Enjoying Gluten-Free Life

 Making the Middle of the Week Better

Starting Bottom Left, Clockwise: Coconut inside & outside, coconut inside, inside plain & coconut outside, pecan inside & outside, pecans inside & both pecans & coconut outside, pecans inside & coconut outside

Every week I’m going to have Cheerful Wednesday. You’ll find an upbeat post, a fun and/or simple recipe, or just good news about eating gluten or grain-free. On this first Cheerful Wednesday I have a Super Simple Date Cashew Butter Ball recipe for you that has three ingredients – yes, just three – and won’t take long but, well, my mouth starts watering when I think about eating more of these.

Recipes for date balls are out there but this one’s a bit different. I didn’t add any sweeteners, did add cashew butter and it gives a creamy texture along with a bit of protein, and cinnamon for some spice. I’m sure other nut or seed butters would work but I like cashew butter because it’s very creamy and fairly neutral in flavor.

I made a variety of versions with just coconut and pecans. Mix it up with your favorite dried fruits and nuts or seeds. The combinations are endless. Try adding dried apricots and rolling it in crushed sunflower seeds. Or add raisins and roll it in crushed cashews. My favorite’s the version with coconut inside and out. My husband’s is the one with the works: filled with pecans and rolled in both pecans and coconut.

Give this a try the next time you’d like something sweet.

Super Simple Date Cashew Butter Balls

1 cup whole dates, loosely packed (I used these)
2 Tablespoons cashew butter (I used this)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Measure one cup of whole dates, pit then cut in chunks. (I used medjool dates.) Add dates, cashew butter and cinnamon to the food processor and process until it’s smooth. Mine formed a ball (see photo below) and I knew it was done.

To add shredded coconut, about 3 Tablespoons for the whole batch would work, put it in now and pulse just until combined. About the same amount of 3 Tablespoons chopped raw or toasted nuts would be good but for them, remove the date mixture from the processor and work the nuts in my hand. Roll into balls about the size of a walnut then roll in the toppings of your choice. Store at room temperature; they aren’t as good cold from the fridge.

Makes about 8 balls.

Linked to: Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Simple Lives Thursday, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Gluten-Free Monday, Raw Foods Thursdays, Real Food Wednesday, Gluten Free Fridays

Where To Find Your Ideas

Many worry that they can’t find the exact recipe they want or need. It may be that just finding a recipe that’s similar to what you need can work. Or simply find inspiration from another source and go from there.

Ideas for recipes can come from many directions. Sometimes, as with this Simple Summer Fruit Crisp, another recipe gives a hint of what it could become. This dessert was inspired by a Taste of Home magazine nectarine plum crisp that made me think about nectarines in crisps.

With this Almond Flour Butter Pecan Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting, the idea came from a frosting recipe that was filled with things I couldn’t eat. But it inspired a delicious frosting and the cake I chose to put it on.

Sometimes it’s just an ingredient in the fridge that dictates what to make as it was with my Carrot Apple Raisin Salad. The combination sounded good and I had every ingredient.

Tonight, we had the Tropical Chicken Salad above. Inspiration for this recipe came from a different source, my mother-in-law. She gave me one of her old cookbooks about a month ago, one she thinks she received as a wedding present. I’d never heard of the Searchlight Recipe Book and you probably haven’t either. That wouldn’t be remarkable except for the fact that with this 1944 edition, the 17th Edition, there had been 1,353,082 printed. Times have changed so some of the recipes such as the Jellied String Bean Salad and the Prune Onion Salad won’t sound good to most of our tastebuds but others sound great and could be used as is or as inspiration for something new.

This salad was inspired by a Chicken Apple Salad recipe that also had pineapple in it. The same page also had a Shrimp Pineapple Salad. Between the two of them, I had pineapple on my mind so I came up with the idea of chicken and pineapple along with other tropical flavors.

If you adore pineapple, add more. If you prefer more fruit with your salad, please add mango and/or banana. Use this as your inspiration. But I wouldn’t leave off the coconut on top, it totally made this. My mayo is homemade and has some honey in it so you may need a tiny drizzle of honey if yours isn’t at all sweetened.

