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Portobello Mushroom Egg Pizza

Sometimes, dinner (or breakfast, or lunch) just has to be fast. Easy. A no-brainer. And sometimes, you just didn’t adequately plan ahead of time so that you could make this happen. Then what do you do?

This was my story, the evening after I ran Warrior Dash. I came home and scarfed a bit of leftover salad from the fridge, showered to get rid of the 1,000 pounds of mud from my body, and made myself presentable enough to take the kids out for a promised pizza dinner. (Yes, sometimes the kids get junk food.) By the time we got back home, I was suddenly famished (obviously, my salad “snack” wasn’t enough) and craving pizza. I hadn’t made plans for a meal beforehand, since we were taking the kids out. I figured I would rummage something up for myself. Only for some reason, I’d underestimated a) how hungry and b) how tired I would be.

So my “rummaging” turned up some portobello mushrooms that needed to be used up, some eggs, and a few pantry ingredients – tomato paste, olives, and a bit of Daiya cheese I’d stashed in the freezer. I was going to make some sort of pizza, I’d decided. It might not be traditional, but it would be nutritious, easy, and hopefully tasty.

Indeed it was. I had the “pizzas” ready to go into the oven in about 5 minutes (although it took longer than that to allow the oven to heat up) and could relax for a few minutes while they baked in the oven. In less than 30 minutes, and with the few dishes I used already washed (a bonus!), I had dinner – two gigantic portobello pizzas, enough to serve 2 people (with a side salad, perhaps). I paused just long enough to get this somewhat decent photo taken for you before both were gone. And I’m not apologizing for that.

These indeed hit the spot. They were delicious. The portobello provided a lovely, meaty base for the “pizza”, and the olives and seasoned tomato paste gave it the “pizza” flavor I was after. The egg just gave it a delicious, rich sauce, as I only baked it long enough to set the whites, leaving the yolk all warm and runny. So. So. Good.

All of a sudden as I’m writing this, I’m hungry for another one of these. I might have to accidentally-on-purpose make some more this weekend.

Portobello Mushroom Egg Pizza

2 large portobello mushroom caps, stems hollowed out

Olive oil or baking spray

salt and pepper

1/3 c tomato paste

1 t Italian seasoning or pizza seasoning

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t onion powder

8-10 black olives, sliced (I used Kalamata)

1/4 c dairy-free cheese (such as Daiya)

2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray or brush mushrooms with oil and season the insides with salt and pepper and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, stir together the tomato paste, Italian seasoning, garlic and onion powder. Spread the sauce over the inside of the mushrooms. Sprinkle olives and dairy-free cheese over. Carefully crack one egg on top of each.

Place baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until eggs are set to your liking. Remove and serve.

Serves 2, or one very hungry person.

Note: You can use any toppings you like on these pizzas. Roasted red peppers, pepperoni, cooked crumbled Italian sausage, ham, jalapenos, artichokes – anything goes!

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.

 

 

 

 

posted on Saturday, April 28th, 2012 by altawrites Posted in Appetizers,breakfast,Budget-Friendly,Dairy-Free,Eggs,Gluten-Free,Grain-Free,Healthy Meals,Main Dishes,Paleo/Primal,Quick and Easy,Refined Sugar-Free,Vegetarian 9 Comments

Daring Bakers: Grain-Free Croissants

 The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

Yeah, when I read that, I got a lump in my throat. You know the kind – it was exactly like a cartoon character, facing imminent doom, swallowing that lump with the audible “gulp”. Scary.

Why so scary? Well, in addition to making gluten-free croissants (Kate over at Gluten-Free Gobsmacked has successfully made those, and they look amazing), since I really haven’t been consuming grains lately, I wanted to make them grain-free. And who has heard of grain-free, dairy-free, yeast-free croissants? Not me. But I figured I’d give it a shot. They wouldn’t be flaky in the traditional sense, but I’d try my best to make something edible and resembling a croissant.

And so I got started. I made a stiff dough and chilled it. I pounded out butter and chilled it too. I then read through the instructions posted on the Daring Bakers challenge, and in the spirit of how Julia Child makes her croissants, I folded over the dough multiple times, rolled it out, and eventually (very carefully) rolled up my croissants.

