gluten-free – Safe Eats

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

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.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free, Egg Free, and Dairy Free)

By: Nancy Haggerty

Hello everyone! I am so thrilled to be a guest blogger for Safe Eats. What a great organization to be a part of and I am honored to be able to share some of my recipes with you all.

This cookie recipe is one of my all time favorites and it’s gone through an evolution as I’ve perfected my craft over the years. Yet it still reminds me of my very first venture into the art of baking gluten free.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1/2 Tablespoon flax meal

2 Tablespoons water

6 Tablespoons (84g) vegetable shortening (I use Earth Balance brand)

1 cup (150g) light brown sugar

1/2 cup tapioca flour

2/3 cup (81g) brown rice flour (I use Authentic Foods brand)*

1/3 cup + 1 1/2 Tablespoons (60g) white rice flour (I use Authentic Foods brand)*

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 Tablespoon coconut milk (I use Native Forest brand)*

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life brand)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line one standard size cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine the flax meal with the water in a small bowl and set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl cream together the vegetable shortening with the light brown sugar by mixing on low for a few minutes.

4. In a separate bowl combine the tapioca flour, brown rice flour, white rice flour, salt, baking soda, and xanthan gum. Whisk these dry ingredients together. Set aside.

5. Add the flax meal and water mixture to the creamed vegetable shortening and brown sugar mixture along with the coconut milk. Mix on low until fully combined.

6. Then gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix on low until all the ingredients are fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. It should look and feel just like cookie dough.

7. Finally, add the chocolate chips and mix on low for about 15 seconds. Use a spoon or scoop to make round balls about 1-1 1/2 inches in size. Space cookie balls about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Flatten each ball so they are the shape of cookies (they will not flatten much on their own during baking). Bake on the middle rack for 10 minutes or until cookies are easy to remove with a spatula. If they are still soft bake for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a cooling rack.

Makes about 24 cookies.

*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 in this recipe with another dairy alternative use ½ Tablespoon 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. We are so grateful for Nancy’s contribution. Please check out her blog and try out more of her delicious recipes!

Honey Graham Crackers (Free of Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, Nuts, Soy, and Rice)

Crunchy, tasty, and perfect for dunking into your favorite beverage.

Honey Graham Crackers

2 cups sorghum flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup, non-hydrogenated palm shortening such as Spectrum brand

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix dry ingredients together. With a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the shortening in until it resembles sand. Add the honey. Then add water a little bit a time until the mixture just sticks together and doesn’t fall apart. If still falling apart, add another Tablespoon or so of water.

Tear out a piece of parchment paper that will fit on your cookie sheet, and then put the parchment paper on a table or counter. Take half of the dough and press it onto the parchment paper to form a rectangle of dough in the middle of it. Top with a sheet of wax paper and roll the dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick.

Remove the wax paper and transfer the parchment paper with the rolled dough to the cookie sheet. Using a knife or bread dough scraper, cut where you want the graham crackers to break. Using a fork, poke three sets of holes for each cracker.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until graham crackers are lightly browned around the edges.

Remove and let cool for 10-15 minutes. Using a very flat sharp cookie spatula or knife, re-cut into the cracker separations and gently lift them from the parchment.

Repeat with remaining dough.

These will store for 1-2 weeks in an airtight container.

Dreamy Allergen-Free Double Chocolate Cookies

With a thin sugar-crisped exterior, a moist interior, and deep milk-chocolate flavor, these cookies are a food allergic’s dream come true.

The story of this cookie: I needed to make a really good double chocolate cookie (I realize that “need” is a strong word, but hey a chocolate cookie craving is a need, am I right?). I was a bit disappointed in the gluten-free double chocolate cookie I had been making. It kinda satisfied the chocolate craving but the taste was still too dark and had a bitter tone. Also, as with most disappointing gluten-free treats, the texture was pretty grainy and dried out within a day. I needed a moist cookie that had a silkier texture, a more milk chocolate flavor, and with a good texture that would last for more than 15 minutes.

After much research and experimentation, I finally hit a winner. The secret to better texture and moisture retention is in a higher ratio of starch than is normally called for in gluten-free baking. A 50% flour and 50% starch mix. Yes! Good results!

I shared some finished cookies with family and friends and took some to networking events. I got a lot of rave reviews on this cookie. Due to such great response, I was tempted to keep this recipe a secret. I’ve been told that I shouldn’t publish this and that it should be the beginning of fantastic cookie sales, and a way to fame and fortune – perhaps a new line of dream cookies for all those who can’t wheat, dairy, eggs, corn, oats, peanuts, treenuts, or rice! (It’s very hard to find gluten-free treats without rice!) I’ve made these with both brown rice flour and sorghum flour, the results were good for both.

I don’t want to have you thinking these are some sort of extremely magical cookie, though. What gets us excited, however, is that this is like having a cookie made from wheat. They’re simply good. For those of us who haven’t had good cookies like that in a long while, it’s pretty magical.

What’s even better – these are pretty economical. Other than the palm oil shortening, the rest of the ingredients are sold for prices that won’t leave you breaking your wallet at $70 in the 7-items or less checkout line.

So, I suppose I could have kept this recipe to myself, but what of all those commercial kitchen start-up costs that I don’t have? And what of all the needs of the dedicated bakers all over the world that need to start their gluten-free baking with a really good cookie?

I’d rather inspire all of you to make these and share them with your friends and family. I’d like to see if your foodie friends who can eat anything even notice that these aren’t anything but fantastic. I’d like to see you delight your co-workers or family members or friends who are usually left out of the food part of celebrations and watch them smile and praise you for your thoughtfulness! It would be great to see these offered in your bake sales, your community events, school functions and fundraisers! The food allergy community will profusely thank you for thinking of them and for making their cookie dreams come true!

Without further adieu:

Dreamy Allergen-Free Double Chocolate Cookies

Set your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 175 degrees Celsius.

In a separate bowl, add these dry ingredients together and mix until thoroughly combined:

1 cup (152 grams) of either brown rice flour or sorghum flour (use sorghum for those that cannot tolerate rice)

1/2 cup (56 grams) cocoa powder

1 cup (152 grams) of cornstarch or arrowroot starch (If allergic to corn, use arrowroot starch. I have tried both. The cornstarch results in a slightly silkier texture on the inside of the cookie, but the arrowroot starch is still very nice).

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar

3/4 teaspoon of xanthan or guar gum

Set aside the bowl of dry ingredients.

In your stand mixer, or with hand-held mixer, cream together only these ingredients:

1 cup (180 grams) non-hydrogenated palm oil shortening (Note: do not use butter or coconut oil or any other shortening if making this for general public or school functions. Butter is dairy allergy trigger and coconut oil can trigger treenut allergic reactions, other shortening may contain soybean oil.) Spectrum organic palm-oil shortening can be found here: http://www.spectrumorganics.com/spectrum-naturals/organic-shortening/

1.5 cup (300 grams) light brown sugar (sticky sugar)

4 oz. (105 grams) applesauce (conveniently, this is the equivalent of a snack-sized cup that you can purchase and put in kids’ lunches)

Then add:

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Once the shortening, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla extract ingredients are combined, gradually mix in the dry ingredients. The mixture will get very thick. You want this to resemble cookie dough. If appears too dry, add about 1-2 Tablespoons of water.

Once your cookie dough is made, using a large metal spoon, fold in:

1/2 cup (90 grams) Enjoy Life Allergen-Free mini chocolate chips and

1/2 cup (90 grams) Enjoy Life Allergen-Free chocolate chunks. More information on Enjoy Life products can be found here: http://enjoylifefoods.com/

Scoop dough onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or lightly coated with the palm oil shortening), and flatten to 1 inch disks.

Bake for 7-10 minutes or until cookies look puffy and cracked a little.

Remove cooks from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking pan before transferring to a plate or wire rack to cool completely. If you try to transfer them too soon, they will fall apart. Alternatively, you can pull the entire parchment sheet of cookies off of the pan and onto the counter to cool so you can quickly reuse the pan. Cookies will rest down and look more cracked as they cool.

Repeat the baking process for remaining dough.

Makes approximately 18-20 cookies.

Enjoy!

Fennel & Apple Salad with Crushed Berry Vinaigrette

Fennel is available autumn through spring and provides so much nutrition and anti-oxidant qualities that we recommend you give this interesting and unique root veggie a try! It has a bright anise flavor that pairs well with sweet fruits and makes for a perfect winter salad. This is hearty on its own but feel free to serve with roasted chicken or a sweet sausage such as Jones’ All Natural Maple Sausage (product information can be found here: http://www.jonesdairyfarm.com/products/sausage/all-natural-golden-brown-maple-pork-sausage-patties-7-oz).

This meal is Paleo, GAPS, and SCD diet friendly.

