Double Dark Chocolate Muffins

Double Dark Chocolate Gluten-Free, Egg-Free Muffins

Ok...  So as many of you gluten-free eaters out there know, it can be a difficult task to bake a delicious muffin without gluten.  It is even more challenging to bake a delicious tender gluten-free muffin without eggs!  In most gluten-free baked items, eggs (sometimes in combination with a starch such as tapioca or potato) are used to help bind and create texture due to the lack of gluten dirived texture and binding qualities. When one is not able to use the eggs, even an egg substitute falls short of this huge responsibility many times.

It took many tries, but finally I was able to acheive a muffin that is gluten-free, egg-free, free of hydrogenated fats, but yet rich, delicious and moist. 

DRY INGREDIENTS:
2/3 c. Dark Cocoa Powder, (we like Hershey's Special Dark... and it works ok with all the allergies we deal with!)
1 c. Buckwheat Flour
3/4 c. Masa Harina
1 1/4 c. Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 tsp. salt

WET INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c. Flaxseed Egg Substitute Mixture*  (or two large eggs, if you don't have to avoid them)
1 c.  Milk, or your favorite milk substitute (almond milk and coconut milk are both great in this recipe!)
2 tsp. Vinegar
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/4 c. Applesauce, unsweetened
1/4 c. Vegetable or Canola Oil

Optional Add-Ins:
1 c. Dark Chocolate Chips (or other favorite chips)
1/2 c. Coconut, shredded, unsweetened or sweetened
1/2 c. Chopped Pecans
1/2 c. Sunflower Seeds
 Or anything else you prefer....

Struesel Topping:
 1/4 c.  Buckwheat flour (or any GF AP flour mix that you like)
1/2 c.  Brown Sugar
2 Tbs. Butter, softened but not melted.

In a large bowl mix together all the Dry Ingredients.  Then measure all the Wet Ingredients right into the mixing bowl with the Dry Ingredients.  Then mix together well with a whisk until mostly smooth.  There is no real need here to mix all the wet ingredient together before adding to the dry as you would with full gluten muffins...  there is no gluten in these to make it tough!  Just stop mixing when the batter is just about all smooth and you'll be all set!  At this point fold in any of the "Optional Add-Ins" that you choose.  The muffins pictured above just had the dark chocolate chips added.  Scoop the batter into well greased muffin tins (or likewise use cupcake papers...) to about 3/4 full.

If you choose to add the Struesel Topping, simply mix the flour and brown sugar together well, and then cut in the butter with a pastry blender or use your fingers, until it resembles crumbs the size of peas or smaller.  Sprinkle this mixture over the uncooked batter and proceed to bake.  In the picture shown above, the middle muffin has the Struesel Topping and the two others do not. When I choose to add coconut into the muffin batter (which is absolutely delicious, by the way) I sprinkle the tops with the shredded coconut instead of the struesel topping.  It's up to you!

Bake at 425 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.  The tops of the muffins should feel firm to the touch.  I like to check a couple of the muffins by inserting a wooden skewer or cake tester into the center.  If it comes out clean (with the exception of any melted chocolate chips) then they are done!  Remove from oven and immediately remove, CAREFULLY, from the muffin tins.  Allow to cool for maybe 5 minutes or so.

These muffins are best when served warm.  At room temperature they are just a little dryer than when warm, but still quite good.  They will keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days, and they freeze extremely well.  Put them in the freezer and take out just what you need the night before. Then, at breakfast, warm them in the microwave if you wish, or wrap in foil and warm in a 350 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes while your getting ready for your day!


*Please see the post called "Egg Substitutes" for more information regarding the Flaxseed Egg Substitute.  If you are not allergic to eggs, simply use real eggs instead of the substitute. 

Salmon Patties

My family loves salmon, but have you noticed the prices lately?  Fresh and even frozen salmon fillets are quite expensive to eat on a regular basis, as least for our current family budget.  In order to enjoy salmon and also it's health benefits, I make a gluten-free, egg-free version of the "old fashioned" New England favorite using canned alaskan salmon.  The "old fashioned" version I grew up eating was bound together with crushed saltine crackers, eggs, and milk.  It was delicious, but not a good option when dealing with food allergies.  So I have developed this recipe that uses no gluten or eggs.  I do use milk, but any milk substitute that you like will work well (substituted in equal amounts) with this recipe.

When purchasing canned salmon I always make sure that it specifies on the can that it is a product of the US, specifically wild Alaskan salmon, for best quality for the price.  Red Sockeye or Pink will both work well.  About the only difference is the Red Sockeye salmon will be a brighter pink color, but when used in this capacity, it renders the same result as the Pink, except the end result with be more pink in color.  Pictured above is Salmon Patties made with the Pink salmon.  I usually get pink for this on an everyday basis because the price is cheaper. If I was going to make these for a special occasion, like an appetizer for a holiday gathering for example, I might pay a little more for the brighter color.

