Gluten Free Healthy Food

It makes me mad when I hear relatively recently diagnosed Celiacs talk about how they haven’t had pizza or bread since diagnosis… or that when they have had it, they didn’t enjoy it. It is not that I am mad at them- far from it! No, I’m mad at a society that equates bread products with gluten, and mad at companies that create allergen-free bread completely lacking in taste or appeal that scar these poor souls so dreadfully that they vow off bread entirely.

Oh, I know there is a school of thought that says breads are over-rated, and what we all need to do is go back to the basics. Protein, Vegetable, Fruit, crunchy grain that looks like bird seed (preferably boiled). I suppose that might be healthy and good for the body, sometimes. And this diet certainly simplifies life when you are first overwhelmed by a bewildering new diagnosis. But all the time? Forever and ever? No! Just say no, I say. Because toothsome, luscious, crunchy bread and supple, seductive pizza is something I would never want to live without… and all of us gluten-sensitive people don’t have to. And… furthermore, let me tell you a secret. Even if you can’t have dairy, or eggs, or soy- you can still have amazing bread that kicks all those lead weight gluten-free breads to the curb.

I’ve finally gotten to the point with my darling baby Yum where I can have enough ingredients to make some really tasty baked goods. Karina the gluten-free goddess showed me the ropes there, to the joy that is rice-free, dairy-free, egg-free baking. But glorious and abundant as her site is- there are still things I want to eat that haven’t been created yet. And so, this week I turned my sights to french bread. Ah, french bread. I’ve long had an affair with Bette Hagman’s classic white rice-tapioca rapid rise french bread. But, its reliance on eggs, flirtation with dairy, and rice-heavy base just doesn’t work for me these days. My spiced olive oil with fresh basil leaves balsamic vinegar drizzled recipe was getting dusty… and so, I wiped off my beloved Kitchenaid and started experimenting. This loaf was the incredibly satisfying result.

We took this loaf on a car-picnic to the drive-in movie with Baby Yum. Basil dipping oil? Check. Caraway and fresh Beet vinaigrette salad? Check. And the bread? With its crunchy exterior and soft center, it was wonderfully rippable, and made up for my long lost rice french bread big time.

Gluten-free Sorghum Rosemary french bread recipe Bread  Alternative Grains  French

Ingredients Special equipment *french bread pan- worth every penny! spectrum shortening (or other palm oil shortening, or coconut oil) Millet grits (or cornmeal if corn is not an issue for you) 1 1/2 cup sorghum flour 1/2 cup millet flour 1 cup tapioca flour (or, for a more delicate bread, arrowroot starch) 1 tbsp. xanthan gum 1 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. egg replacer 2 tbsp. sugar 1 1/2 cup lukewarm water 2 tbsp. rapid-rise yeast 2 tbsp. olive oil 3 Ener-g foods Egg replacer “eggs” (4 1/2 tsp. egg replacer whisked with 6 tbsp. warm water) 1 tsp. vinegar (i use cider) melted Soy-free dairy-free earth balance margarine crushed rosemary kosher salt (flaked is perfect) Directions Preheat oven to 375F. Grease french bread pan with shortening or coconut oil and sprinkle with millet grits or other gritty gluten-free substance like cornmeal. Do NOT line french bread with aluminum foil or anything like that- the holes are there for a reason and the dough is thick enough that it will not leak out the bottom. Combine dry ingredients (through 1st egg replacer) in a medium mixing bowl of a standing mixer and fold together. Put sugar and lukewarm water in a small bowl and add yeast. As it starts to puff up, add the yeast water to the medium mixing bowl. Add olive oil, egg replacer “Eggs” and vinegar and mix on medium for 3 minutes. Carefully scoop out your dough and make bread shaped ovals in your french bread pan. Baste with melted margarine and make a few slightly slanted decorative slices in the top. Sprinkle with crushed rosemary and flaked kosher salt. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bread sounds slightly hollow when you tap it and is a nice brown color.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Inspired by Bette Hagman’s french bread, but now my own very different recipe. Please do not replicate without permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1491 Added:  March 1, 2010 Last Modified:  March 1, 2010

This Tuesday I realized I had eaten most of my store of gluten-free baked goods left over from my adoption of Karina, the Gluten-free Goddess, so I decided to spend a few hours baking up a replacement store. I made her English Muffins,her Irish Soda Bread, and tried a new recipe for un-rye bread. While i was in the kitchen, I started thinking about scone recipes. Maybe it was the recipe on the back of the Bob’s Red Mill Sorghum flour, maybe it was the hint of spring in the air lately, but for some reason I felt like a nice scone. I tried using coconut cream for the first time as a dairy/yogurt substitute and it worked beautifully as a rich liquid. And then, because I had some lovely medjool dates, and cardamon is one of our favorite spices, I added that to the mix. The result was a lovely, unique scone basted with creamy coconut and sparkling with organic sugar. After tasting it, I can honestly say I didn’t miss the devonshire cream, but if you like you could serve it with some Cashew Cream or use coconut cream from a second jar of coconut, with powdered sugar and vanilla added. Enjoy!

Gluten free Vegan Coconut Date Cardamon Scone Recipe Dessert  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 1 1/4 cup sorghum flour 1/2 cup arrowroot starch 1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar 3/4 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. xanthan gum 1/4 tsp. salt 4 tbsp. sugar 4 tbsp. Palm Oil Shortening 2/3 cup coconut milk cream (leave canned coconut in refrigerator for a few hours and let solids rise to the top) 1 Ener-g Foods Egg Replacer Egg 1/3 cup chopped dates 1 tsp. freshly ground cardamon sprinkle of nutmeg extra coconut cream for brushing scone, organic sugar for sprinkling on top Directions Preheat oven to 400F. Gently blend dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Then blend in shortening until you have course meal. Whisk together egg replacer (1 1/2 tsp. powder, 2 tbsp. warm water) and then add your coconut cream. Fold together and add your dates and spices. Fold dough together until it is workable and put into a gallon freezer bag, rolling until you have a rectangle 3/4 inch thick. Cut out the sides of the bag, and then cut the dough into rectangles. Baste dough with coconut cream and sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Enjoy!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  My own creation, please do not replicate without permission. Inspired by Bob’s Red Mill dairy-egg scone recipe on bag but radically modified. Recipe ID:  1485 Added:  February 16, 2010 Last Modified:  February 16, 2010

It has been quite a few months since I had the courage to participate in my Adopt-a-gluten-free-Blogger event. I have always been quite devoted to the idea of following my fellow bloggers’ recipes as written the first time around, and my limited ingredient options during the past few months made this difficult to say the least. However, being top eight-allergen free and rice shy at the moment, it occurred to me that the one blogger who might have options for me was our own Allergic goddess, Karina. I’ve always been inordinately fond of rice and rice blends in baking. And, barring that, I like to use bean flour blends. What to do when both are (temporarily) off the menu? Find someone who relishes the challenges of dairy and egg-free baking like Karina, and luxuriates in the stretchy, wholesome goodness of sorghum and millet, or course! Before I began this whole experiment, I had to make sure Baby Yum could tolerate a few fundamental ingredients, largely Hemp Milk, Ener-g Foods Egg Replacer, Sorghum, and baking powder. Happily, all ingredients seemed to work well with her delicate tummy. Because I’m doing potato starch and corn “light” at the moment, I did substitute arrowroot starch for the potato starch in Karina’s recipes, and alternated between coconut milk and hemp milk.

One of the first recipes I tried was Karina’s Vegan Gluten-free Irish Soda Bread recipe. I have never been that appreciative of Irish Soda bread (sorry Bette Hagman), but the Millet-sorghum base in this recipe intrigued me, as well as the inclusion of caraway seed. I never met a caraway seed bread recipe I didn’t like… and this recipe was no exception. I used coconut milk instead of the alternative, and arrowroot starch instead of potato starch. I shaped it, baked it, let it cool (as much as I could bear to wait) and sliced it. Heaven! One of the best quick breads I’ve ever had. It is sweet, yet savory, and each bite is crunchy when toasted yet melts in your mouth at the same time. This will go into my regular rotation!

