Food on the Table Builds Meal Plans and Grocery Lists To Go on Android, iPhone, and Online

I read about this one on Lifehacker;

It’s beautiful, lets me save the stores I shop at, alerts me when I set it to when I needed to shop, lets me know when I items I use are on sale..and it’s beautiful and easy to navigate.  It was easy to set up online then sync with my Android phone.

Available in the Google Play Store.

Flourless Chocolate Cake- It’s Low Glycemic AND Decadent!

I developed this recipe for a client who has Hashimoto’s Disease, and has no thyroid.  Almost any amount of carbs causes her to gain weight.  This is what she eats when she needs a cake to celebrate..it’s as low glycemic as I can get it and still taste decadent!

• 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup butter, plus extra for coating
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/2 t. stevia
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate.

Place a 12 inch square sheet of waxed paper in the plate and butter the waxed paper.

In a medium sized saucepan, combine the chocolate chips, 1/2 cup butter, sugar, water, and coffee granules.  Heat over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the chocolate and butter are melted, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat and stir in the eggs until the mixture is smooth.  Pour into the waxed paper-lined pie plate.  Bake for 10 minutes; the cake will not be completely set in the middle.  Cool, cover loosely, then chill for 6 to 8 hours, or overnight.

When ready to serve, remove the cake from the refrigerator and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Invert the cake onto a large flat serving dish and remove the waxed paper.

Pan-Fried Smoked Salmon Cake

From the Criterion Cookbook by Millie Barnes

8    ounces smoked salmon or lox, roughly chopped
1    slice Ezekiel bread- lightly toasted, roughly chopped
2    tablespoons fresh mayonnaise
1/4    cup grated onion
2    tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2    teaspoon table salt
1 1/2    tablespoons lemon juice from 1 lemon
1/2    cup tapioca flour
2    large eggs , lightly beaten
1/2    cup butter PLUS 1 1/2  teaspoons
3/4    cup Ezekiel bread crumbs- make by drying well in oven, process to fine crumbs

1. Mix smoked salmon with chopped bread, mayonnaise, onion, parsley, salt, and lemon juice in medium bowl. Scoop a generous 1/4-cup portion salmon mixture from bowl and use hands to form into a patty measuring roughly 2 1/2-inches in diameter and 3/4-inch thick; place on parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining salmon mixture until you have 8 patties. Place patties in freezer until surface moisture has evaporated, about 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, spread flour in pie plate or shallow baking dish. Beat eggs with 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons water in second pie plate or shallow baking dish, and spread bread crumbs in a third. Dip chilled salmon patties in flour to cover; shake off excess. Transfer to beaten egg and, using slotted spatula, turn to coat; let excess drip off. Transfer to bread crumbs; shake pan to coat patties completely. Return now-breaded patties to baking sheet.

3. Heat remaining 1/2 cup vegetable oil in large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 3 minutes; add salmon patties and cook until medium golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip cakes over and continue cooking until medium golden brown on second side, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer cakes to plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil on surface, if desired, about 30 seconds.

Gluten Free French Bread or Pizza Dough

This recipe is for pizza or French Bread- Because this dough is not as stiff as dough with gluten I use the French bread pans shown with Teflon paper but you could use parchment paper.

4 cups white rice flour
2 cups tapioca flour
2 t. xantham gum
1 t. salt
1 ½ T. honey
1 ¾ cups warm water
1 ½ T. yeast
1 T. butter
7 egg whites

1) Combine dry ingredients (except yeast) in bowl.

2)  Whisk together yeast, warm water and honey. let proof until bubbly.

3) Make egg whites into meringue. beat about 5 minutes, just short of too dry. you want it STIFF.

4)  Add yeast mixture to flours, add butter, stir well. add meringue,  Fold in well.

5)  Using French bread tins or pizza stone; make into loaves or pizza. Let rise again. bake at 350, until fairly brown. turn over once during baking time, to assure crispness on bottom. if making French bread loaves; pat on bottom of loaf, it should sound very hollow.

This bread needs to be eaten the day it is made, it gets grainy after than and the texture isn’t quite right.  BUT it is amazing right out of the oven!

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Coffee-Roasted Fillet of Beef

2 dried pasilla chilies
1 6-inch white-corn tortilla
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ½ cups chopped white onion
4 large cloves garlic
2 ½ cups chicken stock
¼ cup almond cream
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon light-brown sugar
3 tablespoons medium-roast coffee beans, finely ground
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 2-pound grass fed organic beef tenderloin roast, cut from the large end, trimmed and tied at ½ -inch intervals with kitchen twine
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 T. organic Butter

3/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
Sprigs of watercress.

1. Seed, stem and cut the chilies into pieces. Tear the tortilla into pieces. Set both aside. In a saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the chilies and tortilla and cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until softened. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil and then simmer, partly covered, for 10 minutes. In a blender, purée the hot mixture until smooth. Pour through a fine sieve set over a saucepan, pressing on the solids. Discard the solids. Whisk in the cream, 1 teaspoon salt and the brown sugar. Season to taste.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together the coffee, cocoa and cinnamon. Pat the beef dry and rub with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper; then rub with butter. Sprinkle the coffee mixture over a sheet of wax paper and coat the beef in it. Place the beef on a rack set in a roasting pan and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

3. Roast the beef for 10 minutes; then lower the temperature to 250 and cook for an hour more, or until the meat reaches 130 degrees. Let stand, loosely covered with foil, for 10 minutes. (The meat will continue to cook, reaching about 135 degrees.)

4. Bring the broth to a boil and simmer until just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Cover and keep warm.

5. In a large skillet, melt the remaining butter over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté until golden. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Remove the twine and cut the beef into -inch-thick slices. Spoon just enough broth to cover the bottoms of 4 to 6 shallow, wide soup bowls. Add 2 to 3 slices of beef, spoon more broth over the beef if desired and top with mushrooms and watercress. Serves 4.

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Coconut Crème Brulee

Mango-Guava Lime Tarts with Tropical Nut Crust

These tarts are one of my favorite desserts, a perfect combination of sweet and tart, soft and crunchy. Lactose and Gluten Free. They are easy to do but are very elegant to serve. I use 4 inch tart tins.

Serves 8

Preparation time; 1 ½ hr.

1 cup macadamias
1 cup almonds
2 cups coconut flakes
¾ cup Succanat or organic sugar
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup apple juice
½ cup coconut milk
1 T agar agar
1/3 cup lime juice
1 t arrowroot
1 mango
4 T guava jelly
1 T. butter

1) Combine nuts in food processor to coarse grind. Add coconut and buzz briefly. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks, adding sugar when whites are still soft. Fold in to nuts.

2) Place mixture into buttered tart tins. Bake at 350° until moderately brown. Cool well before removing from tins.

3) Place apple juice and coconut milk in saucepan, gently heat to right before it comes to a simmer. Mix arrowroot and lime juice, add to pan, stirring until arrowroot is melted. Cool and let set ( putting it in freezer speeds this up ) about ½ way, then spoon into shells.

4) Place sliced mango on top of each tart.

5) Melt guava jelly and butter in a small pan and use a pastry brush to glaze mangoes.

Enjoy….

Let’s Make Mead: The Ancient Berserker Crunk-Juice of Kings

From  GIZMODO

See the gallery…

Let’s Make Mead: The Ancient Berserker Crunk-Juice of Kings
Mead is almost certainly the first beverage that got humans drunk (sorry, beer). It predates wine by ten to thirty thousand years. Hell, it predates the cultivation of soil. Best of all, you only need three common ingredients to whip up a batch. So let’s do that.
It’s Friday afternoon, you’ve made it through the long week, and it’s time for Happy Hour, Gizmodo’s weekly booze column. A cocktail shaker full of innovation, science, and alcohol. Yar, let’s get ye olde drunke.

Mead is just three simple ingredients: honey, water, yeast. That’s it. The end. You can add fruit, spices, or hops to add flavors, but you don’t have to. I’m a purist, personally.

Before we get cooking, a little history. The reason mead likely predates other forms of booze is that man probably didn’t even make it. He found it. Somewhere around twenty to forty thousands of years ago, bees would make their nests in holes in trees, then the rainy season would come and flood the nest. Wild yeast would blow through the muck and get all mixed up, too. Then some early hunting-gathering humans ambled by and were like, "Oooh, honey! Eww, it’s wet. Ahh, screw it, I need the calories." Queue drunken orgy.

It was also a favorite drink of the Vikings before storming into battle. Not surprising; the alcohol gets you drunk and the sugar in the honey gets you amped. Think of it as an early Vodka-RedBull prototype. Oh, and yes, that high sugar content can give you a hangover, so be careful.

MORE….

Pad Thai

Serves 4

2 pounds large shrimp
1 pound rice linguine
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoons minced garlic
3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
¼ cup honey
1 dash white pepper
1 bunch scallions
2 Tablespoons nam pla
2 Tablespoons Bragg’s Amino Acid
½ cup coconut milk
½ cup peanuts
1 head broccoli – cut in floweret’s
3 carrots- matchstick cut
½ head Chinese cabbage- sliced thin
3 whole limes
1 Tablespoon ketchup
¼ teaspoon red curry paste – or to taste
¼ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1) Cook rice noodles al dente. Rinse and drain well.

2) Prep vegetables and have everything ready beside the stove.

3) Stir garlic and coconut oil in pot. Add curry paste and stir well. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add ketchup, vinegar, nam pla. Simmer a few minutes, remove from heat and add sesame oil and set aside.

4) Heat coconut oil and add carrots, cook until al dente, add cabbage and stir fry until wilted, add broccoli and continue to toss until broccoli is bright green.

5) Remove veggies and cook shrimp until bright pink.

4) Toss all veggies in sauce, add pasta and shrimp. Add fresh lime juice of two limes, add scallions.