(2) 14.75 oz. cans of Wild Alaskan Pink Salmon
1/4 c. Coconut Flour
1 Lime, juiced and zested
1 Tbs.  milled Flaxseed
2 Tbs. Buckwheat Flour
1/2  Medium sized Sweet Onion, finely diced, caramelized
1/3 c. milk (or favorite milk substitute)
Salt & Pepper to Taste

After opening the cans of salmon, hold lid in place and pour out the liquid that the salmon is packed in.  Then, gently turn salmon out of cans onto a plate and scrape away and discard any skin that is present and also remove and discard the back bones.  Any other small bones found in it will easily break up into the mixture when stirring and is good to leave in for extra calcium (no, they don't crunch when you eat them, you will never know they are there..).  Place salmon into a mixing bowl and add to it the coconut flour, lime juice and 1/2 the zest (save the rest for another use, flaxseed, buckwheat flour, caramelized onions, milk, salt and pepper.  Mix together well with fork or fingers.  You will know that you have the right amount of moisture and dry ingredients (the binders) when you can squeeze some of the salmon mixture lightly in your hand and it holds together, without liquid squeezing through your fingers (which means you need a little more buckwheat flour...) or having to pack it like a snowball (which would mean you need a little more milk or milk substitute).  Form mixture into patties, cook on a medium low greased skillet until golden brown, then turn over and cook until golden brown on the second side.  Serve immediately with ketchup, tartar sauce, remoulade sauce, or other favorite condiment (tartar sauce and remoulade sauce are not usually egg-free, so please be careful if allergic to eggs!).  If you have any leftovers, they are great the following day as a sandwich, either hot or cold. Wow... there's a fond childhood memory coming back of salmon sandwiches in my school lunch!  With ketchup of course!

Serving suggestion:  We like to eat them with rice and fresh pineapple or mango.  A nice fruit salsa would be great with these too.  Below, is a salmon patty pictured with rice, pineapple and a chili lime remoulade sauce made out of a combination of things I had in the fridge:  mayo, thousand island dressing, hot sauce, chili powder, lime juice/zest, salt, pepper... I didn't measure just mixed until it tasted good.  ;o)  Have fun eating your weekly dietary seafood allowance!

Salmon patty with rice, fresh pineapple, and chili lime remoulade sauce

Going Nutty with Coconut Flour

It's amazing how life can sometimes just get busy out of nowhere... and then I find myself going almost a week without posting anything!    When I posted the buckwheat coconut pancake recipe, I had planned to post some information about coconut flour on the next day, since I don't have any information on this flour listed in my "gluten-free flours post"...  so much for my plan!

So, finally, here it is, my first experience working with coconut flour:

Coconut Flour

Coconut flour is more coarse than buckwheat or masa harina, closer to that of rice flours.  It has a creamy light yellow color with a sweet fragrance, and a delicious rich coconut flavor..  but not sweet tasting like the flaked coconut we are used to buying at the supermarkets. It also seems to lend a slightly creamy richer texture to the items made with it.

I decided to make pancakes and initially started out using 100% coconut flour.  The package of coconut flour had a couple of recipes on the back, and one used just coconut flour and one used a ratio of 1 part coconut flour to three parts brown rice flour.  I decided to initially try the coconut flour at 100% instead of combining another flour with it, to see how it works on its own.  When I added the liquid to the recipe the coconut flour totally soaked it up and I had to continue adding liquid...  I started out with about 2 1/2 cups coconut flour and about 2-2 1/2 cups of liquid...  I ended up adding about 10 cups liquid!  The coconut flour just kept soaking it up and expanding!  I ended up with almost 3 1/2 qts of batter!!!  Then when I tried to cook the batter in the skillet, the batter just started breaking apart, I couldn't even attempt to get a spatula under any part of it.  I might as well been stirring it, instead of trying to flip anything... It was crazy!

It was then I decided that it needed another flour in it to help with binding in the cooking stage.  I had buckwheat or masa harina to chose from and opted for the buckwheat flour thinking the flavors would meld better.  All in all, I ended up adding about 2 1/2 cups of buckwheat flour to the batter and then, of course, had to add just a little more liquid to the batter.  So, yes, in return ended up with even MORE batter!!  My "stock pot mixing bowl" was full!!  But, at that point, the batter would cook on the skillet and hold together to flip it over without falling apart.

When cooking in a skillet with coconut flour, I found that the batter was very apt to stick even when greasing the pan well...  so this is something to watch out for.  I have not baked with it yet, as I don't have an oven yet to try it out with...  I am assuming that for some baked items you would still have to either grease your pan extremely well, or use silicone mats or parchment paper.  Also in baking with it you might be able to use a higher ratio of coconut flour to other gluten-free flour, but that is for another experiment.

For now, my advice with working with coconut flour at this point would be:

1. Always use 50% or more of another gluten-free flour with the coconut flour.
2. Always plan on increasing your liquids in the recipe by the same amount of coconut flour that you use.  If you are using 1/2 c. of coconut flour, plan on increasing the liquid in that recipe by 1/2 c.
3. Try using an egg substitute powder with any recipe using the coconut flour...(I am going to try this next time) if you have to avoid using eggs.  I have not tried this idea yet, but I think it might help in the area of the heaviness.  I tend to use the flaxseed substitute in everything, but the egg substitute powder might be worth trying in this capacity.  (If you try it, please let me know how it works!!)  If you are able to use eggs, you might have no problem at all with the heaviness.  See my Egg Substitutes post for information on how to sub real eggs for the substitute.

My opinion of coconut flour:

1. I like the flavor and texture that it adds to recipes, but I am a coconut lover to begin with.
2. I like the nutrition quality of this flour.
3. I would highly recommend using this to anyone who likes (and is not allergic to) coconut, espcially keeping in mind the three things above that I learned from using it...

Please feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts on using coconut flour and the experienced you have had with this, as I plan to use it more in other recipes, and would love to learn anything new about this product.

