WANTED: Carob Protein Bars

Waiting patiently, you crave the carob bar recipe that was promised over a month ago now. You can almost taste them. The carob powder sitting in your cabinet just isn't cutting it anymore....First, you need to get yourself some carob chips and a bunch of other trail mix-like-ingredients.

Alas, no picture, but here's the recipe that was so graciously passed to me.

CAROB PROTEIN BARS
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c carob chips
1 c peanut or almond butter
1/2 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c raw sunflower seeds
1/2 c chopped nuts (peanut, hazelnut, almonds, etc.)
1/4 c toasted sesame seeds (To toast or not to toast, there's a difference!)
1/4 c ground flax seeds

Directions:
Melt carob chips using double boiler method or low in microwave in a glass dish. When completely melted, add almond butter and mix well. You will be tempted to try this concoction. I say "Go for it!" But do continue...
Add all other ingredients. Pour into an ungreased cake tin and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Turn onto counter. Let rest 10 - 20 minutes and cut into small pieces. They are sweet, so a 1/2 inch by 1 inch piece is not crazy.

The bars can be left at room temp for a few days, chilled for a couple of weeks, or wrapped well and frozen for a couple of months. They make great gifts and are a welcome addition to any potluck dessert table.

Substitute ingredients freely. Try chopped dates, dried apricots, candied ginger, ground almonds, whatever. I found a really sharp knife helps to cut the semi-crumbly bars. I also found that eating all the broken bits before retiring for the night to be less than ideal as a relaxation technique.

Gluten & Dairy Free "Pumpkin" Pie Crust

For Easter the craving for pumpkin pie was just too strong to deny! Not traditional, I know, but very tasty nonetheless. Since it still feels like winter here anyway, this "November" treat didn't feel too out of place.

The All Natural Allergy Cookbook gives a great recipe for a nut crust that you could use with any pie. While cooling, a few photos were taken of the finished crust. Unfortunately neither could we wait nor remember to take a picture of the finished pie. Maybe next time...

NUT CRUST

2 Tbsp canola oil

2 Tbsp honey or maple syrup

1/4 c arrowroot powder

1/4 c buckwheat flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 c ground nuts and/or seeds
(almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower...)

Preheat oven to 350F & lightly oil a small pie plate. I mixed everything in the food processor because it was difficult to incorporate the dry thoroughly with the wet ingredients. Add everything but the nuts & mix.

Add nuts and mix until crumbly. Pour into greased pie plate and press down with oiled fingers or spoon. Bake 3-5 min. Let cool. Fill.

To make 2 crusts (which I did) use 1 1/2 times this recipe.

Springtime Flours

Amazed by the variety of flours needed for Gluten Free baking, I thought I would photograph my countertop "flour garden." There are over 15 different types, sold in either 400g or 2kg bags. I now store them all in my deep freezer just to keep the fridge clear.

The Muffin Blues

It has been so long since I have had a blueberry muffin! So when I found the muffin section in The Gluten-Free-Gourmet Bakes Bread I immediately set out to make up a batch of dry mix to keep on hand, and then I made two dozen muffins the very same day. Once you have the 10 ingredient dry mix all measured out, making the 7 variations listed in the book only requires the addition of an egg, oil/butter, a liquid & your "extras."

Minute Muffin Mix

Ingredients for 6-cups of mix (6 batches)

1 1/2 c Garfava bean flour

1/2 c Sorghum flour

2 c Arrowroot or Cornstarch

2 c Tapioca flour

2 1/2 tsp Baking soda

3 Tbsp Baking powder (Gluten-free)

2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Egg replacer

2/3 c sugar

1 Tbsp powdered vanilla (I had this on hand from past camping trips!)

To make 12 plain muffins, preheat oven to 375'F. Place 2 cups mix in a large bowl. In a medium sized bowl, beat together 2 eggs plus 2 egg whites, 4 Tbsp oil or melted butter, 1 c buttermilk/soy milk/fruit juice. Pour wet into dry ingredients & beat until smooth. Spoon into 12 well greased muffin tins, or non-stick sprayed paper liners. Bake 15 min. or until done when tested with toothpick.

I found out the hard way that the 2 Gluten-Free muffin recipes I have tried tend to stick to the sprayed paper liners something fierce. So I suggest you spray liberally and wait until they are completely cooled to take them out.

I should try to make them in greased muffin tins, sans liners, but that is a nightmare for another day....if they stick as badly as they do to the paper!

I once made GF waffles....I pretty much ruined my waffle iron. I tried it 3 times, but I had to literally scrape them off with a knife. I had been brushing the iron with canola oil. Then I tried it with butter, and all was fine. SOOOOO....I would try buttering the muffin tins before I ever oiled them! Who has time to de-muffin 12 crusty cups??? No one!

The other Muffin Variations are as follows:

Nut or Fruit Muffins

-Add 4 Tbsp raisins, nuts, mashed banana, chopped dates or grated apple.

Lemon Muffins

-Add 2 Tbsp lemon zest to dry ingredients & substitute 3 Tbsp of the liquid with fresh lemon juice.

Blueberry Muffins

-Add 4 Tbsp frozen blueberries to the dry ingredients. (It DOES sound like a small amount, and YES, I did add more myself, but I do believe that this may have made them too moist and I had to cook them quite a bit longer.)

Almond Banana Muffins

-Add 2 Tbsp almond meal to dry ingr. Use water as the liquid, & after beating the mix, fold in 1 banana chopped.

Apple-Spice Muffins

-Add 1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice to dry ingr. Use apple juice as liquid, & after mixing, fold in 2 Tbsp chopped apple.

