Experiments

Pickle Pie, Please!

The Inspiration of Urb’n’Spice Series

What can I do when my adorable three-year-old grandson asks me to make him a Pickle Pie? His Momma was not sure where he came up with the idea for Pickle Pie. Apparently, he babbled about pickle pie for a whole day before she sent me this endearing video. To be honest, as a chef, I was very intrigued and as a grandmother, I would do anything for the little guy. I am always up for a challenge, so I set to work on figuring out how to fulfill his plea for pickle pie.

Presenting: The Pickle Pie Video Request

When I started my pickle pie quest, I wanted to develop a recipe with little children in mind. No fancy ingredients, just good tasting food that would appeal to all ages. Potato, cheese, pickles and pastry evolved into the key ingredients and when combined together, an irresistible flavourful potato filling was the end result. The flaky pastry just added to its overall appeal.

I made two versions of this recipe – one was miniature pies and the second version was small turnovers that are the perfect size for a little guy to hold. Look under the “What Else Can I Do With This Recipe?” section to see the variation – miniature Pickle Pie turnovers.

I had fun with this unique request and I am delighted with the results. My taste-testers (my other daughter and her little ones) gave me a thumbs-up and an “Omgawd – we all adored the pickle pies!” If you try making these pickle pies – tell me what you think. I enjoy hearing from all my readers….

The Ultimate Sunflower Butter Breakfast Bars – Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free, Egg Free, & Refined Sugar Free

By Denise Pare-Watson

The very reason that these Ultimate Sunflower Butter Breakfast Bars were created was due entirely to another recipe I was updating for Nut Butter and No-Nut Butter Cookies. I had been experiment making Sunflower Seed Butter – let’s just say that resulted in an interesting reaction. You can read my Funny Sunflower seed butter story in this post.

The moral of the story is: good things happen to those who are determined. I was very pleased with the outcome with my recipe for Sunflower Butter and also my bonus sunflower butter crumbles that resulted from trial and repeat. In addition to these Ultimate Sunflower Butter Breakfast Bars, stay tuned for Coconut Orange Pudding with Sunflower Butter Crumble garnish – another Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Egg free, Nut free and Refined Sugar-Free dessert.

Sunflower Butter Bars

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Potlatch Salmon

By Denise Pare-Watson

CHC Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge

Prelude: I am definitely a proud Canadian so when the Culinary Historians of Canada invited food bloggers to participate in a Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge – well, that is something I just have to do! What a great way to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday by honouring our country with a different Canadian dish every month. The first topic is fish and seafood, so I am sharing my recipe for Potlatch Salmon with you, plus a wee bit of background about the history of potlatch.

Potlatch Salmon – have you heard of it? Potlatch Salmon is one of our family’s favourite ways to serve fish. It has turned many folks from being fish dislikers to fish lovers – it is all about the glaze. First, though, we should take a look at the term Potlatch and understand the source. Potlatch is a term derived from Canada’s Northwest Coast aboriginal groups that symbolized an abundant feast, typically held in winter often using indigenous food that had been dried and preserved throughout the year. The feast was held for life events such as weddings, funerals or births. Roughly translated, it means a feast of ‘giving’. Tables at the Potlatch feast overflowed with food, generally far more than could be consumed with the idea that it would be shared amongst the guests to take home.

While Potlatch feasts are not as common today, traditional dishes that were once served at these events, of course, are still enjoyed by one and all. One of our favourites is Potlatch Salmon. What is Potlatch Salmon, exactly? Typically, it is an entire filet of salmon (skin on), spread with a simple, yet unique dry rub and cooked over an open flame or barbecue. The dry rub turns magically into a luscious sauce which can also be used as a glaze. For the purposes of this post, I will explain the method and technique of making Potlatch Salmon three different ways using slightly altered techniques that you can enjoy as an appetizer, lunch, dinner or at your own family feast. Try it with bannock, another traditional dish. I show you how to make bannock in this post.

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A Humorous Hummus experience

By Denise Pare-Watson

I am calling this post Humorous Hummus for a reason. “Kid of a Chef” always cracks me up. She sent me a text this morning as she was making a mega batch of hummus. Too funny. Enjoy. I have also included our family recipe for hummus with lots and lots of variations and garnish options. Double check the cans before you open them – just saying….

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“I always open three cans of chickpeas to make hummus.

I was preoccupied with the chocolate in my pantry and didn’t notice that I had two cans of chickpeas and 1 can of black beans in my hand.

I opened the can of black beans and thought for a second.

