Gluten Free Brownies, or, baking with coconut flour

Guess what I did?

I baked!

two items!

I've been invited to a baking party next weekend and since two of my friends are gluten intolerant, the challenge is to find a gluten free recipe.

I've baked with rice flour before and wasn't particularly wowed by it, but I pretty much substituted it exactly for regular flour which you can't always do.

I debated buying the gluten free all purpose flour but decided to be more adventurous and instead I bought coconut flour to experiment with.

Turns out you have to make a few adjustments to your recipe when using coconut flour as it tends to be more absorbent than your standard all purpose flour.

After scouring Pinterest, my first experimental recipe was for a lemon loaf. 

It sucked.

It tasted too eggy, which was no surprise considering it called for 6 eggs. 

I tried again.

Brownies.

A big winner.

There's a nice hint of coconut (there would have been more if I had used coconut oil and coconut milk as the recipe calls for) so if you like the taste of coconut, grab some flour and give this recipe a whirl.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a brownie pan with parchment paper.
• Over medium heat, combine 1/3 cup coconut oil, 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup honey until melted. In a heat-proof bowl, add 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Pour oil & butter over chocolate and allow chocolate to begin to melt, then stir until combined. 
• Add in 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 eggs. 
• In a separate bowl, combine 1/2 cup coconut flour, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix into wet ingredients with a whisk to get rid of lumps.
• Pour into brownie pan and bake for 25 minutes.  

Oven Roasted Jerk Chickpeas

In my new ongoing quest to find quick snacks that are also healthy, I came across roasted chickpeas.

Believe me when I tell you that these are incredibly easy to make and are so tasty - especially if, like me, you can't enjoy nuts.

You can use pretty much any kind of seasoning you want. 

I used jerk seasoning because I had a lot of it on hand.

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Open a can of chickpeas and drain out the liquid. Spread the chickpeas out evenly on a baking sheet.
• Sprinkle with desired seasoning.
• Bake for about 30 mins. Then let cool and enjoy!

This snack is about 125 calories per 1/2 cup and is loaded with protein and fibre! A much healthier alternative to chips....or chocolate, if we're being realistic about my snacking habits. 

Light, Sweet & Airy Pavlovas

A few weeks ago we had dinner at our friends' place and they made a delicious dinner for us.

Crepes with asparagus, mushrooms, raisins, and goat cheese. They were different from what we normally have and oh no good.

I don't know why we don't make savoury crepes more often.

We brought the desert to be good dinner guests.

Having made brownies the night before to satisfy my own craving, I decided to make something very different.

Both were somewhat soft and gooey in the middle with crispy shells.

Where the brownies were decadent and chocolatey, this second recent foray into baking was light, sweet and airy.

 The Pavlova.

Simple and easy with only a few ingredients.

They look much more elegant and time consuming then they actually are.

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Using an electric mixer, whip 4 egg whites with 1 tsp salt until stiff peaks form.
• Add in 1 cup sugar in 3 stages and continue to whip until glossy. With the mixer still running, add in 1 tsp corn starch, 2 tsp vinegar, and 1 tbsp vanilla extract. Gently fold together.
• Turn oven down to 250 degrees. On parchment paper, spread meringue out into 6 circles (or any other type of shape you want). Bake for 1 hour and 15 mins, then turn off oven and allow the meringues to dry out.
• Serve with whipped cream and fruit. We served ours with fruit (blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, mango, peach slices, and purple grapes) that we soaked in a mix of peach shnapps and riesling. 

Keep these in mind next time you want to impress your guests with desert.

You can find the Martha Stewart recipe that I used here.

Healthy Chicken Fried Rice

On Wednesday night I wanted to make a nice dinner but I realized we had very little food in the house.

I knew I would use the roast chicken my dad had so kindly brought us, so I scoured the cupboards and the fridge for other items to go with it.

I happened upon a bag of brown rice from when I had tried to go on a cleanse to cure my bloating.

I decided I would make a healthier chicken fried rice entree.

It's really easy to make, much healthier than the kind you'd get at a Chinese restaurant, and you can customize it to include the vegetables you like. 

