Friday, December 31, 2010

Brownies



No one should ever have to live with out brownies.  My efforts on getting a brownie recipe started the moment the Diagnosis came through.  Perhaps it was my stress and need to be blissfully taken away by homemade chocolate goodness that was driving me.  But most definitely, I knew we had to come up with a fast replacement for these as all of the kids love them and we wanted the change to be a success.

These brownies are so strikingly similar to the boxed brownie they could easily be confused.  The taste is identical and THEY EVEN HAVE THE FLAKEY TOP. The hardest part about the brownies was the fact that we needed to add flour to the recipe.  I hate the idea of a great brownie whose color is tarnished by a white flour. So I chose replacements based off of their darker color.  The fact that they add nutrition to the brownies without sacrificing flavor, is just a bonus.  

You will notice there are black beans, flax, and wild rice in them.  And I promise the taste is not affected, though nutrition is highly affected for the better.  You could have these for breakfast without feeling guilty!!  I know some of you are probably a little uncomfortable thinking about beans or wild rice in your dessert, which I think is likely very normal.  If you don't want to use these ingredients or don't have some of them, you can substitute Wild Rice with Rice Flour or Tapioca flour/starch and just omit the black beans along with 2 TBSP butter.

This recipe is also a good option for making pre-bagged mixes.  Using a quart sized ziploc bag place the entire dry list of ingredients (3rd) in the bag and write on the bag the wet ingredients missing along with baking instructions.  For easiest processing of bagging your own mixes get 10 cups or containers that can hold 2-3 cups (I like using large tall plastic cups).  To make it easy to carry all the containers to where your ingredients are, place them on a cookie sheet.  Working one ingredient at a time, add each ingredient to every cup before moving on to the next ingredient.  I hold out wild rice and flax adding them with the wet ingredients primarily because the nutrients go bad shortly after grinding.  If you don't care about the nutrients, you can go ahead and add the wild rice to the mixes.  However, Flax will actually go rancid from its oil content (that goes for store bought or home ground too), if it is not used soon enough after being ground.

For those of my readers who would like to reduce the fat and sugar, replace the butter with applesauce and the sugar with splenda (you could also replace sugar with honey and reduce the water by 2 TBSP or Agave Nectar and reduce the water by 3 TBSP).  However, the butter is one of the key ingredients to making the flakey top, so if appearance is an issue, you may not want to alter it.

Brownies

3/4 cup melted Butter or Crisco
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup warm water 
2 eggs***
1 1/2 tsp orange extract (or vanilla)
*  *  *  *
1/2 cup well drained mashed black beans/re-fried Black Beans*
*  *  *  *
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup ground wild rice (use coffee/spice grinder if you don't have a grain grinder) 
1/4 cup ground flax (or other flours- I recommend tapioca, sorghum, or rice)  

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp guar gum (NOT xanthan gum**)
1/2 tsp salt (1/4 tsp if using canned beans)
3/4 cups chopped pecans or favorite nut (optional)
        
Note: If you are grinding your wild rice with a spice grinder, you really need to combine the ground wild rice with the water (boil the water by placing it in the microwave for 30 secs) and set aside til cools.  If you have pre-ground or wild rice ground in a grain grinder, then you can just put the water with the wet ingredients and the wild rice flour with the dry as written.  

1) If you are using black beans, put black beans in the food processor and give it a spin. Melt butter and while still hot combine with chocolate chips in a large bowl.  Not all chocolate chips will be completely melted and that is OK.  
2) After mixing add eggs, mashed black beans, and extract.  
3)Combine 2nd list of ingredients, except pecans, and mix well. 
4) Add all the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix well making sure there are no lumps except possible chocolate chips. Then mix in pecans.  
5) Pour into greased 13 x 9 inch pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick poked in middle of brownies comes out nearly clean.  Let cool fully before serving (I will even place them in fridge for a while to chill before cutting, then nuke individually in microwave to serve.)  

*You can choose to make your own re-fried black beans or buy canned.  If you buy canned make sure there is no garlic or onion added to the beans.  Many people add a whole can to the store bought mixes, but I don't recommend it.
** If you like the flakey top, guar gum is what you would want to use.  If you like restaurant style (no flakey top), then use Xanthan Gum.
***For egg free replace with 1/3 cup Avocado and reduce butter by 2 TBSP. There will still be a flakey top, but it is a thickened flakey top w/o the shiney appearance, the taste is unaffected and still extremely fudgey.


