26 September 2011
A peaceful Saturday morning. (See another shot here.)
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” —Colossians 3:16-17
23 September 2011
Peach Pie
[Gluten-Free or Otherwise]
Filling:
10 fresh peaches, sliced
1/2 cup coconut sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Crust:
CeliacTeen’s Gluten-Free Pie Crust
(or your recipe of choice)
Bake:
1. Bake for 15 minutes at 450°F
2. Then bake for 30-35 minutes at 350°F
3. Turn off oven, leaving pie inside to cool and thicken for 1-2 hours.
It’s delicious!
18 July 2011
When we switched to gluten-free eating over a year ago, there were three main foods we wanted to find excellent gluten-free recipes for: bread, pancakes, and pizza crust.
After a disappointing experience with a box-mix pizza crust (tasting similar to what I would think cardboard tastes like), I was left with little hope. Mum, on the other hand, persevered and the next week found a recipe. And it was delicious, aside from being soggy and flimsy.
Since then I’ve created a new recipe, based on the original. Below you will find my finished creation which makes for a thin, crispy, delicious gluten-free pizza crust!
.
The Best Gluten-Free Pizza Crust
(even gluten-eaters like it!) Makes: 2 large crusts
DRY Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups brown rice flour*
1 1/3 cups tapioca flour/starch
2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoon (1 packet) gelatin
4 tablespoon dry milk powder
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
WET Ingredients:
1 cup water
2 egg whites
1 whole egg
3 tablespoon olive oil
*To make this recipe grain-free, use almond flour instead of brown rice flour.
Mix wet ingredients in mixer. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in mixer and beat on high for 3 1/2 minutes.
Divide dough onto two well-greased pizza pans…
If you’ve worked with gluten-free dough before, you already realize how sticky it can be. For this reason, the best way to roll out the pizza dough is to drop it in dollops on a well-greased pizza stone and then roll it out until smooth. (It’ll be well worth the extra work of smoothing it out.)
Bake for 10 minutes at 400°F.
Remove from oven, flip the crust, and bake for another 8 minutes at 400°F. (Since this recipe makes two crusts, you might as well go ahead and bake the second one on both sides, too, before adding the toppings.)
(The apron in the upper left corner is a creation of the delightful Marie-Madeline Studio!)
Remove crust(s) from oven, and spread desired sauce (no need to let cool).
Add desired toppings. (We stick with the basics – simple yet delicious!)
Bake for 8-12 minutes at 400°F, depending on desired softness or crispiness.
There you have it! Want a slice? Enjoy!
P.S. The baked crusts freeze very well. We usually freeze the second crust in a turkey oven bag (which we reuse) – the one bag we found that fits the diameter of the crust. When you’re ready to use the frozen crust, let it sit out for a few minutes on the pizza pan/stoneware. Then add the toppings and bake for 10-12 minutes at 400°F.
8 July 2011
Freshly-picked, these berries are a portion of our largest – though still rather small – harvest we have had to date. We’re not professional raspberry-growers, but we do enjoy the trickling of berries we’re blessed to have from our bushes.
“[The righteous] still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no
unrighteousness in Him.”—Psalm 92:14-15
10 May 2011
They’re green. They’re fresh. And they’re nutrient-dense.
Do they taste good? “Yes. A thousand times—yes!”
No worries, though, the color threw me off at first, too. But once you’ve tasted a well-blended and balanced green smoothie, you’ll understand why these make it to the lunch table nearly every day.
Our trusty blender is a Vitamix (Blendtec works great, too).
What’s in a green smoothie?
To make four glasses of smoothie:
The Greens:
- Lots [see above picture] of Spinach (its sweet, takes out the zing of the kale)
- 2-3 leaves of Kale
- 1 handful of Cabbage
- a dash of water
The Fruits:
- 2 chunks Pineapple Core (not eatable because of hardness, but when blended is delectable)
- 2 Pears (home-grown organic – we have plenty in our freezers)
- 2 Bananas
Other: Apples, Grapes, Berries, Coconut meat, etc. (Occasionally added.)
Blend greens and water in a sturdy blender before adding fruit to avoid the possibility of finding leaf chunks. Throw in the the fruits, blend it all together until smooth, and pour it out into glasses… which, in our family, means Ball jars.
Many of the fruits we use are frozen, making the smoothies chilled and great for a warm day. (We like to stock up and preserve fruits when they are in season or on sale.)
The finished smoothie – with the right combination – is sweet and refreshing!
P.S. Monday was the first time we’ve used fresh greens from the garden in our smoothies. The spinach and kale are being planted every-so-often so that they have a longer harvest season.
21 February 2011
If you’re looking for something spicy, sweet and salty with a bit of crispiness to it, you’ve come to the right place! These Sweet Potato Chips are simple to make and taste delicious! They easily fill in as a side dish or snack.
Sweet Potato Chips
SERVES: 3-5, ingredients easily multiplied
2-3 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and sliced
¼ cup Grape Seed Oil
Cayenne Pepper
Peel and slice the sweet potatoes. In a small bowl, sprinkle Cayenne Pepper* into the oil and blend. In medium bowl, add the oil blend to the potatoes and stir until each slice is lightly coated.
Spread slices in 10″ x 15.5″ stoneware pan and bake at 400°F for 30-40 minutes or until edges brown and crisp, turning/stirring every 10-15 minutes. (If you use a metal pan, it may take longer to bake to desired crispiness.) If desired, salt after baking.
*I used about ¼ teaspoon of pepper, you are welcome to use more or less depending on how spicy you would like them to be.
P.S. Today you’ll find me over at Six Angles!
3 December 2010
Having been in search of the perfect gluten-free bread to replace that delicious whole-wheat bread, my dear mother has experimented with many recipes. Some tasted good, others tolerable – but, of course, nothing had that grand taste of whole-wheat.
So, it was decided that we needed to look for a good recipe with a good texture and forget the taste of wheat. The loaf needed to work for the different things we would eat it with, hold up for longer than one day, and have its own delightful taste.
Enter: Almond Quick Bread.
The flour in this bread is almond flour. Almond may be slightly more expensive compared to other gluten-free flours, but it outweighs them all when it comes to healthfulness.
Instead of paying extra for already ground almond flour, we blanch and grind our almonds (post on that coming soon). This way we can purchase the regular almonds at a lower price (thank you, Costco!).
Here is the recipe for this amazing bread (great for sandwiches, pb&j, toast, etc.)
Almond Quick Bread
MAKES: One Loaf | NOTE: Gluten-Free
1 1/2 cup blanched almond flour . . . or non-blanched* (see below)
3/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, tapioca, flax, salt and baking soda. In a larger bowl, blend eggs for 3-5 minutes, until frothy. Stir honey and vinegar into eggs. Add and mix the dry ingredients with the wet.
Pour batter into a well greased 7.5″ x 3.5″ loaf pan. Bake at 350ºF for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Let cool. Slice and enjoy!
(This is our version of Elena‘s Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread.)
*Update:
Using non-blanched almond flour adds moisture (which, when gluten-free is especially important!) and makes it taste more “wholegrain.” Aesthetically, it darkens the bread and adds little brown specks.
Although both ways it tastes delicious, we recommend using the non-blanched almond flour (because of the added moisture as well as if you’re making your own flour, it’s a great time-saver).
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17 September 2010
These perfectly delicious brownie bites should fill that empty chocolate spot! (Not only are they just the right size for a little treat – they’re also gluten-free, which is splendid!)
“Brownie Bites”
OVEN: 325° F | BAKE: 10 minutes | YIELD: 40-44 Mini-Muffins | NOTE: Gluten-Free
Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum
1/4 cup potato starch
2 Tb. tapioca starch
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup evaporated cane juice or sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup applesauce
2 Tb. vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot coffee
In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients, excluding the chocolate chips. Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop batter in lightly greased mini-muffin pans with small scoop. Bake for 10 minutes at 325° F. Let brownies stand in muffin pans for several minutes to set up. After setting, tumble the brownies out onto a cooling rack.
These freeze fabulously! (You could easily make a double or triple batch, freeze lots, and have ready-to-eat chocolaty brownie bites.)
Fact: You can stir the batter as much as you would like to! This is because there is not any gluten, which, when over-stirred, could stiffen the batter and make the brownies tough!
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