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ByJacquelynGrandy SpecialtoDigitalFirstMedia Iknowit'sabitpresump- tuous to call these "the best gluten-free brownies," but to be honest, they're the best I've tasted. They also hap- pen to be a gluten-free ver- sion of my favorite brownie recipe ever, so you might say that I'm a bit biased. I'm a bit of a brownie and chocolate cake addict so I happen to know a thing or two about chocolate des- serts. I also know a tasty brownie when I try one. So if you like fudgy, chocolatey and rich brownies, then you're going to love these. I had just finished a week of gluten-free and grain-free baking at nat- ural chef school in Berke- ley, and some of the recipes were super tasty and full of flavor, but there were some that were dry and flavor- less. So I came home from school last week craving a real and fudgy dessert. Since we learned a thing or two about gluten-free bak- ing, I decided to challenge myself and try and make my favorite brownies glu- ten-free. I have to tell you that they baked just the same and looked and tasted identical to my other non- gluten-free batch. These gluten-free brown- ies are literally a chocolate- lover's dream. Be warned — these are not your standard cake-like brownie. These are more fudge-like in con- sistency, but fudge-like in a good way, like a mouth- watering, lick-your-fingers- and-plate sort of way. You may even need a nice tall glass of milk to wash these bad boys down! Jacquelyn Grandy develops recipes and blogs at marinmamacooks.com, which features healthy, seasonal and tasty recipes for families, and appears the third Wednesday of each month. Contact her at marinmamacooks@ gmail.com. MARIN MAMA COOKS Fudgy, chocolately and gluten-free Bestgluten-free brownies Note:Tomakethesenon- gluten free, you can substi- tute the arrowroot starch and unsweetened cocoa for ¼ cup all-purpose flour. INGREDIENTS 6tablespoons unsalted but- ter, cut into pieces 8ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces ¾ cup unrefined coconut sugar, or regular granulated sugar 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2large or extra-large eggs, at room temperature (I al- ways use extra-large eggs) 1tablespoon unsweetened natural cocoa powder 3tablespoons arrowroot starch/flour 1cup bittersweet chocolate chips Coarse sea salt for topping, optional DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the inside of an 8-inch square baking pan with 2lengths of parchment paper, positioning sheets perpendicular to each other and allowing the excess to extend beyond the edges of pan. Lightly butter the parchment paper. 2. Place chocolate and but- ter into a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Melt the butter and chocolate together, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until melted and smooth. Remove melted chocolate from heat. 3. Pour the melted choco- late into a large bowl, using a spatula to scrape out all of the excess chocolate. Add the sugar and vanilla to the melted chocolate, and mix until well combined. Using a whisk, add in eggs one at a time, until well combined. 4. In a small bowl, whisk together the unsweetened chocolate and arrowroot starch until well combined. Add the arrowroot and cocoa mixture to brownie batter. Note: This next step is very important! 5. Whisk the brownie batter energetically for 1full min- ute until the batter loses its graininess, becomes smooth and glossy, and pulls away a bit from sides of bowl. By doing this step you will end up with a batter that's rich, thick, satiny smooth and glossy, and brownies as a result will be rich and fudge-like. 6. Using a spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips. 7. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan using a spatula to make brownies even on top. Top the brown- ies with a bit of coarse sea salt if desired. 8. Bake brownies until the center feels almost set and edges are a bit firm, about 30-35minutes. Do not over- bake. My brownies always take exactly 33minutes to bake to perfection. 