Archive for Wellness Weekends

‘Cheese’ Biscuits – Grain-free and Vegan

May 3, 2013 at 12:49 pm · Filed under Basics, Bread, LowCarb, Popular Recipes, Vegan, Wellness Weekends ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Low-carb baked goods, gluten-free, grain-free, and vegan sounds like an impossible task; and of course we want it to be delicious too! No wonder I haven’t blogged a lot lately when I set nearly impossible goals.

I made an awesome recipe for Cheddar Bay Almond Flour Biscuits (from Dianne at Delicious As It Looks) several times and everyone who tried them raves about them. Since they are gluten-free I didn’t think to offer one to my husband but he followed his nose to the cooling rack and asked ‘are these for anyone’? I was so delighted to share with him. He is slowly discovering that gluten-free food can be as good as or even better than gluten food.

A Dozen Perfect 'Cheese' Biscuits

A Dozen Perfect ‘Cheese’ Biscuits

Friends and family members are increasingly going to plant-based choices and I want to share my baked goodies with them. So I attempt to convert this treasured gluten-free, grain-free recipe to vegan. Vegan has the advantage that it also covers the situation for people who want to avoid eggs or dairy products whatever the reason. I am also happy to discover that vegan baked goods stay fresh longer which is a major advantage when traveling.

A Flatbread Experiment

A Flatbread Experiment

The almond flour that I use is from Honeyville. I order the blanched, 5 lb. bag when they have it on special. It has a finer texture than Bob’s Red Mill from the local grocery store although I use Bob’s when I need a coarser product. I use Bob’s for the coconut flour and golden flax meal in this recipe.

My vegan, smoky, cheesy sauce  prepared in the blender seemed like a good starting place. I modified it to eliminate the home-cooked beans and substituted more cashews. This version is very tasty although very, very dense. I may try a later version using the original cashew, bean, and coconut milk base which has a few more carbs and protein rather than so much fat. Or maybe not, did I mention that this is really tasty?

FYI: You do not need a high powered blender. My blender is about 15 years old, an Oster 10-speed that I use regularly and struggle with it at times. In this recipe it takes about 10-15 minutes to blend the cashews to a silky smooth consistency with constant encouragement from a spatula, scooping the mixture up from the sides, and pushing it towards the middle. We go through all of the speeds right up to 10 before it is done. When it gets to 8 it begins to sound like a single engine aircraft just before takeoff. Yes, the jar gets warm and the motor also. I have previously pushed this blender so hard that it was bucking on the counter and sending out smoke signals. It still hangs right in there with me!

Wet Ingredients
1 cup (150 grams) raw cashews, measured, soaked for an hour or overnight
1/2 cup canned, full-fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon Wright’s Liquid Smoke
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Start with just the cashews and the coconut milk in the blender jar. By the time my cashews were soaked it had been a full day plus overnight in the fridge. They had started sprouting and had soaked up 60 grams of water for a total of 210 grams of drained, soaked cashews.

Start the blender running. It will hiccup and glurp as it works its way from chunks to coarse to smooth. Be prepared with a spatula to encourage it. The salt, garlic powder and liquid smoke seem to help it reach the satiny consistency it needs before adding the yeast which will absorb some of the moisture.

The 4 tablespoons of yeast is equal to 1/4 cup. But you will have to add it very slowly so just be aware. It will also do the hiccupping thing again. This makes about 1.25 cups of wet ingredients.

Dry Ingredients
4 tablespoons (26g) golden flax meal, finely ground
1 tablespoon (7g) coconut flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 1/2 cups (272g) almond flour

Place the oven rack in the middle position. Set the oven between 350 and 400*F (depending on your oven).

My Hamilton Beach Spice Grinder

My Hamilton Beach Spice Grinder

Weigh out the golden flax meal and grind it to a powder using a small coffee grinder reserved for grinding seeds, spices, and coconut palm sugar. This step makes a big difference in the texture of the baked product.

Put all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl – DO NOT SIFT. Almond flour will totally gunk up a sieve so don’t even try. Use a whisk to mix all of the dry ingredients together. The almond flour will continue to lump but it is different lumps as you work so it eventually ends up evenly mixed.

Dump the Wet Mixture into the Dry Mixture

Dump the Wet Mixture into the Dry Mixture

Dump the wet ingredients in with the dry. Stir until well mixed and the dough is holding together. Dump it out on a clean smooth counter top or a non-absorbent cutting board. This dough can be very clingy if there is something rough to cling to.

The Biscuit Dough After Kneading on the Counter

The Biscuit Dough After Kneading on the Counter

Knead it a few times like ordinary bread dough. There is no gluten to ‘develop’ but kneading will distribute the moisture and form a smooth shiny lump of dough. Then it is ready to shape it into biscuits.

Measure & Shape the Biscuit Dough onto the Baking Pan

Measure & Shape the Biscuit Dough onto the Baking Pan

A spring activated scoop is the way I make uniform pieces. Alternately you can use a 1/4 or 1/3 cup measuring cup. Measure out the pieces of dough. Roll the pieces into a ball. Then patty-cake the pieces between your palms, gently shape them, and place them on your baking pan. When all the dough is formed move the pan into the oven.

