Homemade Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix Recipe

One of the things about changing my way of eating to gluten free is that cooking takes sooooooooo much longer. Yes mixes do exist and some are quite tasty, but they are also hard to find and incredibly pricy. ($5 for a box of cake mix, anyone? Well, Carrie over at gingerlemongirl.com has your answer with a homemade gluten/dairy/casein/soy free mix. Check it out!

http://gingerlemongirl.blogspot.com/2010/12/homemade-gluten-free-betty-crocker-cake.html

Allergy FreeTangerine French Toast

I found the original version of this recipe here: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2009/12/three-holiday-tangerine-french-toasts.html

but needed to modify for my dietary needs: gluten free, dairy free, soy free, refined sugar free so here is the modified recipe.

Holiday Tangerine French Toast
vegan, makes 8 triangles

4 pieces of sliced gluten free bread, soft (I like Whole Foods Prairie bread for this but use any you like)
1 cup + 2 Tbsp vanilla flavor So Delicious coffee creamer
1 large tangerine, zest and juiced
(About 1/4 cup tangerine juice and about 2 tsp zest.)
1/2 tsp cinnamon + a few more dashes
a few dashes nutmeg
1 Tbsp gluten free flour
1 Tbsp vegan buttery spread for cooking
*Earth Balance brand is my fave.
garnish: extra tangerine for garnish slices and zest, powdered sugar, maple syrup (but it doesn't need it!)

Directions:

1. Slice your bread diagonally, into 8 triangles.

2. Add the ingredients (creamer, spices, flour, tangerine juice and tangerine zest) to a flat-bottom dish. Whisk them together.

3. Turn your stove on med-high and plop your 1 Tbsp of buttery spread into non-stick pan. Allow it to coat the surface of the pan.

4. You don't want to over-soak your bread, however soaking it through is important. Using bread that isn't perfectly fresh may be the best way to combat french toast sog. But then again, I used a fresh loaf and it turned out splendidly. Dipping process: Dip and soak for 2 seconds on each side and immediately transfer to hot oiled pan. Repeat until your pan is filled to the brim with toasts. My pan held 5 triangles at a time.


5. Allow your french toast to sit in the pan! Don't go flipping-early or mushing it around on the pan or it will likely turn to bits and pieces and/or burn the crust off. Sprinkle a nice hefty dash of cinnamon on each of the toasts while they are cooking in the pan. After 3 minutes, flip the toasts. They should be a nice marbled dark golden brown color. If the first 'flipper' is still soggy and mushed after flipping, leave the remaining triangles unflipped for another 1-2 minutes. Then flip and again, test for doneness. Practice makes perfect!

6. Once all the toasts are flipped, allow them to cook for another 3 minutes on the other side. By the end of cooking time, the edges should be nice crisp, buttery and smell of warm cinnamon and candied tangerine zest. If your toasts didn't turn out perfectly the first time, try with the second batch of bread.

Possible troubleshooting errors: your pan wasn't hot enough, you needed a bit more flour or you over or under soaked your bread. Also note: you may want to refresh the buttery spread or even simply spray a bit of canola oil in the pan after a few cooking rounds. A 'greased' pan is a must for this french toast.

7. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh tangerine zest, a dash of cinnamon and a few tangerine slices. Other toppings are nice, but really not needed.

Grain Free Coffee Cake

This is a very interesting recipe for those of you who might be trying to eliminate grains altogether, low carbers, etc. I will be getting the ingredients this weekend to give this a try.

Grain-Free Coffee Cake

This recipe is moist and delicious. It never dries out and is best kept in the fridge after the first day. I've made a few changes to it, mainly doubling the cinnamon in the topping and increasing the cooking time. All of her recipes take longer for me to bake. I think that might be because Kelly creates these recipes in a very dry climate at an altitude of above 5000 feet and I am at sea level in a very moist climate. Although her recipe indicates to bake this coffee cake for 25 minutes, it takes me 45 to 50 minutes until it is cooked all the way through. No recipe can ever be perfect because of all of the variables involved. Just check for doneness in the center of the cake after 25 minutes. Then you be the judge as to how much more time it needs.