Tropical Chicken Salad

1 cup cooked chicken, cubed
2 Tablespoons drained, canned crushed pineapple
2 Tablespoons mayo
several segments of orange, cut in pieces
toasted coconut*
toasted nuts such as pecans or seeds such as sunflower
Salt and Pepper to taste
Lettuce

Combine everything except the coconut and lettuce. Scoop onto lettuce. Top with coconut. Enjoy.

Serves 2.

*To toast coconut, spread the amount you want on a cookie sheet and put in a preheated 350 degree oven for 3-5 minutes. Watch it closely. It should just have a golden tinge and won’t taste good if it gets darker.

Linked to: Gluten Free Fridays, Whole Food Fridays, Gluten-Free Monday, Sugar Free Sunday,

A Little Bit Nutty

I was flipping through the Good Housekeeping “Best-Loved Desserts” cookbook and a recipe for Coconut-Pecan Frosting jumped out at me. Sure it had cream (can’t have), butter (can’t have), brown sugar (can’t have), and sweetened coconut (you got it – can’t have) but it got me thinking, what if? Could it work if I left out the cream, used honey instead of brown sugar and unsweetened coconut?

Yes! It took a bit of tweaking but the final result spread over a Butter Pecan Cake (it just sounded like a good pairing) was so good that my husband took one bite then came over to give me a big kiss.

The cake is a lighter recipe than I use for muffins, much more cake-like. While I suspect that any oil would work in the cake, I used grapeseed oil as I always do when I want a buttery taste with almond flour. If you can use butter, I think it would work well.

Butter Pecan Cake

2 cups almond flour (I used Honeyville)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 large eggs
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup applesauce
2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil
1/2 cup toasted pecans*, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9 inch round pan (I used grapeseed oil), line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper, then oil that.

In a large bowl, add the almond flour, baking soda and sea salt, then mix to combine and break up any lumps in the flour. (I used a stand mixer for this recipe.) Add the eggs, honey, vanilla, applesauce** and oil then mix slowly to combine then at medium speed for a couple of minutes. Stir in the pecans then pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 15-17 minutes or until it tests done in the center with a toothpick. Cool for about 10 minutes then run a knife around the edge and turn out onto a cake rack, peel of the paper and let cool. Carefully place the cake on a pretty plate then frost.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
2 egg yolks
heaping 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I used Tropical Traditions)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
small pinch sea salt

In a medium saucepan, heat the coconut oil and honey on medium high until it barely begins to boil then remove from the heat.

In a bowl, whisk the two egg yolks, then, still whisking add a tablespoon at a time of the hot liquid until you’ve added about 1/2 cup. (This is to “temper” the eggs so they’re the same temperature as the hot mixture and won’t scramble.) Add this mixture to the saucepan, again whisking constantly. (If for some reason, you get a few bits of scrambled eggs, don’t panic. Just pour the mixture through a metal strainer, put it back in the pan and keep going.) Heat on medium about 10 minutes – yes, whisking constantly but not as quickly as before – until it changes from being a fairly clear liquid to a cloudier, whiter liquid, then bubbles and thickens. Remove from the heat and add the coconut, pecans, vanilla and pinch of salt. Let cool for 10-15 minutes then frost the top of the cake.

Eat. Enjoy!

*If you’re starting with raw pecans, as I do, spread them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for no more than 5 minutes. These were done in 4 1/2. If you burn them – and that’s easy to do if you walk away (ask me how I know) – they have to be thrown out.  Toasted, they’re amazing. If you toast more than you need for the recipe, add them to a salad. Yum.

**Recipe for making a small amount of applesauce here.

Linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Whole Food Fridays, Gluten Free Fridays,

Layers of Flavor

Pumpkin gets a lot of play in the fall but I think my favorite crop of the season is apples. Mixed with another seasonal favorite, carrots, and with a bit of spice, this salad makes me very happy.

Growing up, my mom made a carrot and raisin salad that was just carrots and raisins. It was OK but . . .

