Baguette - Gluten Free

Ahh, the baguette. One of life's pleasures when you can eat wheat. Since going wheat and thus mostly gluten free, I keep searching for a good gluten free baguette. Gluten-Free on a Shoestring introduced me to this one and then I found The Loopy Whisk.  

Kat of the Loopy Whisk calls this a white bread, which I do make in the way she directs and it is more of a batard size bread, but when I want a long thin baguette style, I make the dough into two thinner breads, and voila!

I have to admit that Gluten Free on a Shoestring was my salvation for a long time until I discovered the Loopy Whisk. Kat has a different method for preparing the use of psyllium husks and uses less starches in her flour mixes which I like better. By hydrating the psyllium husks before adding them to the batter, it makes a better crumb in the breads. 

Gluten Free Burger Buns

Behold! An awesome gluten free burger bun!

The Loopy Whisk is a gluten free baking blog I have recently discovered and her recipes are not only magical, they are scientifically created, real magic!

First attempt and this was an amazing bun. I ate the other three before I had a chance to photograph it, but let me assure you, it is soft and spongy but with a firm crumb, and delicious to boot.

In her recipe, the Loopy Whisk recommends using a dough hook in a stand mixer. Since I don't have that, I did it by hand, and it worked well, enough though it left my hand tired. Be fore-warned!

Elotes - Pizza Version

 

As a child growing up on the East Coast, summer did not officially arrive until my mom made fresh corn on the cob. My sisters and I pretended that our mouths were like typewriters, furiously munching through each row of corn, and returning to the beginning to start anew, like the return cartridge of an electric typewriter, similar to the one that my mom typed my father’s handwritten novels on. 

Since it was the 1970’s and home cooking was less globalized than today, I had never heard of elotes AKA Mexican street corn. Not until I arrived in California more than 15 years ago did I learn of this magical recipe. When I found it deconstructed in a pizza, I knew I had to try it.

The Berkeley Cheese Board sold me this version back in 2008 and I have been making it at home ever since.

Gluten Free "Rye" Bread

Rye bread has been my favorite bread since I first discovered it as a seven year old child. Toasted with bread and butter has been my go to breakfast for most of life. But when I realized I had to go gluten free, it was goodbye to my love!

But maybe not! After making Jeffrey Larsen's basic bread recipe, I adapted it to make this version that is pretty darn close to my favorite no knead rye bread recipe. Ahh, "rye" bread and butter for breakfast again!

Gluten Free Baking at Home by Larsen is a fantastic GF cookbook, with so many helpful hints that have taken my baking to a whole new level. He is clearly more interested in sweet baking than savory, but his bread recipe (which is adaptable to rolls as well) is brilliant and very versatile. 

Although the recipe appears long, that is because it is filled with tips to ensure your first attempt is successful. I now make this regularly, and just keep the list of ingredients amounts handy to make preparing the loaf faster.

Notes:
There are two key tools that you must have. One is a kitchen digital scale so you can measure your ingredients by grams. They are usually about $20, easy to find online or in stores such as Target; mine is a Taylor. Secondly, you need a smaller loaf pan than the average bread pan; 8 1/2 inch by 4 1/2 inch pans. This is because the density of the loaves will cook unevenly in a larger size pan. I happen to find a glass pan at the thrift store, but they also should be less than $20. 

In mixing the dough, he requires a dough blade on a food processor or kitchen aid machine; I do not have one and have been just as successful mixing by hand. 

Potato puree is one of his ingenious ingredients. It adds both starch, heft and moisture in a way that creates a better crumb and prevents the loaf from being too dry. I boil one peeled russet potato, and when super soft, pour off all but 1/2 cup of the cooking water. I mash the potato and add water slowly until it is the consistency of very mashed potatoes. Then I puree it in a blender - if you don't already know this trick of how to use a small mouth mason jar to puree the potato, click on the link. You can then refrigerate or freeze the leftovers for another loaf.

Baguette - Gluten Free

Ahh the baguette, one of the most delicious breads, to my taste. And once realizing I had to eat wheat free, which essentially means gluten-free, it was pretty out of reach. Until now!

