Oatmeal Raisin Cookies May 24, 2008

I made up this recipe a while ago, and I find them to be quite easy to make and enjoyable to eat.  They don’t store particularly well, so eat them within a few days of baking.  Or, save part of the cookie dough and bake some later too! 

These oatmeal cookies can be gluten free if you make them with gf oats.  They are only sweetened with fruit and inside when they bake they get soft inside but a little crusty on the outside.  I can’t explain it well, just try the recipe and you’ll see what I mean!

Fruit-Sweetened, Vegan, Wheat Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup raisins
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup apple juice
1 cup oat flour or finely ground rolled oats
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins or walnuts

Bring the raisins, dates and apple juice to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, covered.  Mix together dry ingredients.  When the fruit is done cooking, blend it in a food processor or blender.  Add to dry mixture, and drop by the tablespoon onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden. 

Product Review: Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Pancake Mix May 24, 2008

On weekend mornings, I love to make pancakes or waffles, but by the time I’m done, I’m grouchy and hungry and the whole process has lost its appeal.  So, this week while at Trader Joe’s, I caved in a bought a pancake and waffle mix.  It’s gluten free and there’s no sugar added to the mix.  My husband decided he wanted waffles, and I wanted pancakes.

        

For $2.99, one mix plus a little oil and 3 eggs made enough for two breakfasts for each of us. They are really tasty and soft.  

Ingredients:sweet brown rice flour, tapioca flour, arrowroot flour, rice milk powder, cream of tartar, xanthan gum, baking soda, sea salt, ground vanilla bean 

Gluten Free Chicken Fingers May 19, 2008

Another of my favorite treats that I never expected to be able to eat on a healthy diet is chicken fingers.  This recipe is referred to by my friends as Healthy Chicken Fingers.  They are made with good fresh heart-healthy oil and whole grain flour.  What’s not to love?  I never measure ingredients when I make this recipe, so I have estimated.  Adjust to your liking.

Healthy Chicken Fingers

6 – 8 Chicken tenderloins or chicken breasts cut into strips
1 egg
3/4 – 1 cup Brown Rice Flour
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
A pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
A pinch of Black Pepper
Canola Oil

Put about an inch of oil in a pan on medium heat, and while your oil warms up, mix together all dry ingredients.  Beat the egg and dip the chicken in egg, then in the flour mixture.  Fry until golden brown.  Serve with organic ketchup and a salad. 

My friend commented once that these taste better than the fast food kind.  I hope you think so too!

 

Gluten free mozzarella sticks May 18, 2008

Mozzarella sticks are one of those things I forgot that I loved so much. In college they were the ultimate treat to get from the dining hall.

I have come up with a suitable wheat-free & gluten-free version, and it’s quite easy. It takes a bit of patience when you have to roll the string cheese around in the egg, due to it not being very porous, but it’s worth it.

Being an INFJ, I don’t use measurements… just eyeball it.

Gluten Free Mozzarella Sticks

brown rice flour

Italian seasoning

mozzarella string cheese

patience

an egg or two

canola oil

organic ketchup (high fructose corn syrup free) or tomato sauce for dipping

In a plate, mix flour and seasonings together.

In another plate, beat the egg(s).

Unwrap your string cheese and coat in egg, then coat in the flour mixture. Place each back in the egg and in the flour again, to coat twice. They just don’t pick up enough flour the first time.

Freeze the mozzarella sticks for at least a half an hour.

When you’re ready to fry them, heat some canola oil in a frying pan on medium high. Fry both sides for only 45 seconds – 1 minute.

Be sure to only leave them in the pan for 2 minutes, or you will have a cheese explosion on your hands. You’ll find yourself with a nice pan full of fried cheese, which is tasty in it’s own way, but not really what we’re going for here. I did this the first time I made this recipe, I think partially because I didn’t freeze them, and partially because I left them too long. I forgot that back in college when I worked in the school cafeteria, when you left someone’s mozz sticks for too long, all the cheese pops out and you serve up a lovely crispy mozzarella stick crust with no cheese inside. You quickly learn not to leave in there for too long, because otherwise you find yourself with a grouchy college student on your hands.

Serve with ketchup or tomato sauce and enjoy!