Homemade Thin Mint Ice Cream!

Summertime is a the time of year when I most enjoy eating ice cream all by itself.  Generally, I prefer a tiny dollop on top of something like a warm fruit crisp.  One of my favorite flavors of ice cream is a mint chocolate chip and the other in pre-gluten-free days was a mint oreo flavor made by this wonderful ice cream shop in Boston.  This ice cream provides the best of both worlds!  A yummy cookie crumble, bits of chocolate, and mint all infused together in one delicious ice cream.  And, best of all you won't need all the cookies from your batch of GF thin mint cookies for this recipe, so you'll have extras to serve on the side.  Enjoy!

A delicious fresh batch of homemade GF thin mint ice cream! 

A rather crazy looking scoop of scrumptious ice cream with a GF thin mint cookie on the side! 

Homemade Thin Mint Ice Cream

Mix in a bowl:
3 cups 10% lactose-free cream (OR regular light cream OR 1 cup cream + 2 cups milk)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
2 drops peppermint essential oil (I love the Doterra peppermint oil in this recipe - and much prefer it to an extract)

Mix ~10-15 minutes in your ice cream maker (according to the directions on your ice cream maker).  While mixing, you can crush your homemade GF thin mint cookies, enough so you have about 1 cup of crushed cookie crumbs.  I like to leave some larger pieces and some smaller pieces.  It's easy to crush the cookies by placing in a freezer ziploc and rolling or hit with a rolling pin.

After the 10-15 minutes of churning, add to ice cream maker:
1 cup crushed homemade gluten-free thin mints.

Continue mixing until ice cream has thickened, as directed by your ice cream maker.  Scoop ice cream into a freezer-safe container and let chill ~2 hours before serving.  Feel free to serve alongside a few extra cookies! Enjoy!!!!

Yummy homemade thin-mint cookies

The Best Homemade Seafood Chowder!

The wonderful thing about making seafood chowder at home is that you can use whatever fresh, local (or not-so-local) seafood that is in season.  The recipe here is for a delicious vegetable-packed chowder filled with lobster, scallops and haddock.  You can easily add shrimp, salmon, or other types of fish in addition to or as a substitute for these.  You can even add in mussels, too.  The pictures here are of a chowder I made while visiting Nova Scotia. It was filled with fresh, local scallops, lobsters, and haddock fillets.

Wonderfully delicious homemade seafood chowder, packed with lobster, haddock and scallops.  This version is packed with vegetables, too, and packed with flavor. 

The Best Homemade Seafood Chowder
Serves 6-8

Saute in a large pot over medium heat for 4-5 minutes:
1/3 cup butter
1/2 onion, diced
2-3 carrots, sliced
dash salt and pepper

Add, and saute, stirring regularly for 5-7 minutes:
1.5 lbs potatoes, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 - 3/4 cups diced fennel bulb
3-4 cloves garlic, minced OR 1/4 - 1/3 cup garlic scapes, sliced (if in season)

Add and cook an additional 1-2 minutes:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2-3 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (adds spiciness, so use less if you prefer less bite)
3-5 dashes Tabasco sauce
1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried oregano

I like to saute the vegetables for a longer period in the pan, then they can simmer for less time in order to really bring out the flavors and taste.  

Add, then simmer vegetables for ~7-8 minutes:
~3 cups water (just until top of veggies)
1 tsp GF chicken bouillon seasoning (optional)

Add:
1 cup 10% cream OR milk (lactose-free works great)

Mix in a small bowl:
1/4 cup 10% cream OR milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

Once you've mixed the flour/cream together, you want to add it a little at a time to the bubbling soup.  Stirring and returning soup to a low boil to adjust thickness after you add each 1-2 Tbsp.  I prefer a less thick chowder, and so would recommend just a bit being added.

Here's the chowder after being thickened a bit.  I prefer a just barely thickened creamy soup to the thick chowders sometimes served.  In this picture the soup is ready for seafood to be added. 

Once you've achieved the desire chowder thickness and returned your soup to a boil over medium heat, add the following and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally:
8 large scallops, diced (or equivalent amount of small scallops)
3 haddock fillets, diced

Taste test the soup at this point to adjust with salt and pepper, as desired.  The Old Bay Seasoning has quite a bit of salt, so I usually just add a dash of pepper.

Just before serving, add:
cooked lobster meat from 2 large lobsters, diced (I remove and use the tail, claws, knuckles)

This flavorful seafood chowder is wonderful served alongside garlic bread.  A few breads we enjoy eating as garlic bread are: a tasty GF French-Style Bread, GF white bread, GF naan bread, and homemade GF sourdough bread.

In my opinion, the perfect accompaniment to a fresh seafood chowder and garlic bread dinner is a homemade apple crisp.  If you can find Cortland apples, you'll truly be in heaven.  Enjoy!

A homemade GF apple crisp made with local Cortland apples - yum! 

Red Potato Salad with fresh herbs

This lovely potato salad is packed with fresh herbs, making it a flavorful addition to any summer meal.  I particularly love it when served alongside something like pan-fried haddock or cod or a nice baked or barbecued salmon.   The salad shown here was served at a book club luncheon and was a perfect accompaniment to rolled up ham and cheese sandwiches and a garden salad.  Enjoy!

Freshly prepared red potato salad with fresh herbs, ready to eat!

Red Potato Salad w/ Fresh Herbs

Rinse & dice ~2 lbs baby red potatoes into large bite-size pieces.  Place in a pot of cold water, enough to cover the potatoes by about 1".  Add a dash of salt.

Bring pot to a boil. Boil uncovered for ~10-12 minutes, until potatoes are soft when poked with a fork (just soft enough for the fork to go through, not mushy. You want them to keep their shape).   Drain and run under cold water to cool.

In a large bowl, mix together:
cooked red potatoes, from above
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp fresh dill, minced
5-6 green onions, sliced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder OR 2-3 Tbsp chopped roasted garlic cloves
salt & pepper, to taste (I usually start with 1/4 tsp of each and add more as desired)

You can serve this immediately or chill and serve.   I find it's nice to make it a day in advance so the flavors really blend together.  Enjoy!

BBQ Salmon with roasted garlic, herbs and lemon

A wonderfully light and flaky salmon, made easily on the barbecue! The rich flavours from the garlic, herbs and lemon infuse the salmon spits packed with flavour.  I like to cut the pieces so they're narrow, meaning they cook evenly and quickly.  Try these with a side salad, rice or potatoes. Enjoy!

A gorgeous tray of salmon, fresh off the BBQ.  It is as tasty as it is aesthetically pleasing. 

BBQ Salmon topped with roasted garlic, herbs & lemon

I like to cook my salmon on the BBQ, but off direct heat.  On a small grill, you'd have one half on about medium and cook the salmon on the other half.  On a larger grill, I like to have the outer heat going and have the salmon cooking off the direct-heat in the middle of the BBQ.   To prepare the BBQ, I put all burners on high-heat, then turn off the ones where I want to put the salmon, and lower the others to medium/medium-low.  I like to aim for a temperature of about 400 F.

Line a BBQ-safe pan with foil.  On foil, place:
8 small slices of salmon (each ~1 1/2 - 2" wide)

Drizzle salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper.

In a small bowl, mix together:
10 cloves of roasted garlic, chopped
2-3 Tbsp minced chives
2-3 Tbsp minced dill
3-4 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika

Spread the garlic & herb mixture on the top of the salmon slices.   Top salmon with lemon, thinly sliced.

Just gorgeous - ready to pop onto the BBQ.

Bake salmon at ~400 F on the BBQ for 15 minutes for small slices and 20 minutes for larger pieces of salmon.  Check with a fork to make sure the thickest part is cooked thoroughly and nice and flaky.   Enjoy!!!

Three Large Delicious Bread Loaves

These large, delicious loaves of gluten-free bread are so easy to whip together!  They're perfect for sandwiches, grilled cheese, garlic bread slices, toast, french toast.  Just a nice, moist, chewy bread that tastes wonderful and is perfect for all.  I've had many amazed it's gluten-free because it tastes so nice.  Enjoy!

Fresh out of the oven - we couldn't wait long enough to sneak a slice (or two). This bread is wonderfully light and chewy.  

Three Large Delicious Bread Loaves

Butter 3 large loaf pans.  Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large mixer, mix the dry ingredients:
2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup potato starch
1 cup arrowroot starch
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
4 tsp xanthan gum
4 tsp rapid-rise yeast (quick yeast)
2 tsp salt

Add and beat 3-4 minutes, scraping occasionally, if needed:
2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
5 Tbsp honey (OR 2 Tbsp honey + 3 Tbsp maple syrup)
8 Tbsp oil (I love avocado oil)
6 eggs (chia seeds + water substitute will work well for those egg-intolerant)
2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Fill each loaf pan 1/2 full with batter.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm location until dough has reached the plastic wrap (~40 minutes).   Remove plastic wrap - don't worry if a little dough sticks to the top of the plastic wrap. It'll look fine once cooked.

Pans filled with dough.  These were covered with plastic wrap and left to rise 40 minutes before baking. 

Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes until nicely golden brown.  Remove from pans and cool on cooling racks.  You can slice and use immediately or slice and freeze.  I always slice my bread before freezing, and it's perfect to take out and use for lunches or meals.  Enjoy!

Large, fresh loaves of delicious bread. 

Key Lime Curd & Lemon Sugar Cookies

Key lime curd served alongside homemade gluten-free lemon sugar cookies or key lime cookies are a perfect summertime dessert when you want something light, but flavorful.  The homemade curd is wonderfully pleasant, filled with key lime zest and juice.  If you need to juice your own, you will need quite a lot of key limes. I think something around 20 or so for that much juice.   The cookies are lovely made into little sandwiches, or served with a dollop of curd on top of each cookie.  Or, you can serve alongside on a small plate, as shown in the picture here.  Enjoy!

Key lime curd served alongside homemade key lime cookies, but equally delicious with the easy, no-fuss lemon sugar cookie recipe below! 

Key Lime Curd & Lemon Sugar Cookies

Whisk together in a pan:
1/2 cup key lime juice
zest of 7-10 key limes
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2/3 - 3/4 cup cold water

Heat over medium heat, stirring regularly.  Once mixture boils, let boil for 1 minute.   Then add and whisk in:
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 Tbsp butter

Allow the curd to boil for 1 minute only. Remove from heat.  Pour curd into a large bowl (or several smaller bowls) and cover with plastic wrap (have the plastic wrap tight to the top, like you do for pudding.   Let cool or serve warm with key lime coolers or the lemon sugar cookies, below.  Enjoy!!!

Lemon Sugar Cookies
Make one batch of Kristin's Favorite Sugar Cookies, adding 6 drops lemon essential oil (high quality - I love the Doterra lemon oil) and 1 tsp lemon zest.    I've retyped the recipe with modifications here for convenience.

Makes ~40 small cookies (it really depends on your cookie cutter or cookie scoop size)

Preheat oven to 375F.  Line baking sheets with silicon lining or parchment paper.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl: (it's important to do this in GF cooking to avoid clumping)
1 1/2 cups Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour mix
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Beat in a mixer until fluffy:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter

Add and mix in thoroughly:
1/2 egg (beat the egg in a bowl with a fork and dump in approx. half the egg - the recipe is forgiving)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
6 drops lemon essential oil
1 tsp lemon zest

Add dry ingredients and mix until well-combined.   If you want to roll and cut shapes, then wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes to chill.   Otherwise, you can scoop and then flatten the cookies with a plastic-bag wrapped glass or your hand.

Roll out chilled dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to approx 1/4" thickness.  Cut into whatever shapes you like and place on prepared cookie sheets.  

If desired, you can sprinkle the cookies with decorative sugar crystals before cooking for a fancier look, or dust with powdered sugar after baking. 

Bake cookies ~6-9 minutes (depending on size) until just barely browned on edges of the cookies.  Remove pan from oven.  Let sit a few minutes before placing your cookies on a cooling rack.

Perfect served alongside fresh key lime curd, for a decadent treat.  You can dust your cookies with powdered sugar, if desired.   Enjoy!

Key lime curd, sandwiched between cookies. Yum! 

Homemade Butter Chicken

This easy gluten-free butter chicken recipe is wonderful!  Despite the name, there's very little butter in it, but it's nice and creamy and not too spicy, being a family-friendly Indian dish.  I've made several renditions of butter chicken over the years, but never been satisfied until now.  Make sure you start a day ahead, so you can marinate your chicken overnight, allowing the flavors to have ample time to sink into the meat.  None of the steps in this recipe are tricky, but it doesn't require quite a bit of simmering time, so make sure to read through the recipe ahead of time.   This was a perfect dish for my brother's birthday dinner, served alongside chicken saag, in which we used paneer in place of chicken (wonderful) and fresh, homemade GF naan bread.  Enjoy!

A delicious meal of butter chicken and paneer saag (made with diced paneer in place of chicken) over rice 

Homemade Butter Chicken
based off a NYTimes recipe
Serves ~8, about 1 hr 15 minutes cooking time (most of it simmering time)

In a large tupperware, mix together the night before you want to make this dish to marinate chicken thighs: (aka, ~24 in advance)
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt (lactose-free works great)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp garam masala
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 Tbsp ground tumeric
3 lbs boneless chicken thighs

In a large pan over medium heat, melt butter, then cook 2-3 minutes:
1/4 cup butter
1-2 Tbsp oil
1 large onion

Add to onions and cook an additional 3-4 minutes, until onions are just starting to brown:
2 Tbsp minced fresh garlic
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp cumin seeds

Add to the pan, and cook about 10 minutes, lowering heat to just below medium heat:
16 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 jalapeno, minced OR 1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp salt

Add to pan and cook 5 minutes:
Chicken, marinated plus marinade sauce

Add to pot and cook, simmering over medium-low heat for 30 minutes:
3/4 cup GF chicken stock (or 3/4 cup water + 1 tsp Asian mushroom seasoning)

After simmering, add and simmer an additional 15 minutes to thicken:
1 - 1 1/2 cups coconut cream (OR thick part of canned coconut milk if you can't find canned coconut cream)

Serve over fresh basmati rice.  If desired, you can sprinkle with fresh cilantro before serving.  Absolutely wonderful served alongside homemade gluten-free naan bread, too!  Enjoy!

A delicious meal of butter chicken and paneer saag (made with diced paneer in place of chicken) over rice with GF key lime cookies and key lime curd (recipe to be posted soon) on the side! 

Update!  Another option for your butter chicken meal!  Add some fresh spinach during the last five minutes of simmering.  Top your dish with thinly sliced oven roasted carrots and potatoes.  It was a hit at my house! To make your roasted veggies, thinly slice carrots and potatoes. Toss in a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, spread out evenly and roast on a cookie sheet at 425F until just browning.  My kids especially loved this addition to our butter chicken.  Enjoy! 

Butter chicken with spinach added, topped with roasted carrots and potatoes. Yum!