Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Gluten Free, Vegan, Blueberry Muffins and Corn Muffins

Gluten Free Vegan Corn Muffins.. 
this recipe is good, but needs a little work.. 
  • 3/4 cup millet flour or sorghum flour
  • 1/4 cup tapioca starch
  • 1 tsp guar gum
  • 3/4 up cornmeal
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1.5 teaspoon Ener-G Egg Replacer (in place of 1 egg)
  • 2 tablespoons Water
  • 1 cup Milk (I used homemade rice milk)
  • 1/4 cup oil (I used coconut oil)
Procedure:
Preheat oven at 400F. Grease or line muffin tin. (makes about 10 muffins)
In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.
In a blender/food processor or blend with a stick blender add Ener-G, water, milk and oil. Blend it thoroughly, for about 2-3 minutes.
Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.
Fill the muffin cups 2/3rds full.
Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

GFV Blueberry muffins

Wet Ingredients:
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 cup Coconut Oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
  • 1 cup  millet flour
  • 1/2 cup sorghum flour
  • 1/2 cup tapioca starch
  • 1 tsp xanthan gum
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin tin or line it with paper liners.
In a small bowl mix together the milk and vinegar and set aside for about 5 minutes or until it curdles.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and make a well in the center.
To it add the milk mixture, applesauce, oil and vanilla extract. Mix together until the batter is just moistened. Fold in the blueberries.
Scoop out about 1/3rd cup of batter in each muffin cup. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. 
**oh and don't forget the sugar, i did - they are good, but taste like blueberry biscuits, oops. 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Vegan Gluten Free apple pie crumb muffins..

I decided I REALLY wanted to make apple crumb cake muffins... these did not turn out looking all that great - but they taste AMAZING, so i'm willing to overlook their appearance and try to work on that later.. 

Apple Pie-Crumb Cake Muffins

For muffins:
1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup grated apple
1/2 cup chopped apple (1/4-inch pieces)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

For Topping:
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup chopped pecans

In a small bowl, mix the topping ingredients, drizzling on the oil and mixing with your fingers until crumbs form. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375°F and grease twelve-muffin tin.


In a large bowl, sift all the dry muffin ingredients. Stir in the wet ingredients. Fold in the grated and chopped apple and nuts.

Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full and sprinkle the topping over each muffin.
Go easy on the topping - just a little more than a dusting and they would probably look a lot better.  Bake for 18-20 minutes. 


Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Quinoa.. (I'm finally figuring out what to do with it..)

shown here with red & black quinoa
"Mexican" Quinoa

1 cup quinoa (dry, however much that comes out to cooked)
1 jar of salsa
about 1 cup of corn
about 2 cups of black beans (drained/rinsed, 2 cans if using cans) 
a bit of salt, taco seasoning, and/or cumin to taste

cook the quinoa - 1 cup dry to 1.5 cups water, boil water, add quinoa, cook for aprox. 15 mins, fluff with fork

add other ingredients to cooked quinoa, stir  - serve on a tortilla, over chips - add sour cream or cheese if you're into that ;) (i tried it with a tiny spoonful of non-dairy sour cream and it was fabulous)

everything but the quinoa - yum
"Italian" Quinoa

1 cup black beans
1 can mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 cup onion
3 cups squash/zuchinni
1 small can tomato sauce 
oregano, basil, thyme, and salt to taste

combine ingredients and simmer in a medium pan for 20-30 mins

serve over cooked Quinoa  

Monday, October 15, 2012

Muffins - Gluten free & Vegan

Carrot-Apple-Raisin Muffins 
 
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup honey
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2  teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups grated carrots
1 large apple, peeled cored, and grated/shredded
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup oats or seeds
1 cup Sorghum flour
1 cup millet flour
1 cup tapioca starch
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
 
 
 Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin pan with 12 muffin liners.
 
 In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the oil and honey.

Add vanilla and cinnamon and mix for 20 seconds.

In a separate bowl, combine the carrots and apple, and then toss with the lemon juice. Add to the mixing bowl. Mix for about 20 seconds.

Mix in the raisins and oats/seeds

In a separate bowl, combine the flours , xanthan gum, baking soda and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined.

Fill the liners to the rim with batter.

Bake in the center of the oven for about 35 minutes (though mine were done around 25 this time) or until golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through. let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling wrack.


Zucchini Muffins! 
 2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp water  (“eggs”)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 c honey

1 cup shredded zucchini
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon and/or pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 cups sorghum/millet flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup loosely packed raisins
1/2 tsp sea salt


Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix the flax egg and set aside for about 5 minutes. Mix the olive oil, honey, zucchini and vanilla in a medium bowl.  Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt; mix until just wet and ingredients are combinned; fold in raisins. 

Pour patter into 12 lined muffin tins.  Bake about 18 minutes or until browned and a toothpick comes out clean.
 


Friday, October 12, 2012

All in the name of Chicken Pot Pie.

ok. suddenly my 'easy' recipe is seeming a bit complicated..

