Tag Archives: gluten-free

Norma Schafer’s Red Tail Grains Cornbread–Dairy + Gluten Free

Posted on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 | 6 comments

We are confined to a smaller lifestyle. There are limitations to what we can do, where we can go, who we can see. Many of us are suffering loss of income, family contact, financial well-being. Some of us don’t know if we can keep our homes or make the next rent payment.

I yearn for Oaxaca. I yearn to take small groups of travelers into indigenous villages in pursuit of understanding and to explore the textile traditions. I perfected a cornbread recipe in Oaxaca where I went to my local mill down the street to buy organic meal. They grind the finest cornmeal and I could not find it here — until now!

redtailgrains@gmail.com or www.redtailgrains.com

For now, I’m stuck in Durham, North Carolina until it is safe to travel again. Many of us are stuck somewhere, physically or metaphorically. (There are worse places to be stuck!) For solace, I turn to cooking — that great leveler of creative output. This falls into the category of comfort food.

At the Durham Farmer’s Market (I go early when it is safe and there are fewer people), I discovered Red Tail Grains from Mebane, NC. I’ve been using their fine stone ground corn meal for several months. It makes the finest cornbread, perfect for my lactose-free and gluten-free diet. It yields a cake-like texture with a fine crumb. I season it up like a spice cake but add Hatch Chili powder for a Mexico-style kick. Great with morning coffee, too!

Ingredients/Recipe:

  • 1 C. Red Tail Cateto Orange Heirloom Flint Corn
  • 1-1/2 C. Gluten-Free Flour (almond flour or King Arthur brand)
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. Hatch chili powder
  • 1 t. ground cinnamon
  • 1 T. ground turmeric
  • 2 T. finely grated fresh ginger
  • 1-1/2 C. almond milk or other plant-based milk
  • 1 tsp. white vinegar
  • 7 T. unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 eggs, large
  • 1/2 C. sugar

Note: To make this VEGAN, use butter and egg substitutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine all dry ingredients and grated ginger in a mixing bowl. Make a well. Combine milk and vinegar and let it sit to clabber for at least five minutes. Beat together eggs and sugar. Add all liquid ingredients to the well and mix until thoroughly combined into a cake-like batter — the consistency of pancake mix.

Prepare a baking pan. I use a 10″ cast iron skillet, well-seasoned, lined with parchment paper. You can also use an 8″ x 8″ square glass baking dish, greased. I would also recommend lining same with parchment paper.

Pour batter into baking pan. Put onto middle rack of preheated oven. Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cool. Cut into squares. Will keep refrigerated for one week or you can freeze successfully.

Enjoy!

Fresh from the oven! Can you smell it?

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Cinco de Mayo Special: Norma’s Spiced-Up Corn Bread Recipe–Gluten Free

Posted on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 | 4 comments

It’s Cinco de Mayo. What better way to celebrate than with CORN. Native to Mexico and first hybridized right up the road from where I live in Teotitlan del Valle, corn has traveled around the world and become a food staple for many. Of course, Cinco de Mayo was invented in the USA. Read more about it HERE.

Now, for the RECIPE. What some of you have been asking for: the cornbread recipe I created and modified over many recent bakings. I think I’ve perfected it to the point that I’m ready to publish it. It is much better than the original recipe I made and posted a few months ago from Oaxaca.

Finely textured cornbread using almond flour and Gold Mine brand corn meal

The recipe uses almond flour instead of gluten-free white flour and a finely ground cornmeal, giving it a texture more like a cake than the traditional dense, gritty cornmeal one usually encounters in cornbread. If you want something more dense, use a different flour and a stone ground meal.

Assemble the following ingredients:

  • 1 cup gluten-free almond flour
  • 1-1/2 cups finely ground corn meal
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 T. ground turmeric
  • 4 T. fresh grated ginger
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 T. dried oregano leaves
  • 1-1/2 cups almond, coconut, rice or soy milk (for lactose free) or cow milk, if you prefer
  • 1 T. white or apple cider vinegar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar

Prepare a baking dish. Use any one of the following:

  • Cast iron 8″ skillet, OR
  • 8″ aluminum springform pan, OR
  • 8″ x 8″ pyrex baking dish

Grease baking dish with grape seed oil. Grape seed oil can take a high temperature without burning. If you use the springform or pyrex pan, cut a piece of parchment or wax paper in a circle 1″ larger than the circumference. Oil the paper, too. I like to use cast iron because it gives a crunchy exterior.

After removing the cornbread from the springform pan

Steps to Prepare the Batter:

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and cornmeal with all the spices, oregano, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir until thoroughly mixed.

Combine milk and vinegar and let sit 10-15 minutes until clabbered.

Melt butter in microwave — in three 30 second increments so it doesn’t splatter or overheat.

Beat the 2 eggs with the sugar until blended, about 2 minutes.