Fennel & Apple Salad with Crushed Berry Vinaigrette

1 cup of berries (combination of frozen or fresh berries of choice), crushed with fork

2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar such as Bragg’s brand for probiotic benefits (regular apple cider will do)

1/4 cup light flavored oil such as canola, safflower, or grapeseed oil.

fresh cracked sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Whisk together and compose salad of the following:

Spinach

Apples, cut into bite-size pieces

Oranges, cut into bite-size pieces

Fennel (all parts of fennel, including stalks can be eaten) – recommended to cut very thin as it is a strong flavor.

Raisins or Dried Cranberries

Sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds

Toss the salad with the dressing and serve immediately.

Can also serve with slices of roasted acorn squash, baked sweet potato, quiche, roasted chicken, Lemon infused roasted fish with a Pinot Grigio.

Dude, These Grits are Jalapeno Poppers!

Smoky, savory, “cheesy” grits are indeed quite a delicious filling to go with your jalapeno poppers and appease your Tex-Mex food craving. Excellent served for any kind of gathering, both casual and formal. For the vegan option, omit the bacon and wrap with a sliced leek or scallion. People who don’t have to worry about avoiding dairy said “Wow! These are tasty!” And if anyone has to avoid dairy or flour… well, now they are included in the fun!

Jalapeno Poppers with “Cheesy” Grits

2 cups grits, prepared, with the following stirred in at the end of cooking:

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 teaspoon yellow mustard

smoked salt and/or 1 Tablepoon bacon fat (optional, use 1 Tbsp canola oil as substitute)

Dash ground chipotle (optional as this adds heat)

15-20 jalapenos, cut into little boats with seeds and membranes removed (PLEASE USE GLOVES)

1 package of bacon, cut in half down the middle (use one 1/2 slice for each jalapeno)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Using a pastry bag or spoon, fill the jalapenos with the grits, leaving a little room for expansion. Dust with paprika for nice color. Wrap each jalapeno with bacon. Insert a toothpick to hold the bacon in place while cooking.

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until bacon is cooked and jalapenos are tender.

Remove toothpicks, arrange on a platter, and serve.

Tip: Prepare these the day before so that you are not spending a lot of time doing prep work on the day that you are entertaining.

Easy Breakfast Hash

Prep the ingredients the night before and you can have this breakfast ready quickly for any morning where you’d like to break the routine a little bit. A very yummy change of pace and proof positive that today is a new day!

Easy Breakfast Hash

1 frozen safe sausage patty per person, about 1/4 cup of sausage. (We like Jones All Natural to avoid gluten, dairy, soy, and other fillers. Jimmy Dean Natural and Wegman’s Natural have been digested well, too)

1 cup diced potatoes, diced small (do the night before and cover with water in refrigerator to keep from browning)

1/4 cup each of diced bell peppers and onions (chop in advance to save time)

1 egg per person, whisked (optional – omit if egg allergy and add some mushrooms or zucchini)

1 sun-dried tomato, diced

a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

2 scallions, chopped

pickled jalapenos (optional)

1/4 cup canola-based Mayo (such as Hellman’s Canola Mayo) mixed with 1 Tablespoon taco sauce and a dash or two of ground chipotle.

Directions

Heat about 3 Tablespoons of canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add potatoes.

In another, smaller skillet or pot, add the frozen sausage with water and cook until finished. If the sausage is already cooked, such as the Jones brand, this won’t take very long. If you are cooking raw sausage, begin cooking it about 5 minutes before starting the potatoes.

Back to the large skillet, cook the potatoes for only a minute or two (longer if you cut them into larger pieces). Add the peppers and onions and cook until onions are beginning to turn translucent and potatoes are turning golden brown. Add the sausage.

Scramble the eggs in the pan that had the sausage. When finished, add the scrambled eggs to the hash.

Serve on plates and top with sun-dried tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, and taco mayo sauce. Of course, the kids like it with ketchup. 🙂

I-Can’t-Believe-There’s-No-Butter Chicken Piccata

Lemon-buttery Chicken Piccata is a popular Italian dish that is often breaded, dipped in a milky egg wash, fried in a vegetable soy oil blend, and prepared with a lemon garlic butter sauce. It used to be one of our favorite entrees. Now, the recipe is adjusted and Chicken Piccata is back on the menu! With no breading, milk, or egg, you can bring a smile to a neighbor, friend, or someone special. Our child even loved this and asked for more. It is a beautiful bright dish with the perfect balance of flavors – and includes everyone! Enjoy!

I-Can’t-Believe-There’s-No-Butter Chicken Piccata

1 16 oz. package of chicken parts (feel free to make chicken cutlets by CLICKING HERE for the gluten-free fried chicken recipe)

2 cups of your favorite safe poultry broth

1/2 large onion, medium diced

1 lemon, halved and then sliced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon bacon butter*

1 oz. capers

In a deep skillet or shallow stock pot, warm about 1/4 cup canola oil over medium high heat until a drop of water sizzles. Lower heat if needed to make sure the oil doesn’t reach burn point. Add the chicken parts and cook on all sides until the skin is deep golden brown.

Add the broth, onion, salt, and pepper and cook until the broth is condensed to about 2 inches at the bottom of the pan (about 30 minutes), turning chicken periodically to make sure it is cooked through. Add the lemon, and cook another 10 minutes or until thermometer inserted into the chicken registers 165 degrees F.

Then add minced garlic and capers. Cook for one more minute and turn off heat.

Melt in the 1 teaspoon of bacon “butter” (*essentially, 1 teaspoon of bacon fat – we get what we need directly from the freezer where we have saved bacon fat from frying bacon on occasion).

If needed, add salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.

Serve this wonderful chicken over gluten-free pasta, rice, or quinoa – spooning some extra buttery sauce on each dish.

Scotch Eggs with Bacon Dip – No One Notices They are Gluten-Free ;-)

These appetizers are a true pleasure to serve and eat! Scotch Eggs are currently a more well-known treat in the U.K. but are beginning to gain popularity in the U.S.,particularly in Irish Pubs. This version is made gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free – but no one cares because they are so good! (A goal we always strive for). The dipping sauce is optional. Most people do a mustard dip, but you might also enjoy the Bacon Dip (see recipe at bottom) that we happened to like with these.

Tip: Don’t salt the outer crust. Let the flavor of the sausage be the life of the party!

Gluten-Free Scotch Eggs

(double, triple, or quadruple the recipe for parties)

1 16-oz package of ingredient-safe uncased sausage* (either breakfast sage or italian flavor)

4 large eggs

1 egg, whisked with 1/2 cup water

1/2 cup quinoa, sorghum, or rice flour mixed with 1/2 cup cornstarch or tapioca starch

3/4 cup cornmeal or quinoa flakes

*Note: Check the ingredients on the sausage you purchase. Most have wheat, soy, and/or diary fillers. Be particularly careful of purchasing sausage from an independent sausage maker. Get to know them and find out what ingredients they use and how they manage cross-contamination.

Step 1:

Place the eggs in a small saucepan, cover with water, add 1 tsp baking soda (helps with peeling later), and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes and then remove from heat. Let the eggs stand for 15 minutes to soft cook.

Step 2:

Prepare an assembling station. A bowl for the sausage, a plate to press the sausage, a bowl for the flour, a bowl for the egg wash, a bowl for the cornmeal or quinoa flakes. A pan or plate to hold the sausage prepared eggs.

Step 3:

Peel eggs and rinse if needed. Divide sausage into quarters. With the first quarter, press onto a plate into a large disk about 1/2 inch thick. Set an egg in the middle of the sausage disk and gently wrap the sausage around the whole egg, being careful not to break the egg. Repeat for the remaining eggs.

Take each sausage-wrapped egg and dip into egg wash, then roll in flour, then egg again, then roll in cornmeal or quinoa flakes. (Traditionally, this is done with regular flour and breadcrumbs.)

Repeat for each egg.

Step 4:

In a deep skillet over medium-high heat, bring the oil to 350 degrees F. Add the eggs and cook for about 2-3 minutes, then turn over and cook the other side so that the eggs start cooking evenly all around. Cook for about another 12-18 minutes, turning occasionally to make sure all sides are thoroughly cooked.

Check temp of the oil and make sure it remains hot (be careful it doesn’t get too hot or you’ll burn the coating).

When the eggs are dark golden browned, they are likely done.

Cut in half to expose the egg and serve warm. Many people also enjoy these cold.

You could serve these with a warm dijon mustard or try:

Bacon Dip

3/4 cup canola-based mayo (to avoid the soy oil)

1 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder.

1 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon mustard

1 slice of cooked bacon, crumbled fine

fresh cracked pepper to taste

Mix all together, top with fresh parsley (optional), and enjoy!!!

