father's-day chicken

What do you do when the father in the house asks for turkey but you have none? Chicken it is! Use your slow cooker for some really tender and juicy meat.

You'll need:

• 3 chicken breasts
• 4 carrots
• 1 stick celery with leaves
• 2 onions
• 1 whole head of garlic
• fresh and/or dried herbs (rosemary, parsley)
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• Japanese cooking sake
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• salt, pepper, olive oil, butter

Do this: 

Slowly cook all day and then serve over garlic mashed taters. So yummy. 

gluten-free pineapple-ginger crumble

All I needed was a couple cans of pineapple and some kitchen staples, and voila! 

You'll need:

• 1.5 cups rice flour
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg, whisked
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons canned pineapple juice (just set the juice aside when you take the pineapple out of the can)
• 2 cans pineapple

Do this:

In a mixing bowl, stir the rice flour, oatmeal, butter, ginger powder, baking soda, egg, pineapple juice, and honey. You'll probably have to dig in and use your fingers to turn it into a crumble topping. Sprinkle chunks of the topping over the pineapple and a bit of the pineapple juice in a baking dish and oven-ate it for 25 minutes at 170 C. Enjoy with a little more of the pineapple juice sprinkled over the top, and have a glass of water or tea to help with the ginger kick.

gluten- and dairy-free spicy mexican chocolate muffins (with rice flour)

I had just bought 5 kg of rice flour and I wanted something chocolatey and spicy, like Mexican hot chocolate. A little Google search later, here we are. And as per usual, I have changed things slightly to reflect my family's tastes. 

You'll need:

• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil (or other neutral-flavored oil)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups rice flour (or 1 cup rice flour plus 1/2 cup almond flour)
• 1/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder (I use fair trade!)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup milk, or a bit more if needed (I use organic soy)

Do this:

Using an electric mixer, whisk the oil and sugar till fluffy, then add in the eggs and beat again. Chuck in the rest of the ingredients and blend till smooth and rich. Disentangle the beaters from the mixer and lick that goodness right off. 

Bake on 170 C for about 13 or 14 minutes. After they've cooled, if you want to sprinkle with some powdered sugar, I won't stop you. A glass of milk to go with wouldn't go amiss. 

oatmeal-tofu pancakes

My friend Sanae posted this recipe in Japanese on her Instagram account, but I'm not sure of its origin. We enjoyed it, and below is the final form I used, with a few little Mamatouille tweaks.

You'll need:

• 240 g oatmeal
• pinch of salt
• 300 g soft (silken) tofu
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• cinnamon
• ginger
• 2 eggs
• 100 ml soy milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 apple, peeled and finely diced

Do this:

Add everything except the apple to a blender and blend till smooth. Stir in the apple and fry up on a griddle in a bit of grapeseed oil (or oil of your choice).

These were delicious with dabs of butter and warmed maple syrup.