Thursday, December 3, 2009

Gluten Free Felafel


Ellen: "It's 5 PM and I haven't a clue what to make for dinner."

Peter: "How about pasta with that delicious dairy-free red pepper cheeze sauce?"

Ellen: "Ummmmmmm, well, er, ok. Maybe. We'll see."

Peter leaves room. Ellen loves that cheeze sauce, but it just isn't floating her boat tonight.

Ellen: "Felafel. Yeah! Felafel, that's the ticket."

Ellen dons her apron. Then frowns.

Ellen: "Darn. Wish we had pita. Don't have time to make it. Score! I'll defrost and toast the Pamela's Bread and Baking mix rolls I made and froze a few weeks ago."

Ellen rolls up her sleeves. The kitchen begins to hum. Forty-five minutes later. Voila - Felafel Sandwiches with Tahini Lemon Sauce and Israeli Cucumber & Tomato Salad. And leftover felafel to boot.

Felafel

1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup dry gluten-free breadcrumbs
1 celery stalk
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp cayenne or pinch of crushed red pepper
2 medium cloves garlic
3 tbsp tahini
1/4 cup chickpea flour (or other gluten free flour) + extra
olive or canola oil

Place chickpeas in food processor and mix until smooth. Add remaining ingredients (onion through tahini) and mix until well-combined. Chill 1 hour (or more).

Pour chickpea flour onto flat plate. Scoop out felafel mixture with small ice cream scoop (size is your choice, though smaller works better) onto plate with chickpea flour. Carefully dredge patty in the flour being careful to avoid breaking it.

Heat skillet. Pour in some oil (about 1 tbsp) and when it is hot, add the felafel patties. Fry both sides of each patty until crisp. You will probably have to add more oil periodically, as the felafel soaks up the oil (this isn't a low-cal dish).

Remove to paper towel until ready to eat. Makes about 15 - 20 small patties, depending on the size of your ice cream scoop. They can be reheated or kept warm in a 200 degree oven.

Tahini Lemon Dressing

1/2 cup plain, unsweetened soy yogurt
2 tbsp tahini
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 scallion, diced
1 minced garlic clove
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 tsp ground cumin
pinch of crushed red pepper
dash of paprika
dash of wheat-free tamari
salt & black pepper to taste

Beat ingredients well, using a whisk. Alternatively, place all ingredients in blender and mix.

Israeli Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Mix chopped cucumber and tomatoes. Add fresh squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper.

Click here for printable recipe

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Monday, November 23, 2009

Vegan Meatless Moussaka

You're probably gonna think I'm nuts. I mean, after all, three days till Thanksgiving and I'm experimenting with Moussaka??!!! What the heck, where's the traditional fare?

In an effort to come up with a menu that centered on vegetarian and vegan options, I thought that Meatless Moussaka would do the trick. And anyway, we're doing Thanksgiving on Saturday, not on Thursday. It just worked out that everyone is going to either inlaws or friends houses on Thursday. So we decided to have our immediate family come to us for a T-giving meal on Saturday. Everyone will have had their fill of the usual Thanksgiving fare, they might even have had their fill of leftovers. And I figure they'll be in the mood for something a little different.

This recipe is a hybrid - a combination of a recipe in an old Weight Watchers cookbook and one from Veganomicon, one of my fave go-to vegan cookbooks, plus some tweaks on my part. Not a quick weeknight throw together kinda meal, but definitely company-worthy.

Vegan Meatless Moussaka
adapted by Ellen Allard

1 (1 lb.) eggplant, unpeeled and cut into 1/4" slices
1 1/2 lbs. Russet or baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" slices
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 12 oz container Mori-Nu Silken Tofu
1 tsp arrowroot powder
1 clove garlic
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/4 tsp salt
white pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8 x 12 inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on one of the baking sheets. Arrange the potato slices in a single layer on the other baking sheet. Bake until softened, about 20 - 25 minutes. Rotate pans front to back halfway through baking. When done, remove from pan to cool.

Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick saucepan. Pour in the oil, then add the onion and garlic. Saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, TVP, bell pepper, wine, cinnamon, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and ground pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered until almost all of the liquid has evaporated, about 25 minutes. Stir in the parsley.

While the tomato sauce is cooking, blend the pine nuts and lemon juice in a food processor, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, until a creamy paste forms. Add the tofu, garlic, arrowroot, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Blend until creamy and smooth.

Layer the eggplant in the baking dish; top with the potato slices; top with the tomato mixture and spread until smooth. Top with the cream mixture and spread until smooth. Bake until hot in the center and golden on top, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Click here for printable recipe




To all of my readers, have a wonderful, happy, and healthy Thanksgiving!

