Tag Archives: vegetarian

An Easy Dinner with Falafel

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With the hot days of summer, I’ve been getting into a slight rut of salads and quick meals to make in order to stay cool. That’s getting old! So it was time to try something new. My sister had mentioned a few times that falafel is delicious so I thought I’d look into making it. Turns out, it’s very easy to make and is healthy to boot. I will definitely be making Falafel again.

I checked out several recipes then made up my own in order to have it fit into a low FODMAP diet. For example, instead of onions, I used green onion and replaced garlic with garlic infused oil. There are also two camps with Falafel. The traditional way is to get dried chickpeas and soak them. Or you can drain canned chickpeas and remove excess moisture with paper towels/kitchen roll. Purists, understandably, don’t like this method and that’s ok. You just need to use a bit of flour with canned chickpeas. I made the mistake the first time and didn’t use the flour as the mixture seemed quite firm. It wasn’t and we ended up with a falafel spread. Still tasted really good but not what I was going for!

I made homemade gyros and tzatziki sauce to go along with the falafel.

Technique for An Easy Dinner with Falafel

Drain the chick peas, also known as garbanzo beans, and let them sit for at least half an hour to dry a bit.

Put the rest of the ingredients, except the garlic oil, into a food processor.

Pulse the ingredients until they are well incorporated.

Heat up the oil in a large skillet. Form the falafel into palm sized oval patties.

Place into the skillet and cook until the bottom is browned then flip and cook until the other side is browned. While these are cooking, finish up the gyros and prep the ingredients you want in the gyros. I did up lettuce and tomatoes.

Layer the lettuce, tomato, falafel and tzatziki sauce onto the gyro.

Fold and enjoy.

We’ve been introducing more vegetarian meals to our diet. It’s cheaper, healthier and better for the environment. I read a fact the other day that half the world’s potato crops go to feed animals. Not that we’re giving up meat, just being more selective in our meals. We’re already in the habit of sourcing humanely raised local meat but it was time for more balance. Now, with a teenage boy in the house who is insisting on growing like a weed, I try to find meals he’ll down without skipping a beat. I was quite happy when he gave this meal a thumbs up. An Easy Dinner with Falafel has loads of flavour and seriously easy to make.

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An Easy Dinner with Falafel

An easy recipe to make falafel that goes great with gyros and tzatziki sauce

Course Main Course
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword An Easy Dinner with Falafel
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 4
Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

  • 1 15oz can of chick peas/garbanzo beans
  • 3/4 cup chopped scallions/spring onion
  • 1 cup fresh parsley
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro/coriander leaves
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/8 cup lemon juice 1oz
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp garlic infused oil

Instructions

  1. Drain and rinse the chickpeas about a half hour before food prep.

  2. Place all ingredients, except the garlic infused oil, into the food processer. Pulse until all the ingredients are incorporated and it's somewhat smooth.

  3. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Form the mixtures into palm sized oval patties. Place into the skillet and brown each sides until cook through.

  4. Serve with homemade gyros and tzatziki sauce.

Mushroom and Spinach Phyllo Tarts

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Occasionally my husband and I don’t feel like cooking so we do a bread and cheese night with nibbles. He’ll bake some fabulous bread like Ciabatta. I usually pick up some things to throw in the oven. One of my favourites was a mushroom tart with golden phyllo dough. But it looks like they don’t sell them anymore! How hard can it be to recreate? Luckily making Mushroom and Spinach Phyllo Tarts is easy and quick to put together. Which is the whole point if you aren’t in the mood to cook but need to eat.

When we moved into our rental we transplanted a lot of plants from our old house. A lot of the soil lacks nutrients, unfortunately and we’ve been contending with a woodchuck. Boy is that animal hungry! We’ve been putting down blood meal and hot pepper sauce but with the crazy amount of rain we’ve been having, it gets washed away. The one area that is doing well, is our herb bed. I’ve never had as much luck as we’re having. The sage plant seems to be trying for some sort of championship. We have lots of thyme and it’s perfect in this dish.

Technique for Mushroom and Spinach Phyllo Tarts

Pre heat the oven to 350F/175C.

