Monday, September 13, 2010

Thai Thai F-"after Q"-y Fly


Thailand is a country full of marvellously friendly people and outstanding food, but one thing it's not full of is the letter "R"

We were lost in a Thai Airport and searching for gate "R" when an airport employee comes up to assist us.
"Oh, you look fo gate 'afta Q'" he says in charming Thai style. And sure enough, Thailand's airport has no gate R, but they do have a gate "After Q" which makes me wonder how many hundreds have gone to gate L before gate "After Q" was invented.

Pronounce R as L and you've got a Thai Fly- a savory sweet chili chicken stir fry on a bed of coconut rice.


Thai F-"after Q"-y


Ingredients

1 cup Sushi Rice
1 can Coconut Milk
2 Chicken breasts
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Onion
3 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup Peanuts
Juice and zest of 1 Lime
1/4 cup Sweet Chili Sauce

1) Bring 1 can coconut milk and the rice to a boil. Then reduce to low heat and let simmer 20 minutes, until the rice is fully cooked and the coconut milk is absorbed.
2) In a large frying pan, fry thinly slices bell peppers and onions in sesame oil.
3) In another frying pan, fry thinly sliced chicken until completely cooked.
4) Combine fried vegetables, chicken, peanuts, lime juice and zest, and sweet chili sauce. Let simmer 10 minutes on low heat.
5) Serve the stir fLy on a bed of the coconut lice and enjoy!

Feelin' Nutty n' Coconutty

In desperate search of any gluten-free baking ingredients at my grandma's century-old house in the middle of nowhere: Riston Meneikö, north of the north pole in Finland. And what did I find? Well, coconut, almond, sugar and egg. I'm in love with this recipe, it couldn't be easier!

Meringue Marzipan Muffins

Ingredients
3 eggs
200g almond
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups shredded coconut
Dark chocolate for drizzling

Preheat oven to 325
1) Seperate egg yolks and whites into two bowls. 
2) In the bowl with the egg yolks, add 1/4 cup sugar and whisk together until slightly airy. 
3) In a food processor, chop up the almonds until it forms almost a paste. Stir almonds into the yolk/sugar mix.
4) While the almond bowl sits, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Once soft peaks form add sugar, 1 tbsp at a time and whisk until stiff peaks form. 
5) Incorporate egg whites with coconut gently. 
6) In muffin tins, put one spoon of the almond mix and press down into the tin. Then add a spoon of the coconut mix. 
7) Bake 20 minutes or until the muffins turn golden on top. 
8) Drizzle with chocolate and serve to your grandmother.
Enjoy!

You say tomato, I say tamahto

Freshly out of fresh salad. Drowning in a tomatina of tomatoes. After a thorough debate with my inner self over whether a tomatina, the spanish tomato-throwing festival, or a tomato salad would be a better use of this plump little fruit... well you can figure out the conclusion to that debate.

Tomatina Tamahto Salad 

The essentials:
2 tomatoes
1 clove Shallot
1/4 Onion
1 Red or Yellow Bell Pepper
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Avocado and Olives for finish

1) Finely, finely, finely chop your little shallot and onion. Let them swim around in red wine vinegar for 20-30 minutes.
2) Once the shallots and onions are finished swimming, add olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well
3) Dice your plump tamahtoes and bell pepper.
4) Pour the Shallot Dressing over your diced tomatoes.
5) Add avocados, olives and spaniards participating in a tomatina for garnish.

Just add Telemarketers

Sitting criss-cross in genie-esque linen pants, sipping my black tea and enjoying my banana tilapia curry after an hour of yoga. Add telemarketers and I'm in the heart of India.

Banana Tilapia Telemarketer Curry

Ingredients:
1 Onion
2 tbsp Coconut Oil or butter
1 Banana
1 Bell Peppers
1 can Coconut Milk
3 tbsp Curry Paste
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
2 Tilapia Fillets

1) Sautee diced onion, banana, bell pepper and curry paste in coconut oil or butter.
2) In a large pot, bring coconut milk to a boil.
3) Add in sautee mix, remaining spices, and tilapia.
4) Simmer about 30, stirring occassionally.
5) Eat with yoga pants and a side slumdog millionaire.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Peanut butter ice cream truffles!