Successful Gluten and Dairy Free Living

When our diagnosis came through I knew it was going to be a challenge.  I also knew that success depended on the quality, flavors, and textures of the foods we were eating.  So I made a few choices for myself in order to ensure it was a successful change for our children.  

First, I decided I was going to eat everything they ate.  If I was eating it and it tasted bad I could understand why they did not want to eat.  I could also find items to replace those which were inedible, in order to prevent selective starvation. After all, as a fellow Gluten Free friend of mine put it 'it's amazing the motivation [you] have to find what works best [when your] taste buds are involved'.  Very true!!

Second, find a replacement for all the favorites or frequently used items before starting the diet.  If your kids like granola bars, find one they can have that tastes good.  If they must have their cereal in the morning, make it happen.  If you have good replacements for comfort foods, success will be right around the corner.

Third, against popular belief, you DON'T have to make the change all at once.  Substitute out items as you find replacements.  Remember you (or your child) have been eating these allergens or intolerances this whole time and you have not died yet, so a few days or weeks of imperfection is not going to kill you either.  Make your best efforts; make a goal to change one or two items a week starting with the two most obvious items--  Bread and Milk.

You will be stressed for a while, but the end goal is success.  Pushing yourself too hard or settling for edible cardboard will only exasperate the situation and cause you to give up on health.

If you would like more information to help you make informed decisions for your situation, you may want to read:


   



Thursday, December 30, 2010

Tamales



Tamales are a Mexican Delicacy; and loved by any who has ever tried one.  If you are familiar with them, you will know that no alterations need to be made to fit in with a Gluten and Dairy free diet.  They are also pretty easy to make, though very time consuming (I am assuming this is why they are only made for special occasions in Mexico).  

I helped my mother-in-law make Tamales for the first time the first Christmas after getting married.  After making them this one time, I was good to go.  It was a very easy process to pick up.  All I needed was a basic recipe and I would make it on my own.  In Mexico they don't record recipes or use measuring cups or spoons, so I could not just ask for the recipe.  The first recipe I started out with came from the cookbook Authentic Mexican by Rick and Deann Bayless, though over the years I have tweaked it to what I felt was ideal, based off of what I have learned from my immersion in the Mexican Culture. In actuality it really had nothing to do with how I felt but how my husbands native taste-buds reacted.  So I really took notes on every comment or furrowed brow and made alterations as necessary.  This recipe makes about 25.

In order to dull the time consuming effort making tamales takes, I make them in two shifts.  The first shift is the night before when I make the filling.  The second shift consists of making the corn masa and putting the Tamales together.  Be sure to wear an apron or clothes you do not care about.

Filing Ingredients:

3 chicken thighs
3 large dried ancho chiles
2 large dried California or New Mexico Chiles
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 clove of garlic (or scant teaspoon garlic powder)
1-2 TBSP oil
1 tsp sugar
   salt to taste

1) Remove stems from dried peppers and dump out the seeds. Place them on bottom of large pot and place chicken thighs over the top of them (this is so the peppers don't float when water is added).  Fill pot with just enough water to cover chicken and peppers. Boil covered until the chicken is cooked through.
2) Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the broth. Shred chicken. Remove the skins from the peppers.  (The easiest way to do this is to take the boiled pepper by the pointy end and using both hands pinch the tip gradually moving downward until the meat slides free.)  You must remove the skin; skin will ruin your Tamales.
3) For the sauce combine 3/4 cup of the reserved chicken broth, all the chile meats, black pepper, and garlic in a blender and blend until smooth.  Put tablespoon oil in a large skillet and heat until a drop of the blender sauce will sizzle upon hitting the oil.  Then pour sauce in all at once.  Boil stirring constantly for 5 minutes to thicken.  Add the remaining 3/4 cup of reserved broth, turn stove down, to medium heat, and simmer stirring occasionally, while you work on shredding the chicken. When there is approximately 1 cup of sauce remaining, season with salt, add sugar, turn off the stove, and add the shredded chicken.

Before starting the Masa, place 8 oz of corn husks in a pot of water and boil for 10 minutes.  When done boiling leave them in the water and let set for 2 hours.

The Masa - Corn Dough

1 3/4 cup Masa Harina Corn Flour (not to be confused with corn meal)
3/4 cup crisco
1 1/4 cup warm chicken broth or water (to start)
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt, then salt to taste


The Masa dough is going to be the challenging part.  Do not just plan on following the recipe.  Be prepared to make alterations.  Climate makes a huge difference.  A dry climate like New Mexico will require more liquids.  A climate like Chicago will require less liquids.  I made these in the summer time one year and only needed 1 cup of water, but in the winter time this year i needed 1 1/4 cups of water.  So the trick is going to be checking the consistency.  If it spreads on the corn husk as easy as peanut butter and stays put, then the dough is right.  You should not be fighting the dough in forming the Tamale.


Start by cutting the Crisco into the corn flour as if you were making a pie crust. Then add the warm water, baking powder and salt.  Be sure to taste the mix and make sure there is sufficient salt.  If there is not enough salt the Tamales will not taste very good; it is better to have a little too much than not enough.  If you struggle with getting the masa dough to stick to the corn husk, then the dough needs more water.  If you need more water add water 2 Tbsp at a time until the consistency is right.

Forming the Tamales:
(you will need Baking Twine)

1) It is easiest to form the Tamales with corn husks that are about 6 inches wide. If you need to, you can over lap 2 husks to make them wide enough. 
2) On the corn husk form a 4 x 4 inch square of masa dough less than a 1/4 inch thick. Then place about 1 TBSP of the filling down the middle.  
3) Bring the sides of the corn husk together so that the sides of the masa square touch each other.  Then roll the excess of the corn husk semi-tightly to one side. Fold up tail and tie with the baking twine.

Steaming the Tamales:

I use a large pot with a strainer insert
1) Before forming the Tamales fill the pot with enough water so that the straining basket is on the water, but water does not come into the basket and take note how high up the water goes on the side of the pot (you will likely need to add water to the pot during the cooking process and won't be able to tell if there is water in the basket). 
2) Line the sides and bottom of the straining basket with some of the corn husks. 
3) As you finish forming the Tamales, set them upright in the basket.
4) When all the Tamales are formed and in the pot, fill empty spaces with leftover corn husks and lightly crumpled aluminum foil until the pot is full.  Do not pack tightly.  
5) Put lid on pot and bring water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium. 

Cooking time will be approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.  Check water about every 20 minutes to make sure there is enough by removing the basket from the pan; add water as necessary. Check the tamales by removing one from the bunch and sampling the masa.  The masa should be firm and husk removable with little masa residue on wrapping. If not, cook another 15-20 minutes and recheck. 



Sweetened Condensed Milk Substitute

There are so many wonderful things that require sweetened condensed milk.  For example fudge in the American culture and Tres Leches cake in the Mexican culture.  So we really needed a substitute for Sweetened Condensed milk if living Dairy free was going to be successful.  The flour I chose to use this time is rice flour, but I have used Cornstarch in the past.  I have also used combinations of tapioca and rice flour too. You might want to think twice before using only tapioca just because it has that strange gooey and slimy finished product- you know what I mean?


Sweetened Condensed Milk:


2 TBSP Butter
1 1/2 TBSP Rice Flour
1 1/4  cup Rice Milk
1/2 cup White Sugar 
  
1) Melt butter in a pan over the stove and then add the flour and stir feverishly so no lumps can form.
2) After well mixed, add milk in small amounts and then stir constantly til it starts to thicken. 
3) Add sugar and bring to a boil constantly stirring.  Turn off stove and let cool completely.
*Makes about 1 1/4 cups.  If there is a slight difference in what you need to what you have, add syrup or honey to make up the difference.

Tortilla Soup



This soup is inspired by a small restaurant in one of the high rise buildings close to where I worked in downtown El Paso. It was one of the most wonderful holes in the wall in El Paso.  I searched Tortilla Soup recipes all over the place, but every recipe had red broth, beans, corn, or other Americanizing additives unfitting of the Mexican soup I was so fond of.  So I based my creation off the soup I remembered with very minimal additions.

I recently brought this to a Christmas Eve Party where each attending family was supposed to bring their favorite soup.  Usually on Christmas Eve we would eat Pozole as a family, but Pozole uses Hominy and has some rich distinct flavors in it that we thought other attendees would not appreciate, so we opted for Tortilla soup. The Mexican way.  I am so glad I have a picture to post so you can see just how glorious a bowl looks; doesn't it look blissfully divine.  Honestly, this soup is HEAVENLY. 


Tortilla Soup

9 boneless skinless chicken thighs
15 corn tortillas
32 oz box Chicken broth (or 2 cans broth)
1 small onion finely chopped
1 small can diced green chiles (brand name is best; generic tends to be soggy and mushy)
Garlic powder to taste
Salt to taste


Garnishes:
2 Avocados, diced
1 cup shredded non-dairy yellow cheese
1/2 bunch cilantro coarsely chopped
8 oz non-dairy sour cream

1) Boil Chicken thighs in large pot with enough water to cover 
     chicken plus about an inch. 
2) Let broth and chicken cool, shred/pull apart chicken, remove 
     excess fat from broth, return chicken to broth and set aside.
3) Cut tortillas in strips about 1 cm by 1.5 inches.  You can do 
     this by first cutting the tortillas in three equally wide strips 
     and then cut those strips in strips 1 cm wide. I just stack 
     tortillas all on top of each other and do this all at once. 
4) Fill deep pot with 3 inches of oil (I use an Asparagus pot seen here ).     
     Heat on high until you can drop a crumb of tortilla in and 
     watch it sizzle. Fry tortilla strips a handful at a time until 
     they are a golden brown.  After first handfuls turn heat down 
     to medium.  Set strips on a cookie sheet lined with paper 
     towels to cool. Store in paper bag.*
5)  To homemade broth add: 32 oz box/cans chicken broth, 
     finely chopped onion, can diced green chiles well drained, 
     garlic powder to taste, salt to taste. Boil until onions are soft; 
     about 15 mins. 
6) Serve soup, garnish with a handful of the fried tortilla strips, 
     freshly chopped cilantro, diced avocados, tablespoon non-
     dairy sour cream, and shredded yellow non-dairy cheese 


This recipe makes 12-15 bowls. I hope you enjoy it as much as our family does!
*If you want to cut on prep time you can buy store bought tortilla strips, but I do not recommend it. 



Mexican Food in Gluten and Dairy Free Cooking

Mexican food has been part of our diet since our family began.  I lived on the Texas Mexican Border for about 10 years.  This is where I met my husband who happened to be born and raised in Mexico.  Mexican food was a large part of our diet prior to the GFCF diet, but is more dominant since diagnosis. As many probably know corn, rice, and beans are staples of Mexican cooking and all of them are welcome in GFCF living. If you don't already have one, get a Mexican cookbook; not Tex-Mex, but the real deal.  Tex-Mex tends to use wheat products and dairy products far more often than real Mexican food does. We have found Rick Bayless does a pretty good job of remaining true in his earlier Mexican cookbooks, though I have not really looked at his more recent books.


The only problem that you will most definitely encounter in most Mexican dishes is the cheese and dairy cream requirements.  However, this is very easily addressed, because there are so many cheese and cream substitutes out there.  Most of these substitutes are rice or soy based. Alot of the rice based cheese and creams have milk protein in them, so you must be careful.  Many people with a dairy allergy  also have a soy allergy, so you need to be careful here too. Our children have reactions to soy only in the long term use of it, so we just choose to use the soy based cheeses and creams very occasionally, because dairy free rice based cheese is not always available and is very expensive.

Homemade Granola

I love Granola.  My kids love Granola.  And Believe it or not, it is hard to find a Granola that is Dairy and Gluten free.  The only decent priced brand that we have been able to find in a local grocery store is Cascadian Farms.  However, You are limited to two flavors, one having raisins and my kids do not like raisins.  So we started to make our own Granola. Many recipes I found came out too sticky, so I started to play around and made my own mix.  It is the most delicious granola we have ever had.  My kids will sit and eat it dry for a snack or for that matter, all day long.  You'll even catch me snacking on it all day long too, but it is a far better choice than chocolate!

I usually don't use any uniform amount of the syrups.  I mix and match them depending on the type of fruit I am choosing.  Low sugar fruits like strawberries complement the sugar (glucose) levels in honey, while higher sugar fruits like dates, I would choose honey for.  It really does not matter what you use, so long as the amounts and methods are the same.



Originally I used Oats in place of the Quinoa Flakes and Puffed Millet, so if you prefer, you can use Oats in their place. If the sensitivity to Gluten extends to oats, you may want to try Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Whole Grain, Rolled Oats in this recipe

In mixing bowl:

2 cups Puffed Millet (or other rolled grain)
2 cups Puffed Brown Rice (you can find this at Walmart usually with the Malt-O-Meal bagged cereals)
2 cups Flaked Quinoa 
2 cups coconut (you can use sweetened or unsweetened)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup dried fruit cut the size of a peanut or smaller* (any kind, apples, raisins, tropical blend, blueberries, dates, bananas)
1/2 cup freshly ground flax (I grind mine in a coffee grinder)
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

In a small pan combine:

2/3 cup honey or Agave Nectar
1/4 cup agave nectar or maple syrup  
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cups butter 

Heat over medium heat until foamy stirring frequently.  When foam rises a few inches when left unstirred, turn off stove, pour over dry mixture, and and gently fold in with a plastic spatula/scraper until evenly coated. Spread 3/4 inch thick on cookie sheets sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (I use 2 ½ large cookie trays) and in preheated oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until edges begin to turn golden.  Pull out and let rest until cooled.  Break up and store in plastic cereal dispenser or zip lock bag.  I just keep ours in the cereal cabinet.  I have never had a batch 'go bad'. 

