Brown Rice Pudding with Dates, Almonds & Blueberries

(3-4 servings)

Last night after work I dropped by the market to pick up a few things.  A huge barrel of short grain brown rice caught my eye in the bulk food section. Rice pudding came to mind immediately. I hadn't made it in months and suddenly I was craving it.

I sweetened this rice pudding with dates. Start off with the lesser amount and add a bit more later if it isn't sweet enough.

1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 cup water
a pinch of salt
3/4 cup raw short grain brown rice
1/3 - 1/2 cup chopped dates
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups milk or almond milk
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp whole flaxseed, optional
1/2 tsp finely grated fresh lemon zest

fresh blueberries for serving

Lightly toast the almonds. Set aside and cool.

Bring the water and salt to a boil in a saucepan with a lid. Stir in the rice and simmer gently uncovered for about 10 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup chopped dates. Continue to simmer uncovered for another 4-5 minutes.

Pour in 1 1/2 cups milk and add the cinnamon. Return the mixture to a light simmer. Taste the liquid and add the extra dates at this point if you prefer your rice pudding sweeter. Cover the saucepan and lower the flame to the lowest setting. Cook for about 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender with a small bite to it.

Remove the lid. Stir in the remaining milk, flaxseed and lemon zest. Turn off the heat and cover the pot. Allow to sit for about 15 - 20 minutes. Most of the remaining liquid will have absorbed into the rice. Stir in the toasted almonds, reserving some for garnish. If the pudding seems too thick, stir in additional milk or water.

Serve warm or at room temperature with the blueberries.

Peach Jam with Sucanat and Bourbon

(1 1/2 pints)

Sucanat was one of those things I had never tried although I knew what it was. I'm not really sure why I held out as long as I did, I'm usually pretty adventurous when it comes to food. The other day I found myself checking it out once again in the bulk food section at Whole Foods. I grabbed two scoops of it. The stuff is quite nice. It dissolves quickly and in my opinion it's much better tasting than brown sugar. According to wiki sucanat is dried cane juice which has been minimally processed. It has a deep rich flavour due to its molasses content.

I combined the peaches with a low sugar pectin, but made this batch sweeter than my last attempt at jam making with the strawberries. If I'm completely honest I prefer this peach jam, even though it ended up containing a few more calories.


1 1/2 lbs peaches, about 5 peaches
1 tsp fresh finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup sucanat
2 tbsp Ball's no or low sugar pectin
1/3 cup apple juice
1/4 tsp butter*, optional
1/4 cup bourbon

This recipe makes a small amount of jam. If you don't plan on consuming all of it within a month, I have provided a link at the bottom for instructions on how to prep the jars and can the jam in a hot water bath. I imagine you could also freeze it for up to year with much less fuss. Just give it a good stir after you thaw it out.

Bring a pot of water to boil and drop in the peaches for about 30 seconds. Remove them with a slotted spoon and briefly run them under cold water. Make a slit on each peach with a sharp knife and slip off the skins.

Remove the pits and coarsely chop up the fruit. You should have about 2 1/2 cups. Place the fruit into a heavy pot and using a potato masher, crush the fruit a bit.

Sprinkle the lemon zest, lemon juice, sucanat and pectin over the peaches. Leave for a minute or two until the sucanat has dissolved. Pour in the apple juice. Add the butter if using. *The instructions that came with the pectin suggest using the butter to keep the foaming to a minimum and it worked quite well.

Bring the fruit mixture to a boil. Continue to boil briskly, stirring from time to time to prevent scorching for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the bourbon.

Ladle into jars leaving a bit of space on top (this is especially important if you plan to freeze your jam) and cover with the lids.

See the instructions below if you are using a hot water bath. Otherwise allow the jam to cool completely, then refrigerate or freeze.

Hot water bath canning.

Gluten Free Zucchini Patties with Curry Sauce

(2 servings)

These patties turned out to be a great way to use up the leftover zucchini from yesterday. You can easily double this recipe if desired.

