Thankful for a special Italian recipe

My maternal grandmother, “Nini,” and her rumpled granddaughter, who still makes her special Thanksgiving stuffing. (c) copyright Laura Groch 2013

Wishing you all an early Happy Thanksgiving! :<)

Everyone’s Thanksgiving is full of rituals beyond the turkey. As a kid, the family must-haves included a local TV station’s annual showing of “March of the Wooden Soldiers,” the Laurel and Hardy classic, followed by watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

Our table offered Italian antipasto — black olives, salami, artichoke hearts — and we drank asti spumante, not red wine or beer.

Gloppy green bean casserole was unheard-of; instead, we had fresh broccoli and a green salad, and my grandmother’s special stuffing ladled out of the bird.

After dinner, the turkey carcass rested majestically on the stove for several hours as we all picked at it, no doubt contributing to the eventual upset stomachs that were also a holiday ritual (we didn’t know as much then about food poisoning as we all do today).

On Thanksgiving Days now, I start the preparations by turning on the parade as background accompaniment. (Sadly, no one broadcasts “March of the Wooden Soldiers” any more.)

We still do the antipasto plate, the asti and the broccoli. But we no longer stuff the turkey; that concession to speed and food safety came years ago, with stuffing now prepared on the side.

And the turkey, which these days is grilled by my husband over mesquite wood on the faithful Weber, is bustled into the fridge right after serving instead of breeding bacteria as in days gone by. (Some rituals you just don’t need to keep.)

But my grandmother’s special stuffing is still one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving.

A skilled midwife from Sicily who immigrated to Brooklyn, she wanted her grandkids to call her Nini (to rhyme with “mini”). She became familiar with American foods through her clients and her children. It took a little trial and error — when her daughter, my mother, wanted peanut butter, for example, Nini bought it, but was mystified when the sandwiches didn’t come out quite right. A more Americanized uncle had to explain that jelly was also needed to make a classic PB&J.

I like to think that must be how this recipe came about: When Nini learned that stuffing was expected in the American turkey, she created it her way, using rice and Italian sausage.

I think it’s delicious. Nini is long gone, but she returns to our table every year when I make this simple recipe for the rest of the family. Here’s how my mom dictated it to me.

NINI’S SAUSAGE AND RICE STUFFING

Cook 1 cup white rice in 2 cups chicken bouillon or giblet water (water you cooked the turkey giblets in).

Brown 3/4 pound Italian sausage (skinned and broken up) with 1 medium onion, chopped, 1 clove garlic, chopped, and 1 stalk celery, chopped.

Drain off fat.

In casserole dish, combine sausage mixture and rice; mix well. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes. Serves 4.

Notes: You can make this with brown rice, or turkey sausage; you can add the chopped, cooked giblets to it or not. Adjust the amount of celery or onion to your taste. I like it browned a little on top to make some crispy bits.

Don’t forget the contest! :<)

Just a reminder: Don’t forget to enter the contest for a free copy of Murrieta author Linda J. Amendt’s new book, “Gluten-Free Breakfast, Brunch & Beyond.” Contest open through Nov. 30, 2013. Leave a comment please on the blogpage (link below) for a chance to win a copy of the book: https://beyondbites.com/2013/09/16/gluten-free-at-breakfast-cookbook-author-can-tell-you-how/

Giving, with thanks

With Thanksgiving around the corner, food is (even more than usual) on our minds. For some, the food shopping is a chore; for others, it’s a pleasure.

But for many in our communities, it’s a daily struggle. So while stores are running all those specials on canned and other nonperishable items, I invite you to join me in buying a few extra items to donate to your local food bank or homeless shelter. Those “buy one, get one” deals so many markets are advertising right now make it easy to give — just donate the “get one.” Or use a coupon to buy an extra item. Make some room in your pantry by donating from your stash — the kids can help you choose items. You can fill up a grocery bag in no time. (Some stores are even providing pre-filled grocery bags that you can buy and donate.)

We may not always be aware of those who are hungry in our midst, but they are there. For the past few months, I’ve been volunteering at our local social services agency one morning a week, and I see how bare their pantry shelves are getting. As we prepare to celebrate abundance (and even excess) at Thanksgiving, I hope you’ll agree that sharing with those less fortunate can make our holiday observance even more satisfying — and blessed. The need is great. (And thanks for reading.)

New category: Thrifty/Nifty. Save some bucks, have some fun.

An “empty” tube of lipstick has an amazing amount of lipstick still in it — nearly a half-inch of the stuff. Use a brush to get it out and enjoy your favorite shade a little longer. (Actually, a lot longer.)

(c) copyright Laura Groch 2013

Thrifty/Nifty is about hints that save money or are just plain cool. Sometimes even both. ;<)

I’m hoping you’ll find these tips as useful as I do. Though they’re not food-related, they could help keep your wallet well-fed:

— Long-lived lipstick. With tubes costing $10 and up, plus never being able to find the same shade once you finish one up, who wouldn’t want to make lipsticks last longer? If you toss your lipstick when it’s “empty” — which means it’s now level with the edge of the tube — you are basically throwing away half the tube each time. Invest in a small brush, work it over the lipstick and then apply to your lips. You will be shocked by how many applications are left in the tube — there’s almost as much left inside as there is in a full lipstick. YMMV, of course, depending on brand. (Check out the photo for an example.) Using a brush to get the rest of the lipstick out is just plain smart. And you can keep using your favorite shade a lot longer.

— Raccoon eyes. For an inexpensive way to remove the dark smudges left by eyeliner, mascara, etc., under your eyes after washing your face, try a little hair conditioner/creme rinse. I keep one of those hotel-size bottles on the sink and dab a bit under my eyes, then wipe clean gently with a cotton pad or facial tissue. Much, much cheaper than special lotions or creams.

— Cuticle pens on the cheap. They’re lovely and fun, but pricey. You can get the same results for a lot less money with your basic tube of lip balm. Just run the edge of it lightly over your cuticles, then massage the stuff in. Presto! A nice pick-me-up for chapped cuticles for a fraction of the cost.

Clif Bars fall for autumn flavors

Everyone gets nostalgic this time of year for fall flavors like pumpkin and gingerbread. The folks who make the CLIF Bar aren’t immune from those autumnal cravings, reflected by their seasonal Iced Gingerbread and Spiced Pumpkin Pie energy bars, plus the new Pecan Pie bar. Like all CLIF Bars, Pecan Pie (260 calories, 70 from fat), Iced Gingerbread (250 calories, 50 from fat) and Spiced Pumpkin Pie (240 calories, 40 from fat) are made with 70 percent organic ingredients. They’re a good source of protein and fiber and have 23 vitamins and minerals. Suggested price for each 2.4-ounce bar is $1.39, and CLIF Bar will donate 1 percent of seasonal net sales to Protect Our Winters, a not-for-profit organization fighting against climate change. Clif Bar & Company only sources ingredients that are non-GMO.

Small gesture yields big results

A little customer service can make a mighty big impression. Here’s a recent experience that impressed me:

OXO (www.oxo.com) makes, among other things, kitchen utensils that are grip-friendly, especially for folks who have arthritis or other problems holding onto small handles. I’ve bought several of them for older relatives, things like peelers, ladles, etc., with good results. So when I was in the market for a sink mat, and saw one by OXO at a reasonable price ($8.99), I bought it.

This sink mat was different from my last one, which was a plastic-coated wire grid. Though it had served well for many, many years, the plastic had given way in places and rust had crept in, so it was ripe for replacing. OXO’s version was raised a bit higher, with a nicely padded platform. It worked great.

But after about a year, it began to show some mildew. It was made of two types of plastic, a rigid understructure and the softer padding. Where the two joined, the mildew had crept into the seam, where it was impossible (for me, anyway) to erase with scrubbing.

So I emailed the company, explained the problem, and asked for their recommendations on how to clean the mat.

The company representative responded with a couple of ideas on mildew removal (diluted bleach and water OR vinegar and water solution), but added, “If that doesn’t work, send us a photo of the sink mat and we’ll send you a replacement.”

