Tag Archives: organic

GFDF Yellow Cake with Strawberry Filling

09 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in Cakes, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free, Vegetarian

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This was inspired by yet another one of my wacky cravings.  There are recipes for both a two layer and three layer version of the cake below.

GFDF Strawberry Filled Yellow Cake (two layer version)

Cake:
1 ¼ cup organic granulated cane sugar
½ cup organic palm shortening (plus extra for greasing the pans)
1 tablespoon organic GF vanilla extract
3 large organic eggs
2/3 cup organic brown rice flour
2/3 cup organic tapioca starch
2/3 cup organic millet flour or almond meal*
2/3 cup sorghum flour
1.5 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon sea salt
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup organic rice milk

Filling:
1 pint fresh organic strawberries, diced (about 1.25 cups)
1/4 cup organic granulated cane sugar **
1/4 cup water
½ tablespoon organic cornstarch

Toppings:
8-10 organic strawberries
3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded organic coconut (optional)***

Icing or Frosting:
2 cups organic powdered sugar
About 2 tablespoons organic rice milk
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
¼ cup organic palm shortening

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Use some palm shortening to grease the bottoms and sides of two 8” cake pans.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, use a whisk or hand mixer to combine the sugar, palm shortening, vanilla extract, and eggs.  Add in all of the flours, xanthan gum, sea salt, baking powder and rice milk.  Use a mixing spoon to stir thoroughly.  Split the batter between the two cake pans.  Bake for about 28 minutes at 350F until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, and then invert onto plates or racks to cool.

While the cakes are cooking and cooling, places the strawberries and sugar into a small pot.  Mix the cornstarch into the water and add to the strawberries and sugar.  Heat over medium, stirring constantly.  Once the strawberries have softened and the mixture is thickened, remove from heat and set aside.  Allow to cool thoroughly.  Using an immersion blender or blender, puree the filling to a smooth-ish texture.

In yet another bowl, make the icing using an electric hand mixer, cream the shortening into the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, very slowly adding rice milk to get the right consistency.

Once the cakes have cooled completely, place one layer on the serving/storage dish.  Place a layer of the strawberry filling over the top staying about 1 cm away from the edges.  (If you have extra, it works well on toast.)  Place the second layer of the cake carefully on top of the filling.  Spread the icing evenly across the layered cake.

If desired, sprinkle shredded coconut across the top of the cake.  Cut the tops off the strawberries reserved for toppings.  Cut about 4-5 strawberries into slices lengthwise and make a circle around the top of the cake as pictured.  Cut another 4-5 strawberries into quarters or sixths (depending on the size) lengthwise and arrange around the bottom of the cake.

* If you use millet flour, there will be a stronger, nuttier flavor to the cake.  If you use almond meal, the flavor will be more neutral.  Almonds carry a cross-contamination risk from tree nuts, so be careful using them in food for the nut allergic.

** I was using early season strawberries which were not incredibly sweet.  If your strawberries are sweeter, you may want to cut the sugar back to 2 tablespoons.

***Do not use the coconut for a nut free cake.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com
GFDF Strawberry Filled Yellow Cake (three layer version)

Cake:
2 cups organic granulated cane sugar
3/4 cup organic palm shortening (plus extra for greasing the pans)
1.5 tablespoon organic GF vanilla extract
5 large organic eggs
1 cup organic brown rice flour
1 cup organic tapioca starch
1 cup organic millet flour or almond meal*
1 cup sorghum flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1.5 teaspoon sea salt
2.5 tablespoons baking powder
1.5 cups organic rice milk

Filling:
1 quart fresh organic strawberries, diced (about 2.5 cups)
1/2 cup organic granulated cane sugar **
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon organic cornstarch

Toppings:
8-10 organic strawberries
3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded organic coconut (optional)***

Icing or Frosting:
3 cups organic powdered sugar
About 3 tablespoons organic rice milk
1.5 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
6 tablespoons organic palm shortening

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Use some palm shortening to grease the bottoms and sides of three 8” cake pans.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, use a whisk or hand mixer to combine the sugar, palm shortening, vanilla extract, and eggs.  Add in all of the flours, xanthan gum, sea salt, baking powder and rice milk.  Use a mixing spoon to stir thoroughly.  Split the batter between the three cake pans.  Bake for about 28 minutes at 350F until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, and then invert onto plates or racks to cool.

