Gluten Free Raspberry Oat Bars
April 23, 2011
Things happen in life that adjust one’s priorities. Time is needed to reflect, maybe even mourn. Favorite hobbies suddenly become recategorized as unimportant, replaced instead with time alone in thought, perhaps some tears and certainly prayer. I believe this is good.
Thanks to my family friends for their gentle encouragement.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of looking at that Plum Crumble from October! Making Roma Roma is well overdue for something new.
We’ve been enjoying these raspberry oat bars a lot the last few months. They helped get us through Winter’s dearth of fresh fruit. They are arguably the perfect balance between health food and decadent dessert, with a not-too-rich pecan shortbread base that doubles as a streusel topping and a thick layer of raspberry preserves in between. The best part? You won’t believe they’re gluten free.
GLUTEN FREE RASPBERRY OAT BARS
Adapted from Karen Demasco’s The Craft of Baking *
The first time I made these bars, the cookie base came out a little thicker than I prefer. So, I’ve since scaled the dough portion of the recipe back by a quarter, which also creates a slightly higher ratio of preserves to dough. Just the way I like it.
Also, my first batch came out salty. I read later that Demasco uses a particular brand of kosher salt in her baking. So, if using table salt or sea salt, it is necessary to decrease the salt by close to half, which I have done below.
I’ve never been a big fan of raspberry preserves with seeds. However, the seeds really compliment the other textures well.
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, clarified butter, coconut oil, Spectrum organic shortening or Earth Balance margarine
- 3/4 cup pecans, finely chopped
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of your favorite gluten free flour mix (I used 1/3 cup sorghum flour, 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon brown rice flour, 3 tablespoons potato starch and 3 tablespoons tapioca flour)
- 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 cup gluten free quick-cooking oatmeal, like Rob’s Red Mill (not all oats are gluten free!)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup good quality raspberry preserves **
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8 inch square , metal baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Melt butter in saucepan or glass bowl in microwave.
Toast pecans on baking sheet in oven 5 minutes, cool.
In a large bowl mix together the flour, xanthan gum, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt and baking soda. Stir in the gluten free oats. Pour in the melted butter and mix until well combined.
Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom the oiled pan, until firmly and evenly packed.
Spread the raspberry preserves over the dough (an offset spatula like pictured above is perfect for this step). Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 of dough evenly over the preserves.
Bake until golden brown about 40 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.
For easier cutting, transfer the cooled pan to the freezer for 20 minutes to harden. Remove bars from freezer, then from pan and cut into 2″ squares.
* For the original version of this recipe and the non-gluten free version go here. Just heed the note above about salt.
** I made these once with Smucker’s strawberry jam and the results were very disappointing. The jam layer turned a funny brown color and became very wet. I suspect it was either the high fructose corn syrup in Smucker’s, or the fact that I substituted strawberry for raspberry, but either way, from now on I’ll stick to a true, high quality raspberry preserve WITHOUT high fructose corn syrup. The pricier organic preserves appear to have worked the best.
Plum Crumble with Crystallized Ginger
October 14, 2010
We attended a very popular music festival last weekend in our new town. There were bands galore. Great bands, actually. Surprisingly, I had even heard of many of them and I am notoriously out-of-the-music-loop. We ventured out on Friday and jammed the night away. However, despite the amount of fun I was supposed to be having, I couldn’t help but wish, every few minutes or so, that I was back home, snuggled up under the soft light of a lamp, finishing Anna Karenina, with a cup of tea and a few warm bites of this crumble.
Try the crumble and then perhaps in a small way you can empathize with my feelings of dissent.
Obviously, I like crumbly things and have an affinity for fruit desserts. I also take recipe recommendations very seriously. When one person suggests a specific recipe, I perk up, but when two or more people separately recommend the same recipe, I’m sold. As is the case with this crumble.
The raw plums with tart, inky skins melt into a warm, strikingly crimson-colored pudding, subtly spiced with finely-diced candied ginger that lends a soft hum. All of this beneath a crumbly, almost-cookie top.
PLUM CRUMBLE WITH CRYSTALLIZED GINGER
Adapted from Marian Burros
I scaled back the amount of crystalized ginger to my tastes from 2 heaping tablespoons to 1 1/2 tablespoons. If you quite like ginger go all the way; otherwise, I would recommend the moderate approach.
Look for firm plums, not too ripe, but not rock hard, either. Also, the recipe calls for Italian prune plums. They are rather small and oval. The first time I made this I was able to find exactly that variety. However, since then, I’ve simply substituted a more everyday type easily found in stores, the round ones with skin almost as dark as an eggplant. The results were just as good.
