12 oz plums 2 Tbsp arrowroot powder 1 cup flour ½ cup almond meal 2 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt ½ cup applesauce 1 egg ½ cup milk or nut milk ½ cup honey ¼ tsp almond extract ¼ cup chopped almonds

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan.

Remove the pits and roughly chop the plums. Combine them with the arrowroot powder in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, combine the applesauce, egg, milk, honey, and almond extract. Whisk to blend thoroughly.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and whisk until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Gently place the plum mixture evenly over the entire top of the batter. Since the plums will displace the batter, it is important to make an even layer as you put it down. Put the plums all the way to the edge. Sprinkle the chopped almonds on top.

Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

#almond #almondextract #almondmeal #applesauce #arrowroot #bakingpowder #cake #dessert #egg #honey #milk #nutmilk #plum #salt #vegetarian #wheatflour

1 lb cherries, any variety, pits and stems removed 2 Tbsp apple juice, as desired for sweetness ¼ tsp ground cinnamon A pinch of ground cloves 1 cup milk or nut milk

If using canned cherries, drain out and discard the syrup. If using fresh cherries and juice comes out from pitting them, use the juice!

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Be sure to blend it thoroughly. Strain the skins out if necessary.

#applejuice #cherry #cinnamon #clove #dairyfree #dessert #glutenfree #milk #nutmilk #pudding #vegan #vegetarian

7 cups water or vegetable stock 6 Tbsp corn meal 3 Tbsp oil 1 ½ tsp salt ¾ tsp pepper ¾ tsp basil ½ tsp thyme 1 ¼ pound potatoes, diced 5 carrots, chopped 3 celery sticks, chopped 1 ½ medium onions, chopped 1 ½ cup peas 1 ½ cup corn 3 cups beans, precooked

Dumplings: 2 ¼ cup flour ¾ tsp salt ¼ cup butter 1 ¼ cup milk or nut milk 3 egg whites

Whisk the corn meal into the water/vegetable stock. Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Let it simmer, but not boil.

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Beat in milk and egg whites. Drop dough in spoonfuls into the stew. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Cover and cook for 10 more minutes until dumplings are done.

#basil #bean #butter #carrot #celery #corn #cornmeal #eggwhite #main #milk #nutmilk #oil #onion #pea #pepper #potato #salt #soup #soupstock #thyme #vegetarian #wheatflour

Makes about 12 oz. of cheese.

1 gallon milk 2 tsp citric acid or lemon juice 1/8 – ¼ tsp rennet

Pour the milk into a large pot. Dissolve the citric acid in a bit of cool water and stir into the milk, or stir the lemon juice directly into the milk. Stir well. Heat the milk slowly to 90° F (use a food thermometer). Try not to let it get above 90°. Once it reaches that point, you can turn off the heat.

Dilute the rennet in a few Tbsp of cool water. My rennet is extra strength that says 1/8 tsp will work on 2 gallons of milk, so I try to approximate ½ of a 1/8 tsp measure. If your rennet doesn't have a suggested ratio on the container, using ¼ tsp should be fine.

Stir the rennet dilution into the milk. Let sit until a curd forms, this usually takes 5-10 minutes. Check the curd by sticking in your finger and pulling it out horizontally. Your finger should come out mostly clean with the curd splitting apart around it. You can also check by pulling the curd away from the edge of the pot and having clear whey fill in the space.

Take a long, sharp knife and cut a grid pattern in the curd all the way to the bottom of the pot. Cut several more lines that slant through the depth of the curd. Let rest for a few minutes. The curd should be thick enough that you see the lines you cut, and the cuts will be filled with clear whey.

Line a large colander with cloth (in my experience the commercial cheesecloth is too gauzy, and normal muslin or light linen works better) and place the colander over a larger bowl. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the curd into the bowl. You're using the cloth to strain out the whey, which you'll put back into the pot and heat the whey in the pot to about 175° F.

Take a few Tbsp of the whey and mix with ice water and a few Tbsp of salt in a bowl.

Add salt to the curd to taste.

The stretching and kneading that follows is what makes this into mozzarella.

Knead the curd to work off more whey, depending on how dry you want the final cheese to be. Then bundle up the curd in the cloth and hang it in the pot of hot whey to warm it up. It needs to be almost too hot to touch when you take it out. Take it out, open the cloth, and knead and stretch the curd. When it gets cool, bundle it in the cloth, heat it up in the whey, take it out and continue to knead it. Continue doing this.

Eventually when you pull at it, it will start forming the stretchy grain that mozzarella is known for. When it's all smooth, stretchy grain instead of the little cottage-cheesy curd texture, start forming it into a nice ball of cheese by tucking the edges under to the middle. Then immerse the ball of cheese in the cold brine you made earlier, which sets the cheese.

