Wednesday, November 26, 2008

GF Ginger Cookies

I heart gingerbread cookies. They are one of my favorite holiday foods. I actually made a Candyland game with gingerbread a few years ago. The house, the markers all made out of gingerbread.

I have a GF recipe for gingersnaps that I have played around with several times. All are very delish. This is made in a food processor so it is quick and easy.
I have cut the amount of sugar in half from the original recipe, trying to reduce the sugar to a minimum. You may want to add more.

Measure and add the first four ingredients to the food processor in this order and process. Measuring and emptying the olive oil before the molasses allows the molasses to just slide right out of the cup.

1/4 c. brown or maple sugar
1/4 c. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1/4 c. molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix together in small bowl:

3/4 c. flour (amaranth, sorghum or brown rice)
1/2 c. arrowroot powder or tapioca flour
1/4 c. one of flours above not already used
1 tsp. xanthum gum
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Add to the wet ingredients in several batches, processing between each addition.

Add 2 T water(if needed). Oil baking sheet or use parchment paper. Make dough into 1" balls. Flatten. Bake at 325 degrees F. for 10-12 minutes if you like a crispy cookie outside and soft inside. Bake a few minutes longer if you like hard gingersnaps. Ler cool on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes before removing.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

I am in mourning for one of my favorite actresses who died. Five years ago. Only I just found out last week. Hope Lange. She was only 72 years old when she died on 17 Dec 2003.

I first saw her in "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" TV series, which to this day is the most romantic series I've ever seen. It ran for two seasons, 1968 - 1970 and Hope Lange won two Emmy's for her portryal of Mrs. Muir. It was the ultimate "we can never be together story line"...a living woman and a dead man's ghost. I fell in love with both the Captain and Carolyn Muir. Mostly their voices. And they had some great dialogue. Feisty and funny. I loved their chemistry together.

I was a teenager when the series ran, straddled between childhood and adulthood, with all the conflicting emotions and desires a teen feels. Carolyn Muir was a strong woman, a widow with two children, a boy about 7 and a girl, 9 years old. She supported herself as a writer, (though logic would suggest that she had a good size inheritance also, as she employed a full time housekeeper/cook, Martha Grant).

I was drawn to the Carolyn Muir character on several levels. On the one hand, she was the kind of mother I wanted, but didn't have. Strong, healthy, energetic, happy even in the face of adversity, spirited, able to stand on her own ... a wonderful role model. (This is not to disrespect my mom, who had many wonderful qualities.) And she had a career as a writer. Something I wanted to be but never voiced. Then there was the teenage girl in me who wanted boys to like her, be attracted to her and looked forward to being in love. The captain was so male, so handsome and so interesting to be around and converse with, and had such a sexy male voice. How could any female not fall in love with him? So I wanted to BE Carolyn Muir as well. To be the object of Captain Gregg's intense fascination.

Of course I have searched the internet for all the information I could find about the cast of the show. Edward Mulhare, the actor who played Captain Daniel Gregg is dead also (1997). So is that like dying twice? But I was fortunate enough to find some Wave files with dialogue from the shows which I loaded onto my iTunes...where I can click on Repeat and the clip will be played over and over and over...when I'm alone, lest I drive my sons crazy. How wonderful it is to hear their voices again. Be still my heart.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

GF DF Krispy Sugar Wafers

The Characters













1 Tablespoon GF vegan margarine

4 Tablespoons powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon GF vanilla powder

2 rice crisp breads


Forget about calories with this one. Chances are you don't need to worry about weight if you are gluten and dairy intolerant..., you don’t indulge in the readymade sugary temptations that abound on the grocery store shelves, that pile on the pounds, because they contain gluten and/or some other food you are sensitive to. Every GF cookie I’ve seen in stores has some ingredient I’m sensitive to. When I first bit into this plain crispy rice wafer, the texture reminded me of the neopolitan sugar wafers that come in vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavors and I knew I had to make a gluten free version. This one is vanilla flavored. It is quick, easy and delicious with some fresh fruit.

Try adding cocoa powder if you prefer chocolate. Powdered flavorings won’t thin the filling.

First, measure one T. vegan margarine and melt in microwave, approximately 15 seconds. Just get it melted, it doesn’t have boil.























Add the powdered sugar and powdered vanilla to the margarine. Blend with a fork until it’s nice and creamy.




Blending GF DF Vanilla Cookie Filling

Rice Crisp and  Vanilla Filling




Vanilla Filled Rice Crisp

Now pile the yummy, sugary filling onto the rice crisp bread as thick as you like it. For me that is ¼ inch, Top with another rice crisp bread and enjoy.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

GF Amaranth Pancakes

Photobucket

This is my favorite breakfast in the world. Amaranth pancakes with as much vegan margarine as will stay on top of the pancake, topped with powdered sugar and finally organic blueberries. My tongue would love to taste this every single morning. But I must restrain myself and only fix it only once a week or I will weigh 300 pounds within a year.

The recipe is modified from the one on the back of the package of Bob's Red Mill Amaranth Flour. I substitute arrowroot flour for tapioca flour. You could also substitute potato flour for the tapioca.



1/4 cup Apple juice or Milk (I use Almond Milk if I'm using milk)

1 tsp Oil

1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Amaranth Flour

1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Tapioca Flour

3 Tbsp Arrowroot Starch (since I substitute Tapioca flour with arrowroot above, I measure 1.5 Tbsp of arrowroot and 1.5 Tbsp amaranth for the 3 Tbsp Arrowroot here)

1/4 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/8 tsp Sea Salt

BEAT egg then beat in juice and oil. ADD remaining ingredients to egg mixture one by one and BEAT after each addition. Heat griddle to medium high and COOK until bubbly; turn and cook until done. Makes 8-10, 3" pancakes or about 5, 4" pancakes.