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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Cheese Filled Fried Zucchini Blossoms….Yes Flowers Fried With Cheese!

Zucchini season is here.  The blossoms, at least, are plentiful and I am expecting many zucchini in a few days.  While no squash are ready to pick I was thinking about the blossoms.  I used to make stuffed blossoms with beer batter.  I hadn’t tried to make them GF yet.  Why not tonight.

I looked up my recipe in the Joy of Cooking; the batter recipe that is.  I was surprised to see it said flour or rice flour.  So I said, why not! No need for a fancy flour blend. I used plain white rice flour in my batter.

I usually use Monterey Jack cheese to fill them but in a pinch some extra sharp cheddar made do.  Or whatever cheese floats your boat; can use almost anything that is not too dry or is runny.

There was some GF Redbridge beer chilling in my fridge. So I cracked a beer and whipped up the batter.  It is supposed to sit for 3 hours, I left it go for about one hour.  I drank the rest of the beer with supper! Why not?

No need to deep fry in a quart of oil, I fried mine in a non stick pan with a good coating of light olive oil.  I like to turn them twice; resulting in a sort of three sided fritter. They are best consumed right away the same day they are made, eaten warm with a sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice.  My two and a half year old grandson ate one and seemed to enjoy it!  They have a mild squash taste but I think the beer batter is the predominate flavor. My GF version was pretty much identical to the old wheat version and they tasted fantastic! I ate 4 of them and had to restrain myself from any more….

Squash Fritters with Cheese Filling

Ingredients

1 egg

2/3 cup white rice flour

Sprinkle sea salt, a few grinds of fresh pepper

1 ½ tsp light olive oil plus more for frying

3 ounces GF beer; I measure it midway between ½ and 2/3 cup

Approx 1 inch chunk of cheddar cheese cut into small rectangles

¼ a fresh lemon

Separate the egg and put the yolk in a medium bowl, ditto for the white.  Add the oil, salt, pepper and white rice flour to the yolk.  Then add the beer.  Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and let stand an hour or two.  Beat that reserved egg white until fairly stiff. Add to the batter and stir gently but thoroughly. It will loose some loft but don’t over beat; should be thick and rather puffy in texture.

Slit open the side of each squash blossom and break off the pollen stamen.  Insert a 1 inch by ½ inch chunk of cheddar cheese.

Heat a 10 inch non-stick skillet; add about 2 or 3 tbsp light olive oil.  Take 2-3 blossoms and gently roll in the batter making sure the cheese doesn’t fall out.  Lightly lay them in the hot olive oil and fry until golden, turn twice; about 5 or 6 minutes total. Do not keep turning; maximum of two turns.  Lay on a couple paper towels to absorb any excess oil.  Plate, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

They are a lovely appetizer. I made 9 of them; that was how many blossoms I had; the batter should do at least 12 to 15 of them.  Even the bit of stem will taste good so don’t worry if you have ½ inch or so of stem.  The blossoms are best if you pick them yourself that day. I did notice that Lehigh Valley Produce had squash blossoms for sale last week so they are the first place I suggest you look for some if you don’t have access to a few squash plants.  I have even used pumpkin or butternut squash blossoms in the past; they taste fine

Do try them; a real conversation starter, not that hard to make and really delicious.

Pavlova, You Will Be Drooling For Some!

My sister Elaine makes this dessert all the time. It is a specialty of hers. I think it is her go to company dessert when nothing else comes to mind. When she first described it I was not impressed. I wasn’t even looking forward to it at our family dinner party she throws every summer when I come up to visit. So I was surprised when I bit into my slice of it. Clearly this is a case of the results being far more than a simple sum of the ingredients. It is light, sweet, airy, fruity and basically melted in my mouth. I have had it at her house one other time and have made it a few times myself. It is easy to construct and it can be varied in the fruit topping.

The old school classic topping is fresh passion fruit. Elaine mostly serves it with sliced fresh strawberries, perfection! It is decent with blueberries too. I once used a mixture of ripe summer fruits; peach, nectarine, blueberries, mango and kiwi. That was really memorable. Ripe local strawberries would be super tasty too. Go with what is ripe and flavorful when you are shopping for fruit. I used blueberries and strawberries for the Fourth of July but you decide what works for you. No canned fruit though, only fresh will do.

My sister got the recipe from Food network – a 1999 recipe. It is naturally GF so no one will ask where the wheat is! Don’t leave out the red wine vinegar; totally necessary.

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Slice today; sorry it is on a paper plate but it  was luscious!

