Author: Tamarah Rockwood

Wife of Ben, mother of 5, laundry denier, writer, reader, hermit and lover of learning, hater of tupperware parties.

Gluten Free Down Home Chili

On By Tamarah RockwoodIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

This chili is from scratch, and it is exactly how I like it.  It’s thick, it’s hearty, it’s meaty, it’s beany, and there are big killer tomatoes in it.  Totally awesome meal, extremely easy to make.  So here’s how it goes:

 

Down Home Chili

  • 4 cups of dried pinto beans (do. not. use. beans. from. a. can.)                                                                        Bonus: if you want to spice things up in the bean dept., get a bag of dried bean mix, or throw some navy beans in.  I’m all for experimenting (within reason…like, don’t start getting brussel sprouts in here or anything), so try some new beans!  Just make sure the base of the chili is pinto beans.  Their texture and flavor make it chili.  That’s what I think.
  • 10 cups of water
  • 1 can organic stewed tomatoes
  • 1 can organic tomato paste (just a side note: at Costco, this costs just as much as the non-organic.)
  • 1 lbs. organic ground beef (I know it’s expensive, but it’s 1 lbs. and it’s worth it.  You have just got to trust me on this one.)
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • garlic powder, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, paprika, dried parsley

So here’s what you do:

Put the load of beans and water, and a little garlic powder into the pressure cooker.  The garlic powder really just makes the house smell amazing while you’re cooking it, which I think makes a big difference.  A house that smells like cooking plain beans isn’t the best place to be.  Just a personal preference here.  You want people to have excited anticipation about the meal, so create it for them.  Just a Tamarahism for ya.

Cook on high for 50 minutes.

While it is naturally releasing steam, throw the seasonings and spices into a pan with the stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, onion and ground beef and cover for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

Side Note: You totally can just throw the beef in the pressure cooker at this point if you wanted; it will cook just as well there.  But I have found that my family and I prefer the flavors of the chili if I cook the beef and onion in a pan a little slower.  But it’s totally up to you and what you like.

When that is all nice and cooked, spoon (or dump) the pan contents into the pressure cooker and mix into the beans.  Let it sit for a few minutes before serving, just to let the flavors mingle a little.

That is really all you do for homemade chili.  It is crazy easy to make, and it is nice and thick so you can have it with a bunch of other things: pour it on cornbread, make chili dogs, put a dollop of sour cream on top of a bowl of chili (this is my favorite)…it is a great chili.

 

If you want it a little thinner, because that’s how you like it: add a cup more water when you add the meat mixture.  The beans absorb water like crazy so you might need even more than just a cup of water, and it’ll gel with all the ingredients to work well.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Pie

On By Tamarah RockwoodIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The way my husband puts it, “I wish cherry pie was my favorite, because I love cherry pie.  But nothing can compete with lemon meringue.”

And he’s totally right.  

img_0049

 

Before you begin, I’ll tell you that there is a specific order in which to assemble this pie.  Crust, Meringue and Filling.

See, first you have to lightly bake the crust, then you make the meringue…and then you make the lemon filling, which you put directly into the crust and then put the meringue right on top while it’s still hot.  So, if you do it in order, the pie is perfectly assembled!  No muss, no fuss.

Here is what you need to make this amazinglicious pie that will win you awards and accolades across the board:

Crust:

  • 1 cup Gluten Free Bisquick
  • 5 Tbsp cold butter
  • 3 Tbsp cold cream cheese
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp water
  1. Preheat the oven to 400F, and put a pan of water in the rack underneath.
  2. Put the Gluten Free Bisquick into a mixing bowl, and then add in the butter and cream cheese.
  3. Cut the butter and cream cheese into the Bisquick until it’s crumbly.  Feel free to use your clean hands for this
  4. IMG_0036
  5. Add the vinegar and water and mix until it is well combined.
  6. Spray or rub butter in the pie dish, and then start forming the pie crust into the dish.
  7. IMG_0037
  8. Bake for 10 minutes
  9. Take out and let cool, for about 30 minutes.

Meringue:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • A hefty pinch of Cream of Tartar
  1. Place the egg whites into your Kitchen Aid bowl, or into a bowl for a hand mixer
  2. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks forms
  3. Add the sugar and Cream of Tartar until stiff peaks form

Lemon Filling:

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • Hefty pinch of kosher salt
  • 1 cup of lemon juice
  • The zest of 6 lemons
  1. Put the 4 egg yolks in a bowl and whisk away
  2. In a saucepan, add the cornstarch, water, sugar and salt.  Whisk this, as well, and bring to a boil for one minute.
  3. Remove the pan from heat, and start drizzling the yolks into the pan while stirring vigorously.  You don’t really want to cook the yolks, just incorporate it into the mix.
  4. Once all the yolks have been stirred in, return the pan to the burner and boil for a brief minute.
  5. Remove again and add the lemon juice and lemon zest and just stir away.
  6. Once this is finished, pour it gently into the crust
  7. IMG_0038
  8. Once this is done, use a spatula and gently smooth the meringue on top of the filling.  Make sure you cover the whole pie, as far as the pie pan will let you.
  9. IMG_0042
  10. Bake this for 10 minutes
  11. Let cool completely before eating…put it in the fridge after it is cooled down to room temperature.

IMG_0049

 Honestly, this was the best pie I have ever made….in my LIFE.

IMG_0050

 

Gluten Free Carrot Cake Truffles

On By Tamarah RockwoodIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I am not a baker.

 

img_1810

 

 Baking is a precise science that requires measuring and patience, and fine tuning the ingredients.

After making one batch of carrot cake truffles, it looks like I just returned from an epic battle with the gingerbread man.

 So I’m saying: if you are a baker, go find a cake recipe book.  Really…they will nurture your spirit with delicate steps.

 However: if you are a barbarian in the kitchen, and you think a blow torch is a perfectly acceptable kitchen utensil, then this recipe is for you.  If you “eyeball” your baking soda, or guess on how much water to add, and think substituting ingredients is just part of the cooking process, then you are in the right place.  On the plus side, it tastes AMAZING.

 

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 2 cups all purpose gluten free flour
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • nutmeg, cinnamon, ground ginger
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup roasted, sliced almonds
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract, maybe a small splash of almond extract as well
  • 3 eggs

Icing:

  • cream cheese
  • powdered sugar
  • butter

Topping:

  • powdered sugar
  • ginger powder
  • nutmeg
  • melted chocolate chips

Directions to the Madness

1) First, make the yellow cake.  

You Need:

  • 2 cups all purpose gluten free flour
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • nutmeg, cinnamon, ground ginger
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup roasted, sliced almonds
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract, maybe a small splash of almond extract as well
  • 3 eggs

IMG_5503

Now You Need To:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Grease and flour your cake pan (I use PAM or parchment paper and PAM).
  3. Put the all purpose gluten free flour, baking powder, seasonings and salt into a large bowl.
  4. In a large bowl, cream sugar and shortening until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating completely after each one.
  5. Then add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating just to combine.
  6. Finally, stir in vanilla, raisins and nuts, and then pour batter into the cake pan.
  7. Here is a side note: bake this cake in a water bath – place tin on cookie sheet (or other tin with high sides); fill larger tin with boiling water while baking. This will give you an extremely moist cake.
  8. Bake at 350 degrees F  for 40 to 45 minutes.

IMG_1807

2) Second, make the frosting

1/2 package of powdered sugar to 1/2 stick of softened butter and 1/2 package of softened cream cheese.  Just put this in the Kitchen Aid until it’s fluffy.

3) Third, after the cake has cooled, gently crumble it with your hands

This is the hardest part, because it is like telling an artist, “I love your painting!  It is so beautiful and delicate.  So many subtleties.  Okay, now destroy it.”  But it’s what you need to do.

Add spoonfuls of the cream cheese frosting to the cake and use your hands to combine the two until it forms into neat balls.

IMG_1809

4) Fourth, roll the balls in the Topping, and put a stick in it, it’s done!

 Put 2 cups of powdered sugar into a mixing bowl and add nutmeg and ground ginger, and then roll the truffles in until they’re coated.

Place them on your dish, put a cake truffle stick in it, and place into the fridge to set.

IMG_1810

I drizzled melted chocolate chips onto them….because….I’m a woman, and chocolate is just awesome.

The Windy Year of the Sheep

On By Tamarah RockwoodIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

“In the village of Badbea in Caithness the conditions were so harsh that, while the women worked, they had to tether their sheep and even their children to rocks or posts to prevent them being blown over the cliffs.”

491px-Ambrose_RookewoodPlotter
credit
“Ambrose Rookwood was the eldest son of Robert Rookwood of Stanningfield, Suffolk by his second wife Dorothea. The family was an old and influential one in the area, having held the manor of Stanningfield sinceEdward I, and had many members who represented Suffolk in parliament. However, the family remained staunchly catholic and many of them, Ambrose’s parents included, were fined and imprisoned for their faith.”(http://www.britannia.com/history/a-rookwood.html)
“Ambrose Rookwood (c. 1578 – 31 January 1606) was a member of the failed 1605 Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to replace the Protestant KingJames I with a Catholic monarch. Rookwood was born into a wealthy family of Catholic recusants, and educated by Jesuits at Flanders. His older brother became a Franciscan, and his two younger brothers were ordained as Catholic priests. Rookwood, however, became a horse-breeder. He married the Catholic Elizabeth Tyrwhitt, and had at least two sons.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose_Rookwood)
Ambrose Rookwood, the great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather of my husband, Ben Rockwood.  Ambrose Rookwood’s son, Richard Rockwood (nee` Rookwood) fled to Massachusetts after his father was hung, drawn and quartered for his role in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 in England.  Richard’s great-great grandson served on the Union side in the Civil War in America, and was granted land as payment for his services.  He built a house and raised his son, James Rockwood in Terre Haute, Indiana.  There, James had his son, Richard, who then moved to California and started a family.  In 1977, he had Ben Rockwood: to whom I am married.
il_fullxfull.295243233
Ah, Scotland!
I, on the other hand, come from a line of Scots.  Laughlin MacMillan sent his 8 sons away from the homeland wrought with conflicts and oppression, and they sailed from Western Scotland to Nova Scotia in 1820 on The Commerce.  At that point in Scottish history, Highlanders were in a tough spot:
 
“Raised from the most loyal (to the English) clans — Campbell, Grant, Fraser and Munroe — they were stationed in small groups all over the Highlands, and their duties included stopping such activities as fighting between clans and any insurrection against the King; as well as…not allowing the the carrying of arms for fear of plotting against the English government. Most Scots, Borders and Highland, had not yet accepted being conquered. Finally, after the conquest, (1746) England demanded the Highlanders give up much: All Scots were forbidden to carry arms. All “Highlanders”, that is.” 
The young men selected for the Black Watch were the “pick of the lot” of Highlanders loyal to the King of England. They were often related, and proud of their privilege of bearing weapons. They became known as “Am Freiceadan Dubh” or “The Black Watch”, because of the dark tartan they wore, — they watched the Highlanders; arrested them; killed them and imprisoned them. No weapons were allowed the Highlanders, so it was easy once a Highlander was found, to find the outlawed weapon, arrest them and thus put them in prison (or worse), many were put to death, some had their own names forbidden to be used.
 At this time in history the Blackwatch was ‘hated’ by the Highland Clans who saw them only as traitors….Getting the Scots out of the Highlands was a difficult process, but they did it and they did not use humane methods, nor did they care at all about being humane and using humanitarian methods.”(http://www.sconemac.com/bwatch.html)
My family had always been in a bit of trouble in Scotland.  The MacMillan clan was also in the big battle you watched in Braveheart, except we had been paid by Robert the Bruce to fight on his side; we also received the honor of using the Scottish flag colors for our tartan.  Unfortunately, that battle didn’t exactly fix the political or economic troubles for the land, either.
Ultimately,  “another wave of mass emigration came in 1792, known as the Bliadhna nan Caorach (“Year of the Sheep“) to Gaelic speaking Scottish Highlanders. The people were accommodated in poor crofts or small farms in coastal areas where farming could not sustain the communities and they were expected to take up fishing. In the village of Badbea in Caithness the conditions were so harsh that, while the women worked, they had to tether their sheep and even their children to rocks or posts to prevent them being blown over the cliffs.
Others were put directly onto emigration ships to Nova Scotia(Antigonish and Pictou counties and later Cape Breton).” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Clearances)
My family was blown over the cliffs and landed in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and most of the MacMillans are still there today.   
 
However, the line of MacMillans that I hail from have not gotten the Atlantic winds out of their blood, and they kept blowing across The New World.  From Nova Scotia to Minnesota, from Minnesota to Saskatoon, Sascatchuan, from Saskatoon to Los Angeles.  
It was in Los Angeles that my father was born, and later I was born and raised there, as far away from the shores of Loch Sween and the city of Lochgilphead as possible.
In the end, what does all this mean?  
The academia of history has always been a way to connect our times with times in the past.  Honoring those who have succeeded with great things, sympathizing with people who suffered for justice, but mostly relating with those who have lived lives, raised families, accomplished much or accomplished little, but ultimately reached the final goal of life: death.
When I read about Ben’s heritage, I see the spunk of revolution that coursed through Ambrose’s blood still running through the veins of Ben.  The wild gleam I see in his eye when he is in the trenches of his work, or in lively, uninhibited conversations (arguments?) with people is most likely the same wild gleam his ancestors had (which got them in trouble, too). 
Looking back on my nomadic heritage, it makes sense that I have always looked across the fields and wondered what lies just on the other side of the horizon.  What would it be like to live in Denmark, do you think?  How would I raise my kids in Beijing, China?  Will we ever go home to Scotland, or is our home just the wheels on our car, the wind in our sails?
Families pass on legacies; sometimes completely unknown to us until we seek them out.  
I wonder what legacy I am passing on to my children, and ultimately their children.  Or will they look at my life and see a family all trying to stay tethered to rocks while the winds blow us out of our homes and into the crazy Atlantic ocean, just to go on another wild voyage to new endeavors?
I just wonder what is beyond the horizon sometimes.  
It is interesting, at least, to know what lands, and from whom we have been tethered to in the past.