I also tried Karina’s Vegan Gluten-free English Muffin Recipe. I’m a big fan of any round, yeasty bread product, whether it be Crumpets, English Muffins or buns, and I had high hopes for this recipe. Bette Hagman has spectacular recipes for gluten-free crumpets that I’ve enjoyed for years, and I was hoping Karina could help me make one using sorghum flour as the tasty base. Happily, this recipe did not disappoint in the slightest, even with the substitution of arrowroot starch for the starch flour. The dough was elastic and light, and I knew before I even poured them into the molds that this recipe was going to be a winner. I did make one error when I took them out of the oven- greedily sawing one out of the mold and trying to cut it in half and drizzle it with olive oil right away. Perhaps due to the arrowroot starch, they are delicate and if you rush these beauties by threatening them with a knife right away they may deflate and you may miss out on the optimal light-hole riddled english muffin experience. I found out that if you let them cool entirely and THEN delicately remove them, you can gently saw them in half with no damage to the structure of the muffin. Or if you just can’t wait (understandable, when you smell these lovelies in the oven), you can gently rip them apart (in half, horizontally) without entirely destroying them. These english muffins made me realize I’ve been giving sorghum a bum rap all these years. Just because there are some bad recipes using sorghum doesn’t mean the grain is bad… and these wonderful, faintly nutty, whole-grain flavored muffins are proof. I forced myself to freeze half of the first batch, but happily made another batch the next time sorghum day rolled around. And I’m sorry to say, none of those made it to the freezer. They made an excellent base for a sunbutter and jelly sandwich when I went out for a bachelorette party… and were just as good when i gobbled them with some no-soy margarine and dill. Karina should get a medal for these English Muffins. They are that good. *I also found that if you are greedy like me, you can squeeze 8 muffins out of the recipe. Just be slightly stingy when pouring the batter into your molds.

I also tried one of Karina’s quinoa-based recipes for what she calls a Vegan Breakfast Brownie. I love eating dessert for breakfast, but it is usually a guilty pleasure I don’t share with others. Who, me, eat half a gluten-free apple pie for breakfast? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Honest. But our decadent gluten-free goddess has no such compunctions, brazenly throwing out recipes for brownies that you are SUPPOSED to eat at breakfast time. My heroine. Who could feel guilty about a high protein treat stuffed with quinoa, anyway? I’m sure all that healthy goodness cancels out the chocolate chips, although not in flavor! These breakfast brownies are worthy of the name, and they travel gloriously well. You can also individually wrap them and freeze them. Brilliant! *I take them out of the plastic wrap and either defrost by leaving them out at room temperature or microwave on half-power. Perfect with a steaming Americano!

Of all the recipes I tried from Karina’s site, the only one that didn’t quite work for me was her Vegan gluten-free Herbed Flatbread Recipe. Perhaps the temperature of my liquids was off… but it just didn’t rise and look as lovely as her images. However, since I actually have a vegan gluten-free pizza crust recipe that works for me, I wasn’t too worried about it, especially since every other recipe was a keeper.

The one thing this little experiment taught me is that Karina’s title of “gluten-free goddess” is well deserved. All of us with gluten-intolerance and multiple intolerances can find yummy recipes, inspiration, and a bit of magic over at the Gluten-free Goddess’s Blogspot. What’s your favorite Gluten-free Goddess recipe? Share in the comments!

Recipe Recap:
Gluten-free English Muffins
Gluten-free Irish Soda Bread
Gluten-free Quinoa Breakfast Brownies
Gluten-free Herbed Flatbread

This isn’t the first time I adopted Karina! I also adopted her in 2008 and made her tasty gluten-free Mac-n-Uncheese Recipe.

As you might have noticed, Baby Yum has been keeping me extremely busy lately. So busy that there have been fewer posts here at the Book of Yum, but I still post at least once a week. With less posting and Baby Yum’s allergies, you might think that I haven’t been cooking much- but it couldn’t be further from the truth! With Baby Yum’s allergies improved I’ve incorporated more foods into my diet, including sorghum. I’m a little bit in love with sorghum, actually- and have a host of new recipes I’m dying to share with you all. Let me start by introducing a wonderful, gluten-free vegan cookie recipe inspired by our own Karina, the Gluten-free Goddess and her vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe. I’m sure as written, this recipe would make you swoon. But unfortunately, I can’t use most of the listed flours (yet) and although I could eat chocolate chip cookies on a daily- make that hourly- basis, the chocolate seems to make Baby Yum hyper. So I took this recipe as a jumping off point to come up with my own yummy vegan millet-coconut flour cookies that evoke the raisin-rich goodness of an oatmeal cookie… without the oatmeal. I think you’ll enjoy these coconut treasures. They earned a big thumbs up from my traditional gluten-eating Father, who enjoyed his with some honey-sweetened herbal tea. The hardest part was sharing! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Tell me about your own inspired cookie experiments in the comments!

Vegan Millet Coconut No-Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe Dessert  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients The Dry: 3/4 cup millet flour 1/2 cup sorghum flour 1/2 cup arrowroot starch 1/4 cup coconut flour 1 teaspoon xanthan gum 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda The Wet: 1/2 cup Spectrum Organic Shortening 1 1/2 cups organic light brown sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoons raw agave nectar 5-6 tablespoons your favorite gluten-free dairy-free milk 1 tbsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer + 4 tablespoons warm water (whisked together) The additions: 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut 1/2 cup sweetened coconut 1 cup raisins Directions Preheat oven to 375. Put parchment paper on your favorite cookie sheet. Whisk together your dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Put your wet ingredients into your stand mixer bowl and whip together until Shortening and brown sugar are thoroughly combined and creamy. (Alternatively, use a hand mixer, but I don’t recommend it once you add gluten-free flour.) Take your whisked egg alternative and fold it into the wet ingredients. Fold your dry ingredients into the wet until you have a nice, thick, cookie batter without any dry flour pockets. Stir in your additions. Chill dough for an hour in the refrigerator, if you can stand waiting that long! Drop ice-cream scoop (or serving tablespoon) rounds of dough onto the cookie sheet. Flatten cookies slightly as they don’t spread out much and won’t bake properly in the middle otherwise. Bake in pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are a light golden brown and feel firm to the touch. Cool and remove from parchment paper. Enjoy! Notes You can freeze this dough in logs and cut off uncooked cookie disks and bake them. You may have to bake them slightly longer.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Inspired by Karina’s Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, but revolutionized to be an entirely new, creative recipe. Please do not replicate without my Permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1483 Added:  January 21, 2010 Last Modified:  January 25, 2010

In my current gluten-free rotation diet for Baby Yum, I’m rotating millet, quinoa, and amaranth. I came up with one tasty way to enjoy millet that uses millet grits like corn grits in polenta, and I’ll be sharing the recipe with you soon. However, I can’t say I enjoy whole millet seeds very much, and I didn’t have much use for the flour either until I recently had a very interesting idea. I thought that if millet grits could be used like corn grits, perhaps millet flour could be used like corn flour in tortillas or flatbread. So I went searching online to see what others had done with millet flour. Imagine my delight when I found that in India millet flour is used in delicious, smoky Bajra Roti flatbread. Of course those who must follow a gluten-free diet should be VERY careful with freshly made stuff as recipes often incorporate gluten to make it easier to handle. However, I was inspired by one intrepid Bangalorean runner, Balu’s recipe for Bajra Roti, to think that you didn’t need any other flour to make Millet flatbread, but that the method was the important thing. His chef came up with a clever way of heating the dough to make it pliable, and to my delight it really worked to create a malleable tortilla that was easier to handle than even its corn counterpart. You can also freeze uncooked flatbread by layering it with wax paper and storing in a quart ziploc freezer bag. So delightfully easy! The beauty of the recipe is that it can be made plain and substituted for corn tortillas- perfect for corn intolerant, gluten intolerant mexican food aficionados, or it can be jazzed up and given an Indian twist with spices and herbs. You can also baste the flatbread with oil for a rich, savory treat. Buttered with Earth Balance Soy-free margarine and a generous sprinkling of salt, it is simply divine. For a real treat, you could whip up a batch of Cilantro Chutney, although traditionally bajra roti is paired with a robust Garlic Chutney, Lahsun Ki Chutney. Chutney aside, this simple and satisfying bread is a recipe I would make even if I wasn’t on an elimination diet… and that’s really saying something.