Make a well in the flour mix. Add the milk, butter and egg mixture into the well. (A well is a deep indentation in the middle of the dry ingredients.) Mix until all the flour is absorbed into the liquid ingredients. Beat until smooth.

Pour mixture into the greased baking dish.

I grate the peeled ginger with a microplane — my new essential kitchen tool

Put on the middle rack of a pre-heated 425 degree oven. Bake 30-40 minutes until done. Test doneness with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the baking is finished. If there are particles of batter on the toothpick, continue baking, checking every 10 minutes.

Remove. Let cool. Cut into squares. Can be stored refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 5 days, or freeze. I doubt it will last 5 days and you’ll find yourself making this recipe at least weekly.

Note: you can cut down or add to the spiciness by adjusting these ingredients. I like a lot of turmeric and ginger. To me, this tastes reminiscent of pumpkin bread.

Let me know if you have any questions. norma.schafer@icloud.com

P.S. In years past, I owned and operated a gourmet cookware shop and cooking school in South Bend, Indiana. Just a little tidbit to affirm my competence in the kitchen.

This is the corn meal I love
You can also use this brand, made in Mexico–also excellent for nicuatole

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Oaxaca Corn Pudding Recipe: Nicuatole, Gluten and Lactose Free

Posted on Thursday, December 5, 2019 | 8 comments

I’m in love with native Oaxaca corn. I’m especially in love with local, organic, non-GMO corn now that I’m on the low FODMAP diet and live gluten-free for my digestive health. I went to a birthday party this week for one of my Zapotec friends. I no longer eat birthday cake. What to do for dessert?

I asked my friend Ernestina to make me traditional Oaxaca nicuatole, a pre-Hispanic corn pudding flavored with cinnamon stick and a little sugar, all water, no milk. I brought the dish to share. It was delicious and none was left.

Ernestina uses gelatin to set the pudding so it can be cut into squares. She uses white corn. Local Zapotec woman can also use stone-ground yellow corn that they buy at the corner molino and don’t add gelatin.

Ready to serve! Top with Guava or Strawberry Jam, too!

They cook the corn and the liquid down to a thick paste, thick enough to set when chilled. Thick like the consistency of heavy Cream of Wheat cereal. So thick, that when you run a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan, you see the stainless steel.

The way to serve it is to cut it into small squares and eat with a spoon. It can be served with fresh fruit, too.

Early stage consistency of heavy cream

I thought I’d give it a try and researched some recipes this morning. This would give me another option to my corn-based repertoire of Pan de Elote (corn bread) that has become a staple in my kitchen. The important thing for me, too, is no milk, no cream. In other words, lactose free.

I found few and various recipes. Here they are:

Chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita’s Nicuatole from LaRusse Cocina

Chef Pilar Cabrera’s Nicuatole, Casa de los Sabores, Oaxaca

Mija Chronicles Nicuatole, Leslie Tellez

Cocina con Alegria Nicuatole

All the recipes use cow milk, except for the one by Chef Pilar. So, I decided to adapt and make my own.

First, I buy the cornmeal at my neighborhood molino on Francisco I. Madero at the corner of Independencia in Teotitlan del Valle. They grind the finest meal in the village, I think! You can use commercial brands, but the preferred would be Bob’s Red Mill or other organic meal, such as Arrowhead Mills. I didn’t have stick cinnamon (the village tradition) in the house, so I used ground cinnamon. For the sugar, I use a combo of natural cane and Mascabado sugar — half-and-half.

Next stage, consistency of thick Cream of Wheat

Here goes!

Norma’s Nicuatole — Lactose and Gluten-Free Oaxaca Corn Pudding

  • 2 cups of fine ground organic yellow or white corn meal
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar or more to taste
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • cinnamon, 5 small sticks or 1 tsp. ground
  • 3 cups almond milk (you can also use oat milk or coconut milk)
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 Tbs. sugar for topping (can be mixed with cochineal for traditional red coloring)

Utensils Needed: A heavy 4 to 6 qt. stainless steel sauce pan and a heat diffuser to cook the pudding and a wooden spatula to scrape the corners of the pan while you are stirring, plus a wire whisk to disperse the corn particles into the liquid so there are no lumps.