How did they come out? Well, like I said, not flaky in the traditional sense. However, they were edible. Tender even. I would have liked them a touch sweeter, actually, but overall, I was surprised that they came out. They’d definitely be tasty to dip into a sauce at dinner. It’s definitely a recipe worth investigating further.

I’ll consider this a win for me!

Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Croissants

1 c almond flour

1/2 c coconut flour

1/2 t baking soda

1 t salt

2 eggs

1/4 c non-dairy milk (I used So Delicious unsweetened coconut beverage)

1/4 c vegan butter*

1 egg white, for brushing

1 t turbinado sugar

Whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs until frothy and add the non-dairy milk and whisk in. Add the wet ingredients to dry and stir to incorporate. The dough should be barely sticky; add additional almond flour as needed. On a large sheet of parchment paper, pat out dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, take another sheet of parchment paper and stick the butter on it. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top, and using a roller pin, pound out the butter until it’s about 1/8 inch thick. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and sprinkle with a bit of almond flour and roll out into 1/4 – 1/8 inch thick rectangle between the two sheets of parchment (if you’re having difficulty with the parchment sticking to the dough, sprinkle with a bit more almond flour. With some care, you ought to be able to peel away the parchment and leave the dough in one piece). Scrape butter from the paper and spread out onto the top two-thirds of the dough.

spreading out butter on my not-so-rectangular rectangle of dough

Fold the bottom third up. Fold the top third over the bottom third.

dough folded into thirds

Turn the dough 90 degrees, and roll out again to 1/4-1/8 inches.

turning dough 90 degrees

Repeat the process of folding in thirds and rolling out 4 times. After it’s rolled out for the final time, cover with parchment and stick in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove the dough from refrigerator and cut into about 9 squares with a pizza cutter. Cut each square in half diagonally to make two triangles out of each square.

cutting dough into triangles

Carefully roll up each triangle into a croissant shape, and place on a lined baking sheet. Curve the ends.

rolling up croissants

Brush each croissant with the egg white, and sprinkle a bit of turbinado sugar over each.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

 *vegan butter such as Earth Balance isn’t entirely grain-free, as it has ingredients derived from corn and soy, but you could possibly substitute shortening for the vegan butter. I’d be interested to see how it turns out.

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays over at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.

posted on Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 by altawrites Posted in Baked goods,breakfast,Dairy-Free,Gluten-Free,Grain-Free,Kid-Friendly,Side Dishes 14 Comments

Curried Squash Hash and a Meal Plan 9/19-9/23

 Before August brought the seemingly endless heat, I planted some butternut squash. It started out so well – it grew  by leaps and bounds every day, started blossoming, and gave promise of much delicious winter squash. Then the heat got the best of it. In spite of my watering, my butternut was just no match for 105-110 degree days. (I guess squash isn’t a desert plant!) I had three small butternut squashes from one plant before they all shriveled up, like just about everything else in the garden.

All but one, that is. A few weeks ago, seemingly from nowhere, I had one last plant that got a second wind and started to grow again. I was unsure whether it would be strong enough to set any fruit, but yesterday, when I went out to water, I noticed two blossoms on it. So I’m hopeful that we’ll get a few more butternut squash from my garden before the season is over.

These three small squash were used in this hash for breakfast yesterday morning. Along with some zucchini, a bit of onion, and some spices, this was a hearty, wake-up-your-tastebuds change from the usual morning fare. I topped mine with some perfectly fried eggs.

This week is back-to-reality time for us, as we go back to work after taking a week off and traveling. I started to get prepared by boiling some eggs for our lunches, and hoped to make some more granola bars (recipe will be in my book!) for my husband. However, my usual marathon Sunday cooking was short-circuited by some air conditioning issues we started having. The oven was turned off (along with just about every light in the house) when the house started heating up. We had it working for a while, but I already deviated from the meal plan, swapping meatloaf (Sunday’s planned meal) for a cooler, simpler option planned for Monday night – grilled chicken with salad. Here’s to hoping the A/C is in full working order later this week so I can still use the oven. Meatloaf will have to wait until this next weekend – good thing I have room in the freezer for the meat!

Monday:

Breakfast: hard-boiled eggs, leftover asparagus, carrots, and spaghetti squash

Morning snack: pear

Lunch: garden salad topped with grilled chicken breast with a homemade honey mustard dressing

Dinner: leftover curried chicken wings, mashed potatoes, green beans (A/C guy is coming this afternoon, so this may be very up in the air!)

