French Silk Pie

A few days ago, More than a year ago, I posted about really wanting to make a  vegan French Silk Pie. I based mine on this recipe, and it was a bit of a rough (though delicious) experience. The recipe I used for inspiration suggested you could use silken or firm tofu -- which maybe is true if you have a fancy VitaMix blender (which I now have access to). I actually use a pretty strong blender and it was upset by the tofu I used (labeled as "soft" though where I live, the "soft" tofu is just as firm as extra firm a lot of times). Therefore, I had to add more liquid than what I'm going to list here to make it so the blender could blend the tofu until very smooth. I used a combination of water and soymilk. If you find yourself in a similar situation, add liquid about 2 tablespoons at a time until your blender can work with the tofu (and later, the tofu and chocolate mixture). You don't want it soupy -- it should be about the consistency of well-mixed natural peanut butter when you're done.

This picture was taken on my phone, and
unfortunately I messed up putting on the raspberries!

The fun part about this recipe is that you can eat a pudding-like version of it pretty much right away, or you can let it sit in the refrigerator and firm up. I think the flavors are actually best if it's had about 24 hours to rest, so if you can make this in advance, please do.

French Silk Pie (vegan, gluten-free)
1 gf vegan pie crust, pressed into a pie pan or 8x11 baking dish

For filling:
12 oz mori-nu Silken Extra Firm or water-packed soft tofu
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (Do not omit, it REALLY makes the difference, so chocolatey.)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons not-milk of choice*
scant 1/8 tsp salt
8 oz dairy-free chocolate chips (I used about 1 cup)
2-3 tablespoons agave or other sweetener

*You may need more not-milk or water, depending on how soft (or firm) your tofu really is.

Blend the tofu in a food processor or blender until it is very smooth (you may need to add liquid at this point, depending on the consistency of your tofu). Set aside. Melt the chocolate on the stove top over low heat, until the chips are just melted (careful not to scorch). All all remaining ingredients to the blender, and blend until very smooth (again, depending on the consistency of your mixture you should add more liquid a little bit at a time), about the consistency of unrefrigerated, natural peanut butter.

For whipped topping:
1 can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Raspberries, optional


Remove the can from the fridge. Turn it upside down and open it. Spoon out the solids and place in a chilled bowl. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar (and cinnamon, if using) and using a hand or electric beater, beat until it begins to resemble whipped cream. Spread over the top of the pie and refrigerate the whole thing until ready to serve.

Product Review: Barney Butter Almond Butter Cocoa & Coconut

I bought Barney Butter Almond Butter Cocoa + Coconut recently, because it was on sale at a local grocery store. I also wanted to treat myself because I'd just accepted (and signed the papers for) a new job. Barney Butter comes in a variety of almond-y goodness, including vanilla bean + espresso, honey + flax, and raw + chia.

I selected the cocoa + coconut variety because, frankly, I wanted chocolate in my nut butter. I've been on a quest for a chocolate-y nut butter that could remind me of Nutella, but which wasn't, in fact, Nutella. The Barney Butter Almond Butter Cocoa + Coconut is the closest I've come, and while it's admittedly been years since I've eaten Nutella (for a number of reasons I won't go into here), I think
it's safe to say that I prefer the taste of the Cocoa + Coconut combination Barney Butter makes.

I like that it has a distinct chocolate flavor (from Enjoy Life Chocolate chips, which I've previously reviewed here), but that this doesn't overwhelm my mouth with omgchocolate the way some other chocolate nut butters do -- nor does it leave me wanting to eat more simply to avoid that icky after-taste of some cheaper chocolates (ugh)! It is distinctly coconut-y, which I don't mind, but I know some tasters probably don't care for, and at the room temperature of my house (pretty cool this winter), it's quite thick. It's also incredibly smooth.

This nut butter separates -- or at least my jar had -- despite what the website says. I stirring it a bit more difficult than with most natural (pea)nut butters, but worth it. Once I stirred it, there wasn't a problem with it separating again.

For me, this will stay a special occasion nut butter -- even the plain varieties are pretty expensive, but it's one I'd consider gifting to foodie friends or to people who don't want more things in their life. I imagine it's also a product I'd splurge on for myself once in a while.

Tea "Biscuits"

Ah, one of the joys of being an American is that a "biscuit" brings to mind something that you use as a side dish -- to pretty much any meal. You can have gravy on it (sorry, not my thing) or wedge a sausage patty in it. You can put it as a side to a dinner of meat (or not) and greens. You can spread jam or honey on it. You can do a lot of things to a biscuit. And, depending on where in the country you live, biscuits might be fluffy (Southern influence) or thinner and crispier (Northern influence).

SO MANY OPTIONS.

But, Americans don't usually hear biscuit and think "a sweet."

These tea biscuits are definitely more like cookies, if you're an American reader. They're sweet (yet have protein because of the g-bean flour!), and very versatile. The original recipe comes from the Flying Apron Bakery Cookbook, and calls for placing beautiful little berries in the center of each cookie. That's yummy (and frozen blueberries work great, btw). But you can also season these with sweet spices and create something that's (still) totally appropriate for eating with a mug of hot tea (or coffee), any time of day.

I make my tea biscuits much smaller than the original recipe recommends (it recommends baseball sized, mine are closer to golf-ball sized -- but then, I'm also not selling them in a bakery). A thought about this: If you're making them for a fundraiser or something along those lines, definitely make them big. I didn't have to make much of an adjustment to the baking time, so you should only need to leave them in for a few extra minutes. 

