Amazing Cakes

I just picked up the current edition of "Donna Hay Kids' Magazine" at Borders and it has a gorgeous, gluten-free cake on the cover. I'm definitely making this! This is a beautiful magazine, by the way. Although many of the recipes inside were "glutenous", I find inspiration at looking at gorgeous photographs of simple meals presented with care. Here's the link, by the way: http://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/695-rice-crackle-cake/ Don't be daunted by the "au" in the web address. They kindly give recipe quantities in the US format as well as the Aussie style.

UPDATE: I just discovered that Rice Crispies may have gluten in them. They containly malt, which is sometimes made with wheat. As the box doesn't say "gluten-free", I think we have to assume they contain gluten. However, there are gluten-free crisped rice cereals on the market, and I also understand that Rice Chex are gluten-free and can be used whole in rice crispie treats recipes (although they probably won't work for this cake recipes as they can't be molded as well into a cake shape.)

Feast Day of St. Peter Claver: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Well, I'm only a week late with my post in honor of St. Peter Claver, whose feast day was September 9th. Sometimes it just goes that way. Anyway, I had originally thought of doing black and white cookies for his feast (he being the saint who called himself the "slave of the slaves"). But the reviews I read on black and white cookies weren't too impressive. It seems they are famous more for being a NYC/Seinfeld thing than for being delicious. So, in the end, I just made chocolate chip cookies. I find a gluten-free cookie recipe on Land O' Lakes' website (yeah for Land O'Lakes!) and it turned out really well. Here it is:

Land O'Lakes Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten-free):

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

2 1/4 cups gluten-free flour blend
1 tsp g-f baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup Land O Lakes butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 Land O Lakes all-natural eggs
2 tsp g-f vanilla
1 (12 oz) package (2 cups) g-f semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chips (I used dark chocolate instead)

Heat oven to 375°. Combine flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum in medium bowl and set aside.

Combine butter, brown sugar, and sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour mixture, until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. (Do not overbake.) Let stand 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from cookie sheets.

G-F flour blend: Combine 2 cups rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch, 1/3 cup tapioca flour, and 1 tsp xanthan gum. Store in container with tight-fitting lid. Stir before using.


For my cookies, I made my own baking blend using 1/3 rice flour, 1/3 sweet rice flour, and 1/3 tapioca. It worked just fine.

The Navity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Pavlovas Two Ways

In honor of our Blessed Mother's birthday, I wanted to come up with something special that would be gluten-, casein-, and nightshade-free, AND delicious. I checked out Catholic Cuisine's page for some ideas: clearly, this day called for something white and blue in honor of Mary's purity and her mantle, respectively. But a cake wouldn't fit our dietary needs. That's when a little angel whispered in my ear: blueberry pavlova. I didn't even really know exactly what a pavlova was when the idea came to me, but it turned out to be the perfect things to make for Mary's birthday: light, white, blue, and delicious.

There are many great recipes for pavlova on the web, so I won't recreate them here. I'll just say that I substituted tapioca flour for the corn starch called for in the meringue and it worked just fine.

As for the topping, I made two variations: one gluten-free, and one gluten- and casein-free. For the first, I took 2 cups of frozen blueberries, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice, a pinch of cinnamon, and 1/8 cup of minute tapioca, and cooked them in a pot over medium heat until the sauce was thickened nicely. I let this cool, and then spooned it over the cooked meringue.

For the second topping, I simply followed the tradition route of piling on whipped cream and blueberries on top of the cooked meringue.

Now the table is set, the meal is in the oven, and all that awaits is for the family to come home and enjoy this very special occasion. Happy birthday, Blessed Mother!

Rice Paper Tiger

On a recent excursion to Whole Foods, I came across rice paper wrappers. The ingredients are simply rice, tapioca, salt, and water. Since the Thai cooking thing is working out pretty well for us, I decided to give some Thai Spring Rolls a try.

I admit, I was a little intimidated by the rice paper at first. My experiences with phyllo dough have been largely disastrous. But the rice paper turned out to be easy to use, so long as you follow the directions exactly. In other words, when they say soak the wrapper in warm water for 5 seconds, they mean 5 seconds. Not 6, not 4, just 5.