Tuesday:

Breakfast: leftover chicken breast, spinach-blueberry-banana smoothie

Lunch: leftover curried chicken wings, carrots, spinach, pear

Dinner: chicken piccata, spaghetti squash, broccoli

Wednesday:

Breakfast: eggs, spinach-peach smoothie

Lunch: leftover chicken piccata, spaghetti squash, broccoli

Dinner: pumpkin shepherd’s pie (if this is successful, I’ll share the recipe!), braised cabbage

Thursday:

Breakfast: eggs, braised cabbage

Lunch: leftover pumpkin shepherd’s pie, tangelo

Dinner: roasted whole chicken, zucchini and sun-dried tomato casserole, mashed sweet potatoes

Friday:

Breakfast: leftover chicken and sweet potatoes

Lunch: leftover zucchini casserole, eggs

Dinner: out – it’s Brandan’s 15th birthday, so we’ll be celebrating!

 

…and now, for the curried squash hash.

Curried Squash Hash, inspired by Everyday Paleo

1 T coconut oil

1 1/2 c diced butternut squash

1/2 c diced zucchini

1/4 c diced red onion

2 t Madras curry powder

1/2 t cinnamon

A couple pinches of salt

Heat a large, heavy skillet to medium-high heat. Add coconut oil and allow to melt, swirling around the pan to coat. Toss butternut squash, zucchini, onion, curry powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. Add to skillet and saute, allowing to cook undisturbed for a minute or two at a time before stirring, so that the pieces of squash get browned and crisp. When squash is tender, remove from heat and adjust seasoning as needed. This should take about 6-8 minutes.

Enjoy unadorned, or toss in crumbled, cooked bacon, and top with fried or poached eggs.

Hope you have a great week!

 This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays over at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free and was shared at Gluten-Free Detroit Metro for GF Menu Swap.

posted on Monday, September 19th, 2011 by altawrites Posted in breakfast,Budget-Friendly,Dairy-Free,Gluten-Free,Grain-Free,Healthy Meals,Paleo/Primal,Quick and Easy,Refined Sugar-Free,Side Dishes,Vegan,Vegetables,Vegetarian 12 Comments

Menu Plan June 27-July 1, plus a Summer Squash Chicken Frittata

Where have the menu plans gone? You might be asking. They haven’t been posted on my blog for a few weeks now. Well, long story short, I was on vacation for 2 weeks. While I had vague ideas of what I planned on cooking, I was in the midst of testing so many recipes for my upcoming book, and our schedule was so lax, that I didn’t have an actual “plan.” (In fact, there were evenings where, after hours of cooking and testing recipes, my husband asked what was for dinner, and my only plan was something like “There are brownies, a cake, crackers, bread, some tomato jam, and I’m working on a meatloaf. Would you like any of that?”  I had tons of food around, but often, there wasn’t a cohesive meal in sight.) Last week, I was still in post-vacation recovery mode, and a lot of the meals were last-minute compilations of what we needed to use up. Finally, this week, we’re back into the swing of things.

One of the recipes I was testing during my time off was a recipe I debuted last year, albeit in a slightly different form, as an appetizer for a crowd of guests (gluten and dairy eaters) that were visiting. Originally it was called an “appetizer square”, and was made with zucchini and crumbled pork sausage, rather than summer squash and chicken. It obviously went over well, as the pieces were gobbled down fairly quickly. When I came across it again, I remembered the abundance of squash in the refrigerator, and decided to make a different version. It turned out to be even better than the first, in my opinion.

What’s lovely about a recipe like this is that it’s versatile. Zucchini or summer squash can be used – and this time of year, most of us have more of both of these veggies than we’d like, so it’s a great way to use it up! Any leftover cooked meat can be used – or even beana (I could imagine black beans tasting scrumptious here!). Spice it how you’d like. Serve it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as an appetizer. The sky is the limit here.

Summer Squash Chicken Frittata (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

½ c olive oil, divided

½ c diced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t minced fresh sage

½ lb diced cooked chicken

½ t ground cumin

1 t herbs de Provence

1 t chile powder

4 whole eggs

½ c almond flour

¼ c coconut flour

1 T baking powder

3 c grated summer squash or zucchini

½ c Daiya cheese (or other non-dairy cheese)

1 T nutritional yeast flakes

½ t salt

¼ t ground black pepper

Heat a skillet to medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onions to skillet and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, sage, and chicken and sauté for another minute. Remove and allow to cool while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Grease a 13X9 baking dish and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk eggs until blended, and add the rest of the oil and whisk. Add in the flours, baking powder, onion-garlic-chicken mix, grated squash and remaining ingredients. Spread into prepared baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes and cut into squares. Makes 16 appetizer servings.