I'm making chicken pot pie, converting a dairy and gluten filled recipe everyone loved.. 

So, I needed a can of cream of mushroom soup.. I knew I'd also want this for thanksgiving (green bean casserole!) this really wasn't too complicated..

Dairy and Gluten free Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup stock, I used chicken
1/2 cup unsweetened rice milk **
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of mushrooms, finely chopped (I used canned this time)

This recipe equals 1 can of Campbell’s Condensed Cream of mushroom Soup, leave out the mushrooms for cream of chicken.

If you use fresh mushrooms, cook them in the oil first - otherwise, combine mushrooms and oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat then add flour and whisk together. Slowly add stock while whisking. Bring to a simmer and cook a few minutes until thickened. Add rice milk and salt and pepper and stir until combined and thick.

**I made a batch of my rice milk recipe, but without the thickeners or sweetener, so basically boiled rice flour and water, i halved the recipe and then froze the concentrate in ice cube trays - once i remove the cubes, its 2 cubes to 3/4 cup water to make one cup of unsweetened rice milk..Though somehow it seems like cheating because really, its rice flour cooked in water... how is this "milk"? but it worked, and it was actually tasty (well, not alone, but in things..)

Next we have to have biscuits... 

1½ cups sorghum and millet flour (about half/half) plus more for 'rolling'
¾ cup tapioca starch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold fat (such as bacon grease, coconut oil or shortening), cut into small pieces
¾ cup unsweetened rice milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
Whisk together the flour, starch, baking powder and salt. Cut the fat into the flour mixture.  Add the liquid, starting with ½ a cup and gradually adding a little more at a time, mixing until the dough comes together. Put a little flour on a work surface and dump out the dough. Knead 3 or 4 times then either roll or pat it out to about ½ inch thick.  I cut the biscuits into squares but you can do traditional circles and gently reform the dough to cut more biscuits. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

 

Now we're ready for "Chicken Pot Pie"

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tbsp. oil
1 recipe of the above cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup dairy free sour cream 

about 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken (I'm using canned, so 1 13oz can, gotta cut corners somewhere!)
1-1/2+ c. frozen mixed veggies
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper


Saute onion and celery in oil in a sauce pan (i'll admit, i've left this part out completely in the past); stir in soup and sour cream. Blend in chicken, veggies, and seasonings. Pour into 8 x 8 greased casserole dish.  Cover and bake at 375 until bubbly, approximately 20 minutes.  Serve with biscuits! 

I also made mashed potatoes with a touch of butter flavored shortening unsweetened rice milk, chicken broth, garlic salt and kosher salt to taste. :) 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Gluten Free Dairy Free Egg Free! Chocolate Chip cookies!!

Gluten-Free, Dairy Free, and Egg Free - Really normal tasting and yummy - 
Chocolate Chip Cookies


COOKIE
1 cup Millet Flour
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch 
3/4 cup Sorghum Flour
2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup butter substitute**
3/4 cup raw sugar
3/4 cup coconut sugar 
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Egg Replacer for 2 eggs (4 tablespoons water + 2 tablespoon oil + 1 teaspoon baking powder, beaten together until smooth.)
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips 

** I normally would use coconut oil or earths balance or a combination of those, but this time I was naughty and used butter flavored shortening .. wow. yummy! 

Directions:


Preheat oven to 375° F.

In medium bowl, combine flours, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt, whisk to combine and set aside.
 
In a separate bowl, cream together the softened butter substitute, sugars and vanilla.  

Add the egg replacer and mix until combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.

Add the chocolate chips & stir  
Roll cookie dough into balls and place on parchment paper covered cookie sheet
Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.
Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to cool slightly on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Its easiest to pull the entire sheet of parchment paper onto the cooling racks and then move the cookies a few mins later - they are very fragile and  will seem underdone until they cool.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Turning my GF/DF baking vegan - bye bye eggs!

So now that we are giving eggs the boot, in addition to dairy and gluten.. i'm having to find new recipes..

Vanilla Cupcakes (Vegan, Gluten Free)
1 cup rice milk
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
3/4 cup coconut sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/3 cup corn flour OR 1/3 cup almond flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

frosting!
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line muffin tray with cupcake liners or grease muffin tin really well
2. In the mixer (i used my kitchen aid for this) combine rice milk,  oil, sugar and extracts, mix until just combined.  Add tapioca flour and flax seed and mix for about a minute until the tapioca flour is dissolved and the mixture is well emulsified.
3. Add the corn flour, rice flour, quinoa flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix on Medium for about 2 minutes.
4. Fill cupcake liners a little over 3/4 full.
5. Bake for 20-23 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

We made this yummy but not terribly healthy frosting.



bread!


and this wonderful bread! I broke the 'rules' and made some changes to the recipe, but i don't have it perfected yet..  i'll let you all know, so far, i think this will be our new bread of choice.