2014 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival: Taste of Marrakesh (Morocco Pavilion)

None of the items at Marrakesh are gluten free, but the Moroccan pancake is vegetarian. This makes me sad, as I love Moroccan food. Hello… any country that makes baklava is gastronomical heaven in my book. I love just about anything wrapped in puff pastry. Sigh. Perhaps one day I will attempt gluten free phyllo dough. Don't hold your breath though. Phyllo is no easy task.

Taste of Marrakesh Outdoor Kitchen at EPCOT Morocco Pavilion

Marrakesh Passport Page

Morocco's garden display includes giant mosaic spice balls, which are quite stunning.

Garden display at Marrakesh Outdoor Kitchen

Baghrir (Moroccan Pancake with Honey, Almonds, and Argan Oil)

I was curious what exactly is in in Baghrir, so I looked up a recipe here. Definitely not gluten free :) And while many of us have heard about argan oil's benefits for skin and hair, I hadn't heard much about the possible health benefits of consumption. I found this WSJ article that is a good primer on argan oil, if you are interested in learning more.

Tim the Test Kitchen ordered the Lamb Brewat roll. I would have been more envious of this light, flaky deliciousness if it hadn't been lamb. Actually, if they could just wrap the fruit and nuts in the phyllo and leave out the meat entirely, that would make me happy. Oh, right, sweetness and nuts in phyllo dough... that would be pretty close to baklava. Ha.

Lamb Brewat Roll with Prunes and Sesame (wrapped in a phyllo type dough!)

Lamb Brewat Roll with Prunes and Sesame, inside view
(they were out of plastic knives at the time, I had to saw through with a plastic fork- this is the best I could do :)

If you would like to make your own Brewat rolls at home, or just know more about their ingredients, you can find a recipe similar to this one on the Disney discussion boards, here.

For more photos and descriptions of the food available year round in EPCOT's Moroccan Pavilion, check out their website, here. Tip: Restaurant Marrakesh at Moroccan Pavilion features belly dancers at dinner. Another tip: they offer a 10% discount to Annual Passholders during the week for lunch.

A third tip: Spice Road Table is a brand new Mediterranean restaurant at the Morocco pavilion. It is an open-air restaurant on the World Showcase Lagoon, and features tapas-like dishes. Spice Road does not accept any discounts at this time, not even Tables in Wonderland.

Raw Vegan Cranberry Apple Cheesecake

Our Thanksgiving dessert was delicious:

I started with a recipe I found online. That recipe didn't turn out the way I'd hoped, but I was able to rescue it by making some adjustments.

I made too many changes in the middle of creating this cheesecake to feel comfortable posting a recipe yet, since I would only be guessing what I added and in what amounts. 

I can tell you the basics:

Crust: Almonds and dates

Filling: Cheesecake with just a hint of cinnamon, nutmeg, & cloves

Topping: Cinnamon, apples, cranberries, almond crumble 

Yum! 

Just writing about it makes me want to go eat one of the slices still in the freezer.

I don't have step-by-step photos of the dessert-making process, but I'll describe it, and post photos of the finished product. Warning: you may be hungry by the end of this post ; )

The week before, I dehydrated the (organic) cranberries: 

Aren't they beautiful? It was super easy, too. Just note: cranberry juice stains EVERYTHING it touches. Such as your cutting board, the dehydrator tray, a ceramic knife, your clothes if you are not wearing an apron... 

The cheesecake crust is simply almonds and dates processed in the food processor until crumbly. Reserve about 1/3 cup of the crust mixture for the topping, then press the remaining crust mixture into a 9" springform pan 

The filling is super simple. Most raw cheesecake recipes start with soaked cashews as a base. I followed the recipe I'd found online, but I was not happy with the taste or texture. A note here: a Vitamix really does make a huge difference. The original recipe suggested processing in a food processor, and I tried that. The mixture just does not get smooth enough. No matter how long I processed, it still had little pieces of cashew in it. Not good.

So, I put the mixture in the Vitamix, added a little filtered water, gave it a 20-second whirl, and it turned out perfectly smooth and creamy, as a cheesecake filling should be! Mmmm.

The taste was still not right, however. So I added some ingredients, added some more cashews, and played around with the flavor until it resembled a fall-spiced cheesecake. Yum!

Next step: pour the cheesecake batter into the springform pan, tap to remove any air bubbles, cover, and put in the freezer to firm up.

