Rice Pilaf

We had this with our potato chip chicken and it was so good! For Sam I would omit the chicken bouillon and Mrs. Dash.

Olive oil
1.5 cups uncooked rice
1/2 onion, chopped
Mrs. Dash
3 cups water
Knorr chicken bouillon

Sauté the onion in olive oil, then add the rice and some liberal dashes of Mrs. Dash and sauté it for a bit, then add the water and a couple of spoonfuls of chicken bouillon. Bring just to a boil, then turn the heat down to low, put the lid on, and steam for 15-20 minutes. This would be great with almonds or pine nuts toasted in the olive oil. You could also sauté bits of chicken to make a one dish meal. For Mexican rice, add some chopped tomato.

Note: The strictest gluten free eaters need to make sure their bouillon is gluten-free. I don't know about Knorr.

Potato Chip Chicken for my Gluten-Free Girls

In case my naturopath is reading this :) Sam doesn't eat potato chips. But the rest of us do.  Boneless chicken Trader Joe's or Kettle, etc. black pepper or jalapeno potato chips Buttermilk, milk, sour cream, or non-dairy milk Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pound the chicken sort of flat. Smash the potato chips. Dip chicken in white substance of choice, then in potato chip crumbs, then bake on greased baking sheet for 25-35 minutes.

Gluten-Free Banana Muffins

These gluten-free banana muffins were awesome! My daughter, who says she doesn't usually like banana baked goods, loved these! I used Pamela's flour mix instead of wheat flour, coconut oil instead of butter, and chocolate chips in some of them instead of nuts. I also reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup organic sugar. http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_nut_muffins/

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins

These were really, really good. They are the best thing I have been able to make gluten-free and gave me the confidence that this diet really is possible. My GF daughters were so pleased! I did not use ginger or nuts, used oil instead of butter, and substituted Pamela's Gluten Free flour mix for the wheat flour, 1:1. I put chocolate chips in some of them at the request of one of my daughters. http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pumpkin_ginger_nut_muffins/

Gluten-Free Anadama Bread

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Gluten-Free-Anadama-Bread This was my first successful loaf of gluten free yeast bread!! It was WAY better than the bread from the GF bakery. I followed the directions exactly, using Pamela's as my GF flour blend.  As it was baking it rose really high, beautifully, but it collapsed by the time it was done. I think the cooling time in the oven was supposed to keep this from happening but something went wrong. I also scored the top to make it look pretty so that might have been a factor. I will probably make this again but use more molasses and salt next time. I also won't dust the pan with flour--it doesn't look or taste good to have flour along the crust. Note that the recipe requires a loaf pan that is 8"x4", which is not a mini loaf but smaller than what I consider to be a regular loaf pan.

Vegan Pan de Yuca

http://veganandawesome.tumblr.com/ I used this recipe and rolled the balls out thin for small single-serving pizzas. Spray or brush with olive oil, bake on parchment paper at 500 for 6 minutes, then turn over and bake for 3-4 minutes, put toppings on and bake just long enough to melt the cheese. 2 1/2 cups of tapioca flour 2 cups of potatoes or yucca (your choice), cooked, and mashed Salt, to taste (1 tsp) 1/2 cup of water 1/3 cup of vegetable oil 1 tablespoon of baking powder My pizza-loving GF daughter loved this. I just microwaved chunks of potato in some water in a Pyrex container, mashed them into the water, stirred in the other ingredients with a little more water. I didn't measure the water precisely.

Great Rice Pasta!

I just made a stir fry with Annie Chun's rice noodles and they were fantastic. They are not gritty/gummy like other rice pastas I've had. You just submerge them for a few minutes in hot water and they are done. There was no distinctive Asian flavor to them and I think they would pass perfectly well for wheat pasta if you put spaghetti sauce on them. These were the very thin ones, like angel hair, but I'm looking forward to trying the pad thai width next. I got these at Jimbo's but I think they are cheaper on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Annie-Chuns-Noodle-Maifun-8-Ounce/dp/B0048IAIQ6/ref=sr_1_2?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1351653474&sr=1-2&keywords=brown+rice+noodles

We Made Pizza Crust With Pan de Yuca Dough!

You can easily make this recipe dairy-free. I have another recipe on this blog that is; we happened to use Laylita's recipe (see link below). We pressed a ball of dough in a tortilla press (but you could just roll or press it thin), put toppings on it, and baked it for about 6 minutes at 500 degrees. I don't think anyone would know this was not wheat crust. I just put sauce and meat on it, no cheese. Hooray for tapioca flour! http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/01/14/pan-de-yuca-pan-queso/

BEST GFCF Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think I finally did it! First, I used this recipe  http://joythebaker.com/2012/08/dark-chocolate-pistachio-smoked-sea-salt-cookies/  but substituted the same amount of Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix for the wheat flour, and the cookies were perfect. Step two was to substitute the butter for coconut oil, and they were still great! If you are gluten-free, make sure to use GF vanilla or leave it out. Note: I still like them with butter a lot better--they puff up and crinkle down beautifully. 1/2 cup (1 stick)  unsalted butter, at room temperature OR 1/2 cup coconut oil 1/2 cup granulated sugar (Trader Joe's Organic makes huge difference!) 1/2 cup packed brown sugar  (Trader Joe's Organic makes huge difference!) 1 flax egg (1 tbsp. ground flax + 3 tbsp. warm water) or 1 beaten egg 1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract (or omit) 1 1/4 cups Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (if you like hits of salt) or sea salt 1/2 to 1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips Mix ins as desired (oatmeal, coconut, nuts, etc.) You know what to do. :) If coconut oil was liquid, chill dough in the fridge for a while. Scoop onto parchment-lined cookie sheet, bake 8-10 minutes at 350. Don't overbake.

Chicken Soup with Rice and Zucchini

I made my regular homemade chicken soup the other night but decided to use rice instead of noodles to make it gluten-free. My younger daughter who has very specific tastes LOVED it; in fact she has been eating it for three days straight and even wanted it for breakfast this morning. Trader Joe's Organic bone-in chicken (reasonably priced and flavorful!) Coarsely chopped celery Coarsely chopped onion Gluten-free chicken bouillon (check for forbidden ingredients) Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Handfuls of raw white rice (you can use leftover cooked but this absorbed the broth and tasted so good) Chopped fresh zucchini and/or other vegetables Simmer the chicken, celery, and onion in water until done. Strain everything out, pick the chicken off the bones, separate the fat from the broth. Put the broth back in the pot and season with bouillon, salt, and pepper, and throw in some handfuls of rice and simmer until it's cooked. A few minutes before serving add the zucchini and cooked chicken (save half the chicken for another recipe). Don't overcook the zucchini. Note: If you have time and the desire, you can blend (using a regular or hand-blender) the mushy onion and celery from the broth and put it in the soup.

Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Banana Bread

http://comfybelly.com/2008/12/banana-bread/# I used this recipe and left out the honey altogether. I also ordered the chocolate chips from amazon that she recommends. I didn't taste sweet at all so if you want it sweet and can have stevia or honey, use it. I just ate it with some butter and honey on top. Reports from my tasters were that the texture was perfect. The next time I make this I am going to include the pulp that was leftover from juicing, blended in the blender.

Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread!

Run, don't walk, to your local health food or Latino grocery store and pick up some tapioca flour (yucca flour) so you can make this amazingly easy, light, and delicious GLUTEN-FREE popover-like bread! You mix it in the blender and can leave the batter in the fridge all week to make as much or as little as you want. To make it dairy-free I substituted Rice Dream organic rice milk instead of cow's milk, and herbs (onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and dried dill) instead of cheese. I also increased the salt to 1.5 teaspoons. http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_brazilian_cheese_bread/#

Easy Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Cream Puffs

I found this recipe for easy cream puffs in my Our Best Bites cookbook and substituted coconut oil for butter and tapioca flour for wheat flour, but they were too flat, so I added in some almond flour which perked them up and made them delicious. And they look exactly like regular cream puffs. I think they were still a little on the greasy side so next time I will use a little less coconut oil and a little more flour. http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/04/tutorial-cream-puffs/ The cream filling is coconut cream from the top of a can of Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk, chilled, and whipped with a fork with a little organic honey and some Trader Joe's Pure Bourbon Vanilla Extract. I got the idea from this blog: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/01/16/chocolate-frosting-shots/ The ganache is organic honey (not much) and equal parts cocoa powder and coconut oil, microwaved to melt everything together, then chilled to harden it.

Turkey Quinoa Nuggets!

The other day Sam's teacher asked me if I would make something for his school lunch that "looked like chicken nuggets." Apparently Sam is always trying to swipe the other kids' chicken nuggets. Here is what I came up with, and Sam devoured them! The photo is showing them with the bottom-side up, which is more browned and appetizing-looking. I used pumpkin to give them that "chicken nugget" color, and I baked them on a cookie sheet on parchment paper. Half a box of quinoa, cooked 1 pound organic ground turkey Garlic powder Onion powder Black pepper Sea salt Flax seed (1/2 cup?) mixed with 1/2 cup (?) water 1/2 can organic pumpkin (for color) 1/2 to 1 cup finely shredded organic unsweetened coconut 1/2 cup (?) coconut oil Mix everything together with your hands which are wearing disposable gloves. Scoop onto cookie sheet using a cookie dough scoop, and flatten and shape with your gloved hands (if you want to impress the teacher and make them in nugget shapes. I wasn't about to make them into dinosaur shapes, however.....) Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

Chicken Curry Pasta

I was making a creamed pasta casserole for the rest of the family and wanted to make something similar for Sam, and he absolutely loved this! 1 package organic brown rice pasta (rotini) Boneless organic chicken thighs Olive oil and/or coconut oil Chopped onion Chopped vegetables (I used carrots and zucchini) Organic cinnamon 1 can organic coconut milk (preferably not "lite") Cook the pasta and set aside. Saute the chicken and onions in oil. When the chicken is partly cooked, cut it into small pieces with kitchen scissors and add the vegetables until everything is cooked. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and stir in the coconut milk and the cooked pasta. I usually make a large batch of something like this and freeze individual servings in Chinese food containers (see older post).

Persimmon Coconut Ice Cream

This stuff is absolutely amazing. Combine very ripe, soft persimmons from Oakes Knoll Farm and 1 can of organic coconut milk and freeze in your ice cream maker.

Benefits of Coconut Oil

http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/mp4/LJO190v1_WS

Vista Farmers Market!

Today some friends who are tired of spending so much money at Jimbo's introduced me to the Vista Farmers Market and their favorite organic vendors. Sam and I had a blast and came home with all these goodies. The persimmons are amazing!