MMMMMM, PIES!

Ah yes, time for good foods and pies. For some reason, for me anyway, pies seem to suit this time of year. The time of year you celebrate good things, family and tasty foods. We also take the time to remember to be thankful for those in our lives and all the good things in life.

So, as I was busy today making pies for two celebrations this coming week, I had a request to post them. I didn't quite get as many made as I'd have liked and I now have a smaller oven than I used to. No matter I got at least 4 pies total made, which is a start. So I figured would share all three recipes.

This first one is a family favorite and one of my two favorites. It's so good and creamy, never lasts long.

Buttermilk Pie

1 pie crust for 8.5 to 9 inch pie pan
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 T arrowroot starch
3 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, prebake your crust for 10 minutes until it is just starting to turn golden.

In a sauce pan over medium low heat, melt the butter and stir in the sugar and arrowroot. Cook just until the sugar is melted and it's smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs on medium high until fluffy. Whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla and then gradually add the butter and sugar mixture. Whisk until smooth. Pour into the crust. Place pie on a baking sheet and tent it with foil. Bake for 50-55 minutes until the center is set.
Let cool fully then refrigerate. Serve chilled


This one has always been my father's favorite, and one of mine. However, most pecan pies are made with corn syrup, so I learned to make it better and corn free. It's hard to leave it alone. Yum!

Pecan Pie

2 cups whole or pieces of pecans
3/4 cup honey
1 cup packed brown sugar
5 T melted unsalted butter
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 eggs, room temp, lightly beaten
1, 9 inch pie crust, prebaked.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix the sugar, honey, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs and beat until smooth and a little airy.
Pour the filling into the pie crust and sprinkle the pecans on top. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake in the center of the oven for 40-45 minutes until the edges are set and the center is a bit loose. Cool fully on a wire rack.


Recently I was the recipient of some fresh quince. I had never worked with quince before and I was looking forward to making good things with them. They are a very hard dry fruit. The texture is like an apple, only much drier and firmer. They look like a cross between an apple and a pear. They are a good fruit, but really must be cooked to be enjoyed. And they're a very fragrant fruit, especially once you start cooking with them. So my first attempt with them was a vanilla quince butter, Oh My Goodness! Such an exquisite fruit butter, I love it better than apple or peach butter!  As I had some fruit left over I decided on a pie based on a tart recipe I found. I didn't have the large quince some of the stores sell, so I had some smallish to medium sized and this is based on that size.

Maple Caramel Quince Pie

6 to 7 quince, washed well, cored and sliced moderately thin
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup maple syrup

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large stockpot, melt the butter into the syrup over medium to medium low heat. Bring to a simmer and add the fruit. Stir to coat the fruit and simmer until the fruit is quite tender and soft.

Pour into a 8 1/2 inch pie crust that has been prebaked a bit. Spoon in the fruit into the cooled pie shell and pour the maple caramel mixture over. Make your lattice top or place a solid top on with slits in the top.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, tenting the top to keep it from getting too brown.

Let cool well before serving.

And yes, my first attempt I got the outer shell too brown, no matter, it is so fragrant and I cannot wait to taste it.

Wow! The Holidays Are Upon Us Once Again! How About Some Beets?

I am a little taken aback at how fast this year has flown. I have been remiss in posting recipes, especially as I now have a real kitchen again, and am no longer living in the RV. I must admit that living in a motor home leaves much to be desired if you are a cooking type person. Learning to deal with little to no counter space or oven capability is frustrating at best.

However! I am now getting settled in my new house and getting back on track slowly but surely. I've even had my first houseguest! Which was wonderful and I think we had a good time.

A little thing about me. I absolutely LOVE to try new recipes or read some and come up with my own variation of them. I love wholesome foods and the fact that I now live in a state where there is so much produce (fruits and veggies) available to me either at the farmer's markets, in the local markets, or even in the wild! Wild things to enjoy like all kinds of berries throughout the year, wild mushrooms, wild veggies. Sometimes I think I died and went to food heaven when I moved here! Even though I'm getting a late start, it's been fun to try new things.

I recently discovered new fruits I hadn't heard of that are completely edible growing all over, things like the Strawberry Tree fruit, Japanese Dogwood, etc. Which you can make jams, jellies and liqueurs from. I can't wait to get out and pick and can and create with all these goodies next year. Though I am proud to say, I did get some quince for the first time ever, and made vanilla quince butter. I think I have a new toast spread favorite now. I have enough fruit left to make a maple caramelized quince tart or two also.