If you haven't already discovered Gluten Free on a Shoestring by Nicole Hunn, leave this page now and check her out! Following her detailed and specific instructions, and you too will (re)discover the utter joy of baking! Yes, buy a food scale (about $20, so worth it!) Do make your own blends - she makes it so easy. And you will be amazed at the deliciousness you will again be able to create. Taste, texture, all the great stuff you remember and thought were gone for good! 

Now, her baguette is a regular in my kitchen, and it makes me so happy!

Notes:

In this post, I provide the basic ingredients, and include my additional comments on how to ensure your baguettes turn out like the picture. Nicole provides lots of extra information about ingredients and substitutions, as well as detailed info about creating your own flour blends (which I highly recommend). Please visit her site for all that info. She recommends two flour bends, Better Batter (a brand I can't get, but she tells you how to make it, and Cup4Cup (which she also tells you how to make at home, even how to alter her mock Better Batter to make mock Cup4Cup.) I have had success with both of her mock blends.

Make sure your butter and egg white are at room temperature. The key to gluten free baking is hydration and having these items at room temperature ensures that they will mix in evenly to help hydrate the dough properly. Without it, your efforts will be a complete waste, which is a shame with these pricey ingredients!

Homemade Burger Buns in 40 minutes!

I'm lazy, yep so lazy that I'd rather make something at home rather than run out to the store to buy it...I know, sounds like I've got a screw or two loose, but that's just my crazy!

So when I wanted to grill some veggie burgers (the best ever!) and didn't want to have any leftover buns (always the case when you're using one at a time), I thought there has to be an easy burger bun recipe out there flitting around the web...and there was!!!

Super simple, quick and very delicious (according to my happy hubby!) They even look inviting, don't you think?

I cut the recipe in half and made them really large and got two out it, but I think three would have been really reasonable.

Morning Glory Muffins with Spelt Flour

What do you do with 3-4 cups of leftover raw shredded carrot and apple salad? Make morning glory muffins, of course!

One of my many fun food jobs is being a free-lance lunch lady at North Coast Preparatory Academy and usually the kids are fairly food adventurous. But too much carrot apple salad was just that, too much. So I found this muffin recipe and used up my leftovers. Voila! Repurposed salad in a hand-held breakfast.

Since wheat flour is out of my diet, I used spelt flour. And despite the original author's admonishments about the "correct" way to measure flour (which I didn't follow), and my need to just keep adding until the mixture looked right (spelt needs less liquid than wheat), these muffins turned out wonderfully! My husband's co-workers thanked me profusely for sending them in with him for the staff lounge.

30 Minute Pizza Crust - Pesto Pizza with Homemade Veggie Italian Sausage

It was one of those nights, when cooking seems like the hardest thing to do - yes, it happens, even to me. And then Vegan Richa's new post popped up and she promised a 30 minute pizza crust. Intriguing and turns out, quite good!

Oddly enough it is a normal crust - flour, water, yeast, oil, salt. There is very little rise period, which makes for a very crispy crust. Take care not to overbake it or it will be too crispy!

Having just made some veggie Italian sausage and being gifted with two huge bunch of fresh basil, it was perfect for a pesto pizza with pan fried sausage on top!

Do note that I made my crust with spelt flour so the water in the recipe is slightly less; check Richa's recipe for the wheat flour version.

Spelt Biscuits

Good biscuits are one of life's true pleasures. They can be tricky if you're not used to working with butter/margarine in flour but once you get the hand of it, just try to not make these all the time; they are such a reward for the effort!

Ever since I discovered the vegan version of "buttermilk" biscuits, buttermilk has no place in my refrigerator, which is great, because you use so little for the biscuits and then you're stuck with lots of leftover buttermilk. (Ok, you can make this pie, but some of us are still trying to fit in the clothes we own, so it's pie or biscuits...Biscuits for the win!) So don't fret, use baking soda and cider vinegar and you are all set. Cider vinegar will curdle dairy milk just as well as it does non-dairy milk.

What was even more exciting in this version of my beloved biscuits was realizing that the soft wheat flour that all truly traditional southern biscuits are made with is very similar to spelt! Less gluten and it absorbs more liquid (i.e. butter/margarine) so more to love! These were fantastic, light, fluffy and rich!

