GF-Zing!

Archive for the ‘Fall’ Category

Sue Carnase, of the Bronx, New York, made the best cheesecake ever.  It was tested many times in double-blind taste tests and it always came out at the top of the rankings. Here is her recipe, in her own words, with a slight modification that will make the recipe gluten free.

“In a large bowl cream together 1 pound each of cream cheese, softened, and ricotta and one cup sugar and beat in 4 large eggs at room temperatures, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add 1/2 stick (2 ounces) butter melted and cooled, 3 tablespoons each of gluten free flour mix* and cornstarch, and 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon rind, beat mixture well until well combined.  Fold in 2 cups sour cream, pour batter in ungreased 9 inch springform pan and bake the cake in the middle of a preheated moderately slow oven (325) for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

The cake will be soft in the center.  TURN OFF THE HEAT (DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR.) Let the cake stand in the oven for 2 hours.  Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a rack and chill it loosely covered for at least 4 hours.  Remove the sides of pan and transfer cake to a plate.  You can freeze it at this point.  Remove from the freezer the day before use and refrigerate.

HINTS: Cheesecakes often crack while baking and some rise high and later fall, but these are not matters of concern.  Cheesecakes do not take kindly to sudden changes in temperature.  SO DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR DURING THE BAKING.

I find it much easier to cream the cheeses by putting them through the Cuisinart.”

*original recipe called for wheat flour

Further notes from GF-Zing!: The batter will fill most of the pan and during the baking the cake will rise to the very top of the pan or higher.  Do NOT use a smaller pan than called for in the recipe.  Full fat ricotta makes a nice cake.  We use Friendship brand sour cream because its only ingredients are milk, cream and enzymes. We line the bottom of the spring form pan with parchment paper to make transferring the cake to a plate a little easier.

Susie’s Shopping List for Cheesecake:

1 pound cream cheese

1 pound ricotta

Sugar

4 large eggs

Butter

GF Flour

Cornstarch

Vanilla

Sour Cream

1 lemon

This gluten free risotto is delicious, using fresh corn, New England apple-smoked bacon and New England Hard Cider.

4 strips of apple wood smoked bacon, chopped and cooked in a pan or the microwave
5 cups homemade chicken stock (gluten free)
1/4-1/2 cup New England hard apple cider (like a dry white wine)
4 TB olive oil
2 TB butter
2 large shallots, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
Kernels from 2 ears of fresh corn
2 inch slice of a log of fresh goat cheese (even better, from a log of marinated fresh goat cheese)
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Heat the chicken stock in a glass measure in the microwave until the temperature of hot coffee.

In a large non-stick skillet (12 inches is good), melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the shallots and onions and cook while stirring, until browned slightly.  Add the rice and stir to coat with oil.  Cook until it becomes slightly more opaque.  Deglaze the pan with the cider.  Add the stock about 1/3 cup at a time, stirring all the while over a low heat, for 10 minutes.  When 10 minutes is up, you will still have stock left.

Add the corn and bacon to the rice mixture and continue adding the stock a little bit at a time and stirring, until all the stock is used up (about 10 more minutes).  If the rice is cooked al dente, you are done; if not, add some more stock and cook further.

When the rice is al dente, add the goat cheese and the parmesan cheese and stir to completely mix.  You may add chooped parsley, salt and the pepper to taste at this point.  Serve immediately, with New England Hard Cider to drink.

Make sure that all your ingredients are gluten free!

© Gf-Zing! | Alice DeLuca

We acquired a new microwave oven and have been playing around with it - a new way to save energy resources while cooking.

For 1.5-2 pounds of chicken wings, mix the following sauce in a large bowl:

1/4 cup gluten free orange marmalade

1 tablespoon honey

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1/2 of a lime)

black pepper

Remove the wing tips from the wings, and cut each wing in to two pieces at the joint. Mix the sauce with the chicken wings.  Place the wings and sauce in a glass pie plate (in a single layer) and cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Microwave for 10 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and microwave for 5-10 more minutes, until cooked through.  Preheat a broiler and broil the wings for 4-5 minutes to crisp up the skin.

