glutenfreeveganish

Simple Granola (Mom’s version)

This granola is very addictive. I usually have to freeze some of it so I don’t continue just eating and eating it. My friends who have tried it have said they just kept eating and eating it. There is something very enticing about this recipe and I have yet to find another granola I like better. I think the fact that it is made mostly of oats, nuts, raisins and honey makes it seem like you should be able to eat lots of it. It is also way more filling than you think due to the flour in it. I usually get tricked at least once each time I make it. I usually eat it like cereal by serving it with coconut milk. We grew up with this recipe and it was one of the first things I worked on making gluten free.

Ingredients:

5 c. oats (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Quick Oats)

2 c. brown rice flour (or whole wheat if you are NOT gluten free)

1 c. coconut flakes, sweetened (could switch it out for unsweetened if you want less sugar)

1 c. raisins, plumped (In the past I have also used craisins, dried apricots, dates, or a mixture of all.)

2 c. nuts, chopped (I used half walnuts and half pecans. You could also use almonds.)

1/2 c. water

1 c. oil

1 c. honey (maybe you could switch it out for something else if you really want it to be vegan)

2 tsp vanilla

1 T. salt

Directions:

Plump the raisins by soaking them in water. Drain the water when it comes time to use the raisins.

Combine the oats, brown rice flour, and coconut. Add in the raisins and nuts. Mix together the water, honey, oil, vanilla and salt and then add to the mixture. Stir well.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Grease two baking sheets and then spread out the granola mixture evenly on the two pans. You may want to wet your hands to help you press it down.

Bake the granola for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. It is very important to stir the granola every 15 minutes. I set the time for 15 minutes and take one baking sheet out at a time. Each time the timer goes off, I immediately reset it for another 15 minutes.

Allow to cool and then store in an airtight container. I usually keep it in the fridge or the freezer to extend its shelf life.

Here is a visual of the process:

Raisins plumping in water

Oats, brown rice flour, and coconut flakes

How the mixture should look when all combined.

This is how it looks before going in the oven.

Double Chocolate Cookies

I let out audible sounds of elation as I bit into my first cookie, mostly in the form of “Mmmm!” This recipe turned out perfectly! The dough was just the right texture and the cookies are melt-in-your-mouth. The ingredients are pretty simple too. My only complaint is that the batch wasn’t big enough. I may double it next time. I think it might also work as a pan of brownies. I will update when I try that.

Ingredients:

3/4 c. brown rice flour

1/4 c. tapioca starch

1/4 c. potato starch

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 c. cocoa powder

1/2 c. coconut oil, melted but room temperature

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar (I used light brown because that’s what I had)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened Cashew Milk this time, but normally I use coconut milk)

1/4 to 1/2 c. Enjoy Life Mini-Chocolate Chips

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix flours and starches, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. In a stand mixer bowl, mix coconut oil and sugars. Blend on low. Add vanilla and blend again on low. Add half the flour and half the milk and stir just a little bit before turning on the mixer to prevent a flour cloud. Mix briefly with the mixer. Repeat with the rest of the flour and milk and mix with mixer briefly. The dough should be very thick. Add in chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, form dough into balls and place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Chill the dough balls on the cookie sheet until ready to go into the oven. Bake for 10 minutes or until desired firmness. *Note* Coconut oil will harden as it cools, so do not over bake.

This is what they looked like before baking:

I saved some of these in the freezer for later for brownie bites!

Adapted from: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/vegan-chocolate-almond-cookies/?m

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I made this for my sister’s birthday last year. We were all pleasantly surprised as to how nicely it turned out. I used the toothpicks to keep the saran wrap off of the glaze in order to transport it and just didn’t think to take a picture before I had put them in. Enjoy this adaptation of an adaptation of an adaptation!

Ingredients:

Pineapple topping:

1 T. coconut oil, melted

3 T. light brown sugar

1 can of pineapple slices (save the juice-use the kind that is in its own juices, not in heavy syrup)

Cake:

Dry ingredients:

1 2/3 c. flour (approximately 3/4 c. brown rice flour, 1/8 c. millet flour, 1/8 c. amaranth, 1/3 c. tapioca starch, 1/3 c. potato starch, 1/2 tsp xanthan gum)

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:

3/4 c. pineapple juice (from the pineapple slice can)

1/2 c. coconut milk (canned)

1/4 c. coconut oil, melted

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Brush a 9 inch round cake pan (I used spring form) with the 1 T. coconut oil. Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with the brown sugar and then arrange the pineapple slices on the pan. I think I just ate the extra(s) so it would look nice. 🙂

Combine the flour mixture with the other dry ingredients. In a different bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just enough to make sure it is all combined (you could give it a quick 15 second whirl with the mixer after you have hand mixed it just to make sure).

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and make the top level. Since I was using a spring form pan, I put the pan on a cookie sheet to catch the drips. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once the cake is cooked, allow it to cool for 10 minutes and then remove the edges of the springform pan and flip it onto a plate. To prevent the cake from breaking, I put the plate on top of the cake and then flipped them over at the same time while pressing them together.

Adapted from: http://www.connoisseurusveg.com/2015/05/vegan-pineapple-upside-down-cake.html

Which was adapted from: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/03/03/pineapple-upside-cake/

Lavender Lemonade

We had lavender tossed at our wedding. Our venue had a long list of restrictions of what could be tossed and our photographer voted for lavender. We found someone local who had some lavender buds they wanted to sell, so we bought it. The photos turned out great and we found lavender buds everywhere for awhile. When we came back from our honeymoon, family had delivered our leftover items from the wedding, including the satchels of lavender that hadn’t been tossed. Now I am on a quest to use it up in the kitchen. For this lemonade, you first make a simple syrup and then steep lavender in it. The lemons are also special- they came from my sister’s lemon tree!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 c. sugar

1 cup water

3 T. lavender buds

1 1/2 cups lemon juice

7 cups of water

Directions:

Combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil while stirring. Boil until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the lavender buds. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes (or longer if you want a stronger lavender taste). Strain out the lavender buds and allow the syrup to come to room temperature.

Chill the syrup. Once chilled, add the lemon juice and the remaining 7 cups of water. Stir well and continue to chill until ready. Slice extra lemons and put them in the pitcher to serve.

I served the lemonade in this, but unfortunately I forgot to take a picture with the lemonade in the bowl!

Adapted from this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/32385/best-lemonade-ever/ and http://www.thecookierookie.com/lavender-lemonade/

Focaccia Bread

I made this the other day with a friend. This picture was taken while it was still bubbling. When I took it out of the oven I thought it was a failed recipe and my friend said, “It looks like fried bread.” After about 20 minutes it soaked up the oil and was perfect! With that said, make this and then let it rest before trying to wrest it out of the pan. If you wait it won’t be hard :-). Use fresh herbs if you can but dried herbs will work too. I may or may not have eaten about half the pan the first day…

Ingredients:

Oil mixture:

1/2 c. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. fresh thyme, chopped (or 1 tsp dried thyme)

1 T. fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)

1 T. fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)

1 T. fresh basil, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)

1/4 tsp black pepper

Flour mixture:

1 c. warm water (about 110 degrees- I use a candy thermometer)

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 envelope)

1/4 tsp honey (or use sugar if you want it to be truly vegan)

2 1/2 c. flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 baking flour- it already has xanthan gum in it)

1 tsp salt

Directions:

Combine olive oil, garlic, herbs, and black pepper in a small saucepan without the heat on. After it’s combined, turn the heat on to low and stir occasionally for 5 to 10 minutes. The herbs should start smelling good but the garlic should not brown. Take off the heat and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl (use your stand mixer bowl if you have one), stir together the warm water, honey, and yeast. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Add 1 c. of the flour blend and 1/4 c. of oil mixture. Stir just until flour is moistened. Allow it to sit for another 5 minutes. Add the remaining flour mixture and the salt. Don’t forget the salt! Stir until blended. Stir on low speed using a stand mixer for about 1 minute (the equivalent of being kneaded 10-15 times, but I wouldn’t try kneading with gluten free dough-it’s just too sticky.)

Oil another large bowl and move the batter into that bowl. Cover it with a towel and set in a warm, undisturbed area for 1 hour.

When dough is almost finished rising, preheat the oven to 450 degrees (230 degrees Celsius). Use 2 T. of the oil mixture to grease a 9×13 inch pan (I used a Pyrex dish).

Press the dough into the baking pan with your fingers making sure to leave dimples in the top (this should happen naturally as long as you don’t smooth it out with a spatula). Drizzle the top with the remaining oil mixture. Let dough rise for another 20 minutes. Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow it to cool in the pan.*

*When it came out, mine looked like it was sitting in a bunch of oil and I thought it had failed. As the bread started to cool, it soaked the oil back up which is what it was supposed to do. Leave it in the pan until it cools. After it soaks the oil up, I would suggest loosening the bread from the pan with a spatula but leaving the bread in the pan. This should help prevent it sticking to the pan when it cools. This could also work as a pizza crust.

Adapted from: http://www.inspiredtaste.net/19313/easy-focaccia-bread-recipe-with-herbs/

Easy Fudge- Dairy Free!

So, I was shopping the other day and found a new product- sweetened condensed coconut milk! It looks like this:

I bought the can without any specific plan in mind, but I knew it would come in handy. I vaguely remembered avoiding some recipes because I didn’t know how to duplicate sweetened condensed milk. So one day when my husband was driving home after a long day, I remembered this can and the simple fudge recipe I used in junior high, and I was able to make a quick treat for us. It is simple and delicious and the texture turned out well- no candy thermometer required!

Easy Dairy Free Fudge

Ingredients:

2 c. chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips)

1 can sweetened condensed coconut milk

1 T. butter (I used SmartBalance)

dash salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 c. chopped walnuts (may omit if desired or may be substituted for other nuts)

Parchment or wax paper

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Once the chips are mostly melted, add the butter, salt, and vanilla. When the mixture is smooth, remove from heat and stir in the chopped walnuts.

Pour into a wax or parchment paper lined 8×8 pan and allow to cool. Once it is close to room temperature, you may put it in the fridge to chill. Once it is chilled, cover and let set for 2 hours or until you are able to cut it with a knife. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. My dairy free and dairy loving friends and family gobbled this up.

Adapted from: https://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/28655/easy-chocolate-fudge/

Chocolate Mint Pudding- It’s Dairy Free!

Have you ever tried to make a package of pudding with non-dairy milk? The last time I tried it, it was a complete failure. Dairy milk has magical qualities that occasionally can’t be replaced. So, I decided to try my hand at dairy free pudding but I took a different approach. Basically this is the filling to the chocolate cream pie I have posted here:https://oldfavoritesmadeglutenfree.com/2015/12/19/baked-chicken/. The only difference is I used a less creamy can of coconut milk and I was out of baking chocolate so I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.

The mint came from one of my cousin’s kids. Apparently he grows his own mint and dries it on the horns of deer they have hanging around their house. How cool is that! (For all of you who are concerned, don’t worry. They use the deer for meat, not just for sport.)

Ingredients:

1/4 c. cornstarch

1/4 c. granulated sugar

3 T. cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 can coconut milk (14 oz- a lower fat percentage is fine)

1 1/4 c. coconut milk (from a carton)

1 T. dried mint

1/2 c. Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips* or 4 oz. Baker’s brand baking chocolate

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

In a mug or glass measuring cup, heat the 1 1/4 c. coconut milk. Put the mint leaves into a bag or a steeping spoon and allow to steep in the milk for 5-7 minutes. When it smells like mint, remove the mint.

In a sauce pan, combine cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir in canned coconut milk and coconut milk steeped with mint and turn on heat to medium heat. Whisk continually until boiling. Boil for two minutes. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir until melted and smooth. Cool and then store in the refrigerator. When serving, garnish with a fresh mint leaf if you have one.

*I would recommend microwaving these in a bowl for about 10-15 second intervals until they are a bit softened. Then they will melt better when added to the pudding.

Coconut Curry Chicken

I did not make enough of this the other day. I could have eaten it for a few more meals! This is a simple curry recipe that doesn’t require many strange ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 T. canola oil

2 T. curry powder

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 pounds chicken breast or tenderloins cut into cubes (I used leftovers from my chicken recipe and shredded it. Recipe found here: https://oldfavoritesmadeglutenfree.com/2015/12/19/baked-chicken/)

1 can coconut milk (14 oz)

1 can diced tomatoes, NOT drained (~15 oz)

1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)

3 T. sugar

1 tsp salt, to taste

1 tsp pepper

1 bag of frozen stir fry vegetables (I used HEB snap pea stir fry mix)

Cooked rice (I used Basmati)

Directions:

Heat oil and curry powder over medium-high heat in a frying pan for 2 minutes. Add onions and garlic and cook for another minute. Add chicken and stir. Reduce heat to medium and cook for another 7-10 minutes until chicken is cooked. Stir in coconut milk, diced tomatoes with their juice, tomato sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add frozen vegetables and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve over white rice.

This is what it looked like in the pan before veggies.

After I added veggies it looked a lot more colorful!

Adapted from: http://m.allrecipes.com/recip/68532/curried-coconut-chicken

Favorite Pancakes

This is another one of my favorite recipes. This time I actually wrote down exactly what I did with the flours! Normally I just set out the cup and start filling it with a mix of flours that I have on hand. Top these with real maple syrup and some dairy free butter. Yum!

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

2 1/2 c. flour (1 c. brown rice flour, 1/2 c. oat flour, 1/4 c. amaranth, 1/4 c. potato starch, 1/4 c. teff, 1/4 c. tapioca starch, 1/2 tsp xanthan gum)

2 T. baking powder

2 T. sugar

1 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:

2 flax eggs (2 T. golden flaxseed meal combined with 6 T. warm water- let rest for 5 minutes) (or you can use 2 real eggs if you don’t need to be egg free)

2 c. coconut milk (from the carton- I usually use Silk)

1/4 c. oil

Directions:

Make the flax eggs and set aside. Stir together the dry ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until blended. Mix with a mixer for about 15-30 seconds to get out any lumps.

Heat griddle until a drop of water sizzles on it. Add batter by about 1/4 to 1/3 c. at a time depending on what size you like your pancakes. Flip when the edges are looking firm and it is easy to get a spatula under it. Cook until that side it done. Serve with vegan butter and real maple syrup.

Makes about a dozen.

*This recipe is flexible, so you can change up the flour blend if you would like- just make sure to put in some xanthan gum! As a kid, my mom usually replaced a little bit of all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, so I usually am trying to imitate that flavor. Many of the blends in the store are imitating straight up white all-purpose flour. If that’s the taste you like, a blend from the store may be the perfect thing for you.

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