And now, for the menu for this week!

Monday

Breakfast: Healthy chocolate zucchini muffin, scrambled egg whites with spinach and tomato

Lunch: Roasted turkey breast, leftover veggies from Sunday dinner (grilled asparagus, green beans)

Dinner: Chicken with mole sauce, steamed brown rice, steamed broccoli

Tuesday

Breakfast: Smoothie with strawberries, spinach, protein powder, almond milk and chia seeds, scrambled egg whites with Daiya cheese

Lunch: Roasted turkey breast with baby carrots and steamed spinach, unless there are leftovers from dinner

Dinner: Garden salad, Meatballs

Wednesday

Breakfast: Healthy chocolate zucchini muffin, scrambled egg whites with spinach and tomatoes

Lunch: Garden salad with roasted turkey breast or tuna

Dinner: Brined pork chops, roasted sweet potatoes, steamed cauliflower and spinach

Thursday

Breakfast: Smoothie with acai berry, protein powder, banana, spinach, and chia seeds, scrambled egg whites

Lunch: Tuna, shredded carrots, and spinach in a brown rice tortilla wrap

Dinner: Grilled salmon, okra and tomatoes, grilled potatoes

Friday

Breakfast: Healthy chocolate zucchini muffin, scrambled egg whites with spinach and tomatoes

Lunch: Creamy tomato tofu soup, gluten-free crackers

Dinner: Fried brown rice with shrimp, green beans

Snacks this week will include fresh peaches, black bean dip on brown rice cakes, and apples with peanut or almond butter. I also have Tanka bars on hand if I need a bit of protein.

Want more great menu ideas? Check out Celiacs In The House and the Gluten-Free Menu Swap!

This post is linked to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.

posted on Monday, June 27th, 2011 by altawrites Posted in Appetizers,breakfast,Budget-Friendly,Chicken, Turkey, and other Poultry,Dairy-Free,Eggs,Gluten-Free,Grain-Free,Healthy Meals,Main Dishes,Meal Plans,Paleo/Primal,Quick and Easy,Refined Sugar-Free,Vegetables 7 Comments

Southwestern Omelet and a Call for Recipe Testers

I love eggs. They’re not only healthy, a great source of inexpensive protein (even happy, free-range eggs don’t cost much), and one of the speediest things to cook, they also are SO tasty. One of my favorite ways to enjoy an egg is simply cooked sunny-side up, followed closely by poached. But sometimes, I want something with a little more flair, and more ability to incorporate the plethora of veggies in my kitchen. This is when an omelet is just the thing.

Omelets don’t need to be complicated. Of course, mine aren’t as delicately fancy and thin as some, but for my everyday breakfast, that’s fine by me. Just a single fold – enough to allow the filling inside to get all warm, melty, and mingled with the egg – works for my quick and healthy breakfast. I’ll save the fancier stuff for fancier occasions.

Another bonus about omelets – each one is customizable. That way, if you’re making omelets for other family members, everyone can pick out their favorite fillings. Today, I opted for a Southwestern style – a sauteed mix of shallots, diced tomato, serrano pepper, and spinach, topped with just a tiny bit of Daiya cheese. It was spicy, fresh, and packed with powerful flavors, but light enough so that I had energy to get on with my day. My kind of breakfast.

Southwestern Omelet (makes 1 omelet)

1 T olive oil

2 T sliced shallots

4-5 slices fresh serrano pepper (or more if you’re daring – my chile was HOT!)