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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Gluten Free Indian Naan & Kidney Bean and Veggie Curry


Naan. Have you ever eaten it? Pre-Celiac, I always ate it in Indian restaurants though never thought to replicate it at home until gluten free became the norm for me. Now, whenever I make Indian food, I also make naan. Gluten free naan.

Think pita bread. This naan recipe is a close cousin to it. I couldn't get it to puff and make pockets like traditional naan or pita bread. But it is soft on the inside and crisp on the outside. And is wonderful with Indian food.

I discovered the recipe when it was posted on a listserve to which I subscribe. When I first made it, I subbed a flaxseed meal/water combo for the one egg listed in the recipe. That worked great. I've since added eggs back into my diet and so I follow the recipe except that I use sour cream instead of the soy yogurt or toffuti sour cream.

Gluten free dough can be persnickety as it is a little sticky. Thus, mixing and rolling this particular naan dough works best on a silicone mat. I was fortunate enough to find a very large silicone pastry mat at Marshall's.


Gluten Free Naan Bread
makes 6

150 ml warm water (5.072 oz which is a little more than 1/2 cup)
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast
275 g white rice flour (I used 2 cups)
60 g tapioca starch (1/2 cup) - NOTE: one time, I eliminated this and it still came out great!
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp vegetable oil
150 ml (5.072 oz which is a little more than 1/2 cup) plain soy yogurt, toffuti sour cream, or regular dairy sour cream
1 egg, lightly beaten (or 1 tbsp flaxseed meal mixed with 3 tbsp warm water)
olive oil (optional)
extra rice flour for rolling and forming naan

Preheat the oven to the highest setting (mine is 500 degrees). Place a heavy baking tray or pizza stone in the oven to heat while you prepare the recipe.

In a measuring bowl or cup, mix water with 1 teaspoon of the sugar and the yeast. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit in a warm place while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Sift the rice flour (and tapioca if using), salt, baking powder, and xanthan gum into a medium-sized bowl. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar, oil, yogurt (or sour cream), egg, and the water/yeast mixture. Blend until smooth. It will be very thick.

NOTE: When you begin working with this dough in the next step of the recipe instructions, if it is very sticky and uncooperative, wet your hands. Also, try sprinkling some white rice flour onto your hands and/or the dough before handling it.

Divide the dough into six equal portions. Sprinkle some white rice flour onto your rolling surface. If possible, roll your dough on a silicone mat as it is an excellent surface for keeping gluten free doughs from sticking. Even so, I still recommend sprinkling a little white rice flour onto your first piece of dough as well as on your rolling pin (alternatively, use your hands to press the dough into a round pita-shape). Roll the dough until it is about 1/4" thick. Sprinkle more white rice flour as needed onto the dough and/or the rolling pin to keep it from sticking.

When you are ready to bake the naan, carefully place each piece of dough onto your baking pan or stone which you've removed from the oven. Avoid putting one pan or stone on a rack below another pan or stone. It is best to do one pan or stone at a time, as you'll need to broil the naan in order for it to get browned.

The original recipe calls for baking the naan for 3 minutes, but I found it best to bake for 8 minutes, then turn them over with a tongs and bake for another 2 -3 minutes. They were pretty browned by this time, but I turned on my broiler and broiled them for another minute.

Brush them with the optional olive oil before serving.

Click here for printable recipe

Tonight, we ate our naan with leftover Kidney Bean & Vegetable Curry from last nights' Sabbath dinner. This curry is a great, flexible recipe. The original recipe called for garam masala, a blend of Indian spices. I really wanted to punch up the taste of these spices, so I added some of the individual spices that make up the garam masala. Here's a picture of the leftovers, followed by my adapted version of the recipe:


Kidney Bean and Veggie Curry
makes about 6 servings

1 tbsp canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece ginger, minced
1 tbsp Earth Balance margarine
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp chopped jalapeno pepper or 1/4 tsp cayenne
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt
2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
one pound of mixed veggies (I used a blend of carrots, corn, green beans, and baby new potatoes)
1 cup plain, unsweetened soymilk
one 14 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup water, optional

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute onion, garlic, and ginger until they soften, about 5 minutes.

Add Earth Balance. Once it melts, add cumin seeds and cook for another 1 minute. Add
diced tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, jalapeno (or cayenne), garam masala, salt, curry powder, turmeric, and cumin. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

If using potatoes, make sure they're cut fairly small (1" dice). Add them first and cook until they're almost done. Then add other veggies. Stir until blended.

Add soymilk. Allow the mixture to come to a boil. If the mixture doesn't have enough liquid, add 1/4 cup water.

Add kidney beans and simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes.

Add cilantro at the end of the cooking time.

Serve with basmati rice and gluten free naan. Dipping encouraged!

Click here for printable recipe

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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini-Bundt Cakes

Pumpkins and chocolate. A perfect combination.

