Adopt a GF Blogger: Hope for Healing

Can I just say that I am so incredibly thankful to have found this online community of fellow food-sensitive types? Being different can be interesting, but it can also be a bit lonely at times. And as I was riding the bus home this afternoon from my mini post-finals Memorial Day weekend getaway, I got hit with a wave of sheer gratitude for this lovely blogger-hood of gluten- and dairy-free foodies. So, to everyone whose blogs I've been gobbling up and to whoever might end up reading my own posts, thank you!

Anyway, seeing as how this blog is supposed to be motivating me to rediscover my love of baking—and to not fear or begrudge the lack of wheat flour so much—I decided to jump in on another blog carnival: Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger. Plus, this month’s host is Iris at The Daily Dietribe, so how could I pass it up?

      After making up my mind to participate, I very quickly decided to adopt Stephanie over at Hope for Healing, as it seemed like every time I visited her page, I found another recipe that tempted my taste buds and made my mouth water. Of course, now I have a virtual catalog of other people’s recipes that I want to try! But I'm glad I chose to start here, and you'll see why in just a second.

     I’m on somewhat of a mission to stay simple with my ingredient count, so I passed on her Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting and Protein Monster Cookies, both of which look amazing. Frankly, I’m just starting to build my gluten-free flour collection, and I would’ve had to spend an entire week’s paycheck just to bake these. Sigh.

     Thankfully, I stumbled upon this tantalizing little recipe on her blog: Rainy Day Chocolate Chip Cookies. The main appeal here? They’re grain-free! So not only do I get to refrain from spending any extra cash on new flours—I don’t have to use a single one. Nice and simple—just my style.

Chocolate chip cookies are one of my absolute favorites—one I’ve sorely missed making since going gluten-free. And I’ve actually been wanting to experiment with this grain-free baking thing, of which I had never even heard until I started this blog. So Stephanie’s cashew butter, sucanat-sweetened chocolate chip cookies seemed like the perfect place to start. All in all, these five-ingredient cookies took about 5 minutes to prepare, and then another 10 minutes to bake in the oven.  (The only teeny tiny modification I made was a splash of gluten-free vanilla and a pinch of salt in the batter, just to give the cookies that familiar flavor I adore.)

          The result? Moist, sweet, chewy, chocolate chip deliciousness! 

          Seriously, I was shocked at how good these tasted, as were the non-gluten-free folks who happened to be in the kitchen with me when they came out of the oven, which is saying a lot. My little sister normally stays as far away from gluten-free goodies as possible, as does her boyfriend, and they both agreed—these pass the "real cookie" test with flying colors. Even I never would have guessed they were 100 percent flour-free if I hadn't mixed the batter myself. And the best part? Absolutely no headaches or upset tummy! 

          Thanks, Stephanie! And thanks, Iris, for hosting this splendid gluten-free carnival! (And a special thanks to my Uncle Randy for the farm-fresh eggs I used to make these cookies, courtesy of his free-roaming chickens!)

For the full recipe, stop by Stephanie’s blog:
Rainy Day Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies

          All I wanted was to make a batch of cookies. Nice and simple, right? Well, maybe under normal circumstances, but I learned an important lesson this evening: Do not attempt to bake after a two-hour, incredibly disheartening chemistry exam.
          I came home exhausted from said exam, feeling riddled with the shame and frustration that comes from not having studied nearly as hard as I should and could have. But I had my heart set on baking tonight.
          As I've already said, this blog is, in part, my inspiration for getting my butt back in the kitchen. And this whole blog carnival thing, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, seemed like a great way to get into the swing of it. Even if, on this particular Tuesday, it meant breaking down when the first tray came out of the oven—scorched on the bottom and crumbling to dust on top—bursting into tears, and crying out, "I can't do anything right!" (I wish it wasn't true, but alas...)

The platter of charred, crumbly, burnt-tasting cookies that made me cry.

          You see, before going gluten-free, baking was like therapy for me. And since changing my diet to suit my sensitivities, I've struggled to embrace this former favorite pastime of mine. It just seemed so much simpler when I only had to use one inexpensive, glutinous flour (wheat) to make just about anything I wanted. Now, with the wheat a known culprit in my dietary difficulties, I've had to expand my grain-based horizons, and my baking budget. While I am slowly growing to appreciate the plethora of grains and flours to which my new gluten- and wheat-free ways are introducing me, I'm still not too keen on the expense of purchasing five different flours just to make one cookie.
          So how delighted do you think I was when I was perusing the gluten-free baking aisle the other day and saw a mere six-ingredient, single-flour recipe on the back of a bag of Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Teff Flour? Yep, that's right—just teff flour, maple syrup, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, peanut butter, and a pinch of salt. Oh yeah, I was super excited. So, with the relatively small package of Teff in hand, I happily made my way to the checkout, along with a jar of creamy organic peanut butter. I smiled as I pictured myself stirring this one, single flour into a bowl with a mere five other, very simple items. Call me lazy, but that's my kind of baking.
          Of course, I can't take full credit, or even half credit; this recipe is directly adapted from the Bob's one. I just decided to use agave nectar in place of maple syrup, and I added a sprinkling of organic cane sugar over the top of each cookie. Plus, I changed the name to more accurately reflect the taste of the product, in my opinion.
          So, here you go: super simple, slightly indulgent...

Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookies

You will need:

1 1/2 cups Teff flour

1/2 cup agave nectar

1 cup creamy peanut butter (preferably organic, no sugar added)

1/2 cup canola (or other vegetable) oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

*Preheat oven to 350º 

*Blend the peanut butter, agave nectar, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. 

*Stir in the Teff flour and pinch of salt. 

*Place teaspoon-sized balls of dough on an ungreased baking sheet. Use a fork to make the traditional peanut butter cookie markers.

*Sprinkle with organic cane sugar on top.

*Bake 8-10 minutes.

     Please be warned: In honor of the Slightly Indulgent theme, these treats are not very sweet. They are, however, delicious. I suggest enjoying with a hot cup of tea. 
    
     This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. 

Fantabulously Gluten- and Dairy-Free Mac n' Cheese

          Oh, Farty Girl. We’ve only just met. But you are truly a girl after my own heart—or stomach, rather. In her recent post, “Making the Impossible F’ing Fantastic,” fellow blogger Farty Girl chronicled her quest for and immense joy upon creating a gluten- and dairy-free mac n’ cheese, one that truly sated her craving for this comforting and classic Americanized pasta dish.

          Upon reading her witty and delightful post, I shared with her that I know this longing all too well. There was a period in my life where I lived off of Annie’s microwaveable single serve mac n’ cheese packs. Sometimes I’d really let loose and cook an entire box of it. And my Grandma Lee—her slow-baked, super cheesy mac n’ cheese is a staple dish at our family gatherings, and has been for years. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

          As I’m sure you can imagine, saying good-bye to these cheesy delights was not easy for the new, dairy-free me.

          That’s why I decided to pay homage to said blogger buddy and, drawing from the info she provided, see what I could whip up, and if it would even come close to Grandma Lee's baked version. You can read Farty Girl's highly entertaining post for the full scoop, and I strongly urge you to do so, but the secret to this scrumdiddlyumptious gluten- and dairy-free dish can be expressed in one word: Daiya.

          I had never heard of these cheese imitators nor seen their products before Farty came along and cut it for me. My experiences with imitation cheese have been unpleasant and extremely disappointing, to say the least. Fake cheeses typically just don’t melt or stretch or crumble or taste anything like the dairy stuff. So after quite a few lousy attempts, I’d pretty much resigned myself to living without.

          That is, until Miss Farty revealed her discovery. And oddly enough, Daiya’s cheddar and mozzarella shreds have only just appeared on the shelves at Weggermans here in good ol’ Rochester, NY—as in, within the past week or so!

          I couldn’t believe my eyes when I beheld this tasty spectacle on my way home from work the other night. I thought for sure I’d have to petition Farty to send me some cheese shreds via snail mail (which she did offer to do, by the way). But there the lovely (albeit expensive) packs of cheesy goodness were—sitting right in front of me as I went to grab my container of Earth Balance buttery spread. So, of course, I bought some!

          Not only is this stuff delicious, but it’s also gluten-, soy-, casein-, lactose-, dairy-, and cholesterol-free, and it contains 15% of your daily recommended intake of calcium per serving. That’s only 5% less calcium per serving than its average dairy-containing counterpart. (I can make this claim because I compared it to the shredded cheddar—real cheese—sitting in my shared refrigerator.)

          So now, without further ado, I present to you, thanks to the illustrious and inspirational Farty Girl (with a little bit of Grandma Lee's baking style thrown in):

Fantabulously Gluten- and Dairy-Free Mac n’ Cheese

You will need: 

1 package Tinkyada Gluten-Free Brown Rice Elbow Pasta (or its equivalent)

1/4 cup Earth Balance buttery spread (vegan)

4 oz. Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds

4 oz. Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds 

 1 1/2 Tbsp. potato flour/starch (or some other GF flour)

1/2 cup soy milk (or rice milk, almond milk, etc.)*

Optional: something crumbly** 

*You can always add more if you prefer a creamier "sauce," but I was going for a melty texture as opposed to a super creamy one.

**multigrain chip bits; crushed nuts; etc.; I chose to use Food Should Taste Good tortilla chips, made with flax, sunflower, and sesame seeds, oat fiber, brown rice, quinoa, and soy flour—because they do taste good and because they were the only crumbly thing I had on hand.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Cook the pasta, in a pot on the stovetop, according to instructions (16 to 17 minutes).

Drain and pour cooked pasta into a casserole dish.

In the now-empty pasta pot, stir the non-dairy milk product, Earth Balance buttery spread, potato flour/starch, and Daiya shreds until the mixture gets all ooey gooey.* 

Pour the mixture into the casserole dish and spread over each and every elbow macaroni.

Bake for 20-30 minutes.**

If it suits your fancy, sprinkle some crumblies on top. 

*You can also just mix these things straight into the casserole dish, but it seems to spread more evenly if you blend the cheesy stuff first. 

**depending on how browned you like it

Bon appétit!

Note: If you want to get all super healthy with this one, you can always toss some veggies into the mix. I’m more of a simple gal myself, and I was really just craving the classic mac n’ cheese experience here.