discovery

A good friend had a birthday on the weekend and she is gluten free. Gluten free baking is hard. You don't always get the right texture and flavour. I have had a few successes and some failures. But I was determined to make it work. I returned to my cookbooks and came across a beautiful book that J. bought me last year called Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache written by Harry Eastwood. I wanted the book because it looked amazing but never really thought about the actual recipes. What I didn't realize at the time was that it was a gluten free book that is also vegan.  I am a firm believer in eggs and butter but I had all the ingredients so I thought it was worth the try. I decide on the Cherry Brandy Chocolate Cupcakes. Harry (I love a boy's name for a girl) has cheeky write ups to go with each recipe and this recipe matched my friend. Sassy and bold it had a deep sweet richness brought on by quality cocoa powder. Instead of butter I swapped in butternut squash and I used almond flour and rice flour. The cupcake itself had a rich cocoa taste without being too sweet. I made the frosting which is comprised of 90% icing sugar....delicious. I wasn't sure at first but in the end it was the most moist gluten free item I've baked. At the end of the night there were on 2 out of the 12 left. So I guess it was a hit, although I still love eggs and butter in a cake this is definitely an option for the vegan friends.

opening the floodgates

After a week of strict restrictions, week two seemed like a breeze because I slowly introduced wheat, eggs, soy and dairy back into the diet. Added sugar was still out but that was okay because I had Flying Apron’s book, which was gluten free, vegan and used barely any sugar.

I’ve been really enjoying her savoury section in particular her soup one. I made the Potato, Leek & Sorrel soup and it was delicious! It had subtle yet complex layered flavours it also had spinach blended in it with our 80’s immersion style blender called Robot Susan (that’s what the package called it).

By mid-week I was ready for something sweet so I made the Wondie Bars. GF oat, mixed with raspberries and blueberries, olive oil and some corn flour. It was a little crumbly but was sweet and crunchy all rolled into one.

When the week drew to a close I kicked it off in my usually weekend bake style and tried the Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes. I used no eggs, butter or processed sugar (the holy trinity of baking). Instead the substitutes were banana, olive oil and a maple syrup, agave nectar combo. I brought it to a friend’s house and didn’t say a word. It was big hit! The texture was crumbly (a common occurrence in Flying Apron’s book) but the cupcake had a nice chocolate depth and richness I didn’t expect from a vegan recipe. I’m not saying I’m converted because I love eggs, butter and sugar, I just thought it was a nice alternative for those with food restrictions. And of course it was gluten free.

Flying high from my past successes I tried to up the ante and make the Blueberry Cinnamon Scones. I used garbanzo bean flour, my first mistake. It smelled a little like peanut butter but had none of its texture and binding power. I was not impressed because they came out dry, crumbly and a little lack luster in flavour. Thumbs down for sure on this one. J said they were fine but every time I picked them up they would explode in a crumbly mess and left a sticky dry texture in my mouth upon eating them. Ho hum indeed.

Next up the Indian Pockets (Gluten free bread wrapped around a warm yummy filling, two recipes in one). I think I like the savoury more than the sweet. And even though I had a few successes I really think baked goods need a little egg and butter to hold it all together.

new year, new resolutions

This past week I’ve had a cold and I went back to work. It seems as if those two items combined make it impossible for me to blog or even think about it (the robot shot above captures my feelings of the past week). But I’m feeling better and it’s the weekend so here I am. During the holidays I really enjoyed doing more than one book and hope to review at least two every month. This month I’m doing something a little different.

Every New Year I start with resolutions on reducing stress, eating better and getting in shape. I always start with the best of intentions but no plan. Without a plan I find it difficult to focus. This year Martha Stewart’s Whole Living magazine outlines a simple action plan for both mental and physical wellbeing for 28 days. I can do 28 days! So that’s the New Year resolution, 28 days to a purified me.

The first week is a reduction of common allergens and other bad things (good-bye added sugar, you’ve been a dear friend). Gluten/wheat is back out as well. With that in mind I decided that I would try Flying Apron’s Gluten-Free and Vegan Baking book. Seemed like a good match to Whole Living’s plan. I seriously love me a baked good so I’m going to be realistic and try to do more responsible baking. Wish me luck I’m may be a little crazy after a few days of no added sugar…

But before I do that I have one more Kylie Kwong recipe to review.

