Cheese Crackers

One of the more frustrating aspects of living gluten free is the shocking number of snack foods that contain gluten. Even if they are not a wheat based snack, a large number of these snacks contain maltodextrin, a malt based preservative, or they have been processed in facilities using wheat. And sometimes, when you are socializing with friends, or when you just need something quick before you run out the door, you get tired of plain old salted potato chips.

Every person i know who has tried these crackers has become instantly addicted, and so they make a great gift. Once your friends are hooked, they will think you the most generous person on earth for baking them a batch of their new favorite crackers. The corn starch base makes for a melt in your mouth texture, while the crackers themselves are very cheesy, crispy, and with just enough salt. And they are quite simple to make! (Apologies to my dairy free friends. This is one I don't think we'll be converting. I might be able to make my saltine recipe dairy free, however.)

What you will need:

• 4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3/4 cup corn starch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons milk

Topping:

• Salt, dried herbs, or spices, as desired.

-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

-Combine all the ingredients, except the milk, in a medium-size bowl. Mix until the mixture resembles a fine crumb. Add the milk and beat well. (Use your hands if you're having trouble getting all the dry ingredients incorporated into the dough).

-On a lightly greased surface (or just the baking sheet), pat or roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 3/4 inch squares or another small shape that you like. You can also cut the dough into larger round or square cracker shapes, if desired (just extend baking time).

-Prick the tops of the crackers with a fork and sprinkle lightly with your desired topping.

-Bake on the prepared baking sheet until golden brown and crisp, approximately 10 minutes. The crackers will be light and crispy, although barely browning at the edges. The bottom of the crackers will have a bit more color.

My mouth waters just looking at these guys.

Notes: It's important to shred the cheese as opposed to grating it. Grated cheese is too thick to be thoroughly mixed with the other ingredients. Simply use on of the sides of your cheese grater with the small holes.

This recipe says you can use cookie cutters and the like to shape your crackers however you want. I didn't have a large amount of success with that, as I found the dough too greasy and sticky. However, if you experiment with adding a little more dry ingredients and handling the dough correctly, it may be possible. My method is to pat the dough out directly onto the baking sheet and then use a knife to cut a grid pattern into the dough. The edges look rough and ragged, but this lessens with baking. Once they are done, I use the old knife lines like a perforated edge and cut the crackers apart with my spatula.

Also, to retain freshness, these crackers should be stored in air tight containers. If they start seeming a little soft, you can re-crisp them by putting them in a hot oven for a few minutes.

(This recipe was the corn-based version of the Cheese Crackers recipe from Roben Ryberg's "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free." Rice flour, out flour, and potato starch based versions of this recipe also exist.)

Chocolate Cookies

A couple weeks ago I suddenly remembered my first days in my new apartment. The fridge was completely empty except for an oreo cream pie that my room mate's mother had made for us. We feasted on it whenever we were hungry until we managed to go grocery shopping. The memory inspired me to work towards a gluten free oreo cream pie. Unfortunately, my first experiment with oreos did not give me the hard crispy cookie I was hoping for, but it still turned out quite yummy, chewy, very chocolatey, and absolutely delicious when topped with whipped cream.

The following recipe is only slightly adjusted from the original. My thought was to increase the cocoa powder to make them a bit more chocolaty, and cut out a lot of the baking soda and baking powder, so they would rise and bubble less. However, it seems that even a little leavening agent in what I wanted to be a flat cookie was too much. I will try again! But for the mean time, here's a very yummy chocolate cookie recipe:

What you will need:

• 1/4 lb butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 2/3 cup rice flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 tsp xanthan gum

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet.

-Cream the butter and sugar in a medium-size bowl. Add the egg. Mix until light and thick. Add the other ingredients. Beat until thick and creamy. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the prepared pan. Press to a 1/4 inch thickness with moistened finger tips (or thinner if you want a thinner cookie as pictured). Bake for approximately 8 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack and let cool completely.

They are just like normal cookies!

Note: When it comes close to taking these out of the oven, watch them closely. It is more difficult to tell when a chocolate cookie is done because they are supposed to be really brown, but it means that if they burn, it's harder to tell. Take them out erring on the early side. Straight out of the oven, they may seem a little moist, but they settle to a normal cookie texture after cooling.

Also, the recipe says that it makes 36 cookies, but this is only if you follow the directions of 1 teaspoon of dough per cookie. That may seem really small, but the cookies do expand a little upon baking, and I have grown fond of eating multiple small cookies at a time, rather than one large one. You can make them a little bigger, but your cookie count will go down, so be prepared.

As far as my oreo development plotting, here are some of my plans: 1. I may remove the baking soda and powder entirely so that the cookies don't poof up. 2. I have heard that adding eggs makes dough stiffer and better for hard cookies. 3. Adding extra flour is also a method for stiffening the dough.

(This recipe was of my own invention, adjusted from the rice-based Chocolate Cookie recipe from Roben Ryberg's "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free." Corn starch, oat flour, and potato starch based versions of this recipe also exist.)