You can store the cheese in the brine, or just in a plastic bag or container. As this is a fresh, all-natural, soft cheese, it should be eaten within a few days of being made.

#cheese #citricacid #glutenfree #lemonjuice #milk #rennet #vegetarian

1 cup fresh mint leaves ½ cup sugar 1 cup milk 1 cup heavy cream

Wash and dry the mint leaves, removing the stems. Crush the leaves with the sugar until it resembles wet sand. Stir in milk and cream until the sugar dissolves. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Strain out the leaves, then churn and freeze in an ice-cream maker.

#cream #dessert #frozen #milk #mint #sugar #vegetarian

2 ½ cups chopped plums, pitted 2 medium apples, cored and chopped ½ cup blackberries ½ cup spiced apple cider 1 cup flour 2 Tbsp brown sugar pinch of salt ¼ cup butter ¼ cup cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine the fruit and place in an 8” baking pan or pie tin. Pour ¼ cup cider over it.

Stir together the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter and cream cheese until it is all crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, then sprinkle the remaining cider over the top.

Bake for 45-55 minutes.

Sauce: ½ cup sour cream ½ cup nut milk ¼ cup pure maple syrup

Whisk together and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

#apple #applejuice #blackberry #brownsugar #butter #cobbler #creamcheese #dessert #maplesyrup #milk #nutmilk #plum #sauce #sourcream #vegetarian #wheatflour

1 lb beef, cut into chunks, or ground ½ tsp lavender buds 8 oz sliced mushrooms 7 red potatoes of variable size 2 Tbsp cream cheese ¼ cup milk ½ tsp salt ½ tsp ground black pepper 2 beets 3 carrots 1 onion ¼ cup fennel leaves and stalks 2 Tbsp flour or corn starch

Cook the beef and mushrooms with the lavender buds in a small amount of water. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cut potatoes into chunks and boil until soft. Drain the water; mash the potatoes with the milk, cream cheese, salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Chop up the vegetables and place in a casserole dish. You can use just the beet root, or use the leaves as well. Put the beef and mushrooms over the vegetables, it's okay if it's not fully cooked at this point. Sprinkle flour over everything.

Spread the mashed potatoes over everything.

Bake for about 30 minutes. Broil it at the end if necessary to brown the top.

#beef #beet #carrot #cornstarch #creamcheese #fennel #glutenfree #lavender #main #milk #mushroom #onion #pepper #potato #salt #wheatflour

¼ cup corn starch ¼ cup chopped raw nuts 2 cups milk, cream, buttermilk, or nut milk 1 ½ cups chopped apples 1 ½ cups chopped pear ¼ c honey ½ tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp ginger pinch of ground cloves pinch of salt pinch of nutmeg

Mix the corn starch, nuts, milk, apples, pears, and honey in saucepan and bring slowly to a simmer. Cook, stirring for 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Can be served warm or chilled.

#apple #buttermilk #cinnamon #cloves #cornstarch #cream #dairyfree #dessert #ginger #glutenfree #honey #milk #nutmeg #nutmilk #nuts #pear #pudding #salt #vegetarian

3 cups milk 2/3 cup sugar ¼ cup cornstarch 3 egg yolks 3 Tbsp unsweetened dark cocoa 1/8 tsp salt ½ tsp vanilla extract ½ cup dark chocolate chips

Put 2 ½ cups milk, the cocoa, and the salt in a saucepan over med-high heat. Sprinkle sugar on the milk, without stirring.

In a separate bowl, whisk the cornstarch into the remaining milk. Add egg yolks and beat well.

Right when milk comes to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Keep stirring as the mixture begins to thicken. Return to heat and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly as it thickens. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips and vanilla. Serve warm.

#chocolatechip #cocoa #cornstarch #dessert #eggyolk #glutenfree #milk #pudding #salt #sugar #vanilla #vegetarian

3 ¾ cups milk ½ tsp salt ¾ cup sugar ¼ cup + 1 tsp cornstarch 3 egg yolks 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract 1 ½ Tbsp butter

Put 3 cups milk and the salt in a saucepan over med-high heat. Sprinkle sugar on the milk, without stirring.

In a separate bowl, whisk the cornstarch into the remaining milk. Add egg yolks and mix well.

When milk comes to steaming, right before a boil, remove from heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Keep stirring as the mixture begins to thicken. Return to heat and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. It will continue to thicken as it cools. Serve warm.

Makes 6 servings.

For variations, replace ½ tsp of vanilla extract with another extract, like orange or lemon.

Serve alone, or with fruit or cake.

#butter #cornstarch #dessert #eggyolk #glutenfree #milk #pudding #salt #sugar #vanilla #vegetarian