While the cakes are cooking and cooling, places the strawberries and sugar into a small pot.  Mix the cornstarch into the water and add to the strawberries and sugar.  Heat over medium, stirring constantly.  Once the strawberries have softened and the mixture is thickened, remove from heat and set aside.  Allow to cool thoroughly.  Using an immersion blender or blender, puree the filling to a smooth-ish texture.

In yet another bowl, make the icing using an electric hand mixer, cream the shortening into the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, very slowly adding rice milk to get the right consistency.

Once the cakes have cooled completely, place one layer on the serving/storage dish.  Place a layer of about half of the strawberry filling over the top staying about 1 cm away from the edges.  Place the second layer of the cake carefully on top of the filling.  Spread the second layer with the remaining strawberry filling.  (If you have extra filling, it works well on toast.)   Place the third cake layer on top.  Spread the icing evenly across the layered cake.

If desired, sprinkle shredded coconut across the top of the cake.  Cut the tops off the strawberries reserved for toppings.  Cut about 4-5 strawberries into slices lengthwise and make a circle around the top of the cake as pictured.  Cut another 4-5 strawberries into quarters or sixths (depending on the size) lengthwise and arrange around the bottom of the cake.

* If you use millet flour, there will be a stronger, nuttier flavor to the cake.  If you use almond meal, the flavor will be more neutral.  Almonds carry a cross-contamination risk from tree nuts, so be careful using them in food for the nut allergic.

** I was using early season strawberries which were not incredibly sweet.  If your strawberries are sweeter, you may want to cut the sugar back to 2 tablespoons.

***Do not use the coconut for a nut free cake.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Peanut Butter Cinnamon Muffins

03 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Sweet Breads, Vegetarian

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I was craving chocolate in the worst way yesterday, but chocolate is one of my migraine triggers.  Hence, I decided not to indulge in chocolate because I really didn’t want the migraine no matter how bad the cravings were.  I decided to try making peanut butter muffins instead in hopes of staving off the chocolate cravings.  No such luck.  I kept thinking to myself how much I wanted the muffins to have some chocolate chips in them.

Despite the lack of chocolate in the batch I made, these muffins are good and peanutty.  I thought they tasted even today than yesterday.

GFDF Peanut Butter Cinnamon Muffins

3/4 cup organic sucanat
3/4 cup Maranatha organic no stir peanut butter (contains additional sugar, palm shortening, and salt)
2 large organic eggs
1 cup organic rice milk
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
½ cup sorghum flour
½ cup almond meal
½ cup organic tapioca starch
½ cup organic brown rice flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1.5 teaspoons organic ground cinnamon
3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Oil a 12 cup muffin pan (I used organic canola oil).  Set aside

In a large bowl, use an electric hand mixer (or do it by hand) to mix together the sucanat, peanut butter, eggs, rice milk, and vanilla extract.

In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients except the optional chocolate chips.  Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Stir thoroughly.  Add chocolate chips if desired.

Divide the batter evenly between prepared muffin tins, filling each about 2/3 full.  Bake for 19-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan, and then remove to a plate or rack to cool.

Makes 12 muffins.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

Chocolate Brownies with Chocolate Frosting (gluten and GFDF versions)

01 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in Cakes, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free, Vegetarian

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These brownies are sinfully delicious.  They are every bit as moist and chocolatey as that photo looks.  I’ve been making them for many years, so I used to eat them back when I was still eating gluten and chocolate.  Making and photographing them was absolute torture for me, but since my now nine year old son wanted them for his birthday, I wasn’t going to say no.

I have not tried the gluten free version since chocolate isn’t worth the migraine to me, but I have heard they are good, too.

The recipe can easily be cut in half and baked in an 8″x8″ pan.  Just reduce the baking time by about five minutes.  If you are making these nut free, be sure to check that your cocoa powder doesn’t carry a cross contamination warning (mine does).

