Clementine Cake

This cake is delicious. Even the gluten eaters in my family love it. I think it is best the second day, but really can be eaten anytime after it cools. Spruce it up with some drizzled dark chocolate, whipped cream, berries,  orange zest or simply as is!

                                                                     (serves about 10)

Ingredients

5-6  whole clementines

6 eggs

1 cup white sugar

2 1/3 cups almond flour

1 heaping tsp baking powder

powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

Place whole, un-peeled clementines in a pot with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 hours. Drain and when cool enough to handle, cut in half and remove any seeds. 

Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. Butter and line an 8 inch spring-form pan with parchment paper. 

Put clementines in a food processor or blender and chop very finely. In a standing mixer, add eggs, sugar, almond flour, baking powder and clementine puree and mix all together.  Pour batter into spring-form pan and bake for 1 hour (when toothpick comes out clean). After 30 minutes, cover the cake with foil so the top does not burn. 

Remove from oven. After cake is cooled, remove from pan and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

(adapted from Nigella Lawson)

If you are in Santa Fe and want to try a slice of cake similar to this one, check out the Station at the Railyard. They make a clementine cake every couple days and the coffee is also fantastic. 

New Mexico Red Chile Sauce

I've been experimenting with red chile recipes for the last couple months and nothing seemed to satisfy my tastes or cravings for spicy, traditional red chile sauce. On Christmas Eve, I went to my uncles house for a holiday party. I was prepared to have to eat my own food, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that the red chile, posole soup and tortilla soup dinner were all gluten-free! I have finally found the perfect red chile sauce. After eating this red chile, it boggles my mind that anyone would continue to make red chile with wheat flour or cornstarch. My experimentation has happily ended thanks to my Uncle Wally!

                                                          New Mexico Red Chile Sauce
                                                                    (Chile Caribe)
Ingredients:
20 dried red chile pods (mild, medium or hot)
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of salt
pinch of mexican oregano
chicken broth (roughly 3/4 of a quart depending on the consistency of the sauce)

Directions:
Rinse chile pods, remove stems, clean out seeds and put in a blender. Add minced garlic, oregano and salt. Set aside. Warm chicken broth in microwave or on stove top until just boiling. In 1/2 cup increments add broth to blender. Puree until smooth. Continue adding broth until consistency is similar to that of tomato sauce. When finished, pour through a strainer to remove any large pieces that were not blended well. Pour into sauce pan on stove and simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste for salt.
Enjoy with all your favorite foods from scrambled eggs to tortilla soup. This is the good stuff. It's everything I've been looking for.

Pumpkin Bread with Pecans

I love the mornng time and the sweet smell of baking pumpkin bread wafting through the house just makes me smile. This recipe was adapted from my mom's banana bread recipe that I ate as a child. It can be made with regular wheat flour 1:1 substitution.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread with Pecans
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup white sugar
1.5 cups GF flour (Bistro Blend All Purpose GF Flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a loaf pan using butter and GF flour. Tap out extra flour.

In a mixing bowl, beat egg slightly, add sugar, melted butter, and pumpkin. Mix well and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice together. Add pumpkin mixture to flour and mix until well combined. Fold in pecans. Pour into loaf pan and spread evenly. Bake for approximately 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Hotel Boulderado Holiday (Gluten Free) Tea!

I absolutely love holiday events, christmas lights, the music, family dinners etc... and this month I've been having an exceptionally hard time being away from Santa Fe (I'm counting down the hours). To make up for my slight unhappiness I was determined to experience some wonderful holiday events in Denver and Boulder. Well...it was a fabulous weekend! The professor and I had an evening of beautiful entertainment at Colorado Ballet's the Nutcracker.  The next day we devoured tea sandwiches, scones, cookies, tea and champagne at the Hotel Boulderado. I was able to have a gluten free meal that was almost identical to everybody else. 

First Course

Gluten-Free Orange-Cranberry Scones with English Double Devon Cream OR Fresh Fruit PlateTea Sandwiches
Boulderado Egg Salad with Fresh Watercress on Gluten-Free Bread
Black Bean Hummus with Cilantro, Roasted Peppers, and Fresh Cotija Cheese on Corn Tortilla Chips
Roma Tomatoes Stuffed with Tarragon Chicken Salad and Topped with Pecans
Atlantic Smoked Salmon with Lemon-Caper Butter and Red Onion Relish on Gluten-Free BreadTea Desserts
White and Dark Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Chocolate Truffles
Mini Assorted Gluten-Free Pastries and Sweets

After the sugar high wore off, we strolled along Pearl Street to people watch and walk off some calories. I would highly recommend having tea at the Boulderado Hotel. The staff was extremely helpful, polite and careful in preparing a meal that was safe to eat and tasted really good! Cheers! 

                                                                  

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I've been in the soup mood lately. Although it has been a really mild winter in Colorado, soup always reminds me of cold winter days.  This tortilla soup is the perfect soup for a crowd because it's full of flavor, very pleasing to the eye and easy to make! It would be great for a Christmas Eve supper.

                                                                         Serves 6
Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast
1.5 cups cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 quart chicken broth
3 cups water
1 tbs canola oil
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp sea salt
1 large onion
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 cup corn
2 cups pinto beans, cooked if using fresh, or if using canned, rinsed well.
4 or 5 corn tortillas, sprinkled with a little olive oil and cut into 1/2 in strips
1 avocado, sliced
1 lime, sliced
3 -4 scallions, chopped, green parts only
6 tsp sour cream

Directions
Heat 1 tbs oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Add tomatoes, onions, garlic and jalapeno. Sautee vegetables for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a soup pot, add broth, water, sea salt, cilantro, corn and chicken, bring to a boil. Turn down heat, add in tomato-onion mixture and pinto beans. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile,  preheat oven to 375° F. Place tortilla strips on a baking sheet and sprinkle with a little salt. Bake until lightly golden and crisp, turning every few minutes. (baking time ~10-12 minutes). Remove from oven and let cool.