Wet ingredients:
2 cups cooked and drained white beans (at room temp)
6 large organic eggs
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup melted virgin coconut oil
3/4 teaspoon liquid stevia
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond flavoring

Dry Ingredients:
1/3 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Topping:
2 to 3 cups raw walnuts
1/2 cup coconut sugar
4 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons cinnamon


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-innch glass baking dish.

Use an 11-cup or larger food processor fitted with the "s" blade. Add to it all of the wet ingredients. Process until smooth. Then add dry ingredients. Process again until very smooth and creamy.

Pour batter into prepared pan, scraping the sides of the processor with a rubber spatula. Then rinse the food processor to make the topping.

Place the walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon into the food processor and process until nuts are very finely ground. The add melted coconut oil and process again. Sprinkle topping over cake batter.

Bake for *25 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Source: www.NourishingMeals.com

RECIPE CREATED BY Kelly Brozyna

Impostor Cheese Sauce

Carrie's Cheesy Imposter Sauce
(Gluten free, casein free, soy free, yeast free)

2/3 cup unsweetened hemp milk (** see notes)
3-4 tablespoons cooked chick peas (canned is fine!)
1 heaping tablespoon tahini
3-4 tablespoons cashews (or pine nuts)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon - 3/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce (add to taste)
1/4 teaspoon garlic granules
3/4 teaspoon tumeric
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon diced pimiento peppers
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:
Place all ingredients in blender and puree until very smooth. Pour mixture into a sauce pan and heat on the stove on med-high heat for several minutes until heated through. Pour heated cheese sauce over pasta, potatoes, rice, vegetables, etc... Place leftover sauce in an airtight container and store in refrigerator. Consume within 2-3 days.


Notes:


* Add more or less hemp milk to the sauce for the creaminess you need. I used hemp milk as my non-dairy milk because it is very creamy and delicious. If you do not have hemp milk available, use your favorite non-dairy milk.

* Play with the spices and flavors in this sauce. It's up to you, if you like the flavor of mustard, add more! If you like the tang of lemon juice, add more! If you don't like pimientos, leave them out!

* Add more or less chick peas and cashews to create the texture you like.

* Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce IS gluten free!

* REHEATING TIPS = If you want to reheat this sauce, make sure to store the sauce separately from your pasta or vegatables! The sauce may dry out slightly upon reheating. You can simply add additional hemp milk to restore the moisture to the sauce.

Easy Macaroni and Cheese

Easy Macaroni and Cheese


You can make this dish creamier by adding Earth Balance margarine. Try it the low-fat way first, and if you need it to be richer, add a little margarine to taste. This recipe is also low in sodium, so salt-lovers may need to add salt.

1 pound pasta (regular or gluten-free)

Blend together:
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup plain, fat-free soymilk (may use other non-dairy milk)
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon sea salt
black pepper to taste

Put the pasta on to boil, according to package directions. While it’s cooking, blend all remaining ingredients together in a blender. When the pasta is al dente, drain it, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and return the pasta to pan. Add the sauce mixture and cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens. Add a little of the pasta water if more moistness is needed.

If the sauce is not as flavorful as you’d like, add a little more mustard and onion powder.

Note: My daughter likes her macaroni a florescent yellow, so I usually add more turmeric.

Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 303 Calories (kcal); 4g Total Fat; (10% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 54g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 316mg Sodium; 5g Fiber. Also, if you use nutritional yeast fortified with B-12, one serving provides 100% of the daily requirement of that vitamin.

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Serving Suggestions: We like to have this with a bean dish, such as barbecued beans, and with steamed vegetables, most often a blend of broccoli and cauliflower.

Additional Uses: Heat the sauce alone until it thickens and use it to pour over baked potatoes or top pizzas. Or stir in some salsa and it makes a yummy dip for tortilla chips.

Soy Free Dairy Free Pine Nut Ricotta

“Ricotta”
1 cup raw pignoli nuts, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt