Sharing My Heart (s)

It's just about Pumpkin time... and I'm ready to bake some yummy fall treats.  But I've had these heart macaron pictures since the early summer, waiting to make their debut.  Problem is I couldn't get a really good picture, so I held back from posting.

I decided today before I move on with the season, I must post the pictures anyway, and explain how they came to be.  These are vanilla macarons with a lemon swiss buttercream filling.  Yeah - they taste really good.  You can use this or this macaron recipes, or any of the hundreds of other recipes online.  The lemon swiss buttercream recipe is from my favorite food blogger, Stella at Bravetart.  Absolutely yummy!

I haven't been making macarons for very long, but once I started I quickly got obsessed.  So I was making them pretty regularly, for no real reason other than to make them (by the way,  macarons  freeze wonderfully unfilled, and thaw quickly).

So a very good friend who was getting married soon was trying to figure out the wedding cake thing - how do you feed 150 people without breaking the bank?  Have you seen the price of wedding cakes?!

Having watched me in the kitchen baking away at these cute little macarons, she wondered if it was possible to make them into a heart shape?  She had an idea.  Of course I said, 'Nope."  Can't possibly.  I can barely make them round.  But the more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be a fun thing to try; another way to feed my obsession.  So I said I would try.

And before I knew it, I was knocking these little hearts out like nobody's business.  This is before they were baked.  They are about 1 1/2" at the widest point, and about 1 1/4" in height.

Here are some out of the oven.  As you can see, they don't all come out quite like hearts.  Some of them have a Mickey Mouse style to them. And some of them were simply blobs. 

 Oh - and then there was this one.  I like to think of it as "art."  (I don't know how it happened, honest)

So by the end, I had a freezer filled with hundreds and hundreds of little pink hearts ready to be matched up and filled with lemony goodness.  The plan was to have a small traditional wedding cake, and then have a sheet cake (filled with lemon swiss buttercream) to be served to the masses at the wedding.  Each slice of the sheet cake would have a swirl of buttercream, and the heart would be tucked into the swirl.  It was really lovely.  Unfortunately - I don't have a good picture, but this will give you an idea.

And of course, by the end of the evening, we all broke into the 'macaron conga dance.'

And they lived happily ever after...  XOXO

Now onward to Fall  ..bring  on the pumpkin and fresh cranberries!

Gluten-free Bakewell Tart (aka Almond Tart)

You may be asking, 'What is a Bakewell tart'? I know I was. But I just knew when I came across this recipe on cakes'n'bakes I had to try it. Immediately. So I did.



According to Wikipedia, "The Bakewell Tart, not to be confused with the Bakewell Pudding, is a shortcrust pastry with a layer of jam and a sponge filling with almonds." It may or may not have originated in Bakewell, England. Wikipedia wasn't clear about that. Do I care? Nope.

This tart is quite delicious. In particular, the crust is wonderful to handle considering it is gluten-free. I suspect I will be using the crust for many different tarts this summer (I don't even know where to begin!).



I rarely make a recipe exactly as written, but I did this time, and I wasn't disappointed. However I will try a few changes next time: I think I will prebake the crust for 5 or 10 minutes before filling it. Just to give it a bit more color. I might add a bit more almond extract to the filling for a more intense almond flavor. And finally, I will try replacing the sugar in the filling with a combination of Splenda and Erythritol. I suspect it will work.

Oh.. and I didn't have a 10" tart pan - mine is 9.5" so I ended up with extra filling and dough. What to do, what to do, what to do...??? Easy!
Got out my mini muffin tin and ta da! (three of the five left, after I devoured two :-)



Happy baking!

Gluten-free Bakewell Tart (from Bakes 'n' Cakes)
(Makes 1- 9 1/2" or 10" tart)

Ingredients:
Tart Pastry

• 1 2/3 cups Gluten-free flour (recommended 1 cup Brown Rice flour, 2/3 cup Potato Starch, 1/3 cup Tapioca Flour)
• 1 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 2 Tbs Sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, Cold
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
• 1 - 2 Tbs Cold Water

Almond Filling (Frangipane)

• 9 Tbs Butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
• 1 1/4 cups Almond Meal
• 2 Tbs Gluten-free Flour Mix
• 1/2 cup Jam (I used Red Raspberry)

Also, sliced almonds and powdered sugar.

Directions:
Pastry

1. Sift together the flour, xanthan gum, sugar, and salt and add to food processor.
2. Quickly cut the butter into small pieces and process with flour until blend is small and crumbly.
3. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks and almond extract. Add to flour mixture and process for a few seconds.
4. With processor running, slowly dribble in the cold water until the mixture comes together to form a ball.
5. Form the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes, remove dough and roll out on lightly floured surface (silpat mats are great for this) using a lightly floured rolling pin. Roll to about 1/4 inch thickness. The circle should be larger than the tart pan. If the dough tears while rolling, pinch it together
7. Lightly grease and flour the tart pan.
8. Gently loosen the dough from the surface (I used my longest offset spatula), fold in half, and lift it into the tart pan. Don't worry if it tears - it can easily be patched.
9. Press the dough into the pan, and cut off the excess.
10. Put the tart pan into the freezer for about 15 minutes. A good time to make the filling!

Filling

1. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. (Don't worry if the batter starts to look curdled).
3. Gradually add the almond meal and the flour. Mix well.

To assemble:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Spread an even layer of jam over the bottom of the tart.
3. Pour the almond batter over the jam layer, spreading and smoothing the top.
4. Bake for approximately 30 minutes. The top may poof up and brown some.
5. About five minutes before it's done, sprinkle with the sliced almonds and return to oven until done.

Remove from the oven, and allow to cool completely before removing it from the tart pan. Dust with powdered sugar, and have at it!

Gluten-free French Pancakes (aka Crepes)

Happy New Year!

I haven't had much time to post recipes this year, but I thought I could add one you might like to try on New Years morning. Hopefully I will have more time in the New Year.

This was so easy convert to gluten-free (I love when that happens). The original recipe is from Joy of Cooking and it's one that I used to make for my kids - it is one of their favorites.

It's a great breakfast recipe because it's quicker to make than regular pancakes, but just as satisfying. The bad news is you can't make them on a griddle - so you can only make one at a time (challenging if you have more than one kid:-) - or you can use two frying pans if you have them.

When I make them, they are not quite as thin as traditional crepes made using a crepe pan (which cooks on the upside-down bottom of the pan). I could probably make them thinner if I used less batter - I'll have to try that some time. But they are definitely thin enough to roll up with your favorite filling if you choose.

The original recipe says to cook them in a few drops of oil in the pan, which I did. They were fine that way, but I also tried cooking them in a tiny bit of butter instead, and I liked the way they tasted even better. No surprise there, I guess.

Gluten-free French Pancakes (adapted from Joy of Cooking)
Makes about 6 - 6"-7" Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup your favorite Gluten-free Flour Mix
• 1 tsp Baking Powder (not needed if your Gluten-free flour mix has it)
• 1-2 Tbs Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum (not sure if this is needed - I'll try it without next time)
• 2 Eggs
• 1/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup Milk
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, and powdered sugar and set aside.
2. Beat the 2 eggs. Add the milk, water, and vanilla and beat.
3. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add the egg mixture. Mix together, but don't worry if there are small lumps in the batter.
4. In a small frying pan (mine is about 7", but you can use even a smaller one) heat a bit of oil or butter.
5. Add about 3 or 4 Tbs of batter, and swirl it around so it covers the bottom of the pan.
6. Cook over medium heat until the bottom is lightly browned, and carefully flip over. The second side usually cooks more quickly than the first side - so watch it carefully.
7. Enjoy with your favorite topping!

Gluten-free Waffles!

Just because sometimes I really want a Waffle! And because I can't always get to Sfoofs, my very favorite cafe for Gluten-free waffles.

So it was a "do-it-yourself" morning. Except I planned it last night. That's because this is a yeast-based waffle which is easiest and tastiest when you make batter ahead of time and let it rise in the refrigerator overnight. When you think of it, it's really a great idea. Because then all you have to do in the morning is fire up the waffle iron and bake away. Easy peasy. And if you're really good, the coffee is brewed by the time your first waffle is ready.

I remember going to the World's Fair in New York when I was a kid, and having my first Belgian Waffle with powdered sugar, whipped cream, and strawberries. It became one of my favorite treats, and still is! Unfortunately, I had no whipped cream or strawberries on this morning, so maple syrup and bananas had to fill in. No complaints.

The thing that I love about these particular waffles is that they are crisp on the outside, but soft and waffley on the inside. Perfect!



