Almondtella – A Twist on the “Other” Chocolate Nut Spread (without the Palm Oil)

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Everything tastes better when you make it from scratch. One taste of this homemade spread, loaded with toasted almond yumminess, and you will forget the name of that decadent stuff you used to spread on your toast. …what was that called again?

Headlines Inspire Kitchen Creativity

Recently, France’s Minister of Ecology put Nutella in the headlines because of its environmentally hostile ingredient, palm oil. Like many large scale agricultural operations, palm oil plantations require the deforestation of vast tracts of natural forests. In Indonesia and Malaysia, where the largest palm oil plantations operate, many species of native animals and plants are being pushed toward extinction. The process of slash and burn forest removal is releasing stored CO2 and generating tremendous amounts of smoke, contributing to Indonesia’s sudden jump to third place among the world’s emitters of greenhouse gasses. It’s estimated that 40-50% of household products in the U.S. contain palm oil. This product extends beyond food items to cosmetics and cleaners. Yikes.

I suppose everything humans consume has a detrimental effect on the environment due to the sheer number of humans that consume. What to do? We limit our consumption of products by using them until they can’t be used any longer. For example, we have been using the same box of zip top bags for almost a year by carefully using the bags, washing them and reusing them. We also try to make as much as we can from scratch in order to limit the addition of chemicals and unnatural ingredients into our bodies.

Our answer to the controversy swirling around Nutella is to make our own spreadable delight using more Earth-friendly ingredients. Before you quibble with me about almonds and how much water it takes to grow them… I know. However, a friend was moving from Ulaanbaatar and offered us her unused pantry items. Among those items was a three-pound bag of almonds. Other nuts would work well in this recipe.

Who knew a post about a delicious nutty spread would be so political? Moving away from the political, let me tell you this spread is better tasting than any commercial product. And with less sugar, no processed emulsifiers and no artificial flavorings (what is vanillin?) this is arguably a much healthier spread. The top two ingredients in that other spread are sugar and palm oil. The top ingredient in this recipe is pure, natural almonds. And the vanilla extract is real vanilla extract.

The key to the standout flavor is the toasted nuts. The delicious end product makes the slightly arduous process of skinning the almonds totally worth it. Now we have a sweet chocolate spread that is packed with protein and tastes great on toast or as a topping on the all-fruit banana and mango ice creams we’ve been enjoying on these warm summer days. Or how about cheesecake swirled with homemade almondtella?

Chocolate Nut Spread aka Almondtella

Ingredients

1 cup whole raw almonds
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
up to 1/4 cup vegetable or light olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Skin almonds by pouring boiling water over them in a bowl and letting them sit for 2 minutes. Drain off hot water and replace with cold water. Almond skins should pop off when you squeeze the individual almonds.
Preheat oven to 350° F (175 degrees C). Place almonds in a single layer on a shallow baking pan. Toast for 10 minutes. Stir the nuts halfway through baking to ensure an even color.
Process nuts in a food processor, or use a stick blender. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary until the nuts have liquefied, about 5 minutes. First, you will get coarsely chopped nuts, then a fine meal. After a little while, the nuts will form a ball around the blade. Keep processing. The heat and friction will extract the natural oils from the nuts and you will get almond butter!
When the nuts have liquified, add the sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Slowly drizzle in enough oil to make a spreadable consistency. Since the mixture is warm, it will be more fluid now than at room temperature.
Transfer the spread to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

Here are some ideas for using your “Almondtella.”

Vanilla-orange cookies with chocolate nut filling

Place almondtella at the bottom of crème brûlée for a nice surprise.

Read more about the problems with palm oil at: Palm Oil, What’s the Issue?

Cowboy Soup – The Day After Wagon Wheel Ribs

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

The leftover stock from oven-cooked Wagon Wheel Baby Back Ribs is the base for one of the best soups we’ve ever enjoyed.

This soup doesn’t really have much to do with cowboys, except that if we were cowboys, this would be what we’d want to eat around the campfire. A cold night, wolves howling in the darkness, shooting stars above, a roaring fire cracking and sparking, a properly chilled Riesling… (We’re the kinds of cowboys who pack stemware.)