I love noodles. We grew up not knowing the true name to any dish referring to them as the big flat one, the one with soup or the worm one; the worm one being a particular favourite. That was why I decided to do the Hokkien Noodles Stir Fried with Chicken. Once again it was a blend of different sauces to create an easy to make dish that was rich in flavour and delicious. Before I got this cookbook I didn’t really know who Kylie Kwong is and now I’m sorry I hadn’t been introduced to her sooner. She’s definitely sparked my desire to learn how to cook Chinese food and furthered my appreciation of the food my dad just whips up in the kitchen.

asian pear tart

The one thing I can do is bake. I've made crisps, cookies, cakes, cupcakes, brownies, you name it, except for pie. I made a rhubarb strawberry pie once. The filling was fine but the crust could have definitely used some TLC. There was my lazy rolling job, there was cracking and some major shrinkage. It was terrible and sloppy. Discouraged I opted to only use frozen pie crust which was okay but in now way as good as homemade.

I have always enjoyed the texture and mildly sweet taste of the Asian pear. I love that they come in the styrofoam nets and the juices that drip down your face as you take your first bite. So when I saw this I was no 100% sure but the photo was enticing.

Easiest pie crust I have ever made! That's all I have to say. GFG suggests shredding the frozen butter into your flour mixture. It worked so well and because it was GF I could easily mend the dough as I placed it into the tart pan. I blind baked (another first) and cut up my Asian Pears at ease and happy. The book asked for concentric circles and I'm mathematically inept so I made up my own pattern. Voila a yummy gluten free tart! That and a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you're set. Is there really anything else to say? A++

pasta!

I'm a dry pasta kind of girl and I rarely use fresh. I was using whole wheat pasta and missing delicious white pasta. Then I went gluten free and I'm not loving rice pasta it is sticky and they clump together. I've grown up loving pasta, longing for pasta when faced with rice every night. My mom felt that I should have been born Italian.

Everything was super easy and it was moving along well until it's time for me to roll out the dough. I try to avoid recipes that involved rolling, I'm a lazy roller. I busted out the beautiful dusty marble roller my mom bought me. After 10 minutes of rolling and groaning about rolling until I thought it was thin enough. I do not have a pasta machine so busted out my pizza cutter and rolled out fettuccine-like pasta. It was still quite thick...boo! So I continued to cut and then roll out the noodles again making them a little thinner. Ah, the lazy woman's pasta.

GFG warns that GF pasta needs to be watched. It's good one minute and then it's mush the next so I watched it like a hawk. FYI water does not boil when you are watching. The pasta came out yummy and just firm enough. I tossed it into pesto. Simple, delicious and gluten free. I'm converted to fresh and am now on a hunt for a pasta machine. A+

gluten free bread - fail

I love the smell of warm filling the house with all it's yummy goodness. I used a bread maker for awhile and then switched over to hand made loafs. I loved watching it grow as it sat for 2 hours and then seeing it brown in the oven. When I decided to cut gluten out fresh bread is what I missed the most. I bought GF frozen loafs from the supermarket and found them gross. I have learnt when it comes to gluten it's about discovering new tastes and not finding a GF duplicate (the harshest lesson being when I tried GF eggos *shudder*). So when I decided to try 5 recipes I knew this bread had to be one of them.

Making bread from scratch is not as scary as it seems. It's more an exercise in patience. The cool rainy day made slowed my bread from rising but after a few hours it was ready. I popped my faux-Le-Creuset into the over for a half hour warm up. Usually I use a pizza stone but I thought I would try the pot. A while later the smell of warm baking bread filled the house, that smell gave way to a slight burning scent. My bread was slightly crispy and looked really rough. GF bread fail.

When my bread cooled and I sliced it open I was greeted with a beautiful sight. it was perfect inside. The texture and density was AMAZING. I toasted a slice and spread some marmalade jam onto it. Delicious. The crust was less then desirable but the inside was the closest I have ever come to real bread. So I'm going to try again with my trusty pizza stone and then see. Here's a snap of the inside of the bread with a pumpkin curry soup I made. So B+ for now.

warm rice salad with a touch of corn relish

The minute I laid eyes on this photo I knew I had to make this salad. It had all the elements of a really good meal: artichokes, avocado, tomatoes, red rice and yummy vinaigrette. Mmmm thinking about it makes me want to make it again tonight. I initially made this recipe as at Meatless Monday option and loved it so much that I did it again for my big family Thanksgiving. It was a nice balance to the spread of turkey, yam fries, brussel sprouts with pancetta. I also threw in the corn relish from the book. Let's just get the corn relish covered first. I wasn't a huge fan, but my mom and aunt loved it. I could not find the champagne vinegar so I used the white wine vinegar instead and I don't love boozy flavours. As with all their recipes there were a lot of flavours, but this time I think there was too much (corn, apricot, peppers, white wine vinegar). Although the roasted peppers were delicious and I roasted peppers for the first time (super easy!). I think I need to try it with the chicken recipe in order to give it an accurate grade.

Also on my list of firsts was fresh artichokes. Thank goodness The Chef covers them off in the book. It took a lot time and work and added a nice element of freshness but I don't know if I'd do it again. I switched in jarred artichokes for Thanksgiving which gave it a nice added touch of salt and acid. Hopefully Gluten Free Girl will forgive me for such a blasphemous switch out.

The book asks for red rice, so I hopped over to my local Bulk Barn and picked it up. It was nuttier than regular rice and I was happy to find something new to add to my grain repertoire (brown rice and brown pasta can get a little stale). I grew up with parboiled short grain white rice and I hated eating it everyday. It had to no flavour and was sooooo boring. I longed for pasta so much so my mom thought I should have been born Italian. As we got older my dad started switching up the white rice (he wouldn't touch brown rice with a ten foot pole), who knew there was so many kinds! Then I switched to brown rice because it was healthier and now have white rice as an occasional yummy indulgence. Even though I have grown to love white rice I still am leery of the perfectly formed rice bowl that comes from Chinese restaurants and only eat the rounded top. My sister and I use to fight over it because we felt that you would have to eat less rice. Now that I'm older I realize it was visually deceiving, although I still eat the top of the rice bowl and make J eat the rest.

Overall it was so much easier to do than the trout and quinoa and left you with a healthy serving of leftovers. J didn't even notice there was no meat in it as well. A+

trout and red quinoa

I started reading Gluten free girl's blog a couple of years ago. Through her site I discovered new ways to eat without my beloved bread and pasta. I later picked up her book Gluten Free Girl and began to make her yummy roasted chicken with a whole head of garlic and rosemary (well let's be serious I only made it about 3 times, have you read my previous post? J keeps asking for it though). Her new cookbook Gluten Free Girl and the Chef is a continuation of the first but with more recipes and glossy pages. The food ideas are more unique and the combinations are interesting which can be attributed to her husband, the chef. He contributes to the book but is not the primary voice although his influence is felt through out. I love the way they weave recipes and stories together. I want to make everything in it (a first for me) and it has moved from the bookshelf into the kitchen permanently. The only other book that gets that distinction is Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life.

My first try was the trout with almonds, grapes, quinoa, and kale with a lemon-marjoram vinaigrette. I know it's a (delicious) mouthful but I think it was definitely worth it. The first thing I learned was the value of mise en place (fancy word for prep), something I never do. I prefer to jump straight into a recipe instead of doing any prep work but with recipes that are more complex and require a multitude of things to do mise en place is definitely a must. At first it was easy because it was just pan frying the fish and as each element got added I became a bit of a spazzy mess. Goodness gracious there were so many pans that needed to be used! I once told a friend that mistakes make things look homemade. Let's just say this recipe was very homemade and looked a little too rustic. But it still came out and was delicious.

Shauna asks the reader to follow the recipe exactly the first time and then alter as you see fit but I was never one to follow the rules and did my own swaps (switching in cilantro for marjoram). I find that herbs while delicious rarely get all used up so I'm hard pressed to keep buying new ones especially if there is no alternate use recipe for it.

I'm going to be honest quinoa is not my favourite. When I did a gluten detox I tried quinoa flakes. The texture and the smell was less than appetizing and reminds me of something pretty gross. My friends LFB and VT know exactly what I'm talking about. I won't tell you what it is for fear of you never eating quinoa again (just know it's a healthy little grain and that's all). So when the recipe asked for red quinoa I had to pause and think, but my faith in Shauna convinced me to try it. And it was good! There was a lot of things going on with this recipe but the flavours complimented instead of competed. A+...I guess I'm grading things now.