Author: Angela Drake

Angela Drakehttp://AWorldWithoutWheat.wordpress.comElementary school teacher, circulation desk clerk at my local library, mother of Kasey, Nonna to Aiden and Liam, volunteer at Musikfest, gardener, potter in stoneware, quilter, gf baker, hiker, camper, birdwatcher and addictive reader.......
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We Are Longing for Gourmet GF Entrees

My latest pet peeve is boring gluten free restaurant food.  If there is anything gluten free on the menu it is often simplistic and there are very few choices compared with the rest of the menu.  This is a major bummer.

Last weekend I was eating supper at one of the few restaurants where I feel truly safe in eating gf, BigBites BBQ located along Route 309 in Quakertown. Not boring food, just plain delicious!  They make the majority of their food GF, have dedicated areas for GF food assembly and cooking and they specially order their Udie’s GF buns for their sandwiches directly from the factory. The owners have 3 family members with celiac disease so they know what they are doing to make food safe and gf.

pulled pork signbigbites

Plus their BBQ is the best in the entire area.  Love their pulled chicken, their ribs with ruby red sauce and their sides: smoky baked beans, cornbread and coleslaw.  The owners were telling me about their plans to add gf tacos to their menu. They are going to make their own tortillas from scratch. Just hearing the owner describe those tacos made my mouth water. Can’t wait!

What I am getting around to spelling out is that we were also commiserating on why no restaurants make really complex gf foods.  I had been thinking that but it was interesting to hear the owner of a mostly gf restaurant making the same point. The few places that serve gf raviolis or pasta seldom dress the gf food up with fresh herbs or other additions, like the rest of their entrees have.  It is like they think we celiacs don’t like gourmet tasty food; that we just want it bland and plain.  No, no, no! We love fresh basil on our pasta, spices, cheese and all the yummy things that can fancy up a dish to make it delightful and memorable.

The only other place I have gotten some really tasty and well made gf food is Bella’s Restaurant here in Hellertown.  I wrote an entire blog post on their fantastic shrimp with pink vodka sauce, a few months back.  I just wish they would translate more of their incredible entrees into gluten free versions. Same for Nick’s on Main Street in Bethlehem.  Their gf baked ravioli is very nice but I think it could be fantastic with a few added flavor touches. bella sign

Maybe 2015 will be the year more restaurants get that concept and expand their gf menu making dining out gluten free a better experience. I am personally hoping to find somewhere that has gf perogies as their nightly special. Heavenly!

Lovely Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Tart

My brother Robert sends me a big box of fat and juicy Meyer lemons from his trees every November.   Like 15 of them, nestled into packing material with stems and leaves attached, fresh from his tree! The box releases a cloud of lemon scent when I carefully slice the packing tape open. November and December are the season of perfect Meyer ripeness. Meyer lemons are a cook’s dream.  Their flavor is sweeter than store lemons; not all that tart, with a gorgeous floral scent, perfect in cookies like the lemon squares everyone loves, which I make gf now a days. I also make lemon meringue pie, lemon marmalade, lemonade and this delicate yet gorgeous buttermilk tart.  Which I am sharing with you today.

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It is very easy to construct; I use a shortbread cookie style, gf, press and bake crust and the filling is just whisked together and poured into the partially baked crust.  Be sure to use a fine grater to carefully remove all of the lemon peel onto a slice of wax paper before you halve it to make the juice for the filling.  I used one big fat lemon plus a little bit more; 2 medium sized ones will work great.

So easy to bake up and it is perfect with a big spoonful of fresh real whipped cream.  Sometimes I lay slices of Meyer lemon down the length of it when I use my special rectangular tart pan.  Sensational looking and just as yummy as it looks.  A round tart pan works great too. I have used a regular gf pie crust which is a tasty alternative to the cookie crust.

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You could make it with regular lemons but I suspect it would need more sugar to make it sweet enough as Meyer lemons are far sweeter than the grocery store lemons.  I think a few places may carry Meyer lemons; check at Wegmans. If you want to use all purpose flour in your crust and in the filling – go right ahead.  I have been making this tart since long before I went gluten free: simple, tasty, and impressive looking – tart perfection!

Meyer Lemon Buttermilk Tart

Cookie Tart Crust

1 cup brown rice flour mixture (recipe below)

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp. xanthan gum

5 tbsp. cold butter cut up into 6 or 7 chunks

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2-3 tsp. water

Mix the dry ingredients in your stand mixer, add the butter, blend with the paddle blade until the butter is small pebbles.  Add the vanilla and water.  Press into a tart pan with a removable bottom, be sure to first spray the pan with cooking spray. Don’t press too hard or you will over compact the crust and it will lose the delicate texture that makes it delightful.

lemon tart 002  Bake 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven.  Cool 10-20 minutes before filling and baking.