Gluten-free Waffles
Makes about 6 - 7" Waffles
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Brown Rice flour
• 3/4 cup White Rice flour
• 1/4 cup Tapioca Starch
• 1/4 cup Potato Starch
• 2 tsp Yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1/4 cup Butter, melted
• 2 cups milk, warmed to about 100 - 105 degrees
• 2 Eggs
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Combine the flours, yeast, xanthan gum, salt, and sugar in a bowl and whisk together to blend.
2. Combine the melted butter and warm milk, and add to the flour mixture.
3. Mix the eggs and vanilla together, and whisk into the flour mixture to blend well.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator overnight.
5. In the morning, mix the batter for a few seconds.
6. Preheat the waffle iron, and add 1/2 - 1 cup of batter, depending on the size of the waffle iron.

While the waffle is cooking, gather up your toppings: fruit, syrup, jam, etc.



Leftovers can be frozen in a freezer bag, putting parchment or wax paper between layers of waffles. Then just thaw briefly, and put in your toaster to reheat. *Almost* as good as fresh!

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Gluten-Free Peach Cobbler with Vegan option

Does this look good enough to eat, or what?!

So many peaches... so little time! Peaches are at their prime, and I simply can't get enough of them. I've been buying the Organic Frog Hollow peaches at Whole Foods - expensive, but oh so good! They will be gone before you know it, so I'm taking full advantage of them while I can.

The good news is this cobbler can be made with just about any fruit! I have made it with blueberries, and with nectarines, and even a combination of blueberries and nectarines. As fall comes, I plan on trying it with pears, and cranberries, and who knows what else?

I adapted this recipe from this blog, reducing the sugar, and modifying a few other quantities and ingredients. I have made it both Vegan and non-Vegan, and it comes out fabulous either way. I have also made it replacing some of the sugar with Erythritol, which worked just fine. (Erythritol is a wonderful substitute sweetener, however because of it's wildly high price, I don't use it very often.)

It's a simple recipe to make - no mixer needed. Use any seasonal fruit that makes you happy, and use plenty of it. I found that many fruits cook down so much during the baking process, by the time you cut into it, you can barely see the fruit (but oh, you can most definitely taste it).

I used about 5 lbs of peaches, cut into good-sized wedges, and double layered in the baking pan. (Don't they look yummy!)



The batter then gets spread over the peaches - it doesn't have to be spread perfectly evenly, and it's OK if some of the peaches peek out. It will cover the peaches as it bakes. The crumb topping is sprinkled on top of the batter, and into the oven it goes.



45 minutes later, out of the oven it comes! Must.Wait.For.It.To.Cool.....



So there you have it. I know you're going to run out and buy some fruit and immediately make one of your own.

Gluten-free Peach Cobbler (with Vegan option)

Ingredients for 8" Square Baking Pan:

• Approximately 5 lbs of Peaches or other seasonal fruit (less will work as well. For example, 2-3 cups of Blueberries)

Batter Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Rice Flour
• 1/4 cup Tapioca Flour
• 1/2 cup Sorghum Flour
• 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/8 cup Sugar (or sugar substitute; I think this would also work with Splenda)
• 1/4 cup Butter, COLD (or butter substitute for Vegan. I used Earth Balance)
• 1/2 cup Almond Milk (or regular Milk or another Milk substitute)

Crumble Topping Ingredients:

• 1/8 - 1/4 cup Sugar (how sweet do you like it?)
• 1/8 - 1/4 cup light brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Sorghum flour
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 cup rolled Oats, Optional (Gluten-free, if necessary)
• 3 Tbs Butter, COLD, or Butter substitute

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8" by 8" baking pan (use butter, or butter substitute for Vegan).

1. In a bowl, mix the batter dry ingredients together - Rice flour, Tapioca flour, Sorghum flour, Xanthan Gum, Baking Powder, Salt, and Sugar.
2. Cut the cold butter or butter substitute into small pieces and work it into the dry ingredients with your hands until the texture becomes like damp sand - slightly moist and crumbly. Patience grasshopper. It takes a few minutes - so just keeping working it until the butter is completely incorporated and there are no big lumps of it. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the crumble topping - Sugars, Sorghum flour, & Cinnamon.
4. Once again, cut the Butter into small pieces and work into the dry ingredients.
5. If you're using peaches or other skinned fruit, carefully peel and cut into wedges (I get about 6 wedges out of a single peach) (If you're using fruit like blueberries, gently wash and pat dry).
6. Line the greased pan with 1-2 layers (or more!) of peaches.
7. Take your first bowl - the batter - and add the Almond Milk, mixing with a spoon until combined.
8. Spoon the batter over the peaches, gently spreading to cover most of the peaches
9. Take the second bowl - the Crumble mixture - and crumble it over the batter with your hands.
10. Pop the pan into the oven for approximately 45 minutes, and enjoy the aromas that fill your house

This is best and easiest to cut once it's cooled to room temperature. Serve by itself, or with a big scoop of of Vanilla frozen Yogurt. Make some tea. Invite some friends over.