What a wonderful offer! I tried OXO’s mildew removal suggestions first; but the mildew proved impossible to dislodge. So I took a photo and emailed it with my address, and a few weeks later, a brand-new mat arrived.

Note that I hadn’t asked or even hinted for one in my original contact with the company. OXO went above and beyond to make a customer happy. Great job, OXO!

Another story: A company that makes pancake syrup changed its bottle for one shaped like a rustic jug with a pouring spout or lip. Very cute. But when I used it, I realized that the pouring spout was just for show. The actual pour came through the top of the jug, where it dripped and was a bit messy.

I called the company’s toll-free phone number and explained that the product was perfectly fine, but I had a wee issue with this “jug.” Perhaps, I suggested, pouring could be a bit easier with a spigot in the “spout” or a drip-proof channel on the top of the jug.

The customer service rep listened, took my name and address, thanked me, and told me she’d send some coupons for my trouble. Fine. A few weeks later, the coupons arrived, along with a letter that said basically, “Thanks for your feedback, but because we might face copyright issues, we’re not interested in your suggestions for improvement.”

Holy moly. There was no need to say that. A simple, boilerplate “Thanks for your feedback/We love to hear from our customers/We hope your future experiences with our product will be satisfactory” would have more than sufficed, would have kept their legal noses clean, and wouldn’t have needlessly turned off a customer.

Which brings me to the art of making a good complaint. I’m not a particularly combative consumer, but if something goes wrong, or an experience disappoints, I think most companies would like to know about it. My suggestions for an effective letter/email:

Give them a bit of background. (Note: A BIT.) Are you a frequent customer, or did you buy the product just this once? Do you generally like their product or service?
Tell them what went wrong, or what you didn’t like. Concisely. “I expected this to happen, but instead this happened.” Or “I thought it would taste like AA, and instead it tasted like BB.”
Include relevant information about the product or service: time, date and place of incident, price paid, item or code number, use-by date, whatever identifying information you can supply.
Tell them what you would like them to do, and be reasonable. “I would like a refund of the $X.XX I paid for this product.” Or “I would like a replacement widget for the one that broke after only two hours.”
Exit gracefully. Thank them for their time and assure them that you will be awaiting their response. Don’t forget to give your contact information: email, street address, phone number.
Do NOT rage, be insulting, threaten, or use inflammatory language.

(And incidentally, if you like a product or service, believe me, you will make someone’s day by pointing THAT out — something we should all do more often.)

Fortunately, most of my consumer complaints have been small, which may be why I’ve had generally good results with these steps. In fact, more often when I’ve contacted a company, I haven’t asked for anything. I merely pointed out a flaw, and concluded with “I know you can’t fix this now, but I felt sure that you’d want to know about it.”

Remember, the folks at the other end are people, too. Give them an opportunity to make things right. You might be pleasantly surprised with your results.

Lima Love

Laugh if you like, but I’m growing fonder of lima beans year by year.

This past Saturday marked the fifth year of Encinitas’ Lima Bean Faire, a fundraiser for the San Dieguito Heritage Museum (www.sdheritage.org) and my fourth year (I think) as a judge of the faire’s cooking contest. (Also judging were Coast News columnist David Boylan (“Lick the Plate”) and Chef Marian of ChefMarian.com.)

I was not a fan of lima beans as a child. They were the hated ingredient in the blocks of frozen succotash that were our family’s default dinner vegetable. They were mealy and dry, and far inferior to the corn niblets and green beans they accompanied.

But now, after several years of experiencing limas transformed by amateur and professional chefs, I’ve come to appreciate them. They certainly are no longer the shriveled nubbins I remembered from childhood. Nope. I now know them as moist, inviting, satisfying and savory, not to mention nutritious, full of fiber and economical, as most beans are.

This year’s contest allowed other kinds of beans besides limas, and entries included soups, dips, salads, stews, casseroles and pasta dishes, as well as several (yes!) desserts. According to Jean Bruns, a museum board member, this year’s turnout was 21 cooks entering 26 dishes.