Every fall, here in New England, I make it my business to bake with seasonal ingredients like pumpkin and cranberries and squash. This year, inspired by a new gluten free blogger friend, I decided to try my own hand at what I once might've considered an unorthodox combination - pumpkin and chocolate.

One of the things that I love about blogging is communicating with other bloggers who are as passionate as I am about gluten free cooking and baking. I recently had the good fortune to meet one of my gluten free buddies in person! Linsey writes a wonderful blog called Cake and Commerce. If you haven't met her yet, please visit her blog - you'll be so glad you did.

I arrived at our meeting place only to find that Linsey brought me a just-baked gluten free treat - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes. Though I'm almost never at a loss for words, after taking one bite, I was speechless.

We talked, we chatted, we laughed, we drank coffee, we ate, we swooned over the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes. It was good. Very good.

I left our meeting place feeling very content. Not only did I have a new friend, but I was inspired to continue baking with more nutritious ingredients (code: leave out as much of the white gluten free flours/starches as possible and replace with high protein healthy flours/starches).

I went home and began thinking about how to replicate the taste of Linsey's cupcake, partly inspired by Linsey, partly inspired by a new mini-bundt pan that I recently purchased at William-Sonoma, and partly inspired by a book I recently took out of the library. I must, alas, return the book, but you can be certain that I will be buying a copy of my own. The book is called Ratio and is written by Michael Ruhlman. In a nutshell, Ruhlman disects baking ingredients and their amounts used in recipes. He gives you templates which you can use almost like a blank canvas.

Soon after we met, Linsey posted the recipe for the delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes she'd made for me. However, before I saw her post, I decided to try my hand at creating a similar cupcake. When we met, Linsey told me the flours/starches she used in making the cupcake, but I hadn't written down any amounts. So, that was one piece of the puzzle that I needed to figure out.

I sat down at my kitchen counter, surrounded by several of the many gluten free and vegan cookbooks in my growing collection. I looked at one recipe after another, comparing ingredients and their amounts. What are the necessary ingredients in a cupcake or muffin? What are the ingredients that can be varied from one recipe to another?

After lots of scribbling, I decided to put on my apron. The result: the recipe I came up with includes five flours/starches - 3 of them fall into the healthy category and two of them fall into the white category (not so healthy). Mission accomplished! And it got the thumbs up sign from my husband. Make sure you visit Linsey's blog to see the recipe that inspired today's post on my blog.

They can be prepared iced or left without icing. Either way, step outside with a cup of joe or tea and one of these beauties, grab a chair, and enjoy the beautiful fall weather (wherever you live!).


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini-Bundt Cake (or muffins)

makes 6 mini-bundt cakes or 12 muffins

1/3 cup millet flour
1/3 cup teff flour
1/3 cup buckwheat flour (I used light)
1/3 cup sweet rice flour (I used white)
1/3 cup tapioca starch
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/3 tsp cloves (optional)
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs (or egg replacement powder)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil ( used canola)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp molasses
3/4 - 1 cup chocolate chips

Icing:
1/4 cup confectionary sugar
2 tbsp soy creamer (or soy milk or milk of choice)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease muffin tin (12 muffins) or mini-bundt pan (6 mini cakes).

Using a whisk, mix all dry ingredients from millet through salt in a large mixing bowl until well-blended. If there are any lumps, use your fingers to break them up.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients together from the eggs through molasses.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Blend everything together, though be careful not to overmix the batter.

Add the chocolate chips and blend into the batter. Start with 3/4 cup of chips and add the remaining 1/4 cup if desired.

Please note that your batter will be fairly thick.

Scoop into prepared mini-bundt pan or muffin tin.

Bake 350 degrees - 28 - 30 minutes for mini-bundt pan or 20 - 25 minutes for muffins until an toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the mini-cakes or muffins can be removed without any trace of batter. Remove from pan and place on wire rack to cool. Be certain that the cakes/muffins are thoroughly cool before icing.

Icing:
Measure confectionary sugar into a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the soy creamer (or milk of choice), blending with whisk to remove all lumps. Add vanilla and corn syrup. Blend well. Drizzle over cooled cakes/muffins.

Click here for printable recipe

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Gluten Free Recipe for Spicy 13 Bean Soup

Can you imagine a soup made with thirteen different beans? I recently made this Spicy 13 Bean soup from a Bob’s Red Mill 29 ounce mix that includes navy, black, red, pinto, baby limas, large limas, garbanzo, red lentils, great northern, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, yellow splits, green splits, and lentils. It only includes beans and has no seasoning packet. You could always put together your own mix of beans. Use a kitchen scale and combine an assortment of different beans until they weigh 29 ounces.