Note: Baked goods made with starchy gluten-free flours start losing flavor and texture unless eaten soon after they are done. Baked goods made from nutritionally dense gluten-free flours like these improve in texture and flavor over a day or two (much like soup that keeps getting better). I think that’s weird but I am also grateful.

Gretchen @gfedge

PS – I use a small kitchen scale with a tare option to weigh dry ingredients as much as possible. It gives more consistent results plus it saves on cleanup of measuring cups and spoons (lazy me).

This post is linked to:
http://dietdessertndogs.com/2013/05/02/wellness-weekend-may-2-6-2013/
at Ricki Heller’s Blog – Diet, Dessert, and Dogs

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Super Simple Savory Broth

February 28, 2013 at 2:19 pm · Filed under Basics, LowCarb, Recipes, Sides, Vegan, Wellness Weekends ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rita has not been available lately to taste test which has left me uninspired to bake much since she cannot help with the evaluation. We both plan to dig in on green smoothies soon but in the meantime I have been cooking my greens in a simple broth – the broth may just be my favorite part.

Greens and Savory Broth (with Walnuts)

Greens and Savory Broth (with Walnuts)

I have always loved beans and greens as a lunch combination. When I was working I made use of canned turnip greens and usually red kidney beans topped with some kind of salad dressing. Tasty, messy, odd looking, and initially subject to strange looks and curious questions. Sometimes I top them with nuts for a crunchy texture contrast.

Sourcing fresh greens at the grocery store has become very easy since the arrival of Glory brand one pound bags of washed and chopped greens . I have been going through a couple of these a week. Rita would prefer to steam them but I grew up in the Southern tradition of greens cooked down producing ‘pot liquor’, a local name for the savory broth.

Greens Overflowing the Pot

Greens Overflowing the Pot

Previous to gluten awareness I happily used bouillon cubes as seasoning for broth and gravy. Afterwards my ingredients changed to canned and boxed broth with the resulting cans and boxes going into recycle – not a positive solution to my way of thinking.

Finally Got the Lid On

Finally Got the Lid On

I gave up on prepared broths and now prefer this simple recipe from my spice cabinet which could not be any easier or faster.

Super Simple Broth
1 cup water
1/2-1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon @ summer savory, basil, thyme
1/2 teaspoon onion powder (optional)

Add the ingredients to a saucepan. Turn on the heat and bring to slow simmer. Now you have broth!

Cooking Greens in Broth
The hard part is cramming the greens into a four quart pot where they will eventually wilt and shrink down to about one-quarter of the raw volume. You will need one pound of greens (collards, kale, mustard, or any of your favorite greens).

Make your broth in a four quart saucepan – a glass lid makes it easier to see what is going on. Add the greens in on top of the broth and push them down, really hard, into the pot until you can get the lid on. Turn up the heat to medium high. It will take a while until it you can see steam beginning to rise.

The greens on the bottom wilt first. Take a big spoon and bring the wilted greens up to the top so the next layer can begin to cook. At this point adjust the heat to maintain a slow simmer. The greens will not cooperate in any orderly way but just keep checking and stirring about every 20 minutes. After the first 20 minutes they will have all become somewhat wilted. Set a timer for 20 minutes. When it goes off stir the greens up again and set the timer for another 20 minutes.

You can quit cooking when the greens are tender. If you have prepared your own young fresh greens they will probably have cooked up in one cycle. The ones that come pre-bagged are fully mature and the stems have been chopped up as well as the leafy part so it can take several cycles to get everything to the tender stage.

Greens Are Fully Cooked

Greens Are Fully Cooked

Gretchen @gfedge
Rita @catqicatqi

This post is linked to:
Wellness Weekend February 28-March 4, 2013
at Ricki Heller’s Blog – Diet, Dessert, and Dogs

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Smoothie in a Bowl

January 25, 2013 at 4:18 pm · Filed under Breakfast, LowCarb, Pantry Quick, Recipes, Vegan, Wellness Weekends ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rita and I have been considering green smoothies as a way to boost our intake of fresh, raw green vegetables. Being a savvy shopper Rita was able to scoop up a smoothie blender for each of us at a super-great clearance – more about those items as we get comfortable with them.

Right now I am juggling a few (too many) activities. To compensate I have been eating a wider variety of greens in salads, greens cooked as a base for some warm winter soups, and I extended my beloved Pumpkin Porridge by adding the additional plant elements of applesauce, ginger, and whole fruit.

I like to prepare this the night before so that the chia is really soft but in a pinch I put it together and declare it edible in about 10 minutes. It gets my system going with a powerhouse of nutrition. This is really helping me to get over the fact that I recently discovered that my beloved coffee, as an almond milk latte, is one of my  ‘cross-reactive with gluten’  foods :-(

This could easily be a smoothie beverage with additional water to dilute the coconut milk. The whole fruit could be blended in if that is your preference. Right now I go for the easiest and fastest preparation – hence ‘Smoothie in a Bowl’.

Smoothie in a Bowl with Blueberries

Smoothie in a Bowl with Blueberries

Top with your locally available fresh fruit. We have had an amazing bounty of blackberries and blueberries at the local fresh food grocer. I also froze fresh local figs last summer and I started using these little gems as a special treat.

