Month: April 2015

Delicious Gluten Free French Bread – Easy and Fast

When my family asks for gluten free bread this is my go to recipe.  It always tastes great; the original came from food.com.  I have modified it slightly. I think it is better for my changes.  If you don’t like brown rice flour use double the white rice.  In my opinion the brown rice makes the flavor more like the real deal.  Don’t change anything in the recipe until you have made it a couple of times.  It is a remarkably forgiving bread.  The original recipe came from food.com

french bread pan

The only thing is you really need a French bread pan; metal, zillions of tiny holes, makes two loaves.  I can’t see how to successfully make this without my French bread pan. Just get one! I made this bread several times a year and get many compliments from people who don’t need to eat gluten free.

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It is very easy and quick to mix up.  You need to keep an eye on it rising; should be in a warm but not hot location.  Sometimes I turn on my oven and let it heat to 105 degrees upon which I turn it off and put in the bread.  Just warm enough and no drafts inside there.  Don’t over rise it or it will deflate; disaster! Once it is getting close to ready you need to preheat the oven; take the bread out first if yours is rising in there…

It is still tasty the next day.  Makes good crumbs, great croutons if you fry it in some olive oil and garlic and if you slice extra thin this bread is excellent with a cheese course if you are into that sort of thing.

These pictures below are of my golden raisin French bread – they illustrate the process, look very much the same and I don’t have any photographs of the basic French bread in the rising process.  I will snap some next time I make it.

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Gluten Free French Bread

Makes two loaves

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup tapioca flour

3 tsp. xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp. sugar

1 ½ cups lukewarm water; about 90-95 degrees

1 tbsp. yeast

2 tbsp. melted butter

2 large eggs or 3 egg whites, room temp. I use the two whole eggs generally.

1 tsp. cider vinegar

Directions:

Put the flours, gum and salt in bowl of stand mixer, blend.

In two cup measuring cup or small bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in the lukewarm water; let stand 3-5 minutes until foamy.

Dump into the dry ingredients; add the butter, egg whites, and vinegar.  Beat on high for 3 minutes.

Spray French bread pans, those ones with the tiny holes everywhere and the half round shape; spray them with cooking spray and dust all over with yellow cornmeal.

Glop in the bread dough; it will be like soft putty.  Smooth the top with your fingers that you dampened in water.  Cut 3 slashes diagonally on the top. Sprinkle it with more cornmeal if you like.  I often do that.

Let rise for 30 minutes until doubled.  Bake in pre-heated 400 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Cool before slicing.  It doesn’t have to be stone cold to slice but cutting it hot is a bad idea; gets all gummy….not a good thing.

This is a version of a recipe I found on food.com. I put in brown rice flour and use whole eggs.  I also have a version with orange rind, golden raisins and fennel seeds elsewhere on my blog.

Slow Perfection: Peruvian Chicken with Red Potatoes

When you work long hours, have two jobs: making a real supper becomes problematic.  I have tried lots of ideas and recipes but I really like making one dish early in the week which provides several meals all week long. Step one: I bought a new slow cooker.  My old crock pot was absolutely ancient, I don’t care to disclose how old.  This one does some basic programming and keeps food warm once it stops a cooking cycle.  I love that it is oval so I will be able to put a whole chicken or a long pot roast in it. Step two; I bought a new cookbook just for slow cooking; The Everything Slow Cooker Cookbook by Carrie Forbes.  Step three: testing lots of recipes!

I pick and choose carefully from my new cookbook; I hate overcooked or mushy food.  The recipe has to be quick to assemble into the pot so I can head off to my second job while it slowly turns my ingredients into a marvelous flavor combination.

There is a Peruvian restaurant in South Bethlehem but they told me that most of their menu is unsafe; could only guarantee one thing and that made me too nervous to try their food.  I had heard that Peruvian food was excellent and it is! This is my version of Peruvian chicken with red potatoes.  It is a slight variant on a recipe in my slow cooker cookbook.  I use chicken thighs, bone in rather than a whole chicken and added extra potatoes and fresh garlic.  If you are diet conscious you could leave off the skin.  I know, it has a lot of spices but they blend and are not overwhelming, don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients.  It dumps together in 5 minutes.

I really enjoy it after a long work day; a salad goes well and gives the greens I crave most suppers.  In the past I have hesitated to post slow cooker recipes as the final results can be a tad drab for photographing. But this spicy flavor party of a dish is a must try even if it is a bit plain in the looks department. I took a pix, sorry if it is rather blah looking but trust me the flavor is outstanding..

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Peruvian Chicken with Red Potatoes

4 good sized chicken thighs, bone in

5 tsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp black pepper

½ tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp. oregano, heaping

2 garlic cloves cut in half

½ large lemon quartered or one small one halved

1.5-2 lbs red potatoes; I used 5 – not too big but not small, quartered

3 tbs. white vinegar

2 tbsp. white wine or vermouth

1 tbsp evol

Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients;put in a big baggie, add chicken pieces and mix well.

