Kiddo Creations: Banana Corn Waffles (vegan, gluten-free)

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Deanna

Sunday mornings are all about “special breakfast” in our house. Kiddo’s choice. This morning, he declared that it was waffle day. Banana waffles, no less. I didn’t happen to have a banana waffle recipe handy. So, after a bit of spelunking on the  interwebs, I found this one from food.com. I knew right away we’d be leaving the nuts out. Chunks in waffles are strictly forbidden in the kiddo’s world. But, beyond that, I thought it was a nice, easily adapted recipe. The next choice – what to do about that gluten-free all purpose flour. I don’t stock such a beast, as I find that I like to play and mix and match my various flours. Today, it was Kiddo’s choice. I told him to pick 2 flours and 1 starch from the refrigerator stash. His choices? Corn flour, corn starch, and white rice flour. Excellent choices to make a nice, crispy, light waffle.

Banana Corn Waffles - gluten-free and vegan

Banana Corn Waffles

1 large banana, mashed
1 3/4 cups almond milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 t. apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 ounces corn flour
3 ounces corn starch
3 ounces white rice flour
1 t. guar gum

Heat your waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions.

In a large bowl, blend the banana, almond milk, oil, apple cider vinegar, and maple syrup. In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients, whisking well. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Cook on waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions.

Note: These require a hot iron and plenty of grease on the waffle iron. Be patient with the cooking time. Otherwise, they will stick.

Short stack of deliciousness

Short stack of deliciousness

Interested in some seasonal recipes? Check out Seasonal Sundays! If you’d like some slightly indulgent recipes, check out Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Posted in bananas, breakfast, vegan | Tagged , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Feed Your Skin

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Deanna

We’re taking a momentary departure today from feeding our bellies and the bellies of those we love. Today, we’re going to feed our skin! I’ve been inspired lately by reading blogs such as Crunchy Betty and websites such as Skin Deep, the cosmetics safety database from the Environmental Working Group – the same people that brought you the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists of produce. I’ve been trying to limit my exposure to chemicals in my food as well as in my skin care products. But, have you checked the prices on organic, natural skin care products lately? Ouch! I thought buying specialty gluten-free foods was expensive.

Luckily, there are a lot of things we can do right in our own kitchens. And, my favorite kitchen ingredient for skin care? Coconut oil! Coconut oil is easily absorbed, full of anti-oxidants, and even has anti-microbial properties when used on skin. (For more reading on the health benefits of coconut oil, check out this collection of journal articles.) And, it just so happens that this month coconut oil is the featured ingredient for the SOS Kitchen Challenge hosted by Ricki and Kim. Well, I’m always up for a challenge….

Home Made Coconut Oil Lotion

Home Made Coconut Oil Lotion

Home Made Coconut Oil Skin Lotion

1/2 cup (112 grams) coconut oil (It’s best to use the unrefined kind.)
2 T. almond oil
1 T. glycerin (Available at your local drug store or online. If you’re vegan, check for vegetable glycerin.)
1/8 t. guar gum
5 drops essential oil (I used grapefruit.)

In a double boiler, gently melt the coconut oil. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Allow to cool completely. The “lotion” will harden at this point. You can use it just like that. It will be similar to lotion bars. Or, you can use a stick blender or food processor to whip some air into the lotion, like in the photo above.

Just a note, since this recipe is neither sweet nor savory, I did ask Ricki and Kim before I submitted it to the challenge. They graciously agreed to allow me to do so. Theoretically, you could eat this stuff. But, I don’t think you’re going to want to.

Posted in Blogger Community, Body Care, Cooking Challenges | Tagged , , | 29 Comments

Thai Peanut Sauce and Lettuce Wraps

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Deanna

It’s no secret around here that I have just a wee bit of an obsession with peanut butter. If you have any doubt, just check out my peanut butter waffles, peanut butter truffles, or one of my many peanut butter cookie recipes. So, when Lauren of Celiac Teen put up her January Go Ahead Honey It’s Gluten Free post and announced that the theme this month is Follow the Calendar, how could I resist capitalizing on January 24th, National Peanut Butter Day. But, my obsession doesn’t stop with sweets. Oh no. Peanut butter is a frequent visitor to our dinner table as well. How I’ve failed to post a single savory peanut butter recipe is beyond me. It’s about dang time to fix that, don’t you think?

Thai Peanut Sauce

Thai Peanut Sauce

Thai Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 t. palm sugar
2 T. lime juice
1/2 t. hot chili oil
2 t. gluten-free soy sauce
1 T. minced cilantro
2 T. warm water

Mix all ingredients together. Super simple. The beauty of this recipe is that everything is adjustable. You can make it more sweet (extra palm sugar), more heat (extra hot chili oil or chili flakes), more piquant (extra lime juice or add lime zest), or more salty (extra soy sauce). I rarely measure the ingredients and just go by taste. But, just for you folks, I measured this time.

What to do with this delicious condiment? What can’t you do? Pour it over rice, toss it with shredded cabbage, use it as a salad dressing, drink it straight. (Wait, did I say that out loud?) Or, my favorite, make Thai Lettuce Wraps.

Thai Lettuce Wraps

Thai Lettuce Wraps

Thai Lettuce Wraps

1 small zucchini, spiralized
1/2 red pepper, minced
1 carrot, shredded
2/3 cup bean sprouts
4-5 washed whole bibb lettuce leaves
handful of dry roasted peanuts
Thai Peanut Sauce

Lay a lettuce leaf on a plate. Layer on the zukes, bean sprouts, carrots, and red pepper. Drizzle with peanut sauce and garnish with peanuts. Pick it up with your hands and enjoy!

For more slightly indulgent recipes, check out Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. For a plethora of wholesome whole food recipes, check out the Hearth and Soul blog hop. For more real food, check out Real Food Weekly.

Posted in Asian, carrots, grain-free, main dish, nuts, peanut butter, peppers, sauces, vegan | Tagged , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Kiddo Creations: Bossk Brownies (vegan, grain-free, sugar-free)

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Deanna

I haven’t been cooking lately. Not at all. And you know what, I’m okay with that. Everyone needs a break now and then, right? And, I haven’t been eating out. I’ve been living on things like fruit and nut bowls and smoothies. Completely not inspirational.

But today, today I was inspired. I was inspired to make a grain-free, vegan, sugar-free version of our family favorite Bossk Brownies from the Star Wars Cookbook. The kiddo approves, and so does R2D2.

Bossk Brownies

Bossk Brownies

Bossk Brownies

adapted from the Star Wars Cookbook

4 ounces (113 g) dates (about 23 medium dates, or about 3/4 cup)
1/3 cup boiling water
2 T. ground flax seed
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup (112 g) coconut oil
1/2 cup (28 g) cocoa powder
2/3 cup (50 g) almond meal
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
pinch of powdered stevia (to taste)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8″ x 8″ baking pan.

In a small bowl, combine dates, boiling water and flax seed. Allow to sit for 10 minutes while dates soften.

Put coconut oil in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coconut oil is creamy. Add date mixture. Pulse until dates break up, and then process for 5 minutes until mixture is smooth and creamy.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the shredded coconut. Pulse until mixture is thick and well-mixed. Taste for sweetness and add more stevia if desired. Stir in coconut.

Spread batter in prepared pan. (It will be very thick. That’s normal.) Bake for 20 minutes, or until knife inserted in brownie comes out clean.

Find more gluten-free vegan recipes using coconut oil in the January Sweet or Savory Challenge – Coconut Oil. For more slightly indulgent recipes, visit Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Posted in chocolate, coconut, dates, desserts, flax seed, grain-free, nuts, vegan | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

D-tox January – Hot Cider Smoothie

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Deanna

When Nicola of G-Free Mom (who is sadly, no longer blogging) asked me to participate in D-tox January, I was more than happy to oblige. Last year I started the year with the Quantum Wellness Cleanse, which led me to discovering my gluten intolerance. And, while I primarily follow the Quantum Wellness eating plan full time these days, I’m once again starting the year following it strictly. The gist of the plan is to eat vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, alcohol-free, and caffeine-free for 21 days. In addition, this year I’m focusing on boosting my fruit and vegetable intake considerably. (Okay, boosting veggies more than fruits – I already eat a lot of fruit.)

Anyway, smoothies and juices are a natural on this cleanse. But, I live in Wisconsin. It’s cold here. And, as much as I love a good smoothie in the summer, the thought of drinking an icy beverage when the wind chills are below zero just isn’t as appealing as I’d like it to be. In winter in Wisconsin, I need warming drinks. Thus was born the Hot Cider Smoothie. Not only is it warm in temperature, but it uses warming spices – fragrant cinnamon and pungent dried ginger – to get your blood flowing.

Hot Cider Smoothie for a Cold Winter Day

Hot Cider Smoothie for a Cold Winter Day

Hot Cider Smoothie

3/4 cup cider (I used Trader Joe’s Pear Cinnamon Cider)
1 small apple, cored and chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon dried ground ginger

Heat the cider until simmering. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until nearly smooth. (If you have a high powered blender like a Vitamix, you can probably make this super smooth. I don’t, so I had some chunks. I don’t mind a chunky smoothie, personally.) Serve dusted with more cinnamon.

Posted in apples, drinks | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

Coconut Butter Cookies (vegan, grain-free)

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Deanna

I know, I know. It’s the first week of the new year and I should be posting particularly healthy stuff. Does it help to know that I’m eating a super healthy stir fry while writing this?

No? Oh well.

If you’re feeling like continuing to indulge this January, or just want to file this one away for later, or, like me, you’re continuing to feed a kiddo that has no concept of New Year’s resolutions or cutting out sugars or what not, then here’s one more cookie recipe for you. They’re delicious, but somehow I’m resisting eat them. Yay me.

Coconut Butter Cookies with mini chocolate chips

Coconut Butter Cookies with mini chocolate chips

Coconut Butter Cookies

3 cups (5.25 ounces) unsweetened, flaked coconut (If you use shredded, go by weight not volume.)
1 cup almond meal (again, I used the cheap Trader Joe’s stuff for this)
1/4 cup garfava flour OR 2 T. sifted coconut flour (I’ve tried it both ways, I prefer the garfava, but if you can’t eat that, then you can use the
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
2 T. ground flax seed + 6 T. hot water
1/3 cup palm sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Put the coconut in a food processor and turn it on. Let it run for about 10 minutes, scraping the sides occasionally, until you have a liquidy coconut butter.  (If you don’t have a food processor you could probably substitute melted purchased coconut butter of the same weight. But, that stuff is way too expensive to use in cookies, in my opinion. By the way, you can stop here, pour it in a jar, and have a really cheap version of coconut butter to spread on toast, too.)

Meanwhile, mix the almond flour, garfava or coconut flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

When the coconut is liquified, add the flax eggs, vanila and sugar. Pulse to combine. Add the dry ingredients and pulse to combine. Remove dough from food processor (it will be thick) and stir in chocolate chips. Roll small (1 T.) balls of dough, place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and press with a fork in a criss cross pattern.

Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes. Cool completely before moving.

For more slightly indulgent recipes, visit Amy’s Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. For more gluten-free recipes, check out Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

Posted in chocolate, coconut, cookies, flax seed, grain-free, nuts, vegan | Tagged , , , , | 43 Comments

2010 in review

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Deanna

I am totally being lazy on this one. Yep, I freely admit it. But, so it goes. 🙂

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

About 3 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year. This blog was viewed about 25,000 times in 2010. If it were the Taj Mahal, it would take about 3 days for that many people to see it.

 

In 2010, there were 70 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 119 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 19mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was December 5th with 711 views. The most popular post that day was Peanut Butter Peck Cookies for 12 Days of Christmas.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were foodgawker.com, tastespotting.com, findingvegan.com, sheletthemeatcake.com, and facebook.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for the mommy bowl, dairy queen ice cream cake, brussel sprout slaw, gluten-free bakeries, and vegan double chocolate cookies.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Peanut Butter Peck Cookies for 12 Days of Christmas December 2010
33 comments

2

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (grain-free, vegan) September 2010
19 comments

3

Broccoli Red Pepper “Cheddar” Chowder October 2010
12 comments

4

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes (vegan) October 2010
32 comments

5

Peanut Apple Scones (grain-free, vegan) September 2010
29 comments

Leave a comment

Cherry Almond Coconut Kisses (vegan, grain-free)

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Deanna
I think Santa might like these...

I think Santa might like these...

I think I need to start a recipe make-over series. More and more what I’m finding that I am doing is taking traditional family recipes and reworking them to fit my increasingly complex dietary needs. Take this recipe, for instance. I’d pretty much completely forgotten about it. But, last week my mom emailed to ask if I had the recipe for our traditional coconut kiss cookies so she could make them for my dad. They’re a favorite of his. I did have the recipe. It goes like this:

Traditional Coconut Kiss Cookies

1 pound sweetened moist coconut
1 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix all ingredients, drop by spoonfuls and bake for 22 minutes at 325°.

You might be able to see the issues I’d have with this recipe, but just in case you can’t….

  1. It’s full of sugar.
  2. It’s full of dairy.
  3. It’s full of red dye.
  4. It’s full of high fructose corn syrup.

But, the combination of cherries, almonds and coconut is a favorite flavor profile of mine. Time for a recipe makeover! I’m fairly happy with the results, though I think that next time I do it, I’m going to use finely shredded coconut, instead of the flaked variety. I’m not keen on the flaked texture after all this time eating the shredded kind.

The best part of this recipe, though, is that it was the impetus for making home made sweetened condensed coconut milk – something I’ve been meaning to try for a while. And, you know what? It rocks! So, bonus 3 in 1 recipe post today, the traditional cookie, the new and improved healthier cookie, and the “ingredient within” recipe.

Coconut Cherry Almond Kisses

Coconut Cherry Almond Kisses

New and Improved Cherry Almond Coconut Kisses

1 cup sweetened, condensed coconut milk (see recipe below)
1/2 packed cup dried cherries (I used a cherry medley of bing, rainier, and montmorency)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut
1 t. almond extract

Preheat oven to 325°. Mix all ingredients together. Scoop small mounds with a cookie or small ice cream scoop. It works best if you pack it together a bit. Bake for 15 minutes, or until edges are golden and crispy.

Home-made Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk

1 can full fat coconut milk or unsweetened coconut cream
1/2 cup palm sugar

Combine both ingredients in a heavy bottomed saucepan and place over lowest heat possible. Simmer gently until reduced to 1 cup and darkened in color. Be patient, this takes a long time – over an hour for me. But, it’s worth it and it will make your house smell simply amazing!

For more slightly indulgent recipes, check out Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. For more gluten-free goodies, check out Gluten Free Wednesdays.

Posted in coconut, cookies, grain-free, holiday, nuts, vegan | Tagged , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Cinnamon Roll Scones

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Deanna

Carrie, from Ginger Lemon Girl, is hosting this week’s Gluten-Free Holiday and the theme is breakfast and brunch. She sent out a call to a bunch of gluten-free bloggers in the hopes of getting 100 recipes linked up this week. Let’s help her out, shall we?

Traditionally, in my family, holiday breakfasts come from a tube. Yep, that’s right – Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with ooey gooey frosting slathered on. My sister and I would fight for who got the middle roll. It had the most frosting and no crispy edges. (Those brownies pans designed to make lots of crispy edges? Those would never have worked in my family.) And, while I’d love to work some sort of amazing magic and come up with a cinnamon roll recipe that’s grain-free, vegan, and made without refined cane sugar, but still tastes good, so far I’ve failed.

What I did come up with, though, was a cinnamon roll scone – sweet, but not too sweet, with a crisp exterior and a soft interior. And, yes, they’re vegan and grain-free and free of refined cane sugar. Woo hoo!

Course Crumbs.... Ready to Bake

Course Crumbs.... Ready to Bake

Cinnamon Roll Scones

Filling
2 T. palm sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 T. sunflower oil (or other mild oil)

Dough
1 cup (95 g) almond meal (I used Trader Joe’s – this is different than almond flour)
1/4 cup (25 g) coconut flour
1/4 t. salt
1/2 T. baking powder
1/4 t. xanthan gum
1 T. palm sugar
3 T. (36 g) palm shortening
1/2 t. apple cider vinegar + almond milk to equal 1/2 cup

Preheat oven to 400°. In a small bowl, mix filling ingredients. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix dough’s dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the shortening until mixture resembles course crumbs. Add the soured almond milk. Mix gently until a dough forms. (It will be sticky.)

Divide the dough in half. Pat out half the dough into a circle on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle dough with filling. Between your hands, pat out the second half of dough until it is roughly the same size and shape as the bottom  half. Gently press the top half over the filling. If needed, wet your hands and smooth over any breaks in the dough.

Using a wet pizza cutter, score the scones into 8 triangle-shaped pieces. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating pan half-way through. Remove from oven. Re-cut triangles, separate them on the baking sheet, and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

If desired, you can drizzle these with a frosting made with powdered palm sugar, cinnamon and almond milk.

Not a roll, but sin-sin cinnamony good.

Not a roll, but sin-sin cinnamony good.

For more slightly indulgent recipes, check out Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. And, for more healthy recipes, visit the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop and Real Food Wednesdays. For more gluten-free recipes, check out Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Gluten-Free Allergen-Free Expo in Chicago. I was recently invited to attend as a gluten-free blogger and I’d love to meet you there. But, prices go up December 25th!

Finally – the good people at Katz Bakery are sponsoring another great giveaway. Head on over to their site to enter!

Posted in breakfast, grain-free, vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 26 Comments

Chocolate Snowballs for 12 Days of Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Deanna

12 Days of Christmas CookiesWe’re almost through our 12 days of Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies hosted by the fabulous Maggie of She Let Them Eat Cake. Tomorrow you get to share your favorite recipes on Maggie’s website for a chance to win some amazing prizes. Do you have a recipe ready? Is it an old family favorite, or something new?

My second contribution to the 12 Days of Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies is a new recipe – something that we’ve never had before, but has been declared an instant tradition. Yes, I’ll be making these for years to come.

Saying it’s a new recipe is stretching things, just a bit. It’s really a combination of concepts from two recipes that show up every Christmas in my family, Russian Tea Cakes and Chocolate Crinkles. In fact, I made gluten-free versions of both of those cookies before landing on this particular gem.

Russian Teacakes and Chocolate Crinkles

Russian Teacakes and Chocolate Crinkles

There were two small problems, though. I forgot I don’t actually LIKE Russian Teacakes; and I, um, kind of forgot to write down what I did when I made the chocolate crinkles. Oops. Cut me some slack here – I made them in a fit of insomnia-fueled baking. It was 1:00 a.m., after all. That’s okay, though, because I know they weren’t grain-free. (I actually do almost know what I did – including the flour kinds and amounts. Maybe some day I’ll try to replicate them.)

So, I took the powdered sugar-coated ball of goodness concept from the Russian Teacakes, and the chocolate goodness from the Chocolate Crinkles and made…wait for it…. Chocolate Snowballs! And the best part is that they’re grain-free, vegan, and refined sugar free, and are actually better after sitting for a day or two. I know – amazing, isn’t it?

Chocolate Snowballs - Oh So Yummy.

Chocolate Snowballs - Oh So Yummy.

Chocolate Snowballs

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, grated or chopped finely
2 T. (28 g) coconut oil
2 T. ground flax seed
3 T. almond milk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup palm sugar
1/2 cup (43 g) almond flour
1/4 cup (28 g) gar-fava flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. xanthan gum
About 1/3 cup powdered palm sugar (I made mine by whizzing palm sugar in a coffee grinder)

Preheat oven to 325°.

In the top of a double-boiler, melt the chocolate and coconut oil. While that is melting, whisk together flax seed and almond milk in the large bowl. When the chocolate is melted, remove from heat and pour into the flax seed mixture.  Add the palm sugar and vanilla and beat well.

In a small bowl, combine the rest of the dry ingredients, except the powdered palm sugar. Whisk well.

Beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well combined.

Form dough into small balls. Place the balls on parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes.

As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, roll them in the powdered palm sugar. (Yes, they’ll be hot. You can do it!) Once completely cooled, roll them one more time in the powdered palm sugar.

If you like this recipe, be sure to check out all the other recipes for 12 Days of Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies!

Posted in Blogger Community, chocolate, cookies, desserts, grain-free, nuts, vegan | Tagged , , , , | 38 Comments