Restricted Gourmet

Super-Simple Hummus

2011-06-22T15:56:00.001-07:00

Zap 3 or 4 whole unpeeled garlic cloves in the microwave for about 20 seconds (or you can roast them in the oven, of course). Then simply pop them out of the peels for this recipe.

Combine in blender:

Garlic cloves
A 15-oz. can of garbanzo beans, including liquid (a 16-oz. can would be fine too, if that's what you have)
1/8 cup olive oil
2 to 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Blend until smooth. You may have to pulse it and stop occasionally to stir with a spoon to release a trapped air bubble, as this is very thick. You can add a bit more olive oil, plain yogurt or water if necessary to blend it.

Serve with crackers, bread, chips, raw vegetables and/or whatever else you like to dip. :)

Feel free to tweak the amounts of seasonings, or to add your favorite flavor--sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives or fresh green herbs instead of the cumin might be tasty (though probably not all together. :) ). If your beans aren't already salted, you may want to increase the salt.

Simple Gravy or White Sauce

2011-06-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

1 Tablespoon butter, oil or meat drippings
⅛ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. salt
1-2 Tbsp. flour (or more for thickness desired)
1 c. broth or milk

Heat first four ingredients over low heat until smooth. Add liquid, turn heat up to medium, and stir until thick and smooth. A wisk works best for stirring, and you need to stir it fairly constantly, especially if using milk.

For gluten- and dairy-free, I use sweet rice flour and rice milk. Cashew or coconut milk could also work in this (coconut milk and garam masala spices are very good with poultry or rabbit meat).

This is a great base for casseroles, gravies, soups and all sorts of things.

We like to add tuna, deboned chicken, rabbit or sausage and serve it over biscuits, rice or mashed potatoes.

Gluten-free Banana Waffles

2011-06-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

This is the gluten-free version of the Banana Waffle recipe I've been making lately. You can use any GF flour, but keep in mind that different flours may absorb more or less liquid, so you may need to adjust the amount of milk substitute.

2 cups flour (I use 1 and 1/2 cups brown rice flour plus 1/2 cup sweet white rice flour a.k.a. gelatinous rice flour, or it's even better with 1 cup brown rice flour, 1/2 cup coconut flour, and 1/2 cup sweet rice flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar, optional (I usually leave this out or use an unrefined sugar such as palm sugar)
3/4 tsp. salt

2 mashed ripe bananas (about 1 cup--I'll add a third one if they're extra-small)
3 eggs, beaten
1 and 1/2 cups milk or milk substitute (I use rice milk)
1/3 cup melted shortening or oil (coconut oil works great)
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

(or, if preferred, you can use buttermilk or diluted plain yogurt [1/2 cup yogurt, 1 cup water or milk] instead of the milk and omit the vinegar)

Blend or sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the bananas and other wet ingredients and mix well. Then mix together the wet and dry ingredients just until the flour blend is moistened. Bake in a hot waffle iron until crispy and brown on the outside and the amount of steam coming out of the waffle decreases.

Depending on your waffle iron, you may or may not need to grease the iron between waffles. With mine I usually find I can oil it just at the beginning of the batch and they don't stick.

The great thing about these waffles is that the bananas make them so sweet and moist, you don't even need toppings like syrup. We just eat them plain as finger food. :)

You could add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of vanilla and/or cinnamon if desired. To turn these into an extra-special treat or a dessert, you can add chocolate chips (and maybe top with whipped cream).

Quinoa Apple Salad

2011-04-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

This recipe is modified from Martha Stewart's Curried Quinoa Apple Salad recipe.

Rinse 1 cup of dry quinoa well and cook with 2 cups of water. I bring it to a boil in a covered pot, then turn off the burner and leave the pot on the stove for about 20 minutes for perfectly cooked quinoa.

In a separate container mix together for the dressing:

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

2 to 3 tablespoons olive or grapeseed oil

1 teaspoon curry powder (I use a nightshade free curry powder and heap the measurement a bit)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sweet spice (optional--this is a mixture with cinnamon, cardamom and other sweet spices by the same manufacturer that makes the curry powder I use; I will edit the post to add the name later)

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1 tablespoon diced shallot

Stir the dressing into the cooled cooked quinoa, add 1 diced apple (grannysmith or Gala apples are good in this recipe) and 2 tablespoons currants.

This recipe is excellent chilled. I usually make a double batch and keep it in the refrigerator for a ready-made quick snack.

Fluffy Baked Eggs

2010-12-17T00:24:00.000-08:00

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking dish, either by rubbing oil on the inside or putting a little butter or coconut oil inside and heating in the oven long enough to melt, then tipping it to coat all sides of the pan.

Prepare your eggs just as if you were going to make an omlette or scrambled eggs. For me, this means beating my eggs and adding a dash of milk or milk substitute. Add salt and dried dill to taste. I use a very generous amount of dill. You can either mix these in or just sprinkle them on top after you pour the eggs into the pan.

Bake until solid but not too brown--for a 6 egg batch, I bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

This is so simple, and amazingly delicious. And you don't have to stand over it stirring it the whole time it's cooking. :)

Crustless Sweet Potato Pie

2010-11-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

One 15-oz. can or 2 cups pureed sweet potatoes (the more orange ones often called yams)
1/2 cup honey
Scant 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
1 cup milk or milk substitute (I used whole goat milk, but coconut milk would probably also work very well in this recipe)
4 eggs, beaten

Mix ingredients together, pour into oiled pie pan or baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for another 35-45 minutes. Best if cooled before eating.

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

2010-10-11T19:19:00.000-07:00

This is the gluten-free version of the Eggless Banana Bread recipe--I added a couple of eggs to bind it and to add protein, but it would probably be just fine with the eggs left out.

3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup melted butter or oil
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca or sweet rice flour (NOT modified tapioca starch--any modified food starch is an excitotoxin)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out relatively clean.

This was almost a bit too sweet--next time I'll probably try cutting the honey down to about 1/4 to 1/3 cup.

Sweet and Savory Lentil Soup

2010-10-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

Small amount of oil (I used olive oil)
1 onion (medium to large), diced
2 to 4 cloves garlic
3 to 5 carrots, washed and sliced thin
1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized chunks (1/2" to 1" or so)
Other vegetables as desired (I added 1/4 head of green cabbage, sliced)
2 cups lentils, rinsed and drained
About 10 cups water
Large pot

Saute onion and garlic in oil in the bottom of the pot until beginning to get soft and brown (carmelized). Add carrots and cauliflower, stirring and cooking slightly. Add water and lentils, bring to a boil, and simmer over medium to low heat until lentils are tender, about an hour.

Depending on what other vegetables you add, you may wish to add them when you add the lentils, or wait until closer to the end of cooking. I added cabbage about halfway through cooking.

If desired, add up to 1 lb. sausage about halfway through cooking also. I used a mild chicken Italian sausage--yummy! If you leave out the sausage, this is a vegan recipe. Carmelizing the onions and garlic until they are brown makes the flavor and color much richer, and the carmelized onions and carrots give the soup a sweet flavor.

Just before stirring, add salt and pepper to taste if desired. With the sausage, I found we didn't need any further salt or spices.

This recipe is grain-free and nightshade-free, as long as you are careful about sausage ingredients. The cauliflower gives the starchy, mild flavor that takes the place of rice, noodles or potatoes in this recipe.

If you leave out the sausage, it's vegan. We get sausage with no additives other than herbs and spices at a local butcher shop or natural-food store. Our sausage contained ground chicken, salt, fennel seed, caraway seed, coriander, black pepper, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. For even more flavor, you could use vegetable broth or bone broth in place of all or part of the water.

Rewriting My Introduction

2010-10-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

Since it's been 4 years this month since I started this blog, and our dietary journey has come a long way since then, I decided it was time to rewrite the post introducing and telling a bit more about myself and this blog.

It's been updated--for now. :)

Almond-Crusted Tilapia with Garlic and Dill

2010-10-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

Lay 5 to 6 fillets of tilapia or other mild white fish in a baking dish (I used a glass 11" x 13" pan)

Drizzle with 2 to 4 tablespoons oil (I used a mixture of olive oil and melted coconut oil)

Rub with 2 cloves crushed garlic

Shake a generous sprinkling of dried dill over the fillets.

Spread about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of almond meal over the fish (enough to coat the tops heavily), followed by another drizzle of oil and a second sprinkling of dill on top of the almond meal.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until fish is light and flaky.

I did not actually measure anything for this recipe, so the amounts are guesstimates. Basically I applied a fairly heavy sprinkling of dill each time (we like dill) and a nice thick layer of almond meal, with enough oil to lightly coat the fish and then slightly moisten the almond meal.

Even my fish-hater found it edible, and everyone else pronounced it some of the best fish they'd ever had.

I served it with a side of heated canned green beans, a head of cauliflower that I chopped and fried until lightly browned on the stovetop with oil and a sprinkling of salt, and some cooked quinoa.

Fluffy Fry Bread

2010-07-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

Mix together:

1 cup oat flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt

Add:

2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk, milk substitute or water
1 to 2 tsp. maple syrup or other sweetener (optional)

Mix just until moistened.

Drop by spoonfuls and fry in hot oil until lightly browned, turning to cook both sides.

You can substitute other types of flour, but may need to adjust the amount of liquid depending on how absorbent your flour is. It should be slightly thicker than pancake batter.

**Update: I had a pretty bad excitotoxin reaction tonight--I think the cornstarch in the baking powder I used, and possibly the oat flour in the fry bread, could have contributed to it. I did also eat something containing lecithin which I have discovered is problematic also, so that could have been a main cause of the reaction.

Rice Cream Porridge

2010-06-07T23:06:00.000-07:00

Cook 1 cup of brown rice (we like short-grain or sweet rice for this recipe) with 2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp salt (salt optional) until rice is done cooking and water is absorbed.

Add cooked rice and enough rice milk, milk, dairy substitute or water to process in blender. Blend until smooth.

Serve and enjoy! You may add toppings such as fruit, nuts or sweetener if desired, but it's good plain too.

Homemade safe chocolate

2010-06-07T22:53:00.000-07:00

Take a small amount of your favorite fat that's solid at room temperature--I like coconut oil, butter, or a combination of the two. Add a small amount of sweetener (brown sugar is my favorite, but honey is good too) and cream this together with cocoa powder or raw cacao to taste. Eat as is or pour onto greased surface and chill to harden.

Buckwheat Blender Waffles or Pancakes

2010-02-12T15:54:00.000-08:00

This recipe is adapted from Sue Gregg's Blender Pancakes or Waffles recipe. (I highly recommend Sue Gregg's cookbooks.)

Buckwheat is supposedly technically a fruit, not a grain, so these could be considered grain-free.

Measure 1 cup buckwheat and rinse. We used raw buckwheat (whole light-colored kernels, with the hulls removed), but Sue Gregg recommends sprouting buckwheat.

Put rinsed buckwheat in the blender and cover with about 1 to 1 and 1/2 cup(s) raw buttermilk, yogurt or kefir thinned with filtered water to buttermilk consistency. (For a non-dairy alternative, use rice milk, nut milk or water with 1 Tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar as part of the liquid).

Soak 6-12 hours or overnight.

Add to buckwheat mixture in blender:

2 Tablespoons chia seeds, ground or whole (optional--or you can substitute other types of edible seeds such as flaxseed if desired)
1 egg (optional--you can leave out or substitute)
2 Tablespoons oil, melted butter, or melted coconut oil
(optional) 1-2 teaspoons honey, maple syrup, or other sweetener
Enough liquid to blend, if necessary. A thinner batter is better for pancakes.

Preheat waffle iron.

Blend buckwheat mixture very well at highest setting until smooth, 3-6 minutes or more. Add more liquid if necessary for blending.

Meanwhile, mix together:

1/2-1 teaspoon baking soda (adjust the amount depending on the acidity of your liquid--more baking soda for higher acidity, less if you are diluting your yogurt or kefir, etc.)
1/2 teaspoon salt

While blender is running, sift baking soda mixture through fine sieve into blender, or drop carefully into vortex of blender. Turn off the blender as soon as the baking soda mixture is thoroughly mixed in.

Thoroughly grease or oil hot waffle iron and bake waffles until they have mostly stopped steaming (for both of my waffle irons, this is slightly longer than the iron's doneness indicator).

Carefully loosen waffle from iron (with non-metal implement if using a nonstick iron). We eat these plain, but you can top with fruit, syrup, whipped cream, or just about anything else. If you leave out the sweetener, waffles make a great base for things like sausage gravy, creamed tuna, or chicken a la king.

Waffles freeze or refrigerate well, and can be reheated in the toaster.

Troubleshooting and Variations:

* You can leave out either the egg or the seeds, but you probably need one or the other to bind it and keep the waffles from sticking to the waffle iron.

* Gluten-free waffles tend to stick to the iron more, so it's important to grease well and remove the waffles gently. Also make sure the waffle is done (has stopped billowing steam) before lifting the cover of the iron.

* You can leave the oil out or reduce to 1 tablespoon, but will still need to grease the waffle iron and the waffles may stick more. Increasing the flaxseed will allow you to reduce other added oils without so much of a sticking problem.

* If you wish to use plain water or un-soured milk or dairy substitute, reduce the baking soda to 1/4-1/2 tsp. The waffles won't rise as much and may be a bit more bland, but they should still work.

Flaxseed egg substitute

2010-02-11T00:04:00.000-08:00

For 1 egg: 1 Tbs ground flax seed, mixed with 3 Tbs hot water

For 2 eggs (in some recipes, this amount can substitute for 1 large egg): 2 Tbs. ground flax seed, 1/4 cup hot water

You can either just let this sit for a while and then add to the recipe, or you can cook the flaxseed and water until gelled, let it cool and then if desired you can whip it to add more lift to your baked goods. You may need to add 1-2 Tbsp more water for the cooked and whipped version.

Another thing I've done when I want to substitute for 1 to 4 eggs is just add 1/4 cup or so of flaxseed meal to my recipe and increase the liquid a bit if needed. Flax seed contains quite a bit of oil, so you may be able to omit or reduce other oils in the recipe. It's pretty flexible, so you can play with the amounts without hurting your baked goods too much.

I do recommend using ground flax seed, or grinding it in a coffee grinder or spice mill to release the oils and the nice sticky compounds in the flaxseed that make it a good binder in baked goods.

If you're trying to make something like waffles and they are sticking, either grease your griddle better or try adding another tablespoon of flax seed and the corresponding amount of water.

Sweet Potato Puff

2009-12-08T21:21:00.000-08:00

This is an old family recipe with some modifications--I doubled the eggs, used 1/4 cup honey instead of the original 1/3 cup sugar, and added pumpkin pie-type spices. I think I actually prefer it without the spices, or with just the cinnamon, but it's good both ways. I use whipped cream instead of the traditional marshmallow topping, or it's good with no topping at all.

It turns out quite fluffy.

4 large sweet potatoes (the darker, sweet deep orange kind often called yams or garnet yams in U.S. markets), cooked and mashed (drain water if boiled)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
4 eggs, thoroughly beaten
1 tsp salt (I put in slightly less)
2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Scant 1/2 tsp ginger (optional)
1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or maple syrup(optional)

Butter large baking dish (I used 9" x 13" x 2")

If mashed sweet potatoes are still warm, stir butter in and allow to melt. Add honey, and eggs and mix well. Add dry ingredients (either mix together or add baking powder last), beat until well-blended, and pour into baking dish. Dot with butter if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm or cold, topped with whipped cream if desired.

Jucygalicious Meat Sauce

2009-09-22T19:43:00.001-07:00

My kids (ages 4-8) named this one. They're not fans of Italian-style marinara meat sauce, so I decided to try something completely different. It was a success.

This has a very complex, rich flavor. If you don't like fennel, feel free to leave it out.

The recipe can be gluten-free and/or grainless, depending on the starch chosen to serve with the sauce.

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Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef (or meat of your choice)
1/2 sweet bell pepper, diced (I used orange, but yellow or red would work also)
1 tsp crushed garlic (2-3 cloves)
2 Tbsp onion (I used freeze-dried red onion)

1.5 to 2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used Pomi canned tomatoes, about half of a 26+ oz container)
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground yellow mustard (dry)
1/2 tsp. rubbed sage
1 tsp sea salt
Scant 1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp fennel seeds (I ground them in a coffee grinder I keep for herbs and spices, but you could just slightly crush them)
1 Tbsp dried parsely (or 1-3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsely)
1/4 cup bone broth, water or vegetable broth (I used 4 cubes frozen bone broth from my recipe here)

Cooked pasta, rice, spaghetti squash, grain or other starch of your choice.

-------------------------

Brown ground beef on stovetop. (I used a cast-iron pan.) Drain fat if desired. When meat is not quite done, add bell pepper, garlic and onion to brown with meat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until vegetables are soft and flavors are melded, about 10-30 minutes. Add more or less liquid as needed.