Pavlova

Ingredients:

1/2 cup egg whites at room temp (about 4-5 eggs)

1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

1/8 tsp. salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2 T light brown sugar packed or white sugar

1 pt. fresh strawberries for top, sliced and 1 cup fresh blueberries

or 3-4 oz fresh raspberries and half a pint of blueberries

or 2 sliced ripe peaches and some raspberries or blueberries

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment whip the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a clean, dry bowl until foamy. Add the granulated sugar, cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla and continue whipping until stiff, smooth and glossy, about 7-8 minutes more.

On a sheet of parchment paper cut to fit a sheet pan, use a pencil to draw or trace a 9 inch circle in diameter. Line the sheet pan with the parchment, pencil side down (you should be able to see the circle). Spoon the egg whites in the circle, using the back of the spoon to smooth the top and sides of the disk. Make it high rather than wide; it will settle after baking. Bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 300 degrees and bake until the meringue has puffed up and slightly cracked on the top and the surface is highly browned to the color of a latte coffee, about 45 minutes more. Turn off the oven, prop open the oven door, and let it cool in the oven at least 30 minutes, to room temperature. This ensures a gradual cooling, which protects the delicate meringue.

Whip the cream and brown sugar (sometimes I use white sugar) until stiff. spoon it in the center of the cooled pavlova and spread out to within 1/2 inch of the edge, arrange the slices of strawberry in the middle. Sprinkle the blueberries around the edge of the strawberries. To serve, slice into wedges with a serrated knife.

Yeah, I know that was a corny title but I couldn’t resist using it….  So make a pavlova and make everyone happy; it is beautiful to look at and even better to eat. Happy Fourth of July peoples!

Green Summer Soup – Kermit Would Approve!

I have been enjoying a cook book called “Feel Good Food” by Giada de Laurentiis of Food Network fame.  This soup recipe just jumped out at me; my fridge or garden contained all the veggies in it, it sounded interesting and so I had to try it.   Here is a picture I took of a bowl of it.  Doesn’t do it justice at all; it is brighter in color and lighter on the palate.  Refreshing when cold too!Image

My mom loves soup so I took her some and it disappeared rapidly.  Simple to make, healthy, tasty and my mom liked it! Home run.

I used loose leaf garden lettuce in my version.  Great way to use up an excess of garden lettuce before it can bolt!  The original uses a head of Bibb lettuce.  I wouldn’t suggest iceberg or romaine but any soft lettuce should work.  I skipped the topping of fennel fronds she suggests; up to you on that issue.  An alternative topping might be a few sprigs of finely chopped garden lettuce.  And if you are a vegetarian I am sure you can easily substitute veggie broth for the chicken broth. It is tasty both warm and cold which I like.   Image

A note on shallots.  They are excellent in many recipes; more subtle than onions so I suggest you try it with shallots if at all possible. I get them fairly cheap at Valley Farm Markets in Bethlehem. I am positive Wegmans carries them too.  Image

Green Pea, Fennel and Lettuce Soup

 

3 tbsp butter

1 medium fennel bulb chopped; about 2 cups

2 large shallots

1 medium head Bibb or Boston Lettuce, chopped (about 4 cups)

1 ten ounce bag petite peas, frozen (I weighted that out from a pound bag of peas)

1 ½ cup chicken broth

¾ tsp. fennel seeds

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper

Melt butter in a big heavy bottomed sauce pan.  Add fennel and shallots.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until they soften 6-7 minutes.  Add he lettuce and stir until wilted; 1-2 minutes. Mix in broth, peas and a cup of water, bring to point of boiling, lower heat, cover and simmer for 6 minutes.  Let cool partially.  Image

Puree in blender in 3 batches adding ¼ tsp fennel seeds to each batch.  Place in bowl and return all soup to sauce pan, add salt and pepper, reheat and serve warm but not hot.  Might need to thin with water.  Also yummy chilled.

This is naturally gluten free and will keep in your fridge for a few days, if it lasts that long.  I call it “green soup” for short and it is nourishing and tasty for lunch on a hot summer day.  This recipe is a keeper for me and I hope the same is true for you.

Bittersweet Chocolate Tart….Best Chocolate Tart Ever!

Two years ago I made this dark chocolate tart and we ate it around a bonfire. Someone had the bright idea of putting toasted marshmallows on their slice.  Last Saturday I made the same tart but gluten free and we made sure to have plenty of marshmallows to toast and top our slices with.  Most of us had seconds, but I was able to save a tiny sliver for my mom to enjoy.  It was a big hit with all of the chocoholics there so here is the recipe.

Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

Crust

1 cup gf flour (recipe below)

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

5 tbsp. butter cut into 5 pieces

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. water

Mix all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add the butter pieces and blend until they are tiny crumbs.  Then add the vanilla and 1 to 2 tsp. water and blend.  It should be thick crumbs.

Spray a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking oil and then sprinkle with some gf flour; shake to coat.  Dump the crumbs of the crust evenly all over the tart pan bottom and press in with your fingers to make a fairly even crust, be sure to push some up the short sides of the pan so it is to the top of the metal and not too thick near the edges.