These creamy, delicious truffles taste like reese's candies that died and went to heaven...

You'll need:
1 jar of peanut butter
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp sugar (optional)
1 bar of milk or dark chocolate or 1 cup chocolate chips

Mix peanut butter, ice cream, vanilla extract and sugar until completely blended. Freeze for at least 3 hours. With a melon scooper, scoop the peanut butter mixture into balls and place on a cookie sheet with wax paper. Drizzle on melted chocolate, or dip them in the chocolate and stick them back in the freezer for at least 1 more hour or up to a few months (though they'll probably be eaten in a day!) Enjoy!

Citrus Avocado Chicken Salad on Bell Peppers


This recipe resulted from the aftermath of a trip to Costco: I had 5 ripe avocados and a giant pack of spinach that would both go bad in a day. The family absolutely adored these bell pepper sandwiches!

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 lemon
1 avocado
1 1/2 cup spinach leaves
4 mushrooms
3 bell peppers
2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
1 lime
Cilantro
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425. Place the chicken on a cooking sheet and sprinkle on salt, pepper, and cilantro. Thinly slice 1/2 of your lemon. Cover the chicken with lemon slices and bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes, until it's completely cooked. Thinly dice the avocado, mushrooms, and spinach. Steam the spinach and mushrooms about 5 minutes. Toss in a bowl with the diced avocado. Drizzle balsamic vinaigrette and the juice of the lime and remaining half lemon. Ad salt and pepper as desired. When chicken's complete, remove from oven and create shredded chicken using a fork. Combine the chicken with the avocado salad. Slice the bell peppers into 4 pieces. Put a spoonful of the salad on each piece of bell pepper. Enjoy!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Sesame Street Cupcakes


Elmo...coOkie mOnsteR... and Oscar the Grouch
Use your favorite gluten free cupcake recipe or ready made cupcakes. 
For the icing:
1/2 stick butter
2 egg whites
1 bag (16 oz) powdered sugar
Milk
3 cups shredded coconut. 
Food colors red, blue, green, yellow, and black

In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until fluffy and add 2 tbsp powdered sugar. In a large bowl, beat butter until light in color and creamy. Pour in powdered sugar. Once butter and sugar are combined, add fluffed egg using a spatula. Add milk if desired to soften the icing- but be very careful adding the milk, if there's too much, the icing will run and drip. 
Divide the icing into 3 bowls, and set aside 1/2 cup white icing for the characters' eyes and 1/8 cup to dye orange for Elmo's nose. 
Dye one bowl red, one bowl blue, and one bowl gary-green. Ice 1/3 of the cupcakes in each color. 
Divide the coconut into three bowls, and dye each bowl the same colors as the icing. Dip the iced cupcakes into the dyed coconut shreds.

To make eyes, pipe out dots of white icing on a cutting board and freeze for at least 10 minutes. Remove with a spatula and place on the characters. Dye the remaining icing black. Pipe out dots for the eyes. 
Dye 1/8 cup icing orange for elmo's nose and pipe out. 
For Cookie monster's mouth, cut a wedge out of the cupcakes and fill with halves of cookies.
For Elmo's mouth pipe a smile.
For Oscar's mouth, cut a wedge out of the cupcakes and fill with red icing for the tongue and black icing for the rest of the mouth. 

Enjoy!




Swedish Strawberry Tårta


This fresh strawberry cake is a Swedish Midsummer must have! Jordgubbstårta tastes light yet savory and will be gone in a flash.
The inside is a "sockerkaka" or sugar cake, similar to yellow cake.
It's cut into three layers. Between the layers there's pastry cream, strawberry jam and mashed bananas. Top the cake with whipped cream and decorate with strawberries.

Use my Wonderful Cake Recipe, for a gluten free "sockerkaka"
Pastry Cream from http://svenska.yle.fi/matochfritid/matartikel.php?id=729


3 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
2 dl cream
2 cup milk
1 tbsp corn flour
1 vanilla pod
Michael Björklund's recipe for authentic custard that is perfect for Jenny's apple pie. 

1st Mix the egg yolks in a saucepan with sugar, cream, milk, corn flour and cut open a vanilla pod. 

2nd Simmer mixture gently until it receives a good texture. 

3rd Strain the sauce and serve it warm or cold.


Red, White & Blue USA Cupcakes


Use any cupcake recipe and ice stripes and stars onto cupcakes! Happy Birthday USA

"Pastrami Roses with Avocado Petals" Salad

This salad takes just a minute to make... and less than a minute to devour
For the salad:
  • 1 Pastrami slice
  • 1/2 avocado
  • Feta cheese
  • Bell pepper
  • Spinach


For the dressing:
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Olive Oil
  • Honey
  • Mustard

Start with spinach as the bottom layer of your plate. Add bell pepper and feta cheese. Pour on a dressing (recipe follows). Slice the avocado into six slivers and place as petals. Roll a pastrami slice into the shape of a rose as the topping. 

Mix the ingredients for dressing and pour over the salad prior to adding the avocado petals and pastrami rose. 

Toasted Meringue Coconut Cupcakes

Up for a light and (nearly) healthy cupcake? I baked these delectable little cupcakes by altering a recipe from Elana's Pantry- http://www.elanaspantry.com/vanilla-cupcakes-with-chocolate-frosting/ and combining it with Martha Stewarts 7 minute frosting- http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/best-seven-minute-frosting
You're gonna love these!














The Cupcake
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
1 stick butter
1/3 cup honer
1 tsp almond extract


Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in eggs and almond extract, adding the eggs one at a time. Throw in the mixed dry ingredients. 
Pour into cupcake tins and bake 15-17 minutes. Enjoy these as muffins or whip up the frosting! 


The Frosting
1 cup sugar
1 tsp corn syrup
1/2 cup water
4 egg whites


"Put 1 cup sugar, the corn syrup, and 1/2 cup water into a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture just begins to simmer and sugar has dissolved, about 6 minutes. Wash down sides with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Raise heat to medium-high. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reaches 235 degrees.
Meanwhile, put egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining tablespoon sugar, and beat until peaks are fluffy but still soft. Slowly pour in hot sugar syrup down side of bowl. Raise speed to high, and beat until mixture has cooled and stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes. Use immediately."


Pipe frosting onto the cupcakes. Use a culinary torch or the broiler on your oven to toast the tops of your cupcakes. Enjoy!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Granny's Apple Crisp with Vanilla Sauce

My first truely pure recipe- no added sugar, no added fat, just added deliciousness! Cinnamon, apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice are all great dietary supplements. Mix that with apples and nuts to get the healthiest snack around!

Apple Crisp
4 Granny Smith apples
1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, chopped pecans, or a mix of the two

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and slice apples into thin pieces. In a large bowl, mix apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and salt. Combine with apples until apples are evenly coated. Pour into a pie or casserole dish. Top with almonds and/or pecans and sprinkle on some extra cinnamon. Bake 45-50 minutes at 400 degrees.

Vanilla Sauce
1 cup milk (can be substituted for coconut, almond, soy milk, etc)
1 tbsp vanilla
1-2 tbsp cornstarch

Bring milk and vanilla to a boil in a small saucepan. Slowly whisk in a bit of cornstarch at a time until it reaches your preferred thickness.

Pour vanilla sauce over apple crisp when done and ENJOY!



Soul Soup

What do you get when you mix one Camilla plus the few things she had left in the fridge? Oh right... soul soup: A hearty, comforting stew that works as either a side dish or the main meal. Not exactly what I'd had in mind to beat the heat on an 80 degree day, but I pretended it's winter and ate away!

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef or buffalo
1 onion finely chopped
1 bell pepper diced
8 cups chicken broth
2 cubes vegetable buillon
1 cup marinara or tomato sauce
5 tomatoes, quartered
2 tbsp garlic
Curry powder
Cumin
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
Any array of comforting spices you feel fit to throw in

Pour chicken broth and tomato sauce into a large pot. Heat on medium. Once boiling, add in tomatoes, garlic, curry, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. In a large frying pan on medium heat, fry ground beef or buffalo in small pieces until completely well done. Add into soup mix. Fry onion and bell pepper in the same pan about 5 minutes on low to medium heat and add to the soup. Stir until everything's well combined. If more taste is desired, add more curry and cumin, or some hot sauce to spice it up! Enjoy!