9. Let brownies cool com- pletely in the pan for about an hour. Li the parchment paper and block of brownies out of pan. Storage: Wrap brownies up tightly in parchment paper and then with a layer of tin foil. It's best to cut brownies right before serving them, as they stay fresher that way. RECIPE JACQUELYN GRANDY — CONTRIBUTED It's may seem a bit presumptuous to call these "the best gluten-free brownies," but they are moist and fudgy. Welcome, El Niño! Sit down, have some cof- fee, and stay a while. But not too long, if you know what I mean. We love rain, but not floods. OK? One good thing that comes along with this weather is the urge to make soup. Salads are great for summer, but when the gutters are over- flowing and the fireplace is all lit up, our genes just scream for soup. Homemade is so much better than canned. Out of a can, the vegetables are mushy, the pasta or rice is over-cooked, and the flavor is too salty. When you make it at home, you can use fresh ingredients (although canned tomatoes are fine), plus only the spices you like. And the house smells so great! Typically, I improvise. And the simpler, the bet- ter. For example, this past weekend I made lemon chicken soup in the slow cooker. (I always use the slow cooker for soup.) Dice two boneless, skin- less chicken breasts, place them in the cooker, and turn it on. Add two cans of low- salt chicken broth, the zest of a lemon, plus the juice, some chopped oil- packed sun-dried to- matoes, a minced gar- lic clove, and a teaspoon of Tuscan herbs or simi- lar. You can also add some chopped fresh spinach be- fore serving. Cook just long enough to wilt it. I've also made chicken and tomato soup the same way. Add two cans of diced tomatoes to the slow cooker. Crush them with a potato masher. Dice two chicken breasts, and add them to the cooker, along with two tablespoons of tomato paste, and a can of chicken broth. Season as you wish. For this, I like Italian or Greek season- ings. Add fresh vegetables toward the end — fresh corn, chopped carrots, diced potatoes, peas, etc. Root vegetables will take a little longer to cook than others. Bean soup is another good one. Place a cup of dried beans in the slow cooker. Add two cans of diced tomatoes, plus two cans of chicken, beef, or vegetable broth. Saute half a diced onion in olive oil until translucent. Add to the pan, along with your favorite seasonings. Cook for 6-8 hours. Add more broth if necessary. Dried beans are a million times better than canned be- cause they still remain "al dente" even when cooked. If you need more broth for any of these soups, add a little water, wine, or more canned broth. Adjust the seasonings and serve hot. If you use pasta or rice You'll notice that I don't add rice or pasta to the soup. If I want that, I'll cook it separately and add it at the end so it doesn't turn mushy. This is especially important if you're making a large batch of soup for several meals. While you heat up the soup, cook the pasta or rice until almost done. Drain and finish cooking in the soup. Contact Donna Maurillo at sentinelfood@maurillo. com. FOOD FOR THOUGHT For hearty soups, fresh is best Thanks to the Food Network for this holiday version of chocolate chip cookies. I'd double the batch if I were you. Trisha Yearwood's white chocolate cranberry cookies Makes 24 INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, so ened 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1tablespoon vanilla extract 1large egg 11/2 cups all-purpose flour 11/2 teaspoons baking soda 1cup dried cranberries, chopped 3/4 cup white chocolate chips 3/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and both sugars together until smooth. Add the vanilla and egg, mixing well. 3. Si together the flour and baking soda. With the mixer on low speed, spoon the flour mixture gradually into the creamed sugar mixture. Stir in the cranberries, white chocolate chips, and maca- damia nuts. 4. Drop by heaping spoon- fuls, about 2tablespoons, onto the prepared baking sheets, 2inches apart. (I always use a "disher" — like an ice cream scoop — to make evenly sized cookies.) 