Thai Spring Rolls:

Rice paper wrappers
Thinly sliced cabbage
6-8 Slivered fresh mushroom
About 2 cups Cooked chicken, thinly sliced or shredded
1 cup Cilantro, chopped
2-inch piece Ginger, minced, divided
6 cloves Garlic, minced, divided
4 Green onion, thinly sliced
Mirin (rice vingear)
Seasame oil
Coconut oil
Agave nectar or other sweetener
Salt or wheat-free soy sauce

First, make your dressing: Add about 1/4 sesame oil and 1/4 cup mirin, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 Tbsp minced ginger, and salt or soy sauce to taste. Add desired amount of sweetening. (I used about 1 Tbsp of agave nectar). Adjust amounts of all ingredients to suit your taste.

Add 2 Tbsp coconut oil to a hot pot over medium heat. When oil is melted, add about 2 cups cabbage, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 Tbsp minced ginger, the sliced green onion, and the mushrooms, and saute until crisp-tender. Remove from heat and add cilantro and diced chicken. Pour dressing over all and stir to combine.

Fill a shallow dish with warm water (I used a saute pan). Take your first rice paper wrapper and submerge it in the water for exactly 5 seconds. It will still be somewhat crisp when you remove it. Don't worry though, it will continue to soften as you add your fillings. Add 2-3 Tbsp of your chicken and veggie mix in a line down the center of the wrapper. Fold up top and bottom ends, then pull one side of wrapper snugly around the filling. Bring other side of wrapper around filling and lay roll seam side down on plate. (You're simply folding it up like a burrito).

That's it. It's pretty simple. I think this would be delicious with a peanut based sauce like a satay sauce. I will have to work on that for next time. These were pretty tasty right on their own!

Smashed Banana Pancakes

I'm feeling particularly uninspired in terms of cooking this weekend (might have something to do with the lingering colds that are plaguing us). However, I found this recipe by Patricia Prenosli online at catholicfoodie.com and I think I'm going to give it a try:

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

• Smash banana well and blend with other ingredients.
• Fry on griddle with a little oil or butter.

Eat them with peanut butter and a little maple syrup.


Original recipe with photo can be found at:
http://catholicfoodie.com/category/recipe-tags/grain-free

UPDATE: I finally made these and they got rave reviews. The only alterations I would make are to add a pinch of salt and fry in coconut oil for delicious flavor. They reminded me of a fried banana dessert that I used to love at my favorite Chinese restaurant. This dish was a home run!

Thanks

I just want to give public thanks to God for a problem solved, and for insight on a decision that needs to be made. He is so good!

Rutabaga-Carrot Puree

Since we have gone more or less nightshade free, even the seemingly benign potato is verboten in our home (the nightshades being vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant). I needed a starchy substitute for spuds, so I came across this concoction. It's actually much tastier than mashed potatoes and full of nutrients.

Rutabaga-Carrot Puree:

3 medium rutabags, peeled and diced
3 cups baby carrots or sliced carrots (try to have an equal amount of rutabaga and carrot)
butter or butter substitute
coarse sea salt

Steam diced rutabaga and carrots until tender. Mash with butter and season with sea salt.

It's that easy!

Fall is in the air, somewhere...

We live in Texas and the temperature has dipped to under 100°, so that's crisp fall weather here. Plus, the month of September is, in my mind, a fall month from start to finish. Why wait till the 21st to make a fall wreath? I hit Hobby Lobby yesterday and almost all the supplies I needed for my wreath were 50% off! I was able to make this baby for under $30, and it suits to my style a lot better than the pre-made wreaths I was seeing. My new wreath and Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Frappuccinos have definitely got me in a fall mood!

What's for lunch?

Today I needed to throw something together fast for lunch, so I made a pasta dish I came up with last week. It took less than 20 minutes from start to finish and the kids all like it, which is sometimes a feat in itself.

Pasta with Mushrooms and Greens:

8 oz box of quinoa pasta spirals (or your preferred gluten-free pasta)
about 15 Portobello mushrooms, cut into quarters
2 large handfuls of baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 handful of fresh parsley, chopped
3 green onions, sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
salt
thyme
basil
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
Romano cheese, shredded (optional)
Cream (optional)

Prepare pasta according to directions on box. While pasta is cooking, add 1-2 Tbsp olive oil to a large shallow pan and saute for one minute. Add mushrooms and saute for 1 minute, then add salt and spices and saute until mushrooms are softened and are releasing their liquid. Add spinach and parsley and saute until greens are wilted.

Drain pasta and add to the pan with the vegetables. Combine well.

At this point, I remove some of the pasta for my dairy-free eaters. For the rest of the family, I add copious amounts of shredded sheep's milk Romano. This is also nice with a little cream added with the cheese, and heated, stirring constantly, until the dish is the desired temperature.