In case you're curious, the round sausages are my own DIY vegetarian breakfast sausage, gluten free to boot! Yup, just a party in your mouth around here!

And if you are looking closely at the picture you will notice that there are rocks on the stovetop. Yes, yes, they are rocks. We dry our dishes on the stovetop and the rocks keep them from sliding around.... It's also pretty to look at!

Homemade Spelt Naan

Ahhh naan, it's the reason you go to an Indian restaurant, especially if they have a tandoor oven in which they make this fresh, delicious flat bread. You would think that it could only be made well in such a specialized oven, but fear not dear reader, you too can make delicious naan at home!

It does really help if you have a cast iron flat pan or griddle, but supposedly you can make it on a pizza stone as well (this sounds totally reasonable to me, although I have never tried it.)

When wheat and I parted ways, spelt came to my rescue and this is my version of naan with white spelt flour. As usual, it requires a little less liquid in the dough, but still makes a wonderfully chewy naan that everyone really appreciated!

Lobster Mushroom Crostini with Chevre and Thyme

Mushrooms are such an enigma. So many people don't like the texture while others are gaga for them, searching out the strangest sounding named fungi and even foraging for their own. While texture used to be an issue for me, I have begun to explore the world of these non-plant/non-animal edibles and find it fascinating and intriguing each trip I venture out. Lobster mushrooms are a case in point.

Lobster mushrooms, so named for their gorgeous orange color, don't taste like seafood but they are very dense and, dare I say, meaty. They stand up to a good searing and will absorb liquid but don't release a whole lot of their own. But don't be stingy with the oil or butter your fry them in, they need it to soften up a bit.

For this delicious crostini I used basic mushroom saute ingredients - onion, marsala wine - and only a few tablespoons of cream so that the mushroom flavor wasn't overwhelmed. Serving it on some toasted aromatic bread or baguette topped with some chevre and it was divine!

I did get a bit fussy by caramelizing the onions in a separate pan. It's not necessary but it does gives a wonderful umami depth as a first layer before you add the mushrooms. You can leave it out at your own loss!

By the way, for those of you who read the whole post, that's Turdo the turtle edging in for a bite of the lobster mushroom crostini...usually his cage keeps him at bay, but he seems to have outwitted us again!

Caesar Salad with Aioli and Garlicky Prawns

Ahhh, homey, delicious, slightly decadent but actually really healthy. Does a meal get any better than that?

My man loves caesar salads, and he loves shrimp. So what better way to make his day when he's had an extra long one than to serve him a crisp caesar with homemade dressing and some garlic sauteed shrimp on top. I love it because it's relatively quick and easy. He's super appreciative of the homemade croutons and aioli. And the fact that it's mainly lettuce means that we eating a very healthy meal that is gourmet without any fancy sauces!

Making aioli (or homemade mayonnaise) is really easy once you follow these key steps:

1. Chill your metal bowl and whisk in the freezer for 30 minutes prior to using
2. Place a dish cloth on the counter and use it to rest the bowl when whisking
3. Drop the oil in the aioli using a tablespoon, at least for the first 1/4 cup of oil

Trust me, this is virtually a foolproof recipe and will make you and your diners so happy that you'll be thrilled to realize how easy it is to make, because they will be begging for more!

Homemade croutons are also simple, and with the salad as your main dish, really worth making. You can use the same pan to make the shrimp in after sauteing the croutons; so much less to clean up!

Beet Burger Sliders with Chipotle Mayo and Avocado

Perspective is a funny thing. Like the photo above. It looks like a normal size burger on a regular size plate, but it's not. It's a slider, about 2 inches across with a tiny plate, all sitting on a table that is a mirror. So the plate appears to be floating in the trees...

And I was really excited about these burgers since the vegan world was all abuzz about them about a year ago. Turns out, perspective or hype is all relative. While these burgers tasted pretty good, they weren't as good as I would have liked. A little too beety for me and I love beets. The search for the perfect homemade, gluten free, burger continues, but this one may be exactly what you're looking for. It's all relative!