Fudgy Brownies

When I first tried one of the brownie recipes in my beloved gluten free cook book, I thought, "great! Just basic ingredients, easy preparation, no sweat!" Then when I pulled them out of the oven, they were thin, a little too chewy, and not terribly exciting taste-wise. I longed for the Chocolate fudge brownies that you had to eat over several sittings because they were so rich. Then, when a friend of mine gave me some sugar-free baking chocolate I though, "Hey! Maybe if I add real chocolate instead of cocoa powder to this recipe, the brownies will turn out richer!" So I took one of the recipes and replaced ounce for ounce cocoa powder with baking chocolate. The result was mixed. Once cooled, refrigerated, and reheated slightly, they were delicious. But there was an inch thick edge that had over-cooked and was much too chewy, and right out of the oven, the entire dish was fragile and fell apart in my hand.

Watching the thick batter bubble and bake in the oven reminded me very much of a time I tried to add milk to my scrambled eggs, added too much, and the result was a strange, over-fried mess, with more milk than egg to fry. I decided the problem was a dry/liquid ingredient ratio problem. Some fat was being added with the baking chocolate, and some flour like substance removed. I therefore decreased the amount of butter in the recipe and increased the amount of flour.

The result is a very tasty, rich brownie. The bottom is fudgy, slightly cakey and slightly moist. The top is crunchy and resembles the cracked top of a traditional gluten filled brownie. Delicious! I was foolish enough to leave them unattended at my friends' house and I doubt there will be any left by the time I come back! Also, this recipe preserved the simplicity and speed of the original version. You'll spend more time waiting for the brownies to bake them than mixing the ingredients!

Here was the fairly successful resulting recipe:

What you will need:

• 7 tablespoons butter
• 4 oz baking chocolate (unsweetened)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square (or circular) baking pan.

-Melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave or slowly over stove top. Stir regularly to encourage the chocolate to melt.

-In a medium- sized bowl, combine chocolate/butter mix and remaining ingredients and mix well. The batter will be almost dough-like.

-Press into the prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle tests cleanly and the top appears dry. Let cool before devouring.

That's it!

Notes: I considered adding a little milk or other liquid to this recipe to make the mixture a little more batter like. It is a little disconcerting to press the mixture into the pan rather than pouring it. However, the resulting brownies were so tasty that I don't think the recipe really needs it. Also, keeping milk out of the recipe and using margarine instead of butter would make this recipe dairy free!

(Pictures to Come)
Update: Apparently no photos on this one, at least not until I make this recipe again, as my friends ate all the brownies before I could take pictures of them. Speaks highly of their quality though!

(This recipe was of my own invention, adjusted from the Corn-based Brownie recipe from "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free" by Roben Ryberg. Oat flour, Potato starch, and rice flour based versions of this recipe also existed, but mine is better :-p)

Country Pear Pie with Streusel

I thought that gluten free pies would be one of the most difficult things to come across or make, and even more difficult to make ones that really tasted like pie. The truth is, pies are one of the more involved desserts to make, but they are extremely worth the effort. This recipe (which was inspired when my voice student gave me a huge bag of fresh pears) is one of the more advanced ones, in that there are three parts to this recipe and pie crusts are a little challenging. However, the result is extremely rewarding and delicious and had all but disappeared between just me and my roommate in a few days. The pears are slightly sour, the streusal has a nice sweet and nutty taste, while the fresh ginger adds a nice bite and surprise to the filling. The crust is slightly sweet and a wonderful substitute for real pie crust. It is also a great recipe to make with a friend, so that one can be responsible for the pie crust, one for the filling. The streusel, which is optional, produces a very pretty finished product and a little extra sweetness to this mild pie, and is very easy to make.

What you will need:

Pie Crust:

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup rice flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Filling:

• 4 cups sliced and peeled pears (takes about 1 pear per cup)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoon rice flour
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoonfresh minced ginger (or 1/4 tsp ground ginger or 1 tbsp crystalized ginger)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sliced or chopped almonds (to sprinkle on top)
  

Streusel topping: (optional and delicious)

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup rice flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon milk
  

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

-Combine all the ingredients for the pie crust in a medium sized bowl. Make sure butter and cream cheese are cold, not softened. The mixture will first become a fine crumb, then finally a ball (clump) of dough. Using your hands helps.

-Place the dough on a sheet of baking parchment (or two sheets of wax paper). Cover with another sheet of paper and carefully roll out into a large circle, 12 to 13 inches in diameter.

-Pull off the top sheet and carefully flip the dough upside down into a 9-inch pie plate. It's okay if it ends up off center. Peel off the remaining sheet of paper. Gently adjust the dough so that it is touching the pan as much as possible. Trim, tuck, and pinch the dough at the edge of the pie plate. Pinching the dough between your fingers will help adhere it to the pie plate and reduce the chance of the crust's slipping into the plate during baking. If you have some gaps in some places in extra dough on some edges, trim the extra dough off, roll it into a ball, place it between the parchment papers again, and roll it out a second time, using the new piece to patch the gaps. Simply pressing the dough together with your fingers will smooth out the edges enough.

-Prick the crust all over with a fork to deter air bubbles and slippage.

-Bake for 10-15 minutes until slightly solidified and golden in color.

Here's a pie crust before it has been baked:

For the filling:

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

-Combine sugar, rice flour, nutmeg, and ginger in a medium-sized bowl. Add pear slices and lemon juice and toss until coated well.

-Once pie crust is baked (it does not necessarily need to be cooled), place filling inside crust, spreading the pears as evenly as possible.

For the streusel:

-Combine all the ingredients except the milk, and mix until crumbly. Add the milk and mix. Streusel will be slightly creamy.