Until Next Time:   Have Fun Experimenting..  Go a little nutty with your coconutty flour!

Coconut Buckweat Pancakes

Coconut Buckwheat Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. Coconut Flour
1 1/2 c. Buckwheat Flour (light or dark)
1/4 c. Sugar
2/3. tsp Bakewell Cream*
1 tsp. Baking Soda
2 Tbs. Veg. Oil (or melted butter)
2 c. Milk (or favorite milk substitute)
1 c. water
1/4 c. flaxseed egg substitute

Procedure:
Combine all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  Add all of the wet ingredients and stir together.  In working with coconut flour, you may find that it absorbs quite a bit of moisture (please see tomorrow's post when I discuss my experience trying out coconut flour).  This batter will be thicker than a "normal" pancake batter, but it should still be able to spread on it's own a little bit when poured onto the griddle, you may have to spread it out with a stroke or two of a spoon, but it should not sit idle in a clump on the pan, or be so runny that is spreads really thin.  Cook on a medium hot skillet, well buttered (or oiled).  Until the bottom is golden brown and the top should be starting to set.  These will not get bubbles in the raw batter on the top while they cook like "full gluten" pancakes (please see bottom left picture).  Carefully loosen them from the pan, as they will be prone to stick because of the high protein content of the coconut flour.  Flip them over and finish cooking the other side.  They will be firm to the touch and seem somewhat heavier than "full gluten" pancakes.

Pancake ready to flip

Pancake, after being flipped

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The flavor of these is very good.  The sweet coconut flavor blends well with the buckwheat flour (which can sometimes overpower an item) making the buckwheat taste more like a whole wheat blend.  The texture is heavier than that of the other buckwheat pancakes that I have posted, and much heavier than "normal full gluten pancakes".  When warm the pancakes have almost a creamy inside texture, when cool they become sturdy enough to make a delicious almond butter (or SunButter) sandwich out of.  My son really likes them for a snack as well as breakfast!  In the picture above, they are shown with the Citrus Prickly Pear Sauce, which was a great combination.  My son tends to eat them warm with butter and a sprinkle of sugar or cinnamon sugar.  Because of their heavy nature, and high protein content these are very filling and a healthy start to the day!  These would be great with mini chocolate chips added or maybe some mashed banana...  or Both!  Sounds like a good experiment to try next!


*Bakewell Cream is a leavening again manufactured in Maine, and usually only found in stores in Maine and other parts of New England.  I highly recommend using this in most quick breads and especially biscuits.  If you are not able to procure the Bakewell Cream, you can simply use 1 tsp Baking Powder and 1/2 tsp of Baking Soda, it will still work good for these pancakes with the coconut flour.

Citrus Prickly Pear Sauce

Citrus Prickly Pear Sauce with Coconut Buckwheat Pancakes

 PRICKLY PEARS!
I can honestly say I have never made anything out of them before, let alone even hold one in my hand!  A friend gave me some prickly pear syrup before (thank you MW!!) from Arizona, that was good, very vibrant red and sweet with a slightly fruity flavor, but mostly really sweet.  I was impressed at the time with the color, almost neon, naturally, with no added colors... amazing!  Well, I happened to find some prickly pears at a local farmers market, so I decided to get some to experiment!  Fun, Fun! 

I was so excited about experimenting that I got home, put them in my refrigerator and forgot about them until about a week later!!  Isn't that always the way??  When I took them out I wondered if they were still good.  They didn't look bad, about the same as when I got them, a combination of green and dark reddish.  Luckily when I bought them the pricklies were already removed, so I didn't have to worry about that, but I had no idea the best way to get into them or what to do with them besides syrup...

After researching for a while online (I highly recommend reading Root Simple, a blog that has a plethora of prickly pear info, including the fact that 2 1/2 lbs of prickly pears will yeild about 2 1/2 c. of juice...)  I did figure out the best way to get into them, see steps below:

 1.  Cut the ends off the prickly pear...                                                  2.  Make a slice in the skin from one end of the pear to the other...

3.  Peel the skin off...                                                                       4.  Then just cut up the fruit into chunks, leaving the seeds in there...

I learned that the prickly pears are mostly used for jams, jellies and syrups, because of the texture of the fruit and the fact that they have quite a lot of little "jaw-breaker" like seeds.  Research also taught me that one of the easiest ways to get the seeds out is to cook it down and then strain it..  Step 4, shows the chunks ready to cook in a 1 qt sauce pan.  I had only purchased three of these little gems because I wasn't sure what I was doing with them yet...   at this point I am realizing that I am not going to get a very big yeild out of this, whatever it ends up to be.  (Yes, I was still undecided at this point...)

I added just about 1/4 c. water into the pot with the fruit, figuring that it would most likely evaporate out during the cooking process, but wanted to make sure there was enough moisture to 1. prevent scorching, 2. to help cook down the pulp a little quicker.  As the pulp began to break down I added some sugar, and continued to simmer on low until the sugar was dissolved and most of the pulp was cooked down enough to go through a strainer, and leave mostly the seeds.  The picture below is how it looked at this point.
  