If your microwave has an automatic sensor, follow the instructions for cooking chicken parts, remove the plastic wrap half way through the cooking time.  When the wings are done, broil as above.

Use all gluten-free ingredients!

These gluten free “meatballs” from Gf-Zing! have the texture of gnocchi.  The cream-based curry sauce is delicious with sweet potato fries.

Mix the following with your hands:

1 block (1 pound) firm tofu

1 egg

1 cup minced scallion (both the white and green)

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons potato starch (katakuriko)

6-8 tablespoons sweet brown rice flour - this is like mochiko or sweet rice flour (also called glutinous rice flour even though it does not contain gluten) - it is made from sweet brown rice

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon curry powder (make your own using Rebecca Reilly’s recipe from Gluten Free Baking)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix all these ingredients and as you mix you will notice that the liquid is taken up by the flours.  Add sweet brown rice flour as needed to reach a consistency where “meatballs” can be formed.  Make walnut sized balls.

Fry the balls in 1 tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat until they are golden. Remove the balls to a plate.  To the oil remaining in the pan, add

2 tablespoons curry powder and fry briefly.  Add

1 1/2 cups of New England hard cider (this is like white wine - it is not sweet).

Reduce the wine to 1/3 cup.  Add the tofu balls back to the pan and add

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups chicken stock

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  The sauce will thicken as the balls absorb the stock.  Check from time to time and stir.

When cooked, serve with sweet potato fries.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!.

Serve these awesome baked fries with any dish that has a curry sauce.

For every 2 pounds of sweet potatoes, place the following in a large bowl:

2 teaspoons of Kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon of table salt)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

2-4 TB olive oil

Cut peeled sweet potato in to french fry size - make 1/2 inch slices crosswise, then cut each slice in to 1/2 inch slices.  Mix these fries with the oil and spices to distribute evenly.  Place the spiced fries on a foil lined baking sheet in a single layer.  Do not use a silpat mat because the baking temperature exceeds the tolerance of silpat.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.  Bake the fries on the top shelf for 15 minutes, stir, then bake an additional 5 minutes.  Do not worry if some fries are slightly blackened.  The flavor will be awesome.

Serve with any dish that has a rich curry sauce, or as an accompaniment to meat dishes.

Try this excellent curry - you won’t be sorry!

Fry one onion, chopped, in 2 Tablespoons of oil until browned.  Add 2 lamb shanks and brown them as well. De-glaze the pan with 1 cup of New England Hard Cider.

In to a pressure cooker, put:

1 can of coconut milk

2 Tablespoons of gluten free thai red curry paste

1 stalk of lemon grass, the white part at the root end only, chopped

2 Tablespoons of fresh ginger, chopped

Add the lamb shank mixture to the coconut milk mixture. Close the pressure cooker and bring up the pressure.  Pressure cook for 10 minutes, then let the pressure drop on its own.  Lamb shanks take a long time to cook. This pressure-cooking step will give the lamb a head start, ensuring that eventually the lamb gets nice and tender.

Carefully transfer the hot lamb shanks in their curry sauce in to a casserole that has a lid.  To this mixture, add

1 Cornish Game Hen

1 mango, peeled seeded and cut in to chunks (an under-ripe mango is perfect for this purpose.)

Braise the dish, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 2 hours, until the lamb is tender.  Skim off any fat that has accumulated.  Season with salt if needed.

Serve with Jasmine rice topped with plenty of fresh chopped cilantro, and fresh ground sea salt.

Note: If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can cook everything except the game hen and mango for 1-1 1/2 hours and then add the game hen and mango and bake for an additional hour and a half.

This is a tasty dish to serve in the fall using your locally grown peppers, cayenne peppers, leeks, and garlic, along with your fabulous imported flageolet beans.  This is a bean stew which would go well with chicken, pork or just plain bread and a salad.

