Month: July 2015

Chipotle Nectarine Oven Barbecue Ribs

  

A good friend of mine offered her advice on how to make irresistible barbecue style ribs in the oven by using a few favorite spices, something fruity, and something sweet – then cooking as low and long as possible. She explained that these are perfect for a Sunday; put these in the oven and after a long relaxing afternoon, these are perfectly done. She has excellent taste and and I have been wanting to try her oven baked ribs technique for a few weeks now. 

Another dear friend of ours, Bill, owns and operates Rosetta’s Farm Spices, where he grows a variety of organic chilis, wood smokes them, and makes wonderful hand-crafted smoky spice blends. Bill is becoming a trendsetter in the spice world as he artistically experiments with different kinds of chilis, wood chips for smoking and creates artistic blends such as Smoked Cherry Pepper and Cinnamon, Ghost Pepper, and other amazing grill charred spices. Many chefs work with Bill’s spices and I’ve been anxious to try them. 

I decided to combine my girlfriend’s technique with Bill’s Rosetta Farm’s Chipotle Pepper Blend. Though I already consider us lucky to know these two wonderful people, we feel extra lucky today. These were amazing. Here’s the recipe for delicious, falling-off-the-bone ribs:

Chipotle Nectarine Oven Barbecue Ribs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

In a large baking pan, arrange 3-3.5 lb. pork ribs (2 racks), side by side, fat side up.

Sprinkle the following on the ribs:

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons mild smoked pepper blend such as Rosetta’s Farm Spices Chipotle Pepper

Pour the following ingredients over the ribs:

2/3 cup cider vinegar

Nectarine purée: 2 fresh nectarines blended with 1 cup apple or white grape juice or water (should make approximately 2.5 to 3 cups of nectarine purée) 

Cover with a cookie sheet, lid, or foil and bake at 325 degrees for about 3 to 3.5 hours. 

After baking is all done, in a small bowl, combine:

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup molasses or brown sugar

1 Tablespoon yellow mustard

Set aside. 

Take the ribs out of the oven. Using tongs, flip ribs over onto a shallow cookie sheet, fat side *down*, and side by side.

Baste ribs generously with the barbecue sauce. Sprinkle with another pinch of the chipotle pepper and salt to taste.

Set oven rack close to top level (like level 2 so you don’t burn the sauce) and broil ribs, uncovered, for 4-6 minutes. 

You could certainly grill if you want but this oven method is a nice alternative if you’re not up to firing up the grill or don’t have a grill. 

Remove from oven and they will probably look like this:  

 
Pull apart and enjoy! Makes enough for about 6-8 people. Or 2-4 if you have teenagers. 🙂 

Orange Cranberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies (Gluten-free, Rice-free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free and Vegan) 

  
These are chewy, yummy, and go great with a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast. Suitable for vegans, Celiacs, and people with wheat, dairy, nut, peanut, soy, rice, and/or egg allergy. This also does not have refined sugar if you substitute honey for brown sugar (see recipe). 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

In a little dish, combine 1 Tbsp chia (or flax) seeds and 3 Tbsp water and set aside (this is the alternative to 1 egg). 

In a large bowl combine:

1.5 cups certified gluten-free rolled oats

1 cup sorghum flour mix Click here (it will say quinoa flour but substitute sorghum for this recipe). 

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

In a small bowl, mix together: 

1/2 cup organic sustainably sourced palm shortening (such as Spectrum brand)

1/4 cup brown sugar (can substitute 1/2 cup honey to make this recipe free of refined sugar)

1/2 cup coconut palm sugar (can substitute  granulated sugar if you don’t have it, coconut palm sugar is lower in carbs)

Add the chia seed gel you mixed in the small dish. 

Add 1/2 teaspoon of orange extract (substitute vanilla if you prefer)

Mix well with a fork until sugar, fat, extract, and chia seed gel is combined well. 

Add this to the oats mixture. 

Add 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds (optional)

Add 1/2 cup dried cranberries (make sure there are no additives such as soy or nut oil, substitute raisins, other dried fruit, or omit if you prefer). 

Add 2 Tablespoons of water to whole mix. 

Mix together with clean hands and form into large cookies. Press onto a greased cookie sheet. These do not spread very much, so flatten them to about 1/2 inch high. 

Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are a tad browned. Let cool completely.

This makes 6 large cookies. Double recipe for 12. 

Banana Sunbutter and Maple Sundae (free of dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, and gluten)

  
If you’re a busy family with a bunch of food allergies like we are, here is an easy sundae with a flavor combination that is addictive! 

With SO Delicious brand Coconut Milk ice cream, this recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and egg-free. 

NOTE: COCONUT MAY NOT be suitable for people with a tree-nut allergy. As always, make sure this recipe is safe by checking ingredients on all products purchased.

There isn’t really an ideal amount of any ingredient. It’s the combination of the following (choose your amount) that makes this delicious: 

Safe non-dairy ice cream in vanilla flavor 

Bananas

Sunflower Seed Butter (either smooth or crunchy)

Pure maple syrup drizzled on top 

Enjoy!

Vegan Blueberry Scones (Gluten-free, Egg-free, and Dairy-free)

scones

By Nancy Haggerty

I used to think that scones were these fancy treats one would only eat at elegant tea parties.  Come to find out they are basically sweet biscuits with some kind of fruit mixed in!  And they really are quite easy to make.  I also discovered that you don’t need to chill the vegetable shortening like you would with butter so it’s one less step than traditional scone making. No electric mixer is needed either.  It’s just good old fashioned baking by hand.

Blueberry Scones:

1/3 cup (62g) vegetable shortening, room temp. (I use Spectrum brand palm shortening)

½ teaspoon fresh lemon zest

½ cup (80g) white rice flour

½ cup (60g) tapioca flour

2 Tablespoons (24g) potato starch (you can also use an alternative flour like quinoa)

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/3 cup (65g) cane sugar (use organic for vegan)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 cup (110g) fresh blueberries

1/3 cup  + 1 Tablespoon (100g) coconut milk (I use Native Forest brand)

1/8 cup turbinado sugar for topping (use organic for vegan)

1/8 cup white rice flour for handling dough and dusting

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line one standard size cookie sheet with parchment paper and dust lightly with a small amount of the 1/8 cup white rice flour.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the lemon zest, white rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, baking powder, cane sugar, salt and xanthan gum.

Using a fork or knife “cut” the shortening into the flour mix to create a crumb mixture.  If using a fork and your shortening is soft, hold the fork sideways and cut through the mix like a knife as opposed to mashing.  Gently mix in the blueberries, then add the coconut milk and mix together until you have thick lumpy dough. There should be just enough moisture so the dough sticks together but not too much moisture, otherwise your scones will turn into muffin tops!

Lightly coat hands with white rice flour and divide dough into 8 parts.  I do this by measuring the entire amount of dough on a scale and then divide by 8.  Then use the scale to measure out each one and gently shape into small balls.  You could also form the dough into a round disk and cut into 8 wedges, but I’ve found when doing this the dough gets too compact and results in dense scones.  Or you can always eyeball it too.

Pour turbinado sugar on a small plate.  Push the tops of each scone into the sugar then place onto the cookie sheet, sugar side up.

Bake in the oven on the middle rack for 15-17 minutes, until bottoms are slightly brown.

Remove from oven and place onto a cooling rack.  Let cool for about 20-30 minutes.

A word on substitutions: Many gluten free flours can be substituted for others, such as quinoa, sorghum and millet. However, each flour has its own weight, texture, and viscosity. Therefore, it may alter the end result. Always use a combination of flours for best results. If substituting coconut milk with another dairy alternative start with half the recommended amount, as other dairy alternatives are thinner than coconut milk.

Nancy Haggerty is a food blogger at www.aglutenfreedairyfreelife.com and has been perfecting the art of gluten and dairy free since 2007.  She lives in Westchester, NY with her son, Kenyon and husband, Ben.