When I made this yesterday, and it cooled enough to cut and serve, I almost put a message on Facebook inviting you all over to have some..... almost....

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Gluten-free, No-Added-Sugar Banana Apple Muffins

I'm back!!!! Yes - it's been a while since I've posted. Oh - I've been baking plenty, but it's been tricky getting pictures because the light in my house is not so good this time of year, plus I've been super busy. But I did manage to get some decent pics of these yummy muffins I recently made. Gluten-free of course, but also no added sugar. And if you leave out the Chocolate Chips, they are actually sugar-free (but why would you want to do that?? :-)

I've been dabbling a little with Agave Syrup and NuStevia - still trying to make them work in cookies, but they worked well in these muffins. I've made these muffins with and without the chips. I've also add chopped dried apricots which adds some nice flavor. I'll bet they would be good with raisins (if you like raisins - I don't). And summer fruit will be here before we know it!



These muffins have a wonderful moist texture, and also freeze well. I made them jumbo-sized and got about a dozen out of one batter (each muffin was about 4.75 oz of batter - yes, I actually weigh them when I want to be sure they are all the same size). Obviously, you can also make them standard size, but you may have to watch the baking time.

Gluten-free No Added Sugar Banana Apple Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups Gluten-free flour blend (or your favorite GF blend)
• 2 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1 heaping tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 to 3/4 tsp NuStevia
• 1/2 cup Oat Bran
• 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
• 1 1/4 cup smashed (approx 3 - 4 bananas)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped Apple (I like Granny Smith)
• 1 Egg, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup Agave Syrup
• 3 Tbs Canola Oil
• 5 Tbs Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1/3 cup non-fat Milk or Buttermilk
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• Optional: 1/2 to 3/4 cup Chocolate Chips (I used mini-chips because I wanted to use them up)
• Optional: 1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped dried Apricots

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 jumbo muffin tins with paper liners.

1. In a mixer bowl, add all dry ingredients and mix together with whisk.
2. Add all wet ingredients, including banana and apple.
3. Fold in chocolate chips or dried apricots, or anything else you want to try.
4. Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full (an ice cream scoop is great for this).
5. Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Remove muffins from tins to cooling rack. Allow to cool before digging in.

There are so many ways you can change up the ingredients in these muffins. It's a good base to start with and add your own 'flavor.'

Chocolate Macaroons, Naturally Gluten-Free

Nearly all macaroon recipes I've ever made have no wheat. This is one of my favorites. It's chocolaty, with a soft and chewy center, and fairly easy to make. I found it on allrecipes.com a few years ago, and have made it over and over again. If you're not a fan of coconut - no worries. There's so much chocolate in these that the coconut definitely takes a back seat in the flavor category. I used Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips - on sale this week several places so I stocked up. They are my favorite chips.

OK - so it's not the prettiest cookie on the block, but it's nothing that a light dusting of powdered sugar can't fix... which is what I plan on doing before serving these at an up coming event. For now - into the freezer they go, right next to the pretty cookies :-)

Gluten-free Chocolate Macaroons

Ingredients:

• 3 Egg Whites (room temperature best, but not required)
• Pinch of Salt
• 3/4 cup White Sugar
• 2 1/4 cups Shredded Coconut, unsweetened
• 1 1/4 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 cup Chopped Nuts (Almonds or Walnuts are good)
• 1 tsp Vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F degrees.

1. Melt chocolate in double-boiler (aka bowl over simmering water) and let cool.
2. Using an electric hand mixer whip the egg whites until foamy. Then slowly add salt and sugar a little at a time, until the mixture stands in peaks (about 5 minutes).
3. Gently stir in the Vanilla.
4. Gently fold in the chocolate, coconut, and nuts until completely blended.
5. Scoop (about a heaping tablespoon) the dough about 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Use your fingers to shape them into a dome.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
7. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before carefully moving to cooling rack.

The cookies will be soft until completely cooled. Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies, depending on size.

Note: the dough may become dry and crumbly while you're working with it. Just press it together with your hands to form the domes and they will hold together.

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Gluten-free Blueberry Peach Crumb Bars

...or buh bye to summer.

