Manglets

Oh my goodness, these are good!  I probably did not need to figure out how to make these!  I'll have to limit myself to only making them at Christmas.  These are a fruit jelly candy that is very much like the Applets and Cotlets I used to love eating - these are made of mangoes, so I'm calling them "Manglets."  They could be made with any type of fruit sauce.

Manglets - makes about 72 squares
1 1/4 cup mango sauce (I boil Trader Joe's frozen mango cubes with a little water for about 20 minutes then run it through the blender)
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2 cups organic sugar
2 tsp. homemade vanilla
*optional 1 cup chopped nuts
Corn free powdered sugar

1.  Put 1/2 cup of the mango sauce in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it.  Mix thoroughly and let sit for about 10 minutes.
2.  Add the rest of the mango sauce and the sugar to a pan and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Add the mango/gelatin mixture and boil for 15 minutes - keep stirring it.  Take off the burner and add the vanilla and optional nuts.
3.  Grease an oblong glass baking dish (about 11 x 7) and pour in the mixture.
4.  Cover.  Let it sit for a day.  Cut into squares, cover with powdered sugar, and store in a covered container with waxed paper in between the layers.

Updates thru 12-16-11

Add:
organic pears
ghee made from Kerrygold butter  (edit:  Kerrygold is not working any longer for many with corn allergies)
Boyco raw honey - Portland area farmer's markets or 503-646-5138
Penzeys Spices dried herbs
Charlie's Soap laundry detergent (I buy from Amazon)
Raw mustard leaves

Change:
Muffin recipe now reads -
  1 2/3 cups rice flour
  1/3 cup ground flax

Remove:
All Free and Clear laundry detergent - there's been a formula change, it doesn't work for me any longer

Dairy Free Caramel Sauce

I've been experimenting with the proportions of this recipe for awhile (happily eating the results!) and think it's working pretty well now.  This is amazing!!  And no dairy at all!  We've been using it as an ice cream sauce, on cobbler, in ice cream as a caramel swirl, as a dip for apple slices ....  It's very similar to a cajeta.

Dairy Free Caramel Sauce
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 1/2 dark organic brown sugar

Add coconut milk and dark brown sugar to a large sauce pan and heat to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Turn down heat to a slow simmer and cook for about 1/2 hour, until sauce is thickened.  This will thicken up more when cool - you can dribble some on an ice cube to get a better idea of how thick it will be.  Store in the refrigerator.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

This is a brussel sprout recipe to serve people who don't think they like brussel sprouts!  Roasting brings out a sweetness and totally does away with any of that bitter taste brussel sprouts can sometimes have.  Fall is a perfect time to make these - use the stalks with little brussel sprouts still attached if you can find them.  Otherwise, buy small sprouts for the best flavor.  Thank you Andy for showing me how to make this!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts - serves 2 to 3
About 30 small brussel sprouts, washed and cut in half
1 shallot, peeled and sliced (I like to separate the rings)
Olive oil
Salt
White pepper
1/2 lemon

1.  In a roasting pan (I use my porcelain covered cast iron braiser), toss brussel sprouts and shallot rings with enough olive oil to coat.  Season with salt and pepper. 
2.  Roast uncovered at 400 degrees for about 30 - 40 minutes.  You want them to be at least golden brown - we like ours a little more toasted.
3.  Remove from oven, squeeze juice from 1/2 lemon over the top, and serve.

Fennel Salad

Fennel is one of those vegetables I never ate before I found out about all my allergies and had to come up with new veggies.  It's now one of my favorites!  This salad is quick to make and satisfies that "crunchy urge" I sometimes get.

Fennel Salad - makes 2 servings
1 large bulb fennel
2 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
salt
white pepper

Trim the top and bottom from the fennel and slice in half.  If you have any fronds still attached, reserve about 1/4 cup for garnish.  One half at a time, slice the fennel as thinly as you can with a sharp knife.  Combine the rest of the ingredients and toss with the fennel.  Sprinkle with reserved chopped fronds.  You can eat this right away or let it marinate in the refrigerator for about 1/2 hour.

Variations:  This is also good with thinly sliced radishes or apples added.  And I had a variation of it at a restaurant where the fennel was julienned and mixed with julienned apples and sliced green grapes.

Grilled Chicken Wings

Oh dear .... I know a few of you have been waiting for this recipe to go up.  The problem is, we eat them up before I can get a photo taken!  It happened again last night.  I had every intention of getting a picture and remembered after they were gone.  So, I'm putting the recipe up without a photo and will (hopefully!) add it next time I make them.

Grilled Chicken Wings - serves 3 - 4
3 - 4 pounds chicken wings
1 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 T dried thyme
2 or 3 cloves garlic, grated
2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper

1.  Wash and dry wings.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes (until they're just starting to get golden).

2.  While the wings are cooking, mix up the rest of the ingredients.

3.  Add the hot wings to the marinade and stir to cover.  Let sit for about 15 minutes, stirring several times.

4.  Grill over hot coals until crispy, basting with the extra marinade often.

If you have any left overs, these freeze really well!

Updates thru 10-9-11

Added:
EcoVino Chardonnay
Kings Ridge Pinot Gris
Brussel sprouts, roasted
Bartlett pears

Rice Flour Chapatis

I've been playing around with a Indian rice flour chapati recipe I found awhile ago and finally have it fine tuned enough to write a recipe down.  These are great!  A lot like flour tortillas.  We've eaten them folded around sliced, barbecued chicken with fried red peppers/shallots/herbs and along with lamb stew.  And the next time I try milk, I'm making quesadillas with them!

Rice Flour Chapatis - makes about 6

1 cup corn safe coconut milk
3/4 cup rice flour
1T olive oil
about 1/2 tsp. salt

1.  Heat the coconut milk, oil, and salt in a saucepan until it just comes to a simmer.  Stir in the rice flour a little at a time until you have a lump that sticks together and looks kneadable.  If it's a little sticky still, add just a tiny bit more flour until the stickiness is gone.  Too much flour makes these hard and tough, though.

2.  Turn out onto a cutting board and knead for a few minutes.  This is a potentially owie part if you have sensitive hands - it's hot!  Just do your best.

3.  Put back in the sauce pan, cover, and let sit for about 1/2 hour.

4.  Prehead a griddle to 400F.  Knead the dough a few times and divide into 6 balls.

5.  Take out the first ball and recover the pan.  Roll very thin.  If your dough turned out a little sticky, you might need to add just the smallest bit of rice flour for rolling.  If your dough turned out a little dry/stiff, add a tiny bit of water and knead.

6. Place your first chapati on the griddle and let cook for about 2 minutes.  Turn over and let cook for about 2 - 3 minutes.  It should have white spots and a few brown spots.  Turn over again and cook for about 1 minute.  Parts of the chapati will puff up.

7.  Take off the griddle and place on a plate between towels.  Repeat for the rest of the balls of dough.

Apple/Beet Salad

When you're allergic to lettuce, it becomes a challenge to make salads!  Actually, Jim and I were just talking tonight about how we really don't miss lettuce now that I've come up with other salads.  I'll work on getting them all up here in the next couple of weeks - for now, here's my apple/beet salad recipe.  And I should mention that I am a beet convert!  This is actually really good and so pretty.

Also, with all the talk over the last week about arsenic and apple juice, I found a post on Consumer Reports Health that is quite interesting.

Apple/Beet Salad
serves 3 - 4

3 small beets, about 2 - 3 inches in diameter
1 apple, quartered and cored
2 T toasted sunflower seeds
1T lemon juice
1 T olive oil
About 1 T of fresh thyme leaves
Sea salt
White pepper

Cut the tops of the beets off leaving about 1 inch and boil until tender.  Cool and slip off the skins.