Thursday, June 3, 2010

Aubergine Parmigiana

I attempted to grill eggplant the other day, and seeing as fire's not my best friend, I almost burned down the house. Sooo... I chose oven-baked eggplant for this dish and it turned out gorgeous and delicious, almost like a gluten-free lasagna!

Ingredients
2 Eggplants, thinly sliced
2 Chicken breasts
1 can tomato sauce (homemade or store bought)
2 tbsp garlic
Italian seasoning
Olive Oil
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rub chicken with 4 or 5 tbsp italian seasoning, 1 tbsp garlic, salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp olive oil. Place chicken on a stone pan and set aside.
In a deep bowl mix 1/2 cup olive oil, salt and 1 tbsp garlic. Lay eggplant slices in olive oil mixture for 10 seconds and place eggplant on a pan. Do not lay eggplants over each other, lay them side to side. Put eggplant and chicken in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes or until ready.
Check that the chicken isn't pink, and that the eggplant is slightly crisp on the outside, but juicy in the middle. Once both are done, slice the chicken into thin slices and toss in a bowl with the eggplant, tomato sauce, and 1/2 cup parmesan. Incorporate the ingredients and transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle the top with parmesan, and put back in the oven 5-10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Garlic Feta Dip

This dip might make your breath smell bad, but who cares when it tastes this good? Perfect for parties, or self-indulgence :) It works great on crackers (I love Ener-G gluten-free, dairy-free crackers) or veggies... I've even used it on pizza instead of tomato sauce, yum!

Ingredients
4 oz cream cheese
8 oz feta cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
3-5 cloves garlic
Dash of oregano, basil and salt

Step 1: Microwave or heat feta and cream cheeses. Mix until completely combined, add in other ingredients, refrigerate and...
Step 2: Ta-da! Enjoy :)

Watermelon Sorbet

Looking for the perfect summer treat minus the ice cream truck jingle and hundreds of calories? This recipe is simple and simply delicious! A light summer treat...

Watermelon Sorbet:
1 Watermelon cut into squares
1 cup lemon juice (About 4 lemons if made fresh)
1/2 cup agave nectar, honey, or syrup (optional)
1 tbsp xanthan gum
4-5 tbsp water

Step 1. In a small bowl, mix xanthan gum and water. Microwave or heat about 15 seconds and mix well to form a thick gummy paste.
Step 2. Combine paste with the watermelon, lemon and optional sweetener and mix until well blended and light pink in color.
Step 3. Stick blender in freezer for 2-3 hours, remove from freezer, and blend again. Repeat step 3 once or twice. This is so that the sorbet will freeze evenly. Switch to a glass container and freeze.
Step 4. Ready to serve after freezing about 12 hours... or save it for later!
Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Berry Cobbler

This almost-healthy cobbler is guaranteed to make your mouth water!

For filling:
3 cups mixed berries (blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry recommended)
3 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
Mix cornstarch, vinegar, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Pour over berries and incorporated without smashing berries. Pour into casserole dish or pie form.

For topping:
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour (Pamela's baling flour recommended)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Beat butter and sugar. Add in remaining ingredients. Sprinkle evenly over filling in dish.
Heat oven to 375 and cook 45-50 minutes.
Enjoy!

!Margarita Fajita!

These fajitas make for a fabulous Mexican fiesta!