The winners:

People’s choice: Sean O’Leary – L Im A Piggy Soup;

Professional division:

Salad/Side – Brett Nicholson, Brett’s BBQ: Black Bean Salad

Entree/Side — Steve Molina, Delicias Restaurant, Five Bean Fritters With Spiced Yogurt Tzatziki;

Dessert — Mary Dralle/Cooking With “Klibs,” Xocolatl Bars.

Amateur division:

Salad/Side — Evelyn Weidner, Ginger Citrus and Sweet Chipotle Dips;

Entree/soup — Sean O’Leary, L Im A Piggy Soup;

Dessert — Kristin Gaspar, Mini Lima Bean Pies

Winning recipes, as they have been every year, will be compiled in the group’s fundraising cookbook, soon to be available at the museum, 450 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas (760-632-9711).

Sean O’Leary’s prize-winning soup was one of my favorites. He’s a former chef turned freelance photographer (www.simplysophotography.com). This recipe makes a LOT of soup, but you can cut it down for a smaller batch. The pork bone is for flavor, not for meat, Sean says. He adds that you can roast it beforehand for more flavor in the soup.

L IM A PIGGY SOUP

5 pounds dried lima beans

6 stalks celery

3 carrots, peeled

2 1/2 pounds onions, peeled

1 head garlic, peeled

1 Fresno chile, seeded

1 pound ham, chopped

1 pound pork shoulder bone or other pork bone (not meaty)

1 bunch parsley stems

1 bunch green onions

1 1/2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 1/2 gallons chicken broth

Salt and cracked black pepper

Lime Creme:

12 ounces sour cream

4 ounces mayo

1 lime

Kale Chips:

1 bunch kale

Leek Threads:

1/2 pound leeks, cut lengthwise and cleaned

Soak dried lima beans overnight in a 20-quart stock pot. Make sure water level is at least 4 times the volume of the beans. The next morning, strain the beans in a colander and set aside.

After cleaning and preparing vegetables, rough-chop them. You don’t want to cut them too small.

Place the dry 20-quart stock pot back on the stove and add some vegetable oil over medium heat. Let the pot get warm. Add celery, carrots, onions, garlic and chile, and sweat them until they are translucent by occasionally stirring them. This should take 8 to 10 minutes.

At this point add reserved lima beans, ham, pork bone, parsley stems, green onions, paprika, cumin, oregano and chicken broth. Cover and bring to a boil, then turn down heat to low and simmer for 3 hours or until beans are soft.

Remove pork bone and discard.

Cool soup until it is about room temperature. It is best to cool soup as quickly as possible by placing pot in your kitchen sink. Surround the pot with ice and fill sink with cold water a quarter full. Stir soup to cool it faster. Once soup is cool enough, blend in a blender starting at low speed and working up to high speed until soup is smooth. Do small batches at a time. Reheat soup and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lime Creme: While soup is cooling, mix sour cream, mayo and lime juice as desired in a small bowl. Add a little water and salt until desired thickness and flavor.

Kale Chips: Cut the leafy part off the kale stems. Now cut kale into desired size. In a saute pan, add vegetable oil to fill saute pan 1/4 full. Heat oil to medium-high. Place a little bit of kale in saute pan at a time. Be careful — the kale will splatter oil due to water content in the leaf. Pan fry kale until oil is no longer bubbling around the cut pieces. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and shake over pan to remove excess oil. Place on paper towel to drain and season with a little salt while still hot. Set aside.

Leek Threads: This is the exact same method as to make the kale chips. Slice the leeks crosswise into thin shreds and then pan fry.

Once you have all the components ready, ladle soup into bowls and garnish with Lime Creme, Kale Chips and Leek Threads. Enjoy!

Here’s the recipe for Xocolatl Bars from Mary Dralle’s (“Cookin’ With Klibs”). The recipe uses lima bean flour, which she said she gets at the Santa Ysabel General Store. “Frazier Farms in Vista carries bean flours as well as Jimbo’s, Sprouts and Henry’s,” she noted. “A substitute bean flour could be used in place of the lima bean flour.”

XOCOLATL BARS

1/2 cup lima bean puree

1/2 cup butter, unsalted

1 cup raw sugar

1 cup brown sugar, slightly packed

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons creme de cacao liqueur

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chunks

2 1/4 cups unbleached flour, sifted

3/4 cup lima bean flour, sifted

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons chipotle chile powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

In a large mixing bowl, cream the first four ingredients until fluffy.

Beat eggs in one at a time, then fold in vanilla, creme de cacao, and dark chocolate chunks.

On a large piece of wax paper, measure out all of the dry ingredients. (This method will ensure that all of the items are added.) Fold wax paper in half, pour into sifter and sift into bean mixture. Fold until all is incorporated.

Press dough into a parchment paper-lined 11-by-17-inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean.

Gluten-free at breakfast? Cookbook author can tell you how

Note to readers: Leave your comment below, and I’ll choose one at random to win a copy of “Gluten-Free Breakfast, Brunch & Beyond” by Linda J. Amendt.

Linda J. Amendt has made a name for herself in Southern California (as well as other states) as a canning and preserving expert and a food-contest judge. She has won more than 900 awards in state and county fair competitions, and has written three award-winning cookbooks.

(Full disclosure: I own a copy of her “175 Best Jams, Jellies, Marmalades & Other Soft Spreads” and love it.)

Gluten-free cooking isn’t exactly her field of expertise. But when she was asked by her publisher to create a gluten-free cookbook, she was ready for the challenge.

Though she doesn’t have to avoid gluten herself, Amendt is very, very familiar with the world of food allergies and sensitivities. For years, she has coped with an allergy to the alkaloids in plants in the nightshade family — tomatoes, potatoes, peppers of all kinds, eggplant, okra, and several kinds of berries, to name a few.

“I understand what people go through because gluten is used as a thickener (in many foods), and you have to read labels,” she said in a recent phone interview.

People with celiac disease — a genetically linked autoimmune disorder — must avoid foods made with wheat or wheat products, which contain gluten. Rye, barley and sometimes oat flours — but not corn or rice — also contain gluten-like proteins. These proteins trigger an immune reaction in the small intestine. It interferes with the body’s ability to absorb nutrients, which creates digestive and other problems over time. Ridding the diet of gluten can help restore the gut’s normal digestive and absorption function.

Amendt, a Murrieta, CA, resident, had already been helping some friends remove gluten from their diets by reformulating recipes for them. So when her publisher proposed the gluten-free breakfast book, “I thought, ‘What a cool idea!'”

“Gluten-Free Breakfast, Brunch & Beyond” (Taunton Press, trade paperback, $19.95) was born about 10 months later. In it, Amendt covers 100 recipes for quick breads, muffins, scones, pancakes, waffles, French toast, crepes, quiches, omelets and more in 234 pages with color photos.

Making gluten-free versions of those foods is doubly difficult: Gluten is what gives baked goods structure and height, as well as flavor. Not only must revised recipes taste good, it’s important for them to look as appetizing as their non-GF versions.

As she talked to people on GF diets, Amendt realized, “One of the things they really missed was having baked goods similar to what all-purpose (wheat) flour produces. Without gluten, there’s no structure, no support” for breads or cakes or muffins. “My purpose was to try and replicate the texture and flavor of foods made with all-purpose wheat flours. That’s what people missed the most.”

Home cooks cope with the GF regimen by using many different grain flours in varying combinations. “There are a lot of gluten-free recipes that require 10 different flours,” Amendt said.

She met this challenge by creating two all-purpose flour blends — one that takes the place of all-purpose wheat flour in recipes, and one that’s more like a whole-grain blend. They are made with white-rice flour, brown-rice flour, tapioca flour and potato starch, and are the basis for all the recipes in the book that use flour.

“I used rice flour because it’s very neutral, as opposed to soy or sorghum flours, which have a very strong taste and can be heavier,” Amendt said. “Rice flour is lighter, because there’s no gluten you have to replace.”