The last of the peaches (white peaches actually), mixed with blueberries and baked up in crumb bar. I found several different recipes for wheat -based fruit crumb bars online, and took a little from each, and then made it gluten-free. This is different from the Peach crisp I a few months ago, because it has a soft cookie-like base. It came out quite good.

TIP: When I have to work cold butter into flour, I like to quickly grate it into the flour using the largest grater size on a box grater. This works even better with frozen butter. You do have to work quickly if you do it this was because the butter becomes warm quickly as you're holding it. But you can also cut the butter into small pieces, and work it into the flour. Either way, it does take a few minutes to get it to a fairly fine consistency.



Pressing the dough into the baking pan. I smoothed and leveled it once it was all in there. I used parchment paper - but next time I won't. This is easier to serve up without the paper on the bottom.



Assembled. Baked. And about 55 minutes later...



I'm thinking that even though fresh peaches and blueberries are pretty much gone for the year, I'll bet this recipe would be great with apples or pears.

Peach Blueberry Crumb Bars

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 1/2 cups Rice Flour
• 1 cup Sorghum Flour
• 1/2 cup Potato Starch
• 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted butter, cold

Filling:

• 4 cups Peaches, sliced
• 1 cup Blueberries
• 2 Tbs lemon or orange juice, approximately
• 1/2 cup Rice Flour
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar (plus extra)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease or spray the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.

1. Whisk together the dough dry ingredients, including the sugar.
2. Cut up or grate the butter into the flour mixture, and work in with finger for a few seconds.
3. Mix together lightly beaten egg and vanilla, and add to flour-butter mixture.
4. Work the dough with your fingers for a few minutes until the butter is complete incorporated and the mixture is fine and crumbly.
5. Press half the dough into the prepared pan, smoothing and leveling.
6. Mix the peaches, blueberries, and juice.
7. Whisk together the filling dry ingredients, and sprinkle over the fruit, mixing gently
8. Spread the fruit mix over the dough.
9. Optional: Before sprinkling the remaining dough over the fruit, add about 1/4 cup light brown sugar to the dough mixture and work it in.
10. Sprinkle the remaining dough mixture over the top of the fruit. (I didn't use it all)

Bake for about 55 - 60 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting (I know, it's hard to do that).

Now... on to some Fall baking...

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Quinoa Tabouli (aka Tabouleh) - Gluten free!

It's been too hot to bake. I'm ready for autumn clouds and rain. But I'm in the kitchen anyway - cooking up something that doesn't require me to turn on the oven :-)

Quinoa (pronounced 'keen-wah') - another of nature's super foods! It's a gluten-free grain that is high in protein and fiber, full of nutrients, and easy to digest. Where has it been all my life??? I only found out about Quinoa a few years ago. Not much flavor by itself, it can be used in so many ways by adding seasonings and veggies and meat to it. Sometimes I add Chicken, onions, and mushrooms to it with a sprinkle of feta, and it's my main course. But not today.

Today I made my favorite way to eat Quinoa. I made tabouli, replacing the Bulghur with Quinoa. Tabouli is very easy to make - and it's another of those 'to taste' dishes that you can really get creative with. It's also a great way to practice your chopping skills since most of the ingredients are finely chopped. (Think Julia Child in Julie and Julia - the onion scene. Hysterical!!).

I like a lot of tradtional Tabouli flavors - parsley, mint, green onions, lemon, among other things.



But here's the thing about Quinoa - if you buy it in bulk, or if you buy it in a bag or box, and it doesn't say it's been pre-rinsed - you MUST rinse it or soak it. Really well. Quinoa has an outer coating that is bitter, and if you don't get rid of it, your Quinoa will taste bitter. That's just the way it is.

If I have time, I will soak it in a strainer sitting in a bowl of water for about 5 or 10 minutes, replacing the water at least once. But I've also been known to just rinse it in a strainer under running water for a few minutes - and that usually works just fine. Keep in mind that Quinoa is tiny, so your strainer should have find mesh - or you'll see the Quinoa go down the drain :-). Here it is soaking.



You can cook Quinoa in Chicken broth, Vegetable broth, Water, or any combination. It cooks much like Rice (1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of liquid), but much quicker. When I'm cooking it for a cold salad type of dish - I usually put it in a bowl right after it's cooked, fluff it up a bit with a fork, and let it come to room temperature before adding my other ingredients.