How to make Gluten-free Bajra Roti, in pictures:

Can’t get enough Millet?
Try Culinary Goddess Karina’s Gluten-free Millet Buckwheat Wraps (I intend to!)
Or make Millet the star of your meal with Mark Bittman’s Millet Pumpkin Bake Recipe

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I have a hot bajra roti on the skillet calling my name… Don’t you wish you had one too?

Bajra Roti Millet Flatbread Recipe Bread  Alternative Grains  Indian

Ingredients 2 cups millet flour 2 cups water salt to taste For seasoned roti: 1 shallot- minced 1 to 1/4 green chili- minced (amount depends on spiciness of chili and your preference) 3 tbsp. cilantro, diced Directions Bring your water to boil in a saucepan and add your flour, butdo not mix it into the water. Lower heat to low and let simmer for two minutes. Then turn off heat and mix flour into hot water evenly. Remove dough to a heat resistant bowl and leave for ten minutes or until cool enough to handle. For seasoned roti you can sprinkle dough with shallot, chili, and cilantro. Form into small balls and place in a bowl. Cover Take a quart size freezer safe ziploc bag and cut out the sides. For wimpy, no rolling method, put the bag into a tortilla press. Place a ball of dough in the press between layers of plastic. Press. For rolling method, simply roll out dough inside your ziploc bag, with rolling pin on the top outside of the bag. Either way, peel your tortilla from plastic and place on a plate. These tortillas handle well, so no worries. Heat cast iron skillet to medium and toast your flatbread until its texture changes, and if you like, until it gets light brown spots. Turn it and toast the other side. Sometimes they will puff up with internal air pockets, which I think signifies a lovely, tasty flatbread. Sprinkle with salt and serve. Try to refrain from immediately slathering your flatbread with soy-free, dairy-free margarine immediately off the skillet. Or not. It’s up to you. :) I usually gobble a few before dinner gets anywhere near the table.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  inspired by various recipes online but my own creation. Do not repicate Recipe ID:  1478 Added:  January 8, 2010 Last Modified:  January 11, 2010

This holiday season we have many things to celebrate. We’ve been lucky enough to have family visiting us almost constantly since the birth of Baby Yum. Most recently, we were able to take Baby Yum (now an experienced traveler) to the DH’s natal home and my adopted home, Boulder, Colorado to celebrate Christmas with his parents. The best news, though, is that my extreme elimination diet - combined with a hearty dose of infant probiotics- has improved the state of Baby Yum’s sensitive tummy to the point where i have been able to add enough foods to my diet to make some tasty holiday treats. Sometime around Thanksgiving I started craving pumpkin pie, but I didn’t know how it would be possible to make it gluten, dairy, and egg free. However, when I added coconut back into my diet, it occurred to me that coconut might very well make a lovely substitute for condensed milk. Searching online, I found out how other people made their own vegan and gluten-free pumpkin pie recipes.

