Mary's Apple Crisp

FILLING INGREDIENTS:
4-5 large Bosc pears or tart cooking apples
1/3 C. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

TOPPING INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 C. Flour
1/4 C. sugar
1/3 C. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C. pecans, finely chopped
1 stick butter, melted

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Peel, core, and dice fruit. Place into a bowl and stir together with sugaR and salt. Set aside.

3) In a separate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients. Stir together, then drizzle with melted butter gradually, stirring with a fork as you go until all combined.

4) Pour fruit mix into a baking dish; top with crumb topping.

5) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

6) Place pan on top rack of oven for an additional 10 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

7) Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

You can see the original recipe (which used more sugar) at The Pioneer Woman site.

Mary's Super Chunky Granola

This recipe is from our friend Mary. It is definitely our favorite granola recipe at this point! The quantities in parentheses are so I can use one whole bag of Costco Quaker oats, which is about 25 cups.

MARY'S ORIGINAL RECIPE, as she wrote it to me:
The granola recipe is below. I always double it (makes a ton, but we eat it a lot, and it keeps well), and reduce the sugar. The version you had did not use dried fruit and had coconut, almonds, and pecans. I bake it on two cookie sheets. Pressing it firmly into the pan is key. I find that the temperature in the original recipe tends to burn the edges, so use a lower temperature and check often. You can use this technique and even lower temperature with more time, if you have it.

1/3 C. maple syrup (3/4 C.)
1/3 C. brown sugar (3/4 C.)
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract (1/4 C.)
1 tsp. salt (1 scant Tbsp.)
1 C. oil (2 1/2 C.)
10 C. old-fashioned rolled oats (25 C. = large Costco Quaker bag)
2 C. raw almonds or pecans, whole (5ish C.)
1 C. coconut (or more, if you prefer!) (3 C.)

1) Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.

2) Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

3) Whisk maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in large bowl. Whisk in oil until it is fully incorporated.

4) Fold in oats and almonds until thoroughly coated.

5) Transfer oat mixture to prepared baking sheet and spread across sheet into thin, even layer (about 3/8 inch thick).

6) Using stiff metal spatula, compress oat mixture until very compact.

7) Bake until lightly browned, 30 to 45 minutes, rotating pan once half way through baking.

8) Remove granola from oven and cool on wire rack to room temperature, about 1 hour.

9) Break cooled granola into pieces of desired size.

Granola can be stored in airtight container for several weeks.

Elanore's Black Bean Brownies (Can Be Vegan)

Here are two different gluten-free options for brownies. The first is flourless, while the second uses an all-purpose, gluten-free flour blend. They're different, and both are yummy.

Elanore's Black-Bean Brownies

1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 eggs (or use flax eggs for vegan)
3 Tbsp. oil (can use applesauce instead)
4 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C. granulated sugar (I use coconut sugar)
nuts, to taste (opt., but this helps—texturally—if you like them)
chocolate chips, to taste (get DF for vegan)

Combine ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

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Elanore's Gluten-Free Brownies

Makes 16 large or 25 smaller brownies

1  stick butter OR 8 tablespoons coconut oil for vegan

1 1/4 C. sugar

3/4 C. plus 2 Tbsp. cocoa

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2  eggs, cold

1/2 C. GF baking flour (almond flour or brown rice flour work well)

2/3 C. chopped nuts (walnut or pecan)

1)   Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F.

2)   Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.

3)   Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a double boiler pot or a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

4)   Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one.

5)   When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well-blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.

6)   Stir in the nuts (if using). Spread evenly in the lined pan.

7)   Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack.

8)   Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 or 25 squares.      

Iivo's Salmon Marinade (without soy or vinegars)

The following appeared in a text from iivo.

Today I marinated a salmon in:
olive oil
lemon juice
ginger
garlic
our all purpose seasoning blend (APB) 
a dash of honey 

and then broiled them.  Here they are.

Joshua's Super Easy Hummus (Vegan)

My friend Cheri's son, Joshua, modified her recipe to suit what we can have on this elimination diet. It was delicious!

1 15-oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and liquid reserved
1 small lime, juiced
1/4 C. tahini
1 Tbsp. olive oil (opt.)
1 tsp. sesame oil, or to taste (opt.)
1 tsp. fresh garlic (opt.)
1/2 tsp. salt (or celery salt, or onion salt)
1 tsp. APB

Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Stream reserved bean liquid into the mixture until desired consistency is achieved.

NOTE: The full flavor of the APB will not permeate this mixture until it has been combined for several hours. Be careful not to add too much or it will be way too spicy in the end.

Crock Pot Mexican Burrito Bowls (Can Be Vegan)

Cooking the beans:
1 pound black beans, picked clean and soaked overnight
1 onion, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
3 bay leaves
5-6 C. water or broth (more if want soupy beans; less if want drier beans)

1) Place soaked black beans into Crock Pot with above ingredients. Cook on high for 3 hours or until tender.

2) 30 minutes before end of cooking time, add 1 Tbsp. salt.

3) Remove cooked beans and cooking liquid from Crock Pot and reserve for later use.
NOTE: You can also use canned black beans and start as indicated below.

Cooking the other stuff:

Chicken breasts and/or thighs, chunked (opt., omit if vegan)
2 15-oz. can petite diced tomatoes
2 C. brown rice (brown rice holds up better than white rice when cooked in this way)
2-2.5 C. veggie stock, divided
1-2 fresh jalapeños, finely diced (optional, to taste)
1 heaping Tbsp. APB
1 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. celery salt
1 tsp. salt
2 C. frozen corn 
2 C. chopped zucchini 
2 C. chopped sweet pepper
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped 

1) Combine the chicken (if using), tomatoes, and spices listed above in the Crock Pot. Add enough stock to be sure the chicken is covered (about 1/2 C.).

