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I was trying to make pita bread. Which, this really isn’t. Mainly in that it’s not as dry as pita bread (which is kind of weird, because you can usually count on gluten-free bread being drier than wheat bread), nor as puffy, and without the cavity in the middle. And they’re smaller — given the structural integrity issues that gluten-freeness can cause, I’d suggest staying on the smaller side.
So basically these are nothing like pita bread. Sorry for the misdirection there. They are small sandwich round bread things which are tasty, allergen-free, and seem to please the few non-allergenic people I’ve fed them to (i.e. my neighbors). So you should try them!
Gluten-free Bread Round Things
You’re going to make three mixes and then mix them all together. With me?
First, mix:
2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons warm — not hot — rice milk
Second, in a separate bowl, mix:
1/4 cup rice milk
2 Tablespoons ground chia seeds
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Third, in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, mix:
1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup tapioca starch
2 Tablespoons rice milk powder
4 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
yeast mixture (should be foamy!)
chia mixture (should be gelled somewhat)
Mix until you have a pretty solid dough, reasonably thick and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. The nice thing (“nice”) about gluten-free baking is that you really can’t overmix things. There’s no gluten to get tough. I let my mixer go and make up the dishwater while it’s working, so maybe 5 minutes or so.
With well-oiled hands, scoop out 1/4 cup of dough and shape into a smooth ball. Press out to form the round — aiming for 1/8 — 1/4 inch or so in thickness, but all about the same (thickness is more important than exact size for cooking time). Place the round on a parchment covered baking sheet. Repeat until you’ve used all the dough.
Place into a COLD OVEN and turn the oven on to 400F. The timing from here on out will depend on how fast your oven heats up — mine takes almost 20 minutes to reach 400F. Check these out at about 20 minutes, but it will likely take 35-45 minutes for them to fully bake, depending on the thickness of your rounds.
Now the one thing that you’re missing are the toasted bubbled bits that a real pita bread has — if you want these, throw the pita on a grill or into a hot skillet, a few minutes on each side. This is not necessary, but does add flavor and visual texture.
When the bread rounds are completely cooled, you will be able to slice them, but carefully! Don’t expect to make pita pockets, but honestly these hold up better than most gluten-free bread for sandwiches (or at least the ones that are also egg and dairy free), so give it a try.
Hey, it’s our second burger post! I really hope you’re finding some options or getting some ideas about what to bring to barbeques this summer — or what to serve at your own.
For some reason when Denise and I were discussing burgers, I was somewhat fixated on Indian spices. I love Indian food, but there are so many allergen pitfalls when ordering out that I’m finding it easier to make my own at home — and easier now that I can run some of my cooking choices by my Indian neighbor. He approved the spice mix I’m going to give you below, so it must be good, right?
You can buy tandoori spices. Tandoori chicken is a reasonably classic Indian dish, named for the clay oven in which chicken is baked after being marinated in yogurt and spices. By briefly marinating and then grinding the chicken, adding some cashew nuts for creaminess, we can skip the yogurt part, and in this case, a grill stands in for the fancy pointy-topped oven. By making your own spice, you can more carefully control the flavor of the burger, but if you’re not up to it, not interested, or in any way disinclined, seek it out pre-blended.
Mmmm, burger
Tandoori Chicken Burgers
Tandoori Spice — makes enough for 2-3 recipes of burgers
1 Tablespoon ground fenugreek
1 Tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons onion powder
1-1/2 teaspoon cumin
1-1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon paprika (regular, not smoked)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (you can buy this ground, but it’s worth it to grind your own)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon cayenne, depending on your desire for heat, as well as spice
For Burgers:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup lemon or lime juice
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup cashew pieces
zest of one lime (organic if you can get it)
2- 3 Tablespoons tandoori spice
lime wedges, for serving
First, marinate chicken thighs in the citrus juice and vinegar for about 30 minutes — if the marinade doesn’t quite cover the chicken, add water to cover.
Lay the chicken out on paper towels to drain and dry.
In your food processor, grind the cashews to a fine consistency. I find that I need to pulse my food processor, as just turning it on tends to make nut butter instead. Remove the nuts to a mixing bowl.
Grind the chicken in the food processor, then add it to the mixing bowl.
Add the lime zest and seasoning, and mix all the ingredients well. You can try using a spoon, but you really need to mix with your hands to get everything well-incorporated. Mix until you think it’s well-blended, then mix a little more. A note on the seasoning range — if you’re a lover of Indian food, or spices, or both, go all in with the 3 T measurement. If your company is a little more mixed (children, unadventurous eaters) ease them into the fun with the lower amount of spice.
Now shape the patties and lay them out on a parchment or plastic wrap covered platter and refrigerate for an hour or overnight. This recipe should make 4 regular burgers or 8 slider-sized burgers.
Grill until the interior temperature of the burger reaches approximately 160F. Serve with sliced cucumbers on a bun of your choice.
So we’re heading into picnic and cookout weather, and we have some holidays coming up that might result in you getting invited to some cookouts. Mary Kate and I thought it’d be a good idea to have some burgers that are safe for those of us allergies that we can prep ahead of time and bring with us to throw on a grill. Now you may be saying, Denise and Mary Kate, why wouldn’t ground beef be safe? Well, it is–unless someone decides to season it with ranch dressing. And unless you’ve seen the package for the hot dogs, they might have milk in them. And I know people who soak their chicken in buttermilk before grilling or frying it. It’s a lot easier to bring your own food and be sure you can eat something, than to sit at a cookout all afternoon looking at food you can’t eat. So with that in mind, we’ve come up with some great recipes that you’re going to be seeing pop up here and there over the next few months. Because it’s going to be summer, and we need to cook stuff outside with fire!
Falafel Burgers
l lb bag of garbanzo beans/chick peas (soaked overnight, see below)
1 medium onion, chopped
6-8 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of coriander
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
2 teaspoons of cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (depending on your spice tolerance)
2 Tablespoons of garbanzo bean/chick pea flour
A food processor (you really can’t do this in a blender)
Place the garbanzo beans in a large bowl and cover them by 3-4 inches of water. Let them soak overnight. They should double in size.
Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans thoroughly. Unless your food processor is a heck of a lot bigger than mine, you’re going to have to do the following in batches. Place the garbanzo beans, onion, garlic, parsley, salt, coriander, black pepper, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, and flour in the food processor and process until a rough coarse meal forms, so that it’s somewhere between a paste and the size of millet or quinoa. To do this, I had to process garbanzo beans in three batches, leaving them a bit rough, dumping the processed garbanzo beans into an appropriately sized holding bowl. Then I put about half a cup of the processed garbanzo beans back in the food processor along with the onion, garlic, parsley, salt, coriander, black pepper, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, and flour, and processed it. Then I dumped the completed mix back into the bowl and stirred it with the plain garbanzo beans and then ran the whole mixture back from the food processor to ensure that the spice mixture was evenly mixed with all the garbanzo beans.
Garbanzo bean mixture after processing
You can make the garbanzo bean mixture the day before you intend to serve the burgers to make the day of cooking easier. If you do, cover the mixture with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator until you need it.
If you’re cooking these on a grill (yes, it is possible), make your burgers slightly smaller, more like sliders because they’ll hold together easier. Spray down your grill with grilling spray, checking to make sure it’s safe for your allergies. Depending on the heat of your grill, cook each side 2-3 minutes at least each side. Only turn them once otherwise you make make a mess. To get them golden brown, we cooked them on a hotter grill that we thought appropriate at first.
Grilled Falafel Burgers
If you don’t have a grill, you can cook them in a skillet with some vegetable oil. Fill a skillet with about a inch of vegetable oil and heat the oil at medium heat. Cook them for 2-3 minutes per side until they are golden brown. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels.
Serve your falafel in a wrap with Tzatziki Sauce, some lettuce, and other veggies or put it on a burger bun with the Tzatziki Sauce.
Since we can’t have falafel without Tzatziki Sauce (well, you can, but it’s better with), I had to get together a recipe. I started with a recipe at The Vedge, and added some additional things I like to it.
Tzatziki Sauce (Using a Cashew Base)
1 cup cashew pieces (raw, unsalted) and soaked overnight in water (covering cashews by 2-3 inches)
1 cup water
1 lemon, juiced
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of dill weed (optional)
4 Tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
1 medium cucumber (peeled if waxed) and diced (I used two pickling cukes, and left the skin on)
Drain the cashews and place in a blender. Add water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to blender. Blend until completely pureed, better to over blend than to not blend enough. You want it as smooth as you can get it.
Cashew Mixture After Blending
Pour cashew mixture into a bowl that will hold it, the dill, the parsley and the cucumber. Add dill, parsley, and cucumber to the cashew mixture and stir to mix well.
Fresh parsley, choppedCucumbers diced
You can do all this in the blender if you want, but I like chunky cucumbers in this sauce. Refrigerate for at least an hour, and use on falafel, gyros, wraps, salads, as a dip and so on. Or you could use large slices or chunks for a salad or side dish, and do a much smaller dice or in the blender for a sandwich slather.
You know, if you have a good list of allergies, as Denise and I both do, breakfast can be one of the worst meals. If you eat meat, bacon is usually safe, though sausage might or might not be. Take out eggs, gluten for pancakes and waffles… well, you get the picture. I miss going out for breakfast. And as much as I love them, I’m actually getting bored of cereal and hash browns for breakfast.
So why not polenta? I have eaten leftover corn polenta for breakfast (the kind that comes in a nice tube at the grocery store), and it’s great as a savory breakfast, but I started thinking of the millet polenta in Vegan with a Vengeance — that was the first polenta I ever made and the first time I’d eaten millet. We used to buy it for the parakeets we had growing up, and I still sort of think of it as bird food. But it’s really tasty!
This recipe easily doubles into a 9×11 pan, but for one breakfast or one person who doesn’t want to eat it for 9 days, do this in an 8×8 pan. My favorite part is that all the work is done ahead of time, with maybe 10 minutes of work in the morning — and most of those are what some recipes call “inactive” time. I am not a morning person.
Millet polenta with blueberries and maple syrup
Breakfast Polenta
Make-ahead preparation:
In a sauce pan, mix
1 cup millet, rinsed
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 1/2 cups water
1 Tablespoon oil, shortening, or Earth Balance (use coconut oil if you can)
1 or 2 cinnamon sticks
Bring this mixture to a boil, turn it down, and let it simmer for 30-35 minutes.
In a separate small pan, heat
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 Tablespoon orange juice
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
When the blueberries are soft, mash them with a fork or potato masher, just until you have a rough jelly.
Into a greased 8×8 pan, put half the millet mixture in the pan, smooth down, spread the blueberry mix on top, and then add the second half of millet mix and smooth it out.
Allow it to cool at room temperature and then refrigerate.
Morning preparation:
You will need
1 teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon of coconut oil, Earth Balance, or other oil of your choosing (just enough to coat the bottom of your skillet)
In the morning, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add your oil — this isn’t absolutely necessary, but it will promote a good browning, which really makes the polenta to me. Pan fry on both sides, 5-7 minutes per side.
Plate and drizzle with maple syrup. Pour it on slowly to allow it to soak in. Oh, and get the real stuff — you’re worth it.
What do you eat for breakfast? Do you rely on the same standards, over and over, or do you mix it up?
Before the food allergy apocalypse hit, one of the things I really liked to do was to make my own Peking Ravioli (aka Potsticker, Wonton, Gyoza, etc.) or whatever you want to call your basic Asian style dumpling. Apparently you only call them Peking Ravioli if you live in the Northeast because that was what Joyce Chen called them in her restaurant in Boston in the 1950’s–the things you learn when blogging. But in the before times, in the long, long ago, I liked to make them by buying pre-made wonton wrappers at the grocery store, which, at least for the grocery stores in New Hampshire, all contain egg. So I thought I’d try to come up with a gluten free vegan wrapper so Mary Kate could eat some too. (I can have wheat, at least for now. More food allergy testing later today. Please cross your fingers for me that they don’t find any more food allergies, and if they do, it’s an easy to avoid one like a fruit.) My gluten free vegan dough attempt was pretty much a spectacular failure, and it’s going to take some more research and some more work, but I’ll keep trying. At the same time, I had decided to try an egg free dough that I had found using all purpose flour (warning: I mean a real wheat flour) and boiling water, because I knew I was going to have too much filling, and I like to do a lot of experiments at once because you’re more likely to have at least one success. The egg-free real wheat flour version worked. Again, I promise to keep trying for a gluten free version.