Chop chop! A little olive oil and lemon juice, and there you have it. Into the refrigerator to chill.



Big softball game and potluck coming up this Sunday. This may have to be on the menu!

Quinoa Tabouli (Serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Quinoa, rinsed very well
• 2 cups Broth or Water
• 1 cup (approx) Fresh Mint, chopped fine
• 1 cup (approx) Fresh Parsley, chopped fine
• 3-4 Green Onions (approx), chopped
• 1 cup Cucumber (or Celery), chopped
• 1 Tomato, chopped and drained
• Juice of 1 Lemon (approx)
• 3-4 Tbs (approx) Olive Oil (see Option below)
• Salt, to taste
• Option: Instead of the Olive Oil, you can add a Balsamic Vinaigrette

Directions:

1. Bring liquid to a boil and immediately add the rinsed Quinoa. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook until all liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Move cooked Quinoa to a bowl and let cool.
2. Once the Quinoa is cooled to near room temperature, add the chopped ingredients and toss.
3. Add Olive Oil,lemon juice, and salt, to taste. Toss well.

This is good eaten at room temperature, or chilled - which also gives the flavors time to blend nicely.

Time for lunch (Quinoa :-)

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Nearly Guilt-Free, Kinda' Healthy Chocolate Cake

Honestly - this is the closest thing to a really healthy chocolate cake I've ever had. I've made it many times, and it's one of those things that if you leave it on the kitchen counter, every time you walk by it you'll sneak a little piece.

Leave your guilt at the door, because the main ingredient is this:



Do you recognize them? They are Garbanzo beans, in all of their almost-a-chocolate-cake glory. Everytime I tell people about this flourless, gluten-free chocolate cake that is made from Garbanzo beans, they say, "Oh - you mean garbanzo bean flour?" Noooooo..... I mean Garbanzo beans. As in high protein, high fiber. Straight up. Don't ask me why it works. It just does.

This is adapted from a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com a few years ago. I've made it in a round cake pan, a springform pan, and a square (pretending they are brownies). It has a soft texture, and is great served with a little frozen yogurt. It's not dry, but can be a little crumbly, so I find it's easiest when eaten with a fork.

You start with about 19 oz of Organic Garbanzo Beans. That's 2 - 15 oz. cans, once you drain all the liquid. Sidebar: did you know that Organic Garbanzo beans are cheaper from Whole Foods than from Safeway (for you out-of-towners Safeway is a West Coast grocery chain).

Rinse and drain them well, and grind them up in a Food Processor (no mixer needed) REALLY well (i.e. don't be leaving any chunks of Garbanzo Bean in there!).



Add the sugar and baking powder, and blend. Then add the melted chocolate and vanilla.



Bake, cool.....



Sprinkle with powdered sugar or frost, cut, eat.....



Oh - and this is one of the easiest cakes I've ever made.

Garbanzo Bean Chocolate Cake (adapted from Allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 2 - 15 oz. Can Garbanzo Beans (I use Organic)
• 4 Eggs (I use Range-free or Organic)
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9" round or square cake pan or springform pan, or use parchment paper.

1. Rinse and drain the Garbanzo Beans. Grind completely in a food processor with the eggs until smooth. (No Chunks!)
2. Add the sugar and baking powder to the beans and blend.
3. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot (not boiling) water or, melt in the microwave in 30-second increments. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla to the mixture and blend until smooth, scraping the sides as necessary.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake approximately 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow it to cool completely before removing from the pan or cutting. Yup... chocolate cake with garbanzo beans..... all the protein and fiber with none of the bean taste. I'm telling you... it's a miracle!

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Gluten-free Pizza

This was my second try at a gluten-free Pizza crust. The first (just yesterday) was forgettable. Still... I was on a mission.

I love Pizza. I'm a Pizza-snob. Because I believe that you really can't get what I consider 'great' Pizza outside of New York. Really thin crust, with just the right amount of grease in the ever so slightly sweet sauce, and thin strings of mozzarella cheese stretching out with each bite. Yeah... you get the picture.

I've learned to live with California Pizza - and have found a few places here in Northern California that make acceptable Pizza. But I figured, since I'm not getting my 'great' pizza anyway, I might as well find a recipe for Gluten-free Pizza, since I'm trying to avoid wheat.

So my first attempt was bad. I realized when I was trying to eat it that someday I need to do another blog called "Bonnie's Baking-Blooper Blog." It's got a nice ring, don't you think?