A natural substance called xanthan gum is also a major player in her recipes. “I learned about the gum from friends, then it was a question of figuring out the right ratios in what kind of recipe. That started me in coming up with a general flour to substitute in all the recipes.”

Perfecting the flour blends took about a month, she said. “I just kept working on those until I got consistent results. Then it was a matter of taking some of my favorite recipes and converting them to gluten-free.”

Among those recipes are traditional favorites like Zucchini Bread, Buttermilk Biscuits, Blueberry Pancakes, Spice Muffins, and Cinnamon Crumb Cake, and variations like Pumpkin Sweet Rolls, Raspberry Coconut Coffee Cake, Spinach Waffles, Cherry Almond Scones and Cheddar Cheese Biscuits.

Besides the recipes, Amendt offers easy-to-read tips for each category and instruction on using starches and flours, baking and mixing techniques, and sources for gluten-free ingredients. She also explains why baking with gluten-free flours is different from using wheat flour.

“Gluten-free batters need to be thick to support the structure of the baked good,” she said. “If you’re finding your batters are too thick, add more fat to them. That will thin them out. Or you can increase the leavening by 25 to 50 percent. That will really help it rise more.”

Quiche crusts benefit from added baking powder. “I use it with my regular pie crusts,” she said. “It just helped them to puff better. This is a problem with a lot of gluten-free foods — they tend to be dense and heavy.”

Another tip: Try a narrower baking pan.

“Gluten-free batters, when rising, need something to cling to,” Amendt said. “Without that gluten around to support them, they are likely to sag in the center. Or they’ll rise, then fall.” For breads, that means trying an 8-inch-by-4-inch pan instead of the usual 9-by-5.

“If you’re making a quick bread and it’s not working in a pan, try baking it as muffins.”

Among her favorites in the book are the Apple Pancakes, Carrot Muffins, Poppyseed Coffee Cake and the Spinach And Feta Quiche. “The one that was the really big hit was the Banana Maple Muffin,” she said. “I gave those to a bunch of different people. Nobody knew (they were made with gluten-free flour) until I told them. Everyone really liked that recipe.”

These recipes are from “Gluten-Free Breakfast, Brunch & Beyond”:

GLUTEN-FREE ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR BLEND

4 cups finely ground or stone-ground white-rice flour

2 cups stone-ground brown-rice flour

2 cups tapioca flour or tapioca starch

1 cup potato starch (not potato flour)

In an extra-large bowl or container, combine the rice flours, tapioca flour, and potato starch. Whisk together until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Use a large spoon to bring the flour from the bottom of the bowl up to the top and whisk again. Repeat a few times to make sure the flours are evenly distributed throughout the entire mixture.

Store the flour in an airtight container or ziptop storage bag at room temperature for up to 1 month. For longer storage, keep the flour in the refrigerator or freezer. Allow the flour to come to room temperature before using.

Lightly stir the flour before measuring. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off the top with a straight-edged utensil, such as the back of a knife. Makes about 9 cups.

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I like to use Grade B maple syrup for baking. It has a stronger maple flavor and darker color than Grade A Amber maple syrup, the type commonly used as a topping for pancakes and waffles. Grade B maple syrup can be found in specialty food markets and some health food stores.

BANANA MAPLE MUFFINS

Unsalted butter or nonstick baking spray, for the pan

1 3/4 cups Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup, preferably Grade B

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3 bananas)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with unsalted butter or nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt and baking soda until well combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the maple syrup. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gradually stir in the flour mixture. Mix until smooth, about 30 seconds. By hand, stir in the bananas.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup until nearly full and mounding the batter in the center to the top of the cups, or slightly above.

Bake until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Immediately remove the muffins from the pan, transfer to a wire rack, and cool the muffins on their sides. Serve muffins warm or at room temperature. Makes 12 muffins.

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I like to use smooth applesauce in this recipe because it gives the pancakes a velvety texture. Any good cooking apple, such as Gala, Fuji, Jonagold, Golden Delicious or Granny Smith, will work well. Be sure the peel the apple before grating, as the peel can be tough when cooked.