-With your fingers, take small clumps of the streusel and cover the surface of the pie generously with them. (The clumps will look a little strange at this stage, but they will solidify into more normal looking clumps after baking).

-Sprinkle the top of the pie with the chopped almonds.

-Before baking, cover the exposed edges of the pie crust with strips of tin foil. This will prevent the crust from over-browning.

-Bake pie for 40-45 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the crust golden brown.


Notes: In most of my pie recipes, the pie crust and filling are fully cooked separately and then combined. If you are inventing a pie recipe based on one of your old gluten-filled favorite, it is necessary to pre-bake the pie crust at least most of the way, to prevent the filling from leaking through.

Making gluten free pie crusts takes a little practice and a lot of patience. Only once have I managed to flip my crust onto the pan and not use any dough patches and I often collect all the dough into a ball and roll it out a second time if I want better results.

Some tips: If the dough feels a little warm after being mixed, put it in the fridge for a bit until it is cold again. Using baking parchment is advantageous in that it is wide enough to only need one sheet for either side of the dough, however, while you need two sheets per side with wax paper, it does not wrinkle like parchment paper does, which lessens the likelihood of cracks breaking out in your circle of dough. When you secure the dough to the edge of the pie pan, you can simply pinch it between your fingers wherever you want, or if you want a more regular look, after you have initially secured the dough to the pan, carefully pinch it between your thumb and your fore finger at regular intervals to make peaks, careful not to disturb your previous peak and depression as you go around.

Also, the recipe for stresel that was in my book clearly had a few problems. It's first direction was "Combine all the ingredients except the milk..." and no milk was listed in the ingredients and even with a little milk, what I made did not come out the way the book described. I have adjusted the recipe here to say what happened when I made it. I am on the look out for a more traditionaly functional version of a gluten free streusel recipe.

And for the dairy intolerant, I am interested in trying this pie crust recipe using margarine and a dairy free product called "Better than cream cheese" which I enjoyed as a kid.

(The pie crust was the rice-based pie crust recipe from "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free" by Roben Ryberg. The filling was a gluten free converted and slightly adjusted version of the Country Pear Pie filling recipe from "Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, 14th Edition." The streusel recipe was a halfed and corrected version of the rice based streusel recipe, also from "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free.")

Allergen Free Chocolate "Icecream" Cake Experiment

A friend of mine came to me, having newly started trying to improve her diet and remove all the many things she was allergic to, and told me she wanted to have a chocolate cake for her birthday party. But not just any old gluten free chocolate cake, which I already have a dozen recipes for. She wanted a gluten free, dairy free, egg free, sugar free, corn free chocolate cake. My thought was of course that those are essentially the things that go into cakes and I wasn't quite sure what would go in it, but I accepted the challenge.

The trickiest bit seemed to be making something without eggs, so I studied a biscuit recipe which was egg free. Margarine could easily be substituted for the butter in the recipe, and, I hoped, soy or rice milk could replace the cow's milk without too much trouble. Furthermore, I was told that my friend had a supply of sugar substitute which worked well. So, I figured: Take the biscuit recipe, make the substitutes, increase the amount of sweetener, add cocoa powder to make it chocolate and voila! An allergen free chocolate cake.

I decided to take this project one step further. I remembered that as a tradition, my friend had always had an icecream cake on her birthday. I did a little research and discovered it would be entirely possible to find a type of sorbet that was corn free, sugar free, and gluten free, and would function similarly, and, with the use of a spring form cakes, ice cream cakes are a cinch to make.

We ended up making a few adjustments. Firstly, semi sweet baking chocolate (which contains sugar) was purchased instead of cocoa powder. Secondly, the mixing process was a tad convoluted and we ended up adding more margerine than the original recipe asks for. And thirdly, the sorbet purchased did have some sugar and corn in it and one was manufactured in a facility with wheat (which, if you are like me, makes a difference).

Here's what we did:

• 10 tablespoons margarine, softened
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 1/4 cup xanthan gum
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup xylatol (or sugar substitute of your choice)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup soy chocolate milk (just to be extra chocolaty)
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 4 oz semi sweet chocolate
• 1 pint raspberry and chocolate sorbet, each
• extra chocolate for drizzling

-Starting with 8 tablespoons margarine, we blended it with all the ingredients except for the soy milk, vinegar, and chocolate. This formed a fine crumb.

-We mixed in the soy milk and vinegar until the mixture formed a batter.

-We melted the chocolate in a bowl with the remaining two tablespoons of margarine in the microwave (though this can be done slowly over stove top as well), and added it to the batter. We found that melting margarine with the chocolate helped it from solidifying once it hit the batter and forming tiny chunks, rather than the smooth and chocolaty texture we wanted.

-We lightly greased an 8 inch spring form pan, poured the batter into the pan, preheated the oven to 375 degrees F and baked it for approximately an hour, until it tested cleanly with a tooth pick.

-In order to make it an "icecream" cake, we allowed the cake to cool completely. Then we cut the cake in half so we had two slightly thinner cakes. Placing one of the thin cakes on the bottom of the same spring form pan it was baked in, we spooned already softened raspberry sorbet onto the cake. Once the sorbet layer was relatively even, we placed the second thin cake on top and put it back into the fridge to freeze.

-After a few hours, we placed softened chocolate sorbet on top of the entire cake and smoothed it. And, on my friend's suggestion, we drizzled the extra chocolate (melted again in the microwave) over the top of the cake, and froze the entire thing over night.

Wow!

Results: The cake was a hit! The guests loved every bite of it. It was chocolaty and delicious and the sour raspberry taste really made a nice contrast. The melted chocolate on top added an extra texture and was really decadent. And it tasted like cake!

While baking, this cake rose much more than I expected it to. It was very light and fluffy looking, though for a while, the only way to tell it was not yet done was that it jiggled alarmingly when disturbed.

After cooling and freezing, the texture of the cake was a little bit dense. This could be because it fell slightly during baking, or perhaps, because of the soy milk replacing the cow's milk, there was not enough chemical reactions producing bubbles. I was also informed that if you pour your cake batter into the pan to be baked while there are still lumps in it, it makes for a much more fluffy cake than if you pour it when it is smooth, as ours was.

Ideas and options for the future: This cake does not necessarily need to be made with ice cream, although it was quite tasty and a nice alternative to frosting. It could easily be baked in a normal 9 inch pan with, I think, good results.

Substituting cocoa powder in place of the semi sweet chocolate would be a very interesting experiment (not to mention making it truly sugar free). It might even help some of the density issues of the cake, as chocolate has a tendency to throw off liquid fat ratios. Or, you could simply substitute regular baking chocolate (without sweetener) for the semi sweet chocolate and add sugar-substitute until the batter was to your taste. If you do stick to melted chocolate, I recommend melting it with the margarine in the beginning of the recipe, rather than at the end as we did.

Lastly, increasing the vinegar slightly might help produce more bubbles while baking. And plain soy milk could easily be used in the place of chocolate soy milk.

Note: The process for making an ice cream cake is the same in most cakes as it is here. If you have a cake recipe that is to be baked in a 9 by 13 inch pan, use a 10 inch spring form pan to produce a large ice cream cake, and make sure you have around 6 cups of softened ice cream to go in the middle. It helps cool the cake faster if you take the top of the spring form pan off once the cake is out of the oven.

(This recipe was of my own invention, adjusted and inspired from the rice based Biscuit recipe from Roben Ryberg's "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free!")

English Muffins

I have been sitting, working with the pictures I took of these beauties for the last ten minutes and the pictures are so incredibly appetizing, I feel like I can smell them just by looking at them! These english muffins are, without fail, gorgeous. That golden brown color, the springy texture. It's irresistible. And all you need to make them are the basic ingredients, a little extra flour and water, a baking sheet, and an oven.

I also love this recipe because one of the difficulties of living gluten free is that it's really hard to have food on the go. I find it extremely difficult to find food for pack lunches, something that doesn't require a microwave to heat up. This is perfect. As of now I have one of these goodies in a plastic bag, a jar of peanut butter, and a butter knife in my book bag.

What you will need:

• 3 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/3 cup apple juice
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons rice flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

-Place the egg whites in a medium-size bowl. Beat until very frothy, with big and little bubbles. Add the remaining ingredients except the 2 tablespoons of rice flour. Mix well until the batter thickens. (Caution, the corn starch WILL clump once left to set on the eggs and oil. Mix the corn starch in early if you are using a fork and don't want to wrestle with many frustrating clumps).

-Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the remaining rice flour on the prepared baking sheet.

- Drop the dough by 1/3 cupfuls onto the sheet. Gently shape the dough with wet fingertips into a flat disk approximately 1/2 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter. Easier said than done I know. Here's my process: Drop the dough on the sheet. Keep a cup of water nearby and dip your fingers in often. The dough should be slippery to touch. Flatten the cup of dough into a roughly circular shape. Mend any large gaps with your fingers. Then, smooth the edges with your pointer fingers and thumb. Flatten the disc again, evenly, and add a small depression in the center of each muffin to avoid a dome shape when baked. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining tablespoon of rice flour.

- Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until just golden brown. Test with a toothpick if you are uncertain of doneness. Let cool well before splitting each muffin in half.

Yum!

Notes: In a slightly hotter oven, I have seen these muffins finish in less than 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on them just in case. They are very easy to identify as done. This recipe makes 5 muffins, so keep your cupfuls of dough relatively small. They will rise while baking.

Also, I believe this recipe could use some improvement. I have two ideas of where that improvement might lie: Firstly, I consistently use a fork instead of an electric mixer. When maximizing the number of bubbles in a recipe is important, a fork is not the best tool to use, and I tend to spend a lot of time just working out the lumps. My muffins often come out a bit dense, and I have a feeling the lack of a mixer has to do with this. Secondly, this may be a recipe where you'll want to use real apple juice, rather than juice from concentrate. I think it might produce more bubbles.

And lastly, I typically freeze these muffins over night and toast them in the oven before eating. Toasting for a short time helps renew their texture.

(This recipe was the Corn and rice-based version of English Muffins from Roben Ryberg's "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free!" Thanks to her for developing the recipe. A Potato and sorghum flour based version of this recipe also exists. )

Stir Fry

Normally this blog is dedicated to gluten free baked goods, however, as the description says "cooking" and not "baking", occasionally I will indulge in real food as well. As much as I would like, one cannot survive on baked goodies alone.

This stir fry recipe is so easy, full of flavor, and healthy! It used to be one of my favorite quick fixes for dinner. My version uses frozen vegetables, for a faster meal, but you can mix and match
the vegetables, meat, and sauces used to your own tastes.

What you will need:

• Three or four frozen chicken tenders (or 1 frozen chicken breast)
  
• 2 tablespoons oil
  
• 1 16 oz package of your favorite frozen stir fry vegetables
• 1-2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon herbs, such as parsley or oregano
• Wheat free soy sauce (or tamari sauce) (1-2 tablespoons, or to your taste)
  
• 1/2 tablespoon corn starch
• 1/2 cup water

-Thaw the chicken tenders until they are easy to slice into bite sized pieces.

-Heat the oil in a medium sized frying pan (non stick is best), and fry the chicken pieces over medium high heat, until they are white all the way through. Stir often to avoid browning.

- Add the frozen vegetables to the pan, and sprinkle the salt over them, concentrating on the frozen chunks to aid thawing. Mix the vegetables in with the chicken as they come lose. After a few minutes, add the herbs. Once vegetables are thawed, continue cooking for several minutes before adding the soysauce.

-At this point there should be a fairly substantial amount of liquid at the bottom of the pan. Mix the cornstarch in with the half cup of water (a fork works best) until it is dissolved and no lumps remain. Push all the chicken and vegetables to one side of the pan and tilt the pan so that the liquids collect in the empty space, and this section is over the stove top. Add the cornstarch-water mix to the liquids, and keep the pan tilted over the heat until the liquids begin to boil. The cornstarch will form a solid looking layer under the surface, which looks a little strange but that means it's working!

-Once the liquids are thoroughly bubbling, set the rest of the pan down and mix the now thickened liquids with the rest of the stir fry. Cook for an additional minute or two and it's ready to serve!

Note: Be careful not to overcook your vegetables. They should still look fresh and colorful, but be hot all the way through.

And, if you're new to using corn starch in cooking, take note that the above process can be replicated in lots of other foods. Any sauce that needs thickening, dissolve corn starch in some water or milk, add it to the mix, and bring it to a boil. One of my favorites is a cheese sauce for macaroni and cheese, soon to come.

There are two things that can make a simple stir fry like this really special:

-Rice! Recently I've taken to eating my stir fry without rice, because, while rice is delicious, it's very filling, and I eat more of my veggies if I leave off the starch.

-Teriyaki Sauce. It's delicious and just really adds excitement to a stir fry. There are some delicious gluten free store-bought teriyaki sauces out there, but they are expensive, and I found that it was one of the only store bought gluten free items that I was still buying. So!

What you will need:

• 2/3 cup pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup molasses or dark honey
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp corn starch (or potato starch if you are corn free)

-Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan, mix, and bring to a boil. Set aside. That's it!

Some notes about teriyaki sauce: I typically use pineapple juice from frozen concentrate, which produces a very sweet sauce that really needs soy sauce to balance the flavor. This recipe would probably be better using a higher quality type of pineapple juice, but either works.

Also, it's really worth it to buy a jar of molasses or dark honey for this recipe, even if it's the only thing you use it for. It will last a long while and that way, you can make teriyaki sauce anytime you want.

(This stir fry recipe was of my own invention, combined with the Teriyaki sauce from the Teriyaki Chicken recipe from "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free" by Roben Ryberg.

Carrot Cake

I've often said that I love baking so much that if I had unlimited energy, time, and ingredients, I would bake forever. More accurately, if I had unlimited ingredients, I would bake every day. However, there are certain ingredients that run out faster than others, and sometimes you run out of exactly what you wish you had.

Specifically, I tend to run out of butter. There are only four sticks in a box and many recipes require an entire stick, such as cookies, brownies, and of course, cakes.

And that is why I love this recipe. Not only is it a cake that does not require butter, but it uses several carrots, which is something I always have too many of. This time around, I ended up using olive oil in the place of canola oil, having run out of that too, and it STILL tasted delicious. This is also a great recipe to make with a friend, so one of you can assemble the typical cake ingredients, and the other can be in charge of grating the carrots, which takes a bit of time and effort.

What you will need:

• 1/2 cup oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup apple juice
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 cup grated carrots, packed (about two carrots)

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round or square baking pan.

-In a medium-sized bowl, mix the oil with the sugar. Add the eggs and egg white. Mix until light and thick. This will take a minute or two with your mixer, and a little longer with a fork. Add the other ingredients. Beat well. The batter will thicken a bit. Pour into prepared baking pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle tests cleanly.

Voila!

This cake is mild, not too sweet, and the golden brown top and edges have just a tiny bit of resistance, giving it a delicious texture. This cake is wonderful frosted or plain, warm or cold. If you need frosting, I recommend using a classic cream cheese recipe such as this one: Cream Cheese Frosting. This one recommends the use of a couple tablespoons of milk for easy application, but in my experience, it's not really necessary.

Note: If you want a slightly taller cake, you can bake it in a 8-inch pan. If you are low on ingredients in general and only have two eggs, the corn starch version of this recipe is very similar, but does not require the egg white.

Also if you are new to cake baking, hold off on checking on the cake until at least 28 minutes into baking, when your cake looks pretty solid. Otherwise it will "fall", which happens when the inside of the cake is not yet baked enough to hold up the top, and, when it's disturbed in any way, it will collapse upon itself. It still tastes good when this happens but doesn't look as pretty.

(Thanks again to Roben Ryberg for writing "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free" and to the creator of the Cream cheese frosting recipe on recipezaar.com. This recipe was the rice based version of the carrot cake recipe. Corn starch, oat flour, and potato starch based versions of this recipe also exist.)

Chocolate muffins

I have several muffin recipes, all of which are easy and delicious, but this is one of my favorites. These chocolate muffins are cakey and fluffy and have a wonderful chocolate flavor, and they taste just like regular muffins. It let's "you won't believe it's gluten free" live up to its name.

What you will need:

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup rice flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional but quite tasty)

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line or grease nine sections of a muffin tin.

-In a medium-size bowl, mix the oil with the sugar. Add the eggs. Mix until light yellow and a little thicker. This will take a minute or two with your mixer, or, if you've only got a fork, it's a chance to build up a little arm strength. Add the other ingredients except the chips if you are using them. Batter will be quite thick. Divide among the nine sections of the muffin tin. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle tests cleanly.



Note: If you are using the chocolate chip option, I would recommend against using semi-sweet chocolate chips, and opting for more classic chocolate chips. The semi-sweet flavor just doesn't quite meld with the chocolate taste of the muffin.

Also, the only reason all of my recipes to date have been rice-flour based is because I have more rice flour than corn starch and I'm trying to be resourceful :-)

(Thanks to Roben Ryber, author of "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free". This recipe was the rice-flour based version of Chocolate Chip Muffins. Corn starch, oat flour, and potato starch based versions also exist.)

10 minute Pancakes

My old room mate worked at a pancake house. If I ever visited her there, I was tortured with plate after plate of every kind of pancake sailing right under my nose, while I poked at my eggs and ham. Eventually I stopped going because, even the possibly contaminated eggs were a risk. Even if you aren't the go-out-for-breakfast type, pancakes are a special breakfast need I think many of us have.

Fortunately, pancakes are one of the easiest gluten free recipes, and perfect for someone who is just starting out. I love this recipe because, as long as I have all the basic ingredients, I can make it at a moment's notice! The preparation for this recipe only takes about 10 minutes, and they are very easy to flip once on the frying pan.

What you'll need:

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup rice flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 1 cup milk

-Place all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Mix very well. It works best if you add the milk last, as it will help thicken the batter. Heat a pan or griddle to medium heat, (A drop of water should "dance" on the surface) and if you like your pancakes golden brown, melt some butter in the pan. Pour the batter in the pan to your desired size of pancakes. Cook until small bubbles appear on the surface and the bottom is lightly browned. Flip and continue to cook until lightly browned on both sides. It's so easy!

And Yummy!

Note about cooking: It's important for these rice based pancakes to make sure they are cooked all the way through. I prefer smaller thinner pancakes to large thick ones, because they are more likely to cook thoroughly and much less likely to splatter when flipped. Cooking these pancakes slowly will have a prettier and tastier outcome than cranking up the heat and browning them quickly.

Also, if you are just making pancakes for yourself, half this recipe is plenty. If you have extra batter, put it in a container or put plastic wrap over the top of your bowl and put it in the fridge. You may want to add a little extra milk when you take it out again, to thin the batter. It is more difficult to get a thin pancake with thick batter.

And have fun! Experiment. This pancake is very yummy with fresh blueberries added, or chocolate chips, or just butter and maple syrup. It's extremely versatile in terms of taste. When I've got nothing else, apple sauce or jam work well too.

And just in case you have already mastered the art of gluten free pancakes and you want something new and exciting, I recommend this recipe: Sour cream Pancakes. The first time I made this recipe I ate two huge pancakes with jam (fruit and jam go amazingly well with the sour cream base) and then I ate another two for lunch! Simply substitute rice flour for the "cake flour" and you've got yourself an exotic, new, gluten free pancake recipe. I usually half the recipe because I don't need that much batter and I use low-fat sour cream because I think it's delicious.

(This rice-based pancake recipe came from "You Won't Believe it's Gluten Free" by Roben Ryberg. Versions using cornstarch, oat flour, or potato starch also exist. Thankyou again Roben and thanks to the recipezaar member who formulated the sour cream pancake recipe.

Ingredients for Gluten-Free Baking

Sometimes when we look at a recipe for just regular home made bread and compare it to a recipe for gluten free bread, we might think, wow, baking gluten free is so much more complicated. But to my mind, adding three or four ingredients that you're going to be using again anyways does not signify complication. It's simply a repetition of the process you are already engaging in: 1. locate ingredient. 2. measure. 3. Add to mix.

Ironically, because I have done almost zero baking that's not gluten free, I look at a "all purpose flour" recipe and go.... that really makes something that tastes good? How? Also, keep in mind that when it comes to making bread and other dough recipes, when baking GF, You don't have to let it rise. Gluten, with some help from yeast, is part of what makes bread rise in the first place. The majority of the bread recipes I have are often more of a thick batter in their raw form and are baked in a bread pan to form the traditional bread shape. I have encountered some store-bought mixes for pizza crusts and so forth that instruct to allow the dough to rise but, I really didn't see any difference after an hour.

So the ingredients that go into GF foods are often a little different, because different science rules need to be taken into account. However, the majority of these ingredients are extremely easy to find, and quite affordable. In my last post I mentioned two ingredients that are crucial to gluten-free baking and a little explanation of their use and where you can find them. I thought I'd make a proper list of the kind of things you'll be seeing, and things to keep in mind if you experiment for yourself.

Corn starch: This is a really fantastic flour (yes that's right, flour!) to use, especially for foods that you want to have a very fine grain, such as crackers. Corn starch is also used in confectioner's sugar, which is what goes into frosting, and something about its texture is just addictive! A corn stach based cake frosted with confectioner's sugar frosting is DELICIOUS because the textures just meld. Occasionally in the more challenging baked goods, I use corn starch accompanied by rice flour, just to help bulk it out a little, as corn starch is extremely light and powdery. You can buy mass amounts of it in stores with bulk sections. Careful! It gets everywhere.

Note that when using corn starch, if you don't have an electronic mixer (I certainly don't), corn starch does tend to clump when added to oil, eggs, or milk. Don't despair when these cement like chunks appear, because they do break apart. It just takes a little elbow grease. Similarly, don't worry if there are little white balls of corn starch that just won't break apart in your cookie dough or other batter. After baking, they'll disappear.

Other flours- I listed rice flour in yesterday's post, and my recipes will be based primarily using those two flours. However, I have recipes using several other flours and there are many options out there. Potato starch is apparently quite effective in a lot of recipes. It's a little harder to find but I believe that Market of Choice carries it. Oat flour is also very commonly used, especially in commerically produced gluten free foods. However, if you are like me and you are sensitive to oats that have been processed with wheat, check the lable. Some oat flour has been processed with wheat, and depending on your tolerance, you'll want to buy it accordingly. I have also heard of people using Tapioca flour to great success, chickpea flour, and other variations of rice flour.

Butter- This is quite a staple in both GF cooking and regular baking. Though it's not necessary in breads, it's essential for tight grain goods such as cookies, cakes, pies, and crackers. I have never payed much attention to whether i'm using sweet cream, unsalted, or salted, so use what you have on hand.

Milk- This ingredient is used surprisingly sparingly, unless a batter is being used rather than a dough. I find that milk is especially useful for use in store bought mixes, that can turn out rather dry otherwise. Small amounts of milk or other dairy are often used to react with baking soda or powder, to produce air bubbles. As a side note, some friends have requested to try experimenting with soy milk for those who can't handle dairy. I have used rice milk occasionally but I don't know the full extent of the food science changes this causes, or the pros or cons of using soymilk in it's stead. I plan to do some experiments with non-dairy alternatives in the future.

Yogurt- Surpisingly, yogurt is incredibly useful in GF cooking. It is especially helpful in creating doughs that taste delicious and creamy AND hold together, which is often the real test when creating more challenging goodies. When I have a dough-like food that just has a little too much grain to its taste, I add some yogurt, and it goes away like magic!

Cream cheese- Combined with butter, this is also extremely effective for creating a base for doughs, especially dessert pastries, because the creamy thickness just holds together better after being combined with dry ingredients. It's a must if you are interested in exploring the advanced baked goods like pies and danishes.

Eggs- Always a staple in normal baking, these are still quite common in GF cooking, however there are often less of them used. Furthermore, what is even more common is egg whites. From what i've read on the subject, a whole egg will often bring in that earthy, you-can-tell-it's-gluten-free taste, which I try to avoid, whereas egg whites, when beat until frothy, are a great source of air bubbles, and make for a lighter taste in the finished product.

Baking soda- You can buy a box of it, put it in your refridgerator, and it will last you months and months. Baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients such as dairy, citrus or apply juice, and vinegar, to create air bubbles. When used with baking powder, the after taste that is sometimes associated with baking soda is eliminated.

Baking powder- also extremely easy to find, one bag will last you ages, though it goes a little faster than baking soda. Approximately twice as much baking powder is used as baking soda. It too reacts with acidic ingredients.

Salt- a small amount of this in each goodie helps it from being too bland or too sweet.

Sugar- a small amount of white sugar appears in most bread-like goods, so even when you're not making a dessert, you'll need it.

Brown sugar- this sugar is used in most of my cookie recipes and it helps to give a slightly darker flavor and color to desserts.

Vanilla- I think this ingredient is one of my favorites. It somehow transforms and okay tasting ball of cookie dough to something delicious. And it smells so wonderful! Imitation vanilla flavoring is just find. No need to get really expensive.

Apple cider vinegar- This was a new one for me when I first started baking. It was only 2 or 3 dollars for a big bottle that lasted me months. The vinegar acts as the acid to react with the baking powder and baking soda, AND because it's apple cider vinegar, it contains yeast, so you get that yeasty taste without having to try to get your gluten free dough to rise. You may think, do I really need a yeasty taste? I didn't think it was that important, until I drew up a recipe for gluten free challah bread (coming soon..). My previous batch had been rather bland, but when I added more sugar, vanilla, and included apple cider vinegar, the improve in taste was astounding!

Apple juice- Yes, you will actually be putting apple juice in your bread recipes! Like I said before, apples have yeast in them, and apples alone are also acidic. So apple juice is often used in place of milk in bread recipes as the liquid, because milk is simply not as effective or tasty for bread. I buy the $0.69 cans of frozen apple juice at the grocery store and make a batch whenever I need it, and it works quite well.

Other ingredients to consider having around for GF cooking: Balsamic vingar, garlic salt, wheat free soysauce, cinnamon, confectioner's sugar, semi sweet chocolate chips, cocoa powder, various kinds of nuts and fruits.

If I have all these ingredients stocked, I consider myself a very happy person, as it means I can make just about anything in the world!

Peach Cobbler

Normally when I hear the word "cobbler" it speaks to me of dedication and of serious baking. However that doesn't have to be true! This easy dessert is pretty, quite sweet, and homey. It will leave you wanting more.

When I inevitably end up with several cans of peaches "in light syrup", I like to make this recipe, because it gives me an excuse to bake while feeling resourceful. You can make it with fresh OR frozen peaces too, but canned turns out delicious, and they are extremely cheap. I added lemon juice to the original recipe, as canned peaches are already quite sweet, and I like to have a little bit of tartness in my baked fruit. Because the batter is rice flour based, simply substitute frozen peaches for canned, and you've got yourself a corn free, gluten free cobbler! (Rice milk could also probably be substituted for cow's milk, in the case of a dairy allergy, though I haven't tried it.)

What you will need:

Fruit layer:

• 16-20 ounces canned peaches (about two 15 oz. cans)
  
• 2-4 tablespoons sugar, to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons rice flour
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)

Batter:

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup rice flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Scant 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a pie plate or casserole dish.

- Drain the corn syrup from the peaches and place in a bowl or in the baking dish. Add remaining ingredients for the fruit layer and mix well. Adjust the lemon and sugar measurements to your taste, keeping in mind that the lemon flavor will fade during baking more than the sweetness. If your peach pieces seem large, cut them into smaller pieces with your spoon or fork. Place in the bottom of the baking dish if you have not already done so.

-In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and egg white. Beat until light and smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients. If you're like me and you're equipped with only a fork for mixing, beating works very well in eliminating those pesky rice flour lumps.

-Pour over the fruit. It does not matter if all the pieces of fruit are not fully covered, but in my experience, there's enough to go around.

-Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the crust tests cleanly and the top is a dark golden color and is slightly firm to the touch. Any visible juices will be opaque and bubbly.

**If using frozen peaches, adjust baking time to about 55-65 minutes, to account for the peaches being rather cold :-P

The result?



My favorite way to eat this sweet, homey dessert is to heat it (either in the oven or microwaved for about 40 seconds), and then add a tiny handful of semisweet chocolate chips and allow them to melt for about 30 seconds, and then top it with a heaping scoop of french vanilla ice cream. Delicious!


**A note for those new to gluten free baking: There are two ingredients in this recipe you may not have worked with before.

• Rice flour is a fantastic gluten free baking flour and pretty easy to find. Bob's Red Mill sells it by the bag, for $2-$4, and stores such as Winco that sport a large bulk section usually have rice flour for about $0.76 a pound. I like to buy a huge bag of the stuff and it lasts me for weeks.
  
• Xanthan gum is a binder, which is what gluten would normally do in wheat flour, etc. and is extremely crucial for gluten free baking. It is also sold by the bag by Bob's Red Mill, but it's a little trickier to find. Here in the Eugene/ Springfield area, I buy it at Capella market, where they have a very large selection of gluten free foods. It is about $12 per bag, but do not despair! At the most, two table spoons of xanthan gum is used at a time, and usually much much less. Since I began baking about 10 months ago, I have only had to buy xanthan gum twice, once initially, and one refill, and I'm still working on my second bag. If you plan to do gluten free baking, it is worth the investment.
  

(This recipe was an adjusted version of the fruit layer from the corn based peach cobbler and the batter from the rice based blueberry cobbler from Roben Ryber's "You Won't Believe It's Gluten Free." Recipes for a cornstarch based batter, a potato starch based batter, and a blueberry fruit layer exist as well. )

My three goals

I have never actually been diagnosed with celiac disease or even a wheat intolerance. Somehow when I was a child my parents never figured out that the reason I was sick was gluten, even after I got better only when they took me off dairy, corn, and wheat.

However, the fall after I turned 19, I was recommended by a friend that I might be allergic to gluten. It's intimidating to try to cut something as dominating as gluten out of your diet all at once, so I approached it in the easiest way possible. Whenever a meal time came around, I asked myself, can I make a meal that is totally gluten free? And as I began accumulating foods that I liked and could eat, I became more picky, taking out contaminated oats and foods that have been manufactured with wheat, until I was 100% gluten free and didn't even have to think about it anymore.

However, as many gluten-free citizens will tell you, finding baked goods gets tough. If you live in a pretty liberal town like me, it's not so hard to by pre-packaged gluten free cookies and even gluten free pizza, but these goodies are expensive and often leave something to be desired. You usually are conscious of the fact that what you are eating is extremely gluten free the entire time, and in my opinion, you should be able to forget your limitation and enjoy your food. In fact, I don't like to think of it as a limitation at all, and that, in part, is why I've started this blog.

I started baking and experimenting with gluten free foods the winter after I removed gluten from my diet when my wonderful roommates bought me a gluten free cook book. I have since remarked that that cook book and the two gigantic cookie sheets I received soon after, were the best presents I ever got. I owe a lot of my knowledge and best recipes to this book and I highly recommend it. It's called "You Won't Believe It's Gluten-Free!" and it's written by Roben Ryberg. (Get it on Amazon, not that I'm advertising, here).

There are three goals that I keep in mind when I am experimenting with gluten free food.

1. The ingredients are affordable.
2. The process is simple.
3. The product is delicious

It is my belief that 99% of all food containing gluten can be produced without it, while fullfilling these three goals. This blog will be dedicated to the recipes I use, the results, the possible improvements, and more importantly, my experiments with foods I have not found recipes for.

With luck, the first recipe (with pictures!) will be posted within the next day.