Place the potato chunks in the bottom of the slow cooker, Put the chicken on top. Add two garlic cloves which you halved and the lemon chunks.  Drizzle the last three ingredients over top and add ½ cup water.  Cover, cook on high 4 hours. Stir it well before serving and make sure everyone gets some of the thin sauce; ridiculously good on the potatoes you have mashed up with your fork.

Some people like a sauce; ½ cup mayo mixed with 2 tbsp. mustard and 3 tbsp. lime juice as a dipping sauce.  I tried it; okay but I am not a huge mayonnaise fan….

Dig out that old crock pot or better yet get a new one and enjoy something totally different and totally yummy.

Homemade Fried Rice…Oh So Nice!

It can be problematic for someone with celiac to eat at most Chinese restaurants.  The only one I hear having lots of gf options is PF Changs which is not located anywhere in the Lehigh Valley.  I have friends who eat at chinese places and ask about gf options – they get little or no response. Not even sure the staff understands what gluten free means. Not comforting.  I miss a few Chinese take out dishes but there is one I actually have always liked my homemade version best; fried rice.  Been making it for many years from scratch and it is far tastier than any I have ever been served at/from any Chinese restaurant.  It is not that fried rice normally has a gluten component; it is cross contamination as well as unsafe soy sauce that are usually the issue. So go homemade.

Fried rice is not that difficult to construct and you get the bonus that you know what is in there; not so easy to know at the local take out counter.  It’s a great supper idea if you have leftover white or brown steamed rice on hand. Leftover Easter ham; perfect for it! Otherwise, I often buy a small ham steak and just cut that up. It can be modified quite a bit to whatever is in your fridge and pantry.  I put in broccoli this time for my grandson who adores it.  I often add water chestnuts or even bamboo shoots. If I don’t have fresh pea pods; no biggie: go with the flow and just increase the frozen peas a bit! I don’t always put in zucchini or broccoli; your choice. My kind of recipe….  Must haves in my recipe are rice, a protein, scrambled eggs and an assortment of small dice vegetables.  Once you chop the veggies and if have that leftover rice it goes together very fast.  I find that hot rice doesn’t work as well as cold so try to make the rice earlier if not the day before.   My ingredient measuring is somewhat fluid, go with what you have and what you think you will like.

The middle set of these pictures is the scrambled eggs; just poured into the pan and right after I turned the heat off.

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Angie’s Fried Rice

Ingredients

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 med onion diced

1 carrot unpeeled and small diced

½ a red pepper, small diced

1 stalk celery, small dice

1 garlic clove minced

½ cup cut up zucchini; cubed more or less

½ cup broccoli flowerets cut up

2 tbsp water

2 eggs

½ cup fresh pea pods, cut in half

1-2 tsp. gf soy sauce or Bragg liquid aminos (tastes like soy sauce)

1 tsp. rice vinegar

½ tsp sea salt, black pepper, fresh ground…to taste

½ cup frozen peas

½ can chopped water chestnuts (optional)

½ lb cooked ham cut in 1/3 to ½ inch cubes

1 ½ to 2 cups Leftover rice; either white or brown

Directions

Heat a small wok over med high heat; add oil, stir around, add the onion and carrot, cook a minute, add the red pepper and celery, cook 2 minutes, add the garlic, cook a minute.  Add the squash, broccoli and water, cook 2 minutes.  While that cooks, mix the eggs with a tbsp of water and scramble over medium heat in a nonstick pan for less then 2-3 minutes.  Do not over cook.  Set aside for the finishing touches.

Add the peapods, the soy sauce, the rice vinegar and salt/pepper, stir.  Add the frozen peas, water chestnuts and cooked ham.  Cook 2 minutes.  Add the rice, stir well, adjust seasoning; add more soy sauce if needed. If you like it crispy cook it a bit longer, if not; it is finished. Add the eggs you scrambled and stir well before serving. A meal on a plate, cooked in the wok.  If you don’t have a wok use a sauté pan.

Could serve 4 if you are not too piggy! Three if you are…. I will let you guess what goes on in my house.

I Be Feeling Sick Chicken Soup!

When you feel ill, like with the flu, a cold, an icky stomach bug, or if you get glutened, you want to eat something warm and soothing.  Something healthy that will stay down and feel happy in your tummy.  Something like homemade chicken soup.  That is where I was at when I made this Oriental chicken soup.  I was gutened by something the day before and still felt not well enough to eat regular food.  So I whipped up a small batch of fresh soup with homemade chicken broth I had leftover from this past weekend. This soup took less than 30 minutes, some of that actively chopping and some just allowing it to cook. Just the ticket when you are under the weather and have no pre-made soup to reheat: whip this up and you are set for several delicious meals.

I suppose you can make this soup with canned broth; be sure it is gluten free if you have celiac disease like I do.  Homemade is going to make it more flavorful but sometimes you just don’t have time to make fresh broth.  And if you don’t like sesame oil leave it out.  The pea pods, onion, ginger, garlic, parsley and celery leaves are very healthy additions and they each add great flavor. Ginger is particularly good if your tummy feels poorly. I often keep a bit of it frozen in a freezer ziplock baggie so it is there for a quick grate into a dish. I like the pad thai noodles; made of rice so they are easier on the tummy than egg noodles.

Don’t freak out if you only have one carrot or don’t want as much of any ingredient; make it your way.  I sometimes fail to measure as I make soup so some of these ingredients are a bit fluid.  As a young adult I would ask my mom to give me her recipes and got very frustrated by her un-measuring way of cooking.  These days I estimate or eyeball some ingredients.  Use your good judgment and what you have on hand in your pantry/fridge.

If you don’t want meat in it; leave it out. If I am really ill I do that; easier to digest without that protein. You could buy a rotisserie chicken but if you are gf; check the labeling; not many stores make gf rotisserie chicken. I used leftover roasted chicken breast from a family supper. Roasted chicken has a lot of flavor compared to steamed or poached.

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Angie’s I Be Sick Chicken Soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced

2 carrots, washed but unpeeled, sliced into rounds

2 celery stalks diced including the leaves; separate them from stalks

1 garlic clove, peel and mince

About 2-3 tsp coarsely grated fresh or frozen ginger

1 quart of chicken broth

1 tsp. sesame oil

A handful of pad thai rice noodles

½ cup pea pods

½ to 1 tsp. sea salt

1 to 1½ cups diced chicken breast

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan; I used a two quart one.  Add the diced onion and carrots.  Cook the soup, stirring frequently; about 2-3 minutes.  Add the celery stalks and the minced garlic clove, cook approximately 3 more minutes.  Add the broth which you have heated.  Stir and add the fresh ginger and sesame oil.

Heat 1.5 cups of water in a microwave safe container and add the rice noodles.  I like to break them up somewhat or they are a mess to slurp down. Up to you! Let them stand ten minutes while the soup cooks.

Cook the broth and veggies 8 minutes, add the celery leaves and pea pods which you coarsely chopped.  Cook 3 more minutes.  Add sea salt to taste and the chicken breast.  Stir and heat a minute or two.  Taste and adjust the salt. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Pour in bowls.  I topped mine with some pea pod micro greens I grew in a pot at my kitchen windowsill.  Perfect meal when you want to sooth an iffy tummy.

Fennel Italian Bread, Fantastico!

When my family asks for French bread I have just one great recipe I love: the base recipe for this posted bread is my go-to recipe.  It always tastes great; the original came from food.com, I have modified that recipe somewhat. I think it is better for my changes.  I have made it like 10 times.  This is a recent variation I created adding some extra ingredients. I think it isn’t too raisiny: the golden chunks are very attractive and tasty in the fresh bread.  The fennel is critical to make the flavor pop while the orange zest adds a nice undertone. This is the best bread I have made since going gluten free.

I served it to my family with some homemade shrimp cannelloni and it was a perfect combination.  You can butter your slice for extra yumm but it is still delish without butter. I bet it would go great with ham for Easter luncheon.

This dough is very easy and quick to mix up.  You need to keep an eye on it rising; should be in a warm but not hot location.  Sometimes I turn on my oven and let it heat to 105 degrees upon which I turn it off and put in the bread.  Just warm enough and no drafts inside there.  Once it is getting close to ready you need to preheat the oven; take the bread out first if yours is rising in there!

My sisters loved this bread, Karen said it was like a “religious experience” eating it; she had four slices! Snuck the fourth when I left the room to get some water… And they both love good French bread and are not GF either so if they adored it that says something!

It is still tasty the next day.  I think it would make fantastic French toast. 

These pictures are all together for your convenience: in order of the recipe; the dry ingredients, the bread dough in the stand mixer, same dough with the added raisins and fennel seeds, the bread before rising, after rising just as I put it in th oven, freshly baked and a lovely slice about to be eaten by me!

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Gluten Free Fennel Italian Bread

Makes two loaves

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup brown rice flour; throw it briefly in the blender if it isn’t finely ground

1 cup tapioca flour

3 tsp. xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp. sugar

1 ½ cups lukewarm water; about 90-95 degrees

1 tbsp. yeast

½ tsp. ginger

2 tbsp. melted butter

3 egg whites, room temp.

1 tsp. cider vinegar

3/4 cup golden raisin

1 ½ tsp. fennel seed

1 tsp. orange zest

Directions:

Put the flours, gum and salt in bowl of stand mixer, blend. Add the zest, beat briefly to blend.

In two cup measuring cup or small bowl dissolve yeast, ginger, and sugar in the lukewarm water; let stand 3-5 minutes until foamy.

Dump into the dry ingredients; add the butter, egg whites and vinegar.  Beat on high for 3 minutes. Add the raisins and fennel; beat on med low for 20-30 seconds to blend it in.

While the three minute beating goes on, spray French bread pans, those ones with the tiny holes everywhere and the half round shape; spray them with cooking spray and dust all over with yellow cornmeal.

Glop the bread dough in blobs close together into the pans to make two loaves; it will be like soft putty.  Smooth the top with your fingers that you dampened in water.  Try to push in any raisins right on the surface. Cut 3 slashes diagonally on the top.  Sprinkle with a touch of cornmeal.

Let rise for 30 minutes until doubled.  Bake in pre-heated 400 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes until golden.

Cool at least 10 minutes before slicing into thick pieces.