Pineapple Truffle Bread

Over the holidays, we somehow ended up with two containers of crushed pineapple in the fridge. I put it in my oatmeal nearly daily (with almond butter, coconut and craisins), but I still had a bit left. Decided that I would try and recreate one of my favorite See's candies, the pineapple truffle.

With the boy needing more snacks that are wheat and corn free, I knew what needed to be done first. I went back to my quick bread ratio for a starting place. Made sure I had lots of chocolate (he says there isn't enough). The only thing missing, in my opinion, is some coconut sugar, And maybe more pineapple.

Pineapple Truffle Bread

8 ounces crushed pineapple with juice

4 ounces melted coconut oil

2 eggs

4 ounces teff flour

2 ounces dark chocolate cocoa powder

2 ounces all purpose gluten free flour

4 ounces sugar

1 tsp baking soda

Handful dark chocolate chips

Handful chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium size bowl, combine pineapple, cooled coconut oil, and eggs. Set aside. In a smallish bowl, stir together flours, cocoa powder, baking soda and sugar. Pour slowly into egg mixture and stir until combined. Add chocolate chips (the boy says add more than called for) and pecans/almonds if you want. Grease four small loaf pans, and fill with batter. Bake for roughly 40 minutes or until a testing tool comes out clean. Cool and enjoy!

Note: I would add maybe another ounce of pineapple to the batter and/or make a glaze (powdered sugar and pineapple juice) to pour over the top to increase the pineapple flavor.

Eggnog Parsnip Muffins

My sister found this almond eggnog for the Monkey. He declared it to nutmeg-y, and wouldn't drink anymore. As I don't do eggnog, it has sat in the fridge. Then I happened upon the idea of muffins. 

I did a quick alteration of our favorite muffin recipe, and popped them in the oven this morning. My dad likes them, and the Monkey says they taste a bit like zucchini bread with a hint of eggnog. Mom thinks they maybe need nuts or more spice. I will take it for this first recipe of 2015.

Eggnog ParsnipMuffins 

Makes 2 dozen

3 eggs

3/4 C coconut oil, melted

2 C parsnips, peeled and grated

2 C eggnog

1 C coconut sugar

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice 

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 C sorghum flour

1 1/4 C brown rice flour

1 C sweet rice flour

1/4 C tapioca starch

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together eggs and oil. Mix in sugar and parsnips. Alternately add eggnog and flour mixture until combined. Scoop into muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Half Birthday Dessert Pizza

The Monkey's birthday always falls around Thanksgiving. Last year with the move and  the craziness of December, we never got to the friend party. So we decided to host a half birthday party this past weekend. It was a beautiful day complete with a huge bounce house, pizza and eleven kids ranging in age from 4-10 plus one infant.

The Monkey had seen a dessert pizza in one of the cooking magazines that lay around our home. We ended up with something slightly different, but the results were phenomenal. I had kids asking for seconds and thirds. The base of it was Grandma Darling's Sugar Cookies pressed into three 9-inch pie plates. We were playing with it in this new form so really aren't sure how long to bake. Start with 10 minutes and add on until the edges start to turn golden. Cool and add white chocolate frosting, 2 tablespoons of corn free strawberry jam, and 4-5 strawberries cut like pepperoni. Coconut flakes are optional.

White Chocolate Frosting

1 stick butter, softened
4 oz. white chocolate baking bar, melted (I used Hershey's)
3 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons almond milk

Beat butter until creamy. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave. Two minutes was just about right for just getting to the liquid phase. Again by 15 second intervals to ensure that you don't burn it. Add the powdered sugar by 1/2 cup increments. Beat in white chocolate. Milk should be added a tablespoon at a time until the frosting is creamy, but not soupy.

That's my green, jumping Monkey!

Ratio Rally Bundt Cake

Have you noticed that I have been gone for awhile? I have become a crazy person in the last month or so by deciding to take on a third part-time job in addition to helping my mom with home-schooling and running my home business. Yes, I am insane. What precious little time I have had has been spent with the Monkey or sleeping. However, this past Sunday I got off at noon and was actually able to bake! I nearly swooned I was so excited!

Then disaster struck. Okay, not disaster. Just normal life stuff, and really the Monkey and Boo were pretty well behaved. The prep of the sweet potato and the apple-cranberry sauce took more time than I would have liked, and then....it came out half raw. Sigh. I took pretty pictures of the cake though. It looked fabulous!

Decided I should try again, still using the ratio for a cake using puree from one of the other ralliers, and just cook it longer. More like my granny's carrot cake. The ratio incidentally is 1:2:2:2:3 (fat:sugar:puree:egg:flour). So here I sit waiting for the second cake to come out of the oven while I type and prep to send the Monkey off to Sturbridge Village tomorrow for home school day. The way it smells I am betting it turns out fine. If you are interested in how others cakes turned out, head on over to our host's,  Adina of Gluten Free Travelette, post for her take on bundt cakes and the full list of participants.

Spiced Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Apple-Cranberry Sauce

100 grams sorghum
60 grams teff
20 grams potato starch
110 grams brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons all-spice
110 grams brown sugar
2 ounces melted coconut oil
4 ounces mashed sweet potato
2 flax eggs
6 ounces apple cider

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, combine sorghum, teff, potato starch, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and all-spice. Add melted coconut oil, mashed sweet potato, and flax eggs. Mix until combined. Add apple cider and ounce or two at a time mixing as you go. The batter will be fairly thick. Scoop out a 1/3 of the batter into your pan and spread evenly along the bottom. Spoon apple-cranberry sauce into the center of the batter all the way around. Reserve a little of the sauce for plate decoration. Scoop small amounts of the remaining batter on top and spread carefully. Don't want any sauce poking out. :) Smooth and pop into the oven for 1 hour 45 minutes. Let cool completely in pan before turning out onto plate. Drizzle glaze over the top and fill center with remaining sauce.

Apple-Cranberry Sauce

1 Cup fresh cranberries
1 small apple, cored, peeled & diced
1/4 Cup apple cider
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cinnamon stick

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until a thick pie-filling like consistency is reached. Set aside.

Glaze

1/2 Cup powdered sugar
5 teaspoons apple cider

Mix together. Spoon or brush over the top of the cake.

Ratio Rally Tortillas

When the Monkey was first diagnosed with his allergies, I was all gung-ho to make everything from scratch, and tortillas were near the top of my list due to his excessive love of the bean burrito. Let me say that my one and only attempt was a failure. Not just any failure, but a huge flop. They couldn't even be cooked it was that bad. Sigh.

So we looked into alternatives and found the brown rice tortillas from Food for Life. These are good, but went bad before we could use them all. So, I just gave in and we dealt with the flour tortillas. His allergy causes behavioral issues, and since we didn't do it often I was okay with this level of exposure. You will find that we make decisions like this a lot around here.Since then those tortillas have become available in the frozen section giving them a longer shelf life, but again I just couldn't see the point given the frequency (say maybe one or two a month?) that we ate them.

Shredded chicken, peppers, adzuki beans, & a bit of mango sauce

Tortillas were on my mind again though when I decided to host the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally. After a little discussion, I was put on the calendar for this month, and I started doing my research. Know what my research shows? That there really isn't a standard ratio for this "baked" item. Rhulman doesn't have one, and every recipe that I have looked at is just enough different that you can't make a generalization. Or at least that is my interpretation of it.

You do need three things. Flour, water and fat. I think at the final hour I finally licked this ratio thing. At least in the sense that I found something that works even if it isn't pretty. The math? You have heard me mention that my math brain doesn't work real good, right? I ended up with roughly (verrrrry roughly) a 2:1:1 ratio of flour:water:fat. It really isn't that clean, but we will leave it at that and you can play with it, right?

Before I get to my recipe, I want to make sure you can go and visit all the amazing bloggers who have participated this month in the tortilla/wraps challenge. Please visit, comment, and re-create their creations. :)

Jenn | Jenn Cuisine	Corn Tortillas
Jonathan | The Canary Files	Vegan Curried Flour Tortillas
Meg | Gluten-Free Boulangerie	Lefse (Norwegian Potato Flatbread)
Pete and Kelli | No Gluten, No Problem	Flour Tortillas
TR | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies	Gluten Free Flour Tortillas - Quesadilla
Heather | Discovering the Extraordinary	Sundried Tomato & Basil Tortillas
Charissa | Zest Bakery	Paleo Grain-Free and Gluten-Free Tortillas
Karen | Cooking Gluten Free!	Gluten Free Healthy Flours Tortillas

Buckwheat Tortillas

100 grams buckwheat flour
60 grams brown rice flour
40 grams potato starch
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons hot water
1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil

This recipe from Jazibe's Recipes was the one that got this off the ground.

So measure it out and mix it up. Add water and oil to a well in the middle of your flour. Mix it with your extremely clean hands until it comes into a nice ball. If it is still crumbly feel free to add another tablespoon or two of hot water. This is what did the trick for mine.  Roll into 6 fairly equal balls and let rest for 10-20 minutes under a damp cloth. Roll them out one at a time to about a 6 inch diameter. Cook in a warm skillet (Or griddle. oh, how I wish I had one of those) for about 90 seconds on each side. Cool and fill with whatever you like.

Black beans & rice with a bit of guacamole? yes please!

Ratio Rally Bagels

This post nearly didn't happen, and I am not sure that it really is happening. My idea was a long time in coming, and motivation was waylaid by the allergy monster. Incidentally, the allergy monster did a number on my workouts as well. It's been a rough month.

So why did it almost not happen? Ummm, the first batch came out like hockey pucks. Seriously. The batter was gorgeous, and tasted good. Then we got to the rising (not really), shaping (ha!), boiling (they were boiled), and then baking. It just wasn't pretty. Given the way the second batch has turned out my money is on the yeast being out of date. Even though I kept it in the fridge I just think it wasn't meant to be. So new yeast yields a new result. Crossing my fingers. Did you cross yours?

....and they aren't what I wanted. Sigh. Now I think I don't have enough flour. The idea behind these came from my sister who remembers having peanut butter bagels when we were younger. I did a little searching, and found this recipe at Have Cake, Will Travel that I based mine off of. I played with the ratio, and think I came close to the 1.9 flour:1 liquid. However, I can't honestly say what's a liquid or a flour or a bagel at this point. For a more coherent explanation of this month's rally, you should check out our host Morri at Meals with Morri where the complete list of yummy, gluten free bagels is ready for you to enjoy.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bagels

150 grams oat flour
100 grams brown rice flour
50 grams arrowroot starch
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 Cup water (heated to 100 degrees F)
1 package active dry yeast
2 Tablespoons agave nectar
4 ounces peanut butter (or whatever you can use)
2-4 heaping Tablespoons jam (in this case Blueberry Butter made by Hundred Acre Farm)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a large cookie sheet and set aside. In large mixing bowl, combine flours and salt. Set aside. (I like that phrase!) In a 2 cup glass measuring cup, warm your water. I microwaved for about 2 minutes, and then had to let it cool back down to 100-ish degrees.  Pour in agave and yeast. Stir to combine, and....set aside to do its frothy thing. Add peanut butter to flour, and mix well. Once the yeast mixture is ready pour into mixer, and beat well.

The next instructions were for kneading, and maybe I should have done it. I prefer to let the mixer do it for me. Either way the dough should be worked in some way for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl coated with oil/spray that will allow the dough to double in size. Cover with plastic wrap, and set your timer for about an hour. Go do the dishes or exercise while waiting. Punch down the dough, divide into 4 pieces, and shape into balls. Let rest for about 10 minutes. While you are waiting this time you will want to bring your sauce pot of water to a boil. Divide the dough again and roll into balls that are fairly smooth in texture. Flatten and then make a hole in the middle. These babies should rest again. It is really tiring being a bagel.

Put each bagel in gently for 30 seconds before turning for another 30 seconds. Remove from boiling water to the prepared pan with a slotted spoon. When all have been boiled, place the baking sheet(s) in the oven for 30 minute or until golden brown and they sound hollow on the bottom when tapped.

Maybe they need to rise a second time?

Blonde Bean Bunny Brownies

So, the idea popped into my head to do a more grown up non-chocolatey brownie, because I am not overly fond of the brownie. Sue me! I do the chocolate for my boy. With some research on black bean brownies, I decided to do a pseudo-blondie. They were kind of thrown together last minute as my plans for baking last week kept getting thwarted by work. I will say that I am pleased with them, and would only add some white chips and/or dried cranberries to them. Hmmm. I still have a can of beans in the pantry........

Blonde Bean Brownies

70 grams coconut flour

4 ounces melted coconut oil

4 ounces agave nectar

4 ounces white chocolate

2 flax "eggs"

1 can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed

splash of vanilla

1/8 chopped pistachios

Melt coconut oil in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. Add white chocolate and microwave for an additional 90 seconds. Remove and stir until chocolate and oil are mostly combined. Add agave to this mix and then pour into the bowl with the beans. Using a hand held blender, puree the beans and liquid until smooth. Add flax eggs and vanilla, and blend some more. Stir in by hand the flour (my alternate to cocoa) and chopped pistachios. Bake in a greased whoopie pie pan at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or in a 9 x 11 greased pan for about 35 minutes. Cool completely.

Savory Bread Pudding

Here we go. It has taken me nearly two weeks to get this post from recipe made to up on the blog. All I can say is that life happened. Sinus infection, never ending work schedule, and then the damned (sorry) time change. Can I say how much I do not like the time change? Yeah, yeah we get a whole 'nother hour of sunlight. Nobody ever talks about the month it takes for your body to adjust to the change. Nor do they talk about the craziness that ensues with children let alone ones with sensory issues. Do I need to say anything more about this?

Anyway. The idea for these muffins was born back in the fall when I made sun-dried tomato and basil muffins that only I liked. I put half of them in the freezer intending to make bread pudding. Looky! Here is the bread pudding. I kept it simple with just vegetables and put my meat (an apple-chicken sausage) on the side. Made about 5 very yummy servings, and was a great way to use up my savory bread/muffin. Enjoy!

Savory Bread Pudding

2 dozen savory mini muffins

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups almond milk

1 teaspoon dried minced onion

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2-1 cup diced vegetables

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, spices, cheese and vegetables. In this case, I defrosted some crinkle cut zucchini and tri-colored peppers, and then diced them up. Set aside. Cube up bread/muffins, and add to egg mixture coating thoroughly. Dump either into a 9 x 9 greased pan or 5 (or 6) individual ramekins. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until the egg mixture is firm and your pudding is slightly pouffy. Serve hot.

Rooty-Oat Breakfast Cookies

These cookies were an idea I had back in November when the SOS Kitchen Challenge ingredient was parsnips. Took me a couple of months, but Saturday's snow-in got them out of my head and into a bowl. The Monkey did not like them, and it didn't occur to me until my mom and sister pointed out that I did indeed put the coconut he accused me of in them. Yep, never occurred to me that the coconut oil would give a strong coconut flavor to these cookies. :)

These are a bit dry, which I think I will fix next time by adding an ounce more coconut oil. Or would you do that for me and let me know how it goes?!

Rooty-Oat Breakfast Cookies

4 ounces coconut oil, melted

2 ounces agave nectar

4 ounces (or 1/2 Cup) each grated sweet potato and parsnips or carrots

90 grams brown rice flour

45 grams tapioca starch

60 grams rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 Cup each slivered almonds, Sun maid fruit bits, Enjoy Life chocolate chips

drizzle of vanilla

couple of shakes of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium sized bowl combine the coconut oil, agave, flours, and oats into a paste. Add the grated vegetables. Stir well. Then add fruits, chocolate chips and nuts. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out a dozen balls. Roll them and flatten slightly onto an un-greased baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until slightly crisp on the sides. Cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet and remove to a cooling rack. Makes approximately 2 dozen.

Parsnip Applesauce Muffins

I was very excited about this month's SOS Kitchen Challenge ingredient of parsnips as I have never worked with them. I had ideas swirling in my head, and couldn't wait to get started. Plans went awry on November 10th when I was in a car accident. I am alright (my car is not), but I haven't really been up to a lot of baking.

I finally got to the first item this past holiday weekend, and have to say that I was very pleased with the results. These muffins are moist, and just exactly right for tossing in your lunch as a snack. The Monkey gave them a 10, and even my mother agreed that they were good (high praise). So without further ado, mostly as I am running out of time, here are these wonderful muffins.

Parsnip Applesauce Muffins

60 grams sorghum flour

30 grams brown rice flour

30 grams arrowroot starch

60 grams coconut palm sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

4 ounces applesauce

4 ounces non-dairy milk

2 ounces melted coconut oil

1 egg (or equivalent)

6 ounces grated parsnips

2 ounces raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger. Combine milk and egg (substitute) together in a glass measuring cup. Add applesauce and coconut oil, and mix well. Stir in parsnips and raisins until combined. Pour into a greased 12 muffin pan, and bake for 30-40 minutes. Let cool and enjoy! Makes one dozen.

Spiced Oatmeal Pancakes

Have I mentioned the Monkey's obsession with oatmeal? Seriously, he could eat it three times a day if I let him. Just the other day, he told me he needed to start eating hot cereal now that it is getting to be winter. So he opted for cream of rice. I just had to shake my head since he ate oatmeal, a hot cereal last time I checked, all summer long. Such a silly boy.

Anyway, this recipe came from his love of oatmeal and my desire to have a great recipe using oat flour. The catch for me appears to be making my own flour from rolled oats in my little food processor. Maybe not as finely ground as the stuff from the store, but it works for me. I have made these a few times now, and they just keep getting better. Serve them with homemade strawberry-rhubarb jam, marionberry syrup or just plain ol' maple syrup. It's all good!

Spiced Oatmeal Pancakes

100 grams oat flour

60 grams brown rice flour

40 grams arrowroot starch

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 Tablespoons coconut palm sugar

1/4 teaspoon all spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 eggs

1 Cup non-dairy milk

Measure and whisk together all the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. Use a glass measuring cup for the non-dairy milk. Add eggs to milk, and mix to combine. Add to flour mixture and stir until combined. Warm your pan/skillet/griddle. We use a pan with oil to coat the bottom. Pour by 1/8 cup portions into pan turning when the tops start to bubble. Serve warm. Makes about 12 smallish pancakes.

Ratio Rally Pot Pie

It is time again for the gluten free ratio rally. This month's theme was pie, and I can tell you that I was not overly excited about it. Mostly due to the fact that I have never made a successful pie that didn't include a pre-made graham cracker crust or was simply a dump cake sort of thing. I dithered. I will admit it. I wasn't sure what to do until just a week or so ago when the Monkey asked if we could have pot pie (his very favorite food in the whole world) for his birthday dinner. My ah-ha moment hit about 10 minutes later. I had been trying to come up with something sweet when I should have focused on the savory.

It was a good thing the idea hit me or I wouldn't have been able to participate in the rally this month. What is the rally? A group of gluten free bloggers who are baking/cooking by ratio's around a central theme each month with a new host. This month our host is Lisa of the Gluten Free Canteen. Head on over and check out her post and the links to all the other luscious pies!

Chicken Pot Pie

Note: The ratio is 3:2:1 (flour:fat:water)

Crust:

240 grams potato flour

90 grams potato starch

120 grams brown rice flour

1 Cup salted butter, softened

4 ounces ice water (or so)

Preface: I was a doofus and only did a 1/2 Cup of butter to start with as my math brain wasn't working properly. When I realized my mistake, I softened another cube of butter and retrieved my rounds from the fridge. I did have to add a bit more water. You shouldn't have to. :)

Stir together all the flours in a mixer. Add butter and continue mixing on low speed. Add ice water an ounce at a time until a nice ball forms. Divide into four (yes four) equal parts, wrap in plastic wrap, and store in the fridge for a minimum of one hour. Preferably longer.

Filling:

4 Cups water

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

1/4 Cup potato starch

6 ounces non-dairy milk

1 1/2 Cups sweet potato, peeled & diced

2 Cups potato, peeled & diced

1 1/2 Cups frozen peas & carrots

4 chicken tenders, boiled & shredded

season to taste

Bring water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add bouillon cubes and boil until dissolved. Set aside. Might as well put your potatoes on to boil at the same time as the water. Probably boil them for 10 minutes until tender, but not mushy. Drain and set aside. This is when I did the chicken, as well. :)

Remove a 1/2 Cup of broth to a small bowl. Add potato starch and stir until dissolved. This will be added back in a little bit. You will want to spray a 9 inch pie plate, and either pat in one crust or roll it out and flip it in. I opted for patting. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

While it is baking bring your broth back to a boil, and slowly add in the broth/starch mixture stirring constantly. Add in the milk continuing to stir. Retrieve the potatoes, chicken, and frozen vegetables to add to the pan. Add any spices you might like. We kept it simple with a bit of basil, a good deal of black pepper and some sea salt. Reduce heat to medium stirring occasionally.

Your bottom crust should be done. Remove it from the oven and set it to the side. Time to roll out the top crust. I actually managed this using wax paper and potato flour. Just place it in between the wax paper and roll carefully. Don't want paper sticking to your dough. Measure out two cups of filling into your pie plate. Carefully flip your top crust onto the top and seal as best you can. Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes. The top should be a darker brown than it went in as. Serves 4.

Note: Did you notice that there were four crusts and extra filling? Make yourself another pie why don't you!!