Smoothie with Local Figs of Summer

Smoothie with Local Figs of Summer

Gretchen @gfedge
Rita @catqicatqi

This post is linked to:
Wellness Weekend January 24-28, 2013
at Ricki Heller’s Blog – Diet, Dessert, and Dogs

Smoothie in a Bowl
Print
Recipe type: Breakfast, Snack
Author: Gretchen @gfedge
Prep time: 10 mins
Total time: 10 mins
Serves: 1
A plant-based blend of highly nutritious foods and spices
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 scoop (20 ml) chia seeds (whole)
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 cup coconut milk (full fat, from a can)
  • Vanilla, a few drops
  • Sweetener*, your choice, to taste
  • Fresh fruit, at least 1/4 cup or more
Instructions
  1. Soften the chia seeds in the water – it makes them easier to work with this way.
  2. Add the pumpkin and the spices together – this prevents clumps of floating spices after you add the coconut milk.
  3. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
  4. I use liquid stevia glycerite but taste buds are so different as to ‘sweet’ you should use what makes it taste good for you.
  5. Top with your locally available fresh fruit.
Notes

*There are non-nutritive sweeteners that are not exactly good for you but I still think the inflammatory property of sugar is the greater evil of alternative choices.

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Savory Sautéed Zucchini with Walnuts

January 11, 2013 at 3:43 pm · Filed under Breakfast, LowCarb, Pantry Quick, Popular Recipes, Recipes, Sides, Vegan, Veggies, Wellness Weekends ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My lifelong love of summer squash continues. Fresh, frozen, or canned makes no difference. Yellow or green are equally loved and I suspect if they began appearing in rainbow colors, stripes, or paisley it would make no difference.

Zucchini-and-Walnuts-ready-to-serve

Zucchini-and-Walnuts-ready-to-serve

As a teenager I used to simply wash, slice, and simmer them with Lawry’s Season-All Salt, my favorite condiment after catsup. I really love the Del Monte zucchini canned with tomatoes and sometimes use that as a quick sauce over nearly anything else that might be lingering in the fridge or over pasta (now gluten-free of course) :-)

Walnuts: In my opinion – one of nature’s most perfect foods. I go through about a pound of walnuts every two weeks. Often a handful of dried cranberries mixed with a handful of walnuts plus a latte make a quick ‘first breakfast’. This recipe with zucchini is one that goes back to when my children were in elementary school. It would have made two side servings but instead this batch made a hearty breakfast.

Currently with fresh zucchini available year round, this ‘recipe’ is my new favorite Pantry Quick meal.

Prepare the Zucchini

Prepare the Zucchini

Add the Walnuts

Add the Walnuts

 

Sautéed Zucchini with Walnuts
Print
Recipe type: Side, Main, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Author: Gretchen @gfedge
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 15 mins
Serves: 2
Quick and easy to prepare – nutritious, savory, and satisfying.
Ingredients
  • 1 large zucchini, chopped, bite-size
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil
  • Sea salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic powder (optional)
  • Handful of walnuts
Instructions
  1. Use a skillet large enough so that the pieces of zucchini will have plenty of space so their moisture can evaporate as they sauté; otherwise you will have more of a stew.
  2. Melt the coconut oil in the skillet to a medium high heat and quickly add your prepared zucchini.
  3. Sprinkle the pieces lightly with sea salt to help draw out the moisture for evaporation.
  4. The object is to sear them quickly over medium high heat so the cut edges will begin to take on a light shade of tan.
  5. As soon as they are browned and tender remove from the heat, season lightly with pepper to taste, and add the walnuts.
Notes

I measure the walnuts as a handful. Everyone’s hands are different and proportional to their body. I regard them as the perfect measure for each person. Choose your zucchini size according to appetite or market availability.

Gretchen @gfedge
Rita @catqicatqi
Teresa @TravelingRD
(From Boot Camp to Homeland Security…This RD is on a Mission! )

This post is linked to:
Wellness Weekend January 10-14, 2013
at Ricki Heller’s Blog – Diet, Dessert, and Dogs

 

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Chocolate Fudge Bundt Cake

December 10, 2012 at 2:04 am · Filed under Dessert, LowCarb, Recipes, Vegan, Wellness Weekends ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This month there has been more excitement and much less blogging, but still cooking, baking and thinking about nutritious, delicious, gluten-free food. And a recipe for a dark, rich chocolate cake – I thought about that a lot :-)

Super Chocolate Fudge Cake

Super Chocolate Fudge Cake

Some of the excitement:
#1 Son came for a visit – Mom {me} was thrilled and Don and I both cooked up a storm.

Granddaughter Megan is graduating this month, I’ve been doing sewing and alterations for post-college wardrobe. The graduation celebration and Christmas gift exchange are being combined to reduce family holiday travel.

Rita is moving back to Texas mid-month and staying with us until she locates a new apartment. I had to finish the sewing, get it delivered to Megan, and put away the sewing machine and ironing board.

My sibs and I are selling some of our Grandpa’s farm property – much nostalgia involved and so far, over 100 emails. It is amazing that we will be able to complete this with two of us physically present at closing and the other two mailing and/or emailing the required documents.

Don and I spent some time cutting back shrubs in preparation for the exterior of our house to be painted. It was scratchy, itchy, tedious work. We did it ourselves because we wanted it done our way.

