Gluten-free Quick Taco Bites

Wanting something quick and tasty for dinner? Company drop by and you're stuck? Check your cabinets, you've probably got everything you need.

Gluten-free Taco Bites
1 bag Tostito scoops
1 can black beans
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
1 container Trader Joe's Mango/Papaya Salsa (any salsa will do, but this is my favorite store-bought)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 pinch salt

1. Place chips face up on a platter in one layer.
2. Drop a little cheese in each cup and microwave for about 10-20 seconds to just melt the cheese. (covering plate with a paper towel helps the melting to even out.)
3. Heat beans in a small pot with garlic and paprika. Add a little handful of cheese to thicken the beans.
4. Remove chips and drop about 1 tsp of the beans into each cup. Top with a drop of the salsa.

Enjoy!

These are great as appetizers, or do what I did and treat yourself to a plate for dinner.

Gluten-free, egg-free, fresh blueberry muffins

Now that Darling Daughter is egg-free, it makes baking a little more difficult. We don't want to give up everything, but we also don't want her skin rashes to return so it's EF we go. Along with being gluten free, this means we've got another challenge on our hands. And, as you know dear chefs, I love a challenge.

This morning I wanted to wake up with yummy, fresh blueberry muffins. What I came up with are sweet, moist and light blueberry muffins with no egg in sight. How, you ask? (I know you're asking, go ahead) Simple, I scoured the Internet to find out what I could use for replacements. I have already used flax/water mixture, but wanted something that would be a little more moist. That led me to apple sauce or pureed fruit of some kind. Since I had apple sauce in the fridge, easy fix.

The recipe that follows is a hybrid of The Cake Doctor Bakes Gluten Free and my own tweaks and changes to eliminate the eggs. It does have butter in it, but if you wanted a vegan muffin I'm sure you could use a little oil or vegan margarine in its place.

Blueberry muffins, perfect for Fourth of July!

Gluten-free, Egg-free Blueberry Muffin

1 box Gluten Free Pantry Old Fashioned Cake & Cookie Mix

2 Tbs Ground Flax

5 Tbs warm water

4 Tbs apple sauce (natural, no HFCS or sugar)

1/4 cup raw sugar

1 Tbs GF vanilla extract

3/4 cup grapefruit juice (recipe called for OJ, but I didn't have any. This worked out great)

1 Tbs fresh lemon juice

1 stick butter, melted

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Mix flax with hot water and mix well. Place in fridge to cool.

3. Reserve 1 Tbs of the cake mix in a small bowl.

4. Add remaining cake mix, apple sauce, sugar, vanilla, grapefruit juice, lemon juice and butter. Mix well. I used a fork, no need to pull out a mixer for this.

5. Add flax mixture to muffin mix after stirring well. You may need to add a little more water to make sure it's at egg consistency before adding. Mix this into the muffin batter well.

6.  Toss blueberries with the reserved cake mix and then fold into muffin mix gently.

7. Line muffin tins with liners and scoop out mix into cups. Fill about 3/4 full. You'll get about 17-20 muffins, depending on the size of the blueberries you use.

8. Optional: Sprinkle top of muffins with a pinch of raw sugar to get a crispy top.

9. Bake for 20-24 minutes until golden brown.

10. Let cool for a few minutes, then remove from pan and complete cooling. I dare you to let them cool all the way before eating them!

Enjoy!

Gluten-free, vegan, buckwheat carrot muffins

I spent a glorious weekend in San Luis Obispo, CA with some dear friends and got back yesterday feeling like a child who had to leave Disney early. I wanted to stay and explore the farmers markets more, discover more hidden restaurants with lovely, knowledgeable servers and chefs who take care and creativity to new heights. These are just a few of the wonderful memories I have of this weekend, along with my dear friend who will now be the pastry chef at the Dolphin Bay Resort. (I know, pastry chef and me, go figure. She's a fabulous chef and I've learned so much from her about cooking over the years.)

Spring Salad at Luna Red

We ate lunch at Luna Red in downtown San Luis Obispo and had a brilliant, light, crunchy salad that was perfect for a warm Spring day in California. With the Greekfest right next door, the music made our day even more festive. The salad was filled with pea shoots, blood orange segments, carrots, radish, mint, a light citrus vinaigrette and a sprinkle of goat cheese. Couldn't have asked for anything better. A glass of rose and a table full of good friends made the afternoon complete. I highly recommend the restaurant.

The amazing selection of veggies at the farmers marke

One booth at the farmers market caught my eye, of course, with their big Gluten Free Goodies sign. I couldn't resist and bought a GF carrot cake muffin made with buckwheat and a delicious quinoa salad I'll be recreating later this week. (attempting I should say). It was filling and had a beautiful mix of savory and sweet with roasted veggies (yummy roasted carrots) and pepitas. I ate it cold right out of the container. Oh yeah!

But first up, after eating what was the best carrot cake muffin I've ever had (including my gluten-eating days), I decided to try and make it at home. Since Daughter has now eliminated eggs from her diet, that makes things a little more difficult, but not impossible. I do have vegan friends who I know will enjoy these also. The muffins in CA were not vegan, so this is just a small change and more of a challenge. I searched the Internet and found this recipe at She Let Them Eat Cake.com for buckwheat carrot muffins. These are already vegan, which is a plus.

I modified the recipe a bit to my own tastes, but I would encourage you to try her recipe also. And if you can't have some of the things I've added, feel free to eliminate what you want. I added the almond flour and GF oats for flavor, and added the splash of juice just because it looked a little thick. This may change based on your altitude and ingredients. If you add molasses, you may not need any more liquid. But I do like the oats for texture and flavor.



Gluten-Free & Vegan Buckwheat Carrot Muffins

1 & 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup GF oats
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups grated / shredded carrot (you could use zucchini too)

3/4 cup agave
1 mashed banana
3/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp ground flax combined with 9 tbsp hot water (or 3 eggs)
Splash of orange juice to loosen up the mixture if you need it.
1/2 cup golden raisins

Eating these at my desk while I write this makes me very happy

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with liners or grease with olive oil.

2. In a large bowl combine the first eight ingredients (dry).

3. Add shredded carrot to the dry ingredients and combine. In a medium-sized bowl combine agave, mashed banana, olive oil, and flax-hot water mixture. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Add raisins last.

4. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool to the touch.

These are quite good, and amazingly fluffy and not too dense, considering there is no egg in it. I've never used flax and hot water before and I was quite amused at the egg-white-like texture it creates. The mixture is quite thick and gummy before baking and that must be due to the flax mixture. What a find. I will certainly be trying this with other dishes and baked goods. This is my first attempt at gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free baking. So far, so good.

In retrospect, these could use just a little more sweetness so I think a bit of molasses and honey, or an orange glaze on top will make them just a touch sweeter and tasty. A bit of Tofutti cream cheese will make them sing for me in the morning with my tea. Try them and let me know what you think.

Summer Gluten-free Eggplant Pizzas

In the mood for something comforting, but not in the mood for a filling pizza or pasta? I was in the same frame of mind today when I spotted the beautiful eggplants in the market. My daughter was quick to point out that a little sauce and cheese would make a great "pizza" without all the fuss. Love that kid! A quick grill of the eggplant and dinner is served!

Gluten-free Eggplant Pizza

2 med. eggplants, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick round slices
1/2 cup marinara sauce (I use Trader Joe's organic)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (or whatever cheese you like)
4-5 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 tsp dried parsley
salt/pepper/garlic powder

1. Grill sliced eggplant with a bit of olive oil and salt until softening and grill marks show, but be careful not to let it get too soft. It's going in the oven for a few minutes, so don't overcook.

2. Place the eggplant slices on a cookie sheet. Top with a 1-2 teaspoons of marinara sauce and a bit of shredded cheese.

3. Sprinkle salt/pepper, basil, parsley and garlic powder.

4. Place pan under low broil until cheese is melted. Watch closely, you only need a few minutes.

Voila! These are tasty and so yummy. I don't miss the crust at all. If you want to do the entire meal on the grill, just layer the slices on a sheet pan, put it back on the grill and close the door for a few moments to melt the cheese. That quick and no need to fire up the grill in the summer.

Coconut Cake Fit for a King

My husband had a very special birthday last week and to commemorate the occasion, I decided to get him a coconut cake. I could have made it, but he is always mentioning how much he misses his grandmother's coconut cake and I didn't think I could get close.

Enter Angela Saban. I've have tried many of her cakes and treats, all of which are gluten free and amazing. I knew it would be good, and I knew it would be closer to grandma's than I could ever get. What I received was a beautiful, huge cake that lived up to my expectations and more. Husband was totally surprised and said it may not have been grandma's cake, but it's the closest he's ever come to it. And since it was gluten free (and he is not)  I think we've accomplished something here, don't you?

The cake was beautiful on the outside with a pretty ribbon on top with Happy Birthday written on it, edible blue glitter sprinkled on lightly and a generous amount of light frosting and coconut surrounding it. The cake inside was four layers high and yet it was light and sweet. The cake was not too dense and not too sweet, making it a great combo for the light whipped buttercream icing. All white, all coconut and all amazing.

The party was a combined celebration for the Husband and a wonderful 6-year-old boy who is very close to our family. My daughter made her famous gluten-free chocolate cupcakes topped with vanilla buttercream frosting and decorated with crushed K-Too cookies just for him and his friends. They loved them, and we even had a couple left to bring home and freeze for another day. The cake, as you can see, is sky high and even though there were 15 people eating it, we still had enough to leave a piece for the hostess, give a piece to my Mom, freeze a piece and eat some the next day. Angela did say it would feed 25 people and she wasn't kidding!

And just for the record, I don't get anything for writing this. I paid for the cake and I will be doing so again on any other occasion where I don't have time or inclination to make a cake. I'm just trying to come up with an occasion soon!

Enjoy!