I like making these black bean burgers a couple days after I make a big crockpot of black beans, using the leftovers. These are delicious fresh... they tend to be a little dryer when reheating, but with some salsa and/or sour cream they are still great!
1 1/2 c. Black Beans, cooked, not rinsed
(if using canned beans, you will want to drain most of the liquid, reserving 2-4 Tbs worth to mix in with beans.)
1/2 c. Crushed Tomatoes, canned (or taco sauce or salsa)
2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Onion Powder
2 tsp. Cumin
2 Tbs Cilantro, fresh, chiffonade
2 tsp. Chili Powder
3/4 c. Cornmeal
1/2 c. Masa Harina
1 c. Quinoa, cooked and cooled, can be the red or white variety
Chipotle Tobasco hot sauce - to taste (or another favorite brand)
Salt & Pepper - to taste
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir by hand until thoroughly mixed. Scoop the mixture using a 1/3 cup measure and empty it onto a greased skillet, over medium high heat, flattening each "pile" into a patty or "burger" as you go. I just use the bottom of the scoop to do this. Cook until the bottom begins to brown and then flip over carefully. When the burgers are done they should be lightly golden on both sides and firm to the touch. These can be eaten just as you do burgers, like a sandwich... or serve them with rice, and freshly made salsa for a beautiful plated vegan entree.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Soft, Fluffier Buckwheat Pizza Crust
So, it's been a while since the last post. Vacation has a way of making one enjoy the time away from all technology, or at least for me. As much as computers/internet etc is helpful for keeping in touch with people and learning new information, it is so nice to take a break from it for a while. My first blog back is about a wonderful gluten-free pizza crust - now that you are eating gluten-free, you should still be able to eat pizza and enjoy it too!
This crust is awesome! It can be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer until time to use and it's quality is still as delicious as fresh. I even took these on vacation to use for my son - they traveled, froze, and refrigerated well. In addition to traditional style pizza, we also make mexican/taco pizza on these crusts, and use them for garlic breadsticks, and gluten-free croutons, by keeping them in the freezer and thawing them as needed. You will love how easy this recipe is and the versatility of having it on hand! For anyone who cannot have the masa harina that is in the recipe you can use same amount of quinoa flour or all buckwheat flour, or feel free to substitute in a different one to your liking!
1 c. Warm Water
1 1/2 tsp yeast, active-dry or instant
2 Tbs Sugar
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs. flaxseed egg substitute mixture (see egg-substitute post)
1 3/4 c. Buckwheat flour
1/2 c. Masa Harina
1 tsp. Baking Powder
2 tsp. Salt
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water, and sprinkle with the sugar. Add the olive oil, flaxseed mixture, buckwheat flour, masa harina, baking powder, and salt. Stir by hand with a wooden spoon until smooth and dough-like. This mixture should be very sticky, it will not be as elastic as a "normal" pizza dough, and will not be thick enough to hold it's shape in a ball, but it should not be runny. It should be just a little moister/stickier than biscuit dough. When all ingredients are combined thouroughly, drizzle some olive oil over the top (maybe 1-2 Tbs.) just to prevent the top from drying out, and then cover loosely with a clean dry towel and let rest for about an hour. It should rise a little bit, it probably won't double. During this time, preheat oven to 475 degrees. Grease a 14 inch pizza pan. After the dough has rested, dump the dough out onto the greased pizza pan. You will need to sprinkle the top of the dough with some additional buckwheat flour, and then using your fingers press gently into a circle, you should be able get it pretty close to a 14" circle. Place in the oven and bake for about 10 mins, the top will begin to crack in places and the bottom will begin to brown. Remove from oven and cover with your chosen pizza sauce/toppings. Return to oven and continue cooking for another 10 mins until all toppings reach the desired doneness and bottom should be browned and slightly crispy. Remove and let sit for 2-3 minutes before cutting.
If you are just making the crusts to put in the freezer. Bake for about 15 mins when you first put them into the oven. The bottom will be golden brown, the top will be cracked in places and it will feel firm to the touch. Remove crust from the oven and cool on a wire rack. They keep great in the freezer in an airtight container, or you could wrap them in plastic wrap and then foil and then freeze.
This recipe makes one 14" pizza or two 8" pizzas. When making crusts for the freezer, I like to double the recipe and make four 8" pizza crusts. They fit better in my freezer that way.
We try to avoid all Nitrates and Nitrites, so for the pepperoni seen in the pizza pictures above we used the Hormel Natural Pepperoni - it is found in a small brown and red box with the Hormel products in the supermarket. It contains no Nitrates or Nitrites.
This crust is awesome! It can be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer until time to use and it's quality is still as delicious as fresh. I even took these on vacation to use for my son - they traveled, froze, and refrigerated well. In addition to traditional style pizza, we also make mexican/taco pizza on these crusts, and use them for garlic breadsticks, and gluten-free croutons, by keeping them in the freezer and thawing them as needed. You will love how easy this recipe is and the versatility of having it on hand! For anyone who cannot have the masa harina that is in the recipe you can use same amount of quinoa flour or all buckwheat flour, or feel free to substitute in a different one to your liking!
