I've been told it's about time...

After teasing people with all sorts of yummy photos on Facebook, and being asked to start a blog, I thought this would be as good a time as any, especially after being told by my naturopath that I need to eliminate gluten and dairy from my diet. For those of you who are on the same dietary boat as myself, I hope this offers you some inspiration... and those of you who can eat what you want, perhaps you will ALSO be inspired! Stay tuned for delicious recipes and mouth watering photos!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Cupcakes for SALE!

Eeek! I am about to head out to the store for ingredients for another batch of the flourless cupcakes (Not mini ones)... That will be available for purchase TOMORROW ONLY at Ma Leos Cafe in Sidney!!!
This will basically be a trial to see how the customers like them..... So if you are in the area please come and get one (or two).   Will also be trying a meringue buttercream icing !

VERY LIMITED QUANTITIES WILL BE AVAILABLE!

Stay tuned for pictures and recipes!!

~A.

Pre-Icing

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Rice Flour Gold Mine!!

So I don't know about all you other GF people out there, But I know when I first learned that this would be my new diet,  I had a bit of a freak out!  The cost of the different GF flour's out there REALLY adds up!
Cheap, Delicious fresh produce found in China Town

This weekend while out with my son and husband, we made a discovery that just made my day!
While in China Town to pick up some fresh produce, we decided to look and see what kind of baking supplies they had in this one particular store... and to my surprise, RICE flour for umm $0.79 a bag!! (400g per bag I believe) This sure beats the $3-5 a bag for some of the better known brand names out there...
Also, They had some other products that I should mention (similarly priced, most expensive item was $1.39 for 400g):  Tapioca starch  (used in some home made flour mixtures), Sweet potato powder, and.... GF Tempura Rice Flour (which includes Recipes for doing meats, vegi's and fruits!).  Here I had thought I would have to live the rest of my GF life without that little weakness of mine!!   Can't wait to try Tempura Fried Banana.... Mmmm!

Additionally I have to say, if you are looking for any type of GF noodles,  China Town is the place to go... So many different varieties (including sweet potato noodles).


My lovely husband decided yesterday that he was going to make us breakfast (and has been making a big effort to cook GF for my sake...)   And so converted a traditional waffle recipe to use rice flour, coconut oil and almond milk instead of the usual dairy products that are used.

Modified Recipe is:

2 + 3/4 cups  White Rice Flour
2 tbsp            GF Baking Powder
1/4 tsp           Sea Salt
2 large           Eggs
1 + 1/2 cups  Almond Milk
1/2 cup          Coconut Oil


He just added them all into the blender and turned it on,  Modified the flour/milk to get the right consistency... It was a little runnier then the normal waffle recipe but made a VERY delicious waffle, with a nice coconut flavour.
Served with heated up blackberries and pure maple syrup.

Cupcakes anybody?

So I have to admit, I have never really been a big fan of cupcakes  (I know, I know,  crazy because EVERYBODY loves them right now and all these specialty cupcake stores are opening etc etc etc.)  I guess I always found they were too "cake-y" and/or had too much sugar for my tastes.
Last week I found a recipe for a flourless chocolate cake at Elanas Pantry (one of my favourite inspirational websites for going Gluten Free).  Now I had previously tried a flourless chocolate cake that was made with chickpeas, to which I was told was "too dry" and the chocolate taste in that recipe was bitter... So I have to admit I went into this second version with some skepticism and didn't expect it to have a light, moist texture...Boooooy was I WRONG!  When I made the cake I remembered my husbands suggestion of making a "mini-cake" to sample before serving this creation to people, so I knew what it would taste like....  and this then led me to making a singular cupcake... YUM!

Today I wanted to make some mini cupcakes to take to an event as a gluten free option to share...
I modified Elana's recipe slightly;


3 large  Eggs (Separated)  *(I add extra yolks if  I've been doing other baking, or an extra egg)
1/4 tsp  Sea Salt
1/2 cup Agave Nectar *(Honey, or Pure Maple Syrup are what i have used)
1/4 cup Grape-seed oil
1 cup Mashed Bananas *(she says approx. 2, I usually use 3)
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder


1. In a blender (or food processor), whip egg yolks, agave (honey/maple syrup) and salt on med. for 1-2
    minutes.

2. Add grape-seed oil and bananas (I added them just in chunks today, not previously mashed), blend 1-
    2 minutes

3. Blend in cocoa powder until smooth

4. In a bowl, whip egg whites to stiff peaks

5. Gently fold blender contents into egg whites

6. Insert liners into mini-muffin pans

7. Pour batter into liners (almost to brim)

8. Bake @ 350' for 13-15 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

9. Cool on rack

10.  Apply icing as desired (VERY tasty without icing)



Today given the fact that we are taking these cupcakes to an event I wanted to make some icing for them.  This one is QUITE the experiment for me but so far it tastes good...

I am going to call this the "Black and Blue (berry) Icing"

Ok I did this mostly by feel as far as ratios, but the icing is an approximate mix of;

3 Tbsp Blackberries (approx.)
1 dozen Blueberries
3 tbsp Coconut Oil (used instead of butter)
2 Eggs  (separate the whites)
2-3 cups Icing Sugar


1. Heat berries in microwave until soft,  then use stick blender and strain to get the juices but not seeds
    (ending up with approx 2 Tbsp of juices)

2. thaw blueberries in microwave until soft and then add into blackberry mixture, blending with stick
    blender until smooth

3. Cream together the coconut oil and icing sugar until smooth, then add in berry mixture

3. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, then fold into the sugar/berry mixture.

4. chill to thicken,  once done, put into icing bag and ice cupcakes.


**My first try with this concoction was hmmm a little runny, I have put it on the cupcakes and then put the iced cupcakes into the fridge in hopes that it will harden somewhat.   I do really like the combination of the coconut oil flavour, and the berries...