Grate the beets and apple pieces together.  Add the sunflower seeds and thyme leaves.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Mix into the rest of the salad.  Serve warm (as is) or cold.

Updates thru 8-28-11

Added:
Mission figs, cooked or raw
Beets, boiled
Bok choy, boiled or stir fried
Kohlrabi, boiled or baked
Mustard greens, boiled or stir fried
Fennel seed
Bounty paper towels
Sterling Vineyards, CA - pinot gris, sauvignon blanc

Coconut Milk Ice Cream

When this comes right out of the ice cream maker, it tastes a lot like I remember Dairy Queen soft serve tasting when I was growing up!  This is a good, basic vanilla ice cream flavor.  My taste testers either couldn't tell it'd been made from coconut milk or thought they could detect a slight pleasant coconut taste.

Coconut Milk Ice Cream

3 cans Trader Joe's Lite Coconut Milk (only ingredients are coconut milk and water)
2/3 cup organic sugar
1 Tablespoon homemade vanilla

Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan and add the sugar.  Bring to a simmer and keep simmering, stirring occasionally, for 1/2 hour.  Cool to room temp and then add the vanilla.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Process in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

Variations:
Use organic dark brown sugar for a caramel flavor.

For peppermint, add 1 cup dried peppermint leaves to coconut milk and sugar.  Simmer  1/2 hour, strain out leaves, cool, add vanilla.

For ginger, add 2 T thinly sliced ginger to the coconut milk and sugar.  Simmer 1/2 hour, remove the ginger pieces, cool and add vanilla.  For a spicier ginger flavor, use 1 T grated ginger and leave it in.

Napa Wine Country

Last month Alex was at a workshop at UC Davis, so Jim and I flew over to California and treated him to a Napa wine weekend!  It's been a challenge to find wines that are oak free and not put through malolactic fermentation (increases the histamine levels), but we found several that were very nice.

I have to share these photos from Sterling Vineyards near Calistoga.  It was one of the most gorgeous wineries I've ever been to - and you get to take a gondola up a mountain to get to the tasting rooms!

Their pinot gris and sauvignon blancs are safe to drink - we tested them out thoroughly!  Their riesling is also no oak, no malo, but I'm not a big riesling fan.  Even at that, it wasn't bad, though.

Scones

I developed this recipe from an old one for cream scones using coconut milk in place of the cream.  Perfect for breakfast or for a snack with coffee/tea!  These are just plain, but a half cup of currants, blueberries, or other fruit could also be added.

Scones
Makes 8

2 cups rice flour
1/4 cup organic sugar
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/3 cup Spectrum palm shortening
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 flax egg substitute recipe
2 tsp. homemade vanilla
a little bit more coconut milk and sugar for the tops

Measure all dry ingredients into a bowl.  Cut in the shortening.  Add the coconut milk, egg substitute, and vanilla.  Stir until well mixed, finishing up by kneading with your hands.

On an ungreased cookie sheet, flatten into a flat circle about 7 inches in diameter.  Cut into 8 pie wedge shapes.  Separate the wedges so no sides are touching.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes - until they have a golden tint to them.

These freeze and reheat really well.  If you don't freeze them, eat them up right away as they get dry pretty quickly.  Different grinds of rice flour hold liquids differently - I grind my own.  If you find your scones are dry even when first baked, add a tablespoon or two more coconut milk.

Faux Pho

I  love pho - the vietnamese noodle soups.  Chicken is my favorite - comforting like chicken soup, but so much more interesting!  Pho's out these days for lots of allergy reasons, but I came up with a "pho-like" soup that we like just as well.

Allergy Friendly Pho - serves 2

1 large chicken breast or equivalent in turkey breast
2 Tablespoons plus 1 Tablespoon olive oil
2" x 1" piece of peeled ginger
2 shallots, peeled and diced
sea salt
white pepper
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups homemade chicken broth, hot
4 oz. rice pad thai noodles, cooked, drained, and rinsed
2 heads baby bok choy, chopped, boiled for 2 minutes, and drained
1/4 cup chopped basil
2 T chopped mint leaves

Heat broth while making the rest of the soup.

Cut chicken breast in thin slices.  Heat olive oil in a medium sized pan.  Add chicken and cook until done.  Salt and pepper to taste. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.

Add additional tablespoon of oil to the pan.  Cook shallots until translucent.  Grate ginger into pan and cook for a minute.  Add lemon juice, hot broth, and bok choy.

To assemble soup, put 1/2 the noodles in each bowl.  Add the chicken.  Divide the broth mixture between the bowls.  Top each bowl with half the basil and mint.

Updates through 7-23

Added to What I Eat:
Sunflower seeds - Trader Joe's no salt, not from a facility that processes nuts
Sunbutter brand sunflower seed spread - organic only

Recipe changes:
Fruit Cobbler - Changed 2 cups fruit to 4 cups fruit

Sunflower Butter Cookies

I was about to try grinding my own sunflower seed butter when I found Sunbutter's Organic variety.  It's only sunflower seeds and is made in a peanut and tree nut free facility.  I generally don't buy anything premade because of the risk of cross-contamination, but this looked worth a shot!  It's really good - reminiscent of peanut butter, but different too.  And I seem to be fine with it.

It's taken several tries to get a decent cookie, but these aren't bad! In fact, I'm going to have to limit how often I bake them if I want to keep fitting in my clothes.

If you decide to try your own recipes with sunflower seed butter, this is what I found on the Sunbutter site:

When baking with SunButter® you must cut back the amount of baking soda / powder into about half of what the recipe asks for. This is done to avoid any discoloration that will occur from the reaction between the chlorophyll present in sunflower seeds and the baking soda / powder. This reaction does not make the recipe harmful to consume but may not be visually appealing. This reaction may also be counteracted by adding a small amount of lemon juice to the recipe.

Apparently it turns whatever you're baking a dark greenish color.  Hmmm.  I decided to just leave the baking soda out - my old recipe didn't call for that much anyway.

Sunflower Seed Butter Cookies - makes about 3 dozen

1 1/4 cups rice flour
1 cup sunflower seed butter
1/2 cup Spectrum palm shortening
1/2 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup packed organic brown sugar
2 batches flax egg substitue
1 tsp. home made vanilla

Cream sunflower seed butter, shortening, and the sugars.  Add flax mixture and vanilla.  Add in the flour.  Roll into approximately 1 inch balls and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten with a fork, making a criss cross pattern.  Sprinkle with white sugar and a pinch of sea salt crystals.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.  Leave on the pan for a few minutes before removing them to paper towels to cool.

"Satay" Chicken

Not really satay chicken since peanut butter, soy sauce, and chilies are out, but it's along those lines and very good!

"Satay" Chicken

5 or 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Marinade:
1/2 cup white wine (see what I eat for lower histamine choices)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2T sunflower seed butter
1 T olive oil
1 T brown sugar
1 tsp. ground tumeric
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. sea salt
3 cloves garlic, grated
1 shallot, grated
1 piece of ginger (about 2" by 1"), grated

Mix marinade.  Wash and dry chicken, add to marinade, and put in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours.  Grill on the barbecue or broil in the oven.

To make kebobs, use chicken breasts cut into cubes.

Note about sunflower seed butter:  I use Sunbutter Organic - the organic appears to be as corn safe as possible and works for me.  It's also made in a peanut and nut free facility.  If you're allergic to soy, it is made on equipment that processes soy.

Mango Sorbet

One of the best kitchen appliances I ever bought was our ice cream maker!  It's a Cuisinart I got through Amazon and we use it so much I had to order a second freezing tub.  The freezing tub takes more time than they say to get cold enough to make good ice cream - I count on letting it sit in the freezer for two days before I even try.

I buy my frozen mangoes at Trader Joe's.  If you don't have one around, you could use fresh or any frozen that is only mango.  Some brands use citric acid as a wash when freezing - usually made from corn these days, not citrus.  Go figure!

Mango Sorbet

1 1/2 pound bag frozen mango pieces
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice

1.  Dissolve sugar in water in a medium sized sauce pan.  Add the mango, cover, and bring to a boil.  Turn down heat so the mango is simmering and cook for about 5 minutes.  Let cool.

2.  Puree with the lemon juice in a blender.  Put in the refrigerator until really cold - at least half a day.

3.  Process according to your ice cream maker's instructions.  Put in the freezer for a few hours to harden a bit more.

Fruit Cobblers

A couple years ago we planted a bunch of fruit trees that are supposed to do well in the Sonoran Desert - Ana and Dorset Golden apples, Methley Plums, Black Mission figs, Mid-Pride and Tropic Snow peaches, Garden Prince Almonds, Hood Pears, and Li Jujubes.  This year we had bumper crops of plums and peaches and I just finished harvesting the last of a huge apple crop.

I haven't come up with a good pie crust yet that uses only rice flour and no xanthan gum, but I did put together a really good fruit cobbler recipe.  We've tried it with the peaches (that's when I added peaches to my allergy list) and apples - I can see it working really well with plums, cherries, and berries also.

Fruit Cobbler

About 4 cups of fruit
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon rice flour

1 cup rice flour
2 tsp. organic sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup Spectrum palm shortening
1 T lemon juice + water to equal 1/2 cup
1 Tablespoon homemade vanilla
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons organic sugar

Mix the fruit with the 1/2 cup sugar and 1 T rice flour.  Put into an oiled 8 or 9 inch square baking dish.

Mix the flour, sugar, cream of tartar, and baking soda together.  Cut in the shortening.  Add the lemon water and vanilla and mix.  Spoon over the top of the fruit (or drop in clumps with your fingers).  Drizzle the top with olive oil and then sprinkle on the additional sugar.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes, until nicely browned.  I accidentally took mine out too soon - it should be browner than this!  I'll replace the photo next time I make one.

Basic Breads

At the beginning, I think one of the hardest parts of my new diet regimen was the lack of any type of bread.  I need bread!  It helps fill you up and makes you feel less deprived.  Being able to use only rice flour makes things even more of a challenge - it's not known for making soft breads that actually hold together.  Here are three basics I came up with that work pretty well - muffins, small toasts, and pancakes.  They all freeze well.

Pancakes

1 cup white rice flour
1T sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs or double batch of flax egg substitute (2T ground flax, 6T water, microwave for 1 minute)
2 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice + water to equal 1 cup (lemon juice not absolutely necessary, but makes it less dense when it reacts with the baking soda)

Mix together and spoon onto hot griddle.  Let top get almost dry before turning over.

These also work as bread for sandwiches!

Flax Muffins

1 2/3 cup white rice flour
1/3 cup ground flax seed
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 tsp. baking soda
2T sugar or maple syrup
¼ cup olive oil
1 egg or flax egg substitute (see substitutions button at top)
1 cup water

Mix and spoon into greased muffin pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for 17 minutes.

You can make these fruit muffins by substituting ¼ cup pureed fruit for the olive oil.

Small Toasts

The same recipe as the Flax Muffins, but instead of one egg or flax egg substitute, put in two eggs or a double batch of flax egg substitute.

Bake in greased mini-loaf pans at 400 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes - until the tops are firm and crusty.

Cool and put in the refrigerator (or freeze).  This part is crucial to getting thin slices (which get crispier) - try cutting it warm and you'll get crumbs!  I found an electric knife works really well.

Slice thinly, lay on a baking sheet, and brush tops with olive oil.  Broil until toasted.  Turn over, brush new tops with olive oil, and broil until toasted.