My sister and I went to Estonia to last June to learn about the country where our grandparents grew up. Estonia has very delicious dark sourdough rye bread called Leib. Our grandmother used to make it, and although I have had other dark sourdough breads (Russian mostly) none of them ever tasted quite as…
Tag: gluten-free
Sourdough Buttermilk Gingerbread Pancakes (Gluten-Free)
Now that I have a gluten-fee sourdough starter I have to use it! These pancakes are easy and delicious. I don’t always make them gingerbread flavoured. If you leave out all the spices, dried fruit and all but 2 Tablespoons of the sugar you will have delicious plain sourdough buttermilk pancakes. I like to eat…
The Saga of my Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter
I decided to make a gluten-free starter this summer. I was compelled to do this because I was determined to make a gluten-free version of my the dark sourdough rye bread that my grandmother used to make (Leib in Estonian). More on that later. It took a couple of months and a bunch of trial…
Quinoa Tabbouleh
I am very pleased with this dish. I like tabbouleh, but it is usually made with cous cous, which I cannot eat. Quinoa agrees with me very well and it is a very successful substitution. In addition to taking all kinds of seasonings very well, quinoa is really, really nutricious and probably the easiest grain…
Home-made cheap thrill sauce- Ajvar (or Ljutenica)
Ajvar (or Ljutenica) is one of my favourite store-bought condiments. It is a relish made from sweet red peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. Some brands are spicy and some are not. It is a beautiful bright orange-red color. It makes simple, cheap food taste thrillingly gourmet and it is astonishingly inexpensive, which is why I always refer…
Cheap Eats! Vegetable Jambalaya
This is the lean time for me. I am a freelancer and, in my field, there is not much work in August or September. Don’t cry too many tears for me. I could buckle down and live within my means for my two months of underemployment, but I usually travel and have fun cooking food…
Chocolate Pudding with Smoked Salt and Burnt Almonds
My sister is a gourmet chocolatier. She makes chocolate for a small exquisite chocolate producer in Vancouver, Canada called Cocoa Nymph. I especially recommend the Sea Nymph bar (it has sea salt and english toffee). I also really like the Sesame Bianco, which involves sesame and sea salt, but they don’t seem to sell…
Bresaola and Arugula Salad
When people have to give up gluten, they usually go through a lot of grieving over the loss of bread…good bread. I have to admit that bread was not that hard for me to give up. It had given me a tummy ache for my entire life, so I think even before giving up gluten…
Anise Pavlova with Plum Preserves and Almond Cream
So, I have to confess to never, ever having eaten a pavlova made by a real pastry chef. Once, my friend Helena took me to a fancy market when I was visiting her Vancouver to show me the beautiful pavlovas that they made there, but we just admired them. My point is that I think…
Marzipan Cake with Baked Figs and Mint (Gluten-Free or not)
This cake is fluffy from egg whites and nutty, rich and aromatic from toasted almonds. It’s topped with fresh figs that are baked until they are glazed, syrupy and plump. The fresh mint is hard to place but it balances the sweetness of the cake and figs. I brought it to our friend Eric’s birthday…
Big Sis Little Dish 