Ginger | Adventures in Thyme

White Chocolate Blondie

June 17, 2015 by Ginger Leave a Comment

White Chocolate Blondie

Do blondes have more fun? The jury is still out on that question, but what I can say is that this “blonde brownie” is a sweet delight for the dairy free or alternative flour crowd. Indeed as far as this recipe goes, blondes ARE more fun!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup smooth Almond Butter
1/4 cup Coconut Butter (we used Organic Coconut Spread by Earth Balance)
2 large Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Soy Flour
3/4 cup Almond Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
~ 1 cup of White Chocolate Chips (these can contain milk products – read the label carefully)
dash of Salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare an 8″ square baking pan with parchment paper. The paper is not going to want to stay put so just place a coffee mug on it inside your pan while you get the batter ready. Right before you pour in your batter you’ll want to grease the paper slightly with either some coconut spread or cooking spray so it doesn’t stick.

With an electric mixer cream the first two ingredients. Next add the eggs, vanilla and sugar. Mix well. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients (except the chips), then add to the wet and mix gently. Fold in your chips making sure they are distributed throughout the batter then pour into the prepared baking dish.

Bake for about 30 mins and check the firmness with a toothpick. It won’t come out clean (it’s hot almond butter!), but the toothpick shouldn’t be heavily coated. Another way to check is bump the pan lightly and check the jiggle. There shouldn’t be much in the middle, but if it looks jiggly, bake another 5 mins then remove and cool on a rack about an hour. Remove the blondie from the pan, cut and serve. Enjoy!

Loaded Ice Pops

June 11, 2015 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Summer is here! Loaded with sun, fun – and ice pops! Although I catered these to the over 21 crowd it’s easy enough to make them kid friendly. 🙂

Ingredients:

Ice pop molds
2 Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger tea bags in 3 cups of hot water
1-1/2 cups Raspberries
1 tablespoon Chambord
1 teaspoon sugar

I let my tea bags marinate overnight in their water bath, but I’m sure the flavor is there after an hour or two as well. Remove the tea bags and pour into a blender. Add all the rest of the ingredients and blend until incorporated. Pour the mixture into molds and freeze until pop-alicious!

Not pictured, but equally yummy is a blueberry pop.

Ingredients

Ice pop molds
2 Celestial Seasonings True Blueberry tea bags in 1-1/2 cups of hot water
2/3 cup Blueberries
2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
Lemon Juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
4 oz of Spiced Rum

Same process as above, blend, pour, freeze. Indulge!

Spring Rolls

June 3, 2015 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Thai Spring Rolls

I have three little nieces that I love to get into mischief with. This summer we are taking a trip to exotic cultures (from the safety of the house) with a little belly dancing, a little cheesemaking (Paneer), and a Thai Spring Roll buffet. So this recipe was really my test to see if I could come up with a simple lunch that could cater to everyone’s likes/dislikes – and these rolls are perfect! I can slice a variety of fresh veggies, some protein options and each of them can create their culinary masterpieces. Woot!

The recipe, such that it is, is basically what you want to eat in a spring roll. Here’s what I used:

Spring roll wrappers (these look like sheets of round paper, Asian products at the grocery store)
Chicken (I used roasted chicken from Costco)
Carrots – sliced
Bean Sprouts – sliced
Green Onions – sliced
Mushrooms – sliced
Fresh Cilantro
Optional: Sesame Oil
Dipping Sauce. A peanut sauce is pictured but there are many alternatives for those with nut allergies
Tip: Slice the veggies thinly, and about the length of your thumb, they will fit into the roll better after it’s folded

Assembly

The spring roll sheets should be placed individually into a bowl of cold water for about 25 seconds then remove and shake off the excess liquid. Quickly place some of each of the ingredients and roll once, fold the sides in then complete rolling the rice sheet.

There you have it! They are so delicious!

Dairy Free Indian Pudding

May 27, 2015 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Indian Pudding

My little corner of Nevada has been experiencing quite a few rain showers lately, the benefit of a little El Nino off the Pacific coast. It’s been so delightful to hear the sound of water in our rain gutters, and the musical tapping of drops against the window. Hunkering down in the house with a hot beverage needed one more item to make the days marvelously complete – pudding!

Indian Pudding was probably Hasty Pudding back in Britain, but the early immigrants didn’t quite have all the necessary ingredients. Corn flour was easily attainable so wheat flour was replaced and Indian Pudding was born. My version revises the recipe again to a non-dairy version. Enjoy!