Creative goddess Karina made a Hemp Milk, buckwheat Vegan Pumpkin Pie Recipe
The always scrumptious Susan of Fat Free Vegan made a Crust-free Soy and Egg-replacer based Pumpkin Pie recipe
Michelle and Lori whipped up a Vegan Pumpkin Pie recipe
and the Voracious Vegan gave us something slightly different with her Raw foods pumpkin pie ball recipe (Use Gluten-free oats)

Finally, I made my own unique allergen-free gluten-free pumpkin pie that incorporated some unconventional flours (amaranth and coconut, anyone?) and used arrowroot as the thickener. Not only does it NOT contain soy or any other alternative boxed milk, but it also does not rely on egg replacer (which contains both potato and corn derivatives). This is the perfect pie for anyone sensitive to rice, corn, potato, tapioca, or other commonly used gluten-free flours. It certainly turned out to be the perfect pumpkin pie for me- and even won accolades from my dairy-sensitive Mother, who proclaimed it “very good” and asked for the recipe!

Guten-free dairy-free egg-free vegan coconut pumpkin pie recipe Dessert  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients Crust: 1/2 cup amaranth 1/2 cup arrowroot 1/4 cup coconut flour 1/3 cup shortening 5 tbsp cold water Filling: 2 c. solid-pack canned pumpkin 1 c. regular coconut milk 3/4 c. brown sugar 1/4 c. arrowroot starch 1 Tbsp. maple syrup 2 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp. EACH ground ginger, cloves and salt Directions Preheat oven to 375F. Combine crust ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking flours together and then adding your shortening. Combine until dough starts forming pea-sized balls, and sprinkle in water one tablespoon at a time until you can form the dough into a ball. Once you have a ball of dough, carefully roll out on wax paper. If you have two pie tins, you can place one bottom-side up underneath the wax paper and place the second one over the dough. Invert and carefully peel off the wax paper to have a perfect pie crust. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven or until lightly browned. Whisk filling ingredients together in a large bowl and fill your crust with the filling. Bake for 50 minutes or until pie has firmed up somewhat. You CAN greedily eat a slice before it chills, but it will be somewhat soft until it is chilled in the refrigerator overnight. For the most impressive pie, cool overnight.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Inspired by various recipes online, but my own creation. Please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1474 Added:  December 20, 2009 Last Modified:  December 24, 2009

Picture a little round seed that looks like it belongs in a bird feeder or could be the start of a Chia pet. Imagine this seed surrounded by a million of its friends in a plastic clear bag from Bob’s Red Mill labeled “Amaranth Grain.” On my allergy rotation diet, this seed has become a staple, but not one that particularly thrills me. In the morning I’ve been having it boiled into a porridge with lemon olive oil, honey, nutmeg and raisins. I add all these things to mask the earthy, savory nature of the seed. Boiling it creates this gel-like stuff that seems only appropriate for an astronaut meal.

After eating this gloppy porridge one too many times, I started daydreaming about things I could do to give it a better texture. Somehow I came up with the idea of spreading it out like a pizza on parchment paper and baking it into a tasty flatbread that could be used as a pizza base or crackers. And- miracle of miracles, this technique worked and transformed my martian-gel porridge into this amazing cracker bread that rivals flax crackers for crunch and has amazing flavor too! So lately, I eat my morning glop but leave half of the stuff plain, chill it and bake it later. When I enjoy this gluten-free crunchy, salty cracker flatbread with tasty veggies, it’s hard to remember that it is the same stuff that I eat for breakfast, transformed thanks to the magic of the kitchen.

The baked seed pops in your mouth a little and the high protein count means you don’t even miss t he missing dairy, egg or soy in the recipe- it is simply fabulous, and fabulously easy. I hope the next time you find yourself facing a big bowl of amaranth gruel that you will consider transforming it into some lovely salty flatbread.

And, if like me you need to avoid nuts and dairy, you may enjoy topping it with a lovely pumpkin seed basil pesto and roasted red peppers and calling it pizza. I’ve been experimenting with both pumpkin seed and sunflower seeds… as rare allergens they seemed like a good bet, and they don’t seem to bother Baby Yum. To my delight, pumpkin seed pesto is just as tasty as I could have hoped- and I don’t miss the dairy or nuts in the slightest! What are your favorite ways to cook with pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds? Share in the comments and you just might inspire my dinner!