Chocolate Brownies (gluten version)

1.5 cups organic palm shortening
2.5 cups sugar
2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
6 organic eggs
1/2 t sea salt
1.5 cups organic all-purpose flour
1 cup organic cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Oil the bottom of a13 x 9 inch glass pan (I use organic canola oil). Melt the palm shortening.  Beat the eggs with sugar, and add vanilla, flour, cocoa, salt and palm shortening. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 30 minutes. After cooled, frost with chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

1/3 cup organic palm shortening
1/3 cup organic cocoa powder
2 cups organic powdered sugar
1.5 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
Approximately 2 tablespoons organic rice milk (or other “milk” of your choice)

Beat all ingredients together with an electric mixer. Will ice a 13×9″ cake.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Chocolate Brownies

1.5 cups organic palm shortening
2.5 cups organic sugar
2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
6 organic eggs
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup organic tapioca starch
1/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup organic brown rice flour
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup organic cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Oil the bottom of a13 x 9 in glass pan (I use organic canola oil). Melt the palm shortening. Beat eggs with sugar, and add vanilla, flour, cocoa, salt and palm shortening. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 30 minutes. After cooled, frost with chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

1/3 cup organic palm shortening
1/3 cup organic cocoa powder
2 cups organic powdered sugar
1.5 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
Approximately 2 tablespoons organic rice milk (or other “milk” of your choice)

Beat all ingredients together with an electric mixer. Will ice a 13×9″ cake.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Strawberry Pie for Pi Day

14 Wednesday Mar 2012

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

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strawberry pie with a wheat crust

(Recipe edited on 5/22/12)

The previously promised roasted carrots post got bumped to tomorrow in honor of Pi (3.14) Day.  We’re on spring break around here, so keeping track of the exact date hasn’t been high on my list of priorities!

This is one of two strawberry pies that I make.  The other is a double crust recipe.  And then there is strawberry rhubarb pie… yum!  That recipe will be posted when rhubarb starts showing up at the market.

This particular pie is really sweet. I’ve made it in a gluten crust for my boys several times recently, but I hadn’t made a gluten free one for me to eat until today.  I just tried it, and it is really good, but I could only handle a small amount.  My blood sugar is going to complain about even that.  Time to go eat some protein!

The recipes for gluten free and wheat crusts are below.  The filling is the same for both.

Strawberry Pie, Gluten Free Crust

Makes one 9” pie

Crust:
¼ c organic tapioca starch
¼ c organic brown rice flour
¼ c sorghum flour
¼ c almond meal*
½ t xanthan gum
¼ t salt
1/3 c organic palm shortening**
1 organic egg
Water as needed

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

To make the crust, cut the shortening (and butter if using) into the flours, xanthan gum and sea salt.  Add the egg and enough water to moisten to dough consistency.  Place the dough into a 9” pie pan and use your fingers to spread it evenly.  Poke holes in the bottom and bake at 475 for 7-9 minutes.  Set aside.

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.

Optional serving suggestion:  whipped cream

*If you want this to be nut free (though almonds aren’t a true nut but carry the risk of cross-contamination), substitute organic millet flour for the almond meal.

** If you are not dairy free, 1/6 cup palm shortening and 1/6 cup organic butter softened to room temperature make for a better crust.  However, it still works great to use 1/3 cup palm shortening.

We can pretend like these just came out of my kids’ garden, but they didn’t.

Strawberry Pie, Wheat Crust

Makes one 9” pie

Crust:
1/3 c organic palm shortening**
1/4 t sea salt
1/2 c organic all purpose flour
1/2 c organic whole wheat pastry flour
Water

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

To make the crust, cut the shortening into the flours and sea salt.  Add water to moisten to dough consistency.  Roll out using additional flour to prevent sticking to the counter and put in a 9” pie pan.  Poke holes in the bottom and bake at 475 for 8-10 minutes.  Set aside.

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 slice strawberries in the pie crust.  Cover with the glaze mixture.  Allow to cool in the refrigerator for several hours before serving.

Optional serving suggestion:  whipped cream

** If you are not dairy free, 1/6 cup palm shortening and 1/6 cup organic butter softened to room temperature make for a better crust.  However, it still works great to use 1/3 cup palm shortening.

GFDF Coconut Macaroons

06 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Cookies, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Vegetarian

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Merry 6th of March, y’all.  Yes, that is a Christmas serving dish.

Because of my health, I can’t host parties the way I used to.  I miss it a lot, but it’s something I know will change with time as my health continues to improve.  I have several serving dishes, especially Christmas ones, that my kids have never seen since we’ve never had a party at our house in their memories.