My old (cheap and warped) Pizza pan was long gone, so I recently bought a new one. Oh - I have a Pizza Peel and Stone and all that - which I've mostly used for bread baking. But this new one from Calphalon is very cool - it's got holes on the bottom to help crisp up the crust. I love it!

Since I didn't have any great expectations for this second try to be any good, I didn't bother taking pictures along the way. But go figure - it was good. I'm really happy with the result.



It's easy enough to throw together - but you have to be careful about getting the dough to the right consistency to be able to work it into a big circle. Not too dry and not too wet. As I mentioned, I like my Pizza thin so I had to really work that circle, from the center out, with my fingers. I was able to fix any little tears that happened just by squeezing it back together. I think now that I've made it once, next time I'll be able to make the edge a little neater looking.

I adapted this recipe from a book by Carol Fenster called "Special Diet Solutions."




Gluten-free Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. Yeast
• 2/3 cup Brown Rice flour
• 1/2 cup Tapioca flour
• 2 Tbs. powdered milk or extra Tapioca flour (I actually used dry buttermilk because I had some)
• 2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning (I just added some Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Thyme, and Rosemary to taste)
• 2/3 cup warm water, approximately (temperature around 100 degrees, not too hot or it will kill the yeast)
• 1/2 tsp sugar or honey or agave (I used sugar)
• 1 tsp Olive Oil (I think I'll add 1 Tbs next time)
• 1 tsp cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to electric mixer bowl and blend on low speed.
2. When blended, mix on high speed for about 3 minutes. If mixture seems too dry (the machine is starting to bounce around), add a bit more water. The dough should be soft.
3. Put the dough on a (rice) floured surface, and form into a ball. Then flatten it out slightly into a circle with your hands.
4. Place the dough on your Pizza pan, and begin working it out into a larger circle, pressing from the middle out. Work it to the size and thick/thinness you prefer. If it cracks in spots, just press it back together.
5. When you have it at the right size, thicken up the edges a little to keep your toppings on, and so it looks like a Pizza (LOL).
6. Set it in a warm place and let it rest for about 20 minutes or so. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
7. After resting (the Pizza, not you) pre-bake the dough for 10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and add your toppings.
9. Bake again, for about 15 to 20 minutes, until until the cheese is melted (you did use cheese, didn't you?) and the crust edge is nicely browned.

I used Organic Pasta Sauce from Whole Foods which is tasty and well priced, Mozzarella cheese, and some thinly sliced ham I also got at Whole Foods. Next time I will definitely use Goat cheese and mushrooms. I think next time will be soon!

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Gluten-free Scones

So, I have this recipe for gluten-free scones that is my go-to recipe when scones are needed. Most of my gluten-free friends seem to like them. Scones in general tend to be on the dry side, and these were that. Some people just like a nice dry, crumbly scone.

However **this** scone recipe is my NEW go-to scone recipe. It's way less dry, not crumbly, with nice texture and crumb. And it fairly low in sugar - always a Plus!

I came across it online, and made some ingredient changes that made sense to me. I'm very happy with them, and will experiment with different flavorings in the future (that's one of the beautiful things about scones).

I added dried fruit and orange zest to these, and mini semi-sweet chocolate chips because I had a bunch I needed to use. Next time, I will add dark chocolate chips. Dried cranberries or raisins are always great in scones as well. And maybe some of the blueberries I froze! Ok...ok... I need to calm down.

Before we get to the pics, I should apologize for the quality of my photos. I am not a photographer, and while I can usually get a pretty focused picture, and can manage to use the Macro just fine, I never quite can get the lighting right (at least, that's what they always tell me at Foodgawker. I know I can learn how to do it, but to tell you the truth, I don't care to learn how. LOL. I'll just muddle along with my little Canon camera set to Automatic, and keep apologizing for poor quality photos (with apologies to my brothers, the family Paparazzi).

Here's my dry ingredients blended with the butter, zest, fruit and chocolate, to which I just added the eggs and yogurt. No need for an electric mixer for this recipe - just mix with a spatula or wooden spoon.



I forgot to take a picture of the next step, which is working the dough into a ball, and then pressing it into a circle that is about 1" in height. What you see here is the 8 sections (it can easily cut into 10-12 sections, for a slightly small scone).



I like to brush my scones with an egg wash, and sprinkle them with a tiny bit of sugar before baking, but that is totally optional.

And if you're still not sure this is your cup of tea.....



Yeah - looks good enough to eat, doesn't it? You can add a little butter, or honey, but I like them just the way they are. And happily, they freeze great. Just be sure to get as much air out of the freezer bag as possible. I find a straw very helpful for sucking out the air. That's right..... a straw. LOL.

These will be perfect for after my Jazzercise Class Walk at the reservoir on Labor Day.

Gluten-free Scones

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Brown Rice flour (plus extra as needed)
• 1/2 cup White Rice flour
• 3 1/2 Tbs Tapioca starch/flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1 tsp Salt
• 4 Tbs. Sugar
• 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup non-fat or low-fat Plain Yogurt
• 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, cold
• 1/2 cup Dried Fruit, Blueberries, etc. (optional)
• Handful of Chocolate Chips (optional)
• Zest of 1 Orange or Lemon (optional)
• 1 Egg, beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

1. Sift all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Cut up the butter into small pieces and add to dry ingredients. Work butter and flours together with your hands until the flour is well combined. The result will be like moist flour. (Tip: I often freeze the butter and then quickly grate it into the dry ingredients. I find it easier to work into the flour with my hands that way.)
3. Add your dried fruit, zest, or other flavorful ingredients.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and yogurt and blend together well with a whisk.
5. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and blend together into a soft dough. Add a bit more flour if the dough is too soft or sticky.
6. Turn the dough onto a (rice) floured surface, and knead a few times to shape into a ball. If the dough is too soft to form a ball, add more flour as needed.
7. Press the ball into a circle that is about 1" high.
8. Cut into sections (a pizza cutter works well), and brush with egg wash, if desired.
9. Bake approximately 15-17 minutes until lightly browned.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Very satisfying!

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Gluten-free Blueberry Pancakes

For when you're not in a rush! Every now and then there is that morning where you can actually slow down and have a relaxing breakfast. What a treat! Here's my favorite recipe for gluten-free pancakes. I don't know if it's because I haven't had a regular pancake in a looonng time, but these don't taste gluten-free to me. They taste like ...well.... pancakes. They are light and fluffy. I happen to have a lot of frozen blueberries at the moment because I stocked up when they were at their peak and the price was low - so they were perfect for these pancakes. I added them still frozen - no need to thaw. You can add any fruit, or anything else you want to the batter (I didn't say it, but you know I'm thinking chocolate chips :-).

I have an electric griddle that I like to use for pancakes. (Did you hear the one about the 500 mini-crumpets I made on this griddle....?? LOL). You can use a frying pan and make one at a time, but griddles are nice because you can make a bunch together. Here are two of the three I made at one time.



With pancakes, you want to cook the first side until the batter starts to bubble before you flip them. Call me crazy, but there's something very satisfying about flipping a pancake :-)



What's a good pancake stack size to you? 2? 3? More????



These really were good!



And I must have been really really hungry!



Oy....



You can use all White Rice flour or all Brown Rice flour, or combine the two to equal 1 cup. I also sometimes use half Buckwheat flour, and/or add ground Flax Seed (superfood!) for additional nutrition and fiber. I made 9 large pancakes from this batter. Needless to say, I froze the rest for another day. Honest, I did!!

Gluten-free Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Rice Flour (brown and/or white/or half buckwheat)
• 3 Tbs. Tapioca Starch/flour
• 1/3 cup Potato Starch
• 1/4 tsp. NuStevia powder (or 1 Splenda packet), optional
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 2-4 Tbs. Ground Flax Seed (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
• 4 Tbs. Buttermilk Powder (*see note)
• 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
• 1 1/2-2 cups Water, approximately (I sometimes use half milk/half water; use the lesser amount if you like a thicker pancake)
• 3 Tbs. Canola Oil (I sometimes use melted butter)
• 1 cup blueberries, frozen or fresh

*Note: if you don't have buttermilk powder, you can leave it out, or use milk instead of water. You can even add a little lemon juice to the milk to give it a little tang if you want to.

Directions:
If you're using an electric griddle, preheat it to about 350 degrees. Otherwise, heat your frying pan or gas griddle as you normally do. I usually add a little butter.

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2. Add the water, vanilla, eggs, and oil and beat just until blended. A few lumps are OK.
3. Pour onto hot pan. When they start to form bubbles, flip and cook the other side until golden brown.
4. Serve them up with your favorite toppings!

Tip: To get an 'even' spread of blueberries in your pancakes, instead of adding them to the batter, drop them one by one onto each pancake after you pour them on the griddle. This also keeps them from breaking up in the batter and turning the batter blue :-)

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