GFDF Peanut Butter Spice Cake

27 Sunday May 2012

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This is yet another one of my wacky cravings from the recesses of my brain.  I’m always amazed when these recipes come out so well.  It was best fresh from the oven yesterday, but it’s not bad as leftovers for breakfast today.

This recipe could easily be doubled and baked in a 9×13″ pan.

GFDF Peanut Butter Spice Cake

1/4 cup organic palm shortening
3/4 cup organic light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup Maranatha organic no-stir creamy peanut butter (includes palm shortening, sugar, and salt)
1 organic egg
1/2 teaspoon organic GF vanilla extract
3/8 cup organic brown rice flour
3/8 cup sorghum flour
3/8 cup organic millet flour
3/8 cup organic tapioca starch
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon organic ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon organic ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup organic rice milk
2 teaspoons organic powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the shortening, brown sugar, peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract.  In a small bowl, mix together flours, starch, xanthan gum, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.  Add the dry ingredients from the small bowl to the large bowl, and gently stir.  Mix in the rice milk to create a thick cake batter.  Scoop into an oiled 8×8” pan and spread to even out the batter.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350F.

Cool.  Sift powdered sugar over the top before serving.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

Pakistani Inspired Curry (GFDF)

26 Saturday May 2012

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This portion doesn’t actually have the peas stirred in so that my pea-hating family will eat it. I stir the peas in later for my serving.

When I was in grad school, I lived in a large beautiful Victorian house in the Boston area with nine other graduate students.  One of the other women was a nun from Pakistan named Josepha.  She quickly saw how much I loved to cook (though my cooking then was nothing like it is now) and offered to teach me how to make Pakistani dishes.  It was the first time I learned how to cook from sight and taste rather than from a recipe.  She was also the first person to introduce me to the idea of seasonal cooking, though she didn’t call it that.  Whatever was at the grocery store you used.  Substitutions are part of the fun.  So while the recipe below calls for beef, this could be made with chicken or pork though Josepha said they rarely ate chicken because it was so expensive.  I have put carrots, squashes and eggplants in it before.  Whatever is available, I throw it in with the basic ingredients.

This recipe probably isn’t incredibly authentic any more since I’ve changed it through the 18 years since I lived with Josepha.  It’s still a comfort food to me, though, and it always makes me think of her.

Pakistani Inspired Curry
a few tablespoons of organic oil
1.5 pounds grass fed ground beef
1 large yellow or white organic onion, diced
2 cups organic sweet potato or yam, diced
2 cups organic white/red/yellow potato, diced
1 large organic green pepper, diced
1 organic jalapeño (with seeds if you like it spicy), minced
2-3 tablespoons organic garlic, minced
2-3 tablespoons organic ginger, minced
1.5 teaspoons organic turmeric powder
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
½ teaspoon organic black pepper
2.5-3 cups water
1 cup packed organic cilantro leaves, chopped
2 cups organic frozen peas, set out to defrost while the rest of the dish cooks

In a 3 or 4 quart pot, brown the beef with oil and the onion over medium heat.  When the beef is lightly browned, add in all of the remaining ingredients except the water, cilantro and peas.  Stir to mix ingredients. Add enough water to cover the contents of the pot.  Cover and continue cooking until the potatoes and sweet potatoes are soft (which takes about 30 minutes on my slow cooking electric stovetop).  Add in the peas and cilantro, and cook for a few more minutes.

Serve with rice if desired.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GF Strawberry Pie with Shortbread Crust

24 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in Gluten Free, Pies, Soy Free, Vegetarian

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One of the staff members at my chiropractor’s office has been talking about the strawberry pie that she used to make with a shortbread crust.  I finally attempted to make one, and I am glad I did.  It’s amazing.  The shortbread crust really bumps it up a notch beyond the other strawberry pies I make.

This pie came out really oozy as the picture above demonstrates.  I am trying to get away from my perfectionist tendencies, so I’m posting a picture of oozy pie.  But it’s a delicious oozy.  Just watch out overnight in the fridge because the ooziness may multiply and spill all over the bottom shelf.  Not that it happened to me or anything.  I think this is a pie that is best made in a deep dish pan.  One of my 9″ pie pans is slightly deeper than the other and it withheld the oozing a bit better.

