Gotta Try Pecan/Pumpkin Pie - This Year's Thanksgiving Test Recipe

2013 - Last Years Post, getting Thanksgiving planning done early.  

Pecan Pumpkin Pie.  My family will hate this... they prefer no nuts in anything.    But sometimes I must bake to please myself.  

• Mix the following ingredients together and pour over a gf crust.  
• 2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Then mix the following together and pour over the pecan mix in the pie shell.  

• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons g/f flour (rice flour works) 
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 
  

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, or until set.  

Yup, I was right.  The family hates it, but I am in pecan pumpkin happy land.  I get a whole entire pie to myself and I'm enjoying it.  Great recipe I'd say.

Cranberry Fudge Recipe Evaluation

How To Seasonally Diet Successfully--Go to Lots of Parties!  

It's sounds so crazy, but this food philosophy works for me.

It's so hard to evaluate Christmas treat recipes while on a food refit!  It technically called a diet, but the word diet has taken on a whole new meaning than just going without food to lose weight. Diet means I'm modifying my food habits to promote health.

Once again, everything aches, so to improve my joint function and lower inflammation, I'm trying something different.  But the food refit bans all sugar!   I know, crazy to attempt this during the holidays, but I'm really just hoping to minimize the damages.
Not to worry!  Today I'm baking for a party tonight, so I feel confident that I have a place to deliver the results and still keep an eye on my prize.

http://www.momontimeout.stfi.re/2013/11/white-chocolate-cranberry-fudge/?sf=aorbgnr#aa

Let's see how it turns out?

This fudge has a different texture than typical fudge.  It is creamy, yet has more of the feel of divinity but not as solid.  I enjoy it, but think that I may like it more with lots more cranberries.  I like the zip and tang of the berries contrasting with the sweetness.

Will I make it again?  We'll see.  It's not my most favorite, but we'll see how much of a crowd-pleaser it is tonight when I present them at the party.

G-F White Chicken Chili & GF Mission Tortillas

Boil the heck outta the roteisserie chicken carcass and throw in some beans and have a delicious chicken chili amidst all the water falling, running, rolling and draining across Oklahoma tonight.


Saute in 1 tablespoon oil
1 large onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1 jalapeno minced

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon Tajin seasoning ( chili and lime seasoning--my new favorite--we'll talk more later about this marvel.)
1 tablespoon cumin

4 cups chicken broth (Use the liquid from the boiled chicken)
1/4 cup cilantro fresh chopped

2 14 oz. cans white beans
1 rotesserie chicken deboned and choppedYES!  I'm serving it with GF Tortillas that I love.  These have to be purchased in the West as they are not yet available anywhere else.  They are as close to the real thing as I can find ($4.88 Walmart Neighborhood Market) and so I had a bunch flown in (with the daughter from Utah).  They fold nicely, freeze great, heat well and are delicious.

I thought we were ready for salad season.  With 14 inches of rain this month, I guess soup's still on for a while yet.










Photo courtesy of OkCity Channel 9 news

Cross Country Car Food

reposted from 3-02-09

Over the past ten years, we have regularly traveled 1200 gluten-free miles, cross-country in a car with kids. Our last trip was #50 FIFTY!

As we are getting ready to go again, I've resurrected my lists from the depths of my files. I count five different ones. Either I can't ever find them in my file, or I often feel the need to reinvent the wheel.

Here is my consolidated list of travel foods that I pack or, in a pinch, purchase to minimize the mayhem as we travel.

I bake and pack homemade snacks, GF crackers and cookies. Some that travel well are:

Granola bars http://gluten-free-reality.blogspot.com/2008/09/quinoa-granola-bars.html
Ranger cookies http://gluten-free-reality.blogspot.com/2009/03/ranger-cookies.html
Peanut butter bars http://gluten-free-reality.blogspot.com/2008/09/peanut-butter-bars.html
GF Chex Mix http://www.chex.com/Recipes/CategoryView.aspx?CategoryId=447&t=5
Puff rice balls

I pack granola for me and take a box of Nature's Path Mesa Sunrise or Erewhon's brown rice as breakfast cereal for the children. I rely on the milk from the motel's breakfast bar and since we can't eat the waffles, bagles, doughnuts and bread at the continental bar, I don't feel a bit bad as we glug their juice and decimate their fresh fruit supply.

I am not always at my peak for planning and sometimes I race to the store to make fast purchases when I find that time has escaped and my 12 hour packing window has dwindled to two.

baby carrots
raw almonds
Frigo string cheese
Fritos
Cheetos
EnerG pretzels
Blue Diamond Almond Crackers
MiDel ginger snaps

We now limit our stops at Wendys along the way for select salads, potatoes and their chili and frosties after we found that fast food coupled with far distances doesn't bode well for anyone's digestion.

Good luck and I wish you safe and happy travel.

A more comprehensive list? http://gluten-free-reality.blogspot.com/2008/09/as-of-february-2007-disclaimer-verify.html

GF Meatballs and Spaghetti Marinara

G-F meatballs product review and recipe for homemade.  I mixed up a new recipe for meatballs and found one already posted. 

Oddly enough, the one I made up is the same as the old one, meat, g-f crumbs and seasonings.  Creepy, I know.

When I'm out of time, I buy them at the Sams Club.  But they are lots less expensive homemade, and every new year I have a spate of bad bread baking and end up inventing bread crumb recipes..  So there you go! I'm frugal in spite of forgetful.

Today, I'm putting them in bbq sauce, so that's different right?

________________________________

First invented and posted in  2009 - so what? I've slept since then.

It's been a while since I attempted homemade GF meatballs, but the freezer is bursting with bread crumbs (botched GF bread crumbles so nicely), so today is the day I exchange the bursting from crumbs to meatballs. It was easier than I thought.

2 lbs burger meat (beef, turkey, elk, doesn't matter)

1/2 cup sauteed onion with

2 tsp. garlic

2 eggs

2 cups g-f cracker/bread crumbs (whichever you have filling the freezer.)

1 tsp salt (if you used unsalted crumbs)

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Melange together and form into balls. I fried them in a tablespoon of oil last time, but this time I baked at 350 on a cookie sheet 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Also can be baked 15 minutes, then cooled and frozen in a tight container for up to 6 weeks. Bake a remaining 15 minutes when ready to serve.

Rats! The pantry is not bursting in Spaghetti Sauce, in fact, there is none, so I'm making that too. I promised myself that I would start mixing up my own when I used the end of the case of Hunts. It's time!

Gluten-free Reality's White Bean Penne Carbonara

A recent Wall Street Journal article focused on replacing fat with delicious.  I was really impressed  by

 the idea that  less fat could be equally as delicious because the recipe uses white bean puree.

   

Read the whole article here.  

My version of the WSJ's 'Fettuccine Carbonara'

1 head of garlic, thinly sliced and lightly saute'd (not just a clove) in 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can (14 oz.) white beans 
¾ cup chicken/veggie stock

2/3 cup frozen green peas, 

1/2 lb. kale, diced   (I blanch this for a minute in with the hot pasta water to remove the bitter--makes it delicious!)

Salt and pepper

8 ounces cooked fettuccine (I used penne - see my new favorite brand from Costco TruRoots)

6 oz. jar of artichoke hearts, drained (mine were marinated and the bite was obvious, yet tasty). 

1 cup sliced ham trimmed into long sticks

fresh parmesan to sprinkle atop

What To Do

1. Peel and dice the garlic cloves and saute for a minute in the oil.  Toss into a blender or food processor with the can of beans and purée while adding stock in a steady stream, until it reaches a creamy, sauce-like consistency . 
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to instructions on package. (Don't forget to blanch the kale for a minute in the hot water.  It's bitter and can be too strong otherwise.  

3. In a medium-size pan, heat bean purée until warm. Add pasta, sliced ham, chopped kale, artichokes and peas and stir to combine.  Divide among four serving bowls. Garnish with parmesan and pepper to taste.

Reality Bite:  Warning, ham is salty, so don't overseason -- and DON't let the auto-condimentors in your household either! 

Red Chicken Curry G-F

Fast and Easy curried chicken with a five minute sauce blend--NO CHOPPING.

http://www.redstarrecipe.com/2013/10/slow-cooker-coconut-chicken-curry.html

My G-F Reality is that we don't always have time for the slow cooker, but this quick curried chicken recipe is a delicious main meal cooked either way.

I cracked the crock from my pot so thinking out of the box I began boiling chicken in water while steaming the rice and blended the sauce.  After five minutes or so, I put the partially cooked/drained/diced chicken in an oven dish, poured the sauce over and popped it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes.  Just 10 minutes prep, while I steamed rice and heated freezer veggies, and I'm set.

Quick and easy.

Recipe Modified: 
The only thing I changed on the recipe?  I used hot red curry from the India for the typical grocery store curry so I left out the red peppers.   And it seemed thick enough so I left out the corn starch and water.

Final Touch?

After it was cooked, something was missing... couldn't quite place it.  Just seemed too sharp at the end... hard to explain, but it made me unable to gobble this until I was sick.   I stirred in a tablespoon of honey.  That did it.  Smoothed out the finish and made it unable to put down.  Delicious.

