Recipe: Gluten-free Shoofly Pie

It's not that hard, really, especially if you're comfortable with rolling out pie crust. If you're not, you can press the pie dough into the pan, but it's best when rolled.

This is a DARK shoofly. Don't make it unless you like molasses a lot; even then you may want some ice cream, whipped cream, or cafe au lait with it. A lighter version can be made with light-colored molasses (or a mixture of molasses and corn syrup) and granulated sugar instead of dark brown, at which point it approaches the English treacle pie.

This is an amalgam of Alton Brown's recipe and the Traditional Shoofly Pie on Allrecipes; I don't agree with Alton on blind-baking the crust beforehand, as I think it just adds unnecessary hassle. I do like his addition of vanilla, though.

( Gluten-free Shoofly Pie )

Recipe: Chana masala

I promised a vegetarian recipe, didn't I? Have a vegan one.

This is a favorite of mine, as it has lots of flavor and a tangy bite which takes out the sometimes gamy flavor chickpeas get. You can use canned chickpeas, but I prefer to use dried, either made fresh (it takes about two hours) or previously cooked and frozen. The texture and flavor difference with canned is noticeable.

The dried mango powder and garam masala should be available at any south Asian grocery, or you can get it online. A classic garam masala contains widely-available spices such as cumin and cinnamon, so you may be able to make your own; you can use just lemon juice if you can't get the mango powder (though you'll lose out on some flavor).

( Indian Spiced Chickpeas )