During this cooking time is when I decided to make a sauce out of this.  In a couple of days I was planning on making some pancakes, and I had no syrup to go with them.  Because real maple syrup is so expensive right now, and because we don't buy regular pancake syrup due to the corn syrup/high fructose corn syrup that is in it, among other artificial things we stay away from, I figured this would be a good replacement.  Before I strained it I tasted it, and it was sweet with just a slight fruitiness to it, and I had maybe 1/2 c. of juice.  Hhhhmmm, was hoping for more...  What did I have to put into it that would taste good with it, but also extend it a little more.  I found three Florida oranges in my fridge and decided those would work!  So I juiced all three of them into the pot, seeds, and pulp going in along with the juice, after all, it was going to be strained anyway.  See picture below:

Again, I put it back on the heat to simmer for about 2 more minutes, just to extract flavor out of any of the pulp from the oranges, then strained it. Unfortunately I didn't have a fine mesh strainer (which I would highly recommend) so the end sauce still had a few small pieces of pulp, and I did have a couple of stray seeds that had to be picked out with a spoon, no big deal.  At the very end, I added about 1/2 Tbs of salted sweet cream butter, and swirled it in (I have no whisk...) until it was completely melted.  It ended up being delicious and could easily be a coulis by adding a touch of cornstarch slurry (cornstarch dissolved into cold water, adding to boiling sauce while whisking) and then straining it in a fine mesh strainer.  Since I didn't have the cornstarch at the time, or the whisk for that matter, I kept it at a thinner sauce.  I could have thickened it by simmering longer and reducing, but I wouldn't have much left at that point!  I ended up with about 1 cup, maybe slightly less.

Ingredient List:
3 Prickly Pears
1/4 c. water
3 T. sugar (or to taste)
3 Oranges -juiced
1/2 Tbs Salted Butter  *if you can't have dairy, you could leave this out, or add another flavoring or liquor that you can have

End yeild:  about 1 cup.

The sauce was great!  We ate it with gluten-free, egg-free Coconut Buckwheat Pancakes (pictured at top of post), which will most likely be my blog for tomorrow, so don't forget to check in then!  In the meantime, I'm going to go figure out when I can work another trip to the farmers market into my schedule!

The *NEW* Living Free Kitchen Essentials Store!

I am taking the opportunity today to announce the "Grand Opening" of my new Kitchen Essentials Store! 

(Please see page link at the top of my blog home page called "Shop at my Kitchen Essentials Store") 

This is a store which I have set up so that I can easily refer you to items that I have used before and like.  It will contain everything from grocery items (especially those related to food allergies) to favorite kitchen gadgets, and possibly other items as time goes.  I will be "shopping" often to add more favorite items into my store, so please check frequently.  Also, when I discuss a certain brand item that I have tried, and have a recommendation for that product, I will be sure to have it available in my store anytime it is possible. 

Yes!  You can actually purchase items here in my store!  It is powered through Amazon.com, but linking to my blog and stocked by me.
It will make it easy for you to find some very good gluten-free, egg-free, peanut-free, casein-free products and handy kitchen tools.

And remember....

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!

A New Discovery

Most of his life, my son has seemed oblivious to whether he was in control or not.  I think getting in trouble, or being in his own world was just normal for him.  Even while on medication, because of the side effects he was still being disciplined constantly for his violent behavior, instead of his crazy behavior.  Now that he has experienced what it is like to be what he calls "normal",  since eliminating the foods that trigger the symptoms (for almost a year now), and being off the medication, he has just experienced another new feeling:

Just recently he recognized the feeling of going out of control as it was coming on, before totally "losing it".  It was just a few weeks ago when we had decided to eat at a pizza place that has a gluten-free crust.  It was the first time we had eaten there and I double checked about the gluten, it was safe, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the service and the pizza.  It was delicious.  My son loved the gluten-free pizza, he was starving so he ate a lot...  this kid is only about 80 lbs at 11yrs old but he can put away some food!  About 15 minutes after finishing pizza, we were walking in a store, and he looked at me and said, "I think there was something in that pizza that was bad.  I feel it..  it's starting to come up to my head."  I tried to have him explain exactly what he meant and he said it was like he was starting to get shaky, but in his head, not really his body. Sure enough!  Just a few minutes after that, he was totally out of control!  Just absolutely crazy, and it lasted until into the next day sometime.  So I doubled checked the ingredients again in the crust...  it had eggs in it!  That was most likely the culprit!  (Although, you never know, there could have been some cross-contamination occurring with the wheat flour. I did read the reviews on their gluten-free pizza ahead of time and everyone that reviewed it said they had to problems...)

So far, this has only happened once.  Most of the time, my husband and I notice that he is very "wound up", hyper, and just can't seem to control himself.  In these cases, he doesn't realize it until we say something to him about it.  Then together we try and pinpoint what it is that is making this happen.  I am not sure yet, if it needs to be a big quantity of the allergen for him to notice the onset of the symptoms, or if he will simply gain awareness of the feelings over time. 

Either way,  I took this as a new step in his life..  hoping that as he grows and matures, he will become a responsible, healthy eater, being very aware of the consequences of eating the wrong foods, and thus, not having to rely on his parents as being the "food police".  Don't get me wrong, he still gets in trouble (like "normal" kids do, for "normal" kids stuff), he is still a high-energy kid, and constantly talks unless he is sleeping (this runs in the family... just ask my husband *laughing*) but he is becoming more aware of the world around him and the effects he has on it.  It still seems like a slow process at times, but other times we have days that "go down in family history". 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

There is a short story behind the bowl of chicken tortilla soup pictured above.  I goes like this:

For about a month my family and I have been living without an oven, so while in a supermarket the other day, the smell of the freshly rotisserized (yup! new word!) chickens wafting through the air at 7pm hitting my empty stomach caused a huger pang I could not ignore!  I immediately decided what we were going to have for supper that night, and after checking the labels for gluten, MSG, nitrates, etc., and seeing it was free and clear of these nuisances, purchased two three pounders for $8!  Arriving home, I just couldn't cook the side dishes of rice and beans fast enough as the aroma of these juicy birds began to overtake our home!  As we finally sunk our teeth into the soft juicy flesh, we all agreed this was almost the best meal we've had in the last month! (tied with the frying pan pizza of course!)  At last, a meal of comfort food that tasted home-roasted, in an oven-less home!  What's even better is that we got about three meals out of just the breast meat, wings and legs alone.

Now I don't know about you, but when I have chicken carcasses left after eating the breast meat, wings and legs, I see visions of a pot full of flavorful stock and endless soup possibilities!  That's where this chicken tortilla soup comes in....

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Chicken Stock:
Place the bones, and whatever meat is left on them, of two small chickens into a 6qt stockpot.  Cover with cold water and bring to a boil.  If you have onions, carrots, and celery, and bay leaves, you could add these, roughly chopped in with the chicken bones for more flavor.  Boil for about 45 minutes or so until all the meat is falling off the bones.  Strain the stock into a large bowl through a colander, and set aside to use for the Tortilla Soup, or you can freeze for use in other soups, gravies or liquid for cooking rice.  This will give a very rustic style stock, not very clear, but full of fantastic flavor!  If there is a substantial amount of fat in the stock, simply refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  The fat will rise to the top and solidify making it very easy to remove, then you can proceed with your stock storage/usage.  DO NOT THROW AWAY THE BONES YET!  Pick every last delicious morsel of meat off those bones before discarding, this will be the meat that you use for the soup below...  or be creative!  Make your own variation of chicken soup with the meat and stock!

For the Chicken Tortilla Soup you will need:
About 1 gallon of chicken stock (above) or good quality broth
1 small sweet onion, finely diced
1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
(Feel free to add any other type of pepper that you like such as jalapeno, chipotle, pablano etc.  I kept the soup on the mild side, since my daughter does like like spicy things.)
1 large, or 2 small, ribs of celery, including the leaves
1/2 c. masa harina*
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1-2 Tbs taco seasoning  (normally I make my own seasoning from individual spices, but this was all I had at the time, It worked great! of course we get the kind that has no gluten, msg, etc.)
All the chicken left over from picking off the bones above (about 3-4 cups)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cooked left over rice, warmed
Cooked left over black beans, warmed
Cholula Hot Sauce (or your favorite...)

In the now empty 6 qt stock pot that you just cooked your stock in, heat 2 Tbs of butter or olive oil in the bottom, then saute the onion, pepper, celery (this combination is also referred to as "sofrito") until very soft and starting to brown.  (To save time you can do this step while you are picking the meat off the bones...)  Add the masa harina in at this point, and stir to combine with the butter and sofrito, to make a gluten-free roux which will work wonderfully as a thickening agent.  This will give a nice body and mouth feel to the soup, not to mention a true "tortilla" flavor*.  No need to cook this "roux" mixture any longer, simply add the stock back into the pot at this point and bring to a simmer.  Let the sofrito cook down and get very soft as the stock simmers and thickens  (I usually use an immersion blender to blend all of this up smooth for best flavor, but having no blender at all, simmering in this manner will bring those flavors out almost as good...  although it won't be quite as smooth, that is ok.).  Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, salt and pepper.  Simmer on very low heat until almost ready to serve.  About 15 minutes before serving add the chicken pieces and continue simmering until hot.  At service time, place about 1/4 c. rice and 1/8-1/4 c. black beans in the bottom of soup bowl and ladle soup over top.  Serve with Cholula hot sauce (or your personal favorite...) and tortilla chips.  Sour cream, shredded Colby Jack or Pepper Jack cheeses are delicious with this as well, if you are able to have dairy. 

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Not only was this soup absolutely delicious, it was also a great way to get more meals out of my $8.  Counting the meals that we got out of the soup, I ended up getting a total of 24 individual meals (servings) out of both chickens together.  When I purchased the chickens the labels said "Serves Four" on each of them.  I technically served 12 out of each of them, and all allergen-free at that!  Just look what you can do with a little time, love and recipes from Living Free!   :o)

* Typically a tortilla soup is thickened with actual corn tortillas that are added into the soup, cooked down and then blended in with an immersion blender.  Since I had no immersion blender, needed to thicken this without gluten, and also wanted to keep a true tortilla flavor in this soup, what better way than to use masa harina, a corn flour, mixed into the melted butter in the same manner as making a traditional glutennous roux.  I was truly impressed with the result of this experiment!

Dal Makhani & Naan

Dal Makhani is a delicious Indian dish typically consisting of Urad Dal (black matpe beans or black lentils) and Red Kidneys.  It is cooked into a creamy stew-like consistency, served warm with a traditional Indian bread such as Naan or Paraatha.  This is a vegan, gluten-free, egg-free dish.  Serve with the Naan bread recipe which follows or the gluten-free flatbread suggestion, also below.

(this recipe is adapted from a punjabi dal makhani recipe found on Food.com)

Punjabi Dal Makhani

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

3/4 cup Urad Dal ( black matpe beans or black lentils)

1/4 cup red kidney beans ( rajmah)

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

8 garlic cloves, pasted

2 inches gingerroot, grated

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

1/2 cup fresh cream

1 teaspoon red chili powder

3 tablespoons butter

2 extra large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

1 onions, finely diced

1 tablespoon oil

Salt

Fenugreek, powdered – to taste

Directions

Soak whole black urad dal and red kidneys overnight in 3-4 cups of water.