Apple-Pecan Muffins

-Add 4 Tbsp almond meal and 4 Tbsp chopped pecans to dry ingr. Use apple juice for liquid.

I keep but 1 or 2 out for my morning tea snack, and I freeze the rest in bags. I have about a 2 weeks' supply now, but after reading all of these variations I can't wait to get baking again!!! The dry mix IS ready and just sitting there waiting for me....It is a good and easy project to involve a toddler in, too. Enjoy.

Chicken Water

This week we were all sniffling so we made lovely chicken soup full of veggies and herbs. Of course our 2 year old would spit out every kernel of corn, pea or parsley fleck & hand it to us with a look of disgust on her face as if to say, "What are you trying to do to me?"

But there was no way we were letting her off the chicken soup hook. She had to get those good liquids in to fight the bad germs! It's just what you do when you are sick, right? So Miki got the abbreviated chicken soup version. Broth, or as she has come to know it, chicken water. This is now a big hit and she sips it through a straw. She is on the mends.

Rice Paper Wraps

Another popular dinner that we make at least twice a month are Rice Paper Wraps with Smoked Tofu and Fresh Veggies. This super simple meal was first made for us by our vegan friends. We oogled over it! They must have thought we were crazy to like them that much. So I will pass it on.

First the mise en place. Set up your station to rehydrate the rice wraps.

A cookie tray with about 1/2 inch of water will be needed to dip the wraps.

Then wet a large kitchen towel slightly, ring it out & place it folded in half next to the water bath.

Cut all veggies before soaking wraps.

Our list of veggies usually reads something like this:

BEAN SPROUTS OR PEA SHOOTS

AVOCADO SLICED THIN

WHOLE BASIL LEAVES

CARROT & CUCUMBER SLICED THIN WITH VEGGIE PEELER

ROASTED RED PEPPERS

FRESH MINCED GINGER

ROASTED GARLIC MASHED INTO A PASTE

SMOKED TOFU (try a couple of varieties until you find a great one!)

THAI DIPPI SAUCE

1 lime juiced

3 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs sesame seed oil

1 Tbs soy sauce

1 tsp brown sugar

1 Tbs minced ginger

1 tsp roasted garlic paste (or raw if you like that kind of thing)

TO PREPARE THE RICE WRAPS (see package or keep reading...)

Dip the wrap, turning it once or twice, and let it rest between the folded towel for about 1 minute. Transfer to a large plate and it is ready to fill when all edges are malleable.

If you place the whole basil leaves down first, the finished product is something of a piece of art. Follow these with long thin strips of tofu, cucumber, carrots, sprouts, ginger....etc. Spoon Thai Dip over veggies before wrapping or just dip the finished product as you eat. (The latter not being a good idea if you are watching your sodium intake.) We usually have about 3-4 wraps per person. Enjoy!

Only once were we not satisfied by the integrity of the rice wraps we bought. They ripped terribly and were not at all sticky. We took them back and got a brand that we knew. Bottom line-experiment with this dinner until you perfect your style and then you may be eating them once or twice a month like us!

Chicken Potpie 2 Ways

With colds coming on, and the weather staying frigid this week, we are trying a variation on the 'chicken soup' theme. Chicken Potpie for everyone. Two separate potpies were cooked. See the recipe below for the filling, buttermilk whole wheat biscuits & Gluten Free biscuits. All were scrumptious!

CHICKEN POTPIE

2 cups cooked chicken

2 cups chicken stock (I used homemade, no-salt-added stock)

1/2 c diced carrots

1/2 c sliced celery

1/4 c minced onion

1/4 c chopped zucchini

1/4 c chopped roasted red peppers

1/2 c each frozen peas and corn

3 Tbsp rice flour

2 Tbsp water

1/4 c natural soy milk (or cream)

Salt & Pepper

Put stock in a large pot & set to boil. Add carrots through zucchini and cook about 15 min. Add red peppers, peas & corn. Cook 5 min more.

Mix rice flour and water together to make a thick paste. Add it to stock with veggies. Stir 2 min on low to thicken. Add soy milk, S & P. Pour the mixture into a glass baking dish or casserole dish. Now top with biscuit recipe(s) below. To be baked at 350'F for 25 min. When bubbly & brown, it's ready.

WHOLE WHEAT BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

3/4 c unbleached flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sugar

1/8 tsp salt

6 Tbsp whole wheat flour

1 egg white

1/2 c low-fat buttermilk

1 Tbsp butter melted

In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients.

Place egg white in a small bowl & mix lightly. Whisk in buttermilk & butter. Pour wet into dry ingredients. Using a fork, stir until just combined. Turn dough out onto a whole wheat floured surface. Pat into a 1/2" thick circle.

Use biscuit cutter to form desired shape. Place on top of the pot pie. Bake.

BAKING POWDER BISCUITS

{This recipe uses the Four Flour Bean Mix base that was given in bread making blog entry.}

1 c Four Flour Bean Mix

1/8 tsp Xanthan gum

2 tsp Gluten Free baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp butter cut into 1/2" cubes

1/3 c non-dairy substitute or milk

1 tsp vinegar

Mix dry ingredients together in medium bowl. With pastry blender or fork tines, cut butter into dry ingredients until coarse crumbs form. In a measuring cup mix milk and vinegar together. Add these to flour/butter. Mix until a ball forms. Pat out on a surface covered with rice flour. Cut into desired shapes. Dough is really soft, so I just spooned it on over the chicken potpie. It didn't look pretty, but it tasted heavenly. It has been at least 6 months since I have had biscuits of any sort, so you might sympathize.