“When did they start making purple chickpeas?”

Duh! So, I put them into my hummus anyway!

It kind of looks like my hummus is on the brink of death because it is so grey, but DANG, does it ever taste good!”

from: “Kid of a Chef”

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Humorous Hummus:

CHEF TALK: Here it is: our family recipe. Humorous or not – this stuff is delicious and healthy. Whether or not you choose to use black beans is entirely up to you.

YIELD: Approximately 500 ml hummus

INGREDIENTS:

1 can of chickpeas (19 oz), drained and rinsed
1/4 cup tahini or smooth peanut butter, or even sunflower butter
Juice of 1 lemon (about 4 Tablespoons or 1/4 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced (see note below for variation)
2 – 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil plus more for drizzling on top of finished hummus
Salt and pepper to taste
Zest of one lemon, optional

METHOD:

In a food processor with a steel blade, place the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic. Whizz for several minutes until the chickpeas are pureed.
Slowly add the olive oil and continue processing until the mixture is very smooth.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
If the mixture is too thick, add a little warm water and continue to process until the desired consistency is reached.
Serve with pita bread or pita crisps or a vegetable crudité platter.

Hummus with sun-dried tomato garnish | urbnspice.com

Humorous Hummus Options:

Optional Seasonings and Flavouring Variations:

CHEF TALK: We tend to change up our family hummus recipe, depending on what we are serving it with. My favourite is the sun-dried tomato and roasted garlic and lemon zest addition variation – in that version, I omit the tahini or peanut butter – I just like the lighter, brighter taste of the Mediterranean flavours. I was also making sunflower butter the day I made this batch of hummus so I used that instead of the peanut butter or tahini option. Very good! Experiment with flavour variations – you might come up with your own family version of hummus.

Substitute Roasted Garlic (1 Tablespoon) for the fresh garlic clove
Sun-Dried Tomato (2 Tablespoons), chopped
Ground Cumin (1/2 teaspoon)
Chili Powder (1/2 teaspoon)
Zest of one lemon

Optional Hummus Garnish:

Olive Oil drizzled on top
Pine Nuts, toasted, sprinkled on top
Paprika or Smoked Paprika
Red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch dice and cooked in a frying pan for a few minutes until soft, seasoned with salt and pepper and sprinkled on top.
Caramelized Onion

Hummus with fire roasted red pepper garnish | urbnspice.com

STORAGE:

REFRIGERATE: The hummus will keep in a sealed container for a week.
FREEZE: I like to make a mega batch of hummus (like Kid of a Chef) or several variations and freeze them in 1/2 cup amounts in the freezer.
CHEF TIP: I have silicone muffin trays that work very well for this purpose. The silicone muffin trays are also very handy for applesauce, pumpkin puree, etc.

Hummus with toasted pine nut garnish | urbnspice.com

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Perseverance
Tweaking
__________

You Might Also Enjoy:

Parmesan Pita Crisps

Bacon Cheese Potato Cups

Gluten Free Rock Star Veggie Burgers

Patio Delights – Summer Time Appetizers

If you give my favourite family recipe for Humorous Hummus a try, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback.

You can find me on social media – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urbnspice Chef

Follow me on Social Media:

Urbnspice Facebook Page – If you like what you see here, Please LIKE my page

Urbnspice is on Twitter

You will find lots of fun boards on Pinterest

I am also on Instagram

Gluten Free Rock Star Veggie Burgers

By Denise Pare-Watson

Here is the story behind these Gluten Free Rock Star Veggie Burgers: one of my daughters recently discovered that she had to temporarily adopt a gluten-free lifestyle due to some serious digestive and blood sugar issues. That can be quite challenging for some people to deal with. My work as a chef often touches on developing gluten-free recipes; however, concentrating on adapting familiar recipes that our family frequently made together became paramount to help our girl. She was getting tired of eating salads.

: Rock Star Veggie Burgers made for Kid of a Chef – Gluten Free Rock Star

One of the first recipes she wanted to adapt was Dad’s famous hamburger into a vegetarian version that would provide the protein and vegetables she required yet still give her the same satisfying feeling of satiety that his burgers gave her. And so, our family came up with these Gluten Free Rock Star Veggie Burgers.

I have to say that this is by far the best vegetarian burger I have ever had. They are a delicious and flavourful burger. I needed something that would hold the burgers together as a binding agent. Moistened gluten-free bread is always an option; however, why not step up the flavour component if you can?