1/4 c diced tomato

1 large handful of baby spinach

2 eggs, scrambled

2 T Daiya (or other non-dairy) cheese, or omit

1 T fresh chopped cilantro

Heat a small skillet (mine was about 8 inches) to medium heat and add half of the oil. Saute the shallots and serrano chile for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Add tomato and spinach and continue to saute until spinach is wilted. Remove and set aside in a small bowl. Wipe out the skillet and add the rest of the oil. Swirl to coat well. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the eggs. Allow eggs to sit without stirring for a minute. Once eggs start to cook on the bottom, take a flexible spatula and carefully pull the edges of the eggs away from the skillet and allow the runny part to fill the space underneath. Do this all the way around the omelet. Repeat this once or twice more, or until the egg is starting to set up more. Once nearly set, add your veggie mixture on one side of the omelet and top with Daiya cheese. Top with a bit of cilantro. Then carefully flip the empty side of the omelet over onto the filling, holding the top in place for a moment or two, if necessary, until the egg stays folded. Allow to cook for another 30 seconds or so, and carefully remove from pan and put onto plate.

Enjoy.

Okay, by announcing it here, this makes it official, right? Are you ready? (Am I ready? Eeek!)

I am working on my first e-book! This book will be filled with gluten and dairy-free recipes that are tasty and healthy for the whole family, made from whole foods and real ingredients. But I need your help to make this happen. I will be furiously working on recipes here at home, but I need testers! If you’re interested in testing out recipes, please send me an email at alta2924 (at) hotmail (dot) com. I hope to be able to have recipe testing start in the next month or so. Thank you in advance for all of your help! This is a huge step for me, and I have so many dreams for this book – I certainly hope it’s as exciting for you as it will be for me!

posted on Friday, June 10th, 2011 by altawrites Posted in breakfast,Budget-Friendly,Dairy-Free,Eggs,Gluten-Free,Grain-Free,Healthy Meals,Main Dishes,Paleo/Primal,Quick and Easy,Refined Sugar-Free,Vegetables,Vegetarian 8 Comments

Giveaway: Good Morning! Breakfasts without Gluten, Sugar, Eggs or Dairy

This giveaway has ended. For an opportunity to purchase a copy of this book and other great ebooks by Ricki Heller, visit her blog here. She has many wonderful sugar-free, gluten-free, and vegan recipes on her blog as well!

When someone has food restrictions (one or several) and those restrictions include gluten, sugar, eggs, and/or dairy, breakfast tends to be the most difficult meal to adjust. After all, typical American breakfast fare includes cereal, donuts, muffins, milk, eggs, pancakes, and the list goes on. All of these items are off of the table when you throw in food restrictions such as those mentioned above. So what DO you eat?

If you have a copy of Ricki Heller’s (of the Diet, Dessert and Dogs blog) new ebook, Good Morning! Breakfasts without Gluten, Sugar, Eggs or Dairy, suddenly there are more options out there than one can comprehend. This ebook isn’t Ricki’s first, and it seems her talents in the kitchen just continue to improve with each book she publishes. This book gives back those items we all miss when on a restricted diet. Cereal? Yes! Muffins? Of course. Pancakes? She has two different recipes, plus a recipe for waffles! Ricki has even figured out how to make delicious egg alternative dishes, and shares these recipes in her Good Morning! ebook.

When she asked me to review a copy, I was excited. In an effort to lower my sugar intake, in combination with my avoidance of gluten and dairy, her recipes seemed like a blessing to me. She is endlessly creative, making “syrups” from almond butter and carob (she has a recipe for a sweet almond sauce that’s to die for) for topping pancakes (or sweet potatoes – she suggested it, and I happily followed her instructions.), or making vegan breakfast sausages using rice and walnuts. Ricki adheres to the Anti-Candida Diet, and all of her recipes are ACD-friendly. What I love is that they’re friendly to my tummy as well.

I wasn’t sure what to make from her ebook first. I browsed through the entire thing more than once. I finally settled on making some of her “sausage” patties. I had some leftover brown rice from dinner, and so I set to work, blitzing the ingredients in my food processor and baking the little patties. It was a wonderfully relaxed recipe, and the result was more than I’d bargained for. They weren’t nearly as greasy or over-the-top salty as store-bought breakfast sausage. (This was welcome, as far as I was concerned.) They were filling, satisfying, and had a lovely hearty texture. They were at home with sauteed vegetables, her “veggie-full” breakfast hash (recipe in the ebook) or with gluten-free pancakes. I was hooked.

What next, I wondered, as I looked through this ebook yet again? I decided I was dying to make her grain-free granola. The recipe enticed me – I love granola anyway, and I loved that this version was very low on sweeteners and full of good healthy fats from nuts and seeds. It also included root vegetables, which piqued my interest. So I made it.

And this past weekend, I had to make it again. It was that good. I stored this jar in my pantry, and it was so addictive that every time I ventured into the pantry, I’d end up with my hand in that jar. It also made a great breakfast with homemade almond milk or as a snack.

I would have to say that Ricki’s Good Morning! ebook has passed my “test” with flying colors. It’s definitely a reference that I’ll use over and over again.

And so should you. That’s why I was glad Ricki was gracious enough to give one of you lucky readers a copy! Yes, you can enter for a chance to win a copy of Good Morning! Breakfasts without Gluten, Sugar, Eggs or Dairy by Ricki Heller. Just leave me a comment below and you’ll be entered! A winner will be chosen at random on Saturday, May 14, 2011.

Of course, if you want extra credit (a.k.a. extra entries), you can do the following:

“Like” Diet, Dessert and Dogs on Facebook and leave me a comment telling me you did so.

“Like” Tasty Eats At Home on Facebook and leave me a comment telling me you did so.

Subscribe to Diet, Dessert and Dogs and leave me a comment telling me you did so.

Subscribe to Tasty Eats At Home and leave me a comment telling me you did so.

That’s it! I wish you all the best of luck! Again, this giveaway ends May 14, so hurry!

There are still a few days left to enter into my giveaway for a copy of Simply…Gluten-Free Desserts by Carol Kicinski! Check it out and enter for your chance to win! Giveaway ends May 7, 2011.

posted on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 by altawrites Posted in breakfast,Dairy-Free,Gluten-Free,Healthy Meals,Vegetarian 92 Comments

Daring Bakers: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Christmas Stollen

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book…and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

I have heard of Stollen, but have never made it. I’m not a fruitcake person, really, but I do love dried fruit and nuts, and this was more of a bread than a cake. I was excited to give it a try, but knew I only had 1 shot at getting it right. Instead of trying to guess which gluten-free flours would make a perfect bready texture (and I’m out of several of them, and have to wait for my online order to arrive), I opted instead for Pamela’s Bread Mix. I’ve used it multiple times for pizza crust and hamburger buns, and it bakes up fluffy and light. As for the dairy-free substitutions, that was a breeze – I used So Delicious coconut beverage  for the milk, and palm shortening for the butter. I opted to not use red glace cherries, instead substituting dried cherries and bumping up the amount of dried fruits in the bread.

The verdict? I was worried it wasn’t rising at first. I made the dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for 2 days, and when I let it warm, rolled it out, and rested it, it really didn’t look as though it rose. I know gluten-free dough has a tendency to have difficulty rising (that lack of gluten!), but I had concerns it was going to bake into a doughy lump. But once it was in the oven, it rose, browned, and looked delicious and crusty. And when we ate it – heaven. Yum. Not too sweet, crusty on the outside, and a soft interior studded with sweet cherries.

I would love to make this again. Next time, I’d love to soak my dried fruit for longer (I only soaked for about an hour), to really bump the flavors, (and probably use rum instead of bourbon) but overall, a lovely Christmas treat.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Christmas Stollen Wreath

1/4 c lukewarm water (110 degrees F)

2 packages dry active yeast (Red Star is gluten-free)

1 c non-dairy milk

9 T palm shortening

5 1/2 c of your favorite gluten-free flour blend

1 T xanthan gum, if your flour blend does not already include it (mine did)

1/2 c sugar

3/4 t salt

1 t cinnamon

3 large eggs, beaten

Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange

2 t vanilla extract

1/2 t almond extract

1 t lemon juice

3/4 c candied orange peel (make your own!)

1 c golden raisins

1/4 c dried cranberries

1/2 c dried cherries

3 T bourbon

Juice from zested orange

1 c sliced almonds

Melted non-dairy butter for coating the wreath

Powdered sugar for dusting the wreath

In a small bowl, soak the raisins, dried cranberries, and dried cherries in the bourbon and orange juice. Set aside while you work on the rest of the stollen.

Add the yeast to the warm water and stir to dissolve. Allow to sit for a few minutes to “proof”.

In a small saucepan, combine the non-dairy milk and the shortening and melt the shortening over medium heat. Remove from heat and let stand until lukewarm (about 110 degrees F).

Lightly beat eggs with extracts in a small bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, xanthan gum (if using), sugar, salt, cinnamon, and zests. Then stir in the yeast mixture, eggs, and the lukewarm milk mixture. Mix until dough comes together. Cover with a towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Add in the candied peel, the soaked dried fruit, and the almonds and mix with your hands or with a mixer (with a dough hook) on low until well-incorporated.

Sprinkle some additional gluten-free flour onto a clean counter, and turn dough onto flour. With floured hands, knead dough for approximately 8 minutes. Dough should be slightly sticky, but not excessively so. The raisins and dried fruit might fall out of the dough a bit as you knead – this is good. Just keep pressing them back in. Gather the dough and make a ball. Lightly oil a large, clean bowl, and place the dough ball in it, rolling it around to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature on the counter for about 2 hours. Place a large sheet of parchment paper on the counter and turn dough onto it, and place another large piece of parchment on top. Roll dough out into a rectangle about 16 X 24 inches and about 1/4 inch thick. Remove the top sheet of parchment, and starting with the long side, roll dough up tightly into a cylinder.

Transfer the cylinder roll to a sheet pan. Form the roll into the shape of a wreath, using a bowl in the center as a guide, if needed. Pinch the ends together. Using kitchen shears, make cuts along the outside of the circle, about 2 inches apart, and about 2/3 of the way through the dough. Roll these pieces towards the outside of the wreath so that the cuts separate somewhat. Cover wreath loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes and rotate 180 degrees. Bake for another 30 minutes or until dough reaches 190 degrees F in the center and wreath is deeply browned. Remove from oven and brush with melted non-dairy butter. Using a sifter or a fine-mesh strainer, sprinkle powdered sugar over the wreath in an even layer. Allow to soak in for a minute, and sprinkle another layer of sugar. Allow to cool for 1 hour before serving, or store in a plastic bag once completely cool.

Serves about 12.

posted on Monday, December 27th, 2010 by altawrites Posted in Baked goods,breakfast,Dairy-Free,Desserts,Gluten-Free,Vegetarian 17 Comments

Daring Cooks: Eggs Benedict

Jenn from Jenn Cuisine and Jill (Jillouci) have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie num num.

While I’ve poached many an egg in my day (I even know how to do it in the microwave), I have actually never made eggs benedict, so I took this opportunity to try it out. It’s one of my favorite “classic” breakfast dishes, and I’ve neglected to make it on a weekend morning, simply because in my head, I felt that making hollandaise was “too fussy” and would take too long.

Boy, was I wrong. I made this for dinner last night (breakfast for dinner is something I really must do more often!) and it really didn’t take much time or effort at all! The hollandaise came together in a flash, and was creamy and delicious. I opted to use a Kinnikinnick hamburger bun instead of coming up with a gluten-free English muffin, and it worked just fine. I also substituted Earth Balance soy-free buttery spread for the butter, and it too was perfect. Now that I’ve realized how simple the basic, traditional eggs benedict recipe is to make, I have hopes to make a fancy, pimped out version again sometime soon. (Anyone have suggestions?)

Another great Daring Cooks challenge complete! Thanks to Jenn and Jill for this easy and delicious challenge!

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Eggs Benedict

For the hollandaise:

3 large egg yolks

1-2 t water

pinch sugar

10 T dairy-free butter

1/2 t kosher salt

2 t freshly squeezed lemon juice

pinch cayenne pepper

For the eggs benedict:

4 eggs

1 T vinegar

4 thin slices ham (or Canadian bacon)

4 gluten-free English muffins (or other gluten-free bread)

 Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring to a simmer. Cut the chilled butter into small pieces and set aside. Whisk egg yolks and water in a mixing bowl large enough to sit on the saucepan without touching the water (or in top portion of a double boiler). Whisk for 1–2 minutes, until egg yolks lighten. Add the sugar and whisk 30 seconds more.

Place bowl on saucepan over simmering water and whisk steadily 3–5 minutes (it only took about 3 for me) until the yolks thicken to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat (but let the water continue to simmer) and whisk in the butter, 1 piece at a time. Move the bowl to the pan again as needed to melt the butter, making sure to whisk constantly.

Once all the butter is incorporated, remove from heat and whisk in the salt, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper. Keep the hollandaise warm while you poach your eggs.

Crack eggs individually into bowls. Fill a shallow pan with about 2 inches of water.  Add salt and a splash of vinegar (any kind will do). Bring to a simmer. Slip eggs directly into the very gently simmering water, making sure they’re separated. Cook for 3 minutes for a viscous but still runny yolk.

