Homemade Taco Seasoning

Spice mixes can not only be costly, they can contain ingredients you don't want to consume such as diary, gluten, artificial ingredients or preservatives. When the store I used to get my taco seasoning from switched the seasoning to one with maltodextrin, I decided to try to make my own. How hard could it be, I thought. And it wasn't. The kids didn''t even seem to notice the difference. This recipe replaces one packet of taco seasoning. Alter to your own taste.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

1 T. chili powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. onion powder
1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. paprika
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1 t. sea salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/3 t. cornstarch

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.


Enjoy!

The Quest for Gluten-Free Cake

    In my attempt to make a GF light cake for celebrations, I've tried to make it from scratch and I've used cake mixes (hoping for a lighter cake). The mix for my daughter's birthday was still quite heavy. I took a break from making cake for a while. Then I needed to make a cake for Easter this year, since there are a bunch of April birthdays in my extended family and everyone would be together. So, I started making cake recipes again.

I leaned a few things. Using beaten egg whites seemed to help make the batter lighter. Over beating seemed to make the cake tougher. I decided to make a cake using cupcakes since smaller portions of GF dough seem to rise better. And in the end the Easter birthday (cupcake) cake was a success and I now have a couple of cupcake recipes I really like. I didn't try them as a cake yet, but that should work.

I found some great recipes at http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/. The following cupcake recipe was adapted from her gluten-free Orange Creme Cupcake recipe. It's a cross between angel food and sponge cake and is airy and light. The original recipe is also vegan.


Lemon Cupcakes

3/4 c. brown rice flour
3/4 c. potato starch
3/4 c. plus 2 T. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/8 t. salt
1 t. zanthan gum
1/4 c. egg whites, room temperature
2 T. canola oil
1/4 c. lemon juice
3/4 c. coconut milk
     (or other non-dairy milk beverage)
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 T. lemon juice
additional water as needed
dash of stale turmeric
lemon zest

Whisk flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and zanthan gum in a small bowl. Set aside.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add oil, 1/4 c. juice and non-dairy milk and mix liquids together briefly at slow speed. Gently stir in dry ingredients and beat at medium speed just until blended.

Fill 16 muffin papers with dough and smooth tops with the back of a spoon or wet fingers. Bake at 350 degrees F for 17 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes on rack.

Mix 1 T. lemon juice with powdered sugar and turmeric. Add drops of water until desired consistency. Spread on cupcakes. Remember a soft frosting will continue to spread after you put it on. Add zest on top, if desired.

Note: Stale turmeric should not change the flavor of your frosting. It is a natural way to color the frosting yellow. Food coloring can be used instead. The amount of egg does seem to matter for the texture, so I measure it. One medium to large egg white is about 2 T.

The light texture and glaze-like frosting goes great together and is a favorite here. A taste of spring!

Experimenting With Natural Food Colors

It was fun using various foods to color my Easter cookies naturally this year. I chose a macaroon cookie made with egg whites. The colors were overall successful, but I think the liquid did cause the cookies to flatten some (although there were some other factors).

I tried a variety of natural colors. I tried collecting juice from frozen berries that were thawed, but since I was using small amounts that didn't always work. I did use a strainer for some, but then you get some pulp and that may not work for some things. The best way is probably to use cheese cloth, if possible, to just get the juice.

Raspberry - I expected a light pink, but ended up with a purple. I used the juice from thawed berries.

Turmeric - Mine was old but still had a smell. It didn't seem to affect the cookies right away, but I thought I detected a difference after a few days. Turmeric made a very nice bright yellow.

Blueberry - This made a bluish purple.  I ended up using a strainer for this one. I did not try blueberries and blackberries together (supposed to make raspberry purple).

Carrots - Although shredded carrots seem to have the potential to stain my counter top orange, they did not produce enough juice to attempt to color my cookies. That idea will need more work since I do not have a juicer.

Blackberries - This was my favorite color which I would describe as a violet, or a soft purple.

Strawberries - I did get my pink after cutting out the white inside of the thawed berry and using the berry after straining.

It was fun and easy to experiment with natural colors from food.

Hot Cross Buns

I tried making gluten-free hot cross buns and they raised well but didn't quite have the texture I was hoping for. They were edible, but not quite worthy of posting for Easter this year.