I like that these come together pretty quickly (though they do want to hang out in the refrigerator for a few hours -- you can make the dough in advance and just make a few at a time this way), but they will leave your hands sticky (something I'm less thrilled about). I recommend making the dough as listed below, and then modifying it however you'd like (suggestions also below, probably you don't want to try all the variations at the same time).


Tea Biscuits
2 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1 1/2 cups, plus 1 tablespoon garbanzo bean flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup canola oil
Scant 1 cup cane sugar
1 cup soy milk
Berries (optional)

Additions (probably only try 1-2 at a time, based on preference):
1/2-1 cup mini vegan gf chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life)
4-5 drops pure orange oil (a little goes a long, long way -- and orange essence is not the same thing)
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
1/4 cup minced, candied ginger

Combine the brown rice flour, garbanzo bean flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl (or if you have a stand mixer, in that), beat together the canola oil and cane sugar until well mixed. Stir in the flour mixture and the soy milk a little at a time, alternating, until well mixed. Chill* the dough at least three hours (it can go less, but believe me, you want that garbanzo bean flour to hydrate).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place golf ball sized balls of dough on a cookie sheet that has been greased or covered with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart (these don't spread much). Lightly flatten the balls with the palm of your hand. If you're using berries, press 2-3 into the top of each cookie.

Bake until golden and firm to the touch, about 20-24 minutes.

*Optional:
Stir in the mix-in to some (or all) of the dough before you let it rest in the refrigerator. If you're only making a few cookies and want to try out one of these options, I definitely recommend reducing the amount of ingredient you're choosing to mix in. You don't want to overpower the delicate flavors in these tea biscuits.

Oatmeal Cookie Crust

I knew I wanted to make a vegan French silk pie this holiday season (originally, I'd intended to make it for Thanksgiving), but for various reasons, it kept not happening. I even had a pretty tasty gluten-free crust, from the freezer section, on hand for a bit (and that got used for other things too). Alas, when I finally did find the time/energy/resources to make it, I didn't want to replicate a buttery, flakey crust. That 1) didn't seem fun because 2) it's a lot of work when it's also gluten-free.

I looked online for recipes for cookie-based crusts for similar pies and saw a lot for Oreo crusts (because Oreos are chemically vegan), but that doesn't work for a gluten-free diet (not even if you get the wheat-free Newman's, if you're new to gf baking). Then, I started looking for oatmeal cookie crusts (I love oatmeal cookies). Since this was going to be a very sweet pie, I didn't want any of the super-sweet crusts I was seeing and decided to make my own, less sweet, veganized crust.

This is what I came up with instead, loosely based on a straight-up oatmeal cookie recipe. It's lightly salty and holds together pretty well.

Oatmeal Cookie Crust
1/3 cup non-dairy butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp ground flax mixed with 5 tablespoons warm water*
1/4 cup applesauce
2/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt, scant
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground Ceylon cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats

In a saucepan, combine the butter and sugars, and stir until just melted and combined. Remove from heat, and add in remaining ingredients (I used a large enough saucepan, you may need to transfer these to a separate bowl), and mix thoroughly. Grease your hands or the back of a silicone spatula and press into a greased 9" x 11" baking dish, including up the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for about 9-11 minutes, or until edges just begin to brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before adding any fillings.

*This is more than you'd normally use for a flaxseed egg, but you want this dough pliable enough that you can push it throughout the pan

Vegan Peanut Butter Blondies (grain-free too!)

It's been nearly a year since I last updated this blog. It's not that I haven't been cooking and baking a lot -- I have. And, it's not for lack of inspiration about vegan and gluten-free things to make. It's that I've been deciding the personality overhaul of this blog. I'm not "flexitarian" anymore, but it's not wholly accurate to call myself vegan.

A lava flow?! That has nothing to do with this post!
Taken at Craters of the Moon National Park, ID
Summer 2013

I eat vegan, most of the time. But, if a non-meat or cheese (cause I really dislike the taste of meat and most cheeses) happens to have egg in it and it's gluten-free and it's chewy (because omg, chewy not-like-bricks gluten-free items are quite the find), I'll probably make it/eat it (shhh, don't tell), if it's free and going to go to waste otherwise -- so, for instance, if it's free at the soup kitchen or another place my roommates and I can glean from. I recently learned that vitamin D3 comes from an animal source most of the time (industrially, it's apparently produced by exposing lanolin to sun) and that it's in a lot of my cereal and I'm okay with that too, cause cereal is easy when I feel like I'm already out of the house a lot / not cooking much.

I'm still not sure what this will mean for the blog. I won't be removing recipes and I'm not set (yet) on changing the name of the blog. If I do, I'll try to create a fair amount of advance notice.

This recipe is something I recently made, a veganized version of a recipe I posted a few years ago. It uses lentils (?!?) which gives the bars a consistency a little like they have chunky PB in them, and they're super-moist. I didn't get pictures before my housemates inhaled them, but if you make them and want to send me pics, that would be great (and I'm happy to give you photo credit of course!). Otherwise, next time I make these, I'll try to get pictures as soon as I pull them from the oven.

The lentils used in this recipe are brown lentils. They'll hold up better when cooked and are definitely still evident when you eat the blondies.