And the picture below?  Yes, it’s a rectangular pan for a pie.  I ran out of 9″ pie pans when I was cooking yesterday, so I turned to this great site to figure out which other pan of mine would work.  While the pie below is one I gave away, I’m betting it came out just as tasty in rectangular form as the round ones did!

Gluten Free Strawberry Pie with Shortbread Crust

Makes one 9” pie.  Inspired by Cooks.com and Allrecipes.com.

Crust:
6 tablespoons organic tapioca starch
6 tablespoons organic brown rice flour
6 tablespoons sorghum flour
6 tablespoons almond meal
¾ teaspoon xanthan gum
3 tablespoons organic light brown sugar
3 tablespoons organic powdered sugar
½ cup (1 stick) organic salted butter, softened to room temperature
1 organic egg
1/2 teaspoon organic GF vanilla extract

Filling:
About 3.5 cups sliced organic strawberries plus about 1.5 cups diced strawberries
3/4 c organic granulated sugar
5 teaspoons organic cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Optional topping:
1 cup organic whipping cream
6 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425F.

To make the crust, mix together all of the ingredients on the crust list.  I used a stand mixer, but it could be done by hand.  It will make a soft dough similar to a cookie dough.  Using your hands, press into a 9” (preferably deep dish) pie pan.  Bake for 10-12 minutes at 425F.  The center of the crust may poof up, but press it down when it comes out of the oven and all will be fine.  Set aside to cool.

Mash the 1.5 cups of diced strawberries.  Add them and the sugar to a small pan.  Blend the cornstarch with the water and combine with the strawberries and sugar.  Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil, stirring often.  Reduce to simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes, continuing to stir frequently.

Place the 3.5 cups of sliced strawberries in the pie crust.  Cover with the glaze mixture.  Allow to cool in the refrigerator for several hours before serving.

If desired, beat the whipping cream with 6T of powdered sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer.  Continue beating until the cream is stiff.  Serve with the pie.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Tropical Fruit Cake

21 Monday May 2012

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This is another recipe that came out of the dark recesses of my brain.  It’s been floating around in there for the past week or so.  I couldn’t get it out of my head this afternoon, so I went to work on baking.  I was really pleasantly surprised with how well it came out.

GFDF Tropical Fruit Cake

Cake:
1 ¼ cup organic granulated cane sugar
¼ cup organic lime juice (about 3 small limes’ worth)
2 to 3 teaspoons organic lime zest (from 3 small limes)
2 teaspoons organic GF vanilla extract
3 large organic eggs
3/4 cup organic brown rice flour
3/4 cup organic tapioca starch
3/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup sorghum flour
1.5 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon sea salt
5 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup organic coconut milk (full fat)
1 cup finely diced ripe organic mango (and any juices it releases when you cut it up)
1 cup finely diced ripe organic pineapple (and any juices it releases when you cut it up)
1 cup shredded unsweetened organic coconut

Icing:
3 cups organic powdered sugar
about 3 tablespoons organic coconut milk
1.5 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
6 tablespoons organic palm shortening

Topping:
1/4 cup organic unsweetened shredded coconut for sprinkling on top

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Oil a 9×13” glass baking dish with organic canola oil.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract, and eggs.  Add in all of the flours, xanthan gum, sea salt, baking powder and coconut milk and stir thoroughly.  Stir in the mango, pineapple, and 1 cup of coconut.  Pour into the oiled pan, and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350F until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

In another bowl, make the icing using an electric hand mixer.  Cream the shortening into the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, very slowly adding coconut milk to get the right consistency.  Once the cake has cooled completely, spread the icing evenly across the cake.  Sprinkle shredded coconut across the top of the cake.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Everything Muffins

07 Monday May 2012

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The more appropriate name for these muffins is “Use up the produce on the kitchen counter before it goes bad” Muffins, but that just doesn’t have a very good ring to it.  So I’m just calling them Everything Muffins instead.  This is what I whipped up for afterschool snacks today in a fit of ambition.

GFDF Everything Muffins

Wet ingredients:
2/3 cup organic sucanat
½ cup organic palm shortening
2 organic eggs
3 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
3/4 cup organic rice milk

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup organic brown rice flour
1/2 cup organic tapioca starch
1/2 cup organic millet flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons organic ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon sea salt

Stir-ins:
2 medium organic bananas, ripe to overripe, mashed (about ¾ cup)
2 small organic pears, diced into small pieces (about 1 cup)
1 cup finely diced organic fresh pineapple (canned would work, too)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded organic coconut
¾ cup gluten free oats
¾ cup finely chopped organic walnuts or pecans (optional, not in this batch)

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Oil the bottom of 24 muffin tins.  (I used organic canola oil.)