Serve over pasta, rice, spaghetti squash, grain or starch of your choice. I used 12 oz. of Trader Joe's Organic Vegetable Radiatore cooked with a little safflower oil added to the cooking water.

Gluten-free Chocolate Zucchini Quick Bread

2008-10-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

This recipe is egg-heavy, because I find we do better with a lot of protein along with our sugars. With all the eggs, it's sort of a brownie/cake/quiche cross.

This cake is not super-sweet; I'll even serve it for breakfast. If you like your coffee cake or dessert heavily sweet you may want to add an extra 1/4 cup of honey or other sweetener, or mix in chocolate chips.

For the eggless version, try my Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe with regular or gluten-free flour.

Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Oil or grease a 9" x 13" pan (I used a glass casserole dish; a metal pan may cook faster)

Peel zucchini and cut into chunks--about 2 small or 1 large zucchini.

Sift together in large bowl:

3/4 cup brown rice flour (or any other gluten-free flour)
3/4 cup ivory teff flour (or any other GF flour)
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 Tablespoon (1 and 1/2 teaspoons) baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

In pitcher of large blender, combine:

1/2 cup plain yogurt or applesauce (you can substitute chocolate or vanilla yogurt, pureed pears or a dairy substitute)
Enough zucchini chunks to make 2 cups of puree

Blend up the yogurt and zucchini, adding more zucchini until it makes a total of 2 and 1/2 cups combined puree.

Add to blender:

1/4 to 1/3 cup oil (I used grapeseed oil, but any mildly flavored oil or melted butter will work)
1 cup honey
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional--omit if you are avoiding corn, gluten, alcohol or fermented foods and are not sure if your vanilla is free of these items)

Process zucchini mixture in blender until smooth.

Pour zucchini mixture into dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Fold in 1/2 to 1 cup nuts or chocolate chips if desired. Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean.

Let it cool for a few minutes before trying to cut it, but you can serve it a bit warm if desired. Your family won't even know they're eating their vegetables for dessert!

Sprouted Quinoa Waffles

2008-04-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

This recipe is adapted from Sue Gregg's Blender Pancakes or Waffles recipe. (I highly recommend Sue Gregg's cookbooks.)

Measure 1 and 1/2 cups whole raw quinoa and rinse very well to remove bitter saponins. I rinse it 1/2 cup at a time in a strainer for at least 3 minutes or until it stops foaming and does not smell bitter.

Put rinsed quinoa in a bowl and cover with warm or room-temperature filtered water--about 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups water. Soak 6-12 hours or overnight. There should be visible sprouts after an overnight soak--quinoa sprouts very quickly.

Drain and rinse quinoa.

Combine in blender:

Sprouted quinoa
2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed (or 3-4 Tbs whole flax seed)
1 cup liquid (1 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup yogurt diluted with 1/2 cup milk or water, or
1 Tbs. lemon juice or vinegar plus enough water or milk substitute to make 1 cup)
1 egg * (see egg-free variation below)
2 Tablespoons oil, melted butter, or melted coconut oil
(optional) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (be sure it's a safe kind if gluten- or corn-intolerant)
(optional) 1-2 Tablespoons honey, maple syrup, or other sweetener

Preheat waffle iron.

Blend quinoa mixture very well at highest setting until smooth, 3-6 minutes. Add more liquid if necessary for blending.

Meanwhile, mix together:

2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Hain Featherweight)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

While blender is running, sift baking powder mixture through fine seive into blender. Turn off the blender as soon as the baking powder mixture is thoroughly mixed in.

Thoroughly grease or oil hot waffle iron and bake waffles until they have mostly stopped steaming (for both of my waffle irons, this is slightly longer than the iron's doneness indicator).

Carefully loosen waffle from iron. We eat these plain, but you can top with fruit, syrup, meat, or just about anything else. If you leave out the sweetener, waffles make a great base for things like sausage gravy, creamed tuna, or chicken a la king.

Troubleshooting and Variations:

Gluten-free waffles tend to stick to the iron more, so it's important to grease well and remove the waffles gently. Also make sure the waffle is done (has stopped billowing steam) before lifting the cover of the iron.

If the waffles stick too much, try adding 1/2 to 1 tablespoon oil to the batter. More flaxseed (up to 2 tablespoons more ground flaxseed) in the batter will also help prevent sticking.

If the waffles are gooey, they may not be cooked enough or there may be too much flaxseed in them.

* For a sugar-restricted diet, omit sweetener and use diluted yogurt, water, or nut milk as the liquid. If avoiding fermented foods (because of intolerances or to treat candida) also omit vanilla, and do not use vinegar as a souring agent. For vegan or egg-free waffles, try increasing flaxseed to 1/4 cup and omitting eggs, and increase liquid to easy blending consistency.

* You can leave the oil out or reduce to 1 tablespoon, but will still need to grease the waffle iron and the waffles may stick more. Increasing the flaxseed will allow you to reduce other added oils without so much of a sticking problem.

* If you wish to use plain water or un-soured milk or dairy substitute, just leave out the 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. The waffles will be more bland and won't rise as much, but they'll work.

Chebe Grainless Dutch Oven Pancake

2008-04-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

This is a grain-free (and gluten free) version of the famous oven pancake--that fluffy egg dish also known as dutch babies, Dutch oven pancake, or German pancake. It's really more like a quiche or like a big popover or quick bread than like pancakes. Definitely a favorite dish at my house, we eat it for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner.

It goes beautifully with sweet or savory topping (sausage is especially good for a savory version). Usually I add a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup and we eat it like bread without any other topping.

This version is made with Chebe bread mix--a tapioca-based grainless bread.

5 eggs

1/4 cup milk, dairy substitute or other liquid

1 to 1.5 Tablespoons additional oil (I used grapeseed--you could probably leave out the additional oil, but it's really good with the oil in it)

(Optional)--1 Tablespoon sweetener (I used Grade B maple syrup), 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 teaspoon herbs, or other flavoring of your choice.

1 packet (7.5 oz) Chebe All-Purpose Bread Mix

*Note: This recipe only qualifies as sugar-restricted if the sweetener is omitted.

*Important: If you're sensitive to excitotoxins or extremely sensitive to MSG, you may want to avoid this recipe. The modified tapioca starch in the Chebe bread mix is a potential source of excitotoxins.

Healthy Chocolate Smoothie

2008-02-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

Place in blender:

1 ripe banana
8-10 oz. water, milk, kefir, or dairy substitute
[optional] A handful (about 1/8 to 1/4 cup) of raw cashews, blanched almonds, or nuts/seeds of your choice.
1 Tablespoon unsweetened powdered baking cocoa (if you prefer your chocolate less dark, reduce to 1-2 teaspoons, or substitute carob if desired)
About 1 cup ice, as desired (crushed ice works best)

Blend until smooth and enjoy!

I make this in a personal-size blender with just water, cashews, banana, cocoa and ice. It makes a quick snack high in protein and free of grains and refined sugars. The banana is sweet enough that no other sweetener is necessary. This is my standby when I get chocolate and/or sugar cravings. It satisfies my sweet tooth without giving me the later energy/mood crash or heightened cravings I usually get when eating sugary chocolate.

For a NT-style smoothie, use raw milk, kefir or coconut milk and soak or sprout any nuts or seeds before blending.

Grainless Banana Pancakes or Scramble

2008-02-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

In our house this recipe is just called "Banana Eggs".

Mash 1 banana, add 3 eggs, beat well. Or, combine banana and eggs in blender and puree. Add 1/16 to 1/8 tsp of salt and, if desired, a dash of cinnamon or vanilla. (Remember, if you use vanilla or other flavoring extracts, check to see if it's free of your allergens.)

Preheat frying pan and cook over medium heat until golden-brown, turning to cook both sides. You'll know the pancakes are ready to turn over when they are golden-brown on the bottom and solid enough that a bubble popped in the middle leaves a hole that doesn't refill.

You can also make a delicious banana scramble just by stirring the mixture frequently as it cooks. This will make a more tender, less brown concoction similar to scrambled eggs.

I make this recipe with 2 bananas and 6 (or 8) eggs for my family. It's great as a snack or maybe even dessert, as well as for breakfast. No added sweetener needed!

Bone Broth

2007-09-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

Bone broth is really easy to make. All you need is some bones, a big pot, and some water. I like to cut the meat off the bones and save up my bones in a bag in the freezer until I have enough to make broth. I usually use about a quart of bones, but the amount doesn't matter.

Put the bones in the pot and add enough water to cover the bones by at least an inch or two. Add a tablespoon or two of any edible acid--I usually use lemon juice, but a lot of people like to use apple cider vinegar. This can be left out if desired, but the acid helps to draw the minerals out of the bones.

Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for a very long time. I usually cook mine for 24 hours or so. Replenish the water as needed to keep the bones covered. I usually leave a lid on for most of the cooking and then take it off at the end to condense the broth. Cook the broth until the bones start to get soft and crumbly--the idea is to get as many minerals as possible out of the bones. You can add spices, vegetables and/or salt during the last part of cooking if desired.

If desired, remove the bones and simmer, uncovered, for several more hours to condense the broth to just a few inches in the bottom of the pan (usually half the original volume or less). This will make it concentrated enough to freeze in ice cube trays to use like bullion in recipes.

You can use bone broth as the base for a soup, add it to casseroles or other dishes, drink it plain, or use it however you wish. It's chock-full of calcium and other important minerals.

So-Simple Oven-Fried Chicken

2007-08-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

Here's our standby baked chicken method (I almost hesitate to call it a recipe because it's so simple). This amount of coating mixture will cover 10 to 16 thighs or 5-7 lbs. Just double or halve the amounts as needed for the quantity of chicken you're baking.

This is really easy--just pop it in the oven and ignore it for about an hour. It's pretty forgiving if you leave it in the oven, too, as long as you leave the skins on the chicken.

You can use the same recipe for boneless skinless chicken, but you'll need to reduce the baking time and watch carefully to make sure it's not getting too dry.

Raw (thawed) bone-in chicken pieces with the skin on.

1/2 cup flour, any kind (I've used rice, whole wheat, or a combination of various alternative flours)

1 teaspoon RealSalt Organic Season Salt or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of your favorite seasoned salt.

One or more large baking dish(es)

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Mix together flour with seasoned salt. Put flour mixture in a shallow dish wide enough to roll a piece of chicken. This should be enough for 10-16 pieces of chicken, or 5 to 7 lbs.

Take raw (thawed) chicken pieces (I use thighs) and rinse with cool water if desired. Let any excess water drip off and roll the chicken pieces in the flour mixture to coat.

Lay the pieces into a baking dish. (Use a rack or a broiler pan if you want to minimize fat content, but I usually just use a plain glass baking dish). Bake at 425° F for 40-60 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 180° F.

You might want to cut the meat off the bones and save the bones in the freezer to make bone broth later. I'll be posting a recipe for bone broth soon!

Chicken cooked this way is good chilled, or can be frozen and reheated. I usually bake up a huge batch and freeze some for later.

French Onion Steak

2007-08-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Take some cube steak, or any other meat requiring long, slow, moist cooking. Put it into a baking dish. Add enough French onion soup to almost cover the meat, or about a cup of soup plus enough water to cover it. Put a lid on the dish or cover it with aluminum foil. Bake at 350(F) for about one hour or until tender.

Serve over rice, noodles, potatoes, squash or a stir-fry.

Don't be intimidated by the French Onion soup . . . all you need is an onion and some beef broth, and it can be made in about the time it takes to thaw steaks in the microwave. Or just throw onions, beef broth and a bit of salt in the pan with the meat. It won't taste quite as good, but it will work.

I used one package of French Onion soup that I'd made previously and frozen in serving-sized portions. I just laid the two big steaks out in a big glass baking dish, dumped in the thawed soup and some water, covered it and stuck it in the oven. So simple, but delicious!

Rye Pancakes

2007-08-10T15:09:00.001-07:00

This recipe is low in sugars, which means that it has no added sugars and uses selected ingredients that are very low in fructose, sucrose and lactose. This is helpful if you are sugar-intolerant or on a yeast-restricting diet. Rye is lower in fructose/fructan content than wheat. If you are dairy allergic, just substitute non-dairy options (vegetable oil or lard, rice milk or water) for the dairy ingredients.

Rye Pancakes

Beat in a medium bowl:

1 egg
3/4 cup rice milk or other liquid (I use Rice Dream Original Unenriched)
1/4 cup active live yogurt (I used homemade yogurt made with organic pasture-fed whole milk, cultured for almost 24 hours. Such a long culturing time makes for lower lactose and higher probiotic content.)
2 Tablespoons melted butter, ghee, lard or oil.

Mix together dry ingredients:

1 cup rye flour (I use organic whole-grain flour)
1/4 tsp unrefined sea salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder (I use Hain Featherweight, which is corn-free but does contain potato starch) [If you can't use baking powder, try 1 to 1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda]

Preheat the frying pan over medium-low heat (I set mine slightly under 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being hottest).

Whisk the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and beat until smooth, but don't overmix. The mixture may look slightly thick and sticky. Try making a test pancake, and then if needed add more liquid to get it to your desired thickness.

I like to use a small ladle to pour pancake batter on the griddle. Quickly spoon approximately 3-4 inch circles of batter into your non-stick or oiled frying pan. Cook on one side until bubbles in the center pop and do not refill. The bottoms should be light to medium brown at this point. Flip over and cook until the pancakes are medium-brown on the other side and solid in the middle.

Eat plain or serve with your favorite topping.

Soaked Oat Sourdough Pancakes

2007-07-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

At least 6 hours before serving, or the night before, rinse 2 cups rolled oats and cover generously with water (I filled my measuring cup to a total volume of about 4 cups). Add a splash of lemon juice--a teaspoon to a tablespoon. Let soak. Refresh your sourdough starter by adding equal parts (by weight) of flour and water to make at least 2 cups total. I had about a cup of starter, and added 3/4 cup flour and a little over 1/2 cup of water to mine the night before.

According to Nourishing Traditions, soaking and culturing the grains denatures the antinutrient phytates in the grains and makes them more digestible.

You can leave out the honey if desired. I serve pancakes with no topping, so I usually add a bit of sweetener to the batter. I figure that 1/3 cup honey spread out over a few dozen pancakes will be less sugar than if we put maple syrup or honey on each pancake individually. :)

When ready to make the pancakes, drain and rinse the oats and put them into a large mixing bowl. Add and beat well:
1 and 1/2 cups sourdough starter
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter/lard
1/3 cup honey (optional)
4 eggs

In a small dish, mix together:
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

While beating oat mixture, sprinkle baking soda over batter to mix in.

Fry over medium-low heat until bubbles on the surface pop but do not refill. Flip pancake and cook to desired level of brownness. Serve as is or top with yogurt, preserves, or butter and maple syrup.

Mild Masoor Dal (Red Lentils)

2007-07-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

Dal, or dahl, has any number of variations. This version is made with the lovely, mild and quick-cooking red lentils.

The flavors are mild enough for my family's blandness-loving palate, although I would have liked it a bit more spicy myself. If you like more spicy foods, try doubling the cumin, turmeric and/or mustard. You could also add a clove of garlic and a sauted onion, or your favorite vegetable(s).

If you are allergic to a spice, just leave it out or substitute something you like. Any grain can be used instead of rice, or you could just serve the dahl as a sauce over lettuce, tofu or meat. Serving a legume with a grain, such as rice, makes a complete protein.

Mild Masoor Dal

Makes 4-6 servings.

Soak 1 cup of red lentils (hulled and split), or masoor dal, overnight in about 4 cups of water and the juice of half a lemon (about a tablespoon) or a splash of vinegar. If you will be serving the dal over rice, soak the rice in water as well (I soaked 2 cups of rinsed brown rice in 4 cups of water for almost 24 hours). This step is optional, but disables the antinutrient phytic acid in the grains, making them more digestible.

Drain and rinse the soaked lentils, combine with 3 and 1/2 cups of water (4 cups water if you didn't soak them), and bring to a boil.

Turn the pot down to a simmer over medium-low heat and add:

1/2 tsp ground cumin seed
1 tsp crushed coriander seed
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/8 tsp powdered mustard
1/2 tsp salt (wait to add salt until the last few minutes of cooking)

Cook for about 30 to 45 minutes or until lentils are tender. Serve on flatbread or over cooked rice. I started the dal cooking and then put my soaked rice into the rice cooker, and they both got done about the same time.

This dal is very good served over cooked rice. I cooked 2 cups of soaked brown rice with 4 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.

To serve as in the photo, start with a bed of leaf lettuce. I used one large leaf with more salad on the side, but a thicker layer of lettuce ripped into bite-sized chunks might work better under the dal. Put a good-sized portion of rice on top. Ladle a spoonful of lentil mixture over the rice and garnish each plate with chopped green onions or chives.

If you can tolerate dairy products, you might want to try making the dal more spicy and adding a spoonful of sour cream or plain yogurt under the green onions.

