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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Carrot Cake to Splurge On

Everyone thinks of carrot cake as rich and chock full of calories from the raisin packed layers to the thick creamy cream cheese icing slathered on thickly between layers and covering the entire cake. This is an incredibly moist and decadent cake, yet it is gluten free and gets it richness from olive oil, carrots and plump raisins soaked in booze. There is no flour substitution; made entirely with ground almond flour so it is naturally gluten free. It is a single layer and is fairly low in sugar for a cake, and I made a cream cheese icing with less sugar and less cream cheese plus it was a lower fat cream cheese; I just iced the top, so I was able to make less icing and save a few calories. It was definitely enough icing to complement this delightful cake. This version is by Nigella Lawson with a few changes and additions by me. So, all I am thinking right now is why didn’t I make this, years and years ago!

Notes: I didn’t have much rum on hand, so I used some bootleg limoncello I made about 5 years ago to soak my golden raisins in. It really brought the citrus out in this cake. My version used orange zest; I was strangely out of lemons other than ones with their skin already zested for other recipes. The three tablespoons of pine nuts that I toasted and threw into the batter had a big flavor impact. I normally use walnuts in carrot cake, so I now think either is a great way to go; do toast them as it really amps up the nutty flavor.

I wasn’t much thinking about blogging; more about bragging on the deliciousness of this awesome cake and so I took hardly any pictures and none of them are all that decent; I swear that next time I bake it I will take some more pictures of higher value; these sure don’t do this lovely cake justice.

Venetian Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp pine nuts

8 oz coarsely shredded carrots (peel first)

3 oz golden raisins

2 ¼ oz limoncello or rum ( I measured the raisins in a glass measuring cup and added lemoncello to a touch above half way up the raisins )

5 oz sugar

4.5 fluid ounces mild olive oil plus a tad more for greasing the pan

3 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

9 oz almond flour (not almond meal)

A scant ½ tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp. cinnamon

The zest of half a good sized lemon or orange plus the juice of said lemon

Frosting

6 oz room temp light cream cheese

2 Tbsp. butter at room temp

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Prep: Toast the pine nuts (or chopped walnuts) in a dry frying pan stirring or tossing constantly; they will burn if you don’t toss and stir and when they are about done pour them in a small bowl; don’t leave them in the (heat off) frying pan; they will burn on the residual warmth of the pan. Let cool. Put the raisins and limoncello in a small saucepan and heat up; then turn down the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Let cool before using.  Next, peel and grate carrots. I did it by hand with my versatile box grater on coarse side, but you can use a food processor, or a shedder attached to your stand mixer.   I grated them onto wax paper and then weighed it; so much more accurate than saying 3 carrots and hoping it is the right amount. Line a 9-inch round springform pan with parchment paper and oil it with a bit of olive oil. Heat your oven to 350 degrees and make sure your shelf is in the middle.

Cake Directions: Put the almond flour, the two spices in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Put the sugar and olive oil in a large mixing bowl and whisk until it is well blended, light and creamy looking. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well before the next one. Add the vanilla extract, mix briefly. They add the almond flour mix and then carrots and the raisins and liquid clinging to them. Last, add the pine nuts, lemon or orange zest and lemon juice. Blend briefly. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes; mine took the full 40 minutes. It should look risen and a cake tester will come out clean. Mine was rather pale so I briefly broiled it; about 2-3 minutes watching constantly; kinda risky but it was just so unbrowned I decided to go rogue and broil my cake for a couple of scary minutes! Let cool 10 minutes. Run a small sharp knife around the edges to free it and remove the ring of the pan. Set it on a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting. I left mine on the metal bottom; you best do the same!

Make the icing; blend the cream cheese and butter until fluffy; add the sugar in half cups or less as you blend. Add the vanilla and beat the frosting until it is fluffy. Frost the top of your beautiful cake. Enjoy!

Lemony Chicken Pasta and Creamy Leek Sauce

I am not the biggest fan of Gordon Ramsey; he is a bit too boisterous, and his food is kinda old school rich with butter and cream and expensive ingredient rich. But I recently saw this article which said he makes this 10 minute recipe every week for his family and decided to give it a try. It was more than 10 minutes for me; more like 20-25 minutes. Still, I loved the crispy sagey breadcrumbs on top and the hint of lemon in the cream sauce. The leeks add an undertone of onionish-ness. A bit rich with cream; I suppose you could try light cream or half and half. I changed the proportions of ingredients just a touch and I used ground chicken as it was on sale this week at Aldi’s. Winner winner chicken dinner; definitely making this again!