Peanut Butter Blondies (vegan, grain-free)

1 cup cooked brown lentils (salted)

¾ cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup smooth, natural peanut butter

3 tablespoons garbanzo (or oat*) flour

¼ cup ground flaxseed mixed with ½ cup warm water

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Puree lentils and granulated sugar in a food processor, until moderately smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in remaining ingredients. Stir well and allow to rest for at least half an hour to give the flaxseed and garbanzo flour time to hydrate.

About ten minutes before you want to put the blondies in the oven, begin preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the batter into a greased 11x7 pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes (I'm now baking at high altitude and still learning how to convert back down for baking times!), or until the center feels moderately firm to the touch.

Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

*If you use oats, this is no longer grain free. You could also use coconut flour if you had it on hand. Resist the urge to add any extra water with coconut flour. It's very absorbent. 

Pumpkin Granola with Buckwheat & Pepitas

It seems like over the past few months, pumpkin granola has leaped into the forefront of "it can be paleo and still granola" as well as many "skinny" (aka low-fat / no-fat / we'll prove we can use less or no oil and not use apple sauce") recipes. Certainly, if you got here by googling "pumpkin granola," you probably noticed how many recipes came from this year -- and how many are grain free or say you can use pumpkin instead of canola oil.

These things are not what I was thinking about when I decided I wanted to experiment with a pumpkin granola recipe. Instead, I thought about the granolas I've already made this fall, and how pumpkin granola seemed like a fun and tasty late autumn breakfast. I thought about how much I like pumpkin things (and how my parents didn't make them when I was growing up). I thought about how easy it is to find pumpkin at the store right now, both fresh and in cans.

And I thought, well, why not?

With this recipe, I use buckwheat, a gluten-free (un)grain (we treat it as a grain, but it's technically a psuedo-cereal and not a grain at all). I secretly really wanted to use millet, but I seem to be able to handle millet only in small amounts. Working with buckwheat can be a bit harder -- if you cook it first, it turns into a somewhat gelatinous blob and doesn't look very appealing. Fortunately, it doesn't really need to be cooked beforehand to be soft enough to chew. I used raw buckwheat, as opposed to kasha, because I was going to stick it in the oven anyway, and because kasha tends to be more expensive than regular buckwheat.

Pumpkin seeds add a little additional protein to this granola. I suggest 1/3-1/2 cup because they can be kind of spendy, but feel free to add more if you like -- or to wait and add them until you're ready to eat your granola.

As with most of my recipes now, this is gluten-free and vegan. If you store the granola in an air-tight container (I like storing it in jars), it should keep for about 2 weeks -- if you live in a humid climate, maybe not quite as long.

Pumpkin Granola with Buckwheat & Pepitas
4 cups GF rolled oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3-1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup pumpkin puree mixed with 2/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl, and then add the pumpkin puree mixture. Spread evenly onto a cookie sheet. Bake 40-50 minutes, stirring the granola to break up the pieces about 30 minutes into the baking time. Remove from oven and allow to cool. If the granola still feels wet (and this is dependent on your climate, mostly) once it's cooled completely, return to the oven and bake at 300 for another 15 minutes.

Monster Cookes

How many times have I made Monster Cookies over the past 4 years (since I first learned about them)? More than I'd like to admit. There was a period where I was making them for every bring-something potluck or dinner I went to, and also a period of time where I was making them about once a week for a on-going bake sale fundraiser to support a literary journal (along with cake pops), where I was a member of the staff.

The thing I like about Monster Cookies are that they basically work with what you probably already have in your kitchen -- peanut butter, sugar, oats, butter (or in my case, vegan butter or coconut oil or even just canola oil), eggs (ehm, fake eggs), and chocolate, nuts/seeds, and dried fruit. Or, whatever else you want to throw in them.

I haven't made them since switching to a vegan diet, though I have made vegan monster cookies before. And I haven't tried to consciously make them just a little better for you, while still definitely tasting like an indulgence. To be sure, these are cookies, and they are an indulgence, just so we're all clear. But some indulgences are worse than others, right??

What makes these monster cookies better for you? Well... that's a somewhat subjective question, but these cookies are:

• Gluten-free
• Vegan
• Low in refined sugar (they use agave nectar and the pictured cookies also use Enjoy Life (vegan, gf, soy free) semi-sweet chocolate chunks
• High protein (especially if you add seeds/nuts!)

They're also moderately low fat (only a small amount of oil is needed to help these cookies become chewy and crispy and soft, the perfect combo in my mind) since most of the fat comes from peanut butter. They include whole grains, and they can use dried fruits or nuts of whatever sort makes you happiest.

Monster Cookies (vegan, gluten-free)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
2 flaxseed eggs (2 tablespoons ground flaxseed combined with 6 tablespoons water)
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 1/2 cups gluten-free oats (quick oats works best, but I never have them on hand, so pictured you'll see old-fashioned oats)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups of any combination of the following (or whatever your heart desires): VGF chocolate chunks/chips, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, raisins, chopped peanuts, VGF candy-coated chocolate (i.e. - sunspire drops), coconut flakes, slivered almonds, banana chips, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, agave nectar, coconut oil, flax eggs, and apple sauce, and stir until well mixed. Add the oaths, baking soda, salt, and fruit/nut/chocolate combo. Stir well.

