Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa

Winter came early this year in the midwest. With over 6" of snow last week, we had to do the sad work of pulling the late bloomers out of the garden. We leave our tomatillos, carrots and beets until the very end. Despite a peculiar growing season, the tomatillos did not disappoint! 

Tomatillos need a long grow season, 75 to 100 days, and they need friends. Unlike tomatoes, tomatillos are not self-pollinating, so plan to plant them in multiples. Hardy in zones 8-10, this means starting your seeds inside if you want your plants to produce before the snow flies. The tomatillo is ready to pick and eat when it's filled out its husk - the husk begins to turn yellow and dry out. 

We plant tomatillos for one reason - green hell salsa (a.k.a. chipotle tomatillo salsa!) Green hell is the type of salsa that allows you to turn up the heat or keep it cooler. We were first introduced to this salsa on a trip to California ten years ago -- it took a few days to get used to the peppers. We modify it slightly depending on who will be eating it! 

This salsa keeps great in the fridge or canned. Tomatillos are a little sweeter than tomatoes and can be used in a number of dishes to provide an acidic balance. We also freeze it to use in white chicken chili throughout the winter (YUM!) 

The key ingredients - fresh veggies and great cumin. We love Penzey's ground cumin. Good spices make a huge difference in recipes! Feel free to hold back a chipotle pepper or add just a little habanero pepper at a time, to perfect your fire level! The adobe sauce balances the salsa with a hint of bbq, but don't let it fool you - those chipotle peppers pack a punch. If cumin isn't your thing, substitute it for your favorite salsa spices. 

INGREDIENTS

1 pound tomatillos, cut into quarters

1 habanero pepper, sliced into two (use the seeds and all!) 

1 onion (white or yellow), chopped

3 garlic cloves 

1 or 2 chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce 

the juice of one lime (or a little more if you like the kick!)

1/2 cup parsley

1/2 cup cilantro (if you do not like cilantro, replace with basil or use only parsley)

1 t salt

1 t pepper

1 T cumin (use cumin to taste, you may like a little more or a little less) 

DIRECTIONS

Add ingredients to food processor. Chop, then blend. Your salsa should not be chunky, but will have seeds. 

Enjoy with corn chips, on tacos, or anything else that needs a kick!

XO

Gingersnap Cookies - Gluten Free Style

There may not be a better food season! Those delicious, spicy fall baked goods capture my heart. 

I have a couple of recipes that have been converted to gluten free versions that get gobbled up as quickly as their gluten filled counter parts. But, we all need a new adventure now and again! 

INGREDIENTS
-2 large eggs
-3/4 cup softened (not melted) butter
-1 cup granulated sugar (divided into two 1/2 cups) 
-1/2 cup light brown sugar
-1/3 cup molasses
-2 1/4 cups gluten free flour (see flour notes below) 
-2 teaspoons ground ginger
-2 teaspoons cinnamon 
-1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 
-1/2 teaspoon sea salt
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-parchment baking paper 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, and brown sugar using a mixer. Add eggs and molasses until well combined. 

In a small bowl, mix together the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, sea salt, and baking soda. Add this to the sugar, eggs, and molasses mixture and mix well.

Add the gluten free flour and mix well until all of the ingredients are combined. The dough will be slightly wet. Cover the dough in the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes, until the dough is just a bit stiffer.

Roll the cookie dough into 1" balls. Roll each cookie dough ball in the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Place the cookie dough ball on baking sheet lined with parchment baking paper. (No stick and easy clean up!) 

Bake for 15 minutes or until the cookies crackle and begin to flatten out. Allow your cookies to cool on the baking sheet, then enjoy! (We can hardly wait this long!!) 

Gluten free flour notes: Flour matters! Your flour mixture should also have xanthan gum. If it doesn't, add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum to your flour mixture. If your flour mixture tends to create recipes that run a bit on the dry side, use 2 Tablespoons less flour mixture in the recipe or add 1/4 cup sour cream. Sour cream is a great binder that will bring many of your gluten free baked goods together! 

We love this gluten free flour and didn't change a thing in this recipe.

 

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bars

It's fall and we're ready for pumpkins!

We've tried quiet a few gluten free pumpkin spice bar recipes, but couldn't find one that was as good as our old trusty recipe. That's the struggle with reimagining life without gluten -- it's similar, but not quite the same. Isn't that the theme of 2020? 

We finally have a gluten free pumpkin bar recipe that everyone in the house loves!

To get started: set the cream cheese, butter and eggs out ahead of time to bring them to room temperature. 

INGREDIENTS

BARS

-4 large eggs

-1 cup brown sugar, packed

-1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

-1 cup vegetable oil

-1 15oz can pumpkin puree

-2 cups gluten free flour blend (see notes below)

-2 teaspoons baking powder

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

-1/4 teaspoon ground clove 

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

-1 8oz package softened cream cheese 

-1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (salted butter also works if that's what you have!) 

-2 to 3 tablespoons milk

-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

-4 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan.

BARS

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together: 

-Eggs

-Sugars

-Oil

-Pumpkin

In a small mixing bowl, stir the dry ingredients together: 

-Gluten free flour blend

-Baking powder

-Baking soda

-Salt

-Spices

Stir the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredient mixture. Pour the batter into your prepared
9" x 13" pan & spread the batter out evenly.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the middle of the pumpkin bars comes out clean. Allow the bars to cool completely before frosting. 

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Cream cheese frosting is our favorite part!  

Place the room temperature butter and cream cheese into a medium mixing bowl and beat the mixture with a mixer until combined.  

Add milk and vanilla to the butter and cream cheese mixture. Beat until combined. Add one cup of powdered sugar at a time and beat until combined. The cream cheese frosting will be creamy and delish! Use a spatula to spread the frosting over the cooled pumpkin bars. 

A couple of notes: this recipe does not turn out as well with a straight almond flour. Almond flour is heavy and the center sinks. Flour matters! Your flour mixture should also have xanthan gum. If it doesn't, add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum to your flour mixture. If your flour mixture tends to create recipes that run a bit on the dry side, use 2 Tablespoons less flour mixture in the recipe or add 1/8 cup sour cream. Sour cream is a great binder that will bring many of your gluten free baked goods together! 

We love this gluten free flour and suggest using 2 Tablespoons less flour in the bars recipe for this flour.