The Smoky Little Secret Behind Every Great Chili

Secret number one: when we food allergy types cook, we don’t want our non-food-allergy friends and family to even notice we’ve omitted our allergens. And believe it or not, we want to forget about our food allergies for a little while, too.

Secret number two: we really want to knock your socks off!

That’s right. Want chili so good that it might help you forget who won the Super Bowl? (Perhaps it depends on the outcome?) But, we do, too! So, how about some %$@! good chili?!

Oh! And the smoky little secret that it takes to make that happen? Well… you have to read down to find out. 😉

%$@! Good Chili

2 lbs. ground beef, preferably grass-fed if you can get it

1/2 large onion (or 1 whole small) diced

4 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes (just plain, no basil or any other flavors)

2 Tablespoons ground cumin

1 Tablespoons chili powder

1/2 jalepeno, seeded and diced fine (this won’t make it spicy… the heat is in the seeds)

1 tsp each of onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika

2 Tablespoons smoky bacon fat* (<—- there it is!)

salt and fresh-cracked pepper to taste

For moderate heat chili: add another 1 Tbsp of chili powder

For intense heat: create moderate heat chili and add the whole jalepeno, seeds and all, chopped fine

If you like beans in your chili, add a 16 oz can of dark or light red kidney beans (or both!) – delish!

Directions:

In large deep skillet or stock pot, brown ground beef until half-cooked through. Add onions and continue cooking until beef is cooked through and onions are translucent. Add remaining ingredients and add 2 cups water. Simmer until seasoning is well-blended.

Oh… and next time you pick up a package of some yummy applewood-smoked bacon (nitrate-free if you can) and you fry it up for breakfast, do what your grandma did and save the grease! We put ours in the refrigerator until it hardens and then portion out small pieces of it in the freezer like this… you know, for things like !@% good chili! 😉

It’s not pretty… but the result is delicious. This stuff melts in the chili like butter. And if you can’t have diary butter, have bacon “butter”! Yummm!

Don’t forget the tortilla chips!

Classic Fried Chicken, Gluten-Free, Easy

Take heart, dear Southern friends, you are not alone in your memories of picnics and dinners with family. Whether it was take-out from your favorite place, or something only your grandma seemed to know how to make, we have finally found a way for you to relive those memories and enjoy this classic food fare again.

Classic Fried Chicken, Gluten-Free, Easy

8-12 chicken legs (and/or other parts)

1 cup of either basic gluten-free flour mix or rice-free gluten-free flour mix (see home page for these mixes)

1 cup of cornstarch

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

1.5 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

3 eggs mixed with 1/2 cup water

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine gluten-free flour, cornstarch, and seasonings.

I a medium bowl, combine the eggs and water.

In a heavy-bottom deep skillet, over medium heat, slowly bring about 2 cups (halfway up the sides of skillet) of canola oil or other similar oil that can get up to 350 degrees. Use a thermometer and carefully watch the temperature of your oil throughout the cooking process.

Do not use peanut oil or a vegetable oil that has soy oil in it if you are making this for the allergy crowd. Don’t use corn oil if you have guests with corn allergies. Canola oil seems to be safe for many, but always check.

Wear an apron to protect your clothes.

Do not get distracted with other things, a few minutes of cooking without monitoring can lead to burnt chicken really quickly.

Dredge chicken in egg wash and then in flour and drop into oil.

Cook chicken for 13-15 minutes or until thermometer inserted into cooked chicken registers 180 degrees.

Enjoy!

The Hearty Fish Chowder You’ve Been Craving…

This one is especially for those of you who have longingly recalled the days of enjoying a piping hot bowl of cheesy,soothing fish chowder during a harsh cold winter day. Now -without the worry of dairy or flour.

For whatever ingredient has betrayed your system, if you can still have fish, you can now enjoy this again. While there is no perfect substitute for butter and cheese, this version is so tasty that you’ll be going back for seconds (and so will everyone else in the house).

This is free of wheat, dairy, soy, treenuts, eggs, shellfish, and peanuts.

Hearty Fish Chowder, Dairy Free and Gluten Free

4 cups (34 oz) homemade fish stock*

4 medium fish filets such as haddock or cod

5 medium potatoes, small cubed (3 cups or )

2 stalks celery (1 cup), minced

1/2 large or 1 small white onion (1/2 cup), minced

1 large mushrooms (1/2 cup), minced

3-4 med garlic cloves, minced

1 bay leaf

3/4 teaspoon salt

Add at the end:

3/4 cup (6.25 oz) nutritional yeast

1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard

Directions:

In a large saucepot, add all of the ingredients except the nutritional yeast and mustard.

Bring to boil and then simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.

Add the nutritional yeast and mustard and stir until yeast has melted into the soup.

Add fresh cracked pepper, and/or fresh thyme (optional) to taste.

For an an even creamier taste/texture, add 1/4 – 1/2 cup of your favorite milk creamer substitute. Just make sure it is safe for you and all those you are serving by double checking ingredients and asking about their list of allergies.

*See notes below about fish stock.

* Only use store-bought fish stock if you are absolutely sure of its purity. Allergic reactions to shellfish can be quite severe. When you make homemade fish stock, you can ensure that no shellfish, soy oil, or additives end up in it.

Fish stock is so easy to make by baking whole fish (eating the most of the fish for lunch or dinner), and boiling the leftover skin and bones, etc. with onions, herbs, salt, and pepper. You can get the plastic containers that are sold in the canning isle and freeze any broth or stock you make from a leftover dinner (always leave head room for expansion). When you’re ready, just run the container under warm water (leaving the lid on). When you can feel the block of broth slide inside of the container, take the lid off and dump into a pot. Set the pot over medium-low heat and watch the broth or stock melt down in minutes, ready for ingredients for your stew or soup.

Apples with Ginger-Cilantro Pesto, Dried Cranberries, and Sea Salt

This pesto is a bright and sweet one! With the use of sunflower seeds and a light oil such as canola or grape seed oil, the ginger can really shine. This also makes an interesting dip for crudites.

**In order to ensure that this appetizer is safe for everyone, do not use treenuts, peanuts, or soy, or any of the oils from treenuts, peanuts, or soy. Be extra sure that the oil that you use is ONLY canola oil and not a blend.

Apples with Ginger-Cilantro Pesto, Dried Cranberries, and Sea Salt

4-6 green apples, sliced and cut into squares and triangles

1 packed cup of cilantro

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup fresh ginger, peeled

1/2 cup canola or grape-seed oil

1 lemon

1 cup dried cranberries or other dried fruit (make sure there are no additives such as soy, wheat, diary, or nuts).

Directions:

In a food processor or blender, puree the sunflower seeds, oil, cilantro, and ginger.

Cut apples and toss in the juice from 1 lemon to prevent browning.

Arrange slices on a try and top with ginger pesto and a cranberry.

Sprinkle fresh cracked sea salt over all of the apple slices and serve.

Easy: Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Red Onions

An elegant side dish that goes well with your holiday meals and happens to be free of common food allergens. If you would like to add a little more to this dish, add fresh thyme, honey, and/or cinnamon.

*Always double check ingredients to make sure they are safe for you and your guests.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Red Onions

6-8 small yams, cut into large cubes

3 red onions, large cubed

1/4 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

fresh cracked pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

In a large glass baking dish, toss all of the ingredients together.

Roast for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm.

A Gingerbread House for Everyone! Free of Multiple Allergens and Fun for Every Child!

Bake up gingerbread pieces and construct some fun for all of the kids with this gingerbread house recipe that is free of these allergens: wheat, dairy, soy, eggs*, peanuts, and treenuts. The gingerbread house dough is also free or rice, oats, and corn.

*Disclaimer: The Peeps shown in the picture are not recommended for class projects as they have egg whites. If you are doing this at home, as we did, and you know it is safe for your child, then use candy your child can have and enjoy. Always double check ingredients to be sure they are safe.

We recommend doing this project over the course of two days, baking the house parts the day or evening before so that they are fully cooled and ready for a morning or afternoon of fun decorating! (Note for success: make your icing and test putting some small baked cookies from leftover dough together to make sure your mixture dries well.)

This recipe is enough to bake two houses using the standard Wilton gingerbread cutters that are currently sold in craft stores in the cake decorating section (as shown below). Don’t limit yourself if you see gingerbread patterns you’d like to follow, instead.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE RECIPE

4 cups (500 grams) sorghum flour (plus 1/2 cup to be used with rolling)

1 cup (125 grams) potato starch (NOT potato flour)

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda (also called sodium bicarbonate)

1/2 cup (62 grams) granulated sugar (coarse white sugar used for tea)

1 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg and ground cloves

1/2 cup (62 grams) non-hydrogenated palm oil shortening or pure lard without soy or other additives

1 cup (125 grams) molasses

4 Tablespoons water or milk substitute

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit / 194 degrees Celsius

Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

Using the whisk attachment of your stand mixer (or pastry cutter if mixing by hand), mix together the shortening and 1/2 of the dry mixture until it resembles coarse crumbles or sand.