Allow the dough to rest for 20-30 minutes (especially important if you're using old-fashioned oats, because this allows them to become a little softer). Scoop the dough, by 1/4 cupfuls onto a baking sheet that has been lightly greased, or lined with parchment. Cook 12-15 minutes and allow to cool another 3-5 minutes on the cookie sheet, before trying to remove them.

Serve, or allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container for 3-5 days.

NOTE: You can also make smaller cookies (say 2 tablespoons, 1/8 cup). If you opt for this, keep an eye on them while they cook and reduce cooking time to 10-12 minutes. They should be golden brown around the edges when they are ready.

Sweet and Fluffy Coconut Cornbread

Confession: I grew up not eating sweet cornbread. In the south, sweet cornbread is well, a bit blasphemous. It wasn't until I left my parents' house that I got sweet cornbread on a regular basis. Does that mean that I love sweet cornbread? Hardly. Pretty frequently, I opt instead for a spicy cornbread with whole kernel corn and jalapenos.


But, today seemed like a good day for a nice, warm sweet cornbread that I could pair with a vaguely chili-like stew. A friend of mine recently attempted to make a coconut cornbread that used coconut flakes and coconut oil -- and was disappointed that the coconut flavor didn't come through very strongly. I wanted to increase the coconut flavor (you should think coconut! when you taste this) when I worked with this recipe. The trickiest part was figuring out how much liquid to use (I guess coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid -- this definitely used more water than I expected and you should see my note below about this, in case it was my cornmeal and not my flour greedily hogging water).

This is a vegan, gluten-free recipe that gets baked in an 8 x 8 baking dish, though I imagine it would also do well if you cooked it in a cast iron skillet (and it would probably have a better crust on the skillet side!). Serve it with a hearty stew for dinner, eat it as a snack, or pour some warm milk on it and serve it as a warm cereal for breakfast -- whatever makes you happy.

Coconut Cornbread
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 cup finely ground cornmeal
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup agave nectar
1 cup water
1/3 cup coconut, almond, or soy milk
2 tablespoons vegan buttery spread (or coconut oil)
1 tablespoon canola oil

2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons flax + 6 tablespoons warm water)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the dry ingredients (coconut flour through salt) together in a medium-sized bowl. In a small saucepan, over low heat, mix together the agave nectar, water, milk, buttery spread, and canola oil. Once the buttery spread has just melted, add the flax eggs to the liquid mixture, and then add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir until smooth (note: you might need to add up to another 1/2 cup of water -- you want a batter that is a little thicker than cake batter).

Pour the cornbread mixture into a greased 8 x 8 pan, and bake for about 25 minutes, until it is golden brown on top, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Chocolate Orange Granola

I know, I know, you were thinking it'd been far too long since the last granola post, right?

I've started seeing Terry's Chocolate Oranges in the stores (and knock-off versions as well), and that reminded me of how, growing up, my dad and I would each receive a chocolate orange in our stockings at Christmas. I still enjoy the flavor of chocolate and orange together, at least from time to time, and because today is grey and gloomy (though also windy and warm, and beautiful in a slightly spooky way) it seemed like a good morning to try making chocolate orange granola.

As with my other granolas, this one isn't terribly sweet. If you like it sweeter, increase the sugar or agave nectar (in the directions, I'll have the amount I recommend increase in parentheses). The orange flavor is subtle, but then again, you probably don't want to overwhelm your tastebuds with super-duper-orange OMG goodness, or you'll cancel out the chocolate flavor.

The chocolate is also a moderately subtle flavor in this granola, which means you can actually still taste the oats and buckwheat groats -- which I appreciate, since they add their own complexity to the cereal. I bake this granola at a much lower temperature than most granolas I make since it does use cocoa powder and I definitely do not want that to scorch. If you decide to go with a little higher heat (like if you're crunched for time, I recommend not above 325, and stir more frequently).

Chocolate Orange Granola
4 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup buckwheat groats (not toasted)
1/2 cup brown sugar (2/3 cup if you prefer sweeter granola)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons agave nectar (3-4 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon salt
10-15 drops pure orange oil

1/2 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine all the ingredients except the water in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the water and stir until all the oats are evenly coated and moist. Spread the granola out on a cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every fifteen minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Granola should be crispy when cool. Store in an air-tight container.

Product Review: Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks

Confession: I prefer using chocolate chunks in my baking over normal-sized chocolate chips. To me, it's more satisfying to bite into a chunk of chocolate, compared to a chocolate chip. The exception to this might be mini-chips, because you're pretty much guaranteed to get several in every bite.

Since one of my local grocers had the Enjoy Life (dairy, gluten, soy-free chocolates) semi-sweet chunks on sale, and because I have previously reviewed their mini chips, a quick note about the chunks seemed appropriate.

First of all, I find the white bag visually appealing on the store shelf. It's easy to spot, and sets these chocolate chunks apart from the browns and yellows that predominant the chocolate chips section of my local grocer. Score one point for that. I like it when I can quickly find the product I want -- it lets me escape the people who like to leave their carts blocking an entire aisle all the faster!

The chunks themselves aren't as MEGA as the bag would have you believe -- they're smaller than chocolate chunks I've purchased from other companies, which makes me a little sad, but at least they're still chunks! They have a nice, rich chocolate flavor and the ingredient list is short (if you don't understand the benefit of this, take a look at the ingredient list for any store brand of chocolate and see what I mean). These are friendly to all but the strictest vegans, and gluten-free (hooray! not all chocolate is gluten-free, which makes me sad). They aren't fair trade (or at least weren't when I checked in August and the bag still indicates they aren't), but the company assured me when I reviewed the mini chips that they work with the farmers.

I'm a skeptic on this point. But, hopefully they really are working in that direction and one day I can post an update that tells a different story.

 

Would I buy these again? Yes. Since they're spendy, I'd probably only buy these again when they're on sale. A fair number of chocolates are effectively vegan (though if you know someone very sensitive to lactose, you'd want to make sure they had chocolate that wasn't processed on machines that also process dairy) in that they don't contain animal products and gluten-free. But, with the sale at my grocer this week, this was cheaper than any of my other chocolate options.

Cocoa Roasted Almonds

 Flavored nuts seem incredibly popular right now. Where I last worked, we often had a spicy chili-lime almond available, as well as toffee and mocha almonds. These made a nice snack, and, frankly can be pretty addictive (at least if you're me) -- but also a bit spendy, which is a problem on a small budget.

Fortunately, they can also still be (not too bad?) good for you because nuts are packed with protein and minerals. Almonds, in particular, work well because they're already naturally a little sweet and they don't seem to scorch as easily as some other nuts (walnuts, I'm looking at you!).

I had the chance to try straight cocoa roasted almonds after a martial arts seminar -- they're a great energy boost, and the small amount of quick sugar is nice after an intense workout. But, as Chelsey (whose post inspired the particulars of my version) points out, most of the commercial brands contains modified food starch of one type or another. I share her sentiment why?? modified food starch? Why?

I still use a highly processed flour here (sweet white rice flour), but I'm going to hold that that's still better than a modified version of a starch that's already starchy. It's not the by-product of a by-product. I opted for sweet white rice flour because it's already naturally a little sweet and very glutinous, which will help the cocoa powder bind with the agave.

That's right, this uses agave. It's vegan friendly, gluten-free, and has a lower glycemic count than the same snack made with many other sweeteners. If you have the option, buy your almonds in the bulk section of your local grocer -- it's probably cheaper than buying a bag of them and depending on your particular grocery store (and the time of year) the bulk almonds are likely a little fresher.

Cocoa Roasted Almonds
1 1/2 cups raw almonds
1 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon sweet white rice flour (really, any flour would work)

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. In a small bowl coat the almonds with the agave nectar, stirring until the almonds are evenly coated. Set aside while you combine the cocoa powder and white rice flour in a separate small bowl. Add the almonds to the cocoa powder mixture and stir until the almonds are evenly coated. Spread the coated almonds onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silpat. Roast for 25 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes so the chocolate doesn't scorch. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Cranberry Orange Scones

Cranberry Orange Scones (Vegan, GF)

It's been a long time since I made scones -- almost 18 months! That's far too long, and it makes me a bit sad (okay, so really only a year since I made any type of scone). This basic recipe is one of my favorites, and now I've modified it to be vegan in addition to making it gluten-free.

When I first posted the basis for this recipe,I hadn't been eating GF for very long. I used Bob's Red Mill flour, and was incredibly excited when the recipe turned out edible. Now, I'm more confident in baking GF and I experimented with the flours some. Generally, if you're creating your own GF blend a 70:30 (flours to starches) ratio works pretty well. This recipe hits that pretty close, though it's a bit higher on starches, which causes the scones to be reminiscent of sweet English tea biscuits.

If you're already baking GF, there's a good chance you have these flours in your pantry. If not, you can find them online (like anything else) or in most grocery stores, on the baking aisle. Xantham gum might be the tricky thing to find (and I actually don't love using it -- you're welcome to try the recipe without it. It works, but is a bit more crumbly.) and this too is pretty readily available now.

Scones remind me of breakfast with friends in the Midwest. The last time I made these, I created a glaze for the top using citrus juice and powdered sugar. I don't have powdered sugar on hand and it didn't seem worth buying for just this recipe, but if you want a slightly sweeter scone, I recommend it.

Cranberry Orange Scones
1/2 cup sweet white rice flour
1/2 cup sweet white sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon xantham gum
1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup soy milk combined with 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice to produce "soy buttermilk"
1 tablespoon flax seed mixed with 2 tablespoons warm water

Optional Quick Cranberry Sauce (you can use sauce leftover from another project or meal too!)
6 ounces fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate
1 tablespoon agave nectar

Place rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. 

 If you don't have leftover cranberry sauce, combine all ingredients from the Optional Quick Cranberry Sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat. Allow to cook, stirring frequently, for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the scones.

Unbaked

In a mixing bowl, sift together flousr, xantham gum, sugar, orange zest, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. In another bowl, combine  soy buttermilk and flax seed mixture, then  beat lightly with a fork. Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft dough. 

Turn out onto a lightly floured board (I used a little bit of sweet rice flour) and knead a few times to make sure the dough isn't too sticky -- it should hold together without sticking to your hands, but it shouldn't crack around the edges either. Roll or pat out into a 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into 8 large or 12 small squares. On half the squares, spread a thin amount of cranberry sauce(amount will depend on the size square you’re using and how much jam you want. I make small squares and use about 1 tablespoon sauce per finished scone). Place the remaining, squares on top to make a “sandwich.” Place scones on prepared baking sheet. and bake at 425 degrees F for 12-15 minutes, until they just begin to turn golden. 

Up Close, Golden Brown and Ready to Eat!

Curried Red Lentil Stew with Winter Veggies

So, it's the beginning of flu season. This means people around me are sick. And by people around me, not even necessarily people I know -- in the grocery store the other day, I saw someone who looked like she was about to pass out (pale features, sheen of sweat, red nose, bundled up far more than the temperatures outside called for). Cold and flu season makes me want to eat things that are going to help boost my immunity (and, let's face it, that are just plain good for me).

And, since the days are more frequently cool / cloudy / wet, I want to consume warm things -- stews, soups, bakes. teas & coffee, etc.

This is where a curried red lentil stew comes in. This particular stew has onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, lentils (hooray protein!!), dark green veggies*, and more immune-system boosting goodness. Regardless of whether any of these actually help me stay healthy during the winter months I like to imagine they do -- and it creating a large batch of this stew provides me with several days of quick, healthy meals.

I ate this alongside a gluten-free flat bread (that turned out crispier than I would have liked), but it would also go well with brown rice or a nice pliable flat bread, like pita. If you want to up the spice (again, this might depend on the curry powder you choose), add a pinch of red pepper flakes at the same time you add the lentils.

Thick Red Curry with Winter Veggies

Curried Red Lentil Stew with Winter Veggies

2 teaspoons oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium sweet potato, chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1-inch piece ginger, minced

1 cup fresh cauliflower florets

2 tablespoons curry powder**

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (optional)

3 dried curry leaves (or 1 bay leaf)

1 cup red lentils

3 1/2 cups water

1 cup fresh kale, chopped

Warm the oil in a medium-sized soup pan, over medium-high heat. Add the onion, sweet potato, and salt, and saute 4-5 minutes, until the onion and sweet potato begin to brown. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and ginger. Saute another 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except the kale, bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Cover and allow to simmer 18-20 minutes, until the cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and lentils are soft. 

Stir in the chopped kale and remove from the heat. As soon as the kale has wilted (this took less than a minute for my curly kale), taste and add salt, if necessary. Serve hot.

Special Notes:

*I also chopped some of the green parts of the cauliflower -- about 1/2 cup worth, and added those. Biting into them was a bit like biting into a piece of cabbage in the stew, and something I would do again, but this is definitely up to you. If you do add them, add them 2-3 minutes before you add the kale and before you take the stew off the heat.

**I use a medium-hot curry powder with a moderately high ratio of turmeric. If you use a sweet curry powder, start with 1 tablespoon and add more toward the end, if you desire. As always, it's easier to add than to take away!

Chocolate Mint Granola

You might say that I'm on a bit of a granola kick. This is, as I explained in a previous post, partly because I now live in an area where my GF cereal of choice isn't as cheap as I'm used to and I'm living on a fairly small budget. Granola, of course, is a little more expensive to make than just eating oatmeal, but it's also more satisfying when I want something crunchy (or if I just don't want hot cereal). Plus, during these cooler months of the year, it's an excuse to turn on the oven for an hour or so while creating something useful.

I'd been wanting to make a chocolate mint granola for a while -- in part because I love mint patties, but no longer eat them for a variety of reasons, and in part because I have mint extract from my green-mint smoothie phase earlier this year. I wanted to make it gluten-free, of course, and also vegan since I've embarked on eating mostly vegan.

This granola, like my others, isn't overly sweet, but if you drink vanilla soy / coconut /almond milk it is just sweet enough, and almost exactly the flavor of eating mint patties. For the record, I use organic spearmint extract when I make this granola, but I imagine it would turn out similarly using a peppermint extract. Note, these are both different than using mint oil. Baking Bites has a great article about the differences, that I won't rehash here -- but you should check it out. I like adding lentils to the granola, to increase the complexity of my morning meal, but you could omit them if you wanted (just skip those steps in the recipe below). I also like eating this with pumpkin seeds or sunflower kernels.

This would make a wonderful surprise breakfast for your kiddos who really, really want that chocolate sugary cereal from the grocery store since it's pretty much fat-free, doesn't contain much sugar, and still tastes like chocolate. Or, you could make a double-batch and wrap it up in pretty jars and give it as a holiday gift. Or, you could just make some for yourself, a small indulgence.

Yum! Chocolate Mint Granola (with red lentils)

Chocolate Mint Granola
1/3 cup split red lentils, boiled in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes and allowed to rest in hot water for 20-30 minutes (optional)

3 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure mint extract (note, this is different than oil)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Mix together your oats, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium-size mixing bowl.

Dry Ingredients

If using lentils, add the mint extract and agave nectar to the lentils and mix well (otherwise, mix the agave and mint extract together in a separate bowl with 1/3 cup warm water). Add the lentils, and their liquid, to the oat mixture. Stir until the oats are evenly moist.

Spread the granola on a baking sheet, and place in the oven. Bake for about 1 hour, stirring every 15-20 minutes, until the oats have turned dry and crispy* (in moist climates, this may take a little longer). Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

*Note: As with other granolas, it's important to remember that the oats will continue to turn crispy as they dry. If you have some oats that are not completely dry, but others that area, you can turn the granola once more time and then turn off the oven. In another 20-30 minutes, your oats should all be crispy.

Product Review: Whole Foods Grind-Your-Own Chocolate Peanut Butter

On a whim, I recently bought a small container of Whole Foods' grind-your-own chocolate peanut butter. Why, you might ask?