In a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients using a whisk.  In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly with a spoon.  Stir in all the remaining stir-in ingredients.  Divide the batter between the 24 muffin tins, filling each about half full.

Bake at 350F for about 15-17 minutes.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

Horseradish Mustard Burgers

28 Saturday Apr 2012

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horseradish mustard burger on a Rudi's Organics wheat burger bun

Yesterday’s bizarre and inexplicable craving was horseradish mustard.  I have no idea why, but it was.  So I went with it.  I had horseradish mustard on a sandwich at lunch, and when the boys wanted burgers for dinner, I decided we were having horseradish mustard burgers.  I took my burger and added even more horseradish mustard to it but spared the rest of the family that overdosing!

Horseradish Mustard Burgers

1.5 pounds 95% lean grass fed beef
2 tablespoons Annie’s Naturals GF organic horseradish mustard
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon organic black pepper
¼ teaspoon organic garlic powder
1 organic green onion, sliced thinly

Mix all ingredients together and form into 6 patties.  Cook as you would normally cook burgers.  I broiled ours in the oven for 6 minutes, flipped, and broiled for an additional 6 minutes.  Serve with your favorite toppings.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF “Crack” Cookies

27 Friday Apr 2012

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Within the past six months, recipes have started popping into my head in a way they never used to.  I will suddenly have the thought, “Oooh!  Wouldn’t XYZ taste good?”  And until I get around to creating XYZ in the kitchen, the thoughts of that recipe haunt my brain.  This is one of those recipes.

When I first made them, I thought, “Yeah, that’s ok.”  I ate one and walked away.  And then I needed another.  And then a third.  They have this addictive quality to them.  You don’t think they’re amazing, but they have you coming back for more.  I gave some to my friend Melia who dubbed them “Crack Cookies” and the name has stuck.  Another friend tried them, and she too refers to them as Crack Cookies.

They are a bit on the crumbly side which makes you feel obligated to eat the pieces that break off into the storage container so no one sees the broken pieces.  Crack cookies, I tell you.

You could leave out the dried cranberries or substitute raisins, but I think the cranberries are part of what’s so good about these.

GFDF “Crack” Cookies

Dry ingredients:
¼ cup organic coconut flour
¼ cup organic brown rice flour
¼ cup gluten free oat flour
¼ cup organic tapioca starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup organic light brown sugar
½ cup organic evaporated cane juice (white sugar)
1 teaspoon organic cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt

Wet ingredients:
¾ cup organic palm shortening
3 organic eggs
2 teaspoons organic GF vanilla extract

Stir ins:
3 cups gluten free quick cooking rolled oats
1 cup organic unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup organic dried cranberries (which also contain organic sugar and organic sunflower oil)  (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.  In a smaller bowl, mix together palm shortening, eggs, and vanilla extract.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well blended.  Stir in the oats, coconut, and cranberries.

Using your hands, shape the dough into approximately 3” flattened cookies.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet a few inches apart.  They will not expand much.  Bake for 9-11 minutes at 350F.  Cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to plates or racks to cool completely.

Makes approximately 36 cookies.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

Dairy Free Peach Cobbler

23 Monday Apr 2012

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On Saturday morning, the kids and I went to Whole Foods to do some grocery shopping.  There in the produce section we found nirvana:  Organic peaches are back!  We were perhaps a tad bit too happy about their return, but my older son and I are convinced that fresh peaches are one of the best parts of life.  I once offered to make him a peach cobbler out of frozen peaches when he was asking for one in November, and he declared that to be blasphemy.  I have to agree.  Frozen peaches aren’t even close to the fresh ones.

Since they are the first peaches of the year, we didn’t buy a ton because I was worried they wouldn’t be good yet, but they were heavenly.  We ate a bunch of them raw, and then the boys insisted on cobbler with the rest.  I only had enough to make a half cobbler (baked in an 8” x 8” pan), but they were happy with that.