Can't waaaaait to eat--it smells divine!

http://www.redstarrecipe.com/2013/10/slow-cooker-coconut-chicken-curry.html

PHOTO COMING !!!   I promise.

G-F Graham Crackers (Living Without Recipe)

Made the cheesecake again for the  Welcome-Home-China-Girl party and this time I used the recipe from Living Without for graham crackers.  When I made them, they crumbled totally--either my guar gum is not gummy enough, or there is not enough gum in the recipe.

Precooked, the dough looks the same as baked.

The flavor is the closest I've come to real graham crackers but the texture...

I'll try them again sometime, but for now, they suit the purpose perfectly!  CRUMBS!!!

NEW GRAINS PRODUCT REVIEW

There are a myriad of new gluten-free product labels out there that profess to be a good as "the real thing".  I've found one that lives up to it's reputation for great gf food.

New Grains out of Provo, Utah is my new best favorite.

I first stopped at a grocery store in Utah and grabbed a loaf of multigrain for an impromptu picnic.  I had no expectations and just thought I'd be lucky to gag down another gf loaf.  PLEASANTLY surprised!  I was delighted to be able to luck onto a good loaf.  I passed it to the daughter to do the week-long fridge test.  Would it be as good tomorrow, the next day, the next?  YES!

Totally put it down to an auspicious twinkle in my life force and promptly forgot.    My next encounter with the food  label was back in Oklahoma, when a friend flew cross-country with a delectable cookie she had to bring me.  Yup, New Grains' pink frosted sugar cookie.  HMmmmm two for two.  Rare!

FREEZER TEST?  Back in Utah at the next visit, Mommy brings me a loaf of cinnamon bread she has reserved from her freezer.  And like the Albert Brooks and Debbie Reynolds comedy, I'd assumed it would be the freezer cheese situation.   AH, NOT So!   Again Delicious.    Third time a charm?

Nope, last week spent the week traveling through Southern Utah and it's beautific charms, but was totally charmed by the food efforts of the son-in-law's brothers.  (I know, confusing.)  It was their day to cook lunch and they made up New Grain's Mix for Crepe's and I was blown away!  Crepes, and g-f from a package?  NO WAY.  They were foldable, non-crumble, sturdy yet not gummy.

This is it.  Four for Four!   I'm very impressed by this product and company.  Can't wait to try more.

Cinquepalmi's Sorghum Cook Book

First posted on June 28, 2008   Sorghum Flour Baking Cookbook

I DID IT! I was cynical about spending about $105.00 to drive 150 miles to this gluten free class but I must say, it was money well spent!

We gorged on teff blueberry waffles, wraps, chocolate cake, sandwich bread, and crackers that were delicious! If I figure it right, it was just about as expensive as eating out at a really good gluten-free restaurant, watching the chef make them and then asking for the recipes. AND THEN GETTING THEM.

You know, I'm a haphazard baker at best, but even when I ripped home and made my version of the cracker recipe, by adding 50% too much butter and then the wrong flour measurement, and then evened it out by adding starches in the wrong increments, EVEN THEN, the crackers were delicious. Light, crunchy, crispy and delicious with no after taste. And the techniques she explains in her book were swift and easy. I will pop crackers off again in the near future with no problem. I can't wait to try her graham crackers.

I can recommend Jennifer Cinquepalmi's book, The Complete Book of Gluten-Free Cooking, available by Aidant Publishers at http://www.aidantbooks.com/ because as a scratch baker who likes whole grains and quick and easy, I was impressed.

NOPE:  OLD LINK:   Today, I just bought a new copy (loaned out the old one) on Amazon used books for twelve bucks.  http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Gluten-Free-Cooking/dp/0977847403

GF Toffee Brownie Torte

Betty Crocker keeps tantalizing me with tasty treats and today's frozen titillation is just the thing I've been looking for to take to our church water park adventure tonight. There is a contest for frozen treats at the end of the evening at the park, so wish me luck!

I start with a brownie base in a spring form pan. Cool and slather chocolate ice cream atop, sprinkle with toffee bits and drizzle peanut butter chocolate topping on top of that. YUM!

I've heard that Gluten-free Goddess has a terrific brownie, but the recipe was way too hoity-toity for me. I've dumbed it down some as I don't know where to get Belguim chocolate, and bourbon vanilla and the only free-ranging that my eggs do is running down the cupboard when I break one accidentally.