Filling

¾ cup buttermilk: let it warm up for 10 or 15 minutes before mixing

½ cup granulated sugar

2 lg eggs, warm them close to room temperature

6 tbsp. Meyer lemon juice

2 tbsp flour (I use sweet rice but you wheat can use white rice flour)

2 tbsp finely grated Meyer lemon peel

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Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake ten inch tart crust for 10 min

Cool at least ten minutes before filling

Mix all filling ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth.  Pour into crust and bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 min; until just barely set.  Cool completely and refrigerate until chilled.  Can decorate tart with thin slices of Meyer lemon tart. Serve slices topped with a dollop of this lightly sweetened cream.

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Topping:

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp powdered sugar

Beat cream, add powdered sugar.  Serve a dollop with each slice of tart.

Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

Filling recipe modified slightly from one on food network.com, flour mix and crust from Annalise Roberts, Gluten – Free Baking Classics.

Mahi Mahi With Tangy Veggies Over Rice

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I like to combine healthy proteins like fish with lots of great veggies and create awesome flavors to make quick meals yet, food with complex flavor combinations and naturally gluten free.  Case in point;  a frozen fillet of mahi mahi.  I keep a couple individually wrapped fillets in my freezer to form the basis of a quick meal; it has a firm meaty texture and will work well with a number of ingredients. Finding it somewhat bland I like to spark the flavor with a couple great additions to create a delicious meal, olives and capers to name those chosen today.

This is somewhat of a vague recipe, you can use more or less of the ingredients depending on your pantry and your palate.  I used salad olives that have pimento in them, even more flavor!

green olives capersraw cod fish

Mahi Mahi with Veggies   for one; can easily double

Ingredients:

1 4-6 ounce fillet of mahi mahi

1-2 tbsp. mild olive oil

½ a small onion, chopped

1 small celery stalk sliced fairly thinly in rounds

½ cup sliced fresh zucchini, half moons

1 cup chopped swiss chard

8-14 green olives roughly chopped

1 tbsp. capers

2-3 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1-2 tbps. Vermouth or dry white wine

1 tbsp. butter

Directions:

Heat a tbsp. of the olive oil in a medium sauté pan.  Add the fish and cook 3 minutes lip it and cook 3-4 more minutes. You want a nice lightly browned fillet but not overcooked.  Remove from the pan and set aside, covered so it doesn’t get cold.

Add the rest of the oil, heat, add the onions, stir, add the celery and cook, stirring frequently until they begin to soften, 3-4 minutes.  Add the zucchini and the swiss chard.  Stir and cook 5-6 more minutes.  Add up to 2 tbsp. water if the pan seems dry.  The water creates steam and helps to cook the veggies.  Don’t over do it or you will have a soggy mess.

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After 4 of the 5-6 minutes add the chopped olives and the capers.  When the veggies looks about done, return the fish to the pan and pour the fresh lemon juice and Vermouth over the fish and the veggies. Stir another few seconds.  Add a tbsp. of butter and, while it melts, season with a few grinds of fresh pepper.  The butter, lemon juice and wine form a delicate sauce that clings to all the veggies.

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Taste before adding any salt as the capers and olives provide a fair amount of salinity and it is impossible to remove salt once you sprinkle it on.  Serve over hot steamed rice.  I love it over long grain brown rice or long grain white rice.  It is a complete meal without any additions.  Creating it should only take 15 minutes if you already have some cooked rice available.  White rice can be made in less than 20 minutes. Enjoy this healthy yet very flavorful meal some evening soon!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup To Warm The Tummy

Blast this early winter weather.  It sure stinks unless you like to slog through cold rain or sloppy snow.  Soup is often my remedy for winter chillies.  This is a simple soup made of roasted produce thinned with chicken broth and a touch of milk.  It will warm your tummy and fill you up without too many calories.  The leek adds a slightly different flavor and the apple a touch of sweetness which I find refreshing.  This mellow winter treat is great with a salad for lunch or a sandwich.  No fuss, very little muss.  Just a short list of ingredients and a fairly simple recipe.  Enjoy!

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Roasted Butternut squash Soup

1 butternut squash

1 medium onion

1 leek

2 fat carrots

1 Rome or Gala apple (any baking apple but Granny Smith will do)

1 garlic clove, unpeeled

3-4 cups of chicken broth, preferably homemade

½-3/4 cup of half and half or whole milk, even 1 percent will work!

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Directions:

First, cut the butternut squash down the length and scoop out the seeds. No need to peel. Place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Cut the onion in half and likewise the apple, the leek and carrots; cut off the leek above the light green portion and core the apple halves.  Put apples cut side up.  Roast them all in a 375 degree oven until the squash is tender when poked with a fork.  About 35 to 45 minutes depending on the size of your squash.  If the other fruits and veggies are browned and done early slide them off to a plate to cool.  Caramelized is fantastic but no burnt leeks in my soup thank you!