Why not?

At my Whole Foods -- and maybe this is the standard -- the grind-your-own chocolate peanut butter uses vegan, gluten-free chocolate chips (hooray!). The balance in the machine appears to be mostly peanuts with a handful of chocolate chips -- you can see there is chocolate in there, but it doesn't look like nearly enough to produce anything chocolatey.

But, when I hit the start button on the machine, the peanut butter that came out was a lovely dark brown.

The peanut butter itself isn't overwhelmingly chocolate-flavored, but there are distinct chocolate notes -- in fact it's moderately chocolatey (unless you're a dedicated choco-holic) which is nice for a small I-want-something-different treat (especially on banana chips!). The grind for the machines I used was set to create smooth peanut butter, which meant that however many chocolate chips I got were well-incorporated. It's definitely less chocolate-flavored than something like Nutella or the chocolate peanut butters by Peanut Butter & Co.

The price: reasonable at $3.99/lb -- the same price as the other grind-your-own nut butters (almond, peanut butter, and honey-roasted peanut butter) on the day I visited.

Would I buy this again? Possibly. While I love chocolate & peanut butter (when I'm in the mood for either), this is an indulgence as I don't see a practical use in my life for chocolate peanut butter on any regular basis. I can mix chocolate into peanut butter on my own, if I really want it right this minute, and I prefer almond and sunflower seed butters. I like that it's vegan and gluten-free (some chocolate chips aren't). I like that this peanut butter can be made ground fresh and bought in whatever quantity I desire.

But, those probably aren't enough things to cause me to run back to Whole Foods as soon as I'm done with the chocolate peanut butter I currently have, or to push me to purchase more at any point in the near future.

Orange-Lentil Granola

Orange-Lentil Granola

Regular readers, you might have noticed I was absent for a while. A fairly long while, compared to this spring. I was in the middle of another move, and now that I'm settled I hope (plan) to start posting more regularly again. I appreciate your patience and the handful of kind notes I got asking where I'd been.

Shortly after moving to my new place, I discovered a lack of (affordable) stick-with-you / nutrient-dense gluten-free cereals. I'd been spoiled by having a CSA share (sauteed veggies for breakfast most days) and access to cheap(er) cereals over the past year. To compensate, since I'm trying to survive on a really small budget, I started making granola again, and now make it a couple times a week. That much granola can be, well, a little boring.

That's what inspired this vegan, gluten-free granola, which has just a slight hint of orange. I don't like my granola particularly sweet, but if you do, add a little more brown sugar or a hit of agave to it. You might also experiment with the amount of orange you add. I use pure orange oil, so a 1/4 teaspoon works well. One of my testers though, used an orange extract and suggested that 1/2 teaspoon would be more appropriate. It's absolutely fine to taste it before you stick it in the oven, and add more orange flavoring, if you like.

The lentils in this granola add a lovely splash of color and a hint of protein. Soaking the lentils, as I suggest in the recipe (or boiling them for about 5 minutes, and then draining them) is essential. You'll (probably) get really gassy otherwise and they'll definitely crunch a lot when you bite into them. Be sure you use split red lentils.

This would be perfect to make a few days in advance of Thanksgiving, so you don't have to think about it on Black Friday morning, when everyone is feeling possibly-still-a-little-gross from the day before -- or something that you can make a lot of and put in mason jars as gifts for the winter holidays!

If you do decide to make this recipe in larger quantities, I find about 3 cups of oats per baking sheet works pretty well.

Orange-Lentil Granola
1/3 cup red lentils3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup hot water (near boiling)

2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 teaspoon pure orange oil

Mix all the dry ingredients ingredients together. Add the hot water and the oils, and mix thoroughly. Allow to rest 30 minutes to an hour (this will start to soften the lentils). Spread the granola mixture on a baking sheet and bake in a 300 degree oven for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the oats have turned golden and most are crispy.* Store in an airtight container.

*If some aren't crispy, they'll continue to harden as they dry. As long as the majority of your oats have begun to crisp, and you don't have any huge lumps of granola-cluster, you should be fine.

Orange-Lentil Granola, with dried cranberries

The pictures in this post are courtesy of Nick Clift.

Autumn Muffins (GF and Vegan)

Dog, seen on bike ride

Until recently, I worked at an Inn, where I made breakfast for people a lot. I love this work, because as you're probably aware (if you're a regular reader), I enjoy feeding people and forming a connection with others and with the environment via the things we put in our bodies. For me, cooking for others -- and eating with others -- creates a sense of community that I think is often overlooked in the way we usually run our lives. Unfortunately, a lot of the time at the inn, I made one of a dozen or so dishes and it quickly becomes pretty routine. I didn't always get to talk to our guests after they've finished their meal (there are so many things to do at an inn!), and I only had the opportunity to try one new recipe on guests (and this isn't it).

Happily, however, one of my co-workers (we'll call her J) and I started eating brunch together after work about once a week -- it was a wonderful opportunity for us to just relax, to talk about life, and generally hang out. We worked together in the kitchen, lovely change from the Sunday evening cooking I do for a handful of friends, and reminiscent of the Friday breakfasts I shared with friends when I lived in the Midwest.

Tree, no pretty leaves yet...