Chocolate Fudge Cereal Treats (or No-Bake Cookies)

2007-07-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

Grease an 8 x 8 pan or a cookie sheet, or lay out waxed paper on paper bags. Get out candy thermometer.

Measure out 4 cups of puffed grain or cereal (I used puffed rice).

Combine in a heavy saucepan:

1/3 cup oil (I use safflower)
2/3 cup honey
4 Tbs (1/8 cup) sifted unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Hershey's baking cocoa)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup rice milk (I use Rice Dream Original Unenriched)
2 teaspoons calcium/magnesium powder (optional)

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until candy thermometer registers 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove pan from heat and stir in cereal until well coated.

Pour into greased pan for bars, or quickly drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper or greased cookie sheet for cookies. Allow to cool and enjoy!

If you leave the cereal out, this might make a good hot fudge topping.

Cumin-Sausage Lentil Soup

2007-07-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

Combine in large pot, dutch oven or slow-cooker (crock pot):

2 cups uncooked dried lentils, rinsed well
1 cup uncooked brown rice, rinsed well
8 cups water
1/2 to 1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 large carrots, sliced
1/4 teaspoon cumin
6 inch strip or equivalent amount of dried kombu seaweed (optional--kombu adds a nice flavor and makes dried beans more tender and easier to digest)

Stir ingredients together. (Note: When cooking dried beans, do not add salt, sugar, or an acid at the beginning of cooking, as these can keep them from getting tender.)

If cooking in slow-cooker, put on the lid and turn on the crockpot. I put this soup together in the afternoon and cooked it on low for 2-3 hours and then on high for a couple more hours, and it was getting quite soft and mushy by the time we ate it. If you are making it in the morning, I would think cooking on low all day should be fine.

If cooking on the stovetop, bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer about 1 hour.

In the last few minutes of cooking (or during the last 1/2 to 1 hour, if using a crockpot), add:

2 tsp salt
1/2 to 1 lb. cooked ground sausage (optional)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp powdered ginger (optional)
1/8 tsp more cumin (optional--leave out for a milder flavor)
2-4 tablespoons snipped fresh chives (optional--you can stir this in just before serving or use it as a garnish on top of soup after dishing into bowls if desired)

When the lentils and rice are tender and all ingredients are heated thoroughly, the soup is done. The lentils and rice make a complete protein, so the sausage is completely optional--it's added more for flavor. You can leave out the meat for a vegan dish.

This soup is wonderful served with a salad of mixed greens (I used red and green leaf lettuce and baby spinach)

Other flavors that might be good in this soup would be a sprinking of black pepper, some basil and coriander or anise seed, or a touch of honey.

Colored Birthday Cake

2007-06-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

Oil two 8 x 8 inch cake pans or one larger rectangular pan (I think I used a 9 x 13 pan).

Combine and set aside:
1/4 cup plus 1 and 1/2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
3/4 cup boiling water

Sift together:
3 cups flour (cake flour would be best, but I used King Arthur All-Purpose Unbleached flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Hain Featherweight, which is made with potato starch)
1 tsp salt (RealSalt)
1 packet Kosher for Passover gelatin dessert mix (such as Ko-Jel or Kedem)--I used raspberry flavor Kedem

Cream together:
3/4 cup soft butter (you could substitute oil--I would probably reduce to 1/2 cup next time if subbing oil)
2 cups sugar (C & H/Domino's is pure cane sugar)

Blend into sugar mixture:
3/4 cup rice milk (Rice Dream Original Unenriched)
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional--I used more like 1 tsp homemade vanilla that was essentially a vanilla bean cut up and simmered in water)
Cooled flaxseed mixture

Stir together wet and dry ingredients and blend well, then pour batter into pan and smooth flat.

Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean (about 50 minutes for a 9 x 13 pan).

Top with berries or whatever you like to put on cake. This time I made a Kosher For Passover vanilla pudding mix with half the amount of rice milk called for, added some K for P marshmallows while stirring over low heat, and then added pureed strawberries. It made a thin mixture that we spooned over each piece of cake and topped with a K for P marshmallow.

Crispy Waffles

2007-06-21T11:39:00.001-07:00

These waffles are a variation on a recipe that came with the Disney Princess waffle iron we just bought (yes, it imprints Cinderella's carriage on every waffle, much to the delight of my children). The added starch supposedly makes the waffles more crisp. They are nice and sturdy if you like to put lots of toppings on your waffles.

Mix together and set aside:
3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup flaxseed meal

Preheat waffle iron.

Sift together:
1 and 1/3 cup flour (I have tested this recipe with King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour and brown rice flour)
1/3 cup potato starch (I used Manischewitz)
1 Tablespoon teff flour (optional, or you can substitute another type of flour for crunch and flavor--the original recipe called for cornmeal)
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Hain Featherweight, which is corn-free)
3/4 teaspoon salt

To flax seed mixture, add:
1/3 cup oil
3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar (optional)
3/4 cup rice milk or other dairy substitute (Rice Dream Original unenriched is corn-free)

Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Lightly grease waffle iron with oil or cooking spray. Eggless waffles tend to stick more easily than those containing eggs, so you may or may not need to grease the griddle before every waffle. You will most likely need to grease for every waffle if you use gluten-free flour.

Spoon in enough batter to cover the pattern on the bottom of the iron, close iron, and bake until the indicator on your iron says it's done. Remove waffle and cool on a rack for greater crispiness.
We eat the whole-wheat version of these waffles plain, with nothing on them. If you wish to put something sugary on top, like syrup, you may want to leave out the honey or decrease to 1 tablespoon. The gluten-free version is less moist and more crispy.

You can turn waffles into a main dish by leaving out the honey and serving a meat sauce (think biscuits and gravy) or stew over them. Or they make a great dessert with fruit on top.

Makes about 3-4 large waffles. Whole-grain flour makes these quite substantial and filling.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2007-06-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

This started out as a brownie recipe, but I think it has more of a cake consistency. It's moist and chocolatey--yum! Nuts could be stirred in before baking if desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and oil a rectangular pan.

Mix together and set aside:
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
3/4 cup boiling water

Sift together until blended:
2 cups whole grain flour (I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat, but any flour should work. I think even a gluten-free flour should work with this recipe, although it may require longer baking. If you test the recipe that way, please let me know how it turns out.)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Hershey's)

In blender, combine and blend until smooth:
1/2 cup sourdough starter, applesauce, or yogurt (chocolate, vanilla or plain) [optional--cake will be denser if left out]
1/3 cup oil
1 cup honey
2 medium peeled/sliced zucchini (about 2 cups worth after processing)

To dry ingredients, add zucchini mixture and flaxseed mixture. Stir just until blended and pour into oiled pan.

If desired, sprinkle batter with 3/4 cup chocolate chips. I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips and pressed them in to the batter a bit.

Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. I used a pan smaller than a traditional cake pan, so ended up baking it for about an hour because it made the batter deeper.

(Note: I recently made this cake and forgot to put in any sourdough starter, fruit or yogurt. It was fine without the acid--a little denser, more brownie-like. I mixed about a cup of Enjoy Life choc. chips before pouring the batter into the pan, and it was good.)

Gingered Chicken Fruit Salad

2007-06-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

My mom makes a fabulous chicken fruit salad that I have fond childhood memories of eating. Unfortunately, it contains apples, grapes, mandarin oranges, celery, almond slivers, cool whip and mayonnaise. Most of which, of course, are ingredients we can't have.

So this week I tried to develop my own version. I thought it turned out well, but DH and the kids weren't crazy about it. Since they generally don't like fruit salad anyway, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. I enjoyed it.

This recipe would be easy to change for various dietary restrictions. Freely substitute any fruit you can have. To make it gluten-free, use rice or seaweed noodles. To make it vegan, you could use cooked beans or tofu instead of the meat. Use your imagination!

Anyway, here's what I put in:

8 to 12 oz. package of pasta, cooked al dente (slightly firm)--I used kamut spirals
2+ cups each of red and green grapes, halved (for a total of between 4 and 5 cups)
1/2 cup diced celery
1 raw zucchini, peeled and diced
2 firm pears (a tad green is fine)
About 5 cups cooked cubed chicken
Other fruit to your taste--I really would have liked to add mandarin oranges or a couple of sliced tangerines or oranges. Since I didn't have any oranges or pineapple, I added a peach and a kiwi fruit.

For the sauce/glaze, mix together:

3 tablespoons Ginger Spread (Trader Joe's makes one that's just ginger and cane sugar)
4-6 tablespoons lemon juice (equivalent to the juice of 2-3 lemons)
2 tablespoons agave nectar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (you may want to omit or reduce the salt if your chicken was presalted)

Warm the glaze mixture slightly until it stirs together well. Then stir in:

1 can of cranberry sauce (I used whole-berry Kosher for Passover cranberry sauce; Trader Joe's cranberry sauce also seems to be corn-free)

The lemon-ginger mixture would probably make a great glaze all by itself. I got a bit carried away and added cranberry sauce too.

Drizzle the sauce over the salad and stir to coat. Taste and add more salt, lemon juice or sweetener if needed. Chill salad before serving if desired.

Basic Sourdough Baking

2007-05-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Making bread from sourdough starter is so easy. I just take a cup or so of the (room temperature) starter and mix it with a cup each of flour and warm water. (Don't forget to feed your starter also--100 grams each of flour and water makes about a cup of starter.)

I let that double; it's called the sponge. Then I mix a teaspoon or two of salt into another cup of flour (the general rule is about 2 teaspoons of salt to a regular-sized loaf of bread), mix that into the sponge, and add more flour until it's a bread dough consistency. Add oil, herbs or sugar if desired--I like to add about 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup each of oil and honey.

You don't want the dough to be too stiff, but you can knead quite a lot of flour into it . . . I probably usually end up working a total of about 3 cups of flour into the sponge, including the cup I mixed with salt. The dough should still be just slightly sticky after kneading, but firm enough to hold its shape. If you get it too stiff, just add a little warm water or oil.

Next, flour and/or grease your bread pan (I use a baking stone, which I just flour) and put the dough on it. If you're using a stone, shape the loaf taller than it is wide because it spreads out to the sides as it rises. Sometimes I lightly slash the top of the loaf to allow it to rise without "exploding" unevenly.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap or something and let it rise till double, then bake it. I usually put the breadstone with the loaf in the cold oven, then turn the oven on to 350 degrees F and let it bake for 40-60 minutes or until it looks done.

I've been surprised at how un-sour it tastes; it's not nearly as sour as commercial sourdough. The longer it proofs the more sour it will be, and being refrigerated will give it a sharper flavor. If you find it too sour, you can always add a little sweetener or a teaspoon of baking soda to cut the acidity.

Depending on what you add to it, you can make many different types of bread, rolls, even cinnamon rolls. You can also use the sponge or fresh sourdough starter as the acid in quick breads, with no extra rising time. Mixed with baking soda it works just like baking powder. The general rule is no more than a teaspoon of leavening per cup of flour, but I usually use 1 to 2 teaspoons per batch of bread or muffins. I'll be posting a sourdough muffin recipe on Restricted Gourmet soon.

The sourdough cookie recipe is a delicious use of sourdough starter, and nobody can tell it's sourdough or corn/soy/egg/oat/dairy-free at all. I put an entire package of Enjoy Life chocolate chips in my last batch and they turned out very well.

Sourdough Starter

2007-05-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

I've found sourdough very easy to use, and it's completely free of most allergens other than grain and wild yeasts. I just found instructions online somewhere, probably here. This site has some photos of what starter looks like as it grows.

It's supposedly a myth that you are catching yeasts from the air. The organisms are actually in the flour itself, so the fresher and better quality your flour is the better it will work. Stoneground whole rye flour is supposed to be the best; you can always convert it to whole wheat or whatever you like once you get the starter established, just by feeding it with a different grain.

You'll want to cover it loosely to keep dust and bugs out, but it does need to be able to breathe a bit. I use a crockery with a loose-fitting lid or just cover a glass bowl or measuring cup loosely with plastic wrap. Make sure you have it in a large enough container that it can double (or, at the beginning, maybe even quadruple) without overflowing.

Basically I mixed equal parts (by weight, not by volume) whole stoneground rye flour with filtered water and kept that at warm room temp (75-85 F or 24-29 C) for several days. I fed it every 12 hours or so until it was well-established.

It's easiest to measure by weight if you have a scale, but if not use about 1/4 cup of water and 3/8 cup of flour to start out with. Water weighs more than flour does, so you'll have about 1 and 1/2 parts flour to 1 part water by volume.

You can start out with a small amount and double the volume each time, but eventually you want to start taking out half each time you feed it, or it will take over the house. I just added another 1/4 cup water and 3/8 cup flour the first time I fed it, and then I'd take out half and add 1/4 cup water and 3/8 cup flour each time I fed it.

Now I try to keep about 2 cups of starter at any given time. Most recipes start out with a cup of starter, so you're taking out half each time you use it if you have two cups.

Mine started out with lots of bubbles but a very bad smell. That's from the wrong kind of bacteria growing in it, but don't give up on it. As the correct yeasts proliferate, they create an acid that kills the other bacteria. It may seem to have died for a day or two when this change in dominant bacteria is taking place, but it probably hasn't.

You just keep feeding it (but don't use it yet) until it smells more yeasty. That should happen in about 3 days . . . if it hasn't happened by a week or so I'd probably throw it out and start over. If it grows mold, you'll need to start over also.

It's ready to use when it smells right and it doubles in size within 12 hours. Mine usually doubles in 4-6 hours and then collapses by 12 hours, so you need to kind of watch it to see what yours does.

Now I just feed it once a day, or you can feed it and put it in the refrigerator and then it keeps about a week between feedings.

Each time you feed the starter, allow it to get to room temperature. It will probably start to bubble. I keep about two cups of starter going at a time. When I feed it, I usually take out one cup of starter and add about a cup or 200 grams each of water and whole wheat flour to that cup to make the sponge for my loaf of bread.

To the remaining cup of starter, I add 100 grams each of flour and water (about 1/2 cup of water and 3/4 cup of flour, or a little less), which will bring the amount back up to about 2 cups. Let it sit at room temperature until it starts to bubble. You can then put it back in the refrigerator if desired.

If you keep the starter at room temperature it should be fed at least once a day. If you continue feeding it every 12 hours it will have a milder flavor, but it generates a lot of starter to use up. Most people probably aren't baking twice a day every day. :)

I've let my starter go 2 days or more at room temperature without killing it, but it seems to stay healthiest if fed every day. If at any time it grows mold, it should be thrown away.

Sourdough Brown Sugar Drop Cookies

2007-05-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

These cookies taste very "normal." The recipe uses sourdough starter as the acid, but nobody would ever guess they're sourdough. You can leave the dough to ferment at room temperature for a couple of hours without hurting it. Fermentation supposedly enhances the digestibility of gluten-containing grains. Use "fresh" sourdough starter that has been fed within the last 12 hours or so, or part of your sponge.

These cookies aren't particularly healthy, so they are for special occasions, but they are whole-grain and the sugar is not highly refined. I add a tablespoon of calcium powder so I can pretend they're healthy. :) They are also free of corn, soy, eggs, milk/dairy, oats and nuts. If you use vegetable gelatin they can be vegan.

The dough tastes just like cookie dough should. We like to eat it raw since it contains no eggs. You could add a teaspoon of corn-free vanilla with the wet ingredients if desired.

Sourdough Brown Sugar Drop Cookies

Mix 1 tablespoon plain unflavored gelatin with 3 tablespoons cold water. Leave it for a couple of minutes to soften, then stir in 1/4 cup boiling water to dissolve. I use beef gelatin, but other types should work as well. If you use a vegetable gelatin, you may have to adjust amount/temperature of the water.

Mix or sift together:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) (if you like denser, less cakelike cookies, try reducing to 1 teaspoon and adding a pinch more salt)
1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
1 tablespoon calcium/magnesium powder (optional)

In a separate container, blend until smooth:
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use safflower oil)
2 cups brown sugar (C&H/Domino's is a pure cane sugar that's corn-free and naturally brown)
Gelatin mixture

Stir into sugar mixture:
1 cup sourdough starter

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until blended.

If desired, stir in:
1 cup baking chips, raisins, or other mix-in of your choice. (An entire package of Enjoy Life Chocolate chips is perfect in this recipe--since they are mini chips, they seem to need more to taste right
.)
You can also add rolled or puffed grains (quinoa, rolled oats, etc) if you like. I add a cup or two depending on the grain and the consistency of the dough.

(Depending on the type of flour you use and the consistency of your sourdough starter, you may need to add an extra 1/4 cup or so of flour or a few tablespoons of water to get the dough to good drop-cookie texture. If the texture is wrong, try letting the dough rest for 5 minutes before you make adjustments.)

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto non-stick baking dish. Bake at 375 F for 12 minutes or until solid and lightly browned. Remove from pan immediately for slightly chewy, moist cookies.

(I have in a pinch used an oiled glass baking dish and longer cooking time with some success.)

