Muffins and Scones - gluten free and vegan!

(pictures to come later today!)

I got a new cookbook called "The Gluten Free Vegan and I've only made a couple things, but so far so good! This morning I made the "Carrot Bread" recipe, but baked it in muffin tins, and of course tweaked it to my liking :) I was skeptical, they are vegan and sweetened only with agave, but they were awesome! Nora ate 2 muffins and she hates carrot in her baked goods. They take quite a bit of work and a lot of ingredients, but they are actually healthy... a whole meal in themselves... whole grain, protein, fruits and veggies!

...and right now I am also baking The Gluten Free Goddess's "Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies - Gluten Free and Vegan." I wish I had gone out and gotten a shot of espresso to put in them, but I just used coffee.... the dough tastes pretty awesome, but they baked up like a scone... They look just like scones. They are huge and puffy and bready. JH doesn't mind... any baked good is a good thing in his book, and I guess they are still a healthy breakfast since they are also totally whole grain and naturally sweetened. I can't tell you how much I love Karina from The Gluten Free Goddess! I use her recipes all the time.

Anyway, here's the recipe for the muffins (written as I made them) and the link to the chocolate chip cookies/scones.
http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/09/chocolate-chip-espresso-cookies-vegan.html

Carrot Muffins
Wet:
1/2 c. melted Earth Balance
3/4 c. agave nectar
1 T. Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 1/4 c. warm water
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
Dry:
1 c. brown rice flour
1/2 c. millet flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
pinch of cloves and ginger
1 t. xanthan gum

1/4 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. chopped dates
1 c. grated carrots
1/4 c. crushed pineapple

Combine the wet ingredients in one bowl, the dry ingredients in another. Fold together and then fold in the nuts, carrots, dates and pineapple. Spoon into 12 lined muffin tins and bake at 350 until the tops spring back. 20-25 minutes.

"Scotcheroos"

We love Scotcheroos around here. LOVE them! If its got peanut butter and chocolate it's a keeper in this house... Scotcheroos are great because they can easily be made gluten free and/or vegan. The problem with them is that they are pure junk food. Every time I buy a bottle of white corn syrup, white sugar and white Crispy Rice cereal I feel guilty... not to mention the chocolate and butterscotch chips with all of their unpronounceables. Also, I'd like to know if Rice Krispies are actually gluten free. Rice Krispies and all of the generics like it contain some form of malt. My husband eats them and feels fine, but I have read differing opinions online.

So I have a couple cookbooks that have some sort of Crispy Rice snacks that don't have all the marshmallow, corn syrup and other sugars in them, and I decided to combine a couple recipes to see if I could make something similar... and it was quite a success! Next time I will melt the chocolate chips and spread them on the top for that true Scotcheroo look, but stirred in they are still quite tasty :)

I don't have a name for these, so if you can think of one let me know!

Here's the recipe for my "all-natural-GF-vegan-crisp-rice-peanut-butter-chocolate-squares"

3 cups Gluten Free Brown Rice Crisps Cereal
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2-1 cup GF vegan chocolate chips (I use Whole Foods 365 brand)

Stir together the syrup and peanut butter in a small saucepan until the peanut butter and syrup are evenly combined and slightly warm. Pour over the cereal and combine really well. Add in chocolate chips, but try not to stir too much so they don't melt. Pour into an 8x8 greased or buttered pan (I used a little bit of Earth Balance) and press down. Refrigerate until set. I am keeping mine in the refrigerator, as the natural PB I use require refrigeration, they are a lot easier to cut, and they keep their shape better.

I made them last night and they are almost gone! My family has declared them better than the "real" thing as you can actually taste the peanut butter and they aren't painfully sweet.

Cake we can believe in.

Here's my latest creation... can you tell who I voted for?

Healthy Granola

Wha??? Granola IS healthy, right? Tasty... yes. Healthy? Not necessarily. Even those bulk bins at Whole Foods are full of high calorie, high sugar, high fat granola. Some store bought granola has as much sugar as a candy bar! A lot of conventional granola (the non-health food store stuff) is full of high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil.

...and if you are living Gluten Free there isn't much in the way of "safe" granola... We did try one store bought GF Granola, but it was far from tasty, and in my opinion, far from granola! Now that there are GF oats I knew the first thing I had to make with mine was granola for my husband. The man has never had granola... ever! The kids and I eat it almost everyday. (of course, we are huge hippies and everyone knows hippies practically live on the stuff)

I know a lot of people think homemade isn't as good as the store bought stuff, but I disagree. I have a friend who makes homemade that most people would say is exactly like store bought, but when I found out what was IN said granola... I decided homemade shouldn't be like store bought. It should be cheaper, lower in sugar and tailored to your individual tastes. It should be different! My homemade granola doesn't form the hard "clumps," but it still has the crunch and all of the flavor... after all, the "clumps" are balls of fat and sugar... and I want to serve a wholesome breakfast, not dessert! It still does have softer, flakier clumps (make sure to let it cool on the pan!), but they will break up if handled very much.

Here is the recipe I came up with a couple weeks ago for the kids and I. It has been quite successful and I have a batch in the oven right now, made with GF oats and all of nuts and seeds JH likes with just a little of the fruit. I used coconut oil not only because it is so good for you, but because it is at a solid state when it is cooled, so it does help firm it up a bit... and I used honey as my sweetener because I have a big jug of local honey from a nearby apple orchard... but I am sure any other liquid sweetener (maple syrup, brown rice syrup or agave) would work fine.

Healthy Granola

6 cups certified GF oats
1 cup raw slivered almonds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

genenrous 1/2 cup coconut oil
generous 1/2 cup honey (or other liquid sweetener)
1.5 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of cardamom (optional)

1 cup dried cranberries (or other fruit)

Stir together dry ingredients in a big (really big!) bowl. In a small saucepan stir together coconut oil, honey and spices just until combined and oil is melted. Combine with the oat mixture and spread out on 2 cookie sheets. (if it seems a bit dry add a bit more sweetener) Bake at 300 for about 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on it, stir occasionally and rotate the sheets halfway through baking. There is a fine line between soggy and burnt when it comes to granola. You want it to be getting just brown all over. Let it sit on the pan till completley cool and then add dried fruit. Store in an airtight container.

Gluten Free Vegan Graham Crackers

Being gluten free and vegan is really not a whole lot different than being vegan except for baked goods... I tried and tried again, but most everything I made was hard, dry, crumbly, grainy... I am sure I could go on, but we will just say it was not good. Other than the scone recipe I posted a few days ago, I have been pretty unsuccessful.... until today that is! Here is a recipe for Gluten Free Vegan Graham crackers. I made them and cut them into tiny flower shapes and filled them with a simple powdered sugar icing, but they would be awesome as s'mores! I can't wait to go camping just as an excuse to make them again :)

Gluten Free Vegan "Graham" Crackers

1/2 c. garbonzo bean flour
1/2 c. tapioca flour
1/2 c. cornstarch
1/2 t. xanthan gum
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 t. baking powder
6 Tablespoons vegan non-hydrogenated margarine
2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1 t. vanilla

Whisk together ingredients flours through baking powder. In another bowl with a mixer, mix margarine, sugar, syrup and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix, adding a splash of water if necessary to form a ball. Refrigerate about 30 minutes, until the dough is firm enough to be rolled out. Roll out using powdered sugar or cornstarch to prevent sticking, about 1/8 inch thick. Place on a cookie sheet (cookies can be very close together as they don't spread much) and bake at 325 for about 10 minutes. Do not let them brown, they will still look slightly undercooked. Remove immediately to waxed paper, a silpat or cookie rack to cool. Makes about 3-4 dozen depending on thickness.

Gluten Free Vegan Day 3

Gluten Free Vegan Day 3 is less exciting than the previous 2... I had some dental work done in the morning, so there are no tasty baked goods to report about... and we went out for Thai food for lunch (which I couldn't eat because my mouth was too numb). So, I made up for it with dinner. The star of the meal were the Mushroom Burgers out of a vegetarian grilling cookbook. They were awesome! I made a simple potato salad out of roasted potatoes, steamed green beans, balsamic, olive oil and seasonings. On the side we had some freshly made pico de gallo. The recipe for that is out of the Garden of Vegan. All in all it was quite successful. I will be having leftovers for lunch -yum!

Gluten Free Vegan day 2

I know I am only on day 2, but I have to say that this has been pretty easy! I know that perhaps I relied to heavily on processed snacks (Soy Delicious ice cream and Glutino pretzels) but really it has been an enjoyable last 2 days worth of food.

This morning I made scones, which were awesome! I used a Bette Hagman recipe that I veganized. Lunch was leftover scrambled tofu and hashbrowns... and my ultra-successful dinner was sweet and sour tofu. I made the tofu (which was so chicken-like it was almost scary!) by coating each piece in cornstarch before frying on very high heat in a non-stick skillet with canola oil. Then as it was almost done I added about a tablespoon of soy sauce and some chicken-flavored bouillion. The sweet and sour sauce was out of Bette Hagman's "Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy." It tasted perfect and I loved that it was not artificially pink.

Dessert was my favorite... I finally put my ice cream maker to some non-dairy use and made sorbet with fresh strawberries... it was divine!

There are 2 recipes for you tonight... Scones and Sorbet -enjoy!

Gluten Free Vegan blueberry scones

1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 t. xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 Tablespoons sugar, plus more for dusting the tops
4 Tablespoons vegan non-hydrogenated margarine, cold
1/2 c. soy yogurt
juice and zest of one lemon
handful of fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Combine all dry ingredients and cut in margarine by hand until it is fine crumbs. Stir in yogurt and lemon zest and juice. Gently fold in blueberries. Spoon into 6 equal shapes on cookie sheet. Dust the tops with sugar and flatten. Bake until beginning to brown on the bottom, about 10 minutes. Turn oven to broil and broil just until the tops are brown and the sugar is starting to melt.


Strawberry Sorbet

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 pounds fresh strawberries, pureed
zest and juice of one lemon

In a small saucepan combine sugar and water. Boil for one minute. Let syrup cool completely, at least one hour. When cool combine all ingredients and place in an ice cream maker for 20 minutes. Freeze for harder texture.

Gluten Free Vegan Day 1

For some reason the last few weeks I cannot stop thinking about being gluten free and vegan... I know there are people out there who do both, and I have decided that I will do just that. I know that my body functions better without dairy and I know that everyone could stand to eat less wheat, so it can only benefit me.

Here is day one:

For breakfast I made the Brown Rice Banana bread out of La Dolce Vegan... Sorry, Sarah, but we were not impressed... They were very grainy and dry. I would definitely use a rice/tapioca/potato starch mix instead of straight brown rice flour. We did eat them all, with vegan buttery spread and fresh fruit.

For lunch I made scrambled tofu and hash browns. I used the tofu recipe from Vegan With A Vengeance. I have made this recipe so many times and I never tire of it. It is cheap, easy and really good for you with the big scoop of nutritional yeast you add at the end.

I had had a busy day yesterday and then got sidetracked in the evening looking at roosters on ebay (don't ask!) so when dinner time rolled around I was not in the mood to make anything elaborate... We had my old taco standby. I call them Black Bean and Corn Tacos. Yes, I know it is a rather uninspired title, but they are darn tasty, cheap (under 5 bucks for ALL the ingredients to make them) and really fast. (you can whip them together in under 15 minutes). Here is the taco recipe and stay tuned for more from this gluten free vegan gal.

Black Bean and Corn Tacos

2 T. olive oil

1 jalapeno, diced fine

1 small onion, cut small

1/2 red pepper, diced (this is optional, I left it out yesterday because I was out)

3 cloves garlic, minced (or more!)

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 c. frozen corn

1 c. veggie stock

1 t. chili powder

1 t. cumin

salt and pepper to taste
hard or soft corn shells

In a large skillet -saute peppers, onions and garlic in oil until tender, add remaining ingredients and cook over medium high heat until liquid is evaporated. Serve with chopped cilantro, salsa, and/or guacamole in taco shells.