So last weekend, my kids and I were out at garage sales when we started discussing serving trays.  I told them I had a cookie server that had multiple layers, and they wanted to see it.  Today I finally figured out which cabinet it was in and pulled it out while these macaroons were in the oven.  I’m 99% certain I have another cookie serving tray just like this one but in my everyday pattern instead of the coordinating Christmas one.  However, it is probably in the back of a very deep cabinet, and that would have involved getting out a step stool and I just wasn’t willing to make the effort.  So the Christmas cookie serving tray came out to both show the kids what it looked like and to serve as the display for this photo.

And that’s pretty much how things roll around here.  If it’s easier to use a Christmas dish in March than find a plain one, we’ll celebrate Christmas again for a few hours.  At least we got the Christmas tree and the stockings taken down before February this year!

Everyone in the family loves this recipe, including my child with oral sensory issues who doesn’t eat a large percentage of the baked goods I make.  That amazes me because as a child, I thought coconut was a food that only grown ups liked.  I could not see the appeal.  I’m also not a big macaroon fan, but I think that’s because I’ve had so many macaroons that just taste like sugary egg whites.  These macaroons are sweet bits of coconut heaven.  They go really fast around here.

GFDF Coconut Macaroons

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

  • 2 2/3 cups unsweetened flaked organic coconut
  • 2/3 cup organic sugar
  • 1 T organic brown rice flour
  • 1 T organic tapioca starch
  • 1 T sorghum flour
  • 1 T almond meal
  • 1/8 t xanthan gum
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 organic egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, combine the coconut, sugar, flours, xanthan gum and salt. Stir in egg whites and vanilla; mix well.
  2. Form into 1 inch balls and place onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cool.

Makes about 20 macaroons

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Dill Burgers

05 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Nut Free, Soy Free

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A dill burger on a bed of organic lettuce from my massage therapist's garden served with a slice of an organic heirloom tomato

We eat burgers a lot because they are one of the few items that everyone in the house will eat.  They’re quick and easy and versatile in terms of accommodating different food sensitivities, too.  When dill burgers are on the menu, I usually make one pound of dill burgers and one pound of plain burgers since only four of our five family members eat the dill burgers.  That makes eight quarter pound burgers which sometimes all get eaten in one meal depending on how starving the kids are and how many sides we have.  Otherwise they take leftovers for lunch at school the next day.

I haven’t found a gluten free bun that I’m in love with, and I haven’t mastered a recipe of my own.  I just do lettuce wraps, as pictured above.  My family usually eats the Rudi’s organic whole wheat hamburger buns.

Dill Burgers

1 pound grass fed ground beef (I use 90% or 95%)
2 tablespoons organic Dijon mustard
1 organic green onion, minced
2 tablespoons fresh organic dill (do not substitute dried)
1/4 teaspoon organic black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 slices of organic cheese (cheddar, jack or swiss) (optional)

Mix all the ingredients but cheese.  Divide into four patties.  Broil, fry, or grill the way you normally would cook burgers.  We usually broil them in the oven, and we prefer our burgers well done.  I cook them for six minutes on one side, flip, cook for another six minutes, add cheese to any burgers that need them, and cook for another 45 seconds (12:45 total cooking time).

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

Gluten Free Cornbread Muffins

04 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in Breads, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Vegetarian

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I gave up trying to get a picture without crumbs around the muffins. They dropped crumbs on the plate every time I made adjustments. This is just the way it is.

I am pretty fussy about my cornbread.  I don’t like it to be overly sweet which I feel like most recipes are.  Hence, has taken me quite a while to get a recipe that works well for me.  The rest of my family will happily eat these, too, even if they are gluten free.  They taste better made with butter (doesn’t everything?), but if you are dairy free, substitute shortening, canola oil or coconut oil and they will come out fine.

The original recipe calls for using paper muffin cup liners.  I hate them.  I feel like they are an environmental waste and that oiling a pan is just as good in most recipes.  I have only one recipe (nectarine cupcakes—they’ll show up on the blog next summer when stone fruits are in season) where I have to use them because the cupcakes fall apart too much if I don’t.  I also react to the cupcake liners when they are in the oven.  They give off something toxic when heated.  I don’t really want to add toxins to my food when I’m going out of my way to make sure it’s organic!