APPLE PANCAKES

1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour

3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or vegetable oil

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup grated or finely chopped peeled apple

Nonstick cooking spray or unsalted butter, for the pan

Maple syrup for serving (optional)

Heat a griddle or large nonstick frying pan over medium heat, or heat an electric griddle to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, using a wire whisk, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, xanthan gum and nutmeg until well blended. Make a well in the center and set aside.

In a medium bowl, using a wire whisk, lightly beat the eggs. Gradually whisk in the melted butter until evenly combined, then stir in the applesauce. Whisk in the milk until well blended. Pour the liquid mixture into the well in the flour mixture all at once. Stir just until combined and the flour mixture is moistened. There may be a few small lumps; do not overmix. Gently stir in the apples just until evenly distributed.

Lightly grease the griddle with nonstick cooking spray or unsalted butter. Ladle or spoon about 1/3 cup of batter per pancake onto the griddle. Cook until the pancakes rise, bubbles start to come to the surface, and the underside is golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn over and cook until golden brown, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes more, adjusting the heat if needed to prevent overbrowning. Serve hot with maple syrup, if desired.

Note: Individual serving-size containers of applesauce hold 1/2 cup and are the perfect premeasured amount to use in this recipe.

Salvaging a Dessert Disaster

Above: The (successfully) remade cookie bars. See how I managed to salvage my disaster of a dessert.

This is a story of kitchen hubris (mine) and dessert redemption (also mine). Maybe you’ve been there too. This is my cautionary tale:

I found two cans of sweetened condensed milk deep in my pantry recently. I had bought them a while ago “in case I needed them,” but obviously never had. I decided to use them up rather than throw them away. They were old. They didn’t even have expiration dates. But the cans weren’t bulging or anything, so I thought they were probably still good.

(Beep. Beep. Hazard ahead!)

The only recipe I know that uses SCM is Magic Cookie Bars. It’s easy: chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, raisins, pretzel pieces, butterscotch chips, whatever, on a graham-cracker-and-butter base in a 9-by-11 pan, bound by the sweetened condensed milk poured over it and then baked and cut into bars.

As a bachelor, my husband used to make Magic Cookie Bars whenever he needed to contribute to an office potluck. I thought I’d surprise him by putting one of those old cans to good use and making a batch.

So I set up the graham-cracker base, scattered a cup each of chocolate chips, chopped peanuts, coconut and raisins, then opened one of the cans of SCM.

(Alarm bells. Warning!)

Oh my.

It was the color of crankcase oil and the consistency of petroleum jelly. It didn’t smell sweetened; it had a faint cheese odor instead.

But I’d never baked with SCM before, so maybe it always looked like this, I told myself.

(Klaxon horns. Danger!)

I spooned it onto the cookie bars and put the pan into the oven. Maybe the heat of the oven would transform it into something more appetizing.

A half-hour later, out of the oven it came. Or should I say, “Out of the oven — ‘IT’ came.”

The pan looked exactly the same. This was not good. (see photo above)

My husband came into the kitchen to see his cookie bars. They were a surprise, all right. Gallantly, he said, “I’m sure they will be OK.”

After dinner, we dug in. They weren’t.

Glumly, we chewed through our portions. Everything else in the bars tasted OK. The sweetened condensed milk was obviously past its prime, but not really BAD. Just not really GOOD.

I put the pan in the fridge, chagrined and humbled by my bad decision.

Throwing the bars out would be a shame, though I was leaning that way. (I had already tossed the other can of SCM.)

If only I could save them. But how?

In bed that night, thinking about my defeat, it dawned on me that most of the ingredients were solid: nuts, coconut, raisins. Even the chocolate chips came out of the oven unchanged.

More to the point, they were all pretty waterproof.

What if I could wash them? Dissolve that Bad Sweetened Condensed Milk off them? I’d lose the graham-cracker base, but that was OK. The whole pan would be a loss otherwise.

The next morning, I filled a large bowl with water and sat it in the sink. I broke off parts of the Bad Cookie Bars and dunked them into the bowl. Then I squooshed them and mooshed them around in the water, breaking them up with my fingers, until everything was dissolved off.