While the cheesecake was chilling, I peeled and cored 3 Honeycrisp apples. I sliced the apples super-thin with the mandoline, and dehydrated about 2 hours. 

After 2 hours, the apples were warm and soft, not fully dehydrated (which would have made them crispy or chewy). I tossed with agave and cinnamon, and quickly realized we would need more apples to cover the top of the cheesecake (I think that's because I used a 9" pan, while the original recipe used a 6" pan). So, I repeated with 2 more Honeycrisp apples. Then tossed all of the semi-dehydrated apples with about 2/3 cup of the dried cranberries, agave, cinnamon, and the reserved crust mixture, and voila! Cranberry-apple topping. Yum. Just place mixture on top of the cheesecake. When ready to serve, remove the springform.

Can you believe that this is a healthy, living food? It is gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar free- but so sinfully rich, you would never know it.

(You know, I usually want pecan pie for Thanksgiving, but I just realized, I didn't even miss it!)

Here are some links to the health benefits of:

Cashew

Almond

Vanilla

Cinnamon

Cloves

Nutmeg

Apple

Cranberry

Gluten Free Pluot Coffee Cake

This recipe is heavily adapted from the Plum Coffee Cake Muffin recipe in The Allergen Free Baker's Handbook:


Among other changes, I adapted the recipe by using a different gluten free flour mix that does not use potato starch. I always substitute guar gum for xanthan gum since xanthan is derived from corn. I used fresh pluots in place of plums.

In my new effort to reduce sugar, I omitted the delicious crumb topping that Cybele Pascal's original recipe calls for in the book. By all means, use that topping if desired- I have made it before and it is delicious. But I was quite pleased that this simpler version also worked out very well. It is a very moist coffee cake, not too sweet, and just a hint of spice.

Gluten Free Pluot Coffee Cake (vegan)
Contains no gluten, corn, potato, coconut, dairy, eggs, soy, or refined sugar

Ingredients

• 3 cups of your preferred gluten free flour mix
• 3/4 teaspoon guar gum
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
• 1/4 cup light agave nectar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla powder
• 1 teaspoon organic cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1 1/2 cups organic unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup diced pluots (you could also use plums)

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Grease a 9" pie pan, or line with parchment paper (I use parchment paper). 
• Whisk dry ingredients: GF flour mix, guar gum, baking soda and sea salt in small bowl, or use the food processor to combine.
• In a large bowl, mix grapeseed oil and agave nectar using hand mixer. Add vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, and applesauce, and mix until combined.
• Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined.
• Fold in the diced pluots.
• Pour batter into greased or parchment lined dish. You might have some extra batter- you could fill a mini-muffin tin, or a baby loaf pan. I made two baby loaves. I ate them before I thought about taking a photo to show here on the blog. You'll just have to take my word for it :)
• Bake in center of oven for 25-30 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes in the pan before serving.

Enjoy!

This coffee cake is good warm from the oven, room temperature, and cold from the refrigerator. Yes, I tried it each of those ways. It's a tough job, testing foods in my kitchen <smile>. It also freezes well and defrosts easily, so this is a good recipe to make ahead and keep individual slices in the freezer for a quick and easy breakfast or snack.

More info on the nutritional benefit of: plums, cinnamon, apples, allspice
What is a pluot?
Another article about pluots

Healthy Homemade Gourmet Mustard

Adapted from this recipe.

I think this mustard recipe is infinitely adaptable. The first time I made this recipe, I couldn’t find black mustard seeds, so I used only yellow mustard seeds. I also made a half batch, as I wasn't sure how it might turn out, or how long it would keep.

Yellow mustard seeds

Here is my first attempt:

Homemade Gourmet Mustard, v.1
Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. yellow mustard seeds
• 1/3 cup mix equal parts champagne vinegar & apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp dark agave syrup
• 1/4 tsp. himalayan salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper

Method

• Combine all ingredients and soak 12 hours or overnight to allow the mustard seeds to soften and absorb the flavors.
• Place mixture in blender and mix on high until the seeds have broken and the mustard thickens.

Result: The half recipe did not have enough volume to mix thoroughly in the VitaMix, so not all of the seeds burst, which resulted in a grainy -yet delicious- mustard. It lasted for about 6 weeks (until it was gone) without a problem in the refrigerator. I think it would have lasted indefinitely.

Not enough volume; mustard wanted to stay under the Vitamix blades

First batch with yellow mustard seeds

For my second attempt, I decided to make a full batch. Also, I finally found black mustard seeds in an Asian grocery, and wanted to try the spicy version.