Cowboy Soup

Ingredients

2 cups leftover liquid from Wagon Wheel Ribs
1 pound leftover baby back ribs, meat cut from bone and sliced into bite-sized chunks
leftover bones, cracked
leftover potatoes, beans and onions
fresh sweet corn from one or two cobs (1 – 2 cups)
1 cup smoked gouda cheese, shredded
bay leaf
additional potatoes, cut into large chunks, salted and seasoned as desired
additional spices and seasonings such as chili powder, jerk rub, Cholula sauce, Mongolian fire oil, oregano, mesquite seasoning, salt and pepper, as desired
sour cream

Directions

Place leftover ingredients from Wagon Wheel Ribs (liquid, meat, bones, potatoes, beans, onions) and bay leaf in a medium-sized pot and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Simmer.
Meanwhile, place olive oil in a skillet and heat over medium heat. Add chunks of additional potatoes, seasoned as desired with salt, pepper, Cholula sauce and jerk rub. Cook till tender.
Add potatoes to soup. Stir in sweet corn and gouda cheese. Add additional seasonings if desired.
Serve piping hot with a dollop of sour cream.

Wagon Wheel Baby Back Ribs

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Look Ma, no grill! Seasoned just right and slow cooked in the oven in a large pan along with potatoes and onions, these baby back ribs come out sweet, spicy, tangy and falling off the bone. See recipe below.

Oftentimes camp cooking proves to be the mother of invention. On a rainy, windy evening in Seward, outdoor grilling was out of the picture. But our appetites were already set on baby back ribs…

This one-pan method for baby back ribs is sure to be a crowd pleaser and is as close to no-fuss cooking as you can get. Cleanup’s a breeze, too. We use a 12.5″ Swiss Diamond pan – our wagon wheel – for this kind of cooking. It’s heavy, oven-safe and non-stick. Mirin, a very sweet rice wine used liberally in Japanese cooking, gives this dish a pleasant sweetness complementing the heat.

Wagon Wheel Ribs

Ingredients

1 set baby back ribs, cut into individual-sized servings of 2 to 4 ribs each
a few small potatoes, some cut into large chunks, others left whole
1 large sweet onion, chopped coarse
2 cups black beans, already cooked
4 cloves garlic, chopped coarse
mirin (or substitute a little sherry and honey)
olive oil
Cholula sauce
Mongolian fire oil
mesquite seasoning (optional)
a chili-based dry rub with some heat such as Jamaican jerk rub or any rub featuring powdered chili, oregano, cinnamon and similar seasonings
sea salt
freshly cracked pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. (The oven in our camper only goes down to 300 degrees. You can cook these ribs more slowly and at a lower temperature if you prefer.)
Rub plenty of the dry chili-based rub into each set of ribs. Set aside.
Place roughly equal portions of mirin, Cholula sauce and olive oil in a large, oven-safe frying pan (one that has a lid) and mix together over low heat. Stir in a little Mongolia fire oil or similarly spicy oil. Stir in mesquite seasoning, salt and pepper. There should be enough liquid to amply cover the bottom of the pan.
Add the ribs to the pan, turning each piece so that they are coated with liquid. Place meat side down, cover the pan with a lid and place in the oven. Cook for 30 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven. Turn the ribs over so that they are bone side down. Add garlic, onions, potatoes and beans. Cover the pan and return to the oven. Cook for an additional hour.
Test the meat and potatoes with a fork for tenderness. Meat should easily come off the bone. (Save the liquid for delicious Cowboy Soup.)

A dry or semi-dry Riesling is an ideal wine to pair with spicy pork ribs.

Braised Elk Roast Camper Style: One Pan Cooking in The Wagon Wheel

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Elk roasts liberally rolled in freshly cracked pepper and slow cooked with sweet onions, baby Yukon Gold potatoes and the chef’s choice of additional vegetables is an appealing meal that can be prepared virtually anywhere. Recipe below.

Over the years we’ve become big fans of Swiss Diamond cookware. Covered eggs cooked over very low heat in their non-stick frying pans are a revelation. Nothing sticks, and as long as the manufacturer’s instructions regarding overly high heat are followed, the surface on this cookware remains in excellent condition through years of regular use.