These raisins are plumped in apple cider, adding the first layer of flavor. Next, shredded carrots meet sweet shredded apple. I believe organic carrots actually taste better, they’re also inexpensive and available in a regular grocery store so I never compromise on carrots. The apple needs to be sweet here, something like a golden delicious or gala; this isn’t the time for a Granny Smith. Cinnamon adds spice and a pinch of ginger adds a refreshing warmth in the background, not enough that you know it’s ginger but a nice layer of flavor.

This Carrot Apple Raisin Salad is easy, inexpensive and tasty. The recipe makes enough for a 1/2 cup serving for 4 or a larger serving for two. (I ate a “larger serving” It would double easily.

I’m giving two versions. It was great both with and without mayo so choose the version that suits you and your family best.

Carrot Apple Raisin Salad 

1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup apple cider
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded apple (I used a golden delicious)
1/4 – scant 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon*
pinch ground ginger
3 Tablespoons mayonnaise

In a small pot, bring apple cider and raisins to a boil, add a lid and remove from the heat and let soak for 20 minutes – reserving 1 Tablespoon of the raisin liquid.

Version One: Grate carrots and apple, add raisins, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and a small pinch of ginger. Stir. Done.

Version Two: Grate carrots and apple, add raisins and 1 Tablespoon of the raisin liquid, a scant 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, a slightly larger pinch of ginger (this is still a tiny amount of ginger!), and the mayonnaise, adjusting the amount of mayo to taste. Done.

Linked to Whole Food Fridays, Gluten Free Fridays, SCD Sundays, Sugar Free Sunday, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Raw Foods Thursdays, Simple Lives Thursday,

 Grain-Free But Delicious 

While it’s probably a strange thing to crave, I’d been craving meatballs. I’m on a grain-free diet so making them brings some challenges. I could have used almond flour in them but I’ve been eating so many almond flour baked goods that I wanted to use something else for these.

I wondered if shredded zucchini could take the place of flour. Turns out it can. That and one egg held together a pound of hamburger. You can see tiny bits of green so, if you’re cooking for a veggie hater, you might want to peel them and make smaller bits by running a knife through it once it’s shredded. I prefer to bake meatballs over cooking them in a pan – I put them in the oven and they cook themselves.

We’d tried spaghetti squash as a substitute for regular pasta in the past and not been overly impressed. This time I made sure it was well cooked so not crunchy and I seasoned it well. Both my husband and I loved it.

As to the sauce, I’ve quite frankly always been a fan of jarred spaghetti sauce but can’t have sweeteners other than honey right now and that leaves out every sauce I’ve looked at. I found a brand of Italian tomato sauce and paste that I felt like I could trust for the ingredients. (SCD – their website says no sugar added.) This recipe works well if you’re like me or just want to make it from scratch.

My husband declared this as good as a restaurant. High praise in our home. I made this twice in the last week to test it for you. So I’ve had enough meatballs. For a little while

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Meatballs
1 pound hamburger (mine was fairly lean)
1/2 cup shredded zucchini, packed
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (two if large)
1 egg

Sauce
24-ounce bottle Bionaturae Organic Strained Tomatoes
1 heaping Tablespoon Bionaturae Organic Tomato Paste
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (two if large)
1/4 onion

Pasta (aka Spaghetti Squash)
1 spaghetti squash
dried basil
salt and pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Begin by by making the meatballs. Beat the egg then mix it in a bowl with the other meatball ingredients (I use clean hands for something like this), and form into 10 evenly sized balls, placing them on a baking sheet. The meatball mixture may seem soft now but bakes up firm. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until done. They may have liquid come out of them while baking, just scrape it from around the edges when they’re done. (I assume that bread would have soaked this up. It does not effect taste.)

If making the sauce, prepare it while the meatballs bake. Combine all ingredients including the 1/4 onion cut it half. It melts into the sauce.  Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce to a low simmer and cook for about an hour, adding the meatballs once they’re come out of the oven. Everything needs to cook together for a while so the flavors can meld.