I drained and rinsed what was left, and spread it in a pan to dry. I had raisins. Coconut. Peanuts. And chocolate chips — intact, though they had softened a bit. More important, they hadn’t dissolved.

(Trumpet fanfare. Rescue at hand!)

I let the ingredients dry for a few hours before heading to the store for fresh SCM and more graham crackers. (And FYI, fresh sweetened condensed milk looks like vanilla pudding.)

Then I remade those bars using the laundered ingredients, plus another cup of coconut. They baked up pretty the second time around and tasted just fine. Whew.

(Angelic choir. Victory!)

Pick a peck of peppers, and roast ’em

When peppers go on sale, buy a bunch and roast them yourself. (Photos by Laura Groch)

Roasted red peppers are a colorful, versatile addition to your kitchen palette. You can buy them for upwards of $6 a jar — or I can show you how to roast your own for a fraction of the cost. And with peppers at such bargain prices this week (they’re going at 3 and 4 for $1), it’s time for a lesson in this easy way to add a gourmet touch to summer salads, sandwiches, pizzas and more.

You don’t need to build a fire to roast a pepper. I often roast mine in my little toaster oven. You can also use your oven or even a barbecue grill (just make sure the fire isn’t TOO hot, as they can burn beyond salvaging in just a few moments).

Roasting (really, broiling) peppers softens them and adds a bit of sweetness. I like to roast red bell peppers, but any color pepper will work. Use what you like (that includes jalapenos, Anaheims, etc.) and whatever’s at the best market price.

Here’s how:

Wash peppers; slice them in half lengthwise. Clean out the seeds and remove the stems. Rub or spray with a little bit of olive oil if you wish. Lay them flat on a foil-covered roasting pan, skin side up — or if you’re using a grill, do them skin side down. The idea is to get the skin side close to the heat source.

Broil or grill the peppers until the skins are blackened but not burned. (See photo: They should look a little bit scary.) Try to position the peppers so they blacken evenly; it’s not necessary to blacken the whole surface.

When the peppers are ready, use tongs to remove them from the oven or grill and transfer them into a plastic bag. (I usually save a couple of empty cereal bags — the kind that line cardboard boxes of cereal — for this purpose. They’re very sturdy and leak-proof.) Add any juices that may have collected in the pan. Then close the bag tightly with a clip or twist-tie. Leave some air space — you don’t have to roll the bag shut all the way down to where the peppers are.

Let the peppers rest in the bag for about 20 minutes. They’ll continue to steam for a bit, and then they’ll cool off enough for you to handle them.

Now you’re ready to peel them. Remove the pepper halves one by one from the bag. The blackened skin will have blistered and raised from the flesh a bit. Put the pepper on a cutting board and grab a piece of skin. It should peel away easily from most of the pepper’s surface. You may not be able to remove all the skin — that’s OK.

Slice the peeled pepper into strips (my preference) or leave them in bigger pieces. Put the peeled peppers into a bowl, and pour over any juices that may have collected in the bag or on your cutting board. You can now add some olive oil to them, a dash of your favorite vinegar if you like, or maybe some shaved garlic. Stir and refrigerate.

What can you do with roasted peppers? Try them as part of an antipasto plate with olives, mozzarella, salami and artichokes. Use them to liven up salads. They’re also wonderful in an omelet or frittata or quiche, and on homemade pizza (or add them to storebought pizza). Stir them into a pasta dish with chopped tomatoes and/or sauteed zucchini.

They’re also great in sandwiches. One of my favorites is a simple vegetarian sandwich: Split open a crusty roll or other sturdy bread, spread with a little hot chili sauce, and then top with hummus, sliced red onion, tomato, cucumber and roasted peppers. Yum! It’s light and easy on a hot day when you don’t feel like cooking.

I’m sure you’ll come up with more ideas. Roasted peppers will keep for about a week in the fridge. I don’t recommend freezing them, as the texture will break down too much. So enjoy them — and the money you just saved by making them yourself!

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