My favorite Swiss Diamond pan is their big, 12.5 inch frying pan. We call it The Wagon Wheel and it’s perfect for everything from baking a pizza to frying fish to slow cooking a roast in in the oven. The challenge with a pan this large is fitting it into some ovens – such as the one on our Lance truck camper. In fact, even storing a pan of this size in a camper is no mean feat.

So I removed the handle. Permanently. It’s around somewhere, safely tucked away along with the hardware used to attach it. On the camper, we don’t need the handle. Oven mitts suffice.

The elk roasts were a gift from a friend. The recipe is uncomplicated. The finished meal is hearty and has great eye appeal – the perfect meal with a glass of old vine Zinfandel on a rainy evening in Seward, Alaska.

Braised Elk Roast

Ingredients

1 pound elk rump roast or similar cut from wild game or beef
1 large sweet onion, chopped coarse
whole small potatoes
other vegetables as desired: parsnips, carrots, brussels sprouts, garlic cloves, mushrooms and even chunks of pumpkin or squash are all good candidates
olive oil
freshly cracked pepper
sea salt
sherry or red wine
additional seasonings such as rosemary, sage or thyme, if desired

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. (Our camper oven only turns down to 300 degrees F – a little hotter than perfect, but still fine.)
Heat light olive oil or similar frying oil over sufficiently high heat to create a sizzle when the meat hits the pan. Sear the meat on all sides. Use tongs to hold the meat if necessary. About 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove meat and set aside.
Lower heat on pan to medium low. Deglaze pan by adding sherry or wine and use a spatula to gently scrape the brown fond created during searing. Slightly reduce liquid over medium to medium-low heat.
Meanwhile place seared roast in a bowl. Roll the roast in olive oil, salt and freshly cracked pepper to give the roast a coating.
Add additional olive oil to the pan as necessary. Add onions and other vegetables along with salt and pepper, stirring briefly to thoroughly coat with oil. Add the meat, cover the pan with a lid, and place in oven.
Cook covered for an hour for a small roast, longer for a larger roast. Add additional wine or a little water to maintain a broth on bottom of pan, if necessary.

Pecan Banana Coffee Cake: More Tasty Experiments With Black Bananas

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

This moist, flavorful cake topped with crunchy pecan streusel is ready for a hot cup of joe. Four bananas per loaf make for a fairly nutritious slice, as cakes go, and a good excuse for seconds!

If you read about our banana mochi bread, you’ll know we are experimenting with the bounty of black bananas recently bestowed upon us! After sampling the banana mochi bread, Jack “requested” the next creation contain nuts. (He made me strike the phrase “petulantly demanded.” Editors… sigh.) To satisfy his request, this recipe for banana coffee cake included pecans in the batter and also as part of the topping. Jack said, “Mmmmm.” Guess that was the best compliment he could muster with his mouth full. One loaf went in the freezer, and one remains out for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Banana Coffee Cake

Ingredients

Cake –

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 bananas, mashed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup soy milk (regular milk would work, too)

Topping –

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
generous tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9″ x 5″ loaf pans. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together until well blended.
Using a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until combined.
Add eggs and vanilla, beat until combined.
Add bananas and milk, beat until combined.
Add flour mixture to banana mixture and mix until just combined.
Pour half the batter in each loaf pan.
In a small bowl, mix together topping ingredients.
Crumble half of topping mixture on top of batter in each loaf pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Let cool on wire racks.
Enjoy while still warm with a fresh cup of joe.

Sometimes Things Freeze in the Arctic (Mochi Cake With Black Bananas)

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

A delicious way to use the unusable, banana mochi bread has the moistness and flavor of banana and the dense, rich texture of mochi cake. Slathered with cream cheese this is a delicious afternoon snack.

Guided by a philosophy of not wanting to waste anything, we are sometimes the recipients of fruit past its prime. This week boxes of bananas arrived for snacks for our students at Tikigaq School in Point Hope, Alaska. Unfortunately, many had frozen on the plane on the way up. Most people will not eat thawed-out, blackened bananas. And then there are people like us.