    *When I use dried apples as our choice of fruit, I increase the cinnamon to 1.5 tablespoons.  My kids like dates and apples the best.

    Breakfast Cereals Gluten Free

    One of the harder parts of changing to gluten and dairy free is the issue of breakfast cereals.  What was once a convenience for breakfast seems impossible after diagnosis.  I know when we got our diagnosis, this was one of the most frustrating pieces.  What to do for a quick breakfast?  Do I give them a bowl of sugar in the form of generic Fruity Pebbles or do I give them flat boring and seemingly inedible plain rice crispies?  Well after a while I found many great and palatable options for my children, all of them consisting of a combination of both devils.  I found this to be much more appealing than doing even what my mom did, choosing the healthier cereals and having us put a spoon or two or three. . .uh, ten on our cereal (LOL- we would, it was sugar and we were kids).   With all of these combinations, you still taste the sugary as if you had a whole bowl of it, but the sugar content is close to 5 grams a serving

    So the combinations I use are:

    Generic Coco Puffs and Kix
    Generic Fruity Pebbles and Puffed Brown Rice
    Generic Coco Pebbles and Puffed Brown Rice
    Generic Honey Nut Cherrios and Generic Regular Cherrios
    Generic Captain Crunch and Kix
    *Some Gluten free individuals will be sensitive to oats, which is the main ingredient of Cherrios

    You get the idea and from my list you will probably come up with others for your children. 

    I layer the cereals in a cereal container (here) move it around a bit to mix the two cereals together and then the kids are able to serve their own cereal every morning.


    Wednesday, December 29, 2010

    Pumpkin Pie Crust and Filling

    This is the most wonderful discovery as of yet.  While I was not a lover of pumpkin pie, but in actuality was disgusted by it, after creating this crust and filling one Thanksgiving, I. WAS. IN. LOVE!!  This recipe is the most often requested, as it is also a low carb recipe; and we all know how that fits into our society today! 

    SO here it is:

    PIE CRUST

    3/4 cup frozen pecans
    1/4 cup Tapioca Starch
    1/2 cup Coconut
    2 TBSP Brown Sugar
    3 TBSP Melted butter or crisco

    1) In food processor, pulse pecans until largest pieces are the size of split peas.
    2) Put the processed pecans in a bowl and add the tapioca starch, coconut, and sugar.  Mix.
    3) Add melted butter and mix again.
    4) Place 'dough' in 9 inch pie pan and press over bottom and sides with your fingers.

    FILLING

    1 - 15 oz can plain pumpkin puree, or you can roast and puree your own pumpkin*
    2 beaten eggs
    1/2 cup rice milk
    1/2 cup coconut milk
    1/4 tsp salt
    3/4 cups white sugar
    1 tsp dark molasses
    2 tsp fresh ground cinnamon (use a coffee/spice grinder)
    1 tsp nutmeg

    I highly recommend fresh ground cinnamon.  It is far superior to  pre-ground cinnamon: it has a mild spiciness that pre-ground does not have, perfect for pumpkin pie.  Mix all ingredients together, pour in crust.   Start baking in an oven preheated to 375 for 25 minutes, reduce to 350 for 20 minutes, and then finally to 325 for 20 minutes or until knife comes out nearly clean.  This baking technique will prevent the pie from drying out on top causing it to split down the middle.  Serve warm with a whipped topping.

    *To puree puree your own pumpkin first roast it in an oven at 350 by slicing it in half and placing it face down on a cookie sheet.  An average averaged sized  pie pumpkin takes about  75-90 minutes to roast. When it is done roasting you should be able to remove the meat from the skin with a spoon very easily.  Once you remove meat from the skin, mash. Be sure to remove excess moisture.

    Introduction

    I have been cooking, baking, and creating Gluten and Dairy Free recipes for almost 5 years now.  I have learned alot through my experiences of the ins & outs and do's & don'ts of  baking. This blog will consist of the many tips and tricks I have learned over the years along with my many recipes that I have created to make living gluten and dairy free more appetizing and appealing to my children. Many people have also been requesting my recipes for a while now and so I have decided that I would post them all on this blog, in order for all to access them easily.