Freshly Painted Plant Stand

Freshly Painted Plant Stand

My tall metal plant stand for the front porch needed painting. I placed it out in the yard, away from the house, so the paint spray would be carried away by the breeze. Almost as soon as I completed spraying the stand was caught in the middle of a mass ballooning baby spider migration.  Many of the spiders and their silk strands landed on the plant stand. Fortunately they were so tiny and the paint had dried so quickly that none of them became part of the finish.

Finally I had time to think and plan and was able to put together a modification of the Pumpkin Bundt Cake  to create this Chocolate Fudge Bundt Cake. This creation was intended to just be a dark, intensely chocolate cake. It came out so moist that I kept apologizing for it while everyone was saying ‘moist is good!’ Finally I stopped apologizing. It tastes like a blend of cake and fudge. I may tweak it but maybe not. Since it is so good I wanted to go ahead and share it. You will see from the ingredient list that it is not going to send you into sugar shock unless you are way more sensitive than I am. And since it is grain-free it does not trigger me to keep eating more and more – thank you to the dark lords of the chocolate underworld!

Chocolate Fudge Cake - Up Close

Chocolate Fudge Cake – Up Close

Wet Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut oil, unrefined
1 cup pumpkin
1 square unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons chia seed
1/4 cup Truvia
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder {update 12-11-2012}
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (112g) almond flour
Optional: but highly recommended :-)
1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips

1. Set the oven at 325*F – gluten-free bakes better at lower temperatures and a little longer than gluten baked goods. Oil your pan(s) using a pastry brush and coconut oil. Alternately use a 7” Bundt pan, 12 cupcake molds, or 2 mini-loaf pans. Set aside.
2. Melt the coconut oil and the unsweetened chocolate together; allow to cool. Grind the coconut palm sugar and chia seed to powder. For sugar-free, substitute the sugar with more Truvia. You can use all Lakanto or your preferred baking sweetener. Measure chocolate chips and set aside.
3. Measure and sift together the dry ingredients, except almond flour, into a large bowl. Add the almond flour without sifting. It will not pass through a sieve.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, the cooled chocolate and oil, coconut milk, vanilla, and vinegar until blended.
5. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients. Continue folding just until the mixture comes together. Quickly stir in the chocolate chips. When using soda and vinegar for leavening it is essential to get the cake in the oven quickly.
6. Pour the batter into prepared pan(s). Smooth the top with a spatula.
7. For the small 7” Bundt bake for about 40 minutes and turn the heat off for 5 more minutes. Bake about 25 minutes total for cupcakes or muffin tops, and about 25-30 minutes for small loaf pans.
8. Cool the cake in the pan for 5-10 minutes.
9. Remove from pan and move to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Choosing the ingredients:
I used canned pumpkin and have used it for years. It is one of my preferred pantry staples. I recently tried an organic brand but the consistancy is different. We will eventually become accustomed to it.

Unrefined organic coconut oil has a sweet note to enhance the sweetness of the cake without adding coconut flavor. Refined will work just as well.

You may use full-fat or light coconut milk. You may also dilute full-fat coconut milk half-&-half with unsweetened almond milk.

Coconut palm sugar tends to be very coarse. I grind it in a coffee bean grinder along with the chia seed so that both will dissolve and distribute better in the batter.

I use Bob’s Red Mill brand for the tapioca and coconut flours. Honeyville blanched (ordered online) is my choice for almond flour. Bob’s would probably work just as well but I don’t know for sure.

I hope others enjoy this just as much as we do!

Gretchen @gfedge

This post is linked to:
Wellness Weekend December 6-10, 2012
at Ricki Heller’s Blog – Diet, Dessert, and Dogs

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Pumpkin Bundt Cake – A Long Journey

November 3, 2012 at 1:32 pm · Filed under Breakfast, Dessert, Recipes, Vegan, Wellness Weekends ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I have been distracted lately – probably for the last two years. So many things are going on that I constantly lose focus. When I do snap back I usually end up starting on something else and then lose focus on that. Now that it is pumpkin season again I am picking up on a thought that started about a year-and-a-half ago ;-)

I first found Karoline’s original recipe for Pumpkin Bundt Cake  in May of 2011 and wanted to make it gluten-free. The original recipe called for barley flour. Barley gluten is said to be different from wheat gluten but it is closely related as are several other grass grains. I have made many modifications to both the recipe and my baking objectives since then.

Initially this was a vegan recipe and one that I wanted to remain vegan. Being torn between paleo and vegan makes for a split personality in my recipe box but for the moment that’s where it’s at. In the meantime there are several other objectives driving the modifications with one of my current objectives being low glycemic load.

I first eliminated all of the grass (Poaceae) family of plants plus most of the seeds of plants except for the ones I grind up and use as egg replacers: flax, chia, and psyllium seeds. Experiments with agave and other sweeteners such as xylitol have led me to my personal tolerance/preference for erythritol, stevia, and coconut palm sugar. Then I eliminated dairy and substituted coconut products for their nutritional and healing properties; coconut oil, coconut flour, and coconut milk. Occasionally I use tapioca or potato starch in small amounts for texture and browning qualities.