I served these zucchini patties with the creamy curry sauce for lunch.

2 packed cups grated zucchini, about 14oz
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2-3 tbsp rice flour
2-3 tbsp coconut flour
1 green onion, sliced
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tsp minced ginger
freshly cracked pepper

2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tsp curry powder, or to taste

1 tbsp olive or coconut oil

Toss together the zucchini and salt and set aside for about an hour.

Wring out as much liquid as you can from the zucchini.

Whisk together the eggs and 2 tablespoons each of the rice flour and coconut flour. Add the zucchini, green onion, garlic, ginger and cracked pepper. Stir until well combined. If the mixture seems too wet then sprinkle the remaining rice and coconut flour over the mixture and stir again. I used all six tablespoons of the combined flour. The mixture should have some substance but it will still be on the wet side. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

While the oil is heating up stir together the sour cream, yogurt and curry powder. Set aside.

Divide the zucchini mixture to form 4 patties, scoop up and drop onto the hot skillet. Use a spoon to shape them, if needed. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side until they are golden brown.

Serve with the curry sauce.

Stuffed Zucchini

(4 servings)

This tasty Mediterranean dish is often made with lamb or beef. I used ground turkey thighs this time and thought they were quite good.  This entire recipe calls for only half a pound of meat!

3 medium zucchini, about 2 1/2 lbs

1/2 lb ground turkey, lamb or beef
1/2 cup raw long grain rice
2 tbsp currants
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped or 2 tsp dried dill
2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped or 2 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tbsp concentrated tomato paste

1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp concentrated tomato paste
1 tbsp fresh chopped mint or 1 tsp dried mint
2 cups chicken broth or beef broth if using beef or lamb
salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste


Wash the zucchini and cut each one into 3 or 4 sections. Using a melon scoop, scoop out the insides of each section leaving a "floor" in each one. You will end up with little zucchini "cups". Reserve the pulp for another use (I will post a recipe tomorrow). Set aside.

Combine the ground meat, rice, currants, dill, mint, salt, cardamom, allspice, pepper and tomato paste until well mixed.

Fill the hollowed out zucchini loosely with the meat mixture; the rice will expand during cooking and if the filling is too tight, the zucchini containers will burst.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot with a tight fitting container. Add the garlic and saute for a minute or so, then add the onion. Saute the mixture until the onion has softened and becomes translucent. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste and mint.

Place the stuffed zucchini in the pot with the tops facing up. Distribute the tomato mixture evenly around the zucchini.

Pour in the broth and cover the pot. Simmer over low heat for about an hour or until the meat and rice are cooked.

Remove the zucchini from the pot and increase the heat. Briskly cook the tomato mixture until the liquid has reduced by about half; about 10 minutes. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if needed. Return the zucchini briefly to the pot to reheat, then serve.

Khoresht-e Fesenjan; Chicken Stew with Walnut & Pomegranate

(4-6 servings)

I have been wanting to make this dish for a very long time but I could never find the pomegranate molasses I needed to make this. I could have used several cups of pomegranate juice, but I was really curious about the concentrated stuff. The other day I popped into a Kroger, and there it was, in the middle of the foreign food isle. I was thrilled because it was a brand someone had recommended.

Khoresht-e Fesenjan is a Persian dish which traditionally was made with duck, however these days it's often made with chicken. I used skinless and boneless chicken thighs.

Plan to make this a day ahead as it's one of those dishes that is amazing reheated.

adapted from a recipe at the Iran Chamber Society. 
2 tsp butter or olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3/4 lb walnuts, finely ground (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 bay leaf
2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup pomegranate molasses
2-3 tbsp honey or brown sugar (optional)
2 lbs skinless and boneless chicken thighs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp oil (high heat, such as coconut)

Use a heavy pot with a tight fitting lid and heat the butter or olive oil over a low flame. Add the garlic and onions. Stir the mixture well and saute slowly until the onions are a golden brown; about 30 minutes. You might have to stir the mixture from time to time and adjust the flame to keep it from burning.