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts or steak
1 can diced tomato
2 cups rice
2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup margarita mix
2 tbsp fresh cilantro
2 cubes bullion
1 tbsp garlic
2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp celery seed
3 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup guacamole
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 425. Slice chicken or steak into thin strips. In a bowl, mix diced tomato, margarita mix, cilantro, 1 cube bullion, garlic, 1 tsp cumin, pepper, salt, celery seed, and 2 tsp chili powder. Heat olive or canola oil in a deep frying pan, and place meat strips in pan. Cook as desired, stirring occasionally. Pour tomato mix into the pan. Let meat strips simmer in the tomato mix until ready to serve.
Cook rice with 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, and 1 cube bullion. Serve rice and fajitas with guacamole, salsa, and shredded cheese. Enjoy!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Shredded Chicken Tacos

A yummy, healthy, mexican recipe from mi casa to tu casa. Plan ahead with this: the chicken takes a while to cook, but after cooking and shredding it, the rest goes very fast. I make the shredded chicken on a day I have less to do, and have a taco dinner using the shredded chicken later in the week.

Ingredients

For shredded chicken:
2 Chicken Breasts
2 cans diced tomato, or 4-6 diced tomato
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 tsp cayenne
2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

For tacos:
Shredded Chicken
Taco Shells (corn, if gluten free)
Sour Cream
Guacamole
Salsa
Shredded Cheese
Shredded Lettuce
Refried beans

For the shredded chicken:
Put chicken breasts in a large pan and pour in just enough water or chicken broth to cover them. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Once at boil, reduce heat and let simmer 30-45 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove from water and let cool. Once cooled, shred chicken using a fork or your fingers, just like you would shred string cheese. Set aside shredded chicken. Pour out the water from the large pan used for the chicken. Dice onion and bell peppers. Heat olive oil in the large pan, add in onion and bell peppers, and let cook on medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring veggies occasionally. Add in tomatoes, shredded chicken, and spices. Stir and cook 5-10 minutes. You can either use the shredded chicken for tacos now, or keep in the fridge up to a week for tacos, quesadillas, salads, cracker toppings, etc.

For tacos:
Put each ingredient in a seperate bowl with spoons and let everyone create their own taco.
!Ojala les gusta la receta! (Hopefully you like the recipe!)

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

These wraps require a lot of mincing, but they're perfect for those days you just craaave chinese food!

Ingredients
2 chicken Breasts
1 onion
2 cups Mushroom
1 mango (or green apple)
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup Gluten Free hoisin sauce (BBQ sauce worked too)
1/4 cup tamari soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp corn starch
2 heads of lettuce

Mince the chicken, onion, mushroom, apple or mango, and garlic. Fry with sesame oil and oyster sauce on medium heat for 10-15 minutes until chicken is completely cooked. Add in tamari, hoisin sauce and corn starch. Spoon into lettuce and eat as a wrap. Enjoy!

Crumble Coffee Cake with Chai Frosting

This crumb cake makes for an amazing coffee cake. I used Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten free baking flour which gave it a slight bean taste. I would recommend another brand such as Pamela's baking mix for the all-purpose flour. The cake recipe is from Bob's Red Mill, the chai frosting recipe is my own.

Crumb Cake from Bob's Red Mill

Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 tbsp vinegar
2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 Egg
1 cup Gluten Free Rolled Oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
2 tsp Vanilla

Directions
Combine milk with vinegar and let stand 15 minutes until curds form.
Mix together flour, sugar, Xanthan Gum and melted margarine until crumbly. Take out 1 cup of the crumb mixture, add the cinnamon and set aside.

To the remaining crumb mixture add the rest of the ingredients, including the milk/vinegar mixture. Mix well and pour batter into a greased 9 X 13" pan. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over the top of the dough.

Bake at 350F oven for 40-45 minutes until a stick will come out clean.

Chai Frosting
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil if dairy free
3 or 4 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
5 chai tea bags
1/4 cup water

Boil 1/4 cup water and brew with 5 tea bags for 10 minutes. Whip butter or coconut oil. Add in remaining ingredients a little at a time. Spread over cooled crumb cake. Ta-da! You've got a scrumptious coffee cake.

Spiced up! Scrambled Eggs

I find breakfast is generally the hardest meal for a person living without gluten, so I'll supply you with my family's favorite breakfast. It's your job to get the ingerdient-amo and conquer the war between gluten-free and breakfast blues! This makes 2-3 servings

Ingredients
5 eggs
1/2 cup milk (optional)
1 cup shredded cheese (optional)
1 tsp olive oil
1 bell pepper
1 cup mild salsa
5 slices ham, diced
1/2 cup spinach, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup guacamole
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Whisk together eggs, milk, and cheese (or just eggs if dairy intolerant). Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Add in egg mixture. Turn heat to low. With a spatula, slowly stir eggs in frying pan every few minutes until fully cooked. Add in 1/2 cup of the salsa (save the other half), bell pepper, ham, spinach, and mushrooms. Slowly incorporate with with the scrambled eggs. Sprinkle on paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Serve with guacamole and salsa on top. Enjoy!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Bread Pudding

This ridiculously tasty and simple bread pudding will take you just minutes to stir up and stick in the oven! Gluten free bread works perfectly for this recipe as it is usually already stale.

Ingredients

2 cups GF bread, crumbled

¼ cup raisins or cranberries

2 c. milk

½ c butter

½ c sugar

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

½ tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

Preheat to 350 degrees. Spray 8" square baking dish w/ vegetable oil spray. Spread bread crumbs on bottom. Top with raisins or cranberries. In medium saucepan over low eat combine milk, butter, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Heat until butter melts. Pour over bread and raisins. Beat eggs slightly and pour over. Stir slightly. Bake 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Wonderful Cake!

This cake tastes amazing while keeping a great moist yet sculpture-able, frost-able texture for creating 3d or birthday cakes. View some cakes I've made at camillascakes.blogspot.com
A lemon poppy seed variation is below the recipe.

Ingredients

2/3 cup corn starch

2/3 cup potato starch

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons oil or butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking pan with shortening.

2. Sift together sugar, corn starch and potato starch in mixing bowl. Add baking soda, guar gum, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, egg, milk, sugar and oil.

3. Mix and scrape the mixture into a round baking pan. Bake 25 minutes, until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate.

Variations on cake:

Lemon Poppyseed

Substitute vanilla extract for 1 tsp almond extract and 1 tsp lemon (or orange) extract

Add as much poppyseed as preferred

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These amazing chocolate chip cookies are the ONLY ones i've found that taste as good or better than the wheat-flour ones! This recipe is from Alton Brown of the food network with my variations on it at the bottom

Ingredients

* ¾ cup butter

* 2 cups brown rice flour

* 1/4 cup cornstarch

* 2 tablespoons tapioca flour

* 1 teaspoon xanthan gum

* 1 teaspoon kosher salt

* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1/4 cup sugar

* 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar

* 1 whole egg

* 1 egg yolk

* 2 tablespoons whole milk

* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Once melted, pour into the bowl of a stand mixer.

In a medium bowl, sift together the rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour, xantham gum, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

Add both of the sugars to the bowl with the butter and using the paddle attachment, cream together on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, approximately 1 hour. Shape the dough into 2-ounce balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes, rotating the pans after 7 minutes for even baking. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the pans for 2 minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Store cooked cookies in an airtight container.

Variations:

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies: Add cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to dry ingredients. Omit chocolate chips, add 2 cups oatmeal, 1 ½ cups raisins

Snickerdoodles: Omit chocolate chips. Add cinnamon. Replace white sugar with powdered sugar. Add ½ cup cream cheese. Add 1 tbsp molasses.

Candied Pecans and Almonds

My mom and brother devour these by the handfuls, consuming them all before they've had any chance to cool. They take a little effort to make but boy are they worth it!

Ingredients
3 or 4 cups Pecans and/or Almonds
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400. Line cookie sheet with wax paper and spread pecans and almonds evenly on sheet. Cook 10 minutes.
While nuts cook, heat sugar, water, cinnamon, and vanilla on medium until sugar grains dissolve. Set aside until nuts are cooked. Add in nuts and raisins, cooking on low-medium heat stirring often for 7 or 8 minutes until nuts and sugar mixture stick well together. Put mix on cookie sheet and separate nuts from each other with fork (this is the time consuming part) until cooled. Stick in fridge to add crunch or eat directly! Must not be refrigerated. These make a perfect snack too...but in moderation if that's possible!

