This month when I read about the exciting “indigenous foods” event that Vittoria at Deliciously Gluten Free had proposed with “Go Ahead Honey… It’s Gluten Free,” I was excited to participate. I even had an idea what I wanted to make- artichokes! After all, California is the national capital of artichokes, with more grown in Castroville than anywhere else in the United States. Imagine my dismay some time later, when I found out that artichokes are not native to California at all. In fact, they are believed to be “a native of the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands.” The California attempt at cultivating artichokes began in 1922, when “Andrew Molera, a landowner in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California, just south of San Francisco, decided to lease his land to Italian farmers that he encouraged to try growing the “new” vegetable.” (source: What’s Cooking America). So much for my idea to make artichokes as an “indigenous food.” What next? I turned to the internet to find out what actually qualified as an indigenous, gluten-free, and vegetarian ingredient. I almost immediately found that besides nuts and berries, acorn was one of the most important vegetarian and gluten-free ingredient for many Californian Native Americans.

According to my friend Wikipedia:
“Acorns were a traditional food of many indigenous peoples of North America, but served an especially important role in California, where the ranges of several species of oaks overlap, increasing the reliability of the resource. Acorns, unlike many other plant foods, do not need to be eaten or processed right away, but may be stored for long time periods, as squirrels do. In years that oaks produced many acorns, Native Americans sometimes collected enough acorns to store for two years as insurance against poor acorn production years. After drying them in the sun to discourage mold and germination, Native American women took acorns back to their villages and cached them in hollow trees or structures on poles, to keep acorns safe from mice and squirrels. These acorns could be used as needed.”

For my first experiment, I wanted to test the flavor and texture of the new ingredient, so I didn’t want to make something JUST made of that ingredient, but something in which it would play a subtle role as a flavor and texture enhancer. I found inspiration from this list of acorn recipes and then branched off from the Acorn cornbread recipe to create the following yummy muffins. Note to the wise: I used acorn starch, not acorn flour as the latter was not available to me, but it worked beautifully. My resulting muffins were fluffy, light and delicate, with a pleasing brown bread appearance and flavor. I did notice that when I baked them lightly, they were prone to sticking to the bottom of the muffin tin. This might be a perfect recipe for paper muffin liners. These are absolutely lovely muffins for fall…. and I’ll definitely be making them again. *Edited: By the way, they are perfect the first day, and after that I like to zap them in the microwave for 20 seconds and enjoy them with butter or margarine. Delicious! They should last 4-5 days if stored properly*

What else can you do with Acorn Starch? Try this…
Korean Acorn Jelly Recipe

Find a Korean supermarket in the United States

Although the price is high, you can buy acorn starch online at Hmart. However, I found it in my store for almost half the listed price here, so I really recommend finding a market or having a friend find a local market and mail the flour to you. *For the Hmart site, click the English button in the upper right of the page, unless of course you read Korean. :) *

Acorn Muffin Recipe Bread  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 1/2 cup acorn starch flour 1/2 cup brown rice flour 1 cup white GF flour blend (such as Bette Hagman’s gourmet blend) 2 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 2 large eggs 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup applesauce 1/4 cup butter, melted 1 cup buttermilk Directions Prepare a muffin tin by spraying with nonstick cooking oil. Preheat oven to 375. Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then combine wet ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk until combined. Then make a well in the center of your mixed dry ingredients and pour in your wet ingredients, mixing until smooth. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until muffins are brown and cooked through.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Based on (gluten-containing) a-corn bread recipe, but modified heavily. Recipe ID:  1318 Added:  November 7, 2008 Last Modified:  November 7, 2008

So, here is my inaugural post for the third edition of Go Ahead Honey, it’s Gluten-Free, hosted by Sheltie Girl at Gluten a Go Go.

And if you love Gluten-Free Blog Events, check out the
Roundup for our March Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger Event
or
Rachel’s Call for the April Edition of Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger

Broccoli Pesto Potato Croquette Recipe Main Course  Potatoes  American

Ingredients 2 cups leftover Mashed Potatoes (made with plain dairy free milk and dairy free margarine, salt and pepper), cold 1/8 cup dairy free homemade pesto (recipe in files) 1/8 cup steamed broccoli, cut into baby pieces, stem ok 1/8 sweet red pepper, diced 1 green onion (scallion), diced freshly ground sea salt freshly ground black pepper italian seasonings, salt, and pepper 2 tbsp. teff flour or other whole grain GF flour Olive oil To serve: Vegan mayonnaise, soy, or rice yogurt sirachi sauce, gourmet ketchup, or chipotle sauce Large lettuce leaves Directions Combine mashed potatoes, pesto, steamed broccoli, red pepper, and green onion, folding the broccoli in carefully so florets remain somewhat intact. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and add any additional spices to taste. Heat nonstick frypan over medium-high heat and add a teaspoon or two of olive oil (for the nicest browning) and cover pan evenly. Shape your potato mash into balls and then flatten into a patty. If you like, you can combine the teff flour and seasonings and flour your patty OR you can just leave the croquette as is. Fry your patty until golden brown, turning over to get both sides evenly crispy and brown. To serve as “finger food” provide your guests (or family) with large lettuce leaves to make a lettuce potato wrap, with a smidgen of aoli or vegan mayonnaise or other creamy sauce and a dab of “red” sauce (your choice). Or just enjoy plain!

Rating:  7 Original Source:  The contents of my brain. Please do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1222 Added:  April 17, 2008 Last Modified:  April 17, 2008

Dairy Free Basil Pesto Recipe for Pizza or Pasta Main Course  Sauces & Condiments  American

Ingredients 2 cups basil leaves, destemmed, and packed tightly 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (*Edited to have more nuts) 1/6 cup rice wine or cider vinegar 1/8 cup water 1/6 cup nutritional yeast flakes (optional) 2 cloves roasted garlic (bake with other dishes in the oven or use raw if you like) 1/4 cup olive oil salt and pepper Your favorite gluten-free pizza recipe (from mix, scratch (carol fenster) or pre-made) Directions Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender through the garlic, and pulse until ingredients are combined and chopped. Add olive oil in a steady stream with the machine on until you form a nice pesto paste. Scrape out pesto into a bowl and reserve. Notes Reserve one or two tablespoons of pesto for other recipes like my buckwheat grit pesto fries! You can use it for pizza: Prepare your gluten-free pizza according to recipe and top with pesto. Add any other ingredients you like (olives? artichoke hearts? portabella mushroom slices?) and bake according to instructions. (Usually 10-15 minutes). Slice and enjoy! Or for pasta: Combine with gluten-free pasta, grilled veggies and plenty of pesto. Yum!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  modified version of this recipe: http://www.bookofyum.com/recipes/showrecipe.php?recipe=1024 Recipe ID:  1208 Added:  March 16, 2008 Last Modified:  May 15, 2008