So, you can sub in any ground meat; I sure plan to try it with ground turkey as he usually does. The leeks and shallots add a delicate presence that plays so well with the rest of the ingredients. I wouldn’t mess too much with the ingredients if I were you, not the first time anyway.

Creamy Lemon Chicken and Leek Pasta

Ingredients

12 -14 ounces dried penne; I did 12 ounces

14-16 ounces ground chicken or turkey (16 oz for me)

4 Tbsp. mild olive oil, divided

2 banana shaped shallots; minced finely

2-3 leeks; I had one gigantic one; about 2 cups of sliced white parts; I put mine in water to soak for 5 min to get out any grit

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 sage leaves, divided

zest of one lemon

3-4 tbsp. minced parsley

3/4 cup heavy cream

Breadcrumbs: 3 of the above listed sage leaves minced, 6-7 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs; I tore up 2 small slices of gf sourdough bread

2 of the tbsp of olive oil from above

Freshly grated parmesan cheese to serve on top of each plate.

Directions:

First: heat a large pot of salted water for pasta

Do some prep work. Slice up the leeks into 1/3-1/2-inch-wide sections and soak briefly in filtered water to get any grit out. Mince the peeled shallots. I put the peeled garlic through a garlic press.

Heat half the olive oil in a Dutch oven. When close to hot add the shallots and garlic. Cook 2 minutes medium heat. Add the ground turkey or chicken and 3 minced sage leaves. As that cooks add the leeks (drained first!) to boiling water. Cook a minute. Add the pasta to the leeks. Cook as long as package says. I dipped out 3-4 cups of water to decrease the volume, so it returned to a boil super fast (A little trick you might try.)

When the chicken looks done add in the cream and cook on low for a few minutes. Do not boil! While it cooks make the breadcrumbs; put 2 tbsp. oil in a smallish frying pan and when hot add the breadcrumbs and the rest of the minced sage leaves. Stir for a couple of minutes; it will clump up and brown; watch it closely: DO NOT LET BURN! Add the drained cooked pasta and leeks when the pasta is al dente. And the lemon zest. Stir. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. To plate, put some on your plate/dish, top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and some of the breadcrumbs. Enjoy!!

Banana Cake, GF But Delish!

There are desserts I really miss.  Leading a busy life it is hard to find time to bake. Not made cake in many months but my taste buds were craving old school banana cake. Of course it has to be gluten free for me. yet it has to taste yummy for all of us. My grandson helped dump in ingredients and he smashed the bananas up with a fork the first time I made this recipe; I used dead ripe bananas I had frozen a month ago and really wanted to put them to good use. Gotta say, this was a wonderful choice! I let them thaw partially before Aiden went to town with his fork. This recipe is simple and I subbed in my favorite all purpose gf flour from King Arthur and it worked great. My family loved the results!

I made the cream cheese icing in the original busy bee  recipe, but I doubled the vanilla (the amount below is the doubled amount) as I like it with more of that delicious stuff!  It was a big hit and really finishes off the flavor of the cake. This is made in a nine inch square cake pan. I did put my cake strips around it as it was browning unevenly. They helped to even the baking out.The bake temp is 350 degrees for 35 minutes. If you have no eggs you could do the flax eggs (2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed and 5 Tbsp. water; mix and let sit 5 minutes) or do 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce. In these pricy egg days these two alternatives become very attractive!

Making this cake early tomorrow morning so we can enjoy this classic cake later after work is done.

banana cake in pan

Ingredients:

2 cups GF flour (I used KA Basic GF flour)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp sea salt

3/4 tsp. xanthan gum

1/2 cup canola oil

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar packed

2 lg eggs

3 ripe bananas

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese at room temp (I used light cream cheese; really like it best for icings.)

1/4 cup butter softened to room temp

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

banana cake

A big hunk of banana cake.

See recipe at theprettybee.com for directions. If you love banana cake and have to be gf; this recipe is simple and delish! Enjoy.