Black mustard seeds

Here is the second version:

Homemade Gourmet Mustard, v.2
Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp. yellow mustard seeds (mild flavor)
• 2 Tbsp. black mustard seeds (spicy flavor)
• 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp dark agave syrup
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

Method

• Combine all ingredients and soak 12 hours or overnight to allow the mustard seeds to soften and absorb the flavors. 
• Place mixture in blender and mix on high until the seeds have broken and the mustard thickens.

Result: The spicy version is also delicious. I think I like the milder version better, but would make both again.

Whichever version you try, I would recommend making the full amount. When I made the half recipe, there was not enough volume to blend well in the VitaMix. The full recipe blended more thoroughly, resulting in a smoother mustard.

Second batch, using yellow and black mustard seeds

Try both versions, try adding your own flavors (honey, herbs, etc) and play around with the ratios. You are sure to find a version you love, and making it yourself is much healthier, and less expensive, than buying gourmet mustard in the grocery store.

More on the health benefits of mustard seeds.

How do you know if spices are expired?

Today I decided to clean out and organize my spices. I am getting tired of reaching into the spice cupboard, having to pull out 15 different jars before finding the one that I need, and inevitably causing 2 or 3 jars to tumble out of the cupboard onto the counter (or the floor, or my head, or into the pot I’m cooking in on the stove). My little plastic spice jars are currently stacked one on top of another in no logical order, other than trying to keep the ones I use most frequently closer to the front. This is driving me nuts.

What started out as a simple organizing project sent me on a much longer journey in which I learned more than I ever planned about spices. Finding McCormick spices in my cabinet should have been a clue to their age, since in the past few years, I have been buying Simply Organic or Frontier Organic brand spices. But there were still some old McCormicks in there.  

Some of the jars actually had expiration dates on the bottom. Oh, like… 2006. At first, when I saw 2006, I thought that was just last year or so. Then I had to stop and think. Oh, yeah. Five years ago. Time flies. 

Some of the spices didn’t have dates, they had codes. I figured these codes must represent expiration dates or lot numbers, so I went to the McCormick website, wondering if there was a way to decipher the codes.

Bingo! Right on the front page, McCormick has a “Fresh Tester” where you can enter your code and it will tell you when your spice was packaged/manufactured. On that page, it had a few tips, including: 

“If it’s from Baltimore, it’s at least 15 years old”
“If it’s in a tin, it’s at least 15 years old”

I thought “That’s crazy. Who has spices that are over 15 years old?” ((rolling my eyes)) 

Wouldn't you know it... the first bottle I looked at was from Baltimore. Over 15 years old. Yikes. 

I entered the codes from the bottom of the other jars… Turns out, I had spices from 1999… and 1992! And a few early 2000’s. The pattern seemed to be: if the jar had a code rather than a date, that was a clue that it was really old. I don’t know whether that’s always the case, but it was for me today.

How in the world did this happen??? First of all, I haven’t even been cooking that long- I can’t imagine why I even have these spices. Secondly, I’ve moved a lot in the past 10+ years, including two cross-country moves. Have I really been hauling expired spices across the country and state to state with me? 

Obviously, I don’t think these expired spices would be harmful. But from what I have been reading, they have probably by now lost their potency and are pretty worthless for cooking. To be honest, though, they all smelled fresh to me. They seemed fine. But, I tossed them anyway. Clearly, if I haven’t used them in (ahem) 15 years, I am probably not going to need them in the near future. (Of course, I dumped the spices in the trash and put the glass or recyclable plastic in the recycle bin) By the way, my trash can never smelled so delicious.

How do you know if your spices are fresh? Other than smelling and tasting them, here are some guidelines from the McCormick website: 

• Spices, ground: 2-3 years
• Spices, whole: 3-4 years
• Seasoning blends: 1-2 years
• Herbs: 1-3 years
• Extracts: 4 years (except pure vanilla, which lasts indefinitely)

One last McCormick tidbit that may be of interest: Since 08/29/2007,  All McCormick single-ingredient spices are gluten-free*

*From McCormick FAQ: None of our single ingredient spices and herbs contain gluten. In addition, all of our extracts, including Pure Vanilla, are gluten-free. Some of our products do contain gluten. When WHEAT is the source, it will always be called out within the ingredient statement, and listed in bold.

We do not maintain a list of gluten-free products, as our formulas change from time to time.