Categotry Archives: Gluten-Free

Dueling Falafel

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Tonight I’m going to try one of these recipes. Notice the first one calls for deep frying the falafel patties. I’m not going to do that. The second one calls for an oil-coated baking dish. I’m going to try that, but I also wanted to compare the amounts of oil each recipe calls for inside the patties. – Helen

from TouchpointIsrael.com:

2 c vegetable oil, for frying
2 *T extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 c dried, raw chickpeas, soaked 20-24 hours
1 bunch scallions, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/4 c loosely packed fresh parsley leaves
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 t ground cumin
2 t ground coriander
1 1/2 t kosher salt
1 t baking powder

  1. Mix the drained chickpeas, scallions, garlic, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, coriander in a large bowl.
  2. Pulse small batches in a food processor until the chickpeas are finely chopped.
  3. Sprinkle the baking powder over the mixture. Pulse the chickpeas again until the mixture forms a ball when you squeeze it in your hand.
  4. Scoop the falafel into 2 tablespoon-sized balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
  5. Heat the oil in a 10-inch straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat
  6. Lower 6 falafel at a time into the hot oil and fry until deep golden-brown, flipping them halfway through, 5 to 7 minutes total per batch. Remove the cooked falafel to a paper towel-lined baking sheet.
  7. Serve the cooked falafel in a warmed pita with yogurt or tzatziki sauce (below), tomatoes, feta cheese, and shredded lettuce.

from CookieandKate.com:

  • ¼ c olive oil, for coating pan
  • 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 c dried, raw chickpeas, soaked 20-24 hours
  • ½ c roughly chopped red onion (~ ½ small red onion)
  • ½ c packed fresh parsley (mostly leaves)
  • ½ c packed fresh cilantro (mostly leaves)
  • 4 cloves garlic, quartered
  • 1 t salt
  • ½ t (~ 25 twists) freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ t ground cumin
  • ¼ t ground cinnamon
  1. Preheat oven to 375F. Pour ¼ cup of the olive oil into a large, rimmed baking sheet and turn until the pan is evenly coated.
  2. In a food processor, combine the soaked and drained chickpeas, onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.
  3. Using your hands, scoop out about 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time. Shape the falafel into small patties, about 2 inches wide and ½ inch thick. Place each falafel on your oiled pan.
  4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, carefully flipping the falafels halfway through baking, until the falafels are deeply golden on both sides. These falafels keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for several months.

Sauce

  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • Zest and juice of 1 small lemon
  • 1 tablespoon white miso
  • 2 garlic cloves, pressed
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • Pinch of cayenne
  • 1/3 cup water

Pulse in a mini-blender until smooth.

*T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon

Blistered Green Beans with Shishito Peppers and Mushrooms

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I admit it, I saw this in a Whole Foods mailer and thought it sounded good and so we tried it for *Thanksgiving 2018 and people loved it.  Go figure!

The original calls for including 1/4 teaspoon salt when blistering the ingredients but that just seems to end up with a bunch of what looks like ash on the pan bottom so I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest just truly dry blistering followed by the sprinkling of salt after it’s out of the pan.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons miso paste; I used white miso paste
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice; I used a whole medium lemon and have no idea if that was even close to 2 tablespoons
  • 1 tablespoon water (measured that one, I did!)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 12 ounces haricot verts (French green beans), ends trimmed
  • 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt; Morton’s seemed too plain so I used Redmond’s
  • 6 ounces shishito peppers
  • 6 ounces mushooms; I used crimini
  • lots of caramelized onions

Preparation

Caramelized onions (as topping) can be made by chopping 1 medium yellow onion into longish pieces and medium-cooking them for a long time in a skillet.

In a small bowl whisk miso, lemon juice, water, and olive oil until smooth and set aside.

Place large cast-iron skillet over high heat and when very hot add green beans and red pepper flakes.  Let sit undisturbed until blistered on the bottom–maybe 2 minutes or so, then attempt to rotate so that blisters are upside so you can blister other parts.  Note that this is easier said than done and that in the end you’ll probably just have to scooch them around to get them evenly blistered.  Sigh.  Anyway, remove them when they’re starting to soften and put them in large enough serving bowl.  Do the same with shishito peppers, but after you take them out, I highly suggest clipping the stems off of them with scissors (it’s kind of a pain to try to pick out the stems when eating them otherwise).  Ditto with mushrooms.

When the veggies (well, actually mushrooms are not a fruit or a veggie, but you know…) are all in the serving bowl, add the salt, drizzle the sauce over the top, turn a bit to coat everything, then put the caramelized onions on top.

*Notes from Helen

Thanksgiving 2018 at Delores’s house included: Delores, Lana, Deboro, Elle, Scarlette, Ivy, Ann, Karen, Helen, Scott, Anna, Maddie

We had a veggie Thanksgiving due to the fact that Delores tried to cook a frozen turkey in four hours. Lovely spread nonetheless. Little Svays played with cardboard jungle animals; Elle & Scarlette wrote thankful thank you cards for Aunts Karen and Helen; Lana shared her mindfulness work at her neighborhood charter school; Anna played piano in the background; Maddie enjoyed the little girls.

 

 

McCall’s Celebration Cake

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When I graduated from college, my mother asked me what kind of cake I wanted. I asked for this cake, the best one she ever made by far. Last July, right before her 25th birthday, Anna asked me if I had a good chocolate cake recipe. I dug out the old photocopy my mom had made for me, and she and Scott whipped it up together. She took a giant, tipping version of this recipe to work.

We enjoyed this dark chocolate delight on Anna’s birthday again this year, and on every occasion I could think of this month. (Make it once, and you’ll find excuses to make it over and over). Ma sat at the counter with me as I baked. Try this gluten-free, dairy-free version, which I think is just as heavenly as the original. Honest to goodness. (It’s the buckwheat.)

Note: The following recipe is half the size of the original recipe (in case you remember it and were curious).

Recipe margin notes:

Anna: Grandma Salas and I made you a chocolate cake when you turned 26. 

Chocolate Cake

  • 1 cup hot water
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee (stir into water; cool)
  • 2  1/2 cups dextrose (original: 2 cups table sugar)
  • 8 ounces plain coconut milk yogurt (original: buttermilk)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup canola or olive oil
  • 2 eggs

Blend. Blend into mixed dry ingredients:

  • 1  3/4 cups whole-grain buckwheat flour (original: white flour)
  • 3/4 cup cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1  1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Pour into three baking rounds. For ease of removal, place a circle of parchment paper or lunch bag paper the size of the bottom of the pan in the pan. No need to flour or oil the pan. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. With a knife, cut around the sides of the cake. Reverse onto a cooling rack.

When cool, frost with chocolate glaze:

Chocolate Glaze

  • 1  8 oz. unsweetened chocolate baking bar
  • 1/2 cup (or more) brown rice syrup or non-HFCS corn syrup
  • half the cream from a can of whole-fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Stir brown rice syrup or corn syrup into melted chocolate. Start with a half cup; add more as desired. Let cool a bit. Stir in coconut fat.

Pour over chocolate cake. Adorn cake with sliced strawberries.

Original Chocolate Glaze

  • 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
  • 1/4 cup whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon butter

 

 

English peas, onions, and smoked vegan cheese

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A late-night snack that turned out better than expected:

  • a handful of English peas, pods and all.  These are the really big fat ones that you think would be good for dipping because they look like overgrown snap peas but whose shells are actually quite fibrous…
  • half an onion
  • a small amount of Aged English Smoked Farmhouse vegan cheese, from Miyoko’s Kitchen (www.miyokoskitchen.com).  Maybe a tablespoon or a bit more
  • olive oil, salt and pepper

Rinse and slice the pea pods into half-inch pieces; dice onion into whatever size pieces you like.  Saute both in, oh, a few tablespoons of olive oil for maybe five or more minutes.

Check on the tenderness of the pea pods and a few minutes before it’s where you want, add the chunk of the vegan cheese and cover with a pan lid.  The cheese will (eventually) soften enough to stir it into the rest–it really is mostly just for flavoring and not so much for eating cheese.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Helen was impressed with the flavor, real-cheese eater that she is!

(Note:  plan ahead on this as this smoked cheese–which is actually fermented vegan cheese–can only be ordered online…sad but true.)