Anyhow, as I've strayed off the goal of what I set out to write about today (hey, I got excited talking about all the new tasty things around here!), I guess I'll get around to it now.

I got this recipe in my email inbox a few weeks ago from Saveur. As I absolutely LOVE beets, and love goat's cheese this looked like heaven to me. And I happened to have a bunch of gorgeous organic beets in my fridge from the University's Agricultural Students' organic growing club (1 buck a bunch! ). So I set out to make this for my houseguest and myself for supper one evening. Except, like usual, I modified it!

First let me give you the link for the original from Saveur: Smashed Beets with Goat Cheese

And this is what I did, or my variation of it:

4 medium red, orange, or yellow beets, scrubbed, ends trimmed (I had those gorgeous dark ruby reds)
4 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I used freshly ground pink Himalayan sea salt)
2 to 4 tbsp. coconut oil (I only needed 2)
4 oz. soft goat cheese
6 or 8 cloves of roasted garlic, sliced

Put the scrubbed beets, 4 tbsp. vinegar, 1 tbsp. olive oil, thyme, and bay leaf into a 4-qt. saucepan. Pour in just enough water to cover the beets by about an inch and season them with some salt and pepper. Bring them to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and let them simmer until they are tender and a fork slides easily into them, around 40 minutes. Drain the beets and let cool slightly. Working with one beet at a time, put a beet between 2 sheets of parchment paper and press with your hand or a bottom of a dessert plate (if they're still too warm to smash with your hand), to partially flatten it so that it still remains mostly intact. Repeat with the remaining beets and set aside.

Heat the coconut oil in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until very hot and a drop of water sputters. Gently set in the smashed beets, season with a little more salt and pepper, sprinkle the garlic slices, and sear the beets, flipping once with a metal spatula, until the skins (or the bottom and top) are are crisped, which is about 3 minutes a side. When you flip them, place the sliced soft goat cheese on top and let it heat up some while the other side crisps.

Serve.

This recipe says it serves 4, however, they were so delicious, in my humble opinion it was enough for two of us! I'll definitely be making them this way again! Heating the cheese on top when you flip the beet over made it creamier, and was the perfect compliment to sweet ruby red beets. I think we preferred them over the crab we had with supper that evening!

It was an easy dish to make. I do imagine you could do this with blanched sliced beets that you may have put away in the freezer. That will be how I try it next, just perhaps cook them for just a few minutes in the seasoned water (like above) and then fry them with cheese and garlic. Oh boy!

Yeah, sorry, I am always thinking about new ways to create, so sometimes my thought processes are hard to follow. Maybe the next project will be the maple caramelized quince tart, or a beet and goat cheese tart. Although I just realized I need to prebake a bunch of pies for next weekend, so quince tart and pecan pie and my silky buttermilk pie are probably going to be made.

I'll honestly try to remember pictures next time!

Evening supper with locally grown and raised foods

Well today was a good day overall. Of course I picked today to go to the Corvallis Farmers Market, on the day that the University had graduation. Of course I didn't count on the traffic. That part wasnt fun.

But despite that, I was a woman on a mission! I was looking for bangers, and only one vendor sells them at that market. I had tried some delicious ones at Kells Irish Pub in Portland not that long ago, and I was craving them again. Lucky for me that they're also made from grass raised beef. Oh boy!

I found them and got lucky, they had plenty in stock, and I got them and some ground beef and short ribs. My mouth was salivating just thinking about enjoying them. And I will tell ou now, that grass raised meats taste ever so much better than what the grocers sell. And it's worth every penny. And I eat much less meat when it's grass raised.
I also got some lovely organic asparagus, broccoli rabe and pastured eggs.

So my idea was to have an Irish breakfast in the morning, well, I couldn't wait. So I diced up a couple local yellow potatoes, chopped a few stalks of rabe and chopped some onion. Fried them in coconut oil with parsley, garlic, salt and pepper till tender, then added the bangers. Smelled like heaven!

When the bangers were done, I removed all of that to my plate and fried the eggs, yolks runny please!, and put them on top.

Well, I can say they were so delicious, and despite the cats offering to help me eat it, I think I was a bit selfish, and ate it myself!

Simple meal, gluten free, that I could create in one skillet in the tiny thing in here that I think is called a stove!

Eggs are good at any time of the day or for any meal. Last week it was locally caught gorgeous salmon with potatoes and eggs on top. Try a fried egg on top of pasta, you won't eat plain pasta again! Even a fried egg sandwich on gluten free bread.

