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

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!!!

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!

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.