Sunday, January 24, 2010

White Farmhouse Loaf





One of the best allergy/gluten free cookbooks that I have come across is called Allergy-Free Cookbook by Alice Sherwood.  This cookbook gives you recipes that can be made with out: dairy eggs, nut and gluten. Simply said, its amazing.  I love trying and re-creating these recipes.  I truly love her bread recipe - White Farmhouse Bread.  The quote on the page for the gluten free version is "Crustier, lighter and tastier than many store-bought equivalents" and hands down I agree.  Its nice and fluffy on the inside with a great crust.  I use this for sandwiches, toast or just spreading some yummy cheeses on it.  This would be great to make breadcrumbs too.

White Farmhouse Loaf - Gluten Free (also dairy and nut free)

1 3/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour (Plus extra for dusting) - I use Bob's Red Mill's all purpose flour

1tbsp xantham gum

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 tbsp raw sugar

1 tbsp instant yeast

4 tbsp flavorless nut-free vegetable oil, plus extra for the loaf pan

1 tsp lemon juice (I use fresh lemon juice)

1 egg, beaten

1 1/3 cups lukewarm water

- Sift the flour, xantham gum, salt and sugar into a bowl.  Add the yeast, oil, lemon juice and beaten egg.

- Add the water and mix to form a thick paste.  Beat well with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until smooth.

- Transfer the dough to an oiled 2lb loaf pan, dusted with a little gluten free flour.  Smooth the surface.  Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap.  Leave in a warm place until the mixture reaches the top of the pan, about 30 minutes.  Dust with a little gluten free flour.

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees

- Bake in the oven until risen, richly golden in color and the base sounds hollow when turned out and tapped, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

- Cool on a wired rack

-Don't be tempted to cut it before it cools because you'll spoil its lovely soft texture!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Lemon Squares



Last weekend I went to a farm stand in Moss Landing and bought tons of awesome fruits and veggies. I also picked up some huge Meyer Lemons. I have been pretty much bed ridden this past week due to my back and was trying to think of a way to use these before they went bad. When life gives you lemons, make .... lemons squares!

Now, to find or create a gluten free lemon square recipe. Hmmmm. I did some searching online and couldn't find one I wanted to try. I looked at my flour supply and realized I'm a bit low on all that they are requiring anyway. Not a good start to my plan of making lemon squares.

I had a package of Bob's Red Mill - All Purpose Flour, and an old Betty Crocker Cookbook. I found a recipe for lemon squares and decided to just adapt that recipe with the flour I had on had. Nothing fancy or anything. I have to say they turned out pretty darn good!

Gluten Free Lemon Squares

1 cup of Bob's Red Mill - All Purpose Baking Flour

1/2 cup of butter, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon Xantham gum

3 teaspoons of lemon zest

3 table spoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

Powdered Sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, butter, powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest. Press in un-greased square pan (I lined mine with parchment paper), 8x8x2. building up 1/2 inch on the sides.

Bake the crust for 20 minutes. While the crust is baking, mix the remaining ingredients in an electric stand mixer on high speed for three minutes until light and fluffy. Pour over the hot crust.

Bake an additional 30 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched lightly in the center. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar. Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

A Very Merry Christmas





This year I saved up my vacation time the best I could so I could spend almost three weeks with my boyfriend and our families back east.  We don't get to see each other very often and its really hard.   We get to see each other every few months, its really taught us not to take each other for granted. We met over five years ago now but we've learned a lot about each other over the past ten months.  For example I learned that he is lactose intolerant and allergic to onions, raw apples and a few other things.  So, not only will our house be Gluten Free, it will be Onion Free and mostly Dairy Free.

I got my first experience cooking both GF and DF while he was here for Thanksgiving.  I made a complete dinner for us.  GF stuffing, a turkey, gravy, mashed sweet potatoes and to top it all off a GF Apple Pie!  He and I both loved it.  And have to admit looking forward to doing it all over again next year.

This year we sent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family back in Mass.  Christmas Eve is spent with my mom's side of the family each year.  Lots of food and plenty of family to share the holiday with.  Its never a dull moment, trust me!  Christmas day is spent with my dad and step mom.  I had filled my parents in on Bryan's allergies and my step mom made one amazing meal.  Completely GF, DF and OF!  Prime Rib with DF scalloped potatoes, green beans with pancetta.  The only part that wasn't 100% GF, DF was the cheese cake.  My step mom makes the best cheese cakes, I swear!!  She even made me own special one with no crust.  Oh man I can still taste it.

They also wanted to take us out to dinner one night at the 111 Chophouse in Worcester.  I've been there once or twice before, but this was before finding out about having Celiac.  I made sure to bring my little Triumph Dining card with me, however I didn't need them.  The Chophouse has a gluten free menu.  Not just a few things either, it was a very complete menu.  It had apps, salads, main dishes, and deserts.  I was highly impressed with their selection for GF guests.  I ended up going with the Wagyu Flat Iron Steak. (Thanks again Dad and Sue for another amazing meal!)

After about a week in Mass we headed back down to New Jersey to spend some more time with Bryan's family and our friends.  We went to The City a few times, ate at Risotteria twice.  Shared the goodness of that place with our friends and Bryan's Dad. (I have to say they were good sports to go to a GF place just for me! - Thanks guys).  On our first trip to the City we also went to MoMA to see the Tim Burton Exhibit, which is AMAZING.  I highly recommend going if you are there.  He is an extremely talented man, that is for sure.  Next stop was the Empire State Building!!  My dream finally came true.  (I know a self proclaimed dork, but I've always wanted to go since seeing An Affair To Remember).  Not only was it almost empty - no lines believe it or not, but we got to go to both the 86th floor and the 102 floor!  Both of which are amazingly beautiful.  It was night time and the city looked like it had a million Christmas lights all lit up.

Our next trip was with Bryan's Dad to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex, NYC (which sadly closed on 1/3/10). They had some amazing things on display.  When you first got in they show you a "movie" of different artists who have been inducted.  It made me sad that I've missed some pretty amazing artists growing up.  Don't get me wrong, I grew up listening to great music, but sadly didn't get to see any of these artists.  I realized that we have lost amazing talent over the years and most musicians now a days just don't measure up.

On our  way home we stopped at BabyCakes!! Its a small little place, but the cupcakes are unbelievable.  I walked out of there with six cupcakes and two brownie cupcakes.  Don't worry I didn't eat them all myself, I shared ;-)  I even love whats printed on the back of the box "Saving your behind one cupcake at a time".  My friend Adina gave me their cookbook for my birthday, and now I can't wait to try some of their recipes.

For photos from my trip back home visit my Flickr page!