1 c. Warm Water
1 1/2 tsp yeast, active-dry or instant
2 Tbs Sugar
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs. flaxseed egg substitute mixture (see egg-substitute post)
1 3/4 c. Buckwheat flour
1/2 c. Masa Harina
1 tsp. Baking Powder
2 tsp. Salt
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water, and sprinkle with the sugar. Add the olive oil, flaxseed mixture, buckwheat flour, masa harina, baking powder, and salt. Stir by hand with a wooden spoon until smooth and dough-like. This mixture should be very sticky, it will not be as elastic as a "normal" pizza dough, and will not be thick enough to hold it's shape in a ball, but it should not be runny. It should be just a little moister/stickier than biscuit dough. When all ingredients are combined thouroughly, drizzle some olive oil over the top (maybe 1-2 Tbs.) just to prevent the top from drying out, and then cover loosely with a clean dry towel and let rest for about an hour. It should rise a little bit, it probably won't double. During this time, preheat oven to 475 degrees. Grease a 14 inch pizza pan. After the dough has rested, dump the dough out onto the greased pizza pan. You will need to sprinkle the top of the dough with some additional buckwheat flour, and then using your fingers press gently into a circle, you should be able get it pretty close to a 14" circle. Place in the oven and bake for about 10 mins, the top will begin to crack in places and the bottom will begin to brown. Remove from oven and cover with your chosen pizza sauce/toppings. Return to oven and continue cooking for another 10 mins until all toppings reach the desired doneness and bottom should be browned and slightly crispy. Remove and let sit for 2-3 minutes before cutting.
If you are just making the crusts to put in the freezer. Bake for about 15 mins when you first put them into the oven. The bottom will be golden brown, the top will be cracked in places and it will feel firm to the touch. Remove crust from the oven and cool on a wire rack. They keep great in the freezer in an airtight container, or you could wrap them in plastic wrap and then foil and then freeze.
This recipe makes one 14" pizza or two 8" pizzas. When making crusts for the freezer, I like to double the recipe and make four 8" pizza crusts. They fit better in my freezer that way.
We try to avoid all Nitrates and Nitrites, so for the pepperoni seen in the pizza pictures above we used the Hormel Natural Pepperoni - it is found in a small brown and red box with the Hormel products in the supermarket. It contains no Nitrates or Nitrites.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Apple Coffee Cake w/Warm Vanilla Sauce
This coffee cake is one of the best. It originated from a "regular" coffee cake recipe that I use quite a bit with just about any fruit including but not limited to rhubarb, blueberries, apples, or cranberries (fresh). I have not found a fruit yet that is not good in this, so feel free to be creative! It can be eaten without the vanilla sauce, if you want to cut back on sugar and fat, or if you cannot have dairy (you'll notice that it is mostly butter, sugar and milk...) but it really sends this cake "over-the-top" in the flavor and texture category. Sometimes, I will use the sauce if serving this as a dessert (pictured below) and omit it if serving the cake for a breakfast item (pictured above). This recipe uses all quinoa flour, and I would highly recommend that you try it this way too. I am sure it can be done with a combination of buckwheat and quinoa or just buckwheat, but the results with all quinoa flour is the best results I have had yet working with any gluten-free flours. This recipe is also egg-free. If you can have eggs and use them, simply use 1 egg in place of the 1/4 c. flaxseed egg-substitute. You will probably want to omit the applesauce in the cake batter as well if actually using eggs. There are more explanations about this egg-substitute in the "Egg Substitutes" post. I am so excited about sharing this recipe with you and hope that you find it as wonderful as we did!
Cake Batter:
2 Tbs Butter
1 c. Sugar
1/4 c. Flax seed Egg-Substitute (See "Egg-Substitutes" Post)
2 Tbs. Applesauce
2 c. Quinoa Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 c. Milk
1 c. Apples, peeled, cored and diced (or other fruit like fresh or frozen rhubarb, blueberries, cranberries)
Cream together butter and sugar, and then add the flax seed egg substitute and applesauce. Mix until smooth and creamy. In a separate bowl, stir together the quinoa flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture alternately with the milk. Scrape the bowl and continue mixing until all ingredients are incorporated and the batter will be smooth. Stir in the apples (or other fruit). Pour into a greased 8" or 9" square pan or a 9" round cake pan. Sprinkle the Struesel Topping (recipe below) over the entire surface of cake, make sure to use the full amount of topping that you have, it might seem like too much, but it will be perfect once the cake is baked. Bake cake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 mins. The topping should be lightly browned and a toothpick stuck in the middle of the cake should come out mostly clean with possibly a moist crumb or two on it, but nothing gooey. Let cool for 10-15 mins before cutting. This cake is still absolutely delicious at room temperature with or without the optional Warm Vanilla Sauce (recipe below).
Struesel Topping:
1/4 c. Quinoa Flour
1/4 c. Sugar
2 Tbs. Butter, cold
Mix together the flour and sugar in a small bowl. Cut in the butter until all pieces are smaller than the size of peas. Sprinkle over unbaked panned caked batter.
Warm Vanilla Sauce (Optional, but Highly Recommended):
1/2 c. Butter
3/4 c. Sugar
2 Tbs. Cornstarch
1/2 c. Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla
Mix together the sugar and cornstarch until there are no lumps. Place into a sauce pan with the remaining ingredients. Cook on medium low, whisking, until the butter is melted and everything is incorporated. Turn heat to medium high and cook until the mixture comes to a boil, turn heat down to medium low and continue to boil for 2-3 mins. The mixture should thicken to a nappe consistency (cling to back of spoon) and have no starchy texture/flavor when you taste it. Remove from heat and cool for about 10 mins before drizzling over cake, it will thicken just a little more as it cools.
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| Apple Coffee Cake w/Warm Vanilla Sauce |
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