Pumpkin Coffee Cake

This is absolutely delicious!!!

Ingredients:

Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (I added a lil extra cuz I love it)
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts

Coffee Cake:
2 cups Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon of Potato Starch Flour (or xanthum, I'm just cheap)
2 teaspoons baking POWDER
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking SODA
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 can of pumpkin
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For streusel topping, combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in med bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly, stir in nuts and set aside

Combine the coffee cake dry ingredients in small bowl and set aside (make sure to mix them together before setting aside)

Beat butter and sugar in large mixing bowl until combined. Add eggs one at a time.
Beat in vanilla and pumpkin.
Gradually beat in flour mixture.

Spoon 1/2 of batter into a greased and floured 9.5" pie pan or 9" cake pan. It's sticky so you will need to spread with spatula. Then layer 3/4 cup of the streusel topping and add remaining batter. Top with the rest of the streusel topping.

Bake 350 for 45 - 50 minutes until a knife comes out clean. It takes a little bit for the center to get done. The first piece may fall apart some but it is truly delish!

Let me know what you think!

Wow, Biquick that's GF

I just read this and had to share it immediately with you!!

Bisquick launches gluten-free version

General Mills has introduced a gluten-free version of Bisquick and, just like the original, it can be used — with little effort and few other ingredients — to make biscuits, shortcake, pancakes and waffles. (The recipes are on the box.) A 16-ounce box is $4.49.

hhhhmmm,,,I'm thinking that the Red Lobster Biscuits are certainly in order to test this bisquick out!!! What do you think?

Raw, Vegan, Gluten and Dairy Free Soup

This is by far the easiest recipe in the world. Really cut up a few things, throw them in the blender and walah dinner!

1 large avocado (pitted and peeled)
1 large red pepper (de seeded and chunked)
2 cups rice or soy milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro (chopped)

Put them all in a blender and turn it on.
Put it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before serving.
Delish!

You can't beat this for Vitamin C content and ease of making the hardest thing is to let it get cold so you can really taste the flavors. I hope you enjoy it!

Gingered Cucumber

So you are harvesting your cucumbers...what do you do with all these lovely green veggies....here's a great salad recipe.

1 larger cucumber (peeled) or 2 smaller cucumbers
2 green onions (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped, tiny)
2 teaspoons ginger
1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Soy sauce (SanJ Tamarini, blue label is wheat free)

1. Slice cucumber lengthwise and scoop out seeds
2. Slice cucumber horizontal in 1/4 inch slices
3. Mix cucumber with all other ingredients
4. Refrigerate one hour
5. Serve

I put this on lettuce and it was delish. You have to like ginger to enjoy this recipe. However, if you reduce the ginger to one teaspoon it wouldn't be as potent. It was definitely a great way to use a cucumber (2 small ones or 1 larger)

Enjoy!

Carrot Red Pepper Soup

This was so easy to make I couldn't believe it! I got it from the PCRM Vegan Kickstart Menu. Just two modifications for our tastes and we were set!

Carrot and Red Pepper Soup
Makes 4 1 1/2-cup servings

1 onion, chopped
6 carrots, thinly sliced
2 cups water or vegetable stock
2 red bell peppers
2 cups soymilk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place onion and carrots into a pot with water or stock and simmer, covered, over medium heat until the carrots can be easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes.

Roast bell peppers by placing them over an open gas flame or directly under the broiler until the skin is completely blackened. Place in a bowl, cover, and let stand about 15 minutes. Slip the charred skin off with your fingers, then cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds.

Blend the carrot mixture along with the bell peppers in a blender or food processor in several small batches. Add some of the soymilk to each batch to facilitate blending. Return to the pot and add lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Heat until steamy.
Per 1 1/2-cup serving

Our modification was that we didn't add any milk and we decided to cut balsamic vinegar in half because we aren't huge vinegar fans. What we got was a thick wonderful soup that was great with a salad for two lunches for two people!

Hope you enjoy it too!

San J Peanut Sauce

So I was shopping today and wanted to figure out a different meal for us. As you know being gluten and dairy free it gets easy to fall into ruts of eating the same thing over and over and over again. I find that if I spice it up some with some different sauces or veggies I can create a new flavor for our palettes. Today I saw this:



Now I thought of the great peanut sauces I used to partake in at many Asian restaurants. Thick peanut sauces as in chicken satay. I thought a lovely sauce with veggies over rice. Something that would make your mouth water. However, I was disappointed. This sauce wasn't as thick as I would have liked and the sake used in it created such a pungent flavor that I was saddened.

I have a solution though because I don't believe in wasting and we have half the bottle left. I think in the next batch I am going to add a Tablespoon of peanut butter (to increase the peanut flavor) and a Tablespoon of Potato Starch to thicken it up. Plus I intend to add two cloves of crushed garlic, fresh grated ginger (I don't know how much yet so to taste) and wasabi about a teaspoon (maybe two also). This should spice and thicken up the sauce to make it what I imagined in the first place.

Well, happy cooking to you and if you have any suggestions on how to make this sauce better please leave them in the comment section below.

Blessings!

Easy Gluten Free

I remember the first time I told someone that we had to eat gluten and dairy free. The blank stares along with the "well, you don't have to eat that way" as if I wouldn't support my husband. Really!!?? I don't think my friends and family were trying to be mean. I believe they were just overwhelmed with the what dinners would be like from now on. Now I just tell people we eat whole foods, not processed and not pre made. Everything is fresh, organic and amazingly delicious. That's easier than trying to explain what we can and cannot eat.

So here's the deal. You season with fresh herbs and spices, no pre made mix, nothing from a sleeve in the grocery store. It's fresh 100% herb or spice. Everything is a rub with olive oil and you are good for meat. Veggies are organic and steamed or roasted. And you can always have a baked potato, sweet potato or rice. EASY!!! Now we do have to put up with some very bland food when going to dinner at someone else house but when they arrive at my house, we eat well and it's spicy! I have learned to cook with Penzey's Spices (http://www.penzeyspices.com/) and they are fresh and gluten free. I have learned the power of the jalapeno pepper. I have learned how coconut, rice and soy milk bake, simmer and stir. It has been a few years in the making but I'm here to tell you I can whip up a meal in 30 minutes or less that is better than anything in a restaurant and definitely more healthy.

Don't let your diagnosis get you down! Really, start to enjoy the journey and learn what tastes you enjoy along the way. Never say I can't make this - say if it doesn't turn out there are rice crackers and salad. You won't starve but if you risk trying a new recipe you may even enjoy your food again! Try them all, even if you think they will be weird, you only have a few bucks to lose.