Toffee Brownie Torte

1/2 cup cocoa powder (I do buy dutched when I can find it.)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 cup brown sugar

Blend these ingredients until well combined.

Sift the dry ingredients and add to wet.

1/2 cup almond meal

1/4 cup brown rice flour (I used buckwheat as I didn't have any rice flour ground)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Blend well. and pour into a greased 8x8 pan (I'm using a parchment papered 9" springform). Press in 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped pecans, if desired.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Err on the side of underdone rather than dry and crumbly.

After about ten minutes of cooling, I layered on about a pint and a half of chocolate ice cream and froze the whole thing.

An hour before serving, I sprinkled it with toffee bits and chopped peanuts and drizzled peanut butter dark chocolate over the top. (Yeah, it was a squeeze-pack of the free sample from Peanut & Co. that I got at the last celiac support group meeting and it was just the right size and it was sitting on my counter, but I should be forgiven because I did have to homemake the toffee bits.)

Reality Bite: Ah, a beautiful masterpiece! Now, how to keep it cold to serve in some of the hottest temperatures we've had in history...

GF Bisquick Cornbread

I first made this recipe on vacation when my sister found gf Bisquick for a buck a box on sale. It was surprisingly moist and delicious, so I thought I'd bake it for the girl's group at Bunko tonight.

I started with my traditional recipe,Lorraine's cornbread--how can a gal with 8 celiac kids be wrong?

I substituted the regular g-f flour with Bisquick and it was delicious.

1 cup Bisquick

1 cup corn meal

3 teaspoons baking powder  (REVISED from original recipe to three teaspoons not tbs.)  (Thanks Michelle!!!)

1 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Put the wet ingredients into a 2 cup measure

2 eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup buttermilk and add regular milk to the top (making 2 cups)

Mix wet and dry ingredients separately, then blend together until a smooth batter forms. Pour into a 10 inch seasoned cast iron skillet or a spray-greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes just until a tester in the center comes out clean. Overbaking results in dry, crumbly bread.

Reality Bite:

Remember you can substitute milks for non-dairy versions like almond milk and the eggs with egg replacers or flax if necessary. I had to do that when I first started with this diet.

GF Rice Krispies YAY

This is not just a wild and crazy wish, so watch for it in June.

GF French Bread Safari

Today I'm embarking on a little adventure. I'm exploring the jungle of new bread recipes. The daughter (the one Hong Kong bound) went to a gluten-free class in Provo, Utah, before she departed. She said that at the class, Kirsti and Betsy of EatingGlutenFree.com were very entertaining and knowledgeable and she loved the french bread they baked.

So, That's my first destination.

I mixed up then set the dough to raise in my stoneware french bread pan for twenty minutes. When it reached the top of the pan, (not very deep) I baked it only 30 minutes at 350. A temperature gauge in the center came to 190 degrees F. I love the crust, but the dough didn't raise as much as I expected so it is denser and the yeast flavor was stronger, like sourdough. Next time I make it, I'll see if the variable is me or the recipe. I suspect me.

Meanwhile, I'm eating it slathered with butter and jam. Their garlic bread spread sounds delightful--as well as rhythmic. Parmesan cheese, butter, garlic, onion, italian seasoning. Yum.

GF Shortbread from Living Without

Freezer Thieves! When the boys sneak the peanut butter covered cookies from the freezer and snarf them up, I have to make more to slather with peanut butter and coat with chocolate for the Girl Scout Do-Si-Do's.

I tested a different recipe for shortbread, Living Without's recipe. It is far and away the winner for taste!

http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/1860316-Linzer-Shortbread-Cookies-GF

These shortbread cookies come out beautiful and taste delicious. Maybe the plain ones will stave off the guys cookie starvation while the peanut butter hardens.

Delectable Bread-GF Pantry

WOW! A non-gf friend brought me a loaf, I was cynical. No way a boxed mix for bread could be that good.

It is! I whole-heartedly recommend it. She bought the mix at Walmart, but couldn't remember the brand, so I went there-found it was our old friend Gluten Free Pantry and bought the box, brought it home, mixed it up and put it into my warm oven to raise.

I forgot it and it over-raised for 45 minutes. It was way over the top of the pan so I dumped it back, remixed it and set it in to raise for ten minutes. It got to the top of the pan like the instructions said and I baked it. It rose more, baked beautifully, and I covered it with foil the last twenty minutes of baking.

Gotta love a loaf that is forgiving. But, you know me, now I've gotta replicate the recipe so it doesn't cost $5 bucks every time I bake a loaf.

It's so perfect (albeit white and nutritionless) that this may become our new church sacrament/communion loaf. We'll see.