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

Flourless Potato Cookies

2007-04-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

These cookies are grain-free and vegan. They are made almost completely with potatoes and some sweetener. They're quite sweet and rich-tasting, especially with chocolate or white chocolate baking chips in them. My husband thinks the texture is like French Fries, although the taste is different.

The brands in parenthesis are what I used when developing this recipe. Since different varieties of potato flour perform differently in baking, you may need to experiment with leaving out the water or adding more liquid if you use other brands of ingredients.

To make these cookies Kosher for Passover, use all K for P ingredients. If you are sulfite-sensitive, this would not be a good recipe to try since potato chips, starch and flour are all likely to contain sulfites.

2/3 cup potato flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1/3 cup potato starch (Manischewitz Kosher for Passover)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (Featherweight corn-free gluten-free, or see this post for baking powder substitutes)

1/2 cup honey (Fred Meyer pure clover honey)
1/2 cup brown sugar (C & H pure cane sugar)
1/3 cup oil (Trader Joe's grapeseed oil)
2 tablespoons water

1 cup coarsely crushed potato chips (Manischewitz Kosher for Passover Potato Stix)
(optional) 1/2 cup of your favorite mix-in (I used a mixture of Lieber's decorating chips [white chocolate] and Oppenheimer chocolate chips, both Kosher for Passover)
(optional) 1 teaspoon of your favorite flavoring (safe vanilla, ground cinnamon, etc.)

Sift together potato flour, starch, and baking powder. If adding a dry spice, add it with the potato flour.

In a separate container, blend oil, sugar, water and honey. If you're using a liquid flavoring, add it with the liquid ingredients. The oil may not blend into the other ingredients well, and that's okay.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend as well as you can with a spoon. If you have trouble stirring, knead the misture with your hands until smooth.

Stir or knead in the potato chips and the mix-in. Drop by tablespoons onto a cookie sheet. Do not flatten the tops of these cookies; the rounder they are the better the texture will be.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 8 minutes. They will be golden-brown around the edges and will still be a bit soft and gooey when you remove them from the pan, but stiffen up as they cool.

Best served warm.

Creamless Cream of Cauliflower Soup

2007-03-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

This recipe is adapted from Feast Without Yeast by Bruce Semon.

I usually make it with just cauliflower and potatoes, but sometimes I'll add an onion or some red bell pepper. The original recipe called for adding an optional mild poblano pepper. If you can't tolerate nightshades, try substituting one or two large yucca (cassava) roots for the potatoes.

1 large head of cauliflower
About 5 medium red potatoes
1 tablespoon additive-free salt (kosher salt or unrefined sea salt)
Enough water to cover
Optional add-ins of your choice (onions, leeks, peppers, herbs and spices, ham or other meat, dill, etc.)

Wash cauliflower and cut it into about 1" or smaller pieces. If you want to add something like an onion, cut it up and cook it with or just before the cauliflower.

In a large soup pot, saute the cauliflower over medium-low heat with a tablespoon or two of oil. Cook the cauliflower, stirring frequently, until tender.

Meanwhile, wash and peel potatoes and cut into small cubes. When the cauliflower is tender, add the potatoes and enough water to cover the vegetables by an inch or two. I used 10 cups of water last time I made the soup. Stir in the tablespoon of salt, bring to a boil and then simmer until the potatoes are tender.

Allow the soup to cool enough to safely work with, then use a blender or immersable handheld blender to puree the soup until there are no lumps in it. Add more water if desired to make it as thick or as thin as you like. It will thicken a bit as it cools.

Add black pepper, dill, or whatever seasonings you like and reheat to serve. If you want to put cooked meat (or tofu for a vegan version) in your soup, add it at this point too. I haven't tried it, but I imagine a splash of cream or a topping of cheese would be delicious if you can tolerate dairy.

This soup refrigerates well and is even better the next day.

French Onion Soup

2007-03-21T23:39:00.000-07:00

This recipe is really easy, and so very delicious. It's a great way to use the leftover broth from making Crock Pot Roast.

You need:

2-4 onions
4-8 cups beef broth or soup stock
Salt and pepper to taste

I use about 1 part onions to 2 parts beef broth, but the proportions are flexible. You want enough onions to make a soup with some body, and enough broth to cover the onions by an inch or more.

Slice or coarsely chop the onions. Cook them over medium-low heat with the oil in the bottom of a soup pot, stirring frequently until tender. Add beef broth or soup stock, bring to a boil, and then simmer until the flavors are blended and the onions are soft and translucent. Add salt and pepper to taste if desired. Serve and enjoy!

I usually add about 1 tsp salt and 1/8 to 1/4 tsp pepper, but if the broth was salty you may not need to add more salt.

Crock Pot Roast

2007-03-21T23:07:00.000-07:00

This recipe is so quick and easy to put together in the crock pot, and then you can let it cook all day until the meat is tender and falling apart.

You can cook other types of meat the same way, but I usually use beef. The crock pot is a particularly good way to cook grassfed beef, as it stays more juicy and tender when cooked longer at a lower temperature.

It's great to eat as a roast, or you can shred it for other recipes or use it as lunchmeat in sandwiches. Sometimes I'll even put the roast in the crock pot the night before and then it's ready for sandwiches by lunch time.

When cooking a roast this way, the water becomes a rich broth in the slow cooker with the meat. You can use the broth as au jus for French Dip sandwiches, thicken it for gravy, or use it as soup stock. It's great to boil down for bullion cubes, too--just simmer it in an open pot until it's about half to a quarter of the original volume, then freeze in ice cube trays. You may wish to strain the broth to get out the rosemary leaves, and be sure to remove the tough bay leaf.

I vary the seasonings and sometimes add vegetables such as carrots, potatoes and celery. Some people like to add a tablespoon or two of an acid such as apple cider vinegar, lemon juice or red wine. Many cookbooks recommend that you brown the roast before slow-cooking it to lock in the juices and give a nice color and flavor, but I never do. I just plop the raw roast in the crock pot, throw in some spices and water (I rarely measure), and turn it on.

Easy Crock Pot Roast

Place in the crock pot:

1 beef roast (any size that will fill your crock pot at least halfway will do, but I usually use about a 4 lb. roast)

Sprinkle over and around the roast:

2 or 3 cloves garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf (optional)
Salt to taste (I usually put in somewhere between a teaspoon and a tablespoon, I would guess)
1/2 to 1 medium onion (optional)

Add enough water or beef broth to just cover the roast. If you're using a small roast, use enough water to fill your crock pot at least 2/3 full, as it won't cook evenly otherwise.

Turn the crock pot on low and cook for about 8 to 12 hours.

Matzo Cookies

2007-03-20T23:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a Kosher Pareve cookie recipe I worked up using some of the corn/soy/dairy-free Kosher for Passover products available this time of year. I modified my mom's famous chewy oatmeal cookie recipe, using crushed matzo (also spelled matza, matzoh, or matzah, or in Hebrew מַצָּה maṣṣā) crackers instead of oats.

If you need a Kosher for Passover recipe, substitute matzo meal for the flour and K for P sugar or honey for the brown sugar. You may need to add a tablespoon or more extra flour if using a liquid sweetener, and the texture won't be the same.

I also tried the recipe with 2 tablespoons less margarine (6 tablespoons total) and 1/2 cup brown sugar with 1/4 cup honey. That worked fine although the texture and flavor weren't quite as good.

Matzo Cookies

1/2 cup Kosher for Passover Pareve margarine (I used Mother's brand regular salted margarine)
3/4 cup brown sugar (C & H is corn-free, pure cane sugar)
1 egg

1 cup flour (I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. additive-free salt (kosher salt or unrefined sea salt)

2 large matzo crackers, coarsely crushed (makes almost 1 cup of crumbs)

1/2 to 1 cup of your favorite cookie mix-in (optional)
1/2 tsp. flavoring of your choice (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Crush the Matzos. I broke mine in quarters and put them in a sandwich bag, then pounded the bag with a blunt object (the bottom of my sea salt canister) to crush them.

Cream together margarine and sugar. Add egg and mix well. If you wish to add a safe vanilla or another liquid flavoring, stir this into the wet ingredients with the egg.

In separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. If you are adding cinnamon or another dry flavoring, add it to the dry mixture.

Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture and stir just until blended. Mix in the matzo crumbs. If desired, stir in your favorite cookie mix-in (i.e. raisins, baking chips, candy, dried fruit or nuts).

Drop in small spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven while they still look soft and shiny in the center for cookies with a chewy texture; they will continue to cook a bit after you take them out of the oven. I baked mine for just 8 minutes and immediately removed them from the pan to a cooling rack.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Easy homemade shortening substitute

2007-03-09T18:05:00.000-08:00

I've found a great solution for a shortening/butter substitute.

Take your favorite vegetable oil and FREEZE it!

It will get thicker and thicker, and eventually solidifies into something about the texture of refrigerated butter. If you work quickly with cold ingredients and utensils, you can cut it in with two knives (a pastry cutter probably wouldn't be strong enough) before it melts. (Note: Liz suggests grating it with a cheese grater, which sounds like an even better idea.)

If you just put it in the freezer for 30 minutes or a few hours, it will just be thicker colder oil, but it still works pretty well if you just quickly and lightly mix it in with a utensil or your fingertips, and avoid overmixing.

I haven't tried a pie crust yet, but it makes lovely flaky biscuits and crackers.

Electrolyte Replacement Drink

2007-02-16T10:42:00.000-08:00

Since the electrolyte-replacing formulas commercially available contain corn, having a stomach virus is made even more difficult for those allergic to corn.

When dehydrated, you need to drink something with a good balance of minerals, sugar and salts. Drink in small, frequent sips--not more than a teaspoon or so every few minutes until vomiting subsides.

This is what I made recently when I had a stomach virus with diarrhea and vomiting. It was much easier on the stomach and made me feel better than plain water or diluted fruit juice.

1 cup warm water (boiled and cooled)
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
Small pinch of baking soda (1/16 teaspoon or less)

I used Grandma's molasses, which is corn-free. You can also use sugar if you don't have molasses, but do not use an artificial sugar substitute as this will make matters worse instead of helping. Molasses is high in many minerals and should be better than sugar to replace electrolytes.

Florida's Natural unenriched orange juice is corn-free. The enriched can contain corn derivatives in the added vitamins.

Here are a couple more recipes to choose from:

World Health Organization recipe:

1. Table Salt - 3/4 teaspoon
2. Baking Powder - 1 teaspoon
3. Sugar -4 tablespoons
4. Orange juice - 1 cup
5. Water - 1 quart/liter (4 cups)

Homemade Pedialyte (shared by a member of the Avoiding Corn Delphi forum--thank you!)
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 pint (2 cups) water

Marinara With a Twist

2007-02-01T19:11:00.000-08:00

This recipe is adapted from the "Unstuffed Cabbage" recipe in The Complete Food Allergy Cookbook. It's a bit spicy, but my preschool and kindergarten-aged kids loved it.

For a vegan version, you could add more Italian spices and some cooked (or canned) beans or tofu. If you can't tolerate or don't like tomatoes, just leave them out or add a cup of vegetable broth instead.

In a large skillet or wok, cook and stir until browned and broken into pieces:
1 lb. Italian sausage (I used hamburger-style sausage, or you can remove the casing)

Add and cook until tender:
1 medium to large onion, diced (I used a yellow onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced or put through a garlic press

If desired, spoon out the extra grease and discard it.

Stir in:
6 cups cabbage in bite-sized chunks (about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cabbage head--the normal round-headed green cabbage works well in this recipe)
4 medium carrots, shredded (2 cups loose or 1 cup packed)
1/2 teaspoon sage (I used about 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh snipped sage)

When the cabbage has shrunk enough to add something else to the pan, add:
1 can of Cento crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
Salt and pepper to taste (I didn't add either salt or pepper, but the original recipe called for 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper)

Cover (I used aluminum foil) and cook for 10 to 20 minutes or until cabbage is just tender, stirring occasionally.

Serve over noodles or cooked grain. We had it with rice noodles, and it was quite tasty.

Honey-Cereal Candy

2007-01-27T23:38:00.000-08:00

This is the vegan, corn-free, gluten-free, soy-free version of rice krispies treats. No marshmallows or refined sugars involved.

If you cook the syrup a little longer, it will be more reminiscent of the honey-sesame hard candies with a texture like nut brittle.

You can substitute other kinds of cereal, such as puffed rice, crispy rice cereal, the round O's type of cereal, or a mixture of several kinds. Different cereals will absorb varying amounts of liquid, so start with 3 cups of cereal and add enough so that the caramel is evenly coating all the cereal without collecting pools of liquid.

The cooking time and temperature given gets the caramel to a soft- or medium-ball stage. This yields a soft, slightly chewy texture at room temperature.

For a chewier, stiffer or even crunchy candy, just increase the cooking time until the caramel reaches a higher temperature and the desired stiffness. Drop a small amount of the syrup into cold water to test what it will be like when cooled.

Ingredients:

1 cup honey
1/3 cup oil (I used safflower oil)
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 and 1/2 cups puffed millet

Instructions:

Oil an 8 x 8 or 9 x 13 pan.

Cook the honey, salt and oil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Make sure that you use a saucepan large enough to handle the honey mixture boiling up to several times its height--probably at least a 1 to 2 quart pan.

Bring to a boil and cook for approximately 10 minutes, until a candy thermometer reads 250 degrees F. The mixture will thicken and darken in color, and a drop of the syrup will have the texture of chewy caramel when cooled.

Remove caramel from heat and stir in the cereal. Smooth the mixture into the oiled dish and allow to cool slowly to room temperature.

While it's still slightly soft, cut the candy into small squares (2" or so is good, but you'll want to make them bite-sized if you cooked the caramel to a hard ball or hard-crack stage). The recipe as written will stay soft enough to cut at room temperature, but don't try to refrigerate it first and then cut it. :)

If you have leftovers, wrap each piece individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze the pieces in a larger bag. The colder the candy gets, the harder it is.

Parsnip Cake

2007-01-25T20:38:00.000-08:00

Tender, moist, sweet and delicious!

You've heard of carrot cake, but have you ever thought of trying parsnip cake? It has a sweeter, milder flavor than carrot cake. The parsnip, spices and brown sugar give it a special, almost caramel-like taste. If you don't tell your kids, they'll never guess they're eating their vegetables.

My family dislikes parsnips, so I'm always trying to find ways to disguise them. I baked this cake for company tomorrow. What started out as "just a taste" tonight turned out to be the family devouring half the cake before we enforced a limit.

This cake creates a bit of a crispy crust on top and is good without frosting. If you can tolerate dairy products, some lightly sweetened whipped cream would probably complement the flavors nicely.

If desired it can be eaten warm, straight from the oven.

Parsnip Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix together and set aside, stirring occasionally:
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup boiling water

Oil a 9 x 13-ish cake pan and lightly dust with flour.

Blend together:
2 and 1/2 cups whole grain flour
2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Featherweight, or see baking powder substitutes here)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh ginger (I put mine through a garlic press instead of dicing it. If you don't have fresh ginger, try 1/4 teaspoon of powdered ginger.)

In a separate container, cream together
1 cup oil (I used rice bran oil)
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar (C & H is pure cane sugar, free of corn)

Add to sugar mixture and blend well:
1/2 cup water
Flax seed mixture

To dry ingredients, add liquid ingredients and
3 cups grated parsnip

Mix it all together, pour into the pan and smooth batter flat. Bake at 350 until toothpick comes out clean, approximately 45 minutes.

**
For the flour, I used 1 and 1/2 cups King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat and 1 cup White Whole Wheat flour; if using gluten-free flour with low binding properties, try 2 cups of a flour such as brown rice or amaranth flour, and 1/2 cup tapioca or sweet rice flour.

If you use a liquid sweetener, you may need to leave out the 1/2 cup of water.

Meaty Spaghetti Squash

2007-01-23T22:54:00.000-08:00

This is one of my family's favorite meals--quite a feat since few of us really like (and several truly detest) squash of any kind.

You can cut up the veggies and cook the meat while the squash is baking, or you can do all the cutting, cook the meat and bake the squash ahead of time for a quick combine-and-heat dish that goes in minutes from refrigerator to stove. I like to use my food processor for the grating and dicing. It makes this dish surprisingly simple to put together.

I scrub and peel the carrots and zucchini, but if you use organic unwaxed produce you can leave them unpeeled for more nutrition.

I came up with this recipe by modifying the Savory Spaghetti Squash recipe from Casseroles (from the Eating Better cookbook series) by Sue Gregg. The original recipe calls for tofu marinated in a ginger/lemon juice/soy sauce mixture, along with a few other twists.

