Ben's Beginners Contest

Ben's Beginners Contest



My daughter and I entered this contest, you may view the short 2 minute video and vote for us. Search under Fish we made Rice fish cakes w/ a mango salsa...delicious!

Easy Apple Cookies

I made these cookies tonight and they were a hit:
I used the basic recipe off the box of EnerG Rice Bran and added to it.

1 C Rice Bran
1 1/2 C white rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C margarine
3 tsp egg replacer plus 2 T water
1/2 C apple sauce
1 tsp cinnamon

Optional: 1/4 C Enjoy Life( allergy free) chocolate chips
1/4 C Perky's crunchy rice cereal

Combine margarine and brown sugar until smooth. Combine dry ingredients and add with egg replacer and apple sauce. Form into small balls and flatten on clay or well greased cookies sheet. Cook at 350 for 10-13 minutes.

Dinner 5 of the 5 Nights of Dinners

Tonight I am making a chicken dish. This is one of my favorites and it changes often depending what I have in my cabinet and refrigerator.

Moroccan Chicken in a dutch oven:

6 chicken thighs with the skin removed
3 T olive oil
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 C of chicken or vegtable stock
1 15 oz can of crushed tomatoes
3 carrots peeled and chopped
3 parsnips peeled and chopped
2 turnips peeled and chopped
2 zucchini chopped
1 can of chick peas/optional
1 C of raisins

Spice mixture:
2 tsp currry powder
4 tsp cumin
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp tumeric
2 tsp cinnamon

Brown onions in olive oil. Combine spice mixture in a bowl and dredge each piece of chicken and then bown in the dutch oven with the onion. Add remaining ingredients except raisins and zucchini. Cook covered for 1 hour, 15 minutes before serving add zucchini and raisins. Serve over rice.

I hope these dinners will help families out there looking for something new. Please share your recipes as well!

Dinner 4 of the 5 Nights of Cooking

Tonight is an easy kids night dinner....Tacos

1 lb. of hamburger, although you can do these without any meat as well.
Cook beef and sprinkle 1T chilli powder 1/2 C salsa

Other goodies we stuff in our tacos:

Black beans with 1T lime juice in cuisinart, add fresh cilantro
Lettuce
Tomatoes
1 Avocado mashed up, add 1 T yogurt, plain soy or coconut is fine
Any type of cheese. My daughter is allergic to peas, but I hear great things about Daiya which is a cheese substitute free of the top 8.

Dinner 3 of the 5 Nights of Cooking

Tonight I will use my left over roast from Dinner 1. I also have some coconut milk from the sweet potato biscuits I made with that dinner. The sweet potato biscuits are gone, my family loved these. They had them for breakfast with a drizzle of honey and my husband had them for lunch with some butter.

Boil 1/2 lb of brown rice pasta, I used spagetti noodles.
Chop up beef and brown in skillet with:
What ever veggies you would like I used
1/2 chopped onion
1 C frozen peas
1 C chopped carrots
I threw in the left over mushrooms I had from pizza night as well

Sauce:

3-4 cloves of garlic saute in 1 T olive oil
Add:
2T Sunbutter ( I use this as a substitute for peanut butter) It is sunflower seed butter
4T wheat free soy sauce
2T brown sugar
1/2 C coconut milk
sprinkle ginger to taste
2 tsp crushed red pepper
Combine over a medium heat until well combined and hot and pour over noodles and beef mixture.

Dinner 2 of the 5 nights of cooking

I have left overs from my cooking last night, however, I am going to hold onto the left over roast for Dinner 3. Tonight my kids have asked for pizza! I would recommend when you make this crust, you double or triple the recipe, and freeze some. It is really simple to pull out of the freezer and throw together a quick dinner.