The obvious response to these bananas was banana bread. I have a tried and true fruit bread recipe which I’ve used for bananas, blueberries, cloudberries, and pears. But this is the time of year to be a bit more creative in order to use up pantry items. With this in mind, I give you mochi banana bread. Mochi is a Japanese creation which uses sweet rice flour to make a dense, rich, but not-too-sweet dessert. With previous success baking a chocolate mochi cake, I wanted to give bananas a try.

The results of this experiment were a sugary-crisp crust enclosing the nicely dense banana bread I was going for. Blog worth! (Of course, we only publish the good stuff!)

Banana Mochi Bread

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup mochiko (sweet rice flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups smashed overripe bananas (about 6)
3 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (substituting applesauce will lighten the bread)
1 tsp Penzeys double strength vanilla extract (or 2 tsp regular vanilla extract)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9″ x 5″ loaf pan. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix dry ingredients.
In bowl of stand mixer, mix together all wet ingredients until thoroughly mixed.
Stir dry ingredients into wet. Mix until just incorporated.
Pour batter into loaf pan.
Bake for 55 – 60 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.
Cool loaf pan on wire rack until it can be handled. Then remove loaf from pan and continue cooling on wire rack.

Sour Cream Double Corn Muffins

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Speckled with red bell pepper and corn kernels, these corn muffins are waiting for a bowl of chili to happen.

With our time left in Point Hope numbered in weeks, we are going through the annual process of creating recipes based on what remains in our pantry. The last of the tri-tip roasts in our freezer inspired Jack to recreate his “Chili Done Large.” We’ll be closing out our lunches in style.

To accompany his chili, I brought out an almost-finished bag of corn meal. Usually the time-tested recipes on product packaging are pretty good, but this time relying on the maker’s recipe was a mistake. The corn muffins came out dry and bland. Time to create my own moist and flavorful version that would stand up to the merits of Jack’s flavor-packed chili con carne!

I wanted my muffins to have a rustic texture and also be moist. Coarse ground cornmeal and sour cream would be the key ingredients. The addition of whole sweet corn kernels added texture and complexity. Minced dried onions helped add another layer of flavor. And finally, I added dried bell peppers as “confetti” to give some color and zest to the muffins. A little butter smeared on to the muffins along with a drizzle of honey make these a satisfying balance to a bowl of spicy, smoky chili.

Sour Cream Double Corn Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
generous pinch salt
1 large egg
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
2 tbsp applesauce
1 tsp dried minced onion
2 tbsp dried red bell peppers
1 cup thawed frozen corn

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 12 cup muffin tin. Set aside.
Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together wet ingredients except for corn.
Pour dry ingredients into wet and stir until just mixed.
Fold in corn.
Pour batter into muffin tin.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Muffins should be just browning on the outside. A toothpick inserted in center of muffin should come out clean to indicate doneness.

Twisted Cinnamon Loaf Overnight French Toast

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Swirling with, pecans, cinnamon, butter and maple syrup, this decadent creation puffs up like a soufflé in the oven. You and your guests will be inspired to linger over a leisurely morning table with a second mimosa.

We recently baked a loaf of twisted cinnamon bread, which is never better than on the morning it comes out of the oven. Since our Arctic kitchen is quite arid, items left out tend to dry out quickly, which gives us the opportunity to get creative with leftovers.

Overnight French toast is not a new recipe for us. But starting with a base of this wonderful twisted cinnamon bread was new. Soaking the bread overnight in an egg and cream mixture causes the bread to puff up magically during baking. Drizzled with maple syrup and served with a strip of thick bacon this cinnamon loaf French toast was a great way to start a weekend!

Twisted Cinnamon Bread Overnight French Toast

Ingredients

8 inch-thick slices twisted cinnamon bread
5 eggs
1 cup half and half or heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup whole milk or soy milk
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Ingredients for pecan topping:

4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
4 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Butter an 8 x 8 inch glass baking dish.
Lay slices of bread on bottom of glass baking dish.
Thoroughly mix together eggs, cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover dish and place in refrigerator overnight.
Bring bread mixture out of refrigerator and set on counter to come toward room temperature while preheating oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare pecan topping by mixing butter, pecans, and brown sugar.
Bake for 20 minutes then top with pecan mixture.
Continue baking another 20 minutes, until golden and puffed.
Serve with maple syrup.