Cook the soaked dal and rajma in the same water with salt, red chili powder and half the grated ginger until dal and kidneys are cooked and soft.

Heat oil and butter in a thick-bottomed pan. Add cumin seeds, when it crackles add onions and sauté until golden brown.

Add remainder of ginger, along with the garlic and tomatoes. Sauté until tomatoes are well mashed and fat starts to leave the masala. Add boiled dal and kidney beans to this. Do not add the liquid at first.  Mash the dals with the back of the ladle while stirring continuously, this gives that creamy texture to the dal .

Add the liquid and some water if required and simmer on very low heat for fifteen minutes.

Add fresh cream and garam masala powder let it simmer for another five minutes. Finish off with a couple of pinches of Kasoori methi (fenugreek) powdered.

Serve hot with Naan or Paraatha.

Tip: Replacing the tomatoes with 4 tablespoons of thick tomato paste will enhance the taste and color of the dish.

 My Favorite Naan Recipe Ever

(Recipe adapted from The All-New All-Purpose Joy of Cooking, by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker, the 1997 revision)

Warning:  This Naan recipe is NOT gluten-free, but is absolutely delicious for anyone who can have gluten...  I would highly recommend this accompany your Dal Makhani.  (for a gluten-free option please see below.)

 Traditional Naan in India is baked in the clay Tandoori ovens, but in a regular oven as most of us have, Naan can be made on a baking stone or an inverted baking sheet.  Just be sure to preheat your oven and stone/baking sheet before you are ready to bake your naan.

For more information on how traditional naan is baked and the use of Tandoori ovens, there are lots of incredible YouTube videos on this as well as ideas for making your own Tandoori oven (which I would love to try one day!).  Simply go to YouTube and search or do a Google search...Have fun checking them out!

Combine in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer:

2 c. bread flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast (if using active dry yeast please remember to dissolve yeast in 2 Tbs. warm water before adding to the flour, you will not need to dissolve instant dry yeast.) 

Then Add:

2 Tbs. melted butter or vegetable oil (or you can substitute olive oil or coconut oil if desired)

3/4 c. yogurt or buttermilk, at room temp (if you have neither you can use milk and add 2 tsp of vinegar to it, and let it sit to sour, it will "curdle" slightly, this is good.)

1 tsp - 1 Tbs water as needed.

Mix by hand or on low speed until a soft ball of dough is formed.  Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or with the dough hook on low to medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn it over once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours.  Punch the dough down and divide equally into 4 pieces.  Roll into balls, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.

 Place a baking stone or inverted baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 475 degrees F.  Roll out each ball of dough into an oval 8-10 inches long and about 1/4 inch thick.  Place as many ovals as will fit without touching directly onto the baking stone or baking sheet and bake until each oval starts to get puffy flip over and bake for about 1-2 minutes longer.  Remove from oven and brush the tops if with 1-2 Tbs melted butter and sprinkle with about 2 Tbs minced scallions, green onions, or poppy seeds or a combination if desired and fold in half keeping the butter and toppings on the inside.  Place naan in a cloth-lined basket or plate, keep covered and serve warm.

FOR GLUTEN-FREE FLATBREAD:

If you would like to enjoy the Dal Makhani above with a gluten-free flatbread, please try the Buckwheat Pizza Crust recipe and just bake it like you would for pizza without adding the pizza toppings.  When it is finished baking simply brush on some melted butter and sprinkle with sliced green onions or you can use garlic butter as well.  (You will not be able to successfully fold this bread in half as directed with the naan.)  You may just leave it plain if you prefer. Anyway you eat it, this is a delicious gluten-free option to accompany your Dal Makhani. 

Why Am I Doing This?

This is a blog that will discuss specialty diets, including but not limited to food allergy diets and vegetarian diets.  Six months ago I found out that my son was allergic to all forms of wheat, wheat gluten, eggs, peanuts, yogurt, and oats.  What motivated me to get him tested?  He was diagnosed with ADHD four years ago, since then he has been on several medications trying to find one that worked without the side effects of head aches, stomach aches etc.  We finally found one that worked...  or so we thought.  He had been on it for about a year and a half and I noticed that his growth had slowed way down, he had not gained more than maybe a pound in almost two years, at 9-10 yrs old I did not feel that this was healthy regardless that the medical doctors said "it is fine".  Also he was not sick with it, but his appetite was decreasing and physical/emotional violence was increasing!  My husband and I found ourselves every evening trying to control this violent kid.  This was not my son!  He went from a very happy child to one that was always so negative and violent!

That is when my mom gave me a book to read about treatments for ADHD that did not include medication.  She had just underwent food allergy testing herself for some health issues that she has dealt with for over 30 years.  The book was about food allergies (and some environmental allergies) that contribute to ADHD as well as other health problems.  It was an eye opener!  So I continued to do more research, and then decided medication was not the answer, it was a temporary fix to an underlying problem.  We met with a naturopathic physician who recommended the food allergy testing.  So for the last six months my son has been totally off medication and has cut out the allergens as well as taking fish oil and vitamin D and we have seen a total change!  He is happy again and excited about life!

