Peach Cobbler for One

Granted this cobbler may feed four comfortably, but you won't want to share once you've tried it. Also, it is the easiest recipe I've ever tried, found in a book "Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen" but made gluten and dairy free by me.

Melt 2 TBS of butter substitute or use olive oil to spread along the bottom of a small round baking dish.

Stir together 3/4 cup of your choice gluten-free baking flour (mine comes with baking powder and salt mixed in already, if yours doesn't, you'll need to add 1 tsp of baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt.

Stir in 3/4 cup soy or dairy free milk

Stir in 3/4 cup sugar or your favorite substitute (I use less sugar when I use stevia as I think it is sweeter.)

Pour batter (will be thin and runny, it's ok!) into the baking dish and gently layer 3 cups of sliced peaches on top.

Pop in the oven at 350 for 40-50 minutes. Enjoy a sweet taste of summer!

Best Ever Biscuits (Better than Gluten)

It is finally Strawberry Shortcake time! Here is a recipe for biscuits that I have found are amazing in the freezer, fresh, a week old, or just all at once! If you eat one you can't help but have another.


This recipe was found at the Gluten Free Cooking School website and I decreased the liquid by 1/2 a cup because I found it was too wet. I also just melted the butter and stirred it into the dough instead of freezing and grating it.

(Yield: 16 large biscuits)

1 1/2 c. brown rice flour
2 c. corn starch*
1/2 c. soy flour or sorghum flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. xanthan gum

1 stick of butter or vegan butter (chilled in the freezer)
1 c. soy milk
1 c. water
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar*
1 egg, beaten (or the equivalent amount of your favorite egg replacement)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl thoroughly combine the flours, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and xanthan gum.

3. Grate the butter into the flour using the small holed side of a box grater. Mix the butter into the flour so that there are no large balls of grated butter.

4. Add the soy milk, water, vinegar and beaten egg to the flour and stir until the dry and liquid ingredients are combined.

5. Using a large spoon, drop the dough onto a greased pan to make 16 biscuits. Cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Lebanese Style Lentil Soup

There's a little Lebanese eatery on Hawthorne in Portland, OR.  I discovered Riyadh's Lebanese Food accidentally during grad school when some friends and I, hungry for falafel, couldn't find the Middle Eastern place from the phone book. While we went for the falafel, it was the lentil soup that kept me coming back. I've been know to drive two hours round trip, with the flu, just to eat this comfort food.  Since moving away, I've searched through recipes, making the ones I think may have that flavor and that texture.   I still haven't found the perfect replication, but I have found some good ones along the way.  This recipe started with one found on allrecipes.com and of course ended with my own adaptations.  The lemon can be scaled back to taste and the salt can be left out altogether without taking away from the mix of flavors.  The original recipe recommended blending the soup before the lemon and cilantro are added, but I like more texture to my soup.


Lebanese Style Lentil Soup

6 cups Vegetable Broth
1 pound dried red lentils
1/8 cup brown rice
3 Tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 dash salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1.    Bring vegetable broth, rice and lentils to boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Then reduce to medium-low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes

2.    Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 3 minutes.

3.    Stir onions into the lentils and season with cumin, salt and cayenne. Continue simmering until the lentils are tender, about 10 minutes.

4.    Stir in cilantro and lemon juice before serving.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

About a week ago, I was in the produce section and I saw beautiful, tender-looking asparagus stalks. I bought them, having no idea how I would prepare them.  Then I stumbled upon a recipe from the Gluten-Free Vegetarian on Facebook.  Those who know me can tell you I often start with a recipe by someone else, but rarely finish with it.  I didn't find the original recipe as creamy as I like, so I added some coconut milk, which is my go-to creamer for vegan recipes. I would think that the soy milk, coconut milk and margarine could be replaced with 2% milk, cream and butter for a lacto-ovo version.  Note that it is also important to verify your vegetable broth contents, I've found that some often contain wheat flour for a thickener.

2-3 lbs of Asparagus, trim the hard ends, then cut into 1/2 in pieces
1 lg onion, diced (I prefer Mayan sweet onions)
2 T of margarine (vegan) (I plan to try a mild olive oil next time)
Salt, to taste
1/8 t cayenne pepper

5 c. GF vegetable broth 
1/4 c. unsweetened plain soy milk
1/2 c. canned coconut milk
Juice of half a lemon

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, sauté onion with margarine or oil over medium heat until translucent.
2. Add asparagus, salt and pepper and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add vegetable broth and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add soy milk and coconut milk and blend with immersion blender until smooth.  (Alternatively, you can break the soup into parts and use your upright blender)
5. Add lemon juice, stirring slowly.  Add more salt and pepper, to taste.  Leave on low heat for 5 minutes.
Makes approximately 4 servings.