1 leek, cleaned and sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
3 small green or long italian peppers, deseeded and cut into strips
1 dried cayenne pepper, chopped finely
2 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 tsp smoked spanish paprika
4 small tomatoes, chopped coarsely
1 pound flageolet beans, soaked and pressure cooked until done (pressure cook about 12 minutes after the pressure is up - use plenty of water), then drain
3 cups homemade chicken stock
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt

Clean the leek and slice it thinly. In a 12″ non-stick pan, heat the oil for 30 seconds then add the sliced leek. Stir and fry for 2-3 minutes until beginning to soften then add the green peppers and the cayenne pepper. Stir and fry for 3 - 4 minutes,  then add the garlic and the smoked paprika. Cook for another minute over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and the chicken broth,  stirring all the while. Cook the this sauce for another 2 minutes then add the drained flageolet and cook for another 3-4 minutes until heated through. Season to taste with sugar, salt and pepper. Adjust the seasoning as needed.

The quality of this dish is entirely dependent on the quality of the chicken stock you use, so it is best to make your own.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

Inspired by a wonderful Mujaddara from a Lebanese restaurant in Troy, New York, we set out to find out how to make the dish at home.  Luckily, we found a good recipe in the interesting Arab Cooking on a Saskatchewan Homestead, by Habeeb Salloum (published by the University of Regina, 2005).  The secret to this terrific dish for lentil lovers is the enormous quantity of fried onions.  We have found that adding a cup of turnip gratin to the finished dish makes it even better!

Here is the revised recipe:

Wash one cup of regular lentils (the inexpensive kind found in any grocery store), and put them in a pan with 5 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, cover and cook over medium heat of 15 minutes, then add 1/4 cup white rice , cover and cook another 20 minutes until both the lentils and the rice are cooked.

Melt 2 Tablespoons of ghee (or butter), but ghee is better, in a frying pan and fry 3 thinly sliced big spanish onions for 10 minutes, stirring, until they are golden brown. (The original recipe called for an alarming 6 Tablespoons of butter for this process.)  Do not use vidalia or sweet onions for this - they do not break down or brown in the same way as spanish onions.

Stir the fried onions in to the cooked lentils, then add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon hot New Mexico chili powder.  If you have an extra cup of turnip gratin, add that as well.

Stir everything well, and serve hot with yogurt (add a clove of grated garlic to make a sauce) and salad.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free.

It’s time for the Memorial Day barbecue, and with 6 extra-ripe bananas on the countertop, our minds wandered - what to do, should we make 4 loaves of gluten free banana bread?  No, and although deep-fried banana fritters were sounding pretty good what ended up seeming much better was homemade ice cream.

This recipe is refreshing, and not high in fat.  The bananas have a slight tartness, and the dulce de leche’s deep brown color covers up the color of the overripe bananas, making an attractive finished ice cream.  There are no egg yolks or heavy cream in this ice cream, but the texture is creamy.  The major ingredient is banana.

Make the following mixture (use a potato masher to mix), and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours:

3 cups 1% milk

1 cup coconut milk

2/3 cup sugar

6 very overripe bananas, too mushy for anything but banana bread

13.4 ounce can of gluten free Dulce de Leche (or you can make your own)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cardamom

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

The mixture will be brown, like caramel.  After the mixture has chilled, freeze it in an ice cream maker according to the directions.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

This recipe uses ghee to boost the flavor of beets. Ghee is an Indian version of clarified butter. It is worth making your own ghee, because the stuff that comes in bottles in the store just doesn’t taste that great, whereas homemade ghee allows you to add the dense flavor of butter to French and fusion cooking without using entire sticks of butter. A little ghee goes a long way!

2 lb medium beets, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 Tb ghee (see recipe)
2 teaspoons bottled gluten free pure horseradish (the kind that is refrigerated, pickled)
2 1/2 tablespoons dark maple syrup
2 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Put the beet pieces and 1 cup of water in a non-stick skillet, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.

Remove the top, add the rest of the ingredients and stir fry until the sauce becomes syrupy and coats the beets.

Serve hot, with barbecued chicken or any roasted meat.

We love dal - it is an Indian lentil dish which is very useful for gluten-free households containing vegetarians!

This is an easy and delicious dal with homemade spice mixtures, so you can use known gluten-free spices from companies that guarantee the gluten-free status of their products.