• Make your brown rice. Follow the instructions on the bag but you can generally expect to follow the 2:1 ratio of water to rice. Also the rice I made takes 30-35 minutes to cook so do this first.
• If you don't have pre-cooked chicken (as I did), now would also be a good time to get that chicken in the oven.
• In a pan over medium heat, sautee 1 white onion until translucent (or not if you like a little more crunch) in 1 tbsp olive oil. Add in 1 stalk of celery, diced, broccoli, and fry until broccoli has softened. Add in spinach. Reduce heat to low and cook until spinach is wilted. Again, feel free to add in whatever veggies you want. 
• Push the veggies to one side. Crack 1-2 eggs (depending on how many you're feeding and how much you like eggs) into the empty pan space and scramble them. 
• Mix your cooked brown rice into the veggies and egg. Add in your chicken, cut into appropriately sized pieces, and mix it all together.
• Serve and enjoy.

That's it.

It's not a spectacularly fancy or original recipe but it was really good for something I made on the fly. 

Try making your own (and healthier) version of some of your favourite take out items.

Easy & Low Calorie Banana Pancakes

If you're anything like me, you've come home from work and made pancakes.

Or been watching tv and decided, hey, I'm going to make some pancakes.

Or looked in your fridge/cupboard and found items that make you say, "these would go great in some pancakes."

 

Basically I love pancakes.

They're so versatile. They're a delicious medium for most other types of food: add fruit or berries, add bacon, add candy, even add cheese.

 

The only problem is that the amount of wheat and sugar isn't so great for you.

 

I saw a recipe on Pinterest awhile back which suggested that banana pancakes could be made using only 2 ingredients.

 

I was skeptical.

But last weekend I finally got around to trying it out and the results were delicious.

  

 

 

It's really, really simple to make these.

 

You'll need:

 

 

(the pinterest recipe called for a 1 banana: 1 egg ratio but I was successful with the extra banana).

So that's 2 bananas and 1 egg.

Then:

 

Pre-heat a frying pan and if it's not non-stick then make sure it's sprayed or buttered.

Pour the banana mix in and let it cook until it can be flipped, just like a regular pancake.

 

The banana tastes so good when it starts to caramelize from the heat. You almost don't even need to add any syrup.

 

And the bonus is that at a total of only 285 calories for the entire batch of pancakes (mind you I got about 3-4 pancakes out of my mix), you're also getting a lot of protein from the egg and potassium from the banana.

 

Plus with the calories you save you can eat an entire pack of bacon to balance things out.

 

...right?

Gluten Free Quinoa Chocolate Cupcakes

John's birthday was on Thursday so I sent him off with his favourite cupcakes - rainbow chip - but also with a gluten free option since I know some of his co-workers are gluten intollerant.

Having recently become a big fan of quinoa (and also not having any rice flour or other gluten free flour to substitute), I did a quick google search for cupcake recipes using quinoa and found this one from Michael Smith.

For a flourless cupcake it was pretty good, although I did run into an issue or two.

(Original recipe found here)

You will need:

2/3 cup (160 mL) white quinoa

1 1/3 cup (330 mL) water

1/3 cup (80 mL) milk

4 eggs

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla

3/4 cup (185 mL) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) sugar

1 cup (250 mL) cocoa powder

1/2 tbsp (7 mL) baking powder

1/2 tbsp (7 mL) baking soda

1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) salt

• Combine quinoa and water in a pot. Heat to simmer, cover and cook until quinoa is soft and has absorbed all the water, about 18 minutes. Spread flat to cool. Should produce about 2 cups (500 mL).
• Start with all ingredients at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
• In a food processor, combine quinoa, milk, eggs, vanilla and butter. Blend until smooth, about 5 minutes, scraping down sides halfway. Add sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt and puree 2 more minutes.
• Pour into 9-inch silicone cake mold (or a similar-sized cake mold, greased). Bake for 25 minutes, rotate and continue another 25 minutes. The top should spring back when touched. A toothpick will come out sticky, but dark, instead of shiny.
• Rest in pan for ten minutes before removing. Set upside down on wire rack to cool.

My major complaint was that the cupcakes stuck to the liners and worse - they came out very deflated.

Nothing that a little extra icing couldn't fix though!

If you're gluten sensitive/intollerant or you're just looking for something new to try, give this recipe a whirl. Quinoa is really good for you so you can almost rationalize eating several cupcakes in one sitting.

