I was surprised to see Elana’s recipe for Vegan Herb Crackers, especially since I had been planning on posting mine this week! Upon looking at the recipes, they’re quite a bit different so I figured I’d go ahead and share them. These are delicious, and keep well for a few days (but only if they’re hidden so I can’t find them).  I really love the rich flavor and the hearty texture.  Like Elana’s, these are vegan, but mine use Salba seeds to boost omega 3 content.

The only drawback (which I find with all almond flour products) they are so dense and rich, I can’t have anything rich with them, and I usually make tiny crackers–maybe 1 inch by 2 inch.

I did not give exact cooking times because depending on how I roll them, there always seems to be a range despite my best efforts. I’ve rolled some thick and some thin to try to figure out which I prefer, and I must confess, the crackers disappear and I still haven’t made up my mind, so I’ll leave that important question for all of you to ponder.

3 tablespoons of water
2 teaspoons ground chia or Salba seed

1 cup blanched almond flour
1.5 teaspoons dried Italian herb blend (mine has rosemary, thyme, basil, marjoram, etc.)
pinch sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Fresh ground salt and pepper to taste

Mix ground Salba with water, sit for 10 minutes. Combine almond flour through olive oil and preheat oven to 325. Thoroughly incorporate Salba gel, scoop into a ball and chill 5 minutes. Roll out very thinly between parchment paper or parchment and a Silpat. Cut into pieces with a pizza cutter and sprinkle with salt and pepper, pressing down slightly.

Bake until browning, peeking after 20 minutes and turning the cookie sheet if your oven is uneven like mine.

Cool and enjoy!

I’m submitting these yummies to Simply Gluten and Sugar Free’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, which are extravaganzas of great and inventive (healthier) treats.

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

I LOVE lovelovelove this frosting.  It has a very intense chocolate taste. And no one will ever guess the ‘secret’ ingredient.  It’s also perfect for pre-making.  The longer it sits, the better the flavors meld.  I usually make a batch and put it in a pastry bag and leave it in the fridge to get firmer overnight and leave it on the counter to soften a bit before frosting. It’s the perfect topping for anything or anyone yummy.

And I’m not going to pretend it’s health food, but my goodness, that’s as close to ‘healthy frosting’ as possible, I think! I’m submitting this recipe to Amy’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, because despite tasting very indulgent, when the main ingredients are beans and nuts and you’re getting gobs of antioxidants from the cocoa, I feel I can stand behind them proudly as a dietitian.

A big thanks to Honeyville Farms.  I’d gotten a bag of the almond flour and it tasted funny (please do keep in mind that I’m the princess in the pea when it comes to food) and they replaced the bag, and the new stuff is super yummy as usual.  I love companies that stand behind their products.

1 can of cannelli beans (navy beans also work)
1 cup of agave nectar
1/2 cup macadamia butter
2 teaspoons vanilla powder/extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 teaspoons stevia concentrated powder
2 oz good quality unsweetened chocolate, melted (ahem! Sharffenberger)
1 Cup cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon mesquite powder–add into the cup of cocoa powder (optional, but yummy)
OR a 1/2 tsp almond extract
good pinch of salt

Put well washed, well drained beans in the food processor with agave and blitz until smooth. add in ingredients through stevia and combine well. Add in melted chocolate powder and other ingredients and process until smooth and very well combined. Scrape into a bowl and refrigerate 2-3 hours (at least) before piping.

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

I posted a recipe for Easy Almond Cookies a while back, but these…these are even easier.   I enjoy both and can’t say which I like better, the other have much more of a hearty texture while these are delicious wafer-ish almond cookies. Quite frankly, I’d be happy just to alternate!

They’re gluten free, vegan, sugar free, too, and they freeze very well, so do feel free to double (or triple) the recipe as you see fit.  And as far as (tasty!) cookies go, they’re pretty darn good for you.  Calcium, protein and iron from the almonds, omega 3s and fiber from the flax, yummy from the coconut sugar…

The recipe uses coconut or palm sugar, which I’ve come to really enjoy.  Most sites say you can replace it 1:1 with sugar, I find that it’s much less sweet.  But what it lacks in sweetness, it more than compensates with caramel-y goodness.  It’s also a sustainable and environmentally friendly food with a low glycemic load.  I just wish I could find it locally and then it would be just about perfect.

1/4 cup roasted almond butter
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
1 Tablespoon agave
1/2 tsp vanilla powder or extract
a good pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients and stir together well. Roll walnut sized balls and flatten with the palm of your hand and place on a silpat or parchment paper. Bake for 9 minutes, just until set when edges are just starting to brown slightly.
Allow to cool…seriously…or they will crumble. They harden in 10 minutes or so on a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

I will be submitting this to Amy’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.  This week’s page is here. Like almost all of my recipes, they’re indulgent with a healthy-ish flair.