This change was a huge challenge!  When my son first learned about what foods we were going to have avoid, he was devastated!  His favorite breakfast included eggs, and he loves peanuts and peanut butter and I do a lot of baking from scratch with the regular glutenous flours, so he was upset about what he couldn't have.  We had already been eating foods free of anything artificial (colors or flavors), nitrites, nitrates, and hydrogenated fats, so here are more things we have to avoid.  I could understand his frustration and disappointment!  But then, we discussed all that he could have and everything new that he was going to get to try out, what an adventure it would be!  "And mom is going to do this with you", I reassured him.

I was excited about this "adventure" and challenge!  I have many years of experience in the food service industry as pastry chef and chef, and have dealt with food allergies and specialty diets on a small basis before for others, "surely, I can come up with some awesome gluten, egg, peanut, oat, yogurt, and additive -free food that we can enjoy!" I thought.  So back to the researching, the experimenting, the taste-testing.  Yes, we had some failures!  Like gluten-free, egg-free brownies that came out looking like a pan of molten tar!  It tasted like candy made out of Oreos!  So the kids ate it that way, and reassured me that "it's not that bad" but it definitely was NOT brownies, and I definitely would NOT let them take that mess to school in their lunch! :o)  On the better side of things:  I have also had lots of successes with recipes that came out so good that even my husband and daughter ate it and raved about how good it was "for gluten and egg free...".

So, I am doing this blog to help you!  I have seen how this diet change has helped my son, not only in his health, but his outlook on eating.  He is starting to see that his diet may be different and challenging but it is also exciting - full of new flavors and textures, and he is being so responsible for his own eating.  (Even turning down hotdogs at a cookout at the school when Mom was not there to "remind" him, and sure, he still wishes he could have his old favorites every now and then, but we "remember" how he feels when he eats it and decide it is not really worth it after all!)

In the last few months I keep meeting people everywhere I go, in the grocery store, on vacation, friends of friends, or relatives of friends etc, who are struggling with challenges in their diet, whether it is by choice or by necessity,  and I want to help.  Some of the things I am learning will be posted here along with recipes that I have found to work.  Some may be my own creation, and some may be ones that I get from other sources, in which case I will give credit where credit is due.  I am still in the learning process, so this is just my way of passing on some of what I have figured out to you.  If you have something you have learned that you would like to share, feel free to comment about it!

I hope this blog will become a resource of recipes, cooking ideas, encouragement, and fun for you as you continue on your journey of Living Free from the foods that harm you! 

A Little More on the Flatbread...

Since my son has had gluten and egg allergies, he has not had many sandwiches, simply because most of the gluten-free breads you can purchase in the store has eggs, or they are too expensive, or they are just down right disgusting and a waste of money!  I had researched some bread recipes online and in some magazines, and they all had eggs in them, but hey! I have a decent egg substitute to use instead of the eggs right?  Not so much!  The recipes I tried ended up more like a brick than a loaf of bread.  We ground them up and used them as gluten-free bread crumbs... Great for Chicken Finger night! But still no solution for a great gluten-free sandwich, which my son was craving, and frankly, I needed a new option for his lunches!

After making the pizza dough several times, and making extra to put into the freezer, and playing with the gluten-free flatbread (substitute for the traditional Naan, as I posted in the Dal Makhani recipe), I suddenly had an idea!  What if I just spread the pizza dough into a sheet pan and baked it??  It would then come out in a uniform shape which I should be able to cut into squares and then put the sandwich fixings between two squares... in a similar manner as Foccacia bread.

Sounded Brilliant!  As most of my ideas do sound that way in the beginning, but they have a way of flopping and becoming quite dull after the implementation every now and again.   Why not give it a try?  The recipe I decided to use was the Soft, Fluffier Buckwheat Pizza Crust because I am all about have one recipe with multiple uses...

When mixing the dough, I doubled the recipe that I posted in the Soft, Fluffier Buckwheat pizza Crust so that it would fill the pan about half way.  After mixing it and letting it rest for 20 mins or so, I greased a half sheet pan with some butter and poured the batter into it, spreading it out evenly.  I decided to bake it at 400 degrees instead of the 475 used for the pizza, simply because it was thicker and a bigger pan, I was worried the higher temp would cause it to burn on the bottom before it finished cooking through.

 Gluten-Free, Egg-Free Flatbread

After about 15-20 mins, my new "sandwich" bread was finished.  Just as I thought...  Simply Brilliant!  It worked beautifully!  The top had begun to crack slightly, but it was firm to the touch and underneath was delicious golden brown.  I let it cool in the pan, and then sliced it into about 10 some what square shaped pieces, keeping them as equal as possible (you can't have a good sandwich if both sides don't line up nicely you know!).   Another great thing about this is you can cut it whatever size you want.  I like to cut it to fit into a Rubbermaid sandwich container for the ease of packing lunches.  The first sandwich built on this fabulous bread was a ham, cheese, mustard, and potato chips.  We use the Hormel Naturals ham since it has no gluten, nitrates, nitrites etc... and the chips... that is for the crunch!

Go ahead...  Pile just a little more on the flatbread...  and actually enjoy your gluten-free, egg-free sandwich!

YUM!

Frying Pan Pizza

Yes, you can have homemade pizza even if you do not have an oven...  

...or maybe you have a broken oven... 