Almost.

Wedding Wednesdays: A gift for when you've agreed on no gifts

One week from Saturday my best friend gets married.

I didn't realize how much I was looking forward to this day until it started to get this close.

I'm so excited for her and cannot wait to be there with her to celebrate the marriage of two people I love and admire.

 

Since both of our weddings were/are this year, we decided to forgo the traditional gifts for one another, as whatever monetary gift they gave us would likely be given right back to them.

 

So we agreed: no gifts.

 

I obviously did not want to follow that agreement to the full extent and had planned on getting her some kind of bracelet charm, or a gift card for her and the new hubby to go for a romantic night out.

 

She also disregarded the rules and put together an amazing photo book of the incredible journeys we've been on during our 14 year friendship.

 

I had an idea.

I wanted to do this for her shower but we sort of combined her shower and her bachelorette into one so the idea got set aside.

 

Since I'm pretty sure she doesn't regularly read this blog (leap of faith, hope it doesn't end badly), here's what I'm trying to put together for the soon-to-be newlyweds:

 

A Book of Recipes for a Happy Marriage

 

 

 

I've started the scrapbook, now I just need participants to send me recipes that remind them of the couple as well as some words of advice for marriage, or wishes for a happy life together.

 

I'm starting the ball rolling with this recipe:

 

Gluten free Blondies

(from www.celiacteen.com)

 

 

Gluten-Free Blondies

Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar (7.40 oz / 210 g)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour (1.10 oz / 32 g)
1/4 cup sweet rice flour (1.25 oz / 35 g)
1/4 cup millet flour (1.35 oz / 37 g)
2 tbsp brown rice flour (0.70 oz / 20 g)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 slivered almonds
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup chocolate chips

 

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease an 8 by 8 inch pan.
2. Whisk together melted butter and brown sugar in a large bowl, until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flours and xanthan gum until uniform in colour. Stir the flours into the batter, a third at a time. Once combined, fold in the almonds, coconut and chocolate chips. Scrape into prepared pan and even the batter out through the pan.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with a crumb or two sticking to it. Let cool, in the pan on a cooling rack. Cut into squares and enjoy!

 

 

Gluten-Free Rainbow Chip Cake

This little kitty has an appointment with the veterinarian's vaccination needles today.

Then in a week and a bit he gets the old one-two declaw-neuter combo.

Poor little bugger.

Bahahaha I have the best cat. That picture breaks my heart with its cuteness factor.

I've embarked on an exciting baking adventure. A two parter.

First.

My best friend's birthday is this Sunday so I made her a cake for her party.

She has stomach issues so she has gone back on a gluten-free diet to see if things get better. As a person with a food allergy, I understand the hardships that people with food allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities face. I get it. I've had to say no to cakes, cookies, etc because there's a good chance they may have nuts in them. It hurts me inside 'cause they look so good.

Anyway, being such an in-touch, sensitive person (toot toot - what's that noise? Oh just me tooting my own horn) I bought some rice flour to make an entirely gluten free cake!

I made a gluten free carrot cake last year and the texture was definitely different from regular flour. This year she wanted rainbow chip so I tried to make my own version.

Kind of looks like rainbow chip right?

I haven't been able to properly taste this cake so I can't give you an accurate rating. The texture is not as light and fluffy as a regular cake. It's a bit more dense and I have good reason to believe the rice flour is sweeter than regular flour. Or so I was lead to believe when I licked the bowl clean.

But if you want to try and make a gluten free cake, here's how you can do it!

Gluten-Free Rainbow Chip Cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a bowl, mix together 2 1/2 cups rice flour, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Pour about 1 1/2 cups milk in but pour slowly and whisk the milk in to the flour mixture until it is smooth. You may need less than this or you may need more - the recipe I followed called for 3/4 cup but that was waaaayyy too little so I eyeballed how much I used.
• In a seperate bowl mix together 1 egg and 3/4 cup sugar. Add this to the flour mixture and mix well. Mix in about 1/3 cup sprinkles.
• Pour cake mix into a greased pan and bake for about 25 minutes.

The second baking adventure that I've been undertaking is top secret until Saturday....I may post it now and set it to post later on tomorrow.

It's pretty cool - I'm proud of myself!

Happy Long Weekend!