In a large casserole that can go in the oven (we don’t like the term “flame-proof” and refuse to use it), put all of these ingredients:

3 Tablespoons ghee (a clarified browned butter, or use unsalted butter)

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

1 teaspoon ground turmeric (this spice stains clothes - be careful!)

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg (optional)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or one dried cayenne pepper)

1/2 teaspoon garam masala (make your own, using a recipe by Madhur Jaffrey or Julie Sahni)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon fresh grated orange zest (orange part of the orange peel)

Juice of one orange

1 onion, sliced

1 1/2 cups masoor dal (red lentils) washed (see note below)

1/2 cup moong dal (split, yellow in color and elongated in shape) washed (see note below)

4 cups hot water

2 teaspoons salt

Notes: Make sure to wash the dals carefully, removing any small stones. Put the dals in lots of water, stir around and remove the water. Repeat several times until the water runs clear. It does not really matter what proportions of red lentils and masoor dal are used. The original recipe this is based on called for 2 cups red lentils.
Ghee gives a better flavor than butter, and butter is better than other alternatives. If you use margarine or oil instead of the butter, the depth of flavor will be compromised. If you can use the ghee or butter, by all means do!

Stir everything together, cover and bake in a 300 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove the top and bake for 15 more minutes. Check to make sure it doesn’t get too dry.

Serve with basmati rice, chutney (homemade!), and yogurt.

This recipe includes the vegetarian aspects of a recipe for Capon from the cookbook called “Braise” by Daniel Boulud.

This is going to seem surprising, but it is possible to make an excellent gluten-free lasagna by replacing the noodles with sliced butternut squash, following a method described in Donna Hay magazine. This lasagna has no tomato ingredients. The sweet squash combines perfectly with the cheeses and fresh basil to make a gourmet main course.
Butternut squash is an elongated winter storage squash. For this recipe, you need one large butternut squash, and you peel it and slice the neck into 1/4 inch thick slices - these will be circular slices.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, peeled, and sliced in to 1/4 inch thick slices

1/2 pound large curd cottage cheese

1 pound full-fat ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese (buy the hunk of cheese and grate it yourself, to be sure there is no gluten)

5 eggs

1/2 pound spinach (if fresh, steam it briefly in the microwave, if frozen, thaw and drain)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (or a few tablespoons of frozen pesto sauce)

12 thin slices of pancetta (an Italian ham) chopped coarsely

salt, pepper

full-fat mozzarella - 1/2 pound, grated (grate it yourself)

Oven at 325. Grease a porcelain or ceramic 9 x 13″ pan. Mix the cottage cheese, ricotta, parmesan, eggs, prepared spinach, basil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir well.

Cover the bottom of the prepared pan with half of the slices of squash, sprinkle the squash with half of the chopped pancetta , then distribute half the ricotta mixture. Repeat this layering once. On the very top, sprinkle the mozzarella.

Bake for 50 minutes, until the top is golden and the dish is cooked through.

Make sure all of the ingredients are gluten free!

This is a gluten-free version of a pleasant old-fashioned spice cake, with the exciting addition of a cream cheese maple icing.

In a food processor, mix until smooth:

¼ vegetable oil or melted butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup molasses
1 ¼ cups cooked pumpkin, mashed and drained of excess water

In a bowl, mix:

1 ½ cups brown rice flour
½ cup potato starch (katakuriko)
¼ cup tapioca starch
1 teaspoon xantham gum
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder (see recipe for homemade version)
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix well.

Add

2/3 cup dry currants

Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan, line the bottom with parchment paper. Pour the batter into the pan and bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the batter comes out clean.

For the frosting:

Mix:

8 ounces cream cheese
2/3 cup dark maple syrup (grade B has more flavor than grade A)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Spread the frosting on the cooled cake.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

We like crunchy bread crumb topping on baked casseroles and fish, and things like that.  Even at the many restaurants that are serving gluten free foods now, we find that the crumb toppings are too sandy in texture, and everyone from the gluten free community knows how disappointing the mushy crumb toppings are.

Well, Gf-Zing! recently tried using Glutino brand cinnamon raisin bread, grinding it in to crumbs ourselves in the food processor, and then following a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen for Baked Chicken Breasts with Parmesan-Garlic Crust.

The combination of the Glutino bread (don’t worry about the cinnamon/raisin flavor - it works well) made in to crumbs, parmesan cheese and oil seems to account for the crispiness of the topping.  A mixture of 1 part crumbs, 1/2 part finely grated Parmesan cheese, 1/8 part olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and seasonings, applied to the top of chicken which has been spread with gluten free mayonnaise, and then baked at 425 for 20 minutes will give you a chicken with crumb topping that is quite satisfactory.  If you don’t have fresh basil, do not use dried basil for this recipe.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free.

The first time we had a rolled up sandwich was in the 1970s or 80s, at a take-out restaurant where they called the roll-ups “strollers” and used a mayonnaise, soy sauce and lemon juice spread to glue the delicious things together. They used a lavash type of bread. We came to love roll-ups, tortillas, flat-breads etc., and learned to call them “wraps.” Fast-forward to gluten free living, and yet another convenient food was off-limits. We felt like spoiled brats, whining about not having wraps. We tried the rice based wraps, but they are quite challenging to chew up.

Over the last two years, we have identified two successful wrap materials for gluten free eating. One was a vegetable wrap served at a restaurant called Cornucopia in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Made from carrots, zucchini, apple and linseed, these wraps were like a fruit leather but orange and savory. They were delicious, but we don’t know how to make them or to obtain them in the United States. The other wrap is the Southeast Asian rice wrap (banh trang or spring roll skins), and we have figured out a nifty way to make our sandwiches in the morning using these wraps. Our favorite brand has a red rose on the package, and has rice flour and tapioca flour in the ingredients. This brand seems to stand up well under pressure!
Since we have so many restrictions on what we eat, we spend our money freely on other things besides wheat - if you can’t have that other stuff, why not have the good stuff? So we purchased a hot water boiler - it keeps water ready for tea or cooking at all times, a popular item in Japan. The one we have is made by Tiger. This device makes many cooking tasks very simple.

To make “wraps” using the Vietnamese spring roll skins (8 1/2 inches is a good size), first check the label to make sure that the rice circles are wheat-free. Some of them contain wheat.

Next, get a glass pie plate in which the circles fit - they should sit in the bottom easily. Our glass pie plate is 11 inches in diameter at the top. Make sure you have some very hot water available nearby.
Prepare some sandwich filling ingredients, and think about texture and color - use some roasted chicken, romaine lettuce in bite sized pieces (for crunch and green), some herbs or parsley, grated carrots, salt, pepper, a small amount of gluten free mayonnaise or flavoring.

Notice that the rice circles have a smooth side and a rough side. Take two circles and put them together, with the smooth side facing each other and the rough sides out. Put the two circles in the pie dish and add a little hot water - slosh it around so that the circles get wet on all sides and in between, then pour off the water. The two circles will sort of be stuck to the bottom of the dish, and they will be somewhat fragile - many recipes call for moving the wet wrap to a plate at this step, but by pouring off the water you eliminate that step and are not faced with reconstructing a circle from a moist, disintegrating rice wrap. Next, place some sandwich ingredients in a line across the bottom third of the wet circles, and if you are adding mayonnaise you should only put it on the meat and only use a small amount. Season the filling, then roll up the sandwich tightly, covering the filling - when you have rolled up half way, tuck in the edges so they cover the ends of the filling row, then continue rolling. The wrap will stick together and contain your sandwich. Transfer the sandwich to a plate, and start over to make the next sandwich.
When you take these sandwiches to work, bring along a dipping sauce, and prepare to have your co-workers ask you how to make them!