Gluten Free/ Allergy Friendly Pizza crust:

This will make 3 small 8" pizzas/ serves 4
1 Pkt of active dry yeast, 1 1/4 T
1 1/3 c brown rice flour
1/2 c tapioca flour
1/2 c potato starch flour
3 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp unflavored gelatin powder
1 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 c rice milk at room tempature
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp cider vinegar

Combine dry ingredients, mix well. Add wet ingredients, I use a mixer on low speed until well combined. Separate into 3 balls roll out directly onto the pan in which you will be baking it. I use a pizza stone first dust well with brown rice flour. Poke plenty of holes in the pizza dough and drizzle some olive oil over the dough. Cook at 425 for 10 minutes. Take dough out of the oven and flip onto the other side put sauce and fixings on top and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

5 Days of Gluten Free/ Allergy Friendly Meals

Tonight I will begin to post dinners, for the next 5 days.

Dinner 1:

Slow cooked beef round
Roasted root vegtables
Sweet potato biscuits

Slow cooked beef:
1 beef roast about 2 lbs
Smother with 1/2 cup of mustard and add 1 C beef broth. Set slow cooker for 4 hours/high.

Roasted root vegtables:
Whatever roots you have, tonight I used carrots, parsnips, and potatoes. Coat well with olive oil and cook at 450 for 20-30 minutes. You may also season with sage and or rosemary, salt and pepper.Onions are good with these as well.

Sweet potato biscuits...delicious!
1 1/2 C brown rice flour
1/2 C all purpose gluten free flour mix, I use GF bisquick
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C shortening * note mine has soy
1 C mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 C canned coconut milk

Combine the dry ingredients, add the shortening and combine, then add the sweet potatoes combined with the coconut milk. Roll into 3" balls and then flatten on a clay cookie sheet, or well greased cookie sheet. Cook at 400 for 10 minutes. Let cool and these are great with butter, but if dairy free, honey is also delicious!

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Gingerbread base recipe

This base for Gingerbread cookies, which I have made better over the year can be used for gingerbread houses, cookies, pie crust, as part of a trifle, as the cracker for smores and for whoopie pies.
It is of course, gluten free and free of the top 8 allergens:

1 C buckwheat flour
1 C brown rice flour
1/3 C molasses
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1 egg replacer/I use EnerG egg replacer
1/2 C oil
Combine and drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Flatten and cook for 15 minutes at 350.
If you are using as a crust, press into a well greased pie pan and cook at 425 for 10-15 minutes, watch closely.
Filling:
An easy filling is with 1 cup of pumpkin, and 3 cups of prepared pudding, I use rice milk as the base for the pudding. Combine and add cinnamon, ginger, and all spice to taste, 1/2-1 tsp. Put in refrigerator for at least 4 hours to set.

Holiday Desserts

Before my home went gluten free I made pies for every holiday, however I never made my own crust, so why try to start now? I tried the Gluten Free Pantry mix and was surprised how tasty and light it was with my pumpkin pie. I used 1/2 of the box for only one crust instead of 2 and gave up after trying to roll it out...I simply put it into the pie pan and spread it out in the pan.

Over the next few days I will post the recipes that are staples at our home:

Sweet potato pie:

Peel, chop and boil 2 medium sweet potatoes until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain, mash and cool. Add 1 box of organic tofu,and 1/8 C of maple syrup,blend well. Take 1 packet of plain geletin and let sit in 3T of boiled water for 5 minutes. Add this to sweet potato mixture along with 2tsp of cinnamon mixed with 2T of sugar. Pour into 9" pan over crispy rice crust. Put into the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. See recipe below.

Crispy rice crust:

3C Gluten free rice crispies
1/4 C margarine of choice, melted
Mash cereal with a potato masher until 1/2 of the mixture is powdery. Mix melted marg with rice crispies until well coated. Press into bottom of greased lined pan and bake at 300 for 10 minutes. Take out and cool completely before adding filling.

Holiday Eats

Cornbread Stuffing: Gluten free and free of the top 8 allergens

Follow the recipe for the cornbread muffins below from October 15th. Spread the mixture onto a lined, greased cookie sheet. Cook at 400 for 15 minutes. Let cool and break into 1" pieces.