In this gluten-free version of veggie burgers, I used rehydrated dried vegetable flakes. After rehydrating the vegetable flakes, I pureed them to make a paste and folded them into the vegetable burger mixture. As a flavour booster, it was amazing! So much so that we have used this technique in other gluten-free dishes. After trying them in the vegetarian version we now used them in regular hamburger mixture, meatloaf and meatball mixtures.

: Vegetable Flakes: dried and reconstituted

NOTE: Dried vegetable flakes can be found in your grocer’s bulk food section. They usually contain a mixture of carrots, onions, celery, leeks and garlic, and occasionally bell peppers, potatoes, and cabbage. They are useful for many recipes, such as soups, stews, and these veggie burgers.

Gluten Free Rock Star Veggie Burgers

CHEF TALK: The combination of beans in this recipe is a favourite of mine due to the firmness of the chickpeas and the creaminess of the white beans, making a great texture for the burger mixture. Try making them slider size for a light meal with salad greens. For small plate sharing, or for an appetizer, make them Toonie size. The veggie burgers are gluten free, grain free, sugar-free, nut-free and dairy free. Note: for egg-free veggie burgers (if you cannot tolerate eggs or do not want to use the egg), substitute for 3 tablespoons of aquafaba liquid.

Yield: Approximately 24 slider-sized burgers, or 10 to 12 large burger sized portion.

INGREDIENTS:

Dried Vegetable Flakes	½ cup
White beans (white kidney, Cannellini bean)	1 can (19 oz., rinsed and drained)
Chick Peas (Garbanzo beans)	1 can (19 oz., rinsed and drained)
Vegetable Oil	1 – 2 Tbsp.
Green pepper	1 medium, diced fine
Onion, cooking	1 medium, diced fine
Mushrooms	½ cup, chopped fine
Garlic cloves	6 cloves, peeled, mashed finely
Tomato paste	1 Tbsp.
Chili Powder	1 Tbsp.
Ground Cumin	1 teaspoon
Coriander	1 teaspoon
Garlic salt	1 Tbsp.
Sea salt, fine	To taste
Pepper, ground	To Taste
Eggs (optional, if required)	1
Hot sauce (Tabasco or similar)	1 teaspoon
Lemon juice	1 Tbsp.
Lemon zest	1 teaspoon
Parsley, flat leaf	1/3 cup, chopped

Optional: Gluten Free Panko Crumbs to coat the burgers

METHOD:

Rehydrate vegetable flakes in 1 cup boiling water. Let steep for 10 minutes. The vegetable flakes will soften and absorb the water. Drain and mash or puree the vegetable flakes to a paste.
Mash the beans in a large bowl with a fork (or food processor) until thick and pasty. Set aside.
In a large frying pan, sauté the diced vegetables (pepper, onion, mushrooms, garlic) in vegetable oil. (Alternatively, place all of the vegetables in a food processor and process until finely chopped).
Cook the vegetables over medium-low heat until caramelized. Add the rehydrated vegetable paste.
Add seasonings and tomato paste and cook for a few more minutes.
Add this mixture to the mashed beans.
Combine together hot sauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, and parsley. Stir into the bean-vegetable mixture. If required for binding purposes, you may use an egg, beaten, if desired to achieve the texture you want for shaping the burgers – not too moist or too dry. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Using an ice cream scoop or another measuring tool, portion the mixture into large patties, or smaller slider burger portions, and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. I used gluten-free panko crumbs to coat the burgers. CHEF TIP: The burgers benefit from a quick chill of 30 minutes or so in the refrigerator. You can also make them ahead and refrigerate until you are ready to complete the recipe.

Vegetable Flakes: dried and reconstituted

Gluten Free Rock Star Veggie Burger Mix

: Rock Star Veggie Burgers are scooped and coated with gluten-free panko crumbs

To cook the Rock Star Veggie Burgers:

Fry the burgers in a frying pan with a little vegetable oil until golden, or.
Alternatively, in a preheated 350oF oven, bake the prepared veggie burgers on a baking tray until golden, or.
Freeze the uncooked or cooked burgers until firm and store in an airtight container in between layers of parchment paper.

Serve in lettuce cups with slices of avocado and tomato, and cheese (if it is not a dietary restriction). The photo of the burger uses tiny gluten-free buns.

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Gluten-Free Flour Blends
Folding
Tweaking
__________

You Might Also Enjoy These Gluten Free Posts:

Gluten Free Rock Star (written by “Kid of a Chef”)

My Inspiration of the Day – Stuffed Whole Cabbage

Gluten-Free Tips and Techniques

Going Gluten Free

Gluten for Punishment

Gluten for Punishment, Too!