2) Cover Crock Pot and cook mixture on low 3 hours, or on high for 1 hour.

3) Remove the lid and add the rice and another 1/2-1 C. broth, along with any of the optional ingredients you want to include.

4) Replace the lid and continue to cook on low for another 3-4 hours, or on high for 1-2 hours.

5) At the start of  the last hour of cooking, stir in the black beans, mixing everything well to ensure even cooking of the rice. Add more liquid if needed. Check the seasonings and augment as necessary.

6) Check and stir periodically during the last hour of cooking. It is done when the rice is tender.

NOTE: If you want it soupy, leave any excess liquid in--and even add some of the cooking rice from the beans, if desired. If you want it drier, leave the lid off once the rice is done to allow the liquid to cook off.

7) Garnish as desired. Chopped green onion, chopped tomatoes or salsa, avocado or guacamole are all yummy. Cheese and sour cream if not making vegan.

This recipe is heavily modified from an original that appeared on the kitchn.com.

Mustard Chicken with Nut Cream

chicken breasts, cut into strips
ghee, for cooking
APB
Nut Cream

1) Melt ghee into a heavy-duty metal skillet that is NOT non-stick. Place chicken strips into hot ghee and begin cooking over medium-high heat. Move often at first to prevent sticking.

2) Sprinkle chicken with APB and dried mustard. Cook until it looks as if chicken is cooked through halfway from the bottom.

3) Turn strips over and re-season.

4) Cook until chicken is done inside and nicely golden brown on both sides.

5) Remove chicken strips to separate container and add hot water to skillet to loosen drippings from the cooking chicken in the ghee. Scrape with a metal spatula if necessary.

6) Stir more mustard and APB into this liquid, seasoning to taste, then stir in nut cream to thicken and make "creamy."

7) Return chicken to sauce and serve with rice and Spicy Beans.

Nut Cream (Vegan)

1) Blanch 1 C. nuts, any variety, in water. (Bring to a boil and boil lightly for a few minutes.) We prefer cashews, but almonds and walnuts are delicious as well.

2) Place nuts and 1 C. blanching water in Vitamix or food processor.

3) Start on low and move quickly to high. Process on high until creamy.

SWEET: Add a few dates at time of processing.

SAVORY: Add tahini and Seitenbacher broth powder at time of processing.

I have used this as a protein rich addition to smoothies and as a way to make cooking sauces seems creamy without dairy. (Hooray!) It is especially delicious in our morning porridge bowls, with fresh fruit and nuts or dried fruit.

Orange Pork Chops

1-2 pounds boneless pork chops, cut into halves or thirds
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2/3 C. orange juice
1/4 C. tamari sauce (gluten-free soy sauce)
1 1/2 Tbsp. white sugar
Water and cornstarch to thicken, if you're able to have it.

1) Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.

2) Cook pork chops until evenly brown on both sides. Remove from skillet and set aside.

3) Pour in orange juice, tamari sauce, and sugar. Scrape the bottom of the pan and cook gently for 2 minutes or so.

4) Season with APB to taste.

5) If you can have corn, you can thicken the sauce at this point with a mix of 1/4 C. water and 1 Tbsp. cornstarch, stirred into the hot liquid.

NOTE: We can't have corn on our elimination diet, so instead of thickening with cornstarch I added a tad of Nut Cream to the sauce to thicken it and make it seem "creamy."

This recipe is modified from the original, which appeared on allrecipes.com.

Everything-Free Waffles (Vegan)

Again, these are not everything-free, but they're free of enough things that are usually in waffles that I'm surprised they work and are delicious... but they are! We were all pretty happy to eat these this morning, as we've had nothing this delicious for breakfast since starting the Elimination Diet!
2 1/2 C. non-dairy milk (almond, soy, rice will all work)
2 tsp. lime juice (white or cider vinegar would be better)
1/3 C. olive oil
1/3 C. liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave nectar, honey)
1 Tbsp. ground flax seeds, soaked in a bit of boiling water to make semi-gelatinous (optional)
1 egg white (optional--omit if vegan)
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
2 C. gluten-free flour blend
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 C. gluten-free oats (optional)

1) Combine milk and lime juice and set aside.

2) In the meantime, combine all dry ingredients except oats in a large mixing bowl and sift together well. Stir in the oats after other dry ingredients are blended well.

3)  Add semi-gelatinous flax (if using) to soured milk mixture. Add other liquid ingredients to the milk mixture and whisk to combine.

4) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix gently just until combined.

5) Let batter rest while waffle iron preheats.

NOTE: Our Belgian waffle maker cooks these deliciously crispy but splits them down the middle every time. (The two halves of the waffle each stick to the sides of the waffle maker when you open it after cooking. Since we like them this way--crispy on one side and soft on the other, plus you're only eating half a waffle at a time but it feels like a whole one!-- we cook them in that instead of a regular waffle iron. Cook yours according to your equipment and preferences. (The almost-burned-looking waffle on the bottom of the pile in the picture below didn't split, but you have to cook them so long to get them not to split that they're too crispy and brown in the end. We just let it split them and enjoy them crispy-soft. With fruit on top, pictured above, is my favorite!)

If you prefer them to look and feel traditional, just stack the two halves together and serve. Yum!

NOTE: We have discovered that the best combination for getting them not to stick badly to the waffle iron involves omitting the optional flax, oats, and egg--and using homemade quick soy milk and maple syrup as the liquids.