Anyway, the really nice thing about this recipe is that you can make a bunch of them up, put them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet (this is prior to cooking them), making sure they don’t touch and then throw them in your freezer on the cookie sheet until they are frozen solid. Then you can pop them into a ziploc freezer bag, and you can take a few out here and there to use whenever you want, to steam, to pan-fry or to put in soup, because they’re not frozen together in a lump. It’s labor intensive for an afternoon on the weekend, but then you’ll have lots and lots of dumplings for whenever you want!
1 cup of chicken stock (check the label if using store bought)
2-3 tablespoons of sesame oil
First, if you are steaming or pan frying your dumplings and you need dipping sauce, put all the ingredients for the dipping sauce in a small bowl, whisk the ingredients together until they are well combined, and then put it aside until your dumplings are cooked. (I forgot to take a picture, sorry.)
To make the dough for the dumpling wrappers, I used my stand mixer with a dough hook, but you can just use a bowl and a spatula too. Place the flour in the bowl and mix the boiling water in slowly until the dough forms a ball. If using a mixer, continue on low speed to knead it for a few minutes. If using the low tech method, knead it with your hands for a few minutes. Shape it into a smooth ball and place it in a ziploc bag to rest a bit while you make the filling.
To make the filling, prepare all the ingredients if you haven’t already. I grated the carrot as finely as shown below:
Carrots grated with a Microplane fine grater
The Napa cabbage, I sliced very finely with a very sharp knife, aiming for a width of a quarter of an inch or less, and then chopped the slices into smaller pieces:
Shredded Napa cabbage in bowl with other ingredients
Place ground pork, garlic, carrot, ginger, green onions, Nappa cabbage, water chestnuts, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl, and mix throughly using your hands. You might want to put it in your refrigerator while you roll out the wrappers.
Pork Dumpling Filling
Now it’s time to make your wrappers. You can roll out your dough on a very clean counter top, a dough rolling mat, or a cutting board. I used a rolling pin and a biscuit cutter which was three inches in diameter to make the wrappers. Spread some flour over the surface of your work area. This dough is very sticky, you’re going to need quite a bit of flour for dusting, and it’s much easier to do it in small pieces. I only rolled out enough dough to cut out 2 or 3 wrappers at a time, as any larger attempts stuck to the mat too easily. Take a piece of the dough about the size of a plum, and using your flour to dust liberally, roll the dough to about an 1/8 of an inch thick and use your biscuit cutter (cookie cutter, or even a water glass in a pinch) to cut out the wrapper. Take your scraps and a bit more of the dough, and knead them together a bit and roll out a couple more wrappers. Keep doing this until all the dough is gone.
Dumpling Wrappers
Again, this dough is very sticky, make sure you dust them liberally before putting them in a pile. I didn’t and I had several wrappers stick together, which I then had to roll out again when I tried to use them.
Now it’s time to make your dumplings. I just want to say that this is a much softer dough that your usual wonton wrapper you get from the grocery store, and it’s harder to get a “pretty” result. And I’m not an expert by any means. So go check out this video by an expert for different shapes and techniques if you need a better explanation than the one I’m about to attempt. Especially once you see the picture of my completed ones below. Take a wrapper, hold it open in the palm of your hand. Place about a teaspoon or so of filling in the center of the dumpling and fold up the sides of the wrapper, pinching it shut, making little pleats if you have that kind of dexterity.
Dumplings on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper
Now you get to choose how to cook them. I provide three methods below, but the first, Pan-frying, is what I used this time:
Pan-frying Dumplings: Place a little sesame seed oil in a skillet (which must have a tight fitting lid) over medium heat. Add dumplings, but so that they do not touch and have enough room to cook separately.
Dumplings properly spaced in skillet
Fry until golden brown, and then turn to fry the other side to the same golden brown color as shown below:
Dumplings fried golden brown
Once both sides are golden brown, add a quarter cup of chicken stock and put the tight fitting lid on the skillet. Continue to cook over medium heat while dumplings steam from chicken broth for another 3 – 7 minutes (depending on whether they were fresh or if they were dumplings you froze to use later) making sure to test one to see if they are done before serving. You may need to adjust your cooking times. Continue to fry and then steam dumplings in batches until you have cooked all the dumplings you intend to serve. Serve with dipping sauce.
Steaming Dumplings: Use a metal steamer basket or a bamboo steamer in an appropriate size pot with a tight fitting lid with enough water so that it will not touch the dumplings. Place the dumplings in a single layer in the steamer. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and put the lid on the pot. If the dumplings are freshly made, cook for 5 minutes or so, but test one to see if they are done before serving. If you froze your dumplings to use later, don’t thaw them, but cook them for about 15 to 20 minutes, testing to see if they are done before serving. Serve with dipping sauce.
Dumplings In Soup: You can do a quick wonton soup, using some chicken broth, some green onions, some Napa cabbage, thinly sliced carrots and some of your dumplings. Bring the chicken broth to a boil, add the dumplings and carrots, and then reduce the heat to medium. When the dumplings and carrots are cooked, add the green onions, Napa cabbage and cook for a minute or two more. I like to add some white pepper or Chinese Five Spice to season it as well. This is a really quick dinner if you’re using dumplings you froze to use later, and some frozen homemade chicken stock, or a store bought version (checking the labels of course).
Hope you like these, and I will keep trying for a gluten free version I like to share.
Plate of Chocolate Chipped Goodness — from top left, vegan GF, vegan, walnut
Because it’s Earth Day, and it’s our 100th post, we thought we should make cookies. Because cookies are round, like the Earth. And because making cookies and giving them to people makes you a hero. Or just sharing — you don’t have to give them all away, promise. You can eat them, too. Cookies are happiness, right?
Well, cookies are often not even close to happiness when you’re an allergen sufferer. If you have adult-onset allergies, you might remember making the classic Tollhouse cookie — wheat flour, eggs, butter, chocolate chips that contain milk. The recipe itself is almost a list of allergens. But it doesn’t have to be! We’re here to show you a few ways (but not quite 100).
The following recipes — there are 4 — are all variations on the chocolate chip cookie. The first two are classic; the very first is completely allergen-free — gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free, vegan. The rest are also vegan (no dairy, no eggs), but the second recipe contains gluten, and the last two contain nuts. One of these is bound to work for you. Read on for the details.
Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gluten-Free and Allergen-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, Version 1
allergen-free.
Makes about 50-60 cookies using approximately 1 Tablespoon of dough for each cookie.
2 Tablespoons of ground chia seed meal
6 Tablespoons of water
315 grams of the Glutenfreegirl’s All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Mix for Cookies (see recipe here, I made a half batch and it was enough for this with 185 grams left over – I don’t know if this would work with other commercial gluten free mixes but if you want to try it, I’m using 140 grams to the cup so if you’re using cups because your mix is a 1:1 ratio, it’s 2 1/4 cups)
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of Soy-free Earth Balance (if you can have soy, 2 sticks Earth Balance buttery spread)
3/4 cup of brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract
2 cups of allergen-free chocolate chips (Enjoy Life chocolate chips recommended)
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
In a small container mix ground chia seed meal and water thoroughly. Set aside until needed to let it gel.
Then measure out the Gluten Free Flour Mix for Cookies, salt, and baking soda and place in a bowl. Whisk ingredients together until they are well incorporated into each other, and set aside until its needed.
Using your mixer (preferably a stand mixer) beat the Earth Balance, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until it’s creamy, scraping down the sides as needed to make sure that all the ingredients are completely mixed together. The reason that you are using cold Earth Balance right out of the fridge is that (a) if you have a KitchenAid or other stand mixer it’ll take the punishment and beat the Earth Balance when it’s cold anyway, and I am way too impatient to wait to soften anything and doing it in the microwave is always a disaster, (b) Earth Balance seems to have a much lower melting point that regular margarine or butter, so you’re giving yourself a fighting chance to have your dough stay doughy when you’re waiting to bake cookies in multiple batches in the oven, and (c) I think it makes the cookies crispier, but I have no empirical evidence for that really.
Add one half of the chia mixture and beat it well to mix it in completely, again scraping down the sides as needed. Add the second half of the chia mixture and do the same.
Gradually add the Gluten Free Flour Mix for Cookies while beating well, again scraping down the sides as needed, until all of it is incorporated into the dough. Using a spoon, mix in the chocolate chips. (You don’t want to use the mixer because it’ll mash the chocolate chips into little bits.)
Drop dough (I used a scoop that holds one tablespoon) onto ungreased baking sheets. I used Pampered Chef stoneware so if you’re using a metal pan you may need to adjust the baking time. Gluten free baking takes longer than regular baking so even though these cookies are 1/3 the size of the other recipe I did with regular flour, they take just as long or longer to cook. Bake for 15-17 minutes (using the stoneware, I baked them for 17 minutes for the best results, with metal sheet pans, try the lower end of the range, but watch your cookies).
Once you have taken them out of the oven, let them cool on the baking sheet for 2-4 minutes or so to let them set up a bit, and then using a spatula, remove the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Chocolate Chip Cookies – Vegan (not GF)
Classic Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, Version 2
contains gluten.
Makes about 20 three inch cookies using approximately 3 Tablespoons of dough for each cookie. (I like big cookies. If you like smaller cookies, use 1 Tablespoon of dough and adjust the cooking time to about 10 minutes, and you’ll get 5 dozen cookies).
2 Tablespoons of ground chia seed meal
6 Tablespoons of water
2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread Soy Free or 2 sticks of Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, COLD
3/4 cup of brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract
2 cups of vegan or allergy free for you chocolate chips (Enjoy Life chocolate chips recommended)
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
In a small container mix ground chia seed meal and water thoroughly. Set aside until needed to let it gel.
Then measure out flour, salt, and baking soda and place in a bowl. Whisk ingredients together until they are well incorporated into each other, and set aside until its needed.
Using your mixer (preferably a stand mixer) beat the Earth Balance, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until it’s creamy, scraping down the sides as needed to make sure that all the ingredients are completely mixed together. The reason that you are using cold Earth Balance right out of the fridge is that (a) if you have a KitchenAid or other stand mixer it’ll take the punishment and beat the Earth Balance when it’s cold anyway, and I am way too impatient to wait to soften anything and doing it in the microwave is always a disaster, (b) Earth Balance seems to have a much lower melting point that regular margarine or butter, so you’re giving yourself a fighting chance to have your dough stay doughy when you’re waiting to bake cookies in multiple batches in the oven, and (c) I think it makes the cookies crispier, but I have no empirical evidence for that really.
Add one half of the chia mixture and beat it well to mix it in completely, again scraping down the sides as needed. Add the second half of the chia mixture and do the same.
Gradually add the flour mixture while beating well, again scraping down the sides as needed, until all the flour is incorporated into the dough. Using a spoon, mix in the chocolate chips. (You don’t want to use the mixer because it’ll mash the chocolate chips into little bits.)
Drop dough (I used a scoop that holds three tablespoons) onto ungreased baking sheets. I used Pampered Chef stoneware so if you’re using a metal pan you may need to adjust the baking time. Bake for 15-17 minutes (using the stoneware, I baked them for 17 minutes for the best results, with metal sheet pans, try the lower end of the range, but watch your cookies).
Once you have taken them out of the oven, let them cool on the baking sheet for 2-4 minutes or so to let them set up a bit, and then using a spatula, remove the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Almond-based Chocolate Chipper
Almond-based Chocolate Chip Cookies, Version 3
contains nuts. Makes about 16 cookies.
Preheat oven to 350F
1 1/4 cup almond meal/ground almonds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup allergen-free chocolate chips (Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips recommended — mini chips are best in this)
2 Tablespoons oil (I used canola — use what you like for baking, but if using coconut, melt it first)
1/4 cup agave syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Whisk almond meal, salt, cinnamon, chips, and coconut, if using, together in a medium bowl.
Whisk oil, agave, and vanilla together in a small bowl. It will be tempting to skip this step and just add the wet ingredients into the dry, but don’t. The oil mixed into the syrup will make it mix smoother in the end.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry with a rubber spatula. You will have a pretty thick dough, but mix until there are no dry spots.
Drop by the tablespoon onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. You don’t really need to space these, as they do not spread out. Bake for 12 minutes, until slightly browned on the bottom (baking time on a metal cookie sheet). Rest them on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes or so before CAREFULLY cooling completely on a wire rack. Be careful — these cookies are a little… loose. These cookies are MUCH better completely cooled — the flavors are muddled when warm. Enjoy!
Walnut-based Chocolate Chippers
Walnut-based Chocolate Chip Cookies, Version 4
contains nuts. Makes about 12-16 cookies.
Preheat oven to 350F.
1 1/4 cups ground walnuts (I have not seen walnut meal for sale. Pulse them in a food processor.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (Enjoy Life recommended)
Whisk together the walnuts, salt, and chocolate chips.
Whisk together the oil, syrup, and vanilla. This will take a minute, as the brown rice syrup is thick, but it will come together. (A measuring tip — measure out the oil into the 1/3 cup measuring cup. Swirl it around before dumping it in the bowl, and then use that cup to measure the syrup, and it will come right out.)
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a rubber spatula.
Drop 1 Tablespoon scoops onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart. Bake 12-17 minutes or until cookies have spread and edges begin to brown (baking time on a metal sheet). Let rest only a few minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool. Unlike the almond-based cookies, these are even better warm. Enjoy!
Cookies from King Arthur GF box mix
If you are newly gluten-free, don’t want to buy 100 spendy new flours and want to make cookies, try the King Arthur box mix. It is a box mix, so it’s not as great as making them from scratch, but it is good. And early successes in gluten-free baking are worth it.
We hope that our happy 100th post has inspired you to venture up the cookie tree. You know, the tree that the elves live in? If you have no elves, you’ll have to bake your own cookies, but we promise, if we can do it, you can do it. Your friends will love you for it.
Got a favorite recipe? Tried one of ours and liked it? We’d love to hear from you.
Disclaimer: This is not an original recipe. But it’s the best curry I’ve ever made at home, and as such, I want to share it with all of you today. With full credit to the author and cookbook, of course.
The Chickpea and Spinach Curry comes from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan with a Vengeance. This is the first cookbook I purchased after my first intolerance-related diagnosis — lactose intolerance. While I ate a strictly vegan diet for a while, and don’t at the moment, I still love vegan cookbooks. They correlate with my preferred way of eating — heavy on the vegetables — and a good vegan cookbook relies mostly on whole foods, not processed foods. In a completely non-compensated way, I can highly and heartily endorse this whole cookbook (though, honestly, if you’re brand new to vegan cooking, consider starting with Veganomicon, as it’s got more basic information in it and a broader range of recipes). Most vegan cookbook authors are very aware of ingredients and a great place to learn to cook without — no matter what you’re cooking without.
And it’s a big hit at potlucks — with vegans and omnivores alike. The recipe below is kind of huge. If it’s just for me, I made a half-recipe.
So, without further ado:
Mise en place
Chickpea and Spinach Curry, from Vegan with Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Preheat a pot over medium heat. A good Dutch oven would work, if you have one, or a large sauce pan, but to minimize the mess I generally make with cooking (and because I don’t have a Dutch oven), I use my stock pot. When the pot is hot, add
3 Tablespoons oil (not olive, vegetable, as this is kind of hot for olive oil)
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
Cover the pot and let the seeds pop for about a minute. They do pop, like popcorn. It’s cool.
Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the following:
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
Sautee until it starts to brown — 5-10 minutes, depending on your heat level.
1/4 cup of juice drained from can of diced tomatoes
14 oz can of diced tomatoes, with juice drained and reserved*
Rinse and drain, then chop
10 cups of spinach, chopped. Yes this seems like a TON, but it really will all incorporate perfectly. Add this in handsful, stirring each addition until wilted.
When all the spinach is wilted, add:
2 cans of chickpeas (15 oz. each), rinsed and drained (4 cups if you cook your own)
Stir, cover and turn heat to low. If you’re planning to make rice, start it now. Let the stew simmer for 10 minutes.
Uncover, stir, taste. Adjust the seasonings if necessary (I’ve only ever needed a tiny pinch of salt), and let simmer for another 10 minutes, until its all thickened and wonderous. Enjoy it over rice.
*The single asterisk represents minor alterations I’ve made to the original recipe.
**Curry powder is amazing, but it’s a blend of ground spice, so quality can vary widely. To get a good curry, the spices must be fresh when they’re combined and reasonably fresh when you use it. And your curry dish will only be as good as your curry spice is. As you might already know, both of us believe the post-apocalypse relies heavily on Penzey’s Spices, based in Wisconsin. They have a variety of curries; if you’re new to curry, try the sweet curry. Curry is NOT inherently spicy hot, so don’t be scared if you don’t like spicy. If you do like spicy, try the hot curry.
So that’s the best curry I know how to make. Let us know what you think.