“It’s easy to impress me.

I don’t need a fancy party to be happy.

Just good friends, good food, and good laughs.

I’m happy.

I’m satisfied.

I’m content.”

Maria Sharapova

Happy Veggie Burger Making, Rock Stars!

If you give this recipe for Gluten Free Veggie Burgers a try, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback.

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urbnspice Chef

Follow me on Social Media

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

And lastly, my cookbook called, Chocolate Desserts Made Easy and Delicious

Volume Four: Gluten Free Chocolate Desserts,

recipes created using some of my favourite and cherished recipes from my pastry chef career

and transformed them into gluten-free recipes just for you!

Thanks for your support!

This post is linked to Gluten Free and DIY Tuesday

Gluten Free Tart Shells

By Denise Pare-Watson

I have been experimenting with gluten-free tart shells since I will be dedicating a good and worthy bit of time to this since four of my family members are now having to follow a diet without gluten.

Gluten Free Quiche Shells

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Crumb Truffles! A Journey in Gluten Free Recipe Development

By Denise Pare-Watson

What are Crumb Truffles? I have a little story and words of encouragement for you if you have ever tried to develop or follow a recipe and it did not go exactly as planned. Follow me as I tell you about my journey in Gluten Free Recipe Development.

Truffles as part of a Mignardise plate

CRUMB TRUFFLES!

A Word of Encouragement

In every journey, there a few tumbles.

Recently, the Urb’n’Spice kitchen is a hive of activity testing for a new cookbook in the series,

“Chocolate Desserts Made Easy and Delicious”.

This book is a little different in that all of the recipes are gluten-free

– and all chocolate.

In gluten-free baking, we can expect

that there is the possibility of, shall we say, “interesting” results.

I have had more than my share of fiascos during the research,

testing and tasting for this book.

My words of advice:

Do not let disappointing results discourage you!

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!

In other words, if your gluten-free baking experiments

Inadvertently provide you with more crumbs

than you can think of ways to use them,

Make CRUMB TRUFFLES!

Crumb Truffles!

That is exactly what I did!

And, they were a hit!

The Formula:

Place the crumbs in a mixer with a paddle attachment

Add any chocolate ganache (roughly 4 to 1 ratio)

(this is why it is great to make a little extra ganache)

If it is a little too sticky, add more crumbs. A little dry? Add a bit more ganache.

Mix until it becomes friendly – a nice moldable dough of sorts.

Use a small cookie scoop. Roll into balls. Chill until firm.

Roll the chilled balls into Chocolate Dip

(or tempered chocolate for my pastry chef colleagues)

Decorate the truffles, if you want with a little chopped chocolate,

chocolate jimmies,

or, as in the photo, a little chocolate caviar!

A medley of Crumb Truffles

Crumb Truffles! Share! Enjoy!

“Nobody knows the truffles I’ve seen”

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Cream
Ganache
Perseverance
Vanilla Extract
__________

More like this:

Dark Chocolate Truffles by Urb’n’Spice

A Unique Cheesecake: Double Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake with Chocolate Pecan Crust

How to Make Decadent Dark Chocolate Tart

Chocolate Almond Torte

Want More Chocolate?

Chocolate Desserts Made Easy and Delicious – Gluten-Free Chocolate Desserts

Purple Gnocchi

By Denise Pare-Watson

The Inspiration of UrbnSpice Series

Making comfort food is therapeutic during winter’s last blasts. I always encourage fun in the kitchen so let me tell you why I set about making a playful batch of purple gnocchi one day:

A plate of playful purple gnocchi

It has been very blustery on the Island where we live. It makes me shiver to look outside. My usual pattern of walking has been curtailed by periods of rain, wind, snow and sleet. While I am well equipped with Paddington Bear rain gear, there is definitely a small voice coaxing me to stay inside where it is warm and cosy.

During a sunny break amidst the storm clouds yesterday, we overcame the elements to stock up on groceries. My eye caught a display of purple potatoes which became my inspiration of the day.

UrbnSpice Inspiration of the Day: Gorgeous Purple potatoes

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My Inspiration of the Day : The Savoy Cabbage

By Denise Pare-Watson

The Inspiration of UrbnSpice Series

How could I resist it? It was just sitting there in all its beauty, beckoning me to create a culinary masterpiece. I felt that my favourite green grocer had created this display to entice just me – it worked! It was a magnet. Would you be able to pass this gorgeous vegetable by without admiring its beauty? I could not. My prize was a Savoy Cabbage.