Add:
1 1/2 Lbs ground cooked pork, season with sage, parsley and sage.
4 stalks of celery finely chopped
1/2 onion finely chopped
2 C mushrooms
Cook celery, onions and mushrooms in 1/4 c olive oil, or butter.
Add 1/2 C of broth of choice
Combine all ingredients in a 9" casserole and cook covered at 350 for 30 min. Remove cover and cook at 425 for an additonal 10 minutes.

Brown rice granola

This granola is tasty, easy and is also my base for sunflower bars.
Combine:
6 C gluten free rice crispies
1/2 rice bran /I use EnerG
1/2 C Perky crunchy rice cereal
1/2 C coconut
Combine well and add:
1/2C oil
1/2C honey
1/2C water
Spread out well on a large, well greased cookie sheet and bake at 250 for 1 hour.
After it is done take off cookie sheet and let cool down in a container, otherwise it will stick
Options to add are:
Raisins
sunflower seeds
Craisins

Honey Corn Bread Muffins

Today I had a wonderful discussion group at the library in Chestertown MD.I always enjoy picking up tips from others on their successes with living gluten free. As promised I am writing out my cornbread recipe, this is also the base I use for my Thanksgiving gluten free cornbread/sausage stuffing.

Muffins:

1C cornmeal
1C white rice flour
2/3 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 C orange juice
1/3 C oil
11/2 tsp baking powder, 11/2 T water, 1 1/2 T oil (used as a substitute for 1 egg)
1/4 C honey
2 tsp gelatin
Combine all ingredients well and drop into mini muffin tins. Cook at 400 for 15 minutes.

Easy Healthy Quinoa

I must admit I am loving quinoa! I have heard and read how healthy it is, but have put off trying to prepare some. It is easy, delicious and nutritious. Here is an easy recipe I put together last night.

Spicy Quinoa:

Cook as directions dictate. 1 C quinoa to 2 C water

Throw some veggies in a saute pan with olive oil, I used 1 small zucchini and 1/2 a sweet onion.
After they are browned, add in the quinoa and then 1/2 C organic salsa and 2 tsp curry powder.

YUM!

I served this up with chicken breasts dredged in cornmeal and fryed. I added honey mustard sauce:
1/4 honey 2T mustard.

Molasses cake for Marie

As Summer is winding down, we have had our last few road trips. Most recently we went to upstate New York and while we were there I was fortunate enough to spend the day with our very good family friend Marie. Walking into Marie's home is always a huge comfort, this trip was no different we walked in to smell a Molasses Cake in the oven, games were out waiting to be played, we enjoyed the hammock in the back yard along with the wooden swing tied to the big tree and relaxed. Although my family could not eat the Molasses Cake, it made me want to create my own....so I did and it came out great!

Molasses Cake for Marie:

1/3 C of oil

1/3 C of water

1/4 C molasses

1/3 C sugar

Egg Replacer/ 4 tsp dry + 4T water

3/4 brown rice flour

1/8 C potato starch flou

1/8 C tapioca flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine wet ingredients well,

 mix by hand for 1-2 minutes.

Add dry ingredients, mix well and and pour into 8" well greased cake pan.

Cook at 350 for 30 minutes.

Upcoming Events

Here are some upcoming events some of you may be interested in:

At Whole Foods in Annapolis, I will continue cooking gluten free and allergy friendly foods.

September 10th, 11 am - 1 pm will be the pizza class, for children and adults. This is a gluten free crust that my son, with his great advice helped me create.

I will also be presenting in October, November and December. If you are interested in attending the date will soon be posted on the website for Whole Foods Annapolis. The December class is the most popular , we had to turn people away last year, this is the Gluten Free gingerbread houses.

I will also be at the Kent County Library on October 15th from10 am - 12 pm presenting a gluten free educational piece along with recipes and great information.

Cold noodle salad

I created this last night because I did not feel like cooking and we had leftovers from the grill.
It has been so hot out it is nice to create something cold and soooo good!

You will need to boil the rice noodles: I used 8 oz of brown rice pasta
Then I added:

I used a potato peeler and ribboned

1 Zuchinni
1 Carrot
I then added finely sliced steak we had on the grill the day before,
you may substitute with shrimp or chicken if you prefer

For the sauce I combined in a sauce pan for 1 minute:
4 T Sunbutter/sunflower seed spread
4 T Gluten free soy sauce
2T brown sugar
1tsp ginger
A big splash of olive oil
1T of sesame oil

Mix this up into the noodle mixture and put in the frig to cool.

Other options to add:
Peas
Scallions

Enjoy and let me know the many ways you have gotten creative with this dish!

The Next Bite: the dangers of food allergies

The Next Bite: the dangers of food allergies

Summer in the garden

With summer here and family and friends coming and going, we remain gluten free at our home. The greatest compliment was from a recent weekend guest that said he never missed or would have suspected he spent the entire weekend gluten free.

Our garden is coming to life with zucchini, many herbs and the other crops are soon to follow. Here are some easy recipes to use for that zucchini, that grows like a weed once it gets started. These recipes are  free of : gluten, egg, dairy, tree nuts and peanuts.

My daughter's favorite:

2 cups of finely chopped, I use a potato peeler, of zucchini
A handful of fresh basil, finely chopped
Saute in 1T of olive oil until slightly brown


Zucchini on the grill:

Slice 1 medium zucchini on it's side into 1/4 inch pieces and drench each piece with olive oil and basil.
You only need a few moments on each side and they are done.


Zucchini Cookies:

Beat:
1/2 c margarine of choice, I use Earth Balance
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c honey
1 egg replacer, I use EnerG
1/4 c apple sauce

Combine and add:
1 1/4 c brown rice flour
1/4 c rice bran, I use enerG
1/2 c white rice flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp plain powder gelatin, to hold the mixture together

1 c shredded zucchini
May also add:
1/2 c Enjoy Life chocolate chips
1/2 c coconut

Combine all ingredients well and drop by teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet and flatten. Bake at 350 15- 18 minutes.

My son loves the cookies, please share your comments.

Father's Day on the Grill

Yesterday I held my monthly Gluten Free Allergy Friendly cooking class at Whole Foods. Here is a sample of some of the recipes. Perfect for the grill and Father's Day!
A very Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful Dads

Black Bean Burgers:

1 15 oz can of Black beans drained and rinsed
1/4 cup of brown rice flour
Juice from 1/2 of a lime
Fresh cilantro, I use about 1/4 cup
I usually add some olive oil to reach desired consistancy, about 2 T

Depending how chunky you like the burgers, you may mash the beans with a potato masher and finely chop the cilantro or put all in food prcessor.

Options to add to these burgers:
Fresh corn
Sauteed mushrooms with onion and garlic
Coconut yogurt for added moisture

Combine well and shape into burgers for the grill or on the stove see great toppings below.

Mango salsa:

Combine in food processor:

1 ripe mango
4 scallions
Juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 C fresh cilantro


Curry yogurt:
1C plain coconut yogurt
3T honey or ornge marmalade
1T curry powder

Avocado topping:

Combine in food processor

1 ripe avocado
1 clove of garlic
1/4 C salsa

Simple sides:

2 Sweet potatoes thinly sliced brushed with olive oil and sprinkled rosemary

Pineapple slices brushed with oil, you may also drizzle some maple syrup as it comes off the grill

Zucchini sliced and brushed with olive oil, fresh basil and lemon

Corn Hush puppies:

2C cornmeal
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 C olive oil
1/2 cup water
3T honey

Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes and then drop by tsp into fryer. I use canola oil. Cook until brown about 3 minutes and drain. Makes 20 small hush puppies.

For a dip use yogurt and honey combination, with a tsp of mustard.