If you are interested in making hot cross buns, try using your favorite yeast roll recipe and add a little extra sugar and fat, some dried fruit (raisins, currents, dates) and your favorite spices (we like cinnamon and cardamom with a little nutmeg and allspice). I used muffin tins since that size works nice for us. Don't forget to brush the tops with a beaten egg before baking for that shiny appearance. And, of course, finish off with a cross of white icing (powdered sugar, water and vanilla, if desired).

Easter Traditions

Easter is just a week away. It's time to start planning food. Hot cross buns are a fun tradition. I don't have a gluten and dairy-free recipe yet, but plan to work on one this weekend.

And maybe some bright colored cookies. One of the challenges I wanted to work on was using various foods for natural food color. So, for the cookies, I'm going to try the following colors:

purple: blackberry with blueberry juice
pink: raspberry juice
orange: carrot juice
yellow: stale turmeric

This will be fun to try. I'll have to see how much I need. It could change the texture of the cookie. Beets and avocado also sound like interesting options for another time. What natural food colors have you made?

Quinoa Ideas

So much has been said about the health benefits of quinoa, a complete protein. I enjoy eating it just cooked with a little salt and pepper. But if you are really interested in the small seed, you may be looking for other ideas.

I have eaten quinoa flakes as a cooked cereal. It does have a somewhat bitter flavor, but with a little maple syrup, cooking it with fruit juice or adding a little fruit sauce, I enjoy it. It is a much softer texture than oatmeal. The flakes can also be used in cookies. You can use quinoa flour by adding it to pancakes, cookies, etc. Again, it has a different flavor, so my family enjoys it in small amounts.

We enjoy cooked quinoa seeds the most. I have made a pilaf with it, served it like rice, and added it to soup. I have heard it's good in chili, but have not experimented with that yet. For breakfast, I like to eating it with a scrambled egg. I fry an egg, breaking the yolk and scrambling it. When it is still a little soft, I add a 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa and desired seasonings, and finish cooking the egg while warming the quinoa. It's sort of like a stir fry, heavy on the egg. You could add veggies like zucchini, pepper and onion.

Quinoa also makes a great cold salad. I posted one of my favorites a few weeks ago - Meditteranean Quinoa Salad. It's a beautiful colorful salad that works great for parties and potluck.

If you haven't eaten quinoa yet, give it a try.

What other ways do you use quinoa?

Cookies for Breakfast

While cookies for breakfast doesn't sound quite right, imagine a cookie with lots of rolled oats, nuts and dried fruit and enough egg,sugar, oil and flour to stick it all together. Made into 3 - 4 inch rounds, these cookies have great flavor and are slightly chewy. With all of the oats, nuts and dried fruit in them, there are sort of like granola and could reasonably be eaten for breakfast.

This recipe was adapted from an oatmeal raisin cookie recipe by Cal Schroeck from Allrecipes.com with a high ratio of oats to flour. I was also impressed that the recipe used oil instead of a solid fat.

Breakfast Cookies

1 1/2 c. rolled oats (gluten-free if needed)
1/3 c. brown rice flour

2 T. potato or tapioca starch
1/3 t. zanthan gum
1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. salt
1/4 - 1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/3 c. canola oil
1 large egg
3/4 t. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/4 c. chopped dried cranberries
     (or any dried fruit)
2 T. mini chocolate chips (dairy-free if needed)


Combine oats, flours, zanthan gum, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk oil, egg and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Add nuts, dried fruit and chips and mix until everything is sticky. Dough will "sort of" stick together. Divide dough into 12 parts. Spoon each part, about golf ball size, onto a greased cookie sheet and press dough into cookie shape about 1/2 inch thick. Cookies will grow little during baking and will seem like they will not stay together, but they will. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 - 12 minutes or until edges start to brown. Don't over bake. Wait 2 - 3 minutes and remove to rack to cool.

Notes:
If you start having trouble shaping your cookies because the dough is sticking to your hands, try washing your hands so they are not sticky. We like our cookies with just 1/4 c. brown sugar, but to some people that may not be very sweet. If desired, shape your cookies into bars.

Whether you sneak one at breakfast or eat one for snack, these cookies are delicious and nutritious.