Half recipe - 7-inch Bundt Cake

Half recipe – 7-inch Bundt Cake

Pumpkin Bundt Cake
5.0 from 1 reviews
Print
Recipe type: Dessert, breakfast
Author: Gretchen Cormier @gfedge
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 60 mins
Total time: 1 hour 20 mins
Serves: 14-16
A dense pumpkin cake made from nutritious, low-carb flours and filled with fruit and toasted nuts.
Ingredients
  • Full Recipe for a 10 inch Bundt Cake
  • 1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, unrefined
  • 1 1/2 cups pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup Truvia
  • 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup golden raisins
  • Dry Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour
  • 1 cup tapioca flour
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground chia
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 2 teaspoons ground allspice
  • 2 teaspoons ground cloves
  • 2 teaspoons grated nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Half Recipe for a 7 inch Bundt Cake
  • 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, unrefined
  • 1 cup pumpkin
  • 1/4 cup Truvia
  • 3/4 cup coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup + 2 T. golden raisins
  • Dry Ingredients:
  • 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup tapioca flour
  • 2 tablespoons coconut flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground chia
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
  1. Set the oven at 325*F – gluten-free bakes better at lower temperatures and a little longer than gluten baked goods. Oil your pan(s) using a pastry brush and coconut oil. Then dust very lightly with tapioca flour. Alternately use 48 cupcake molds or 4 mini-loaf pans. Set aside.
  2. Sauté the nuts in a small skillet in the coconut oil. Set aside to cool.
  3. Measure and sift together the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
  4. In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, the cooled oil and nuts, raisins, milk, vanilla, and vinegar.
  5. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients. Continue folding just until the mixture comes together. When using soda and vinegar for leavening it is essential to get the cake in the oven quickly.
  6. Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Smooth the top with a spatula.
  7. Bake for 50-60 minutes for full size Bundt, rotating the cake from front to back after 20 minutes, about 25 minutes total for cupcakes or muffin tops, and about 25-30 minutes for small loaf pans.
  8. For the small Bundt bake for about 40 minutes and turn the heat off for the last 5 minutes.
  9. Cool the large cake in the pan for 15 minutes, the smaller items for less.
  10. Move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes

Any of your favorite tender nuts are suitable – for appearance and texture the pieces should be easy to chew. Toasting in the skillet enhances the flavor in the finished cake.

Dried cranberries, currants, chopped figs, dates, cherries, or apricots would all be nice; a mixture would make for a festive holiday fruitcake.

Unrefined coconut oil has a sweet note to enhance the sweetness of the cake without a coconut flavor. Refined will work just as well.

Full fat coconut milk may make the cake a little heavy. I used light coconut milk because it was in the pantry. Otherwise I would dilute full-fat coconut milk half-and-half with unsweetened almond milk.

Coconut palm sugar tends to be very coarse. I grind it in the coffee bean grinder along with the chia seed so that it will dissolve and distribute better in the batter.

The measure of spices should be adjusted to your taste and tolerance. For instance, although I love clove I cannot tolerate as much as my taste buds prefer so I reduce the amount.

I use Bob’s Red Mill brand for the tapioca and coconut flours. Honeyville blanched (ordered online) is my choice for almond flour. Bob’s would probably work just as well but I don’t know for sure.

My neighbors, Barb and Frank, agreed to taste test this recipe for me. I have their permission to share the comments they sent me:

Last night we sliced up your pumpkin cake and Frank said, “this is not bad.” Then he took another bite and finished it. Then he said, “this is really good. Can I have another slice.” So we both give it a thumbs up and we really thought it tasted very, very good. Keep up the good work!!!

I hope others enjoy this treat just as much!

This post is linked to:
Wellness Weekend November 1-5, 2012
at Ricki Heller’s Blog – Diet, Dessert, and Dogs

Gretchen @gfedge

Comments (5)

Apple Cobbler Revisited

September 10, 2012 at 3:03 am · Filed under Breakfast, Dessert, Recipes, Vegan, Wellness Weekends ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We spent a night in Lubbock, Texas when returning from our recent trip to New Mexico. It had been a long drive but we were determined to make a stop at Apple Country Orchards in Idalou, TX just outside of Lubbock. Arriving late afternoon we were too road weary to pick apples but we bought a gallon of frozen apple cider plus a bag of Pink Lady apples. At home I boiled the cider down to syrup for use in I-didn’t-know-which-recipe; it just sounded too good not to try.

Finally those apples made it to apple cobbler. It has been a long time since I made an apple cobbler. Peach cobbler is the standard for ’cobbler’ in this part of Texas. The apple cobbler in my file was one I crafted for a family Christmas gathering at son Jorge’s apartment in Fort Worth. It survived these many years in the recipe box because everyone loved it.

Suffice to say the old cobbler recipe was not gluten-free so revisions were in order. Plus I wanted to incorporate some of that tangy-sweet apple syrup that took 5 hours cooking time to prepare.

I was winging, just grabbing stuff out of the cabinets and did not think to take pictures along the way. Now I wish I had because it turned out really well and held up on the counter for the several days that we were able to restrain ourselves from devouring it all at once. Don bemoaned the fact that we did not have ice cream to go with it. That would have cancelled out the restraint factor so I was OK on that point.

Apples are in season here and apple cider was on sale at Sprout’s. It was the unfiltered cider that can be boiled down. I understand that the syrup can be purchased on the internet but shipping makes it more expensive that way. If you don’t have syrup or the time to make it just substitute apple juice.

I was not up to blending my own GF flour for this (wish I had been) so I used a cup of the Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Bisquick remaining from experiments several months ago. Yikes! But it did come in handy. This was for Don so I rationalized and used real dairy butter when I would have preferred to use coconut oil. At least I have him off of the margarine he once used ;-)

Apple Cobbler - The Very Last Serving

Apple Cobbler – The Very Last Serving

Apple Cobbler Revisited
Print
Recipe type: Breakfast, Dessert
Author: @gfedge
Fruit cobblers are easy for breakfast, a light dessert or coffee break. They need no embellishment although ice cream or whipped toppings are deemed necessities by some. Easily adapted to vegan and/or sugar-free. If you use a calorie-free sweetener you will need to adjust for the equivalent amounts.
Ingredients
  • Apples:
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider syrup
  • 6 tablespoons sugar (coconut, Sucanat, Truvia, Stevia)
  • 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (cornstarch, tapioca)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 4-6 cups prepared apples
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Topping:
  • 1/4 cup butter (coconut, dairy, palm shortening, etc.)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar (coconut, Sucanat, Truvia, Stevia)
  • 3/4 cup milk (almond, light coconut)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg or equivalent flax or ground chia egg
  • 1 cup gluten-free flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
Instructions
  1. Spray or grease a 8” square pan or an equivalent size of pie pan. Set aside. Your oven will need to be at 400*F.
  2. Mix the first 5 ingredients in a medium size saucepan. Be sure to dissolve the thickener you chose. Stir over medium-low heat until the mixture bubbles and thickens.
  3. Cut the apples in quarters, remove the core, and peel. Large apples I recommend slicing each quarter into thirds and then cutting across them 3 times to make a dozen bite size pieces – you need to judge this by the size of your apples.
  4. Add the apples and 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the cinnamon sauce in the pan. Pour this mixture into your prepared baking pan.
  5. Gently heat the butter with the sugar and milk just until warm and the butter is melted. Beat in the egg (or substitute), plus the 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix the flour and xanthan together in a small bowl before adding to the wet mixture. Stir quickly; the batter will be rather thick like biscuit dough. Glop spoonfuls over the top of the batter and smooth it out to the edges of the pan as best you can.
  6. Bake in your 400*F oven for about 30 minutes or until the topping is done when using the toothpick test.
Notes

A gluten-free topping may only be slightly golden but still be crisp with a nice texture.

Fruit cobbler is a very forgiving type of recipe – there is almost never too much fruit and you can stretch a smaller amount to make more servings.

This cobbler is an easy, basic recipe for budding chefs to have a satisfying experience. Nearly any kind of fruit can be used to make a cobbler but stone fruits and apples require very little adaptation.

Apple Cider Syrup - Stir Well Before Using

Apple Cider Syrup – Stir Well Before Using

The apple cider syrup was easy to make. I picked a day when I needed to be in the kitchen so that I could watch it closely. A gallon jug of cider makes about three cups, 24 ounces, of thick, pourable syrup.

Gretchen @gfedge

This post is linked to:
Wellness Weekend September 6-10, 2012
at Ricki Heller’s Blog – Diet, Dessert, and Dogs

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Faux Tofu and the Versatility of Chickpeas

September 1, 2012 at 10:51 pm · Filed under Basics, Breakfast, Mains, Recipes, Vegan, Wellness Weekends ·Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Soy Free Tofu described at TRIUMPH OF THE LENTIL recently caught my attention. Soy does not like me despite all of the ways that I’ve tried. It is so versatile in all of its forms – an ideal pantry staple. I definitely had to give this a recipe a test drive.

Faux Tofu Dinner with Lots of Veggies

Faux Tofu Dinner with Lots of Veggies

I found another recipe labeled Burmese Style Tofu that has similar ingredients but a long and involved process. I decided to go with the simple!

The soy-free versions are made with chickpeas (garbanzos, besan) in the form of flour as a base. I made the mistake of tasting the raw batter. The raw-bean taste caused me to add a heavy dose of seasoning which I now regret. It is very tasty but too spicy for me to use very often. Those of you who love and can handle the hot and spicy seasonings will probably like this version.

After mixing and cooling I cut it into pieces and tried to move two pieces to a skillet and the rest into refrigerator containers, one to use during the week and the other to freeze for future use. Maybe my Bob’s Red Mill flour was different in some way but my mixture was too soft for easy handling. Some cracked and some broke before I finally managed to get it all packaged.

First Two Pieces in the Skillet

First Two Pieces in the Skillet

I have grilled some in a skillet twice. The first pieces were about 3/8” thick and while firm on the outside after browning the inside was still mushy. The second time I used the spatula to gradually flatten them to maybe 3/16” thickness. That was much more satisfactory.

Tasty Looking When Browned

Tasty Looking When Browned

It is quite tasty but I needed mushrooms, onions, and zucchini alongside to spread out the intense seasoning.

A Very Intense Breakfast Encounter

A Very Intense Breakfast Encounter

Faux Tofu and the Versatility of Chickpeas
Print
Recipe type: Basics, Breakfast, Mains, Veggies
Author: Gretchen @gfedge
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 10
Prepare a gluten-free, vegan, multi-purpose ingredient for use any time of day in various spicy recipes.
Ingredients
  • 2 1/2 cups garbanzo bean flour
  • 2 teaspoons Old Bay type seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups water
Instructions
  1. Grease a baking pan, 8”X12” for thicker slices, 9”X13” for thinner ones and set aside. Turn on your oven to 350*F.
  2. Place the first four ingredients in a heavy saucepan and mix well.
  3. Add the slightly warm water a cup at a time, stirring to prevent lumps in the batter.
  4. This flour has a tendency to lump anyway so if it does let it set a while after adding all of the water.
  5. Stir occasionally and the lumps should eventually dissolve.
  6. After the batter is mixed then move the pan to a stove burner and cook at medium heat (while stirring) until it is very thick.
  7. Then spread the mixture in your prepared pan and smooth the surface.
  8. When the mixture is set you can cut it into as many pieces in any shape that you want.
Notes

Maybe bland is not so bad after all. Then you can season it differently each time you cook with it.

A quick and versatile use of chickpeas is this Falafal consisting of chickpea flour and spices with a lot less water. Instead of batter it produces dough that you can handle and form into balls or patties. After I use up the faux tofu I will go back to this recipe because the spices are less intense.

I have a long history of fascination with chickpeas. Years before I went gluten-free I was already experimenting with chickpea recipes. The first one I remember was a Mexican dessert known as Torta de Garbanzo from The Art of Mexican Cooking (the one by Jan Aaron and Georgine Sachs Solom 1965 – and now very hard to find). Their version, flavored with cloves and rum, was a wonderful treat. There is a similar recipe with cinnamon and orange at Morsels and Musings.

Another sweet made from chickpeas is Besan Burfi a treat from India with simple ingredients and an easy technique. It seems to be very popular with college students because it is easy to make and inexpensive.

One of my first forays into baking after going gluten-free was this Cinnamon Toasties recipe from Babycakes NYC vegan bakery as posted and demonstrated on the Martha Stewart show. A Babycakes NYC app is coming out soon!

‘Quizza’ from Ricki at Diet, Dessert, and Dogs is one of her versatile breakfast-lunch-or dinner recipes. Delicious, easy to make, and filled with veggies; you know you are being good to your body when you make up a batch of this goodness!

This Chickpea Smoothie (my own creation) was a wonky kitchen experiment that was a great success. I have not found a commercial protein powder based on anything, animal, vegetable, or mineral, that didn’t make me feel yucky or that my stomach did not immediately and forcefully reject. Home-cooked chickpeas were my ultimate solution. Preparation is key. When the chickpeas are soaked for 24 hours and cooked at low temperature the texture is wonderfully mild and creamy and there is little, if any, gastric discomfort.

This Roasted Chickpea and Artichoke Salad for a Potluck, adapted from another of Ricki’s fabulous recipes, is a favorite at potlucks. I make a huge bowl and there is never any left to take home. (Tip: I have switched to frozen artichoke hearts. They have less of the fibrous bits.)

Carob Date-Walnut Muffins, a fill-you-up breakfast, was the first time I used carob. My flour mix contained garbanzo (chickpea) flour and I really need to make these again when the weather gets cooler. Dates, walnuts, and carob scream ‘breakfast’ on a chilly morning but right now almonds toasted in the microwave, fresh fruit, and coffee are plenty.

Our kitchen has changed over the years to include these His & Hers Pizzas. The crust evolution has been well documented but it is hard to remember the various toppings. One certainty is that I prefer oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes as opposed to tomato sauce. And I like lots of sautéed mushroom and onions. Calabacitas is a squash similar to zucchini but much firmer and that is great in the sauté mixture when available.

If you have chickpea recipes to share I would love to know about them!

Gretchen @gfedge

This post is linked to:
Wellness Weekend August 30-September 3, 2012
at Ricki Heller’s Blog – Diet, Dessert, and Dogs

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Mediterranean Faux Potato Salad

July 30, 2012 at 1:17 am · Filed under LowCarb, Recipes, Salad, Vegan, Veggies, Wellness Weekends ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Or Mediterranean Potato Salad meets Faux Potato Salad and lived happily ever after.

Don’s Yellow Mustard Potato Salad is as basic as possible. It consists of boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, and mustard; if you want salt and pepper then you add it at the table.

The potato salad my Mom made also had pickle relish, celery, and onion – and maybe a few other ingredients that I don’t remember. When I came across Annemarie’s recipe for Mediterranean Potato Salad it triggered the memory of Mom’s potato salad. This salad has more ingredients than I remember, we never had Kalamata olives, but still it was compelling.

I made half of the family size recipe and it lasted me for 4-5 days. Part of the way through Don made his potato salad and I could not offend the ‘Chef’ of our home. Can you say ‘enough with the potatoes already’? Well, not out loud.

Still loving the tangy, red oniony Mediterranean dressing and in carb overload I had the idea to use cauliflower instead of potatoes for a lighter version. So many recipes on the internet for low-carb and/or paleo diets are creating (totally fascinating) ‘faux potato’ recipes with cauliflower so I jumped right in. These salad ingredients are quite different from the original salad but the tangy dressing is the same.

Skillet Grilled Mushrooms and Zucchini

Skillet Grilled Mushrooms and Zucchini

Mediterranean Potato Salad Dressing
Follow the link for the dressing and combine the ingredients as per the original directions.