Simply Delicious Simple Custard

The perfect solution for extra egg yolks!
I started baking Bob Redmill's Gluten Free Wonderful Bread Mix, and realized it called for nearly a cup of egg whites. What to do with the 6 yolks I've got laying around? Ended up making a custard

Ingredients:
5-6 egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
dash salt
2 cups milk

Directions:
Heat milk over stove. In bowl, beat yolks, add in sugar, vanilla, and salt, mix well. Slowly combine hot milk with yolk mixture. Pour into pan and stick in oven 350 degrees, 25 minutes.
Enjoy!

Lemon Ice Cream

When life hands you lemons, make ice cream! I had no ice cream maker, so I simply stuck all my ingredients in a blender and froze it afterwards. A bit watery but the family loved it anyways.
Ingredients:
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. milk
Juice and peel of 1 lemon
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. nonfat dry milk
2-3 c. ice cubes
Directions:
Mix until smooth, freeze at least 2 hours. Enjoy!

Java Crunch Ice Cream

Summertime calls for good old ice cream, but the pints upon pints of plain vanilla in our freezer were in dire need of a face lift. While making toffee I realized that was just the thing to mix into vanilla ice cream! This ice cream is sweet, but not too sweet, crunchy but not too crunchy. A little spoon of heaven

I Scream Java Crunch
Ingredients:
1/2 cup toffee (homemade recipe here)
1 quart ice cream (vanilla, chocolate or coffee- vanilla's preferable)
1 tbsp. coffee granules
1 tbsp. cocoa powder

Directions:
Let ice cream melt a bit (10-15 min), in food processor grind 1/2 cup toffee into tiny pieces. Place in small bowl. Grind the other 1/2 cup of toffee finely, until same texture as flour. Add to bowl with the first 1/2 cup of toffee. Add in coffee granules and cocoa powder, mix until all powders are combined. Spoon the ice cream into a large bowl and create hole in middle. Pour toffee/coffee/cocoa mixture into the hole in the ice cream. Using wooden spoon or ice cream scoop mix well. Put new mixture back into original ice cream carton and freeze.
Yum :)

Coconut Toffee

Whether you're using this toffee for "I Scream Java Crunch" or just as a crunchy snack it's a quick, easy treat you're bound to love.

Coconut toffee:
Ingredients-
1/2 c. corn syrup
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. peanut butter (almond works too)
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c. Coconut shreds

Directions:
Roll out two sheets wax paper. Cover one sheet with 1 c. coconut shreds. In saucepan on medium heat combine corn syrup, sugar and nut butter. Cook 5-7 minutes stirring frequently. Add in vanilla extract, salt and butter. Stir until butter melts. Remove from heat. Add in baking soda, stir. Add in 1 c. coconut shreds. Pour toffee onto wax paper covered in coconut shreds. Form as you'd like, making sure to keep coconut shreds between toffee and wax paper.

Italian Garlic Chicken w/ Rustic Risotto

I love love love Italian food, but it's hard to go to an Italian restaurant and not drool over the glutenous pizzas and pastas. Here's an Italian dinner that beats out those drool-worthy gluten-filled meals hands down.

Garlic Garlic Chicken:

2 chicken breasts
Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp vinegar (i reccomend apple cider or white wine)
1 tbsp gluten-free mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp or cloves chopped garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp pesto

Preheat oven to 425. Mix marinade ingredients well and place in gallon-size ziplock bag with chicken to marinate 30 minutes to an hour. Take out chicken and put on baking sheet. Pour any marinade left in bag on top of chicken. Put in oven, cook 17-20 minutes.

Rustic Risotto
1 cup Arborio Rice
1 tbsp Olive Oil
4 cups Chicken Broth
1 Cup Milk or Coconut Milk
1 onion diced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 bell pepper thinly sliced
2 diced tomatoes
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp chopped garlic

Heat oil on high heat in a medium pan. Reduce heat to medium and add in Rice. Let rice turn golden brown (approx 2 minutes) stirring a bit. Add in 1 cup chicken broth at a time and allow rice to soak up liquid prior to adding more broth. Lastly add in one cup of milk. While the risotto cooks, stir fry the onion, mushrooms, bell pepper and tomatoes. When the risotto is fully cooked and soaks in all liquids, combine it with the stir-fry. Add in the salt, pepper and garlic. Enjoy with garlic garlic chicken!