I love farmers markets. So many wonderful things. I found amazing goat cheeses, (that I did not buy today) but no fresh goats milk or yogurt sadly. And the berries are starting to come in. I wish I had a kitchen so I could make some jams and wines with them. You can pick them all over out here. Oh yeah, I'll be back to both markets!

And I will urge you to try grass raised meats, so much more tender and taste so much better! Now maybe I can find duck eggs somewhere and fresh goats milk!

Take Two Fresh Beet Soup

Ah, spring time and fabulous farmers markets! I enjoy the small one we have here in Albany. And when I saw these luscious and organic ruby red beets yesterday, I simply could not pass them by. The greens were bright and tender also. Had to make beet soup.

I simply love sweet tender fresh beets. Not many people do, nor have many tried them outside of canned. Which is a shame because they are so good when fresh and young. And they are so full of so many fabulous nutrients for your body too. Beets are also excellent for flushing and cleansing the liver.


Anyway, I came home with a lovely bunch, and a few carrots. Gotta do carrots in beet soup in my humble opinion, and red cabbage.

So, after the market I headed to the store to get a few more ingredients for my soup. Currently I am a bit limited on how much I can have on hand living in an RV. This makes creative cooking a challenge at times.

Please understand that most times I am one of those cooks who creates off the cuff, by eyesight and taste mostly. So I'll do my best to get approximate amounts here for you. But, you won't be disappointed, this is so very, very delicious. Trust me.... It's worth it to make it from fresh grown beets. Not the really huge ones, use the smaller to medium ones, they're more tender and sweeter. Fresh carrots are also sweeter.

I think you'll enjoy this soup. Yum!

Fresh Beet Soup

1 bunch fresh organic beets, scrubbed and cubed
greens from the beets, long stalks trimmed and chop the greens
1 medium carrots, scrubbed and large grated
3-4 cups shredded red cabbage
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, halved and sliced thin
2 organic Italian chicken sausages, halved and sliced
1 pt organic chicken broth
1 can organic tomato sauce
1 tsp basil
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
1/2-1 tsp sea salt ( or to taste)
1 Tbl olive oil

Heat up your stock pot over medium heat. Saute the garlic and shallots until tender. add one Tbl of stock, your paprika, basil and salt and pepper. Saute one more minute, it becomes very fragrant. Add beets that have been scrubbed and cubed. let them cook till the sides are just becoming tender. Add carrots and cabbage. Cook for two more minutes. Add tomato sauce and broth, or most of it.
Reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 30-40 minutes. Add the sliced sausage and let simmer 20 more minutes. Add the greens the last 5 minutes or so of cooking. The beets should be very tender by now. Remove from the heat and let it cool a little (so you can eat it!) and serve!

The only thing I wished I had had to go with this was some fresh made, warm French bread. But in my humble opinion this was heavenly, so very good and worth the wait.

For those of you who are vegan or vegetarian, use vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock, omit the sausage. If you can have cheese, crumble up some cotija on top.

Trust me, this is easy to make and it is oh so good! If you do make this, let me know what you think and how you did!

Oops! Long time no post!

Well, I see it's been quite some time since I posted. I guess with the move to Oregon, starting a new job and living out of an RV has been rather, well, taking up a lot of my time.

I will say though that living in an RV with no counter space and a tiny oven and stove makes being creative in baking and cooking difficult to say the least. But it does give me the opportunity to explore new places safe to eat at and shop.

I've moved to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. It's beautiful here and am finding many more options at restaurants for gluten free and corn free than I found in Santa Fe. I think my first week or so here I found a good Pizza place here in town. The sad thing is, while the pizza is excellent, it's really the only gluten free thing they offer. There is plenty to offer here in the Asian cuisine realm, most Thai food is gluten free, which is nice on those days I don't pack my lunch and wander off campus to sup. I am sad though that for such a huge and advanced campus they don't really have anything to offer besides salads at the eateries on campus.

But.... Tonight! After checking out menus online of the local eateries where I'm living, I went downtown to a local Brewhouse, Cappies to be specific. They offered calamari only dusted in seasoned rice flour. Sorry, but I was most tempted as I love good calamari and to get it gf is nigh impossible! So off I went. The waitress was great when I asked about their hot wings in their house sauce, see, I'd been missing those too, as my bestie, Rebecca and I used to go for them all the time at the Blue Corn in Santa Fe. Much to my delight I finally found wings that weren't coated, were gf, and I had to try the sauce! Well, I had both, wings and calamari with a roasted spicy red pepper remoulade to dip in! It came out promptly and the calamari was cooked perfect. They were tender and delicious, not rubbery! Yay! So I noshed on those a bit to let the wings cool a little. I think though that I reached heaven when I bit into a wing of perfection. No, I'm not exaggerating, they really were heaven. Between the service and the perfect tasting food, I'll be going back there again.