Original post Feb 2019 updated with minor changes and clearer information.

Moroccan Chicken and Chickpea Tangine

I was craving chicken and chickpeas. My older sister used to make a casserole of them, but I have lost the recipe. And worse, I cannot remember the seasoning of it. So, I decided to make something totally different than that special memory. This has a lot of healthy eating habits in it; chickpeas, garlic, turmeric, fresh garlic and fresh spinach. It is delicious over steamed brown rice; double starch; gives a lot of protein and healthy things. Frankly a healthy powerhouse of stuff so no guilt and you will feel better for it! Plus it is very filling. I love a tangine; it is basically a Moroccan casserole. I have 2-3 chicken ones; this is definitely a keeper; first time enjoying it tonight. Couldn’t wait to share it and didn’t want to forget this new recipe’s proportions.

I combined bits of several recipes together to make it with what ingredients I had and what I wanted in the flavor profile. You could change out the carrots for green beans or some other veggie like cauliflower. Swap the spinach for kale or just leave out the fresh spinach if you wish. Serve over the rice, on mashed potatoes or by itself.

It is rather brothy; I kinda wish I had plated it differently; in a shallow wide bowl; that broth is amazingly flavorful. I used a can of chick peas, you can cook your own if you wish; I didn’t have time for that. I used chicken thigh, boneless. You could use breast meat if you prefer. Go with what you like. Enjoy

Ingredients

4 Boneless chicken thighs

2-3 Tbsp sunflower oil

1 large onion, halved, sliced and halve the slices

2 large garlic cloves minced

3 thin rounds of fresh ginger minced

1/2 cup coarsely chopped carrots (I used up some baby carrots but I would suggest one carrot diced)

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. tumerick

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. sea salt

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

1 1/4 c chicken broth; heated

1 can chickpeas, drained

4-5 cups fresh spinach (be sure to wash it)

Directions: Dice the chicken; cut into inch wide strips and then across to make 1 inch squares. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add half the chicken; brown on both sides. Remove to a plate; do second half of chicken; you may need to add another tbsp. oil. Remove browned chicken to plate. Add onion and cook 2 minutes, add garlic cook another 2 minutes. Add ginger, stir, add all dry spices, stir well and cook another minute. Add the tomatoes, salt and stir. Add broth. Cook 15 minutes, Add chickpeas, stir well. top with the fresh spinach/ Be sure to wash the spinach; even if it says triple washed it still could have bacteria or grit in it. Let it all cook a minute and then start folding in the spinach, so it cooks quickly. taste and adjust the salt. Serve over steamed brown rice. Enjoy!

Winter Fun: Making Cheese in my IP!

So I got this cookbook last year from my dear friend Paula who had edited it and thought it was right up my alley. I have made about 4 cheeses from it and it is sure interesting; title is “Instant Pot Cheese” by Claudia Llucero. This past weekend I made the queso blanco on the cover of it.

The Instant Pot is used for precise heating of milk and makes the process easier and more approachable. You also should get an instant read thermometer and perhaps a smaller IP metal liner; I have a 6 quart pot and I got a 3 qt liner which perches on my metal trivet in a cup of water for heating up to a half gallon of milk.

To make queso blanco it takes a half gal of whole milk, 1/4 cup cider vinegar and a bit of cheese salt; a finely textured salt that I bought about a pound which will probably last me forever. It was fun although I first used a thick rubber trivet which raised my liner pot and I couldn’t get it open for 4 hours. When I finally got it open, I dumped out the milky water in the bottom; rinsed the liner and used my skinny wire trivet which worked perfectly. Less than an hour later I had placed the cheese curds in a plastic mold and it was ready for consumption. So delicious and so fresh! Great on crackers, excellent in Mexican cooking and tasty in Brazilian tapioca rolls.

I’ve made a few different cheeses and hope to do some mozzarella sometime soon. They tell you what kind of milk to use for each recipe; stay away from ultra pasteurized and homogenized milk… apparently it doesn’t do cheese. If you are into, do it yourself and you like cheese and you have an IP this cookbook is perfect for you!

Here’s a shot of my cheese and crackers Saturday night; my Friday night snapshot didn’t pan out so it is rathe champed on!