Coconut Fruit Bread

Up for a mango banana bread with no added sugar or starches? Coconut flour is a great gluten free flour in that it's so high an fiber and protein while staying low in starches. This makes it a wonderful low-carb alternative for a healthy bread. After quite a few coconut flour experiments I think I've figured out the vegan gluten-free bread.

Coconut Fruit Bread
2 cups fruit puree
-- ideas can be banana (1 banana=1/2 cup), mango (1 mango=1 cup), apple sauce,
apricot puree, pear puree, berry puree, etc. I used 1 mango, 1 banana, and 1/2 cup
apple sauce
6 tbsp flax seeds
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp water or juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine puree, flax, vinegar, baking soda, water and vanilla and beat well. Add in coconut flour, xanthan gum and baking powder. Add in raisin and/or nuts if desired. Mixture should stick together well and not attach to bowl. Put into a 9x13 bread pan and bake 35-40 minutes. Enjoy!

Substituting Ingredients

I've learned a few lessons in substitutes from experience, and thought I'd share them with readers

Gluten- To substitute gluten you generally need starches such as corn and tapioca mixed with either bean or gluten-free grain flours such as rice, sorghum, etc. In order to hold the mixture together xanthan gum is also required. I'd recommend sticking to gluten-free recipes until you've figured out your favored balance between the starches and flours. Each flour has a distinct taste, never use only one flour for an entire recipe. I once used a garbanzo bean flour in a cake, and the cake turned out tasting like hummus.

Butter- I've only experimented a bit with butter, but in breads any fruit puree mixed with flax seed seems to do the trick. Per stick or 1/2 cup butter, I'd substitute half a cup of fruit puree such as apple sauce or a mashed banana and a tablespoon flax.

Egg- Again, I've only experimented with egg substitutions in bread, no other types of recipes, but I feel like I've come across a sturdy substitute for egg. Flax! Flax, flax, flax. For one egg, combine 1 tablespoon flax, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar) and 2 tablespoons juice or water. Beat the ingredients until similar in thickness to an egg prior to combining with recipe.

Sugar- What I've learned is a) stevia has a horrible after taste, b) xylitol should be used only in moderation as it can also function as a laxative, and c) the more fruit you can subsititute in the liquid ingredients, the less sugar you need. If you get used to less sweetness in foods, they'll taste better without sugar than they do with sugar. And flavors such as vanilla extract, cinnamon, and cloves enhance sweetness without calories.

Hope these tips help!

Quick Snacks

I've been trying really hard not to snack on the hidden candies on the highest shelf in the kitchen, so I came up with a few tasty treats to hinder my sweet tooth.

1. Banana Pudding- Mash a banana with a fork and add quite a bit of cinnamon and a few drops of vanilla to it. Voila! Pudding! Or try adding a few spoons of cocoa powder to the mix and you've got chocolate pudding.

2. Lightly candied almonds and pecans- see recipe in blog.

3. Ants on a log- celery with peanut butter and raisins in it.

4. Carrots and cucumbers dipped in salsa and guacamole. I prefer it over tortilla chips!

Hope these few ideas help :)

Blissfull Banana Bread

This is possibly the tastiest, and healthiest banana bread i've ever made. It's gluten, dairy, egg, soy and nut free. Lots of ingredients, but no lengthy process! And it's full of healthy fibers and fats from the flax seed, as well as tons of fruit! (Adapted from "The Gluten-Free Gourmet cooks fast and healthy" by Bette Hagman, a wonderful book!)

Combine dry ingredients:
1/3 cup bean flour
1/3 cup white rice flour or sorghum flour,
2/3 cup corn starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves

Set dry ingredients aside

Mix wet ingredients:
1/2 cup applesauce
3 tbsp flax seed
4 tbsp liquid (either apple juice or water)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar, or any vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
7 mashed bananas
1 cup raisins
5 drops stevia (optional for sweetness)
Touch of honey (optional for sweetness)

Add in dry ingredients, and pour into a sprayed 9x13 bread form.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes
Enjoy!
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