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

This simple recipe from the Gf-Zing! website is designed for the gluten-free community, but the glutenated world will enjoy it too! You can make a delicious meal with a side of garlic mashed potatoes. Have ready a couple of plates, some mashed potatoes and a glass of pinot noir for the chef, and start cooking:

• 1 to 1.5 pounds Lamb top round roast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh mint (optional)
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced or grated
• freshly ground salt and pepper
• 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large tomato cut into eight wedges
• 1/2 a lemon

Slice the lamb roast into four 3/4 inch slices - each one should be the size of a playing card or a burger. Spread each slice on both sides with the minced or grated garlic, then sprinkle one side with thyme, mint, salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a robust pan until hot. Fry the lamb steaks on the non-herb side for 3 minutes, then flip them to the other side that has the herbs on it.

Fry for 2 minutes, then add the tomato wedges and fry for 2 minutes more. Move the lamb steaks and tomato wedges to your plates, sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and serve.

Most muffin and quick bread recipes include a very large amount of sugar, producing a cloyingly sweet breakfast.  This Gf-Zing! recipe uses less sugar (and some honey), and is gluten free.
Mix Dry ingredients in a large bowl:

1 cup Bette Hagman’s Featherlight Mix, or other GF flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup pecan meal
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon xantham gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Mix wet ingredients in another bowl:
1 cup fresh or canned squash, mashed
1/2 cup mango juice (or other fruit juice)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs or 1/2 cup egg product

Stir the two mixtures together until thoroughly mixed, then add:
3/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line 12-muffin pan with aluminum liner papers.  Fill liners with batter to the top.  Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

These yummy muffins were developed for the Gf-Zing! website. The large amount of cinnamon balances the blandness of rice-based flours.
Use a 12-muffin pan, and line with aluminum foil liners.

In a large bowl, mix:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

1 egg or 1/4 cup egg substitute

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons xantham gum

Mix throroughly, then stir in 2 cups Bette’s Featherlight Rice Flour Blend (Authentic Foods makes a pre-mixed bag of this flour blend, or you can mix your own using the directions in one of Bette Hagman’s books.)

Next, stir in 1 cup dried cranberries, and 1/2 cup broken or chopped pecans. Stir to blend thoroughly.
Spoon the batter in to the muffin liners, then bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Make sure all your ingredients, including the spices, are gluten free.

This easy frying technique is very versatile and worth trying for almost any product that you might once have “floured” before frying. The result is gluten-free, but it is superior to much of what the glutenated world consumes!

You will need to find some gluten free rice wrappers (banh trang wrappers) in an Asian grocery store. These wrappers are round, and they have a cross-hatch pattern on them from the basket weave of the manufacturing process. You can use the 6 inch or the 8 inch variety - no matter. To use the wrappers, you soak them in warm water for 20 seconds, one or two at a time. Be careful to read the label - there are a few versions of this product that contain wheat (they have a different cross-hatch pattern on them.)
Set out a pie plate of warm-hot water right next to where you are working, and open the package of rice wrappers.

Prepare a zesty seasoning mixture of chopped scallions, garlic, ginger, hot peppers, salt, pepper or whatever you like - use some type of onion-like vegetable, and some fresh herbs that go with fish. You will need a tablespoon of seasoning mixture per piece of fish.
Cut the fish into 4″ pieces (skinless, boneless). Use salmon, cod, hake or other firm-fleshed fish.

Place a single wrapper in the water, then lay it out on a piece of waxed paper until it is soft enough to roll - about 20 seconds total.

Place the soaked wrapper on a plate, put a tablespoon of the seasoning mixture in the center of the wrapper, spreading it to the same size as one piece of fish.

Put a piece of fish on top of the seasoning on the soaked wrapper.

Complete the package: Fold the bottom piece of wrapper over the fish, then fold in the two side bits, then roll the package up towards the top of the wrapper so the package becomes a sort of egg roll.

Set the wrapped fish aside and continue with the rest of the pieces of fish, using one wrapper per piece.

Heat oil on medium-high until hot enough for frying in a non-stick pan or heavy pan and fry the wrapped fish packages for 4 minutes per side until crispy and browned. The oil should be hot enough so the packages sizzle immediately when they go in the pan.

Serve the fish packages as is or with a gluten-free asian dipping sauce - the kind that is served with pot stickers.