Potato Cauliflower Soup

     It's another cold and rainy fall day here. A nice bowl of hot soup sounds good about now. One of my favorite recipes is a vegetable soup that is very satisfying and comforting especially on dreary days. You can choose to use chicken broth, vegetable broth or just water. And vegetables are naturally gluten and dairy-free. No need to check those labels! Just simple, basic food.

Potato Cauliflower Soup          print recipe

1/2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
2 c. gluten-free broth
2 c. water
3/4 - 1 head of cauliflower, trimmed and chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 t. tarragon or thyme
salt and pepper to taste

     Heat olive oil in medium sauce pan. Saute onion, garlic and celery for about 5 minutes on medium heat until translucent, stirring frequently. Add water and broth, cauliflower, potatoes, and desired herbs. Bring to boiling and simmer 45-60 minutes until vegetables are nice and tender.

     I use a potato masher to mash vegetables into small pieces or a hand blender to puree the soup. I enjoy it both ways. Be cautious as the soup is very hot. Use salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes I will add 1/2 c. of dairy-free, unsweetened milk to give it a little creaminess. Milk can be used also.

     Enjoy a bowl of hot, homemade soup today!

Simple and Easy Gluten-Free Dumplings

     Now that the cool weather is back, soup sounds soooooo good. And there's something very simple you can add to your favorite soup to make it extra delicious, even more of a comfort food - dumplings! I took my favorite dumpling recipe and converted it to gluten- free.

Simple Gluten-Free Dumplings          print recipe
3/4 c. brown rice flour
1/4 c. potato starch flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. zanthan gum
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. non-dairy milk
1 1/2 T. olive oil

     Mix all dry ingredients together well in a small bowl. Make an indentation in the flour mixture and pour milk and olive oil in it. Mix together until the lumps are gone. Dough will be wet. Let dough set for a few minutes until it thickens and will hold a shape.
     Drop by spoonfuls into a hot liquid such as soup or stew. Cover and simmer on low/medium for 12-15 minutes for small dumplings and 20 minutes for large dumplings. Recipe will make about 54 small or about 18 large ones.

Notes:
     Make dumplings small if you like them "gummy". Make them large and add 1/2 t. baking powder if you like them fluffier.
     If you want to add some flavor to the dumplings, try adding 1/2 t. of dried Italian herbs or 1 t. finely chopped fresh parsley along with 1/8 t. of onion powder and 1/4 t. garlic powder to the dry ingredients.
Or use your imagination and add other herbs and have fun.

Monday's Challenge

     We've had some beautiful days here, but the cold weather is on its way. The thought of making hot soup and warm baked goods always seems more enticing as the weather cools.

     But besides making the food I need for my family, it's fun to make something special for someone. I challenge you this week to make a surprise - a surprise treat for an unsuspecting recipient! Something fun...a favorite recipe for the family, a funny face on a pancake for a child (I love food art), a treat for a friend or neighbor...the list is endless. Be creative and have fun.

Energy Bars

     I'm always looking for ideas for quick healthy snacks especially for after school. If there are diet restrictions, it's even harder to come up with a variety that the kids and my husband will eat.
     A friend of mine mentioned finding an energy bar that her husband really enjoyed, so I checked it out. The recipe has a lot of flexibility to make it to your own tastes and my son really enjoys them (and he's always hungry).
     The recipe for Homemade Cliff Bars was from Enlightened Cooking. Yum! I had never tried Cliff bars, but my family loves a variety of snack bars. It's awesome to be able to make them myself and change up the ingredients to make them the way my family likes them. It is a very flexible recipe with lots of healthy ingredients. Just make sure you keep the ratio of dry to wet ingredients and replace ingredients with similar ones or the bars may be too sticky or dry.
     Jeanette's Healthy Living noted trying the recipe with quinoa flakes instead of quick-cooking oats. I had not tried quinoa flakes yet, but I like the nutrition in that seed. We tried it and it worked great.
     We chose dried cherries, peanut butter and toasted almonds for this recipe. I really like using rice syrup since it is lower in sugars than honey, but honey has its benefits, too.
    

Energy Bars                                                                               print recipe

Adapted from Enlightened Cooking

1 c. quinoa flakes or gluten-free quick-cooking oats
1 c. GF crisp rice cereal
1/4 c. ground flax seed, rice bran or a combination
1/2 c. chopped nuts or seeds or a combination
1/4 c. finely chopped dried fruit (fruit that is sticky works best)
1/2 c. nut butter, your choice
1/3 c. gluten-free rice syrup (no barley malt in it) or honey
1 t. gluten-free vanilla

1/2 t. cinnamon, if desired

     Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Melt syrup and nut butter in a microwave safe bowl (45 - 60 sec.) or in a small pan on low heat on the stove top. Do not cook. Add vanilla.

     Pour nut butter over dry ingredients and mix really well. Pour into a lightly greased 8-inch square pan and press down firmly. Refrigerate until firm - about 1 hour.
     Cut into bars and wrap into individual servings, if desired. Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
     Chocolate chips can be added in place of some of the nuts. The flavor combinations are limited only to your imagination. If you like a particular energy/snack bar, check the ingredients to see what flavors, nuts, fruits, spices, etc. that they use to get ideas.

     We tried melting 1/4 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave (30 sec. at a time on 50% power and stirring in between until melted) and adding it to the mixture right at the end. You can still use all of the other ingredients. They turned out great (see above picture). Remember to mix well.

     Have fun experimenting. What flavor combinations do you enjoy most?

Easy Homemade Gluten-Free Pancakes

My son loves pancakes for breakfast. Though there are mixes on the market, making your own is really easy. Besides being cheaper, you can change the flours and flavors from time to time. And they turn out light and fluffy just like wheat based pancakes.


Easy Homemade Gluten-Free Pancakes                print recipe

3/4 c. brown rice flour
1/2 c. sorghum, buckwheat or quinoa flour
1/4 c. tapioca starch flour
2 T. brown sugar
2/3 t. zanthan gum
3 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon, if desired

2 eggs
1 c. non-dairy milk
1/2 c. water
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Measure first eight ingredients and whisk together in a small bowl

Whisk eggs until creamy and blended in a separate bowl. Mix in milk, water, oil and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients until just blended. Let dough rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat skillet on medium heat. Pour dough into desired size pancakes in greased skillet. Turn pancakes when they start to bubble on top. Fry until golden.

Be creative. Remember pancakes can be topped with many things besides syrup...melted jelly, nut butter/ bananas/honey, applesauce.... Have fun!

Simply Fun and Easy Shakes

Whether it's warm and sunny or chilly, shakes are fun to make and fun to eat. By putting in frozen fruit instead of ice cream, you can still have a thick satisfying shake with less calories and without the dairy. We particularly like the flavor of almond milk with ours, but any nondairy milk that you enjoy or juice will work. Banana really adds a creamy texture the kids enjoy. We use frozen fruit and skip the ice cubes used in some shakes to make it fruitier. We use a variety of fruits but this is one way the chefs from Gluten-Free Kitchen Fun like their shakes.

Fruit Smoothie          Print Recipe

1 medium banana
1c. frozen strawberries
1c. frozen blueberries
1 1/3 c. almond milk, nondairy milk or juice
1 t. gluten-free vanilla
1 T. honey or agave

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Serves two hungry children after school.

Monday's Challenge

     October has arrived. The trees are turning stunning shades of gold, orange and red. Even though fall is in the air, temperatures are expected to reach the 70's this week. I'm looking forward to it.
     One of the things I like to do is take an old recipe I love and change it to my current lifestyle. Removing foods from the diet or making recipes healthier doesn't mean you have to go without.
     Are you missing a food item that you used to really enjoy and can't or shouldn't have now? I challenge you this week to take a favorite recipe and use gluten free flour (don't forget the zanthan gum) or nondairy milk, or try it with less fat and sugar. Sometimes when you change a recipe it even turns out better than the original recipe.
     Have fun experimenting!


Note:  See "What Do You Eat?" for information on working with banana and pumpkin in sweet bread. Zanthan gum is probably not needed. (added 10/4/11)