Adaptable Quiche

I adore quiche.  I think this might be related to growing up in a home where we rarely ate egg or cheese dishes.   This fact, in turn,  probably contributes to my mildly guilty feeling that I'm eating enough cholesterol for a small country with each tasty bite. 

So, in a strategy worthy of my mother (gasp), I've tried to make it healthier.  What results may not actually be quiche, but I like it and it makes for easy lunches.  One of my weaknesses in cooking is that I forget to measure things, but I believe I'm pretty close here.

The beauty of this "recipe" and quiche in general is that you can experiment with various vegetables, depending on what's in season or available in your freezer.  I love flavors of the Mediterranean so I incorporated some of them in this version below. 

1 pkg of extra firm tofu, well drained
3/4 c. shredded parmesan-mozzarella cheese blend (I would have liked to include some feta, but didn't have it on hand.)

3 eggs8 oz of frozen cut leaf spinach (thawed)
The leaves of 4-5 stems of fresh oregano
1 medium sweet onion chopped
2 Tbsp sumac
1 tsp salt (more to taste)
black pepper to taste

GF crust. (I used the pie crust recipe from Bob's Red Mill Biscuit and Baking Mix to great success.)

Preheat your oven 425 degrees.

First, prepare your crust. Instead of rolling it out per the directions on the label, I simply pressed it into my 11-inch pie plate. 

Then I made the filling.  In a medium mixing bowl, I crumbled the block of tofu into small pieces.  You can use a fork, I often use my hands so I make sure not to leave large chunks.

Stir in remaining ingredients until well mixed.  Pour into crust and even out the top. 

Bake for 45 minutes.  I usually check after 30 minutes to see how the crust is browning.  If it is already darkening, I turn down the oven about 25 degrees and keep an eye on it.  After 45 minutes, insert a knife into the center of the quiche.  If it comes out clean, the quiche is finished.  If not, check again every 5-10 minutes (very rough estimate). 

I will often lower the oven temperature if my quiche is getting to dark.  The important thing is the knife test at the end, showing that the eggs are cooked thoroughly. 

Serves 8-10

Note: Another version I like to make includes replacing the spinach with zucchini, summer squash and red bell peppers cut into short, thin strips.  I replace the oregano with basil leaves (cut it into smaller pieces), leave out the sumac and add a scant Tablespoon of lemon zest.

Mango Cream

Great with Thai Food!


Ingredients
3 mangoes
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup honey

Directions

In a medium saucepan, bring to a boil water to cover mangoes. Place whole, unpeeled mangoes in boiling water and simmer until skin starts to come off. Remove mangoes from water and let cool until cool enough to handle.
While the mangoes are simmering, beat the cream and honey in a medium bowl until light and fluffy.

Remove the skin from the mangoes and remove the mangoes from their pits. Place fruit in a blender and puree until smooth. Fold mango puree into cream mixture until well combined. Mixture should be thick and smooth. Pour into dessert bowls and chill 2 hours in refrigerator before serving.

Winter Favorite Roasted Butternut Squash

I have been craving the flavor of real vegetables lately. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, except that it's winter. For those of us that look at the produce isle as a wealth of out of season foods, I was trying to find a vegetable that I could enjoy all winter long. This recipe popped out at me as simple (my kind of recipe) and easy. I believe this is a recipe I found from my favorite gluten-free book "Gluten-Free Girl", but I added the rosemary. Yum!

Roasted Butternut Squash:

Preheat the oven for 350, lightly grease the bottom of a casserole dish.

Lay cut up squash in the bottom of the dish, sprinkle olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped up rosemary all over the pieces. Bake for 15 minutes, pull out the dish and flip over all of the pieces so they bake evenly. Bake another 15 minutes, or until they are soft and easily cut in two.

This is a great side dish or even cold out of the fridge in the middle of the day!

Polenta "French Toast"

From Martha Stewart Living, not sure which issue.

This sweetened polenta can also be served soft, like oatmeal. Instead of spreading the polenta on a sheet in step 2, spoon it into a bowl and serve hot. Serves 12.

For the polenta:
6 1/2 C water
1/2 tsp salt
2 C cornmeal (not quick-cooking)
1/2 C pure maple syrup
1 C raisins
2 tsp ground cinnamon
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 C low-fat milk (substitute soy-milk)

For "French Toast":
1/4 C corn flour
1/2 C pure maple syrup
1/2 C raspberries

1. Make the polenta: Bring water and salt to boil in 2-quart pot. Add cornmeal in slow, steady stream, stirring contantly. Cook, stirring often, until mixture begins to thicken, about 4 min. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, for 1 hour.

2. Stir in syrup, raisins, cinnmon, zest, nutmeg, and milk. Cook for 30 min. Spread polenta onto parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, and let cool. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

3. Make the "french toast": cut cold polenta into 4in squares; cut each square into 2 triangles. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Toss polenta triangles with corn flour, dusting off excess. Add to pan; cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Serve with maple syrup and raspberries.