Change the attachment to the paddle on your stand mixer (or switch to wooden spoon if mixing by hand).

Add the molasses and remaining flour, mix well.

Add the water or milk and mix until you have a firm dough that holds together well. Add more liquid, 1 Tbsp at a time, if needed to reach the right consistency.

ROLLING & BAKING STEPS

Put 1/2 cup of sorghum flour on a paper plate and set aside for dusting the rolling pin and dough.

Set a piece of parchment paper on the table or counter that will fit onto your cookie sheet.

Roll the dough directly on the parchment paper, pulling up the scraps and putting them back in the bowl.

Transfer the parchment paper with cut pieces directly to your cookie sheet. Poke a few holes with a fork (in places where you’ll be piping windows and doors) so that your baked pieces do not have too many bubbles. Bake the pieces for 7-10 minutes, or until lightly brown around the edges. DO NOT PULL OFF OF PARCHMENT UNTIL COOL.

Transfer the parchment with baked pieces to counter or cooling rack to fully cool. Let cool at least 15 minutes before removing pieces from parchment. (Pieces will harden as they cool).

Meanwhile, as your house pieces cool, prepare a white decorator icing using confectioner’s sugar and water (this will be both your glue and your decorative icing).

ICING RECIPE

4 cups (2 lbs.) confectioner’s sugar (also called icing sugar)

*Note* If corn allergy, use the confectioner’s sugar that has tapioca starch instead of cornstarch

2 Tablespoons of honey or light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

4-6 Tablespoons water (VERY CAREFULLY ADDED)

Add all of the ingredients, except the water, to a mixing bowl for stand mixer or for handheld mixer.

Mix on lowest speed until sugar starts to get moist and clump together. It will be very hard to mix at this stage.

CAREFULLY add water, a Tablespoon at a time, until you get a very thick and firm frosting mixture. It should look silky but peak and hold on the mixing paddle when it is lifted out of the bowl.

If the mixture is too thin, it will take too long to dry and/or not hold your house pieces together.

When finished mixing, put all of the icing in a container and top with a wet paper towel and airtight lid. If you do not, the icing will dry and you will not be able to work with it.

ASSEMBLING & DECORATING

When you are ready to decorate, spoon half of the icing into a cake decorating piping bag with a standard round tip (if you have it). Unfortunately, we forgot to pick up these items and instead used a gallon plastic storage bag and cut a small hole in the bottom corner of the bag. It won’t be as pretty when piping, but as you can see, gets the job done.

Begin assembling your pieces on large round cake boards or use cardboard wrapped in foil or use cookie sheets. Utilize cans from your pantry to hold things in place while waiting for walls to dry. Once walls are dry, secure roof (using cans, etc. to hold in place as best you can).

While waiting to dry, get your candy ready for decorating by putting into little small bowls. Children will be anxious at this point to get started.

Some candies that are generally free of top-8 food allergens (but do tend to include corn, so be careful if you have a corn allergy) are Brach’s Spice Drops, Brach’s Cinnamon Candies, Brach’s Crushed Peppermints, Skittles, Swedish Fish, Sour Patch Kids, Smarties, Dum-Dums, Necco Wafers, and Old-Fashioned Teaberry Gum (usually found at Cracker Barrel stores). CVS also has a lot of candy options for those who must avoid wheat but are okay with corn.

Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cinnamon Masa Waffles

If you are looking for a unique breakfast to serve those with a host of food allergies, find out if corn is okay, and whip up these easy chocolate cinnamon masa waffles. We loved them. These were developed for a certain little boy who has developed new allergies to rice, soy, and legumes. If you’re in the same boat, consider purchasing an inexpensive bag of Masa. Masa is corn flour that is much finer than cornmeal. It is sometimes called Maize, that is usually sold in the ethnic food isles. Make sure it says gluten-free on the bag. Otherwise, you cannot be guaranteed that the food manufacturer didn’t grind the corn in the same equipment as wheat flour.

A few things to note about masa is that is is very tender and does not need the addition of starches like potato starch or tapioca flour. We found out the hard way that treating masa like rice flour by adding the starches (usually required for rice flour mixes) resulted in a very gummy end-result. Also, masa absorbs twice the amount of liquid as other flour mixes. Therefore, you will need to double your liquid when working with masa as a baking flour replacement. Remember that masa is intended for making tamales and soft tortillas.

Also note that your masa mixture will be kind of thick as a baking replacement. But don’t worry, you want that. Since eggs are eliminated, you want this mixture to be very thick and this stuff tends to hold very well together without the eggs.

Lastly, there is a distinctive corn flavor with masa but it pairs very well strong spices and flavors such as vanilla, caramel, cinnamon or chocolate. Up the ante on the spice, and also on the sugar a little, too. But not too much sugar. With masa, it’s a very fine line between not-sweet-enough and way-too-sweet. It takes some experimenting, but it won’t be long before you’re working with masa like an old pro. Bonuses: It’s inexpensive compared to rice flour, you get a lot more for your money, and you don’t need to add other flours to it.

Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cinnamon Masa Waffles

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine:

1.5 cups (12 oz or 150 grams) Masa

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

4 Tablespoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 teaspoons light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Then add:

3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 cups (16 oz.) water or your favorite non-dairy liquid such as coconut-almond milk

Following the instructions of your waffle iron manual, heat and prep the surface of your waffle iron. TO AVOID SOY, do not use a spray cooking oil. Instead, use a brush to apply a light coating of vegetable oil to the iron.

Mix together the ingredients above with a fork until ingredients are well-combined and lumps are removed. You will notice that the mixture will be very thick, almost like you’re going to make brownies. This is good and exactly what you want.

Using a 1/3 measuring cup, ladle waffle mixture onto each waffle section of the iron. You do not have to fill every square entirely or else the mixture will spread and overflow during the baking time.

When your waffle iron light indicates that the cycle of baking is complete, lift the lid and use a fork/tongs to pull up a corner. The waffles might need a little coaxing out of the iron. Cook a little longer if you’re having a hard time getting them out of there.

Top with bananas or strawberries and an extra dusting of cinnamon.

These are also great without the cocoa powder.

Roasted Potatoes with Red Onions and Rosemary

These were a tremendous hit at a family gathering. Best thing is that they are free of the top 8 food allergens! The secret ingredient for these is a tiny bit of mustard. Any food that is a somewhat neutral flavor such as potatoes, eggs, squash and other similar neutral flavored foods do really well a bit of something acidic to brighten it up and bring out the flavor. This is a perfect accompaniment for any dish in any season. This went particular well with an Easter Ham and Deviled Eggs. Enjoy!

Roasted Potatoes with Red Onions and Rosemary

parchment paper*

5 lb bag of red potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 large red onions, peeled and cut into large chunks

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tsp salt

2 tsp cracked pepper

2 tsp Italian seasoning

2 Tbsp dried rosemary (can use fresh if you like, but use half as much and chop it finely)

1 Tbsp yellow mustard

Directions:

After you peel, rinse, and cut the potatoes, bring the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and set the rack to the middle position. Line a deep large casserole dish with parchment paper (*note: this helps keep the potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan).

Put the potatoes, onions, salt, pepper, and rosemary into the dish and coat with oil. Toss the potatoes in the seasoning and oil until well coated. Bake for 45 minutes.

Stir the potatoes, being careful not to push the parchment paper off of the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another 15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through and some of the edges are a nice crisp golden brown color.

Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and stir in the Italian seasoning and mustard and more salt to taste.

Lemon Pound Cake

This is a treat that many with food allergies don’t get to enjoy very often. It is commonly offered in American coffee shops and bakeries; and often appears in the office break room after a kind soul has generously brought some in to share. What’s not to love about slice of a filling but tender lemon cake? It’s so wonderful with tea or coffee.

Pound cake is the name of the original recipe (said to have originated in Northern Europe in the early 1700s) that calls for a pound each of flour, eggs, butter and sugar. As with any traditional recipe, variations have been made over time and the word “pound” in the name has come to more aptly define the expected taste and texture of the cake more so than the use of ingredients.

This recipe utilizes mayonnaise to replace the fats from dairy sources such as butter, cream cheese and sour cream, which are often called for in pound cake recipes. This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, peanut-free and tree-nut free. It does have eggs. If you replace the eggs, add an additional measure of baking powder and a slight increase in mayonnaise to support the structure and rise of the cake (measurements given below).

Note: We make general recommendations for avoiding the top 8 food allergens, however, please be careful to check the ingredients lists of all products you are using to ensure you are avoiding your allergens. Note that the mayonnaise or Vegenaise has not been evaluated by Safe Eats to be corn-free or free of pea-protein (pea and legume protein is a known cross reactive allergen to those who suffer from peanut allergies). So, please double-check.

In the meantime, enjoy this gorgeous lemon cake as you celebrate the arrival of Spring!

Lemon Pound Cake

1 and 1/3 cup (7 oz. or 198 grams) Basic Gluten-free Flour Mix

1 teaspoon of baking powder (add another teaspoon of baking powder if omitting eggs)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum

1 and 1/3 cup (7 oz. or 198 grams) of granulated sugar

The zest of two lemons (approximately 1.5 Tablespoons)

The juice of one lemon for the batter (approximately 3 Tablespoons)

Set aside the juice of the second lemon for the glaze (approximately 3 Tablespoons)

4 large eggs (omit if egg allergies)

1/2 cup (4 oz. or 118 ml) mayonnaise (if omitting eggs, use 3/4 cup [or 6oz or 177 ml] of mayonnaise substitute such as soy-free Vegenaise)

1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1/2 cup (4 oz. or 110 grams) of non-hydrogenated palm oil shortening such as Spectrum

For the Glaze:

The juice of one lemon

1 cup (8 oz. or 22 grams) of fresh confectioner’s sugar (look for one made with tapioca starch if you have a corn allergy)

*Note that confectioner’s sugar, particularly if it is made with cornstarch will go stale very quickly after it is opened. I recommend that you taste the sugar before using it or pick up a fresh small pkg of it and store the remaining in the freezer and use within two weeks.

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (162 degrees Celsius).

In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.

Using a handheld electric mixer or electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the shortening, eggs (if using), and mayonnaise. Add the lemon zest, the juice of one lemon, and the vanilla extract. Once blended, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients on low speed for 5 minutes.

Let the mixture rest in the bowl for another 5-10 minutes. While the batter is resting (rice flours need extra time to absorb moisture than wheat flour requires), coat the inside of a loaf or cake pan with a little bit of palm oil shortening and dust with a little bit of gluten-free flour.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for approximately 50-60 minutes, or until wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Turn cake onto wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare the glaze by pouring the lemon juice into a bowl and slowly adding the confectioner’s sugar to get a very thick consistency. Slowly pour 1/2 of the glaze onto the cake. Let drip and wait approximately 2-3 minutes to set. Slowly pour remaining glaze onto cake.

After serving, store leftover cake in refrigerator.

Bring leftover cake to room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour before serving, or warm in the oven at 200 degrees F (93 degrees C) for 7-10 minutes just before serving.

Cake is best eaten within 3-5 days of baking.

Tender and Delicious Waffles (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, and Bean/Soy-free)

Homemade waffles, with a delicate texture and enticing aroma and flavor, make such a beautiful weekend breakfast. And these waffles contain very few additives that can detract from the flavor and texture. Most store bought gluten-free frozen waffles, especially, tend to contain soy lecithin and a legume-based flour. For those who suffer from soy, peanut or legume allergies, the store-bought gluten-free waffles are not an option.

Homemade waffles are surprisingly easy and budget-friendly. With a $10 dollar Rival waffle iron, we used a standard gluten-free flour mix and adapted a classic wheat recipe to omit several food allergens while retaining all the texture and flavor of a waffle that we agreed is superior to the frozen waffles. This recipe is gluten-free, soy-free, peanut-free, treenut-free and dairy-free.

An egg-free version is still in testing. We attempted to make an egg-free version using applesauce as a replacement but applesauce is not recommended as causes the outer layer to caramelize and stick to the waffle iron (even with extra oiling). This article will be updated when a successful egg-free version is achieved.

These waffles are slightly sweet and perfect with our favorite Log Cabin All Natural syrup – made without caramel color or high fructose corn syrup. If you plan on adding a lot of sweet toppings, omit the sugar in this waffle recipe.

Note: Please be sure to double-check all of your ingredients to ensure you avoid your particular food allergens.

Tender Waffles (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, and Bean/Soy-free)

Makes approximately 8-10 waffles

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine:

1.5 cups (12 oz or 150 grams) Basic Gluten-free Flour Mix

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Then add:

3 Tablespoons of canola or grapeseed oil

2 eggs

1 cup (8 oz.) water

Mix together the ingredients above with a fork until ingredients are well-combined and lumps are removed. You will notice that the mixture will bubble a little and take on a frothy texture. This is good and exactly what you want to make a tender light waffle.

When your waffle iron light indicates that the cycle of baking is complete, lift the lid and use a fork to pull up a corner. The waffle should then come up very easily.

And just one more picture to show the tender deliciousness. Enjoy!

Sanity Saver Series: “Potato Night” (Plus Ideas for Meals)

When you are diagnosed with a food related condition your life changes and you are faced with a lot more cooking than you have ever done before. No longer can you have pizza or stir fry delivered to your door. No longer can you swing through your favorite fast food place on the way home. No longer can you just buy the frozen potato products in the freezer section because of all of the added ingredients, or even frozen dinners for that matter. No longer can you just go out to eat. It’s a bummer but…

You have to have a good attitude about this or you will go nuts.

Think of yourself as a chef and your kitchen as the world’s best restaurant.

Before long, the things you make at home will be far tastier and better than what you can get out to eat.

I know that cooking from scratch all the time really seems overwhelming, but I promise that it gets to be like old hat after a while. This is what chefs have to do to prepare for a busy night of serving clientele, so it’s not a new trick. You’ll get to a point where this becomes standard routine.

This is where a little prep can save your sanity and thus I begin an article series called “Sanity Savers.”

First, I’ll start with potatoes. These are NOT a quick weeknight sort of ingredient. Potatoes are one of the most time-consuming, prep-intensive ingredients ever. But they are one of the most delicious, satisfying and tolerable foods. French fries and mashed potatoes are wildly popular for a reason.

So, here’s the strategy. Pick one night to do your potato prep work. It is what I like to call:

“Potato Night”

When you do your grocery shopping, buy one, two or three 10-lb. bags of potatoes. Russet, baking, red… whatever kind of potatoes are your favorite.

Have gluten-free sandwiches or scrambled eggs for dinner on this prep night to reduce your stress.

Or, do this prep work in the middle of cooking dinner, or after cooking dinner, or just before…however you can fit in this prep work.

Then, cut up a whole bunch of potatoes, any size you want:

Cut some in french fry shape, dice some really small for hash, slice some for scalloped potatoes or casseroles. You can even grate some by hand or in a food processor to be used for hash browns or potato latkes or potato pancakes. However you want to do it and however you think you’ll like cooking the potatoes. Just remember that the smaller the size you cut them, the faster they will cook.

Put them in freezer bags and freeze.

That’s it.

Now you’re ready for having potatoes on your regular weeknight cooking.

Ideas for Meals using Prepped Potatoes

Crock Pot Roast or Stew: Add meat, potatoes, 1 diced onion and baby carrots to your crock pot. Fill with water to almost the top of ingredients. Add salt, pepper and a generous amount of garlic powder and onion powder (about 2 tablespoons each). Cook on low all day.

Casserole: Add potatoes to a casserole dish with beans or chicken, veggies, spices, and a little water. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees F for an hour.

Roasted Potatoes: While you’re grilling or sauteing your protein, roast the potatoes in the oven: toss 1-2 bags of frozen potatoes with olive oil, rosemary, sea salt and pepper (and/or add a little dijon mustard) and roast at 475 degrees F for 15 minutes, stir, 15 minutes more. (make sure you have enough oil or they will stick to the pan)

Mashed Potatoes. Boil water, add frozen potatoes and cook until fork tender. Drain most of the water. Mash with a little of the potato water and add salt and onion powder. For a cheesier flavor, add nutritional yeast flakes and a little olive oil or nondairy milk. Perfect topping for a quick shepherd’s pie, too.

French Fries: Add oil to skillet, bring to medium high heat. Add a bag of fry-cut potatoes and cook for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and add salt and pepper.

German Potato Salad: Boil water, add 2 bags frozen potatoes and cook until *just* fork tender. Drain and set aside. In a separate skillet, cook 1 diced onion until tender, set aside. Cook 6 slices of bacon. Set aside. In a bowl, mix together 1 cup vegetable or olive oil with 1/4 cup dijon mustard and 1/4 cup of vinegar (you can use cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or white vinegar but DO NOT USE MALT VINEGAR because malt contains gluten). Mix all ingredients together and serve with sandwiches or scrambled eggs or as a side dish to your meal.

Soups: This is probably the easiest way to use these potatoes. Add to your pot of lentils or chicken broth. Or add the potatoes to water with the addition of non-dairy milk, leeks, salt, pepper, onions and garlic for a delicious and simple potato leek soup. Or use mushrooms instead of leeks. Or, if you have neither on hand, just have plain potato soup. Sometimes the most simple dishes are the best dishes.

If you have any more ideas for how to use these prepped potatoes, feel free to add them to the comments. I really hope this time-saver tip works for you!

Vegan Gluten-Free Grapefruit Bars

The small addition of honey in this recipe softens the tones of raw grapefruit while leaving its extra-bright and unique flavor to shine. If you cannot tolerate honey, simply omit it and add an extra 1/4 cup of sugar or light syrup of your choosing. In this version of the classic citrus bar cookie, we have omitted eggs, gluten, dairy, and soy. We made an egg version, too, but found that this recipe turned out better. You can also try this in tangerine, lemon or lime.

For the Crust

1/2 c. non-hydrogenated shortening or non-dairy margarine

4 oz. applesauce (I used one of those single serve snack cups. I like to keep them on hand for my child and to have fresh applesauce on hand for vegan baking)

2 cups gluten free flour mix

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the Filling

2.5 Tablespoons EnerG egg replacer mixed with 1/2 cup water

Zest of two grapefruits (about 2-3 Tablespoons)

Juice of two grapefruits (about 1 to 1 1/4 cup liquid) – juice into a separate liquid measure cup, not the bowl

1/4 c. honey

2/3 cup tapioca starch

pinch salt

1 tiny drop of allergen-free red liquid food coloring (optional)

Directions – CRUST

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Coat a 9X9 inch baking dish with a little bit of the shortening or with cooking spray.

In a large bowl using a beater or in a stand mixer, beat the shortening and sugar together until well-combined. Add the remaining ingredients and beat for another minute or two until the mixture begins sticking together. If it is too crumbly, add a bit of liquid.

Press the mixture into the dish and bake for 15 minutes. Bring it out of the oven and let cool for a bit while you finish the filling.

Directions – FILLING

Stir together your egg replacer and set aside. (Note: if you do not have egg replacer and you are not allergic to eggs, use 4 eggs for this recipe. Alternatively, you can try flax or chia seed gel. If you do, let me know how it turns out as I have not tried a seed gel for this recipe yet.)

In a large bowl, add the tapioca starch and slowly whisk in the grapefruit juice until the starch is well combined. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk together until well combined. Pour the mixture gently on top of the cookie crust and return the pan to the oven.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes.* The edges will look set but the center will still be quite liquid. That is okay. Tapioca-based desserts tend not to be fully set until cooled completely.

*If using eggs in this recipe, bake about 30-35 minutes and make sure that the center is set before taking it out of the oven.

Let cool at room temperature for 15 minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator to further cool and set. It should be ready to cut and serve in about 2-3 hours.

Quick BBQ-Style Beans

Beans support red blood cell function, support skin cell production, and support nerve function. Beans also contribute to preventing symptoms of osteoporosis, dementia, mental fogginess, irritability, depression and anemia. How do beans do this? With their awesomely high content of folate, containing around 180 micrograms of folate per serving. So, don’t knock beans. They are extremely good for you! They also happen to be very economical, while being an excellent allergen-friendly food (see peanut allergy comments below*).

(*Please keep in mind, however, that some with peanut allergies may react to beans. If you suffer from peanut allergies, speak with your doctor about whether or not you will react to other legumes. If you are cooking for someone with a peanut allergy, consider another dish and forgo making beans.)

That said, beans are pretty easy to work with. And though many are concerned about gas issues, work with dried beans as there seems to be less of an issue with dried beans vs. store bought canned beans. Every now and then, I make a large batch of pinto beans from scratch. I store them and use them over the next few meals with various seasoning combinations. Dinners vary from chili beans for tacos, italian pasta fagioli soup, three bean salad or a quick version of the traditional baked beans.

The secret to success for delicious BBQ-style beans is the sweet onion flavor. If you are out of onions, substitute with a generous amount of onion powder to taste. (I do this often if I’m feeling a bit lazy).

Ingredients

2-3 slices of turkey bacon from humanely raised source (omit if vegan or vegetarian)

1 yellow onion, diced

3-4 cups cooked pinto beans (or 3-4 14oz cans, drained and rinsed)

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed

2 Tablespoons molasses

1 Tablespoon yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

Directions

In a large non-stick skillet, fry the bacon and transfer the bacon to paper-towel lined plate. Pour excess grease/oil into a bowl to discard in the trash later.

With some of the flavored oil remaining, saute’ onion until tender.

Add the remaining ingredients and, if using, crumble the bacon into the bean as well.

Simmer on medium-low heat until the liquid has thickened.

Serve warm.

Green Chili Hushpuppies

I was in the mood for baked beans and needed something quick to go with them. I generally make some cornbread, but that takes at least an hour of prep and baking. I had already started the beans and we wanted to eat soon. These hushpuppies were the perfect accompaniment for the beans. This is super fast, easy, and free of gluten, dairy, fish, nuts, peanuts and shellfish. If you have an egg allergy, the egg can easily be replaced with Ener-G egg replacer. I may try experiment without the egg altogether as the mixture holds together well.

Ingredients

1 cup gluten-free flour mix

1/2 cup corn meal

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

1 egg (or use Ener-G egg replacer equivalent to 1 egg)

1 6-8oz can diced green chilis

1/2 cup water

Directions

Add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl and stir until well combined.

Heat 1 inch of canola oil in medium skillet to med-high heat. When a drop of water sizzles in the oil, you are ready to cook.

Drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil and cook approximately 2-3 minutes on each side, or until dark golden brown.

Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and dust with a little more salt and pepper.

Serve hot.

Gingerbread Apple Pancakes with Maple & Rum Raisin Syrup

Perfect for any holiday breakfast or for a special breakfast for your loved ones. Prepare the apples, raisin syrup and gluten-free pancake mix the day before to make your morning prep go more quickly. These are vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, egg-free, dairy-free, oat-free, peanut-free and tree-nut-free. If you use Bob’s Red Mill Pancake mix, it is also rice-free.

Disclosure: As with all recipes, please check your ingredients carefully for safety and let your allergic guests know everything you used; providing the ingredients list when possible.

Recipes below serves 4. Double or triple all recipes below for 4 or more guests.

Maple & Rum Raisin Syrup

Omit the rum for kids. This is more for the grown-ups.

Soak 1/2 cup of golden and/or dark raisins in 2 cups of rum overnight.

** ALLERGY NOTE** Rum is generally a gluten-free alcohol, but always double check the brand’s website to make sure.

If you forget to soak the raisins, you can simmer them in the rum while you make the pancakes until most of the rum is absorbed.

In a small saucepan, warm the raisins with any remaining rum with 1 cup of maple syrup. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside (after you finish pancakes, you’ll be adding remaining apples and liquid just before serving).

Carmelized Apples

2 apples, peeled and sliced thin

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

a few dashes of cinnamon

In a large skillet over medium high heat, simmer all of the until apples are tender and syrup begins to thicken. Don’t let it all evaporate as you want some of this delicious caramel liquid to stir into your finished syrup.

Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Store in refrigerator for the next morning (if making the night before). Otherwise, set aside to be ready to put some slices into the gingerbread pancakes.

Gingerbread Pancakes

Follow the recipe for these Vegan Pancakes by clicking here. (For day-ahead-prep, make your mix and add wet ingredients in the morning)

Add the following spices to the mix:

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 Tablespoons molasses

If using Bob’s Red Mill Pancake Mix, add the spices above for 1 and 1/2 cup of the mix.

When ready to make the pancakes, add wet ingredients.

Note: One egg can be replaced 1 Tablespoon ground flax or chia seeds mixed with 3 Tablespoons of water

OR 1/4 cup of applesauce

OR 1/4 cup of mashed banana (if you don’t mind some banana flavor)

Directions:

Heat oven to 175 degrees Fahrenheit and set a large plate or dish on the middle oven rack. This is where you’ll keep finished pancakes warm until ready to serve.

Heat large skillet to medium heat and spray lightly with canola or vegetable oil (or a little bit of earth balance if it is safe for your family).

Drop batter by the 1/4-cup-full into the skillet.

Add a few slices of the caramelized apples in each pancake before flipping.

When pancakes are golden brown on each side and cooked through, transfer to the dish in the oven to keep warm while you prepare the rest of the pancakes.

When all of the pancakes are finished, stir the remaining apples and caramel liquid into the rum raisin syrup and serve over the finished pancakes on individual plates – making sure there are delicious rum raisins in each bite!

Enjoy with a cup of tea, coffee or warm apple cider.

Christmas Cookies – Free of Top 8 Allergens

This recipe is for a new online friend. I hope I’m in time for her and her children to enjoy! These Top-8-Allergen-Free Christmas Cookies are gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, and soy-free. These also happen to be rice-free, oat-free, coconut-free and sesame-free. While I do my best to eliminate these allergies, I am not well versed on all cross reaction ingredients.

Please make sure that all of your ingredients are safe for you and your family.

The goal was to eliminate rice flour and eggs and create a nice sugar “butter” roll-and-cut style cookie. I suggested that she use corn flour (masa) that is labeled gluten-free and I also suggested trying sorghum flour. I really wanted to go beyond just suggesting it and test them both out for myself.

Corn flour is typically used to make tamales and tortillas. If you’ve never used corn flour to do this, I HIGHLY recommend it. It is a lot of fun and you can avoid a lot of preservatives that are typically found in store-bought tortillas. But could corn flour be used in a butter cookie recipe? I turned to my favorite Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book and adapted the very versatile wheat-based Christmas Cookie recipe that I have loved for years and replaced the wheat flour with the corn flour, added xanthan gum, and replaced the cream cheese with 5 Tablespoons of applesauce. The result was quite delicious. There is a distinct tortilla cookie flavor but it is actually quite good, especially prepared with the frosting. The cookies are not too sweet because the frosting is very sweet and you don’t want the cookies to be too sweet. However, if you do not frost the corn flour based cookies, add an addition 1/4 cup sugar to the dough.

The next batch I made was with sorghum flour and potato starch. First of all, I noticed that Bob’s Red Mill Shortbread mix (pictured) is mostly sorghum (pronounced: sore-gum) and potato starch. There is no rice flour in this mix and it is so soft and works beautifully for roll-out cookies. Of course, I am not sure what the secret ratio is of sorghum flour to potato starch, so I tried to come up with it on my own in case my readers can’t find the shortbread mix but can find the sorghum flour and potato starch (so many stores carry such a varied set of flours that one can never tell what will be available).

I will say that we were even more pleased with the sorghum/starch mix. Sorghum flour comes from sorghum cane (the stuff they use to make molasses) and it has a wonderfully soft texture. Sorghum is a bit of a miracle worker with regards to improving gluten-free texture in baking and I highly recommend that gluten-free bakers experiment with it a little more.

That said, we are enjoying the cookies from both batches, though we prefer the corn-flour ones iced (they seem to do well with the extra sweetness) and we are preferring the sorghum ones un-iced with some hot tea. Both are delicious. Enjoy!

Corn (Masa) Flour or Sorghum Flour Christmas Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together:

2 1/2 cups of Corn (Masa) Flour – make sure it is not processed with wheat and that it is certified gluten-free.

2 cups of sorghum flour mixed with 1/2 cup potato starch

THEN ADD:

1/4 teaspoon of salt

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum

THEN CUT IN:

1/2 cup allergen-free shortening such as Spectrum non-hydrogenated palm oil shortening OR earth balance

THEN ADD:

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

5 Tablespoons of applesauce

3 Tablespoons of non-diary milk or water

DIRECTIONS:

Mix together by spoon and then finish mixing with hands.

Form the dough into a ball and split in two halves.

Dust the counter with either corn or sorghum flour.

Roll out the first half of the dough to about 1/4 inch thick and use cookie cutter of choice to cut out enough cookies to fill a cookie sheet. Keep re-rolling dough until you’ve used up as much as you can.

Using a fork, poke some holes in your cookies to eliminate big air bubbles in your finished cookies.

Bake for 10 minute or until edges are just a little golden brown. Your cookies will look very light and that is exactly what you want so that they don’t end up too crunchy. You want a nice firm cookie with a bit of give in the bite.

Repeat the directions with the second half of the cookie dough. If you can do all of the cookies all at once, go for it.

Next (and optional):

Egg-free, dairy-free royal icing

In a small to medium bowl add:

1 cup powdered sugar

2-3 teaspoons water or non-dairy milk

2 teaspoons of honey or light corn syrup (honey seems to give the icing that cream cheese taste to it, but do not use honey for guests with bee allergy)

a few drops of liquid food coloring (be careful to get only the liquid or another food coloring that is allergy safe, the Wilton paste colors are NOT allergy safe)

Stir to a consistency of VERY thick pancake syrup. You don’t want this icing too runny because it will run off of your cookies if it is. You want it to be workable.

Repeat the above in a separate bowl for each color.

Don’t hesitate to add a little more powdered sugar to get the consistency thicker. It does dry out quickly though, so once mixed, pour into zip-lock or decorator bags (before you cut the tiny opening that you’ll need to pipe on the icing).

It’s easier to pour the icing in the bags instead of using a spoon. Also, pouring the icing into the bags will keep it from drying out and gives you a lot more time to work on decorating your cookies.

When your bags are all filled, set them on a large plate and snip the bottom corner or opening to a tiny hole. Since the icing is of a pour-able consistency, you need the small opening to have better control.

As you ice the cookies, be careful to start with an outline that leaves a little room for spreading so that it doesn’t go to the edge of cookie and fall down the sides. Then, make another line or two inside of it (don’t completely fill the outline). As you can see in the picture, the icing will spread into the outline by itself. Use the tip of the bag to push it over the gaps.

Let the cookie icing dry overnight. Can either dry at room temp or uncovered in refrigerator.

If you prefer, you can serve these sooner (after the icing has just set) if you don’t want to wait. You just won’t be able to stack them on top of each other until they are completely dry.

Enjoy!! And save a few for Santa!

Allergen-Free Vegan Pumpkin Pies – Choose Your Structure

It would feel so wrong to omit pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving but this item remains a challenge for the home baker that wishes to avoid the 8 common allergens. What do you do when you have no idea how to create this illustrious pie without animal products or allergens? You do a lot of research and get extremely creative and go through a very expensive trial and error process. We hope we have saved you at least some time and money by providing some information (and a bit of trial and error to avoid) for you. You see, pumpkin pie needs something to set it up in order for it to be pumpkin pie and not warm pumpkin sauce, but it is extremely challenging to find a solid structure option that does not hit on one of the 8 common allergens.

That said, we offer a list of things that you can use for the custard structure with the appropriate amount to be added to the recipe below. Choose your structure based on your allergy, or one of your guests’ dietary restrictions.

It is extremely important that you tell your guests what ingredients you used in your baking.

If you are having anyone over and you do not know if they have a shellfish, nut, soy, or other allergy, and you decided to use silken tofu or cashews or agar flakes, you could send someone into anaphylaxis reaction. Most people know that dairy and eggs are in the pie but a person that is allergic to iodine may not suspect that you used agar flakes for a pumpkin pie. So…

DISCLOSE! DISCLOSE! DISCLOSE!

Follow the recipe below for the pumpkin pie and use the standard 4 eggs that is typically used (2 eggs per pie). If you cannot source your eggs from a humane farm, or you are allergic to eggs, choose one of these 7 structure options to replace the eggs:

1. 8 Tbsp Agar Agar flakes (Vegan but very high in iodine, may not be good for those with shellfish or fish allergy. Sold near the sushi nori at Whole Foods). Dissolve according to package directions before adding to the pie filling.

2. 4 Tbsp of tapioca starch. This is a great vegan option that avoids all of the allergens but it is a somewhat softer and smoother set. Note that this pie will not set until it has had time to cool down and put in the refrigerator overnight. (This is the method we used and depicted in the picture above).

3. Flax seeds: mix 4 Tbsp of ground flax seeds with 3/4 cup of water (equal to 4 eggs). (Vegan and avoids the 8 common allergens)

4. Chia seeds: use the same ratio of 4 Tbsp of ground chia seeds with 3/4 cup of water (equal to 4 eggs). (Vegan and avoids the 8 common allergens)

(Formula is derived via: 1 Tbsp of seeds to 3 Tbsp of water = 1 egg)

5. Two packets of unflavored gelatin (Not vegan. Not for those with a beef, pork or poultry allergy). Dissolve according to package directions.

6. Two 16-ounce packages of silken tofu (not for those with soy allergy). Use a blender to incorporate into the pie filling.

7. 1.5 cups of unsalted cashews blended into the pumpkin pie filling recipe using a food processor or blender (not for those with nut allergy)

Once you have decided on your structure option, and you have made your crust (click here for crust recipe), follow this pie filling recipe (or your favorite pumpkin pie recipe that is enough for two pies):

Pumpkin Pie Filling – Add Your Chosen Structure Option

1 28-ounce can of pureed pumpkin

1.5 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups of unsweetened hemp milk (hemp milk is creamier than rice milk and is allergen-free. If it is safe to do so, you could use coconut milk, soy milk/creamer, or almond milk. If you use these alternatives, make sure they are safe for all of your guests. Rice milk is allergen-free but it is thin like skim milk and I would only recommend it if you have a very strong structure option such as gelatin or eggs.)

Directions:

Make your pie crusts but do not pre-bake. (Click Here for Easy Allergen-Free Pie Crust Recipe)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray or lightly coat your pie dishes with vegetable oil and press your crusts into the dishes.

Combine the pie filling ingredients and add one of the 7 structure options (see above). Stir until smooth and well-mixed. Pour the filling into the pie crusts and bake on the middle rack for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 45 minutes or until filling is firm.

Cool to room temperature and then transfer pies to refrigerator until ready to serve.

Creamless Mushroom Soup

So warm and savory, this thick and creamless mushroom soup is good for just eating with a slice of your favorite gluten-free bread or using to prepare your green bean casserole for Thanksgiving. Make a double or triple batch if you want to fill up your freezer to have on hand for other recipes that call for cream of mushroom soup. This has all of the flavor that we love and we don’t miss the cream (or the preservatives!). Be sure not to leave out the celery seeds, it really rounds out the flavor and makes it more like what you’re familiar with. If you don’t have celery seed, add 1/2 cup of finely chopped celery and saute’ with the onions and mushrooms.

Creamless Mushroom Soup

3 cups water

2 cups mushrooms, finely chopped

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons of tapioca starch mixed with 1/2 cup of water

2 Tablespoons of onion powder

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of salt

dash or two of ground thyme

1/4 teaspoon of celery seed

cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large saucepan, add a little bit of oil and saute the onions and mushrooms until tender.

Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until thick and bubbly.

That’s is it!

Enjoy!

Press (Don’t Roll) This Easy Allergen-free Vegan Pie Crust

This pie crust will hold and carry your favorite pie filling just like the old gluten versions. The taste and texture is firm and what you’d expect for your pumpkin, apple and sweet potato pies. If you like your crust to have a touch of sweetness, such as for a cold banana cream pie, add two Tablespoons of sugar.

Easy Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free Pie Crust

2 1/2 cups of Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix or your favorite all purpose gluten-free flour mix

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

3/4 cup of Spectrum Organic non-hydrogentated shortening (or use soy-free Earth Balance*)

6-8 Tablespoons of ice water

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.

Using a pastry cutter, cut in the shortening or Earth Balance until it resembles a sandy, course crumb texture.

Add the water until you have a thick dough. If you have added too much, work the dough on the counter until it is a firm, soft consistency and does not stick to your hands.

You can’t really roll this dough because there is no stringy gluten in it, so this will behave more like a shortbread cookie crust.

Spray or coat the pie dish with vegetable oil. This is an important step as gluten-free pie crust will want to adhere to the dish when it cools.

Shape into a large disk and set in the middle of the pie dish. Press firmly until it is coated.

If your recipe calls for pre-baking the pie shell, you will definitely want to cover with foil and add pie weights or beans to keep it from shrinking down.

I pre-baked mine according to my recipe without problem, and then I baked my regular pie in it. You will note that it is a bit firmer and does not brown as easily as traditional pie crust, but, in the world of pie-baking, these traits are actually desirable.

Enjoy!

*P.S. I have heard that the pea protein in Earth Balance is related to peanuts and therefore can cause an allergic reaction. I am not sure about this yet, but to be safe, use the shortening.

Extremely Satisfying Vegan Taco Salad

Most of you probably already make this in your own way. If you haven’t made it in a while, let me just remind you that this is great quick meal idea. This hearty vegan taco salad, made with a seasoned mixture of beans and rice instead of meat, had us all walking away from the table feeling very full and satisfied.

We worked with the pot of black beans we made the night before (see Working with Dried Beans). Just season the beans and rice and assemble your favorite taco salad ingredients together.

How to Season the Beans & Rice

In a large skillet, warm up 2 cups of beans and 1 cup of rice with enough liquid to almost cover.

Add 1 Tablespoon of chili powder and 1-2 teaspoons of ground cumin. Add salt to taste. (Always taste it to make sure you like it). If you want a more tomato tone to it, add an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce or tomato paste. If it needs a little acidity, add a bit of lime or taco sauce.

Once the beans and rice are seasoned and warmed up, assemble your plates something like this:

I use spinach instead of lettuce for almost everything calling for some greens, and this is just one of the applications. It’s easier to work with, has more nutritional value and provides the same crispy texture that lettuce does. (And it’s a prettier green, don’t you think?) It also stores easily if I want to use the spinach for several dinners.

We topped this with 3-Minute Fiesta Dip and ALDI’s prepared guacamole.

Add veggies of choice, some Daiya brand cheddar-flavor shreds if you have them, some taco sauce and it’s an easy dinner. Enjoy!

Working with Dried Beans. Tip: Think “All Day” (not Overnight) to Soak*

We’ve had a great first week in eating according to our allergies and our new goal to omit meat for humane and environmental reasons. We are already in the practice of eating a lot of beans so our bodies are already used to them. I was fairly adamant that my son eat beans early on. It took the standard 8-10 separate “tries” before he decided he liked them. Now he eats them with gusto! You have no idea how happy this makes me that he eats beans.

Beans are so good for the body. So high in fiber, protein, vitamins, antioxidants and low in calories and zero cholesterol. Click here for a great article from WebMD on the wonderful nutritive value of beans.

Not only do they have all of those nutritional and health benefits, but they are immensely economical. For $1, a bag of beans will yield the equivalent of about 8 cans of the 14oz cans of beans. Even though dried beans are more economical, I get both dried beans and canned beans (without EDTA added in the cans). The dried beans take some time to work with but with a little planning, which we’ll talk about in this article, the process can easily be worked into a busy schedule. If I’ve been too busy with college coursework, blogging, job searching, mothering and volunteer activities, and I have forgotten to start a dried bean cooking process, the canned beans are great to have on hand. Canned beans are super fast – even faster than meat. Open a can, saute’ the beans in some vegetable broth with veggies and leftover cooked rice or gluten-free pasta (or even shredded potatoes) and you have a good, filling, hot meal.

So here’s the tip about the soaking that I put in the title, (it’s pretty straightforward):

Start soaking the dried beans in the morning. By the time you get home in the evening, they will be ready to cook. That’s it.

*You can do an overnight soak, but if you do, put the beans in a crock pot in the morning. Do not soak the beans more than 8-10 hours.

Either way, if you plan soak and cook into your schedule, it’s not such the arduous process that people think. Here’s a nifty pic of my black beans. Notice how they double in size (they expand even more during cooking).

If you do the daytime soak and cook the beans when you get home, don’t think that they will be ready for dinner. So eat sandwiches and do your bean cooking. Since they simmer for two hours, there isn’t much to it but checking in on them from time to time to see if they need more liquid. But if you use enough liquid, you won’t have to. Think of it this way: these beans are going to make your life EASY for the next 3-4 days of dinners. I do my college homework while cooking beans.

So, back to how to do it: once soaking is finished, cook them in a pot, with plenty of water (about 3-4 inches above the beans), and drop in two cubes of gluten-free vegan vegetable bouillon cubes. If you have vegetable broth, that’s great! Use that! But I’m looking to be extremely economical and the picture above is a package of bouillon cubes that I got for $2.69 at Kroger. (Sweet!) That equates to about .33 cents for each 16 ounces of liquid broth that I make with the cubes.

So, bring the beans to a boil (with the 2 bouillon cubes), cover and simmer for two hours. Turn off the heat. Put the whole pot in the refrigerator to cool and to use for the following three days for all kinds of things! Bean salads, bean burgers, enchiladas, nachos, tacos, beans n’ rice… to name a few.

I like to make a lot of rice on the same nights that I’m doing all of this bean cooking. I do the same thing to the rice when it’s done, I just put the whole pot with lid in the refrigerator and get what I need for the next few meals.

By doing all of this, you have PLENTY of beans on hand for various meals that will feed you and your family for roughly around $5 for each meal depending on what other ingredients you use along with those two ingredients. That’s less than what it would cost to get a really crappy fast food burger. And WAY BETTER for you and your world!

If you don’t think you’re going to use all of the whole pot of beans anytime soon, ladle into jars (with 2 inches of head room) and freeze. You can recycle jars and lids from salsas, pasta sauces and the like for this purpose (no need to buy plastic containers).

When you want to use the frozen beans, simply transfer them from freezer to refrigerator about two days before.

Here’s a handy recipe for you to get started (I’ll add more recipes as we use up our first batch):

Black Beans and Rice with Kale and Red Onions

2 cups black beans

2 cups cooked rice

1 red onion, large dice

1/2 bunch of kale, torn and washed

1 tsp Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

drizzle extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil

Directions:

Coat a large nonstick skillet with vegetable oil, just a thin layer.

Ladle about 2 cups of your black beans (with veg broth liquid) and red onion. Cook until red onions are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Add cooked rice and a little more liquid from the bean pot.

Add Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

At the end, stir in kale until just wilted but still bright green and turn off of the heat.

Drizzle about 1/4 cup of the olive oil and stir.

Serve. Enjoy!

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