Tofu Sticks Appetizer

I’ve seen a recipe for these before but they call for using regular breadcrumbs.  Since GF bread is not super cheap, I keep the crumbs and ends  and use them for these.  They’re a nice to serve as an appetizer with a dipping sauce and they’re pretty fat free.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

• 1 lb block of extra firm tofu, gently pressed and drained then cut into 1 inch thick sticks
• 1 1/2 c. gf breadcrumbs (tapioca/rice bread works great)
• 3 tbsps sesame seeds
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp  garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp celery salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tablspoon dried parsley
• 1 Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 3 tbsp light tamari soy sauce
• 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
• 1 egg lightly beaten

You can add more salt if desired.

Lightly grease a baking sheet lined with foil. Mix the soy and worchestershire sauces and soak the tofu sticks in it. Combine all the dry ingredients and place on a shallow baking dish or large plate. Dip each tofu stick in the beaten egg and then roll in the breadcrumb mixture and place on the greased baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Almond Tea Cakes

I had to create a set of cakes for a party I’m going to tonight. I know there will be at least one other Gluten sensitive person there. I think these would be quite marvelous for a tea dusted with some powdered sugar and served with fresh strawberries. I really do like egg-sponge cakes better than baking powder leavened cakes.

I adapted the Financier Cake here: http://frenchfood.about.com/od/frenchdessertrecipes/r/tradfinancier.htm

By substituting 1 c. flour with 1/4 cornstarch, 1/4 potato starch and 1/2 tapioca flour and 1/2 tsp. Xantham gum. Also I baked them in metal tart tins (well-greased with butter) for 12-14 minutes at 375 F.

Let the tins cool on a rack for about 5 minutes before removing the cakes. I found out that in a conventional oven it’s best to bake only 12 tins at a time and that the tins with the least amount of flat surface area actually released their cakes easily when tapped lightly.

I have to confess I think I broke two or three on purpose so I could eat the ‘rejects.’ Don’t know why I still have to do that.

English muffins that don’t taste like rocks

 

Kninnikinnick English Muffins 

I think my search for decent gluten-free breakfast breads might almost be over. We just had these for breakfast and they were not that bad. The didn’t taste exactly like an English muffin and they didn’t have the airy and crusty texture we’re accustomed to.  At least they didn’t taste like something I should be scrubbing the bathtub with. I’m thinking that they’d make decent hamburger buns.

It looks like you can order these products via the mail. Though that’s a concept I may need to get used to… mail order baked goods.

http://www.kinnikinnick.com/

Mochi Fantasy

Image of Two Ladies Strawberry Mochi from the blog Big Island Grinds.

I may have mentioned my obession with Mochi in a different post. Last year when we were married we purchased a beautiful tray of these artfully prepared cakes from the Two Ladies Kitchen in Hilo for our wedding in lieu of a traditional wedding cake. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the result. If you’re ever on the Big Island and driving through Hilo I do suggest that you make a stop there. It’s an unassuming little shop where the locals and probably tourists line outside the door to purchase their packaged treats.

For the lay person: Mochi is a rice cake. Sometimes there are simple mochi which are just plain rice cakees which can be baked in an oven. When baked the mochi cakes puff up. Mochi comes in more decorative and festive forms including daifuku mochi (see image) which are usually filled with some sweet filling such as red bean (Koshi-an) or white bean (Shiro-an) paste. The Two Ladies actually made a mochi out of one of my favorite Asian foods, Purple Yam (known as Ube in the Phillipines). Actually, at one point I’d fantasized about having my wedding cake made out of Ube, the shocking purple hue of the cake would be a sight to see. In addition to the Ube and Strawberry Mochi, my favorite Two Ladies mochi flavors are: Passionfruit, White Chocolate and Peanut Butter, Plum, and Green Tea

As I write about this now and I continue the fantasy of having really good fresh mochi. I did try to make it myself; however it was so messy I don’t think I’ll do it again anytime soon. I took a green tea mochi recipe and I used strongly brewed apricot tea as the liquid. The cakes themselves were tasty, but the labor required to make and clean up discourages me from making this again until I get a microwave and can make the microwave version. Despite the effort involved in making them, I will forever be infatuated with mochi because after all they’re adorable looking. Small packages of aesthetically pleasing and delicous cuteness.

Tray of Daifuku Mochi and Manju*

After doing a search online for pictures (looking for mochi-porn), I found a rather terrific post on Japanese Cake Molds. Though it sounds like the cakes produced in these beautiful molds are more sugar than pounded rice dough.

http://www.pingmag.jp/2006/03/28/japanese-cake-mold/

 

Japanese Cake Mold

Links:

• Map to Two Ladies Kitchen in Hilo
• Recipe for Mochi Daifuku

*Manju = baked cakes not always made of rice flour which are filled with sweet fillings such as redbean or adzuki paste called koshi-an

Lentils and brown rice

For the budget-minded and health conscious… I’m posting this recipe. Plus I feel guilty for dropping the butter mochi bomb. If you don’t dig cumin you could leave it out. Jona, if you need brown mustard seeds. I have plenty. I buy in bulk from the Indian grocery.

• 3 c. brown or black lentils (soaked for several hours or overnight, then rinsed thoroughly)
• 3 tbsp. ghee or clarified butter
• 1 large onion chopped fine
• 2 tsp. brown mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
• 3 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp sea salt (more to taste if needed)
• 1 lemon
• ground pepper
• 1/2 c. chopped Italian parsley

I like to grind my spices in a coffee grinder we have reserved for spice grinding. In a large sauce pan heat the ghee on high heat add the ground spices and the cinnamon sticks and lower the heat to medium. Saute the spices for a few minutes or until you can enjoy the full aroma of the spice cooking in the ghee. Add the onions and cook until tender. Add the lentils and cook over the heat for 5-7 minutes. Make sure you stir them constantly to avoid burning. Add the salt and stir. Squeeze the lemon juice from the lemon, taking care to remove the seeds. Add the lemon juice and the whole lemon halves to the lentils and stir. Cover the lentils with water and return the heat to high allow the lentils to boil for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low cover and allow to cook until the lentils are tender. Add more water as necessary season with freshly ground pepper and serve with brown rice and chopped Italian parsley.

Random thought:

Every time I cook Lentils… I think of that story Lentil by Robert McCloskey (of Make Way for Ducklings Fame).

Butter Mochi

This dessert is also know to Filipinos as bibingka… and it’s not fat free. If you want to feel a little better you could use low-fat coconut milk. Cut into smaller squares and eat sparingly or wrap the squares individually and give as gifts. Just like brownies the edges are wonderful. You have this combination of a buttery crust and a chewy center.

• 1 lb. box of Mochiko sweet rice flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 c. unrefined cane sugar
• 3 eggs beaten
• 2 sticks of butter (1 c.) melted
• 1 can coconut milk (low fat can be substituted)
• 1/2 c. evaporated milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Grease a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish with the butter wrappers.  Set aside beat the sugar into the eggs and beat until well combined. Stir in the remaining liquid ingredients, making sure to combine the ingredients well. Gradually add the rice flour mixture and combine until absolutely no lumps form.  Mix in the vanilla extract. Pour the ingredients into the greased baking dish and spread it evenly with a greased spatula.  Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the cake is a golden brown. Sprinkle the shredded coconut over the top of the bibingka. Return to the oven and bake for about 10 more minutes or until the coconut also reaches a nice golden brown.  Let sit in the pan on a rack to cool for at least 30 minutes. With a sharp knife cut the mochi into tiny squares.

I like having mine with a bit of brown rice tea.

Bakewell Tart Reference

So now… I’ve decided to set up a few challenges for myself. Gluten Free Recipe Challenges. It actually would be great to have a recipe competition for finding the best substitutes for one’s favorite gluten filled recipes. Thanks to the BBC series and the character DCI Gene Hunt, I think I may have found my first challenge.

My husband and I adore watching the show Life on Mars. In one episode the hard-nosed Detective Chief Inspector gives Detective Inspector Sam Tyler a hard time for being a little too soft…”Should I bring out the Bakewell Tarts and a spot of tea?” he jabs.

So now being very uneducated about British cuisine I search google for bakewell tart images and the history and I find this. I also find this absolutely delicious sounding recipe on Foodaholic: Celebrating the Bakewell Tart. Note, the image of the tart on this blog is far more tantalizing that the one I found below.

My first challenge will of course be creating a decent shortbread… which I suspect may not be that hard…it might just take a good and selective blend of tapioca, potato, and dairy whey, with either rice or sorghum flours. The frangipan filling is easy enough. Check back by the end of the month I may have something for you.

Tasty Gluten Free Fried Chicken

Say that over and over again ten times really fast. Fried chicken… mmmmm…mmmm.  Though this version is oven-fried. Next time I might use a flour for the breading that doesn’t have fava/garbanzo bean in it though.

• 2 c. corn flakes (amaranth and corn works well too)
• 1 c. gluten free flour
• 1 1/2 tsp celery salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp powdered thyme
• 1 tsp rubbed sage
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper (less if you don’t like)
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic granules
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper
• 1 c. buttermilk
• 3 tbsp butter melted
• 1 medium sized cut up fryer (kosher or free-range is best)

Preheat oven to 400 deg. F.

Line two baking pans (with edges) with tin foil and grease generously with butter or salad oil. Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces.  Salt and pepper the chicken well on both sides. Mix the buttermilk and butter. Set aside. For the breading, mix all the remaining dry ingredients well and spread out 1/2 of it in a large plate.  Dip each piece of chicken in the buttermilk mixture. Make sure to coat it well. Then dredge each piece in the breading and placed on the greased baking pans.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. Check the chicken to take care the breading doesn’t burn. Cover with tin foil as necessary. Before serving cut a large piece to make sure that the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Tasty with garlic mashed potatoes and GF gravy.

Fairly Easy Buckwheat Pancakes

E. complained that a great deal of gluten-free recipes seem to take a lot of time effort and ingredients. I dinked around in the kitchen to come up with this recipe to prove that there are some simpler ways to make food truly gluten-free (thanks to Bob’s Red Mill .

These are particularly tasty if you let the batter sit in the refrigerator overnight. They have a rather chewy texture that we love. This batter makes enough griddlecakes for about four people. We like to make the batter on Saturday and then use the second batch on Sunday.

• 1 c. buckwheat flour*
• 1 c. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour Mixture
• 1/2 tsp. xantham gum
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 1/4 c. melted unsalted butter
• 1/2 c. club soda or water
• 2 tbsp. molasses
• 1 large egg slightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp. malt vinegar (or cider vinegar)

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Make sure they are well combined and let them sit for at least 20 minutes. I like to get the sausages or bacon started and fruit cut up while I’m waiting for the batter to set.

When the batter is ready, grease a large frying pan with butter and pour the cakes in 1/4 c. amounts on to the pan. Cook on each side a few minutes or until the cakes are done. Make sure to add more butter to the pan as necessary so the cakes won’t stick. Serve immediately with plenty of real maple syrup.

*When you purchase buckwheat flour, it’s a good idea to make sure that it was not milled or processed in a place that used the same equipment to process regular gluten flour.

Sticky Rice Cookies

I’ve been looking desperately for a recipe for the sweet white rice cakes (I’m assuming they’re steamed) that you can get at Dim Sum.

My search is leading me to a number of different recipes:

I will post links to these recipes here and come back to tell you which ones we end up trying and the result.

Sticky Rice Cookies: http://asiancemagazine.com/200612/holiday_ingredient_glutinous_rice_flour

Great list of Asian recipes (with photos): http://www.xanga.com/CantoneseCooking