On My Boot

Well, this happened.

I did something weird to my foot while running, and then I kept running on it. And did something else weird. So now I can't run for three weeks. Or really walk very well. My two new nicknames are "Hobbles" and "Skippy". Very endearing.

I'm trying to decide if I want to spend the next three weeks of semi-hibernation baking, reading, or contemplating adopting every single cat on the Paws website. If you have any suggestions for amazing recipes, books, or fuzzy things please share! I can handle about two days of sitting still before I start getting crazy. Watch out!

Mushrooms & Manure

This is what my Sunday looked like: chanterelle hunting, shoveling horse manure, and American Gothic redux. My co-worker Evan offered to take me out mushroom hunting if I'd help him load up the bed of his parents truck with manure for his garden beds. I'm no fool, so of course I said yes. When Evan's mom handed me a cloth grocery bag for collecting I never could have imagined that I'd be filling it nearly full. And for the record- I really did help shovel horse shit, not just hop around taking pictures all afternoon. Really. I have filthy boots and gloves to prove it.

Link Love!

I'm almost certain that once upon a time I used to post links to things that weren't just related to food and eating. I'm glad that I've moved on from that place. My heart has only one real love. (That's a lie.)

-  I actually made an audible squealing noise when I came across this recipe. That's normal, yeah? Apple Fennel Sauerkraut with Caraway from The Bitten Word is just so... glorious. I still haven't experimented with sauerkraut or kimchee, and I'm finding myself a little antsy. My CSA this week came with a big beautiful head of fennel. It's a sign, clearly.

- My biggest struggle with cutting back on gluten hasn't had anything to do with pasta or toast. It's shortbread. Shortbread relies so much on the simplicity of its ingredients, that when one thing is slightly off they verge on inedible. I experimented with a GF shortbread recipe this past spring- and while my co-workers humored me and ate the tiny heart shaped gritty lumps, I haven't gone back to trying to recreate them. Serious Eats hosts Gluten Free Tuesday every week, and amongst their recipes they have a simple and beautiful recipe for Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies. They also have a recipe for Allergen Free Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake, which does admittedly sound a bit clinical, but looks (and reads) to be delicious. I can usually get pretty excited about anything combining chocolate and pumpkin.

- Absolutely not gluten free, but when Molly from Orangette refers to something as "some of the best cookies I will ever eat" - I'm probably going to pop some acidophilus and make a batch. Plus- these are actually Autumn Martin's infamous peanut butter cookies. Yes. These Salted Peanut Butter Cookies. Yes, again. Yes. There is Theo Chocolate in there.

- I've been eating so much winter squash lately. And while Zucchini Stuffed with Sausage, Mushrooms, and Sage from The Kitchn  uses a zucchini (obviously)- I'm likely going to re-utilize the stuffing recipe and cook it with a lovely little butternut or spaghetti squash. Forever.

- Maple Buttermilk Pie from 101 Cookbooks is so perfectly timed for fall. She uses rye flour in her crust, and nearly a cup of maple syrup in the filling. Perfection.

Huckleberries, Wild Flowers, and Rain Clouds

Buckwheat Baby

Not too early yesterday morning I overloaded my messenger bag with running clothes, local produce, and a big bubbly glob of sourdough starter. I rode over to meet up with my close friend Ellie- our plan being a longish run and a big beautiful brunch.

We did really, really well. Ellie took us down and along Lake Washington and then back up the hill through a perfectly ass-kickingly steep trail. At just over four and a half miles it was the longest run I've been on in months, and with the weather perfectly chilly and damp- one of my absolute favorites.

Post run- I made a scramble with produce from Alleycat Acres and Tiny's Organic, and Ellie made the most gloriously huge and gorgeous stack of sourdough buckwheat pancakes. She modified my favorite sourdough pancake recipe from Joy The Baker using just over half buckwheat flour and adding walnut pieces as they cooked. They turned out nutty and earthy, with that perfect lightness and tang that comes from cooking with sourdough.

Absolute perfection. Give it a try!

Homeland

I spent last weekend in Juneau- a very short trip, just barely three days for a family wedding. The weather was uncharacteristically beautiful for September and it was hands-down one of my favorite trips home in the past six years. It's so strange without my mom there, though!

My #1 required stop is always, always Paradise Cafe & Bakery. My brother met me there within an hour of my plane landing and we stuffed our faces with bread pudding and pastries. Perfection.

My grandpa Ralph spends a great amount of his time painting nature scenes with oil on canvas. His apartment is full of his work, and I snuck into his studio while my dad + uncle + grandpa were distracted trying to set up a tv. There's seriously amazing video of that- here!

Sandy Beach is sandy.

On the way to a family birthday party (seriously this weekend was full), Lizzie and I stopped by an open house for what used to be Kowee Creek Fish Hatchery, and is presently a beautiful home on the most insane piece of property I've ever seen. A salmon spawning creek runs along side the house, there's a massive garden, two waterfalls, a cave, beautiful old windows, and on and on.

My flight back to Seattle was perfectly clear almost the entire way, which is incredibly rare flying out of Juneau. I basically spent two hours staring out my window at ice fields.

 

Glorious!

Fancy Camping

Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread & A Lighting Issue

Two weeks ago, in my first CSA from Tiny's Organic- I was blessed with a child-sized zucchini. "Blessed" being a bit of an objective term. I've spent the past two weeks staring at this thing. It took up half of my butcher block counter and I'm pretty sure that it moved on its own at least once. A giant zucchini is not a thing to be dealt with lightly. You cannot just chop it up and throw it into whatever happens to be for dinner, or munch on lovely little zucchini spears. Absolutely not. Giant zucchinis exist solely to be baked into things.

from our garden - snuggling zucchinis by m soto

I modified this recipe to suit my needs. Gluten free, more zucchini, less sugar, and butter instead of oil. Feel free to work with the original recipe if you find it suits you better. My version yields a nicely sweet, soft and moist loaf, without even a hint of the density or gritty texture that's characteristic of many gluten free baked goods. It's hands down my favorite GF recipe so far.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend (I used half Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free AP Flour, a quarter millet flour, and a quarter white rice flour- use whatever mixture you prefer.)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp xanthan gum (omit if using standard flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini - moisture squeezed out (I do this by wringing it out wrapped up in a clean dish towel or cheese cloth- do not skip this step or you'll end up with soggy bread!)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts


Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease two 8"x4" loaf pans. In a large bowl beat together sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract until foamy. In a separate bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, xanthan gum, baking powder, and baking soda. Gently stir dry ingredients into wet, being sure not to over-mix. Fold in shredded zucchini and chopped nuts, then pour batter into pans. Bake 50-60 minutes, until top is cracked and a toothpick inserted in the middle of your loaf comes out clean. Allow to cool before slicing.

---------------------

I'm having major issues with lighting my photos in my new apartment, and I need your help! Even in the middle of the day with both of my blinds open I don't get enough natural light to get a decent photo. The light in my apartment is extremely yellow, and I don't have enough photography/lighting skills to get around this. My food photos are hideous and it's bumming me out! Without being able to rely on natural light- what are my options for taking decent photos? Below is the best I could get of my zucchini bread. And normally I wouldn't photograph brown on top of brown, oops. Suggestions?