5. Bake one sheet at a time until lightly golden on top and the edges are set, 12 to 15minutes. Cool on the sheet about 5minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 2weeks. RECIPEOFTHEWEEK Donna Maurillo TERCIUS BUFETE — ENTERPRISE-RECORD Carlos Gonzales, one of the owners of Pacific Culture says that new recipes are constantly in development, including one involving a ton of grapefruit juice. By Tercius Bufete tbufete @norcaldesigncenter.com CHICO Inside the kitchen of a red, converted ware- house in Humboldt Av- enue, two figures stand each with a wooden cit- rus reamer and a grape- fruit in their gloved- hands, squeezing the fruit's pinkish pulpy juice into a shiny aluminum bowl. It's not glamorous work, more tedious than anything else, but it's the kind of work Carlos Gon- zales prefers. Gonzales, 27, is one of the owners of Pacific Cul- ture, a local business that creates artisanal sauer- kraut, pickles and other fermented fruits and veg- etables. His sister, Amber runs the slowly-growing busi- ness with him, managing marketing, sales and the like. Indra Clark, their sole employee, handles a few things like sales at the farmers market and occasionally juicing over 900 grapefruit. You've probably seen them at a farmers mar- ket — their products are hard to miss. There's some glass jars that glow with an otherworldly ma- genta hue — that's their apple and beet sauerkraut — and some jars contain beets, curry, ginger, garlic and coriander that radi- ates a magnificent gold. Despite the allure of the jars' brilliant glow, most would-be customers shy away upon hearing the word sauerkraut. "A lot of people have bad memories of eat- ing sauerkraut out of a can growing up or it was something their grand- mother did in the base- ment in a big barrel and it smelled really bad," Gonzales said. "But a lot of people are coming around and I definitely enjoy changing people's minds about sauerkraut." Instead of the vinegary concoction many are fa- miliar with, Pacific Cul- ture specializes in a non- GMO organic product that uses only the best available local produce preserved without the use of pasteurization. This method not only ensures a tangier product, but contains microorganisms that help to aid digestion and alleviate numerous ailments. A lot of the fermented vegetables will find their way into jars that wind up at the Wednesday and Friday Farmers Mar- kets in Chico or in over a dozen independent gro- cery stores in Yuba City, Red Bluff, Redding and Sacramento. Some are even stored in resealable bags that can be shipped with reusable ice packs outside the county. Ginger and turmeric carrots MATERIALS 1wide-mouth quart mason jar w/lid 14oz. mason jar INGREDIENTS 1kg carrots (sliced) 10g ginger (sliced) 30g ginger (juiced) 10g lemon (juiced) 35g green onion (chopped) 3g turmeric powder 25g sea salt DIRECTIONS 1. Clean the jars and lids with hot and soapy water. Wash your hands well and make sure your workspace is clean. 2. Scrub the carrots, slice them into thin rounds and add them to a bowl. Add the sea salt and mix the carrots well. The salt will draw out some of the water from the carrots and is an integral part of the fermen- tation process. 3. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside. 4. Next, prepare the rest of the ingredients and mix them with the carrots. If you are unable to juice the ginger, you may mince it instead, but you may also have to substitute an equal amount of water so that the carrots will contain a sufficient amount of liquid to stay under brine while they ferment. 5. Once all the ingredients are mixed together, pack everything into a wide mouth quart mason jar, making sure the carrots are submerged underneath liquid. Leave just enough room to squeeze the 4oz. mason jar between the carrots and the lid of your quart jar, and leave the lid cracked so as to allow air to escape. 6. Allow to ferment for at least 10days and up to four weeks. Sweet, Sauerkraut Chico business changes minds about fermented foods LOCALLY SOURCED CONTRIBUTED PHOTO White chocolate cranberry cookies: you might want to make a double batch. Round Up Saloon Round Up Saloon 610WashingtonSt. (530) 527-9901 Come join us for BBQ & Football on Sunday's LIVE MUSIC CALL FOR DATES Open7Daysaweek:4amto10pm (530) 727-6057 •DozenDonuts (mixed) $8.99 "The best donut in town!" Baked Fresh Daily SeniorDiscount BreakfastCroissantSandwich Sausage, Ham or Bacon Includes sm. coffee, or any other drink $ 4.99 218 S. Main Street, Red Bluff 734MainStreet 530-690-2477 11am-9pm Mon.-Thur. 11am - 10pm Fri. & Sat. 11am-8pm Sun. 9 CRAFT BEERS ON TAP Pizza Restaurant FOOD » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, December 16, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4