In my last post, I shared a gluten free recipe for Parker House rolls. I also mentioned, though didn't include the recipe, a Spicy 13 bean soup. But one of my readers asked for the recipe and I told her I would post about it shortly.

This is one of those soups that gets better after a few days in the frig. And though you couldn’t tell from today (a warm fall day in New England), the weather has started to get a little chillier and there’s nothing like a hot bowl of soup on a chilly evening.

I’m sure it could be made in a slow cooker, but I was home for the day so I decided to make it on the stove in one of my coveted cast iron soup pots. If you’re in the mood to experiment, add your own stamp to this recipe by changing the vegetables, and/or adding rice or noodles.

Spicy 13 Bean Soup

1 package Bob’s Red Mill 13 Bean Soup Mix
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (with chilies, optional)
1 cup tvp (textured vegetable protein)
1 medium chopped onion
2 small chopped zucchini
4 medium diced carrots
1 diced celery stalk
2 minced garlic cloves
8 cups water
2 tsp bouillion powder (I love Better Than Bouillion)
½ tsp chipotle powder or regular chili powder
1 tsp sea salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
optional: add a few cups of chopped greens (spinach, kale, chard, collards) during last 15 minutes of cooking

Rinse and soak beans overnight in water, drain. Add beans and all other ingredients to a large soup pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a slow simmer. Cook until beans and veggies are done. When I made this soup, it took about three hours from start to finish, not including soaking of the beans.

Click here for printable recipe

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Gluten Free Rolls From A Breads From Anna Mix


Rolls, again.

Warm, crusty, soft on the inside rolls. Doesn't get much better than that.

You might be noticing a pattern:). I like practicing things until I get them right. Comes from being a classically trained pianist. Hours and hours practicing one passage, over and over.

So, with all the gluten free baking I've been doing, I've learned that even though I'm a make-it-from-scratch kinda person, sometimes I just have to let go and use a mix. You know what I'm talking about, right?

And here's something else I've learned. Drum roll. This is a big one. If you allow yourself to start thinking outside of the box, you realize that you can use a bread mix for making rolls. You just have to punt a little.

Earlier this afternoon, I made a Spicy 13 bean soup and let it simmer all day on the stove. I thought that rolls would be perfect to accompany the soup but I didn't have time to make them from scratch so I used a Breads From Anna Gluten Free Classic Herb Bread mix. Except instead of making a loaf of bread, I made 12 rolls in 2 muffin tins made for 6 large-sized muffins in each tin. Sounds like part of a question on a math exam, doesn't it?! They were delicious, soft on the inside and crisp on the outside.
Wondering how I got them to look like Parker House (or clover) rolls? I used a small ice cream scoop and scooped three balls of dough into each muffin cup.

Here's a neat trick - before you scoop out the dough (it's really more like batter - that's the nature of gluten free bread dough), use vegetable spray to coat the ice cream scoop. That way the dough will slide out much more easily than if you don't spray the scoop. I had a little dough left over so I added a fourth scoop to some of the rolls.

If you make rolls from this bread mix, follow the directions on the back of the bread mix exactly as written. Except instead of spooning the dough into a loaf pan, scoop it into the muffin tins as I explained above. Let rise until dough reaches the same level as the top of each muffin cup. This took about 40 minutes. Keep in mind that depending on where you live, the temperature, time of year, altitude, the rising time could vary.

I baked the rolls for 20 minutes at 375 degrees farenheight. The outside of some of the rolls got a bit overdone so the next time I will bake them in a 350 degree oven instead. But I will check them at 15 minutes and if they start to get too dark or overdone, I will cover them with foil for the last five minutes.

Do yourself a HUGE favor. If you've never tasted a Breads From Anna bread, order a loaf. It's worth every penny. BTW, I am not affiliated with the company. Just a huge fan.

Spicy 13 bean soup. Parker House rolls. A great weeknight meal with leftovers to boot!

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Sunday, September 13, 2009

Do You Eat Mac & Cheese or Mac & Cheeze?

Want a very quick cheeze (yes, that's cheese with a z) sauce recipe that will transform your pasta dish from ordinary to WOW? And if you have any left over, you can drizzle it over steamed veggies. And if you make it with gluten free pasta, it's gluten-free. And it's dairy-free. Be still, my heart.


Look no further. Go here. The author of the very popular Vegan Yum Yum blog (and new cookbook by the same name) is a very talented cook who takes damn good pictures too.

Let me tell you what I did to tweak it.

I used San-J Wheat-Free Tamari instead of regular Tamari or Soy Sauce

I added (at the author's suggestion) one roasted red pepper from a jar.

I added 1/2 tsp turmeric to punch up the color.

I added 1/2 tsp Danish Viking Smoked Salt. I love this stuff and put it on everything. Well, almost everything.

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