Bake at 350 for 11 or 12 minutes.  Let cool while you make the filling.

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Filling Ingredients

¾ cup heavy cream

1/3 cup whole milk

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, I like Ghirardelli.  Break into small squares/pieces.

1 large egg slightly beaten

Put the milk, heavy cream and chocolate in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and heat on low to moderate heat; stir often until chocolate is melted.  Remove from heat and cool a few minutes.

Add the beaten egg, blend well.  Pour into the tart pan and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. 

Brown Rice Flour Recipe

Ingredients

–         1 c brown rice flour –

–         1/3 c potato starch (not potato flour-

–          3 tbsp tapioca flour

Directions

Mix all the flours in a big jar or bag

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This tart is best eaten warm with two or three toasted marshmallows pressed onto the top.  Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream is also yummy.  This picture was taken in total darkness with an i-phone and the owner of this slice of tart was ticked off that her marshmallows cooled while the shot was made so she toasted up two more marshmallows and had all four on her slice of tart.  This dessert is seriously delicious and really easy to make. If you love dark chocolate this is a must recipe for your repertoire.  It can easily be made by you wheat eaters; just use your favorite cookie tart crust recipe.  The filling will be the same.  Now, go get some good chocolate and make your own tart and don’t eat the whole thing yourself; share it with someone you love!

Fabulous Fish Fry

Somethings we celiac sufferers crave are just the simple meals that most of you take for granted.  Like some crispy fried fish.  All the fish that is in the freezer case all battered up is, of course, made with flour that contains wheat/gluten.  And, of course, totally unsafe for people like me.  I have been dreaming of crunchy breaded fish fillets for months now.  The dream was about to be realized!

My mom was craving real fried fish, she lives in an assisted living facility and complains that nothing is ever crisp or fried.  I like to take her supper every Sunday so I looked around and decided to modify a recipe I saw on foodnetwork.com. It was for gf fried chicken and with minor changes it became my fried fish meal. Crispy crunchy and flavorful and not that difficult to create. 

I know fried fish does not have the glamour appeal of a chocolate cream pie or a cake but this recipe turned out very tasty and quite simple to throw together.  I used buttermilk as the original chicken recipe asked for; it is thick and clings to the fillets and the short marinade period can do nothing but improve the fish flavor.  I used cod but you can use any boneless fish fillet you prefer.  I didn’t have any onion powder so I left it out; up to you!  The smoked paprika adds a lot of flavor, don’t use too much or it will overwhelm the delicate flavor of this dish.     Image  My  photo just doesn’t do this fish justice.  You have to taste the seasoning and crunch of it to know how delicious it is! Yes, that is the Three Continent pilaf I made to go with it.

Gluten Free Fried Fish

Ingredients
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp.  onion powder
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
½ cup all-purpose gluten-free flour mix
½ tsp. smoked paprika
1 lb fish fillets

2-3 tbsp canola oil

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  1. Making the batter: Whisk together the buttermilk, paprika, garlic power, and onion powder. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and stir.  Put fish fillets in mixture for 10-30 minutes in the fridge.  I used a Ziploc bag for this step, easy clean up; throw away when done.  I had cut up the one big fillet into several as there was a variety of thickness and this way I could leave the thicker chunks to cook longer and take out the thin ones when they were perfectly fried. 
  2. Making the flour:  Whisk together a pinch each of salt and pepper, flour mix, and smoked paprika.
  3. Dipping the fish: Set a large cast-iron or Teflon skillet on medium-high heat. As the pan is heating, line up the fish, and the spiced flour. Pour the oil into the hot pan.
  4. Frying the fish: When the oil is fairly hot, shake off any excess liquid from a fillet, dip the fish in the seasoned flour and coat it entirely. Place the fish in the hot oil. Repeat with all the pieces of fish.  Don’t overcrowd the pan. You can always do this in two batches.  Flip the fish pieces when the bottoms are nicely browned, 3-6 minutes  a side depending on thickness. When both sides are browned and fish appears done remove from pan, place on plate covered with a couple paper towels.   Image

I served my fish fry with seasoned rice pilaf and a green salad.  I used Nature’s Earthly Choice “Three Continent Blend” made up of red and gold quinoa, amaranth, brown rice and wild rice.  No sodium, no sugar, no saturated fat and 5 grams of protein per serving.  Tasty too….I put a tiny bit of vegetable bouillon cube  (1/4th of one), a tsp. of dried parsley and it cooked up delicious.  You could make some gf oven potato fries or brown rice or potato salad.  Or totally skip a starch if that is your preference.

Easy to make and pretty healthy for a fried meal.  Did I mention how yummy this meal was?