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

I am very glad to be getting back to making DB challenges. The last few haven’t been possible for a variety of reasons, and I missed the fun of it.

So…wow. What a beautiful treat, and it paired well with gobs of raspberries that have been growing here. I decided to make my own mascrapone, since I’ve got it down by now. I sprinkled the zest ontop because…errr…I forgot to add it to the mousse and I figured I’d improvise. I made half the amount of mousse, and it STILL seemed like an excessive amount. But DH LOVED these babies and the premade treats kept well in the fridge despite the pavlovas getting a little soft.

Many thanks for a naturally GF recipe. I made it as directed–just using orange zest for lemon. My only complaint was the brown on brown is just not an attractive combo, or I couldn’t find a way to disguise it. But hey, the taste more than made up for it!

Please do check out what all the rest of the Daring Bakers put together for this challenge.

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

I love kale.  Adore kale.  Can’t get enough, really, and that’s why I’ve chosen if for this week’s menu plan (see below) And my (current) favorite way of making it is in pesto form.    It’s super easy, and totally customizable for taste.  Here’s a basic template:

——————————————

One REALLY large bunch of kale, ribs coarsely removed
1/3-2/3 cup Brazil nuts, toasted
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp or more of sea salt
good squeeze of lemon
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup Kalamata olives (optional, but optimal)

Coarsely grind brazil nuts in the food processor and toast for a few minutes (until browning). Cook kale in boiling water for 8-10 min, drain loosely. Put in food processor with garlic, lemon juice, Brazil nuts, etc. Process until smooth-ish and creamy, adding in olive oil as needed. Add olives at the end if you like chunks.

We usually have the pesto on quiona or baked on whatever kind of white fish.

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

Mmmm….

Usually I’m not big into breakfasts.  Well, I was, ages ago, but since giving up most simple carbs and dairy and eggs…not so much.  A bowl of millet on occasion is quite delightful, but hands down, my favorite is Chai Breakfast Cake.  I haven’t posted it sooner simply because I always forget what I add in and change it around, but this time I was a good note taker.  And while I like it as is, I plan to try taking about the salba the next time around and see how the consistency changes.  As posted below, it has a sticky consistency that I like, but I think I’d like it the other

In addition to being a simply decadently delicious, vegan, sugar free treat, (and a good source of protein, too!) it’s also a perfect to bake up the night before, which can be challenging in gluten-free land.  So enjoy, and tell me what you think.

For those who are so inclined to play:

hazelnuts are delicious, cacoa nibs are heavenly, and I’m getting hungry!

3/4 cup strong chai tea
½ cup  agave
1 tsp almond extract
1 TBSP vanilla extract

3/4 cup uncooked quick (not instant) quinoa
1 cup almonds
2 T cornstarch/arrowroot
2.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp stevia
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1 heaping tsp ginger (use more for a spicier cake)
pinch cardamom
1 T ground Salba/chia
1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

Grease a 8 inch round pan and pre-heat to 325.

Boil a cup of water, add in 3 bags of Chai tea and steep for a good 10 min or so.  Remove bags, measure out 3/4 cup.

Grind the almonds, and arrowroot in a food processor until you have a coarse ground meal, but no nut butter.  Add in the quiona flakes and pulse 30 seconds more.  Add salt, stevia, spices, and Salba and then the tea and agave and mix for 1 min.  Mix in coconut, allow the batter to stand 10 minutes.

Add batter to the pan and bake until browning on top and a toothpick comes out clean–mine took about 30 min but our oven has been temperamental so please do check as you go.

Enjoy!

I will be submitting this to the Simply gluten and Sugar Free’s Slightly indulgent Tuesdays (although I think it’s more than slightly indulgent!)

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

And, of course, it’s allergy friendly and vegan.

I use blended young coconut meat and broth, I’m sure you could replace some of the broth with coconut milk. This is a very basic recipe that is totally open to artistic expression! Add in a dash of cayenne or other spices to taste.

1 chopped onion
1-2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 cup red lentils
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala (or 2 tsps for milder version)
most of carton (3-4 cups) broth (I enjoy Pacific foods)
meat of a young coconut blended with the broth
salt to taste

Saute onion in oil until translucent. Add in the curry/garam masala, stir for a minute then add in lentils. Add broth/coconut blend and let it simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are well cooked. Add salt to taste.

And that’s it. Serve with roasted cauliflower, purr.

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

Nanaimos=Canadian for bliss

No one was more delighted than me to see this month’s DB pick!

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

A dear friend kicked off my Nanaimo obsession during my Berkeley days. They were uber addictive, and the joke with my roommates was that one of us would creep to the freezer in the middle of the night, grab one and scurry away…and then creep back 30 seconds later and grab another. So Michelle, Adrien and Hayley–these babies are for you! Come raid my freezer.

Good thing for me that these were pretty easily gluten-freeable, but I’m also menos dairy, eggs, corn, soy and most importantly, sugar. I made a version last year and they were good–I like these even better.

So this is my grain and sugar free, vegan and massively delicious new and improved version. They do not taste just like nanaimos, but they are luscious.

One word of warning–they’re dense. As in like, very, very rich. And so a small piece does wonderfully, or at least it would if I didn’t go back for the 2nd small piece…and the 3rd…

Base:
2 cups almonds
¾ cup walnuts
½ tsp stevia powder
¼ cup agave
2 T water
1 tablespoon whole chia seeds
1 cup unsweetened coconut
½ tsp salt

Filling:
2 cups raw cashews and macadamias
2 teaspoons whole chia seeds
pinch stevia
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (or more
1.5 cups water
.5 cup agave nectar

Top
8 oz chocolate mass (unsweetened)
¼ cup cashew mac butter
1 cup agave
2 tsp stevia powder
2 Tablespoons mesquite or carob powder
½ tsp vanilla powder

For the base: soak chia in the agave. pulse nuts in the food processor, add in the wet and pulse until combined. Press down into 2 lined 8X8 pans (or a 9X11). Bake at 350 until starting to brown. Allow to cool or put in the freezer

For filling: I put all in the vitamix and throughly blitzed. With a normal blender, you’d absolutely have to soak the nuts. Pour on top of the base, and freeze until hard

For the topping: melt the chocolate, add in other ingredients and whisk very thoroughly until well blended. Pour mix quickly onto of frozen filling, and smooth down with out making a mess.

Store in the freezer, chop with a very sharp knife once hard. Enjoy! I’ve only had them straight from the freezer, I do think they’d ooze at room temp.

Please do check out the other DB Nanaimo masterpieces!

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

Chestnuts are awesome. They give a wonderful moist creamy feel to the treats, and using the pre-peeled ones makes it super easy. I just will have to remember to stock up to have them all year long!

The balls do taste chocolat-y, especially if you add the chocolate liquor. Or if you aren’t avoiding chocolate, rolling them in cocoa powder or adding an ounce of melted cocoa mass instead of the cashew butter makes someone’s brain think chocolate. But carob has a lovely flavor of its own that I appreciate it best for what it is, rather than trying to make it into something it isn’t (i.e. pretending it’s chocolate)

8 oz drained whole peeled chestnuts (I use the TJ’s box)
6 brazil nuts, preferably toasted
1 Tbsp cashew butter (or other nut butter)
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup carob powder
1/4 tsp stevia concentrate
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp vanilla
splash chocolate liquor, such as godiva (optional)

Blend chestnuts, brazil nuts and cashew butter until they are mostly ground down, then add the agave and coconut oil until you get a nice smooth paste. Add in the rest of the ingredients, pulse until well blended. Scoop into a bowl, chill for 30-60 min. Roll in powdered sugar, powdered coconut sugar, cocoa powder or a mix.

Mmmm. They keep well, but I’ve rarely tested that out.

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.

I stumbled by Amy’s blog and Slightly Indulgent Mondays event and this seemed like a good fit, and a good excuse for me to post another recipe! It’s indulgent because, hey, it’s a chocolate cake. But with the sources of fat from olive oil, pecans and eggs, it’s much kinder on your body say, the standard cake with butter and loads of sugar. It’s dairy free and low glycemic. And, like all of my recipes, the ingredients are wholesome, healthy gluten free foods, just with a rockin’ taste. And now no sugar. Life is good.

Also, of course, check out the other fun recipes entered, too!

2 cups of pecans
5 eggs, separated
1/2 cup olive oil
1 TBSP mesquite + the rest of a 1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp stevia powder
pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup agave nectar

Grease a 9 inch springform, line with parchment and dust the sides with cocoa powder. Grind pecans into pecan meal in a food processor, add in cocoa, stevia, salt, vanilla, oil land yolks and grind a minute more.  Add the agave last and BRIEFLY let it mix in. Whip whites to stiff peaks, and gently fold the pecan mixture into the whites

Pour batter into the pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until the top starts to brown. Allow to cool a good 10 minutes before unmolding from the springform. You can frost or not, depending on your mood. I made a simple macadamia cream/cocoa ganache and sprinkled raw cacao on top.

©2010 Gluten Free Goodness. All Rights Reserved.