Gluten-free "Oatmeal" Chocolate Chip Cookies

M* makes the best taste tester

I was about to add Organic Porridge Flakes to the composting pile, when I came-up with a better ending for the flakes: faux oatmeal cookies. I found a well-reviewed oatmeal cookie recipe online, which did not require a trip to the grocery for additional ingredients. With a few recipe modifications, I created Gluten-free "Oatmeal" Chocolate Chip Cookies.

The result? Very tasty, but the flakes did not soften enough for my liking—and I'm a gal who needs crunch in her baked goods (brownies and chocolate chip cookies without nuts aren't worth the effort or calories). I'm not sure if it was the millet or the rice flakes that was the culprit or simply the brand. M* wolfed the cookies down no problem, and he preferred the extra crunch. Of course, I helped finish the batch in just a few days time (chocolate chip and nuts are hard to resist). I'd certainly make this again when I come across another brand/ combo of gluten-free flakes.

Gluten-free "Oatmeal" Chocolate Chip Cookies
(modified from joyofbaking.com's Oatmeal Cookies)

Ingredients
3/4 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening (can also use room temperature butter or margarine)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup Gluten-free Brown Rice Flour Mix
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups gluten-free flakes (rice, millet, soy, or combo)
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

In large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth (about 2 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, xantham gum, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. With a wooden spoon (or similar utensil), stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until incorporated. Then stir 30 more times. Stir in the nuts, flakes, and chocolate chips.

Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet, leaving about an inch between cookies. Wet your fingers and flatten the cookies slightly with your fingers so they are about 1/2 inch thick. Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes, or until light golden brown around the edges but still soft in the centers. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer to wire rack until cool.

Makes about 36 cookies

Spinach, Potato and Chick Pea Curry

Another recipe inspired by what remains in our kitchen cupboards.

I found a curry recipe in "Healthy Gluten-free Eating" that called for potatoes, chick peas and spinach, but, like many recipes in this book, it was more involved than I had time for. After some Googling, I found a Spinach Chick Pea Curry recipe that was less time consuming and would use a can of creamed corn that had sat ignored on our shelf for over six months. I blended the two recipes to maximize the ingredients used and minimize the time. What I've found about many Indian recipes is that they are forgiving if you have to make substitutions.

The result? Tasty, quick, Indian meal that will help you use what veggies you have on hand. The meal would have been even quicker if I had not included potatoes, which add a step and increase cooking time. However, the increased time is mostly unmonitored, giving opportunity to clean dishes or set table.

Spinach, Potato and Chick Pea Curry

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large, 3 medium or 4 small potatoes, cut into small wedges.
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 tblsp ajwain seeds (optional)
1 onion, chopped
1 tblsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chili powder (more if chili powder is mild)
1 tsp turmeric
1 (14.75 ounce) can creamed corn
sprinkle of paprika
1 (15 ounce) can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 can (14 oz) tomatoes, peeled and chopped in juice
1 bunch fresh spinach, stems removed or 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil or to taste


DIRECTIONS

1. Dry roast ajwain seeds for 1 minute on high heat in small pan. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a large wok or skillet heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add potatoes in a single layer, placing them cut-side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes and flip each potato onto second cut-side. Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove potatoes from pan and set aside. Remove excess oil from pan and potatoes.

3. In same large pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add onions. After onions have sautéed for 3-4 minutes, add curry powder, cumin, garam masala, chili powder and turmeric. Sauté until onions are translucent.

4. Stir in creamed corn. Cook, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes. As you stir, add salt, pepper, ajwain seeds and paprika.

5. Stir in garbanzo beans, tomatoes and potatoes. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. You can add a little water if mixture gets too dry.

6. Add spinach and cover. When spinach is tender, remove from heat and stir in basil.

Gluten-free Banana Banana Nut Muffins

Gluten-free Banana Banana Nut Muffins

I'd accumulated seven over-ripe bananas in the freezer, and I thought we should use them before we leave. Since I had such luck adapting a wheat flour zucchini bread recipe to a gluten-free one, I thought I'd just look up a well-reviewed glutinous banana bread recipe and substitute the Brown Rice Flour Mix and a bit of xantham gum for the wheat flour.

I went to allrecipes.com, where I found the zucchini bread recipe, and found a simple Banana Banana Bread recipe that garnered 4.5/ 5 stars and was accompanied by useful reviewer comments. Since the recipe did not call for vanilla, spices or nuts, I was happy to read that many people had added them with great results. As well, one baker had given her instructions for using muffin tins instead of a loaf pan. Perfect.

Muffins ready to go in the oven

I've listed the recipe (below) with my changes and additions. As you can see above, the recipe makes 12 good sized muffins. And yes, the taste is wonderful. Our bananas were so ripe, so sweet, so banana-y, that I think I could even have cut the sugar down to 1/2 cup. I did use a little less than the called for 3/4 cup, but reducing it further with very ripe bananas, I'm guessing, would be fine. If you are inclined to read the original recipe or other reviews, click on the link below.

Gluten-free Banana Banana Nut Muffins (based on Banana Banana Bread)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Brown Rice Flour Mix
1 tsp xantham gum
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon flax seed/ linseed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon spice of your choice. I used speculaas (a Dutch spice mix of nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, mace). Other suggestions: nutmeg, cinnamon or allspice
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated butter substitute or butter (I used substitute)
1/2-3/4 cup brown sugar (depending on sweetness of bananas and personal preference)
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/3 cups (about seven) mashed overripe bananas
1 cup walnuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease muffin tin (or use liners). Makes 12 large muffins.

2. In a bowl, combine flour mix, xantham gum, baking soda, salt, flax, cinnamon, and additional spice. Whisk to blend. In a separate, large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Then stir in, with spatula or spoon, vanilla and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture; stir just to moisten. Stir in walnuts until just blended. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. If not done at 25 minutes, increase heat to 350 degrees and bake for 5-10 more minutes. Let muffins cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Gluten-Free Brown Rice Flour Mix

Great gluten-free flour mix that substitutes well, with addition of xantham gum, for wheat flour in many recipes.

Food Philosopher(TM) Gluten-Free Brown Rice Flour Mix
From Annalise G. Roberts "Gluten-Free Baking Classics"

2 cups Brown rice flour
2/3 cup Potato starch (not potato flour)
1/3 cup Tapioca flour

Che Chuoi—Banana, Coconut and Tapioca Pudding

A month or two ago, I took M* to Cho Mee, a Chinese grocery store that also carries various Pan-Asian items, and he picked-up some large Tapioca Pearls with the idea that he would make them. I suspected that this might not be the case. With our time in Cambridge winding-down, I decided to make them before we ended-up leaving them for the next tenant.

The instructions on the back were not in the best English, and I didn't feel confident in following them. Instead, I went to Google to point me in the right direction. I didn't find many recipes calling for the large tapioca pearls, so I tried to follow the instructions on the package just to cook the pearls. While I was doing this, I came across a recipe for a Vietnamese dessert, Che Chuoi—Banana, Coconut and Tapioca pudding, which required small tapioca pearls but sounded delicious.

I ran into a little bit of trouble when, after almost an hour, the pearls had not turned completely translucent but a number of them had gel-ified (?) on the bottom of the pan. I just plunged ahead though and started following the recipe with step 2. Within minutes the desert was done, and I was able to put the pan in the sink, where it took a few days of soaking/ scrubbing to remove all the pearls from the bottom.

My husband loved the dessert, and I loved the taste but would have enjoyed it more with the small pearls. Coconut milk and bananas are already staples for us, and I can see small tapioca pearls making future appearances in my shopping basket.

Che Chuoi—Banana, Coconut and Tapioca Pudding
Makes 6 servings.
(I recommend following the link above. The web site has useful notes about types of bananas and coconut milk and a description of the dessert)

3 cups water
3 tablespoons small tapioca pearls (about 1/8"in diameter)
3 ½ tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup coconut milk
3 bananas (about 1 pound total) peeled and cut on the bias into ½-inch thick slices

1. Cook the tapioca. In a 2 quart saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Use a whisk to swirl in the tapioca pearls. This prevents them from sticking together! Let the tapioca cook in the boiling water for about 12 minutes, at which point they'll have lost about one half of their opaque-ness and the mixture will have thickened. The pearls sort of resemble fish eyes!

2. Add remaining ingredients. While the tapioca cooks, whisk the sugar, salt and coconut milk together. When the tapioca has finished its initial cooking (step 1), whisk in the sugar, salt and coconut milk. Stirring occasionally, let the mixture cook for a minute to dissolve the sugar. Add in the banana slices and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes to allow the bananas to heat through and the flavors to meld. Set the pudding aside to cool. Serve at slightly warmed or at room temperature in individual bowls.

Thai Fish Cakes With Thai Dipping Sauce

I've only attempted a few recipes from "Healthy Gluten-Free Eating," as they tend to be a bit involved—lots of chopping, steps, bowls, pans, sauces. I had bought some salmon from the neighborhood fishmonger, and I was happy to find a recipe in this book that wasn't too involved. Yes, there was lots of chopping, a sauce and a sauteing step before the actually frying, but it wasn't hard. This may be because I've gotten much more familiar with the ingredients from making a Thai soup. We have the nam pla and Thai chilies, and I know where to find kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass.

Enough typing. "Fabulous recipe. Love it! No additions." That's all I originally planned to write. Recipe is below with photos of the fishcakes. Oh, they still tasted excellent the next day and the day after that. I'm sure wheat and gram flour could also be used if rice flour isn't on hand—we used brown rice flour.

(click on image to enlarge)

Thai fishcake recipe (dipping sauce recipe below)

Formed fishcakes ready to be fried

Once they're in the frying pan, dinner is almost ready!

At least the sauce is an easy one

Applesauce—Like Mom Makes

I cannot believe that it took me so long to make applesauce. I l-o-v-e it, and my mom, the queen of excellent homemade applesauce, makes it frequently—always having some on hand when I'm home for a visit. When M* and I were in Germany, M* was helping his sister make strained apples for her infant son when the familiar smell of warm apples caused a cartoon-like light bulb to appear over my head. "I too should make applesauce," I realized.

After our return to Cambridge, armed with instructions from my mom, I bought a number of large Bramley apples from the Cambridge Market Square. I thought they'd be good as I'd used them for baking, but they were quite tart. Yes, the applesauce had the right consistency and satisfied the craving, but I ended up adding more sugar and cinnamon than I liked, and then it still made me pucker a bit. M* was a fan of the tartness, but I found it too extreme. I know that, for me, the right apples, result in the addition of no or only small amounts of sugar.

Boiled Bramley apples (skin still on) being mushed through a strainer.
Bramley applesauce (Bramley apples, sugar, cinnamon)

A few days later I went back to the Market Square and eyed the apple selection from my favorite stand. My ideal choice would have been Macintosh, but I've yet to see them in the UK. I opted for a bag of Braeburns and headed home to begin batch two. The only disappointment with the Braeburns was that I wished I'd bought more. The applesauce was so friggin good, and I did not need to add any sugar.

I think I'm going to buy a lot of apples tomorrow and make an entire stockpot full of applesauce: it freezes really well.

Braeburn applesauce being reduced on the stove (Braeburn apples, cinnamon)

Mom's Applesauce

Just good apples

Cut them up into chunks, you can leave skin on for the vitamins, put enough water in bottom of pan to steam them, not to cover them up with water. Just cover pot and simmer til soft, then cool and mash through a strainer, add sweetener, some cinnamon, some nutmeg, if you have it, to taste.

My notes:
*You do have to spend a little time getting the soft apples through a strainer, but it's no more time than peeling the apples beforehand.
*Don't worry if you use too much water, if the applesauce is too thin after putting the apples and liquid through the strainer, just reduce on stove until desired consistency is reached.
*It may be strange to some, but I really like to eat cold applesauce with cottage cheese.