The spaghetti squash can be cooked in either a microwave or oven. I’ve cooked mine in the microwave the last couple of times. You cut it in half (carefully), take out the seeds and bake. Here are some directions for cooking spaghetti squash. I do cook mine longer in the microwave than she says to because I’ve learned that for our tastes a fork must easily pierce the skin, not just go in but easily go in. Once it’s cooked, take out the “spaghetti” and pull it apart with a couple of forks. Sprinkle on basil, salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with olive oil. Then mix together.

Linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Fridays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Whole Food Fridays,

A Taste of Fall

Today feels like our first day of fall in Nashville. This is a stunning time of year here. Leaves turn many shades of red, gold and orange. My husband and I discovered in our first fall together that we both loved it so we stenciled fall leaves on our living room wall. (The stencil for the rust leaf on the middle right was actually made from a real oak leaf that fell into the car trunk.)

Fall makes me think of things like a warm, cinnamony muffin with a hint of apple and a hot cup of tea. These muffins fill that need perfectly. Light but hearty with the carrots and the walnuts, they seem to say fall.  Applesauce* from new crop apples rounds them out.

Carrot Walnut Muffins

2 cups almond flour (I used Honeyville)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup applesauce*
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Heat oven to 300 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners. (I use these because almond flour doesn’t stick to them and does stick to regular ones.)

Combine almond flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon in bowl and mix until combined. (If there are still lumps in the flour, break them up with a fork.) Add eggs, honey, applesauce and vanilla then mix for a couple of minutes until creamy. Add carrots and combine, then stir in walnuts. Fill the muffin cups and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a tootpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Makes 12 muffins.

Applesauce

*I usually make my own applesauce, not jars of it lined up on a shelf but just as I need it. I like the taste and texture better. I guess I’m an applesauce snob. It’s very easy to make. While you’re grating carrots and chopping walnuts, you’re also making applesauce.

Chop one peeled and cored medium apple, put it in a small pan with water halfway up the apples then bring to a boil, drop to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes. Stir occassionally, watching to make sure it doesn’t run out of water before the apples are cooked. When it looks like applesauce – or chunky applesauce (see below) – cook off any excess water or you’ll have too much liquid in the recipe. 

Some varieties of apples melt down completely into sauce, some hold their shape more. If you’ve chosen one that stays chunky, puree it in the food processor for this recipe. Also, keep in mind that a sweet apple makes sweet applesauce, a tart apple makes tart applesauce. I don’t like to add sweetener so I stay away from the tart apples when making applesauce. One medium apple makes about 1/2 cup.

Linked to Whole Food Fridays, Allergy Friendly Friday, Gluten Free Fridays,

Adopting Naomi from Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried

It’s always fun being part of Book of Yum’s Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger, hosted this month by Alta at Tasty Eats at Home. Through the event, we all learn about new blogs and the recipes on them. (Check out the one I hosted a couple of months ago.)

I’d visited Naomi Devlin’s blog, Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried before out of curiosity; she’s the founder of the blog carnival “Go ahead honey, it’s gluten free” and I waned to learn more about it.

She has a great assortment of grain-free recipes, many SCD for those who need that, but also quite a few standard gluten-free recipes. I chose to make her Pecan Apple Bread because it was filled with things I enjoy. One caveat: this isn’t overly sweet. Apple, coconut, pecans and almonds are the main ingredients with no added sugar, honey, etc. That’s ok with me.

The only problem in making the recipe, and it wasn’t really a problem, was converting the measurments and some of the ingredients from British into American. For this recipe, I also had to translate 50ml of oil into a more familiar measurement. I chose to use coconut oil so that became three tablespoons plus a rounded teaspoon.

You must have a scale to bake one of her recipes because many of the ingredients are in ounces. For the 2 ounces of creamed coconut, I finely ground unsweetened dried coconut in the food processor. I also made my own finely ground pecans. My pan was 8 inches square, not 9 but it worked fine. Oh, and the temperature of 160C became 320 Fahrenheit.

I’m looking forward to enjoying this bread. It isn’t light and fluffy, it’s dense so sliceable. It made enough that I’ll be able to slice it and put some in the freezer. I think it will be quite good toasted on a cool fall morning.