamsicle? Impeachmint is definitely better than keeping that thing around.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup water (plus more for prepping ingredients)
10-12 sprigs fresh mint (a good handful), washed
5 smallish fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and chopped
juice of 1 lemon
4 egg yolks

And check out these fun links while your ice cream freezes!
Swing Left: https://swingleft.org/
Indivisible: https://www.indivisible.us/
ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/
Pod Save America: https://getcrookedmedia.com/here-have-a-podcast-78ee56b5a323
Planned Parenthood: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/
Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/

Impeachmint Summer Gelato | KellyintheKitchen | 4 cups whole milk, 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup water, 10-12 sprigs fresh mint, 5 smallish fresh peaches, juice of 1 lemon, 4 egg yolks

DIRECTIONS

Heat milk over medium flame. Once it reaches a simmer, remove from heat, cover to retain some of the heat, and set aside.

Heat 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare an ice bath. Heat a small pot of water on high until boiling. Add the mint and cook for 30 seconds until bright green. Transfer mint from boiling water to ice bath. When cooled, squeeze out extra water and set aside.

Add peaches, lemon, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar to food processor. Blend until smooth. If you like, pour peach mixture through a strainer to strain out solids. Set aside.

Add sugar syrup and mint leaves to food processor and blend until smooth. Pour through a strainer to remove solids. Set aside.

Add egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup sugar to food processor and blend until smooth. Then, with the machine running, slowly pour in half the hot milk mixture, careful not to scramble the eggs.

Get another ice bath going—one big enough to fit the bottom of your pan—and set ice bath aside. Add the egg mixture to the remaining milk and heat pan over medium. Stir constantly until thickened. It’s ready to go when this “custard” mixture smells amazing and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove pot with thickened custard mixture from heat and set in ice bath, stirring a occasionally to cool to lukewarm.

In a large bowl, combine strained peach mixture, lukewarm custard mixture, and mint syrup to taste (I used 2 tbsp of mint syrup because I like a more mellow mint flavor—start with that and then taste to see if you need more). Refrigerate at least a few hours, or overnight is even better.

Once gelato mixture is thoroughly chilled, churn according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Freeze in cute little cups or in a bigger ice cream container. When the mixture has set, your gelato is ready to go! In typical gelato fashion, give it a minute or two to thaw a little before digging in. Garnish with a mint leaf or two, bring some over to your neighbor, eat it together without fighting, if possible.

Impeachmint Summer Gelato | KellyintheKitchen | 4 cups whole milk, 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup water, 10-12 sprigs fresh mint, 5 smallish fresh peaches, juice of 1 lemon, 4 egg yolks

WTAF Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Published on June 5, 2016June 23, 2016 by KellyInTheKitchen4 Comments

There’s no such thing as a reimagined-to-be-healthy recipe that’s as good as the original. Anyone who says otherwise is either delusional or magic. That’s my long-held belief, anyway–which is why I’m naming my recipe WTAF Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies. If we’re in need of a bit of decoding, WTAF stands for “What The Actual F***,” a fitting exclamation of surprise at how perfect these cookies are. Why was I so surprised? Because, after months of experimenting with healthier cookie recipes, I had resigned myself to the fact that without AP flour, butter, sugar, and other highly-processed ingredients, healthier cookies would just never compare. Then I made these (!!!), drawing from a recipe I saw on Whole and Heavenly Oven. Maybe the trick is the making my own cashew butter (easier than it may sound), or that I’ve left in just enough brown sugar to be a *little* bad. But the first bite from my first batch was so damn good, these cookies earned their name and then some. If my mom’s chocolate chips are an 11 on a 1-to-10 cookie rating scale, I’m awarding these guys a solid 9.5. They meet all my cookie requirements: golden color, chewy texture, good chip distribution, and they taste pretty much perfect. PLEASE make them soon, and know true healthy dessert joy.

INGREDIENTS

1 heaping cup raw cashews
1 heaping cup honey roasted cashews (or, cut out all the cashews completely and replace with 1 cup store-bought cashew butter, WITHOUT the oil layer on top stirred in, as this will likely make the cashew butter too liquidy)
scant 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (I like to go lighter on chips (…I know…) so feel free to add more)

*Note on replacements: This recipe doesn’t turn out anywhere near as good if you omit the raw cashews and replace them with another cup of roasted cashews. For whatever reason, it throws the texture off. Stick with 1 cup raw and 1 cup roasted.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper.

In a food processor or bender, add both types of cashews and grind them into nut butter. It takes my food processor about 5 minutes to get to the right stage: completely pulverized and able to hold together as a ball (read: a thick, just-barely-spreadable nut butter), but not liquidy.

Measure out 1 cup of the cashew butter (you should have just about that amount in your food processor, with maybe a little left over) and transfer it to a mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda, and salt, and stir until combined. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips. Your batter will be sticky.

Scoop the dough into small balls and press them flat onto the baking sheet–not too close, as they do spread just a little bit. Then, pop them in the oven.

After about 6 minutes, bang the bottom of the cookie sheet onto the oven door a few times to deflate the cookies (this step will help result in cookies that are more chewy than cakey–I HATE cake-y). Continue to bake for 4-6 more minutes, til the cookies have turned a gorgeous golden brown color. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Like all chocolate chip cookies, they’re at their most amazing while still warm, right out of the oven. If you do have any leftovers, keep them sealed and they’ll last up to a week.

IMPORTANT SERVING NOTE: I have also successfully baked these pressed into mini-skillets with a scoop of ice cream on top. Highly recommended.

Chickpea Flatbread.

Published on February 29, 2016October 8, 2017 by KellyInTheKitchen1 Comment

I’ve become obsessed with these chickpea flatbreads. Lately I’ve been making them every week, because they go with everything and are so good. They’re the basis of a breakfast tostada-like thing I make on weekends, a great addition to a curry chicken and cauliflower rice work lunch, and I’ve even tried to make them into a quesadilla for dinner (with mixed results). They’re also very forgiving–it’s tough to overcook them–and have so few ingredients, I can barely call this a recipe. But a recipe it is, and such a versatile one. Chickpea flatbreads are quickly becoming one of my go-tos and I’m not mad about it.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups chickpea flour
3 cups cold water
olive oil
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Pour the chickpea flour into a mixing bowl, and slowly whisk in the cold water, stirring to break up any lumps. Once you’ve added all the water and the batter is completely combined, use a slotted spoon to skim off any foam that has risen to the top. Get rid of that foam! Your digestive system will thank you later. Set the de-foamed batter aside on the counter to soak overnight (or for at least 6 hours).
A note on soaking: I’ve made the flatbreads after waiting only 3 hours, and while they still turn out delicious, they are also a lot harder on your digestive system (remember that rhyme about beans?). So I soak the batter overnight at a minimum.

Once the batter has soaked, use a slotted spoon again to skim off any foam/impurities that rise to the top. Then give the batter a good stir to make sure it’s well-combined, and you’re ready to make some flatbreads!

Heat a crepe pan or other non-stick surface over a low flame (2 out of 10 on my stove) and add a good amount of olive oil to the pan – not so much that you completely cover the bottom of the pan, but more than you’d use to just grease it. The olive oil is a fantastic flavor in this recipe, so you really do want to taste it.

Once the pan is hot, you’re ready to add your batter. The amount you add will depend on the size of your pan: I use about 1 cup of batter, which covers the entire pan so that you can’t see the bottom–thicker than a crepe. Pour it in, add salt and pepper to taste, and let cook undisturbed for about 10 minutes. Once the batter is set on top, turn up the heat to medium/medium low (4-5 out of 10 on my stove) for 2 minutes to brown the bottom.

Flip the flatbread over and cook the other side for another 8 minutes or so, until both sides are browned and the flatbread is cooked through.

That’s it! I prefer to serve these right away, with some melted cheese, salsa, and eggs. Or you can let them cool, cut them up into quarters, and serve later. These heat up fine in the microwave, but they’re best reheated on a skillet. Usually I make one at a time, and I keep the rest of the batter in the fridge to make later (up to a week after first mixing it).

Kale Salad with Pistachios and Roasted Cauliflower.

Published on December 7, 2015December 7, 2015 by KellyInTheKitchen1 Comment

Fancy breakfast side. Favorite work lunch. Quick and easy dinner. This salad has everything going for it even before I tell you how healthy and and wholesome it is (and it is healthy and wholesome). The dressing has all the things a good dressing should. Lemon and oil, sweet honey and tangy mustard, and a bit of seasoning are beautifully simple tossed with kale. The cauliflower makes it interesting and a little “meatier,” and with a good sprinkle of pistachios, things are starting to look downright fancy! I love this as an accompaniment to frittata on my weekend mornings (check the bottom photo!), and it’s an office lunch I actually look forward to. And since it’s normal to be out of an ingredient or two, I love riffing on the dressing using whatever I have around (no lemon? Try white wine vinegar. No pistachios? Almonds are great, too.). What I’m saying is, it tastes amazing, is good for you, and you can eat it for every meal. Make it. Make it today.

INGREDIENTS

for salad:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
salt and pepper
1/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (or as much as you want!)
1/3 cup chopped pistachios (or about 1/2 cup if you measure before shelling)
1 large bunch kale, washed, dried, and julienned

for cauliflower:
1 cup cauliflower florets, washed, dried, and sliced
olive oil for drizzling (no need to use EVOO here, regular is fine)
salt and pepper
scant 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
pinch of cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

I like to start with the dressing; the longer those flavors have to come together, the better it will taste. Combine olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper, and stir together. Add the cheese and gently stir it in. Set aside.

Toss the cauliflower in the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and cayenne until evenly coated. Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast about 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. It’s done when the florets are soft and just toasty-brown. Let it cool to room temperature before using.

While the cauliflower is roasting, I use this time to de-shell and chop the pistachios.

The final step is assembly. Toss the kale in the dressing, taste, and adjust seasonings if needed. Add the pistachios, and top with cauliflower. Serve as a side or as the main event. Enjoy!

Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Sorbet.

Published on August 1, 2015February 28, 2016 by KellyInTheKitchen2 Comments

Raaaaaspberry sorbet. The kind you find in a secondhand store. For me, raspberries are about as good as berries get. I rank them at the very berry top, the pinnacle of berry perfection. So, of course, my first use of my ice cream maker this season had to be raspberry. Their vibrant fruity flavor is the star here, and they’re so sweet on their own that this recipe doesn’t need much added sugar. Which is exactly how I like it. I mean, if you add minimal sugar, that gives you free rein to add all the chocolate chunks you want!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups water
3/4 cup granulated sugar (or substitute half a cup agave nectar if you want to skip a step, see below)
1 lb. (about 4 cups) raspberries (I used fresh, but frozen will work, too)
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate, chopped (I used milk chocolate chips. Dark chocolate would also be a great decision.)

DIRECTIONS

If you’re using sugar and not agave nectar, start by combining the water and sugar in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 5 minutes. In a food processor or blender, blitz the raspberries, lemon juice, and vanilla. Pour mixture through a mesh strainer into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar syrup or the agave nctar and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (the longer the better).

When the mixture has cooled, churn it according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. I didn’t actually keep track of how long I churned the sorbet for – it was less than one full episode of LOST…around 25 minutes, probably.

When the sorbet is thick and churned, it will have a “soft serve” consistency. Pour it into the container you’ll be freezing it in, and stir in the chocolate chunks. Freeze a few hours or overnight.

When your sorbet is set and frozen, it’s ready to go! Scoop it into pretty cups and tell yourself “This is fruit, it’s fine to have seconds.”

Split Pea Soup with Bengali Spices.

Published on April 13, 2015April 13, 2015 by KellyInTheKitchen1 Comment

I’ve been meaning to share this recipe for a while now (pretty sure I’ve been making it for almost a year!). One of my best friends, who is an amazingly creative cook, gifted me a batch of her Bengali spice mix, called panch phoron. I started using it in split pea soup, and it is SO GOOD. The spices get toasted and give a really interesting and savory flavor to the already-wonderful classic split pea. This stuff is great fresh or as leftovers, and it freezes well, too, so you can definitely make a big batch and pop half in the freezer. Pair it with almost any garnish you can think of–my favorites include fresh herbs, grated cheese, toasty buttery croutons, or a poached egg. So without further ado, one of my favorite soups…Split Pea with Bengali Spices!

INGREDIENTS
bacon fat (butter or olive oil will work also, of course)
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp Bengali spice mix (see below)
2 cups cooked ham, chopped
1 lb split peas 5-7 cups stock or water
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
optional: 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

for panch phoron spice mix (equal parts of all spices):
fenugreek seed
nigella seed
mustard seed
cumin seed
fennel seed

DIRECTIONS

Add bacon fat to a Dutch oven or other large soup pot over medium low heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and stir. Cook until softened and just starting to brown. Use a large spoon to move all the vegetables to the side of the pan. Put a bit more fat in the pan and add the spice mix. Stir into the oil and cook until fragrant–just a few minutes–and be careful not to burn.

When the spices are cooked, stir them into the vegetables. Pour in the stock or water, ham, thyme, and split peas. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook until the split peas are softened. When the soup is done cooking, taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the fresh parsley and serve hot!

Though you may be tempted to eat it all up right away, this soup is PERFECTION as a leftover. The flavors get even better when they have a few days to develop.

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: