Crock Pot Roast & Cobbler

There's a nippy feeling in the air. I even saw a small flock of geese in their V formation flying over just the other day! Fall is coming. It makes me think of the fair, hay rides, wearing jackets in the morning waiting on the bus and running barefoot in the afternoons when the day warmed. Also, the last of the garden was usually coming in and grandma would make lots of soup. Mom would have that crock pot a bubbling.... the smells getting off the bus would make you run to the house to just get a taste!

I got so excited last week I ran out and change my lawn decorations then came in and threw a roast in the crockpot! 

Then I tried something I had wanted to for a long time.... Crockpot Cobbler!  It worked wonderfully. 

I threw it all in and we came home Sunday to a dinner my sweet grandmother would have been proud of!

My crockpot seems to be my best friend on busy days. One of the few things you can just leave running and come back in a few hours to enjoy! With not eating out very often I have come to appreciate this little device in so many ways in the last several years. So dearies.... pull that thing out of the back of your closet, remove the dust and crank it up! It's time for some yum!

Cobbler in a crock pot!

Easy Roast!
Roast
Salt
Garlic (opt.)
Onion
Carrots, celery, potatoes (or sweet potatoes!), green beans or other fresh veggie.
Water (apprx. 2 cups)

Brown the roast in a pan first with the salt, onion and garlic then place in the bottom of the crockpot.  Chop veggies and mound on top of the meat.  Pour water over the top.  Place on lid and turn it on.

3-8 hours depending on your crockpot settings!

Tip:  You can make cobbler in your crock pot too!  Just place the fruit and liquid in the bottom, pour on the topping, place the lid on and keep the setting low.  Fresh fruit or frozen fruit works best for this.

New Computer... new recipes... new fun!

Yes!  The move and house remodeling are complete.  The old computer has been replaced with one that allows me to blog again.  Life is good!  I'm back..... [miss me?]

I've been learning where all the health food stores are here and what they carry.  I've been finding fun new blogs and companies that carry gluten-free foods/recipes.  I think mainstream corporate industry is finally catching on to the g-f market.  Hooray!  [Even Bisquick is on board!]

My dilemma still remains that families [like mine] with multiple food allergies still struggle to find allergy-safe foods in this modern convenience mentality world we live in.  Sigh.... Our favorite g-f cookies and 0pancake mixes have potato starch/flour in them.  Most of the really yummy bread recipes still use eggs and many use dairy.  What's a cornbread lovin' gal to do???

In the words of Dory from "Finding Nemo", "Just keep swimming... just keep swimming... ah, ha, ha. haaa...." [well maybe I should say, "Just keep baking..."]

So, my dear patient readers.... until Betty Crocker and other famous brands can make our meals more convenient, here is my offering of love to you.  A quick dessert I throw together when we need a sugar rush or unexpected company comes or just when I need to use up some ripening fruit!

Quick Fruit Cobbler
2 cups fresh fruit you have on hand (peaches, strawberries, blueberries, apples, or pears work great)
     or  2 cups of frozen fruit (obviously defrosted)
1 cup sugar [agave if you like less sweet]
1 tbsp. tapioca [optional]
1 cup g-f flour (sorghum with a little buckwheat is yummy)
2 cups g-f oatmeal
1 stick butter (or dairy free margarine)

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Filling:
I have a favorite stoneware pan I love to make this in, but you can just use a pie or casserole dish. 
Prepare the fruit (peel, chop, core or whatever is appropriate for the particular fruit you use).  Spread fruit evenly in the bottom of pie pan.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar and tapioca over fruit and let stand while preparing "crust".  If you are using a "dry", fresh fruit (like a green apple) you may need to add a bit of water to the filling. 

Clyde the Camel likes cobbler!

Crust:

In a medium bowl, combine flour, oatmeal, remaining sugar.   "Shake" the crust evenly over the top of the filling, using a spoon to spread if necessary.  Some people like to "cut in" their butter/margarine in the flour mixture before spreading it, I prefer to melt mine and drizzle it over the top of the crust. 

Bake for approximately 30 minutes until filling is bubbling through the crust.  Serve with your favorite non-dairy "ice cream" or whipped topping.

Note:  If you like more cake-like topping, switch the amounts of flour/oatmeal ratios.  You may need to add a bit of water/liquid to the filling to keep it from being quite to dry.

Hamentaschen (Feasts of Purim Cookies)

We are studying ancient history right now with the kids.  We've reached the Persian Empire days and it's been quite enlightening!  Floating bridges, conquering armies, the orginal postal system and.. ah, yes!.... the story of Esther (Hadas'sah).  The Feasts of Purim actually don't occur until February/March-ish... but we decided that since this is the season of Thanksgiving... why not!  We're a having our feast tomorrow along with making the Hamentaschen Cookies for the neighbors and finishing our "shoeboxes" for the poor (actually Operation Christmas Child... but it works).

I was totally excited to find a gluten free version of the triangle cookie (said to be shaped like the hat of Haman... "boo...hiss!"). 

Check out this website for more info on the Feasts and other interesting info.
http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm

Hamentaschen

2/3 cup butter or Spectrum margarine

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg  (we will use the flax-egg replacer)

1/4 cup orange juice (the smooth kind, not the pulpy)

2 cups GF buckwheat
1/2 milled flaxseed
1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

Various preserves, fruit butters and/or pie fillings.

Blend butter and sugar thoroughly. Add the egg (or replacer ) and blend thoroughly. Add OJ and blend thoroughly. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating buckwheat and flax seed, blending thoroughly between each. Add the baking powder and cinnamon with the last half cup of flour. Refrigerate batter overnight or at least a few hours. Roll as thin as you can without getting holes in the batter (roll it between two sheets of wax paper lightly dusted with flour for best results). Cut out 3 or 4 inch circles.

Put a dollop of filling in the middle of each circle. Fold up the sides to make a triangle, folding the last corner under the starting point, so that each side has corner that folds over and a corner that folds under (see picture at right). Folding in this "pinwheel" style will reduce the likelihood that the last side will fall open while cooking, spilling out the filling. It also tends to make a better triangle shape.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until golden brown but before the filling boils over!

Traditional fillings are poppy seed and prune, but apricot is yum. Apple butter, pineapple preserves, and cherry pie filling all work quite well.

The number of cookies this recipe makes depends on the size of your cutting tool and the thickness you roll. I use a 4-1/4 inch cutting tool and roll to a medium thickness, and I get 20-24 cookies out of this recipe.

The resulting hamentaschen will have an unusual pumpernickel color, but they taste great!

Make sure the buckwheat flour you use is wheat-free/gluten-free! Sometimes buckwheat flour is mixed with white or wheat flour. The Hodgson Mill buckwheat and flax linked above are gluten-free and have reliable kosher certification.

List of Dates

Purim will occur on the following days of the Gregorian calendar:

Jewish Year 5769: sunset March 9, 2009 - nightfall March 10, 2009

Jewish Year 5770: sunset February 27, 2010 - nightfall February 28, 2010

Jewish Year 5771: sunset March 19, 2011 - nightfall March 20, 2011

Jewish Year 5772: sunset March 7, 2012 - nightfall March 8, 2012

Jewish Year 5773: sunset February 23, 2013 - nightfall February 24, 2013