Prep the plums:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons brown or white rice flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 scant tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger
12 purple Italian or prune plums, cut in half and pitted, or 6 regular dark purple plums, quartered and pitted
For the crumbly top:
1/3 cup sorghum flour (or brown rice flour)
1/3 cup white rice flour
3 tablespoons potato starch
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted clarified butter, melted (or butter, or Spectrum organic shortening)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the plums, beginning with the brown sugar through the ground ginger. Add the sliced plums to the bowl and using your hands, stir to coat. Place the plums in an ungreased 9″ pie pan or 8″ square baking dish. Sprinkle the candied ginger over the plums. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl mix the remaining dry ingredients for the crumble topping. Pour in the melted oil and using your fingers mix and shape to form little crumbs and clumps. Scatter handfuls over the plums so that they are thoroughly coated and covered.
- Bake 35 to 45 minutes, or longer, until the top is a nice golden brown and the plum filling is tender.
Low and Slow Pulled Pork
October 7, 2010
I am almost ashamed at how often I make this. Really.
I am even more ashamed that I haven’t shared the recipe before now.
It is a fact. You can’t beat fall-off-the-bone pulled pork. Not only does it taste mighty fine, and can effortlessly feed a crowd, but the preparation is borderline slothful. You take a dirt-cheap hunk of sinewy meat, slather it in a blend of spices, and then plop it in a pot with a splash of liquid. The oven does all the tedious work while you go shoe shopping, or something very important like that.
Your unmerited reward: unctuous, tender chunks of meat, moistened in a subtly spiced pool of pan juices.
A few words on fat: while a thick layer of adipose tissue isn’t probably desired on your bottom, I assure it is mandatory on a pork butt. Whatever you do, don’t go diet mode and start cutting it off to save calories. You’ll end up with a tough and bone-dry slab of meat.
One last note, this is truly the meal that keeps on feeding. Once cooked, I divvy up my bounty into several zip-top bags, toss them into the freezer and then have any number of easy dinners available on a whim. Here are a few ideas: fajitas, barbecue, tamales, pozole, zuppa di fagioli, etc.
SLOW ROASTED PORK
Adapted from this recipe, originally published in the late and great magazine, Cottage Living (R.I.P.)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground paprika
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 (6-pound) or 2 (3-pound) pieces Boston butt or pork shoulder
1 cup apple juice or orange juice
1/2 cup water
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Combine first five ingredients in a small bowl; rub spice mixture all over pork.
- Place pork fatty side up in a large Dutch oven. Pour juice and water around meat. Cover with oven safe lid or aluminum foil; roast for 5 hours or until meat is fork-tender. Uncover and cook an additional 30 minutes until skin is crispy and cracks.
- Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes before shredding with two forks. Once pan juices have cooled the fat will begin to pool, skim off some of this fat. Serve and store meat with some of the cooking liquid to keep things moist.
Hiatus
August 25, 2010
It’s been a long time.
I am sorry not to have mentioned something earlier. I had a health emergency in early July which required surgery and weeks of recovery.
Thankfully, I am quite patched up now, feeling well again and eager to get back into the kitchen soon.
Best,
Lara
Confetti Kale Slaw
June 2, 2010
We devour this stuff, especially Adam. And you know you’re on to something when your man begs you to make kale salad!
CONFETTI KALE SLAW
Adapted from Whole Foods
We whip this up all the time and scarf it down almost as quickly. This kale slaw also makes a great addition to any Tex-Mex spread like enchiladas, fajitas, tamales, etc.
Kale is a tricky dark, leafy green to eat raw because it can be quite bitter and tough. That’s where the avocado and lemon juice come in. By massaging the guacamole-like dressing into the kale, the heat from your hands along with the lemon juice break down the tough, bitter leaves, resulting in a much more mellow flavor. The avocado adds creaminess and you punctuate the newly tender green with sweet bell pepper and the warmth of a little onion. All these ingredients work together to make a pleasantly tangy, creamy, sweet and spicy salad.
Serves 6-8 as a side
- 2 bunches of kale, chopped into thin 1/4″ x 1″ strips
- 6 ripe avocados
- juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
In a large bowl mash up the avocados with the lemon juice, olive oil and a little salt and pepper until you achieve the consistency of a somewhat smooth guacamole.
Add the chopped kale and massage into the avocado spread, continue working in the avocado until the salad has shrunk by about half and the kale is flexible.
Add the bell peppers and onion, mixing thoroughly with your hands. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. I usually end up adding more lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
You can serve immediately. We like to let ours sit in the fridge a few hours and allow the flavors marry.