We also have a wonderful traditional Hungarian restaurant here. And their homemade sausages and cabbage rolls will melt in your mouth. Very reasonable and they worth with food issues.

There is a wonderful little coop in Corvallis that has many gf foods available, but a bit expensive. Though Safeway here carries a lot of gf foods also. I haven't checked local asian markets here, but did explore the big one in Portland and was able to find most of my favorite things there.

There are many farmer's markets here that carry raw milk cheeses and other tasty things. I have to limit myself on what I buy because I'm restricted on what I can make in the RV. But the cheeses I can get in small quantities and spoil myself. They're so good. There is also a queseria here in town or rather a place where they make the wonderful Mexican cheeses and creama. I'll be going to check that out.

Most of the restaurants that are local take pride in using local products and locally pasture raised meats. I think I came to the right place.

I'm still in the middle of house hunting, and as soon as I get a real kitchen again, I'll be back to baking and sharing nummy things with you all.

Do remember that you can get out there and explore new foods, new cuisines and many of them are gf. And world food or asian markets are good places to find gf goodies.

The difference in soaking your grains and beans....

Well, a lot is being written in other blogs about this topic, and I'm still retraining myself to think ahead and be sure to soak my grains and nuts before using or cooking with them. And I have noticed a huge, very huge difference in how they cook and taste.

Two of the first blogs (that I follow) that started me onto this path, were Nourished Kitchen and Cheeseslave. They both write about why we should get back to this practice from a nutritional and studied viewpoint.

I have always used dried legumes. And when I make them, I always have soaked them at least 12+ hours, changing the water at least twice, before cooking. Most times I soak them for 24 hours. All I knew for years was that was how you prepped them to cook them properly. I had no idea what soaking actually did for them nutritionally.

I recently learned, that grains and plant seeds, like legumes, contain anti-nutrients, Phytic acids. But you can bet that after reading up on all this, the science makes sense. These phytates are the protection that the plant gives it's seeds to ensure survival of the plant and allow re-population of the plant. This allows the seed to survive consumption from animals so that when the seeds are spread around after consumption, they can repopulate. Soaking lets the seeds, grains and nuts release these phytates. Releasing these anti-nutrients allows our bodies to actually use and absorb the full nutrients from them into our bodies. Not soaking or allowing the seeds, grains, nuts to release the phytic acids actually will rob your body of nutrients or block absorption of vital nutrients from other foods.

So as I said, I'm learning about all this, and I am absolutely LOVING the results! One of the first things I've noticed from doing this is that I don't have any more bloating or being bound up. The other is the taste! Just even rice soaked overnight or more than 6 hrs then cooked tastes so amazing and cooks perfect every time! It tastes cleaner, no bitterness, and that perfect texture of creaminess (have no other idea how to describe the texture, creamy was the closest I could come to!) is so yummy.

This morning I made my oatmeal for breakfasts for the week. I personally prefer gluten free steel cut oats. In the past, I used to toast them in coconut oil (previous post on this with the oatmeal muffins) and then cook them in coconut milk and water. However, I decided last night to put them to soak before bed. I soaked them in water and a bit of whey, (I used about 1/4 cup) I have from yogurt making, for 8 hours. Then I drained them this morning, rinsed a little, and put them in the pot with a tablespoon of coconut oil, 1/8 cup flax meal, 2 smashed apple bananas, 2 cups of coconut milk and 2 cups of water. Cooked them for 15 minutes instead of the 20 minutes prior to soaking. I will be the first to admit, they are so much creamier and tastier than they ever were! Using a bit of whey, yogurt, or buttermilk, or other acidic solution with water, makes a difference. Now I have more uses for my whey from making yogurt! Yay!

If you haven't started already, I highly recommend you soak your grains, seeds, legumes, and nuts before cooking them.  Here's a pretty good useful chart to use as a guideline. And if you don't have whey, use a little yogurt, buttermilk, even lemon juice is ok.

And here is another chart for reference, and includes nuts from Veggiewave.

Try soaking, let me know the differences you notice! :) Bon apetit!

Little tips and gems for gluten free foods....

