Very Successful Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies :)

These cookies turned out great! I modified the recipe on the back of Let's Do... Organic Coconut Flour based on the flours I have in my kitchen right now. This is what I ended up doing:

3/4 cup -2tbsp Brown Rice Flour (I didn't quite enough of this flour, so then I added the next ingredients in this list)
~2tbsp Almond Meal/Flour
~1tbsp Potato Starch
1/4 cup +1tbsp Coconut Flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
4tbsp non-dairy buttery spread
4tbsp applesauce (the recipe called for 8tbsp butter, but I like to substitute half of the butter for applesauce)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg equivalent substitute (used Ener-G)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Blend together butter and sugars, then add egg and vanilla. IN a separate bowl, mix flours and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture. Add the chocolate chips. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto pre-greased cookie sheet. Bake about 8 min or until brown on the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool for two minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

These were great! They may be my favorite gluten- dairy- and egg- free chocolate chip cookies yet. Yum!

Gluten-, dairy, and egg- free cornbread #2 (more appropriately, corn cake)

This is a recipe that my roommate shared with me that her mom makes. It's really more like corn-cake than cornbread. It's pretty delicious though. I modified it to make it gluten-, dairy-, and egg- free. Yum!

Ingredients
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup gluten-free flour mix (I used Pamela's pancake/baking mix)
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
EnerG egg replacer (equivalent of 2 eggs)
1 cup rice milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Pour into a greased baking pan. Cook at 350 for about 35 min (this is an approximate time), until the top is golden and the center isn't jiggly (haha).

Notes
This is delicious! Everyone really enjoyed it. However, it was pretty moist and dense. It didn't hold together well, but it was still awesome. I'll probably keep modifying it in the future so that it works better. I'll update it when I can.

Gluten-, dairy-, and egg- free cornbread

We made cornbread to go with a chicken and bean soup the other day. I found this recipe online here. I modified it to this:

GLUTEN FREE CORNBREAD
1 cup white rice flour (I used brown)
3/4 cup stone-ground cornmeal
2 to 3 Tablespoons of sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon buttery spread
2 beaten eggs (I used jumbo sized eggs that my husband bought =)
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup melted vegan buttery spread (I used 1/8 cup applesauce and 1/8 cup buttery spread)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt) together in a med. bowl and set aside.
Melt the one tablespoon of butter in a your baking pan. This takes about three minutes. Swirl the butter around the pan coating the bottom and sides.
In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and 1/4 cup butter. Add this mixture all at once to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened. Pour batter into the hot skillet or baking pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm.

Notes
I think because I used brown rice flour and applesauce it turned out a little dry. Next time, I'll try using a little more applesauce. This cornbread served it's purpose and went well with the soup. Everyone enjoyed it!

Gluten-free Lemony Pasta and Broccoli

Lemony Broccoli and Pasta

Wildly nutritious broccoli gets a starring role in this zingy, substantial pasta dish. For the highest yum factor, try to get your hands on a bunch of super-freshly grown broccoli -- and don't discard the stems! Peeled and sliced, they add a sweet, mild crunch to this lightly sauced and deeply flavorful pasta.

Ingredients

1. 12 ounces dried rice pasta (shells, spirals, etc.)
2. 1 pound (4 small or 2 large) skinless, boneless chicken
3. salt and pepper
4. 4 tablespoons butter (divided use)
5. 2 tablespoons olive oill
6. 3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press
7. 1 large bunch broccoli, cut into small pieces
8. 1 cup chicken broth
9. juice and finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
10. 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped and toasted at 350ºF for 5 minutes
11. 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of pasta-cooking water to a boil and salt it heavily: it should taste as salty as seawater. Cook the pasta (if you add it when the chicken is about half cooked, the sauce and pasta will be done at the same time), drain it, and return it to the pot with 3 tablespoons of the butter.
2. Pat the chicken dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper. In a very large skillet, heat the olive oil and remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat until foamy and very hot, then add the chicken and sauté until well browned and cooked through, around 4 minutes per side (thicker breasts may take longer; turn the heat down as needed to keep the chicken from burning). Remove the chicken to a cutting board.
3. Turn the heat to low and add the garlic to the pan, stirring for a few seconds until it is fragrant but not browned, then add the broccoli, the broth, and 1 teaspoon of salt, stirring to dissolve the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
4. Cover the pan, turn the heat up to medium, and cook/steam until the broccoli is just tender: 3-4 minutes.
5. Add the chicken, which you've sliced thinly, back to the pan, along with the lemon juice and zest, the walnuts, and the buttered pasta, and stir to combine well (if the skillet isn't large enough, combine in the pasta pot).
6. Now taste a piece of pasta: it should be lemony and flavorful; add more salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste. Stir in the parmesan cheese, then serve, passing more parmesan at the table.

Notes

1. Don't overcook the gluten-free pasta. Since it will cook more when you add it to the overall mixture, I recommend draining it before it is completely cooked. Then, it's less likely to fall apart.
2. We adapted this receipt from the recipte found here: http://family.go.com/food/recipe-779170-lemony-broccoli-pasta-with-chicken-t/
3. We served with green beans and corn bread, which seemed like a good mix.

Search, share, and cook your recipes on Mac OS X with SousChef!

Gluten- and dairy- free white sauce

I wanted to make a casserole but I couldn't find a good recipe without cream of whatever soup or the like. Finally, it dawned on me that I can make my own white sauce! An internet search for that was much more successful than looking for a casserole that fit my requirements. I found a great explanation and recipe here. I can't explain it any better. But here's what I did:

*about 1 tbsp oil
*about 2 1/2 tbsp brown rice flour
*1 cup almond milk

Heat the oil over med/med-high heat. Add the brown rice flour and stir to brown the flour a bit. (This just formed a paste-type substance for me. At first it was dry, but I added a bit more oil.) Next slowly stir in the almond milk. Continue cooking and stirring frequently. My sauce thickened after probably 4-5 min. Let it get to the consistency you want. If it gets too thick, stir a little more of almond milk until it's the thickness you need. Then, use it as you would a white sauce (such as putting it over a casserole).

But honestly, the explanation on the link above is much better. So go look there!

Enjoy!

Review: Great Harvest Gluten-free bread

I decided to try Great Harvest's gluten free bread. I was impressed that it is the size of a normal loaf of bread (as opposed to the small ones you usually see for gluten-free). This bread tastes just fine toasted with butter and jam or other toppings. However, I don't really like its plain taste so much and it's kind of crumbly (not surprising, I know). It is nice to have bread around to toast and eat when the craving arises, but I think I'll experiment with some other options in the future.

Simple gluten- dairy- and egg- free peanut butter cookies

My roommates made a ton of cookies today for Family Home Evening (a church activity that happens every Monday night). I didn't want to feel left out, so I decided to make some cookies myself. Like usual, my time and ingredients were pretty limited, but I ended up with something pretty decent.

I'll say right up front that I think there is probably a better version of this. However, for a quick, simple recipe it works well and tastes just fine.

I started with the recipe here. This is what I ended up doing:

1 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky/crunchy
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg equivalent of EnerG egg replacer
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp vanilla
1/2 cup crushed cinnamon rice chex cereal (this was an after thought, but I wanted to try it... and I didn't have chocolate chips)

I combined all of the ingredients, rolled the dough into small balls and placed them on a cookie sheet. They baked in a 350 degree oven for 8-10ish minutes. Then I let them sit for another 5-10 minutes (this is important with this kind of cookie).

Results: My roommate said they were grainy and my boyfriend said they were too sweet. My first impression was that they crumbled and were a tad dry, and then when you eat them they are chewy. I enjoyed it with a glass of Almond milk, and I was happy with the taste. These cookies soak up milk very well! Everyone said that they liked the cookies (and I did too), but there is some improvement to be made. Like I said originally though, they are great for a simple, quick recipe.

Enjoy!

Simple gluten- dairy- and egg-free buckwheat pancakes

Today I decided to try making simple buckwheat pancakes. I started with the recipe here. Then I made my own modifications so it ended up being this:

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar (I think this was too much)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
EnerG egg replacer (equivalent of 1 egg = 1 1/2 tsp EnerG + 2 tbls warm water)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup almond milk (next time I will try 3/4 cup)
2 Tbsp melted gluten-free, vegan buttery spread

Options for toppings
*butter/buttery spread
*peanut butter
*sliced bananas
*powdered sugar
*syrup

Instructions:
(1) combine all of the dry ingredients and mix well with a fork; set aside
(2) make the egg replacer by mixing EnerG and warm water; mix well
(3) Combine wet ingredients, including egg replacer; mix together with a fork
(4) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; stir well
(5) heat oil in pan (or use a griddle)
(6) use about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake (this was a perfect size); spoon into pan on medium heat; cook for 1-2 min, then flip, and cook for another minute; set aside pancake in covered pan so it stays warm while you cook the rest
(7) repeat #6 with the remaining batter

**this made 7 pancakes for me**

Comments: I've never had buckwheat pancakes before, but I think they turned out well. My roommate and boyfriend both really enjoyed them. I was happy with how they tasted, and they were really filling. Next time I will try using less sugar (maybe 1/2), and a little more milk. We'll see how it turns out!