Last stage, scrape to see the bottom of the stainless steel pan

Cooking Instructions:

  • Combine the milk, water and cornmeal in the saucepan. Whisk until particles are disbursed.
  • Put heat diffuser on top of burner and turn on to medium heat. Place saucepan on heat diffuser. Stir with whisk every 2-3 minutes for about 10 minutes until liquid starts to heat and thicken. It will be the consistency of soup stock.
Be patient, it’s worth it. Alternating whisking and stirring at the start.
  • With a flat-ended wooden spoon, stir mixture as it thickens.
  • Turn the heat on the burner down to low.
  • Continue to stir, making sure you scrape the corners where the sides meet the bottom, and across the bottom of the pan.
  • You will begin to feel the mixture thicken to the consistency of gravy.
  • Keep stirring.
  • After about 25-30 minutes, you will see air pockets in the mixture where the steam will escape. The mixture is now the consistency of thick Cream of Wheat.
  • Keep stirring until you can scrape the wood spoon/spatula across the bottom of the pan and you can actually see the stainless steel.
  • Now, it’s done. This takes about 40-42 minutes in total prep time.
Heavy duty All-Clad Masterchef sauce pan

Pour very thick mixture into an 8″x8″ glass baking pan. Drizzle with about 2 Tbs. of sugar. Refrigerate until chilled and set. Cut into squares. Yields 8-12 servings. Serve with fresh fruit such as strawberries, bananas, star fruit, guava. Muy rico!

Serve with fresh fruit: FODMAP approved pineapple, bananas, star fruit

Years ago, several lifetimes ago, I owned a gourmet cookware shop and cooking school, where I taught classes and brought international chefs and cooking teachers to demonstrate their craft. Now, I do this for fun!

In Oaxaca, I buy cooking and baking utensils at Liverpool department store. They have a well-equipped kitchen department where we can find just about everything we need/want for culinary creativity. Liverpool is all over Mexico, too. The All-Clad cookware I transported in my luggage, one piece at a time over several years. A good investment of time and weight!

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May Your 2019 Be Filled with Sweetness: Oaxaca Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2019 | 8 comments

For the life of me, I could not find a buttercream frosting recipe that uses real, homemade Oaxaca chocolate, the kind made here in the village. Oaxaca chocolate is a dietary mainstay. The cacao beans are roasted at home and then taken to the molino (mill) to grind along with cinnamon, cane sugar, vanilla bean, almonds and perhaps chiles. Each family has their own recipe handed down by the abuelas.

During the grinding, it comes out of the mill as a warm, thick paste and is poured into pans where it solidifies, then cut into two-inch or three-inch cubes large enough to make a pot of hot chocolate (with water, of course) — an early morning and late evening staple, perfect for dipping conchas.

I decided to adapt chocolate buttercream frosting recipes I found online. Most of them call for dark semi-sweet chocolate, or cocoa powder, or chocolate chips. None included Oaxaca chocolate. I know from years of being in the kitchen that it is the cacao butter in chocolate that makes it creamy. With Oaxaca drinking chocolate, you taste the sugar granules. So, I decided to combine four cubes (about 8 ounces) of traditional Oaxaca chocolate with about four ounces of Oaxaca-made Mama Pacha artesanal chocolate for eating — the amount I had on hand. (Here’s how to buy Mama Pacha.)

Swirls of Oaxaca chocolate buttercream frosting

Making a buttercream frosting is easy. It takes about ten minutes once the chocolate is melted. You just need a hand-mixer, a spatula, a spoon, a Pyrex measuring cup and a mixing bowl. The secret is to melt all the chocolate, but cool it to the touch before adding it to the creamed butter. If the chocolate is too hot, the butter will melt and your frosting will be ruined.

Ready for chocolate cake and my homemade pumpkin pie with cornmeal crust

How to Melt the Chocolate: put all the chocolate in a 2-4 cup Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave the chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring and cooling for several minutes between each 30-second zap. The chocolate should be combined, soft and paste-like. Put a finger deep into the center to be sure the mixture is not hot.

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces of cubed Oaxaca chocolate
  • 3-4 ounces of artisanal 70% cacao semi-sweet chocolate
  • 2-1/2 cups of powdered sugar (azucar glace´)
  • 2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 T. almond milk, plain or vanilla flavored
  • 1/4 t. pure vanilla extract
  • dash of salt (omit salt if using salted butter)

Directions:

  1. Melt chocolate as described above.
  2. Put butter into medium size mixing bowl. Cream with mixer until smooth and fluffy. Color should be a creamy beige.
  3. Add cooled chocolate and continue to combine into creamed butter with electric mixer.
  4. Add 1/2 the amount of powdered sugar and stir into the chocolate butter mix at lowest speed of hand mixer. Add remaining powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl until all is mixed.
  5. Add vanilla extract and almond milk. Mix in thoroughly.
  6. Chill for a few minutes.
  7. Will frost an 8-10″ layer cake or 12-18 cupcakes.

The Cake:

In Oaxaca we have a Mexican supermarket called Chedraui. The best one is in Colonia Reforma. It has a complete selection of imported products, too, including those that are gluten-free. I am experimenting with a gluten-free and milk-free diet, so I did buy a Betty Crocker gluten free chocolate cake mix and substituted almond milk for cow milk. It turned out to be delicious.

My Zapotec friends raved that this was the best frosting they ever had, too! I confess it doesn’t look like much. Not smooth as silk (because of the granulated sugar). But it is delicious.

Happy New Year.

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