So since I've heard they're going to open one of my favorite world cuisine markets here in my small city, I've been anxiously awaiting their opening.

Well... This morning they announced they'll be opening this Saturday! Oh that makes me so joyous!

You see, I discovered by shopping at the one in Albuquerque, 60miles away, that there are many, many wonderful foods and goodies that are naturally produced gluten free from other countries.

Our market is called Talin Market World Food Fare. Their website doesn't do them justice with all the fabulous foods they carry. But within you can find foods from Cuban cuisine, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Sweden, Germany, India, Pakistan, and many more.

Thai Coconut Roll Cookies!

I have found a HUGE variety of Asian rice noodles to try, all GF, some seaweed noodles, Buckwheat noodles, products from the sea, and fresh produce for goodies like Dragon fruits, Jackfruits, Lychees. Then there are my favorites, Thai Coconut Roll cookies and Mochi Balls from Japan. OH YUMMY!

Wide Flat Vietnamese Rice Noodles

Mochi Balls packaging

You see if you explore other cuisines and foods from those countries, you would be very surprised at all the fun things to try. And I can tell you that you can get amazing coconut milks, coconut creams all without additives to the product. Like Savoy Coconut Cream, which is amazing plain in coffee. Quite often you can also find GF flours like sorghum and rice and tapioca there in bulk and cheaper sometimes per pound than some places.

You can find a huge amount of curry sauces to try, broths, fish sauces, traditional soy sauces (the real thing some without the wheat!), and the produce from all over the world to include at least 5 different types of bananas even! Oh and fresh Manioc/Yuca/Tapioca root to prepare fresh, mashed, etc. Love Yuca prepared Cuban style.

Wondering what Mochi balls are? They're made with very sticky rice and usually a plain red bean paste which is sweet. They're addictive.

And in my humble opinion, I like the Asian rice and glass noodles for soups and stir frying. They hold up so well, freeze well and reheat without falling apart.

So if you have either a world cuisine/food market like Talin or some Asian markets in your area, yeah, I urge you to go explore. You might be surprised what you can find. It can open up new ideas about foods and help you on your path to celebrate the world of amazing flavors and foods! Go explore your area, see what inspires you, explore new tastes and have a blast doing it! 

Flaky, Delicious Pie Crust!

Ok, I don't have pictures, so you'll have to build your own mental picture of the ultimate melt in your mouth flaky pie crust.

I made this crust off the cuff for Christmas dessert for my sister, she wanted a Cherry Pie, but really didn't give me enough fruit to fill one from scratch, so it became Cherry and Blueberry pie.

Personally, in my humble opinion, this crust is the absolute best I've made or had since going gluten-free so long ago. This crust is very flaky, and melts in your mouth. And really it's easy to make, just need a little time for it.

I doubled the recipe to make a double crust for fruit pie. And I must say there weren't many left overs, yeah, the family LOVED it!

Here goes, double the recipe if you need to make two pies or a top crust.

1 1/4 cup of my cake flour blend (175g)
1/4 cup Almond meal (flour) (35g)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp cane sugar
4 Tbl cold butter or 3 Tbl cold coconut oil
3 to 5 Tbl Ice water
1-2 Tbl cane sugar (optional, to sprinkle on top)
1 egg yolk lightly beaten, or 1 tbl buttermilk, your choice.

Mix flour blend, almond flour, gum, salt and 2 tsp sugar together. Cube the butter or oil in small cubes and cut into the flour until it's pebbly, and it's ok if you have some large pebbles, do not overwork the flour. Slowly add in the ice water 1 Tablespoon at a time until the flour mixture comes together and you can form a cohesive ball in your hand.
At this point stop working the flour and turn out onto a piece of parchment paper. Work it just enough to form a disk (if doubling, halve the dough and form 2 disks). Wrap the disks in parchment paper and put in the refrigerator.

Now, you can let it chill at minimum for 1 hour, I put mine in overnight, the longer it can chill the better. . Remove one disk and roll out between parchment paper, fold over twice, and roll out  to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick in a circle, enough for a 9 inch pie plate, and gently form into the ungreased pie plate. Place the plate and bottom crust in the fridge if you are doing a 2 crust recipe and have to roll out the top. And it's OK if you still have little pebbles of butter/coconut oil dotting the flour! This makes the flakes and melt in your mouth goodness!

