Sunday, September 22, 2013

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I made Hawaiian pork in the crock pot, and had a few pineapple rings left over.
[This was made with pineapple rings canned in juice]

You know what that means...

Pineapple Upside Down Cake! Yay!



I used this recipe for my cake, with a few adjustments:

1 cup gluten free flour (1/3 c. each brown rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, 1/8 t. xanthan gum)
1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar, + 2 T. extra
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, softened + 1/2 T. extra
1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup pineapple juice (use what was in the can)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
5 pineapple rings
5 maraschino cherries (Oops! Didn't have any. I survived!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt 1/2 T. butter right an 8-inch cake pan while the oven's preheating. Take it out and tilt the pan to make sure the butter is covering the bottom. Sprinkle 2 T. brown sugar evenly over the pan. Lay the pineapple rings in the bottom and place a cherry in the middle.

In a mixing bowl sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter, milk, pineapple juice, and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides of bowl. Add eggs, beat for 3 more minutes. *Honestly I don't think I reached the 3-4 minute mark on either of these steps. I just eyeballed it until it all looked well-mixed.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in the pan only for a couple minutes. Turn out onto a big plate, and leave the pan on top for a minute to let the juices run back into the cake. Do not forget to turn it out- you'll lose the valuable brown sugar crusty deliciousness that gets stuck to the pan.

 P.S. You can put booze in this! Oh, I'm so doing that for Christmas...

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Tomato basil fish

Here's what you get when you have a healthy basil plant and a sad tomato with skin starting to wrinkle.


Tomato basil fish. The addition of red bell pepper and garlic really make the flavors in this dish pop.

I don't know what kind of fish this is. I bought it frozen in individual packs and I didn't keep the outer bag that tells you what it is. It's pretty cheap as far as fish goes, and it's white with a mild flavor.

So back to dinner. 

Heat your pan. I put my stovetop dial on "3" and use my nonstick ceramic pan. I love that thing. My brother bought it as a gift and I cherish it. Make sure the fish is thawed if you are using frozen, like me.

Toppings:
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 c. fresh basil leaves, chopped (or a small handful)
2 T. chopped red bell pepper*
1 T. chopped onion*
1/4 t. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together, or put chunks in a food processor and pulse a few times.

Throw your fish on the pan. You'll need some kind of lubrication if it's not non-stick- olive oil will do.
Place your tomato basil mixture in the pan just to warm up and let it all cook and get happy until the edges of the fish turn white & are no longer translucent. Turn them over and let the fish cook until the thickest part is white & flakes with a fork. The juices from the toppings will provide moisture so they don't get all dry, and will also provide flavor.

Serve hot with the tomato basil mixture on top. I like broccoli lately, so that's what was on my plate. I beefed it up with some brown rice when I took the leftovers for lunch, since lunch needs more staying power than dinner.

* I am able to use small amounts of bell pepper and onion because I rarely use an entire pepper or onion all at once. I keep the rest already chopped in the freezer and just take out what I need.

Serves 2, or 1 with lunch leftovers.