While waiting for the eggs, quickly fry the ham slices and toast your English muffin. Top each half of English muffin with a piece of ham. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon, draining well, and place on top of the bacon. Top with hollandaise and garnish with chives or chopped sage, and enjoy!

posted on Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 by altawrites Posted in breakfast,Dairy-Free,Eggs,Gluten-Free,Main Dishes,Refined Sugar-Free 5 Comments

Gluten-Free Holiday: Holiday Breakfast and Brunch (Breakfast Tacos/Taquitos)

Can you believe we are in our 5th installment of Gluten-Free Holiday? Time flies, I tell you! This week we are celebrating over at Ginger Lemon Girl and sharing recipes for holiday breakfast and brunch. I can’t wait to check out what recipes have been shared. But even more exciting are the books that are up for grabs this week!

There will be 4 copies of Elana Amsterdam’s The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and 3 Elana’s Pantry totes. I own this book, and love it – the recipes are simple, straightforward, and delicious!

2 copies of Cooking For Isaiah by Silvana Nardone - a book I have yet to get my hands on, but can’t wait to check out!

And 3 copies of Gluten-Free Diner by Diane Eblin of The W.H.O.L.E. Gang – another wonderful book I’m proud to own. She serves up delicious comfort foods in this book.

This week’s recipe links are of particular interest to me. Why? Well, our family doesn’t typically put much thought into holiday breakfasts. Christmas morning is a frenzy of emptying stockings from Santa, opening gifts, snapping photos of bed-head kids tearing apart wrapping paper, and bargaining with them on how many chocolates (from their stocking) they can eat for breakfast. (Usually it’s just 1 piece, and hey, it’s twice a year they get candy for breakfast!) If we’re not dashing off to someone else’s house to celebrate, then I might whip up a breakfast, but it’s not much different than any other weekend breakfast. The favorite among our kids is breakfast tacos (called taquitos around here – not sure why!), which is just a simple mix of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and cheese. Most of the time, I can pry the kids away from their new gifts for 5 minutes to gobble some of these down. This year, however, I might actually plan ahead and start a new tradition – we’ll see!

Check out the recipe for breakfast tacos/taquitos here! To make them dairy-free, I simply omit the milk and use Daiya cheese, if I have some. Otherwise, I just omit the cheese – I don’t miss it anymore.

Head on over to Ginger Lemon Girl and check out some amazing recipes for your holiday breakfast/brunch!

posted on Thursday, December 9th, 2010 by altawrites Posted in breakfast,Eggs,Gluten-Free,Quick and Easy 2 Comments

Daring Bakers: Donuts (Those Who Fail To Plan, Plan To Fail)

So I waited until the eleventh hour to start the Daring Bakers Challenge for this month. For some reason, I got the dates confused (again), and I had it stuck in my head that I had until the 1st of the month to make it. (Yes, I realize that by waiting until this upcoming weekend, I was already procrastinating.) This morning, I read new posts at a few fellow food blogs and realized today was the due date.

Whoops.

I decided I was too late, and went ahead and made plans to just let the Daring Kitchen know that I would miss this month. But my husband encouraged me to go forward with it, so I did. (He’s a wonderful guy that way!) But I hadn’t given the process a lot of thought, other than I knew I wanted to make pumpkin donuts.

The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious.

I opted to modify the Alton Brown recipe, but I pretty much winged it. I decided to bake rather than fry, and I tried to substitute a mixture of potato starch, tapioca starch, sweet white rice flour and sorghum flour for the wheat flour. I used almond milk instead of regular milk, and lowered the moisture and added pumpkin puree. But the dough didn’t really rise. The flavor was decent, but I had dense, slightly gooey, donut pucks.

Sigh.

I plan on working on the donuts again, as a perfect pumpkin donut sounds so incredible to me. But this time, I think my failure to plan and research (and play in the kitchen) got the best of me. If I manage a perfect gluten-free, dairy-free pumpkin donut soon, I’ll be sure to share the recipe with you! Until then, check out this basic gluten-free donut recipe, and a different version of a pumpkin donut hole recipe over at Baking Beauties.

posted on Thursday, October 28th, 2010 by altawrites Posted in Baked goods,breakfast,Dairy-Free,Desserts,Gluten-Free 9 Comments

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