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash
1 lb. italian sausage (I found corn- and soy-free sausage at a local butcher shop, or you could substitute bacon or another flavorful meat)
2 medium carrots, grated
1 medium zucchini (use 2 if they're small), grated
2 stalks celery, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wash the outside of the spaghetti squash. Bake the whole uncut squash at 375 degrees until tender--about 1 hour. Turn it occasionally during baking (at least once) to get it to cook evenly. (Alternatively, you can cut it in half, scrape out the seeds, and cook it cut side up with 1/4 cup water in the microwave, loosely covered, for about 7-8 minutes per half (you'll have to do one half at a time). Spaghetti squash can also be boiled whole.)

Allow the squash to cool a bit, then cut it in half and scrape out the seeds. If the squash doesn't seem quite done when you cut it open, just add the strands to the rest of the recipe a little early and cook it a bit more on the stovetop.

Brown the meat in a large frying pan or pot over medium heat, crumbling it as you cook. When the sausage is just barely done, drain all but about 3 or 4 tablespoons of the fat (I never drain the fat, but I should for a less watery dish).

Add all ingredients except the spaghetti squash and saute briefly, until the vegetables start to get tender. Use a fork to scrape the spaghetti squash strands from the shells and add them to the meat mixture.

Stir until everything is blended and heated through, then transfer to a casserole or serving dish and serve hot.

This can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen, then reheated for serving. If you have the meat cooked in advance, reserve 3-4 tablespoons of the fat and saute the vegetables in it briefly first, then add the meat with the squash. Or you can use vegetable oil, but it won't be quite as flavorful.

Some sausages are spicier than others. If the recipe is too spicy for your family, try mixing the sausage with an equal part of unseasoned meat (I use ground beef if I get a particularly spicy-smelling batch of sausage) and using 1 lb. of the milder mixture in the recipe.

Serves 4 very hungry people as a one-dish casserole, or 6-8 moderate eaters with side dishes (a green salad would be a nice compliment to this meal).

Black Raspberry Muffins

2007-01-20T01:53:00.000-08:00

The raspberries and black cherry juice make these muffins so flavorful that you don't need any other sweetener, but you can add a tablespoon or two of sweetener if desired. My kids prefer them with 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup of honey added.

I made both whole wheat and gluten-free versions tonight. The gluten-free ones would work best in a mini-muffin tin, but either kind works with no modifications to the recipe other than adjustments to the cooking time.

Mix together and set aside, stirring occasionally:
3 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
1/2 cup very hot water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil the cups of a muffin tin.

In a large bowl, mix together:
1 and 1/2 cups whole grain flour (I used King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour for one batch, and 1/2 cup each brown rice, amaranth and buckwheat for the other)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Hain Featherweight, or see baking powder substitutes here)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine in blender:
3/4 cup black cherry juice (Knudsen's Just Juice)
2 Tablespoons oil (I used rice bran oil)
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
Flaxseed mixture

Blend berry mixture until smooth.

Add berry mixture to dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. You should have just enough liquid to moisten all of the flour mixture. Add a tablespoon or two more juice if you are still seeing dry flour after it all seems to be mixed up.

Divide batter evenly between the cups of the muffin pan.

Bake until a toothpick comes out almost clean (gluten-free batters will be more gooey in the middle, so if the muffin seems solid and has a nice firm crust it is probably done).

I baked the whole wheat mini-muffins for 18-25 minutes and the gluten-free regular-sized muffins for 30-35 minutes. I think the gluten-free muffins might cook slightly more evenly in the mini tin.

My mini-muffin tin has 24 cups and takes the same amount of batter as a regular-sized 12-cup pan.

Carrot-Orange Mini Muffins

2007-01-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

Kai requested a vegetarian recipe using vegetables, so I decided to try making carrot muffins for breakfast this morning. The kids love them.

These muffins are a great way to get children (and adults!) to eat their vegetables. Feel free to substitute other types of flour or sweeteners.

Mix together and set aside, stirring occasionally:
4 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
1/2 cup very hot water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil the cups of a mini-muffin pan.

Wash, peel and slice enough carrots to make 1 cup.

Combine in blender:
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons orange juice (I used Florida's Natural)
2 Tablespoons oil (I used rice bran oil)
2 Tablespoons agave nectar or other sweetener (optional: increase orange juice by a tablespoon or two if you decide to leave this out)
1 cup sliced carrots
Flaxseed mixture

Blend until smooth.

In a large bowl, mix together:
1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Hain Featherweight, or see baking powder substitutes here)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional: You could probably substitute 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ginger if allergic to cinnamon, or just leave the spice out, but I have not tested this)

Add carrot mixture to dry ingredients and mix just until moistened. You should have just enough liquid to moisten all of the flour mixture. Add a tablespoon or two more orange juice if you are still seeing dry flour after it all seems to be mixed up.

Divide batter evenly between the cups of the mini-muffin tin.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

My mini-muffin tin has 24 cups and takes the same amount of batter as a regular-sized 12-cup pan. You could probably bake these muffins in a regular tin and just cook them a little longer.

If you like a stronger orange flavor, try adding a little bit (1/2 to 1 tsp) of grated orange peel (not recommended if allergic to corn, as the outsides of fruits are often treated with corn derivatives).

Cold & Flu Honey Lemon Tea

2007-01-14T09:34:00.000-08:00

This tea is soothing for sore throats and helps to break up mucus. Lemon and salt are good detoxifiers, and honey coats and soothes the throat. Raw honey supposedly has antibacterial properties.

The resulting beverage tastes a little like hot gatorade.

Into a 6-ounce cup (standard size coffee mug), add:

1 tablespoon lemon juice or the juice from half a medium lemon.
1/8 teaspoon additive-free sea salt (I like RealSalt)
1 tablespoon raw honey
Enough hot water to fill the mug.

Stir and sip slowly, inhaling the steam.

If desired, you can leave the sweetener out or increase the lemon juice to 2 tablespoons, using a slightly larger mug if desired. This will give it a more tart taste.

Using Quinoa

2007-01-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a gluten-free grain with especially high vitamin and protein content, but many people don't use it because they aren't familiar with it. Quinoa grain has a bitter coating called saponin that must be washed off before it is eaten.

The secret to cooking whole quinoa is to wash the quinoa really, really well (rinse until it stops foaming, then a little more). You can also accomplish this by soaking the grain for several hours, changing the water several times during the process.

Toasting the rinsed quinoa is a good way to bring out the nutty flavor before adding the water and cooking it. Heat it over medium-low heat in a frying pan until the kernels are dry and starting to turn golden-brown.

To cook whole quinoa, use 2 parts water or broth to 1 part quinoa and prepare just like rice. Bring it to a boil and then simmer it until the liquid is absorbed.

Quinoa flour does tend to have a bit of a bitter flavor, so I always use something with a strong flavor to offset the bitterness--white sugar won't do it. You need something like brown sugar, molasses or maple syrup. Those types of flavors work well with the quinoa flavor.

If it is excessively bitter, it is probably rancid. Smell it. If the smell is really sour/bitter, like fumes rising up off it, it is rancid.

These alternate flours like quinoa and amaranth get rancid easily, so you need to store them in a tightly-closed container in the refrigerator or freezer. If it is rancid and you bought it recently, you should be able to return/exchange it where you bought it.

Vegan Waffles or Pancakes

2007-01-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

Note: I have significantly revised this recipe, and the flavor and texture is much improved. It no longer sticks to my waffle iron, while at the same time being less greasy. I am still working on refining the gluten-free version, but the whole wheat version should give more consistent results now.

Here is a waffle or pancake recipe free of sugars, eggs and dairy products.

Other types of flour will work, too. Try fruit juice instead of the milk for a fun flavor that requires no extra topping. You can substitute any liquid for the rice milk--water, juice, milk or your favorite non-dairy milk substitute. If you prefer a sweeter flavor, add a tablespoon of honey, brown sugar or your favorite sweetener.

Mix together and heat until gelled:
1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
1 cup very hot water

Set aside flax mixture, stirring occasionally.

Preheat waffle iron.

Mix together in a large bowl:
2 cups whole-grain flour (so far I have used spelt and brown rice flour)
4 teaspoons safe baking powder (I used Featherlight [contains potato starch], or see here for baking powder substitutes)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon psyllium seed powder (increase to 1 teaspoon if using a gluten-free flour low in binding properties)

Beat together:
1 and 1/2 cups rice milk
1/4 cup oil (I used expeller-pressed apricot kernel oil)
Flax seed mixture

Quickly stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until blended. Let the batter rest for a couple of minutes while the flour absorbs the liquid. If it seems too thick, add more liquid. I find I need about 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra liquid with gluten-free waffles.

Bake in a waffle iron as you would any other waffles. Cook until you are not seeing large quantities of steam rising from the iron, which may be a bit longer than the automatic setting would indicate. Sometimes I need to lightly oil my waffle iron to keep waffles from sticking.

These can be topped with sweet (fruit, applesauce, syrup, etc) or savory (meat or vegetables in gravy or white sauce--a sausage/rice milk gravy would be delicious) flavors, or eaten plain.

To make pancakes, increase liquid to make the batter the desired texture.

Strawberry-Grapefruit Smoothie

2006-12-28T22:21:00.000-08:00

This drink turned out quite tasty, not unlike a non-alcoholic frozen strawberry margarita. I didn't measure anything, so I'm guessing at quantities after the fact. Next time I'll measure the ingredients and come back to revise the post with more specific amounts.

Pour into blender approximately:

1/2 cup tapioca drink base

1/4 cup of any other fluid (I used rice milk--you could just use more tapioca base if necessary, or leave this out altogether)

About 4-6 ounces frozen strawberries (maybe 8 or 10 berries?)

A few tablespoons or 1/4 cup grapefruit juice, or a quarter of a fresh peeled grapefruit.

The equivalent of 1 to 2 tablespoons sweetener (I used 1 packet of stevia powder plus 6 drops of liquid stevia). The amount will depend on your tastes and the tartness of the fruit used. I recommend starting with no sweetener at all and adding sweetener to taste only if needed.

Process the drink until smooth, serve and enjoy!

Tapioca Drink Base

2006-12-28T22:09:00.000-08:00

Since we discovered that my daughter was aspirating thin fluids, we make up several cups at a time of this tapioca thickening base and add it to all kinds of things. We mix it about half and half for the child with aspiration issues, and it helps to keep whatever she drinks from ending up in her lungs.

You can expect to see more recipes featuring this base soon--it makes a nice substitute for milk and other thickening/smoothing agents in smoothies and other beverages.

Mix 1 tablespoon tapioca starch per 1 cup of cold water.

Heat, stirring frequently, until almost or just barely boiling. If cooking on the stovetop it may be a bit smoother as you can stir it more constantly, but I usually do it in the microwave. In the microwave I start off with 1 minute, then continue cooking in 30-second increments, stirring well at each pause.

The mixture will thicken and become more transparent-looking (less like white powder mixed into water, and more like a cohesive whole). Stop cooking it at that point, or it will begin to separate again.

You can store this in the refrigerator and mix it with other fluids to thicken them without needing to reheat it. If it gets lumpy, put it in the blender and it will become smoother but slightly less thick.

Chicken Vegetable Soup

2006-12-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a simple soup recipe that was a hit with everyone in the family.

Soup is a very flexible and forgiving dish to cook. You can freely substitute types of vegetables and meat, and adjust quantities for your tastes. Add cooked beans or tofu instead of the meat for a vegan version.

Fill a 4-quart or larger pot about half-full with water or soup stock.

Put in:
1 to 1 1/2 lbs chicken (I used 7 chicken thighs)
1/2 teaspoon salt (1 teaspoon if water is used instead of chicken stock. You may need more salt if the chicken is not pre-salted--I use Foster Farms frozen chicken, which has salt added)
1/4 tsp pepper or to taste

As you add ingredients, keep adding enough water or soup stock (chicken or vegetable broth) to cover generously. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, cut up and add:

2 carrots
1 peeled kholrabi bulb and 2 or more kholrabi leaves (A kholrabi bulb is about the size of a child's fist. You can substitute any other bulb vegetable, such as a small turnip, rutabaga or part of a jicama, along with a few leaves of any dark green leafy vegetable.)
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
2 stalks celery
1 or more bok choy leaves (you can substitute cabbage)

As you may have noticed, I listed the firmest vegetables first. They take longer to cook, so go ahead and add them as you chop them up. You'll want to bring the water to a boil after adding the carrots and kholrabi, and cook over medium-high (6 or 7 on a scale of 1-10) heat for 5-10 minutes or more while you cut up the other vegetables. Add the bok choy last, because it cooks faster than the other items.

After the chicken has been cooking for a while, if you didn't cut it up before adding it initially, take the pieces out and cut into bite-sized chunks, then add them back in to the soup.

Simmer over medium-low heat (3-4) until chicken is thoroughly cooked and vegetables are tender, 30-45 minutes. If you want to cook it longer you can turn the heat down to simmer and cook for 1 to 3 hours.

Serves 4 to 6

This is good served with noodles or a cooked grain. You can add these directly to the soup shortly before serving, or serve them separately and let each person add the desired amount. I served buckwheat noodles with this soup. Alternatively, you could serve bread or muffins on the side.

Ginger-Orange Pinwheel Rolls

2006-12-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a recipe I developed tonight on the cinnamon-free theme.

These pinwheel rolls are made with a biscuit dough, so they are yeast-free as well as egg, dairy and corn free. For those allergic to cinnamon they make a nice substitute for cinnamon rolls, with ginger and orange to give them flavor.

Don't expect a yeast-bread texture; these rolls are soft and somewhat crumbly, as you would expect from a biscuit. They are not oversweet.

The recipe should work with 2 1/2 cups of a gluten-free flour blend instead of the whole wheat and tapioca flour--I recommend 1/2 to 1/3 the amount of tapioca or sweet rice flour when using a grainy gluten-free flour such as rice or millet flour.

These rolls are good served warm.

Mix together in large bowl:
1/2 cup tapioca flour
2 cups whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice)
3 tablespoons turbinado or demerara sugar

In separate (microwave or stovetop safe) container, beat together until smooth:
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup orange juice (I used Italian Volcano Organic Blood Orange juice, which has an especially strong flavor that makes it nice for cooking)
1 Tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 Tablespoons tapioca starch
2 Tablespoons oil

Heat the honey mixture for 30 seconds at a time in the microwave or over low heat on the stovetop until slightly thickened, stirring frequently. Stir again and pour the honey mixture into a 7x11x2 inch baking dish (6x10 will work also). Set aside.

To flour mixture, add
1/3 cup oil (I used grapeseed oil)
3/4 cup water or milk substitute (I use unenriched Rice Dream Original)

Stir together dough just until mixed. If necessary add enough flour to roll out.

Roll dough out in a rectangle approximately 9x15 inches. Sprinkle over the dough a mixture of:
1/2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
3 Tablespoons brown sugar (C & H is corn-free)

Roll up like a jelly roll, starting with the long side. Cut the roll into 1 inch slices.

Lay rolls cut side down in the syrup, flipping to coat both sides, and space evenly in the dish.

Bake until browned, approximately 20-25 minutes, at 425 degrees.

Makes about 15 rolls.

Ask the Gourmet: Cinnamon Substitutes

2006-12-03T02:19:00.000-08:00

Found your Restricted Gourmet this morning; holidays always rev up my "what to do about the cinnamon thing" motor!

My husband is allergic to "trees, grass & dirt", with the tree thing being a really big one (when skin testing, the allergist had to cut the test dose, what? I think it was one ten-thousandth of the regular test dose, before they got a reaction that didn't scare THEM). Anaphylactic reaction; I don't even keep cinnamon/cassia in the house.

Anyway, I have been hunting for a work-around for cinnamon for years, and thought maybe one of your blog-visitors might have an idea. I sometimes substitute ginger, for the heat, but sometimes there just doesn't seem to be any possibility than completely leaving the cinnamon out. We've never tried cassia, but it's tree bark too.

Thanks for any ideas or info,
Patsy

Hi, Patsy! Thanks for writing. I'm sorry to hear about your husband's allergies. Is he allergic to any product that comes from any tree (tea, paper, maple syrup, apples, nuts, etc.) or just pollen and cinnamon?

Usually the "tree mix" allergists use for skin testing is a mixture of pollens from trees local to your regional area. Most people who are allergic to tree pollen can handle other tree-derived products, or products from other types of trees.

"Tree" is such a large category and includes a great variety of different botanical families. Did the allergist give any guidance in exactly which trees or types of trees to avoid? The allergist also should have been able to tell what part(s) of dirt your husband was allergic to. For example, dust mites and mold are common allergens that are often found in dirt and dust.

As I'm sure you know, much of the "cinnamon" on the American market is not actually cinnamon, but is from a different tree (closely related, though) called cassia or chinese cinnamon. According to this page, anything labeled "cinnamon oil" made in the United States is actually oil of cassia. Much of the powdered cinnamon on the market is also cassia. This kind of mislabeling is common.

So in some cases it could be theoretically possible that someone could think they are allergic to cinnamon when in reality they are allergic to cassia, or vice versa. Of course, with an anaphylactic reaction you probably don't want to try anything that closely related anyway. Both cinnamon and cassia are fairly common allergens.

Cinnamon can be difficult to avoid, especially since in many products it can be simply labeled "spices" or "natural flavors" on the ingredient list. Cinnamon can hide in unexpected places such as curry powder, garam masala, chocolate, liquor, coffee, fruit and vegetable dishes, and just about anything sweet or spicy. Even cinnamon in candles or in air fresheners can cause allergic reactions for people breathing in the fumes.

Contrary to popular belief, cinnamaldehyde or artificial cinnamon flavoring is often derived from the cinnamon plant, although it can be made from benzaldehyde and acetaldehyde.

Can he have allspice and other aromatic spices? Most of them are from trees as well. Clove, nutmeg & mace (they come from the same plant), allspice, bay leaf (sweet laurel), and star anise are all from evergreen trees, as are cinnamon and cassia. Cumin, black pepper, cardamom and ginger are some spices that would add some heat without being from trees. Anise seed (the annual herb anise, not the star anise from a tree), molasses or honey will give a sweet flavor without being tree-derived.

Some of the suggested spices to substitute for cinnamon include nutmeg, allspice, cardamom or cloves. Some sources recommend a combination of 2 parts coriander and 1 part cardamom as a cinnamon substitute. Since many other aromatic spices are more strongly-flavored than cinnamon, you might want to start with half the amount of cinnamon called for in the recipe and adjust from there to taste.

You might also consider trying an herb with a cinnamon-like flavor, such as the cinnamon basil used in these recipes.

According to a quick internet search, other substitutes for cinnamon have historically included sweet flag or Acorus calamus (illegal as a food additive in the USA), sweet shade (calycanthus floridus), black sassafrass (a.k.a. Oliveri Cortex or Oliver's Bark--closely related to cinnamon), Cinnamon Myrtle (Backhousia myrtifolia--also an evergreen), Coluria geoides, and Perilla.

It seems that the appropriate substitute would really depend on the dish you were making. For example, in pancakes or waffles nutmeg is good, while in another dish like a pie I might substitute allspice and/or ginger. Ginger, butter and sugar makes a nice substitute for cinnamon sugar on toast.

In many recipes you might want to consider changing the flavor completely by using lemon peel, chocolate, almond extract, black pepper, anise, coconut, vanilla or maple syrup instead of cinnamon. In some recipes you can just use brown sugar or molasses for flavor instead of adding spices.

Do you have a particular dish or dishes you want to make, that you'd like me to experiment with developing a recipe for?

Purple_Kangaroo

Note: I am not an expert of any kind. This is not intended to be medical advice; please check with your doctor or allergist before trying any food you're not sure of.

Laundry Soap

2006-11-30T12:35:00.000-08:00

Most surfactants in soaps are made from corn, soy or coconut, and many people with allergies or sensitive skin have problems with commercial laundry detergents.

Depending on the type of bar soap you use, this laundry soap can be made free of corn, soy, coconut and other common allergens. Any soap you can tolerate for washing yourself should be tolerated in a laundry soap. If you like, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil or tea tree oil for a nice scent and some extra antibacterial qualities.

Dry:

Grate a bar of your favorite soap to make soap flakes (many people like to use Fels Naptha; I used Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Soap) with a cheese grater or shred it with a knife.

Mix 1 cup (probably half a bar of soap) of soap flakes with
1/2 cup borax and
1/2 cup washing soda

Use about a tablespoon per load of wash (2 tablespoons for a large or heavily-soiled load).

Fill the bleach dispenser with vinegar if desired to help wash out any soap residue. (Use a white vinegar such as rice or white wine vinegar if you can't tolerate the regular corn-derived distilled white vinegar. Apple cider vinegar will stain your clothes.)

Liquid:

Melt 1 cup soap flakes in about 4-6 cups of water over low heat on your stove.
Add 1/2 cup Borax and 1/2 cup washing soda, and stir until dissolved and a bit thickened.

Pour into a bucket or large bowl and add about a quart (4 cups) of hot water. Stir. Add enough cold water to make about 2 gallons of soap.

Pour into containers with lids (buckets, large plastic storage containers or empty, clean jugs would work) and let cool. You can use this right away, but it may take 24 hours to thicken like regular laundry soap. If it seems too thick, use less or add more water.

I use a soup ladle and put between 1/2 cup and 1 cup in my front-loading washer. You may need to experiment with the amount needed for your washer and water quality.

Fill the bleach dispenser with vinegar if desired to help wash out any soap residue. (Use a white vinegar such as rice or white wine vinegar if you can't tolerate the regular corn-derived distilled white vinegar. Apple cider vinegar will stain your clothes.)

Notes for either type of soap:

I always add an extra rinse in addition to using the vinegar, because we have very sensitive skin in my household.

Washing soda and borax can be found near the laundry soaps in most grocery stores. Look on the top or bottom shelf in an inconspicuous place like behind a pillar. No, really. You may have to ask a store employee to help you find it, and even they may not know where it is, but most large grocery stores do seem to carry it.

Be careful with washing soda; it is caustic and will irritate your skin. You should wear gloves when handling it and wash it off right away if it gets on your skin.

Washing soda and baking soda are both made by Arm & Hammer, but they are not the same thing. Washing soda, or sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), has a PH of 11 (7 being neutral). Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), has a PH of 8.1. Washing soda is about twice as strong a base as baking soda.

If you can't find washing soda in your grocery store, look for 100% sodium carbonate swimming pool PH adjuster in a pool supply store. Or you can contact Arm & Hammer directly.

20-Mule-Team Borax by Dial Corp. seems to be the most commonly available brand of Borax. Borax is Sodium Tetraborate Decahydrate (Na2B4O7*10H2O).

Please note that soap-based cleaners are usually not recommended for washing diapers. Supposedly they will cause buildup that makes the diapers less absorbent. Most people recommend using a detergent rather than a soap for this purpose.

Minimalist Pumpkin Pie

2006-11-23T04:11:00.000-08:00

Most of the comments in this earlier pumpkin pie recipe also apply to this one. This one, however, is made with no coconut milk, and is a bit sweeter and less spicy to balance the flavors in the absence of eggs and dairy-like products.

First, make a pie crust. Gluten-free recipe here, grain-free version here.

Put crust in pie pan and bake for 5-10 minutes or until crust is just a bit firm on the bottom.

Combine in blender:

2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves (heaping, more like 3/16 tsp)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup honey
1/4 to 1/2 cup water or milk substitute. The amount of liquid needed will depend on the texture of your pumpkin and how much liquid is in it. Add just enough liquid to process the mixture in the blender--you don't want to make it watery.

Blend until smooth.

Pour into pie crust and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Chill before serving.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

2006-11-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

Mix together dry ingredients:

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup King Arthur traditional whole wheat, 1/2 cup whole barley flour, 1/2 cup tapioca flour. If using a gluten-free flour such as rice or amaranth, I suggest using 1/3 to 1/2 the total amount of tapioca flour.)
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 4 tsp lemon juice or cider vinegar)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp turbinado sugar or C & H brown sugar

In another container, blend together

1 Tbsp flaxseed meal mixed with 3 1/2 Tbsp hot water & heated until gelled
3 Tbsp oil (I used grapeseed oil)
1 cup water or your favorite milk substitute

Make a hollow in the top of the dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients all at once and quickly mix just until barely blended.

Stir in approximately 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Enjoy Life chocolate chips, or the fruit or nuts of your choice (optional).

Spoon into oiled muffin pan, filling cups about 2/3 to 3/4 full.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.

Open Thread

2006-11-18T23:00:00.001-08:00

Please feel free to post your ideas, comments or recipe requests here.

Pumpkin or Squash Pie Reinvented

2006-11-18T00:39:00.000-08:00

This pumpkin or squash pie is free of dairy, soy, eggs, gluten, rice and most other allergens. It's also vegan.

The pie has a very silky texture, softer and more pudding-like than a traditional pumpkin pie. To make a grainless pumpkin pudding, just bake the filling with no crust.

I was going to try making it without the baking soda and cream of tartar, and calculate the baking time more carefully. But then I discovered that I'd developed an allergy to coconut, so I won't be making it again.

If you try it, please do post any improvements or adjustments you make in the comments.

Feel free to adjust the spice amounts for whatever you usually use in a pumpkin pie. Remember that you're not adding the eggs, so you'll probably want a lesser amount of spice in a pie than one with eggs.

Pumpkin or Squash Pie

First, make crust. Gluten-free recipe here, grain-free version here.

Put crust in pie pan and bake for 5-10 minutes or until crust is just a bit firm on the bottom.

Pie filling:

Mix together dry ingredients:
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger (I measured this heaping)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves (measured scant)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (if allergic to grapes or sulfites, substitute about 1/2 to 1 tsp lemon juice or cider vinegar with the wet ingredients)

Combine in a separate bowl:
1 15-oz can Libby's Pure Pumpin (not pumpin pie filling--just plain pumpkin) or 1 1/2 to 2 cups squash puree*
1/2 cup coconut milk (I use Trader Joe's light coconut milk; it's corn-free and lower-fat, too) or other milk substitute (for a recipe using plain water, see here)
1/2 cup pure honey or other liquid sweetener

Blend pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients until smooth, and immediately pour into pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until set in the middle. A knife will not come out clean when it's finished; it will still be very gooey in the middle until chilled. Don't be concerned if it puffs up a bit in the middle and then collapses as it cools.

Chill before serving.

* If you want to use a fresh pumpkin (or any kind of winter squash such as butternut or acorn squash), you can make your own squash puree.

Bake it whole (or cut in half face-down with 1/2 inch of water in the pan) at 350 degrees in the oven until tender. Scoop out the flesh and mash it with a potato masher.

Then use the blender to process it into a smooth puree. You can add all the other ingredients to the blender and just mix it all up in there if you like instead of mixing wet and dry ingredients separately.

Gluten-Free Pie Crust

2006-11-17T23:39:00.000-08:00

Mix together:
1 1/4 cups quinoa flour or other gluten-free flour
1 Tablespoon tapioca starch/flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbs brown sugar (I use C & H; it's pure cane sugar and corn-free) or other sweetener (you probably won't need as much if any sweetener if another flour is substituted; quinoa flour needs the sugar to cut the bitterness)

Cut in until the lumps are about the size of sunflower seeds:
1/2 cup shortening (I use non-hydrogenated 100% pressed palm kernel oil vegetable shortening by Spectrum, you can use coconut oil, butter or lard.)

Add, one tablespoon at a time, until moist enough to work with:
5-7 Tablespoons ice water (5 1/2 tablespoons would have been about perfect for my crust)

Pat or roll out between two layers of plastic wrap or waxed paper. If you'll be baking the pie in the crust, bake the crust by itself for 5-10 minutes or just until the bottom is starting to get firm before adding the filling. That will keep the crust from getting soggy. You may need to put foil around the edge of the pie to keep it from getting too brown during baking.

Grainless Crackers or Pie Crust

2006-11-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

These crackers or pie crust are made with tapioca flour (made from cassava, a root vegetable), so there is no grain or seed in the recipe at all. They are gluten-free and free of most other allergens as well.

The recipe makes crackers that are nicely crispy and quite normal-looking. They have a pleasant, slightly powdery taste.

Grainless Crackers

Mix:
1 1/2 cups tapioca flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

Cut in:
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated shortening (palm kernel or coconut oil) or lard

In separate bowl, cream together:
1/4 cup honey or other liquid sweetener
1 Tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice (you can substitute 2 teaspoons cider vinegar, or mix 1/2 tsp cream of tartar into the dry ingredients)

Add the honey mixture to the tapioca mixture and stir just until it sticks together in a ball.

This will make a very stiff dough. You can add water a teaspoon at a time until the dough sticks together if it's too crumbly, or add more tapioca flour if it's too sticky.

Roll or pat out very thin, approximately 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick, using half the dough at a time between two sheets of plastic wrap. Use a knife to cut into 2-3 inch squares, or cut with cookie cutters. You can also make little balls of the dough and flatten them between your palms, but they will not be as thin and will be more cookie-like and crumbly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. The crackers will be a light golden-brown. I used a baking sheet with an air-filled center and that helped to keep them from burning on the bottom.

Variations: Try adding your favorite spices (cinnamon, allspice, pumpkin pie spice, aniseed), more lemon juice and sweetener, or some cocoa and a little more honey. I'll update this post to include specific amounts as I experiment with variations.

Pie Crust: Reduce the honey to 2-3 tablespoons, add enough water to work, and roll out in a 9" circle. Put into pan and bake for 4-5 minutes to solidify before adding filling and baking the pie.

Shampoo and Toothpaste Substitutes

2006-11-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

Virtually all soaps, shampoos and toothpastes contain ingredients derived from corn, soy, and/or coconut. For someone allergic to all three, or with multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) the options are extremely limited.

Here is a way to get your hair and teeth clean with good old baking soda. This is about as hypoallergenic as you can get.

Shampoo Substitute

Take about 2 tablespoons of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) and add enough water to make a paste. Rub into your scalp and rinse.

If desired, follow with an acid rinse to restore PH balance: Use about 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice or apple cider vinegar mixed with about a cup of water, being sure to get the ends of your hair.

Rinse with plain water.

Toothpaste Substitute

You can use plain baking soda or a baking soda/additive-free salt mixture as toothpaste.

Roasted Vegetables or Tubers

2006-11-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

Thanks to some commenters on the Purple Puzzle Place blog, I've discovered a new favorite way to cook many kinds of vegetables: roasting.

Roasting works well for cauliflower and for just about any kind of root vegetable. So far I've tried it with potatoes, carrots, jicama, and lotus root so far. Yams, taro, turnips, squash, parsnips, cassave (yuca) roots, and many other vegetables should work just as well.

The basic recipe is pretty simple:

Preheat the oven to about 475 degrees.

Cut your vegetable(s) of choice into approximately 1 inch chunks. Put them into a plastic bag and drizzle your favorite healthy oil over them. Just shake and squish the bag to evenly distribute the oil.

I use about 1/4 cup of olive oil for a whole cauliflower or 6 potatoes--you want just enough to coat the vegetables.

Spread the oiled vegetables in an uncovered baking dish. I usually use a 9 x 13 glass dish. If you can get the vegetables in a single layer they will cook a little better, but if not just spread them as thinly as possible and stir a little more frequently while cooking.

Bake at 475 for about 15 minutes, then stir. Bake for another 15-30 minutes (depending on the vegetable) or until the vegetables are getting tender and browning on the edges. Stir every 10 minutes or so.

Some vegetables I like to cook until they're getting almost black on the tips and edges, but you can adjust this to your taste. Cauliflower is particularly good this way, as it carmelizes and develops a savory rich flavor with hints of sweetness. Even my family members who "hate" cauliflower will eat it roasted this way.

For extra flavor, you can add some leeks or onion, a clove or two of minced garlic, herbs, spices or salt and pepper. I like to mix various vegetables and flavorings for variety.

You can chop the vegetables and coat them with oil ahead of time. I've done this with olive oil, garlic and dill on potatoes and carrots. The oil coating kept the potatoes from browning and they absorbed the flavors well. I cut up a big batch and refrigerated half to bake later, and it tasted just as good baked two days later as it had originally.

Non-Dairy Clam Chowder (or Not-Potato Soup)

2006-11-14T02:09:00.000-08:00

New-England style clam chowder. It was one of those foods I thought I'd never enjoy again, at least for a very long time.

But, thanks to The Complete Food Allergy Cookbook: The Foods You've Always Loved Without the Ingredients You Can't Have, bought for me by DH, the impossible is happening fairly frequently around here.

This clam chowder is dairy, gluten, soy and nightshade free. It can be made without the clams for you vegans out there, too. (In that case, it's not clam chowder; it's mock potato soup.)

With no dairy and no nightshades, you can finally eat clam chowder again.

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Clam Chowder (From The Complete Food Allergy Cookbook, by Marilyn Gioannini)

1 hour * 4 servings

This classic New England style clam chowder, thick with "potatoes", onion, and "cream", tastes exactly like the real thing. The "potato" is yuca (cassava) root, available in most supermarkets; the "cream" is cashew milk.
Absolutely delicious!

About 1 lb. yuca root
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/3 cup raw cashews
1 (6 1/2 oz) can minced clams with juice (check labels when shopping--some have preservatives)
salt and pepper

Peel yuca root and dice into 1/2 inch cubes. Cover generously with water, add salt, and bring to a boil in a medium saucepan. Simmer, covered, 30 to 40 minuts, or until very soft. Stir occasionally. While the yuca is cooking, heat vegetable oil in a medium skillet. Add chopped onion and saute until soft. Add the onion to the saucepan with the yuca root.

Put cashews into blender container. Blend briefly until they are broken up. Aded 1 1/2 cups of water and blend on high until cashews are completely pulverized, about 3 minutes. When the yuca is soft, add clams to the saucepan. Add cashew milk and heat just until hot. Serve immediately. Add salt and pepper to the bowl to taste, and serve with toast.

The book gives several variations on the recipe, including using other milk substitutes. I think next time I'll use a bit less onion, but I really enjoyed the soup.

I think I almost prefer the taste of cassava to that of a regular potato. It has a very similar taste and texture, but just slightly sweet and without that sort of sour flavor that potatoes sometimes have. It is, however, much tougher to cut up and takes longer to cook, and you have to be sure to remove all the little woody bits.

I like this food allergy cookbook. Rather than just giving recipes (although it has lots of those, too) the goal is to teach you to substitute and improvise so that you can alter existing recipes to meet your dietary needs. I highly recommend the book.

The information is truly helpful and fairly exhaustive, and almost every recipe I've tried so far has become one to add to the oft-repeated stash of favorites. There's also some helpful information about identifying and coping with food allergies in general.

The book tells you how to cook without the things you may need to avoid--including preservatives, animal products, dairy, eggs, soy, gluten, corn and other grains, sugar, nightshade plants, and even chocolate. The only area I noticed in which it is really lacking is that of tree nut and legume allergies; several of the recipes require either soy or some kind of tree nut (none call for peanuts), and cooking without tree nuts is not particularly discussed.

This cookbook has quickly become my most often-used cookbook. Especially the recipe for Universal Muffins--my kids and I love that one, and it's so very flexible. I make it sometimes several times a week.

Root Vegetable Chips

2006-11-09T16:46:00.000-08:00

These non-potato chips are nightshade free and can be made free of any allergen by adjusting the type of root vegetable, oil and seasoning used. They are remarkably easy, and have a satisfying crunch and nice flavor.

You can use just about any root vegetable--parsnip, taro, and yam are some I've seen used. One I haven't seen used before is lotus root. It works very well, and as an added bonus the chips are very pretty to look at also.

I made some chips last night out of baked taro and raw lotus root, sliced thinly. The taro didn't work as well--perhaps because I sliced the chips too thickly and cooked them at too high a heat. Or possibly because I had baked the taro previously for fear of undercooking (taro root is not edible if not fully cooked, and can irritate hands and mouths if not handled raw).

The lotus chips turned out beautifully. I peeled the lotus root and sliced it thinly. Then I heated about 1/4 inch of grapeseed oil in a stainless steel pan and fried the slices on both sides just until golden brown.

I started out with too high of a temperature initially, and they got a little too brown.

With the second batch I turned the heat down to about 4 on a scale of 1-10. They cooked more slowly, but ended up nicely crispy without getting burnt.

I forked them out onto a paper towel, which absorbed some of the extra grease. Then I sprinkled them with salt and we ate them.

Next time I think I'll try lightly coating them with oil and baking them in the oven.

Lotus Root

2006-11-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

I've discovered a new food Baby E will eat and seems to tolerate well: lotus root.

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It's the root of a flower, and the taste and texture are something akin to a cross between potato and water chestnut.

I think Baby E likes it because it has little holes to stick her fingers through.

It's a pretty vegetable, and interestingly different. So far I've tried adding it to a mixed stir-fry and simmering it in water.

The stir-fry was more successful. I think it needs to be mixed with other flavors and textures to really shine.

Taro root can also be eaten raw in salads, but none of us were crazy about the taste and texture of it raw.

The only place I've found it so far is at Whole Foods.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins (free of gluten & most allergens)

2006-10-28T02:17:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I came up with tonight to use some of our pumpkin bounty. These muffins are egg-free, gluten-free, corn-free, vegan and non-dairy. The flaxseed takes the place of eggs and oil.

The flavor and texture are quite good, but slightly too sweet for my taste. I might try it with 1/3 cup of honey next time, adding a tablespoon or two of water if needed.

You could substitute 1 cup of any kind of gluten-free flour for the rice flour, or 2 cups of gluten-containing flour for the rice and tapioca flours. Sweet or glutinous rice flour should work as a substitute for the tapioca flour.

Brown rice syrup, agave nectar, or another sweetener should be substituted for the honey if you will be feeding the muffins to a child under 1 year of age. It's debatable whether baking destroys any potential botulism spores in honey.

If you want less of a pumpkin pie/gingerbread flavor, you can leave out some of the spices and just include the cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease muffin pan.

Blend dry ingredients:
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
3/4 tsp cream of tartar (substitute 2 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar added to the wet ingredients if allergic to grapes)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice (can substitute cloves)

Beat together:
1/2 cup honey
1 Tbs ground flax seed, mixed with 3 Tbs hot water and cooked until gelled (you can whip this when cooled to give the muffins more lift, if desired)

Add to honey mixture:
1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree, or 1 cup mashed or canned pumpkin plus 1/4 cup water

Quickly mix honey/pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients, stirring just until there are no large lumps

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

Cream Cheese Icing

2006-10-27T18:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a cream cheese frosting recipe that's egg free, free of refined sugars and corn-free if you leave out the vanilla or use corn-safe flavoring.

From Desserts by Sue Gregg (Eating Better Cookbooks)

Icing:

Blend together until smooth and frost completely cooled cookies or cake with:
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Banana Sweet Potato Frosting

2006-10-27T18:33:00.000-07:00

This icing recipe is from Bridget at Never Here Again. It's egg-free, dairy-free, corn-free and free of refined sugars--hard to find in a frosting recipe!

Mix together:

1 cup mashed sweet potato
1 ripe banana (could also use amasake)
2 T maple syrup or brown rice syrup
1 t orange juice

We can't have sweet potato or maple syrup, so if anyone tries this please let me know how it is.

Carrot-Pineapple Cake

2006-10-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to bring a dessert to an event a few weeks ago, so I made this carrot cake. It's pretty healthy and free of our allergens. I even gave my kids some for breakfast the next morning.

Everyone loved the cake and wanted the recipe.

Carrot Cake
recipe from Desserts by Sue Gregg (Eating Better Cookbooks)

"Light, tender, moist, and not too sweet."

################################

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 9" x 13" or bundt pan

Cream together:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
3/4 cup honey

Blend in:
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups shredded carrot
1 to 1 1/4 cups crushed pineapple, drained

Blend dry ingredients thoroughly in separate bowl:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt

Thoroughly blend dry ingredients into creamed ingredients

Mix in:
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)

Pour into greased pan and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until knife comes clean out of center.

Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Cool thoroughly before frosting.

Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting (p. 35) or serve plain with Whipped Cream (p. 85).

Makes 18 to 24 servings.

I substituted orange juice for the vanilla, or you could just leave the vanilla out to make it corn-free.

I didn't have crushed pineapple, and my can of pineapple was 24 oz. in chunks, so I just drained the chunks and put them in my food processor to crush them. I put in the whole can even though it was a little more than the recipe called for. Then the batter didn't seem quite moist enough, so I added just a bit of the pineapple juice to it.

I used King Arthur's "White" Whole Wheat Flour, and left out the walnuts.

Basic Stir-fry

2006-10-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

Stir fry is one of the easiest and most flexible foods to make. It's really hard to ruin; you just put in random amounts of various vegetables, add a protein of some sort if desired (meat, cooked or canned beans, chickpeas, or tofu work well), fry a bit, and serve.

Or, you can take the same mixture of vegetables and throw them in a steamer for 5 or 10 minutes. Steaming gives a different flavor and texture, but is also good.

I don't own a wok, so I just use a frying pan for my stir-fry.

If I'm using meat in the stir-fry I like to toast my garlic and onion in a bit of oil the pan first so the meat picks up some of the flavor. Then I remove the garlic and onion to another dish and fry the meat, adding the garlic and onion back in with the other veggies. You can leave out the onion, garlic and oil if you need or want to; they're not really necessary at all.

Incidentally, if you use much garlic a decent garlic press is definitely worth the $5 or $10 investment. I use mine all the time. It's so much faster than mincing garlic with a knife. The trick is to rinse the mashed garlic out of the press before you put it in the dishwasher, or it will be hard to get clean.

While the meat is cooking I wash and cut up vegetables, stirring the meat frequently. I do the firmest vegetables first, because they take longest to cook.

When the meat is almost or barely done cooking, I start adding vegetables as I cut them up. I'll put in hard things like carrots, potatoes, turnips and parsnips first if I've cut them into chunks or slices. If they're grated, you can add them at the same time as the softer vegetables and they will cook faster.

In general, I add the hardest vegetables first and the most delicate vegetables last. Something like lettuce, corn or peas takes very little time to cook, so it will go in just before serving. You can throw in any leftover cooked vegetables at this time, too, and just heat them before serving.

If you are using tofu or cooked legumes, you'll want to add them with the soft vegetables or at the end of cooking so they don't get overcooked and broken up.

Kale, although it is a leafy vegetable, takes longer to cook so you'll want to add it earlier. I usually blanch broccoli for 1-2 minutes in boiling water before adding it to a stir-fry; it has a better color and texture that way, and cooks faster.

I often cover my stir-fry with a lid or some aluminum foil to help hold in the heat so it cooks more quickly and evenly. Stir frequently so the veggies don't burn. Cook just until the veggies are starting to get tender and brown a bit on the edges.

Most vegetables have quite a lot of flavor, so extra seasonings really aren't necessary, although you can add them if you like. I usually use just salt, maybe a dash of pepper, and sometimes some sesame oil.

Last night I made a stir-fry with a minced clove of garlic, about half a leek, a pound of ground veal, 4 or 5 smallish carrots, 3 stalks of celery, 4 leaves of kale, and a zucchini, all sliced thin and added in that order. It was delicious.

Other vegetables that are good in a stir-fry include turnip, jicama, parsely, cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, corn, tomatoes, cooked beet, green beans, yellow squash, peppers, eggplant, cauliflower, cooked cassava/yuca, bean sprouts, lettuce or just about any vegetable you enjoy and can tolerate. Some fruits such as apples or citrus fruits add a really nice touch to a stir-fry, too.

You can serve a stir-fry over some kind of a starch or grain (noodles, spaghetti squash, rice, cubed bread, any cooked grain, or a mashed root vegetable such as potato) if you want to. Or, as we did last night, you can simply eat the stir-fry by itself.

It's a great thing for someone who doesn't cook much to try making, because it's such a simple and flexible dish.

A basic rule of thumb if you're making a stir-fry for the first time might be to choose 5 ingredients or fewer in addition to your protein and seasonings. Don't make it too complicated for yourself at first. If you add too many different things and cook it to long, you can end up muddying the flavors. It will probably still be good, but keeping things simple seems to make it even better.

Gingerbread Cookies

2006-10-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

This gingerbread cookie recipe was a big hit at a recent birthday party we attended. Several children ate their cookies and left the cake and ice cream nearly untouched. With whole foods and no refined sugars, these cookies are a great choice.

I did use slightly more honey than the recipe called for . . . maybe a tablespoon more. My cookies were a little too sticky to roll out, so I had to add a little extra flour and dust the rolling pin and rolling surface with an extra-thick layer of flour.

I used King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour. King Arthur and Gold Medal seem to be the most corn-free of the widely available commercial flours.

I made just half the batch and it made 2-3 dozen cookies.

Gingerbread People
From Desserts by Sue Gregg (Eating Better Cookbooks)

"A special holiday cookie. Children will especially enjoy making these."

Cream together:
1/2 cup soft butter
1 cup molasses, unsulfured or blackstrap
2 Tablespoons honey

Beat in:
4 eggs

Blend together in separate bowl:
4 cups whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
3 teaspoons soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves

Mix dry ingredients into creamed mixture thoroughly but do not overmix.

Wrap in wax paper and chill for 1 hour.

Roll dough small amounts at a time 1/8" to 1/4" thick. Cut dough with gingerbread cookie cutter.

Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Ice when completely cooled, and decorate with raisins and red hots.

The cookies could be made non-dairy by substituting another fat for the butter. I like to use palm kernel or coconut oil to substitute for solid oils (like butter, margarine, shortening) because they are non-hydrogenated oils that are solid at room temperature.

There is a recipe for icing, but I didn't try it . . . it contains a lot of dairy products. We used a purchased frosting.

I would suggest dried fruit, nuts and puffed grains as decorations instead of candy.

Hypoallergenic Fruit Waffles or Pancakes

2006-10-21T01:11:00.000-07:00

This is an original (and I think rather unique) recipe I created today. I'm still tweaking it quite a bit, so please do share your comments, experiences and variations.

This recipe is completely free of all common allergens as well as being gluten-free and vegan. The baking soda reacts with the slight acidity of the fruit to provide leavening, so no baking powder or other acid is necessary. The flax seed takes the place of both eggs and oil. I made my waffles with water, but substituting fruit juice would give them a stronger and sweeter flavor.

You can, of course, substitute types of flour and fruit freely for different tastes. Just use any combination of flours to make a total 1 cup of flour per batch. A gluten-containing flour will probably rise more than rice or other gluten-free flour will. With the gluten-free recipe you'll want to fill your waffle iron or other container almost full, as it rises just a little.

Basic Fruit Quick Bread

Mix together and set aside:

2 Tbs. flaxseed meal (ground flax seed)
1/4 cup very hot water

In large bowl combine:

1/4 cup sweet rice flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda (a.k.a. sodium bicarbonate or bicarbonate of soda)
1/8 teaspoon unrefined sea salt (additive-free salt--no iodine added!--is a must if you're allergic to corn)

To dry ingredients, add

1 cup fruit puree * or all-natural applesauce
Flaxseed mixture
1/4 to 1/2 cup water or fruit juice

Mix just until blended. Bake in waffle iron.

Makes about 2 large waffles or 4 small waffles. These are dense and filling.

* The amount of fruit puree does not have to be quite exact. You'll want to adjust the amount of added liquid accordingly.

To make fruit puree: core and (if desired) peel a large pear and puree in blender with 1/4 cup water or fruit juice or amount needed to process. Slicing the fruit before processing helps the blender work better. You can also use other fruits (apple or banana work well) or a combination of fruits.

Suggested add-ins: 1 tsp-1 Tbs honey or other sweetener, 1/4-1/2 tsp. spice such as cinnamon, ginger, or nutmeg.

Notes:

If you are not greasing your waffle iron in any way, you'll probably do better to use the lesser amount of water listed, as the batter sticks less if it's stiffer. Just heap it onto the waffle iron with a spoon. My waffle iron takes about a cup of batter to fill it.

For a fluffier waffle, cook the 2 tbs. flaxseed with 1/4 cup water until gelled, then cool to room or refrigerator temperature and whip as you would egg whites (you can add 1/8 cup (3 Tbs) more water if needed). It won't beat up like egg whites, but it will retain some air bubbles and get a bit fluffy.

If you use a gluten-containing flour and are going to grease the waffle iron, try cutting the flaxseed meal down to 1 Tablespoon in 1/4 cup of hot water. You can use the smaller amount of flax with the rice flour, too--it still works, but yields a batter that is a little more grainy.

To make other breads:

For pancakes, simply add more water to reach desired consistency and fry in nonstick pan.

I expect this recipe could be baked in muffin tins or a bread pan as well, but I haven't figured out the temperature and time exactly yet.

Banana Waffles

2006-10-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks . . . a two-volume set I picked up at a little antique shop. Originally printed in 1947, mine is from the 9th printing--Dec 1957. Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking.

It has a lot of great recipes in it you won't find elsewhere--everything from baked quinces to stewed possum.

Banana Waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp D.A. baking powder (or 3 1/2 tsp tartrate or phosphate type)
1 Tbs sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 and 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup melted shortening
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)

Sift flour, measure and resift 3 times with remaining dry ingredients.

Beat eggs, add milk and shortening. Pour into dry ingredients, add bananas and beat until smooth.

Use 1/2 cup batter for each waffle. Bake in a hot waffle iron until golden brown. Serve immediately with butter and hot syrup.

Makes six 7-inch waffles.

It's a pretty foolproof recipe. I substitute freely (non-dairy milk, various kinds of flour, oil instead of shortening) and don't bother with the sifting part (just stir dry ingredients together and use a hand-mixer to blend in the wet ones).

Be sure to use corn-free baking powder if you're allergic to corn.

If you want the waffles really fluffy, separate the eggs, beat the whites and fold them in last. I haven't yet tried substituting anything for the eggs, but I plan to try it soon with ground flaxseed instead of eggs. I'll update this post after that to tell you how it worked.

Eggless Banana Bread

2006-10-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

The girls and I have made this banana bread quite a few times. My 4- and 5-year-olds are able to do much of it themselves, with a little help. The 1-year-old likes to watch and help eat it.

The recipe is from a 1970's Sesame Street Library book, Volume 14.

Big Bird's Banana Bread

Here is what you will need:
3 peeled ripe bananas
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 big bowl
1 big wooden spoon
1 fork
1 bread pan (rub some cooking oil around the inside of it)
1 wire cooling rack
1 measuring cup
1 set of measuring of spoons
##################

Here's what you need a grown up to do:

1. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees.

2. Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a pan.