Nutritional info per 2 wedges:
207 calories
0g saturated fat
0g unsaturated fat
2 mg cholesterol
49 g carbohydrate
59 mg sodium
3 g protein
3 g fiber

Zucchini-Ribbon "Lasagna"

From Martha Stewart Living April 2010

So, this recipe isn't vegan, but I'm sure you could adapt it.

For the sauce (3 cups):
1 can whole peeled plum tomatoes w/ juice
2 T. EVOO
1 small onion finely chopped
1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes
12 oz ground turkey (optional for the vegetarians)
2 T. chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp coarse salt

For the lasagna:
2 medium zucchini
1 c. part-skim ricotta cheese (or vegan substitute)
ground pepper

1. Make the sauce: Pulse tomatoes with juice in food processor until finely chopped. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and red-pepper flakes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, about 8 min. Add turkey, cook till brown (optional). Add tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer till thick, about 20 min. Stir in oregano and salt. Let cool.

2. Make the lasagna: Preheat oven to 375 deg. Slice zucchini lengthwise into thin strips (about 1/8 in thick). Place 5 or 6 slices, overlapping slightly, in bottom of 8 in. square baking dish. Top with 1 c. sauce. Dot with 1/4 c ricotta. Repeat twice with zucchini, remaining sauce, and 1/2 c. ricotta, alternating direction of zucchini. Top with remaining zucchini, alternating direction. Brush with oil. Dot with remaining 1/4 c. ricotta. Season with pepper. Bake, uncovered, until lasagna bubbles and top browns, 50 to 60 min. Let stand for 10 min before serving.

Melt in your mouth apple pie

So the perfect pie crust is always up for debate, but upon learning that a gluten-free diet was going to become the norm from now on, I needed to find a pie crust recipe. Pie is such a big part of my family's holidays that I got on the search early. And failed many times before finding this recipe. This is sure to be a new favorite for all pie lovers and I like to make mine a little different each time. Sometimes I use a few squeezes of honey, or a bit of jam, or sometimes I throw in a few different kinds of fruit together. Start on the crust a few hours earlier than you will actually need it as you will be putting it in the fridge for a few hours. This is a recipe I borrowed from the book "Gluten-Free Girl", but I made a few changes.

Gluten-Free Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cup of sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
3 TBS of Rice flour
1/4 ts salt
pinch of sugar
1 cup of Crisco or butter if you like (try freezing the butter and grating it into the mix)
1 egg
2 tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup of cold water

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Cut the Crisco into the dry ingredients. Add in all of wet ingredients and knead and mold. If the dough feels too wet, add in some teff flour until it can hold it's shape and be molded into a ball. Refrigerate for a few hours.


Apple pie filling:

Peel and cut enough apples to fit into your pie dish. Add a couple handfuls of blueberries or raspberries. Add 3/4 cup of sugar, a few drizzles of honey, or a couple of tablespoons of jam and mix well. Add in 2-3 TBS of tapioca and stir. Fill your pie and cover with crust. Decorate the top however you like, I like to cut 4 or 5 slits around the center.

Bake for 15 minutes on 425
Bake for 30 minutes on 350 (cover with foil if you are worried about it browning too much on the edges).


Enjoy the art of pie making and your friends will be asking you for the recipe, even if they aren't gluten free!

-jamielynn

Starting Off With Something Sweet

When I first accepted that I needed to stop eating wheat, I made a discovery: Grocery stores often place their bakery near the entrance.  To get to the produce, I had to pass the scents of the freshly-baked Tuscan rosemary bread I loved so much. See the apple fritters, calling to me with their fruity deep-fried flour-filled goodness.  Past the blueberry bagels, made steaming-fresh as only New Yorkers can. Long loaves of french bread, opening my mind to the fantasy of smearing fresh garlic-butter and crushed basil across its pillow-y surface and toasting perfectly.  It's not hard to see how I would be healthier giving up baked goods.

But I refused.  Pre-made loaves of bread in my freezer's section usually had all the tempting appeal of a Styrofoam block.  Brownie mixes crumbled and crusted onto my pans.  Pizza crusts baked out with the consistency of Jell-O.  I was about to give up.

Then my mother saved the day. She used a staple from my childhood to make brownies: Black bean brownies.  I've had black bean brownies before that tasted more appropriate with cheese and salsa than chocolate chips, but not these.  People don't know their secret ingredient until I tell them.

Unfortunately, I don't know where she got the recipe so I cannot give the appropriate credit. As always, be sure you use gluten-free ingredients.

Black Bean Brownies

• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon of corn starch
• 1 Tablespoon of ground flax seed (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish.

2. Combine all ingredients (except chocolate chips)in a blender; blend until smooth; pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top of the mixture. 

3. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.