Roasted Onion Cheddar Knots: Savory Stuffed Rolls for a Cold Winter’s Day

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Stuffed with cheddar cheese and warm out of the oven, these rolls are just the thing to go with a bowl of hot tomato soup on a chilly winter afternoon.

Cheddar knot rolls are fun to make, and just about everyone loves baked goods stuffed with tasty ingredients. Investing a little extra effort in roasting the onions for the top and cutting strips of cheese for the inside of the ropes results in a perfect accompaniment to soup as well as a savory take-along snack for a winter’s day walk or hike.

If you and your family and friends like these, try our Arctic Anpan 2 Ways for additional creative recipes for sweet and savory stuffed rolls.

Roasted Onion Cheddar Knots

Ingredients

1 cup water
5 tbsp powdered milk
2 tsp active dry yeast
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 oz. cheddar cheese cut into matchstick strips
3 thin slices (discs) of onion
olive oil, smoked sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper
1 egg, beaten

Directions

Place first 7 ingredients into the pan of your bread machine, in the order recommended by the manufacturer.
Turn machine on, dough cycle.
When cycle is finished, turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.
Cut dough into 6 equal pieces.
Roll and stretch each piece into ropes approximately 12 inches long.
Flatten each rope. Place about four matchstick-shaped pieces of cheese down the middle of the flattened rope.
Pinch dough closed around the cheese pieces so that you still have about a 12 inch rope with cheese enveloped in the center. Make sure you’ve really pinched these shut so they don’t pop open during baking.
Tie the rope into a knot shape. Repeat with all the ropes.
Let knots rest covered on a parchment-lined baking sheet for about 45 minutes in a warm place. Knots should almost double in size.
Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss onions with olive oil, smoked salt, and freshly cracked pepper. Onion rings should be separated and all should be well coated.
Roast onions on baking sheet for about 10 minutes. They should be translucent and just starting to brown.
Remove onions from oven and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
Brush knots with beaten egg. Place roasted onions atop egg-washed knots.
Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Finished rolls should be golden brown.

Venison Broccoli Stir Fry with Brown Sugar & Soy Sauce

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Jack & Barbra Donachy

Tasty, quick, easy and attractive, beef (or wild game) and broccoli is a dish almost nobody doesn’t like. Here’s our twist on a classic favorite.

More than half-way through our year in the Arctic, our freezers remain abundantly stocked with Alaskan seafood and wild game. Featured in this dish is a lean, tender cut of Sitka black-tailed deer. Asian-style stir fry such as this is perfect for days when you want something quick but delicious.

Most recipes for this dish call for corn starch. For a cleaner taste and presentation while still achieving the thick broth desired for this dish, try substituting rice flour for the corn starch. A generous drizzle of sesame oil toward the end of cooking really brings this dish together. As we live far from a well-stocked grocer, we used powdered seasonings.

Venison Broccoli Stir Fry

Ingredients: (for two servings)

1/2 pound lean, tender wild game or beef, cut into slender 2″ strips
1 tbsp rice flour + 1/2 tbsp rice flour, separated (or use corn starch)
1 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp olive oil
a scant 1/2 tsp powdered garlic
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
3/4 cup onion, chopped very coarse
frying oil such as light olive oil
2 cups broccoli florets
sesame oil
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds

Directions:

In a bowl, combine venison strips, 1 tbsp rice flour, water, olive oil, garlic and ginger. Mix thoroughly so that each meat strip is thoroughly coated with mixture. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce and brown sugar. Set aside.
In a wok or large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add venison, stirring continuously for about 2 – 3 minutes to sear and lightly cook through. Remove venison to a bowl and set aside.
Add a little more oil to the pan and add the onions. Stirring frequently, cook until onions just begin turning translucent but are still fairly crunchy. Add broccoli and continue stir frying till broccoli begins to turn bright green, adding a little more oil if necessary.
Add venison, sesame oil, sesame seeds and brown sugar and soy sauce mixture, stirring quickly to thoroughly mix ingredients together. Cook just long enough to reheat venison.
Serve immediately on a bed of steaming rice.