Heat up the oil in the skillet. Sautè the mushrooms until they start to brown. Cook for a minute or two. Then pour in the sherry.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the spinach. Cook until the cheese has melted. Add in the spinach and toss until the spinach begins to wilt.

Melt the butter. Cut the phyllo into rectangles and spoon the mixture into the centre.

Brush each layer, as you fold it over the mixture, with the melted butter. Turn in the edges to make a packet.

Bake until the phyllo is golden brown.

Serve immediately. This works well with a dry white wine or a dry rosé. As well as cheese, of course.

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Mushroom and Spinach Phyllo Tarts

A perfect compliment to a cheese and wine night

Course Appetizer
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword Mushroom and Spinach Phyllo Tarts
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

  • 1 package of phyllo dough (you won't use all of it)
  • 2 tbsp garlic oil
  • 5-6 shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1 small handful of fresh thyme
  • 1/3 cup dry sherry 3oz
  • 1/2 cup freshly ground parmesan
  • 1/2 cup cream cheese
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 handfuls of baby spinach
  • 1/4 cup melted butter 2oz

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Make sure the phyllo dough is thawed before prep.

  2. Heat the oil in a skillet. Sautè the mushrooms until they begin to brown. Add the sherry and thyme, reduce for a minute or so.

  3. Add the cheeses. Stir until the cheese melts. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

  4. Add the spinach and stir until the spinach wilts.

  5. Cut the phyllo into rectangles. Spoon some of the mixture onto the centre of the rectangle. Brush with the melted butter on each layer as you fold the phyllo over the mixture. Tuck in the ends and place a baking sheet.

  6. Bake until the tarts are golden brown. Serve immediately.

Potato and Parsnip Gratin

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Every St. Patrick’s Day I like to do a special Irish meal as a nod to my ancestry. There is so much to the Irish cuisine with the variety available. I have never had corned beef, well that’s Irish American, not Irish and I don’t cook with cabbage really as I don’t like it. I would always be horrified when people couldn’t wait for the boiled corned beef and cabbage. But to each their own. I found a recipe on the BBC for a Potato and Parsnip Gratin. Of course I played around with it!

While beef, corned or otherwise, isn’t an Irish tradition, bacon or ham is. I hoped to do a pork loin on the grill but I couldn’t find one so I settled for pork chops to grill. I marinated the pork in olive oil with lemon, thyme and garlic. I am not a fan of time changes but at least it is now light enough to see the grill! I am so ready for the sun to come back up north.

Technique for Potato and Parsnip Gratin

This is an easy and delicious dish to throw together. It goes faster if you have a mandolin to slice the veg. I couldn’t find mine, not sure where we put it after we moved. I’ve no doubt it was right in front of me but couldn’t see the wood for the trees!

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Prep all the ingredients before layering. As I was only doing three ramekins, I only needed one medium sized potato. The best thing about this recipe is that it is easy to scale up or down depending on how many people you need to feed. To keep this recipe low FODMAP friendly, I used scallions/spring onions but use whatever onions you would like.

Start layering with the potatoes, then the parsnips. Add a bit of cream, scallion/spring onion, thyme and season with sea salt and ground pepper. Grate the jarlsberg over the ingredients. I added more after taking the photo and I wanted all that cheesy goodness.

Keep repeating the layers until you are at the top of the ramekin. Finish with a layer of potato before grating the cheese to cover the potato. Place the ramekins onto a baking sheet and cover with tin foil. Place into the oven. Bake for about an hour. At that point pierce the potatoes with a knife. If soft, remove the tin foil to brown the cheese. Serve with the sliced pork and garden peas.

We love doing roasted potatoes and parsnips, potato and parsnip mash, and this will be something we make more often. It’s easy and has lots of flavour. An elegant comfort food.

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Potato and Parsnip Gratin

A lovely Irish dish with cream and cheese.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Irish
Keyword Potato and Parsnip Gratin
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 3
Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

  • 1 medium sized potato, thinly sliced
  • 1 scallion/spring onion, chopped
  • 1/2 large parsnip, thinly sliced
  • 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1/2-1 cup heavy cream 4-8oz
  • 1 cup freshly grated jarlsberg
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C

  2. Thinly slice the potato and parsnip. Grate the jarlsberg and remove the thyme leaves from the stems.

  3. In the ramekins, layer the potatoes in the bottom and add the parsnips, scallions/green and thyme. Pour a bit of cream over the layer and season with some sea salt and pepper. Grate the jarlsberg cheese over until it covers the layer. Repeat this until it is near the top. Finish with a layer of potato and cover with the cheese.