I found this burger bun recipe which was great and I highly recommend it. I followed the directions to a T which meant making small buns and from the comments, it appears that the buns would need to cook longer if you make larger buns. Just keep an eye on them, checking every couple of minutes until they are browned on top to your satisfaction.

Incidently, I used cold leftover burgers as crumbles in a salad with a creamy dressing and they were super delicious!

Olive, Sundried Tomato and Artichoke Monte Cristo

I find it so fascinating that I have been cooking for over 25 years and never had a Monte Cristo sandwich until now. I didn't even know what it was! Of course once it was explained to me as French Toast with lots of decadence sandwiched between, I immediately had to give it a try.

This is definitely brunch fare, very rich and delicious, and not for any of you who are dieting or worrying about your cholesterol! However, it's a wonderful treat and I highly recommend playing around with the fillings to suit your tastes.

The authentic Monte Cristo Sandwich is gouda and turkey filled French Toast, but wanting a vegetarian version, here's what I created: Greek yogurt, chevre, olives, sundried tomatoes, basil and marinated artichoke hearts. It's a party in  your mouth!

Garlickly Greens Scacciata Pie with Cashew Cheese

I wrote a post several years talking about my favorite family heirloom. Not a piece of furniture or art, per se, but rather the Sicilian Heirloom Scacciata, of unknown origins which I was so fortunate to know while growing up in Middletown, Connecticut. Since changing to a plant-based diet, I decided to make it using my favorite cashew cheese. Just as delicious!

Now that I have begun experimenting with Miyoko Schinner's Artisan Vegan Cheese, I can't wait to try these with homemade vegan mozzarella! Look for a forthcoming version with garlickly broccoli!

Garlickly Greens Scacciata Pie with Cashew Cheese
(serves 2-4)

Filling
4 cups chopped greens (2 large bunches of any of the following: kale, collards, swiss chard, purslane, turnip greens, beet greens)
1 cup onion, chopped
10 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup cashews, soaked in water for 8 hours or more
2/3 cup almond milk
1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (to taste)
salt
pepper

Dough
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil

Add yeast to water and set aside to proof. Mix flour and salt in bowl and add proofed yeast and stir to combine. Add olive oil and mix well. Turn out onto floured counter and kneed 5-7 minutes until smooth and elastic.  Place in clean bowl and cover with damp dish cloth and place in warm place and allow to rise 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Saute garlic in olive oil for 1-2 minutes until you can smell garlic but before it begins to brown. Remove garlic and set aside. Add onion and saute for 1 minute until it turns translucent. Add greens and cook for 4-5 minutes until wilted. Add garlic back to pan and cook another 3 minutes until flavors meld. Set aside to cool.

Place soaked cashews and almond milk in blender and puree until smooth. Add nutritional yeast and puree until incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Punch down dough and pull apart into 2 pieces. Roll out each piece into a large circle. Place half of filling in the front part of the circle and top with half of cashew cheese. Pull dough over filling and roll edges to seal, tucking ends under sciaccatta. Oil top with olive oil and place on greased baking sheet and bake 40 minutes or until top is nicely browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes. Serve with warmed marinara sauce or plain.

Hugs!

Recipes currently inspiring me:

Roasted Cauliflower and Aged White Cheddar Gratin at Closet Cooking
Shrimp Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice
Vegan Corn Dog Mummies at Fork and Beans

Vegan Buttermilk Sausage Biscuits

Biscuits with sausage were my secret guilty pleasure for the last years of my 15 year stint as a vegetarian. Specifically McDonald's Sausage Biscuits. Truly, a super secret guilty pleasure. I had them once a year on the way to the beach with my mom. I know, it sounds like a food horror story from my childhood, but I freely participated in this one.

Lately I've been totally addicted to making biscuits with cider vinegar and almond milk as my "buttermilk." I found the recipe at Holy Cow (a great blog, check it out if you are not familiar with it). I now know the recipe by heart! What's even better, is that it's easy to make only 2 or 3 and then there are no leftovers (old biscuits are N.G. no good!)

I toyed with the idea of using the Field Roast (bought with the coupon I won through Vegan MoFo) as the sausage for this sausage biscuit, but upon finding this sausage recipe from hell yeah it's vegan, I knew the DIYer in me would win out. (By the way, I bought the Wild Mushroom Field Roast, highly recommend it!)

Vegan Buttermilk Sausage Biscuits
(makes 6-8)

1 cup very cold almond milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour (the original calls for 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons margarine, cut into small cubes, placed in the freezer for at least 20 minutes

In small container mix vinegar and almond milk and set aside to curdle for at least 5 minutes. In medium mixing bowl, combine flour(s), baking powder, baking soda, and salt and blend well. Add well chilled margarine and cut into the flour, either using two knives or a strong fork, until the margarine is well blended and the flour resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in the almond milk and form into a ball, and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator. Sprinkle a little flour on clean counter or cutting board and roll dough out to 1/2 inch thickness, and fold it in half. Roll one more time and fold in half. Cut out disks of dough using biscuit cutter or an upside down glass. Combine scraps from cut biscuits to create last ones and brush tops with olive oil. Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and serve with your favorite faux sausage.

Hugs!

Recipes currently inspiring me:

Jackfruit Carnitas and Yam Fries at Veggie Fixation
Seaweed and Ranch Dressing at Just the Food
Spicy Rapini Stuffed Girasoli at 4 Every Kitchen

Spelt Focaccia with Swiss Chard and Roasted Garlic

A couple of months ago when I was in the throes of my limited diet, I found this focaccia recipe at Cook (Almost) Anything. Not only was it easy to make, but versatile and really tasty. Alas, it turned out spelt was not distant enough of a cousin to wheat and had to be exiled from my diet. Fast forward to now when my ear is healed and my beloved breadstuffs are once again consumable, I made this focaccia again. Just as great as I remembered!

The swiss chard and roasted garlic are my additions, so make whatever pleases you. The original recipe called for dusting the top with fresh rosemary and that was it - simplicity at its best. But being an avowed bread-aholic, adding vegetables to the focaccia assuages my guilty conscience! 

Smoked Salmon with Herb Pesto on Rye Toasts

There are all kinds of diets out there nowadays - gluten free, paleo, anti-inflamation, blood type - you name it, someone is on it and working in a natural food grocery store I hear them all. I confess that I am always so thankful that my body seems to accept most foods and is apparently allergy free (knock on wood!) So when I was recently diagnosed with a nasty fungal infection (in my ear of all places) and a Chinese herbalist suggested I restrict my diet to help speed my recovery, I was thrilled for the free advice, until I heard the list of no-nos: No fermented foods, eggs, dairy, wheat, sugar, corn, beans or rice.

That translated into no: wine, beer, kombucha, tofu, tempeh, soy sauce, cheese, butter, milk, yogurt, Mexican food of almost any kind or the homemade bread that I make and subsist on. As my friend said, "but that's all you eat!" Right sister, cue the mini violins because I was having quite the pity party!

Irish Soda Bread (with Rye and Caraway)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! The patron saint of Ireland's feast day is more celebrated in the U.S. than Ireland, due in large part to early Irish immigrants desire for a connection to their homeland. While modern celebrations tend toward much imbibing of green beer and other libations, it always gives me a good excuse to highlight some of the peasant food the Irish do so well.

Last year I wrote of Colcannon - traditionally mashed potatoes with leeks and cabbage (or another green). This year I made soda bread, which was new for me, and I am hooked! While most recipes call for buttermilk, there is a substitution of yogurt, milk and white vinegar that worked very nicely for me.

Pumpkin Pineapple Walnut Bread

The other night I was in the mood for muffins but imagine my shock to find no muffin tin in the kitchen! What's a gal to do? Make a bread (and when there is no bread pan, improvise!) Yes, the mother of invention is necessity and if you do not already know that a round shaped bread tastes no different than a rectangular one, let me be the first to tell you, they do not.

This bread was originally inspired by a ginger beer recipe that a friend from Jamaica told me about - making ginger beer with the rind of a ripe pineapple and and a little added sugar. So then what to do with the remaining pineapple fruit? I realized that it would go wonderfully in a pumpkin walnut muffin/bread. Without the muffin tin, bread it was!