Mediterranean Faux Potato Salad
Print
Recipe type: Salad, entrée with Walnuts added
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Serves: 4
A flavorful combination of seven fresh ingredients combined with a light, tangy olive oil and vinegar type dressing.
Ingredients
  • Mediterranean Faux Potato Salad
  • 1 pound cauliflower florets (mine were frozen)
  • 1 small zucchini, in small bite size wedges*
  • 4 medium or 2 large fresh mushrooms, chopped
  • ½ cup Kalamata olives, chopped
  • 1/2 small organic carrot, very thinly sliced
  • 2-3 tablespoons diced red onion
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
Instructions
  1. Cook the cauliflower until it is tender enough to cut with a fork but not a minute longer.
  2. While you are minding the cauliflower prepare the zucchini and mushroom.
  3. Warm a teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet and add the chopped zucchini and mushroom with a sprinkle of sea salt.
  4. Sauté lightly until the mushrooms give off some of their flavorful essence and the zucchini takes on the tiniest bit of grilled appearance. Again, tender but not soft, ‘al dente’ like pasta.
  5. Add the carrot, red onion, and tomatoes to a mixing bowl.
  6. Add the other veggies when they are ready.
  7. Pour on the dressing, mix well, cover, and set in the refrigerator for several hours.
  8. The salad improves in flavor for at least three days after which time I cannot tell you; by then it was all gone.

 

A Temporary Distraction in the Neighbor's Yard

A Temporary Distraction in the Neighbor’s Yard

 

Completed and Garnished Salad

Completed and Garnished Salad

It was a side dish for two meals. With the addition of a generous handful of chopped walnuts it was a full meal on another day. Lots of flavor, nourishment, and the happy feeling of being well-fed.

Gretchen @gfedge

This post is linked to:
Wellness Weekend July 26-30, 2012
at Ricki Heller’s Blog – Diet, Dessert, and Dogs.

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Fig Preserves – Homemade, Fresh, and Local

July 23, 2012 at 2:51 pm · Filed under Condiments, Recipes, Vegan, Wellness Weekends ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The 2012 local fig season has been erratic. Texas figs are hardy, they have to be. 2011’s early crops were tasty and sweet but the summer heat was devastating to much of the plant life. Even with the early rain this year’s crop was sparse and late. BFF Ann shared from her fig trees but we both agree that while some were tasty others were not as sweet or flavorful.

Brown Turkey Figs

Brown Turkey Figs

Picture and Nutritional Value from Specialty Produce
Fresh figs are a good source of vitamin B6, protein, calcium, phosphorus and iron, plus are cholesterol-free, sodium-free and fat-free. A compound found in figs, called benzaldehyde, has been shown to help shrink tumors in some tests.

My two pounds of figs, most likely the last ones for this year, were nicely formed but not so flavorful that you keep popping them in your mouth.

The saying ‘if life hands you lemons then make lemonade’ here translates roughly into ‘if life hands you questionable figs then make preserves’. There are all kinds of elaborate recipes on the internet but I chose the simplest: fruit, sugar, lemon, and water and as usual I tweaked it a bit.

This recipe has less sugar than most but enough to still be sweetly delicious and spreadable. Plus, less sugar means more fruit – that’s healthier isn’t it?

I did not attempt non-nutritive sweeteners because I don’t have enough experience making preserves and with this being the last two pounds of fresh, local figs I was not about to go out on an unexplored limb and ruin them.

Maple syrup would be a tasty and complementary replacement for the sugar and water but I didn’t have enough. My agave nectar was dark and too strong a flavor for these figs – you want the fruit flavor to shine through. I tasted a slice of fig with coconut sugar and it overwhelmed the fruit. Light agave would probably work perfectly for a vegan option.

And eek, no lemons, only limes in the refrigerator. Lemon is optional if your figs are flavorful. But lemon is very complementary to figs, especially ones that need flavor enhancement. So I juiced a lime for the tartness and added a few drops of lemon oil for the lemon flavor. The optional pectin; figs usually contain some pectin but I was not feeling confident. Compromise, we all do it!

Fig Preserves – Homemade, Less Sugar
2 pounds fresh figs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dry fruit pectin (optional, I cheated)

Prepare the figs by washing and gently drying on a clean towel. A 2-quart saucepan is large enough for a batch this size. If you double the recipe use a larger pot.

Trim the stems from the figs. Cut them into pieces even if they are small – there is not enough sugar in this recipe to make whole preserved figs. Put the pieces in the pan and add the remaining ingredients.

Set the pan on the stove and turn on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar melts, syrup begins to form, and it all begins to simmer. Keep it on simmer and stir it occasionally.

Beginning to Simmer, Not Very Pretty

Beginning to Simmer, Not Very Pretty

As the figs cook they release a lot of juice so it can take several hours cook down to preserves. Keep the temperature at low simmer because this mixture can easily scorch. Mine cooked down really thick and amber-colored which was a happy improvement over a pot of syrup and multi-hued chunks of fig.

Finished Jars of Fresh Fig Preserves

Finished Jars of Fresh Fig Preserves

Gretchen @gfedge

This post is linked to:
Wellness Weekend July 19-23, 2012
at Ricki Heller’s Blog – Diet, Dessert, and Dogs.

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