Market Inspiration: Savoy Cabbage

I watched that morning how passersby did not even give this gorgeous display a second look. Perhaps they did not know what to do with it; perhaps they were far too busy to consider its use; and perhaps, they were stuck in a cooking rut that would not allow them to consider this prize.

My mind was spinning with possibilities – how would I use it to its best advantage? How could I show off its bounty? Who could I share it with?

The grand total of this beauty was $1! How could something so beautiful be so reasonably priced? I had to have it. I brought it home with great care and proudly admired it on my kitchen counter for the remainder of the afternoon.

For those of you that have never tried this variety of cabbage, you are missing out on a very mild flavoured vegetable that is as versatile as it is delicious. Its uses are many, from salads, soups, side dishes such as shredded savoy cabbage with leeks and pine nuts, or sautéed with butter, salt and pepper. This beautiful cabbage was destined to be included in my gluten-free repertoire – a stuffed cabbage, but not just any stuffed cabbage.

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GLUTEN FOR PUNISHMENT, TOO

By Denise Pare-Watson

This post is a sequel to Gluten for Punishment, which is why I called it Gluten for Punishment, Too. What do you do when you have the challenge of multiple dietary restrictions to consider?

I have been experimenting at home and in my workplace featuring gluten-free, grain-free, and sometimes dairy-free recipes. This week, the recipe testing happened to include all three restrictions!

This would make most chefs shake their heads, shiver in their toques, or briskly march their chef-clogs out of the kitchen. Not this chef, since I have a virtuous reason why I am persisting in this culinary undertaking. I need to provide my daughter with ideas regarding a very special 1st birthday cake. Why, you ask? The one-year-old has an Auntie who has a gluten-free, grain-free restriction and follows a Paleo Diet. As well, our tiny guest of honour is lactose intolerant.

: Gluten Free Cake with Dairy Free Ganache

If this happened to you, what would you do? You may not necessarily be facing the restrictions listed above; however, most gatherings have guests with some type of restriction that you have to consider when planning your menu. This does not necessarily mean that you have to serve sorbet for dessert, although it certainly provides an alternative.

My suggestion is to list the restrictions of your guests and make sure you review the ingredients that you will be using in your recipes carefully and methodically. Eliminate or modify any recipe that will be problematic for allergies, sensitivities or intolerances (these reactions are all different).

In many cases, you can exclude or substitute an ingredient in certain recipes and they will not affect the end result. For example, the addition of heavy cream or butter to your pan when making a sauce for chicken breasts or other meats can be omitted for your dairy sensitive guests without adversely affecting the sauce. In this situation, you can use the reduction method by simmering the liquid in the pan until it thickens.

Taking the concept of substitution into consideration, my challenge was to develop a birthday cake or dessert recipe that is gluten-free; grain-free and dairy free.

: Gluten Free Chocolate Cakes with Dairy Free Ganache variations

The birthday cake recipe that I developed is a flourless chocolate cake, using a nut meal (if tolerable), coconut flour or sunflower seed flour as a flour substitute. Typically, I would cover this type of rustic cake with a ganache made of heavy cream and chocolate. Since dairy ingredients are an issue, I made a ganache from fruit puree – in this case, raspberry puree. Raspberry puree is easily made by pressing fresh or thawed berries through a sieve to remove seeds and sweetened to taste. You can find out How to Make Raspberry Coulis post here.

: Gluten Free Chocolate Cakes with Dairy Free Ganache variations

Another dessert option for this type of dietary restriction (if a cake is not required), is a sabayon (the French culinary term) or zabaglione (Italian culinary term). A sabayon is a sweet sauce produced by a similar technique used in the popular savoury hollandaise sauce (Eggs Benedict). There are only three ingredients in a sabayon: Egg Yolks, Sugar, a speciality wine blend. Marsala is typically used, although an Ice Wine is also brilliant (although very expensive).

Another dietary restriction challenge has been unravelled. There are others to be solved! Stay tuned.

LEARNING TIPS:

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

Gluten-Free Flour Blends
__________

Urb’n’Spice Books:

Chocolate Desserts Made Easy and Delicious – The Cookbook Series from Pastry Chef Denise Paré-Watson of Urb’n’Spice

If you enjoyed reading this post, please leave me a comment below with your feedback.

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

Follow me on Social Media

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

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