Ladle soup in to bowls, garnish with avocado, scallions, sour cream, a squeeze of lime, cilantro and crispy tortilla strips. Enjoy!

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Tortilla Soup

Cinnamon Waffles

Gluten Free Cinnamon Waffles 

(makes about 4 waffles)

Ingredients
1 cup GF flour (Bistro Blend All Purpose GF Flour)
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1.5 tbs sugar
1 heaping tsp baking soda
1/8 cup + 1 tbs canola oil
1 egg
~2 cups liquid (water, rice milk, milk, soy milk)

Directions
Whisk all dry ingredients together. Set aside. Whisk oil and egg together. Add to dry mixture. Slowly add 1/2 cup of liquid and stir, continue adding a little at a time until consistency is not too thick and easy to spoon into a waffle iron.  Pour into waffle iron and cook on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes.

Serve with fresh fruit and real maple syrup!

*The Bistro Blend is a blend of whole grain flours [eco-farmed brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, buckwheat flour, organic coconut flour, xanthan gum] http://www.theglutenfreebistro.com/products.html

Chex Snack Mix, Gluten Free

When I was a child, my mom and grandma would make Chex mix. I loved it so much that I would actually pick out the rye crackers and wheat chex to eat because they seemed the most saturated in flavors! Little did I know those two items were attacking my intestine. This mix reminds me of the holiday season, so here you have it... a new gluten-free snack!

Ingredients
6 cups corn chex cereal
2 cups mixed nuts
1 cup GF pretzels (I used Sticks & Twigs, by Mary's Gone Crackers)
1 cup  GF seasoned tortilla chips or crackers (I used The Works! by Food Should Taste Good brand) broken into small pieces
4 tbs butter
2 tbs worcestershire sauce (use Lea & Perrins brand)
1 tsp seasoned sea salt
3/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions
Heat oven to 250°F.  In a large roasting pan, melt butter in oven. Stir in all the seasonings. Gradually stir in remaining ingredients until evenly coated. Bake in oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread the mixture on paper towels to cool. Once cool, transfer to airtight container to store.

Cookies Galore!

Last night I went to the Boulder County Celiac Holiday Cookie Exchange. I took over 3 dozen cookies which all were a hit!  It was wonderful to be around so many delicious (and safe) baked goods, share recipes and socialize. My contributions included:
-Molasses Spice Cookies
-Vanilla Wafers
-GF Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies
-Miami Vice Cookies (Double Chocolate)

    All cookies were made using GF flour from the Gluten Free Bistro and the recipes can be found here.

Before baking...

and the finished product. Yum!

Goat Cheese, Sausage and Roasted Tomato Pizza

Since living gluten-free there is only one pizza I have truly missed: the Fino, from Il Vicino. My rendition is so good, that I don't think I'll be dreaming of Il Vicino anymore.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

1 12" GF pizza crust (Gluten Free Bistro)

3/4 cup marinara/pizza sauce
1 cup whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 cup oven roasted tomatoes (see recipe here) 

1 oz goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped

1-2 chicken italian sausages (casings removed, crumbled and cooked through)

Spread sauce evenly on crust using a spoon. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top, then top with remaining ingredients. Bake in 350°F oven for 12 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Slice and serve immediately.

Lentil Vegetable Soup

This soup is so good for you and extremely yummy! It's chock-full of phytonutrients because of the abundance of swiss chard added in, which is probably one of the healthiest vegetables around. Paired with a high fiber, low-fat lentil, this is one awesome soup.

Lentil Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 tsp tomato paste
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp salt
1.5 cups dried lentils, rinsed and sorted through
1.5 quarts water or vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1 large bunch of greens, such as swiss chard, broccoli rabe or spinach, rinsed and chopped coarsely
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, thinly sliced for garnish (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
Heat oil in larges soup pot. Add onion and saute for about 5 minutes until soft and beginning to brown. Add in the tomato paste, parsley, garlic, salt, carrots and celery, saute for a few more minutes. Add lentils and bay leaves and water/stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and let simmer for about 45 minutes, partially covered. Season with salt and pepper.

In a pot of of salted water, boil the greens until tender and bright green Drain and add the greens to the lentil soup and heat thoroughly, about 5 minutes. Serve and sprinkle with cheese. Enjoy!

Molasses Spice Cookies

All I can say is WOW! These are probably the best gluten-free cookies I have ever made. Perfectly moist in the center with a crisp outside.

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups GF flour ((Bistro Blend All Purpose GF Flour*)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (combo of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar, plus more for rolling or sprinkling
1 egg
1/3 cup molasses

Directions
Mix GF flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda and xanthan gum in a bowl, set aside.
In a stand mixer, mix melted butter, sugar, egg and molasses for about 2 minutes or until well combined. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture until well combined.

Remove dough from mixer, shape into a large ball and cover completely in parchment paper. Store in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove chilled dough from fridge, and scoop out dough 2 tablespoons at a time. Roll into balls and then roll the dough balls in a small bowl of sugar. Arrange on parchment lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 to 3 inches between each cookie.
Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack.

*The Bistro Blend is a blend of whole grain flours [eco-farmed brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, buckwheat flour, organic coconut flour, xanthan gum] http://www.theglutenfreebistro.com/products.html