Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick post to say Happy Thanksgiving to our loyal readers.
I hope you are finding yummy gluten free foods to enjoy!

I was thinking about coming up with my own GF recipes for tomorrow, but ended up getting busy... So for anyone still looking, there is a great website, Jules Gluten Free, which has a Thanksgiving ebook/guide. So far I have been doing great with the recipes and they are pretty easy to follow even if you are new to GF. (I am using a local flour blend, not theirs, but it seems to be working just as well, just make sure whatever you use contains xanthum gum! ) Also, keeping things simple goes a long way! Look for fresh foods, veggies, potatoes, turkey (as long as you know how it was seasoned) and if you are visiting others, bring your own "safe" food just to be sure!!

Cheers!

Bad Blogger!!

Alright, for those of you following our blog, I need to apologize! I am a terrible blogger!! I just realized I have not blogged since spring, which is totally unacceptable... To my defense, we sold a house, bought a house, moved, and celebrated a graduation in that time. So, something new for the few of you who still have faith in this blog.

Here is the new "lab" (much, much bigger and easier to cook in!)

Parmesan Zucchini Soup

• 1 medium onion (chopped fine)

• 1 clove of garlic (chopped fine)

• 1 tsp olive oil

• 5 c vegetable broth

• 3 Tbsp uncooked brown rice

• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

• 1.5 c grated zucchini

• salt and pepper (to taste)

• 3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

• 2 eggs

• 1 Tbsp chopped parsley

Directions:

1. In a medium stock pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until lightly browned

2. Add broth and rice and bring to a boil

3. Simmer, covered for 10 min

4. stir in zucchini, salt and pepper

5. Simmer, uncovered for 15 min until zucchini is tender

6. Beat together eggs, cheese and parsley. Add a small amount of hot broth to mixture. Gradually whisk into hot soup.

7. Remove from heat and enjoy!

Chocolate chip cookies

I have a new favorite flour mix!
It is called mama's almond blend and it works cup for cup! In celebration, here is my first recipe using it, enjoy! :)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups Gluten-Free Flour Blend
1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 cup Butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla
1 package gluten-free chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375°F. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum in medium bowl. Set aside.

Combine butter, brown sugar and sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour mixture, until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 minutes until light golden brown. (DO NOT OVERBAKE.) Let stand 1 to 2 minutes.

Sugar Cookies

Another adaptation that came out better than expected! An easy frosting is powdered sugar combined with water until thick enough to not run when used. You add food coloring to make several batches of different colors and pipe on using a zip-lock style bag with the very tip cut off.

1¼ cups all purpose flour blend (see previous post)
½ cup tapioca flour/starch
1-⅓ cup potato starch
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.
3. In the large mixer bowl, combine butter and sugar and beat for 3 minutes until mixture is a pale yellow.
4. Add in egg, vanilla extract.
5. Add dry ingredients, slowly mixing until dough forms. Place bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
6. Remove half the dough and roll out onto a lightly floured surface to ¼-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out cookies and place them on prepared cookie sheets. Reroll scraps of dough. If dough becomes too sticky, chill again. Repeat with second half of dough.
7. Bake in preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes until light brown. Remove and let cool thoroughly before handling and decorating.

Flour mixture for baking

This is an adaptation of a flour mixture I came across, I am in love with it! It works very well for most all purpose type flours when baking.

2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup white rice flour
1.5 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca starch/flour

Mix ingredients together. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

Gingerbread Cookies

So, a little late for the holiday season, but yummy nonetheless! I am really impressed with how this dough turned out, it was very easy to roll and work, hard to tell it was GF! You could play around with adding more ginger and cinnamon if you like more spice.

Oven: 375F  Cook Time: 8-10 min

Ingredients:

1c brown rice flour (or flour mix)
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 egg white
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp corn syrup

Directions:
1. place all dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. place butter, sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan on low heat and heat until melted
3. pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients and stir to form a ball
4. cover and refrigerate for 2 hours (can do less time if in a hurry)
5. place dough on lightly floured surface and roll out to 1/4 to 1/3" thick (preference)
6. cut out shapes, place on baking sheet and bake until golden brown. About 8-10 min.