Strawberry Crisp - GF

I took the recipe for the peach crisp and switched the peaches with strawberries. Oh, and I accidentally used the whole stick of butter.  Tasty mistake, that one. ;)

The only thing I would change is the addition of a little tart, like lemon zest and/or juice....or rhubarb, perhaps.

Gorgeous, yeah? 

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup white rice flour 
• 2 TBS gelatin
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, softened + extra to butter crock (or coconut oil)
• 4-6 cups fresh or frozen strawberries.....honestly, I forgot to measure

Blend everything together except the peaches strawberries. Mix half of the dry ingredients to the peaches strawberries and put in buttered baking dish or crock.  Sprinkle crumble over top of strawberries. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, no preheating required for a toaster oven.

Serve warm with ice cream or whip cream for dessert or with milk for a snack.

Hearth and Soul Hop 
Simple Lives Thursday

Easy Peach Crisp - GF

I prefer fresh peaches off the tree, but the late snow may have put a damper on this year's peaches.
Too soon to tell......
This takes 30 minutes in a toaster oven or 3-4 hours in a slow cooker.  Which would you choose? 
I found the original recipe here: Peach Crisp in the Slow Cooker   I modified it to suit my tastes/needs.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup white rice flour 
• 2 TBS gelatin
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened + extra to butter crock (or coconut oil)
• 2 large (20 oz) cans peaches, drained well. I prefer the juice sweetened over corn syrup.

Blend everything together except the peaches. Mix half of the dry ingredients to the peaches and put in buttered baking dish or crock.  Sprinkle crumble over top of peaches. For the quick version, bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, no preheating required for a toaster oven.

Serve warm with ice cream or whip cream for dessert or with milk for a snack.

See ya in the Gumbo 
Gluten Free Wednesday

Cowboy Cookies - GF

I hate oatmeal.  It's ok going down loaded with butter and sugar, but it never satisfies me.  I am still hungry after eating oatmeal, so I haven't eaten it in years....not kept any in the house either.  I don't even go down the cereal aisle.

Picture me in the fall, with some friends, picnicking on a pontoon boat on the lake on a GORGEOUS "just the right temperature" day.  Picture me being offered a cookie made by someone else introduced as a coconut oil cookie. Picture me trying not to have an "Ewww" face. (I'm not really a cookie person, ice cream is my "go to", and not all women are good bakers and coconut oil is NOT always baking friendly. The cookies I tried to make with coconut oil a while back were horrible.) Picture my eyes popping out of my head at the surprise at how much I like this cookie. An oatmeal cookie that's relatively healthy and not a hockey puck.

Cowboy Cookies

All bagged up to save for later......

Blend:
1 cup coconut oil
1 cup cane sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl whisk together or sift:
2 cups white rice flour
2-3 TBS unflavored gelatin
1/2-1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2-1 tsp cream of tartar

Blend flour mix into wet mix.

Add:
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup semi or dark chocolate chips (approx 5 oz)

Dough will be crumbly.  Drop by spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet (actually, I didn't grease).  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

These bad boys will SPREAD, so give them room to grow.  I used an ice cream scoop to keep them an even size, made hand sized cookies.  The first batch I made I used less gelatin and less cream of tartar, made for a crispier cookie...like a granola bar on the edges.  The second batch I used the larger amounts and it made for chewier cookies.  I also made a double batch and used the Bosch.  We had votes for both variations in our household.  Extras can be frozen and make for convenient snacks and travel food....just add milk.

Would work well for making ice cream sandwiches....just sayin'.

Edited 032013: Not to shock you or anything, but this is NOT a weight loss friendly food....just sayin'. ;)

See ya in the Gumbo 
Scratch Cookin' Tuesday 
Gluten Free Wednesday 
Melt in your Mouth Monday

Irish Soda Bread - GF

Ingredients
3 cups rice flour
1-2 TBS unflavored beef gelatin
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup cane sugar (optional)

1 egg
2 cups milk#

1/4 cup melted coconut oil, butter or lard

• Preheat oven to 325* (I skip this step for my toaster oven.)

• Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.  (Sugar is optional, simply because I forgot to add it the second time I made this and didn't notice.  Ketchup boy noticed.) 

• Set aside.  

• Beat egg and add milk in a separate bowl.  

• Mix egg/milk into dry ingredients and blend.  

• Add melted coconut oil or fat of choice. 

• Blend.  

• Pour ( or plop) bread mix into a greased bread pan.  It rises, but doesn't spread much, so you will need to add it evenly, if you want an even loaf.

• Bake for 65-70 minutes or until toothpick comes clean.  

• Let cool completely on wire rack before cutting.  I made this in the toaster oven in the evening,  let it cool over night and sliced in the morning.

#The original recipe called for buttermilk.  You can sour milk quickly by adding a little ACV, if desired.


Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
Gluten Free Wednesday

Unglazed Gelatin Donut Holes - GF, DF

The evolution of leftover onion ring batter.

Mix equal parts beef gelatin and cane sugar with a wee bit of cream of tartar and extra salt, if needed. Mix with leftover egg and rice flour and add extra flour until you can work it like Playdo and not have it stick to your hands.  I like to divided the ball in half and then half again, then half again and so on until I have multiple, roughly equal pieces, that are about the size of my thumb to the first joint.  They expand a little when they fry in the coconut oil.  They are more forgiving of temperature, so I usually stick them in last. You may have to roll them to get them to brown evenly.

I can think of all sorts of ways to doctor these up...cinnamon sugar coatings, dipped in melted chocolate, fruit centers....but I usually am so full on onions rings by the time I get to these, I don't feel like being adventurous anymore.

Onion Rings

This was breakfast! 

I have had a love/hate thing with onion rings.  I love onions and nothing smells better than onion rings....but I stopped eating them because they regularly disappointed me.....all batter, no onion.  I have never made onion rings myself before.  I have deep fried onions when already making fries, without batter, and they're tasty, but not the same.  These were light and crisp and just the right balance of batter and onion.

Ummmm, I think I need to go make some more....

Ingredients
1 medium Onion
1 medium Egg
Rice Flour for coating (or corn masa)
Salt
Coconut Oil for frying

1. Heat oil in deep pot.  Make sure to leave room from the top for bubbling oil.
2. Slice onion in rounds perpendicular to the stem/roots ends.
3. Remove skin and ends and save for broth in freezer.
4. Beat egg in small bowl.
5. Pop rings out of onion rounds.
6. Put some flour in a small, wide bowl or plate with sides.
7. Add some salt to the flour or egg at this point.
8. Dip rings in egg, then dip in flour, coating thoroughly. 
9. Place coated rings aside until oil is hot.  
10. Add coated rings in small batches to hot oil.
11. Cook for a few minutes, until desired color, but not too dark.
12. Strain out of oil and place on baking sheet or other wide, oven safe container.
13. Salt more.
14. Keep warm in oven until finished with all the batches.

Bonus step:  When you are finished making onion rings, add the remaining flour to the egg and add some sugar and possibly salt and cream of tartar, if needed.  Drop little balls of dough into the hot oil and fry up the extra.  They cook up fast, so don't turn your back. Oh, and don't forget to turn OFF the oil when you are done cooking.

See Ya In The Gumbo 
Monday Mania 
Totally Tasty Tuesdays 
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
Gluten Free Wednesday 
Real Food Wednesday

Banana Bread & Muffins - GF

Adapted from the Joy of Cooking: 

Banana Bread & Muffins
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup coconut oil  or butter
1-1 1/4 cup bananas mashed

 1 3/4 cup rice flour
2/3 cup cane sugar 
2 TBS unflavored gelatin
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped apricots (optional)



I haven't had any bananas for YEARS. Cooked bananas do not cause discomfort like raw ones do though.  I could not resist the bargain of a huge bag of bananas for $1...and had a get together coming up.  I peeled the bananas and stuck them in the freezer until needed. 

Mix ingredients in order.  I use a potato masher or ricer for the banana and leave it on the chunky side.  I used Sucanat for the sugar, the caramel ish flavor goes well.  1 loaf recipe makes about a dozen muffins using an ice cream scoop for measuring.  Bake at 350*  for about 25-30 minutes for muffins, 1 hour for a loaf.  I used my toaster oven, so no preheating necessary.  Use a greased pan or tin or use liners.

The muffins were a huge hit and we actually had leftovers too. They freeze well and make a nice snack on the go....or a light meal with a glass of milk.

See Ya In The Gumbo
Melt in your Mouth Monday
Hearth and Soul Hop
Fat Tuesday
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Gluten Free Wednesday

No Bake Cheesecake - GF

The original recipe: Rich No Bake Cheesecake

I replaced the whipping cream with sour cream, orange juice for the water in the filling.  The crust I made with cocoa butter (didn't have any butter) and chopped, dried coconut instead of crumbs and I added a little homemade baking powder. Oh and a little salt and cream of tartar, well, because I add it to almost everything.

Ingredients:

.5 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
2 TBS unflavored beef gelatin
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 TBS cream of tartar

Dissolve gelatin in OJ, then add the rest of the ingredients from the above group.  Heat, while stirring, until the liquid become translucent.  Let cool a bit.


16 oz cream cheese (softened)
8-16 oz sour cream
1-2 TBS coconut oil (optional)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix the above ingredients in a blender or food processor, then add orange juice mix.

Crust: (Optional)
2 cups dried coconut, chopped fine in blender or food processor
1/2 cup cocoa butter
1 TBS arrowroot powder (optional?)
1/2 cup cane sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp baking soda

The To-Go Version

 Chop coconut as small as you can, then add in cocoa butter, then the rest of the ingredients.  Fill pie pan or spring form pan and bake at 350* F for 5 minutes.  Let cool completely. (If you make the crust first, you can stick it in the freezer to chill while prepping the filling.)

Put filling in crust and chill for about 2 hours.  The filling makes 1 large cheesecake in a spring form pan or 2 pies....or 1 pie and 4 individual serving sized crust-less cheesecakes for "To Go" food.

Future variations:

• Using baking chocolate in place of some of the fat in the crust, perhaps with butter.  The crust had an awesome flavor and texture, but was a little bit firm for cutting a bite off.  (The first piece I thought I cut lifted the WHOLE thing out of the pan.)  Butter would be a softer fat when chilled.
• Using rice flour in part or instead of coconut.  Every once in a while, the dried coconut taste was too strong or slightly "twangy."
• Omitting or reducing the sour cream to make a summer weight cheesecake.  The flavor was spectacular, worked well, but I wanted a little more "cheese" in the cheesecake.
• Cherries! (Does that really need explanation?)

UPDATE:
This makes a fabulous brownie topping at room temperature, just add extra OJ. Seriously, it's good.

See Ya In The Gumbo

First Homemade Pizza (including GF crust)

I give this a B+. This was really easy to make...until things went wrong....mostly due to inexperience.

I had problems with wetness while mixing and stickiness after rolling  trying to get it off the rolling surface onto the pizza board and again off the board and onto the pizza stone in the oven.  It looked and tasted yummy enough to try again though....otherwise, I would be sticking to the occasional English Muffin Pizza. ;)

My surface area for rolling was too small, in hindsight, I should have divided the dough into 2 pizzas....or used less liquid?  I ended up adding a LOT of extra flour correcting the original wetness.  As it was, the dough when cooked was THICK, too much bread for my liking.  It held together very well though...only breaking where I ripped it trying to transport.

I don't know about you, but I try to avoid gums....guar gum, locust bean gum, xanthum gum.  Quite honestly, my digestive system can handle wheat on occasion BETTER than the gums.  The gums aren't just in gluten free baking products/flours, but in dairy, coconut and other products you wouldn't think needed "gluing."

Ingredients
2 tsp yeast
1 cup warm milk
1 egg
2 cups rice flour
2 tsp cane sugar
2 tsp gelatin
1 tsp sea salt
2 TBS coconut oil
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda

(Added to correct too wet dough)
1/2 cup corn masa, white or blue
1/4 cup arrowroot or tapioca flour/starch
2 tsp coconut flour (optional)

Mix yeast into warm milk first in a separate container.  Add egg to mixer or food processor and whip.  Add other ingredients in order a little at a time, blending as you go.

Flour your rolling area well, I used additional corn masa flour.  My dough stuck where I missed a few spots. This amount of dough will make a very large pizza or 2 smaller pizzas, so adjust accordingly. ;)  Roll in thin as the dough will double, at least, in thickness.  Based on my experience, I would flour the paddle as well.

Cook crust for 10 minutes at 425* F.

Add desired toppings and bake for an additional 15 minutes or so.

The pizza pictured above is a freshly shredded Mozzarella/Parmesan blend  with dried basil and red pepper flakes.  We let is sit for about 15 minutes on a cookie rack before cutting.

Potato Muffins/Biscuits - GF

You HAVE to try these...there just too easy and delicious!

Here's the original recipe, discovered by a friend's daughter:

Potato Muffins (May 1918):
The Farmer's Wife Harvest Cookbook

4 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg, well-beaten
1 cup mashed potatoes
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk

My adaptation: Makes approximately 12 muffins
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 large leftover baked potato, skin removed
4+ TBS coconut oil
2 TBS cane sugar
2 tsp beef gelatin
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 cups rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt (if using coconut oil or unsalted butter)


Mix everything together in order in a mixer or food processor.  I added a few ingredient at a time and mixed a little in between.  It will look like cream cheese frosting or vanilla soft serve when it's thoroughly mixed. Grease the muffin tin generously.*  Fill each cup about 2/3 full to allow room to rise. Bake at 350 degrees F  for 25-30 minutes.  I used my toaster oven. When done, allow to cool slightly and run a knife around the side to pop them out.  I ate mine with strawberry jam.

*I used the back of a spoon to slather about a TBS of extra coconut oil in each cup, making sure to get the sides and bottoms.

These could easily be made as drop biscuits by making them free form instead...maybe with just a little tweaking.  They scream biscuits and gravy!

You could also place some protein in the center for a to-go meal:
Cheese and an apple slice
Spaghetti sauce with meat and gelatin
Scrambled egg with mushrooms
Jam with gelatin
Or  ??????

Fat Tuesday
Savory Sunday
Made From Scratch Tuesday
Hearth and Soul Hop
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Gluten Free Wednesday
What's Cooking Wednesday
Full Plate Thursday
Simple Lives Thursday

Gluten Free "Potato Flour" Brownies

Adapted from a recipe on the back of a Ener-G potato flour box.

GF "Potato Flour" Brownies
(These really should be called rice flour brownies...but oh well)

Add ingredients one by one, mixing/beating thoroughly before adding the next ingredient.

4 eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil (originally melted butter, but I prefer the oil in this case.)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 TBS gelatin (optional)

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBS potato flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
OR
2 cups sucanat or whole cane sugar
1 cup rice flour (brown or white)
3 tsp homemade baking powder
pinch of unrefined salt

1/4-1/2 cup coffee beans or chocolate chips (optional)

Bake in greased 9"x13" cake pan for 35-40 minutes @ 350*F.  Preheat if using a standard size oven, not necessary if using a toaster oven. Cut into squares. Pan size doesn't have to be exact, a smaller pan will make a thicker brownie......and fits in my toaster oven better.

A brownie with a glass of milk makes an awesome snack...or light meal even for To-Go food.