These breakfasts also presented an opportunity for me to actually feel inspired to try new things, or to make modifications to recipes I didn't like as much the first time around but see potential in. That's what happened with these muffins, which were inspired by a non-vegan recipe from my food co-op. These muffins are moist and taste like autumn -- perfect as the weather starts too cool off. Lately, I've even seen a few trees with red and yellow leaves!

We had these vegan, gluten-free muffins with a lovely veggie saute, made entirely with veggies from J's garden. They rise well, are moist, and hold together nicely (especially for a gluten-free product). If you decided to make these in loaf pans, you could definitely do that and because it holds together well, you could probably turn it into french toast (easier if you're not vegan). Afterward, we went for a bike ride together, and these muffins combined with the veggies, gave us plenty of energy for a 20 mile trip.

Don't let the ingredient list intimidate you. If you're already gluten-free, you probably have many of these ingredients around -- and if you're not, but are cooking for someone who is, these ingredients are available at most grocery stores. If you like nuts (I don't in baked goods), consider sprinkling a few chopped walnuts on the top of the muffins before throwing them in the oven.

Autumn Muffins (Gluten-Free)
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 medium, overripe banana, well mashed
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup water
15 ounces roasted butternut squashed (mashed)
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup quinoa or millet flour
2 teaspoons guar gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped dates, raisins, or dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil muffin tins*, or line with paper liners. Beat flax seed, banana, oil, agave, and water until creamy. Fold in butternut squash.

In a separate bowl, sift together all dry ingredients (brown rice flour through nutmeg). Fold the wet and dry ingredients together. Fold in coconut and dried fruit. The batter should be pretty thick, but add more water if it's the consistency of extra-firm cookie dough. Divide batter into muffin cups (3/4 full). Bake 25-30 minutes, until tops begin to brown and spring back lightly when touched. Allow to cool for five minutes before removing from the pan.

Serve warm. Store in an airtight container, and refrigerate after the first day. Keeps 2-3 weeks in the freezer.

*I come out with 12 regular sized muffins, plus 1 mini-loaf (which cooks another 10-15 minutes.

The Muffins!

Gluten-Free Lifestyle

I've received a few questions from people lately about why I'm gluten-free, and it's a topic that seems like it's discussed more often than even just a few years ago. In fact, the podcast Stuff Mom Never Told You recently ran an episode that explains, in laymen's terms, the concept of a gluten-free lifestyle (or reduced gluten), with a particular emphasis on Celiac's disease.

Last spring, I started to notice that I was having a lot of stomach issues that I won't go into, and feeling extremely lethargic. I've had friends (including a former roommate) who are either gluten-intolerant, or have full-blown Celiac's. I've also had friends who discovered later in life that they were lactose-intolerant. These friends all described a variety of symptoms that at least somewhat matched mine.

Milk Bottling

Due to a general lack of insurance, I decided not to go get expensive testing done, but instead try an elimination diet (ehm, not a true elim diet -- I started by just stopping my gluten consumption entirely which caused me to realize how abundant it is). I started with eliminating gluten instead of milk products because I was really, really hoping it would be gluten. I kinda love yogurt. A lot.


And after three weeks, it seemed like it was, in fact, a gluten-problem. My stomach problems mostly cleared up and I had more energy. Since I don't eat many processed foods, I don't think it was just eating fewer processed foods that did the trick.

So, I haven't gone back to eating gluten. I am careful to make sure I'm eating enough iron from other sources, and to eat nutritional yeast (a good source of B vitamins) regularly, because people who opt for a gluten-free lifestyle can have problems with getting enough of both of these nutrients. I'm eating more whole foods, for sure because buying highly processed gluten-free bread products is super expensive, and there are foods I miss (like a really delightfully chewy baguette!), but for the most part, I'm figuring out how to create the things I truly miss using gluten-free options.

That's also why I try to maintain this blog on a regular basis. It's important to add voices and resources to the gluten-free community, especially for people who are just venturing into a GF lifestyle, or who suddenly need to create a dish for someone who is gluten-free (or, gluten-free and vegan!). There are people who've been doing it for much longer, for sure, and there are other terrific gluten-free blogs out there that are solely gluten-free and always have been. That's not true for me. If you look back at my archives, you'll notice recipes that contain gluten. In fact, my most popular recipe from week to week, and of all time (based on number of hits and search engine key words) is for a gluten-based recipe for Reese's PB Cup cupcakes.

A pretty landscape!

I think that's okay. Part of what I started this blog for was to talk about what it meant to be flexitarian -- to only eat meat as a condiment, or to be a not-overly-picky vegetarian (what, this is cooked with chicken stock? From a chicken that was formerly scratching about your yard [or not]? Well...okay....). What it meant to transition from one lifestyle to another. If you're a regular reader, you'll notice that same kind of transition as I start writing about gluten-free recipes, and increasingly, creating gluten-free and vegan recipes. Understanding the process of transition, especially if you're transitioning your diet as well, is important to making yourself a food-conscious consumer.

Please note: I don't advocate a gluten-free lifestyle for everyone. If you don't need it (and it has become a fad diet), you really should consult a nutritionist if it's still something you want to do. With veganism, I urge you to be conscious about the amount of processing that goes into some of the products you likely consume -- I'm thinking specifically of milk product alternatives. If you don't have a medical reason to avoid diary (for instance), it might be better to focus on minimally processed foods that were raised in a healthy, respectful way -- regardless of whether you choose to consume meat. My friend Marissa blogs about moving from a vegetarian lifestyle to eating meat for ethical reasons.