Category: gluten free

I need to learn how to take better food pictures. This is Scrumptious Sandwich Bread from the Gluten-Free Almond Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam.

I had my doubts about this bread. It uses almond butter–if you aren’t sure what that is (I wasn’t!) it comes in a jar like peanut butter. I could only find the chunky almond butter.  I’ve been searching for a good GF bread for quite awhile because the only store bought bread I like is Udi’s multigrain bread and until last week I couldn’t get it easily where I live.

So it was experiment time. I put all the ingredients together and poured it into a special bread pan. Yes, I said pour because it looks like muffin batter. And Elana recommends a pan called the magic bread pan because it isn’t quite as big as a regular bread pan. This pan gets the bread cooked all the way through.

The taste was good! The chunks of almonds in the almond butter were a plus. The bread was moist and not at all sweet. Most of the GF breads I’ve tried have a sweet taste that bothers me. Grilled cheese doesn’t work on sweet bread.

I’ve made this three times and even though I can now get Udi’s locally I will continue to make it once a month for a different kind of sandwich adventure.

It all started with the Savory Crust from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour cookbook. It had to be made before I could start on the quiche.

I was skeptical. Could a press in crust taste good?
This one has scallions mixed in with the grapeseed oil and almond flour. It was an easy crust to work for and a bonus while it was baking my house smelled yummy.

Here it is, The Asparagus Onion Quiche. (p. 62) Until a few years ago I wouldn’t eat asparagus and now it is becoming my favorite vegetable. The pink stuff in the photo is really purple onion, a lot of purple onion.

You can tell I’m not a food photographer because this isn’t a good representation.

But… it tasted amazing! Ed liked it and asked me to fix it again.

It was good for breakfast too. 

So far this cookbook was a splendid purchase.

Page 36 of The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam
Sesame Crakers

Or it’s supposed to be. I didn’t have any sesame seeds so I used sunflower seeds. These crackers turned out nicely. I think next time I might use a little less salt and will roll them out to the 1/16 of an inch. Math and measuring aren’t my thing but I’m pretty sure my crackers were too thick.

I didn’t know crackers were so easy to make. Rolling them out is easier than pie dough or sugar cookies!

They look a little washed out here, they are a bit browner. And what do you think are those 1/16th of an inch? I don’t think so either.

They passed the husband and good friend test which is always a miracle when doing gluten free foods.

Tomorrow I’ll be posting a book review about Jenna’s Cowboy by Sharon Gillenwater. I must step out of the kitchen!

For Christmas Sara gave me this cookbook.

I ordered several of the ingredients online and they arrived this week. It’s been cold in the midwest and I thought heating the oven would be a good thing. I was right.
I made the Chocolate Chip Banana Cake on page 86. I didn’t’ use the chopped dark chocolate as suggested though. I threw in a handful of chocolate chips that I had.

It tastes amazing. It’s moist, doesn’t fall apart and I will make it again. It takes a long time to cook, about 45 minutes and then you have to wait for it to cool. The house smells all yum and comforting. Even Ed liked it.

The best part it tastes just as yummy the second day. Now if I can just figure out what the nutrition count for Almond Flour is I’ll be happy.

I will be making more from this cookbook.

Right now Elana is running a contest for her book and a bag of almond flour. If you’d like to know more you can find the information here.

The weather is getting cooler here. I don’t do well in cold weather. I like it warm. My oven is currently on vacation, refusing to heat to the temperature it needs to be to bake so I thought I would try soup. I miss my bean and bacon soup from Campbell’s. I can’t have it anymore since it’s not gluten free so this is my attempt at a grown-up version. It actually turned out well, yep, I’m as surprised as the rest of you who know my  kitchen skills.

Bean and Bacon Soup
3 cans of cannelloni beans (rinse and drain them)
6 cups of chicken stock, I used a gluten free brand
2 big cloves of garlic minced
1/2 can of tomato paste

Put all of that in a large pan, bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for about 30 min. Stir it once in awhile.

While the beans are cooking:
Chop
1 medium onion
2 large celery ribs
4 med. sized tomatoes
1/4 cup Italian flat leaf parsely
1 tablespoon of basil

IN a large skillet over medium high heat pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil (or go 2 times around the pan)
saute the onion and celery until the onion is soft and translucent.
Add the tomatoes and
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of SPIKE seasoning
Cook about 5 minutes.

Then add the vegetables to the bean pan, add the parsley and basil. Here is where I made a big mistake. I added 5 pieces of bacon, the flavor it gave the soup was great, but take the bacon out of the soup before you serve it! It isn’t pretty folks.
Cook 15-20 min.
Serve with Romano cheese sprinkled on top if you can have dairy.

I will admit it. This morning I dined on cotton candy and a diet dr. pepper. Awful I know, but what is a girl to do when hubs reads a text I sent to him last night at the Cardinal game asking him to bring some home for me instead of getting himself something to eat? Well, I wasn’t just going to let it sit there on the table! It was an act of necessity. It had to be eaten this morning or gasp! It would have to be thrown away!

So back to making amends. I am trying to eat healthy as well as following a gluten free diet. So right after my tasty treat of boo cotton candy I decided to bestow this lovely treat on hubs tonight for dessert. I’ve never made a peach/blueberry crisp before and I’m not sure how it’s going to taste. My thought is neither of us has anything to compare it to so it should be good. As long as he doesn’t figure out right away that it’s made with gluten free ingredients.

Since I was in the kitchen I thought I might as well bread some chicken tenders for tomorrow’s dinner and then continued on with making a mess by making my own mozzerella sticks. Something I don’t eat often but have missed ordering. As if that wasn’t enough to destroy the kitchen I read on celiacmaniac how good whipped coconut milk is on fruit. So I whipped up some to put on our peach/bluebery crisp tonight.

I don’t know if I’ve made up for eating the yummy cotton candy or for asking for it, but it was worth a try.

Now, I have to clean the kitchen. It’s scary in there!