GF Cornbread Muffins

Adapted from The Food Network 

1 cup organic yellow corn meal
¼ cup organic millet flour
¼ cup organic brown rice flour
¼ cup organic tapioca starch
¼ cup sorghum flour
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
1.5 Tablespoons baking powder
¼ c organic granulated sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup organic coconut milk (full fat)
2 large organic eggs
¼ cup organic butter, melted*
¼ cup local honey

Preheat oven to 400F.  Oil 12 muffin cups with canola oil or the oil of your choice.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the coconut milk, eggs, butter, and honey.  In a large bowl, mix together corn meal, millet flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, sorghum flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir well.  Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.  Bake for 15 minutes at 400F.

*If making this dairy free, substitute coconut oil, canola oil, or palm shortening.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

About Flours and Sugars

03 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by in General Ramblings, Gluten Free

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From left to right, the canisters contain whole spelt flour, all purpose flour, my gluten free millet flour blend, evaporated cane juice, my gluten free almond meal blend, and whole wheat pastry flour. The one with Sucanat is to the right out of the photo.

When I first tried to bake gluten free over a decade ago, it was a dismal failure.  I was using a cookbook that only called for brown rice flour with the occasional potato starch added in.  The recipes were terrible.  So I gave up.

Ten years later and with a far more developed internet, gluten free recipes abound.  I started trying other people’s recipes, and I was rapidly able to figure out what worked and what didn’t.  I tend to go for the “simpler is better” approach to life, but when it comes to flours and gluten free baking, more is better.  The texture and taste of gluten free baked goods are greatly improved by having a mixture of different flours.

I have two basic flour blends that I use a lot.  The first blend is almond meal, sorghum flour, organic brown rice flour, and organic tapioca starch, all in equal proportions to each other.  The second is sorghum flour, organic millet flour, organic brown rice flour, and organic tapioca starch, again in equal proportions.  I add ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum to each cup of gluten free flour that I use.  Because I bake so often and in such quantities, I have canisters with these flour mixtures on my counter so that all I have to do is scoop out as much as I need. It saves time for me.  When you read a recipe that calls for ¾ cup of four different flours, I’m actually just scooping three cups out of my canister.

In my pantry at this time, these are the gluten free flours and other mainstays that I use:

  • By Bob’s Red Mill:  Almond meal, organic coconut flour, sorghum flour, gluten free rolled oats, xanthan gum (all purchased at Whole Foods)
  • By Arrowhead Mills:  Organic yellow corn meal, organic brown rice flour, organic white rice flour, gluten free steel cut oats (all purchased at Whole Foods) and organic millet flour (purchased from Amazon)
  • By Let’s Do Organic:  Organic tapioca starch and organic cornstarch (both purchased from Amazon)

I grind my own flax meal using a coffee bean grinder (never used on coffee) and organic flax seeds.  I started doing this an eternity ago and just haven’t stopped.  I was also grinding my own organic millet flour until I found it at Amazon.  I eventually want to be able to grind all my own flours, but I’m not there yet.  It consumes time and energy that I just don’t have right now.

When I am baking with gluten, I often use organic whole spelt flour.  I preferred the taste of it to whole wheat when I was still eating gluten and found it often baked better.  At other times, I will use organic whole wheat pastry flour or organic all purpose wheat flour.  All of these come from the bulk bins at Whole Foods.

As far as sweeteners go, I will often use organic Sucanat (purchased at Whole Foods in bulk or in packages) which adds a rich flavor that helps compensate for the blander taste of gluten free flours when compared to wheat or spelt.  I also use Wholesome Sweeteners organic evaporated cane juice (aka sugar) which we buy in a huge size bag from Costco (as if Costco would sell anything besides huge size).  I use the Wholesome Sweeteners brand of organic powdered sugar because the 365 brand clumps too badly, and I’ve had to resort to running it through the Cuisinart which is effort I’d rather not expend.  For brown sugar, I use the 365 brand organic light brown sugar.

The canisters pictured above are on my kitchen counter.  The are available at The Container Store.  They are only aluminum and glass so that I didn’t have to worry about outgassing vinyl or rubber, plus I liked how snugly they line up on the kitchen counter.  However, the lids can be a real pain to get threaded correctly at times.  My kitchen counter doesn’t normally look that great:  There’s usually a stack of recipes, a bunch of supplements, bulk items that haven’t been transferred into storage containers, and my purse all piled in front of the canisters.  However, I like how much nicer it looks when I clean it up for photos!

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Chicken Vegetable Soup

02 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in Crockpot, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soups, Soy Free

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(While it’s a gorgeous 82F outside as I post this, winter will be back to Central Texas tonight with a colder and windy day forecast for tomorrow.  Soup season isn’t totally done around here!)

Like many parents, I struggle to get vegetables in my family.  I may serve the vegetables, but they don’t usually like them.  This is one of the exceptions to the rule.  My boys willingly eat vegetables in the form of soup.

This is a recipe I have been making forever and came up with through trial and error.  It comes out slightly differently each time I make it because I throw in whatever I have around.  I often put in zucchini or yellow squash.  This could easily be cut in half if you aren’t cooking for an army.

Chicken Vegetable Soup

organic canola oil
2 organic peppers, diced  (green, red, yellow orange– whatever is available) (about 2.5 cups)
6-8 stalks organic celery, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1 large organic white onion, diced (about 2 cups)
8 medium organic carrots, peeled, sliced and diced (about 3 cups)
1 organic jalapeno with seeds, minced (optional but recommended for cleaning out the sinuses!)
5 medium organic potatoes, peeled and diced (about 4 cups)
1 large organic sweet potato, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
2 lbs organic boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat but still whole
9 cups Mountain Valley spring water
1T organic garlic powder (or 6-8 cloves of garlic added with the onions)
2T sea salt
½ t organic black pepper
1 t organic dried rosemary
1 t organic dried thyme
1 t organic dried marjoram
2 packed cups of chopped fresh organic spinach

Coat  the bottom of an extra large pot with canola oil—I use a 7 quart Dutch oven.  Lightly sauté the peppers, celery, onion, carrots, and jalapeno over medium heat for a few minutes until the onions are beginning to become translucent.  Add the chicken, potatoes, sweet potato, water, garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram.  Raise the temperature to high and bring to a boil.  Reduce to medium.  Continue cooking until the chicken breasts are done and the potatoes are starting to fall apart.  (I cook on an electric cooktop that takes longer than other stoves, so it is about 45-60 minutes on mine depending on the day and how frozen the chicken still is when I put it in the pot, but that’s just a guesstimate).  Remove the chicken breasts from the soup, allow to cool for a few minutes, and dice.*  Return the chicken to the pot along with the spinach.  Allow to cook for a few more minutes to allow the spinach to soften.

This soup will freeze but because of the potatoes in it, it doesn’t freeze well.

A half-batch version of this recipe also works well in the crockpot.  I lightly sauté the onions and then add all the ingredients except the spinach to the crockpot.  I cook on low for 8-10 hours in my 17 year old crockpot that cooks slower than new ones.  I throw in the spinach about an hour before serving.

*I abhor dealing with raw meat, so I choose to dice the chicken after it’s cooked.  You could also dice it raw and then not have to do this step.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Split Pea Soup

01 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soups, Soy Free, Vegan

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My kids will not eat this soup.  They refer to it as “green concrete” because of the way it congeals in the fridge.  I, on the other hand, love it.  It freezes well, so I will make a huge pot and defrost a jar of it on occasion when I want easy lunches for me.  It is not the most attractive looking soup, but it really does taste great.

This recipe is designed to feed a small army but can easily be cut in half.

Split Pea Soup

organic canola oil
1 small organic onion, finely diced
4 organic carrots, thinly sliced
2 stalks of organic celery, thinly sliced
3 cloves of organic garlic, minced
about 1 c organic diced peppers (in this green)
about 1 c organic cauliflower stalks (or whatever other veggies need using up)
about 3 c organic dried split peas
about 10 c of Mountain Valley water
2T dried organic tarragon
about 2T sea salt
about 2t organic black pepper
about 1 t organic garlic powder
1 bunch of organic greens or kale, torn in small pieces
2 -15 oz cans organic red beans (or white would work well, too)

In a large soup pot, sauté the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, peppers and cauliflower in a few tablespoons of canola oil for a few minutes.  Add the water, split peas, tarragon, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.  Cook over medium heat until the peas are mush and the veggies are soft.  Add the greens and cook for a few minutes until tender.  Remove from heat.  Stir the red beans in.  Puree with an immersion blender.  Freezes well.

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