Lemon Gelatin

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Last week, my mother-in-law Julia told me that her niece Julie read that eating gelatin is good for your bones, hair and skin. She came over the next day and gave me a container of plain gelatin powder. I feel stronger just looking at. Here is a convenient way to eat gelatin:

Cook up a bowl of lemon gelatin, set it on your counter and dip into it throughout the day. Add it to tea, broth or smoothies, or sweeten it for a Jello dessert. Do not microwave it. Apparently microwaving alters the molecular bonds of the amino acid proline in an undesirable way.* I suggest you not cook gelatin plain because it will stink up your house. Hence, the lemon. And who doesn’t love lemon Jello?

  • 1 cup cold water
  • 2 tablespoons plain gelatin
  • juice of 1 small lemon or 1/2 of a medium-large lemon

Let mixture sit for a minute to dissolve. Stir. Boil for 1 minute. Pour into a small bowl and leave it on the counter all day. Take a scoop of it out throughout the day, drop it in boiling water, and stir. You can add dextrose for a sweet lemon drink, or add the gelatin syrup to just about anything.

Go easy on gelatin intake at first, because your gut needs time to get used to it. Too fast makes you gassy, and who wants that? I started with 1/2 tablespoon a day, and that felt perfect. I am presently eating one per day, and I plan to increase my daily intake to three tablespoons per day. (I have read 3-6 tablespoons is fine, but don’t take my word for it — do the research.) Below is a link to an excellent article on the health benefits of gelatin.

*http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/why-broth-is-beautiful-essential-roles-for-proline-glycine-and-gelatin/

Gluten-Freedom Chocolate Cupcakes

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Rich, dark and glazed. Couldn’t get much better. Hard to believe they’re gluten-free!

Cupcakes

1. Mix well:

  • 100 g unsweetened baking chocolate bar, melted
  • 3/4 of a 14 oz can coconut milk, stirred
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons *vanilla
  • 1 cup dextrose (or ~7/8 cup table sugar)

*I prefer the flavor of Mexican, Jamaican or Dominican Republic vanillas

2. Combine, then mix into wet ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup nutmeal
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons teff flour (or buckwheat flour)
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Nutmeal

Grind equal parts (all together) till fine:

  • flax seeds
  • raw pumpkin seeds
  • buckwheat kernels

Or use any of these: lentils, almonds, walnuts, cashews.

3. Bake at 350F in a stone muffin pan for 20-25 minutes. Cool. Apply glaze or frosting,  or both!

Chocolate Glaze

  • 50 g unsweetened chocolate bar
  • 50 g virgin coconut oil, *coconut cream, or butter
  • 50 g dextrose (or corn syrup)

Melt chocolate on low. Stir in coconut oil and dextrose until dextrose dissolves. Remove from heat.

*Skimmed from the top of a can of coconut milk, full fat.

Mocha Buttercream Frosting

Adapted from “Mocha Butter Cream” in the The Creative Cooking Encyclopedia

  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 1 cup dextrose (or powdered sugar)
  • 1 tablespoon cold espresso
  • 1 square unsweetened chocolate bar, melted and cooled

Cream butter and cream cheese with electric mixer. Add espresso and chocolate; beat until smooth. Add dextrose until desired consistency and sweetness have been reached.

 

 

 

Tamale Pie

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If you know my sister Katherine, you know I have an enthusiastic ghost writer here. If you don’t know her, you’re missing out.

My beloved sister Katherine and her husband, Tom, were visiting from Tucson. She was war-torn over fixing dinner one night because she hates to cook, and I mean hates to cook. She knew she had to do it, though, and was bemoaning her fate to me. I pulled out a freshly prepared tamale pie, gave it to her, and told her how to properly bake it–fry it even, for a sure hit, which it was. She served it with left-over salad from the night before. No one was the wiser. Katherine has thanked me several times over since, and seems to be whining for more pre-made heavenly dinners that she can readily heat and serve.

Katherine notes that she hates to plan meals. She hates to shop for meals. She hates to shop for groceries of any kind. She hates to prepare, cook, chop. She hates a lot of things, I’ve noticed. She likes to eat, but she isn’t as crazy about it as she notices other people seem to be. Except for this pie. Try it for yourself. If it appeases and pleases my sister Katherine, well, I must be doing something right.