  4. Place the ramekins onto a baking sheet and cover with tin foil. Bake for about an hour. Test with a knife to make sure the potatoes are soft. Bake uncovered until the cheese is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Southwest Quinoa Wrap

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One upside to the high heat of summer is this is the time where our veg gardens start really giving up their bounty. This year our 8 tomato plants are acting like we planted 30 plants. On the other hand, our leeks have decided this year is not their year. Thankfully, our local co-op has all the seasonal fresh produce. Plenty to make a Southwest Quinoa Wrap.

This is a vegetarian dish that has loads of protein but it is very easy to add meat or seafood to this dish. This is also low FODMAP if you stick with the portions allowed for the ingredients. For example, I have corn and black beans in this dish. Corn if kept under 38g is good and black beans need to be under 40g. This dish has enough ingredients that this isn’t an issue.

I’m also trying to find meals that are healthy but filling enough for a teenage boy. The way he eats, he should be at least 7 foot tall by now!

Technique for Southwest Quinoa Wrap

Prep all the ingredients while the quinoa is cooking. The quinoa takes about 20 minutes to cook but the rest cooks quickly.

In a skillet, heat up the olive oil and begin to cook the scallions, leeks, corn and black beans.

Add the chili powder, cumin, lime juice and cilantro/coriander leaves. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Mix in the cooked quinoa.

Start layering the fresh ingredients on the quinoa wrap. I included some mung beans that we needed to use up. That’s the great thing about this dish, there isn’t any wrong veg to use.

Add the cooked mixture and top with shredded cheese and sour cream. Salsa would be a nice addition but it’s not always low FODMAP.

This was a delicious and filling meal. Though to be honest my son had more before he went to bed. At least he’s not eating junk!

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Southwest Quinoa Wrap

A delicious vegetarian dish that fits with the low FODMAP diet

Course Main Course
Cuisine Southwest
Keyword Southwest Quinoa Wrap
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 8 Quinoa Wraps
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa 185g
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped leeks 89g
  • 1/2 cup chopped scallions/spring onions (the green part) 50g
  • 1 cup frozen corn 164g
  • 1 cup black beans, drained 260g
  • 1-2 tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 tbsp fresh cilantro/coriander leaves
  • sea salt to taste
  • freshly ground pepper to taste
  • lettuce
  • cucumber, sliced
  • tomato, sliced
  • carrot, sliced
  • mung beans
  • dollop of sour cream
  • shredded cheese

Instructions

  1. Cook the quinoa according to the package's instructions. Takes about 20 minutes.

  2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Cook the scallions, leeks, corn and black beans for a few minutes on medium heat. Add the chili powder, cumin, sea salt, pepper, lime juice and cilantro/coriander leaves. Cook for a few more minutes.

  3. Add the lettuce, tomato, cucumber and carrot to the centre of the quinoa wrap.

  4. Add in the cooked quinoa to the skillet and mix well.

  5. Spoon the heated veg mixture over the centre of the wrap. Add the sour cream and shredded cheese. You can also top with salsa. Fold the wrap and cut into two. Serve the dish.

Minestrone Soup

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We seem to be in a continuous cycle of warm temperature to bitter cold temperature and back again. Germs everywhere! Minestrone soup is a great antidote to fighting off all the stuff going round. As remedies go, it’s a delicious comfort food.

My husband had sent me an article from the Guardian about Ultra Processed Food. For those that follow this blog, you know we’re big on cooking from scratch and keeping overly processed food out of our diet. I found it interesting when the article mentioned that it’s a good sign to see a container of sugar in the kitchen. The reason is, it’s a sign that home cooking from fresh ingredients occurs. Which is so much better than buying boxed goods.

Technique for Minestrone Soup

While this is a very easy soup to make on a busy night, I do recommend to make it a day or so ahead for the flavours to really come out.