If you are doing a fruit pie, make sure your filling is cool (if you made from scratch) and pour your filling into the chilled pie shell. Cover with the top crust, and pinch the edges or flute them to close them. Cut slits into the top, if you have left over crust from the edges, you can make fancy little toppers.
Brush the top crust with the egg yolk or buttermilk (you can sub coconut cream for the buttermilk) and be sure to get the edges. Sprinkle the top with some sugar and bake your pie as directed.

If you are doing a single crust pie, brush the bottom with a little yolk or buttermilk, use a fork to poke a few holes in the bottom and bake at 375 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes in the center rack of the oven. You want it to just starting to turn golden. Remove and cool fully before filling with your pumpkin or other filling. Then bake as you normally would for the pie recipe.

The yolk gives a nice golden color and really helps the crust get that ultra flaky top, the kind when you put your fork into it, flakes into those pieces you want to consume immediately! 

You can also use it for a savory pie like quiche, omit the sugars. 

Try it and let me know what you think! I would love to hear how it worked for you!

My Cake flour mix is as follows:
1 cup (140g) white rice flour or blend of white and brown rice flour
1 cup (140g) tapioca flour
1/2 cup (70g) Arrowroot or potato starch

You can mix this up and store it in a jar in the fridge. Makes for very moist cakes and cupcakes too! 

One of my Family's Favorites, Sauerkraut Bread

Well.... sorry about not posting more, spring term here at the college I work for is starting to wind up, so things have been busy as everyone seems to need to make changes. So, as a result, I haven't done much baking or cooking much less blogging.

BUT... I do want to share this recipe with you! My family's recipe of Sauerkraut Bread. It's filling, warm and very good! It's something my grandmother passed down and I remember loving it as a kid when my mother did make it. It's a meal, all wrapped up, and extra portions freeze well for lunches or a quick meal (if you're single like me) for later.

Although I now make it gluten-free and with my own homemade sauerkraut, I think it's even better. YUM!

I will mention to you now, that making your own sauerkraut is absolutely the best! It's much better than anything store bought, and it is so easy to make. Making it takes a bit of time to ferment and a little bit of labor on your part, think of it as squeezing all the moisture out of the cabbage. The recipe I started with was from The Nourished Kitchen, and I will say that her guides to fermenting and why to ferment some foods is wonderful and worth reading. The only alteration I made to her recipe was to add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of fresh whey that I had from making all my wonderful Goat's Milk yogurt and making it greek style or into cream cheese. I've also made her fermented chili sauce that rocked! It's made me want to learn so much more about fermenting beyond wine making.

This is the link to her Sauerkraut recipe: Homemade Sauerkraut It really is easy and wonderful to enjoy!

These are much like Empanadas or Pasties if you like. And I would suggest using an empanada press or cutter to make the rounds with. Makes it easier.

I have also found that using Chebe's basic bread mix works the best and really does make a nice finished product. And it's easy to roll out and work with. Personally, I love Chebe's mixes, though I have yet to try the cinnamon roll mix. But I love the pizza dough mix too!

It is good for kids to enjoy too as they can pick it up to munch on it. And using your own sauerkraut won't give that vinegary bite that jarred sauerkraut can have. If you use sauerkraut from a jar, I will recommend that you drain it well and/or rinse it if it's too strong for you.

Ok, here goes......

Sauerkraut Bread

1 package of Chebe's Basic Bread mix, mixed up according to directions without cheese.
1/2 lb ground meat
1 1/2 to 2 cups of sauerkraut, drained
1/2 onion, sliced thin and slices quartered
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
1 tsp basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
Optional: 6 slices of Oaxaca cheese sliced 1/4 thick about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in length
One egg yolk beaten for brushing on tops

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Brown the ground meat in a skillet with onions, and spices. While the meat is browning, make the bread mix and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick between parchment paper. Using a 4 inch empanada press/cutter cut out the circles of dough, rolling scraps out again, you should get about 6 rounds.

When the meat is browned, add the mushroom pieces and sauerkraut and heat through, till mushrooms are becoming tender. Remove the skillet from the heat.

If you're adding the cheese, place a slice on each round on one side towards the middle. Add about 3 tablespoons of the meat mixture on top. Fold the dough over and press the edges together and place on your baking sheet. When all are assembled, brush the egg yolk over the tops and bake for 18 to 20 minutes until nice and golden. Remove from the oven, let rest for a few minutes and serve.

They go exceptionally well with a salad and if you like you can serve them with a pat of butter brushed onto the tops. One of the reasons I used Oaxaca cheese is that I love the chew when melted and the buttery flavor of it. YUM!

If you try these, let me know how they turned out and how you liked them! I would love to hear from you!