Recipe to follow. Stay tuned. In the meantime, you can find all the ingredients here at Oil and Salt. Look up “Tamales,” and assemble the ingredients into a pie. Use Scotty’s Masa for the crust, top and bottom. Bake for 45-60 at 350F.

Oh, Katherine says the stoneware pan I used was key to the crispy masa crust. She said she learned how to turn on the oven, too.

 

Refried Beans

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Don’t be dismayed by the lack of fancy ingredients in these refried beans. Pinto beans don’t need dressing up any more than an old pair of jeans. They are a main attraction in themselves. Serve them with nicely browned tortillas.

  • 2 cups dry pinto beans
  • 8 cups water

Cook beans in a pressure cooker (45 minutes) or the long way on the stove until just right. Drain and set aside most of the broth.

  • 3-4 tablespoons olive or canola oil
  • salt

Heat wide, flat saucepan on stove. Pour in oil. Pour in beans and a cup or two of bean broth. Salt to taste (be generous). Cook for 10 minutes, or until the beans begin to get creamy. Remove from heat and let cool. They’ll get even creamier and tastier as they sit in the bowl at the table.

I don’t know the history of the ‘re’ in refried beans, but once or twice fried tastes the same to me. If you make enough beans for leftovers, fry ’em up!

End note: When I was a kid, I loved to ladle out the bean broth from the top of the beans and salt it, drinking it ladle by ladle. You’ll have more broth than you can use for the beans. Refrigerate the extra, and drink it later salted and heated.

 

 

 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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We love this soup. Scott found it in the cookbook Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

Family notes from the page: 12/26/07: The Quinns and Sasha and Ben came over after sledding with the Peterson Brest Van Kempens and we ate this soup and masa cakes. We had fun. 

  • 5 pounds butternut squash (about 3), peeled, bulbous part cut from the stem part, then each part sliced in half, seeds removed
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium-sized onion, diced
  • 1 serrano chile, chopped (any chile will do, or you can omit if you don’t want it spice at all)
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
  • 4 cups vegetable stock, or 2 cubes vegetable bouillon dissolved in 4 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • juice of 1 or 2 limes, to taste

Preheat oven to 425F

Lightly coat the squash halves with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and place cut side down on a nonstick or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (if you don’t have a rimmed baking sheet then use baking pans, to prevent the oil from dripping onto the oven floor).  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the squash is tender and easily pierced with a fork.

When the squash is about 15 minutes from being done, in a stockpot over medium heat saute the onions in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 5 minutes.  Add the chiles; saute 5 minutes more.  Lastly add the ginger, garlic, and salt; saute 2 minutes more.

When squash is ready, puree in a blender or food processor along with the vegetable broth and sauteed onions, until smooth.  Return the mixture to the pot and heat through, add the maple syrup and lime juice, and serve.

Pumpkin Pie

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The coconut milk is what gives this pie a cow-dairy-like mouth feel. The tasty GF graham crackers are a good substitute for the usual wheat pastry crust, a GF version of which I haven’t yet managed to pull off. See “Pie Crust” for a tasty wheat flour crust.

For the Filling (recipe in progress 10.30.14)

  • 15 oz + 7.5 oz canned pumpkin
  • 2 large eggs or 3 small eggs
  • 12 oz coconut cream (sans liquid in the can) or *cow cream
  • 1 cup dextrose (or 3/4 cup sugar)
  • 1/4 cup real maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon clove
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

*1/2 whipping cream and 1/2 half-and-half

For the Crust

  • 100 grams gluten-free graham crackers (try Smoreables brand)
  • 100 grams *nut-seed-meal (e.g., walnuts, pecans, almonds, flax seeds)
  • 3 tablespoons melted salted butter
  • 2 tablespoons powdered dextrose (or 5 teaspoons table sugar)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (if not using salted butter)

*I used 50 g walnuts and 50 g flax meal.

Pour filling into crust. Bake at 350F for 50 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean. Cover the crust edges with foil before baking.

Anna and Maddie came home to help us prepare Thanksgiving dinner. Anna and I set out to make pumpkin empanadas, but we used this filling recipe (the dairy version) by mistake. We realized that pumpkin pie filling is liquid, and empanada filling is not. Anna added extra pumpkin, but there was no fixing it. We made a very tasty pie instead.

 

 

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