Heat up the olive oil in a large saucepan. Sautè the onions until they soften. Add the garlic, carrots and celery. Cook for a few minutes.

Add the mushrooms and peas. The beauty of this soup is you can add whatever veg you want. I don’t like zucchini/courgettes and the like, especially in soup, so I left those out even though they are more traditional.

For the diced tomatoes I like to use fire roasted for a deeper flavour. Continue to cook for a few minutes before adding the veg bouillon. Bring to a simmer.

Season with the herbs, sea salt and pepper. Add the pasta and bring to a boil until the pasta starts to soften. Turn back down to a simmer.

Years ago, on our honeymoon in Italy, we had taken a cooking lesson and the woman gave us a tip on how to use up the parmesan ends. Throw in the piece into the soup and simmer. It gives a really lovely cheesy balance to the soup.

Serve with fresh bread and butter. Perfect for the whacky winter evenings.

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Minestrone Soup

A hearty delicous soup

Course Soup
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Minestrone Soup
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 1-2 stalks of celery, chopped
  • 1 small carrot, chopped
  • 1-2 mushrooms, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 2 14oz cans diced tomatoes
  • 3 cups vegetable bouillon
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme
  • 1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • parmesan cheese end
  • 1 cup rotini pasta, dry

Instructions

  1. Heat up the olive oil in a large saucepan. Sautè the onions until they begin to soften. Add the garlic, celery and carrots to the pan. Cook for a few minutes before adding the mushrooms and peas. After cooking for a few more minutes add the diced tomatoes.

  2. Add the bouillon and the pasta. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add the herbs and season with the sea salt and pepper. Toss in the cheese end. Once the pasta is cooked, it is ready to serve.

Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato

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I’ve discovered, in our local co-op, a sweet potato called Hannah Sweet Potato (sometimes called a yam) which has a lovely flavour without being overly earthy like the normal sweet potato. I found a recipe for Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato by Simply Quinoa that looked interesting. Something easily adaptable to what I had on hand.

I was struck, as I made this while watching the rain come down for weeks on end, how lucky we are to have readily available ingredients. If we have a bad season in the garden it isn’t make or break. I’ve been watching Wartime Farm on YouTube which is a documentary about what the farmers had to go through in the UK during WWII. The historians living as they did in the ’40’s struggled with the wet weather. During wartime it would be catastrophic. If you like history and/or homesteading, it’s a fascinating 8 part series.

I do wonder how many people would thrive or survive in those conditions now. We live in a time of buying one use items, fast food, fast fashion etc. I do hope the trend of getting back to basics continues. There are a lot of skills that shouldn’t be lost.

Technique for Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato

Here is my version of this dish based on what we had and what we like. But that’s the beauty of this dish, very versatile.

Roast the sweet potatoes and cook the quinoa according to the directions. Rinse the black beans and drain. Chop the veg. Heat up the olive oil in a skillet.

Start by sautéing the garlic, scallions and mushrooms.

Add the beans and corn. Cook for several minutes as the corn is frozen when tossed in. Add the spices and lime juice.

Near the end of cooking add the pepper. I always add the pepper so it just cooks but still stays crunchy. I really don’t like mushy peppers.

Once the sweet potatoes are cooked through cut them in half. Combine the quinoa, tomatoes and veg together. Spoon over the potatoes and sprinkle shredded cheese over the top. Add a dollop of sour cream and serve.

It’s a very inexpensive, very filling and very tasty meal.

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Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato

An inexpensive flavourful vegetarian meal.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 4
Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

  • 2 Hannah sweet potatoes
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 scallions, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 2-3 cremini mushrooms, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup black beans, drained and cooked
  • 3/4 cup frozen corn
  • 1-2 tbsp chili powder
  • 1-2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp habanero flakes optional
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
  • 1 tomato, coarsely chopped
  • shredded cheese
  • sour cream to top

Instructions

  1. Bake the sweet potato at 400F/200C in the oven until tender. Cook the quinoa according to instructions on the packet.

  2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Sautè the garlic, mushrooms and scallions for a couple of minutes.

  3. Add the beans and corn along with the spices, lime juice and cilantro. Cook for several minutes then add the pepper.

  4. Once the potatoes are cooked, slice them in half. Combine the veg, quinoa and tomato then spoon over the potato halves. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream. Serve while hot.

Mushroom Curry and I’m Getting Too Old for This!

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As I sit here and write this post, I ache from the neck down.  Why?  Because my husband and I seem to really like saving money by doing house projects ourselves.  By last night we were seriously questioning our sanity.  Our current project is redoing our lounge.  We are hiring someone to do the drywall and mudding.  So maybe we’re finally learning.  Maybe.

But for three days this weekend we brought back the room to the studs. God the mess!  It gets everywhere despite our best efforts of blocking off the room.  Let’s just say me climbing in and out of the window is not the most graceful thing to behold.  But I can’t wait for the room to be finished so it’s worth the effort.

As you can imagine, not a lot of cooking happened.  No energy!  But this is a curry I made a few weeks ago when my in-laws were visiting.  This is a great dish for those that don’t eat meat.  It is also very easy to make on those busy nights.

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I made this on the mild side but you can easily turn up the heat with more chilis.  Again I used my “Best-ever Curry Cookbook” but as you know I changed it up.  Primarily because of the ingredients I had on hand.  In a skillet heat up a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil.  Add about half an onion chopped and cook for a few minutes to soften.  Add 4 cardamon pods, 1/4 tsp of ground turmeric, 1 1/2 tsp of ground cumin, 1 tsp of coriander, 1/2 tsp of garam masala, and a few pinches of black pepper.

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Chop up 2 garlic cloves and one chili, cook for a few minutes.  If you want this on the mild side remove the white and seeds from the pepper.  Add about 10oz of chopped tomatoes.  Season with salt and grate a 1 in/2.5 cm sq piece of fresh ginger.  Bring it to a simmer.  Half or quarter (depending on the size) of about 12 oz of mushrooms.  I used white button mushrooms.

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We also had this with the peshwari naan my husband made.

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This was a lovely warming curry.  My MIL, who isn’t the biggest fan of curry, really enjoyed it.  🙂

Snow Delay and Cranberry Raisin Sauce with Port Wine

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Ah the best laid plans.  My favourite holiday, Thanksgiving, is tomorrow but Mother Nature has different plans for us.  Because we have family coming from different states we decided, to be safe, to have Thanksgiving on Friday after the storm has passed through and the roads are clear.

It’s our first proper snow storm of the season, I think the most we’ve had is a dusting, and we are looking at 8-12 inches when it’s all finished.  Problem is, despite most of us living here for years, a lot of people suddenly act like they have never seen a snow flake and don’t know how to drive in it!  So I am glad to be tucked away at home for the rest of the day.

Cranberry Raisin Sauce 7 2014

It is a very pretty storm with all the trees and shrubs outlined in snow.  Hopefully I’ll have a chance tomorrow to take some pictures.

Just because there is a snow delay doesn’t mean I don’t have a load of food prep ahead of me so I decided to make the cranberry sauce today.  I got my inspiration from Chef Mimi and her Cran-Cherry Chutsauce.  A fun name, isn’t it?  What I loved about it was that it had port wine in it.  Ooh, I thought, that’s a lovely idea.

My version is with raisins and a Late Bottled Vintage port.  This took less than 15 minutes to make and homemade is so much better than the canned sauce.

Cranberry Raisin Sauce 1 2014

In a small saucepan I added about 1 1/2 cup of whole cranberries and 1/3 of a cup of the port to start and brought that to a simmer.  Chop a quarter of a red onion.  Make sure the onion is finely chopped for this.

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Add 1/4 – 1/3 of a cup of seedless raisins.  I added more than that forgetting the raisins will swell up so I removed a bunch.  Then add the onion.

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Keep simmering until the cranberries start to burst.  You’ll hear a popping sound.  Once they have started to burst add brown sugar a tablespoon at a time.  All told I probably used 2 tablespoons added a bit at a time.

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If it starts to get too stiff add more port a bit at a time.  While this starts to thicken add a teaspoon of fresh thyme and stir well.  Once you get the consistency and flavour you desire remove from the heat.

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I love the silverware from the Victorian era.  This spoon was specifically made for jellies and cranberry sauce and has been in my family for several generations.  They certainly knew how to lay a table.