I am currently in this dilemma.  God has moved me and my family to a wonderful part of the country (hence the Long Time-No Post), and I love where I am, however, the temporary, furnished, living quarters that I am in has no oven.  I am working with

a microwave, 

 

  two burners, 

one small stock pot (probably holds 1 gallon), 

 two, 1 qt sauce pans, 

  and a 10" frying pan.  

 

 
Cooking utensils include 1 metal spatula (which I did purchase at the dollar store... only a plastic one was here when moving in, and it would melt when it got hot..hhhmmm.),

 

 

and 1 plastic spoon/ladle thing.  

 

 Other than than I have 4 each metal forks, knives, and soup spoons, and also collection of "our best" plastic-ware direct from Target!  

 I did bring my chef knife with me, for which I am extremely thankful and there is a small somewhat decent cutting board here.

So all in all, I have had the challenge of thinking up meals for four people with limited equipment.  On top of that, figuring out the gluten, egg, peanut, etc - free meals for my son all at the same time.  Before moving, our family tradition had become homemade pizza every Friday night, which meant making a gluten-free crust for my son and the "normal" high gluten crust for everyone else.  After moving it had been about three weeks or so since we had pizza of any kind because it is so hard to find a pizza shop which sells a gluten-free crust, and we were all really craving some of that comforting homemade pizza...  You know how it is!  So, one Friday night, I got my determination on, and got all the ingredients, pulled out my stock pot "mixing bowl" and got to work!!  In my little kitchen area, I managed to make a HUGE mess (I am really good at that, just ask my husband!) but came up with this GREAT FRYING PAN PIZZA!

1. Simply use the Buckwheat Pizza Crust recipe that I have already posted previously, EXCEPT add more warm water to the mixture to make it closer to the thickness of a pancake batter. Don't worry about over mixing, gluten-free flours typically cannot be overworked.  I usually let the mixture rest maybe a half hour before using.
2. Heat a heavy bottom frying pan (a cast iron one would work great!) to medium low heat, have the lid ready nearby.  
3. Place enough butter in the pan to coat the bottom well.
4. Spread the mixture carefully around the pan until it reaches the sides, if the batter is too thick, this will not work and you will end up with a very thick clump of half cooked dough in your pan.
5. Place the lid on the frying pan and let it cook for about 3-5 minutes.  The bottom should be cooked and light brown and the top should be set, not raw, but it will look undercooked.  
6. Now is the time to flip!  Turn the crust over, CAREFULLY, with your dollar store spatula, as not to break the dough nor bend the $1 spatula.  
7. Immediately after flipping the dough, spread on your choice of sauce, cheese or cheese substitute, and toppings.
8. Cover with the lid once more for 3-4 minutes, until the cheese is melted.  It will not get bubbly and golden like it would in a "normal" oven, however it is awesome pizza when an oven is not available.

Step 4, spreading the batter...

Step 5, after it has been cooked with lid on...

Step 6, a finished gluten-free pizza crust.

I am pretty sure that this technique would also work on a grill or over a campfire, however I would suggest making sure the heat is at a medium to medium low level to prevent burning the bottom while you add your toppings and melt the cheese.

Even if you have a working oven, have fun trying this technique out... It is fun, even though it takes a while because it makes one personal size pizza at a time, but it is SO worth it!

**********************************************************************************
MAYBE you can have gluten (lucky), and would like a good quick pizza dough recipe??  Here it is; the one I used for the rest of the frying pan pizzas.  Be sure to cook your gluten-free crusts first, if having to use the same frying pan for both type crusts in the same meal, to prevent cross-contamination!

FULL GLUTEN PIZZA DOUGH  *Caution: do not consume if you are allergic to gluten!*

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet (1/4 oz.) of instant (rapid rise) yeast
1 Tbs granulated sugar
2 Tbs. olive oil
4-6 cups of all-purpose unbleached flour (bread flour works great for this too, I just happened to have AP flour)
1/2 Tbs salt

Raw full-gluten pizza dough placed in frying pan.

In a large mixing bowl (or small stock pot, as I have) place the warm water.  Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and then sprinkle the sugar over the yeast.  Add the olive oil and about 3 cups of the flour, and the salt.  Stir this until it is smooth then gradually add as much of the remaining flour as needed to get a nice firm, yet soft and elastic dough.  A little stickiness is good with pizza dough.  You will most likely end up having to kneed in the last cup of so by hand as it will get to thick to stir.  If you have a mixer that will handle yeast doughs, you may accomplish the same thing in half the amount of time and effort.  I do not currently have my mixer.  :o(

Full gluten pizza crust (flatbreat) almost done...

Once the dough is mixed, let it rest for about 1/2 hour, then divide it into about 8-10 pieces.  Flatten each piece into a 8"-10" round (whatever will fit into your frying pan) making sure that it is fairly thin keeping in mind that it will puff significantly as it cooks.  At this point, add the flattened dough to your warmed, buttered pan and cook the dough and pizza the same as mentioned above from step 5 - step 8.

When I made these pizzas I only made four pizzas total for that meal, so obviously I had a lot of dough left over.  I decided to cook all the remainder as just plain flatbread because I had no other way to keep it for later.  This worked out extremely well, because it refrigerated great for up to 3-4 days, just storing it in a plastic food storage bag and was super convenient to pull the crusts out and make up pizzas when I didn't have the time, or space, to go into all the effort to mix up dough again.  I used the same frying pan technique, I just warmed the crusts in the pan before adding the toppings.  These crusts would also freeze good for 1-2 months.

Finished full-gluten pizza crusts.