1/4 cup Coconut Spread (found near the butter in health food stores)
4 cups plain unsweetened Almond Milk
1 1/2 tablespoons Cornstarch
3/4 cup medium coarse Cornmeal (I found mine in the bulk food bins at Whole Foods)
1/3 cup Sugar
1/3 cup Molasses
1 1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 tsp Salt
2 Egg Yolks
non-dairy Whipped Topping (we used a coconut brand)

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F and prepare an 8x8x8 pan with either some of your coconut spread or cooking spray making sure to coat all the inner sides of the pan.

While it’s heating melt the coconut spread in a medium stock pot over medium high heat. Coconut spread won’t brown exactly like butter, but if you watch close, when it really starts bubbling it will take on a slightly tan coloration. So after about 5 mins when that tan color appears, add the almond milk and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium and slowly add in the cornmeal stirring constantly. Make sure the cornmeal doesn’t lump up but is evenly distributed. In order for this recipe to set up remove about a 1/4 cup of this hot mixture and stir your cornstarch in stirring well. Return this 1/4 cup mixture to the hot almond milk making sure no lumps are formed. Let this simmer while the rest of the pudding is prepared.

In a large bowl combine the sugar, molasses, pumpkin pie spice and egg yolks. With a strong whisk stir this mixture until smooth. The molasses will prove quite stubborn during this process but whip it into submission – you can do it!

Now it’s time to incorporate the two parts of the pudding but to insure we don’t make scrambled eggs begin by slowly adding about a cup of the hot mixture into the bowl. Stir constantly while you do this. Then add a 2nd cup, again slowly stirring constantly. Once fully mixed in pour the mixture in the bowl into the hot mixture on the stove – again slowly, stirring constantly. Allow this to come back up to a simmer.

Pour the hot cornmeal mixture into your prepared pan and bake for about an hour and a half. Check the doneness by gently nudging the pan. The pudding should move only slightly. When ready remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack till about room temperature then place in the refridgerator for a couple hours. Serve with whipped topping. So yummy!

Non-dairy Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

May 15, 2015 by Ginger Leave a Comment

Chicken Soup

Our Spring weather has been decidedly cold, wet and snowy lately – the perfect time to try a non-dairy version of an old favorite so everyone in the house could enjoy it!

This recipe takes a little extra time, making it on a weekend is best, but it has made wonderful meals I could take to work or reheat in the microwave when I didn’t feel like cooking again.

Ingredients

1 Idaho Potato
1 Quart Organic Chicken Broth
6 Organic Chicken Thighs*
1 Celery Stalk sliced
10 Baby Carrots sliced
1 Shallot finely diced
1 Cup wild rice mix
1/2 Tsp dried Savory
1/2 Tsp dried Thyme
1 tsp salt
2 Cups Almond Milk (plain, unsweetened)
Optional: Cilantro garnish

* I chose organic meat (and bone in) chicken thighs so I could get the most bang for my buck – “bone broth”. You might have memories of a beloved auntie or grandmother that always cooked soup with bones added in, I do, and the health benefits FAR exceed the time it takes to use and dispose of them.

Into a large cooking pot add the broth, celery, carrots, shallot, savory, thyme and salt and turn heat to medium high. On a cutting board I removed the chicken meat from the bone and diced into bite size pieces – add everything to the pot. Don’t worry about any remaining meat on the bones. Bones are added right into the pot with the chicken and during the cooking process will either cook off the bones or your can easily remove the meat with a spoon. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

About 45 mins or an hour before you intend to eat, peel and dice your potato and add to a small pot with just enough water to cover the potatoes. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil then reduce to medium (or just enough so it doesn’t boil over). As the water boils off, keep adding a bit more so the potato is always covered, and until the potato pieces are tender. Remove from heat and in the same little pot (don’t pour off the water) mash the potato well and add into your chicken soup.

At the same time you put your potato to boil add the cup of wild rice mix to your chicken soup. As the potato cooks, so will the rice and they will get done at approximately the same time. After the potato is added to the soup pour two cups of almond milk into the soup and increase the heat to medium. Once the soup is back to a gentle boil, reduce heat and serve.

This recipe is non dairy but you can easily add a pat of butter to your bowl if you need that “mouth feel” and aren’t allergic.

Enjoy!