Roasted Mushroom and Parsnip Soup

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The gluten free experiment is going well.  I’m starting to feel better with a few bumps along the way but I figure that is normal.  I am discovering there are some missed opportunities  when searching out gluten free snacks and the like.  It is not a guarantee that you will get something that tastes good.  I tried a breakfast wrap at a local bagel place and the gluten free wrap could be best described as wet cardboard.  Some of the tortilla chips aren’t much better.  I tried one type of cracker that said right on the box how important taste was.  My husband said I made quite the face trying to eat those!

I have found a couple of things I like and fortunately we’re having success at home.  Otherwise I’d starve or at the very least be very cranky.  And that just won’t do!

With the cooler weather settling in I was in the mood for a quick soup with a lot of flavour.  Roasted mushrooms and parsnips fit the bill.

Roasted mushroom and parsnip soup 1 2014

Slice up mushrooms of your choice and a few parsnips, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Roast in an oven at 350F/175C until parsnips are cooked and golden.

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Melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and add 3-5 cloves of garlic chopped and some fresh thyme.

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Once the garlic has softened add the mushrooms and parsnips.

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As I was only making this for two I added 2 cups of veg bouillon and 1/2 cup of dry white wine.  Bring to a simmer.  Add salt and pepper if needed.  Serve with fresh grated parmesan cheese.

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Of course if you aren’t doing gluten free then cheesy toast would be perfect with this.  🙂

 

Salted Spiced Rum Caramel with Apple Bars

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I have always said I couldn’t give up bread amidst the whole gluten-free fad.  I say fad because I don’t think everyone who gives up gluten needs too.  I have no doubt that once the dust settles only those who have gluten issues will stick to it.

However I had been doing research because of chronic pain and inflammation which I’ve had enough of.  I did get bloodwork done but I have the family trait of not presenting the normal way for medical issue so they came back negative.  My doctor, who is normally really good, said that some people are just built this way and are weaker.  Given that I was a 3rd degree black belt I don’t accept that.  So I am on a 30 day experiment to go without gluten to see what happens.  I’ve done it for a week now and I think I’m making progress but it’s too soon to tell.

Right now because I am being strict with it I have to be creative with the recipes as I don’t want to do two sets of meals for all of us.  Someone I know who loves to bake has also gone gluten free and she suggested finely processing oats and use that as flour as a substitution for certain desserts.  I thought this would be perfect for my date bars or this week apple bars given that we have a massive amount of apples.

And because I was baking with apples I thought I would try my hand at salted caramel.

For the caramel you will need:

2 cups sugar

12 T butter

2 tsp sea salt (some recipes call for fleur de sel but that’s crazy expensive)

A cup of heavy cream

Spiced rum to taste

Brown sugar to taste

This will make a lot so you can half the ingredients.  In a saucepan heat up the sugar.

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You need the heat to be medium, medium high and stir constantly while the sugar melts.  It will get chunky then will smooth out.

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Turn off the heat when the temp reaches 350F/175C and add the butter a bit at a time.

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Stir until the butter is fully incorporated.  Then add the cream and stir well. This is where it almost went wonky for me.  When you are cooking the sugar you have to be very careful not to burn it. I had a slightly burnt taste so I needed to fix it.  I incorporated some brown sugar and a couple of tablespoons of spiced rum while adding the sea salt.  Turned out to be similar to toffee flavour and everyone gave it a thumbs up.  A happy left turn!

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Let that cool while working on the apple bars.

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Cut up 4-5 apples into smallish pieces and start to heat in a saucepan with 1/2 cup of apple cider.

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Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Add cinnamon and nutmeg to taste and simmer until the apples soften.

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Pulse enough oats to give you 1 1/2 cups of oat flour to replace the flour.

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Mix this with 2 cups of oats, 1 cup sugar, and 1 tsp of baking soda.  I added 3/4 cup of melted butter like the original recipe but I think next time I would add a cup to keep it moist.  Spread out half in a 8 x 11 pan then spread out the apple mixture.

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Top with the rest of the oats and bake for 25 minutes.  Drizzle with the caramel and serve.

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The caramel can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks.  To soften just microwave for 10-15 seconds.  I’ll have to come up with a few more desserts to use up the caramel!