Week 5 - Brown Gravy

Brown gravy is one of those things I have always had in my arsenal. I rarely (if ever) have used those pouches at the store. But when I asked people what recipes they would love to have gluten free brown gravy kept coming up. I was surprised, but my mom spoiled me with cooked from scratch meals most of my life. She and I have very different food tastes but most of what I know I learned and adapted from her. So here's a few gravy recipes for all of you!

Easy Brown Gravy

You'll need:
2c Beef or Chicken stock (you can also use drippings from a roast, turkey, chicken, this is a versatile recipe)
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/4c Cold water

Bring your stock or drippings to a boil

Mix your cornstarch and cold water then add to your stock.

Reduce heat to low and stir until thickened.

That's it! Easy peasy!

Slightly More Labor Intensive Brown Gravy

You'll need:
2 Tbsp Butter
1Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp Thyme
2 c Broth, stock, or drippings

Melt your butter in the bottom of the sauce pan over low heat until slightly browned. Then add cornstarch and stir until it forms a paste.

Bring the heat up to medium and slowly pour in your broth whisking vigorously until everything is incorporated. Add in your thyme. then remove from heat and let thicken.

That's it! Now you can make brown gravy.

Maybe I'll figure out a replacement for those packets someday.....

Until then, Happy eating!
Tori

Week 4 - A Change of Plans

Things don't always go according to plan. This week I was going to honor Chinese New Year celebrations with a gluten free egg roll recipe. Unfortunately that recipe blew up in my face (literally, hot oil.. explosion.. no one was hurt but it was scary). SO..This week we are going to talk about kitchen safety!

...

Ok, not really but we are going to talk about something exciting! Bread! Everyone loves a loaf of good home made bread. There are so many variations on the same theme. Unfortunately it's not always easy to find gluten free bread. It's frozen. Or it's in a mix that doesn't quite work. Or when you do it's one of those "healthy" breads. (Not that I have anything against healthy bread but sometimes you really want something, well, white)

This is my version of something between french bread and white sandwich bread. If you are looking for a whole grain loaf with a lot of nutty flavor this is not for you. This it a great bread for the kid's lunch. It is toddler tested and approved. I think it is Jellybean's new favorite snack. Slather on some PB & J and you are good to go. I personally think it tastes pretty amazing with some apple jelly and butter. If I had a toaster I would have toasted it. If I hadn't eaten the whole thing so fast I would have made grilled cheese. Oops! This bread was gone within 24 hours.

Edit: My mom who is a full fledged gluten eater really liked this. She said it tasted "just like real soda bread". She also figured out it was soda bread with out looking at the recipe. She's ridiculous like that. I also was able to successfully shape this into hoagies using slightly under 12oz of soda water. It was fantastic.

What You'll Need:
4oz (1/2c) Warm Water (110°)
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Yeast
6oz Tapioca Flour
6oz Millet Flout
4oz Potato Starch
4oz Sweet Rice Flour
1Tbsp Xanthan Gum
1tsp Salt
12oz (1 1/2c) Sparkling Water
Egg Wash for Crust (Optional)

Mix your sugar, yeast, and warm water then set aside and let the yeast go to town.

In a bowl carefully measure out your flours. (I really insist on using a scale for this recipe. Some recipes you can say "oh 6oz is about 3/4c". Don't do that with bread. It's already fragile.) Then add salt and xanthan gum.
Sift all your dry ingredients together until they become one (or whisk then sift, the sifting is important in this recipe)

Put your mix into the bowl of your mixer and put on the dough hook attachment. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly add your yeast mixture. Follow with your sparkling water until the dough forms a nice ball. Add your sparkling water very slowly and watch your dough carefully. There will be a point when it all suddenly comes together. When that happens stop adding soda, let your mixer keep going for 10 seconds, then add in about a Tbsp more. Then let your mixer run for about 1 more minute to make sure everything is mixed very well. You will probably need to scrape the bowl once.

Grease your loaf pan well and pour in your dough. (I'm going to try this with no pan tomorrow) Cover with a damp kitchen towel and put somewhere warm. Then let proof for about 25 minutes or until the dough doubles in size.

Preaheat your oven to 400°. Put a pan with an inch or two of water on the bottom rack to help add steam. Paint the top of your bread with a simple egg wash. Then bake for 45min, until crust is golden and "snaps" when you flick it. (It should not feel or sound rock hard, there will be a crustiness but also give.)

Let cool, slice, and enjoy!

For a softer crust put the loaf into a zip top bag or sealed container while it is still warm. The crust will steam and soften much like "grocery store bread".

Happy eating!
Tori

Week 3 - Chocolate Chip Cookies

What kid doesn't love chocolate chip cookies? I mean really? They are so good! (By kid I mean anyone between the ages of 2 and 200) Now I know that to a certain extent we should be about living healthily. We should be taking the opportunity this drastic life change has given us to become more health conscious in general. For the most part I agree with that sentiment. But everyone needs a cookie jar. Cookies are food for the soul. When you have just had a horrible day a great cookie can lift your spirits. I'm not saying go eat 12 of these. But one or two really won't hurt. I promise. I ate 3 and I am fine. 

These cookies are great. They are soft and light. They make fantastic cookie cake. They have that pillowy quality that everyone tries for but you usually only manage it by accident. I really really like these cookies.

What you'll need:
1c (4 oz) Butter 
2oz White Sugar 
2 oz Brown Sugar 
2 large eggs 
1 tsp vanilla 
3 oz sorghum flour 
3 oz millet flour 
2 oz tapioca flour 
2 oz oat flour 
2 oz cornstarch 
1 tsp xanthan gum 
2 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp salt 
2 c ish chocolate chips

In your mixer cream together your butter and both sugars until everything is light and airy.

Slowly incorporate eggs and vanilla until thoroughly mixed.

In a separate bowl mix sorghum flour, millet flour, tapioca flour, oat flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Either whisk or sift until the dry ingredients become one.

Turn your mixer on low and add your dry ingredients to your wet in thirds. When everything is fully mixed fold in your chocolate chips.

Roll out cookie size pieces and then flatten them (these cookies do not "spread" very much) to your desired thickness. (mine were about 1/2")

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes

If you would like to make a cookie cake roll out your dough to the desired size and shape then bake at 350 for closer to 20 minutes. 

Let cool, pour yourself some milk, and enjoy!

Happy eating!
Tori