Gluten-free Amaranth cracker recipe Bread  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 1/2 cup whole amaranth grain (not flour)- i use Bob’s Red Mill brand 1 1/2 cup water salt to taste flavored olive oil (lemon or basil) fresh basil, torn into pieces to garnish (optional) Directions Boil amaranth with water for 20-30 minutes, or until you have a thick porridge like consistency. Cool and place in refrigerator and thoroughly chill. Preheat oven to 425F. Line pizza pan with parchment paper and baste with olive oil. Remove chilled amaranth and spoon onto your parchment paper into a thin, round disk, much like a pizza. Baste top with olive oil (flavored olive oil is ideal) and sprinkle with plenty of salt. Bake for 20 minutes or until bottom of crust dries out and edges start to get crisp like a cracker. Carefully peel off parchment paper and turn crust over, basting with olive oil if desired. Bake until you get desired crispiness on both sides of cracker. Remove from oven, slice into pizza shapes and use as flatbread, cut into crackers (if you get it really crispy), or top and bake a little more in oven.

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Contents of my brain, please do not replicate without permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1471 Added:  December 7, 2009 Last Modified:  December 19, 2009

Vegan Dairy-free Pumpkin Seed Basil Pesto Recipe Sauces & Condiments  Vegetables  American

Ingredients 1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) olive oil (start with 1 tbsp. and add more as needed to form paste) 1 small bunch fresh basil (or more, to taste) salt Directions Lightly toast pumpkin seeds in a dry pan on low heat, turning as needed. Combine pumpkin seed with olive oil and basil in a small food processor and blend. Stir as needed and add more olive oil as necessary until you get a nice texture. Add salt to taste and enjoy! Notes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepita

Rating:  7 Original Source:  Contents of my brain. Please do not replicate without my permission. Recipe ID:  1473 Added:  December 19, 2009 Last Modified:  December 19, 2009

As you may know, we’ve been struggling with allergies at my house these days- it turns out that our darling Baby Yum has a very sensitive tummy and so I’ve had to go on a rather extreme elimination diet in order to breastfeed her. The good news is that she is doing much better (yay probiotics!)- and the other good news is that while I had to turn my diet upside down, I’m starting to come up with some recipes that rock, limited ingredients or no. This recipe is amazing because it doesn’t contain any of the top allergens (no dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, animal products, potatoes, corn etc) and yet still has fantastic texture and flavor. As I was bemoaning the loss of Ener-g foods egg replacer (which contains a corn derivative AND potato, both of which I’m currently avoiding), it occurred to me that the french crepe/flatbread recipe socca doesn’t contain any eggs at all, and still tastes lovely. It is based in high protein chickpea flour but I thought, what if I used another high protein flour like amaranth, which is one of my current staples? And so, a lovely recipe was born. Obviously I wasn’t going to be able to top it with hummus (no sesame at the moment, sigh) but I raided my admittedly limited fridge and came up with an easy veggie saute that tasted surprisingly savory and delicious. I’ve made this recipe many times since its first inception, and it comes out beautifully every time.

For those of you new to amaranth, you can find gluten-free certified flour through Bob’s Red Mill, sold on Amazon or directly through the company. Amaranth is a traditional food plant in Africa, and only now beginning to be cultivated for use in the United States. It has a long and interesting history with the Aztecs and with the native people of Mexico. “To this day, amaranth grains are toasted much like popcorn and mixed with honey, molasses or chocolate to make a treat called alegría.” (Recipe for Alegría using whole grain amaranth )

Most interestingly for our purposes, Amaranth contains “large amounts of protein and essential amino acids, such as lysine . . . [and is] reported to have a 30% higher protein value than cereals, such as rice, wheat flour, oats, and rye.” That sounds good to me, especially since Baby Yum is currently sensitive to so many of my vegetarian protein staples. Further, “Amaranth and quinoa are called pseudograins because of their flavor and cooking similarities to grains. These are dicot plant seeds, and both contain exceptionally complete protein for plant sources. Besides protein, amaranth grain provides a good source of dietary fiber and dietary minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and especially manganese.” (Source: Wikipedia) Nutritional value aside, this recipe is worth trying based on flavor alone. I think you’ll agree that in this case, a simple whole grain (or whole pseudograin) recipe is amazingly tasty- and easy, too!