This recipe is an absolute favorite of my boys.  My older son doesn’t like the gluten free version I created, so I still make this version for him during the summer months because it is such a favorite.  I love the gluten free version, though, so I will post that recipe the next time we get enough peaches to make it!

Dairy Free Peach Cobbler

8 cups fresh organic peaches, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
½ cup organic sucanat
1/2 teaspoon organic almond extract*
1.5 cups organic all-purpose flour
1.5 cups organic whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
2/3 cup organic palm shortening
1 cup organic rice milk
2 organic eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons organic cane sugar
½ teaspoon organic cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Lightly oil a 9×13 inch glass baking dish with canola oil.

Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, ½ cup sucanat, peaches and almond extract. Place the peaches mixture in the prepared baking dish.  Place in preheating oven while making the rest of the batter.

In a large bowl, combine flours, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and egg.  Carefully remove the peach mixture from the oven and spread the batter over the hot peaches.  It will be thick.  Sprinkle the top with remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar mixed with cinnamon.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

*Omit the almond extract for a nut free version.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Loquat Cobbler

22 Sunday Apr 2012

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Last week a friend of mine gave me a bunch of loquats from her organic yard.  I had never had a loquat before, so I was up to the challenge of working with them.  She suggested cobbler, so that was my plan.

What I discovered is that loquat translates into “a whole lot of work.”  Wikipedia says that loquats have a 30% or more waste ratio, and I’d say it was more with the small loquats we had.  It took me well over an hour with my youngest son helping me for part of the time to get the 3 cups of peeled and seeded  loquats we used in this recipe.  They started out as 6 or 7 cups of loquats before the preparation.  In addition, they turned my fingers very brown– almost worse than cherries!

The loquats are good both raw and cooked.  My son and I thought that they tasted a lot like plums.

Because of how much work it was, this may be a “once in a lifetime” recipe.

GFDF Loquat Cobbler

3 cups fresh organic loquats, peeled and seeded
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
¼ cup organic sucanat
3/8 c organic tapioca starch
3/8 c sorghum flour
3/8 c almond meal/flour*
3/8 c organic brown rice flour
3/4 t xanthan gum
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
1.5 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup organic palm shortening
1/2 cup organic rice milk
1 t organic vanilla extract
1 organic egg, beaten
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8×8 inch glass baking dish with organic canola oil.

Mix together loquats, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup sucanat.  Put mixture into the baking dish.  Place in preheating oven while preparing batter.

In a large bowl, combine flours, starch, xanthan gum, 1 tablespoon sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add rice milk, vanilla and egg; stir thoroughly.  Remove loquat mixture from the oven, and carefully spread topping across the top.  It will be thick. Sprinkle the top with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar mixed with the cinnamon.

Bake in preheated oven for 21-23 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

*While almonds are not technically nuts, they carry a cross-contamination risk with other tree nuts due to factory processing.  To make this nut free, substitute millet flour for the almond meal.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GF Muffins That Don’t Taste Like Donuts

16 Monday Apr 2012

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At some point I came across a recipe on the internet for “Muffins That Taste Like Donuts.”  The recipe looked great, so I made it.  My oldest son ate a few bites and said, “They don’t taste like donuts, but they are really good!”  We all agreed, and so it went into the binder of recipes to keep.  The gluten free version I’ve created actually does taste more like a donut than the gluten version, but it still isn’t quite a donut.

GF Muffins That Don’t Taste Like Donuts
Inspired by Muffins That Taste Like Donuts.

Dry Ingredients:
½ cup organic tapioca starch
½ cup organic brown rice flour
¼ cup organic millet flour
¼ cup almond meal
½ cup sorghum flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon organic ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon
1/2 cup organic light brown sugar

Wet Ingredients:
⅓ cup organic canola oil
1 large organic egg
¾ cup organic rice milk
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

Topping:
3 tablespoons organic butter, melted*
1/4 cup organic granulated sugar
1 tablespoon organic cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.  Use canola oil to oil a 12 muffin cup pan.  Set aside.

Prepare the topping ingredients by melting the butter.  In another bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar.  Set both aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly.  Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.

Bake for 21-23 minutes.  Allow to cool for a few minutes, and then remove from the pan.  Allow to cool to a point that you can easily touch them.  Dip the top of the muffin into the butter, and then dip into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

*You could substitute another fat such as margarine, coconut oil, palm shortening, or canola oil to make this completely dairy free.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com