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When the squash is cool enough to handle, use a big spoon to scoop out all the meat of it into your blender.  Add the scooped out contents of the apple halves, the garlic you have squeezed out of its skin, the carrots and leek halves.  Pour in 2-3 cups of chicken broth, blend until smooth, and add more broth until you reach a consistency you like.  Mine was kinda thick and porridgey.  If you prefer to use a food processor that will work or put the scooped out veggies into a large sauce pan and blend with your immersion (boat motor) blender.  This will not be as smooth as the blender makes it but it is more fun and less cleaning as no blender container to wash!

After the blending is done pour it into a large sauce pan and add up to ¾ of a cup of half and half or whole milk.  I used a half cup but you may like it creamier.

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Taste and add sea salt to your taste (maybe ½ a tsp) and grind in some black pepper too if you like it in your soup. Heat until not quite boiling and serve with a slice of GF toast or some GF rolls.  Perfect wintery day meal especially if you add a side salad of greens to round out lunch

Fruity Nutty Yummy Healthy….All in One Muffin!

No muffins in the freezer, and I was a tiny bit tired of all my flavors: it was time for a new kind of muffins. This is a riff on a recipe out of Annalise Robert’s cookbook; Gluten-Free Baking Classics.  It is very similar to her blueberry muffins. If I had to have just one GF cookbook hers would be the one: her quick breads are delicious!  I saw the topping on a blog (Swirls and Spice) and modified it just a touch.

These muffins did not disappoint: delicate texture yet crunchy outside with a great blueberry cinnamon flavor.  The pomegranate seeds add color and a touch of flavor.  Fall is the season for pomegranates so toss them in and surprise your family.  I suppose you could leave them out; add another ¼ cup of blueberries.  I used frozen blueberries; easy to get in the winter, don’t defrost them before adding. There are walnuts in there to so you get some really great nutrients from the fruit and nuts.  No guilt in eating one of these treats!

It must be mentioned that I used a different sugar; organic coconut palm sugar from Frey’s Better Foods.  It looks like soft brown sugar, can be used 1-1; same amount as granulated sugar and tastes great.  Best of all, it is low on the glycemic scale so you don’t get that sugar rush/crash nearly as much as most sugars.  I found that to be so; no sugar reaction like I often get when eating sweet baked treats.  I think it tastes slightly like brown sugar and it does darken the baked good slightly.  As a pre-diabetic I love that this sugar is low glycemic; much better for my body.  But use granulated sugar if that is what you prefer.

I always eat a muffin from the batch while they are still warm out of the oven, just perfection.  The streusel topping makes them look like they came from a bakery.

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It is smart to freeze any you won’t eat in two days time; a zip lock freezer bag works great.  These muffins are delicate; if you take them on a hike or trip, put them in a plastic bin – rigid sides will keep them safe from crushing.

Blueberry Pomegranate Cinnamon Muffins

2 cups brown rice flour mix (see below)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. xanthan gum

¼ tsp. salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1¼ cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

¼ cup pomegranate seeds (ariels)

2 large eggs beaten

½ cup milk, 1 or 2 percent

½ cup canola oil

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Topping: Mix the following in a bowl, make sure the butter is in tiny pebbles; use your fingertips to blend.

½ cup rolled oats

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tbsp. almond meal

1½ tbsp. butter

¼ tsp. cinnamon

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Directions: Heat your oven to 375 degrees, placing the rack in middle of oven.  Spray muffin pans with cooking spray.  One batch makes 12-16 muffins.  I got 16 when I made them yesterday.

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Mix all dry ingredients in bowl of stand mixer or big bowl Add fruits and walnuts; stir to coat them with dry mix.  Combine milk and oil.  Beat in eggs, add vanilla.  Add liquids to big bowl; stir just until blended.  It is a very thick batter.

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Fill muffin pans 2/3 full.  I use a big serving spoon and fill it about half way to dump in each muffin space. Sprinkle the top with the topping. Gently press the streusel into the muffin batter just a bit so it doesn’t fall off after they are done. Bake 21-24 min until golden brown. Do not over bake or they will taste dry.  I let them cool 3-4 minutes before I removed them from the pans to cool on a rack.

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Freezes well for a few weeks.  Keeps in fridge (well wrapped) or an airtight cookie jar for 2-3 days.

Post script: I froze 2/3 of my batch and six days later I have just two left. These muffins are addictive and I love how they don’t raise my blood sugar noticeably yet they taste so wonderful; bursts of blueberry/pomegranate flavor and the crunch of the nuts. I promise that you will be thrilled with these muffins even if you skip the pomegranates!

Brown Rice Flour Mix base mix

2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour