Purple Sweet Potato Pie for Thanksgiving: Pumpkin Pie Alternative

Purple Sweet Potato Pie

An Alternative to the Traditional Pumpkin Pie

Slice of my Purple Sweet Potato Pie

This year, I wasn't able to quickly procure any pumpkin puree for my traditional gluten-free Thanksgiving dessert of choice, so I decided to get a bit creative and work with what I had at hand: purple sweet potatoes!  I really like these potatoes roasted, by themselves, as they are smooth textured and quite sweet and flavorful. So, I figured, why not?  I can make a gluten-free pie from these things just as easily as pumpkin!

Ingredients

I didn't take time to really measure any of the ingredients, as I just took a best-guess at what would be ideal.  But, this is approximately the quantities that I used:

• Purple Sweet Potatoes — not quite a Kilogram (perhaps 1.5 - 2 pounds). I had some thinner potatoes that were relatively long but only an inch or so in diameter. This allowed them to bake quickly, and the bake time would have to be increased if they were thicker.
• 5 Eggs
• 1 Kilo of plain yogurt or Fromage Blanc
• A few tablespoons of molasses
• A tablespoon of Date syrup that I have been wanting to try in a recipe
• A tablespoon of cane sugar
• A tablespoon of ground cinnamon — I would have also added some other pumpkin-pie spices (clove, nutmeg, etc), but for some reason I couldn't find any in the house (now on shopping list!)
• A teaspoon of vanilla
• A teaspoon of cocoa — just on a whim; surely not needed.
• A tablespoon of cornstarch

Directions

I started by roasting a batch of purple sweet potatoes in a cast-iron pan in the oven, for about an hour or so, which cooked them through nicely and caramelized the outer skins fairly well too.

Next, after they cooled down a bit, I added ½ of the yogurt/fromage-blanc into the pan I roasted them in, along with the now just warm potatoes, and used a mixing wand (aka: an immersion blender, stick blender, wand blender, hand blender, etc) to really mash and blend the potatoes until all the skins were well pulverized and incorporated into a smooth purple mixture.

I then moved this mixture over into my stand-mixer's bowl. Next I added the remainder of the yogurt, the eggs, and the rest of the ingredients and just allowed the mixer to beat it until it was all smooth and consistent. 

After cleaning out my cast-iron pan (in which I originally roasted the potatoes) and spraying it with a bit of oil, I just poured my pinkish-purple mixture into the pan (no crust used today — I was feeling lazy).  Then, I baked it for about 2 hours at a relatively low temperature of between 300 and 325 degrees F.

Results

When the pie came out of the oven, I would have thought it was a pumpkin pie from the color of the surface!  It looked so similar to a pumpkin pie!  I could hardly wait to see if the inside retained its purple hue.

And, well, it kept some of its color on the inside.  I could clearly see a few bits of the brighter reddish / purple bits of potato skin throughout the pie, but it now had a more subdued pinkish hue; a shade that was sorta pink but slightly tan also.  I cannot claim it is the most desirable color (I so wish it would have stayed purple), but I am not eating it for color, but rather the taste.

As for taste: I rather like it!  Yes, it is different from pumpkin, but, it retains much of the same texture and sweetness, and with the cinnamon and vanilla, it more directly makes me compare it to a pumpkin pie (I really wish I had the clove and other pumpkin-pie spices that I am used to using).  Either way, I consider it a relative success and I would make it again. 

Thanksgiving will at least feature a gluten-free pie this year, one way or the other.

Gluten-Free Purple Sweet Potato Pie : Pumpkin-Pie Alternative

Continue to read this Gluten-Free Blog for all sorts of gluten-free recipes, product-reviews, and related information.

Gluten-Free Halloween Items and Party Recipe Ideas

Some Festive Gluten-Free Halloween Party Ideas

Dressing up some favorite GF party items for Halloween

Have you been contemplating what foods to make for a Halloween holiday party — whether appetizers, desserts, or other snack items? Kate, one of our gluten-free blog contributors, put together a sampling of her own ideas for some simple to make, and simple to convert from everyday fair into Halloween themed variations, gluten-free recipes that fit the occasion nicely.  She served these up this weekend to a group of people that found the items rather delightful.

I think you will all agree, these playful holiday treats should be quite easy to replicate using your favorite recipes.  She created things ranging from a pumpkin that is performing some Exorcist-type expulsion of green goo (in this case a tasty guacamole!), to some lovely one-eyed (cyclops) chocolate-dipped strawberries, to some gluten-free cupcakes covered with spiders!

Other items at her party included "bloodshot-eye" deviled eggs and other adventuresome and creative treats.  Here's hoping these all provide inspiration for a great GF holiday spread.  In addition to being gluten-free and wheat-free, she was able to accommodate the dairy-free / vegan / vegetarian crowd very nicely too.

(pictures all credit: Kate)

"Guacamole-Barfing-Jack-o-Lantern"

Cyclops-eyed Chocolate-covered Strawberries 

Oh my... Gluten-Free Cupcakes crawling with spiders!

Gluten-Free Halloween Party Treats Ideas

Continue to read this Gluten-Free Blog for all sorts of gluten-free recipes, product-reviews, and related information. In addition, visit my Gluten-Free Recipes Site where many of the recipes I have featured on this blog are available.

Gluten-Free Cinco de Mayo : Simple Mexican Lunch

I was in the mood for some Mexican-inspired cooking today — to coincide with Cinco de Mayo — and I decided to just throw together this very simple-to-make Gluten-Free "dish" for lunch.  It took more time to photograph and post this tasty corn-tortilla and its toppings than it did to create the "recipe" for it :)

The "Recipe"

I simply started out with a favorite gluten-free bargain from Costco: Mission (brand) White Corn gluten-free Tortillas.  And, when I say bargain, I mean BARGAIN!  This is a 100-count package of GF tortillas (that is 5#12oz of tortillas), and for only $2.99! Wow, only 3-cents per tortilla!  They are clearly labeled gluten-free too.

Side note: These gluten-free tortillas are wonderful for making all sorts of Spanish/Mexican-inspired dishes as well as other "wraps" and things — whether you prefer stuffing them or topping them with fresh or grilled vegetables, salad items, your favorite meats, refried beans, etc., is up to you, and the simple variations abound.

This Cinco de Mayo gluten-free "recipe" starts with quickly searing / frying a couple of those tortillas in a cast-iron pan to firm them up a bit and impart some added grilled-flavor to the corn.

I was lucky enough to have some leftover chicken-breast that was quickly sliced and added on top of the tortilla.  Another few layers of avocado, some gluten-free avocado-salsa (also acquired at CostCo) and some Pita-Pal (brand) gluten-free "Texas Caviar" (a mix of corn, beans, other veggies, with a citrus / orange base; also from CostCo), all topped with my favorite habanero chili salsa  —  the result is a flavor packed and diet-conscious gluten-free Cinco de Mayo inspired lunch that I enjoyed and had completed in a hurry.

One notable exclusion this time is cheese.  I definitely like melting some cheese over top of my tortilla creations, but for whatever reason it just slipped my mind today.  I guess I was subconsciously keeping it healthier or lower-fat as an unintentional dairy-free recipe today.  And, had I just left off the chicken, I could have easily had a vegan recipe that would have been equally enjoyable.  Regardless, enjoy your Cinco de Mayo.

Gluten-Free Recipe: Quinoa and Smoked Gouda stuffed Poblano Peppers

Here is another recipe for our free Gluten-Free Recipes collection — this time it is a vegetarian adaptation of a recent recipe that was inspired by a very tasty dish I first discovered at a local Mexican restaurant here in Texas. I first posted the non-vegetarian gluten-free original Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Chicken and Smoked Gouda recipe (link) a couple weeks ago, and now I have added this vegetarian and gluten-free version: GF and vegetarian Recipe: Quinoa and Smoked-Gouda stuffed Poblano Peppers (link)

This vegetarian version retains its healthier (than the restaurant version) approach to the recipe with much less sodium and considerably less fat, while retaining a delicious combination of flavors and textures.  The quinoa grain is not only a great gluten-free diet addition, but also a much tastier and fulfilling "stuffing" than plain rice would be.  Combine this seasoned quinoa with the large mild green chiles (Poblanos) used for this recipe — which are most excellent for stuffing thanks to their relatively thick walls  — and you have a feast for the senses.

These poblanos are not particularly "hot" peppers (when green like this), though you may find they have a subtle slightly-detectable warmth that can vary with each individual pepper. The flavor is a bit different than a sweet green pepper, though the poblano will not be too much of a taste surprise if you enjoy peppers in general. To infuse a bit of extra Mexican inspired flavor into our dish, we have used some ground chipotle powder (chipotle peppers are simply a smoke-dried jalapeño); the subtle smokiness from the smoked Gouda furthers that theme a bit.

As with the chicken-containing version from before, I have not added ANY salt to this dish aside from what is in the cheese, all in an effort to keep this dish low-sodium and generally "healthy" and safe not just for wheat-free and gluten-free diets but also for low-sodium and lower-calorie diet considerations also.  Vegetarians and meat-eaters alike can enjoy this dish, as it is delivers a great and satisfying combination of taste and texture.  Add a bit of diced avocado (as shown) for a nice complementary flavor too. And, if you do like a bit more heat, you may enjoy adding some minced jalepenos or habaneros to the mix.

Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Recipes

Thick Crust, Thin Crust, Batter Crust... you choose

This blog posting was inspired by a friend contacting me the other day looking for a gluten-free pizza-crust recipe he could bake that would satisfy his craving for a good pizza (he has just recently joined the ranks of the Celiac / GF population).  He had just tried some store-bought pre-made GF pizza crust and was quite disappointed with it, so I pointed him in the direction of our gluten-free recipes library after quickly mentioning what types of crust recipes we had made available online.  And, I figured I might as well recap the discussion here too for anyone else wanting a better gluten-free pizza crust than they can find at the store.

There are a few gluten-free pizza-crust recipes and approaches that we use regularly.  Each is quite different from the other, and offers substantial variation in taste, texture, and complexity (for creation).  Depending on how much time you have to prepare your pizza and/or what ingredients you have available and what type of crust style you prefer, one of these recipes should do the trick or serve as a great starting point for your own GF pizza creation.

Note: the section-headings below link to the recipes when clicked.

Gluten-Free Thick-Crust Pizza Dough Recipe

Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Recipe : Thick Crust

This is my own personal favorite — a lovely Thick-Crust Pizza that is very much like the "real thing"; and, though it takes a bit of investment with regards to preparation time, the satisfaction of eating a near-real pizza makes up for that.   This is a wonderful traditional raised pizza crust with thick bread-like outer crust edges that is both dairy-free and gluten-free, with great taste and texture.

We make use of Millet and Teff flours as well as yeast (combined, these all help result in a very convincingly "real pizza crust" flavor).  This is a yeast-raised dough, and as such it takes a bit of time to make (crust needs time to raise... about 40minutes just for that), but it is worth it if you really miss "real" pizza.  And, though I typically avoid Xanthan Gum and all gums in my foods, I make a rare exception when it comes to this Pizza crust my wife developed.

Load the crust down with your favorite pizza sauce and toppings and enjoy!  I know I do.

Gluten-Free Thin-Crust Pizza Dough Recipe

Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Recipe : Thin-Crust Variety

This Gluten-Free Thin-Crust Pizza Dough recipe produces a very convincing pizza crust that will have a crispier, crunchier outer crust edge once baked, and an overall texture and taste quite similar to the real thing. This is more of a thin-crust type pizza, and we have found this recipe to be great for sheet-type pizzas.

Though this recipe contains yeast, it is really a baking-powder leavened recipe (the yeast is for flavor) so there is no waiting for the dough to rise prior to baking. The crust is pre-baked (before placing sauce/toppings on it), and then baked a bit more to melt the cheese(s) and cook any toppings.

And, though I posted this picture of the thin-crust pizza on my blog in the past, I just noticed that I have yet to post the picture(s) onto our recipe library. oops!  I will update that soon, but at least the recipe is there for all to see. :)

Batter-type Thin/Medium Gluten-Free Pizza Crust (simple/quick Recipe)

The batter-type approach to a pizza-crust makes for a decent pizza in a bit less time than some other alternatives, as it is made quite similarly to a pancake.  It is also baking-powder leavened so there is no wait for dough to rise.  The batter is poured into pan(s) on the stovetop where it is fried before applying toppings.  Once toppings are added, the pizza(s) are finished by baking in the oven.

PIZZA SAUCE NOTE:

Sauce:  there is a  homemade gluten-free pizza sauce recipe on our website in case you need or want one. It's really simple to make, and has a good flavor on pizzas.  

ENJOY!

The techniques used in these various crust approaches should give you a nice foundation for creating your own variations too.  I have made all sorts of related recipes and have even created adaptations using things like Whey Protein and pre-hydrated Chia Seed slurries and more (in lieu of Xanthan Gum).  Experiment with various flours and create your perfect taste and texture; perhaps you like Buckwheat or flax seed more than other flavors... the sky is the limit.

All this talk of pizza has me craving one now! mmmmmm... pizza!

Continue to read this Gluten-Free Blog for all sorts of gluten-free recipes, product-reviews, and related information. In addition, visit my Gluten-Free Recipes Site where many of the recipes I have featured on this blog are available.

Gluten-Free Recipes for Thanksgiving

Gluten-Free Recipes for Thanksgiving are definitely popular right now, whether it is gluten-free stuffing, gluten-free pumpkin roll, gluten-free breads, or a variety of other gluten-free diet foods. I have noticed a surge in web-traffic on my Gluten-Free Recipes Library website the past few days, and I can see what keywords people have used to find the site... nearly all are phrases related to Thanksgiving recipe favorites.

So, I have also been busy getting some new recipes online for people to enjoy. I added this new Gluten-Free & Wheat-Free Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms with Prosciutto Recipe today, and for our dessert cookbook owners out there, I added a wonderful variation to the Gluten-Free Banana Bread - using Chia Seed Slurry and Isolated Whey Protein. My wife also created a fabulous dairy-free variation of the chocolate ganache-cake in our book, which I hope to add the recipe variation instructions for soon too.

The new Stuffed Mushrooms

Gluten-Free Stuffed Mushrooms

This recipe is a flavorful and easy to prepare appetizer featuring Baby Portabella mushrooms and Prosciutto, and has a combination of flavors and textures that is bound to satisfy. Slightly sweet, a bit spicy and tangy, and even a slight bit salty from the Prosciutto, these stuffed baby portabella mushroom caps feature a variety of textures to match the complex flavor -- crunchiness of water chestnuts to the meatiness of the mushroom cap.


The Banana Bread Variation

Gluten-Free Banana Bread (chia / whey-protein)

Perhaps this is a bold statement, but I think you would be hard pressed to find ANY banana bread that is better, whether with or without wheat or gluten. The amazing qualities that Chia Seed and Whey Protein bring to this recipe leads to a bread that is nothing short of incredible, and even somewhat "healthy" thanks to the added fiber, Omega 3's, and protein.

I will not go so far as to call it a "diet bread", but it is certainly more nutritious than the original recipe now that I focused on bumping up the fiber, lowering the glycemic index (trying to make it more diabetes / diabetic friendly for those watching their sugar), and increasing vitamins and minerals too. And, with all that healthful-change work, I find it preferable to the original gluten-free banana bread recipe, though it does take a bit more work (and a few more ingredients) to produce this variation.


Some Popular Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Recipes
The top two searches this week on my gluten-free recipes site have been for the following items:

Gluten-Free & Wheat-Free Dairy-Free
Cornbread Stuffing / Dressing Recipe

Gluten-Free Cornbread Stuffing / Dressing Recipe

and,...

Gluten-Free & Wheat-Free
Pumpkin Roll Recipe

Gluten-Free Pumpkin-Roll Recipe : Amazing!

But, there are plenty of other recipes people are searching for and viewing lately, like:

• Gluten-Free Fried Chicken
• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake
• Gluten-Free Dill and Spinach Dip

I guess quite a few people consider Fried Chicken a nice alternative to turkey? Works for me! The other two make immediate sense to me, for dessert and appetizer items.

And then there are the breads. Most of the gluten-free bread recipes have been seeing a lot of activity lately, and I guess that means that quite a few gluten-free and Celiac diet persons will be enjoying fresh-baked bread for the holidays:

• Gluten-Free Wheat Bread
• Gluten-Free Holiday Panettone Bread - Citrus Accents
• Gluten-Free Focaccia Bread & Croutons
• Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Pumpernickel Bread
• Gluten-Free Artisan-Style Multi-Grain Bread
• Gluten-Free Dairy Free Buckwheat Bread
• Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Brown Honey Bread
• Gluten-Free Herb French Bread / Baguettes / Bread sticks
• Gluten-Free Egg Bread
• Gluten-Free High-Fiber Multi-Grain Bread
• Gluten-Free Orange-Nut White-Chocolate Chip Bread

I hope everyone enjoys all those recipes! I know people are viewing them, and I can even tell when certain ones are downloaded, so the recipes are going to be tested out on a large scale it seems.

Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and I hope you enjoy the holiday.

Continue to read this Gluten-Free Blog for all sorts of gluten-free recipes, product-reviews, and related information.

Gluten-Free Recipes using Chia Seed Slurry

Gluten-Free Chia Seed : Recipe Techniques

Using using Chia Seed "gel" and "slurry" and ice-cubes in GF Creations

Finally, I have gotten back to my blog and writing more about Chia Seed in Gluten-Free / Wheat-Free recipes! I love the Fall season, though I have been distracted lately by things that come with it: like raking.  This is a long-planned followup discussion on Chia Recipes...

In June, I wrote a Gluten-Free Blog entry entitled Gluten-Free Chia Seeds : SuperFood Status (follow that link for prior discussion and where to acquire the product). Last time I introduced Chia Seed basics - like nutritional / diet information, and the texture and look and feel that should be expected. I also mentioned in my previous blog that Chia Seed is an amazing gluten-free recipe addition / ingredient, and I have used the Chia Seed to create some wheat-free / gluten-free baked goods and other food products that are convincingly like the "real" thing, if not better. Pancakes with such alterations are one of my regular favorites, but I have also gone much further with Chia in gluten-free recipes through a new approach I developed for incorporating the Chia with great success.

I have found that the results I can achieve through a particular use of Chia Seed in gluten-free recipes is nothing short of spectacular, and I want to share the approach with others here, hoping that perhaps it can make your gluten-free baking even better. I am not guaranteeing it will make *everything* better, but it has really helped quite a few of my recipes - even recipes that were already quite good - rise to an extraordinary level on the texture / mouth-feel scale, and on the health-scale too. It has worked wonders in gluten-free breads, gluten-free desserts, and all sorts of things.

Get ready to use a "chia slurry" in recipes...

Chia Slurry Formulation

Creating a "chia slurry" is the key to using chia as an easy addition / substitution / alteration / modification ingredient in many recipes. This slurry will end up providing a gluten-like (i.e., "glue like") binding power to recipes while introducing additional moisture and "bounce", elasticity, sponginess, and the like, that you would otherwise associate with Gluten-containing products.

A slurry is quite simply a highly fluid mixture of water and finely divided material - in this case, that material is chia.

Pre-Hydrate the Chia Seed
We start by pre-hydrating our Chia Seed. I simply use between 1.5 and 2 TBSP (Tablespoons) Chia Seed per cup of water. The concentration can be varied, and will alter the recipe outcomes accordingly. Sometimes I want a thicker mixture, other times thinner. The amount of slurry I prepare depends on what I am baking, but for now, let's just say I have a few cups of water, and the corresponding proportion of Chia I mentioned...

Place the chia seed in a bowl, add water, and stir constantly for a while to make sure all seeds submerge in the water. Then, stir every few minutes for a while to make sure the seeds are evenly absorbing water as they expand like little pearl tapioca balls. Within 15-30 minutes, this hydration process is complete, resulting in the following:



Or, a bit closer look at the resulting hydrated Chia Seed mixture:


Now, place this hydrated Chia in a blender. I have my trusty VitaMixer for this task, which does a fine job of creating a slurry from the seeds. Here is the before and after look:



...yielding...

That is pretty much it! You have just created the Chia Slurry to be used in gluten-free recipes where you would otherwise use water, milk, or other liquids (note: some dry-ingredient amount-adjustments may be necessary to achieve optimal substitution and outcome results).

I process (i.e., grind / chop / pulverize) the hydrated Chia into a slurry immediately before I am going to use it in a recipe. I have found this keeps the suspension of particles most consistent, and also it tends to add another important baking element: a bit of air volume (quite useful in breads for example).

You can allow the pre-hydrated Chia Seed to sit around for hours, or days, if you desire, but wait until you are ready to use it in a recipe before mixing it into a slurry. In fact, if you use a lot of Chia in baking your gluten-free recipes, it is a good idea to keep a container of pre-hydrated chia seed in the fridge all ready to go (saves on hydration time later).

My next Gluten-Free Blog postings will discuss some particular recipe alterations using this Chia Slurry. If you can't wait, feel free to go for it and experiment with some recipe alterations yourself.

In the mean time, here's another use for the Chia Slurry that may inspire some inventive recipe creations too...

Frozen Chia Seed / Slurry Ice Cubes!

Another use I have for my slurry concoction that I created on a whim is chia-seed-ice-cubes. Just take that freshly-blended Chia-Seed Slurry and pour it into ice cube trays and immediately freeze.

These frozen chia-mix cubes have proven incredible in making smoother, creamier, dairy-free "shakes" or "smoothies" or slushies, or whatever. They add an amazing texture-smoothing / gelling quality that thickens up a drink without adding anything unhealthy to the recipe; giving frozen drinks some "creaminess" without any cream.

The reason I make the chia ice cubes (instead of just adding regular water-only ice cubes to a blender with pre-hydrated chia seed) is a simple one: achieving optimal coldness and lowest temperature for best shakes, smoothies, and frozen drinks. If you don't freeze the chia like this first, do not expect the same results :)

Have you ever heard of a "diet milkshake"?


Well, get ready for one..., and here is a preview picture of it, my Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Dairy-Free "Diet Milkshake", that I will also post the very simple recipe for quite soon. The funny thing was that, although this recipe seemed timely just a few days ago (when it was 70-degrees out!), it is now near freezing outdoors. Well, either way, I still enjoy my frozen drinks year round :)

I do not mean to tease people by not posting additional recipes this time with the above slurry-making-recipe and discussion, but rather I wanted to keep the baked-goods and frozen-products recipes cleanly apart from the slurry-recipe for organization purposes here on my Gluten-Free Blog (as I will be referencing this blog again for sure).

GLUTEN-FREE RECIPES USING CHIA SEED

Here are links to a couple recipes using this chia gel / slurry and ice-cubes to get you started:

• Dairy-Free Diet-Milkshake Recipe : Chocolate Pumpkin Spice and Gluten-Free
• Gluten-Free Banana Bread - using Chia Seed Slurry and Isolated Whey Protein - variation to the recipe in our cookbook.

Also, check out my prior blog about Gluten-Free Chia Seed for some background information on this ingredient and where to acquire it if you do not already have a supplier.

Continue to read this Gluten-Free Blog for all sorts of gluten-free recipes, product-reviews, and related information. In addition, visit my Gluten-Free Recipes Site where many of the recipes I have featured on this blog are available.

Fresh Peppermint and Recipe Ideas

Fresh Peppermint, flowering

I love the flavor of mint: peppermint, spearmint, tea mint... it's all good. In addition to tasting great, it sure does look spectacular this time of year when it is in full bloom! And, the bees absolutely love the stuff too, which is great for attracting those ever-necessary pollinators to our garden area, and it also makes a great addition to simply enhance the biodiversity of our yard in general.

In addition to using peppermint in very simple gluten-free recipes, like peppermint tea from scratch, I like to incorporate mint, as an accent flavor, into a variety of recipes - particularly dessert recipes.

There are a few easy ways to go about incorporating fresh mint into recipes. First, you can brew unsweetened mint tea using the mint, and then use that resulting tea as a 1:1 substitution for water in some recipes (if you have a recipe that already uses water, this is a very simple substitution) - or, use it in perhaps a more diluted ratio depending on your personal preference. Next, you can always just mince, chop, or finely shred the fresh mint and measure it into a recipe; or perhaps you will prefer completely drying the mint and then grinding or powdering it for a very fine texture that is less detectable in recipes. And, sure, you could use the purified mint-oils, but extracting the oil is a bit too much trouble for me personally, as I would just purchase it that way if I needed it.

Now, if you too like the flavor of mint coupled with chocolate (as I do!), one of my favorite things to do is mix mint into things like decadent chocolate tortes and create a "French Mint" type torte. I have a chocolate (well, mocha to be exact) torte recipe in my book that lends itself to such modification, by simply substituting the brewed mint-tea for brewed coffee. The result of a mint-substitution here is quite nice, as it makes for a simple variation for anyone that may not enjoy mocha / coffee (I also perform substitutions using orange peel and berry-flavors in that recipe too, with or without coffee.)

Note: The chocolate / mocha torte recipe I am referring to is on page 100 of our cookbook and uses a sponge-cake base.

Some of the gluten-free chocolate cake recipes or brownie recipes allow for nice chocolate-mint variations too. Depending on the recipe, I may simply add finely minced fresh mint with no other alterations required; others take a bit more work, but usually it is rather easy coming up with a winning flavor combo. I'm sure you can experiment and discover some favorite gluten-free recipes of your own that feature fresh mint.

You are certainly not limited to combining mint with chocolate, as there are quite a few other combinations that work well and produce a nice refreshing flavor. I have enjoyed mint with berry flavors quite a bit if kept subtle, and mint with other fruits too. And, though my focus has been desserts here, mint also comes into play nicely in some tasty Asian dishes. All I know is that the fresh-mint season is coming to a close soon, and it is time to use some of this season's crop while it is here and I can enjoy it.

Continue to read this Gluten-Free Blog for all sorts of gluten-free recipes, product-reviews, and related information. In addition, visit my Gluten-Free Recipes Site where many of the recipes I have featured on this blog are available.

Gluten-Free Recipes : Pumpkin / Tomato Soup

This is a continuation on the recent series of Gluten-Free Blog postings I have featured here using recipes that put our annual garden harvest to use in delicious and healthy gluten-free diet delights.

Today's post is combines our recent very versatile tomato, onion, peppers, basil, and garlic "base" recipe with another long-time gluten-free favorite (and highly versatile) vegetable: pumpkin! Our garden produced everything but the pumpkin for the recipe... our zuchini and white-squash and other squashes could be used instead perhaps, but pumpkin was my choice of the moment, and I had some left in the freezer from last year still that I wanted to use up. So, here is the result.

This "gluten-free recipe" is about as easy as it gets, presuming you have had created the constituent recipes - baked pumpkin and the fresh tomato and vegetable base recipe - from earlier :)

If not, don't worry, you can achieve a similar outcome (well, sorta), using a jar of your favorite gluten-free pasta sauce (and perhaps some added vegetables and herbs) along with pumpkin puree. The only problem with using canned pumpkin instead of preparing your own baked fresh pumpkin puree, is the texture will not quite be the same. Perhaps the close-up picture from my prior posting on gluten-free pumpkin "pasta" will make that evident, as you can see the fibrous nature of the cooked pumpkin that I'm using for this latest pumpkin/tomato/vegetable and herb soup/stew (pictured here).


Aside from just combining the pumpkin with the tomato "base" recpe, I add some hot red-pepper flakes to my version of the recipe, to give it a bit of extra zing. But, you can certainly season as you like. It is a super-healthy low glycemic-index soup that is quite flavorful! You don't taste pumpkin much per se, as the tomato and peppers, onions, basil and garlic tend to provide the bulk of the flavor in this recipe. But, the pumpkin adds some heartiness and makes for a recipe that is just a bit different.

This is a great way to use all that cooked pumpkin up that we freeze every Fall. After a year, I am *just* finishing up eating the 60 pumpkins we cooked and froze the flesh/pulp from last year. And, I just purchased the first of this year's harvest that I now need to bake and start freezing again: 15 pumpkin-pie pumpkins for $7.50 direct from a nearby farm. Wonderful!

Again, these very affordable (50cents each!) pumpkins have made for wonderful recipes all year round, whether for gluten-free pumpkin-roll cake, pumpkin risotto, pumpkin "pasta", gluten-free dairy-free pumpkin cake or this current recipe for pumpkin soup/stew. I hope you are able to enjoy these recipes as much as we do!

Gluten-Free Cake Recipe Variation - Dairy-Free Black Forest Bundt

We are getting around to adapting even more of our Gluten-Free Desserts to be dairy-free (in addition to wheat-free / gluten-free) in hopes that we help as many Celiac sufferers as possible find great dessert recipes they can enjoy. Pictured above is one of the latest variations that my wife has created - a variation on our Gluten-Free Black-Forest Bundt Cake (from pages 36-37 in our book), which has now been modified to no longer contain any dairy products in this latest variation.

You will also notice that we were out of cherries when we baked this particular cake, so we cheated a bit and used Strawberries instead (which you can see inside the cake and one on the surface). The results were still quite delicious!

Hopefully, if you are dairy-free, you can still enjoy soy in your diet. I realize there are a few people that also have gone soy-free out there, and none of our original recipes in our cookbook use any soy. We made a conscious decision to avoid soy in the book since it seemed that a fair number of people considered it an allergen or dietary ingredient to avoid. But, we also realize the benefits that soy protein can offer to the majority of people that still consume soy as a part of their gluten-free diet. So, with this cake recipe variation, we tried for a happy medium: dairy-free, but with soy ingredients.

This particular recipe variation made use of soy-protein, in the form of soft Tofu (the kind that comes in those little 12 ounce "boxes"). The tofu replaced the sour-cream we originally used, thus bringing some additional protein into the mix and lowering the fat content a bit while, of course, removing that dairy / casein containing item. We also replaced the butter with margarine, making the whole cake dairy-free. If you own our cookbook, and want to try baking this dairy-free variation, just see this gluten-free cake recipe-variation link for all the details of the remaining few minor modifications we made.

The soy protein (i.e., tofu) makes for a really nice result: it gives the cake a wonderful texture while also enhancing the "shelf life" of the cake from my experience -- I was eating this cake for a few days and had it just sitting out on the counter with a bit of plastic wrap over the top. The tofu seems to make the gluten-free cake retain moisture well over time, and thus be less susceptible to drying out if left exposed to the elements.

As with any gluten-replacement strategy, using soy-protein to replace the wheat-protein (i.e., gluten / gliaden) is one approach to gluten-free baking that can be helpful. Other (gluten / protein) alternatives that can be helpful include dairy and egg proteins, which in this case we have opted not to use the dairy-protein side of the equation. Along similar lines, my wife created a wonderful soy/tofu waffle variation that is quite nice too! I'll publish that full recipe soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the latest gluten-free dessert recipe / variation!

Gluten-Free Soup : Simple can be Delicious

When it comes to my gluten-free / wheat-free diet requirements, I am all for doing whatever it takes to create a memorable, delicious dish. Often that implies cooking or baking something completely "from scratch", but on occasion there comes along a wonderful pre-made gluten-free food product that can be extended or built-upon to make an even better dish with little effort.

This latest gluten-free soup (pictured above) is one such dish, where the foundation was simply a carton of Trader Joe's brand gluten-free Organic Roasted Red Pepper Soup - low sodium too! It is a creamier soup (dairy based) with a rich red-pepper and tomato flavor. It is already quite nice on it's own. But, I often long for something just a bit more "homemade" or gourmet, and my wife was quick to deliver with a few simple additions:

• Some caramelized onions - one large Spanish onion, and another Sweet Onion were used
• Some fresh basil

That's it! It just doesn't get much simpler! I just love what the added onions and fresh basil bring to the soup in the form of added flavor and substance. Fact is, I'm rather sure the result could be passed off as "homemade" if desired, as both of the freshly added vegetables give that clear indication of a recently prepared foods.

I give this Trader Joe's brand soup a big "thumbs up" rating on its own, and an even greater rating when considered as the basis for a wide range of gluten-free soup variations and options.

The Pancake Diet - Gluten-Free too!

Although I have been neglecting my Gluten-Free Blog a bit recently (my posting-frequency is suffering as I had to do some "real" work the past few weeks), my diet is going well. One of the core components of a healthy gluten-free diet I have been adhering to for the past six months or so now is pancakes. Yes, pancakes as a diet aid!

These are no ordinary pancakes either, as they are extraordinary in both composition and flavor and nutritional value. I would almost call them a "gluten-free meal replacement" diet product, as one pancake constitutes my entire mid-day meal (lunch or very late breakfast) on most days now.

I had a few objectives in mind when I designed these wheat-free and gluten-free pancakes, and I put a lot of time into tuning them and improving them over time - which didn't take long, since I eat them on most days.

My diet-pancake goals included:

• Consistency and taste: always my top priority in baking! Gluten-Free or not, it has to taste good and have great texture in order for me to eat it - especially if I am going to eat it regularly!
  
• Simplicity: I needed a formula or recipe that was simple to mix up in a hurry and bake without much thought or effort, plus one that is adaptable to simple flavorful/healthful variations.
  
• Healthful: not just "empty carbs", but rather a mix of ingredients with a reasonable glycemic index coupled with a nice balance of protein, vitamins, minerals, and overall nutritional value.
  

The Result: Gluten-Free Super-Diet-Pancakes!
I met all my goals with the gluten-free pancake diet recipe that has evolved from months of continual use. I absolutely love the fact that I can now eat pancakes on a regular basis (which are, of course, rather closely related to cakes, and thus my primary passion: gluten-free desserts). The consistency and taste take care of my "need" for bread-like foods that I would so otherwise miss in a traditional diet, and I have enough flavor and variation in flavor to keep me wanting them day after day.

Simple would be understating how easy these are to "get right" just by eyeballing the ingredients. I can make any of a wide variety of these wheat-free Pancakes now just by pouring, shaking, or adding ingredients into a single bowl as I go, without any measuring equipment (don't worry - I give close approximations for proportions of ingredients in the recipe below).

Healthfulness objectives were met on most levels, though I vary the recipe a bit based on my add-on ingredients (I admit it: on more than a few days, I give into my chocolate addiction and add chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, etc.!) But, overall, it's pretty good on the "health scale", and makes up about a third of my daily 2000-calorie target diet.

The Diet-Pancake Recipe / Formula

I'm going to include a few pictures here to demonstrate how simple, and rather free form, this "recipe" is. This picture shows my various ingredients accumulating in a bowl. And, here is an approximation of what my typical "diet pancake" includes:

The "core recipe":

• roughly 3/4 Cup buckwheat flour (please, please,... no posts from people that do not understand that buckwheat is safe, gluten-free, and not related to wheat in any way). If you need gluten-free buckwheat flour, you can get the Pocono Certified GF Organic Buckwheat Flour here.
  
• roughly 1/3-1/2 Cup pumpkin puree (I am using all my freshly cooked pumpkin-pie pumpkin filling I made and froze last fall - see my various gluten-free pumpkin recipes blogs and such for prior discussions). I have used canned pumpkin too. This is a super-healthy ingredient with a low-calorie, low glycemic index, and full of nutrients (Vitamin A being one standout, and plenty of fiber!)
  
• about a tablespoon of cinnamon. (Why so much cinnamon? Read the sub-discussion on this prior gluten-free blog entry about Cinnamon and health benefits).
• roughly a tablespoon of molasses. This is a great source of Iron, Calcium, and Potassium!
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon Inulin (i.e., ground chicory root) - nearly pure soluble fiber.
• 1-2 tablespoons brown rice bran (I use Ener-G's products for this). Again, great fiber source and more! Some studies have shown it useful for lowering cholesterol too. Note: don't use TOO much - this is one case where "too much of a good thing" is easy to reach...the flavor and texture can easily ruin the pancake if overdone.
  
• 1/2 ounce of the miracle gluten-free "gluten" product: whey protein isolate. I did a prior blog about the marvels of baking with gluten-free whey protein here. This truly is an amazing product, and makes these pancakes hold up to any comparison to "real" (wheat-filled or gluten-containing) ones.
• A bit of baking powder: 1/4-1/2 tsp max.
• Water : enough to reach proper consistency... add some, mix, add more, until desired batter thickness (see below for discussion...)
  
• Baking / Frying instructions: (see below...)
  

Recipe Variations / Options / Add-Ons
I will regurly add one or more of the following to this mix for both flavor and varied nutritional / diet objectives. Some options include (at whatever level of extra flavor - and calories - you desire):

• Chocolate (a weakness of mine!) - chips, chunks, even cocoa on occasion. Full of antioxidants, fiber, iron, magnesium, and more (good excuses for sure!)
• Frozen blueberries (or other frozen fruits), Raisins (or other dried fruits) - more antioxidants
  
• Chopped nuts - walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, etc. All of them go well in here, and walnuts are full of Omega-3's!
• Other grain(s) - I've mixed in some Flax Meal on occasion, and have even tried some perhaps unusual "experiments" (that came out fine) where I pre-cooked some whole Teff grain, and mixed the cooked grain into my pancakes (for a nice added Whole-Grain benefit)
  

One of my favorite combos included some 85%-cocoa chocolate with chopped hazelnuts. Fantastic!

The Pancake Batter

The above picture shows the resulting pancake batter after being hydrated. I don't know how to best advise getting the moisture level right, other than by a bit of trial and error, since altering the ingredients list varies the amount of water needed.

Even the different batches of cooked pumpkin I use vary in their water-content, and thus alter the amount of extra water I must add. I just know what the consistency and thickness needs to be in the end to get the pancake right. It's probably not much different than what a "normal" pancake batter would be like.

NOTE: the batter may be a bit "lumpy" looking with all that pumpkin-fiber (and optional nuts, fruit, chocolate) in there.

Baking / Frying the Gluten-Free Pancake

Notice I said "pancake" and not "pancakeS" here -- I'm making one LARGE pancake (10" wide, nearly 1" thick), though you can certainly split into smaller batches. I use a 10" cast-iron frypan, and pour the entire bowl of batter on to a well sprayed (cooking spray) pan that I pre-heat a bit. I have found that getting the heat-level right is important, especially for these mega-pancakes.

I cook on low heat for a longer period of time. I have found that 7-10 minutes frying on the first side makes flipping easier by far, and then I cook the mega-cake for another 4-5 minutes on side two. The end result is the plate-sized super-pancake pictured at the beginning of this gluten-free blog entry.

That is one serious pancake!

It's always hard to get a sense for scale in a picture, so here's a cross-section picture showing the full depth of this cake, while also exposing my chocolate chunks! :) Now you can see how a single pancake can be so utterly filling (And fulfilling!)

Nutritional Data
If you were trying to count carbs, protein, sugar, and so forth during the ingredient list above, I can help out here (in approximation). I'm targeting about 600 calories total in my single massive meal-replacement pancake, and the breakdown is roughly:

• buckwheat: 300 calories, 66g carbs (9 of which is fiber), 12g protein, 3g fat, 15% RDA potassium
  
• pumpkin: 20 (yes, only TWENTY) calories, 6g carbs (1/4 of that is fiber), 1g protein, 100% vitamin-A RDA
  
• cinnamon: 20 calories, 6g carbs (4g is fiber)
• molasses: 50 calories, 12g carbs (all sugars), 15% RDA potassium, 15% RDA Calcium, 20% RDA Iron
• brown rice bran: 25-50 calories - high in potassium, carbs are nearly 50% fiber, and it's high protein
• Inulin: 2.5g carb (2 of which is soluble fiber)
• Whey Protein Isolate: 50 calories, 12.5g protein (25% RDA)
• [optional recipe ingredients]100-200 calories of walnuts, blueberries, etc.
  

I point out the fiber content of the carbs here, since fiber is quite important in the diet plan, as it "fills you up" and makes you feel full, while keeping the overall glycemic index of the carbohydrates in check a bit. I wanted something that would satisfy my tastebuds while making my stomach think it had plenty to eat, and something with a "slow burn" (vs. simple sugar and carbs). This seems to do the job nicely!

Pancake-Diet and Weight Loss - the Results
While eating my "diet pancakes", I have lost nearly 20 pounds over the past 4 months. These pancakes make up the "core calories" in my day-to-day life, and they are enjoyable and delicious calories that satisfy my cravings for carbohydrates while also being generally healthy with a good balance of protein, fiber, carbs, and nutrients.

I do not attribute all of my weight loss to these pancakes, as I am also working out regularly and staying active (as any real diet plan should include) - 20-30 minutes/day, 6 days/week of some form of exercise. One day/week is resistance training (with light weights where appropriate): pushups, chinups, situps, curls, dips, squats, military press, leg-lifts, etc. The other 5 days is moderate aerobics: stationary bike (well, stationary for Winter at least), rowing machine, and/or walking or jogging.

I was not technically overweight to begin with, but I did see room for improvement, and certainly room to tone up a bit more. And, by sticking to my diet and my exercise routine, I am now able to wear the same size jeans I did in College - which isn't bad considering that was some 20 years ago! So, one way or the other, the pancake diet (using my specially formulated gluten-free diet pancakes) has certainly been an integral part of the plan and has helped me meet my health goals.

I hope this formulation / recipe can be of use to anyone else that may want a great dietary option for health and/or weight-loss reasons. If nothing else, it may at least give you a great basis for some experimental gluten-free baking :)

I can see easily adapting this recipe to create "health bars" or such... perhaps such a recipe will be coming in the future on the Gluten-Free Blog.

Gluten Free Recipes: Chocolate-Chip Angel Food Cake

Gluten Free Chocolate-Chip Angel Food Cake

Gluten Free Chocolate-Chip Angel Food Cake

I recently wrote a Gluten-Free Blog entry about a free Pumpkin Crème Brulée Recipe (link to full recipe) my wife made and posted online. After baking the Creme Brulee, we had a large number of egg whites remaining. So, my resourceful wife decided the best thing to do with them would be to bake up a new gluten-free Angel Food cake variation.

This is simply a variation to the existing gluten-free and dairy-free Angel Food Cake recipe in our Gluten-Free Desserts book (page 68). It removes the lemon juice/zest, and adds a bit or orange juice and almond flavoring, and of course chocolate chips (to remain dairy-free, you'll have to make sure you use dairy-free chocolate chips of course).

The detailed recipe modifications are online here:
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Angel Food Cake Recipe

I really enjoyed this cake! I have always been a fan of a good Angel Food cake, and this latest chocolate chip variation was a hit with both Celiac diet people and "normal" diet folks equally. I have an admitted weakness for chocolate, so the addition of chocolate chips only accentuated my hunger for this cake!

The exceptionally mild orange/almond undertones also furthered my enjoyment. Another nice thing about Angel Food Cake (in general, whether gluten-free diet type or regular), is that they are low-fat and should have no cholesterol either (even this one variation - especially if using dairy-free chocolate chips). The cake also tends to be rather high in protein (given the large number of egg whites used).

Hope you enjoy the variation as much as I did!

Slice of Gluten Free Chocolate-Chip Angel Food Cake

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake - Recipe Variation (Flax)

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake — Flaxmeal Variation

Chocolate Cake, a perennial favorite

One of my favorite gluten-free desserts is chocolate cake. I especially love a rich, dense, and moist cake, like the Chocolate Ganache Cake on page 20 of our Gluten-Free Gourmet Desserts cookbook — a recipe my wife created especially for my Birthday one year. Since then, she knows my gluten-free birthday cake request without even asking, and this year she also made this cake for her mother's birthday after experimenting with a slight variation on the original recipe.

It has always been my intent to share any such (successful) variations to our gluten-free dessert recipes with those who have purchased our book, and it has just been a matter of time to get to such things. Thankfully, I finally had some free time this morning to post the variations to the Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe on our book sales site (at that link), as well as here on the Gluten-Free Blog.

The Recipe Variation : a bit healthier, thanks to Flax

Essentially, this variation just altered the ingredients equation by splitting the buttermilk component into half buttermilk and half whole-milk, while adding a ¼ Cup of Flax-meal (ground flax seed) to the mix. My wife also baked this version in a single standard 9" x 13" x 2" cake pan, whereas the original (in the gluten-free cookbook) was baked using three 9" round pans and layered with Ganache between each of the cakes. 

The results of this variation are wonderful! The cake, as expected, retains all of its richness and deep chocolate essence, while also having abundant moistness and a just-right somewhat dense texture that is so rewarding to eat. Plus, with that bit of flax meal in there, it just has to be a bit more "healthy", right? (if ever so slightly)

So, if you are planning a gluten-free birthday cake for yourself or another Celiac Disease sufferer among your family members or friends, keep this recipe in mind. Certainly you could bake it for any other event where GF cake is a must — be it a party at work, at your child's school, or wherever else a great chocolate cake would be a hit.

I have a few other variations to various dessert recipes sitting here in a queue waiting to be typed up and uploaded to the web. Some are as simple as trying out existing recipes in new formats (i.e., different sized pans), while others are drastically different ingredient experiments like dairy-free and/or sugar-free gluten-free dessert recipes.

UPDATE: here's a link to the dairy-free gluten-free chocolate ganache cake recipe now.

Now it's time to go eat some of the leftover chocolate cake.

Continue to read this Gluten-Free Blog for all sorts of gluten-free recipes, product-reviews, and related information. In addition, visit my Gluten-Free Recipes Site where many of the recipes I have featured on this blog are available.