Gluten Free Amaranth Flatbread Crepe Recipe Bread  Main Course  Alternative Grains  European

Ingredients 1/2 cup GF amaranth flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill) 1/2 cup water 1/8 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. olive oil Generous sprinkle of dried rosemary olive oil for oiling cast iron pan cast iron or other oven safe skillet *Makes two crepes- double for larger recipe Allergen-free filling: 1 thinly sliced apple 2 carrots, cut into horizontal thin pieces similar in size to the apple (cut like a very wide matchstick) 1/2 or 1 zucchini, cut into tiny cubes(optional) olive oil to taste salt pepper Directions Whisk together flour, water, salt, and olive oil in a medium bowl. Set on counter and leave for 30 minutes, whisking as needed. Meanwhile preheat oven to 450F and place seasoned cast iron pan in oven, heating. Add rosemary after batter has set. Brush pan with small amount of olive oil and let cool slightly. Pour half of your batter into the pan and swirl to make a round crepe in the pan. Place in oven and let bake for at least 8 minutes or until it starts to brown and lift off the edge of the pan. Take out of oven and carefully peel off flatbread and turn over, letting it brown for a minute or so on the other side if you like it crispy. While you are making your second flatbread, heat a small amount of olive oil in a nonstick or second cast iron pan and saute apples and carrots until apple starts to brown. Season generously and turn. Add a little more olive oil and heat in the center of pan. Sprinkle oil lightly with salt and add zucchini cubes, sauteeing until lightly browned, turning as needed. When done to your desired texture, remove from pan. Fill or top flatbread with your sauteed veggies and enjoy!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Inspired by garbanzo bean chickpea recipe, but my own creation. Please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1470 Added:  December 1, 2009 Last Modified:  December 9, 2009

When the DH and I were first dating, he stole my heart by making me a gluten-free banana bread and bringing it to me on a cutting board with a beautiful red rose. Over the years he hasn’t baked for me terribly frequently, but when he does I’m always impressed with the results (and his effort). The other day we had some very ripe bananas that were apparently calling his name, because he sneaked off to the kitchen and whipped up a batch of banana bread. He used my special vanilla sugar and added extra spices for an extra-special banana bread. It seems simple, but the vanilla sugar resulted in an especially creamy and deliciously enticing banana bread. One secret of gluten-free baking that isn’t often mentioned is that a fruit or vegetable bread like banana bread or zucchini bread are very easily converted to be gluten free. In a simple quick bread based in fruit or vegetables, unlike yeast breads, I find that you don’t really need a special flour blend or to add xanthan or guar gum. They also are often extra tasty as muffins or mini muffins. Do you have a favorite gluten-free quick bread recipe? Tell me about it in the comments!

Gluten Free Dairy Free Banana Bread Recipe Bread  Alternative Grains  Rice  American

Ingredients 2 cups white rice flour or your favorite simple gluten-free flour blend 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 2 eggs, beaten 1 1/2 cups mashed, ripe bananas (about 5) 1 cup vanilla infused sugar (leave vanilla bean in sugar overnight and then remove bean) 1/2 cup canola oil Directions Preheat oven to 350F. Spray medium bread pan with nonstick cooking spray or grease with margarine and reserve. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and then make a well in the center. Add eggs, banana, sugar, and oil to the center and combine them before folding into the rest of the dry ingredients. Pour or spoon batter into your bread pan. Bake for an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes before removing from pan, and then cool on a wire rack until you can’t stand it any longer (ideally until bread is entirely cool, but hey, I’m only human.) Slice a piece and enjoy!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Adapted from classic Better Homes and Garden to be gluten-free and suit our family. Please do not replicate without permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1446 Added:  August 26, 2009 Last Modified:  August 26, 2009