Stir in the ground walnuts. Increase the flame slightly and cook for another 15 minutes or so until the walnuts become fragrant. The nuts can burn easily, so stir the onion and nut mixture frequently.

Stir in the turmeric, cardamom, coriander, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Cook for about a minute, then stir in the chicken broth and pomegranate molasses.

Bring the mixture to a simmer, then cover the pot with a tight fitting lid, lower the heat and cook for about 2 hours. Check and stir the mixture at 20-30 minute intervals otherwise it might burn. The colour will deepen as the sauce cooks.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add honey or brown sugar at this point if the mixture seems too tart.

Cut the chicken thighs in half and trim any large pieces of fat. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Brown the chicken on both sides (you might have to do this in batches). It's not necessary that the chicken be cooked through as it will continue to cook in the stew.

Add the browned chicken to the onion and nut sauce. Cover the pot and over a low flame cook for about 45 minutes. Remove the lid and cook another 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Stir it from time to time so that it doesn't burn. Discard the bay leaf.

You can serve this right away or allow it to cool and reheat it tomorrow. It seems more flavourful a day later.

Serve with rice. Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds (I didn't have any, they are out of season here), chopped walnuts or chopped cilantro.

Strawberry Freezer Jam Sweetened with Honey

(about 2 pints)

This year I decided to make freezer jam. Unlike regular jam, it doesn't require a long cooking time in order to thicken nor do you have to sterilize jars, or pull out the hot water canner. Once it's set you can either store it in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 weeks or you can freeze it for up to a year. This jam has a nice spreadable consistency and it's very fresh tasting. It's different from conventional jam as it lacks the denseness associated with a lot of sugar and it isn't overly sweet.

Freezer jam is really quick and easy to make once you get the hang of it. This was my first time using Ball's low or no sugar needed pectin and I was really pleased with the results. Instead of dumping in several cups of sugar to get the stuff to set, I only added about 1/4 cup of honey.

This strawberry jam is delicious stirred into plain Greek yogurt for breakfast!

2 1/2 lbs ripe strawberries (4 cups mashed)
1 tsp fresh fine orange zest
juice from 1 orange
2/3 cup apple juice
3 tbsp Ball low or no-sugar needed pectin
1/4 - 1/3 cup honey, to taste
2 tbsp Grand Marnier (optional)

Wash the strawberries and husk them. Cut them up and crush them with a potato masher, you should have about 4 cups. Stir in the orange zest and set aside.

Combine the orange and apple juice in a large saucepan. Gradually whisk in the pectin until it's dissolved.

Bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat. Boil briskly for one minute while stirring. Add the crushed strawberries and bring the mixture back to a boil. Stir vigorously for about one minute.

Remove from heat and stir in the honey and Grand Marnier, if using.

Ladle into clean jars leaving room at the top for the jam to expand if freezing. Allow the jam to cool then apply the tops. Leave the jam at room temperature for about 12 hours and then either refrigerate up to 3-4 weeks, or freeze up to one year. Thaw frozen jam and stir before serving.

Quick Frozen Yogurt

(about 3-4 servings)

A while back I came across this somewhere at BBC Food. A quick frozen yogurt which didn't require an ice cream machine, just a food processor. The idea is similar to the frozen banana dessert I posted recently, only this time you combine frozen fruit with Greek yogurt and a touch of honey.

1 cup Greek yogurt (I used 2%)
about 2 cups frozen cut up fruit and/or berries
1-3 tablespoons honey, depending on the tartness of the fruit you are using

Place everything into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until you have a smooth mixture.

If the mixture isn't firm enough, add a bit more frozen fruit and process again.

Garnish with fruit or berries, if desired. Serve.