Here's what you do:

1. Put the peeled bananas in a bowl.

2. Mash up the bananas with the back of a fork.

3. Add the melted butter.

4. Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup honey.

5. Stir everything in the bowl with the big spoon. Stir until everything is mixed together.

6. Pour the mix into the oiled bread pan.

7. Bake for 1 hour.

8. After 1 hour, put a toothpick in the bread. Is there some bread on the toothpick when you pull it out? If there is, let the bread cook for a little while longer. If there is no bread on the toothpick when you pull it out, the bread is done! Ask your grown up helper to take the bread out of the oven. They need to take the bread out of the pan and put it on the wire rack.

10. When the bread is cool, cut it up and share it with your neighbors!

The bread is dense, very sweet and a little gooey. It holds together quite well even without eggs, because the bananas and the honey are so sticky.

I used a silicone bread pan, which turned out a beautiful loaf with no need to grease the pan.

The honey we used was orange blossom honey, which gave it a very nice and slightly fruity flavor (and also cuts down on the chances of their being any corn pollen or nectar in the honey).

If you substituted oil for the butter, it could be a completely vegan recipe, and other types of flour could easily be substituted to make it gluten-free.

The girls absolutely love it, and M&M literally cried when it was gone last time. We shared a few slices with the neighbors and ate up the rest within minutes.

Breakfast Banana Splits or Apple Surprise

2006-10-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

Even my child going through the "I-don't-like-anything" stage loves to eat this for breakfast. I also serve it as a lunch, snack or dessert.

Breakfast Banana Splits

Put a banana, cut in half the long way, into a bowl. Spoon plain yogurt on top. Layer on fresh or canned fruit, if desired.

Drizzle honey, agave nectar or other sweetener over the mixture (optional). Add a small handful of uncooked rolled oats (quinoa flakes or puffed millet would work well for a gluten-free version). This is good topped with a sprinkling of chopped nuts or seeds if you can tolerate them.

You can combine all different types of ingredients for this, just like for a sundae.

For instance, you can turn it into Apple Surprise this way:

Substitute a fresh grated apple or pear for the banana. Soak 2-4 tablespoons of grain flakes in about twice the quantity of water (cold water overnight, or boiling water for 2-5 minutes), then mix it all together with 2 tablespoons of yogurt and a teaspoon of honey.

Add other fruit or berries if desired. Top with chopped nuts (I like roasted almonds) or puffed grain such as rice, amaranth or millet.

To make the Apple Surprise non-dairy, you can substitute rice milk or rice yogurt for the yogurt. If you can tolerate soy, silken tofu or soy yogurt would probably work as well.

I use Trader Joe's plain yogurt. The only ingredients are milk and active cultures. My corn-allergic daughter can tolerate the cow's milk yogurt but not the goat milk yogurt (the goats are fed corn). Brown Cow brand yogurt contains fruit-derived pectin and seems to be corn-safe (but avoid pectin if you're allergic to apples!).

The possible combinations are endless. Use your imagination!

Pumpkin Muffins

2006-10-16T00:13:00.000-07:00

All three of my kids devoured these muffins and asked for more. They are really good--moist, flavorful but not too spicy, and tasty but not too sweet.

Pumpkin Gems
from Soups & Muffins by Sue Gregg (Eating Better Cookbooks)

"These are great for snack or dessert as well as for meals. Good hot or cold."

###########################

AMOUNT: 10 large or 12 medium
Oven: 350 degrees preheated
Bake: 20 to 25 minutes

1. Spray muffin pan with no-stick cooking spray (or grease with oil or shortening--I used non-hydrogenated palm kernel oil shortening)

2. Blend together thoroughly with wire whisk in large mixing bowl:
1 egg (or 2 egg whites, or 1/4 cup egg substitite)
1/3 cup honey (you could substitute another sweetener)

3. Blend in:
1 cup mashed pumpkin
1/4 cup water

4. Blend dry ingredients together in separate bowl
2 cups whole wheat flour (I used 2/3 cup barley flour and the rest whole wheat)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I substituted rolled oats and added a bit more liquid)

5. Blend dry ingredients into liquid ingredients just until mixed. Do not overmix!

5. Fill muffin cups almost full. Fill any empty cups half full of water.

7. Bake at 35 degrees for 20 minutes.

8. Cool muffins in pan for 5 to 10 minutes for easy removal with slight tug on side of each muffin.

I had already pureed my baked pumpkin with enough water to make it work in the blender. So instead of using mashed pumpkin and water, I just used pumpkin puree without adding water. Since I was substituting rolled oats for the nuts, I put in 1 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree--oats absorb more liquid than nuts do.

I heaped the measuring spoon on the cinnamon a bit and put in just a bit less nutmeg than it called for--maybe 1/4 teaspoon less--to cater to my family's tastes.

I baked them in a mini bundt pan instead of a muffin tin, so the recipe made 6 baby bundt cakes. They really did pull off the sides of the pan with a tug as the recipe said. I tipped them on their sides to allow steam to escape while they cooled, so they wouldn't get soggy.

Then I refrigerated them in zippered plastic bags and reheated them for breakfast this morning. They were quite good reheated. I think they would freeze well, too.

The muffins are fabulous. We ate the entire batch, and I'm going to have to make a double batch next time if I want any to freeze.

Brown Sugar Cake

2006-10-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

This brown sugar cake is a recipe from Tastes of Country, a cookbook by Frances A. Gillette. Almost every recipe I've tried from this cookbook has been fabulous--I highly recommend it if you can get your hands on a copy.

Quick Cake
A rich brown sugar taste. Rose Merne makes this cake often.

1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 2/3 cups flour
3 tsp. corn-free baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla

Put ingredients into bowl in order given and do not stir until all have been added. Beat 3 minutes. Bake in buttered pan for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees. Nuts or raisins may be added, if desired.

I sometimes cut down on the sugar a bit, and I always substitute rice milk for the milk. C & H brand brown sugar seems to be corn-free, and if you can't find corn-free vanilla you could substitute maple syrup or just leave it out.

Whole-wheat or an alternative flour could be used in this recipe. Depending on your needs, you could probably substitute shortening, margarine or oil for the butter and still get decent results.

This cake is wonderful by itself or with frosting, ice cream or whipped topping.

Swope Bread

2006-10-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

If you like homemade bread but don't have time to wait for yeast bread to rise, try this recipe I discovered on the back of a Bob's Red Mill flour sack. It's yeast-free, but breadlike enough to make sandwiches.

If you make it with brown or turbinado sugar, it has a sweet, nutty flavor slightly akin to the flavor of Raisin Bran without the raisins (although it would be quite good with raisins added!). It's very nice toasted, with butter and honey on it.

A long-time customer of Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods shares her "so easy it's laughable" recipe with us. It makes wonderful bread for toast. She calls it:

Swope Bread

4 cups Bob's Red Mill stone ground whole wheat flour
2 cups Bob's Red Mill unbleached white flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 quart buttermilk
4 tsp baking soda
2 bread pans, greased

Preheat oven to 375° F. In a large mixing bowl mix first 4 ingredients. In a separate bowl mix baking soda and buttermilk. Stir wet ingredients into dry. Pour into bread pans and smooth tops of loaves. Place in center of oven. Turn oven down to 350° and bake approximately 50 minutes. Turn out and cool on wire rack.

I substitute rice milk soured with a bit of lemon juice for the buttermilk. You can do the same thing with regular milk--put in about a tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar per cup of buttermilk you need and fill up the rest with milk or your milk substitute.

Be careful when you mix the baking soda with the acidic milk--it will foam up!

Note: Corn-allergic readers, please be aware that some have complained about higher-than-usual incidence of corn cross-contamination with Bob's Red Mill products.

Simple Soup Stock

2006-10-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

Broth or stock is the basic ingredient in soup making, and is also used in many recipes.

You can, of course, make a soup with just water and your soup ingredients. In most recipes, you can simply substitute water (and salt, if desired) for the broth called for. Or, for a meaty-tasting vegan option, add a tablespoon or more of nutritional yeast.

That works just fine, despite what the bouillon cube and soup stock manufacturers would have you believe. Most commercial bouillon or soup stock is mostly water and salt, anyway.

But for an extra nice, rich flavor boost to your soup, you can easily make your own soup stock.

The very easiest way to make stock is to simply take the leftover liquid from cooking meat or vegetables and condense it. You can add salt and other seasonings if you like, or just use the liquid as is.

Condensing the stock is easy. Just put the liquid into a pot and simmer it slowly with the lid off until it's half or less of its original volume. The more the water evaporates, the more condensed and stronger-flavored your stock will be.

This will take several hours, so you can just leave it to simmer while you're doing other things. I usually set my burner at 1 or 2 on a scale of 10 for this. As long as the broth level isn't getting too low, I've even gone to sleep or left the house while broth is simmering on a back burner of my electric stove. A flat-topped woodburning stove is great for simmering things over a long period of time, too.

Once it's condensed enough for your tastes, take the pan off the burner and let it cool. If it's a meat-based broth, you'll probably want to chill the stock and scrape the fat off the top before doing anything else with it. The fat can be saved and used as your oil or shortening in cooking later.

I like to freeze my condensed broth into ice cube trays to use as a substitute for bouillon cubes. After the cubes freeze, I store them in a labeled container and can take out exactly the quantity I need for use in recipes.

Remember that the flavor will be stronger than the original broth, so you'll most likely want to add water if the recipe calls for broth or soup stock instead of boullion. I usually use between 1 and 3 cubes per cup of water.

I like to cook chicken by covering it with water and simmering it until done, so I usually condense and use the water and juices left in the pan this way. Sometimes I do it right away just by leaving the pan on the stove after I remove the chicken. Other times I put it the broth in the refrigerator for a day or so until I get a chance to condense it.

You can make an even more flavorful broth from scratch.

The basic idea is that you simmer meat and/or vegetables in a quantity of water until the flavor and many of the nutritional qualities of the other ingredients have seeped into the water. You can use just about any combination of one or more ingredients for this. Many people like to keep a container in their freezer and dump leftover bits of meat and/or veggies into it until it's full, and then use that to make their soup.

If you are starting a meat-based broth from scratch, it's nice to use the bones if you have them. You can roast them in the oven at 375 or so until browned for a richer flavor, if you like, but that's not necessary.

If possible, it's a good idea to crack or break the bones to allow the calcium to escape into the broth. If you're buying soup bones from the butcher, ask to have them cracked or cut up. Adding a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar will help draw the calcium from the bones into your broth.

Put the bones and/or meat into the pan and add enough water to cover them with at least a half-inch of water over the bones. Then add the vinegar, if desired, and whatever spices you want. Anything other than the meat or bones and water is completely optional.

For most broths you can add some salt (I use unrefined sea salt) at the beginning if desired. If you are cooking legumes (beans or dried peas) the salt will make them tough, so you'll want to add any salt toward the end of cooking.

All you do is bring the water to a gentle boil, then turn it down to a simmer so that it's just barely or almost boiling. You want to simmer it for at least an hour or two, but the longer you simmer it the stronger the flavor. Any longer than 12 to 24 hours, though, and you're going to start getting a bitter flavor and degenerating quality. I recommend 1 to 4 hours for vegetable stock and 2 to 8 hours for meat broths.

You may need to add water occasionally to keep the bones or vegetables covered during cooking.

Once you think you've simmered it long enough to get most of the flavor out of the ingredients, remove the meat or vegetables from the water. You can taste them to see if they're getting rather flavorless; if they are it's time to take them out. If you want to use them in a soup, you'll want to cook the broth for a shorter amount of time so that the meat or vegetables still have some flavor.

Now you may want to strain your broth to get out any chunks. Straining is optional, but because you're cooking this for so long, any chunks will not have much flavor by the time you eat them. If you have shards of bone in your broth, straining is not optional. You don't want bone slivers in your soup.

Next, return the liquid to the pot and condense it as described above.

This broth is healthier and much cheaper than anything you'd buy at the store.

Baking Powder and Substitutes

2006-10-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

Here are several ways to make baked goods rise without using corn or other allergens, with hypoallergenic baking powder or other substitutes:

Corn-Free Baking Powder from The Complete Food Allergy Cookbook by Marilyn Gioannini

"It is easy and economical to make your own baking powder. The basic ingredients are cream of tartar and baking soda. Cream of tartar is an acid, and baking soda is a base, and when they are mixed with liquid, bubbles form. Arrowroot powder is added to help keep it free-flowing. If the mixture cakes, mash it with your finger in the measuring spoon.

"To make your own corn=free baking powder, mix together 2 parts cream of tartar, 1 part baking soda, and 2 parts arrowroot powder. Store in an airtight container, and substitute in any recipe calling for baking powder. It is more economical to buy cream of tartar and arrowroot powder at a natural foods store, especially if they are sold in bulk.

"This is a single-acting baking powder. That is, all of the rising occurs as soon as the liquid is added to the dry ingredients. For best results, mix all of the dry ingredients well, mix the wet ingredients separately, and have the pan and oven ready to go before mixing them together. Keep mixing to a minimum."

I believe you can also use tapioca flour, potato flour, or another kind of starch instead of the arrowroot.

Or you can just leave out the starch altogether and substitute 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar and 1/4 tsp. baking soda for each teaspoon of baking power called for in the recipe.

If you are allergic to grapes or glutamates, you should be aware that cream of tartar (a.k.a tartaric acid) is a grape-derived acid salt that is a byproduct of the fermentation in wine-making.

You can often substitute vinegar (but not white vinegar if you're allergic to corn) , lemon juice or any other edible acid for cream of tartar in recipes. You'd use 3 parts vinegar or fresh lemon juice to substitute for 1 part cream of tartar, and would probably need to lessen the amount of other liquids in the recipe accordingly.

Why this blog, and who is Purple_Kangaroo?

2006-10-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

I like to cook, and I tend to be a bit of a gourmet.

Unfortunately, I come from a family with extensive food (as well as environmental) allergies and intolerances. That's given me a lot of experience creating and modifying recipes to be appropriate for special diets free of various allergens, sodium, yeast-feeding foods, and other elements.

I really enjoy being creative in the kitchen. Writing a food blog for me is a challenge, as I rarely actually measure anything and tend to throw in "a little of this, and a little of that" and find it difficult to remember or duplicate a dish later unless I write it down right away. So keeping the blog is partly for myself--a reminder to write down what I did when we liked a recipe so that I can duplicate (or at least approximate) it again in the future.

It's very difficult to find resources and recipes for dealing with food allergies, especially to foods other than the top 8 allergens. Since I started this blog, we've gone through some changes in the way we eat, which will be reflected in the recipes from each time period.

I had to learn to be creative to a whole new level for the sake of my highly allergic third child, Baby E. She was very sensitive to corn and soy, and also did not digest sugars (especially fructose) well. She has grown out of all but a mild dietary fructose intolerance (she has trouble digesting large amounts of apples or fresh pears, which have a high fructose-to-glucose ratio).

For a brief period of time Baby E and I were on an elimination diet which her doctor recommended, starting with only chicken, rice, bananas, broccoli and pears (ironically enough, the pears later turned out to be a problematic food because of the high fructose-to-glucose ratio), and then adding and subtracting foods trying to figure out which foods were problematic for her. So there are several recipes here with very limited ingredients.

My oldest child and I are lactose-intolerant, so while we can tolerate some foods like butter, raw goat milk and small amounts of yogurt or kefir, most of the recipes here tend to avoid large amounts of dairy products.

Currently I avoid excititoxins (quite an extensive list of ingredients that includes MSG, modified food starch, "natural flavors", artificial sugars, and prepackaged foods like canned soups, as well as foods naturally very high in aspartates and glutamates such as peanuts, brewer's yeast, seaweed and soy). I am on the sensitive end of the excitotoxin spectrum, but since even natural foods can contain some level of excitotoxins you will have to use your own judgment about whether the recipes are safe for you or not.

Most of the foods we eat are free of refined sugars, refined bleached grains, and artificial or processed foods. In general, most recipes posted here will be corn-free, soy-free and often dairy-free. Many of the recipes here are also free of nightshades, gluten, legumes, dairy, and other common allergens. Some of them are Nourishing Traditions-style recipes (tagged NT-style) with soaked grain, raw ingredients, bone broth and high-enzyme foods.

But since we didn't go excitotoxin-free until late 2009, many of the recipes from before that time will contain excitoxins (such as the modified tapioca starch in the Chebe Bread recipes).

I'm going to start by posting some recipes I've used, created or modified. I'm hoping that eventually readers will pitch in to contribute their own recipes, help test and modify other recipes, and contribute to the conversation. I also envision taking requests to find or develop recipes that fit certain dietary restrictions. Hopefully, this blog will become a helpful resource for those with dietary restrictions and those cooking for them.

Feel free to make requests or suggestions in the comments or by dropping me an e-mail at the address in my profile. I'd also love to hear how the recipes work for you, and enjoy hearing about any modifications you make. E-mails or comments always make my day, and often inspire me to try a new recipe or start posting again after a hiatus.